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Fallout: Equestria - Red, White and Blue | Hell | It was Hell in that penitentiary. I hated it. Everything was dark. Everything was cramped. How could I even start... adjusting. Whitestar's mom was holding me. I fell asleep crying on her. Shit. I wiped my eyes and gave that cough that magically erased what I did, the kind of cough I used when I didn't wanna admit I was involved, that I didn't care. Who had time for tears.
I stayed there in the arms of someone... capable, somepony that'd stay with me and take care of me. I wantes to call her 'mom.' Scratch that, I-I wanted to call her 'Mama.' I wanted to say she was mine and pretend like I wasn't just a third wheel acquaintance. But I was. I knew I was because she wasn't holding tightly.
Star Spangle always looked... aloof. I couldn't put it down but she looked cold. Just like Whitestar. I didn't like it. It didn't make me feel safe or paired, it felt like I was walking with a robot. I wished the elevator worked. But trying to ride it back up was useless. We needed to find a transformer or something to restart the electricity in general.
I trotted away, not glancing back because I knew she was there. I knew Star Spangled was still in Tequila's body, following my every move and keeping that one, neutral grimace over her face. She was just that silent. Just that similar to something I'd see out of a laboratory or The Commonwealth. We moved in an almost uniform fashion between empty, rusted walls and water-bit metal chainlinks. This area of the penitentiary was different.
It felt like I was on display. The only thing I had for comfort was the fact that Star Spangled had light spells. Her light spells worked in a cone of light, like a flashlight. It was better than a big ball of light, she said, as it made the caster vulnerable and visible.
The tight squeeze we managed inching forward was like being a circus act. I was on the tightrope and the endless darkness beneath me and, for some fucking reason, over the chainlink bridge section and even past the walls, were members of the crowd telling me to fall. The dark, so vast and empty, was tipping me over. Every step echoed into a deeper echo the more I stepped forward. And the more I stepped forward, the more I looked down. It was so far down.
I took another step forward. And then the bridge metal creaked against me. I wanted to step off but I couldn't. I didn't want to move. I was stuck and Star Spangle knew it, too. We stayed still... meeting eyes and too scared to shake.
"Carbon... Carbon, it's okay. I promise. We're gonna fall. And you need to relax... Lay flat against the floor when you do. Pray."
I choked a sob back as the grating came loose and the bridge collapsed in two. I closed my eyes and clutched the old metal before we fell. I felt the darkness moving in on me. And I made the mistake of opening my eyes. The way down was full of corpses on sharp, jagged stakes sticking right out the walls. I fainted when I realized Star Spangled wasn't with me anymore. She was falling on her own... off the bridge. I collapsed in one, abrupt motion... and the rest was darkness.
I woke up surrounded by a cage of metal. The bridge section thinned out and turned into a rolling cage for me. I had no idea what to do. My forelegs were crippled and my chest was throbbing in agony. Something wasoff. A giant mess of metal swallowed me whole and I was just an ant inside an empty colony. I found one of the torn chainlink sections and slipped away from there. I felt sticky. Icky. I was layered in geoss slime. It smelled like blood and shit, honestly. I mean, it was worse than hour-long sex.
I crawled out of there with my handpurse stuck against my back and a big, huge wound on my stomach tore against the floor. It was all concrete. I would've been dead without the bridge metal. There were two ways to go between these walls full of jerky corpses and skeletons. One way, to the right, was a normal hallway. And the other place, to the right, was a hole the size of a dragon's ass after mating season.
I didn't know where to go, honestly. Sure, the hole seemed like a horrible place to go, but I'd rather go into a hole and fight a radroach than a red spear monster. So I observed the two directions carefully. The hallway had... obvious bloodstains striping into it. And the hole had some sort of occult symbol. The rune itself I liked. It made me feel comfortable, like nothing could hurt me. All the blood did was make me woozy, weak and helpless.
So I got on my hooves and elbows and crawled over. I went inside and I felt the damp presence of cold, chilling liquid on me. But that didn't matter. It was better than feeling like jellied eels. Going through it was a great choice. It felt clean, looked clean and there were no monsters on the other side. I say monsters because I didn't exactly get my hopes up for equine contact. Surprisingly, I crawled out and found a fully-lit hallway on the other side.
It wasn't nasty or crawling with tetanus like the other side. Instead, I was treated to din flourescent lights along the ceiling. It felt like a train station. The layout resembled one, down to the railroad tracks themselves. I could've even said... it really was a train station, only, less like the ruined ones and more a makeshift subway system. The rails weren't made with great material. Whoever constructed them, the old lines were coated in red, corrosive rust.
I trotted about toward the nearest pillar, along the run-down catwalks made of scrap and old parts from somewhere else. It looked sturdy enough, to be honest. But I never did feel right looking at them. It felt like monsters would pop out of the walls. It felt like I was in danger if I went anywhere near the catwalks and stairways.
I felt like an ant in the underground area. It wasn't dark and cramped, but it was wide and open with lots of blind corners. I didn't know which was worse. I started glancing behind me. Something was wrong with that place. It was too light. Too safe. I trotted farther to find a bathroom. I made my way between rows of thick, square collumns.
Turning the corner, I found the restroom area. It was a dead end with an overfilled trash can and two restrooms. But in the corner of said dead end, to the right... I saw a zebra. Her movement was slow and dragging. Her first instinct was to turn around and widen her eyes in pure, unfettered astonishment. I turned my eyes and kicked my forehoof about. She talked first. There was nothing distinguishing about her besides that golden tail ring she wore.
"You... you're real? How did- is this a dream...? It has to be. Look I don't know who you are, but can you come with me? It's cold, dark and fucked down here. There are monsters walking around and- I-I need to find Radio Free."
I couldn't help but want to hear her. She had this voice... soothing angels to sleep. It was raspy to a fault and she lazed about letters like we were laying in bed. I couldn't help it, but she was hot. I snapped out of it when she tilted her head in puzzled patience, waiting for me.
"Of course I will. But you need a weapon, don't you? I got my horseshoes. Take my purse."
I saw her eyebrows furrow and crease in confusion.
"But... what's a purse gonna do? Is it full of bricks?" She gasped, nearly dropping it as I passed it on.
The answer was yes, obviously. I used three bricks. It was an old trick Mr. Money taught me. We gathered our nerves in tiny bundles of brittle feelings. She took the lead, because I wasn't going first. I had no idea where we were and nothing felt right. How long had she been down there... hopeless and down staring at the wall. I held my breath as we passed another section of square collumns. And in our hopes of finding Radio Free, we were treated to something else...
I saw something... twitching and wiggling by the escalators. It's body was hard to talk about. There were lots of thin, black stripes over it's skin and the legs were stubs. It could've been a zebra that fell into a meat grinder and magically got reassembled. But it looked worse than that. The bones were all wrong. It's ribs were jutting out and lots of squirming tongues were coming out it's stomach. The head was like... someone blew the jaw off and the lower jaw started moving like mandibles. It's eyes were gone. It didn't look like someone tore them out, though. It looked like it was born with holes for eyes.
I froze. Was it a person. A dog. The chest was too thin and long and the legs were short, but... why was the fail an arm with fingers?
My friend started shaking. Her breaths were shivers and shallow sobs. I held her hoof to calm her down and whispered 'look, it's eating... it's eating something. let's slip past it, okay?' I couldn't understand most of her response, but she took to trembling. I heard her whisper 'kill it... kill it, please just do it-' I nodded slowly, unsure of the tightness in my gut. Killing a pony was a necessity. Killing an animal, one that could clearly hear us and yet wasn't attacking. I didn't know what to say.
Sure it was a monster. Sure it looked like something from my nightmares. But it wasn't attacking us. I even tested that theory by departing from my friend and approaching it. The split-mouthed dog just glanced up at me and barked happily, waving his tail. He even tried to lick my coat as gross as that was. But he saw her. He saw her and he that was when he sprang over.
"No!" She screeched, galloping for her life.
They almost collided, running toward the same point. But the split-mouthed dog missed her by a few inches when she slipped away, swerving as she fled. I later learned that was how somepony confused a dog chasing after them; it gave their legs trouble so balancing took more effort than running forward. I grit my teeth and I nucked the dog with my hindlegs.
I heard his neck snap. He stayed seizing on the floor, bleeding out his muzzle. He didn't have any eyes but I saw him bleeding away from his sockets. I heard him whining. Scuttling around on his legs as he twitched in place. I held my hooves over my mouth and I tried... to tell myself it was okay. They tried to kill my friend. I didn't need to cry.
"H-hey... Hey i-it's okay. It's okay." She whispered, taking me in against her chest.
I didn't like being held. But I needed it. My body needed to hold something because I killed him. I killed my only friend all over again.
"I... I killed hi- I-I killed Max-! I killed him...!"
Images of... flashing sequence rained down on me. I saw father handling Max and barking away, ordering me yo shoot. And I did. I shot him right in the temple. I collapsed, falling into my griend. I couldn't feel my legs. I was light-headed. Swirling voices stung my temples apart. It hurt. It fucking hurt. I grit my teeth as tears slipped away from me. I tried to choke my cries back. I really did. But I saw mama pulling the trigger for me, holding the gun in place and telling me to shoot.
'Shoot, god damn it! The raiders will get us...!'
It was a suppressed. 22lr rifle... subsonic rounds. Four rounds in his temple. And three minutes of whimperinh. Sobbing against him and being hit because I... made too much noise. I stumbled to my feet and forced myself up the broken escalator. I tried to stop myself from thinking about how many times I've heard the words 'bitch' and 'shut up' and who said it. I did my best to trot away without limping or tripping over my own, lazy stride.
"Lady... lady what's wrong? What's wrong?"
"I just killed something...! That's what's wrong...!" I screamed at her, striking my chest in emphasis.
I covered my mouth again. And I tried to apologize. She shook her head and kept her eyes on the nearedt exit. It was behind her. I twiddled with my forehooves and she kept her head down. We talked without eye-contact. That was fine. I felt naked under prying eyes, under being stared at like I was under a spotlight. We mumbled our next words out. How couldn't we.
"Now what... should we do. I just burst out, even at you. My patience fell through."
"You were just dealing with growing mad and more, you were just getting stressed. When you yelled at me it made me feel unsure, but I'm spineless..."
We shared a hug. And we shared names. I stayed beside her, walking up the subway steps toward the final entrance and exit. Nearby, I found a handgun in the directive office, or closest guide office. I handed it to my friend and that's when she told me.
"Here- wait, I never got your name. I... I'm Carbon. Carbon Copy Carpenter."
"I'm glad you're here. You can call me Cake. Zebra Cake. But all my friends call me Cakie..." |
Fallout: Equestria - Red, White and Blue | Comeback | When we left the subway section, I could see her smiling. Cake wasn't paranoid or shivering; she was just alive at that point. How long was she stuck in that subway, I wondered. It could've been days. Weeks, even.
We stayed against the walls before wandering about an old... museum section of the underground. I was starting to think the Dank Family Penitentiary was only a tiny portion of a larger underground system. If it really was, I hypothesized, there'd be more than a few of those dog creatures.
We ended up exploring some sort of exhibit on necromancy. The first clue to the exhibit's dark nature were a few, stale and musty tomes piling on podiums and pedestals. Most were locked behind bulletproof glass and electronic locks. The few books I'd seen locked away were thick grimoires and bloated compendiums. Something was wrong, but I couldn't put my hoof on it.
All those books and scrolls, some haphazardly stacked about on carts, were organized by madness. Among the dusty floor tiles, which were white marble, lay silent and dotted with white, crumbling objects. They left an ashen substance on my hooves. I thought it smelled like spoiled milk or some sort of weird baby powder.
I turned back to watch Cake. Yet, all she did was freeze. Motionless and pale as moonlight, she stepped backwards till we were close. Every step ended tensely. The impact of her hooves against the floor tile was non-existent.
"Carbon..."
"Yes...?" I whispered, not oblivious to her body language.
"This stuff on the floor- we need to get away from here. It's- Oh Luna-"
"Cake. Cake, what is it? Why are you panicking...?" I scoffed, levitating my switchblade just inches from my horn.
"Bones. The stuff on the floor is bones. I-I saw a pelvis. It was broken, Carbon. Broken...!"
I could only stare back in horror at what she said. All the fur on the back of my neck had risen. Nothing was right. Those books weren't disheveled from laziness. The person organizing them had been murdered. We took off to the right of it, blinded by panic. If whatever killed that pony could kill a necromancer, one who studied, even, what chance did we stand.
The corridor we galloped through was lit with incense. I couldn't decide what was worse: the smell of the candles or the feeling of chase. Every corner we took thinned the hallway. It got to the point where we had to squeeze away from the thing behind us. All that time, I knew it was moving. I couldn't hear it, but some, invisible touch was always threatning me. When I closed my eyes, I saw claws looming over my shoulder, barely distanced and waiting. Waiting to catch me.
I scrambled over to a thin, metallic door at the end of the narrows. Cake followed, but I made her wait before I pulled the handle. Sure enough, there were booby traps in place. Some sick fuck had put them there to entertain themselves, I rationalized. I screamed. We didn't have time to disarm them. So we scurried and jerked away from each set of teeth as frantically as possible. The steely jaws of each demise nearly caught us at the second door. Cake was almost caught from tripping over a wand. But, in my eureka, I caught her chest just inches over the pressure plate and took her behind me.
I finally had a fine-tuned magical focal nexus; not my horn, but a wand: a great fine-tipped gauss rifle for magic. Whatever it was stalking us, the thing snapped the door down right when I readied. His coat was many pony furs sewn together. He had two heads, one snarling and frothing at the mouth with alligator teeth, the other with sickly, red eyes and fanged teeth. He was a mixture of... human, pony and dragon, his lower body filled with reptilian arms and hooved hindlegs coated with... knives and scalpels.
His rotting skin was a pale yellow. And he crept toward us fully erect, fully excited to have us. I heard Zebra Cake slide the door open and slip away.
'Great...' I thought, kissing my sorry ass goodbye.
She was abandoning me when I needed her. It was my parents all over again, only, one was still wasting his caps and pre-war bills somewhere in Maryland. At least, I hoped so, so I could one day toss them into Dank Family Penitentiary.
I implemented my plan by setting the wand into action. I tossed the bear traps near it's hooves first. When it whinnied and brayed, I stepped back and centered my wand. Out came a shower of sparks and smoke, then a spray of perfume. All those years turning tricks had actually paid off. I gripped the door, slammed it in front of me and turned to run. Only, Cake was galloping back from where she came.
Apparently... after I flicked the light switch, I learned we were in the security guard armory. Cake had a great, honking flamethrower on her person. She'd found the pest control and manual cooking stash, as evidenced by a sign somewhere with a missing flamethrower, outlined by dust and emptiness. Most of the weapons were intact from how harshly the narrow tunnels must've been. That and the monster outside would chase away anypony, especially scavengers and lone merchants.
Beside the light switch was actually a panel that said 'broaden hallway.' I lit up in scientific splendor. So the museum owners and curators weren't brainless assholes. They actually had a way to leave without risking their lives. We had to do it, we agreed, nodding silently with our pact.
"Zebra. Tell me we're going to make it out alive." I murmured, injecting an early stimpak and slowly turning the knob.
"We're gonna burn this bitch extra crispy." She hushed, clicking her burner on.
As soon as I flung that door open, it charged me head-on. A winding marathon started and I was caught in it's eerily distended and lanky human arms. It galloped around and crashed me into the walls. Rifles and sidearms all included were littering the ground with every strike. It thundered in harsh, violent swings that busted my skeleton all over. I hit the shotguns. I hit the wand racks. I even shut my eyes and broke my ribs on a rack of fireaxes. When time came to fight back, I was fractured in places I didn't know were capable of fracture.
It held me high and lifted me like a child in daddy's arms. I knew it would slam me down, head-first and all. I was exposed with my hindlegs bucking wildly in empty air. His eyes were the worst part of him. He kept staring down and drooling. When he started setting me down and trying to mount me, I finally had an opening. And not that way, you torture porn fetishist.
I kicked up at his chest, giving me seconds to act.
I took him by the throat with telekinesis, cranked his head up and stabbed the wand into his heart. That's when Zebra bucked him forward and drew a howl of agonizing volume. It was entirely submerged into his lungs. She set her flamer for 'high' and roasted him alive. The sweet light of day, even if through bloodshed, saw us through. Star Spangle was right. We had to push through.
He broke free of my chokehold and started thrashing about. His arms were the most charred region on him. But keeping us away wasn't his goal. Instead, he ripped away firearms from the armory stock and catapulted them forward. We were stuck leaping and jerking away from every, single missile. My hooves were aching by that point. My legs weren't sore or filling with acid, no. It was my brachial triceps. Those were burning and I could swear that thing had torn them open.
I did my best to limp forward. I really did. It went after Zebra Cake and kept me at bay with it's bucking, powerful hindlegs. There were nails and jagged bits of metal and glass embedded inside it's hooves. I wanted to scream it was so helpless. That thing was inching towards her. And I couldn't even act.
"Hey! Hey! You piece of chimera shit! Stop being a pussy and come after me!"
I caught it's attention. But I noticed... it covered it's ears. My eyes lit the room open. And I screamed at Cake to cover her ears. I charged my spell and weaved a microphone, linking my construct to the wand. The wand deep within it's chest slid out and hovered above me.
"Hey, shithead?!" I barked, tense all over, ready to shout my voice away.
It bellowed and roared from both, misshapen heads. And it stomped forward to try and trample me. I built layer after layer of cover from various guns around the room. Every time I built a layer, it pressed forward to swipe it away. We confronted each other muzzle-to-muzzle. It took a swipe at my right flank and clawed my cutiemark to pieces.
I bit down on my pack and glared it down.
A smile took me over and I assaulted my magic microphone to shriek my pain away. I'd already jammed the wand into it's left eardrum. I watched it die. And panic. I watched it squirm and writhe till it collapsed entirely and bled out in front of me.
We only needed to clap each other's hooves and leave that room... fully-stocked on flamer fuel and ript shotgun ammo. What we couldn't carry, I dragged behind in a fishnet we scavenged from an old exhibit on capturing fillies for necromancy. We were so riddled with adrenaline that when we reached the exit of that musty and antiquated place, we collapsed for hours... frozen in time.
When both of us came to, I decided on a smoke break. Just me, since Cake didn't like the idea of crippling cancer and slow, miserable death. I seated myself just over the entrance steps. I gazed away into the dark, the place we'd trot after all was said and done. She stood beside me, tinkering with that flamer better than I ever could. I was the first to talk.
"Do you think... We saved someone's life back there. By getting rid of it."
"Whaddyou mean? We took out that monster. So, probably."
I nodded in agreement... unsure of myself.
"I just- Sometimes I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I'm useless. I can barely fight. And I was almost raped back there because I didn't have good enough reflexes. I never thought about it now, but I've never done anything nice without trying to feel better about myself..."
I took a drag of my smoke and blew it away.
"But back there... that was the first time I'd ever done it because- I was... I was scared of seeing you hurt."
I closed my eyes and tried to comprehend what just happened. Following Whitestar and leaving that shithole Boredom did more than set me free. It was just my setting. I could change. And I could leave the penitentiary happy with who I was... happy with all the shit I could never deal with alone.
I looked down and realized I didn't need to smoke anymore. I wasn't worried. I wasn't scared. I was more scared for Zebra Cake and Star Spangle and Whitestar.
I took one, last glance at Cake and put my cigarette out, never looking back. |
Fallout: Equestria - Red, White and Blue | Faith | Whitestar. That's what everyone called me. Only my closest loved ones called me anything different. My name, if pondered ages ago. But no more would I ever question it. I woke in the arms of my mother, who'd hung me over her back hours before. We were alone in that place, in wretched prison walls and sickly tetanus. And though we stayed far, far away from the prison cells, they were always on either side. The center of an endless hallway, we tread on, subject to swarms of whispers from every direction.
Star Spangled was starting to wobble. I noticed moreso just by watching her, afraid of losing her, the only one I had left. Generous nicks and lacerations layered her coat with fat patches of sanguine liqueur. I could tell from the lax texture of her thoracic trapezius muscle that most of her musculature had torn. She turned back to face me, a curious furrow in her brow. She read me better than anyone, psychic-like, even.
"Don't think... I'm done supporting you. Don't think I'm done... being a good mother."
A harsh, elongated exhale forced her lips apart. She went wide-eyed and dropped us both, buckling in her forelegs. We were crawling about like children, followed by the whispered malice all around.
'Give up.'
'There's nowhere to run now.'
'Leave your friends.'
'You'll never make it.'
I clutched the metallic flooring over and over in long, stretching strokes of my forelegs. They were still functional. My hindlegs weren't responding, I noted. I was wondering why they never kicked awake. They were numb. Almost... non-existent. I settled my eyes just on Mother, dazed and sloppy from all my bloodloss. Outrageous fortune struck my heart. I nearly froze from how corrosive the pain was. It ate away at my chest with chatting, gnawing canines and vampiric siphon, never satisfied and never sated.
"And I...!" I managed to pant, barely able to breathe.
"Better be a damn good daughter to you...!"
I struck my sternum to override the pain, did the same to my flanks and finally managed to stand. I took her over my shoulders and galloped drunkenly forward. Constant trips and swerves crashed us about but all it did was make me stronger. I grit my teeth and told myself the truth.
Did I know why I was never happy.
I heard her breath come to a halt. And behind me, I saw in the reglection of an old, undelivered mirror, was an abomination. The terror itself was various foals stitched together, along with stuffed animals and books brimming and sprawling with fleshy pages. The pages flew about in wild, accordion-folded limbs tipped with endless bone shards jutting at every corner. Star Spangled had shut her mouth by pressing her hooves against her lips. I knew the sound of it: tiny whines crammed backwards against the throat.
I was never happy because I was born to suffer.
I felt my irises widen as I saw light at the end of that tunnel. At the end, the alluring illumination, I aimed my heart. We stormed forward with all we had. I did all the galloping, but Mother gave me hope. She cheered me on in clinging to me, in showing me my purpose.
I suffered because that was what it took to do good.
I sacrificed for the good of the many.
Not the few. Or the one.
We reached the one meter mark. I did my best to harnest all my momentum and toss Mother inside first. The light poured in from a verical, folding door made of many metallic parts. It worked like a garage door, only, it rusted immobile from time and wear. Mother tumbled in and clutched her chest from sudden shock. I felt my eyes hang heavy as I realized I might not make it. I might've become second-billing to my own destiny. I might've been a martyr instead of the leader Celestia raised me to be.
From the sound of the rolling and crashing of the infinite nightmare creature, it was far too close. We were almost in the same meter of space. Only darkness separated us, kept us from facing each other down.
"Whitestar...! Whitestar...! Please, don't fight! Run! Slip through to the other side!"
"Whitestar-! Oh Celestia, Whitestar don't leave me...! I can't lose you again!"
I tried not to cry. I did. But before I knew it, I was sobbing too. I was sniffing too, just silently. I could barely breathe, much less wail. I lit a smoke to calm my nerves, awaiting the crawling chaos careening toward me, violent and invisible.
"It's no use, hn... my hindlegs won't bend down any further. If they do, I won't be able to stand and they'll give out for good. Be good. If I don't make it, I love you. I promise."
My only option was to rely on my abilities. My abilities and myself... not my legs, not my muscles, but my force of will. I spotted it turn the corner. And I stared it down every step of the way. It jabbered away in cacophonous filly and colt voices. It told me I should offer myself. That I was better off it's mate slave than opposing it. I took a moment or so to regain my breath and stamp my hoof against the ground.
"Celestia... if you can hear me, keep my mother safe. Keep Carbon Safe. Keep everyone safe. And if I must suffer... then take me to Hell!"
I burned with flame and, for the first time ever, the pyre was white... a supernova shade of sunlight I hadn't imagined, no, comprehended real. The black book itself established itself around me, coming apart in pages of wild, flocking noise and flapping motion. The pages unravelled and wrapped about me in constricting layers of thin, fleshy armor. The gilded cross took to my chest. And I heard a voice above the commotion say:
"Carry on, burning star: your light is your way."
It couldn't have been anyone else. It was Her, Celestia herself. It had to be.
I beheld the beast and the darkness give way. The path was clear and the prison came undone when I, bathed in flame, charged the wicked mass and engulfed it's pages in flame. The many necromantic pages of the amalgamation blinded me with radiant agony. I felt my cheeks sopping with tears. And I knew deep down why my name was Whitestar.
I took hold of the spherical shape of the beast, dirty with orphan blood.
A mare wasn't chosen for how special she was. She was chosen for all the right choices she'd made herself. Celestia did not choose me for my purity. For my muscles. I was chosen for my willpower, my conviction.
In a sky of black, a star so dim as me stood out among the rest. No matter how dark the road grew, I would always find my way. I would always guide the blind. I would always do my best to heal. So I healed the monster by tearing it clean in two, headbutting the core spirit item and smashing it to pieces. No more was the vile hell all those foals had suffered. No more were they trapped. I laid them to rest by shattering the crystal ball that held their teeth and blood and hair.
All around me, the mess expanded. Rotting flesh and putrid, innocent blood burned my coat and eyes and lungs. I dropped down and slammed into the gore muzzle-first. As soon as battle came to a close, I felt the armor slide away, barely unscsthed as some pages were eviscerated from the battle damage I hadn't even noticed. Along my chest were various, breaching gashes that would've ended me if it weren't for Celestia's answer to my prayer.
I stumbled backwards and scurried away to check on my mother, banging into the door from sheer exhaustion.
"Mother- Celestia damn it are- are you still there...?" I huffed, barely conscious as it were, leaning deeply against the door.
"Wh-whitestar? I-I found the switch to the door. I'm going to raise it- so stand back."
I did my best to balance. Soon enough, she kept her word and the door slid up and into place. Only when I limped inside did Star Spangle close and lock the folding door mechanism. That's when we embraced each oyher. And kissed each other.
Hey. I fucking earned it. Spare me the topic of incest being wrong.
"Twilight's light, I- I... thought I lost you." I cursed, trembling against her, needing her, dying without her.
I let my eyes hang heavy. And I let my tears stream down, finally safe. Finally safe enough to show my feelings. I ached deep within, bitter from what she had to experience. I knew Celestia had saved me entirely from fate worse than death, but how and why, for sure, I still didn't know.
"I love you too, Whitestar... if that ever happens again, do me a favor and let me do the fighting... I've lived a good life. Let mother handle the monsters. I can't lose you, too. Not like your father."
We shared our tears and pin-cushion hearts. We shared a moment in time where everything was right, just the two of us in serene harmony. I promised her to be careful. But only if she let me carry her the rest of the way. I grinned widely at her frustration, but we both agreed: she was in no condition to walk. I stumbled forward in metallic clicks and clangs, leaving one pair of hoofprints in the... cement?
The walls weren't grated metal anymore. They were greyed stone similar to the stone composite of a sidewalk. She was so particularly dazed and blurry that it'd only occured when she reached a normal, non-metallic corridor. Instead, it was full of cheap floral paint and lackluster flourescent lights. The light fixtures themselves barely flickered in the wrong rhythm. She stumbled onward, half-paranoid and shifting her gaze about in self-imposed emergency.
"Whitestar... Do you hear that?" Hushed Star Spangle, immediately snapping her out of it.
A faint melody skirted along the walls. A sweet echo embraced her ears and kept the nightmares at bay. Quite literally, the corridor, distended and wide as it was, had no monsters whatsoever. She couldn't help but recall the equestrian fairy tells Father Pepperjack used to tell. The voice itself had a low, groggy feel to it. The very gravitas of it made her chest rumble with proximity. She recognized that voice anywhere.
We found a single, wooden door at the end of the hallway. I pressed the pressure plate mechanism and opened it halfway open. I could see another pressure plate on the other side. Like most equestrian doors, it opened both ways and relied on a dual-lock system that relied on two locks and latches. I stayed silent clicking it open and peeking in.
"Hay and welcome to Point Lookin Radio, children. This song is dedicated to all the foals out there missing someone important. And I mean important. He's watching over you, kiddies. Trust me. And he's ready to smile because he's so proud you're still here. This is 'Daddy's Girl'."
I felt water creeping against my eyelids. And I didn't know why, but it leaked forward and spilled over my cheeks. I stepped forward to see somepony's silhouette highlighted by various computer screens and glowing radio technology. From something containing a record player, to some sort of recording studio to their left, the room was vast, comparable to an atrium.
Only closer could I see what or who the pony was. And, ironically, it was a... young, girly mare with canary yellow fur. Over her face was a doe skull spray-painted tie-dye. At first, I had no idea what to think. Her body was unmistakably effeminate, down to the hips and muzzle geometries. I heard her yelp at first, then draw a peculiar, foreign pistol: a revolver. Her revolver was silver with an ivory handle. The scope was missing, however and the barrel was the lengthier than I'd ever seen.
I took a double-take when I realized she was mid-bubble bath when I'd found her. Literally, her entire, enticing figure was soaped with children's bubblesoap. It made her slick and damp, especially about her pubic region, which she immediately covered with a giant loofah.
And when she spoke, her voice was... normal again.
"Wh-who are you?! How did you make it past the traps...?" Asked Radio Free, boring into me with her round, emerald eyes.
She wore a particular scowl that grit her teeth just the right way. The best way I can describe it is a compact, upside-down grin, akin to a cute, fluffy animal's. I couldn't help but grin back at her, amused, charmed and relieved to find another face within La Obscura.
"My name," I stated, finally free to smoke.
'Is Whitestar. And I need your help, miss." |
Fallout: Equestria - Red, White and Blue | Rituals | Had I ever been afraid of sigils and runes, I never would've snooped around as much as I did. Radio Free had offered up the lore of this place. The Dank Family Penitentiary, or La Obscura by name of ancient ownership, was a sort of magical ground zero. I'd noted all the monsters prior and came to the conclusion that they were nonsensical.
When Star Spangle and Radio Free started mundane and incessant chatter, I slipped away to investigate the ruins of the Necrotic Museum.
We'd cleared it of residents when Mother and I barely survived the book amalgamation.
I stopped by to study the flesh school of necromancy. I'd scrounged a few half-ruined texts and ignored the pages that simply wouldn't open. I then realized that most of the spells or incantations matched my Celestian Bible by format. They needed some measure of organic magic, a cerebral catalyst and direct understanding of what the caster wanted to happen. Except, those spells needed equine meat.
Some called for skeletal remains of some kind. Others depicted vastly complicated rituals with sacraments and mind-numbing chants. One of the grimoires I studied was named 'Der Weg des Fleisches.'
I read it as an ensemble of various physical necromancy procedures. But among the various incantations and rituals, I found one in particular named the 'manifestation inculta.'
'In particular, the most elaborate emotion you can muster will yield stronger results. This is because Manifestation Inculta relies on the vividness of the caster's emotions. It is best to use this spell as a means of catharsis from hate or similarly malicious emotions.
This spell requires the caster's innate agenda at the time of enactment. Not preparing the right amount of malice will defocus the spell and dilute it.'
I read on, rushing for the actual effects of the spell.
'Yes, this is a potent curse. It will target someone of interest and manifest their darkness, or manifest thoughts that make them squirm. Repressed memories. Depressing flaws. It will do it's best to create something real from dormant nightmares.
The corpse meat and plant matter will serve as the biomass required for summoning. These creatures are extremely one-track minded and will only focus on their predetermined goals. Avoid contact with them at all costs, as they need to be destroyed or tamed by extreme measures.
Only the tormented can truly banish them. This done by confronting and accepting their own darkness. This is an unintended side-effect from the main magical composition, which is harmful emotional magic, or more commonly known as: taint.'
I felt my heart skip a beat. They were monsters made from the spell. No wonder they'd tried to rape me. No wonder they were so imposing and immense. Every, single one I'd met journeying with Tequila's body. They all fit her subconscious fears and philosophies. All except one. That book monster, I didn't have a diagnosis for. Was it my demon, or my mother's. I had to know.
Mother finished her talk with Radio Free. I sat with my back against the wall, their light farewells bouncing off the walls. I'dbarely noticed, but the paranoia I'd adopted made everything feel so vivid. I could hear the creaks of individual vents grating against me. And the very breath of Mother against my coat. She caressed my back and rubbed her chest on it. She held my waist and kissed me form over the shoulder.
"Whitestar. She'll do it. Now all we have to do is get out of this hell hole and find the others."
I returned her kiss and presented Der Weg des Fleisches. We read that specific portion and soon after, spent countless hours scouring the museum archives for more. I managed to identify several other magical tomes with mind spells like the manifestation inculta. After finding a certain text by the name of 'Salient Supernatural Solutions', I came to a conundrum.
Perchance to find a decent bit of white magic, I believed it just that: chance.
I found one detailing some odd spells dealing with divination, normally done through interaction with the dead, or, in the case of one specific spell, the physically dying. Had I never mustered the intent to burn the books, I never would've returned to my roots. I once thought of knowledge as Celestia's gift. After the outside world, after Red and Blue, I lost my way.
If Celestia was so great and good, why did she create both evil and good?
The answer was in books that stained her name. Necrotic magic, I found, was a horrific thing. It was monstrous in any way. But I'd never be caught saying such things. Twas an insult to monsters, to describe that ancient evil as anything but that: evil. And yet, the book 'Winter Ritter Compendium' had painless euthanasia spells and blissful illusory states for the dying.
I didn't know why, but after reading it, I felt a piece of me missing when I burned the others.
Mother had caught me. So she gave a long, healthy stretch and trotted over half tired, half awake.
"Whitestar? What's wrong...? Did one of the books draw blood?"
I shook my head slowly, barely there. I was... entranced by my logic. I stared down at the book with snowy cover pigments and grains that elevated slightly so the naked hoof could fondle it yearningly. Even with all the grace of the Celestian Bible, I felt safer with the Winter Ritter Compendium. It possessed a comely draw: an ascending feeling with every word, which swept me along in soft, undersized letters and subdued author's notes. They instructed the reader how to handle physical medical procedure.
"No. I'm just... feeling wrong about this. What are we doing destroying all these books. What are we doing denying anyone all this information. The wasteland is so stupid as is. This place is stupid. Merryland is stupid. And now I feel stupid. If I knew some of these books had white magic, I- never would've burned them."
For once in her life, she couldn't say anything back. Her jaw dropped and she tried to recollect herself by fixing my tie.
"I just... realize how Celestia must've felt creating Equestria. She didn't intend for all these horrible things to happen. But she knew deep down that the good and bad belonged together. She knew her creations would grow bored without pain. And no pain meant no pleasure. No happiness. No innate enjoyment of anything. Celestia knew we'd all turn into psychopaths if we didn't understand pain so she gave it to Equestria, so we wouldn't grow evil. But even after all her work... even after all her plans, we were ungrateful."
I looked up and left my seat, heading for the door.
"I've burnt thirty books so far. Twenty without reading them. Imagine how much good the other nine could've done. I could've saved lives. But I got rid of them without even checking what they were really about. Imagine how many people are living that way right now... shooting others that don't deserve it just because. And all this time, I could've been spreading good. But all I've done was spread fire... All I've done is burn. I've been a fool, mother. A right fool."
I took one last glance at the Celestian Bible, which I'd left on a ruined bench.
I told Star Spangled that I would come back after a smoke break.
We took a well-deserved rest and set out for the heart of the void. I didn't know how, but I'd recieved visions of some whispered chamber deep in the lowest levels. And though I walked through the valley of shadow, I did not fear death. For once, perhaps for good, I only feared what would happen to the others if I failed. |
Harmony, A Power Rangers Story | pre | Sunset chuckled a little "We're planning to essentially recreate the Crystal Heart. It'd need an external source of power to charge it though..."
Billy frowned at this "What kind of external source we talking here?"
Sunset sighed. Equestrian Magic was a bit...abstract. "Someone intangible. Equestrian Magic is powered by emotions. Abstract concepts that have no real way of measuring."
Pinkie blinked "What about Friendship?"
Sunset, in turn, also blinked. "That...could work. I mean, Celestia did always say 'The Magic of Friendship is the most powerful magic of all'....never thought it would be so literal in this sense..."
Billy frowned at this. Working with abstract concepts was always a pain in the ass. "Well, I'm going to assume that the conversion rate of Friendship to Magic is 1 to 1....which would mean..."
Sunset and Billy looked over the readings, both of their hair frazzled by this point "Right, so it's not 2 to 1..."
"Neither is it half to 1...UGH!" Sunset let out, slamming her fist on the table. "This is impossible. How could-"
"GOT IT!" Pinkie yelled out, smiling at the two, holding what looked like a redesigned Zeonizer
Sunset and Billy stared at the poofy haired girl, dumbstruck "What?"
"I got it! I just cross referenced the output of magic when we transformed during the Fall Formal and compared it to that of the Mystic Force team when they morph...it wasn't that hard. Also made this prototype!" Pinkie exclaimed, showing off the proto-morpher.
Billy inspected the device, turning it in his hands "Hmmm...not bad. I mean, the wiring is crude, and it needs that crystal power source....but this isn't a bad start. Good job Pinkie!"
Pinkie smiled, as they all got back to work. It was going to be a long night.
The three looked over the blueprint, all smiling "This should work great." Sunset added, confidently looking over their work "The Tri-magical relays should allow the power flow to self regulate and-"
Billy patted the girl on the shoulder. It was clear Sunset was a little over-excited to talk magic again for the first time in a long time.
Pinkie added in, clearly excited herself "And the dual circuits will allow the overflow of electricity necessary for Morphing!"
Billy nodded "Now we just need to create the crystals. I'm thinking we use rubies as a base. The crystalline structure of them would make for a good strong shape"
Sunset nodded "Let's get to it then. You got the stuff set up?"
Billy smiled "Ready and waiting."
By the time that the three had ironed out the theme and finished assembling the morphers, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and all three of them were looking at the finished products, tired yet triumphant grins on their faces.
"Well guys, it took the entire night, but I think we can say that losing those hours of sleep was worth it." Pinkie said, right before letting out a yawn that rattled the windows.
Sunset chuckled at this, letting out a yawn of her own. "Can't wait to see the look on Rainbow's face when we unveil these babies. I'm kinda disappointed we weren't able to start on the zords, though. From what Rainbow has told us, it sounds like the monsters going big is one of the constants of being a Ranger."
"Oh, it definitely is a constant. Only times I can remember a monster not being enlarged was when the big bad didn't feel they were worth the effort. Which is not often." Billy said as he draped a sheet over the table the completed morphers were on. "And don't worry about the zords, I'll get to work on them later today, and you girls should have them by the end of the week at the latest. If one of you first monsters does end up going big, we can just have Tommy go BrachioRanger and drop it down a fissure."
Sunset looked at Billy as if trying to figure out the daily crossword. "I can't tell if you are joking about dropping it down a fissure or not."
"Remind me to tell you girls about Goldenrod sometime." Tommy contributed as he walked into the workshop, coffee in each hand. "Here you go Billy, just how you like it." Tommy handed off one of the cups to Billy who accepted it with a silent "Thanks." Applejack walked in shortly after Tommy, also carrying a cup of coffee in each hand.
"Mornin' Sunset, Pinkie. Saw Tommy making coffee, and thought y'all would appreciate a cup or two." Applejack handed off her cups to Sunset and Pinkie. Both took long swigs before responding to Applejack.
"Thanks, AJ. I pulled all-nighters back when I was the Princess' student, but I don't remember feeling as happy about doing so after those sessions. Also, are you sure giving Pinkie caffeine is safe?" Sunset asked with a nervous glance at Pinkie.
"Relax, Sunny! Jackie knows I only drink decaf with 11 sugars in it! Anything else makes me lethargic." After drinking her coffee, Pinkie seemed back to her normal, hyperactive self. "Guess now we just wait for the others to wake up? Or should we go shake them awake?"
"Five bucks says Rarity is the last of them up." Sunset joked with a grin.
AJ smirks "I say Dash. Took her till 2 AM to finally fall asleep, she's gonna be out for a while"
Turns out that both Applejack and Sunset were wrong, as both Rainbow Dash and Rarity came down five minutes later, without Fluttershy. Pinkie just smiled while accepting that she was now 10 dollars richer.
Sunset and Applejack grumbled as they handed Pinkie the cash, Tommy being incredibly amused by this, even if he wouldn't show it. Reminded him of his days back at Angel Grove.
"So are they ready?!" Dash asked, her eagerness to be a Ranger from yesterday having not waned in the slightest.
Sunset rolled her eyes "Simmer down Dash. We still need to wait for Fluttershy. We do this as a team remember?" Dash grumbled at this. She had waited her entire life to be a Power Ranger.
Tommy looked to the girl with rainbow locks. She reminded him a bit too much of Connor. Best to stamp out some of those traits while he had the chance. "Rainbow, you should know more than anyone here that being a Ranger is more than just about the power. It's a group effort. No Megazord can be formed with just one member."
Dash attempted to correct the veteran, but Tommy interrupted her "I'm the exception, and even then, the Tigerzord could still combine with other zords."
Sunset looked a little confused by this, but decided not to interrupt the "man of a thousand powers" as she's come to accept him as.
Dash looked down in shame. She couldn't argue with her idol. Letting out a sigh, she nodded, accepting Tommy's lesson.
The air was pierced with the sound of a yawn, a bed head ridden Fluttershy walking into the room, stretching as she spoke in her signature whisper "Morning girls..."
"Mornin', Flutters. Now that we're all here, can we PLEASE get to unveiling the morphers? I'm afraid if I wait any longer, I'll die of anticipation!" Dash whined. This caused everyone in the room, including Fluttershy, to roll their eyes. Tommy just sighed, looked over to Billy, nodded, and started to head off to another part of the workshop, saying
"Yeah, we can start. Billy, if you would? I'm just going to check something....You did remember to store him carefully, right Billy?"
"Course I did, Tommy. I know how important he is to you. Should be in one of the keypad-locked safes, password should be 10-17-94." With that, Tommy walked off and Billy turned back to the girls. "Alright, as you were no doubt aware, Sunset and Pinkie were helping me with designing the morphers, and so they already know what the finished product look like. But as for the rest of you, well..." Billy gripped the sheet over the table, a grin on his, Pinkie, and Sunset's faces.
"May I present to you, the Harmonic Morphers!" Billy pulled the sheet away, revealing six devices, each having a silver design, a gold circular plate on the top part, that had what looked like a white ovular strip under the gold plate that shined as the girls looked at each of them, a different corresponding color shining off it as the girls took the morphers off the table. The girls looked over the morphers, inspecting them, Pinkie and Sunset looking over their work.
"So...how do they work?" Fluttershy asked, a little confused.
Billy chuckled "Well there is another piece to it. Sunset?"
Sunset smiled, walking over to another table off to the side, opening a drawer, pulling out six necklaces, each having a different colored crystal hanging from them "These are the Harmony Crystals. They are the source of our new powers."
Rainbow Dash grinned at this, stopping her dramatic posing with her new morpher. Billy was starting to wonder how much energy this girl had in her.
Walking back into the room, Tommy smiled at the red head, walking up to her as he took the crystals from Sunset, nodding to her as she ran over to stand in preparation for what came next.
The veteran Ranger motioned each of the girls, lining them up standing each next to each other, Tommy looking over the girls with a little bit of pride. This was his new team of Rangers, for better or worse.
A hotheaded fan girl.
A determined, yet disciplined Fashionista
A faithful, yet cautious farmgirl.
A selfless, yet shy caretaker.
A spunky, but rather hyperactive mechanic.
And a nervous, yet seemingly potential filled girl from another dimension...
He could make this work. These girls could be Power Rangers.
Tommy stood tall in front of the girls, speaking in a clear, firm voice "Today marks the beginning of your career as Power Rangers. I do not ask you to take on this responsibility out of a duty, but out of a clear need to protect the earth. I ask you only follow three simple rules."
Dash spoke up, reciting the rules Zordon had once told Tommy as a teenager "Never use your powers for personal gain. Never escalate a battle unless forced to. Always keep your identity a secret."
Tommy nodded at this "Yes. And while I could leave it at that, I think you girls are owed an explanation on why we have these rules. The first is simple. These powers are not toys. They can lead to great harm to those you protect, and should only be used for the protection of the innocent. Should I find you use your powers for personal gain, or that you forget what being a Ranger means, I can and will take your morphers away. The second is a little more complicated. As Dash knows, some of the weapons you use are extremely dangerous. Getting used to your Ranger powers isn't something that's going to happen over night, and even when you think you've mastered your powers, everyone is prone to make mistakes. Calling your zords to-"
Rarity interrupted the veteran, asking a simple question "Zords?"
Tommy smiled at this "Yes. Zords. We'll get to that in a bit. Calling them could lead to mass destruction, and I don't want you girls to be acting like this is some sort of game. Real people can get hurt because you decided using your giant laser was a quicker option."
Applejack spoke up, a concerned look on her face "But don't we wanna beat the monsters as quick as possible to minimize damage?"
Tommy shook his head. "You want to defeat the monster as efficiently as possible. Hero work is not just about beating up the bad guy fast. It's about making sure the civilians get out safe, and reducing the cost of the battle. Taking down the baddie is a high priority, but protecting the people who the monster is trying to hurt is a higher one. You're heroes, not warriors."
The group all nodded solemnly. They knew this was going to be a tough task.
"As for the third rule, it's pretty straightforward. Revealing you are the Power Rangers puts those who know in danger. Now, I'm not saying that you have to keep it a secret to everyone. Telling someone your identity in order to keep them safe is okay. But you must be careful. Act with caution, not ignorance. Telling a police officer you're a Ranger to aid in a mission isn't against the rules, but telling your classmates because you want to look cool is. Understand?"
The six nodded, Tommy smiling at this. Hopefully these rules would stick.
"Right...now...It's time."
Dash grinned at this "Morphin time?!"
Billy let out an audible chuckle at this. He was going to have fun with Dash.
Tommy smirked at this "In a way, yes. Time for you girls to properly receive your powers."
The five time Ranger walked over to Pinkie, who grinned like a madman at this "Pinkie Pie, the mechanic who helped design these powers...I dub you, the Harmony Pink Ranger." Tommy then placed the necklace, a pink crystal hanging from it around her neck. Pinkie looked at her crystal, smiling at her work.
Walking over to Fluttershy, he smiled at the girl. She certainly stuck to her name, as she shook in her knee high boots "Fluttershy, the kind hearted caretaker. You showed your selflessness during that fight at the school...I dub you, the Harmony Yellow Ranger" He placed another necklace around her neck, a yellow crystal hanging from it, Fluttershy letting out a small "eep!" as he did.
Moving onto the cowgirl, who gave Tommy a nod of approval "Applejack. Your dedication to your family and friends proves you have what it takes to be a Ranger. With this power, I will give you the ability to protect them from any threat...I dub you, the Harmony Green Ranger." Applejack looked at the necklace as Tommy placed it on her, the green crystal shining back at her as she smiled at it.
Tommy moved to face Rarity next, who gave the man a bow of respect. Tommy could tell she would make a good Ranger. "Rarity, your discipline and training have shown you have the skills to protect those the forces of evil seek to harm. May these powers aid you in your quest...I dub you, the Harmony Blue Ranger." Rarity inspected the crystal as Tommy placed the necklace on her, commenting "Unique, yet simple. I could probably go for a change of outfit to match it though..."
Tommy walked over to the girl who could barely stand still, Rainbow Dash. She was going to be a piece of work for the Ranger of 20 years. "Rainbow Dash, while your knowledge of the Rangers may come as a strange fascination to some, it will come as a strength in your task as a Ranger yourself. You have shown the boldness, and yes, attitude, of a true Ranger. May the Power protect you, as I dub you, the Harmony Red Ranger."
Dash could only just contain her excitement as Tommy placed the necklace with the red crystal around her neck. As soon as he did, Dash let out a "YES!" as she jumped into the air, before taking a fighting stance, doing her best to try and look as cool as she could with her Morpher and necklace. Tommy couldn't help but be amused by this. For a fan...she was dedicated to actually being a Ranger, with all the pomp and circumstance that came with it.
Tommy then approached the final girl of the six. Sunset grinned, proud of her work, but Tommy could also tell how nervous she was. There was a lot about this girl that gave him flashbacks to his old days. Corrupted by power, given a second chance by a team of students with special powers, only to rise above, to become something greater.
Tommy smiled at Sunset, who gave a nervous smile back "Sunset Shimmer. A girl from another world, who was tempted by power. Given a chance at redemption and showed her school that she was more than just a bully. Even now, I can see you have so much potential, and thus, I gift you with the power of a Ranger to give you the chance to unlock that potential. Whether you do or not is up to you, but until the day you find your true strength, I dub you, The Harmony White Ranger."
Tommy placed the necklace on Sunset's neck, Sunset looking at it, a curious look of remorse coming over her as she stared at the necklace. Tommy decided not to ask, but only smiled at this. She was a Ranger now. She'd learn in time what that meant.
After a moment, Tommy heard Applejack speak up "So uhhhh...how do these things work?"
Billy stood up, sticking his left arm out in front of him "You go like this" he then pulled his arm all the way over his chest to the right, before thrusting it back left, stopping with his wrist directly over his heart "Then this, and all while saying 'Rangers unite. Harmonize!'."
The girls nodded, all following the motions, as loud call of "RANGERS UNITE! HARMONIZE!" ringing through the room, as each of their crystals shined bright, the golden mechanism on their morphers opening up to greet the crystal, a river of energy flowing into the device as the white strip on each of the morphers shined with a different color as an outpour of energy overtook each of the girls, a rainbow of color filling the room.
What followed was each of the girls seeing the same thing. A rainbow tunnel filling their vision as from the morpher, a suit began to envelop their bodies. First their left arm, then their torso, then their right arm and legs, and finally, a helmet formed around their heads. After it was over, the girls looked over themselves, the light fading as the room came back into view.
"Whoa..." Fluttershy let out as she looked over herself. Her suit was more light armor than anything, Yellow in color around the lower chest, stopping right in the middle of her ribs at what looked like a V-shaped triangle with the colors of a rainbow slicing the suit's torso in half, everything above it being pure white. Her arms and legs seemed to share the color of her suit, a solid yellow, save for the boots and gloves, which seemed to be white, with a solid gold band circling around the wrist and ankles of the suit. Inspecting her helmet, she felt the sculpted shape of a wolf's head, her smiling as she felt the distinct feeling of canine ears shooting out from her helmet.
Rarity felt her suit, being similar to the others, save for the bright blue coloring, the distinct shape of a sculpted serpent head, filling her with glee, as her helmet "Well I do say, I look absolutely ravishing..."
Applejack felt her helmet, her suit being bright green. She smiled as she felt the sculpted shape of a bear's head form her mask "Ah did always like bears. Nice and cuddly. Strong too!"
Pinkie felt hers next, her suit being of course, bright pink. She felt, with a grin, the feeling of an alligator. And while the snout was obviously shortened, Pinkie didn't seem to care "Wooo! Gator time!"
Dash felt hers as well. An eagle. Perfect. "I'm gonna SOAR!"
Sunset stopped at the shape of hers. A lion. She knew what it really was...a manticore. A creature of strength, power, and royalty. She had practically designed the suit herself. While the other suits matched each other in design, hers varied up the color scheme. The white above the ribs was replaced with black, and the cuff-links, which were gold on the other girls, were colored in the style of a rainbow on hers. She seemed to frown at all of it. Did she deserve the animal of Equestrian royalty? Something that her land used as a symbol of power for generations?
Only time would tell...
The girl looked over her papers. Her Serpentines' first field test was a success despite being stopped by the Black Ranger. While she hadn't accounted for the raised aggression...
She heard the bark of her dog below her. Twilight smiled. Spike had always been the one to bring her back down the earth when she got too involved in her work.
"Miss Sparkle..."
Twilight turned to her boss. She couldn't help but wince at the sight. The now 48 year old woman looked as if she hadn't slept in days, which knowing her boss's recent behavior, was probably true. "Miss Sterling? The Serpentines' test run went great! Granted, they were destroyed by the-"
"Destroyed? That doesn't sound like a successful test..." The CEO spoke, her voice having an edge that Twilight could only tremble in fear at. She had heard that tone before, and it was never good.
"Yes, well, not by their own fault. It seems a black Power Ranger stopped them. Probably for the best, I seemed to have miscalulat-"
Grace once again interrupted her assistant again "A Ranger? Hmmm....Miss Sparkle, did you happen to get any footage of this battle?" Grace asked, the edge in her voice seeming to not subside.
Twilight scrambled to grab her makeshift universal remote. "Yes! I got everything on the surveillance drones!"
As Twilight pushed the button on her remote, Grace watched as a holographic screen came to life, showing the footage of the battle.
Grace glared at the sight. Tommy Oliver. Of course it was him. It was always him. That man haunted her efforts like a ghost in the night. "Twilight...Activate Project Eden. I want a test run in the quarry. Best not to damage any of the city just yet."
Twilight stumbled at this "B-but Project Eden is far from ready! It's still in the pre-testing phase! I still need to perform energy diagnostics on the-"
Grace gave her assistant a stern glare. "Twilight...that wasn't a request. It was an order. Activate Project Eden and prepare it for release outside the Canterlot Quarry. I want to see how this Ranger responds to our little secret..."
Twilight reluctantly followed the order, pulling up the activation screen. At least it wasn't going to hurt anyone...
Tommy watched as his new team fought off the group of holographic Putties, smiling at the sight. While the Dino Thunder team had to learn their skills in the field, it was nice to be able to properly train his new team before they went into combat.
"Watch your six Pinkie!" Dash yelled, backflipping to kick the putty attempting to attack her friend.
Tommy frowned at this. While it seems Dash had named herself the de facto leader of the group, he had been hoping another would have taken the spot. He glanced over to Sunset. While Dash certainly was better in combat, Tommy could see the strategic shortcomings of her...
The holoroom suddenly became filled with a red light, the holographic putties disappearing as the girls looked around, confused by all this.
"What in Blazin' Saddles is goin' on?" Applejack asked, covering her ears at the blaring alarm that was going off.
Tommy didn't seem to be phased by this, simply replying "Trouble."
Leading them all back to the main room, Tommy walked over to Billy's computer station, looking to him "What do we got?"
"Snake monster attacking Canterlot Quarry. Seems workers got ambushed by this thing and more of those serpent creatures from before." Billy spoke in a seemingly official tone. It was clear that this wasn't either of these two's first rodeo. Tommy nodded his head and turned to the girls. "Right. Girls, I'll deal with this one. You girls still have a lot to learn when it comes to your powers, and you don't even have your zords yet. Best you hang back and get home."
Dash looked a little offended by this "Oh come on! We can help! I mean, we got our powers, we made it through most of the boot camp!"
Rarity seemed a little annoyed by this as well "Yes Mister Oliver. Surely we can assist you in taking down this beast."
"YEAH! I'm ready to beat up that danger noodle!" Pinkie exclaimed, doing a few mock punches at the air in emphasis.
Tommy looked to the girls with a stern look "No. You're inexperienced and haven't even gotten to the higher levels of your Ranger training. Just go home and get some rest. I'll take care of this."
The veteran then grabbed at his wrist, disappearing as he was enveloped in a white light that shot him up into the air and out of the room.
Applejack seemed a little annoyed by this. While she would be happy to go home and do her afternoon chores, people were in danger. And she had the power now to help them. "Billy was it?" The farmgirl asked, looking to the man now in his late 30s.
"Yes?"
"Can ya show us some sort of camera of what's happenin' at the Quarry?"
Billy smiled. While he understood Tommy's concern, he knew the new team would be itching to fight. Just like a Ranger should. "Sure."
With a few strokes of his keyboard, Billy pulled up a feed of the quarry, just as Tommy materialized. The girls all gathered around the genius, who grumbled a little as they did "My computer isn't the viewing globe you know..."
This garnered a chuckle from Dash, while the others the joke seemed to get lost on.
Looking to the screen, the girls watched as Tommy pulled out what looked like a large belt buckle, thrusting it in front of him.
"WHITE RANGER POWER!" They all watched, as he, in a flash of white light, transformed into the White Ranger, Dash fist pumping at the sight
"AW YEAH! WHITE TIGER POWER! Tommy's got this!"
Billy looked at the girl with a strange face. "How do you know so much about the Rangers Dash?"
Dash turned to the former Ranger, caught a little off guard by this. "Uhhhh....lots of cross referencing. I mean, Once I figured out Tommy's identity as the Black Dino Thunder Ranger through his time at Reefside, that kinda opened up a space dumpster's worth of info. Tracked him back to Angel Grove and, well..."
Billy frowned at this. He needed to double check all the Ranger's status after today. He had always thought they did a good job keeping their identities a secret. Then again...that was almost 20 years ago. And after the Space Rangers-
Billy's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Sunset's voice, who seemed fixated on the sword the White Ranger had on him "What is that sword?"
Billy looked to the girl with fire for hair "That's Saba. Magic talking sword. Don't...ask..."
Sunset gave the man a strange look before shifting back to the screen. There was no way Tommy could take on that many monsters. She could count at least a hundred.
Pushing past her, Dash hung off Billy as she stared at the screen "We need to get out there!"
"Rainbow, he told us to stay here. I don't see why he'd need our-" AJ spoke, only to be interrupted by Dash.
"AJ, we were given these powers to fight evil! We can't just sit back here and do nothing!"
Billy watched as the girls argued, a little bemused by all this as Fluttershy spoke up next "We could at least still help those workers. It looks like some of those monsters have them trapped!"
AJ grumbled at this. She didn't wanna go against the orders they were given, and also was hoping to let the elder Ranger handle this on his own so she could go home... "Ah just don't see why he'd need our help."
Rarity spoke up next, spotting something on the screen "Darling, look! That's Big Macintosh!"
Applejack's head shot to the screen, scanning it meticulously till she spotted her brother ".....we need to go."
Everyone looked to Pinkie, who seemed to be silently watching Tommy do his thing, as if trying to craft some grand narrative out of the action "...huh? What?!" Pinkie exclaimed, finally realizing everyone was staring at her. "Oh....ummm...yeah! We need to help!"
Sunset seemed a little nervous. She had never fought monsters before like this. Only ever become one...and she didn't know if the Battle of the Bands counted for anything yet.
Dash turned to the genius in the chair, awaiting some sort of response "Well?"
Billy simply smiled "Oh well...I'm sure I could cook up a quick teleportation device. Or you know..." Billy walked over to one of his many desks, opening one of the drawers to pull out 6 pairs of what looked like much shinier versions of the wrist watch Tommy seemed to lug around "Recycle some old tech. Classics never die eh?"
Dash ran over, grabbing one and grinning "Old School Communicator. Sweet! Still the same design too!"
Billy gave Dash a sideways glance at this "Alright, how did you know that?! I didn't share any of my blueprints with anyone!"
Dash blushed hard at this, knowing she was caught red-handed "I....went digging through the patent office in Mariner Bay. My parents used to live there before they got married. Lots of the old Lightspeed prototypes are there...some of which was reverse engineered from your old zords..."
Billy let out a long sigh. He needed to contact Ryan after this at Aqua Base 2. Gotta keep the Ranger tech under wraps.... "Right. Well, come and get your communicators girls."
The girls all gathered round the former Blue Ranger, taking the devices and strapping them to their wrists "So uhhhh...how do?" Pinkie asked, poking at hers curiously.
"Just press the button on the right. Should send you to Tommy's power frequency."
Each of the girls did, being engulfed in a different color of light as they were whisked away to the Quarry.
Punch, kick, high block, dodge, slash, jumping kick. He may not have been active duty for some time, but the motions of fighting as a Ranger came back to Tommy as easily as getting out of bed. He was currently neck deep in a horde of the serpent creatures, doing his best to draw all their attention to him and away from the workers that were still trying to free some of their co-workers from some collapsed equipment that had been knocked over by stray shots when the creatures first appeared. And while Tommy was no stranger to fighting large groups of minions, he wasn't unscathed. He'd already taken more than a few small hits from some lucky blows his opponents had scored. But for every hit he took, at least a dozen were felled by his strikes.
"Tommy, behind you!" Saba suddenly said. Trusting the sword, Tommy shifted his grip on the magic weapon while spinning around, slashing down three of the reptiles that had tried to jump him.
"Thanks Saba, don't know what I'd do without you."
"You've already proven you'd do just fine. You were on three different teams after you retired your White Ranger Powers. Now might I suggest we focus back on clearing these monsters out?"
"You got it." Tommy grinned under his helmet. He'd missed the banter that he and Saba had on occasion back during the Angel Grove days. Cheesy as it sounded, he'd never felt like he was fighting alone whenever he was holding Saba. And it wasn't an uncommon thing for Saba to notice something about a monster that Tommy might have missed, not to mention that the sword would often notice an enemy trying to hit Tommy from a blind spot. Tommy was broken from his reminiscing by the voice of the large monster that was commanding the attack.
"Yesss, my soldiersss. Keep ssswarming him, give him no room to breathe! He will tire eventually!" The monster in question looked like a bigger and more physically strong version of the serpents that Tommy had been fighting, with the exception of the diamond-like pattern covering his scales. He had identified himself as a "Diamondback Serpentine" before ordering his troops to attack, and boasted that his scales were much tougher than the other creatures that Tommy was fighting.
"Damnit, it's like there's no end to to them!" Tommy allowed himself that small complaint, as, despite his outward appearance, he was starting to tire. He then blasted a group of the Serpentines that had been starting to get too close to the workers with Saba's eye lasers.
"Incoming teleport signal, Tommy!" Saba suddenly called out, causing Tommy's eyes to widen, before he smirked. "You were right, they couldn't stay out of the action."
"Guess so.. I was kinda hoping they would surprise me, though."
"You know as well as I do that training is no substitute for actual experience, Tommy."
Any further talk between the two was cut off when six beams of colored light touched down on one of the ridges of the Quarry behind and above the workers.
"Come on!" Dash yelled, as she nearly jumped straight into battle, only to be stopped by a quick grasp of the brim of her skirt from AJ.
"Now hold yer horses Sugarcube. We need to figure out what we're gettin' into..."
Dash grumbled at this. She had been ready all her life for this.
Sunset looked over the ridge, scanning the area "We've got some workers pinned on the far side of the quarry, by that excavation equipment. Another few over by the big bulldozer over there..."
AJ walked over to Sunset, looking more than a bit on edge "Where's ma brother?"
"I'm looking! He's....over there! In the big Excavator! Right over by Tommy!"
AJ let out a sigh. At least he was safe in the machine. "We need a plan."
Dash spoke up, eager to take charge "Right. Pinkie, AJ, Rarity. You three take the bulldoze-"
AJ gave Dash a stern glare "Ah'm goin to save ma brother Dash."
Dash seemed a little taken aback by this, but undeterred "Right...ummm...Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, you take the bulldozer, Me, Jack and Sunset will take the excavation equipment. Got it?"
Sunset seemed a little unsure about this. She only just knew how to fight. Same with Fluttershy, I mean...wouldn't it be better if they all-
"RIGHT!" Pinkie yelled, sticking her left arm out "DASH! SAY THE MAGIC WORDS!"
Dash smirked at this. She had waited her entire life to do this. "Girls....it's Morphin time!"
With a sigh, Sunset followed the girls in lining up, Dash with an almost stoic look yells "RANGERS UNITE! HARMONIZE!"
A rainbow of color filled the quarry, the Serpentines taking notice as Dash leapt from the ridge, front flipping before landing next to Tommy "Right. Let's Rocket." Dash said, taking a power stance next to the White Ranger.
"Aren't you girls supposed to be back at the Command Center?" Tommy asked, the slightest bit annoyed that they disobeyed his orders. Not that he didn't expect it, but you know, he really wished for once that a team actually listened when they were told a situation is too dangerous.
"Psssh, we got this. We're Rangers now right?!" Dash spoke as she kicked a Serpentine in the chest
"Ah yes, the old Red Ranger ego. Some things never change do they Tommy?" Saba spoke, earning an eye roll from the Veteran.
"Watch your six Dash!" Sunset yelled as she leapt down from the ledge, AJ leaping as she took out a Serpentine from behind with a flying kick
"Leave ma friends alone ya varmits!" AJ yelled, hitting it in the back as it attempted to lunge at Dash.
The Serpentine disappeared into a cloud of smoke upon impact, AJ getting to her feet as she grabbed for an iron rod, holding it in front of her as if it was a sword "Now what fearless leader? Ah need to get closer to the darn Excavator to save ma brother!"
Tommy sighed, delivering an instinctual kick to a Serpentine that attempted to attack him from the left. Guess it was time for a crash course for these girls "Right. Trial by Fire. Dash, Sunset, clear a path with your blasters!"
"Blasters?" Sunset asked as Dash pulled out what looked what AJ could only assume was one of those toy laser guns from a white holster on her belt, firing a series of plasma beams from it at the Serpentines in the way of the Excavators, Sunset and AJ looking in shock as they slowly shifted their gaze to their sides, AJ, without a second word, dropping the iron rod in favor of the blaster, joining Dash as they cleared a path.
Sunset didn't know what to do. She had never handled a weapon before, especially something like this. She could hurt some-
Sunset heard a voice in her helmet, her inner doubts fading as she looked to see Tommy looking at her, standing between her and a group of Serpentines.
"Trust yourself Sunset. You're a Power Ranger now. You ever use a weapon?"
Sunset hesitated. "...no..."
Under the helmet, Tommy frowned. While weapons training wasn't something most Rangers had, he hadn't ever seen a Ranger hesitate like this. Usually it was gung ho into battle with new teams. Sunset was going to be an interesting case it seems...
"Follow my lead then."
Gripping Saba's hilt, Tommy took a deep breath as he began instructing the fellow white ranger "Pull your blaster out and grip the handle. Keep your finger off the trigger."
Two Serpentines charged the Ranger of 20 years, Tommy in two quick motions, slashing them both with Saba, them both disappearing into a cloud of smoke as sparks flew from the contacting sword.
Sunset followed Tommy's orders, pulling the blaster from her holster. She could feel her hand fit around the grip. For something that looked like a plastic toy, it sure had a bit of heft to it. "Right...now what?"
"Aim carefully, slowly put your finger on the trigger, take a breath, then fire." Tommy spoke calmly through the microphone built into his helmet. He could tell the girl was scared. No reason why she shouldn't be. After all, these things were trying to kill her.
Following her new mentor's orders, she aimed the blaster at one of the Serpentines over the shoulder of the original White Ranger.
'Take a breath...right...' Sunset thought as she felt her finger touch the trigger. It all happened so fast. The flash of the beam. The cry of the monster. Sunset took it all in. She felt the rush of adrenaline to her head.
And in a moment, it all ended as she heard Tommy's voice in her ear once more.
"Good job Sunset, now keep it up."
Taking that as a command, Sunset started clearing the path alongside Dash and AJ. Before long, they made their way to the excavator.
"We need to get ma brother!" AJ yelled, leaping onto the excavator. She didn't have time to question this. Her family was in danger.
Hearing a voice in her helmet, AJ didn't stop to listen. She was too focused on the task at hand.
"Applejack, listen to me."
She frowned as she heard the voice a second time, climbing the latter of the huge machine "What'cha want?"
She heard a sigh "You get up there, your brother is gonna recognize your voice. I'm gonna make this your call, but there is a voice changer built into the suit. If you want to reveal your identity to your brother, go ahead. He's family, and I can understand that."
The Farmgirl had to think. The teacher was right. If she goes up there, her brother was going to find out it was her. No doubt about it. But...she had to do it. Her family was in danger. And...she could trust her brother. She had many times in the past. She...could she?
Doubt set in. She had trusted Big Mac in the past...but this wasn't some playground secret. She was fighting monsters and demons now. The things she had grown up hearing horror stories of. She...
"Aight Mr. Oliver, how'd I work this darn voice changer thing?"
"Left side of the helmet. There'll be a little button on the side behind the latch" Tommy explained
AJ reached to the left of her helmet, grasping at it before eventually finding the button and pressing it
"Right...wow, that does sound a little weird..." The girl spoke, her voice being shifted to a more dark tone, shifting from her usual mezzo-soprano to a Contralto, also making her accent completely unnoticeable. This would work great.
Climbing to the cab of the excavator, the Green Ranger found the cabin balcony filled with three more of the snake monsters from below. Pulling out her blaster, she fired at the Serpentines' one evaporating instantly, while the other two seemed to hiss in protest.
"Gosh darnit! Stay down you varmits!"
She would have to work on changing her lingo. Best keep the Countryisms to a minimum if she was gonna stay hidden behind the suit.
Feeling a small switch on her blaster, she curiously flipped it, the barrel shifting backwards as it flipped to an upright position, a blade shooting out of the front of it to form a sword
"I can work with this..." AJ remarked as she took a plow guard stance as the first Serpentine lunged at her. Stabbing the beast, she slashed the blade to the left, sparks flying as the blade made contact with the final Serpentine, it shrieking as AJ took a step back, pulling her sword back into a reversed plow guard stance, before thrusting forward once more, the final Serpentine disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Letting out a breath, Applejack dropped her stance, smirking under her helmet. Guess this proved it. She was a Power Ranger now.
She then heard the bang from the cabin of the excavator, the cries of her brother inside. Time to be a hero.
Running over to the cabin, she saw the door had been jammed, melted shut by the serpentine's that she had just finished off. Looking through the small window, she motioned for her brother to stand back as she pressed the button on her blaster, switching it back to gun mode as she blasted open the door, Big Mac quickly moving out of the way before she did so.
"Thank ya...ummm....Yer one of those Powah Rangers on TV aren't ya?" The 22 year old man asked, his voice shaking as he inquired about the new hero. It was clear the young man was terrified, but AJ couldn't...
Here was the moment of truth. Did she tell her brother the truth to hide it? AJ hesitated for only a moment for making her decision....Hide it. Definitely hide it. AJ nods, speaking through the voice changer in a clear voice in an effort to try and hide her accent "Yes sir. And I'm here to save you. Now come on, there are more of those things down below." AJ held out a hand, her brother prompt taking it. "Right. Let's go."
Fluttershy could hear it as she rushed to the site of the bulldozer. She could feel her breath pick up pace as she rushed to them. A familiar feeling of dread fell over her. The sounds of destruction, the cries for help. This wasn't new to her. After all, this wasn't the first time she'd seen this...
The young girl clutched her stuffed bunny tightly. She could hear the sounds explosions and laser fire. Was this the end of the world?
"Honey, stay close to me. We'll get through this." She heard her mother say as they rushed through the street. She hadn't seen her mom this worried before. Things were gonna be okay...right?
Fluttershy held her bunny tight. It'll be fine. Momma was here after all.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her mother stopped. She was looking up at a rooftop, a woman in what looked like metal armor.
The woman's voice seemed to carry down from the the roof, Fluttershy hiding behind her mom at the sight.
"Power Rangers, you're COWARDS! You would sacrifice this whole planet? I'll ask one last time...Where are the Rangers?!"
Fluttershy seemed to blink at that. The Power Rangers? She had only ever seen the man on the TV talk about them, and her momma told her that was big kids stuff...
The woman turned to her monster friend, a black and green man-thing who seemed to be carrying a big sword. He looked mean...
"LET THE DESTRUCTION OF EARTH BE-"
It was then Fluttershy heard the voice of a man from the crowd. He was rather big, like her dad...
"WAIT!" The man yelled, walking forward out of the crowd, speaking in a firm tone "I'm the Blue Ranger."
Another skinnier man stepped forward, practically yelling "I'm the Black Ranger!"
An old man stepped forward next "And I'm...I'm the Red Ranger!"
More and more, people came forward, also claiming to be a Power Ranger. Why? Because they wanted to be...brave?
The woman on the roof then spoke, Fluttershy only hearing a small bit of it "Destory them all!"
Fluttershy held back tears at that. She didn't wanna go...boom...
Next she heard an explosion behind her. She clutched her bunny tight as the crowd moved forward. Just for a moment, she got seperated from her mom.
Where did she go?! She was right there and now she's gone! The young girl panicked as she looked forward in the crowd. She could see silver and bronze men pushing the crowd back into a circle. But not her momma!
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" The girl shifted her gaze to another rooftop, what looked like five teenagers standing on the roof
"We, are the Power Rangers..." The man in the blue shirt spoke
Them? They were...not much older than her brother...
"LET'S ROCKET!" She heard them yell as the fighting started.
Fluttershy winced as she heard her her friend Rarity call out "Behind you Fluttershy!"
Whipping around, she saw that four Serpentines had run towards a pair of workers that had fallen while making their way to the quarry's exit.
Fluttershy almost instinctively scanned the environment. A broken leg on the closest worker. An injured arm on the farthest one. Both unable to make any sort of daring escape from the monsters...
Before Fluttershy could even register what she was doing, her body was in motion, sprinting towards the workers at a speed that would have surprised anyone that knew her.
Without a thought, the girl put herself between the workers and the monsters. She didn't even realize she had drawn her sword, nor did she even remember having a sword.
But now she did. And that's what she focused on.
The first Serpentine made a beeline for her, and before the new Ranger could even cognitively acknowledge he was there, she was already swinging her sword, a spray of sparks flying as the Serpentine disappeared into a puff of smoke. One down.
The second one lunged at her, but before it could reach her, she found her arms moving as she drew back her sword and lunged it forward, stabbing it into the beast as it dissipated into smoke. Two.
Then in the blink of an eye, it all happened at once. A twin blast of energy from both Serpentines. Fluttershy lifting her arm to cover her face. And finally...a flash of light.
Opening her eyes, The Yellow Ranger found herself looking at the back of a large kite shield, the yellow and silver shield seeming to cover from her elbow up to forearm, the blasts seeming to have bounced off as scorch marks marred the ground in front of her.
Not taking a moment to breath, Fluttershy glanced behind her.
With a smile under her mask, she spoke softly to the six cowering men "Everything's gonna be okay..."
Fluttershy glanced around at the other two Rangers. They were also preoccupied with helping others. This was her moment.
Feeling a switch on her sword, she flipped it as the blade retracted, flipping towards her before shifting forwards to reveal a sort of blaster. While the girl had never handled a firearm, she didn't hesitate. Pulling back the shield, she let loose a barrage of plasma blasts at the Serpentine on her right. It didn't last long, but she felt her blaster heat up. Best to let it cool...
Looking to the final Serpentine, Fluttershy let out a slow breath. Fighting was always more Rarity's thing, or Rainbows. But in this moment, she needed to be brave...
With a battle cry, she charged, leading with a side kick from her right leg, while cocking back her shield arm. With a mighty heft, she bashed the shield into the monster, letting loose the most vitriol cry she could muster in the process. The monster seemed to fly backwards, Fluttershy running after it and delivering as hard a punch she could muster to the beast's chest, causing it to finally disintegrate into smoke.
Taking a moment to breath, she turned back to the workers, who seemed awestruck at the girl.
In a kind, calm voice, the girl spoke with concern "Are you okay?"
The one with the injured arm seemed to nod, though it seemed more that he didn't know how to respond to the girl who had just taken down four monsters singlehandedly.
Fluttershy once again scanned her surroundings, before looking back to the men "Keep going towards the exit to the quarry. We'll cover you, okay?"
The man seemed to nod, as he and the other workers made their way towards the exit. As she turned to provide the cover she had promised, she heard one of them call out to her.
"Thank you Mystery Ranger!"
The girl couldn't help but smile under her mask at that. She was a hero...
Tommy took a breath as he slashed yet another Serpentine into smoke. This was getting old fast. While the seven rangers had already taken out over half the Serpentines, the remaining ones just wouldn't give them room to breathe. And while he could feasibly take all these monsters down himself, he had the new team to worry about.
Turning to the new White Ranger, Tommy smiled. It was her time to shine.
"Sunset, this is your team. Take the lead."
Hearing this, Sunset stopped, leaving her open for a Serpentine to take a swipe at her. While her Ranger suit prevented any significant damage, it did knock her on her ass, stunning her.
What did she do? A million thoughts ran through Sunset's head as she sat there on the ground. She didn't even register as Dash charged the Serpentine, hitting it in the face with a flying kick.
"Come on White! Get your head in the game!" Dash called out as she flipped backwards off the kick.
Sunset shook her head. She was a superhero now right? Time to act like it.
Climbing to her feet, she looked around her, destruction all around her. The herd of Serpentines seemed to be thinning as they all seemed to be retreating back to their commander, the 8 foot Diamondback.
"Yess my sssolidiersss, come to me and we will become more powerful than ever~" The beast seemed to speak in a hushed tone. It was then Sunset noticed it. The Diamondback seemed to be...controlling the other Serpentines. Not just ordering them around, but it was a gleam in his eyes was whenever they launched an attack. They needed to take that one out...
"Ummm..." Sunset hesitated. She wasn't the leader after all... "D-dash!"
Dash frowned as she heard her friend over the comms mid spin-kick "What is it Sunset?"
"The big one. He's like...controlling them all. If we took him-" Sunset was interrupted by the Red Ranger, Tommy letting out a sigh at it as Dash spoke up to the team
"Guys! We need to take out the Big Snake so we can deal with the little ones!" Dash proclaimed, turning her attention to the beast. Red Ranger Time.
Shifting her blaster into sword mode, she rushed the beast. This was her destiny now. With a charge, Dash plunged her sword into the Diamondback, it letting out a piercing cry before thrusting it's right arm forward as an energy blast knocked Dash flying backwards into a piece of construction barrier, the concrete barrier seeming to crack under Dash, leaving the girl rather exposed.
Sunset, rather on instinct than anything else, rushed between the two as she unconsciously held up her arm to protect her friend as the Diamondback launched a huge energy blast at her.
What she didn't even realize when she did it, saved her life as the blast seemed to reflect off the sword she had instinctively grabbed from Tommy's hands.
Tommy seemed a little awestruck at this himself. There he was, watching another White Ranger holding Saba, and deflecting an energy blast with him.
Perhaps this girl wasn't just going to be a good White Ranger...
Opening her eyes, Sunset had to take a split second before she registered what had happened. She was still alive, and now holding the sword of the veteran Ranger upside down in her right hand...
"Well, don't just sit there young one. Fight back!" She heard as the Diamondback made a beeline for her. Shifting the grip of the sword to flip it around, Sunset cocked her arm back before letting loose an overhand slash with the blade, sparks flying as the blade made contact with the Diamondback, who seemed be stunned by the attack. Taking this as her moment, Sunset shifted her stance, taking a step forward with her right leg, before striking the monster again with an upward slash, following it up as she leapt into the air and delivered a final flying kick with her right leg to the Diamondback's face, causing the beast to finally disintegrate into smoke, as well as the remaining Serpentines as the quarry filled with a thin layer of smoke, Sunset finally landing with her left foot forward and right leg back as she held Saba above her head in her right arm.
"Pretty good Sunset." The girl heard as she breathed hard, the adrenaline rush slowly subsiding as she dropped her stance, feeling a hand on her shoulder as she looked to see the Veteran White Ranger holding out his hand "But I think I need the sword back."
Sunset let out a sigh of relief, smiling as she handed Saba back "Yeah ummm...sorry about-"
The sky trembled with the sound of thunder, the rest of her team rushing towards each other as they regrouped in the center of the quarry.
"Should we be worried about that?" Pinkie spoke up from under her mask.
Grace scowled at the sight. Of course there was a new Ranger team. There always is. The damn Rangers just keep popping out of the woodworks every time she makes a stride forward.
The woman felt a tingle go through her as she clutched a device, a foreign energy seeming to rush through it. She couldn't let this project fail. Not again. The world needed a better defense than a bunch of multicolored teenagers.
She couldn't let what happened on the moon happen again...
Pressing the intercom on her desk, she let out in a rather calculated voice her next order
"Twilight, activate the Eden Energy Amplifier Network. I want to see how the Serpentines react to an energy spike like this..."
Meanwhile, down in her lab, Twilight cringed at the thought.
"B-but Miss Sterling, the network has only had a few controlled test runs! If we activate it now there could be a catastrophic-"
Twilight winced as the voice came through the intercom again, sounding much firmer this time
"Twilight, that wasn't a request. Now, if you really want to keep that laboratory for your little experiments, I suggest you follow orders."
The scientist let out a strained sigh "....right. Well..." Twilight looked to her 2 year old beagle, as if seeking answers from the dog "Spike, I know this is wrong. But...I need this lab. My work into discovering how this 'Morphing Grid' works could revolutionize the Energy Industry! Sooo..."
Twilight looked over to the far side of her lab. The Eden Amplifiers were only a concept she had done small scale testing on...
Guess it was time for to bump that up to field testing...
The sky went dark as clouds formed above the quarry, seeming to be born from the smoke that was left over from the monsters, thunder crashing again and again as bolts of electricity shot out of the newly forming storm.
Tommy frowned at this. The weather hadn't called for any storms, so something wasn't right.
"Girls, take cover. We might need some-"
Just then, a beam of light shot through the clouds, seeming to suck in them as it struck the ground just outside of the quarry, sending a shockwave throughout the area that sent the entire group flying backwards
"Now Rangersss we shall ssssee who the real victor issss!"
Climbing to his feet, Tommy let out a sigh. Of course Diamondback is giant sized now. Why wouldn't he be?
Turning to face the girls, the man spoke sternly "Get to cover girls. I'll handle this one."
The six new rangers seemed to follow the order without question, seeming to be too awestruck by the 50 foot snake monster to argue otherwise as they hide behind one of the bulldozers.
"Are...A-are we going to have to fight something like that?" Rarity only just was able to muster out of her lips, as Dash, who seemed to be the only one excited rather than scared, answered back.
"Yeah! We're gonna get-"
It was then they heard the cry of a falcon ring through the air, as a huge robotic white raptor passed overhead, firing lasers at the towering snake monster, which seemed to stun it.
Dash's grin only grew at that "ZORDS!"
The others seemed confused at this. What was the giant falcon?!
It only then clicked in Sunset's head "Is...is Mister Oliver driving that thing?"
"Yup! That's the Ninja Falconzord! That was Tommy's like...third ever zord!" Dash exclaimed, seeming to grin with glee at all this.
"...third? How many giant robots do you need?!" Sunset asked to herself, rather confused by the idea of needing more than one giant robot.
"Right, just need to-" Tommy's thought process was interrupted as he jammed the joystick back in his cockpit, causing the zord to climb to dodge a huge swing from the monster
Performing an aerial loop, the veteran winced as he felt the G-forces hit him as he dove out of the loop, raining down on the monster with a barrage of laser fire, before pulling out of the dive by flaring the tail of the zord forward, rocketing forward as the zord stabilized into a forward position, just missing yet another swing from the monster.
"This thing can't last much long can it?!" Tommy asked himself, hearing Billy over the Zord's built in communicator
"Looks like it needs a bit of heavy lifting ey Tommy?"
Tommy smirked at the sound of his old friend's voice "Not a bad idea Blue."
Banking right, Tommy spun his zord around, dodging beam after beam of plasma the the Diamondback launched at him steering the zord right until he was flying directly the monster, twisting the zord back into a level position quickly before he forced the belly of the zord upwards as they hit the monster dead on, the claws of the Falconzord latching onto the chest of the beast.
"Alright buddy, let's see how you do with a little help from gravity." Tommy said as he flipped a switch on the console, activating a series of rocket boosters on the back of the wings, thrusting both the zord, and the monster into the air, climbing at least as high as the empire state building before Tommy let go of a small button on the joystick, the claws releasing and letting gravity take the monster all the way to the ground.
"Alright Diamondback, it's time to say your prayers. Ninja Falcon Missiles activate!"
Shifting the zord back to a level position, the zord thrusted it's wings forward, unleashing a barrage of missiles from it's wingtips, seeming to finish off the monster as it fell over, exploding into a huge fireball.
The girls braced as the shock wave from the blast hit them, Sunset grasping onto the frame of the bulldozer as the shock wave hit them. "Gaaaaah!"
As the dust settled, Sunset watched as the giant falcon robot landed in the center of the quarry.
All the new reports...they were real. The Power Rangers were real...
Their powers, their monsters, their zords...
The girl stood there as Dash and her friends rushed ahead to meet to older Ranger as he climbed out of his zord.
This was her life now...
"DAMMIT!" Grace yelled as she slammed her fist into her desk, the glass cracking in several different places upon the impact. "Project Eden needs to work. I can't accept failure like this. After what happened on the moon..."
The woman, now in her last 40s, let out a frustrated sigh. "Next time. The data we gathered from this can be useful. We can start again, and make this work..."
"Nikolai, I-"
Grace blinked, seeing the man standing in front of her disappear. Just a hallucination...
Perhaps it was time to get that sleep... |
Kingdom in Shadows | pre | A wave of green magic manifested a horn on my forehead before I pointed a hoof at one of the flyers that had tried to flit past me, heading for the main citadel. A massive burst of black energy rent the air, slamming into the flyer and dropping it roughly to the ground. As it struggled to stand, a second burst smashed it flat, dissipating it into mist. The mangled remains of what appeared to be a crystal pegasus was left behind when the mist cleared, alarming me. The implications were startling, but I didn't have time to deal with them. On the bright side, the dark magic version of telekinesis seemed to affect the shadow monsters just fine. From what the unicorns were experiencing, it actually appeared to affect them more easily than ordinary telekinesis. That was good, because I really needed a way to expend all the dark energy my sword was feeding into me.
Others wielding Sin Eaters on other fronts provided me with even more of the dark energy across our link, and I stopped bothering to wield my own sword for the moment, just going all out with the bursts of telekinesis. Despite the obvious similarities, dark telekinesis acted very differently than the ordinary kind unicorns used. It couldn't be sustained easily, or do much in the way of finesse, but it did sharp bursts of force very well, which made it more effective in combat. You couldn't knit with dark TK, but you could shatter bones with far less effort. Knocking everything into the ground or buildings was causing way too much collateral damage, however, so I quickly learned to manifest two bursts at a time, crushing my foes between them instead of sending them flying from a single direction. The fact that it burned up twice as much energy was a boon in this case.
Despite my efforts, though, I could feel the darkness creeping into my heart. For the moment, it wasn't as bad as it could be. It was easy enough to steer it for now. It pushed out the concerns for what might be redeemable within my enemies, and focused me on eliminating all opposition. It resonated well with the invigorating music my son was pumping out throughout the city, putting me into an trance-like state as I tore apart the invading air force mercilessly.
When the sky was cleared, I looked down at the unicorns below me. My loyal subjects who fought by my side. What I assume where cruel thoughts toward them started to form, only to evaporate before the thoughts could even be completed, ripped from my mind by the kingsblood. ['Clan is clan'] Deus thought into my mind. It was Istaran's motto, the creed he instilled in all those he created or employed. It was a simple way to say that he considered all his subordinates to be family, and insisted they do whatever was necessary to support and protect one another, above all else. And more than anything that meant not betraying each other, turning against one another. It was strange to think of my 'dark side' as protecting me from doing something stupidly, pointlessly evil to those I most wanted to protect. I guess that was the advantage I had; he had a name, a character, and with it a code. There was little he wouldn't do, few lows he wouldn't stoop to. But he would never betray a valid trust, or turn against his own 'clan'. And apparently that extended to Deus warping my own mind to impose those constraints as well. If I was less busy being thankful for the protection, I might be freaking out about the terrifying implications.
In the meantime, I had a battle to get back to. With one front broken, the unicorns and I were free to reinforce the others. |
Kingdom in Shadows | Chapter 12: South Gate at the Border | Wind Chaser led the flight of changelings south through the streets. Downhill, toward the south gate, and the mists that were even now starting to spill over them. She felt the oppressive weight of the sword bearing down on her back, along with the even more oppressive weight of responsibility. Not only for herself, her fellow changelings, and the innocent ponies behind her; no those were all relatively easy to safeguard. She had new eggs growing within her, that she hadn't had a chance to lay yet. Those... those were dangerously vulnerable, even with all the nanotechnology in the world.
Fear began to gnaw at her, only to suddenly vanish, as the blade of the sin eater touched her back and became wreathed in a faint black layer of writhing energy. She grinned, her resolve renewed, as she picked up the pace, drawing the rest of the changelings along with her. The distance melted away, bringing them as close as they dared to the oncoming mists.
She brought the patterns to mind for a simple wind spell. While it took some work, and sometimes a bit of trial and error, to translate spells meant for a unicorn's horn to a changeling's native equivalent, they had already taken the time with Midnight Oil to do so for a small variety of the spells she had researched, starting with some of the basics of weather control. If they'd known back then that they'd end up fighting vicious clouds, perhaps the unicorn filly wouldn't have been so disappointed with her alma mater.
Driven by the changelings' horns, powerful winds swept through the approaching mists, shredding them layer by layer, but more were still pouring over the wall, climbing it in defiance of gravity. For a moment, a sense of futility began to seep into their hearts, creating a new fear. From here, the mists cascading down the walls looked like a waterfall rendered in stark monochrome, black rippling down over the gray stone bulwarks. Again, the sin eater pulled Wind Chaser's fear away. Taking the handle in hand, she let the black energy flow into her, and then redirected it, sending it on to her king. That restored her resolve, but already she could see her siblings beginning to falter. [Don't be overwhelmed. It's just a misbehaving cloud,] she chided them across their link, before tapping the sword's blade against each in turn, ripping their fear away and sending it on.
It was easy to say, but their love was being depleted with every gust of wind, every beat of their wings, and the mists showed no signs of letting up. Focused on the fight before them, the ponies that normally fed them were far too concentrated on other things to generate more for them. But even if they weren't being fed that moment, they had fed deeply before the battle, and their reserves were far from depleted.
Wind Chaser broke off from the others, pushing herself upward to clear the top of the wall, getting up above the mists. Digging deep into those reserves, she charged her horn and swept the top clear with a powerful gust, revealing the tops of the stone. Another and another, powerful winds ripped through, keeping the top clear, and before she was forced to land atop one of the guard towers, her fellow changelings had eliminated the mist from within the city limits and now rose to join her with a shout of triumph.
"We've driven it back to the walls!" Mirage stated the obvious as she alighted beside Wind Chaser.
"A good start, but we haven't even seen the real enemy," Wind Chaser countered grimly. "That ends now!" Calling up all the love she could muster, she sent a torrent of air flowing down into the inky depths before her, stirring the mists into a roiling chaos. Here, where the air was nothing but mists, the wind could do little to eliminate it, but the churning left momentary gaps as it ebbed and flowed, and she was quick to spot large solid shapes moving within the mist.
"Keep the mists from climbing," she ordered, as she moved to the edge, one hoof already on the guardrail before Mirage stopped her with a hoof on her swordhoof.
"You're spent, and you're needed here to command," Mirage pointed out, before putting out a hoof expectantly. "Allow me."
Wind Chaser let out a sigh with the relief she hadn't expected to feel as she passed the black-runed blade to the other changeling. Mirage was very well fed, perhaps the best in the kingdom now that Wind Chaser had expended so much of her own energy. Mirage's mate had managed to earn a cutie mark in feeding changelings love, or so she described it, and all of that love came into the kingdom through her. Not only was her carapace nicely hole-free, but with the gorging before the battle she actually was looking a bit pudgy. That wouldn't last long.
Now that she had the blade, though, Mirage had to take a moment to steel her own heart, hoof resting on the guard rail as she looked down at the enemy. "For Stud Muffin!" she shouted, before leaping off. Buzzing, incandescent wings guided her descent, increasing her speed until it was time to pull up, skimming just above the mist. The sin eater lashed out, its blade hungrily devouring the mist's energies, as Mirage funneled it up to the Itinerant King as fast as she could. Let it be his problem. She had enough of her own.
A massive claw lashed out at her from the mist. It would have landed a blow unseen, had it not been for Wind Chaser sending her the view from her own eyes. As it was, Mirage was barely able to turn, blocking the blow with her blade and being forced back, downward into the mist. The changeling shivered with fright as the mist wracked her will before the enchanted blade could finish absorbing it from around her, leaving a small clearing of snow revealed. But her attacker was still hidden from her.
A powerful gust of wind, directed downward at her location, solved that problem momentarily. It drove the mist back, causing it to pile up around her like a wave cresting, preparing to fall back down upon her, but it revealed her nearest adversary. It was a crab nearly eight feet tall, towering over the insect-pony with its massive black carapace, deadly onyx claws and alien looking crustacean face, oozing out a thicker, almost liquid version of the black mist, which dissipated into the air as it descended. But one detail of its features gave Mirage hope. Its front right leg was shorter than the others, cut off at the lowest joint, a victim already of the sin eater's power.
Tapping the blade with a hoof to let it eat her own fear, Mirage lunged forward, pressing the attack with desperate aggression. The closest thing to a defense she could afford was to block lashing limbs with her blade, as the mists began to flow back down to fill the gap. Fortunately, sturdy as the crustaceans shell appeared, it evaporated at a mere touch of the blade, and soon Mirage alighted upon the things back, driving her blade home and vanquishing the creature entirely. Nothing was left in its wake but the sword-wielding changeling.
Mirage laughed loudly, almost manically, as her foe fell before her. She saw another one, a bit distant, hidden in the mists, but she could just make it out, so she charged, buzzing swiftly through the air as she brought her blade to bear against the next. She slid under it, slashing through its underbelly in a deadly flyby attack, leaving it to dissolve into mist behind her.
They were getting easier to spot now, so she flew for the next, but this time she didn't want to make it quite so easy. She aimed for the legs this time, cutting them off one by one with quick, darting approaches, until the enemy collapsed to the ground, unable to hold itself up. Only then did she finish it off with a vicious chuckle.
She was running low on things to cut. Just one last crab, and she took her time with it, slash after slash, nicking it bit by bit when it was no longer an immanent threat, seeing just how many blows she could drag the fight out with before it finally expired. She was disappointed for a moment when the mists finally dissipated, until she saw a figure remain within, cowering in fear and pain. A pony! This must be an evil pony warlock of some kind, surely!
Blood marred the blade from one wound, then another, then another, until a blast of raw, green magic slammed into her. A changeling, wreathed in black mists, approached her angrily, wings buzzing with agitation, horn glowing with power. More followed behind her, ready to back her up. A trick of the shadows, no doubt. Who knew they could make fake changelings with their power? No matter. The blade would solve this problem as well.
The changeling proved frustratingly agile, dodging blows and even deflecting them with bare hooves, as the swordfight quickly became an outright grapple. But finally Mirage managed to get the upper hoof, knocking the other changeling to the ground, and pulling her sword up to bring down a death blow.
"Stop!" the changeling ordered, and to Mirage's chagrin, her body obeyed. "Give me the sword!" Again, her muscles acted unbidden and released their grip on the handle. Forced to stillness, Mirage suddenly realized the other changeling's lips weren't moving, and then remembered they had been moving earlier, when she hadn't heard a thing.
When the blade was brought to her own carapace, the black mists rolled away from Mirage's vision, no longer surrounding the changelings she saw before her. She recognized Wind Chaser standing before her. She looked down in horror as she saw the blood-stained crystal pony who had passed out from his wounds, realizing how close she had come to taking an innocent life. Her kingsblood helpfully matched his features to her memories, identifying one of the guardsponies who had been present when they arrived in town, but missing since the mists first approached. She collapsed to her knees, tears slowly breaking past her resistance and flowing down her cheeks.
Wind Chaser spared a moment to hug her, before standing back up. "Take him to the fortress, downstairs. The rest of you, come with me. This front is handled, but we're still under siege."
They moved with haste, but conserved their love, hoofing it rather than taking flight. At a silent order, the gate was opened, admitting the victorious forces. |
Kingdom in Shadows | Chapter 13: Those Whom We Must Protect | I stood within the throne room, standing vigilant, though silent. No, it wasn't me. It was null, serving as my avatar. The realization gave a momentary sense of disconnect before it passed, as I focused on other things, living within the dead changeling's skin. I looked around a moment before turning to approach the Crystal Empire's rulers.
"Do you have something to report?" Shining Armor inquired. He was every bit as vigilant as I had been, his horn glowing dimly with the energy of a shield spell, idle for now but ready to erect in an instant at the slightest sign of trouble. "How goes the battle?"
"We are winning on two fronts, the North and South, but the East and West remain contested," I explained. "The behemoths to the East are tough, but they seem unable to strike back at our fliers. Bardrick and the others will defeat them, there is no doubt, but it is a race to see how much damage can be prevented. The West though... They have unicorns there, I can't be sure what tricks they'll pull off. Our own reinforcements are inbound, things are already complex there."
"Thank you for all of your help, South Wind, you and your people. Are you sure you don't want our guards to reinforce you as well?" Princess Cadance asked. "Your people are fighting so hard for us, the least we could do is..."
I held up a hoof to silence her, shaking my head. "Your guards are more valuable here, both protecting your citizens from any that manage to slip through, and keeping them calm, minimizing their fears. And I'm here to protect the two of you and the Crystal Heart. Not to imply that you're defenseless."
"If anypony does break through, they won't get past me," Shining Armor declared, standing extra tall for his wife's benefit.
Cadance giggled a moment, before looking back at me. She seemed thoughtful a moment before gasping, her eyes going wide. She blinked it off, even as Shining and I looked quickly for some sudden attack or other surprise, but there was none we could see. I had my suspicions though. Raising an eyebrow at Cadance, I got a suspicious look back in return.
"Shining, better safe than sorry, right? Do you think you could put up that shield now and keep it up for the rest of the fight?" Cadance said, not taking her eyes off me. The stallion glanced between us before nodding, raising a magical barrier around the royal couple and their priceless artifact. I was left outside of it, which suited me fine.
"What's wrong, Caddy?" Shining whispered to his mare, quietly enough he probably thought I couldn't hear.
"He has no love strings..." she whispered back. "The real South Wind has hundreds, but this imposter has none."
I could have replied, but that would be admitting to listening in to their private exchange, and they chose not to actually address me directly. So we settled into an awkward standoff, while I continued my vigilance. It was just as well, my focus was needed back at my real body, so I slipped free from this one, letting null watch on in stoic silence.
"And the shadows, they are still a-comin',
and all that they bring is a blight,
but we surely are still overcomin',
and we'll be the winners this night!
Don't doubt a moment!
Don't fear a movement!
Don't doubt a moment,
we'll win!
Don't doubt a moment!
Don't fear a movement!
Don't doubt a moment,
my friend!"
Alexander took a break from singing, shifting instead to a guitar solo for the time being, as his notes continued to ring out loudly over the city, audible even through the din of battle. An ordinary pony would have been bleeding by now from the ceaseless strumming, but the Kingsblood kept his hooves regenerating fast enough to keep up with it as he continued to rock out. His song infused the world around him, around us. It told a story, and in so doing, helped to ensure the world kept on script. It was powerful beyond description, but subtle beyond compare. It could never do anything that mightn't have happened without it, leaving the question of whether it ever truly did anything at all.
But one thing it undeniably did was to fuel the morale of those of us fighting on the front. The sense of inevitability it brought to our victory helped keep our fear at bay, and our enemies hard pressed before our assault.
The other thing it undeniably did was stir the admiration of a certain young mare. Alexander could feel it, taste it, an all too familiar flavor of love. It wasn't his favorite, though he enjoyed it well enough. That wasn't the only flavor he tasted from her, however. They all fueled him, gave him strength and helped him to carry on. But they also served to remind him of just what they were fighting for.
He smiled at her, and she smiled back, lost in each other's eyes for a moment before he nodded with renewed conviction, drew in a deep breath and began the next verse.
The break in verses seemed like a good enough time for Flash Sentry to take a break from watching the battle from the top of the castle. There were enough other guard here for that, and he needed to stretch his legs anyways. Checking in with the others, he took his leave and descended.
He poked his head into the throne room briefly, causing the foreign pegasus there to tense a moment to charge, before recognizing the armor and returning to his former pose. Flash noted the magical barrier, and quickly confirmed the royal couple were alright before continuing on. He didn't envy any shadows that managed to make it here.
Getting out to one of the larger rooms, he found what he was looking for. Dozens of crystal ponies, packed in fairly tightly all fretting quietly as they struggled to pass the time. A thin ring of guards surrounded them, ready to keep the peace, or defend the civilians, whichever proved necessary. But Flash could see they were getting a bit antsy as well. Tense boredom wore on a pony like little else, and in time could lead to something worse. It was time for something to change, something to happen.
Flash was nervous for a moment himself, until an idea struck him. It was, perhaps, overstepping his bounds a bit, but he was sure he would be forgiven. One by one he picked out ponies and called them to him, getting a dozen of them together, a baker's dozen including himself. It seemed fitting. He led them away without explanation, perhaps a mistake as it left the remaining ponies to wonder amongst themselves what was going on. It could make things worse if tensions broke violently, but he hoped the mystery would distract them and buy a bit more time.
Those he chose had the answer to their mystery much sooner than the rest of course. Soon they were put to work, slaving away in the heat. Wooden shafts were wielded. Hooves coated in red. And goods taken without permission. They rested for a time, before returning to their endeavors, but soon it was done. Only to begin again.
Their eventual return was heralded at first with relief from their neighbors and loved ones, only to grow to cheers as the fruits of their labors were revealed.
"Who wants crystal-berry pie?" Flash asked with a grin.
As the bakers returned to the crowd, distributing the delicious distraction, Diamond Glitter trotted up to Flash. "This is great and all, but what about the civilians in all the other halls?" |
Kingdom in Shadows | Chapter 14: Concurrent battles | Stone Breaker charged headlong toward the enemy unicorns. It felt odd for the earth pony to be surrounded by others of his tribe, and so far from Sky Ranger, the pegasus mare he had grown so close to. It was extra odd, as she had lent him her knives, weapons she was a lot more adept with than he was, but given their useful properties it was the right thing to do.
They didn't have any Sin Eaters to work with on this front, they hadn't gotten enough manufactured in time, and it was an educated guess that these enemies would be vulnerable enough to more conventional attacks. But they did have several of the Mage Masher blades. Runic inscriptions along their surface were enchanted to disrupt magic, tearing apart any spell they came in contact with, even simpler magic like telekinesis. They were magnetized to make them easier to manipulate with electromagnetic fields, but the larger ones were designed like giant pairs of scissors with no handle, making them awkward to wield any other way. Sky Ranger's, however, were simpler in design, triangular blades, a half hoof in length, and a third of that in width at their largest point. They were throwing blades, meant to attack from a distance, and then be reclaimed with an electromagnetic tug, allowing the flying mare to avoid direct conflict. She may have gotten a lot braver since joining the Kingdom, but she still wasn't a scrapper.
Stone Breaker, however, was. He slammed headlong into a shadowy wolf creature, trying to bar his path to the enemy unicorns. The pair dropped into a rolling tumble for a few cycles before the stallion bucked the creature off of him and rolled back into a gallop, barely slowing his pace. There was more than just the one, but they had their own ponies to deal with. His foe, however, was not so easily deterred. It barked angrily at him as it rolled to its own feet and pursued.
It should have known better. On an open field like this, a pony should have been faster than a wolf, making pursuit pointless. It should have known something was wrong when it was able to close the distance. Its howls were meant to instill fear into ponikind, giving it something to feed off of. It should have known something was wrong when there was no fear to be found. It's teeth were meant to tear into pony flesh, using pain to enforce and amplify its victim's fear, and make it easier to scare in the future with the memory. It finally caught on when a sharp buck sent those teeth flying back into its own throat. It collapsed, taken down by wounds that would have surely slain an ordinary beast, if not instantly, suffering from the fact that its shadowy nature would allow it to eventually, painfully, recover. It knew no fear. Only rage. Sad, frustrated, impotent rage.
Sky Ranger missed her blades. It was painfully ironic, after all those months of training, learning to control the flow of energy through her Kingsblood in order to create magnetic fields, and even control them with enough finesse to direct six separate blades through the air at once. In a lot of ways, the blades were a much safer way to engage the enemy than what she was doing now.
She and her fellow pegasi had gathered as much moisture as they could the day before and condensed it into clouds, keeping it stuffed under the edge of the walls in preparation for this time. As the battle was joined, they had drawn it up, and now they were rolling it out like a massive carpet over the enemy behemoths. But they weren't just to make the field wet... though that could well help, if the muddy terrain was able to get the massive creatures stuck. They were also ionizing it as they went, disrupting the electrical balance. Making thunder clouds.
It was the ranged attack that was the pegasi birthright, but for members of the Itinerant Kingdom, it was stupidly dangerous. A lightning strike didn't have to hit one of them to incapacitate them; the magnetic pulse from the lightning could create a devastating current in the Kingsblood, overloading and frying the tiny machines that it consisted of.
Golden armor, borrowed from the local guards, offered some protection. It acted as a Faraday cage, cancelling out the magnetic pulse, but since it wasn't a complete coverage, it didn't offer complete protection. But it was enough to block out the signals that allowed them to keep their minds in contact with each other, and their fellow subjects.
Which was a problem, because Sky Ranger could really use the comforting touch of Stone Breaker's mind right now.
Flashes of light caught her attention. She had gotten too distracted by her feelings, almost let the chain of lightning strikes get too close to her. She drew up her wings, preparing for a powerful downbeat to gain some altitude, but stopped, stunned. She really had messed up. The cloud directly under her flashed with power, a deadly bolt of electricity arcing down into the behemoth below her, stunning the beast before she began to descend limply toward it.
Time seemed to slow down as her life flashed before her eyes. She hardly recognized the filly in the visions. Downtrodden. Hopeless. Desperate. It wasn't her. Not anymore. That was Apple Core. Apple Core was dead already. She was Sky Ranger now, and Sky Ranger was a pony who could keep pace with even the likes of Stone Breaker. She opened her eyes, seeing the fast approaching behemoth below her. It was recovering quickly, and she realized with some embarrassment it had managed to feed a bit of her mere memories of fear. Well, no more.
She had to think quickly though. What should she do? What would Sky Ranger do? What would Stone Breaker do? That last thought gave an idea, with barely enough time to implement it. The spiders got to quick work, even sacrificing some of their own number for raw materials to reinforce key bones, even fusing the bones across a few of her joints. They would unfuse them later, once this was done. A single hoof led the way, pointed straight at the behemoth's head as her wings angled just enough to perfect her aim.
Moments later she hit the ground, crumpling a bit before she could recover. With her forehoof stuck in the ground from impact, she couldn't dodge, merely brace for impact as the slain behemoth collapsed atop her. It was a dangerous position. If one of the others was observant, they would finish her off before she broke free. And even once she was, the enemy's remains would cling to her wings, making flight questionable at best.
These were all reasonable, legitimate concerns, and she considered them. But she wasn't afraid.
She was Sky Ranger.
Peach Seed braced herself, emotionally, with a deep breath, even as she braced her body against the wall, away from the fighting. As an earth pony, this was her front to fight, and she would be in the mix very soon. But she had a surprise to deploy, and that meant she wasn't in the initial wave.
[Okay girl, you can do this,] she assured herself. [Just like buckin' trees, only a little bit dodgier. But not if they don't see it coming.] She had been one of the earliest recruits to the Itinerant Kingdom, but she had been an itinerant in another sense from birth. Her muscles were powerful from years of farm labor, her body swift and lean from years of travelling from harvest to harvest, planting to planting. But now it was time to be something else. Now it was time to be a swordpony.
The fact that they were terrifying monsters and not your typical ponies gone bad made the matter much easier. Sadly, these ones looked far too much like typical unicorns themselves, aside from the smooth sharpness of their horns, the billowing blackness of their bodies, and the glowing green eyes. Even still, it was hard not to wonder if they really deserved what was coming for them.
[No time to hesitate. Stone Breaker is almost upon them,] she thought, just before the stallion in question started sending her updated coordinates. An image formed in her mind, the layout of the battlefield, locations of all the enemies, and an alert on which seemed to be trying to cast spells more complex than a simple energy blast. [Go time!]
Swiftly, she pulled the glittercloak about her. It lived up to its name, a full body cloak in white that glittered in the sunlight, much like a crystal pony. It was designed as a counterpoint to the shadowcloaks we had stolen from our enemies, which rendered a pony imperceptible to anypony without darkness in their heart. The glittercloak, instead, rendered one imperceptible to anypony with darkness in their heart. It was time to test it on the shadows themselves. But not without some other tools to go with it.
Namely, the Gate Crashers, a pair of bracers on her forehooves. The right bracer began to glow blue in an intricate pattern, reminiscent of a circuit board, as it started to project a pair of quickly expanding fields of magical disruption, one where she stood, the other right behind an enemy unicorn. The fields were generally ineffectual against existing enchantments tied into objects, but could easily cancel a spell in progress or a local magical field, even something as basic as telekinesis, in this case breaking Stone Breaker out of such a grasp. Two kinds of magic were intentionally exempt from the effect, one general and one quite specific. In general, transformation magic was unaffected, such as the changelings' disguises. And more specifically, the left bracer now charging up was able to wind a teleportation effect into the disruption fields themselves, not only travelling where magic was disrupted, but often able to punch a hole in an antiteleportation field to get in or out of places thought to be well defended.
As the wave of disruption washed over the unicorn, Peach was suddenly there, just behind him, already drawing and swinging her Sin Eater in a smooth, practiced downward slice. The blade made contact and moments later, the unicorn was no more, just a black mist rapidly drawing into the rune etched blade.
Now Peach was scared. The black energy flowing into her through the sword reminded her far too much of that place. The mines. The pit. This was fear and anger and ruthlessness all wrapped up into a nightmarish bundle of blackness and she wanted it gone, as far from her as possible. She pushed it out of her, and her king quickly grabbed it and pulled, drawing all the dark energy into himself before striking out with it against his own foes. At peace again for the moment, she turned, looking for her next target.
That one... the unicorn hanging back, working on an intricate looking spell. Peach braced her heart and readied her sword, beginning the next warp. Even before she shifted locations she could see her failure looming. A moment before the disruption could reach her, the unicorn vanished in a puff of blackness. Peach was already committed, her location shifting and her body bearing into a pointless swing through where the unicorn had just been, stumbling a bit to regain her balance when she failed to connect. Still, she was able to spin about, redirecting the momentum to slash into another enemy caster, one that had been merely firing black bolts of energy at her friends. It was something.
But something gnawed at her. The one that got away. She hadn't reappeared in sight of any of the Itinerants. But she almost certainly was not running away. |
Kingdom in Shadows | Chapter 15: Within The Giant | Sky Ranger began to drag herself out from under the skull of the behemoth she had slain, inch by inch. She took her time, not wanting to draw attention to herself before she was ready to rejoin the fray, but it was all for naught. Before her eyes had even cleared the obstruction, a powerful jaw clamped around her left forehoof, and ripped her free, only to slam her back into the ground a moment later.
The world was pain for a few brief moments before she thought to suppress it, letting the Kingsblood cut off her physical sensations for the moment. The behemoth was still slamming her back and forth when she managed to punch it with her right hoof. It wasn't hard enough to do real damage, but it did, surprisingly, get the monster to drop her for the moment.
"You're not afraid," the beast said. It could speak? It toward over her prone form, glowering at her with clear menace in its eyes, backed by about 2 tons of rippling black furred muscle, sharp blood soaked teeth, and claws like swords. "You should be."
"Of what? You? You've already lost. Your only hope now is to beg forgiveness and swear your loyalty to my king," Sky spat back. She had to act fast to dodge another oncoming behemoth, this one more elephantine in appearance, and less interested in a mere pegasus on the battlefield.
The behemoth laughed, a jackal-like hysteria that slowly faded into more normal laughter, if unreasonably deep and loud. "Such bravado, there may be a place for you among us. If you can survive the journey!"
The beast snapped at her, but injured though she was, Sky was still nimble enough to lurch out of the way. Bite after bite failed to connect, but the mare was barely keeping pace, losing fur as teeth grazed through her pelt time and time again. She should have been scared. It was pissing him off, making him careless, but there wasn't much he had to be careful about at the moment. Her friends didn't even bother trying to save her!
[You're sure?] Bardrick asked again, mentally, eyeing the beast even as he brought his spear to bear against another, one that had smashed into the crystal walls, sending cracks through its structure with the impact. It wasn't the first to reach the walls... the first head died from massive head trauma from slamming into the walls at full speed, leaving the tiniest trace of a crack behind, while the black mists that were its remains had seeped out, only to be absorbed by the next in line, making it bigger and even more of a problem.
Top Flight was doing his best with one of the Sin Eaters, ripping into the biggest, scariest behemoths with the blade that shredded their very essence, leaving less and less behind with each blow, but he had to switch from target to target to leave any one of the growing points of vulnerability from becoming an all out breach, and it was becoming woefully inadequate.
[I've got this,] Sky Ranger confirmed. [You can't spare the time.] Refocusing on the behemoth, she gave a vicious grin. "I can take anything you can throw at me, but you? I could kill you just by bleeding on you," she said, waving her mangled stump at him to emphasize her point. "Now why don't you just sit here and think about what you've done?" A few more dodges and she had managed to get clear enough to take flight.
Or at least attempt it. The behemoth caught her hind hooves and brought her back down in a brutal belly-flop. Before she could try again he had her pinned under his clawed paw.
Looking up at him, she mocked. "Well if you want me that bad, it's twenty bits an hour. And yes you pay for the whole hour even if you finish in a minute," she said, wiggling her rump as much as she could under the circumstances.
The behemoth paused, mind reeling a bit at the sudden shift of conversation. Even if he weren't quite obviously her mortal enemy, wouldn't the size difference alone make anything impossible? However, it didn't hold him for long, and soon he was taking the time to snap the bones in each wing with his powerful jaws, ensuring there would be no repeat of her last escape.
He turned her onto her back then, pinning her again, and leaning in like he was going to kiss her. Black mist began pouring from his mouth, making Sky more than a little concerned, before he passed out on top of her, leaving her to hold her breath tightly as the mist washed over her face. "Just like a stallion..." she said derisively when the air was clear enough to speak.
Zero Waste looked around the dark shadowy roiling void with concern. The crystal earth pony was rather disoriented, his memories, all but gone. That void... that roiling shadow. It had eaten them, he thought. All but the most recent... those were its memories in the first place, not his own. He struggled to remember any of them, but only got a vague impression of power, strength, and confidence. He had been so confident just a second ago, it felt.
Then came the writing. Green glowing sigils in an unfamiliar script, flowing down through the air in ever shifting non-patterns. They worried him, but they were so much closer and less daunting than the roiling darkness, he dared to reach out a hoof to try to touch one.
Doing so flooded him with knowledge. He now knew an awful lot about agriculture he hadn't imagined. Oddly, nothing about crystal berries, or other produce native to his homeland. More about the softer, rounder fair found in Equestria to the south. Pulling his hoof away, he lost the feeling of it being pushed into the forefront of his mind, but he didn't forget what he had just learned.
It hadn't hurt, so he tried it a few more times, learning not only various facts of dubious relevance, but also witnessing a few scenes from somepony's life. Each scene was viewed at once from several perspectives, so that it took a few tries to figure out which was the central figure in it. It was the whore, he realized. Former whore by the later scenes. He learned of her painful past, and her new beginnings. As he saw her induction into the Itinerant Kingdom, he became aware of the Kingsblood, and it's nature, a web of information that was overwhelming to think about, as each thought brought more knowledge with it.
He backed off, resting his mind a moment in the strange environment he found himself in. The fever dream. He was being inducted himself? How? Why?
A massive pillar of green sigils floated down from the darkness. His answer, no doubt. He needed some time to steel himself before he could dare to touch it. But in the end, he had to know.
This scene had only one view. It was looking down from on high, toward a pair of hooves struggling to pull their owner out from under a massive beast's crushed skull. As he watched himself wreak unspeakable violence on the mare before him, the one he had come to know, at least a little, from the offered memories, he collapsed, wretching. He deserved to die, after what he had done. He would do it himself, if he could figure out how.
"We've all been touched by darkness. Most done things we wish weren't part of our stories," the mare said from behind him. When Zero turned to her, he gasped, shocked to see her whole, much less approaching with a welcoming smile. "Join us. You haven't been devoured by the shadow entirely yet. You can still speak. You can still think. And you can still become one of the Itinerant Kingdom."
"You could forgive me, that easily, Apple Core?" he said with shock. "I don't... I don't deserve it."
"That's what grace is for. And it's 'Sky Ranger' now. I'm not a weak defenseless whore anymore. And you don't have to be a ruthless, savage monster anymore. Join us!"
"NO!" the darkness yelled, rocking the false reality around them, and shattering the little green sigils.
Zero cringed, then made up his mind. "I'll do it," he declared, glaring up at the darkness in defiance rather than looking at Sky. "What do I have to do?"
"Well, it'd be great if you could..." Sky began, before realizing the enormity of the problem and shaking her head. "No, you can't overcome the shadow within you that easily. But we can help. Just... just sleep for now. I've got to get back into the fight. It's enough that you're out of it."
"I... alright, but I..." Zero uttered, looking at the malevolent darkness, and the green sigils that were beginning to reappear. "Must I be alone though?"
"I'll keep you company," said a third voice, as a filly faded into view. Despite her apparent youth, she carried herself with more confidence than a Princess, and bore a cutie mark depicting a pair of overlapping crescent moons. "I can spare the thought to walk you through this, even with the battle going on. My new name is Nightmare Core, but don't worry, it's mostly ironic. I'll keep you thoughts safe and nightmare free. But first let's figure out what your new name should be." |
Kingdom in Shadows | Chapter 16: Sword of Confusion | Flash Sentry strode by a fellow guard on his way back to the pantries. An earth pony by the name of Bulwark, he recalled. They exchanged simple nods as they passed.
It was almost serenely calm in the castle, especially away from the gatherings of civilians. Flash couldn't help but hum a bit, following along with the song that barely penetrated the castle from its highest spire. It was a bit fast paced and intense for the calm he otherwise felt at the moment, but it was too hard to ignore completely.
The pegasus set his spear aside, against a wall for the moment as he reached up to a shelf to pull down a bag of flour. The moment it dropped to the ground under his care, he suddenly saw that he was not alone. In the shadowed corners of the panty, a unicorn looked up at him. It was too dark to make out much detail, but the horn was obvious. Something heart shaped glinted from her neck, even in the darkness.
She opened her eyes, looking into his, and the words he had been about to say slipped from his mind. A lot else slipped his mind as well, and he quietly grabbed his spear from the wall and headed back out.
"Weren't you going for some more supplies?" Bulwark asked as Flash approached him again. The pegasus took flight toward the larger stallion, charging in spear first. But Bulwark was just as well trained, and shifted his position to deflect the spear with his armor, while bringing up his own to face a similar fate. A few more blows were exchanged, Flash using his superior agility to keep Bulwark from landing any of his heavier blows, until they paused a moment, breathing heavily.
"What's gotten into you?" Bulwark demanded between breaths. Flash simply gestured over his shoulder with a flick of his head. That was enough to get Bulwark to look past him, and see the unicorn approaching sedately behind. His eyes met hers and he no longer questioned it. It all made sense now. Together, Bulwark and Flash Sentry continued toward the kitchens.
The cries of innocent ponies began to drift up to the throne room. The first were angry, annoyed. Then fearful. Then pained.
The other ponies in the room were getting restless. They knew what they had to do, but it was very hard for them to simply do it.
"Stay," I said, "protect the heart. Protect each other."
"But, the sounds... my ponies!" Cadance objected.
"A distraction, a way to draw you out to where you have less power and protection and they have more," I pointed out.
"We have to protect them," Shining Armor insisted.
"You have to protect her and it," I countered, pointing to his wife and the priceless crystal artifact between them.
"It isn't even stopping them... even though I can feel it's power growing more intense," Cadance said, sounding worried.
"Can you use its power for something concrete? Use it to reinforce your shield?" I asked.
It took a moment before Shining nodded, the barrier around them becoming nearly opaque.
"What about our ponies? You should go help them if we must stay here," Shining said.
"I have reinforcements on the way, but my place is here. You are the shield, I am the sword," I pointed out. I shifted my stance, a bit of subtle reshaping giving me a more human-like position, taking the handle of my Sin Eater in two hooves. I let one go for a moment to gesture for silence, before pressing back against the wall.
Slow, soft clopping made its way up the spiral staircase connecting the throne room to the rooms below where the civilians had been. Somepony was coming. Although it was soft, it sounded quite loud in the otherwise still air, eventually bringing attention to another fact. The music had stopped.
A rush of hooves in an intermittent gallop, broken up by short intervals of gliding, brought Alexander past the open doorway to the throneroom in a blur of pink and white, before he suddenly came to a rather swift stop.
The shadowy unicorn locked eyes with what appeared to be an alicorn, white horn clearly displayed while pink wings were clearly free from the cloak that typically obscured them. A moment of tension came and passed before a cruel smile crossed the prince's face and he began to trot past her, and she passed him.
Once they had passed, the Prince's expression quickly shifted to one of determination. [Sleep, dear brother. I will take care of things for once.] The trot continued unbroken even as a wave of green washed over the pony's form, with no obvious, outward changes, at least none obvious with her tail hanging low. However, she quickly picked up the pace, breaking into another gliding gallop down the curved stairway as the sounds of metal clanging against metal began to ring from below.
Sword rang against spear, then armor then spear once more. Ponies pressed back against one another in a crowd as tight as they could make it, despite the crush injuring some of those toward the middle. It evened things out a bit, as those toward the edge had injuries of another sort.
Six guards held the crowd in place, while a single earth pony fought back, holding all six at bay. She was stronger than them, faster than them, with better reflexes, and smarter than them all, in terms of sheer mental processing power if nothing else. Yet the difference in skill between trained, experienced guards and an itinerant farm worker rang through as every swing that wasn't meant to deflect their own weapons met with a skillful block. That despite the surprise factor inherit in teleporting all around the battlefield. That advantage merely managed to make up for the distributed pattern of her foes.
Peach Seed was getting worried. Her blade, one of the Sin Eaters, was devastating against the shadow monsters, but here it was having no real effect. She hoped that even a glancing blow would tear away the shadow magic controlling the guards' minds, but she couldn't manage to make such a blow, and armor strikes were doing nothing but make noise. The glittercloak was useless here: despite the magic controlling them, the guards were too innocent and untouched by darkness to be affected by it, and she didn't have time to try trading it for one of the shadowcloaks packed away in the fortress' basement, near the outskirts of town.
It wasn't just that this fight was a standoff, or that she was slowly burning through limited resources. The gatecrasher bracers were burning through magic reserves the earth pony wasn't used to being aware of, but her king was able to feed more power into her with his love, at least as long as there was enough for him to draw from his changelings. It wasn't even the fact that her fetlocks were burning up, the bracers' tendency to overheat improved but never fully fixed.
It was also that she was stuck fighting this ineffectual fight when outside a fight was raging that she could contribute a lot to. She had done so, before the call for reinforcements reached her, but she was one of the few who could reach the civilians in time.
Things changed though when a voice rang out, more effeminate than she was used to hearing.
"We are not afraid,
We're stronger than you're thinking.
We are not afraid,
Even if we're bleeding."
The ponies spread out a bit, injured ponies standing firm despite their wounds.
"We are not afraid,
We'll stand against the dark and,
We are not afraid,
We'll best this story arc and,"
Resolutely, they began to step forward, determination swelling in their expressions, while a few voices began to join in, even not knowing the words.
"We are not afraid,
Of spears and gleaming armor,
We are not afraid,
No shopkeeper nor farmer."
Sheer numbers overwhelmed the guards, pinning them down.
"We are not afraid,
You'll harm us now no farther,
We are not afraid,
Now all our will we gather."
They held the guards down as a slight slit on each left cheek from the Sin Eater drew the dark magic out of them, returning them to themselves. The guards alone sang the next verse.
"We are not afraid,
United again in purpose.
We are not afraid,
Our wills again resurface."
Stepping out into the room, Prince Alexander Gabriella Stormbringer I finished with a solo verse, her voice perfectly distributed by the acoustics of the room, as they lowered in volume.
"We are not afraid,
Our hearts are full of love and,
We're peaceful as a dove and,
We are not afraid."
With both the violence and the song ended, the ponies looked up at the two Itinerants, now sitting side by side as they caught their breath.
After a few seconds of stillness, Flash Sentry looked at Alexander with a quirked head and finally broke the silence. "Hay, weren't you a stallion?"
Blushing, she quickly responded with "...and... smash-cut."
Mirage stood her ground, dead center in the abandoned street, beckoning with one hoof toward the oncoming behemoth. The monster tore through the street, leaving the changeling to note in irritation how much labor was going to go into undoing all this damage. The creature bellowed, nearly reaching her before the Sin Eater made it to her hoof, thrown by a changeling one street over and given both an electromagnetic and telekinetic nudge from each of them.
The poor beast never knew what hit it, blade slashing through the creature and turning it instantly into a cloud of black mist, to be absorbed into the blade, and through it, channeled into the changeling. She shuddered a moment, remembering what this stuff had done to her earlier before she passed it on to her king. She didn't have time for recriminations.
Reeling back, she lept into the air with the aid of her wings and hurled the blade forward, a mix of magic and magnetics carrying it hurtling two blocks to the next one who needed it.
Another behemoth appeared nearby, this one bursting out of an abandoned bakery, causing the building to collapse in its wake. Without the blade, the changeling was much less equipped to deal with it, but did what she could, wrapping her magic around its horn and keeping it somewhat pinned in place while she hovered out of range, until Bardrick was able to dispatch the beast with a more conventional spear.
A new sound of destruction rang out from above, the sudden and violent shattering of crystal from an upper story of the castle, as the throne room gained a new view. There was going to be so much work cleaning this all up. |
Kingdom in Shadows | Chapter 17: Two unstealable hearts | "Do you hear that?" The shadowy unicorn asked as she stepped into the throne room, meeting eyes with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. Their love, amplified by the crystal heart and made manifest in Shining Armor's shield spell, was enough to keep her dark magic at bay. But every step she made closer made the crystal's power grow in intensity around them, and it was starting to make them nervous.
"Your poor subjects, betrayed by the very guards who are supposed to protect them," she pointed out. It was meant to be intimidating, but she didn't anticipate the actual effect.
null was mine to command, and indeed he was serving as my avatar, the very embodiment of my will. But he answered still to a higher authority, even if that authority was technically imaginary and certainly not present. Istaran didn't have a lot he held sacred. He had few depths he wouldn't stoop to. But he hated betrayal with a cold and brutal passion.
The mare barely had time to bring a bladed bracer to bear, turning to block the Sin Eater before it could rip into her flesh. Her taunting speech was set aside as she was driven back, slash after slash deflected by her blades. We were mid fight before I fully caught up with what I was doing.
The mare glared at me, then raised her eyebrows in alarms as our eye contact had no effect. Whatever it was meant to do, it obviously didn't work on the undead. Or robotic fake-undead. Or transfer through our digital linkup. I pressed the attack once again, forcing her to turn to mist to dodge out of the corner she had been driven into. But being mist offered no protection from the Sin Eater, and she had already seen the danger for herself before leaving the battlefield.
The black crystal heart held to her chest by a steel neckless bounced erratically as she dodged and blocked, finally managing to strike back with telekinetically wielded knives of her own, only to find them magnetically repelled. A simple direct blast of TK knocked me back but couldn't keep me at bay for long. And attempt to lift me up with her magic shattered quickly, and her attempts at a shield were quickly shattered by a mage masher dagger hurled at her horn. She managed to dodge a direct hit from the blade, and block the followup swing from the Sin Eater, but it was still keeping her on the defensive.
The screams from below had been replaced by violent clangs, but now they were replaced with song. This had the unicorn a bit worried, but she remained determined in her fight. She managed to snatch the dagger from the air despite my attempts to move it out of her reach, and hurled it at the royal couple. Shining tried to stop it with his telekinesis when it shattered his shield instantly, but that too was useless, while my own electromagnetism was able to pull it off course, bouncing it off the wall behind them before pulling it back toward me.
A roar rose up from the mare's throat as she charged, eyes locked on the prize: the crystal heart. But she didn't have time. She was mentally tensed, ready to counter whatever I threw at her. But she wasn't expecting a massive burst of dark telekinesis ripping through the wall on her opposite side, shattering crystal and peppering her with rubble. She shifted to mist quickly, letting the rubble pass through her, but what came in after it, hidden behind the spray did not pass through her so harmlessly.
I cut through her with my own Sin Eater. The real me, that is, in my pegasus guise of course. She reformed quickly, hurt but not down, shocked but not stunned as a pair of identical pegasi assaulted her from both sides with the deadly blades.
There was blood on my blade. I knew what that meant. The beasts that were naught but shadow didn't bleed. There was a pony underneath it all, or someone who had once been a pony. And she was good. In the sense of being skilled with blade and spell. Even pressed by two assailants she fought impressively well, receiving only glancing blows, devastating as those were to her power.
Each nick though fed me power, and I didn't hold onto it for long, smashing her with more telekinetic bursts. I stopped that quickly when she smirked and ringed herself in some dark shell, presumably a counter to the magic I was using. I never gave her a chance to trigger it.
She did manage to lock eyes with me for a moment. Thoughts began to slip into my mind, thoughts of violence toward the innocent, toward Cadance and Shining Armor, toward the Heart Crystal. The thoughts barely had time to form before they were replaced by 'Clan is clan,' again and again.
She managed to knock my personal sword free with a bladed bracer, bouncing the blade off Shining Armor's reestablished shield, but it gave me and opening. Lunging in, I caught her in a hug, pulling her up onto her hindlegs. I could do something she couldn't do. Something Cadance couldn't do, despite her aspect. I could rewrite my own emotions.
At my command, Deus filled me with love for this mare. It was intense. Passionate. Our lips met in a sudden kiss, stunning her more than my sudden entrance had. And all of my love for her, all the love I could drag in from my changelings, all the love my hundreds of followers had managed to gather and concentrate, all of it poured into the mare in that one instant.
She was gray now, or perhaps off-white, far from the black fur she had been sporting, and her horn was somehow spiralled now rather than the bladed shape it had held just a moment ago. She wobbled on her hind legs a bit, looking at me almost drunk and certainly defeated. "I surrender..." she said, after a moments thought, a sly smile crossing her lips.
"Good... then maybe you can call off all your-" Shining began before gasping in shock.
null lunged forward, blade first, driving his Sin Eater through her chest and my own. She gasped, struggling for breath in shock looking at me in disbelief.
"I don't accept," I replied, before pulling back off the blade. Shifting his grip, null slashed upward. When the blade contacted the black crystal heart, it shattered and even before he finished splitting her skull, a shockwave of pink light burst forth from the Crystal Heart, sweeping through the city.
null stood his ground, unaffected, while the other changelings took flight quickly, clearing the skyline before the blast sent them sailing. Alexander had the good sense to acquire Peach Seed's gatecrasher bracers before it swept through, and removed himself from the city entirely until it passed. The shadow creatures, however, didn't know what hit them. Most dissipated on contact, while dozens of ponies slumped to the ground, purged of the darkness within.
"Thank you, null," I said allowed, catching my breath even as my wound swiftly healed.
The dead changling nodded silently, as he allowed his disguise to drop. Blood was still dripping from his sword, hers and mine both.
"How... how could you?!" Cadance exclaimed, thrusting a hoof at me accusingly. "You... you monster! Demon! Out! Get out of my kingdom! NOW!"
I was a bit taken aback, not quite certain which line I had crossed had been the one to set her off, or if they were cumulative. "I saved you," I pointed out. "And all your ponies."
"You used love as a weapon!" she accused, poking me in the chest, where I was recently injured.
I was dumbstruck. I trembled a moment with rage, glaring her in the eyes before I snorted, and left the room.
null stayed behind, wordlessly gathering the discarded weapons before standing guard over the fallen unicorn.
"You had something to say," Shining Armor said to my back, speaking loud to be heard over the wind. Looking down from the parapets, we both saw my subjects regrouping, and gathering the few former shadows who had been freed by the heart at the battle's end.
"Do you know where we learned to do that from? Where I learned to do that?" I asked.
"Do what? Use love as a weapon? I don't think I want to know..." Shining Armor said.
"Did you see the cleanup of Canterlot, after the invasion?" I asked him.
He was confused a moment, shaking his head. "We were a little busy getting married. It was pretty much cleaned up by the time we left the castle. Why?"
"There were a lot of casualties when you set off your little love nuke," I told him. "Many of the changelings were blown free, but some weren't so lucky. It wasn't pretty. I was there... I saw it. My wife was nearly one of your victims, less than an hour after fighting some of the invaders ourselves."
We sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the dots move around below.
A gasp from below caught Shining's attention. "Caddie!"
"She's safe, but alarmed," I pointed out. "Go to her."
"How are you still alive?!" Cadance demanded of the unicorn slowly climbing to her hooves, pulling the two halves of her head together.
"I'm not, obviously," she replied pressing her skull in from both sides for several seconds before they stuck that way, and she could settle onto all four hooves.
"Then how are you moving! And talking!?" the alicorn demanded.
"The same way he does," the unicorn replied, nodding to the dead changeling. "My name was Midnight Terror, but I have been renamed 'Warlock' by my new king."
"On top of all that, he's a necromancer?!" Princess Cadance exclaimed as her husband rushed into the room.
"What?!" Shining added intelligently, as he came to a stop beside his wife, the proof of her claim calmly looking at her with two pairs of lifeless eyes.
"His blood has many uses, including animating the dead," Warlock explained. "It got into my wounds from his own, when null finished me off, setting my revival into motion. My king felt it critical to learn all I knew, and that was quite wise. This battle is ended, but the war is not."
"That crystal," Shining said. "Are there more of them? Can the other shadows make more?"
"An astute question," Warlock replied, with a bit more feeling than null managed. "There are no more now, but it has been proven effective, and the shadow makers will surely make more. They are not quick or easy to make, however. Your kingdom is safe for the time being."
"Aside from all the monsters still here..." Cadance groused, angrily.
"Caddie..." Shining Armor said quietly, unsure what to say to her.
"It's alright, Shining," Warlock said. "We ask that the Prince be allowed to remain as our diplomat, and our fortress remain as our embassy, with minimal staff. The rest of us have somewhere else to be, anyways."
Cadance breathed slowly. "Alright. We can agree to that. Where will you go?"
Warlock started for the exit, null in tow. "As I said, the war isn't over." |
Kingdom in Shadows | Chapter 18: The place I'll return to someday | Pink wings cut through the snow-filled air, guiding their owner unsteadily toward her destination. A dim glow from a horn radiated a bubble of heat, protecting its owner from the worst ravages of the weather, but here beyond the crystal heart's sphere of influence, a horn's magic was not enough to keep everything at bay. Not even an alicorn's horn.
I didn't even look up to acknowledge Cadance as she landed. null and I clashed swords, blades pressing against one another for a moment, before I touched my own blade with one hoof, a wave of blackness passing up the blade, through the handle and surrounding myself for a moment. The flame-like blackness wreathing me winked out as a hoof-shaped shadow slammed into null from the side, sending him skidding across the snow. With a flick of my wings I was on him, blade thrusting down, only to be barely diverted into the snow with his own. The dead changeling spun and kicked, driving me back a bit on his way into a standing position.
Warlock, the only other being present with us, approached Cadance. "We did not expect to see you here. Are you displeased with the progress of our departure? If there is anything you need to speak to us about, you could always talk to Alexander about it, as we agreed."
"It is not that far to fly yet. I would talk to your King himself," she said. She wasn't furious anymore, but she was uncomfortable.
null and I traded a few more blows before clipping our swords to our backs. null took up a position watching for anything approaching from deeper into the mountains, while I approached Princess Cadance. "There is a lot of damage to your city. My subjects are helping, as well as making a few preparations for our journey. Five days to help. Five days to prepare. I ask that much of you. Myself and the dead ones will not set foot in your city in the meanwhile."
Cadance seemed a bit surprised. I guessed it wasn't the subject she meant to broach, but she rolled with it easily enough. "Ten days then?"
I shook my head. "Five. We will do both at once. Some ponies are better suited to one or the other, and some will split their time. Those you see here will be gone before then, though. Despite Warlock's intelligence, there are things we need to see for ourselves, and soon."
"You..." Cadance began before faltering for a moment. "You don't have to go. I overreacted. I just..."
"Nopony likes to see how brutal war can be. And I... I admit, I have become more ruthless at times than I would have thought possible." I placed a hoof on her shoulder gently. "Your city is protected by good cheer, not guilt and self doubt. If I may, I would still like to count you as a friend and ally, even in my exile. If you agree, perhaps I can return when we've dealt with the remaining threats."
She pulled free, but met my hoof with a gentle clop before I set it down. She smiled, weakly. "Your kingdom should be protected by good cheer and love, not darkness, South Wind. Your people love you... the living ones at least. Don't forget that. I fear you have spent too much time in the darkness, fighting shadows, and becoming a bit too much like them. Not every enemy needs to be slain. Some can be redeemed."
"We're a bit far north for sunshine and rainbows," I commented ruefully. "But I will keep that in mind. Stay safe, Princess."
"And you as well," she said, unwilling to use my title. She took flight then, and returned from whence she came.
Wordlessly, I turned with my companions and started out into the snow. She had come, as I suspected, and we had talked. Now it was time to begin our trek in earnest.
"So is this some of your 'song magic'?" Diamond Glitter asked Alexander.
The half changeling wasn't singing, but his horn was manipulating a wrench and a small hammer to bang rhythmically on some overturned metal buckets, while he strummed intermittently on his lute, a bit of magic amplifying and altering the sound. It filled the streets with an unusual beat that seemed to go very well with the construction work going on as Itinerants and crystal ponies worked side by side to repair the damaged buildings.
"Not so much. The amplification is magical, but this is merely a bit of music to help focus the mind on the task at hoof. Truthfully, I am a bit drained from the conflict, and I don't sense any wild song magic I can stir up at the moment. Of course... some snuggles would probably help with the former problem,~" the half changeling hinted.
"I am not going to snuggle you," the guardmare said emphatically.
"I would never expect you to," the prince pointed out. They sat in awkward silence a moment as Alexander continued to play.
"I heard snuggles were needed?" Deep Digger asked, the crystal earth pony coming out from around the corner, introducing herself with an impish grin.
"Indeed, though I dare say Garnet may get jealous if strangers start providing them," Alexander said with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk.
"Not a problem," Deep said, before disappearing around the corner from whence she had come. Alexander and Diamond exchanged confused looks, taking their eyes off the approach for a moment when they looked back, the earth pony was running back around the corner on her hind legs, her forelegs holding a crystal unicorn aloft despite the other mare's objections. With a manic grin, she deposited her load roughly against, the prince, Garnet crashing her way into a hug.
The music crashed its way into an ending that oddly seemed fitting to the song, but left the scene in the rhythmless noise of the ongoing construction. Alexander giggled as he struggled to untangle himself and his marefriend from his cloak, and sit up into a proper snuggle. "My, such prompt and unexpected delivery! Do you know this eager mailmare?"
"What? Umm. Yes. Alexander, this is my best friend, Deep Digger. Deep, this is Prince Alexander Gabriella Stormbringer the First," Garnet formerly introduced. The two shared a friendly clop, while Garnet settled against her coltfriend's side comfortably and naturally before pulling away a bit with a sudden look of shock.
"Is something troubling you?" Alex asked immediately.
"Oh! It's nothing, I just," Garnet said as she snuggled back into place. "I was just surprised at how natural it felt snuggling against you like this... we've only been on one date. I mean, I barely know you. That, and it feels like everypony is watching me..." Her sister and best friend most certainly were looking on, with contrasting emotions. Diamond looked like she was fighting back an objection while Deep was beaming with pride, neither of which made Garnet feel at ease. The feel of the fluffy pink wing wrapped around her withers, however, did make her feel at ease, the tension of the situation melting off of her slowly.
"Three by my count, but that's hardly a thing to argue over," Alexander claimed. "Still, it is but a beginning. I hope to get to know you far better in the days ahead."
"Are you going to feed off of her?" Diamond cut in as neutrally toned as she could manage, though it still bore the unmistakable hint of accusation.
"Does it hurt?" Garnet asked, looking up into Alexander's eyes.
"Only if and when she offers," Alex replied to Diamond before turning to Garnet. "As to your question, no. It does not hurt, and can even be quite pleasant. It will, however, make you hungrier, possibly tired, and if we're to make a habit of it you should expect to eat more. It is much as if you were using your horn more vigorously than you are used to, and with much the same potential consequences."
Horn overuse was of course something both unicorns were personally familiar with, and Deep nodded sagely at the familiar concept. "Do it,~" the earth mare urged, watching wide eyed, eager to see it for herself.
"There isn't really much to see, you know..." Alexander objected to his audience.
"Do it," Garnet said as she snuggled in closer against her stallion, nuzzling his chest. Both closed her eyes, and the mare let out a slight gasp before sighing contentedly. Deep gave a happy sigh of her own watching the scene, her imagination wildly filling in the blanks. Diamond gave a sigh of her own, as she let the aggression flow out of her, accepting her sister's choice of date for the moment.
Silence reigned over the group for the moment, a rather noisy 'silence' given their environment, but a sort of silence nonetheless. Finally, Diamond broke it. "Alexander..." she began.
"Yes, Lady Guard Lieutenant Diamond Glitter?" Alex answered contentedly, not opening his eyes.
"I'm sorry. For earlier. For judging you so harshly without knowing you. I know what you did, in the battle. You were..." Diamond couldn't quite get it out.
"You wished to protect your sister, yes? You still do?" Alexander inquired.
"That's right, but I-" Diamond began.
"I do too. She is such a precious gem, let us both keep her safe from any who would harm her," Alexander offered.
Diamond nodded slowly, wordlessly, and Alexander peeked open an eye to confirm what his sensitive ears had noticed. Then the noisy silence reigned once again.
Deep beneath the surface, below the shell of a fortress the Itinerants had erected, among the roots of the living wood pony now known as Frozen Core, a unicorn made the rounds in a lab coat, surveying the progress of several projects.
Bunsen Burner first walked up to her old friend and partner, Bubbling Beaker. "How is Project Zero progressing?" she asked, speaking aloud more for the feel of it than necessity. Just as she was using her own eyes to observe rather than simply exchanging sensory data through their networks.
"It's going great!" Bubbling said, pointing a hoof toward the crystal pony suspended in a glass tube filled with green gel. The pony, a crystal earth stallion, was covered in runic etching filled with black crystals, in some ways resembling the Sin Eater swords. "The suppression system is working great, and his mental rehabilitation in Elysium seems to be progressing nicely. Sky Ranger is taking point on that, and has a lot of positive results to report. We hope to test switching him from suppress mode to enhance mode in time for the counteroffensive."
Bunsen nodded, failing to keep a straight face, and instead smiling at her friend. "Thank you, Bubbling. Keep up the good work. Those vitals seems quite strong, make sure you cycle in some fresh goo often enough. Let me know if you have any trouble getting volunteers to produce it."
"Roger!" Bubbling declared with a sharp solute and a giggle before the other unicorn trotted away.
Bunsen made a checkmark on her list before trotting to the next person. Forge Soot, the minotaur, towered over her. The fact was made that much more obvious when he raised his hammer far over his own head, bringing it down heavily on the blade before him. It had been one of the Sin Eaters, but now it was something else. The blade was largely unchanged, but the pommel quite a bit altered. At the moment he was hammering the connection between the two, forcing them into tighter contact between the old and new components.
An elder griffon, one who wore his age more thoroughly than Bardrick did these days, but still had obvious might to his form, guided Forge's actions, stopping him from time to time to inspect the results, and make sure the runes were undamaged.
"Wayland, Forge Soot. How is Project Kingblade progressing?" Bunsen inquired.
"The first prototype is nearly ready for trials. We have been able to confirm that the inversion heart works in basic experiments," Forge Soot said, taking a moment to wipe his brow. "Getting a hold of that dark heart crystal from Warlock made this project much easier. We should have the first Kingblade mk1 ready for testing by sundown, perhaps ready for use by sunrise. Then we'll start retrofitting the other Sin Eaters in the same fashion."
"I'll have to re-etch some of these runes before it's combat-worthy, of course," Wayland complained. "It'd almost be easier to start from scratch, but some of the materials aren't as easy for us to acquire as others."
Bunsen nodded and checked off the next item in her list, and trotted away. She trotted up some stairs to the floor above, approaching a massive circular dais surrounded by three wooden pillars, each curving outward. The inner side of each pillar was coated in bright, yellow, glowing crystals, while more of the same were etched into the sides in runic patterns.
"Bark Tender, how is Project Freight Crasher progressing?" the mare called up to the ceiling.
A wooden form extended down, looking like a carved pony head and torso. Vines were wrapped around it, extending up out of sight and helping to guide its movements, shaky as those seemed.
"I prefer to go by Frozen Core now, miss Burner," the wooden head spoke with a colt's voice, though its lips were unmoving. "The Freight Crasher is online and available for immediate testing. Do you have a sample ready for transport?" he inquired.
"Already? Hmm, give me a moment," Bunsen said before checking off the last item, and adding a few hoofwritten notes beside each entry. Finally, her magic lifted the paper free from her clipboard and placed it in the center of the dais. "There. We can start small. Please send this to our king immediately.
"Of course," Frozen said as the glow from the yellow crystal grew blinding. Yellow light filled the space between them for a time, then disappeared, leaving nothing upon the platform. "Receipt confirmed by recipient," the wooden construct acknowledged. "Targeting was off by seven point three hooves from intended location. Attempting to recalibrate."
"You need more notes?" Bunsen inquired. |
Equuis To Calvin | pre | I open my eyes to the bright sunlight that's been coming through the window of the train, yeah im still in Equestria and on this train... what's that leaning on me?
I look to my right and see that Applejack is laying on my side with her cowboy hat tipped over her eyes still asleep. snoring. I don't wanna push her off me like she's a common hobo but I don't want her on me because that could get awkward real fast, I check to see if anyone is watching and thank goodness ponies are either asleep or reading a book.
So I gently push her body away from mine using one hand, she only leans back onto me I try pushing her again and then she latches onto me mumbling something about Bloomberg I didn't really know what she was dreamin about but I don't think I wanna find out today.
"Good morning~ !" A loud voice woke Applejack, knocked Twilight out of her reading, and scared Fluttershy half to death. Who the offender was of this serenity was none other than Pinkie Pie.
"Land sakes Pinkie did ya have ta wake the whole train car?" Applejack said picking herself up from the floor.
"Damn Pinkie how long have you been awake?" It look like she was up before hand.
"Hmmm, about three minutes now, my Pinkie sense woke me up."
Twilight was helping Fluttershy get up from under her booth chair, when she heard Pinkie mention her "Pinkie sense".
"What was the combo this time?"
"Twitchy eyebrow, wobbly hooves, and itchy ear." she said nonchalantly
"Im sorry but am I really the only one here who doesn't know what she's talkin about...again."
"Oh Pinkie can sense when things are about to happen with twitches and itches in her body, don't bother trying to figure this out trust me on this one I've tried."
"A twitchy eyebrow, wobbly hooves, and itchy ear means that someone close is cuddling near bye I get that one a lot when Im living with the cakes, but you and Applejack were cuddling real hard when I looked over."
Applejack blushed, and I would have blushed but im too black for you to even be able to see me do it but I did have an embarrassed face.
"We weren't cuddlin ah was sleep, and I jus met the stallion yesterday how would I like him now if its only been a day."
"Well actually Applejack you were kinda leaning on me while you where asleep, then you hugged me."
If Applejack could get any redder she would make sense cause I've never seen an orange apple.
"Oh ah'm sorry ah didn't know!" she said
"Its aright its aright it wasn't your fault."
"Twi how long until we get to what ya call it?"
"Ponyville, and well be there in ten minutes so don't get too comfy."
Rainbow dash rolls over in her sleep "I guess its too late for Rainbow dash." chuckled Fluttershy.
Since we all had ten minutes I thought I might as well listen to some music I pull out my I-pod, damn 65% I gotta start preserving this battery... after I listen to five more songs.
I plugged in the earphones and played one of my favorite songs Take A Walk. I look out the window an see nothing but flowers a few I can name like sunflowers and roses and others I cant tell off the bat.
Im so into the music I don't notice the reflections in the window of the elements (except Rainbow Dash) staring at me.
"Watcha listenin to?" ask the cow pony.
she made me jump but I wasn't scared.
"Take A Walk sung by Masta Ace why?"
"Caaaan we listen?" Pinkie was smiling a Cheshire cat smile.
"Umm sure." I take the ear plugs out and just let the music play but it isn't as loud as we all hoped.
"Aww I cant here what he's saying." says a sad Pinkie Pie.
Twilight scratches her chin until she found an solution "Oh I know I learned a basic amplifying spell while I was studying under Princess Celestia." Her slightly curved horn glows a ghostly lavender hue making a crystalline hum as it does her horn shoots a purple and iridescent green beam onto my I-pod at first I thought she fried it until the volume rose exponentially higher.
"Daaaamn, that was amazing how'd you do that right there!?"
"With magic, it flows through all creatures of Equuis even if most cant actively use it without magic Equuis would be Discord's playground."
This was actually interesting something worth learning in school "How do Pegasi and Earth Ponies use magic when they don't have horns?"
"Pegasus magic is mostly directed in their wings which allows them to control weather patterns, sculpt clouds into structures, and sometimes accomplish amazing flying speeds and make sonic booms or as our lazy Rainbow Dash calls it a sonic rainboom."
The multicolored pony in question merely twitched her hoof, she must sleep through everything.
"Earth ponies are a different subject their magic is located in they're bodies and hooves, which is why they mostly work the land they have a better connection to the earth than any other race."
"Alright I believe in Earth ponies havin an 'green hoof' but controlling the weather how is that even possible?"
"Its as possible as the princesses lifting the sun and lowering the moon, trust me you'll see when we get there."
In the meantime we've got different problems I've noticed as of late that ponies have been giving me looks and staring at me they look away when I look at them but they aren't slick.
It made me question how they're going to see me in Ponyville a 6"1' human at a ponies front door doesn't scream 'lets be friends'.
"Don't let them get you down, a lot of ponies don't feel comfortable around creatures taller then them especially with the dragon stronghold in the badlands." Twilight informed me
"There's a stronghold for dragons here?"
Twilight nods her head "Any race is allowed here, including dragons. They hail from Pyre their homeland southeast of Equestria its filled with volcanoes, ash, and lots of Fire Rubies are found there, some dragons prefer the mountains and caves of Equestria for they're coolness while others like the gems found here, as long as they don't make home to close to any pony settlements everything runs smoothly."
And here I thought Spike was the only civilized dragon, learn something new everyday.
The train travels inside an tunnel entrance and for a few short seconds there is darkness which makes a few foals on the train a little antsy and excited but they're quieted down by their parents, in a matter of a few seconds the train is out of the tunnel and the sun is once again shining.
On the other hand a large town can be seen close by. to the right of the train is a purple mountain range and below it a lush green forest filled with life, lots of farm land and tilled earth, and what on the horizon appears to be a large formation of clouds raining rainbows. to the left is a big sparkling lake that looks like it has a small beach on it and a few ponies on said beach. In the distance of that is a normal forest and an sand colored ridge. The town its self seemed cheery enough very medieval style houses thatched timber framed walls it seems its filled with many vibrant colors, the two eye sores in their selves is the three storied tower and the crystalized tree castle that's reflecting a lot of light.
"There it is...home." Twilight said staring out the window.
"Next stop Ponyville station!" yells the grey earth pony conductor.
the train comes to a slow stop at the station filled with ponies waiting to travel to whatever station is next for them.
"This is Ponyville, Stirrup street please be sure to grab all baggage from the overhead rack!"
Ponies from left and right on the train were all grabbing they're luggage and walk off the train outside.
Meanwhile everyone already packed and ready to go except for one lazy pony who's still asleep.
"Come on Rainbow dash we have to get off the train." Twilight poked at her but only succeeded in making her roll over.
"mmmciiideer." She just wasn't waking up.
"Come on Dashie, wake up before the train leaves with us on it." Pinkies attempt didn't work either.
"Hold on girls." Twilight said
"Ahem."
"And Spike."
"Ahem."
*Sigh* "And Calvin, I'm going to try something."
Twilights horn began to glow again only I glowed a bit lighter and twilight seemed a bit more strained like she was constipated.
"Twi what are ya-?" before Applejack could finish he question in a blinding flash of purple light made me have to shut my eyes, when they reopened we were all out side of the train luggage and all. Rainbow Dash had the pleasure of being dropped twelve inches on the ground that woke her up.
*Oof* "What the hay?" said an annoyed Rainbow Dash
Twilight was panting a bit but all else seemed fine "I've never tried holding that many ponies before." what is she talking about did she just teleport us outside the train?
I stood up but I soon regretted this swift action for as soon as I stood I felt light headed and very sick to my stomach, it was to the point where I hand to hold my stomach and mouth in hopes I don't vomit.
"Oh my Calvin are you alright?" asked a concerned Fluttershy.
"Nope, all of a sudden I got a wicked bad stomach ache."
"How long hav ya been feelin like this?" Applejack said fixing her hat.
"As soon as I stood up after Twilight did whatever the hell she just did."
By now Twilight was fully recovered from her fatigue and was assessing the problem I was having.
"Hmm... oh I know what your problem is.
"What, what is it?"
"You have teleportation sickness." she said with a smile even though this is no smiling matter.
"What do you mean teleportation sickness, that some kind of disease!?" I really hope I'm wrong.
"Oh heavens no its a simple little sickness some ponies get from the displacing of their stomach matter is moved from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them." Everyone looked at Rarity with questioning glances.
"What just because one pony goes to a college that values fashion and art doesn't me they never learned basic school subjects."
"Fluttershy do you have any of those ginger root capsules the doctor gave you when you got motion sickness on that boat."
Fluttershy pulls out a bottle of pills and hooves it to me.
Upon the pills my health began to improve supernaturally faster than normal, right now I don't give a fuck because I'm feelin better now.
I give the bottle back to Fluttershy whom places it back into her weird side ways horse backpack.
The area around the train station is a little dull one solitary tree and the train station the land seems to go from grass to dirt.
By now all the ponies getting off the train have been long gone probably in a rush to get away from me. and now ponies are now boarding the train which is terribly colored (a nice grey would suffice) and it seems as if its ready to pull off.
An excited Pinkie pie hops into my view with her trademark smile shining her pearly white teeth "Come on Calvie I really want you to meet everypony in ponyville!" she said dragging out everypony.
"Pinkie how am I supposed to...what did you call me?" I don't think she said my name right, oh god please don't be a-
"It's the nickname I gave you!"
I tried to tell her I didn't really like this particular nickname because it sounds so babyish. Calvie? come on.
but twilight stopped me from saying something.
"its best you go along with it once she's made your nickname its been done." she whispered in my ear
well just call me freakin Calvie now...I'm never gonna live this down.
So me and the gang all journey down a convenient dirt rode all the while Rarity complaining about getting her hooves dirty and Applejack not giving a shit.
we head into what appears to be the town farmers market were there are ponies galore some tall some fat some short some skinny all sort of the three different races but no alicorns why is that? The most distinguishing factor is the mare to stallion ratio of the town there has to be like 10 males but then 30 females.
Twilight seemingly trips on a rock (like you've never tripped on something stupid before) and I catch her in my arms and ponies are a lot heavier than you think, Twilight was blushing the whole time.
"Um, thanks." she said a little embarrassed by the trip
Meanwhile in the market there's a pale yellow mare her hair is the color of a rose and the streaks are light raspberry her eyes are green and her cutie mark is a plain rose. She selling flowers along with two other ponies whom she works with daisy and lily, today was a good day the sun was shining thanks to Celestia and business is good, but she cant help but think something's going to go wrong again, in this town anything can happen from Ursa minor attacks to angry griffon's it can get pretty crazy around here, while rose was selling her flowers to somepony she saw figures coming towards the market which isn't strange ponies come and go from the train station all the time but something was off. She couldn't see well over the crowd, but she saw a large dark two legged figure holding princess Twilight and that caused her large eyes to get even larger and her pupils turned to pinpricks.
A shrill scream pierced the banter around the market "A monster is coming to ponyville and its going to eat the princess!"
And at that very moment all HELL broke loose.
As soon as those ponies saw me they all swarmed like a bunch of buzzy bees, every color of the rainbow flashing before my eyes in a hurried state of terror.
"The horror, THE HORROR!" maybe they're taking this a little too far.
Six guards in some sort of leather/steel armor rush in from the fray like some super heroes or some shit. Three Pegasi, two earth ponies, and one unicorn armed with spears and hidden blades on their hooves all ready too defend their princess whom I'm holding with fear.
"Alright... whatever you are, drop the princess and back away from the elements of harmony or else well have to use deadly force." said the white unicorn mare with a slight British accent, her red eyes felt like they were piercing through my soul the way she glared at me.
"Stand down Lieutenant Bite he means no harm I only tripped and he caught me, umm you can put me down now."
I flashed her a cheesy grin and sat her back down on her hooves.
The lieutenant and her squad lower there weapons and bow to Twilight.
"Deepest apologies for the mistake Princess Twilight." said the unicorn.
"its not me you have to apologize to and stop calling me princess please."
"Sorry your highness." Twilight face palms or hooves and mutters something about "wanting to matter her flank" didn't catch most of it.
The squadron moves toward me like children in trouble with there parents except the lieutenant who keeps giving me a stank look.
Lieutenant Bite was a fairly tall pony about 4'9" her fur was off white and her mane and tail was in braids multicolored with navy blue and white, her eyes were a vibrant red which were still creeping me out. Lieutenant Bites fetlocks white fur grew out over her blue hooves.
"We sincerely, apologize for the mishap Mr.?"
"Calvin, Calvin Stubbs."
"Mr. Calvin, we will continue our duties you have a pleasant day." she said in a hint of malice. Her and her squad all move out to I don't know guard the city don't really know what else they'd do.
"I'm beginning think the lieutenant doesn't likes me." I said mocking sadness
"Aw, don't let Frost Bite get to ya she can be a bit cold at times but she's an all right gall." Applejack reassured.
"Sides Ah'm worried how were gonna get all these fraidy cats out of there houses."
I take a look around and see not a pony in sight nothing but empty market stalls with the exception for a few confused guards moving about and a stray piece of paper blowing across the street.
"Well the Ponyville ponies have been known to be the most skittish, even dear Fluttershy wasn't that scared of you." Rarity added.
Pinkie grabs hold of my cheeks with her hooves and moves me face to face with her most serious face I've seen on her "Don't worry Pinkamena Diane Pie is on the case, I'm gonna make sure that you have the bestest surprise party ever." She looks up to the sky and shouts "YOU HEAR ME PONYVILLE!?" She makes a mad dash down a street. "EEEVVVVEEEERRRR!!"
Twilight goes to follow her "I'm going to make sure she doesn't do anything to crazy, see you guys later." with that she flies off after the crazy pink pony.
Eventually everyone had something they had to do Applejack had to go back to her farm, Fluttershy went to go take care of her animals, and Rainbow Dash had cloud duty. Leaving me, Spike, and Rarity to kind of sit there awkwardly well me and Rarity sat there awkwardly Spike kinda stared at Rarity awkwardly.
"Well then...darling about your clothes."
The three of us all decided to go to Rarity's business/house Carousel Boutique, along the way we talked of trivial things like the differences of human and pony fashion sense and the distinct lack of jewels on earth in comparison to Equuis. Ponies don't wear clothing very often due to the access heat and pants are usually never worn only shirts or hats maybe even shoes and high heels, but that's it they mostly only wear formal clothing for things like the Grand Galloping Gala and other various events. Gems, jewels, and crystal's can be found almost anywhere even under the town. Dragons can eat rocks but they taste like dirt Spike accidently ate one before and he's regretted it ever since. The streets were pretty barren of ponies still the occasional slamming of a windows shudders was heard but other than that silent as a mouse.
"Ah we have arrived." Rarity said as we came upon an interesting building. It was very loud in a way of design and the midsection of the building resembled an carousel.
We stepped inside her boutique as the silver bell above the door jingled "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, were every garment is chic, unique and magnifique." she said as she turned on the lights. The room was filled with all sorts of fabrics and threads, there was a old fashioned sewing machine and what looked like a pedestal surrounded by mirrors, a dressing room and a staircase leading to what I presume is her rooms. Not to mention the abundance of mannequin ponies in fancy dresses and suits.
"Well darling if you step right there I can get your measurements." she points her hoof to the pedestal and I head towards it, Spike sits in a chair while Rarity comes back with a soft tape measure.
"Alright Calvin ill need you to take off your clothes."
"A....."
"Calvin?"
"....."
"Calvin dear are you alright?"
"I don't think its necessary to do that."
"Oh but it is, how else will I get the measurements if I cant get an accurate measure?"
"Pfft, I don't know just improvise over my pants?"
"Why are you so worked up over this?"
"Because I can't let you see my unmentionables."
"Unmentionab- don't you have a sheathe!?"
"A what now?"
"A sheathe."
"Why would I need a sheathe I aint got no sword."
"Oh my..." Rarity's face suddenly got a little rosy in the cheeks.
"What Rarity what's a sheathe?" Spike asked.
She waved for me to come closer, I did and she lent over and whispered in my ear.
"Oooooh, oh nope definitely don't have that."
"What is it?"
"Ask Twilight when you're older!"
"Bu-"
"When you're older!"
Spike folded his arms and pouted.
"Oh don't worry Spikey Wikey some day you'll grow and be the biggest most handsome dragon in Equestria." Rarity's complimented.
so Rarity spent I don't know it felt like forever she kept measuring every part of my body and my arms were beginning to hurt.
"Alllmost, done okay darling now lets pick some fabrics."
I'm going to say that this part wasn't the most amazing interesting part in the story but me and Rarity got into a heated debate over fabrics, but she came out on top in the end. Now she's sewing my clothes as we speak shes wearing red framed glasses and is very concentrated in her work I ask her a question and all I get is uh huh or a nuh uh.
"Hey Rarity, you don't mind if I step out do you?"
"Nuh uh." See?
I walk out the Dutch door past a sleeping spike and head out into this crazy world on my own. Ponies seemed to have come out now at least some of them moving about the streets carrying on with life, I decide to take this dirt trail that leads out of town and see what its talkin bout.
walkin down the dirt road hearing nothing but the sound of my feet hitting the ground (should really find some shoes my socks are dirty as hell) it was peaceful with the town in the distance behind me and the vast green hills with rows of apple trees on them didn't take long to figure I was heading for AJ's farm.
*Flap* *Flap* *Flap*
I keep hearing what sounds like a bird flapping its wings in distress.
*Flap* *Flap* *Flap*
It's getting louder, I turned around but it was too late.
"What the what!?"
"Mister look out!" said a mares voice
something grey collided into me sending both of us to the ground.
"I just don't know what went wrong." I heard her say.
"Man, what the." I pick myself up so I can see my new acquaintance and see a grey Pegasus mare sprawled on the ground, she had a blonde mane and a satchel bag with an emblem of an envelope on a cloud. Her cutie mark was a bunch of bubbles really nothing to crazy.
But that's not what's weird what's weird is her eyes I think she maybe cockeyed, oh god I think more damage was done than I thought.
"Oh shit im so sorry do you need to go to the hospital?" I don't even know were it is but I could at least offer it.
"No, no it wasn't your fault sir I was rushing to make these deliveries and I guess I kinda didn't watch were I was going and no I don't need to go to the hospital im fine." as she stood up she shook the dust from her head to her tail feathers she stood at 4'5".
"Are you sure your alright?"
"Yep im fine just a little dizzy."
She lifts off the ground getting ready to take off "Well ill catch you later sir but I have to get back to work a lot of ponies expecting their mail today." with that the mail mare flew off into the direction im heading my guess Sweet Apple Acres.
What a nice mare...wait why wasn't she afraid of me?"
I shrug my shoulders and make my way up the dirt trail following the mare with the derpy eyes.
*A few minutes later*
I stand in an white picket archway covered with vines, before me stands an massive farm to my left a well, an orange building made for carrots and all sorts of other crops like corn, cabbages, celery, spinach and a grape vineyard. to the right live stock Chicken coops, Cow stalls, and pig pens with a ever boundless acre of apple trees among hill tops that turn into mountains in the distance. and in the middle of all this madness is a Bright red barn with flowers in just about every window sill, the large barn doors are open wide welcoming everyone to visit but there's no one there only the resonating sound of something hitting wood.
I make my way towards the barn door when a giant rope net just falls on top of me making me lose my balance. What the fuck.
as I struggle to get out the net I hear a lot of barking and cheering
"Cuitemark Crusader monster hunters yaaaay!"
"What in tarnation is going on out here." I hear an elderly voice shout.
I see the mail mare from before but the pony next to her was new.
An light green old earth pony mare ambles out of the barn she has her silver mane and tail were done up into a bun she wore an orange flannel cloth around her neck she's 4'1".
"What are yall youngins doin out here causin all this fuss." she said
"We were catchin the monster that attacked ponyville today." said a little filly with a southern accent.
"Did we get are cutiemarks?" said a high pitched voice.
"No ya didn't get yer cutie marks fer tyin somepony up fer no good reason Applejack told me everything about this here critter and that he aint no monster ya should be ashamed fer sayin so, now let em go."
"But Granny Smi-."
"Let em go."
I feel the rope being pulled off me I stand up and brush off the dust from my pajamas and behold the sight before me.
The three of the most adorable fillies making the saddest of faces I've ever seen.
The first was a cream colored filly whom I recognized from the picture General Golden showed me he mane was a burgundy color with orange eyes she wears an overly sized pink bow atop her head. her fetlocks have little fur and facial expression she has is a wide frown while biting her lower lip ears folded. height at 20".
Second was a thin Pegasus filly shorter than last one by 17", her mane is an magenta color and her coat is dark orange her hooves match her mane in color including her wings primaries and secondary's and tail feathers. she is holding her head down ears splayed back in shame. Like all pegasi she had feathers on her shoulders, back and the nape of their neck.
Third is probably the most adorable of the all a off white unicorn filly with a multicolored curly mane mulberry/pink rose. she's the smallest out of the group 14", her horn is small compare to the adult unicorns like a small ice cream cone and she has the lion-like tail which seems to mostly run in unicorns. she has her head cocked to the side with a large frown and glistening eyes.
There was also a border collie who also had its ears splayed back, weird its eyes look like they'd have more emotion than usual dogs.
"We're so, so, sorry mister we didn't know you were a nice monster, everypony in town were too scared so we thought we would get our cutiemarks for monster hunting if we caught you." said the white one.
"Can ya ever forgive us." said the cream yellow filly.
You just cant say no to those faces and not be a real monster.
"Aww, its a'ight but next time do a little more research on your target you never know whose nice or bad. (In Red Dead Redemption Bigfoot is an example). the three fillies faces brighten up
"All right know youngins head on inside dinner is awaitn inside." The trio gallop inside the barn door.
"I swear every time them tree go on a sleep over they're doin somethin foalish to get their cutiemarks. they'll have to learn it takes time sooner or later, darn youngins always tryin tah rush somewhere." she mumbled.
The old mare notices me again "Oh sorry sometimes ah ramble on like that, did ya need anythin?"
Before I can even respond my stomach protest its lack of nourishment with a loud growl.
I can't help but blush (Dark skin though) "Heh, you wouldn't happen to have room at that dinner table would you?"
The Apple Family is a very hospitable family they welcomed me in as if I was one of their own. I even got to meet a lot of new ponies Granny Smith, Big McIntosh (not as big or as talkative as his father but big nonetheless), Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle Rarity's little sister, The family guard dog Winona, and Ditzy Doo Hooves whom couldn't stay to eat dinner but had a muffin in her mail bag for the road.
Also for those of you wondering 'Calvin why do you keep saying dinner when its like the middle of the day shouldn't it be lunch?' Chill out mutha fucka I didn't forget relax.
Its because Southern men or ponies come from the fields tired and hungry, so they have a large meal that would be an equivalent to the dinner people in suburban cities would have. Then at night they'd have supper which is equal to lunch.
Now yet once again I know what you are thinking 'Calvin I know they had you eatin nothing but apples and apple products.' well you're kinda right sure there were some apple related food on the table apple pie, apple fritters, apple cider and even apple jam but there were more components to the food pyramid. Collard greens, macaroni-n-cheese, baked beans, bread rolls. granted there was no meat but I wasn't expecting any.
We all socialized around the table telling stories (Granny's got a lot of stories) and jokes. Sweets, Scoots, and AB the nicknames I've given them are apart of a club called the cutiemark crusaders where they actively search for their special talents and some of these attempts are... astounding I mean mountain climbing and underwater exploration? How old are they really?
Welp its about that time to go im full and I still have the hunger to explore this town. Turns out Granny was among the first to settle the area and found Ponyville, who knew?
I begin to take my leave as everypony waves me goodbye.
"See yall later Calvin, feel free to stop by Sweet Apple Acres anytime ya hear!?" Applejack shouted.
"eeyup!" Big Mac said in his deep voice
"Yall can come down to the clubhouse any time!" AB said.
"Bark, bark, bark!" even Winona was saying hear own goodbye.
I waved goodbye to the new friends I had made and headed back down the dirt trail.
Im back in the town and I guess all the ponies have started to get over the fear of me and I say started because I have a 4ft wide circle of space from ponies trying not to get in my way.
I decide to head back to Rarity's house but I have one small teensy problem.
"AW HELL NAW!" I yell scaring a lot of ponies in the process
IM LOST IN THIS FUCKIN BIG ASS TOWN!
'Oh wait' I think to myself 'Aint that the city hall right there?'
Sure enough large three story tower-like building in town square, completely out in the open.
*Faceplam* So freakin stupid.
I head for the large building to find a map so I can get back to Rarity and get some new clothes *Sniffs self* and maybe a shower.
> The Baker's Dozen
I step up to the white steps of the town hall, if anything else this has to be one of the most tallest buildings in the town with its tinted pink windows and assorted different flag colors that im sure have something to do with states. I open the door and walk inside to find that the interior is more like a ballroom than a town hall.
There were wood balconies on every side of the of the buildings inside with curtains working as doors.
Its not until I look beside me until I see the receptionist desk near a large doorway with a curtain, the receptionist mare sitting at the desk was reading some sort of fashion magazine with some pony named Fleur-De-Lis posing in a dress. The receptionist doesn't acknowledge my presence and I know she heard me open that door. I even tried saying something and she still ignored me.
"Hey excuse me." and still silence.
I see a silver bell sitting on the counter, knowing what I must do I raise my hand over said bell.
Ting...Ting...Ting...Ting! The mare merely shuffles and flips a page. upon seeing this I increase my tempo.
TIng,Ting,Ting,Ting,Ting! This bitch is still readin yall!
I begin to go all out with the bell as I hit it on the counter, floor , wall, and occasionally parts of my body. eventually I break it and now im beyond pissed off and in a fit of rage I yank the magazine from her hooves reviling a neon yellow unicorn mare with glasses and light blue mane she had her mane done in a ponytail, I looked straight into her face and yelled
" Rude bitch you're gonna to talk to me!" that may of came across a little harsh and I might have flared my teeth a little bit but she was being ignorant, I know she heard me ringin this god damn bell!
The mare is practically frozen to her seat with fear, at least she didn't run.
"That's better, now can I please get a map for this town?"
She ducks down and grabs two folded maps one for the town another for what is safe to say all of Equestria.
"Thank you misses..." I look at the name plate.
"Quick Type." I make my way back out door now equipped with two new maps that im using right now.
I take a look at the and realize how stupid I am Carousel Boutique is like right next to sweet apple acre by a couple of blocks away. Shakin. My. Head, gotta get in the game.
"Damn this map is big..."
I move back down south this time south east past Sugarcube Corner.
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
As I walk down the streets of Sugarcube Corner... sounds like some kind of candy land reference. I shake my head of those thoughts.
I push my smelly self forward to get to Rarity's house and put on a fresh set of new hoof made clothes. As I pass by a peculiar building that makes me hungry again.
A large overly decorated gingerbread house with lots of frosting and two cupcakes on top of it adorned with windows, sprinkles, and a water trough with pluming surrounded by pink flowers.
God this place is like diabetes for your eyes its so brightly colored and fluorescent, gah my retinas.
I wipe my eyes to fend off the brightness, I open them again and come face to face with Pinkie Pie staring me down.
"Whatcha doin?!" She asked with child like innocence.
"What the what?!" I stumble back and fall on my ass.
"How do you keep doing that?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about Calvie."
"You know the teleporting."
"What I just trotted over here, Pfft a earth pony teleporting that's silly."
"Sure, well I best get going." I say walking past her.
"Where ya goin?" She just catches up to me bouncing along the way.
"Back to Rarity's." I say with indifference.
When I said that she literally stopped bouncing mid air and I do mean stopped, she was floating there with anxious face.
"Yo, pinks what's wrong?"
"Umm, you probably don't wanna go back to Rarity's right now."
"And I don't because..."
"Because um, she's still making your clothes!"
"So ill just wait there."
"No, no, no it'll take to long, Oh I know you can wait at sugar cube corner!"
"But I-" Pinkie swiftly cut me off by pulling me by my hand into the pastry store.
upon entrance to the store a bell rings to let people now some one has entered, prompting a pony to come and provide service.
Pastries, Pastries everywhere.
"Hello and welcome to..." The pony in question is a tall and lanky 5'0" light amber earth pony with an under bite, and orange mane covered with one of those hats you get when you go into a Krispy Kreme, god I love donuts. He wears an peppermint patterned bow tie and a apron and green eyes. He also had a long neck for a pony, but that's as basic as a pony gets.
"Pinkie what is that thing?" he put on an anxious smile.
"His name is Calvin Mr. Cake, he's new here in ponyville and I thought he'd love to stop by at Sugarcube Corner while he waits for some new clothes." she puts a lot of emphasis on love.
"Pinkie can I talk to you for a second in the kitchen?" Mr. Cake said still keeping that smile.
"Okie Dokie Loki!" Pinkie and Mr. Cake both disappear behind an old fashioned saloon door into the kitchen.
Mr. Cakes head pokes back out from the door "Well be only just a few seconds."
I don't really care if he wants me here or not, I mean come on think about it if an employee of your well maintained establishment brought, I don't know Freddy Kruger would you want Freddy Kruger in your restaurant scaring everyone that comes in out?
Besides I still need to get to Rarity's boutique and then...actually I never thought of this before what the hell im I gonna do next after I get clothes, well the step B would be to find a place to rest my head then step C would be find a job because when I ended up here I didn't come here with my wallet so essentially im broke...Great.
I look back at the doors of the kitchen "God what is taking them so long?"
*Pinkie's POV*
"I don't know pinkie are ya sure he's not dangerous?" Mr. Cake asked Pinkie.
Mr. Carrot Cake has been talking to Pinkie about this new visitor that's been walking around all day that's gotten a lot of ponies shaken up. He doesn't want to be rude he's only trying to protect his family
"Calvin is the most nicest pony or human you will ever met, well on the count of him being the only human in Equuis." she said firmly.
"Oh I don't know Pinkie."
"Aww, please you let Gummy stay."
"Well that's because he's not full grown yet, but were talking about a full grown predator Pinkie."
"Pretty, please." she got on her knees and put here hooves together.
"Alright fine he can stay." Finally he lets up
"Yaahooo!" the pink pony commences to jump around in a circle.
"But if he threatens my family or my customers he's going to have to go." Pinkie doesn't care she's still hoping around in circles
Pinkies celebration is cut short by a shrill scream of what sounded like a filly.
*Calvin's POV*
'Come on now how long is a few seconds in this world?' I thought to myself, I've been standing here for a little while now waiting for them to be done talking.
I've been listening to music while I wait, so im just sittin there chillin rocking out to some Big Rock City when I look to my right and sitting there on the counter is a small green Alligator with weird purple eyes that stare into my soul.
"How did it even get in here so fast?"
The gator just sits there and scratches its head with the front... I don't know what it is, his flipper hand.
I calmly make my way over to it with my hand raised in an defensive manner.
"Hey there little fella." I reach my hand over the gator.
*Snap!* it decided to bite my hand, like literally my entire hand fit inside it.
I admit that my manhood is surely in question this day for I let off a scream that would frighten children.
mean while the music that i'm listening to fits the situation perfectly.
So here im fighting this alligator that has to be like 4x smaller than me and yet its relentlessly holding on to my hand, strangely and luckily enough it has no teeth so im not losing a hand but its starting to drool.
I'm trying everything from rolling on counters to waving my arms but the damn thing wont come off.
"What is this, what is this, what is my life?!" I shout at the ceiling.
I hear what sounds like babies crying upstairs and a set of hooves moving around quickly.
Mr. Cake and Pinkie pie finally come out to see what the commotion is about and see me wrestling the worlds smallest alligator.
What happens next astounds me.
"No, bad Gummy we don't bite guest without permission first!" Pinkie pulls the bastard lizard off me, its face has a sad look to it.
"Oh Gummy I couldn't stay mad at you." she rubs her cheeks on Gummy's.
"Are you alright?" Mr. Cake ask.
"Yeah, yeah im fine." I kinda brush him off.
"Pinkie you actually keep an alligator at your workplace?"
"Well technically he's not an alligator he's a Dwarf Caiman and I actually live here." Gummy the Dwarf Caiman has now made a nest in Pinkies fro.
"Same difference, and does everyone around here work at their own house?"
"Not everypony some go to the market to sell their things that they've made themselves."
I hear someone coming down the stairs and look to see a chubby mare coming down with two crying babies on her back she seems a bit tired as she moves down the steps.
her fur was a light cerulean and her mane which was in a style of frosting on a cupcake was crimson, her eyes were rose and she had fairly long fetlocks with a regular pony tail.
"Oh dear I just cant get them to stop crying I've tried to see if they're hungry or need a diaper change and... oh um who is this."
"There will be time for that later honey for now we have to worry about getting Pound and Pumpkin to stop crying."
The two little foals where wailing up a storm on their mothers back.
Pinkie Pie came bursting out the kitchen door with a bag of flour in hoof.
"Don't you worry Mrs. Cake I have got the situation under control!" she said with pride.
Mrs. Cake places the two foals gently on the ground.
A light tan Pegasus colt and a light amber unicorn filly are still crying. How can two earth ponies have a Pegasus and a unicorn?
Pinkie sits on her haunches lifts the bag of flour above her head and then proceeds to pour the entire bag on top of her head covering her in flour and turning her white.
If it worked before it didn't work now because they are still crying.
'Uh oh." Mr. Cake says
"Oh for the love of Luna make it stoooop!" Pinkie screams, even Gummy covers his...ear holes?
I guess its up to me to get them to stop crying, I did wake them up with all that commotion.
Since I know I cant sing I pull out my I pod and searched for a song from one of my favorite childhood movies and pressed play.
The two foals ceased their crying as Paul Williams sings Flying Dreams
"Dream by night, Wish by day love begins this way."
"loving starts when open hearts, touch and stay."
"Sleep for now dreaming's how lovers' lives are planned."
"Future songs and flying dreams, hand in hand."
"Love, it seems makes flying dreams so hearts could soar."
"Heaven sent these wings were meant to prove once more that love is the key, love is the key."
"You and I, touch the sky."
"The Eagle and the dove, nightingales we keep our sails filled with love."
"And love it seems made flying dreams, to bring you home to me."
"Love it seems makes flying dreams so hearts could soar."
"Heaven sent these wings were meant to prove once more that love is the key, love is the key."
"You and I, touch the sky the eagle and the dove."
"Nightingales we keep our sails, filled with love."
"Ever strong are future song, to sing it must be free."
"Every part is from the heart, and love is the key."
"And it seems makes flying dreams to bring you home to me."
The music dies down leaving two foals slowly falling asleep.
"It worked!" Pinkie shouts the Cakes quickly shush her before she wakes them up again.
Mrs. Cake carries the both foals on her back as quietly as she can back up the stairs.
"That was amazing was that you singing?" Mr. Cake ask me still whispering a little bit.
"Nope, the music came out of his little box thingy that he always carries around its filled with all kinds of neat stuff."
"Well whatever it is it sure did help us out today, feel free to come to Sugarcube Corner whenever you like."
"Thanks Mr. Cake, but I've really have to get going now I need to go get some new clothes from Rarity."
I walk out the bakery and wave goodbye to yet another set of friends I made (this has got to be a world record.) and continue my quest to take a shower. I can hear Mr. and Mrs. Cake talking in the distance.
"He's an nice Colt he just really needs a bath, he smells like Pinkie that day she decided to do the garlic challenge."
I quicken my pace to a jog. Need to get to Rarity now.
* 75 hours Later *
Not really it was only fifteen minutes. I finally return to Rarity's boutique its around 7pm now and the stores and marketplaces have closed down for the evening. I come up to the door getting ready to knock when I notice the door is slightly open.
"What the hell?"
The lights are off too...
Normally Im not into the whole scary things in life like, scary movies, scary games, and scary places. Which led to the dislike of Halloween, now im all up for the candy part of the holiday but is the scaring really necessary?
Past trick or treating has included an giant animatronic spider climbing down when I rang the door bell (mostly why im afraid of every large arachnid and insects) then there was that guy with the chainsaw, it was funny cause the whole time I was afraid to go into this inflated "haunted mansion" yes I know it was pathetic but I was young.
When I went through it was pretty lame, just two gargoyles with red eyes not really scary. Well I guess the people thought so too cause they had a guy rev up a fucking chainsaw as soon as people get to the house. When that happened I ran like hell of course my mom and grandma were there with me and they were laughing their butts off, I got my candy though shaken up in the process.
The only highlight of Halloween was when I got to pet that black snake and then got candy, best house ever.
But this wasn't Halloween, this is real life well as real as this is going to get being in a world of colorful ponies.
I hesitantly push the door open as it creaks just like in the scary movies.
'Rarity needs to buy some WD40 for this door'
"Hello?" I walk in and flick on the lights.
"SURPRISE!!!"
I about jumped out of my skin as what seemed like everyone in Ponyville was in Rarity's house. They were hiding in all kinds of places the curtains, the furniture and even the ceiling. There were unicorns and earth ponies with balloons tied on them so they float, some of them looked a little pissed. There was a large banner that read 'WELCOME TO PONYVILLE CALVIN' in blue letters.
"Were you surprised huh were ya, were ya?" Pinkie Pie a ball of energy as ever.
"Yes Pinkie you have surprised me, but how'd you get Ponies to get near me without crying wolf?"
"Wait why would they cry wolf you aren't a dog, are you?"
"...Never mind Pinkie."
The party in itself was an success the ponies were still afraid but they warmed up to me in the long run, and I even met some interesting ponies.
Lyra Heartstrings & Bonbon
When I first met Lyra at the party I thought she was crazy.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh." A 4'4" minty colored unicorn galloped toward me with a smile that rivals Pinkie's.
She pounced on me with the ferocity of a lion and gave me a hug that was as strong as a bear.
"I knew you were real, I knew it!" She yelled.
"Lyra will you stop you're making a seen." An 4'3" earth pony with a multicolored mane in hypnotic curls
"I told you humans are real, I told all of you and you didn't believe me!" she lifts me back onto my feet.
"But now I have living proof that humans exist, think of all the things he can teach us!"
"Do I know yall?"
"How do you know he's a human Lyra?" Bonbon asked.
"How do I know, Bonnie I've been seeing humans in my dreams all my life."
"Hi hello yes questions, so many questions um how do you know what a human is?"
Thus goes the story of Lyra Heartstrings who lived in Baltimare, she's been having 'visions' of humans since she was a foal the problem was she couldn't here the voices. She's seen a lot of things about humanity things that ponies always dreamed of but could never attain and sometimes she saw things that would give a minotaur nightmares. She tried to tell Ponies about the 'visions' but of course nopony believed her the other foals made fun of her, and her parents just brushed it off as a child's imagination gone wild.
That's until she met Bonbon, she may have not believed in Lyra but she saw past her faults and saw Lyra for who she really is. Unfortunately they went separate ways to different colleges. After they graduated they both headed for ponyville hearing that the small town had a lot of opportunity for ponies just starting out in the world, it had been two weeks since Lyra moved to Ponyville and one day she decided to visit a candy shop named "Simply Sweet" (Trademark) and low and behold Bonbon works there, and she lived a few blocks from her house. They've lived here ever since.
"Damn that's a pretty deep story."
"Umm sure, is that a human saying?" Lyra asked
"Yall got a lot to learn."
Thunderlane, Cloudchaser, and Flitter.
Thunderlane a Pegasus whom is Cloudchaser's "colt friend" is a part of a weather team that manages weather in Ponyville. If I didn't know enough I would say he was a bachelor with the way he acts. He's about 5'0" with a slate gray coat, mane is a light blue Mohawk. I didn't want to believe it before but I'm eating my words because Thunderlane pushed a cloud into Rarity's house (of which she did NOT approve) and showed me evidence of Pegasi magic even sculpting the cloud in different shapes being a show off.
I guess Rainbow dash felt the need to step up cause she proposed me a Sonic Rainboom and It was amazing it like a living jet but with rainbows, and im not gonna lie I sang the reading rainbow theme song out loud im man enough to admit that.
Cloudchaser and Flitter are obviously twin sisters they have the same coat color and mane color and even the same height of 4'6", thank goodness you can still tell them apart by their cutiemarks, mane style, voice, and Flitter has that big ass pink bow so we good.
DJ PON-3 (Vinyl Scratch)
This pony seems familiar to me like I've seen her before white coat, electric blue mane, and I cant see hear eyes with those goggles on but she bops her head to a song I've never heard of before something about "Trotting through autumn leaves." her tail is a lion tail and she has canines still unlike most ponies.
She a cool chic really, we shared music artist with each other and we both like Hip-hop but she kinda likes mine better than hers. She speaks of a roommate she has who's a little uptight and doesn't like wubstep or hip-hop much and instead likes classical music but she is in Trottingham visiting family.
I also met others like: Bulk Biceps a very muscular Pegasus with very small wings which is a medical condition so to divert attention from his small wings he worked out... a lot, Gizmo a nerdy earth pony in dire need of proactive, Cloudkicker who works at an rainbow factory making the color green, Berrypunch who is a resident drunk/bartender/wine maker, and The Flower sisters and they were very sorry about causing a ruckus over me.
Soon the party winded down and ponies began to go home, a few stayed to help clean up the mess.
Now all that's left is to decide where im going to sleep tonight, but Rarity had it covered and is allowing me to stay at her home free of charge which is awesome.
Soon everyone is gone and there's just me and Rarity, she took the liberty of hanging all my clothes in her guest room upstairs knowing that the problem of where I was going to live would arise.
"Hey Rarity where's your bathroom at?"
'Upstairs in between my room and Sweetie belle's room."
I thank her and head for the bathroom quick so I can do some business.
* A Few Minutes Later *
I come out the bathroom smelling so fresh and so clean with a towel covering my waist and head quickly for the guest room where I shall rest my head.
I open the door and turn on the lights which were powered by some weird crystal thing, the room was very lavish and expensive looking id hate to mess it up. I open the sliding closet door filled with basic everyday clothes like tee shirts, shorts, jeans, and of course underwear. (Rarity was sweating a lot when we talked on that subject I don't know why seeing as they never really wear clothes let along underwear) I put on a fresh new white tee and blue pajamas.
"I'm going to have to pay Rarity back for this somehow."
So I turn the lights back off and jump into the bed covering my self up in the blanket bout ready to black out.
"Goodnight darling!" I here Rarity shout.
"Goodnight Rares!" I yell back.
and then I grab some sleep which I will need for tomorrow for what's to come. |
Equuis To Calvin | Eight Legged Freaks | I wake up with the sense of someone or something on top of my chest and I think to myself-
' Its to early for this shit.'
So I push whoever it is of me and roll onto my side and try to go back into the land of slumber. Only for whatever this thing is just jumped back onto me, getting pissed off I take the blanket and throw it across the room when I do it I hear a loud bang noise and a high pitched screech. Funny sounded kinda like a cat.
"Alright-" I swing my legs over the edge of the bed "- who in the he... oh shit!
An white Persian cat lays on its side hopefully unconscious.
I run over to its prone form check to see if its still breathing- oh my god its not breathing. I begin to go into a full panic mode.
' Rarity is gonna be so pissed.'
Then I realize what I have to do"- I lean in to the cats face and open its mouth -" I'm gonna have to perform CPR on this cat.
I pump the cats chest lightly and blow air into the cats mouth which smells like nasty cat food and god knows what else, after repeating this at least three mores times the cat still shows no signs of life.
' Congrats you've single handedly murdered a generous pony's cat.'
Achievement Earned: Feline Fatality
I hear a weird gurgle noise coming from the feline, it didn't sound good but it showed it was still alive.
I lean in on the cats face hoping to hear something promising, only to get a claw in the face.
wow this cat is very mad right now the look its giving me, I feel something trickle down my cheek putting my hand there I discover that im leaking vital essence. The cat has its right to scratch me seeing as I almost killed it and it looks like it was getting ready to pounce when-
" Oh darling I made breakfast~!" I hear Rarity say in a sing song voice.
She walks into the room.
"Opalescence why are you?, oh my word Calvin what happened to your face?"
I tell her what happened.
" You did what !?"
"Accidentally killed your cat for a few seconds, look I saved her afterward."
Opalescence put her nose in the air and walked out the door, tail swishing to and fro.
Rarity just sighed and rubbed her temples "what is going on with my cat?" I hear her mumble.
"I made Breakfast down stairs eggs, jam on toast and orange juice I know its not Gustave or Pinkie Pie quality but I know my way around the kitchen."
Heading down the stairs there's a purple saloon doors which lead into the kitchen, the smell of eggs and toast hits my nose as we walk inside.
I offer to help with setting the table but Rarity insisted to do it herself "what kind of host would that make me?" she said." with the amazing talent of magical telekinesis (never getting used to that) she held two plates of food, a jar of grape jelly, two forks, two glasses of orange juice, and napkins all at once then placed them on a table near a large circular window with a view of the town hall in the distance.
Rarity sits down eerily like a human and daintily places a large napkin in her lap, I don't do any of that stuff I just eat my food. I've come to the conclusion that pony food is just naturally more delicious than human food for some reason or another, I cant really explain it almost like its healthier or something even the southern food tasted better here than back on Earth and its mostly bad for you. Speaking of southern didn't I meet Rarity's younger sister at Sweet Apple Acres where is she?
"Rarity, don't you have a younger sister that lives here in ponyville?" I eat some toast and wash it down with some orange juice.
" Sweetie belle, is sleeping over with her friends at Sweet Apple Acres -" she takes a bite of her eggs"- if I may ask how did you know I had a sister?"
"When I was waiting for you to finish making my clothes I went for a stroll and ended up on Applejack's farm where your sister and her friends jumped me and threw me into a net, but don't worry they didn't do anything harmful it was just a case of misjudgment."
"Im going to have to have a talk with Sweetie belle when she gets back...and figure out where she gets those nets from."
"Stuff like that happen often around here?" I ask now done with my plate, always was a quick eater.
"Oh dear you don't know the half of it," she said shaking her head and taking a sip of her juice.
I put my dishes in the sink and begin to wash them taking a look at the lemon scented dish soap "Dusk" and squeeze some onto the sponge to wipe them off.
"Rarity, im going to go wash up real quick."
"Ok Calvin, oh and don't worry about your clothes ill take care of them dear."
' Right, really going to have to pay Rarity back. '
I climb back up the stairs and grab a Orange polo shirt with cream stripes and a small symbol of a pony rearing up on the left side of the chest area, blue jeans, and socks. Going through my closet I notice something else on the shelf inside. Two pairs of Timberland boots one black the other a wheat color, there seems to be a note attached to on one of the boots it reads-
"Dear Calvin, while I was measuring you I noticed that your paws don't have any protective padding so I took the liberty of having the town cordwainer make you some boots from the measurements I took. I know your looking to find a way to pay me back but there is really no need to do so, your thanks is all the pay I need. Sincerely, Rarity."
'That girl really is a generous pony, she hardly even knows me and she had shoes made for me.'
I walk into the bathroom and place my clothing neatly on the counter and turn the knob thingy to warm and get into the shower.
* Five Minutes Later *
I step out the shower looking fresh to death and smelling so fresh and so clean.
heading back to the guest room and grab my maps just in case I start fuckin' up with my directions.
' Time to show Ponyville the power of African American style! '
I run down the steps and tell Rarity, that I'm going out to run some necessary errands for the day.
I leave Rarity to her own fashionista devises and walk out of the Dutch doors to face this amazing world once again.
Equestria may be amazing to me but I still yearn to return back to my planet or dimension, excuse my excitement of being on an alien planet with colorful talking horses. I doubt that anyone back home would believe that I went to some land of magic and dragons talking stuff like that I'd be put in a padded room faster than you can say "That fool is cray, cray!" So the order of my stops is Twilight's house for some information on how I got here, find a source of income, get food, and return back to Rares house for sleep. Pretty basic, I definitely see nothing that could go wrong with this at all.
The blinding shine of Twilight's castle provides a destination marker allowing me to not have to use the map.
As I step I hear the rocks satisfyingly crunching underneath my Tims, I look to the sky filled with clouds as numerous amounts of pegasi move about pushing clouds around and stuff not really amazed since Twilight talked to me about this on the train here and Thunderlane's example, but as interesting as all that is I need to head for the castle.
' Damn its a bit chilly out here probably should've took a long sleeve shirt instead, too late now. '
The ponies of Ponyville notice me passing through and wave to me and say things like "Good morning," or "Hey, Calvin what's up,"
its almost like there never was a misunderstanding that was a little on the speciesist/racist tip.
' Enough about that Calvin I think were being followed. '
I hear the pitter patter of tiny hooves looking behind me I see an entire group of little kids staring up at me in awe.
"Umm, hello?"
I open the floodgates as all those children start to ask me all kinds of crazy questions
"What are you!?"
"Where did you come from!?"
"Do you eat brains!?"
"Do you taste like chocolate?"
"How tall are you?"
"Have you come to steal our muffins!?"
All the foals turn to a light grayish violet coat and pale gold mane.
"What, its a legitimate question," she said.
The crowd begins to disperse as the three Cutiemark Crusaders trot towards me in a hurried pace, breathing heavily.
Scootaloo was the first one to talk "Were sorry, Calvin"-She takes in a few breaths-"we tried to stop them but I didn't bring my scooter with me," Scootaloo said.
Sweetie put her hooves on my legs "We told them about when you were at Apple Bloom's house, they all wanted to come and see you for themselves." Sweets had a distraught look on her face.
We all hear some obnoxious laughing and turn to see two fillies walking with an air of superiority, the other children start speaking in hushed whispers look to each other in anticipation.
I don't have to hear them speak to tell that they're the rich kids who look down on everyone because they don't have the next best thing or whatever it is kids bully about in this universe, then it hit me every foal in the group of kids had a cutiemark one even had a snail, a snail. The cutiemark crusaders don't have their cutiemarks yet which makes them prime targets for teasing, i look over to the three in front of me and see their faces of hatred and indifference you can feel the tension in the air.
"Well, well, well if it isn't the blank flanks and their pet mangy diamond dog going out for a walk," said the pink colored earth pony as she let out a laugh.
"Yeah why don't you put that thing on a leash, before the dog catcher takes it away," a gray earth pony with blue glasses snarked.
Wow I gotta hand it to these fillies they've got the balls to insult a full grown man and not run away with their tails between their legs, and their petty elementary school jabs they threw out they were nothing compared to comment sections on YouTube I mean wow I've never seen so much concentrated hatred in my life, but now were getting off topic.
"Hey you cain't talk about somepony like that he's our friend, and he aint no diamond dawg neither he's a whooman!" Applebloom crossed her hooves triumphantly.
"Well whatever he is, he belongs in a zoo somewhere."
"Okay I think I've had just about enough of this"- I pick up both verily annoying earth pony fillies by the scruff of their necks-" I believe its time that you two earned your just desserts."
"Hey put me down!" Said the bifocal wearing filly kicking around in my grasp.
"Let go of me you overgrown gorilla!" The tiara wearing pony is really starting to get on my nerves which is going to make this all the more sweeter.
I lift the two fillies above the nastiest trash can i could find next to a bench with a light post beside it and dropped them into it, all the kids laughed as i did this and the cutie mark crusaders cheered with joy watching their bullies be taken down a size. A lot of Ponies walked by but didn't say anything either because they still fear me a little bit deep down or they also didn't like these two.
The little pony with the tiara cutie mark popped her head out of the trash can and shook the trash of the top of her head. " You're, gonna pay for this, when my daddy gets a hold of you you'll be in deep trouble!"
I choose not to listen to the little twerp as i head back to the group of kids who were sitting in the same spot excitedly gossiping to each other about what went down and will probably talk about for awhile.
Scootaloo runs up and holds her hoof out. " That was totally awesome, I mean your not as cool as Rainbow dash but that's still pretty cool how you showed them who's boss." She continues to hold her hoof out expectantly, assuming that its a fist bump I bump my fist into her magenta hoof.
"Serves em right, they always bother us at school callin us names an pick on anypony without a Cutiemark," Said the little apple filly.
Sweetie seemed a bit nervous about something but doesn't say anything.
I was swarmed by a bunch of excited little ponies asking me how strong I am, comparing me to a "power pony" (whatever that is) or wanting me to pick them up and carry them around. But the two ponies who where admittedly over enthusiastic about my theatrics, two unicorn colts by the names of Snips and Snails. Snips is the 3'3" tall colt whose a bit on the tubby side and Snails whom I've mentioned before with a snail cutiemark is tall and lanky with a dopey look he is two inches taller than Snips. They kept bowing to my feet and tried to offer assistance but i usually don't like that type of stuff especially little kids.
"Alright you guys I cant stay here for too long, I got to go and ask your princess a few questions," I said trying to step out of the tiny crowd whom of voiced their opinion of this with aww's and sad faces that would make Godzilla cry.
As I begin to shuffle back onto my quest I'm stopped again by Sweetiebelle who seems to have something important to tell me.
"Do you even know who you just dumped in that trash can?" she asked her head tilted to side a little.
"A spoiled brat with a fake tiara?"
"Well yeah, but that's Diamond Tiara and her other friend you dumped was Silver Spoon, those fillies are daughters of two of the most wealthy pony families in Ponyville.They could get you in a whole lot of trouble!"
"Oh please Sweets I think I can handle two little girls, you should have a little more faith in me than that." I proclaimed putting my hand on my chest.
Sweetiebelle rolled her large green eyes " No, its not them you need to worry about its their fathers especially Diamond Tiara's dad his name is Filthy Rich."
'That name gives me way too much information to make assumptions.'
"OK, so he's another rich guy no big deal I've dealt with a prince before..." memories of nailing an angry Prince Blueblood in the head with a bathroom accessory still fresh in my mind.
"No Mr. Filthy, is different he owns chain of stores all over Equestria and is an extremely wealthy business pony and entrepreneur probably one of the most wealthy stallions in Equestria. I don't really know much about him but I do know that it wouldn't be very smart to mess with his daughter like you did, he's married too but his wife is in Canterlot for a few weeks."
That whole trash can thing may have not been the best idea I've had today...but it felt pretty god damn good. " Look I'll cross that road when I get to it but for right now I really gotta see Twilight, so if you'll excuse me I'll be goin."
I walk around the mini marshmallow filly and continue for the castle.
"Don't say i didn't warn you..." she cantered back into the fray of foals who looked like they were in the midst playing a game of tag.
Sweetiebelle's, words make me feel a little uneasy but i push on watching my back along the way.
* Twilight's Castle *
'Ah Ponyville castle at last.'I thought staring at the large golden doors guarded by two Pegasus guards one yellow the other grey.
The travel here wasn't all to interesting all though I saw a few not so new races on my way over here, consisting of cows, bulls, donkeys, and mules not many but enough to notice.
I step up the steps and try to open the door, but im blocked off by two wings blades with strange symbols engraved onto them got a pretty good look at them cause they were pretty fuckin' close to my face.
'Jesus, what the fuck!?'
"Halt citizen state your business here," The gray stallion said in a guttural voice.
Not wanting to fuck around and get my ass arrested I answered him with respect and urgency.
"I've come here to see the Princess," I announced.
"Were sorry but unfortunately the Princess had to step out for a moment, but we can leave a message..." ...
"Um sir?" The yellow stallion took a step back. ...
"Are you fucking kidding me I walked all the way... I walked from Carousel Boutique to here just to see the princess and she's not here, What kind of Crap is this she's a princess what could be more important than managing your town and country!?" I threw my hands up into the air in disbelief.
"I mean are you guys really serious right now, this is like you going into Kentucky Fried Chicken and asking "Hi, yes I'd like to order a the 12 piece meal with a Dr.Pepper." And then she says, "Hm, we aint got no chicken." And then your like, "What do you mean you're out of chicken?, did I walk into the wrong restaurant could've sworn this was KFC." And she's gonna suck on her teeth and be like, "You aint gotta have an attitude." And you know what she maybe right so you chill out, "Alright you know what let me just get some mashed potatoes and a biscuit." (Because KFC biscuit's are da bomb) And then she rolls her eyes, "We aint got no biscuits or mashed potatoes." And then I'm like- I mean your like, "What the fu- you know what fine, fine just get me my soda." you rub your forehead in aggravation. "Yeah the soda machine is broken and I'm on my fifteen minute break so." and this is the point where I snap run out the doors, go home and unleash my rage onto the pizza man because KFC doesn't have any fucking chicken!"
The grey guard gave me a bewildered look while the yellow one had the look of absolute terror.
"Umm, I don't know what a "KFC" is or what your talking about but what I do know is that her majesty and her bodyguard is at the element of kindnesses house helping her look for one of her animal friends in the Everfree forest I could give you directions if you like." said the grey stallion.
I raise up the map and shove it in his face "No I've got a map, but thanks for asking." I storm off to the direction of Fluttershy's cabin leaving two Ponyville guards confused and a little shaken up.
* Half way between the castle and Fluttershy's *
I've been walking for a long while now, I don't know how these ponies walk all these distances without dying of exhaustion or exposure then again I could just be lazy.
Looking at the map I notice an large area next to Flutters cottage called the Everfree that's outlined with a red dotted line with thick bold words written within the lines reading " Caution Wild Zone " and below that is a picture of a pony skull and crossbones.
'It cant be good if they gotta put a god damn skull-n-crossbones on it too.'
While im reading the map I don't notice the cloud slowly moving to my direction before I could react it was too late.
BANG
I nearly jump out of my clothes making a scream that would make Sweetiebelle's voice sound like Big mac's.
I hear the laughing of a certain multicolor manned pony and look up to see only her tail but still can see that she's having a laughing fit up there.
"Bwahahaha, the scream you made sounded like a little filly!"
"Oh, yes go on ahead and laugh it up." I said picking up my map which had fallen out of my hands when she scared me.
"Geez, what crawled up your plot and died."
I sighed and rubbed the side of my face " Sorry Rainbow I just came from Twilight's castle apparently she not there so now I gotta walk all the way to wherever district Fluttershy's house is."
"Pfft, are you kidding me Fluttershy's cottage doesn't take that long to get to,maybe you need to lose a few pounds." She then proceeded to pat my tummy.
"That's not fair you have wings you can fly...and I'm not fat, at least not that fat."
'So what I have a little bit of weight what do you expect me to be perfectly healthy, but can I be 102 with yall...the food of this century that they have out now is fucking delicious yall I mean have you guys been to Taco Bell with the little breakfast shit, the little waffle shit's. Um have yall ever had a mcgriddle those things is off the chain I be havin like three of them shits and those Oreos with the little cookie dough in the middle but they don't make them any more at least I don't think so last time I checked back at my apartment. I still got some in my pantry damn I should've sold them on eBay.'
"That's not what your gut says."
"Yeah whatever, but I'll have to talk to you later Rainbow Dash I gotta ask Twilight a very important question before the day is done."
I begin to lightly jog to Fluttershy's as Rainbow Dash kinda flying upside down leisurely next to me.
"So whatcha gonna ask her about?" She said.
"I'm going to ask her if she or Princess Celestia have found a way to get me back home." I said casually.
She suddenly had an look of anger "Oh, so your saying you don't like Equestria?"
I defensively put my hands in front of my face "What?, no I didn't mean that!"
Rainbow Dash laughed at my expense yet again. "I'm just pullin' your tail dude, I knew what your trying to say. You miss youre family don't you?"
I nod my head "Yeah..."
"I miss my family as well they live out in cloudsdale which really isn't that far but I have a lot of responsibility being the element of loyalty, and sometimes the safety of Equestria comes first. I still send my mom and dad letters every week although I wish in pony."
"What?"
"You know in pony, to give someone something face to face?"
I raise my eyebrow as in are you serious
"Oh, yeah right not from this planet...heh, heh I knew that."
"Suuure you did."
Me and the Pegasus mare walked (well I walked she floated next to me) in the cool autumn breeze talking about many things from my home planet like structures and how we walk with two legs.
"I don't really know much about how we walk but I think it has something to do with our spines." I said scratching my goatee.
"That's weird, plus with the way move it must take you guys forever to get around." She said holding out forever.
( Tell that to Usain Bolt)
"Well we use other methods of transportation..."
"You mean air ships and carriages?"
"Hmm, we used to but now we use things like cars, planes, and buses."
"What's a karrr do pirates use them or something?"
I chuckle "No, a car is basically a metal horseless carriage with wheels."
Rainbow Dash scratches her head "Okay now you lost me how does a carriage move without being pulled?"
"Well I was never a motor head back home but I think he engine in front of the car does most of the work."
"Alright I guess that makes sense but what about the plane sounds kinda cool."
I stop walking for a few seconds "A airplane is like a car but longer with straight wings on each side, most of them can go very fast.. maybe even faster than you."
That must've struck a chord with Rainbow Dash cause she stopped flying and planted herself on the ground.
"What, did you say?"
I grew a smug smile onto my face, I knew that would mess with her. Rainbow Dash has a massive ego and if she feels her title is threatened she'll want to challenge someone.
"I said that some of our airplanes could be faster than you?"
"Faster...than me?"
"Yup."
"Race..."
"What?"
"R-race..."
"Rainbow Dash, I didn't come here with a plane even if I did I wouldn't know how to fly it."
Her left eye twitched a little bit.
"Rainbow?"
She just sits there on her haunches left eye twitching every now and then.
Until she finally snaps out of it "I gotta go bye!" She lifts of into the air and sonic rainbooms away.
(Okaaay...may have broke Rainbow but I'm sure she'll be fine.)
*Finally at Fluttershy's house about time*
I've arrived to a small land bridge with a stream running underneath it. The cottage itself has bird houses seemingly infused onto the sides, its an amazingly pretty and whimsical out here, dare I say it more whimsical than Disney Land?
I walk up to the Dutch doors and knock four times.
The door opens but I see no one there, which is weird because the door was shut tight. Just as I'm about to make a U-turn I feel something tug on my pants leg looking down I notice a small white bunny with his arms crossed and stamping his paw on the ground impatiently.
"Umm, hi is Fluttershy home?"
The white bunny shook its head no.
"Well can you tell me were she is?"
The bunny points behind me at a dark foreboding forest that looks more like a jungle to me. I her a chattering noise of another animal looking back into Fluttershy's cottage I see a table with poker chips and cards on it and sitting around the table is a badger, a ferret, and...is that a fricken' bear? And it looks like our bunny friend is losing.
The bunny closes the door a little bit as if to say 'mind your own business.' Thinking I over stayed my welcome I decide to leave the mammals to their own devises. After the bunny rudely slammed the door in my face 'Sore loser.'
Walking up to the dirt trail that leads into the Everfree, I wont lie I have some doubts about just blindly running about in a dark...deadly...possibly toxic...predator infested... bug infested...forest.
' Bunny dude couldn't hook me up with a gun or somethin?'
Looking at the trail I see their hoof prints in the dirt at least I think they're theirs. "Well here goes nothing." I walk into the gaping maw of the Everfree forest.
' It shouldn't take too long to find them.'
* Approximately 30 minutes later *
O.K I don't know how long I've been in this god forsaken forest but it feels like its been days, I'm lost and confused and I there's something in the trees watching me in fact not just in the trees all around me. I tried marking X's into trees but I don't think it's working I have this sense of walking in constant circles and seeing the same exact tree doesn't make me feel any better about this, not to mention that there is hella amount of bugs in this forest. Bees, wasp, moths, lightning bugs, big ass centipedes its a Entomophobics nightmare!
' Alright since I've been going left, right, right, forward...then this time I'll go right, left, left, right better to hit and miss than to keep trying the same combination.'
The canopy is so thick it pretty much blocks out all sunlight, I'd call for Twilight or Fluttershy shit anyone but I don't wanna attract any wolves or a grizzly bear looking for an easy meal.
Taking the twisted and confusing dirt paths I definitely wind up in a different area just an area I don't want to be in.
As I'm walking I walk into what feels like a giant fabric sheet only I didn't get the soothing scent of Gain, No instead of an giant fabric sheet I've been lucky enough to walk straight into an big ass sticky spider web. Now what type of spider that could make a web big enough to trap a human young adult whose twenty two years old still in my prime mind you is a mystery to me but I think I will save the monster hunting to the folks at Destination Truth.
Trying to cut through the spider webs was definitely a dumb move on my part, Continuing to wriggle would probably only make it worse, as I struggle in the web beginning to freak out. I hear a snapping sound looking above me something drops crashing through the canopies I clench my eyes from the falling debris, Whatever that was it let me loose.
"What the fuck is that!?" I say staring at the object the set me free from my silky prison.
It looked like a large feline mummified in the webs it had small wings with "fingers" like a bat and a exoskeleton of an scorpion tail, whatever it was it looked like it was a bad motherfucka before it was killed. Looking at my surrounding I begin to notice more bones than I want to on the ground (including a few ponies) considering that this place is verily unsafe I decide its best to turn back the way I came.
Walking back down the bath I hear a loud snap on the ground behind me making me in Instinctively freeze and listen, whatever it was it made a spontaneous clicking sound and smelled of death and decay. When it stepped it sounded like multiple people coming towards m-
' Oh what am I doing, just turn around!'
The spider had vicious mandibles that drooled what I really hoped was saliva and red piercing eyes, it's legs were fairly long and it was about half the size of a rhino and I couldn't really get much of a good look because by the time I was at the size I was far away from the web, with that thing still on my tail.
I wasn't trying to look back because that's how them little white girls in the bikinis end up tripping and gettin' ate, but then again the black guy always dies first on some bull bull (bull shit) so either way I'm fucked and from the sound of the quickened steps of the spider It was closing in on me, I had to think of something and quick.
Then it hit me...
While I was running I grabbed the lowest thickest branch I could grab and then stood my ground, no longer will creatures with an exoskeleton continue to push me around, all my life I've been running and now it's time that I stop and face my... fears?
The spider stops a few feet away from me and tilts its head like a confused puppy an ugly, ugly puppy. It just sits there as if unsure what to do clicking its mandibles and tilting its head all the time.
"Huh, I-"
The spider lets off a horrible scream that hurts my ears and lunges at me.
I swing as hard as I can successfully knocking it onto its side down but not out, I raise my makeshift club but before I can make the final strike another shriek comes from the direction I was heading and I'm tackled by another spider that was probably waiting for me to run into it or it's web.
' Clever girl.'
This spider was different its face was a dark red and its head was more bulky and muscular, instead of the mandibles being straight down they kinda make an L shape. Spiders may not have any pupils but I can feel it staring at me with hunger and curiosity just as it was about to suck the vital essence out of my face, I hear the heavenly tone of a crystalline hum and a bright red bolt of plasma hits it dead in the face but the shot wasn't lethal.
I sat up to see a disoriented spider with ash covering is face, it made a wheezing noise as it tried to wipe the offending dust out of its eyes. Eventually it cant take the stress anymore and runs screaming out deep into the uncharted forest until it was out of sight.
"Oh my, Calvin are you alright?" That voice I know that voice.
I turn around and see not only Fluttershy but Twilight, Frost Bite carrying a sword (Who still looks like she hates my guts), and a random rooster for some reason...okay I'll take that rescue.
"Yeah I'm a'ight, but what the hell was that thing?"I climb off my ass wiping the dirt and leaves off my back knowing Rarity's going to make a fuss when I get back.
"That-"Twilight takes a step towards the unconscious spider and nudges it with her hoof, it twitches a little bit which made Frost a bit on edge"-is a Banshee spider this one is a female the other one that was hit back there was a male or a "Red-Head" as some of the guards chose to name it, another one of the mysterious creatures of the Everfree."
A pack wolves howling pierces through the silent veil of the forest
"With all due respect your majesty I believe we should make a hasty return to the element of kindnesses cottage, before more creatures of the wilds come from bush." Frost bite said taking a defensive stance.
"The lieutenants right come on everypony, lets go before it gets really dark out here...that's when thing really get scary."
The three mares marched forward down the dirt path, leaving me to look at the still out cold Banshee I was gonna kick it but then I heard a low growl coming from nearby.
Having had enough action for one day I race ahead to catch up to the group.
* Fluttershy's Cottage *
Finally back into the warm embrace of civilization, you know its funny how drastic the scenery changed here from happy sunshine and rainbows to darkness death and fear. Just goes to show that the Everfree is nothing to mess with Twilight told me just about every animal and plant she knows of from cockatrice to hydra. Also made sure to ask her about finding a way to get me home. Frost Bite went back the castle (good she's a party pooper) and Fluttershy was making some tea. Me and Twi both asked for raspberry flavored.
"Well, I've been awaiting the Princesses feed back on finding a way to take you home and since you didn't come from the mirror we don't really know how to get you back. Dimensional travel hasn't been invented yet you see."
"Mirror what's this mirror you speak of?"
"It was this whole mirror thing that turned out to be a portal to a different world with a species that looked exactly like you, well not exactly everyone there was skinny and well no offense but your not that fit. Also their eyes were larger than yours which leads me to ask a question. Are you blind?"
"No, Twilight I'm not blind."
"Oh sorry," she said.
Fluttershy came out of her kitchen carrying a tray of tea humming a happy tune as she set the tea cups on the tables and I took a sip of some.
' Some good quality tea right here.'
"I hope you two like the herbal tea I couldn't find any raspberry, I'm sorry."
"Its alright Flutters herbal tea is just as good."
But there's one question that be racking my brain ever since I went into that jungle of a forest.
"Fluttershy, why were you out there looking for a rooster anyway couldn't you have just bought a new one?"
Fluttershy gasped at the thought "And leave Mr.Bigsby to fend all on his lonesome in the cold dark forest?, Oh no I could never do that he's one of my animal friends and you never leave a friend behind. Oh and umm he's also the only male in my chicken coops."
For the longest time me, Flutters and Twi talked about the Everfree Do's and Don'ts, we talked until about seven PM and that's when me and Twilight went home. I'm sure Rarity's going to be very worried when she hears I went into the Everfree forest and had a little situation and I know she'll be a bit peeved about the clothes. But She'll forgive me...eventually but all I'm worried about is getting some sleep, running from giant spiders makes me sleepy.
If you walk through the streets of Ponyville on a quiet night and listen long enough, you can hear the screams of the Banshee Spiders hunting around in the dark spinning they're silk webs onto the forest trees.
* * * * *
> The Moon Horse, The Draconequus, And The Human
I walk into the front door of the Boutique Rares must've left the door unlocked for me, thankfully the lights are off so maybe I can try to sneak in here and fix up these clothes somehow.
I tip toe through the tailoring room and heading into the waiting/living room began to sneak up the steps, as I walked up them they made a pestering squeaking noise that got worse as I went up the stairs. Just as I made it to the very top, the lights in the living room flicked on.
She cleared her throat waiting for an explanation from me but I just kept still as if she couldn't see me if I didn't move.
"I'm waiting," She said, I could here her tapping her hooves onto the wooden floor.
"Um, well, you see what had happened was..."
" Oh Calvin, what have you gone and gotten your self into?" Rarity said putting her hoof to her face.
"I got into a little skirmish with some giant spiders nothing to bad I didn't get bitten or anything just roughed up."
Rarity sits on her haunches and rubs her purple hooves on her temples " I can already tell you will be a frequent costumer, How did you end up meeting such dreadful creatures...y-you didn't go into the Everfree Forest alone did you?"
I don't say anything I kinda just twist my foot to the ground.
"Calvin excuse my vulgarity but, what the buck were you thinking when you did that!?"
"Hey I just thought it was a regular old forest with everyday dangerous animals not some, "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" freak show!"
"It's not just some "regular old forest" its the Everfree one of the most treacherous places on Equuis!"
"Well how else was I supposed to know!?"
Rarity raises and brow to that "Really, don't you have two maps one of Ponyville and the other of all Equestria?"
"Pfft, them symbols could've meant anything."
"Really, like what?"
"Umm...It probably just meant pirate crossing?"
"See what I'm talking about you don't even know about the Everfree enough to just go parading around in there to, to...what were you even doing there in the first place!?"
"I was looking for Twilight to see If she knew how to take me home," I said.
There was a pregnant pause."Oh, dear I'm sorry I didn't know." she hung her head down solemnly.
"Please don't apologize it's not your fault you didn't do any wrong, you're just worried and I understand that besides she said it was going to be awhile before they found anything solid."
I hear tiny hooves moving at the to of the stairs looking up to the apex of the stairs, I see Sweetiebelle wiping sleep out of her eyes with her hoof.
"Rarity, I heard a lot of yelling is everything O.K?"
Rarity clears her throat and brushes her mane out her eyes "Everything's alright Sweetie just go back to bed."
Sweetiebelle yawns and walks back up to her room.
"Well Calvin its getting pretty late right now I believe its time to get some rest, Go ahead and put those clothes on the sewing table I'll get to them tomorrow."
"Thanks Rares." I go for a hair ruffle but she parried my hand away.
"Don't. Touch. The mane," She said seriously.
"Okay...Okay." Me an Rarity make our way up the old wood steps and head into our rooms I change into my pajamas and then do as Rarity says take my clothes down stairs and place them next to the sewing machine around there I see dozens of dresses and suits on adjustable garment racks. They seem the same as any tailored clothes I've seen before except most of the suit only cover the upper torso.
I head back up the to the second story, take a shower, and then fall into the girly looking guest bed.
' God what a night getting attacked by not one but two giant spiders, and then to be saved by a three talking magic ponies afterwards. I have to say I'm glad no one got hurt through that...well except for that spider we left unconscious in the middle of the pathway, that might not bode well.
Somebody should probably take care of that, but there is no way in hell I'm going back into that forest besides I'm sure that everything will be fine unless somebody messes with it we should be fine.
I find a comfortable position to sleep in and without notice slowly drifted off into sleep as I lay there nodding in and out of drowsiness I think about my situation. Living in this world is hard, but the inhabitants are even harder...That and never go into the Everfree again NEVER AGAIN!
I drift into a blissful slumber as my mouth slowly opens letting drool come down onto the cool side of the pillow.
* Calvin's House *
The blaring sound of a cars alarm going off startles me out of my sleep, I groan and rub the temples on my forehead in agitation silently wishing whoevers car that so rudely interrupted me from sweet sleep would get crushed by a wrecking ball. Looking at the phone on my night stand I checked for the time."7 AM, Sunday morning another boring predictive day." I say aloud to myself.
Swinging my legs over the bed I take in the atmosphere of my room. Dark blue walls surround me on all sides excluding my bedroom door and sliding closet which were both white, at the foot of my bed was a flat screen T.V atop a television stand with an Xbox 360 (still haven't gotten Xbox one) chillin' in the shelf underneath it. All furniture was a dark color of wood I will never be able to identify.
I get up and look at myself in the mirror on my dresser. I stroke my goatee but I wasn't paying attention to my chin, no I was peering at the nappy hair on my head.
Nappy, definition: Tightly coiled / curled unaltered hair. Coiled hair in its natural state as found on people of African descent who do not chemically alter their hair texture. Used in a sentence: "Damn boy you lookin' happy to be nappy!"
Seeking to correct this I walked into my bathroom and brushed my hair along with other hygienic processes, coming out of the bathroom making for the next objective making breakfast but not without going through my hall way passing by the guest bathroom, guest room, and office. Making a sharp right I meander into my warm colored living room with brown couch and matching lounge chair.
The sound of bare feet slapping against tile flooring meets my ears as I come into my kitchen/dining room/laundry, opening my freezer I grab the first thing I see which just so happens to be blueberry Eggo waffles grabbing two of them and slipping them into the toaster slots and pushing the lever down. As I sit here and wait for my waffles to be done I cant help but think about that dream I had and how... bizarre it was.
' What the hell is a grown ass man doing dreaming about Technicolor horses, come on man get your act together dream about transformers or something.'
As preposterous as it all was it was all so very real, every smell, every touch, even the taste of the food there was realistic. And believe it or not the place was really starting to grow on me aside from the giant spiders which will haunt me forever, but at the same time I was away from my family...maybe that's what the dream was trying to tell me talk to my family more granted it took it a hell of a lot of time to tell me this. And I usually never really remember most of my dreams, so how is it that I can remember everything. Speaking of remembering I just now remembered those cookie dough Oreos!
Hearing the toaster pop takes me away from my thoughts of the dream I grab a paper plate and placed my waffles onto the flimsy plate and completely drenched them with maple syrup, taking the plate into the living room I turn the T.V on to my DVR selecting a recording of Chappelle Show.
So now I just sitting there on my couch eating my favorite waffles and watching my favorite comedy show I can't help but notice something strange...
On the end table in between the lounge chair and the couch was what had to be the ugliest lamp I've ever seen in my life.
It's one of those things that make you think who the hell would by this for 500 dollars?
I grab the junk and walk out of my front door with the intent of throwing it in the dumpster with little care, It's a beautiful morning in Kingsville the air is very humid with the future promise of rain. I open the dumpster and throw the lamp in the garbage, then take it to the curb so the garbage men can pick it up as soon as possible.
I think about calling my mom and grandmother, when I came back in sitting there on the same exact place it was before I grabbed it.
"Wh-what the hell?" I walk over to the little lamp with not much to offer pick it up and threw them into kitchen waste bin. Once again turning back around sure enough the lamp was there in the same exact spot.
I can't help but have some familiarity with this strange object but quickly throw that out the window and by that I mean the lamp.
Turned back around and guess what the stupid lamp came back only this time it was on the dining table and thus began the strangest experiences I have ever seen in my life and I've seen some shit now.
Every time i moved it somewhere it would end up in some other random place that I never recall putting it, one second its in the dining room the next it's the kitchen, another moment it's in the bath tub the next it's back in the living room again. The channel kept changing to sappy soap operas and lets not forget to mention that I found that someone ate my waffles and didn't even leave a single crumb for me, and at this point I'm pissed royally pissed.
You fuck around with me and this lamp, you can change my channels, hell you can drink all of my chocolate milk, but god dammit you don't just break into a mans house and eat his blueberry waffles! I also realize that I got freak on my hands.
I arm my self with the best weapon I could find, a back scrubbing brush what can I say wasn't prepared for a burglar this weird caught me way off guard.
The lamp is now complete gone, but now there's a new threat I can hear the sounds of somebody rummaging through a fridge. This dudes gonna jack all my groceries...is the struggle really that hard?
I slowly make my way towards the opened fridge door growing closer and closer to the criminal, upon arrival I can hear him humming a tune under his breath.
'Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm just a pinch. Hmm, hmm, hmm, add a teaspoon of vanilla.'
I raise my weapon above my head and strike...
...nothing but air
"What the what!?"
The guy disappeared but he left a massive mess in the kitchen cupcake pans and batter spread everywhere.
I feel a tapping on my left shoulder turning left there was no one there, I hear some one whisper 'Over here' in my right ear and some thing furry tickles my ankles. I hear him laugh at my frustration and expense as I look around franticly like a madman hearing the voices in his head, there was a point when I thought I did go crazy.
"Behind you..."
I whip around quicker than a cheetah on speed with a sense of accomplishment that is quickly wiped off my face as I see my offender whom was none other than-
"Discord!?" I said astonished and afraid that he was here.
"Ah, Calvin Maurice Stubbs I don't believe that we've been legitimately aquatinted since Celestia's little "Soiree." he made quotation marks with his claw and paw.
Upon being this close to him I never really noticed how tall he was before, just about every part of him was uneven including his eyes.
"I wanted to try an old cupcake and greet party but it seems my cooking skills aren't as amazing as I thought they'd be." He looks to the massive mess that is my kitchen.
I suck on my teeth"Naw you think, how the hell you even get here anyway?"
"You left your garage door open." Discord nonchalantly checks his lion paw.
Sure enough there my garage was wide open "Aint that about a bitch."
"No Calvin I don't think its about a female dog I think its about your distinct lack of home safety." Discord sits over the stove pouring batter into the pan while wearing an apron I've never even seen in this house before that says "Kiss The Draconequus."
"Oh, no, no, no HELL no you need to leave I don't know how you got on Earth but you need to go back with your magically confusing powers!" I try to push him out through the garage but he teleports in a flash.
I turn around and see Discord watching my flat screen T.V, sitting on my couch, with his feet on my table and eating a big bowl of my popcorn." Have you seen this episode isn't it hilarious?" he said stuffing some popcorn into his mouth, he then laughs and popcorn kernel debris goes everywhere on the coffee table.
I gonna have to get ghetto on his ass. "Hold up, hold up, hold up. That's three times, hol- that's four in a half I'm gonna have to ask if you can get your dirty ass feet off my fuckin' coffee table son." I push them off the table.
"Well fine then"-He stands up from the couch with a hmpf, muzzle held high in the air-"if this is how you treat guest then quite frankly I don't wanna stay here for much longer."
as he heads for the front door I quickly run over to the foyer to see him out, as he steps out on to the front porch he stops and turns to me.
"By the way have you-" Before he could finish his sentence I slammed the door in his face.
'Now that that's over now I can focus on cleaning the kitchen...and the living room...and getting a lock on my garage.'
"Calvin you didn't let me finish."
"Aww, come on!"
I see discord leaning on his shoulder in the hallway with the smuggest smile.
"How'd you even get in here again!?"
"Your bedroom window was open."
(Meanwhile in Calvin's room there lies shattered glass and a single brick on the ground how he heard nothing is a mystery that will never be answered)
"Look I don't care how you got in here but you need to go straight back to planet Equuis, I have no patience for this right now."
"As I was trying to say before this place isn't as real as you think it is, have you noticed anything strange or out of the ordinary anything at all?"
Actually I do have a bit of a strange feeling now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know its like everything here isn't real"You know what-"
Theres a loud explosion heard coming from my room.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now!?"
Running into my room theres blue sparkly dust flying around the room everywhere, I could hear a female coughing in the mist as it cleared I saw yet another familiar face.
"Well, well look whos joined the crazy party." I say arms crossed quite frankly I'm not even surprised.
"You two were having a party?" Princess Luna cocks her head. She looks to the ground and sees the shattered glass spread all over the carpet. "It looks like you two were having a bit too much fun."
"No, but there's something crazy going on here...wait a minute...am I in a dream?"
"Ding, ding, ding we have a winner! Suzie tell the man what he's won." Shouts discord standing in the door way.
"Why didn't you tell me were in a dream if you already knew about it what the hell?"
"Ya know I thought you'd know a dream when you saw one, but when I was just simply pushed out the door I decided to try and give you a few hints and then I blatantly asked you. You would think a creature from an advanced civilization such as yours would of picked up on that by now." The 'Draconequus' or at least that's what I think he is it said that on his apron looks to Princess Luna questioningly stroking his white beard. "And why if you don't mind me asking, are you here dear Princess of the night?"
"I was merely traveling through the halls of the Dreamscape when I came across an door I was never familiar with before and I've just about memorized them all, it generated an strange aura almost alien I should have known it was your door. But I have to give you credit where its due your door was incredibly hard to budge almost as if its 'hinges' were rusted from long a period of neglect."
Discord nodded in agreement. "Oh it's true the first time I tried to get in here was a real hassle"- he knocks on my head as he does so I swear I hear the sound of someone banging on metal-"You've got a real thick head there."
"Which reminds me I thought I told you to stop invading other ponies dreams, how many times must me and my sister tell you its been two weeks!" Luna shakes the blue mysterious sparkly dust residue off of her coat, flapping her leathery/feathery wings to keep it away from her body.
"Oh come on Lulu were still on this!? Only one pony caught me in the act and that was my best friend in the whole world Fluttershy, we were having such a delightful conversation nothing concrete just idle chit chat." Luna's pupils narrowed a bit being called that nickname.
"I can't speak for the element of kindness but I can speak for the one-hundred and sixty six Canterlot citizens coming in with complaints of having nightmares and seeing a male serpent-like figure at the same time, you gave a colt so much of a fright he wouldn't come from his parents flanks."
"Please he was obviously exaggerating and even if he wasn't then how was I supposed to know he was afraid of clowns, who goes to a birthday party without a clown its simply unheard of!" The Draconequus said arms up in the air.
"Umm, excuse me but can we all come back to the situation at hand? I still don't really understand this, so can all ponies do this invasion of another's mind thing?
"Well I wouldn't call it an invasion but no as far as Im concerned only me and Discord here can enter a ponies dreams and memories...at least without killing them."
"What was that last part?" my voice cracked a little.
"Oh nothing." She takes a look around my room in great interest.
"So this is what a humans room looks like, i wont lie its a little underwhelming compared to what me and Tia were imagining." She takes interest in my television and Xbox walking over to it she sniffs it, which was a weird thing to see but as she's sniffing it her nose rubs up onto the sensitive power button turning it on with a hum (due to the thumb drive in the usb slot) the noise makes her jump with a adorable squeak.
"What is this thing?" she says taking a hasty step back.
"This"-I say patting the top of the big black box-" is an Xbox 360 a gaming system for entertainment purposes."
She gets the look of recognition in her eyes "Ahh, much like the arcade games set up in the Ponyville fun house!"
"This my be a little bit different than what you're used to, i don't think you would be too interested." I said as I turned the T.V. on to the correct input.
"Oh contraire, I'll have you know that im a shark when it comes to video games. I can get very competitive."
"She's not even kidding I've seen her play before its brutal." Discord added.
"We'll have to see about that..."
I pull out a game that im especially familiar with.
"Tell me Luna, are you familiar with a game controller?" I asked twirling the CD around on my index finger.
"A what now,what kind of game is that?" she looks to the CD in my hand.
"How about we play a little Gears Of War 3?" I made the biggest shit eating grin I could muster.
4 Long And Stressful Versus Matches Later
I don't even know what part of me thought this was a good idea in the first place its been at least I don't even know how long, is there even concept of time in a dream? I thought since I was the one familiar with the more advanced of gaming technology (to them at least) my team would be the one racking up the points but I was sadly mistaken for Luna is a formidable opponent; I don't know how she figured out the controls so quickly but as soon as she did she screwed the both of us me and Discord. Luna was on the side of the COG by herself while me and Discord were opposing her from the Locust side.
Luna choose the character Cole Train, I choose the Kantus (because Kantus is best Locust), and Discord was a Theron Guard. The first match was a complete success with the help of my guidance me and Discord won the first match. To be a bit merciful and not come across as a total dick I taught Luna how to play the game and what the best weapons were, I even gave her a short summary of the Gears Of War story...all this and more was a great mistake. As soon as she got these tips she took off getting head shots left and right, making outrageous executions that I've never even unlocked, and making good use out of every weapon needless to say we stood no chance, not to mention Discord is the definition of a noob. how somebody kills themselves with their own weapon is beyond me. The only good points we got were from me resorting to camping its a legitimate strategy!
"Aha, fifth time in a row nopony can stop the Cole Train baby whooo!" Luna gloats for as you heard the fifth time in a row now.
"I gotta give it to you Princess, your really good at video games I admit defeat. But you Discord you; what the heck was that!?"
"What was what!? I did exactly what you told me to do!"
"You were doing the exact opposite! I told you to grab the frag grenades you grabbed the smoke you knew that wasn't going to work against her!"
"Frag grenades, Smoke grenades, Ink grenades what's the difference!?"
"There's a very obvious difference there if you would have listened!"
"Boys..."
"I was just trying to have fun with it, but instead I got somepony breathing down my neck!" Discord said pushing his face into mine.
"I wouldn't be breathing down your neck if you didn't die from your on crossbow bolt!" I pushed my face back.
"Boys!"
At this point are faces are clash for a battle of dominance (this is starting to sound like a clop scene isn't it? ).
[Royal Canterlot Voice] "BOYS!" she used that voice thing which grabbed our full attention.
"What!?" We both said in unison.
"Do you two smell that?" She said sniffing the air.
As I smelled the air the first thing I smelled was burning food.
"Discord did you leave my oven on?" Discord replies with a simple head shake no.
"Nope, turned it off starting a fire was none of my intention"- he makes a wild series of motions-" Cross my heart hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
Taking another whiff I can tell that the smell has gotten a lot stronger almost as if its source is in the room with us, my vision starts getting weird and hazy.
"Guys what's happening?" Seriously this is starting to freak me out now.
"Its O.K. Calvin your just beginning to awaken from your slumber this is natural, but the smoke that's new."
My vision grows hazier and hazier by the second and I can almost barely make out what Luna and Discord are saying and this ear piercing ringing that just started is grating at my ears eventually my world goes black.
When I reopen my eyes I'm back in Rarity's guest room, there's smoke looming in from the door, a terribly loud alarm is going off without relent.
I caught a brief sight of Opalescence running to hide underneath the bed I was laying on.
Due to the conditions of my surroundings my slow waking mind could only come to one conclusion
' Sweet Jesus its a fire!!!'
' Aint nobody got time for that!!!' |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | pre | Dawn hurriedly scrambles out of her sleeping bag from the cuddle pile and rushes over, opening the door and diving to hug her sister Noon while tearing up in relief. "I-I'm glad y-you're here s-sis."
Noon barely manages to catch Dawn and stands up bipedally to both hug Dawn and run her hoof through Dawn's hair. "Woah! What has an awesome filly like you so upset, Dawn?"
Dusk's horn lights up briefly as she teleports inside the clubhouse and sits down. "Indeed, what could scare you so bad you five are huddled up in a pile shivering with nightmares."
Noon transfers Dawn to her own back before falling back to all fours and crawling into the clubhouse. "We're willing to listen if it will help you squirts out, and given some of the things we've heard you've tried, it must have been really terrifying. Come here, squirts." She then sits down by a wall, transfers Dawn into her lap, and motions for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to join Dawn almost in her lap.
As the pair scramble to take the invitation with one on either side of Dawn, Dusk sits down with a creak next to Noon and makes the same invitation to Sweetie Belle and Lightning Sunrise, who quickly take it. Noon holds Dawn in her arms while her wings each hug and push Scootaloo and Apple Bloom into Dawn and herself. Dusk, meanwhile, just wraps an arm each around an undisguised Lightning Sunrise and Sweetie Belle.
Noon's horn then lights up and pulls out some paper and quill. "I hope you don't mind me recording this. Hopefully, you'll be able to laugh at this in the future."
They all shiver in the adults' grasp at that. "I-I doubt that..., b-but if it s-stops anyone else f-from g-going there..., w-we'll re-relive that n-nightmare."
Scootaloo puts a brave face on as she starts the tale, "We were on our way to Zecora's in the late afternoon with Applejack leading us to her to learn the properties of plants that bloom at Dusk...."
(Yesterday, ~4 PM, Clearing on Road to Zecora's Hut)
"It's odd there's a tree fallen across the road here." Applejack kicks the tree blocking the crossroads exit in the Everfree Trail leading to Zecora's one last time. "You four stay here while I see if I can find where the other end of Zecora's path reconnects to the Everfree trail."
The CMC all agree, leading Applejack to reluctantly go down the further path on the road merchants very reluctantly use. Their staying lasts all of a minute until Scootaloo spots an ancient crossroads marker in a beam of sunlight let in by the falling of a tree.
Scootaloo wanders over to the map and looks over it before beckoning the rest over. "Come on over, you three! I wonder what treasures this map will lead us to?"
(Dawn shivers here and pulls out a copy of the map she made. "I made a copy while they talked and I hid. The red marks are stuff I fixed.")
Sweetie Belle looks at the map, turns to look where the road to Everfree City is, and spotting its remains, turns to Lightning. "Have you ever heard of Everfree City?"
Lightning puts a hoof under his chin and thinks. "No, I can't say I have, but this map looks ancient, and there's no mention of Ponyville."
Apple Bloom points down a different, almost covered road. "What about S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉? I just saw a white filly with red mane go down that path leading towards the White Tail Woods?"
Lightning's wings light up as he assembles some nearby branches to form a big arrow pointing towards S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉. "It can't hurt to check the place out. Who knows what we'll find, but someone must be living there for a filly to be present." He then leads the way down the path with an unseen Dawn following along behind.
It isn't a terribly long walk down the narrow path before they exit from a break in the trees to stand before the town's main gate. Lightning spots a sign by the main entrance and goes to walk over when Dawn exits the tree break, running into him and causing them both to land on a ruby.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom move to help Lightning and Dawn up, respectively. Spotting the bow in Dawn's hair, Apple Bloom accosts Dawn. "Who are you, why were you following us, and why do you have a similar bow to mine?"
Dawn stumbles as she gets up but smoothly answers, "I'm Half-Light Dawn, and my family just moved into Ponyville." She then pointedly shows her blank flank. "My family and I tend to be a bit shy, so I had hoped to ask if I could join your little club at Zecora's." She then shrugs as she finishes, "the bow is a gift from a friend of my mother before we moved here."
Apple Bloom frowns a little at those answers as she absently picks up the ruby, but Sweetie Belle approaches her and gives a hug. "Well, you've got some courage to come out here just to join the club. All in favor of letter her join raise your hoof?"
Sweetie Belle, Lightning Sunrise, and Scootaloo all eagerly raise their hooves while Apple Bloom reluctantly does. Receiving that vote, Lightning reaches over and pats Dawn on the shoulder. "Welcome to the club. Now let's see what the population of this S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ is?"
They all move over to the sign by the gate and read the town's motto:
Sweetie Belle looks at her blank flank before sighing in relief. "Well, it's a good thing none of us have our Cutie Marks yet. Lightning or Dawn, have you ever heard of years being numbered with 'EE?'"
Lightning moves to enter the town, with the rest following. "I haven't, but I suppose we can take a look around."
However, they stop dead in their tracks when they spot a very tall pole in the village center with long streamers hanging off of it. A nearby grey pony with a black mane approaches them. "Welcome to S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ fillies and colts. You're just in time for the maypole festival and feast."
Scootaloo recovers first from that news. "Who are you? And what's a maypole festival?"
The strange grey stallion just offers them a bow before gesturing grandly. "I'm Grey Hoof, master of festivities. We're celebrating the spring planting and the announcement of new couples. Now I insist you spend the night. Don't need you getting lost on your way back to Everfree City, Dodge City, or Canterlot Town."
The CMC all agree with nods to his request before Lightning leads them away to stand beside a building. "Weird! It's like they are trapped over a century in the past."
Dawn nods to what he says. "Let's try and find another way out of here." She looks around and, spotting a glum-looking burnt orange stallion with a blue mane blocking a doorway close by, walks over. "Does the town have another exit?"
She bounces for a few seconds before realizing she isn't going to get a reply. "Seems like you're having a bad enough day you don't care? What can we do to make it better?" She then stares at him with her best puppy dog eyes while the others walk over and do the same.
It doesn't take very long for him to finally sigh and point at a light grey pony with an orange mane. "I lost my engagement gift for Starlet over there. It was a bright red shiny rock I last saw outside town."
Apple Bloom pulls the ruby out of her bags and asks, "Is this it, mister...?"
"Roneo, and that is it." The stallion joyfully picks it up out of her hooves. "As thanks, I'll tell you there may be another exit out that away, but it's a pretty tight passage if it still exists. The key is inside this building, however."
The CMC all notice his lack of Cutie Mark as well, but don't bring it up for now as they watch him stand up and walk over to greet his significant other.
Entering the building, they realize it is a warehouse with some loose wooden boxes blocking the pathway. Working together, they manage to make their way through to find a well handle and a sorrowful ranting dark-grey pony with dark red hair in relatively short order. Spotting them, she glares at them as she continues. "...it is not right that this should happen again and again. YOU FIVE! Take the crank and find the key in the well! Not right, not right...."
Hurriedly, Lightning grabs the crank and stuffs it in his saddlebags before they make a hasty retreat and exit the warehouse. Having not seen the village well so far, they head deeper into the town.
Along the way, they pass by a brown stallion. Scootaloo stops and asks him, "Hey, mister. What's with the grey and red pony crying in the house Roneo was lounging in the doorway of?"
The rest stop to listen to his answer. "The name's Gladstone. Poor Mitta there is very sad her sister drowned in the town well a few months ago trying to get the key to the gatehouse on the other exit out of town. She's convinced herself that another foal will drown doing the same thing."
Apple Bloom frowns at that and asks something they've all been thinking, "Mister Gladstone, Ah noticed no one here has a Cutie Mark?"
Gladstone looks up at the evening sun before slowly walking off. "I've never heard of one of those. Now, I've got to get ready for the feast."
They all frown at that but soon spot a well as they walk deeper into the town. However, it already has a crank, so it must not be the one the CMC needs, so they continue deeper in and all decide to stop by a green pony.
Lightning decides to be their spokesperson this time. "Hey, miss...?"
The green pony turns to face them with a slightly annoyed smile on her face. "Three Leaf."
Lightning cautiously continues. "Miss Three Leaf, how come I haven't heard of S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ before today?"
Three Leaf shrugs and smiles proudly. "We're pretty self-sufficient. Since our founding, we haven't had to really ask Everfree City or Dodge City for help."
The mention of Everfree City causes them all to look at her slightly weirdly, but Lightning asks, "Are there any other wells in the town?"
Three Leaf, in response, just points deeper into town. "There's one by the abandoned gatehouse. It's where Ruby drowned. Now, you don't follow her path, please."
They all nod, slightly freaked out but trying not to show it, the CMC wish Three Leaf a quick goodbye.
The CMC then heads deeper into the town and out into its outskirts just as dusk falls. Lightning is the first to stop. "There's something very wrong here."
Apple Bloom nods her head. "It feels like they weren't giving us the whole truth about Mitta and Ruby."
Sweetie Belle turns to Dawn. "I'm sorry your first adventure with the Cutie Mark Crusaders had to be like this."
Dawn just smiles back sadly. "It's ok, you four. Sometimes the beginning adventure isn't a happy one."
Scootaloo spots something and points deeper in the woods. "I just saw your filly go deeper in!"
Scrambling, they rush after the filly and spot her just as she enters the house. They approach the door and try it but find it to be locked. Scootaloo then frustratedly huffs. "I hope the well has that key. I don't want to admit it, but this place is freaking me out."
The rest nod their agreement and quickly find the well. It doesn't take too long for them to attach the crank and raise the bucket. Dawn grabs the key and approaches the door. "I hope there's an exit through here. I'll take whatever punishment my family wants to give me."
She then unlocks the door to sounds of agreement from the others as they all pile in. Splitting up, they search the building for an exit while Sweetie Belle dances, trying to keep her hooves off the floorboards as much as possible. "I hope Rarity never fi-"
Whatever she was next going to say was cut off by the sound of Apple Bloom shrieking and sobbing. Everyone's heads whip around just in time to watch her back away from the lit fireplace, going bipedal to get away faster before hitting a wall and slumping down into a sitting position where she sobs and points at what she saw.
The rest, freaked out by her actions, approach the fireplace only to watch a hidden flaming skeleton of a filly stand up and make tortured sounds of agony. She then starts coming towards them, at which point they rush out, Lightning pulling Apple Bloom along using fright-boosted adrenaline.
They stop in the darkened clearing outside the house, panting. Dawn, looking a little green, is the first to catch her breath and manage to avoid vomiting. "What monsters could turn such a happy beginning into a sad ending like that!?"
On the other hoof, Sweetie Belle isn't so lucky and throws up her lunch on the ground while shivering.
Scootaloo, meanwhile, shivers and swallows hard. "That was so not awesome and painful to witness."
Apple Bloom finally manages to stop gibbering. "She w-wasn't m-much older t-than us a-and I-I saw h-her Cutie M-Mark."
Lightning, meanwhile, just sits rocking with his head between his hooves while his disguise flickers. "S-So much pain. S-So much hate. S-So much anger at o-one who f-found j-joy in her C-Cutie M-Mark."
Sweetie Belle finally manages to stop throwing up and looks back at the house, which is still lit up by the fireplace. "W-We need to l-leave. D-do you w-we s-search the h-house, or t-try to sneak p-past G-Grey H-Hoof?"
The rest look at the house as a scream of tortured pain leaves it, causing them all to scramble away back down the path while trees fall behind them. Dawn stops right before they reenter the town proper. "I-I think that answers that question."
Lightning peers into S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ and shudders as he puts a hoof to his forehead. "I t-think I know w-why we've never h-heard of S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ before! S-so much h-hate and g-grief and m-misery. L-Look."
The others look into the town as well and see how it went from a sunny if odd but whole village to a blackened town composed of rotting decaying ruins. Apple Bloom gulps at the sight. "I-I think w-we know now w-why Grey H-Hoof wanted us t-to stay for s-supper. W-we are s-supper!"
Scootaloo shudders before standing up straight. "We go through there as fast as possible without stopping for anything. Are you able to move Lightning?"
Lightning shudders but nods as he stands strong if a little shakily. "I can, but let's not stay here for long. This place drains me."
The rest gather themselves before nodding to signal they are ready to begin as well. Scootaloo puts herself in front with the others following through the maze of ruins that was S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉.
Shortly through it, however, G̶̩̝͋r̶̫͔͐e̴̱̐̈ŷ̵̹͙ ̴̘̈́͐H̶̗̙̉o̴͔̣̕o̴̤̎f̶̫͊ͅ'̷̟̱͌̓s̸̻̒͆ voice hauntingly echoes out of the trees, "There was no other way! She was going to spoil the party!"
Running away from the voice and near where they met her earlier, T̷̳͑̎h̵̥̳̒͝ŕ̵̗ẽ̴̢̼e̴̥̜͆͋ ̴̘̳̓L̸̟̦̅̕ê̵͙͋a̸̬̽f̵͕͍̊ rises up from the ground, a red-eyed decaying black skeleton of her former self. She doesn't chase the CMC as they slip past. "The Curse befell her this evening many years ago! She had the mark! She had to go!"
Fleeing from her the way they knew went to the entrance, G̶̪̜͒͒l̷̻͇̕ä̶̛̹̙́ḑ̵̠͋̽S̶͚͐t̷̖̐o̴̤̦͐n̶̢̺̎ḙ̶̝̑͝'̷̬̲̎ş̶͎̓͠ decaying skeleton rises from the ground where he had been earlier and starts walking towards them. Quickly thinking on their feet, they spot an alternate path blocked by a fallen boulder. Together they manage in their fear to shove it away. "Please... Stay with us! We will ensure the curse never befalls you!"
Running away from a skeleton that looks an awful lot like G̶̩̝͋r̶̫͔͐e̴̱̐̈ŷ̵̹͙ ̴̘̈́͐H̶̗̙̉o̴͔̣̕o̴̤̎f̶̫͊ͅ, they soon enter the ruined decaying festival square at the front of the town. Halfway to the exit, they realize a tree has fallen across it. They look back to spot Ŕ̶̭ơ̸̢̗n̶̼̔̐e̴̟̓̽o̷͚͉͂̏'̴̦̃̒s̸̱̳͝ decaying skeleton rise from the ground leading S̶͙͌ṱ̴̛̎a̵̲͕͘r̷̢͂͝l̷̠̲̉e̴̮̘̓ṫ̶̻͐ and G̶̩̝͋r̶̫͔͐e̴̱̐̈ŷ̵̹͙ ̴̘̈́͐H̶̗̙̉o̴͔̣̕o̴̤̎f̶̫͊ͅ. "All we want is friendship! The others won't like it if you leave!"
They run towards the exit, knowing they are trapped, when Mitta's blackened body rises from the ground and bucks the tree, causing it to splinter open enough for them to crawl through to relative safety. "Even in undeath, they are Fools! Run you Five for your life! I will do what I should have done for Ruby and protect you! Follow her if she appears!"
They rush past her when a flash of light near the end of her speech draws their attention back to Mitta, whose dark grey flank now supports a shield with a ruby on it. Dawn walks up and very carefully pats Mitta on her healthier-looking back with a wince. "Looks like your Happy Ending isn't gone forever. Congrats on finding your Special Talent."
Mitta smiles slightly at that as she motions to the hole in the tree once more. "Thank you, but my place remains with them until they see the error of their ways."
Nodding back, the five crawl through quickly, one by one. Once all five are on the other side, the filly whose translucent body the CMC have been seeing rises from the ground. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you all. My name's Ruby, and I wanted to explore the one day a year I can. Thank you for helping Mitta find her own talent. It has made me realize my own is finding things like I found Roneo's gift so many years ago."
Lightning pats Ruby's back with a shiver. "At least some good came from this terrifying night."
The others nod in agreement as Ruby walks over to the ruined road. "I think I can use it to find you all a way out of here alive."
The others follow her as Lightning and Sweetie Belle light up their horns, leading to a terrifying game of dodge the cursed skeletons. Finally, they spot the crossroads and all move to step out when they realize Ruby isn't following them. Looking back, they see her shake her head. "I'm sorry new friends, but my place lies here with Mitta helping them pass on. I'll visit you here next year if you want."
The CMC all glance at one another before Lightning lights his horn up, pulls a spare CMC cape from his saddlebags, and drapes it over Ruby's ghostly back. Scootaloo, at the same time, places one on Dawn's back before they surround Ruby in a group hug. Sweetie Belle pulls a polaroid camera out of her bags, uses her magic to aim it at all of them, and with a shout of "cheese," captures six pictures of them smiling.
Apple Bloom takes one of the six and hands it to Ruby. "We'd love that, honorary member of the CMC."
They then disengage from her and wave as she fades back into the trees before they themselves exit out into the clearing to find a worried Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack looking about the clearing for them. They're well into the clearing before Rainbow spots them and zooms over. "Where have you been, Squirt!? You've had us worried!? And who's your new friend!?"
Scootaloo moves to point to where the road to S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ was only to realize there's a solid wall of trees. Lamely she recovers and instead points to the path to Everfree City as Applejack and Rarity approach. "We went that way thinking we saw another way."
Dawn meanwhile curtsies gracefully towards them. "I'm Half-Light Dawn and my family just moved here recently. I'd heard about their adventures and followed them but they caught me and inducted me."
Lightning steps up to Applejack shivering. "We're very sorry for disobeying you Applejack but can we please spend the night at our clubhouse since we didn't get to visit Zecora's?"
The three adults look at each other for a few seconds before Applejack answers, "You can tonight but after that you are confined to the town for the next month. You scared us a lot."
The CMC all nod and the group as a whole head back to Ponyville.
Lightning finishes up, "after that we headed back here and you can figure out the rest." He then gives them the biggest puppy eyes he can with the others joining in. "Please don't tell our families about S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ or we'll never be allowed to leave our homes again."
Noon and Dusk look at each other before Noon speaks up, "We won't tell on you squirts but we can't promise Dawn will be able to play with you very often."
Dusk picks the thread up Noon dropped down. "It sounds like you gave some ponies hopes for a happy journey and ending as well."
After some more cuddling, Noon and Dusk leave with Dawn trailing behind. Once out of earshot, Dusk turns on Dawn. "Why did you let them see you, and why did you stay with them?"
Dawn shudders and frowns as she looks up at Dusk. "I couldn't. Once I got close to S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉, I was stuck to this plane, and that place was able to affect me!"
Noon ruffles Dawn's mane as she smiles down at her. "At least you didn't change too much, so we are still safe. You may even have been destined to go to S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉."
Dusk just sighs at her younger sisters. "Well, this is a fun position you put us in, but what's done is done. Let's go home, you two." |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 0-Last: Rediscovery on the Dawnless Day (Edited) | June 21st, 1000 CE
It is the morning of the day before the Summer Sun Celebration. Lightning Sunrise is eating breakfast with his parents as they prepare to do their own part for the festival preparations. Holding a cup of coffee to her lips Stellar asks Lightning, "I bet you can't wait to show Spike and Twilight around town, right? I hope you enjoy your day but remember what we discussed?"
With a resigned sigh Lightning responds as he looks at and reads a list on the table, "Yes mom. I remember. No crusading with my friends unless they decide to help me guide Twilight along to their houses. First is Applejack's place for lunch and to test the food, then the afternoon will be spent finding Rainbow Dash to check up on the weather before continuing on to the Town Hall to find Rarity and the decorations. Next is going to the edge of town to listen to Fluttershy and her birdsong chorus. Last but not least is the surprise party tonight at the Library to welcome Twilight and Spike. I shouldn't worry about Pinkie Pie as she'll find us."
Smiling back at Lightning, Stellar kindly says, "Good to know you remember your duties as guide. Please try to not mess up your outfit too much, I don't want to have to miss part of the party by returning here to clean you or the other three members of your club of tree sap."
Quickly scarfing down the rest of his breakfast of scrambled cheesy eggs with cereal, Lightning asks before his mom can bug him anymore, "Can I go now? I want to meet up with the rest of my friends to introduce them to Spike and Twilight."
Receiving a quick nod back, Lightning hops off his chair before his wings briefly glow alongside his saddlebags and the note as he puts the latter in his bags while he puts those on his back. He then heads out to go collect his friends.
(A couple hours later.)
Lightning and his friends are waiting by the fountain in town square chatting when they spot a golden chariot approaching. Rearing up on two legs for a better view of the chariot they soon spot Twilight and Spike in there. Lightning starts waving first before the other three follow suit as they start walking to where the chariot was landing, still bipedal so they can see over other ponies.
However before they can reach Twilight and Spike, Lightning hears a gasp and sighs when he spots Pinkie run off. Pulling his list out of his bag, he checks off while saying, "There's Pinkie taken care of...and now she thinks the town's ponies are crazy and is mad about missing a party," as he hears what she is saying.
Deciding to try and break Twilight out of her funk, he holds a hoof to his lips warning Spike to be quiet before sneaking behind Spike and Twilight, giving the former a hug with one wing while he glomps the latter with both forelegs and his other wing, pulling them into a group hug while she stops her rant with a surprised yelp at the sudden hug.
Panting after the yelp, she quickly turns around asking angrily, "Spike why did yo...," before spotting Lightning and quickly returning the hug while changing tact with her words, "Hello Lightning. That was a bit of a rude prank but then again I was ranting and that is time spent wasted finishing this checklist so I can apologize to Moondancer again for missing her birthday party. Not like it isn't good to see you again, but Princess Celestia knows I was trying to get Moondancer out of her shell. Now she'll...."
Spotting an incoming panic attack both Lightning and Spike both try to put a hoof/hand in front of her mouth to silence her as Spike says, "It'll be alright BSBFF. Princess Celestia herself told me she'd go to apologize to Moondancer for you and deliver our gifts to her ourselves," before dropping his hand so he can more properly group hug the other two as he continues, "Now it looks like Lightning has made a few friends of his own down here so let's let him introduce them sis before you have any more panic attacks. You can save those for tomorrow, right?"
Blushing slightly at his own rudeness, Lightning points a wing at each of the other three CMC members as he says, "Twilight and Spike, meet Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle," before tapping a hoof at the appropriate person as he continues, "Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo meet my honorary siblings Twilight Sparkle and Spike."
He then disengages from the hug before using his wings to help him backflip into the middle of the rest of the CMC while they pose causing nearby townsfolk to cover their ears as he begins, "Together we form the," and here the other three join in, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!"
Having missed the warning, it takes a few minutes of rubbing their ears for Twilight and Spike to regain their hearing before both sides can say what a pleasure it is to meet the other. They then start heading towards the first stop with Apple Bloom leading the way to her family's farm.
Arriving at her families farm, Apple Bloom rears up once more to gesture grandly, "This here's Sweet Apple Acres and according to mah granny, Ponyville was built around our farm."
Spotting Applejack in a nearby field bucking trees she shouts out, "Hey AJ! Can yah ring the dinner bell as the princess's re...repres..."
"Representative's," Sweetie Belle helpfully supplies.
"As the princess's representative's are here for us to have lunch with," Apple Bloom continues.
Pausing in her applebucking efforts, Applejack walks over towards the quintet while saying, "Sure can in a minute sugarcube, but how about you introduce me to our guest first?"
Facehoofing a bit in embarrassment, Apple Bloom complies, "Twilight Sparkle and Spike this is mah big sister Applejack. Applejack meet Twilight Sparkle and Spike."
Holding out a hoof and a hand for Applejack to shake, Twilight and Spike say together, "It's a pleasure to meet you Applejack," before Twilight continues on alone, "We've heard good things about your food from Lightning who we consider basically a sibling."
Rearing up so she can shake both offered limbs vigorously and simultaneously, she asks, "Really? He's never much mentioned you two were connected to Princess Celestia when he spoke of you. I hope these four haven't given you too much trouble?" before letting go of their appendages and dropping back down.
Twilight and Spike their heads while trying to stop their arms from shaking as Twilight asks, "They haven't but is there something I should know about them?"
Applejack simply answers with a fond smile, "Don't let them talk yah into joining them in an adventure. It only ever ends in tree sap and them stuck in funny poses. Ah don't know how many times Ah've helped wash these four off."
Ignoring the outcry from the CMC of "No it doesn't", Spike takes a step back from the four as he answers, "That is good to know."
Changing the topic Applejack asks, "But yall probably want lunch right. Usually it's just Apple Bloom, mah older brother Big Mac, mah granny Granny Smith, and Ah here, but for the festival the whole Apple Clan came and helped prepare food and they all made their own signature dish."
Walking over to a large dinner bell, Applejack rings it and after loudly shouting "Soup's on, everypony!" introduces everyone as they appear before they dig into lunch.
After lunch and being pressured into eating far too much they sextet all groan as they walk away from Sweet Apple Acres with Scootaloo in the lead talking up how awesome her honorary sister is while heading towards Rainbow Dash's napping cloud.
"There's her napping cloud where she should be," Scootaloo chatters happily as she looks for and spots a distinctive rainbow tail hanging over the edge. Shouting up at the cloud loudly, Scootaloo joyfully says, "Hey Rainbow Dash! Princess Celestia's rep...checker-uppers are here! Wake up Sis!"
After half a minute of awkward silence and no response, and with Lightning suspecting she doesn't want to force either Scootaloo or himself to have to fly up in their overfull condition, Twilight grabs hold of Rainbow's tail and pulls. Unfortunately, Rainbow picks this time to roll over off the cloud and start sleepily gliding down to the ground causing Twilight to barely be able to turn the descent the a controlled crash that splatters them all with mud from a mud puddle.
Climbing up out of the mud puddle she landed in, Rainbow Dash grumbles as she holds up a feather finger before sleepily flying off to grab a rain cloud. Sighing as this happens, Scootaloo says, "And here we'll get to see Rainbow's patented Rainblow Dry technique first-hoof. Hope you weren't attached to your hair-do Twilight," before the rain starts with the septet under the cloud, washing them of their mud but also drenching them.
After the rain lets up the CMC dig into the ground with Twilight and Spike following suit when they see what the CMC did, the septet are buffeted by heavy rainbow-colored winds caused by a grumpy sleepy pegasus.
Not caring that her mane is messed up, Rainbow grumpily asks Scootaloo, "What was so important squirt that it required waking me up and dragging me into a mud puddle?"
Scootaloo looks up into her honorary sister's eyes as she says apologetically while pointing to a bedraggled Twilight and Spike, "Princess Celestia's festival checkers are right there sis," before remembering Apple Bloom's faux paus earlier and adding, "Twilight Sparkle and Spike meet the most awesome pegasus in Equestria and my big sister, the one and only Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, meet Twilight and Spike. Maybe they can help you get to meet the Wonderbolts tomorrow."
Looking up at all the clouds around and bits of her mane in her face, Twilight says wonderingly, "While I'd love to say it is nice to meet you Rainbow Dash, I don't know if I could get you in to meet the Wonderbolts. After all, they don't accept ponies into their ranks who snooze the day away instead of their job."
Retorting back to Twilight boastfully, Rainbow Dash says, "I can clear these clouds in 10 seconds flat and come back looking better."
Smiling deviously while using her magic to pull out a stopwatch, Twilight challenges Rainbow Dash with a simple "Prove it then!"
After some frankly absurdly amazing acrobatics, Twilight stops the stopwatch gobsmacked at the result as Rainbow Dash boastfully asks her, "Was it under 10 seconds like promised?"
Managing to close her mouth somehow and shakily speak, Twilight replies sincerely, "I-It was! I'll try and get you your meeting tomorrow and sorry for calling you lazy."
Smiling back, Rainbow Dash answers, "You are forgiven as I know not all pegasi are as awesome as I am. Besides, I wouldn't leave my biggest fans, my little sis and her friends hanging, now would I guys?"
Looking at the CMC, Twilight sees them all shake their heads while going on about how she wouldn't, she then hears Rainbow Dash fly up to her napping cloud while saying, "It was nice meeting you Twilight but awesomeness like mine is hard work. I hope you manage to get me that meeting tomorrow."
Saying their goodbyes with Twilight adding on that she will try, the sextet move on to their next step of their whirlwind tour: Town Hall, Rarity and the freakout she will have over all their terrible hairdo's.
Arriving at the Town Hall/Auditorium, Sweetie Belle takes the lead this time by saying as they walk in, "My sister, Rarity should be around here somewhere taking charge of the decorations for Princess Celestia's Grand Appearance. It looks like she is doing a beautiful job as always."
"Beautiful is right," Spike says as he looks over the decorations and specifically an ivory mare arranging them with hearts in his eyes.
"Well this should be an easy-," Twilight starts to say.
"Are my spines straight? Do I look ok?" Spike interrupts to ask as he continues staring at Rarity while trying to straighten his spines causing Twilight and the CMC to facehoof in embarrassment at Spike's very obvious first crush.
"No, Casanova. You don't look any better than the rest of us, which is to say we look like dried drowned rats," Twilight answers him with exasperation before asking as a purple glow surrounds her horn and Spike, "Sweetie, would you mind getting your sister while I restrain my brother?"
Nodding softly, Sweetie heads over to her sister with a sigh before poking her with a hoof and interjecting as she goes on and on debating about ribbons, "um...Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Spike are here and as soon as you speak to them we can get out of your mane."
Finally turning to look at Sweetie, Rarity opens her mouth to say something before it just hangs open at seeing the state they are all in and she wobbles a bit before managing to catch herself and exclaim, "Out of my mane!? What about the state of your manes!? Did you take them crusading with you and the rest of the CMC, Sweetie Belle?"
"No, no we did not. We ran into Rainbow Dash," Sweetie Belle explains for them with an exasperated sigh as if this isn't the first time she's been accused of taking guests crusading.
With an equal sigh Rarity just shakes her head saying, "If she keeps this up I'm going to give her another darling dress to walk down the catwalk wearing. Maybe I'll put weights in it this time since she keeps on generously giving you free showers."
Angrily, Scootaloo responds to defend her mentor, "Come on, you know she doesn't do it on purpose!"
Nodding, Rarity just responds, "I know Scootaloo, I know. Still I'm not going to get this done knowing you six look like that so I insist you follow me home where you can all get cleaned up and I can wash your clothes and make sure she didn't damage them."
Sweetie Belle just answers for them with, "Sure sis," before she and the rest of the CMC lead the way, the other three members of the now septet following along behind.
After a couple hours spent bathing and talking about Canterlot and other fashion stuff, the sextet manage to leave finally with Sweetie promising they will stay safe before Lightning leads the way to Fluttershy's place saying, "You should know Fluttershy's name is no joke so please be quiet or we'll never hear her."
Twilight then asks, "Won't you four being there help her speak up?"
Scootaloo answers for them, "It will a little. She's foalhood friends with my sister Dash after all."
"She's friends with that loudmouth?" Spike asks incredulously.
"Ah don't see why she wouldn't be. Dash and some griffoness named Gilda stood up fer her in Flight School," Apple Bloom answers honestly.
"Shhh...," Sweetie Belle says as they approach where Fluttershy is training her bird choir and sounds of bird song slowly become hearable sounding good....
Nope, said choir just hit a sour note and they hear a soft gentle voice, presumably Fluttershy's, admonish her bird choir, "Sorry, but please stop everyone. I'm...I'm umm sorry sir, but your rhythm is just the tiniest bit off. Now from the top! A-one, a-two, a-"
"Hello Fluttershy," Lightning interrupts Fluttershy causing her to jump and squeak. "We're sorry to interrupt you but Twilight and Spike here are here to listen to your choir."
Fluttershy quietly replies, "that's ok. I was just going to have them perform again if you all want to sit and watch. That is if you don't mind. You don't have to-"
Sensing the trend, Twilight and Spike quickly and quietly interject, "We'd love to," before Twilight continues on, "it was sounding lovely already."
And so the six spend a nice hour or two listening to the music before Lightning realizes the time and says, "As lovely as this music is, we really must be heading back and didn't you need to pick up your package at the Post Office Fluttershy?"
Blinking owlishly for a couple seconds for the code words to sink in, Fluttershy quickly stops her impromptu concert and says, "Oh right. The Post Office closes soon. Well, I'll walk with you six to the library and I'm sure you two can tell me more about Canterlot. I'm sure you have some interesting tales from visits to the zoo or the palace gardens."
Leading the way Twilight says, "there isn't that much interesting about Canterlot's zoo and the critters in the palace gardens are very shy."
Picking up the thread, Spike adds, "as for Canterlot itself it has a lot of snooty people and we spend most of our time in the palace, at our parents' place, or visiting friends. We actually missed one of her friends' birthday parties to come down here."
Grumbling, Twilight says, "I really hope Princess Celestia apologized for my absence and got our gifts to her."
"Still, I do suppose we can list off some of the stuff we've seen in museums up there," Spike adds before doing just that as they walk and talk on their way back to the library.
Arriving at the Golden Oaks Library as dusk falls, Twilight turns and says while opening the door behind her back, "It was nice meeting you Fluttershy. I can't wait to see your choir's performance tomorrow but it's time for Spike and I to get some rest. He's probably tired and I need to make sure my brother gets his rest."
Spike defiantly proclaims, "No I'm not tire-" before Twilight mutes him and badly ventriloquizes a yawn into his mouth.
"Wow, Twilight, I think Applejack could have done a better job at that trick," Lightning deadpans back at her as the rest of the CMC nod in agreement. "You might as well lead the way in so we can make sure you get your rest Twilight. Don't want my honorary big sis to be too tired for the Summer Sun Celebration, do we?"
Moving to surround them, the CMC and Fluttershy surround Twilight and advance towards her forcefully, causing her to nervously back up into the darkened library with Spike confusedly following as he asks, "Hey Twilight, why is the library d-"
Spike's speech is abruptly cut off by a loud cannon shot, causing Twilight to spin around and see the lights go on revealing all of Ponyville including the CMC and Fluttershy shout "SURPRISE!" as Pinkie takes center stage beneath banners reading, "Welcome to Ponyville Twilight and Spike!", "Summer Sun Celebration Party," and, a tiny one reading, "Sorry you missed Moondancer's Party".
Looking around stunned at all the ponies and food present, Twilight turns to Lightning and accusingly asks, "You four kept us distracted didn't you so they could set this up?"
Lightning and the rest of the CMC barely manage to nod before they are pulled into a hug by Twilight as she happily says, "Thank you for throwing this bash for me and welcoming me to your community. I suppose it is traditional to party the night away before the Summer Sun Celebration, so let's party!"
After a night of partying during which Twilight admits she is happy she got to meet Lightning's friends in person, the CMC and future Mane 6 make their way towards Town Hall in the gloom before dawn in order to take their places as appropriate.
Resting by a table, the CMC witness Nightmare Moon's return, diving under a table while Lightning's wings glow green as he casts a shield spell over them while they hide. This stops however when they see the Ponyville 5 follow Twilight and Spike back to the library. Deciding they want to hear what their role models have to say, they follow the Ponyville 5 to the library and sneak in behind them and up the stairs to eavesdrop in on the following conversation.
"Spill the beans," Rainbow interrogates Twilight. "Just who is Nightmare Moon and how did you know her name?"
"While my friend may be a bit rough," Rarity generously adds before continuing, "we do need to know what we're dealing with so we can protect the CMC."
With an exasperated sigh, Twilight answers, "Nightmare Moon is a legend I thought wasn't real. She tried to take over Equestria a millenia ago before Princess Celestia banished her with something called the Elements of Harmony. Unfortunately it says to look for more info in a reference guide I've never been able to find."
"You mean this one?" Pinkie asks as she pulls "The Elements of Harmony: a Reference Guide" from her mane.
"Yes! Yes that's the one!" Twilight happily exclaims before asking, "Why was it in your mane?"
"A twitch told me to check it out the other day," is Pinkie's very simple answer.
Twilight stutters and tries to say something because of how nonsensical that sounds but is unable to form words. Due to this, Spike speaks for her as he takes the book from Pinkie, "While she recovers from how little that makes sense, let's see what the book says. Hmm... there are 6 Elements total, only 5 of which are known: Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, and Loyalty. Their last known location was the Castle of the Two Sisters located in the ruins of Everfree City."
Shaking off her bewilderment, Twilight muses as she scans the books, "Everfree City? Where have I heard that before?" before spotting what she is looking for, "Blueblood the 5th's Survey of Equestrian Demenses as of the Fortieth Year of the Celestial Era". Flipping through the atlas quickly she exclaims in dismay, "It's in the Everfree Forest!?"
The other members of the Ponyville Five all shiver before Applejack speaks up for them, "We'll follow you in there if you want us to but none of us have ever been that deep. We've only ever gone in to visit Zecora, sometimes with the CMC."
Twilight nods in acceptance as she makes a copy of the map while saying, "Sure, I'd love your help getting through that forest. Spike I want you to stay here where it's safe. I know you don't like it but you are still just a kid."
"I know, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Well, good luck you six," Spike tells them as they head out for the forest.
Having heard this all Scootaloo asks, "imagine if we were the heroines? Maybe we can help from the shadows?"
"Sounds like a plan and they left the original map for us. Time for us to be," Lightning pauses here for breath before they all shout out, "Cutie Mark Crusaders Element Bearers!"
Sighing in exasperation Spike pops his head around the corner saying, "You aren't going anywhere without taking me along. I have someone I want to protect as well."
Facepalming, Lightning leads the rest of the CMC into a whispered huddle before eventually shortly breaking up, Lightning declares, "We have decided to make you an honorary member of the CMC so welcome to the team."
Spike just deadpanly responds, "great. While you were busy huddling I made a copy of the map."
"Oh, smart thinking Spike," Sweetie tells him. "This'll help us not get lost this time."
"This time!?" Spike exclaims in a bit of disbelief.
"That's not important right now. We have places to be," Scootaloo declares before leading the way with the rest of the CMC following along into the Everfree forest.
Approaching the collapsed cliff, the CMC move to go past it except for Apple Bloom who says, "Hold up! Ah can see their hoofprints going down the cliff here."
While Apple Bloom scouts the area Sweetie Belle says, "I hope they are alright and the path joins up with them."
""It's a good thing you have me along as if you'll follow me honestly Ah think we can follow my sister's path down the cliff," Apple Bloom says before leading the way down, hopping from ledge to ledge with Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Spike following while Lightning serves as a safety.
Panting they rest at the bottom for a second while Scootaloo says, "I knew my awesome sister wouldn't let them get hurt by a cliff."
Their rest however is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a manticore crashing through the brush. Freezing up, the CMC are surprised when the beast inhales deeply to roar...before taking a sniff and instead stalking over to give them all messy cat face licks of gratitude.
Sweetie in-between licks manages to utter out, "Well I can see Fluttershy helped you out. I'm glad you are happy."
These words and name surprisingly cause Manny to stop licking them and instead move back down the path he came from and act like he wants to follow them. "Well, I guess there's our guide," Spike says as the CMC follow Manny the manticore through the Everfree Forest.
"Wow it sure is dark in here," Lightning says as he lights up his wings in the green glow of a light spell. "I'm glad we're together traipezing through these woods. Thank you for coming along Mr. Manticore."
Scootaloo shivers as she looks at the scary trees and mud lit up by Lightning's wings and just says, "I bet our sisters were glad Pinkie was along to dispel their terror with laughter."
"Why? Are you scared?" Sweetie teasingly asks Scootaloo.
"No!" Scootaloo denies loudly as she smacks one of the trees to try and prove her bravado.
"Look, let's just hurry up and get through here. Ah don't think our manticore friend likes this place any more than we do," Apple Bloom cajoles as she speeds up to get out of there.
Arriving at the river, Manny pads up and gives them all one last lick before padding back into the forest. Speaking up, Spike says, "Well, we're here at the river now and our guide has vanished. How are we going to get across the river now?"
A booming voice unexpectedly answers his question as Steven pokes his head above the river, "You need passage across the river? How unusual to see two groups of people this deep in the forest in a single month, but I can ferry you across. Least I can do to repay that group of mares that generously helped me earlier and they can help you children get home safely."
Sweetie Belle spots the mustache that is the same color as her sister's hair and asks, "Did one of them with an ivory coat graft their hair into your mustache?"
"Yes, she did after some vile smoke cut off part of my beautiful mustache. I shall treasure her addition as long as I can," Steven answers as he lays down for the CMC to hop on.
Sweetie Belle takes the lead and says as she starts crossing, "Thank you for generously paying back my sister's generosity."
Blinking for a moment, Steven finally responds with, "it's no problem my lady. I hope you find your siblings soon then."
As soon as the rest of the CMC cross, Steven rears up to point out a path saying, "your sisters went down that path to the castle. I again wish you luck and be careful of the gorge."
"Thank you Sir Serpent for your help," Lightning says as he starts leading the way towards the castle.
"You're welcome and the name's Steven Magnus," he says as a farewell as they then hear him muse as they walk away, "Maybe I should move closer to Ponyville. It's lonely out here...."
Crossing the bridge with little trouble and avoiding falling into the gorge surrounding the castle town, the CMC quickly walk down the overgrown main boulevard to the main castle entrance while oohing and awwing at the ruined buildings.
Speaking up as they enter the castle through the main doors, "I hope we get to visit here again someday. It's like being in a Daring Doo novel."
"Well then Daring Doo," Sweetie Belle asks sarcastically as they look about the main foyer, "where do you think the treasure room is?"
"If Lightning can light the way I'd say it'd be in the basement. Look the stairs are over there," Scootaloo exclaims as she points the way and rushes over, followed by the rest of the CMC with Lightning pulling his lighting trick again.
Unfortunately 5 children rushing about in a pile means someone wasn't watching where they were going, causing one of them to step on a pressure plate that turned the stairs into a slide and redirected their sliding bodies through a fake wall and skid along the floor of the secret room into a seemingly ordinary Cheval mirror just after the rainbow blast went off re-energizing it.
Spewn out the other side in a pile of humans with their eyes closed, Lightning raises a hand to his head to try and stop the spinning while asking, "who...who stepped on the tile and cast a nausea spell on us?"
Apple Bloom shakily responds, "Ah...Ah don't know but why do my hooves feel weird? And can you get off me?"
Hurriedly the group disentangles themselves with their eyes closed by mutual agreement, wanting to all see each other together at the same time. Initially they try to stand on all fours, but failing that they thank Princess Celestia they insisted on learning how to be bipedal.
Eventually mostly stable, the group opens their eyes to see they are in a tiny clearing in some woods in front of a tree with the sounds of children playing nearby. Even more importantly however, they see each other and the fact one of their number, Spike, is nude causing the rest of the CMC to look away blushing as Lightning reaches in his saddlebags and pulls out an outfit for Spike with, "Please put this on Spike for modesty's sake."
"Thanks," Spike embarassedly says as he puts the outfit on just as hurriedly. Afterwards he tells them, "You can look now. So what do you think we are now?"
"I don't know Spike," Sweetie Belle responds before directing her words to Lightning, "but do you think this was why Princess Celestia insisted you learn how to walk bipedally and become comfortable wearing clothes?"
"Maybe," Lightning honestly replies. "It would also make sense why she insisted I become proficient in writing with my hoof. My magic feels really watered down in this form and our hooves? Claws? Hands? Yeah, our hands seem way better designed for writing than our mouths."
"This seems more and more like a Daring Doo adventure," Scootaloo exclaims, "but perhaps we should head back before it is noticed we are missing? On that note, how do we get back?"
Apple Bloom makes an educated guess, "Ah suspect that tree will shove us out of the mirror back into Equestria. It feels weird."
"I'll go first," Lightning declares as he walks into the tree and disappears. One by one the rest of the CMC follow along behind, wobbling as they exit the mirror but remaining bipedal. Well, that is until it comes to Spike's turn at the end which distracts them from catching the changes to Scootaloo. Instead of the expected purple dragon with green hair spines, what exits is a faceplanting unicorn colt with a coat and mane the same colors as Spike's scales and spines respectively and the cry of shock-horror is definitely in his voice.
"Spike is that you?" Scootaloo asks in her now echoey voice before she blinks and runs over her new fangs and then adds, "And what happened to me? I sound like Lightning when he isn't disguised."
"That's because you are like me to some degree," Lightning answers her, also unmasked, before asking, "Are you sure both your parents were pegasi?"
Scootaloo poses in the mirror and says, "I thought they were," seeing the fact her wings are now bigger and her feathers are translucent. The other features she sees also makes it seem like one of her parents was a changeling.
Meanwhile, Spike manages to balance himself bipedally and says, "Yeah, it's me. Being a pony is weird and I hope going through that mirror fixes it."
"Well then you better not tell anyone else we went through that mirror then. I don't want to know how much worse our grounding will be if they find out," Lightning tells him.
With a resigned "fine" Spike agrees to the condition as he wobbles his way back through the mirror before returning with an excited look on his draconic face as he exclaims, "I was a dragon over there! And I am one over here again!"
Further conversation is cut short however by the sound of celebration causing them to scramble out of the secret room and back onto the basement stairs. Climbing them they are soon accosted by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the Mane 6 looking for what set off the alarms in the castle.
Princess Celestia's look changes from elation to one of disappointment as she sternly asks Lightning while the Mane 6 let her take charge for now, "What are you doing leading the rest of the CMC and Spike here to this dangerous place?"
Scootaloo speaks up saying with nervous confidence, "We, uhh, thought we could help them. We've been in scrapes before, some we haven't told you about."
Sweetie Belle then pipes up nervously, "Spike's now also a member of the CMC."
Looking at Scootaloo more closely, Princess Celestia accusingly asks Lightning, "Why didn't you tell me one of your friends was a half-changeling?"
Scootaloo answers for him, saying, "I didn't know I was one until a few minutes ago when a rainbow wave broke my disguise."
Rainbow Dash finally speaks up and says, "I'm taking you to your parents after the celebration to get things cleared up. At least your wings finally grew in little sis."
Scootaloo nervously answers, "I suppose we will have to go to them then and I suppose they have."
Princess Celestia's face softens as she gently adds, "your existence gives me great hope for the future Scootaloo and I want you to do something for me. Imagine how you used to look but make your wings the size they are now. Got it?"
After Scootaloo closes her eyes and nods Celestia continues, "next I want you to make that image male. When you have it imagine it forming over your current form with your current form disappearing into it."
Screwing her eyes up Scootaloo nods and shivers as a purple flame works it's way over her body leaving her as just a pegasus with properly sized wings this time and a bulge in her pants causing everyone else except Princess Celestia to drop their jaws in shock.
As Scootaloo checks her groin Princess Celestia says wryly, "well it's good to know that that feature carries over to half-changelings," before Scootaloo let's out a slightly lower toned sound of relief and Princess Celestia amends herself, "although it looks like she both suceeded and failed at becoming a stallion and proved a theory I had that changelings have the ability to be both sexes at the same time but their minds normally only pick one." Turning to Rainbow Dash she says, "can you make sure to tell me a time for me to sneak her into a class that will explain male puberty more in-depth? I also need to have her attend Magic Kindergarten as she now has a horn. She's got extra learning to do."
Rainbow Dash manages to shake off her shock to ask Princess Celestia, "just to be clear, you are implying that Scootaloo could be either a father or mother at will?"
Princess Celestia nods back as she says, "That is exactly what I'm saying and since this is her first time being at least partly male she's going to be relying on you two, Spike and Lightning, to be her male role models. Can I trust you to help her?"
Shaking off his own shock, Lightning nods as he shifts back into his own pegasus form while saying, "This'll be an amusing turn around from when I had to be a mare. Ok then Scootaloo, I suggest you stay as you are for now." He pauses for a second while holding up a hoof to stall any replies before closing his eyes and focuses, struggling before eventually triggering another change in himself with some flames as he then comfortingly says in a slightly higher voice, "Oof! That was harder to pull off than expected, but I'll join you in this unusual inbetween form so you don't have to go it alone."
Scootaloo shivers but nods as she says, "Thank you for doing that to make me feel better. I'll try to stay like this as I do want to explore this. Think we can get away with explaining this as poison joke for now?"
Princess Celestia butts in saying, "I think that's a wonderful explanation and I'll make sure to get the details from Rainbow Dash later so I can make you an alternate persona in the system. Still, don't you agree everyone that we've lingered in this musty old castle for long enough?"
With nods all around her horn lights up and teleports them to the entrance of the Everfree before she says, "to steal Pinkie Pie's catchphrase, 'let's head in there and PARTY!'"
And so they had a wonderful party marred by only a few unanswered questions lingering in their minds.
TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK 1:
Lightning Sunrise and the Sorcerer's Stone
beginning with Chapter 0X:
Guardian of Many Hues |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-0X: Guardian of Many Hues | Book 1: Lightning Sunrise and the Sorcerer's Stone
Chapter 0x: Guardian of Many Hues
Nearing the end of the "Freed Princess Luna" party, Rainbow Dash approaches a partying Pinkie Pie and pulls the peppy pink pony politely to a partly private place to powwow a particularly pertinent personal problem of Scootaloo's peculiar parentage. Firmly but quietly Rainbow Dash asks Pinkie, "You know everyone in Ponyville right? Can you tell me who Scootaloo's parents are here at this party?"
Pondering for a moment with chin on hoof, Pinkie eventually and shockingly answers with a shrug, "I don't know," before excitedly continuing, "but isn't this great!? It means I have more ponies to throw a party for."
Rainbow Dash manages to pick her jaw up off the floor to ask in confirmation, "You don't know who they are or if they are here?"
"That's what I said silly," Pinkie excitedly replies before slightly more thoughtfully saying as she points, "Miss Cheerilee over there might know however. Schools are supposed to keep track of such things and meet with parents."
"Thanks Pinkie. I hope you enjoy the rest of this party," Rainbow Dash offers as she follows the offered direction and suggestion to find Cheerilee. Upon spotting her, Rainbow Dash swoops in to quietly asks her, "Miss Cheerilee have you met either of Scootaloo's parents? She's never told me about them and I need to discuss things about my little sis with them."
Sighing, Cheerilee whisperingly answers, "I ordinarily wouldn't answer such a question but since you might as well be her elder sibling by flesh and blood... no, I haven't met either of them in the five years she's been part of my class. They've always sent in notes saying they were busy adventuring. On that note her current state isn't because of poison joke is it? It's because she belongs to the same pony tribe as Lightning does?"
Sighing herself, Rainbow Dash reluctantly whisperingly reveals, "one of her parents was indeed of the same tribe as Lightning as we all, herself included, just found out. Her true form has feathered translucent wings and purple elytra and bands. I guess I need to find out from her own mouth who her parents are."
Nodding quietly, Cheerilee whispers back, "thanks for confiding that in me. I wish you luck in getting her to talk, she's never told anyone anything as far as I know beyond they are almost never home," before speaking up, "I hope you enjoy the party Rainbow Dash!"
Taking the offered clue, Rainbow Dash says back as she wanders off to find Scootaloo, "I hope you enjoy the party as well Cheerilee."
Spotting Scootaloo wandering away from her, Rainbow Dash calls out to her, "Hey sis! Hold up so we can talk about some things." However instead of the expected slow down, Scootaloo instead freezes for a second before making a mad dash on foot for the train station.
Chasing after her on wing and quickly catching up, Rainbow Dash grabs her in her arms and lifts off for the clouds asking confusedly, "why are you running away from me?" to the shivering pegasus who curls up in her arms in response.
Landing bipedally on the roof of her cloud house, Rainbow Dash starts stroking the shivering form of her sister in her arms as she asks, "why are you scared of me sis?"
Shifting species into her true form, Rainbow Dash's grip remaining strong despite the tingly feeling from the flames, Scootaloo finally tearfully answers as she starts squirming to try and get away, "because you won't like the answers I'll give sis and will be disappointed in me."
Holding firmly onto Scootaloo as she tries to escape the loving embrace of her captor, Rainbow Dash grows even more concerned as she asks, "I won't be disappointed in you ever Scootaloo. Let's start with something small. You can just nod or shake your head if its easier, but are your parents still alive?"
Quietly and timidly Scootaloo manages a small nod before managing to mumble out, "my aunts are as well."
Letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, Rainbow Dash next asks as she squeezes Scootaloo gently, "Do you know where your Aunts are? Your parents?"
Initially nodding her head before giving the tiniest shake of her head, Scootaloo shivers again and curls up slightly more in fear hoping Rainbow Dash didn't see the shake.
Alas for Scootaloo's fears, Rainbow Dash did as she asks nervously, "If you live with your aunts, why don't they attend your parent-teacher conferences?"
Shaking nervously, Scootaloo manages to utter out fearfully, "I...I don't live...live with them anymore."
Aghast, Rainbow Dash asks Scootaloo sternly, "Why...why don't you live with them anymore Scootaloo?"
In a tiny voice, Scootaloo responds, "because their hatred for each other over me hurt greatly so I ran away. They probably each think the other has me."
Blanching slightly at that, Rainbow Dash fearfully asks, "How long have you been living on the street Scootaloo and why didn't you come to me?"
Quietly, Scootaloo answers, "I have been staying in my parents' house in Ponyville by myself for...for about 5 years. I wanted to be as tough and strong as you."
Tearing up a bit, Rainbow Dash asks fearfully, "Have you had to go through garbage or steal for food and supplies?"
Shaking her head, Scootaloo manages to find a bit more strength as she says, "No..., somehow they've learned I'm here. The bills get paid...and...and, I find food and supplies on my front porch along...along with a little spending money."
Breaking into relieved tears, Rainbow Dash squeezes Scootaloo tightly as she mutters, "thank Celestia," before raising voice to shakily say, "You'll...you'll never have to w-worry about that again Scootaloo."
Crying at seeing her big sister figure break down, Scootaloo confusedly asks, "What do y-you mean sis?"
Still crying, Rainbow answers with shaky breaths, "even... even if it means... I have to put the Wonderbolts... on hold for a bit..., making our sisterhood official... i-is far more important to me.... Heh..., look at me, be-becoming a guardian... at 18."
Crying harder herself, Scootaloo asks, "Y-You'd d-do that f-for me!? Y-you aren't dis-disappointed in me?"
Trying to put a little steel into her voice, Rainbow Dash answers, "I am in-incredibly disappointed y-you'd think y-you had to... to tough things out to... to impress me. I don't say this enough..., but I love you. I do need to know little sis..., is Scootaloo your... your birth name?"
Managing to straighten out a little, Scootaloo uses the time to think before managing to croak out, "I was born Scooter Louise Songwing.... According to my aunts, my parents' names are Silver Moth and Sirocco Songwing," before pausing to let out a small wry chuckle as she guesses, "If I had to guess, I'd say my dad Silver Moth was the changeling...."
Managing to let out a small chuckle of her own through her tears, Rainbow Dash responds as she pets Scootaloo, "Sounds... sounds about right. Seems like they love you-u a lot to keep providing y-you with stuff."
Slightly angrily, Scootaloo answers, "I just wish they had been there but at least I have you sis."
Softly, Rainbow Dash answers, "and you will continue to do so. Disguise up, we have princesses to talk to Scootaloo."
Waiting for Scootaloo to do so, Rainbow Dash then transfers her to her back before taking off in search of princesses.
It doesn't take too long for a red-eyed Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to spot Princess Celestia by Twilight and Princess Luna talking about something, "...course you can stay, but you'll have to watch over Li-"
Rainbow Dash naturally calls out then, "Sorry to interrupt Princess Celestia, but I need your help with something in private."
Seeing Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo's state, Princess Celestia naturally asks, "may we make use of your library Twilight?"
Receiving a nod in return, the trio make their way into the Golden Oaks Library. No sooner has the main door been closed than Rainbow Dash bluntly opens with, "What's the process for adopting a filly?" causing Scootaloo to blush in embarassment.
Taken aback briefly at the brusque candor, Princess Celestia replies, "Usually there is a lengthy application process where you and your abode is vetted thoroughly by Child Protective Services." She pauses there for a second to watch them be depressed before continuing with a wry chuckle, "Thankfully for you Lightning has provided me with those details himself so those details will be expedited. Still it is strange, I didn't think Ponyville had an orphanage as I imagine you want to adopt Scootaloo?"
Sighing in relief, Rainbow Dash answers, "I do want to adopt Scootaloo, formally known as Scooter Louise Songwing."
"...daughter of Sirocco Songwing?" Princess Celestia turns the statement into a question.
Nervously Scootaloo answers back, "how did you know Princess Celestia?"
Princess Celestia just answers, "why wouldn't I remember an archaeologist pair I hired before they just up and vanished. At least I know they probably did so to protect you."
Begging, Scootaloo asks, "Please don't send me back to my aunts or tell them I'm here? Their hatred of each other because of me hurt me for reasons I now understand."
Reaching up with a hoof, Princess Celestia pats her on the head as she says, "you have nothing to worry about. They already proved they aren't fit to raise you and you already have friends and family here." Her horn then lights up and with a pop an adoption form and writing implements appear in front of her before she says, "Legally you'll be her mother Rainbow Dash but you can call each other sister all you want. Now let's get this adoption rolling."
And so a new family was born in tears of joy and sorrow. Also tears of pain from the papercuts. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-1: Surprise Owls at Sunrise | Chapter 1-1: Surprise Owls at Sunrise
(6 AM July 24th 1000 Harmony (formerly Celestial) Era/1991 AD)
The unexpected sounds of a beak insistently knocking on his window wakes Lightning Sunrise up rather rudely on a lazy Wednesday morning. Trying to get out of bed and instead falling out of it in a tangle of blankets and sleepy limbs, Lightning gives up and uses his magic to open his window while muffledly saying, "I'm up. I'm up. Give me a minute Scootaloo."
Hearing something chirp in response while flying into his room was not what he was expecting. Hurriedly managing to get the blanket off his head, Lightning blinks in sleepy surprise at seeing an owl hovering in front of him. "Does Fluttershy need something?" he cautiously asks the owl in front of him as he starts working on escaping his comfortable cocoon.
The owl let's out a negative sounding chirp as it shakes its head before landing in order to hold out a foot towards Lightning. Confused, Lightning looks at the prooffered leg and eventually spots the letter held in the offered clawed foot, prompting him to ask, "Is that letter for me?"
After receiving an affirmative chirp and nod, Lightning pulls the letter out of the owl's grip with his magic while asking, "Can you please wait for a reply?" Lightning then reads the envelope to find out who sent it after hearing the owl give another affirmative hoot:
L ightning Sunrise (Formerly Harry James Potter)
1st Bedroom on the Second Floor
23 Celestial Avenue
Ponyville, Equestria, Equiis
Finding only his address down to his bedroom and the mention of a previous name confusing, Lightning flips the envelope over hoping that will solve things:
Finding that a bust, Lightning puts the envelope down in order to focus on freeing himself as he asks the owl, "Did you deliver three or four other letters in town?"
Pausing for a moment while Lightning frees himself, the owl finally gives three affirmative chirps. Stumbling out of his bedroom into the attached bathroom, he rheatorically asks, "what have we gotten ourselves into this time?" before receiving a comforting chirp in reply.
Shaking his head slightly, Lightning exits the bathroom a few minutes later and puts his saddlebags on and putting the letter in them. Turning to the owl, he asks it, "would you like a bit of breakfast? Pretty sure there's a bit of leftover ham in the fridge."
Receiving an affirmative chirp as the owl flies up to perch on Lightning's back, the pair make their way into the kitchen. The owl then hurriedly vacates to the counter as Lightning rears up to make breakfast for the pair of them.
After a nice filling breakfast, and now dressed, Lightning leaves his house with the owl upon his back. He quietly informs the owl, "I bet my friends all went to the clubhouse to meet up as well over this discovery. I've never heard of anyone using owls for post before or seen that seal before. I wish you could talk. At least you understand me."
Keeping up this train of thought while greeting the ponies in the street, Lightning eventually makes it to the clubhouse ahead of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but behind Apple Bloom who also has an owl on her back.
"I see you got a letter as well Apple Bloom?" Lightning asks as soon as he spots her.
That Ah did," she proudly replies before asking, "Ah'm guessin you got one too?"
Lightning nods before Scootaloo, and then Sweetie Belle rush in with their own owls and letters. Scootaloo speaks up by asking, "If all four of us got letters do you think Spike got one as well?"
Lightning answers her with a quiet, "I'm not sure, but he is a year younger than us," before asking as he shows them his envelope, "Did any of yours come addressed to an unfamiliar name in addition to your own?"
The other three shake their head with Scootaloo saying, "Mine was however addressed to a 'Scooter Louise "Scootaloo" Songwing-Dash.'"
Sweetie Belle smiles at that as she says, "I guess you really have been adopted by Rainbow Dash," before frowning slightly as she says, "I just wish I knew why they use owls for post or got our address. It made getting out of the house tricky."
With the other three going "same", Apple Bloom then continues, "Ah reckon we aren't going to get anywhere just gabbing and should just open the letters."
Nodding in agreement, they all sit down before opening their letters and reading them. Lightning letter reads:
H OGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Sunrise,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
"Anyone ever heard of a school named Hogwarts," Sweetie Belle asks curiously as she reads through the front page.
"The only one Ah've heard of Celestia's School but Ah'd love to learn how to use magic," Apple Bloom responds enthusiastically.
"Lightning, do you think Princess Celestia knows anything about this?" Scootaloo asks as she reaches the end of the cover letter.
"Maybe, but first we should look to see what they require for spells," Lightning answers as he turns to the second page and reads over the requirements:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1.Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2.One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4.One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
Scootaloo and the rest shiver at the mention of dragon hide and Lightning asks, "Have you ever really heard of wands ever being used outside of fiction?"
"I haven't and we all know you're the biggest reader out of all of us," Scootaloo answers, "but I think this is too big for even Rainbow Dash or Daring Do to handle on their own."
"Time to send Princess Celestia a letter through Spike and apologize he didn't get one?" Sweetie Belle asks as she stands up and makes her way for the door.
"That sounds like a bright idea Sweetie," Apple Bloom seconds as she stands up and follows, the other two not far behind them.
After causing a bit of a stir by wandering through town by carrying four normally nocturnal birds of prey through town on their backs in broad daylight, they arrive at the town library. Knocking on the door they hear someone call out, "Coming!" before someone rushes over and opens the door. That someone being Spike who asks confusedly, "why do you four have owls on your back?"
"We can explain if you'll let us in and close the library," Lightning answers him seriously but nervously.
Nervously, Spike answers, "You know I'm not supposed to close the library when we're open, but, it's been a slow day anyways and this looks important so...," Spike trails off as he flips the sign before standing aside to let them inside before closing the door behind them.
Letting everyone settle down in chairs around the big study table, Lightning opens by asking, "Have you ever heard of a magic school by the name of Hogwarts?"
Blinking, Spike ponders for a moment with hand under chin before answering, "I can't say that I have ever heard of such a place. Why?"
Enthusiastically, Apple Bloom responds, "They sent us letters of ac-acceptance fer magic classes. Ahh can't wait to attend if it's real."
Continuing on, Sweetie Belle says calmly, "We think they found us because of our misadventure through that mirror."
Pouting, Spike asks depressedly, "Why didn't I get one? Was I not good enough?"
Trying to cheer Spike up, Lightning reaches over and pats Spike on the back while confidently saying, "I'm sure you'll get one next year when you turn eleven." Seeing Spike brighten up, Lightning continues as he holds out his envelope, "We need you to flame my letter to Princess Celestia as mine contains details about myself I didn't know before reading it."
Sighing, Spike takes the filled envelope while nodding before flaming it away. Spike then starts to say, "Now we wait and see how long it t-" before being interrupted by a flash of light.
Waiting for their vision to return they hear snoring, which is revealed to be a snoring Princess Luna in her sister, Princess Celestia's magical grip. Belaying the humorous sight of Princess Celestia trying to prod awake her snoring sister is Princess Celestia's serious expression as she asks in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "LIGHTNING! Did You And Your Friends Find A Mirror In Our Old Castle!? Did You Go Through It!?"
Bowing nervously with his friends, Lightning finally manages to utter out, "we did, Princess Celestia."
Princess Luna finally starts awakening with a snort while Princess Celestia continues her questioning in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "Why Did You Leave THAT Out Of Your Tale!?"
Stuttering, Lightning answers, "Be-because we were-ren't supposed t-to be there. A-and we ch-changed shape!"
Sitting down, Princess Celestia sadly muses, "And so the future stayed on course," before pointing to a place for Princess Luna to sit at the table. Once they are all seated again Princess Celestia continues, "I'm sorry for waking you Princess Luna but you need to hear this. Actually do you five know if your sisters are doing anything important right now?"
Pondering for a moment, the five shake their head saying they don't believe they are. With that knowledge Princess Celestia's horn lights up as she casts a tracking spell before teleporting four of them in. Unfortunately or fortunately she chose an awkward moment to do so, leading to Rainbow Dash flying into a dress that Rarity was working on while Applejack apple-bucks a book Twilight was holding telekinetically into Rainbow's hooves.
The four look around surprised at their sudden relocation before Rainbow groans as she realizes her current situation while everyone else tries and fails to not giggle at the image she presents.
While the giggles subside, Rainbow Dash pulls the outfit off before asking, "Why did you teleport us in here Princess Celestia, and what did you do this time Cutie Mark Crusaders?"
Still chuckling slightly, Princess Celestia says as she pulls Lightning's letter out, "Sit down you four and I'll explain." Once they sit down, Princess Celestia's expression turns serious as she says, "I had hoped that link wouldn't be reestablished Lightning, my godson. The form you changed into when you went through the mirror was the one you and your birth parents were born as."
Nervously, Lightning asks her after a moment of thinking, "Then did they give me the name Harry Potter?"
Nodding, Princess Celestia confirms this saying, "Your mother, Lily Potter, or as she was known over here, Lightning Gardener, gave you the name Harry James Potter. You share your middle name with your father's first name."
Lightning then asks, "did you come up with Lightning Sunrise?"
Quietly and sorrowfully Princess Celestia responds as she tears up, "I-I did not. Your mother and I, we...we managed to accidentally recreate the mirror. The connection was held together with chewing gum and hope, b-but she was the first friend I...I had had in a long long time..."
Seeing and feeling her sorrow, Lightning butts in saying, "You can stop your story if you need to."
Softly sobbing which causes most present to freeze up in shock at the sight, Princess Celestia rebutts him and continues, "No... No, I can...I must continue. About a year after you were born, s-she snuck out and brought you through. You be-became such a lovely little baby pegasus colt that...that I-I asked what she'd name you i-if you were b-born here. Sh-sh-she res-responded t-that she'd name... that she'd name you Lightning Sun-Sunrise be-because she be-believ-believed y-you'd bring hope... hope to o-others quickly."
Shaking at seeing her sob, Lightning manages to bring himself over to cuddle her while asking sadly, "Why...why am I not still with them?"
Princess Luna finally breaks out of her shock to also hug Princess Celestia as the latter manages to utter out between loud sobs, "They died... protecting... protecting you... from a terrible... terrible murderer... who had magic.... Something... something m-my best friend... best friend did... made the spell meant for you... instead bounce back... onto him killing him... and l-leaving you... with that scar...."
Confused and saddened, Lightning asks, "So why are you sad about me attending?"
At this, Princess Celestia manages to pull together enough strength to say, "I-I can't say that..., but you h-have to go m-much as I d-don't want you t-to knowing t-they all t-think you died... with your parents...."
Straightening up as much as he can while he continues cuddling his godmother, Lightning declares, "Then my name is Lightning Sunrise..., because Harry Potter died then with them."
Gaining a bit more strength even as Lightning's answer brings more tears to her eye, Princess Celestia firmly asks Spike, "Did you change when you went through that mirror as well Spike?"
Shaken from his stupor by the direct question, Spike embarrassedly answers, "I did Princess Celestia. I... I also became a unicorn on this side briefly and then a dragon on that side."
Thinking, Princess Celestia answers after a moment, "Then you will get your letter next year Spike." She then continues, "Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity will you allow Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle to accompany Lightning to school? I'll... I'll speak to Stellar Flare and Sunspot in Canterlot later today for you Lightning. They should have no problems with you going."
The three mentioned hurriedly nod causing Princess Celestia to address Lightning, "Then... then with that settled your mom left some things for me to give you when you got your letter... i-in case she couldn't. After that, tomorrow we can all go through the mirror. You're free to go back to what you were doing Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight."
Nodding and making sounds of agreement, the meeting soon grows smaller as the adults return to what they were doing.
To be continued in Chapter 1-2: Secret Stash of the Potted Lily |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-2: Secret Stash of the Potted Lily | Chapter 1-2: Secret Stash of the Potted Lily
Before Lightning and the rest of the CMC can leave with the adults, Princess Celestia stops them saying, "I want you to huddle around me so we can make a trip to Canterlot Castle's garden."
As they do as she asked, Princess Luna sleepily and petulantly asks, "Does this mean I can finally go back to bed Tia?"
Pausing to wrap a wing around her sister, Princess Celestia answers, "you can indeed go back to sleep my sweet Lunabelle," before her horn lights up to teleport them all back to her suite in the castle.
Once their eyes have recovered, Princess Celestia asks them, "Will you five Pinkie Promise to not share what you are about to see? I like some privacy sometimes." Receiving a nod and the motions, Princess Celestia's hair first stops moving before she shrinks with a sigh of relief down to being just a bit bigger than Big Mac. Lastly a bit of rose-violet flames sees her hair turn entirely pink while her Cutie Mark changes to that of just a generic sun. Summoning a pair of saddle bags to cover her wings, she finally says, "it's good to be Sunny Days again."
Pondering for a moment, Lightning finally asks, "Sunny Days?"
Princess Celestia just shrugs and says, "It lets me move out and about in as close to my birth form as I can. It also grants me anonymity because everyone expects the real Princess Celestia to be much bigger and imposing."
Confused and a bit hurt from the secret, Spike asks, "so why have you never shown Twilight, Lightning, or I this before?"
"I'll tell her soon, but there just wasn't a reason and the more people know the less secret it is." Princess Celestia answers as she walks over to a bookshelf and pulls out a sequence of books, causing the bookshelf to open on a hinge before she pulls it open further.
Scootaloo curiously asks as she tries to see inside the secret door, "So are we seeing your real form now Princess Luna?"
Tiredly, Princess Luna answers as she pushes past her sister into the secret passages, "You are indeed seeing the real me. Now I wish you a Good Day and good luck with your treasure hunt."
Princess Celestia says as she leads them down a different very short passageway in order to push on a brick to open a door, "Unfortunately, Princess Luna isn't lying about the treasure hunt. I may have been a bad influence with Lily when it came to practical jokes and she expected herself to be here for the treasure hunt."
Looking about the small rooms filled with very dusty bookshelves and an equally dusty desk and lamp, Lightning asks, "What are we looking for in here? And is this your private study?"
Pulling a book off the shelf which she opens to pull out a key, Celestia sighs again as she answers, "No, this was used by Lily to store our research into portals." She then points to the other door in the room while adding, "I had the main door boarded up so no one disturbed this room or asked me about it. Now how did that rhyme go? Of the Deathly Hallows three//the cloak will set free//A Clue from notes loosely bound//yet very easily refound."
Quietly Sweetie Belle asks the lost in thought princess, "What are the Deathly Hallows?"
Absent-mindedly Princess Celestia responds, "Wand. Ring. Cloak." before excitedly going, "It's the third drawer from the top," as she inserts the found key into the drawer, finding a mess of dated spiral notebooks in there. Responding to the discovery, Princess Celestia just sighs as she says, "everyone grab a notebook or two I guess and look through them."
Sitting down in the dust they quickly skim through the books looking for anything when Apple Bloom excitedly says, "In the margins of one of the ex-experiments she wrote in bad Middle Equish: Back at Ye Olde Start//Go Straight as ye Dart//To Yondor Where to Go//Because Thou Doest Not Knowe."
Wincing at just how bad that Middle Equish is, Princess Celestia muses, "Back where we started? Does she mean where we met?" before snapping attention back to the CMC as she asks them, "Do you want to search my private garden, or do you want to keep searching these notebooks?"
With a deadpan look, Scootaloo answers for them with, "I've had enough of these dusty old books," before the other shrug and nod in agreement.
Lighting up her horn, Princess Celestia says as she leaves the room, "Follow me closely then as you don't want to get lost in these passageways."
After a vigorous walk going up and down stairs, Princess Celestia eventually twists a wall sconce causing a section of wall to drop, revealing a small private garden surrounded by castle walls with no other way in or out except a couple small grates with a roof made out of glass. Out of one grate water flows surrounding an island in the center before exiting through the other grate. A path leads from the entrance over a bridge and then to the center of the island where a giant silver birch with silver leaves sits while the rest of the island is covered by wildflowers.
Leading the way to the birch tree, Princess Celestia points to it while explaining, "This is where the portal Lily and I accidentally created led to. It seems so long ago and yet so near we both ended up in the tiny room between dimensions we created, both of us falling at ending up as the others species."
Sensing that Princess Celestia might be at it awhile, the CMC start searching the nearby grounds while she wryly chuckles and reminisces, "It took us a little while to both stumble into bipedal positions before we could start talking about what happened."
Spike spots some lilies and starts digging into the ground under them as she continues, "Turns out we were both experimenting with dimensional travel at the same time and our spells connected with each other."
Lightning meanwhile starts digging into some petunias absently as Princess Celestia finishes, "It took a few days for us to set the endpoint on this end to that tree and cost her one of her experimental cabinets."
Shaking her head to clear it, Princess Celestia asks, "Sorry about that. Have you fou-"
Interrupting her, Lightning pulls a small metal lunchbox out from under the petunias saying, "I've got it!" He then excitedly pulls it out before growing suddenly sadder as he starts reading out loud, "If you're reading this very clue//Then I'm no longer with you//But Change is not always wrong//So you must grow and stay strong//For Victory is very near//With a spear to pierce your fear."
Sighing Princess Celestia states, "This one stumps even me. I really wish you were here with me but how appropriate she planted it under some petunias."
Lightning quietly asks the obvious question, "Why is it fitting she planted it under petunias and not under the lilies present in this garden?"
Sighing, Princess Celestia sits down and says, "Lily has a sister named Petunia. It means she wanted me to think of her sister. I...I haven't thought of how they'd take your apparent death until just now and it makes me want to cry."
Lightning calmly but comfortingly says, "We can change that in the future can't we? But this riddle has me stumped as well."
Walking over to look at the paper, Spike asks, "Both Change and Victory are capitalized like they are names. Is there anything in the castle by those names?"
Shaking her head, Celestia states, "No, there isn...," before reconsidering as she asks, "She wouldn't have, would she? Knowing her she would have and her words do hold some truth. Well looks like we get to go to the statue garden for more history lessons."
"Why, what's in the statue garden?" Sweetie Belle asks curiously.
Princess Celestia just stands up and starts walking back into the castle as she simply answers, "Discord," with the others hurriedly following her.
After another long dusty trip through the secret passages of Canterlot Castle, Celestia pushes a brick in and then up, letting a section of wall slide free revealing a small statue garden. Exiting the secret passages, Celestia points towards a statue of a mismatched chimera creature and says, "That represents Discord, self-titled lord of disharmony, chaos, and change."
She then turns to a statue next to it of a pony soldier in full armor facing Discord while wielding a spear in his two hooves, looking like he is going to pierce the Lord of Chaos in his chest. Pointing to it, she says, "And that is a statue of Victory Point, one of the best heroes in the land when Discord ruled Equestria. I suppose we should look where the spear is pointing."
And so the very short search begins which ends when Lightning notices a patch of petunias and lilies growing together by a wall. Lighting his wings up, Lightning gently lifts the ground the flowers are planted on to reveal a very large stone chest covered in carvings of lilies underneath. Failing to manage to lift the chest on his own, Lightning calls out, "Everyone come here! And Sunny Days, can you lift the stone chest out of the hole?"
Nodding as she wanders over, Princess Celestia peers in the hole before her horn lights up to pull the stone chest out of the ground. The light then encompasses all of them, taking them to Princess Celestia's quarters where it all began earlier.
Blinking the lights out of their eyes, the four founding members of the CMC are surprised to feel packages thrust into their arms and then pushed into a bipedal position. Princess Celestia tells them, "I think Lily would have wanted to see you in your Hogwarts Uniforms for this so I made sure to have Rarity make them. Lightning, go into the other room and change. I want you to follow him, Spike."
Doing as directed, a few minutes later the guys return to her main room, Lightning changed but missing the gloves and boots as he says, "This doesn't actually feel too bad."
Scootaloo chimes in saying, "My wings definitely don't feel cramped."
Apple Bloom meanwhile tests the flexibility by dropping down to all fours before rearing back up to being bipedal a few times before declaring. "They seem sturdy enough."
Sweetie Belle meanwhile says, "Don't tell Rarity this but for once I'm glad she didn't give us dresses."
After letting them talk amongst themselves for a few minutes, Princess Celestia draws their attention by loudly cracking the chest open. Going through it and pulling stuff out while saying stuff like, "ahh that'll be useful still," she finds a mundane replica of Lily's wand and puts it in Lightning's hoof to hold.
Eventually, at the very bottom she finds an envelope and reads out, "To Princess Celestia and my loved son, Harry James Potter or Lightning Sunrise. From Lily Potter." Starting to tear up Princess Celestia cracks open the letter and reads:
To my son Harry Potter (or Lightning Sunrise if you go by that) and my best Friend and his godmother, Celestia,
If you are reading this I am dead. If I was alive I would have snatched this letter away by now. I know I will probably die by Tom Marvelo Riddle's wand, but I hope you have had a good childhood Harry. I know she suggested a few families to give you to with my personal pick being the Sun family. I know it must have been hard growing up a Pegasus in a Unicorn family but your own magical journey has just begun. While the wand you hold cannot cast magic, I hope it and the books and supplies I left remind you of the love I had and will always have for you. My only regret is not getting to see you grow up.
Princess Celestia, or as I first knew you, Aletia C. Selicorn, stop blaming yourself. While my life was probably short, I hope my son brought you much joy and mischeif. I don't know how much of my scavenger hunt I got to set up, but I hope you enjoyed my one last great prank on you and I hope you managed to reunite with your own sister. Family is important and do try to find where Petunia has gone and give her my love? Even give grouchy Vernon and their son Dudley my love would you? It'll be a great laugh to see him get flustered one last time by me.
With all my love from beyond the grave,
Lily Potter (Lightning Gardener).
P.S. Your father, James Potter (Lightning Fork) just asked me to add he loves you too Harry and he hopes you've done well Celestia.
P.P.S. You'll find some moon lily seeds in this envelope as well Celestia.
Bursting into tears after reading it, Princess Celestia is surrounded by the CMC who cuddles her even as Lightning himself cries at how heartfelt and sad it is. It will be awhile before any of them manage to really speak after that painful healing letter. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-3: Sunrise in a New Olde World | Chapter 1-3: Sunrise in a New Olde World
After a good cry the previous day before heading home, Lightning wakes up the next day at the more reasonable time of 7:30 AM to knocking on his window. Grumbling about it better not be another dumb owl, he looks over and is surprised to see "Sunny Days" with her horn covered by a hat so she can use her wings instead, which sprout out through purpose-made slits in her outfit.
Opening the window, Lightning says with a yawn, "Good morning Prin..., I mean Sunny Days. I'm surprised to see you waking me up personally."
"Why wouldn't I want to wake up my godson on this big day. I'll wait outside for you to get dressed and then we can meet the others at Sugarcube Corner for breakfast before we explore the other world and figure out where the portal goes," Celestia politely tells him before flapping over to wait by the front door.
Hurriedly moving to the bathroom, Lightning splashes some cold water on his face to help wake up before taking care of morning needs and getting dressed. Pondering a question of his own he changes slightly to test an experiment before heading out the door a few minutes later.
Lounging against his house's wall with an owl on her back, Princess Celestia asks him, "I hope you slept well despite yesterday's events?"
Nodding back at her while his wings glow while he locks the front door behind him, he answers in a slightly higher voice than normal, "I did indeed sleep alright. What about yourself Sunny Days? It sounded like yesterday was hard on yourself."
Raising an eyebrow at the slight voice change but otherwise ignoring it, Princess Celestia admits as she starts leading the way towards Sugarcube Corner, "Last night was rough but my sister helped me through it. I'm glad we're going through the portal today, it will help me get some closure and I'm in no mood to hold Day Court."
Nodding back in understanding, the pair make some small talk as they walk to Sugarcube Corner. Eventually making it there, the pair open the door and walk in, spotting the Mane 6 and the CMC sitting at a large table fully dressed. Also sitting at the table is Princess Luna, equally as well dressed with her mane brightened to white and coat darkened to a midnight blue to disguise her alongside a cloak to hide her wings.
Taking the two open seats at the table, Princess Celestia begins by saying, "Lightning, It is my pleasure to introduce you to my sister Midnight Moon."
Princess Luna answers her sister's words with a nod saying, "I see you finally got here Sunny and it is a pleasure to meet you Lightning," before raising her cup of coffee to her lips and draining it.
Recognizing the act for what it is, Lightning responds with, "It is nice to meet you as well Miss Moon. I'm glad you were by Miss Days's side last night."
Blushing softly, Princess Luna just answers, "I was just doing what any good sister should. From what it sounds like I am really sad that I never got to meet her."
Nodding back, Lightning opens his mouth to speak but is interrupted by Mrs. Cake who asks them while holding a pen in her mouth and a notebook in one hoof, "What can I get you dearies today?"
Distracted from his train of thought, Lightning answers, "I'll have an omelet with cheese, ham, peppers, and onions. I'll also have a nice glass of chocolate milk."
Next to him, Twilight shudders at the mention of an omelet as she puts in her own order, "I'll take my usual breakfast of sunny side up eggs over toast with a side of seasoned fries. I'd also like some more coffee."
Beside her, Scootaloo orders next in a slightly deeper voice causing raised eyebrows from Lightning and Princess Celestia, "I'll have some scrambled eggs and cheese with a side of ham and hash browns. I'll also have a glass of orange juice to wash it down."
And so it went down the line, with some ordering apple-themed items, some ordering no meat at all, and some just ordering lots of sugary stuff or ordering items we find normal. Eventually it ends with Princess Luna ordering a scrambled eggs, cheese, and ham sandwich with sourdough bread and Princess Celestia ordering sunberry pancakes with sunny side eggs and bacon.
After Mrs. Cake leaves to get their food, Princess Celestia asks the two with joking seriousness, "So I see you two decided to continue the experiment?"
Blushing in embarrassment, Scootaloo answers while shifting nervously, "It...it has its uses and speeds some things up...," before trailing off.
Lightning decides to pick up the trailing thought by adding, "and I just wanted to see if going through the mirror would disable the change."
Scootaloo hurriedly nods in agreement to that, trying to save face which no-one buys, before Princess Celestia thankfully changes the topic to asks instead, "So where in the castle did you five find the mirror? I couldn't find it but I also didn't look too hard a millennia ago. The memories were too painful."
Apple Bloom embarrassedly raises a hoof and answers, "Ah stepped on a trapped part of the stairs as we headed for the basement. Those darn stairs then turned into a slide and sent us through a fake wall and the mirror in a pile of pony/human bodies. We heard you coming down the stairs and you met us right outside the room."
Princess Luna sadly adds, "I vaguely remember ordering my soldiers to take it to that general area that night. I do wonder what happened to them."
Princess Celestia hugs Princess Luna with a wing as she responds, "That makes things easier and we never found your soldiers after you fell."
Silence falls upon the table for a moment, interrupted by Mrs. Cake delivering the first of their meals. Pinkie stands up to help get the food and once they all have their food they decide to table discussions of the mirror until after breakfast is done.
Standing up to pay for their food after they're all done eating, Princess Celestia asks Princess Luna, "Do you think you are strong enough to take us all there Midnight?"
Answering, Princess Luna replies cautiously, "I will Sunny if you all lend me your magic for the spell. Just send your magic to me when I start casting and I'll guide it along."
Nodding in response, Princess Celestia heads over to the register to pay for their food before shortly returning saying, "Let's go then!"
At that cue, Princess Luna starts casting her spell and Rarity, Twilight, and Sweetie's horns and Lightning, Scootaloo, and Princess Celestia's wings glow in their respective magic colors. With a very loud pop and bright flash of multicolored light, the table becomes empty as the party ends up in a heap on the stairs with the owl on top.
After a few minutes of untangling themselves, Lightning retraces their steps and, rearing up onto two legs, steps through the fake wall while saying, "Here's the chamber with the mirror."
Following along behind him, Princess Celestia facehooves before also going bipedal as she says, "You're all going to want to go through as bipeds as humans are pretty much exclusively them."
Sweetie Belle excitedly exclaims as they all rear up onto two legs, "So that is indeed why you had us practice being bipedal and using our hands/hooves for manual tasks."
Nodding, Princess Celestia says approvingly as they gather around the mirror, "You've got it in one. I also almost forgot that over there I am Aletia C. Selicorn and my sister is Artemis Selicorn. Someone in the future used time magic to reach there about 90 years ago and set stuff up in my name. I'd rather not touch that to avoid causing a paradox."
Lightning and the rest nod in acknowledgment of that fact before he steps through and wobbles his way out of the way of the others. He is soon followed by the rest of the CMC, the Mane 6, Princess Luna, the owl, and then Princess Celestia brings up the rear. Lightning shifts side to side a bit as he looks at Scootaloo and then says, "Looks like the experiment was a success."
Shifting side to side a bit herself, Scootaloo agrees saying, "It was, but it feels weird again. And why do I have a bump on my chest while you two don't, Lightning or Spike?"
Butting into their byplay, Princess Celestia sighs and says, "Right, I forgot humans have their teats, their breasts higher up on their chests. We'll have to buy everyone here but Spike and Lightning bras to fit in. I guess this also proves that I was right in continuing to think of you as a filly Scootaloo and you as a colt Lightning."
Twilight asks while fiddling about and cupping her own breasts, "What are bras? I presume some clothing to cover our breasts?"
Princess Celestia starts making her way out of the park, causing the rest to follow her as she says, "I'll explain when we get to my house over here, provided nothing happened to it."
Scootaloo asks excitedly, "You have a house over here miss Selicorn?"
Nodding, Princess Celestia leads them out onto the road looking for the sign, and upon seeing it she excitedly says, "We're really close to it as well!" before approaching 11 Magnolia Road while pulling a key out of her pocket.
The others follow her closely and see that the house's yard looks a bit overgrown and the house looks weather-beaten, but it still looks sound at a glance. Unlocking the door, Princess Celestia flips the switch and sighs in relief as the lights turn on before she ushers them inside.
Entering the sitting room and looking around at the nice, if dusty furniture, Lightning asks, "Where are we in this world anyways Aletia?"
Closing the door behind them, Princess Celestia answers, "We're at 11 Magnolia Road in Little Whinging, a suburb of London. We are also within walking distance of your closest blood relatives Lightning. I bought this place as a retreat for both myself and Lily if need be."
Twilight, having not forgotten the deferred question earlier, asks again, "What are bras and why do we need them?"
Princess Celestia gently cups her own large breasts before answering, "Bras are breast supporters. They hold them nice and perkily upwards and also relieve the back strain from having a large pair. Actually...,"
Rainbow Dash quietly prods that trailed off thought, "Actually?"
Princess Celestia hmms for a moment in thought before saying, "You should probably see yourselves in full first." She then points to the stairs and commands, "The first door on the right leads to the smallest bedroom Spike. Lightning and Scootaloo you should go to the first room on the left and also see if you can use your shapeshifting any at all. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, the 2nd door on the right leads to your room. The 2nd door on the left leads to a bathroom Artemis. And lastly but not least, the master bedroom at the end of the hall is yours to use Elements. Come back down here dressed once you've seen yourself and gotten used to how you now look."
Blinking at the unusual assignment, Lightning asks, "Why are you placing Scootaloo and me together? And not me with Spike and her with the rest of the CMC?"
Shrugging, Princess Celestia answers honestly, "because you both have both bits and you might come across something."
Hmming in confusion but taking the answer for what it is, everyone but Princess Celestia heads upstairs to examine themselves and compare bodies with those in the same room.
A bit later, once all of them have settled back down in the sitting room, Princess Celestia asks them, "Now that you've had a chance to go over yourselves, do you have any questions?"
Spike raises his hand and asks, "Why do I have noticeable nipples and barely visible breasts on my chest despite being male still? At least I assume I still am."
Princess Celestia just shrugs as she answers, "Evolution is funny sometimes and humans evolved to be that way. From what I've managed to read and saw with Lily, they get even bigger when nursing a child."
Rainbow Dash then asks, "Why are we all boring shades of light pink to dark brown instead of our birth colors?"
All Princess Celestia can do is shrug and say, "I'm amazed we kept our hair colors but I have never seen a human outside that skin color range you mentioned."
Lightning then quietly asks, "How do you do magic in this form? Neither Scootaloo nor I were able to change shape despite our best efforts. It did however feel like we could with time."
Smiling at that, Princess Celestia reaches into a pocket and pulls out her wand going, "With one of these wands. Well I suppose one could cast with just their fingernails but that is terribly wasteful."
Twilight leans in to look at it closely and asks, "What is it made of and who makes them?"
"Provided he hasn't died yet, a sneaky little wandmaker named Ollivander makes these. As for what it is made of," Celestia confidently says before pausing and embarrassedly rushing out, "Cocobolo wood containing both one of my hairs and one of yours Artemis from a lock that I had preserved to remember you by."
Princess Luna looks touched and a bit embarrassed by that as she asks, "You kept some of my hair for a thousand years?"
Still embarrassed, Princess Celestia just simply nods as she says, "I'm not sure I've said it enough but I deeply regret neglecting you and showing you the love you deserved. I...I suppose I should let you know I had a picture of baby you with your parents as ponies taken Lightning and I asked for a few of their feathers and a lock of hair each from them that I had preserved. If you want to view those when we get back to Equestria I can show you those Lightning."
Pausing to think for a moment, Lightning says, "I think we'd all like to see that. It'll be some nice closure."
Nodding back to that, Princess Celestia asks, "Anyone have any more questions?" Seeing a shaking of heads, she asks Lightning, "Would you like to meet your relatives now, or after we meet with Professor McGonagall?"
Putting his hand on his chin, Lightning finally answers after a minute, "I think I'll meet with the professor first, Aletia."
Nodding back at him, she hands the owl a very full envelope before using her wand to open the door and let the owl out. "Now we wait for her to appear like I am sure she shall. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-4: Lightning’s Crazy Knight-mare Bus-ride | Chapter 1-4: Lightning's Crazy Knight-mare Bus-ride
They spend a couple of minutes watching the television before Princess Celestia slaps her forehead. "We won't actually be waiting here. I forgot just how long it takes an owl to get from here to there or back." Princess Celestia then coughs loudly to get everyone's attention.
Having gotten it in a few seconds, she tells them what they are going to do next. "We actually probably have about four hours until Professor McGonagall gets here now that I think about it. Plenty of time to get some groceries."
She then heads outside with Lightning and the other following close behind while ensuring they have their saddlebags on. "Where is the grocery store, Aletia?"
She pauses, muttering something about hoping prices haven't gone up, to pull out a money bag and her wand from her saddlebags before holding the latter up. "We, my little ponies, shall be going by Knight Bus," she says dramatically, a familiar purple triple-decker bus pulling up behind her as she finishes.
The group is stunned by its sudden appearance for a second before Rainbow Dash breaks free. "And just what in the name of Tartarus is the Knight Bus?"
Before Princess Celestia can speak up, Stanley boasts, "The Knight Bus is emergency transportation for the stranded Witch or Wizard. Just raise your wand up to call us. Now, since you can all see me and those five Firsties don't seem to have their wands yet, that will be... 5 by 5 and 8 by 11, divided by 17... 6 Galleons and 11 Sickles for your trip. Now, where are you all headed?"
Princess Celestia starts pulling out wizarding coinage as the others board and takes their seats in the compartments. "We are heading to the nearest grocery store. Is there a Waitrose still nearby?"
Stanley takes the offered coinage and points to one of the seats. "Better take one of those seats then as this is gonna be a bumpy ride."
Once she sits down next to Princess Luna and across from Twilight and Lightning, Stanley knocks on the glass, causing the shrunken head hanging from the rearview mirror to come alive and speak in a Jamaican accent, "Take it away, Ernie."
The apparently named Ernie lifts his head from where it rests and immediately shifts the bus into gear. The Equestrians all quickly grab onto whatever they can as it speeds up.
Princess Luna makes the bold and foolish decision to look out the windows. What she sees horrifies her as the bus quickly accelerates to a breakneck place and sways all over the road. She quickly looks away towards her sister while looking a bit green. "Why hast thou put us on this deathtrap, Sister!? How have thee muggles not spotted us!? Where did thou learnest to drive this Tartarus-borne mechanical carriage, Ernie!?"
Stanley looks more and more offended as Princess Luna goes on. "I'll have you know there hasn't been an accident in the past three days. Muggles also don't know how to look right to see us normally, and things jump away to avoid us. I don't know where Ernie learned to drive, but he gets people where they want to go very, very fast, which is all his job requires he do."
And with that note, Ernie very quickly slams on the breaks throwing them all into a heap of bodies as they keep going forward. The shrunken head speaks again, "Waitrose, sirs and ladies."
Untangling themselves, Princess Luna looks testily at Princess Celestia. "Sister, if we have to ride this again, I want it to be known I bequeathe my worldly possessions to Cadenza Mi Amore in case of my passing."
Princess Celestia smirks back as she leads the way off the bus. "We will. See you in a couple of hours, Stanley."
Stanley nods back at her before they both softly chuckle at all the groaning they hear from her flock at her promise.
Leading the way into the store then, Princess Celestia grabs a cart and makes her way straight to the Deli. "Does a couple of pounds of black forest ham, honey roasted turkey, and salami sound good to you? With a pound of swiss, provolone, and cheddar?"
After a bit of discussion, she receives nods to all of those and steps up to the Deli Counter to get what they agreed upon and a few large packages of tofu for Fluttershy. She then spots something and points to a nearby section of prepackaged meat products. "I want you to look over there to learn something important."
Rainbow Dash is the first one over and looks at the prices on the beef and then other nearby meats. "Aletia, either they have a lot of dumb cows, or meat is very inexpensive here. I've had beef once with my griffon friend Gilda's family. It was a very small piece, and they were having it to celebrate the New Year. This beef looks higher quality than what I got, and given the price, I see it is a bad cut."
Princess Celestia turns her smile to Rainbow Dash; while Twilight looks a little stunned Rainbow was able to figure that all out just from some price stickers. "There are no smart cows here. As far as the non-wizards are concerned, humans, and maybe dolphins, are the only smart people in the world. I wanted to show you this, so you didn't have to feel guilty for eating beef over here."
The others all nod a little somberly at that fact before blinking as she picks up enough hamburger patties for them each to have two, excluding Fluttershy. She also picks up about 20 lbs of cheap ground beef. Twilight asks nervously, "Is all that really necessary?"
In answer to her question, Princess Celestia puts a couple of jars of hot dogs in the cart and a few packages of bacon, fish, and boneless chicken breasts. "Twilight, can you grab a second cart? We'll be in the bread aisle."
Seeing how full the cart has gotten, Twilight nods and grabs another one from the front of the store. Returning quickly, she finds them discussing bread. "Does honey wheat sound good to everyone? And how does Fruit Loops sound for cereal?"
Receiving nods to those, she puts several loaves and a couple of bags in Twilight's cart before also adding a bottle of fake maple syrup. Moving over to the next aisle, she adds a few jars of jelly and a couple of the most oversized size jars of peanut butter she could find.
Next, at the Dairy section, she asks, "2% sound good? And eggs for breakfast and baking?"
"Can we also have some iced cream? Rocky Road is always nice," Sweetie Belle asks for the CMC while they try to give puppy dog eyes.
The others shrug and sigh but nod causing Princess Celestia to put in a few tubs of that alongside the other things and a dozen or so sticks of butter. She next makes a detour to grab some spices and cooking oil before heading over to produce. "Grab what you want for veggies and fruits."
Of course, what gets thrown in there are a few packages of carrots; some apples, peaches, pears, peppers, cucumbers un-pickled pickles, plus pomodori; a few cartons of mushrooms; and at least a dozen ears of corn and heads of lettuce.
Moving on from there, Princess Celestia grabs some drinks, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper on the way to her last stop.
Lastly, Princess Celestia goes to the frozen section to throw in a few bags of frozen peas, carrots, and corn to put in the hamburger helper before grabbing some frozen pizzas to cook and pick toppings off of if need be. "I think we're done now. Time to check out and ride the bus home."
What she receives for that are many groans as they go and do so. The checkout is quick, uneventful, and they are all carrying at least one thing. The ride home, on the other hand, while fast and still holding at least one thing each, is very eventful with all the shaking.
With a cheerful goodbye between Stanley and Princess Celestia, the rest all stagger their way off the bus and inside. First things first, the pizzas go in the oven, and then everything else gets put away. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-4X: Surprise Dawns at Hogwarts | Chapter 1-4X: Surprise Dawns at Hogwarts
(Sometime about noon on July 25th)
Professor McGonagall sighs and muses as she opens up yet another response to a Hogwarts Acceptance Letter, "I know Dumbledore insists you aren't dead, Harry, but I can't see how you lived through his attack." She begins writing a letter detailing a time and date when she will pick the student and family up for shopping. "It would have been your first year, and I'm sad I never got to see your star shine."
Shifting a bit as she continues writing, she hears her alarm charm go off, followed by her stomach rumbling. Sighing as she stands up, "I should get something to eat. Maybe then I'll be less mopey."
However, before leaving her office, an owl flies in and blocks her path, hooting and waving the full envelope clutched in its claws at her. "Put the letter on my desk, and I'll look at it after lunch."
She then tries to move past the owl, but it continues blocking her path, trying yet again to make her take the envelope. Fed up and hungry, Professor McGonagall finally takes the envelope and looks at it, going, "Alright, you silly owl, why are yo.... I...I can see why now. You'll find treats on my desk. I have to tell the rest of the staff this."
Rushing down and up the stairs far faster than usual, Professor McGonagall rushes into the headmaster's office out of breath, where the heads of house and Dumbledore were already seated for their working lunch. Professor Dumbledore notices this and says, "Slow down, McGonagall, we haven't started eating yet. Have you received word that today's lunch is supposed to be extra special or something?"
Noticing the envelope clutched in Mcgonagall's hand, Professor Snape asks with a sneer as she sits down, "Or have you received Draco Malfoy's letter? What has Lucius demanded this time?"
Taking a deep pull of her glass of pumpkin juice, Professor McGonagall puts the envelope down. Coming up for breath, Professor McGonagall finally says, "Look at the envelope and see for yourself." This statement, of course, causes the other professors to crowd around the envelope where they all see:
Aletia C. Selicorn
11 Magnolia Road
Little Whinging, Surrey, England
To: Professor McGonagall
Hogwarts Acceptance Letters
Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Scotland
Mutely, Professor Sprout hands Professor Flitwick a Galleon as he himself bursts into tears of joy, happily saying, "I knew miss Selicorn was too skilled in charms to be killed that easily."
Professor Snape just cautiously says, "I'm more curious about where she's kept Potter. If they'd been living there, either Ms. Figg or Petunia would have contacted us."
Professor Sprout finally finds her voice and asks, "Letters? As in Multiple?"
Professor Dumbledore just claps his hands excitedly. "Would you mind doing us the honors of opening that envelope, my dear Minerva?"
Nodding and doing as he asks, Professor McGonagall pulls out four sheets of paper and reads the front one out loud:
Dear Professor McGonagall,
I know it has been ages since we last had a chance to speak. You probably wonder why I haven't talked to you since Lily's murder or let you know Harry was safe with me, although he goes by a different name now. You may also wonder why the envelope says "letters."
Let me be honest with you, and please keep this close to your chest, but I wasn't entirely honest with you. The summer before her final year, Lily was, as an extra-curricular project, trying to create a bigger version of a vanishing cabinet, a vanishing room, if you will. At the same time, I was trying to do something similar on a parallel earth. My world in ancient times had a wizard who was a prodigy in creating gates between parallel Earths and self-transfiguration charms, so the traveler fit in. One of these lost gates went to your Earth, and we failed in our original plans but succeeded in retreading the link.
Lily's life spell to protect Harry sent him through the gate into my apartment, by my best guess. On this end, Death Eaters destroyed our gate's anchor the night after her murder, and it wasn't until the summer solstice this year that we found his ancient gate in a secret room of an old, abandoned castle in the woods.
As you have probably inferred by now, and as I sadly couldn't tell you at the time, due to the political climate, I was not born human. Lily and James both knew this fact at the time, and Lily brought Harry once over through our portal, where he turned into an adorable baby pegasus colt the color of the sunrise with a yellow forked stripe running through his black hair.
Upon seeing his coloration, and at my prodding, she gave him the name he now goes by, Lightning Sunrise. It's the only name he has ever known, so please use that when speaking to him. I think he'd answer to Harry if needed, but even his Hogwarts Letter's Envelope gave his name as Lightning Sunrise. I also don't want him to suffer the attention Harry Potter would bring.
Due to reasons I'd rather not say, Lily knew I could not raise him myself but instead fostered him with a family of similar colored unicorns, our active magic users, that she had picked out in case anything happened to her. He's had a happy childhood where he's made many friends that I'm sure he'd love to tell you about Minerva. Three of them also got their Hogwarts letters, and I imagine a fourth will get his when he turns eleven next year.
Lily's Friend,
Aletia C Selicorn
P.S. You can tell Snape and Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and Dumbledore this news. Then again, knowing you, you read this aloud to some of them already.
I hereby do give permission for Lightning Sunrise, formerly Harry James Potter, to attend Hogwarts.
Signed,
Aletia C Selicorn (godmother)
Stellar Flare (Adoptive Mother)
Sunspot (Adoptive Father)
Taking a big swig of her pumpkin juice after reading out the massive thing, Professor McGonagall breaks the silence by saying, "That answers many questions and raises many more."
Professor Flitwick says with some surprise, "I know I saw her using her wand, and she never had any trouble walking or speaking. Do you think the pegasi living on our roof and in the attics are capable of more than they are letting on?"
Professor Sprout shrugs to that. "They've never been that willing to let us examine them, especially after Arogog escaped into the forest, leading to his children forcing them out of it."
Morosely, Dumbledore admits, "Or that I tried capturing one of them as a young man. If they are indeed sapient, that was a big mistake on my part, and I owe them multiple apologies."
Snape sharply points out, "I wonder if Aletia is even her real name. It doesn't follow the naming pattern of the rest, but maybe the other letters will give us some more clues?"
Shrugging, Professor McGonagall puts the first one aside in order to read the second one written in terrible hoofwriting with a blue feather taped to it:
I, Rainbow Miriam Dash, hereby give permission for my adoptive sister/daughter Scooter Louise "Scootaloo" Songwing-Dash to attend Hogwarts.
P.S. Have a feather from the fastest Pegasus in Equestria.
Professor Flitwick turns to Professor Snape and rebuffs him, "There's your proof that it might actually be her real name."
Professor McGonagall just rubs her temples. "I just hope this Scootaloo isn't as arrogant as her adopted parent. I'm going to have to deal with a repeat of James and his gang all over again, aren't I?"
Professor Snape looks more and more concerned about where Professor McGonagall is going. "Please don't joke about that. I can't protect them from their own stupidity. I still don't know how you managed it. It's bad enough with the Weasley twins and the adopted daughter of the Weasley's all being in the third year."
Shudders abound around the table, remembering those three before Dumbledore says, "I'll have Professor Kettleburn analyze this feather, but it looks like a pegasus feather, only blue. He might also have some more clues on them."
Professor McGonagall flips to the next page to distract from the headache, this one written in elegant, neat handwriting at the start:
My darling younger sister Sweet Generosity "Sweetie" Belle would like to attend Hogwarts. I look after her most of the time anyway, and she basically lives with me in my clothing boutique home,
Rare Generosity "Rarity" Belle
Before being replaced by a much less refined script:
Yeah, whatever our eldest daughter said,
Hondo Flanks and Generous Cookie Crumbles.
"There has got to be a fascinating story behind their friendship," Professor Sprout muses after hearing the massive difference in attitudes expressed in just those short sentences.
Professor Snape just mutters, "At least they have someone they can depend on-" before sneering and speaking up-, "and at least we clearly won't have to teach them how to clothe themselves."
"Well, let's see what the last of the four has to say for themselves." Flipping to the last page, written in a deliberate, careful script, Professor McGonagall reads aloud:
Howdy there, Professor McGonagall. Mah...My sister, Apple Bloom, is eagerly looking to attend your school, and it will get her and her trouble-making friends away from my family's apple orchard. You can have the fun of cleaning tree sap off of them or teaching them a spell to do so themselves,
Abigail Jacqueline Apple "AppleJack"
P.S. It's weird how only males get suffixes in your culture.
P.P.S. Our grandma is very old, so you'll be dealing with Macintosh Apple or myself. Our parents died when she was a baby, so my elder brother and I raised her.
Snape rubs his temples at the forming headache. "It's going to be James and his gang all over again indeed."
McGonagall smiles as lunch finally appears, meaning they aren't all crowding around her as they rush to get their own food and eat. "Cheer up, Severus. It means you get to pretend to be very mad at Lily and James' son."
While Professor Snape grumbles unintelligibly, Dumbledore thinks out loud, "How many votes can I get to amend wand law?"
Professor Flitwick then pauses his eating at what Professor Dumbledore is getting at. "There's no way a bunch of firsties will keep the fact they weren't born human or don't really consider themselves such any longer. I'll work with what contacts I have to try and help."
The other three heads nod in agreement as Professor Snape gruffly suggests, "Much as I'd like to get one over on James, I don't want to prevent his and Lily's son from learning. Might I suggest wording the amendment such that any wizard or witch going through or having graduated from Hogwarts or similar is allowed a wand?"
Professor Sprout nods in approval. "That should be sufficiently Slytherin for all the blood purists. On a similar note, how goes relocating the package? And is the prophecy still intact?"
"Hagrid will pick it up tomorrow with Neville," Dumbledore confidently states before adding reluctantly, "and the prophecy still holds together somehow despite its many cracks. I'm sure I can get both of them to trust me."
Finishing up her meal, Professor McGonagall gets to go up and use Dumbledore's Floo. "With your permission Albus, I'd like to check in on Lightning and his friends and family."
"Permission granted Minerva. While we're on the subject of tasks, Severus, I want you to take this feather to Silvanus under the guise of wondering what parts of pegasi you can use in potions. Get him talking about them. Meanwhile, I'm going to have to go visit the Ministry and mess with the records to separate Lightning Sunrise from Harry James Potter."
With their missions set, Professor McGonagall leaves the Headmaster's office via Floo and comes out into the Leaky Cauldron. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-5: Minerva’s Medical Mystery Migraines | Chapter 1-5: Minerva's Medical Mystery Migraines
Leaving the Leaky Cauldron, Minerva makes her way to a nearby alley, often used for apparition and charmed so muggles don't notice it. Making the apparition jump to the Magnolia Crescent/Wisteria Way alley isn't hard either.
Realizing she forgot to change into muggle clothes, she transforms into her Animagus form and bounds along the side of the road towards 11 Magnolia Road.
Chatting idly amongst themselves while eating slices of pizza and watching the telly, the party is interrupted shortly after 1 by the sound of a cat yowling outside one of the sitting room windows and batting at it to be let in. Looking over at the cat, Aletia quickly pulls out her wand and magically opens the window to let Professor McGonagall in.
Before anyone can really say anything, she makes a big leap off the windowsill and transforms back into being a human, landing in front of Lightning. Looking into his stunned eyes so like his mother's, her mask cracks a bit as she grabs him in a big hug and tears up a bit.
Seeing Lightning look at her for confused help, Princess Celestia breaks the tableau by reassuringly saying, "He really is alive Professor McGonagall. A bit changed and different, but I've tried to ensure he's been healthy."
Lightning awkwardly pats Professor McGonagall on the back now that she's been identified. "This isn't how you told me she usually acted."
At those words, Professor McGonagall blushes and pulls back a little. "I had to make sure you were real Lightning. Your parents were both star pupils of mine and close friends." Looking around a bit at all the people, she turns to Aletia and asks, "Although I can point out the rainbow-haired one as probably being Rainbow Dash, would you mind introducing me to everyone here, Aletia?"
After the round of introductions is all made, Professor McGonagall pulls out her wand and points it in Lightning's general direction. "With your permission Aletia and Lightning, I'd like to get some baseline readings of you, Lightning."
Receiving nods from the both of them, Professor McGonagall pulls out a piece of parchment from a pocket and casts her medical scanning spell having the results be printed onto the piece of parchment in her other hand. Once done, she looks at what it printed out:
|‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾|
| Given Name: Lightning Sunrise |
| Age: 10 years, almost 11 |
| Height: 152 cm (5')/Weight: 33.6 kg (74 lbs.) |
| Sex: Both (Male)/Gender: Male |
| Species: Human? (Changeling (Pegasus form)) |
| Current Medical Conditions: None |
| Current Magical Conditions: |
Unknown Light Magic Shield Spell surrounding body. Probable | | Caster: Lily Potter |
Unknown DARK magic located in forehead scar. Shield Spell is | | keeping it out. Probable Caster: Tom Marvelo Riddle (Voldemort) |
Unknown Benign Magic. Caster Unknown. |
|_____________________________________________________________|
Professor McGonagall reads over the paper, looks up to say something, looks back down at the paper, and then finally asks with forced calmness, "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack, may I perform the same scan on your sisters?"
They are concerned by the forced calmness but figuring there is a reason for it, they acquiesce to her polite demand. Pulling out three more pieces of parchment, she repeats the process and receives the following reports:
|‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾|
| Given Name: Sweetie Belle |
| Age: 11 years old |
| Height: 149 cm (4'11")/Weight: 36.3 kg (80 lbs.) |
| Sex: Female/Gender: Female |
| Species: Human? (Unicorn) |
| Current Medical Conditions: None |
| Current Magical Conditions: None |
|_________________________________________________________|
|‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾|
| Given Name: Apple Bloom |
| Age: 11 years old |
| Height: 158 cm (5'2")/Weight: 39.5 kg (87 lbs.) |
| Sex: Female/Gender: Female |
| Species: Human? (Earth Pony) |
| Current Medical Conditions: None |
| Current Magical Conditions: None |
|_________________________________________________________|
|‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾|
| Given Name: Scootaloo |
| Age: 11 years old |
| Height: 144 cm (4'8")/Weight: 29.5 kg (65 lbs.) |
| Sex: Both (Female)/Gender: Female |
| Species: Human? (Changeling-Pegasus hybrid) |
| Current Medical Conditions: None |
| Current Magical Conditions: None |
|_________________________________________________________|
Looking over the papers once more, Professor McGonagall turns to Princess Celestia. "Is having both sexes common amongst your people, Aletia? I had noticed the bulge in Scootaloo's pants but hadn't wanted to comment on it until now. If I hadn't performed the charm myself, I also wouldn't have believed the result Lightning gave either because he doesn't look female."
Princess Celestia shakes her head in reply while sighing. "No, it is not common. In fact, those two are the first I know of to have managed to self-transfigure themselves into being both. The pair of them decided to perform an experiment and haven't yet managed to figure out how to fix it on this side yet."
Nodding in some understanding, Professor McGonagall presses on. "In your letter Aletia, you stated he became a pegasus, but the results state he is a changeling. They also state Scootaloo is a changeling-pegasus. Care to explain what a changeling is and why the discrepancy?"
"The portal, as stated, transfigures one to have the best chance of survival on the other side. At least, that is what I have managed to glean from Starswirl's notes. I'm sure you noticed the very dark magic in Lightning's scar and the shield surrounding him?" Not waiting for an answer, Princess Celestia continues her mini-lecture while the rest let her speak for them as they resume eating pizza, "The shield reacts to nothing but the scar and is powered by love. In order to ensure he got that love, it turned him into a Changeling, insectoid ponies that can naturally shapeshift and whose magic is normally powered by absorbing others' love. Back home, my nation is actually undergoing some turmoil over the discovery of Scootaloo's true species. Before the portal stripped her of her pegasus disguise, we all, herself included, had no idea she was a changeling hybrid or that changelings were a tribe of ponies and hybrids were possible."
Professor McGonagall follows the given thread, digesting this information with a frown on her face. "I suspect this also means they can be either male or female?"
"Or both," Aletia agrees. "So far, however, only these two have managed that feat and one of them by accident. Lightning, and recently Scootaloo, you've actually been a big help with the changeling hives hidden in Equestria by proving to them they can break their racial curse and come out of the shadows. Most of the hives' rulers actually contacted me because one of their 'drones' saw us when your holes filled and your chitin, fur, and mane changed colors to match your normal pegasus disguise. We're still working on why it happened."
Professor McGonagall nods and then firmly asks, "What guarantee do I have, Aletia, that they won't change shape and/or sex to get where they don't belong?"
Princess Celestia just shrugs and says, "They can't right now anyways as humans, but when Lightning here was six, I had him go through Equestria's version of basic magic education. Since his birth certificate listed him as a pegasus, he ended up becoming his own fake female unicorn cousin with the same exact colors. Lightning, how uncomfortable was it for you to change your colors, change your species, and change your sex?"
Jumping slightly at the sudden quiz, Lightning answers, "changing my colors or proportions or age felt very uncomfortable and awkward and false. Meanwhile, becoming a unicorn wasn't too bad, and my becoming fully a mare was awkward and uncomfortable, and I did so because I had to, but I still felt real."
Princess Celestia walks over and looks at the results over Professor McGonagall's shoulder. "Thank you, Lightning. You'll note the body shape differences between Lightning and Scootaloo. From their own testing, the hives have told me that their own people each have their own sex/gender and unique non-changeling form that they feel most comfortable in. Changing that form, they all reported feeling like Lightning did, and outside of their true form or that alternate form, they can be shunted back into their true form by a spell. Besides, Metamorphaguses exist amongst your own people Professor McGonagall."
Recoiling from that verbal riposte and looking for something to change the topic, Professor McGonagall spots the pizzas and their toppings. "You do know that is meat on those pizzas, right?"
Before Princess Celestia can say anything, Rainbow Dash responds to that attempt to shock them, "I can't see any way this bacon and ham could be much tastier."
Princess Celestia tries to soften Rainbow Dash's answer. "Ahem. Yes, while we may be superficially similar to your mundane horses, anatomy wise we're a lot closer to humanity. You will note a lack of beef, but that is because some cows are sapient back home, and beef is extremely expensive due to all the safety measures put in place to ensure all beef comes from non-sapient cows."
"I've also noticed you seem oddly comfortable moving about on two legs and wearing clothes," Professor McGonagall prods again.
Rarity pauses in her eating and softly boasts, "Thank you, darling, for your compliments. The most troubling part was stitching it so the slits for the tail and wings were invisible but still allowed them to function if present. I do wish you had told me about the bras P-Aletia."
Princess Celestia gives Rarity a brief glare. "I also did say we were closer to you anatomy-wise. Even standing quadrupedally, our legs support most of the weight while our arms provide extra stability. Our fur is short and thin enough that we have to bundle up in winter, and any person who spends significant time contiguously above a crowd or bipedal is expected to wear something to cover up." Princess Celestia then sighs as she admits, "You are, however, right that we are oddly comfortable. I'd hoped the link would stay dead but still asked Lightning to prepare, and from there, it spread to everyone you see here. We're pioneers of what Equestria will be like if the gate stays open, but very little would have to be done to accommodate us Equestrians. And Rarity, I already told you I'm sorry about the bra thing. It's been over nine years since I had last had to wear one."
Noticing the verbal slip by Rarity, Professor McGonagall lets it slide to dig into something else. "Arms? Legs? You make it sound as though they aren't the same thing."
"Because they aren't. Given Equiis has several primarily bipedal races like Spike over there and every other one can be bipedal indefinitely, might as well use humanoid terms, just replacing the word 'hand' with 'hoof' except with 'handy.' Do you have any other questions, Professor McGonagall?"
Curiosity piqued again, Professor McGonagall asks while pointing at Spike, "Who should I speak to regarding scanning Spike?"
Twilight pauses in her eating to ask, "Spike, are you ok with her scanning you? I won't force you to, bro."
Sighing, Spike answers with a nod letting McGonagall scan him, wondering what information she'll pick up:
|‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾|
| Given Name: Spike |
| Age: 9 years old (early admission candidate next year.)|
| Height: 130 cm (4'3")/Weight: 28.2 kg (62 lbs.) |
| Sex: Male/Gender: Male |
| Species: Human/Dragon? (Unicorn/Dragon) |
| Current Medical Conditions: None |
| Current Magical Conditions: Unknown self-transfiguration spell|
|_________________________________________________________|
What she reads for species causes her to blurt out initially, "but dragons can't speak!?" She then more calmly continues, "at least our dragons can't. Why does he look fully human despite it listing him as part-dragon over here?"
"Ours can, even if eventually, they can grow to be as big as yours. As for why he looks human, since this is a day for telling secrets and you are old enough to understand. Twilight, you remember the day you hatched Spike?" Receiving a nod, Princess Celestia continues, "I lied about a few things. Spike's egg was never supposed to hatch. He had a condition causing him to be stuck in eternal hibernation. What your magic surge did was fix him using your own genetics and blood magic. You are one of Spike's three parents by blood. Your parents and I agreed it was best if he was your brother legally. I suspect the result of this is that every time he goes through the gate, he will come out either a dragon or human on this end and either a dragon or unicorn on the Equestrian end."
Both Twilight and Spike sit stunned for a moment digesting this information before looking over at each other and agreeing, "This changes nothing."
Professor McGonagall huhs at that as well before looking out the window and going, "I have no more questions Aletia. I need to report back to Professor Dumbledore soon anyways." Pulling out another sheet of parchment, she taps it with her wand, causing the same text to appear twice. She then tears one off and hands it to Aletia. "Here's your reminder to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron at noon on the 29th of July."
After a hearty round of goodbyes, Professor McGonagall then heads into the bathroom to apparate, leaving everyone else to discuss what they learned and also watch the Telly. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-6: Evan Potted Petunias Bloom (Edited 3/1/2022) | Chapter 1-6: Evan Potted Petunias Bloom
After finishing their interrupted lunch, Princess Celestia pulls Lightning Sunrise into a side room to talk. "Are you all set to see your aunt, uncle, and cousin? We don't have to do it today if you just want to chill for the rest of the day."
Lightning, in reply, just shakes his head, sensing her trepidation. "No, we might as well get it over with. Is there a reason you brought just me over?"
"I...I have no idea how the years have treated them, but your Uncle hated wizards, and your Aunt Petunia was jealous of Lily having magic. Us being there is going to be stressful enough on them."
Lightning sensing the seriousness of that, asks in shock, "There are people here without magic!?"
"Unfortunately, yes and no. There are foals born in Equestria with blocked magic pathways. The condition is named Void Star Syndrome after the first documented sufferer. For centuries, we've had a cure for it, Muggle-ness the wizards call it. HOWEVER, when I was last here, I could not let on I was from Equestria."
Cautiously and wanting to make a peace offering, Lightning asks, "Is there any way you can cure my cousin so he can get his letter?"
Princess Celestia ponders his request for a moment. "Maybe..., but doing it fast enough won't be pleasant for him, and I wouldn't even consider it normally, but because you asked for it I'll offer it to them." She then pulls her wand out and teases. "Do you want to retake the Knight Bus to get there or walk?"
Shaking his head vigorously and turning slightly green, Lightning moves over to and puts on his saddlebags. "No! No, I hope I never have to ride that thing from Tartarus again!"
Spreading her hands apart, Princess Celestia goes, "Ok! Ok, we won't take it there and will instead walk to them." Putting a couple of water bottles in her own saddlebags before putting them on, she then leads the way out the door. "I want the rest of you to stay here until we get back."
(Art/Map by Nik the Hermit. (This seems to be the map everyone uses. 11 Magnolia Road is in the top-left.))
The pair spend the leisurely half-hour walk talking about what she knows about the Dursleys and their hopes and fears for how the meeting will go. Soon enough, they end up on the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive during the mid-afternoon.
Motioning for Lightning to step off to one side out of view of the door, Princess Celestia knocks and hears a muffled, "I'm coming," from the other side. The door then opens a few seconds later, revealing a Petunia who rapidly whitens as she sees Princess Celestia. With an exaggeratedly calm "You're Dead!" the door is slammed in Princess Celestia's face.
Princess Celestia takes this as casually as she can and resumes knocking. "Petunia, if I were dead and a ghost, I wouldn't need to knock to come into your house."
Petunia cracks the door open a smidge with the chain lock still attached and looks at Princess Celestia. "Aletia, they told me you died the night after my sister, Lily and her family died as heroes. Something about the building you were last seen entering being blown up by magical terrorists very shortly afterward."
Princess Celestia nervously shifts a bit. "What Lily and I were working on was a secret to pretty much everyone. If you let us in, I can explain how we survived."
Petunia looks around outside as best she can. "We? Who else is with you?"
Princess Celestia just gives her a warm, teasing look. "You'll be delighted to meet him. So, can we come in?"
Huffing at the tease, Petunia closes the door to unlock it fully. Opening it entirely, she warns, "They better not mess with my Duddykins."
Entering the house, Princess Celestia motions for Lightning to follow close behind. Catching sight of his eyes, Petunia inhales softly in shock. Princess Celestia reaches into her saddlebags and presses Lightning's Hogwarts envelope into her hand. "Petunia, I have tried my hardest to ensure Lightning Sunrise here has had the happiest foalhood he could. Lightning Sunrise, I'd like you to meet your Aunt Petunia."
Petunia splutters out confusedly, "Foalhood? I don't have any other siblings either, especially not ones that are horses."
Princess Celestia sits down on the couch without Petunia's permission. "This is why I wanted us to be in here. Lily and I were working on magic to breach time and space, and our work resulted in a new unstable doorway between our separate worlds and species. It made me human to fit in here just as it made your sister, Lily, and her son pegasi to fit in with mine."
Lightning speaks up at this point, pulling out the replica of Lily's wand in order to point to the envelope. "It also shocked me to learn I wasn't born an Equestrian. According to her, Lily chose the only name I've ever known after how I looked."
Following along and looking at the envelope, Petunia scoops Lightning up in a hug with tears in her eyes. "So she sent you to Aletia to protect you from Voldemort's Death Eaters? And you escaped into your world as well before they destroyed the doorway? How did you come back then?"
Receiving nods from the two, Princess Celestia answers the third question. "Like his father James, Lightning here leads his own band of friends, and they made the foolhardy decision to follow their siblings into a trapped, ruined castle to look for artifacts. They found one, the original doorway between our worlds that was turned off a thousand years ago and turned back on only for the past month."
Petunia starts crying softly and gives Lightning a light thwap on the forehead for being foolhardy. "It is... It is probably a good thing you didn't end up on my doorstep, Lightning. Your supposed death and James and Lily's actual death hurt me greatly, and Vernon was furious with James for supposedly leading Lily into standing up to Voldemort and getting all three of you killed. I don't think of either of us could deal with having to bury you for real, so don't die on us, you hear."
Wincing from the thwap but reaching around to hug her back, he lets her finish her piece before reassuring her. "I don't have any plans to die any time soon. We generally don't go looking for trouble or tree sap; it finds us instead."
Mouthing a confused "Tree sap?" to Princess Celestia and just receiving a shake of the head saying she probably doesn't want to know, Petunia then calls up the stairs, "DUDLEYKINS! I have a visitor I want you to meet!"
The three hear a surprised yelp from upstairs before a door opens and a complaining Dudley comes down the stairs. "Mom, you know this is when I wa...." His speech then fails him for a second as he sees Aletia, the sight of her causing him not to register the picture of Petunia hugging Lightning. "You're dead, miss Aletia." He turns to his mother. "Why did you let in a gho...Who are you hugging, mom, and why are you crying?"
Petunia turns Lightning to face Dudley for the first time and what he sees is a rough and tough fit-looking 11-year-old. "Dudley, I'd like you to meet your cousin Lightning Sunrise and his godmother Aletia. It...it turns out he didn't die with your Aunt Lily and Uncle James; they've just been unable to bring him home since their death."
Dudley's mask cracks enough for him to tear up and he rushes over to hug both Lightning and Petunia. "Mom and even dad told me stories about how great yours were for standing up to that magic terrorist, even if their beating him cost them their lives. They're my inspiration to protect my own schoolmates, and I'm glad you're alive, Lightning. Dad will be, too, even if he won't want to show it. I am jealous you'll get to go to magic school, and I won't."
Shifting nervously, Princess Celestia pulls out her wand and addresses Petunia, "About that. I know you were jealous of your sister, but we have muggles amongst my own people and have a way to cure them of it. If you let me scan Dudley, I can determine whether I can cure him of it or not in time to get a Letter."
Petunia lets go of both Lightning and Dudley before nodding with tears in her eyes. Receiving her consent, Princess Celestia silently casts an Equestrian charm with her wand and parses the results. "It seems I could, Petunia, but I imagine doing it in time would cause you, Dudley, lots of temporary pain while it is happening. The treatment is normally meant to take several weeks to months. Side effects would probably include whole body soreness for a few days. We'd also have to cross over to do it."
Petunia, at that news, squeezes Dudley softly while she ponders for a short while over whether to involve Vernon or not. She finally decides he'll probably agree. "Dudley, as Vernon usually says, 'no pain, no gain.' So, I'm leaving the decision to you."
Dudley looks at all involved before finally nodding. "It's probably better than Smeltings anyway. I'm tired of pretending to be the biggest bully in school to protect others."
Petunia softly chuckles at his words. "Don't let your dad hear you say that. Now let me leave him a note before we go." She then scribbles something down on the dry erase board on the fridge before grabbing her keys and leading the way to her car, locking the door behind them.
Getting into her car, she thinks of something as the other three get in. "Aletia, just how much trouble are we going to have moving about over there? And will our clothes still fit?"
Princess Celestia smiles reassuringly as she buckles up. "You won't have any trouble walking like you are used to, and just think you still have hands to pick things up. On the other hand or hoof, the clothes might be a little uncomfortable because they don't have the holes ours do for our tails and wings."
Dudley shifts uncomfortably in the backseat as the car starts moving at that answer. "Tails? Wings? You make it sound like you aren't human."
Petunia blushes slightly at forgetting to mention that, choosing instead to change the topic. "Aletia, what is your house number, and where is the portal?"
Aletia nods to Dudley's question, briefly going back to that topic. "My world is populated by creatures thought mythical here: griffons, dragons, minotaurs, pegasi, and unicorns are just a few, but humans are an ancient myth there. All of us are capable of functioning like humans. I also don't know what you two will become.
"Petunia, my address is 11 Magnolia Road, and the portal is in the park."
Petunia just manages to turn the car onto Magnolia Crescent as she hums in thought. "I always wondered where she'd walk off to sometimes that final year of school."
With that last thought, the car fades into silence for the remainder of the trip. Getting out, Princess Celestia leads the way to the tree quietly. "This way. Petunia, I recommend we go through in pairs: Dudley and Lightning, and yourself and myself. Lightning and I can ensure you two don't fall down."
Receiving nods from the other three, Lightning takes Dudley's arm and steps through the other side into the secret chamber, hearing Dudley's shirt rip as they do so. He then helps support a wobbly Dudley take a few steps away. Princess Celestia does the same for an unstable Petunia about a minute later.
Letting the pair gain their balance on their own two feet and deal with the odd feeling of now having tails and mobile ears, and in Dudley's case, wings and claws as all four look over each other.
Petunia reaches up to feel for a non-existent horn before managing to grab a lock of her now black to gold (Midnight gold Petunia) in one hoof to inspect her hair. "I don't feel any wings on my back and can't feel a horn on my head, so what am I?
Dudley flexes his new wings and holds up an unimaginative looking at first glance set of Platinum-Silver clawed hands. "What color is my hair? I can't see it. It's weird having wings as well."
Princess Celestia chuckles softly and points to the portal mirror at their questions. "Dudley, your hair is blond with a platinum blonde stripe running through it. Petunia, you appear to be an Earth Pony, known for their strength and talent for gardening. Quite fitting for you. Meanwhile, Dudley, you appear to be an Earth Hippogriff, known for their strength and ability to soar as high as their will is willing to take them."
Petunia, Lightning, and Dudley join in, chuckling softly at the species joke before Petunia gets serious. "Now, where are we going so you can give Dudley the life I was denied?"
Princess Celestia closes her eyes as her horn glows as she teleports in a padded stick into Dudley's hoof. "Dudley, I wish I could knock you out or take away the pain, but the spells require you to be lucid to work properly. I want you to bite down on the stick. Petunia, I want you and Lightning to hold onto Dudley and not let go or stop comforting him. I want you to give me three nods, Dudley, when you are all set. Take as long as you need."
The three move into position, and after a couple of minutes, Dudley nods his head three times. Celestia's horn lights up, and a muffled scream of extreme pain emits from Dudley as he tries to thrash about. Opening his changeling senses to Dudley, Lightning is almost knocked out by the feeling of the sun flowing through Dudley's veins, but for his cousin, he manages to start siphoning some of it away using his own magic.
During this whole ordeal, the massive overflow burned through the blockages in his mana channels like lava through a wooden house. It also started overflowing them, which would have caused massive internal damage if Lightning hadn't started channeling his own changeling magic into Dudley to take away his pain. Finding a way to vent, Dudley's feathers turn translucent while a curved platinum-silver horn with a watery blue groove pushes out of his forehead.
As soon as she senses that start to happen, Princess Celestia cuts off the flow of magic while panting slightly. Letting the changes settle while rubbing her hot horn, Princess Celestia gives Lightning a firm talking to as Dudley slowly regains his senses. "You got your wish, Lightning, but I am never doing that again. You almost accidentally had me kill your cousin, and the only reason he's alive as a half-changeling is that you somehow took some of his pain with your magic."
She then turns to Petunia and goes down on all fours, genuflecting and lowering her head. "Petunia, if your family ever needs anything, let me know, and I will get it for you if it is within my power to do so. It is the least I can do for almost killing your son."
Lightning sensing the mood also genuflects on all fours while gently crying as he realizes just how wrong it could have gone. "I'm sorry, Aunt Petunia and Dudley, I just really wanted you, Dudley, to be able to join me at Hogwarts."
Dudley very shakily walks over and tries to raise Lightning back up onto two legs and into a hug. "D-don't cry L-Light-ning. I-I agreed t-to i-it and i-it worked."
Petunia wobbles over to Princess Celestia and lifts her up into a brief hug with teary eyes. "You gave my son the chance to attend the school I never got to. My only request is you convince those wizards to allow the rest of us to have magic and to make this one-session version illegal in the future."
Princess Celestia wryly chuckles as she squeezes back. "The number of people that could do what I did can be counted on two hands tops. I will still make it illegal to try, however. Lightning, it looks like you have a new pupil to train how to be a changeling."
Crying and nodding softly, Lightning looks about while chuckling. "That I do, but how about we get out of this drafty castle and face the music so we can end this very long day?"
With nods of agreement all around, they all wobble their way back through the portal to Petunia's parked car. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-7: Roughly Fixed Alders | Chapter 1-7: Roughly Fixed Alders
Pulling into the driveway of 4 Privet Drive, Petunia and the others spot Vernon's car already parked, leaving Petunia a little nervous. "Will our hair color stay changed?"
Princess Celestia shrugs in answer as she and the others get out of the car. Before she can say anything, however, the house's front door opens to reveal Vernon clutching Petunia's note.
He exits the house and looks over them before staring at Petunia and Dudley and says in a rough voice, "So you did go through with it? Decide to follow your aunt, uncle, and cousin to magic school instead of Smeltings? Did it work?"
Receiving nods from them, Vernon next turns to glare at Princess Celestia and roughly warns her. "You better make sure my boy comes home healthy and happy. At least there isn't a magical terrorist running around to harm him now."
Lastly, he approaches Lightning and towers over him as he begins in a very stern tone, "BOY!" He then picks Lightning up in a bear hug and says in a softer voice while tearing up, "I'm glad you're alive H-, no, Lightning." He then resumes glaring again, "Don't ever make me have to say that again."
Vernon then turns and carries Lightning back into the house in that bear hug. "Come on in, and you can tell me what magical shenanigans you've gotten my son into. I may still not like wizards very much, but I'd like to know what you became over there in pony-land, Petunia and Dudley. You also appear to have raised my nephew into a healthy, happy person Aletia, even if he goes by a new name and thinks himself a pony like you."
Petunia follows along behind Vernon closely. "We became, what was it Aletia? Oh right, I became what you called an Earth Pony, and Dudleykins became an Earth Hippogriff. It took a minute to adjust, but we remained able to stay standing on two legs. Gripping things with my hooves was weird; it felt like I still had fingers. I was also able to recognize our faces even if it appears the trip has changed our hair colors permanently."
Dudley goes inside to have tea with them. "Making me able to go to Hogwarts hurt just as much as miss Aletia said it would, and I grew a curved horn like Lightning has. My shirt also tore when I grew feathered wings passing through the portal."
Aletia closes the door behind them before sitting down on the couch. "Yes, well, if Lightning hadn't been there, Dudley would probably be dead, which is why I'm never allowing the quick version I used to be used again. It does not normally cause species change."
Vernon finally lets go of Lightning as he sits down in a chair. "Yes, well, Lightning do tell me how you've enjoyed growing up in pony-land. I want to hear it for the pony's mouth."
And so, they spend tea time whiling away the hour talking about how Lightning being away has affected their lives and how things have gone. Eventually, however, as all good things must, they notice how the afternoon has passed onto the evening. Vernon, being the good host, offers them a lift. "Can I give you two a ride home?"
Princess Celestia nods to his question before turning to Petunia. "You are always welcome to visit us, Petunia and Dudley."
Petunia stands up to give Aletia a hug and Lightning a hug and kiss on the cheek. "As are you and your friends Aletia and Lightning."
Making a sound of dismay at the kiss, Lightning returns the hug before offering Dudley one of his hands to shake. "It was nice meeting you two, Dudley and Aunt Petunia."
Dudley takes the offered hand and shakes it before hugging Princess Celestia. "It was nice meeting you two as well, Lightning and miss Aletia."
Vernon gets up and opens the front door. "I won't be too long you two." He then exits and quietly gets into his car. Once Princess Celestia and Lightning enter, he asks, "I forgot to ask, but what is your address?"
Receiving the answer of "11 Magnolia Road", he starts up the car and quietly drives along, looking like he wants to say something. Finally, he speaks up and asks, "I'm not taken much for flights of fancy, but hearing of Dudley and Petunia's experience, I'm curious what I look like on the other side. Can we detour through the portal?"
Princess Celestia gives him a bemused look as they park by the park. "I suppose we can go through." Getting out of the car, she adds, "We'll lead you there, but you have to lean on me while entering."
Curious as well what his uncle will look like, Lightning leads the way to the portal and steps through first. Getting out of the way and turning around to look, what emerges from the portal is the expected Princess Celestia and a wobbly-looking gunmetal grey griffon which wasn't expected.
Looking into the mirror, Vernon asks as he looks over his form, glad he still has his mustache and spotting his black to distinguished grey hair feathers, "What am I, and how do I look like?"
Princess Celestia softly chuckles as she continues supporting him. "I should have known you'd become a griffon given your son's species over here. Predators of the air, griffons are known for being fierce and honorable when traded with but also interested in self-betterment. You also look fine and distinguished, if otherwise uninteresting."
Lightning chuckles as well as he comments, "You are going to have fun explaining the holes in your shirt."
Vernon just rolls his eyes at that before blinking as he takes a shaky step away from Princess Celestia. "It's odd I can still roll my eyes, but odder still is having both a beak and still having teeth." He then spends a few seconds making expressions in the mirror, testing if there are any he can't make.
Princess Celestia just smiles softly at seeing the smile on the normally taciturn Vernon's face. "Does the experience measure up to your expectations Vernon?"
Remembering he's not alone, Vernon stops making faces in the mirror. "It does.... Aletia, I would not be opposed to coming here with Dudley and Petunia, provided you can provide proper tailoring for us."
Lightning chuckles softly at that request. "We know someone who made all our clothes with wing and tail slits that become unnoticeable when not in use."
Nodding in agreement with his claim, Princess Celestia points back to the mirror. "It is, however, getting late. We should probably head back through."
Vernon, in answer, wobbles his way back through the mirror, followed by Lightning and then Princess Celestia. On the other side, Vernon gives Lightning a last bear hug with one arm and offers Princess Celestia a handshake with the other. "It was nice meeting you again, miss Aletia and finally meeting you, Lightning."
Hugging his Uncle Vernon back, Lightning responds, "It was nice to meet you as well, uncle."
Princess Celestia adds as she takes his hand and shakes it, "Likewise, Vernon. It was nice to meet you again."
Vernon lets go of them then and gets back in his car for the trip home. On the other hand, Princess Celestia starts leading the way to her home. "I hope you don't mind staying here for a few days, Lightning. I'll ask the Elements to make sure one of them is with you five troublemakers at all times."
Following Princess Celestia home across the street, Lightning shakes his head. "I don't mind, Aletia, and I'm sure the rest won't either. Besides, I feel like... nah, I'll save that surprise for later. I hope supper is good."
Giving Lightning a sharp look at hiding the surprise from her, Princess Celestia leads the way in, where they have a delicious supper. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-8: Sunrise on Diagon Alley Discount Discoveries | Chapter 1-8: Sunrise on Diagon Alley Discount Discoveries
(8 AM, July 29th)
Dudley slouches down on one of the seats in Aletia's sitting room. "So you know what's taking Aletia so long Mom?"
Petunia just points to Twilight as she tries to relax. "Ask her. I'm not her former student. I just hope she gets here soon so we can catch the train we need."
Twilight just shrugs and goes, "It is unusual for her to be late for an appointment."
Lightning shifts from foot to foot. "At least you did get your letter Dursley which means you get to see Diagon Alley, Aunt Petunia."
Princess Celestia at this moment chooses to burst in carrying her saddlebags..., and a birdcage containing a red and gold bird. "Sorry I'm a little late, but Philomena here refused to leave my side. She hopped in her birdcage when I explained we were going by train, but we both know she can unlock it any time she wants."
Dudley walks up to the birdcage and peers in, causing Philomena to preen and pose. "She's pretty, but what is she? I've never seen anything like her before."
Princess Celestia chuckles at seeing his undisguised and Petunia's poorly hidden interest in her friend. "She's a phoenix, Dudley. Not mine, but I've been taking care of her since her partner vanished." Pausing for a moment to cast an illusion charm over Philomena, making her look like an eagle. "I just remembered phoenixes are very rare here. Now, you probably know where the tube station is a lot better than I do, Petunia, so please lead the way."
Startled by the sudden shift, Petunia makes her way for and out the door. "Right, everyone follow me. The Station's only a few blocks away."
Twilight, Dudley, The CMC, Spike, and Princess Celestia with Philomena follow along behind her to the station.
The trip from Little Whinging to London proper doesn't take too long and is uneventful except for some odd looks. Then again, Princess Celestia, the CMC, and even Dudley all wear robes over their street clothes. It could also be the unusual hair colors they all have, or the fact that Philomena makes a very odd sight in a birdcage. In any case, they survive the Tube and exit the station closest to the Leaky Cauldron.
Princess Celestia leads the way into the Leaky Cauldron. "Dudley, grab your mom's hand so that she can follow us."
Professor McGonagall waves them over as they enter to the group of three people she is leading, introducing everyone to each other. "Dan, Emma, and Hermoine Granger, may I introduce you to Aletia Selicorn, Twilight Sparkle, Lightning Sunrise, Scootaloo Songwing, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Spike. You all are new to the wizarding world except for Aletia. I do have to ask Aletia, what's your eagle's name?"
Princess Celestia moves over to a nearby table and starts pulling books out of her saddlebags. "Philomena here decided she wanted to come, and I can't stop her. Professor McGonagall, have any of these books changed significantly in the past twenty years? Lily wanted Lightning to have them."
Professor McGonagall goes over and opens the old, loved textbooks one by one before nodding. "These will all still work, and if there are any differences, I'm sure the rest of them will let him borrow them. We can see about next year's books next year. Now that we have the books settled, we can get moving."
Professor McGonagall then gives her the time needed to pack the books up before heading to the back courtyard and tapping the magic keystone in the wall. She gestures grandly to the revealing passage. "Welcome To Diagon Al-"
Whatever she was next going to say is rather rudely interrupted by Philomena choosing that moment to exit her cage and rush through the doorway. Stunned, it takes a moment for them to process she flew straight towards and inside Flourish and Blotts Fine Books.
Princess Celestia is the first to break free from her shock and make a beeline to follow Philomena. "What could have gotten into her?"
Professor McGonagall is the next to break free with the rest all very shortly following her. What they find is not what they expect: Philomena on top of a knocked over flame-haired girl, hugging said girl with her wings while nuzzling her hair. Next to her stands a very confused Molly Weasley with Ron, Ginny, and the twins nearby.
The flame-haired girl finally comes to and looks up into the loving eyes of the eagle above her. "Philomena? Is that you? But you can't be here!"
Molly Weasley asks curiously as she offers the flame-haired girl, "How do you know this eagle, and why do you say she can't be here?"
Professor McGonagall coughs meaningfully and loudly to make her presence known. "Indeed, 'Sunny Shimmie-Weasley,' how do you know her as she came with these fine folks."
"Sunny" looks over at the group and spots one person standing there. Before she realizes what she is doing she has managed to sit up and launch herself at Princess Celestia in a crying hug. "I'm so sorry Pr-Teacher for making you worry. How are you here? The portal closed after depositing me into their bathroom."
Princess Celestia barely manages to catch the flying third year in that hug, Philomena being thankfully dislodged before she could become an accidental pancake. "Sunset Shimmer? Is that you?"
Lightning points to her cautiously. "Is that my older adopted sister Aletia? The one you told me was lost almost a decade ago?"
Professor McGonagall catches the slip again but finds something else more important to focus on. "So, she's one of yours, Aletia? Also a decade? She only appeared and was adopted by them almost 3 years ago."
Sunset Shimmer pulls her face out of Princess Celestia's chest to nod while still crying softly. "She taught me from the time I became her personal student at the age of four by following my elder brother into an exam room and managing to hatch Philomena. After that they started using a dragon egg for the futility test."
Princess Celestia squeezes Sunset Shimmer tightly while crying softly. "That explains why you never responded Little Sun. You went forward in time while your adopted little brother Lightning went back a few hours. However, the portal you went through should not have lead to the Weasley's bathroom."
Miss Weasley approaches them cautiously, "So just who have we been harboring all this time? She told us she came via a portkey accident from far away that destroyed her clothes. She also explained her difficulty using her hands and walking on that accident. Also, Aletia, didn't you die the day after the Potters did?"
McGonagall spots a confusing point in Sunset's testimony as well. "Why would hatching an eagle be the test to become your personal student?"
Philomena lets out a trilling laugh at the notion of her being just an eagle causing Princess Celestia to sigh. "I can answer those questions, but not here, Miss Weasley or Professor McGonagall. Do you two want to finish shopping now and go to the Burrow later? Or would you prefer your answers first?"
Miss Weasley looks conflicted for a few seconds before making a come hither motion to her children. She then starts walking towards the Leaky Cauldron. "I want those answers now I think."
Princess Celestia leans in and whispers a question to Professor McGonagall, "Will the Weasleys keep our secret if we tell them the true truth?"
Professor McGonagall nods for a second before pausing. "They will if you tell us the true truth, Pr...? Unfortunately, no wizarding family will take anything the Grangers say seriously because Dan and Emma don't have any magic."
Princess Celestia hurries ahead to catch up with the rest of the group. "I... would rather not expand on that because I like being a near-nobody. To Lily and you all, I can be myself."
Professor McGonagall follows along and quietly whispers, "Princess. That's why you couldn't raise Lightning yourself, wasn't it?"
Princess Celestia ignores the question as she enters the Leaky Cauldron in time to hear Molly Weasley finish up, "...say 'The Burrow' and then step in."
Princess Celestia grabs a pinch of Floo powder and approaches the fireplace. "I'll go first." She then throws the powder in with a shout of "The Burrow" before stepping in.
One by one, the rest follow along behind until it's just Philomena, Sunset, Molly Weasley, and Professor McGonagall. Surprising the latter two, Philomena grabs a pinch of Floo powder in one claw before tossing it in the fire while whistling three notes. As soon as the flames turn green, she flies in.
"Well, good to know her saying 'The Burrow' in her language can activate the Floo system." Sunset then takes a pinch and follows Philomena.
Molly exclaims as the Floo flares behind her unnoticed, "She can understand Eagles!?"
Professor McGonagall just picks up a handful of Floo powder. "We'll never know if we don't follow them."
The pair quickly go through and see chaos as the non-Equestrians all babble about, asking why there's a phoenix flying about the ceiling. This chaos causes them not to notice one last flare-up of the Floo system.
Princess Celestia seeing the pair have arrived, shouts in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "QUIET EVERYBODY!"
Once everybody has calmed down, Philomena lands gently on Sunset's shoulders. She reaches up to pet Philomena. "I guess the Floo system undisguised you, Philomena."
Professor McGonagall finally points at Sunset and Philomena. "She hatched Philomena, didn't she? How can she understand what she says? "
Sunset continues petting Philomena gently. "I hatched her when I was four which is when we bonded. My Special Talent is Light Pyromancy, and speaking with phoenixes is just a very nice bonus."
Professor McGonagall catches the emphasis placed on a couple of words and asks, "Special Talent?"
Sunset stops petting Philomena to point at Molly Weasley. "You know those 'tattoos' on my hips that are almost scandalous to show others? Those aren't tattoos; they are a representation of my Special Talent that magically appeared on my skin and coat when I discovered it at a very young age."
Princess Celestia nods at Sunset's words. "Cutie Marks, as we call those emblems, are seen as a sign of coming of age. Practically no one ever sees an adult mare or stallion without a Cutie Mark. Lightning Sunrise and his friends here are actually fairly old to ever earn their Cutie Marks. Now that I think about it so is his cousin, Dudley Dursley."
Molly points from the Equestrians one by one with her mouth closed before finally closing it. "You make it sound like you are equines...wait, Lightning Sunrise is Dudley's cousin? And you're alive, Aletia? That means you are or were Harry Potter!?"
Lightning nods causing the Weasleys to break out in babbling confusion as a fundamental truth they knew has just been broken. After a moment of this, Lightning snaps and inhales deeply. "ENOUGH! I am Lightning Sunrise, and it was the name my birth mother, Lily Potter, gave to me when she visited my godmother, Aletia, in Equestria with baby me and saw the pegasus I became. Harry Potter is dead! He died with his parents to give me life!"
The silence that follows is broken only by Lightning's heavy breathing and the CMC scampering over to give him a hug. Finally, Princess Celestia breaks it with a sigh. "As you've heard, he grew up thinking himself Lightning Sunrise. We didn't want to tell anyone else what the portal does to those who pass through it, but you now know since my former student let it slip. Please don't pass along that Lightning was Harry or the fact people on the other side are ponies, griffons, and dragons, among other things, all of which can be bipedal and wear clothes comfortably. That's why we are standing so easily here, we're closer to humans than the equines you have here."
Professor McGonagall coughs gently. "I haven't been to the other side yet but they showed no hesitation with eating meat. Also, Professor Dumbledore is planning to push through an amendment with Lightning here as leverage to allow non-humans to attend Hogwarts and own wands."
Petunia raises a hand. "Dudleykins and I have been to the other side. It changed our hair colors but we can confirm we were able to comfortably stand and move human-like and use our hooves as hands."
Molly Weasley looks between them before sighing. "I'll have to tell my husband Arthur you know, but otherwise we won't tell anyone else. Isn't that right children?"
Emma looks at Dan then Hermoine. "We don't quite get all of this but we won't tell anyone else either, not like it sounds like they'd believe us."
Princess Celestia looks at them for a moment before smiling at them. "Fair enough Molly. If you want to visit Equestria just send us a note by owl at a later date so we can guide you through the portal."
Professor McGonagall thinks of something and smirks gently. "Did you know princess that phoenixes can safely teleport themselves and others with their flames?"
Princess Celestia fails to spot that trap. "No, no I did not but tha.... Fine, you got me. I'm a princess. I like not being a princess. Here I'm just lowly Aletia C. Selicorn of very little importance." She then slumps a little as she softly begs, "please don't spread it around. I was friendless for a very long time before meeting Lily because of it."
Fred and George look at each other before chuckling as one of them says in a teasing manner with a mock bow, "Your wish is my command Princess."
Looking around and seeing the rest nodding and chuckling, Princess Celestia sighs in relief. "Thank you. Now if you have any other questions before we resume shopping, we'll try and answer them." |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-9: Sunrise on Diagonal Shopping | Chapter 1-9: Sunrise on Diagonal Shopping
Professor McGonagall finally coughs after about an hour eating lunch.They spent that time learning other things previously mentioned plus the fact the portal is currently in a ruined castle, and that Equestria and Britain share similar governing styles. "I'm sure we could go on like this all day, but I have limited time to get you all through Diagon Alley."
With some sighs of disappointment from the Weasleys and Grangers at not getting to learn more, the rest all make noises of agreement. Princess Celestia turns to look at Philomena before recasting the Eagle illusion on her. "Can you flame yourself like five feet to the left, Philomena?"
Philomena chirps in agreement before doing so, coming out of her own flameport still disguised as an eagle. Celestia hums in thought at the result. "Do you have the Floo powder for us all to take it back to the Leaky Cauldron while Philomena meets us in the back courtyard?"
Molly looks in the pot before nodding. "There's enough for us to all go through, but we'll need to buy a refill afterward."
The rest of them nod in understanding that they'll have to make an extra stop before one by one going through except Philomena, who flameports over instead. It doesn't take long for the whole group to get back to the entrance of Diagon Alley.
Once there, McGonagall points to Gringotts. "Our first stop is there at Gringotts, safest place in Wizarding Britain, where you can store your wizard money or exchange gold, gems, and British notes for wizard money. One gold galleon equals 24 and a half British pounds1, 17 silver sickles, or 493 bronze knuts. 1 silver sickle is 29 bronze knuts."
Lightning raises his hand. "That seems rather convoluted. Why such odd numbers?"
Professor McGonagall just shrugs and raises her hands as she leads them towards the bank. "Our ancestors were, in their determination to be as un-Muggle as possible, sometimes idiots and those focused on keeping things pure and old haven't let reforms happen."
Molly Weasley just nods to that as they pass through the doors. "Who is going with which parent? I'll keep a watch on any extra kids with mine."
Princess Celestia points at Twilight. "You go with Lightning, Dudley, and Petunia. Make sure they only take a few Galleons. I'll go with the rest of the Crusaders. That leaves the Grangers with you, Professor McGonagall. That sound good to you all?"
Receiving head bobs all around, the group split up into five after McGonagall gives Lightning's key to Twilight with instructions on how to use it.
Lightning's group is surprised to be doused with water as they approach a counter. 2Shivering, he tries to listen in on the chatting goblins while Twilight chats with the clerk. Unfortunately all he can make out is something about a spirit following before Twilight shakes his shoulder. "Lightning, they need a blood sample to reactivate your account."
Blinking, Lightning silently places his left hand on the desk so the goblin can draw blood. After a moment humming as he waits for the results to appear, he finally nods at the results. "Mr. Sunrise, your blood test confirms you were once Mr. Potter. I would get the non-human traces checked out. They are stronger now than when you were last tested as an infant."
The four are slightly stunned at that news before Twilight manages to shakily bob her head. "We'll be sure to do that Sir. Thanks for the help."
"Good." The goblin then nods stiffly in response before surrendering the key back to Twilight while calling out, "Griphook! Please take Lightning Sunrise and company to vault 687!"
A goblin rushes over and bows. "Yes Sir!" He then moves towards one of the tunnels. "This way! Hurry! Time is Money!"
Quickly following along behind through a narrow plain hallway, they soon come upon a torch-lit chamber with two other entrances, both just wide enough for the minecart tracks passing through the chamber.
Already suspecting they won't like where this is going, those worries are justified when Griphook whistles and summons a minecart. Watching him get in front, the rest sit behind the goblin in the passenger benches with varying levels of regret.
This regret of course soon turns to fear for Twilight and Petunia and excitement for Dudley and Lightning as the minecart starts moving and picking up speed through the twisting narrow passages.
After this exciting ride, the minecart comes to a stop in front of Lightning's vault, with Twilight and Lightning both a little hoarse from screaming, one from fear and the other from excitement, respectively. Meanwhile, Dudley slightly chuckles as he holds his shivering curled-up mother. Griphook just nonchalantly exits the cart and points to a keyhole, "Vault 687 is there."
After a few seconds, they all manage to exit the cart, and Twilight shakily hands the key to Griphook who unlocks the vault. "Remember, Lightning, take only a few Galleons for Dudley and yourself for spending money. A-Aletia is footing the school supplies."
Nodding, Lightning takes only about a couple of dozen Galleons from his vault before stepping back so Griphook can close and lock the vault. He then, alongside Dudley and Twilight, gets back into the minecart.
Petunia pauses as Griphook gets in the cart before getting in herself. "Is there any way you can slow this thing down, please?"
Griphook just smirks at her as the cart starts moving. "One speed only!"
However, the trip back up is actually noticeably slower than the trip down, leaving their nerves much more settled.
Arriving back at the station, Griphook is the first one out of the cart. He immediately turns back around to face them and gives a mischievous grin and dark chuckle. "For certain definitions of one speed."
Petunia gets out and gives Griphook a shaky curtsy. "Thank you for going slower on the way back up."
Griphook looks back at her as he leads them out into the lobby with a glare that says to shut up. "Slower? I don't know what you're talking about."
Taking the hint, they remain silent as they exit back out into the lobby, where they meet the rest of the group. Princess Celestia walks over and hugs Lightning as he approaches. "I see you survived the minecart ride. Did you get what you need?"
Receiving nods from him, she lets Lightning go. Professor McGonagall, meanwhile, starts heading for the exit. "Next on our list should be robes, I think. That could take a while with the tailoring needed."
Princess Celestia nods back as she starts ushering them towards the door. "I brought one of the outfits Rarity tailored for her to use as a blueprint for tail and wing slits. If you plan to visit Equestria, I'd recommend you get those modifications done as well."
Dudley winces slightly while exiting Gringotts at remembering how he ruined one of his shirts. "It was not pleasant having wings rip my shirt or the feeling of my tail being forced up over the back of my pants and underpants."
Petunia just shivers as they walk along. "I'm glad Rarity was able to tailor them into our current clothes."
Entering Madam Malkin's shop, Molly Weasley ponders their words. "It can't hurt, I suppose, and, thanks to Sunset here, aren't quite as poor as we used to be."
Emma agrees to that, "It will do Hermoine some good to have some friends."
Princess Celestia pulls the outfit out of her saddlebags just in time for Madam Malkin to wander over and look them over. "I see there are the eight of you dears here going to Hogwarts? I recommend one of you stays while the rest get supplies. This large group might take a bit."
Princess Celestia gestures with the outfit in her hands. "Can you do the modifications present in this spare pair of clothes with all the things you make? Otherwise, I know a tailor willing to do so."
Madam Malkin looks askance at Professor McGonagall and, upon receiving a nod, takes the clothes and starts looking them over. "Beautiful cloth..., are you expecting to put your robes on a dog or something, dear? It's beautiful work in how the slits seem to vanish when not being used, but why do you need them?"
Princess Celestia sternly looks at her. "Can you do so? Otherwise, I'll have my tailor do so."
Madam Malkin looks at the seriousness in her face before nodding. "I feel like there's something I'm missing, dearie, but I can do so. It will cost you a couple Galleons extra per set of clothing, however."
Princess Celestia nods. "That's fine." She then turns to the others and asks, "I'll stay here with the eight being fitted if that's ok with you?"
Molly Weasley holds her hand out, "I'll take my children to the bookstore to get their books. With all of us we'll be able to lug those heavy things."
Petunia raises her hand, "Twilight, Spike,, and I can go to the apothecary. Professor McGonagall, is there any reason we have to buy our telescopes in Diagon Alley?"
Professor McGonagall puts a hand under her chin as she thinks. "Not really beyond the ones sold here are pre-enchanted to always see through clouds. Otherwise you'd have to pay for them to be enchanted. Why? And that leaves the Grangers with me to go to the general store."
Princess Celestia pulls out her money pouch and starts handing out galleons. "Non-magicals must have better telescopes given we have better ones back home. Do you think 50 Galleons will be enough for each shop, Professor McGonagall?"
She hums as she takes the money offered, "Better make it 100 for the bookstore, but otherwise, this should cover everything."
Handing out the suggested extra 50 Galleons to the Weasleys, the groups soon split. Madam Malkin counts the children present. "So that will be five girls outfits and three males...or 4 of each? I'm not sure what to make of the girl(?) with purple hair and eyes."
Princess Celestia puts a hand under her chin and thinks. "Is there anything preventing a girl from wearing trousers at Hogwarts? If there isn't, I'd recommend seven male outfits and one female? The one you mentioned plus Lightning there could be considered, for lack of a better term, advanced metamorphmagi."
Madam Malkin shakes her head. "Nothing except tradition dear. So that'll be seven male outfits and one fem-"
Hermoine interjects at this point, having looked at who she was with. "Please make that eight male outfits. I'd like a skirt as well, but something tells me I'm going to want a couple of pairs of trousers."
Sweetie Belle raises her hand, "I wouldn't mind a skirt either if that is ok."
Madam Malkin nods in understanding as she flips the open sign to closed. "My assistants can take one of you at a time while I can service someone on my own. Eight of you should take about 2 hours and a bit together."
Roughly a bit more than two hours later, the group exits to meet the rest of the group in front of the shop. McGonagall checks her watch. "Hmm..., it's 3:30 PM. Do we check out the pet shops, Treacle's trunks, or Ollivander's Wand Shop?"
Petunia hmms as she thinks. "You said Ollivander's was probably going to take the longest, right? We might as well check out the pet shops."
Dan smiles and nods at that suggestion. "That sounds like a smart idea. A cat will be easy to explain away."
Lightning adds, "I would like an owl."
Princess Celestia just shrugs in acceptance and leads the way to the shops. Seeing Petunia and Dudley following the Grangers into the Magical Menagerie, she floats over a couple of dozen Galleons to her. "So you can get Dudley a pet of some kind."
Princess Celestia then follows Twilight and the CMC into Eeylops Owl Emporium.
There she witnesses Lightning exclaim over meeting a bright snowy owl. She also sees Apple Bloom with a small hissing Madagascar Owl. Sweetie Belle's owl, meanwhile, seems to laugh as she returns with it, and Scootaloo's just looks fierce with its faux horns.
Princess Celestia smiles at their enthusiasm as she approaches the counter, paying for the five owls and their things and having them shrunk by the clerk.
Leading the way out, they find the other group exiting as well. Hermoine is holding a big orange cat in her arms while Petunia is facepalming at the fact that Dudley is petting a giant European Eagle Owl hybrid3 that is hopping along beside him. "What happened to getting a cat or toad Dudleykins?"
Dudley just shrugs as he resumes petting it. "Guardian over here just seemed like it would protect things like I want to. Worst comes to worse we can have it spend time with Lightning."
The cat meanwhile looks interestedly at Ron, or more specifically one of his pockets. "Why did you get a cat that wants to eat Scabbers?"
Hermoine just gently squeezes said cat a little more in a hug. "Crookshanks is naturally going to be curious about your 'new' pet rat."
Crookshanks just hisses at Scabbers before wiggling free of Hermoine's arms, resting on the ground. Princess Celestia chuckles at seeing the cat lick his front paw. "I don't need to be Fluttershy to tell that he's had enough with being hugged for now. Well, onwards to Treacle's Trucks!"
Molly Weasley just leads the menagerie towards the store while watching amusedly as Crookshanks follows beside Hermoine like he was on an invisible leash. Once inside she approaches the counter and pulls out 8 galleons. "I'll take one of the student trunks with the standard four enchantments."
Next, Emma approaches the counter and orders a very similar trunk while holding out 8 Galleons.
Lastly, Princess Celestia regally approaches the counter. "How much are your top-of-the-line trunks, and what do they include?"
Dylan blinks for a moment before inclining his head. "They are 130 galleons each m'lady. They include everything a traveling wizard needs to live their life plus the standard four. They're my pride and joy after hearing about an unknown witch who went to Hogwarts with one back in the early 1900s. I still have never been able to replicate hers, but I can link a Floo network between them if you buy multiple. It won't work at Hogwarts, however."
Princess Celestia hmms for a second before pulling out her bag of galleons and starts counting. "I'll take six designed to look like the standard trunks."
Dylan pulls out some parchment and a quill. "Where should I have these delivered. This order will take a bit to calibrate."
Princess Celestia finishes counting out 780 galleons. "You can deliver those to 11 Magnolia Road., Little Whinging, Surrey."
Dylan scribbles that down. "Expect a night delivery as that's a muggle area. Thanks for your patronage."
Princess Celestia nods back as Ron and Hermoine get their trunks. "Now time for our wands which might take a while."
24.65 British Pounds at the time of writing to be precise. We checked. - Dusk
Apologies. Whatever was in the water forced us to restart our viewing spell. Events are to the best-guess of our autorecorder. -Noon
An identification spell stated it was a European Eagle Owl crossbred with a White Tail Eagle. -Noon |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-10: Sunset on Diagonal Shopping | Chapter 1-10: Sunset on Diagonal Shopping
The group approaches their final shopping stop of the night, an ancient-looking place with minimal embellishment. In one front window lies a wand laying on a dusty purple pillow while over the door read lettering proclaiming Ollivander's to have been making fine wands since 382 BC.
The group enters the tiny shop, which somehow seems to expand to accompany them all. A small bell rings somewhere in the back as they approach the desk.
Some of the more adventurous members of their group are about to go looking through the shop when they hear a stumble and crash as something trips behind them. Turning around, they see an old man with wide pale eyes quickly standing up and pointing his wand at Princess Celestia. "You're Dead!"
Princess Celestia chuckles as she raises her hands in the air. "Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated by misinformed people who didn't know some things."
Ollivander looks disbelievingly at her before turning to a sighing Professor McGonagall for answers. "She, along with Lightning Sunrise here, was trapped elsewhere, unable to return to Britain until the past Summer Solstice. Lightning is here for his wand just like his parents were twenty years ago."
Ollivander moves to somewhat creepily peer into Lightning's eyes at learning that before smiling at what he sees, his wand conjures images of three wands as they are brought up. "I remember the day I sold your mother and father their wands, Harry, no, Lightning Sunrise. I never thought I'd be able to sell you yours.
"Your mother, Lily, had a swishy wand perfect for Charm work. It was ten and a quarter inches long, made of willow, and had a unicorn hair at its core.
"Your father, James, had a pliable wand excellent for transfiguration. It was eleven inches long, mahogany, and had a dragon heartstring as its core.
"Lastly, I regretfully sold the wand that I suspect gave you your scar on your forehead. It was a powerful yew wand of thirteen and a half inches with a phoenix feather core."
Ollivander then takes a step back thankfully and pulls out a silver tape measure. "Now, which hand is your writing hand, Lightning? The wand chooses the wizard, and no two wands are alike."
Lightning meekly holds out his right hand. "Why are no two wands alike?"
Ollivander starts measuring various things on Lightning, like arm length and his head circumference. "Ollivander's normally uses unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, or dragon heartstrings. No two phoenixes, unicorns, or dragons are identical, nor are two pieces of wood ever identical. With another wizard's wand, you'll never get as good a result."
Ollivander starts rummaging through nearby boxes as Lightning stands there concerned while the tape measure continues measuring him on its own. "I really hope I don't end up with one containing dragon heartstring given what my younger honorary brother is."
Ollivander pulls out a drooping holly wand and offers it to Lightning with one hand while snapping his fingers on the other, causing the tape measure to drop. "I source mine from dead dragons. Now, I want you to try this rather unusual wand."
Lightning gingerly takes the wand and waves it around, causing an aura of light and breeze to lift up from where he stands. "Is this supposed to happen!?"
Ollivander points to the now straight wand and looks at Lightning and it with an odd look. "Curious. How very curious. That wand's core, a phoenix feather, almost died the night the wizarding world thought Aletia had died. It has also been slowly coming back to life since the Summer Solstice. The strange part is phoenix cores seldom die unless their perfect match is dead. The stranger part is the phoenix, who gave your wand its core, only ever donated two feathers. Your wand's brother belonged to the one who gave you your scar."
Lightning hurriedly tries to shove the wand back into Ollivander's hand at learning that. "I don't want it then."
Ollivander takes the wand and puts it back in its box before handing it to Lightning. "It has chosen you, Mr. Sunrise. Take it and use it well, for it will take you far and protect you."
Princess Celestia coughs as Lightning reluctantly takes the wand. "I know you don't usually do custom wands, but we brought some cores that might prove to your satisfaction." She then opens her hand to reveal a plastic bag containing a dark green pegasus feather and moon lily strand of hair. Lightning hurriedly pulls out the coreless, solid willow replica of Lily's wand when he sees what Princess Celestia has done.
Ollivander walks over and takes the samples, examining them. "Hmm..., you are right in that I do not, but these twice-loved items scream to be used by Mr. Sunrise. I hope her spirit rests easier now, knowing that she is helping you heal and protect others. Now about the rest of you...?"
He is mildly surprised to see Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle each holding a bag containing a hair with Apple Bloom additionally holding a piece of wood while Scootaloo has a feather. Sighing, he inspects them one by one as Philomena looks like she is pondering something. "These will do much as I dislike doing so. Firstly, that hair and apple-pine wood work together beautifully and will serve you well. May you find wisdom and honesty in speaking with others of all kinds.
"Secondly, your rainbow hair and pegasus feather feel like they will go well with the rare Redwood. If luck is with you, neither your speed nor loyalty will be tested in a dire situation.
"Thirdly, miss, your purple unicorn hair seems like it belongs in alder. May its firmness help you generously spread your sweet cheer onto others.
"Lastly, I can fit your unicorn hair and pegasus feather into some beautiful cloud pine I have in the back. I think it suits you, a happy, kind stranger who must always juggle being alone and part of the group's fringes. Now, are there any other surprises I should know about?"
The Grangers, Weasleys, and Dursleys all shake their head before Dudley steps up and offers his right arm. Lightning mumbles to Princess Celestia as Dudley has his measurements taken that it is good they didn't show up as ponies; otherwise, there would have been several more readings taken.
Princess Celestia mumbles that he may be right as Dudley finds his match, a silver truncheon briefly forming over top of his new sturdy poplar wand with a unicorn hair. "A perfect match for one who wants to see honorable justice done. May it carry you far, Mr. Dursley."
Dudley just inclines his head back before taking his wand in its box. Hermoine is up next and receives her vine wood wand with a dragon heartstring core as per canon. Lastly, thanks to Sunset's wealth that she shared with the Weasleys, Ronald steps up and receives a wand he usually receives two years later.
"Now then, that will be 10 Galleons per wand. Expect your custom wands to be ready in about a week." Ollivander steps back behind his counter and starts ringing them up when Philomena leaves her perch and lands on the counter. He starts and looks up. "Yes, you are a pretty eagle. Now if you woul-"
He is interrupted by a loud chirp from her before she plucks, with a visible wince, one of her tail feathers free. He opens his mouth as if to ask something but loses his words when the plucked feather bursts into flames to reveal its true nature as a phoenix feather.
Philomena then transfers the feather to one of her claws in order to chuckle at his expression. She then more seriously points a wing directly at Sunset, who starts crying slightly at realizing what this means, and the feather at Ollivander.
His mind finally seems to start working. "You want me to make Sunny a wand using your tail feather? Did something happen to your Beech and unicorn hair wand, Sunny?"
A still crying Sunset walks over and gives Philomena a hug, who drops the feather on the desk before returning the hug. "I...I have spent the past three years separated from my dear Philomena here by circumstances none of us could have predicted. She only just found her way back to me this morning."
Ollivander nods gravely. "I see the Weasleys will be regaining their seat on the Wizengamot then. I would be honored to place this feather in a wand. Black Walnut seems like an appropriate wood for it. It will help one as talented as yourself reach your full potential, provided you stay true to yourself and others. Yours will be 3 Galleons."
Sunset bows her head to him in acknowledgment as she cuddles Philomena. Princess Celestia pays 63 Galleons, ten each for the CMC's custom wands and Lightning and Dudley's more traditional wands, with Sunset's only costing 3 Galleons. The Grangers next step up and pay 10 Galleons for Hermoine's wand with the Weasley's following suit for Ron's wand and lastly,.
The group afterward exits Ollivander's and starts sorting their purchases out amongst themselves, so everyone has what they need. While they are doing this, Sunset turns to the Weasleys. "What did he mean by you will soon have a Wizengamot seat?"
Molly turns to Sunset with a soft smile. "Phoenix-bonded always get a seat, even if they aren't of age or, with the changes that I suspect will soon be happening, human. That ancient law doesn't care if one is a British citizen either. He suspected you'd place me as your regent because you are underage, and the regent does have to be a British Citizen and of age."
Sunset ahhs in understanding at learning those facts before emphatically nodding. "In that case, I definitely want you to be my regent. My having a seat makes little sense to me, but it can't hurt the equality problem."
The rest of the walk is relatively quiet, with just some idle small talk. However, it isn't long before it is all done, and Princess Celestia starts walking towards the Leaky Cauldron. "There's an alley nearby the leaky cauldron that's warded, so non-magicals don't notice magical transportation. When we get there, Professor, would you mind apparating with Philomena to the warded alley between Wisteria Walk and Magnolia Crescent so she can then transport the rest of us?"
Receiving a nod, the group falls into a silence made of idle chit-chat as they walk.
It doesn't take long for the group to pass through the Leaky Cauldron and out into the warded alley. It takes even less time for Professor McGonagall to apparate over with Philomena, Philomena to flame back, and then return to the alley with all of them.
Once they are all there, Princess Celestia walks to the exit out into Magnolia Crescent and points left, then right. "This street is Magnolia Crescent in Little Whinging of Surrey. You'll find my house at 11 Magnolia Road to the left and up. To the right is where the Dursleys live." She then turns to face Sunset. "I presume you're staying with the Weasleys for now, Sunset?"
Sunset looks between the Weasleys and the Equestrians before giving a firm nod. "I'm not ready to go back yet, and hearing a decade has passed makes returning harder. The fact I'm a big sister is still processing. However, I still have the journal you gave me, Aletia, and will keep in touch." Sunset then addresses Lightning, "Let mom, dad, and Sunburst know I'm ok, would you? I'm sure I can give them a few candies for Halloween Nightmare Night."
Lightning smiles at her and gives her a hug. "I'll let them know, and you feel like you are in a better place than before you vanished."
Princess Celestia walks over and joins the both of them in the group hug. "I'm sure they'll love that gesture, my little sun. I'll help him break the news to them and Starlight. As for the rest of you, Weasleys and Grangers, you're welcome at my house any time. Just know it is currently in a non-magical area, and only the house is warded."
Sunset hugs the both of them back while smiling as she basks in the evening moment before realizing something as she lets go. "Starlight!? Did those two finally get back together? Is she going to Ce-Canterlot's School for Gifted Unicorns with him?"
Princess Celestia gently bows her head. "Indeed they have, and indeed she has. She was a lot like you when she started at CSGU, and I dread what she would have found if she'd fallen further into despair over Sunburst leaving and accidentally forgetting her when he got his Cutie Mark passing his CSGU test."
Sunset looks out at the sunset as she gives an acknowledging nod. "Well, I'd love to talk all day, but the sun is setting, and we must be getting back. Mrs. and Mr. Granger, would you mind if you took Philomena with you, so she knows where you live? That way, you can come to visit as well."
The two look at each other before Emma gives their agreement. Both groups then wish each other goodnight before Philomena flames everyone away but the Equestrians, the Dursleys, and Professor McGonagall.
The latter once alone turns on the Equestrians and looks askance at them. "Now, how did you give Dudley here magical capabilities? He should be as anti-magical as they come!"
Princess Celestia turns to her and sighs as she recites from memory. "Your no-magicals suffer from what we know as Void Star Syndrome. Your scanning spells for magic channels all expect the scanned to have an unblocked magic system. The usual treatment is someone using their magic to slowly, gently erode the blockages in the treated's magic system over the course of months."
McGonagall points between Princess Celestia and Dudley. "You didn't have months!?"
Princess Celestia gently but firmly glares at Lightning. "Someone asked if I could speed up the process because they wanted their cousin to attend. Needless to say, no one will ever speed the treatment again if I have anything to say as it would have had lethal results if someone wasn't there to give the magic an out."
Lightning looks a little put out by the glare while McGonagall opens her mouth, closes it, then opens it again, "so we have time to figure out how to broach this cure? And to do a test run on Filch and claim him as the original trial?"
Princess Celestia cocks her head as she thinks. "We do indeed, and that is a good suggestion. Might even make him lighten up alongside his weird cat Ms. Norris."
Twilight quietly interjects. "On a related subject, the goblins claimed Lightning has non-human traces in his blood that have grown stronger."
McGonagall looks expectantly at Princess Celestia while she embarrassedly explains, "There's a ritual here known as becoming someone's blood brother/sister. As Professor McGonagall knows, it is so old, it's even seeped into non-magical culture and so weak they can perform it. I think we now know what happens when it is performed between a human and non-human, and then the human has a child. Or maybe it's just the love we both have for you, Lightning."
Professor McGonagall hums softly before decisively nodding. "That makes as much sense as anything with Lily's legacy. I have things to report to Dumbledore and the other Heads of House over the evening meal, so I wish you all a goodnight."
Receiving good nights and well wishes in return, the Equestrians and Dursleys soon also wish each other good night before they head home to their respective households for supper and bed. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-AF: Nightmare Sort | (Half-Light Dawn's Notes: I thought I'd make up a fun excerpt for April Foals Day and slip it in here. I mean, Nightmare Moon is dead, right? This takes place at start of term.)
With most of the incoming class sorted, the remaining few anxiously awaited their turn wondering who would be next up to the sorting hat.
Their questions were soon answered as the sorting hat sonorously called out, "Penumbris, Nyx." Hurriedly the remaining students got out of her way as she sauntered her way up to the stool and placed the Sorting Hat upon her horned head.
Her confident swagger is somewhat shaken when she hears inside her head, ~Well, what do we have here? Another Equestrian and this one an alicorn filly. You do know I could have you expelled for what you did.~
Nyx nods her head as she answers back, ~I know, but there is nothing left for me back there. I've learned my lesson and just want to learn.~
The hat shifts about on her head for a few seconds before responding, ~You do seem sincere in your answer. You sure you don't want to go to Slytherin where you can find help claiming the station taken from you?~
Nyx quietly but firmly shakes her head as she mumbles out, "I've had enough of that life and don't need the temptation."
The hat lets out an audible hum into the tense atmosphere before offering, ~You would do well in Hufflepuff where you could find loyal retainers to stand by you as you did a millennia ago.~
Nyx shaker her head firmly enough to almost dislodge the Sorting Hat which has to grab onto her head. ~I'm not leading others down that dark path. The end hurts like you wouldn't believe.~
The Sorting Hat lets out a soft chuckle as it responds, ~My final offer then is Ravenclaw where you can learn enough spells to be a mighty archmage.~
Nyx smacks the hat with one hoof before answering, ~NO! I will just go home then if I can't get my revenge by joining Gryffindor and being the best heroine I can be to spite and/or impress my elder sisters.~
The hat falls silent for a moment before happily responding, ~and there's your courage. You have resisted temptation and may you hopefully continue to do so. But, since your mind is made up,~ the hat then finishes out loud, "IT BETTER BE GRYFFINDOR!"
The hall stares in surprise and confusion at that result before some sporadic cheering breaks out as she whispers to the hat, "thank you," before sauntering her way over to the Gryffindor table and sitting down next to her new confused classmates.
She eagerly awaited seeing what house Lightning would be sorted into as the rest of Gryffindor slowly gets used to the fact they have a former terror amidst their number. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-15: Ponies in Hogwarts (Express) | Chapter 1-15: Ponies in Hogwarts (Express)
(Time: Sept 1st, 1991 AD ~10 AM
Location: King's Cross Station at Platform 9¾ entrance.)
It had definitely taken some doing, but the CMC, Dudley, Hermoine,, and their families and close friends had managed to make it to King's Cross in time to meet the Weasleys at the station. Despite several attempts to sway Princess Celestia, they're all still human and in muggle clothes.
Princess Celestia looks at the troupe in front of her and smiles. "I see everyone here made it successfully. Now it might not look it, but through there is Platform 9¾. Molly, would you mind explaining to my group any tricks you might have for getting through the barrier?"
Molly Weasley clears her throat before loudly speaking, "Right. For those of you who haven't been through the barrier it's best to go at a run. Emma, Dan, Vernon, and Petunia, you will all unfortunately have to hold onto one of us wizards to go through because the barrier repels unattended muggles. Percy, how about you start things off?"
Percy nods primly in his smartly dressed outfit, walking coolly through the gateway with his stuff as though it wasn't there. "See, there's nothing to it."
Molly next gestures to one of the twins, "Next, Fred, it's your turn to go through."
"Fred" looks at her before backing up and saying as he rushes through, "but I'm George. You call yourself..."
"...our mother, but how can you not tell I'm George," the other one finishes as he fallows his brother through.
Sunset pats Molly on the shoulder, "I think the first one was actually George." She then follows the twins through to finish the prankster trio.
Molly hangs her head and sighs while rubbing her forehead. "I'm still not sure whether adopting Sunset improved or worsened their pranking. Ok then..., Ron it's your turn next."
Ron excitedly backs up before rushing through. "See you on the other side."
Molly turns to the rest of them. "Now which one of you wants to go through next?"
Rainbow antsily dances in place for another second before dashing through. "I can't wait to fly again!"
Fluttershy demurely and quietly steps through right after. "I'll make sure she doesn't scare too many cute children with her flybys."
Scootaloo quickly follows her sister and Fluttershy. "I'll help keep her occupied as well and would like to feel the wind on my wings as well."
Applejack goes through after them with a stern gaze. "Better go ahead to keep the rest of you honest."
Dudley determinedly marches after her. "I'm good at helping with crowds."
Apple Bloom smiles happily as she steps through. "I just can't wait to learn potions."
Sweetie Belle softly chuckles as she continues Apple Bloom's train of thought while following her. "Besides, we already tried to be Cutie Mark Crusader Conductors!"
Lightning slips through close behind to dodge the glances sent his way. "It was Scootaloo's idea! How were we to know Doctor Whooves had put a flux capacitor on it."
Spike stays right on Lightning's heels. "Everyone survived the trip even if the train didn't survive having tree sap instead of water in the engine."
Rarity puts her hand to her head and shakes it as she elegantly follows . "I am generously going to make sure they don't try and become Cutie Mark Crusader Engineers."
Pinkie Pie skips after Rarity while giggling. "I want to make sure the students all leave with smiles on their faces."
Twilight bemusedly smiles as she looks at those left before following suit through the gate. "I better organize them to ensure those who belong on the train get on it while those who don't stay off it."
Hermoine grins up at her parents before stepping through the gate. "I'll make sure to learn as much as I can while keeping them straight."
Ginny sighs a little before perking up and rushing through. "I'm sad I can't go this year, but at least I'll have Spike and Luna next year."
Princess Celestia grabs hold of Petunia's hand and pulls her through. "Ready to see the Hogwarts Express once more?"
Petunia tears up slightly as she is pulled through. "Yes, I am ready to see my Dudleykins and nephew board the train my sister did."
Vernon gruffly tells as she leads him through, "Seeing my boy and the rest off would be worth missing a day of work for them to have a happier journey."
Dan grabs 's hand and steps through with her. "Best keep this appointment as there won't be any do-overs until this winter."
Molly offers Emma her hand. "And then there was just us. It always makes me nervous letting them go."
Emma shrugs as they join the rest. "At least they'll be well protected now and thanks to Aletia's help, will have a full non-magical education."
Lightning steps through the portal and immediately afterwards shifts into his Equestrian form with a relieved sigh. Flexing his wings slightly, he looks for the others and spots most of them with their families in small groups and all in Equestrian form as a sign of solidarity.
He starts wandering over to where Sweetie Belle and Dudley are when Spike appears behind him and shifts as well into his pony form. Waiting for Spike to finish shifting, they soon join the other two in waiting for their parents.
They aren't left waiting for long as Rarity strolls through and shifts without breaking stride as she approaches them with purpose. She picks Sweetie Belle up in her arms and firmly squeezes and nuzzles her. "I want you to Pinkie Promise me, Sweetie, that you won't do any crusading on, in, or with the train?"
Pinkie Pie says as she approaches them with a too-wide grin, "Because messing with the train could lead to many unhappy people."
Sweetie Belle, Spike, and Lightning say in unison as they make the motions, "We won't try any crusades that could affect the train. Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye!"
Dudley follows them shortly afterwards once he realizes the words. "Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye."
The other Equestrians just stare at Dudley for a second. Pinkie then sighs while her hair deflates and she glares a little. "I don't like your version, but it counts. I WILL know if you break it."
Twilight asks as she scoops the distracted Spike and Lightning up into a hug, "I take it you just made them Pinkie Promise something?"
Dudley looks between the Equestrians and then answers with his own fearful question, "Please tell me she is kidding?"
He does not look relieved by the head shakes he receives, but they are quickly distracted by the thud of a fluorescent orange unicorn filly trying, and failing, to give Twilight a respectful bow. Hermione pushes her way back up onto three legs while the fourth holds her bangs out of her eyes as she sheepishly looks up at Twilight. "I wanted to properly thank you again for teaching us the Book Manifestation Spell so we can keep up our non-magical schooling."
Ignoring the grumbling in the background from a colt that looks almost like a male Apple Bloom, Twilight let's Spike and Lightning go in order to pull Hermione up into a hug. "No need to bow to me. I love encouraging and helping others learn."
Lightning is then distracted from seeing the amusing game of keep-away between Ron and Ginny trying to put a bow on Ron by Petunia pulling him and Dudley into her arms. "Seriously, stay safe, you two. I want to see you for Christmas and beyond."
Vernon pulls the three into a firm but brief hug while gruffly remarking, "I think they get it, Petunia. I'm just impressed they managed to hide a train platform here, and it looks nice, unlike that tavern."
Dan and Emma both voice their agreement with Vernon before fussing over Hermoine, making sure she has everything she needs.
Molly just shakes her head in exasperation as she sees the commotion her own brood is causing. Striding over, she calls out, "Percy, get Ginny away from Ron. And try not to cause too many explosions at school, Fred, George, and Sunset, or there'll be no Hogsmeade for you."
Percy quickly pulls Ginny away from Ron and holds her while the terrible trickster trio all chorus back, "We make no promises, Mum/Molly."
Molly rubs her forehead with a hoof and opens her mouth to say something when the train's whistle interrupts her. Turning to look at the clock, she instead says, "Now give me a hug, Ron, before I have to let you go. Best find a compartment with your new friends before everyone else gets the same idea."
Ron walks over to hug her goodbye as the terrible trio chorus out, "We'll make sure ickle Ronniekins is safe at school, Mum/Molly!"
Ron turns his head to look at the three as he exasperatedly replies, "Oh, shut up!" He then turns back to his mum and gently squeezes her while adding, "We'll try and be safe, mum even if we have to deal with Malfoy and his two stooges this year."
Molly ruffles his mane gently before letting him go as she gently reprimands him, "Now! None of that talk. I'm sure the Malfoys have some good points, and I don't want to hear of you disrespecting him before meeting him. Besides, we can show courtesy even if they can't."
Ron meekly nods to her as the groups start to converge upon the train, seemingly with the same idea as the eight firsties give a few last hugs before forming up into a disorderly line to board the train. They manage to catch as they board snippets of Celestia instructing the Terrible Trio, with specific emphasis on Sunset, not to let the firsties get into too much trouble.
Amused by those words, their amusement briefly fades when they come across the compartment and realize it isn't going to fit all eight of them. Looking upon it, Hermoine realizes a solution, "This really would be a problem if your godmother weren't loaded Lightning. Would you mind if we used your trunk?"
Catching what she's saying, Lightning asks, "Everyone got your robes in your knapsacks?"
Receiving nods from everyone except Ron, who hurriedly changes that fact, seven of the eight pile their trunks into the compartment. Exiting it, they stand in the corridor as Lightning stands his trunk up vertically before touching the command stud that turns the lid into a door filling the compartment entryway.
Once that is done, the eight enter bringing their pets with them. Looking around the place, Ron enviously admires it. "I wish Mum could get me one of these apartments...."
The CMC look at each other before chuckling as Lightning manages to get out, "Now I know what to get you for your birthday."
Ron dramatically sighs as he asks them, "Well, since you're being so generous, would any of you be willing to trade for a corn beef sandwich. Mum always forgets I don't like them."
The rest of them break into laughter at that, causing Ron to join in as Sweetie Belle manages to get out, "Sure...I think we can manage that. Best to leave the door open, at least until the trolley lady you mentioned gets here."
Doing as she suggested, they settle down in the living room before Ron pulls out Scabbers and his wand. "Since we're waiting, the Trio yesterday taught me a new spell, one that will hopefully at least make Scabbers here look better. Wanna watch?"
Receiving nods all around, and after letting Lightning cast a magic sight charm, Ron twirls his wand before touching Scabbers as he intones,
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
Unfortunately for Ron, Scabbers does not turn yellow, causing Ron to sigh dejectedly. "Should have known that spell was worthless."
Lightning shakes his head as he optimistically says, "it did do something. Or try to at least."
Ron hmms as he thinks out loud, "I wonder why it doesn't work on him."
Someone offers a guess, "Maybe it only works on mice? Or fatter rats?"
Hermoine shrugs, for once as lost as the rest of them, before pulling out a couple of decks of cards. "Well, to take your mind off it, does anyone care to play some card games."
Lightning adds, "I had Dudley help me get some board games, both muggle and not."
Dudley pulls a Japanese copy of Super Mario Kart out of his bag along with a couple controllers and a multi-tap. "I'm glad I packed this in my backpack and not my trunk."
The rest just nod in agreement before splitting off to do various things and keep themselves entertained.
(A couple hours later)
A clatter in the coat room and then knock on one of the walls interrupts their gaming as the cart lady calls out, "Anything off the trolley dearies?"
Scootaloo answers her as she exits the living room, having just lost the game she was playing. "Sure, we'll take some of everything. However much six galleons will get us."
"You sure dearie? That's a lot of food and money."
Scootaloo just shrugs back at the cart lady before starting to pull galleons out of her bag. "I don't know what any of my seven friends want and we haven't had most of these before."
The lady takes the offered money with a sigh before starting to hand packages of candy into Scootaloo's waiting hooves. Scootaloo turns to go dump it on the table when the rest of the group start to exit.
Instead, she hands it to the next foal in line. "Pass it back. There's plenty more where that came from."
With the line formed, it doesn't take long for the candy to get dumped and the group to look over their haul. Eventually, Ron says, "be careful of the every flavor beans as they really do come in every flavor. Also, if one of you gets Ptolemy or Agrippa with your Chocolate Frog can I have it? It'll finish my collection."
Apple Bloom shudders as she guesses, "I bet one of us will get a tree sap flavored bean."
The rest of the CMC shudder at that thought before Sweetie adds, "I hope not! Still, if I find one of those cards Ron I'll give it to you."
Lightning pulls a chocolate frog out of the pile instead and unwraps it. He then reads the card out loud as the frog animates unnoticed by him, "Albus Dumbledore... Defeater of the dark wizard Grindelward.... Hmmm..., it says he's a great alchemist."
Ron waves his hoof dismissively as he unwraps a chocolate frog of his own. "I've got half a dozen of him already. Err..., you did keep hold of your frog?"
An exclaimed shout of "TREVOR!" and then a crash in the apartment hallway as of someone bodily hitting a wall answers him.
Lightning blushes as he gets up to investigate the noise and finds a sheepish boy dusting his clothes off with one hand as the other holds a damaged chocolate frog. Bemusedly, he asks, "Who's Trevor and who are you?"
The boy embarrassedly hands the frog back to Lightning. "Trevor's my toad and he's escaped yet again. My name's Neville, not like I'll be around long enough to remember."
Cocking his head at the depressive boy, Lightning states, "Lightning Sunrise. I'm sure you'll do fine."
Neville morosely replies, "not if I can't even keep track of my toad. Gran thought I was a Squib until I got my letter."
Wincing slightly, Lightning tries to cheer him up once more. "Would you like some help finding Trevor?"
Neville nervously answers, "If it wouldn't be too much a bother. Not like you ponies probably don't have important things to do."
Lightning nods before turning his head and raising his voice, "Everyone put your food away! You're with me: Sweetie, Scootaloo, and AB. Ron, Dudley, and Hermoine please go with Neville and help him find his toad. , hold the fort please."
After only a couple minutes sorting things out, the two groups split. Lightning towards the rear of the train and Neville towards the front.
(Dawn's Note: Thank Celestia that Dusk managed to make some Surveillance Charms and the organization kerfuffle let me activate and sneak a pair onto Dudley and Lightning. I wish I could have been there but Lightning's logic was sound.)
"Ah wish Fluttershy was here. Ah don't want a toad-finding cutie mark," Apple Bloom laments as this time she knocks on what feels like the hundredth compartment door.
"You know we don't have to worry about that after our other animal attempts," Lightning counters as the door opens up.
A pale-faced boy looks up from his game of exploding snaps before rudely joking to his companions, "Looks like the barn animals escaped their pens."
Lightning frowns as he roughly asks, "And just who are you to judge? Your companions look like they are barely civilized."
Draco haughtily replies, "those two are my loyal friends Goyle and Crabbe. As for me, I'm Draco Malfoy of the ancient human pureblood house of Malfoy. You'd best remember it when my father gets the amendment repealed."
Apple Bloom angrily denounces Malfoy, "Ah thought we left Diamond Tiara at home!"
Sweetie puts a hoof on Lightning and Apple Bloom's shoulders before trying to defuse the situation. "Have you seen a toad? We'll be out of your m...hair once you answer."
Draco sneers back at her. "Longbottom's lost his pet toad again? I can't believe they let that squib attend Hogwarts but being Dumbledore's special boy has its perks. Now GET OUT!"
Scootaloo hurriedly closes the door before sighing in relief. "What a hateful speciesist and tribalist."
Lightning sighs as well before adding, "We might as well keep it civil. I managed to sense he's using the hate as armor to hide his pain."
Apple Bloom puts a hoof to her chin as she ponders, "Ah wonder how we can help? Ah don't want to have to deal with seven years of a male Diamond Tiara."
Sweetie Belle redirects their thought train with, "We can worry about that later. First is finding Trevor who hopefully isn't in there."
With the other three nodding their assent, Sweetie takes the lead on the next door of their fruitless search.
(Meanwhile)
Ron knocks on the door to the frontmost carriage. "I wonder if Lightning has found Trevor by now."
Percy opens the door and asks, "can I help you Ron, Hermoine, Dudley, and...?"
Ron motions for Neville to answer, which he does nervously. "N-neville L-longbottom. H-have you s-seen my t-toad T-trevor?"
Percy shakes his head and opens his mouth to answer when the compartment they had skipped for reasons opens up disgorging it's occupants.
Said occupants smirk as they spot the Firsties before one of the twins opens his mouth, "Hey Ron! Come-"
"-look at the pet-" the second twin continues.
"-Lee Jordan brought!" The third member of the terrible trio teasingly commands.
Ron, with a look of dread on his face, turns to look at the large spider held in Lee's hand. Shrieking like a little girl, he knocks Percy aside as he drops to all fours and sprints into the Perfect's carriage.
The terrible trio plus Lee fall over laughing. Percy on the other hand exasperatively sighs before scolding them. "You do know it's going to take forever to get him out of my compartment? Siblings or not, if you do that trick again at Hogwarts I will punish you."
"What trick? And that was a he?" Asks a voice behind him.
Percy turns to face the girl. "My youngest brother is terrified of spiders Tonks. Those four decided to spook him with one while they were searching for Neville's toad."
Tonks pulls a toad out of one of her robe pouches while smirking. "You mean this one?"
Neville rushes forward with a cry of "Trevor!" before pulling up short and stuttering out, "t-thank you m-miss Tonks."
Tonks waves one hand in dismissal while the other holds Trevor out for Neville to grab. "It was nothing. Besides, one of you matches Dudley's description. Professor Dumbledore asked me to be your mentor as we all possess a shapeshifting talent. Let Lightning and Scootaloo know you are all welcome to come to me with any questions."
Percy gives Dudley a chance to nod his assent before dictating, "I'll clear these four ruffians back into their cabin while you help these three dislodge Ron from his hiding place, Tonks."
Tonks ponders for a second as she looks at the still giggling third years before answering, "sounds like a plan."
Dudley puts a solid hoof on Neville's shoulder. "First, however, before I forget, do you have anyone waiting for you in your compartment? If not, I insist on helping you move your things to ours."
Neville shakes his head sadly. "No one wants to sit with the Longbottom Loser."
Hermoine ponders out loud as she hears that name, "Longbottom... weren't your parents aurors who stood against you-know-who?"
Neville shrinks in upon himself as Tonks answers for him, "Yes. They were some of the best and heroes of mine."
Dudley pulls Neville into a solid hug. "The son of heroes and police then? I don't see how you can be a loser. Now let's help Tonks here get Ron and then we can be your pals."
Dudley then lets Neville go and marches towards Ron's hiding place to pry him loose.
Having successfully pried Ron free from his hiding place, the group makes their way back to their compartment quietly picking up Neville's stuff along the way.
Knocking on the door, Dudley let's himself in as he leads the way towards the living room. "Feel free to sit wherever Neville. Shouldn't be too much...."
As if summoned by his words, Lightning leads his discouraged group in. Without preamble, except to flop down on a couch, Lightning opens up, "I hope you had more luck than we did. The only thing we found was Draco Malfoy and by tarturus does he need help." Sensing Ron's anger at the name and seeing Ron open his mouth, Lightning's horn lights up to forcibly silence Ron.
Lightning continues where he left off, "I know the sort of help you'd want to give him Ron, but beneath that armor of hate is a lonely unloved boy, and need I remind you you're speaking to someone who can eat others love to power his magic. Given your spike of fear Neville, yes, I can sense other emotions. Any member of my species-slash-tribe can if they choose too. No, we don't do it randomly because doing so is rude, and no, I can't read your mind."
Neville hesitantly opens his mouth and asks, "w-why d-did you s-scan D-draco and m-me then?"
Lightning points a hoof at Ron. "One doesn't spend a month with the Weasleys without hearing how bad the Malfoys are. And as for you, well, you aren't the first to have such concerns needing to be answered as they come up. Dudley and Scootaloo could do the same, if they were trained. There are downsides to the ability too. I'm also telling you because Dudley, Ron, and Hermoine have decided you're worthy of joining our gaggle of misfits."
Dudley coughs as he speaks up, "Not to interrupt, but we do actually have news. Ron screams like a little girl when presented with a spider."
Hermoine's light chuckling plus Ron exuberantly declaring, "I Do Not!" set the CMC and eventually Neville off into chuckling fits.
Dudley lets them die off before speaking again, "Now that the mood is lightened, we did find Trevor and someone named Tonks said we should go to her if we have any questions regarding shapeshifting. Also Neville is spending at least the rest of the ride with us. The son of heroes shouldn't sit alone."
Neville sighs sadly as he looks down. "It will only be the rest of this ride. B-Being Dumbledore's P-Pet still can't get a s-squib s-sorted."
The group glance at each other before Dudley breaks the silence, "can you keep a secret Neville? Can we trust your honor? It'll shatter your world."
Dudley stares deeply into Neville's eyes as he shakily nods. Holding it for a few seconds, Dudley finally tells Neville, "I was born a non-magical. Lightning's people have a cure, no, have had a cure for centuries. It takes months of treatments but you will have magic."
Neville shivers as he courageously points out, "G-Gran s-said E-Equest-Equestria h-has o-only o-opened c-contact a m-month ago."
Lightning and Dudley both wince before Lightning answers, "Blame me. The version Dudley received by my request nearly killed him. I can count on every limb I have the number of people I know of who could do it and none would do so."
Scootaloo cheekily adds, "Plus Lightning's godmother is Professor Dumbledore for Equestria. She even helped me get adopted because he knew me and my adoptive sister."
Hermoine sternly warns, "if you stay there'll be lots of work, but we plan on helping each other no matter where we are sorted." Her expression then softens as she continues, "we'll try to keep you out of any mischief we may end up in."
Neville looks from face to face before shakily nodding. "If you t-think I-I'll get in..., then I'll stay."
Scootaloo smiles brightly as she exclaims in relief, "Now that the mush is settled, we can game again!"
The rest, excluding Neville, shake their heads at her actions before settling down to eat sweets and play games.
Several hours later of gaming later a knock interrupts their play. Percy then sticks his head in and smiles in approval at seing them all changed. "I thought you nine would like to know we're only a few minutes away from Hogsmeade Station. Leave your luggage in your compartment after whoever owns this apartment trunk shrinks it back into trunk mode."
Receiving nods of acknowledgement, Percy leaves as the rest hurriedly grab their bags and exit the trunk. Lightning taps the shrink command as the brakes screech and as their fellow students grumble the others toss their bags (and trunk) into the compartment.
As a disorganized mob the nine exit the train onto a tiny, dark, damp station platform. Looking around, they are dazzled when a lamp lights and a huge shadow looms over them. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-16: A Sorting Crusade (edited 6/27/22) | Chapter 1-16: A Sorting Crusade
(Dawn's Note: The actual sorting conversations were reconstructed from interviews.)
The looming shadow opens its mouth and calls in a booming voice, "Firs' Years! Firs' Years over here!"
Neville blinks furiously to clear his eyes as he cautiously calls back, "H-Hagrid! Is t-that you?"
Their eyes finally clearing, the nine get to see Hagrid's big hairy face break out into a smile as he looks them over. "Glad tah see yah finally found some friends, Neville. Especially that thar lot."
Neville just nervously blushes and nods in agreement with Hagrid's words. Seemingly embarrassing Neville enough, Hagrid resumes calling out as he starts making his way down the path. "Any more Firs' Years!? C'mon and Follow Me, but Mind Yer Step!"
The group quietly follows right along behind Hagrid and so gets to see how narrow, steep, slippery and dark the path is. Giving each other a brief glance, Lightning speaks up, "Guess it's on us to light the way." Putting actions to words, he lights his horn as brightly as he can, with the rest with horns following suit before they resume hurrying after Hagrid.
Hagrid, meanwhile, rapidly approaches a bend in the path when he turns around to point something out. Instead, he gets startled by the lights. "Who's casting light...?" He then recovers and continues on, trying to pretend nothing happened. "'Round this bend yeh'll get yer first sight of Hogwarts. Please put out your lights."
Complying with his request, the group round the bend behind Hagrid. They barely manage to get out of the way of those following them as the path opens up into a lake-shore beach as black as pitch. Awestruck, they look over the lake and see the many twinkling lights reflected from the windows of the great big castle perched upon a mountain overlooking it.
Lightning finally manages to utter out, "It's no Canterlot Castle, but it's pretty." The others nod their agreement to that as they continue staring.
Their woolgathering is cut short by Hagrid calling out, "Firs' Years in the boats thar! No more'n four to a boat!"
Turning, they look to where Hagrid is pointing and see a fleet of little boats. Doing some quick math, the group of nine splits into three groups of three each, so none is left alone before rushing over and managing to snag them.
Hagrid calls out as they are still settling in, "Everyone In?" Looking over everyone and receiving a chorus of agreement, Hagrid swings his lamp forward with a cry of "Forward!"
With that, the boats start moving on their own across the quiescent black lake. The journey is made chiefly in silence except for quiet pointing out of things being seen.
This quiet reverie is broken as they approach a nearly invisible cliff by Hagrid calling out as he folds nearly in half, "Heads Down NOW!"
The group hurriedly follows his example, bending over to avoid being decapitated as they pass through an ivy curtain into a cool dark tunnel lit only by Hagrid's lamp.
Well, lit only by Hagrid's lamp for a moment as those with horns relight them. After only a minute and seeing Hagrid sit back up, the group also sits up and looks around at the area beneath the castle.
Unfortunately, there isn't much to see, but fortunately, before they can get bored, their boats bump into a rough stone dock.
Hagrid swings his lamp to peer at all of them as they disembark. "Everyone still here? I don't want tah have tah fish any of yah from the lake."
Receiving nods and sounds of agreement from them all, Hagrid turns and starts marching up a rough, narrow passage in the rock. Following along at the front, the group soon emerges on an expansive damp well-lit lawn before a large castle gate. Well-lit enough to put their horns out.
Hagrid turns to look over the spread-out gaggle of Firsties and, seeing they're all there, turns to knock thrice on the tremendously great big oak door.
The door opens, and Hagrid greets the witch standing in the great big hall with, "The Firs' Years are all here, Professor McGonagall."
McGonagall nods back and steps aside. "Thank you, Hagrid. I can take things from here."
She blocks the way after letting him in until he can disappear into a doorway in the right wall. Once the door finishes closing, she makes a come hither motion and leads them deeper into the hall.
Passing through, there is quiet murmured ahhing and oohing at the hall lined with great flaming torches with big old flagstones and big enough to hold court in. Noises from the grand door Hagrid went in tell them that is where the food probably is.
However, art appreciation and food daydreaming are cut short when Professor McGonagall coughs to get their attention by a different, plainer door before opening it and heading in.
Following her in, they find a small empty classroom but for a lecture stand. Cramming in, they all just manage to fit with standing room only as Professor McGonagall stands behind the lecture stand with a door behind her.
Once all in, Professor McGonagall begins her lecture. "I'd like to welcome you all to Hogwarts. The start of the term feast will begin shortly, but before that, there are a few things that need to be said.
"First, when you enter, you shall be sorted into your House before sitting with them. They are your family while you are here. You will eat with them, sleep in the same dormitory as them, and spend your free time with them in your House's common rooms.
"The Four Houses are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. All of them have noble histories and produced great witches and wizards. Try to live up to them as your conduct can give, or lose, your House points. At the end of the year, whichever House has the most points gets the prestigious House Cup.
"Secondly, the Sorting Ceremony shall begin in a few minutes. Please do try and fix your appearance before you appear before the whole school.
"Lastly, wait here and keep yourself entertained until I come back for you," she finishes before managing to wiggle open the door behind her and squeeze through the gap.
The group turns to Ron, and Lightning asks the obvious question, "how do they sort us, Ron?"
Ron shrugs back at them. "The trio told me it was some sort of test. Said it hurt a lot, but I think they were joking."
They glance at each other, shivering at the thought of it hurting, before hurriedly agreeing it was probably a joke.
Or maybe not, as several students start screaming as translucent figures pass through them. One of them, a fat frocked figure, finishes up as they head to the ceiling, "-should forgive and forget. He deserves another chance."
Another wearing ruff and tights respond to the little monk, "my dear Friar, we've given him many chances. Peeves isn't even a proper ghost and still manages to give us a bad name. I wish we could.... What are you students doing down there?"
Lightning cautiously waves a hoof. "We're waiting to be sorted. I didn't know this world has ghosts too."
They all stare at a point above Lightning's head while whispering to each other before the Friar forces a smile. "I hope to see some of you in Hufflepuff! It was my old House, you know."
"That's enough of that, away with the lot of you. The sort is about to begin," Professor McGonagall says as she enters the room and makes shooing motions at the ghosts.
Once they are gone, Professor McGonagall sternly says, "Follow me in a single file line," before walking out.
The group of nine manage to stick together in line as they follow her into a magnificent banquet hall. Marveling at the floating candlesticks, grand ornaments, and sky-like ceiling, Hermione tells them quietly, "I read about the ceiling. It's enchanted to duplicate the sky above."
The rest of them nod dumbly as they now notice the tables laden with students and ghosts staring at them curiously. Averting their eyes from the students, the group huddles together by the entrance.
Trying to spot Professor McGonagall, they see her setting up a stool and placing a dirty patchwork wizard hat upon it. Hermione asks as she stares at it, "are we supposed to pull a rabbit from it?"
Sweetie just shivers. "I'm glad Rarity isn't here. She'd burn that thing."
Apple Bloom nods. "Ah am as well, even if there ain't nothing wrong with a little dirt."
Scootaloo shivers for a different reason. "Whatever it is, it's putting out emotions."
Lightning gently commands the others. "Whatever it is, we let it speak its part first."
As if on cue, the hat's brim opens up along a more significant tear, and it starts singing,
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The hall applauds as Ron says out loud, "the trio are dead. They were going on about wrestling trolls, not trying on a hat."
The rest of them shake their heads bemusedly at the thought while the clapping slowly diminishes.
Their attention is drawn to Professor McGonagall as she approaches the stool with a long scroll in hand. "First Years! When I call your name, you will approach, sit on the stool, and then put on the hat. After you are sorted, you will get off the stool, return the hat to it, and sit with your new Housemates. Abbott, Hannah."
A girl with blonde pigtails approaches and sits on the stool before putting on the comically oversize hat. Not a moment later, the hat bellows out "Hufflepuff," and away she goes.
Professor McGonagall's next name makes the group take notice. "Belle, Sweetie."
Sweetie tries her best to emulate her sister as she walks over to the stool. Daintily picking up the hat in one hoof, she carefully climbs onto the stool, ensuring her tail is coiled around the base before putting the hat over her horn onto her head.
As soon as she does so, a voice speaks in her mind. ~What have we here? A unicorn alien to here. Going about boldly and undisguised? Then again, you're far too used to danger. Slytherin is right out. You'd be alright in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, but your bravery deserves only~ "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat finishes out loud.
Shakily Sweetie climbs off the stool and puts the hat back on it. Making her way over to her table, she barely sits down before Professor McGonagall calls out, "Bloom, Apple."
Apple Bloom firmly walks over to the stool and, wasting no effort, grabs the hat, hops up on the seat, and places said hat upon her head. Immediately upon doing so, she hears, ~Another alien pony? Also far too used to danger. I should split you up into Hufflepuff, where your loyalty and natural tribal talents would do you well, but since you decide to brave the high air with your friends,~ "Gryffindor!" the hat bellows once more.
Apple Bloom hops off the stool and places the hat on it, giving the hat a gentle pat before making her way over to sit next to Sweetie Belle.
After them was a girl named Susan going to Hufflepuff, a boy named Terry ending up in Ravenclaw, and onwards, a few more down the line, with only a girl named Lavender going to Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall calls out "Dawn, Half-Light."
Nervously the earth pony waves to everyone as she walks to the hat, everyone's eyes on her as most realize there was an eighth Equestrian hidden in the mass. Carefully, she picks up the hat, sits on the stool, and puts on the hat before asking ~hello?~
~Hello to you as well, Dawn. I would say your smarts would make you a great Ravenclaw, but your bravery in risking it all to be in the story precludes that, Bringer of Happy Beginnings. Your reward and punishment are apparent enough, for you are to be in the thick of things in,~ "Gryffindor!" the hat announces again. Before she can pull the hat off, it adds a final message, ~the forest has many wolves, and they like to bark.~
Shaking, Dawn gingerly hops off the stool and places the hat back before wobbling her way to a seat at the Gryffindor table, only snapping her head up because the next name is "Dursley, Dudley."
With slight nervousness on his face from how the other tables are enviously gazing at the Gryffindors, Dudley walks up to the stool and takes the hat in one clawed hand before effortlessly hopping onto it. Putting the hat on his head, he is greeted with, ~What do we have here? A former muggle!? No, I won't tell your secret, Dudley, but you are a difficult one. Your unwillingness to take a stand in school takes Gryffindor off the table, but your bravery and boldness in coming here aren't fit for Slytherin either. You have Loyalty aplenty, however, so time to split the difference. You will make a fine,~ "Hufflepuff!"
The whole hall sits stunned for a second at that declaration before the Hufflepuffs manage to start clapping and cheering as Dudley makes his way over to them. Following him next to Hufflepuff is someone named Justin. After him, Professor McGonagall calls out "Granger, Hermione," causing her to jump.
Still partially lost in thought, the fluorescent filly makes her way up to the stool and cautiously picks the hat up. Hopping up onto the seat, she places the hat on her head and thinks at the hat, ~I'd like to be in Gryffindor.~
The hat smartly counters, ~and with that bit of intelligence, I should place you in Ravenclaw. You would do very well there.~
Hermione shakes her head. ~I can already tell the rest of my friends except Dudley will be in Gryffindor. I'm already being brave by being here in a body that I wasn't born with.~
~With that loyalty, you should be in Hufflepuff,~ the hat teases. ~Still, your point about bravery has worth. Pity you wouldn't take Ravenclaw, but it had then better be,~ "Gryffindor!" the hat bellows again, causing groans of dismay from Ravenclaw and dark looks from the Slytherins, even if from their point of view she is just a mud-blood.
Hermione hops off the stool and sends ~thank you~ to the hat before placing it on the stool. Calmly she walks over to Gryffindor and sits down to wait. They don't have long to wait until Professor McGonagall calls out, "Longbottom, Neville."
Looking extremely nervous, Neville stumbles his way over to the stool, where he manages to somehow get on the seat with the hat over his eyes. Wisely, it waits for a few seconds for him to settle before opening with, ~and here we have a Longbottom. I sorted both your parents and gran and what fine brave folks they were/are. It had better be-~
~Hufflepuff!~ Neville interrupts the sorting hat. ~T-that's where all the near s-squibs go. I-I'm not b-brave, just here b-because some d-dumb prophecy got my parents killed and made Dumbledore interested in me.~
~Are you done?~ The hat asks back before more sympathetically continuing, ~I'm sorry for your loss. I really am. You honestly would do well in Hufflepuff, but you need to gain confidence, and the best place for that is-~
~Hufflepuff!~ Neville insists again.
The sorting hat tries to get the train re-railed. ~You aren't a near-Squib, and that isn't where they go anyways. Now, as I was saying, you belong in-~
~Hufflepuff!~ Neville interrupts for the third time.
~THAT'S IT!~ The hat roars in Neville's mind, ~You need to grow a backbone in the right way.~ Before continuing out loud, "YOU ARE GOING IN GRYFFINDOR, And That's Final!"
Everyone stares as Neville sheepishly scurries towards the Gryffindor table with the hat on his head. A cough from Professor McGonagall send him back to the stool to return the hat before he makes his way back to his seat with his head down and cheeks aflame.
To get everyone's attention, Professor McGonagall then taps her goblet with a fork as a makeshift bell. "After that near-hatstall, next up is MacDougal, Morag." Following him came Malfoy, who barely had the hat touch his head before he was placed in Slytherin with his servant bodyguards.
Several more sorts later, including an interesting bit of identical twins being sorted in different houses, Professor McGonagall calls out, "Songwing-Dash, Scootaloo."
Said named student practically flies over in her excitement, wings flapping gently to give extra speed, before using a wing to put on the hat while vaulting onto the stool. Immediately the hat speaks to her, ~I get you're excited but watch it! Sorting you is easy, but I'm glad I don't have to sort your sister. Her Element would force me to put her in Hufflepuff, but her attitude firmly lands her in Gryffindor. You're crazy bravery just puts you straight in,~ "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat ends.
Scootaloo hops off the stool and barely manages to contain herself long enough to put the hat on the seat before really flying to a chair next to AB and the rest, who cheer happily.
Professor McGonagall gives the cheer a chance to subside before calling out the next name, "Sunrise, Lightning," causing those in the know to sit up excitedly.
Hiding his nervousness behind a confident smile, Lightning approaches the hat and grabs it in one hoof before hopping onto the stool with help from his wings. Putting the hat on his head, he is immediately greeted with, ~You are a difficult one, Lightning Sunrise, or as you were once known, Harry Potter. No, I won't tell anyone else who you are, but I am glad to see you live. Your birth parents were in Gryffindor, as your adoptive sister is.
~However, your ambition to see things made right and your innate nature means you would go well with the sneaky Slytherins. Your raw intelligence also means you would do well in Ravenclaw. Spread you Equestrians out, but your loyalty towards your friends, which would make you a nice Hufflepuff, and bravery on your adventures make you a natural Gryffindor.
~Know that you could have done well in any house, but you best follow your birth parents into,~ "Gryffindor!" the hat finishes with an exuberant shout.
Lightning thinks back a ~Thank You!~ before hopping off the stool and heading to sit by his friends at the Gryffindor table, amidst cheers from some of the head table and his housemates.
After Lightning, there were just four left to sort. Someone named Dean came to Gryffindor, the next person went to Ravenclaw, and then Professor McGonagall called out, "Weasley, Ron."
Looking a bit green, Ron approaches the stool and grabs the hat in one hoof. He then awkwardly climbs on the seat before placing the hat on his head. Immediately it tells him, ~A Weasley? I know what to do with you!~ The hat then shouts out, "Gryffindor!" Making Ron's sort almost as fast as Draco's.
With Ron sorted and seated, amidst cheers from his tables, the last person who gets called up is gets placed in Slytherin.
Professor McGonagall then rolls up her scroll and takes the stool and hat to sit by the staff table. Ron, meanwhile, mumbles, "I hope the food gets here soon."
As if answering his question, a beaming old bearded man, who must be Professor Dumbledore, stands up and opens his arms wide as if to hug them all. Opening his mouth, he greets them all with, "Welcome! Welcome, all to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin feasting, I'd like to say a few words: Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, and Tweak! Thank You!"
He then sits down amid cheers and clapping. The firsties look at Percy as Lightning asks, "Is he alright? He seems a bit...."
"Mad?" Percy answers. "He's one of the brightest wizards in the world. It comes with a few eccentricities. Would any of you like some potatoes?"
Looking down, the group sees the platters are now filled with all manner of dishes and the goblets full of pumpkin juice. Nodding as one, Percy serves them all some potatoes before they return the favor, helping to serve each other a bit of as many delectable items as they can.
Just as they're about to start eating, a longing sigh echoes behind them. Looking behind him, Lightning takes one of the platters and offers it to the ghost. "Want some?"
The ghost in the ruff shakes his head sadly. "I can't. I haven't needed to for 500 years, but still. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Gryffindor's resident ghost. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service, otherwise unfortunately known as Nearly-Headless Nick."
The boy named Seamus asks, "How can you be nearly headless?"
Irritably, Nick states, "like this!" as he pulls on his left ear, and his whole head falls onto his shoulder, held on by only a thin flap of skin.
Immediately most of the first years turn varying shades of green as they look away. Looking pleased with himself, Nick puts his head back correctly on his shoulders and coughs. "So, new Gryffindors! I hope this year we'll win the House Cup. The last time we won it was seven years ago, and the Bloody Baron over there is becoming unbearable now that Slytherin has won it six years in a row."
Apple Bloom swallows and manages to get out, "Sure! Ah'll help you get it if'n you never show us that trick again."
The rest hurriedly nod in agreement before looking over at the Slytherin table. What they see is an unhappy Malfoy sitting next to a bloody ghost, causing them to chuckle.
With the mood restored, they all dig into their food, with the only conversation being comments on what is tastiest.
Just when they think they can't eat anymore, the food vanishes, leaving the plates sparkling clean before filling up with every type of dessert imaginable.
Somehow managing to fit more in their bellies, the conversation turns to more simple things. Seamus, Ron, and Neville discuss their families. Hermione and Percy what to expect with lessons. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie what they think they'll learn.
All conversation comes to a halt when Lightning cries out in pain as he looks at the head table before letting out a soothed sound of relief. Closing his eyes and then opening them, Lightning asks Percy, "Who are the Professor in the turban and the dark-haired professor by him? Also, thanks to whoever soothed that pain."
Those present glance at each other before Percy answers, "none of us cast a spell on you, but to answer your other question: the man in the purple turban is Professor Quirrell. He's this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. The other is Professor Snape, who teaches Potions. He's wanted Professor Quirrell's job for years and knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts."
Nodding in thanks, conversation and eating slowly resumes while Lightning watches the two professors while eating, but they never look back at him.
Eventually, even dessert must end, and the food left on the plates vanishes again. Professor Dumbledore stands once again and lets the hall quiet down before beginning, "Just a few more words now that we're all full. I have a few start-of-term notices to tell you.
"First, the Forbidden Forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden to all students.
"Second, Mr. Filch asked me to remind you all that magic should not be used in the halls.
"Third, Quidditch Trials will be held during the second whole week of this term. Please speak with Madam Hooch if you are interested.
Fourth, as you have already probably noticed, the Weasleys are ponies, as are several other First Years. Over the summer, we were contacted by another world. The remarkable thing is the connection point transfigures humans into ponies and vice versa. Even more impressive is that those who have passed through can learn to mimic this ability.
"On a related note, the laws on wand ownership have been modified. Do not be surprised if next year we have several more non-humans attend. I already know of at least one dragon-pony hybrid who plans on attending. I expect you to treat them like any other student.
"Lastly, this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is forbidden to anyone who does not wish to die a painful death."
Lightning pokes Percy with a hoof and asks, "he's not serious on that last point, is he?"
Percy frowns as he answers their seeking faces, "must be. Usually, he tells everyone why, however. He hasn't even told us Prefects, which is odd."
Dumbledore recaptures their attention as he boisterously calls out, "And now let us sing the school song before bed!"
They all notice the teachers' smiles become relatively fixed as Dumbledore flicks his wand and a golden string of words appears. Once they are all there, Dumbledore commands, "Everyone pick your favorite tune and GO!"
The resulting cacophony was painful, but the ponies managed to force a sort of order onto the Gryffindor table as they sang:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
The exceptions to the Gryffindor unity were, of course, the Terrible Trio, who finished last of all with an inappropriately slow funeral march. Professor Dumbledore even conducted their last bars with his wand.
Clapping his hands, he closes the feast with some wise words. "Music! What a wonderful magic. Now off to bed you all go."
The group all climbs to their feet and follows Percy out of the Great Hall. Full of food and tired from a long day, they barely notice all the talking portraits or the fact Percy takes them up hidden passages. All they see are the many, many stairs they have to climb.
It isn't until Percy stops that they look up and notice Percy has his wand drawn at a floating bundle of walking sticks. Percy explains to them, "that's Peeves the Poltergeist." He then threatens the bundle of sticks. "Peeves! Show yourself now!"
The air farts at Percy, causing him to up his threat, "Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron again?"
Suddenly there is a small floating man with dark, wicked eyes clutching the walking sticks. Cackling evilly, Peeves exclaims, "Ooooh! Ickle Firsties! What fun!"
His dive at the firsties becomes a shriek of pain as he meets Lightning's reflexively cast shield. Percy barks out at the screaming poltergeist, "Go away, Peeves or the Baron really will hear about this! I'm serious this time!"
Still screaming indignities at them, Peeves flees and attempts to drop the walking sticks on Neville. Unfortunately for Peeves, the shield is still up, and they just bounce off down the stairs.
Turning to them, Percy tells them as Lightning drops the shield, "Peeves only listens to the Bloody Baron, unfortunately. Nice work with the shield, Lightning. We're almost at the dorms."
Turning, he points at a painting at the end of the hall before marching up to it. The first years follow him just in time to hear the portrait of a fat lady ask, "Password?"
Percy answers the challenge with "Caput Draconis," and the portrait swings open, revealing a hole behind it. Scrambling through, they find a comfy round room full of plush armchairs.
Pointing to one staircase, Percy simply says "girls" before pointing to the other and saying "boys."
The firsties split with the most interesting thing being just how many stairs there are and the fact the girls' stairs shuddered when Scootaloo stepped upon them before settling down and accepting her.
Both groups find their luggage beside a plush four-poster bed for each of them at the very top of each tower. Those with apartment trunks climb into them to change into their pajamas before climbing out into their beds.
After a brief fight where Ron forces Scabbers into his cage, both rooms are soon filled with the sounds of peaceful slumber. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-17: Sunrise Start at Hogwarts (edited 7/11/22) | Chapter 1-17: Sunrise Start at Hogwarts
In the morning, those who wake up early prod the other First Years awake so they can have breakfast. Those with Muggle or Equestrian origins have it easiest, being used to public schooling and awakening early. Those from wizarding families have it a bit harder, especially Ron and Neville.
Eventually, everyone from the first year stumbles down into the common room together. Grumbling, Ron complains, "why do we have to get up so early?"
Neville adds his own whining to the mix, "and w-why'd you levitate me out of bed?" Glancing blearily at the grandfather clock in the room, he adds, "I-it's barely 6:30 AM in the bloody morning!"
Apple Bloom glances at the clock and says, "well, Ah'll be! I slept in!"
Lightning chuckles as most of the First Years stare at her before answering them, "If we go down now, we get an early start on breakfast. Also, we don't know our schedules yet, and shaking you did nothing, Neville. Be glad I didn't conjure a ball of ice-cold water."
Neville looks at the other ponies and nervously asks, "p-please t-tell m-me h-he's j-joking?"
Sweetie Belle lights her horn in a grumpy answer as it glows green, and droplets of ice-cold water drip down onto the back of Neville's neck, causing him to shriek in surprise and try to dance away.
Grumbling, she lets her horn's glow die out before marching to the exit. Lightning hurriedly follows after her while trying to joke, "at least she isn't making her way to the kitchens in our trunks."
Scootaloo mumbles out a warning to the uninformed as she follows behind, "never eat anything Sweetie makes alone."
The rest in the know nod their assent to her warning as they troop their way out of the portal.
The rest of the First Years follow after the group with looks of confusion on their faces, probably thinking that surely the sweet unicorn can't be that dangerous in the kitchen. What poor naive fools.
Still following Sweetie Belle the Hangry, the whole class troops down several staircases only to end up back at the top. Exasperated, she exclaims, "how in Tartarus do we get down to breakfast?"
Before the rest can offer any guesses, nearby laughter and giggling distracts them. Turning, the First Years see the Terrible Trio giggling as they lean against a nearby wall."
Chuckling, probably Fred begins, "you could always..."
"...ask us how...," probably George continues with a smirk.
"...to get there." Definitely Sunset finishes with a giggle.
With the group looking towards him for guidance, Lightning nervously asks, "How do we get down to breakfast?"
The three third-year ponies smirk before going on a long, convoluted explanation involving going up and down multiple staircases and secret passages. Sunset ends it with, "you got that?"
Lightning nods and moves to follow their directions when Ron's hoof on his shoulder stops him. Ron turns to address a nearby painting of a very still man in archaic clothing on the wall. "Is what these three jokers told us true?"
The man in the painting finally stops holding his breath in order to give a brief laugh. Afterward, he answers Ron, "What they told you would work, or you could just pull the sconce by my painting, go down the stairs that are revealed, turn left into the corridor, go behind the suit of armor third from the end on the right, and follow the stairs down again which exit out behind a tapestry on the main hall. Except on Tuesdays and Fridays when you want to climb a set of stairs hidden behind the Gryffindor banner at the end."
The Terrible Trio boo the portrait as Ron pulls on the sconce indicated, causing the portrait's frame to swing open. Murmuring thanks, the group follow the directions given.
Soon enough, the First Years find themselves tumbling out of a tapestry across from the Great Hall.
Entering it, they take their places and sit down in front of empty plates and cups. Grumbling, Sweetie Belle asks, "How do we get food del-"
Her question is derailed by food magically appearing on the platters in front of them and the juice in their cups. There soon is a scramble to fill their plates full of food.
Afterward, the conversation soon turns back to curious questions directed at the Equestrians with a slightly more awake Patil opening. "I noticed last night the stairs quivered when you stepped on them. Why is that?"
Scootaloo wearily turns her gaze upon Hermione, hoping she has the answer. Thankfully, she does. "The girls' stairs are enchanted to turn into a slide if a boy climbs them. It's in Hogwarts a History."
Dean connects the dots and asks, "so she's a he?"
Lavender adds, "Is that why you went into your trunk to change?"
Scootaloo tersely answers, "both and no," before trying to divert more questions by filling her mouth with food.
With a sigh, Lightning elaborates on her answer. "Changelings and at least half-breed children of them are both boys and girls. Our minds just usually hide one."
Dean, predictably, asks, "have you ever been a girl?"
Lightning blushes but nods as he says, "the flames won't hurt you." Before they can ask what he means, his form is engulfed in flames, swiftly fading away to reveal a pegasus of the same colors. "This is also Lightning Sunrise and the form I use back home."
Once finished saying that, the flames spring up again, revealing a unicorn with softer facial features. Opening her mouth, she says in a higher voice, "and legally, this is Dawn Thunder, my cousin. Can I go back to being my true self?"
The rest study him for a moment before nodding, causing the flames to spring up once more with a sigh of relief from him. "Phew, being a girl was as uncomfortable as I remember it to be."
Further questions are interrupted as Professor McGonagall approaches their table with a stack of papers which she hands out. "Here are your schedules. I hope to see you all at 8 AM."
Looking over their schedules, Ron groans. "If 8 AM is the second morning period, I hope we never have a class in the first."
Gryffindor/M/Tu/W/Th/Fr
Mor1/Free/Free/Free/Free/Free
Mor2/Trans/Herb/Free/Herb/Free
Mor3/Trans/Free/Free/Free/Free
Mor4/Hist/Flying/Free/Flying/Hist
Aft1/DADA/Free/Pot/Free/Free
Aft2/DADA/Free/Pot/Free/Free
Aft3/Cha/Free/Cha/Free/Free
Aft4/Free/Astronomy/Free/Free/Free
Midnight/Free/Astronomy/Free/Free/Free
The rest nod their agreement as Dudley approaches their table. "I just got my schedule. Want to compare and see what classes we share?"
Receiving nods, Dudley lays his schedule down on the table.
Hufflepuff/M/T/W/Th/Fr
Mor1/Free/Free/Free/Free/Free
Mor2/Hist/Herb/Free/Herb/Free
Mor3/Hist/Flying/Free/Flying/Vree
Mor4/Trans/Free/Free/Free/Trans
Aft1/Pot/Free/DADA/Free/Free
Aft2/Pot/Free/DADA/Free/Free
Aft3/Cha/Free/Cha/Free/Free
Aft4/Free/Astronomy/Free/Free/Free
Midnight/Free/Astronomy/Free/Free/Free
Looking over both of them, Hermione eventually comments, "I guess we'll be seeing you this afternoon for Charms. Besides that, we share Herbology and Astronomy tomorrow."
Ron adds, "Be careful if you have potions with the Snakes. Since you're here, care to join us?"
The group shifts over as Dudley nods, letting him sit down. Dean asks as he is shuffled aside, "why are we letting one of the Badgers sit with us?"
Thinking quickly, Lightning answers, "he's a friend. Besides, I want his take on this. Do you think Artemis can reach us here? Because last night I had the weirdest dream that should have been a nightmare. In it, I was wearing Professor Quirrell's horrible purple turban. Draco was there, and I thought he must have been talking to me as someone kept telling me to go to Slytherin.
"I kept denying it, of course, because it makes no sense for Draco to want me there. Every time I did, the turban got heavier and tighter.
"Eventually, Malfoy turned into Professor Snape, who laughed at me in a very high-pitched nasty tone. The whole dream ended in a bright green flash of light.
"The only reason I'm not more freaked out is it felt like a cold winter night had gripped my heart and froze my emotions during the whole thing. Other things also keeping me calm are the fact the dream ended with Artemis's voice telling me, "you are safe, my mortal nephew," and a pair of ghostly dark blue hooves closing about me in a brisk comforting hug."
The rest of the group stares at Lightning, aghast at how calm he seems after such a terrible dream, before the CMC buries him in a group hug with the rest following.
From the bottom of the hug pile, Lightning angrily sighs in exasperation. "Seriously, I'm fine. If it will make you feel better, I'll send Artemis a letter by owl tonight. Now get off me!"
The group gets off him as Apple Bloom states, "we'll be making sure yah do."
The rest nod in agreement as they retake their seats. Further conversation is disrupted by a deep belling tolling seven times before a lighter bell tolls once.
Hermione commands them sternly, "shut up and eat! We're leaving here in 15 minutes because I'm not being late on my first day of school."
Cowed, the rest of the First Years dig into their food, filling up for their very full first day of classes.
Sneaking into Transfiguration class just a few minutes before the bell rings, The Gryffindors find the Ravenclaws already seated at their desks, talking about what they expect to learn today. On a small table in the back lounges a cat causing Sweetie Belle to shiver.
Taking her seat, Lavender exclaims as she looks at the cat, "Awww! How cute of Professor McGonagall to bring her pet cat to class. Where is she anyway?"
Lightning opens his mouth to answer just as the bell tolls eight times. Waiting for it to finish to answer, he is beaten by the cat hopping off the table and transforming into an old grey griffoness wearing Professor McGonagall's robes, startling everyone.
With a smirk on her beak in a rare bit of levity, the griffoness addresses the group of startled First Years in Professor McGonagall's voice, "Ordinarily, I like to begin a bit more formally, but over the summer, I visited Equestria without the Equestrian students' knowing.
"For those who don't know, I am an Animagus. To be one, you have to be among the very best at Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions. Switching between Pony and Human forms, if you are invited to visit Equestria, is difficult but not unreasonable to figure out.
"On that note, before we begin roll call, I'd like to award Lightning Sunrise five points for figuring it out on his own and teaching it to others."
Walking towards the front of the class now, Professor McGonagall slowly begins losing griffonic features as familiar human ones replace them, the transition artificially slowed down.
Finally, at her desk, the now human Professor McGonagall sits down and opens a parchment scroll. "When I call your name, answer, and I will mark you as here."
A few minutes later, with roll call done, Professor McGonagall puts the scroll in her lap as she scootches back from her desk. "On a more professional level, I'd like to begin as I do every year by showing you one of the most difficult Transfigurations everyone will learn to do by the end." With that said, she waves her wand at her desk, and it vanishes in a flash of light.
When the flash fades, what stares back at them is a very large pig with soulless eyes creeping the class. Hoping to distract everyone, Lightning raises his hoof in the air and asks, "can you transfigure edible food?"
Professor McGonagall transfigures the pig back into her desk, causing everyone to sigh in relief. "A good question, Lightning. The short answer is you can not, and trying to feed someone such a portion of food is a murder attempt. Now, are there any other questions?"
Hermione raises her hoof and asks, "what will we be learning today?"
Professor McGonagall smiles at her. "An excellent question Hermione. Open up your desks, and you will each find a box of matches. Later in this class, you will be attempting to turn them into needles. First, however, open up your notebooks and prepare to take notes on how you will do such a thing."
Hurriedly the class complies, pulling out their notebooks and writing utensils from their bags as she stands and moves to the blackboard.
About an hour into class, Professor McGonagall finally puts down her piece of chalk before turning to face the students. "Now, class, you may pull out your matchsticks and try to turn them into needles."
With permission given, each student does so and starts on the lesson, aiming their wand at their selected matchstick and focusing their will upon it.
The class looks up a few minutes later as Professor McGonagall congratulates a happy Hermione holding a needle. "Bravo, Hermione! Ten points to Gryffindor for getting it first."
Her attention, and everyone else's, is soon distracted by the roaring of flames from Seamus's desk. Pulling her wand out, she calls out "Aquamenti!" while waving it, causing water to fall on the desk and putting it out. Dryly, she then remarks, "I see I'll have to fireproof your desk."
A reasonably quick repair and fireproof charm later, and Seamus's desk is good as new.
Afterwards, things go relatively smoothly for the next half hour, with the next distraction being exclamations of happiness from one side and then the other of the room.
Looking from one to the other, Professor McGonagall congratulates one and then the other. "Well done, Parvati and Padma. Seven points to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for getting it second."
Grumbling, most of the students double their focus with some interesting results from them. A surprised shout from Neville causes the whole class to look at his desk. Upon it rests a chalky white needle.
Striding hurriedly over, Professor McGonagall casts a detection charm on the needle before relaxing. "Congratulations, Neville, for making a silver needle of some sort. One point to Gryffindor, and next time make it purely silver."
A nervously wincing Neville attempts to sweep his needle aside with his wand, only for it to crumble into dust on his desk. Unconcerned, the rest of the class returns to their work, so Neville does as well.
Soon the end of class comes very, very near as Professor McGonagall draws attention to Sweetie Belle. "Good job, Sweetie! Five points to Gryffindor for getting it third. For those of you who didn't succeed, and that includes Neville, your homework will be to write three pages on how you think you went wrong."
Amidst groans from the class, the sounds of the bell come in: ten deep bongs followed by one lighter one, causing everyone to hurriedly shove their stuff in their bags.
Soon ready, the First Year Gryffindors troop out to head to History class when they are surprised by the Ravenclaws following them. Turning his head, Lightning asks them, "what are you doing following us? We're headed to boring Binn's bland blabbering History Class."
Padma answers for the Ravenclaws, "We're headed there as well. They can't be as bland as you think, and if they are, I still get to sit with my sister."
Shrugging, the combined First Year houses fall silent as they troop up and down halls and stairs, asking the portraits directions when necessary. Soon, they arrive on time to class and shuffle in to sit down.
One thoroughly delightful group nap later, the group regretfully awakens (excluding Hermione, who somehow stayed awake) and packs up.
Yawning, Ron gets a thoughtful look on his face. "You do know this means we have potions and flying with the snakes?"
The Gryffindors briefly glare at the Ravenclaws, who sigh in relief at that news. Leading the pack on the way to lunch, Apple Bloom asks Lightning, "have you heard of any spells to banish ghosts or bring them back to life?"
Lightning shakes his head. "I haven't, but then I wasn't allowed into the restricted sections. Maybe Twilight knows one, and we can send her an owl asking?"
Hermione puts her chin on her hoof as she memorizes aloud, "Two letters, one to Artemis and the other to Twilight."
The rest of the group trusts Hermione will remember it as they enter the Great Hall and sit down for lunch.
After learning from Dudley that the Transfiguration classroom is now short one desk because it burned down and couldn't be put out, lunch proceeds fairly normally and quietly.
Wishing Dudley luck in Potions once again, the Gryffindor First Years make their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom after lunch.
Arriving with plenty of time for what promised to be an exciting class, the group finds their seats and sits down. Even after the Slytherins enter and take their seats, the anticipation remains high.
Said anticipation is soon dashed when Professor Quirrell enters and starts stuttering out the roll call. The mood drops even lower due to the overpowering scent of slightly rotting garlic coming from the purple turban on his head. A third blow happens when the group all notices Lightning wince whenever he looks at Professor Quirrell, and the final blow comes when said stutter carries over into his almost unintelligible lessons.
Even Hermione listens in as the group starts speculating on what his problems are and why his turban smells so foul (Ron said he was terrified of a vampire he met in Romania.). Making plans to study independently takes up the rest of the class, with them only answering when directly called upon by Professor Quirrell.
All in all, the class was a wash, with the only amusing bit being how the professor almost fainted when Seamus asked to hear the story of him defeating zombies that got him his turban. The fact he abruptly switched topics to the weather further lowered their opinion of him.
Still, the group decides as they walk to the next class. So far, they've had one excellent class, one boring but harmless class, and one useless class. The fact the next class is Charms with the Hufflepuffs should prove better.
So buoyed by hope, the group enters the Charms classroom and takes their seats, with Lightning sitting next to Dudley. Since there are a few minutes until class starts, Lightning asks Dudley, "how was Potions class with Professor Snape?"
The winces from the Hufflepuffs who hear the question prove answer enough, but Dudley elaborates, "it was rough. I really do think he dislikes everyone who isn't a Slytherin. How was Defense?"
The nearby Hufflepuffs listen in as Lightning shudders. "Terrible. His turban filled the room with the overpowering smell of rotting garlic, and his stutter made him very hard to understand. We're planning on teaching ourselves. You're welcome to join Dudley."
Dudley nods his head, causing the other Hufflepuffs to grumble. "I'll be there, and thanks for the warning."
Further conversation is cut short by Professor Flitwick entering the room. His chosen method of clambering up onto his desk left the ponies wincing at the thought of what Twilight would do to him.
It even causes Hermione to grumble out, "who does he think he is desecrating poor defenseless books?"
Professor Flitwick pauses in his short walk in order to flick his wand at one of the "books," revealing it to be the "Stepping Stone Book on Stepping Stones by Rr. Maud Pie."
He then chuckles softly as he sees the abashed look upon her florescent orange face. "Miss Granger, you are not the first nor the last to be worried about my books. Two points to Gryffindor for their respect for knowledge."
With that said, he picks up the (large) scroll (for him) and starts reading names off the list in a calm, composed, but happy manner, especially after getting to Lightning's name.
Finding everyone present, he happily greets them as he puts the scroll back down. "Welcome to Charms Class, everyone. My name is Professor Flitwick, and most of what you learn here will be things you can use every day. Now, I know the ponies know their version of these charms, but the first two we shall learn are the levitation and wand lighting charms.
"Every wizarding charm is comprised of a specific wand movement and vocal sequence. Today you'll be learning the levitation charm, so watch and copy me exactly." Here he pulls his wand out of his pocket and starts gesturing with it. "It's a swish and a flick during which you must pronounce 'Wingardium Leviosa.'
"Now, does everyone have that?" Receiving nods from the class, he commands them, "Cast the spell upon the feather you each have on your desk. If I see any horns light up, you will be required to assume human form until you can prove you can control that. If anyone needs more help, get my attention."
Warning set, the class soon gets to work mastering the spell with little success for most. That changes only a couple of minutes in when attention is called to Hermione by Professor Flitwick, "Bravo, Miss Granger! Five points to Gryffindor for mastering it so easily."
Determined to get it right, the rest of the class redoubles their efforts. Shortly after, attention is drawn to Seamus by the sound of an explosion, causing them to see the burnt boy staring shell-shocked at a curling burning white feather.
Professor Flitwick chuckles as he silently replaces the feather. "Don't feel bad, Mister Finnegan. I always keep plenty of feathers on hand in case of mishaps."
Things calm down after that for the rest of the hour, with the only other people to get it being Lightning and Sweetie Belle, who also earn Gryffindor three and two points, respectively.
The bells soon toll four deep bongs followed by two lighter ones to mark the end of the class. Professor Flitwick calls out as they pack up, "your homework is three pages on the history and notable uses of the spell. For those who didn't get it today, take your feathers and practice. The sooner you get this, the sooner we can move on."
The group accepts this with minor grumbling as they leave and make their way for the Owlery. Halfway there, however, the group realizes they have a problem when Lightning asks, "do any of us know the Terrible Trio's schedules?"
The group glances at each other before Lightning sums up his thoughts on the matter. "Ponyfeathers! I was hoping to ask Sunset for permission to use Philomena to send mail straight to Artemis about my dream."
Sweetie tries to console him. "It just means we send that letter later. We can still ask Twilight if she knows any spells for bringing ghosts back to life."
"I'm still only willing to go along with this because she seems like a respectable, knowledgeable adult." Hermione contributes her soft complaint about this course of action.
"Let's move so we can get this over with. I like my naps but not that much," Scootaloo declares as she and Ron resume heading towards the Owlery, forcing the rest to hurry to catch up.
The rest of the trip to the Owlery continues with the group discussing what to put in the letter. They eventually decide on the following:
Twilight Sparkle,
We are wondering if you have any books on bringing ghosts back to life? There's a very boring professor here we hope to make more lively. Otherwise, things have been going well here.
Your honorary little brother,
Lightning Sunrise
PS. Please tell our families we are enjoying our time here,
Sweetie Belle, , Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo.
With the letter sent with Hedwig and no other tasks to go, the group troop back to the Gryffindor Common Room, where they spent the rest of the time before supper relaxing. After all, the only homework they had to worry about due this week was Charm's class stuff.
Supper was just as delicious as every other meal leaving the First Year Gryffindors full and a smidge drowsy as they make their way back into the common room around Seven PM.
Hermione makes sure to grab Neville and bring him over to join the ponies at a table. "You said you were willing to work, so now is your chance to prove it. The rest of us already know this charm, and I am going to teach it to you but first watch them do it."
With the words said, all seven pull out their Charms textbooks onto the table before everyone, but Hermione and Neville, wave their wands one by one while calling out "Libertas Dimensionis Apertas," and then vanish into their textbooks.
"Y-you w-want m-me t-to d-do t-that?" Neville manages to stutter out. "W-what i-if I g-get t-trapped i-in t-there?"
Lightning's tinny voice answering from one of the books gets the rest of the common room's attention. "It's perfectly safe, Neville, and you'd be amazed how much better you understand a book being part of it."
Needless to say, the rest of the Gryffindors come over to learn from the Weasleys and/or Ponies the spell disrupting their attempt at doing homework.
The rest of the evening passed with new knowledge gained, but very little in the way of homework was done. In all the commotion, thoughts of asking to use Philomena also vanished, and knowledge of the dream faded away. The question wasn't important anyway, as who else could it have been but Artemis protecting her god-nephew's dreams. |
Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts | 1-18: Planting New Quidditch Seeds | 1-18: Planting New Quidditch Seeds
The following day the group wakes up and sleepily makes their way down to breakfast. They barely remember in time the fact today is Tuesday, and so the path has changed.
Sitting down causes their breakfast to appear once more, and they are well into digging in when the flock of owls appears with letters. Lightning's horn and wings light up, summoning a soft shield to protect the group's food seeing how the owls haphazardly drop stuff onto the tables and into food and drink.
The only exception to this exclusion is Hedwig, who lands on the table next to Lightning with a letter and bundle of books wrapped in enchanted twine held in her claws.
Lightning holds out a piece of bacon to her in one hoof as she lets go of the books and hops down onto the table. He then pets her gently with the same slightly greasy hoof after she takes his offering in one set of claws and neatly nibbles on it. "Thank you, Hedwig, for bringing it so quickly and so neatly. Would you like any more bacon?"
Hedwig makes an affirmative-sounding chirp while nodding, and upon being hoofed the second piece of bacon, places it down on the table. She then shows her own thanks by leaping onto one of Lightning's upper arms and wrapping her wings around his head, giving him a wing-hug and an affectionate nuzzle.
Lightning pets her gently once more with his free hoof while the nearby people daw at the sight of such a strong bond between wizard and familiar. "You're welcome, Hedwig. I love you too."
With one last nuzzle, Hedwig disengages the hug, hops back onto the table, picks up her bacon, and flies off to the Owlery.
Meanwhile, Lightning realizes he is still generating his very weak shield and drops it as he starts untying the bundle. Picking the letter up, he starts reading out loud, "now let's see what this says:
To my honorary little brother Lightning and his friends, the expanded CMC,
Here are the books you requested. They're good for a laugh as ghosts don't exist. All good souls go to the lost Paradise Valley in lost Elysium, while all evil ones go to Tambelon to serve Grogar for all eternity. Everyone knows that.
It is good to hear, however, that you are doing well and that your first day went well. Feel free to write us individually as well since you have owls. I'm sure your parents would also like to hear from you, Ron, Hermione, and Dudley.
Your (Honorary) Big Sisters/Friends,
Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, AppleJack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, , and .
"I suspect we wouldn't be getting these if any of them had come to Hogwarts for a visit. Still, let's see what books she got us. Hmm..., '10 Spells for Summoning Ghosts and 10 More to Banish Them by Prof. Edward Gaddfly' sounds useful. The second is '10 Rituals to Bring the Dead Back to Life by Somber Heart', which is also helpful. Lastly, the final author must not have made many copies of this as it is bound in ancient blackened leather. Now, what's the title? Ahh...there it is: 'Index of the Undead by Flowing Light and Crafted Love.'
"I really hope we don't have to use that last one. It creeps me out." Lightning finally finishes as he looks between the three books as if trying to decide which to open first.
The rest of the group voices their agreement in not wanting to read that last one before Hermione suggests, "the second one sounds safe enough, and it is what we want."
Lightning looks about for any dissenters, and finding none, opens the ritual book. Those nearby look over his shoulder or try to read upside down as he quickly flips through the book with disgusted expressions growing on the groups' faces as they get deeper and deeper in, and the results get darker and darker.
Eventually, Lightning sums it up. "We only have two options, it seems. One that involves tree sap but is easier and can be cast anytime..., and the other harder one requires the willingly given blood of an alicorn and the tears of a phoenix on specific dates. The closest upcoming the book says is Harmony Tri-um-phant Day."
"Ah vote for the harder one," Apple Bloom suggests as she thinks of what could happen.
"I've had enough of wearing tree sap," Scootaloo seconds causing the Equestrian CMC members to shudder.
"Rarity isn't here to unstick us from our clothes," Sweetie Belle thirds causing a second shudder.
Lightning scratches his chin in thought. "It's settled then, but when is Harmony Triumphant Day?"
A sigh catches everyone's attention as Sunset and the Twins slip into seats nearby. She asks them, "why do you want to know when Harmony Triumphant Day is? It hasn't been celebrated in centuries, almost as long as the Winter Moon Festival."
The group looks at each other before Lightning shrugs. "We would have to ask you to borrow Philomena anyway for her tears. Twilight sent us a book to bring ghosts back to life."
Sunset's horn lights up to snag the book so she can read it over quickly before beginning, "You plan on..."
"...using this ritual...," Forge continues.
"on Professor Binns?" Ged finishes the question.
The group all nervously nods, causing the Trio to laugh at the audacity before Ged suggests, "might we suggest using it on Moaning Myrtle..."
"...in the second-floor girl's bathroom first. No one...," Forge continues the suggestion.
"...goes there if they can. Have fun continuing the pranks the day after Nightmare Night." Sunset finishes their suggestion and help.
Lightning hmms as he thinks things through. "That means we have until November 1st to set things up. Thanks for suggesting a location to do it as well."
Neville, meanwhile, reaches for a fallen package addressed to him and pulled out a clear glass ball from it. Holding it out in one hand, he nervously gets their attention, "L-Look! M-my G-Gran g-got me an R-Remembrall."
The group looks at Neville before Apple Bloom asks, "How does that thar thing work?"
A bit more confidently, Neville explains, "It t-turns red when y-you forget something." The ball turns red, and Neville sheepishly continues, "l-like t-that. W-what d-did I-I f-forget?"
Those closest to Neville give him pats on the back while the group assures him that if it becomes essential, they will help him find it.
With that settled, the discussion turns to what they expect to learn at Herbology that morning and how bad the school brooms will be. The groups consensus from overheard rumors is they will be pretty bad.
First period the group spends in the library cracking at the Charms homework they hadn't managed to do last night. It is due tomorrow after all.
Soon enough, however, First Period is over, and the group makes their way over to the Greenhouses for almost everyone's first proper meeting with Professor Sprout. The exception, of course is Dudley, who has her as his head of house.
What the group found out was she was a cheerful, if a bit brisk, teacher with a mind sharper than her frumpy appearance would suggest.
Roll call is swiftly accomplished, and the rest of the period is spent going over some of the plants using her well-loved copy of Encyclopedia Ingredientia to help show them off.
The class only gets about halfway through the book when the bell rings, and Professor Sprout tells them all that this class, they don't have any homework but to expect some next class.
After that was another free period where the Gryffindor group all managed to finish Charms homework just in time for the bells to make ten deep bongs and then two light ones signifying it's time for Flying lessons.
Running into Dudley as they swap "classes," Lightning asks him, "how did Flying class go?"
Dudley answers them, "It went well, but those brooms really are rickety. Madam Hooch seemed to know her stuff but beware the snakes."
The group nods back as Lightning replies, "Thanks for the good luck and good luck on the homework. The worse thing that could happen is we spend tomorrow morning helping you."
Dudley returns the nod before they part as with a castle Hogwarts' size; there really isn't much time to chit chat in the 15 minutes between classes.
Arriving at the front lawn, they are greeted by the sight of the Slytherins, 24 ratty old brooms and who must be Madam Hooch, an athletic old lady full of fire and energy.
She scans them efficiently with her goggled eyes before briskly starting her lecture, "What're you all waiting for? Step up to the left side of your broomstick."
She gives the Gryffindors and Slytherins time to do so before continuing, "Now I want you all to place your right hand over the broom and firmly command 'Up!'"
The students do as ordered and call out "Up" with minimal results on the first try. Scootaloo is the only one who ends up with her broom in her hoof as a loud "THUD" can be heard coming from somewhere nearby.
The second go goes better with Hermione, Draco, and a few others managing to get brooms in hand. It also results in a second "THUD!"
The Third finds the rest of the group and even Neville with brooms in hand. The sole exception to this is Lightning whose broom refuses to twitch the group notices as an even louder "THUD" sounds.
At this point Lightning is one of very few to not have their brooms in hand. The group quietly but supportively watches as he calls out "UP!" one more time only for the broom to not twitch again.
However, this time that loud "THUD" turns into the sound of a door being forced off its hinges. The whole class jumps in shock as a beautiful crooked white blackthorn broom swoops gracefully into his waiting right hoof.
Most of the group are confused why some of their classmates, including Ron and Hermione, are staring at the broom in Lightning's hoof with awe.
Said awe-filled staring is interrupted by the sounds of muffled screaming coming from above. The class looks up and sees a terrified Neville clutching to "his" ratty old broom as it zigs and zags about while gaining height.
Madam Hooch shows why she was a champion Quidditch player back in her day as she runs over and claims Lightning's intended broom for herself. Mounting it smoothly and leaping off the ground, she calls out firmly but gently, "Calm Down Neville! I'll be right over."
Neville manages a shaky nod of acknowledgment even as his broom takes him over one of the courtyard. Muttering a soft swear Madam Hooch pulls out her wand and casts "DESCENDIO" at Neville as she races towards him.
Unfortunately a particularly strong zag causes the spell to hit Neville's broom instead leaving him hanging from a gargoyle by his robe while his broom tries to and succeeds at slipping from his terrified grasp.
Madam Hooch has to make a sudden dive as Neville, in his panicked thrashing, manages to slip free from his robe. She still almost manages to catch him on her broom but instead only manages to break his fall briefly.
Landing smoothly and elegantly next to a prone Neville, she gently pulls him up to a standing position while looking over the left arm he is cradling.
Obviously not liking what she is seeing, she briskly orders the class, "I'm taking Neville to the infirmary to get looked at. The rest of you better stay on the ground until I get back, or you'll be out of here faster than you can say Quidditch."
The group barely manages to start expressing their concerns for Neville when Draco's biting words break through, causing them to look at him as he holds Neville's Remembrall in one hand. "Maybe if that fat squib had remembered to squeeze this he wouldn't be in the infirmary right now."
The group trails behind Lightning as he marches over to Draco and politely asks, "please give that over, Draco. It's a gift from his gran."
Draco pauses for a second before sneering at them as he declares, "No! No, I don't think I'll give it over to you animals!" Rubbing his chin, he maliciously smiles as he expresses the idea that must have just come to him. "In fact, I think I'll leave this for somewhere for Longbottom to find.
"Like the roof," Draco finishes as he swiftly mounts his broom and takes off smoothly.
Lightning and Scootaloo both follow him in mounting their brooms and shakily taking off after and surrounding him.
Lightning once more pleads with Draco, "just give it back, please, and none of us will be in trouble."
Draco opens his mouth to reply, probably in the negative, when the sound of whistling wind probably alerts him to Scootaloo's direct tackle approach.
Whatever the case may be, he manages to dodge her tackle by smoothly rotating around his broom.
Once on top, he pulls his arm back and tells Lightning, "If you animals want this so bad, go fetch," before swinging his arm forward and releasing the Remembrall in a very long throw.
Lightning takes him up on his offer and chases after the Remembrall, with Scootaloo soon managing to follow.
It quickly becomes apparent that there is no way Scootaloo is catching up to Lightning. Lightning himself manages to catch the Remembrall well before hitting the wall, but it takes until he hits a window with the bristles of his broom for him to come to a stop with a soft thud.
This is presumably what catches Professor McGonagall's attention as the window he hit opens when he is halfway back to the cheering Gryffindor crowd. Standing in the said window is Professor McGonagall in griffon form.
She gives him and Scootaloo a chance to land before flying out the window to land next to the class and beckons Scootaloo and Lightning with one claw. "Scootaloo Songwing and Lightning Sunrise please follow me and, Lightning, bring Nova with you."
Nervously, the two follow her with Lightning clutching his broom, apparently named Nova. The rest of the group gets to listen and joke about how he got two of the "animals" expelled while they nervously hope that won't happen.
Madam Hooch soon returns, and the class resumes with a much more muted tone from the Gryffindors.
Meanwhile, the two students follow Professor McGonagall with down-turned ears and tails, too scared to even attempt to mount a defense of their actions.
She leads them back up and into the Gryffindor Common Room before interrupting an older boy's studies. "Oliver Wood, I have good news that needs your attention now."
Oliver's head jerks up in what is probably confusion before turning to look at the three, and the broom Lightning is holding.
Seeing his rapidly growing smile is a tad disturbing to the two First Years as Professor McGonagall points to one and then the other while continuing, "I've found you a new Seeker in Lightning here and a Reserve Seeker in Scootaloo. Neither of them has flown on brooms before today, but both performed beautifully."
Oliver turns to look over Nova as he breathlessly exclaims, "and he has The Nova Broom. Does either of you know how Quidditch works? I'm Captain of the Gryffindor team."
Scootaloo excitedly says, "Do we ever. Ron's spent the past month drilling the rules into our head with Hermione's help from a book."
Lightning more quietly nods his agreement to what she said.
Professor McGonagall smiles at the pair as she muses, "I'll see if I can bend the first-year rule for you two if you join. Not like anyone would dare take Nova away from you, Lightning unless you lost her loyalty."
Oliver Wood also hums in thought, "Scootaloo, I think we'll try to get you a Cleansweep Seven or Nimbus 2000."
Lightning raises the pertinent question everyone reading this is thinking, "Why do you keep referring to Nova like she's alive?"
Both Oliver Wood and Professor McGonagall look at him like he's suddenly grown a second head before the latter shakes her head and answers him. "How could... Of course, you wouldn't know. Nova, named after her maker, has a core of Pegasi feathers. No one is sure how she got so many willing donations, but Nova chooses her wielder like a wand.
"She's also a legend among brooms despite being over 70 years old." Professor McGonagall warns, "Do not push your luck, Lightning, as she will take everything you give her and probably outlive you. She already has outlived several Quidditch careers and always returns to Hogwarts to await her next bearer.
"So, are you willing to join the Quidditch team? If you don't you will probably lose Nova's loyalty and we could really use you," Professor McGonagall finally concludes with a question.
The two look at each other before nodding, causing Oliver Wood to exhale in relief while Professor McGonagall firmly warns, "I want to hear you two are training hard, or I may rethink my stance on punishing you for your misdeeds. Now, follow me so we can get you back to your friends and classmates."
The two follow her out of the common room but are surprised when she turns down a hidden staircase behind a tapestry. They are even more surprised when they follow her into the hidden staircase and into her waiting arms and wings.
Giving them both a hug, she smiles down at them as they return the hug. "Lightning, your father would be proud of you both. He was an excellent Quidditch player as well. Now let's get out of here before someone sees us, and I lose my reputation."
Chuckling, the two let go of her before following her as she leads the way to the grand central staircase and hops over its railing.
Concerned for her mental state, the two rush over and look over the railing only to spot Professor McGonagall flapping her wings to slow her descent.
Taking that as permission to take the shortcut, the two follow her down to the ground floor, where they find her in the doorway to the room they waited in the first night.
She conjures a couple of chairs with her wand before beckoning them inside. "Wait in here until lunch Mr. Sunrise and Ms. Songwing, and leave Nova in here during lunch."
The two approach her and move to go inside before stopping. Lightning manages to work up the courage to open his mouth. "Professor McGonagall, before you go, we were in the air because Draco Malfoy stole Neville's Remembrall and took off, threatening to smash or hide it."
Professor McGonagall glares at them, seeing if either of them will break. When neither do, the glare softens after what feels like a minute. "Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I will look into the matter. Now enter and try not to tell anyone you are on the team."
The two hurriedly scurry inside before she closes the door and spend the rest of the period in mock detention.
Shortly after the bells bonged eleven deep and three light bongs, the group scurries into the great hall from where they were and sits down, expecting the food to appear.
They are disappointed then when no food appears. Looking at the teacher's table, they see Professor Dumbledore scanning the room as if counting the students.
Grumbling, they decide to wait, and their patience is awarded a few minutes later when Professor Dumbledore stands up and taps his goblet with his wand to get everyone's attention. "I know you all are probably starving, I know I am, but Professor Sinistra reminded me that students do not have to attend the afternoon class for this week only. She also reminded me that snacks and drinks would be available before every midnight lesson in the chamber at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower.
"With that out of the way, let lunch commence." Professor Dumbledore finishes by sitting down, causing food to appear.
Before they can really dig in, however, Draco appears to gloat with his bodyguards flanking him. "Enjoying your last meal before you get sent back where you belong with the animals?"
Lightning and Scootaloo just sigh before the former responds, "we got detention for the rest of the period, and that was it. We had to write a couple of hundred times that we wouldn't perform stupid, reckless acts on the broom. It was worth it to save a friend's possession."
The group cheers at that news while Draco just scowls. "I don't know how you are still here, but you won't be when my father hears about this."
Lightning shrugs as he quietly says, "then the school board will hear how you broke the rules first and have been saying speciesist and racist things."
Fuming even harder, Draco splutters out, "I demand satisfaction. I challenge you to a Wizard's Duel in the trophy room at midnight tonight."
Lightning gives Draco a deadpan look before asking Hermione, "are Wizard's Duels allowed on school grounds?"
Draco sneers at Lightning and Scootaloo, "does that mean those wings really make you part chicken as well?"
"No," Lightning slowly explains, "but we have class at that time. As the challenged, I have the right to pick time and place."
Hermione, meanwhile, has pulled out her copy of the school rulebook and has an answer ready, "it seems they are allowed as long as a teacher supervises, and no lethal or potentially lethal spells are used."
Lightning asks Draco, "so does outside after lunch with Professor Flitwick supervising work, or are you going to be smart and drop this Draco?"
Out-foxed and with his still somewhat fragile power base at risk of being shattered if he disagrees, Draco swallows and reluctantly nods that that works.
Lightning's horn lights up, and out of his bag floats a quill, ink, and parchment. Writing a note upon it, he asks Draco, "wait here, please," before sending the completed message to Professor Flitwick by flame-mail.
Draco looks a bit more nervous when the scroll reintegrates and drops in front of the Charms professor. He promptly opens it in surprise before looking at them and then getting up to walk towards them.
Arriving at the Gryffindor table, he looks from one to the other. "You, Draco, have officially challenged Lightning to a duel which he accepted with the stipulation being it be after lunch, and I preside over it?"
Draco nods a bit shakily, "yes, s-sir. I challenged h-him to a duel."
Professor Flitwick turns to Lightning, "and you accepted Lightning and made those terms?"
Lightning just shrugs. "He seems rather insistent, sir. I hope it helps him get his frustration at my fellow Gryffindors and me out of his system."
Professor Flitwick sighs, "and neither of you is willing to back down?"
Professor Flitwick receives a shaky head shake from a pale Draco and a shrug from Lightning, causing him to shake his own head. "So be it. Lightning, would you be willing to bear me up to the hallway outside the Charms classroom afterward? Otherwise, it would have to happen shortly before supper."
Lightning sizes, Professor Flitwick up before bemusedly answering, "I'm reasonably sure I can carry you this time but let's not make this a habit."
Professor Flitwick chuckles back. "I'll see you two after lunch outside then."
They watch Professor Flitwick leave before Lightning turns back to Draco and his bodyguards. "I'd suggest you get back to your table and have some lunch. Dueling is hungry work."
The Gryffindors proceed to ignore the shaken Draco in order to attack their food with gusto. It takes a minute for Draco to recover enough to leave back to his own table.
Lunch passes smoothly enough, with the rest of the group describing what Madam Hooch managed to teach them in their abbreviated session.
Shortly before lunch ends finds the whole group out on the front lawn. Draco, his bodyguards, some curious students, and Professor Flitwick join them a couple of minutes later.
Professor Flitwick looks between the two contestants. "Before we begin, please name your seconds."
Malfoy thinks for a second before deciding. "Crabbe will be my second."
Lightning looks at his group before smiling and nodding at one of them. "Sweetie Belle shall serve as my second then."
Professor Flitwick accepts this before laying out some ground rules. "This duel is a challenge between these two parties. Since this is on school grounds, there are to be no lethal spells cast or body contact made. You are also not allowed to leave school grounds, and please limit your flying.
"The duel will end when one side concedes, ten minutes have passed, or I determine one side unable to continue. Do you understand?"
Lightning quietly nods in response. "Yes."
Draco answers a bit more nervously, "I understand."
Professor Flitwick smiles at them as he lays out some final instructions while flicking his wand to cause two glowing patches of light to form on the ground about 20 paces apart. "I want you two to each stand on one of those spots, face each other, and bow while closing your eyes. Don't begin until I say so."
The two nod to Professor Flitwick before marching over to the indicated spots. They then turn to each other, and Lightning bows his head and closes his eyes.
Lightning must have managed to hear Draco's spell incantation as he dodged it by hopping up in a wing-assisted jump.
Professor Flitwick opens his mouth to call the duel when Lightning interrupts him as he lands. "So this is how the purest of the purebloods behave!? I will finish this duel in a way he shalt never forget!"
With those words said, his wings and horn light up alongside Draco's entire body, which lifts up before beginning to spin faster and randomly in random directions.
Professor Flitwick and the group have to try several times to get Lightning's attention as an ever-increasingly green, and disoriented Draco hopes the spinning will finally stop.
Lightning does finally stop as Professor Flitwick commands him, "Lightning, put Draco down and step away. You've won, but I'm disappointed in you for your conduct."
Shakily Lightning rights a Draco as green in the face as Lyra and puts him down on the ground. Draco stumbles away towards the Infirmary before he becomes reacquainted with his lunch.
Lightning, on the other hoof, stumbles towards the rest of his group with a hoof on his forehead, looking dazed and in pain. "What... happened? Why... did I... do that?"
The group shrugs as Scootaloo makes a guess, "maybe you overdosed on his hate and anger?"
Lightning sighs in relief suddenly before answering her, "maybe. Thank you to whoever cast that pain relief spell."
The group looks at him slightly oddly before they turn to catch Professor Flitwick finishing his offer, "-practice duels, please contact me."
Professor Flitwick then walks over to and addresses Scootaloo, "would you please fly me up to the Charms classroom floor?"
Glancing between Professor Flitwick and Lightning for several seconds, Scootaloo finally answers the difficult position the former placed her in. "Yes, I'll fly you up. Meet the rest of you in the Gryffindor Common Room."
She and Flitwick leave ahead of the group, who slowly trudge their way up the stairs, silently ruminating on what happened during the duel and just who cast that healing spell on Lightning.
Arriving, they find Scootaloo already sitting at a table with Neville confusedly standing next to her. She waves to them. "You guys are finally here, so we can get to work on our Muggle Studies. Hermione can explain what we are doing better than I can, Neville."
Hermione coughs at being put on the spot. "Yes, Neville, we're looking to complete a non-magical education as well. I'll be giving you a placement test this afternoon while the rest do their own studies."
Neville looks like a pony with a light suddenly in their face as he stammers out, "b-but...."
Lightning firmly states, "you did agree to join us in our education. I doubt you've noticed, but it won't be long before the Statute falls. My godmother, Aletia, told us it might last until we graduate, but it almost certainly won't until our children do."
Neville attempts to stutter out a rebuttal but comes up short, leading him to lower his head in defeat.
The rest of the afternoon until supper is spent learning their non-magical studies. During it and their nice supper, they forget all about what happened during the duel.
Satisfied, they go to bed with alarms set for 11 PM in order to have time for snacks.
Next time:
"I always knew you were something special Mrs. Norris," Argus Filch says lovingly as he hugs her before the shell-shocked eyes of the Gryffindor ponies and Neville at about 3 in the morning. |
Power Rangers Knights of War | pre | "Excellent and I assume Chancellor Neighsay will also be joining us?"
"You assume correctly as you say it yourself if we are going into The Everfree Forest were have greater strength in numbers." Said Chancellor Neighsay.
"Fine but I'm keeping a close eye on you." Lightning Wing said glaring at the Unicorn.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be coming, she has work to do in her office." Said the pony magician. But really she just didn't want to go anywhere near that forest because she was scared that they would run into a creature she did not want to see again.
Starlight nodded. "Okay now everypony go to your classes and those who are in Professor Johnson's class follow us to The Castle of The Two Sisters.
"How much do you want to bet that were also in Professor Johnson's class?" Asked Smolder
"30 bits and I bet that Ghost Knight is up to something and I don't like it." Said the angry Griffin then he and his friends followed starlight, Sunburst, Neighsay, Lightning Wing, and Johnson into the forest
The Dead Rotting Swamp:
Inside the goat-shaped cavernous, the silhouetted goat was pacing back and forth in anger. "Those Orcs should have reported back by now!" WHAT IS TAKING THEM SO LONG!!?!?!" He screamed blasting a 4-foot hole into a wall with his magic.
Dark Claw just watched and while he still hasn't gotten over the fact that his former master's body had been taken over by some dark spirit, it wasn't going to stop him from getting what he wanted. That's because Dark Claw was one of those creatures who knew how to turn a bad situation to his advantage. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Master." He said in a very polite tone.
The goat stopped in his tracks and looked at Dark Claw still angry. "Speak."
"Firstly are you sure that seeding those foot soldiers alone was a good idea?" "I'm not questioning your intelligence I'm just a little confused."
"Dark Claw those orcs are some of the strongest and most vicious creatures in my army, they defeated hundreds of my enemies, and they have rarely failed me." The goat said sounding confident before getting back to his pacing.
Dark Claw heard something and then looked to his right and when he did he got a big smirk on his face. "Are you sure?"
"Why do you continue to question me?" He said sounding more annoyed than angry.
"May it's because only one of the orcs has returned all bruised and battered." Dark Claw said pointing to the entrance where indeed there was an orc all bruised and battered and holding his side in pain. But this wasn't just any orc this was the one that was blasted into the sky by The Young 6.
Before the orc could say anything he was teleported right in front of the goat's face. "Report did you find the great and powerful magic force in that forest?" He asked intensely.
The orc started to sweat bullets. "Umm funny story."
"WHAAAAAT!?!!?!" He screamed so loud that the entire swamp shook and Dark Claw might have lost his hearing if he hadn't put on some soundproof earmuffs. "You were defeated by children!?!?!"
"But master you don't understand!" The orc said panicking
"Failure is unacceptable!!!" The goat screamed then blasted the orc with his magic and completely disintegrated him.
Dark Claw took off his soundproof earmuffs and put them back into his robes. "I knew this would happen."
The Goat turned to Dark Claw and Glared at him. "What?"
"Well I did try to tell you that those stupid foot soldiers would fail, but you were too stupid to listen to me." Dark Claw said with a smile but it quickly disappeared when the goat used his magic to grab Dark Claw and pull him right to his face.
"Give me one good reason not to disintegrate you as well for that last comment!" He screamed
"Well if it wasn't for me you would still be 6 feet under." Dark Claw pointed out with a smirk.
The Goat's expression softened. "Touche." He said
"Secondly you stop with the pacing." Said Dark Claw
"Why?" Asked the goat
"Because master you have made a groove in the floor." Said Dark Claw pointing down with one of his spike fingers.
The goat looked down and then back to see a long and small groove in the floor. "Oh," He said then got out of the groove.
Then in the blink of an eye, the groove was gone. The goat then turned to see Dark Claw's claw glowing with black magic. He then teleported a large nail filer to himself and started using it on his claw. "Thirdly I can be quite useful to you unlike those stupid foot soldiers your no offense."
"None taken." He said before putting Dark Claw down "Now aside from resurrections, portal opening, and fixing floors what exactly can you do that would be useful to me?" He asked
"Allow me to demonstrate." He said pulling out a long black-colored list with crimson red writing on it. Dark Claw then started to go down the long black-colored list. "Now let's see here too crazy, too small, too stupid, ah yes perfect you shall do." Dark Claw said smiling. He then rolled up the long black-colored list and then his Claw started to glow with black magic. "Now creature with black of heart and skin of steel, I beseech thee to complete our deal!" Just then a small black portal appeared above the ceiling and then something fell out of the small black portal and crashed into the floor.
When the dust cleared it revealed a bizarre-looking creature even by Equestria's standard. It was almost completely made of blue, black, and white metal. It wore a brown fur coat on its back and had a hockey-like mask for a face. But its most defining trait was the chainsaws it had. It had 2 curve chainsaws on both arms, 2 straight chainsaws for shoulder pads, and even 2 mini chainsaws for feet.
"Ow, my head." "Crikey where in tarnation am I?" The Monster asked speaking in an Australian accent.
"Ah Herr Slice and Dice my old Feund." Dark Claw said with a Grin. (Translation: Freund German for friend)
Slice and Dice looked at Dark Claw in shock. "Dark Claw what the heck are you doing here and who's the goat?"
"Watch your tongue." Said the silhouetted goat.
"I believe introductions are in order Master this is Slice and Dice, Slice and Dice this is my master." He said
"Does your master have a name?" "Also, why is your master a goat, and why am I here?" The Monster Asked
"Enough I didn't summon you the play 20 questions." "I summoned you because we have a job for you." Said Dark Claw.
"Well, What's the job?" Slice and Dice asked
"A rather simple one actually, I need to find and destroy a powerful magical force in a Forest." The Goat said
"It may sound simple but it will not be easy, especially with those meddling ponies." Dark Claw said clenching his claw.
"Wait did you say ponies?" The Monster then fell on his back and was laughing hysterically "Hahaha oh no I'm so scared of cute little ponies hahahahahaha!" He continued to laugh hysterically, while Dark Claw and the Goat waited for him to be done. Once he was done laughing he stood up. "Sorry Master Goat but come on how much trouble can these ponies be?' He asked.
"You be surprised by what these ponies can do." Dark Claw said then used The Eye of The Arimaspi to show clips of the ponies.
"Many creatures outside of Equestria think that ponies are weak and pathetic, but in reality, they are far more powerful than you think." "They possess incredible strength, are fast enough to break the sound barrier, can control the laws of physics, and a young Unicorn with able to go horn the horn with a young Alicorn." Dark Claw explained while The Eye of The Arimaspi showed The Goat & Slice and Dice what Dark Claw was Talking about.
"Crikey no wonder you need my help." Slice and Dice said
"But that's is nothing compared to all the villains they had defeated, Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, The Storm King, Lord Tirek, and even the Lord of Chaos disharmony Discord were no match for the power of these little ponies. Dark Claw Said as The Eye of The Arimaspi stopped after showing villains they had defeated.
"Hmmm, its themes that far much more has changed in 2000 years than I previously thought." The silhouetted goat said stroking his beard.
"Umm excuse me if those powerful villains couldn't beat those ponies, how in blue blazes am I supposed to do any better?!?" The Monster asked.
"Well, you see Herr Slice and Dice your armor already has that little problem covered, and as for the ponies' powers, well you see deep in the Everfree Forest is The Tree of Harmony the source of ponies' powerful magic and it is also the powerful magic that you what destroyed master." "But destroying The Tree of Harmony is a very bad idea." Dark Claw said to his goat master.
"And why is that Dark Claw?" The goat asked
"Well you see master if The Tree of Harmony was destroyed then the Everfree Forest would grow uncontrollably and as a result, there would be no Equestria for you to rule over." "However if someone was able to control the Tree of Harmony they would be in control of all the magic in Equestria or even all the magic in the world." Dark Claw explained.
"Well, Dark Claw it would seem you are far more useful than I previously thought not only do you have many unique magical abilities, but you also seem to have knowledge about this new world that I do not." The silhouetted goat said.
"Thank you, master."
"Umm, I hate to break up this nice moment, but I'm no good when it comes to magic I couldn't even be a good magician's assistant for my sister's 8th Birthday Party." Said Slice & Dice.
"That does not matter because the job is still the same." Said the silhouetted goat.
"What?" Dark Claw and Slice & Dice said at the same time.
"You will go into the Everfree Forest and find The Tree of Harmony but instead of destroying it you will bring me back a piece of it so that I can study its magical power and finger how to control it." Said the goat.
"Oh yeah simple & easy I like it." The monster said.
"And Dark Claw will go with you." Said the goat.
"Wait, what?!?!" Said Dark Claw who was completely caught off guard.
"Is that a problem Dark Claw?' The Goat asked glaring at him.
"No no no not a problem at all." Dark Claw said in a panicked voice. "Except for the fact that I'm useless in a fight, but if I say that he might disintegrate me as he did to that orc." Dark Claw thought to himself.
"Then go and do not fail me!" The goat said intensely
"Yes sir, Master Goat." Slice & Dice said as Dark Claw made a portal and the two went through it.
Meanwhile, in the Everfree Forest, Mr. Johnson Knightly was leading his students to The Castle of The Two Sisters with Headmare Starlight, Vicehead Stallion Sunburst, the head of security Lightning Wing, and Chancellor Neighsay keeping an eye out for trouble. There was much chatter among the students, particularly the Young 6. "Okay, we know that Mr. Johnson Knightly is actually Johnson the Ghost Knight right?" Smolder asked her friends. Her friends looked unsure. "Oh Come on guys it's beyond obvious that it's him." The Dragon said in anger.
"I don't know why would he disguise himself as an earth pony but keep the same name, eyes, and voice?" "I mean isn't the point of having a disguise so that nopony can tell who you are?" Silverstream pointed out.
"She's got a point Smolder." Said Sandbar.
"Unless those orcs are going to try and destroy the Tree of Harmony again." "Which means we're going to need those swords to fight them again." Said the shy changeling.
"We're not going to use those stupid swords!" Gallus said in anger.
"Blue Griffin right friends don't need magic swords when friends have Yak strength!" Yona said while smashing the ground.
"No Yona I mean we're not going to fight period!" Gallus said
"Wait what?!?!" All 5 of Gallus's friends said at the same time.
The Griffin then turned around to face his friends. "Gallus you can't be serious." Sandbar said.
"Yeah, don't you remember what Johnson told us, those swords chose us and now we are the only ones who can stop this ancient evil." Said Ocellus
Gallus then facepalmed "Ocellus are you even listing to yourself?" "You sound like a loon, are you really going to let some crazy ghost tell you what to do just because some stupid swords chose us!?!" Gallus said using his claws as quotes
"But Gallus this evil is 2000 years and Mmmmmph!!" Ocellus was hand gagged Gallus
"Exactly 2000 years ago but we things that Johnson didn't 2000 years ago." "5 Powerful alicorns, the 6 pillars of Equestria, 6 heroes who have alrighty saved the world multiple times, and The Lord Chaos on our side!!" "So if fate the world really is in danger why is it only up to us and more important question why were we chosen?!?!?" Gallus asked moving his claw from Ocellus's mouth.
Ocellus looked unsure. "I don't know."
"Umm excuse me." Said Lightning Wing who was tapping Gallus on the shoulder.
"WHAT!?!?!" Gallus yelled at Lighting Wing
Lightning Wing backed up from Gallus. "I was umm just wanted to let you know that you and your friends are kind of lagging behind with the other students." He said pointing behind him with his left wing to the other students who were 10 feet away.
"Oh," Gallus said
"Is something bothering you." Lightning Wing asked him.
"No!" Gallus said pushing Lighting Wing into some bushes and then flying off to the join rest of the class.
"Is Green security Pegasus okay?" Yona asked as she and her friends helped Lightning Wing out of the bushes.
"Just peachy." He said brushing himself off. "I know Griffins are supposed to be rude but sheesh, is he always like that?" He asked.
"Only if they're something bothering him and he really doesn't want to talk about it or if there's a test coming up," Silverstream told him.
"Noted, now let's get back to the rest of the class before Mr. Knightly gives you all detention for being late." Lightning Wing said as he and The Young 5 went off to join the rest of the class. Not too far away a black portal opened up.
Lightning and The Young 5 caught up with the class and from the looks of it they had been waiting for them. "Ahh Silverstream, Sandbar, Smolder, Yona, Ocellus, and Lighting Wing I see you finally decided to join us." Said, Mr. Johnson
"Yeah sorry, Mr. Knightly but I got into a fight with the bushes." Lightning Wing joked
"Yes, I can tell." Mr. Johnson said pointing to Lighting Wing's tail.
Lightning Wing looked at his tail to find a small piece of a bush in it. Lightning Wing then took the bush out of his tail quickly "Oops." He said blushing in embarrassment & laughing nervously.
"Now that everypony is accounted for and Lightning Wing's tail is bush free, we can begin our field trip." Starlight Glimmer then lowered the cloaking spell that Mr. Knightly asked her to cast before they went off on their Field Trip. "Now students and guests present to you The Castle of the Two Sisters." Said Mr. Johnson Knightly and well it definitely looked like it was over a thousand years old. 80% of the roofs were gone, it had cracks all over its walls, it was amazing the place was still standing after the battle between Princess Celestia & Nightmare Moon and The students were amazed.
"Wow"
"Cool"
"Amazing"
"Seen it already." Said, Gallus in a bored tone. "Sorry, it's just not as cool or amazing when you're seeing it for the second time." He said
"Yeah, Gallus is right." Said Smolder putting her claw on his shoulder. The rest nodded
"Speak for yourselves!" Said Sunburst was totally geeking out. "This is incredible, the architecture, the history, the scars from the battle between Princess Celestia & Nightmare Moon!!" "It's incredible this place is still standing after 1000 years.
"Vice Headstallion Sunburst." Sunburst turned his head at the sound of his oldest friend Starlight. "We are all glad to see your enthusiasm for the field trip but could you maybe act a little professional, especially in front of our new History Professor & Chancellor Neighsay." Starlight said pointing to the two of them. Mr. Knightly had a raised eyebrow, while Chancellor Neighsay just looked annoyed.
Sunburst blushed in embarrassment. "Oh right sorry." He then went back to starlight while the students & The Young 6 tried not to laugh.
"Sorry about that he gets like that sometimes." Starlight said to Chancellor Neighsay & Mr. Knightly.
"No need to apologize Headmre Starlight there is at least one in every school in Equestria." Said Chancellor Neighsay.
"Well now that all of the students & Sunburst have finished admiring the front of the castle let's head inside." Mr. Knightly said as he led the way and opened the front door. "Now students this room we are in might seem like just an ordinary room, but this room actually has a piece of equestrian history in it." "Can anypony tell me what that is?" "Anypony that's not a faculty member in the school friendship." He said as Sunburst raise his hoof.
"Sorry force of habit," Sunburst said while Starlight put her hoof into her face in embarrassment.
Many of the students raised their hooves. "Yes, you Ocellus," Mr. Knightly said.
"This is the room where Princess Twilight and her friends discovered The Elements of Harmony, defeated Nightmare Moon & saved Equestria from Nightmare Eternal." Ocellus said with a smile on her face.
"Correct and incorrect Ocellus." Mr. Knightly said.
"What?" Ocellus was confused.
"You see, this is where Princess Twilight and her friends discovered The Elements of Harmony, but they actually defeated Nightmare Moon over there." Mr. Knightly said pointing to a left tower. "But did you know that they did not have a choice in the matter?"
"Of course, they had a choice, save Equestria from an eternal night or live the rest of their lives under the rule of an Evil Alicorn." "Oops sorry," Silverstream said realizing she spoke without raising her claw first.
Mr. Knightly just smiled. "That's not what I meant Silverstream, you see while it might seem that they chose to save Equestria in actuality they were always destined to do so"
"Oh give me a break." Everypony turned to voice the said that which was Gallus.
Mr. Knightly raised an eyebrow. "You have something to say, Gallus?"
"There is no such thing as destiny, there is only what you do & what you don't do," Gallus said in an angry tone.
Mr. Knightly started to stroke his beard. "I see, so you think it was just a coincidence that Princess Twilight and her friends were chosen by The Elements of Harmony, defeated Nightmare Moon, and became Equestria's new defenders?" He asked
"Yes." Said Gallus and to everypony's surprise Lightning Wing.
"Oh, you don't believe in destiny either Mr. Lightning Wing?" Mr. Knightly asked
"No, I believe in physical evidence and scientific proof that's what I believe in." Lightning Wing said.
"Okay, fair enough everypony is entitled to their opinion." "But as we continue this and other further classes you will see that throughout equestrian history some things were always meant to be and where the ponies of the past knew it or not they were all playing a part in the Wheel of Destiny." Mr. Knightly said in a very serious tone.
This statement got many different reactions from the students, who were intrigued by what the New History Professor was saying, others were confused by what he was saying, and others just didn't know what to make of The Professor, and Vice Headstallion Sunburst had all 3 reactions. "Wow, he's not what I expected from a history professor," Sunburst whispered to Starlight.
"Yeah, but he was highly recommended by Chancellor Neighsay & The EEA," Starlight said out loud.
"WAIT WHAT!?!?" All students and Lightning Wing say at the same time.
"Oops." Said Starlight before covering her mouth.
Everyone & The Young 6 turned to Chancellor Neighsay while Chancellor Neighsay glared at Starlight for spilling the beans. "Yes I & The EEA did indeed recommend Mr. Johnson Knightly to be the New History Professor for your school, but before you say anything he does not nor did he ever work for the Equestrian Education Association." "He is just one of the Finest and Brightest Professor in all of Equestria and The EEA thought he would be a great addition to The School of Friendship, and as for why Headmare Starlight agreed with the EEA it's because..." But before he could finish his mouth was covered by Lightning Wing's wing
"Shhh." Said, Lightning Wing
"Did you just shush me?" An angry Neighsay asked, "Look Mr. Lightning Wing I know you don't like me but that's no interrupting.." His mouth was covered by Lightning Wing's wing again.
"Hush I heard something." Lightning Wing said
"Hey I hear it too & it sounds like a chainsaw." One of the students said.
"Oh no." Mr. Johnson Knightly said looking very worried.
Several trees were falling across the Everfree Forest. "What is going on?" Sunburst asked.
"I don't know, but don't like it." Said Starlight.
Before any of The Young 6 could say anything, Mr. Johnson Knightly used his back left hoof to press one of the stone floor pats causing the floor that The Young 6 & Johnson were standing on to flip over. "What Happen to Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Ocellus, Smolder, Sandbar, & Mr. Knightly?" Lightning Wing asked.
"They must have triggered the trap door they could be anywhere in the castle by now." Starlight said sounding very scared.
"I I I think we hhhhave bigggger probbblems," Sunburst said sounding absolutely terrified.
Like what?" Asked Chancellor Neighsay
"LIKE THAT!!!" Sunburst screamed while pointing at a blue chainsaw cutting through a tree-like it was wet paper.
After the tree was cut down & the dust was cleared it revealed Slice & Dice and Dark Claw. "What in Equestria?!?!?" Everypony said at the same time.
Commercial
Somewhere Inside The Castle of The Two Sisters:
A small part of the ceiling opened up & The Young 6 fell on top of each other. "What just happened?" Sandbar asked
"Yona thinks friends fell through trap door." She said
"That's very observant of you Yona but could you please get off of me?" Said Gallus's mumbled voice.
The Yak looked down & realized that she was on top of him. "Oops Yak sorry is Griffin okay?"
"Fantastic I love being crushed by Yaks." He said in his usual sarcastic tone.
"Glad to see that your love for sarcasm hasn't changed in the past week." Said Mr. Knightly who was standing right in front of them, before changing into The Legendary Knight.
"You?!?!?" Gallus said in anger & surprise before trying to attack him but was held back by his friends.
"Gallus no," Silverstream said
"Don't you remember what happen last time?" Asked Sandbar
"Yeah, he kicked our butts hard." Smolder pointed out.
"Right you are Smolder and you were almost destroyed by the orcs but you were able to unlock a small part of the power within the swords." "But now the dark one has sent a monster to finish what the orcs failed to do."
"You mean destroy The Tree of Harmony." Said Ocellus in a worried tone.
"And let me guess you want us to take care of it because are the only ones who can do it right?" Gallus asked
"You guessed correctly." Said Johnson with a nod.
"Well guess what you're wrong!!!" Gallus yelled
"I beg your pardon?" Johnson asked
"I think what Gallus meant to say, is that in the past 2000 years a lot has changed." "The School of Friendship has many magical artifacts, we have 5 Princesses and Equestria already has 6 heroes who have much more experience saving the world, are stronger than we are, and on top of that, we still don't know how the swords work or how to use them properly. Said Ocellus in a polite tone
"Exactly and I'm pretty sure that Headmare Starlight, Chancellor Neighsay & Lighting Wing can handle whatever monster this dark one sent." Gallus Said.
The Legendary Knight put his hand to his chin and started to think. "Hmm, Ocellus does have a point with all the new magic in Equestria it could be enough to fight the monsters & the Orcs." "But even with all that it still wouldn't be nearly enough to destroy the dark one once & for all." "But trying to convince a teenage Griffin like Gallus, let alone with the mood he's currently in it's going to be next to impossible." Then he got an idea. "Vey well then, Gallus let's see if you are right."
"What?" The Young 6 said all at the same time.
Johnson then raised his hand causing a big round mirror to appear in the middle of the room to show Slice and Dice in front of The Castle of The Two Sisters. "What's going on?" Asked Gallus as his friends let go of him.
"Well, you said those 3 ponies could handle it so we will see if they can, and for their sake you better be right," Johnson said in a serious tone.
Gallus gulped as he & his friends watched.
"Headmare Starlight and the others looked out of the windows in shock at the Monster. "What is that thing?" Starlight asked her friend Sunburst.
"How do you expect me to know?" He asked sounding scared
"Shh, he might hear us & anyway we have a bigger problem like missing students & a teacher." Said Chancellor Neighsay
"Who knows maybe he's friendly." Lightning Wing suggested which got a glare from Starlight, Sunburst & Chancellor Neighsay. "Well, he could be we have no idea why he is here & if there was anything we Learned about The Cozy Glow Incident it was never judged by its book by its cover."
"Touche," Neighsay said.
"Hey Dark Claw you coming mate?" The Monster said looking behind him.
"Yea I'm coming to Herr Slice & Dice I'm coming." Dark Claw came out of the woods clearly out of breath. "I .. was .. not.. made .. for...running." He drank from a bottle of water he pulled out of his cloak.
"Yeah well, wait what's that?" Slice & Dice asked
"What is it, Herr Slice & Dice?"
"I thought I saw something."
"Hmm, you might as well come out we know your in there." Dark Claw said.
"Crap baskets." Lightning Wing said as he & the others moved away from the windows."
"There is no need to worry we promise we won't hurt you."
"We won't?" Slice & Dice asked.
"Shut up." Dark Claw whispered hitting the monster in the leg.
"Great what are we going to do?" Sunburst asked still scared.
"I'll tell you what we're going to do Sunburst you're an expert in old magical ruins so go into the castle & try to find Mr. Knightly & The Students. "You kids find a place to hide this could get ugly & I don't want any of you to get hurt." Headmare Starlight said taking charge.
"Good plan & in the meantime I will handle Chainsaw Arms & Cloak Boy, and if it looks like I need some help that's when you hit them with a surprise attack." Lightning Wing Said to starlight
"And what about me?" Asked Chancellor Neighsay.
"Um, no offense scrawny but I doubt you could be helpful in a fight."
"Scrawny!?!?" Chancellor Neighsay yelled.
"Hey, you ponies coming out or what?" Said Slice & Dice.
"Um yeah in just a minute I mean would you be in rush be meet somepony who has literal Chainsaws for arms?" Lightning Wing nervously joked.
"He has a point wouldn't you say?" Dark Claw said looking at Slice & Dice.
"Yeah, you're HEY!." Slice & Dice was angry while Dark Claw laughed.
"Okay, I'm coming out." Lightning Wing said opening & Closing the door. "Hello there, my name is Lightning Wing nice to me you Ummm, who are you guys exactly?"
"Oh right, where are my manners my name is Dark Claw & this is my associate Herr Slice & Dice.
"Herr Slice & Dice that's a weird name." Said Lightning Wing causing Chancellor Neighsay to face hoof. "Anyway, what brings you 2 to The Castle of The Two Sisters?"
"I am glad you asked Herr Lightning, see we were looking for The Tree of Harmony and got lost, you wouldn't happen to know where it is do you?" Dark Claw asked
"The Tree of Harmony?" "Oh no." Starlight said in a worried tone.
"Something tells me that these 2 aren't here just to see it." Said Neighsay
"Tree of Harmony, Tree of Harmony, Tree of Harmony?" Lightning Wing asked while flying & pretending to think. "Oh yeah, The Tree of Harmony!" "Nope never heard of it."
"Look mate, I don't have time for your games so tell us this tree is so I cut off a piece of it and give it to Master Goat!" Slice & Dice said
"Master Goat?" Asked Lightning Wing in confusion."
"Oops, did I say that out loud?" Slice & Dice asked covering his mouth.
"Yes, you did." Dark Claw said in an annoyed tone.
"Well, in that case, if you want The Tree of Harmony then you will have to go through me!" Lightning Wing said striking a Kung Fu pose with his wings spread out.
"Hey Dark Claw is this one of the Ponies you warned me & Master Goat about?" The Monster asked.
"Nein he's not one of them." Though he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen this Green Pegasus somewhere before.
"Well in that case getting rid of you should be no problem." He said running & slashing one of his chainsaw arms at Lightning Wing in literally the blink of an eye.
"Lightning Wing!" Everypony said. But when the dust cleared there was no Lightning Wing.
"What, where'd he go?" Slice & Dice asked looking for the Green Pegasus
"Um, up here!" Said Lightning Wing's voice
Slice & Dice, Dark Claw & Everpony looked up to see Lighting Wing 20 feet in the air with a big smirk on his face. "What?!?" "How did he get up there so fast? Asked Slice & Dice
"Hello, I can fly remember?" Said, Lightning Wing
"Wow, now that is some serious speed." Ocellus said while her friend's jaws dropped as they all watched
"Indeed," Johnson said sounding very impressed."
"Ha, you think that's fast watch this!" The Green Pony said diving at the Monster & circling him like a green tornado. Slice & Dice tried to hit him but he was too fast. After a minute of this Lighting Wing stopped his tornado attack landing on the ground & striking another Kung Fu pose with his wings spread out.
When the green tornado was gone Slice & Dice looked very dizzy. His eyes were swirling & he could barely stand up straight. But he was able to shake off the dizziness before landing on his face. "Alright you Green Wallaby you some speed I'll give you that, but it won't save you from me."
"Save me from what, your chainsaw arms or terrible accent?" Lightning Wing joked
"Why you little!" Slice & Dice tried to attack him again but missed again.
"You can't hit a Pegasus this good-looking."
Slice & Dice attacked him again but missed again. "You couldn't hit a Pegasus this good-looking."
"Will you please hit him already." Dark Claw said in an angry tone
"What does it look like I'm doing?" The monster asked looking back at Dark Claw
"Missing." Lightning Wing said behind him.
Slice & Dice attacked with both of his chainsaw arms this time. Luckily Lightning Wing was able to dodge by doing a barrel roll. The chainsaw arms hit the ground causing a lot of dust the surround the monster.
"Yes." Lightning Wing said seeing this as his opportunity to attack. He flatted his wings as fast as possible, causing the dust to go right into Slice & Dice's eyes.
"My eyes I can't see I can't see!" Slice & Dice screamed in pain.
"Perfect." Lightning Wing said flying high into the air & then coming down very fast to deliver a punch right into Slice & Dice's face.
"Oh yeah, he got that monster with a direct hit!" Cheered Silverstream "I mean did you see Lightning Wing fly up like a rocket & smash his hoof into that monster's face?
"Yes & unfortunately I saw it did no effect on the monster," Johnson said
"WHAT?!?" All of the Young 6 said at the same time. Then they looked back at the big round mirror & saw that The Ghost Knight was correct.
Lightning Wing then looked like he was in a lot of pain. "Ahhhhhh!!!" He screamed while holding his hoof which was turning red in pain. "Sweet Celestia!" "Gah, What are you made of? "Pure Metal!?!
"Affirmative Herr Lightning." Dark Claw said with a devilish grin that could be seen through his cloak.
"Oh, errors have been made." Lightning Wing said still holding his red hoof in pain. Slice & Dice then kicked him in the gut sending him to fly to the front of the castle stairs. Lightning Wing then was holding his gut in pain as the monster approached him chuckling evilly. "N-n-now I know what you're thinking, should I cut him in haft?" "And the answer might surprise you."
Slice & Dice's was arm coming down & there was no way Lightning Wing was going to be able to dodge this time. Luckily for him, Starlight Glimmer teleported right in front of him & had a magic shield with her Cutie Mark on it to protect him.
Then the monster was suddenly wrapped up in some blue magical chains with the EEA Symbol in the middle. "What in tarnation?" Slice & Dice asked in confusion as he tried to break out but couldn't.
Suddenly Chancellor Neighsay teleported beside Starlight & behind Lightning Wing. "Sorry, Mr. Slice & Dice, but if you and your hooded friend want to get to The Tree of Harmony, you're going to have to go through us!" He said his horn glowing with magic ready to strike.
Starlight still holding up her shield, looked back at Lightning Wing. "Are you okay?" She asked
"Oh yeah a broken hoof, a few cracked ribs, I'm just peachy." He said in his usual joking tone. But his face showed that he was in a lot of pain.
"Well, I suggest you get inside the Castle & hide in a safe place." Said Neighsay
"No way!" Lightning Wing said flying up so he wouldn't have to step on his broken hoof. "It's going to take a lot more than that to keep me down, even if he breaks every bone in my body it wouldn't stop me from preventing those 2 from getting anywhere near The Tree of Harmony."
"Well, mate that can be arranged." Because as soon as I break out of these chains I am going..." Before he could finish he was struck by a bolt of lightning. But this lightning bolt didn't come from a cloud it was from the tip of one of Lightning Wing's feathers which shocked everypony even the Legendary Knight.
"H-how in Equestria did he do that?" Asked Sandbar who couldn't believe what he just saw."
"I'm not going to lie to you Sandbar, I have absolutely no idea," Johnson said completely in shock but then his eyes narrowed. "But I think that Starlight might know." He said noticing that she was not in shock at all.
"Who cares that monster is down for the count!" Gallus said
"Not exactly." Said Johnson
Gallus looked back to see the monster getting up after being struck by a bolt of lightning. "You got to be kidding me."
Lightning Wing smirked "Consider that a warning, either leave now or face an even bigger shock."
"And I suggest you make your decision quickly unless you want to take all 3 of us at once." Said Chancellor Neighsay. While he was still shocked at what Lightning Wing had just done, he knew that question would have to wait until after they got rid of these two.
"That's right, especially when one of those 3 is Princess Twilight's Student!" Starlight bragged a little bit of The Trixie Great and Powerful rubbing off on her. Slice & Dice's eyes went wide as he realized that this Purple Unicorn was one of the Ponies that Dark Claw warned him about. "Face it your outmatched & outnumbered." She said with a smile on her face which quickly disappeared because of Dark Claw's evil chuckle.
"Do you honestly believe that fraulein?" Dark Claw asked Starlight
"Well, I did right up until you chuckled." Starlight said sounding worried
"I will admit that friend's lightning trick got me off guard but as you can see didn't do much damage to Herr Slice & Dice." Dark Claw said pointing to the monster who was still in chains. "You look surprised or didn't you know that lightning doesn't affect pure metal?"
"And you think that scares me?" Asked Lightning Wing
"No, that's their job." "ORCS!!" Dark Claw screamed and then several Orcs appeared around him & Slice & Dice.
"Oh no not these guys again." Ocellus said shaking in fear.
"Wait a minute did we already beat those freaks?" Smolder asked
"Yes Smolder you did." "But that's the problem with Foot Soldiers, no matter how many times you beat them they always come back for more." Said Johnson
"I just hope that they can do better than we did last time," Gallus said
"What in Equestria are those things?" Starlight asked
"Very, very, very bad news." Said Lightning Wing looking terrified his eyes becoming pinpricks
"Scared well you should be." Said one of the Orcs before cutting Slice & Dice free of his magical chains.
"Now Orcs, Slice & Dice, please do me a small favor & destroy those little ponies!!" Commended Dark Claw
"With pleasure." Slice & Dice said leading the charge of Orcs.
Starlight through her shield at 2 of the orcs sending them flying, then she blasted a few more with her magic. Then one of the Orcs through his ax at the mare but she teleported before it could hit her. Chancellor Neighsay was jumping through his magic portals blasting every orc he could. But despite all of that, the Orcs kept getting up & shaking off the magic blast like they were nothing. Meanwhile, Lightning Wing was doing a little better. One of the Orcs ran in front of Lightning Wing, but it was knocked out with an uppercut by Lightning Wing before it could attack. Then another Orc tried to swing his ax at Lightning Wing who just countered with a spin kick knocking it out. One Orc tried to get him from behind but Lightning Wing knocked him out without even looking. Unfortunately, he use his hurt hoof. "Ow!" "Okay, that was a Bad Idea." Yikes!" He said as he ducked to avoid an ax that would taken his head off. He then rolled out the way as 3 more axes to try & hit him. Unfortunately, doing so further injured his already injured ribs. The 4 Orcs were about to attack but Lightning Wing obliterated them with some lightning bolts this time coming from his tail. He then noticed that one of the Orcs was about to attack Chancellor Neighsay from behind. "Neighsay look out!" Lightning Wing said while flying to him.
Chancellor Neighsay turned his head just in time to see Lightning Wing hit the orc with a flying dragon kick. "Thanks, you saved me."
"Maybe from them but not from me!" The Monster said swinging his chainsaw arm at the 2 ponies.
Luckily Chancellor Neighsay was able to teleport them just before they could be cut into ribbons. After being teleported Lighting Wing fell to the ground & held his ribs in pain. "Are you okay?" He asked
"I'll be fine." He lied "But we got bigger problems, I don't think magic works on these guys." He Said seeing Starlight firing her magic like a machine gun at the Orcs & having little to no effect on them.
Then Dark Claw laughed evilly. "Very observant Herr Lightning, that is because the Orcs are Protected with Magic-Resistant Armor provided by yours truly.
"Wait if magic doesn't work, then what can we do?" Starlight asked
"You can die!" Slice & Dice said before hitting her with his chainsaw arm & going right through her literally like she was a hologram. "What she was an illusion?"
"Yep, I learned that trick from A Great & Powerful Friend of mime." Said Starlight's voice who then appeared from out of nowhere with a smile on her face & her horn glowing with immense magic.
"HIT THE DECK!!" Screamed Lightning Wing before covering his head while Chancellor Neighsay made a magical forcefield to protect them. Starlight then blasted The Monster with everything she had.
"Great Merciful Jelly Beans!!" Dark Claw screamed in shock. He knew Starlight was strong but he didn't know that she was THAT STRONG!!!
"Wow Starlight is almost as strong as Princess Twilight, maybe even stronger!" Said Sandbar
"Yeah!" "What do you say to that Johnson?" Gallus asked
"Never stood a chance," Johnson said simply
"See what I tell you & you were so afraid of that Monster," Gallus said with a smirk on his face.
"That is not who I was referring to Gallus."
"Um friends?" Yona said sounding scared while pointing.
"No, don't even tell me," Gallus said his face turning pale
Starlight was panting heavily. "There,...that... takes...care...of..." Starlight was interrupted by an evil laugh
"You call that an attack?" "I give you some credit little pony it's good at picking up dust." The monster said as the smoke cleared, revealing that the attack didn't even scratch him.
"What's the matter?" "You look shocked." Dark Claw said
"There's no way, he couldn't have taken a blast like that." Said Chancellor Neighsay
"Unless he as Magic-Resistant Armor too." Lightning Wing said.
"You are correct Herr Lightning, it's a shame you don't fight as well as you observe." Dark Claw said
"Now let me show you one of my attacks!" Slice & Dice said as one of his chainsaw arms started to glow a Light Blue aura. "Take this, Chainsaw Beam!" A Light Blue beam in the shape of a Chainsaw fired at starlight. Starlight tried to make a magic shield to protect herself, but the Chainsaw Beam broke the magic shield sending her flying."
"Starlight!" Chancellor Neighsay screamed
"Ms. Glimmer!" Lightning Wing screamed
Starlight landed hard on her head knocking her out cold. "Are you okay?" Neighsay & Lightning said at the same time.
"You 2 should be worrying about yourselves!" The monster said before blasting them with another Chainsaw Beam. Chancellor Neighsay tried to teleport them out of the way but wasn't fast enough & they were sent flying & landed in front of starlight.
Dark Claw liked this. "Hahaha, well done Herr Slice & Dice now to finish them off so we can finish our mission."
"With pleasure." Slice & Dice said approaching the 3 hurt ponies. "Any last words?" He asked before attacking.
Lightning Wing stood up & spread his wings in front of Starlight & Chancellor Neighsay to protect them. Lightning Wing closed his eyes ready for the pain. He then heard a small clink. he wasn't aware death came with a clink. Realizing he hadn't felt anything, Lightning Wing opened his eyes. He looked up to find that the monster was just as confused as he was. Slice & Dice's Chainsaw Arm swept down again. Lightning Wing kept his eyes open this time and watched as Slice & Dice's Chainsaw Arm hit something. A transparent bubble flickered around the 3 of them, Slice & Dice's Chainsaw Arm bouncing off harmlessly. Lightning Wing breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow talk about leaving a save to the last minute, thanks." He then looked at the 2 Unicorns & was confused when he saw that neither of their horns was glowing. "Wait a minute, if you two didn't make this Magic Bubble then who did?"
The Young 6 all looked at Johnson as he held his hand which was glowing in a white aura. "That shield won't hold for long."
"And let me guess you want us to go out and fight those guys right?" Gallus asked not wanting to do so
"I don't want you to, but yes you're right." The Ghost Knight said in a sympathetic tone.
"Yeah will just go ahead & do it, but in case you forgot we got our butts handed to us last time & were just barely able to beat those Orcs & we are not warriors!" Gallus screamed getting into Jonson's face
"Yes I Know Gallus, but this time it's going to be different." Johnson gently set the Griffin down & surprisingly he seemed unfazed by Gallus screaming in his face.
"Different, how?" Ocellus asked putting a hoof on Gallus's shoulder
"You will have these," Johnson said then The 6 Magic Swords appeared in front of him.
"The Magic Swords again?" Asked Sandbar.
"Yes, but this time you will unlock their true power, you will be in complete control, & you will be able to stop Dark Claw & his Monster." As he spoke something strange was happing to The 6 Magic Swords. The blades were shrinking until the blade was completely gone, Then the Sword Grips turned to gold, a red button appeared in the middle of the Golden Sword Grips, & finally, a wrist-mount came out from the back of the Golden Sword Grips.
"Wh-what are those things," Ocellus asked here eyes
"These are your Sword Morphers."
"Sword what?" Silverstream asked tiling her in confusion
"I will explain later, the point is with these you will be given great power & a responsibility to protect the world from the Evil of The Dark One." Gallus was about to say something but Johnson put his hand up & Gallus respectfully kept quiet. "I know that this is a lot to take in, & I know that none of you chose this path and I know some of you would not want to fight a battle with such stakes but neither did I or my team," Johnson said in a sorrowful tone. "Your lives are about to change forever, but I will be here every step of the way, to help you, to guide you, & to teach you. "Now you are going to save the world or are you going to run away from your destiny?" He asked them in a serious tone.
Gallus gave it some thought then he heard a loud clink & looked back at the transparent bubble that the Monster was trying to break through was cracking. "Um, whoever made this forcefield I don't think it's going to hold much longer." Lightning Wing said in a panic tone.
Gallus then looked serious. "Alright, I'll do it." He said
"Well if you're going to do it then so will I," Silverstream said
That goes double for me." Said Ocellus
Yaks never run away from a fight." Yona said proudly
"If that means I get another chance to burn some Ocrs then I'm in too," Smolder said while cracking her claws
"I always wanted to be a hero, guess this is my chance." Sandbar said with a smile.
The Ghost Knight nodded "I'm glad to hear that." He said then gave The Young 6 their Sword Morphers that then strapped onto each of their wrists.
"Alright, guys let's go!" Gallus said about to run out to help Starlight and others.
"Wait!" Johnson said before summoning the same giant light blue shield that smashed into a week ago Gallus. Ironically Gallus smashed into it again. "Oops, sorry about that Gallus, but we can't have The Dark One know who you are." He said then with a snap of his fingers and then The Young 6 were then outfitted in medieval chainmail armor that covered every part of their bodies except for the eyes.
"Wow cool outfits," Silverstream said in an excited tone.
"Yeah, but are these for?" Asked Smolder
"To hide your identities," Johnson said
"But why would we..." Before Ocellus could finish he hear an even louder clink & looked back at the transparent bubble that had ever more cracks on it.
"There is no time to go!" "Call your powers by saying Knights Defenders Knights Forever." The Young 6 nodded & ran off."
"Do you think they can do it?" Said a Female voice from the shadows.
"I can only hope that destiny is on their side." He said
Commercial
Slice & Dice was slashing as hard as he could at the forcefield.
"As...soon...as...I...break...through...you...3...are...so...dead." He said panting heavily.
"You sure you don't want to have a Sports Drink first, you sound like use one." Lightning Wing said chuckling nervously.
"Good idea, here you go Herr Slice & Dice." Dark Claw said making a sports drink appear from out of nowhere & giving it to the Monster."
"Great now he'll be fully hydrated before he chops us into pieces thanks, Lightning Wing." Chancellor Naysay said in a deadpan tone
"Well, I'm sorry if I have a bad habit of making bad jokes in intense situations!" Lightning Wing yelled at Naysay.
"Well, I'll make sure to put in on your tombstone." "Now before my associate finishes you off, do you have any last words?" Dark Claw asked while slowly scratching the forcefield with his razor-sharp spikes for fingers.
"Yeah, you want to hurt those ponies, then you are going to have to go through us!" Said a voice
"Hey, how did you say that without your lips moving?" Asked Slice & Dice
"He didn't say that, I did." Said the same voice
Dark Claw, Slice & Dice, and the 2 ponies looked up to see 6 figures standing on top of the Castle of the Two Sisters with the sun behind them reflecting off their medieval chainmail outfits. "Who are they?" Slice & Dice asked
"I can't tell," Dark Claw said narrowing his eyes from the sun.
"Ready?" Said, Gallus looking at his friends
"Ready!" They all said
"Knights Defenders Knights Forever!" They all said at the same and then pushed the red button on their Sword Morphers
A bright light came down on Ocellus, she stood up on her 2 back legs then jumped into the air then the projection of a Blue Knight appeared around her, then some wind circles around the projection of the Blue Knight & Ocellus. Then the circling wind & the projection of the Blue Knight come together on Ocellus then her front & back hooves were covered by gray chainmail armor with blue Power Ranger gloves at the end of her front hooves with the Sword Morpher still being on her left hoof & blue Power Ranger boots for her back hooves. Then her body was covered by a blue warrior knight's chest armor & a blue belt with a medieval knight Symbol on the middle of her belt. Then an open knight helmet dropped from the sky & landed on Ocellus before closing. The knight helmet was blue while also showing parts of a Dragonfly's head & small lines on the black part of the Visor & finally, a Medieval Fan appeared in her right hand.
A bright light came down on Smolder, she then jumped into the air then the projection of a Black Knight appeared around her, then some fire circled around the projection of the Black Knight & Smolder. Then the circling fire & the projection of the Black Knight come together on Smolder then her arms & legs were covered by gray chainmail armor with black Power Ranger gloves at the end of her claws with the Sword Morpher still being on her left wrist & black Power Ranger boots on her feet. Then her body was covered by a black warrior knight's chest armor & a black belt with a silver medieval knight Symbol on the middle of her belt. Then an open knight helmet dropped from the sky & landed on Smolder before closing. The knight helmet was black while also showing parts of a Phoenix's head & small lines on the black part of the Visor. Finally, a Spiked Chain Mace appeared in her hands.
A bright light came down on Yona, she stood up on her 2 back legs she then jumped into the air then the projection of a Yellow Knight appeared around her, then some rocks circled around the projection of a Yellow Knight and Yona. Then the circling rocks & the projection of a Yellow Knight come together on Yona then her front & back legs were covered by gray chainmail armor with yellow Power Ranger gloves at the end of her hooves with the Sword Morpher still being on her left wrist & Yellow Power Ranger boots for her back hooves. Then her body was covered by a yellow warrior knight's chest armor & a yellow belt with a silver medieval knight Symbol on the middle of her belt. Then an open knight helmet dropped from the sky & landed on Smolder before closing. The knight helmet was yellow while also showing parts of a Bugbear's head and small lines on the black part of the Visor. Finally, a War Hammer appeared in her left hand she then smashed it down into the ground.
A bright light came down on Silverstream, she then jumped into the air then the projection of a Pink Knight appeared around her, then some water circled around the projection of the Pink Knight & Silverstream. Then the circling water and the projection of the Pink Knight come together on Silverstream then her arms & legs were covered by gray chainmail armor with pink Power Ranger gloves at the end of her claws with the Sword Morpher still being on her left wrist & pink Power Ranger boots on her feet. Then her body was covered by a pink warrior knight chest armor and a pink belt with a silver medieval knight Symbol on the middle of her belt. Then an open knight helmet dropped from the sky & landed on Silverstream before closing. The knight helmet was pink while also showing parts of a Sea Serpent's head & small lines on the black part of the Visor. Finally, a Bow & Arrow appeared in both of her hands ready to fire.
A bright light came down on Sandbar, he stood up on her 2 back legs then jumped into the air then the projection of an Orange Knight appeared around him, then some leaves circled around the projection of the Orange Knight & Sandbar. Then the circling leaves and the projection of the Orange Knight come together on Sandbar then his front & back hooves were covered by gray chainmail armor with orange Power Ranger gloves at the end of her front hooves with the Sword Morpher still being on his left hoof & orange Power Ranger boots for his back hooves. Then his body was covered by an orange warrior knight's chest armor & an orange belt with a silver medieval knight Symbol on the middle of her belt. Then an open knight helmet dropped from the sky & landed on Sandbar before closing. The knight helmet was orange while also showing parts of a Forest Wolf's head & small lines on the black part of the Visor. Finally, a Can Staff with a hook appeared in his left hand.
A bright light came down on Gallus, he then jumped into the air then the projection of a Red Knight appeared around him, then some swords circled around the projection of the Red Knight & Gallus. Then the circling swords & the projection of the Red Knight come together on Gallus then his arms & legs were covered by gray chainmail armor with red Power Ranger gloves at the end of his claws with the Sword Morpher still being on his left wrist & red Power Ranger boots on her feet. Then his body was covered by a red warrior knight's chest armor and a red belt with a silver medieval knight Symbol on the middle of her belt. Then an open knight helmet dropped from the sky & landed on Gallus before closing. The knight helmet was red while also showing parts of a Roc's head & small lines on the black part of the Visor. Finally, Twin Swords appeared in both of his hands & crossed them together into an X.
The Young 6 then flipped off The Castle of the Two Sisters and then did a superhero Landing with their weapons in hand. "POWER RANGERS?!?!?" Dark Claw & The Monster screamed at the same time both of them completely in shock.
"No way!" Lightning Wing said completely in awe while Chancellor Naysay's jaw was almost to the floor.
"No, it can't be!" "I destroyed them!" "There is no way they can be alive!" screamed the silhouetted Goat as he watched this all unfold thanks to The Eye of The Arimaspi.
"Wh-what is this?" Ocellus asked looking at the suit she was wearing.
"This is incredible we've become superheroes!' Said Sandbar this was a dream come true for him
"I feel invincible!" Smolder said while doing a fist pump.
"Yak never felt so powerful!" Yona said picking up the War Hammer with one hand amazed at how powerful she was now.
"This is like the coolest thing that has ever happened in my life!" Silverstream said as she was checking out every detail of her suit.
"Alright, some awesome suits & sweet weapons!" Gallus said holding up his 2 swords. "And by the expressions on your faces, I say you know how this is going to end, so why don't you just run back your Master Goat before we kick your butts 6 ways to Sunday!" Gallus said bluffing even though they had become incredibly powerful, he still wasn't entirely sure if they could beat the Orcs let alone Slice & Dice.
"That is a very good ultimatum." "Here's mine, Orcs either die to the Power Rangers or die to the Master for failing him." Said Dark Claw not wanting to fight the Power Rangers or anyone himself.
The Orcs having no choice charged at the Power Rangers. "Okay, you asked for it!" Smolder said then launched her Spiked Chain Mace into the face of one of the charging Orcs then when it came back to her, she then launched it again this time right into the Orc's chest & it when right through it. The Orc gasped for air before turning to dust. "Whoa!" The Black Ranger said both in surprise at the fact that the Orc just turn to dust & the fact that an ax that one of the Orcs through was coming right at her. She was able to dodge out of the way and then launched her Spiked Chain Mace for the third time. This time it wrapped around the Orc who tried to threw the ax at her, Smolder then pulled the tied up Orc to her then punched it, and then released him which caused him to spin around like a tornado, and then finished him off by launching her Spiked Chain Mace straight up into the air before crashing into the Orc obliterating it and leaving behind a small crater. After that, she pulled back her Spiked Chain Mace and that saw it was smoking, literally. "Wow I am loving this thing!" Said The Black Ranger.
"Yeah well, I love my ax even more!" An Orc said swinging his right at the dragon.
But luckily the ax was stopped in his tracks by a Can Staff. The Orange Ranger then kicked the Orc right between the legs causing the Orc to be in an incredible amount of pain. "Normally I wouldn't fight dirty, but in this case, I will make an exception." Sandbar said before smacking the Orc in the face with his Can Staff, knocking his armored helmet off of his head. "Hey why didn't he turn to dust?" Asked The Orange Ranger
"Pony has to hit Orcs harder like this!" Said the Yak/Yellow Ranger
The Orc looked up to see her coming down from the air War Hammer in hand ready to smash "Oh this is going to hurt." Said the Orc before being crushed by the War Hammer & then turned into dust.
"See What Yak tells you?" She said
"Thanks Yona."
"You might want to hold on to that thanks because we have more company!" The Dragon/Black Ranger said as Yona & Sandbar notice that they were surrounded by more Orcs. The Orcs attacked from all directions. Luckily the 3 Rangers were able to fight them off with martial arts. Smolder was able to knock out one with a reverse punch followed up by a roundhouse kick to another one.
Sandbar was blocking attacks from 6 orcs at once with his Can Staff. "Okay I'll had just about enough of these guys!" He said then planted hid Can Staff to the ground jumped up & spun around while kicking the 6 Orcs in the face.
Then another Orc tried hitting him his an ax but the Orange Ranger was able to knock it out by doing a backflip kick with his Can Staff. "Sweet Celestia Sandbar when did you learn to do that?!?"
"I have no idea." He said. He never took a martial arts class in his life.
One of the Orcs was about to attack Smolder but was then headbutted by the Yellow Ranger. "That Yak learned from mother! She said with pride. Then the 3 Rangers continue to fight off the remaining Orcs that surrounded them.
Meanwhile, Ocellus was trying not to fight 3 Orcs that were attacking her. Even if they were evil she didn't want to hurt them, being the gentle creature that she was. "Look I think we got off on the wrong hoof" "Whoa!" She yelled dodging an ax with her speed. "Maybe we can talk about THIS!!!" She yelled while dodging another ax that would have taken off her head. "Please I don't want to fight you." Said the Blue Ranger trying to reason with them.
"That's funny because we don't want to talk, all we want to do is fight!" Said one of the Orcs while swinging his ax at the Blue Rangers. Ocellus instinctively used her Medieval Fan creating a strong wind that pushed the Orcs back a few feet.
"Hey Red, Black, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Blue, if you guys could please stop fighting for a second & help us I need to get Ms. Glimmer to a hospital!" Lightning Wing yelled while banging on the transparent bubble trying to get their attention. Starlight was still knocked out & was hurt badly.
"Do you think you should be banging on that force..." Right on cue, the transparent bubble shattered. "Field?"
"Whoops." Lightning Wing said
"Perfect now that the forcefield is gone you 3 are dead!" Said an Orc with a ax coming down at them.
Lightning Wing was about to zap it with some lightning, but before he could do that Ocellus used her speed to get in front of them & use her Medieval Fan on the Orc sending him flying into the air. "Oh, and the Orc is going, going, going gone!" Lightning Wing said sounding like a baseball announcer.
"You guys get Headmare Starlight into the castle we'll handle this." Said the Blue Ranger using her Medieval Fan to send some Orcs back a few feet.
"You got it, mysterious blue heroine!" Lightning Wing said saluting her with his left wing. Before he & Chancellor Neighsay got her into the castle while Ocellus fought the orcs but only in self-defense. "Okay now let's get Ms. Glimmer to a hospital!" Lightning Wing said to Chancellor Neighsay once they were inside.
"No, not yet!" said Neighsay
"What are you crazy?" "She needs medical attention!" Lightning Wing yelled at him.
"And what about Sunburst, Mr. Johnson Knightly & the missing students you want to leave them behind?" Asked Neighsay
"Okay you go find them & I'll keep an eye on Ms. Glimmer." Lightning Wing said. Chancellor Neighsay used his medallion to make a portal & jumped into it to take him somewhere inside the castle that hopefully would be where Sunburst, Mr. Johnson Knightly & the missing students were.
Meanwhile, Silverstream was fighting the Orcs with her Bow but not doing a good job she needed some help."Um Silverstream can I ask you a question? Ocellus asked coming to help her friend.
"Sure what is it?" Asked the Pink Ranger as she smacked one of the Orcs with her Bow.
"Why haven't you fired that Arrow yet?" Asked the Blue Ranger as she dropped kicked one of the Orcs.
"3 good reasons." "One I don't know how to use a Bow & Arrow, two I'm pretty sure you need space to use Bow and Arrow, with is something I don't have right now, and three this is the only arrow I have." Silverstream said she & Ocellus fought off the Orcs the best they could. One of the Orcs swung his ax right at the Pink Ranger who crossed her arms to protect herself. But then a large bubble of water surrounded Ocellus & Silverstream and stopped the ax in its tracks. Confused by this he & the other Orcs tried to cut through the water shield with their axes but couldn't penetrate it.
"How are you doing this?" Ocellus asked her voice sounding filtered in the water.
"I don't know." "But I don't think this water shield will hold forever. Silverstream said her voice also sounding filtered in the water.
"Don't worry about that I have an Idea!" The Blue Ranger said. She then used her Medieval Fan to make a strong wind causing all of the water to smack right into the Orcs sending them crashing right into a tree.
"Amazing she was able to use the water & wind in a combo attack without even being taught how!" Said Johnson watching all this unfold thanks to the big round mirror.
The Orcs were coughing after the water/wind attack. "Do you really think some water is going to stop us?" Asked one of the soaked Orcs.
"No but this might." Silverstream said aiming her bow and arrow up & then firing it. But it didn't hit any of the Orcs.
"Ha, you missed." Said one of the soaked Orcs.
"I wasn't aiming at you." Said the Pink Ranger pointing up.
Then the soaked Orcs looked up to see that the arrow hit a large branch of the tree they were directly under and then the large branch broke off & fell onto the soaked Orcs turning to dust.
"Oh yeah, take that you dust Orcs!"
"Dust Orcs? asked the Blue Ranger
"Yeah the Orcs are made of dust & they turned back into dust when you beat them" "Therefore Dust Orcs." The Pink Rangers explained with a smile under her helmet.
"Well if that's the case I won't feel bad about doing this!" Said Gallus using one of his Twin Swords to cut an Orc in haft while stabbing another orc with his other Twin Sword turning them both to dust. Then Gallus joined Ocellus & Silverstream to help Yona, Smolder & Sandbar to take out the rest of the Orcs. "You know despite the world being in peril & these freaks, this is the coolest field trip I have ever been on!" Said the Red Ranger double slashing an Orc.
"I agree! Said the Black Ranger taking out several Orcs with her Spiked Chain Mace turning them to dust.
"Yeah becoming superheroes, kicking bad-guy butt & saving the world it's a dream come true! Said the Orange Ranger spinning around and hitting several Orcs turning them to dust.
"Yak agree with Pony!" "Yaks love to smash bad guys!" Said the Yellow Rangers smashing her War Hammer into the ground with such force that it sent several Orcs flying up into the air & then they all crashed down to the ground turning into dust.
"Personally I'm just loving this Fan." The Blue Ranger said throwing her Medieval Fan causing it to spin around in a circle and hitting several Orcs in the face knocking them to the ground and turning into dust before Ocellus caught the Medieval Fan in her hand. She was loving it even more knowing that she was not hurting anypony just creatures made of dust.
"I'm just loving my new powers!" Said the Pink Ranger once again crossing her arms to protect herself & then another large bubble of water surrounded her. "Eat my splash attack!" She said extending her arms wide causing the water bubble to explode & hit several Orcs in all directions landing hard & turning into dust.
Several Orcs Swung their axes at The Red Ranger, luckily he was able to block their attacks with his Twin Swords. Then he pushed their axes back & spun around slashing the 6 of the remaining Orcs turning them into dust & finishing off the Orcs. Except for one who stood there scared before the handle & belly of his ax fell apart from the slashes of the Twin Swords along with parts of his armor & helmet. His expression turned from scared to terrified. "Boo." Gallus said to the Orc causing it to run away.
But he didn't get far because he was struck by a bolt of lightning. The Power Rangers looked back at The Castle of The 2 Sisters to see that it come from the tip of one of Lightning Wing's feathers. The Green Pegasus was still keeping an eye on Starlight while watching this all unfold through one of the windows. "Sorry but it's not a good idea to leave any stragglers." He said.
"Noted." Gallus said then he and the other Rangers looked at Dark Claw & Slice & Dice who both looked scared. Alright you 2 I'm only going to say this one more time, run back to your little Master Goat before we kick your butts!" "Unless you want to end up like your dust Orcs." Gallus said and he wasn't bluffing this time he was sure they could take this Monster & he could tell that Dark claw wasn't a fighter.
"Umm, I'll go with running away, running away sounds good." Said Slice & Dice
"What?" "Who says we're running away?" Asked Dark Claw
"Me, you said I would be taking on ponies you never said anything about Power Rangers!" Said Slice & Dice
"Power what?" Silverstream asked
"Wow sounds like the big bad Monster is just a big bad chicken." Said Smolder laughing at the Monster.
"What did you just call me?!?" Slice & Dice said sounding angry
Dark Claw then got a mischievous grin on his face. "The Black Rangers Fraulein called you a chicken." "Also known as a wreaking, scaredy-cat or yellow-belly."
"That's it you asked for it!" "Chainsaw Beam!" A Light Blue beam in the shape of a Chainsaw fired at the Power Rangers sending them flying backwards.
"You just had to get to make him angry did you?!?" Gallus asked Smolder
"Hey it's not my fault!" "Look out!" Smolder said she & Gallus both dodging the Monster's chainsaw arms.
"Oh, I wish a had some more arrows." The Pink Rangers said then some water appeared in her hand & then turned into 3 arrows. "Wow that's convenient." She said then fired her arrows at Slice & Dice. But Slice & Dice cut the arrows in half before they hit him. "Uh-oh."
The Monster started to go after Silverstream. But then one of his Chainsaw Arms was wrapped up from behind him in The Black Ranger's Spike Chain Mace. "You leave her alone!" Said Smolder.
"Good point it's you I want anyway!" The Monster said using his strength to pick Smolder with his wrapped up chainsaw arm & slam her hard into the ground while she was still holding the Spike Chain Mace.
"Take a bite out of this you monster!" Said The Orange Ranger hitting Slice & Dice with his Can Staff but it had little to no effect on him.
"What, was that?" Slice & Dice said in an annoyed tone.
"Well it worked on the Orcs." "Hehehe." Sandbar said laughing nervously
"And I'm sure this would work on the Orcs as well!" Slice & Dice said grabbing the Orange Ranger by the throat and choke slamming him into the ground.
"Oh my, that's got to hurt!" Lightning Wing said with a cringe
Before the monster could finish Sandbar off, Silverstream got in front of him once again crossing her arms to protect herself & then another large bubble of water surrounded the both of them. "Do you really think a little water is going to stop me?" He asked before slashing at the bubble of water & not only breaking through it but also hitting both Silverstream and Sandbar. Ocellus tried to use her speed to attack the Monster, but he saw it coming. "Chainsaw Beam!" A Light Blue beam in the shape of a Chainsaw fired at the Blue Ranger the blast sending her flying & landing hard. "And now for that Black Ranger." He said about to chop her with his Arm but was stopped by one of the Red Power Ranger's Twin Swords.
"You want to get to my friends, then you're going to have to get through me!" Gallus said
"With pleasure!" Said the Monster the two of them battling like it was a double-handed sword fight. Except in Slice & Dice's case, instead of 2 swords, it was 2 chainsaw arms. The two of them battled for several minutes attacking & blocking each other.
Neither of them was getting the upper hoof until Slice & Dice kicked Gallus in the chest. "All right let's see how you handle this Power Ranger!" Slice & Dice said both of his chainsaw arms started to glow a Light Blue aura. "Take this double Chainsaw Beam!" Two Light Blue beams in the shape of Chainsaws fired at the Red Ranger.
Instinctively Gallus crossed his Twin Swords together into an X to try & protect himself. "He's...too...strong!" The Red Ranger said he was just barely able to hold the 2 Chainsaw Beams back. The force of them starting to push in back.
"Hahaha & Once Herr Slice & Dice is done with you, your friends & The Tree of Harmony is next!" Said Dark Claw he & The Monster laughing evilly.
"No, I can't let this happen." The Red Ranger thought. "You Will Not Hurt My Friends!" Inside Gallus's helmet his eyes went white. Then he was able to use his Twin Swords to throw 2 Chainsaw Beam back at Slice & Dice. An anime split screen showed Silverstream, Smolder, Sandbar, Yona, Ocellus, Johnson, Lighting Wing, Slice & Dice, Dark Claw, and The Silhouetted Goat were all in shock
"OH, CRAP BASKETS!!" The Monster yelled before the 2 Chainsaw Beams hit him & cause him to crash into a large rock severely damaging him.
"Herr Slice & Dice!" Dark Claw said running to the Monster. He then glared at the Red Ranger. "You win this round Power Rangers!" He said then made a small black portal on the ground that fell into, so they could retreat for now.
Then there was a white flash of light. Gallus staggered a little, drained, he felt tired all over. He collapsed but found himself supported by somepony. He looked up to find The Ghost Knight Johnson now in his pony disguise looking down at him worriedly & then looked around he saw that he & his friends were back inside of The Castle of The Two Sisters. "Are you alright?" He asked worry clear on his face and in his voice.
"I feel great." Gallus said in a sarcastic tone.
"Glad to see you haven't lost your sarcasm." Said Johnson setting Gallus down against a wall then looked at the rest of the Rangers. "What about the rest of you?" "Are you all okay?"
They all nodded. "A little bruised and battered but I'll live." Said the Orange Ranger.
"I've had bigger beatdowns when I was sparring with my brother. Said the Black Ranger.
"I'm impressed." "Not only did you all thrash those Orcs, use some of your powers without any training, and you all were able to protect The Tree of Harmony." "It's clear to me now that you are destined to be the Power Rangers & save the world & I will be here to help all of you every step of the way." He said with a proud smile.
"Um thanks." Said Gallus, his tone changing from sarcastic to somber. "Oh by the way how to we um you know." He said pointing to the suit he was wearing.
"Oh right!" "To deactivate the suit simply say power down." Explained Johnson.
"Power down." The Young 6 all said at the same time & with that, they were back to normal & The Sword Morphers turned into small round shields on their wrist.
"Wow, the Morphers can transform too," Silverstream said then she noticed that Vice Headstallion Sunburst & the other students were standing behind Johnson but they didn't move or speak. "Wait are they?"
"Frozen in time, yes, but they can't see or hear anything right now," Johnson explained
"Are you going to unfreeze them?" Asked Ocellus in pain.
"Yes but first." He said before beating himself up.
"What are you.." Before Smolder could finish her sentence Sunburst & the other students became unfrozen.
"It's the missing students & Mr. Johnson Knightly!" Sunburst said happy to see them but then noticed that they were hurt. "What happen to you?" He asked
"We took a nasty fall." Mr. Johnson Knightly said
"I can tell, you look like you just beat yourself up," Sunburst said
Just then a portal appeared & Chancellor Neighsay came out of it. "There you are." He said with relief in his voice.
"Chancellor Neighsay what are you doing here." Asked Sunburst
"There's no time to explain we got to get out of here Headmare Starlight is hurt!"
"What?!?" Said Sunburst without hesitation he & the rest of the group jumped into the portal.
Lightning Wing was still keeping an eye on Starlight. "Where is Chancellor idiot?" He asked then right on cue a portal appeared & Chancellor Neighsay came out of it with Sunburst the students, the missing students & Mr. Johnson Knightly. "Starlight!" "Is she okay?" "And what happened out here it looks like a battlefield!" Sunburst said looking out the window at the aftermath of the Power Ranger's battle.
"No talk time Hospital now!" Lightning Wing said putting Starlight on his back.
"Right!" Sunburst said with a nod. Chancellor Neighsay then used his medallion to make a portal & to take them to a hospital then everypony jumped into the portal.
Ponyville Urgent Care Hospital:
It was a normal day until a portal came out of nowhere & a group of ponies came out of the portal.
"What in Equestria?" Said Nurse Redheart a white Eathpony with a pink mane & tail. Her Cutie Mark was a medical cross with a heart in each corner.
"No talk time Ms. Glimmer needs medical attention now!" Lightning Wing said before collapsing. "Ow my poor rips." He said in pain.
"She is not the only one who needs medical attention from the looks of it." Nurse Redheart said looking at LIghtning Wing, Mr. Johnson Knightly & The Young 6. "What exactly happened?" She asked picking up the still unconscious Starlight.
"You wouldn't believe us even if we told you." Said, Gallus
Commercial
The Dead Rotting swamp inside the goat-shaped cavernous:
The silhouetted goat was trying to wrap his mind around what he just saw through the Eye of The Arimaspi. "It's just not possible, there is no way they could have survived that final battle no creature could have." "Unless someone else found a way to restore their powers or one of those Rangers did survive and has been waiting for my return all these centuries." "Hmm." The silhouetted goat said stroking his beard. Just then Slice & Dice and Dark Claw literally dropped in falling from a small black portal and landing hard on the ground. "So you two decide to return after failing me." The silhouetted goat said but he didn't seem to be mad about it.
"Yeah only because you & Dark Claw lied to me!" "You said all I have to worry about were little ponies, YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT POWER RANGERS!!!!" Scream the monster in anger.
"Um, excuse me as stimulating as this conversation is, I would appreciate it if you would get off me Herr Slice & Dice!" Said Dark Claw though his voice was muffled.
"Oops sorry, mate." Slice & Dice said getting off of Dark Claw & helping him up.
"I assume you have a good reason why you didn't warn us about the Power Rangers." Dark Claw said while cracking his back.
"I didn't warn you about them because I thought I destroyed them 2000 years ago." Said the silhouetted goat
"What 2000 years?!?" "Just what kind of dark spirit am I working for?" Dark Claw thought to himself.
"Well that's very interesting Master Goat unfortunately you forgot one little detail." Said Slice & Dice
"What would that be?" Asked the silhouetted goat
"The Power Rangers can't be destroyed, you moron!" Slice & Dice yelled
"You better watch your tongue you insignificant insect." Said the silhouetted goat ready the blast the monster with his magic.
"Look goat dude I'm sure you are very powerful, but dozens of other bad guys have tried to destroy the Rangers and none have succeeded." "Diabolico, Astroneman, Mesagog, not even the mighty Lord Zedd could do it." "But hey if you want to do something that can't be done go right ahead but you're going to have to find another monster to do it." "Because I'm not fighting the Power Rangers again and there's is no way you're going make me!" Slice & Dice said walking away before a Dark Black Aura surrounded him and stopped him in his tracks.
"Oh yes, you will." Said Dark Claw his claw glowing the same Dark Black Aura. "In case you forgot I'm the one who gave you your powers Herr Slice & Dice & I can take them away just as easy." "Is that what you want is it?" Dark Claw asked while one of his fingers did a come here motion making Slice & Dice come in front of him.
The monster growled in anger. "No." He said
"Good now rest up we are going to need it for the new plan." Dark Claw said releasing Slice & Dice.
"And I assume you have a plan?" Asked the silhouetted goat
"Why of course I do master & once my plan is executed we can say Auf Wiedersehen to the Powers Rangers & everypony who lives in Ponyville!" Dark Claw said letting out an evil laugh
"Very well Dark Claw once again you will accompany Slice & Dice."
"Um, Master Goat I hate to be the one to break this to you, but Dark Claw couldn't win a fight against a toothpick." Said the monster.
"Be that as it may, Dark Claw will do as he is told because I am The master and he is my servant, also besides myself Dark Claw is the only one who can summon the Orcs." "And Dark Claw do not fail me or else understand?" Said the silhouetted goat glairing at Dark Claw.
"Yes, Master." Said Dark Claw bowing.
Ponyville Urgent Care Hospital:
After Mr. Johnson Knightly and The Young 6 were treated for the injuries, and discharging the students that weren't hurt and went back to The School of Friendship, Lightning Wing and Chancellor Neighsay told the doctors what happened but they did leave out the part about The Tree of Harmony because they didn't want to cause a panic, and while the doctors didn't believe them about the Power Rangers, they did kind of believe them about Dark Claw and Slice & Dice mainly because of all the strange creatures that live in the Everfree Forest & all the bad guys that The Main 6 have fought and defeated over the years. "So are the students & Mr. Knightly going to be alright?" asked Lightning Wing his right hoof & chest bandaged up as the doctor was looking at his X-rays.
"Oh don't worry about them just got a few scrapes and bruises they will be fine." "Also for my green friend from the looks of your X-rays, it looks like you just have a sprained hoof & a few bruised ribs." "Yes, all things considered, you're a lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, luck young stallion especially after fighting a Chainsaw Monster." Said Doctor Horse almost cracking up when he said Chainsaw Monster.
"Do I have a concussion?" Lightning Wing asked the Doctor
"What?" Doctor Horse asked in confusion
"Do I have a concussion?" Lightning Wing repeated the question
"No." Said the Doctor
"Then stop laughing & looking at me like I'm crazy." "Besides Sun Burst was there too he can vouch for me." Said, Lightning Wing
"Yes I was there & I did see both Dark Claw & The Monster Slice & Dice but didn't see any multi-colored superheroes in spandex." "What were they called again Ranger Powers?"
"Power Rangers or at least that's what Chainsaw Arms & Cloak Boy called them and I can also tell you that they can kick some serious but!" Lightning Wing said
"That I will agree with you Lighting Wing, though the name Power Rangers has got to be the most ridiculous name I have ever heard of." Said Chancellor Neighsay
"Starlight Glimmer, Lightning Wing, Dark Claw, Slice & Dice, Chancellor Nincompoop." Lightning Wing said with a smile
"And, I retract my previous statement." Said The Chancellor though he was still mad that Lighting Wing was insulting him, he was glad that he didn't call him Chancellor idiot.
"Wow from idiot to Nincompoop your vocabulary is improving," said Mr. Johnson Knightly. The group of ponies turned to see The Young 6 & Mr. Johnson Knightly sporting a few bandages, but nothing too severe.
"Glad to see that you kids are ok." "You too Mr. Knightly!" Lightning Wing said grinding his teeth & glaring at the teacher.
"Hmm, I haven't even gotten to know you for even a day, but I'm beginning to think that you have a thing against The EEA and ponies hired or recommended by The Equestria Educational Association." Said, Mr. Johnson Knightly
"Hahaha, you think!?!" Lightning Wing yelled
"Shhh." Everypony turned to see Nurse Redheart. "You may not have a concussion, but Ms. Starlight Glimmer does so can you please keep your voice down?" She asked in a stern but polite voice.
Everypony gasped. "Is she going to be okay?" Gallus asked looking worried
"She'll be fine she just needs to rest for a few days & lay off any paperwork & using her magic for a week." Said Nurse Redheart.
"Oh, that's just great 6 injured students & The Headmare with a concussion The EEA is going to have a field day with this one." "As if they weren't giving The School of Friendship enough problems." Lightning Wing said burying his face in his hooves.
"Okay, that's it what is your problem?" Chancellor Neighsay asked Lighting Wing
"My problem?" Lightning Wing asked Chancellor Neighsay
"I know I have made a few mistakes in the past, trusted two Con artists to run a School of Friendship over the literal Princess of Friendship and let my prejudice get the best of me, but I am trying to make up for all that." "So at the very least, you could treat me and the Equestria Educational Association with some respect!" Chancellor Neighsay said to Lightning Wing in a whisper yelling tone.
"But I am treating you with the respect you deserve, none." Lightning Wing said in the same whisper yelling tone.
"What?" said Chancellor Neighsay
"You don't demand respect from others you earn it, and personally not only do I think Canterlot snobs like you not only have earned absolutely no respect for anything, but you also think every school in Equestria must follow your stupid, ridiculous, & out-of-date rules, and on top of that you wouldn't even let Princess Twilight Sparkle or even Princess Celestia run there own schools the way they wanted to, and all because you think that you're above then!" Lightning Wing said in a whisper yelling tone getting in front of The Chancellor's face.
Chancellor Neighsay & everypony was shocked at what Lighting Wing said: "Wh-wh I I don't think I'm above the Princesses!" Said Chancellor Neighsay in shock
"Well, you could have fooled me!" Lightning Wing said turning around and smacking The Chancellor in the face with his tail and then started to walk away.
"Hey, where do you think you are going?" Asked Doctor Horse
Lightning Wing turned around his face red and his eye twitching. "To go for a fly and blow off some steam before I make a scene." He said trying to hold back his anger the best he could.
"Oh, okay that's a good idea just don't overexert yourself, you are still hurt." The doctor said a little scared by Lightning Wing's angry face.
"I'll keep that in mind doc." Lightning Wing said before storming off, well as well as a pony with a sprained hoof and bruised ribs could storm off.
"Wow, that pony has some anger issues," Smolder said breaking the brief uncomfortable silence after Lightning Wing left.
"Is he always like that?" Chancellor Neighsay asked Sunburst while rubbing his face in pain
"I don't know." "Starlight actually knows more about him than I do." "Speaking of which can I see her?" Sunburst asked worried about his friend.
Nurse Redheart smiled. "Of course, you can." "Just remember to keep your voice down."
Sunburst, Chancellor Neighsay, Mr. Johnson Knightly, and The Young 6 all walked into Starlight's hospital room. The group all gasped when they saw Starlight who had a bag of ice on her head with Band-Aids wrapped around her head to keep the bag of ice in place. She also had a black eye.
"Starlight I'm so glad you're all right!" Sunburst said running up & hugging his friend.
"Me too, though the doctors have this ridiculous idea that I have a concussion." "Whoa Sunburst I didn't know you had a twin brother," Starlight said but in actuality, she was just seeing double due to her concussion, and because that Chancellor Neighsay and everypony knew that couldn't yet ask her how Lighting Wing was able to shoot lighting from his wings. But that didn't mean she had a few questions of her own. "So what happened to me, how did I end up in the hospital, who were those two guys, where's Lighting Wing, and is it lunchtime because I'm hungry." Starlight's tummy started to rumble
"Well, I have an answer for that last question because lunch is ready." Said a Nurse Pony wheeling in a tray of food. She was called Nurse Sweetheart she was small, had a pink coat, purple & white stripes mare & tail similar to Princess Twilight's, & a bedsheet with 4 pink hearts in corners for her Cutie Mark. "Oh, and sweetie no using your magic you have to eat like an Earth Pony." Nurse Sweetheart said in a motherly tone while rubbing Starlight's head.
Starlight nodded & then started to eat her salad like an Earth Pony while Chancellor Neighsay told Starlight everything. "Wow, that's hard to believe." Starlight said while chewing on a leaf of lettuce with carrot shavings.
Chancellor Neighsay sighed in annoyance. "I know how crazy it sounds but I'm telling you what I saw."
"Oh no, I believe you about the Pony Rangers." Starlight said with a smile
"Actually they're called Power Rangers." "Wait you believe me?" Chancellor Neighsay said in shock
"Well yeah, I mean with all the equestrian legends that proved out to be real over the years I'm willing to believe in anything." "What's hard to believe is the amazing magic they have." Said Starlight finishing her salad and then started to eat her grilled cheese tomato and pickle sandwich with a cute smile on her face.
"Yeah, I was awesome-ow, I mean we-ow, I mean they sounded awesome from the way you describe them," Silverstream said with Smolder elbowing her on her hurt side to stop her from spilling the beans about her new secret identity. This got raised eyebrows from Chancellor Neighsay, Sunburst, and Starlight. "Sorry whenever I hear about something so amazing and cool as these Power Rangers guys, I sometimes trip over my own words & these bruises hurt when I move," Silverstream said with a nervous smile hoping they would buy it.
"Oh, it's okay Silverstream that used to happen to me all the time when I was a Colt," Sunburst explained. Silverstream sighed in relief while Johnson mouthed to Silverstream to keep her mouth shut.
"Anyway, you guys sure are lucky those Superheroes came when they did." Sandbar said trying to change the subject
"Yes, one minute with that chainsaw monster & we would have been shredded like paper." Chancellor Neighsay
"Well if that monster wants to show his face again Princess Twilight & her friends can handle it just like they always do." Said, Gallus
"I'm not so sure." Starlight said in a worried tone.
"What do you mean?" Asked Gallus
"Well my memory is starting to come back and I remember blasting that Chainsaw Monster with everything I had and it didn't even scratch him, & I doubt Twilight wouldn't be able to do any better." Starlight said
"Are you serious Headmare Starlight?" asked Ocellus
"Trust me I used to be Twilight's student." "If they try to face that monster they'll get crushed." Starlight said in a serious tone causing everypony in the room to gasp
"I hate to put a damper on the already cheery mood, but I just had a horrible thought." "Slice & Dice said that he needed to cut off a piece of The Tree of Harmony and give it to Master Goat." Said Chancellor Neighsay
"Okay and?" Starlight asked not sure where The Chancellor was going with this.
"So if Slice & Dice was getting a piece of The Tree of Harmony for Master Goat, then that means that Slice & Dice is just a Lackey for this Master Goat." Said Chancellor Neighsay
"Please don't say what I think you are about to say," Sunburst said sounding scared
"Which means that this Master Goat is even more powerful & Equestria might be in more danger than it has ever been." Chancellor Neighsay said in a chilling voice.
"I was afraid you were going to say that!" Said Sunburst looking like he was going to have a nervous breakdown, eye twitching, and everything.
"Will you get a hold of yourself panicking is not going to help our situation & besides your a teacher, you're supposed to be their role models! Said Mr. Johnson Knightly in a strict tone while pointing to The Young 6.
"Sorry, he's just not used to end-of-the-world stuff like I am." Starlight said while bringing her friend to her bedside & petting him like a kitty cat to calm him down.
"Fortunately for us, we seem to have a new ally, these Power Rangers they might just be our hope to stop this new evil. Said Chancellor Neighsay
"So...it's...truth...then?" Said, Gallus who sounded scared.
Everypony turned to see Gallus his irises and pupils becoming pinpricks. "Gallus are you okay?" Asked Starlight
Gallus was in deep thought. "Princess Twilight is one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria but if she and her friends are not strong enough to stop this Dark one, then does that really mean it is our destiny to stop this Dark One?" "But what if it's also our destiny to fail?" "What if were not strong enough?" "What if I'm not strong enough?" "I don't want to fight this Dark one, but if I don't Equestria will be destroyed."
"Gallus?" "Hello, Gallus?"
"Huh?" The Blue Griffin was broken out of his deep thinking by Silverstream tapping his shoulder.
"Gallus, are you alright?" Asked Silverstream
"Griffin friend not looking good." Said Yona
"Silverstream I I I I I I gotta get some air!" Gallus said then flew out of the room through a nearby window.
"Gallus!" Everypony said before he was gone.
"Poor Gallus, the test that the tree gave him, must have been harder on him than I thought." Said Starlight
"What did you just say?" Asked Chancellor Neighsay in bewilderment
"Oh, I mean that somepony should go after Gallus!" "See, that's what I meant to say!" Starlight said with her usual nervous laugh.
"Headmare Starlight's delusions from her concussion aside, she is right about one of us going after Gallus & I volunteer myself." Said Mr. Johnson Knightly. "In the meantime, Chancellor Neighsay & Vice Headstallion Sunburst should stay here with Headmare Starlight."
"What about us?" Asked Sandbar
"Well I know you are worried about Gallus, but you can't leave until the doctor discharges you." "But if you need something to do there's probably a Rec Room downstairs where you could play BINGO." Mr. Knightly suggested
"Yes, I always wanted to play BINGO!" Silverstream Screamed while jumping into the air.
"Owww!" Said Starlight holding her head in pain.
"Oops sorry Headmare Starlight, I forgot to keep my voice down," Silverstream said in a whispering voice
"It's find Silverstream, you all go and have some fun." "I'm going to try and get some sleep," Starlight said lying down as The Young 5 and Mr. Johnson left the room.
"Sunburst can you get the curtains?" Starlight asked her friend
"Sure Starlight." He said closing the curtains. "At least things can't get any worse." Sunburst thought to himself.
Ponyville Dam:
A group of pony tourists were getting a tour of the place when all of a sudden Orcs, Slice & Dice, and Dark Claw came out of a small black portal in front of the ponies. Dark Claw smiled evilly at them. "Hello, My Little Ponies."
Commercial
Ponyville Urgent Care Hospital's Rec Room:
The Young 5 were playing BINGO. "B44, O73, N27, G89, I18." Announced The BINGO pony picking up numbers
"BINGO, BINGO, BINGO!!!" Silverstream yelled while jumping up & down in her seat while her friends and other ponies groaned in anger.
"Oh come on!" Said one of the ponies
That's the 5th time in a row!" Said Sandbar
"This game is rigged." Said Yona who then smashed her table
"I hate BINGO." Said Smolder
"Me too!" Said a very old pony who sat in a wheelchair
"Then why are you playing BINGO?" Asked Smolder
"BINGO I thought we were playing cricket!" "I want my money back!" Said the old pony
"Alright, Mr. Wilson it's time for your nap." Said a nurse pony wheeling him out of the Rec Room.
"What a nap?" "Don't be ridiculous I'm wide awake I don't feel tired at all!" The old pony then fell asleep instantly.
Don't mind him he's just having one of his bad days." Said the nurse pony
"He's not the only one." Said the orange dragon snorting smoke out her nose. "I hope Gallus is having more fun than we're having."
Then The Young 5 heard a familiar sound
"What in Equestria is that sound?!?" Asked the nurse pony who was wheeling Mr. Wilson the old pony
"It sounds like Chainsaw Arms of an Alien Chainsaw Monster!" Said Mr. Wilson the old pony
"Oh no." The Young 5 said all at the same time. They then all ran to the Lady's restroom except for Sandbar who went into the Men's Room.
Starlight's Bedroom:
Starlight was covering her head with her pillows trying to block the noise. "Is now really the time to cut the bushes?" "Hey you do you mind keeping it down, some ponies are trying to Sleeeeeeeeep!!!" Said Sunburst opening the curtains to reveal the back of Slice & Dice standing in front of the window.
Slice & Dice then turned around to see the 3 ponies in the bedroom. "Oh, hello there do you know where I can find The Power Rangers?"
"Dice & Slice you looking for us?" The monster turned around to see 5 of the 6 Power Rangers ready to fight while the spectators in the hospital which included Starlight & Sunburst looked on in shock.
"It's Slice & Dice!" The Monster corrected "And yes I was looking for you because I want a rematch against you wankers.
"I'll give you a rematch!" Said The Black Ranger
"No Smolder we can't fight him here if we do innocent bystanders will get hurt." Whispered The Blue Ranger
"But if you want to fight, then you're going to have to catch me first!" The monster said before running away.
"Hey get back here monster!" Said the Yellow Ranger
"Come back here so I can kick your butt!" Said the Black Ranger
"Hey, wait for me!" Said the Pink Ranger
"Come on Sandbar he's getting away!" Said the Blue Ranger running after him with her superspeed
"Guys wait something doesn't seem right!" Said the Orange Ranger running after his friends.
"Were those guys The Power Rangers?" Asked Starlight
"Yes now, do you believe me Sunburst?" Asked Chancellor Neighsay. Sunburst just fainted. "I'll take that as a yes."
Slice & Dice was running through Ponyville at top speed, ponies were running/dodging away from the monster. Slice & Dice looked back to see the Power Rangers following him which is what he wanted. But then he noticed the Blue Ranger was gaining on him. "Looks like the blue one as some speed I got to slow her down." Slice & Dice thought to himself, he then cut down a cabbage cart sending cabbages flying & causing the Blue Ranger to trip on one of the cabbages.
"Sorry about that Mr." Said Ocellus before running off with the rangers not far behind her
"What's Slice & Dice, afraid of a little fire?" Said Smolder while swinging her Chain Mace
"Yak is ready to smash monster!" Said Yona crushing some of the cabbages as she ran.
"Will you hurry it up Mr. slowpoke?" Said Silverstream trying to get a clear shot of the Monster while she ran.
"Guys wait!" Said Sandbar trying to keep up with his friends
After a few minutes of running, Slice & Dice was at the Ponyville Dam. "Perfect." "Hey, what's wrong Power Rangers too slow to keep up?" Taunted Slice & Dice
"No one calls me slow!" Smolder said swinging her Spike Chain Mace at Slice & Dice and then it wrapped around his legs tripping him & making him fall on his face. "A-ha, now I got ya!"
"I'm sorry, who's got who now?" Asked the monster with a chuckle
The rest of the Rangers caught up to Smolder. "Guys wait this might be a..." Before Sandbar could finish Orcs came from all directions & surrounded the Rangers. "trap."
"No duh it's a trap!" Said Lightning Wing who was in chains with the pony tourist.
"What is Green Pegasus doing here?' Asked Yona
"I was trying to save these ponies but I got captured like you idiots!" Lightning Wing said in annoyance
"Don't be so sure about that!" Said Silverstream
"Yeah we beat these guys twice & we can do it again." Said Smolder
"I don't think so." Said Dark Claw leaning on the edge of the dam. Silverstream was getting ready to fire an arrow at him. "Not so fast fraulein, drop your weapons or the little fraulein gets it." "Oh, and by the way, my grip is pretty weak." Said Dark Claw revealing Dinky Doo, a little grey/purple unicorn filly with a yellow mane and golden eyes. Dark Claw was holding her by the head and dangled her over the dam. The unicorn filly was terrified
Ocellus gasped. "You wouldn't!"
"Try me Blue fraulein." Dark Claw said with an evil grin
The Rangers had no choice but to drop their weapons before being grabbed and held by the Orcs. Then one of the Orcs helped untangled Slice & Dice's legs from the Chain Mace. Then he noticed something odd. "Wait a minute there's only 5 of them, were the Red Ranger?" The Rangers were silent.
"Herr Slice & Dice asked you a question I suggest you answer it and answer it honestly." He said still holding Dinky over the dam.
"We don't know where Red Friend is." said Yona
"And even if we did we wouldn't tell you!" Sandbar said
"Oh well, 5 out of 6 is better than nothing." Dark Claw said putting Dinky into his other arm & holding her tight. "Kill them, Herr Slice & Dice."
The Rangers close their eyes & brace themselves for pain and the Monster was about to cut them into ribbons. "Yeah, sure go ahead and do that." Said, Lightning Wing
"WHAT!?!?" Said everypony turning to The Green Pegasus.
"I mean it's your funeral but don't let that stop you." Lightning Wing said
"What in tarnation are you talking about?" Asked Slice & Dice
"Don't listen to him you idiot, Kill the Rangers!" Said Dark Claw in anger
"Think about it Chrome Dome if you take them out, then the red guy is going want revenge on the one who did it, and if you think you can handle that, then you don't know the first rule about Superheroes." "The most dangerous ones are the ones who have nothing to lose." "But I'm just a glorified security guard, so what do I know?" Lightning Wing said
Slice & Dice looked scared out of his mind he didn't want to take on the Power Rangers, let alone one that had nothing to lose. "Maybe we should wait until the Rad Ranger gets here." Slice & Dice said sounding scared
"You stupid bucket of bolts don't listen to that idiot we need to take out the Rangers now!"
"NO DARK CLAW!!!" Scream Master Goat who was somehow speaking to Dark Claw with telepathy.
"Master?" Dark Claw thought
"The Green Pegasus is right I can't afford any loose ends!" "I am not going to make the same mistakes that led to my defeat!" "Unless of course, you are 100% sure that The Red Ranger can't survive the flood because if he does you alone will suffer the consequences, and then you will be begging me to kill you to end your suffering!" "So I suggest that you make your choices wisely if you value your pathetic little life." Said, Master Goat
"Yes, Master." Dark Claw said "Alright Herr Slice & Dice we will wait but in the meantime, you Orc unmask the Yellow Ranger for me.
"With pleasure." Said one of the Orcs walking up to Yona and grabbing her helmet to try and reveal her secret identity." "Except...this...helmet...won't..come...off!" While the Orc was failing in taking the Yak's helmet off of her head, he was starting to hurt Yona's head from all the yanking, so she head-butted him causing to orc to stumble back and fall off the dam.
"You see this is why before hiring foot soldiers or henchmen you need to give them an IQ test first." Said, Lightning Wing
"Oh, don't worry those Orcs are just made of dust." "They can't feel a thing." Said Silverstream
"Well your haft right Pink fraulein." "But no matter The Red Ranger will come & get captured." "After all we have the perfect bait & the perfect hostage." Said Dark Claw. "Orcs tie them up." The Orc then wrapped the Rangers in chains. Dark Claw watched this while stroking Dinky like a cat with his claw which Dinky nor Lightning Wing didn't liked one bit.
"You know as soon I get out of these chains, I'm going to give you the beating of a lifetime." Lightning Wing said glaring at Dark Claw.
"Hahaha, keep dreaming Herr Lightning keep dreaming.
Ponyville Town Square:
Mr. Johnson Knightly was still looking for Gallus but he wasn't having luck in doing so. "Where could he be?" Mr. Johnson Knightly asked himself while looking around for the Griffin. "Alright Johnson think, you are a blue sarcastic teenage Griffin, you have just become a Knight with the job of protecting the Earth from an ancient evil, but this is a little too much for me to take in all at once so I need some alone time to think." "Where would I be?" Johnson said to himself.
"Technically you are none of those things." Johnson jumped to see a tall yellowish-gray Earth Pony with a short brown mane & tail and a stick in the mud as his cutie mark. This was Mudbriar.
"But if you're looking for Gallus he's right over there." Said Mudbriar's girlfriend Maud Pie, a small Persian bluish-gray Earth Pony with grayish blue-violet main & tail, who wore a blueish-gray dress. She pointed to where Gallus was sitting sadly on a park bench.
"Oh thank you strange couple I never met before." Said Johnson
"Technically we never said we were a couple." Said Mudbriar
"But it is kind of obvious since we're holding hooves." Maud pointed out. "Oh by the way your welcome strange pony we never met before. She said before she & her boyfriend walked away.
Johnson sighed, then walked to Gallus. "Sitting on a park bench brooding alone by yourself, very original Gallus."
Gallus then lifted his head to see Johnson. "Oh!" "It's you." "Look Johnson, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier today."
Johnson gave Gallus a sympathetic look. "There is no need to apologize Gallus." "Can I sit next to you?"
"Um sure," Gallus said
"You know Gallus if it makes you feel better I spent the whole week searching the globe trying to find anyone to take you & your friend's place." Said Johnson
"You did?" Gallus asked in surprise
"Yes I did, but sadly the swords didn't respond to anyone." Said Johnson in a sad tone
"Yeah, because destiny would allow it." Said, Gallus
"Yes, destiny can be a cruel mistress sometimes." "Like for me & my team," Johnson said sounding sad
"What do you mean?" Asked the blue griffin
"Well, Gallus we didn't choose to become The Power Rangers," Johnson said
"Wait, you didn't?!?" Gallus asked in shock
"Nope, just like you & your friends, our lives were changed when we were given the Sword Morphers & charged with saving the world." Said Johnson in a sorrowful tone
"Well that doesn't sound so bad, the world was ruled by darkness & you had a chance to save it." Said, Gallus
"Yes, that's how we all felt until we met Ray." The Ghost Knight said lowering his head
"Who's Ray?" Asked Gallus wondering why Johnson looked so sad
"Ray was the youngest member of our team." "In fact, he was about the age as that colt with the ball over there." Said Johnson pointing to Pipsqueak, an Earth Pony with a brown mane and spots, one of which was over his left eye.
Gallus was in complete shock. "Your kidding right?"
"I wish I was, but the fact is that was his destiny to save the world with us, and as hard as we tried we couldn't change his destiny." "Nor could I change my destiny because whether I knew it or not it was my destiny to seal the evil away, wait here to train the next generation of warriors & unable to see my friends again until the Dark One was destroyed once and for all." Said Johnson shedding a tear.
Gallus started to cry & then hugged Johnson. "I'm so sorry, for what happened to you & Ray."
Johnson returned the hug "It's okay Gallus." "As a matter of fact, there was a bright side to all of it."
Gallus broke the hug & looked confused. "There was?"
Johnson nodded without hesitation "Yes because Ray was destined to become a Power Ranger he was able to gain something he never had, a family."
Gallus gasped. "He was an orphan just like me." He thought to himself
"Also I got a chance to see the world for its beauty & see all the creatures of the world finally be free."
"I guess destiny as a flipside to it." Said, Gallus
"Correct Gallus, but destiny can also be a long series of chain events." "For example, if Princess Luna never became Nightmare Moon, then Princess Celestia would never have to banish her sister to the Moon." Said Johnson
Then it hit Gallus. "Which would mean that The Elements of Harmony never would have to be used by Twilight & her friends, which means they would never become friends, The School of Friendship would never be made and that would mean that me & my friends would never have met!"
"Exactly Gallus good things lead to bad things, leading to more good things or maybe that's just life and we all have choices." "But then again I'm just a 2000-year-old spirit, what could I possibly know about life or destiny." Said Johnson with a smile on his face.
"Or who knows maybe it was our destiny to have this conversation." Said Gallus in a sarcastic tone which got a chuckle from Johnson
"But I do know that one thing, you & your friends can save the world," Johnson said with a smile
"Because it's our destiny?" Asked Gallus
"No, because good always triumphs over evil, & whatever destiny made have instore for you won't have to face it alone because you will have me & your friends by your side," Johnson said with a smile
Gallus smiled. "Maybe your right." Just then a pony construction worker came running & crashed into the park bench with Gallus and Johnson.
"Ow, watch where you're going!" Said Johnson to the construction pony that was currently on top of him.
"Can't we got to get out of here before all of Ponyville is flooded!" The construction pony said
"What are you talking about?" Gallus asked getting up
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you!" Said the construction pony
"Try us, also please get off me." Mr. Johnson Knightly said
The construction pony got off Johnson & quickly told his story. "Well, I was working at the dam when all of a sudden these monsters appeared out of nowhere & took some ponies hostage."
"Wait, did these monsters happen to be a German guy in a cloak, a Chainsaw Monster, and some ugly guys with axes?" Asked Johnson
"Yes, how did you know?" Asked the construction pony
"Because we ran into them ourselves." Said Chancellor Neighsay coming out of a portal. "Tell us what else do you know?"
"Well, after that a Green Pegasus tried saving them but he got captured!" Said the construction pony
"Oh no, Lightning Wing!" Said Chancellor Neighsay
"And after that, some weird colored creatures came & also got caught themselves, then the German guy said after they get the Red one there going to flood Ponyville!" Said the construction pony
"WHAT!?!" All 3 of them said at the same time in shock
"Which is why we got to get out of here before Ponyville is underwater!" Said the construction pony
"But that will only happen if the Red Power Ranger shows up." Said The Chancellor
"Red Power Who?" The construction pony asked in confusion
"I'll tell you later, the point is that gives us some time to evacuate Ponyville." I'm going to Town Hall, Mare Mayor will listen to me." Said Chancellor Neighsay
"Me too we've been friends for years." Said the construction pony. Chancellor Neighsay then used his medallion to make a portal & jumped into it to take him & the construction pony to Town Hall.
"I'm going save those ponies & my friends." Said, Gallus
"You do know, as soon as they see you, they're going to break the dam right?" Asked Johnson
"Yes I know, but I just can't sit here & do nothing while my friends & those ponies are in danger if there's something I can do to help!" Gallus said unwilling to let his friends get hurt
Johnson smiled. "Then you're going to need this." He gave Gallus the same medieval chainmail armor from earlier. "Be careful."
"You're not coming with me?" Asked Gallus
"Believe me I want to, but the Dark One is most likely watching this through Dark Claws' eyes and if he recognizes me through my disguise then it could jeopardize the entire mission." Said Johnson in a serious tone. "Besides I'm going back to the Castle of the Two sisters to perform a powerful spell to prevent Ponyville from flooding just in case you & the others are unable to do so."
Gallus nodded. "Alright, good luck."
"You too." Said Johnson before the two went their separate ways.
Commercial
Two Orcs had been patrolling in front of the stair entrance of the Ponyville Dam for ten minutes and unsurprisingly they were bored. "Why are we waiting for him?" "He's got to know if he shows up he's dead." Said one of the Orcs
"He wouldn't be able to help himself, heroes like him always fall for traps like this because they're so stupid." The Orc said chuckling to himself. He then turned around to see his companion knocked out cold. "Hey what happened to..." He said before getting knocked out cold himself with a large rock by Gallus who was now wearing his medieval chainmail armor.
"I'm sorry, who's the stupid one?" Gallus whispered. He then quietly went up the stairs entrance. When he got to the top he saw his friends, the Pony Tourist, some more Orcs, Slice & Dice, and Dark Claw who was holding a small filly. Luckily the only one who noticed Gallus was Lightning Wing but Gallus quickly shushed him.
Lightning Wing then mouthed. "Do you need a distraction?" Gallus nodded and the Lightning Wing got an idea. "Hey, Slice Boy!" Lightning Wing
"I told you mate the name is Slice & Dice and I thought I told you to shut up." Said The Monster
"Fine, I just wanted to play a game of 20 Questions." Said Lightning Wing which got weird looks from everypony
"Why?" Asked Dark Claw looking confused
"I don't know, may because we have nothing better to do until the red guy gets here, & you're probably about as bored as I am." Lightning Wing said
Dark Claw had a feeling that The Green Pegasus was up to something, but he quickly shook off that thought because he knew that The Green Pegasus couldn't do anything while he was chained up. "Sure why not?" "I'll start." "First question, are you as dumb as you look?"
"I don't know, are you?" Asked Lightning Wing which got a laugh out of Slice & Dice
"You walked right into that one you big meanie." Said Dinky
"Hey, you stay out of this!" Dark Claw said to the filly
"How can I stay out of this if you won't let me go?" "You really are as dumb as you look, and considering that you're hiding your face under that hood you must look really dumb." Said Dinky getting a laugh from everypony
"She got you there Dark Claw." Said The Monster
"Hey, last time I checked you're not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed yourself Slice & Dice!" Said Dark Claw getting in his face.
"Hey, that reminds me I have a question for you to Slice & Dice." Said, Lightning Wing
"Me?" Slice & Dice asked
"Yes, is it that your body is too massive for your teeny-tiny head, or is it that your head is too teeny-tiny for your big fat body?" Lightning Wing said with a smirk on his face. While the Pony Tourist & the Rangers couldn't believe that he was insulting the two monsters, they weren't sure if he was brave or just crazy, or maybe both.
"That's it I have had enough of your mouth, Slice & Dice kill him!" Dark Claw commanded.
"I'll do so with pleasure." The Monster said ready to cut like a tree.
"Yes I'm sure you will but before you do, can I have one more question?" Lightning Wing said looking scared
"Sure, why not?" Asked Dark Claw with a smirk
Lightning Wing then got a smirk on his face. "You two idiots ever hear of a distraction?" They then heard the sound of chains breaking & turned to see someone dressed in medieval chainmail armor with one of the Orc's axes with the Orcs themselves already turned into dust. The two barely had any time to react as The Pink Ranger grabbed her bow & fired 4 arrows, 3 of which hit the monster sending him back a few feet & the last arrow breaking the chains that bonded Lightning Wing & the Pony Tourist. "Nice shot!" Lightning Wing said before freeing the other ponies & grabbing one of the chains spinning them like a lasso.
"Ah-ah-ah, remember I still have the little fraulein, and unless you want her to get.." Before Dark Claw could finish he was hit in the back of the head with a bag full of mail by a gray, walleyed Pegasus mare with a yellow mane and golden eyes, her Cutie Mark bubbles, and a mail pony's hat on. "Nobody hurts my little muffin & gets away with it!" Said Derpy Hooves
"Mama!" Dinky said hugging her mother with her mother hugging her back
Dark Claw was about to throw up from the sweet moment, but just then a chain wrapped around him pinning his arms to his side, then Lightning Wing got up into his face & glared intensely at him. "I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should." Lightning Wing then started to beat the crap out of Dark Claw while Derpy & Dinky watched & cringed. "Oh, I'm sorry sweetie did you want a swing at the big meanie?" Lightning Wing asked Dinky holding the chained & beaten up Dark Claw
"No thank you, Mr." Said Dinky said shaking her head
"I don't condone violence." Said Derpy holding Dinky
"You're a good mother." Said Lightning Wing before going back to beating the crap out of Dark Claw
"Oww, what in tarnation hit me?" Asked Slice & Dice, then he noticed the Rangers were free & someone wearing medieval chainmail armor. "Hey, who do think you are mate?"
"Knight's Defenders Knights Forever!" Said, Gallus then he instamorphed
"So you decided to show up around 2 after all," Asked the monster ready for a fight.
"Alright, guys here is the plan, Blue & Pink get these ponies out of here," "Orange, Yellow & Black were going to take this guy down." Said Gallus taking charge. "And Green Pegasus?"
"Yeah?" said Lightning Wing holding the chained & beaten up Dark Claw
" Keep doing that." Said Gallus
"Well, if you insist." "Piledriver!" Said Lightning Wing as he jumped into the air & delivered a jumping elbow drop to Dark Claw.
Slice & Dice charged ahead intending to hurt the Pony Tourist but thankfully he was stopped by Gallus & his Twin Swords. Then Smolder wrapped his arms in her Spike Chain Mace. "Oh come on, not again!" Said Slice & Dice who could not believe that he had been chained up 3 times in one day.
"Take hammer monster!" Said Yona charging ahead & with a boost from Sandbar's and his Can Staff she was able to jump high into the air and was coming down with her War Hammer ready to hit him with her War Hammer hard.
"Oh no, you don't!" Said the monster using his strength to lift Smolder into the air and causing her to crash into Yona and then the two of them were about to fall into the water below. But just then a huge leaf broke their fall.
The huge leaf in question came from Sandbar's Can Staff. "Cool!" "How did I do that?" He Asked
"You sure be asking yourself how am I going to survive this!" Said the monster who slipped out of the Spike Chain Mace and then slashed The Orange Ranger.
"Oh no Sand..." Before Gallus could finish he was slashed by Slice & Dice.
"Chainsaw monster is going to pay for that!" Said Yona getting angry
"Yeah nobody hurts our friends and gets away with it!" Said Smolder picking up her Spike Chain Mace.
"Oh, I'm sorry let me repay you in pain!" Said the monster as one of his chainsaw arms started to glow a Light Blue aura. "Chainsaw Beam!" A Light Blue beam in the shape of a Chainsaw fired at the Black & Yellow Rangers sending them flying and crashing into a wall.
"Oww now I know how a punching bag feels." Said the dragon.
"Wow, this guy is tougher than he looks." Said one of the Pony Tourists taking some pictures with her camera.
"Less talking and watching more getting out of here!" Said ocellus
"No one's going anywhere!" Slice & Dice said as both of his chainsaw arms started to glow a Light Blue aura getting ready to fire his double chainsaw beam at the Rangers & the pony tourist.
"Oh no, you don't!" Said Silverstream firing arrows at Slice & Dice. But Slice & Dice cut every arrow in half before they hit him turning into water soaking his feet.
Slice & Dice laugh evilly at the Pink Ranger "Hahahaha, do you really think a few drops of water is enough to stop me?" He boasted
"Maybe not, but this might!" Said Lightning Wing's voice. Just then Slice & Dice was electrocuted by lightning or more pacifically Lightning Wing zapped Slice & Dice's soaked feet with some lighting that came from the tip of one of Lightning Wing's feathers. "Quite a shock isn't it hahaha." Said Lightning Wing laughing at his terrible pun.
Slice & Dice's circuits were fried & he was smoking, literally. Slice & Dice could barely keep his balance wobbling around for a bit before tripping off the edge of the dam. "No!" Ocellus screamed running to try and save him but she was too late as he fell off the dam and into the water.
"Oh man, I didn't mean for that to happen!" Said Lightning Wing, even if the monster was evil he didn't deserve to drown.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about Herr Slice & Dice because he's about to have a major growth spurt, hahaha!" Said Dark Claw while his claw glowed a pitch-black aura.
Just then a giant black cocoon came out of the water and then a Giant Slice & Dice burst out of the giant black cocoon. "Crikey I'm huge!" Said the Giant Slice & Dice his voice echoing.
"D-d-d-did not see that coming." Said Lightning Wing sounding scared his irises becoming pinpricks.
"Yes and I bet you didn't see this one coming!" Dark Claw said headbutting Lightning Wing's chest causing Lightning Wing to let go of Dark Claw and to hold his bruised ribs. "Auf Wiedersehen Power Rangers hahaha!" Said Dark Claw jumping off the dam and into a small black portal.
"What are you going to do now puny Rangers?" Said, Giant Slice & Dice
"How in Equestria are we going to stop him?!?! Asked Gallus
"There is no need to worry." Said The Ghost Knight's Voice
"Johnson?" Said all the Rangers at the same time. The Ghost Knight was speaking to them with telepathy.
"2000 Years ago me and my fellow Legendary Knights called upon Ancient Beast in times of need, but ever since our war with The Dark One ended they have slept, waiting for the time when they are needed again, and NOW THAT TIME AS COME!!!!" Just then The 6 Ancient Beasts came out from underground just outside of Ponyville but these 6 Ancient Beasts weren't beasts at all. In actuality, they were Giant Biomechanical Robots called Zords.
RED ROC Zord
BLUE DRAGONFLY Zord
YELLOW BUGBEAR Zord
BLACK PHOENIX Zord
PINK SEA SERPENT Zord
ORANGE FOREST WOLF Zord
The Ponies of Ponyville, Lightning Wing, Derpy & Dinky, and The Power Rangers couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Hey what in tarnation are you all staring at?" Asked Giant Slice & Dice. He then turned around to see the Zords. "Holy Boxing Kangaroos!" Then the Blue Dragonfly Zord used its giant wings to blow the Giant Monster to the other side of the dam with all the water. Then The Rangers looked at each other and nodded before jumping into each of the cockpits that controlled their respected Zords and thanks to their connection to The Morphing Grid they instantly knew how to pilot the Zords. The Pink Sea Serpent Zord dived into the water. Then surfaced and literally took a bite out of The Giant Monster before diving again. Silverstream and her Zord did this dive & surface combo attack 3 more times before getting caught in Giant Slice & Dice's grip. "I'm going to cut your Zord like sushi!" Said Giant Slice & Dice
"Not if Yak has anything to say about it!" Said Yona using her Yellow Bugbear Zord to headbutt The Giant Monster breaking his grip.
"Thanks." Silverstream said before she & her Zord dived back into the water.
"Let's see how Giant Chainsaw Monster Handles this!" Said Yona as her Zord used its 4 arms to pick up giant rocks and threw them at The Giant Monster.
But Giant Slice & Dice just cut the two of the giant rocks in haft and the other 2 giant rocks didn't even phase him despite hitting him square on the face. "Is that all you got mate?!?" Asked The Giant Monster in a taunting tone. This only made Yona angry no one taunted a Yak and got away with it. Yona used her Yellow Bugbear Zord to fly headfirst at The Giant Monster, Giant Slice & Dice tried to slash at her but Yona was able to turn the tables on him by grabbing both of his Chainsaw arms. He then tried a surprise attack with his 2 Chainsaws Shoulder Pads, but Yona saw that coming and was able to use her Yellow Bugbear's other arms to grab the 2 Chainsaws Shoulder Pads. Then using the Zors's strength was able to suplex throw the giant monster into a nearby Mountain. "That's it, now I'm really mad!"
"Oh, you want some more?" "Okay then let's turn up the heat!" Said Smolder pressing a button in the cockpit causing her Black Phoenix Zord to breathe fire on Giant Slice & Dice.
"Hey I want to get in on some of this fun too!" Said Gallus pressing a button in the cockpit causing his Red Roc Zord to fire missiles from its wings. "Yeah, we got him!" However when the smoke cleared The Giant Monster wasn't even scratched.
"You got to be kidding me!" Said Smolder in disbelief
"Double Chainsaw Beam!!!" Said Giant Slice & Dice firing two giant Light Blue beams in the shape of a Chainsaws at the 2 Zords.
Gallus was able to dodge it but the same could not be said for Smolder who was hit hard and was going down. "Oh no, Smolder!" Gallus screamed
Luckily Ocellus and her Blue Dragonfly Zord were able to catch her before she hit the ground. "Thanks for the save Ocellus." Said Smolder.
"No problem what are friends for?" Ocellus said
"Oh this is just perfect now I can take 2 Rangers out at once!" Said Giant Slice & Dice getting ready for another Chainsaw Beam Attack.
But before he could charge up Sandbar and his Orange Forest Wolf Zord jumped on the Giant Monster and was biting and clawing. "Your not hurting anypony as long as I'm here!" Said Sandbar
"Get off of me you Meiji fleabag!" Said Giant Slice & Dice throwing the Zord off of him but thankfully the Zord was able to land on all 4 feet safely.
"Okay then well let's see what this Meiji fleabag can do!" Said Sandbar pressing a button in the cockpit causing his Orange Forest Wolf Zord to make a sonic Howell wave of sound that could be heard all across Equestria. Giant Slice & Dice covered his ears in pain.
After Smolder's Zord was stabilized Ocellus & Silverstream both pressed a button in their cockpits causing both of their Zords to do different things. Silverstream's Pink Sea Serpent fired a hydro pump of water out of its mouth, while Ocellus's Blue Dragonfly Zord fired blue beams of wind from its 4 wings all 3 attacks knocked The Giant Monster down, and just to make sure he was down Sandbar pressed another button in the cockpit causing his Orange Forest Wolf Zord to shoot green vines out of its tail to bind The Giant. However, even that wasn't enough to keep him down as he just broke out of the green vines with only a few sparks coming out of his armor. "We've hit him with everything we got and it's this not enough!" Said Gallus not sure what else they could do.
"That is it!" "I have had just about enough of you pesky Power Rangers, prepare to feel my full power!!!" Screamed Giant Slice & Dice both of his Chainsaw Arms and chainsaws shoulder pads glowing a Light Blue aura.
"G-guys please tell me he's bluffing." Said Silverstream hoping he was.
"Sorry to say but I don't think he is." Said Smolder
"Rangers listen to me quickly!" Said Johnson's voice who was once again speaking to them with telepathy. "You must use your Sword Morphers to use the Zords full power against Slice & Dice!
"But wait if we do that won't that destroy him?!?" Asked Ocellus not wanting to do that at all.
"If you don't then Slice & Dice will destroy you, the dam, and all of Ponyville." "It's the only way trust me." Said Johnson sincerity in his voice.
"Johnson is right, we don't a choice!" Said Gallus reluctantly taking his Sword Morpher off his wrist and placing it in a slot in the cockpit and the other Rangers followed suit. Then their Zords started to glow an aura matching their colors.
"Now you die, ULTIMATE CHAINSAW BEAM!!!!!" Scream Giant Slice & Dice firing 4 Giant Light Blue Beam in the shape of chainsaws that all came together into a Giant Light Blue X. But just then The 6 Zords each fired a beam of light matching their colors. There was a bit of a beam struggle but The 6 Zords were able to send Slice & Dice's ultimate attack right back at him. After the blast Giant Slice & Dice could barely stand with sparks coming all out of his armor. "I can't believe I've been cut down to siiiiiizzzeee!!!" Screamed Giant Slice & Dice while he was falling to the ground and then he exploded. The explosion could be seen from Canterlot.
After that, the Rangers and their Zords disappeared in a white flash of light. Lightning Wing, Derpy, and Dinky were in complete shock, their jaws almost to the floor. "Did they just...?" Asked Dinky
"Now now small and adorable little one, let's not assume anything we don't know anything yet." "All we do know is that those Power Ranger Guys are here to protect us." Said, Lightning Wing
Last Commercial
The Dead Rotting swamp inside the goat-shaped cavernous:
The silhouetted goat just watched Slice & Dice be destroyed once again thanks to The Eye of The Arimaspi, and then Dark Claw fell from this small black portal still chained up. "So you return, despite failing me." Said the silhouetted goat
"I take it, Slice & Dice was destroyed?" Dark Claw said gulping in fear
"Yes, but before I punish you, I need you to do something for me." Said the silhouetted goat
"What's that Master?" Dark Claw asked in fear
"Resurrect the Orc who came here earlier the one who was defeated by children, I have a feeling that those children that defeated him and the Power Rangers, are one in the same." Said the silhouetted goat
"Good idea Master, but sadly I can't do that." Dark Claw said nervously
The silhouetted goat glared at him. "Why not?"
"Well, because to resurrect something or someone I need a piece of them, but you completely disintegrated him. Dark Claw said. The silhouetted goat then blasted a large hole in the wall in frustration. "But, I can help you find out the Ranger's secret identities, in exchange for two simple things."
"Name them." The silhouetted goat said simply
"Firstly I want revenge on that Green Pegasus Lightning Wing." Dark Claw said grinding his teeth
"Petty revenge understandable, and the other?" Asked the silhouetted goat
"I want to know everything about you." "Who you are, where did you come from, what's your motivation, everything."
The silhouetted goat smiled. "Bring me the Power Ranger's secret identities and I shall tell you everything you wish to know." Said the silhouetted goat who then freed Dark Claw from his chains. "But for now I have a different assignment for you." "To defeat The Power Rangers I'm going to need brains, power, and experience." "I need to assemble a small elite team of generals, and you Dark Claw are going to bring them to me." Said the silhouetted goat
"Yes of course master, I will bring you the most dangerous Villains Equestria has ever seen."
"Good." "Oh, and Dark Claw you have 48 hours to do so." The silhouetted goat said in a chilling voice.
"Yes, Master." Dark Claw said sounding scared before making a small black portal and jumping into it.
"Minions always work better under pressure," The silhouetted goat said walking to the large hole in the wall that he made.
The Castle of The Two Sisters:
The Young 6 appeared in a flash of white light, and there waiting for them was The Ghost Knight Johnson. "Congratulations Rangers you saved Ponyville," Johnson said but then noticed that The Young 6 weren't happy. "What's wrong you seem sad."
"You would be too if you had to destroy a monster." "I know he was evil, but he didn't deserve that." Said Ocellus lowering her head in sorrow.
"Well, I'm sure Slice & Dice will be happy to hear that." Said Johnson revealing a sealed glass bottle in his hand which had a shrunken Slice & Dice inside who was trying to cut himself out but it wasn't working.
The Rangers were in shock and even took off their helmets to make sure they were seeing what they thought they were seeing. "Who, what, where, when, why, how?" Smolder asked in confusion which got a chuckle from Johnson.
"You see just before Slice & Dice was destroyed, I was able to trap him inside this bottle, & that explosion was just a little parlor trick to make the Dark One think we destroyed Slice & Dice." Explained Johnson
"But how?" Asked Smolder
"And why?" "Not that I'm complaining." Said Ocellus
"So that maybe one day he can be reformed like you & the other changelings were Ocellus, and as for the how, well when you have 2000 years of free time to master magic you can do all most anything. Johnson said putting the glass bottle on a nearby Shelf. "Oh, and don't try to push the bottle off because that won't break it either." Said Johnson, Slice & Dice then crossed his Chainsaw arms in anger.
"Well, this has officially been the coolest day of my life, except for getting captured and almost killed of course." Said Silverstream
"No kidding, I can't wait to tell my little sister that I'm a Superhero!" Said Sandbar in an exciting tone.
"No Sandbar you can't tell anyone you're a Power Ranger." Said Johnson in a serious tone
"It's okay, she's just a baby she won't be able to tell anyone." Explained Sandbar
"Oh, well that's a very good point but your parents might hear you say that to your baby sister, and the fewer ponies that know, the safer they will be." Explained Johnson
'Oh yeah, your right that is Superhero 101 in comic books." Said Sandbar though Johnson had no idea what Sandbar was talking about.
"Any way you have all done well in taking your first step to your destiny, even if some of you still don't believe in destiny right, Gallus?" Asked The Johnson Knight looking at the griffin
Gallus shook his head "No, I still believe we choose our own paths, and right now I choose to protect The World with my friends if that's okay with you guys." Said Gallus looking at his friends
"Well protecting The World also means protecting my family, so I think you already know my answer." Said Sandbar
"Yak second that!" Said Yona with a proud smile on her face.
"Hey, I already made up my mind about this, so you already know I'm in." Said Smolder cracking her claws
"Nothing will stop us, because we will do it together!" Said Silverstream
"If the world is in danger, then I will do what I must to save it." Said Ocellus
The Ghost Knight smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, now Rangers please take a knee so I can knight you." He said pulling out his sword. The Young 6 got down to one knee and bowed their heads ready to be knighted. "Ocellus, smart and gentle as the breeze you will be known as The Knight of the Wind, Yona, strong and powerful as the mountains you will be known as The Knight of the Earth, Silverstream, full of energy and unpredictable as the waves you will be known as The Knight of the Ocean, Sandbar, sturdy and unshakable as the Trees of the world you will be known as The Knight of the Forest, Smolder, hot-tempered with a burning fire inside as the volcano you will be known as The Knight of the Flames, Gallus, young and full of unlimited potential as the great warriors of the past you will be known as The Knight of Leadership." "From this point on you will be known as The Power Rangers Knights of War, Protectors of the Earth."
End of Episode |
From Eternia to Equestria | pre | "Start from the beginnin'," Applejack suggested shrugging her shoulders.
"Are you sure? That's pretty long... you'd be here for the rest of your lives if you want to watch everything. How about I just do the important parts?"
"Okay. That sounds good," Twilight replied. The girls all nodded in agreement. Staying there for the rest of their lives was not really an option.
"Then let's get started." Orko raised his hand above his head and bolts of red lightning burst from the red crystal high above them. They flickered throughout the room and each bounced off the slanted walls before rebounding off the floor and back towards the ceiling right back at the crystal in the middle.
The girls all huddled together trying to dodge the bolts of crimson lightning but they soon discovered that this action was pointless; the lightning was harmless. Pinkie, on the other hand, found it much more fun to prance around hopping through the lightning bolts giggling away to herself.
Suddenly the ground beneath them disappeared and in its space was a deep black darkness that seemed to stretch beyond infinity. The girls gasped in surprise. Twilight and Rarity both understood that it was an illusion, their hooves were still firmly planted on the floor. However, the pegasi naturally hovered above the darkness while Applejack clung to Rainbow for dear life. Pinkie remained unaffected by the sudden change and just kept dancing with the red lightning bolts now cascading faster and faster.
There was a sound that started to grow louder and louder. Like approaching a waterfall.
The red lightning started to move faster and faster until it seemed to form a solid orb of energy around them along the walls. High above them the crystal seemed to explode outwards in a mixture of colored lights as blue and green joined the red lightning. The three different colors began to fluctuated in increasingly rapid succession until the lights started to turn white.
"I can't see!" Applejack protested closing her eyes tightly trying to protect them.
"What's going on?" Rainbow moaned trying to peer through the blinding light as best she could.
"Whee!" Pinkie shouted spinning around and giggling.
Suddenly the light faded and the girls found themselves standing on a small hill overlooking a valley. A light breeze seemed to waft through the air, but they could not feel it. There was a large river winding its way lazily through the valley and long irrigation fields splayed out on either side of it all the way to the base of the hills. The crops were growing nicely, Applejack noticed. The skies were mostly clear except for some stray clouds that moved lazily across the azure sky.
The scene quickly shifted to the left where a large white alicorn stood gazing out into the distance.
"Oh my," Fluttershy whispered seeing him. She shyly landed on the ground and hid behind Twilight and Rarity who were at a loss of words. They had never seen a stallion like this before.
His wings were partially spread open, an unfelt breeze ruffling his large feathers.
Twilight opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by an unseen voice.
"Swifty?" it asked. Whoever it was, they sounded so kind, so gentle, so tender.
The great stallion turned his head towards the the girls, "Yes, Sorceress?"
"This is a wonderful place to build you new city," the voice replied.
The image shifted back to the right and gazed across the green pastures and fields again. Birds fluttered in a tight formation together over the river. In the far distance the girls could see the reflection of water and understood that it was a lake.
"I know this place," Twilight whispered.
The stallion replied to the voice's opinion. "It is. I think it befitting for our people. The lands here are healthy. The abandoned human cities are not right for us. We need to start from the beginning. A new beginning for a new age." The image once again focused on the stallion. He gave the girls a derisive look. "Are you recording this?"
The image moved up and down and the girls instantly realized that the 'voice' was nodding.
"Why?" The stallion asked, his voice rumbling as a deep chuckle escaped his throat.
"Memories. One day, in the distant future, your descendants might find it and watch it. Then they can see where they came from. You never know. They could be watching right now."
The stallion laughed gently, "Why do you concern yourself with such things, She-Ra?"
The image moved again. Whatever the device was was now being held by a bald, fair looking creature who peered at it with a gentle smile. Her face had filled the entirety of the wall. Gently, she placed the object down on the ground and stepped back. The girls could see her walking towards the stallion and within a few quick steps was standing next to the alicorn.
"Because it's important to remember the past, Swifty. It's important so that we don't repeat our mistakes. We've made some terrible mistakes in the past. Dreadful ones," she replied stroking his neck
The stallion put his head on the creature's shoulders.
"Indeed. You are right, but I don't believe that a holo-vid would help."
"You never know, is just might," The creature replied.
She stood on her hind legs and wore a thin veil across her body while on her head she wore an eagle shaped hood that covered her head, shoulders and back, right down to her legs just below her knees. The beak of the eagle formed a brim over her eyes that strangely suited her face and figure.
Standing next to them, the girls felt tiny. This great stallion and whatever the other creature was were tall, especially the stallion who was a full head taller than the Sorceress.
Pinkie hopped over to touch them, but her hoof failed to touch anything as it passed through them.
"Ghosts?" Applejack panicked trying to climb on top of Rainbow who was having trouble staying aloft.
Orko's laughter could be heard at that moment and he appeared through the 'image' by breaking the 'sky', or whatever it was. An illusion, the mage has called it, but Twilight didn't know anypony who could create this kind of illusion or with this amount of detail. It broke apart as he entered the hologram, the picture reforming behind him almost instantly.
"No, no, silly. It's a hologram. They're not real."
"A hologram?" Twilight asked looking at the mage. That was when she noticed something peculiar. Everything was now standing perfectly still. Even a bird in the distance was no longer moving. All movement had stopped.
"Didn't I explain it already? Well, think of it like a living picture. Instead of you looking at it from outside, you're looking at it from inside instead! Does that make sense? Right now I've paused it."
"This is amazing. It's like a... dream."
"Actually, that's a great metaphor. It's like we're watching someone else's dream from the inside."
"How have you paused it?"
Orko pulled out a small black rectangle from within his cloak and offered it to Twilight. "See that small blue triangle in the middle there? If you push that, the hologram will resume. Go on, try."
Twilight carefully pulled the remote from Orko's hand and looked at it.
"Amazing. Simply amazing." The Trollan hovered around Twilight, "You can hold that without any fingers! That's incredible."
"This? All ponies can do this..."
"Ponies, hm? I guess you are. Considering your sizes," Orko replied as he hovered around the large alicorn, "that does make sense."
"Who is he?" Twilight asked.
"This? You don't know who this is? Wow, I must've been down here much longer than I thought. Well, this is His Royal Highness, Swift Wind of Equestria. Sovereign and Guardian of Harmony and Peace. I think. I don't really remember these long titles and stuff. Prince Swift Wind is easier."
The girls exchange looks. They had never heard of him, and Twilight who had read almost every history book in Equestria had never once come across his name. Sure, there were other 'Swift Winds' in the past, but none of them ever held the title of Prince.
"And who's that?" Twilight asked pointing at the other creature.
"That? That's the Sorceress. Before she became the Sorceress of Eternia, she was She-Ra, Princess of Power." He had said the title and name in a deeper voice, as if announcing her presence. "She led the rebellion against Hordak and the Horde on Etheria, another world from this one-"
"Wait! Let me get this straight," Applejack said interrupting Orko, "we're supposed to be descendants of Swift Wing-"
"Wind. His name's Swift Wind."
"Sorry. Swift Wind. If we're supposed to come from him, how come he's so big and we're not?"
Orko shrugged, "I dunno."
"Well," Twilight began, "if you think about how tall the Princesses are and how old they are. Maybe it has to do with time. I mean, maybe over time we've just grown smaller and smaller. Our Princesses are over a thousand of years old, you know. That would mean you've been down here all that time... alone..."
The reality of that fact made the Mane Six cringe.
"How did you manage to stay sane for all that time?" Rarity asked, "It must have been just dreadful for you being all alone for so long."
Orko shrugged, "It was at first. After a while you get used to it. Plus, when I got bored, I just watched movies and videos and stuff, I guess. Plus, there's always nap time. I like nap time."
"You poor thing," Rarity replied with her friendliest smile. "After we're done here, you can come live with us in our town. I'll even lend you a room until you get yourself settled."
The floating red mage just blushed, and wiped a tear from his eye, "T-thank you very much. You're very generous."
Rarity gave a comforting smile in response.
Twilight felt really proud of her friend. Taking in a stranger was just like Rarity. She was after all the Element of Generosity. Looking down at the remote she pressed the triangle making the scene continue from where it had left off.
"... Swifty, it's been over a year since the war-"
Twilight paused it again.
"War?"
"War. Yes. A very brutal, very bad, awful, awful war. A lot of good people died. I lost a lot of friends that day," Orko said sadly. He looked at Twilight. "If you don't mind, I don't really want to talk about that war. Even if it has been eons since it happened, the memories are still very painful to me."
Pinkie walked over to the Trollan and smiled. "There, there."
Orko bawled on Pinkie's shoulder as Twilight pressed play again.
"- you cannot keep blaming yourself for what has happened so far!"
"It was my fault our peoples are divided, Sorceress. It was my pride and arrogance that led to half this pointless conflict. It is different from before, when we battled the Horde. These are my people. To take the life of another that is similar to me is not what I had envisioned." Swift Wind walked towards the valley, "I cannot believe that the one I love would betray me in this way."
"Star isn't thinking clearly. I have no idea what has come over her, but I'm sure she loves you just as she always had. You are her mate, after all." The Sorceress walked over to the stallion and stroked his shoulder, "Perhaps you should talk with her again. Renegotiate her return?"
"You believe she will listen this time?" the stallion scoffed.
"I believe her love for you will make her see sense."
Swift turned around and walked away, "While I do find your optimism refreshing, my experience and expectations know better. She will not come to me willingly."
"Then you refuse to see her?"
"I never said that. I only said she would not see me willingly."
The image faded to black and the girls found themselves standing in the holo-chamber, only this time the walls were white a bright white and the lights that formed the boundary of the walls were glowing various colors, slowly changing. Orko landed in the middle of the room and sat on the ground deep in thought.
"What's up?" Pinkie asked kneeling beside him.
"I got confused about which war they were talking about. I thought they were referring to another war about how they came to Eternia, but I think they were referring to Star Wind's jealousy."
"Star Wind's jealousy?" Rarity asked, "Whatever do you mean?"
"It was before I came to Eternia- er, I mean Equestria. You see, the Sorceress over there and Swift Wind have always had a special relationship with each other. They were partners that fought against the Horde together-" He saw the look on their faces. "Oh right. Um... the Horde are really, really bad guys who were really, really mean and liked to hurt things and destroy things and... yeah, they were just a really bad bunch. They liked conquering planets and enslaving the population. It was rumored that the horde had over a thousand planets under their control, but no one knows if that's really true."
"A thousand planets?" Twilight asked.
"Across many different dimensions and stuff, yeah." Orko shrugged, "You see, Eternia was special because it's in a the perfect position between the many different kinds of dimensions, which is how magic and science can exist together so naturally. My guess is that when Etheria and Eternia were pulled apart, Eternia was pulled into another dimension along the way. I guess."
"You guess?"
"Well, as well as being watching videos and stuff, there's also the library-"
"You have a library? With books?"
Orko looked up at Twilight, "Well... yes. It's a pretty big library... it's somewhere in the lower levels."
"You mean we can go further down?" the lavender unicorn asked.
"Oh yeah." The way he had said it implied that there was a lot more below the castle than they could imagine. "Anyway, Star got real jealous of Swift's and the Sorceresses' attentions to one another and one day she just up and left with half the other equines. It broke Swift's heart. After that a civil war started. I think. Now that you mention it there might be more information in the library below."
"I've been meaning to ask; what is the Sorceress? I mean, I've never seen anything like her." Twilight thought about it for a moment, "She stands on her hind legs like a minotaur, but she has no fur covering her body."
"She's a human. Don't you know-" Orko smacked his forehead, "Of course you don't know what a human is. How silly of me. You don't get them on Eternia anymore. Oh, sorry, Equestria. I'll never get used to that name. Well, that's a human. They're not equines and I guess you could say they're really, really smart bald monkeys. I guess. Let's play the next scene. There might be more information. Twilight, if you please."
Twilight obliged.
The room suddenly changed and they all found themselves indoors. A large open doorway led to a balcony to one side from where they could see Castle Grayskull in the distance. At the far end sat Swift Wind on a raised platform; a throne. His wings were folded behind him with a dark and dangerous look in his eyes. As the image began to fill and settle, the rest of the room was populated by other alicorns of similar height and build. Many wore armor of some sort, and they all carried weapons. None of them smiled. This was not a happy occasion.
"Bring them in!" Swift roared making Fluttershy duck behind her friends.
The far end of the hall two large wooden doors were pulled open with magic. In walked five more alicorns: a mare that led them who was flanked by the four stallions. None wore armor and they each had wounds across their bodies. The last one was limping as they approached Swift and stood before him. Not a word was spoken, not a single kind gesture extended.
The mare walked right up to the base of the throne and was blocked by two large halberds that barred her path. It was clear she was not going passed this point.
"Dear," the mare began.
"You have no right to call me that!" Swift shouted slowly, his voice seemed to shake the very foundations of the castle.
"Very well. Swift Wind, or should I call you Your Highness. Congratulations on overthrowing my armies. You have done well for yourself..."
"Why did you attack Trottinvale? Why did you bring your armies across the Bad Marshes when we agreed on a cease fire? Why did you invade my lands when I did nothing to provoke you and yours?" Swift's voice was as cold as steel.
"I don't know what makes you-"
"Why?" the stallion stomped his hoof on the ground as raw magical power exploded from it cracking the floor in a burst of red and blue light. Such was his power that the crack extended towards the mare stopping inches from her.
Everyone else in that hall shifted in their hooves. All but one. Not the mare. Not Star Wind. She held her ground against her mate standing tall and proud. Like a princess. No, she was more than a princess; she was a queen.
"You want to know why?" she asked, turning her head away from him, "I'll tell you why! It's because of her! She's the one that made me do it! It's all her fault! She stole you from me! She took your heart from me! You think me a fool? You think me some docile mare that does nothing but accepts your every whim and fancy? I am your mate! You are a part of me! Not her! Not that... that... whore! Am I not your partner? Am I not the mare who bore your only child, husband? I refuse to be second prize to any! I refuse to share your love with any! Especially her!"
The Sorceress did not flinch at the tirade, nor did she avert her eyes. Neither broke eye contact.
"Canterlot." Swift's voice said quietly as he sat heavy upon his throne. His voice was no longer laced with anger, but with a different emotion; sadness.
"We burnt that city to the ground," the mare replied calmly, laughing as she paced along the stone floor in front of the throne. "Under my direct orders since you had it built for... her."
"I know you burnt the city to ground! I know you ordered the entire city razed so that not even one stone could be used and I know that you even cursed the very ground it is built sacrificing the magical powers of half your subjects. I know of how their horns rotted off, their magic gone. What is a unicorn without a horn? They can never cast another spell, and their children will never know magic. I know this. I know it all because there were survivors who had fled your purge. I know of how you condemned them, even after they had loyally served you without question, and yet you betrayed them."
"They were no longer necessary. Unlike you, I know when it is time to let go of the past."
"Murderer!" one of the alicorns shouted, only he was not an alicorn any longer. His horn was gone and instead he had a scar on his forehead. "I served you without question and you had me and my family put to death! You treasonous wench! You deserve to die! You lied to us! You lied to us all!"
The magicless alicorn was dragged away by other alicorns.
"... my children! Give me back my children!" he shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks. His voice could still be heard as he was taken from the throne room and down the hall.
Twilight pressed pause and the image froze, the sounds of the alicorn's screams ended.
"I... I don't know what to say."
Twilight looked at Rainbow and Fluttershy.
"I guess I should've warned you that... yeah, it's not a happy time." Orko scratched the back of his head.
"That was a pegasus." Rarity said slowly.
Fluttershy did not hide her tears, "How horrible. How could she do that?"
Orko did not respond. He looked at the girls and hovered in front of Twilight, "Maybe... maybe you shouldn't actually see this. I wasn't thinking. I don't think that you should be seeing this. It's in the past. I shouldn't have brought you here. It's unfair to you-"
"No." Twilight looked at Orko, "What the Sorceress said before is right. We need to learn from the past, not forget it ever happened. We need to know because it's important. Right, girls?"
They all exchanged looks. Even Pinkie, the Element of Laughter, could not bring a smile to her face. Everything they had learned, everything that they had discovered, was all too much.
"How much more is there, Orko?"
"Um... quite a bit more, Twilight. Are you sure you want to continue. I don't think your friends are ready for it."
"Girls, he's right. If you don't want to stay, I understand."
"I'm with ya, Twilight," Applejack said. "Honestly, I don't know if I can not see what happens next. This is where we came from, after all. Even if it's painful, I think it's important."
"I'll always stick by you," Rainbow landed next to her lavender friend, "and if it's important to you, I'll be here with you all the way."
Fluttershy and Pinkie exchanged looks before nodding. They would stay.
Rarity sighed, "My dear, as painful as it is, I also think it's important to see."
"Okay then."
With that, Twilight resumed the hologram.
They could still hear the pegasus' screams as it slowly faded into the distance.
Star looked at the Swift with disgust, "You let that abomination live? You cannot allow them to exist! Why have you allowed it? Have you no pride in what you are? You are a unicorn. You were one of the most feared creatures on Etheria. You were one of the most feared warriors in the known universe! Since when do you protect those that are impure? That should not be allowed to exist!"
"All things deserve to live, Star."
"Do not talk to me, whore!" Star shouted at the Sorceress.
Still the Sorceress did not flinch.
"Do you know who was in charge of Canterlot's defenses?" Swift asked his voice as cold as ice.
"No. Should I?"
"Winter was there."
There was a long moment of silence.
"What?" the mare croaked.
"Winter was there."
"M... my... my son was..."
"He was!" Swift barked as he stood up, "And you and your generals tore him asunder! You might have not known he was there, but your generals did. They knew."
With tears in her eyes, Star spun around on the stallion behind her. Her eyes focused on the general that was limping. "Is this true? Did you know?"
The stallion bowed his head, "I did if for you, Your Majesty. I did it for our cause. We offered him to live when we took the city and stormed the keep. He refused. He said that he would not leave Canterlot alive. We had no choice. His magic alone was protecting the entirety of the keep! His forces would have beaten us back-"
Star charged forwards and impaled the general with her horn right through the eye. The stallion did not make a noise as magic power tore into him. Twilight had seen the tell-tale glow of magic and in the next moment the general collapsed shattering into pieces as he hit the floor. She had turned him into stone.
Nobody had moved to prevent this.
Slowly Star turned to Swift. "I... I... my son... my baby... my... what have I done? What have I done..."
Suddenly Star started convulsing and she struggled to stay on her hooves. She let out an ear wrenching scream that seemed to shatter their very souls. Twilight covered her ears, but it did little to prevent the sound from reaching her.
Dark violet smoke started to pour from Star's mouth, ears and nose. Her screams were muffled as the smoke continued to flow from her body and onto the floor. Instinctively Orko and the others took a step back away as did every creature there. Only Swift stood his ground.
A voice cackled from the mist. A cruel laughter.
"I know that voice... I know it all too well." Swift stood there horrified.
The Sorceress stood in front of Swift and glared at the smoke, "Hordak?"
"She-Ra? Is that you? Oh how you've changed. I like it. That blond hair was very unbecoming. This... this is so much better. It's a shame that you no longer have your sword. Without it you're powerless against me." The smoke rose from the ground and changed to form a humanoid shape, only much taller and much broader. There were no legs but the girls could make out arms and a head where two slits of glowing red light formed the eyes. "It is so nice to hear your voice. After your brother unceremoniously cut off my head, it's been very hard concentrating on things. Still, as they say, when there's a will, there's a way."
"This is not possible. You are dead," Swift said standing along side the Sorceress.
"Excuse me while I prove you wrong," Hordak replied in a derisive tone.
"How are you here, Hordak?" the Sorceress demanded.
"How am I here? Well, your brother brought me to this world, don't you remember? Or did he not tell you?" The voice laughed, "Well, he brought my head to be more accurate. As a souvenir for my father. You should have seen his face when he saw my cold, lifeless, decapitated head at his feet. I've never seen him smile with both his heads."
Swift turned away in disgust.
"Does my family disgust you? It shouldn't considering yours, Prince Swift Wind."
The stallion growled and lowered his head, "Watch your tongue."
"Sorry, don't have one. As you can see, I don't really have much need for one anymore. You have my father's Havoc Staff to thank for that. That fool Skeletor took a piece of it with him, but I had retrieved that piece when I killed him. I reformed the lost half of the Staff while my father had the other. That was probably what made his so happy. I stored it on the last place anyone would look. On my face."
"Your mask? Your mask was the last piece of the Havoc Staff?"
"Give it to the Sorceress for a job well done. I must say you've become a lot more astute since our last encounter. Living in the subconscious of Swift's wife was a real treat. It was so easy to manipulate her puny mind and her desire for your affection. All she wanted was your love, Swifty. I fed off of it, turned it, corrupted it, and destroyed it." Hordak laughed, "And it was so easy. You know, she really did love you. Would have gladly taken her own life for you, but I needed a body. And you have yourself to thank, She-Ra. If it hadn't been for you and her jealousy I doubt I would've succeeded. You made it almost too easy for me to twist her mind. To take one little nagging thought and turn it into a fire that burned your kingdom to the ground."
"You disgusting, low-life, evil-"
"Please, flattery won't spare you. Besides, if it hadn't been for you and your brother, I would be the supreme ruler of the Horde by now. With the completed staff, I would have been a god."
The Sorceress raised her hands up, "I don't know how you survived, but you will no longer endanger these people! You have already caused so much pain and suffering..."
"Oh? You knew?"
"What?"
"You just admitted you knew about me, yet you did nothing to stop me from making her commit those very acts you abhor. Not very Sorceress-like of you, She-Ra. You're supposed to protect these pathetic fools, not let them slaughter one another." Hordak laughed again.
"She-Ra, is this true?"
"No! I didn't know! You must believe me, Swifty. If I had known, I would have tried to purge him from her mind! You know that!"
"Does he? Or perhaps you wanted to keep 'Swifty' all for yourself. Getting rid of Star was the only way you could do that, considering that she's his mate. Not. You."
"Do not listen to him, Swift. He's trying to poison your mind as he poisoned Star's. Please, Swift. Can't you see, he's trying to establish a discord between us. He's trying to break our friendship, twist our minds as he has done to Star."
Star Wind was on the ground panting heavily, her tongue sticking out and tears streaming from her face. Seeing her like that, Swift felt pity for the mare.
"Guards! Kill that creature! Kill Hordak!"
"You kill me? You cannot even stop me. Not this time." Smoke erupted forwards towards the Sorceress who put her hands up. A barrier of light formed, but the smoke did nothing. It passed through the barrier, but left She-Ra and Swift untouched. "It seems that you cannot harm me nor can I harm you. Not directly anyway. Guess I'll just have to use others to do my work for me... for now. Your pure heart and intentions won't protect you forever. One day, I will destroy you all."
Star looked up, her horn glowing a deep orange hue, "For the murder of my son, I will kill you!"
"Star, no!" Swift shouted, but his call came too late.
A bright beam of light surrounded Hordak. He merely laughed. "Is that the best you can do, Queen? You're pathetic. You've served your usefulness. Now you shall die."
The smoke raised one of his arms as lightning began to form around him.
She-Ra cast a spell that surrounded Hordak containing the lightning. The sound of a loud explosion echoed through the hall as the lightning spell rebounded inside the Sorceress' force-field and the hologram exploded in a bright light.
"I can't see what's happening!" Twilight shouted.
"Neither can I!" Rarity replied.
Fluttershy lay down on the ground and put her hooves over her eyes, "Make it stop!"
Then the lights slowly returned to normal and Twilight looked up to see the Hordak smoke split in two. One half, the darker half, was hovering over Star, the other was making a rapid getaway towards the nearest window.
"Stop it! Stop that shadow!" Swift shouted as smoke floated towards the nearest open window. He used his magic to close it, but the smoke easily passed through the gaps. "After it!"
A large number of alicorns surged forth as ordered.
While they had been distracted, the darker essence of the smoke reentered Star's mouth and nose. Seeing this the Sorceress ran to Star just as the last vestiges of it reentered her body. The alicorn coughed and spluttered before her body began to shake.
She-Ra watched in horror as the smoke started to change her. Fur fell from the body revealing a hard, black rough skin. It looked like armor; smooth and polished. It resembled a carapace. The horn grew longer and brittle in places. The feathers on her wings began to fall and in their place were transparent, vein-like appendages, like those on a dragonfly. A slightly green tint spread through them. Finally her eyes changed from a deep brown to an emerald green.
"What is happening to her?" Swift asked.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before-"
Then it was all gone. The changes vanished without a trace and instead Star was lying there in front of them just as she always was.
"What just happened?"
"I don't know!" She-Ra yelled, "I don't know, Swifty. All I know is that she needs our help. Help me get her to a doctor..."
"You four, help them," Swift ordered four alicorns. They walked forwards and used their magic to pick Star up and She-Ra followed them towards the exit of the throne room. She-Ra stopped at the end of the hall and looked back at Swift, but he had already turned his back on them. He had another problem to deal with now. She bowed her head knowing what was coming. Perhaps she did not need to be here for this. She did not want to be here for this.
Again the hologram stopped.
"D-d-did you see that?" Twilight asked. "Did you see what happened to Star?"
The girls exchanged glances, but the answer was clear.
"She's a changeling." Rarity pointed out.
"For centuries ponies throughout history have tried to find out what the origin of the changelings was. There were theories, but this... clear proof! We know."
Applejack laughed nervously, "Yeah. We know."
"Twilight, I... I don't like this. It isn't fun anymore. Can we stop now?" Pinkie asked.
"You can leave, Pinkie. You don't have to be here for this if you don't want to."
Pinkie looked at her friends who looked at her expectantly. She plopped herself down on the ground and crossed her hooves.
"Are you sure, Pink? We won't think anything of it if you go."
"No. You can continue."
The hologram resumed with Swift walking back to his throne. The was not a sound apart from his hoofsteps as he walked up the dais, turned around and sat slowly.
"As for the three of you," Swift said addressing the three generals still alive, "You will all be tried in court where our people will decide by rule of law, as it has always been done with our kind, what your fates are. You have made many suffer when you could have returned here instead. You chose power and greed instead of peace and harmony and for that you must suffer the consequences of your actions."
"You speak of peace, you speak of harmony, yet you are led around by a human female! She is not one of us!" one of the generals shouted. "You are nothing, nothing without your human mistress, and as long as she remains by your side, we will rebel against you. You gave away our home so that they could have a world to themselves! Your selfishness cannot go unchecked, you-"
"Enough!" Swift said quietly.
The general stopped speaking and gulped. "We are masters of our own fate now. There are no humans here to obey."
"And what is the Sorceress then if not human?"
"She is a guardian. Protector of ancient magic that must be kept safe from those who wish to use it for evil. She controls nothing, nor influences anything. All she can do is wish for us to protect our world our way. We were free with the humans on Etheria, why would it change now? You have been tricked, manipulated by the shade of Hordak."
The generals exchanged glances, "We-"
"There is little use denying it. Hordak hates our kind, and wishes for us to destroy each other, or were you asleep when he admitted taking control of my wife and manipulated her jealousy into thinking the way you do? Do you actually believe that you chose to commit these crimes against our race of your own free will?"
One of the generals dropped to his knees. "What have we done? What have I done? I've... I've ordered the massacre of hundreds because... because... because of t-t-that..."
"No! It can't be true! I refuse to believe it to be so!" Another general cursed.
"We deserve to die," the third and final general stated. "We have done things that cannot be forgiven in life or in death. We are... evil. Contaminated. Cursed."
"Take them away!"
The generals did not resist as they were led from the throne room.
"Leave me be. I wish to be alone."
The remaining alicorns all bowed and exited the throne room as Swift sat down.
Then, alone, with no one watching he lowered his head and began to cry.
"My son, Winter, I am so sorry, but your mother's jealousy is well founded." Swift spoke so quietly, that the girls were barely able to hear him. "After all these long years I have forgotten my love for your mother and have formed a love of the most unnatural kind. It is the Sorceress now that lives in my heart, that gives me the power to run this kingdom, that gives me the strength to wake up each day, that brings me joy and happiness. I cannot help myself."
The girls watched as Swift's tears continued to fall for a moment longer, then he took a long deep breath, closed his eyes and stood up. The moment had gone, and the stoic ruler of Equestria walked over to the doors of his throne room and opened them with his magic. He stopped for a moment and looked back and seeing nothing exited the throne room and closed the doors firmly behind him.
Then, from behind one of the pillars a figure stepped out. It was hard to tell because it had merged perfectly with the background. As it stepped forward the figure shed its disguise like a chameleon. It was the Sorceress. She had been there for the whole thing.
She picked up the recording device from where it was hiding and held it in the palm of her hand. She gripped it and held it close to her chest, "Oh, Swift. I love you too. If only we could be together. I would give anything to be yours."
The screen faded away and the room returned to the bright white walls once again.
"Well, that's the end," Orko said sat down on the floor using the wall as a backrest.
"We learned a lot today," Twilight said in the silence.
"The mist... the one that escaped... do you think..." Rarity began.
The girls all looked at her, but she didn't continue.
"Orko, what happens after all this?"
"This? Well, the generals go on trial, which I have. They are condemned to serve as wardens to a new prison to house the criminals in a prison built deep below the surface of the planet."
"Wait. You mean Tartarus?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. Yes, that's it. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me that after all this time, that prison still exists?" Orko whistled, impressed with this bit of news, "That's unicorn -er- alicorn architecture for you. Built to last."
"These... three guardians... were they... cursed?" Twilight asked.
"Hm? Oh yes. They were cursed. You could say that their fate was worse than death. As far as I know they were... merged, I guess. Forced to come together as one, so that they would share the guilt together. Why?"
"Anything else?" Rarity probed, understanding what Twilight was getting at.
"I think they were also changed."
"Into dogs?" Rainbow liked the blunt approach.
Orko nodded. "Yeah. Yeah! That sounds right. A three-headed guard dog. Yeah."
"I don't believe it." Twilight shook her head, "And here we thought that somepony from ancient history captured and trained Cerberus to guard the gates of Tartarus. This is amazing! It changes everything we've ever known about ourselves!"
"Twilight, this is a lot to take in and I do believe it's best we tell the Princesses what's going on, don't you think?" Rarity asked.
"That's a great idea, Rarity. The Princesses would likely know more about this than any of us. I'll tell one of the guards to inform them."
As Twilight left, Pinkie bounced over to Orko grabbing him by the collar, "Everything is so sad and serious! Is there anything fun you can show us? Anything... nice? Please? I wanna see a happy part of our past, not all this sad saddy sadness!"
"Well..." Orko began, "you know what, I actually do know of something that is happy. It skips a lot of time, but I think you'll like it."
"Skip it! Skip it!" the girls all unanimously agreed.
"Well, okay. Wait here just a second," Orko turned and floated off through the wall.
"Okay, I told a few of the guards to fetch the princesses. Where's Orko?"
"He's gone to show us something happy! This is going to be great!"
Twilight nodded, "Yeah, even I have to admit, seeing all that... drama just put a bad taste in my mouth."
"Do you want a mint?" Pinkie asked.
"It's a figure of speech, Pinkie."
"I knew that."
"I don't know about you girls, but I'm kinda hungry." Applejack's tummy rumbled in agreement.
Orko floated back and smiled, "Your new hologram is ready any time you are."
"Thanks, Orko, but we're kinda hungry. So we're going to go and grab a bite to eat. You're welcome to come and join us if you want."
"Sorry, but I don't eat. My magic sustains me..."
The girls all looked at him, "Surely you're not saying you actually live off magic."
"Nope, that's exactly what I'm saying. We can eat, we just don't need to."
"Wow. That's... amazing. Your people must never starve."
"Until I came to Eternia, I've actually never heard of starvation. So, yes." Orko rubbed the back of his head, "Tell you girls what, why don't you go ahead and do what you need to do. I'll take a nap right here. Wake me up when you're ready to continue."
"Okay."
"Bye."
"See you soon."
Fluttershy could not stand it and hugged Orko as tightly as she could. It was impulsive, but she just felt that being alone for so long in the deep darkness where they had found him was just so sad.
"Ooh! My back! Careful, you're really strong. You could easily break my ancient bones."
In the process of hugging Orko, somehow the remote had been touched. The white walls vanished and again the floor fell out to reveal a deep dark abyss. Moments later, the hologram reformed and the girls gasped in surprise as they found themselves standing on a cloud.
"Swift?" a familiar voice asked, "What are we doing here?"
"I said I'll show you. Now keep your eyes closed," he replied. He landed on the cloud. The perspective of this particular hologram was taken from swift's back. To the front they could see his mane and head, behind him sat the Sorceress.
"Okay. Take off your blind."
She snatched it off and gasped silently as her mouth opened wide in surprise. She put her hands over her lips and began to laugh.
"You found a place for them, Swift. You found a place for them."
"I call it Nephelippion. Do you like it?"
"I do. What about that. A city in the clouds. How have you kept this a secret from me all this time?" The Sorceress asked.
"It was not easy. But in the end, I think it was because I didn't try all that hard. You are funny that way."
She laughed, "True. Whenever you hide anything from me, I make it a point to find out what. So. Have they accepted it?"
"Yes, but I have made some conditions. They may have their own form of government and trade with whomever they wish so long as they respect those that live below them." Swift sighed, "It's a start. These... pegasi, as they like to call themselves now, are very timid. My guess is that they still feel vulnerable and wish to be left to their own devices. Since our kind cannot live in the clouds for prolonged periods of time, I thought that this would appease them."
"How can they live in the clouds without magic?" the Sorceress asked.
"We have various kinds of magic, She-Ra, or have you forgotten?"
"Perhaps. Humor me."
"Very well then. Magic we cast comes from our horns, but other parts of our body react to other magical elements as needed. Our wings have passive magical properties that allow us to do other things, such as stay on clouds, feel the ground and know where best to plant our crops. For these new pegasi... I think without their horns, the magic in their wings replenishes itself faster. They can stay on clouds indefinitely."
"What will they eat?"
Swift sighed, "That's what I wondered. They said that they'd manage. My guess is they'll have to fly down to the ground."
"I don't see why they can't just live in New Canterlot instead. It just feels... wrong to split them up just because they can no longer use any magic."
"I understand how you feel, but this is what they insisted. It doesn't help that many of my... mate's," Swift said the word with just a hint of negative emotion, "followers still treat them like second class citizens. If they remain, it might lead to another conflict. A class war. I cannot allow that. If this will help them regain their pride as Equestrians, then so be it. And the city's name is just Canterlot. There's nothing left of the original..."
Jumping off Swift's back, the alicorn gasped as She-Ra safely landed on the cloud next to him.
"You forget, I am one with this world, Swifty. You might have strong magic, but I am magic."
"Quite right. I had forgotten." He chuckled.
The Sorceress took her hood off and shook her hair out. "Now, let's go see that city. Race you to Nephelippion."
"Teleporting is cheating in a race, She-Ra."
"Spoil sport."
With that the two of them vanished in a flash of light blue light.
The pastel colored hair on the Sorceress was not lost on Twilight, who had audibly gasped when she saw it. |
From Eternia to Equestria | Chapter 3: The Foundation of Harmony | "I've never heard of... what was the name of that city?" Rainbow asked, munching on her daisy sandwich.
They were sitting outside the castle in front of a few boxes surrounded by bright lights. The ground was still glowing red in that slow throb that dimmed slightly before brightening up again. The girls had all come out of the holo-chamber leaving Orko to take a nap. Although he did seem young and lively, the girls knew that he was an ancient relic from a past that no living pony could remember.
Maybe.
"Nephelippion," Twilight replied. She was looking at the entrance to Castle Grayskull as if expecting it to suddenly talk. The amount of secrets that resided within those walls. It made her giddy just thinking of it.
Still, there was one thing that bothered her. The Sorceress' mane. It was almost like Princess Celestia's, except that there were more colors on the Sorceress than on her mentor. While her friends discussed all that they had learned, her thoughts were on the most obvious of questions. Was the Sorceress Princess Celestia? Could she really be that ancient? Were the immortal Royal Sisters older than she had expected them to be, or was there more to this than that?
She felt somewhat overwhelmed.
"Who wants a cupcake?" Pinkie revealed a pink coated goody and waved it in front of Rainbow.
When nopony answered, she scarfed it down in one bite, chewing it quickly at first before slowing down, her puffed up cheeks turning up at the corners revealing a very satisfied smile.
"Twilight, what d'ya supposed we ought ta see next?" Applejack asked.
"I want to know more. Maybe let Orko show us key events throughout their history. We don't even have a time frame to compare it to. I don't know when these events took place, and I'm not sure our history texts cover this far back. I've never heard of there being two Canterlots, for example. Where would the first one be?"
"Yeah! And like I said, I've never heard of... what was that name again?"
"Nephelippion." This time both Twilight and Applejack said it at the same time.
"Yeah, that. I mean... was that Cloudsdale's old name? Or maybe... what about Pegasopolis? I mean, could it be that city?"
"No. We know Pegasopolis existed, albeit briefly, as was Unicornia and... Dirtville," Twilight shuddered at the name, remembering the Hearth's Warming Eve pagent, "but all those cities never really existed, as the leaders of our peoples united under one banner and named our land Equestria. Remember?"
"Oh yeah!"
"Well, I for one think what we've learned invaluable. Did you see those uniforms the unicorn guards wore? I mean alicorn guards, sorry. They were simply divine! And they all look so big and strong." Rarity sighed, "I do wish they were still around."
"Let's go back inside. I want see more." Twilight tidied up her spot and put the leftovers back into the picnic basket. A guard came seemed to appear out of the darkness beyond the lights and levitated the basket away with his horn, taking it back into the shadows with him just beyond the light.
Applejack felt uncomfortable with the guards standing around like that, but they were still suspicious about everything, and did not like standing on top of the glowing red crystal floor. She knew better than to complain, after all these ponies were just doing their job.
Reluctantly, the five mares followed Twilight back inside. They were all curious as well, but they did not have the thirst for knowledge that their purple friend had. They knew how obsessive Twilight could get when it came to learning.
They all walked in to see Orko still napping. Twilight walked over and shook the creature awake.
"Wha-? Who? Oh! Hi, girls. Ready to get started?"
"What are you going to show us next?" Pinkie asked, hoping that it was a happy vid.
Orko stroked his chin, "Well, most of what happens is boring stuff. Mostly Swift taking court and issuing new laws, proclamations, and the like. After Nephelippion was founded, peace reigned for years. But... something bad happened. So, the next part is really, really sad. Sorry, Pinkie."
Pinkie's mane deflated.
"It does get better afterwards... we could skip this part, but it would leave a lot of questions unanswered. I guess."
"Why do you always guess?" Rarity asked. She had ignored it the first few times, but he just kept repeating it to the point where it was grating on her nerves.
Orko shrugged, "Dunno. I guess it's because I'm never really too sure about anything. Never was, but it got worse over time. I guess."
Rarity didn't know whether to be mad or sorry for Orko, so she just sucked down her anger and grinned.
"Okay, then let's see what you have to show," the white unicorn gestured.
Orko looked at the remote in his hand for a moment, then up at the girls, "Are you sure? It's not pretty."
The ponies exchanged looks, but it was Twilight who nodded and took the initiative.
"I want to know."
"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."
With that, Orko pushed play.
At once the room was engulfed in fire. Flames licked the tapestries, smoke filled the room. The recorder was bouncing around, and it took a moment for them all the realize that it was being carried. The recorder turned and focused on a particular area. That was when Fluttershy screamed as the remains of a charred alicorn appeared when a breeze blew the smoke clear. They could not feel the breeze, nor the heat of the fires, but they could see the death and destruction, they could hear screams of equines dying.
"Make it stop," the butter colored pegasus whispered, covering her eyes and shaking in terror. "Please..."
As horrifying as it was, this was their history. The other mares watched with emotions flooding through them. Nopony in recent history had ever seen this before. This was the raw, horrifying truth.
More screams; distant cries of agony. This was not like the invasion they had suffered by the Changelings a matter of days ago. There was no comparison.
The Mane Six huddled close together in an effort to give one another some comfort. Pinkie lay on the floor next to Fluttershy singing to herself quietly in an attempt to drown out the noises that came from all round them. Rarity, Twilight, Rainbow and Applejack watched as the recorder kept going down the hall until the arrived at a set of particularly large doors. The doors to the throne room.
A hand appeared from below the recorder, the fingers and palm spread out as a blast of white light surged from it. The doors blew open, one of them completely off the hinges as it bounced once against the floor before sliding to a halt in the middle of the room. It was empty. Running now, the recorder bouncing faster as the area ahead of them grew larger, the carrier approached the throne. Then it turned to the right, the doors to the giant balcony were wide open.
"Swift?" a voice asked for a moment before the recorder made its way through the doors.
The stallion in question stood looking over a city engulfed by flames. The recorder was dropped and the Sorceress ran out to the stallion throwing her arms around his strong neck.
"The city burns," he said gently, but in his eyes there was an ever bigger inferno burning. The intensity made the girls take a step back. "It is as if the name itself is cursed."
"Canterlot," the Sorceress whispered the name. "Why has she done this? How?"
"I do not know, but I intend to find out. My forces are broken, scattered. Those loyal to me have remained here in this castle, but it is only a matter of time before this place falls as well. These creatures are unlike anything we've ever faced in the past. They are shape-shifters, doppelgangers... changelings. They can assume the body and shape of any they choose, and they have chosen very wisely."
"We cannot stay here, Swift. We need to leave."
"I will remain and see this through. If it is my time, then so be it. I will atone for my sins."
The Sorceress ran to Swift and hugged his neck, "It's not your fault!"
"Is it not? The one that I loved has broken free from her prison, poisoned my people, changing them into... these abominations!" At those words, his horn glowed and out from a wall the remains of a changeling were unceremoniously tossed to one side.
It was huge. Far bigger than the changelings that the Elements had fought against a couple of days before. A changeling the size of these alicorns. The thought of it made the girls shudder.
"How? How did she... change them?" She-Ra asked.
He walked to the edge of the balcony and peered down, "Her fangs are like those of a snake. She injects her victim with poison! She had bit her guards and changed them. They in turn bit others, and over time she had amassed an army big enough to overthrow my own. We would have never stood a chance if it had not been for Night Flower. She has saved whatever is left of us. Without her we would have been overrun. May she rest in peace."
"And where is Spirit now?" the Sorceress asked.
"Gone. Gone from the city that burns. She has seen that we have found a flaw in her... poison, accidental though it may be. It saved us from her."
"What was it?"
Looking down at the ground, Swift growled, "Their poison does not change the pegasi, only us unicorns. My... personal guard had sacrificed their magic. Their horns are gone, but some were too late. Some had to sacrifice... more."
The girls all saw a large number of equines running through the streets below the balcony. Neither had horns nor wings on their bodies, yet despite that they seemed strong and very capable of fighting back.
"I was once a equine with neither wings nor horn, and as a tribute to the sacrifice of my people, I shall also release my powers. I shall become what I once was before... before I given the gift to fight along side you."
"No! Swifty, you cannot! The magic within you isn't the same as them. You were granted that form by the powers of Castle Grayskull. If you take it away, it will kill you."
He bit his lip repressing his anger and disappointment. "Then I must suffer in this form while my people sacrifice themselves?"
"I'm sorry, Swifty, but yes, you must. It's also the reason why no poison has affected you. You are different to them, Swifty. Different to us all. You are the Prince of all Equestrians, and you have a duty to those that follow you to see things through. You cannot sacrifice your power, you must instead sacrifice your freedom and bear this burden..." the Sorceress fought back the tears with futility, "I will try to ease your pain, but you will have to carry this weight yourself. I'm sorry."
"Yes. I must atone. Why must they suffer for my sin? They did nothing but wish for a peaceful life. It is I that have brought them these horrors and it is I who must earn their forgiveness. These are unicorns, proud and true. They have fought along side us for centuries on Etheria, and now many have been reduced to being nothing more than a horse! A mere beast of burden!"
The Sorceress slapped Swift Wind which silenced him. He did not turn his head to look at her.
"Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare! You were never a beast, nor were you one of burden! You have always been my friend. You have always been special to me. Do not demean yourself just because you feel that this is your bane," she shouted. "Rise up! Meet your destiny as you have always done. That is who you are."
He still refused to meet her eyes.
"I must put an end to all this. Put an end to everything," Swift replied after a long moment.
The sounds of the screams had long since died down, only to be replaced with the sounds of rubble collapsing as buildings toppled over sending ash, soot and embers floating up into the darkened sky.
"What do you mean?" asked the sorceress, clearly not liking where this was going.
"I must find Spirit... and kill her."
The Sorceress backed away from Swift, "B-but you can't!"
"I must. With with my own hooves, I must. This madness must cease! Too many have died, and many more will unless I end this once and for all. I will not allow our world to be plagued with war and terror on the basis that my," he paused and put on a disgusted expression, "mate, refuses to see reason!"
"Has it really come down to this?"
Swift turned on the Sorceress, "You will stay and rule while I continue with my campaign. I will take only those with neither horns nor wings and we will hunt this cancer from our lands and purge it. I do not know how long I will be gone for, but I will not return until I have fulfilled this oath."
The Sorceress looked at the stallion for a moment then bowed, "I will do as you ask. Only... if you will humor with one, small request."
"Speak."
"When you... when you do find her, please... let it be as your name, Swift."
Swift Wind looked hard at the Sorceress for a moment before turning away. "We shall see."
The stallion walked over to the balcony and spread his massive wings.
"If I do not return, protect my people. They will look to you for guidance and support."
"I will!" she said, "Only, do come back..."
The stallion leaped off the balcony and flew towards the far end of the city.
The Sorceress stared after him with a pained expression on her face. Only when he was out of sight did she fall to the ground and weep.
"Please come back... to me..."
The room started fading to black before brightening up again. Orko hovered above the girls, his hands behind his back not really knowing what to say to them.
"That was horrible!" Rarity said, wiping her tears, "How could she do that? How could Spirit do such dreadful things!"
"Why?" Applejack shook her head, "It makes no sense! No stallion is worth... killin' over..."
"I don't want to be here anymore," Pinkie whined. "I don't like seeing ponies hurt..."
Twilight hugged the pink mare.
"I understand. If you want to wait outside, go ahead," Twilight said to the pink mare as a mother would a scared child.
Pinkie sniffled and nodded. She stood up and headed for the exit followed closely by a very mute Fluttershy. The two of them paused and looked back at their friends for a moment, then continued on until they were two black dots against the red light emanating from the crystal-like lake.
"You three sure you wanna stay?"
Rainbow nodded, "I don't like this, but I want to know what happens. I want to see what happens."
Turning away, Applejack sighed, "It ain't right. It just ain't right. I've got to see this through."
"You... you do realize something, right?" Rarity asked.
Twilight and Rainbow shared a look with Applejack, "What?"
"It's the changelings, my dears. Didn't you hear what Swift was saying? Didn't you notice the body of that alicorn? That changeling?" Rarity looked at each of them. When none of them replied, she stomped her hoof, "The changelings... are alicorns!"
None of the others replied for a long moment.
"I... guess it makes sense... they do have horns and wings after all..." Twilight replied, not wanting to believe it.
Orko hovered lower to the ground under he was level with the ponies, "Look, I don't know if you want to see what happens after. It's one of the darkest moments of your world's history..."
"No. I want to see it. I have to see it."
The trollan understood and hovered away, "Okay. Shall we get started?"
Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Okay. Go."
The video changed. The screen showed that the recording device was now placed on the ceiling looking down from above. They were in the throne room again, but this time the insides were different. The alicorns were nowhere to be seen, and instead there were pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies lines up along the sides. They all bowed low to the Sorceress as she entered, her hair blowing in the breeze.
"Please, my friends, please do not bow to me. I am only the steward of your city, nothing more."
One of the unicorns, a mare, stepped forward, "You may not be an equine like us, but you have stayed by our peoples' side and have helped rebuild this great city. For that, we bow in thanks, for you are our world's protector. The Sorceress of the Castle Grayskull."
Forcing a smile, the Sorceress nodded politely to the mare and made her way to the throne.
She did not sit on it, instead took a seat in front of it on a step lower.
For a while the girls heard them talking about the status of the kingdom. Some boring reports about food, something about infestation of rats in a section of the city, and plenty of other things. The girls exchanged looks, not sure what was so bad about this. They way he made it sound, they were expecting-
The screen went black. Everything went black.
Slowly light returned, and the girls were now looking at the scene at a strange angle. The entire throne room was covered in smoke as three black creatures charged the Sorceress. There was no sound, but two pegasi leaped to the Sorceresses side and fought against the three. It took her a moment, but the Sorceress recovered from whatever cause the sudden blackness and the three were locked in cages of light.
The sound slowly returned.
"... take the wounded to the infirmary! Quickly!" The Sorceress turned to the mare she had been talking to moments before and knelt on the ground placing her hand on her side. Nothing. Slowly, She-Ra closed the mare's eyelids for the last time, as she wiped her tears with her other hand.
"The explosion came from a fourth, my lady. He... she... it was hiding in the audience," one of the guards said. "He was disguised as Flowing River. I am sorry-"
"Do not be. It is I who should say I am sorry. He was after me. I should have been the one to die, not her. Not them..."
"Those who refuse to coexist with others will always find a reason to harm those that they think are wrong, my lady. This is not anyone's fault but that of their own. They are ignorant and do not wish to see reason."
The Sorceress looked at the dead on the floor in front of her. Too much death. Too much sadness.
Again the screen faded and the white light returned.
Before the girls could say anything the hologram around them changed and they found themselves inside a forest. A deep, dense forest.
"Sire, we are at the ruins of Old Canterlot," a very large earth pony stated. He was in full barding and on his head he wore a helm of iron. He had numerous scars on his face and wore a hardened expression.
Swift appeared, stepping into the hologram and gazed at the stallion. "Destrier, you have been with me since the start of this campaign. You have fought by my side through all of this and never have you once shirked your duties nor complained. You have done much for me, and I cannot with good conscious ask you to do this, but you are the only equine in this army that the others will follow. I have no choice."
"My liege, I will follow you to the ends of this world and the next if that is your will." Destrier stated, bowing. His armor clinked as he did so.
"Then will you lead the charge on the ground against the castle while I attack from above with the pegasi? Those without their horns and those with shall be under your command." He bowed his head, "Use the horned ones to form a barrier from their arrows."
Destrier looked at Swift and sighed, "You cannot keep calling us un-horned. It does nothing but remind us of what we were. We do not have the magic that we once possessed, but we are strong. Perhaps even stronger than the others. We are grounded to this world, our hooves are rooted into the soil. We love this land as we have always done since we have come here, and always will. Now that we are bound to the it, we shall love it like no other."
"So be it. Then you shall be that of the earth, and we shall know you as such."
"Earthbound, we are. Our strength is yours to command!" Destrier stomped his hoof, the ground cracking from the impact.
Swift smiled slightly, "Then go, earthbound. Let us meet our destinies head on."
The image faded out for a moment, but quickly switched to an aerial view of the ground far below them. It seemed as if Swift was wearing the recorder around his head. The view twisted around to see a huge number of pegasi flying behind him. So many there were, of all ages. So many that were so young, no older than the mares that were watching them at that very moment, while others had more than a few gray hairs in their manes.
The focus shifted back, and far below they could see a castle under siege. Fires were burning bright all around, arrows and projectiles of magic flashed through the air, yet the pegasi remained silent in the sky.
Then there was an almighty explosion as the far side of the castle walls were brought down. A large line of these earthbound stormed the breach, using their bodies as weapons. Blades attached to their hooves tore through the alicorn changelings as the horned ones fired a continuous barrage of magic at them. Many fell, but the breach was taken. They had a way in.
Again the image moved to face the pegasi.
"Ready! We fly low, we fly fast. We cut their support and lower the gates!" Swift shouted.
His order was repeated louder to the entire pegasi army. A yellow mare with an orange mane who seemed to lead these pegasi. "We will follow you to the end, sire," she said to Swift.
"Do not die, Haze," he said quietly, turned and charged.
The view of the ground zoomed up at the girls as they watched Swift and Haze lead the pegasi in sharp dive towards the castle. Using his magic, her formed a barrier in front of him that the changelings could not break as the pegasi tore through their ranks. Using large curved blades attached to their hooves, they sliced their way towards the gates.
The walls were taken, only the keep remained.
"Surround it. Kill them all! Let none of them live past this night!" Destrier shouted crushing one of the changelings skulls beneath his hooves. The head imploded in a mess of green goo. The earthbound turned and saw Swift walking towards him and he bowed, "We have taken the walls. Their armies on the outside are scattered and broken. Only those within these walls remain."
Swift looked up at the keep. For a moment it seemed that all stood still. Even the wind had ceased to blow.
"Burn it."
"Sir?" Haze asked Swift refusing to believe what she had just heard.
"Burn it. To the ground."
"B-b-but, sir. There may be innocents inside!" another pegai shouted.
"I do not care, Tender Heart. My patience has long since waned. Only anger and frustration remains. Burn it."
Tender Heart took a step forwards, "Sire, I beg you to reconsider. Even they, our worst of foes deserve some mercy! They deserve some respite! They are only under the orders of their queen-"
"Who they will follow without question to their deaths. They are no longer capable of free thought, Heart! See sense in our lord's words! I know you do not want this, and neither do I, but it is the only way!"
"No, Haze, I will not! There is nothing to be gained by this!"
"Trust me, Heart. I know. I really do. My brother and my father are both those... things now. They're not equines anymore. They're creatures that have lost everything and have nothing. They are slaves with no will of their own."
"But... but..." Tender Heart looked to the others for support, but found none. Haze had spoken the truth that they did not want to hear.
"Do not let your kindness cloud your judgement, Heart. Do you really believe that our prince would order such a thing if there were any other way?" The voice of a stallion said out loud over the mare's pleas. Destreier walked to Tender Heart and placed a hoof gently on the mare's shoulder, "Do not make this harder on him than it has to. He must carry this burden on his own. We can only help make that weight lighter. He knows who they were, knows what's at stake. What would you have him do?"
"There has to be another way!"
Swift looked at Tender Heart, she looked up at him, stared deep into his eyes, then looked away. She knew then that there was none. It was indeed the only recourse they had.
"Perhaps they should be given a chance?" a horned one suggested. He walked up to Destrier, "Release the doors, give them a chance to live. If they come out and lower their weapons to surrender, then we will take them as prisoner. Tender may be right. We are not like them. We are better and we should lead by example."
Tender Heart looked at the horned one who spoke, "It's okay, Midnight... I know what needs to be done..."
"But yet you do not accept it. Sire, please allow me to give them this slight chance. I will stand with my kind to bar the way. We shall take this burden for it is we who wish to set an example for others. We might not have wings as we once had done, but we will make those that took them rue the day they were made."
Swift looked at the unicorn who spoke, his steel gaze on him.
The speaker gulped and bowed his head, "I meant only to say that sometimes a small act of mercy and generosity can go a long way."
There was a moment where nothing nor nobody moved. Then, slowly, Swift nodded once. Afterwards he turned and walked away. He took about fifty paces out and stood in front of the keep's massive doors; the only way in or out. Then he waited.
Midnight and his horned ones stood in front of the doors and lowered their horns. They were ready.
"Burn it!" Destrier shouted.
At once other the horned ones fired projectiles of fire into the keep. There was no movement nor any sound for a long while. Suddenly the front doors burst open as changelings piled out in one last futile attempt at escape or attack. Many were cut down by magic as they tried to take to the air and even more were cut down as they tried to gain altitude. The pegasi took those that managed to get far enough away from the projectiles, and yet there were still those that managed to get away. Some were pursued until they too were taken down, but there were survivors who had disappeared.
All through this, Swift Wind watched the keep burn, watched the stones crumble, watch the walls fall. Not once did he turn away until all that was left was smoke, rubble and soot. Swift turned and moved off, his personal guard followed him away.
"Not here either," Destrier whispered.
"Don't worry. We'll find her," Midnight replied and the two of them moved off.
The screen faded to white again.
"They... they slaughtered to them all!" Applejack shook her head, "I... I don't know what to say..."
Orko rubbed the back of his head, "I did tell you that the next parts were hard to see. It... it doesn't get much better than this, I'm afraid. Not through this war at least. I guess they had good reason to do it, but it doesn't make it any easier."
"Twilight, honey, I'm afraid I cannot witness any more... I'm... I'm not feeling too good," Rarity whispered. "If you don't mind, I will go outside with Fluttershy and Pinkie."
"Okay, Rare. I know it was hard to see..."
"Hard? Seeing a pony wear stripes with polka dots is hard. Seeing an unkempt handsome stallion is hard. This... this is..." Rarity could not find the worse to describe it. "Sorry, Twilight. I know it's important to you, so I won't ask you to stop, but I will take my leave."
Twilight understood and nodded. Generous with her time and patience, Rarity was her Element through and through. The three mares watched as the white unicorn headed towards the crystal lake, her head hung low.
"The poor thing," Applejack said quietly. "I hope that Pinkie can perk her up."
Twilight and Rainbow nodded. They too hoped that the pink mare could work her magic.
"Uh... do you guys want to continue?" a voice asked quietly from behind them.
The three remaining mares turned on Orko.
"How much more is there?" Rainbow asked, eying the exit.
"Quite a bit."
Rainbow was in two minds about leaving. Curiosity won her over and she steeled herself. She was going to stay. She wanted to know.
"Twilight, honestly, darlin', I'm not too sure if I can take much more of this. It's just too gosh-darn depressin'. I know it's all in our past, but there's just some thin's I'm happy not knowin'. I wanna know, but..."
"I need to stay. I need to see this through," Twilight replied gently. "Please don't stay if you don't want to. I'll be only a hallway away."
Applejack shook her head, "No. I wanna know too. Let's get this show on the road! Before I change my mind."
Orko nodded, "Here goes..."
The screen faded out for a moment before forming once more. They were standing at the edge of a cliff staring down over a large valley. Swift was to their left, but the focus was not on him. Deep in the valley lights of green and blue were lit, to their right smoke and fires were ablaze, while to their left in the sky the pegasi hovered in their thousands.
It was clear that the recorder was being held by someone else this time.
"We have them at last, my lord," Destrier said walking up to Swift and standing to his right -- the far side of where the girls were located. Despite Swift's large stature, Destrier's upper-half was clearly visible from their vantage. He was a huge stallion.
Swift tiled his head slightly towards the earthbound, "No. I dare not make any rash conclusions until I am certain that this infestation had been eradicated. The pegasi will remain in the sky. The unicorns are pushing them back. It will be time to end this soon."
"It shall be as you wish, my lord."
"This is wrong..." a voice whispered and the scene turned to the right. Tender Heart stared into the valley, shaking her head, "This isn't right... we're not like them... this isn't right..."
"I know, but we have exhausted all options," the voice with the recorder replied. It was Midnight's voice.
"You certainly live up to your name, Heart," another voice stated. The recorder turned another ninety degrees so that Midnight was looking away from the valley and back over his body. The earthbound stallion waltzed right up to them and slapped the mare on the back. "You certainly do have a tender heart. Perhaps I could... entertain you with an invitation to a small get together I am planning? I promise you there will be cake."
The mare winced slightly from the impact, but the smile on her face was genuine. "Why is it that whenever you are around, Percheron, I cannot help but smile?"
"Well... because it's because of my winning personality, is it not? It is not always easy to do certain things, but certain things need to be done in order for everyone to laugh and enjoy life. I don't like what we have done and what we must do, but if it ensures that future generations can wake up and live their lives free with a smile on their faces, then I believe it's worth it."
"But how can you think of a gathering when battle is about to commence?" Midnight asked.
"Because... I want to. And why not? I am no fool, Midnight. There will be those that die today, but their memories and their lives will be celebrated because even in death each life is an inspiration for the others to be better, become better. That is the way I believe."
"How can the end justify the means?" Tender whispered, looking nervously at Swift.
Percheron stood between her and their prince, "Because sometimes, just sometimes, the bumpiest road is the road one that must travel. One day the roads will be smooth, but until that time... we just have to make sure we avoid the biggest bumps, won't we?"
"At the ready!" Destrier shouted. Everyone there looked to the large earthbound.
The pegasi overhead drew their weapons from their scabbards; the blades sat snugly in their mouths. On their legs they had long scimitars attached to their hooves, and they waited patiently for their prey to rise towards them.
Far below in the valley the sounds of the battle escalated. Fires were burning of a multitude of colors; red, green, blue and violets bounced around the forest. Explosions erupted in little blasts as the fighting grew more and more intense. Finally, the sound of a horn echoed in the valley and at once a black tide rose up from the trees.
"Cut them down!" Destrier ordered, the pegasi rushed forwards to meet the changeling horde struggling to get away from the unicorns below them. It was over in minutes as the pegasi tore through the enemy ranks like a hot knife through butter. Bodies rained down as the unicorns pushed the remaining changelings further up the valley.
On the far end more explosions roared to life. They were trapped on two fronts. They had nowhere to go except up the slopes. On the far end the unicorns there started to cast spells sending boulders and rocks crashing down on the fleeing changelings as they tried to climb. Those that took to the air were cut down by the pegasi that were now making low sweeps of the valley.
That left only one way to go.
Swift watched as the changelings burst through the trees and up towards him and his waiting army. Here his forces looked the weakest, but behind the facade was a large number of earthbound. They had again and again shown their true strength. None could match their ferocity and hardiness on the field. With no magic to use and without flight, they had made up for their lack in power and stamina.
"Leave the Queen to me," Swift shouted to his equines, "the rest you may do as you wish."
"For Canterlot! For Grayskull! For Equestria!" Destrier roared. "Attack!"
The stallion and his earthbound rushed down to meet the changelings head-on. As the front-lines collided, the changelings were overpowered by the sheer force of the earthbound equines, many crushed under their hooves. Many fell, broken like tiny sticks beneath a great weight. The earthbound were a force they had never faced on open ground before, and from what was happening, was unlikely they ever will -- if they survived to learn from it.
Midnight, the stallion carrying the recorder was following Swift Wind and his personal guard through the battle. They never fully committed in engaging any particular force, instead chose to quietly observe the happenings.
In the chaos, a lone figure stood up. Tall and proud, with an aura of command, all eyes noticed her there.
Spirit looked up and saw her husband and he began walking towards her. His suit of armor glinted in the sun's fading light. There was a look of resignation on her face as she used her magic to draw two blades from her flanks. Two of her biggest guards stood in front of her, ready to die protecting their queen.
A sign from Swift's head made his bodyguards remain where they stood as they watched their liege walk on. His eyes glowing from the magic he was casting, his horn surrounded in a yellow glow. There was a glint of light from the edges of his wings as they reflected light, the tips possessed razor sharp blades that formed part of his armor.
The two guards roared and charged forward with long lances held with their changeling magic.
They were dead before they could take two steps as Swift cause the earth beneath them to form spikes that impaled them where they stood.
From the vantage of the recorder, the girls could clearly see the two move towards one another.
"Do you hate me that much that you would kill your own mate?" she asked.
Swift walked right up to her, "You ceased being my wife the day you murdered our son."
"All I wanted was for you to love me! All you had to do was love me! Why didn't you love me! Why couldn't you love me! All you have to do was love me! Not. That. Whore!" She let out a heart-wrenching cry of despair as she swung the blades at her husband from both sides, "She stole you from me! Tainted you!"
Swift used his wings to block them and watched as his wife raised her body in the air, the rear of her hooves possessing long spikes similar to what the pegasi had. He did not dodge and took one in the shoulder. He let out a tiny grunt as the spike hit home. Then, with the all his strength, shoved his Star up causing her to fall backwards to the ground.
Before she could move, she felt the weight of his hoof on her neck.
"I... I..." she whispered, "just wanted your love... I need your love..."
"You had my love until you betrayed me," he replied coldly.
She shuddered, fighting the tears that threatened to flow from her eyes, "Love... just... love... all I wanted... was love... your love... I needed your love... love me... love me... please just love me..."
"I will free you from your curse now," Spirit whispered and raised his right wing, pointing it at the back of the mare's head. "Rest in peace."
The blade went in and Spirit flinched before her eyes began alter in color and her body began to change. Then, for a moment she looked as she did before her transformation. She turned her head ever so slightly towards Spirit and smiled gently at him.
"Thank you... my... love..."
The light from her eyes faded and she moved no more.
From her body a black fog lifted and drifted away in the wind, the faint sound of malicious laughter fading into nothingness. Swift recognized it and closed his eyes controlling the rage that welled up within him.
"It's over!" a voice shouted. "It's finally over! We have won! The war is over!"
The call was taken up by many and soon the body of the changeling queen was paraded around like a prized trophy. The remainder of the changelings, those that had not been caught, had long since fled during the confusion.
The recorder faded quickly to black and returned a moment later.
They were now standing in a large copse, above them the pegasi were flying in stead patterns while around them both unicorn and earthbound ponies were keeping at eye on a large number of changelings.
"If one of you so much changes a single hair on your bodies," an earthbound shouted, "we'll cut you down where you stand and feed your carcass to the griffons!"
As if on cue, several wild griffons walked up and started snapping at the changelings, their massive beaks making hollow sound. The other equines laughed as the changelings tried to get away from the griffons.
"Look... look at that..." Rainbow stated in a hushed tone. The sight of the griffons reminded her of Gilda.
"Why're they actin' like that?" Applejack asked.
Twilight shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe they aren't evolved enough yet. They're acting more like pets than what Griffons we know today. And they're also..."
"Tiny!" her two friends exclaimed at the same time. It was true; these griffons were no bigger than a foal.
"My lord," a loud voice said and the recording device looked up as Destrier walked towards it, "what of the prisoners?"
Swift's voice could be heard, but her was unseen. "I have killed their queen. My hoof in the affairs of changelings is over. I think it is time that someone else chose their fate. Tender Heart?"
"Yes, sire?"
"I give you leave to decide what to do with these unfortunate creatures. You have shown them mercy and kindness through all of this. If there is a way that they can be... rehabilitated, then they can be granted a chance. One chance. If they dare to rise against our kind again and cause harm, then there will be no changelings on this world."
Tender Heart shuddered at the warning, but bowed to him, "It shall be as you say, my lord. I will help them."
"Good. Much we have gained and lost from this war, and we need to ensure that something like this does not happen ever again. We cannot allow the changelings to rise ever again."
"Sire?" his followers asked turning to one another unsure what he had in mind.
But he had began to walk off. With the war over, he wanted to return back home.
The image faded and the white returned as the three mares looked at each other.
"What a terrible, terrible war," Twilight whispered.
Applejack nor Rainbow had anything to add to that and kept silent.
"There's a little more," Orko said. He scratched his chin, "With the war over, I don't think the next part is so bad."
"Okay. Let's see it," Twilight stated looking to her friends in case they had any objections. When they made none, she nodded once more to Orko.
They were back in the throne room. It was full of equines of all kinds cheering and yellow. The Sorceress was to one side wearing a white dress with some leaves through her pastel colored hair.
"I do not have to tell you all of our victory against the changelings, and I am aware of the many opinions you have regarding their fate, but you have to remember that they too were once like us. Their crimes were not their own, and they were led by their Queen, whom I have slain. Now, we must look to the future. Our conquest has allowed us to explore far and wide. Eternia was a wide world, and it is now our time to spread forth and start a new chapter in our history."
There was some murmurs, but the girls could tell it was because of excitement.
"Therefore, it is only fitting that the lands be divided into smaller fiefdoms. Each realm will be there to ensure that not one kingdom should ever fall to the ways of evil and corruption. Destrier, for your fierce loyalty and your unyielding strength, I grant you the lands south of Canterlot. There you shall take your earthbound and make with it what you will. Tender Heart, for your unbending kindness even to those that wish you harm, the west is where you shall govern those that shall follow."
Tender Heart spread her wings, and lowered her head, "I... I don't know what to say. Thank you?"
Swift's voice chuckled slightly, "Do not thank me yet, Heart, for your reign has yet to begin. To the north, I will bestow to you, Midnight. You have shown generosity and and benevolence to even our worst enemies. May those that follow you learn by your example."
Midnight bowed his head, "Thank you, my liege."
"For your bravery and optimism, the lands to the east is where you shall rule, Percheron. Your ability to see the bright side even in the most darkest of moments will inspire others to follow your example."
"To the skies, I shall grant the rule to Haze. Your honest views, despite painful, always made sure that we did not need to lie to ourselves during the entire campaign. Let your way of government guide your kind."
The five stood in front of Swift. Each looked at each other, before bowing to him.
"Loyalty, generosity, kindness , honesty and laughter. These are the five foundations of any great kingdom. Without one, the others cannot exist. Together, it is unbreakable; an unstoppable force of truth, benevolence and freedom. Each of you have displayed these traits and each of you will lead by example. As a sign of your new lands and titles, I will bestow upon you the powers of Grayskull."
Closing his eyes, Swift concentrated his magic into his horn before levitating in the air. The power exploded forth and five necklaces of gold formed around each of their necks, at the center of each a brooch of precious gems appeared. The gems glowed in response to Swift as upon his head a circlet formed of the same material formed.
The light faded and the five gazed at their new symbols of status with mixed emotions.
"They are shards of the Swords of Power and Protection. They are powerful combined but apart they are useless," Swift smiled at his followers. "Our true enemy isn't one that can be beaten through raw power of strength, but only through the unity of our kind. I'm afraid that the war is not yet over, but I hope that for a time there will be peace. With our guidance, we will see to it that no matter what comes we shall be ready. Henceforth, we shall be your protectors. Never again will we wage war as we have done. Never again will the sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, have to commit to battle. It is us that will protect the innocent, defend our homes and preserve our way of life. This we vow."
The five all bowed in acknowledgement of the weight of responsibility Swift was prepared to give to them.
"I, Destrier, vow to be loyal to you and our kind."
"And I, Percheron, vow that there will always be a reason to celebrate with joy."
"With kindness and compassion for all, I vow my life to protect all those that need my help," Tender Heart smiled, tears in her eyes, meaning the words with all her heart.
"To give to those that need, even if it is my life, I, Midnight, vow to serve Equestria for as long as there is breath in my body."
"And I vow to always set an example of truth and justice, no matter how painful," Haze announced.
"We are your protectors, Equestria. The foundations of our way. Behold, we are your defenders." Swift stood up and walked to his five and stood in the center.
"All hail Swift Wind! All hail Percheron! All hail Midnight! All hail Tender Heart! All hail Haze!" a call sounded and was taken through the halls until outside the chants echoed through the air. It sounded like thousands had taken up the call.
"All hail the Elements of Harmony," the Sorceress said. "The six Elements that can create a world of peace, joy and most of all, love."
"Six?"
"Loyalty, laughter, generosity, kindness, honesty and... you, Prince. The element of magic."
Swift Wind laughed, "So be it. We are the Elements of Harmony! Together, we are strong. Let us always remember this. Tonight, we celebrate!"
The screen faded to black briefly before the scene changed.
It was later that same day. The Sorceress was wearing the same clothes, sat alone outside on the large balcony staring upwards at the night sky, the moon shining brightly. Far below there was music and the sounds of laughter took to the air. There was much celebrating and feasting going on. The balcony door opened slightly and in walked in Swift.
He was clearly celebrating quite hard, for he walked at a slight wobble.
"There you are! I've been searching all over for you. Why are you alone?" he asked. "Should you not be inside celebrating with the rest of us?"
"This is your kind's victory, Your Highness. This celebration belongs to you."
"What are you talking about? You are a part of this kingdom-"
"Please, Swifty. Stop. I am not like you. Please don't patronize me."
"What are you talking about? I would never patronize you. You are one of us. Of course you-"
"Look at me, Swift!" she screamed.
Swift took a step backwards, not expecting that sudden outburst.
"Look at me!" she whispered as she stood up. She placed her hand upon her chest, "Do I look like you? Do I have wings? A horn? Four legs? Hooves? A tail? Do I have a coat of beautiful colors?"
The prince of Equestria just stared in bewilderment.
"I am nothing like you... I am not one of you."
"She-Ra! What are you talking about?"
"I am a human, Swift. Human. Spirit was your mate, but how I wished with all my heart I was her! I wish that your heart was mine! I wish that I could be yours and run freely with your kind! I wanted you to myself! I want to be your mate!" A look of horror spread across her face. "I-I'm sorry... I... I'm sorry... I don't know where that came from..."
"She-Ra?" Swift did not move.
"I... I'm sorry... I... I don't know what came over me..."
He walked towards her.
"No! Go away! Get away from me... get away..."
Instead, Swift kept on walking until he was standing next to her, "You think that I care what you are? You think that any of us care?"
"No, Swift. Stop..." she backed away from him.
"Do you think that anyone thinks less of you because you are not like us?" he shouted, leaning in closer.
"Please... stop..." She-Ra whispered, "Don't..."
Swift looked right into her deep blue eyes, "Do you think that I'd think of you as anything besides wonderful?"
The Sorceress turned her head away, "We can't... we're not... I'm not..."
"I don't care."
"But I do!" She-Ra shouted and pushed past him. "It is... forbidden."
"Says who? My mate? My subjects? Who? Nobody cares what you are! Least of all me!"
For a moment the Sorceress stared at Swift. The she smiled gently at him. "Thank you, Swifty. Thank you for those words, but we can never be."
"Why? I do not care if you are human..." Swift looked at her. He was about to move towards her when she raised her hand making him stop in his tracks.
"Because I am the Sorceress, and my duty is to protect Castle Grayskull. A duty that I have put aside for far too long. It is time I resumed my duties before I do something... we do something we both will regret. It is time for me to go, Swifty. It is time for us to say goodbye. Something that we should have done before that awful, awful war."
"Goodbye?"
"Goodbye, Swifty."
"Wait!"
She-Ra began to fade away, her body becoming transparent. "Farewell. Until we meet again..."
"Wait. Wait! Please!"
The last thing Swift saw of her was that loving smile as the Sorceress vanished from sight. He stood there for a long time staring at the spot where she had been. He took a deep breath, snorted and shook his mane, then walked out the door.
The lights returned and the girls once again found themselves standing in the holo-chamber with mixed expressions. None of them knew what to say to what they had just seen. The sheer weight of it all seemed far too much for them to handle.
"The formation of the Elements of Harmony..." Twilight whispered, "Did you see?"
The two girls nodded too dumbfounded to speak.
"He loved her... and she loved him... why did she run away?" Applejack asked, "It ain't right! It shouldn't matter if they ain't the same kind..."
"Yeah, that was kinda lame..." Rainbow agreed with the farmer.
"Guys! Come quick! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are coming!" Rarity's voice called from down the hall. They could see her silhouette against the red glow coming from the crystals.
"Okay, let's pause for a moment. Orko, I want you to meet the Princesses," Twilight said to the trollan.
"Oh boy! More company!" the trollan exclaimed and rushed on ahead of the girls.
Despite the somber mood from a moment before, they couldn't help but share a quick laugh as they chased after the ridiculous creature. |
From Eternia to Equestria | Chapter 4: The Fracture - Part 1 | The girls bowed low to the Royal Sisters as they slowly descended onto the glowing crystal lake, their most elite guard (except for Shining Armor who was happily off on his honeymoon with Cadence) bravely keeping an eye out for any sign of danger. The sisters had decided to come below and see for themselves exactly what the reports were talking about. How could something like this exist right under their noses? They could scarcely believe their ears when they heard the descriptions the guards had given them. The attack on Canterlot had left the city on high alert. Was it a coincidence then that Queen Chrysalis then knew about the caves? Did she try to take Canterlot to get at this new discovery far below? It had been a mystery as to how the Changelings knew about the extensive network beneath the city and this new discovery only deepened their concern. Was Canterlot really the Changelings' goal, or were they really after this new discovery.
"Princess Celestia," Twilight began as she rose from the ground. "I want you to meet somepony. This is Orko. He's a trollan from another dimension."
"Trollan? Another dimension?" Princess Celestia looked at the strange creature hovering in the air.
"Greetings and saluta-" the trollan stopped in mid-sentence and zoomed right in front of a shocked princess' nose. He leaned in and stared at her horn then whipped around to her sides and inspected her wings.
The guards had started to make a move, but one quick glance from Celestia reassured them that this being meant no harm. They had been utterly humiliated by the Changelings, getting overwhelmed quite easily against the invaders. Due to this they were eager to prove themselves to their princess. Perhaps a little too eager, and with small remnants of the Changelings still within the city, they were beginning to judge too quickly.
"Wow! You're a real unicorn!" Orko stated after he was satisfied with his inspection. He nodded to himself much like a foal would after coming up with the answer to a question on their own for the first time.
Not wanting to spoil the trollan's mood, but also wanting to emphasize a point, Celestia smiled politely before responding with a firm but calming tone. "I'm an alicorn; a unicorn has only a horn and a pegasus only has wings."
Orko slapped his forehead with his hand. "Oh yeah! I guess I forgot that you call yourselves something else nowadays. Back where I'm from all horses with horns and wings were unicorns." Orko tilted his head to one side. "Do you guys have horses here?"
"Yeah, of course we do. Why?" Pinkie replied.
"Oh. Just was wondering. You know how sometimes when you know something that other people don't you don't know what to say about that thing because you don't have anything to compare it with. Right?"
Pinkie nodded at the Trollan. "I know exactly what you mean!" she exclaimed. "It's so difficult to explain things when they don't know the thing in the first place because if they knew that thing then at least there would be point of reference or something, right? Then it'd be so much easier to explain because it would be explainable!"
"I know!" Orko stated.
Twilight passed a knowing look over her friends who all replied with a smile and a shrug. Pinkie would always be Pinkie, but after the Parasprite incident she made sure to pay extra close attention to whatever Pinkie was trying to say, especially if she was extravagant about it. Still, it was amazing that anypony could keep up with Pinkie and her randomness. But then again Orko himself was an oddity of sorts. Perhaps oddness and randomness went together quite comfortably. It did so in this case.
"We don't really refer to horses that way, Orko. We're all equines. Just some equines are different. There are ponies, horses, donkeys, deer, buffalo to name a few," Rarity put in. She thought it was good to make it a point to let him know that there were equines that might have taken offense.
Orko seemed to acknowledge this. "Wait. Don't you mean ungulates?"
"What?" Rarity asked not quite hearing the trollan properly.
"Nothing. So there are other types, huh? That's great. Back when Castle Grayskull was on the surface we used to get a lot of creatures hanging around. Was fun. Actually, no. Not near the Castle. The castle was always was rocky and kinda... dead, I guess. Animals didn't really come close."
"How long exactly were you alone here, Orko?" Twilight asked.
He scratched his head underneath his wide-brimmed hat. "Y'know, I don't really know. If your time goes the same as my time... I'd say maybe... oh... hundred or so..."
Applejack furrowed her brow. "A hundred years? That's not too-"
"Thousand. Hundred thousand, maybe. Just a guess. Maybe shorter. Lost track of time." He burst out laughing at that. "Get it? Lost track of time? Don't know how long I've been here?"
None of the girls laughed. There was nothing funny about it.
"Wow, I guess I've been here way too long. Normally that would've floored the others." He snapped his fingers and a pad of paper and a pen appeared. He scratched something on it and then slammed it shut. As he did, the notepad vanished in a puff of smoke and twinkling lights. "Now that I think of it, that's a really long time."
"Give or take a couple thousand years, that puts the events you've said in a period we call Prequestria. Before... well ancient history." Twilight looked at her mentor. "That's even older than you, right?"
Celestia nodded. "That's right, my faithful student. Much older. That is much before our time. Even before Discord's reign."
Luna looked at her sister, then back at Orko. She was intrigued by the creature. "Have we not seen thee before? In the world of dreams? Thy face is strangely familiar to us."
"Don't think so. I've slept a lot over the years, but I don't really remember my dreams. Could be, I guess. I usually dream of a certain someone. Would be nice to... see her again. I guess."
Rarity could not help but roll her eyes at the last two words as it was repeated much too often. She turned her head in an attempt to relieve the growing irritation she felt when she saw Twilight jerking her head towards Princess Celestia. The trollan was staring at Twilight but it was quite clear that he did not understand what she was implying. It was amusing in a pitiful sort of way. Rarity tried her best to keep from laughing.
"Is there something wrong with your neck, Twilight?" Orko finally asked.
Twilight grunted in annoyance. "No. It's just... don't you see something? If you look around I'm sure you'll notice a few things."
"Notice?"
At that the mare planted a hoof on her face. "I'm sure if you look around you'll see something."
Orko's eyes narrowed. It was clear that he was furrowing his brow in though, but because none of them could see his face they could only assume. He kept looking around slowly rising up into the air. Rainbow hovered next to him out of boredom. He floated back down after a few more seconds and shrugged.
"The power crystals are glowing slower than usual?" Orko asked pointing down at the crystal lake underneath them.
"No! I mean- what?" Twilight looked down. "P-p-power c-c-crystals?"
At once Applejack and Rarity leaped onto the nearest crate, Fluttershy hovered in the air, and Rainbow began kicking the glowing crystal harder, much to the other three's chagrin. She was stopped by a guard who put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder and shook his head before pointing to Fluttershy about to burst out into tears. At once the cyan pegasus ceased her antics, but not before giving the crystal flooring one last kick for good measure.
"Oh yes. These crystals hold a lot of power. Many things on our world were powered by the energy stored in these crystals. We used them for lights, our machines, weapons... everything! Even shields and force-fields. Oh! And starships! Yeah, without them the starships wouldn't even be able to fly. Anyway, without all this crystal around this place to deflect the magic it would have significant effects on your world as a whole. I guess that was why it moved down here." Orko floated over to Pinkie who was chewing on something.
"Put?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah," Orko replied and took a doughnut that Pinkie offered him. He looked at it for a moment before shoving it into the empty space where his mouth would have been. "Ow! My teeth! I think I need to practice on something softer before eating this."
"Oh! You poor thing! We have some dentists above that-"
"No, no. No need." He snapped his fingers. "There. Nothing like a bit of magic to fix things up!"
"You can grow back teeth?" Rarity asked shocked by this new knowledge. She needed to learn that spell.
"Of course! Why? Can't you? It's real easy."
While the others were talking about dental hygiene and how to use magic to grow teeth back, Celestia was looking over to Twilight whose mind was on other things. She shook her head to herself, as if she were telling herself off for thinking about something so outlandish.
"Orko, what do you mean by 'put here'?" she asked unable to come up with an answer.
"Huh? What do you mean what do I mean?" He asked.
"She means who put this down here?" Celestia asked on behalf of her faithful student.
"The Sorceress of course! Before she gave her powers to me. Well, not that she gave them to me, I sort of just took the responsibility seeing as no one else wanted to do it, and I just happened to know a lot about Castle Grayskull and magic. I guess you could say I was the perfect trollan for the job! Being the only trollan is besides the point. And being friends with He-Man sure helped!"
"He-Man?" Luna asked raising an eyebrow. "That is a strange name."
The trollan suddenly appeared behind the princess of the night in the next instant making her jump and squeal in surprise, which delighted Pinkie and Orko immensely making them roll of the floor laughing. Rarity and Twilight frowned, but couldn't help but let out a soft giggle. Even Celestia couldn't stop herself from forming a small smile along the corner of her lips at her sister's cute exclamation of surprise.
"H-h-he just caught us unawares," Luna stated trying to be as regal as possible. Shame that her small blush spoiled the effect.
"Orko, is there anything else? You know. Something you might be missing?"
The trollan looked at Twilight completely and utterly confused.
Using her magic, Twilight grabbed Orko and pulled him to her. She took his head and tilted it towards Princess Celestia. "So, Orko, doesn't Princess Celestia remind you of somepony? I mean someone?"
Orko shrugged, "Yeah. She reminds me a lot of Swift, now that you mention it. The horn and the wings, obviously. Only the white coat and the hair colors remind... me... more... of..."
There was a long moment of silence as something in the trollan's head clicked.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" he roared.
"I... beg your pardon?" Princess Celestia stated taking a step back.
"You! You're her! Of course! Why didn't I see it before? You're her-" he stopped and stroked his chin. He began to mumbled to himself. "Not possible. No. Can't be. She would've remembered me. No way, no how. Nuh-uh. Impossible..."
The girls all exchanged looks with each other unsure about what to say or do. Something about the trollan's demeanor had changed and he looked dazed and confused. The way he just floated there made it clear that something was bothering him quite badly.
"Orko? What's wrong?" Twilight asked worried that she had done something that made the trollan feel offended.
He looked up at her. "What? Nothing. Just, she looks like her, you know?"
"I know! That's why I was trying to get you to put it together!" Twilight replied exasperatedly.
"Can you live for that long? No. Can't be. I saw you... her, I mean. Do you recall anything from your distant past? When were you born?"
It took a moment for Celestia to realize that Orko was talking to her. "I don't remember the day I was born, but from a very young age I was orphaned-"
"During The Fracture?"
"The what?" Luna asked.
"How do you know that? Even our most advanced and well read scholars don't know much about that terrible time, if any of it was true. It was too long ago and only the most ancient tomes in the very rear of the forbidden section of the library have any reference to it." Celestia lowered her head. "It is said that it was the creation of Equestria. Are you saying that we have been wrong?"
"I guess. There were a lot of things happening before that, right girls?"
"Y-yeah. We saw the creation of the Elements of Harmony and the Changelings and-" Twilight began.
Celestia held a hoof up and her student silenced herself. "You said you saw these things?"
Twilight quickly explained what they had been shown. The holographic room where they could see events from the past as if they were there, they could hear the voices of those that had once existed but were now nothing more than a distant dream. As the she told them everything she could in as much detail as she recalled, it was clear that the girls did not like being reminded of what they had seen. The vividness of the war and the cost had been much too painful for Fluttershy.
But it was the sudden change in Orko's demeanor that worried Twilight. Pinkie tried to cheer him up but could not help. Orko's face looked pained and Twilight could only imagine what those glowing eyes must have remembered to change his mood so significantly. It did not seem to matter to him before, so what would make it change now? Perhaps as time drew closer to his own involvement, he started to recall memories that he had wanted to repress even this far into the future. Over a hundred thousand years. How could anyone stay sane after that?
"I guess I could show you. Things happened and it... you could say it was worst moment in history, I mean for this world. I can get everything ready, but I'm not going to watch it with you. I feel funny seeing myself in the recordings. Not just that, I don't really want to undo my memory charms as well. Couldn't forget, so I used magic to stop myself from thinking about it. When I do, I..." he suddenly stopped and looked spaced out. A few seconds later he shook his head and looked around confused and lost. It took him a moment to snap out of it. "See?"
"Oh, that's okay. I'll stay out here with you, if you want," Fluttershy said in her comforting tone.
The trollan shook his head. "I guess you could, but I think it'd be better if you go in. Feels like the right thing."
As Celestia took a step closed towards the drawbridge, the glowing crystals beneath her began to change color. From under her hooves the red huge changed to blue, then orange, then white, then purple, then yellow, pink then the cycle would repeat from red again except the colors cycled faster and faster until they began to merge into each other to produce a steady white glow. Exactly like it had done in the holographic room in the beginning.
Twilight looked at the trollan. "Orko, what are you doing?"
"I'm not doing this! I don't know what's going on? This has never happened before! I mean, not that I would know, but still! This is-" he cut himself off and suddenly bolts of lightning from the top of the drawbridge struck the trollan. He shook and convulsed as the power fluctuated through his entire body as tongues of lightning hit the lights making the bulbs inside explode in a shower of sparks.
Fluttershy screamed, Applejack yelled something, Rarity hollered something unladylike, Pinkie said words too fast that no pony alive could have possibly understood what she was saying, Rainbow zipped straight up into the sky, Twilight gasped and instinctively formed a force-field around herself, Princess Luna was smothered by her Night Guards and Princess Celestia found herself behind a wall of her own guards blocking every angle.
Then everything went black. The crystals under them turned themselves off and everything was bathed in darkness.
"What's happening?" Twilight shouted as she used her magic to light up her horn.
"I don't know!" Rarity replied, also using her horn.
The unicorn guards did the same illuminating what they could with their magic, but none of them knew what to expect.
"Girls, come closer to me. Luna, can you use your magic?" Celestia asked. Her voice was calm, but with it came total control and an authority that could not be missed.
"Yes, sister," came the reply and soon the area was illuminated ten-fold by both princesses.
Then a noise could be heard. It was very quiet at first, but got steadily louder. It sounded like voices. Faint and muffled.
Then, from where Orko had been moments before, a figure formed. It stepped out of the empty space as if there had been a door there. The figure walked until it stood in between the large pillars that held the drawbridge and looked down at Princess Celestia behind her guards. They did not know what to do, as before them stood an alicorn, taller than their princess and strong. That was not what made them hesitate, however. It was the fact that they could see through him that gave them pause.
Applejack darted behind Rarity. "A-a-a-a g-g-g-ghost!"
"No, it's a light-made projection," Twilight replied in a whisper to her friend. "The hoofsteps aren't making any sounds."
"A hologram?" Rarity asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yeah, that's it! Hologram! Like the ones from inside the castle... wait, didn't Orko say that it was using light inside a room? How is this-"
The figure took a step towards Celestia and the image filled in more. Before it looked like a stenciled drawing, rough and light. Now when they saw it the image was still transparent, but now had color. There was no doubt about it.
"That's Swift!" Pinkie pointed out. "Right?"
All the Elements of Harmony nodded slowly in response -- even Pinkie, who had asked the question, as if to confirm it to herself as well.
"Hello, little one. If you are hearing this message then we have stopped the destruction of this world and have saved you, and our kind. I am sorry that we could not be there with you, to see you become the beautiful mare you are destined to be, but we have no choice. Perhaps it was our bane for forming the Elements of Harmony, but it has also proven to be our boon. My sacrifice and that of your mother's will not be in vain. I believe it to be so."
"Sire, we must go. We do not have much time," a voice said from somewhere. "The Elements are almost in synch."
Swift looked to the side, towards where they supposed the speaker would have been, and nodded. "It is time. I love you, my darling. Your mother loved you very much and I wish that the three of us had more time together. I am sorry. Sorry letting your mother go so soon, sorry for locking you away in the Castle, sorry for bringing this atrocity on the world... sorry for leaving you. Words that I will never be able to say to you face to face. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and when you look upon the dawn of a new day, please know that I love you. Always will. Take care of the world we leave to you and those who dwell within it. I wish you all the happiness in our world and beyond. Good bye, my dearest daughter. Be safe."
The image flickered for a moment and was gone.
As soon as it did, the crystals beneath them began to glow again and soon the area was once again awash with the red hue of the slow fluctuating light. They all shared a look with each other not sure what to make of what they had learned, nor why the speaker seemed to be talking to Celestia directly, as if the message was meant for her.
Orko picked himself from off the ground and shuddered. "Ouch. Wow. Too much energy."
Twilight picked the trollan up off the ground and levitated him onto one of the hard-case used to carry the lights. He thanked her as he sat down and removed his hat. He rubbed his temples a little bit and scratched his dark blue hair before running his fingers through it. Despite his ancient age, he showed no sign of going bald. This was the first time the girls got to see the blue skin of the trollan and noticed it was a lighter shade than his hair. His long narrow ears sagged along with his mood but he seemed to pick himself up and narrowed his eyes in a good way. He was smiling at them. They couldn't see his mouth because of the scarf, but they did not need to.
Luna was staring hard at the place where the image of Swift had vanished. She turned her head to look at her sister. "Was that our father?"
The question seemed to catch the elder princess off guard. She looked at Luna and smiled gently before shaking her head slowly. "No. We've never met our father, you know that. I can only remember little bits of our mother."
Luna looked down at the ground, closed her eyes and inhaled. As she did, she raised her head towards the ceiling and inhaled a deep breath. The momentary lapse of her royal visage slipped away and was replaced by the strong, proud ruler of the Equestrian nation she was. The Princess of the Night stood all. "Yes. We had forgotten, but only for a moment."
"My poor body. Remind me never to allow that to happen again," Orko muttered.
"What was that hologram?" Rarity asked.
"No!" Orko shot back shaking his head impossibly fast. "No. That was no hologram. That was pure magic. A nifty spell, and a powerful one to boot. Never expected that at all. Just like Swift to use an overpowered spell like that. I bet you he didn't realize just how much it'd hurt when he made it. After all, I'm the only living thing with a link to the castle that could survive a soul-bind spell like that. Ouch."
"You're the only living thing with a link to this castle," Twilight pointed out.
"Oh yeah! I guess I forgot about that."
"Soul-bind spell? What's that?" Applejack asked.
"It's like a kind of message for someone specific that can't be unlocked using any technology or anything. It's really dangerous kind of spell because it saps the life-force of the caster, in this case Swift himself. Then the life-force is... 'borrowed' by anyone lucky enough to be the proxy. Namely me. Just lucky that I'm not normal in that sense. Spells like that are triggered when someone with a certain... essence is within a general area. Wait. That's impossible!"
"What is?"
Orko stated slamming his hat back on and grabbing Twilight's face in his hands and pulling her face into his so their eyes were inches apart. "Nobody can be alive from then!"
"That's not true, you're still here," Twilight pointed out pushing the trollan back gently to give herself breathing room.
Orko looked at her and furrowed his brow for a few moments. "Oh yeah! I guess I kinda forgot about that! But I'm different! I guess it's better than leaving a message on the systems as they can be hacked. This way it's always a hundred percent secure. It must have taken your genetic signature, I guess. I've never been real good with all this technical mumbo-jumbo. That was always Man-at-Arms' thing. For me it's magic through and through!"
The girls exchanged glances once more as they did not understand a word of what the trollan was saying. Hacked? What did he mean by that? Orko seemed to think that they understood what he meant, but the basic principles of his science were still foreign to them. It sounded so advanced and different from what she knew that Twilight herself was having doubts. She had always believed that science and magic were closely connected, and she had devoured entire sections of the library in an attempt to find out. She once remembered from an anthropology book that stated that if an advanced civilization met with a primitive one, then those beings with their superior technology would deem to have magical powers.
But would that then mean they were the primitive civilization? Did all the comforts and luxuries they took for granted now come from a past they did not understand nor remember?
The librarian felt her head starting to spin. This new line of questioning was making her giddy. How much could she learn from this discovery?
"Orko, do you mean that this spell was made to prevent somepony else from hearing it?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah! The magic must've been stored inside the castle and got triggered by one of you. Think of it like a lock, and one of you the key. So... I guess you could say that you were the bottle-opener and the castle was the bottle." Orko cricked his neck. "I guess that's the way it is. But wow. I hope that there are no more messages like that."
"Who d'ya think triggered it?" Applejack asked looking at the trollan.
"You, Your Highness." Orko was pointing at Princess Celestia. "I think it was you. It must be because it activated the moment you stepped towards the castle. But that can't be right. You weren't alive when it was written."
"Wait, you said that someone's essence triggered it. Do you mean that a piece of someone was lost in here and got out when we entered this place?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow was impressed with the farmer for keeping up with the complication conversation. This wasn't lost on Applejack who gave the cyan pegasus a shove with her shoulder after she started grinning and wiggling her eyebrows at her.
"No. Nothing that simple," Orko responded. His demeanor was no longer jovial; he meant business.
Twilight pursed her lips in thought. Who else could it have been?
"Unless it was genetic. Then that would mean that it would have only come out of activated after I... touched... someone... with the same genetic code!" Orko spun around and looked at Luna. "Of course! The two Princesses... and that mane also! It all adds up!"
"To?" Celestia prompted.
"That this message was meant for you or your ancestors! Don't you see?"
"You're talking about things that none of us can know," Princess Celestia replied. "It could be any of the girls for that matter. Such a long time ago... it could be one of the guards as well."
"You're forgetting that it came out from underneath you, Your Highness," Applejack stated.
Celestia was about to reply when she heard her faithful student's voice. "What was that, dear?"
"What if you could know?" Twilight asked again louder. "What if I said that it was possible for you to see the past and find out exactly who the message was for? What if you could see your mother? Would you want to... if you could?"
The Princess of the Sun opened her mouth to reply, but found that she could not. She stopped herself before she could speak.
"I would!" Luna shouted cutting in. She blushed a little, but pressed on. "In all my life I have always wanted see my mother... I mean, we would like to see our mother."
"No need to user the royal 'we', dearest sister," Celestia replied patiently. Her mood seemed a little off, and despite the others not noticing it, Twilight saw through her guise. "We're amongst friends now. If what you say is true, Twilight Sparkle, then I..."
Again Celestia faltered. This time the others noticed.
"We must. We must, Tia. This is a gift! Can't you see? This is our chance to finally know our mother."
"I know, Lulu, but... to open such wounds again. It was difficult for me. It took centuries for us to get over her. I'm not sure that I wish to relive those moments again."
Luna furrowed her brow. "But... you said that our mother left us when I was a foal..."
At that, Celestia's face seemed to pale. Something about what Luna had brought up seemed to strike a chord deep within her. The change was obvious enough that even Rainbow caught on.
"It might not even be your mother. It could be your grandmother. The last recordings stored aren't recent. Most of them go back a long, long time ago. I guess you could say that your mother might still be a mystery as all this might've happened before then." Orko put a hand on Celestia's shoulder, much to the ire of her guards. "It's up to you and Luna, of course."
"Well, we sure ain't gonna know anythin' if we just keep mullin' over it. Let's go and see for ourselves... that is if you don't mind, Your Highness."
"Applejack's right, Tia. Please?" Luna looked at her sister with wide eyes full of hope and expectation.
How could Celestia say no? She had the luxury of knowing their mother, even if their time together was extremely short. Even if she could not remember her personality or what she was like, she could recall her voice, the color of her mane, the life in those deep blue eyes that seemed so full of wisdom. It seemed cruel to have all that when her sister could barely recall anything. Memories of long nights Celestia spent telling her sister tales about their mother in a time when they had no one else except each other. Celestia had put her on such a high pedestal, while in truth she made most of it up. She wanted to give Luna somepony to look up to, and their mother was the perfect candidate. What if she learned a truth she was not prepared to accept. What would it mean?
Still, even if it was painful, even if it would reveal her barefaced lies, Luna deserved the truth. She deserved to see the mother she never knew. She needed her mother, and here was good opportunity. Celestia understood that she did not have the right to say no.
"Okay."
"Great! Let's go on inside!" Twilight replied. "You sure you're not coming, Orko?"
"I'm sure. You just go on inside and start the show. You know how to work it now. I guess I'll be out here. I've been cooped up in there way too long. Be nice just to be out and about, even if out and about is in some huge cave under a mountain." Orko laughed and slapped his knee. After he was done, he wiped a tear from his eye and reached into his sleeve pulling out the remote and offered it to Twilight who took it in her magic. "Everything should be ready. Just head on in and press play. It does have some pretty... strong parts, believe me. But I think it's important too. Something in my gut tells me so."
"Okay. And Orko?"
The trollan looked up at Twilight.
"Thanks."
He smiled, and nodded.
In the time it took the girls to reach the holo-chamber in the castle, Twilight gave the princesses a comprehensive lesson about what was they were about to experience. She had already told them about what they learned so far, but she quickly added more information withing sparing anything. She gave them the harsh, brutal reality in a simplified form that seemed slightly cold, but the Royal Sisters understood. To Celestia it seemed incredible that such a vast volume of wealth survived throughout the ages and she never knew about it. She had no idea that the world they had was inherited was caught in such a vicious storm.
"Are you ready?" Twilight asked looking at her friends one by one.
Rarity gave a firm nod. Pinkie closed her eyes, took a deep breath, but she too nodded. Applejack and Rainbow exchanged glances before turning towards Twilight and let her know they were prepared. They all looked at Fluttershy. She gave a very slight, almost imperceptible nod.
"Here. We. Go."
She pushed the button. |
From Eternia to Equestria | Chapter 5: The Fracture - Part 2 | At once the area lit up, unlike before when it took time for the image to appear, this was almost instant. The image cut in almost instantly and the girls all found themselves soaring high above an unfamiliar landscape with a literal birds eye view, or was it pegasi view, of Equestria spread out in front of them. It was gorgeous. Something about the rawness and freshness of it made it seem even more magical.
In the far distance mountains decorated the horizon, and below them was acres and acres of dense forests. To the side stood the floating city of the pegasi. It was in the distance, but they could clearly see just how impressive it was in size. This was nothing like Cloudsdale. The current city was nothing more than a mere village compared to the sprawling metropolis.
The figure suddenly jerked upwards into the skies before diving through the clouds and straight down towards the ground.
"Yeah!" a voice shouted as it leveled off at the last minute, skimming over the tops of the trees.
A few ponies under the canopy looked up and shouted in response, some whooping as the figure darted back upwards towards the skies high above them. Several other pegasi nearby watched the source of the current noise with mixed expressions, but most found themselves busy going on about their lives. Everything seemed so peaceful and perfect. This was the Equestria they all knew and loved. This was the land they lived in. Had Orko done something wrong and loaded the wrong thing?
"Snowy!" a voice called out.
The image came to a sudden halt. It looked towards the west for a moment before turning back to the east. Then, with the same break-neck speed, the video went back the way it had come.
"Snowy? Where are you?" the voice shouted, this time louder than before.
"I'm here, grandpa!" the speaker called out. "I'm here!"
She cut through a gap between two clouds and zipped upwards and over a large pegasus who twisted easily in the air and landed expertly on another cloud. They all recognized him immediately and he watched with quickly waning patience as the flyer kept whizzing around him.
"Okay, that's enough, Snowy. Come here."
The image closed in on the stallion and the speaker landed softly on the same cloud in front of the Element. He reached over and the camera began to shake from side to side. It was obvious that Haze was ruffling her mane.
"Grandpa," the voice moaned. "Stop. It took be all morning to get it to set right."
"You say that, but you messed it up yourself zipping through the sky like that. What did I tell you about diving under the clouds when you're going that fast? I know you like recording your flights, but that is not a toy, my dear," Haze stated. "It's one of the last few that work." Haze took the device and placed it on his head.
Now they could now see the speaker and she was looking up at her grandfather with wide, excited eyes that were so full of life and adventure. The small white pegasus filly had extraordinarily bright green eyes and a flowing orange mane and tail. "I know, I know. I just... it's so fun!"
Her smile was adorable.
"Between you and me, darling, I know exactly what you mean. But if your mother or father ever found out that I let you zip around like that, they'd never let me hear the end of it." The stallion chuckled and ruffled her mane again, to which she protested vocally once more.
A loud explosion thundered across the sky, and in the distance they could see a trail of storm clouds trailing behind three flyers in the far distance. They twisted together with the grace and agility that was the envy of every modern day pegasus who wished to fly with the Wonderbolts. Snowy bounced on her cloud and shouted in glee as they sped towards them for a moment before cutting back and heading into the distance again.
"Wow, grandpa! That was amazing!"
"See? Aren't you glad I told you to get here early? They always patrol this part of the kingdom around this time of day."
"I wish I had a horn too! Then I could fly really fast."
Haze ruffled her mane yet again. "It doesn't matter about your horn, darling. What matters is how much heart you've got. Some of the greatest flyers in our kingdom are pegasi, like us. Plus we get to live on the clouds. They can't."
"Yeah. I know, but I still want to have a horn too, so I can do magic as well!"
"We can do magic, darling. Just not the same kind of magic they do. We have our own magic, and we can live on top of the clouds because of it."
"But I want to do the kind of magic where I can make things move and stuff."
Before Haze could answer he saw another contrail heading towards them. It was fast, perhaps even faster than the alicorns that had zoomed on by. He kept his eye on it as Snowy continued to talk.
"Grandpa?"
"Yes, Snowy?"
"What's he like? The Prince, I mean."
Haze looked down at his granddaughter and smiled. "He's a great prince. He lead our kind through a very dark time and because of his leadership we have lived in peace. You were born into a world where you don't have to worry if you'll survive into tomorrow."
Snowy furrowed her brow. "What do you mean, grandpa?"
"Never you mind, dear. Never. You. Mind..." His voiced trailed off as the pegasus flying towards them drew closer.
"Who's that?"
"Your father."
"But isn't he supposed to be on duty?" Snowy looked up at her grandfather.
Twilight walked around her to get a better view of what they were looking at. From the tone of her voice, the filly seemed so young, but Snowy was already almost her size. These ponies were a lot larger than current Equestrians and she felt tiny standing next to them.
"Yes. He is."
The pegasus charged right at them and came to a sudden stop a few feet from the cloud. A rush of wind surrounded them as the vacuum behind Shock Wave closed pulling the air forwards. Snowy raised her hoof to keep the blast of air from her eyes as her father landed and bowed. That meant he was here on duty, not as her parent.
"News, my liege."
"Speak then, my son. What news has sent you here at such terrific speeds?"
He looked at Snowy who stood next to him with wide eyes, then he shifted his gaze to his father. "It... is not for me to say in front of my daughter, my liege."
Haze did not seem to accept this answer. "She is old enough. These are times of peace, what could possibly be of any serious concern?"
"Please," His son muttered.
"Speak!" Haze growled angrily. "Do not waste my time."
"Sire, our Prince summons you to Canterlot right away! There have been... problems."
"Problems? What kind of problems?" Haze asked, concern evident in his eyes.
"The worst kind, my lord." When it was apparent that Haze was not going to do anything without any more explanations, he narrowed his eyes. "Trouble to the west, sir. Changelings."
"Snowy!" Haze yelled.
The pegasus leaped where she stood surprised by the sudden outburst. "Y-yes, grandfather?"
"Go back home with your father."
The filly was confused. "W-why?"
"No more questions. Go. Fly! Fly as fast as you can! Son, you make sure she gets home and you do what needs to be done, do you understand?"
"Of course, father."
Haze spread his wings and in one flap he shot into the sky. The image moved so fast that all the girls could see was a continuous blur. Rainbow's eyes lit up. Even with her talent, this was fast and it was clear that she may have been the fastest pony in Equestria today, but that may not have been always the case. Perhaps it was because of their larger wingspan, or the fact that they were bigger and had larger muscles. Rainbow watched the world zip by them and she leaned with Haze as he twisted and turned.
He rolled in mid-air and dipped down towards a steep valley, his powerful wings disturbing the ground below. Then he suddenly zoomed upwards as a gust of air pushed him back into the sky and he swung around a mountain peak and headed across a vast plain.
The girls did a collective gasp. In front of them, far below, was a city the likes they had never seen before. Not only was its size far larger than that of their current Equestrian cities, but it was beautiful. Tall towers that stretched almost as high the as clouds, large streets that accommodated thousands of ponies, markets that were bustling with life, the sounds of the city washed over them as the Haze slowed down.
Some had spotted him and cheered. Others followed suit, waving their hooves at their protector.
He waved back, but continued towards the far end of the city were a large stone wall was built at the base of a mountain, its walls tall and black. Through the gateway a large river flowed through, and the girls could see many ponies enjoying its cool waters feeding the city below it. The water was so practically transparent, it was so clean and it was clear that the city benefited from indoor plumping.
"This is amazing! Look at how complex the infrastructure is! Everything from clean water to public transport is already here! And look, schools, law enforcement-" Twilight paused the scene. "I mean, we never really realized just how many of these things we've taken for granted."
"That is interesting," Rarity replied, nodding at her friend. "I for one love the way they've designed this city. It's simply fabulous. I must be such a wonderful place to grow up, and think of all the markets and fashion! I mean, just look at the styles some of these ponies are wearing! I can infuse them with today's styles and make a line of-"
Pinkie hopped over to Twilight. "Where is this place? I don't recognize it."
"Neither do I," Celestia said looking around. "Perhaps it was too long ago, or maybe this was in a land very far away. I can't make out anything that can pin-point this location. There isn't a mountain this tall in Equestria."
"Let's continue. Maybe we'll spot somethin' we'll all recognize," Applejack suggested.
With that, Twilight resumed the feed.
Haze caught another updraft, but this time he rode on it gently, allowing the thermal currents to carry him higher and higher along the steep mountain's slope. Droplets of water from the waterfall fell onto the recording device bending the image slightly.
When they reached the top, they spotted a large lake in the middle of the peak. It took Twilight to realize that this was probably a volcano that had been extinct, the lake formed inside its mouth.
After gaining some altitude, Haze started to descend towards a circular podium on the lake's surface. It was clear that it was ponymade and not natural the closer he got. Despite the waterfall at the end of the lake, the water here was calm and peaceful and in the middle of this particular dais was a tree where the wide, heart-shaped leaves were a deep, vibrant green and petals of a bright blue and white huge were being caught in the gentle breeze landing delicately on the water's surface. From here, long lines of stretched out across the lake connecting to other podiums of various heights and shapes. that connected to a large circle right in the middle where a small tree stood with beautiful pink flowers whose petals delicately landed on the lake's surface whenever the breeze caught it. It was here that Haze landed, though he did not take in the beauty, nor marvel at the elegant architecture of his surroundings. Instead he marched forwards at a quick pace to the entrance of what they girls could only assume to be the palace. Armored alicorn guards stood at attention as Haze drew near, withdrawing their spears as they stood at attention.
Once inside, the girls noticed a lot of activity. Armed guards of all kinds were rushing past Haze in groups, all giving the Element the courtesy of a bowed head, but most did not stop. Orders were being shouted from one end to the other as groups of guards got into position, and as Haze walked into a large open space within the palace, there was a platoon of earthbound stallions gearing themselves up.
Whatever was going was must have been very important.
"My lord!" a voice shouted, and a mare fell in step with the stallion.
"Hello, Phosphorous," Haze said as politely as he could. "Can you please tell me what is happening?"
"Sir, I'm afraid I'm not sure. We were told to prepare for an engagement with the changelings. That was all. Ever since last night the troops have been on high alert, but as to why... well, you probably know more than I do." The pale yellow earth pony stated. Two light colored lines along her back were visible and a rough patch of fur on the top of his head. She had once been an alicorn and she had aged most gracefully.
"Ma'am," a unicorn stated running up to them. He bowed low to Haze. "It is an honor to be in the presence of one of the Elements. I apologize for this, but Lady Phosphorous is required in the antechamber. The other captains are gathering for orders and her attendance is mandatory."
"I'll be right behind you, Nocturne." They watched him trot off down the hall. "Grandfather was killed in the Changeling War, and he decided to join the Honor Guard in his memory. Peace time has ruined our young ones as a fighting force. I'm afraid that this generation is ill prepared for the horrors we faced during our time."
"The entire point of us existing is because we would relive those horrors. Not them," Haze replied.
The earthbound laughed gently. "No offense, but even you cannot protect every province and corner of our beloved kingdom on your own."
That statement only seemed to annoy him. "Then are we no more than symbols? Symbols that have no power?"
Phosphorous shuddered. "I hope what you say has no weight, my lord. Dark tidings are in store, but I can still hope. Hope that this is a false alarm." With that she also trotted down the hall and took a left where Nocturne had turned.
Haze walked and passed the hallway where Phosphorous entered a room with two large doors. The girls could make out quite a few other ponies in uniform inside just as Haze walked past the corner of the corridor blocking the video feed's angle. Onwards he walked until he arrived in a room. At once two mares approached him from either side. One held a cloak in her magic, the other a brooch in her mouth. The cloak was thrown over Haze's shoulders, the front secured by the brooch that fastened to cloak securely. Then the stallion walked over to a large, golden box and touched it. At once it began to glow and open. Inside was a familiar sight.
"The Element!" Applejack exclaimed.
Haze brought it up so it filled the entire image, then it disappeared above them. The mares followed the movement and continued to stare at it until the necklace was now draped over his him hanging just below the brooch. This was the Element of Honesty, although it was differently shaped to the one that Applejack carried.
"They are expecting you," the pegasus mare stated as she bowed and moved aside.
The unicorn's horn began to glow, as did the handle for the door that lead into the throne as it slowly swung open. As Haze stepped inside, he immediately noticed a black unicorn standing in front of the raised dais. At once his sour mood seemed to disappear. The unicorn turned around, age had not been as kind to him as it had been to Haze, but his smile was still genuine and especially kind.
"Well, well, well. It has been quite some time."
The change in tone of Haze's voice was clear. The morose attitude evaporated after seeing an old friend. "Midnight! How have you been? It has been far too long. I see you're still as young as ever."
"Oh, don't make me laugh. Hurst my chest. I'm getting too old for this," Midnight sighed.
"Well, your coat is still lush and pristine."
"Please. This coat is a burden on any equine with sensibility. It gets hot as soon as the snow stops falling and we have to use most of our own crystals to cool our homes and appliances," Midnight replied. "Then when the snow starts again we have to use the same crystals to heat up our homes! It's a never ending cycle."
The two shared a laugh.
"Ah, but without your crystals we would not have half the comforts we have today."
"Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Many of the youngsters today take what they have for granted! Sometimes I wish that they didn't have access to such things. It makes them... weak. Indeed the crystals are useful, but I feel that they are not being used correctly." Midnight sighed. "I suppose I could be over thinking it, but one can never be too careful. At least my new foreman in charge seems bright, if nothing else. I mean he is completely obsessed with them."
"Well, that could also be a good thing." Haze looked around. "Why do you think we have been summoned?"
"I do not have any clue. The alicorn that fetched me stated that he knew nothing, that his orders were to bring me here. Still not used to teleporting. It seems... foreign to me. We never used to teleport in the past."
"I wonder why that is," Haze stated. "Did we always have such power?"
"I guess so. I also think that alicorn magic has become significantly stronger since our arrival here. It's almost as if something within them has been unleashed. A sort of block that was on their powers before has been freed. While our magic has started to become, for the most part, weaker, theirs has gotten stronger."
The pegasus nodded slowly. "I think I understand what you mean. My son has shown great fortitude in his skills at flying, and can fly with the best of them, but the alicorns make him look as if he were standing still in the skies. What do you think it all means?"
"I'm not sure, but it is troubling that all alicorns live in this city and this city alone," Midnight pointed out. "I'm never one to point out issues, but it could become a serious problem in the future."
"Problem? What kind of problem?"
Midnight looked at Haze for a moment. "Nothing. Perhaps I'm over thinking things."
"Not since we formed the Elements has there been any threat that would warrant such a commotion as this," Haze gestured towards the door he had entered. "What could cause such a reaction?"
"No idea. Whatever it is has seemed to be kept quite quiet. I didn't realize the extent of the issue until I arrived here."
"What is this issue? My son only informed me that there has been trouble out west."
"West? It can't be that kind, can it?" Midnight looked down. "No. Not now. Not after everything we've built... the changelings are in Tender Heart's-"
Just then two large stallions entered from the back room along with Swift. Haze and Midnight bowed out of respect for their prince, and he acknowledged them with a nod of his head. He gestured with a hoof towards a large table in an alcove to one side where all five sat comfortably.
"Destrier," Haze said.
It was clear that these two must have had a falling out at some point with the way they reacted towards one another. There was a cold chill that could be felt pass through the hall, and even though this was an ancient recording from many generations in the past, the girls could feel the animosity between the two of them.
"Haze."
"I ask that you put your differences aside for now," Swift stated calmly. "I know that Destrier had insisted that we needed to exterminate the changelings after the war, but that is in the past now. We must look at the situation at hand."
"And what is the situation, Your Highness? You summoned us in a hurry, but neither Midnight nor I had any idea as to the reason."
"Agreed. I have too much work in the northern mines that needs overseeing. The factories cannot run themselves, and there are a sizable group of disgruntled Equines that insist we administer a tax on the exports of the crystals. There's even been proof of tampering on several of the Purification Systems. Black deposits have been found inside them that cause serious damage to any contraption they are inserted in. I fear that the power crystals are being weaponized with the intent to cause harm to others."
"I understand, and I have asked a team of be formed to oversee the matter," Swift stated. "I have read your reports, Midnight. I am not neglecting my duties."
"I never said you were, Your Highness. I was just reminding you that this problem can escalate rather quickly. Already the ponies in the northern kingdoms have threatened to take drastic action. I have informed you that there is a small group there that says that we should form our own empire. Of course I feel that this is detrimental to us. Segregation of our forces will put a strain on our kind."
"Perhaps the changelings have infiltrated this group and have been causing issues," Destrier said coldly.
"Of course they are!" Haze cut in angrily. "That's because all our problems stem from the changeling menace and we should purge them from this world. Isn't that right, Destrier? We should cause genocide because a race of beings you do not understand exist!"
"I am just stating a fact. The changelings only want one thing. Us. They feed off of us. That is evident."
Haze burst out in laughter. "Evident? You don't have any more evidence to state that they do. If what you say is true, then why do they convert us instead of killing and consuming our corpses?"
"I never said that they fed on flesh, Haze."
"Then what?" The pegasus shouted back, standing up. "I find your point of view deplorable."
"We know about your point of view and we know how vocal you are against my thought," Destrier calmly replied. "Still, it stands to reason that they are still a threat, and this proves my point."
"This? What is 'this'?" Haze retorted.
Swift looked at Destrier and nodded.
"It is that serious then?" Midnight stated after seeing the expression on Percheron's face. The Element of Laughter not smiling.
"It is as Destrier had predicted," Swift said in a neutral voice.
Haze's blood froze. "What do you mean, sire?"
"I mean that Destrier was right!" Swift yelled slamming his hoof on the table in anger. The magic power inside him caused a bolt of lightning that cut through the table itself. "I should have listened... but I was tired. Tired of all that death and killing. I realize now that when it comes to war, you cannot show kindness."
He let the words sink in.
"Tender... Tender Heart... what has she done?" Haze sputtered as the weight of Swift's meaning slowly started to press down on him.
"Enough."
"She... she wasn't summoned?"
"She was, but she will not come. Not willingly at least." Swift looked away from them and walked to the nearest window. They were the only ones in that room at that moment. "I had sent an alicorn to inform Tender Heart to come here and explain why she has closed the borders to the west. The kingdom is already feeling ripples from her abandonment. I had no idea that she could be corrupted."
"But we are the Elements! We can use the Power of Grayskull to-"
"The Elements are no longer in tune with one another. Now that I concentrate on my magic I can tell that they have not been in harmony for a while. We have carefully maintained these years of peace and prosperity, but now that this has happened they have started to wane. Already we can see troubles in the north, some to the south, east and in your own sky there is talk of sedition."
"Impossible! Such things I would have come to know!" Haze replied. "I have heard nothing of this."
"Nor would you. Do you think that they would tell you, an Element of Harmony, that they wish to separate themselves? I am sorry Haze, but your beloved has betrayed us. They Harmony has been broken. Without it, peace cannot be maintained."
"What happened?" Haze shouted taking a step towards the prince. "What happened to her?"
"As far as we know," Destrier cut in, stepping in front of Haze, "Tender has been infected by the same poison that corrupted Spirit."
"What are you talking about? What infection? Surely we cannot isolate her because she is sick."
Midnight placed a hoof on Haze's shoulder. "No, my friend. Not that kind of sickness, I'm afraid. This is the worst kind of infection. She has been taken by the very thing she sought to cure."
It was clear that deep in his heart he was denying the inevitable. The way his entire demeanor fell looked like he was physically hit. "It is not possible. Swift killed her! How could Spirit corrupt-"
Swift held his hoof up and all silenced themselves. "She has been tainted. Of that, we have no doubt. We don't know how long nor how deep the infection has seeped, but it is clear. She has broken the Harmony we have forged through so much pain and suffering. Already the borders to the west have had rumors of disappearances. Too many to be attributed to natural causes. Most of our population are young foals. They are not prepared for the horrors of war. We cannot, will not, allow them to endure what we had suffered in the past. We cannot let our children inherit our burden."
"Then why mobilize the army?" Midnight asked. "Surely the Elements can handle this ourselves. Even if one of us has broken their oath, the other five can maintain the peace."
"No. The Elements were forged from the Swords of Power and Protection. Each of the Elements contains shards from both. They cannot work alone."
Haze stepped forward. "That's insane! Why would you do that?"
"Because if ever the Elements were to fall into the wrong hands and our enemy find a way to weaponize them. Only if all six Elements work together in harmony can the full power of the Castle Grayskull be used. That was the only way to ensure that none could use an Element's power for their own selfish gain. I was confident that none of you would attempt it, but as generations go by and as ambitions change, there will be one day when one will try to oust me or my line from its right to rule. When that happens, the Elements of Harmony should not, can not, will not, be used." Swift closed his eyes and inhaled a deep sigh. He was tired, that much the girls could tell. "When I slayed my wife, the creature that caused her to be as evil as she was exited her body. I freed her from the curse that had taken her."
"What? You're saying that this so-called infection is free to attack whomever?" Haze was none too pleased to hear that. "You should have warned us!"
"I did. Why do you think that even after all these long years I did not slow our patrols, nor left any of our subjects free from scrutiny? It has always been because I expected this day would come. It was inevitable. Not with Hordak-"
"Hordak?" Haze narrowed his eyes and stepped forwards. "You're telling us that Hordak is behind this?"
"Yes. Do you not remember his appearance at my castle? He had admitted to corrupting Spirit's mind, twisting her thoughts into a jealous rage. That was how he managed to convince her to attack and raze the first Canterlot city, and also had my son, Winter, slain in the process."
"I apologize, Your Highness. I had forgotten," Haze replied, bowing his head in shame.
Swift shook his head. "I don't blame you. How could any bare the thought of remembering anything from that time? It has been so long, but as long Hordak remains I will not stop hunting him. He is not like before. His mind and that of Horde Prime are at odds with each other. I can't say for sure, but I suspect that it is so. This makes him even more dangerous because he is unpredictable."
"Then what will we do? We cannot avoid telling the troops to prepare without informing them of why!" Midnight growled. "How long have you known?"
"I have known a couple of months. I had gone to the west to demand why crop production was faltering. The place was evil, I could feel it in the pulse of the land itself. The ground beneath my hooves was crying out in agony. This was no place for a living thing to be. It was as if the very soil had been infused with darkness," Destrier stated. "We headed for their new capital. They had built it around the entrance to Tartarus-"
"Why would they do that?" Haze shouted. "I was there just ten years ago! There was barely a hovel there housing a few guards!"
"It is now a sprawling metropolis filled with hate, crime and swarming with denizens and unmentionables. Creatures that have evolved somehow, and have made a living for themselves in... less than honorable ways." Percheron replied. "Yes, I had visited the new capital as well. Aptly named Rift. It is doing precisely that. The city lures those that feel they have no other place to go to, or belong. It is a den of evil. It is causing a rift in our kind. Never before have I seen animosity of the sort between pegasi, earthbound and unicorns there."
"Racial bigotry? Have they really descended to that level?" Midnight could not believe his ears.
Percheron nodded. "They have. Still, there are pockets of normal ones that have maintained our principals, but it is quickly fading."
"What do you propose then?" Haze asked.
"Simple. We go to Rift and find Tender Heart before she does anything that could cause a serious divide between our kind. Then the army will move in to prevent the changelings from causing an uprising." Swift looked at each of them in the eyes. "We then shuffle them into Tartarus and lock them away. Any that try to escape..."
"That is murder!" Haze shouted. "That goes against everything we stand for! If we compromise on what makes us the Elements of Harmony then we are no better than them!"
"Tell that to the thousands that will die if we don't," Destrier replied coldly. "I won't pretend to understand the turmoil you must feel inside you, Haze. I will never understand. But this isn't about us. It's about those we have sworn to protect. You gave your word that you do whatever it took to protect our subjects. This is that time. Even if it means protecting them from the one you love."
"I know full well my oath. Don't think that for once I have forgotten it. But I will not condone the mass murder of a species that I have just learned we helped create! That is... abhorrent! Swift, you cannot allow this to happen."
"I do not wish it to be so," the prince replied. "I do not give this order lightly. Never can I give this order lightly, but then again it is an order I cannot make alone. That is why I have asked you to come here. If we do not do something it will seep into the rest of our lands and those that we protect. Then what will happen? If they start 'converting' our subjects into slaves as they had done in the past, what will become of our entire existence?"
"It is wrong!" Haze barked back. "Tender would never allow such a thing to happen!"
"It is not Tender Heart anymore!" Destrier argued. "Understand that!"
"Our duty is to protect all our subjects! Even those that have been infected! That is not our way!" Haze countered. "Y-you should all know this! Swift! Do not give this order. Please! I beg you."
"I do not give this order easily, Haze. I do not make this decision alone. Without a majority vote here I will not allow it to happen. We cannot initiate an action without proper debate. If you think that there are alternatives, then we would gladly hear them."
Destrier looked to Swift, who nodded in agreement.
"Then let us vote," Percheron stated. "Those who agree that our best course of action shall be to capture Tender Heart and retrieve the Element of Kindness, then banish the changelings into Tartarus, raise your hooves."
Destrier raised his hoof, followed by Percheron a moment later. Swift closed his eyes, and raised his hoof as well. Then, to his horror, as could be seen on his face, Haze watched as Midnight raised his hoof as well.
"Sorry, Haze. This is really the only way," Midnight explained sadly.
"No! This is wrong! I refuse to allow-" The screen immediately went black as the recording stopped. |
From Eternia to Equestria | Chapter 6: The Fracture - Part 3 | "Spectacular," Luna whispered still staring at where the stallions had been just seconds ago. "Midnight must be talking about the founders of the Crystal Empire."
"I was just thinking that too," Celestia replied also stunned by the sight of it all. It was mind blowing just how much she had learned in such a short period of time. "But I have read the ancient texts. I do not know of anyone by the name of Swift Wind, or any of the stallions we saw. They are simply not there."
"Crystal Empire?" Twilight asked. She had paused the video.
Celestia smiled at her pupil. "Never mind that for now. I will explain in the future. Let's continue."
"Right! We might get some more answers. Plus, I kinda want to see what happens after." Twilight said and pushed the button on the remote before any could get in a word edgewise.
At once the scene changed and they were looking down a dirty alleyway; tall walls on either side of them extending high up in an unfamiliar material. At once Twilight recognized the place. A tickle in the back of her mind made her recall the day when Cerberus had managed to escape from his prison. Iron that not long after that the changelings had attacked Caterlot. The coincidence in her mind could not be avoided. Were the changelings trapped inside that prison for all this time? She could not help but feel a little sad for them, but she also recalled how they had tried to take Canterlot by force and how she nearly had her brother stolen from her. Her pity evaporated almost as quickly as it had come. She pushed the matter from her mind; there would be another time to dwell on that.
This was what the ancient ruins of Tartarus looked like. She had assumed, as perhaps hundreds of others did before her, that it was an old guard tower that had long since disbanded, but now she understood that most of this ancient city now lay beneath the surface; that she had seen the very top of these walls when she had visited last. Here the doors to the great prison were directly in front -- the huge metal gate still as intimidating and impenetrable as when she had last seen. It was obvious that there was powerful magic imbued within them.
Then it was not the princesses that created the prison. She had always wondered if it was possible for her mentor, with her kindness and benevolence, to create such a place. Relief flooded her as she realized that Celestia nor Luna had anything to do with this place's creation.
Now she could see why the place was designed the way it was. The walls were tall, along the time were supposed to be guards to watch the lower alley. This gave them a vantage on any creature that managed to escape. The sides were smooth, made by that strange, unfamiliar material. Now she wanted to go back and actually examine what it could be. It looked metallic, but at the same time she knew it wasn't. Some sort of element, perhaps?
"The stones are not something I am familiar with," Princess Luna stated.
Pinkie grinned. "It's obsidian!"
"What?" all girls asked looking at her.
"It's obsidian. You don't get to work at a rock farm and not know it when you see it," Pinkie replied. "Although, I don't know how they found such big pieces, but considering how many alicorns and everything there are, maybe they made it! Ooh, maybe they made Tartarus out of a volcano and carved these alleys down from that!"
"That... that actually seems realistic," Applejack said, impressed with her pink friend's answer. "That is doable, right?"
"It would take years, but it is, yes."
"Princess, if we take what we see here as an example, you could say that Equestria today is on higher ground. I mean, when I went to Tartarus-"
"You did what?" Celestia barked.
"I-I went to Tartarus... to return Cerberus to his post... didn't I tell you?"
The princess watched her pupil for quite some time before shaking her head. "No, Twilight, I didn't know you went to that place. Please don't do it again. It's a prison for a reason. There are things in there that must never be released."
"I was just... trying to help," the unicorn replied lowering her head.
"I know, but you must understand that it was very foolish for you to do." Celestia lifted Twilight's face so that their eyes met. "How could I be able to explain to everypony if anything happened to you? How would I be able to cope if I lost my number one student?"
Twilight blushed. "Sorry. I won't do it again."
"Gosh, I had no idea how dangerous it was. If we had known we would have certainly have insisted on going with you to that place," Rarity stated.
The others nodded.
Twilight felt happy that her friends were so caring, but she also felt particular silly for going all the way to Tartarus on her own. Now that it made clear how dangerous it was, she knew to exercise caution before going to that place again should the need ever arise.
The image moved forwards towards the massive doors and stopped right in front. When Twilight had last seen them, they were a lot smaller than before. Here the full size of the doors were clear. It was massive, big enough to fit a hydra through. The top tapered down until it joined together in an arch at the very top. When she had brought Cerberus she understood that only the top portion of the massive doors remained visible.
Judging everything on that fact alone gave her a better idea on just how ancient this world was.
Another thing that was amazing was their language. Even after all this time they spoke like how they did now. Even some words and phrases matched theirs. Did they retain their language from that long ago? That, in of itself, was simply astounding.
Just then the figure jumped as a loud bark erupted from the side.
"Down boy!" a yell came before a blast of red light struck the beast sending it crashing into the obsidian wall.
It whimpered and went back into a makeshift hole and the side. It lowered itself to the ground, eyes staring straight at the camera, a glowering hatred. The guardian of Tartarus, Cerberus.
"Oh no! That poor, poor, animal," Fluttershy squeaked, tears flowing from her eyes. "They didn't need to do that."
"That was barbaric!" Rarity concurred. "How uncivilized."
"Is someone down there?" a voice shouted.
"Nah, don't think so. Cerberus has been acting like this the past few days," the unicorn shouted back. "He'll calm down in a sec, won't you, big guy?"
The animal whimpered and retreated further into his hiding place.
"Good boy."
The image quickly changed as the speaker and whomever else was involved started to run from that place as fast as their legs would carry them, yet at the same time their hooves hardly made a sound. This place was very different from the previous Equestria they had seen earlier. It was not so much the dark architecture or the strange uniforms these particular guards wore. It was the feeling. A feeling of coldness that seemed to permeate from the very land itself.
"I don't like this place," Applejack stated. "Not one bit. It feels like the first time we ventured through the Everfree."
"I know what you mean," Rarity replied. "It seems so unfriendly and hostile. I get the feeling that anything bad could happen at any second."
"Yeah, this place is so not cool," Rainbow muttered hovering around the ceiling.
The feed continued on, the carrier staying close to the side of the walls to maintain their cover in the shadows. How had the guards above not notice them? The recording device panned to the side and there they could see the face of the figure clearly. They looked at each other and the other figure pulled his hood back slightly to reveal part of his face. It was the Element of Laughter, Percheron, but there was no sign of humor or laughter on his face. It was quite frightening to see just how serious he was.
He gestured with his head towards the monolithic gates to Tartarus and the one who was holding the recorder nodded ever so slightly, the image going up and down almost imperceptibly. The image turned towards one of the two guards standing at the base of the gates, who seemed to be struggling to stay awake.
"Hey!" one of the two shouted. "Who's there?"
The other guard snapped awake and peered towards them from across the street. He rubbed his eyes with his hooves, but that proved to be the worst thing he could do. In that moment the feed darted forwards at a horrific pace and pinned the unicorn guard to the wall with a well place blow to the throat. The guard coughed as he tried to make a sound, but in that next moment a glint of something long and silver appeared in the other hoof and the object vanished inside the body. The guard looked up at them, his eyes petrified with fear. He knew he was going to die. He could feel his life slowly slipping away, his eyes glazing over as the life was sapped out of him.
The attacked ducked and allowed the guard to slump over his shoulder as he turned around to see that Percheron had already done the same thing. They both quickly made their way back across the space and dumped the bodies into the alley they had come from a moment before, shedding their cloaks as they draped them over the deceased and pushed them against a pile of garbage and debris.
Percheron now stood in full armor, the exact same kind the two guards had been wearing a few seconds ago. They then quickly trotted back to the place where the two guards had been standing a moment before.
Neither moved nor talked for a long time.
Fluttershy wiped the tears from her eyes. "H-how could they do that?"
"There was a time when things like this were quite common, Fluttershy," Princess Celestia said quietly. "I have waited for many centuries to see Equestria become what it is today. I am glad that taking a life of another pony is very rare today, and I hope that it will come to a complete end soon."
"That was unnecessary. They needn't kill 'em just for standin' there an' doin' their duty!" Applejack shouted gesturing violently with her hoof. "That's murder!"
"Something's happening," Twilight stated out loud.
Two other guards walked up slowly. They stopped just in front of Percheron and saluted.
"We're here to relieve you," one said.
"Password?" Percheron asked.
"A new dawn is coming," the soldier replied rolling his eyes.
Percheron narrowed his eyes and reached for a sword. "Is that all?"
The soldier sighed. Then, in a very bored tone, he replied: "A new dawn is coming for a new era that will see the power of the powerful wane and the power of the masses rise."
"That's better," Percheron stated releasing his hilt.
"Why our passwords have to be so long, I'll never know," the guard muttered and saluted Percheron again. "I relieve you."
"I stand relieved." With that, Percheron saluted, took a step to the side, turned and watched as the other guard got into position. Only after he was standing there did he turn around and walk off, the individual with the camera following close behind.
"I can't believe they fell for that!" the voice whispered. "You managed to get the password without an issue."
Percheron smirked, "I should've been an actor, no? Too bad those two had to die."
"Yeah, but watcha gonna do, right?" That speaker laughed dryly. "And you should have been an actor. Bein' an Element doesn't really suit you. You were built to make ponies laugh, dance and sing. Not kill."
"Nopony is made to kill. And I don't see what being an Element has to do with my acting."
"Who is carrying the recorder-thingy?" Applejack asked.
"I'm not too sure, but it sounds a lot like your brother," Rarity whispered back. "It sounds just like Big Mac. The accent is unmistakable."
Applejack nodded, he eyes sparkling at the thought. Perhaps this stallion was an ancient ancestor of the Apple clan. That would put her line all the way to this period in time. As a girl who treasured family and values, this was simply the most exciting thing she had discovered. She couldn't wait to tell her family about it.
"I know, I know. Ponies aren't meant to kill one another, they taught us that in school. But then why do we have armies and fighters and stuff? I mean, we have to kill them hydras and dragons to ensure that our cities are safe. Why don't we just kill them all-"
"We protect our kind from the hostilities of this world. Things have changed in these long years. Creatures we haven't seen have started to come and threaten our way of life more and more. I don't like it any more than you do, but if we don't protect our kind, who will? The Elements are here to take on the things that our guards can't." Percheron turned his head to look at the speaker. "We do not go out there and slaughter others. Dragons and hydras have as much a right to exist as you and me."
"Yet we're still going to hunt'n'kill changelin's."
Percheron made a face. "No. I mean, not really. We're going to imprison them. We gave them a chance to adapt, and all that has happened is they may or may not have killed an Element, and-"
"You can't have it both ways, Perch," the voice stated.
"I know. I just wish there was another way. You weren't there during that terrible war. You weren't there when they razed Old Canterlot to the ground. You weren't there when thousands of our kind were changed into those things against their wills. You weren't there, so you don't know."
"Sounds like the more I hear about the past, the less I like it."
Percheron stopped and looked over to him. "Me too. The past few decades were... magical. I wish that kind of peace remained."
"Same here. I just bought a nice plot of land on the outskirts of Trottingvale. Nice place. Nopony around for miles, all that land ready for plantin'. Can't wait to get my hooves on it."
The two continued walking on.
"You decided what you're going to grow?"
"A little bit of everythin', I guess. I mean, I've always loved apples, but I like oranges too. Guess we'll just have to see. You?"
"Me? Grow things?" Percheron laughed. "No thank you. I may be Earthbound, but I am no farmer. Soldier to the core. Always have been, always will be. One day I'll gallop into battle, and won't be galloping back. I might not be as morbid as Destrier, but we're cut from the same cloth, him and I. We are fighters."
The two continued for a while in silence.
"Not me. I'm more of a grower. I like plantin' thin's. I'm only servin' because my daddy served."
"I know," Percheron said. "Your father was a good friend of mine. He was brave."
"I know. Got his medal on my mantle back home. Heard he fought the Horde."
"Yes. Yes he did. Wow, I had forgotten about that. Not that I like recalling it."
"What was it like? Etheria, I mean."
"Etheria? Well, it's a lot like this world. The main difference, I guess, are the creatures. Back on Etheria we had a lot of humanoids. Not so much here. Apart from the Sorceress... and perhaps a few others, you don't get them."
"Why did the humans choose to leave this world?"
That made Percheron laugh again. "Is this a history class? They had to combine their magic to separate the worlds. Simple as that. We came here and combined our powers with that of Castle Grayskull and pulled off a miracle. Not to mention we defeated the Horde to boot. It's a sad shame that you will never get to see it, but considering how vast Eternia is that's not so bad."
Celestia looked at Twilight and she instantly paused the video.
"Can you please explain what Eternia and Etheria are?" the princess asked.
"As far as I can make out from what Orko has said, Eternia is our world that was renamed to Equestria. Etheria is another world where the Sorceress is from... she's the one I mentioned to you before. Anyway, something happened and the worlds were split apart. From what they said, they must have had a terrible war."
"Yes, I think so too. It's troubling how many conflicts our ancestors had to face in their short time. And you were saying something about different dimensions."
"Well, Orko is from a different dimension, and from the way he was talking about it, even this one wasn't where he belonged. He seemed to have come here and stayed, I think. I'd have to ask him."
"Why would he stay if he was the only one of his kind?" Applejack asked.
Twilight shrugged. "Maybe because he made good, good friends."
That made the girls smile at each other. As long as there were good friends around, it would make this place bearable. But Orko had been alone for so long, so why was he here?
"Let's continue." Luna took the control from Twilight and pressed the button.
The image started moving again, but all they could hear was the sound of their hoof-falls on the cobbled street as they reached a set of barred gates that marked the entrance to a walled-off area. In front of the keep and were a large number of guards. They did not seem to pay attention to the two as they walked inside. There were a lot more guards here than at the entrance of Tartarus, a fact that Twilight considered rather strange.
As they crossed under the gate, they were immediately stopped by a large, obese pony chewing on a straw of wheat. He sniffed and wiped his leaky nose with his foreleg and sauntered over to them.
"What's the pass phrase?" he stated in a bored tone almost equal to the soldier from before.
"A new dawn is coming for a new era that will see the power of the powerful wane and the power of the masses rise," Percheron said without a pause.
The guard nodded, "Right, head on through." He then turned and sauntered off, spitting a huge wad of half-chewed hay onto a wall. It was tinted red.
"Ugh, I do hate it when ponies chew cud. Disgusting habit," Rarity stated shuddering. She had stood where the fat guard had spat.
"Cud?" the others asked.
At that Rarity blushed. "Oh, you know. When in university I did experiment a little with... things."
"Way to go, Rare!" Rainbow shouted, slapping her friend across the back. "I didn't you know you were into that kinda thing!"
"I'm not. I just... experimented... a little. Oh, it was so long ago. Anyway, it's a stimulating, psychoactive preparation of betel leaf combined with areca nut and or cured tobacco. It is chewed and finally spat out or, it can be swallowed depending on how it is made. Cud has many variations."
All she got was blank stares from her friends.
"Like I said, I experimented."
"You said 'a little', Rare. That don't sound like 'a little' to me. Kinda sounds like you could make it on your own if you wanted to," Applejack teased.
Rarity rolled her eyes. "That part of my life is now over. Can we concentrate on what's going on? We can always discuss this further when not in the presence of Royalty."
Unexpectedly, Celestia smiled at that. "Cud, although not recommended, isn't illegal, Rarity."
"I know, Your Highness, but it's still taboo in respectable society. I don't think it is appropriate to discuss it in front of you."
"You'd be pretty surprised what 'respectable society' does behind closed doors," Luna muttered quietly.
That brought a snicker from Rainbow and Pinkie.
Their attention was brought back to the feed when the two stallions entered the courtyard and headed over towards what looked to be a tavern. There were several other ponies drinking outside the doors, making noise, singing and whatnot. They seemed to be having a wonderful time.
One particularly intoxicated mare walked over towards them. As they approached she put a hoof out and shoved the one with the recorder against a parked cart and licked her lips. "I think you're cute," she said in slurring, seductive tone. She leaned in closer so that her face was inches away from the camera. "Wanna rut?"
That made every one of the girls watching blush furiously. The mare turned around and shook her rear in a tempting fashion. Percheron ignored her and continued on as if nothing happened. The one recording, however, seemed to have been mesmerized by the shaking of the posterior and the device was glued to the subject at hand.
"You like?" she cooed.
That made Rainbow laugh out loud, rolling on her back in mid-air kicking her legs out at the ridiculousness of it.
"You coming?" Percheron stated glancing backwards.
"Huh? Oh! Oh yeah! Sorry, got distracted." The voice trotted by the mare who blew him a kiss.
"I noticed. Aren't you currently seeing someone?"
The voice muttered something, but it was unclear as to exactly what he said.
"Well, I'm all for fun and games, but there's a time and a place."
"I get it, Perch. Can we just go?"
Again, Rainbow roared in laughter.
The subjects walked into the tavern were multiple numbers of ponies in and out of uniform were milling about minding their own business, or conducting business. There seemed to be a lot of different things going on within the tavern and not just the purchase of food and drink.
To the back Rarity spotted a mare and a stallion slobbering over one another as they suppressed their moans. She blushed when she realized what they were actually doing and turned away.
Pinkie was interested in the strange dancing some of the ponies were doing in a lowered floor area to the back. Here ponies danced in synched steps that were so easy that Pinkie was in step with them perfectly within seconds. All they seemed to be doing was taking a step to the right before switching over to the left and bouncing their right-rear hoof twice then repeating the steps again.
In many ways it seemed a fairly simplified square dance.
Their eyes spotted a hoof waving casually towards them from the very far corner. A group of about six ponies sat along a roundish table, each had a mug either in front of them or in their hooves. They two newcomers sat down and the recording device was skillfully placed in the center of the table and the entire image changed.
Now they were standing on the table itself, the mugs were standing to their shoulder. The other ponies were huge from this perspective and the girls finally got to see the stallion who carried the recorder. He was a pony that none of them had been introduced to before. A young beige stallion with a spot over his right eye. There were no scars on his forehead.
"So? How did it go?" Percheron asked, then burst out laughing making the others look at him before they all imitated his outburst.
"Why are you laughing like this?" the beige pony asked over his ruckus laugh, breathing in a breath.
Percheron smacked his back hard making him choke on the brew. "So we don't look suspicious is why!"
Indeed most of the ponies around them were now completely ignoring the group. Twilight had noticed that a few were eying them their suspiciously when Percheron and the beige stallion walked in. She read enough mystery novels to know that taverns like these carried a sloth of undesirables that were usually trouble.
"Let's go over the plan again. Swift and the pegasi are already heading towards the keep tower as we speak. When we get inside we're to lock the gates from within and hold out. Once we have secured the entrance, the others will arrest Tender. Everything clear so far?" Percheron looked at each of them one at a time as each gave a single nod. "We're severely outnumbered, and we're got nothing to back us up. If they raise the alarm, it will be very bad. We're all that we've got."
"More than enough," a deep baritone voice spoke. It was Destrier, but he was sitting in such a way that he was hidden behind a ledge. "I'll head inside first. I'll secure the guardroom on my own. The rest of you take the guards in the gate. Then we proceed along each floor. No alarm should be raised until we have Tender in custody."
"What if Tender doesn't surrender?"
They all exchanged glances.
"You know what will happen should that come to pass. Let us not humor the idea any more than we already have." Destrier stood up. "I may not like what she has become, nor her insistence that she rehabilitate the changeling scums, but she is still an Element. She deserves our respect. She was entrusted by Swift to defend this kingdom. Do not forget that. Let's go."
With that, the large stallion stood up and headed out the door. The rest of them continued to drink for a bit making small, idle talk and slowly, in pairs, the others followed after Destrier. Most of the conversation was about their current events, but with no context the girls could not understand what they were really talking about.
Twilight looked over to her mentor. Celestia seemed to be deep in thought by the way she seemed to be concentrating on nothing in particular, her brow furrowed. Meanwhile Luna was listening intently at the conversation, perhaps in an attempt to garner any clues about her mother.
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Twilight asked.
"Nothing. It's just... it really looks like modern day Equestria. If you had shown me this yesterday, I would have thought you were showing me events from the past year, not thousands and thousands of years ago." Celestia looked up at the lights along the side of the walls. "See, here? This is powered by something. Electricity, right?"
"I think those are powered by the kind of crystals that are outside this castle, Your Highness. I mean, I think that's what's powering this place." Twilight studied the lights as well. How advanced was their technology? She had read books about electricity being discovered at the turn of the last century, but here it was.
"You may be onto something," Celestia voiced slowly coming out of her thinking process.
"Then... what Midnight said about mining crystals in the north. Maybe our Canterlot is further north?"
Celestia and Luna exchanged glances with one another.
"No, I don't think so, but it explains other things," Celestia replied cryptically.
Twilight chose to ignore the riddle for now. If the princesses were not ready to tell her just yet, then she would have to wait until they were willing to do so. She knew that they meant no harm by it, but the unicorn still felt a little hurt. Had she not proven herself capable? Or maybe they did not want to distract her from this.
The image changed suddenly as the beige pony took the recording device and placed it back upon his head. The remainder of the group headed towards the keep together with Percheron leading the way. Bringing up the rear was a reddish, tan pegasus mare who kept giving the beige pony stern looks.
Percheron turned his head to the side slightly and nodded.
At once they all trotted into the interior gate and past the secondary metallic bars towards the upper floors of the keep.
The camera had followed two others, not Percheron. The beige pony quickly vanished around the bend and some muffled cries were heard before the reappeared in the hallway. Then the three of them rushed up the stairs accompanied by yet another one of the ponies from the tavern.
"Hey, what's going on? You're not-" the voice was cut off as one of the two ponies charged into the guard. He slumped down on the ground and flinched slightly.
"He'll be okay. Will wake up with the worst hangover, but he'll live," the voice stated.
"Nice going, Rusty. Ember, you head on up with the others," a greenish unicorn ordered.
"Are you sure?" the recorder's voice asked.
"Yeah, we've got this place covered. No worries. Oh, and Rusty?"
"Yeah?"
"Be nice to Ember."
"Hey, Leaf, mind your own business!" the mare stated angrily.
"Hey, I just don't want you two to fight, okay? You're great together."
Rusty, the beige pony with the recorder turned to the mare. He walked over to her and she turned away. Gently her reached over and pulled her chin so that she faced him. "Stay safe."
With that the image turned and he quickly trotted away.
On the way the girls saw unconscious guards. Many had been knocked out, but a few would never wake up. Each time a dead guard was seen, Fluttershy would close her eyes and shake her head. All that death was pointless and sad for her. She just could not understand why a pony would harm another in that way.
But whoever these ponies were, they were good. They overpowered any guards within moments with brutal efficiency. In no time they found themselves on the top floor. Here, Destrier was standing in front of a door that was broken in. Inside there was nothing except for a small desk and a table. Everything else was a mess, and there was no sign of Tender Heart. In fact it looked as if it had been deserted quite hastily.
Percheron was sitting down on the floor. He had removed the helm from his head and had a mirthless smile on his face.
"What's wrong?" Rusty asked.
The two looked at him, but it was Destrier who spoke.
"It's a trap. We have been betrayed."
"H-how can you know that?" Rusty asked. He had placed the recorder on the ground. "We're still here... where is Swift and the others?"
"They were discovered. It will take time for him to mobilize the army. The keep is doomed, and it has been locked from the outside. I suggest that you make your peace. I doubt any of us will be leaving this place alive." Destier looked out the window and nodded. "Yes, they have surrounded us already. We have been betrayed."
"Someone told Tender Heart about us?" Rusty asked. "Who?"
"I wonder," Destrier growled.
"You can't automatically assume that it's Haze," Percheron argued.
"Is there any doubt?" Destrier replied. "We are going to die here because of his love for her. He betrayed his kingdom for the sake of a single mare."
"Maybe he wanted to make her come to him without all this?"
"Then why are we here?" Destrier shouted in response. "Wake up! She isn't the Tender Heart we once knew! She is a changeling and she must be stopped. Prepare for battle."
Percheron stood up and saluted. "Well, I was just starting to get bored anyway...' |
From Eternia to Equestria | Chapter 7: The Fracture - Part 4 | "This isn't right!" Haze shouted as he stood before Tender.
Wherever they were, it was clear that it was either underground or somewhere where light did not seem to be welcome. They could not see anything apart from the stallion who stood alone in the middle of what seemed to be a large room, the only source of light was from somewhere high above them that fell only on the pegasus, and the mare.
"You said they would not be harmed. How could you trap them?"
"You see to know quite a lot, despite your being here," Tender replied.
"Do not think that I don't know about the tower in Rift. I may not be a unicorn, but there are other ways to communicate across the ether besides magic. The Elements are there to help you!"
"Yet you are here."
"I had to try and talk sense into you," Haze shouted. "How can you allow this to happen? They are your friends!"
"They were going to kill my changelings. That I cannot allow. What kind of Element would I be if I did not treasure their lives as well? They are living beings too. They deserve to live. You think that I would allow you to kill them-"
Haze took a step towards her. "No! We are trying to save them! Save them and you!"
"Me?" Tender giggled. "Save me from what?"
"From yourself!" Haze retorted. "Listen to me, Tender. You cannot allow harm to befall the other Elements. If they are killed you will have all of Equestria turn on you. You cannot afford a war against the rest of the kingdom. You will lose!"
"No, Haze. I won't."
"Y-you were seriously considering war?" The stallion was clearly not expecting that, or hoped that it was not true.
"I had to. I have not spent this long as ruler without learning a few things about running an empire."
"Empire? You're the magistrate of part of a kingdom, Tender! Not the ruler of a newly formed kingdom!"
"I might as well have been!" Tender shouted. "You had all forgotten I existed! None of you came to visit me in all these long years, and none of you had any inkling to even write a simple letter! You know how long it has been since I have heard from any of you prior to this..." her voice tapered off. That was clearly hiding something.
"You cannot fight Equestria. You will lose! The Elements will-"
"Are you forgetting something? I am an Element. And while I still have my Element the powers of Castle Greyskull cannot be used against me."
Haze gritted his teeth. "We were not going to fight you!"
"Really? Then why did your peers sneak into Rift, kill some of my guards and tried to assassinate me in my personal chambers?"
"We were trying to stop you from..."
"From?" Tender prompted, it was clear she wanted him to finish what he wanted to say.
"From yourself."
"From myself. Ah. So, you killed my guards to protect me from myself? That sounds like something Swift would do. After all, that is all he knows what to do now. If others seem to be a threat to him, then he has no qualms of ensuring that the threat is no longer a concern. How many equines has he murdered to ensure that his utopia is maintained?"
Haze was stunned. "You cannot seriously believe that?"
"Oh, I don't have to believe it. I know. Don't you think it's strange that any voices of dissent are silenced after a visit by the Element of Loyalty?" Tender smiled when Haze did not respond. "See? Even you have suspected it as well."
"Our prince would never allow-"
"You are a fool, Haze! You choose not to see what is in front of you. Only when the Prince is dead can we truly be free of his tyranny," Tender stated, her eyes flashing a hint of green as it flowed through. "He must die."
"Y-you can't be serious. What you say is borderlines paranoia! Do you even hear what is coming out of your mouth? You are accusing the prince of murdering dissenters based on what? If what you say is true, then there would be no free press, no courts, no... anything that involves the equestrians ability to go against their government! That is all a pack of lies! Just last week there were protests regarding-"
"Do not dare speak to me about those meaningless campaigns! They are clearly organized by those loyal to Swift to trick equines like you to think that you are free, but you're not. No, no, no. You're not. I know. I know."
"You can't-"
"Can't what? I am the princess of the changelings, Haze. You all pawned the responsibility of their lives into my hooves! You all shouldered me with the burden of that responsibility." She looked up, suddenly looking exhausted. "Was I not supposed to care for them as a mother would her own children?"
"You wanted to take them, Tender. Your kindness and devotion have done wonderful things for the kind-"
"You have the ability to be the prince along with me. The changelings are not evil, just different." Her voice suddenly changed, and a feverish look came across her face.
Haze recognized it, and it horrified him. This was the look of someone who had been consumed by power. The same look that Spirit had.
Tender pressed on. "I can control them, Haze. I can feel them. Each one of them are like a part of me. I can teach them to be ponies again. I can save them. I just need time."
Haze took a step back despite himself. "Then I will get you the time you require, Tender. Just... stop this."
That small action was not lost on the mare, whose expression went cold for a moment as she narrowed her eyes at the stallion before her. Then, in the next moment, it softened. She leaned forward and rested her hoof on the arm of her throne shaking her head sadly as if she were pitying him. "You don't get it, do you? Swift has already made up his mind about me."
"Please, Tender. I believe that you have been infected." It wasn't a question.
"Ah, you call it an infection, but you are wrong. It is... enlightenment. Did you know that I can see things through each and every one of my changelings? I can smell what their noses detect. I know their thoughts like they are my own. Our minds are all connected together? As each one breathes and lives, I can feel their life force flowing through them into me. They will do whatever I want, whatever I wish, whatever I say." Tender Heart eyes turned green as she stood up from her throne. A black chair carved out from the same material that littered her newly made capital. "I am their one and only princesses. No. No, I am more than that. I am their queen, and they love me, as will you."
"How can anyone love that which they fear, Tender? You're going against everything you've ever believed in!" Haze shouted trying to get her to understand. "Please listen to me!"
"No, you listen. When I had asked you to come with me, to stay here with me, what did you say?" She screamed. "What did you say?"
Haze eyes began to water. "You think I wanted to do that? Do you really think that I wanted to leave you? It was the burden of our responsibility as the Elements-"
"You got married."
That silenced him. He closed his eyes and gulped. "Y-yes. I got married."
"Why? If you really loved me, then why did you get married to another? Why didn't you marry me?"
The stallion could not respond. His mouth opened several times, but nothing came out. Instead he just looked down at the floor. He could not bring himself to face her.
"Tell me!" she shouted throwing something at him.
The pegasus dodged it easily, the projectile colliding with something at the far end. He looked up at her. "I was lonely. I needed someone."
"But why not me? Why did you choose her? You knew that I was waiting for you! You knew that I wanted you to come for me! You knew it all! And yet you went and married that..." she growled and stamped her hoof on the ground. "Why?"
"I... I didn't want you to love me anymore. I thought... I thought that if I got married you would find someone else to take your love. I... I am so sorry."
The mare narrowed her eyes. "You said you loved me-"
"I still love you, Tender! I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Haze expression looked pained. "I'm sorry."
Tender calmed herself and leaned back on her throne. She looked amused. "Sorry? You're sorry?" She let out a cruel laugh. "Sorry? You want me to stop based on an apology which is nearly fifty years too late?"
Haze opened his mouth to respond, but Tender held her hoof up shutting him up.
"What was I supposed to do? Rot here alone? You left me when I needed someone the most. Perhaps it is your fault that I have become this way?"
"Y-you could have found someone else to love! Every single equine in Equestria loves you! Still does," Haze stated. "There isn't anyone who doesn't adore you."
"I only wanted you." The words were like daggers.
"I..." Haze could not answer.
"But what you said is true. Many still do love me. Especially my changelings." Her expression darkened again. "I will not allow them, innocent and pure, to be sent off into Tartarus without a fight! They were there for me when I needed them, unlike you."
"I said I was sorry," Haze replied as gently as he could. "I made a stupid, stupid mistake."
"True."
"But don't take it out on the rest of Equestria. Don't bring it to the brink of another war. Please. Let our fight remain between the two of us. Don't let our children see the horrors of war."
There was a long silence before Tender spoke. "I wanted children once. Your children. Now you have offspring from that, and I have none."
"T-they have done nothing wrong. It is my fault, not theirs. Their only crime was that they were born of a foolish father, please don't take it out on them."
Tender looked at Haze for a moment, her eyes narrow. "Fine. If the other Elements bow before me and shows fealty towards me then I will make sure that they are not harmed. I will allow the rest of Equestria to live their lives in peace."
"That is what you want?"
"That is what I demand." Tender sat back down on slowly, her eyes still glowing in that eery light.
"T-then I will ask Swift to-"
"You are a bad liar, Haze. Perhaps it is because of your Element. You are Honesty, after all. You know that Swift will not listen to you anymore than you will listen to me. All you are trying to do is protect the prince because if he dies, this kingdom will fall apart."
"I-"
"You are hiding something," Tender interrupted, narrowing her eyes. "I know you too well, Haze. What is it that you are concealing from me?"
The stallion lifted up the recording device and threw it in front of her, the image bouncing on the ground until it came to a stop at her hooves. She looked down at it with an expression of rage.
"You have confessed your wish for rebellion and treason. Now the Elements of Harmony and the rest of Equestria will know of your treachery. My love for you is unquestionable, but my allegiance will always be with this land. My love- no, our love pales in comparison when you place the entire kingdom against it. The lives of our children are... paramount."
"I thought you loved me more than anything," Tender replied, her voice mocking him.
"Not when the lives of so many hang in the balance. I should have never doubted Swift's words. I should have listened. I am a fool."
Tender stood up and as she did her body changed. Holes formed in her legs and hooves. A horn appeared from her head as it formed a sharp, long protrusion and the wings on her back shifted to form into a very familiar shape. She was a changeling.
"You have been infected," Haze stated, confirming his own fears.
"As I said, it is not an infection. It is rebirth." Tender tilted her head to one side and grinned, two long fangs glinting in the light. "Any last words?"
"I love you, Tender Heart. I love your kind, gentle, wonderful ways. I love how you cared for all living things, even that which didn't deserve your affection. But you are not her! Not anymore. You are... evil." Haze drew his blade. "Forgive me. I did this to you. And I will fix everything."
"Fix? Fix what? I am not broken. It is this kingdom that is fractured. And I will have you. If you will not follow me of your own free will, then I will make you. I will show you that you love me. I will make you love me. You will love me!" she screamed, her voice reaching a crescendo that made the girls cover their ears.
"I belong to no one," Haze whispered as all around him green eyes began to penetrate the blackness. From the ceiling above him all the way up to behind the throne Tender sat upon. Everywhere. Eyes of changelings could be seen. "You have already murdered so many equestrians with your poison. Your wish to be loved by all has cause you to infect so many innocents!"
"Does it not bother you that this could have all been avoided if you had stayed with me?" Tender replied ignoring his words. "If you had only stayed by my side, maybe this would have never come to pass."
Haze gripped his sword between his teeth. "Then I will atone for that."
Tender Heart's body changed back to its original form as she started laughing. As she did, the glowing eyes that surrounded them closed in on the lone stallion standing his ground as the swarm closed in around him.
"Forgive me, friends," Haze whispered as the avalanche of changelings rushed towards him. "Forgive this old fool."
The feed cut out seconds later.
"Oh no..." Fluttershy whispered. "That poor stallion."
Unbeknownst to the others, the words spoken by Tender resonated within the shy mare. She had uttered the same phrase during the Grand Galloping Gala when the animals in Celestia's garden refused to befriend her. She was so desperate for their affection that she had completely lost it. A horrifying thought crept up through her bones. What if the Element of Kindness still had a problem even after all this time? What that even possible? But she had proven herself a master of her Element as well. Discord had tried to corrupt her and yet she had managed to keep true to herself almost beating the Spirit of Chaos at his own game in the maze.
"What do you think happened do him?" Applejack asked. "Do you think he made it out alive?"
"Against those odds?" Rarity put in. "Highly doubtful."
Rainbow breathed out heavily. "Tsh. Ya right. I could take on all those changelings on my own. If I could do it, he could do it."
"Rainbow, these aren't the same changelings we fought. These are... bigger," Rarity stated.
The image faded back in almost immediately after Rarity's declaration.
They now found themselves moving down a hallway, fires burning drapes and furniture as they moved on by. Whoever was carrying the camera was hurrying along behind three large stallions, one of who was easily recognizable.
Swift was leading the way, and it was clear that he was being flanked by Destrier and Midnight. They could not discern who was carrying the recorder, but he was easily keeping up with them. They were decked out in full armor and armed with weapons.
"Tender! Show yourself!" the alicorn shouted.
Just then the doors on the far end slowly opened and the group quickly made their way through. Swift pushed inside paying no heed to what was inside and stood in the middle of the room. The girls recognized the place instantly. They had seen these very room seconds ago, but now with the fires burning the entire room was alight and if it weren't for them, the room would have actually looked very pleasant. Almost similar to Celestia's throne room high above them.
"Welcome to my home, Your Highness. It is a pleasure-"
"Save it. Where is Haze." It was not a question.
"Haze? What makes you think he's here?" the voice asked.
Swift eyes narrowed. "Your trap in Rift failed, Tender. Once we informed the city that you had betrayed us and our kind we wasted no time in hunting down what was left of your changelings."
"I know."
"You know?" Midnight asked, stepping in front of Swift.
"Yes. I felt their lives snuffed out. Those that were lucky. The rest you've locked away deep inside that infernal prison."
"How can you know this? Not unless..." the unicorn shook his head. "Oh no. Not you, Tender. By the Power of Grayskull, how could that happen to you?"
"Do you really think that Tartarus will hold them?" Tender said as she stepped out of a small alcove along with a large number of changelings in full armor. She had ignored Midnight's words and was staring directly at Swift. "Are you really so depraved of intelligence that you actually think that-"
"I've unlocked the cells within."
Tender took a step forwards. "You didn't."
"Yes. I did. If your changelings can survive the horrors of the abyss, then I'm sure that they'll escape. One day, perhaps. They'll live, for a time. After all, you know what else is down there, Heart. You help us put them in there."
The changeling shook with anger, her voice an expression of complete and utter hatred for the prince.
"Where is Haze."
For a moment the changeling queen was silent as she tried to stare down the stallion. But he was not going to give her the pleasure of looking away. "If you want to see him so badly, then so be it."
A beam of light swung over to a strange object on the ceiling, and within its confines, hanging upside in some sort of green ooze, was the Element of Honesty himself.
"Uncle!" a voice shouted and Rusty pushed past the camera holder. He stood next to Midnight looking up for a moment before glaring at Tender Heart. "What have you done to him?"
Tender laughed. "What have I done? I have given him a new life. I have given him the chance to see my love. To see how much he means to me. I've enlightened him to a perfect world. Shown him the true meaning of happiness, peace and love. I am doing all this to teach him that I'm right and you're wrong. He is... being reborn."
"No!" the earth pony growled. "Y-y-you monster! He loved you! How could you do this to him?"
"No. He loves me. Our love will never die." Tender looked at the pod on the ceiling, her expression softening and a horrifying picture of warped affection and madness. She actually thought her words were true. "You are mine."
An explosion of light and fire erupted above the cocoon as whatever was holding it was destroyed. It cracked off from the ceiling and started to fall towards the ground. Midnight's horn glowed, his dark-violet magic engulfing the entire object as he set it down on the ground gently.
The girls all knew what they were seeing. It was the same thing that had entrapped Celestia when she was overpowered by Chrysalis during the invasion, only this one was a lot bigger.
"No! Don't touch him!" Tender shouted taking a step towards the cocoon-like thing.
Swift stomped his hoof effectively stopping the changeling and her entire battalion in their tracks.
"Hang on," Midnight said before Rusty got too close. "Don't do anything. Any sudden movements might kill him. Give me a second to figure out what it is."
"So, this is how you change our kind into yours?" Swift asked as he walked towards Tender.
"Ignorant as usual, prince. You know nothing of our kind," Tender bit her jaw when she said that but stepped back away from the advancing alicorn, her changeling guards putting themselves in front of her.
"You think you can control this?" Swift replied, narrowing his eyes. "After I had told you never to allow yourself to infect yourself? You did not listen!"
Tender advanced a step. "Do you want to know what it's like taking care of them all? To love them all?"
"You don't love any of them. You were prepared to sacrifice many to keep us from leaving Rift. Your main concern about those condemned in Tartarus was the numbers you would have to rebuild rather than for each individual being. You have been taken by the one thing that I have spent years trying to prevent."
"What are you talking about?" Tender asked.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely. You have an army at your disposal that will do anything you desire at your merest whim. Without a leader to control them, the changelings would have to answer to themselves. It would have taken time, but eventually they would have learned to live for themselves. I spent years destroying any being that declared themselves as the changeling queen, but I never suspected that you would allow yourself to become one."
"What are you saying?"
"I am saying that you are the one that condemned them. You, their supposed savior. It is because of you that they are now being hunted across the continent," Swift roared, making Tender retreat further into her guard. "Now, because of you, there will be war. Because you-"
"Shut up!" Tender screeched. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
"Swift! Your Highness! Haze... he's still... he's..."
The prince rushed towards the pod and knelt down on his forelegs. Haze coughed out some of the green sludge and smiled at them.
"I am sorry. Sorry to you especially, Destrier. I had thought that I was doing a favor, but now I know. I had refused to believe it all this time, but it's apparent. The changeling is not a curse. It is a disease. It needs to be culled. It needs to be," the pegasus coughed out more green ooze. "M-my mind is going. I want to die as myself, not as some mindless slave. Spare me that. I beg of you."
There was a long moment where none of them said anything.
Finally it was Rusty who stepped in. "Howdy, uncle."
"R-Rusty... you have grown so much since... since then." He laughed weakly and reached for his nephew with a hoof.
Rusty held onto it with both of his own and placed it close to his chest. Already his fur started to change color.
"Y-you take care of this land... you take care of our kind. Y-you do what it takes to make sure that this will never happen again. Promise me this."
"I promise," Rusty said fighting the tears. "I will protect Equestria."
"End it. End it now," Haze pleaded. "I can already feel m-my mind being... taken."
Rusty took a dagger from a sheath on his hoof and placed blade over Haze's heart. "Good bye, uncle."
"Until we meet again," he replied and smiled.
Rusty pushed the blade down.
A horrific scream of anguish echoed throughout the hall and Tender plowed through the lot of them and threw herself onto Haze's fresh corpse.
"Barbarians! He was alive! He was living!" Tender shouted. "No. No, no, no. Please. Please don't... no. I-I'm sorry. I was just... p-please! S-save him! S-save him! You must! You-"
None of them moved.
"H-how can you stand there and let him die! R-Rusty, he's your uncle, surely you cannot-"
"You had already killed him."
Tender blinked, then looked at Midnight. "Y-you can save him with your magic!"
"If he were a pony, maybe. But he no longer is one. His physiology is different from ours."
"B-but... I-I-I... s-someone! H-help me!" Tender trotted to the camera holder. "Percheron. Y-you can help, right? You can..."
Percheron put a hoof on the mare's shoulder. "There is nothing I can do for him. Nothing. Nothing at all."
Tender turned to Destrier, who just shook his head slowly.
That only left one.
"Y-you... you wouldn't let your comrade die like this, would you?"
Swift took a step towards the mare. "He was dead the moment you infected yourself. The moment you became the queen of these monsters."
"They are not monsters!" Tender screamed.
"I should have never forbidden you to infect yourself." Swift said shaking his head sadly.
"What?" Destrier stated looking at his prince. "You put the idea into her head?"
"I had stated that we would not be able to understand them because they were no longer equines like us. That the only way to really help them would be from within. To become one of them, to learn what it would be like to think as they do. I had specifically asked Tender never to humor such a thought, ever. Over the years they have formed some sort of society within ours, keeping to themselves for the most part. We never found out what the ate, but they tilled the fields, helped our kind build cities, worked at numerous mundane tasks, all without complaint or argument."
"Yes. They were your slaves. Obedient, uncomplaining slaves who did your bidding without a second though," Tender replied rocking Haze's body backwards and forwards slowly. "What kind of a life is that?"
"At least they were not hostile. Our peoples got along peacefully. Then you tried to teach them how to be individuals, to gain back what they had once lost."
"Yes... yes I did, but they could not understand." Tender smiled drunkenly. "I needed to know."
"That was when you reconnected what is increasingly apparent to be a major network of thought, where your thought dominates the entire legion. Much like a queen bee and her hive. A hive-mind. It is the same way that Hordak had complete hold and loyalty over his non-robotic minions."
"Robotic?" Rusty asked. "What is a robotic?"
"Automated creatures made of moving parts that do certain tasks depending on their function," Midnight replied.
This only confused the young stallion further.
"This ends now!" Swift shouted silencing all conversations. "Take her!"
Percheron and Midnight advanced towards the mare.
Suddenly Destrier stood in their way. "No."
The two looked at each other. "What's the meaning of this, Destrier? We have orders from our prince-"
"Who is the reason why Tender Heart is the way she is," the stallion stated. "Tender took what Swift said to heart in order to try and understand the minds of the changelings. Despite that being wrong, the idea was not put into her head. It was planted by you, Your Highness. You are as guilty as she is. You are equally responsible of creating this new threat. If she is to be taken, then so must you."
The others looked at each other as if Destrier had gone mad.
"Do not do this. Misplaced loyalty can be dangerous," Midnight said looking at Swift through the corner of his eye.
"I am loyal to Equestria, Midnight, but I am also loyal to my friends. All of you."
"Incoming!" a shouted called from behind them. "The changelings are coming!"
"Call them off." Midnight said. When it was clear that Tender was not listening, he took a step towards her. "Call them off now!"
"No."
"No?"
"No," Tender stated firmly. She stood up, dropping Haze's body unceremoniously to the ground. "It's about time for a change. I think it's time for my changelings to teach you ponies how to run a nation properly. Prepare to die."
She said it so calmly, as if she were talking about the weather.
"This ends. Right. Now." Swift roared and stepped past them all, including Destrier.
There was a flash of light, followed by a scream before the feed cut off.
"Oh... my..." Fluttershy whispered quietly. |
From Eternia to Equestria | Chapter 8: The Fracture - Part 5 | The screen flickered on and off as the equines were fleeing from something. At first it was hard to see who was leading them, but as the smoke cleared it was clear that Destrier was at the front.
"Down!" a voice yelled.
At once they all ducked towards the ground, even the girls who watched knowing fully that the images could not harm them, slammed their bodies to the ground out of reflex. That was how strong and authoritative the voice was. The voice of the Prince.
A beam of green light sliced through the hall and an explosion of fire engulfed the area. Moments later it vanished as a familiar glow of a magical barrier formed around them and the entire screen shifted towards Midnight, his horn glowing brilliantly in the darkness. Blood trickled out from his left nostril.
"I cannot block many more of these. We have to get out of this place before those two rip it apart," the black unicorn declared. "They'll destroy everything within ten leagues of here."
"Run. Stop talking and start running. Now." Destrier pushed Midnight with his head. "Go!"
Again the video bounced roughly as they all galloped away from the sounds of what seemed to be a full scale war. There were explosions echoing from behind them, bits of debris seemed to rain down on them.
As they charged forth, a group of changelings crossed their path from an intersection and stopped. The two groups eyed one another in shock and bewilderment before the green glow of magic formed around the horns of the changelings. They charged forward with a high screeching noise that sent shivers down the spines of the girls watching.
Destrier reared his legs up and plunged down hard with his hooves, the ground beneath him shattered and pressed into the ground while the other end of the large stone tile flipped upwards forcing two of the front changelings to slam right into it. Then the large stallion turned the lower half of his body using his hind legs to kick the vertical slab with all his might.
The power from Destrier's blow sent stones hailing towards the attackers, shredding through the two front. Midnight used his magic to catch the stones and redirected their trajectory to pass through four more changelings, bringing them down in a shower of green blood that glowed for a few seconds before fading into black, or red -- it was impossible to tell in the darkness. The other four who witnessed this stopped, turned and fled without another sound.
The group continued on, continuing in straight through the intersection, and down the long dark corridors. Still bits of light flashed from behind and several times the runners stumbled as the entire building shook.
"There!" Midnight shouted, pointing towards the large open doors.
Without another word, all rushed towards the exit, passing through the stronghold's massive doors, and made a beeline for the nearest clump of trees. A group of more Equestrians could be seen waiting for them and they covered their retreat, their weapons ready.
"Where's His Highness?" one of the stallions asked.
A red beam sliced open the rear half of the keep sending molted stones miles into the air.
"Never mind. What are your orders, sir?"
Destrier looked at the group with him. "Form teams. We are going hunting. No changeling is to leave this place alive, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
Midnight placed a hoof on Destrier's back. "Are we doing the right thing?"
"I don't know. I really don't. I thought we might help Tender, but her mind is not all there. I don't know how she is fighting with His Highness, but whatever the case, we do our part. I will do my part. We hold the ground and purge this cancer now, else it will be a poison to every generation hereafter." Destrier turned around. "My weapon!"
"H-here, sir," came a voice as a mare laid the weapon on the ground near him.
Destrier narrowed his eyes. "And who are you?"
"My name's Rose, sir."
"Very well, Rose. You're with me. The rest of you fan out."
As they all turned to go their own separate ways, a green flash washed over Rose's eyes before the entire image faded to black.
None of the girls said a word as the lights turned back on and the familiar bluish-white glow returned.
"I think we need a break," Twilight stated and headed out of the castle.
"What I don't understand," Twilight said as she took another bite of her sandwich, "is why Tender did what she did? I mean, she should have known after being warned."
"Didn't you remember what Pinkie said?" Rainbow put in, taking a sip from a glass of blueberry juice. "About not understanding because you can't understand because the words of... you know."
"The word I believe is perspective," Rarity clarified. "Tender had no perspective as to how to explain the concept of independence to the changelings. At least that's what I gathered from the conversation."
"'Conversation', yeah right," Rainbow scoffed. "I mean, everything we've seen is all doom and gloom. How come it's like that?"
"I don't know," Twilight sighed. "Maybe it's just important events happen to revolve around this kind of thing. I don't think we ever supposed to find this place. I think it was buried on purpose."
"On purpose?" Celestia asked.
"Well, the formation of these caverns is unnatural. It's so unlike anything. Like all this crystal. What's it for?" Twilight patted the glowing crystal beneath her for emphasis. "What troubles me is how Chrysalis knew about these caves. It makes me wonder what other secrets are hidden from us right under our noses."
Celestia nodded at her star pupil and took a sip of tea. "Perhaps there are answers in this library you spoke of."
"Yes! I want to see this library as well, but this hologram thing is just amazing. It's better than our illusion spells. I mean, it takes a while to get used to the whole 'moving' thing, but when you do it's actually quite exciting."
"Yeah, at least fer some of you," Applejack said gesturing with her head towards Fluttershy and Pinkie who looked absolutely defeated. "Think it was way too much for a couple of us."
"I know. Oh, I feel so frustrated, but this is ancient history! Most of these things happened so long ago that they aren't mentioned in the castle's archives! And that's saying something. I know those archives!"
"Except for the ones in the forbidden section," Celestia said, a hint of unsaid knowing lurking there. "Right, Twilight?"
The purple mare blushed and put her head down. "Um... well... you see..."
Celestia sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know of your late night excursions to the library, Twilight. I've known for years. I've been hoping to get you to confess, but you seem quite adamant in believing you were getting away with it. I am glad nothing happened to you, but there are more than just normal books in the deep areas of that section."
"I know," Twilight shouted. "Sorry, please don't banish me!"
"Banish you? Whatever for?" Celestia asked, stunned. "Please, Twilight, you know I am not going to banish you nor anypony for a trivial matter such as this."
"Hey, where's Orko?" Rainbow asked, looking around.
"Here I am!" A voice called from above.
"Would you like something to eat?" Luna asked. "We have many delicious dishes."
"Cake!"
"Cake?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes! Cake. Lots of cakes. Please."
"Cake it is!" Luna made a sign to a unicorn, who bowed and vanished in a puff of blue light.
"Orko, do you have any family where you come from?" Celestia asked.
The Trollon rubbed his chin. "Yes, but I don't know if they'd remember me. I mean, I've sort of forgotten them."
"Are Trollons... immortal?" Twilight asked.
"Immortal? Goodness, no. Well, we can't really die from old age if that's what you mean. Our magic heals us as we grow older, but it gets tiring the longer we have to do it -- I mean the older we get. So, there's a point where we give up and we die."
"Oh, how sad!" Fluttershy said, her eyes full of water.
Orko shrugged. "Not really. Why is it sad?"
"Because... you die... and..."
The next few sentences that came out of Fluttershy's mouth were too garbled to make sense of, but Orko just laughed heartily.
"No, no. It's a good thing. Can you imagine wasting away like that? Not for me! When it's time, it's time. That's just how it is. Like me."
That made a few confused looked turn his way.
"But you're still alive," Twilight pointed out.
"Yes, but most of my magic is exhausted. I know that. If I leave the area around Castle Grayskull... well, I'd be a pile of dust. I think. I don't really know. Haven't died before." Orko laughed, but he was alone. "What? That too?"
A snap of his fingers brought out the notepad and he scribbled something on it before snapping his fingers again making it vanish into the ether. "I thought that was really funny."
"How is dying funny?" Rainbow asked, a mixture of amusement and
"Not quite what I meant. Guess my sense of humor... is grim," again Orko cracked himself up. He stopped and wiped a tear from his eye. "What? Not even a giggle? Tough crowd."
"We're sorry if your morbid sense of humor is a little beyond us," Rarity stated in a half-sarcastic manner, but the Trollon either was oblivious to this fact or ignored it completely.
Another 'poof' sounded and the unicorn guard that had disappeared earlier reappeared with a slice of cake delicately balanced on a plate. Luna made a sign for Orko to have a seat and watched as the unicorn floated it over with his magic and gently placed it on the small table they were all sitting around. Orko reached into his sleeve and pulled out a fork and cut off a small part.
All eyes were upon him as he pulled his scarf to one side a slipped the morsel inside. The hat had really hid his face quite well and all of them realised that until that moment none had seen his face behind the mask he wore. For some reason the light was swallowed up and they could not take a glimpse behind the hat's shade as the fork returned to the plate followed by a very long, very satisfied, very happy groan.
"Wow!" Orko said and threw his fork aside and dove onto the plate. He looked as if he smashed his head down on the table, but it was obvious that he practically inhaled the cake in those few seconds. "This cake is delicious!"
"Do you mind if I ask, but why do you cover your face with that cloth?" Luna asked.
At the mention of the mask, Orko touched it gently. "This? Well, our world is all sandy and... well, I don't know. I've always worn it. My kind always wears masks... well, no, not always. Most of the time. I don't know. I guess you could say I'd feel naked without it. Our faces are... private. It feels strange to bare it, but like I said there are those that don't mind showing it all."
Rarity nodded. "I can understand. Even some of our kind have quirks like that. Some would never leave their house without covering their flanks, and minotaurs never let their lower halves be bare in public."
"Yeah! Kinda like that. Plus, I like it. I guess that's more or less the main reason. Gotta look good for the ladies... that I'll probably never see." He looked up and sighed.
At once Rarity placed a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. What was her name?"
"Dree Elle. And, yeah, I kinda liked her liked her. Y'know? I even asked her to marry me!" He looked down at his hands and reached into his sleeve and pulled out a ring. "But we both knew what was at stake. I couldn't stay with her. She understood. It was painful, and a lot of friends wished it wasn't so, but she understood. She even offered to come with me! I thought that was great, but she couldn't come. She couldn't come because... well, I guess because I didn't know if she'd survive the journey. I guess I was being selfish."
"You were very strong and brave," Rarity assured the Trollon. "I'm sure she thanks you deep down inside-"
"Why'd you leave her! She coulda come and joined you!" Rainbow interrupted. "You shouldn't have left her!"
"Not helping," Rarity admonished through gritted teeth.
"What?" Rainbow asked when she spotted Rarity's grimace.
"It would have been awful," Orko replied, looking at Rainbow, "living here."
"I've been wondering, if you've been down here all this time, why haven't you come and shown yourself before?" Celestia asked when the girls were out of earshot.
The trollan looked at Celestia and smiled. "Because I can't get too far away from Castle Grayskull. I'm like a prisoner here. Well, no. I am a prisoner here, of sorts. It ain't that bad, just gets rather boring. Spend most of my time sleeping. Other times I read. Mostly sleep though."
"For how long?"
"How long?" The trollan asked not sure what she meant.
"How long do you have to remain here?"
"Ah." He stroked his chin in thought. "Well, taking into consideration that the responsibility of running the place was given to me at the last possible second, and that whoever takes over will be bound to the castle? Forever. Give or take a century. I'm not going anywhere. I don't need to guess either."
The Princess just stared at the Trollan. "Forever?"
"Yeah," Orko replied quietly and sighed. "I don't know. The computer has a timekeeping thingy, but I don't know how to work the thing."
"Computer?" Twilight asked. "What's that?"
The Trollon attempted to explain it, but in the end couldn't. At least, not in a way that made Twilight understand. But then he said, "It's like all the libraries of the world in once place. There's a screen that lets you see everything... like that hologram room. That's part of the computer, the things you're seeing are records-"
"Wait! You're telling me that there's this fountain of knowledge at my hoof-tips and all I need to do is just... talk to the thing?" Twilight clarified, based on what Orko has interated.
"Yeah..." the Trollon replied, not really sure how Twilight came to that conclusion. "There's also a keyboard for typing things in, but I don't know if you'd know our language... I mean our written language."
The girls all exchanged glances, but it was Rainbow who spoke. "Wait, then how come we can understand you and you understand us?"
"Well, that's because... well... " Orko blinked and then folded his arms and tapped his chin. "You know, I don't know."
"I mean, even our earlier texts and languages from earlier own had Old Equestrian, and that's not including the native languages of the tribes. It took centuries even before our reign to bring a common tongue across our lands, and even then some of our neighboring nations have their own dialect." Princess Celestia took a sip of tea and stared at the Trollon. "I find this most interesting and it has puzzled me."
"Well, we could ask the computer," Orko suggested with a shrug.
"That's a great idea!" Twilight barked before any of the others could speak. "Let's go!"
Without a second thought, Twilight rushed towards the castle followed close behind by her friends. She stopped and turned. "Princess Celestia! Are you coming?"
Celestia, seeing that the silent Trollan was deep in thought, excused herself politely and headed towards the castle. She hesitated as she paused over the spot where the image of the giant alicorn had formed, wondering if she would see the message again. Who had he referenced? It certainly was not her, was it? Was she really looking onto her own biological father? But he was making it sound that she was an only child. Unless she was a single child at the time, but how was that possible? The message seemed quite final, so unless Luna is a half-sister, or something else entirely, there was more questions than answers. Celestia remembered much, but her childhood was all strange and muddled. Memories or dreams were interfused with one another, and it was impossible to segregate the two.
That meant another theory. The message was not meant for her, but for another.
"Mother, if that message was for you, then you were far older than even I dreamed to believe." |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | pre | "It was weird, she had a physique that could probably put even an alicorn to shame, she had enough strength to stop a punch from Sunny and enough durability to survive a... almost full strength one?" Hitch says with a confused tone to that last part. He still didn't know much about alicorn strength or how much his friend had so his description wasn't going to be fully accurate.
"Sunny even went totally berserk on her and she wasn't even fazed. Oh, and she broke her shield when she was trying to protect Izzy." Pipp says and Sunny sighs, getting nervous because of how much her friends were revealing.
"The weird part was... it was like they had some of Midnight's magic and were utilizing it into their weapons and their abilities. And it seemed like they had been watching us for a while." Zipp explains, and that last part makes Brightburn nervous. Twilight notices and steps forward a bit.
"Don't worry, if they were watching us right now, they would have struck already. Everything's going to be fine." Twilight says and after noticing Brightburn starting to calm down she then looks between her and Sunny. "I do need to talk to you about a few things, but first, do you have any other shields Sunny can use as a substitute for her old one?" She asks and Brightburn smiles a bit and nods before leading them to the weapons testing area and Brightburn walks to some sort of small device sitting on a table and picks it up. She holds it sideways and suddenly the thing in the middle of it turns and expands, multiple plates forming together to make a shield.
"Whoa... a collapsible shield?" Sunny asks, her eyes full of excitement. Brightburn chuckles a bit and nods.
"Yep, one that can absorb kinetic energy from attacks and turn it into magic that you can send right back, all better than your old shield did. Now you don't have to carry a shield on your back the whole time whenever you head into battle and you can have it with you at all times." She says, giving it to Sunny and showing her how to attach it. "It's also pretty durable so it can tank just about any powerful attack thrown at it."
Once she steps back, Sunny gives a small flick of her arm and the shield forms, glowing a golden orange color, showing that it's adapted to Sunny's magic now. Sunny smiles and looks amazed and suddenly a few rainbow colors shine around it at the same time as her Alicorn form comes out on accident before completely engulfing the shield and when it stops, the shield is orange and purple with a gold star in the middle of it. Everyone looks amazed at this, including Brightburn.
"Whoa..." Everyone says in unison. Brightburn and Twilight both exchange looks to each other before turning their attention back to Sunny. Sunny just now notices that she turned into an alicorn on accident and looks around, confused. Just as she's about to question it, Twilight speaks up as if she knew what she was wondering.
"I think your alicorn form was triggered by your emotions Sunny... Is this the first time that's happened?" Twilight asks and Sunny thinks about it before answering.
"Actually... no. This has happened a few times but this is the first time it's happened like this. And the shield... it transformed like when the jet Artemis and Thunderbird gave us was damaged and then all of a sudden, it was repaired and it looked different. Right before it was repaired, it started glowing a bunch of different colors just like what happened now." Sunny explains, much to Twilight and Brightburn's surprise.
"New magic...? Well... newer magic." Brightburn says to herself before she looks at Twilight then back at Sunny. "Tell you what, go with Solar Flare and Lunar Frost and they can help you test your shield and your new magic out for a bit. Twilight and I have important matters to discuss. Sunny looks between them and hesitantly nods before going to the two aforementioned alicorns and her friends follow. Twilight's friends follow soon after when Twilight tells them to go and supervise.
"Alright, what did you need to talk to me about that the others couldn't hear?" Twilight asks and Brightburn sighs and teleports them outside before stomping one foot as it glows green and suddenly green mist forms on the ground in front of them before a plant grows in that spot. Twilight looks shocked, amazed, and horrified as she realizes this must be Earth Pony magic. "So that's what you meant... Magic is evolving... and I had a feeling this would happen. When Opaline placed that spell that started messing up time and space, I knew there would be consequences even after me and my friends stopped it."
"Twilight, it's not just that. I've been sensing new magic in Sunny, both light... and dark. Even worse, the dark side seems to be getting stronger the longer it goes on. I need to know, has she been having nightmares, outbursts or fits of violence? Anything at all that seems out of the ordinary for her?" Brightburn asks and Twilight sighs and hesitates before looking Brightburn straight in the eyes.
"I'll tell you on one condition. You cannot tell any of the other alicorns anything about this. Who knows what they'll do or how they'll react? I can't put Sunny through that. She's been through enough." Twilight says and Brightburn hesitates but then nods and gives Twilight a reassuring smile, assuring her that this will be their secret. "Ok... Thank you Brightburn. Now... here's everything that I know so far." Twilight says before explaining everything that she had been told. Little do either of them know, they weren't exactly alone as Opaline was using the mirror pool to watch and listen.
"So... there's new magic... and not just in alicorns. Earth Ponies can grow plants. Hm... and Twilight doesn't want the other alicorns to turn on Sunny due to her dark magic." Opaline says, smirking as an idea comes to mind. "Too bad because that's exactly what's going to happen." She continues before using her alicorn empathy to communicate with her minions.
"Get ready for a special trip everyone. You're all going to the city of alicorns to cause chaos. Stormcutter, help make Ragnar a new hand that's more powerful than his previous gauntlet. Misty, you will continue pretending to be friends with those ponies after this but make sure they don't figure out what you're doing." Opaline says before she sees Sparky in the mirror pool and she sees his dragon fire change a piece of equipment into a cake. She chuckles sinisterly as another idea presents itself.
"And Nightshade... come and meet me in the training area... there's a spell I want you to perform while everyone else distracts the rest..." She says before stopping her Alicorn empathy and speaking out loud to herself. "They have no idea what they're in for..." |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | The Start of Madness and Mayhem | As Askari exits the private jet she had borrowed from her aunt, she sighs as she takes in the sight of Maretime Bay once again... too bad she wasn't here for sightseeing. She walks down the ramp and is about to contact her friends once again until a flash of white lightning startles her and she looks to see a dark blue Pegasus with a white mane standing there with a smirk on her face.
"Goddamnit Skylight. I swear if you're not the death of me one day, I don't know what will be." Askari sighs, speaking with an annoyed tone which amuses Skylight even more.
"Awww, sorry that I scared you. I was just excited to see my favorite zebra in the world. How have you been by the way?" Skylight asks and Askari shakes her head but before she can answer, a flash of purple happens next to them and they look to see the rest of their friends: Nebula, Firestar, and Magma.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. As I explained, half the world is losing faith in Sunny and her friends. It's already bad but if we don't do something, it'll get worse. Much worse. We need to warn them and fast." Askari says and they all nod.
"Ah yes, another adventure where we have to have Sunny Starscout's back even if three of us have had grudges with her in the past. So satisfying and redeeming." Magma says with a slight amount of sarcasm while also being very serious.
"Well, I for one really wanna see Zipp again and have a rematch of our last race, so I'm down." Skylight says and Firestar agrees.
"I'll go too. What about you Shade?" Nebula asks, looking at Magma who sighs.
"Where you and Firestar go, I go. And I told you, Shade is my old name. Call me Magma now." She says, not really fond of her old name anymore which causes Nebula to frown, her mouth still covered by a mask to hide the scars/burns, and nods sadly. She wasn't sure why but after Midnight and everything that happened, her friend had... changed... become a different pony. She didn't even like using her old name anymore and it bothered her... but maybe she's just accepted who and what she is now. Either way, it is what it is.
"Alright. First thing we need to do is see if they're at the Brighthouse. If they're not, we'll have to check if anyone's seen them recently." Askari says and everypony nods. "Ok, first thing's first: you all brought your armor right?" She asks and everyone nods, Magma saying she's basically always wearing her armor, earning a facepalm from Nebula and a sigh from Firestar. Afterwards, they all head to the Brighthouse to search for the others but after they don't find them, they go around town, asking if anyone has seen them or knows where they went. This search brings them to Pipp's Mane Salon, Mane Melody.
They walk in and look around, instantly being amazed. Pipp really went all out when setting this place up. They notice that many of the ponies and other creatures that came here for a treatment are talking to a white Pegasus with a brown mane and golden wings it seems, a green earth pony with a red mane that's partially dyed purple, and a female white Pegasus with a brown mane that's partially dyed purple and purple primary feathers while the rest are blue.
"Rocky, Jazz, Violet. Good to see you guys." Skylight calls to them, getting their attention and they all look excited to see her until they notice the others and look a bit confused.
"Uhhh... hey Sky. Long time no see. Um, are you and your friends all here for a treatment or is something... wrong?" Jazz asks and Sky looks at the others, noticing either annoyed, confused, or patient looks on their faces then looks back to Jazz, Rocky, and Violet.
"If you're asking did they kidnap me, then no. And no, we didn't come for a treatment, even though I'm probably long overdue for one. We're looking for Sunny and the others. Have you seen them, or do you at least know where they went?" She asks and they all look at each other then back at her.
"The other day we were on a call with Pipp. We don't know exactly what happened after she hung up, but we know that her and the others were on their way to Canterlot. Earlier today, we saw news about one of the bridges that lead there and it's been destroyed. One of the victims posted a video of Sunny and the others fighting some terrifying looking armored ponies." Rocky explains before Violet steps forward.
"Then Pipp texted us and said they're going to see the Alicorns and their new city. We still haven't heard from them." Violet explains and Askari and the others look worried.
"Well in case you didn't notice, we're kind of in a hurry here. Try calling them." Magma says with a slightly impatient tone of voice. The three ponies in front of them give her a few looks before Violet sighs and pulls out her phone, attempting to call Pipp.
As Misty stared at her reflection in a slightly cracked mirror, she started to feel... wrong. She had already been feeling wrong with everything that's been happening... everything she's been doing... but this was slightly different. She's noticing things about herself that she had never noticed before. How tired she looked, how... slightly more disheveled her mane looked... the scars she had on her toned arms and stomach... she noticed it all. Even the way her eyes had slowly started to darken the longer she was exposed to the spell.
"Look at you. A pathetic little weakling turned murderer... who's getting ready to help kill some more ponies and cause more chaos." She hears a voice in her head say. This wasn't just any voice... it was the spell tormenting her using her own voice... Sometimes it used Opaline's but usually... it was her own. She shakes her head and places one hand on her forehead, hoping to somehow shake off the headache she now had.
"Please... just leave me alone..." She pleads, only for the voice to laugh with the obvious intent to do the opposite.
"Look around you. Can you really be anymore alone than you already are? Compared to everything else, I'm the only thing making you better. I'm the only guarantee that you'll get the same pointless thing that every other pony dreams of getting at some point in life." The spell says and Misty looks down at the thought of the one thing she had done all this for in the first place.
"A cutie mark... an opportunity to be special... to be normal." Misty says and she can see in her reflection that the spell had made her reflection show her in her armor and mask instead of the blue hoodie that she currently had on.
"So grow up! Stop feeling remorse for those that wouldn't feel any for you! If they knew the real reason you're doing all this, they'd never accept you!" The voice screams, making Misty hold her head in pain as her head starts throbbing, making her dizzy. Misty pleads for it to stop but it just forces her to look at her reflection. "Look at yourself! You think anyone could accept this? Could be friends with this?! ...You think Opaline could ever truly love you like her own daughter? You're nothing but a tool to her that's been manipulated this whole time."
"Shut up!" Misty yells, actually starting to get angry and annoyed now. When the spell continues taunting her, she just gets angrier and angrier until the spell hits a breaking point of hers.
"Without Opaline, you'd be nothing but a forgotten filly who was killed by a bear just like her PARENTS!" The spell says, and after that, Misty screams as her horn slightly lights up and she punches the mirror, shattering it and punching a hole into the wall behind with a bit of magic. After a full minute of breathing heavily, she gains a shocked look on her face and pulls her arm out of the wall and the mirror, seeing it was only slightly scratched up due to the magic deflecting some of the glass shards that would've went into her arm had it not been there.
She slowly backs away from the, now destroyed, mirror and walks out of the bathroom, closing the door. "Misty." A voice calls, startling her and causing her to whirl around to see Titania standing there. "What are you doing? We leave in three minutes, you're supposed to be getting ready. Where's your armor?" She asks and Misty looks a bit nervous as she tries to come up with an excuse.
"U-Ummm... I... I... So funny, I was... actually just about to go... get it." Misty says, hesitating throughout the whole sentence and earning a raised eyebrow and crossed arms from the towering Earth Pony in front of her. "Yeah, so I'll meet you up- I mean... meet up with you and the others in a bit, ok? I just need to get my stuff." Misty says before hurriedly walking off to her room as Titania stares after her, confused and a bit concerned.
"She is one sweet but strange pony." She sighs before walking to the throne room to meet up with the others. It was almost time to go and whether Misty was ready or not would be defined by how she did during this mission, so she'd better hope she does well... especially since Opaline will be watching the entire time.
"So magic really is changing? Getting stronger? That's incredible!" Sunny yells excitedly after hearing the news from Twilight and Brightburn... but not all of it.
"Yeah... real incredible. But try to keep quiet about it, 'Kay?" Brightburn asks and Sunny looks confused but nods along with the others. Zipp wants to question why but before she can, Pipp gasps at something, drawing everyone's attention to her and they see she's on the phone with somepony but she looks... troubled.
"Are you serious...? Ok, thanks Vi... Yeah, I'll ask them if it's ok. Love you too." She says before she hangs up. "This is bad... this is so bad." She says while pacing and holding her head.
"Sis, what's wrong? Talk to us." Zipp urges her and Pipp breathes in and out before looking at Brightburn.
"I know you're not ready to share this place with the public yet, but this is important. Can I please share my location with a few ponies that I know so they can come and explain what's going on? I swear they won't tell anyone about this place." Pipp pleads and Brightburn looks very skittish until Twilight gives her a reassuring nod and she sighs and nods at Pipp, who sighs in relief before pulling out her phone and starting to share her location with whoever it was that they needed an explanation from... besides Pipp herself.
"Pipp! What is going on?!" Zipp asks, shouting as she's more than a bit nervous now.
"I can't explain all that well but Askari, Skylight, Magma, Nebula, and Firestar are looking for us and as far as I can tell, it's for a bad reason! As in they have to tell us something bad!" Pipp screams and everyone looks at each other nervously and just as Pipp finishes sharing her location, they hear a bunch of commotion from outside the tower. They look down to the streets and see a bit of fire spreading. They also see a storm has rolled in... and purple lightning is striking the ground and some buildings every few seconds.
"Oh no..." Twilight says and before anyone can do anything other than that, lightning strikes right where they are from outside, causing an explosion that knocks them all away and almost completely destroys the room they were in. That triggers an alarm for the whole building and starts a fire, causing the sprinklers to start spraying water throughout the building. It doesn't take long for Sunny and the others to wake back up and check on each other. "Is everypony alright?" Twilight asks, getting responses from everypony... except Brightburn.
"Brightburn? ...Brightburn?!" Sunny calls, frantically looking around for her. Everypony else starts looking too until they see she's trapped under debris and she's unconscious. Sunny and Twilight quickly work together to move the debris and the others pull her out when enough of it is moved. "Is she ok?" Sunny asks and once Zipp nods after checking her pulse, she sighs in relief before they all hear a voice.
"Sunny Starscout! Twilight Sparkle! We wanna thank you for leading us here, we couldn't have done it without you! Thanks to you, this city and every alicorn in it will suffer and burn!" They hear, causing them to look down to the streets and see the same ponies they encountered on the bridge... and Ragnar. Zipp's eyes go wide as soon as she sees him and she starts seeing red almost instantly. "For your contribution, we would like you to come down so we can thank you face to face! Oh, and be quick about it! The longer you take, the more alicorns our friend here will kill!" Stormcutter shouts before the Unicorn who attacked Canterlogic steps forward with her bladed whip which was slightly glowing.
The next thing they know, she yells and swings it, sending a wave of purple and blue magical fire forward and any alicorn it hits is either badly burned, burned to death, or sliced in two. It also damages buildings, blowing up one or two. Everyone looks shocked. "That blade... has Alicorn magic in it. Opaline's magic..." Twilight says, horrified when she sees the damage it's doing... and this wasn't even half of Opaline's normal power. She could feel it. The unicorn then looks up at them as if daring them to come down.
"Damnit... Twilight, we have to go down. We can probably get them to stop." Sunny says and Twilight hesitates before looking at everyone else, hearing another explosion, sighing then nodding.
"Alright. Sunny, your friends should get Brightburn and the kids to safety. The rest of you get anyone you can to safety and be prepared just in case they try something." Twilight says before she and Sunny get ready to go down.
"I'm going with you." Zipp says as she steps forward but Sunny stops her.
"Zipp, no, I know why you wanna go down but I can tell you now that it isn't the time. You can best protect Pipp by staying with her and the others. We'll make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else." Sunny says and Zipp is about to protest until Sunny gives her a stern look and interrupts her. "Zipp. Trust us. Trust me." She says and Zipp wants so badly to protest but after practically growling in annoyance and anger, she reluctantly leads the others out of the room and helps get Brightburn to safety.
"Sunny! Just... be careful... both of you." Izzy says and everyone agrees, getting nods from both Twilight and Sunny before they continue getting to safety. Sunny and Twilight nod at each other then fly down just in time to combine their magic into a huge shield that blocks the next wave of fire magic.
After they do, the unicorn stops, allowing them to drop the shield. "Took you two long enough. I was worried we'd all have to start attacking to get you to come down." Stormcutter says, earning glares from Sunny and Twilight.
"We came down like you asked. Now what do you want?" Twilight asks with a firm tone that clearly showed she means business.
"Not much Princess. Just to exact some sweet revenge. Opaline sends her regards by the way." Stormcutter says, earning an even worse glare from Twilight. Sunny notices but doesn't say anything, not that it would matter much if she did. Sunny does look at the villains and step forward a bit though.
"Well tell this Opaline that if she really wants to beat us, she should stop sending her lackeys to do her dirty work and just do it herself." Sunny says, seeming to annoy the unicorn with the bladed whip the most. "The way I see it. You have two options and one chance. You can be dumb, fight, and lose. Or you can be smart, walk away, and give up this path you've chosen. It won't lead you to any good, ask anyone." Sunny says, hoping to make them see that this path they've chosen is pointless and won't help anyone, not even them. Although... she basically knew they wouldn't listen to her... but the response was still disappointing when the Earth Pony spoke up.
"I think we'll take our chances. Thanks, but no thanks." She says and Sunny frowns and shakes her head in disappointment.
"So, with that out of the way, you think we distracted them long enough?" Ragnar asks, confusing Twilight and Sunny before they notice the silent unicorn disappear and realize it was an illusion. Just as they were about to demand to know where she was, they hear an explosion and turned to see that one had destroyed part of the giant tower where the others were. Sunny quickly calls Pipp to see what's going on and as soon as she answers, the first thing she hears is complete chaos on the other side and Pipp trying to tell her something but getting cut off throughout her sentences by static.
"Sunny, can you hear me?! That...- Unicorn-! Sparky-...! We need your h-!" Pipp screams, sounding very distorted as she speaks before the connection is lost and the call ends. Sunny then glares at the other villains in front of them as her eyes slowly glow a dark shade of orange.
"What did you DO?!" Sunny yells, gaining a smirk from Ragnar and silence from all of them which angers her more. She's about to attack until they all hear a loud roar and green fire bursts through one wall of the tower. Twilight looks between it, Sunny, and the villains then sighs and looks at Sunny.
"Sunny, they need you. You go help them, I'll handle this." Twilight says and Sunny is about to protest but Twilight cuts over her. "Go! I'll be fine, I promise!" Twilight assures her even though she wasn't so sure about that. She was powerful but most of these ponies had been Midnight's top henchmen and one had been trained by Opaline herself. They all had years of training and at most, she had power and a bit of experience. Sunny looks between Twilight, the villains, and the tower which was starting to slowly collapse from the damage it was taking, then looks at Twilight one more time and shakes her head before sighing in frustration.
"We better see you after this is over." Sunny says and Twilight gives a soft reassuring smile.
"You will. Now go Sunny..., go." Twilight says and Sunny reluctantly runs and flys to the tower, leaving Twilight to turn towards the villains with a fierce glare. She notices that the other unicorn managed to slip away... but no matter. She warns Sunny that she might try something so her and the others would have to be prepared. "Now I'll show you why evil never pays off." Twilight says before Titania nods at Ragnar and he nods back before roaring and slamming his metal fist/gauntlet into the ground, causing dark magic to spread and crack the ground as it does. After a few seconds, many versions of him appear and either surround and glare at her or fly around and start attacking the city.
"Just try it now Princess! We'll show you why it DOES!" Ragnar yells before they all charge at Twilight and she takes out her weapons and charges back. One way or another, she would keep them busy while Sunny and the others dealt with their own problem. She would either win this and successfully keep them away from Sunny, her friends, and her own friends... or she would die trying. |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | Making the hard choices | As soon as the power in the building went out, everyone knew they were in trouble. Now they couldn't see Sparky or the masked unicorn. In fact, they could hardly see at all, especially due to the smoke that filled the room they were in. They felt the building shake and assumed it was because of Sparky.
"We've gotta find him before he brings this whole place down!" Rainbow Dash calls out and everyone agrees while trying to avoid breathing in as much smoke as possible.
"Well first we've gotta find a way out of this room!" Hitch responds and Fluttershy gets an idea.
"I can help with that. Just give me a second." She says and while she's recovering, everyone else tries keeping an eye out. Soon, a few of them start seeing things as if someone's moving through the smoke. Then something or someone starts attacking them and retreating faster than they can react. A lot of them end up receiving burns from magic or scratches from a blade but to Zipp, they could be from... claws. She remembers when Ragnar and her were alone during the battle in Maretime Bay years ago and how she located him when he was using this same strategy. She closes her eyes and lets her hearing do the work.
Soon she starts to hear the footsteps of their attacker... then hears another set of footsteps, these ones not being as silent as the others. Once she knows for sure that these footsteps belong to a second attacker and she hears them heading in the direction of her and Pipp, she blasts behind her little sister, hitting the second attacker which turns out to be the unicorn that attacked Canterlogic.
"Gotcha!" Zipp says before she hears another set of footsteps coming towards her from behind but before she can turn around and react to it, a blast of wind knocks away her attacker and the smoke clears, practically being forced outside by Fluttershy's amazing powers of nature. Everypony sighs in relief as they're finally able to breathe fresh air again.
"Come on y'all! Let's find the little guy!" Applejack yells and they all make their way out of the room, but only Zipp notices that their attackers had already left so she warns them to be careful since they don't know what they'll find. As they seem to be getting closer, they could hear explosions and angry growls and roars that were presumably from Sparky or... whatever that spell the unicorn put on him had turned him into. As they ran, they came across unconscious and injured Alicorns who had been victims of Sparky's newfound rage. If he was powerful enough to injure this many Alicorns and STILL be going on a rampage... they feared how powerful he would get the longer he was exposed to the spell.
They stop right in front of a massive hole where a door used to be. Past the hole was a dark room with a bunch of flickering lights and chilling sounds coming out of it. Everyone looks nervous as they slowly get closer to the room.
"Sparky buddy...? You in there...?" Hitch calls nervously as he gets the closest. They all hear a monstrous growl and instantly back up a bit, getting ready to react. "I-It's ok buddy. We're not here to hurt you... we just wanna help." He says and for a bit, they don't hear anything from the transformed baby dragon... until they hear a roar, then an explosion that causes the tower to shake violently and start collapsing. Everyone gets their balance but then Sparky charges out of the room through them and bursts through walls until he ends up outside, knocking everyone aside in the process.
The tower starts leaning towards the direction he ran in and the others start sliding the further it tilts. Sparky runs off after he lands in the city, making his way out and demolishing a few buildings as he does. Before the tower can lean way too far, everyone feels it stop, not yet realizing that Sunny had caught it using both her magic and her strength until she speaks up.
"Some of you need to go after Sparky! The rest need to help with this army of clones or help keep this tower from falling!" Sunny says and everyone nods before Izzy and Rarity jump out and make ice slides all the way to the bottom before starting to use their magic and their ice powers to help keep the tower steady. Fluttershy, Hitch, and Pinkie Pie decide to go after Sparky. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pipp, and Zipp decide to help with the invasion. Sunny takes a glance at Solaris and Sky Blazer, seeing they're still with Brightburn. She tries deciding if she should trust Izzy and Rarity to support the tower while she helps those three or if she should stay and continue to hold it. Before she can come to a decision, she feels less of the tower's weight leaning on her than before and looks to her right to see Solar Flare helping her.
"Go. They need you. I can hold this up until they're done." She says and Sunny nods before landing in the building and before she gets too far, Solar Flare speaks up once more. "Lunar Frost is helping to evacuate so tell them to keep an eye out for her." She says, the slight amount of struggling she was experiencing while holding the tower a bit evident in her voice. Sunny nods again then goes to help them move Brightburn.
"Come on. Let's hurry and get her out of here. I can carry her. You two start helping other Alicorns who may need it. Just be careful while you do, those two unicorns could still be around here." Sunny warns them and they nod and split up to start helping Alicorns and encouraging them to help who they could and before long, the tower is evacuated. Ragnar sees the Alicorns being safely escorted to safety and he roars angrily and a lot of his clones start targeting them. Sunny notices and quickly gives Brightburn to Lunar Flare then defends the Alicorns and giving those who can fight the chance to start attacking the clones as she does the same.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Zipp, and Pipp were helping to deal with the army of clones but Pipp instantly noticed how with every attack, Zipp went for a killing strike and she was being so aggressive and wasn't responding whenever she was saying something. Zipp isn't just fighting or taking her anger out on the clones... she's looking for the real Ragnar. The way she could tell was because whenever a clone was defeated, it would disappear in a puff of smoke. Pipp sees one of the clones about to sneak in a shot on the Alicorns and she quickly throws one of her ring blades, hitting it in the face and redirecting it's shot which causes a building to explode and smoke to start spreading. Pipp calls back her ring blades but just as she grabs them, she gets tackled by a clone.
They crash and she reacts just fast enough to use her legs to keep its jaws from crushing and devouring her. It requires a lot of her strength and she struggles to keep it up so she blasts lightning into the clone's mouth, making it recoil and start choking. She takes the chance to get up and knock it through a building with a sonic scream. Pipp then goes back to fighting and checks on Zipp every few seconds. They all hear another explosion and a scream and look just in time to see Twilight fly out of a fiery cloud of smoke and crash across rooftops before tumbling into the street. She slowly gets up and Rainbow goes to help her but then a bunch of clones tackle and pile on her.
She's struggling to fight them off of her, the others continue fighting and trying to help until Zipp realizes that the real Ragnar is one of the ones that was just fighting Twilight. She quickly goes to help and fires a powerful blast of lightning that destroys one and bounces to another, continuing to do so until only one remains. He growls and glares at her and she lands between him and Twilight. She slowly walks closer and Titania starts running at her so she blasts her with lightning and it only manages to slow her down a bit until Applejack punches her out of nowhere then proceeds to start fighting her. Zipp doesn't stop.
Stormcutter runs past her and towards Twilight and jumps towards her. Twilight manages to block her attack with a shield just as Rainbow Dash breaks free before proceeding to blast her and knock her away from Twilight. However, Zipp still doesn't stop. Pipp notices all this and starts moving to go and stop her.
"Zipp, no-!" She tries to call but she gets grabbed from behind by a clone that proceeds to cover her mouth so she can't do a sonic scream... but this is also making it impossible for her to breathe along with the arm that's wrapped around her neck. She struggles to get free, even going as far as trying to electrocute the clone but the gauntlet it has on absorbs it and she starts panicking. Twilight notices and tries standing up and going to help, only to find out that her right wing and her left leg are injured from the battle. Her leg was injured from a particularly mean swing of Titania's hammer and her wing was hurt from Ragnar or at least one of his clones jumping her and taking a chunk out of it.
She tries blasting the clone without hurting Pipp but then another clone tackles her and it, along with another one, starts attacking her and keeping her pinned and distracted. She looks around, trying to see if anyone else could help but the only one she sees as the least distracted is Zipp.
"Damnit... Zipp Storm! Your sister! She needs help! Now!" Twilight says, actually struggling with how injured she was and how strong these clones were. She looks at Zipp again and sees that she hasn't stopped yet and lightning is wildly radiating from her body. "Zipp! Go help your sister! Don't sacrifice her just to get revenge!" Twilight pleads, hoping Zipp would realize that the very thing she was trying to kill Ragnar for was about to happen again and this time, there might be no fixing it.
Zipp; however, was blocking everything else out, tunnel vision keeping her focus on Ragnar. She stops when she's at a certain distance away from him and continues to glare at him as she starts charging up a powerful blast.
"You... should've just stayed dead." Zipp growls with a huge amount of venom in her voice. Ragnar smirks and chuckles as he starts preparing to fight.
"And you should get better at making sure your opponents do just that. You should also get better at being a sister." He says and Zipp's eyes narrow and she almost attacks him right then and there until a clone tackles her and she kicks it off, blasts it into a wall and then speed kicks it through the building and just as she turns around, the unicorn that attacked Canterlogic lands behind her and kicks her into what's left of the wall.
She feels her back hit the wall and before she can recover, the unicorn pins her against it by her throat with one hand against the side of her face, causing her head to turn and that's when she finally sees Pipp starting to go limp as one of the clones are choking her out. Her eyes widen as she realizes that's what Ragnar was talking about. Zipp screams angrily and blasts the unicorn away from her then takes out a blade and jumps at her, bringing the blade down and managing to slash the left side of her mask, breaking it and making her tumble away before she flys to where Pipp is and knocks the clone away from her. She then flys down and catches Pipp before she hits the ground.
After landing, she checks on Pipp. "Pipp...? Pipp?! Come on sis, you're ok. Wake up..." Zipp says, sounding scared and a little desperate but can you blame her? "Come on... this is nothing. We've both taken worse than that. Right? Right...? Sis...?" Zipp asks, starting to get even more scared when she realizes Pipp hasn't opened her eyes yet. After a few more frantic attempts to wake her up, pleas for her to wake up, and a few muttered teary-eyed apologies, she notices clones coming at her from all around and her first instinct is once again to protect Pipp as she covers her body with her own, anger, grief, and sadness fueling her powers as her body starts glowing. She screams as the power comes out of her in the form of multiple lightning bolts, killing all the clones and also causing Pipp to wake up as it gets her heart going again.
Zipp notices and instantly pulls her into a tight hug, afraid to let her go again. "Z-Zipp?! Wha...?" Pipp says, confused as she hugs Zipp back as best she can. Zipp shushes her and assures her that she's ok... even though she basically was a few seconds away from dying for real. She sits up a bit and notices that both her and Pipp are slightly glowing and her magic feels... stronger. Based on the confused look on Pipp's face that slowly morphed into a smile, she was feeling the same thing. They both suddenly use their powers to zoom around and destroy most of the clones and everyone smiles as they slowly realize that they're starting to win and Rainbow Dash especially smiles as she realizes that they're both moving almost if not just as fast as she is and their attacks seem much stronger.
After about 20 seconds, most of the clones are destroyed and the rest are left to Sunny, the others, and the battling Alicorns. Zipp lands on a rooftop and looks down to the battle in the streets. Twilight was back up and helping to battle the villains and Zipp notices that the unicorn with the bladed whip was hanging back a bit and half her mask was broken. Zipp could kinda see a few details about the unicorn but not many. The first thing she saw was that her fur was a light blue, she had barely visible freckles and... some of her mane peeked out from the hole in her damaged mask. Those colors... is that... it couldn't be...
She's broken out of her thoughts when they hear a roar and see Ragnar ram into Twilight from behind, taking her straight through a building then throwing her back through it. Twilight quickly recovers but then a purple lightning blade goes through her leg and she screams in pain, falling back down. She's about to pull it out until she's blasted in the side by magic. She refuses to stay down though. Titania notices and pulls a pretty sneaky trick on Applejack which results in a mean swing of her hammer badly injuring the Earth Pony's right arm and leg and trapping her under a collapsed building. She then throws the hammer at Twilight and she manages to block it but Titania quickly makes up for it with a punch that sends Twilight back.
Zipp and the others intervene and try keeping the villains away from Twilight... but no one notices the unicorn with the broken mask doing her own thing, about to pull a very risky maneuver. She rushes forward and presses a button on the handle of her blade, sending it into it's whip form and she swings it, sending a wave of magic at everyone and they all scream in pain, especially Twilight, who feels a sharp pain in her back. After a few seconds to recover, they all get up and look at her and she smirks under her mask, causing Twilight's Alicorn empathy to start going off. She reaches to the part of her back where the sharp pain was and feels something. She winces and yells as she pulls it out, revealing it to be one of the blades from the unicorn's whip... and it was glowing very brightly.
She quickly realizes why and tries throwing it but when Nightshade fires a magic blast towards it... it's too late. It causes a massive explosion that's a mix of both Midnight's magic and Opaline's. The explosion damages the street, the buildings, injures the heroes and villains... and majorly injures Twilight. Sunny sees the explosion from where she is and her heart drops. "No... No!" She shouts as she flys towards it and lands, running to where her friends are and immediately checking on them.
She's relieved to see they're all alive... until she sees the state that Twilight's in.
"Twi!" Rainbow Dash yells as she runs to her and Sunny does the same, not even noticing as Izzy, Rarity, Solar Flare, and Lunar Frost arrive with Solaris, Sky Blazer, and Brightburn. Twilight doesn't open her eyes or respond when Rainbow Dash moves her. "Twilight... Twi, please! Talk to me! Say something! Anything!" Rainbow pleads desperately, starting to get flashbacks of Light Hope's death the more injuries she saw on Twilight. No. Twilight wasn't dead, she couldn't be. Not after everything she's been through, every challenge she's faced, every foe she's conquered. Twilight couldn't die... not like this.
They all hear laughing and look to see the villains all standing away from them with triumphant looks on their faces. "Well well well. Looks like she's not as invincible as everyone thinks she is, huh?" Titania taunts and everyone grows angry looks on their faces and Sunny slowly stands up as the temperature starts picking up.
"It goes to show. Heroes fall, their deeds going unnoticed until it's too late." Stormcutter says, and with that, the ground starts shaking but they continue talking and taunting them. It's not that they didn't notice Sunny's reaction to their taunts, it was that they did... and they wanted to get her to her breaking point for the next part of the plan to work.
"In the end, heroics will only get you so far... until they land you right where all heroes belong," Ragnar says, causing Sunny's breathing to pick up and her eyes to glow. When he continues, it brings so many things to the forefront of her mind. "A graveyard." He says, and that causes Sunny to remember the first funeral that had been held for her father... then the second... and she imagines the same thing, but for Twilight... and that just sets. Her. Off.
She screams as magic and power burst from her body, causing a shockwave that knocks everyone away from her and starts literally melting the ground under her and some buildings surrounding them. Her alicorn form was out but her magic was orange with red accents and she had a fire-like aura coming off her. Her eyes were orange and red as well and they burned with a rage that rivaled even that of Midnight's. This slightly worried all the villains as she gazed at them all. As everyone else recovered, they all watched in both awe and fear at this new form of Sunny's and the power it was emitting.
Suddenly Sunny screams again as she charges forward and starts attacking the villains with everything she had. A single punch caused a shockwave that knocked them and everything or everyone behind them back. A kick would send a wave of magic at them that burned them and knocked them even further back. Basically everything she did delivered a devastating attack, both physical and magical... and her power and rage just continued to grow. She knocks Nightshade into Stormcutter which sends them both through a building. She blocks attacks from Titania and Ragnar and sends them both high up into the air before dragging them back down with her magic and slamming them hard enough to send them deep into the ground.
She senses a few things coming at her and catches them without even turning to look and sees their blades from the unicorn with the bladed whip. She growls in annoyance and crushes the blades, letting them melt afterwards. The unicorn seems to back up in fear a bit when she sees that. Sunny turns to face her, glaring at her before charging forward and the unicorn just barely manages to dodge but she ends up rolling backwards and when she stops, she sees Sunny walks towards her and she crawls backwards to try and get away. Sunny still gets closer and raises a fist, charging it with magic and getting ready to incinerate her. The unicorn raises her hand in front of herself in fear and preparation for the punch. Just as Sunny's about to deliver it, the unicorn does something... unexpected.
"Sunny, wait! Please!" She says and Sunny freezes up. That voice... it couldn't be.
"No way... Mist-" Sunny tries to say but she's cut off when the Unicorn's eyes glow again and she kicks her feet from under her then follows up by kicking Sunny as hard as she can, making her slide back. The unicorn then grabs her blade, walks back to the others and cuts open a portal, most likely back to their lair.
"Get up! Our job here is done! We'll go after the dragon later!" She says and the rest of the villains get up and start going through the portal. The unicorn gives them all one last look before walking through and it closes right as she does. Sunny gets up and sees the team that was going after Sparky coming back... but he's not with them.
"We tried as best we could to catch him but... he's gone." Fluttershy explains, helping Pinkie limp her way over to the others. Hitch had a sad look on his face as he held his left arm which was bleeding a lot from a pretty deep gash he received while chasing Sparky. Halfway to the others, he fell to his knees and hung his head.
"This is all my fault... I should've kept a better eye on him... I'm his guardian. He's my responsibility... now he's all alone out there, going on a rampage..." Hitch says, his voice low and broken. Zipp frowns and lands in front of him, getting on her knees and pulling him into a hug that he gratefully returns.
"It's ok... we'll find him and fix this. I promise Hitch." She says and Hitch nuzzles her and she nuzzles back. Sunny frowns as she watches them before turning to Izzy who walks up to stand next to her and grab her hand. Sunny looks around at all the destruction that she had caused in her rampage... and she feels awful. She sees all the Alicorns staring at her in fear, keeping their distance, some of them having angry looks as they're most likely blaming her and the others for all this. She looks at Twilight and sees that she still hasn't woken up, even as Dash continued trying to wake her...
"Pipp... call Violet back..." Sunny says as she starts walking forward. "Tell her what happened. Tell her we may need help tracking Sparky. Have your fans and hers keeping a lookout." Sunny tells her, getting a nod from Pipp who instantly pulls out her phone and gets started. Izzy walks to Sunny and asks her the question that they were all thinking.
"What's our next move?" She asks and Sunny doesn't respond for a bit, but when she does, she sighs and looks at Izzy.
"We're gonna help them clean this place up, tell everyone what happened... and find a way to end this mess... if these ponies want a fight... then that's exactly what we'll give them." |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | One step forward, two steps back | Sunny... was absolutely fuming. It was one thing to send one pony to attack Canterlogic while she and her friends weren't present. It was another to send more than one to attack them on their way to Canterlot... but to send everyone to attack them, mutate and transform a baby dragon into a rampaging monster, kill a few alicorns, and nearly kill two ponies she considered friends? That was something else entirely. She looks at Twilight who was still unconscious but was now laying in a bed with two alicorns using their magic to heal her as best as they can. She frowns at the sight of her idol, mentor, and friend in such a terrible state. She couldn't help but wonder if she could've done something to prevent this... it should be her in this bed, not Twilight.
She's cut out of her thoughts when she hears her friends arguing just outside the door and she sighs, excuses herself, then steps out to find them doing exactly what she heard. She couldn't tell what they were arguing about though as the argument was getting very heated and they were talking over each, so she decides to step in and break it up before it got too out of hand.
"Ok ok! Everypony calm down! One at a time!" Sunny shouts and they all start to stop and start explaining the topic of their conversation.
"I was just telling them what I saw after I fought the unicorn with the whip, but clearly they don't believe me. They're too in denial." Zipp says, earning glares from Pipp and Izzy. Sunny has a feeling she knows what Zipp was talking about. Before she can say anything though, Izzy steps in.
"No, you're just imagining things! It couldn't have been her! She's our friend!" Izzy says and Sunny now knows for sure what- or who- this was about.
"I don't think so... I think that was Misty back there... when she spoke, two things gave it away... her voice... and the way she said my name. She said it like she knew me. As soon as I heard it, I froze up... I was just so in shock. I couldn't believe that it was her right there but... when she spoke again... she didn't even sound like herself." Sunny says and Zipp gives Izzy and Pipp a look before sighing and looking at Sunny.
"Believe me, I wish I hadn't been right." She says but Sunny just frowns and looks down.
"Hm... she was acting strange when we first met. One moment she was so nice and she complimented Sparky, and the next she went silent, gave a cold dead stare and started slowly walking toward us, almost like she was in some sort of trance. When I called her name, she snapped out of it though." Hitch said and this intrigues and confuses the others until Pipp speaks up.
"And when she got a headache, she started looking a little pale." Pipp says and Izzy agrees. Sunny then remembers two little details she could make out about the unicorn in question.
"And when I saw her eyes... not only did she look tired and have bags under them... they looked... darker than they did the last time we saw her. And I didn't tell you guys this but... at the Brighthouse, the whole time she was with us, my alicorn empathy was being... really strange. Like it was sensing something dangerous but didn't know what. Or like it was sensing danger but not immediate danger." Sunny explains and everyone thinks about it except Zipp, who doubted that anyone else was to blame for Misty's actions except Misty herself.
"Guys! No matter how you look at it, Misty committed all those horrible crimes. No one forced her to. She doesn't care about us or anyone else." Zipp says, but Pipp disagrees.
"I don't think so Zipp. When one of those clones was strangling me, I saw how she turned your head to see it happening and believe it or not, it looked intentional. She looked towards me and saw it happening then decided to attack you and turn your head just enough to see it." Pipp says and Zipp shudders at the memory of that and gives her sister an angry glare.
"For all you know, she just wanted me to watch you die! Stop trying to make bad actions seem good! As far as I'm concerned, Misty's just as bad as the rest of them and if I see her again, I'm putting her in a cell which is less than she deserves." Zipp says and Izzy grows an angry look as her eyes glow white and she starts walking towards Zipp but Sunny gets in between them and gently holds her back.
"Izzy, calm down. It's ok, Zipp's just angry. We're all on edge after last night. But don't worry. We'll find out the truth and if Misty needs help out of whatever situation she's in, we'll help her. Right Zipp?" Sunny asks with a firm tone, giving Zipp a look who rolls her eyes and nods. That's good enough for Sunny. Sunny looks to see Izzy breathe in and out as her eyes stop glowing and she can tell that's good enough for her too.
"Thanks Sunny..." Izzy says and Sunny smiles and nods before they all hear footsteps heading their way and they look to see Twilight's friends, along with Brightburn, Solar Flare and Lunar Frost, leading the multitude of creatures they expected to see. Askari, Skylight, Nebula, Firestar, and Magma were finally here.
"You all made it." Sunny says and they all stop right in front of them, but based on the looks on their faces, they were not coming with the best of news. "Oh no... what's happening now?" Sunny asks and they all look away, seeming reluctant to tell her.
"We have some bad news..." Skylight says as she finally looks towards the others. "And I mean... very bad." She continues and Sunny braces herself for what's coming.
"Half the world... or at least half of its leaders are... losing faith in you and your friends. They're stuck between a decision of whether to keep allowing you and the alicorns to be your own ponies and continue defending Equestria... or outlaw you and ban you from interfering in their business." Askari says and out of all the things that they expected her to say... none of that... was even on the list. Sunny slowly looks down and starts backing up, barely processing what she had just been told.
"No... no... why? After everything we've done for them... they're just going to give up on us? Just because of a few incidents that were out of our control?" Sunny growls lowly, the temperature around her starting to rise dramatically. "We fought for them, gave them hope, made compromises, sacrifices... I literally died for them, twice! I lost my dad a second time for them! And for what?!" Sunny shouts, causing the temperature to pick up even more as she feels her Alicorn form about to come out but... something feels off about it this time... it feels even more out of control than it did last night when she went ballistic on the villains. This was due to the fact that she could hear someone... laughing... talking... in her head... and not just anyone... Midnight.
Normally, she wouldn't have been surprised or shocked by this since she heard her voice every now and again but this time was different... because when she looked at everyone else... she saw Midnight standing right there behind them, clear as day while they were all giving her concerned looks. Sunny's breathing starts becoming very elevated and that caused Midnight to smirk, her power starting to flicker between red and purple.
"You're almost ready. See you soon... Sunny." Midnight says before Sunny is suddenly snapped out of it as Midnight disappears and she can finally hear her friends again. She sees Izzy standing right next to her with a hand on her shoulder and a worried look on her face.
"W-Wha... Izzy?" She asks and Izzy suddenly hugs her as tight as she can.
"Oh thank hoofness Sunny, I didn't know what was going on with you! You had us all worried for a second!" Izzy explains with a shaky, teary voice. Sunny slowly returns the hug and feels her heartbeat slowing down as they helped calm each other down.
"I'm ok now... don't worry." Sunny assures her but the others don't seem convinced.
"Are you sure Sunny? We were calling your name and asking you if you were ok and what we should do, but you didn't respond. You started panicking and you looked like... like you'd seen a ghost... or something worse." Hitch pushes the subject, more than a little worried for his friend's mental and physical wellbeing.
"I said I'm fine, ok? Don't start turning on me just because I slipped into a small panic attack." Sunny says with an annoyed tone as she stands up and gives them all a stern look. Before they can call her out on her behavior or tell her that they weren't turning on her, she continues speaking. "Right now, we need to figure out what we're gonna do about all of this before something else bad happens-" Sunny says but before she can fully close out her sentence, she sees Brightburn, Solar Flare and Lunar Frost walking towards them and they don't look happy. "Great..." Sunny mutters to herself, annoyed. When they stop in front of them, Brightburn has to stop Solar Flare from walking forward and saying something to them that she'd regret.
"Guys... I'm sorry, but you have to leave." Brightburn sighs, the frustration and sadness evident in her voice. They all look confused until she continues. "We had most of the alicorns in the city come together for a meeting and it reached a boiling point and came to a vote on whether to ask you for help... or kick you out of the city... and a majority voted against you. I vouched for you all, I really did but... I have to keep my city's best interests first." She explains and they all give her understanding looks... except Sunny.
"This is unbelievable... if it weren't for us, this city wouldn't even still be standing right now, and if it weren't for us, Midnight would've killed you all years ago!" Sunny shouts, getting the attention of nearby alicorns who all get ready in case something happens. Sunny notices this and it just aggravates her even more. "Without us, you won't stand a chance against them if they come back." Sunny says and Brightburn thinks about it but sighs and shakes her head.
"Sunny, please don't make this harder than it already is. Look, if it were up to me, I'd allow you to stay... but... how do you expect the other alicorns to work with you after what they saw you do last night? After that, plus the darkness and hatred that we all sense in you, excuse us if we're a little skeptical." Brightburn says and Sunny looks down and frowns, causing her to sigh again and walk to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "If there was any other way to get everyone to calm down, I would... but we can't risk it." She says and Sunny continues looking down until she looks at her and slowly nods, reluctantly agreeing to what they're asking of her and her friends.
"Well... can we at least stay a while longer and check on Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asks and Brightburn nods, causing the original Mane 6 to sigh in relief before they all look at the others.
"Don't worry. If something changes, we'll be the first to let you know." Rainbow Dash says and they all nod before being led out by alicorns. Rainbow Dash looks at the rest of her friends and sighs. "So... what do we do while Twilight's... recovering?" She asks, her voice slightly breaking when she mentions Twilight and her current predicament.
"Well... the least we can do is let everyone else know what happened. With Twilight like this, we're going to need all the help we can get." Rarity says and they all agree.
"Leave that to me. As soon as we got started rebuilding, I contacted Discord and told him to let everyone know." Fluttershy says and everyone smiles at their friend's genius. Hopefully Discord could pass the message along in time, because with everything happening now... time was surely of the essence.
"It's always fun exploring with you three. I'm glad I was able to help you all find a home again." Sunset says as she stares up at the three massive sirens in front of her who she had become very close with, especially the leader and the oldest of them, Adagio Dazzle.
"Yes, well... you know what they say. Home is where the heart is or something like that... and you, Sunset Shimmer, have earned a very special place in mine." Adagio Dazzle says, smirking at the now flustered pony before she hears her youngest sister, Sonata Dusk, laughing at her. She also sees her middle sister, Aria Blaze, smirking at her and rolling her eyes. Adagio immediately realizes why and starts to blush visibly through her scales. "I-I mean ours! As in our home!" She quickly tries to play it off but she can tell none of them really buy it. Sunset giggles as she watches the interaction between the three sisters but before she can respond, a letter appears in front of her out of thin air with a flash and drops to the ground. She looks confused but picks it up and opens it, immediately starting to read what it said to herself... but frowning the more she read.
The Dazzlings stop bickering and notice the change in their pony friend's behavior almost immediately. Adagio lowers her face down to Sunset's level to try and see what could have caused it. "Sunset? What is it? What's wrong?" She asks and for a bit, Sunset doesn't answer as she's still reading... but when she's done, she looks into Adagio's eyes with a distraught look in her own.
"There's a new threat to Equestria now... last night, it struck and... and Twilight got hurt pretty badly. She's alive, but it's not looking too good." Sunset says, still frowning until she feels Adagio's huge, scaly head nuzzle against her and she leans her own head against it while petting her on the cheek. "Come on. I'm pretty sure everyone else is gonna learn about this sooner or later and we're gonna need a plan." Sunset says and Adagio nods and gives a playful sigh as she lowers her body to allow Sunset to get on her back.
"Joining forces with the very ponies and other creatures we used to be against to save Equestria from another world-ending threat." Adagio says as Sunset gets on. Aria smirks and cuts in after Sunset's secure.
"Well, we are overdue for some excitement. Very very overdue. And I've been waiting to hit something." She says, causing Sonata to give her a pouty look.
"You just hit me a few days ago, then there's that giant squid you hit yesterday. But yeah, anyway, we're with you Sunset." Sonata says, causing Sunset to smile, especially as the other two sirens agree.
"Thanks... Let's get going." Sunset says before the Dazzlings instantly take off towards where they just knew everyone would be going once they found out about the current situation with Twilight and the new threat... Canterlot.
Ponyville, School of Friendship
Starlight couldn't believe what she just read. There was another Alicorn that wants to take over or destroy the world and Twilight was hurt? How much worse could things get? When would it finally end? She snaps out of it when she feels someone nuzzle her and looks to see it's Trixie, giving her a reassuring smile which causes her to smile back.
"Hey, don't worry. Twilight's strong. She'll pull through and so will we. We always do, right?" Trixie asks and Starlight sighs and nods.
"Eventually. Ya know, after a long while of traumatizing experiences and grueling battles." Starlight says jokingly, causing Trixie to laugh. "Tell Sunburst that something's come up and we'll be gone for a while so he's in charge while we're gone." She says, earning a nod from Trixie, who walks out to tell the aforementioned pony what's going on. Meanwhile, Starlight looks back at the letter, tightening her grip on it.
"Hang in there Twilight... We'll finish what you started... I promise."
Canterlot
This was not good... not at all. She had hoped that these kinds of days, the ones filled with such a huge amount of danger, would never come again after Midnight was defeated... but that was just wishful thinking. Still... Celestia knew better than to give up all hope. She would stay strong just as everyone else has done... just as Twilight and Sunny have done. She breathes in and out, walking into her and Luna's former throne room, finding her sister, Princess Cadence, Flurry Heart, and Discord already waiting for her.
"I'm assuming that you were the one who sent the messages Discord." She says, earning a nod from the Lord of Chaos. "Hm. Well then I suggest that we start preparing for another war."
"Seems like it's every other year where there's a war or a potential one in the making. I'm sure everyone else will be disappointed... especially since it's gotten so bad already." Luna says with a frown, causing Celestia to do the same.
"Well... I think they can deal with it. Luna, you will find the Hippogriffs and the Griffons and see if they will help. Cadence, you're going to the dragon lands. Flurry Heart, get the former legion of doom, Luster Dawn, and Twilight's old students. When you're done, see if you can get the Wonderbolts to prepare. Discord, you can rally with the Kirins and the changelings. I will talk to the Yaks and the Alicorns." Celestia says and they all nod and walk out, departing to the locations of their quarries.
"No matter what you do, no matter what you throw at us... we will not let you or any other creature of evil prevail... Opaline." Celestia says with a determined look on her face but little did she know, Opaline was watching the whole time. The fallen alicorn grows a slightly angry look on her face that slowly morphs into an evil smirk.
"Game on." She says, giving a simple sign that she accepts the challenge from the so-called heroes. She would get her magic back one way or another, and in the end... they would see which one was stronger and which one prevailed... Harmony... or Chaos.
"Ugh! It isn't fair! After everything we did for them, they turn on us just like that?!" Sunny shouts as she paces back and forth in front of her friends, obviously anything but happy at the moment. They were just glad she wasn't destroying anything in the Brighthouse. "Now we've got no allies, no Marestream, no Sparky, and no answers!!!" She continues before sitting down, holding her head. She was so stressed out, she was surprised her entire mane hasn't turned grey.
"And not only that, but one of our so-called "friends" could be a homicidal terrorist." Zipp says, warning glare from Izzy and Pipp. "What?! I told you what I saw and Sunny told you what she heard! How is that not enough evidence for you?!" Zipp asks and Pipp is about to answer until Izzy walks up to Zipp with an angry look on her face.
"Because it just isn't! If Misty was someone that dangerous, she would've attacked me the first day we met!" Izzy shouts and Hitch starts thinking about it.
"She also could've attacked me and Sparky then but at the same time... probably not since all of you were nearby. Plus, that silent unicorn targeted Sparky before attacking any of us. Almost like she knew he was special, but why would that be?" He asks and Zipp takes the chance to answer.
"We did tell Misty that Sparky's Dragon fire was special. In doing so, we basically just revealed that he has magic. So I don't think it was a coincidence, obviously." Zipp says and Izzy growls and is about to either hit Zipp or start yelling at her until Sunny speaks up.
"Enough! Look! We'll find out if Misty is with Opaline or not for sure, but not right now! ...We've got enough to deal with." Sunny says before standing up and starting to walk up the stairs to the shared room that she, Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp had. All her friends exchange worried looks between each other when she's gone.
"Are things always going to be like this with you guys?" Nebula asks, reminding everyone of her and Firestar's presence. That also reminds them that Askari, Skylight, and Magma are outside, the aforementioned two fixing the Marestream while Magma kept Solaris and Sky Blazer occupied.
"Let's... hope not. I'm gonna talk to her. Something's wrong with her and I don't think it's just stress." Izzy says, gaining concerned looks from everyone before they all reluctantly agree.
"Just tread carefully Iz. Sunny isn't herself right now, so who knows what she'll do." Zipp says and as much as Izzy wants to ignore her for how she's talking about Misty... she does take her advice about this. She nods and walks up the stairs, leaving everyone else to sort everything out and finding Sunny sitting on her bed... looking at a picture of her father. Sunny doesn't notice until she's standing right next to her. However, instead of jumping or even looking at her, Sunny sighs, puts the picture down and lowers her head, putting it in her hands.
"I'm sorry Izzy..." Sunny says and Izzy frowns, sitting down next to her upset marefriend and putting her arms around her, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so so sorry... for everything." She continues and Izzy just continues to hold her.
"It's ok Sunny... you're dealing with a lot right now. It's ok to be stressed out, we all are." Izzy says, rubbing comforting circles on Sunny's back. This sort of helps to calm Sunny down, but she could tell Sunny easy still upset and frustrated.
"I don't think it's just stress anymore Izzy... my nightmares... the things I see in them... I'm even starting to see them when I'm awake... and it's scaring me because of what it could lead to." Sunny explains, moving closer to Izzy's side, very much in need of comfort and reassurance. "I don't know what to do... about this... about these new enemies... about Misty... about Twilight. It's all just... too much." She continues, leaving out quite a bit but telling Izzy more than enough, at least for the time being.
"Well... that's because you're already trying too hard to focus on everything at one time. Just focus on one thing and take care of the rest after you've dealt with what you choose to deal with first. Then do the same thing until you're done. You're strong Sunny and you've been through so much but... you're just one pony. You don't have to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time... me and all our friends are here for you... so let us carry that weight with you." Izzy says, causing Sunny to look up at her and smile.
"I'll try... thanks Izzy... I can't say this enough but I love you... so SO much." Sunny says, causing Izzy to smile and blush before nuzzling Sunny, giving her a kiss afterwards which she returns.
"I love you too and no matter what, I'll always be here for you. We all will... and I'm hoping we can still be there for Misty if she needs it." Izzy says and Sunny silently agrees before she gets an idea. The Manesquerade Ball was happening in a few days for hearts and hooves day. They could invite Misty and test her innocence there... but for the plan to take full effect, they needed Sparky before then.
"Don't worry Izzy... we'll find out soon enough." Sunny says, more determined to find Sparky and fix everything. "No matter what happens next, we'll keep going. We'll keep moving forward... together." Sunny says, meaning every word of what she says. Things may get worse before they get better, but as long as she has her friends by her side, she just knows that in the end... everything is gonna be ok. |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | Dragon Hunting and Love's Burning Pt. 1 | It had taken two days, but they've finally heard news about Sparky. They were all incredibly anxious as they were heading to his location, especially Hitch... because his location was currently Grandma Figgy's house. The Marestream goes below the clouds when they're approaching her house, but when they see a massive hole in the roof, Zipp quickly lands it and everyone runs out, heading towards the house. Hitch is the first one at the door and he kicks it down, looking around frantically.
"Grandma?! Where are you?! Where's-?" Hitch asks frantically, cutting off when he sees Sparky and Figgy but... Sparky isn't attacking her. She seems a bit frightened but unharmed and he just seems... confused... but calm. "Sparky...?" Hitch finishes by accident, drawing both their attention to him.
"Oh Hitchie! You're here!" Figgy says, sounding relieved until Sparky growls at the sudden new presences in the house and the loudness of Figgy's voice.
"F-Figgy, we're happy to see you too but try to stay calm and stay still. We don't wanna accidentally set Sparky off." Zipp says, gaining a shocked and confused look from Figgy as she slowly looks at Sparky.
"This... This is..." She tries to say until Sparky growls even louder and they all could swear his eyes flashed purple for a second. He slowly stands up and they see that he looks... bigger than he did back at the city of Alicorns. Way bigger.
"Whoa. Hey hey hey, easy buddy... we're trying to help you. Everything's gonna be ok." Hitch says, holding his hands out in a calming manner as he slowly starts to walk towards Sparky. Sparky growls and slightly bends his knees as if he's ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble. Sunny and the others stand ready just in case anything happens. "We're your friends bud. Remember? It's me. Hitch. Your pony-dragon dad. You're Sparky. My little buddy." Hitch tries to remind Sparky of who he is and who they all are.
Sparky looks like he's starting to calm down for a second... until his eyes flash purple again and he roars, charging forward and knocking everyone aside as he makes another hole in the house, running outside and jumping far far away, using his newfound dragon strength. Everyone groans in pain before getting up and Hitch rushes to Figgy to make sure she's ok. "Grandma! Are you ok?!" He asks, looking her over for injuries.
"I'm fine. But you don't have time to worry about me. Get out there and find your son." She says and Hitch hesitates before giving her a hug, which she returns, and nodding.
"Alright. You're right Grandma. We'll get him back." He says before standing up and helping her up. She smiles and puts a hand on his cheek, nodding as well.
"I know you will... now go. He needs you." She says, and that was more than enough motivation for Hitch as he smiles and runs out with the others. Sunny activates her magic and flys after him with Zipp and Pipp close behind. Meanwhile, Hitch and Izzy get the Marestream up and running and Hitch flys it after them.
"Hang on Sparky. We're coming."
Opaline smirks as she watches Sunny and her friends chase after the mutated baby dragon, enjoying the fact that the spell she had prepared was working really well and he was getting stronger and more powerful the longer he was exposed to it. This would be perfect for testing her theory.
"Misty, get ready. You and the others are being sent on another mission." She says, smirking until she realizes that Misty hasn't responded. She looks towards where the young Unicorn is standing in the room and sees Misty staring blankly at the ground. "Misty!" She calls out, her loud tone pulling Misty out of whatever trance she was in as she looks around frantically, confused.
"Huh?! What?! O-Oh... sorry Opaline. I wasn't trying to ignore you, I just... I'm just..." Misty tries to explain, especially as Opaline flys over to her and lands right in front of her. Misty immediately backs up in fear and looks away... but Opaline had already seen it, although just barely.
"Misty. Let me see your eyes." Opaline says and Misty tries to find an excuse as to why she couldn't or shouldn't do that but Opaline wasn't having it. "Let. Me. See. Your. Eyes." Opaline says forcefully, causing Misty to sigh and look at her, allowing her to see them. Opaline is a bit concerned when she sees an uncommon amount of bags under Misty's eyes and a lot of puffiness around them. She's even more concerned when she sees how dark they've gotten and she immediately realizes that that spell was having more of an effect on her than she thought. "Misty, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be truthful with me. Alright?" She asks and Misty looks confused but nods.
"Did I make a mistake putting that spell on you?" She asks, and Misty looks ready to answer... until she pauses and has to think about it.
"I... I honestly don't know Opaline. I wanna say no, but... I don't feel like it works how you wanted or expected it to." Misty says and Opaline frowns and sighs. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Misty, but she knew that there was a very big possibility of that happening... and they've come too far to stop now. She would ask Misty to elaborate on what she meant later and once they were done, they'd figure out a way to help her... probably.
"Well... we will figure everything out. But right now, I need you with me Misty. We're so close now. Soon we will both have what we want and this will all be over. You will have your cutie mark and take your place by my side and I will be the most powerful being in Equestria." Opaline says as she walks closer to Misty and puts a hand on her cheek, almost smiling as Misty nuzzles into it like she used to do as a filly. "That is still what you want... isn't it?" Opaline asks and Misty sighs and nods up at her, causing her to smile just a bit. "Good. You've done good and made it this far. Don't start letting me down now." She says, noticing Misty's eyes flash purple for a second before she starts looking a bit less tired.
"Yes, Opaline."
As Sunny gets flung through Maretime Bay for the third time, she can't help but wonder if there was an easier way to do this without destroying the town or hurting Sparky. She finally stops when she crashes into the theater and she can tell that even if they succeeded, a few buildings were definitely going to be demolished before that happened. She groans in annoyance and pain before getting up and rushing outside to find her friends doing their best to keep Sparky in one spot, giving chase after him whenever he ran. He roars angrily and starts running on all fours towards Canterlogic, which was scheduled for demolition and already had cranes and construction tools and vehicles outside it. Sunny uses a scanning spell and sees the crew is inside.
"Oh crap crap crap crap CRAP! We need to stop him!" Sunny shouts before she makes a magical tendril that wraps around Sparky and she lands, trying to use her Alicorn strength to stop him or at least slow him down. He doesn't like this however, so he jumps, taking her with him, and uses the tendril to pull her to him and slam her into the side of a building. He lands and continues running towards Canterlogic. Izzy uses her ice powers to skate after him and makes an ice path ahead of him and a few ice walls to try and trip him up, which works for a bit until he stops, roars angrily and breathes fire at the ground in a circle around himself. The flames engulf him and when they disappear, he's gone.
Everyone's about to question where he went until a huge green flame appears in the sky, next to one of the cranes. Sparky comes out of it and slams into the side of it, making it tilt a bit. He latches on to it and starts climbing to the top.
"Since when could he teleport?!" Pipp asks and everyone shares her shock and confusion. Zipp and Pipp fly towards him but he swings his tail towards them and Zipp is able to dodge. Pipp, however, isn't so lucky. She gets knocked down into Maretime Bay, crashing through the Main Street and Zipp growls after seeing this. She almost starts blasting Sparky with lightning but... she has to remember that he's still a baby dragon in there.
"Goddamnit. How do we stop him without hurting him?! Any ideas?!" Zipp asks, dodging a blast of fire from Sparky. He roars then looks confused when his hands start freezing to the crane. He easily breaks them free and continues climbing and one big jump lands him on top of Canterlogic with a powerful slam that cracks almost every window in the building. He roars angrily as his body glows a bit and he grows at least three sizes bigger. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Zipp says when she sees this. They were already having trouble with him when he was smaller, now he was three sizes bigger. This was not going to be easy at all if he continued growing. She's about to try and do something until Sunny tackles him into the roof, making both of them slide across it before she kicks him away, almost sending him off it.
"Whoa! Easy Sunny!" Zipp yells, surprised with how rough her friend was being with him. Sunny uses her magic to hold him down then gives Zipp the steeliest glare she can muster.
"He's a dragon, so he can handle it! His scales will protect him!" She shouts, sounding very frustrated and with everything that's been going on, who could blame here.
"Even still, we don't wanna hurt him! That's still Sparky in there!" Zipp says, landing by Sunny.
"Do you think he knows that?! Or that he cares about hurting us or anypony else?!" Sunny shouts, her eyes glowing and Zipp is about to shout back until Sparky roars and blasts fire from his mouth but instead of going straight into the sky, it spreads in a big explosion, knocking both Zipp and Sunny off the roof and knocking Sunny into the crane, making it tilt even more and start to fall towards the street below and all the ponies in it. She quickly recovers and gets back on the roof before using her magic to hold the crane up. She looks behind her and sees Sparky slowly walking towards her through fire and she can't lie, he looks like he got bigger... and spikier, which makes him look very intimidating right about now. "Oh come on..." She says, already struggling to keep up with everything going on.
She senses the damage that his most recent attack has caused to the building and knows that the roof is getting close to collapsing on the rest of the building and the crew inside. She growls in annoyance and starts dragging the crane back to stand it up but Sparky roars and runs towards her so she makes a shield to protect herself. He runs into it then punches it, then claws it, then breathes fire on it, giving it everything he's got and she can feel it starting to weaken. She needs to fix the crane quickly then deal with him. But the crew...
"Zipp, Pipp! I need you two to get in there and-" She tries to say through the comms but she's cut off when she senses something and just barely dodges when a familiar big hammer smashes through her shield, going past her and slamming into Sparky right in his chest, knocking him to the other side of the roof and knocking the air out of him. She looks at where it came from and sees Titania standing on one of the rooftops below before she jumps all the way onto the roof of Canterlogic and grabs her hammer.
"Nice to see you again Princess. I've been waiting for our rematch." She says as she points her hammer at Sunny as a gesture for a challenge. If Sunny wasn't trying to keep a 700,000 pound crane from falling onto Maretime Bay, she probably would've accepted it... but duty calls.
"Well you'll have to wait a little longer. We have a job to do." Stormcutter says as she and Nightshade appear on either side of Sparky, who was struggling to get back up and breathe. "Damn. You really did a number on him." She says, causing Titania to shrug and smirk under the mask covering her mouth.
"Opaline said to bring him back alive. She didn't say unharmed." She says as she rests the hammer on her shoulder in a relaxed stance. She then walks towards Sparky and kicks him back onto his back when she notices him sitting up. She then uses her foot to keep him there. "Time to sleep little one." She says before raising her hammer and preparing to slam it onto his head and knock him out. Before she can, they all get knocked away by lightning and a sonic scream.
"Stay away from him!" Zipp shouts as she and Pipp land by him and get ready to defend him. Before the villains can get up, they're frozen in place by Izzy.
"Too bad your other unicorn friend didn't show up. I'll bet that fire sword of hers could've helped you guys a lot." Izzy says as she glares down at them but still has a triumphant smirk on her face. They hear Stormcutter chuckling and instantly know that's not a good sign.
"Who says she didn't?" She asks before fully laying her head down as the other two do the same. This confuses the group of friends until Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp are all knocked off the roof by flame magic and then held up by dark magic with a painful squeeze on all of them. They all grown in pain as the magic brings them all face to face with Ragnar, who's also holding Sparky. They all try using their powers to escape, only to find that they can't. Sunny tries using her powers to free them but she's sent flying into the crane by flame magic from Misty's whip sword. She groans in pain and looks at the spots the flames hit and sees burns in those areas, not just on her armor and the suit underneath, but also her fur and skin.
"That's not good..." She says, suddenly remembering that the magic in that blade was the type of magic that could kill her... alicorn magic. She just barely dodges another wave of magic, allowing it to hit the crane instead which causes a small explosion and also starts melting what's left of it in the area it hit. Sunny then sends a wave of her own magic towards the villains, knocking them back quite a bit before Ragnar launches Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp at her and she catches them all. Before she can turn back to him though, she feels another wave of flame magic hit her in the back this time, making her yell in pain and go tumbling forward.
"Sunny!" Izzy yells in concern as Sunny tumbles to the edge of the roof, being forced to keep her grip as her magic fades back into her body for a second.
"Oh come on! You're an Alicorn! You should be better than this." Titania says, her disappointment clear. Sunny just glares at her but she seems unbothered by it. "And with that... I think you all have lives to save." She says before her hammer glows brightly and she throws it at the crane as hard as she can, knocking it forward and making it fall way faster towards Maretime Bay.
And if they think that's bad, it's about to get way worse. Stormcutter flys up as high as she can as lightning starts radiating off her body wildly. Before anyone can stop her, she flys down as fast as she can, slamming down through the roof and every floor after before flying out of the building and sliding into Main Street. Sunny starts panicking before she uses her magic to grab onto the crane and try to pull it back... but she senses that the crew is still in the building and half of them are injured, but all of them are alive... for now. Now she's stuck with either saving Maretime Bay or at least the ponies still in Main Street... or saving the crew.
"No... I... I can do both!" She grunts, ignoring the pain from her wounds and pulling the crane even closer, trying to fully call out her alicorn magic. She sees the villains starting to escape with Sparky and she suddenly latches on to him with magic, trying to pull him back. "I won't... let you... take him!" She yells, fighting against the magical pull but also using it to help keep the crane from falling onto Maretime Bay.
Meanwhile, Hitch, who was helping to get ponies off of Main Street, sees this going on and sees Sparky being pulled back in forth between Sunny and the villains. He has hope that his friend can get him back... until Stormcutter cuts off the magic that Sunny was using to hold up the crane... and so many ponies were still on Main Street... and Sparky was being taken, yet he couldn't defend him OR the residents of Maretime Bay...? No! He would protect them! All of them! He rushes forward before he can even register his next thoughts. It was as if his body was moving on its own now.
His feet suddenly start glowing green and so do a few vines that appear on the ground underneath him. He suddenly slides forward to where he sees the crane about to land and he's suddenly launched into the air as his whole body glows green. The battle between the villains, Sunny, and the others stops when they see a huge blinding green light flash from in the town, followed by a loud, ferocious roar. They all turn to see a giant green Ursa Major catch the crane and slowly put it down. They all look amazed and when it looks at them then growls at the villains, they realize where it came from.
"Hitch?!" They all ask, even more surprised when the giant Ursa nods at them. Hitch suddenly swings at the villains and knocks them all away from Sparky, allowing Sunny to pull him towards them.
"Got him! Hitch, take him. Zipp, Pipp, Izzy, distract the villains. I'll get the crew." Sunny says before she starts walking towards the edge of the building and puts Sparky in Hitch's new giant Ursa Paw.
"Sunny, it's too dangerous! Let Zipp and Pipp save the crew, they're way faster." Izzy says, giving Sunny a worried look. Sunny gives her a reassuring look.
"Izzy, don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll be in and out before the building collapses." Sunny says before she runs and jumps off the building as her wings and horn form once again, allowing her to dive down and fly through the window where the closest members of the crew were. Meanwhile, everyone else splits up to do their part. Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp go to distract the recovering villains and Hitch gets everyone away from Canterlogic while taking an unconscious Sparky to safety. Mid-fight, Izzy and Zipp notice that someone's missing and they see that it's Misty, still not knowing for sure that it's her under the mask.
"That little-!" Zipp tries to say, only to be cut off when they hear a roar from Hitch, then from Sparky. Before they can check it out though, Ragnar knocks Zipp into a lightning blast from Stormcutter, blasts Pipp into Izzy, then forms a ball of fire and throws it at Canterlogic, causing an explosion and setting half of the building on fire instantly. A huge wave of flame magic sets the other half on fire before Misty uses her whip sword to swing to the rest of the villains and make a wall of flame between them and the others.
"Plan A's a no-go. Time for plan B. We'll be back for them later." She says and the others reluctantly agree even though they could beat them right here and now... but their backup was on the way and they didn't want the struggle right now. They didn't know what plan B was, but they assumed they would find out soon enough. Misty quickly cuts open a portal and they all go through and it closes right as the wall of flame disappears.
Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp all get up, frustrated but also concerned. They notice Sunny hasn't come out of the building and grow even more concerned. Izzy is about to try using her magic to put out the fire until Sunny bursts out of the building with the entire crew and lands on Main Street with them. She tumbles forward but keeps them shielded until she stops. She takes a moment to recover then looks at the building then at the crew.
"Is everyone alright? Was that everyone?" She asks and when they nod, she sighs in relief and slowly stands up straight with a little help from them. She smiles until the building finally collapses and she shields them with her magic from any debris or dust. Once it's over, she drops the shield and after they thank her, she sends them on their way. As soon as she turns around, Izzy tackles her in a hug, knocking her over.
"Oh thank hoofness! I thought I lost you Sunny... again!" Izzy says tearfully, causing Sunny to hug her back and try to comfort her and calm her down.
"Shhh it's ok... I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." She says while rubbing comforting circles on Izzy's back. Izzy soon calms down and helps her up. They see everypony coming back, some clapping and cheering for them for saving them and the crew and some distraught and upset about the destruction and damage caused by the chase and the fight. They see a familiar, well-known yellow pony with a pink mane that holds a lot of influence in Maretime Bay. After seeing the glare on her face before she walks away, they could tell that she was just gonna make things way worse for them...
"Great... last thing we needed was to be on Posey's bad side." Zipp says as she and Pipp land by Sunny and Izzy.
"You mean even MORE on her bad side... but right now, we should check on Hitch and Sparky then... help clean up some of this mess." Sunny says and they all agree before going in the direction Hitch went with Sparky. Hopefully by the time they got there, he would be small and calm again, but who knows. It didn't matter anyway, because Plan B... was going to prove more than enough for the villains.
"So you're telling me... that you came back empty handed... when you could've grabbed the dragon?!" Opaline shouts, stomping hard enough to make the entire castle shake. She was definitely not taking the news well... but luckily, Misty's plan was about to save their hides.
"Not exactly. It may not be a dragon... but," Misty starts before taking out a container, similar to the one containing Midnight's magic but smaller. Opaline notices that it has something green inside which could only be one thing. "It is dragon fire." Misty continues as she holds it towards Opaline, giving it to her. Opaline nearly smiles, but first... it's time to truly test her theory. She opens the container and the fire slowly creeps out before flowing into her body and she closes her eyes as it starts to take the effect that she had been hoping for.
She opens her eyes and there's literal fire behind them. Opaline crushes the container and slowly melts it before she slowly floats into the air, chuckling. The others back up in fear, but Misty stands her ground, smiling up at her mother figure and Queen, glad to see her happy.
"My my my, Misty. You have truly outdone yourself this time... but we're not done yet. This isn't nearly as strong as I need to be. That... is why I need that dragon. His fire is special and possibly the only type of dragon fire that can restore my power. So next time I give you all the task of grabbing him... don't come back without him. Do I make myself clear?" Opaline demands, glaring at them all as fire starts coming off her wings and the temperature in the room raises drastically. They all nod and she lowers herself as the fire stops. "Good. But for now, I would like to speak with Misty. Alone." She says and the others step out while Misty stands in front of Opaline nervously.
"You have done incredibly well Misty. Now, I just need you to keep it up. We're so close. Soon there will be no more unity or equality. Only ponies with power and ponies without it." Opaline says as she starts circling Misty, making her feel even more nervous. "But for that, I'm going to need you to get back out there and see what you can learn from those ponies. I know what happened in the city of Alicorns, and I know they suspect you. So gain their trust while also gaining information. At least for one day, then report back to me. Can you do that?" She asks and Misty nods, making her smile.
"Good. But for now, get some rest. With the spell fading and giving you back control, you look awful." Opaline says and Misty frowns a bit and nods again before walking out of the throne room, leaving Opaline to enjoy feeling a mere fraction of her power returned to her again.
"And so it begins. My upbringing... and their downfall." |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | Dragon Hunting and Love's Burning Pt. 2 | It had been a while since Sparky turned back into his normal self and the villains hadn't really attacked again, which was good... but it was unsettling to everyone. It helped that Askari and the others had come back to Maretime Bay to help keep watch and prepare for whatever the villains would do next, but this was an enemy that they didn't know quite enough about, which was frustrating to say the least. They could handle it though... probably. Which brought up another issue.
Over the last few days, they had been talking to Misty and she had not given any indications to whether she was innocent or not. That frustrated everyone, especially Zipp, which had ultimately led to more altercations between her and Izzy and eventually Sunny... again. All the negativity had started to get so intense that Sunny had felt the same sensation she felt all those years ago when magic had started to glitch and everyone noticed, so they had agreed to stick to the plan of using the Manesquerade Ball to find out if she was on their side without any complaints... but if it went wrong then not only would they owe Misty a huge apology, something else could happen that would put everyone even more on Posey and half the world's bad side than they already were.
A little over half now due to Posey's recent news interview which allowed her to voice her displeasure with all the action and drama that took place the day they found Sparky.
That had caused quite a big crowd in Maretime Bay to start turning against Sunny and if they didn't figure something out soon... they just needed to figure it out. They asked Haven ahead of time and she was fine with their plan, but only as long as it didn't turn into a brawl when they did find out and if it did, they had to take it outside so no one would get hurt. They could do that. Speaking of which, they were all currently getting ready to go to the Manesquerade Ball. They were putting on their outfits that they wore for the party in Askari's hometown, if only just a bit updated to fit the occasion.
Izzy had made masks for each of them and one for Misty. They were beautiful and so were the outfits. When Solaris and Sky Blazer asked to go, Izzy made masks and outfits for them as well. Solaris had a purple and gold dress with silver accessories and white star markings in some places and Sky Blazer had a blue, pink, and black dress with a few multicolored flames on the hem of her dress and multicolored lightning on the dark blue arm tights she wore. Both their manes were tied into ponytails with a bit of glitter thrown in them, compliments of Izzy Moonbow.
Everyone was amazed at their new looks. "O. M. G. You two look totes AMAZING!" Pipp squeals when she sees the two and they both smile sheepishly, not yet used to the new styles that Izzy provided them with.
"Thank you..." They both mumble before they all hear the doorbell ringing and they all get ready, knowing who it was since they had invited her a while ago.
"Everyone ready?" Sunny asks and after everyone nods, she walks to the door and opens it, seeing Misty nervously smiling on the other side. She does her best to smile back, despite her suspicions. "Hey Misty. Glad you could make it." Sunny says as she steps aside, allowing Misty to walk into the Brighthouse.
"Well... I didn't wanna be rude and decline an invitation. Besides, I've been told that I need to get out more. Y'know... expand my social skills, meet new ponies and other creatures, make friends, that sort of stuff." Misty says as she looks at everyone, amazed by their outfits. "Oh wow. You all look awesome. Makes me feel... a bit underdressed." Misty says as she gestures to her own outfit which consisted of jeans, a purple shirt, a light blue hoodie, and blue and black shoes with green highlights.
"Well... just in case you didn't have anything pretty to wear to the ball, Izzy and I made you a dress and a mask." Pipp said, earning a really frantic nod from Izzy. Before Misty can protest, they drag her upstairs and when they come back down, Misty now has a blue and purple dress with black and purple arm tights. They all notice that the torso part resembled what they assumed to be butterfly wings but they had a beautiful pattern that also consisted of light blue, dark blue, and purple. "See? It suits you." Pipp says and Misty looks at herself before looking at the pegasus.
"How'd you know I liked butterflies?" Misty asks and Pipp shrugs, giving her a sweet smile.
"You just seem like the type. There's something about you that just screams "I'm a butterfly lover." So... that kinda inspired us to make this for you." Pipp says and Misty smiles back before she realizes she's staring too long and she looks away, blushing.
"U-Ummm thanks Pipp. I... You really know how to read ponies, huh?" Misty asks and Pipp smirks and gives a confident flick of her hair.
"It's one of my many talents." Pipp says before winking at Misty and Misty blushes more before shaking her head and chuckling nervously. "Anyway, come on. We're gonna be late for the ball." Pipp says and they all regroup with the others who all love and compliment Misty's new dress, even Zipp who has to admit that Izzy and her sister really outdid themselves. When they leave and get in the Marestream, Izzy gives Misty her mask which was also butterfly themed. Misty smiles at it before putting it away as the Marestream takes off to Zephyr Heights.
Meanwhile, Zipp takes the chance to search Misty for anything she hasn't noticed about the unicorn yet. She didn't look as tired as she did last time, she could see... a few faint scars on her arms and a on her back, peaking just a bit from underneath her dress, she could see just how toned Misty's muscles were, which raised a few questions, and she could see... bruises on Misty's knuckles. What did Misty do to get scars and bruises? And how could a pony with a personality like that... be as muscular or almost as muscular as a pony with a personality like her own.
Maybe Zipp is reading too much into it, maybe she's not. Regardless, something isn't right. "So... Misty... If you don't mind me asking, how did you get those scars? Or those bruises?" Zipp asks and she ignores the looks she gets from Izzy, Pipp, and Sunny as she notices Misty tenses up and start to shy away from her. Usually Zipp would feel like she crossed a line and apologize, but this could be a dangerous criminal capable of killing alicorns, which happened to include one of her friends. How could she refuse? Besides, it got her an answer.
"When I was little, both my parents were killed in front of me... by a bear. I would've been next until somepony came and saved me... but not before the bear got a few good swings in..." Misty says, feeling her eyes start to burn as a few tears start to form in them. "It-uhhh... it inspired me to get better... so that wouldn't ever happen again. So I started exercising, training myself to be way stronger than I was back then. And with everything that's happened over the years with you guys and Midnight and now all this... I wanted to push myself. Which sometimes included... punching stuff until my knuckles bled. Which they hardly do anymore." Misty says, gaining shocked and sorrowful looks from everyone.
"Oh my god, that sounds awful... I'm so sorry Misty. No one should have to witness something like that... but we all know what it's like." Sunny says and everyone looks down and frowns as they agree. Misty smiles a bit as for the first time in forever... she truly feels like she's not alone... like she's around real family.... Ponies that really love and care about her. Sure, Opaline had saved her and taken care of her... but when she changed, she treated her differently. Like she was more of a tool than a pony... and after Opaline got some of her power back... it just increased. Every day that Misty and the others went without bringing her Sparky just served to increase Opaline's rage and want for power.
But these ponies... they actually treated her like one of them, like she belonged... which just made knowing that they would all most likely suffer terrible fates after all this... just hurt that much more. For a moment, Misty is tempted to tell them the truth about everything... but before she can, they all see Zipp look ahead in her seat and turn off the autopilot before grabbing the controls again.
"Hold on to your flanks everypony." She says as she makes the Marestream accelerate even faster until they breach the clouds and see Zephyr Heights for the first time in a while. Misty pretends to be amazed since she's already been there once when she and Titania... well... you know. "We're here." Zipp continues before going to the landing pad at the end of the pathway leading up to the castle. Everyone puts on their masks and Misty does the same... both physically and mentally... preparing for what's to come.
Minutes later, Castle Throne Room
So far, everything was going well. The party was going good, ponies and other creatures were socializing, Sparky was being kept under watch at all times and so was Misty. Surprisingly but unsurprisingly, she hadn't made one move towards Sparky. If anything, it send as though she might be afraid of him. Maybe she heard about his rampage in Maretime Bay and other places? Maybe she was afraid of him going out of control again and actually witnessing it? Or maybe... it was just an act to make them drop their guard so she could steal him for Opaline. These were Zipp's thoughts and feelings and she had a nagging feeling that she was going to be right about the last one.
She had watched Misty closely, especially when she was around Pipp or anyone who had Sparky. She noticed that Misty's eyes would linger a bit on Sparky then focus their gaze somewhere else. When Izzy had brought him close though, Misty shied away from him a bit, keeping her distance... but he wasn't growling at her like Hitch said he had done the first time they saw Misty... which was strange. She also noticed that Misty mainly kept to herself unless she was with her or one of the others. Seems Misty doesn't like crowds. Hm... guess that's one thing they have in common.
She sees Pipp walk up to her and sees them talking about something and it looks like Pipp is pleading for Misty to try dancing. Just as she's about to walk over, she hears a familiar voice, one that she had hoped to avoid getting called by for the rest of the day.
"Zephyrina? There you are!" She hears her mother say, cringing at the volume and preparing herself before she turns around, coming face to face with her mother and... Alphabittle? What was he doing here... and why were their arms locked?
"Hey mom..." Zipp says in a monotone voice, tossing Pipp and Misty one last glance before walking forward. She had to end this conversation quick then get back to keeping an eye on the possible traitor in the room.
Meanwhile, Pipp was trying to wrap her head around the fact that Misty had never learned how to sing or dance. Not once in her life. It was... sad to hear... then again, with Misty's past, she isn't that surprised.
"Well then... I'll teach you. Come on!" Pipp urges as she drags Misty to the dance floor, despite her protests. Once they get to the center, they stop and Pipp turns to face Misty, telling her the basics before releasing her hand and starting to move to the rhythm of the music. Misty looks confused and very nervous but tries to mimic Pipp's movements... looking ridiculous and almost tripping over herself while doing so. Pipp laughs and moves a bit closer to Misty with a smile on her face, looking her straight in the eyes. "Maybe you'll do better with a partner." Pipp says before grabbing both her hands and starting to move again.
Misty blushes but tries her best to sync up with Pipp, it takes a bit but eventually they sync up, matching each other's movements. Pipp chuckles, causing Misty to smile as she realizes she's actually doing pretty well.
"Look at you! You learn pretty fast." Pipp says and Misty blushes more and starts stuttering as she tries to thank her for the compliment until they bump into somebody and Pipp instantly turns to apologize. "Oh my gosh! We're so sorry about that! We weren't paying attention, and... Vi?" Pipp asks, recognizing her marefriend who also turns and recognizes her.
"Pipp? What are you doing here? And who is she?" Vi asks, pointing at Misty who shrinks back a bit and silently gulps nervously.
"Wait wait, I can explain. Misty is a new friend of mine and the others and we got an invite from my mom. She told us it was ok for us to bring one other pony and Misty has never been to an event like this so... we just wanted to show her how much fun stuff like this is." Pipp explains frantically as Violet crosses her arms, her gaze switching between her and Misty.
"Ok, but why are you dancing with her? And why didn't you tell me about her?" Violet asks, feeling a little bit jealous and just a little threatened by Misty.
"I-I'm sorry Vi. I just never found the time to tell you, and I was teaching her how to dance, she never learned how to dance or sing so... I wanted to help her." Pipp asks, more than a bit nervous because of the look Vi was giving her. She knew that look even though she rarely saw it... Violet was angry and irritated. "Vi please... I'm telling the truth. Misty's just a friend. That's it."
"Uh-huh... sure." She says before looking at Misty and walking forward a bit. Misty takes one step back, just in case. "Since Pipp probably hasn't told you about me, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Violet Sparkles, but all my friends call me Vi or Sparks." Vi says, directing a look at Pipp while emphasizing that one word, dropping a subtle hint/threat to what would probably happen after the ball, causing Pipp to frown and look down in shame. She holds her hand out for Misty to shake and Misty hesitantly does so.
"Uhhh... nice to meet you. I'm Misty." She says, earning a raised eyebrow from Vi, which confuses her until she realizes... Vi is waiting on a last name. "Oh, umm Misty Brightdawn." Misty says and Vi nods before letting go of her hand but before she walks off, Misty feels the need to try and fix things. "Listen, I'm really sorry about this. Pipp really was just trying to help me learn how to have fun. And as a matter of fact... she did talk about you. Quite a bit actually." Misty says, causing Vi to look shocked. Even though that was kind of a lie, she did know some important stuff about how Pipp feels about Vi. Now she just had to keep it up.
"She did?" Vi asks, earning a nod from Misty.
"Yeah. She mentioned how beautiful you were, how you make her feel, how your voice could always bring her joy and peace when she was down... how she wanted to spend the rest of her life with you." Misty says and with every word, Vi looks more and more regretful as she looks at Pipp and back at her. "So you don't have to worry about me or be threatened by me. She'd never do that and I could never replace you, nor would I. As far as I see it... Pipp's lucky to have you." Misty says and Vi puts her hand over her mouth as tears start falling down her cheeks and she looks down before looking at Pipp.
"I'm... I'm so sorry Pipp. I'm so sorry I doubted you. I just... I... lately I've felt like I haven't been doing enough, so when I saw you with her, I just... my insecurities... my doubts... they won for a minute." Vi explains and Pipp starts crying as well before she hugs her and rubs soothing, comforting circles into her back.
"Come on now Vi... you're more than enough. You do everything you can and that. Is more. Than enough. Ok? Don't ever forget that... sometimes I worry about the same thing but you always reassure me. Now it's my turn... I'm always here for you, ok? I love you." Pipp says and Vi hugs her back, nuzzling her cheek against hers lovingly.
"I love you too... and I always will." Vi says tearfully and Misty sadly smiles at the scene, starting to tear up herself. She slowly backs away to give the two some space, happy for them... until she feels like she's being watched and she looks around... but sees no one watching her.
"Misty." She hears Opaline's voice in her head, making her jump and look around before she starts to try and act casual. "I've sent Nightshade to your location since you are clearly having... issues... with your mission. I'll guide you to where you need to meet her. Come up with a plan fast... or I will. Oh, and Misty? I'm just warning you now. My plan will involve a lot of blood being spilt until the dragon is retrieved. So... do try to hurry. The clock is ticking. And if you fail me or if I have to come up with the plan myself... some of that blood might end up belonging... to YOU." Opaline says with a subtle hint of venom in her voice throughout the sentence. Misty feels a chill go down her spine as she knows that whenever Opaline says in that tone of voice that she'll do something... she means it.
She subtly nods and walks off, following the directions that she's given through Opaline's Alicorn empathy. Once she gets to the bathroom, she can feel that Opaline has stopped watching her... for now... so she lets out a heavy sigh until she hears laughing in her head and looks at the mirror as she recognizes the cold sound of the voice in her head that sounds almost exactly like her own.
"Pathetic. Weak. Soft. When are you gonna get it? These aren't your friends! You don't have any, and you don't need any! The only thing holding you back is you and your pity for these disgusting little nobodies!" The voice says and Misty finds herself getting frustrated and angry real quick.
"Shut up..." Misty says through gritted teeth as she slams her hands on the sink, clinching them onto it.
"Awww, did I hurt the widdle baby's feewings? Try growing a backbone and doing something about it! Make your choice already! You can let me take over and finally be strong... or you can continue to be a weak, whiny little bitch who will keep crying over her lack of a cutie mark forever." The voice says venomously as Misty's eyes flash purple in her reflection and it's at that point where she's had enough.
"I said SHUT UP!!!" Misty screams before she suddenly turns towards the wall next to the mirror and delivers her hardest punch, majorly cracking the wall and badly damaging it. Misty just stays in that position, breathing heavily until she realizes what she just did and quickly looks around to make sure no one heard her. She sighs in relief until she hears a sound, causing her to jump and look up as Nightshade starts to come out of the vent in the ceiling. She drops out of it and lands in a crouched position before slowly looking at Misty and standing up straight.
"Oh... uhhh... h-hey Nightshade. Um... h-how much did you hear?" Misty asks, knowing damn well she got caught... but she can't help but sigh when Nightshade uses sign language to tell her answer.
"Enough." Nightshade signs and Misty sighs and holds her head, pacing back and forth. "It's that spell Opaline put on you, isn't it? You can't let it get to you, we have a job to do and we can't afford to slip now because of something so trivial as this. Stop letting your weakness get the better of you. You are stronger than you know. Opaline raised you and trained you since you were a foal right?" Nightshade asks and Misty frowns and nods. "Then start acting like it." Nightshade signs aggressively and Misty nods and sighs as she can feel Opaline watching again.
"Ok, you're right. I need to start acting like I actually want my cutie mark... wait... acting. That's it! Do you know any shapeshift or illusion spells?" Misty asks and Nightshade nods, causing her to smirk. "Well you can use one to turn into me and crash the party, asking for Sparky. Just don't... don't kill anyone... not unless you need to." Misty says hesitantly. She didn't want anyone else to die, but she knows that it's better this way than Opaline's plan. "This way my cover won't get blown and we get Sparky and Opaline can get her power back and hopefully no one has to die." Misty says and Nightshade thinks about it then signs to Misty.
"Don't get your hopes up. But for your sake, I hope you're right." She says before starting to walk back under the vent. She takes a second before looking at Misty and gesturing to the wall she punched then signing. "Your swing is getting better. Good strength and power." She says, causing Misty to look down and chuckle, looking at the wall then at her with a thankful smile.
"Thanks." She says, still having the smile on her face. Nightshade nods then starts signing again.
"Maybe the spell is the motivation you need to be at your best... use the anger it gives you to your advantage... and you'll come out on top." Nightshade signs and Misty nods before Nightshade jumps back into the vent, closing it behind her. Misty sighs then looks down, shaking her head.
"I'll try." She says before composing herself and exiting the bathroom.
"Hey." Zipp says from beside her, causing her to jump and look at the princess beside her, who has her arms crossed while glaring at her. "Who were you talking to?" Zipp asks, moving to open the bathroom door but Misty moves in front of her, blocking her off from going inside.
"Myself! Nopony else! I... I..." Misty frantically tries to lie before sighing and pretending to be sad. "I had a small panic attack... after I met your sister's girlfriend. I needed some time to myself. That and I don't really like crowds... I just... I... I don't fit in anywhere and what happened back there just proved that." Misty says, gesturing back towards the throne room while slumping her shoulders and slowly forcing tears to well up in her eyes. Zipp notices this and gets confused.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Back up, what happened? You said you met Vi, but it doesn't sound like that was a good thing." Zipp asks and Misty explains what happened, letting the tears fall which causes Zipp to actually feel... sorry for her. "Oh... I see. Well at least you fixed things in the end. That's what matters most. You were there for my sister when she needed it most... you really do care... and... I should've realized that sooner. I'm sorry Misty." Zipp says as she starts to wipe her tears away, feeling extra guilty as she does.
"All this time... I thought you were one of the villains without even really getting to know you. Then you told us about your past and now this... this proves that I was wrong to judge you. I guess that... after I saw Rag... that monster almost kill my little sister... I was determined to keep her safe at all costs... and I thought that meant keeping her safe- keeping everyone safe... from YOU... Part of me knew I could be wrong... but the rest of me was still so blinded by my hatred of him that the thought of you being just like him and toying with us... scared me. I judged you so unfairly... and I'm so sorry for that Misty... I'm so... so sorry." Zipp rambles, sounding on the verge of crying herself. Without thinking, Misty pulls her into a hug, one which she quickly returns.
"It's... It's ok Zipp." Misty says, now sad but also very nervous because of how close Zipp was to discovering the truth. "You were just protecting your family and your friends... something I wish I could've done. So trust me when I say... I understand." Misty says before pulling back and holding Zipp's hands, smiling at her, causing her to nod back and slightly smile. "Friends?" Misty offers and Zipp chuckles and slowly nods.
"Friends." She says and Misty smiles more before they both start laughing a bit, happy for the understanding. They suddenly hear frantic footsteps heading their way and look to see Pipp heading towards them. "Sis? What's-?" Zipp starts to ask before Pipp stops in front of her, grabs her by her arms and starts aggressively shaking her back and forth with a surprising amount of strength.
"You have got to come quick! You will never believe who's here! Come on, hurry! Both of you!" Pipp says before flying back towards the throne room before either of them can stop her. They look at each other before rushing after the pegasus, both anxious to see who could've showed up to get such a reaction from Pipp... but Misty has a feeling that she knows exactly who...
And she has a feeling that things were about to get very dark soon... and she would have to make a very... very hard choice.
To be continued... |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | Dragon Hunting and Love's Burning Pt. 3 | When they finally got back to the dance floor, they weren't prepared for what they saw, not even Misty. Ponies were gathered around a group of ponies that Misty didn't recognize, but based on the gasp that came out of Zipp's mouth, she'd say that she did. She sees Sunny and Hitch excited as well and wonders why. She taps on Zipp's arm, getting the Pegasus' attention,
"Sorry, but I'm confused. Who are those ponies?" She asks and Zipp looks shocked then seems to think about something before deciding to explain.
"Sorry, I keep forgetting that you didn't grow up the same way as us. But the group of Pegasi is my all-time favorite band: Electric Blue. The Pegasus that's colored like a ruby is Ruby Jubilee, Pipp's favorite singer. The three female Earth Ponies are Sunny and Hitch's favorite singer group: The Dreamlands. But I had no idea mom invited them too! Oh my god, I almost wanna walk right up to her and thank her. Almost." Zipp says humorously as she nudges Misty, causing both of them to laugh before joining their friends just in time for Queen Haven to introduce the special guests. Each one earns applause and gives their own special greeting.
"We wanna thank you all for coming and we'd like to thank Queen Haven for presenting us and honoring us with this glorious opportunity." Ruby Jubilee says, causing all the other singers to agree and everyone to applaud Queen Haven, who nods her head in acknowledgement with a smile on her face.
"We also want to give our thanks to Sunny Starscout and her friends for looking out for Equestria all these years." Minty, the lead singer of the Dreamlands says, causing the crowd's attention to suddenly be on Sunny and the others. For a second, they all get nervous, thinking that they think the worst of them now... but then almost everyone claps and they sigh in relief.
"We know things haven't been easy for you these past couple of days, but that's ok. We know you'll pull through." Snuzzle, the second singer for the Dreamlands, says before the last singer, Blue Belle, speaks up.
"You always do, and this will be no different." She says and everyone agrees, bringing smiles to the Mane 5's faces.
"Thank you so much everyone... We promise that we'll do our best to defend Equestria from whatever threats dare to get in its way." Sunny says, putting one hand over her heart to emphasize her promise. "Hoof to Heart." She says and all her friends do the same thing.
"Hoof to heart!" They all say and everyone claps in response. Haven and Alphabittle smile at this before Haven walks forward and spreads her wings while addressing the crowd.
"And with that, let the festivities begin!" She says before Jazz and Rocky, who Vi had brought with her, change up the music to something that all the singers requested... and it was one of Pipp and Violet's most popular songs. Once it starts playing, all the singers add their own lyrics to it as everyone dances. The Mane 5 all start dancing along with Solaris and Sky Blazer. Misty smiles and decides to sit out since she doesn't have a partner this time. For a second, it just seems... so easy for her to forget what she's supposed to be doing... to forget all the violence and bloodshed that's transpired and is going to transpire... but she doesn't allow herself that for too long.
She sighs and checks to see if anyone's watching her then pulls out her alicorn mirror and when she opens it, she immediately sees Opaline on the other side. She frowns and gives the others one more look then looks back at the irritated looking alicorn.
"Tell Nightshade that I'm ready to begin the plan." She requests and Opaline nods before Misty closes the mirror and just waits. She soon sees Nightshade through the skylight, looking down at her. Misty gives her a nod, causing her to nod in return before jumping up and delivering a powerful blast downwards, causing the skylight to explode, the shockwave making all the windows shatter. Nightshade drops in, disguised as Misty in her armor and mask and almost immediately, guards are attacking her but she's too fast and skilled for them, injuring all of them and taking one hostage and using Misty's blade to bind them.
She looks at Misty and her horn glows, causing Misty's throat to do the same before her own throat does it too and so do her eyes. This confuses Misty... until she hears Nightshade speak using Misty's voice or at least how it sounds when she's wearing her mask while under the influence of the spell.
"I doubt I have to explain why I'm here." She says and Misty is shocked and amazed. Nightshade can't just copy appearances, she can also copy voices? That's amazing... or at least it would be if Nightshade wasn't using it for bad.
"Let me guess. You want Sparky? Not happening." Sunny says, glaring at her... meanwhile her Alicorn empathy was trying to tell her something, but she didn't know what.
"No? That's fine, I'll just shred this guard to pieces and broil him alive while I do!" She shouts as the blades on the whip start to glow and she looks like she's about to pull it and literally chop up the guard while cooking him alive. She gives Misty a glare as a subtle signal to hurry up and do something so she can avoid killing someone, for Misty's sake.
"Wait wait wait!" Misty shouts, drawing the attention of everyone in the room to her. "Hitch, give Sparky to me..." She says and Hitch hesitates and Zipp is about to protest and question what she's doing until she speaks up. "Please... trust me." Misty pleads and Hitch looks between her and Sparky before slowly giving him to her. She gently takes him and he looks confused as she slowly walks into the middle of the room with him. "You want him?" She asks, getting a nod from Nightshade.
"You've gotta catch me first!" She says before bolting straight for the doors, causing Nightshade to try and blast her but Izzy freezes her hand then jumps towards her and kicks her back, making her let go of the whip. Pipp and Zipp quickly untie the guard but just as they do, Nightshade uses magic to pull the whip to her then turn it into its blade form and block an ice blast from Izzy.
"You're not getting Misty or Sparky!" Izzy shouts angrily, her eyes glowing a bright blueish-white. The others notice that she now has a glowing blue snowflake marking on her shoulder, another on her head where her horn was, and one more on her chest, right where her heart is. They look amazed, as they've never seen this happen to her before. Nightshade eventually maneuvers around the blast before they can box her in and sends a wave of fire towards them all, putting the crowd in danger in the process.
Luckily, Sunny makes a shield and blocks it off from everyone and everything, but that gives Nightshade an opening to swing the blade around herself, making a wall of flame that blocks her from anyone's view. Sunny growls in anger and jumps through the shield, lunging through the flames and slamming her fist down hard, only to hit the ground instead of her since... she's gone. Damnit... well, at least she didn't really hurt anyone... too badly. And at least the shockwave from her punch extinguished the flames.
"Is everyone ok?" Sunny asks as she drops the shield, earning nods from everyone. "Good... wait, Misty!" Sunny shouts as she realizes that Misty was all alone... and she had Sparky! They had to find her fast! They all run out after swift apologies to Queen Haven and everyone else and they begin the search for Misty... they just hoped this pony wouldn't hurt her too much and that she could keep her distracted and hang on to Sparky until they got there.
"Please be ok... both of you." Sunny says as she continues running and looking around for them with the others. "We're coming..."
Misty continues running as far as she can from the party which leads her outside the castle and down into the rest of Zephyr Heights. She takes a moment to rest against a building but as soon as she does, she hears something and looks down an alleyway to see glowing purple eyes staring back. Nightshade slowly walks out of the alleyway and signs to Misty that they bought it.
"Ok, good. Now I'm gonna give you Sparky, but before I do, there's something you need to do first." Misty says and when Nightshade tilts her head in confusion, she sighs before looking her dead in the eyes. "You have to make it look like you were forced to take him from me... which means you have to hurt me... badly." Misty says and Nightshade seems hesitant but also impressed that Misty was committed enough to the mission to willingly get beaten, possibly within an inch of her life.
"How badly?" Nightshade asks and Misty thinks about it before looking down at Sparky, who didn't seem aggressive or angry, just confused and scared. She then looks at the castle then looks at Nightshade.
"Badly enough to make it believable that I tried to defend him... and you almost killed me because of it. Meaning cuts, burns, bruises, maybe one stab wound." Misty says hesitantly, looking down at her blade in Nightshade's hands, causing her to look down at it too then back at her. "Don't worry, I can take it." She says and Nightshade just stands there for a bit before stabbing Misty in the shoulder with the blade, making her scream in pain. Nightshade then yanks it out and punches her in the face, knocking her down to her own right side.
Misty drops Sparky in the process and Nightshade uses magic to make sure he stays there until she's done. She then proceeds to beat Misty senseless, not liking any part of it, but knowing it's what has to be done. Meanwhile, Sparky was actually trying to break out to help Misty. He didn't know this was a trick and how could he? He was a baby dragon... but seeing someone that his pony friends also see as a friend get hurt by a bully like this armored unicorn... made him mad. He starts glowing green and growing in size but Nightshade sees this before she can deliver another blow to a half-conscious Misty.
She silently sighs in annoyance before using her magic to modify the barrier trapping Sparky, and before long... he starts falling asleep due to the sleeping spell she added. She keeps it up until he's unconscious then turns her attention back to Misty. Misty slightly sits up and looks at herself then up at Nightshade.
"Good... but still not enough." Misty says and Nightshade goes wide-eyed and starts signing frantically.
"Are you serious?! Anymore and I could kill you!" She says but Misty just gives her a small smile.
"I'm stronger than you know..." She says, quoting what Nightshade had told her in the bathroom at the castle, causing her to go even more wide-eyed... before slowly nodding and signing once again.
"Yes... indeed you are." She says before taking the blade back out and calling on the flame magic within it. "I'm sorry for this Misty. I underestimated you. And I think Opaline has too." She signs and Misty chuckles a bit.
"It's ok... and feel free to tell Opaline that." She says before they both hear someone calling out for Misty and recognize it to be Pipp. They must be close. "Oh no... whatever you're gonna do, do it fast." Misty urges and Nightshade frowns a bit, seeing Pipp notice them and start flying down as fast as she can. She charges the blade with more magic and gets ready to unleash it.
Pipp tries to hurry, but halfway there, she starts feeling dizzy and out of breath... and she can feel her heart beating very fast. She holds her chest as it starts to become painful. She looks ahead and sees the blade being swung between Nightshade and Misty, unleashing a wave of magic that causes an explosion.
"Misty!!!" Pipp screams before landing and falling over, coughing a bit and trying to catch her breath. What's wrong with her...? Because of whatever this was, she wasn't fast enough to save Misty... She looks to where they were and sees that Nightshade is gone... along with Sparky. She frowns and looks down, starting to hate herself and whatever the hell was doing this to her. The sad part is... this isn't the first time it's happened... ever since Zipp zapped her back to life, she hasn't been as physically active and agile as she used to be. Her stamina wasn't the same and whenever she started to push herself, she could feel her heartbeat speeding up drastically... almost to the point where she thinks it'll explode.
She was also more sloppy in combat now. Her movements and footwork were off, her hits didn't pack as much power, her aim was a bit off, and her weapons felt a bit heavier to her now, making it difficult for her to stay perfect or quickly recover when fighting. She punches the ground, letting out a sad scream... until she hears something and looks towards where the sound came from, seeing a trembling lump on the ground. She goes wide-eyed when she realizes... it's Misty.
"Misty!" She shouts as she crawls forward and grabs onto the limp body of the mare, gently and slowly laying her down on her lap. Misty has a lot of pretty bad injuries... but she's alive. "J-Just stay with me Misty. Help will be here soon." Pipp says and just as she says that, Zipp lands right by her out of nowhere and crouches down next to her.
"Oh my god... is she still-" Zipp starts to ask before just deciding to check Misty's pulse. Sunny and the others soon get there and see the state their friend was in. They also see that Sparky's gone...
They all frown, feeling shame, guilt, and anger alike. Zipp, while looking for any clues that might lead them to where Sparky was taken, discovers something... strange... but they could discuss it later. Right now, they needed to get Misty to a hospital... and fast.
Zephyr Heights Hospital
It had been a few hours since Misty was "attacked" and no one had any idea where Sparky had been taken. Misty should be happy but... she had seen the look Sparky had on his face while trying to get out. He was scared but... he was trying to help Misty more than himself... and her fri-... Those ponies... had been worried about her and carefully but quickly rushed her to this hospital. It... it didn't feel right... Misty didn't deserve this kind of care. She deserved absolute hell for the things she's done... so why... why couldn't she tell them the truth? It was the right thing to do... but she was too much of a coward.
Misty wanted to make things right... but it was too late for that now... the plan was nearly complete. She slowly opens her eyes and the first thing she feels is pain. She hears voices but... they're faint, however she recognizes them as those ponies. She squints her eyes to see what's going on, while staying as still as possible to avoid drawing attention to herself.
"I'm telling you, something doesn't add up. We've seen alicorns die from the magic in that blade, but somehow Misty survived it? No, she wouldn't have survived it unless whoever that was wanted her to survive it." Zipp says, sounding very frustrated and Misty absolutely hates that Zipp is so close to the truth! It's very nerve wracking and this mission is stressful enough!
"I think that was a diversion. I don't know how, but what I do know is that when we got there, there was a huge burn mark on the ground from the explosion. Misty should've been killed by it, but she wasn't. Pipp said Misty was right in front of that unicorn, more than close enough for a point blank shot. But instead of hitting Misty, she hit the ground." Zipp says and Misty almost gasps and widens her eyes, realizing where she went wrong and it's at that point where she wishes that she had magic at the time to make a shield and make things seem a bit less suspicious.
"Ok, but maybe she thought that would be enough to kill her Zipp, or maybe she wanted to keep her alive as a message and a warning to us. Either way, you saw how serious her injuries were, yet you think this was a trick, why?" Sunny asks and Hitch and Izzy agree, and Misty notices that Pipp isn't with them. Weird. But she could ask when she was ready.
"Yeah, why are you so hellbent on making Misty look like our enemy when she's not?" Izzy asks, sounding annoyed and looking just as much.
"Because there's so much that doesn't add up! I don't wanna believe she's our enemy, but I have to make sure... for all our sakes..." Zipp says forcefully before frowning and storming out (No pun intended). A few seconds after she leaves, Misty slowly opens her eyes more and groans in pain.
"Ow... did anyone get the license plate of the truck that hit me?" Misty asks jokingly, causing the three remaining ponies to laugh a bit... and it actually feels good to see and make them smile. "Hey guys... where's Zipp and Pipp?" She asks and they all look at each other then back at Misty before answering.
"Zipp's taking some time to... cool off and Pipp is getting a checkup for something that happened to her earlier." Hitch explains and Misty nods in understanding before sighing. She notices that Hitch looks so worried and sad... and she actually feels so bad for him.
"I'm so sorry guys... I'm sorry Hitch... I... I couldn't protect Sparky from her. I'm... I'm pathetic... this is all my fault..." Misty says, actually feeling bad for letting Nightshade take Sparky but still having to lie. She covers her eyes with her arm that didn't have IV fluids being put in it, pretending to try and avoid crying... although she did feel like she was on the verge of it right about now. She feels a gentle hand on her shoulder and sees Sunny and Izzy smiling down at her on one side and Hitch on the other.
"We're sure you did your best Misty. We'll get him back together and stop these guys, but until then, you should stay with us." Sunny says, and Misty looks shocked and like she's about to protest, but Sunny wasn't having it. "Misty, you're a target now. If they find out you survived, they might try something against you. We need to keep you safe. We already failed once, we're not taking that chance again." Sunny says firmly and Misty sighs and nods, giving her a faint smile, causing her to smile back.
"Then it's decided, once you're all healed up and able to be checked out, we'll come get you and you'll stay in the Crystal Brighthouse with us." Hitch says and everyone agrees. Izzy squeals and hugs Misty, making her groan in pain as she feels a few of her bones creak and ache. Hearing this, Izzy leans back with a sheepish smile and apologizes before giving Misty a... more tame hug. Wouldn't wanna snap her friend in two, now would she?
Three Days Later
Misty was finally out of the hospital and happy for it too. The food was terrible and she actually lost a bit of muscle while in there... no problem. She could easily get that back. Most of her injuries were all healed up, however she was advised to take it easy because of the stab wound on her shoulder and the few cuts, bruises and burns she still had. She would be sore for about two more days but aside from that, she shouldn't expect any other issues. She's walking to the Brighthouse with two bags that she had been provided by Ragnar. One had regular clothes inside... and the other had her armor, mask, and blade inside.
Honestly... Misty was starting to really really hate even having that stuff with her. It just served as a painful reminder of who she really was... and the terrible things she's done... the terrible things she's going to do. What Misty wasn't expecting was for some of the ponies and other creatures from Twilight Sparkle's time to be in Maretime Bay, along with some of her friends and allies. Meanwhile, the Mane 5 were all talking to the princesses, Discord, Artemis, Thunderbird, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie.
"So you're saying you might know a few potential locations where this... Opaline could be located?" Sunny asks, gaining a nod from Celestia.
"Mhm, and thanks to the blade provided by your friend, Zipp Storm, that was at the crime scene in Canterlogic, it'll make it so much easier to locate her." She says and Sunny nods and sighs in relief.
"Thank hoofness... this nightmare might finally be over soon." Sunny says tiredly, wiping her hand over her face and sighing. "By the way, how's Twilight?" She asks and they all manage to smile, making her once again feel relief.
"She pulled through. She's almost fully healed but she'll need a bit more time to fully recover... but she's been asking about you ever since she woke up Sunny. She's worried about you and frankly... so are we." Sunset says and Sunny frowns and looks down.
"She shouldn't worry about me... she's got enough to deal with. I'll only drag her down... seems like that's what I've been doing a lot lately..." Sunny says, crossing her arms. Everyone frowns and looks at each other then back at her before Starlight and Artemis step forward.
"Sunny... being a leader, especially to a whole community isn't ever going to be an easy job. Everyone will always be looking to you for an answer or a solution. You may not always make decisions that they'll be happy with, but as long as it gets the job done, you should be pleased with yourself." Artemis says before Thunderbird steps forward.
"Every decision you've made has been to protect those around you, to protect the entire world, even before you became an alicorn. Being an alicorn didn't change you or make you into a hero. It just... made it easier to be one... to be like your idols." Thunderbird says as he puts a hand on Sunny's shoulder, making her look up at the two.
"Just like another great pony we all know. And I think we can all agree that she would be proud of you... and so would your parents Sunny." Starlight says, causing everyone else to agree and Sunny slowly starts to tear up before using her magic to pull everyone into a huge group hug, thanking them tearfully. Meanwhile Misty smiles at the scene from outside... before remembering that Zipp is so close to helping them ruin everything... She slowly and quietly closes the door then walks around the Brighthouse and takes out her alicorn mirror. Once Opaline answers, she explains what's happening and Opaline... looks very very angry and intimidating afterwards.
"That Zipp pony is smart, too smart for her own good... Misty, there's been a change of plans. I need something powerful enough to harness the baby dragon's dragonfire. ALL of it at one time. But it's taking longer than expected... if they find us before then, the plan is ruined. So... I'm sending Stormcutter and Nightshade to steal that blade back after everyone leaves... but your mission... is to kill Zipp Storm before she finds our location or figures out the truth about you. And that goes for any witnesses... anyone sees you, kill them as well." Opaline says... and Misty's blood runs cold. She goes wide-eyed at the command and feels the spell trying to take over and force her to comply, but she shakes her head, not wanting to go through with it.
"Opaline... I-I can't. T-There has to be another way. I can't just kill Zipp or anyone who sees me." Misty says and Opaline raises a threatening eyebrow, her voice turning very impatient and venomous.
"And why ever not? You have the spell, so you don't have to do anything, you just have to let it work." Opaline says forcefully but Misty shakes her head.
"But you don't know the effect it has on me every time it forces me to kill or hurt someone. I can't... I can't do it anymore. Opaline, please don't make me." Misty pleads, desperately hoping that Opaline wouldn't force her to kill her friend... or anyone else. Opaline closes her eyes and is silent for a bit before she opens them and they're both glowing.
"You picked a bad time to regrow a conscience my dear Misty... When you told me more about how that spell was effecting you, I made a few... modifications without you being aware... both to the spell... and the mirror." Opaline says before the purple crystal next to the alicorn shape on the mirror starts glowing and it unleashes a stream of magic into her head and she grunts in pain and holds her head, dropping the mirror as she feels the spell getting stronger... As it does, she finds it getting harder and harder to resist and stay awake.
"No... Opaline... this is wrong!" Misty just barely manages to get out as she tries crawling towards the mirror to destroy it and stop whatever it's doing to her... but she runs out of strength and slowly starts to black out. "I thought... you... cared about me..." Misty barely says before her head lowers onto the ground and her eyes close. Opaline frowns and looks down, closing her eyes, breathing in and out, then opening them. She looks through the mirror again and sees Misty slowly getting up and when Misty looks at her, her eyes are glowing purple.
"Now Misty... you know your mission... don't fail me." Opaline says before closing the mirror from her side and sighing afterwards. "I wish you didn't force me to do that... damnit, why did you make me do it Misty?" Opaline asks herself before holding her head, getting a headache as memories of her and a younger Misty come to the forefront of her mind... but she forces them to the back of it. She couldn't get sentimental after all this time, she had a goal... and she'd be damned if one unicorn without a cutie mark was going to get in the way of that.
Meanwhile, Misty grabs the mirror then grabs her blade out of the bag containing her armor and hides it before putting the bag in a nearby bush. She then walks to the front of the Brighthouse, stops the glow in her eyes, then knocks. When she's allowed in, she pretends to be happy, accepting hugs, meeting the older ponies and Discord, and she places her normal bag upstairs as Izzy and Pipp help her get settled.
Meanwhile, the Alicorn empathy in all the present Alicorns had been going off the whole time and they don't know why. Unbeknownst to them, Misty currently has one mission and one mission only, one that wouldn't be easy...
She was going to kill Zipp Storm... and anyone who got in her way. |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | The Reveal | Night Time, The Crystal Brighthouse
For some reason, Zipp couldn't sleep. She just had something in her head nagging at her, she didn't know what but... she did know she had to do something about it. She gets up, puts on a grey sweatshirt and shorts and her running shoes then flys out of the Brighthouse through one of the windows. She soars high up into the sky, flying through and around the clouds for a bit before diving for the ocean by Maretime Bay. She closes her wings to increase the speed of her fall, waiting till she gets very close to the water to open them again and glide just a few inches above it. She continues to glide for a bit before flipping forward, closing her wings and using her momentum and powers to literally sprint along the water.
She smiles a bit before flying back up into the sky at top speed and reaching above the clouds in little to no time at all. After just hovering in midair for a bit, she starts letting herself free fall back down towards the ocean. It actually feels good to finally have time to fly just for the fun of it again. Everything's been so stressful lately and it all seems to be getting worse. It didn't help that Pipp, due to clinically dying for a few seconds then being shocked back to life with lightning magic, was weakened and was having complications.
Her super form helped make things easier for her but if she didn't go through training and exercises and other things that were supposed to help her get back to peak physical condition, the complications could get worse and worse until she can't use her powers, fight, or even sing at all. So Pipp was currently away, training with Artemis, Thunderbird, and the Wings of Equestria. Sure, they had assured everyone that Pipp was in good hands but... she was still worried... and she missed her sister already.
She's broken out of her thoughts when she remembers that she's currently free falling and getting really close to the ocean. She quickly turns over and opens her wings, managing to just barely avoid landing in the water but she has to pull up to also avoid slamming into the beach or the railing on the edge of Maretime Bay. She bumps her foot and loses her balance a bit, starting to unintentionally fly towards the Brighthouse. She suddenly closes her wings and flips forward again to try and direct herself and right as she gets close to the ground, she opens her wings and glides a few inches above it before landing and sliding all the way to a bush next to the Brighthouse.
"That... could've been way worse." She says before leaning forward and sighing in relief. She just barely sees something in the bush and reaches in... pulling out a bag. She may be crazy but... this looks very similar to the bag that Misty came in with. She looks around before standing up and bringing it into the Brighthouse. She looks at the couch where Misty is soundly sleeping before walking into the basement and placing the bag on a table. "Hm..." She hums, looking towards the bag Misty brought and seeing they really are the exact same. "Misty, you just became that much more interesting." She says before unzipping the bag she found... and finding the armor and mask of the pony that Misty was supposedly "attacked" by.
"I... I knew it... Oh, you're so done Misty. Wait till the others find out." She says before she moves to get out of the basement... only to find out the door is locked. She's about to break it down until she hears something and looks to see... that the bag is gone. The lights in the basement start flickering... and then turn off and Zipp tries to turn them back on but nothing happens. "Shit..." Zipp says as she readies her powers and looks around.
It was now suspiciously quiet. Zipp frantically checks her surroundings, making a small ball made of lightning to create some light. She hears noises left and right and this reminds her of her fight with Ragnar when they fought in Maretime Bay. He was using the same strategy that Misty's using now... but she wasn't falling for it this time. As soon as she hears a noise, she sends the ball of lightning in the direction of it and it doesn't hit anything, but it does explode, electrocuting anything or anyone near it, and thankfully, that included Misty.
She tumbles over a box and Zipp takes the chance to charge at her but Misty unexpectedly gives her a kick to the stomach before using her other foot to kick her in the face and knock her away. Misty then gets up and lunges at Zipp, preparing to stab her until Zipp kicks up, making Misty fall to the side, giving her the chance to get above her and start punching her in the face relentlessly then shock her with her powers.
Misty grunts in pain before stabbing Zipp in the leg with her blade, making her yell in pain before Misty punches her off. Misty then gets up and readies the magic inside the blade, glaring at Zipp.
"You just couldn't... mind your own business, could you Zipp?!" Misty asks angrily, a bit out of breath since Zipp caught her off guard a few times. "Well now you're gonna pay for it! And the worst part? You're dragging everypony else down with you." Misty says and that... that angers Zipp. She's about to charge at her until Misty sends a wave of fire down onto the floor, making a wall of fire between them. Zipp stops then glares at Misty for a bit.
"I knew I was right about you... if only I had trusted my instincts! If only everyone else had, we'd have stopped you from the very beginning! So many ponies would still be alive!" Zipp shouts angrily as she paces back and forth, never taking her eyes off Misty.
"Hmmm I'm not so sure. This was always gonna happen one way or another. You would wind up dead first, then your little friends and your sister. Then your mother. And it'd just be a much better repeat of what Midnight and Ragnar did to break you guys in the past... only we'd break the rest of Equestria. Piece. By. Piece." Misty says and Zipp grits her teeth. "You know? Ragnar was right... you should definitely work on being a good sister. The rest of Equestria could really benefit from it." Misty says before chuckling and Zipp just grows angrier and angrier until she feels the same rage she feels towards Ragnar and for a second, with help of the fire, Zipp doesn't see Misty... she sees Ragnar.
She screams in anger as lightning suddenly starts coming off of her wildly and she charges through the fire, making a sonic boom instantly and tackling Misty into the wall behind her. The tackle stuns Misty long enough for Zipp to get a few good hits in and even break her mask, knocking her to the side.
"This is your last betrayal Misty!" Zipp shouts angrily, planning to do to Misty what she should've done to Ragnar so many times when she had the chance. Misty notices that Zipp doesn't even really sound like herself anymore. This wasn't the same pony she was just fighting... Zipp's changed.
Well... two could play that game. Her eyes glow more and she kicks Zipp's feet from under her and sends her blade into its whip form, making it slide under where she was gonna land before jumping over Zipp, using the magic in the whip to make it wrap around her before slamming her back and forth between walls wildly, all in one smooth move. She then brings Zipp towards her and kicks her away into one of the shelves, breaking it and making it fall on her when she falls forward. She notices the fire she started had been put out by the sonic boom that Zipp made... no problem.
Misty smirks when it looks like Zipp isn't gonna get up in time, then proceeds to make her way to the door. She puts her blade next to the knob and makes it heat up just enough to melt it so it stays locked. Just in time too as she hears footsteps. Misty walks back to where Zipp is and glares down at her.
"Don't think I forgot about your friends. I may not get to kill them yet, but at least you'll be dead long before they realize what's happened." Misty says as her blade and eyes glow. Zipp tries even harder to get up but Misty stomps on her hand to reduce her movement a bit. "Don't struggle, it'll just make this more painful." Misty says, slowly raising her blade. Zipp notices that... Misty looks like she's struggling. Her arm is shaking and her face is showing signs of... hesitation. Maybe this was her chance.
"Misty... don't do this. You're not truly a bad pony, are you? If you have any little part of your conscience left, you have to see that this isn't right!" Zipp says and Misty's eyes widen... then narrow and she brings the blade down, prompting Zipp to close her eyes and flinch... but when she doesn't feel anything, she opens them and what she sees confuses and surprises her.
Misty is using her other hand to hold the one with the blade in it back, keeping it just inches away from her face, close enough that she can feel the heat. Zipp takes the chance to move her body so fast that she's building momentum without Misty noticing.
"I don't... want... this!" Misty shouts, struggling mentally and physically. "I never wanted... any of this!" She shouts again, struggling even more until her eyes glow more and she yells as she steps away from Zipp then makes another wall of fire. "But... it's too late to turn back now." She says as she hears the others trying to get in. She uses the same teleportation spell as always to start cutting open a portal but she screams in pain and holds her head as the mental struggle continues.
Suddenly, the door is knocked off its hinges by Sunny and her, Izzy, Solaris, and Sky Blazer all run in, looking around frantically. They notice Misty holding her head and Zipp on the ground, pinned beneath a damaged shelf.
"Zipp!" Sunny yells, but Zipp holds a hand towards her and the others and shakes her head.
"Stay back and shield yourselves!" Zipp shouts and Sunny nods and shields herself and the others just as Zipp's eyes and wings glow. Just as Misty recovers, Zipp unleashes all the energy she built up in a powerful burst of lightning from her own body. The blast knocks Misty back into the wall behind her, also causing her to accidentally cut open a portal since her blade was still in the process of making one.
Misty struggles to recover but once she does just enough, she rushes towards the portal but Zipp is right on her. Zipp yells and tackles her just as she jumps for the portal and they both end up going through it. Luckily, it only takes them to the top of the Brighthouse. They smash through the windows of the room where the Unity Crystals just happened to be and tumble to the other side, now both dawning cuts on their bodies. They could handle the pain though.
Zipp looks towards her right leg and sees the stab wound Misty left already halfway healed. Seems like Opaline's magic didn't have the same devastating lasting effects as Midnight's did. Good. Zipp gets up and glares towards Misty, who's also returning the glare with one of her own.
"You might as well give up. There's nowhere to run." Zipp says and Misty growls and looks like she's about to charge forward... until she pauses and seems to look confused.
Meanwhile, Opaline was talking in Misty's head.
"Change of plans Misty. Since they all know who you are and you can't take them all on yourself, your new mission is to report back to me and fetch something for me. Next time, we're all going to Maretime Bay and putting an end to those ponies and everything they hold dear." Opaline says and Misty hesitates but then nods. Before she can give a verbal answer, Zipp tackles her and she uses their momentum to kick Zipp through another window and into the railing on the outside.
She gets ready to send a wave of fire at her and just as she does, Sunny appears and blocks it, charging through the fire, knocking her blade out of her hands then grabbing Misty's arm with one hand and grabbing her head with the other. However, as soon as Sunny does this, she's suddenly in the woods. She looks around and sees that it's storming hard and... she hears crying. She looks around more until she sees a little blue unicorn filly on the ground, curled in on herself, but not just any filly...
"Misty...?" Sunny asks as she steps closer. She notices the filly flinch at the sound of her voice before looking at her, showing her tear-stained face.
"S-Sunny...?" The filly asks, confused and obviously scared. Sunny slowly lowers herself to be at eye level with her and Misty suddenly jumps at her... only to pull her into a hug as she cries more than she already had been. "I'm so sorry... please... please get me out of here... I can't take it anymore..." Misty cries and Sunny frowns and hesitantly hugs her back.
"Misty... I don't understand what's going on. WAS it you who did all those horrible things? Have you been... in here the whole time?" Sunny asks and Misty shakes her head.
"Whenever I have to do something bad... I'm usually not the one in control. I let Opaline put a spell on me so I would be ready... but I think something went wrong. It would always taunt me or torment me and whenever I gave up control... it would bring me here, to Maretime Bay... or to Opaline's castle." Misty says, shivering at the memories of whatever this spell showed her. "Usually I could decide when I wanted control back, but earlier... Opaline did something to me and now the spell is in charge... I was able to fight back and give Zipp enough time to recover, but not fully." Misty explains and Sunny tries to think of a way to save Misty. This had to be similar to when she saved Solaris from Midnight. So if that was the case, then there also had to be...
"Sunny, look out!" Misty shouts but before Sunny can react, Misty's whip is wrapped around her and she's pulled away and slammed through a tree. She groans in pain and looks towards her attacker... only to see Misty but she had her armor and mask on and she had a dark aura coming off of her. Suddenly the location changes from a forest to what she assumed to be Opaline's castle.
"You're not welcome! If I see you again, I'll kill you!" 'Dark Misty' yells before pulling Sunny forward.
"Let her go!" Misty yells before she tackles her dark self and starts punching her and pulling her hair until she pulls her off and throws her into a wall hard enough to crack it.
"Misty!" Sunny yells, worried but also angry. She breaks free, grabs the whip and spins around with it, pulling Dark Misty along with it before letting it go and sending her into a wall. She lands on it with her feet though and seems to charge magic into her legs before jumping at her, causing a huge shockwave when she does. Sunny fires a blast towards her but she manages to maneuver her body around it in midair before kicking her in the face, sending her sliding back. Sunny recovers fast enough to duck under a wave of fire before she grabs the whip again when it's swung at her.
Sunny then charges her own magic into the whip, allowing it to combat Opaline's own magic. It continues for a bit until the whip glows more and more... then finally explodes.
"Sunny!!!" She hears Misty yell as she's blinded and sent flying. When she opens her eyes, she's back in the Brighthouse, set down on the couch as the sun shines through the windows and straight in her eyes. She winces and covers them and slowly sits up. She feels somepony tackle her into a hug as soon as she uncovers them and recognizes it as Izzy.
"Oh thank hoofness! Are you ok Sunny?!" Izzy asks frantically, looking her over for injuries... or at least ones that hadn't been patched up after Misty's escape from the Brighthouse. Sunny nods then looks towards the other couch and sees Zipp laying there with her own wounds either bandaged up or fully healed.
Sunny tries sitting up again but winces when she feels a sudden sharp pain in her stomach, back, and a few other areas. She lifts her t-shirt up a bit and sees bandages wrapped around her midsection and sees a few on her arms. She's about to question what happened until Izzy answers as if she was reading her mind.
"Misty... She got away but not before she left a few good hits on you and Zipp. She mainly burned you and I tried using my ice powers to cool you down and lessen the burns while Solaris and Sky Blazer patched you up." Izzy explains sadly and Sunny could tell she had been crying after everything, especially finding out the truth about Misty.
Sunny frowns and gently pulls her into a hug, allowing her to hug her back and shed a few more tears.
"It's ok Izzy... it's ok. We'll get her back. We'll fix this... all of it." Sunny promises and she feels Izzy nod into her neck. They pull apart when they hear something and they see Solaris and Sky Blazer coming back with food and water for all of them. Zipp wakes up after a few seconds and after talking for a bit, they eat and decide that once they're done, they need to meet up with Hitch and Pipp so they can all come up with a plan and discuss what they found out.
They were gonna get Misty and Sparky back... no matter the cost.
Opaline's Castle
As Misty walked the halls of the castle, she couldn't help but notice that... she was back in control but she could feel the spell lingering and struggling to take over again. Thanks to Sunny, that wouldn't happen for quite a bit... at least not until she found a way to free herself from all this... she hopes.
She stops right in front of the door to Opaline's study chamber and walks inside, seeing everyone gathered there and also seeing Sparky inside a magical bubble, unconscious... his scales lacking the same brightness and colorfulness they had before. Just by looking at him, she could tell Opaline had managed to drain quite a bit out of him already... poor little guy... he didn't deserve this. Opaline notices her walk in and she frowns a bit before she gets straight to explaining.
"As you all know, due to me being a fire Alicorn, I can absorb fire from living beings, but also control it, no matter what or where it's from. However... before we can begin our attack on Equestria, I need something that will make this process a lot easier... and I know just the thing." Opaline says before using her magic to create an illusion of a stone with ancient markings and symbols carved into it. A second illusion is created after a few seconds, showing a staff with a red crystal in the top of it. "The dragon stone and the dragon lord staff. With these, I'll easily be able to absorb the fire from every dragon all at once and make them all fight for me. With dragons on our side, we will be unstoppable." Opaline says before chuckling evilly.
"So prepare yourselves. Later... you're all going to the dragon lands." Opaline says before dismissing them to allow them to come up with a plan and walking out. While the others are forming a strategy, Misty looks at Sparky and feels so much regret and guilt. None of this was right... she knew that... and now she was finally gonna do something about it.
"I'll get you out of here Sparky... somehow... but if I'm gonna help you... I can't do it on my own." Misty thinks, knowing exactly what she had to do. She silently makes a promise to herself and to Sparky.... The same promise that her friends had all kept in the past...
That she'd do her part... hoof to heart. |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | Path to Redemption | Flashback
As a very young Misty sat on Opaline's lap and they looked through the magical mirror illusion, Misty couldn't help but glance down at the dark pool below it and look at her own thigh, frowning at the lack of a cutie mark. Opaline notices the filly's scowl and immediately knows why. Opaline covers her thigh, causing the filly to look up at her, confused.
"Don't worry, my dear Misty. You will get there eventually. That is one reason why we are beginning your training. To prepare you." Opaline says and Misty nods up at her, a bit of her excitement returning... but then disappearing as fast as it had appeared.
"But... what if I don't get it... what if I never become special? Will... will you... still love me?" Misty asks and Opaline frowns and gently moves a stray strand of hair out of Misty's face.
"Of course... you don't need a cutie mark to be special Misty, you just need to be strong. So even if you don't get your cutie mark, which you will, just know that you will always be special... to me." Opaline says softly, smiling down at Misty, who smiles back and turns to give Opaline a hug, which she returns.
"Thank you Opaline... I won't let you down... You really promise not to leave me if I don't get my cutie mark?" Misty asks, causing Opaline to not say anything for a bit before pulling back to look at the little filly.
"As long as you promise not to abandon me if something goes wrong or if you actually do get it." Opaline says and Misty grows a determined look instantly.
"Never." Misty says and Opaline smiles before pulling Misty into another hug as her smile turns into a smirk.
"Then you have nothing to worry about, my dear Misty... because as I told you... we're going to do great things together." Opaline says before letting her gaze shift to the mirror which is currently showing the funeral for Sunny Starscout's father. It appeared he got a little too close to the truth and stumbled upon one of Midnight's clones. Such a shame. She looks at the little orange filly crying at his casket... watching as her look of sadness slowly turns to one of determination. With that, Opaline just knows that this little filly is going to change the world... and so would Misty. Opaline would make sure of it. "We... are going to save the world from weakness, so that in the end... the strong will rule."
And that was one of Misty's last good memories of Opaline... It was so long ago and yet... it feels like it was only yesterday. Misty had her doubts over the years but... what Opaline did to her and tried to force her to do at the Brighthouse... it opened Misty's eyes for the most part.
Misty was very nervous. She couldn't recall the last time she had been so nervous. She's been nervous a lot lately due to the many missions she had been on, but this was different. She had to make a huge decision that would either change her life from here on out or bring it to a swift end. It wasn't really the decision so much as the plan for whatever she chooses and the backup plan in case the first one fails. Either way, she needed to be careful.
They were getting ready to go to the dragon lands, but the reason for the wait was because Ragnar was currently making vehicles for Misty, Nightshade, and Titania using multiple different types of magic. Misty was getting a hover bike, Nightshade was getting an armored supercar, and Titania was getting a tank-like vehicle. He was also making a bunch of ships for Opaline, all of them having her cutie mark on them, along with what Misty assumed was Midnight's cutie mark. Strange... even though he was working with Opaline, part of him was still loyal to Midnight.
That went for the other three as well. Opaline could try and make them forget about their allegiance to Midnight, but that wouldn't happen. In her own way, Midnight had saved all of them and given them a new start... which wasn't exactly fresh but was definitely better than what they all originally had, which was saying a lot. Misty felt bad for them in a way... but they chose their path... now Misty was going to choose hers... the right one. But first... she had to know one thing.
She walks to where Opaline is and sees her down in the dungeon where a few of the vehicles Ragnar made now reside. Opaline is looking at some armor and Misty has to admit... it looks beautiful. It was purple and black with highlights of blue. The armor on the shoulders, forearms, hips, thighs, and legs was all black. Glowing blue and purple markings covered the chest area, forming the shape of Opaline's cutie mark.
Opaline then looks at the black and purple double-sided sword next to it and picks it up. She holds it sideways and can't help but smile as the memories of the countless battles she's fought with this beautiful, deadly weapon reach the surface of her mind. She closes her eyes, breathes in and out, opens them... then gives the blade a good swing. She chuckles a bit at how it feels to swing her weapon again and have her power back, for the most part anyway. She continues swinging and Misty waits, just watching with amazement at Opaline's skill and agility.
Soon, Opaline starts getting more aggressive until the blade catches on fire and she throws it, causing it to go spinning around the room in midair before going right back to Opaline. She easily catches it and as soon as she does, the flames extinguish and she sighs in satisfaction before turning to put the sword back where it was. Misty can't help but clap, startling Opaline and making her hold a hand towards her, ready to unleash a powerful stream of fire until she sees Misty.
"Gods above Misty, you know better than to sneak up on me like that! What do you want?" Opaline asks impatiently, prompting Misty to remember why she came. She slowly walks closer to Opaline, contemplating her next words and actions... before she looks her straight in the eyes.
"I just... I need to know something." Misty says, prompting Opaline to cross her arms as she waits impatiently but curiously. "I... when all of this is over and you're at your full power... are you really going to give me a cutie mark...? Despite me hesitating at the Brighthouse?" Misty asks and Opaline sighs before shaking her head.
"This again? To be honest Misty, after your latest performance, I don't think you deserve your cutie mark after that. You almost cost us the mission with your weakness." Opaline says and Misty goes wide-eyed with shock, fear, and sadness.
"No! Opaline, please! I swear I won't show weakness again, just let me re-earn it! I'll do anything!" Misty pleads and Opaline frowns while glaring down at her, noticing how Misty was acting. She wasn't supposed to still be showing weakness. She clears her throat before looking Opaline right in the eyes. "I know I almost messed up, but I can do better. I'll train harder, fight smarter, anything but... just don't take this away from me, it's all I've ever wanted Opaline, so just... please." Misty begs and Opaline was quickly losing patience. If Misty didn't stop acting so pathetic, Opaline didn't know what she would do. She doesn't say anything and Misty looks like she's on the verge of tears.
"Opaline! Come on, I did everything you asked! You know how loyal I am! You made me betray everyone! You've made me hurt and kill ponies! I've earned this!" Misty starts shouting and that's when Opaline has had enough.
"WELL THEN YOU'RE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE!" Opaline shouts, using the old royal canterlot voice which causes Misty to flinch and step back a bit. Misty is about to press on until Opaline continues... and there was no stopping the truth now. "Cutie marks aren't given, Misty! They're earned! I CAN'T give you a cutie mark Misty! There, I said it!" Opaline admits angrily and Misty goes wide-eyed at the realization that she's been doing all this... for nothing. She betrayed her friends for nothing. She hurt and killed so many ponies... for. Nothing.
"You... You've been lying to me... my whole life?" Misty asks while looking down with wide, sad and shocked eyes. "Not just about this... but about everything?" Misty asks and Opaline stays silent for a bit before sighing and speaking up.
"Not everything. I-" Opaline tries to say but Misty cuts her off in the coldest tone of voice Opaline's ever heard from Misty.
"But mostly everything. About me being special, or being strong... did you ever really believe in me? Did you ever see me as a pony and not as a tool?" Misty asks, spitting out that last word with so much venom that it shocked Opaline. Misty then looks up at Opaline, and the sight before her made the alicorn's heart ache a bit as she stared into the tear-filled eyes that belonged to the very mare that she trained and raised as a daughter. "Did you ever even really love me?!" Misty asks angrily and Opaline can't say anything for a bit... but she knows she has to. She wants to say yes, because it's true that she had grown fond of Misty as a daughter but... she couldn't show weakness. She breathes in and out then looks at Misty with the coldest glare she can muster.
"No..." She says, and the heartbreaking sob that Misty lets out almost makes her immediately take it back... but she doesn't. She just frowns and watches Misty clench her own chest while crying, as if her heart had physically taken a blow.
"You were just... using me! All along! This whole time!" Misty shouts with sadness and anger overwhelming her voice. The more she thinks about it... the more memories that come to the forefront of her mind... and they just serve to increase her rage. She walks closer to Opaline as she continues speaking. "Well... you don't get to use me anymore... not me, not Sparky, and not those dragons you plan on controlling!" Misty yells and Opaline goes wide-eyed before swinging at her and Misty ducks under it then jumps up and knees her before kicking off her chest, propelling herself backwards and sending Opaline stumbling back a bit.
This gives Misty the chance to take out her blade and charge all of her rage and pain into it before swinging it, which causes an explosion that's five times stronger than any previous ones. This explosion destroys most of the vehicles in the room which adds to the devastating damage it causes to the castle but Misty manages to take one, which just happens to be her hover bike, and start heading to where Sparky was being kept. Luckily, she doesn't run into the other villains, but she still has to hurry. She drives through the doors and quickly rushes to grab Sparky.
The bubble he's in keeps her from touching him and she starts panicking until she looks at her blade and starts using it to cut him out of it. Once he's out, she quickly grabs a bag, puts him in it, and gets on her bike. She hears a roar and knows it's Ragnar. Opaline must've used alicorn empathy to tell them what happened. Therefore, she had to leave quickly. She weighs her options then decides to drive out of the window in the room.
"Hang on tight Sparky!" Misty warns him before starting up the bike and instantly going through the window with it. She keeps going but then realizes the bike isn't hovering, it's falling... maybe she should've waited and learned how to actually use it before confronting Opaline. "Crap crap crap! No! What do I do?!" She asks herself before Sparky pokes his head out of her bag and sees a glowing blue button and he reaches out to push it. Misty is too panicked to notice or care so she gets ready to jump off the bike and use the whip to swing instead, until she hears something and looks to see that Sparky pressed the button and the bike has started to transform. Soon the wheels turn sideways and start glowing and a few lights on the bike appear too.
Misty is amazed until she notices the ground just a few feet away and closing in fast so she screams and pulls back on the handle, making the bike right itself and start hovering above the ground. Misty looks amazed at this too and laughs before looking at Sparky. "Good work little guy!" She says, causing Sparky to smile and growl happily, clapping his hands. Misty starts driving in the direction of Maretime Bay, and with this bike, she'd be able to get there a lot quicker. She hears the sound of a sonic boom and just as she looks behind her, she's tackled by Stormcutter, the force from the tackle causing the bike to move forward faster but also start spinning out of control.
"You traitor!" Stormcutter yells, punching Misty and almost making her fall off the bike. She then reaches for the bag but Misty grabs her hand and stops her.
"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Misty responds, headbutting Stormcutter then pushing her hand back and punching her. She then waits for the right moment then kicks her off right before the bike passes by a tree, making Stormcutter crash through the tree and tumble along the ground. She huffs then faces forward and keeps driving. Suddenly, without even wanting to, her body forces her to move the bike over to the right, almost driving off the cliff that she didn't even realize she was by. Just in time too as lightning strikes right where she was, causing an explosion. "Whoa! What was...?" She starts to question but then she realizes that it was probably the spell helping her survive... most likely for its own benefit.
Misty dodges another lightning strike then more after that until she has to dodge a magical blast and just barely manages to dodge the lightning strike that follows; however, the electricity damages the bike and it starts failing. Misty frowns and looks behind her to see Stormcutter and Ragnar catching up to her. She tries to think of something, anything that would help her and Sparky escape. She then gets an idea and hopes this bike has enough power left in it for what she has planned. She looks down at Sparky and gives him a hopeful look.
"I know I have no right to ask... but do you trust me?" Misty asks and Sparky looks up at her, gurgles, growls, and nods at her, causing her to smile and nod back. "Alright. Hold on tight little guy!" Misty yells before she suddenly drives off the cliff but manages to get her blade around a nearby tree and she holds on to the handle of her blade and the bike as it swings along the cliff and Misty counts down in her head before pressing the button to make the bike boost. The newly increased speed allows Misty to reach the speed she was going for faster than expected and she looks to see if Ragnar and Stormcutter are in position and smirks when she sees that they are. "Ready Sparky?!" She asks and when she hears him growl in agreement, she detaches the whip from the tree, allowing the bike to slingshot upwards.
She then swings the whip towards Stormcutter and Ragnar, sending multiples of the blades towards them then holds Sparky towards them. "Now!" She shouts and Sparky breathes in before unleashing a ball of fire as big and powerful as he can muster towards them. The two villains realize the plan but can't strengthen their shields fast enough to fully protect themselves from the resulting magical explosion. The shockwave reaches all the way to Misty and Sparky and continues on past, probably for miles, shaking the trees and the ground. "Yeah!" Misty cheers and Sparky laughs and claps his hands, making Misty chuckle and playfully rub his head.
Before she can get too happy though, she hears the bike's engine failing and looks to see that it's falling and there's a huge chance it'll go off the cliff. With that, she gets ready to jump off it with Sparky. She waits for the right time then jumps off the bike, allowing it to crash and tumble off the cliff. Misty rolls along the ground, shielding Sparky and allowing herself to take the brunt of the crash. She eventually rolls to a stop and takes a moment to recovers before opening the bag back up and checking on Sparky.
"You ok?" She asks him despite her own pain, earning a nod from him, causing her to smile and sigh in relief. "Good." She says before slowly getting up. She checks behind them to see if Ragnar and Stormcutter have recovered yet but it doesn't seem like they have. However, she knows they can't stay here for long so she gets up and goes into the forest to cover their tracks, then starts making her way to Maretime Bay. "Don't worry Sparky. You'll be home before you know it. You'll be safe and... you'll never have to see me again when all this is over." Misty promises sadly and she hears what sounds like a sad and curious growl come from Sparky.
She picks him up and he looks so sad. "It's ok... You deserve better than to be around somepony as terrible as me... everyone does." Misty says, looking down until she hears Sparky make a noise and when she looks at him, he smiles and reaches towards her and she leans her head forward so he can grab and hug it, nuzzling her. That makes her smile and close her eyes as it provides her some comfort. When they separate, Sparky makes a happy noise and claps his hands and Misty chuckles at how cute he is. She's about to keep going until she hears something... unexpected.
"F... Fr... Friend." She hears before slowly looking at Sparky. He smiles at her and she slowly smiles back.
"Yeah... friend." She says before continuing to make her way to Maretime Bay with Sparky and a newfound hope for the future. She made a promise that she would rather live without a cutie mark before she even thought about doing the wrong thing again and she'd die before she rejoined Opaline's side. From now one, she wasn't Misty, a servant and the adopted daughter of Opaline. She was Misty Brightdawn... a pony just trying to do the right thing.
"We searched the whole forest... she's gone." Stormcutter says to Opaline when she and Ragnar walk through the doors to the throne room. Opaline... was furious. Misty promised... she promised she wouldn't leave her! But then again... Opaline had also made a false promise... she had done a good job keeping it up but... why did she suddenly have to reveal the truth after lying to Misty for years? Especially when she was so close to completing her plan?! Now... Misty was gone... the filly she saved, trained, and raised was gone...
"Leave me... the plan hasn't changed... you're all still going to bring me that stone and that staff... and I swear, we will crush those pathetic little ponies and all of their allies!!! They will all rue the day they shunned me, shunned us, and cast us aside, only to try and leave us forgotten by history!!!" Opaline yells and as her eyes glow, all the villains can feel the temperature rising as the castle starts to shake.
"And if Misty loves those ponies so much... then she can burn with them!!!" she screams, fighting the tears that threaten to fall from her eyes. Misty made her choice, now she was going to have to live with it... and die with it. |
My Little Pony: Harmony and Chaos | Breaking Point | Sunny opens her eyes and finds herself in the same temple from her last dream. She looks around, confused, but then takes a chance to check her surroundings and really get a feel for this place. Luckily, there was no Midnight around this time... at least for now, but she knew she could show up at any time. Therefore, she had to hurry. She takes a look at the statues but she doesn't see any alicorns that she recognizes. Granted, this was built way before even Twilight Sparkle's time, maybe even before Celestia and Luna's. She could tell. She could feel it. She goes to each statue until she recognizes at least one. This... was this Midnight? Or somepony she possessed before Solaris?
The only reason Sunny could tell was because of the symbols on her body. They were the same as the ones on Midnight's body. But that brings up the question... how old is Midnight and how was she created. Was she created or was she born? Can... can she ever truly die? So many questions, not enough answers.
"Now, I know what you're wondering and no, I can never truly die. And I am actually older than you think. I was the very first alicorn. Before Solaris even. However, after me, more alicorns were made by the magic I unleashed into the world." Midnight's voice explains and Sunny looks to see her sitting in a throne at the top of some stairs. "I worked with them for a while, even thought of them as... friends... until they began to fear my power and my personality, and soon... so did the rest of the world."
"So let me guess... you killed them?" Sunny asks, glaring at Midnight as she tries to keep a brave face... but Midnight could tell she was still scared of her. Good. That would make this so much easier.
"No. Not just yet anyway. That happened when they tried to get me to... "change" and when I refused, they stood against me. Which resulted in most of them dying by my hand or by each other's since I either drove some of them mad, turned them evil, or brought the ones I killed back as undead, bloodthirsty monsters. However, the most powerful and skilled one- besides me, of course- ended up destroying my physical body... but I used very powerful magic to transfer my consciousness to her." Midnight explains and Sunny realizes that she's another victim of one of Midnight's dirty tricks.
"For years, she was having nightmares, just like you. She was hallucinating, seeing me and her past trauma everywhere she went. That, along with the stress of being the last alicorn left, led her into insanity and she couldn't take it anymore. She came here, to the last place we were all together, the home we made for ourselves... and died here." Midnight says and Sunny looks shocked, bringing a smirk to her face. "For thousands and thousands of years, I had been transferring from mortal body to mortal body, none of them able to sustain me... until a little filly was born at just the right time. She held great power and the gift of immortality. All I had to do was stand by and watch as she grew up and slowly reached a breaking point."
Sunny growls and clenches her fists when she realizes Midnight is talking about Solaris and basically saying her suffering was a good thing. Midnight suddenly stands up and starts walking down the stairs.
"Sweet. Innocent. Helpless little Solaris. I wonder... how will you protect her when you couldn't even protect poor Sparky Sparkeroni from one. Unicorn." Midnight says as she continues walking toward Sunny. Sunny falters a bit and the fierce look in her eyes wavers and turns into one of guilt and sadness. "I mean hell, you couldn't even protect Pipp from literally dying for almost a minute. You couldn't protect Twilight from being critically injured. You couldn't even protect yourself from Titania and I doubt you'll be able to protect yourself from Opaline. So tell me, little Starscout..." Midnight says before stopping right in front of Sunny. "Do you still think that you can save everyone? That you can stop what's coming without more power or more help?" She asks and Sunny doesn't say anything... and that's all the answer Midnight needed.
"Then here." Midnight says before the eyes of all the statues glow and they slowly turn their heads towards the throne and shoot magic into it. The throne absorbs the magic and it spreads into the floor, making a bunch of markings Sunny didn't notice before glow. It all gathers into the center of the room, which just so happens to be right in between Midnight and Sunny. Midnight shoots her own magic into the floor and all the gathered magic slowly floats out of the floor in the form of a glowing ball. "When the time is right, use this. For what, I'm sure you'll figure out the answer. Just remember that you can't stop Opaline on your own and that magic is one use only. So... use it wisely." Midnight says before Sunny starts to see a bright light shine through the roof and start getting brighter. She's waking up. She looks at Midnight and sees her smirk before waving at her.
"See you soon Sunny..." She says, and with that, the light consumes everything.
Sunny jumps awake and looks around, quickly realizing she's in the Marestream. She sighs and shakes her head before noticing something glowing in her hand and she looks to see it's the ball of magic Midnight had created in her dream. Sunny looks shocked at the fact that Midnight could do something like this from her dream before glaring at it and grabbing a small bottle and forcing the magic inside it until it's full. Sunny hears footsteps and quickly hides it before Izzy walks in.
"Oh good, you're awake. We're almost there." Izzy says, reminding Sunny that they were on their way back to New Skyros, home of the Alicorns, to try and request their help to deal with Opaline. However, given what happened last time they were there, Sunny was less than enthusiastic about the idea since they basically already turned their backs on them.
"Oh. Ok." Sunny says, trying and failing to hide the annoyance in her voice. Izzy notices but knows better than to try and press her about the subject. Sunny's already snapped at her once the last time they were on their way to this place, she didn't want that to happen again.
"Ummm... Ok well me and the others will be in the cockpit waiting for you." Izzy says before leaving the room and Sunny sighs before grabbing her regular bag and putting the bottle in there. She then puts it on and walks to the cockpit, sitting in her seat. Hitch looks at her and can't help but feel like something's off.
"Hey... You ok?" He asks and Sunny just looks at him and nods but he can tell she's lying. "Look, you don't have to tell me but if you ever need to talk about anything, we're all here for you." He says but she doesn't say anything back. She just hums in acknowledgment and keeps looking forward. He sighs and does the same.
"Once again, I am so sorry for not being there to help stand up against Misty guys... I still can't believe she was behind all of this." Pipp says, frowning and looking down until Zipp speaks up while still driving the Marestream.
"We can't either sis, but like I told you. We understand, your main focus should be getting better and getting healthy again. And you've already made good progress, I mean look at you." Zipp says, reminding Pipp of her new, slightly more athletic physique. It wasn't as athletic as her sister's but still a good improvement. "You did that for yourself and you're still going. Plus you said you don't feel as dizzy or get so sick when you push yourself anymore. So in our book, your absence was worth it." She says and Pipp smiles and nods at her sister.
"Thanks Zipp. That means a lot." Pipp says, earning a thumbs up from Zipp. This gets a few smiles out of the others, even Sunny, despite her annoyed and distant mood.
"Anytime. Now everyone look alive. We're here." Zipp says, causing everyone to look and see the giant tower that served as a sign that they had reached New Skyros.
Now they just had to hope this time would go better than their last visit.
As Sunny and the others made their way towards the main tower, they couldn't help but notice the stares they were getting from all the Alicorns. Sunny was able to ignore them easily, but the others weren't having as easy of a time as her. They were getting a bit nervous the longer they stared. It was unsettling to them.
When they get close to the tower though, a few alicorns land in front of them with weapons and stand ready to fight, just in case. This annoys Sunny and surprises the others. Brightburn lands in the middle of them and looks Sunny straight in the eyes.
"What are you doing here? I thought we told you not to come back." She says and the way she's talking just serves to annoy Sunny more... which is strange. She's never felt so annoyed so easily, even by someone she once considered a friend... except Sprout that is.
"You did... but you have to understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. You may want us gone but if you send us away without taking what we have to say into consideration, you're not only putting yourselves in danger, you're putting the rest of Equestria in danger." Sunny says, not even trying to hide the annoyance and frustration in her voice. Brightburn raises an eyebrow before sighing and crossing her arms.
"Alright... I'm listening." She says and Sunny nods before continuing.
"Instead of dubbing us as the enemy, you should try letting us help you and in return, you help us deal with Opaline and her goons." Sunny says and Brightburn glares at her a bit.
"Are you asking me or demanding me? Because after what I've been hearing about the situation with this Opaline, I'm hard pressed not to agree to either." Brightburn says, causing Sunny to narrow her eyes and clinch her fists.
"Right, because sitting back and doing nothing while the rest of the world goes to shit is so noble. Because that's what a leader does, huh?" Sunny says, earning a shocked look from Brightburn and more from her friends.
"Sunny-" Hitch tries to step in but Sunny gives him a glare as her eyes glow a darker gold than usual.
"Back off Hitch. I know what I'm doing." Sunny says angrily before turning back to Brightburn. "We have gone through so much to protect the world and everyone in it! That includes you and all these other alicorns!" Sunny shouts, getting the attention of every nearby alicorn. "But now when something bad happens, it's suddenly all on us! No matter what it is! But at least we're actually doing something! What have you ever done that mattered, huh?! What contribution have you made to the world since the day you became an Alicorn?! Any of you?!" She shouts more, getting closer as her eyes glow more, causing Brightburn and the other alicorns to back up slightly and prepare for a fight.
"I stepped up as a leader to keep the rest of the Alicorns safe from the rest of the world, that's what! We've done plenty with the help of the Wings of Equestria! Whenever they felt like they couldn't trust or rely on you, they called us! They called me! That is the truth of the matter Sunny!" Brightburn responds, sounding more than a little annoyed.
"Oh you want the truth? Well here it is. The truth is... we're the heroes here. I'm the hero here, not you." Sunny says before getting right in Brightburn's face and speaking with so much venom that it shocks everyone. "You're just a coward." She says and just as Brightburn is about to respond violently, Artemis and Thunderbird appear and look very angry.
"Then what are you doing with some of Midnight's magic Sunny?" Artemis asks, causing everyone to gasp and turn their attention to the alicorn in question.
"W-What? What are you talking about?" Sunny asks, trying to sound convincing, but it's clear they're not buying it.
"You have some of her magic with you! I can sense it, we all can!" Artemis says as they walk closer to her. "Sunny, just give it here before you do or say something else you'll regret. Don't make this hard... please." She pleads and Sunny frowns and reaches in her bag, taking out the bottle with the magic in it which causes everyone to back up with shocked and betrayed looks on their faces. Sunny slowly starts handing the bottle over to Artemis... until she looks at it and hears Midnight's voice in her head.
" When the time is right, use this. For what, I'm sure you'll figure out the answer. Just remember that you can't stop Opaline on your own and that magic is one use only. So... use it wisely." She remembers Midnight saying and her eyes widen before she pulls the magic back towards herself, shocking, confusing, and annoying Artemis.
"Sunny..." Artemis says, but Sunny just glares at her before her eyes soften a bit.
"No wait. Not yet. I just-" Sunny tries to explain until her phone rings and she sighs in annoyance before taking it out and seeing that Askari's calling her. She answers and instantly sees the zebra on the other side, looking a bit nervous. "What is it Askari." Sunny asks, already dreading what she could possibly have to tell her.
"Ummm... One of this new Alicorn's minions showed up. She had Sparky but didn't threaten him for anything and she let herself be captured. The one you guys call Misty?" Askari explains, causing everyone to look shocked and relieved that Misty brought Sparky back safe and sound. "She also told us Opaline's plans, or so we think. Apparently she wants to use the dragon lord staff and the dragon stone to both control the dragons and harness their fire." Askari says, causing everyone to look shocked even more.
"Oh no... if she gets her hands on all that dragon fire-" Zipp starts to say until Sunny finishes the sentence for her.
"There'll be no stopping her..." She says, sounding terrified until she looks at the magic and her eyes gain a few streaks of purple in them. "Unless..." She starts, making everyone a bit suspicious... and what she says next confirms their suspicions and fears. "We bring her back and make her fight Opaline for us..." She says and everyone looks at her like she has three heads.
"Are you crazy?! How could you even think of bringing that monster back after what she did to you?! To me, Twilight, her friends! To your father!" Artemis shouts and Sunny glares at her.
"I haven't forgotten, but if any of us tried to stop Opaline in time, we would fail and we don't have all the time in the world! Midnight could stop her in ten seconds and after she did, I'd just kill her again! I did it once before!" Sunny says, getting ready just in case they won't go for it.
"Barely! Sunny, you literally died! Twice! And you needed Solaris' help to defeat her!" Artemis shouts, about to make a move for the magic. Sunny notices and keeps it close to herself.
"I'm smarter now than I was before, and she won't even be at full power which means she'll be easier to beat." Sunny says, not even knowing that for sure but at this point, her fear and Midnight's magic were both influencing her to the point where she would do anything to end this. "It's a risk, but it's also a chance. Our best chance."
"Sunny, you're our best chance! You, Twilight, the princesses, all the other alicorns! You all can stop Opaline yourselves, without the help of that monster!" Thunderbird says, but Sunny wasn't hearing any of it.
"I never asked to be an alicorn... I never asked to be a princess... I didn't ask for any of this! Sure, I asked to be a hero like Twilight and her friends but... it isn't what I thought it was! It's not all fun and games, sunshine and rainbows..." Sunny says and everyone can now feel the ground starting to shake. "It's stressful... tiring! You end up losing something or someone you love! You have to make hard decisions and no matter what you do or decide, someone will hate you for it! It's not fair!!!" She shouts and the temperature suddenly starts to raise drastically.
"Sunny-" Artemis tries to calm her down, but Sunny was venting heavily now. It was... hard to watch. And it was only getting worse...
"And usually... you have to do the ugly stuff that no one else will do! Everyone turns against you, tells you it's a bad idea, tells you you're a fool!!!" Sunny screams as her magic starts to come out.
"Sunny, stop!" Izzy says, but Sunny doesn't listen. If everyone was gonna be against her, then that was fine... she didn't need them anyway.
"Well we're out of options! If none of you will help me... then I'll do it myself!" Sunny shouts before Artemis suddenly makes a move to grab the magic from her but Sunny backhands her away, right into Thunderbird. They go flying through the building behind them and Sunny uses her magic to push everyone away when they all rush towards her. She then goes into her Alicorn form and starts flying out of the city. Other Alicorns try to stop her but she makes quick work of them. She then knocks the Marestream upside down before teleporting all the way to Maretime Bay and going to the top of the Brighthouse.
She takes out the magic and looks at it for a second before putting it on the floor and making a magical glyph around it with her own magic. She moves her hands around in the sand motions as the glyph and starts trying to focus her magic on reviving Midnight. Before she can get too far with the spell though, she hears a sonic boom and is suddenly tackled out of the Brighthouse by Zipp. They both crash painfully and separate by a few feet and slowly get up to face each other.
"Sunny, don't do this!" Zipp says when she recovers fully and Sunny just glares at her as she prepares her magic.
"This is the only way...!" Sunny says, causing Zipp to charge up her own powers, making lightning radiate off her body wildly.
"If you really believe that then... I'm gonna have to stop you. I'm sorry Sunny." Zipp says, frowning which causes Sunny to frown too as she calls out her alicorn form.
"So am I." Sunny says before she fires magic at Zipp, causing her to dodge to the side and disappear before kicking Sunny forward from behind faster than she can react. Sunny recovers but as soon as she does, Zipp blasts her with lightning from the right. Sunny falls over but quickly tries to get up, only to be uppercut and taken into the sky by Zipp. At this point, Sunny is more than a little annoyed so she elbows Zipp right in the spot between her wings with more force than she meant to apply, causing Zipp to cry out in pain as her wings stop flapping and they both go plummeting down towards the ground.
"Crap! I lost control of my Alicorn strength a bit! She's still your friend you idiot! Be more careful!" Sunny berates herself in her own head for injuring her friend, even though Zipp was getting in her way. Sunny grabs Zipp and floats back down to the ground with her and dropping her to let her recover. "Sorry Zipp, but I need you out of the way." She says before starting to go back to the Brighthouse. However, before she reaches it, Pipp lands and hits her with a sonic scream that knocks her away and stuns her.
"Zipp!" Pipp shouts, running to her sister and checking on her. "Are you ok?" She asks, only getting a groan of pain from Zipp and a cough. "How hard did she hit you?!" Pipp asks, starting to get angry until Sunny suddenly knocks her away from Zipp, sending her flying into the side of the Brighthouse. Sunny looks between the two sisters before once again trying to make it to the Brighthouse. Just as she gets to the top, Izzy appears in front of her and blasts her down to the ground with a powerful blast of ice magic, starting to freeze Sunny and the area around her.
"Pipp! Get Zipp and back up!" Izzy shouts and Pipp quickly grabs Zipp and gets her out of the area just as the ice spreads to that area as well before an explosion of red and gold magic causes the ice to melt and blow away. The shockwave knocks Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp away while also violently shaking the ground and the Brighthouse, breaking every window in it. They all recover and Askari and the others rush outside to witness what's happening.
"What the hell is going on?!" Askari asks before she sees Sunny standing up while in her "rage mode" which is setting fire to every blade of grass around her.
"That doesn't look good." Nebula says, readying her magic and weapons.
"It's not. What's gotten into her?" Firestar asks and even Pipp, Zipp, and Izzy don't truly know. Soon, everyone else appears and Sunny gets ready to fight.
"Don't do this Sunny..." Hitch pleads, really not wanting to fight his friend again. Sunny growls angrily before lunging at them... only to end up in an empty field with one tree and multiple mountains in the distance. She recognized this place... but why...?
"I hoped bringing you here would be motivation for you to stop." A familiar voice says and Sunny turns around to see Twilight slowly descending to stand a few feet away from her.
"Sorry Princess, but you'll have to do better than that." Sunny says as she slowly comes out of her rage mode but keeps it ready just in case. "I'm not gonna stop. This is probably the only way to keep everyone safe!"
"The easy way isn't always the best way Sunny! And even then, this probably isn't even the easy way! You've thought ahead but not far enough! You know what Midnight's done and what she could do!" Twilight says, trying desperately to make Sunny see reason. "Do you really wanna risk that on everyone just because you're scared of not being enough? Because you don't believe in your own power and ability? Because you don't trust yourself or your friends?" She asks and Sunny stomps, shaking the ground but Twilight isn't fazed.
"Watch it. You may be my idle, my mentor, and my friend... but there are limits to what I'll take from you." Sunny says firmly, starting to pace back and forth in front of Twilight while keeping her eyes on her. "We are out of time... Opaline's probably already absorbed enough dragon fire to rival the power of the sun because you all just won't let me make the choice necessary to keep everyone safe!" Sunny shouts angrily, still pacing.
"You can still keep everyone safe Sunny, but... not like this. I admire that that's all you want but... did you ever stop to think that maybe this is the wrong way to do it...?" Twilight asks, frowning as she sees just how much of a toll everything has taken on Sunny's confidence and mindset. "If not... then I've failed you as a mentor and a friend. And for that I'm truly sorry..." Twilight says, causing Sunny to frown too and stop pacing.
"Not as sorry as I am..." Sunny says, clenching her fists... before lunging at Twilight and punching her, sending her flying back until she rights herself and slides to a stop. Sunny flys up and lands a few feet away from her. When she does this, Twilight manages to see a flicker of purple in Sunny's eyes and she instantly knows what's wrong as she also senses the presence of somepony she hoped she'd never see, hear, or sense again. "It's over Twilight! You're still recovering and I don't wanna fight you, but I will if I have to! You can't win, so give up!" Sunny says and Twilight wipes the blood from her lip before standing up straight and giving Sunny a hopeful, but determined look.
"It's not over... I still believe in you Sunny. So I'm gonna help you break free from this... then we'll end this madness... together. And no matter what, I will never give up on you!" Twilight yells as both she and Sunny charge up their magic and prepare to fight for the first... and hopefully the last time.
> Sunny vs Twilight
As Twilight and Sunny battled, both of them were filled with so much regret for the parts they both played in leading to this tragic battle. Twilight; however, was clear minded enough to know the right course of action... now she just had to bring Sunny back to her right mind. That would be easier said than done though, what with how strong Sunny has gotten over the years that she's been an Alicorn and how much Twilight was still recovering from her injuries due to the amount of Midnight's magic that played a part in injuring her in the first place.
Twilight just barely manages to dodge a pretty powerful punch from Sunny and return a punch of her own that sends Sunny flying back. Sunny quickly recovers though and just in time as Twilight fires a bunch of magical blasts towards her. She manages to dodge most of them and block a few before charging at Twilight, causing her to fly upwards and Sunny gives chase after her.
"We don't need to do this!" Twilight shouts before dodging a blast from Sunny and sending one back that Sunny dodges before firing another blast.
"Then stay out of my way!" Sunny shouts, but she knew Twilight wasn't gonna do that. She was too stubborn and selfless for that.
"You know I can't do that! I won't sacrifice you or anyone else just to end this nightmare!" Twilight yells as they both continue firing at each other until Twilight manages to hit Sunny and she crashes. Twilight takes the chance to land on her and try to lock her in place with magical chains but Sunny just yells angrily and breaks free from them, knocking Twilight off her and hitting her in the chest. Twilight cries out in pain and holds her chest since that was one area that hasn't fully recover and Sunny notices that. Hm... maybe there was a way to end this quickly.
They both get up and face each other, both looking very pissed off. They get ready to charge again and Sunny charges first, provoking Twilight to do the same. Twilight throws a punch but Sunny ducks under it and throws an even harder punch right at Twilight's chest. It connects and the shockwave spreads for miles before Twilight is sent flying back across the field. Twilight crashes and tumbles through the field and when she stops, she holds her chest, trying desperately to get air into her lungs and calm the excruciating pain that she feels there. She slowly looks at Sunny and the look on her face says two things: "I didn't wanna do that..." and... "Stay down... please."
Twilight tries to get up but the ache in her chest gets even worse and she falls, groaning in pain. She knows she doesn't have long before Sunny thinks she's won and teleports away to complete her plan... she has to get up though. Right. Now. Twilight closes her eyes and focuses on breathing, on fighting through the pain no matter how much it hurts... but when she hears the voices of her parents, it just motivates her even more.
"Come on our little princess... all the way up." She hears her father say, causing her to start to get up again.
"She needs you Twilight... be there for her. Remind her... who she is." Her mother says, causing Twilight to grow a determined look as she opens her eyes and stands up all the way. She looks at Sunny with that same look and Sunny looks on with an annoyed and disappointed one that just lingers on the edge of sadness. She didn't wanna do this and neither did Twilight... but no matter what, Twilight would help her.
Besides, now she knew Sunny was willing to fight dirty to end this and she was very observant. So she needed to be more careful and fight smart. If Sunny wasn't gonna pull her punches, Twilight needed to get with the program.
"I said I'd help you Sunny... and I will." Twilight says as she clenches her fists and Sunny shakes her head before walking forward a bit and clenching her own.
"Come and try it Princess." She says and Twilight charges at her, causing Sunny to charge back and Twilight throws another punch, causing Sunny to try and pull the same move she did before, but Twilight was ready this time. She teleports behind Sunny and slams both her fists down on her back, knocking her into the ground and causing a massive shockwave that shakes and cracks the ground. Twilight then grabs her leg and tosses her into the air before flying to her and ramming her shoulder into her chest. She then uppercuts Sunny and tries to blast her with magic but Sunny dodges and grabs her arm, pulling her to her and clotheslining her.
Twilight is knocked down to the ground by this before Sunny lands on her and rolls forward, quickly getting up and turning to face her. Twilight quickly gets up as well and Sunny charges but Twilight dodges, managing to wrap her arms around Sunny and slam her before kicking her and forming a glyph under her that knocks her into the air with magic. Twilight makes a bunch more that send magical tendrils and chains at Sunny who recovers and manages to fly and maneuver around most of them before a few of them wrap around her and hold her in place. Twilight flys to her and gets ready to try and use alicorn empathy to bring her back to her senses... until Sunny lets out a mighty scream as magic bursts out of her body, knocking the chains and tendrils off her and sending Twilight flying back.
Sunny has entered her rage mode... great. Twilight quickly dodges out of the way as Sunny tries to slam down on her with everything she had. Her landing does cause the ground beneath them to basically shatter and burn, making the ground shake as magic shoots out of it from the shockwave of her attack. Twilight looks around at all the destruction and damage that one attack caused and she looks at Sunny as Sunny stands up straight and looks at her before screaming again and charging at her. Twilight dodges her attack again but just as she looks behind her to see where Sunny is, she's hit in the face and sent flying back, way into one of the mountains that were far in the distance.
Upon impact, the mountain shatters and collapses as Twilight crashes through it, ending up on the other side. She finally rights herself and smashes her fists into the ground while spreading her wings to come to a complete stop. She realizes that with Sunny like that, beating her was gonna be even harder... unless...
Before she can finish her thought, Sunny rams through the rubble and charges straight towards her. Twilight dodges and blocks and the next strike that follows the first one but even blocking gets her sent back a bit. Twilight gets up and catches one of Sunny's punches and throws her away but Sunny quickly recovers from that and Twilight realizes she has no other choice. She waits for Sunny to get close before her eyes, horn, and wings glow and she screams as magic shoots from her entire body and into the sky, making it shine purple as the shockwave from her own transformation knocks Sunny back while also shaking the ground.
Sunny crashes but gets up and looks on as the magic lessens and Twilight walks out of it, her whole body glowing with purple markings on it as her mane and tail both look as if they have stars and even entire galaxies stored in them. The main thing that stands out is the glowing representation of Twilight's cutie mark on her chest where the element of magic used to be. Sunny can't help but look amazed before remembering her current mission. She narrows her eyes and charges at Twilight.
Twilight sidesteps her attack, moving at an incredibly fast speed, and grabs Sunny by her ponytail and slamming her into the ground. Afterwards, she starts attacking Sunny and they trade blow for blow in their battle, countering, dodging, and blocking each other's hits while moving at the speed of sound. Each attack causes a shockwave that can be felt from a mile away, meanwhile, both of them were still holding back even in these powerful forms of theirs.
"Last chance Sunny! Let me help you! Let your friends help you! You're not alone! You never have been and you never will be!" Twilight yells as she blocks a flurry of attacks from Sunny before their hands clash and connect and they start pushing against each other, their strength causing the land to shift and crack between them. Twilight may have been physically stronger than Sunny, mainly due to the difference in size and physique between them, but Sunny was starting to hold back less than Twilight was. The ground continued to split as the magic from the both of them also started to cause the weather to change drastically while their magical energies started combining.
"I... refuse... to let anyone else suffer or die for this!" Sunny screams before headbutting Twilight and sending her sliding back with a concussive wave of magic. Twilight quickly recovers and her and Sunny continue battling until they knock each other away with a punch of their own and they start charging most, if not all of their magic, into their next punches. "I'm ending this!" Sunny screams as their fists start glowing and she yells as she throws her punch, causing Twilight to yell and throw hers, both of them unleashing all their fury into those punches.
Their fists clash and the shockwave is so powerful that it can be felt from hundreds of miles away. Both of them struggle against the strength of the other as their magic starts to battle with one another. The magic starts building and building until it creates an explosion that destroys everything within a 10 mile radius, stunning and injuring both princesses but not killing them and luckily there was no wildlife or innocents in the area... but the shockwave from that could definitely be felt from Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood.
They both wake up and see they created a massive crater as if a nuke had struck the place and Twilight slowly gets up and walks to Sunny. Sunny sits up and rubs her eyes, cleaning the dirt and dust off of her eyelids before looking up at Twilight and after seeing the destruction that their battle caused... she feels nothing but shame and guilt. What if there had been animals or ponies and other creatures out here? Maybe... maybe everyone was right about her being dangerous... maybe she just didn't see it... until now.
She thinks about how disappointed everyone must be, how disappointed her parents must be..., and she cries. She curls in on herself while sitting up... and cries into her own arms.
"I'm... I'm so sorry... I... I've been such an idiot... I've been selfish. So... damn selfish... I failed you... failed my friends... my parents... I failed Equestria. I'm no hero... and I don't deserve to be an alicorn." Sunny says, her voice breaking in between words and sentences. She continues crying until she feels a pair of arms and wings wrap around her in a gentle, comforting embrace. She opens her eyes and sees that Twilight is hugging her while gently shushing.
"Sunny... there's a lot to learn when it comes to being a lot of things, no matter what it is. Leader, hero, alicorn... but the one thing that everyone must learn... is that no matter what, no one is perfect. No one can be perfect. Striving to be will only drive us mad and make us do things we never thought we'd do... and not in a good way." Twilight says before leaning back and lifting Sunny's chin until she looking into her eyes. "Everyone makes mistakes... but the fact that you're willing to try and learn from yours... makes you more than worthy to be each one of the things you said you've failed to be." She says, causing Sunny to look shocked before smiling a bit as she slightly struggles to hold back more tears.
Twilight smiles back before continuing to speak. "You're not a bad pony Sunny, and you're far from a dumb or unimportant one. You inspire ponies no matter where you go, you never stop trying to find an answer, and no matter what life throws at you, no matter how many times you get knocked down, you always get. Back. Up." She says and Sunny fails to stop the tears this time as she speaks up.
"But despite all that... I'm still nothing like you." She says, causing Twilight to frown and think about it before smiling.
"And I don't want you to be. I want you to be better, to be yourself. I don't want you to be Twilight Sparkle... I want you to be Sunny Starscout." Twilight says before teleporting the bottle of Midnight's magic into her hand and holding it towards Sunny. "But you have to take the first step... you have to do your part." Twilight says, pausing and waiting for Sunny to finish as she looks between her and the magic.
"Hoof... to heart." Sunny says before grabbing the bottle but not taking it out of Twilight's hands as she looks up at her with a determined look on her face. "Together..." She says, causing Twilight to smile and clench her hand around Sunny's and the magic.
"Together." Twilight says before they both start charging their magic into their hands and using it, combining it to destroy the dark magic and transform it into light magic... the magic of unity, of friendship. "Friendship..." Twilight starts, letting Sunny continue for her.
"Is..." Sunny says before they both say their combined thought at the same time.
"Eternal." They both say, both of them hearing their parents say it in their heads with them. The magic then starts to glow more and more along with their bodies until everything is consumed by a white light and when Twilight and Sunny open their eyes, everything is pitch black. They look around until they both see a glowing white light approach them... before becoming two lights. They watch as the lights slowly take the shape of ponies... then stop glowing to the point where they can see that the two lights have taken the forms... of themselves. They were staring at mirror versions of themselves but all... ethereal. But then it hit Twilight... this was the work of the tree of harmony.
"What the..." Sunny says, confused until Twilight lets out a light chuckle and explains.
"Sunny... this is the tree of harmony." Twilight says, causing Sunny to look shocked.
"The tree of harmony... I've only heard about it in legends and read about it in books but... to actually be talking to it..." Sunny says, trying and definitely not failing to express her shock and excitement. The projection of Twilight chuckles a bit before walking two steps forward.
"It is nice to meet you as well Sunny Starscout. I have been watching you for quite some time now and I will admit, while you are young and still quite a bit inexperienced as an alicorn... your desire to bring and preserve harmony everywhere you go, it... amazes me. You may be reckless at times but... you have proven that you are willing to tread on the edge between light and dark to preserve unity and peace... and that is something Equestria needs now more than ever." The projection says before the one of Sunny steps up and gives a soft smile before gesturing to the two Alicorns before it.
"And luckily, it has you two. The very manifestations of harmony itself. However... I have sensed... much wrong with you, Sunny." It says and just as Sunny is about to explain, it raises its hand to stop her. "You don't have to explain. I already know. And I also know that you still have much to learn... both of you. But neither of you has to learn it alone. Midnight has left scars on you both... deep ones. But it is those scars... that help make you stronger than you've ever been. But as you continue to grow... so will your powers." It says before holding out a hand and Sunny looks behind herself to see a multicolored path leading to a giant statue of herself holding her cutie mark.
"Your friends have already gotten closer to reaching their full potential... but you're still behind... because you doubt yourself." The tree of harmony says before more statues appear of her friends holding their cutie marks... but theirs are glowing less than Sunny's. "But they need you... you're the last thing they need for all of you to be on the right path to being at your best. To being the heroes, the legends that Equestria needs you all to be. Alone, you all are strong, but together..." The tree says as Sunny takes two steps forward before gaining a determined look on her face.
"We're stronger... I... I understand." She says before turning to Twilight and the tree of harmony with a grateful smile on her face. "Thank you... both of you. I... I promise to make this right." Sunny says, causing both of them to smile back as she walks towards her cutie mark and reaches out to touch it. She hesitates for a bit before touching it and walking into it. Meanwhile, Twilight and the tree watch as the statue versions of the other's cutie marks start glowing just as brightly as Sunny's. This continues until back in the physical world, a multicolored light shoots into the sky, causing magic to spread, healing and bringing the land back to its former beauty and clearing the air of smoke like nothing ever happened.
Meanwhile, Opaline could see and feel it all the way from the dragon lands and she can't help but smirk a bit... as it was too late now. Her plan was already almost complete... She looks down at the dragons gathered at the bottom of the mountain and raises the dragon stone in one hand while holding the staff with the other. The dragons all roar in pain as some of their fire is drained out of them and into the dragon stone. Once it gathers enough, Opaline absorbs it and laughs at the huge rush of power she feels before fire shoots and spreads out of her body, making it almost impossible to come near her. She then raises the staff while putting a powerful spell on it that causes the eyes of all the dragons to glow the same color as her fire.
"Come, my army!" She says before pointing the staff in a specific direction and smirking more.
"Next stop... Maretime Bay."
> End of the beginning Pt. 1
As Sunny and Twilight appeared back in front of the Brighthouse, everyone is instantly alarmed and confused when they see them... not fighting. Sunny's friends hesitantly walk up to them and look between the two alicorns before settling their gazes on their friend.
"Sunny...? Are you... ya know? Back to your normal self?" Pipp asks and Sunny nods before suddenly wrapping them all in a hug, which they quickly return, glad to have their friend back.
"I'm so sorry... I wasn't myself before... but I'm ready to help stop Opaline at any cost... Well... any cost that aren't as extreme as what I was trying to do earlier." Sunny says, making everyone let out light chuckles which prompts her to join in.
"Glad to have you back Sunny... we thought we were gonna lose you." Izzy says, smiling at Sunny and Sunny returns the smile... but not for very long as she looks down and frowns.
"I think I've been lost for a while now... but thanks to Twilight and... a new friend... I've finally found myself again... or at least I'm on the right path to it... But I'm happy to be able to do it with all of you." Sunny says, causing all her friends to smile and hug her again which puts a prideful smile on Twilight's face. "Now... let's go have a talk with Misty and get this mess sorted out."
As Misty sat with her wrists tied together, she couldn't help but be nervous and feel as if time was of the essence... which it was... for two reasons. The first one was that Opaline was probably already on her way to Maretime Bay right now with an army of dragons at her disposal. The second reason was because... Misty could feel the spell trying to take back control and it was getting stronger. She twiddles her thumbs nervously while looking around the room, dreading what was to come.
She's so distracted that she jumps when she hears the door to the room open and she frowns when she sees the very ponies she betrayed walk in with angry and betrayed looks on their faces. She looks down as she realizes that... she was wrong to think that she was ready to face them. The following silence is deafening and nerve wracking and it seems to go on forever... until Sunny speaks up.
"So... based on the fact alone that you brought Sparky back, I'd say you've come to your senses?" Sunny asks, causing Misty to nod, still looking down at her tied wrists.
"I don't know why I thought that was clear after our conversation in my head during... that awful night... but yeah. I... I finally realize that everything I've been doing up until now... has been wrong, and it's been for nothing..." Misty says regretfully, causing Sunny to frown and look down before walking forward a bit.
"I know a little bit of how you feel. I recently almost made a mistake that... would've cost us everything. But it's not too late Misty. We can fix this... together." Sunny says, using her magic to untie Misty's wrists, causing her to look shocked and look at her. Sunny just gives her a reassuring and forgiving smile along with the others as a sign that they forgive and trust Misty, or they will at least. Misty is so touched by this that she starts tearing up before running up to Sunny and giving her a hug, causing Sunny and the others to hug her back.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry! I... I promise that I'll fight beside you all from now on. I'll be one hundred percent honest and genuine." Misty promises tearfully, causing the others to smile and hug her tighter. "Ummm and speaking of that... would now be a bad time to let you all know that I'm slowly losing control and if we don't do something soon, the spell that made me do those horrible things to begin with is gonna turn me back into a killing machine?" Misty asks nervously and everyone looks shocked, worried, and horrified. Sunny then grows a determined look.
"We'll help you. But first we need to evacuate Maretime Bay and call in reinforcements. Since the Alicorns won't help us, we'll have to-" She says but before she can finish her last sentence, they all hear the sound of magic and look behind them to see Brightburn walking towards them.
"Actually... we will help. You were right Sunny... I've been a coward this whole time, not for me but because I thought it was what I had to do to keep everyone safe. But... you reminded me that fear only stops you from doing the right thing... if you let it and if we just stood by while all of you were risking your lives to fight for Equestria again... then we don't deserve to be Alicorns." Brightburn says and Sunny frowns before smiling and suddenly picking her up in a bone crushing hug. "Owww... Honestly, I should've seen this coming. Gotta control those bear hugs Starscout." Brightburn chuckles, causing Sunny to smile sheepishly and let her go.
"Sorry, but you should see Izzy's hugs. I swear they'd make you think she was part Alicorn." Sunny says while smirking playfully at Izzy, causing her to blush and shrug with a quick mutter of "guilty as charged." All her friends chuckle before Izzy suddenly goes wide eyed.
"Ooh! That reminds me!" She shouts before suddenly hugging Misty so tightly, they can practically hear her bones cracking. "Welcome to the Mane 5, Misty! Well... Mane 6 now!" Izzy says excitedly before putting Misty down, letting her stand there for a bit with a smile on her face... before falling over from the intensity of the hug. "Uhhh... oops." Izzy says sheepishly, causing the others to chuckle and shake their heads as they help Misty up.
"I've taken some pretty hard hits... but somehow your hugs hurt more than those." Misty says before chuckling and hugging Izzy back. They then all hear the door open and before they can even look to see who walked in, Sparky tackles Misty and hugs her face. "Sparky!" Misty says excitedly before hugging him back. "Hey little guy... I'm glad to see you too... but I can't stay too long. We do need to evacuate everyone. Then after this is done I... I have to leave." Misty says sadly, causing everyone to frown, confused.
"You don't have to leave Misty. We could help you." Pipp says, walking closer and grabbing one of Misty's hands, causing her to look at her.
"No... you can't. There's no helping me. This is all my fault to begin with. I drank the potion that put this spell on me. I stole Midnight's magic. I helped Opaline bring Ragnar back to life and I'm the reason she got her hands on Sparky in the first place. Why she even got the idea that dragonfire could restore her power... and now... Equestria's going to suffer because of me. A lot of creatures are going to suffer or die... because of me!" Misty says with anger and sadness in her voice.
"I don't deserve your help, let alone your friendship... I had that and I took advantage of it... so many times. I mean... I even tried to kill Zipp." She says as tears come to her eyes, revealing just how much guilt she was carrying and how afraid she was of all of it happening again.
"Misty... look at us." Zipp says, causing Misty to hesitate a bit before complying. Zipp walks closer to her and grabs the hand that Pipp didn't grab. "When you told us a bit about yourself... the pony who found you and saved you... that was Opaline wasn't it?" She asks and Misty nods before Zipp continues. "So she was the one who trained you and the reason you have those bruises and scars. And if that's true, it means you're not a villain Misty, you never were... you were a victim. This whole time, you were someone who needed help but didn't even know it. You thought you were saved already when you needed to be saved again." Zipp explains and Misty shakes her head and looks down before pulling her hands away from the two sisters.
"I can't accept that! I can't view myself as a victim when I've hurt so many others for nothing! Not when it could happen again at any time!" Misty shouts and everyone realizes that for Misty to truly be free... they needed to get rid of that spell in her head. Sunny thinks of a plan then turns to the others.
"I know what to do. I'll stay here with Misty and help her out, all of you need to go into town and start evacuating everypony. Brightburn, go get the alicorns ready and if Artemis and Thunderbird are still there, ask them if they can spare a few members of the Wings of Equestria to help us out. Askari and the others will aid you all. Twilight's already left to gather her friends, so they should be here soon too." Sunny says and they all nod and head out to do their part. Sunny looks at Misty and holds a hand out while giving her a reassuring smile. "Let's go clear your head Misty." She says and Misty smiles nervously before taking her hand and following her.
"What do you need me to do?" Misty asks as Sunny leads her upstairs and to an elevator leading up to the room where the Unity Crystals currently were.
"You just need to close your eyes, relax, and trust me. Trust the others. And try not to let the spell get to you." Sunny says as she makes Misty sit then lay back before Sunny goes above her head and places her hands on her temples, calling on her magic. Sunny closes her eyes, breathes in and out, then opens them and they're glowing.
"I'll take care of the rest..."
As the others frantically evacuated Maretime Bay, they were thankful that they now had help from the Alicorns, the Wings of Equestria, and the original Mane 6. They also had help from the princesses, the cutie mark crusaders, the Dazzlings, the Legion of Doom, and others. None of the citizens were very happy to know that they were being moved away from home without knowing what's going on and thanks to Posey, that was about to make things worse.
"You know what?! I've had it!" Posey says before finding something to stand on getting the attention of the citizens of Maretime Bay. "We try so hard just to live our day to day lives, only for it to be put on hold due to our "heroes!" Now they won't even tell us what's going on or where they're moving us to?!" She shouts, causing a lot of the crowd to agree. "Well, if they're going to be protecting us, they should do it right. Do it the way Sheriff Hitch would! By the law and with no casualties! We've allowed Sunny to be in control for too long, now look what's happening!" Posey shouts and once again, the crowd agrees which starts to make things harder for everyone else. Meanwhile, all the negativity was weakening the unity crystals and the original Mane 6.
Sunny groans in pain as the negativity makes magic start to glitch, including her own. Misty seems to share her pain while unconscious, scrunching her face up and groaning in pain. "S-Sorry Misty, it's just becoming a little hard to focus." She says, getting no response from Misty but knowing she heard her. "Just hang in there. That spell will be out of your head soon." Sunny promises before getting back to doing what she was doing before.
Meanwhile, Posey was still getting the crowd all riled up while Sunny's friends and everyone else were trying to keep the peace. "Everyone calm down! We may not be protecting you in the way that you want, but it's better than us not protecting you at all!" Hitch shouts with his megaphone in front of his mouth. "Whether you like us or not, we will always try our best to do right by you, but we need you to trust us! That's all we ask in return! Just trust us and watch what we do!" He says, causing the crowd to calm down a little which serves to annoy Posey a lot.
"You say that now, but where's Sunny?! Why are you all here and she's not?!" Posey asks, which makes the crowd notice that the resident Alicorn of Maretime Bay was, in fact, not there.
"Right now, she's giving everything she's got to save somepony's life and give them a chance to live as a free pony. But she can't do that with you all making everything so difficult with all this negativity!" Zipp says, looking deadly serious now which is enough to send chills up everyone's spines.
"Yeah! If you're all not vibing and being positive, she gets weaker and sick! Too much negativity will kill her and the Mane 6!" Pipp shouts, gesturing to Twilight and her friends who all nod, confirming what she's saying. That alone makes everyone feel terrible for their behavior... even Posey. Knowing that their actions hold so much weight makes them that much more eager to help out and comply with the orders they're being given.
"So help us so we can help you. Just trust us, trust Sunny and we'll save Equestria again just like we did before. Promise!" Izzy says, causing everyone to nod and start the evacuation back up. Posey sighs and starts following along before she suddenly stops and looks at Izzy and the others.
"Look, I know I'm very harsh, straightforward, and a bit self centered, and this may not mean anything but... I-" Posey starts to say before an explosion destroys a few buildings and shakes all of Maretime Bay. Sunny feels it all the way from the Brighthouse and she looks in the distance, gaining a horrified look on her face when she sees hundreds of dragons along with a bunch of huge airships with both Midnight and Opaline's cutie marks on them. She also sees a pretty bad storm rolling in, possibly due to Storm Cutter's powers. Opaline didn't just wanna take over Maretime Bay... she wanted to wipe it off the map completely.
Sunny looks between Misty and Maretime Bay, torn between helping her friend or helping the others defend the innocent ponies who haven't evacuated yet. Shit... what could she do?! She closes her eyes, gritting her teeth in frustration before shaking her head and slowly starting to use a different spell on Misty. "I'm sorry Misty, I really do wanna help you, but they need me out there. I'm hoping this spell will at least put the other one on hold until I get back. Unfortunately... she unknowingly made it easier for the spell to take over.
Meanwhile, the others were speeding up the evacuation while defending the citizens from enemy fire. No one was getting hurt or killed on their watch. Some of them were firing at the dragons and airships while others were shielding the civilians from incoming fire. The Dazzlings try singing to brainwash the dragons or any of Opaline's allies... but it doesn't work.
"It's no good! They must already be under the influence of a powerful spell!" Adagio yells down to everyone and they all realize that Opaline really did come prepared.
"That's fine! We just need to hold them back long enough for the civilians to escape to safety! Keep fighting!" Twilight says as she fires a few powerful blasts of magic, incapacitating a few dragons and destroying a few of the airships. She's about to do it again until she sees Opaline walk up to the front of one and glare at her menacingly. Twilight glares back as she notices the literal fire in Opaline's eyes as well as on her body and wings.
"Ironic, isn't it Twilight Sparkle?!" Opaline yells, holding her arms out and gesturing to the chaos happening around them. "Celestia and Luna didn't kill Midnight, and she came back to wreak havoc which cost you and your friends your loved ones! You didn't kill her either which caused the same thing to happen to Sunny Starscout and many others! Same thing with me! Those two didn't kill me and neither did you! And now... you'll come to sorely regret that!" She says, the smugness clear in her voice and on her face along with the anger and burning hatred (No pun intended).
"I don't think so! I stopped you once Opaline, and I'll do it again! I won't let you anywhere near Sunny or her friends!" Twilight yells before flying straight towards Opaline's ship at full speed and preparing a powerful attack. Opaline smirks and prepares a powerful blast of magic and fire... but shoots it past Twilight. This makes Twilight stop and look towards where it's headed. She grows a horrified look when an explosion destroys one of the now tallest buildings in Maretime Bay and it starts falling towards a few ponies in the crowd, including Posey. "No!" Twilight shouts and just as she tries using her magic, tendrils made of fire magic wrap around her and throw her into one of the ships. Opaline then watches as the building seems to crush the innocent ponies before they can escape.
She laughs evilly before preparing to fire at the city even more... until a very bright golden light shines from underneath the rubble of the fallen building, making her cover her eyes for a bit. Meanwhile, Posey and the other ponies slowly open their eyes to see Sunny holding up a huge part of the collapsed building and slowly lifting it up further.
"Everyone out! Quickly!" Sunny shouts once it's high enough to make an opening for them. They waste no time in moving and helping each other out. Once they're all clear, Sunny yells angrily and throws the destroyed building right towards Opaline's ship with enough force to send it flying at an incredible speed for something so big. Opaline's eyes recover just in time to see it coming but before she can do anything, it hits and destroys her ship, going through it and slamming into her which sends her flying back while going higher into the air. The shockwave also makes a bunch of her dragons crash into the ground, into the ocean, or into each other.
Opaline soon recovers and rights herself before flying back to where she was and preparing to fire a very powerful blast towards Maretime Bay until Twilight suddenly uppercuts her out of nowhere, sending her flying even higher into the air. Opaline recovers again and shakes her head before looking down and now seeing both Sunny and Twilight flying side by side and glaring up at her.
"This ends now Opaline! One way or another, this ends in defeat!" Sunny shouts, readying her magic which causes Twilight to do the same. Opaline just smirks as she readies her own.
"By all means then... LET US END THIS!!!" Opaline screams before flying down at both the princesses who dare stand in her way. They both charge back and send two powerful attacks at Opaline who responds with her own, the clash creating a shockwave that spreads for thousands of miles, signifying the long awaited battle between Harmony... and Chaos.
> End of the beginning Pt. 2
As the others continued evacuating, they were also protecting the city and its inhabitants from ongoing attacks from Opaline's army which was easier said than done. They may have been drained of a lot of their fire, but what they had left was more than enough, especially due to the number of how many of them there were. They were also trying not to hurt the dragons but at this rate, they might not have much of a choice. Most of them realize this, and Sunny's friends were among those who did.
"We need to do something about these dragons! Maybe we can try lowering their numbers instead of just staying on the defensive!" Hitch yells so that everyone could hear him over all the chaos. Everyone thinks about it before Starlight speaks up.
"Ok, then some of us need to get up there and start trying to take a few of them out! A few will stay down here and try to split their attention between the ones in the air and the ones down here! Everyone else, focus on evacuation!" She says, and everyone nods then splits up to do their parts. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Zipp, Pipp, Firestar, the Dazzlings, the Princesses, and a few of the Alicorns all fly up there and start taking down a few of the dragons. Starlight, Trixie, Sunset, Izzy, Magma, and Twilight's friends, were all firing at them from the ground. Anyone else was helping with the evacuation and protecting the innocents. Thankfully, no one has been killed or seriously injured, now they just had to hope it stayed that way.
"Artemis, how's it going with the front of the crowd?" Hitch asks through the comm in his ear. It isn't long before the Alicorn's voice comes through.
"So far, so good. They don't seem too concerned about the innocents escaping, but that could change at any time, so we've got Soldiers and Sentry droids standing guard as the crowd moves. We just need you and the others to watch the back of the crowd. Make sure no one's left behind." She says, causing Hitch to agree before letting Izzy and the others know and just as he's about to let Artemis know that everyone else is aware of the objective, he hears her speak and she sounds confused and a bit troubled. "What the hell...? We've got Sentry droids going offline and some of our soldiers aren't responding. Thunderbird, go check on them. We need to-" She starts to say before a massive explosion of purple and blue fire draws everyone's attention.
They see Twilight and Sunny still fighting Opaline and they realize that... she wasn't the one who did that. They go on high alert, looking around for any sign of their assailant. While they're looking though, Titania and Nightshade show up and start making things harder for the evacuees. Hitch and Izzy decide to keep them both away from the crowd, Hitch going to take on Titania while Izzy faces Nightshade. Meanwhile, Sunny and Twilight were both giving Opaline everything they had. She wouldn't go down easily though, that much was clear... but that doesn't mean they'll stop trying.
Opaline sends a powerful wave of fire towards them and they split up, going over and under it before charging at her at the same time. Opaline dodges an attack from Sunny but knocks the one from Twilight aside, making it hit Sunny instead before she sends Twilight flying down towards Maretime Bay. The impact causes a massive shockwave and shakes the ground, cracking it as well. Suddenly, Sunny tackles her and slams her on top of one of the airships and they both take quite a tumble before stopping. Sunny takes out her sword and Opaline does the same before they both clash in battle with Opaline quickly getting the upper hand with her superior combat skills.
Opaline causes Sunny to go on the defensive as she swings her sword at Sunny, causing her to block with her own sword. Opaline then separates one blade from the other and tries stabbing Sunny with that one but Sunny blocks it with her new shield. Sunny uses both her sword and her shield to push Opaline back before swinging at her but she dodges back before sending Sunny back with a wave of fire magic. Sunny grunts as she tumbles backwards before righting herself just in time to dodge a flurry of quick slashes from Opaline. Opaline was strong, but Sunny was faster than her.
Opaline slashes at Sunny some more but Sunny manages to dodge before blocking with her shield and knocking one of her swords out of her hand. Opaline growls angrily before kicking Sunny back and starting to get more aggressive with her attacks. Apparently, this is a distraction to call her sword back into her hand with her magic. Opaline gives a good strong kick that sends Sunny sliding back to the edge of the ship. Opaline then reconnects her swords and throws them towards Sunny. Sunny knocks them upwards with her own sword and Opaline instantly flys up while spinning, grabbing them, separating them, and bringing them both down on Sunny.
Sunny rolls out of the way, causing Opaline to hit the ship, which makes it tilt downwards. Opaline pulls her swords out of the floor and turns just as Sunny delivers a kick to her face and tries to follow up with a stab of her sword. Opaline recovers just in time to block it though and push Sunny's sword down to the ground and headbutt her.
"You are the most pathetic excuse of an alicorn I've ever seen! All that power... and yet-" Opaline starts before kicking Sunny in the side, knocking her to the side of the ship. "You won't even use it all! You're just as bad as Twilight Sparkle or worse! You're both weak, you all are! But I will be the one to heal the world... by ridding it of pathetic creatures like you until I'm the only alicorn! The only Queen!" She shouts before jumping at Sunny and trying to stab her with both her swords.
Sunny quickly catches them both, stopping them just as they're inches away from her face. Another explosion draws their attention after a few minutes and they both look to see a huge fire... and Misty standing in front of it with both of her eyes glowing purple. Sunny goes wide-eyed as she realizes she must've made a mistake in the spell. "Misty...? No..." She says regretfully but Opaline uses this distraction to raise both her swords and try stabbing Sunny again, but before she can, she's blasted away with a powerful beam of magic.
Twilight lands by Sunny and helps her up. "Are you alright?!" She asks, getting a nod from Sunny. "Good. Look, I'll handle Opaline. You go down there and help your friends, they look like they're about to need the help." Twilight says and Sunny nods again and turns to go down and help... until she remembers what happened last time she left Twilight to fight by herself... and that was when she was at full strength. Narrowing her eyes, she uses her Alicorn empathy to warn the others before turning back to Twilight.
"No. The others can handle Misty and Opaline's Army. We'll take care of Opaline together. You and me." Sunny says, giving Twilight a look of pure determination and Twilight can see how much she believes and trusts in everyone... so she decides to do the same, giving Sunny a nod before they face Opaline again.
The others could handle Misty... hopefully before she hurts anyone else or herself.
When everyone else got Sunny's message in their heads, they were confused and shocked to learn that Misty was still on a rampage, despite Sunny's best efforts. They would handle her though and Izzy was the first one on it. She quickly makes a path of ice to propel herself forward and slide around while looking for Misty's exact location. Currently, she was fighting with Askari, Skylight, Nebula, Firestar, and Magma. She swings her whip around at them and they all dodge it before Skylight goes in for a strike, landing one right in her stomach which sends her reeling back. Askari fires her powers at her but Misty dodges out of the way of the blast and the explosion before swinging the whip at them again, causing her own explosion which stuns Askari while Skylight gets out of the way in time because of her speed.
She then tackles Misty and kicks her into a building and tries punching her but Misty dodges and slashes both her legs before the whip wraps around them and she swings her through another building. From there, Firestar, Nebula, and Magma try attacking her at the same time but she dodges all their attacks and takes them down one by one until she's blasted away from them by a beam of ice magic.
"Leave them alone Misty! You wanna fight someone, fight me!" Izzy shouts as Misty breaks free before jumping up and swinging her whip at Misty, sending a few blades towards her, only for them to be deflected by Izzy's sword. Izzy quickly turns tail and starts sliding around town as Misty chases her, leading her away from the others. "That's right... just follow me! Follow little old Izzy!" She shouts while still using her powers to slide around and using her magic to swing around and teleport out of the way of waves of fires. On one specific time that she turns a corner, Misty charges at her from an alleyway and Izzy reacts just fast enough for their swords to clash, blocking Misty's deadly attack.
The clash between their weapons, Izzy's Ice Magic, and Misty's borrowed Fire Magic causes a magical backlash that sends them flying away from each other while also damaging nearby buildings. They tumble for a bit until they both stop and struggle to get up, facing each other and preparing to fight. Just as they're about to charge at each other, a massive nearby explosion causes the ground beneath them to collapse and they both fall in, landing in what was left of the factory beneath Canterlogic. They tumble again and slowly get up but Misty is the first to speak.
"No friends to help either of us now. It's just you and me. All alone." Misty says, circling Izzy as she does the same. Izzy smiles sadly and shakes her head.
"We're not alone Misty. I know you're still in there... and I'm gonna fight like hell to get you back, even if it kills me... you're my friend and I'm yours." Izzy says and for a bit, Misty doesn't respond until she grunts in pain and holds her head, reeling back until she hugs her sides and looks at Izzy with tears in her eyes as they flicker between purple and green.
"Y-You... promise...?" Misty asks in a distorted, weakened, shaky voice. Izzy gives a determined nod and steps forward a bit.
"Hoof... to heart." She says, gaining a sad but hopeful smile from Misty before she screams in pain and her eyes turn fully purple and she gets in her stance, causing Izzy to do the same. Soon, they once again clash in a battle that would not only decide Misty's fate, but would also help decide the outcome of today's fight.
Sunny was horrified when she saw Misty fall into the hole with Misty, but then she checked to see if she was ok with Alicorn Empathy, happy to discover that she was only a little banged up, but alive. This distraction; however, allows Opaline to send her flying with a very powerful attack. She bumps into a few dragons and ships but manages to catch herself and dodge incoming fire from dragons and ships until she's grabbed with dark magic and thrown into a speeding kick from Storm Cutter that sends lightning through her body and sends her flying.
Meanwhile Twilight was still fighting Opaline with more skill and precision than Opaline saw from the last time they fought. "You've learned a few things over the years I see!" Opaline points out while getting more aggressive with her attacks which almost catches Twilight off guard until she counters one and sends Opaline sliding back.
"And yet you're still using your old tricks. Only thing that's changed is the amount of power you're using." She says and that seems to get to Opaline a bit because as soon as she says that, Opaline's eyes narrow and fire blasts from her wings and eyes before she launches herself towards Twilight at an incredibly fast speed. Twilight manages to block the first swipe of Opaline's swords, then the second, and the third but not the fourth and it just barely avoids going through her stomach, leaving a deep gash on her side instead.
Twilight almost falls over from the pain but she knows she can't falter. She leans backwards so the next swipe goes over her and she grabs Opaline, pulling her with her and sending her into the air with a magical kick to the chest. Twilight then throws both her swords towards Opaline and sends a magical blast towards her afterwards. Opaline blocks the swords but that leaves her defense weakened enough for Twilight's blast to knock her sword out of one of her hands and before she can guess what happens next, Twilight appears right in front of her with a magically formed blade on her right fist raised and ready to strike. Twilight brings it down with a mighty yell just as Opaline positions her sword to protect herself.
The shockwave from the attack is enough to knock dragons and ships off balance and part the clouds even more and the shockwave when Opaline crashes spreads throughout Maretime Bay and forms a massive dust cloud. However, it also causes a lot of damage to the old Canterlogic factory, causing some of the floor to collapse around Izzy and Misty. Some explosive containers had also fallen which caused more damage and set fire below them. However, they continued fighting despite the danger they were both in. Misty had a better advantage now though since she didn't have any problem pushing Izzy into the fire below and killing her, but Izzy was fighting to save her. It was already hard enough to keep up with Misty since she was faster and more agile than her and definitely more skilled, but now it was more difficult while also trying not to fall off the makeshift catwalk.
On one particularly mean, powerful, quick swing, Izzy slides under it while blocking it with her own sword with ice magic going through it and it ends up freezing Misty's whip then magic kicking her backwards while still sliding. Misty tumbles backwards when she lands and she starts trying to defrost the whip. Izzy charges towards her, ready to end the fight. She knows she could just end this quicker by going into her new "super form" but she didn't wanna hurt Misty and she didn't completely trust it yet. Whenever she uses it, it feels a bit hard to control, so she'd rather not use it unless she absolutely has to. She jumps at Misty and prepares to deliver the final blow.
The whip unfreezes just in time and Misty swings it at Izzy, causing her to swing at it with her own sword while ice magic courses through it. The clash causes a massive magical explosion that knocks them both away from each other and injures them. Misty groans in pain and looks towards her weapon, seeing that it's damaged then she looks towards Izzy and sees she's unconscious. She tries grabbing her weapons... until the spell fades and she passes out too, both of them taken out of the fight that's raging on above ground.
Currently, Twilight and Sunny were teaming up against Opaline while Zipp and Pipp were handling Storm Cutter and Ragnar, Hitch and Sparky were handling Titania, and Askari, Nebula, Skylight, Firestar, and Magma were handling Stormcutter. Everyone else was handling the airships and the dragons and the evacuation was almost over. If there was ever a time to start giving it their all, it was now, so that's exactly what they would do. Opaline tries her best to defend against Sunny and Twilight, but when they send her flying back for like the third time, she screams angrily and a tornado of fire forms around her as symbols appear on her body while fire comes out of her eyes and off her wings.
"I will not let you defeat me!!! I'm ending this right here! Right now!" She yells before flying into the air with fire trailing behind her. She flys thousands of feet into the air before diving right back down towards Maretime Bay with enough speed and power to flatten it entirely. Twilight and Sunny just look at each other and nod before Twilight goes into her super form and Sunny enters her rage mode. They both fly up and meet Opaline halfway, their magic clashing with a very powerful shockwave. "I can't fail when I'm so close to reclaiming what's rightfully mine!!!" Opaline screams as she pushes against Sunny and Twilight even harder.
"Equestria isn't yours to rule!" Twilight says as she increases the effort and power she's putting in and so does Sunny as she speaks up.
"And it deserves way better than tyrants like you!" Sunny yells as they both push forward to protect Maretime Bay from complete destruction. As they feel the teamwork and feelings of hope and determination around them, they hear everyone rooting for them, telling them to beat Opaline and with that, comes power from the Unity Crystals which allows them to start overpowering Opaline.
"No... NO!!!" Opaline screams as she tries increasing the power and pushing harder against the two princesses... but to no avail... they were overpowering her. She then tried summoning more fire through the dragon stone and that gives her a huge boost but still, Sunny and Twilight were gaining strength and power faster than she was and soon, the clash ends with a literal bang that shakes all of Maretime Bay and downs both sides of good and evil, bringing the battle and evacuation to a pause. For minutes, there's complete silence... until Sunny and Twilight emerge victorious, carrying a disheveled Opaline who was greatly injured by the backlash from the amount of magic she used to try and counter the Harmony magic they were using.
Everyone cheers when they see them, glad the battle seemed to be over as Twilight and Sunny also had the dragon stone and the dragon lord staff. Because of that, the dragons have stopped fighting and landed. Sunny holding the dragon stone towards them gives them some of their fire back that Opaline hasn't used. Twilight uses her magic to try and undo whatever spell Opaline put on it to control the dragons like this. Opaline growls in annoyance as she's dropped on the ground, weakened from what just transpired.
"Let this be a lesson Opaline. No matter how strong you are. No matter how much you try to divide us. No matter how much chaos you bring, harmony will always prevail." Twilight says while looking around at everyone celebrating. She smiles a bit until she hears Opaline chuckling and looks to see her sneering up at her.
"Counting me out already Princess? Thinking you've won... thinking I don't have an ace up my sleeve?" She says while still chuckling. "I expected better..." She continues and suddenly she surprise attacks Twilight, kicking her feet out from under her and punching her in the face hard enough to dislocate her nose. Sunny tries attacking her but she elbows her, sending her flying back. Opaline then grabs the staff and uses what's left of the spell to control at least one dragon that fights through the others to get to her and start flying her away from Maretime Bay and towards her castle.
Sunny quickly goes after her, determined not to let her get away after everything she's done. They make it about halfway before Sunny catches up and gets close enough to swipe her sword at Opaline, who tries blocking it but it ends up knocking the Dragon Lord Staff out of her hands. This causes the dragon to be free from the spell but before it realizes that, it crashes with both of them on it's back and they all tumble towards the castle until they stop but the dragon ended up rolling onto Sunny's back, giving Opaline time to get to the castle herself. Sunny, not worrying about the dragon, pushes it off with some of her Alicorn strength and continues chasing Opaline.
"You're not getting away!" Sunny says as she bursts through the doors, knocking them so far off their hinges as they go flying down the hall. She sees Opaline giving it her all, sprinting towards where her throne room was as best she could with her injuries.
"You might be right, if that was my plan!" Opaline shouts as she makes a hard left and uses her magic to close and lock the door behind her, using a spell to make it durable enough to tank the full power of a dozen alicorns. She also puts a spell over the room so Sunny couldn't teleport in and interrupt her, then she goes over to her throne, pushes it over, and opens the hatch under it, taking out the container holding Midnight's magic. She was skeptical about using it but right now, desperate times call for desperate measures. She hears Sunny banging against the door but just as she's about to open the container, she hears a scream as the temperature raises drastically, similar to what her own powers could do, and hears Sunny absolutely destroy the door and the wall around it in one attack, the shockwave knocking Opaline over and making her drop the container.
That should be impossible... she knows she did the spell right. It should've taken Sunny way longer to get in, which means... she's way more powerful than Opaline thought. Sunny slowly walks in with orange, gold, and red magic coming off of her, letting out long, enraged breaths. As Opaline looks at her now, new feelings of respect and slight fear creep into her until she snaps out of it and tries going for the magic, and meanwhile, Sunny hears a voice in her head right before she attacks her.
"Kill. Opaline."
And Sunny lunges at her, tackling her into the wall beside her and pinning her there before releasing a flurry of quick but powerful punches on her. At this point, Sunny was just venting all the built up frustration and anger, taking it all out on Opaline.
"You took a little fully and turned her into a killer!" Sunny says angrily before delivering a particularly hard punch to Opaline's face, knocking her to the side. Opaline tries crawling away but Sunny kicks her over and gets on top of her before continuing to beat her within an inch of her life. "You recruited some of the most dangerous criminals in history, stole dangerous, world-ending magic, brought back a monster! Got innocent ponies killed! Kidnapped Sparky! Brainwashed the dragons! Attacked my town! Hurt my friends!!!" Sunny screams angrily, listing all the horrible things Opaline has done or made her cronies do while unleashing hell down upon her. Meanwhile, the voice just kept chanting in Sunny's head, increasing her aggression.
"Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill."
Sunny suddenly grabs Opaline by her throat with both hands and starts furiously picking her up and slamming her back into the ground repeatedly before she pins her down and just worries about choking her to death. Try as she might, Opaline in her weakened state, was no match for Sunny in her enraged state. No... this wasn't just enraged... this was bloodlusted. Sunny suddenly screams angrily and tightens her grip, making Opaline struggle more and more. She wasn't getting out of this one, Sunny would make sure of that.
"Sunny stop!" She hears someone yell and she looks to see Solaris and Sky Blazer standing in the destroyed doorway.
"What the hell are you two doing here?! You're not stopping me!" Sunny says as she continues choking Opaline. "This is the best way to protect everyone!"
"You don't mean that! I know you don't! I know you Sunny, and I know that you would never willingly kill someone without trying to offer them a chance first! That's Opaline and Midnight's way of doing things, not yours!" Solaris shouts as she slowly moves closer, hoping to get through to Sunny before she makes a mistake that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
"Don't compare me to them!!! I'm nothing like them!" Sunny shouts as more magic starts coming off of her, causing Solaris to keep her distance but stay where she already is.
"Then prove it! I know you're not a bad pony Sunny and that you're still in there underneath all this anger and hatred! So fight through it! Just focus on me, let both the hate and Opaline go... and just walk away!" Solaris says but when Sunny barely reacts, she presses on. "Damnit Sunny, I can't lose you! None of us can! If you really were serious about never being the pony Midnight made you into, then let her go... please!" She pleads and Sunny finally looks at her again and sees the worried, heartbreaking look she was giving her. She wasn't doing this for Opaline's sake... she was doing it to save Sunny from becoming a monster.
Knowing this, Sunny looks between her and Opaline before closing her eyes and thinking of her parents, what they would want for her, and who they raised her to be... and she screams in anger before letting Opaline go, allowing her to breathe in and cough, gasping and desperately trying to get air back into her lungs. Sunny slowly backs up while not taking her eyes off her until she feels a hand grab hers and looks down to see Solaris smiling up at her before giving her a tight hug, one that Sunny returns. Before it can last long though, they hear something and look to see the container... opening on its own.
Sunny quickly gets in front of Solaris and Skyblazer, shielding them with her own body and vowing to protect them with her life. The magic slowly rises out of the container as Opaline just now notices it and slowly gets up. It moves closer to her and stays still for a bit... before two purple glowing eyes form... and snap to look at Sunny. Before any of them can react, the magic pushes past Opaline and sends her flying, going straight to Sunny as she shields Solaris and Sky from it, allowing it to hit herself.
She screams in agony as her entire body glows purple and mist starts coming off it. Solaris and Sky Blazer try getting closer to see if they can help but she looks at them and warns them.
"Stay back!" She shouts through the pain and she falls onto the floor, laying her forehead on it and holding her sides... as if she's trying to keep her body from tearing itself apart. She screams one more time before the magic leaves her body and goes to the center of the room, right over the mirror pool and starts swirling in a small cloud of mist.
"Thank you Sunny for making this all possible..." A distorted, echoed voice says and Sunny has a feeling she already knows who it is.
"I stopped you once, I'll stop you again... Midnight." Sunny declares and the voice says nothing for a bit until it chuckles and responds.
"No... not quite." It says and that confuses Sunny... until she pieces it together. She's seen it multiple times, had nightmares about it.
"Wait, if... if you're not Midnight, then you're..." She starts to say before the voice responds in a sort of sing-song voice.
"That's riiiight~. Hello me..." It says before the mist slowly disappears... and what looks back at Sunny... is her greatest fear... "Hello you."
...Herself.
> Beginning of the End
As everyone was rounding up the last of the dragons and the rest of the villains, they couldn't help but be worried about three ponies who weren't here: Sunny, Izzy, and Misty. It was unsettling that it had been almost fifteen minutes and they haven't returned yet. Just as Twilight finishes using her magic to keep Storm Cutter, Nightshade, Titania, and Ragnar bound, Artemis and Thunderbird land by her.
"All the citizens are accounted for. Is that all the villains?" Artemis asks and Twilight nods before looking in the direction that Sunny flew off in, feeling like something was wrong.
"Something doesn't feel right... I'm going to check on Sunny. Make sure none of them escapes and everyone stays calm." Twilight says but before she can even take off, a massive explosion can be seen and heard in the distance. Everyone looks shocked and horrified, wondering who or what could've caused such a huge blast...until something or someone appears right in front of them and causes a shockwave like it had just traveled here at a seemingly impossible speed. Everyone covers their faces and turns away as the shockwave hits, causing dirt to fly towards them. When they look, they're surprised and terrified to see... Sunny... but there were two of her.
One was wearing dark colors and had purple magic instead of gold or orange and the other... was unconscious, being held up by the neck by this darker, scarier version of herself. This Dark Sunny was also carrying Solaris, Sky Blazer, and Opaline in her magic until she drops them and holds Sunny up higher.
"Take a look at your "protector" Equestria. She's never looked more pitiful than she does now." Dark Sunny says, tightening her grip on Sunny's neck and causing her to let out a weak gasp. This makes her smile a bit. "Once again, she has failed you... but this won't be like last time. Because this time... there will be no guardian to protect you. No heroes to save you! Equestria now belongs to me!!!" She shouts before suddenly punching Sunny in the stomach as hard as she can, knocking all the air out of her and injuring her even more before dropping her. Twilight quickly flys to her and catches her and dodges multiple blasts from Dark Sunny until one hits her, making her crash. She notices that as soon as the blast hits her, she feels weakened and that shows her that Dark Sunny was really going to be a tough adversary.
Dark Sunny goes to blast her and Sunny until Rainbow Dash uses her speed to go around while attacking her from all angles. She deals some pretty good hits until Dark Sunny catches her fist during her next punch. She then pulls her closer, right into a punch that sends her flying a mile away. She then lands and dodges an ice blast from Rarity, blocks a punch from Applejack and a kick from Pinkie Pie. She then quickly moves out of the way as Fluttershy tries trapping her with vines then she sends a powerful wave of dark magic towards them, knocking the far away. Zipp and Pipp try blasting her at the same time but she barely flinches before walking forward like it's not doing a thing to her.
Magic tendrils suddenly shoot towards them and grab Pipp first but Zipp manages to dodge them for a bit until they catch her off guard and grab her too. Before Dark Sunny can do anything to them though, Hitch comes out of nowhere and gives her his hardest punch. It makes her head turn but that's it. She swings at him and he dodges the first punch, the second, and the third until she kicks him in one of his knees, knees him in the chin, then punches him in the chest, sending him flying. She then uses a magical shield to block the combined firepower sent towards her by all the dragons and Alicorns at once.
The shield absorbs it all before sending it back towards them, creating a massive explosion that was just as big as the one she caused at Opaline's castle. Meanwhile, Izzy and Misty were both just finally starting to wake up. Izzy is the first one up as she feels all the shaking from whatever was going on outside. She picks up her weapon and looks at Misty, who was facing away from her, hanging her head. Izzy slowly walks towards her.
"Misty...? Are you-?" She starts to ask but just as she gets close, another shake causes the ground beneath them to crack and start to collapse. Izzy realizes what's about to happen and quickly tries to grab Misty and get them both out of there but before she can, the floor collapses and they both fall towards the raging flames below. As Misty's mind catches up with her body, she realizes what's happening and she's suddenly filled with so many overwhelming emotions..., none of her feelings being stronger than the determination she feels to stay alive until she's made things right. She closes her eyes and breathes in and out as she clutches onto her blade.
Before long, the blade starts glowing...blue. Izzy notices but doesn't know what to do as the fire approaches quickly. A bright blue light temporarily blinds her and she feels herself land...but not burning.
Meanwhile, Dark Sunny was still handling everyone else with ease, none of them managing to land one critical strike on her. Right now, she was engaged in a battle with both Celestia and Luna, both sisters throwing everything they have at her as she uses her incredible agility and speed to her advantage along with her powerful dark magic attacks. Within minutes they're down and everyone decides to attack her all at once even faster. Meanwhile, Twilight was still guarding Sunny and giving her time to recover until Sunny squirms and speaks up.
"T-Twilight..." Sunny says weakly, causing Twilight to look down at her with a worried expression on her face. "M-My magic... I...I can't call it out. I think...I think it's gone." Sunny says, causing the look of concern to morph into a horrified one.
Twilight frowns and tries healing Sunny as best as she can before her Alicorn empathy tells her to teleport out of the way, so she does. Just in time too as Ragnar slams down on the spot she was just in. She lays Sunny down and puts a shield around her to keep her safe while she deals with him. Soon, Titania, Nightshade, and Stormcutter join Ragnar as well though. Great...a round two. This shouldn't go wrong at all...
Before she can do anything though, Zipp tackles Ragnar out of nowhere and Pipp speed kicks Stormcutter before her lightning lasso wraps around Nightshade and pulls her with them. Hitch then shoots Titania multiple times with his taser pistols but they barely do anything except annoy her and she walks towards him. He dodges under a swing from her hammer and charges his power into a punch right to her gut that sends her flying. He then looks at Twilight.
"We can handle them! You gotta keep Sunny safe!" He says, rushing off to join the rest of his friends before she can even respond. She sighs and walks back over to where Sunny is, seeing her slowly getting up onto her knees. She walks through the shield and heals her more but this was similar to injuries inflicted on others by Midnight. The worse they were and the more there were, the harder they were to heal. She keeps trying though until she hears someone knocking on the shield and she looks to see Solaris and Sky Blazer outside it and she quickly lets them in.
"Are you two alright?!" She asks and they nod but she can see that they're injured as well, just not as badly as Sunny.
"Sunny protected us as best she could. We got a few scrapes and burns back at the castle, but overall, we're ok." Solaris explains and Twilight nods before they try using their own magic to heal Sunny but Twilight felt like something was off. She didn't have to wonder why long before Sky Blazer spoke up.
"My magic... It feels weaker for some reason." She says and Twilight looks at her, then at Solaris as she speaks up next.
"Mine too. Maybe Dark Sunny's attacks can weaken other types of magic and even destroy it permanently if enough dark magic is used...including unity magic." Solaris says, and that puts a horrified look on all their faces as they all look at Sunny, who has that same look.
"But that's impossible. Magic can't be destroyed, not fully anyway. And not physically. It's a part of all things living and some things non living. It runs through the whole universe." Twilight says, shaking her head as she looks back at the two smaller alicorns.
"And yet it seems like this new threat has found a way to do so...but what if this was something Midnight could do the whole time but now that she's back and in a new form, she might have decided to stop holding back?!" Solaris questions, starting to panic as so many dark thoughts and theories start running through her mind. She feels Sky Blazer put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and get her attention.
"Just try to stay calm. We don't even know for sure if that's the case but let's not wait to find out. We need to focus on taking her down." She says and Solaris nods before they all look at Dark Sunny in time to see her sending many of their allies flying.
"Enough!!! Your efforts are pointless! While I respect your spirits, I think it's time to end this..." She says before her entire body is covered with dark magic and it keeps building up until she shoots a powerful beam of it into the sky, slowly opening a portal that many of them seemed to recognize.
"Oh no... Solaris, Sky Blazer, I need you both to help finish the evacuation. Anyone who's injured, you help them or get someone else to. Go!" She demands before they nod and teleport to where the civilians are, doing exactly what Twilight said. She then looks down at Sunny. "We have to go to. Can you walk?" She asks but Sunny tries getting up and nearly falls over, only for Twilight to hold her steady. "You know what? Don't worry about it. I'll carry you." She says and before Sunny can protest, they both hear the portal make a terrifying sound, causing everyone to look at it and see tendrils of dark magic coming out and hitting the battlefield.
Storm clouds roll in and they just add to the destruction as lightning strikes hit every few seconds. It isn't until Twilight hears a familiar roar that she understands what Dark Sunny is doing... She's reviving villains and she just revived the Storm King. It doesn't take long for more of their former villains to show up, including King Sombra, Nightmare Moon, Daybreaker, Short Fuze, Rolling Thunder, Lightning Dust, Snowdrop, Astelle, and the Elements of Insanity. Everyone looks horrified to see past villains and old friends revived and turned back into enemies.
Before they can say or do anything, Dark Sunny addresses the villains.
"Welcome back. If you're ready to claim what's rightfully ours, then you can start with the very ponies that got you all killed in the first place." She says, pointing one of her newly formed swords towards the heroes and as it glows purple, so do the eyes of all the villains. They then charge at the heroes, going after who they knew they could hurt the most and during the clash, Celestia deflects a powerful blast from Nightmare Moon, unknowingly sending it towards Twilight and Sunny.
Twilight immediately knows the shield won't hold but before she can grab or teleport Sunny, the blast causes an explosion that knocks them both out of the shield and sends them both flying. Twilight lands first and tumbles to a stop sooner than Sunny does. Sunny yells in pain as she lands and tumbles away from Twilight, rolling towards the cliff but trying to stop. She quickly scratches and grabs at the ground and manages to stop herself so she's hanging off the edge. She quickly starts losing her grip since her strength hasn't fully returned and now the armor was starting to weigh her down. One of the benefits of Alicorn strength, she never felt how heavy her armor was before.
Left with no choice, she quickly uses one hand to detach what's left of her heavily damaged armor, or at least the top part of it. The armor on her legs wasn't really a problem, so now she could start climbing up. Just as she's about to get one leg up, she screams in pain and looks to see an armored boot on top of her right hand, looking up to see it belongs to her dark counterpart. Dark Sunny smirks down at her before crouching, putting more weight on her hand which makes her groan in pain while glaring up at her.
"All those years of being an alicorn, going around, protecting Equestria, acting all high and mighty and putting on that stupid brave face that everyone loved to see... Now look at you." Dark Sunny says, both smugness and hatred present in her voice. "Powerless. Weak. Afraid. Alone." She says while leaning her face closer to Sunny's to emphasize her point. "Meanwhile. I'm the exact opposite. And best of all?" She says before a blade comes out of one of her gauntlets and she starts moving it towards Sunny's pinned hand, letting Sunny know exactly what she's planning.
She's going to cut off Sunny's hand and watch her fall to her death without it. Sunny tries fighting to get free as she sees the blade getting closer and closer to her wrist.
"I'll still be alive after you're gone." Dark Sunny continues but before she can start cutting, they both sense something that makes them look towards the Crystal Brighthouse. They watch as the spot where the Unity Crystals are glows brighter than ever and the Prisbeam coming out of the top starts glowing more with a golden outline. Sunny starts looking relieved until half that golden outline turns purple and the sky becomes clouded, followed by the weather becoming colder and harsher. It's right then that they both realize what's going on... the entire world is divided. Out of all the things...why now?!
Soon, the beam starts looking unstable and Sunny is alarmed by this change. She looks towards everyone else and sees that the fighting has stopped for now. Good, that means she can warn them.
"Everyone! Take cover, right now!" She screams, causing everyone to do just that but before Dark Sunny can finish her off and make a shield for herself, the magic overloads and the next thing they know, they're blinded by a insanely bright light and their ears are ringing. They are also launched by the magic and they can't see or hear what's going on.
When Sunny's senses all recover, she feels herself being carried first. She's being carried by someone who's...running. Next, she can smell dirt, smoke, and...blood. The next thing to recover is her sight. She blinks a few times and looks up to see Twilight was the one carrying her and she had a badly bleeding scratch on her head and her cheek. That explains the smell of blood. She can also see Twilight sparing occasional glances down towards her while her mouth is moving, then slowly her hearing comes back. She looks around and sees so many ponies and other creatures running away as well and she sees her friends too...all except one...actually two.
As she looks behind them towards Maretime Bay, she can see fire everywhere, but overall, Maretime Bay was still intact. She also sees her dark self standing in front of an inferno, her silhouette being complimented by her angry glowing purple eyes as she glares after them along with the rest of the villains. Sunny glares back before focusing back on Maretime Bay. As her vision starts darkening, she can only muster one last thought before she passes out.
"Izzy...Misty...please stay safe..."
> Grand Escape
Flashback
As Izzy lands safely without burning, she slowly opens her eyes to see...a giant, crystallized looking butterfly made of blue magic. She looks shocked and amazed before looking at Misty, who was also on it, still holding her blade which was also glowing blue. She sees what looks to be the outline of a butterfly glowing on Misty's thigh and she slowly smiles as she realizes what it means. Misty just got her cutie mark. The butterfly flys towards an opening in one of the walls and Misty grabs Izzy.
"Hang on! This is gonna be close!" She says and Izzy instantly gets a tight grip on both the butterfly and Misty. The opening is narrow, but wide enough for them to get through. It quickly flys towards it, avoiding debris that's still falling and managing to get through the opening, having to quickly maneuver around obstacles until it raises over one a bit too much and Misty sees something ahead at the last second, reacting too late and getting hit in the head while pushing Izzy down onto the butterfly before it disappears and her and Izzy fall and tumble forward painfully hard.
Izzy slowly gets up and looks over towards Misty, seeing her unconscious as her head is bleeding from the head injury she received. She quickly crawls over and tears off a piece of cloth attached to her suit and uses it to wrap up Misty's head, covering the injury.
"Hang on Misty. I'm gonna get you out of here and we're gonna get help." Izzy says before she tries to pick up Misty and continue down the opening, hoping it'll lead them back above ground and if not, she'd just tunnel through it and make it lead them back above ground. Before she can get moving though, another violent shake causes the tunnel to start collapsing and Izzy is forced to make a shield around her and Misty, shielding them from whatever was going on out there that was making things bad in here.
A Day Later, Present Day
As Izzy blasts a small hole through the ground, she's relieved to see that she had finally gotten herself and Misty above ground after a bunch of wrong turns. Without those happening, she would've gotten them there a lot sooner. That, and she had to stop and shield herself and Misty from debris a bunch of times, then blast her way back out of the mess without causing another collapse. She pulled then pushed Misty out first then climbed out, rolling onto her back and looking up at the sky, happy to be back until she notices that... the sky isn't clear and the land isn't all happy and green and filled with life... It's covered in snow and the clouds are dark and grey. They were currently in a blizzard. With that knowledge, she sits up and looks around, wondering if she's in the right place until she sees that they ended up right behind Canterlogic, albeit a few ways away.
But...what happened to Maretime Bay? This wasn't what she remembered... She hears Misty shiver and looks over towards her, seeing her shaking and grimacing in discomfort. She sighs and looks for someplace warm to take her. She quickly moves her over to the nearby forest and uses her sword to collect wood to make a fire, piling it all up then using a small blast of magic to light it all on fire. She then takes a moment to collect her thoughts, sitting by the fire with Misty. First thing's first. The fire won't last forever, so she needs a better way to keep Misty at least somewhat warm. Maybe Maretime Bay had something; however, she didn't know if that was the best idea right now.
Given the fact that she didn't see anyone she knew and Maretime Bay was in bad shape as far as she could see, she already guessed that things went wrong during and after her fight with Misty. Still, if she didn't do something then Misty would die in this weather. Izzy was fine due to her ice powers, but Misty didn't have that same gift. Making up her mind, she decides to go into Maretime Bay. She puts an invisibility spell over Misty to hide her from anyone who may come looking to hurt them. After that, she runs over to Maretime Bay in a hurry to find everything she might need: blankets, maybe cables, wire, or rope and something to act as a sled for Misty, and multiple layers of thick clothes to put her in. She sneaks through an alleyway, checking her surroundings and seeing ponies and other creatures in the streets. She doesn't see her friends though and now that she really looks, she recognizes some of them as past soldiers of Midnight, including Stormcutter, Nightshade, Titania, and Ragnar.
She looks up and sees Death Bolts flying above the town and some sitting on rooftops, patrolling and keeping an eye out for intruders. Great... That was just gonna make sneaking around even harder. She tries thinking of nearby places that could have what she needed...and Mayflower's place comes to mind and the Sheriff's Station. She just needs a plan and an opening. Seeing a few spray cans and art supplies by a dumpster, she gets an idea and grabs them, getting to changing the color of her armor until it's fully black and purple. She then ties her mane into a bun and finds a black cloak and mask, putting them both on. She pulls the hood of the cloak over her head and continues to wait for an opening.
Once she sees one, she walks out of the alley, blending in with the crowd of villains. She tries not to draw any attention to herself, doing a pretty good job of it. She slightly smirks under her mask.
"Maximum sneaky engaged." She mutters to herself as she moves through the crowd, quickly getting into Mayflower's place first and finding blankets and thick layers of clothes. She also manages to find some food for the journey to Bridlewood. Afterwards, she sneaks out and starts making her way to the sheriff's station. Halfway there, she hears a familiar voice and looks to see Sunny. She's filled with joy and almost yells to get her attention until she takes a moment to recognize what's going on. Sunny was wearing black and purple, her magic was purple along with her eyes, and she was talking to an evil looking version of Twilight and all this made Izzy realize...that wasn't Sunny.
Suddenly, Dark Sunny stops talking and starts looking around and Izzy can tell that her alicorn empathy was telling her she was being watched. Izzy moves behind cover just as Dark Sunny looks over to where she was. She silently but quickly moves away and just in time as Dark Sunny rounds the corner, checking the alley she was in. Izzy sighs in relief and continues moving towards the station.
Once she gets there, she doesn't see anyone inside but before she can go in, she hears Dark Sunny's voice echo through the city.
"Someone's here! Everyone spread out and find them!" She shouts, causing Izzy to gain a horrified look on her face before she quickly goes inside the station and locks the doors. She goes to cover up the windows before she's kicked in the face and sent rolling into a wall. She groans in pain and looks to see a Pegasus dressed like some sort of ninja walking towards her with two mini ice scythes ready to strike.
"Who are you...?" Izzy asks, standing up and grabbing her sword, getting in her stance afterwards.
"Before I died, I was called Snowdrop. However, you can call me Frostbite." She says before she suddenly moves as fast as Zipp and Pipp, knocking Izzy into another wall and Izzy quickly recovers in time to block a swing of one of her scythes. She blocks another swing and jumps over a sweeping kick to the legs, stabbing downwards towards Frostbite for a killing strike, but she moves out of the way in time and sends a ice blast towards Izzy that she deflects, sending it back towards her which gets her knocked back.
Izzy tries blasting her with ice but she moves out of the way once again, appearing beside Izzy barely a second later. Izzy reacts fast enough to block the swing of one scythe but misses the second one which ends up stabbing into her leg. She doesn't scream in pain though, knowing that would spell disaster for her. Instead, she just groans then headbutts Frostbite, spinning and elbowing her in the face which stuns her before blasting her into the open cell behind her and quickly trapping her with ice before closing the cell door, finding the keys and locking it. Good thing she remembered where Hitch usually put them. She takes a moment to catch her breath until she notices Frostbite starting to break free.
She quickly looks around and gathers everything she'll need for Misty even as Frostbite breaks free and starts making a lot of noise to draw the attention of her allies. Izzy growls in annoyance and starts heading for the door until she sees silhouettes through the blinds then hears the door handles rattling, followed by the sound of someone trying to break the doors down. She then sees Frostbite starting to freeze the bars of the cell and decides that the ventilation system might be the best chance of escape she has. She pulls down one of the vents and tosses the supplies up into it then quickly climbs in. She has to avoid a few ice spikes stabbing through the vents and she gets scratches on her side at least once, but she makes it outside with the supplies. She climbs out onto the roof of the sheriff's station and is about to jump off until she gets tackled and taken into the sky by a Death Bolt, dropping the supplies and causing them to roll off the roof.
The Death Bolt starts punching her repeatedly until she blocks one punch and headbutts him before kicking off him and letting him and the others think she's just falling to her death, but really, she has a plan. When she's halfway down to the ground, she turns over and makes an ice ramp, grabbing the supplies as she slides downward then upward. She reaches the end and launches off the end of the ramp, readying a spell and slamming the magical glyph she formed down into the ground, worsening the blizzard and masking the rest of her escape.
With the snow blocking her from their view, she runs to where Misty is and sees the fire is still going but it has definitely died down a bit. She realizes she forgot to get something to make a sled for Misty and she sighs in frustration before looking at a nearby tree and getting an idea. She quickly uses her sword to slice out a big chunk of wood and carve it into a makeshift sled. She makes about four holes for the ropes and cables then loops them through them all. She then puts the blankets on the sled then puts the clothes on Misty over her armor with some difficulty. Afterwards, she puts Misty on the sled and folds the sides of the blankets over her.
"There you go Misty, all nice and cozy." Izzy says, trying really hard to hide her worry at the realization that Misty hadn't woken up yet. She then grabs the cables and ropes, looping them around her shoulders and testing to see if they'll hold. When she's satisfied, she grabs the bag of food and starts marching towards Bridlewood, leaving the fire as the only proof that they were there in the first place. "Don't worry Misty, we'll get to Bridlewood soon and you'll be warmer in one of the treehouses. Then we'll really get that spell out of your head." She says, determined to keep her promise to Misty and the next one she makes... to Sunny.
"I'll find you Sunny...you and our friends. Then we'll end this, all of this, together."
Bridlewood
Sunny jumps awake after being asleep for over half a day, looking around for any danger.
"Izzy!" Is the first word she shouts when she wakes up. She takes a moment to catch her breath, putting her head in her hands to calm down and kinda clear the sleepiness from it. She looks around and sees she's in a bed...in a treehouse, but not just any treehouse, it was a medical station in Bridlewood. She notices that her arms are wrapped up along with her stomach, but she's not too concerned. Right now, she just wants to know what's going on and if everyone's ok. Before she can get up, Twilight, Alphabittle, and Queen Haven all walk in.
"You're awake, how are you feeling?" Twilight asks as she kneels beside Sunny to check on her. Sunny takes a moment to answer, but after a few seconds, she does.
"Uhhh... I-I feel fine. My throat is just really dry." She says, now starting to feel how dry her throat really was. Alphabittle steps forward and holds a cup towards her.
"Good thing I brought this tea for you then. Drink it. It'll help you." He says and Sunny smiles a bit and takes it, taking a few sips from it and instantly starting to feel much better.
"You're lucky a sore throat is the only problem, given everything it looked like you went through dear." Haven says, causing Sunny to give her a questioning look. "Alphie told me that when you first got here, you looked like you had been hit by a bullet train straight into a stampeding herd of buffalo." Haven says, gesturing to Alphabittle and Sunny has to stop for a second and process what she just heard.
"Alphie...? Nope, not even gonna get into that." Sunny thinks before she realizes what else Haven said and she looks at the bandages on her arms and stomach. "Was it really that bad...?" She asks herself in her head before she remembers what happened, all her memories rushing back to her. "Oh my god... Izzy! I-I need to find her; she needs me!" Sunny says, going to stand up until Twilight places a hand on her shoulder.
"That's...not exactly the best idea right now. First, rest and let the tea do its thing, then when you wake up, you eat and we'll discuss a plan and...talk about some things." Twilight says and Sunny goes to protest, trying for a few seconds before giving up and reluctantly nodding, so many thoughts running through her mind and making it hard for her to disagree with the fact that she needed more time to recover and think. "Good. We'll be back to check on you in about an hour tops, ok?" Twilight asks, gaining a nod from Sunny which causes her to smile before getting up and walking off with Alphabittle and Queen Haven following closely.
Sunny sighs before laying back and closing her eyes, trusting that everything will make sense in due time. For now, she just needed to rest and trust everyone to take care of things while she did. Before she drifts off to sleep, she manages one more thought.
"I'll find you Izzy..."
> A harsh, cold world
As Sunny gets dressed, she can't help but be relieved that she was finally able to leave the medical station and get back to the action with her friends. Not only did she miss them, but she was really eager to go out and find Izzy and probably Misty too. Now was as good a time as any. When she's fully dressed, she walks out and looks around, instantly being hit with the extremely cold temperature. She shivers and hugs herself as she goes around, looking for Twilight or anyone who can help her. She sees a few unicorns going to The Crystal Tea Room and decides to follow them in.
She's relieved to find it being a little warmer in here than out there and find her friends and everyone else in there.
"Sunny? You should still be resting." Artemis says sternly as she walks over to her and helps her over to a table to take a seat.
"I'm fine. Honestly. I'm just still a little tired, but other than that, I'm good and I'm ready to go look for Izzy and Misty." Sunny says, unexpectedly getting weary looks and side eyes from everyone which confuses her. "What? What's wrong?" She asks and no one answers for a bit until Skylight speaks up.
"A few things actually. One: It's way too dangerous and way too cold to start a random search right now. Two: We really need to focus on how we're gonna stop that other you. And Three: Well..." She hesitates and at this point, Sunny is getting a bit annoyed and she knows where this is going but before she can say anything, Askari finishes what Skylight is trying to say.
"We saw how fast and skilled Misty was. We also saw Izzy draw her away but we didn't see what happened to them after. As much as I hate to say it, for all we know, Misty might've-" Askari says, but before she can finish her sentence, Sunny cuts in, sounding a bit desperate.
"N-No! She didn't! Izzy's alive! I know she is... I know it." Sunny says and just by looking at her, everyone can tell that she wants to believe that more than anything even though she has her own doubts. "Izzy wouldn't allow herself to die until she successfully helped Misty. She's stronger than that." Sunny says firmly, looking around at everyone.
"We know Sunny... We know she is. And we know she's still out there somewhere, but right now, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go anywhere. Without your magic, you're a sitting duck." Thunderbird says, reminding Sunny of her current lack of her magical powers.
"Wha- So what? Am I a liability now?" She asks, instantly getting a response from Twilight.
"No! No, of course you're not. It's just way too dangerous for you now without your magic. Besides, we're looking for ways to get it back for you." Twilight says, gaining a surprised look on her face along with everyone else when Sunny suddenly slams both her fists down on the table she's sitting at and screams at her.
"I don't care about my magic right now! Do I want it back?! Of course I do! But right now, I just... I just wanna see Izzy and know that she's ok! That's all... That's all I want." Sunny says, her voice breaking towards the end of her sentence, showing just how much distress she was in. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight can see Rainbow Dash looking at her then she sees Rarity and Applejack looking at each other along with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and she instantly knows that they all know how she feels...and so does she. So she sighs and looks at Sunny.
"Alright. Just sit tight, I'm gonna check in with Sunset and Starlight to see if they've found anything, ok?" Twilight asks, getting a nod from Sunny and a soft "thank you" before turning around and using Alicorn empathy to communicate with both unicorns and their teams.
As Sunset and the Dazzlings kept making their way through the blizzard with Sunset on her own motorcycle and the Dazzlings flying above her, she couldn't help but notice how much worse it had gotten and all around the world, it was a bunch of different catastrophes and natural disasters, from earthquakes to tornadoes to huge thunderstorms. It was weird to think that all this happened because a dark version of Sunny came out of nowhere, summoned more villains seemingly from the dead, and kicked all their asses. She knew there was more to it though. There always was.
"Sunset, Starlight? Have you found anything?" She hears Twilight ask in her head all of a sudden. She still thinks she'll never get used to that.
"Nope. Nothing on my end yet, just snow, ice, and more snow. We've been traveling for miles and haven't seen a single sign of Izzy or that other unicorn. Don't worry, we'll keep looking though." Sunset assures her and without her even being there, she can tell Twilight is relieved to hear that.
"Thank you. I know this is a lot to ask, but it means a lot. Sunny's really worried and it's showing more and more with every minute she spends away from Izzy." Twilight says and Sunset can't help but pity the young Alicorn. She understood exactly how she felt.
"Yeah, I know the feeling. If something worse than this happened and I was away from Adagio, not knowing if she was alive or dead or injured or worse, I wouldn't even know what to do or where to start looking." Sunset says and before Twilight can say anything, they both hear Starlight speak.
"Same for me with Trixie. I'd lose my mind if anything happened to her and I know it's the same for you with Rainbow Dash, Twilight. But anyway, haven't found anything on my side either. We ended up at Opaline's castle or...the spot where it was. There's nothing here now but a giant crater...and a dragon skeleton." Starlight says, causing both Sunset and Twilight to cringe a bit. They knew it was the dragon that Opaline had taken and that it had been killed by the explosion that Dark Sunny caused there. Poor thing... At least it didn't suffer. "Hang on, I think we've got something. I'll get back to you and let you know what we found." Starlight says before going silent and Sunset sighs.
"Well I'll let you get back to it. Stay safe out there." Twilight says and Sunset smiles a bit before responding.
"You too, and hey. Go easy on Sunny. I can't put myself directly in her shoes, but I get how she's acting, especially with everything she's gone through, everything she's lost and can lose." Sunset says and Twilight doesn't say anything but Sunset can tell she heard her and that she understands.
"You're right. But we all still have a lot to lose... So let's make sure we can keep the losses down to a minimum." Twilight says, and with that, she goes quiet, leaving Sunset and the Dazzlings to their mission of finding Izzy. She sighs heavily, which manages to get the attention of Adagio, who was floating closest to her.
"Based on that sigh, I'm assuming you got into contact with Princess Twilight and she didn't have the best news." She guesses and Sunset chuckles and shakes her head.
"Something like that. Good news is that Starlight thinks her team might've found something. Which is better luck than we're having." Sunset says, getting nothing in response until Adagio flys a bit lower while still moving alongside her.
"Hey. Don't worry, we'll find something before you know it. If there's one thing we've learned from each other, it's to never give up. On anything. You wouldn't let me and my sisters give up on ourselves, so we're not letting you give up on this." She says and Sunset slightly looks at her, slowly starting to smile before she nods.
"Thanks. I needed to hear that." She says before looking forward again and continuing to ride in silence. It takes a bit, but eventually they hear something, causing Sunset to stop her motorcycle and the Dazzlings to stop right above her. "Do you three hear that?" She asks as she looks around for any sign as to what could be causing the sound.
"It's kinda hard not to. It's pretty loud. It sounds like..." Aria says, drifting off as she starts to close out her sentence. Luckily Sonata continues for her.
"Fighting... It's coming from that way I think." She says as she gestures to the right side of the road where a forest wasn't too far from it. Just as they're about to ask if she's sure, a bright blue light flashes through the trees, followed by the sound of an explosion. "Told ya." Sonata says a bit smugly, getting a eyeroll from Aria and an annoyed huff from Adagio.
"Let's go!" Sunset says as she gets her motorcycle moving again, driving it towards the forest as the Dazzlings follow closely behind until they have to fly over the trees as Sunset drives through them. The light continues flashing every few seconds and the sounds of fighting get louder as time goes, making it easy to determine the exact location of the battle. Until suddenly, the front wheel of Sunset's motorcycle gets caught on something and flips forward, causing her to have to jump forward off of it and take a bit of a tumble right into a tree. She hears her bike crash next to her and looks at it, seeing it damaged as it also took a tumble. "Aw damn. I loved that bike..." She groans, annoyed and a bit saddened...but she has to stay focused.
She gets up, groaning and wincing in pain as she does but quickly shaking it off and starting to run towards the battle. She runs for about a minute until she gets there and sees... a bunch of villains either laid out flat on the ground unconscious or frozen in place with an exhausted looking Izzy standing in the middle of them all, panting heavily and holding what was once her sword and is now just the handle of the sword.
"Holy shit... Haha, we've been looking for you!" Sunset laughs, getting Izzy's attention and putting a smile on her face as well.
"Glad I happened to be here at the time then." Izzy says, letting out a breathy laugh until she hears Misty coughing and she goes over to her with a worried luck, seeing the area around her eye's darkening even more...just like what happened to Sunny in the past. Sunset kneels by her and checks Misty's temperature while talking to Izzy.
"Sorry we couldn't get to you sooner. These villains seem to be almost everywhere we look. Plus they're relentless." Sunset says, looking behind herself to see the Dazzlings just now managing to get down to them, only knocking down a tree or two.
"Eh, it's fine. Besides, these guys were doing nothing but keeping me warm. It's gotten so cold that even I'm starting to feel it." Izzy says as she starts trying to warm Misty back up. Sunset gets an idea and reaches out a hand, using her magic to make a ball of fire around it. Izzy feels the warmth from it and instantly starts moving Misty a bit closer before sitting by it and warming up herself like someone would around a campfire or a warm fireplace on a cold night. "Thanks." Izzy says with a smile, causing Sunset to smile back and nod.
"No problem, but we really can't stay here long. We need to get you both back to Bridlewood. Sunny's really worried about you." Sunset says, causing Izzy to let out a long sigh of relief, which confuses Sunset a bit.
"I knew that wasn't her I saw in Maretime Bay. I knew it!" Izzy says firmly, seeming to relax and Sunset can easily tell that she saw Dark Sunny but still didn't know the full story of what was going on.
"Yeah, it's a long story. But we'll explain on the way." Sunset says, getting a nod from Izzy before they both gather the supplies that Izzy got from Maretime Bay and the Dazzlings help move Misty and the sled she was in. She's put on Sonata's back and so is Izzy. Sunset places a spell on Misty that would keep her from falling off before she climbs onto Adagio's back. "Ok, I think we're set." Sunset says before the Dazzlings take off into the air, Adagio quickly swooping down and using her tail to grab Sunset's motorcycle on their way out of the woods and back to Bridlewood.
Meanwhile, With Starlight's Team
It was hard to see at first, but Starlight was definitely sure of it now. One spot of the area, specifically the ocean and the cliff that was by it...was not covered in snow. In fact, that whole area was seemingly steaming. It was almost as if that specific area couldn't get frozen over. She walks a bit closer, Trixie, Tempest, and Sunburst following closely behind. "You guys see that too...right?" She asks, looking back at them and seeing them nod.
"We didn't at first, but now? It seems like we shouldn't have missed that the first time." Tempest says and Starlight agrees as she gets to the edge of the cliff, looks down and...begins to feel something...strange yet eerily familiar. When the others get close, they feel the same thing.
"That's kinda creepy...why does it feel so familiar when we've never been here before?" Sunburst asks, trying to go over all the possibilities in his head.
"I don't think it's the place that feels familiar Sunburst..." Trixie says as she also tries figuring out what feels so familiar and why.
"But maybe it's something that's contained here." Starlight says, her eyes lighting up as she finally figures out why this feels so familiar. "We need to tell Twilight about this. Come on, let's head back before someone sees us." Starlight says before they all start to head back to Bridlewood. Before she leaves, Starlight looks over the edge of the cliff one more time and swears she sees a little flash of multiple colors for a split second when she does. She smiles a bit when she sees it. Following the others, she knows that if she's correct, then whatever was down there...could turn the tide of this war and give them a chance at beating Dark Sunny and all of the villains...once and for all.
Maretime Bay
"I know I wasn't in this body at the time when it happened, but consider all this torture I've been putting you through as payback for you and Sombra leaving me to deal with Twilight and her pathetic friends and army by myself all those years ago." Dark Sunny says with a slight hint of anger in her voice and madness in her eyes as she glares at the injured and disheveled Opaline, who was hanging by her arms and legs in front of her, bound in chains with a magic dampening ring on her horn. Opaline coughs up blood before slowly lifting her head to look at Dark Sunny and responding.
"You should've known you couldn't win in the past Midnight... not with the way you were fighting. You refused to use your full power against Twilight, then against Sunny and it cost you both battles. But I see that now you've decided to fully stop holding back. Good for you." Opaline says with a weak smirk that is quickly punched off her face by Dark Sunny. Her face is then grabbed and she's forced to look Dark Sunny in the eyes.
"Don't forget that even with me not using my full power, they still just barely beat me. Meanwhile, you were using all the power you could and after they beat you, they still had enough energy to keep fighting. No one died. No one was broken. You ran away and almost got yourself killed. All those skills and powers and yet the only thing you did right was open the container that was keeping my magic inside it, leading to my resurrection." She says with a large amount of venom in her voice before she roughly pushes Opaline's face away. "You call yourself a Queen but you are nothing but a failure, just like all those other fools before and after you. Except me of course. And I say that because I don't plan to fail this time. No more taking my time. No more playing with my food." Dark Sunny vows as she starts walking off.
"One way or another, all those foolish, so-called 'heroes' will suffer...and they will die." She says before she hears Opaline chuckle while trying not to cough up more blood.
"And what if, dare I hope, you're the one who dies instead?" She asks, causing Dark Sunny to suddenly whirl around and put her face close to hers.
"I will not die!" She growls out angrily as the building shakes from the amount of power her anger was generating. "Not this time. Sunny and Twilight are welcome to try but they are too weak to do it. And with chaos on my side and making me stronger than ever, they stand no chance." Dark Sunny says, her eyes glowing even more to emphasize her point.
"You say that now until they bring the world back together and there is no more chaos for you to feed on." Opaline says, getting a glare from Dark Sunny...then a chuckle.
"Luckily... I have a plan for that." She says before the doors to the room open and Stormcutter, Nightshade, Titania, and Ragnar all come in with a corrupted Changeling following closely behind. Dark Sunny growls in annoyance.
"Sorry to disturb you my Queen, but we have news-." The changeling says but before he can even fully finish his sentence, Dark Sunny fires a magic blast towards him, sending him flying into a wall and making a huge hole in his chest, killing him instantly. Dark Sunny glares at his body for a bit before closing her eyes, breathing in and out, then opening them and looking at her four deadliest soldiers.
"Report..." She says, quickly trying to forget that she asked for no interruptions before she kills them too. Nightshade steps forward and starts signing what the Changeling was trying to say. The more she tells Dark Sunny, the more intrigued she becomes before a smirk slowly forms on her face.
"So they found two of Sunny's little friends and they're looking for ways to bring her magic back, huh?" She asks before she walks out, signaling for them to continue torturing Opaline. Her smirk grows as she hears Opaline's screams while she comes up with a good plan at the same time.
"Well then...time for a little chaos." |
The Rejected 6 | pre | Discord struggled to explain again "...Well, you see ... in large battles, opponents are usually given names that give some idea of their strategy. And Discord is what fit my strategy the best, " He explained.
"Wait, battle?" Lightning did a double take, She had never heard of any battle before! "What battle!?"
"Er... about a thousand years ago, me and Celestia had a disagreement over something stupid and I got imprisoned in stone for the rest of that time..." Discord shrugged.
"Well... that sucks." Lightning Dust raised her eyebrows a little, trying to fathom it. As she did so, her opinion of Celestia went down a bit, "What would be so worth fighting for that you'd risk that?" She asked.
"I... don't remember..." Discord thought hard, resting his chin on his claws. All he could remember were the various birds and school filly's that went by him in his entombment. The furthest back he could remember was about 700 years ago, when there was still that rage and sadness, the only reason he "remembered" the battle was because of books and ponies. He was sure he could remember if he allowed more of that old emotion into him, but he didn't really want to do that. He liked being carefree.
It was strange though. He never remembered hating anypony, so he wasn't quite sure where the hate was directed.
Lightning noticed that was more of an 'I don't care to remember' than an 'I can't remember'. But she didn't push the subject.
Suddenly Discord didn't want to be in the garden anymore.
He laid his paw on Lightning's back.
"Eep!" she clenched her teeth and widened her eyes in fright.
They teleported from the garden to the very top of the castle. Since it was night, they didn't have to worry about being seen. Or at least, that's what Discord thought.
A cold, damp tree root wrapped around his torso from above his arm.
"You are going to betray your friends," it said before vanishing. Discord wasn't aware his duplicate could even speak, and who else had a tree root for a paw?
Discord and Lightning Dust turned to look at the creature, but found nothing.
"...What was that?" Lightning asked.
"That's probably the second me. He's just trying to stir up more chaos like I instructed. Just ignore him" Discord crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. He didn't like being used for food, he didn't like being disturbed like that, and most of all, he didn't like being lied to for convenience. His only real friend was Fluttershy, he was still reluctant to call any of the others friends. But even so, he would never betray any of them.
"...Wat?" Lightning Dust gave Discord a bemused look.
...He didn't have anything better to do while waiting, so he started explaining the situation.
"Did you ever read articles on some of the strange things happening in Ponyville?" He asked.
"How could I not? That town sees more action than any other," Lightning lazily smirked at how ridiculous that was.
"Well, do you remember reading one called the "Pink apocalypse"?" Discord asked.
Lightning looked down at a small statue in the distance. "No, I think I missed that one."
"Well," Discord led into the sentence, "Apparently, Pinkie Pie found a way to duplicate herself."
"Huh..." Lightning suddenly remembered the high-energy pink pony. If there were several more of them... well... that would be more cute than an apocalypse. She didn't see any problems with it.
"So I simply asked her how she did it," Discord finished.
Lightning paused.
"Wait-a-minute," she slurred while smirking, she was definitely getting tired. "The spirit of chaos had to ask a pink party pony for help?" Lightning was amused at the thought.
"Yes," Discord didn't see what the problem was.
"You didn't just already know?" She asked, still amused at this un-god-like creature beside her.
"I can't just know everything," Discord scoffed. "Information has to come from somewhere, and the best place is usually straight from other ponies."
"other ponies? You're not a pony." Lightning teased.
"Shut-up."
They were quiet for a while, enjoying the view. Canterlot was definitely much more beautiful than Fillydelphia. At night, the city lit up like the stars, and the white ground and plants were bathed in the golden fire.
Suddenly discord felt a slightly sweet and salty taste enter his mouth. It was small in taste, but somehow its intensity was much larger. It reminded him of Twilight Sparkle when she was studying. Twilight wasn't anywhere near Canterlot... but there were probably many more scholars like her in Canterlot. Discord turned his head back to the beautiful city below him. Suddenly, he wanted to see it upside-down.
"What should I flip..." Discord asked himself.
Lightning sat up, excited at the idea, "That thing!" She pointed at a random tree that led to Canterlot castle.
"And the others around it?" He asked, testing her.
"Nope, just that one." She answered.
He liked her style.
Discord was interrupted from changing things in a way that would drive anypony with even slight OCD crazy. The carriage containing Celestia was returning.
"There she is!" Discord stood up. "Finally!"
He poofed a letter out of thin air and handed it to Lightning Dust.
"Here, give this to Celestia, or her guards if they stop you." He said.
Lightning Dust took the letter in her mouth. She was excited! She finally would get to meet the pony who ruled all of Equestria! And since she was drunk with lack of sleep, she didn't think that she might appear threatening, that the letter Discord gave her might have been in kindergarten grade writing, or that it could just be a picture of her assassinating Celestia.
She flew as straight as she could towards the carriage, only deviating from her path to dodge buildings.
Discord let his mind go back to that taste... No, it was way too intense for most ponies...
Lightning Dust flew next to the carriage as it approached the ground.
Princess Celstia opened the letter from the sleep-deprived teal mare. On it, there was a picture of Celestia sitting in her carriage, tearing off her bikini and top hat while everypony and Discord laughed at her. Unamused, she let the paper she was holding combust into flames.
Seeing this, Lightning Dust gave a disheartened look.
"Discord sent you?" Celestia deadpanned.
Lightning Dust simply nodded her head, trying to hide her fear at Celestia's apparent anger.
Celestia sighed...
She furrowed her eyes while staring directly at Lightning Dust, "...what?"
"uh..." Lightning shrank back a bit, "I can come back later if you're tired."
"No... just... get it over with...." Celestia didn't change her expression.
Lighting Dust hesitantly flew into the seat next to Celestia's. She liked flying and didn't want to impose, but she was way too tired.
Lightning smiled, "Well, I just wanted to know what kind of pony it took to rule all of Equestria." Suddenly, she went back to her slightly scared expression, "But you don't look too good right now, so I'd be fine with it if you decided you wanted to talk later."
Celestia sighed, "Discord promised you an interview with the princess?" She raised an eyebrow.
Lighting Dust shook her head up and down rapidly.
"...Fine..." Celestia sighed.
Lightning smiled, making a squeaking noise, then fell asleep.
hmm, Celestia started to feel better after that smile, maybe this won't be as bad as Discord's other antics... |
The Rejected 6 | Covert operations | Lightning Dust woke up to a bright light with a splitting headache. Opening her eyes, she discovered she was in a bright room filled with pastel colors. Directly in front of her was an enormous window with a beautiful view of the morning sun.
This isn't my room. She thought, starting to panic. She tried to think about how she got here, and quickly remembered Discord knocking on her door, giving her a riddle, then teleporting her to Canterlot where she gave princess Celestia a letter. Now that she thought about it, she probably should have checked what was on that letter... But, she wasn't waking up in a dungeon, so it probably didn't say anything too bad.
"Oh, you're awake, my little pony," Lightning heard a calm voice off to her side. "Are you ready to start the interview?"
Lightning Dust looked over to her side and saw none other than princess Celestia. She looked directly at Lightning with an expression of... hope?
"Princess Celestia!" A voice shouted from outside the room, causing Celestia to jump and shy away from the door. "It is time for your royal duties."
"I'm sorry, something has come up, I will have to take care of them later!" Celestia replied with a sheepish grin. Lightning Dust raised an eyebrow.
"What!?" The voice yelled back and tried to push the door open. Celestia ran over and tried to stop the yelling pony from entering. "What could possibly be more important than deciding the laws of Equestria!? Your decisions could effect the very fabric of space!"
"I highly doubt that," she said back while holding the door shut. "Besides, these matters are more immediate."
"Oh, and what would those be?" the voice asked, now annoyed.
Celestia narrowed her eyes, "Rule Maze..." she scolded.
"Oh very well..." Rule Maze gave up. Lightning could hear him slowly trotting away, defeated.
"What are those guards even here for?" Celestia sighed.
"Now," She turned around, shining a hopeful grin at Lightning Dust again. "What questions do you have for me?"
"Uh..." Lightning Dust had a hard time thinking of any questions after that scene. After a few seconds of watching Celestia's smile slowly fade, she decided to ask the obvious.
"How did you and Luna become princesses originally?" She cringed. She was sure that would have been in a book somewhere, and now she appeared unprepared, like a rookie.
"Hmm," Celestia tilted her head, "No one has ever asked me that before..."
Really? Lightning thought.
"Very well," Celestia righted her head, "would you like the short version, or the long version."
"Long version." Lightning said. she had the time, and she was curious.
"Very well," Celestia waved a hoof, marking the beginning of the story, "it all started a long time after the uniting of the pony races. How long, few can remember..."
Trixie concentrated hard on her gravity cloak spell. It was simple in theory, but pulling it off took effort. You had to bend the space around you, making sure to leave at least one part uncloaked so that you wouldn't fall through the ground. It took her months of storing her energy to find the power to pull off the spell, and now it would be easy to sneak into Star-Sparkle the Bearded's wing of the Canterlot archives. She just had to pull it off in 15 minutes, otherwise she would have less time to escape.
She walked up the steps towards the enormous castle, then turned left. She walked over to a statue and started observing it. According to her notes, the statue should block sight from ponies walking towards the castle, ponies walking towards the archives, and ponies guarding the archives. Trixie poked and prodded the statue, feigning interest as she slowly made her way around to the the hidden side. And then, she was there.
She pulled an hour glass from her cloak that had markings for each minute. The sand was up to the 30th minute on the bottom, even after she flipped it over, which caused her artifacts to release and her cloak to begin. 15 minutes left for entry.
She walked out from behind the statue and noticed a crunching sound. She still made an indentation on the grass. She would have to take care not too make too much noise with that. But more importantly, she would have to make sure she never lost her balance and fell over, unless she wanted to fall into the earth and struggle to get out before her time ended. She was glad she could still see though, she wasn't sure if having half the cloak over her eyes and ears would work.
She stepped off the grass and onto the pathway. Noticing the clopping noise, she softened her steps and slid along the curving path towards the archives.
Slide.
Step.
Slide.
She started to speed up after understanding the motion.
slide.
Step.
Slide...
Finally, she made it to the entrance. The guard pony was still there, attentive as ever, and the door was closed... but that didn't matter...
Reluctantly, Trixie walked forwards into the door. As she closed her eyes and made sure the bottoms her hooves were facing away from the door, she slowly passed inside.
Shaking her head and letting her eyes get used to the brighter inside, she looked down the hall.
"Star-Sparkle the Bearded" She saw a sign down the hall.
This is too easy. She smirked, and slowly made her way to, and through, the door.
Slide...
Step...
Slide...
After walking far enough into the Bearded wing, she took out her hour-glass and turned it over, turning off the spell.
"Ahh..." She quietly sighed to herself. That cloak spell was... suffocating.
Celestia suddenly stood up from her sitting position.
Unwittingly, Lightning Dust mimicked the motion and stood up on the bed.
"Yes, things were very simple back then," Celestia began.
"Flora, a flower sails-pony and the inventor of several farming techniques still used today. Aero, the original stunt-flyer. Luna, my sister. And me. We all decided that it would be a good idea to try and find out where all these strange creatures were coming from. Originally there were only windigoes, but those suddenly vanished decades ago, and Flora was right in thinking that didn't make sense at all. More interestingly, almost all the new species came from east of Old Canterlot. So the four of us started our journey..."
After wandering around the Bearded wing for a while, the title of one scroll caught Trixie's eye.
"Star-Sparkle's Guide to Powerful Magic" read the title.
Without hesitation, Trixie gracefully plucked the scroll from the shelf and unrolled it, not making a sound...
"After consulting my old friend Air Blade on what he thought made better flyers, I've started thinking that the attributes he lists could be applied to magic, and whatever earth-ponies do as well. These attributes are as follows:
" Intense driving emotions, including, but not limited to: happiness, hatred, hope, love, humor, pride, contempt, sadness...
"In fact, the only emotion found to decrease magic was hopelessness.
"But in the long list of emotions that boosted magic power, there were two that stood out. The first being love.
"In the background studies of strong athletes and powerful magic users, the most common attribute was being surrounded by friendly ponies that supported their efforts. This allowed love to slowly grow over time, bringing emotions like hope, pride, humor, and surprisingly hatred and contempt along with it. Apparently, being around ponies with similar values serves as an emotion booster. Of course, it also increased time for practice.
"The second emotion was limerance, a feeling of infatuation with one or more subject(s) (really, any animate or inanimate objects or ideas at all) due to perceived favorable qualities and ignored or mitigated unfavorable qualities. Several ponies surprised everypony else when they surpassed others with much more training and experience by reinforcing the belief that what they had to protect was important.
"There have only been accounts of ponies using extremes of either emotion to power themselves. Alone, the power granted is significant, but combined, those emotions could result in seemingly impossible occurrences, such as, at least for pegasi, surpassing the theoretical sound speed limit." ...
Trixie slid the scroll back into place. So... Twilight was powerful because she had "love", or friendship, and she had that because she was lucky... figures. It sure would make things more fair if that scroll were publicly available...
Trixie thought back to why she originally started her shows. At first, it was to annoy ponies she didn't like...
Actually... no, it wasn't. It was to entertain her siblings. She enjoyed hearing them laugh and cheer for her, and later, when hecklers wouldn't believe her, it would feel good to show them how wrong they were and prove her family right at the same time. But her family was far away now, all of them doing their own things. They had different purposes, and sometimes that tore ponies apart. So she traveled, that way, no matter where they were, her family and friends would hear about her and cheer for her. That was the whole reason for her traveling magic show.
She had a loving family and loving friends, and somewhere far away, they would hear about what she did. And there was something else. She would have more friends if her next performance went well enough. The first performance in a while would have to be a good one. She could feel it.
"And after sealing Discord in stone, we returned to our new home..." Celestia sat, having finished her story.
She brought her hoof to her chin, pondering the past,
"Funny, without him, me and my sister may never have found our special talents of raising the sun and moon, and we may have never found the elements of harmony. And after all that we did together, the citizens finally gave up the foolish discussion of whether me or Luna should rule, and decided that we both had important virtues for ruling Equestria."
Lightning Dust started slowly clopping her hooves together. That was an amazing and impressively delivered story. And now she had a whole new set of questions to ask. This Aero pony sounded interesting. She wondered why she hadn't heard about him before in any history books. |
The Rejected 6 | Building the apex | After a long day of reading, it was time for Trixie to go home.
She sighed. Plenty of ponies had come in and out of the Bearded wing, but nopony gave her more than a glance.
Using a memory spell, she was able to record nearly the entire wing, and would be able to recall it later in perfect detail. And because of a suggestion from Star-Sparkles guide to powerful magic, she made sure to keep her magic on full blast for as long as possible, maximizing the memory spell and keeping the documents in the exact location she desired while reading.
Trixie debated just walking through the door and away from the castle grounds, since nopony seemed to care, but why waste a good spell? Well, she could save the gravity cloak for later... but she wasn't going to take any chances with the guard ponies.
Trixie pulled out her hour-glass from her cloak and turned it over, starting the spell. She turned towards a bookshelf and slowly walked through it. She wasn't sure what she expected, but the inside of the wood and paper was just blackness, which made sense, since no light would be able to reach where she was looking.
She walked through the next book shelf, then the next, then the wall. Now she was back in the hall. Looking to the right, she could see the unsuspecting guard. She looked back at the wall in front of her and continued through it, entering the Canterlot gardens. She looked around for a different out of sight location and spotted a large bush.
Bored, she walked behind the bush and removed the cloak. She still had 19 minutes left!
But for now, it was time to go home and practice some magic! And maybe recharge her cloak too. Twilight may have had some driving emotions to power her magic, but now Trixie had that too, and now she also had her memory spells along with her artifacts. Either way, she was still the most powerful unicorn, but she didn't want to fall behind Twilight just because she gained some wings. And maybe now that she was competing with alicorns, she would have to see how powerful Celestia or Luna were too...
Anyway, In two days, she would have the greatest show ever!
Lightning Dust listened to Celestia, and now Luna, talk about the ancient pony and old friend Aero. He reminded Lightning of some of her old role-models.
The stories and conversation did a wonderful job of getting her out of her continuous cycle of regret about not making it into the wonderbolts. Once she got home, she would accept a lower tier job in the weather-team and move all of her belongings to a less expensive apartment. She'd also make sure to see some old friends sometime, maybe visit Celestia or Luna when possible. Heck, maybe she'd even visit Rainbow Dash and apologize for her friends sudden arrival to a sealed off training area in an air-balloon... Nah.
And after all that, when the wonderbolts applications came around in the next few months, she would apply. She would make sure she had a story to tell them by then, a story that would blow their fancy goggles off.
She looked up at Luna and spoke up, smirking, "Sorry, but I've got to practice now." She crouched, ready to fly off through the window behind her.
"So soon?" Luna had a sad expression.
"I've been here the whole day. I know I remind you of an old friend, but that doesn't mean I can stay forever." Lightning explained, still crouching for take off.
"Very well-" Luna started.
"But first, I hope you don't mind if I borrow your maze gardens." Lightning Dust took off.
Luna walked over to the window, "What wouldst thou require of our gardens?" She pondered.
Looking through the window, she got her answer.
Above the bushes, one could see a light-teal blur quickly worming its way through the maze using the right hand rule. Every 90-degree turn resulted in a flash of sparks that looked like fireworks. After about a minute of the mesmerizing display, the maze must have been memorized, because Lightning Dust started shooting between random points in the maze as fast as possible.
Discord sat on top of Canterlot castle watching the sunset come. He felt an approaching apex would be missed if he didn't do something, and if that happened, well, that would be both boring and disappointing.
Discord checked his watch. Surprisingly, it told him the time. What were the chances of that?
Anyway, Lightning Dust had been flying through the maze at break-neck speeds for several hours, and he could tell she was about done.
Exhausted but satisfied, Lightning Dust walked out of the maze, ready to fly home... just as soon as she found a map. Suddenly, Discord popped up next to her holding a platter of the best food that the reader can imagine. Lightning Dust wasn't hungry when she was exercising, but while walking out of the maze, her appetite slowly surfaced.
"Worked up an appetite yet?" He asked.
In response, Lightning Dust dove at the meal, landing instead on a chair at a table that held the meal. She quickly devoured it, she was too hungry to care about manners.
"So, you probably want to fly home sometime soon, right?" Discord asked.
Lightning Dust simply nodded, not taking her attention away from her meal.
"You hardly did anything at all though." Discord lamented.
Lightning Dust looked up with her head tilted.
"I mean, you may have talked with a few nice ponies," Discord threw his mismatched arms out and spun, "but you haven't even began to experience this place."
Lightning Dust searched the table for her silverware with her hoof while looking at Discord. Once she found it, she continued eating while staring at Discord.
Discord's head and legs stopped spinning, but his main body did not, "I mean, have you ever enjoyed Canterlot theater before?"
Lightning Dust shook her head, continued eating her food and gave Discord a blank expression.
"Well, we'll simply have to do something about that!" Discord stopped spinning and clenched his paw into a fist.
Lightning Dust noticed that there was no longer delicious food below her. Oh well, she had almost eaten too much already anyway. Instead, she was surrounded by several high-class ponies walking in front of an important looking marble building titled "Canterlot Cinema". On the wall, there were billboards for several plays. She walked over to the first one, a typical gushy romance play...
"Why do you think I would like this kind of... stuff?" Lightning asked, slightly insulted.
"Oh my, not that one. That one's terrible," Discord gagged. "You know there are other movies right?"
Lightning walked over to the next poster, "Ooh, an action-adventure! Daring Do, Treasure in the West... It's got good reviews too... showing... exactly two days from now at 4 pm."
"Not bad," Discord adjusted his shades and ate some of his pop-corn. "Let's see what's next."
Lightning walked over to a very extravagant poster titled "the Great and Powerful Trixie!" It showed a blue unicorn on stage wearing a starry cape and wizard hat throwing her hooves out while streamers and fireworks shot away from her. Lightning Dust smirked at this. So this mare thinks she's special huh?
"Interactive magic show," Lightning read, "You decide the rules to the competition, Trixie blows away the competition."
Lightning chuckled. It also started two hours after the Daring Do movie.
"hmm," Lightning Dust shrugged, "after I watch Daring Do, I can show that mare a true winner."
"Deal." Discord caught his paw in his claws and grinned.
"Why are you doing this?" Lightning squinted, "I already told you that hug thing was a gross misunderstanding."
"hmph," Discord shrugged and raised his arms up, "What else is there to do?"
Well, Lightning Dust thought as she looked back at the poster, what did you expect? He is the god of chao-
"Aaand goodbye!" Lightning Dust heard Discord start.
"Huh?" Lightning Dust looked back just in time to see Discord swing a giant hammer on top of her. She didn't have the time to dodge before she was hit.
Opening her eyes, she discovered herself back in her old apartment.
"Well, might as well take care of a few things." She said to herself, ready to change apartments, rejoin the weather team, and start her next application to the wonderbolts.
The crowd of ponies at the theater were already wary of Discord, but when they saw him crush a pony with a hammer, that wariness transformed into panic.
Discord threw his arms out and basked in the ensuing chaos. |
The Rejected 6 | Flim and Flam Flimflammed? | Lightning Dust just finished filing all change of address forms and had just finished a 5-minute interview that ended in her acceptance back into the weather team. The hiring ponies seemed particularly peeved that most of the team had flown home after Lightning scolded them, but after some talk, they agreed that letting Motion take over the team lead position would be punishment enough. Lightning was surprised to hear some of the things that stallion did in leadership positions. Hopefully not too many weather ponies would quit... then again, if they did, somepony else would get a high-paying job. Basically, everypony just managed to get themselves in a pickle instead Lightning Dust.
Adding to the good news, lightning managed to find a cheaper place in a nicer part of town. Granted, it was a much smaller place, but she really didn't need the space.
She'd have to remember to thank Discord some time, because without him, she probably would have looked pretty unprofessional at that interview. But for now, it was packing time.
Discord was enjoying a morning stroll down Canterlot. It was nice that he didn't need to sleep (regularly at least), he could observe the ponies around him for as long as he wanted and act accordingly. Morning ponies were his favorite type of ponies; their jimmies were so easy to rustle.
He reminisced a bit about what happened after he hammered lightning dust back home. First, mass panic, as expected. Then eventually, Luna had to come and see what was happening...
Luna adopted a wide stance when entering the center of the panic storm. Looking up, she saw Discord holding his arms out, basking in the chaos. Once she noticed it was just him, she stood up, annoyed.
"IT HAS BEEN THREE DAYS! THREE DAYS, DISCORD!" Luna yelled in the traditional Canterlot voice, almost without noticing.
"HOW HARD IS IT FOR THOU TO KEEP THY GRUBBY PAWS OFF OUR CITIZENS FOR ONE MEASLY WEEK, SO THAT WE MAY REST!?" Luna yelled. Taking a closer look, Discord noticed she had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep.
"I- uh-" Discord started.
"PERHAPS WE SHOULD TURN THY BODY BACK TO STONE IF THOU PLANS TO ACT AS HE DID A THOUSAND YEARS AGO!" Luna threatened, though she probably wouldn't be able to pull that off without the elements, and Fluttershy would never agree to it... But she was angry.
"Oh, now don't be like that-" Discord pleaded, this outburst was starting to worry him... Could she do that? Could she just turn him back into stone during a rage fit?
"WE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THOU WOULD HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING SO SIMPLE OVER SUCH A LONG TIME! APPARENTLY THOU HAS A LEARNING DISORDER!" Yup, Luna was definitely angry.
"Hey now..-" Discord started, but somepony from the surrounding curious crowd interrupted him.
"HEY, That's an insult to ponies with learning disabilities! Take that back!" A mare shouted.
"Oh!" Luna stopped herself, "We are sorry, we didn't mean to insult anything other than this thing." She pointed at Discord.
"Oh, haha-" Discord folded his arms.
"Apology accepted." The mare shouted back.
"Anyway, nothing to see, carry on." Luna returned to her -if a bit sheepish- quiet voice.
"Wait-a-minute," Discord interrupted, "I didn't know you required sleep, especially since you are the princess of the night." He was genuinely curious about this. One of the many reasons for sleep was improving learning, and it would be a waste to throw that out.
Luna stopped, she hadn't readied herself for questions, just dispelling rage, "We... sometimes sleep during the day... Other times... it is necessary to be sleeping to enter other ponies dreams..."
"So you just sleep whenever it's convenient," Discord surmised, then nodded in approval. "I like that."
Luna smiled for a split second before catching herself. Discord saw the quick shock Luna had about being happy that he liked something about her, and he saw as she quickly covered it up with anger. Oh, she was flustered! Up next would be the scolding, and he would have to try and react at least somewhat normally, he still wasn't sure if she could make good on that petrifying threat from a while ago.
"WE DO NOT CARE FOR THY PETTY COMPLIMENTS, AND WE SHALL NOT LET THEE OFF EASILY NO MATTER WHAT AMOUNT OF SUCKING UP THOU PARTAKES IN!" Said the butthurt Luna.
"Oh come on now, it was just a compliment!" Discord pleaded, "I was actually trying to make somepony happy for once, you shouldn't take things so negatively."
"THOU..." Luna stopped and calmed down a bit, "hast succeeded." She smiled.
"STILL, 10 MINUTES DUNGEON!" She yelled with glee and pumped a hoof.
"Oh, come on! That's just an abuse of power" Discord pouted.
"We are glad thou has learnt some new terms." Luna teleported back to the castle for some sleep. She would punish Discord later, once she was able to keep an eye on him.
Discord chuckled a bit. Now that he thought about it, his clone would probably get punished instead of him. Oh, avoiding justice was such a wonderful thing!
After walking a little further, his thoughts wandered back to his project of gathering unstable ponies together. He searched for any more ponies he could add to the mix. He quickly felt two silver-tongues. That sweet-sour taste always indicated a pony that lived on the edge, and silver-tongues, be them con-artists or just sales-ponies, were almost constantly on the edge.
He listened in, teleporting closer so that he could hear their conversation and better convince them to meet their new friends.
A sad, mustachioed pony galloped in front of and held his non-mustachioed brother with his front hooves and started to speak.
"Oh Flim, dear Flim, what ever shall we do?
We've seen so many ponies, who haven't got a clue
-of what benefits we have to offer,
they reject us right on sight, they must be off their rockers!
Flim smirked knowingly.
"Oh Flam you must concede, we have some history,
When we try to help ponies, they are left in misery!
At this, Flam let go of his brother and started to sulk.
"It's not our fault they can't run a business,
They'd rather stay the same out of laziness!
The contracts we gave them were quite fair,
and if they followed there'd be much more to share!
Flim held out a hoof, ending his brother's rant.
"Oh dear brother if I may interrupt,
I have to point out a flaw in your thought;
He then brought said hoof to his chin and tilted his head.
"When you expect them to follow your newly developed algorithm and flow,
Why do you always find everypony so slow?
Flam stood attentive.
"Why? Dear brother, please tell me, why?
I'd like nothing more than to get this quandary off my mind!
Flim gave that knowing smirk and turned back his head just a little before answering.
"You see, while your steps may seem clear and concise,
the transition from old isn't so nice;
at best they think of factory work,
and at worst they think we're fast talking jerks!
Flim stamped his hooves, accentuating his point.
Flam started to speak up, but Flim started back up before he could say anything, albeit with a bit calmer voice.
"Perhaps we should find some slower transitions,
not 180 flips from what was tradition.
Finally, Flam was able to get a word in.
"But that would take ages to help just one company out,
the slowness of that, it makes me want to shout!
He pulled at his mane a bit.
Flim flung his front hoof around his brother, comforting him a bit.
"And that's where you're wrong, you've made an assumption.
That you think we'll sell our work to just one corp. is something!
Flim moved in front of his brother and told him his plan, waving a hoof.
"We start our own work selling face creams to sweet dreams,
all made from apples, only the most delicious and green.
Then we lease our new tools,
Flim grinned, "and watch our competitors drool."
Flam now moved and flung his front hoof on Flim's shoulder, but with noticeably less excitement.
"While that's all very nice, please think of the price,
And for a place where everypony still gives us shifty eyes!
Flam gestured to the city around him, the surrounding ponies were indeed giving them strange looks.
Suddenly, Discord.
"Whoa!" Flim jumped back.
"WHA-HEY!" Flam almost did a backflip.
Discord spoke up, pacing as he did so.
"The answer is simple; you go somewhere new.
Advertisements only ripple to the edge of your brew.
go somewhere new, start a new train of thought,
talk like you do, and their hearts will be bought.
"We've figured as much" Flam answered, "But what place can we trust?"
"Have you tried Fillydelphia?" Discord asked.
"Not in millennia." Flim excitedly exaggerated. Flam was still doubtful.
Discord smirked. Yes!
"Then go in six days and have your way,
give a great ad, but make it a play,
don't say what you're selling, just do it for fun,
with city pride swelling, you'll soon be number one.
"Flim" said Flam.
"Yes Flam?" replied Flim.
"I get the feeling we're being Flimflammed." Flam answered.
Having heard this, Discord gave a slightly annoyed reply.
"I may have my reasons, I'm not kind or insane,
but you mustn't be skittish, this is not a zero-sum game.
Discord poofed off to the side and leaned down.
"Be there six days from now, bring with you some props,
there's only one theater, I hope you reach the top.
And with that, he was gone.
After that strange interruption, Flim and flam gave consideration to the thought. It quickly turned to long deliberation. In the end, whether or not they trusted the god of chaos, his offer seemed to be the only viable option. |
The Rejected 6 | Thinking for Tomorrow | Trixie trotted through Canterlot's main street at a brisk pace, stopping for a second to stare at the draconequus talking to two white stallions, then shrugging and trotting some more. It wasn't long until she made it to the outskirts of town and found her traveling home...
It wasn't nearly as nice as the last one. All of the accessories she acquired throughout the years were gone, smashed by a giant rampaging baby bear...
Okay, how in the HECK did Twilight manage to find a book on Ursas? Did some pony decide it would be a good idea to stalk house sized bears? Did they have some sort of stomping fetish or something? Trixie just assumed there wouldn't be any detailed information on Ursas, because, one: they're territorial and attack if provoked,
and two: they're ridiculously huge.
Trixie stepped inside her travelling home.
The home was cut from a single large tree. It had all the hinges necessary to fold out and turn into a stage, and it had all the nice woodwork of the old home, plus a few additions. It really didn't cost anything, she just found a tree, sliced it in half, and started carving it apart with her magic.
Trixie sat down in the center of her large wooden box and closed her eyes. She let her thoughts run free and tried not to pay any attention to any of them, but that's kind of hard to do after using a memory spell. Instead, her mind threw up after-images of the words she read and pictures representing what they meant. Then those pictures got stronger, eventually throwing up an entire world around her.
Trixie knew it wouldn't be long before the effects of the spell would take hold of her, so she locked her door and turned on her protection spells, in case she might "sleep walk"...
The words fully enveloped her...
"Modified defense spells, volume 1, By: Star Swirl the bearded"
"Chapter i: introduction"
Trixie found herself in an old memory. She was a filly back in magic-school, facing old bullies around her. She had told her teacher about the bullies, but she had ignored Trixie, and her parents weren't allowed in the school after the last time they tried to protect her. The bullies had found a place and time where no one could come to help her.
Trixie's adrenaline filled mind took in every detail around her...
"I will start by saying that, if any of my spells could be learned by every single unicorn, I would wish for it to be the spells in this book. And if I had to choose only one, then it would be the shield spell. Alas, the amount of information that goes into any advanced spell is built off of many previous spells combined. So whether it is a defensive or offensive spell, it will still be hard to learn. But as with any of my other works, you will find as little obfuscation here as possible.
"Throughout this book, we will begin with the basic shield spell and add on to it to create shields that can do variousthings including: protecting entire cities, being virtually indestructable, and transferring as little heat as possible. I will refer to various other texts that describe the transfer of heat and motion in case the reader is not familiar with the concepts."
The endless stone white columns and walls surrounding Trixie did nothing to calm her. They only created endless shadows in the shapes of looming ponies, slowly moving and almost making her jump.
There were three bullies surrounding her. The one in front of her was pink with a red mane, and the two behind her were red with a blue mane, and completely purple. Female, male, and male respectively. She remembered them, but she didn't remember their names. It didn't matter though, they didn't deserve to be remembered.
"Further on, we will discuss more complex concepts such as: speed spells, gravity spells, repulsion spells, hardening spells, and light spells."
"Chapter 1: the Shield"
The bullies all stepped forwards at once.
"The direct connection that the horn has to the equine brain makes many spells intuitive, but for harder spells you have to know how the world around you works. The best theory so far is membrane theory; everything around us consists of finite membranes contiguous through specific equations, and the horn consists of membranes that are contiguous through equations that are valid in dispersed regions of space and time. This allows for the modification of membranes far removed from the pony.
"To create a basic shield, feel for the matter surrounding you, and compress it into a sphere.
Trixie knew what was going to happen next. They would all try to attack her, and she would cower, unwittingly creating a powerful shield. But Trixie was older and harder to scare now.
The bullies crouched, smirked, and then leapt at her. Bored, Trixie created a simple, but powerful, shield spell, causing the bullies to bounce away from her like peasants.
"Section 1.1: Silly Limericks for Silencing Loudness"
Trixie still knew what would happen next. Her teacher would come by at the perfectly wrong moment and blame her for getting into a fight against the three other unicorns. If their leader wasn't the teacher's daughter, maybe she wouldn't have been so blind. But now the lecture would be coming along... Thankfully she knew a silencing spell now...
Outside of Trixie's mobile log house, strange lights and the sound of creaking could be noticed as Trixie's containment spells barely managed to hold her. Occasionally, some magic would leak out and slow down everything around the house, or crush some unsuspecting grass. But it wasn't too noticeable unless you were close to the house.
Lightning Dust rested her head on her pillow, satisfied with her... strange... day. Her mind was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Discord had saved her from her unending temper-tantrum that would probably have cost her a job, and whatever reputation she still had. She wasn't complaining though...
Anyhow, tomorrow would be interesting. Apparently Motion would be temporary weather captain. What would he do? She wondered... Would he destroy the deviants' dignities by forcing them to dance? Would he...
Lightning Dust tried hard to think of ways to humiliate the weather team using things related to motion...
Maybe he would throw them for a loop?
Lightning snickered and turned under her covers, eager to watch the rookie tease the other rookies. |
The Rejected 6 | Sociopaths | Lightning Dust touched down on the soaked roof top where weather team meetings were usually held. She looked up, the usual gaggle of ponies was there gaggling about random and inane things. One of them looked over at her. She cockily trotted towards the group.
"Hey, it's Lightning Dust!" The pony looking at her turned his head back to the group and shouted.
"Really?" Another one asked, craning her neck, "I thought she was fired. Was she allowed back in as a regular member?"
"Yup," Lightning Dust replied, with a strange, slightly cocky look, throwing the other pegasi off.
There was a confused silence.
"...Wha- Who's leading then?" One of the more unassuming pegasi asked.
"Motion," Lightning Dust replied nonchalantly.
Another confused silence followed.
Lightning Dust smirked, "It'll be interesting to see how he does for a while before I'm reassigned as leader."
The crowd rolled there eyes. An "oh," could be heard from more than one pony.
"Why do you think they'd let you be weather leader again? You've proved you aren't competent." A female pegasus incited.
"Oh?" Lightning Dust looked at the pegasus, unimpressed. "And how did I do that?"
The mare pointer her hoof lazily at Lightning Dust, "You're obviously not a good leader if your entire team hates you."
Lightning Dust sighed, "Eh, maybe," She admitted, "Or it could mean that my "entire team", is just full of hateful ponies."
"I-" The mare was flabbergasted, "I work at a-" She paused, "Do- Do you even know our names?"
Lightning Dust was starting to get annoyed, "Of course I do, Magenta Sunset," She shoved her hoof at the mare, "I also know you work at the local kindergarten." Then she tilted her head, "I don't know why though, it doesn't really seem to fit you... maybe it's a stress reliever for your personality." Lightning righted her head and looked directly at Magenta Sunset, "Anyway, working at a kindergarten doesn't make you a good person. In fact, you remind me of one of those teachers who would always scold the kids."
Magenta's lip started rising into a snarl. Lightning smirked, enjoying the anger, "I mean-"
BAM!
Everypony looked over to see a familiar grey-blue pony touch down with a smaller sleek black mare following close behind him like an assistant for some high class gentlecolt.
He walked towards the group with an air of power about him. He stared towards the group with intensity and smugness and looked around at everyone. Lightning Dust raised her eyebrows.
"I see we're all here," He nodded to himself, "Now, lets get started."
Motion pulled a scroll from his mane and unrolled it. On it were several charts and graphs with the names of ponies written above them. He gestured his hoof at the paper as he spoke.
"I've calculated the times required for each task from last years speed trials. I've also calculated how you should have done in the speed trials given your skill at certain weather tasks. I was going to use this so you could gradually improve over time, but I found I couldn't." Motion moved his hoof over the graphs. On each one there were two lines, one above labeled "TTS" and one below labeled "ETTS".
"Each of your Estimated Time Trial Speeds were several standard deviations lower than your actual Time Trial Speeds, even after I adjusted generously for fatigue." Motion looked up at the group.
"...What?" One of the members asked.
"You're slacking. Almost none of you are putting any effort in a job that effects the lives of many ponies," Motion deadpanned, sweeping his gaze over the whole group.
One of the stallions stepped forwards, not enjoying being called a slacker. He lowered his head and squinted, "Horse-"
He wasn't able to finish his statement before a blue hoof collided with his face. He looked up, surprised, but saw the same old intense Motion. The group of ponies gasped, even Lightning Dust felt there might have been something wrong about Motion's actions.
The stallion got up, more surprised than hurt. Motion waited, then spoke again.
"I just laid out a chart right in front of you comparing your work on the job and the work you should be capable of doing. Your work on the job was much lower than what you're capable of, along with everypony else. If you find a problem in my math or my research, feel free to point it out." Motion lowered his head, snarling a little, "Otherwise, I will not allow baseless challenge to my authority."
The stallion stepped backwards and opened his mouth as if to retort in some way, but nothing came out.
Seeing this, Motion trotted back to the center of the group.
"If any of you perform outside the ability suggested by your time trials, I will remove you from the weather team. If more than half of you disagree with me, leadership returns to Lightning Dust, and I will recommend your removal to both her and the weather captains at Cloudsdale." He stared at the group, waiting for any reactions. A few ponies had looks of disapproval or anger on their face, but otherwise there was nothing notable...
"Constellation," Motion began, "You will go with Magenta to gather some of the the north-eastern nimbus clouds, clear out the rest as you see fit."
Constellation trotted over to Magenta and draped a wing over her in a quick hug. Then they took off.
"I'll assign the south-western nimbus clouds to..." ...
"Lightning Dust," Motion addressed the last remaining pony. Said pony stood attentive, waiting for a chance to one up the new weather leader.
"YES SIR!" Lightning Dust half yelled as she raised a hoof to her forehead.
Motion stifled a small chuckle and went back to his serious face. "We'll be working together to form a cumulonimbus for the traditional wind speeds and stress-testing of new buildings."
Lightning dust stood up and raised her eyebrows at him, "You think the two of us can form a cumulonimbus?" She deadpanned and waited for a response. Motion cringed a bit. Lightning continued, "I mean, I'm fast, but that doesn't mean I can be in two places at once. It might work if you were as fast as me, but you're not."
Motion rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof. "Yeah... sorry. This was the best assignment I could come up with. If we had more members I would have assigned someone else to help."
"I guess that's fair..." Lightning Dust sighed. Then she crouched, ready to take off, "Now, where are we making the cumulonimbus?"
"Oh," Motion pointed a hoof out that Lightning followed, "Right over that park."
The park in question was about one and a half miles eastwards.
Lightning Dust gracefully touched down on the roof and looked up at her creation. Several miles ahead of her was a beautiful and awe inspiring mushroom of a cloud, taller than many mountains. It turned slowly, generating winds that would test the city and its residents. The rest of the sky was almost completely free of clouds.
The rest of the crew, excluding Motion, were already back on the roof top. Half of them were panting heavily. The other half were resting, smugly assured of their own success. It was strange to see Constellation panting.
Motion, unable to slow himself, crashed into the building belly-first and groaned. "You..." He looked up at Lightning, "stupid..." Lightning turned around, annoyed that someone was distracting her from the view, "...Meanie!"
"We got the job done, didn't we?" Lightning smirked.
"My body is not meant to be used to beat gales with!" Motion struggled to pick himself up.
"You weren't fast enough, so we had to improvise," Lightning Dust pointed out, trying hard to hold back a small giggle.
"Well- But-... " Motion stuttered, "That was humiliating!"
"We wouldn't have gotten the job done otherwise," Lightning answered.
Motion sighed, defeated, "...Fair enough." He stood up and and walked over to a nearby air-duct where he pulled out his scroll filled with charts, an ink and quill fell out with it and bounced on the ground. He picked them up and walked over to Constellation before setting them on the ground in front of her, unrolling the scroll, and opening the ink.
"Constellation," he panted, "What were the arrival times?"
"Magenta," She panted, "7:26"
"Constellation," she swallowed, still trying to catch her breath, "7:28" ...
"Lightning," she continued, "8:31"
"Motion," she looked up, "8:35"
Motion closed the ink bottle and looked up at the weather team, then back at Constellation.
"Were there any pegasi who did not do quality work?" Motion asked.
"One," Constellation said unemotionally as she raised a hoof at a stallion that quickly tried to hide.
Motion called over all of the ponies who were looking smug instead of panting.
"Go find another job."
Lightning Dust turned around and smirked, seeing all the bullies who had lost their jobs. They all stood stunned as Motion and Constellation took off and flew between skyscrapers and out of their view.
Shaking himself, one stallion grimaced and walked over to Lightning Dust. She narrowed her eyes as he approached.
"Thanks a lot," he started, "Thanks to you two sociopaths, I don't know how I'm supposed to feed my kids any more!" He grimaced and looked down in rage and disgust.
"You brought this on yourself." Lightning Dust pointed out coldly and tried to calm herself herself. Why was he so angry? Couldn't he just get another job?
The stallion looked back up at her in rage and disbelief. He tried to spit at Lightning, but she side-stepped before any of it could hit her. This only infuriated the stallion further. He raised his hoof...
And lowered it back down once he realized what he was doing. He looked at Lightning Dust in disgust one more time before flying off after the rest of the group.
Lightning Dust looked over as he released his anger by savagely beating the air with his wings. What was she supposed to feel? |
The Rejected 6 | Trixie has an Owie | Trixie woke up with a splitting headache. She looked around at her house and saw that last night didn't treat it very well either. the enchantments kept the home together and kept her magic hidden, but things still got damaged.
Trixie shifted in bed and noticed it was a little too warm, so she got up. She walked over to a cupboard and pulled it open, revealing a large block of saltwater ice in a wooden box. She used her magic to slice off a corner and trotted back to bed. She would finally have sleep.
"Offensive spells", by Star Swirl the Bearded.
Trixie bolted up, "No!" she yelped. She forgot that her mind would try to unravel the memory spell any time she tried to rest. She needed a break from the stress. Her mind didn't feel fine being awake, and she knew sleep would slowly make her feel better, but it was a painful experience and she didn't want to do it.
Trixie looked down at the sliver of ice in her hooves, held it up, and stabbed her horn into it. She smiled, knowing that drops of cold but bearable water would slide over her head, cooling her down comfortably. It was an impressively efficient way of treating fevers that her mother had taught her when she was a foal.
In fact, why not just treat this like a fever?
Trixie smiled at the thought, got up, and groggily trotted back to her cupboards. Opening one after another, she finally found it: Hay Noodle Soup, the perfect remedy for any sickness. She remembered what her father would say to that and giggled; "Broken leg? Looks like we need some Hay Noodle Soup," He would joke at the most inappropriate times.
Trixie picked up the can opener next to the stack of cans with her magic and slowly opened a can with it. She opened another cupboard and found a decent sized pot. She dragged the soup over to the pot, poured it in, and placed the pot onto the coal stove before lighting it and setting the shutter to 70% open.
Trixie clumsily bounced on her hooves back to her bed before snuggling under the covered with only her front hooves and head exposed. She remembered how she would do this and look up at her parents with tear filled eyes whenever she really wanted something. Now that she thought about it, it was kind of mean, using her cuteness as a weapon, but then again, it was cute.
Her smile faded a bit and now she felt silly. She pulled the covers off her and picked herself up, trotting back up to the pot to stir it.
Now she felt like she was in the place of her mother. She wondered what it would be like to have foals, the cute little things would practically be in awe at most of her tricks. She could stand the baby phase and rebellious teenage phase so she could be overwhelmed with the cuteness of the kid phase and the pride that would probably come from seeing her sons and daughters succeed as adults...
Then she frowned, realizing that she might not have caused that pride for her parents. Sure, they had pride when she got her cutie mark in magic, but after that, they kind of had high expectations. And due to either bad luck or a lack of experience that she couldn't be blamed for at the time, she almost constantly failed things that should have been were easy for her. Still, she made it through almost everything... until Twilight Sparkle came along and stole her last chance at an interesting life due to a freak accident...
Trixie looked down and noticed she was holding the pot a bit too tightly, and that the pot was boiling. She brought a bowl out from the cupboard with her magic and poured the soup into it, then waited for it to cool.
Maybe she wasn't mad at Twilight... she didn't really do anything wrong. She was just stupidly lucky and didn't realize it, she unwittingly made a mockery of everything Trixie did just by existing. Realy, the blame shouldn't rest on Twilight at all, it would have to go to the pony who allowed all of these unfair things to happen.
Princess Celestia.
Trixie noticed that she was gripping the counter incredibly hard and calmed herself. Looking over at the soup, she decided it was cold enough to start sipping. Then she started thinking again.
There wasn't any point to proving herself to Celestia anymore now that Twilight wielded the Element of Magic, now it would have to be about disproving Celestia to everyone else. A feet that was easier said than done, since practically everypony worshiped Celestia.
Trixie levitated a spoon from a drawer and started eating the soup properly. She looked out her window and saw the beautiful green plants around her. She sat back and enjoyed her soup. Yeah, there was stuff to worry about, but it didn't need her attention right now. Right now, she could sit back and enjoy her soup as her headache slowly went away... And after it did, she might go back to bed, ready for the next crash course in advanced magic. |
A Foul Light Shines | pre | "I think so, for the most part. We've... Throne, here they come again! Dedris, now dammit!" Anderocus heard the deep whoosh of a flamer over the open link. "Good man! We've got the biggest concentration contained here, sir, enfilade right, third squad! and my troops have already swept most of the ship. There are a few smaller concentrations, but they're contained, and I'll take care of them as soon as we're done here." Seria kept squads of armsmen stationed throughout the Lux Foedis for just this sort of occasion, but even so, to have the ship swept so quickly was remarkable.
"Can you give me an estimate on how many crew we've lost?" Seria's troops were equipped with boosted vox sets, and had military-grade gear coordinating the squads that would undoubtedly be far superior to the emergency repeaters Eudaros and Anderocus had to rely upon; she probably had a better idea of the damage the Lux Foedis had sustained than anyone on the bridge.
"Throne, sir, fifteen thousand at least. Between the damage and venting my hunter squads reported, and the damned Warpspawn rampaging around, it wouldn't shock me if we were down twenty thousand or more." She paused, and her voice was even harsher when she continued. "I've lost over two hundred of my armsmen, too, including one of my best squads. Team six, suppressing fire, eleven o' clock!"
Golden Throne! Even Seria's more optimistic estimate was almost a fifth of the crew! That was going to seriously slow the repairs they needed to make, and the ship was going to be operating at significantly reduced efficiency until they could make port.
"Very well, Commander, keep me..." Anderocus was interrupted by sudden blast of static over the bridge speakers, followed by a flurry of incomprehensible Mechanicus chatter. "...informed, and report when the incursion is contained." The Lord-Captain switched his commbead off, refusing to be flustered by the sudden blast of noise. Turning to the Tech-Priest who had been working to restore the vox, he barked, "Report, Acolyte! Does this mean you have made progress?"
"The acolyte's report is unnecessary." The cold, metallic voice booming from the bridge vox-units was unmistakable, unique even amongst the Lux Foedis's Tech-Priests. "He has served the Omnissiah adequately, soothing the machine's hurts and restoring my ability to speak with you."
"Magos Tersiaard, you live." Anderocus had mixed feelings about that fact.
"An accurate statement. The ship's machine-spirit is grievously wounded, Lord-Captain, worse than I have seen in three hundred years, and it will require a great deal of work to persuade it to serve us again." The 'us' in that statement represented one of the problems Anderocus faced when dealing with the ancient Mechanicum Magos. Tersiaard invariably behaved as though he and the Rogue Trader were at least peers, and he occasionally behaved as though the ship belonged to the Magos, and Anderocus were the subordinate. The Rogue Trader lord had to be extremely careful when dealing with Tersiaard; the Magos was extremely highly placed in the Mechanicus hierarchy, and worse, he had been aboard the Lux Foedis for almost six centuries. The Magos knew the ship's systems intimately, and Anderocus feared that if the tech-priest were sufficiently angered, the ship itself would act on his behalf. While Anderocus couldn't afford to let Tersiaard push him around with impunity, he had to be very careful when and how he could push back.
"Magos, I am attempting to assess the condition of the Lux Foedis. What knowledge can you contribute?" He knew he sounded stilted, he always did when talking to Tersiaard, but the Magos never seemed to notice. Or possibly he noticed, and simply didn't care. There was a short pause, and the Lord-Captain heard a few of the alarms shut off.
"The ship's condition is grave." Tersiaard finally said. "The plasma reactors rebelled, perhaps outraged by the nearness and turbulence of the Warp, and they had to be temporarily lulled to sleep so their fires could not slip their chains to ravage the rest of the vessel. Life sustainers are currently inoperable, as they have been starved of power with the reactors' dormancy, though the ship's current atmosphere should sustain the crew for hours yet. The dearth of power has caused widespread system failures; both primary and secondary engines are inactive, the macrobatteries and lance turrets are silenced, and the void shields are down. There will also be myriad minor problems that will require Mechanicus attention before the ship consents to move or fight again." Anderocus tried to hide his dismay, but the Magos wasn't finished. "In addition to the structural damage you have doubtless already been apprised of, the warp engines and Gellar field generators have suffered multiple catastrophic failures; it would seem they sacrificed themselves in an attempt to save the other systems from the fury of the storm. Both systems will require extensive reconstruction and reconsecration before they are again ready for service. Finally, my servitor stocks have been depleted. I suspect, given the circumstances, that a number of crew-serfs have sustained sufficient injury to make them effectively useless; I request that such individuals be sent to the enginarium for servitor conversion to replenish the servitor supply."
Anderocus balked. There was silence on the bridge, save for Eudaros muttering about "Mechanicus ghouls" under his breath.
The Lord-Captain rubbed his chin in nervous irritation, finding his voice again. "Magos... we may have lost as much as a third of the crew. Your request can not be fulfilled at this time; I can't spare any significant number of the survivors without further compromising the efficiency of the ship!"
"I am not requesting anyone be tithed who possesses a valuable skill. Simple crew-serfs are all I need. A servitor cares not about its origins, be they humble or exalted." Tersiaard's voice remained flat and cold, as it always was. "Additional servitors will be required for many of the more perilous repair tasks. Without them, my work will be slowed significantly, and I am likely to lose many of my acolytes. Serfs are far easier to replace than enginseers."
"Even regular crew-serfs are in short supply, Magos. Every voidsman I give to you is one less to fulfill the ship's needs!"
"Servitors are in short supply as well, Lord-Captain." Tersiaard replied. "Our need for them is more immediate than our need for serfs. However, in deference to your authority, would you be willing to allow my tech-priests to collect only the dying and irreparably crippled? Those may suffice to our needs."
Anderocus was glad that Tersiaard hadn't simply threatened to take the crewmen he wanted. Then again, Tersiaard rarely threatened, he simply acted, and the Lord-Captain worried that the Magos would do exactly that if he was refused. The tech-priests and combat servitors under Tersiaard's control were an extremely formidable force; Anderocus had asked Commander Seria to write up a report of the comparative strength of his armsmen relative to the Lux Foedis's Mechanicus contingent when he'd first appointed her. Her conclusions had been... worrisome.
Though the crew would be deeply disturbed, now was not the time to force a confrontation with the Magos. "Very well, Tersiaard. You may have the crippled and the dying, but no more. Do not waste their sacrifice."
"I would never commit so hideous a sin as waste, Lord-Captain." Was there a hint of menace in Tersiaard's cold, level voice, or had the Lord-Captain imagined it? "Inform the medicae. My tech-priests will collect the tithe shortly. If the Omnissiah wills it, I should have the plasma reactors' health restored to minimum operable levels within the hour, and the life sustainers restored to function shortly thereafter."
Anderocus buried a sense of relief. "And what of the Warp engines? The Gellar fields?"
"Those and the main engines will take a great deal of time and succor to fully restore. As well as materials and resources. Is there a world near our location?"
"We are orbiting one, though we have yet to assess its character. If we are fortunate, it will be a forge world, and have the parts we require."
There was a brief pause before Tersiaard responded. "It is not a forge. I have increased the repair priority of the auspex arrays; they should find you worthy of their aid shortly after the life sustainers return to function."
Anderocus wondered how the Magos could be so certain that they were not orbiting a forge. Granted, it was extremely unlikely, but it was very rare for the Magos to make such a definitive statement without backup. A question to ponder later. "Hopefully, the world is sufficiently developed to supply us with the parts we need."
There was almost, almost a hint of scorn in Tersiaard's voice. "The manufactory bays are undamaged, Lord-Captain. Even if they cannot supply us with parts, all I require are base materials and time. With that, I can construct everything we might need. Thanks to my efforts over the centuries, the Lux Foedis is largely self-sustaining, so long as my contingent is mostly intact."
"That may be the first good news I've received yet, Magos." Anderocus rubbed his forehead, trying to ignore the tech-adept's boast. "Once the auspex arrays are repaired, we can discern whether the world below us is inhabited. If it is, I would appreciate your company in our landing party; you know better than any of us what materials we might need."
"Very well, Lord-Captain. I shall await your summons." There was a click of the vox channel disconnecting.
Anderocus sighed with released tension. Dealing with Tersiaard was always... hazardous. He didn't think he'd made any mistakes this time, but with Tersiaard, one never knew.
He and Eudaros returned to coordinating the repairs. It wasn't until the vox network was back online thirty minutes later that the Lord-Captain learned of the mistake he'd made. Tersiaard's tech-priests had indeed collected the crippled and dying from the medicae, dragging them away screaming to be converted into lobotomized cyborg laborers. Ten minutes later several squads of combat servitors had lumbered into one of the crew bays and shattered the right leg of every crew-serf housed there, while the unarmed menials had clawed at the bulkheads in a desperate attempt to escape the heavily armored cyborgs. The tech-priests had followed, and had "collected" over four hundred additional crewmen. Anderocus's angry protest to the Magos had been met with a simple, flat reply.
"The Machine required additional servitors. Those serfs were crippled, and they were duly collected as a Mechanicus tithe, as we agreed."
Anderocus had furiously forbidden Tersiaard from attacking crew, but the damage had been done. |
A Foul Light Shines | Chapter 5 | Chapter Five
In spite of his use of methods the Lord-Captain most definitely did not approve of, Tersiaard was as good as his word. In less than an hour, the Lux Foedis's plasma reactors had kindled back to life, though operating far below maximum capacity. The life support systems reactivated minutes later, taking a substantial load off of Anderocus's mind. The crew had finally gotten the various fires raging through the ship under control, though they'd had to vent a significant number of compartments out into space. Doing so had cut the time they could subsist on the ship's atmosphere with the vitae systems nonfunctional, and they'd been approaching perilously near the point where the Rogue Trader would have had to consider further crew reductions in order to spare the rest.
The Mechanicus contingent had removed that necessity, at least, and in so doing had probably spared the lives of more crew than they'd stolen. A fact that the Magos would doubtless point out when the Lord-Captain confronted him about his "tithe" later.
The auspex had blinked on less than thirty minutes after the red lights representing the life support systems on the bridge enginseer's panel had changed to green. The scanner arrays weren't operating at full efficiency yet, and probably wouldn't be until the tech-priests had time to sooth their spirits with laborious blessings and calibrations, but it was sufficient. Data flooded the bridge readouts, power sources, thermal signatures, gross and fine motion, mineral analyses, climatological data, and the other assorted pieces of information that represented the planet below.
The report was disheartening. Anderocus had been hoping for a fully-developed Imperial world, or at least a lost colony with a fair amount of infrastructure. That hope had been a slim one, especially as time ticked along and no ships approached the crippled Rogue Trader vessel to investigate. Instead of what he'd hoped, what Anderocus saw represented in the bridge hololiths appeared to be a fairly primitive culture, likely somewhere between the loose categories of feudal world and civilized world. The planetary climate was oddly uniform, and it was staggeringly rich in minerals; the systems that searched out various forms of gemstones had gone into mechanical hysteria, their spirits reeling from the deluge of scan returns. There were significant veins of valuable ores, as well, but the materials the Lux Foedis needed would be difficult to obtain for such a primitive culture. And difficult meant expensive, which was especially worrisome in the Lux Foedis's current predicament.
That wasn't the worst of it, though. Careful analysis of the available data had revealed clear signs that the world's inhabitants weren't human at all. This was a xenos world.
Anderocus rubbed his head as this final piece of information came in. Wonderful. Xenos. It wouldn't be the first time the Lux Foedis had traded with xenos, far from it. His father, Beliar Anderocus, had had extensive (and lucrative) dealings with a species known as the Tannor. Unfortunately, when Parseon had attempted to renew the relationship between the Tannor and the Anderocus dynasty, they'd informed him that they never dealt directly with the living relatives of someone who'd died, and Parseon's status as head of the Anderocus dynasty meant that their previous business relationship had to be regretfully terminated. It had been intensely frustrating, and out of spite Anderocus had pondered the thought of trying to steer one of the Telemach sector's crusade fleets their way, though he'd ultimately decided against it. He'd dealt with several other alien races since then, and had learned that each was different. Dealing with non-humans always, always meant additional complications, and complications in the current situation were something he really, really didn't need.
Not that he had a choice. The ship absolutely required the extra materials, or they'd stay here in orbit forever. At least, the ship would stay here in orbit forever. The crew would eventually run out of food and turn to eating each other, eventually leaving the Lux Foedis a cold, empty tomb floating in the void. Admittedly, they could probably obtain most of the materials they needed by mining the system's asteroids or Oort cloud, but doing so would take an enormous amount of time and fuel, possibly more time than they had supplies for. They could also try mining the world below without dealing with the inhabitants, but it would almost certainly be much easier to simply buy what they could. And who knew? The aliens might actually have something valuable that would enable him to turn this disaster into a profitable enterprise.
Doing so, however, required diplomacy. And diplomacy required making contact, which was why Anderocus had called together several of his senior subordinates, once the most pressing matters at hand had been dealt with.
"Hmph." Commander Seria snorted. "Xenos, eh? What kind of xenos?" The commander had actually removed her customary helmet and visor for this meeting, and her hard, dark brown eyes were thoughtful, clearly already running through possible contact plans. Seria was an older woman, with a strong, severely-lined face seamed with several scars and a nose that had been broken at least twice, but she'd been a soldier for more than four decades, and exercise combined with a few juvenant treatments had left her in excellent shape. More than good enough to handle the heavy suit of carapace armour she wore everywhere, even to this meeting.
"We have no idea." Eudaros answered. "The auspex is still sulky, and the returns we've gotten weren't detailed enough to resolve what xenosbreed we might be dealing with. All we know is that they're definitely nonhuman, and appear to be fairly primitive technologically."
"Is it entirely necessary to speak to the xenos?" Confessor Deumos was clearly unhappy about the idea. The big, rawboned confessor's pale face was pinched. "Perhaps we could simply attempt to take what we need."
"I would rather avoid conflict if we can." Anderocus replied. "If we simply land and start mining, there is every chance the natives might object to our presence. Perhaps forcefully."
"And my troops are already depleted." Seria interjected, staring into the priest's face challengingly from across the holographic map table. Her recaff-coloured skin tone contrasted strongly with Deumos's pale features, and she was the only person in the room besides Anderocus who could look the priest in the eye, standing as she did a shade under two meters in height. "Fighting the local xenos could deplete their numbers further, and we will need them if we suffer another Warp incursion on the way to a system with a shipyard. Or, Emperor forbid, if we're boarded en route."
All told, the armsman contingent had taken over four hundred losses during the Warp storm and the fighting that followed. Seria's troops had performed brilliantly, even after losing nineteen squads to the damage wreaked by the storm, but the vicious close-quarters fight in the port-six lighter bay had cost them almost ninety dead, and they'd lost more flushing out and exterminating the last of the Warp-touched crewmen in the ship's halls and galleries. At least, they all hoped that the armsmen had exterminated all the tainted personnel. Only time would tell.
Deumos sighed, holding up a hand in defeat. "Very well. I urge you all to remember, however, that the Emperor teaches us never to trust the alien lightly."
"None of us are likely to forget that." Seria responded curtly. She turned to address Anderocus. "Indeed, sir, I'd prefer if we could send in a recon team first, rather than immediately dispatching a diplomatic mission."
"I think it would be wiser to avoid that." Anderocus's seneschal, a short, slender, light-haired man named Tangro, spoke up. "If your troops, or more likely their landers, are spotted, it could make it much more difficult to acquire what we need. The xenos would suspect, correctly, that we were spying on them, and there are many xenosbreeds that would consider that a hostile act. I'd prefer to avoid that risk."
"And instead you'd prefer to take the risk of exposing the diplomatic team to potential hostiles?" Crossing her arms, Seria glared down challengingly at Tangro, who shrugged, seeming completely unimpressed by the armour-clad bulk of the woman looming over him.
"There would obviously be a security detail along, yes? And the contact party should probably be wearing low-profile armour; that should repel primitive weaponry adequately enough, unless we have a run of appallingly bad luck. We can stay close to the landing craft, and be ready for a hasty retreat should it prove necessary." Tangro paused. "I am aware of the potential risks, Commander. I have been involved in several xenos first-contact teams, you know."
"I am aware of that, Tangro." Anderocus interjected. "It is for precisely that reason that I want you there. I will be there as well, in case my authority is needed, but I want you to lead the discussion, assuming we can establish one."
Seria fidgeted uneasily. "You're going along as well, sir?"
Anderocus gave a firm nod. "I am indeed, Commander. The Mechanicus contingent will be sending their most senior representative, and I wish to be present in case it becomes necessary to overrule him."
The former Guardswoman rubbed her chin, clearly unhappy. "In that case, sir, I'd like to deploy at least three squads in the escort. I'd be fine with just one under other circumstances, but with your Lordship along as well..." She trailed off, thinking.
The Lord-Captain raised an eyebrow. "Three squads? Might that not be a bit excessive?"
He was answered by a firm shake of her head. "No, sir. That is the minimum I'd feel comfortable with, and I'll only consider an escort that small if I'm personally leading them."
Anderocus now raised both eyebrows. "Indeed? Well, as I said when I appointed you, your armsmen are yours to command as you see fit, Seria. This delegation is certainly going to have an overabundance of senior personnel, though. At least the xenos won't be able to complain about having to deal with flunkies!" He snorted a laugh. "After all, I'll be going, Seria will be going, Tangro, Tersiaard, Dwyer..."
"Chief Astropath Dwyer is dead, sir." Eudaros interjected.
Anderocus blinked in shock, all humor gone from his face in an instant. "Dead? But I thought one of the astropaths had survived!"
"One did, sir. Astropath Malachai Setaron, second in seniority." Eudaros looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, sir, I thought you knew."
"Quite all right, Eudaros." Anderocus waved the apology aside. Inside, though, he was shocked. Dwyer had been an old astropath, yes. At sixty-eight, though only a decade older than Anderocus, he was incredibly ancient for one of the telepaths that held the Imperium together; the stress of their occupation tended to kill them at very young ages. The ones that survived that long tended to be weathered and tough, and Dwyer had certainly fit that bill. That he hadn't survived the Warp incursion... "You did tell me one of the choir had survived. I had simply assumed it was Dwyer. I'm not as familiar with Setaron, but he is a senior astropath, so he should serve almost as well."
"I am personally familiar with Astropath Setaron." Deumos's trained voice boomed out. "A most pious man, and a noble spirit, especially for a witch." The priest paused, blinking. "My Lord, what purpose could Setaron serve here? The man is no fighter, and no practiced diplomat."
Tangro spoke up. "I would like to answer that, my lord, if I may?" At Anderocus's nod, the seneschal turned to face the big priest. "When contacting any xenos species, there is always a danger that they may use their own versions of psykers to tamper with the minds of the delegation. Normally, the Administratum employs sanctioned psykers of their own to counter the threat, but we have no such individuals on board. An astropath is almost as good for that purpose; they often lack the power to directly block xenos meddling, but the extra sensitivity they possess allows them to warn of subtle mind-witchery that even a sanctionite might often miss." Tangro paused, as though unsure whether he wanted to share the rest of his reasons. At a gesture from Anderocus, though, he continued. "In addition, some xenos species communicate exclusively through telepathy. Should this xenosbreed prove to be one of those, we would require a telepath of our own in order to hold a dialogue. Such communication can have an... extreme corruptive effect on the psyker in question, however."
"I venture to say we should have little to fear in that respect." Deumos said. "As I said, Setaron's faith is firm, and his soul strong." The Confessor tapped a finger on his staff of office, thoughtfully. "Nonetheless, perhaps it would be best if I were present, as well. Contact with xenos is ever-perilous, and none are so vigilant against corruption as I!"
Seria let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing at her temples with the fingers of her left hand. "Of course. Why not? Let's all go! The Lord-Captain, his chief adjutant, the commander of the household guard, the head of the Mechanicus contingent, the ship's primary priest, and the only bloody astropath left on board! Shall I send a squad to fetch the Navigator? Perhaps she'd like to come on this little holiday!" She leveled a glare at Eudaros. "Beltan, perhaps you'd like to come along too? Are there any other ways we could guarantee that a single strike would completely decapitate our command structure?"
A jolly laugh bellowed from Eudaros's throat, visibly irritating the guard commander further. "Oh, no, no no! Thank you for the kind offer, lady, but I do try my best to keep the mud off my boots!" The ruddy-faced ship captain continued to chuckle, as Seria scowled at him.
"It isn't necessary for you to accompany us, Seria." Anderocus interjected, and the commander transferred her unhappy look to him. "If you are concerned about losing all of our senior staff, you would be quite justified in remaining aboard ship. Daniella will be staying as well." One of the tech-priests had finally opened the Navigator's sanctum, finding her uninjured but exhausted. She was still recuperating from the ordeal she'd endured in navigating through the storm, and would likely not have been interested in a jaunt planetside in any case. Though fairly personable for a member of the Navis Nobilite, Daniella was still a Navigator, and she'd turn up her nose at the thought of mingling with primitive aborigines. Especially if said primitives were nonhuman.
"Sir, your safety is my primary duty. I trust my people. They're good troops, but should something go wrong, I need to be present. I would be shirking my duty otherwise." The tall woman seemed slightly offended.
"So noted, Commander." Anderocus inclined his head in a salute. "And your dedication is commendable. Muster your guard detail, if you please, and have them meet us in docking bay port-nine." Seria saluted, slamming her right fist against her breastplate, and marched off to gather her troopers, re-donning her customary helmet and rebreather as she left the room.
"I shall retrieve the astropath and meet you there, Lord." Deumos stated. The priest gave a curt nod, spun on his heel, and briskly followed the commander.
"Port-nine, sir?" Tangro inquired. "We aren't taking an Aquila?" The Lux Foedis carried several varieties of orbit-to-surface shuttles and other small craft. Typically, diplomatic mission used the sleek and ornate Aquila-pattern shuttles, but bay port-nine instead contained two of the ship's heavy cargo shuttles.
"That's correct, seneschal." Anderocus turned toward Captain Eudaros. "Eudaros, please summon Astropath Setaron, and have him meet the landing party there." He turned back to Tangro. "If we're bringing along three full squads of armsmen, a single Aquila would be far too small, and I'd rather use as few of the landing craft as possible to conserve fuel. One of the heavy shuttles should suffice for our delegation, and their rough-field landing capability should prove an asset." The Lord-Captain's mouth twisted. "I suppose should contact the Magos and inform him of our departure."
Tangro interrupted the Rogue Trader as he moved toward the vox-panel. "Lord, are three full squads really necessary? Surely Seria would consent to reduce that commitment if you requested it of her!"
Anderocus shook his head. "No, Tangro, Seria knows her duties, and I appointed her to her position because I trusted her judgement. I'll not second-guess her in the matter of the guard detail." Anderocus had already turned away from Tangro, and as such, missed the oddly frustrated look that passed over the smaller man's face.
The Lord-Captain was able to reach Tersiaard fairly quickly. From the speed of the Magos's response, it was clear he'd been expecting Anderocus's call.
"I have delegated the appropriate tasks to my acolytes already, Lord-Captain." Tersiaard's cold voice stated. "If you are prepared to visit the surface, I would be willing to accompany you at any time."
"Excellent, Magos. We are finalizing our preparations, so if you could meet us in docking bay port-nine, we would welcome your company."
"I decline." Anderocus was surprised by the response. "I shall make use of my own shuttle."
Tersiaard's personal shuttle was a lander of a pattern Anderocus had never seen anywhere else. The thing resembled a slimmed-down Astartes Thunderhawk, and underneath its elaborate engraving and scrollwork boasted a formidable array of weaponry and thick armor. The only problem was... "Magos, isn't your shuttle stored in the starboard-seven bay?" Starboard-seven was right in the middle of the worst of the hull damage.
"That is correct." Tersiaard replied calmly. "I have already sent acolytes to ascertain its status. The shuttle is undamaged, though the external door to the bay is currently missing, as is much of the exterior wall."
"That whole section of the ship is depressurized!"
"That is also correct. It will not be an issue."
Anderocus knew when to admit defeat. He sighed. "Very well, Magos. We will be launching in a cargo lander from bay port-nine in approximately fifteen minutes. You may lock on to our beacon and follow us down."
"I will do so." Tersiaard disconnected with a click.
Anderocus turned back to Tangro and the map table, shaking his head. "Seneschal, do you have a landing area selected?"
"I do, Lord." The shorter man touched several runes on the hololith, causing the map to zoom in on a small collection of lights. "Here. This is the largest settlement we've detected on the planet, and though it is no hive, I believe it will do adequately. There is certain to be at least a local leader present, and I estimate a nontrivial probability that this is a national or planetary capital. If we leave at the time you indicated to the Magos, we should arrive a bit before dawn."
"That should suffice. Eudaros!" The heavyset voidsman appeared at Anderocus's side. "Send these coordinates to the shuttle pilot." Eudaros nodded, but the Lord-Captain wasn't finished. "Have pilots report to bay sixteen, both sides, as well." Starboard-sixteen was far enough aft that it had been spared the Warp storm's fury, and those bays contained the Lux Foedis's pair of Fury-pattern interceptors. "I'd like them to fly high cover, just in case." He smiled at Tangro, as Eudaros began giving orders over the vox. "Shall we go, seneschal?"
Anderocus and Tangro left the briefing room, the two guards at the door falling in behind them to ensure the Rogue Trader's safety.
Outside of the heavily-protected bridge area, the damage to the Lux Foedis was far more noticeable. The smell of smoke suffused the entire ship, and the normal three-kilometer walk from the bridge to the port-nine landing bay was almost five kilometers, as it was necessary to divert around damaged power conduits and fires that, though under control, had not yet been extinguished. Emergency bulkheads had sealed in dozens of different places and had yet to be reopened, and dead crew-serfs had been stacked against the walls in several corridors. The bodies had been dragged out of the way and simply left there, as more pressing tasks required the attention of the surviving crew. Corpse disposal would have to wait for later. They also passed three places where heavy lasgun fire had scarred the corridor walls, reminders of just how much force was necessary to neutralize possessed crewmen. Anderocus stopped at his personal quarters briefly, donning the heaviest armour he owned that could be easily concealed underneath his ornate clothing.
The Lord-Captain reached the landing bay without undue incident, Tangro tagging along behind him, and the two guards that followed them posted themselves on either side of the entrance. Inside, Commander Seria had already assembled three squads of his household guards, already armed and ready for action. Their carapace armour was spotless, their uniforms in perfect order, and their weapons impeccably maintained, and they stood at attention in three precise rows. The Anderocus dynasty was a wealthy one, and could afford to arm and equip its household troopers almost to the level of Imperial Guard storm troopers, and their training was almost as good. He examined them briefly, knowing that Seria would have picked these thirty troopers for both combat capability and impeccable discipline. One only had a single opportunity to make a first impression, after all, and these troops looked like they'd make a good one. Anderocus nodded approval to the Commander, and she returned the nod before ordering her troops to fall out and get strapped in.
Anderocus walked up to speak to the commander of his guards, motioning for Tangro to embark ahead of him and running a critical eye over the looming bulk of the shuttle that the soldiers were hastily boarding. The heavy lander was huge, easily able to accommodate thirty armsmen in addition to the small diplomatic party. It was also, unfortunately, rather plain, sporting little of the gilded ornamentation or detailed, gorgeous inlays that covered the hulls of the smaller Aquila shuttles. Still, it was in good repair and spotlessly clean, and should prove suitably impressive to a civilization that, from all appearances, lacked space travel. The fact that the heavy shuttle boasted a robust, heavily armoured hull and thus was far more survivable than the more lightly-built Aquilas was a bonus.
"Hellguns only?" The Rogue Trader asked his guard commander in an undertone. "After your reaction at the briefing, I had almost expected you to want to bring along a Hellhound or two." The Lux Foedis carried several of the lightly armoured infantry fighting vehicles, though they rarely saw any use.
"I had missile and grenade launchers and heavy stubbers loaded aboard the shuttle before you arrived, sir. There's a portable lascannon in there, too, just in case. Better to have and not need than need and not have." Seria had donned her helmet and face-concealing rebreather mask again, but her tone was deadly serious, and Anderocus suspected that, could he see through it, he'd see even less humour on her face than her mask currently displayed.
"Probably not a bad idea." Anderocus observed. "I've ordered the Furies to fly high cover, as well. And Tersiaard will be following us in that gunship of his, should additional firepower prove necessary."
"He'll probably have battle-servitors with him, too." Seria commented. "I'll be glad for the air cover, at least." She shook her head. "Sorry, sir, I don't mean to be dismissive of the Magos. He isn't really that bad, as cogboy higher-ups go." The last of the troopers had boarded, and the commander and Lord-Captain stood alone in the bay, save for the enginseers making final launch preparations on the shuttle. "Shall we board, sir?"
"Hm?" Anderocus blinked, shaken out of his momentary reverie. "I'd rather intended to wait for the astropath. I don't think I've ever actually met any of ours other than Dwyer."
"Setaron and Deumos arrived just before you, sir. They're already aboard."
"Oh." The corridors between the choir vault and the lander bay must have been less damaged than those between the bay and the bridge. "Well, let's not tarry any further, then!"
Even with the three squads of troopers embarked and extra heavy weapons loaded, the cargo compartment was largely empty. When configured for personnel, the heavy shuttle could carry a full company without overloading, so the thirty troopers currently aboard had plenty of leg room. The senior personnel were sitting close to the front of the compartment, and Anderocus caught his first sight of Astropath Setaron.
Setaron's hollow eye sockets were as unsettling as any astropath's. His sight had been burned away from him on Holy Terra, a price exacted in the soul binding ritual that armored an astropath's soul against Chaos. Unlike some, Setaron didn't wear a bandage or blindfold to spare others the sight of the empty pits in his face. He was bald, again, as most astropaths were, and his skin was a medium brown colour, slightly darker than Seria's, indicating he'd probably been born on a planetary surface rather than aboard a starship. He was attired simply, in a dark gray robe, and the only ostentation visible was a slender gold chain around his neck, supporting some ornament that hung beneath his clothing against his chest. A straight wooden staff sat upright next to his seat.
"Astropath Setaron. I don't believe we've met." Anderocus didn't offer his hand; it would be unseemly for someone of his station to shake the hand of a witch.
"My Lord. I live to serve." The astropath didn't rise, and his voice was quiet.
"You know your task?"
"Of course." Setaron smiled. "It will not be difficult, my Lord. Despite the fury of the storm we escaped, the Warp seems oddly quiet here. It should be easy for me to detect any interference."
"Good." The Lord-Captain didn't understand how the Warp could be quiet, with the raging daemonic fury of the storm on the other side of the divide between material and immaterial. He decided not to ask; where the Warp was concerned, it was better not to know. Let those burdened with its presence bear that load.
Anderocus took a seat at the front that had been left vacant for him, noting as he did so that Tangro had seated himself as far from the astropath as he could manage. It was no great surprise; many subjects of the Emperor were so revolted by witches that they couldn't stand to be near one, even sanctioned witches like astropaths. It was a bit odd that he hadn't noted that tendency in Tangro before, however.
The Lord-Captain shook that thought aside as irrelevant, as the shuttle's engines roared to life. The enginseers must have been nearly finished with takeoff preparations when he arrived, for the bay was swiftly purged of atmosphere and the exterior doors opened. Anderocus tuned his vox-bead to the pilot's frequency as the shuttle smoothly lifted from its moorings and slid out into the void.
"Emperor on Earth," the pilot cursed softly, "How did we survive?"
"Can you describe what you're seeing, pilot?" Anderocus cut in.
"Oh, sorry m'Lord, didn't realize you were on this channel." The pilot's voice was chagrined. "Ah... there's significant damage to the exterior of the ship. I can see broken gargoyles and damaged devotional icons all down the port side, and some serious scoring in the armour..." The pilot trailed off, evidently concentrating on fine maneuvers. He would be moving the shuttle to the starboard side of the Lux Foedis, to rendezvous with Tersiaard's shuttle before descending into the planetary atmosphere, so they should be coming around to the more damaged section right about... "Golden Throne!" The pilot gasped, horror in his tone. "M'Lord, it looks like something peeled the starboard flank open like a bloody ration tin!"
"Make sure your pict recorder is active, pilot." Anderocus hid the dismay he was feeling with the ease of long practice. He'd hoped the damage might have been less severe than it had sounded from the damage control reports.
"Aye, sir, pict recorder active and capturing." The record would help with damage repair later. Tersiaard's gunship would surely be taking a similar record, but it couldn't hurt to have multiple sources. "There's the Mechanicus lander. We're beginning descent now."
The ride down through the atmosphere was a bit rougher in the cargo shuttle than it would have been in one of the more aerodynamic craft. (The pilots in the Furies were doubtless having a delightful time, the Rogue Trader reflected somewhat sourly) The blocky, brick-like profile of the heavy lander tended to simply smash through the atmosphere rather than riding on it, but the powered descent ameliorated the worst of the effects, and the weather was calm. Aerobraking in this brick would have been a nightmare, though.
Anderocus listened to the roar of the air passing by the lander's hull and the muted thunder of the engines as time ticked by. No one in the cargo compartment spoke; they were doubtless all mentally rehearsing the various plans and contingencies that would need to be fresh in their minds when they made planetfall.
It wasn't long before the pilot's voice came over the vox again. "Xenos city in sight, Lord. Did you want me to set down on the outskirts?"
Anderocus thought for a moment. "No, pilot, that would likely place us too far from the local power structure. Are there any parks or clear areas near the city center that can accommodate both us and the Mechanicus shuttle?"
"Don't know, m'Lord. The skyline's hiding the city core from this angle; did you want us to do a flyby?"
"Yes, but take care not to go too fast. High and slow, avoid any sudden maneuvers unless you see ground fire."
The pilot snorted a laugh. "In this tub, by the time I've seen it it'll have already hit us, m'Lord." The Lord-Captain felt the craft's forward speed drop as the pilot carried out his orders.
Anderocus pondered potential alternatives to a city-center landing site as the shuttle slowly circled. The buildings were fairly large, but he seriously doubted they'd support the lander's massive weight, so if they couldn't find a clear space it would be necessary to land further out on the edge, suboptimal as that might be. They could probably demolish a building, if they absolutely had to; the shuttle could smash through most primitive constructions without damage, but that seemed an unnecessarily hostile act. Finally, the pilot's voice broke his reverie again. "Got one, M'Lord. Big open park near the middle of the city, should be more than large enough for both shuttles. We'll have to knock a couple of trees down when we set down, though. Be warned though, sir, I'm seeing a fair number of airborne xenos creatures, might be the locals, might be some local wildlife. Don't seem to be armed, but they're pretty clearly shadowing us. They're giving us a wide berth for now, but once we land..."
"Thank you for the warning, pilot. Go ahead and set us down. Take it slow and be careful not to accidentally incinerate any locals or their pets if you can avoid it." The shuttle eased to a halt midair and began to cautiously descend as the Lord-Captain turned to Guard-Commander Seria. "Did you get that?"
The helmeted head nodded once, briskly. "Yes, sir. My troops will be ready and watching." She paused before adding, "There's a fair amount of urbanization around this park, sir. I'm a bit concerned about possible snipers."
"Keep an eye out, but this is most likely the best option for contacting someone in a position of power." Seria made a noise of quiet dissatisfaction, but nodded all the same. "Have one of your squads exit first to secure the area and impress anyone watching. Intimidating, but not aggressive, if you please." The shuttle bumped to a stop with a couple of hard thumps that Anderocus assumed had probably been trees, the engines quieted, and Seria stood, saluting.
"Right, sir. Sergeant Dulis, it's your lucky day! Your squad's first out the door and ramp security. Keep it ceremonial for now, but keep your damn eyes peeled! The rest of you: be ready to form up for escort detail!" All thirty troopers slammed to attention in perfect unison, and the squad closest to the ramp turned as it hissed down, opening to show the alien world beyond.
The ten soldiers marched down the ramp in two short columns, bootheels slamming down on metal surface in perfect unison, as Anderocus would expect of his best household troops. Each column turned to one side as they reached the ground, forming a line ten abreast flanking the foot of the boarding ramp. Their formation achieved, the squad slammed to a halt, hellguns at port arms, and waited.
Anderocus held the party inside the shuttle for a few moments, waiting to see if something attacked the vanguard squad. Nothing happened, and there was no sound but silence as pleasantly cool early morning air drifted into the open shuttle, the clean smell tainted by the stink of promethium fumes from the lander's thrusters. He was about to lead the landing party out, when he heard the roar of the approaching Mechanicus gunship, and decided instead to hold his retainers inside until Tersiaard had landed and debarked.
He didn't have long to wait. Either the Mechanicus pilot assumed the locals had cleared out when Anderocus's shuttle had landed, or more likely, he, she, or it simply didn't care if a few natives were immolated by the lander's thrusters. The sound of the engines died down quickly, and Anderocus heard the metallic noise of heavy footsteps on a ramp.
Now he led his party out of their shuttle. It wouldn't do to give the impression that the Rogue Trader had been waiting on the Mechanicus Magos, after all. Better to make it abundantly clear to the locals who was actually in charge of the Imperial delegation.
Parseon Anderocus proceeded slowly down the ramp, infusing his stride with grace and authority, as his etiquette tutors had taught him from a young age. He managed his fine clothing easily, though he currently wore his normal shipboard garb rather than full formal finery. That would wait for the locals to arrange official diplomatic meetings; it always behooved a powerful trader to have additional ways to surprise and impress those he dealt with kept in reserve.
The second of the escort squads fell in beside him, marching in columns on either side of the ramp as the first had. Tangro fell in at his master's right hand, while Commander Seria loomed over the Rogue Trader's left shoulder. Deumos and the astropath followed the two higher-ranking retainers, while the third guard squad filled the ramp behind them, marching five abreast. Anderocus thought with satisfaction that they presented an impressive and intimidating panoply.
To his right, Anderocus saw the red and gold shape of the Mechanicus lander. Standing at the base of its ramp loomed the intimidating form of Magos Tersiaard.
The Magos stood well over two meters tall, and from what Anderocus had seen, his body seemed to be almost wholly augmetic. He wore the traditional red robe of the Mechanicus, trimmed with a gold cog-teeth pattern, and very little of him was currently visible underneath it. His face was a faint gleam of metal underneath the deep shadows the combination of streetlights and pre-dawn gloom cast in his cowl, and three green lenses that were his eyes glittered with an odd light that never seemed to quite match the surrounding illumination. A frightening, arthropodan array of augmetic utility limbs and mechadendrites sprouted from his back, haloing his body with metal struts and tentacles, and the huge, boxy shape of a heavy bolter sat on his right shoulder where it always was. A small cluster of servo-skulls flew around him, the tiny antigravity units that supported them producing a noticeable buzz, but no retainers accompanied the Magos. Apart from the machine-studded flying skulls, Tersiaard was alone.
Anderocus only spared a brief glance for the tech-priest. Most of his attention was devoted to the creatures gathering in the park, gawking at the huge form of the shuttle.
"Did someone kidnap a juve festival's rough riders group and leave the mounts behind?" Seria muttered near-inaudibly, and Anderocus could understand why. The brightly coloured quadrupedal hippoform xenos before him averaged a bit over a meter in height, and were staring at him, his entourage, and the two shuttles with obvious shock written on their countenances. As he'd walked down the ramp, the Rogue Trader had initially dismissed the creatures as local pets or beasts of burden, but now that he got a closer look, he suspected they might actually be the inhabitants. Many of them wore ornamental clothing of one sort or another, ranging from a simple vest worn by what looked to be a streetside news-sheet vendor to one creature sporting a remarkably tasteful monocle, top-hat, and tailored suit. Others were unclothed, in numbers sufficient to indicate that this was considered quite socially acceptable. More of the creatures were cautiously emerging from the multi-story structures that surrounded the landing zone, no doubt alerted by the thunderous noise of the shuttles' landing thrusters. Others were hovering in the sky, on feathered wings that seemed far too small to support them. All the ones in view, including the fliers, were gazing at the human group with expressions that mixed awe, wonder, shock, and a trace of fear, and many seemed to be speaking to one another in hushed voices.
"I don't think these are pets, or carnival beasts, Seria." Tangro commented. "Observe the large cranial space, the clear binocular vision, the clothing and tools some of them are sporting. Can you see the mobile expressions on their faces?"
"I can, but I've seen pets that mimic expressions before." The former Guardswoman replied impatiently.
"Very few that boasted such large brains, I'd wager. And look! Are those tattoos on their rumps? Could those be marks of rank or social status? Or perhaps they indicate employment or career! But how do they get them to appear on top of their coats?" Tangro's tone was excited. "Not to mention that they're clearly talking to one another about us! Oh, my, just look at their expressions! How very humanlike, despite the decidedly nonhuman body structure, moreso than even the Eldar! I don't believe I've ever seen the like before!"
"Take care, seneschal." Deumos growled. "It is not seemly for a servant of the Emperor to be so... taken with xenos."
"Understanding these creatures is the entire reason I am here, confessor. They have something we need, so it behooves me to be open-minded. It will be easier to obtain supplies if we try to determine the most effective ways of talking to them." Tangro's reply carried a peevish tone.
"'An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded.' Remember that, Tangro." The priest quoted piously, "You should watch yourself carefully, lest something unholy use the opportunity to sneak in."
"Emperor's mercy, Deumos! Even the mightiest fortress would starve, were its gates to stay ever-closed, and such a thing only invites a siege!"
"Will you both be quiet?" Anderocus hissed. "Save your bickering for later, in private!"
Both men fell silent, muttering apologies.
The distraction dealt with, Anderocus concentrated on putting as much impatience as he could into his bearing and expression. He had come all the way to their world, now he would make their leaders or representatives come to him. It was a powerful negotiating tactic, one that gave an immediate advantage and had worked well for him in the past. The greatest downside was that his arrival had doubtless been tremendously intimidating for a society that lacked space travel of its own, so he might be standing there waiting for quite some time before one of the xenos gained sufficient courage to approach. That was no great worry; in fact, it was part of the reason he'd been willing to land a bit before dawn, when he suspected most of the aliens would be just waking up.
He was therefore surprised when, after a wait of only a few minutes, one of the hippoid creatures, a being with electric-blue mane and tail and light tan fur, clad in a vest and with a spiral horn projecting through a black beret, began to step tentatively forward out of the crowd that had gathered around the park's edge. It spoke a few words, clearly addressing Anderocus, its manner and voice nervous. When the Rogue Trader simply regarded it uncomprehendingly, it repeated itself more slowly, taking care to clearly enunciate its words.
Seria started slightly, the slight rattle of her armour drawing the Lord-Captain's attention. "What is it, commander?"
"Sir, I'm not entirely sure, the accent's a little odd, but... it sounds to me like this little xeno is speaking Ancient Anglic!" Anderocus was glad his guard commander was wearing a helmet; if her face was as stunned as her voice sounded, it could make them appear weak, possibly undermining their eventual bargaining position.
"Anglic? I'm not familiar with that tongue." Tangro said, pensively.
"It is an ancient, pre-Imperial, possibly pre-Gothic language." The metallic voice was unmistakable. Anderocus had no idea how Tersiaard had gotten that close without him noticing, though the massive Magos displayed an almost feline affinity for quiet movement at times. "I am curious how you came to be familiar with it, commander."
The xeno who'd addressed them evidently hadn't noticed Tersiaard's approach either, as it shied away when he spoke. Its large eyes grew even larger when it saw the tech-priest move up to stand behind the row of guards on the right side of the shuttle ramp. The xeno took a few nervous steps backward, but one of Tersiaard's servo-skulls buzzed out of the darkness to hover beside it, and the creature checked its retreat in favor of staring in wide-eyed fascination at the flying skull-machine.
Ignoring the interplay, Seria had turned to face the Magos. "It's still spoken in a few places in southern Raal, back home on Silieus. I lived a few hours away from a town where everyone spoke Anglic; I learned it from a childhood friend." She cocked her head. "It's been decades since I heard it, though. Not since I shipped out for the Guard as a girl."
"Intriguing." Tersiaard angled his gaze off to where his servo-skull was slowly circling the nervous-looking xeno. "I wonder how it came to be spoken here?"
"Does this mean you can translate for us, Seria?" Anderocus asked.
"I... maybe?" Seria said, with uncharacteristic uncertainty. "It's been years, as I said, sir. Maybe I'll pick it back up?"
"My linguistic database includes Ancient Anglic." Tersiaard observed. "If you could prompt this xeno to speak further, I could adjust for dialect differences and program my servo-skulls to serve as translators."
"I suppose I could try." Anderocus stepped to the side, gesturing for Seria to go past him. The commander's tall, armoured, helmeted form was clearly intimidating the little alien, though; it started stepping back nervously again as she approached, the expression on its face making clear that it was regretting its decision to address them.
"Commander," Tangro called out, "You're scaring it. Take your helmet off."
Seria looked over her shoulder to Anderocus for confirmation. The Lord-Captain gestured assent, and the guard commander reluctantly removed her face-concealing mask and helmet.
Some of the tension left the small alien's body when it saw Seria's face. It relaxed further when she haltingly addressed it. The xeno smiled delightedly and spoke back to her slowly in its own language, taking care to enunciate clearly to make it easier for the commander to understand. Anderocus noted that the creature sported a mark on its rump that resembled a quill pen scribing a character, and wondered if that meant that the creature might be a scribe of some sort.
The Rogue Trader leaned back, turning sideways so he could address the astropath in the back of the group. "Setaron, are you sensing anything?"
"I sense a great deal, Lord." The psyker replied quietly. "A great many of these creatures have minds that buzz and spark with power. Rest assured: none have made any attempts to intrude upon our thoughts, however, else I would have spoken."
Anderocus shot a glare at the astropath. It was a wasted effort, of course, as the man hadn't spontaneously regenerated his sight in the last few moments. "I thought you said the Warp was calm here?"
"It is, Lord." The psyker replied, unshaken. "Calmer than any place I have ever been. It should not be, with so many psykers about, but it remains so."
"Very well," Anderocus was deeply uncomfortable to know he was surrounded by psykers. "Remain attentive, and alert me if you sense any attempted intrusions."
"I remain vigilant." The astropath intoned solemnly.
Commander Seria had continued her conversation with the tan-coated alien while Setaron and Anderocus spoke, clearly growing more comfortable with the language quickly as she did so. The alien, for its part, was smiling widely, clearly excited, and much of the fear seemed to have dissipated from the growing crowd. The discussions between the various little clusters of xenos were getting more animated, and Anderocus noticed several of the winged aliens darting off, perhaps to fetch those higher in authority.
"What are you telling this creature, commander?" Anderocus interrupted.
Seria turned, saluting. "Nothing dangerous, sir, I'm mostly just answering basic questions. I've told him what our species is called, that we come from a starship, that we serve both your dynasty and the Imperium, and that we're seeking to speak to his leaders." She turned back to the alien just in time to see it telekinetically levitate a small pen and notepad out of a pocket in its vest, and the soldier leapt away, exclaiming, "Emperor's blood!"
The alien jumped in response, looking around frantically with wide green eyes to try and spot what had startled Seria. The armsmen tensed, but their iron discipline kept them from moving without Seria's orders or an immediate threat in view. The commander pointed at the floating writing tools, speaking a few more words in the alien's language, and it looked at her in surprise for a few moments before laughing and answering whatever she'd asked with an unconcerned smile.
"Ah... sir? It, ah, seems that the local population has... an extremely high concentration of psykers." Seria's voice was steady, and it would take someone who knew her well to spot her unease. Anderocus could see her trying very hard not to put her hand on the butt of the plasma pistol at her hip.
"Yes, Astropath Setaron made me aware of that fact while you were talking to this one." The Lord-Commander replied in a slightly acid tone. Anderocus indicated the creature Seria had been speaking to. "Has it told you anything of value?"
"A bit, sir." Seria, seeing her superior unconcerned about the profusion of witches, recovered her composure rapidly, though she remained more watchful than before. "All the ones with the horns are psykers, apparently, though they vary in power." Anderocus spared a glance around at the gathering crowd. The ones with the spiral horns made up an uncomfortably large percentage. "This one's name is Wordsmith, though he prefers simply Smith." The little alien was busily scribbling in his notebook, pausing occasionally to peer intently at one or another of the humans. "And while the leaders of this particular town have already been summoned, the overlord of this world dwells elsewhere. That's as far as I've gotten; I'm having to struggle to remember the words and grammar." Seria's voice held a note of apology.
Anderocus harrumphed. "Does he have any idea when these local leaders might arrive?" It was probably too much to hope for to find the planetary leader in the first city they visited. Ah, well, perhaps he could persuade the world's ruling lord to come here; that would give him additional diplomatic leverage, making them come to him.
"He seemed to think it would be shortly, sir." She spoke to the alien again, drawing its attention away from whatever it was writing, and it nodded to her, then looked at Anderocus and said something emphatic, nodding again. "A matter of minutes, he says."
"Commendably quick, if true." Anderocus observed. "Magos, any progress on adjusting your translation database?"
"Affirmative. I have recited the proper prayers and brought the cogitators into line. A fairly simple task; I did not even require any of the ritual incense. These servo-skulls should serve as adequate translators." A small group of the little servitors flew out of the Mechanicus lander and took station at the shoulder of each senior member of the expedition. "They have been instructed to only speak when you address one of the xenos, or when one of them addresses you."
"Thank you, Magos, that should prove invaluable. Though we may wish to extend that instruction to the xenos speaking in other circumstances; it could prove advantageous to know what they are saying, while keeping our own discussions secret." Anderocus turned to the little xeno... Wordsmith, was that its name? "Can you understand me now?" He asked, and the servo-skull hovering over his shoulder spoke, interpreting the Rogue Trader's words for the alien's ears.
The alien nearly fell over in astonishment. "Your flying skull things... can talk?" As it had just done, the servo-skull spoke, translating this time from the local's language into High Gothic. Its voice was slightly metallic (though less so than the Magos's, oddly enough) but easily understandable.
"They do not speak their own words, merely translate mine." Anderocus replied, feeling that it was important to establish that the servo-skulls were servants. "A task that it appears they are accomplishing adequately." The Lord-Captain gave a thankful nod to Magos Tersiaard, though the Mechanicus adept didn't bother to acknowledge the gesture.
"That's amazing!" Wordsmith exclaimed via servo-skull. He peered more closely at the skull still hovering next to him. "What kind of magic is this thing, anyway? It's so small, to be both flying and talking!"
"You told Commander Seria that your leaders would be here soon, is that correct?" Anderocus asked, ignoring the alien's question. It would be best to keep them guessing, at least for now. Fortunately, Tersiaard did not volunteer any information either, and he showed great restraint in not correcting the alien's assumption that the miracles of the Machine God and the psychic trickery of witches could be mistaken for one another.
"Oh, yes. I'm quite sure they're on their way now!" The xeno looked over his shoulder at a clock on a nearby building. "I suspect they'll be here shortly after the Princess raises the sun."
Princess, eh? It was probably referring to some local sun-god figure, from the context. Anderocus was sufficiently well-travelled to be familiar with a variety of heathen alien religions; hopefully this one wasn't tied to the Warp, as some of them were. Sun-worship was generally harmless enough, and he'd even encountered a few branches of the Imperial Cult that followed it. Sun-as-Emperor was a common enough simplification of Emperor-worship. Not that he thought for a moment that these aliens actually worshipped the Emperor!
"Of course. Is there any particular interruption or ceremony associated with sunrise?" If the aliens expected the Imperials to participate in their ceremonies, it would be best to know now, and get the disappointment over with. Anderocus couldn't see any weapons in the crowd of aliens, so he felt confident that any violent reaction to his refusal to follow their religion would break against the bulwark of his guardsmen.
"Only for the Princess," the alien replied with a worldly shrug, "or folks attending the ceremony in Canterlot. Here in Manehattan it's just sunrise."
"I see." Anderocus looked out at what he could see of the horizon, occluded as it was by the shapes of the multi-story buildings that surrounded him, and could see a faint glow heralding the oncoming dawn. "Then we shall await the arrival of your leaders."
The Rogue Trader stood there silently, waiting, as the alien scribbled in his notebook.
Finally, the sun peeked over the horizon, and behind him Setaron collapsed, screaming like a damned soul.
The astropath awoke as the shuttle ascended through the atmosphere, leaving Tangro on the surface with Tersiaard to continue his discussions. The seneschal had insisted on remaining, even as the rest of the senior staff withdrew, insisting he could handle preliminary negotiations singlehandedly. Anderocus hoped that Tangro could invent a sufficiently plausible explanation for their sudden withdrawal; it must have looked exceedingly undignified to have the senior members of the officer corps hustling back into the safety of the shuttle while a pair of guards dragged the shrieking astropath up the ramp behind them, brandishing their hellguns at the crowd threateningly. Seria had left one squad of guards with the seneschal to ensure his safety, taking the other two to ensure that Setaron could pose no threat to the rest of the senior personnel.
At the sound of Setaron's ragged inhalation, several of the others in the passenger compartment crowded further away from him. After the astropath had collapsed in a shrieking fit, blood streaming from the empty sockets of his eyes, there'd been significant concerns that the Warp had overtaken him, or that some fell xenos sorcery had corrupted him. Though Confessor Deumos had examined the astropath and pronounced him free of taint, no one wanted to take any more chances than were necessary.
Now he was sitting up, groaning, wiping at the drying blood that streaked his face, and it was time to learn if the confessor had been mistaken.
Deumos nudged Seria, drawing her attention to the awakening astropath. She motioned the guard detail out of his way with a wave of an armored hand, and the big priest respectfully shouldered past Anderocus. As Seria's guard detail leveled their hellguns, the confessor drew his ornate, thrice-blessed bolt pistol and addressed the frail telepath.
"Malachai Setaron, do you hear my words?"
The astropath's blind gaze swung toward the priest. "Kessar? Kessar, is that you?"
"It is." Deumos replied firmly. "You were taken by a fit as the sun rose, Setaron. Are you still yourself, or has the stain of your witchery finally proven too much for your soul to handle?" The confessor trained his weapon on the astropath's head, finger resting lightly on the trigger. He clearly intended to take no chances.
"Yes, confessor, both my mind and soul remain my own. Wait, I shall prove it..." Setaron fumbled at the collar of his robe, finally locating the fine chain that hung about his neck. He drew out the beautifully-wrought golden Aquila that hung from it. Holding the charm firmly in his hand, he raspily intoned, "I swear unto you, Confessor Deumos, in the name and presence of the Emperor, that my soul remains pure in His sight, and that the Enemy has found no purchase there."
Deumos waited for three long, tense heartbeats, watching to see if the God-Emperor would see fit to strike the astropath down. When no divine wrath manifested, he holstered his weapon. "That is good to hear, Malachai. I feared for you."
The tension in the passenger compartment eased greatly as the confessor's words dispelled fears of daemonic possession. Lord-Captain Anderocus stepped up next to the priest.
"What happened, Setaron? Did something attack you?"
"I... don't think so, my lord. As the sun rose, I felt a vast outpouring of psychic power. It was not aimed at me, else I fear I'd have burned like a candle. Even so, it was all I could do to hold my mind together; the presence was so immense that even in merely sensing it I was almost destroyed." Setaron shuddered. "I... hesitate to say this, but I've only encountered anything like it once before."
"Farseer Melandaril." Anderocus nodded. If that damnable xenos mind-witch had somehow followed them through the warp storm...
"No, my lord." Setaron's voice was hesitant, as he corrected the Rogue Trader he served. "This... entity quite thoroughly eclipsed the Eldar's power. The only time I've felt its like was..." He trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with whatever he had been going to say.
"Yes? Was when?" The captain prompted impatiently, when the astropath didn't continue.
Setaron hesitated again, and when he spoke, his voice was almost inaudible. "The day I... lost my eyes, my lord." The whispered answer visibly confused Anderocus. Setaron was an astropath, he'd been blind since...
"Blasphemy!" hissed Deumos. The big confessor gripped his staff of office tightly. "You would seek to claim that the Emperor is on this world?" His hand strayed to the butt of his bolt pistol again. "Perhaps you did not escape taint after all!"
"Be still, Deumos," the Captain commanded, holding up a hand to forestall any violent action by the priest. "I'm certain Setaron had no intent to blaspheme. Did you, Setaron?" The question held an edge of warning.
"Of course not, my lord." The astropath bowed to Deumos. "I humbly beg your pardon, confessor. What I am about to say may sound impious, but you know me, Kessar. I would never, ever turn from the Emperor's light. Not even to save myself from an eternity of torture."
The priest rumbled angrily, but in truth he did know the astropath well. He knew well that the blind man was almost ferociously pious, and had always been a steadfast, loyal and true acolyte of the God-Emperor. "I will withhold judgment for now, Malachai. But take great care with your words."
Setaron licked his lips nervously, nodding. "I shall do so." The blind man paused, clearly searching for words. "I did not mean to suggest that the Emperor was here, on this world, but the power I felt was so very much like that of the Astronomicon, in scope if not in flavor." He hesitated. "It was more unified, and, and warmer, somehow. The Astronomion has this sense of terrible, remorseless purpose to it, but on the edge of your senses, you can detect... almost a babble."
"Babble? You dare to speak of the Holy God-Emperor's mind as babble?!" Deumos interjected furiously, interrupting the Astropath's thoughtful accounting.
"Confessor!" The captain barked. "I said be silent. We all appreciate your zealotry in defense of our souls, but this is something I absolutely must hear. I need to know as much as I can about this world, and I cannot have you interrupting Setaron's every other sentence! Now hold. Your. Peace. I will not ask again." Anderocus's icy glare bored into the priest's eyes. The ire of a powerful Rogue Trader, even one as relatively young as Parseon Anderocus, would have caused many men to quail, especially with Seria standing behind him, ready and willing to execute those who earned the Lord-Captain's ire, but Deumos was made of sterner stuff. His jaw flexed and his back remained ramrod-straight as he stubbornly returned the Lord-Captain's glare, but he nodded.
Anderocus held the priest's gaze for a moment longer before turning back to Setaron. "Continue, Astropath Setaron."
The astropath nodded. "Yes, Lord. I- please forgive me, 'babble' was not precisely the right word. I am trying to explain something that doesn't lend itself easily to words; my apologies. When I endured the Soul Binding, I could... hear, or sense, a cacophony of voices, those souls sacrificed to the Astronomicon. Those who hadn't been strong enough to endure, and had been consumed by the Emperor to fuel His might. Their voices chatter, as they gutter out. What I felt today... it had much of the power I felt during my Binding, but it seemed more... aware. It lacked that mad cacophony of dissolving voices, and I could only feel one presence." He shivered. "There was but one voice. It did not speak, but still I heard it. It was... kind." Deumos clenched his teeth again, but managed to keep his silence as Anderocus had commanded. The psyker's voice took on a dreamy edge, a strange mixture of wonder and fear. "In truth, it sounded the way I've always imagined the Emperor used to, back in the days of the Great Crusade, when He was working to take all of Mankind under His protection and spread His light to the far reaches of the galaxy. Before He was bound to the Throne. It was warm, and kind, though there was steel underneath. It saw me, I think, at the very last moment," His tone was musing, now, "became aware of me even as I writhed in the glare of its power. It sought to shield me from itself, but it was pulling back the flame after the hand had already been burned. That it did so, I think, is the only reason I still draw breath."
No one spoke after the astropath finished. The only sounds in the lander's passenger compartment came from the roar of the engines as they drove it up through the atmosphere, back to the Lux Foedis, the uncomfortable shifting of Seria's infantrymen in their armor, and the squeak of Deumos's teeth grinding. Finally, Anderocus cleared his throat.
"Are you saying that on this world of, of pastel xenos, there dwells a peer of the Master of Mankind?" He sounded incredulous.
Setaron shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure I'd use those precise words, my lord, but your statement seems largely accurate, with one caveat. Whatever it is, it is... akin to the Emperor before the Great Heresy, when He still walked among us."
Glances were shared. Even Seria looked uneasy, shifting in her carapace armor, though her eyes were hidden behind the visor she had hastily redonned when the astropath had collapsed. Deumos jammed his hands over his ears, murmuring the Cantos of Faith under his breath.
"That edges perilously near to heresy, Setaron." Though the captain's words were firm, his tone was uneasy.
"I know, my lord. But, even if it damns me to tell it, this is a truth you must know. That we all must know. We must tread very, very carefully, for whatever watches over the little xenos of this world could obliterate us all with but a thought if it so chose."
The silence that followed the astropath's declaration could have suffocated an Astartes. |
A Foul Light Shines | Chapter 6 | Chapter Six
Twilight Sparkle stood at the edge of Ponyville, her friends arranged alongside her, and tried to contain her nervous excitement as they waited for the arrival of visitors from another world.
It had been three days since the nightmare at the Cooldown party. The town had mostly recovered; ponies were a resilient folk, and most had been simply frightened and horrified, not injured. Even those unicorns who had been worst stricken by the creature that had taken Hammer N' Tongs didn't seem to have been permanently traumatized; indeed, most maintained that they couldn't remember a thing about the incident, claiming that all they remembered was the party going well, then suddenly finding themselves outside the barn with dreadful headaches.
They'd held a memorial ceremony for both Hammer N' Tongs and Fair Deal the next day, and though most of the town's inhabitants had cried, they hadn't seemed like the horrific incident had affected them as much as Twilight would have expected. An uncharitable portion of the unicorn's mind wondered if Princess Luna might have slightly altered their memories, just enough that it would remove the worst of their trauma.
If so, she certainly hadn't done the same thing for any of Twilight's friends.
Pinkie Pie and Applejack seemed to have been least affected by the daemon. Pinkie especially had returned to her normal, bubbly self almost immediately, though the fact that she'd been unconscious during most of the monster's worst actions had probably helped. Applejack seemed more or less all right too; the phlegmatic farmpony didn't tend to get worked up about much, and knowing the creature had been dealt with seemed to be enough for her. Rarity was fine as well, having missed the entire incident.
That had left three ponies who were still working dealing with it, in various ways.
Twilight privately suspected that, of the three, she was handling the trauma best. She'd kept her composure throughout the entire thing without too much trouble, probably aided by the fact that the weapon she'd used against the thing that had taken the blacksmith's body had been her magic, which she only rarely used on other ponies. Further, since she'd been more than a little angry and frightened at the time, she'd half-expected a degree of violence to happen when she'd employed her magic against Hammer. The level of violence that ensued had shocked her, but not really the fact that it had happened. In the end, Twilight had suffered a few really bad dreams, but by now she was largely over it.
The two pegasi were another story. Fluttershy, always somewhat timid by nature, had been far more so over the last three days. She'd barely spoken to her friends since enduring the daemon's verbal flaying, but at least she hadn't confined herself to her house as Twilight had worried she might. She'd been involved in planning the reception for the aliens, contributing when she could, and she'd stayed close to Rarity most of the time. The two had always been close, and now the designer was giving the kindhearted pegasus a shoulder to lean on. Twilight had come across the two talking quietly a few times, and had seen Rarity comforting Fluttershy when the latter had broken into tears the day after the attack. Fluttershy had shown considerable improvement in the time that had followed, and though she was still visibly nervous about meeting the aliens today, her core of quiet strength seemed to have returned, so Twilight wasn't too terribly worried about her.
That left Rainbow Dash. The athlete had been the only one to actually touch the creature, had been the one to finally deliver the deathblow to the daemon inhabiting Hammer's body, and as a result had seemed to have been the worst affected of the six. Twilight had thought Rainbow had been handling the situation well enough, despite her sudden, explosive bout of rage when Princess Luna had explained the night's events, until Rarity had pulled her aside shortly after the Princess's departure and quietly told her about the pegasus's breakdown in front of her shop.
Warned that Rainbow might be trying to hide the extent of her distress, Twilight had kept a close eye on the racer for the remainder of the evening, and she'd seen several signs that worried her. Ordinarily a fairly tactile individual, Rainbow seemed to be making concerted efforts not to touch anypony, even by accident, and more than once the unicorn saw her standing where she thought nopony could see her, her ears back and eyes squeezed shut, visibly fighting to hold on to her composure. Not wanting to leave Rainbow alone for the night, Twilight had talked to Applejack, and the orange earth pony mare had convinced the athlete to stay overnight at Sweet Apple Acres.
The cyan pegasus had been haggard the next morning when Twilight saw her, sporting deep bags under her eyes, though she'd continued to act chipper and confident. Applejack had privately told her that Rainbow had suffered horrendous nightmares and barely slept, waking up screaming two, possibly three times.
Beginning to realize the severity of her multicolored friend's problems, Twilight had made absolutely sure to build time into her schedule that day for a long talk. She'd had Pinkie Pie and Applejack once again planning a celebration, though she'd asked Rarity to ride herd on them. Since this would be a more diplomatically-oriented event, Twilight figured that the designer would be the perfect choice to add a bit of style to the proceedings. (And possibly restrain Pinkie, if such a thing was even possible) Twilight had just barely managed to snag Rainbow as the latter was about to take off to schedule the weather for the next week. She'd quietly asked the pegasus how she was holding up, confessing that she herself was having... problems dealing with her role in Hammer's fate.
Rainbow had initially brushed her off, insisting that despite her appearance she was fine, thanks, and could Twilight please just leave her alone so she could make sure her weather crew was ready for when the aliens got here? But Twilight hadn't backed down, and had refused to let the pegasus leave, and Rainbow had finally relented.
"I... ya know, I've been in fights before." The athlete had admitted at last. "But this one... it was different." She shook her head. "I've always thought of myself a- as a good pony, ya know? I mean, yeah, I can be kind of a jerk, and maybe I'm a little too aggressive sometimes, but I've never done anything bad. Last night was... it was the first time I've ever really, seriously hurt somepony. I mean, yeah, there've been bruises, black eyes, bloody noses, a couplea broken ribs that one time but that was totally an accident 'cause he zigged when I thought he was gonna zag, but never... like that." She'd swallowed hard, head low and ears back, and Twilight had remained quiet, giving the pegasus the space she needed to talk. "Yeah, I know what the Princess said, that it wasn't really Hammer. But man, did it ever look like him, at least at first. And when I saw his body after I shoved him away from you, aw man..." Rainbow had angrily swiped a tear away from her eye, "This shouldn't bother me, but it does!" She'd ground her teeth. "I thought I was over it. I really did. When the Princess told us what that thing wearing Hammer's face was, and why it burned when I touched it, I thought I'd be okay! But... argh!" Rainbow had shaken her head violently, flinging drops of salt water out of her eyes where they'd been gathering. "Stupid tears, stop it. Argh. I just can't get it out of my head that I killed Hammer, even though I know I didn't. And every time I touch somepony, I get this sorta flash of Hammer... no dangit it wasn't Hammer!" The pegasus had ground her teeth and thumped her head with a forehoof, evidently trying to knock the idea out of her skull. She'd kept on doing it, too, each strike hitting harder, until a dismayed Twilight stepped up and blocked the athlete's forehoof with her own. Rainbow flinched at the contact.
"Rainbow Dash, stop it. Hurting yourself isn't going to help anyone. Please, I do want you to tell me what's bothering you so I can try to help, but you should not be punishing yourself for the way you're feeling. That is not healthy and it needs to stop, right now." Twilight had kept her voice firm, though she'd known her worry was probably showing. She hadn't realized that Rainbow's mental state had been this bad, and she hadn't been entirely sure how to handle it.
Rainbow had nodded wearily. "Yeah, I getcha. Okay, no more of that." She'd heaved a sigh, head hanging. "But you saw it. That flinch. I'm... every time somepony touches me, I see that thing burning, except instead of it, I see you. Or Rarity. Or Pinkie, A.J., Fluttershy... It's driving me crazy and I can't make it stop!" She'd ground her teeth again, eyes tightly shut.
Twilight had paused, thinking hard, listening to Rainbow's harsh breathing. "Okay, Rainbow," She'd finally said, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were quite this upset. So here's what we're going to do." The pegasus had watched her warily as she'd raised a hoof and laid it gently against her cyan-coated lower shoulder. Rainbow had shied away, but Twilight had moved to maintain the contact, and left her forehoof resting against the athlete's shoulder. "Okay. See, your head knows nothing bad is going to happen, but your heart is convinced that it is. So first we've got to convince your heart that your head is right." Twilight had lowered her hoof to the ground, but before Rainbow could sag in relief, she'd said, "Okay, now you put your hoof on my shoulder, just like I did for you." Rainbow had tensed up again, about to refuse, but Twilight shook her head and interrupted. "I know it's hard, Rainbow, but you have to. Don't be silly, I'll be fine, and if you let this fear win now it will never go away. So are you going to let it win, or are you going to fight back?" Rainbow's head had come up, and her expression firmed, exactly as Twilight had been hoping it would. Rainbow rarely refused a challenge. It made her easy to manipulate at times, though Twilight was glad about it in this circumstance.
Bracing herself, Rainbow Dash had extended a forehoof, gingerly laying it against Twilight's shoulder. It had taken a visible effort of will for the pegasus to do so, and she'd closed her eyes with a slight shiver as her hoof touched the unicorn, but the relief on her face when nothing happened had been easily visible.
"There, you see? Everything's all right." Twilight had smiled, meeting the athlete's exhausted rose-colored eyes when she'd reopened them. "That's step one. I want you to keep doing that; make yourself touch somepony every few minutes. Do you think you can do that?"
"Uh..." Rainbow's response had been hesitant, but she'd nodded slowly. "Okay, I get why you want me to do that. I'll try. It'll be hard, but I'll try."
"Great!" Twilight had given her friend a relieved grin, which the pegasus returned. "Second thing; I think it would be better for you to try not to dwell on what's bothering you. Instead, why don't you tell me something that makes you happy, or something you're excited about? When's the next Wonderbolts airshow, for example?"
Rainbow had blinked, as though the question hadn't even occurred to her. "Actually, Twilight, I'm kinda looking forward to meeting those aliens Luna was talking about. I've been thinking about it since she mentioned 'em."
"What, really?" The answer had taken Twilight by surprise. "I didn't realize you were that interested in them."
"Oh, yeah, totally." Rainbow had flashed a quick grin. "I've always liked hanging with non-ponies, finding out how they think, y'know? It's interesting. Plus, we're talking about things that have never talked to ponies before, and that wander around stars! Who knows what kind of awesome stuff they've seen!" The pegasus's face had gotten a dreamy look. "And how many ponies have gotten to talk to aliens, huh? Like, none! We'll totally be going down in history!" Excited animation had been creeping back into Rainbow's voice and manner as she spoke, and Twilight had realized her friend really was enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting aliens. And when the unicorn thought about it, it made perfect sense. Between Gilda and the buffalo, Rainbow had made friends among at least two sapient species that were normally hostile towards ponies. That fact was even odder when Twilight considered the fact that the pegasus had very few pony friends; indeed, before befriending Twilight herself, Rainbow hadn't seemed to have any pony friends. From what the academic had heard, Rainbow had had a cordial relationship with Applejack, but hadn't hung out with the farmer much before Twilight had moved into town, and the lavender unicorn couldn't think of anyone else that the pegasus normally spent time with. She and Pinkie were good friends now, but it hadn't been that long ago that Rainbow actively avoided the cheerful pink mare. It made Twilight wonder why Rainbow had been so quick to befriend her when she'd first arrived; maybe because she herself had been a bit odd? It was an interesting question, but it hadn't really pertained to the immediate issue, so Twilight had pushed it aside, focusing instead on the present.
The academic had offered to help Rainbow with the scheduling she'd been planning to do, an offer that was gratefully accepted. The two had spent the next few hours working out a new rotation for the pegasus weather crew; Rainbow had wanted to try to add a night shift, to ensure that the weather was pleasant in the early morning. The two had managed to juggle schedules, leaving Rainbow's second-in-command running the night shift. The athlete's chief subordinate was a mare named Gray Nimbus, a levelheaded individual about ten years older than Rainbow Dash, who'd proven in the past to be reliable and dependable, though not excessively imaginative. She'd agreed to oversee night operations, leaving Rainbow free to help Twilight with the aliens.
Their planning done, Twilight had made sure Rainbow wasn't left alone. She'd convinced the pegasus to spend that night at the library, and she'd had a quiet word with their other friends to ensure somepony was always around, and the athlete seemed to be doing much better, though Twilight knew she was still sleeping uneasily. She'd only woken Twilight up screaming once, which was an improvement over the previous night, at least.
Rainbow had been the most excited of the six when they'd finally gotten word from Manehattan that the aliens had landed. The pegasus had been a bit disappointed that the big city had gotten the first visit, but the letter they'd received from the city council assured them that the aliens had been directed toward Ponyville at the first opportunity. Apparently, they'd been slightly offended not to be met by the Princess's representative, and the more senior aliens had returned to their ship. The ones that had remained had been told that the Princess's representative could be found in Ponyville, as Celestia had commanded, and according to the Manehattan council's correspondence, they'd be landing in the early afternoon.
The whole day had been a whirlwind of preparation. Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity had been busting their flanks getting the celebration prepared, and there were banners and flags everywhere, Twilight had been frantically reading up on what books she could find on diplomatic protocol (which wasn't much) and Rainbow Dash had been zooming back and forth helping out her weather crew. Fluttershy had helped where she could, mostly trying to stay out from underhoof.
And now they all stood at the edge of town, wearing the fanciest clothes they could get on such short notice, ready for the aliens to land.
"Hey, Twilight," Rainbow asked in an excited undertone, "Did those letters from Manehattan say how they got down? They come from up in the sky, right? Do they have wings?" The pegasus was fidgeting, spreading and folding her own wings in a nervous tic she displayed sometimes. She'd refused to deck herself out in as much fancy clothing as most of the others had, contenting herself with her gold laurel wreath from the Best Young Fliers' contest and a fairly modest jeweled pectoral plate reminiscent of Celestia's guards' uniform.
"No wings, Rainbow," Twilight answered, "They've got some kind of flying vehicle. From the description, it seems to use fire for propulsion almost like a firework, so we need to keep everyone back when they come in to land."
"So they fly in, like, a giant fireworks rocket? That's so cool!" The excitement and enthusiasm in Rainbow's voice was good to hear, Twilight thought.
"I wunner how they keep it from explodin'." Applejack mused. "Don't seem too safe to be flyin' around in somethin' that might decide t' blow up on ya."
"Maybe it's just the best way to fly without wings," Rainbow shot back. "Or maybe it works waaaaay up high and nothing else does. I flew way up there once, where you can see the horizon curve; it got all cold and hard to breathe, and my wings lost lift."
"That's actually a very good point," Twilight mused. "If the 'ship' that Princess Luna was talking about is up in space, then they'd need a way to travel that didn't depend on air. I wonder how exactly it works. Oh, I'm so curious!"
"Applejack," Rarity said, her tone slightly acid, "darling, you could have at least let me make you a fancier hat. Even Rainbow Dash got dressed up, and here you are, looking like nothing special's going on!"
"I told you before, Rarity, that kinda thing just ain't me. I still got my Gala getup an' I was gonna wear it, but you were the one that said it wouldn't be the right thing!" The farmpony retorted, irritated.
"That was for a party, Applejack. It was far too festive; this occasion calls for more gravitas!" Rarity exclaimed, sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm fine like I am."
"Oh, honestly." Rarity exclaimed in exasperation.
The budding argument was cut off, as Rainbow Dash, staring intently into the sky, pointed with a forehoof and exclaimed, "I think I see it!"
The crowd erupted in an excited buzz of conversation, everypony gazing off into the clear blue sky, trying to spot the incoming aliens. Twilight squinted, unable to see anything in the direction Rainbow had indicated, and surreptitiously brought up a lensing spell. The magnification effect revealed two shapes, tiny with distance but gleaming in the sunlight.
"I see it too, Rainbow." Twilight said, dismissing the spell before anypony noticed. Rainbow flew up a short distance, doing little loops in the air out of sheer excitement. Twilight felt like an assassin of joy as she called up to the enthusiastic pegasus, "Rainbow! It's probably safer for everypony to stay on the ground!"
Dash drifted back to the ground, chagrined. "Sorry, Twilight."
"Aw, it's okay, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie was bouncing in place, "If I could fly I'd be flying! Flying and floating and whoosh! I love meeting new ponies, even when they're not ponies, and these are the newest of new since they've never even been to Equestria before!"
"My thoughts exactly, Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow grinned at the bubbly pink earth pony.
Twilight ignored the conversation, focusing on the sky. She could see the two dots now, still tiny with distance but growing rapidly. Much quicker than she had expected.
"Wow, they're uh... coming in pretty fast." Dash observed, next to her, suddenly sounding a bit worried. "Really fast, actually. And they're big." She glanced nervously at Twilight. "Um, how fast can they slow down?"
"They came in fairly slowly when they landed in Manehattan," Twilight answered. The two shapes had grown, and she could easily make out the profile of both. One was boxy and slab-sided, and colored a dark shade of red, though gold gleamed from various places. The other was smaller and sleeker, with a wing profile that looked remarkably like that of an eagle. It was a deep sapphire blue, and shone with reflected light. "The local pegasi were able to fly around them. I hope nothing's wrong."
Dash cocked her head, measuring the vehicles' speed with a practiced eye. "I don't think anyone but me or a couple of the faster Wonderbolts could keep up with that." She observed frankly. Her cyan-feathered wings fanned nervously. "And I seriously don't think I'd be able to catch either of those if they're falling. I'm awesome, but those things look like metal buildings; even the little one's gonna weigh a lot more than I can handle. Like, tons. Maybe we should think about getting everypony clear." The pegasus glanced over her shoulder at the assembled crowd.
As she said that, though, both vehicles pulled their noses up in an impressively well-synchronized maneuver, jets of white flame blazing on their ventral surfaces and wing roots. A few seconds later, the incredible, continuous thunder they produced reached the ponies' ears.
Rainbow Dash's only comment was an awestruck, "Woah." Even Applejack gave an impressed grunt.
Twilight looked over her shoulder at the crowd, who were all gazing in awe at the immense metal forms approaching the town. "Okay, everypony! Remember what I said earlier, these are going to be really loud, so everyone be ready!" That was why she'd left Spike at home in the library. Much as she'd like to have him here, she didn't want to risk damaging the baby dragon's hearing. The letters from Manehattan had warned that the human vehicles were almost deafening when they came in to land.
And indeed they were. Twilight laid her ears back in an effort to reduce the volume when the two vehicles were still a fair distance away, and the noise increased exponentially as the distance dropped. By the time the human conveyances drifted to a stop and eased down into the empty grass, coming to rest on insect-like piston legs that unfolded from their bellies, the noise was more a physical presence than a mere sound, the vibrations thrumming in Twilight's chest and buzzing against her horn. The heat from the fire blasting out of the vehicles' ventral surfaces had been pretty intense, too, and the lavender unicorn noted a few small fires around the base of the two vehicles when the white flames that propelled them finally died down, and they rested in front of the crowd of Ponyville residents, metal bodies emitting sharp clicks as they cooled.
Twilight glanced around quickly, checking on her friends. To her left, Rainbow Dash was struggling to maintain the serious mien that Rarity had suggested she adopt. While her face was admirably grave, her eyes shone with excitement, and her feathers rustled as her wings moved restlessly. On the other side of the cyan pegasus, Applejack sported an expression of mild interest, gazing at the huge metal shapes with one eyebrow cocked. To Twilight's right, her other three friends were decked out much like Twilight herself, sporting ornate capes, headdresses and saddles. Rarity stood directly to her right, chin raised, with a haughty look on her face. Pinkie Pie was bouncing energetically in place next to her, though less than Twilight would have expected. The lavender unicorn fought back a smile as she noticed that Rarity (without breaking her haughty façade) had moved one of her rear hooves, standing on Pinkie's frizzy pink tail and pinning it to the ground, preventing the enthusiastic mare from bouncing as high as she normally would. Fluttershy stood a few paces back, half-hiding behind Pinkie Pie.
Satisfied that her friends were where they needed to be, Twilight took a couple of moments to assess the vehicles sitting before her. The larger one was one of the two that the Manehattan council had described; boxy and slab-sided, its dark red paint overlaid with intricate gold inlays. It sported gilded gear and cogwheel icons everywhere in all manner of differing shapes and sizes. The second vehicle was not the enormous gray thing that the letters had spoken of; instead, this was much smaller and sleeker. (Though it was still huge) Its intense deep-blue hull was inlaid with silver, sporting a recurrent motif of two rearing heraldic beasts that Twilight didn't recognize facing one another, each with one forelimb extended and grasping an eagle-winged staff that stood between them. Eagle wings seemed to be quite popular with the beings that had decorated the vehicle; they were everywhere, much like the gear icons that covered the larger one. In addition to the heraldic symbol and the unlikely-to-be-accidental shape of the vehicle's wings, the academic spotted a two-headed eagle that appeared in numerous places, and another icon that looked like some creature's skull framed by eagle wings. Twilight wasn't entirely sure what to think about that symbol.
Twilight heard Rainbow Dash stifling snickers beside her. She gave the pegasus an inquiring look, and Rainbow pointed a cyan forehoof at the smaller vehicle. "Ha ha, it looks like Nimbus put on a few pounds! And, like, joined a rock band or something!"
The vehicle's blue and silver color scheme actually did look like a metallic version of Rainbow's second-in-command's coat and mane. Twilight suspected that Rainbow was a bit disappointed that the older pegasus wasn't around; she'd switched her schedule to oversee the night shifts. Dash loved to tease her slightly stodgy subordinate. The lavender unicorn made a mental note to tell Gray Nimbus to be thankful she'd been elsewhere; it was likely Rainbow would have forgotten about the joke by the time she saw Nimbus again, but if the older mare had been here it would likely have been weeks before she heard the end of this.
Before Twilight could respond to Rainbow's observation, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud hiss emitting from the two vehicles. In near-unison, ramps lowered in the front of each vehicle, looking unsettlingly like mouths opening. They even sported pistons in place of ropes of saliva, and Twilight had an uncomfortable flashback to her confrontation with a hydra some time ago. There was silence for a moment, finally broken by a sound reminiscent of heavy, synchronized drumming.
The ten humans whose footsteps were responsible for producing the sound advanced down the ramp of the smaller vehicle in two columns of five, and Twilight had to admit that they presented an impressive sight. They stood upright on their hind limbs, straight and tall, looming nearly as tall as Celestia herself. Each was fully clothed, with no hint of skin or hair showing beneath their wrapping of cloth and heavy, thick-looking armor. Even their faces were masked, hidden behind tinted goggles, helmets, and oddly-shaped rigid face coverings. They marched down the ramp as though controlled by a single mind, feet striking the metal surface in perfect unison with a heavy, slamming tread, long arms purposefully supporting odd, boxlike implements with tube-shaped protrusions that they carried in their long-fingered hands. To her right, Twilight heard Fluttershy squeak slightly, probably startled by the rolling concussive noise of the creatures' marching. As each pair reached the base of the ramp, they took right-angle turns, marching away from each other until all ten had formed a line parallel to the end of the ramp, at which point they slammed to a halt, and as one turned to face the crowd of ponies in front of them. Their maneuver accomplished, they stood perfectly still and ramrod straight.
The humans' entrance had clearly been intended to awe and impress, and Twilight had to admit that it had worked. It had been a remarkable demonstration of perfectly coordinated movement, even better in a lot of ways than anything she'd seen from Celestia's guards. In fact, it had more closely resembled a simplified, ground-bound version of something the Wonderbolts might have done, and a quick glance at Rainbow Dash showed that the pegasus had probably noted the similarity. She was grinning widely, rose-colored eyes sparkling with excitement. She seemed to be trying to fight the grin back, in an effort to paste her serious expression back on, but Twilight was just as happy to see that her friend seemed to be losing that battle. It was good to see that kind of glee in Rainbow's face again.
Twilight found herself mentally comparing the humans' appearance with various things she was familiar with. They were built superficially like Spike, if the baby dragon had been stretched out to about three times his normal height. Their limbs seemed much longer in proportion to their bodies, though, and they looked like they might be leaner under their encasing armor. That armor was another curious thing; she mentally compared it with the armor she'd seen on the Royal Guards. The Guards' armor was fairly lightweight, though strong for its comparative thinness, and gleamed with polish at all times. The Guards considered it the height of slackness and a sign of disrespect to the Princess to let one's armor show anything less than a pure gleaming reflection of the sun, as she'd been told once in a conversation with their commander back in Canterlot. This armor was dull-colored and nonreflective, but uniformly so, giving the impression that it wasn't supposed to be shiny. It looked much thicker than the Guards' armor, as well, and heavy besides. It also covered a lot more of the wearer's body, and Twilight wasn't sure if it reduced the wearers' mobility or not; she'd have to see more of the humans' method of movement before she could judge whether these guards had any difficulty moving. It sure didn't look like it was hampering them much, though.
"Hmph. A bit drab, if you ask me. Those uniforms could use a little bit more flair." Rarity commented, next to her.
She expected to see the human dignitaries leave their vehicle behind the guards, but the next motion she saw didn't come from the sleek blue-and-silver vehicle. More clanging footfalls, only one set that was far more metallic-sounding than the guards', rang from the hatch of the second, larger red-and-gold vehicle. The shape that emerged from its hatch was more than slightly frightening, and Twilight heard several gasps behind her. Where the guards stood a bit under twice an adult pony's height, this figure stood almost two and a half times as tall as Twilight did, and was swathed head-to-foot in a hooded robe of the same dark crimson as the vehicle it was exiting that obscured its exact shape. The sheer size of the figure wasn't what made it frightening, though. Projecting from its back were almost a dozen jointed metal limbs and gleaming metallic tentacles, most terminating in large crablike claws or clusters of needle-looking shapes and odd instruments. The limbs shifted slightly as the human (if it was a human; it looked nothing at all like the guards) moved, just enough to make it obvious that they were moving of their own volition and not simply swaying with the movement of the one they were attached to. Resting on its shoulder was something that looked like a massively scaled up version of the boxy things the guards were carrying, and the cylinder protruding from its end was correspondingly larger. The unicorn wondered anew what the boxy things were... some kind of tool, maybe? Whatever they were, they sure seemed to have a lot of the things.
Twilight couldn't see the giant figure's face. The deep hood it wore cast heavy shadows, and all the unicorn could make out was the green gleam of reflected light, coming from three points on its face that more or less corresponded to where she thought its eyes should be, two on one side of its face and one on the other. Do they have three eyes? She mused, the Manehattan council didn't mention anything like that! The figure walked calmly to the end of its ramp and stood there silently, stock-still save for the continued languid waving of the metallic limbs on its back, hands tucked into the sleeves of its long red robe. Twilight hoped the rest of the humans she was supposed to meet were slightly less... intimidating.
Her attention was drawn from the frightening multi-limbed figure back to the blue-and-silver vehicle as her peripheral vision spotted movement inside it. Five more figures emerged, lacking the disciplined unity of the guards that had preceded them, but making up for it with amazingly ornate clothing. The one in front was clearly the leader, and was decked out in robes and capes of the same blue and silver as the vehicle he emerged from, including an outer cape that appeared to be made of molten silver, so brilliantly did it shine. Twilight was interested to note that he only had two eyes in his almost flat, bizarrely hairless face, and wondered why there were three gleams underneath the giant figure's hood. (Perhaps that one was a different species after all? It didn't really resemble any of the other humans in anything but its upright posture.) The leader had a dark mane with no forelock that fell to his shoulders, but no sign of hair beyond that, and she couldn't see any sign of a tail. Its limbs did indeed look leaner in comparison to its body than Spike's did, as she'd suspected the guards looked without their armor. It exuded an attitude of calm authority, though Twilight though she detected a slight hint of anxiety under its serene expression.
The two directly behind the leader were a study in contrasts. To his right walked a shorter, slenderer individual, with light hair where the leader's was dark. His eyes darted about, clearly assessing the assembled ponies, though for what, she had no idea. For some reason, the human gave her a gentle attack of the creeps, so she moved her attention to the one standing next to it.
The human to the leader's left was even taller than the leader, (though still smaller than the crimson-robed giant) and looked enormous, fully encased in armor very like that worn by the guards at the ramp. It didn't carry one of the box implements that the guards seemed to be proudly supporting, but it moved with an easy confidence, and the slightly more decorated armor it wore suggested that it might be the leader of the guards.
The two in the back were much less impressive. Each carried a stick in one hand, but one seemed to carry it more as a mark of office than as a support. That one was as tall as the guard leader, and its uncovered head was entirely hairless. It looked straight ahead, not focusing on any of the ponies, and had a grim expression on its face. The second was hunched, leaning on the staff it carried as though it needed the stick to keep balance on its two legs, its face hidden behind the hood of a simple brown robe. That last one seemed almost to want to be overlooked; its plain robe was almost unnoticeable beside the glittering finery of its companions, and its hunched posture and hidden face made it look like it was trying to hide in plain sight. Twilight wondered if it might possibly be an elder. Perhaps it was the one that was actually in charge?
"Well, that's more like it," Rarity observed, clearly impressed by the humans' sartorial splendor.
The group reached the base of the ramp, advancing a bit past it so the line of guards stood behind them, and stopped. Silence reigned, even Pinkie Pie seeming to hold her breath as the ponies waited to see what the humans were going to do. The leader turned toward the other vehicle, making a small gesture toward the hulking multilimbed figure that stood there. The giant didn't seem to move, but a cluster of small flying objects buzzed out of the shadowed interior of the red-and-gold vehicle. They were ivory-colored orbs, about head-sized, and they appeared to be covered in metallic filaments and components and glowing red lights. Several of the things flew over to take station hovering at the shoulders of the important-looking humans, and four more hovered in a cluster above the metal-limbed giant.
One of the objects buzzed over to hover in front of Twilight, and she caught her breath as she realized they were, in fact, exactly head-sized. This would be because they were, in fact, skulls.
It was an oddly round and short-faced skull, by pony standards, sporting sharper teeth than any pony ever had, but it was clearly the skull of a member of the same species that stood at the base of the vehicle's ramp. It leered at her with its exposed teeth, empty eye sockets filled with a crimson glow from the lights within, metal wires and tubes protruding from various locations, and the open mouth was filled with some form of fine mesh. Um. Well. That's... macabre. The unicorn thought, fighting the urge to step back from the thing. Hmm... is this thing magic? I don't feel any. Weird. And creepy. Near as she could tell, the flying skull things were totally inert... which was obviously not the case, as the thing buzzed around her before taking station at her shoulder, much like the others hovered at the humans' side. Oh well, that could wait.
The flying skull simply hovered in next to her, doing nothing, while the short, slender human stepped forward to address her. He spoke in a language she couldn't understand at all, but half a heartbeat after he began speaking, a metallic voice issued from the grill in the skull's teeth.
"Am I addressing the representative of this world's ruler?"
Twilight blinked, looking back and forth between the skull beside her and the human who'd spoken. Oh, is it some kind of translating device?
Evidently recognizing her confusion, the human made a dismissive gesture, saying, "The servo-skull is translating my speech into a form you can understand. Pay it no mind; it is simply a tool. Now, am I addressing the representative of this world's ruler?"
Twilight pushed the dozens of questions she wanted to ask to the back of her mind. Instead, she smiled at the light-maned human, and said, "Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I've been appointed by the Princesses to speak to you on their behalf!" She'd been rehearsing her opening words all morning, and was pleased that she was able to articulate them so smoothly and with no problems. In a mirror of what had happened when the human spoke, the skull that hovered at his shoulder translated her speech for him.
Of course, then the human just had to toss a wrench in her plans. "May I see your credentials, then?"
Twilight balked, taken completely by surprise. "Cred...?"
She was interrupted midword by Rarity, who cut in smoothly. "We would be happy to present the Lady Twilight's credentials, once we know whom we address, mister...?"
"Oh, but of course!" The human exclaimed. The duality of the conversation was slightly confusing; the human would speak, and a half-second after he started speaking in his incomprehensible language the skull-thing would start talking in perfect, unaccented, uninflected Modern Equestrian. It was difficult to know what to focus on. The human gave an elaborate, flourishing bow that Twilight was amazed didn't send him stumbling off of his feet. Clearly, the bipeds had much better balance than she would have expected. "I have the honor of being Seneschal Aleron Tangro, head of household for the illustrious Rogue Trader Parseon Anderocus, master of the starship Lux Foedis and lord of the Anderocus dynasty and trade fleet." He made an elegant gesture, indicating the tall, dark-haired human that led the party. "Indeed, my master has chosen to personally grace your world with his glorious presence, so highly does he value your esteem." The leader, who was evidently this 'Parseon Anderocus' individual, inclined his head slightly to affirm the seneschal's statement, the serene expression on his face showing nothing of his thoughts.
"Oh, my!" Rarity exclaimed. "We hadn't expected to welcome such an illustrious personage right away! Do please forgive us, we had expected to deal with lackeys first." The designer observed in a dismissive tone, waving a forehoof vaguely, and Tangro's face twitched, clearly unsure whether or not the white unicorn had just referred to him as a lackey. "If you gentlecol... er, gentlefolk will give us a few moments, we would be happy to fetch Lady Twilight's credentials, so that you can examine them." She gave Tangro a winning smile, bright blue eyes guileless.
The light-maned human gave Rarity a suspicious look for just long enough to make it clear she was supposed to notice it, before turning to the dark-maned leader and receiving another calm nod. Tangro turned back to the pony delegation. "My glorious master, the Rogue Trader Parseon Anderocus, has graciously consented to wait here, that you may retrieve the necessary documents. Please don't be too long." The last statement carried a slight edge of warning. Twilight had to listen to the human's actual voice when he spoke to catch his intonation; the translation from the creepy flying skulls was devoid of expression, so she had to pay attention to how he spoke even though she couldn't understand his language.
Rarity bowed gracefully, acknowledging the human's words. She turned, pausing for a moment to whisper in Twilight's ear, "come along, darling," and headed for the library. As she passed Applejack, she hissed to the farmer, "Try to keep Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash from doing anything embarrassing!"
"Try to... what? How? Rarity...!" Applejack started to turn to follow them, but checked herself. Twilight caught a glimpse of the orange earth pony glaring surreptitiously after them as the two unicorns went behind a building. The flying skull that had been hovering near Twilight drifted casually over to hover next to the farmer.
"Um, Rarity? Where are we going? I don't have any 'credentials' to get!"
The white mare let out a sigh. "I know that, darling. I think they're just trying to put us a bit off-balance; I feel more like I'm starting a rather tense business negotiation with a tough client instead of meeting with diplomats. Maybe it's the same thing, I admit I've never been a diplomat before." She shook her head. "I'm sorry to have to drag you away like that, but I think they were trying to put you on the defensive, so I just had to seize the initiative back."
"Oh, um, it's alright, but now we're going to have to come back with something, aren't we?" Twilight had read up on diplomacy, but she hadn't been able to find very many sources. She didn't even know what diplomatic credentials from the Princesses would look like!
"I'm sure we can find something that looks official in that library of yours, Twilight!" Rarity answered. "If they can't speak our language, I doubt they can read our writing."
"Oh, that's a good point." Twilight pondered for a moment. "But I don't even know what kind of documents they're looking for!"
"I doubt they do either, dear." Rarity said, kindly. "The only way they could have seen Equestrian diplomatic papers is if they'd been to the borders, and didn't you say they'd only been to Manehattan and here?"
"Well, as far as I know..."
"Exactly!" The designer smiled triumphantly. "So as long as we find, or make, something that looks impressive, that should work just fine, shouldn't it? Well, impressive I think I can provide!" They'd almost reached the library, and Rarity continued. "Let's be quick, Twilight, I don't want to leave them alone with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash for any longer than we absolutely have to; that's a recipe for a complete disaster."
Twilight snickered, but it was more true than she'd like to admit. Rainbow was certainly enthusiastic and excited about meeting the new arrivals, but the one who'd spoken to them had an air about him that suggested he was almost eager to take offense, and the cyan pegasus often didn't even notice when she was being rude. And Pinkie Pie... was Pinkie Pie. Anyone who wasn't used to her was likely to at least be seriously confused by her. Hopefully Applejack would be able to keep the two in check. |
A Foul Light Shines | Chapter 7 | Chapter Seven
Arriving at Twilight's home, Rarity pulled the door of the library open, asking Twilight, "Now, what kinds of important-looking documents do you have here?" The two trotted in, Twilight trying furiously to remember if there was anything like that in the stacks.
Spike stuck his head over the railing of the second floor, a quizzical look on his face. "Twilight? Rarity? What are you two doing here? I just heard that roaring noise a couple of minutes ago!" The little dragon craned his head back over his shoulder. "Don't tell me Rainbow Dash chased 'em away already, I didn't even get to meet 'em!"
"Now, Spike, be nice," Twilight chided. "I'll have you know Rainbow is on her best behavior." The lavender unicorn started rifling through some of her stacks of official documents in the government records section. They all looked disappointingly bland, mostly consisting of things like census reports and tax records.
"Well... why are you here, then, instead of out there?" Spike asked.
"We need documents," Rarity answered, flipping quickly through a stack of papers Twilight recognized as weather reports that she'd been referring to the day before, when she'd been helping Rainbow Dash. "Papers, scrolls, books, something like that. Something impressive, but not tacky."
"What about the letters you get from Princess Celestia, Twilight?" Spike disappeared back into Twilight's bedroom, re-emerging a moment later with a roll of parchment in his stubby-fingered hand. "These have seals and stuff on 'em."
"Oh, let's have a look," Rarity said, levitating the paper down and unrolling it so she could look at it. "Oh, my, yes, this is very nice. Celestia's royal seal, and that gorgeous elegant script. Oh, my, does she really illuminate the first letter of every page? I didn't think anypony did that for a simple letter, what a delightfully classical touch! Are there more of these?"
"Oh, yeah, a whole bunch! Hold on!" Spike exclaimed, dashing back into the bedroom and re-emerging with a handful of rolled-up scrolls.
"Oh this is perfect! Thank you, Spike!" Rarity beamed at the dragon, levitating the bundle of papers toward herself.
"Anything for you, Rarity..." Spike said, but the white unicorn's attention had already been directed elsewhere.
"Now, I've got some ribbons here," The designer opened a small pocket in her cape that Twilight hadn't noticed before, levitating out several ribbons, "And I see a few candles that I could use for wax. I'll make some seals and streamers that look quite impressive, won't take more than a few moments..."
"Do you need my help, Rarity? I'd like to look up a spell really quick, but if you need me..." Twilight trailed off.
"Hm?" Rarity hummed, looking up from her work on the letters, "Oh, no, darling, I've got things well in hoof here. Go ahead, but this won't take me long at all!"
Twilight nodded, trotting quickly to the magical reference section of the library and leaving Rarity in the throes of creation. The academic knew exactly what she needed, and she thought she remembered where the book in question was. Indeed, she found the book on linguistic spells right away, pulling it off of the shelf and flipping quickly through it. Twilight had decided that being able to understand the humans, with or without their creepy talking skull-things, would probably prove incredibly useful. She located the universal translation spell near the back of the book, and started reading, brow furrowed in concentration.
The spell was amazingly complex, but not terribly power intensive. Almost any unicorn could cast it... if they had the fine magical skill, or the proper talent.
Fortunately, she did have that level of skill, though this spell was right at the edge of what she could handle at her present level of advancement. She read through the spell several times, to make certain that she fully understood it, before setting the book aside. She closed her eyes, turning her focus inward, and started weaving the spell together. Twilight wasn't the fastest spellcaster, especially when it came to delicate work like this, but so long as she wasn't pressured for time there was almost nothing she couldn't do, magically.
The spell formed as a fractal lattice in her mind, glimmering threads of power threading through one another in an intricate dance of energy and thought. She found the process if its formation intriguing; she hadn't done any linguistic spells beyond the most basic forms before. Twilight found the incredibly complex network of image and concept the spell was creating to be endlessly fascinating, and she had to force herself to finish the spell, allowing it to coalesce around her brain, integrating flawlessly into her speech centers. With the spell in place, she'd be able to understand the speech of almost any creature that used language. It was slightly dangerous; using this spell to interact with beings whose concept of communication worked in ways radically different from her own would put stress on her psyche, but based on her brief interaction with the humans and the reports from Manehattan, she strongly doubted that they were anywhere near that alien. Their facial expressions and body language were fairly close to pony norms, too, so it wasn't like they were blob-monsters that used scent to communicate, or anything like that.
It was really a pity that she couldn't cast this spell on anypony but herself. The sophisticated, delicate linkages of the translation spell required intimate familiarity with the neural structure it was to be used on; the kind of familiarity that could only come with living inside said structure. Twilight was fairly certain that Rainbow Dash at the least would have leapt on the opportunity to use this spell, and she suspected the other five would be interested, too, to varying degrees.
Oh, well. At least Twilight would be able to understand the humans without the aid of translators. She re-shelved the book, heading back to where she'd left Rarity.
The white unicorn was right where Twilight had left her, putting the finishing touches on the bundle of letters. They really did look splendidly official now, sporting extra seals and ribbons of varying colors and forms. If Twilight didn't know that it was just a collection of letters, she suspected she'd be fooled, though it remained to be seen if it would satisfy the humans. She told Rarity so, thanking the designer profusely. She also told Rarity about the translation spell she'd found, asking if the other unicorn wanted to try casting it herself. A spell requiring fine control and a delicate touch should be right up Rarity's alley.
"Hm." Rarity muttered, as she rolled up the finished "diplomatic credentials" and slid them into a scroll case she'd decorated. "I'd like to, dear, but to be honest, I don't think we have the time. We need to get back as quickly as we can. Perhaps I could look at it later today?"
"Okay, that sounds good." Twilight said, turning to leave. "Let's get back, then. Spike! Take care of the library, please!"
"Aw, can't I come al..." The dragon was interrupted by the closing door. "Nuts."
The two unicorns trotted briskly back to the edge of town, trying to hurry without getting themselves out of breath. Rarity didn't want it to look like they'd been rushing, insisting that the humans would likely take them more seriously if they appeared unruffled and unworried. They paused behind a building just out of sight of the landing area, readjusting their clothing, and calmly walked back into view, glancing around as they did so.
Pinkie Pie was bouncing around the human diplomats, unleashing a barrage of questions about what kinds of food they liked, what kind of party games they played, if they had a favorite kind of music, and other things to that effect. The tall, bald human in the back of the group was watching the pink mare with an expression on his face that suggested he thought she was utterly mad, or perhaps possessed. The other humans were mostly ignoring her, only glancing briefly at her as she passed through their line of sight, save for the hunched one in the brown robe, who was evidently striving to answer as many of the bubbly party pony's questions as he could in a quiet, resonant voice. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, was hovering in front of one of the human guards. Twilight was relieved that at least she didn't seem to be trying to tease a reaction out of the poor creature as she had with Celestia's guards, instead contenting herself with trying to peer into the human's reflective visor. (And evidently not meeting with any success) The lavender unicorn was impressed by the guard's stoicism; Rainbow had her eyes about half an inch from the hapless creature's visor, squinting and craning her head through various angles and trying to shade the visor with her hoof in an attempt to see past the visor's surface, but from all appearances the human hadn't moved an inch. It had to be funny as heck from the other side of that visor.
Twilight and Rarity threaded their way through the crowd, keeping an unhurried pace. As they got closer, they heard a voice speaking to the humans, complete with the metallic echo of a human-language translation from one of the creepy skull things.
"And do please forgive my friends; while they hold important positions, they haven't been well-schooled in etiquette, and their behavior can often be a bit on the uncouth side." The voice held a strong trace of a Manehattan accent, and was smooth and cultured. Twilight wondered who the heck that mare was; nopony but she and her friends were supposed to be talking to the humans yet, and that voice didn't sound familiar at all.
"That's quite all right," Tangro's light baritone replied, "We have become accustomed to less than perfect manners in our travels throughout the galaxy. Though I must say that your own manners more than make up for the mild rudeness of your friends, Miss Applejack."
Applejack?!
The two emerged from the crowd, in time to see the orange earth pony answer in a smooth, Manehattanite voice completely unlike her normal Western twang, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I confess that my own manners are a bit rusty, but your patience and tolerance is sincerely appreciated. Rainbow, dear, if you haven't been able to see through that visor by now, you're not going to."
"Aw, c'mon A.J., I think I've almost got the right angle! And why the heck are you talking like Rarity all of a sudden, anyway?" Rainbow glanced over her shoulder at Applejack, catching sight of the returning unicorns as she did so. "Oh, hey, Twilight. Find what you needed?"
"Yes! I've got it right here!" Twilight answered brightly.
Applejack looked back, spotting Twilight and Rarity as they walked up to stand beside her. "'Bout dang time y'all got back," she growled under her breath. "An' you owe me one, Rarity. Makin' me have to talk all citified an' fancy..." She lapsed into a grumpy silence.
Rarity gaped at the farmpony in disbelief for a few seconds. Shaking off her surprise, she then intercepted and drew Pinkie Pie aside as Twilight removed the fabricated documents from her saddlebag, holding them in front of her in a light purple glow. "Here you are Mister Tangro, my credentials, as requested!"
The talkative, light-maned human stepped forward and held a hand out imperiously. Twilight had to fight the oddest urge to shy back from him, and carefully set the rolled letters in the human's extended hand. Why does this one make me so uncomfortable? He's the smallest in the group, and he hasn't made a single aggressive move. So why am I so nervous? It was a question to ponder. Maybe the other humans would trigger feelings of unease too, once they started talking. She hoped not.
She concentrated on not showing her nervousness, keeping her expression to a simple raised eyebrow as the light-maned human unrolled the bundle. Oooo, I hope this works! The human flipped past the first page, quickly enough that Twilight knew he wasn't actually reading it. Whew! Tangro looked at several more pages, eyes ostentatiously scanning along the lines of text, though it was pretty obvious he was just making a show of it. Twilight fought back a relieved grin as the human gave a satisfied nod and held the packet of papers out for her to retrieve.
The light-maned spokeshuman turned to his dark-maned leader, as Twilight tucked her packet of letters away. "They look solid to my eyes, my Lord, but of course I can't read a bloody word. I am reasonably certain that this is the one those others were talking about though; supposedly, it speaks for the Sun Goddess or planetary leader. Either this one's the actual leader and the god is just a myth, or this god-figure is the being Setaron sensed earlier and this is a representative. Shall I bring out the Warrant, and see how impressed they look?" The seneschal had maintained an even, respectful tone despite what he was saying, and Twilight's mouth nearly dropped open as she listened to his appallingly rude words.
The leader, Anderocus, nodded gravely. "Go ahead, seneschal. But don't try too hard to overawe them; we need them impressed, but not frightened."
Twilight suppressed a shocked look, stunned that the humans would be speaking so frankly in front of her. That was when she realized that the skull-translators hadn't said a word during the exchange; only the spell she'd cast had allowed her to understand the human language, and they clearly had no idea that she knew what they were saying.
She was torn; should she tell them she could understand them, and risk embarrassing them? Should she not tell them, and have to risk them finding out later? After a few moments of mental dithering she tried desperately not to show on her face, she decided to stay silent. She was, after all, supposed to try and learn about the Princesses' friend, and should the humans prove reluctant to talk about him, being able to understand them when they didn't know she could might prove to be helpful.
Tangro had turned and made a quick beckoning motion toward the shuttle as Twilight wrestled with her indecision. Now two of the flying skull-things came whining out, bearing a large, ornate box between them. They set the case down between Tangro and Anderocus and released it, jointed metallic arms withdrawing into the metal mass that sat where the spine would probably connect in a living creature. Tangro made a great show of undoing the latches of the case, slowly raising the lid and removing a bound collection of flexible, metallic sheets. The short, slight human turned, holding the metallic book out in both hands with a ceremonious air.
"Twilight Sparkle, envoy of Equestria, you gaze now upon the Anderocus Warrant of Trade." Tangro intoned, "Granted to the Anderocus dynasty in the name of the Holy God-Emperor seven thousand years ago by High Lord Theseus of the Council of Holy Terra, this imperishable document grants its possessor power and authority commensurate with a planetary noble. As you can see clearly noted here, we represent the might and the glory of the Imperium of Man, even here outside its vast borders. Where we step, the Emperor leaves his footprints." Twilight was simultaneously awed by the age Tangro claimed for the book, (seven thousand years?) and amused by the incredible pomposity of his little speech. 'The might and glory of the Imperium of Man?' Pff! Full of yourself much? She was beginning to realize that the translation spell made listening to him a bit confusing; she heard everything he said twice, and she suspected that before long the odd echo effect would end up giving her a bit of a headache. She filed away the idea of a God-Emperor; the label was close enough to how Celestia was sometimes described that it might pertain to the individual Luna had wanted her to ask about.
Still, the age of the artifact he held was entrancing. She stepped closer, ignoring the intensifying creepy feeling the human caused, and he knelt to let her better examine the metal-leaved book. Like Tangro a moment ago, Twilight was completely unable to make any sense of the writing in front of her, (her translation spell was limited to speech, not text) but the book that contained it was gorgeous. The pages were inlaid with amazingly intricate pictures and writing so tiny it must have required a needle to engrave, all plated in metals and wafer-thin gem slivers. The sheaves of metal that formed its pages were so thin that they bent like paper. It was a work of art as much as a historical artifact, and it took the unicorn's breath away. She suspected Rarity was similarly entranced, but didn't want to show disrespect by looking over her shoulder.
Twilight forced herself to nod calmly, accepting the remarkable document at face value. Tangro gave a thin smile, straightening and carefully placing the Warrant back in its resting place. The two skulls that had borne it before buzzed down, metal limbs unfolding, and carried the ornate case back into the vehicle from whence it had emerged.
Of course, Pinkie Pie could be relied upon to break any somber mood. "Hey! Twilight!" The pink earth pony not-whispered loudly enough that the unicorn was certain everyone in the immediate area heard it, "I gotta go change some stuff for the welcome party! Buy me, like, five minutes! I'll pay you back later in cookie-shaped-time!" Pinkie zoomed off, pausing to collect a few confederates from the crowd before galloping back into town.
The humans looked a bit taken aback, and Twilight gave them a nervous grin. "So..." she said, just to break the silence, "Now that we each know we belong here, why don't we introduce our groups?" She pointed out each of her friends in turn. "As I said, I'm Twilight Sparkle, speaking as a representative of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. This is Applejack, who I think you've already formally met," The farmer nodded noncommittally, adjusting her hat, "This is Rarity," the unicorn bowed, "That's Fluttershy over there," Twilight hadn't heard the yellow pegasus speak a word since the human vehicles had landed, but she wanted to include all of her friends. She squeaked as the humans' attention was drawn toward her, and Twilight hurriedly continued. "Rainbow Dash is, er, over in front of that guard," The cyan pegasus was still trying vainly to peer into the beleaguered guard's visor. She turned when her name was mentioned, grinning and waving a forehoof cheerfully and going right back to what she was doing. Twilight had to try really hard not to facehoof. "And Pinkie Pie is the one that just ran off. She was putting together a party in honor of your arrival, and I guess she needed to change something."
"No need to be concerned," Tangro replied, with a slight self-deprecating smile, "As I am well aware, one's majordomo can often focus on their plans to the exclusion of all else. We feel honored that you would plan a celebration for us on such short notice!"
He stepped aside, clearly about to introduce his party, but his speech was interrupted, to his evident irritation. The tall figure in the decorated armor standing at Anderocus's left shoulder had been watching Rainbow Dash and the guard since shortly after the two unicorns returned, and it finally spoke up. "Miss Rainbow Dash," it called, in a firm contralto voice that sounded slightly harsh, perhaps from age, "Those visors are one-way. No matter what angle you try, you're never going to see through them." There was a slight hint of amusement lurking under the observation.
"Aw." Rainbow's disappointment was clear as she backwinged a short distance away from the guard, who continued to stand stock-still. "I wanted to see if they looked like the rest of you guys under those helmets."
"You could have simply asked." Twilight decided the guard leader sounded female, and labeled her as such in her mind. "Sergeant, remove your helmet and rebreather, please." The order was clearly directed at the guard Rainbow had been pestering, and again the skull-things didn't translate it. Huh. They only translate when they're talking to us? Twilight mused.
"Yes, ma'am." The guard replied briskly, in a voice that also sounded female, slinging the box-thing she carried over her shoulder and reaching up to remove the helmet and mask. The face that was revealed was subtly different from the ones Twilight could see, though she couldn't really put her hoof on what precisely the difference was. The creature's skin was fairly pale, and its mane was cut very short indeed, and was an unremarkable shade of brown, as were her eyes.
"Oh, thanks!" Rainbow aimed a grin at the guard leader. She cocked her head, studying the revealed face closely, then moved sideways to hover in front of another guard. She looked off into space for a moment before addressing the new guard. "How did that go...? Uhh... Srr-junt, ruh-mov yrr hll-met and ribreethr, please." She actually used the humans' language, coming very close to the leader's pronunciation.
Twilight saw Tangro's eyes widen as Rainbow mimicked the words the guard leader had used to order the first guard to remove her helmet. This one stayed still, however, and a chuckle escaped from the leader's helmet. "Nice try, but that won't work. He's not a sergeant."
Rainbow cocked her head again, looking at the guard leader thoughtfully. "Hey, could you say that last sentence again?"
"He's not a sergeant." The alien repeated, echoed as usual by the skull-translator. Rainbow had her eyes shut, and Twilight saw the pegasus's lips moving silently. After a moment, her eyes popped open again, and she swung back toward the guard she'd addressed unsuccessfully. She hovered a bit higher in the air as she said, "Ruh-mov yurr hll-met and ribreethr, please! Ha!"
Twilight was sincerely impressed. It seemed like Rainbow had managed to simultaneously listen to both the translation and the original language, and managed to derive the word she'd needed to subtract to make the request nonspecific. Her accent wasn't very good, but she was clearly understandable. Maybe including the multicolored pegasus hadn't been a mistake after all!
The guard she'd addressed broke the stillness of the line, turning hesitantly to look to his commander. Receiving a nod, the guard mirrored the sergeant's actions, slinging the box he carried and removing his helmet. This one's face was a darker color, light brown instead of pinkish, and its hair was almost black, cut just as short as the sergeant's. Its lines were more like those of Anderocus, Tangro, and the tall bald individual, and Twilight wondered if the general cast of features she was noticing on the sergeant's face was characteristic of human females. Anderocus and Tangro seemed to be male, as was this guard... she'd have to see more humans to draw a proper conclusion, but she thought it a solid hypothesis.
Rainbow grinned triumphantly, clearly pleased with herself.
Tangro cleared his throat, drawing Twilight's attention back to him. "Yes. Well. Perhaps I should handle our side of the introductions now?" He directed a hard look at Rainbow, who did a little midair flip that ended with the cyan pegasus landing back with her friends, between Twilight and Applejack. Her grin didn't diminish, and the light-maned human harrumphed.
"Very well. As I said before, I am Aleron Tangro, seneschal and chief majordomo to my master, Rogue Trader Perseon Anderocus." Tangro bowed, and gestured toward the tall, dark-maned leader who had yet to directly address any of the ponies. "This is Commander Seria, leader of Lord Anderocus's household guard." He indicated the tall, armored human with the female-sounding voice who'd spoken to Dash. She slammed her right fist against her armored chest, producing a hard thump of impact and bowing slightly. "Behind her stands Confessor Kessar Deumos, an anointed Priest of the Ecclesiarchy and a devout servant of the God-Emperor of Mankind." The tall, grim-faced bald human in the back of the group inclined his head slightly. He seemed to be staring into space slightly above everypony's head, evidently unwilling to make eye contact for some reason. "And next to the confessor is Malachai Setaron, chief astropath of the Lux Foedis." The robed figure didn't move, but it had to be the individual that Tangro was referring to. Twilight cocked her head, trying to see under the figure's hood, but met with no success. Tangro gestured off to Twilight's left, "And finally, accompanying us is Magos Tersiaard of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a high priest of Mars and leader of the Lux Foedis's tech-priests."
Twilight turned to look where the seneschal had indicated, and nearly jumped out of her skin. The gigantic figure in the red robe was standing not two bodylengths to Applejack's left, having somehow moved there from the foot of the red vehicle's ramp without her noticing while Tangro was introducing the rest of his party. It was easily close enough for one of its weird metal limbs to reach out and touch the orange mare. Following either Tangro's gesture or Twilight's gaze, Applejack glanced casually to her left, yelped in surprise, and almost fell down in an attempt to leap away from the looming, multi-armed shape. She came close to knocking Rainbow Dash over, too, as the pegasus seemed to be listening intently to Tangro, exhibiting a degree of focus that was somewhat unusual for the athlete and not paying attention to what her friends were doing. How in the world can someone that big move that quietly? Twilight wondered.
This close, she could actually see the face underneath the giant's hood. She almost wished she couldn't; it was fairly unsettling. The upper part of its face was either a mask or a molded metal skull, with the three asymmetrically-placed green glass lenses she'd been able to see before as eyes. The bottom half was a nightmare mishmash of mandible-like metal tines, pipes, and ribbed tubes, and it really didn't look like there was room for a face underneath. The overall appearance was so shockingly alien and grotesque that it was almost sickening; it probably would have been sickening if Twilight hadn't seen the horrible abomination that Hammer N' Tongs had become only three days before. Applejack's shock at finding that staring at her from almost within touching distance was easily understandable. Even Rainbow looked a bit unsettled, when she looked to see what had scared Applejack.
"Sorry 'bout that, mister." Applejack said to the giant, a bit sheepish over her startled reaction. "Ya startled me some."
"I take no offense." Tersiaard replied. His voice was metallic and echoed, as though he were speaking through a long metal pipe, and pitched remarkably deep. It was also cold in tone, and most interestingly, he didn't speak through a translator. Creepily, the lavender unicorn couldn't see any motion underneath the metal mass of its lower face that might have come from a mouth; the words simply seemed to emerge from Tersiaard's face, in unaccented Modern Equestrian, accompanied by a slight waving of small metal armatures.
"Well, it is certainly a pleasure to meet all of you!" Twilight exclaimed. "To the best of my knowledge, you're the first space travelers to visit Equestria, so welcome!" She grinned again. Her enthusiasm was genuine enough, though Tangro was still creeping her out for some reason, and the giant Tersiaard flat-out scared her a bit.
"Hey, is that a mask, like those helmets have?" Rainbow asked the huge figure of Tersiaard, interrupting Twilight again.
"I wear no mask." The cold voice answered, still speaking Equestrian rather than the human tongue. "As is custom for a senior member of my order, I have replaced much of my flesh with the pure metal perfection of the Machine." The limbs projecting over his shoulders flexed, giving Twilight a good look at the bewildering array of tools at the end of some of them. Many of those tools looked... uncomfortably sharp.
"You... replaced your flesh? With machines?" Dash echoed, eyes huge, a trace of fascinated horror in her voice that mirrored what Twilight felt, and echoed what the unicorn saw in Applejack's face. The pegasus was clearly fumbling for words, and finally settled on, "...How?!"
"The mysteries of the Machine are not for the uninitiated to ponder." The metal figure answered, its metallic voice suddenly dripping with menace without seeming to change its tone. Several of the metal arms protruding from his back flexed forward, their heavy crab-like clamps extending threateningly with what looked like lightning crackling along their surfaces.
Dash blinked at Tersiaard, taken aback by the response. The three green lenses set into the metal face glittered with a cold light as they stared unblinkingly at the athletic pegasus, and Twilight shivered.
"Rainbow," Rarity whispered, "don't ask him any more questions."
"Ah'm gonna have to agree with her, sugarcube," Applejack carefully sidestepped to put herself between Rainbow and Tersiaard.
Twilight caught motion out of the corner of her eye right before the guard commander, Seria, stepped up next to Applejack in between the pegasus and the multi-limbed giant. "Magos, that's enough, sir. She didn't mean anything by it." Her stance was relaxed, and she had one hand resting casually on her hip, where the handle of a long, slender object hung on her belt. Though the commander had been one of the tallest of the humans to step out of the blue-and-silver flyer, Tersiaard still loomed head and shoulders above her.
"The xeno asked a question. I supplied the answer." The giant said, switching smoothly to the human language, its voice as cold as before. "I will not share the mysteries of my Order."
"I won't try to compel you to." Seria replied. "And they won't either. It was just an offhand question, she meant no insult."
"Perhaps." Tersiaard's general body language didn't change, but it hadn't changed, at all, since the giant had walked down that ramp. The metal arms did retract a bit, though several of the metallic tentacles extended in their place. Twilight wasn't sure what she should do; Applejack and Rainbow were both tense, and Rainbow had a look of frightened bewilderment on her face, wings half-flared as though she couldn't decide whether she was going to have to defend herself or not, looking from Seria to Tersiaard and back again. It was obvious that there was a confrontation of some sort going on, but what had sparked it was a total mystery. Surely, the metal giant couldn't be reacting this strongly to Rainbow's simple question! It had been more rhetorical than anything else!
"Please step back a few paces, Magos. You're making them nervous." Seria's stance was still relaxed, though Twilight wondered what the thing at her hip was and why she seemed to be making sure Tersiaard could see her hand on it.
Tersiaard didn't move. Twilight glanced at the other humans. Tangro was watching the confrontation impassively, though an odd light glittered in his eyes. Anderocus was clearly masking something, and the priest, Deumos, simply stared straight forward, seemingly ignoring the whole issue. The ten guards had almost imperceptibly shifted their grip on the box-things they held, and though their stance seemed the same, tension crackled in the air around them.
The academic managed to catch Anderocus's eye, giving the human leader a pleading look, hoping he'd do something before someone got hurt. She wasn't sure that was going to happen, but the huge tech-priest was frightening her, and while Seria seemed relaxed the reactions of her subordinates indicated they were a split-second away from violence. She caught a troubled look in Anderocus's eye, and he glanced away, looking askance at Tangro. The seneschal didn't seem to notice, however, so the dark-maned leader cleared his throat, addressing the red-robed giant.
"Magos, the Commander speaks with my voice on this. Please step back a short distance, so as not to frighten the locals."
Tersiaard did nothing for a long second, finally taking two precise steps backward. The tension that had built up dissipated almost immediately, and Seria's hand fell away from her belt. She turned to kneel next to Rainbow Dash, who still looked confused and a bit hurt, and said quietly, "Don't worry, that wasn't your fault. Just don't talk to him for a while and everything will be fine." Like the Magos, Seria spoke Equestrian without the aid of a translator, but unlike the giant she had a strong, noticeable accent, though she was still easily understandable.
Rainbow blinked. "You speak Equestrian? Why are you guys talking through those creepy skulls, then?" She still looked a bit skittish, but her curiosity had evidently pushed past that, a feeling Twilight was well acquainted with.
Seria shook her helmeted head, rising. "I'm the only one that speaks this language. The servo-skulls are easier." Wait, what about Tersiaard? Twilight wondered, he seemed to speak our language just fine! She filed that question away for later, not wanting to push the commander right after she'd helped Twilight's friend. Seria turned, pacing quickly back to her station behind Anderocus. "Thank you sir, I thought that was going to get really ugly for a second there." She commented as she passed the leader, switching back to the human language.
"Quite all right, Commander. I was starting to get worried myself." The leader shot a slightly angry look at the seneschal. "Tangro, I'd rather expected you to defuse that."
"I was trying to avoid a show of disunity, Lord." Tangro answered smoothly. "Just as well, they'll feel like Seria's on their side now, and they should respond to her more positively. I can use that."
Seria's helmet pivoted to point at Tangro. "That's not why I stepped in." She said, icily. Rainbow and Rarity were watching the human group carefully, unable to understand what the bipeds said to each other. Twilight wished she could translate for her friends, but she was now doubly wary about revealing to the humans that she could understand their language. She also wished the humans would settle down and stop bickering so she could try and learn what the Princess had asked her to! "It looked to me like the Magos was going to hurt the little rainbow one. I didn't intend to just stand by while he did it."
"He would have done no such thing." Tangro scoffed. "I have known Magos Tersiaard for longer than any of you. He's grumpy, yes. He snarls occasionally. But his priorities are in order, and he wouldn't jeopardize our efforts to get what we need to fix his precious ship."
Fix the ship? It's broken, or am I misinterpreting?
"You realize he can probably hear you." Deumos observed, speaking for the first time that Twilight had heard. The tall, bald human had a deep, resonant voice that carried beautifully. Twilight suspected he'd be a remarkable public speaker.
"Of course he can," Tangro replied, acidly. "He could almost certainly hear us anywhere in this field. He doesn't care. And that's my point! Magos Tersiaard generally doesn't care what we do or say, or what anyone else might do or say. Certainly he wouldn't be sufficiently motivated to become violent over a mild slight!"
"And when he killed one of my soldiers for fixing a vox improperly?" Seria asked, a dangerous edge in her voice.
"A misunderstanding." The seneschal waved his hand blithely, "And the man shouldn't have been playing with that machine anyway."
"Um... excuse me," Twilight interjected, hoping to find a way to set the humans more at their ease. "I'm sorry to interrupt your discussion, but perhaps we could move to the town square and start the celebration?" The suggestion that the huge 'tech-priest' had killed one of his own people over something as minor as fixing a machine worried her seriously, and she made a mental note to keep a close eye on him.
"Of course," Tangro replied smoothly, one of the skulls translating his voice now that he was addressing her. "Please, do lead the way."
"All right, this way, please." As Twilight turned to lead the humans into town, Fluttershy caught her eye. The yellow-coated pegasus had been completely silent the entire time, saying nothing to her friends or to the humans. Twilight stepped closer to her friend and asked quietly, "Fluttershy, did you want to come to the party with the rest of us?"
"Um, actually, Twilight, these humans are a little scary." The reply was so quiet, Twilight could barely hear it, and she was standing right next to the nervous pegasus. "If it's okay with you, I was going to go home and check on my animal friends. Maybe I'll see you later?"
"I understand," Twilight said. "And maybe they'll be a little less scary once they've gotten used to us." The unicorn heard the echo of her voice emerging from one of the skulls. It made her a little self-conscious, knowing that the humans were hearing her like that even when she wasn't talking to them.
Rarity nuzzled Fluttershy comfortingly. "I'll come visit you just as soon as I can, dear. I'll make sure to tell you all about the party!"
Fluttershy nodded, big teal eyes peeking out from under her long pink forelock. She unfolded her wings and flew off toward her house, at the edge of the Everfree Forest.
The humans were watching Twilight expectantly, so she shook aside her concerns for the moment, and set off in the direction of the town square, where she knew Pinkie had set up the festivities. I hope I bought her enough time, Twilight thought to herself, oh well, she'll either be ready or she won't.
The human group followed, holding their pace down politely. Those long legs of theirs could evidently propel them at a fair clip, even walking. The guards mirrored their entrance, falling into a column behind the five apparent leaders, and the huge Magos followed at a fair distance, somewhat to Twilight's dismay. She hoped he would behave himself.
Rainbow Dash fell behind the other ponies, flying along next to Commander Seria. "Hey, uh, Seria, right?"
The helmeted head swiveled to look at the pegasus. "Yes, assuming you're talking to me." She was still speaking the human language, as Twilight could hear the echo from one of the translator skulls.
"I just wanted to say thanks. For, you know, talking that big guy down." Rainbow glanced nervously back over her shoulder at the red-robed Magos. "I thought I was gonna be in serious trouble there. I totally could have taken him, though."
"Think nothing of it." The commander made a dismissive gesture with one hand. "I don't think he was actually going to hurt any of you, but I wasn't sure you knew that, so I just thought I'd step in." The helmeted head looked Dash over in frank appraisal. "And I wouldn't be so confident about taking him on in a fight. The Magos is... formidable."
Wait, that's not right. Twilight thought, overhearing the conversation behind her. She said just a few seconds ago that she was worried that he was going to hurt Rainbow! The lavender unicorn wondered why the human had just lied to her friend. Worse, she'd lied really well. It just made her even more uncomfortable, knowing what the humans were saying to each other. But... isn't that just what they're doing? Their skull things have translated everything we've said, even when we weren't talking to them...
"Well, thanks anyway." Rainbow continued. "Sure made me feel better. What ticked him off, anyhow? I'd just asked him a question!"
"The Mechanicus like their secrets. They like them a great deal." Seria shrugged. Her voice turned serious. "You should be very careful when you ask him questions, miss, and what questions you ask. It would probably be better to come to one of us instead, rather than asking him."
"Sure thing!" Rainbow said, beaming. "So, if I want to know something, I should ask you?"
"You could, of course, ask any of us, miss Rainbow Dash," Tangro put in smoothly. There was a sour grunt from the tall, bald Deumos, and the seneschal added with a thin smile, "Except perhaps Confessor Deumos, he's a bit grumpy. Any of the rest of us would be glad to enlighten you... providing of course that you're willing to answer our questions in turn."
"Oh, uh, thanks!" The cyan pegasus sounded a bit discomfited, and Twilight wondered if Rainbow was getting the same weird vibe off of Tangro that was creeping her out. "I'd be glad to! Twilight's better if you want questions answered, though."
Twilight mostly tuned the conversation out, as Rainbow started asking Seria about the vehicles the humans had arrived in, with Tangro butting in occasionally. While the discussion was interesting, it wasn't immediately relevant, and they'd nearly reached the town square. Twilight glanced around, making sure everything seemed in order. Except... she could see several clouds in the sky, off to the west. She had specifically asked Rainbow to make sure the day was cloudless, and she knew for a fact that the pegasus had passed that instruction along to her team. She cleared her throat. "Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah?" Rainbow looked at Twilight, clearly a bit annoyed that the unicorn had interrupted her conversation. Twilight jerked her head meaningfully, trying to draw her friend's attention to the clouds without actually mentioning them, but Dash (being Dash) didn't catch it. "What? You got something stuck on your horn?" Dash squinted slightly, looking at the unicorn's horn, but obviously not seeing anything there.
Twilight sighed. "No, Rainbow. Look up in the sky."
The pegasus complied, gazing up with a puzzled air. Finally, she realized what she was seeing, and her rose-colored eyes narrowed. "Aw, drat. I told the whole crew to keep it clear. Assigned quadrants and everything so nopony would get overloaded!" She made a frustrated noise and covered her eyes with a forehoof for a moment. "I guess with me down here and Nimbus on night shift, somepony decided it'd be okay to slack. Be right back." She flapped her wings hard and shot away in a prismatic blur.
Applejack snorted, muttering, "Well if that ain't a case a' the pot an' the kettle, I don't know what is." Rarity snickered.
"Pardon me," The voice was Anderocus's, echoed by a skull. "What had her rushing off in such a hurry?"
Twilight glanced back over her shoulder at the human leader. "Oh, it was nothing major. We'd planned on having a nice, cloudless day for you, but it looks like there was a bit of a mix-up. Rainbow's taking care of it now. And she isn't really in any particular hurry, she always goes that fast, it's just her thing."
The human's dark eyebrows went up, and he looked at the sky as the clouds began to disappear. He blinked a few times, eyebrows still raised, a thoughtful look coming over his face. The other humans seemed largely uninterested, save for Magos Tersiaard at the back of the group. His head was lifted, glittering green lenses clearly watching intently as Rainbow Dash swiftly cleared the clouds away, and the unicorn could see his head moving slightly as he tracked the pegasus's movement. She suppressed a shiver. That level of attention couldn't be good.
Twilight's attention was snatched away from the metal giant by a sudden musical fanfare. Balloons in various bright colors drifted up, and several pegasi scattered bags of confetti from the sky.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie's voice rang out. Several firework rockets streaked upwards, trailing sparks and smoke and exploding with sharp cracks that made the human guards look around warily. A huge banner hung across the street, reading "Welcome!" in much neater writing than Twilight had ever been able to coax anypony into managing when she was putting a festival together. (Not that Twilight was jealous or anything.) Cheerful music rang out from where a familiar-looking group of musicians had set up. Pinkie was standing in the center of the square, wearing a top hat and carrying a conductor's baton tucked under her foreleg.
Oh, no. Twilight though, frantically, Nonononono, she's not going to sing, is she? We talked about this; no singing, not even if the castle is sinking into the swamp, whatever the heck that means! That almost-war with the buffalo was enough!
Her concerns proved to be unfounded. Pinkie waved her baton, held crooked under her forehoof, at various parts of the village square. "We've got games, treats, music and dancing allll ready for you! You can play pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, which you may not have played since you don't have tails, so it'll be fun and new! It's super easy to learn, and I bet you guys'd be the best at it! There's bobbing for apples, and horseshoes and ring toss and races and all kinds of other stuff, and if there's a game you want to add, just tell me and the pink pony'll get ya set up!" Pinkie grinned and winked, tipping her hat. "If you don't feel like playing, there's a dance floor right there, with the bestest musicians in the country 'cause I got my sister to bring her band in from Canterlot, and they can play all kinds of music!" At Pinkie's reference to her sister, a gray-coated earth pony with an elegantly-groomed dark mane and striking purple eyes paused in her bass-playing to give a short bow. Several ponies had already taken station at the dance floor, and were cheerfully stepping through a classic line-dance routine. "Aaaaaand if you're hungry, and who wouldn't be after flying down from space, I mean, really," Pinkie continued, "there's a whole bunch of tasty treats, fruits, vegetables, candy and baked stuff, all fresh and I can personally say they're all delicious." The pink mare tossed a cupcake into the air, catching it in her mouth and chewing with exaggerated gusto. Or maybe it wasn't exaggerated. Twilight heard a couple of amused chuckles behind her. Pinkie smiled widely, bright blue eyes sparkling. "And if there's anything you can think of that I forgot about, just let me know! Have fun!"
Anderocus bowed, smiling politely. "Thank you, Miss Pinkie Pie." He turned to his retinue. "Gentlemen, ladies, standard social drill. Mingle, be polite, and don't give too much away if you can avoid it." There were noises of generalized affirmation, and the human group broke up smoothly, suggesting long practice. Confessor Deumos planted himself at the entrance to the square, driving his staff into the ground and standing stiff-backed, the grim expression still set on his face. Anderocus himself drifted toward the snack tables, Tangro tagging along behind, with two of the guards following. Seria wandered toward the dancing floor, watching calmly as the ponies danced, her arms folded behind her. The guards broke their unified column, slinging the box-things they carried over their shoulders to free up their hands, and going off in pairs to wander around the square. Tersiaard stayed in the street, still watching Rainbow Dash clear the last of the clouds away from the western horizon. Twilight shivered again, resolving to keep the athlete away from the metal giant as much as possible. She didn't think Dash would put up much of a fight about it, either; she'd seemed genuinely frightened by Tersiaard's sudden hostility. It would probably be a good idea to have somepony keeping an eye on the Magos, and she started thinking about who would be the best choice. The flying skull things went off in various directions, one at the shoulder of each of the human leaders, one accompanying each pair of guards, and Twilight was startled when one buzzed down to hover at her shoulder, and two more took station next to Rarity and Applejack.
Applejack headed for the games area on her own. Twilight started to follow Anderocus as Rarity already had, reasoning that the humans' leader would be where her attention should be focused, when she saw the stooped, brown-robed human looking around as though lost. The lavender unicorn stepped up to him, trying to remember his name, which was a bit difficult since he'd barely spoken since exiting the blue-and-silver flying machine, and hadn't drawn any attention to himself. It came to her just as she opened her mouth to speak to him. "Mister... Setaron, isn't it? Are you all right?"
The hood swiveled toward her, revealing a leathery, aged-looking face with a kind smile. "Oh, I'm fine, thank you. I just haven't been to any social events in a very long time, and I find myself somewhat at loose ends. I'm not sure what I should be doing."
Twilight's stomach lurched as the human's brown hood slipped back a bit, revealing the rest of his face, including his eyes. Or rather, where his eyes should have been. She gasped, "Oh, my goodness! Are you hurt? Do you need a doctor?"
"A doctor?" The human's brow wrinkled over the empty pits of his eye sockets. "No, I feel quite fine. Why? Is something amiss?"
Twilight felt a sick pang, as the human unintentionally (she devoutly hoped) came very close to quoting what the daemon-possessed Hammer N' Tongs had said to her three days ago. She fought back a brief spike of terror, swallowing a few times before she regained her voice. "I w- was talking about your eyes."
"Ah, I see. If I may make a small joke." Setaron smiled again. "No, there's nothing wrong. My eyes have been gone for a very long time. Most of my life, actually. I hardly even miss them, these days." Twilight realized that Setaron wasn't bothering her the way Tangro had, despite the unsettling lack of eyes in his face. Anderocus and Seria hadn't either. She wondered briefly why the slender seneschal put her so on edge.
"What happened? If you don't mind my asking."
"I-" The eyeless human hesitated frowning. "I'm actually not sure what I should tell you." He cocked his head, looking thoughtful. "I don't see what it could hurt, but..."
Twilight's curiosity was well and truly piqued. "I'll promise not to tell anyone else, if it's something embarrassing."
"Oh, it's not embarrassing, it's just..." Setaron trailed off. He shrugged. "Oh, well, what could it hurt for you to know? I'm an astropath. I use my powers to relay messages between ships, worlds, what have you."
"What kind of messages?" Twilight asked.
"All kinds, really. Hm... do you have a postal service, anything like that?"
"Of course! We send letters and packages from city to city, usually carried by pegasi. Oh, and my assistant, Spike, can do something similar: he's a dragon, and his fire can carry messages back and forth, across great distances." The local post office was run by a gray pegasus named Ditzy Doo, who had a rather extreme lazy eye. Twilight figured the humans would meet her sooner or later. Perhaps she and Setaron would find something in common .
"My function is something along those lines, though I simply send the contents of a message, rather than a physical object." Setaron paused, tapping his chin with a finger. "Actually, rather than the direct contents, I send the thoughts that make it up. It's actually quite complex, and difficult to explain."
Thoughts... astropath... "Oh! You're a telepath, then? That's a very rare talent, I only know of a few unicorns who have that ability!" She paused, trying to remember what she knew about telepathy. She hadn't actually met any telepaths before, but she'd read about them. "I don't think I've ever heard of anypony who had anywhere near the kind of range you seem to be talking about, though. Is that normal?"
"It's... normal for astropaths, yes."
Twilight raised an eyebrow at the evasive answer. "Okay. Soooo... an astropath is different from a normal telepath? How?"
"Erm." Setaron's head swiveled around blindly. Finally, his shoulders slumped. "Well, honestly, I can't see why I shouldn't tell you. Astropaths are soul-bonded to the Emperor; the process greatly increases our strength and sensitivity, and wards us from the predations of the Warp, but in so doing it burns our eyes away. A small price to pay, to serve the Emperor." The last sentence was spoken in a reverent tone, while the astropath stroked a slender chain he wore around his neck.
"The Emperor? Can you tell me about him?" This was the second time she'd heard a reference to an Emperor, and Twilight hoped that might be the person she was supposed to find out about.
"The God-Emperor of Mankind. It is he whom all in the Imperium serve, and who wards us from the Ruinous Powers." Setaron intoned.
"Um, no offense, but that doesn't really tell me very much." Twilight gave the human an apologetic smile before realizing he couldn't see it. "Who is the Emperor?"
"That is a simple question with a very complex answer," Setaron replied. "And I'm afraid I am not the best person to answer it. You should ask Confessor Deumos, instead. He is quite well versed in the Imperial Faith."
Twilight looked toward the entrance to the plaza, where the Confessor stood. The human was standing ramrod-straight, his face so grim and hard she was surprised it hadn't cracked into pieces. "He... doesn't look like he's feeling talkative."
"Perhaps later, then. The Confessor can be a bit difficult to approach at times. I could introduce you, if you like..."
Setaron was interrupted by the returning Rainbow Dash streaking out of the sky. She slowed down at the last possible instant, touching down lightly in the very middle of the square on all four hooves. It was a very theatrical, attention-grabbing entrance, which was doubtless exactly what she'd been aiming for. Of course, she apparently forgot that the wind she'd brought along in her wake didn't slow down when she did, so it blew dust all over the square, and many of Pinkie's banners and streamers were torn away and went flying to parts unknown. Anderocus managed to hold on to his elaborate capes, but Tangro lost one of his, and shot a glare at the pegasus.
"Oops. Heh, heh, sorry 'bout that." Rainbow chuckled, looking sheepish. "Um... do you want me to go get that for you?"
"No, that's quite all right." Tangro replied, icily. "I'd rather keep the rest of my clothing, thank you."
He and Anderocus returned to their discussion with Rarity, the seneschal ostentatiously ignoring Rainbow, who drooped a bit at the snub. Rarity caught Twilight's eye and winked, telling her that everything was going well, so the lavender unicorn didn't need help smooth ruffled feathers.
Dash made her way over to Twilight and Setaron, still looking chagrined. "Hey, Twilight. Hey... uh, robe-guy. Sorry about that; Skyfall had a bunch of screwy formations rolling in from the Everfree, and he kinda got overwhelmed. Took care of it, and moved some of the others' sectors around to help him out, just in case." She glanced back at Anderocus and Tangro. "Um... you don't think they're really mad, do you?"
"I don't think so," Twilight reassured her friend, "That Tangro guy does seem like he's a bit touchy, but I think he was just making a point."
Dash shivered. "That guy creeps me out."
"You too?" Twilight frowned. "That's odd. He bothers me, but I thought it was just me..."
"How was that accomplished?" Tersiaard's metallic voice rang out behind the two ponies with heart-stopping suddenness.
"Gah!" Rainbow yelped, spinning around with her wings flared to see that the huge tech-priest had managed to come up behind them unnoticed. "Where the heck did you come from?!" Twilight felt her heart hammering in her chest. That was twice that the giant had managed to sneak up soundlessly like that.
"Over there." One of the metal arms on Tersiaard's back extended, pointing back to the street where Twilight had last seen him standing. He repeated his question. "That cloud removal. How was it done?"
Rainbow backed up a few paces, still-flared wings betraying her tension. "Um. I just do it, you know? It's a pegasus thing, kinda hard to explain."
"Insufficient." Tersiaard stated coldly. "I require more information. What precisely did you do?"
"Should we do something?" Twilight whispered to the astropath next to her.
"I... don't think so. If he decides she genuinely can't explain it, he'll probably give up. I hope. Trying to intervene would almost certainly be a bad idea." The eyeless human whispered back.
"It's... I just... argh, I don't know how to explain it to someone who isn't a pegasus!" Dash shook her head in frustration. "Look, I fly up, I hit the cloud. If I hit it one way, it dissipates. If I hit it another, I can make it rain, or push it around, or whatever!"
"Insufficient." The metal giant said again. Conversation around them had petered away, the nearby ponies watching wide-eyed. "What mechanism is employed? What specific effects are achieved? Is intent a factor?"
Dash bit her lip, glancing at Twilight for support. The unicorn mouthed, tell him what you can, hoping that Rainbow would be able to read her lips. "I... uh... I... Look, it's pegasus magic, okay? I can't tell you how I do it, any more than you could tell me how you... how you move your arms!"
The Magos stared at the pegasus for a long, tense few seconds. Finally, he inclined his head, saying, "I could in fact describe the mechanics and processes of my arms to a complete layman in substantial detail. I accept your protestations of ignorance, however, and shall seek out the information I desire at another time. You would do well to educate yourself." With that, the giant pivoted, heading back toward the landing field with heavy, ringing footfalls.
"Geez, what is his problem, anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically, glaring at the human's back. "'Protestations of ignorance.' Pfeh." She quoted, in a mocking approximation of the Magos's voice, "Jerk. I know exactly what I'm talking about, I just can't explain it."
"The Magos has an insatiable hunger for knowledge, like most of his order." Setaron told her.
Rainbow snorted. "For someone who likes to know stuff, he sure gets mad when someone else asks him questions."
Setaron nodded. "The Mechanicus like to know the answers, but they're often reluctant to share them. Knowledge is power, after all, and I believe they enjoy being powerful."
The pegasus chewed her lip for a moment, thinking. She finally nodded, slowly. "Okay, I guess that makes sense. It doesn't make him less of a jerk, but I kinda understand where he might be coming from."
"You do?" Twilight asked.
"Kinda." Rainbow chewed her lip again. "If he thinks that knowing everything is what makes him special, then sharing all of it would pretty much make him not special, wouldn't it? 'Cause then everyone else would know it too. What's his cutie mark, anyway?"
"No idea." Twilight replied. It sounded extremely selfish to her, but Rainbow's reasoning seemed sound. "I don't think we've seen any of their cutie marks. Setaron, what's yours?"
"My what?" The blind human asked uncomprehendingly.
"Your cutie mark. Like this." Rainbow Dash clarified, turning sideways to show off the cloud and multicolored lightning bolt on her hip. "You know, the thing that shows up when you figure out what you're good at. You guys are all wearing too much for us to see 'em."
"I'm... not certain what you mean," Setaron said, and Dash finally looked closely at him, seeing that he lacked eyes.
"Oh, uh, sorry." Dash winced. "I, uh, thought you had, you know, eyes. Wow. Um... help me out here, Twilight."
The lavender unicorn took pity on her multicolored friend, and decided to chip in. "Setaron, do you know about the markings each of us have on our hips?"
"I did hear them mentioned, yes. There was a great deal of speculation about what they could signify; I believe the favored explanation was rank or caste markings."
Both ponies frowned slightly, sharing a glance. "You don't know what they are?" Twilight asked.
"Are we supposed to? I don't believe any of your people told us what the symbols meant, unless perhaps they spoke to Tersiaard and Tangro after I left." Setaron sounded confused.
"Huh. Interesting." Rainbow Dash observed. "That'll be something we'll need to remember."
"This is kind of a major thing, Rainbow. If they don't have cutie marks, how do they know what they're good at?" Twilight was seriously troubled by this information. If they didn't know what they should be doing, how was she supposed to know which of them to talk to on any given subject?
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow at her. "Prooobably the same way griffons, or dragons, or buffalo do." The pegasus drew out the word 'probably' with a sardonic flair. "Cutie marks are pretty much just a pony thing, Twilight. Not having 'em isn't that unusual."
"But-" Rainbow interrupted her.
"Eh. Don't worry about it, Twi. They're not ponies, so there's gonna be some things that're different." Rainbow looked around, her gaze lighting on Seria, who was still standing watching the dances. "Hey, warn me if that big metal jerk shows up again, will ya? I'm gonna go talk to Seria some more."
"I'll come with you," Twilight was curious about the guard commander too; she'd seemed the most approachable of the human party. Belatedly, the unicorn remembered she'd been talking to the astropath, and turned back to him. "Mister Setaron, would you like to come along?"
The astropath shook his head amicably. "I'm afraid the commander doesn't particularly care for my company. I'll speak to Confessor Deumos, and let him know that you were inquiring after the Imperial Faith. Until later, then." Setaron bowed, turning to head for where the grim-faced Deumos stood. How does he know where to go, Twilight wondered, he doesn't have any eyes, and Deumos hasn't said anything, so he couldn't be following his voice! She shook herself. Yet another question for later. |
A Foul Light Shines | Chapter 8 | Chapter Eight
She and Rainbow set off across the square, and the pegasus asked, "What's this 'Imperial Faith' that robe-guy was talking about?"
Twilight shrugged. "He wouldn't tell me much. I think it's connected to this God-Emperor figure they mentioned, and I'm hoping he's the one Princess Luna wanted me to ask about."
"Oh right, the human version of the Princesses!" Rainbow looked over her shoulder at the astropath and the gloomy confessor. "Man, is that guy part of his religion? Talk about Mister No Fun!"
"It sounds like it." Twilight was a bit troubled by that fact. The Equestrian religion as built around Princess Celestia was a fairly laid-back faith, much like the goddess herself. The severe, humorless Deumos would not have fit at all in the Celestian order, so either this 'God-Emperor' was a very different kind of deity than Celestia was, or he didn't have very much to do with the running of his religion. The unicorn hoped she'd have a chance to talk to Deumos before too long to clarify things.
"Hey, Seria!" Dash called out as they approached. "Whatcha doin'?"
The armored human turned as she heard her name called. Inclining her head in respect to the two ponies, she answered, "Hello again, Miss Rainbow Dash, Miss Twilight Sparkle. I was just watching the local dances, I find them quite interesting."
"You like dancing? Why don't you join in?" Twilight asked.
Seria chuckled wryly. "I'm afraid I'm two limbs short. It's still interesting to watch." Pony dances (especially formal ones) tended to be intricate, involved group affairs, and the steps really did require four legs. Twilight could see why the human would be hesitant to jump in; it would be easy for the biped to end up looking silly, and these folk seemed to treasure their dignity.
"Aw, come on!" Rainbow prompted. "Give it a try. It's fun!"
"I'm sure it is," Seria answered. "And dance is something I'm actually quite good at, so believe me when I say that I can't manage this style."
"Well, what about your style?" Twilight asked, "This is supposed to be as much us learning about you as it is you learning about us! We'd like the chance to see what a human dance looks like!" Beside her, Rainbow nodded enthusiastically, sunset-colored forelock bouncing vigorously atop her head.
"Well... I suppose I could, just as a demonstration. Most of the dances I know are court dances, though, so I'll need to find a partner." She glanced over at Anderocus and Tangro, who were still talking to Rarity. "Let me talk to the Lord-Captain, would you mind waiting here?"
Rainbow looked to Twilight for an answer, and the unicorn was happy to supply one. "Oh, we wouldn't mind at all! I hope he agrees; I'm really curious!"
The commander nodded respectfully, and left the two ponies at the edge of the dancing floor while she walked over to speak to Anderocus.
"This could be interesting." Twilight commented to Rainbow. The latter was grinning again, the tension of her confrontation with the tech-priest having dissipated.
"I'll say!" The pegasus responded cheerfully. "How the heck does something with two legs dance, anyway?" She pushed herself into a bipedal stance, balancing carefully on her back legs and trying a quick spin. She managed it remarkably well, Twilight thought, using her wings to maintain her balance. Rainbow dropped back to all fours. "I've seen Spike try a few times, but looks kinda goofy on those stumpy little legs."
"Um, Rainbow," Twilight started hesitantly. They were alone for the time being, and this was as good a time to broach the topic as any. "I, ah, think it might be a good idea to keep you away from that Tersiaard character."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Dash growled, good mood vanishing instantly. "I don't want anything to do with that guy, 'cept maybe to thump him a few times." She glared angrily down the street where the Magos had vanished.
"Please don't do that," Twilight protested. "I think it would just be better for everyone if you just avoided him. Let me or Rarity deal with him, if he comes back."
Rainbow sighed. "Fine, Twilight. I'll stay away from him if I can. I woulda done it anyway."
"Thank you, Rainbow Dash." Well, there was that taken care of; Twilight was glad Rainbow hadn't objected. Seria was still talking to Anderocus, and it looked like they'd pulled Pinkie Pie in as well. "I wonder what they're talking about over there."
"I dunno, but it looks like they're about done." Indeed, as the pegasus voiced the thought Pinkie, Seria, and Tangro broke off and headed in their direction. "Aw, great, that Tangro guy's coming too." Rainbow observed in disgust.
"I wish I knew why he bothers both of us," Twilight mused. "I'll have to ask the others if they feel the same way."
Pinkie broke away from the two humans as they reached the dance floor, bouncing over to talk to the band. Seria and Tangro approached Rainbow and Twilight, the seneschal giving another flourishing bow as they stopped. "So, Envoy, I understand you're curious about our dances?" He asked with a small smile.
"Well, Rainbow and I thought that Seria might enjoy a chance to demonstrate your people's style..." Twilight responded, hesitantly.
"Delightful!" The light-maned human exclaimed, clapping his hands once and rubbing them together. "And I'd be glad to partner the commander for a quick turn around the dance floor. I'm not quite so accomplished as she is, but I do think I can hold my own!" He smiled, beckoning toward one of the flying skulls that seemed to be unassigned. It buzzed over obediently, and he turned to Seria. "What tune would you prefer, Commander?"
The taller human rubbed at her chin under her face mask. "Hmm... are you familiar with the Teurlitz Waltz, seneschal? It's an old favorite of mine."
Tangro's eyebrows rose. "You have classical tastes. As it happens, I am." The seneschal answered with another smile. He shook a finger playfully at Seria. "I will insist on one thing, though, Commander. You are going to have to take off that helmet and mask, if you want me to help here."
A chuckle emerged from beneath the armored mask. "I suppose that's a reasonable request, under the circumstances." The commander reached up, undoing the clasps that held her mask and helmet in place, and Twilight felt a pang of curiosity as to just what that mask hid. She saw Rainbow leaning forward out of the corner of her eye, and suspected the pegasus felt the same way.
Tangro started talking to the floating skull, issuing commands for it to "retrieve" something, while Seria removed her helmet and mask, setting both aside at a nearby table, and Twilight finally got the chance to see the guard commander's face. Her skin was a light brown color, almost the exact shade as coffee with a bit of cream in it and a bit darker than that of the male guard they'd seen earlier, and her short mane was straight and midnight-black. The shape of her face was vaguely similar to that of the guard sergeant, sufficiently so for Twilight to decide that it was indeed the general shape of a human female's, though Seria's had a number of marked differences. Her nose was longer and straighter, for one, though it had a pair of odd crooks in the middle that the unicorn hadn't seen on any of the other humans. She had faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, too, and her skin was slightly weathered, though nowhere near as much as the astropath's had been. She had several thin white lines crossing her face that looked like they might be scars, and the beginning of some strong creases on her brow and cheeks. Her dark eyes had a bit of a sparkle to them, and combined with the slight upturn at both corners of her mouth, suggested someone who had a good sense of humor, though her expression was a bit stern.
Seria caught the two ponies' scrutiny, and quirked a black eyebrow. "See anything unexpected?"
Beside Twilight, Rainbow flipped her wings in a shrug. "We were just wondering why you were hiding your face. I don't see any reason you should be."
The commander smiled. "There's a reason, but it's a long story. And it's personal." She turned to Tangro. "Ready, seneschal?"
Tangro bowed again. He did that a lot, Twilight reflected. She wondered briefly if he ever got dizzy. "I certainly am, Commander. You're better at this sort of thing than I; would you care to lead?"
Seria snorted. "I suppose I could." She extended a hand that Tangro grasped, and they walked on to the dance floor as the band stopped playing and Pinkie ushered the group that had been using the floor to make space. The commander and the seneschal took position near the center, with one of Seria's hands resting on Tangro's side and one of Tangro's reaching up to the commander's shoulder, their other hands still clasped and held away from their bodies.
The seneschal addressed the skull he'd been talking to earlier. "Begin playback!"
Music began playing from the grille in the skull's mouth. It wasn't quite like anything Twilight had heard before; very heavy on the strings, and light on brass and percussion, almost the opposite of most Equestrian music, and there were several instruments lurking in there that she couldn't identify. The two humans remained stock-still for a handful of seconds, letting the music establish itself, and then they were off.
The dance that ensued was completely unlike the relatively rigid, group-oriented Equestrian dances. Seria and Tangro glided across the dance floor, spinning and turning with a grace Twilight hadn't expected from the (to her eyes) awkwardly-balanced, topheavy bipeds. It was enthralling, and it was immediately clear that the two were very good at what they were doing, moving through the steps as though controlled by a single mind. Commander Seria, particularly, was astoundingly graceful, considering the heavy armor she still wore. Twilight spared a glance around at her friends; Rarity was watching the show with an enchanted look on her face, Pinkie Pie looked gleeful, and even Applejack looked impressed. Next to her, Rainbow Dash was watching the performance with an enraptured expression, obviously thrilled by the coordinated precision of the dance. The athlete did like to dance; after all, it was the next best thing to the precision flying that she loved best. Rainbow swayed slightly in place with the rhythm of the music, shuffling her hooves a bit as though unable to help herself.
The two humans whirled, the music getting faster and faster, but they didn't misstep. It was clear that the tall, armored female was leading the dance, and she managed it with skill. Their expressions grew more intent as the music sped up, and their movements got faster, spinning about the dance floor at remarkable speed. The music built, heading for a crescendo... and stopped with shocking suddenness, seemingly in the middle of a note. The two dancers stopped at the exact same time the music did, their heels slamming down at the final beat and leaving them posed in a dramatic fashion.
There was silence for a moment, the Equestrian audience unsure whether this was just a pause or whether the dance was over. The two humans separated, bowing respectfully to one another, and the crowd erupted in applause, everypony drumming their forehooves on the ground and cheering to express their appreciation. Anderocus and Setaron chipped in with what must have been the human version, producing a remarkably sharp noise by slapping their open hands together, while Deumos just glared the way he seemed to do at everything. Twilight found herself applauding along with the rest; it really had been a remarkable thing to watch, and she was pleased to have seen it.
Tangro and Seria bowed to the audience, waving and smiling, clearly pleased at the reception they'd gotten. Finally, they turned, heading back to where they'd left Rainbow and Twilight.
The athletic pegasus was beside herself with excitement, forgetting her dislike of Tangro for the moment. "Ohmygosh, that was great! How long did it take you guys to learn that? Could I try it?" She launched herself into the air, unable to stay on the ground in her exuberance. "Dude, I'd love to try that. Do you think I could?" The pegasus grinned, hovering a short distance off the ground so she could look the tall commander in the eye.
Tangro raised an eyebrow, looking at his companion and clearly willing to let her field the questions. Seria blinked at the barrage of inquiry, cocking her head as she sorted through them. She shrugged armor-clad shoulders. "I started learning... hmm... about thirty years ago, when I was promoted to captain, back during my days in the Imperial Guard. The regiment needed someone to represent us at formal functions when Captain Taldren got killed, and the colonel 'volunteered' me for the job." The tall female had a faraway look in her eyes. Twilight found herself wondering just how old the Commander was, and resolved to try asking at the first opportunity. Seria continued, "Of course, it doesn't take that long to actually learn; I was doing a fair job of it after just a week or two, and if you've got a partner who knows what he's doing it doesn't really take any practice at all, just good balance and coordination." She cocked her head, eyeing Rainbow carefully. "As for whether you can try it? You'd look a bit silly trying solo. Did you mean with one of us?"
"Yeah! I mean, if you guys are cool with it!" Rainbow answered. "I'd just like to give it a try!"
"Hmm." Seria hummed, head still cocked. "Well, can you stand upright?" Rainbow descended, coming to rest standing on her hindlegs the way she'd been trying before. She kept her wings half-spread, adjusting her balance carefully. There were a few ponies who had a natural gift for bipedal movement, (Pinkie Pie was a good example) but Rainbow wasn't one of them, and it took her a bit of effort to hold her stance. Her natural athleticism helped, though; Dash had an excellent sense of balance and position, and was very well coordinated, so she was able to keep herself upright without too much difficulty.
"Looks like you might be able to manage at least a basic ballroom dance, though probably not a waltz like we were doing." Seria observed, watching Rainbow's balance with a critical eye. "You'd need someone who's fairly experienced as a partner, though, and I'm way too tall for you." Even fully upright as she was, the top of Rainbow's head only came up to the commander's collar. She was a bit taller than Tangro, but her shoulders were set a good bit lower than the human male's, and Twilight could see easily that the pegasus would have trouble with the posture the two humans had used, since it would be difficult for her to reach the tall human female's shoulder. Seria turned to the seneschal. "What do you think, Aleron? You're about the right height; would you be willing to partner Miss Rainbow Dash here for a quick spin?" Twilight saw Rainbow's face fall slightly; she clearly wasn't pleased with the idea of being in such close proximity to the light-maned human.
"I don't know that my own skills would be up to the task," Tangro demurred, and Rainbow's face fell further, her ears going back a bit. Twilight bristled slightly at the backhanded slight to her friend, implying that she was so incompetent as to need extra help, but Seria spoke before she could.
"That's all right, seneschal, I've got an alternative." Seria turned, beckoning to one of the pairs of guards that were wandering around. "Desker! Front and center!" She turned back to Tangro and the two ponies. "I make it a point to cross-train the squads I put on ceremonial duty, so most of the troopers here today have some skill in upper-class matters, and Desker there's from a noble family to boot. He's something like a twelfth child, very much a supernumerary, but he has the background." The two guards arrived, snapping to attention in front of their commander and giving her one of the human fist-to-chest salutes, and Seria addressed them. "Desker, would you be willing to partner one of the locals in a fairly simple dance?"
The shorter of the two, only a bit taller than Tangro, hesitated. The voice that emerged from the helmet sounded male, and younger than the other humans who'd spoken. "Uh... Commander, I don't know any of the local styles..."
Seria waved his objection aside. "They don't want you to do one of the local ones, Guardsman. Miss Rainbow here," she jerked her thumb at the pegasus, "was impressed by the show Tangro and I just put on, and she wants to try one like it. Would you be alright, dancing with a xeno?"
Xeno? Twilight thought, that doesn't sound like a very nice label. Is my spell working right?
The guard hesitated again, making Twilight think that her impression might be accurate. The helmeted head glanced from the commander to the pegasus (who was still standing on her hind legs, with a hopeful look on her face) and back again. "Just a dance? That's all?"
"That's all." Seria confirmed. She shrugged, "I'd do it myself, honestly, but I'm just too tall for her, and she probably needs a tutor who really knows what he's doing, so Tangro's right out." The seneschal looked sour, and Twilight had to fight not to snicker as the fact that the commander had snubbed Tangro right back registered. I don't know if she did that because he insulted Rainbow or not, but he deserved that.
The guard, Desker, nodded. "Sure, Commander. I think I can handle that." He doffed his helmet and mask, revealing a strong-boned light brown face a few shades lighter than Seria's, green eyes, and a mane that was an odd reddish-yellow color. Unlike any of the humans Twilight had seen thus far, Desker had hair growing on his face. It was short, a bit thin, and a slightly darker color than his mane, and it seemed to stop at his neck, covering only his jaw and chin. The human's skin looked a bit softer than the others', and it was almost completely unlined. Twilight wondered what that could mean; she'd seen several different physiologies amongst the humans so far, and she was hesitant to draw any conclusions about an alien species, but that face combined with his voice made her suspect that he might be younger than the other five humans. (She wasn't even going to guess about Tersiaard. She'd already put him in an entirely separate mental category from the rest of the humans)
Desker smiled at Rainbow Dash, giving her a slight bow as Seria spoke for him, the skull-thing picking up the translation it had dropped while the two humans were talking to one another. "Miss Rainbow Dash, Guardsman Desker here would be willing to be your partner for a quick dance, and teach you a simpler version of what Tangro and I performed." Desker's unnamed companion, still masked, moved to stand at Seria's shoulder as she spoke. "He's young," she continued, confirming Twilight's supposition, "but he comes from an aristocratic background, so he's been learning this since he could walk. Does he meet with your approval?"
"Sure!" Rainbow chirped, her enthusiasm returning with the news that she wouldn't have to get close to Tangro. "Thanks, Desker! This is gonna be fun!"
Seria patted the young guard on the shoulder, smiling gently. "Just remember that translation delay, trooper. You'll need to start giving the instruction about a half-second before you normally would, so she'll hear it in time. And remember that she doesn't normally walk on two legs, so you may need to help her keep her balance from time to time." Desker nodded, and Seria started talking to the skull that had played the music for the dance she and Tangro had done.
Twilight reflected that the skulls weren't creeping her out quite as much as they had even a few minutes ago. They were still unsettling (they were still skulls!) but the utterly blase way the humans treated the things was starting to rub off.
It didn't take Seria long to arrange what she needed with the musical skull, and Rainbow and Desker walked to the center of the dance floor, where Seria and Tangro had originally been. Rainbow had dropped back to all fours for the quick walk, and she looked a bit nervous, glancing around at the crowd. Twilight figured it was because she was going to be trying something for the first time in front of an audience; Rainbow liked to show off, but she didn't like to fail with anyone watching. Hopefully, Desker would be a good enough teacher to keep the pegasus from embarrassing herself.
The two reached the center of the floor, and Rainbow pushed herself back up on her hind legs, again leaving her wings half-extended to help with her balance. She carefully hooked a forehoof over Desker's armored shoulder, and she got an odd look on her face as he took her other forehoof in his hand. The human's other hand rested on the pegasus's flank, just below her ribs, corresponding to the spot Seria had placed her hand on the seneschal, fortunately low enough that it was well away from the sensitive areas under the pegasus's wings.
The music, when it started, was slower than the frenetic tune that had played for the earlier dance. Twilight thought it was quite nice, actually, though the way the strings wailed was slightly eerie to her ears. The dance Desker started was considerably slower-paced than the one Seria and Tangro had done, but it was still smooth and graceful. Rainbow was a bit unsteady at first, having slight difficulty maintaining her balance, but slight corrective motions and quiet suggestions from the young guard smoothed her movements out quickly, and before long she was moving as though she'd been dancing like this all her life. The athlete smiled delightedly as she found the rhythm, rose-colored eyes sparkling.
Seeing that Rainbow was taken care of for the moment, Twilight sidled up next to Seria. Tangro had headed off to attend his master again, so the guard commander was watching the dance alone.
"Excuse me, Commander Seria," the unicorn asked, "do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?"
"Ask away," the tall female responded. "I'll answer what I can."
"All right. Those different skin tones? Do they mean anything?" It was one of dozens of questions that had formed in the academic's mind.
"Not really." Seria shrugged. "Humans tend to be darker the more sunlight their ancestors dealt with; Tangro and Lord Anderocus are both void-born, from long lines of void-born, so they've never had to deal with much sun. Confessor Deumos is from a Hive sublevel, so same story there. I'm from an Imperial world myself, and most of my troopers are from either one of those or an agriworld, so you'll generally see darker tones on us. Sergeant Disrev is one of the exceptions; they're pale where she's from."
Twilight absorbed the information like a sponge, her eager mind popping up new questions. "Interesting! Can I ask about those terms you just used? What's void-born, and what are Hives, Imperial worlds, and agriworlds?"
Seria gave her a sidelong look. "Sorry, I forgot you aren't spacefarers." She shook her head, clearly ordering her thoughts. "Okay, in order: void-born refers to those who are born aboard ships, and often spend their entire lives there. A Hive is a huge city, with hab-spires kilometers high and populations that are often in the hundreds of millions or more, and a Hive World is a planet with multiple Hive Cities. The cities usually cover most of the planet's surface on a Hive World." Twilight was boggling at the information, trying to picture what Seria was describing. "Imperial worlds is sort of a catch-all term for a civilized world that isn't densely urban enough to be classified as a Hive, and an agriworld is a place with very few large settlements. They're covered in fields instead, and the food they produce is exported in bulk to worlds that can't supply all their own needs, or to the Guard or the Navy."
Twilight's head spun slightly. "People spend their entire lives on ships? For multiple generations?!" And there were entire planets covered in farms? And others covered in cities?! The lavender unicorn was beginning to grasp the sheer, awesome scale of the empire these creatures represented. How many humans were there, anyway? Tens of billions? Hundreds? ...More?
"Sure." Seria was nonchalantly answering the question Twilight had asked. "I think there are a few officers aboard the Lux whose families have served aboard her since she was commissioned. Well, assuming those officers are still alive after that storm."
"How old is your ship, anyway?" Twilight was expecting an answer in the range of a hundred years or so. Which was an amazingly long time for a ship to be still working, but long enough for multiple generations of a family to serve, and not all that old compared to the age Tangro had cited for the document he'd showed her.
She was not expecting the answer she got. "Eight or nine thousand years, I think." Seria answered offhoofedly, shrugging. "She was built a while after the Heresy, but I'm not sure on the exact date. Ask the Magos if you want a precise answer; he could probably tell you her age to the second."
Twilight felt her jaw drop. The ship is eight thousand years old?! "H-how can anything still be functioning after eight thousand years?" She stammered.
The commander shrugged again. "Mechanicus tech-rituals. It works, that's all I know, and it's not really healthy to know any more than that."
Twilight blinked at the human guard commander, stunned anew. These people were really, really alien. Not only did the commander not know, she clearly didn't care, and actually considered the knowledge to be potentially detrimental! The idea that knowledge could be unhealthy drove home the sheer otherness of these creatures in a way that their mere physiology hadn't.
Seria, of course, was unaffected by the thoughts racing through Twilight's mind, and was watching Rainbow and Desker with a slight smile. The dance had gotten a bit faster, and the pegasus had a rapturous expression on her face. She'd really gotten the hang of the human dance, and was clearly thoroughly enjoying the graceful, flowing movement.
Twilight pulled her focus back to the questions she was asking. "So, is that a normal age for a ship, or is yours particularly old?"
"The Lux? Nah, she's not that old. I hear Battlefleet Telemach's flagship dates back before the Crusade; supposedly, she's something like twelve thousand years old." Seria paused, chewing her lip. "And there's always rumors about ships pried out of space hulks, stuff that dates back to the Dark Age. Those ancient things can be as much as twenty thousand years old or more, and they still run better than ships a tenth their age."
"Tuh, tuh, twenty thousand years?!" Twilight blurted out. To the best of her knowledge, that was older than the entirety of Equestrian civilization. By a significant amount! And these creatures had ships that old? Starships? Ohhh, Twilight, what have you gotten yourself into? "How old is your civilization, anyway?"
"The Imperium has stood for ten thousand years," Seria intoned, a ceremonial resonance in her voice.
Twilight was confused. "How can there be twenty thousand year old ships if your civilization is only ten thousand years old?" 'Only!' Ha! Hahaha. Her mental laugh carried an edge of hysteria.
Seria blinked at her, confused in turn. "What? You asked how old our civilization was. Before the Emperor unified mankind in the Great Crusade, there was no civilization, just strife and disunity."
Uh oh. Twilight thought. That sounds uncomfortably like something they're expected to say. Don't push, Twilight. How else can I put this... "Oh, sorry. I actually meant to ask how far back your history goes." She smiled, hoping Seria wouldn't notice her brief hesitation.
She didn't. "Oh. Well... I don't know, actually. This is the forty-first millennium. Eight ninety-six M forty-one, if you want the exact date. I'm not sure what started the calendar, though. There may be history before that, but honestly you'd be better off asking Tangro, or the Magos. I'm just a soldier. "
Forty thousand years. Forty thousand years. The age and scale of the society she was dealing with suddenly bore oppressively down on the unicorn academic. If I make a mistake... if any of us make a mistake... then who knows what these creatures might do? Twilight fought back the urge to start hyperventilating. And another thing, there's that attitude again. 'It doesn't concern me, so I don't care.' Seria isn't stupid, how could she be so unconcerned about her own people's history? As Twilight struggled with the sheer otherness of the humans, she found her attention drawn back to the dance floor. Rainbow had gotten well and truly comfortable with the movements of the human dance, and she and Desker were adding extra flourishes and spins, lending the performance an almost ethereal quality. The two almost looked like they were floating, tethered only by the contact between their feet and the floor. Twilight knew it was an illusion; Rainbow's wings weren't flapping, so she clearly wasn't actually trying to lift off, but the illusion was a powerful one, nonetheless. If they can do something this beautiful, how bad can they be?
Head spinning slightly, Twilight latched on to a question she'd filed away earlier. "Seria, how old are you?"
The commander snorted. "Experiential or sidereal?" She waved a hand before Twilight could answer. "Sorry, habit. When you travel through the Warp a lot, time starts to get... funny. Near as I can figure, I'm in my mid sixties, but I've had some juvenant treatments, so physically I'm probably forty or so."
Before Twilight could ask anything else, the music playing from the skull drew quiet, and finally drifted away, leaving Rainbow and Desker standing perfectly still in the center of the dance floor. This time, there was no hesitation from the audience, and riotous applause broke out almost immediately, hooves thundering against the ground, accompanied by the slapping sound the humans produced. Twilight had to smile; Rainbow was looking happier than she had in days, and was grinning so widely the unicorn half-expected the top of her head to fall off. The pegasus and the guard separated, Rainbow dropping back to all fours, and the pair strolled casually back to where they'd left Seria and Twilight. The pegasus was clearly basking in the attention, looking around triumphantly while the young human next to her waved to the crowd. Rainbow said something to Desker as they approached, but Twilight couldn't hear it over the noise, and the human simply nodded calmly rather than responding.
Finally, the noise died down enough that Twilight was able to congratulate her friend. "That was remarkable, Rainbow Dash!"
"I know, right? Ha! That was great! Dude, it's sooo much fun, you've gotta try it sometime!" The pegasus grinned, eyes dancing with glee.
"Maybe later." Twilight turned to the young guard. "Mister Desker, thank you so much for helping to teach Rainbow. We both sincerely appreciate it!"
Desker gave her a slightly shy smile. "Glad to help, ma'am. If any of the rest of you folk would like a lesson, I'd be glad to oblige."
Twilight was touched by the offer. "Perhaps later, but thank you!" Desker nodded in acknowledgement.
Seria cut in to the conversation at that point. "Well done, guardsman. You have my gratitude as well."
Desker snapped to attention again. "No need to thank me, Commander. It wasn't a difficult duty at all; she's a quick study. A damn sight quicker than I ever was! Never even stepped on my feet, which is better than half the partners I had back home. Wish I could've had her around when I was going to formal dances as a kid." He chuckled ruefully. "My tutor would've been glad to have her for a student, if he could get over the idea of teaching an alien!"
Seria leveled a penetrating gaze at the young male. "And do you have any problems being that close to a xeno, trooper? Answer honestly; I won't hold it against you if you do."
There was that lurking suggestion that they didn't actually like other species again. It made Twilight more than a bit uncomfortable, especially since they hadn't made a single mention of that attitude in any form the ponies could understand. That, combined with her earlier realization of the age and size of the empire they represented, kindled a knot of fear in Twilight's chest that she carefully kept hidden.
Desker's quiet laugh helped dispel some of her concern. "No problems, Commander, at least not with these xenos. The purple boss one was even thanking me, just for teaching the rainbow one! Don't tell the Confessor I said so, but they're nicer than most of my family back home!"
Seria's gaze turned stern. "Be careful who you say things like that to, trooper. Deumos would have you scourged if he heard that." Twilight's heart almost stopped before Seria's grim look was broken by a small smile. "But he won't hear it from me. At least, as long as you don't tell him I agreed with you!"
"My lips are sealed, Commander."
"Back in uniform with you, then, guardsman. We're still on duty, here." Desker saluted crisply and retrieved his helmet and mask, redonning them quickly. He and his partner, who still hadn't said a word and whose name Twilight didn't even know, drifted back off into the crowd. Seria moved to retrieve her own headgear, but Twilight interrupted her.
"Oh, please, Commander, don't put that mask back on. It's so much easier talking to you when I can see your face!" Seria hesitated, mask held in her hands, as Rainbow echoed the sentiment.
"Yeah! It's nicer to talk to a face than a mask!"
Glancing back and forth between the pegasus and the unicorn, the commander hesitantly said, "Do you ladies mind if I ask you a question?"
"Of course not!" Twilight exclaimed. "I've asked you plenty! It's only fair if you want to return the favor!"
Seria set the mask back down on the table. "That's exactly what I wanted to ask about. Why are you asking me these questions? Why are you spending so much time talking to me? I'm just a soldier!"
Rainbow answered before Twilight could. "Because you're nice," the pegasus said, a puzzled look on her face. "Tangro's creepy, Tersiaard's a huge jerk, Deumos is kind of a jerk but less than metalhead, Setaron's shy, and Anderocus always has Tangro around."
Twilight had to facehoof at the athlete's complete lack of tact. "I think what Rainbow means," she cut in, hoping to smooth things over, "is that you're more approachable than the rest of your party." Rainbow glared at Twilight, looking annoyed at the unicorn putting words in her mouth.
Seria didn't look enlightened, but at least she didn't look offended. "But what does any of that matter? Tangro knows far more than I do, and Lord Anderocus is the one in command! If you're in charge here, shouldn't you be talking to him? I just command his household troops! Warp it, even then I'm just a jumped-up grunt; I originally went into the Guard as a guardsman, not even an officer!"
Twilight and Rainbow glanced at one another. Twilight thought she was gaining some insight into the humans, but she saw sudden realization dawning in the pegasus's expression, her eyes going wide and her mouth dropping open. Clearly, Rainbow had experienced some sudden epiphany, but the academic cut her off, hoping to head off another potential faux pas from her friend. "I think we just do things a little differently. Rarity is much better than I am when it comes to things like etiquette and diplomacy, plus she's my good friend and I trust her, so I can leave discussions with your lord up to her."
Rainbow started to try to speak up, but Twilight kicked the pegasus in the foreleg with her own to forestall her. "Tell me later!" she hissed, as quietly as she could, with a meaningful glance at the translating skulls that Rainbow thankfully caught. Even more thankfully, the skulls stayed silent, so they evidently hadn't heard her.
Seria was nodding thoughtfully, looking at where Rarity was talking to Tangro and Anderocus, and she'd evidently missed the brief scene. "I... suppose I could understand that."
"Have you encountered other species before, Commander?" Twilight asked. She was hoping to steer the conversation in a direction that would divert Rainbow's attention, and maybe Seria's confusion stemmed from not being used to other points of view.
The tall female snorted. "Oh, yes. I served in the Imperial Guard for thirty years; I've had quite a few encounters with xenos."
"Really?" Rainbow asked. "What were they called? Were they nice?"
Seria smiled bitterly. "Orks, mostly. Tyranids on Geladria VII, and a brief encounter with the Eldar on Lastrial. And no, they weren't nice at all."
"Well, what were they like, then?" The pegasus persisted. "Did you get a chance to talk to them much?"
"Talk to them?" Seria seemed honestly surprised at the mere suggestion. "You can't talk to Orks or Tyranids. You kill them, or they kill you."
The chill in Twilight's stomach got stronger. "Kill them? Surely there's something else you can do!"
The commander looked at the unicorn like she was utterly mad. "What else is there to do? Orks aren't interested in conversation, they just want to kill you and take whatever you might have, and as for Tyranids..." She shuddered. "Tyranids just want to eat you. Tyranids want to eat everything. I got these," she ran a finger along one of the white lines of scar tissue on her face, "from a 'Nid spore mine. Nearly killed me. The swarm of gaunts that came along with it came even closer; my regiment barely made it offplanet. Nine out of ten of us didn't make it out as it was." She swallowed hard, the memory clearly an unpleasant one. "The Navy pronounced Exterminatus on Geladria VII less than an hour after the shuttle carrying me got back to the troopship."
Twilight was speechless. The idea of violence on that scale... and what was 'exterminatus' anyway? From her memory, Princess Luna's voice whispered, "The universe outside of this solar system is not a pleasant place, Twilight, or a happy one."
Fortunately, Rainbow could be relied on to fill a conversational gap. "Uh, if it was their planet, why were you there?"
Seria's look was hard. "It wasn't their planet. It was an Imperial world, and had been for millennia before the bugs showed up. The Tyranids don't have planets, they just eat them." Rainbow's jaw dropped, but Seria wasn't finished. "The Navy tried to keep them from getting close, and the Guard was there in case the Navy couldn't stop them, including my regiment. The 599th Siliean Grenadiers, Emperor watch over their souls. Well, the Navy dropped the ball, big time, some of the big hive ships got close and the spores started raining down from the sky. There were so many falling that it lit the night like it was day." Seria drew an unsteady breath. "Once they were on-planet, they swarmed like formics. Tens of thousands, millions, of the little ones, flowing like a tide around the big ones when they hit our forts. My outpost was lucky; we had enough heavy support to keep them back long enough to fall back to the dropships. Somebody dragged me along with them, or I'd never have made it; gaunts ripped apart the medicae tent not five minutes after they dragged me out. Thank the Emperor that the Navy showed up when it did; they blasted enough of the hive ships out of the way that the troopships could evacuate the few of us that survived. There were damn few of us that made it out. Damn few." The commander's jaw clenched. "Some of my troopers were in good enough shape to watch the Exterminatus. They told me about it later."
Rainbow looked too shocked to speak. This time it was Twilight who managed to find enough of her voice to ask, "What's 'Exterminatus'?"
The answer made her wish she hadn't asked. "Exterminatus is what the Imperium does when a world is deemed utterly lost, and there's no chance to get it back. It kills everything on the planetary surface. Burns it clean, completely." Seria shook her head. "Better to burn than let those monsters tear you apart, though."
Twilight felt like something had hit her in the belly, hard. She had to stop to catch her breath, and she could see that Rainbow was similarly afflicted. Seria, belatedly realizing the effect she was having on the two ponies, looked a bit chagrined. "Oh, since I've been out of the Guard I've found out that not every alien is out to kill me. Sorry if I've upset you, I have no intention of trying to kill you, or anyone on this world."
Twilight finally found her voice. "Th- this 'exterminatus.' How is it done?"
Seria examined the unicorn's face closely. "Are you sure you want me to answer that? You seem pretty upset..."
"Please, just tell me." Twilight bit her lip.
"Okay." Seria hesitated, looking toward Anderocus for a brief moment. She heaved a deep sigh. "Usually, ships loaded with special ordnance, virus bombs or cyclonic torpedos, conduct the bombardment. In a pinch, though, a ship can do a quick-and-dirty version with its main batteries, but it takes a lot longer."
Twilight felt a thrill of pure horror. "A ship like yours?"
Seria looked as horrified as Twilight felt. "Oh shit!" She exclaimed, the sudden profanity causing Rainbow and Twilight to lay their ears back. "I didn't mean that! I mean, yeah, the Lux could do it, but we have no intention of glassing this place! If we did, we wouldn't have landed!" She waved her hand in a negating gesture, "We've got no reason to do anything like that, and I'd personally oppose any suggestion along those lines."
Perversely, Seria's obvious distress at the idea of that kind of utter devastation made Twilight relax a little bit. The idea that their visitors were actually capable of visiting that kind of destruction on her home was still terrifying to even contemplate, but if Seria, who'd evidently witnessed so much violence and death in her life, was so obviously appalled by the idea, then the likelihood of the humans actually doing it had to be low.
The rest of the day passed slowly, the humans of the Lux Foedis and the ponies of Ponyville gradually getting used to one another. There weren't any other major revelations like the one Seria had supplied, courtesy of her background, and Twilight arranged to house the humans in a pair of vacant buildings near their landing areas. All was quiet, as the sun sank below the horizon. |
A Foul Light Shines | Chapter 9 | Chapter Nine
As the sun sank and the shadows of evening grew, Twilight Sparkle and her friends lay on cushions in the unicorn's library home, discussing their impressions of the human visitors.
"..And I actually think my first impression may have been more correct than I initially thought," Rarity was saying, having just told Fluttershy about how the party had gone from her perspective. "I thought they were acting more like businessfolk than diplomats, and I really think that might be the case after chatting with that charming Anderocus fellow. They want something, I'm sure of it, and they're willing to trade for it." The elegant unicorn took a sip of her tea. "I just wish they'd come out and tell me what they wanted. They seem determined to dance around it!"
"I wonder if they're trying to find out if we're willing to trade before they introduce the idea," Twilight mused.
"Or maybe they're waiting for their leader to talk to you, Twilight." Rainbow Dash observed.
"Why would they wanna talk to Twilight specifically?" Applejack asked. "Seems t' me that they're already talkin' to Rarity."
Rainbow looked at Twilight with a hint of truculence. "Can I talk about it now? You shut me up really fast when I was gonna talk about it before."
Twilight assumed the pegasus was talking about the epiphany she'd had while they were talking to Commander Seria. "Of course, Rainbow Dash. I just didn't want to talk about it in front of the humans, that's all."
"Oh, is that why you kicked me? You coulda just said so." Rainbow grumbled, but the frown vanished with the chance to share her realization. "I think the thing is that they all have, like, particular jobs they do. Kinda like cutie marks, but different. Each group of 'em has something they do, and the others don't. Remember, Seria said she fights, but she wasn't interested in anything else."
"Maybe like ants?" Fluttershy interjected. "Some work, some defend the nest, and some make babies?"
"Sorta, yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed, glad for the unexpected support. "Except, ya know, smarter and not bugs.
Anderocus makes the decisions, Seria and the guards keep everyone safe, dunno what the others might do."
Rarity looked thoughtful. "Well, that unpleasant fellow Tangro seems to run most things, though he does seem to take his orders from Anderocus. A sort of manager." They'd already covered that the light-maned seneschal seemed to creep all of them out, but none of them could nail down why. Even odder, none of the other ponies in town shared that reaction.
Twilight chimed in, too. "You girls remember Setaron? The one in the brown robe? He does their communications."
"Maybe they really are like ants." Fluttershy mused quietly. "Big, scary, two-legged ants."
Rainbow scowled. "They aren't that scary. I mean, when Twilight and I were talking to Seria, she turned out to be probably the scariest one, and she's still pretty nice!" They'd already told the others about that conversation.
Applejack cocked an eyebrow at the polychromatic pegasus. "What 'bout that Tersiaard feller? He seemed like the scary one t' me."
Rainbow deflated. "Oh, right. That guy. Yeah, he's scary."
Rarity bit her lip. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Rainbow, but I'm fairly certain that he's going to be coming back at some point, probably tomorrow. Anderocus suggested that he would be involved with whatever it is they need; it seems that he knows quite a bit that the others don't."
The athlete dragged her forehoof across the floor in irritation. "Great. And here I was hoping that guy wouldn't be back. Pfeh."
Huh. Twilight thought. Seria did say that Tersiaard knew quite a bit. I wonder what I could learn from him? She almost immediately thought better of it, though. She also said he didn't like to share it, and he acted like he was going to attack Rainbow because of a rhetorical question. Nevermind. She was wrestling with frustration. On the one hoof, she and Rainbow had had quite an interesting discussion with Commander Seria, and had learned a fair bit about the humans and the way they acted. On the other hoof, though, she hadn't managed to talk to Deumos about this 'God-Emperor' figure the humans seemed to revere, and as such was no closer to fulfilling Princess Luna's request than she had been this morning. The severe-looking bald human had outright refused to speak to her when she'd tried to approach him, instead choosing to stare off into space, even though she knew perfectly well that the skulls were translating what she was saying.
Oh, well. There was always tomorrow. Maybe Twilight could get the commander to talk to Deumos on her behalf; Seria had proven to be talkative and helpful thus far.
"Oh, wait!" Rainbow exclaimed, perking back up, "One more thing! How are you guys doing with their language?"
"Their language?" Rarity asked, puzzled. "Whatever do you mean, darling?"
"Like, figuring out how to understand it!" The pegasus replied. "It's easier than I thought it was gonna be; those skull things are really helpful!" The other five ponies boggled at her, prompting her to let out a defensive, "What? What did I do this time?"
"You didn't do anything wrong, Rainbow," Twilight answered, "Are you really learning the humans' language?"
Rainbow grinned proudly. "Yeah! It took me a while to figure it out, but every time I say something, one of those skulls says the same thing, just in their language. Gothic, I think it's called. You just gotta listen; it's super easy!"
The others looked dubious, and Rarity said, "Well, I'll certainly try, Rainbow Dash. It would definitely be easier if we could all talk the same language. At least Twilight won't be the only one who can understand them!" Rarity had looked at the translation spell Twilight had used, and regretfully pronounced it beyond her own capabilities. That Twilight was able to cast it was a testament to her skill.
Interesting discussion or not, it was getting pretty late, and Twilight thought it might be a good idea to follow Spike's example and turn in for the night. "Well, ladies, I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use some sleep." Twilight yawned, followed by all five of the others. "Tomorrow's going to be just as busy as today, I have a feeling."
The group broke up, everypony headed for their homes, with the exception of Rainbow Dash who was spending the night at Pinkie's, since all of the others were still concerned about her mental state, though Twilight had to admit the pegasus seemed to be in better shape than she had been in days.
Her friends having departed, Twilight sat down at her desk to compose her first day's report for the Princesses. To her chagrin, it wasn't very long, just a brief description of the humans she'd met and a short summary of the events of the day, most of which had been a large number of words exchanged that were actually saying very little. After a moment of consideration, Twilight decided to include Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's speculation on human social patterns. While it was only speculation, Twilight considered it to be intelligent speculation, well-grounded in the evidence they'd observed, and felt justified in including it in her report. She rolled up her report and tied it off neatly; she'd send it in the morning, when Spike woke up.
Feeling pleased and disturbed in equal measure at how the day had gone, Twilight tucked herself into bed and swiftly fell asleep.
The next day started out more or less the way the previous one had ended, to Twilight's dissatisfaction. She left Rainbow Dash to talk to Seria and joined Rarity in her conversation with Anderocus, but it didn't seem to help. Their conversation wandered evasively, neither Anderocus nor Tangro willing to definitively state exactly what it was that they wanted. Even more frustratingly, the one human she really wanted to talk to, Deumos, had decided not to even show up! It wasn't until the huge, frightening Tersiaard reappeared midway through the morning that she actually learned some of what they were after.
Rocks.
They wanted rocks. Lots of them.
Okay, that wasn't really fair. It wasn't just rocks they wanted. Tersiaard was actually quite specific about what they needed; they were seeking several particular kinds of ore. The problem lay in the fact that, while the ponies were familiar with the ores the humans were talking about, actually doing anything with them was incredibly difficult and prohibitively expensive, in time, effort, and magic expended, and thus it wasn't mined extensively, nor were there large stockpiles to be found anywhere. And "large" was a wholly inadequate word to describe the quantities the humans were looking for. "Vast" was closer. It made Twilight wonder just how big that ship of theirs was.
Twilight had called for a break around midday for lunch. She was planning on getting Applejack involved in the discussions, along with Pinkie Pie. The former, along with Rarity, would probably be able to work out an equitable trade or payment arrangement with the humans; they'd hinted at some fairly amazing things as payment, but Twilight wasn't especially economically-minded, and she'd prefer for her two more mercantile friends to handle the financial side. As for Pinkie's involvement, while the pink pony came off as a bit of a bubblehead, she did come from a background as a rock farmer, and possessed a surprisingly extensive knowledge of geology. She should be able to give Rarity and Applejack a fair idea of how difficult it would be to obtain the ores that the humans wanted, so they would be able to work out what Equestria might be able to ask for in exchange.
While that discussion was going on, they'd also had to deal with another problem; namely, Magos Tersiaard. While Rainbow Dash was assiduously avoiding the giant, and Tersiaard appeared to be leaving her alone, he most certainly wasn't being so polite to the rest of Ponyville's pegasus population. He'd harassed several of them, asking question after question about how their weather-manipulation abilities worked. Some of the more academically-minded pegasi had done their level best to answer his queries, but the Magos lacked the proper frame of reference to fully understand their answers. It had led to evident frustration on Tersiaard's part, and more than a bit of fear on the part of the pegasi he'd confronted. Especially poor Thunder Blaze; the Magos had backed the mare into a corner, refusing to let her leave until Twilight and Anderocus had made him back off.
Twilight had asked the Lord-Captain to keep the Magos from upsetting Ponyville's pegasi. He'd agreed to do so, and Twilight had been sufficiently close by to hear the conversation. She'd been pleased when Anderocus had delivered her request to the Magos almost word-for-word, adding his own command to leave the pegasi alone. What had worried the unicorn had been the response.
"Lord-Captain, the weather alteration ability these creatures possess could potentially be extremely valuable. Surely, you can recognize that further study could prove beneficial!" The Magos's voice had been uninflected as ever. Twilight had wondered what exactly he'd meant by 'further study,' though.
"Perhaps, Magos." Anderocus had replied, "But conduct your studies without disturbing the xenos. Perhaps answers will come to you through observation."
The lavender unicorn was talking the problems with the tech-priest over with Fluttershy, the two having stopped at an outdoor restaurant for lunch. Twilight was glad her friend had decided to attend the second day; she'd spent much of it talking to the astropath Setaron, who seemed to share some of Fluttershy's shyness, and the yellow pegasus had seemed fairly comfortable with the blind human. Unfortunately, the kindhearted mare didn't have any better idea of how to deal with the giant than Twilight did.
Fluttershy's attention was suddenly diverted, her head whipping from where she'd been talking to Twilight to look off into the distance, over Ponyville's roofs. "Oh. Oh, my. This could be a problem."
Twilight followed her friend's gaze, but all she could see was a flock of birds wheeling in the sky. "Fluttershy? What's wrong?" The unicorn frowned, trying to see where the problem could be.
Fluttershy pointed at the wheeling birds with a forehoof. "You see those birds?" At Twilight's nod, she continued, "I know those birds; they're part of a flock that lives at the edge of the Everfree Forest, and they only wheel like that when something scares them! And if something has scared them..."
"...It might be something coming out of the forest." Twilight finished for her. Fluttershy nodded, teal eyes large behind her pink forelock. Twilight heaved a sigh, thumping her head on the table in front of her. "Of course. Of course! Nothing ever goes smoothly! Argh!"
Fluttershy's suspicions were confirmed when Rainbow Dash came rocketing up to her, trailing a dark gray pegasus stallion whose name Twilight couldn't remember, yelling "Twilight! Twilight! We've got a problem!"
The lavender unicorn spared a brief, regretful glance at her half-finished salad (it really was delicious) before heaving herself to her feet to try and deal with whatever crisis was arising. "What's wrong, Rainbow?"
The cyan pegasus landed in front of her, the stallion following. "Fluttershy, great, you're here too! Man, I'm glad you're both here. Skyfall here," Rainbow twitched her head to indicate the dark gray pegasus, "was taking care of the clouds around the Everfree. Tell 'em what you told me, Sky."
"Right, boss." Skyfall nodded. "Well, I was keeping an eye on a storm formation way out west, when I spotted a bunch of trees shaking, in a line pointing this way. Flew over to see what was causing it, and there's this big blue snake-thing headed this way, fast. It's mean, too; when I tried to go in for a closer look it nearly got me."
Twilight looked at the yellow mare next to her. "Fluttershy, animals are your talent. What do you think?"
"Um. C-can you tell me more about it, Mr. Skyfall? More about what it looks like, maybe?" Fluttershy stammered slightly, her shyness in the face of somepony she didn't know well making her nervous.
The stallion stared off into space for a pair of seconds, evidently trying to recall what he'd seen as precisely as possible. "Uh... okay, like I said, it was a big blue snake. Big. Like, twenty bodylengths, maybe more. It had what looked like armor scales covering its back; they overlapped, not like a normal snake. Um, what else... Oh, there were a couple of big horns on its head, pointing backward, and it had big teeth. I got a good look at those. Its mouth is big enough to swallow a pegasus whole, by the way. I'm really glad it missed." Skyfall winced at the recollection. "It was hurt, too. I could see it bleeding from at least two places."
Fluttershy nodded, looking suddenly serious instead of nervous. She looked Twilight in the eye. "Um, Twilight, I think we need to get everypony out of town, and fast. You especially need to make sure Spike gets out of here as quickly as he can."
Twilight was stunned by the pegasus's sudden change of attitude. "Wh- Uh, Fluttershy? Why? What's wrong?"
"It's a behir." The gentle mare responded. "They're big, they've got terrible tempers, and it sounds like this one lost a fight, poor thing. It's going to be a lot safer if we get everypony someplace else until it calms down. We definitely want to get Spike somewhere else, behirs hate dragons."
"But, can't you calm it down or something? Maybe make it leave?" Twilight protested. Evacuating the town would be really hard with the humans around. The unicorn bit her lip, imagining how difficult it would be to talk Tangro and Anderocus into going somewhere else.
Fluttershy shook her head sadly. "Behirs are smart enough that I can't talk to them the way I talk to my animal friends. And if it's hurt and mad, it won't be like that dragon up on the mountain; he was just grumpy. I'll try, but it may just make it madder."
Skyfall shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, we may not have that much time. That thing's gonna be here in a couple of minutes."
Rainbow nudged him. "Thanks for the warning, Sky. Get yourself up outta harm's way, and let the rest of the crew know what's up. We'll handle stuff here."
"Right, boss." The stallion shot off into the clear sky.
"A couple of minutes?" Twilight was aghast. "I don't... we'll never get everypony out in time! What are we going to do?" She looked around frantically.
"Well, I can try to make it turn around..." Fluttershy offered, quietly.
Twilight shook herself, taking a deep breath and pushing out her incipient panic. This was a time for calm and for cool-headed planning, not a time for panic. "Okay. Okay. Here's what we're going to do. Fluttershy, see if you can catch the behir at the edge of the forest and try to convince it to go back. Rainbow Dash, you go with her, so if it decides not to listen to her, you can try and buy us some time. I'll try to find the rest of our friends to get them to start the evacuation, and then I'll see if I can get the humans to run along with us." The pegasi nodded, acknowledging her instructions, and took off together for the edge of the forest.
Twilight galloped through town, telling everypony she passed to head for Sweet Apple Acres as fast as they could, and to spread the word, reasoning that it was the only place nearby that could serve as a temporary refugee center. She was growing increasingly frantic, not finding any sign of the humans, or the rest of her friends. Finally, she stumbled across Applejack, crossing the street with her brother.
"Applejack, there you are! Have you seen the rest of our friends? Where are the humans?"
The earth pony blinked at her. "Well, Big Mac and I saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy headed west a minute ago... Last I saw of Pinkie and Rarity, they were with that human boss guy. You seen 'em since then, Big McIntosh?"
"Nope." The laconic stallion answered. "They're off that way." He jerked his head in the direction Twilight had sent the two pegasi. She realized with a sinking feeling that the human group was probably right where they really needed not to be; at the edge of town where the serpent would be emerging from the forest.
Quickly, Twilight told Applejack about the emergency, finishing up with, "...And I've been sending everypony out to Sweet Apple Acres to keep them safe while we take care of the behir. You should probably head there too, to make sure nopony tries to come back until we give the all clear."
"Right, Twilight, we'll handle it." Applejack reassured her, turning to head for her home. Twilight stopped her.
"One more thing, Applejack... would you please stop by the library on your way, and bring Spike along with you? Fluttershy said behirs hate dragons, so I'd rather not have him anywhere near here." The thought of the little baby dragon getting hurt frightened Twilight more than almost anything could.
Applejack nodded again. "Right. Big Mac, you head fer home, I'll get Spike and meet ya' there." She turned back to the unicorn. "Don't you worry, sugarcube. I'll take good care of the little guy." The two earth ponies wheeled and galloped off at top speed.
She found the humans and the rest of her friends right where she suspected she would; right at the edge of town, overlooking the Everfree Forest. She could clearly hear the crashing noise from the Forest that heralded the arrival of the behir, and Fluttershy was hovering out in the clear area between the town and the Forest, clearly ready to meet the rampaging creature. Rainbow Dash was flying higher, shouting updates about the monster's location down to the other pegasus.
The humans, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were standing in a group. Rarity looked worried; the sane response. Anderocus looked calm, Tangro had the smug expression he often wore, and Twilight couldn't read Seria's expression behind the mask that she was again wearing, nor did the metal face of Tersiaard give anything away. Tellingly, though, the ten guards had their boxy sticks gripped in their hands again, rather than slung over their shoulders the way they had been since shortly after they'd landed.
Twilight rushed up to the human party, arriving slightly out of breath but still able to speak. "Ah, gentlecolts, I'm so glad I found you. We're having a bit of a problem, so if you won't mind coming along with me, we'll try and get it sorted out."
"What kind of problem, Miss Twilight?" Tangro inquired, an odd small smile forming on his face.
Twilight forced a smile of her own. "The kind that I'd be happy to explain once we're elsewhere. Soooo, if you'll just follow me..."
"Too late, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash's shout drifted down from the sky, as she swooped by low enough to deliver her warning. Biting her lip, Twilight whipped her gaze to the edge of the forest, and had a front-row seat to the behir's entrance.
Two trees at the edge of the forest cracked, falling to the ground as they were pushed out of the way by a massive, sapphire-blue scaled head. The creature's head alone was more than twice the size of a pony, and it glared around at the clear area with angry eyes the size of plates. Its gaze lit on the structures of Ponyville, and it rapidly slithered out of the forest and into the clear. Once free of the forest, it reared back, and a dozen legs unfolded from its paler blue underside. Standing upright, its head reared back, the behir was taller than most of Ponyville's buildings, and Twilight knew that she, her friends, and their human guests were in serious trouble.
"Sir..." Twilight heard Seria say, concern in her voice. Anderocus held up a hand.
"Let's see how our hosts handle this, Commander. We can intervene if the need arises."
The commander made a dissatisfied noise, but said no more, and Twilight wondered what form the 'intervention' might take. For now, she judged that the best course of action would be to let Fluttershy do what she could; the behir clearly moved faster than Twilight or Rarity could run, and she suspected it was faster than the humans as well.
The behir shot forward, headed toward the town with violence in its eyes, and Twilight could see the injuries Skyfall had mentioned. Blood dripped from several places along the creature's length, and she could see at least two places where scales had been ripped away. The injuries looked painful, but far from disabling, especially on a creature so large.
The monster checked itself as Fluttershy swooped down in front of it. The yellow mare addressed the behir, though Twilight was far enough away that she couldn't hear Fluttershy's words. Her tone was similar to the time she'd upbraided the huge red dragon at the top of the mountain.
Unlike that dragon, though, the behir didn't look the slightest bit chastised. It looked surprised at first, but it recovered from that quickly, the smoldering rage in its eyes getting hotter and hotter. Fluttershy was clearly keeping it from attacking her outright, but even from this distance Twilight could see that the pegasus was struggling, as the behir bared its enormous teeth in fury. Eventually, she was going to lose the tenuous control she'd established over the serpentine monster, and Twilight was terrified of what would happen then. The unicorn started gathering magic to her, going over the options she might have available. Simply hoisting the beast into the air was unlikely to be effective; against an active and resisting target like the behir was likely to be, she doubted she'd be able to hold for long. She thought the best option would probably be to build a wall of force between Fluttershy and the monster, that would probably slow its inevitable lunge enough for the pegasus to get out of the way.
She wasn't given the time to put the spell together, however. The behir lunged at Fluttershy almost the instant Twilight began gathering power, its jaw opening enormously, and the academic could see that Skyfall had actually understated the size of the monster's mouth. Twilight felt a shot of horror run through her body and heard Rarity gasp in dismay as they both realized that the behir would be able to easily engulf the kindhearted pegasus, swallowing her whole without even having to chew. Twilight started forward, spell barely forming, but feeling that she had to do something, anything, to save her friend's life!
A cyan-and-rainbow blur shot down out of the sky at the last instant as Rainbow Dash intervened, grabbing Fluttershy and pulling her sideways, clearing the behir's closing jaws with barely an inch to spare. The behir spat in rage, and Twilight saw a faint fog of pink, as the hairs the creature's closing teeth had sheared from the tip of Fluttershy's long tail drifted down in the noon light. The two pegasi streaked away, Rainbow carrying her friend to a safe distance.
The serpentine monster worked its jaws, head swinging around to seek a new target for its wrath. Its gaze lit on the group of humans and ponies standing in the open at the edge of town, and it snarled.
"Sir..." Seria said again, sounding strained.
"Not yet, Commander. They haven't asked for our help. It's their world, presumably they can handle it." Anderocus said. The guards shifted subtly as the beast's eyes focused on the group.
The behir let out a low hiss, but before it could charge it was interrupted by a returning prismatic blur. Rainbow Dash kicked the monster in the face, pulling its attention away. "Hey! How about picking on someone who can look you in the eye, huh?!" The athlete sneered. The monster snarled again, lunging at the pegasus, who narrowly avoided its jaws. "Twilight!" She shouted over her shoulder, "I'll buy you as much time as I can! Get everyone outta here!" Rainbow dodged another lunge, jeering at the behir and visibly enraging the creature further.
Twilight turned to the human group. "Okay, listen, we need to get everyone out of here. The rest of Ponyville is up at Sweet Apple Acres, so if you folk will just follow me, we'll get there as quickly as possible..."
Tangro smirked. "What, leave already?" Anderocus frowned at the seneschal, but the slight human didn't seem to notice, gesturing theatrically to where Dash was dodging and circling frantically around the behir's head, barely managing to avoid its lightning-quick lunges. "But it's just getting interesting! Are you really going to just leave your town to be smashed by some creature?"
Rarity and Pinkie Pie gaped at him, and Twilight found herself at a momentary loss for words. "I... but... what?" She stammered, trying to think of another way to convince the aliens to vacate the area.
It was at that exact moment that Rainbow's luck ran out. Twilight had glanced in her direction at just the right moment to see it. She crossed the behir's eye-line at precisely the wrong time, and it darted forward while she was adjusting her course. She swerved desperately, caught in irons as she tried to avoid disappearing into the monster's gaping mouth. She succeeded, barely, managing to roll just enough that the behir didn't swallow her outright, but she wasn't able to avoid the rest of its head. Its snout smashed into the pegasus, the noise of the impact clearly audible even from the distance Twilight stood, sending the athlete hurtling in an uncontrolled tumble at sickening speed straight for a nearby building. Rainbow smashed into the side of the house hard enough to splinter the wooden walls with a sick crunch, falling to the grass in a limp heap.
Twilight's heart leapt into her throat. Oh Celestia! She hadn't been able to see clearly. Had the pegasus hit headfirst? Is she dead?! Oh no, no no! The unicorn felt sick to her stomach with fear for her friend. Pinkie gasped out, "Dashie!" sounding almost as sick as Twilight felt, and Rarity grabbed the pink earth pony before she could run to her friend's aid. Rainbow's unmoving form was even closer to the behir than they were, and it snarled again in satisfaction as it flowed toward the cyan-and-rainbow pegasus who had annoyed it. Twilight saw Fluttershy's forehooves cover her mouth in horror.
"Sir!" Seria's voice sounded strangled and thick.
This time Anderocus didn't hesitate for a second. "Permission granted, Commander."
"Yes sir!" Seria's hands were moving even as she barked out, "Team one, heavy weapons! Team two with me, VIP retrieval! Move it, troopers!" Before Twilight could blink, the commander's hands were filled. In her right was the long, slender thing that she wore at her left hip, which proved to be a blade like a drastically oversized kitchen knife, long and slender in a shape Twilight had never seen before, its gleaming surface covered by a bluish haze that crackled with tiny lightning bolts. Her left hand gripped a short, oval, metal object whose dorsal surface began to glow with a similar blue-white light, and whose end was blackened, as if by fire.
Seria and the guards took off at a dead sprint. Five of the humans wheeled about and pelted for where their vehicles rested, on the other side of town, while the other five plus the commander made a beeline straight for where Rainbow Dash lay.
"Lord Anderocus!" Twilight gasped, certain that Seria was guaranteeing the death of herself and her guards, along with poor Rainbow. She continued gathering power for her kinetic wall, certain that she would be too late, and that her efforts would be in vain.
"They'll help your friend." Anderocus calmly replied.
Four of the guards slammed to a halt at a fence and the last two buildings between them and where Dash lay. They each dropped to one knee, slamming a shoulder into a fence or wall to stop their momentum with what had to be bone-jarring impacts. They paid the discomfort no mind, raising their long boxy sticks to their shoulders, looking down their lengths and pointing the cylindrical ends at the approaching behir as Seria and the fifth guard continued to sprint toward Rainbow's prone form. Stuttering beams of blinding red light connected the sticks and the behir with rippling cracks, blasting craters into its sapphire hide. A sudden, intense ozone stink flooded the area as the behir shrieked in sudden pain and surprise, its dozen legs stumbling.
"Sure would be nice to have some grenades right about now!" Twilight heard one of the guards observe acerbically.
"Stow it Kohb! The Commander'll have your ass if she hears that!" Another shot back.
However continually they were being inflicted, the injuries were superficial, and not enough to stop the serpentine monster. Still focused on the pegasus, the behir regained its equilibrium and, enduring the storm of light burning into its hide, lunged forward to devour her. Its momentary hesitation had been just enough, however, and Commander Seria skidded to a halt between Rainbow and the serpent. The fifth guard was right behind her, dropping to both knees next to the motionless athlete and dropping his box-like weapon as his hands frantically darted over her body. He yelled something Twilight didn't catch to his commander, and she shouted back over her shoulder, "Get her out of here, then!" She raised the stubby weapon in her left hand, two blue-white bolts of brilliant energy blasting deep craters in the behir's belly as it lunged, but that was all she had time to do. Seria vanished from sight when the behir's rushing jaws closed over the commander's tall form, as the guard lunged to his feet, grabbing Rainbow's forelegs in his hands and heaving as he frantically dragged her back and away from the massive serpent.
Tears streamed from Twilight's violet eyes as she gathered the last of the power she would need for the barrier spell. Too late, she cursed herself, too slow, as she prepared to cast the spell she'd failed to cast in time to save the impossibly brave human who'd rushed to her friend's aid.
The behir bared its teeth at the guards that continued to barrage it with brilliant light, preparing another lunge. It checked itself, an odd expression growing on its scaled visage. Then it opened its mouth to shriek in agony as a blue-sheathed, crackling point burst from the top of its muzzle. The open mouth revealed the armored form of Commander Seria, clinging to one of the monster's teeth with her left hand and bracing her feet against the base of its tongue as she drove the blade in her right hand through the top of its mouth. The behir howled, shaking its head in an effort to dislodge the human driving the white-hot spike through its head.
Still clinging like a burr to the inside of the behir's mouth, Seria pulled the blade back out, preparing to stab the beast again further back. As she drove the blade in again, the behir whipped its head back and forth, desperate to remove the source of agonizing pain in its mouth. The motion caused Seria to lose her grip, flying from the serpent's maw in an imitation of what had happened to Rainbow Dash moments before, though nowhere near as fast. The commander tucked her limbs in as she flew, hitting the roof of a nearby house with the back of one shoulder, and falling off to hit the ground in a roll. She staggered back to her feet, momentarily stunned, and then braced herself, raising her crackling blade in a defensive pose, one arm hanging limp. A black line across her torso showed where the blade she'd refused to drop had scored her armor in the fall.
The instant the human was out of its jaws, the behir dropped to the ground, scraping its head along the grass, trying to make the pain in its head and mouth stop. It continued to do so for nearly a minute before getting back on its numerous feet. Its eyes found Seria, standing out in the open, the only easy target in sight since the fifth guard had managed to drag Rainbow Dash behind the shelter of the nearest house. He'd removed the armored socks that covered his hands, and was frantically checking her head, neck, and limbs.
The creature glared at Seria, and the human took the handle of her blade in both hands with visible effort, masked face gazing up at the maddened serpent.
Twilight finally had a chance to make a difference. She forced the matrix of the spell she'd summoned to coalesce faster than it wanted to, tears of effort and a little pain joining those already streaming down her face. The kinetic barrier formed invisibly between human and serpent, and when the behir lunged, it found itself shoved violently back and away from its intended victim.
Rage and pain filled the monster's screams as it recoiled, still under assault from the crackling storm of light that was starting to burn deeper into its hide. It was growing desperate, head whipping around to find its tormentors. It focused now on two of the guards blazing away at it from behind a fence, and its mouth opened wide. A bolt of lightning spat from its maw, dwarfing the red lines of light carving into its armored hide and thundering into the two humans. The armored figures were flung back, the fence disintegrating in the blast. Their limbs flailed wildly, then fell still, the stick-like weapons they held falling to the ground.
The monster's screech of triumph was met by Seria's shout of challenge, the commander attempting to draw the behir's attention back to herself. The other two guards stopped firing at Seria's command, dropping their weapons and running to drag their fallen compatriots under cover. The serpent snarled, striking again at Seria and again being repelled by the spell Twilight was continuing to maintain.
Seria jeered at the creature again, driving it further into a fury just as Twilight heard the pounding of running feet behind her, heralding the return of the five guards who'd gone racing off earlier. The tall, hairless form of Deumos was leading them. Twilight risked a glance back, tightly holding her concentration to maintain her spell as she did so, and saw two of them carrying huge, tubular things that were reminiscent of drainpipes. The guards skidded to a halt, drainpipe-carriers raising the devices they carried to their shoulders much as the others had done with their light-shooting sticks, while two others pulled things vaguely reminiscent of fireworks rockets from the heavy backpacks they'd donned. They carefully fitted the cone-tipped cylinders into the drainpipes, and hastily moved away, with a shout of "clear!"
Deumos's resonant voice boomed out, "In the name of the Emperor, deliver damnation and death to our enemies! Fire!"
With a heavy, loud thump smoke blasted from the rear ends of the stovepipes, and smoke-spewing projectiles shot out toward the behir. Both flew arrow-straight, directly into the serpent's massive head and detonated with an immense double thundercrack. The behir's head blew apart, fragments the size of a hoof flying everywhere. The headless body swayed, finally collapsing to the ground and twitching spastically, blood pouring from its explosively-truncated neck.
Seria barely even paused. Sheathing the blade she carried, she spun on one heel and ran for where her guard had dragged Rainbow. Shaking her head slightly, both to dissipate her spell and to push her horror at the gigantic headless corpse aside, (it was easier than it should have been) Twilight broke into a gallop with the same destination, Rarity and Pinkie Pie right at her heels.
Twilight skidded to a stop next to Rainbow and the two armored humans, relieved to see that the pegasus was moving, if in a slow, undirected manner. "Is she okay?" Twilight called, "Is she okay?"
Pinkie Pie pushed past the unicorn, trying to get to Rainbow, only to be grabbed one-handed by Seria. "Wait," the human told her, "we don't know how badly she's hurt. You don't want to make it worse."
"But... but..." Pinkie's lip quivered, and her blue eyes were huge.
Behind them, a resonant voice boomed, "Make way, make way! Get out of my way, blast it!" Twilight turned to see Deumos shoving his way past the others. One guard didn't move quickly enough, and the big bald human thumped the armored figure in the helmet with his staff. "I said get out of my way, damn it all!"
"Sorry, sir." The guard moved, clearing a space for Deumos. Twilight expected him to go to Commander Seria, but he just glanced at her and asked, "Bad?"
The armored head shook once. "Had worse."
Deumos grunted. "Suit yourself." He knelt, laying his eagle-winged staff on the ground next to Rainbow, whose eyes had opened and were blinking woozily. "Hold still, there." She started to shake her head, but the priest grabbed her gently, holding her head still between his hands. "Hold. Still. Let me see how badly you're hurt." She blinked at him, rose-colored eyes foggy, but obediently held still. He laid her head carefully on the ground, and swiftly ran a hand along her spine, from the base of her skull all the way down to her hips. He grunted. "Did you feel all of that?"
Rainbow started to nod, but a fierce glare from Deumos made her freeze. "Um. Yes?"
He nodded. "Good. Do you hurt?"
"Ugh. Yeah."
"Where?"
"Everywhere." Rainbow groaned theatrically, and Twilight had to fight back a gasped snicker. Maybe she really was okay.
"Good." Deumos said, nodding curtly. "Your back isn't broken. Been hurt before?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad." She answered sarcastically, "Plenty of times. Can I move now?"
The bald human snorted in amusement. "I suppose, if you really want to. Anything broken this time?"
Rainbow shook her head carefully. "Nah, don't think so." She carefully moved all six limbs, wincing a few times. "Nope, no breaks. Got some sprains, though, that's gonna hurt later. And my head's ringing; think I've got a concussion, but not one of the really bad ones."
Deumos chuckled. He had a good laugh, Twilight noted irrelevantly, deep, rich, and full-bodied. "Damnation, you're a tough little thing. From what the troopers said, I was sure your spine had shattered when you hit that wall." He gave the pegasus a respectful look as he rose to his feet. The tall priest extended a hand. "Would you like some help up?"
Twilight found herself warming up toward the taciturn priest. Maybe he's not such a jerk after all.
"Uh, no thanks. I'll just stay here for a second, if that's cool." Rainbow's eyes suddenly popped open wide, darting around. "Wait! The behir! Ohmygosh, is everyone okay?"
Deumos ignored Rainbow's question, turning to Seria, whose left arm was hanging heavily. She was clearly favoring her left side. The commander looked straight at the pegasus. "The beast has been dealt with. Your town is safe; you were the only one of your people to be hurt."
"But what about yours? How did you get hurt, Seria?" The pegasus started to heave herself to her feet, but was prevented from doing so by Pinkie Pie, who threw herself down next to Rainbow, embracing her fiercely.
"Oh, I'm soso glad you're okay! I mean, you got hit, and you were all whoosh flying through the air, but not like usual! And then there was this crunchthump and I really, really thought you were hurt bad and I'm so glad you're not!" Pinkie buried her face against Rainbow's neck, and the pegasus awkwardly patted her friend in an attempt at reassurance.
Seria chuckled. Deumos was moving her arm a bit, evidently trying to determine the extent of the injury. "I got hurt doing something amazingly stupid that I haven't done since aaah!" The confessor had grabbed Seria's left wrist and, bracing her shoulder with his other hand, suddenly yanked on her wounded arm, hard. The commander let out a short scream, and Twilight heard a sharp click from her shoulder. "Damnation, Confessor! Bloody well warn me next time! Argh, one of these days, I'm going to forget your office and knock your damn head off!"
Deumos snorted. "And of course, a simple old priest like me would be easy prey for you." He picked his staff up and walked calmly to stand behind Anderocus.
Twilight was confused. "Confessor, thank you for attending to Rainbow, but... what about the two guards that got hurt? Aren't you going to help them?"
Deumos shook his head. "They are beyond my help. Or indeed, anyone's help but the Emperor's." Twilight gasped, glancing at the still bodies, lying where their compatriots had dragged them. "I commend their souls to His care"
Twilight felt a pang in her heart, one that got worse when she saw Fluttershy out in the field gently stroking the lifeless body of the behir. Rainbow and Seria hurt, two humans dead, and the behir... this didn't need to happen! Her gaze wandered to the small group around Anderocus, and she saw a tiny, smug smirk on the face of Tangro. The unicorn came very close to losing her temper right there and then, and she forced herself to take a deep breath.
"Lord Anderocus!" She called, walking angrily up to the dark-maned male. Once she had the human leader's attention, she continued, "This might have been avoided. All of this, your guards and the behir both, if your seneschal hadn't argued with me!" Tangro scoffed, an odd expression on his face, and Twilight gritted her teeth. "In addition to being responsible for this... this tragedy, he has persistently disrespected both me and my friends, and as of right now, he is no longer welcome here."
Anderocus's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Miss Twilight Sparkle, please. I offer you an abject apology on behalf of my servant..."
Twilight cut him off. "I am not asking for an apology. I am requesting that Mister Tangro take his leave. Now."
Anderocus chewed the inside of his lip for a moment, thinking. "Aleron serves an important function on my staff, Miss Sparkle. It may be that should he leave, we will be forced to leave as well."
Twilight took another deep breath. She thought this was a bluff, and she was willing to call it. "If that is the case, I will be very disappointed. You, Lord Anderocus, are welcome to stay, and I have no objection to Commander Seria, Confessor Deumos, Astropath Setaron, Magos Tersiaard, or any of your guards. I'd actually like to thank the Commander, the Confessor, and the guards for their help, and I would be very sad to see all of you go. Seneschal Tangro, however, must leave, and that is my final word on the subject." Twilight stamped a forehoof, emphasizing her determination. Her violet eyes were hard as they bored into Androcus's green ones.
Anderocus nodded once, slowly. "Very well. It saddens me that you've taken such a dislike to my seneschal. If you insist, though, I will send him back to our ship."
Twilight returned the nod. "Thank you, Lord Anderocus. I think that would be best."
Anderocus turned to the seneschal. Twilight was honestly curious as to what he was going to say, especially since the humans still didn't know she could understand their speech. "Well, Aleron, it looks like you've worn out your welcome."
"My Lord, you can't possibly..."
"Oh, yes I can." Anderocus interrupted. "We cannot afford to anger these creatures too much, seneschal, or we'll never be able to repair the Lux. Go to the Aquila, I'll be sending Seria up with you, since she needs to visit the medicae." The curtness of the Lord-Captain's dismissal surprised Twilight. Huh. Wow. I guess they need those rocks more than they're letting on.
Tangro's jaw clenched. "Very well, my Lord, though I believe you are making a mistake." He glanced over at the tech-priest. "May I speak with Magos Tersiaard before I go? Without me here, he'll likely be contributing more to your trade negotiations, and I'll need to brief him."
"Very well, but be quick about it." Anderocus ordered. Tangro bowed, a sour look on his face, and walked over to where the huge Magos stood. He hadn't moved, not an inch, during the fight with the behir. The Lord-Captain turned back to Twilight, and the translation resumed. "I have instructed my seneschal to leave as quickly as possible. Will this satisfy you?"
"Yes, completely. Thank you." Twilight was a little surprised to face so little resistance from the Lord-Captain. She'd have expected the Lord-Captain to object more on principle alone, given how status-conscious he seemed. The supplies they were trying to obtain must have been more crucial than she'd originally thought.
Anderocus stepped past her, walking over to where Seria stood next to Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie had just told the pegasus about how Seria had saved her life. Dash was shaking her head slowly in astonishment.
Seria waved her unhurt hand in a brushing-away gesture. "She's exaggerating a bit. Besides, I had to..." Anderocus cut the commander off.
"Excuse me, ladies, I need to speak to Commander Seria for a moment." Without waiting for a response, he turned to tall female and the translating skulls cut out as usual while he spoke to her. "Commander, it seems that Tangro has managed to irritate the locals enough that they want him sent home. Would you mind escorting him and your two casualties on the Aquila? I'd prefer if you got the medicae to treat your injuries aboard ship."
Seria shifted uneasily. "Sir, I don't want to leave you here without..."
Anderocus interrupted her again. "I'll be fine, Commander. You can come right back down as soon as the Aquila's refueled, if you're concerned." He quirked a smile. "Besides, with a guard as brave as this one," He jerked his head toward Rainbow Dash, "I think I'll be safe, don't you?"
Rainbow laughed, drawing a surprised look from Anderocus. "I... uh... I'll... take... cure? No, care! Of... him... for you, Seria!" The dark-maned male's eyes widened so much that Twilight was worried they'd fall out of his head, as Rainbow spoke to him in slow, hesitant Gothic.
"Holy Throne! You speak Gothic?" Anderocus exclaimed, looking stunned.
A chuckle emerged from Seria's helmet. "I was going to warn you later, sir. She's picking it up quite quickly. I think she's listening to her own echo when the servo-skulls translate." Rainbow nodded and beamed, wincing a bit as her numerous bruises twinged.
"I... see." Anderocus said, nonplussed. He adjusted his cape nervously. "Regardless, Commander, I expect you to report to the Aquila to accompany Tangro back to the Lux Foedis. You can return when the medicae is done with you."
Twilight left Seria to her preparations (which seemed to consist of deciding which of the surviving soldiers was going to carry the bodies back to the shuttle) and Anderocus to try to diplomatically figure out just how much of his language Rainbow actually knew, and trotted out with Rarity to where Fluttershy hovered, gently stroking the huge, headless body out in the field. "Fluttershy?" She called softly.
"Oh!" The yellow pegasus started, but regained her composure quickly when she recognized the two unicorns. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I'm sorry for all of this." Tears pooled in the corners of the mare's eyes.
"It's not your fault, Fluttershy. I'm sorry I couldn't get the humans to leave faster." Twilight hung her head.
"Now, stop, both of you." Rarity cut in. "Twilight, it was that Tangro's fault, not yours, that they didn't leave. And Fluttershy, it's scarcely your fault if an angry monster won't listen to you!"
"I know." Fluttershy answered softly. "I tried, but he was looking for a fight, and didn't want to listen. I'm just sorry he found one." She looked sadly at where the guards were lifting their fallen compatriots to carry to their vehicle. "I'm not even angry at the humans, really. Like I said, he was looking for a fight, and they gave him one. He probably thought they'd be easy to beat."
"You aren't angry?" Rarity was perplexed. "Darling, I thought you'd be furious!"
Fluttershy shook her head. "No, they were just doing what came normally for them, the same as the behir was. They aren't ponies, Rarity, and it wouldn't be fair for me to judge them as if they were. I'm just glad Rainbow Dash and Seria weren't hurt as badly as I thought they were." It was intriguing, Twilight reflected, that understanding the aliens seemed to come more naturally to the two pegasi than it did to the rest of them. Especially Rainbow, it made some sense that Fluttershy would be more in tune with these creatures, but the athlete's rapid identification with the bipeds was surprising.
Twilight's musing was interrupted by Fluttershy clearing her throat. "Um, Twilight? Could I ask you a favor?"
The academic shook her head to clear it. "Of course, Fluttershy, what do you need?"
"Um. I know you're really good with your telekinesis, so could you..." Fluttershy sniffed, "Could you move the body back into the forest? I couldn't save this creature, but I can at least make sure it feeds others." The pegasus wiped tears away from her face with a quick swipe of her forehoof. She might not be angry, but she was clearly upset.
"Sure, Fluttershy. I'll take care of it right now." Twilight answered, gently. She turned her attention to the motionless sapphire body, horn beginning to glow as she gathered energy. Lifting dead weight wasn't especially complicated, unlike the kinetic barrier spell she'd used to save Seria, and she didn't need to spend a great deal of time focusing. The behir's corpse lifted silently off of the ground, and Twilight levitated it deep into the forest before lowering it carefully, and dismissing her spell.
"Thank you, Twilight." The pegasus's voice was quiet, but sincere. "Um. I'm going to go home now. I'll see you later, maybe?"
Twilight nodded, and Rarity interjected, "Do you mind if I come along with you, Fluttershy? I think you could use some company right about now."
"That would be nice, Rarity, but don't you need to be here to help Twilight?"
Twilight waved a forehoof airily. "Oh, I'll be fine. Go ahead, Rarity, I'll see you later." The white unicorn gave her a grateful look, and left with the pegasus.
A few minutes later, a roar echoed through Ponyville, as the blue-and-silver eagle-winged vehicle lifted off, arrowing into the sky. |
A Foul Light Shines | Chapter 10 | Chapter Ten
It was hours before the vehicle returned, and Twilight noticed a change in the humans' attitude right away. Where before Tangro had done the lion's share of the talking, now Anderocus took over, with Tersiaard chiming in when facts were needed. The Lord-Captain was far less coy than his seneschal had been, and Twilight quickly realized that the humans actually had quite a bit to offer. Amongst other things, they had offered the use of powerful mining machines to help gather the ores they needed. Twilight wondered anew just how large this ship of theirs could be; the machines they were describing would be by their very nature enormous, and of limited general utility. Tersiaard commented that the devices had been stored in a secondary hold for a very long time... how much space must the regular holds boast, that they could afford to waste so much of it on equipment they weren't using?
Seria did return before dark, accompanied by ten more guards. She insisted on sending the eight survivors of the original squad back up, arguing that it was time for a duty rotation. The commander seemed rejuvenated, her injuries not even bothering her, and Twilight made a note of what had to have been extremely sophisticated medical treatment. That would have helped Rainbow Dash, for example, who had been informed that she'd be spending the night at the Ponyville clinic, just in case.
Twilight was feeling optimistic, as the sun went down. Despite the horrible occurrences of the day, it seemed like things might finally be looking up.
Gray Nimbus trudged through the Ponyville streets in the early hours of the morning, her horseshoes dragging slightly in the dirt. This night shift business was exhausting, keeping the weather nice overnight so the diplomats wouldn't be uncomfortable in the morning. As second in command of the weather patrol, overseeing the night shift had fallen to her, since the Princess's representative had specifically wanted her boss to be available for the negotiations.
Privately, Gray Nimbus questioned the wisdom of that. She had a lot of respect for Rainbow Dash, but diplomacy really wasn't one of the younger pegasus's strong points. She just hoped her boss could avoid making the aliens too angry.
At least her shift was over, and she was almost home. She needed to make breakfast for her foal and make sure he got to school on time, then she'd be able to collapse and finally get some sleep. She was so tired at this point she could barely stay on her hooves, and couldn't even fly, so it really wasn't going to be fun getting all that done. She'd manage, though; she'd done alright for the past few days.
Gray Nimbus heard a thin hiss, and was surprised by the sudden sting in her side. The pegasus swished her tail, thinking a bug had bitten her. She heard something fall to the ground and, turning her head, spotted a tiny dart lying in the road, the thin, sharp tip stained red. She blinked uncomprehendingly at it for an instant, before her legs gave out and she collapsed into the dust.
Magos Tersiaard watched the small winged xeno drop from where he'd concealed himself within a shadowed alleyway. He'd judged the paralytic agent's dosage perfectly, as behooved a senior Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The sense of satisfaction he felt at making the precise calculation marked him as unusual among tech-priests; even with large portions of his weak organic brain replaced by sacred silicon and metal in imitation of the perfection of the Machine, he still retained vestiges of the towering ego he'd possessed as an acolyte, back when he was made almost entirely of meat. Eight centuries of life and an augmetic cortex wasn't nearly enough to erase that.
This eccentricity was part of the reason he'd wound up on a Rogue Trader crew in the first place, rather than running a forge world as most of his rank did.
Tersiaard's intense curiosity, on the other hand, was fairly normal for a roaming tech-priest, even if it verged on heresy at times. He'd repeatedly asked the pony-xenos how they managed their astonishing feats of weather control, but had found the answers they supplied him with to be utterly unsatisfactory. He'd been delighted (another emotion unusual in a high-ranking Magos) when the lord captain had agreed that the ability deserved further study, and had finally given him the go-ahead for his experiments. Since then, Tersiaard had been watching for this opportunity. One of the weather-worker-type xenos, alone in an empty street? It was a gift from the Omnissiah, too perfect to pass up.
He twittered a binaric command, sending two of his servo-skulls swooping to hover over the prone, dark blue form of the little xeno. He noticed as he made his way over that its large gray eyes were wide open and locked on one of the flying servitors. That was as it should be; the paralytic agent was inhibiting most of its voluntary muscle movements, but it was fully conscious. Brain function was one of the things he'd have to monitor while he was doing his tests, after all, and it wouldn't do at all to contaminate his results.
Gray Nimbus couldn't move, no matter how hard she tried. It was a terrifying feeling. Her legs were all tangled up from her fall, but she couldn't untangle them. Her wings lay limp in the dirt, and all the willpower she possessed couldn't even get them to twitch. It couldn't be simple exhaustion; she'd been more tired than this before, and she'd never suffered this kind of paralysis! All she could do was move her eyes, looking frantically around the street and hoping somepony would notice her predicament and be able to help. She saw her little colt, Cirrus, peeking out of the window of her home, and tried to silently impel him to go get the nurse.
She was distracted by a quiet, high-pitched whining noise somewhere nearby, and was startled to see one of the flying skull-things that accompanied the human diplomats fly over her head and hover in front of her. She hated the macabre little things, finding them to be intensely creepy. This was the closest she'd ever been to one, and... is that actual bone? These things are really skulls?! She'd thought they'd just been unsettlingly realistic sculptures!
Still, creepy as it was with the glowing red lights in its hollow, dead eye sockets and with its slightly terrifying skeletal grin, she was glad to see it. If one of the flying skulls was here, it meant one of the humans was probably nearby. She'd spoken to some of them before, and they'd seemed like nice folk; surely they'd help!
Gray Nimbus heard quiet, heavy thumping approaching her from the side, and felt a sense of relief. Those were human footfalls or she was a phoenix: they'd get her to the hospital.
The footsteps sounded odd, though. Heavier than she remembered them sounding. Maybe it was just because she was lying flat on the ground.
The human stepped into her field of view and stopped, and her relief curdled in her stomach. It was the big metal one in the red robes; the one with all the extra metal limbs and tentacles that nearly everypony was at least a little bit scared of. This close, it smelled like spiced oil and hot metal, and a strong scent of ozone and burnt incense clung to it. Gray Nimbus wanted to sneeze as the scent burned in her nose, but her body wouldn't obey. She was even more terrified now than she had been when she'd collapsed.
Maybe I'm doing him a disservice. He... he may be perfectly nice, scary as he looks. She tried to calm herself down. The insect-like metal human wasn't one of the ones she'd talked to; her brief conversations with the humans had been limited to the armored guards. As far as she knew, this one had barely talked to anypony, and at the moment she really, really hoped that he was just shy.
A metallic, tentacular appendage sprouting from the human's back waved over her paralyzed body, lights blinking on the end of it. Another limb extended from high on his shoulder and poked at her uncomfortably. She gazed pleadingly into its face, trying to wordlessly ask it for help. The three green glass lenses set into the metallic mass of its face gleamed expressionlessly under the shroud of its gold-trimmed red cowl, and she tried to fight against the encroaching feeling that this was not a nice person at all. It made a weird, chattering noise, and the flying skull in front of her moved, sprouting a pair of long mechanical limbs.
Magos Tersiaard double-checked the readings on his vitae scanner, satisfied that the xeno fell within the norms he'd recorded for its species. Normal. Build was normal, muscle resilience was normal, it had a dark blue coat and feathers with light grey mane and tail, and a cloud marking on its rump, nothing exceeding standard margin of error. Additionally, this individual matched up in color, profile, and markings with one he'd previously observed performing the weather modifications he was interested in. Perfect. The Omnissiah had truly smiled upon him today.
He had many, many tests he wanted to perform. He twittered another binaric command to his servo-skulls, and they each extended a set of utility mechadendrites. Hovering over the xeno's still form, they carefully worked their limbs underneath it and lifted it gently into the air. Tersiaard's lander was close by, and he turned to follow the servo-skulls as they bore his test subject toward it. He voxed a command to his subordinate tech-priests aboard the Lux Foedis, instructing them to push Gellar field repair priority down one level and ready his vivisectorum chamber. Hypotheses and possible experiments and tests flicked through his augmetic cortex as he planned his agenda. Several days would likely be required, and he dispatched a third servo-skull bearing notice of his probable extended absence to Lord-Captain Anderocus. The Rogue Trader could do without him for a few days; there was no rush.
Questions ran through his mind. If the xenos' ability was mechanistic in nature, perhaps he could adapt one or another of the sacred template constructs to mimic it. If not, perhaps he could imprint it within a clone-psyker, or a gene-cultured biological vatstrain. If all else failed, he would see if the ability survived servitor conversion. He ran a quick mental inventory, going over the contents of his shipboard manufactoria and maintenance bays. There were several organs he'd have to make sure his examinations didn't damage excessively, or it would be unlikely that he would successfully adapt the little xeno into a servitor. Perhaps he should test his ability to repair the xenos organs? That would definitely matter, especially in the long run. Or perhaps he could clone replacements...
Tersiaard's auspex scanners had noted the juvenile xeno watching him from the window of a nearby dwelling. They now noted said winged juvenile departing the structure at a run. As before, he dismissed it as unimportant. No one really listened to the excitable chattering of organic juveniles, and he'd be off-planet momentarily anyway.
Mind buzzing with plans, Tersiaard followed the servo-skulls bearing his prize, instructing a fourth skull-servitor to follow behind him and erase the traces of his passage from the dirt road, just in case. A small subroutine added to his pleased demeanor, noting that it had been a long time (twelve years, thirty-five days, six hours and eight minutes) since the vivisectorum had been used. Not since he'd taken that Kroot apart. What an education that had been!
Cirrus bolted out of his home, looking frantically for help. His stubby legs carried him at a surprising speed as he ran through the empty street towards his school, reasoning that Mommy had told him to find a teacher if he was ever in trouble. He wasn't in trouble, but he thought Mommy was! He'd thought Mommy was just playing a game when she fell down in the street, but then the scary metal bug-giant had come and taken her away! He panted, wishing his wings were strong enough to carry him. The streets were empty, as they nearly always were this early in the morning, but Cirrus was sure Miss Cheerilee would be at the school; she always got up early! She would know what to do, how to get Mommy back!
Twilight awoke to the sound of knocking at her door. She glanced at the window, noting that the sun was barely rising, and jammed her pillow down over her head. Argh, just a few more minutes.
The knocking didn't stop, though, and Twilight finally rolled out of the comfortably-warm embrace of her blankets to deal with whoever was at her door this early. Spike opened one eye as she made her way out, mumbling, "Tell 'em to come back later. We're closed."
Twilight laughed quietly. "I sure will, Spike. Go back to sleep."
The lavender unicorn made her way quickly down the staircase, opening her front door and blinking at the grey light of dawn. Standing in front of her door, hoof still raised, was a worried-looking burgundy earth pony mare with a pink-streaked mane. "Cheerilee? Wha?" Was the most eloquent inquiry the unicorn was able to manage just after waking up.
"Twilight! Thank goodness!" The unicorn reflected that Cheerilee was far too talkative for this early in the morning. "Maybe you can help me sort out this... disturbing news."
"Disturbing... huh?" Twilight blinked, sleepily. Had the other mare already told her something, and she'd missed it?
"Come on, child. Tell Miss Twilight what you told me," Cheerilee prompted to what Twilight thought at first was her own tail. Closer examination revealed a white-coated young pegasus colt hiding behind the teacher, which made far more sense than Cheerilee talking to her own tail.
"Th- they took Mommy!" The colt blurted out, as Twilight made eye contact with him. Startled and confused, Twilight looked to the teacher for clarification.
"Tell her the whole story, dear." Cheerilee said.
The colt sniffled. "Okay, Miss Cheerilee." He leaned out from behind the teacher to talk to Twilight. "I was up early, 'cause Mommy gets home early in the morning, an' I wanted to see her! I saw her coming down the street, but then she fell down! And the scary giant metal bug took her!" The colt was on the verge of tears. "Please, Miss Twilight, get Mommy back!"
The unicorn shook her head again, confused. "Uh, Cheerilee? What's he talking about?"
Cheerilee sighed. "Cirrus here is Gray Nimbus's foal. As far as I can tell, she was coming home this morning, fell down in the street, and Cirrus saw that big metal human with the green glass eyes take her away."
That only confused Twilight more. "What, Magos Tersiaard? Why would he take Gray Nimbus anywhere?"
Cheerilee's troubled expression started to register on Twilight's sleep-fogged brain. "I don't know, but I can't find her. When Cirrus found me at the schoolhouse, I thought he'd just had a nightmare, but when I took him home, there was no sign of her. This is about the time that the late-shift weather team goes home, and she should have been there, but she's nowhere to be found."
"I see," Twilight answered, starting to grow worried herself. "I'll go down to the house where the humans are staying. I'm sure they..."
She was interrupted by the thunderous roar of one of the human air vehicles starting its engines. Her head whipped toward their landing field as the blast of noise ripped the early-morning peace apart, and saw the huge red-and-gold vehicle that the Magos had arrived in lifting slowly away from the ground. It rotated, pointing its nose skyward, and thundered almost straight up at a speed Rainbow Dash would have been hard-pressed to match.
As the immense noise of the human vehicle receded, Twilight turned to meet Cheerilee's wide-eyed gaze. "Cheerilee, can you look after Cirrus? I think we may have a major problem."
The schoolteacher nodded, ushering the young foal back to the schoolhouse. Twilight shook herself, thoroughly awakened by the sudden blast of noise, and set off toward the building where she'd arranged for the humans to stay. Tersiaard couldn't seriously have abducted Gray Nimbus, could he? I heard Anderocus specifically tell him not to disturb us! Well, this is pretty darn disturbing!
Quite a few ponies were poking their heads out of their homes as Twilight trotted along the street, doubtless awakened by the vehicle's departure. Outside the clinic, Twilight saw a grumpy-looking Rainbow Dash making her way somewhat stiffly in the same direction Twilight was going.
"Hey, Twilight," Rainbow greeted her, "You gonna yell at Anderocus for waking the whole town up, too?" The pegasus scowled. "I was having the best dream, too..."
"No, Rainbow," Twilight answered, her voice serious. "I just talked to Cheerilee and Cirrus. Do you know Cirrus?"
Rainbow's brow wrinkled in thought. "Cirrus, Cirrus... nah, don't know him. Sounds like a pegasus name, though."
"He is a pegasus, Rainbow. He's Gray Nimbus's colt."
Rainbow shrugged. "Okay. So? Why are you talking like it's a big deal?"
"Because I think he saw Magos Tersiaard abduct his mother. That vehicle that just took off was the Magos's, too." Twilight really hoped that wasn't what had happened.
The pegasus looked incredulous. "Tersiaard abducted Nimbus? No way. The guy's a jerk, yeah, not to mention spooky-weird, but why would he do that?"
"I'm not sure, Rainbow. Hopefully, he didn't; I'm going to talk to Captain Anderocus right now to find out." The pegasus followed the academic, though 'follow' wasn't quite the right term when the individual doing the following refused to actually fall behind the one who was nominally leading.
What Twilight saw when they reached the humans' accommodations made her heart sink. All of them were standing outside, looking up at the sky. Anderocus, Seria, and Deumos were speaking to one another in worried voices.
"Lord-Captain!" Twilight called out as she approached, causing the discussion to cease abruptly. "I hope you have an explanation for this!" I'll give him a chance to tell me what he knows before I start getting mad. Twilight thought.
Anderocus cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. It would appear that an emergency has arisen aboard our ship that urgently required the Magos's attention. I apologize for alarming your town's populace, but it was a time-critical matter." Seria, possibly demonstrating why she normally wore a mask, shot an incredulous look at the dark-maned male.
Twilight fixed Anderocus with a steady glare. "I see. Now please explain why the Magos needed to bring Gray Nimbus along."
"I'm... sorry? Who or what is Gray Nimbus?" Anderocus asked, brow creasing in puzzlement.
"She's part of my weather team," Rainbow growled.
Twilight explained further. "Tersiaard was seen abducting her a few minutes ago, shortly before his vehicle lifted off."
Anderocus's jaw dropped open in what looked like completely honest shock. "What?!" Seria and Deumos looked just as stunned as their leader, sharing a disbelieving glance. "Are you... are you seriously saying that Magos Tersiaard abducted one of your people?"
"Yes, Lord Captain, I am. I'd like an explanation, but more importantly, I'd like Nimbus back." Rainbow echoed the sentiment enthusiastically.
Anderocus covered his mouth with one hand for a moment, looking horrified. "I don't... please believe me, Lady Twilight, I did not order him to do this!" He turned to his retainers. "Commander, get your guard squad to the Aquila, and vox ahead to have the remainder of the household guard on alert." Seria nodded crisply, turning to her subordinates. Anderocus turned back to the unicorn. "Lady Twilight, you have my abject apologies. With your permission, I will leave immediately to recover your missing compatriot. I have no idea what Magos Tersiaard was thinking, but I will strive to correct this... this error!"
Not good enough. "That sounds like an excellent idea, Lord-Captain, but with one addition: I'm coming with you."
"I am too!" Rainbow growled, next to her.
Twilight turned to face the pegasus. "Rainbow, I'm not sure that's a good idea. You're still hurt, and..."
"Buck that." Rainbow interrupted, rudely. "It's just bruises, I'll be fine. Nimbus is on my team, if she needs help, I'm coming along!" Rainbow's mulish look told Twilight that she wasn't budging on the issue.
Twilight nodded to the pegasus and turned back to the human. "We're both coming along, Lord-Captain, and that's my final word on the subject." She was hoping to avoid argument.
Anderocus's mouth moved soundlessly for a few moments. Finally he shook his head and said, "Very well. But please, once we're aboard the Lux Foedis, I implore you both to listen closely and to do what we tell you; the environment aboard the starship will be very different from anything you've seen before, and it can be very dangerous."
Twilight considered that fair. "We accept your stipulation. Please, lead the way." The two ponies followed the human group out to the landing field, and despite the situation, Twilight couldn't help but be excited. They were going to be flying into space! Higher than anypony had ever been, except for Princess Luna, obviously. She didn't think they'd be going all the way to the moon. And Twilight was going to get to see the human ship! She'd wondered ceaselessly about it since first hearing about it. A glance at Rainbow Dash suggested that the pegasus felt similarly, though she actually looked even more anxious than Twilight felt.
Biting her lip, Rainbow moved closer to Seria as they walked. "Hey, Seria, you don't think the Magos is gonna hurt Nimbus, do you?"
"I'm not sure." Seria answered after a brief pause. "I... frankly, I prefer not to speculate."
Rainbow bit her lip again, looking slightly sick.
The group maintained a grim silence until they reached the remaining vehicle, the 'Aquila' as they referred to it. Twilight and Rainbow followed Lord Anderocus up the ramp, and the shivery sense of excitement in Twilight's stomach got stronger as she felt the unaccustomed sensation of her hooves ringing on solid metal.
Inside the vehicle were several rows of seating, with complex, heavy straps attached. Anderocus sat down, quickly strapping himself in without a word, and the two ponies found themselves slightly at a loss as they gazed uncomprehendingly at the arrangement of restraints.
Fortunately, the other humans were paying more attention than their leader. Seria helped Rainbow strap in next to her, and somewhat to Twilight's surprise, Confessor Deumos took it upon himself to help the unicorn, seating her next to him. Twilight could hear Rainbow talking nervously to Seria, but Deumos maintained his customary stony silence, after he made sure she was secure.
The lift-off was... an experience. It hadn't occurred to Twilight to think about what it would be like to ride a rocket, but it was very different from anything she'd done before. The Aquila shuddered and rattled, and Twilight could feel herself getting heavier as the vehicle surged off of the ground. It was more than a bit terrifying. At least for the unicorn; a quick glance at the huge grin pasted on Rainbow Dash's face indicated that the pegasus wasn't having the same problems Twilight was.
The thunderous noise didn't last all that long, dwindling to a steady rumble that wasn't enough to impair conversation. Twilight realized that, all other things considered, she probably wasn't going to get a better opportunity to talk to Confessor Deumos than this, as they were both effectively a captive audience, at least for the moment. And she did have some things she really needed to ask him.
"Um... Confessor?" Twilight asked timidly. When he didn't respond, she said a bit louder, "Confessor?"
Deumos grunted, glancing at her. "What?"
"I... well, we're kind of stuck here until we get to your ship, so I was wondering... could you please tell me about your Emperor?" Twilight looked into Deumos's eyes, her gaze pleading.
Deumos grunted again, with an air of inquiry. "Why?"
Twilight considered how best to answer. "Well, all of you refer to him fairly regularly," she hazarded, "and he's clearly an important figure to you. I think it would help me to understand your people better if I knew more about him."
The priest stared at her suspiciously. Before he could speak, Seria's voice rang out from the other side of him, "Emperor's blood, Deumos, just tell her. What harm could it do?"
"What good could it do, I ask." Deumos growled back, but he turned to study Twilight again. "What do you want to know about the Master of Mankind?"
"I was hoping you could tell me something about his life. And maybe, about where he his now?" Twilight asked, the crack in the priest's grim façade lending her hope.
"Hmm." Deumos rubbed his chin pensively. "I suppose I could tell you. In fact, I can tell you more than most Imperial citizens know, for in my service to the Ecclesiarchy, I have learned much of what is not told to the lay citizenry."
"Oh, yes please, that would be wonderful!" Twilight exclaimed, eyes shining in the delight she always felt when learning something new.
So Deumos told the unicorn the story of the God-Emperor of Man. He told her of his grand ambition, to reunite the scattered shards of humanity under a single banner. He told her of the great conquest of Terra, and the unification of the birth world and Mars that was the foundation of the Imperium. Of the vast Crusade Fleets he sent out.
He told her of the sons the Emperor had made; shining generals cast in his image, leaders of the Crusade, and the greatest heroes of Man. He told the story of their scattering, and the Emperor's quest to find his lost sons. He spoke of the Great Crusade triumphant, led by the Emperor and the mighty generals he had forged.
And then he told her of the creeping darkness. How the whispers of the Ruinous Powers had crept into the ears of the Emperor's sons. How the Emperor's favored son, the great and shining Horus, was seduced by those whispers, abandoning his father's goal and seeking to slay the living god that had made him.
He told the story of the Great Heresy, when fully half of the Emperor's sons had sided with their brother Horus rather than their father, and the shattering, ruinous war that had followed. Of the Siege of Terra, where Horus's forces had hurled themselves against the very place of their birth, seeking to slay their father and put Horus in his place. He told her of the final confrontation between the Emperor and his beloved son, with Horus's murdered brother Sanguinius lying at their feet, and how the Emperor had realized too late that his son could no longer be saved. How the Emperor had finally slain Horus, but not before the great traitor had struck a deathblow.
Twilight was holding back tears during much of the story, allowing them to flow freely as Deumos described the end of the battle between the Emperor and Horus, and the stalwart, loyal Dorn arriving late, finding his father dying beside the corpses of his two brothers.
"So the Emperor is dead, then?" Twilight asked, as Deumos finished his tale.
The priest shook his head. "No. The Emperor is trapped, halfway between death and life, kept alive by the technosorcery of the Golden Throne, and sustained by the sacrifice of ten thousand psykers a day. Soon, though, the Emperor will heal himself, and step off of the Throne to lead his people to glory once again. I only hope I will live to see it."
Twilight was appalled. Sustained by ten thousand sacrifices a day? She knew Celestia would rather die than survive at such a price, and she suspected that her sister Luna would feel the same way. And he'd been trapped like that for ten millennia? That meant... that was billions of deaths. How could she possibly tell Princess Luna that that had happened to her friend? Deumos didn't notice her internal conflict, clearly lost in religious rapture at the retelling of his deity's tale.
She was shaken out of her horrified reverie by Seria's voice, as the commander leaned across the confessor to speak to her. "Excuse me, Lady Twilight?"
The unicorn shook her head, refocusing. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation with the Confessor, but Rainbow tells me that you would probably be interested in seeing the Lux Foedis as we approach. Would you like that?" Twilight was about to object, wondering how she was supposed to see anything with no windows nearby and the straps holding her in place, when she noticed that all of the humans had unfastened their harnesses. She was, in fact, the only one in the compartment still strapped in; Rainbow was clearly leaning forward in her seat, too. Her horn glowed softly as she sheepishly undid the restraints, noting the pegasus's grin as she did so and preparing herself for the teasing that would doubtlessly come later.
Seria beckoned for the two ponies to follow, and led the way forward. The front of the vehicle, where the driver evidently sat, was covered in transparent windows, affording a breathtaking view of the black void outside, speckled with tens of thousands of pinpoints of light. The stars were clearer than Twilight had ever seen them, and her breath caught in her throat from the sheer beauty of it.
The human who operated the vehicle sat in a chair at the very front, with a commanding view out the numerous windows. Twilight wondered for a moment why she'd never seen this individual before; he or she must have stayed aboard the vehicle the entire time.
Twilight's speculation was swept away when Seria pointed to one of the points of light, a little brighter than the rest, and told her, "There she is. The Lux Foedis, flagship of the Anderocus Fleet."
It didn't look all that impressive at first; just a tiny dot in the distance, only slightly larger than the comet Twilight had been observing when this whole affair started, seemingly a lifetime ago. It didn't stay that way for long, however, growing in size and proximity with a shocking suddenness that told Twilight just how fast the Aquila was moving, and the unicorn could start to see details. It was certainly complex, she thought, covered in buttresses and arches, the only simple-looking part the solid, beaklike prow. And it was certainly big.
She had to reassess that thought almost immediately. Their rate of approach slowed, and she was able to study the ship more closely. Every passing moment brought a new layer of detail into view, and Twilight realized that 'big' was a wholly inadequate descriptor for the ship in front of her. She'd been mentally using the scale of Equestrian seagoing vessels initially, filing this ship with the others she'd seen, thinking that maybe this one would be, say, twice as big as the biggest she'd seen. Which was an impressive feat, mind, but the reality of the Lux Foedis was far, far more. Before long, the ship filled the front window entirely, a seemingly endless expanse of metal walls, spires, and sculptures. This wasn't a ship; it was a city, a mobile city filled with aliens.
"Wow." Rainbow commented. "It's a lot bigger than I thought it was gonna be."
Twilight nodded, and echoed, "A lot bigger."
The unicorn could hear the smile in Seria's voice. "She's not the biggest ship out there, but she's not small. I've been proud to be aboard her; she's a work of art. And a tough old bitch."
A question occurred to Twilight as the sheer, mind-numbing scale of the construction before her registered. "Seria... if Tersiaard has Gray Nimbus in there, how are we going to find her?"
"Well... there's only a few places she could be." Seria answered. "And it's not going to be just us; Lord Anderocus has ordered the household guard to fully mobilize, so you'll have every one of my troopers helping you."
"How many guards do you have?" Rainbow asked.
"About three thousand." Seria replied, "Used to be about thirty-five hundred; we got hammered hard in the storm that stranded us here."
Twilight kept herself from exclaiming in shock with some difficulty. Three thousand was something like ten times the size of the Princess's Royal Guard. She reflected that she should be getting used to the enormous scale the humans seemed to think in, but the numbers they casually threw out continued to shock her.
"That's a lot of guards," Rainbow commented. "How many people do you have aboard that ship, anyway?"
Seria rubbed her chin. "Well, the full complement for the Lux is about seventy-five thousand. We're running really short, though, because a lot of crew died in the storm; I think there are about fifty-someodd thousand left. Plus the Mechanicus contingent, of course; they didn't get hit as hard, and there should be about two thousand Mechanicus acolytes of various ranks."
Twilight shook her head again, and shivered. It really was a city. That twenty thousand of them had died the day they arrived... she felt a deep sadness on behalf of the humans. It was worse, in a way, that Seria seemed completely unbothered by the loss. These creatures seemed... accustomed to death in a way Twilight never wanted to be. It was even in their religion, the unicorn realized, the dying god chained to his throne, sustained by the blood of his followers... it was no wonder their artwork featured skulls everywhere. Her heart ached for them, all of them, all their teeming billions... and for their master. She wondered if he could see what had happened to his people. She hoped not. Twilight had a sudden vision of her mentor, Celestia, in a similar circumstance, trapped on her throne for millennia as her people suffered and died all around her. Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, overcome by the image.
The Aquila shuddered slightly, shaking Twilight out of her morbid fantasy. The pilot called over his shoulder, "Nearly there, ma'am. We'll be docking in about three minutes."
Seria thanked him, ushering the two ponies back to the passenger compartment. The ten guards in the back were already standing, readying their weapons, pulling larger, heavier ones out of racks set into the walls.
Troubled by these preparations, Twilight turned to Anderocus. "Lord Anderocus, are you expecting a fight?"
The human leader nodded. "It's a definite possibility. Magos Tersiaard has never flat-out defied my commands this way before. That he has chosen to do so now suggests to me that he may intend to remove me in a permanent fashion, so we must be prepared."
Twilight shared a worried look with Rainbow. They'd seen how dangerous ten of the human guards could be; the thought of being caught in the middle of a conflict involving thousands of them was frightening.
Well, there was no point in complaining. They'd insisted on coming along, so they would have to try and stay out of the worst of it, if they could.
The Aquila slid smoothly into a metal cavern, coming to a stop with a barely perceptible bump. The ramp hissed open, and the two ponies followed Anderocus out of the vehicle. A large, heavyset male human with a face that was an almost alarming shade of pink was waiting, along with two full squads of armored guards. The chamber they emerged into was enormous, holding two more of the big Aquilas with plenty of room to spare, and Twilight's mind reeled as she adjusted her perception of scale yet again. If she hadn't seen the vast shape that was the Lux Foedis from the outside, she would have had serious trouble accepting that they were inside a vehicle. The metal-walled space was large enough that Rainbow Dash would likely be able to do a full acrobatic routine without hitting anything!
"Pleasure to see you again, sir! Pity about the circumstances." The red-faced human declared, as Anderocus stepped off of the ramp. He cocked an eyebrow, catching sight of the two brightly-colored ponies trailing behind his leader. "Guests, sir? Should I have the stewards ready the guest quarters?"
Anderocus glanced askance at Rainbow Dash, probably remembering that she could understand at least part of what he said. He clearly still didn't realize that Twilight could understand Gothic at least as well as he could. "Not guests, as such, Eudaros. The Magos appears to have kidnapped one of the locals against my orders, and the local leader and one of her retainers wishes to see their subject returned."
The heavyset human's eyes widened, and his face grew even redder. Twilight was seriously concerned; was he about to have a stroke? "Blood of the Emperor, sir! Are you serious? No wonder the guards have been scurrying around like a nest of angry formics!"
"Indeed." Anderocus replied with a solemn nod. "Do you have any idea where the Magos is now?"
"One of my deckhands overheard him saying he was going to the vivisectorum, sir." Eudaros replied, worriedly, and Twilight felt an icy chill in her belly as the name of the place registered.
"Uh, what's a 'vivisectorum?'" Rainbow Dash interrupted, in her halting Gothic.
Anderocus looked grim. "It means we need to get your subordinate away from the Magos as quickly as possible," he replied, "Or there may not be much to retrieve." The expression on his face confirmed Twilight's worst fears.
Rainbow looked sick. "Well, what are we waiting for, then?!"
By way of answer, Anderocus turned to Commander Seria. "Well, Commander, are your troopers prepared in case we have to move against the Magos?"
Her helmeted head nodded once. "Yes, sir. The whole regiment is mobilized and ready; I've got them stationed around the Mechanicus area of the ship, and they're ready to move the instant I give the word. These three squads, plus two more who will join us at the door, will escort us if you plan to go yourself."
The grim expression on Anderocus's face hardened further. "Very well, Commander. I do so intend, so let's be about it." He turned around to speak to the group behind him. "All right. Astropath Setaron, get back to the Astropathica chambers. There's no need for you to be in the middle of this, one way or another." The quiet human in the brown robe nodded silently, turning to shuffle away. "Confessor Deumos, you would be welcome to join us."
"A tempting offer," Demos replied, "But I think I will join one of your secondary forces, Commander. If you want to get to Tersiaard, you'll need a distraction. And I can be very distracting when I set my mind to it! I will inspire your men to valor, and draw Mechanicus attention away from you."
Anderocus nodded. He turned his gaze upon Twilight and Rainbow. "Ladies. I recall your earlier statements, but I must warn you; this could potentially be extremely dangerous. Are you certain you wish to come along?"
Twilight's response was firm. "I meant what I said, Lord-Captain. I mean to see Gray Nimbus returned safely to her home."
Rainbow was similarly adamant. "Same here! I'm responsible for Nimbus, and I'm not gonna leave her hanging when she needs help!"
Anderocus took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Very well. If fighting breaks out, I ask that both of you take cover, and listen to what my guards tell you. They will have instructions to keep you safe." He turned back to the heavyset Eudaros. "Captain, get to the bridge. I'll need you to help coordinate things if this goes badly. Try to contact Tersiaard before we reach the Mechanicus area, maybe he can be convinced to part with his captive."
"Yessir! I'll be looking over your shoulder, sir, count on that!" The large human left the gigantic cavern at a jog, not even glancing backwards.
Anderocus turned, curtly gesturing for the others to follow, and headed in almost the opposite direction from where Eudaros had gone. Twilight and Rainbow followed as the Lord-Captain led the way through a seemingly endless series of metal corridors. Twilight felt like she was descending through a mine, or labyrinth, (Or an ants' nest, her mind whispered, remembering the comparison Fluttershy had made) and quickly lost her way. A glance at Rainbow showed that the pegasus was tense, ears laid back and wings clamped tightly to her sides. Twilight suspected that the close spaces were bothering the athlete; she'd barely have room to spread her wings in here, let alone fly.
Several of the corridors they passed through were badly stained by smoke, and carried an extremely unpleasant, sharp smell that Twilight had only ever encountered before when an electronic device she'd been working on in her basement had caught fire. There was also an even more unpleasant sickly-sweet smell that the unicorn couldn't identify. A group of charred bones lying on the floor finally provided an answer; this was the smell of burnt flesh. Twilight nearly gagged, realizing that she was breathing in particles of ash that had once been a human.
Anderocus tried to contact Eudaros several times during the walk, but whatever system the humans used to pass messages was evidently nonfunctional. The Lord-Captain's grim face grew grimmer when they realized that communications were cut off.
Finally, after walking for what seemed like forever through the twisty labyrinth, they came to a huge, vaulted chamber, easily larger than Celestia's throne room at the Palace in Canterlot. Two more squads of human guards were waiting at the entrance, bringing the total number of guards accompanying them to fifty. The twenty armed and armored humans were nervously watching the end of the chamber, were there was a massive door, emblazoned with a symbol that was half-skull, half-machine, contained in a cog-toothed wheel. Standing before the door was a red-robed human reminiscent of Tersiaard, but much smaller and with fewer limbs emerging from its back.
Anderocus strode boldly up to the figure, his guards hurrying to keep pace, Seria keeping her position at the Lord-Captain's left shoulder. "Open this door, Adept." He commanded.
The red-robed figure didn't move. "You know I cannot do that, Lord-Captain." A distorted voice emerged from under the crimson hood. "This is sanctified ground, sacred to the Omnissiah. Only those versed in the secrets of the Machine are allowed within."
"This is my ship," Anderocus growled, "and I will go where I please within it. Open the door, Adept."
The figure still didn't move. "I will not."
Twilight could see tension gather in Anderocus's shoulders. "If you will not open this door, my guards will open it for you."
"You would not dare," the figure replied.
Anderocus turned to the armored guards that were following him. "Remove the adept from our path and open these doors."
One of the guards stepped forward to lay a hand on the adept's shoulder, and the chamber exploded in violence. The adept's metal hand came out of the sleeve of his robe and punched straight through the guard's armor. A half-instant later, a pair of metal tentacles tipped in saw-toothed blades that spun like circular saws sliced the hapless guard's head off.
Alcoves along the edges of the chamber snapped open, releasing horrible things that looked like someone had taken human corpses and grafted metal pieces onto them. They lumbered out wordlessly, almost a dozen of them, raising cylindrical weapon arms that thundered and spat flame.
The guards responded instantly. Seria flung Anderocus away from the adept, drawing the blade that she'd used against the behir and engaging the mechanical horror in a flickering battle of blade against metal tentacle, too fast for Twilight to make sense of, sending pieces of the adept's weapon limbs flying each time she connected. The other guards raised their weapons, projectiles that moved too fast for Twilight to see sparking off of their armor as they blasted the dead-looking things with cracking beams of light and the thunder and explosions of their heavier weapons. One of the guards grabbed Twilight, pulling her away from the battle and kneeling to interpose his own armored body between her and the dead things. She felt several impacts, transmitted through the human's body, as more of the projectiles struck his armored back.
"Hey! Get off me! Let me help!" Twilight heard Rainbow shout, and breathed a sigh of thanks that another guard was probably keeping the pegasus out of the fight, much as the one shielding her was doing.
The fight was over in moments. Twilight looked around when the guard released her, seeing the dead things collapsed on the floor, most in several pieces, and the body of the adept lying at Seria's feet. Two of the guards were down as well; their armor was evidently not completely proof against the dead things' weapons. A quick glance reassured the unicorn that Rainbow was alright, glaring furiously at the guard who had shielded her.
The pegasus forgot her annoyance quickly, however. "Hey, what are those things?" She asked, pointing at one of the dead things.
"Servitors," Seria replied, nudging the adept's corpse with her boot. "Combat servitors, actually. Mechanical servants, built for battle. You and you, get that door open." She pointed at two of the guards, who hastened to obey. The adept's metal body twitched, and Seria drove her blade into it. It fell still once more. Seria turned to Anderocus. "Well, sir, there's the easy part done."
The Lord-Captain sighed. "Damnation. I was hoping to avoid this." He dusted off his robes. "Well, nothing for it now."
Twilight bit her lip in anxiety. "Lord Anderocus, is there any chance we could just talk to the Magos? Maybe this is all just a huge misunderstanding."
The dark-maned human shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Lady Twilight. The communications net is down, and the only reason I can think of for that to happen is if Tersiaard doesn't want to talk to us." He sighed. "I've been worrying about a confrontation like this for some time now. If you and Miss Rainbow Dash would like to wait at the shuttle, I give you my solemn oath that we will retrieve your compatriot."
Twilight was shaking her head before the human had even finished. "No, Lord Anderocus, as I said before, I intend to see Gray Nimbus home safely. We will come with you."
He sighed again. "Very well."
The huge doors finally slid open, completely soundlessly, surprising the unicorn. She'd expected the massive portal to groan theatrically, but there was no noise at all. The guards moved in, Anderocus hanging back from the front this time.
Seria fell in at his shoulder again. Twilight heard her say quietly, "Sir, the other squads are moving in. First and Second Companies are making as much noise as they can, so hopefully most of the Mechanicus forces will be drawn away."
The gallery was eerily silent as the group made its way through. Occasional noises would echo against the high-vaulted ceiling, but for the most part even their footfalls were lost to the oppressive silence.
Seria's voice spoke up again. "We've got a choice coming up, sir." The guard commander was holding an odd, glass-fronted slate in one hand and clearly studying it intently. "There's a shorter, open route through the main gallery to the vivisectorum, or a longer one through the generatorium. Do you have any preferences?"
"We'll see when we get to the proper intersection." Anderocus answered. "It troubles me that we have met so little resistance thus far."
"Me too, sir." Seria sounded worried.
Twilight had thought that the chamber they were in was the 'main gallery,' but it turned out to be only a hallway. The gallery itself was larger by far, so vast that Twilight could see streamers of mist forming at the ceiling vaults. Huge towers and buttresses were spaced along the vast open area.
"Woah." Rainbow Dash said quietly, "No wonder he was so interested in weather-work. This place is big enough to need its own crew, almost."
"The side passage to the generatorium is over there," Seria said, pointing to a doorway.
"All right, commander." Anderocus acknowledged the information. "Let's head that way, but at the moment I'm inclined to go the shorter route. How are the other detachments faring?"
"Not well," Seria answered grimly. "They're getting hit hard by Tersiaard's battle-priests and heavy combat servitors. Thank the Emperor that they are, though."
"Indeed." Anderocus looked around at the vast, empty hall.
The group made their way quietly down the enormous space to the doorway Seria had indicated. Abruptly, one of the guards out in front stopped, holding up a hand. "D'you hear that?" He hissed.
Twilight strained her ears. Right at the very edge of her hearing, she managed to pick up rhythmic, metallic sounds from ahead.
"Damnation," Seria spat, quietly. "Choice time, sir."
Anderocus glanced indecisively back and forth between the hallway and the side passage. "All right, if the generatorium route looks clear, we'll go that way. If it's not, then we go the shorter way."
Seria nodded. She sent one squad ahead to check the side passage, while the rest of the party crept along behind.
The explosion of violence took them all by surprise. A stream of glowing, smoke-trailing projectiles streaked across the gallery, accompanied by the deep, heavy thunder of one of the humans heavy weapons. The stream intersected one of the guards, and his body blew apart violently in a sickening explosion of blood and viscera, his armor doing nothing to stop the projectiles.
Massive, heavy forms lumbered out of alcoves spaced along the vast gallery, and Twilight got her first look at what had to be the 'heavy battle servitors.' The things loomed huge, nearly as large as Tersiaard, their sickly grey flesh bulging enormously around the intrusive mechanical implants they were laced with. Most had enormous, boxy weapons replacing one arm, and a whirring, multi-toothed blade in place of the other. Weapons fire thundered, more of the glowing projectiles zipping across the intervening distance to explode against the walls or tear into the flesh of the guards.
Seria, Anderocus, and the guards scattered, diving into what cover they could find that would shield them from the servitors' weapons. Again, Twilight found herself grabbed and hauled to safety, and she could hear vociferous protests indicating that Rainbow Dash was receiving the same treatment.
Up ahead, the squad Seria had sent to check the alternate route ducked into the doorway, only to come reeling back out again as more weapons fire erupted from the hall. Three of them died immediately, blown apart in the same horrifying fashion as the guards who'd been killed in the opening exchange, and the others scattered, finding what cover they could.
Once behind cover, the surviving guards began to return fire. They massed their return fire, several guards blazing away at individual servitors. The servitors were robust, though, enduring the cracking light beams with minor damage as they lumbered closer. Other guards began to set up their heavier weapons, each carried by several guards to distribute the weight.
Twilight could hear Rainbow struggling with the guard who was seeking to keep her safe. The unicorn risked a glance in that direction to see what was going on. Rainbow nearly threw the guard aside the second she managed to get even a little leverage; the pegasus's slender frame was deceptive, and she was enormously strong. The guard managed to keep hold of her, though, lifting her up off the ground in a wrestler's hold while still keeping her behind the cover of the alcove he'd taken shelter in. The pegasus struggled, legs and wings flailing, clearly wanting to help, but the guard had her clamped against his chest in a position where she couldn't use her strength, and her light weight wasn't enough to throw him off-balance. Rainbow was cursing with amazing fluency, (what had Seria been saying around her?) and Twilight's cheeks burned a bit, hearing it.
Satisfied that the guard had her friend out of danger, (however much the pegasus didn't want to be there) Twilight turned her attention to the fight. The servitors were lumbering closer, and more were emerging from the path they'd intended to take.
A moment of thought revealed that, while Rainbow's attempts to help would almost certainly lead to her death, Twilight might just be able to lend a hoof. Or a horn, in this case. Her horn glowed as she gathered her magic and lifted the nearest servitor off the ground. A quick telekinetic flick sent the huge thing tumbling into two more, knocking the whole bunch down with an incredible racket.
The guards' heavy weapons strafed the fallen servitors, damaging them severely and quickly disabling them. Twilight heard Seria shout, "Whatever you just did, do more of it!"
The unicorn complied, lifting several more servitors and sending them careening into their compatriots. The incoming fire ceased as the fallen servitors sought to untangle themselves, and the guards were able to pick them apart quickly.
The instant the last servitor was disabled, the guards began taking their heavy weapons apart, in preparation for moving on. The one who'd been covering Twilight with his own body pushed himself up, allowing the unicorn to move. She shot the human a grateful smile. "Thanks for keeping me safe."
"Of course, ma'am." The guard saluted. "My duty and my pleasure."
The other guard was still holding Rainbow Dash in a death-grip, evidently unaware that the fighting had temporarily ceased. Probably, Twilight reflected, because the pegasus kept slamming her wings into his helmet. His ears were probably ringing pretty loudly. The poor human had his head tucked down, the top of his helmet pushing against the back of Rainbow's head so she couldn't slam the back of her skull into his face, and his arms wrapped tightly around her ribs just below her lower shoulders, keeping her back hooves hoisted far enough off the ground that she couldn't get purchase to throw him off. It was a pretty good hold, Twilight had to admit.
Seria walked over to where the guard was struggling with the pegasus. "Guardsman Dercius!" He didn't seem to hear, so she yelled louder, "Guardsman Dercius!"
"Yes, Commander!" The voice was muffled.
"The fighting is over for now, guardsman. Release her!" Dercius complied, letting Rainbow drop to the deck, where she spun around, furious, wings flared aggressively.
"I oughta kick your butt for that!" She growled, glaring at the hapless guard.
Dercius snapped to attention, and suddenly the smoking cylindrical end of Seria's boxy weapon (she'd evidently had to replace the blue-glowing one she'd lost to the behir) was pointing directly at the side of his head.
"Do you feel this soldier has disrespected you, Miss Rainbow Dash?" Seria asked, her tone quiet.
Rainbow's narrowed eyes got huge. "Wait, what? W-what are you doing, Seria?"
The commander's voice stayed low. "Do you feel that he has disrespected you? You are a personal guest of the Lord-Captain; if this soldier has treated you poorly, I will execute him and appoint a replacement." Dercius stayed silent and stock-still.
Rainbow's jaw dropped, and she shook her head spastically. "No, no! Don't hurt him! I was just mad 'cause he was keeping me from helping, but I know it was just 'cause he was trying to keep me from getting hurt! Please, please don't hurt him for that!"
Seria's weapon dropped to her side, and Dercius sagged slightly in relief. "Very well, and thank you," the commander said, "Dercius is one of my most dedicated troopers; I would have hated to have to execute him." She nodded cordially, and walked back over to Anderocus to discuss their options.
Twilight stepped up next to Rainbow, who was shivering in reaction, her ears flat. "You okay, Rainbow?"
The pegasus nodded, swallowing. She looked up at the guard who she'd nearly condemned. "Dude, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to nearly get you hurt like that."
The big human shrugged. "Think nothing of it. I'm just glad I was able to hold on to you; if you'd gone out there, those heavy bolters would've torn you apart." The voice that came from the helmet was an incongruous light tenor, strange to hear coming from such a large figure.
Rainbow gave him a strange look. "Wait... you're more worried that I might have gotten hurt than you are about yourself nearly getting killed?"
Dercius shrugged again. "Better to be executed for succeeding in my duty than for failing at it. Though I would appreciate it if you wouldn't fight me so much next time."
The pegasus grinned wanly. "Heh. I did nearly get loose, didn't I?"
"That you did," the guard replied, "I didn't realize how bloody strong you were. Don't worry, I won't make the same mistake again."
"Pff. We'll see." Rainbow said, a challenging light in her eye.
"That we will," Dercius answered calmly, not rising to the bait.
"Rainbow..." Twilight said, alarmed by her friend's attitude. "He's telling the truth. If you'd gone out there, you would almost certainly have been badly hurt or killed. Please, let him do his job if there's another fight."
Before the pegasus could respond, Seria called for the group to move out. They'd evidently settled on the shorter route, as they began moving briskly down the huge passage. Twilight didn't want to drop her conversation with Rainbow, though, so she persisted as they walked. "Please, Rainbow, promise me that if there's another fight like that, you'll let Dercius keep you safe."
The athlete heaved a sigh. "Fine. If there's another fight like that, I'll try and stay out of it. I do kinda want another shot at beating this guy, though."
Twilight chuckled. That was Rainbow Dash all over. "I'll talk to Anderocus and see if he'll let him come back to Equestria for a wrestling match, then."
Rainbow grinned, her ears finally coming forward again. "Deal. Ooh! Another thing that I just realized! They're all about duty!"
Twilight didn't follow the train of thought. "They're what now?"
"Duty! Everything's about duty with these guys!" The pegasus exclaimed. "They stick to their duty even when it's a bad idea! Seria was gonna kill Dercius even though she didn't want to, Dercius was holding on to me even though I was fighting him, and that adept guy didn't move out of the way at the door even though we outnumbered him! They were all doing their duty!" Rainbow grinned, pleased that she'd figured out something new about her alien acquaintances.
Twilight's reaction was considerably more somber. She felt a chill in her belly. "Doing their duty, even when it means death." She mused. What happened when two humans' duty came into conflict? She glanced at the guard who'd twice now put his own body between her and harm. It was admirable... and terrifying.
The diminished group pushed on, moving rapidly in the hopes that they could reach Tersiaard before more Mechanicus forces appeared. Seria was checking the slate she held constantly, and finally called out for them to turn, taking a doorway that looked exactly like a hundred others they'd already passed.
"All right, troopers," Seria called, "We're coming up on the anteroom to the vivisectorum. Keep an eye out, there's likely to be HOLY THRONE!" Seria ducked to the side just in time, and a bolt of blue light sizzled through the space her head had occupied an instant before, burning a four-hoof-wide hole in the wall.
The room they had come to was large, though nothing in comparison with the massive gallery they'd just left, and it was occupied. Seven figures exploded into violence as the guards poured into the room, already firing, and these were a different thing entirely from the servitors they'd faced before. All were clad in the same red cloak that Tersiaard and the adept at the entrance had worn, and all sported multiple limbs. They were fast, too, even faster than the adept had been, and in the close confines of the room and corridor they were unbelievably lethal. One dashed into the middle of a squad of guards, cutting them apart with sparking, blue-wreathed blades attached to its tentacles, while another attacked Seria, the commander desperately fending off strikes from five metal limbs.
Unafraid, the guards attacked with remarkable fury, pouring shots at the darting figures, though they weren't scoring many hits. Twilight again felt herself grabbed and pulled out of danger, and again she realized she could help even as the guard whose name she hadn't learned shielded her with his armored body. She focused, knowing that grabbing just one wouldn't help in this situation, and knowing that the robed figures' darting speed was the danger. Instead of grabbing and hoisting them, she draped the creatures with cords of force, dragging at their limbs like a net and slowing them drastically.
With the extra fractions of a second Twilight had granted them, the guards blew apart the metal creatures in seconds, able to carefully aim and direct stuttering bursts of light into the attackers. Seria, likewise, swiftly dismembered her suddenly-slowed opponent, her blade crackling as it sliced through its metal limbs before she drove the point through the creature's chest. The commander glanced around and saw that all of the darting figures were down and leaking sparks and oil across the painfully-clean floor. She beckoned for some of her troopers, and they set to work trying to open the huge door at the end of the chamber.
Twilight and Rainbow entered the room behind the guards, the unicorn examining the metal creatures curiously and trying not to look at the slaughtered guards who had been their victims. When she got closer, she realized they were leaking not only oil, but blood as well. She gasped.
"L-lord Anderocus," Twilight stammered, pointing at the metal bodies with a hoof, "These... these things are bleeding!"
"Well, of course they are," Anderocus sounded perplexed. "Tech-priests aren't all metal, not even senior ones like these."
"Who were they?" Twilight's voice was a horrified whisper. She'd thought these things had just been more of the humans' machines!
"These?" Anderocus knelt next to the nearest, pulling its hood back. "These were some of Tersiaard's senior subordinates. It's a good sign; if they were here, then he must be in there with your servant."
Twilight pressed a hoof to her mouth in horror. These had been people, and she'd helped kill them! They weren't machines, like the servitors, or monsters like the daemon that had worn Hammer N' Tongs's flesh, they were people, with stories and names and dreams! Twilight closed her eyes, feeling sick to her stomach. Rainbow's earlier statement came back to haunt her. They were only doing their duty.
She felt Rainbow come up next to her. "Are you okay, Twi?" The unicorn shook her head. She felt the pegasus lay a hoof on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"I helped kill them," Twilight whispered.
Rainbow was silent for a moment. The pegasus sat down next to Twilight, leaning comfortingly up against her. "Twilight, believe me, I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same way, right after we killed Hammer, so I'm gonna tell you what you told me. You didn't have another choice." Rainbow paused. "Look, Twilight, we still need you. I still need you. Can you hold it together, just for a while, just 'till we're outta here?"
Twilight took a deep breath. Then she took another, eyes still squeezed shut. She wrestled with her own emotions, trying to get a grip on herself. She had no idea how long it took, but she finally opened her eyes, meeting Rainbow's worried gaze. "Thank you, Rainbow." Twilight was pleased with how steady her voice was.
"You okay?" Rainbow prompted, and Twilight gave a careful nod.
"For now." Twilight didn't say anything further, and Rainbow didn't ask.
It took several tense minutes before the door began grinding open. When it finally did, Rainbow and Twilight set themselves, as did the surviving guards, pointing weapons toward the opening portal. Seria stood right next to it, blade in hand, ready to spring through. When the door reached its stops, the commander charged through, followed closely by a dozen guards, with Rainbow and Twilight right on their heels.
Tersiaard spun around in surprise where he was standing next to a bank of blinking lights, but Twilight barely noticed. Her eyes were drawn to the table in the center of the room, a huge, gleaming metal thing, with various armatures and wires festooning its surface. Gray Nimbus lay limp in the center of it, her right wing outstretched. It had actually been peeled open, and Twilight gagged at the sight of glistening muscle and tissue revealed beneath the pegasus's skin. Nimbus's silver-grey eyes were wide open, and they locked on Twilight's own the instant she entered the older mare's sight line. Tear tracks ran down her face, and Twilight could see the desperate fear in her eyes.
It was then that Twilight noticed the wires. Dozens and dozens of fine wires had been attached to Nimbus. Some hooked into the exposed muscle and tendons of her wing, others seemed to go into her spine, and a cluster were attached to her head. Tiny trails of blood ran from the puncture wounds in the older mare's scalp, and the unicorn realized that the wires might actually be attached to her skull... or even her brain.
She wasn't given time to ponder the horror. Seria charged straight for the Magos with a shout, and her guards shouldered their weapons, unleashing a blinding barrage at the metal giant, but Tersiaard wasn't like the other tech-priests.
The blazing lines of light achieved precisely nothing, vanishing against a shimmering energy field that appeared to block them. Seria's thrust got scarcely any further; a crab-clawed arm sheathed in the same crackling disruption field as her blade darting forward with impossible speed and precision, grabbing the blade and ripping it out of the commander's hand in a single motion. Tersiaard's arm swung out in the same moment, connecting with the charging Seria and sending the big, armored female flying in a single contemptuous blow. Tersiaard turned, leveling the huge boxy thing on his shoulder that Twilight now recognized as the same 'heavy bolter' that the battle servitors had carried, and metal tentacles rose up behind him like angry snakes.
"STOP!" Anderocus's shout rang out, stunningly loud and laced with authority. The guards froze, Twilight and Rainbow froze just before lunging at the huge Magos, even Tersiaard froze, weapon trained on the group of guards.
Anderocus strode into the center of the room, arms raised in a halting motion. Twilight was impressed by the human's bravery; he was totally unarmed and unarmored, and he walked between his guards and the Magos as though he belonged there. "Stop. Everyone. Lower your weapons, now!" The guards obeyed, and Tersiaard's metal tentacles withdrew behind him as his shoulder-carried weapon deflected its aim away. Anderocus turned, pointing an accusing finger at the Magos. "Magos Tersiaard. What is the meaning of this?"
"The meaning of what, Lord-Captain?" Tersiaard's cold voice was even colder than usual.
Anderocus's pointing finger swung around, pointing now at the limp, mutilated pegasus on the table. "The meaning of that, Magos. I specifically told you not to bother the locals. Why is one of them on that table?!" There was honest fury in the human leader's voice.
"I did not disobey your orders, Lord-Captain." There was an edge of honest confusion in the Magos's voice. "Seneschal Tangro clarified them before he left; if I could obtain an experimental specimen without alarming the other xenos, I was to do so."
"What?" Anderocus shouted, "I never gave those orders!"
Tersiaard's head cocked to the side. "That was the command I received, Lord-Captain. If there was an error, it was not mine."
"I see I'm going to have to have a chat with Seneschal Tangro." Anderocus growled. "Is your... subject damaged beyond repair?"
"No, not at all," Tersiaard stepped over toward Nimbus, whose eyes locked on him in terror. "I can have it repaired in moments, if you so desire. I have but to rebond the epidermal tissue."
"Her." Twilight snarled, no longer caring if the humans knew she could understand them. "You can have her repaired. She's not an 'it.' And can you fix the pain you've caused?" She glared at the Magos, enraged.
"What pain?" The Magos switched smoothly to Equestrian. Two of Tersiaard's tentacles were already working, delicately removing the wires in Nimbus's wing and carefully pulling her skin and feathers back into place. "Pain would have disrupted my neural scan data. I was quite careful to ensure the subject felt none. The only pain the subject felt was the sting of the dart that delivered the paralytic agent."
"But you peeled open her wing!" Rainbow interjected, sounding sick, "I can't even imagine how much that would hurt! Our wings are really sensitive!"
Light flared as the Magos ran his strange instruments over Nimbus's wing. His tentacles shifted to begin removing the other wires. "Pain has a very distinctive neural signature. I was able to isolate it easily, based on readings from the dart impact, and block it before it reached the subject's spine. I assure you, there was no pain at all; I made use of the same procedure the last few times I performed augmentic surgery on myself, and I can attest from experience that it is perfectly effective."
Anderocus looked stunned at Terisaard's lack of resistance. He'd clearly been expecting a tremendous battle. Twilight felt the same way; it was as though she'd tried to climb a stair that wasn't there. The Magos gently lifted Nimbus from the table and laid her in front of Rainbow, who moved to stand protectively over the other pegasus.
"The paralytic agent will wear off in six point two minutes, at which time the subject will be fully recovered." Tersiaard told them. "My apologies for any inconvenience."
Anderocus looked like he was desperately trying to get a grip on the situation. "Magos, if you weren't deliberately disobeying me, why did you shut down the vox network?"
"I did nothing to the vox net. It is..." Tersiaard's voice cut off midword. "Something is wrong with the vox net." The cold voice held anger when it resumed. "Who has tampered with my machine spirits?! A moment, Lord-Captain, and I shall restore it."
Rainbow and Twilight shared a confused look, and the guards shifted uneasily. Two of them slung their weapons, going over to check on their fallen commander. Rainbow bent to whisper in Nimbus's ear, "Hey, Nimbus, don't worry. We gotcha. We're gonna get you home." The paralyzed pegasus managed to convey deep gratitude with nothing but her eyes.
Everyone froze when the deck shuddered slightly. Anderocus's head whipped around to look at Tersiaard. "Magos, what was that?"
"That was the attitude thrusters firing," the metal giant responded. "I have restored the vox net, if you wish to determine the cause."
"Thank you, Magos." Anderocus tapped something in his ear. "Eudaros, why did the attitude thrusters just fire?"
The heavyset human's voice crackled from speakers set into the walls. "What, you don't know, sir? Per your orders, we're rolling to present the port broadside to the planet."
"My orders? Delivered how?" Anderocus growled.
"Why, by Aleron, of course, sir! Since the vox was down, you had him deliver your orders... didn't you?"
"Tangro again!" The Lord-Captain snarled. "When I get my hands on that man..."
"Lord-Captain..." Tersiaard interjected. "The spirits of the port macrocannons have been roused. A target has been given to them, and they are eager to speak their wrath."
"What?!" Anderocus's face went sheet-white. "Send them back to their slumber, Magos!"
"I cannot." Tersiaard's voice was growing angry. "Someone has suborned them. Their gaze is locked on a castle on the surface. I will stay their wrath as long as I can, and seek to redirect it if possible, but they will speak."
"Anderocus, what is going on?" Twilight asked.
"The Lux Foedis is going to bombard your world." Anderocus replied, his voice clipped. "A full broadside will probably obliterate your entire civilization."
"And that's where I come in." A hissing voice spoke over the vox. "Hello, Parseon. Things going well?"
"Who is this?" Anderocus barked.
"Oh, you don't recognize me? I'm hurt. It's me, Parseon, your seneschal."
"Tangro? What happened to your voice? Why are you doing this?" Anderocus sounded shocked and frightened.
"I'm not just Tangro anymore, Parseon. I've got a guest. As for why? Because these wretched little pastel things have it coming, that's why, and you're my tool." The voice gave an oddly birdlike cackle. "With you, I can finally destroy those vile sisters that have kept us from our fun for so very long. You will fire, they will die, and then you will die. And I will lead my siblings into an endless time of fun and play, while the pastel things sing their song of agony to entertain us."
"Lord-Captain." Tersiaard interjected. "There is worse news. The plasma reactors' chains have been sundered. In minutes, they will break free and consume the ship. I am trying to restrain them..."
"Never! You will never stop your deaths! Now, my children, now! Strike them!"
An insane cackling echoed from a thousand places in the Lux Foedis, and the ship went mad. Countless multicolored horrors writhed into existence throughout the ship, giggling madly and spewing prismatic flame that warped all it touched. Twilight saw them capering toward their group from the long hallway they'd just come down, and something deep inside her recognized an enemy. But this time, she knew that enemy, and she knew what she had to do.
"Magos! Lord-Captain! Get your ship under control, Rainbow and I can handle these!" Twilight barked, her horn beginning to glow. "Rainbow, these are daemons! Let's show them what we showed their friend!"
"Right!" Rainbow launched herself off the ground, as Twilight started to build a spherical shell of power around them. These humans had protected her, now it was time for her to return the favor. She didn't need to build the shield especially strong; the abominations burned and discorporated just touching her power. Outside, Rainbow zipped down the wide corridor that teemed with daemons, bouncing from one to the other in a dazzling display that left a wall of prismatic light in her wake. A simple touch from her hooves was all that was necessary, and within seconds the daemonic horde was nothing but drifting motes of silver light. The pegasus zoomed back, landing next to Twilight and contemptuously exclaiming, "You're gonna have to do better than that, Tangro! Where are ya? I'll show ya personally!"
Tangro's voice cackled from the speaker, no longer even recognizable as human beneath the birdlike screech. "No I don't, no I don't! Ask the Magos! Ha ha ha!"
Tersiaard shook his head. "The plasma reactors are no longer in my control. They will destroy the ship, and soon. There is one thing I can do, however." Tangro continued to cackle gleefully from the speakers. "I can silence that monster."
"I'd like to see you try!"
"Oh, you will." Tersiaard's voice was iron. The ship shuddered again. "You are currently in a shuttle, only a few thousand kilometers from me. You must have left even as we spoke, having done your vile work. I may not be able to lull the macrocannons to sleep, heretic, but I can point them in a different direction."
"Ha ha! You can't! I gave them a target, and they are slaved to it!"
"They are not. I have served the spirit of the Lux Foedis for six centuries, heretic, and she is mine, as I am hers." Tersiaard's voice rose to a crescendo. "She heeds my voice, heretic, whenever she is able. And now, I am pointing to you, and telling her that you are her foe, and she is listening!"
"What? No! No, you can't...!"
The ship shuddered. Outside, in the silent vacuum of space, vast plumes of flame erupted from the cruiser's port side. Shells the size of buildings were hurled from the cannons' maws, speeding outward. They did not strike the royal castle at Canterlot, for the Lux Foedis had indeed heeded her acolyte's voice, and her dying spirit had focused on the tiny shuttle seeking to escape. She spat her fury into her murderer, one final gesture of spite, the great shells converging on the thin-walled hull that was smaller than the shells themselves.
After they detonated, there was nothing left of the shuttle, or Tangro, but thinly divided atoms.
Tersiaard sagged. "It is done. We are avenged."
Anderocus nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you Magos."
"But... aren't you going to do anything? What about my world?" Twilight protested.
Tersiaard turned wearily to her. "Your world is unharmed, and will remain so, save for possibly being struck by fragments when we die. I directed the Lux Foedis's fury toward Tangro, where it belonged. Beyond that, there is nothing to do." The huge tech-priest reached out with a metal hand, laying it gently on the wall. "There are only moments left. The ship dies, and she does not die alone."
Twilight felt panic seizing her mind. Her magic rose, unbidden, as she locked eyes with Rainbow Dash and Gray Nimbus, and with a flash the three of them vanished.
Anderocus looked at the empty space where the three ponies had been, nodded, and uttered a single word. "Good."
The wrenching dislocation of the teleport spell was worse than Twilight had ever felt it before, probably because she'd never teleported even a fraction of this distance before. Sight returned with shocking suddenness, and the unicorn found herself sitting on the floor, back in her home, as Spike leapt away from the three ponies who'd appeared out of nowhere.
"Geez, Twilight, don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Spike exclaimed, but none of the three ponies were listening. Rainbow Dash staggered, her eyes spinning in disorientation, and collapsed at the base of a bookshelf. Gray Nimbus lay perfectly still, eyes also spinning.
Twilight stumbled for just a moment before sprinting up the stairs to her balcony. She flung the doors open and ran out, looking at the sky.
Far out in space, the containment of the Lux Foedis's plasma reactors failed. Ravenous flame raced explosively through the ship's corridors, those caught in its path not even having time to scream before their ashes were scattered. That alone was not enough to destroy the mighty cruiser, far from it. The raging plasma blast only ate away at her armored bulkheads, chewing at her personnel quarters but leaving her crucial structural members only superficially damaged, for ships of the Imperium were built phenomenally tough.
She could not endure what followed, however. The searing plasma reached her munitions stores, detonating them in a mighty chain reaction. The Lux Foedis shuddered, quivering in her final agony as her lesser munitions stores detonated, but even that was only a precursor.
The first of the macrocannon shell bays exploded with a fury to rival the sun, and the blast broke the Lux Foedis's back. Her keel and armor screamed as they were torn asunder, a metallic death wail that was heard by no-one. An instant later, as the two pieces of the once-mighty cruiser were hurled away from one another, the remaining munitions stores and the plasma engines detonated, shattering the broken hull into a billion pieces, and scattering it to the stellar winds.
Thus died the Lux Foedis.
Below, on the planetary surface, Twilight frantically searched the sky. Will I see anything? Maybe the Magos will fix it! Maybe it'll all be okay, he'll figure something out at the last second, and...
The soundless flash lit the entire sky, bleaching the blue to white for an instant, the heat palpable even from this distance. Twilight Sparkle collapsed to the floor, wracking sobs tearing at her body, as above her a billion fiery trails drew themselves across the sky.
Elsewhere...
Anger. "No. No. This will not do, not at all."
Resignation. "Nonetheless, it is what will happen, Sister."
Anger. "It is what might happen. It is only a possibility."
Mild correction. "It is the most likely possibility."
Refusal. "It is the most likely, only if things remain unchanged."
Suspicion. "And what might change, sister?"
Certainty. "A small thing. A tiny thing. I can see a place where a nudge would make all the difference. All that must be done is to apply it."
Caution. "That is a tool of the Enemy, Sister."
Denial. "Not only the Enemy. The Farseers do it, as well."
Chiding. "Yes. And they almost invariably make things worse by doing so. Think on that, Sister."
Clarity. "They make things worse, because they seek to improve only their own lot. That is not what I seek, Sister. I seek to improve the outcome for everyone, save the Enemy, of course."
Ambivalence. "The noblest intentions often herald the most heinous of outcomes. Be cautious, Sister."
Iron certainty. "I will be cautious, but I must do this."
Ambivalence. "I will not oppose You, Sister, but I will not aid You, either. I fear You are treading the same path He did."
Regret. "Perhaps. But I still maintain that it may be the right path. I will do this, with Your help, or without."
Resignation. "So be it, Sister. So be it." |
A Foul Light Shines | Chapter 11 | Chapter Eleven
Twilight Sparkle was feeling the oddest sense of dejà vu. The knocking at her door had awakened her before, she was sure of it. Her encounter with Rainbow on the street, and her confrontation with Lord Anderocus were similarly familiar. She shivered as the Aquila climbed, as she heard Deumos's story of the Emperor, and as she beheld the Lux Foedis for the first time... except it wasn't the first time. It was like she was acting out a story she'd heard in a dream; nothing felt quite real. Even the fight with the adept at the doorway didn't shock her, for she'd expected it.
She finally shook the creeping sense of unreality when they were ambushed in the main gallery. The squad sent ahead darted into the side passage, and Twilight wanted to scream at them to be careful, but they quickly peeked their heads back out, signaling that the passage was clear.
"Right!" Seria barked, "They're not defending the route through the generatorium! Everyone, move it, through there!"
As Twilight ducked into the doorway, she saw heavy servitors lumbering out of a side passage further down the gallery, and knew with sudden, iron certainty that that group had been diverted, somehow. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew.
A team of guards set up in the doorway with heavy weapons, preventing the heavy servitors from following, while the rest of the group forged on ahead.
This corridor was far narrower than the gallery, though not quite as much so as the flame-blackened passageways they'd traversed before. The humans could walk nearly four abreast if they so chose, and Rainbow wasn't quite as tense here, where she could spread her wings without her pinions hitting the wall.
They threaded through hallways for quite a while, following Seria's directions, before the guard commander stopped the whole group.
"The generatorium is just ahead," Seria explained. "I'm sending a pair of troopers to recon, just to make sure we aren't walking into an ambush."
They waited in tense silence while the two troopers moved ahead. The scouts were gone for only a short time before returning, their hands shaking where they gripped their weapons.
"Commander... there's something unholy in there." The lead trooper reported, unsteadily.
"Unholy? What do you mean 'unholy,' soldier?" Seria asked sharply.
"I mean warp-touched, Commander. Evil." The trooper shuddered.
Twilight and Rainbow shared a worried glance. "Warp-touched?" Twilight asked, "Do you mean daemons?"
The guard nodded, spastically, whispering, "Unholy," again under his breath.
"Lord-Captain, Commander, it might be best for us to lead this time." Twilight said, mentally preparing herself for the horrors she was likely to face.
"What? If there is something warp-touched in there, you'll need every bit of firepower available to deal with it!" Anderocus exclaimed.
Twilight shook her head. "Your weapons and armor and machines are something we aren't equipped to deal with, Lord-Captain but daemons we can handle." Twilight glanced at Rainbow for support, and received a firm nod. "We, Rainbow and I and my friends, have a special power within us. If a daemon, a thing of Chaos, is in there, we will destroy it. We have to destroy it."
A wave of muttering ran through the guards, and Twilight caught the words, "Gray Knights!" repeated more than once in awestruck tones, whatever it meant. The unicorn ignored it, focusing instead on Anderocus's face, trying to mentally compel him to agree.
Finally, he gave a reluctant nod. "Very well, Lady Twilight. Go on ahead, and we will follow, and support you should you need it."
Twilight smiled at the dark-maned human. "Thank you, Lord Anderocus. We won't let you down."
Twilight and Rainbow led the way into the huge, vaulted space of the generatorium, humming with the constant noise of the huge plasma reactors. Twilight felt a wave of wrongness as she entered the door, and a glance at her friend showed the pegasus had noticed it, too. There were vile symbols painted on many of the reactors in what looked like blood, but Twilight somehow instinctively knew that the sigils were a secondary threat. If they could find and destroy the sigils' maker before they could be triggered, they would fall inert.
They hunted through the massive, thrumming space, Rainbow staying on the ground to keep near her friend. Near the center of the room, they finally found their prey.
The short, slender figure stood before one of the largest generators, chanting low, blasphemous words. It was surrounded by a dozen tech-priests, their bodies twisted into horrifically abstract sculptures of flesh and metal. Rainbow hopped up in the air, dropping to the ground hard with all four hooves, producing a sharp clang as she hit the deck.
The figure turned, revealing the face of the seneschal, Tangro. "What?" Tangro barked, his voice oddly distorted. "You aren't here. You can't be here! I looked, and you didn't arrive!"
Twilight snarled at the light-maned human, suddenly realizing just why she and her friends had been so uneasy around him. "We are here, monster. And whatever you're doing, we're not going to let you finish."
Tangro goggled at the two ponies. "You are here. How is this possible?" The seneschal suddenly cackled wildly, flinging his head back and stretching his arms upward. "Oh, my lord, my lord, what a transcendent betrayal you have visited upon me! Thank you! Thank you for this delicious gift!" He lowered his head, glaring at the two ponies. "You don't even know what I am, do you?"
"I do." Rainbow Dash stepped forward, her voice unusually somber, sounding almost like somepony else's. "I know what you are. You are betrayal personified, a lie given shape." She bared her teeth, flaring her wings. "I wish that Applejack was here too, to see you fall. You are the opposite of everything we stand for."
Tangro cackled again, his body beginning to shift, like Hammer's had, only far more smoothly. "Am I now? We'll see. We'll see how loyalty and friendship endure, when faced with a choice between their duty and their friends. Only two of you are here, against me who once faced all six. Two of them fell that day, the two that stand here now, and you are destined to fall again! So speaks Azgad-Denoroth, Lord of Change!" Tangro's body suddenly and explosively mutated, growing to enormous height and sprouting shimmering, multi-colored feathers in a grotesque parody of Rainbow Dash's coloration. Its head elongated into a huge beak, and a staff appeared out of nowhere that it clutched in one hand. Standing before them was a vast, blue-scaled hybrid between a human and a vulture, cackling at them in triumph.
"Oh, that is it," Rainbow exclaimed, her voice returning to normal. "You so don't get to use my colors like that, punk!" She took off, streaking toward the compartment's ceiling. The daemon screeched, hurling a volley of multicolored flame at her that she nimbly dodged.
Twilight's horn glowed as she prepared her own offensive. She flung darting thrusts of telekinetic force at the towering figure. It tossed out a web of glimmering, ever-changing magic, absorbing her attack with little spits of argent fire that was quickly cut off from the rest of the spell net.
"How amateurish, Element of Friendship." The monster sneered. "Try mine." It spun its web toward her, the fire growing hideous leering faces as it flew. Twilight slammed together a spherical shield, holding it tight while the vile prismatic flame writhed around it, silver sparks spitting everywhere. Twilight winced, feeling the uncomfortable proximity of the daemon's tainted magic, but her shield held.
The daemon cackled again. Twilight was getting heartily sick of that sound. "Not bad! But now, your choice! To strike the foe, or ward those that aided you! Make that choice, Bearer!" It flung a taloned hand out, making a beckoning motion, and dozens of swirling, ever-mutating horrors rose out of the floor and turned to where Anderocus, Seria, and their guards crouched, watching the battle.
Twilight saw Rainbow diving toward the towering daemon, but she changed her course as the legion of smaller ones emerged. She traced a curving path, striking those that were closest to the humans and evaporating them with spine-shivering screeches and spitting showers of silver sparks.
Why do I occasionally think in alliteration? Twilight wondered, but shook the thought aside. The faint rainbow-striped wake the pegasus left behind had just given her an idea. She shoved a heavy wave of force at the daemon lord, forcing it to concentrate on defending itself for a moment, and shouted, "Rainbow Dash! Rainbow!"
"What?! Kinda busy here, Twilight!" The pegasus obliterated another group of capering daemons, but despite her efforts, their numbers were growing.
"I'll defend the humans! Climb up to the very top of the chamber!"
"What? Why?" Rainbow darted closer.
"Once you're up there, dive at Tangro, and do a Sonic Rainboom right over his head!"
Rainbow stared at her, wide-eyed. "Twilight, are you crazy? Do a Sonic Rainboom inside? I'll wreck everything in here!"
"Just do it, Rainbow! We need something he hasn't seen before, and if he's seen a Bearer of an Element do a Sonic Rainboom right over his head, I'll eat my horn!"
Rainbow gave her a dubious look, but shot off into the upper reaches of the chamber anyway. Twilight focused her magic, hoping that the master daemon was still off-balance from her earlier attack, and concentrated on flinging small spheres of force at the daemons nearest the human position, disintegrating them just as Rainbow had been doing.
She was quickly overwhelmed. There were so many, and more appeared more quickly than she could destroy them. Worse, she could feel energy gathering, and realized that the daemon master had recovered and was preparing to strike her down.
It cackled. "And thus your choice is made, Element, as I knew from the beginning that it would be. Fare..."
There was no warning, only a flicker of light at the edge of Twilight's vision. Rainbow Dash came hurtling down from the vaulted ceiling, trailing an increasingly-brilliant wake of rainbow-striped light. She hit her target speed directly over the hideous bird-thing's head, a massive prismatic shockwave blasting out like a halo above it.
The huge reactors groaned as the shockwave struck them, but they fared far better than the daemons that flooded the room. The army of lesser beasts vanished in an instant, ripped away by silver light, and the huge birdlike figure let out a final, horrific shriek as the rainbow ring pushed every part of it in a different direction, tearing it apart in a massive silver blast that shimmered in the center of the Sonic Rainboom.
The shockwave even picked Twilight up, tossing her across the room. She had a brief instant of panic, fearing that she was going to strike one of the reactors or one of the frighteningly-spiky gargoyles that adorned seemingly everything in this ship, but her fears vanished when she struck something yielding, something that grabbed at her and held her as she skidded to a stop.
She found herself lifted and gently set on her feet by the two guards who'd caught her, cushioning her flight with their own bodies. They glanced at each other, and she heard the murmur of "Gray Knight!" again.
Rainbow Dash swooped down and landed next to her, panting heavily. "Man, it was hard to dodge all those reactor things at that speed. Wish the Wonderbolts coulda seen me! Did I get him?"
Twilight nodded, "You got him, Rainbow. Good work!"
Anderocus stepped up to the two ponies. "I... I don't think I've ever heard of anyone defeating a daemon like that before. I'm in your debt... everyone on this ship is in your debt." His face firmed. "Let's go get your friend."
Elsewhere...
Smugness. "I told You, Sister. A tiny change, just a nudge, and it all turned out for the better. For everyone."
Surprise. "So it did. I confess, Sister, that I am shocked that You managed it so adroitly."
Mild self-satisfaction. "I might be rusty, but I can still get the job done. Who's the best little sister, eh?"
Amusement. "If there is a better sister than Mine, I have yet to see it. I am so glad to have You back again, Sister. I doubt I would have managed half so well on My own."
Placation. "You would have done fine, I'm sure. Back to work for Us, though. We'll need to leave a door for Our guests to leave by."
Love. "Indeed, Sister. Indeed."
Epilogue
Confessor Deumos stood at the edge of the small xenos town, waiting impatiently. The aftermath of the small civil war aboard the Lux Foedis had left him feeling oddly incomplete; he'd steeled his soul and his body in preparation for a battle against the treacherous Magos, only to find that both he and the servants of the Machine had been deceived, foully deceived by the vilest of foes.
It had been worse, in a way, that he had felt so conflicted about the battle in the first place. Yes, striking against one who had disobeyed his superior's command was a righteous cause... but the catalyst had been a single alien. Deumos had led soldiers into battle, slain servants of the Machine and seen his own followers fall... all for the sake of a single xenos life. The waste of it was sickening. Almost a hundred and fifty brave Guardsmen fallen, a score of tech-priests dead, and it had all been for nothing. They had all been played like game pieces by a servant of the Ruinous Powers that Deumos hadn't even suspected. It was fortunate that Anderocus had been able to convince Tersiaard's senior subordinates that they'd been manipulated, or more loyal servants of the Emperor might have fallen.
Deumos ground his teeth, remembering. The fighting had halted abruptly, Magos Tersiaard's orders calling for his acolytes to stand down coming over the suddenly-restored vox net only moments before Lord Anderocus's command for his own followers to do the same. Confused, Deumos had complied, even executing two men who had been so impious as to refuse him. That they'd fallen to recover a single winged xeno, when even now, standing next to the Aquila near the xenos town known as Ponyville, the Confessor could see over a dozen, had been irrelevant. A command had been issued and disobeyed, and examples had to be made. Obedience was the underpinning of the Imperium.
Deumos had been sick with rage when Lord Anderocus had told him about Tangro's corruption in the aftermath, just before the Rogue Trader escorted the two aliens and their recovered compatriot back down to the surface. The Confessor's self-confidence had been badly shaken by the news; a daemon had possessed a man he'd known for years, and Deumos hadn't even noticed? He'd assigned himself harsh penance, and even now, over a month later, his self-inflicted scars still pained him.
Even more galling than his own failures had been the fact that the daemon had been purged by two of the aliens, without any kind of help from the Emperor's faithful. Indeed, according to the soldiers who'd come to him for confession, the xenos had gone out of their way to safeguard the lives and souls of the guardsmen who'd accompanied them, one of them even leaving herself open for what might have been a devastating attack from the corrupted Tangro. And the one with the rainbow-striped hair had been so damnably proud of it! It was unseemly in a creature that many of the soldiers in Deumos's flock had come to regard as being akin to a Grey Knight, one of the semi-legendary daemon-hunting paladins of the Inquisition.
Still, Deumos had been grudgingly impressed by the creature's bravery. As a man who'd seen battle repeatedly, both with the Arbites and with the Guard, the Confessor admitted that the distraction she had provided when the massive serpent attacked had taken tremendous fortitude, and had pushed him to seeing her as a fellow warrior, rather than just another xeno. That she and her leader had faced down a mighty daemon lord, with no hesitation and no fear that the soldiers had seen had reinforced Deumos's opinion in that regard, even if their behavior was often... frivolous.
And, oh, it was so often frivolous, and Deumos was a man who despised frivolity. The aliens' cheerful, chirpy behavior and penchant for celebrations and parties grated on his nerves, and he considered it utterly inappropriate in beings who faced down daemons. Such an entity should be grim and focused, its purpose and resolve obvious to all who beheld it, not... not cheerfully grinning and boasting about winning athletic competitions, for the Emperor's sake!
The aliens clearly cared little for Deumos's opinions, however, so he was left to steam while they conducted their business with Anderocus and Tersiaard, save for the times when the purple one felt like asking him more questions about the Emperor. He had answered, of course, as a stalwart foe of Chaos was deserving of his respect no matter its behavior, (in all honesty, he'd considered the behavior of the only Inquisitor he'd ever met to be considerably more reprehensible than these creatures had been) but she'd left him be after a few days, and he was glad for it.
He'd continued to attend, though he had little to do besides observe. The xenos had finally agreed to provide the materials the Lux Foedis needed, in exchange for the mining machines the Lux had been carrying for Emperor only knew how long, the training to operate said machines, and one of the Lux's shuttles, though Deumos had no idea what they intended to do with the vehicle. (The offer of servitors to help run the mining machines had been turned down with almost indecent haste.) There'd been additional trades on the side, of course, there always were. The Lux would be leaving with several cargo holds full of rare gems that would fetch a fortune back in Imperial space, and all it had cost them had been a few near-useless trinkets. Multi-fuel generators, old cogitators, data-slates, vox units, that kind of thing. Nothing actually valuable. Anderocus had been privately cackling with glee over the profits they'd be making.
Oh, well, he didn't have to put up with it any more. The rest of the Lux Foedis's senior officers were in town, attending the "farewell party" the xenos had insisted on holding. Another party. At least it would be the last one he'd have to worry about. Deumos himself had ducked out as soon as he possibly could, and made his way to the landing field so he wouldn't have to endure any more frivolity. Now he just had to wait for the rest of his people to pry themselves free. However long that might take.
Deumos sighed, breaking his stolid façade for a moment to rub his forehead in irritation. Based on past experience, he could be standing here for hours.
"Feeling all right?" A soft voice spoke behind him, causing the confessor to start slightly. He hadn't even had a hint that anyone else was around, and cursed himself for his lack of vigilance.
Deumos managed to keep himself from spinning about in shock through an iron effort of will. Instead, he turned slowly, maintaining his dignity. Standing behind him was one of the aliens, but it was unlike any of the others he'd seen. For starters, it was huge, nearly tall enough to look him in the eye. Its dark-colored hair and tail seemed to ripple in an ethereal breeze that the priest couldn't feel, and it sported both a horn and a pair of wings, while the other xenos he'd seen possessed one or the other. (Or neither) This individual, with the odd hair and the dark blue coat, was the first he'd seen with both, and it made him cautious.
"Merely impatient to be on my way," the priest replied, curtly.
The large alien smiled gently. "I can understand that. You have been stranded here for almost three months, and I imagine you are eager to return to your home."
Deumos shrugged. "This is far from the longest time I've spent outside the Imperium's borders. Nonetheless, it will be good to return to the realms of Mankind once more."
"I imagine." The creature fell silent.
Deumos fidgeted uneasily, made uncomfortable by the close presence of this alien. "If you seek to speak to my master, I believe you will find him in the center of the... party in the town square." The priest hoped this creature wasn't planning on pestering him as much as the rainbow-haired one had done to Commander Seria. The commander must be possessed of astounding patience to deal with the creature daily, though she'd confessed to Deumos that she actually found it likeable. The confessor had been baffled by the revelation. He may have come to respect the xenos, but liking them was a good bit further than he was prepared to go.
The xeno shook her head. "No, Confessor, I am not here to speak to your master." She regarded him steadily. "I am here to speak to you. To thank you, actually."
Deumos wrinkled his brow. "To thank me? Whatever for?" Deumos thought back over the last three months, but he couldn't think of a single thing that he'd done for the xenos that one or more of the rest of the Lux's crew hadn't.
"For giving me answers." The creature stared off into the distance for a moment, teal eyes pensive. It had an expression of deep sadness writ upon its features. "They were not answers I particularly enjoyed receiving, but they were answers, and I owe you my sincere thanks for providing them."
Confessor Deumos was by now thoroughly baffled. He'd never spoken to this creature before, he was certain of that. Its size and distinctive features would definitely have registered. "Your pardon, but I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. Have we met?"
The xeno shook herself, reorienting to the present. She smiled at Deumos again. "Of course, forgive me. We have not spoken directly, but a mutual acquaintance asked you questions on my behalf. My name is Luna, and you have my gratitude for bringing news of the fate of my old friend."
"A pleasure," Deumos said reflexively, still utterly lost as to the creature's meaning. "Though I must confess my confusion. What friend are you speaking of?"
"The one whose story you related to my sister's protege, Twilight Sparkle."
Deumos blinked. That was the name of the purple xeno, one of the two who'd accompanied him back to the Lux. But the only story he could remember telling her was... "You couldn't possibly be referring to the Emperor, could you?"
Luna laughed softly. "That was not his true name, of course. He had many, through the years, but I believe he felt that it would be better for his people to simply refer to him by title. But yes, he is the one to whom I refer. He was my friend, long ago, and I feared for him after I stopped hearing from him." The alien looked down, the sadness in her face intensifying. "It seems I was right to fear."
Deumos was outraged for a moment. This creature was claiming familiarity with the Holy God-Emperor of Man? He almost denounced her zealously, but he suddenly recalled Setaron's collapse, at dawn of the first day they were on this world. "You..." his mouth was suddenly dry. "Are you the being that Malachai sensed, that first dawn?"
The xeno shook her head. "No, I know what time you refer to, and it was not I that your telepath sensed, but my sister, Celestia." Luna paused, clearly remembering something. "I am glad you mentioned that, actually. Celestia wished me to convey her apologies to the poor man; she had no intent to harm him."
Deumos felt a hollow pit forming in his stomach. This... this was blasphemy. For an alien to claim a relationship with the Emperor... it was absurd. Yet, at the same time, these aliens had demonstrated even to his satisfaction that they weren't enemies, and Malachai had indicated that a being of power comparable to the Emperor could be found here. And there were two of them?
"You... you claim to have known the Emperor?" Deumos finally said, his voice strangled.
Luna nodded calmly, her mane swirling about her head. "I did. We never met face-to-face, but we communicated mind-to-mind for millennia. He was older than Celestia or I, and often offered advice. Good advice, generally. Celestia never really trusted him, but I came to regard him as a dear friend. To hear what happened to him... it strikes me to the heart, Confessor. I cannot even begin to express my sorrow. I truly, truly wish he had told us about his son's rebellion; I would have come to his aid in a heartbeat. I would have found a way to help. To be there for him." A tear slid down the alien's dark-furred face.
Deumos had no idea what to say. The teachings of the Imperial faith held that aliens were not to be trusted, that they intended no good for Humanity. Yet this being was claiming to have considered the Master of Mankind a friend, lamenting His fall, and wishing she could have aided Him in His darkest hour. He wanted to dismiss this as a lie, but what possible purpose could such a lie serve? These beings were demonstrated foes of Chaos, so they couldn't be trying to corrupt him. This creature, Luna, had made no attempt to undermine his faith in the Emperor or the Imperium; she simply seemed to be sharing a moment of honest sorrow.
Finally, just to see how she would respond, Deumos answered. "I wish you had been able to aid Him, too. Perhaps things would have turned out differently."
The winged, horned alien smiled kindly at the Confessor, tears still brimming in her eyes. "Perhaps. I like to think I could have made a difference. You are most kind to say so. In any case, I am glad my people could aid yours, even if I was unable to aid my old friend." She looked toward the town, as the sounds of the party changed subtly. "But it seems the party is entering its final stages, and it will soon be time for your people to depart. Thank you again for the news you have brought. Rest assured, Celestia and I will see you safely from this system."
Surprising himself, Deumos bowed to the tall creature. "Perhaps, if fate is kind, we will meet again, then."
Luna gave an enigmatic smile. "Perhaps we shall, Confessor. Perhaps we shall." END |
Gallus and the waterpark problem | pre | His eyes went wide as the titanic stallion let out an unexpectedly girly giggle. "It's a good thing I found you then." With a flash of teal fire, the stallion revealed himself to be Ocellus in disguise. Gallus took in a huge breath, but he couldn't restrain the feeling in his throat any longer and broke out crying.
"What's wrong?" Ocellus asked.
Gallus couldn't help but continue to cry as Ocellus roped Gallus into a hug. "It's just..." Gallus sniffled. "What if I never change back?"
Ocellus gripped Gallus's head and forced him to stare her in the eyes. "Snap out of it Gallus; you'll be fine I promise."
"It's more than that Ocellus. If I'm stuck in this body than I'll never find a special somepony. I'm still into women Ocellus I... I don't know what I'll do" Gallus started crying again. His tears abruptly stopped though as he saw Ocellus kiss him on the cheek.
"Gallus..." Ocellus started "I have something to confess to you. I..." Ocellus shuffled her hoof. "I love you Gallus."
"Ocellus." stared slack beaked.
She nodded, "It's true Gallus. Ever since we all first became friends the love I shared with my friends was good but one day the character of my love towards you changed. I asked the feelings forum leader about this, and she said the love I was feeling was genuine romantic love. Right then I knew the truth but." Ocellus smacked her hoof against her head. "Like a fool I never told you how I felt I should have said something sooner I'm sorry Gallus. Man, woman, or giant blob creature I love you Gallus no matter what."
Love. Gallus barely thought about it consciously but now hearing Ocellus talk about it the dam broke. He knew he felt something deeper for Ocellus he was just too afraid to admit it to himself.
"I think I love you too Ocellus. I don't know though I'm not the best at taking stock of my own feelings."
Ocellus giggled, "I know Gallus, it's part of who you are. Remember I can sense love and the love I feel from you has the same sweetness as the love I feel towards you."
Gallus couldn't argue with that. After all, professor Twilight said changelings were the most empathic creatures in all of Equestria. He kissed Ocellus on the cheek. "Thanks Ocellus." an awkward silence soon descended over them. "Wow, so are we dating like Yona and Sandbar now?" Gallus scratched the back of his head.
Ocellus giggled, "of course not silly. We're gonna have a lot more fun together than just 'smashing'. She's such a blunt instrument in the bedroom."
Gallus cocked an eyebrow. "Hold up, you did it with Yona?"
Ocellus broke out into full laughter, "no silly, Yona likes to brag about the sex she has with Sandbar."
"Ohhh. Now you'll get a chance to brag to her about all the fun you're having with me." Gallus raised his eyebrows.
Ocellus and Gallus laughed, only to be interrupted as Ocellus took a blast of water from Rainy's watergun. "Are you ok?!" Gallus asked.
Ocellus shook the water off as best she could. "I'm fine although maybe we should back up a bit. This party's getting a bit too crazy" Gallus could only nod in agreement as the two made their way off the pier.
As soon as they forced their way out of the crowd of horny teenagers, Ocellus spoke. "Thank Celestia we got out of there before something crazier happened."
"You are Gallus I presume." a refined feminine voice spoke. Gallus and Ocellus turned to see an adult kirin woman with burnt red fur, a brown mane and dark blue eyes standing just outside the crowd. She was also wearing a chained pendant with an upside-down triangle lined in blue on the edges.
"Who are you?" Gallus asked.
"Gallus, that's her," Ocellus remarked.
She nodded. "Indeed little changeling I am Wildfire." |
Gallus and the waterpark problem | The final meeting (epilouge) | Several minutes had passed since Gallus and Ocellus had found Wildfire. The waves lapped against the beach as the full moon's light reflected off the beach sand.
"You've gone through considerable effort to find me Gallus. At least five separate ponies told me that you were looking for me." Wildfire started.
"My friends have been helping me look for you, listen." Gallus shuffled his talon on the ground. "I need your help."
Wildfire nodded. "I'll help you once you answer an important question. I know your name from other ponies but how is it that you come to know who I am?"
"You see miss Wildfire. I umm accidentally took your drink at the juice bar. I'm sorry it was an accident."
Wildfire held up her hoof, "You don't need to continue Gallus, the rest is as plain as the day to me. I put a potion in my drink to enhance a woman's feminine features. I'm guessing you got shocked at having your best features enhanced and wanted to ask me what was going on."
"Actually..." Ocellus looked down towards the ground. "Gallus is a guy... your potion turned him female."
Wildfire's eyes went wide. "Oh, I did not expect that. My friend gave me this potion. She never expected a man to consume it."
"Please," Gallus grasped Wildfire's leg. "Get your friend to give me the antidote. I can't take this anymore!"
"I'm sorry Gallus, but there's no antidote." Gallus drooped to the ground. Wildfire shook her head. "You misunderstand Gallus. The reason there isn't an antidote is because it's a temporary potion."
"Really?" Gallus perked up.
Wildfire nodded. "The potion only functions as long as it's in your bloodstream. Once you excrete the potion in a week or two your male features will likely return at the same rate you lost them."
Gallus felt his heart soar, "you mean I'm only gonna be stuck like this for a few weeks?! Yes!" Gallus happily bounced around the beach.
"Hold on, you said likely. Does that mean that Gallus might not change back at all?" Ocellus interjected leading to Gallus stoping dead in his tracks.
"It's always possible. Like I said this potion isn't supposed to be consumed by a man, you should be great full it didn't just kill you. In the event that you don't return to your former state take this." Wildfire levitated a small golden medallion from a pouch she was carrying.
With an outstretched claw, Gallus seized the medallion from Wildfire's aura."What's this?"
"I know what that is." Ocellus interrupted. "It's a magic mail medallion. Princess twilight covered it in our history of Equestria class."
"What does it do?" Gallus cocked an eyebrow feigning ignorance.
"It's what Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight use to letters to each other with spikes fire breath." Ocellus smiled.
Wildfire nodded, "indeed, this magic medallion is bound to my friend. It's how I communicate with her from far away. It's all yours to have I'll simply get another one from her when I meet with her later."
"So if I don't change back to normal, I just send her a letter right?" Gallus cocked his head.
Wildifre nodded. "I'm confident she'd be able to whip up an antidote to the potion if you don't revert to normal. Plus she gets somewhat lonely and would love to have a new penpal."
"Hey you!" A voice called out. Everypony looked up and saw Silverstream land right beside Wildire.
"You're Wildfire right?" Silverstream pointed to Wildfire.
Wildfire nodded, "Yes I am."
"Thank Celestia I found you. You see my friend Gallus accidentally took your drink, and it had this crazy effect on him. Could you come with me, he could really use your help." Silverstream put on her best puppy dog stare.
"I already did... whoever you are."
Gradually, Silverstream's eyes made her way over to Gallus, "Hi Silver," Gallus waved.
Silverstream turned to Gallus. "Oh, so is she gonna change you back?"
"She can't." Gallus said only to have Silverstream rush and hug him.
"I'm so sorry Gallus. I'm here for you no matter what. Hey, maybe you me Ocellus Smolder and Yona can have a girls night out to help you adjust or something?"
"I like the sound of that." Ocellus giggled.
Gallus blushed, "what! No way. This is only a temporary potion I'll be back to normal in a week or two."
"Oh... that's awesome." Silverstream hugged Gallus tighter.
"I'm still up for that girl's night out." Ocellus smiled.
"Sure Ocellus if that's what you want."
"Yay," Silverstream roped Ocellus into the hug.
"I'd best be going. My friend is expecting me back, if I don't leave promptly I'll be late in meeting her."
"Bye Wildfire we'll write you if something goes wrong." Ocellus waved.
"Before I go though, might I ask your friend's names Gallus."
"Oh, that's Ocellus." Gallus pointed to Ocellus. "And that's Silverstream," Silverstream waved.
"It's an honor to meet you both... Anyways I absolutely must be going farewell."
"Bye." Everypony said as Wildfire went off into the darkness of the night. Eventually, Silverstream let them go from the hug.
"Well, glad we got that sorted." Gallus dusted himself off.
Ocellus smooched Gallus's cheek, "and I'm glad we finally got ourselves sorted."
Gallus smiled and nuzzled Ocellus. "So am I"
"Wait? You and Ocellus?" Silverstream pointed. Ocellus and Gallus nodded. Silverstream squealed. "That's awesome congratulations." Silverstream resumed hugging them.
Gallus was happy, not because he was going to be a man in a few weeks but because he was close to Ocellus. No matter what happened as long as he spent spring break with Ocellus he would have a pleasant vacation. |
Hey Jude... | pre | "DAMN RIGHT!"
The ponies looked at him because he had just followed up his own comment with a response without sounding like he meant it for that.
"Why are you all looking at me funny?" he asked confused. (Its funny cause we wipe his last memory every time he hears us hahaha!) Shush, Twilight's gonna rant.
"You see this is why others shouldn't know about him yet! The mannerisms from his culture seem a bit odd to us, and that's just on top of the fact he is like twice our height and can walk on only two legs! He would cause a town panic, thinking he was another world end scenario!" Twilight yelled trying to change the subject from her more personal motivations.
"Say what..." Jude said coming back to reality... their reality.
The two ponies just looked at him.
"Not to mention he 'imself says he's a war criminal" AJ said adding to Twilight's point.
"THANK YOU! SOMEONE FINALLY POINTS OUT THE ABSURDITY OF THIS AND WHY NO ONE OTHER THAN ME IS FREAKING OUT!" he said collapsing onto his knees.
"No wait... not a war CRIMINAL. War hero, I was joking when I said that. Don't get those confused please" he added now getting up.
"Well it's not like you're a bad man I guess... I mean just don't do bad things anymore like in war!" Twilight said so naively.
Jude stood there wondering if he should let them know if he has killed people before or just let them think he was a war hero for other reasons. He aired on the side of caution and changed the subject because they were starting to look at him like he was actually mental.
"OK you know what... let me explain some things. I am human; hear me roar... OK now onto other things!" he sat down ready to explain his whole persona.
- - - - -
After everyone had gotten situated, Jude began to speak.
"First off, our mannerisms are not like me blurting out weird things, that's what eccentrics do. They are actually quite similar to yours I'm sure. And my personality, despite what you (or the reader) will think is very complex and deep... I just don't... handle situations I can't control very well. I mean ambushes in war I could handle easier than this. It might be something in the air here but I feel like I AM going to go crazy at some point unless I can find something to latch onto.
"Also, where I am from, humans are the masters of the universe, but don't ever let the Elites know that. We have many cultures within our species, many languages, traditions, technologies, and religions. And before you ask, these are not extra legs" he said motioning to his own arms.
"These are arms, humans have no need for extra legs, so these evolved to be the most useful appendages in existence behind perhaps the brain and telekinesis."
Twilight at some point floated a scroll and quill over to her and was taking extensive notes... which would likely get stolen by Lyra should she ever find out about this talk.
"Interesting, I am sure there is so much more about your culture, but Lyra would be more interested in that, tell me about your biology!" Twilight said with awe.
"Oh god... uh... lets just say there are main differences between males and females in our species like yours, only ours are more noticeable" immediately changing the subject he continued, "And as for 'tribes' and magic, which I've heard so much about since landing here, we don't have those. We have races sure but biologically we are still exactly the same, nothing like wings vs. horns. Oh and magic... I know you guys keep calling what I do that but we don't do that."
Twilight put down her notes with a perplexed look on her face as she pouted her lip.
"So what are you then? Can all of you do that in that case? Is it gravitational manipulation!? Or- or-..." she was about to go over the thousands of possibilities in her mind before Jude stopped her.
"NO! No. I am what's called a Jedi. Well I am a specific kind of Jedi after living for so long, but I don't want to go into the teachings of my kind; oh and the Jedi are very very few in number. I WILL say that I am a leader where I am from. You live on this planet only right... well I control a small but powerful empire of over 30 planets. The UNSC controls multiple hundreds of planets; the New Republic thousands!"
The two ponies looked a little confused as to what the other two nations were, but didn't want to slow Jude down.
"I am the only successful... 'dictatorship' I guess you could call it... in all time. Because I put the people first. And PEOPLE is what you call us other than Human. Or person for singular"
"Fascinating!" Twilight said, now writing up a storm. Then it hit her, she just heard him say he controls MULTIPLE planets as their leader, and she was treating him like an experiment.
"Oh my Celestia! I am so sorry! You're a dignitary to here! I didn't mean to be so rude or threatening to you!" She threw down her notes and attempted a bow.
"Say what..." Jude was caught off guard because while he was a leader and by all rights should have met their true leader, he never saw himself that way unless he knew he needed to... mostly for intimidation purposes.
"Slow down there pony, I might be a leader... but I am not a very political one, unless it suits me. I fight with my army most of the time. I should have opened with that. While I am the supreme ruler, councils and governors make the local decisions because I fight to keep them safe in the meantime. I do make empire wide decisions, and laws, but I'm a war fighter. I do it best and I do it so evil doesn't get ahold of my people."
"Really? Is war somethin' you always do?..." Applejack said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"No. We try to avoid it at all costs. But I won't lie when I say because there are more humans than ponies I am guessing, we have a lot more bad eggs. But you know... it's all part of the Human condition." Jude said to Applejack starting to let his real self back for a short time.
"What's the human condition?" Twilight asked more interested than ever.
"That... is something that would drive me insane haha. It's all encompassing of the human experience and as confusing as String theory... or almost as confusing" Jude said with a laugh at the end.
"OK... so now we know why you acted so crazy. The whole condition you have. I mean, you can't get much more uncontrollable than being in a different dimension while your war goes on without you with no apparent way back" Twilight added not realizing she just said everything that would set Jude off as plainly as the sky is blue and your stuck forever.
"Oh... yes... that. I said that earlier huh..." Jude said twitching a little while still looking at Applejack.
"Gosh dangit Twi, ya mighta broke him again!" AJ exclaimed seeing Jude twitch more.
"EEP! Sorry..." Twilight said from her hoof-covered mouth. "Well... how about we let you know about OUR land now. Would that make you feel calm again?"
"Yes... that actually would be a great help" Jude said, his voice calm; his face not.
Twilight immediately jumped up over and over yelling, "YAY!", and continued to jump around as she collected a blackboard, several books, charts, and for some reason a dunce cap. Pinkie Pie would've been proud at this feat. Jude however was thought that one of two things could happen, She's either the absolute nerdiest girl in existence or she is planning an elaborate torture that I trapped myself into.
It was the first obviously... but unfortunately for Jude it would FEEL like the second. And being the writer and narrator, we don't have to suffer through it! Twilight gathered the rest of stuff and with a giant light purple flash, everything was all of a sudden set up like tutor session, complete with a notebook in Jude's hand (which Twilight got right) and a pencil in his mouth (that's more Jude's fault for not explaining).
"*Phhhpt* What the hell is all this!?" Jude said as he caught the pencil he spat out, making very absurd movements with it in his hand to show THIS IS WHERE IT BELONGS! NOT MY MOUTH!
"This is compressed Equestrian History, Culture, and Society 101! I'll go over everything that's essential for you to have a basic understanding of what goes on here!" Twilight now in her studious tone, still happy of course.
"Will you go over the more extreme stuff like legends and magic that could send me back?"
"I don't know which would help but I think this is step one to that!"
"OK fine..." Jude accepted that this would not be a one-stop shop; he expected he would have to stay a bit anyway, might as well go along with it.
Applejack got up and stretched trying to be nonchalant, "OK. Well since his lesson's gonna begin, Ah'ma gonna skedaddle and leave ya to it."
"Oh no, it's OK if you stay Applejack" Twilight dryly said, not looking away from the board she was writing on.
Now here is Applejack's predicament. She was the element of honesty, which is a nice way of saying: bad liar! So her options are, tell the truth "Ah really don't wanna sit through a Twilight brand lecture" and face the inevitable crying; make up a lie to fail at it "Ya see Ah, Ah have to water- the sheep... cut the paint... BYE!"; or sit down and bear with it and maybe (MAYBE! But still not likely) set a good example for Jude.
"Oh... OK... if Ah'm not intruding then" AJ made her choice.
"Oh you're not" Twilight said oblivious to AJ's inner turmoil.
"Let's begin! First Equestria was founded by Celestia, our Sun Goddess and..."
- - - - -
3 ½ hours later.
Twilight had covered everything from basic rulers, to pony jobs, to the differences and powers of each of the tribes (and many stuff in between).
"Oh God... I need you... my brain is at capacity and wants to make room by deleting my soul. I'm sure of it!" Jude said eyes wide open, bloodshot, and baggy while starring off into empty space.
"Oh come on this was NEED to KNOW stuff!" Twilight said like he was just being a foal.
"Ah- Ah think in yer infinite base of knowledge in here... yer definition of 'compressed' is wrong" Applejack said rubbing her temples.
"Oh come now! Well at the very least, do you understand how to behave here Jude?" Twilight asked, hoping for a thoughtful answer.
"ER... would you be mad at me if I said I'm fighting back the auto-repression function of my brain and that me not trying to hurt anybody- pony would simply be a good place to start?" Jude said trying to be serious, but the headache making it hard.
Twilight frowned and her eyes went half-moon as her face screamed 'irritated disappointment'.
"Well OK then!" she perked up after saying that, realizing they still had to go to the others for his orientation to continue, "OH! We still have the others to visit, this should be good!"
"OK, I'm ready... I've pushed back the demons unleashed inside me and am ready to continue" Jude said with his eyes less bloodshot.
"Great! We just can't let anypony see you at all!" Twilight answered smiling.
"Oh great... what are we gonna do now?"
TO BE CONTINUED... SOON! |
Dark as Ink at Night | pre | The dragon shook her head. "No! I dug correctly. It's not here!"
Raven rubbed at her head with building confusion. "Luna, Your Highness, what is going on here?" She turned to look at her with furrowed brows.
"Ah, yes, your preparations did not quite involve Raven." Luna's voice became distant as she mused. "Raven, this is Scoria, a good friend of mine, and apparently some sort of digger today."
Scoria glared at Luna. "Only because you told me to dig." The dragon shook herself off as she climbed free of the pit. "And it's not even here! You said you knew where it was."
"It is here." Luna waved a hoof out across the clearing. "The only question is how to reach it." She took a look around. "We're very close to it, in a spot that we knew very little about."
Scoria put her palm to her face. "You're kidding me." She turned her attention on Raven. "Maybe you can talk sense into her. She can't just mean 'somewhere around here.'"
Raven smirked faintly. "Unfortunately, that may well be exactly what she means. Luna has her ways. If I may ask, what is it you're looking for so eagerly?"
"A scroll," Scoria declared. "One that doesn't belong buried in a ditch!"
Luna put a hoof up to her chin. "That's not incorrect."
"A scroll?" Raven hummed softly, scanning the area. It was no great surprise that no scroll was in obvious sight. "What manner of scroll? Was it dragon in origin?"
"Nope!" Scoria grinned a toothy smile. "It was written by a pony. They called it 'The Prophecy of the Map'."
Raven frowned. "I admit my knowledge of the scriptures is weak." But she smiled just as quickly. "But if it is a scroll, of pony make, I may be able to--"
Scoria grabbed Raven with a huge smile. "You can?! Do it! Do it now!"
"Patience, new acquaintance." With firm hoof and pushing magic, she slid to the ground. "I have a spell that may assist."
She placed her ear to the ground, and began her spell. It was a simple spell, she thought, but it was immensely helpful in her work. Locating specific paperwork was of immense help. Even if the papers were organized it was often not clear where it was, and not everypony was organized.
Normally it would be a problem if she did not know the contents of the paper to locate, but she would be reasonably confident that if she found any paper-"Here!" she called out, raising her head back up, and pointing straight down.
"Good!" The teenage dragon pushed Raven aside roughly, diving at the ground with her claws first, and started digging at that area instead, tossing dirt up into the air.
As the dragon eagerly dug, Raven picked herself up off the ground and backed up, brushing off the dirt on her white coat. She wrinkled her nose. "So, what exactly is going o-" She was interrupted by a dull thunking coming from the hole.
"Found something!" Scoria's voice came from the newly dug pit.
Luna smiled a mysterious smile. "Well, let's not keep her waiting." She took into the air and hopped into the pit, leaving Raven to frown. She wasn't going into the filthy hole of mysterious danger, was she?
Hearing Luna make contact with the bottom fairly quickly, she knew the answer was yes, and Raven slid down the side of the pit into the unknown.
Which was a cave, but she had been expecting that. She lit her horn and peered around. This was not one of the areas that had been cleaned, which meant that it was relatively undisturbed by the ponies, and there was a surprising amount of dust covering all the surfaces.
Luna nodded at the unformed surroundings. "We have truly set hoof into the unknown. This predates the completion of the castle above. We could seal it away."
Scoria made a face at that. "You did not call me down here just to turn away from what you found."
"The decision hasn't been made." Luna turned to Raven, but only briefly. "But if it were to be made, we could make it now, before more is unearthed."
Raven knew this was Luna prompting her to act. But... "I know next to nothing of this area, though. What is this scroll? Why is it here? How dangerous is this area."
Luna smiled, and scanned the area. "Well, unfortunately, records about this area are fairly hard to come by. We came here because a recently discovered missive from Clover the Clever mentions that she hid this particular scroll near this area, that she knew was important to her teacher."
"Sure, but where's the scroll?" Scoria scoured the surroundings. "You are describing an old juicy dragon's horde just made by someone not as cool as a dragon but nothing's here."
"Well, you said the scroll was straight down, right, Miss Inkwell?"
Raven nodded. "That's right, but this chamber doesn't appear to have it."
"So, there must be a way down." Luna shone her own light brightly. "Look for an exit to another chamber."
Scoria watched as the two ponies began scouring the area, and looked straight down. "I betcha I could just..." She brandished her claws. "Keep going down."
"No!" cried out Raven, who darted over.
"Excuse me?" Scora raised an eyebrow.
"We have no idea how stable this area is." Raven pointed a hoof at the dragon, who, while she was not a particularly large dragon, she was realizing was still significantly larger than she was. But undaunted, she continued, "I won't have this project jeopardized because we accidentally caused a cave in underneath the castle!"
Scoria snorted soot. "Who died and made you princess? I was asked to find the scroll, and I'm going to."
"She is the one in charge here," Luna's voice rang out. "If she believes it is too dangerous to dig further, then we will find the passage."
Scoria brought her claw back down, the edges of her lips twitching. "Fine, but don't complain to me if we're stuck here all day."
The three of them did indeed succeed in finding the passage, and they began to go through a fairly winding cave, spending a while navigating the area, until the winding of the passages opened up to another larger cave. Exploring the area, there was a clear something in the center, which Scoria rushed over too. "Aww, score. There's a chest and everything!"
It was indeed a treasure chest, although it was hardly in good shape. What was once probably a shiny bronze frame was now corroded green, and the chest itself was badly cracked and rusted, the hinges missing. It had been a long time, perhaps as long as it had been since the writing.
Raven frowned, and took a step forward. "It looks as if it could simply fall apart at any moment, and that bothers me." She curled a hoof to her chin. "Namely, I think it should have fallen apart. What is holding this together?"
Scoria rolled her eyes at the hesitation. "Who cares? Let's just grab what's inside it." She strode forward with wriggling fingers. "I'll take care of it."
Luna stepped between the dragon and the treasure chest. "Stand back. We do not know what awaits us inside."
"Aw, c'mon!" Scoria threw her hands up and stomped back a few steps.
"So, should we open it?" Luna said, lighting her horn.
"If we weren't expecting to open it, why are we here?" Raven asked.
"Just because we're here now doesn't mean this is the correct or only answer."
Raven blinked. "Fine, let's think this through. There is a mysterious chest beneath the castle, we are probably somewhere above the original location of the tree of harmony. Inside is purported to be a scroll of... what is probable importance." She looked over at the chest. "The fact that this has not fallen apart probably indicates the presence of magic. Magic that still exists. Can the magic be washed away in some way?"
Luna shook her head. "That is not how this works. Perhaps there may be a counter charm, but that would require access to Clover's own notes. And there are no such counter spells in her known works. We are at one of her last unknown works."
"That makes this a very important historical document." Raven tapped her chin. "Can you do something to stop any dangerous kinds of traps?"
Luna nodded. "I am versed in a variety of protective magics."
Raven nodded. "Excellent. Even if we left it here, if it had dangerous magic someone would find it sooner or later. This was also created by a good pony, and we found no warnings of dangerous Equestria threatening magics, so while there is a risk of something happening, it would probably happen sooner or later, and probably won't curse our insides to become outsides or anything... so we should set up magic and open it up."
Luna turned away and nodded. "That seems like a fine plan. I shall open it, and be ready for protection.
Luna approached the chest, her magic lighting up the way, and she created a dome shield around it. With her own magic she flipped it open, and light flooded out of the chest, becoming blinding in the darkness of the cavern.
Raven shielded her own eyes, flinching away. If something were to happen it would happen now, but the bright shine became a dim glow, and Luna brought up the shining object. It was a finely crafted object, to be sure, a scroll case that would be an envy of any scholar. And more importantly, it was not tarnished at all. It didn't even appear to have dust upon it.
Scoria was the first to Luna, though. "Just look at it. It's literally glowing. That's the coolest hoard item that could ever exist." She approached, her eyes glinting in the light. "Let's open it."
"Not yet," Raven said, recognizing it was time for more direction. "We should wait until we're outside. Also I must remind you this is a pony relic."
Scoria snorted. "I know, but if I can't have it I need to look at it."
"Then let us go," Luna said, lifting the Scroll case high.
As the three of them turned around, there was a small noise from behind, and Raven looked back. The treasure chest, tattered and worn after a millennium of waiting to be discovered, had fallen apart. "It's amazing that the chest lasted this long."
"Well, since there was no trap," Luna mused. "Perhaps instead the magic was being used to protect the scroll, and the chest that contained it."
"It must be.." Raven said, before there was another noise in the same area. The sound of a small pebble clattering, and a crack noise. She lit her horn brighter and leaned down. There was indeed a crack where the chest formerly was on the cave floor. Raven made a thoughtful noise, and before her eyes, the crack widened.
She stared at it a moment, gears turning in her head. A protective spell holding together the scroll and affecting the area around it. A cave she had a bad suspicion about, above other caverns in an area that was once tremendously treacherous, probably overrun once with magical roots that grew over time which are now gone...
Her eyes widened. "Oh no."
> 8 - Coming Down
It was a frightening escape. How could it not be? But as Raven found herself floating in midair, suspended by Luna's magic as below her, she realized it was a fairly quick thing. She was with sturdy company, a Royal Sister (Former Royal Sister?) and a dragon helped keep her safe.
Instead, she stared down at the pit, and her heart sank alongside a not-insignificant part of the castle. The cavern they found was not directly underneath the castle, at least, and so the damage was relegated to the castle entryway and the land leading up to the castle. The rope bridge that had long led to the castle, for all those years, was now at the bottom of the chasm it so recently was suspended above.
Another rumble came from below, and more of the castle collapsed underneath its weight, revealing a few shining crystal roots below it, which seemed to remain sturdy.
From far below, she could see a small blue figure at the entryway to the crystal treehouse, where a faint "what the hay?!" could be heard, the figure gesturing wildly at the hole that was nearly at the entryway to the treehouse.
Raven let out a sigh. At least the others were safe. She shook her head. It could have been worse. She turned her head to see the others were also intact. Luna was even looking at her. "I fear a mistake had been made." Luna lifted up with a powerful flap, bringing the others along. "We should--"
"Stop, don't say it. Don't say a word." Raven sighed deeply.
Luna's horn flickered slightly. "Your regret is very obvious. As is your loyalty." She focused on her flying a moment to get them closer to safe grounds. "We both erred."
Raven looked to the ground as she was lowered. "But this is my responsibility, isn't it? We were talking about how this was my call in the cavern specifically."
Luna shook her head. "There was no way to know things would turn out this way, was there?"
Raven continued to look down, into the chasm. "The scroll was there this whole time, even. The caverns below must have been weakening this whole time, but the scroll kept it secure. This problem has been building, just waiting for the moment to strike."
Brow furrowed, Luna sat down and allowed Raven to continue.
"I didn't know this was coming, but it has been. It makes sense." Raven laid herself down. "Putting all of my hopes on it going smoothly, having no problems... It's the actions of a fool, isn't it?"
Luna got back up, and held Raven under her wing. "No more so than being willing to look past one's own blindspot. You were willing to take this risk, and I encouraged it." She raised a hoof towards her chin. "We were accomplices in this foalish behavior. Perhaps, together, we may make our way out of it?"
Raven sniffed softly, before nodding slowly. "I should not have let this happen, but it has. It's happened." She pulled herself upright. "Yes. We shall proceed." She trotted toward the castle.
The dragon huffed softly. "It wasn't my fault." They gave quite the shrug. "Just so we're clear on that."
Raven monitored the damage as she headed back toward the castle. "I see the treehouse seems to be the limit of the damage. I'm not sure why that is, I will need to find a specialist on these kind of collapses, especially to be sure if there are more risks of collapse."
"What will you do about the entryway?" Luna trotted behind her.
"I'm... not sure." The collapse area did not look particularly safe, if it was stable at all. Rubble and earth and rocks all mixed randomly in the area. "There's too much, probably, to fill with more earth or stone. Transporting all of that would be a major issue, and possibly be a problem with the kind of area around here." She pursed her lips. "Replacing the ground in an area intended to be a historical preserve seems like a bad idea."
She continued around, looking at the area. "No, the option here is that we probably should fence off this area, certainly until we are sure about its safety, then we probably go around this area for an entrance."
Scoria looked down into the hole. "You sure it's safe for ponies to be near a hole like this? I wouldn't have a problem if I fell down it, but you all are squishy, right?"
"I suppose a... uh..." Raven searched. "A very significant fence, perhaps? A large wall surrounding the pit, so nopony can accidentally stumble into it." She stared down at the pit herself. "I suppose a construction project going beyond restoration would significantly increase the cost of it, I would have to petition Princess Twili-" she stopped.
She had been sending reports to Princess Twilight Sparkle periodically. It is exactly what Twilight Sparkle would want, and Raven had no intention on disappointing. But this was... not something that a simple report would cover.
Luna nudged Raven slightly. "Twilight Sparkle will surely be understanding of this issue."
"It's not just that, Princess." Raven did not meet Luna's gaze. "So far all of the dangers have not caused any damage to the property or ponykind. In many ways, the danger was theoretical. But this was a much more significant danger and has caused property damage. We will have to be much more careful about the items now that the danger is real, and the reconstruction and renovation's costs have just shot through the roof."
"I'm sure that Twilight Sparkle will not give up on her goal of turning this into a public history. Twilight was not a mare to give up easily."
"Well..." Raven bit her lip, and looked further away. "It wasn't precisely Twilight Sparkle whose goal it was to allow for public access. She wanted someone to handle the property, to prepare it for longer-term safety and catalog the items. Some restoration." She looked up into the sky. "It was my idea to prepare it for easy public visitation."
Luna looked at the back of Raven.
Raven could feel the stare. "I, I thought it would be better. It would be easier, would attract less attention. After all, you can't have a bunch of ponies traipsing through an unstable ruin, now can you." She let out a little breath. "If you're going to restore an ancient ruin, what would the purpose be other than a museum to remember the past we no longer trot on?"
"Raven. It is alright." Luna reached out a wing but didn't quite touch Raven.
"But, but it is not, is it? I've been projecting onto it, hoping that I could gain something out of it. I've had my share of dealing with Twilight. And I failed, both her, and this project." She turned back to Luna. "Not very--"
Her words never finished, interrupted by Luna grabbing her in an almost smothering hug. In that moment, she was plunged into the night that was Luna's dark pelt. Her heart beat faster as she was pulled in against a surprisingly soft surface, and her eyes widened. She was certain Luna was about to say something, but she did not. She just held Raven there for a moment that felt like it went on forever.
Pulling her head back, Raven huffed heavy breaths. "I-" she began, her words hitching. She took a deep breath, then a few more. "I shouldn't have. This was not my idea, it was not my duty to take it further. It should be about the project, not me."
Luna smiled weakly. "We always want something from the things we do. Isn't that just what people do? You can't do the project without you, after all."
"I just wanted... to show that I had more to give. That my expertise remained valuable and I could press a project like this onward..." She steaded herself, turning around. "That I could remain useful in the face of this."
"You know that Twilight Sparkle would not discard you. Surely not after something like this, not under her control."
"That's what I tho-" Raven almost finished that statement. She looked up at Luna. Luna's eyes were concerned, worried, a small smile of encouragement on her face. She was doing her best to comfort and encourage her.
Raven couldn't possibly say what she had been thinking. It's not something she should say to anyone, but this mare here... was possibly the worst mare to say this to in the entirety of Equestria. If Luna knew the terrible selfishness inside Raven's thoughts... something so close... Something so unreasonable to feel.
Well, Luna wouldn't be offering her compassion for that.
"You're right," Raven said, looking away from Luna.
Luna frowned.
"Let's get going," Raven turned to keep walking toward the castle. "There's more to survey."
"No, no," Luna said, her voice sharper moving forward to block her off. "It's been a dangerous day, it's a fine time for a break."
"There's more work to do, there's damage to track, there's rubble to categorize, there's areas to examine, there's ponies and griffons and hippogryphs and dragons to inform, there is so much work, this is an emergency."
"All of that can wait," Luna resumed her softer tone. "We can talk to Twilight's students, then we can come back to survey the data later, with an expert in tow."
"... I have to be able to tell Princess Twilight something." Raven's uncertain eyes were replaced with something else.
There was a pause of Luna thinking. "There can be a preliminary report, but without an expert's eyes would you be able to gather all of the information you need to tell her what you think with confidence."
Raven looked down in thought. "No... I suppose not." She looked back up. "Fine, I will talk with Twilight's students. Get some basic information and a preliminary report. Come back with a specialist, give her a detailed report ASAP, so that we can convene later."
Luna nodded. "Excellent."
Raven was already trotting away toward the students, eager to get the taste of her own thoughts out of her mouth.
Luna sat by, watching her walk away.
"Well that was a helluva conversation," Scoria piped in from behind. "Nobody yelled or anything but it was crazy tense. Is that how ponies have arguments?"
Luna turned to face the dragon, with a shake of her head. "Well, you could argue that it was merely a discussion."
"That's how discussions go?" Scoria narrowed her eyes. "Ponies are kinda odd." She spread her wings wide. "Well, if there's no treasure waiting for me, and nothing to dig, we're done, right?"
Luna nodded, with a soft smile. "Indeed, our mission is concluded. Your service was exemplary."
Scoria snorted. "Yeah, I guess so. Let me know when there's something exciting to do, huh?" And with a gust of air, the dragon took to the skies, in a somewhat hesitant flight, not sure what direction to head in, but quickly she disappeared.
Luna's smile faded, a serious expression on her face instead. She saw Raven out ahead, holding a conversation with the griffon student. She was all business again, a consummate professional, even as Luna had cautioned rest. She would assuredly work herself too late on the paperwork they were talking about, burning the midnight oil.
Luna sighed herself, clearing her expression and following Raven. |
Can't Look Past | pre | "It's the only purple drink Flask has."
"Look, I told him to give me whatever he wanted. What set them off that he was lying?"
"A newspaper article about a bank robbery attempt."
"You didn't tell me it was a robbery. Am I safe to assume it was gunpoint?" he asked as he swirled his drink in it's glass
"Yeah." he downed his drink then said something about getting one with a bite before walking off to the bar.
"He doesn't like a liar just so you know."
"I didn't tell him anything about my past life he didn't ask so I never told him."
"I wonder what's got him all bent out of shape then."
"My guess is that we put innocent ponies in danger with intent to kill. Which is something he told me he hates."
"Oh yeah that's the reason. I hope you weren't friends with him."
"Why?"
"Because you ain't no more." Shadow came back with two glasses in hoof.
"If you can look me in the eye and say that you're changed and you regret doing that I won't put your head through this table." I looked him dead in the eye, unwavering.
"I have no plans to do it again. I felt bad the day before it happened which is why I went to the cops and told them no one got hurt." He stared into my eyes with a rage I had never seen before.
"Alright we're good then. Going with the fact they know it was you I would simply tell them."
"What? You just threatened to kill me and now we're good?
"I didn't threaten to kill you, I said your head would go through this table."
"Yeah that's a big difference. If I tell them I feel I won't be looked at the same."
"You affected the way everyone saw you when you decided to rob a bank. Do you have any family?"
"Not anymore."
"Who did you have?"
"A wife and son."
"What happened to the kid?" Shadow asked as he harshly slid the glass across the table."
"He abandoned my wife and she didn't go after him. She then divorced me."
"A stallion has at least one job and that is to protect his children your wife didn't abandon him you did!" He got up, put the glass bottom up and ran it into the table, crushing it like it was paper.
"I wouldn't talk to him for like... the rest of your life." I saw Shadow walking back over
"What was your son's name?" Shadow asked.
"Iron Wing."
"Come with me." I followed him mainly because I didn't want to die. He led me through the halls and to a large door at the top it said Princess Cadance the door was surrounded with natural looking crystals and other precious looking minerals.
"Cadance do we know the whereabouts on an Iron Wing?"
"We've been trying to catch a guy that goes by that name. He's a distributor but he's all over the place. Last we spotted him he was in Ponyville hence the recent outbreak over there."
"Any idea where he might be now?"
"The only place he hasn't been is here." Shadow turned to me.
"Get suited. I'm going to give you a proper tour of the crystal slums." |
Can't Look Past | Nothing in Vain | Shadow was pissed at me and I began to believe him when he said that I abandoned my son. As we walked down the halls to the front gates he stopped me.
"If we find your son you are arresting him. He was your responsibility and you dropped the ball now it's time to pick it back up."
"I don't know how to arrest anyone."
"You catch him, you cuff him, and you don't lose him that's how!"
"I never meant to make you mad, Shadow."
"I'll be less mad when you fix things with your son."
"Where are you guys headed off to?" A white pony asked. Shadow turned to face them and their happy curious demeanor changed to worried.
"We're going to search the slums for his son. You can come if you'd like."
"Ok give me just a second." He ran off back down the hall.
"Who is he?" I asked.
"That's Shield the son of Shining Armor."
"Wait... he's royalty?"
"Yeah why?"
"I didn't expect royalty to be a guard."
"The hell do you think Shining is then?"
"Well... royalty who's job is to protect and work with the citizens."
"Key word there is protect."
"Well they would have the job of building an army to protect the citizens."'
"You just have an answer for damn everything don't you?"
"What's wrong?" Shield asked.
"Know it all over here." Shadow said.
"Just drop it Shadow, let's get a move on.'' We left the castle and took flight north. I began to question Shadows' definition of a slum but not too long after flying did the great big multi-story houses turn to really old sad looking huts.
"These are the slums! It doesn't look like it can get worse than this but it does!" Shadow yelled to me. Even though he was yelling it was hard to hear him.
"What are you guys doing about this?" I asked.
"We've got a team trying to find the root of the problem while we go and build better living spaces and more job opportunities!" Shield yelled. Shadow started to descend so I followed when we made it to the ground. Those who were around us made room.
"Stay behind me and watch your back, sometimes these guys can get rough. The place we're going is where we last got a report of him." Shadow said. As we walked through the street there were a few who gave us dirty looks but nothing more. It wasn't until we turned the corner to the housing that two ponies got in our way.
"You shouldn't be here." The blue one said.
"If you keep standing there you won't be here." Shadow replied.
"Is that a threat?" the blue one asked
"No..." he said with a smile crossing his face. "It's a promise."
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." The black one said.
"I can keep that promise better than you can keep your footing... watch." Shadow said, sending a pressure blast right to them. They lost their footing, falling over. This did not make them happy.
"If I were you I'd stay down. I don't really want to make you a wall ornament." they stayed down and we walked into the housing.
"Are you guys alright? I heard the commotion out there." The mare behind the counter asked.
"Yeah we're fine. Can you tell us where this guy has gone?" Shadow held up the Photo of Iron Wing. The mare reached below the counter and pulled out a set of keys.
"Room 12 he just made it in."
"Thank you." Shadow turned to me and gave me the keys.
"This is all you, we'll wait at the next closest door in case something happens." I walked to the door and knocked on it. No answer so I tried again and again.
"When can I just kick this door in?" I asked Shadow.
"I would have started with that." He replied. I then proceeded to full force buck this door in. The sound of the door hitting the wall on the other side of the room caused what was very clearly my son to come running out of another room.
"Dad?"
"Call me whatever you want but you can do it in prison." he turned around and ran straight for the window jumping through it.
"He's running." I yelled following him. He was very observant of his surroundings as I tried to hit him with just about anything I could get my magic on and nothing hit him.
"Shield!" Shadow yelled.
"On it!" He replied. A light blue wall popped up directly in front of Iron Wing and he slammed into it at full speed. I made no hesitation putting him in cuffs. I may have done bad but I told him from the beginning to always obey the laws. It sounded hypocritical but I didn't want him to become like me because once you do one bad thing the law is always looking for you and you're always on the run.
"I'm your son!"
"You may be my son but I tried to keep you from this. I didn't want you to become like me and now you know first hand why."
"This didn't have to happen! You didn't have to rob the bank!"
"I didn't rob it, I stopped it before it could finish."
"You still suffered the consequences."
"We all do, if not when we're alive then when we're dead but we all will."
"You're a hypocrite!"
"Am I? I told you not to do what I did and you saw why when I 'robbed' the bank but I turned it around and did what I told you to do which was to obey the laws."
"You still told me to do right while you blatantly disregarded it."
"And I'm sorry for that. I'm turning things around now."
"As much as I love to see the family reunion, we need to get a move on." Shield said.
"Let's get moving then." We made it back to the Crystal Empire and Iron Wing was taken to holding.
"What happens to him now?" I asked Shield.
"He'll go before Shining Armor and Cadance for trial."
"What do you think the verdict might be?"
He looked down and shook his head. "Well... we've never really had anything like this so..." he looked back up at me. "It'll be anywhere from life in prison to death." Death... it replayed in my head over and over again. Dead, gone forever, erased... at 17. |
Can't Look Past | You Thought I Was Good? | Shadow was pissed at me and I began to believe him when he said that I abandoned my son. As we walked past the many oak doors down the blue and purple colored crystalline halls to the front gates he stopped me.
"If we find your son you are arresting him. He was your responsibility and you dropped the ball now it's time to pick it back up."
"I don't know how to arrest anyone."
"You catch him, you cuff him, and you don't lose him that's how!"
"I never meant to make you mad, Shadow."
"I'll be less mad when you fix things with your son."
"Where are you guys headed off to?" A white pony asked. Shadow turned to face them and their happy curious demeanor changed to worried.
"We're going to search the slums for his son. You can come if you'd like."
"Ok give me just a second." He ran off back down the hall.
"Who is he?" I asked.
"That's Shield the son of Shining Armor."
"Wait... he's royalty?"
"Yeah why?"
"I didn't expect royalty to be a guard."
"The hell do you think Shining is then?"
"Well... royalty who's job is to protect and work with the citizens."
"Key word there is protect."
"Well they would have the job of building an army to protect the citizens."'
"You just have an answer for damn everything don't you?"
"What's wrong?" Shield asked.
"Know it all over here." Shadow said.
"Just drop it Shadow, let's get a move on.'' We left the castle and took flight north. I began to question Shadows' definition of a slum but not too long after flying did the great big multi-story houses turn to really old sad looking huts who's roofs were either crudely patched or tarped over. The common color theme was brown and the buildings were so closely stacked together it was a single file walking space. The actual roads weren't much better, maybe two or three pony's side by side. They were covered in trash and come to think of it there wasn't a tree or crystalline item in sight for what must've been miles.
"These are the slums! It doesn't look like it can get worse than this but it does!" Shadow yelled to me. Even though he was yelling it was hard to hear him.
"What are you guys doing about this?" I asked.
"We've got a team trying to find the root of the problem while we go and build better living spaces and more job opportunities!" Shield yelled. Shadow started to descend so I followed. When we made it to the ground, I immediately stepped on what I hoped was gum. Those who were around us made room.
"Stay behind me and watch your back, sometimes these guys can get rough. The place we're going is where we last got a report of him." Shadow said. As we walked through the street there were a few who gave us dirty looks but nothing more. It wasn't until we turned the corner to the housing that two ponies got in our way.
"You shouldn't be here." The blue one said.
"If you keep standing there you won't be here." Shadow replied.
"Is that a threat?" the blue one asked
"No..." he said with a smile crossing his face. "It's a promise."
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep." The black one said.
"I can keep that promise better than you can keep your footing... watch." Shadow said, sending a pressure blast right to them. The dost dirt and trash swirled around the small crack asphalt road. They lost their footing, falling over. This did not make them happy.
"If I were you I'd stay down. I don't really want to make you a wall ornament." they stayed down and we walked into the housing.
"Are you guys alright? I heard the commotion out there." The mare behind the counter asked.
"Yeah we're fine. Can you tell us where this guy has gone?" Shadow held up the Photo of Iron Wing. The mare reached below the counter and pulled out a set of keys.
"Room 12 he just made it in."
"Thank you." Shadow turned to me and gave me the keys.
"This is all you, we'll wait at the next closest door in case something happens." I walked to the door and knocked on it. No answer so I tried again and again.
"When can I just kick this door in?" I asked Shadow.
"I would have started with that." He replied. I then proceeded to full force buck the wooden door door in. The sound of the door hitting the maroon and tan duo-tone wall on the other side of the room caused what was very clearly my son to come running out of another room.
"Dad?"
"Call me whatever you want but you can do it in prison." he turned around and ran straight for the window jumping through it.
"He's running." I yelled following him. He was very observant of his surroundings as I tried to hit him with just about anything I could get my magic on: a planter, a garbage can, a sign, even a whole door and nothing hit him. I didn't stop until I heard a gunshot ring out. I immediately dropped to the floor and looked around. Shadow made the shot. I looked over and my son was on the ground. I immediately got up and ran to him.
"What was that for Shadow!" I yelled.
"He was getting away from us and nothing you did worked. It's a leg wound and he'll be fine."
"He's still my son!"
"Since when did you care!"
"When I found out he was still alive!"
"He's not dead, he's not even dying." he said as he looked down at my son.
"That doesn't matter!" I pushed him into the wall. "Shooting a pony should always be the last resort! I was keeping up with him just because your slow ass couldn't doesn't mean you shoot him! You put me at risk! What would've happened if your shot was off? You could have hit me or a civilian!"
"We are trained to shoot while running! I've never missed a running shot!" He shoved me back and I almost fell over on my son
"What if you killed him?!" I said pulling my gun on him.
"Clearly the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
"Hey! Put it down now!" I looked over to Shield who had his gun aimed at me. I hit the deck and shot at Shield hitting him directly in the chest before turning to Shadow and firing at him now with both of them immobile I could get back to what mattered the most.
"You cheat, you liar, you're no better than Sombra! We gave you... a new life and you've thrown it away! Shield said as he coughed the ground in front of his blood stained muzzle becoming peppered in red, not that it looked out of place.
"It was a hoax. Not only did the robbery go as planned but I just got rid of one of the major things slowing my drug trafficking. Now I'm rich and unopposed. Say hello to the rest of the guard for me... well if you get back." I lifted my son onto my back and walked past Shadow. I couldn't tell where I hit him but I couldn't see how I missed him. As I walked past Shield I did feel a little bad.
"You could've walked away from this kid."
"I plan to."
"You should stop planning and start doing." I kicked his 45 away from him. It scraped across the ground with a few sparks. His breathing was raspy it wouldn't be too long before he either couldn't breath or he didn't need to breath. It's a little sad he was only 19. I was unstoppable now. If I could kill Equestria's most renowned fighter, I could get away with anything. |
Kingdom in Peril | pre | "Well, that was mighty selfish of ya." AJ said.
"I know. That's why I'm going to be leaving the Crystal Empire and Ponyville. I suggest you so the same." I said as I headed out the door.
I walked down the hall and left the castle.
"Jet, wait!" I heard Dash behind me.
I turned and she stopped in front of me.
"Why did you lie to them?" She asked.
"Because, without Pinkie, we don't stand a chance against Sombra. I didn't want you to spend the rest of your life with your best friends hating and blaming you." I said as pulled her into a hug.
"Just go and escape with the others. Soon, there will be no Crystal Empire." I said.
"But, why are you leaving? Stay and escape with us." She said.
"I can't. The others don't want me in there. Not after what happened to Pinkie." I replied.
Dash started to cry.
"Ssh. It's okay. Just remember, we'll always have the memories we shared today." I said as I wiped her tears away and kissed her. |
Kingdom in Peril | Chapter 11 | "Please stay with me. I'll tell them the truth. I don't care if they hate me, I just want you to stay." She begged.
"I'm sorry, Dash. I can't. My superiors probably already know about us. Public displays of affection are strictly forbidden in the CF. I will most likely be transferred to the Appaloosa branch. That's where they send all the pegasi that break the rules and don't adhere to the specific rules of the CF." I said.
"Appaloosa?" She asked.
"Yea. It's a small town that's way out west in pioneer country." I replied.
"I know where that's at. AJ has family out there. So, I'll still get to see you." She said.
"Maybe. They may transfer me somewhere else though. They probably already know about AJ's family out there." I said.
"Please don't leave me. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you." She said.
"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do. But, I have to go." I said.
"Dash? C'mon. I'm going to teleport us back to Ponyville. Oh, you're still here." Twilight said.
"Please take good care of Dash for me." I said as I kissed her and pushed her into Twilight.
I walked away.
"Nooo! Let me go! Let... me... go!" Dash screamed from behind me.
I felt tears build up behind my eyes. I blinked them away and took off flying. The farther away I got, the more my heart hurt. As much as I couldn't bear to leave Dash behind, I knew I'd never see her again. My superiors would transfer me as far away from her as possible. Being a member of the CF had it's perks. I could become invisible at will, fly at supersonic speeds, wield any blade with deadly efficiency, and recover from a bullet wound over night. All these things were great. But, the single most important rule that they teach in the academy is this, 'Never give your heart out. Once you give your heart away, you are nothing more than a love sick fool.' I always thought this would be the easiest rule to follow, because you never really had to interact with people in my line of work.
"Jet! Help!" Dash screamed from somewhere behind me, snapping me out of my thoughts. |
Kingdom in Peril | Chapter 12 | I turned to see that just a few feet from the castle was Sombra. He stood there with his black hair blowing in the wind and his horn glowing a fierce red. In his silver armor and red cape. Even from this distance, I could feel the evil presence emitting from him. I saw that he was laughing at something, no someone. Dash was pinned against the side if the castle, just by the crystal heart, by her throat. The only thing I could think of was how much I wanted to hurt him. I pulled out my phone and made a call. Then, I flew as fast as I could toward him. My ears popped as a sonic boom went off. I flew straight at him and kicked him in the side. He tumbled down the street several feet as I caught Dash before she hit the ground. As I held her in my arms, she looked up at me with those beautiful magenta eyes.
"You came back." She said.
"I couldn't let that piece of unicorn scum hurt you. I may never get to see you again, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stand by and let you be hurt." I said.
"How sweet." Sombra said from behind me.
I put Dash down and turned toward him.
"You have no right to speak." I said.
"Ooh. I'm so scared. Please don't hurt me. Feh!" He said as he waved his hand at me.
He tried to use his horn, but it had been broken during his impact with the ground.
"You will pay for this. You vile piece of filth. I will leave enough life in your body for you to watch as I kill your beloved pegasus." He said.
"Come at me, brony." I said motioning with my hands.
He charged and I side stepped. He smashed face first into the castle door.
"Rargh! I'm going to kill you!" He yelled as he drew a giant purple crystal sword from his back.
I drew mine as he swung straight down at me. Blocked his blade with no effort. With a sharp thrust, I pushed his blade away and struck, catching his arm.
"Gah!" He yelled as my phone buzzed.
I didn't need to check it. He swung at my side, but, I parried his swing.
"I see we are evenly matched." He said.
"Actually, I'm just biding my time." I said as I kicked him out into the open.
"Now!" I yelled.
He was immediately hit by a blue beam of light.
"Agh!" He yelled as he dropped his sword.
The others stepped out of the castle and came over to me.
"We can't do this without Pinkie." Twilight said.
"I know. That's why she's back." I said.
"Where is she?" Twilight asked.
"Hi guys, I'm right here." She said from behind me.
"Gah! Damn it Pinkie." I said.
She looked different. Her hair was no longer puffy like normal. It was now just a straightened mass of pink.
"Pinkie, I'm sorry." Dash said.
"What are you apologizin' fer?" AJ asked.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, darling. This ruffian, on the other hand." Rarity said.
"No. He covered for me. I was the one that yelled at Pinkie to quit sticking her nose in everyone's business." Dash said.
"Is this true, Jet?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. It's true. I didn't want you guys to blame her for this. So, I took the blame. But, we can talk about this later. We need to help Cadence." I said.
"C'mon, Pinkie. We need you." I said.
"Why? So Dash can just yell at me again when I mess up?" Pinkie asked.
"No, I promise I won't yell at you ever again." Dash said.
"Pinkie promise?" She asked.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Dash said. |
Kingdom in Peril | Chapter 13 | Almost immediately, Pinkie's hair puffed back up and she hugged Dash.
"I knew you wouldn't stay mad at me!" Pinkie squealed.
"Alright, let's get this big meanie!" She yelled.
They got into position as I pulled up my mask. There was a bright glow surrounding them as they accessed their elements. After the glow receded, they stood there in golden armor. Each had a different stone embedded into the chest plate. Twilight's was a dark pink six-pointed star, AJ's an orange apple, Rarity's a purple diamond, Fluttershy's a light pink butterfly, Pinkie's a blue balloon, and Dash's a red lightning bolt. Together they fired different colored beams at Sombra. There was an explosion of magical power. After the dust settled, Sombra was on his knees. He was fading from smoke to his physical form.
"You will never truly destroy me. I will return." He said.
I drove my blade through his chest and removed my mask.
"Not this time." I said as I twisted the blade in his heart.
"Gah! How?" He asked as he slowly bled out.
"Dark magic absorbing blade. I told you I would make you pay for hurting Dash." I said as I removed the blade.
He collapsed onto the ground. I watched as the life drained from his eyes and his body turned to ash.
"It's over. We won." I said as I walked over to the others.
"You guys probably hate me for almost dooming the empire, huh?" Dash asked.
"Rainbow Dash, we could never hate you. You just made a mistake. It happens." Twilight said as she hugged Dash.
Their armor had already disappeared.
"Party time?" Pinkie asked.
"Yes, Pinkie. It's party time." I said.
"About damn time!" She yelled as she pulled out a cannon and fired it.
Streamers and balloons went everywhere. We partied in the castle for hours. Dash and I danced together and I had the time of my life. But, as the night drug on, I knew it was only temporary. After it was all done, I would have to report to HQ to be reassigned and I'd never get to see Dash again. At around midnight, everybody had crashed. I sneaked past everyone and headed for the door. As I was leaving, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Dash standing there.
"Do you really have to go?" She asked.
"I'm afraid so." I said.
"Can't you just stay?" She asked.
"I wish I could, but my superiors summoned me hours ago. I'm probably already in more trouble than anyone in the history of the CF." I said wiping her tears away.
I pulled the necklace I had on from out of shirt and unlatched it. It was a golden broad sword. I hung it around her neck.
"Here, as long as you have this, I will be with you." I said as I kissed her.
We stood there for a few minutes locked in each others embrace. Finally, I pulled away from her.
"Don't forget about me, my love." I said as I started to walk away.
"I'll never forget you." She said as I flew off into the night sky towards HQ. Knowing full well what awaited me there. |
Fight Dates | pre | Twilight was beginning to reach her limit too " oh ah yes! Cum inside!" She shouted.
The two climaxed together and collapsed on the grass as they panted. After about ten minutes of rest, Twilight got up and invited Alex in the house for some lemonade, which he accepted.
After using some healing spells, the two sat at the kitchen table. "So bookworm," Alex finally said "How are my stats looking now?"
Twilight smiled and drank some lemonade "Well counting me, you now have three wins under your belt, that means you're tied for loses. Now you just have one more fight."
Alex smiled and nodded as he drank his lemonade, the activity was coming to an end.
"Um Alex," Twilight began, blushing a little "How did I do?"
"Oh you were good Twi," Alex said absentmindedly. "You really held your own, and I'm proud that you.."
"Not that!" Twilight interrupted. "I mean...how was...the... you know."
Alex paused for a moment before he suddenly realized what she was asking. Suddenly things got awkward, none of the other girls had asked how well they did when they had sex with Alex, but here was Twilight asking him. He had to tread carefully.
"Well... um..." Alex began, trying to put his thoughts into words. " Well I mean...that is... you... um... you were definitely an experience?"
Twilight was not satisfied with that answer. "What's that supposed to mean? Was I a good experience, a bad experience? A meh experience? What is it?"
"Hell Twi I don't know," Alex spoke as he ran his hand through his hair. "I've had sex with six of you already, none of them ever asked me that, not even Dash."
Twilight nodded and sipped her lemonade, having a slight disappointed look in her face. There was a long silence in the kitchen
"Why are you suddenly so interested about it anyway?" Alex finally asked.
"I just..." Twilight paused for a moment "I just wanted to know that's all, I've never done the things I did to you before, I just wanted to know if I did good"
Alex looked at his brainy friend and smiled softly before sipping his lemonade. "You were good for a beginner." Then he smirked. "I mean who knew you could throw a good punch?" Twilight playfully whacked his arm.
The two finished their lemonades and Alex was about to head out when his phone vibrated again. He knew what this meant, this was it, the last fight, and he knew who was next. Taking the phone out of his pocket, Alex grimly looked at the text message.
Sunset Shimmer: Tomorrow, my place, you and me. Let's end this. |
Fight Dates | Sunset Shimmer and Aftermath | Sunset Shimmer sat in her living room at her house waiting for her opponent to show up. Like Fluttershy, she too lived on the outskirts of town, however it was more to be rid of nosey neighbors than to get closer to nature(Sunset loved her friends but even she needed alone time every now and again).
When Rainbow Dash had first suggested the activity during a get together at the mall, Sunset wasn't happy, she wasn't that person anymore and she said as much. When Dash clarified that they'd be fighting Alex instead of each other however, her tune changed.
Flashback
Sunset Shimmer was in the lunchroom as she grabbed Fluttershy by the front of your shirt, staring at her intently. The girl had the audacity to bump into her and spill food all over her shirt.
"Do you know how much this shirt cost me?!" Sunset furiously asked.
"I...um...I'm sorry...Sunset...um... I didn't mean to..." Fluttershy stuttered as she tried to look away from her tormentors' face.
"Um I uh um sorry." Sunset mocked, mimicking Fluttershy. "You will be when I'm done with you!" She rose her hand to slap the shy animal lover silly when another hand grabbed her wrist mid strike.
"She said sorry so Step off!" The voice belonging to the hand said. Sunset turned to see who was talking to. He was the same height as her with blue eyes and red hair.
Sunset glared at him as she wrenched her hand free from his grasp. Then she smirked "I've never seen you before, you new here?"
"Nope, I've just been below your radar up until now." The boy said, glaring at her.
"Then maybe you need a reminder that I can do what I want, when I want, and to whoever I want" Sunset said arrogantly.
"It's Whomever dumbass." The boy said. A chorus of 'oooooohs' echoed through the lunchroom as a crowd suddenly gathered around him and soon there were whispers in the crowd.
"Who's the idiot?"
"Does he realize who he's talking to?"
"This'll end bad, the poor guy."
"Oh I can't watch!"
Sunset went back to glaring at the boy, not since Trixie had a student dared to speak to her in such a disrespectful way. He needed to be dealt with.
"What's your name kid?" Sunset asked as she cracked her knuckles. "So I can etch it on your tombstone."
"I'm Alex Bronson" he said standing firm. "And if I were you I would worry less about my tombstone and more about your hospital bill."
While not showing it on the outside Sunset was shocked by his brazenness, this guy really did have a death wish. "Your going to fight me? Seriously?! You're going to fight a girl?!"
"No" Alex stated. "I'm going to fight a bully who likes picking on others who don't want to fight back" he then took off his jacket "so how's about taking on someone who will fight back Sunset Shitter?"
Ooohs turned into chants as soon the crowd began chanting 'fight' over and over again. Sunset angrily took off her leather jacket and was raising her fists when suddenly Fluttershy stood between the two.
"STOP!" She shouted, which surprised everyone in the cafeteria, including the two would-be combatants. "Please just stop!" Fluttershy started sobbing.
Alex looked at her "lady you need to get out of the way, I'm trying to help you."
"No! I won't let people get hurt because of my mistake!" Fluttershy sobbed. "I just... I just... it's unbearable to me!" Fluttershy kneeled down and sobbed as the crowd suddenly felt a wave of shame and guilt wash over them and soon began returning to their seats. Sunset was about to fight anyways when she saw Vice-Principal Luna enter the cafeteria, unaware of what had just happened.
Sunset put her coat back on and glared at Alex "This isn't over Bronson!" She whispered harshly "I will get you alone one of these days."
"I'm counting on it" Alex said back as the two glared at each other. Soon Sunset sat at her table while Alex comforted a weeping Fluttershy and had her sit with him at his table.
Flashback end
Sunset grimaced at the memory of that first meeting, they never did have that one on one brawl, anytime they were about to come to blows with each other a teacher would happen to pass by or some moralistic student would get between them.
It was even tougher after her reform, since they now had the same friends. The two now existed in a Cold War state, they would hang out with their friends but they wouldn't interact with each other personally. With this activity that Rainbow Dash had however, that all changed, now Sunset could fight Alex, what's more, she had the effective blessing of her friends.
Sunset now sat at the window, waiting for Alex to show up it's decided she thought as she waited. If I'm gonna clear the air with him for good, I have to be brutal with him, I have to be merciless with him I have to....be that person again one last time.
Alex walked up the path that led to Sunset Shimmer's house, this was it, the final fight. Alex would've been lying if he said he hadn't been waiting for this one, he was actually disappointed the fight hadn't happened sooner.
Alex was the kind of person who felt that the past should best be left in the past, he was not one to hold grudges. And yet with Sunset Shimmer, things got complicated. While Alex didn't hold her past against her(he also appreciated her part in defeating the Sirens), he felt that there was an uneasy tension between them, something that needed to be cleared up.
As Alex made his way to the door, he began prepping himself, cracking his knuckles and creaking his neck. If the text was anything to go by, Sunset wasn't going to waste time talking. He went up and rang the door bell, after several minutes Sunset opened the door and motioned him in.
Alex looked around the living room, it was nicely furnished with a big couch and a glass coffee table. Before he could even mention the decor Alex's jaw met the acquaintance of Sunset's fist. He fell against a wall as he got up clutching his jaw.
"Come on Bronson you and me!" Sunset challenged as she had already ditched her jacket and had an orange tank top on and was currently raising her fists.
"Ow a little warning would be.." before Alex could finished he just barely dodged another punch to the face before a second one struck his stomach, as he backed up Sunset continued her assault on him.
Alex blocked and dodged as many blows as he could, but quite a few were getting in. okay that's enough being defensive! Alex thought, and he soon stomped on Sunset's foot as hard as he could before slamming her jaw twice.
Sunset fell on the floor, first rubbing her feet, then her jaw. "You've got some power there." She said as she got up.
"I work out with Dash a lot." Alex responded "so Here we are, finally."
"Indeed" Sunset agreed. "No teacher s, no students, no cops, just you and me. Now let's see what you got!"
Alex immediately charged and Tackled his rival in the midsection, ramming her into the wall. He then began punching her stomach several times before Sunset slammed both fists onto his head. Alex fell on his knees covering his head, leaving Sunset to knee his face.
Alex fell on his back and his stomach became subject to a stomp from her foot before he grabbed it and pulled as hard as he could, causing the red head to fall on her back.
Taking advantage of the situation, Alex quickly straddled her and began pummeling her face. Sunset took hit after hit before grabbing his wrists and forcibly stood up as the two grappled. Finally they let go and circled around each other.
Alex moved first to try to punch her face before Sunset caught it and pulled him into a stomach punch. Then she bit his nose, earning a scream from her rival. To get her off him, Alex took both his fists and slammed her stomach, releasing her teeth's vice like grip on his nose.
The two backed up to catch their breath. Sunset rubbed her bruised face while Alex covered his bloody nose. "YOU BRUISED MY FACE!" Sunset shouted.
"YOU BIT MY NOSE!" Alex shot back
"YOU BRUISED MY FACE!"
"YOU BIT MY FUCKING NOSE!"
"Oh stop being baby!" Sunset spat as she rubbed her cheek. "It's not like you've never been bitten by a girl before!"
Alex blushed at the implication "Well at least when Rainbow did it she didn't make me bleed!"
"Bullshit!" Sunset exclaimed. "What do you call those fresh cuts on your lips?!"
"That's from you, dumbass!" Alex shot back. It wasn't a lie....mostly.
Sunset shook her head and charged and grabbed Alex's midsection and tried pushing him to the wall, but He was prepared and planted his feet firmly on the ground. He then shoved her off and moved fast, drilling her stomach some more.
Sunset retaliated with several jabs to Alex's already damaged nose. The two backed off for a moment before getting back into it, punching wherever they had openings.
After two hours the two were exhausted, bruised and bleeding and panting heavily.
"Had enough... Bronson?" Sunset managed to pant out.
"What's the matter...Sunset Shitter... you gettin sleepy?" Alex taunted in a tired voice.
With that both walked towards each other and stared intently at each other. Neither moving an inch and staring down at each other. After five minutes they both threw one last punch at each other.
CRACK!
Both fists found their mark, hitting their faces. Sunset fell on her back unconscious while Alex fell against the wall barely staying awake.
"Ha" he said weakly. "I win the challenge yaaaaaaaaaaaok I'm sleepy" and blackness overtook him.
Alex woke up in a bed, a bed that wasn't his. Rubbing his head he turned to see Sunset Shimmer sitting next to him. "Oh your awake." She stated.
Alex rubbed his face and groaned. "How long was..."
"You've been unconscious for about half an hour that I've been up. I decided to take us somewhere comfortable, so I took us to my room. Here" she handed Alex some ointment. "I bandaged your nose and this will help your bruises heal."
Alex took the ointment and started rubbing it on his face and stomach. "Soooooooo." He finally said. "Does this mean..."
"I'm giving the victory to you" Sunset cut in. "You were out longer, but I konked out first so you win." As she said this she looked at Alex who wasn't smiling or sad. "Um didn't you here me? You won."
"I know" Alex said. "I just hope now that we've cleared the air we can stop this Cold War bs and be friends."
Sunset nodded. "Yeah...we're good...." Sunset looked at Alex and bit her lower lip. "Soooooo... I know after the fights you..."
"I don't want to if you don't" Alex cut in. "I'm not going to force it and you're not obligated to do it with me."
Sunset nodded. "That's fine." She then lay on her back next to him "You couldn't handle me anyway."
Alex rolled his eyes " don't flatter yourself, I've got all the excitement I need with Rainbow Dash." He turned towards Sunset and saw she had a competitive look in her eyes. "Hold up Sunset, Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not saying.."
"Not saying what Alex?" she said with a mischievous tone. "You think I couldn't give you as much excitement as RD?" Sunset soon straddled Alex's pelvis and began moving her hips "you sure about that?"
Alex fought back a groan as she continued grinding him, a tent quickly forming in his pants. Unable to contain himself, Alex sat himself up and pressed his lips against Sunset's.
Suddenly she broke the kiss and slapped him. "I didn't say you could kiss me" she said. After pausing for a moment, she kissed him back with passion.
Alex soon broke the kiss and slapped her back. "First off your grinding me without permission and second off I didn't say you could kiss me either."
"So we're at an impasse" Sunset stated. "You think you can take me on?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing" Alex said mischievously.
"Bring it on." Sunset challenged. Not needing anymore prompting, Alex French kissed her passionately, leaning over her until he was on top. Not wanting to stay on the bottom, Sunset rolled around to switch spots, soon the two former rivals were competing for dominance all the while kissing. Finally breaking the kiss for air, Sunset finally managed to switch positions, then took off Alex's pants and underwear before taking off her's as well.
"I think we can skip foreplay don't you?" She asked. Alex nodded his head and soon the redhead sunk deep onto his shaft, bouncing up and down.
"Aaaah! Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah oh yeah ah ah ah ah ah I can see what the girls are talking about ah ah ah!" She moaned as she rode him.
"Oh! Ah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah I aim to please hah hah hah!" Alex grunted back.
The two continued the ride hard for a good hour before they both reached their limit and climaxed on top of each other. After a silent smile and nod from both of them, they fell asleep.
Two weeks had passed since the last fight and Alex was called to Rainbow's house. Opening the door, he soon found all the Mane Seven sitting on the couch and staring at him.
"Uh hello ladies" said Alex, confused at their looks. "What's up? Is something wrong?"
"No babe it's not that" Rainbow reassured. " it's actually something amazing if you're interested in trying "
Applejack spoke up. "Alex, we all wanna be your girlfriends."
Rarity cleared her throat "yes well I wouldn't have put it so bluntly, but yes Alex we would like to date you."
Alex was stunned a little by this. It was every boys fantasy to have a harem, and that fantasy was becoming a reality. "Are you girls sure? I mean..."
"Yes we're sure" Twilight interjected. "Besides you essentially stuck your Penis into every single one of us, it'd be kind of a dick move, no pun intended, to leave us all high and dry after that."
"YEAH!" Pinkie Pie shouted "I MEAN DON'T TELL ME YOU FORGOT OUR FUN DAY TOGETHER NOW WE CAN HAVE ONE EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT AND OTHERS WILL JOIN ON THE FUN GAAAAAAAAAASSSSSP HEY! GIRLS WE COULD HAVE A GOOD OLD FASHIONED OR...." She suddenly paused for a second before she looked around and realized she wasn't using her inside voice. "I mean heh heh, it'd be super duper fun" she finished quietly.
Fluttershy next spoke up. "I think it would be wonderful... um... that is.. if you want to"
"What's the matter Bronson?" Sunset Shimmer said mischievously " don't think you can handle us?"
Alex looked at Rainbow Dash. "I won't do it if You're not ok with it Sweetie."
Rainbow smiled a cocky grin "I don't mind sharing, it could be fun." With her acknowledgment, Alex nodded his head in agreement, eliciting a cheer from the girls.
"Now that that's settled.." Rainbow walked up to Alex and French kissed him passionately. "Buckle up big boy your in for one hell of a pounding" she licked her lips and the other girls had a hungry look in their eyes.
Alex gulped. what the hell have I gotten myself into? He was about to have one hell of a day. |
Prince Luna Straight Drownin' In Mares | pre | "Perhaps We shall undertake that sojourn soon!" he considered. It was all he could to not just devolve into gibbering at the sight of Pinkie's steamy nethers. His finger started out balanced on his plush lips, but the monarch's digit soon slipped between his kissables for a suckling.
Luna had a mystified, intrigued look, wondering how encyclopaedic Pinkie's Sex-Lexicon actually was. "But first, we would entreat you to handle this one for Us! Take a seat, dear Bonbon."
He beckoned Bonbon onto Pinkie Pie's lap, the filly placing herself across the pink-haired pony's thighs, arms wrapped around Pinkie's neck like a pair of sweet, sweet lovers.
Pinkie kissed her on the forehead and giggled. "Hi!"
She soon cottoned on and gripped Bonbon's behind firmly, pulling her buttcheeks apart and in so doing giving Luna full view and access.
"She's primed and ready for the rocketship, Prince-y!" Pinkie managed, before her words dissolved into another fit of giggles. A firm slap-crack to Bonbon's rear was soon in the mix.
How could the prince ever resist such an inviting display? He moved up onto his knees and shifted forwards until his member connected with Bonbon's plump labia. Prince Luna speared straight ahead, letting out a gasp as he bottomed out.
"Yes! Simply incredible! This pleases your Prince muchly!" Luna threw his head back, tossing a sparkling cascade of waist-length moonbeams as he began moving back and forth inside Bonbon, Pinkie's cheers just faintly audible from under the other girl's chest. She could've gone on like that for some time if he hadn't popped free of Bonbon and pushed directly into a gooey hot Pie right after, making her tongue pop out. "Eeeee! He's inside me!"
While he was hard at work trying on both their pussies, the two girls began softly kissing each other, getting to know each other a little better. In between kisses, they crooned soft words to each other, giggling and blushing and glancing back at him sometimes. Mostly they just moaned and panted as their three bodies gently rocked together on the couch, both of the beautiful ponies itching to get filled up.
They could have been locked together like that for some time, if not for the other ponies already beginning to grow impatient again. As the press of bodies came in front behind, Pinkie Pie ended up on her back with a squeal, Bonbon on top of her, and Luna supporting himself with a hand on her big cream butt!
Luna's other hand was indisposed at the moment: While he'd been distracted with Bonbon's tight pussy, the ever-vigilant Cheerilee had snuck in by his side, taking his free hand and pushing it up against her bosom, inviting him to have a feel.
"We can't have you getting so caught up with these two you forget there's other ponies patiently waiting their turn, now can we?" she asked, cupping him by the back of the head and gently pushing his face between her breasts. He licked and suckled at her bosom like a baby.
With that wild music pumping in his ears, Luna once again found himself looking around the room. Every which way he looked, there were girls. Packs of moaning, squealing harem-girls.
Even not accommodating for the ten or so ponies on the couch with him, there were another 40 or so dotted around the room, dancing or... In many cases, just paired off with another girl and grinding and rubbing on other couches together. It made his head spin to think he could have walked over and dangled his cock over any of them and instantly had a warm, wet mouth take him in all the way to the tonsils. Any of them.
Vinyl and Octavia were sitting on a couch, trading lipstick-smears, the lovers as intimate together as they would have been at home, even if they were just waiting their turns for the bull. When they saw him looking, Vinyl flipped a carefree salute while Octavia hooked a finger in her lingerie bottoms and waggled it enticingly. "Just say the word," they seemed to say.
Rainbow Dash was laying on her stomach a few couches away, halfway through a tall drink. When she saw him looking, she first grinned ear to ear, then rolled all the way over onto her back, throwing those plump little breasts topside. The multi-coloured strobe lights played over her stiff nipples and the bright-blue flesh. It was like being nude for him was the most natural and harmless thing in the world.
Luna kept looking in-between suckles at Cheerilee's chest, finding even more ponies looking his way. Applejack tipped her hat to him and played with her overalls enough to flash a large, brown nipple his way. The younger girls fresh out of school were gathered on the floor in a circle, playing with each other, drinking expensive drinks and just chit-chatting half out of their clothes.
Girls were everywhere. His girls. He was going to listen to every last beautiful pony in this room sing his praises in their sweet voices while they locked their legs behind his butt and invited him to kiss their wombs. These dirty girls had come here in droves to have their minds melted and to get filled up with happiness. They loved sex and cumming and breeding too much to want to live normal lives anymore!
As if his low-hanging nuts had been crying out for attention as a result of all these naughty thoughts, two ponies who might just have been Twilight Sparkle and Derpy Hooves affixed their lips to them, both planting sucks and kisses on a nut each. More tongues were on the move right after, and Luna could feel girls tasting and feeling him all over.
"Darling," sang Rarity in his left ear.
"Lover," cooed Trixie in the other.
The pair had both taken up a spot on each of his shoulders, kissing him when he wasn't sucking Cheerilee's breasts. "You're doing a marvellous job so far, we have to say," giggled Rarity."
"Even Trixie has to agree there!" agreed the other Unicorn, swatting Bonbon's upraised rear with the wand from her costume.
"But you know," coddled Rarity, "There's still lots of ponies demanding some attention!"
Trixie leaned in to chew his bottom lip vivaciously. Her rumpled hair fell over her face and she tossed it back with a laugh. "And by attention, you must know we mean that lurid black pole you've got for stirring fleshpots down there."
Rarity turned her body until she was resting her breasts on him, a movement Trixie soon followed. "Taking your time is all well and good, but you should really finish up with these two. You've still got sooo many more pony pussies to fill up! So... If you want to be a good boy, and I'm suuure you do, finish up, mm?"
Trixie nodded, massaging his chest with her heavy sky-blue orbs. They were both pushing down on him like they wanted to pin him, both chewing his lips and trading saliva with him and each other in a little kiss-fest. "The sooner you get through the common rabble, the sooner you'll have the opportunity to unload inside a certain elegant, dazzling big-titty witch, mmhmhm."
"Trixie!" giggled Rarity, playfully slapping the other girl. "I hope we've gotten your head back in the game, darling little Prince," said Rarity, before they pushed him firmly back towards Bonbon, who'd been passing him back and forth with Pinkie and squeezing her puss around his dick this whole time!
He was dragged from his reverie and back to the pussy at hand. It was getting harder to focus. Harder to think. It felt like his higher brain functions were leaving him until all he could think about was the next pussy.
Twilight and Derpy suddenly felt his balls tighten up majestically, and both girls began gulping their throats, massaging his seed-pods extra hard, extra-insistently.
He must have been making such a face as he poured his semen deep inside Bonbon. Rarity looked torn between amusement and sympathy, struggling to keep a smile off of her features and failing as he wrung out every last drop of his volley deep inside of the beautiful pony.
"Good boy, good boy," Rarity cooed in his ear, and even in his haze, Prince Luna was aware of Trixie pinching his volatile cock with thumb and forefinger and threading it through the needle of Pinkie's pussy.
He arched his back, kissed Bonbon with all his love, and began letting a second ejaculation flow into Pinkie Pie, his seed very intent on having a fun party with her gooey eggs.
Trixie and Rarity raised their hands and both clapped once, a signal for the other girls to gather round as Luna eased down onto his back on the couch. Soon, both those upper-class snootsters were perched over him, rubbing their hands together in glee.
Without so much as a word, Rarity sat down directly in his lap, wriggling those wide hips around until her completely bare ass was nestled against his lap. She peeled her pastie all the way off and propped her bare pussy up against Luna's cock. The very large, masculine-looking cock was waiting for a taste of her, very at odds with its diminutive owner's small body. "Mm... It's about time these two got more acquainted, my dear Prince!"
Just like that, his lap was overflowing with soft, jiggly assflesh. There was just no possible way to keep his eyes to himself, and they were soon roving downwards, almost of their own accord, to travel over the very prominent, curvaceous swell of hips that must have been ordained by Gods. His right hand grabbed flower-smelling, baby-soft peach-ass, fingers sinking into that creamy booty.
"By the Moon..." he managed to get out, stroking up and down her rump, walking his fingers along her skin. With a small snicker, Rarity squirmed back against Luna's lap, her hips wriggling back and forth quickly to grind both of those plush, finely-perfumed cheeks against the hands now starting to wander upon it, fingers leaving little more than brief fingerprints that quickly left her taut, flawless skin. Her body arched, pushing that bubbly, heart-shaped bottom further back against him; she leaned forward and gripped his shoulders to keep herself steady.
He tugged her sweater up the small of her back slowly with his non-groping hand. Her back was just as silky-smooth as her ass once that curious hand started to drag her garments upwards. He rubbed his cheek up and down her chest, breathing hot air that tickled her flesh, rapidly losing his cool amongst the female pleasures she was puttin' out for him.
His hands on her body began to get a little more frantic... He placed both hands on her waist, then ran them down to her hips, then up around, stroking her skin just for the satisfaction of touching her, all while bringing the red, engorged head of that plump rod closer to the hot spot between her thighs.
His natural inclination was to hilt in her naughty, tight puss right away. With another snicker, Rarity leaned forward, offering her body for him to touch and rub as much as he wanted, even reaching down and lifting her sweater further upwards, giving him access to the tight, slender plane of her belly and both of her perky tits. She just barely raised it until it exposed the little candy-pops of her areola. She leaned backwards, perfectly lining up the tip of his cock with her lower lips.
"Pull me down already!"
That look in her eyes was one he was still getting used to. Luna had never whipped out that strong, twitching piece of cock in front of any girls until now, and her response was... intoxicating! She was looking at him like he was a man and it made him want to act like one. That slightly curved cock was dark and plump, especially around the fat, plum-shaped head that looked like it could scratch her insides nicely. The throbbing hot rod sat atop a large, sperm-stuffed nutsack. It was so vibrant and meaty and hard-looking!
"Mmmn, y-yes," he huffed, a ragged tone entering his voice. She felt him grab her hips much more possessively now, tightening his fingers around her lower body, both thumbs sinking into her ass to steady her. His growing need to fuck her right then and there was out of control. He drew her body back into him, touching his pricktip to her pussy lips, then shifting his left hand to rest on her tummy. He pulled her in, inch after inch sliding into Rarity's body. "Ghhaaahhh... By all Equestria, this pussy is too devilish! Do you seekest to enslave your Prince with this Tartarus-born chamber?"
It already felt like she was clamping and sucking and squeezing him, trying to make him cum as quick as possible. Rarity was goading him to do her. She was like a ravenous animal guided by the heat between her thighs. "Master..." she whispered softly to him. "Master, mmhmhm, you look like you're positively itching to shoot. Royalty or no, I know that look in a stallion's eye."
"Well, I insist you, sweetie~ Even if the other girls can't manage it, you can, nnm, hilt inside of me and cum as much as you want," she mewled.
Prince Luna arched his back and did just that. He surrendered to the urge to cum and filled Rarity's pussy to the brim, riding out one of the strongest orgasms of his life. This too-perfect Unicorn had given herself to him. Rarity wrung the virile sperm from his balls, her pussy feeling like the tightest, hottest one yet! His current situation of living as a sperm-dispenser was something every colt in the world dreamed of, and had he not been the prince of the Moon, he'd be convinced this was in fact just that, a dream.
As soon as Rarity was taken care of and moved aside, Gilda, Derpy, and Fluttershy rushed to fill up the space she'd left behind. Smoosh! Endless waves of creamy, multi-coloured titflesh smothered around Luna's cock, soaking it in their magical breasts, setting off a million tingling pinpricks of pleasure. They rubbed his belly and made love to his dick with their boobs, stroking them up and down the shaft.
"You better save some for us, dweeb," hissed Gilda, right before she dropped both of her heavy breasts on his face and squawked her approval of the tongue-lashing he gave her.
Trixie gave a low, rolling "Prrrr," flickering her tongue against her velvety lower lip. She slinked down to her knees, loooowering herself down until her massive, tightly-packed udders were wobbling in front of Luna's face. In response, his urethra suddenly peeled back to let out a huge glob of semen which dripped onto the couch.
The bad-girl sorceress slipped the tip of her tongue up between her teeth and luscious lip, probing carefully from one side of her mouth to the other. Luna's entire body was delightful. He had the gentle, svelte body of a curvy, cute boy, with a smoothness that was lovely to behold.
Beneath her, the prince was having much the same thoughts about the wizard. What a body she had! He could appreciate it all over again, moving towards full-bitch in heat mode just looking at Trixie's perfectly formed assets and realizing he'd get to breed with her. His small hands reached out for her body, laying gently on the mature woman's hips, stroking up and down them. He pressed his naked body up against that steel costume, the root of his dick touching up against the crotch of Trixie's suit.
"Mmph... By royal decree, unshoulder your clothes and let Us touch bare flesh! This garment has grown unsightly in our eyes! Begone at once, traitorous clothes, for we crave the flesh of Trixie!" He wiped a trickle of drool from her chin, then looked up to meet the mercenary gal's eye. "At once!"
Trixie pursed her lips and blew a soft hush of air over Luna's neck and shoulder, not even needing to take her hands off of the Prince's cute, small body to remove her own suit, pulling it all off until her enormous blue breasts jiggled free, gleaming with a thin coat of sweat. Goodness gracious, what a luscious, fat, delicious-looking pair of tits! The breast-addicted Prince just wanted to curl up in her lap and suck. Trixie's toned tummy tensed against Luna's chest while that smooth cock nuzzled almost all the way up into Trixie's pillowy underboob. She lightly swung her chest lazily against Luna's face.
The other girls playing with Luna's cock were so transfixed by it they didn't even notice Trixie sitting her maternal hips down on the tip of his rod. She sank down the shaft with a whorish moan, trapping their breasts in place! She sat on them as she rolled her hips like a pro, tickling all her best spots with Luna's dick and, most of all, teasing his tip with her unprotected depths.
"Good boy," she murmured, petting Luna's beautiful silky hair, entrapping his enormous shaft and helping it to grind up inside of her. The two rocked gently together.
Luna was just the kind of boy who was perfect for Trixie. He was spoilt beyond belief, so it only made sense he'd be happiest with a thick, curvaceous woman who would pamper and pleasure him. The luscious, slender Prince cooed against Trixie's body. His wet tongue snaked out of his mouth freely and lapped at Trixie's tit as she arched her back to give him better access.
Eventually, the tension and pleasure was too much for him and the prince started moving faster, holding her tightly as his fat, drooling dick was massaged by her insides. Luna's super-pampered cock was getting ready to shoot, its owner aware that it was going to get whatever it wanted from now on.
Burying his cock deep in Trixie's pussy was all it took to drive Luna over the edge. The prince with the meaty dick stuck out his tongue and cried out, before he unloaded, shot after shot of semen splashing inside of Trixie, painting her insides white. It was another immense load, the entirety of his shaft hilted deep in Trixie as his little body squirmed against her larger one. "Uuu..."
The great and powerful pony slid off, mumbling something about not being beaten so easily, even if the spunk oozing from her slit and the way the ponies tugging her off of him told a different story!
With them out of the way, Gilda and her group was next, and the griffon made no effort to hide that she sure as hell was going first! The others knew that trying to stop her was a bad idea, and obediently moved aside, watching slack-jawed and wanting as his penis was gobbled up again!
Rather than just mount the prince, Gilda grabbed Luna by the legs and hoisted them all the way up, until only Luna's shoulders were still on the couch. She bent him over, so he was kicking in the air, each movement making that big cock slap his thighs with loud claps and plaps. In this obscene position, Gilda grabbed the royal shaft, gave it a few playful strokes, and then lined it up with her naughty sleeve. She paused with him held like that. She was daring anyone to step in and stop her.
When the ponies continued to watch in silence, she took him deep inside of herself. She didn't show any reaction to the penetration besides a light blush, although it might just be stoicism! She was trembling soon enough, panting and huffing as she rode him. With her hands now both free she grabbed the prince by the ankles and started moving herself up and down, letting him gaze up at her face and her massive chest while she rode.
Derpy and Fluttershy watched Gilda tearing into their monarch with quite some concern painted on their faces. And they weren't the only ones: as that cackling griffon twisted him this way and that, wrestling Luna's sore cock around to scratch every inner angle of her needy, beastly core, many of the ponies looked on sympathetically! Of course, this sort of thing was normal for hot and horny Griffon gals like her, but they could still feel concern for their cute little ruler! Gilda would bully him within an inch of his existence if it meant she got his life-giving fluids packed away inside her womb.
"Listen here, dweeb," she barked at Luna, leering at him and cracking a smirk. "I'm the only representative of the whole entire Griffon race here right now, so you better believe I ain't gonna stand by and let some hat-stitchin' floozy be the only one to guzzle at the well of spunk! You're gonna... hoooooo fuck that's good!... you're gonna hand that white stuff over or I'll really gonna get mean!"
Fluttershy leaned over his face and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, followed a few seconds later by Derpy on the other side. "Just try to bear with it, Master," huffed the girl still in her playboy bunny outfit, running her fingertips over his forehead and planting a wet kiss there. "We're so impressed you're really going to take all of us on..."
She leaned right up to his ear and whispered with a smile: "You're such a little stud!"
Derpy nodded, clapping her hands together and setting those big boobs-a-jigglin'. She was wearing a pervy mail-gal outfit, with the top few buttons popped off and tons of cleavage spilling out. The grey-haired pony had originally arrived in the village by accident after mistakenly delivering some mail here, but then she saw everyone else hopping onto Prince Luna and as far as she was concerned, she wasn't leaving till she got to see what all the fuss was about! Besides, it's not like he wasn't a little cutie and all. She nudged Fluttershy and gave her a little wall-eyed wink.
"Ooh! Ooh! Yes, of course, I almost forgot, umm... Luna! Luna, are you alright?"
The little monarch had drifted away mid-sentence. Gilda was lifting her butt off of his ass every few seconds, easing that cock all the way out, then ruthlessly sitting down on him with a loud clap! She was the one fucking him, just about, and she didn't seem like she'd be happy until she'd milked the Prince for every last drop of his sticky hot spunk!
He was panting, drooling, a total mess... Derpy and Fluttershy looked up at that maniacal griffon, lost in her own power fantasies of dominating poor Prince Luna, and Fluttershy squeaked. "She's so dominant! Mmn... Mmn... It's not fair that she's the only feeling good, especially when it's so... Uhm, so hot to watch!"
"I'm sorry, Prince Luna!"
Seeming to reach a decision, the pair moved quickly, rising up and slapping those grey'n'yellow booties together. Both girls took turns planting their big, soft rears onto Luna's face, feeding him their dripping pussies, helping him ease off the tension in his cock by driving both of them to trembling, flushed release. Gilda didn't waste much longer either. It was almost as if hearing the other two girls tightening up around his tongue pushed her over the edge, her contracting folds milking another load out of Luna. All three girls collapsed on him in a big heap, half pony and half griffon.
Despite having squirted huge, thick, hot loads of spunk deep inside Coco, Bonbon, Pinkie, Rarity, Trixie, and now Gilda, the forest of waiting, cock-lusting sex-sleeves surrounding Prince Luna didn't seem to have thinned out at all. He'd put a small dent in it, at least, but the moans of bitches were still as thick as ever. He couldn't give up... He had to keep going!
"Gilda, that was cruel!" gasped Twilight, turning her eyes towards where the griffon was laying on her back, the prince tucked into the crook of her arm.
The naughty beast-gal just smirked and yanked him in, burying his face in her fluffy breasts. "He'll be fine... I feel more sorry for what the rest of you are gonna do to him after he made you all wait so long! Haw haw haw!"
Fluttershy gently tugged Luna away from Gilda's breasts, instead inviting him to come and snuggle between her whoppers. Despite his somewhat traumatic experience, the little Prince was still lively, and it only took a few moments of him butting his head against the front of Fluttershy's leotard before she blushed bright-red and tugged it down, revealing her nipples. Thick, whitish fluid ran from them down the big round globes. Her soft motherly breasts appropriately contained milk! "Here you are, sweetie."
"Mmmn... Fluttershy, We thank you for the fruitful bounty you have..." He paused to take a few noisy suckles from her chest, and when he raised his head, his lips were dripping white fluid. "... You have bestowed on us in our time of need."
"Y-You're welcome! I'm sooo happy to serve!" the fruit-flavoured, extra-girly pony gushed, before hooking a hand around the back of his neck and insistently drawing him back to her chest. "Drink up, sweetie."
While Fluttershy hogged the adorable prince to herself, the other ponies were on the move, gathering around. There wasn't any need to be any intimidated by Gilda anymore, now that she'd rather conveniently rolled off the couch and passed out, snoring loudly.
"Why don't we give him a little break," insisted Fluttershy, lifting her eyes to the other girls nearby. "Let's all help our prince recover from such a nasty, scary experience. Mm?"Sure enough, Luna's little face starting to regain some of the colour Gilda had pounded out of him earlier, his lips locked tightly around a nipple. And his oversized member was slowly stirring back to life!
After a bit of whispering between the group of curvy girls, Applejack, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia sunk down on their knees, placing their respective sets of boobs around the cock, firmly enveloping it in the soft, heavenly flesh.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy's personal space started getting crowded, as yet more girls joined them on the couch. She turned his head a little bit so the back of his head was using her bust as a pillow, just in time for other ponies to press their bosoms into his face as well. One by one, they presented breasts to the young prince, offering them up for suction purposes. Fluttershy placed both hands on his head as Cheerilee's purple tits swung into view. Her voice came out in a gentle whisper, leaving his ears sizzling as if she'd lashed them with her tongue. "We're all so impressed you were able to satisfy six girls already... Even that big, mean Gilda!"
She pushed him forwards, until his nose collided with Cheerilee's tits, rubbing him from side to side in them. He let himself be moved, his tongue inching out to snatch licks of the schoolteacher's body. Cheerilee pressed forwards until he was smothered between the pair.
"But there's still lots more ponies to go! I know you can do it, Master, we all do! We're absolutely counting on you..." Fluttershy was interrupted as Rainbow Dash and her smirk appeared over the four tits wrapped around his face, her own blue rack swooping in. Fluttershy turned his head slightly and deposited him in the smooshy cloud-like bosom, until Rainbow's skin was shiny with his saliva. He was passed from one chest to the next, bouncing between breasts.
"That's right! We really do need you to focus all of your strength on, mm, making us gravid and heavy with your children. The more pregnant you can make us, the better!" said Twilight in his ear, adding a fourth and final set of purple breasts to the six already smothering him. Now all any of them could glimpse of him was the Prince's star-specked mane, a little tuft of hair rising out from the middle of their multi-coloured bosoms.
"He's trapped now!" laughed Rainbow.
"Certainly looks like he's fighting to get out..." agreed Twilight. "Just look at that cock!"
She was right. Luna's cock had never been so big and hard! The blue-hued speedster smirked as she eyeballed it voraciously. "After a pep talk like that, can you blame him?"
Fluttershy just placed a hand on top of his head, helping him get comfy. "Mm, such a good boy... Even with so many breasts in his face, he's trying to lick all of us..."
Luna felt something tugging on both of his arms, and upon closer inspection he found that Derpy and Lyra had placed themselves on either side of him, with his hand firmly settled on a boob each.
"Just try your best, Prince Luna," continued Fluttershy. "We all believe in you! And we'll be cheering for you and your big, masculine cock! Heehee!"
Cheerilee flushed bright red, bobbing her breasts against Flutter's rack. "Language, darling!"
"Oopsy... I guess my lips got a little, mmn, loose looking at that... Ahhh... That hard dick..."
There were so many lusty mares gathered here, all urging him to seed them with their inviting bosoms. Powerful, feminine scents continued to fill the air. As delightful as Fluttershy's breasts were, Luna had more lovely ladies to attend to, and he soon switched to Twilight, then to Cheerilee... Whoever got her breasts within mouth's reach got them suckled!
Soon enough his cock had once again risen fully, the massive tool starting to drool its fertile juices all over the three sets of breasts currently assaulting it from every side.
Four ponies smothering his face in their busts, three more ponies smothering his cock in six heavy, swollen tits and a final two massaging his forearms with their bosoms, letting his hands wander wherever they pleased. Luna was in Heaven. He arched his back, let out a silky-throated little mewl and spunked up a huge load all over Vinyl's visor, causing the mare to gently tug it down long enough to swirl her tongue over the rim. Applejack and Octavia leaned forward, farmhand and cellist united in their need to guzzle Luna's spunk. Luna gurgled and eased back onto Fluttershy's chest, momentarily overwhelmed by the tide of females looming over him.
"I reckon our little pardner's all tuckered out," laughed Applejack, and Twilight lifted her head from where she'd been kissing and licking their little Prince's face.
"Mm, you might be right, Applejack! Why don't we change things up a little bit for him?" The girls cheered, quickly making preparations for the next stage of their little party.
When Prince Luna came to, he was on his back on the floor, completely naked now. His little dress-shirt was long gone, and his elegant slippers were missing as well. But there wasn't really much time to think about that... Not when he took into account the vista looming over him!
Butts! Bare pony butts of each shape, size and colour were positioned over him, a ring of six girls squatting over him and his penis. They were all quivering slightly, raising and lowering with slight movements of the girl's knees and repositioning of their feet, all poised like adders waiting to strike. In forming a ring around him like this, they were all so close together that some of them were touching, meaning he wouldn't have been able to escape if he'd wanted to! Between each thick pair of thighs there was a wet, sticky pussy, left positively dripping after having had to wait so long for a taste of the royal pole!
He looked around the circle, gazing from one huge pair of cheeks to the next. The first was a tight little blue ass that was toned to Tartarus and back, half-covered in wings, but with the familiar lightning bolt and cloud Cutie Mark just barely visible. Rainbow Dash! Next was an incredibly large pair of wobbling, jiggling cheeks, well-maintained from sitting on her ass allll day long, with a pattern of blooming flowers up the side. That one had to belong to Cheerilee.
Lyra's butt... He'd already seen plenty of that today after she'd sat on his face, but now that harp-adorned pussy and butt was going to wrap him up nice'n'tight! A familiar pink rear with butterflies on the hip came next, Fluttershy, followed by a Clef-butt. Octavia must have felt she was well-overdue for some spunk already, enough to leave Vinyl behind, because the last position was taken up by the one who'd organized this little get-together of six pussies and one penis: the fat purple butt of one greedy-pussied Twilight Sparkle, her need for spunk having finally overwhelmed her.
"Alright, girls! Ten thrusts and then pass it on! Are we ready?"
A chorus of giggles was all the response Twilight needed before she suddenly and very rapidly gripped Luna's thick thigh and sat herself down on his lap. Well, "sitting" might've sounded more dignified than what she really did. It was more like the nerdy girl squatted over him until the tip of his bare penis grazed her pussy, then she let out the sluttiest moan he'd ever heard and swung her ass up and down like crazy! He was almost glad he couldn't see the filthy expression on her face, because it must have been absurd judging by the sounds she was making! Her reddened pussy looked insatiably hungry, and every suck of her inner folds was like getting a handjob from a semen-crazed deviant!
She was true to her word, however: after ten tip to base thrusts, she eased off of him on wobbling legs. He had all of a second of cool air on his cock before Cheerilee rose up and moved in, first prodding her engorged labia with the tip, then feasting on his cock with her insides. Up and down, up and down, ten smooth thrusts then out again. The other girls were panting, watching awkwardly, waiting for their turn. Everyone else thrust in at the same time, causing a collection of butts to smoosh tightly together around Luna's cock. The battering back and forth, and the needy cries, showed their arrangement might not last through their heat... Until Fluttershy finally won out with a gratified sigh.
"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh! Oh! Oh!" The yellow hips were a blur as she made the absolute most of her ten short twerks on him.
Fluttershy had a body built for sex, but she could get off embarrassingly quickly... She could barely focus on pleasuring Luna when she was so close to having a mind-melting orgasm of her own! Despite that, her big booty, her wobbling juggs... It was driving Luna wild, her tight, constricting pussy squeezing him in just the right way as her ass jumped up and down. After a mere three thrusts, he was already approaching the edge, and the next two made his cock gush into the timid pony. Fluttershy could definitely feel it, as the next thrusts were aided by her hips gyrating around, until she reached the tenth.
Fluttershy sighed and started lifting herself up, but Luna would have none of it. Pulling her down, Luna locked his arms around her, and then she felt it. That unmistakable feeling of a cock's head puffing up and then the spunk she'd dreamed of shooting off inside of her, wave after wave. She'd served a male with her body! She felt so happy!
Splatter after splatter of fertile seed plastered her inner walls, until Luna let go of her. With a wet 'schlorp', Fluttershy rose off the prince, her face as red as a tomato, and stumbled onto one of the few couches that were still unoccupied.
Luna got next to no time to recover though, as his member was assaulted by pussy after pussy, each one sopping wet and waiting for him to slip inside.
The very second that Fluttershy stumbled away, Vinyl had scooted in to join the circle, parking her meaty thick hindquarters and a pussy so pink it glowed on the tip of Luna's pole. She let out an earthshaking groan as she rode him all the way down to the base.
With the other ponies cheering the DJ on, she put her hands on her knees and started rotating her hips in circles, coaxing Luna stiff again in seconds. She was like the living embodiment of the music pumping in their ears and the glowing lights adorning the walls, grinning back at him as she milked that pole for all it was worth.
As soon as Vinyl had arrived, she was gone again, leaving his pole up for whoever wanted it. Lyra and Rainbow Dash shared a cheeky smile, then interlaced their fingers with each other, pressing their backs together and bringing a double-pussy down on Luna. He got one sharp thrust in Dash, then one in Lyra, bottoming out in their snapping pussy-traps rapidly and without even the briefest pause in-between. Both girls arched their backs and shrieked, barely audible over the building music.
Cheerilee sat on him shyly and moved her hips only slightly. It took some goading from the others to get her really moving, the embarrassing sex position having the schoolteacher almost paralyzed. But once she was off, she wanted to get right back on again!
The prince was so dizzy and frantic by the time Octavia came around, all it took was two thrusts and he was whitewashing the insides of her pussy with a groan. She gasped and arched her back, not wanting a drop to spill. She was torn between wanting to thank him for the treasured semen and slapping him for cumming so quickly! She fell back onto her butt, groaning and pushing his precious white goop inside of herself. She had to conceive his child as soon as possible, it simply wouldn't do to have Vinyl knocked up before her, even if only by a few seconds!
Luna was getting dizzy. The kaleidoscope of different-coloured pony butts was getting harder and harder to follow. Where had he cum last? He lolled out of consciousness momentarily, and when the little Prince came to, Lyra and Applejack standing over him, sharing some of the naughtiest smiles he'd seen yet!
The blonde turned away from the couch and walked to the buffet table, each click-clack of her high heels on the tiled floor making the twin meteors she carried in back bounce. Applejack came back with a pair of squirt bottles and tossed one to Lyra.
They both planted a spike-heeled boot on either side of the couch, shared a grin, then upturned the bottles and began squirting Luna with them!
At first he raised his hands, trying to keep the stuff out of his eyes and mouth, but Applejack took one of Luna's slender wrists and pulled his arm to the side. The next time a little went in his mouth, he tasted it... And he realized they were coating him in baby oil!
Satisfied that he was bathed in a gooey layer of the stuff, they dropped the bottles on the couch on either side of him. Both sexpots put a knee on the cushions and grabbed hold of Luna's small body, beginning to slowly and steadily rub the oil into his flesh, giving his legs and belly lots of playful slaps as they worked. Their eyes flickered up at each other, Applejack tugging the shoulder strap of her costume aside, freeing two extremely heavy, bouncing bosoms to the cool air. One set of tits went on his face, the other went on the back of his head.
A squirt bottle was thrust into his fingers, and Luna did the only thing that felt natural: upended it onto Applejack's gigantic rack and squeezed until those cow udders with the big brown nipples were glowing and shiny. She looked like she'd just run a marathon.
The couch was beginning to feel very crowded as his face was pushed into one rack after the other, made to kiss one warm pair of lips and then immediately traded to the next wriggling tongue. His only respite seemed to be that the girls were almost as interested in each other as him, with the occasional lesbian kiss giving his tired body time to relax.
Eventually, they decided it was time for him to continue ejaculating inside their steamy sex-sleeves. Lyra went first, laying Luna on his back on the couch. That naughty green pony closed her hands around his feet and pushed his legs all the way back until his ebony toes were tucked just behind his ears. She took his hands and got him to hold his own feet in this super-exposed, lewd pose. The drooling pervert licked her lips and climbed on, having made a super-easy target of the Prince's oil-dripping stiffy.
Lyra sat on Luna's crotch and pinned his hips down, going at him Amazon-style. Each thrust of her thick hips drove his stiffy all the way inside. She curled her lower body, striking glancing blows to her own insides that made her cry out and moan, while he was held down and used like a sex toy! Luna didn't last more than a few minutes before he shot off deep inside! Lyra let out a keening wail, biting her lip as her pussy shuddered in pleasure all over his shaft like she'd been in heat the whole time.
"Haaah... Your turn, Applejack," she said, raising a hand and tagging the other girl in like this was a wrestling match.
"Yeehaw!" whooped the country gal as she got down on her hands and knees in front of the couch, planting that enormous rear right on his lap. It took the blonde even less time to get him inside, Reverse-Amazon this time, with each thud of her plump ass down onto his lap sending ripples through the flesh from top to bottom, graduating into aftershocks that kept that meaty booty rippling even when she raised it.
His slippery, dripping body made it so easy for the sex-crazed country pervert to rub back and forth on his baby-maker, those quaking cheeks gliding along his tender, well-oiled flesh. Luna squirmed, panted, moaned and shook under her, until a second load was graciously donated to the Apple Family! She arched her back, lolled her tongue, and let out a whorish moan of total satisfaction!
As soon as they were done, Derpy was on him. The grey mare with the plus-sized booty sat on top of him, kissed him and then promptly fell asleep in his lap. Oh no! Well, at least that gave him more time to take care of everyone else.
The crowd of horny ponies was thinning. Bit by bit, pussy by pussy.
With most of the girls spread out across the room, either sleeping, gasping for air, or jamming their fingers into themselves as they continued spectating the show, Luna was down to just 4 lovely ladies, but all of them seemed equally determined to be next! However, just like his job entailed, he wanted to keep balance in this breeding festival as well.
"Twilight Sparkle, approach us! We have chosen you to be the next to supplicate before us!" It was as if a totally different side of him was starting to show, eager to show the world that the prince had what it took to become a king.
With a sultry grin to the other three girls, Twilight Sparkle quickly got on top of Luna, taking her sweet time as she slid down the sizeable member, letting out deeply satisfied moans and gasps. She was confident she'd be able to milk Luna in just those ten thrusts, despite the fact that her mate was still recovering from Applejack's prior insemination.
"Thank you, Prince Luna! It's a great hooooooonour!" the Princess moaned, her feisty eggs clamouring inside of her to get knocked up!
Of course, this was no time for the other girls to just enjoy themselves, no, the primary focus was to make the prince feel as good as possible, and after waiting for just a few mere seconds, Rainbow Dash and Vinyl seized Twilight by her extra-thick thighs and lifted her up. They'd meant to push her back down, but that sizable lower body had some strength to it. She squirmed against their grip, stirring Luna's dick in her dewy honeypot at the same time, pressuring him with her cervix.
"Alright alright, I'll g-get to it!" Twilight gasped. As promised, Twilight started riding Luna faster, pricking his cock with her super-silkiness, clearing up to her eighth thrust in a matter of seconds, beginning to slow down.
Her entire body was trembling as she lifted herself up, and had gravity not been there to aid her, she wasn't sure she could've forced herself down again. As soon as her ass slapped firmly against Luna's thighs, she came. The pervy bookworm collapsed onto his lap and moaned and moaned and moaned like a naughty, cock-obsessed mare in heat. Which, coincidentally, she was. Just as she was about to continue, hoping that the final thrust would have Luna blow his load, Rainbow Dash and Vinyl were there, much too impatient to wait for the purple unicorn to get back to work!
Hoisted off! Tossed to one side like forgotten garbage! Twilight was a tad grumpy as she was removed, and who could blame her? But she soon regained her cheerfulness as she watched Luna work the last three girls starting with Cheerilee, who got a pussyful of equine seed after just three thrusts. Unlike Twilight, she actually got to finish her turn!
Right after, it was Rainbow Dash, but she didn't do it alone. Vinyl joined her on top of Luna, and the two mares shared a few deeply intense kisses as Rainbow Dash used her athletic body to squeeze the prince just the right way. With two such gorgeous mares making out on top of him, how could he not blow his load right away? And as if the speed wasn't enough, this was also quite clearly the largest shot of the night thus far.
Vinyl was quick to capitalize on that fact, and with a skilled movement, she slipped the shaft from Rainbow Dash into herself, not even spilling a drop from the still-shooting shaft, a trick she'd picked up from countless threeways with Octavia! The DJ already got her fill, but she still took her ten thrusts, and then dismounted, pulling Rainbow Dash with her. ---
With a reddened and raw cock, Prince Luna finally collapsed to the floor, sitting against the foot of one of the velvet couches dotting the room, and let out a little whimper of relief. The party was still going on all around him, some girls dancing under the lights, others drinking and eating themselves silly, but it looked like the demand for royal cum had finally, finally died down.
He sat on his sore, tired butt and whimpered, almost afraid to touch his cock for fear it might spring to life again and drive his tired body towards more pussies doused in smelly female hormones. He sighed and looked around the immediate vicinity, gazing upon creampied pussies as far as the eye could see.
"Not bad for a first night!" giggled Twilight, sitting down on the couch with her feet in his lap. She gave him a naughty tease, peppering the head of his penis with toe-prods.
She adjusted her nipple-baring top for almost no gain, just as much of her perky pink was exposed afterwards as before.
"The task before Us seems nearly insurmountable! Every which way we cast our gaze, more ponies urgently await us, with thighs parted and tongues extended!" he groaned, looking up at her. "Our resolve is being sorely tested, Twilight Sparkle!"
"Mmm, poor baby..." she crooned, before slipping off the couch. Twilight straddled little Luna, throwing a thigh over him, and cupped his small face in her purple hands. "You really did impress us. Not many stallions can say they pleasured fourteen ponies in one night, you know! Especially not ones as small as you. Your heart must be going like a hamster's right now!"
He flushed. Before he knew it, the prince's hands had found purchase on Twilight's large rear end, splayed out across the upper curves of her ass. "Mmm. Our first priority is always the ponies of Equestria. Yourself included, young scholar, We must sincerely apologize for overlooking you so callously."
She smiled. "You're welcome to make amends for that right now, my Prince."
She leaned in and pecked him on the lips. A short, short kiss. It turned into a full-blown make-out session almost immediately. "I've always admired you, you know. Ever since that first Nightmare Night when we met, I've looked up to you just like I have Celestia, even if I haven't shown it quite so much."
She dipped in for more kisses. "Your thirst for knowledge and mastery of magic led to you transforming into Nightmare Moon, but... Well, mm, sometimes that's the risk you run!" She gave him a sultry li'l wink. "Even what we're doing right now is a little risky. It's not a safe day for me today, you know~"
"And yet you speakest of something else?" he asked.
She nodded as she cupped his plump balls, weighing them and finding them still quite large and full. He had so much untapped potential. Twilight guided Luna's flared head towards her love-nest. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sensation of Luna's big penis entering her, savouring every second of it. In the middle of Luna's sex-crazed breeding ground, the two ponies took a different tact to the preceding events: they slowly and passionately made love with each other. "Of course. Celestia believes you lost control of the magic of the moon because you were tempted and led down the path of darkness. Evil forces were whispering in your ear and promising they'd give you things you didn't have."
"So you are suggesting to Us that you ponies are simply a diversion? Playthings to keep Us occupied?"
"Noooot exactly. We all have a naughty side inside of us. Something that urges us to do bad things to others, like hurt them. That bad side is part of who you are, we're not here to distract you from it. No, more like... We want you to experience it more. We want you in touch with your, mm, 'inner' Nightmare Moon. You understand?"
She planted a light smooch on his nose. They were moving together now, having a casual conversation while his cocktip kissed her cervix. Her womb lowered to receive its bounty. "That's the part of you we want to nurture. We want to, ahhhn, plant that seed of darkness inside of you and help it grow."Twilight ran her fingers through his Princely mane, the purple tresses shifting with all the stars that hung in the sky. As she moved her fingers through those silky Heavens, she intimately felt the magic flowing through his body.
She adored him. So loving. So caring. "Do you understand? Safe, controlled excess. Like how my pussy is dealing with all your 'excess' right now, oh Celestia..." The lovely, brilliant, unspeakably lewd scholar-princess drew out that last invocation of his sister's name into a long, breathless gasp as his pussy-pleaser found an as-yet-unused fold inside of her. It took a few more thrusts before she felt ready to continue.
"The point is... Mmmn, some ponies LIKE that. Some of us are happy being, nnnnm, slaves. So when you're all back and, nnnm, BIG and all, oh my gosh, hold me..." Her pussy pulled and sucked and milked at his royal, his divine cum-dispenser with desperate need.
All big and mean and all-powerful, nnnnmmm!! When you're a God that towers over us tiny little mares like we're nothing... Oh, I'm cumming, I'm cumming!"
She locked her legs together and clutched his neck with both hands as she rocked back and forth on top of him, riding out her orgasm with rolling eyes and tongue extended. With a howl of pleasure, his voice hoarse from a whole night of pleasure and debauchery, the Prince's regal testicles unloaded inside. She dropped her head onto Luna's shoulder, slavering at the feeling of his cock filling her up, her eggs being ravished by sperm, leaving her a panting, bred mess. "Oooh... Mmm. When that day comes, haaah... You can be as mean to us as you want, and we'll thank you and beg for more. Because..."
Twilight kissed him on the mouth, then bit his bottom lip and tugged it out with her as she drew all the way back. She released him with a nerdy little grunt. The beautiful mare looked drugged on his taste, her eyes hooded and her mouth a narrow, confused slit. "Because we're yours. We're the harem of Nightmare Moon."
She kissed him, once, submissively, right on the lips. "And from this moment forth, the night will last forever."
A knot had formed in Luna's stomach as Twilight had spoken about his destiny, but after that hushed declaration, it seemed to finally unwind. As her head lay on his shoulder, Prince Luna realized that he didn't need to be afraid of himself anymore. He loved these women, scattered around him in varying degrees of fucked-out bliss, and they loved him. Loved him enough to become his possessions.
He was, after all, royalty. What prince would give up what was rightfully his?
As he put a possessive arm around the princess, Luna looked past Twilight's head to see Zecora approaching them with a sway in her hips. The zebra was holding a pair of drinks and grinning ear to ear, and, slowly, the prince returned her expression. The night wasn't quite over yet. |
Friendship is Magic (and also cupcakes) | pre | And in spite of the late hour, Twilight found that she didn't hate it. Even when she accidentally pinned the tail on the wrong wall entirely.
"Well, that explains your giggles," she said flatly as she pulled the blindfold off.
The Birthday Pony managed to get her next tail on the flank. "Eee!" she cheered, jumping and spinning once in place in celebration.
Spike held out his claw for a bump. She didn't recognize this at first, but she quickly figured it out, which made her even happier.
"Ok, that was a little fun," Twilight conceded.
"Mm-hm," Spike agreed.
The bat pony giggled, then looked up at the moon. She winced. "Eee," she murmured softly, taking a slight step back.
Twilight looked up but didn't see anything.
Spike figured it out first. "Do you need to leave?" he guessed.
She nodded regretfully.
"Yeah, we should probably get to sleep," Twilight agreed. She glanced at the clock and winced, too. It was late.
She pushed open the window, paused to retrieve a pair of cupcakes from her mane, left them on the bedside table, and then disappeared into the night.
"Tomorrow," Twilight said shortly, cutting off Spike's question.
Spike didn't push back, but that might have also been because he yawned. "Maybe friendship isn't so bad," Spike floated as he climbed back into his basket.
Twilight threw a pillow in his general direction, but she couldn't suppress a little smile. |
Friendship is Magic (and also cupcakes) | Chapter 7 | Twilight flipped through the next book. She glanced over at the calendar and quickly looked back, hoping she would find something about Nightmare Moon or the Elements of Harmony before the Summer Sun Celebration in two days.
And then she stopped. There was a drawing of Nightmare Moon, with bats around her.
Twilight paused and reread it. There wasn't much description. Just that it was said she was attended by bats.
She'd flipped a few pages before something else occurred to her. Could that mean bat ponies? Everlasting night would fit right in with a nocturnal species. She needed to ask.
She glanced outside, and her first Birthday Pony hypothesis came floating back into her mind. Normally, she wouldn't think much about it. But she was running out of time, and desperate times called for desperate measures. Even if Celestia didn't believe her, she knew she was right.
Twilight knocked on the door of Sugarcube Corner.
"I hope you're right about this," Spike mumbled, clearly concerned about offending the ponies who ran the only bakery in town.
"Honestly, me too," Twilight murmured back.
The door eventually opened. "Oh, Twilight," Mrs. Cake said, surprised. "It's... rather late."
"I know. I was hoping you could tell me a little more about the Birthday Pony."
"There's not much to tell," Mrs. Cake said with a little chuckle. "If you're new in town or it's your birthday, she'll leave you a cake."
"But why a cake?" Twilight asked.
Mrs. Cake shrugged. "Ponies like cake," she said simply. "But then again, I am a little biased," she added, gesturing towards her cutie mark, the trio of cupcakes.
"I'm sure there's more to it," Twilight pressed.
"Maybe," Mrs. Cake said evasively. "I'm sure we could discuss this more later. Or earlier, I suppose." She made to shut the door.
Twilight teleported past her and inside the bakery. "Mrs. Cake, please," she said, hoping she sounded completely sure of herself. "You don't need to be so evasive when we both know she's here now."
Mrs. Cake laughed, and this time it sounded confident enough that Twilight felt a slight twitch of hesitation. "She certainly is not," she said.
Twilight inhaled, trying to think of some way she could salvage this, but the next thing she knew, she'd been tackled to the ground.
And the pony they'd just been discussing was on top of her. "Eee!" she cheered, rubbing the top of her head against Twilight's cheek.
"Well, now she is," Mrs. Cake amended.
The Birthday Pony nearly dragged her over to the table and pushed a cupcake from somewhere into her hoof. Spike got one as well, which he gleefully bit into.
"She must really like you," Mrs. Cake said, a little amused. "She's not usually one for letting anypony else know she exists. She must think you're a good friend."
Twilight felt a slight pang of guilt, because she was mostly hoping for information tonight. Friendship hadn't really occurred to her. "So, uh, how did you meet her?" she asked, hoping for a distraction.
"We found Pinkie outside one night," she explained. "We think she came through the Everfree Forest, because she was injured, exhausted, and starving. We nursed her back to health." She smiled a pained smile. "Apparently, pink isn't a popular color for bat ponies."
Pinkie shook her head, a wry smile flitting across her face.
"She limped down the stairs the first night. She shouldn't have been up..." here she gave Pinkie a motherly look, and she grinned innocently. Now her fangs were really visible, and they looked cute, somehow. "...but she smelled our baking and she got curious. She watched for those first two nights, and then she wanted to help. She seemed to have a nose for it."
Pinkie nodded happily.
"She adapted quickly, and became a big help in the kitchen. She was very quiet. She didn't seem to understand money, but she liked fruit. She helped test that new fruit tart.
"And then one day, I slipped and sprained a hoof. There was no way I could make a cake on time, let alone do a delivery across town, so I had to turn down an order.
"That didn't sit too well with her. So she baked a cake herself, on her own, I might add, and delivered it. She didn't want to be seen. How a bright pink pony made it across town while holding a cake I'll never know."
Twilight glanced over.
Pinkie put on an innocent smile and looked up. If there was an explanation, she wasn't going to give it.
"That's where the rumors started. Cakes appearing, mysteriously. She thought it was fun and did it again, and again. They kept spreading over time, and we just never said anything."
"Doesn't that get a little costly?" Twilight asked.
Spike glared at her, feeling like she was missing the point here.
"A little," Mrs. Cake conceded, "but I noticed we're selling more sheet cakes and cupcakes since she's started doing it. I think ponies like sharing something good."
"And this is good," Spike said, licking the frosting off his claw.
Pinkie beamed.
"So," Twilight said, looking for an escape. "Do you want to come over and play a game or something?"
Pinkie nodded eagerly. She glanced over at Mrs. Cake, as if asking for permission.
She shrugged easily and smiled. "Have fun," she said.
Pinkie gave Mrs. Cake an affectionate nuzzle as well, and with a cheerful "Eee!", disappeared into the night.
"So, what game do you want to play?" Spike asked.
Twilight paused. "I didn't think that far ahead," she admitted. She paused. "And she's right behind me, isn't she?"
Spike nodded.
Sure enough, Pinkie stood there, smiling expectantly.
Twilight smiled sheepishly.
Thankfully, Spike had an idea. "How about Go fish?" he suggested, retrieving an old deck of cards from a library desk.
Pinkie cocked her head. "Ee?" she asked.
Spike tapped on the table three times. "Any threes?"
Her ears pricked and she sat down excitedly. She could play!
Twilight tried not to look too impatient as Spike dealt the cards. When it was her turn, she looked at Pinkie. "Actually, I was hoping I could ask you something else. What do you know about Nightmare Moon?"
Pinkie flinched. She closed the distance between them almost instantly, placed her hoof on Twilight's mouth, and shook her head slowly, looking uncharacteristically serious.
Twilight hesitated. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it hadn't been this. She didn't know Pinkie very well, but this seemed unlike her.
And then, as soon as it had happened, it was over. Pinkie was all smiles again. She looked at Spike and tapped five times hopefully, to which he scoffed and slid the card over.
Twilight felt there was more to this, and faked a large yawn. "I think this is our last game," she said, even though they had barely started their first game. "Gotta get enough sleep for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow."
Pinkie scrunched up her face like she'd just eaten a lemon. Apparently, she didn't care much for the sun.
Spike narrowed his eyes, knowing Twilight was just trying to get rid of her, but he didn't say anything.
The game soon finished, and as Twilight climbed into bed, she looked up at the sky. "'Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night'," she repeated. "I hope it really is just an old pony tale."
Twilight burst into the library, her heart pounding in her chest. Nightmare Moon had returned, just like she knew she would! And she still had no idea how to stop her because she didn't know what the Elements of Harmony were!
She paused just long enough to make sure Spike was safe in bed before rushing back out. Desperately, she pulled books off the shelves, hoping to find something she'd missed.
Then, the door burst open. "How did you know who she was?" Rainbow Dash demanded, getting up into Twilight's face. "Are you a spy?"
Applejack yanked her back. "Simmer down, Rainbow," she said. "I don't think she's a spy." She looked over at Twilight. "But I do think she knows what's going on," she said pointedly.
"I read about her. Nightmare Moon. The legends said she would return after a thousand years, attended by bats, but I think that could mean bat ponies."
"What's a bat pony?" Rainbow asked.
Thump!
Pinkie landed on the table next to the bust statue, her leathery wings spread. She was clearly apprehensive, her tail flicked nervously and her fluffy ears were almost vibrating, but she was here and clearly determined to be a part of this.
For a moment, nopony moved.
"That," Twilight finally said. "That is a bat pony."
Fluttershy fainted. |
Friendship is Magic (and also cupcakes) | Chapter 8 | Rainbow flew up into her face. "Are you a spy?" she demanded.
"She's not a spy either... I don't think," she added under her breath. "She's the Birthday Pony."
There was a brief pause.
"I knew you were real!" Rainbow said, grabbing her in a tight hug, one Pinkie gleefully returned, before Rainbow realized how uncool this might look and quickly pulled back with a sheepish smile.
Pinkie glanced between them all and seemed to relax a little bit as they looked at her with less animosity and more curiosity.
"Alright," Applejack said gamely. "You know us, let's get to know you. What's your name?"
"Eeeee," she sang.
Applejack's brow furrowed. Her mouth opened and then closed, unsure how to even start to make a sound like that.
"I'm.... not sure what that means, but she answers to 'Pinkie'," Twilight explained.
Pinkie nodded.
Fluttershy had recovered. Now awake and very curious, she neared and looked at her wings. "I'm no expert on bats," she said, "but your wings look very long. You probably have a great wing loading ratio. I can also see that you have long and pointed wingtips. Your morphological design probably means you're a fast flier, right?"
There was a brief pause.
Pinkie flapped her wings. "Ee," she said blithely, clearly not understanding a word Fluttershy had just said.
"We can study batticus poniecus later," Twilight said, realizing as she said it how unlike her it was. "Right now, we have a bigger problem on our hooves. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!"
There was a soft thump.
Pinkie had knocked a book off the shelf, looking somewhat like an enormous pink cat, and she was smiling expectantly.
"Pinkie," Twilight grumbled as she lit her horn and slid it back on the shelf.
Pinkie met her eyes, narrowed hers slightly, and deliberately knocked the book off again. "Eee," she said.
"Pinkie, stop doing that," Twilight said, picking the book up. She paused as the cover caught her eye. "Wait. 'The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide'," she read, astounded. "How did you-?"
"Eee," Pinkie explained with a smile, tapping the spine.
Twilight scowled, unsure how she hadn't found this book in all her searching, but she quickly brushed it off. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now-"
"The Everfree Forest?"
The gathered ponies stared. The Everfree Forest seemed to stare back.
Pinkie bounced forward, crossing the threshold. She smiled and gestured with her head that they should follow.
"I don't think so," Twilight said, lighting her horn and pulling her back out. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own."
Applejack chortled. "No can do, sugarcube. We sure ain't letting any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone."
Twilight didn't think they were quite to 'friends' yet, but she didn't feel like fighting it, so with a sigh, she started walking.
Rarity sighed. "No. My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck." She paused as she realized that the whole forest had suddenly grown darker. "Well, I didn't mean that literally," she amended.
Twilight glanced around. It had gotten really dark really fast, and after the cliff and the manticore, she wasn't looking for any new surprises. She lit her horn, but there was only so much her light could do. It almost seemed like this darkness was magical, somehow.
Or maybe it was just the forest. As they kept walking, it felt like they were being watched. Even the trees seemed to be...
No, that one looked real. Too real!
The ponies screamed. Scary faces peered out from the forest, the bark becoming open mouths with sharp, pointed teeth; branches becoming spindly arms reaching out to grab little ponies and take them away, and that looked like... a pony doing a headstand?
Twilight swung her horn around to illuminate it better and sure enough, it was Pinkie. "Pinkie?!"
Pinkie giggled and dropped back to the ground. With an out-of-place and cheerful "Eee!", she bounced around the group, bobbing her head.
"What are you doing?" Twilight demanded. "Run!"
But Pinkie had no intention of doing that. Instead, she pulled a silly face at the nearest tree, flipped over to stick her tongue out at another, and then pulled a cupcake from... somewhere, and kicked it, making it arc in the air before splattering another tree with frosting.
Rainbow chuckled, and that cracked the ice. Soon, everypony was laughing at Pinkie's antics. Twilight rolled her eyes, but she had to admit that she did seem to brighten the path a little bit, and the trees looked like regular trees once again, and the atmosphere seemed to lighten again.
The Castle of the Two Sisters loomed in front of them.
"We made it," Twilight said as she climbed the steps. That journey had taken a long time. It seemed like every one of these ponies had had to solve a problem tonight.
"But we're not out of the woods yet," Applejack said. "Uh, metaphorically speaking, I mean."
"Right. We still need to find the Elements, and we're not even sure what they look like."
"I don't know," Rainbow said. "It'd be cool if we just walked in and they were just sitting there, you know?"
Twilight pushed open the door. "Huh," she said slowly, as they looked at the Elements sitting there.
There was a brief pause.
"It'd be cool if Spitfire invited me to join the Wonderbolts, right here, right now," Rainbow said quickly, looking around as if hoping that would miraculously happen, too.
Applejack bumped her with her elbow.
The three ponies with wings flew up to retrieve them.
"Careful," Twilight warned.
"Eee," Pinkie said nervously, looking at the gathered orbs.
Rainbow noticed what she'd seen. "There are only five. Where's number six?"
Twilight nodded. "The book said that when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed." She lit her horn. "I'm not sure what that means, but I'm going to try some magic."
"Just to clarify," Rarity, the other unicorn of the group, interjected daintily. "You're about to cast magic on an unknown artifact and you have no idea how it's going to respond?"
Twilight winced. "Oh. Right. Uh, stand back, everypony?"
Applejack led the way out, giving Twilight room to work.
Pinkie looked at Applejack. "Ee?" she asked hopefully, picking up her hooves and placing them down again in the same spots.
"Are you asking if she'll be ok?" Applejack guessed.
Pinkie nodded.
"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be-"
A burst of magic rocked the night, and light flashed.
"Twilight!" |
Friendship is Magic (and also cupcakes) | Chapter 9 | Twilight stared in shock as the shards of the Elements fell around Nightmare Moon's hooves. "N- no," she breathed. "Where's the sixth Element?"
Nightmare Moon laughed and lit her horn. She launched a burst of magic at Twilight, who teleported out of the way, but she fired again, this time at the ceiling. Rocks fell, and Twilight found herself trapped.
But as she lit her horn to return fire, the sound of voices made her look back. The other ponies approached, eager to help. As Applejack started to pull the rocks down, Pinkie flew in front of Twilight.
Nightmare Moon's eyes widened. "Oh, one of my noctrali."
Pinkie crouched. She was clearly quivering, but stood strong.
"Good." She gestured towards Twilight. "Take her down," she ordered.
Pinkie shook her head. "Eeee," she said softly.
"What was that?" Nightmare Moon asked, her voice dangerously quiet.
"Eeee," Pinkie repeated, a bit more firmly this time, placing her hoof down firmly.
"You'd stand against me?" Nightmare Moon said, affronted. "How dare you! I gave you life! The noctrali belong to me!"
"Eee!" Pinkie retorted, and she pulled a cupcake from her mane and threw it at her, sticking her tongue out.
"Where are you getting all of those?" Twilight had to ask.
But Nightmare Moon had another trick in store. She lit her horn and began to chant. Her voice seemed to carry a haunting aura.
Pinkie suddenly bent over, shaking her head, as if trying to shake off the song. Her eyes flickered purple, and she turned around to face Twilight, ears pinned, teeth bared.
"What are you doing to her?" Rarity demanded.
"Nothing," she said innocently. "She was born to serve me. The noctrali are my soldiers, my servants, my teeth in-"
But she didn't get much further than that, because a sizable rock bounced off her helmet, throwing off her concentration.
Applejack pawed at the ground; it had been she that had bucked the rock. "Let her go!"
Nightmare Moon gestured with her head, and Pinkie leaped away from Twilight and tackled Applejack. She snapped at Applejack, teeth flashing, and Applejack pushed up, keeping her face away.
"Hey now," Applejack protested. "It's me! I'm your friend! Honest!"
Honesty...
Rainbow Dash swooped in, knocking Pinkie away. She crouched in front of Applejack, wings flared defensively. "Come on, Pinks," she urged. "Fight it! I know you're in there and I'm not giving up on you."
Loyalty...
"That's it," Twilight realized, looking over at the ponies... at her friends. "Those weren't the Elements! They're not rocks, they're you!"
"Us?" Rarity asked.
Twilight quickly recounted their experiences in the forest, lining out how they had embodied the Elements.
"Touching," Nightmare Moon said coldly. "But that's still only five, and your little spark didn't work."
"Is it?" Twilight challenged. "Because I felt it. I'm feeling it now." She looked at her friends, even Pinkie. "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. And that friendship is magic!"
The Elements suddenly burst into colors. The shattered Element rocks swirled around the five ponies, washing the room with light and color, and breaking her hold on Pinkie instantly. A new orb formed, the missing Element of Magic, and swirled around Twilight.
"No!" Nightmare Moon cried, but it was too late. The rainbow of light erupted upwards and then bent down, surrounding Nightmare Moon. There was a burst of color, and then everything went white.
Applejack was the first to sit up. "Everypony alright?" she asked.
Pinkie sat up, rubbing painfully at her eyes. That had been bright!
"Rarity, it's beautiful," Fluttershy said.
Rarity waved her newly-restored tail happily. "I know! I'll never part with it again."
"No, your necklace. It matches your cutie mark." She looked at Pinkie. "Yours does, too!"
Pinkie looked down and her ears pricked as she realized what Fluttershy was talking about. "Eee," she purred with no small pride, looking down at the blue gem on her chest and gently buffing it with a hoof.
"Huh," Applejack said, examining her own. "I guess you were right. I guess we really do represent the Elements of Harmony."
"You certainly do," another voice broke in.
And then the room brightened further as Princess Celestia appeared. The ponies bowed.
"I knew you could do it," she said warmly.
"I thought you said it was an old pony's tale," Twilight said.
"I said you needed to make friends," Celestia said gently. "And Twilight, you succeeded, just like I knew you would. I knew you had the magic inside you, but without all of your friends, I knew it wouldn't be enough."
Twilight looked around and noticed that Pinkie was gone. Twilight's brow furrowed.
"All six of you," Celestia said, with a meaningful look at the wall.
For a moment, nothing happened. And then Pinkie slowly poked her head out from her hiding space. Hesitantly, and still squinting at the bright light, she pointed a hoof at herself.
Celestia nodded. "Especially you," she said. "Even from the shadows, you're a true friend."
She gingerly stepped out, with slow steps to start, then as she realized she was serious, she leaped, rejoining the group, smiling widely, and squinting in the light. Applejack let her borrow her hat to shield her eyes.
The pony that had been Nightmare Moon slowly raised her head. She was now much smaller, and more blue.
Pinkie approached, slowly, forelegs bent as if in preparation to flee if needed. "Eeee?" she asked.
"Yes, she did," Celestia said softly. "But I don't think she'll be casting that spell again anytime soon. Right, sister?"
"Sister?!" Twilight and Rainbow repeated.
Celestia neared. "Princess Luna," she started. "It's been a thousand years since I've seen you like this. We were meant to rule together. Will you accept my friendship?"
There was a breathless moment.
Luna leaped up and grabbed her into a hug. "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much!"
Celestia quickly returned it. "I missed you, too," she said.
Pinkie approached, stepping carefully. "Eee, eeee?" she asked, her voice a low whisper.
Luna broke the hug to look at her. "No," she said firmly. "Pay no heed to the words of that madmare. Regardless of your origin, you are your own pony. You have your own destiny. And you are beautiful."
Pinkie smiled.
"Are you... crying?" Rainbow asked.
"Ee," Pinkie denied shortly.
Rainbow chuckled, and then they were all laughing, in relief, in happiness, as release, all of these things; but all together as friends. |
Friendship is Magic (and also cupcakes) | Epilogue | Though her contributions had been essential to their success, Pinkie had tried to stay out of the spotlight.
So naturally, all of Ponyville knew that the Birthday Pony was real, and that she was no regular pony. To her pleasant surprise, she had been welcomed as she'd welcomed others, and the party rooms at Sugarcube Corner had been booked later in the night to give her a chance to join in the parties she'd only ever been able to watch from afar.
But that wasn't the only change in Ponyville. As it turned out, the bat ponies had had their own legends of Nightmare Moon as a fearsome tyrant who would once again return and control them to use them as her own personal army. As a pony instrumental in cleansing her, Pinkie had become a noctrali celebrity overday. Before long, a few other daring noctrali had emerged from their hiding places to see if they could be part of Ponyville, too, and their first stop was always Sugarcube Corner.
So thus it was when Twilight stepped inside Sugarcube Corner a few weeks later, it was still bustling despite it being early evening. The tables were all full of ponies, their coats varying shades of gray and dark purple.
Pinkie was behind the counter, wearing a uniform more befitting of her status as an official employee. With practiced motions, she switched the menus over to the noctrali side. Their diet was more fruit-based, and Applejack had been more than happy to help supply the apples.
"Eee," Twilight said, giving the greeting she'd been practicing. She knew her voice was a little lower than typical, but apparently the inflection was the most important part.
Either way, Pinkie understood. "Eee!" she cheered, leaping over the countertop to give her a hug.
"It's good to see you, too," Twilight said, patting her withers. When she separated, she found herself holding a tart.
"Ee!" Pinkie chirped.
"It's one of the new ones?" Twilight guessed.
Pinkie nodded, eager for her to try it.
Gamely, Twilight levitated a fork over and took a bite.
"Eee?" Pinkie prompted, her eyes wide and hopeful.
"That's delicious," Twilight said earnestly. "The others will love these at our game night this weekend."
Pinkie chirped happily, bouncing in place.
Twilight smiled as she took another bite. She had never imagined her life would turn out like this, but she wouldn't have it any other way. |
Bad Colts Camp- How it should have ended | pre | "What of the mothers?" she asked
"Unfortunately, they got wrapped up in her sick experiment so there going with her"
"I know your job is to protect and serve Mel, all I ask is that you help them"
"I'll do my best your Highness"
She flew into the air towards her castle as I watched her glide away. I took a deep breath and assured myself that we achieved the mission without anypony get hurt, well unless you count getting mentally scarred for life hurt.
After the ordeal, the resort was shut down until further notice, and the Rangers as well as the DR operatives followed me back onto the train heading up back to Canterlot. They all sat quietly as I stood, hanging onto the train railing thinking why Mrs. Harshwhinny would start a program involving mother and their sons, it's not like she has kid to worry about or a husband for that matter, but then I started thinking or does she. The theory festered in my mind and I had to know more about it.
"Sir......SIR" one Ranger said as he broke my train of thought
"Is it over sir?"
I looked out the window towards Canterlot thinking
"I feel like there's more to this story that we have yet to discover"
Then train whistled as we made our way up to the mountain. |
Bad Colts Camp- How it should have ended | Chapter three- Law and Order: Pony Victims Unit | A Few Days Later
Canterlot Police station 1:45pm
So, after the Bad Colts Camp incident involving Shining Armor and several stallions, plus one colt. The mothers, Mrs. Harshwhinny and her accomplices were placed in holding until we can get the necessary information from them. My first task was to get confession out of them and if not, they would be going to jail for a longer period of time. Since Celestia asked me to help them, I decided to give them a chance before their sentence would be carried out. I walked in with my partner up to the Guard pony who was manning the front desk.
"I'm here to see the moms" he looked right at me and saw another pony next to me
"This is Chocolate Valentine, he's a detective friend of mine"
"Yeah where hear to interrogate the mothers of those unfortunate sons"
He hit the button to open and the door opened to let me and Val into the station. We turned the corner and saw in the interrogation room, all four of them in one room sitting hoofcuffed.
"Let's do this" I turned the handle and let Val enter and I closed to door behind me. I sat down at the table while the moms kept their heads down. I pulled out their confessions to their sons out in front of each of them.
"So, ladies do you know why you are here?" I asked
Velvet and Stellar looked at me first
"We were this close to getting our sons back and you ruined everything"
"We had to rebirth our sons all over again just so they could love us again like they did when they were young, and you took that away from us, we were happy they were happy" Stellar yelled
"Yes, you did, but your sons clearly didn't want to go thru with it in the first place so instead you forced them back inside telling them it's for their own good and that's child abuse no matter how you look at" Val said
I put my fingers up to my face and rubbed my eyes
"Ladies I wanna help you, cause the way I see it you're all going to jail for a long time, but I can get your sentences reduced but you gotta help me in order to help you"
"My son forgot about me and left me for that stupid princess"
"My son never listens to me and now I'm never gonna have grandchildren"
"My son is such a spoiled brat I just wanted him to behave like he used to"
"I should have never had my son, but I did and like an idiot I spoiled him and coddled him even when he got older"
I rubbed my harder eyes in frustration
"You ladies are the guilty ones here not your sons, when a son becomes a stallion it's your duty as a God Damn parent and as a Fucking Mother to discipline your fucking child not matter how old he is. It also your responsibility to let your child go and be supportive of him, not baby him for the rest of his life!"
They looked away from me clearly still pissed off at me as if I didn't understand. Cream and Posy looked at each other and deep down even though the loved their sons and wanted them to change they had to own up to what they did
"What's our sentence" Posy said
I looked at the report and read it aloud
"Your' all gonna be serving five years in prison from sexually abuse"
All of them were Shocked as this was going to be their punishment for what they did
"What do you want from us" Cream heart said
"All we want is a confession, you give us that and well help you get out sooner"
Cream and posy looked at each and nodded, they both turned to Stellar and Velvet. The two were indeed still pissed but if they ever wanted to see their sons again, they would need to confess. I pulled out a tape recorded and turned it on. I pushed the mic in front of them
"You mares understand that you are guilty of abusing your sons"
They all answered "Yes"
"You know what you did was wrong, and you went ahead with it" Val said
Again, they said "Yes"
"Now tell us why you listened to Mrs. Harshwhinny in the first place?"
They all sat quietly for a second until one of them spoke
"She seemed like she knew what she was doing you know like a mother would with her child and her resort seemed promising"
"And like an idiot you believed her, and her bullshit. You do realize that what she was doing was illegal right"
They nodded with understanding
"Alright then, that's all we need" I turned off the recorder, got up, and walked back out the door
Val and I walked down the hall to another interrogation room where Harshwhinny accomplices were being held, they too had their heads down, hoofcuffed as well. We walked in and I sat down in front of them
"Alright ladies all we want is your confession and maybe I can cut you a deal"
These ladies weren't going to jail for long unlike the mothers, but being the nice guy that I am in this situation I wanted to help them and make sure they didn't do anything like this or get involved in activity like this again. I turned on the recorder and ask them the same questions I did with the moms
"So, you know what you did was wrong and yet you did it anyways, why?" I asked
"They money was just too good to pass up, and it seemed like easy work" Redheart said
"Still it was illegal you do know that"
"Yes, and we are sorry, well do whatever it takes to make it right" Aloe said
"We confess to being affiliated to Mrs. Harshwhinny and her illegal activities and were willing to serve whatever time we are given" Lotus said
"Thank you, ladies, for making this easier on us" Val said
Both of us got up and left. I started walking towards the front desk. Val was on his way to interrogate Mrs. Harshwhinny when he noticed that I was heading for the door. He stopped and headed back to me.
"Hey where ya going son, we still got one more to interrogate"
I was talking to the front desk into get a smaller search warrant
"Thanks, sorry Val we've got some investigating to do" as I headed towards the door
Val tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at me as he followed suit
"Well where the hell are we going?" he asked
We both stepped outside and onto the sidewalk, as I called for a taxi
"We're going to Mrs. Harshwhinny House"
"You mean her condo?" Val question
"No, I looked at the police records and she used to have a home in the middle section of Canterlot, I'm aware that she has a condo in the high end of Canterlot but I figured if there is any evidence it would be at her old house"
"What makes you say that"
"Well the records state that she moved out of her first home a several years ago maybe there's some clues there can help us"
Mrs. Harshwhinny's old House
42 Wallbay way, Canterlot 3:23pm
The taxi took us down the road as we headed towards our destination
"Why do we need to go to her house, we have enough evidence to put her away"
I listened to his comment but I recall my thoughts back a couple of day ago while I was on the train about Harshwhinny's past, did she truly have a kid or a husband and if not why would she open that resort and give mothers a second chance to be with their sons by doing that gross program
"We need to learn more about our suspect before we do, I feel like there's more to this story than meets the eye"
The taxi slowed down as we came upon an old house, the house was in disarray, the bushes were almost dead, the weeds were overgrown, the house itself looked rundown. It looked like nopony had lived here in years. The taxi stopped right up front. I gave him his bits and Val and I stepped off and walked up to the house
"You really think we'll be able to find anything here; the place looks deserted" Val said
I looked at the empty and rusty garbage can and knelt down, there were remnants of glass inside at the bottom of the can, I could see some scattered around the sidewalk and on the road. I looked closely at the inside of the can and saw a label stuck to the side of the can. I pulled out a plastic bag and some tweezers and peeled the label off. I examined the label. It was old, weathered and worn but I could still read the label, it was for a bottle of Applejack whiskey.
"Never knew she was a drinker" I said
"Neither did I, it's not much to go on"
I put the label in the bag and placed the bag in my coat
"Well since we're here might as well see if anypony home"
We both walked up to the door and I knocked three times, we both stood there and waited for several minutes but no answer came
"Well now what do we do"
"We go in, we have a search warrant" I said
I pulled out my small tool kit and pulled out my lockpick set. I put the tool in the lock on the door and used the curved tool to pick the tumblers. After a few minutes the tumblers were up, and I turned to tool and unlocked the door. I looked back at Val ready for anything, I pulled out my gun and grabbed to door handle and opened to door inwards. We both slowly walked in on high alert of anything or anyone. The place inside was filthy with dust and minor garbage everywhere. We decided to split up and search the house. Val went to the kitchen while I check the living room. I looked around and took in what I was seeing, a couch, a fireplace with a mantle with two picture frames sitting on it.
I pickup up the one on the right and it was a younger happier Harshwhinny. I flipped it over and found some writing on the back
First day on the job as Equestria Games Inspector
I put the photo back on the shelf and picked up the one on the left, it appeared to be facing the wall as if the pony didn't want to see it anymore. On the back it read
Getting Married February 9, 2013
I flipped it over to see the glass was cracked, but I saw the picture and to my astonishment it was Mrs. Harshwhinny and a male pony which I can only assume was her husband. He had slicked back hair, a white coat, black eyes and a five o'clock shadow, he was also wearing a tie.
"So, she was married" I showed the picture to Val
"Huh so there really is something amiss here"
I looked at the picture in its current state and wondered what happened. I looked at the wall and noticed a portrait of them together awkwardly placed in the middle of the wall. That felt off to me, so I walked up to the picture and moved it to the side and found a hole the size of a hoof in the wall.
"I guess the marriage wasn't perfect after all" I said
I took the picture off the wall and pull out my camera and snapped a photo of the hole. I also took a shot of the cracked picture. After a while I couldn't find anything else on the matter, I turned to Val.
"Find anything" I said
"Not a whole lot, the place has been cleaned out"
There has to be more evidence around here somewhere
"Why would she walk away from this place, with what seems to be a complicated marriage?"
"Well let's keep searching and maybe we'll find out"
We both headed upstairs, the second floor had three doors and two windows, on the faced towards the road, and one showed the backyard. I looked out the back window and saw an old shed. We would have to investigate it later as I opened one of the doors to my right. Inside was an office space with a typewriter and filing cabinets.
I searched through the cabinets but found nothing of interest, just old documents from her Equestia Game days. There was a spot on the wall that looked like something was there as evident of the paint in the middle being more vibrant that the outer paint.
"Huh that looks weird" I said as I took a photo of the weathered spot on the wall
"Not much else here" Val
We both left the room and opened the middle door. Inside was a laundry room with a washer and dryer. I looked around the room and behind the washing machine was an empty bottle of bleach.
"Hm why was this behind their" I snapped another photo of the bottle.
"Let's check the last room" Val said
I slowly opened the door and inside was a simple bedroom, with a queen-sized bed, a large stand up mirror, a closet and a bureau with drawers. This room was the dustiest of all as the sun showed through the window dust sprayed all around the room.
"Well let's get to it" I said
Val searched the closet but there was nothing in there. I looked at the bed and I noticed that the comforter on top was surprisingly clean and not worn at all as the color pink was still visible. I knelt down and lifted it slightly that's when I noticed that the underside was slightly worn. I pulled the comforter off the bed and flipped it over and that's when I noticed a big white spot on the underside. White spots like that happen when you spill bleach on them, but this spot was so huge it covered the complete underside of the blanket. I took a photo but then I noticed a similar white spot on the sheets as well, so I took a photo of that as well
"Something definitely happened here, and it wasn't good"
"Perhaps our happy couple weren't so happy after all" Val said
My suspicions were aroused but nothing links her to her making that resort and starting that program. What exactly happened here, as there was one last spot that we didn't check, the shed. We made our way outside to the backyard and stood in front of the shed.
"Whatever's in there it must have been important otherwise why would it be locked" Val said pointing out the padlock on the door
I walked up to the padlock and pulled out my tool kit and pulled out a small rotary tool. I turned it on as the blade began spin making a whirring noise. I started cutting away at the lock and soon it cut through. After putting my tool away, I removed the padlock and opened the door. Inside it seemed like a normal tool she with gardening tools like rakes and shovels and a wheelbarrow. All of them seemed clean and brand new except for the shovel as there was evidence of use, dried up dirt stained the shovel head, there were two identical pair of boots behind the shovel, but the dirt and mud on them were much darker than that on the shovel. I took a pic of the shovel and the boots as well as a sample of both dirt's. I looked around and noticed and the wall of tools and one of them was missing. I snapped a photo of the blank spot. My suspicion was peaked as I started putting the pieces together.
"Well what are you thinkin?" Val asked
I didn't respond. I walked outside and started looking at the ground that covered the backyard, the ground was covered in grass that was still green. I looked back at the house and followed the grass along the fence. I looked carefully and noticed a patch of grass in the corner of the backyard was less green.
I walked over to get a closer look; the patch was pretty big to be a coincidence. I walked back over to Val who was standing by the shed
"What now Partner?" he said
"Call the police, tape up this property, and get some men to dig up that patch up, in the corner over there, oh take this camera and get the film developed, and get this evidence analyzed" I said as I handed him my camera and bags of stuff
As I walked away from the potential crime scene
"Where you going now?"
"I need check out some records about this bitch" I said as I walked back to the road and called for another taxi. As luck would have it one was stopped on the other side of the road, so I flagged him down. I hopped on and sat down as he looked back at me
"Where too?"
"Canterlot Town Hall please" I said
"You got it" he said as he started to gallop on down the road back up to High end Canterlot
Canterlot Town Hall 4:34pm
I walked into town hall and saw secretary ponies all typing on their typewriters. In the middle of the room was a front desk and a single pony manning it. I walked up to the front desk and waited for the pony to recognize me. She was busy filing paperwork, when she was finished, she looked at knew exactly who I was.
"What can I do for you today commander" she said
"I'm looking for a marriage certificate for a Mrs. Harshwhinny"
"Just a sec" she got up from her seat and went to the back room which I can only imagine were rows of filing cabinets with all of the town's history in them
A short time later she came back with a folder levitating it with her magic. She then placed in on the counter and she got back into her seat.
"Here is the Marriage certificate for Mrs. Harshwhinny and Mr. Gold Medal, this is a copy, is there's anything else I can do for you?" she said
I picked it up and looked at it carefully, the signatures looked authentic the names were correct. At least I have a name for the husband
"What do you have on Gold Medal"
"Let me check" again she went back and a few minutes later came back with a folder labeled Gold Medal. She placed on the counter for me to sift through.
"Here's what we have"
I looked through the folder and sure enough his picture matched the one from the crime scene. Apparently, he used to compete in the Equestria Games when he was young, he won a couple of gold medals for competing. Then he and harshwhinny must've meet and fell in love. Soon after they got married, he tried getting a new job around several places in Canterlot and ended up as a chef at one of the local joints The Iron Shoe. His last known address was 42 Wallbay Way, Canterlot. So, my assessment was correct, because I can only hope what really lies beneath that patch of grass in her backyard.
"Can you make copies of this file for me"
She used her magic and made duplicate copies of the file
"If there's anything else" she said
"I think that will be all" I said before walking out the door and back to the taxi
"Where to now sir"
"The Iron Shoe" please
The Iron Shoe 5:06pm
The cart stopped right out front of the restaurant. I walked in and the place was pretty fancy, well for me it was fancy. White clean tablecloths, neatly placed tableware, stallions with mustaches, suits and aprons. I looked and saw the hostess at her wooden pew
"Hello sir, will you be dining with us today, we have a brand-new cucumber salad that's been very popular"
"Actually, I'd like to see the owner if it's not too much trouble"
She looked at me with concern as she left her post and went to the back of the restaurant. A short time later she came back with a big stallion in a fancy three-piece suit, slicked back hair, and gold watch chain in his pocket.
"Hello sir, I am Iron Shoe, good to see you here in my fine restaurant if there's anything we can do to make you dinner more exquisite just let me know"
I pulled out Gold Medal's photo and showed it to him
"You recognize this guy"
He took the photo and knew exactly who he was
"Ah yes Golden Medal I believe he used to be chef here"
I interrupted him
"Wait used to be?"
"Yes yes he used work cooking all the food and was very good, then one day a couple of years ago he just never showed up for work, I often wondered why he walked out, perhaps he found a better job"
"Well if he found a better job why didn't he say anything"
"Not quite sure perhaps he simply hated working here"
"What makes you say that"
"Well the last time I saw him he seemed pretty upset coming into work, I never bothered asking him about it"
"Would anyone here know why?"
"Well perhaps the desert chef Strawberry Mille-feuille she might know, Hostess can you run and grab her, tell her the commander wants to ask her some questions"
Iron Shoe turned and went back to his office, the hostess went to the kitchen and came back with a tan pony, with pink hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a chef coat and hat all covered in flour.
"Hello there, I've always wanted to meet you sir, I've never met someone like you before" she said with a smile
"Yeah I get that a lot, but I'm here to ask you some questions about Gold Medal"
"Oh, sure what can I tell you"
"The last time you saw him he was kind of upset do you know why he was like that?"
"Well he didn't talk to anyone that day, but I did hear him mumbling to himself about being angry at his wife"
"What about his wife"
"From what I heard through his mumbling is that she works away from home days at time and they don't see each other a lot"
"Hmm that is interesting"
"Sorry I don't know more sir" she said
"That's okay any info is better than none"
"Oh, wait a remember him saying that she was gonna pay someday, but I thought he was joking around"
"Hm that sounds serious"
I wrote everything down in my notepad and left the restaurant back to the taxi. I jumped on and yelled
"Cinnamon Chai's Tea and Cake Shop please"
It was a short ride but nonetheless I needed to eat and process the information that I have. I sat down at the tables and ordered a hot cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon on top, and a slice of carrot cake. I sat there and enjoyed my food while I went over the notes. So, Mrs. Harshwhinny married Gold Medal probably during her time as the Equestria Games inspector, they got married a short time later, their marriage starts to fall apart, and then Gold Medal just disappears without a trace in the world, then Mrs. Harshwhinny opens up an illegal resort for mothers and sons, but why. If they were together, they might have had a son but the Canterlot records didn't show that they had one. He said he was going to get back at her and maybe she lashed out and killed him and buried him in the backyard, I wonder what he did to get back at her, I mean the hole in the wall was evident of domestic violence. If she got hurt, she would probably want to go to the Hospital, but why not go to the police, given her job she probably couldn't have her reputation ruined if she got a divorce from an abusive husband. But if she was injured in any way she would have to go to the hospital. After finishing my snack, I grabbed another taxi and headed for the Canterlot Medical Hospital.
Canterlot Medical Hospital 6:12pm
I walked into the hospital and walked right up to the front desk
"Hello sir, can I help you"
"I need to look at Mrs. Harshwhinny's medical records"
"Well normally we don't share records of patients, but since you're here I suppose you overrule that"
She used her magic and levitated the file down to me. I flipped it open and she had been in for facial injuries, bruises, broken and missing teeth, black eyes. I couldn't believe what I was reading she was domestically abused, but nothing about pregnancy.
"Did she ever have a child?"
The nurse kind of looked at me with shock in her eyes and she tried to brush off the question
"Uh I'm afraid not it would have been logged in her file if she did" she was starting to sweat nervously
"You're lying, tell me now or I'll have you also arrested"
"(Huff) oh very well" she led me to a private room down the hall and locked the door
"I hoped I wouldn't have to say anything, Mrs. Harshwhinny told me to keep it a secret but-"
"Hold on" I pulled out the recorder and hit the button
"Okay now tell me about her son"
"Well a couple of years ago she came to the hospital for her injuries, she told us that she got into a fight but didn't mention who"
"I can assume it was her husband, but why didn't she go to the police"
"She said she didn't want to sully her good name but telling everypony her husband was abusive, so she hid it from everypony else, then she never came back, I hoped that maybe she did get a divorce and that she moved on but then a couple of weeks later she came in with stomach problems. We run some tests and found out that she was pregnant"
"That must have been Gold Medals revenge, he raped her, getting her pregnant was the only way for her to stay at home and ruin her job and her life" I thought to myself
"When I told her she was distraught, she told me that she can't have a child and started to mentally break down, when she calmed down, she seemed like she knew what she had too and left, six months later she came in, about to give birth, when we were done the child was horribly disfigured from birth defects"
"What do you think might have caused that" I asked
"Perhaps she had a few drinks or smoked while she was pregnant with him"
"What happened afterward?"
"She was so disappointed, and she began to cry, then she left and never came back, but before she did, she made me promise to never speak about what happened to anypony"
"Why is that"
"Well my guess is that she wouldn't be able to care for him and didn't want anypony else to know"
"Hm thanks for speaking to me about this, now if you'll excuse me"
I left the room and went back to the taxi and made my way to the local orphanage.
Canterlot Orphange 7:21pm
I walked into the orphanage up to the front desk
"Can I help you" he said to me while he was reading a magazine
"How about doing your fucking job and help me" I yelled at him
He took one look at me and threw the magazine away and stood up straight.
"Oh, uh sorry about that, uh what can I help you with today sir" he said with a fake smile
"I need to know if any foals were given up here about a year ago"
"Let me check" he went to an old filing cabinet and pulled out a ledger of all the colts and foals they have obtained over the years
"Here you go" as he handed me the folder I yanked out of his magic aura.
I skimmed through the colts and foals by the year and date specifically, but nothing stood out, seemed like a dead end
"Do you have any children with abnormalities or deformities"
"To be honest no and I'm surprised no one has given up one yet"
A dead end, but I wasn't gonna let that deter me. I walked out of the orphanage when out of the corner of my eye I saw Detective Valentine sprint towards me
"Hey Mel" he said as he stopped in front of me trying to catch his breath
"You were right, there was something buried back there, bones. Our forensic scientist ran some tests and it turns out it was a pony, older male, and get this we found the murder weapon buried with him, a hammer of all things"
"So, Mrs. Harshwhinny did murder her husband, and tried to hide it"
"Yeah, but what about you, what have you got?" he said
"Her Husband was Gold Medal when they got married, he spent most of his time alone at home because she would go off and spend days on end at work, this upset him greatly to the point of him abusing her and hitting her"
"Dear Celestia, I've had similar cases like this but none that ended with murder, oh by the way the dirt that you found on the boots didn't match the dirt from the shovel"
"Really wear did it come from?"
"They ran some tests and the found that it came from the Everfree Forest"
"Wait if the dirt from the shovel didn't match from where her husband was buried why would she need to go to the Everfree For...." The final puzzle piece fell into my lap
"I gotta go, oh good job by the way" I yelled for another taxi
"Where are you going?"
"I'm off to find a baby" the cab stopped, I jumped on and I was off to the train station.
While the cab raced down the road, I was hoping my theory was correct, why would she go all the way to the Everfree Forest to dump a child off. I know Zecora lives there but I don't think she would be able to help the child, let alone take care of it. Perhaps she killed the child to and buried him somewhere there. As the cab raced to the station, I can only hope I was right. |
Bad Colts Camp- How it should have ended | Chapter four- 12 Angry Ponies | A Few Weeks Later
CANTERLOT COURTHOUSE Trial 115 6:00am
The day had finally come, I have spent days interrogating and searching, getting prepared for this moment. The moment for Mrs. Harshwhinny to finally get what she deserves. It seemed like only yesterday I was busting her and her illegal program, saving the lives of Shining Armor and those other boys and now all my hard work was about to pay off.
I sat in front of the judge stand with Val by my side, to my right Mrs. Harshwhinny and her lawyer. Behind me were Shining Armor and the boys, their mothers, Nurse Redheart, Aloe Vera, and Lotus Blossom. Soon the judge trotted in from the side door. She had on her black cloak, she had dark grey coat and grey hair and dark purple eyes with some wrinkle's underneath them.
"All rise for the Honorable Judge Gavel presiding, court is now in session" said the bailiff
We all sat up as she sat in her chair
"Thank you, you may be seated our first case today is case#8921: Head Commander vs Mrs. Harshwhinny does the plaintiff counselor have an opening statement " she said
Val stood up "We have your honor we are filing a lawsuit against Mrs. Harshwhinny for her exlict activity and for the murder or her husband"
"Thank you Counselor, does the defendant have an opening statement"
Mrs. Harshwhinny whispered something into her atterneys ear
"My Client has nothing say"
"Very well then Plaintiff you have the floor"
I stood up from my chair as I looked at the judge
"Your Honor I'd like to call Shining Armor to the stand"
A Short time Later Shining was brought to the front of the courtroom. As he made his way to the stand, he made a quick glance at his mom as she sat in her seat. She looked back at him in tears but Shining had none for her. He made his was way to the stand and faced the court. The bailiff came up to face him
"Shining Armor do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you Celestia"
He looked at the bailiff and held his hoof in the air
"I do" he said
The bailiff went back to his post and I walked up to Shining Armor
"Shining Armor would you tell everyone here where you went a couple of weeks ago"
Shining was a bit apprehensive about the question and at the situation as he didn't want to remember the events that occurred there
"Well my mom insisted that we spend a week at Bea Sea Camp"
"Yes, your mother insisted, why did she insist on going to this particular place"
"Well she told me that she really missed me and suggested that we stay there. Ever since I became ruler of the Crystal Empire, I barely have enough time to visit her or my sister for that matter"
"Did you know about the camp prior to going"
"No, my mom kept me out of the loop" he said
"Were you aware of the program that your mother forced you into"
He looked back at his mom and said "No"
"So, your mother didn't tell you about the program or what was going to happen in said program"
"No"
"Would you kindly tell the jury exactly what happened during this program"
Shining was starting to sweat as the flashbacks came back
"Objection" yelled Mrs. Harshwhinny's lawyer
"He's forcing the witness"
The judge looked back at him
"Overruled, please continue Shining"
"Well first they first gave us something to drink that knocked us out, then they molded our cocks to make dildos out of, then they shrank us down to be inserted into the replica dildos, then we were injected back into our own mother's womb where we were forced to stay until we became bonded to them once more"
Some ponies were gagging and throwing up in their mouths upon hearing Shining explain what had happened
"So, despite you having no knowledge and no understanding about the program itself your very own mother drugged you and forced you back inside of her without your consent"
"Yes"
I looked back at the judge "No further questions your honor"
Shining armor left the stand sat back down. Next up to the stand was Twilight Velvet
"Miss Velvet how did you come to know about this program and this Resort"
She looked sad and pissed at the same time as she looked at Harshwhinny and her own son
"Well I have been missing my son for so long and so Mrs. Harshwhinny reached out to me because she knew about Shining Armor being away from me and suggested that I try her program"
"Were you aware of what happens in the program"
"Yes, I did"
"Ah, so you went ahead with it anyways despite not telling your own son"
She paused and continued to sweat "Yes"
"Mare's and Stallions of the court this mother as well as the others did what no mother should ever do to her son, force them to do something that they are not comfortable with and that is Rape"
Most of them started chatting amongst themselves, the jury was in shock Next up to the stand was Nurse Redheart
"Nurse Redheart, were you aware of the program that Miss Harshwhinny was running?"
"Yes" she said
"Why did she need a nurse with your kind of background"
"Well she told me it had to do with birthing, so I thought it was a program for pregnant mothers but when the first program started, I was hesitant and somewhat disgusted with what she was doing but I had already said yes"
"Why didn't you go to the police or the Rangers and warn them about what she was doing"
"She reassured me that it was all legal and that everything was fine and like an idiot I believed her"
After a few hours of going back and forth with the other witness's, it was Mrs. Harshwhinny's turn to take the stand
"Mrs. Harshwhinny were you happy before all this?"
She looked at me and wasn't sure about what to say
"I don't understand"
"I mean before you started this ridiculously stupid program"
"I was doing fine"
"Were you, were you fine with just getting by with your job or were you fine with your husband"
Upon hearing that her eyes widened, and she started getting nervous
"It was bumpy, so we decided to go our separate ways"
"You mean divorce"
"Yes" she said
"Really because there was no divorce file found at town hall in fact no pony has seen your husband in years, it's almost as if he vanished from the planet or he was murdered"
I turned to everypony in the room
"Mare's and Stallions this was not a happy marriage this was domestic abuse, we have evidence of an abusive husband who drank a lot, punched holes into the drywall, and raped his own wife, but did she ever think about calling the police or filing for divorce no she decided to take matters into her own hands, by bludgeoning her husband to death with a hammer and burying his body in the backyard"
I showed the jury as well as the judge the photos and evidence
"But the question still remains" I walked up close to Mrs. Harshwhinny
"Why start a program to have boys shoved back inside their mothers just so they could be bonded like before?"
Mrs. Harshwhinny just remained silent as beads of sweat rolled down her frowning face
"I'll tell you why because she was pregnant herself"
Everypony in the courtroom gasped
"She then went and abandoned her child because she couldn't live with herself knowing that she killed the child's father and raising a gross ugly and disfigured child would put her career in jeopardy"
Mrs. Harshwhinny couldn't stand it any longer
"Even if that's true where's the child now" She yelled
"That's a good question, I searched every orphanage within your work radius and went further outside the ring and was not able to find the child, however we found evidence of mud from the Everfree Forest in your shed which was out of the ordinary and it wasn't until I went there to discover something horrific"
I turned towards the Rangers that stood by the double doors and motioned them to bring itforward. The two Rangers opened the doors and two more Rangers came in pulling a small cart. On that cart was a pot and in that pot was something that's could have easily been mistaken for a tree but this tree was moving ever so slightly and you could hear it breathing heavily, the form itself could barely be made out as equine as a pair of glowing orange eyes and a mouth could also be seen in the trunk of the tree. Everypony was shocked and appalled even Mrs. Harshwhinny and the Judge. The Rangers brought it closer to the judge so it could see its mother
"UH Mother, Mother is that you" it said with a gravelly voice
Mrs. Harshwhinny kept staring at the mass of wood and pony that was her son she was starting to tear up and choke on her own breath
"Commander do you have any proof that this...thing even is her child" Judge Gavel said
"Yes, your honor, when I found it, I was able to get a DNA sample and have it analyzed, it took some time as his DNA is part wood, but a match did come up"
The judge looked at me with understanding. Mrs. Harshwhinny was destroyed at this point; tears began to stream down her face as she looked upon her mutated child, she tried to speak but all that came out was mumbles
"What...Happened" she said trembling her own words
"Well when you abandoned him he was pretty weak and disfigured from the birth due to the alcohol you consumed to try to kill him, he found his way into an species of tree that bonds with its victims, usually with small animal and insects you would not be able to notice but when it comes to sentient beings like ponies it bonds with them and preserves them keeping them alive"
Mrs. Harshwhinny could not take it anymore and she broke down and cried. She jumped out of her seat and went and hugged the tree that was her son, tears flooding the floor.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry" as she hugged her tree child
The tree looked down and saw his own mother crying on his bark
"I missed you momma, I missed you a lot" it said
"I know honey I'm here now" she continued to cry
"Mare's and Stallions Mrs. Harshwhinny has done a lot of terrible things and so I believe in the jury's decision as to what should happen next"
"Alright ten-minute Recess" said the Judge
The jury left the courtroom to discuss the matter about Harshwhinny's fate; Mrs. Harshwhinny was glued to her son crying. I pried her off as the Rangers took him away and ordered her to sit back in her seat. She sat back down sobbing the whole time. I sat down in my seat and waited
"Never expected her to feel remorse?"
"Well she did abandon her son and didn't expect to see him alive"
A short time later the jury as well as the judge came back from the debate. Everypony sat in their seats waiting patiently. The judge looked to the jury for their answer
"Mr. Glass have you reached a verdict?" she said
"We have you honor this jury find the defendant Mrs. Harshwhinny guilty for the murder of her husband, abandoning her child to die, forging a hierarchy signature, and theft of a priceless artifact"
Harshwhinny was defeated, all her past sins were now about to be punished
"Thank you, Mrs. Harshwhinny I hear by sentence you to life in prison with no possibility of parole and fined $50000 bits for your other actions, court is adjourned" the judge banged her gavel and Mrs. Harshwhinny was taken away
I sat there I thought about what Mrs. Harshwhinny was thinking when all of this took place, did she even think that this was all going to come back to haunt her, did she think that she could sweep all her mis deeds under the rug. In the end I believe she got what she deserved.
After the trial I headed for Canterlot station and sat down on the same bench I sat on when I was waiting for Shining Armor. I sat down and tilted my head back. I could hear other ponies chatting about and horseshoes clopping, the wind blowing across the grass, birds chirping atop the station. I heard some clopping coming my way when I heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Mel" he said
I looked up and it was no other than Shining Armor.
"Hey bro" I said
"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for saving me and the guys and for putting the psycho in prison"
"Eh your welcome, I'm just glad I got there in time, otherwise you'd be a drooling mama's boy right now"
He cringed at the thought of him be sexually attracted to his mom
"Yeah I'd like to forget that that happened"
Unbeknownst to us another pony trotted up behind us and it was Sunburst
"Hey guys how are you" he said
"I'm alright bout to head back to Ponyville"
"Well I gotta get back to the Crystal Empire, Cadence needs me for her royal duties and what not"
"Mind if I ride with you Shining being the Royal Crystaler and all"
"Sure thing Sunburst"
When he said that the Crystal train could be heard coming down the tracks. Slowly the train pulled up to the station as the doors opened for them
"Catch your later Mel" as he waved goodbye
"Commander" Sunburst said as he and Shining boarded the train together and it rolled on out as quickly as it came
I sat on the bench and looked out towards where Bee Sea Camp was and wondered what was going to happen to it. Maybe something good will happen but who can say. As I pondered another train came steaming up to the platform. The conductor pony got off and he recognized me but didn't say anything
"All aboard for Ponyville" he said
I got up and went over to him and gave him my ticket and a bag of bits
"Here" as I handed it to him "The Rangers thank you for your cooperation"
He looked surprised when I handed it to him, he took both my ticket and the bits but didn't say anything. I went and found a seat, I sat down and leaned back against the window and put my feet up on the seat. I tilted my hat down to cover my eyes and dozed off as the train was heading for Ponyville and I thought to myself
"Job well done Mel; job well done"
========================**==========================
And so it was that the conflict at Bee Sea Camp was resolved thanks to Commander Mel and his Rangers, who with quick thinking and determination was able to stop Mrs. Harshwhinny and put an end to her dreaded program and all those that partook in the events that transpired there, faded into bad memories,
(in Celestia's voice) "Camp Bee Sea was re-opened as a family resort and became a rather successful one at that, families from all over visited the resort to spend time relaxing together as a family which in the end had been its purpose all along
(In Twilight Velvets voice) Twilight Velvet spent her sentence in prison, she reflected on her past mistake and wondered what could have been if she had just let go of her son rather than coddle him like the child she remembered from her youth, she spent her last year serving the Community in the Crystal Empire, she occasionally saw he son and over time he chose to forgive her
(In Stellar Flares Voice) Stellar Flare also spent her time in prison, while there she kept thinking about her son, missing him so much, thinking about the potential grandchildren that he could have had. She knew that she blew her chances at that and only made things worse. She spent her Community service in Hope Hollow catching glances of her son when he came to visit with Starlight Glimmer, perhaps having grandchildren was possible she just had to be patient a little bit longer
(In Cream Hearts Voice) Cream Heart spent her time in prison only ever thinking about her son hoping that he was doing his homework and not staying up all night playing video games, she thought about what she did to him and hoped that she didn't scar him for life. But she hoped that maybe this experience helped shape him for the better. She spent her Community Service around Ponyville catching her son leaving the schoolhouse and trot towards home.
(In Posey Shy's Voice) Posey Shy Spent her time in prison thinking about what could have been if only she had not got pregnant with her spoiled son. She soon accepted what she did was her own fault and not her sons, and that maybe she and him could make amends. She spent her Community Service in Cloudsdale occasionally seeing her son get off work at the Mane Therapy saloon
(In Nurse Redhearts Voice) Nurse Redheart severed her short time and was able to go back to Ponyville hospital to return to her work helping the sick and wounded as well as the occasional foal birth and soon put what she did to those boys out of her memory
(In Aloe and Vera's Voice) Aloe and Vera served their time together and soon went back to their own business at the Ponyville Spa helping all those who felt weak and needed a break from day to day life, massaging and pampering their worries away
(in Commander Mel's Voice) Commander Mel, Mission Complete returned to Ranger HQ to fill out all the paperwork from his previous mission, he felt relieved knowing that Shining and the boys were okay and weren't permanently scarred for life, he also felt bad for Mrs. Harshwhinny and what she did in her previous life and how it manifested into her committing more crimes to fill that dark hole in her heart. He only hoped that maybe one day she would be able to forgive herself
Mrs. Harshwhinny spent the rest of her days in prison, she reflected on her past, about her husband that hated her job and raped her so they could settle down and have a family, she thought about what her son would have been like if she didn't drink so much and thought if she had taken care of him, what kind of pony he would have grown up to be. Instead the cold feel and stench of her prison cell was all she knew and after ten years she killed herself by hanging herself from the light fixture. Some say she did it to stop the painful memories others say she did it because she was bored. They say we all make choice's, but in the end our choices make us. |
Bad Colts Camp- How it should have ended | *Alternate Ending | Many years later
So, after a couple of years in prison went by Mrs. Harshwhinny spent all of her time reflecting on her decisions in life and where they got her. Some nights she cried herself to sleep. Other days she just kept to herself looking like she was gonna snap and kill somepony again, but it never happened. Then one day as she sat in her cell staring at the blank wall a police guards pony trotted up to her cell. She barely even noticed him. He stood there looking at her all pathetic like
"Mrs. Harshwhinny" he called her name
She just kept staring at the blank wall without a care in the world
"You have a visitor"
Upon hearing that she turned her head ever so slowly and looked at him, her eyes were bloodshot, and bags had formed under her eyes. She stood up and waited for the guard's pony to unlock her cell. The guard's pony opened her cell and had her trot to the visitor center. They both trotted past several gates and other guard's until they came to a large door. Two guard's ponies pulled out their key cards and swiped them at the exact same time on the wall mount and soon the door unlocked. The room was filled with metal picnic tables and on the other side I was standing behind the other door. She looked at me with frustration and anger and she looked the other way. The guard's pony pointed to a table in the center and ordered her to sit
She went to the table and sat down looking down at the table while she sat. The guards pony left, and the doors closed behind him shutting us in, so nothing could get in or out. There was a couple of cameras pointed down at her and I as some other guards' ponies watched from their TV screens. I walked up to the table and sat down and looked at her. It looked like she had been crying a lot, she also looked a lot skinnier than before, maybe she wasn't eating enough. I didn't see any bruises or scars, so she definitely didn't get beaten up. She seemed like she didn't want to talk so I decided to break the ice
"I take it you're doing well" I said
She did not respond and kept her head down. I pulled out her prison file for the past couple of years.
"Says hear that you've been behaving well, not getting into fights with any of the other inmates, following the all rules, you don't seem to eat the food here much, why is that"
She still didn't respond.
"Okay, then" I put the file down on the table
"Mrs. Harshwhinny I'm gonna be straight with you, I wanna help get you out of here but you got to give me something to work with here"
She then looked up at me with fury in her eyes as they watered up some what
"Why?" she asked
"Um why what"
"Why are you helping me, you destroyed me, ruined everything I worked so hard for?"
"That was all on you, you're the one who made all those shitty decisions so don't blame me" I said
She shut up when I said that, and some tears slid down her cheeks
"Then why are you trying to help me" she said
"Because I made a promise and I always keep my promises"
She stared at me as she wiped the tears from her face
"What do you want from me"
"I want you to continue to be good in hear, and if you do, you'll be able to see your son again"
She was shocked when I said that but then went back to her usual grump face
"You mean my hideous tree son"
I waved my hand as if to say no
"No no no, I mean your real pony son, you see we Rangers are very resourceful when it comes to certain things like science and magic, weapons technology hell we even have our own Research and Development program, and what we did was we took the DNA from your son and was able to make a clone of him, granted it took a couple or tries"
She looked shocked again but in disbelief
"That's impossible" she said
"Is it really" I turned to the door behind me and motioned with my fingers to bring something forward, a second later the doors opened and standing in the doorway was a guard's pony and a small foal, the foal had a white coat and blonde hair and black eyes. Mrs. Harshwhinny gave one look and knew that that foal was indeed her son. She teared up again as she looked at him. The foal trotted over ever so slow up to his mother. Mrs. Harshwhinny just kept staring as it reached the table
"Hi mommy" it said so softly
Mrs. Harshwhinny couldn't take it anymore she got up and hugged her child hugging him tight as streams of tears fell from her face.
"Oh, my baby, I missed you so much" she said sobbing
"I missed you too mommy" as he hugged her back.
She let him go so she could look at him
"You have your father's eyes"
"Mr. Ranger said I have your hair"
She looked back at me and smiled
"How is this possible"
"It all comes down to science and a little bit of magic"
She turned back to her son on more time before she sat back on the table. I motioned the guard towards me, and he escorted the child out.
"So, do you have a name for him"
Truth be told she never even considered naming her child and it soon raced through her head as to what to call him.
"I'm not sure" she said
"How about Blue Ribbon"
Upon hearing that name she reluctantly agreed as it seem to just fit,
"So, your saying if I continue to be good, I'll be able to see my son again"
I nodded my head and she understood right away
"Very well then I'll do whatever it takes to see my son"
I opened up a different file that states that this inmate will continue her program until a certain time, and then and only then will they be released. I slid the paper in front of her and handed her a pen, she took the pen using her mouth and wrote her name down.
"Well that's it then" I said getting up
"In due time, well see each other again in about five years"
She was adamant about those next five years, but she knew she had a goal to look forward too and knew what was at stake
"We shall see" she said as got up and made her way to the door, I did the same time and both doors opened we walked through them. I walked and the guard's pony was standing with the child. The foal looked up too me
"Will I ever see her again?"
"You will, if you think you can wait five years"
"I'll wait as long as it takes, if it means I can see my mom again"
I knelt down and ruffled the foal's mane
"Good boy, now stay with this nice guard he'll lead you back okay"
"okay" he said staying close to the guard as possible as he escorted him to the front where his caretaker was waiting for him
"Can I ask you something sir?" one of the guard's pony said
I got back up and turned to look at him
"What is it?"
"Why do that, go through all the trouble just to bring a child back from the dead and rub it in hear face"
"Because I believe she deserves a second chance, now she has a chance to be the parent that she was meant to be"
He shook his head and went back to his post. I walked back to the front thinking about the next time I'll be here, it will be with good intentions.
(in Harshwhinny's Voice) Mrs. Harshwhinny continued to serve her sentence for the next five years, she made it her top priority to stay out of trouble and keep a healthy body as well as a healthy mind for when the time came she would be able to see her son once more, When that time came she found her new purpose in life and raised her son like any mother would. She quit her old job and got a new one as a secretary in Canterlot town hall. It was a steady job but one that allowed time with her son. She fed him, took him to school, loved him and the two were inseparable. In time she forgave herself for what she did and continued to watch over her son and protect him. Over the years and as her son got old, he decided to take on responsibility of scoping out new locations for the Equestria games. She felt comforted in knowing that he took on her old job.
After many long years she passed away peacefully in her sleep. Her son buried her next to her husband in Canterlot Cemetery and every time he visited her a bit could be found at her grave left by an unknown person. He felt comforted that somepony else cared about her and years later he met his own special somepony and had kids of his own and lived a happy life until the end of his days. |
Power Rangers Guardians vs Power Rangers Revolution X | pre | The others nodded at this, Flash stepping up, "I'm Flash Sentry, leader of the Guardian Power Rangers."
"It's good to finally meet you," Chris said, "I've been watching you guys since I learned this world had Rangers."
"So how long have you been here?" Micro asked him.
"Three months."
They all turned to see a woman in a cloak like what Chris wore walking up to them.
"Who's this?" Lyra asked.
"My mother," Chris said as she stepped over to her, "Doctor Catherine Davis."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Catherine said.
"The pleasure's all our," Sweetie said, "especially since your son just saved our lives."
"We should probably talk somewhere else," Flash said, "let's head back to the base so we can get up to speed with each other."
"What's there to be up to speed with?" Sandel asked, "a mad scientist from another dimension's trying to take over our world and a Power Ranger from that would's come to stop him."
"It's more complicated then that," Catherine said.
"Please," Lyra said, "anything you can tell us will be of great help."
Catherine nodded. "I'll tell you everything. It's a story of how we lost our world and of a single city, a city called Hope." |
Power Rangers Guardians vs Power Rangers Revolution X | The City of Hope | Our story began almost thirty years ago, when a meteorite crash landed into our world.
When the military of our world pulled it out of the creator it made, they discovered it was giving off a powerful energy reading. When they broke the meteorite apart, they discovered an unusual crystal core at its centre.
Three scientists, the best in their fields, were brought in to examine the crystal. The first was me, Dr Catherine Song, I was the top mind when it came to unknown entities and all things not of the earth. The next was Prof Ryo Davis, the lead scientist in the field of robotics and machinery. Finally there was Dr Mechano, who had studied many aspects of both of our fields and was just as knowledgeable as us.
We spent months studying the crystal, discovering that the radiation it was giving off was not only harmless to humans, but also a source of infinite clean energy.
We named the crystal the X Element and the energy it gave off, X Energy.
We believed this crystal to be a gift from the heaven, a way to rebuild our world into a brighter future and began designing devices and vehicles which would use the X Energy. In this time Ryo and I grew close and fell in love, eventually marrying.
However, things one day took a turn for the worst.
Ryo and Catherine had been enjoying some time together, when suddenly their lab shook.
"What's going on?" Catherine asked.
"I don't know," Ryo said as he got up, "but we'd better go check on the lab."
Catherine nodded and they both rushed off towards their underground lab.
When they arrived, they found the place was a wreak. There were loose wires and busted computers all over the place, along with pieces of the roof which fallen.
"The whole place is coming down!" Ryo said.
"What could have caused this?" Catherine asked as they climbed over the rubble.
"I don't know," Ryo said, "but we need to make sure the X Element is secure."
Quick as they could, they made their way to the lab which held the crystal. It wasn't easy with the whole building collapsing around them, but eventually they found themselves outside the metal doors.
Ryo quickly types in the code, allowing the doors to open and for them to step inside.
This lab was in even worst shape with every single piece of equipment short circuiting. In the centre of the room, inside glass container, was a house sized crystal which had several tube like cables attached to it. This was the X Element, the meteoric core which was glowing brightly. That glow was the X Energy it generated, which was being sucked into the tubes and being sent somewhere.
"What?" Ryo asked as they rushed inside, "who's using the X Element."
"Ryo!" They turned to see a younger none robotic Mechano rush into the room. "Thank goodness you're here," he said, "I don't know what went wrong."
"You did this?" Ryo asked.
"Yes," Mechano said, "I was testing the system, but the computers began to overload."
"I told you we weren't ready for a field test," Ryo yelled over the sound of the out of control machines, "why didn't you listen to me?"
"I thought we were ready," Mechano replied, "but I don't understand what went wrong. I only used five percent of the X Elements power."
"Five percent is enough to light a whole city for a year," Ryo told him, "you channelled it into a single unstable point and now the backlash is going to destroy this whole place."
"We have to evacuate!" Catherine said.
"No!" Mechano said as he began typing away at the computer, "I can fix this. I know I can."
"It's to late," Ryo told him, "the systems already in overload."
"I can do it," Mechano said.
Suddenly the computer he was working at exploded in his face, followed by several other computers.
Ryo and Catherine had retreated back, safely away from the explosions but knew they had to escape.
"Wait!"
They turned back to the lab, where they saw Mechano buried under some rubble. He held a hand over the left side of his face, while reaching out for them.
"Please," he called out, "don't leave me!"
"We have to save him," Catherine called out as she tried to go in to get him, but the lab continued to collapse and Ryo pulled her back.
"We can't," he told her, "if we go in there now we'll all die!"
"But we can't leave him," Catherine told him. Ryo then reached around her waist and began pulling her to the exit.
"I'm sorry," Ryo said.
They rushed to the exit and were soon outside, just before the entire lab collapsed in on itself. Seconds later the remains were incinerated by a powerful explosion.
They attempted to excavate the remains, but it was for nort.
Mechano and the X Element were seemingly destroyed, the only thing that remained was an almost microscopic fragment of the crystal.
We mourned Mechano's death and continued on with our lives, giving birth to our first born son.
However, it turns out Mechano and the X Element somehow survived. Mechano had been badly injured and was forced to replace several parts of his body with machinery to live, transforming himself into the half robotic being he is today. It seemed the trauma of the explosion and his cyborganism had driven him insane, as he declared vengeance on the whole of mankind.
Using the X Element, he created an army of machines which he used to begin his conquest of our world and he was succeeding. He'd concurred almost all of the world, until Ryo created a place where the remains of humanity could live.
Using the X Element shard, Ryo created a device that would create a powerful dome energy shield. This Particle Barrier was used to create a safe heaven, where people could be safe from Mechano's attack.
This safe heaven became the only place that Mechano couldn't get into and soon became the last safe place on earth. It was humanities last hope and so that became its name.
For seventeen years the domed city of Hope protected the citizens within from Mechano's wrath, but Ryo knew it wouldn't last forever.
For those seventeen years, Ryo worked on a way to protect humanity once the Particle Barrier became to weak and he did it.
He created five weapons, which would be able to allow the user to not only protect themselves from Mechano's forces, but also be able to fight back against them. The Revolution Morphers.
There was only one problem. The Revolution Morphers were so powerful, that they needed an incredible power source. They needed X Energy.
With the X Element under Mechano's control, it seemed the Revolution Morphers were useless. That is until we made a startling discovery. Due to our constant closeness to the X Element, our exposure to the X Energy caused our DNA to be infused with the energy. Though this did not effect us in anyway, the energy infused DNA was passed down to our children.
Christopher, Kade, the twins Daniela and Grant and finally Valarie, were each mutated and were able to generate the X Energy on their own. Though not in the same infinite manor as the X Element, they could generate enough X Energy that they themselves could fuel and use the Revolution Morphers.
Though Ryo and I were reluctant to the idea of letting our children fight against a mad man, when the children learned of their abilities and what that meant they all instantly chose to take on the task.
And so each one underwent training to become the heroes that would save the world. Overseen by our close friend, Commander Thomas Ryn, they soon mastered their individual skills and were ready to face the evil that was coming.
And so it was that after seventeen years of peace, the X Element Shard finally lost the last of its power and the Particle Barrier shut down.
Mechano had been waiting. As soon as the barrier fell he launched an all out attack on the city, but that's when he met them.
After years of training, our five children accepted their destiny and used the Morphers for first time. Becoming the Power Rangers, Revolution X!
With their new powers, the Power Rangers managed to defeat Mechano's invading army and send him packing.
And so the war began. For two years Mechano would send his forces in, lead by more advanced attack bots. One by one the Rangers would defeat these forces, destroying the attack bots along with them, but with each fight Mechano improved his design and built stronger attack bots.
Over time the Rangers would soon find themselves overwhelmed by Mechano's most powerful robot and were almost defeated, until the timely arrival of a new Ranger.
This Neo Ranger saved the Rangers and defeated Mechano's robot, before revealing himself as the Ranger's younger brother Aichi.
He explained how he had time travelled back from nineteen years in the future, where Mechano had defeated the Rangers and conqured the whole world. He and a hand full of survivors lived in fear of Mechano, who had turned their world into a barren wasteland.
Their only hope had been an unusual device they'd found in the ruins of Hope City, a prototype Neo Morpher which Ryo had been working on before the Ranger's defeat. Taking it, Aichi snuck into Mechano's mechanical fortress and found what he needed.
The future Mechano apparently created a device that could create a portal into the past, which Aichi used to travel back to the day when the Power Rangers were suppose to be defeated. With future knowledge, Aichi managed to destroy the robot and save his siblings before joining the team.
With this new Ranger on the team, they managed to keep Mechano at bay but knew they needed to put an end to Mechano once and for all.
After a year of searching, we managed to find Mechano's mechanical city and mounted a full force attack.
Resistance was strong, but with the Ranger's help we managed to take the city and attempted to capture Mechano. However, it seems Mechano was prepared.
He had built an interdimensional portal, one we had only theorised about, which he used to escape us.
But before the portal closed, Christopher and I managed to jump through it.
"And that's how he got here," Catherine said as she finished her story.
She, Christopher and their new friends were in the Guardian Ranger's underground base. After arriving there and meeting up with Shining and Soarin, the group had sat down to listen to Catherine's tale.
"Whoa," Soarin said, "I knew other worlds were real, but to think there's one so similar to our own...minus the whole mad scientist turning it into a wasteland part."
"We're sorry to hear about your world," Shining said, "I can't imagine living like that."
"It's okay," Catherine said.
"I'm used to it," Chris said, "considering I grew up in it."
"But still," Sunset said, "it's truly horrible."
"I'd hate to live in a world like that," Soarin said.
"And you won't," Chris said, "because I'm gonna stop Mechano and finally end this once and for all."
"And you'll have us there to help you," Flash said, "you helped us and now we're ready to return to favour." He held out a hand, obviously expecting him to take it in agreement.
Chris looked at his hand and then held up his own, staring at it as if unsure. In that moment, Catherine took hold of his hand and placed it in Flash's.
"Christopher," Catherine said, "we can't do this on our own. We're alone in an unknown world, with no idea how to contact our friends. We need them."
Chris stared at his mother for a moment, before smiling and grasping Flash's hand. "Okay," he said, "you're all right. I do need your help."
They all smiled and nodded, ready to take on this new threat to their world together.
"With that out of the way," Celestia said, "we should get to work."
"She's right," Luna said, "and the first thing we need to do is find a way to stand a chance against Mechano."
"Yeah," Twilight said before turning to the Rangers, "you guys took the Guardroids down easy enough, but your weapons barely even scratched the Megabots and most likely will have even less effect on anything stronger."
"Right," Lyra said, "we need a way to fight back."
"I can help with that," Catherine said as she moved over to the lab. "I have the specs of all of Mechano's machines, which we can use to re-calibrate all your weapons so you can fight back."
"Perfect," Micro said, "we'd better get to work." He, Twilight, Sunset and the principles moved over to the lab.
"While they do that," Starswirl said, "I thing it would be prudent for Christopher to help you all train for your next confrontation with Mechano."
"No problem," Chris said, "when I'm done you'll know every move programmed into those machines."
"Righteous," Sandel said.
"Lead the way Chris," Sweetie said.
With that the group headed out to the gym, ready to learn how to fight against Mechano and his metal death machines.
While this was happening, Mechano was back in his hiding place.
After arriving in this universe, he'd sort out an abandon factory and had converted it into a makeshift lab to build his army up.
Currently Mechano was sitting at a desk, Guardroids marching around him as they worked to repair his fallen minions. Now that he was out of his ship, it could be seen that his left leg had been replaced with a metallic one.
Mechano did not look happy, as he was currently mulling over what had happened in his last battle. Suddenly he slammed his fists into the desk, the robotic one causing it to crack, as he stood up. "I can't believe he's here!" He yelled, "and no doubt Catherine is here as well. I have to find a way to stop him and the other Rangers before they ruin everything."
Suddenly a Guardroid stepped up to him.
"What is it?" Mechano asked.
The robot replied, speaking in beeps and whirls that Mechano understood due to his robotic implants.
"It's ready?" He asked in surprise. After the Guardroid nodded, Mechano rushed over to a corner of the factory.
Once there, he stepped through the curtain that was keeping the things behind it from view and looked up at his finished creation. "Tremendous," Mechano said with an evil smile. He then reached up and pressed a button on his robotic temple, causing info to stream through his mechanical brain. Doing so caused him to frown. "Curses," he said, "even with the X Element, I don't have enough energy to power it and my forces."
He stepped back out from the section and moved to another one, where what remained of the meteor's crystal core stood. The X Element which had once been the size of a house, after decades of overuse and abuse, had been reduced down to the size of an average man. Despite this, the X Element was still a constant form of energy though it was a thousand times less then it had once been.
"I need something that equals your power," Mechano said, "but what? There has to be an energy source in this universe that can equal yours, but where?" He thought for a moment, then remembered what had happened earlier that day. "Those Rangers," he said, "their power was on the same level as the others. If I can find out what they use to power their tech and take it for myself, I can use it to power the project and use the X Element for my forces. I must capture one of them, but to do that I will need a robot with tremendous power...or five."
With that he rushed over to another section for the factory, where he was keeping all the attack bots he'd brought to this universe. That section was filled with large metal tube like pods, lined up one by one. Moving through the rows, Mechano looked around for the ones he wanted. Finally he found them, five slightly smaller pods. They were red, blue, yellow, green and pink.
Staring at the pods, Mechano once again pressed the button on his temple. "Awaken."
The five pods activated, before the front of them slowly opened and released a stream of mist. Seconds later, five figures stepped out of the the pods.
"I have a job for you," Mechano said.
Back at the school, six of the eight Guardian Rangers were in the gym with the Red Revolution Ranger. The mane six, minus Twilight, were also there to watch.
Currently they were sitting on the bleachers as Flash and Chris were on the mat, practising the hand to hand maneuvers he'd been showing them.
"Remember," Chris said, "these robots are designed to follow patterns. Be to obvious with your attacks and you'll be an easy target."
"Right," Flash said.
With that, Lyra rang the bell and they began. Flash started with a few jabs, which Chris managed to block, followed by a right hook and a left leg strike. Chris however, manged to block each and every one of his moves.
"Flash is moving to predictably," Shining said, "it's like Chris said. There's no way he can take those robots down like this."
"Come on Flash," Rainbow said, "get the lead out."
Flash tried another jab to the face, but Chris merely caught the teen's fist in his hand and then used it to pull him closer and knee him in the gut, before throwing him back on the mat.
"Come on," Chris said, "I've seen you guys fight, you're better then that."
The winded Flash managed to push himself back up, before turning back to Chris and raising his fist in a boxing manor.
"Bring it," Chris said.
Flash charged forward and threw a few more punched, which Chris decided to start dodging and cause Flash to grow annoyed.
"Come on," he said, "stop trying to hit me and hit me!"
Flash yelled and threw another punch towards Chris, who leaned back in order to dodge. However, it seemed as if this was Flash's plan. Using the force of his punch, Flash leapt up and did a front flip bring his foot down. With all his strength, Flash threw his right foot down and struck Chris with his ankle. The force was enough to knock Chris off his feet and make everyone flinch at the attack.
Flash was the first back to his feet, before looking down at Chris.
"How was that?" He asked.
"Unexpected," Chris replied before smiling, "brilliant."
Flash smiled and offered a hand to help him up, which Chris took to get up.
"Great work Flash," he said once he'd dusted himself off.
"Thanks," Flash said.
"You were both great," Sweetie said.
"Best hand to hand fight a've ever seen," Applejack said.
"Hopefully this will help you in your fight," Rarity said.
"And when you take that meany down," Pinkie said, "I'll throw you all a victory party."
"Sounds like fun," Chris said.
"I'm quite impressed by your fighting techniques as well," Shining said, "I've trained for many years but the way you fight is as if its hardwired into you."
"I pretty much is," Chris replied as he sat down on the bleacher, "I've been training since I was eight years old, preparing to take on whatever Mechano threw at us when he arrived."
"That's so sad," Fluttershy said, "children should be playing, not training."
"I chose to do it," Chris replied, "we all did. We didn't have much in Hope, but it was better then nothing. We weren't gonna let Mechano take that away."
Everyone frowned hearing this. It was as if Mechano had stolen Chris's childhood, forcing him to hide away from the world and spend his life working to become a hero. The Guardian Rangers took their roles seriously, but even so they still had lives outside of that. Being a Ranger was Chris's whole life."
"Well don't worry," Soarin said, "with out help you'll take this freak down and put an end to his insanity once and for all."
"Yeah," Rainbow said, "then all you'll have to worry about is what your gonna do once your world's safe."
"Oh I already know about that," Chris replied, "I've been thinking about it ever since I started my training. All my siblings have."
"Really?" Lyra asked, "what so you wanna do."
"Well first there's Kade. He's a military man," he said, "no doubt he'll join Commander Ryn's troop when we're done. Then there's Dani, whose a great pilot, she's been considering going into search and rescue. Grant inherited the most of our parents brains, the guy could build a computer out of paper clips and strings. And then there's Val, when she's not training she spends her time looking after little kids. She'll probably work to educate the next generation of our world."
"And what about you darling?" Rarity asked, "what are your prospects for the future."
Chris seemed to need a moment to think about it. "Well," he said, "I've spent my whole life trapped inside a domed city. When this is all over, I think I want to go out and see the world. Who knows, maybe Hope isn't the only group of humans who survived. If their out there, I'd like to find them and help them rebuild."
Everyone smiled and nodded. That was certainly a noble cause.
Suddenly the doors of the gym burst open and Micro Chips rushed inside.
"Guys!" He called out.
"What is it?" Flash asked, "is Mechano attacking again?"
"No," Micro replied, "you won't believe this. We managed to make contact with Chris's world."
This caused Chris's eyes to go wide. "What?" He asked in disbelief, "are you serious?"
Micro nodded. "After we finished tuning our weapons, we started working on a way to try and contact your team. By combining your mothers data with our own interdimensional knowledge, we were able to get a fixed location on your worlds point of origin and when we sent a single we got a response. The others are working to open a stable channel."
Chris's face was one of major confusion. Obviously he didn't understand a word of what Micro had said, but he didn't care because he'd finally get to see the rest of his family again.
"Come on," he said, "let's go." With that he rushed towards the entrance of the base, the rest of the group.
When they arrived at the base, they saw the others gathered around the holotable which was projecting a static image.
"How's it going?" Flash asked.
"We're almost there," Twilight replied, "it's finding the right frequency that will completely pass between the dimensional void that's the problem."
"Hang on," Sunset said, "I think something's coming through."
She was right, as the static began to slowly flicker into an actually image. It was a man who looked like an older version of Chris, with greying hair and a pair of glasses over his eyes.
"Dad," Chris said as he and Catherine smiled.
"Hello," he said, "are you reading me?"
"Yes we read you?" Catherine said.
"Catherine," Ryo Davis said happily, "thank goodness. I'd hoped it was you sending us that signal." Suddenly he was pushed out of the way, replaced by five younger people.
"Mom!" The male brunette wearing a blue jacket said, "Chris."
"Hay Kade," Chris said, "having fun leading the team in my absence?"
"I wish," Kade replied, "Dani won't do a thing I tell her to."
"Well maybe if you asked nicely," the female brunette in a yellow jacket told him.
"I'm surprised you managed to send an interdimensional beacon," a male brunette wearing glasses and a green jacket said, "the universe your in must be very high tech."
"As high tech as ours Grant," Catherine replied, "it's thanks to our new friends that we were able to create it."
"New friends?" A girl with black hair and wearing a pink jacket asked.
They looked around and saw Flash and the rest of the gang.
"Who are they?" A black haired boy in a silver jacket asked.
"They, Aichi, are the Guardian Rangers," Catherine replied.
"More Power Rangers?" Kade asked.
"Yeap," Chris said, "and they've agreed to help us fight against Mechano."
"That's good," Ryo replied as he squeezed into the front of the group, "until we can get the Dimensional Gate working, we can't send you any reinforcements."
"Well now that you've got our dimensional signal," Twilight said, "you should be able to open a portal here once it's done."
"Indeed," Ryo replied. In that second the image began to once again grow blurry. "Our signals beginning to fail," he said, "we're losing you."
"Dad!" Chris cried as he got closer to the monitor.
"Don't worry bro," Kade said, "you just keep doing what you're doing. We'll be there as soon as we can."
"Good luck Chris?" Valarie said.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Dani said.
"More like don't do anything she would do," Grant joked.
"Be careful," Aichi said.
"Don't worry," Catherine said, "we will."
With that the image cut out and the group were left in silence. Chris sighed, before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Flash smiling at him.
"Don't worry," he said, "you'll see them again."
Chris just smirked and nodded, before an alarm cut the moment short.
"What's that?" Catherine asked.
"Security alarm," Celestia explained.
Twilight began typing at the computer, causing an image to appear on screen. It showed images of Guardroids and Megabots attacking Canterlot again, but they weren't alone. With them was an eight foot tall silver robot, with a dome shaped head and rocket shaped arms.
"That's more advanced then before," Micro said.
"It's Missile Wrist," Chris explained, "he's an attack bot that Mechano's sent against us a few times."
"We'd better get out there," Flash said.
"Wait," Twilight said as she types away and another screen appeared, showing Guardroids and Megabots attacking a different part of Canterlot.
"Two attack points?" Lyra asked.
"Mechano's favourite tactic," Catherine explained, "divide a conquer."
"What's the plan?" Sandal asked Flash.
Flash thought for a moment, then nodded. "Me, Lyra, Micro, Sweetie, Sandel and Chris will take out the group with the attack bot," he explained, "Soarin, Shining and Sunset will deal with the other force. There are no attack bots there so it won't need as many Rangers to deal with."
"I'm going to," Rainbow said, "those Guardroids and Megabots won't stand a chance against my speed."
"And my strength," Applejack said.
"I'm going to," Rarity said.
"Me three," Pinkie said.
"I want to help to," Fluttershy said quietly.
"And me," Twilight said, "our powers can help us deal with them."
"Powers?" Chris asked, only for his and Catherine's eyes to go wide when Twilight levitated a nearby book to her hand. "Whoa," he said.
"Okay," Flash said, "but listen to Shining okay." He turned to the Silver Ranger. "Think you can lead them."
Shining nodded.
"Alright," Flash said, "then let's get this done."
"RIGHT!" The fourteen others said before they all turned and headed out, ready to take on whatever Mechano threw at them. |
Power Rangers Guardians vs Power Rangers Revolution X | Mecha Rangers | Canterlot was once again in a state of panic, at the hands of Doctor Mechano's forces.
Guardroids and Megabots walked down the street, firing off laser blasts at anything that moved and or got in their way. Leading them was the attack bot Missile Wrist, who despite not having any lasers could still do a tremendous amount of damage to the city.
"Attack!" It said as it raised one of its rocket shaped arms and pointed it at a nearby building, before the rockets literally shot off the robot. It flew through the air at high speed, before it struck the building with such force that it caused whole thing to shake and then collapse. The rocket was then retracted out of the wreckage, by a long cable that connected it to Missile Wrist and caused it to return to its original position on his arm. "Attack!"
At that moment the six Rangers finally arrived at the area, looking over at the horrible destruction that Mechano's forces were causing.
"This is horrible," Sweetie said as she looked around.
"Someone needs to stop this," Sandel said.
"Someone will," Chris replied, "us."
"Got that right," Flash said, in that moment they arrived infront of the robots.
Missile Wrist and his lackeys detected the six of them, scanning them with their facial recognition software and instantly realising who they were. "Rangers detected," Missile Wrist spoke, "protocol three eight five, destroy."
"Not happening bolts for brains," Micro told him.
"Lets scrap this oversized lawnmower," Lyra told the others.
"YEAH!" They all said.
"It's Morphin Time!" Flash called out as he and the others pulled out their Magi-Chargers and held them up. "Ready!" They clicked the button as their Morphin Blasters appeared, allowing them to place the chargers inside before shutting the slot.
MAGI-CHARGERS...ENGAGED!
"Energise!" They yelled spinning the barrel, before pointing the blasters to the sky. "Unleash the Power!" They all pulled the triggers and the five heads flew out before biting down on them, decking them out in their Ranger Suits.
"Power Rangers," Flash called out as they posed and said together. "GUARDIANS!"
Chris just smirked at them. "Nice," he said before taking up a fighting stance, "my turn." He held up his right hand, as a ball of red energy appeared above it. "X Element!" He crushed the ball in his hand, causing the energy to surge around it. He then pointed his hand up, using two fingers to point upwards. "Evolution," he brought his hand down and slapped the two fingers onto his morpher, "Revolution!"
The energy flowed into his morpher, which activated and caused the red energy to fly around his entire body. The energy began to solidify into Chris's Ranger Suit, the only thing missing being his helmet. Chris then held up both his hands above his head, causing the remaining energy to converge between them and form his visorless helmet.
"MET...ON!" He pulled the helmet down onto his head, causing it to attach to the rest of his suit. Finally the visor goggles flipped down, concealing his eyes and finishing his transformation.
Chris took up a fighting stance besides the Guardian Rangers. "Revolution...RED!"
The six Rangers stood in a line, the Red Rangers in the centre, staring staring down the robotic army which was standing before them.
"You ready?" Chris asked Flash.
"What are you kidding?" Flash asked as they watched the first wave of robots charge towards them. "I was born ready!" With that the six of them rushed at the robots, ready to put up the fight of their lives.
"Magitech!" They called out as they summoned their gear.
"Energy Blade," Chris said as he pulled out his rapier, "Energy Blaster!" He fired off a couple of shots, hitting the Guardroids dead centre and knocking them down. He followed this up with several quick slashes with his sword, cutting several Megabots in half.
The rest of the Rangers began their assault against the robots.
"Alright," Micro said as he blasted several Megabots down, "looks like the tune ups worked." He spun around, unleashing a flurry of laser fire which destroyed every robot around him. "These things don't stand a chance against us now."
"Don't underestimate them," Lyra told his as she swung the bladed end of her Serpent Staff around, while using its mouth to grab the Guardroids and Megabots before throwing them into each other. "Remember, these things still managed to conquer an entire world."
"She's right," Sandel said as he used his Spirit Sabre and Fenrir Fang to mow then down like grass, "lets take these things down." He reached a group of robots that all pointed their lasers at him, but he managed to slash each of their weapons off before cutting them down.
Sweetie was being shot at by multiple robots, but her newly upgraded Sphinx Shield was able to protect her from their blasts and allowed her to get close enough to them for her to slash at them with her Spirit Sabre. "This is more like it," she said as she took them down. "I can't believe these things were such a challenge before."
"Dragon Breaker!" Flash yelled as he thrusted his right fist into a Megabot, "Head Smash!" The Megabot went flying into another group of robots, knocking them down like bowling pins. "Remember to keep changing up your fighting style. Don't give them time to adapt."
"RIGHT!" The others agreed as they continued fighting.
"Great work guys," Celestia said as she, Luna, Starswirl and Catherine watched from the base.
"Your Rangers are quite impressive," Catherine told them.
"Thank you," Luna replied, "we work them hard."
"How are the others doing?" Starswirl asked.
"They're about to reach their destination," Celestia replied, "hopefully they can finish them off quick and help the main team when their done."
Across town from where the others were battling, another group of robots was attacking.
Despite not having an attack bot with them, the Guardroids and Megabots were still causing major destruction.
Hopefully that would soon change, as the three remaining Guardian Rangers and the Mane Six had finally arrived at the scene.
"There they are," Shining said as the spotted the robots.
"Then let's crush these tin cans," Rainbow said as she pounded her fist into her hand.
"I hear that," Soarin said, "I've been itching for a fight."
"But be careful," Twilight told them, "we've all seen and heard what these things can do in great numbers."
"She's right," Sunset agreed as she stepped forwards, "you guys handle the Guardroids and leave the Megabots to Shining, Soarin and me."
The girls all nodded, as Soarin and Shining stepped forward.
"Let's do this," Shining said as they pulled out their gear, "Magi-Chargers!"
"Ready!" Sunset and Soarin replied as they held theirs out.
They then clicked them as a pair of Morphin Blasters and Soarin's Thunder Morpher appeared. They then placed their Magi-Chargers inside before shutting the slots.
"Energise!" They powered their morphers up before pointing them to the sky. "Unleash the Power!" Their morphers unleashed the heads of their Zords, which flew through the air and then bit down on them. In a flash of light, the three of them were decked out in their Ranger suits.
The three Power Rangers and six magical girls stood in a line, facing off against the robotic army.
"Let's do this," Shining said as he charged forward.
"RIGHT!" The rest called out as they followed.
The Guardroids and Megabots charged forwards, firing their lasers at the nine of them.
"Thunder Sabre!" Soarin yelled as he called upon his bladed weapon, before using it to cut down the robots.
Sunset meanwhile took out another Magi-Charger and clicked it. "Magi-Charger, ready!" She then placed it in her blaster. "Morphin Duel Blaster," she pulled the trigger, "activate!" Just like that the weapon was upgraded into the twin barrel form, which she used to blast multiple robots at once.
Shining meanwhile was showing off his well homed martial arts skills, using them to knock down several enemies with well aimed kicks and punches.
The Mane Six were also helping out.
Twilight was using her telepathy to lift up several Guardroids at once, before throwing them towards the ground. They crashed with a colossal clang, causing them to literally fall apart.
Pinkie was using her explosive sprinkles to knock them all back at a safe distance. She was so busy throwing them, that she didn't notice a Megabot standing behind her ready to fire. However in that moment, Pinkie dropped he sprinkle container. This caused her to bend down and pick it up, causing the Megabot's blast to fly over her and strike a Guardroid infront of her. Pinkie noticed this and turned to see the Megabot, who she waved at before throwing a load of sprinkles at.
Applejack was using her super strength to simply rip the robots apart with her kicks and punches. Seeing a large group of them Guardroids running at her, she grabbed a nearby dumpster and tossed it at them, crushing them.
Doing so revealed a cowering Fluttershy, who saw her hiding place was now gone and whined.
"Ya'll right?" Applejack asked.
"I love being able to talk animals," she replied, "but sometimes I wish I had a more...active ability."
Applejack smiled at her, before noticing a nearby shovel and picking it up. She then handed it to her. "This might come in handy."
Fluttershy smiled before taking the shovel.
Rarity meanwhile was using her crystal shield ability to trap the robots inside a dome, before shrinking it until they were crushed into junkyard cubes.
Rainbow meanwhile was zipping around the Guardroids, knocking them down or taking them apart. Looking around she noticed several Megabots trying to surround Soarin. Dashing over to them, she grabbed them all and then moved them until they were standing in a line infront of the Thunder Ranger. She then zipped next to him and smiled at him, a single look telling him what he needed to do.
"Thunder Sabre Strike!" His weapon surged with electrical energy, before he swung the sword down and sending the lightning towards the robots. One by one the Megabots were struck by the attack, causing them to short circuit and explode.
Seeing the smoking pile of scrap, Soarin and Rainbow fist bumped.
While all this was going on, Mechano was watching for his warehouse laboratory.
He had two computer screens, one showing the battle against Missile Wrist and one showing the battle with the Mane Six. He watched as Soarin used in lightning attack on the line of Megabots, growling as he watched his minions fall, but then he realised something. "Those girls," he said, "they're different from the Rangers and other humans of this world. What is it?" He pulled himself closer to that computer and began typing away, until the screen changed to something similar to thermal vision. "Interesting," he said as he sat back, "they're giving off the same kind of readings as those Power Rangers. They're not as strong, but maybe all six of them...yes." He reached up to the button on his temple and pressed it. "There's been a change of plans."
Back with Flash's team, the last of the Guardroids and Megabots had been taken care of, leaving them to deal with Missile Wrist.
"Last one," Flash said.
"But this'll likely be the hardest one of the lot," Lyra told him.
"Let's be careful," Micro said.
"But let's win," Sweetie finished.
"Righteous," Sandel said.
Missile Wrist turned to the Rangers, ready to fight for all it was worth as it raised its two rocket shaped arms.
"Here it comes," Chris said as he and the others got ready.
The rockets fired at the Rangers, causing them to leap out of the way. The rockets then retracted back to the robot, as the Rangers stood back up.
"Now's our chance," Flash said as he readied his weapons, "let's do this."
"Right!" The others agreed. With that they charged towards the machine.
Missile Wrist saw this coming and once again fired its rockets at them, but Flash was ready this time.
"Sandel!" He yelled as he dodged the first missile and then grabbed hold of its cable.
"Gotcha bro," Sandel caught on as he did the same, grabbing hold of the second cable.
"Nice move guys," Chris told them, "leave the rest to us."
"Fire," Micro said as he shot multiple blasts at the robot, causing it to start denting up.
Missile Wrist however, decided it didn't like this and turned its attention to Flash and Sandel. It's robot eye glowed, before an electrical surge flew out its body and travelled down the cable.
"What the?" Chris asked as he saw this.
Flash and Sandel were so focused on holding onto the cables, that they didn't notice the surge until it was to late. "AAAARRRR!" They yelled as they felt themselves get zapped, forcing them to let go of the cable and allow the robot to retract its weapons.
"GUYS!" Lyra and Sweetie yelled seeing this, only to be suddenly bashed by the rockets and sent flying.
"That's not good," Micro said. Then he and Chris saw the rockets fly passed them, before they spun around them and wrapped them up.
"This is worst," Chris said as they struggled to break free.
Missile Wrist spun on its robotic heel, causing it to spin the Rangers around before releasing them and sending them flying.
Chris and Micro yelled out as they soared through the air, before smashing into the ground infront of the rest of the Rangers.
"Ow," Micro moaned.
"This isn't going well," Sweetie said.
"A little heads up on the electrified cable next time man," Flash told Chris as he got up.
"It's never used that before," the Revolution Ranger replied, "Mechano's seriously tuned this thing up."
"So how do we beat it?" Lyra asked.
"I'm open to suggestions," Flash told them.
"We could try surrounding it," Micro said, "two rockets against six of us. It can't hit all of us."
"Right," Flash said, "circle formation!"
They all nodded before Sandel, Sweetie and Lyra rushed at the robot.
Missile Wrist fired its rockets at them, but the three dodged and then leapt over it to land on the opposite side.
As the robot retracted its arms, its domed head spun a full three sixty to see itself surround by the six Rangers. Said Rangers each pulled out their blasters and powered them up, everyone but Chris placing a Magi-Charger in theirs, before pointing them at the robot.
"FIRE!" Flash yelled, causing them to unleash their attacks at the robot.
One by one their attack struck the robot, damaging its armouring enough for the it to detect a danger. Suddenly it pointed its arms it two opposite directions and fired the rockets, before spinning on his heel. Doing so caused the cables to whip around in a circle.
"Whoa!" Flash and the others yelled as they ducked down to avoid the cables.
"This things way smarter then its previous incarnations," Chris said as he and the others picked themselves up.
"So what now?" Sweetie asked, deflecting a rocket fist with her shield.
"Celestia," Flash said as he opened the coms, "any ideas?" However all we was getting was static.
"Must be a jamming signal," Chris told him, "another of Mechano's favourite strategies."
"So we've got no technical help?" Sandal asked, before dodging an incoming rocket fist.
"Looks like it," Micro said, "but we can't give up."
"He's right," Flash said, "no matter what we keep fighting."
"RIGHT!" They yelled as they charged forward.
Back with Shining's group, they were down to their last few opponent.
"Almost done," Soarin said as he slashed another in half.
"Good," Shining said as he kicked another one down, "think you can get them in one area. I've got an idea."
"No problem," Rainbow said.
"Leave it to us," Twilight told her brother.
With that the two used their magic abilities to move the remaining robots into one large group, with Shining standing only a few feet away.
"Alright," he said, "time to end this." Shining smashed his right fist into his left palm, as it glowed a silver light. "Power Ranger," he spun around and with all his might he punched the air," Ultimate Justice Punch!" From his fist fired a powerful burst of energy, which flew at the robots and struck them. Shining spun around, as an explosion occurred and consumed the Guardroids and Megabots.
"Woowee," Applejack cheered, "that was a sight ta see."
"Indeed," Rarity said.
"We're not done yet," Sunset said, "Flash and the others need our help."
"RIGHT!" They all agreed before turning to leave, however.
"Wait!"
They all stopped at the sound of Celestia over the coms.
"We're still detecting Mechano's robots in that area."
"You need to find them and deal with them," Luna finished.
"But where are they?" Twilight asked.
Unknown to them, standing atop a nearby building were five figures watching them.
Back down bellow, the Rangers and girls were all planning out what to do when suddenly.
BOOM!
The nine of them were almost blown of their feet, as something crashed into the ground a few feet away. Doing so had kicked up a dust cloud
"What was that?" Pinkie asked.
"I don't know," Shining said as he and the other Rangers took up a fighting stance, "but be on guard."
They all did, preparing for whatever it was that was about to come out of the dust. Finally the cloud faded and they saw what it was, before each of their eyes went wide.
Back with Flash's team, they were still battling against Missile Wrist.
"This is getting us nowhere," Lyra said.
"We need to take this thing out," Sweetie said.
"I've got an idea," Chris told them, "but it may involve two of you getting zapped."
"Sounds like fun," Sandel told him.
"I'm in," Flash said.
"Good," Chris replied, "then grab those cables again and don't let go no matter what."
"ON IT!" The Red and Green Guardian Rangers yelled as they charged forward.
Missile Wrist saw them coming and once again raised its arms, before firing to rockets at them.
Flash and Sandel didn't flinch seeing them coming, instead they simply side stepped away and then grabbed hold of the wires. Seeing this, Missile Wrist once again unleashed a surge of energy that struck the two. They cried out in pain, but this time they refused to let go.
"Now's our chance," Chris said as he pulled out his Energy Blade.
"Right," the Guardian Rangers said as they pulled out our own weapons.
"Spirit Sabre!" Sweetie yelled.
"Serpent Staff!" Lyra called out.
"And as for me," Micro placed a Magi-Charger in his blaster and pulled the trigger, "Magi-Drill Blade!" The drill gauntlets appeared on his arms, ready to help him slice and dice.
"Lets do this," Chris said as he charged forward, the Guardian Rangers following his lead.
Rushing over to Flash and Sandel, they raised their weapons before swinging them down at the cable. Chris and Lyra struck Flash's cable, with Micro and Sweetie got Sandel's. With enough force, they managed to sever the cable and make Missile Wrist weaponless.
"Alright," Flash said as he threw the cable away, "it might have been painful but it was worth it to disarm him."
"Really?" Chris asked, obviously not amused by Flash's joke.
Flash just smirked under his helmet, before turning back to the robot. "Let's end this," he said as he readied his gear. "Magi-Charger!" Flash said as he held up the device and clicked the button, "Ready. Guardian Buster, activate." He threw the Charger in the air before it transformed into the super weapon, which he caught and activated.
Magi-Chargers," everyone said, as they activated their Chargers and placed them in the compartments before shutting them. "Locked and loaded."
GUARDIAN BUSTER...RED CHARGE!
As the weapon charged, the Ranger took their positions. "Guardian Buster, Dragon Blast...FIRE!" Flash pulled the trigger and a single powerful blast shot out, which morphed into the shape of the Dragon Zord's head.
All Missile Wrist could do was watched as the flaming dragon head flew towards him and struck, causing an explosion which consumed the robot.
As the watched the fireball, the Rangers all cheered seeing their opponent destroyed. Chris however wasn't cheering and was staring at the fire.
"Don't celebrate to soon," he said, "these things don't stop as long as their in one piece."
"What's to worry about," Flash told him, "that thing's scrap."
However, in that moment the fire dissipated and they could see something inside it.
Missile Wrist was still standing, badly damaged but in one piece.
"No way," Micro said, "we trashed that thing."
"I think it's about to get worse," Chris told them.
"How much worse?" Lyra asked.
"Danger," the robot spoke, "danger. Initiate Last Resort Protocol six, six, six." The robot began to glow. "INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION!" With that the robot exploded into a massive stream of light which began to take shape, before said light faded reveal a giant Missile Wrist.
"No way," Flash said, "those robots can grow giant sized too."
"They can," Chris told him, "this is bad. If only I had the Power Hauler."
"Don't worry," Lyra told him, "we've got this."
"Yeah," Sweetie said, "this isn't our first giant monster experience."
"Let's go guys," Flash said as he and the girls took out their Magi-Chargers.
"Magi-Chargers," they said in unison as they clicked the buttons before throwing them in the air, "summons Zords!"
MAGI-CHARGERS...ENGAGED!
The Zords activated and emerged from their hiding spots, before rushing to their Rangers aid.
"Activate Guardian Megazord," the three said, "Sphinx-Serpent Formation."
ZORDS COMBINED!.
The three Zords linked together as the Rangers teleported into the cockpit, placed their blasters in the slots and readied themselves for battle.
GUARDIAN MEGAZORD, SPHINX-SERPENT FORMATION...READY!
Inside the Megazord's cockpit, the six Rangers warped inside with Chris the only one not on a podium.
"Whoa," he said looking around, "this is way different from my Megazord.
"Watch and learn," Flash told him as he and the others placed their Morphin Blasters in the stands and prepared for battle. "Ready?"
"READY!" The others said as they to got into a battle stance.
The Megazord and Missile Wrist stared each other down, ready to battle.
Missile Wrist raised one of its newly repaired rocket fists, before firing it at the Megazord.
Said Megazord held up its shield, blocking the rocket which flew back towards the robot.
"Now," Flash ordered as they had the Megazord charge forward as it raised its other weapon.
"Tail Sabre!" They yelled as they swung their weapon down, striking the robot and damaging it.
Missile Wrist staggered back, before firing its over rocket. The Megazord once again raised its shield, blocking it but the robot fired its other rocket at them.
"Look out!" Lyra yelled as the Megazord sidestepped to dodge, causing the rocket to fly into the ground.
"Now's our chance," Micro said.
The Megazord quickly turned to the cable connecting the rocket to Missile Wrist, before raising its sword and then swinging it down to cut the cable. The cable snapped, leaving Missile Wrist with only one rocket.
"One down," Sweetie said.
"And one to go," Sandel finished.
Missile Wrist stared at the spot where its arm had been, before turning to the Megazord as it rushed towards him. It raised its last rocket arm and fire, but the Megazord dropped its weapons and grabbed the rocket. The robot saw this and tried to retract the rocket, but the Megazord held on for all it was worth. The two giant robots spent several second playing a game of tug of war, before finally the strain was to much and the cable snapped.
"Nice," Chris said seeing this.
"Now he's defenceless," Micro said.
"Let's put an end to this," Flash told them, getting a node in agreement.
The five Rangers moved and spoke in perfect sync. "Dragon Zord...Final Strike!"
The Dragon's head flipped up and opened its mouth, as flames formed within. The fire shot out of its mouth and flew towards Missile Wrist, who was quickly consumed.
"Error," it spoke, "error...errorrrrr." With that the robot succumb to the flames, exploding as it did.
The Rangers all cheered seeing the robot destroyed.
"Alright," Flash said.
"That was tricky," Lyra said, "but we did it."
"Sure did," Micro agreed.
"RANGERS!"
The six all jumped hearing Principle Celestia's voice scream through the coms.
"Looks like the jamming signal's gone," Flash said, "we hear you."
"You need to get over to Shining's team's coordinates," Celestia said, "we lost contact with them."
The Rangers all shared a worried glance, beginning to worry about what might have happened to their friends.
The Rangers rushed over to the area the others were suppose to be at, but when they arrived they couldn't find them.
"Anything?" Flash asked as the others regrouped after they had split up to look.
"Nothing," Sandel told him.
"They've gotta be here somewhere," Sweetie said.
"Wait," Chris said, "look!" He pointed to an area behind some buildings, where smoke could be seen floating up.
"Oh no," Flash said.
With that they rushed over to the area, but what they found when they got there was horrifying.
The entire area had been completely destroyed. The pavement ripped apart, street lamps and others knocked down and several large pieces of debris scattered all over.
"What happened here?" Lyra asked.
"Some kind of big battle," Micro replied.
"But who was fighting?" Flash asked. No way the Guardroids and Megabots could do this, so if Twilight and the others and caused this then what was it that made them do it...and where were they.
Suddenly a loud groan caught their attention, causing them to turn to a pile of rubble and see it move.
"Someone's under there!" Sweetie cried.
"Come on," Flash told them.
They rushed over to a pile of rubble and began to move it, revealing a severally injured and demorphed Shining Armor.
"Shining!" Flash said as he took of his helmet and kneeled down to sit him up, "what happened to you? Can you hear me?"
Shining's eyes creaked open, as he groaned. "Flash," he croaked out, "you've got...to save her."
"Her?" Flash asked before looking around, "where are they others? Where's Twilight?"
More moaning caught their attention, causing them to look around and see Sunset and Soarin, in a similar state to Shining, pull themselves out of the wreckage of the street.
"Guys!" Micro said as he and Sandel rushed over to Soarin.
"What happened?" Sweetie asked as she and Lyra moved over to Sunset.
"We'd finished off the Guardroids and Megabots," Soarin explained in a pained voice, "but then something else showed up."
"What?" Sandel asked.
"They were like nothing we've ever seen," Sunset groaned, "so fast, so strong."
"What were they?" Lyra asked.
However, in that moment a new sound caught their attention. Multiple heavy footsteps, closing in from nearby.
They all slowly turned to the source, seeing what it was and all gasped. No one was more shook then Chris, whose eyes had gone wide as saucers.
"No," he said as he walked a few steps forward "it can't be."
Flash too was amazed at what he was seeing. "They look like...Power Rangers."
Truer words were never spoken. Walking towards them were five multicoloured individuals. They appeared to be wearing the same costumes as Chris, only instead of spandex their suits were full body armour. Each was a different colour, pink, green, yellow blue and leading them was a figure in red.
The Guardian Rangers put down their injured comrades and moved over to the Red Revolution Ranger.
"Chris," Flash said as he reset his helmet, "you know what these things are?"
"Yeah," Chris replied, "I do. They...are the Mecha Rangers."
"Mecha Rangers?" Micro asked.
"Robotic duplicates of me and my siblings. Designed to be the ultimate Power Ranger killers...and they are."
"Be careful," Soarin yelled to them, "even with nine of us fighting together, we didn't stand a chance against them."
"He's right," Sunset agreed, "they blasted us back and then knocked the girls out. A bunch of Guardroids took them away."
Hearing this made the Rangers all grow angry. "They'll pay for that," Flash said.
"Guys wait," Chris said but the others didn't listen and rushed forward as they pulled out their weapons.
The Mecha Rangers saw them coming and scanned them, determining their opponent's weapon before their arms opened up. From out of them came a pair of devices which flew into their hands, before unfolding and transforming into a bunch of different weapons.
Green carried a pair of mechanical swords in its hands.
Pink carried a mechanical shield and sword.
Yellow carried a pair of futuristic blasters.
Blue connected the two devices into a mechanical spear like weapon.
Finally Red carried a sword and a blaster in his hands.
Weapons in hand the Mecha Rangers charged at their Guardian Ranger counterpart. The two forces met and despite using the exact same weapons, the Mecha Rangers proved stronger.
Sandel swiped at Mecha Green with his Spirit Sabre and Fenrir Fang, but the robot easily counted his attacks and managed to slash him twice down the chest.
Sweetie tried to strike Mecha Pink with her Sabre, but the robot used its shield to block the attack before striking her with its sword. Sweetie tried to block which her shield, but Mecha Pink managed to out manoeuvre her and slash her.
Micro used his Morphin Blaster and Griffon Shooter to try and blast Mecha Yellow, but the robot fired its own blasters to counter the incoming lasers. It then leapt in the air and kicked Micro, before spinning around and shooting him with its blasters.
Lyra and Mecha Blue clashed with their weapons, pushing each other back. However the robots spear head began to spin as it moved it closer the Lyra's head, forcing the Ranger to jump back. This gave Mecha Blue the opening it needed to spin around and thrust the other end of its spear into Lyra's chest, sending the Ranger flying back.
Flash and Mecha Red fought against each other in perfect harmony, slashing and blasting at each other the second the other did. Eventually Mecha Red managed to get the upper hand on Flash and knocked his blaster out of his hand, allowing the robot to blast the Red Ranger before delivering the powerful slash to his chest.
The five Guardians Rangers were all knocked off their feet and landed on the floor with a groan. As they tried to pick themselves up, they suddenly found the Mecha Rangers standing above them. Before they knew what was happening, the five robots reached out and grabbed their foreheads.
Suddenly the five screamed in pain as they felt themselves be electrocuted.
"NO!" Chris yelled as he rushed towards them, but before he could get there the Mecha Rangers finished whatever they were doing and threw their counterparts away. The Ranger crashed to the ground as they were demorphed.
"You alright?" Chris asked as he knelt down next to them.
"I think so?" Flash replied with a groan.
"We need to get out of here," Chris told him. "We're no match for them, especially now that they've downloaded you."
"Downloaded?" Micro asked as he tried to pick himself up.
"They did it the first time my team met them," Chris replied, "they scanned your mind and downloaded everything into themselves. They now probably know more about you then you do and they're gonna use it to destroy you."
In that moment the Mecha Rangers had finished their update and were once again on the attack.
"We have to get out of here," Chris told them. "There's no way we can beat them."
"But Twilight," Flash began.
"You can't help her if you get destroyed," Chris interrupted.
"But I doubt they're just gonna let us leave," Lyra told him.
She was right. They needed a way out, but how?
Suddenly something flew passed them, laser blasts. They flew over their heads and struck the Mecha Rangers, knocking them back.
Chris and the Guardian Rangers spun around, seeing the source of the blast and smiled.
Walking down the street, blasters raised, were five figures wearing suits similar to Chris's except they were different colours. Silver, blue, yellow, green and pink Power Rangers stepped towards them.
They all smiled seeing this.
"Is that?" Sweetie asked.
"Yeah," Chris said, "that's my team."
The five Rangers rushed over to them, looking them over as they tried to help them up.
"You guys look like you could use a little help," Aichi said as he and Chris helped Shining up.
"Yeah," Chris replied, "glad to see you here."
"Dad managed to fix the portal enough for the six of us to come through," Kade said as he and Grant helped Soarin up.
"Six?" Lyra asked.
The Mecha Rangers soon recovered from the surprise attack, before turning back to the Rangers. However in that moment, Commander Ryn leapt infront of them.
"You're not going anywhere," he said as he placed a device on the ground and activated it.
The Mecha Rangers looked down at it a realised it was an energy field generator, but it was useless on its own. However, as Ryn activated it, the device shot out a pair of green electrical chains which flew in opposite directions. Following the chains the robots saw them hit another pair of generators, one to their left and one to their right, which each fired off another chain that connected to a fourth generator behind them. Mecha Red reached out the try and grab Ryn, but he was suddenly stopped by an invisible barrier.
"Come on," Ryn said as he rushed towards them, "that field won't hold long. We have to go now."
The Rangers nodded before running away, off to lick their wounds and hopefully come up with a plan to defeat the Mecha Rangers and Doctor Mechano. |
Power Rangers Guardians vs Power Rangers Revolution X | Power Rangers Unite | Everything hurt.
That was the first thought that popped into Twilight's head as she began to regain consciousness. As her eyes flicked open, she caught a glimpse of many Guardroids and Megabots walking passed her.
"She's awake," she heard Rarity's voice to her left, making her focus enough to turn her head.
Rainbow was on her left, with Rarity and then Pinkie next to her. The three of them were each strapped into a mechanical X shaped restraining board, their hands and feet strapped to one of the four points by robotic shackles.
"You okay Sugarcube?" Applejack's voice made her turn to see her and Fluttershy to her right, both held by the same machine. Looking up she also saw she was strapped to one as well.
"I'm fine," Twilight said, "but what happened?"
"Those robotic freaks beat us," Rainbow growled, obviously sore about being beaten.
"They were so powerful," Rarity said, "nothing we did even slowed them down."
Twilight remembered now. Five robotic Power Rangers had appeared and attacked them, to strong for them all to take down. Her heart suddenly jolted as she remembered seeing her brother be thrown through a wall.
"Shining?" She asked looking around, "is he okay? What about Sunset and Soarin?"
"We don't know," Pinkie replied, her hair flat. "We haven't seen them."
Fluttershy nodded in fear. "I remember seeing Sunset trying to fight off the pink one, but the robot swatted her away before it knocked me out."
"So it's just us here?" Twilight asked as she looked up at the shackles holding her wrists. "Good, that means it'll be easier to escape once I get these off."
Knowing what Twilight was about to do, the girl's eyes all suddenly went wide.
"Twilight," Rainbow called out, "don't-" but it was to late and Twilight activated her magic. The second she did however, she suddenly felt a surge of electrical energy rush through her body and cause her to scream out in pain. It lasted for several long seconds, before the surge finally ended and Twilight slumped forwards as she panted for breath.
"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes," Twilight groaned out, "but what happened?"
"It happens every time these monstrosities detect magic," Rarity told her.
"We already tried our powers," Applejack continued, "but the same thing happened."
"These mean things won't let us do anything," Pinkie pouted.
"So we're trapped?" Twilight asked.
"I'm afraid so," Rarity replied.
Rainbow meanwhile, was pulling at her shackles as she did everything she could to try and break it. "If I could just get one hand free."
"Oh that won't be happening my dear."
The girls all froze, before looking over at the source of the voice to see Mechano and the Mecha Rangers stepping towards them.
"Those shackles are made from the same materiel as my Megabots. No ordinary human could possible break them."
The girls all frowned at the cyborg.
"We're not exactly on par with your ordinary human," Rainbow told him.
"You are while your strapped into that thing," Mechano replied, "I inputted the unusual energy reading you six give off into it. It not only prevents you from using it, but it's also siphoning the background energy you're giving off."
The girls all shared a concerned look hearing this. He had found a way to drain their magic, but what was he using it for?
As if reading their minds, Mechano smiled before turning to a the Mecha Rangers. "Bring them," he said as he walked away.
With that the five robotic Rangers and a Guardroid moved behind the girls and began pushing their restraint boards, which had wheels, to follow after Mechano.
"I should really thank you ladies," he said as they travelled across the warehouse. "Thanks to the six of you, I can now power my ultimate weapon."
"We'll never help you," Twilight told him.
"Oh but you already are," Mechano replied. "I might not know what this unusual energy you generate is, but I do know it will allow me to conquer this world the way I conquered mine."
"Our friends won't let you do that," Rainbow told him, still trying to break her restraints.
"That's right," Rarity agreed, "they'll stop you, you...you cad!"
Mechano simply chuckled, as they arrived at a part of the warehouse that was hidden by a sheet. "You friends don't stand a chance. They didn't even put up a threat for the Mecha Rangers, so how do you expect them to defeat this." With that, he grabbed the sheet and pulled it away.
The girls all looked inside the room and gasped at what they saw.
Mechano simply smiled seeing their horrified expressions. "When this is fully powered, there won't be anyone who can stop me." With that he laughed, before stepping into the room followed by the now all struggling girls.
Back at the base, the mood was sour.
The Guardian Rangers had just been bandaged up and were currently sitting at a table to rest and recuperate, but even so they weren't happy.
Finally the silence was broken as Flash brought his fist crashing down onto the tabletop. "USELESS!" He cried as he stood up. "We're suppose to be the protectors our world, but we can't even protect our own friends. DAMN IT!"
"Flash," Celestia said as she moved over to them, "you have to calm down."
"Calm down!" Shining almost yelled at her, "how can we be calm! Our friends have been kidnapped and are having who knows what done to them, with one of them being my sister."
"We'll save them," Luna assured the Silver Ranger.
"How?" Lyra asked, curled up in her seat. "We didn't stand a chance against those Mecha Rangers."
"They made vapourware out of us," Micro said.
"How are we suppose to defeat something so powerful?" Sweetie asked.
"Can we defeat something so powerful?" Sandel asked.
"I'm not sure we can," Soarin answered sitting back and planting his head on the back wall.
Sunset, the only Ranger not at the table, was at the computer trying to find their friends, but so far nothing was coming up. Growing desperate, she struck the keyboard so hard she almost broke it.
On the other side of the room, Ryn, Catherine and the Revolution Rangers watched as their new allies feel further and further into depression.
"This is bad," Kade said to his group.
"Can you really blame them?" Valarie asked, "we went through something similar after we first met the Mecha Rangers."
"She's right," Grant said.
"Well unlike us," Dani said, "they don't have the luxury of sitting around moping. Not if they want to save their friends."
"She's right," Aichi said.
"Then we need to help them," Ryn said.
"Okay," Chris said as he stepped towards them. "Okay, enough feeling sorry for yourselves. We've got work to do."
The Guardian Rangers all looked up at him.
"What do you want us to do?" Flash asked, "you saw what happened."
"Yeah," Chris replied, "I saw you rush in and get your morphers handed to you." The others all became sombre hearing this. "You guys messed up, but that doesn't mean we just give up."
Flash stared at Chris for several seconds, before sighing. "You're right, we can't let this stop us."
"We have to do something," Lyra said as she and the others stood up.
They moved over to the computer, which was now showing the battle against the Mecha Rangers.
"Those things are super strong," Soarin said as he rubbed his shoulder. "I can still fell the punch that blue one gave me."
"Catherine," Micro turned to the middle aged woman, "you must have defeated them before. How?"
"It wasn't easy," Catherine replied.
"Tell me about it," Dani said.
"We've never been able to defeat all the Mecha Rangers," Kade explained. "The best we've done is pick them off one at a time through surprise attacks."
"Except the Mecha Rangers have a constant link to Mechano's main computer," Grant said, "so when they were destroyed their artificial intelligence survived and were downloaded into his computer."
"So Mechano was able to just implant them into a new body," Valarie said.
"The only difference is they get upgraded each time they're rebuilt," Chris said.
"The last time we beat them," Catherine continued, "we inputted a virus into Mecha Green and when we managed to destroy it the virus was uploaded to Mechano's system. We thought it had deleted the Mecha Rangers, but it seems Mechano managed to salvage them."
"And now they're here," Flash said.
"And not only do they kick butt," Sweetie said, "but they know everything about us."
"They can predict our every move," Sandel said.
"How are we suppose to fight against that?" Soarin asked.
Seeing everyone was getting depressed again, Ryn stepped in. "Hey, I thought we agreed no feeling sorry. We're gonna find a way to beat them, along with a way to save your friends."
"Commander Ryn is correct," Starswirl, who had been keeping to himself until now, said. "We will succeed, but how can we do so if we believe we cannot."
"We should all rest up for now," Celestia said, "it's likely we won't find anything for a while and we'll need you all at full strength if we want you to be victorious."
The Rangers all nodded, though they were unhappy about this, before the Guardian Rangers all turned and walked out the door. The Revolution Rangers all slowly left after them. Celestia, Luna, Starswirl and Ryn also headed out, leaving Catherine and Sunset alone.
The Gold Ranger started typing away again, as Catherine gently moved over to another one and started working on something.
They worked for several minutes until the mother of six finally broke the silence. "Are you okay?"
Sunset's typing ceased, as she simply started at the screen.
"I know it's hard," Catherine continued, "sitting back and watching as those you care about are in constant danger. Lord knows the number of times I've had to watch my children fight to save the world."
Sunset sighed, before turning to her. "Yeah, it is hard. I had to watch as the closest thing I have to a family was taken away and I couldn't do a thing about it."
"You must really care about them," Catherine said.
Sunset nodded. "Before I was a Power Ranger, before I was...anything special, I did a lot of terrible things. Twilight...well not that Twilight, saved me from myself. They taught me what really mattered and help me become the person I am today." She turned to look at the gold crystal, resting in its bed. "If it wasn't for them, I's never have been worthy of being a Ranger."
Catherine didn't understand a few bits of that, but she knew what Sunset was trying to say.
"But when push comes to shove, I couldn't help them when it mattered."
Catherine moved over to the girl and placed her hand on her shoulder. "No one's perfect. We're only human, we make mistakes and sometimes we fail. The only thing you can do right now is learn from those mistakes, so you don't make them again."
Sunset let what Catherine said mull over in her head.
"You can't change what happened before," Catherine continued, "all you do is keep trying and do your best. So...what are you gonna do?"
She stared at Sunset for several moment as the girl stood there thinking, until finally the girl smiled. "I'm going to find my friends and then, we're gonna save them."
"Atta girl," Catherine replied before they both turned back to the computers and restarted their work, now more calm and focused on the task at hand.
Over in the gym, we find Shining wearing some training gear and repeatedly striking a punching bag.
Again and again and again he punched it with all his might, while the image of his baby sister continued to appear in his head. Doing so made him even more angry, causing him to punch the target harder. Finally he punch the bag so hard, the force ripped it right off its chain and sent it flying across the room.
Shining panted in frustration, seemingly unable to calm down.
"Impressive."
Shining turned to see Commander Ryn standing at the entrance of the gym.
"You're obviously quite strong," he said as he moved over to where the bag had landed, before examining it to see what Shining's punch had done.
"Not strong enough," Shining said as he moved over to where the rest of the school's punching bags were kept, before grabbing another one and pulling it over to where he wanted it.
Ryn watched him for several seconds as he struggled to lift the heavy bag, until finally he moved over to him and helped lift it. "You can't blame yourself for what happened. I've seen the Mecha Rangers take down a whole army of my best soldiers, along with the Rangers."
"It doesn't matter," Shining said as he started pounding at the new bag, Ryn keeping it steady. "Flash trusted me to lead them, but then I went a failed to protect them from the those monsters. Now my sister is who knows where and having who knows what done to her."
"Your sister is fine," Ryn replied as he watched the Silver Ranger throw punch after punch. "I know Mechano and even though he's insane, he's not an idiot. He took your sister and her friends for a reason and as long as he has need of them, he won't do anything to permanently harm them."
Shining sighed. Hearing this should have made him feel better, but it didn't. It only made him worry more at the terrifying thought of what Mechano could possible want with Twilight and her friends.
"I'm suppose to protect her," Shining said as his punched became half hearted. "I swore I would always be there when she needed me." He remembered how Cadance had told him about the Midnight Sparkle incident, how his sister had been transformed into a monster and he wasn't there to help her. Then when he learned she was helping the Power Rangers, that had made him want to be a Ranger to keep her safe. "But I didn't."
Ryn remained silent as he watched the young man stew, before moving over to him and grabbing his shoulders. He then began to direct him to the gyms seats, before making him sit. "I know how it feels, wanting to keep the ones you love safe but not being able to."
"How could you know?" Shining asked, slightly harsher then he wanted.
Ryn turned to him, a look a steely focus in his eyes. "I lost my younger brother in Mechano's first invasion."
Shining turned to look him in the eyes, shocked to hear this.
"It was before I was made commander and my brother Cam was just starting out in infantry. When Mechano first attacked and we were evacuating to the City of Hope, I was stationed at the gates while my brother's division was sent out to make a clear path for the civilians. Just before the Particle Barrier was raised, his troop returned but...Cam wasn't among them."
Shining felt bad for what he had said before. This man had actually lost his brother, yet he was still going.
Ryn stood up, before moving over to where the punching bag hung. "The pain I felt that day scared me, made me feel like there was nothing left to fight for...but I was wrong." He turned to look Shining in the eye. "I had to keep fighting, to make sure Mechano didn't rip apart any other families, the way he ripped mine apart. My brother would want me to keep fighting and I'm sure, that your sister would want you to keep fighting as well." He stepped over to him, before holding out his hand. "I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to help you save your sister."
Shining stared at his hand for a second, before smiling as he took it and was pulled up to his feet.
"You're right," he said, "I can't let this stop me. I have to keep going for my sister."
"That's the spirit," Ryn replied before they moved back over to the punching bag. "Now, let me show you a few moves that might help you."
Shining nodded, before turning his attention onto the bag.
Out on the field, we find Soarin kicking a soccer ball around.
He aimed it at the goal, before kicking the ball with all his might. It soared through the air, before hitting the goal post and bouncing back at him. He groaned before kicking it again, causing it to hit the post again. With a growl he kicked the ball one more time, causing it to fly so high that it went over the goal entirely. Soarin let out a frustrated yell, as he kicked the ground and caused grass and dirt to go flying before he sat down.
On the sidelines, Aichi was watching him.
He walked over to where the ball had landed, before picking it up and bringing it back to the Thunder Ranger.
"Looks like fun," he said as he placed the ball on the floor, "wanna show me how to play?"
Soarin looked up at him in surprise. "You don't know how to play soccer?"
"Not a lot of sports in my world," Aichi replied, "even less in the future."
Soarin thought for a moment, until he nodded and stood back up.
For several minutes the two of them kicked the ball around, as Soarin explained the basic rules to Aichi. "So," Soarin said once they were in the swing of it, "you're really from the future."
"Yeap," Aichi replied as he kicked the ball to him. "I spent my whole life on the run from Mechano. But once I discovered the Neo Morpher, I realised I could change the future and save my family."
"Well," Soarin replied as he looked up at him, "I'm sure when you get back to your time everything will be better." He kicked the ball back to him, but Aichi simply stood there as the ball hit his feet.
"Yeah," he said solemnly. This didn't go unnoticed.
"You alright?"
"Well," Aichi bent down and picked up the ball, "time travel's not exactly a known subject. There no knowing what kind of effect changing the past has on the future...or me."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, that when we finally defeat Mechano the future I came from will no longer exist. That means that I might disappear and then be replaced by an entirely different Aichi Davis."
"So you'd just cease to exist?" Soarin asked.
"It's possible," Aichi replied.
Soarin wasn't sure how to respond. He knew his actions were putting his ever existence at risk, but even so he was still working to change the future.
"Whoa," he said, "I don't think I could do that. Change the future knowing I might be erased."
Aichi just nodded, before throwing the ball at the teen. "I admit it was scary when the thought first entered my head, but then I remembered everything I went through before travelling back. I realised that even though I might disappear, I won't be completely gone. I'll live on in my younger self and the memories my family have of me."
Hearing this made Soarin smile, before dropping the ball and kicking towards the goal. Aichi was on his heel, ready for his first game of soccer.
In one of the classrooms, we find Sandelwood sitting on the floor meditating.
"Hummmmm," he said as he tried to clear his head, "Hummmmm. Hum-mow what's the use." He uncrossed his legs and jumped up onto his feet, before moving over to where he'd placed the desks he'd moved and began rearranging them.
The door opened and Grant stepped inside, seeing Sandal and walking over to him.
"Hey," Grant said, getting his fellow Green Rangers attention.
"Oh hey," Sandel replied.
Grant moved over and began helping put the desks back. "You okay?"
"I guess," Sandel said, "though I'm finding it hard to open my chakra."
"I see," Grant said.
"Sorry," Sandel told him, "you don't want to listen to stuff you don't believe in."
"On the contrary," Grant replied, "I do."
"You do?" Sandel asked, "but the way you act and talk, I figured you'd be more like Micro."
"If you mean I believe in science and reasoning, I do, but that doesn't mean I don't also believe in the supernatural."
"Really?"
"Indeed," he replied, "in fact, the supernatural is something I have great interest in. A long time ago humanity believed the sky was blue because the gods painted it, until someone discovered the true reason. I believe that magic and other stuff does exist, but we just don't understand it."
"Makes sense," Sandel replied.
"Besides," Grant held up his hand, before it sparked with green energy that Sandel guessed was X Energy. "Most people would say what I can do was magic, because they don't understand it."
Sandel smirked before thinking for a moment. "You wanna try meditating?"
Grant just shrugged. "Sure, sounds interesting."
Sandel nodded before the two began rearranging the desks once again to give them more space.
In the schools kitchen, we find Sweetie wearing an apron with a bunch of baking equipment around her.
Valarie stepped inside and saw her, before smiling, grabbing a nearby apron and stepping over to her. "What we making?"
"Not sure," Sweetie replied, "something...anything."
"Alright," Valarie replied before grabbing her cook book and flipping it onto a random page. "Here we go, lemon cake."
"Yeah sure," Sweetie replied, "whatever."
As the to began to bake, Valerie watched as Sweetie mixed the ingredients into her bowl.
"So," she asked, "you okay?"
"I'm fine," Sweetie replied as she cracked open another egg to put in the mixture.
"You sure?" Valarie asked, "because your being overly aggressive with that mixture." She pointed to the bowl, causing Sweetie to actually look down and see the mixture was done and she had been beating it longer then necessary.
"Sorry," she said as she handed to bowl to her Ranger counterpart.
"It's fine," she said, "your worried about your friends. It's okay to be."
"It's times like this I wish for the days before I'd met any of them," Sweetie said.
"You don't mean that," Valarie told her.
Sweetie just sighed, before nodding. "You're right, I don't. I never want to go back to before I met them."
"It can't have been that bad. You're what, seventeen...eighteen?"
Sweetie just smirked as she folded her arms. "I'll be turning a hundred and ten soon enough."
Valarie laughed at what she thought was a joke, until Sweetie's serious face made her realises she wasn't kidding. "You're serious?" She looked at her more closely. "What's you secret?"
"Bonding to a magical jewel from another world, that stopped me ageing until I met Starswirl."
"Arr," Valarie replied, "so no cream?"
The two girls laughed, Sweetie's worries now completely forgotten, before returning to the baking.
Shifting rooms to the actual cafeteria, we find Micro with his laptop.
Currently, he was going over the battle footage of the Mecha Rangers and trying to find a possible weak spot. However, so far nothing he did seemed to reveal an answer. "Come on," he said as he pushed his glasses up to his forehead and rubbed his eyes, "there has to be something I can do."
"Never thought I'd see a Yellow Ranger fawning over a computer."
Micro replaced his glasses and saw Dani stepping over to him.
"I like computers," he said, "got a problem with that?"
"Not at all," Dani replied as she sat down across from him, "I've actually got a lot of respect for you eggheads. My twin brothers the smartest guy I know. Sometimes I wish I could be that smart."
Micro just scoffed at her statement, before turning back to the computer. "Yeah sure. Say that again, when you have everyone looking to you and your big brain to come up with an answer for everything." He sighed as he sat back and stared at the ceiling. "Sometimes I wish I could swap my Element with someone else, to be brave or strong or selfless. So I wouldn't have this nagging feeling of always having to come up with the answer."
Hearing this Dani simply let out a loud chuckle, getting Micro's attention.
"What's so funny?"
"Just the fact that you're are wishing to get rid of the one thing everyone else would kill for." Dani stood up and walked around the table, arriving next to him and spinning his chair until he was facing her. "Listen," she said as she grabbed his head and made sure he was looking her in the eyes, "never wish away your intellect. There's a reason you were given it, because you're the best one to use it. Now stop moping and get back to work, because everyone's counting on you."
"Alright," a very scared Micro replied.
"Good," Dani said as she let go and then walked off. "I'll get you some brain food."
In one of the corridors, we find Lyra had fallen on her old standby...cleaning.
She was currently mopping the floor and had been scrubbing the same spot for almost five whole minutes now.
"Not bad."
She looked up to see Kade leaning on a nearby wall.
"Clean the rest of the place that thoroughly and you should have to worlds cleanest school by the time you're done...in five years."
"Funny," Lyra said before continuing her work.
Kade noticed another mop leaning against the wall, which he grabbed and dipped in the bucket before he began helping.
Seeing this made Lyra roll her eyes. "You don't need to do that."
"Beats doing nothing," Kade replied.
"Fine," Lyra said before smirking, "you missed a spot."
Kade looked up at his Ranger counterpart, before raising an eyebrow. "Where?"
Lyra's smirk grew, before she brought the mop up and shoved the head of it in his face. "Right there."
Kade knocked the mop head away, before wiping his face of the water. Once that was done, he smirked as his eyebrows narrowed. "It's is so on." He brought his mop up to swat her in the face, but Lyra used hers to block.
The two mops sprayed water everywhere, but they didn't care. They were having to much fun.
Up on the roof, Flash was sitting against the glass watching as the sun began to set.
Feeling a presence he looked up and saw Chris, who was also staring at the sunset.
"Beautiful isn't it," the Red Revolution Ranger asked, "I'll never forget the first time I saw the sun when I first came here."
"How is it any different from your worlds sun?" Flash asked.
"It probably isn't," Chris replied, "but my world's atmosphere is so polluted that the only part of the sun you get to see are the rays that break out through the clouds every now and then. Hope's virtual sun can't compare to the real thing."
"If you say so," Flash said.
"Don't take your world for granted Flash," Chris said as he turned to him. "It might not be perfect, but it could be a lot worse."
"I know," Flash said.
"If Mechano wins," Chris went on, "your world's fate will mirror ours. That's why we can't let him win, that's why we need to keep fighting."
"I know," Flash repeated, "but sometimes it feels like I shouldn't be the one fighting."
Chris was confused by this.
"When I first became a Power Ranger, I thought it was my chance to do something incredible. No more sitting on the sidelines cheering the heroes on. But then I was made the leader and all the responsibilities were placed on my shoulders. I often wonder if the team would be better without me on it. With someone better suited to lead them." He then looked up at Chris. "Someone like you."
Chris smiled, before shaking his head no. "What makes you think I'm such a great leader?"
"You're a natural. You've been preparing to lead your team almost your whole life. You've been leader for three years and in that time you haven't lost any of your team."
"Maybe," Chris replied, "but that doesn't mean I'm a great leader. You're right, I have been leader for three years. I've been facing off against Mechano for a long time." He then sat down next to his Ranger counterpart. "But Mechano's still around. If I was such a great leader, I would have beaten him long ago."
"He's powerful," Flash told him.
"From what I've seen and heard, your enemy was pretty powerful, but you still beat them."
"Maybe," Flash replied, "but now this happened."
"Yeah," Chris said, "you got beat, it happens to everyone. But that shouldn't make you feel weak. The way I saw you lead your team against Missile Wrist, that impressed me."
"You were the one who figured out how to beat him."
"Only because I've faced him before. You would have found a way to do it eventually."
Flash didn't reply to that.
"You're wrong about something as well," Chris went on. "I'm not a natural leader."
"What?"
"You said it yourself, I've been preparing to lead my team my whole life. I doubt I'd be as good as I am, if I'd just gone into this Ranger stuff right off the bat." He then turned to Flash. "You however, you became the leader as soon as you learn you were a Ranger and you took to it like a fish to water. If anyone's the natural, it's you."
Hearing such a complement, especially from someone who knew what he was talking about, made Flash's heart leap.
Nothing more was to be said. The two Red Rangers continued to watch as the last of the sun disappeared bellow the horizon.
<Several Hours Later>
Mechano sat at his desk, as a computer infront of him showed the process of his creation's charge.
"Eighty three percent," he said, "I'm running out of time. No doubt Catherine and those Rangers will find a way to discover my location. I need to slow them down, but how?" He thought for a moment, before a smile appeared on his face. "By exploiting their greatest flaw, protecting others."
Back at the school, the Rangers had all gather back at the base.
Right now they were watching as Sunset and Catherine were working on something.
"So you think you can find the girls?" Flash asked them.
"Yes," Sunset replied, "by readjusting the E-Tector, we can scan the whole city for their Geode's magic signature. Once we find it, we can launch a rescue mission."
"And if we run into the Mecha Rangers?" Soarin asked.
"We'll have to keep thinking about that," Sunset replied.
"One problem at a time," Ryn said before turning back to them. "How long until you can do this scan."
"I don't know," Sunset said, "we don't exactly have their magic signature one file."
"We'll have to make it scan for any kind of magic," Catherine said.
However, in that moment their computers turned to static.
"What's going on?" Flash asked.
"I don't know," Sunset replied, "I think someone's hacking into our system."
Suddenly the computers stopped to static and showed the image of someone they all recognised. Mechano.
"Greetings," he said, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important."
Everyone glared at him, obviously not happy about seeing him.
"Oh, why so serious?"
"WHERE'S MY SISTER!" Shining almost screamed as he stepped forward. "I want and answer, NOW!"
"Oh relax," Mechano said, "she and the others are perfectly safe." He reached over and spun the camera around, showing the six girls in their restraints. "See."
Everyone grew tense seeing them like that.
Twilight and the girls saw the camera pointed at them, before trying to cry out. However, Mechano turned the camera back to him before they could say anything.
"If you hurt them?" Flash threatened the mad scientist.
"They're useless to me damaged," Mechano replied, "stop fretting."
"Enough games Mechano," Chris said.
"Oh," Mechano said as he turned to the Red Ranger, "is that anyway to talk to your uncle boy."
"UNCLE!" Everyone but Catherine and the Revolution Rangers cried out.
"That would have been nice to know," Sandel told them.
"It's not something we're exactly proud of," Grant replied.
"Oh," Mechano said, "so you haven't told them. That before I was the brilliant Doctor Mechano, before Catherine and my no good brother betrayed me, I was Doctor Christopher Davis...the man your gallant Red Ranger is named after."
Chris and the rest of his team looked down in shame, until Flash placed his hand on the Red Rangers shoulder.
"That doesn't matter," he told them. "We trust you, despite who you're related to."
Chris smiled, before turning back to the computer. "You can't split us apart Mechano. If that's what you're trying to do then forget it."
"On the contrary," Mechano replied, "I came to tell you that this little relationship we have will be coming to an end soon. I have chosen to send my entire army out, to level the city of Canterlot and enslave its populace. I'm telling you this because no matter what you do, you will not be able to stop them. By noon tomorrow you will either be dead, or kneeling at my feet begging me to spare your lives."
Everyone frown at the psycho's overconfidence.
"My army attacks at sunrise. I look forward to seeing your pitiful attempts to stop me." With that, the connection was cut and the computer returned to static.
Everyone took in what Mechano had just said.
"Sunrise," Dani said as she turned to the others, "how long until then."
Micro checked the time on his phone, before turning to them. "Just under and hour."
"Great," Shining said, "now what do we do?"
"We thank Mechano for blabbering on," Sunset replied with a smile.
"Come again?" Lyra and Kade asked, before glancing at each other.
"While my demented brother-in-law was talking," Catherine explained, "we ran a trace on his signal. We managed to get a location just before he cut the call."
Now they were talking.
"So what are we waiting for," Sweetie said, "let's go save the others.
"And take Mechano down," Valarie finished.
Everyone seemed to up for that plan, but Flash had other ideas.
"Hang on," he said, getting their attention. "I admit going to get the girls now sounds like a good plan, but Mechano will have home field advantage. Plus all his troops will be there."
"So what are you saying?" Aichi asked, "that we leave your friends where they are?"
"No," Flash replied, "you heard what he said. He's sending out his entire army, meaning his base will be unguarded."
"So we wait until he sends the troops out," Ryn said, "then attack him directly."
"But then the town and who knows how many people will be destroyed," Celestia said.
"This is a conundrum," Luna said.
"What do we do?" Catherine asked.
"We split up," Flash said, "two groups. One meets the attacking force and keeps the town safe, while the others will go after Twilight and the others."
Everyone liked the sound of that.
"So who does what?" Soarin asked.
In that moment, Shining stepped forward. "I'm going after Twilight. I have to."
"Me to," Sunset said as she stepped forward. "I need to save them."
"Alright," Flash agreed, "then the rest of us will take care of the robot army."
"I'll go with Shining and Sunset," Ryn said, "they'll need all the help they can get."
They all nodded at this, glad they finally had a plan.
As the sun began to rise above the horizon, the City of Canterlot was just waking up.
However, unbeknown to them they were all in great dangers. An army of metal was matching towards the city, Guardroids and Megabots side by side ready to level the place to the ground.
Right now they were about to reach a bridge which would lead them into the city, but instead of doing that, they came to a stop right before they were about to step on it. The reason they stopped was because they saw twelve figures, whose were nothing but dark blurs due to the sun behind them, standing in a line in the centre of the bridge. Finally the sun's rays moved enough for them to be shown in all their glory.
Flash, Chris, Lyra, Kade, Micro, Dani, Sweetie, Valarie, Sandel, Grant, Soarin and Aichi stood side by side as they face off against the mechanical army.
Flash and Chris glanced at each other, before nodding and turning back to the army.
"Are you guys ready?" Flash asked as he took out his Magi-Charger.
"READY!" The eleven other rangers cried.
"MAGI-CHARGERS!" The Guardian Rangers called out as they activated them, before placing them in their morphers
"X ELEMENT!" The Revolution Rangers cried out as they each generated a different coloured ball of energy in their hands, which they then crushed to cause the energy to flow through their hands.
"ENERGISE!" Everyone but Soarin said as they spun the barrels of their Morphin Blasters.
"EVOLUTION!" Everyone but Aichi raised their right hands up, using two fingers to point upwards.
"UNLEASH THE POWER!" The five Guardian Rangers pointed their blasters to the sky and each pulled the trigger.
"REVOLUTION!" The five Revolution Rangers brought their hands down and each slapped the two fingers onto their morphers.
Soarin and Aichi were the last the morph, doing so at the same time.
"Unleash the Power!"
"Neo Power!"
And just like that the bridge was illuminated, as the twelve Rangers were each consumed by the energy and morphed into their battle suits.
"MET...ON!" The Revolution Rangers called out as they brought their helmets down.
Finally the light faded and the robots saw the twelve fully morphed Power Rangers standing before them, before each taking a battle stance.
Flash: Element of Courage...Power Ranger, RED!
Lyra: Element of Trust...Power Ranger, BLUE!
Micro: Element of Knowledge...Power Ranger, YELLOW!
Sweetie: Element of Love...Power Ranger, PINK!
Sandelwood: Element of Will...Power Ranger, GREEN!
Soarin: Element of Selflessness...Thunder Ranger READY!"
All: Power Rangers...GUARDIANS!
Chris: Revolution, RED!
Kade: Revolution, BLUE!
Dani: Revolution, YELLOW!
Grant: Revolution, GREEN!
Valerie: Revolution, PINK!
Aichi: NEO RANGER!
All: Power Rangers...REVOLUTION X!
Flash and Chris: Power Ranger...UNITE!
In that second a massive explosion occurred behind them all, highlighting just how epic things were about to get.
"ATTACK!" Every single robot said in unison as they began charging towards the Rangers.
"No matter what," Flash said, "we don't let them get passed us and into the city. LET'S DO THIS!"
"RIGHT!" Everyone else called out as they pulled out their weapons and charged forward.
The two forces drew closer and closer, ready for this final battle. |
Power Rangers Guardians vs Power Rangers Revolution X | The Final Battle Begins | Meanwhile on the far side of town.
Shining, Sunset and Commander Ryn arrived at the location they had tracked Mechano to, a group of rundown old factories and warehouses. The suited up Rangers and military official drove up to them on the Ranger's Guardian Cycles, before pulling up infront of the first building.
"Is this it?" Shining asked as he turned to Sunset, who pulled out their portable computer.
"The signal's originated from somewhere near here," Sunset replied as she and the men got off their bikes.
"So many buildings," Ryn said as he looked around. "It could take hours to check them all."
"Maybe," Sunset replied with her computer beeping, "but only one of them has been siphoning the city's power supply." She rushed off towards the location her computer gave her, followed by Shining and the commander. Eventually, they arrived infront of one of the larger factories. "This is it."
"Good," Ryn said, "then let's get ready." The Rangers looked around and saw Ryn begin to fiddle with the metal device on his chest, which then began to beep and display '15%' on its screen. In that second a blue aura began to surround the Commanders body.
"What is that?" Shining asked.
"Miniature Particle Barrier Generator," Ryn replied as he readied his pistols. "Powered by the remaining fragment of the X Element. It's got enough power to form an almost impenetrable field around my body, but the bigger the field the more pressure it puts on the fragment and less time it will last."
"So fifteen percent makes that?" Sunset asked as she pointed to the blue aura. "What happens when it goes to a hundred percent?"
The particle barrier will be indestructible," Ryn replied. "But the crystal will likely shatter after a few seconds."
"Then lets hope we don't need anything above fifteen," Shining said as he and Sunset pulled out their weapons. "Be prepared for anything. Mechano said he sent his whole army, but I doubt he'd leave his base completely unguarded."
Ryn and Sunset nodded, before turning to the door.
Just like that, Shining kicked it in and the three of them rushed inside.
Just like Shining had said, several Guardroids and Megabots were actually inside and once they saw them, they opened fire.
"Charge!" Ryn ordered as they rushed forward, blasting their way through the sentries and delving deeper into the building.
Shining and Sunset jumped all over the place, dodging the incoming laser fire and shooting back at whatever targeted them.
Ryn meanwhile simply walked through the factory as the robots fired at him, but the blasts bounced off the energy shield and sometimes struck a nearby enemy.
Eventually the last of Mechano's security was destroyed and the three stepped into the centre of the building.
"Alright Mechano!" Shining called out. "Your defences are gone, now show yourself and release my sister!"
No answer.
"He's here somewhere," Ryn said.
"But where?" Sunset asked. "And if the girls are here, wouldn't they have called out to us?"
"Unless," Shining said before freezing as he realised. "It's a trap!"
As soon as he said that it happened, the doors they had kicked in closing before being covered by a layer of metal.
"NO!" Ryn cried out as they rushed towards the door, but when they were there they couldn't find any way to open it.
"Stand back!" Sunset said as she pulled out her Duel Morphin Blaster and fired it at the door, but her blast didn't even singe it.
"Now what?" Shining asked, but before anyone could answer they heard the sound of deep laughter.
Mechano's voice was being played over a speaker system.
"Mechano," Ryn said, "where are you?"
"Not there," Mechano replied.
He, the Mane Six and the Mecha Rangers were in a robotic room, watching the group on a computer.
"You think I'd send a message to you, knowing you'd try and trace it, from my real base of operations. You're almost ten miles away from my true base. But don't worry, I left a small parting gift for you."
"Shining!" Twilight called out, "get out of there!"
The three were trying to break through the door, but their efforts were interrupted by a new sound filling the room.
It was a loud beeping noise, growing louder each time it happened.
"What is that?" Sunset asked.
"Look!" Shining yelled as he pointed to one of the factory support beams. On that support beam was a round device that had a counter on it, the numbers showing less then thirty seconds. Looking around they say multiple devices on every single support beam.
"Are those what I think they are?" Ryn asked.
"It's like I said," Mechano's voice told them. "It's your parting gift, in that it will part you...into many...MANY...pieces!"
"He's rigged the whole place to blow!" Sunset screamed.
"Can't we stop them?" Shining asked.
"There's too many," Ryn replied, "and not enough time to disarm them all."
"Any last words?" Mechano asked them, as the counter drew closer to zero.
"Twilight," Shining called out, "if you can here me, don't worry. Flash and the others will save you."
"Don't let this freak get the better of you," Sunset told them. "You might not be Power Rangers, but you can still do your part against him."
"How touching," Mechano replied, "truly great last words. Goodbye."
With that, the beeping sound reached its loudest point as the devices count down reached zero.
KABOOM!
"NOOO!" Twilight screamed as she and the others watched the screens feed go dead, as the camera was destroyed in the blast.
Mechano burst out laughing, as he spun in his chair and watched the six teenage girls begin to cry. "Two down!"
"You're a monster!" Rarity cried.
"You won't get away with this!" Rainbow told him.
"The others will stop ya!" Applejack yelled.
"Oh really," Mechano replied.
"Yeah," Pinkie said, "they're not gonna lose to a creepy old man like you!"
"We'll see about that," Mechano said as he got up and turned to the Mecha Rangers. "Keep an eye on them. Whatever you do, don't let them do anything funny."
The five robotic Power Rangers all bowed to their creator, as he turned and walked out the door. Once it shut behind him, they turned to stare at the girls.
"Twilight," Fluttershy asked her crying friend, "are you gonna be alright?"
Twilight didn't reply, to heartbroken over the loss of her brother and best friend. "Flash," she whispered under her breath, "please...help."
Not to far away, the twelve Rangers were doing battle against Mechano's forces.
The had pushed their opponents back away from the city and towards the edge of the industrial area they had originated from. Now they were battling them in teams of two.
"Take this!" Flash yelled as he used his Dragon Breaker to smash a Megabot into a Guardroid that Chris was fighting, allowing the Red Revolution Ranger to slash them both to scrap.
"And this!" Chris yelled as he pulled out his blaster and fired several rounds into a Guardroid running up to Flash from behind, slowing it down long enough for the Red Guardian Ranger to spin around and kick it into a ground of Guardroids.
"Head Smash!" Flash called out as he jumped at the cluster and launched his armoured fist forward, destroying all the robots in a single bound.
Chris was now fighting a group of Megabots, using his Energy Blade slash them at different angles until they were joined into one group. "Blast Cutter!" He yelled as his two weapons glowed. He then fired a extra strong laser blast towards the robots, before slashing his blade through the air and striking the blast. The combined force sent the two united attacks flying at the Megabots like a bullet, before it struck them and caused an explosion.
As Flash changed weapons and pulled out his sword and blaster, the two Red Rangers stood back to back and fought in perfect harmony by blasting and slashing at their opponent. At no point did the two get in each other's way, acting as if they shared one mind by moving out of each others way without even looking.
In another part of the industrial estate, an area filled with large metal pipes, Lyra and Kade were working together as well. Lyra leapt into the scene, cartwheeling her way into the centre of the robots while Kade was pushing his way through.
"Serpent Staff!" Lyra yelled as she called upon her weapon and began spinning it around her body, slashing the Guardroids and Megabots down.
"Prism Punch!" Kade yelled as the metallic gloves appeared around his fists, allowing his to smash and uppercut through the robots. "Take this!" He yelled as punched a Megabot so hard, that it went flying and ricocheted off one of the large pipes that was in the air.
Lyra swung the blade of her staff at another Megabot, making a large gash in its armour, before spinning the weapon around and using its mouth to hook into the gash. "Heads up!" She cried before throwing the robot overhead, sending it flying towards her Ranger counterpart.
"Oh yeah!" Kade yelled as he leapt into the air, before smashing the robot with both fists. The force sent the robot flying back towards the ground at such speed, that when it landed the explosion took out several nearby Guardroids.
Kade landed next to Lyra and saw several more robots charging at them. Glance at each other, they nodded before rushing towards them.
Atop the roof of one of the factories, Micro and Dani were battling a bunch of Guardroids. Dani was using her Energy Blade to slash them down, but was quickly finding herself outnumbered and outmatched.
Micro was using his Morphin Blaster to shoot his opponents down, but also had his Spirit Sabre to counter anything that got to close. Looking around, Micro saw Dani getting surrounded and realised she needed some help.
Dani had just sliced another Guardroid down, but suddenly a presences behind her made her look around and see a Guardroid getting to close. Before she could react however, the Guardroid ceased up and then collapsed, allowing the Yellow Revolution Ranger to see the Spirit Sabre in its back.
Looking over to Micro, she saw him give her a node as he fought off his own opponents. Dani realised what he wanted her to do, making her smile beneath her helmet. Seeing some more Guardroids coming at her, Dani only had time to grab her blaster and throwing it wildly in the air, before pulling the Spirit Sabre out of the downed robot and using it to slash at its friends. Seeing her blaster falling back towards her, she spun around the kicked the weapon towards the Yellow Guardian Ranger.
Micro saw the blaster coming and kicked over a nearby Guardroid, before spring boarding off it into the air. He grabbed the blaster and did a back flip, before unleashing a barrage of laser fire on the Guardroids. They struck and the robots were destroyed, as Micro landed and found himself back to back with Dani.
"You ready?" She asked her Ranger counterpart as the Guardroids surrounded them.
"You have to ask," Micro replied as the robots charged.
The two started fighting together, Micro firing his two blasters to thin out the herd while Dani slashed down the ones that got too close.
Meanwhile in a courtyard between a bunch of buildings, Sweetie and Valarie were fighting off a large group of robots. Sweetie had her sword and Sphinx Shield, while Valarie had her blaster and sword.
The two Rangers were charging towards a group of Megabots, who all had their shoulder mounted blasters aimed at them.
"Sphinx Shield!" Sweetie yelled as she jumped infront of Valarie, before the robots unleashed their onslaught. "Block!" She raised her shield and used it to protect herself and her Ranger counterpart, as the laser blasts bounced off her weapon.
Once they stopped firing Sweetie ducked down, allowing Valarie to begin firing her own blasts at the robots. One by one they were shot down, allowing the Pink Rangers to continue forwards.
"Take this!" Sweetie yelled as she slashed at them, once in a while using her shield to block the attacks coming her way.
"Prism Kick!" Valarie cried out as her feet were encased in the metallic boots, which she used to send several Guardroids and Megabots flying as she kicked them.
Once they finished with their opponents on the ground, the two looked up to see several more standing on some metal scaffolding. The robots pointed their weapons at the two and opened fire, causing the two to dodge or block the rain of lasers.
"Give me a boost!" Valarie told Sweetie, as she rushed towards her and then jumped at her.
"You got it," Sweetie yelled as she crouched down and raised her shield above her head. Once she felt the Pink Revolution Ranger land on it, she used all the strength to catapult her into the air.
Valarie soared into the sky, passing the scaffolding and looking down to see the robots stare at her. She then swung her right foot through the air, unleashing a wave of pink energy which flew at them. The energy struck the robots, causing a majority of them to be destroyed while the others where blown back.
Valarie landed on the scaffolding, while Sweetie had rushed up the stairs. The two then began taking out the remainder of the robots.
Across the area on another lot of scaffolding, Sandel and Grant were fighting off several Megabots.
The two were doing alright, but the Megabots surrounding them were growing closer and closer.
In that moment they noticed Micro and Dani fighting on the roof across from them and saw how they had switched weapons, giving them an idea.
"Here," Sandel said as he pulled out his Morphin Blaster and opened his belt, before placing a Magi-Charger in it. "Catch!" he tossed the blaster at his Ranger counterpart, who saw it and threw his Energy Blade in return.
The two weapons crossed each other midair, before flying towards their respective Rangers. They caught them and with their doubled up power, managed to slash and blast their opponents down.
Once they had finished with the ones surrounding them, they leapt off the scaffolding and turned towards a group of Guardroids charging towards them.
"You ready?" Grant asked Sandel.
"Totally," Sandel replied as his Ranger counterpart stepped infront, before kneeling down. Sandel then opened his belt and pulled out another charger, which he activated and placed in his Spirit Sabre. He shut the compartment and began spinning the two swords, as Grant spun the Morphin Blaster's barrel.
"DOUBLE BLAST CUTTER!" They yelled as Grant fired the two guns, followed by Sandel slashing the air with his swords and unleashing a pair of energy slicers. Sandel's attack struck Grants, creating a pair of highly powered energy arrows that flew at the Guardroids. They struck the robots and caused an explosion, which engulfed several of them and sent the rest flying back.
"Come on," Sandel said as he charged forward with his swords.
"Right behind yeah," Grant replied as he followed, firing his blasters as he did.
In another part of the complex, Soarin and Aichi were rushing towards a group of Megabots.
"Blitz Bolts!" Soarin yelled as he fired several rounds of lightning bullets from his Thunder Morpher.
"Neo Defender, Blast Mode!" Aichi to began firing his own blasts at the robots.
The two attacks struck the Megabots, mowing them down like bowling pins. However, behind those ones were Megabots that had their blasters charged and fired.
"Sky high!" Soarin yelled, as the flaps on his back extended and allowed him to take to the sky.
"Neo Defence!" Aichi called out as his shield vest unleashed a wave of energy, which formed into a force field that the laser bounced off of.
"Thunder Sabre!" Soarin summed his sword midair, before he swooped towards the ground and slashed the previously firing robots down.
"Blade Mode!" Aichi switched his weapon to its laser sword form, before charging forward and using it to cut down several Megabots in a single slice. However, a sudden explosion caused Aichi to go flying and smash into the wall of a nearby building. Kneeling up, he saw a bunch of Guardroids marching towards him and he also noticed his Neo Defender had been thrown away from him. "Not good."
A ways off, Soarin landed and cut down several more Megabots. He then turned to see Aichi was in trouble. "Here!" He yelled before throwing his Thunder Sabre, which flew through the air and dug its blade into the ground between Aichi and the robots.
Seeing this, the Neo Ranger nodded to his counterpart before getting up and rushing to the sword. As the Guardroids fired their lasers, Aichi unearthed the sword and used it to deflect the blasts as he rushed forward. Once at the group, he began slashing them down the way he'd seen Soarin do it.
Soarin meanwhile was having a tough time without his sword. But just as he leapt out of the way of a Megabot's shot, he caught sight of Aichi's Neo Defender and leapt forward to grab it and roll back to his feet. Already charged with Aichi's X Energy, Soarin was able to activate it and create the blade to use against them.
The two Rangers soon fought their way to each other, standing side by side as they stood against the robots surrounding them.
"Here!" They said as they swapped weapons again, before standing back to back.
"Let's end this!" Aichi said.
"Couldn't agree more," Soarin said as he took out his Magi-Charger and placed it in his sword.
Their two weapons glowed, powering up, before they spun around and yelled together.
"Thunder Sabre-"
"Neo Defender-"
"STRIKE!"
They unleashed their attacks in a prefect circle, hitting every single robot surrounding them. Once they were done, they stood back to back and watched as the robots began to short and spark, before they all collapsed and exploded. Once the explosion ended, the two Rangers grasped hands in celebration.
"Alright!" Soarin said.
"Great work!" Aichi agreed.
In Mechano's hiding spot, we see him watching the battle on one of his computers.
"Enjoy your victory while you can Rangers," he said as he turned to another computer, which showed his creation's charge. "Ninety nine percent," he said with a smile. With that he got up and moved over to his ship, before climbing inside and activating it.
The ship flew over to the hidden part of the factory, flying through the sheets and into the darkness. It then flew beneath a large object, before flying up into an opening.
The ship flew up and long tunnel, eventually coming to a stop into a large opening. From the darkness came a series of mechanical arms, which plugged themselves into the ship. Second later the opening lit up, illuminating the ship.
Turning to his computer, he saw the system reading one hundred percent. "Go time."
Back with the Mane Six, they were all just silently waiting for something to happen.
Then it happened, the screen they had watched earlier switched on and showed Mechano's hideous face.
"Greetings ladies," he said with a twisted smile. "I know you must be getting bored, so I've decided to give you a little entertainment."
The six all gave him a piercing look, knowing whatever he was about to show them would not entertain them in the slightest.
"It's a little film I like to call...Power Ranger destruction!" With that, the screen switched to show the twelve Rangers all together.
"This can't be good," Twilight said.
Back with the Rangers, they had just finished off the last of the robots and were regrouping.
"That's the last of them," Flash said as he and Chris arrived where the others had gathered.
"Lets hope that was enough time for Shining and the others," Grant said.
Before anyone could say anything else, the ground beneath their feet began to shake. The Rangers all had steady themselves so as not to fall over.
"What's happening?" Sweetie asked.
"Earthquake?" Dani speculated.
"In Canterlot?" Micro replied, "possible, but not likely."
"Then what is causing it?" Kade asked, only to get his answer a second later.
One of the nearby buildings literally exploded, sending pieces of debris flying in all directions as a giant cloud of smoke funnelled out.
"LOOK OUT!" Soarin screamed as they all dodge the projectiles that were flying towards them. After what felt like an hour dodging debris, the Rangers were finally safe and could focus on what caused the building's destruction.
The smoke began to clear, revealing a giant figure to the world.
"What...is that?" Valarie asked.
That, turned out to be a giant mechanical robot with armouring that was gunmetal grey. It looked like a giant robotic version of Doctor Mechano, with large metallic spikes for its hair and a large red lens for its left eye. Its right arm had a mechanical hand with five razor sharp fingers, that when fully extended gave the hand a five pointed star look. On the end of its left arm, instead of a hand it had a giant laser cannon with an opening so large a train could run through it.
The Rangers watched in horror, as the robot stood to its full height before turning to look down at them. Then it did something truly terrifying...talk.
"Hello my friends," Mechano's voice called out from it, "how do you like my latest invention."
"Mechano," Chris growled.
"The one and only," Mechano replied, "and with my newest creation, I will finally be able to destroy you and conquer this world."
"Don't go planning Mechano day just yet," Lyra called out to the mad scientist. "We're not going to go down so easily."
"Yeah," Kade agreed, "what's so special about that robot? Doesn't look any different from the hundreds of robots we've scrapped before."
Mechano just chuckled. "Because unlike my previous creations, this one has the smartest brain in the multiverse at its control...MINE!" In that moment a projection shot out of the lens eye, before showing a holographic screen with Mechano in his ship.
"So you're controlling that robot?" Grant asked.
"Correct," Mechano replied, "I decided to take a page out of your book." The robot raised its arms, showing how fast it could move. "Presenting...the Mecha Megazord!"
"He built his own Megazord?" Flash asked.
"No way that thing can stand up to a real Megazord," Chris replied.
"Oh but it can," Mechano said. "Unlike my previous creations, this one isn't restricted by how much power I can give it." The screen then switched to show Twilight and the rest of their friends, all having the magic within them drained out. "It has its own internal everlasting power supply."
"Twilight," Flash called out.
"Guys!" Twilight replied through the screen, "you've gotta stop him."
"SAVE US!" Pinkie screamed.
"Save you?" Mechano asked before laughing, "they won't even be able to save themselves." With that the Mecha Megazord raised its cannon arm and pointed it at the twelve Rangers, before it began to glow as it charged up.
The Rangers all froze in fear at the sight of the humongous blaster. It would fire any moment, meaning they did not have any time to dodge or call one of their Zords.
"Goodbye Rangers!" Mechano yelled once the cannon was seconds away from firing.
But then.
BOOM!
The Mecha Megazord was struck by a fireball, which had shot through the sky and hit it in the back. Doing so caused its blaster arm to be thrown wildly in the air, before it fired and sent its laser harmlessly into the sky.
"WHAT!" Mechano screamed as the Megazord righted itself.
The twelve Rangers turned to the source of the fireball and all went wide eyed.
The Phoenix Zord was flying through the air towards them, its wings still smoking after unleashing the blazing projectile.
"Somebody call for a hero?" Sunset asked from within her Zord's cockpit.
"Because you've got two," Shining continued from next to her.
"What?" Mechano asked, "but I blew you up! Kaboom! Gone! Atomised!"
"Next time you should check your work," Sunset told him.
"If you did, you would have seen Ryn save us."
<Flashback>
KABOOM!
Sunset and Shining flinched as the room was filled with explosions, but seconds after the blast and they didn't feel anything.
Looking up, they saw they were inside Commander Ryn's particle barrier. The force field was so strong, that the explosions and debris wasn't even scratching it. Finally the blast subsided and the last of the rubble flew passed them, and not a moment to soon as Ryn's generator sparked and whined before dying.
Ryn fell to his knees, as the Ranger rushed towards him.
"What did you do?" Shining asked him.
"Turned my generator to one hundred percent," Ryn replied.
"But you said that would-" Sunset did not finish, as Ryn opened up the front of his device and a pile of silver dust fell out of it.
"The X Element shard is destroyed," Ryn told them, "but it was worth it." He looked up at the two and placed his hands on their shoulders. "Go! Help your friends. I'm afraid I am of no more use to you."
The two Rangers nodded, before turning to rush out the remains of the factory. Off to help their friends in battle.
<Flashforward>
"And it looks like we got here just in time," Shining said.
"Alright guys!" Flash cheered hearing their story.
Mechano growled hearing how his plan had failed. "I matters not. I'll just destroy you with my own hands!" With that he raised his cannon and fired at the robotic bird, which began flying through the air to dodge the attacks.
"Guys," Sunset called out as she and Shining were thrown around in the Zord, "we need to go Megazord."
"Right!" Flash and Shining said as they pulled out their Magi-Chargers, before activating and throwing them.
"Summon, Dragon Zord!"
"Summon, Minotaur Zord!"
The two chargers flew off, arriving at their Zord's hiding places and flying inside. They then flew into the Zord's mouths, activating them.
DRAGON CHARGER...ENGAGED!
MINOTAUR CHARGER...ENGAGED!
The Zord's eyes opened as they awoke, before bursting out of their hiding places and making their way towards their Rangers.
The Mecha Megazord continued firing at the Phoenix, while Mechano stared down at the Rangers on the ground.
"This should keep them distracted," he said as he pressed a button.
The Rangers were watching the battle, when they saw something shoot out of the Mecha Megazord.
It landed on the ground and revealed itself to be the Mecha Rangers, minus Red, along with a fresh batch of Guardroids and Megabots.
The Rangers all took up a fighting stance seeing them.
"Not good," Kade said.
"Where's Red?" Lyra asked.
"Must still be guarding the girls," Grant theorised.
"RRRRRAAAAAOOOOORRRRR!"
The Rangers turned to see the Dragon and Minotaur Zords had arrived on the scene.
"Flash," Chris said, "you go help Shining and Sunset. We'll handle these creeps."
"Got it," Flash said as he turned to Phoenix Zord and leapt up, teleporting into its cockpit between the two other Rangers.
"Nice to see you made it," Sunset joked.
"You ready to take this thing down?" Shining asked him.
"You know it," Flash replied before turning to other Zords.
The three then spoke in unison. "Activate Phoenix-Wing Megazord, Mino-Drake Formation!"
The Phoenix Zord squawked, before turning towards the other Zords. The three opened their mouths, before their Magi-Chargers flew out with the Dragon and Minotaur's Chargers went into Phoenix's.
DRAGON CHARGER...ENGAGED!
It bit down on the first Charger before it flew out and was replace withe second Charger.
MINOTAUR CHARGER...ENGAGED!
It bit down on the second Charger before it flew out again and the last Charger flew in.
PHOENIX CHARGER...ENGAGED!
ZORDS COMBINED!
And just like that, the three Zords transformed and linked together to form the humanoid robot that was just as big as the Mecha Megazord.
PHOENIX-WING MEGAZORD, MINO-DRAKE FORMATION...READY!
The new Megazord landed on the ground, facing off against Mechano's dark forgery.
"Let's show this guy how a real Megazord fights!" Flash cried as the Megazord charged forward.
"Phoenix Fist!" Sunset yelled as the bird head fist ignited and punched the robot.
"Mino-Claw!" Shining called as his Zord slashed at it.
The Mecha Megazord was pushed back by the attacks, before it tried to slash at the Rangers but they quickly took to the sky.
Meanwhile back on the ground, the Rangers were doing battle against their robotic counterparts.
However, the Mecha Rangers were still proving to be almost unbeatable foes, as they were able to counter every move the Rangers made together or individually.
Chris, Soarin and Aichi meanwhile, were taking down the foot solider robots.
"Take this!" Chris yelled as he slashed down a Megabot. After it fell, Chris looked up and saw to two giant robots do battle. "Wish I could help."
"CHRISTOPHER!"
"Yarr!" The Red Revolution Ranger cried in surprise, as he heard someone call to him over his radio.
"Are you there?"
"Dad?" Chris asked.
"Looks like I'm through," Ryo Davis replied, "I've got the portal up to one hundred percent."
"That's great," Chris said, "I need you to send me something."
"Way ahead of you son. It's already on its way."
In that moment, there was a brilliant flash of light.
Chris turned to the source of the light, as it faded to reveal a giant truck. It was red in colour, with silver crome and black wheels. It was pulling a silver trailer behind it that had a large black X painted on it.
"The Power Hauler!" Chris yelled as he rushed towards it. "Dad, you're the best!" With that he leapt up and teleported into the truck's cockpit, which looked like something you would see in an arcade. As soon as he put his hands on the wheel, the cockpit lit up and Chris put it into gear. "Time to help the others," he said as he steered it towards the battle. Once the two Megazords were in view, he pressed a button on his controls and an opening folded out. From that opening fired out a barrage of missiles, that flew towards the Mecha Megazord and struck it.
"AAAARRRR!" Mechano screamed as his Megazord almost fell over.
The Phoenix-Wing turned to the truck.
"Need a hand," Chris said over the coms.
"Love one," Flash replied.
Chris nodded and came to a stop, before pressing another button which caused the transport to be disconnected. Once the Power Hauler moved away, Chris pressed another button. "Transport, OPEN!"
The trailer flashed, before the top began to fold up leaving the bottom on the ground. Once it had folded ninety degrees, there was another flash and the three remaining sides split apart and folded towards the ground. This formed an X, while also revealing four vehicles which had been hidden within the transport. There was a blue and white police cruiser, a yellow helicopter, a green bulldozer and a pink ambulance.
"Alright guys," he said over the coms, "do your thing."
In the battle, the Revolution Rangers all heard their leader and nodded.
"RIGHT!" They said.
"Rev Cruiser!" Kade yelled out, activating his Zord.
"Rev Copter!" Dani cried, activating her Zord.
"Rev Dozer!" Grant hollered, activation his Zord.
"Rev Medic!" Valarie called out, activating her Zord.
The four Zord vehicles all activated, before driving or flying off the transport. Once they were off, the trailer folded back up into its original form.
"Alright," Chris said as he pressed several buttons on his control panel, "activate Megazord, attachment formation!" With that, the five Zords all burst into gear as they got into position.
The transport flashed once again, before it began to transform. This time, the trailer unfolded and reshaped itself until it took the form of a pair of robotic legs. The Rev Dozer and Rev Medic reversed until their backs linked up with the bottom of one of the legs, as the Power Hauler's front connected to the waist. The Rev Cruiser then reversed until its back linked up to the right side of the Power Hauler.
The Rev Copter lowered a pair of cables, which connected to the Power Hauler's fifth wheel. It then lifted the Zords up, so that the Hauler, Cruiser and transport were soon standing upright as the Dozer and Medic took the wait. The Rev Copter the flew around the the Power Hauler's left side, as its tail rotter split in half and folded around its side, before it connected to the Power Hauler and its rotter disconnected.
The fronts of the Rev Cruiser and Copter opened up, revealing a pair of mechanical fists. They then folded down, becoming a pair of arms.
Finally the fifth wheel folded back, as a robotic head folded out the Power Haulers back.
The Megazord was complete, with the Power Hauler and its transport as the main body and legs. The Rev Cruiser and Copter were its arms and the Rev Dozer and Medic were its feet.
"Revolution Megazord!" Chris called out as the Megazord powered up. "ONLINE!"
The new Megazord stepped towards the two others, who turned to see him.
"Time for me to play," Chris said as he pumped the gas and the Revolution Megazord charged forwards, before throwing a punch.
The Mecha Megazord used its clawed hand to catch the punch, but this gave Phoenix-Wing the chance to strike it with its Mino-Claw.
The Mecha Megazord was once again pushed back, but once it steadied itself, it raised its blaster and pointed it at the Revolution Megazord.
"Wheel Shield!" Chris yelled as the fifth wheel detached from the Megazord's back and flew into its left hand, allowing it to be used as a shield.
The Mecha Megazord's blast fired, but the Revolution Megazord raised its shield and blocked the attack. The laser pushed the Megazord back a few feet, but Chris knew how to stop it. He angled his shield back, causing the beam to be reflected off and fly passed the Megazord's shoulder into the sky.
"Phoenix Fist!" Sunset yelled as the Phoenix-Wing launched another flaming punch at the enemy.
"My turn," Chris said as he pressed another button. "Activate, Revolution Sabre!" The Rev Copters rotters fell towards the Megazord, before the blades all spun around until they were pointing in the same direction. A handle folded out of the other end, which the Megazord grabbed. The rotters were now a large sword like weapon, which the Megazord swung at the Mecha Megazord and slashed it down the front.
"Arr!" Mechano growled as his machine was damaged. "I'm not going down that easily."
"Nice shot Chris!" Flash said.
"Thanks," Chris replied, "but we can't keep doing this forever. We have to end it soon."
"But we can't destroy that thing," Sunset told him. "Not without getting Twilight and the others out of it first."
"She's right," Shining said, "but how do we get them out?"
"We can help with that."
The Rangers all jumped at the sound of Catherine's voice.
"Mom?" Chris asked.
"We've just finished scanning Mechano's robots," Celestia explained. "We've got its schematics and can direct you to where the girls are being held."
"So someone needs to get inside that thing," Sunset asked, "but how?"
"Easy," Flash replied before pointing at the spot Chris's sword had struck.
They all took a closer look and saw the attack had left a hole in the machine's armour, big enough for someone to jump through.
"Perfect," Shining said.
"We just need to get close enough," Sunset said.
"Then let's do this," Chris said. With that he charged forward, the Phoenix-Wing right behind him.
"Stay back!" Mechano yelled as he fired his cannon, but the Megazord's either dodged or deflected the blasts.
Finally the two Megazords got close to Mechano's, before they grabbed its and thrust one of their fists into the hole.
"Go Flash!" Shining told the Red Ranger.
"Me?" Flash asked, "don't you want to save your sister?"
"I do," Shining replied, "but I know you've got a better chance of doing it then me. NOW GO!"
"He's right," Sunset told him, "quick, before it's to late."
Flash nodded, before leaping out the cockpit and landing on the Megazord's arm. He began to run down it towards the hole.
"Mom!" Chris called out, "I'm setting the Megazord to remote control. I've going in with Flash."
"Alright," Catherine replied as she pulled a device out of her jacket and connected it to the bases computer.
"You can control the Megazord remotely?" Luna asked.
"I can," Catherine replied, as the device transformed into a portable version of the Megazord's controls. "I can't use any of its special attacks, but we won't be using them."
Once remote control mode was on, Chris also jumped out of the cockpit and landed on the robots arms.
He then rushed down it, following after Flash as they got closer to the hole.
"Ready?" Flash asked as he pulled out his sword and blaster.
"Let's end this," Chris replied as he did the same.
With that they leapt towards the Mecha Megazord, flying through the whole and into the machine's interior.
"There in!" Shining called out as the two Megazord's pulled away from each other.
"Let's hope they can save the girls," Sunset said.
With that the three Megazords began to do battle once again.
Flash and Chris landed inside a corridor, Guardroids and Megabots all around them.
"Surprise!" Flash yelled as he and his Ranger counterpart unleashed a flurry of laser fire, before rushing down the corridor on their way to save their friends. "Hold on girls, we'll get you out of here." |
Power Rangers Guardians vs Power Rangers Revolution X | Mechano Falls | Back on the ground, Soarin and Aichi were working to take out the Guardroids and Megabots.
Meanwhile, the battle between the Rangers and their mechanical duplicates continued.
"Take this!" Lyra screamed as she thrusted her staff at Mecha Blue, but the robot used its spear to block it.
"And this!" Kade yelled as he threw a Prism Punch at the robot, but it moved its spear so Lyra's staff blocked it. It then thrusted the spear up, causing the two's arms to be thrown high before Mecha Blue spun around and slashed them both its its spear.
The two Rangers cried out and sparks flew off them and they fell back from pain.
"Fire!" Micro yelled as he and Dani rushed towards Mecha Yellow, but the robot used its twin blades to deflect that blasts and send them flying back the Guardian Ranger. "AAARRR!" He cried as he was shot and sent flying back.
"Micro!" Dani yelled before turning to the robot. "You'll pay!" She cried before raising her swords and charging at the robot.
Said robot did the same and rushed at her, managing to block every one of her slashes before dealing its own. It managed to knock her blades out of her grasp, before dealing her a crossed slashed down the chest.
She to cried out as she was thrown back and landed next to Micro.
Sweetie and Valarie were facing Mecha Pink, but the robot was quickly overpowering them.
"Prism Kick!" Valarie cried as she threw several leg swipes at the robot, but Mecha Pink's legs glowed before it countered her attacks with its own kicks. Eventually Mecha Pink was able to hit her in the stomach and send her flying back.
"Morphin Blaster!" Sweetie cried out as she aimed her weapon. "FIRE!" She shot several rounds at the robot, but it simply used its glowing kicks to deflect them back at her. Sweetie raised her shield to protect herself, but as soon as the lasers ended, Mecha Pink leapt at her and dealt a powerful kick her shield. The force was so strong, that Sweetie couldn't withstand it and she was sent flying from the force.
"Fire!" Grant yelled as he shot several blasts at Mecha Green, who managed to dodge every signal one.
"Take this!" Mecha Green turned to see Sandel charging at his, swing his blades wildly at the robot. Said robot managed to use its own swords to block them, before noticing Grant unleashing another burst or rapid fire behind him.
Pushing Sandel's blades away, Mecha Green leapt over the Guardian Ranger before kicking him in the back and sending him flying into Grant's blasts.
"AAARRR!" He cried as he was shot.
"Sandel!" Grant yelled, his distraction allowing Mecha Green to get close and deal him several powerful blows to his chest.
"This is bad," Celestia said as she, Luna, Catherine and Starswirl watched the battle unfold. "No matter what they do, the Rangers are being overpowered."
Luna nodded. "Even when they fight together, the Mecha Rangers knowledge of their fighting style is allowing them to counter them."
"They'll find a way," Starswirl said. "The just have to keep trying."
Catherine meanwhile was busy controlling the Revolution Megazord remotely.
The three Megazord's were still battling.
Despite the battle being two on one, the Mecha Megazord had had one mayor advantage on its opponents. That was that unlike him, they were not able to deal any major damage to it since their friends were still inside it.
"Mino-Claw!" Shining yelled as the Phoenix-Wing slashed at the Mecha Megazord but, due to not wanting to damage it to much, it was only at half strength. Because of this, the Mecha Megazord barely flinched.
"Phoenix Fist!" Sunset cried as they threw another weak punch, which wasn't even ignited. Because of that, the Mecha Megazord was able to take the attack like it was nothing.
The Revolution Megazord raised its sword and used it to slash at its enemy but, due to them holding back, it didn't have enough force and simply bounced off the Mecha Megazord.
"What happened to all your enthusiasm?" Mechano mocked as his Megazord slashed at the Revolution Megazord and then fired its cannon at Phoenix-Wing. "Don't tell me you've given up."
The Phoenix-Wing fell back as it was struck, causing the Rangers inside to be thrown around. As they tried to get up, the Mecha Megazord fired another blast at them. Luckily the Revolution Megazord stepped in and used its shield to block.
"We can't keep doing this forever," Sunset said as the Megazord tried to pick itself up.
"I know," Shining replied once the Megazord was upright. "But we have to. Flash needs more time."
The two Megazords charged forward, as the Mecha Megazord unleashed another laser blast. The Revolution Megazord once again raised its shield as the Phoenix-Wing took flight.
The Mecha Megazord then raised its cannon at the sky, unleashing a swarm of laser blasts that the Megazord had to evade. Eventually one clipped its wing and the Megazord went crashing into the ground, leaving it open for the Mecha Megazord to attack. Luckily the Revolution Megazord was there to stand between them, as the Mecha Megazord charged.
Mechano laughed as his robot knocked the Revolution Megazord aside, before turning back to the Phoenix-Wing. He was unaware that Flash and Chris had managed to get inside his creation.
"That's the trouble with you Rangers," he said as he stepped closer to them. "You rely to much on others, which makes you weak when forced to fight alone. I don't rely on anyone, meaning I'm always ready to fight on my own." He laughed once again as he raised is blaster and pointed it at the Megazord's head.
Shining and Sunset saw this and knew they were in trouble, as the cannon began to power up.
Luckily, the Mecha Megazord was knocked aside. The cause, the Revolution Megazord, who was firing lasers from the shoulder mounted pipes of the Power Hauler. Doing this pushed the Mecha Megazord away from the Phoenix-Wing, allowing the Megazord to get up and fly to safety.
"Relying on others isn't all bad," Shining told Mechano.
"Yeah," Sunset agreed, "at least when we're in a tough spot, we have hope that our friends can help us. You'll never have that hope."
They heard Mechano growl, as his robot righted itself. "Who needs hope, when I have ultimate power." Once again the Mecha Megazord started firing, causing its two opponents to once again dodge and block.
"Come on Flash," Shining said as the flew through the air. "You have to hurry."
Inside the Mecha Megazord's main power core, the girls were watching the battle and were as unaware as Mechano that their friends were on their way to save them.
"What are they doing?" Rainbow asked as they watched the screen. "It's like their not even trying."
Rarity sighed. "With us in here, they can't do anything too damaging to the Megazord."
"Maybe," Applejack said, "but at least they could try and take it down without harming us."
"That's to big of a risk," Twilight told her. "Who knows what would happen to us if they try and do anything to drastic."
"They have to do something," Fluttershy said.
"But what?" Pinkie asked.
The answer quickly came when they heard noise coming from outside the room, followed by the doors being blown off its hinges and a bunch of laser blasts flying into the room and taking out some of the Guardroids. From out of the smoke leapt the two Red Rangers, who landed on the ground and slashed the remainder of the robots down.
"FLASH!" Twilight and the others cheered in joy, seeing him and Chris turn towards them.
"Ladies," Chris said nodded.
"How?" Rainbow asked.
"It doesn't matter," Flash said as he moved over to them. "We're getting you out of here." However, before he got close, several laser blasts flew from behind the girls and struck the two, sending them flying into the opposing wall.
"Flash!" Twilight screamed in concern.
The two Red Rangers pulled themselves to their knees, before looking up and seeing Mecha Red step out from behind Twilight's restraint. As the stood up they raised their weapons, before charging towards the robotic Ranger.
Mecha Red pulled out its own weapons and also charged forwards. He deflected Flash's sword strike, before blocking Chris's and pushing it back up. It then dealt a pair of swift punched to their stomachs, the force of which sending them both back.
The Mane Six all flinched seeing them hit the wall again, luckily they managed to land on their feet and charged once again. The three continued to fight, but Mecha Red proved to powerful against the two of them.
Chris tried to slash at the robots neck, but Mecha Red caught his wrist and then kicked him away. Flash then pulled out his Dragon Breaker and threw punch after punch at the robot, managing to get in several hits until Mecha Red managed to finally block it and threw him at a wall.
As Flash tried to push himself back up, he saw Mecha Red coming at him. Luckily Chris managed to get in front of him and used his sword to slash at the robot, pushing it back and allowing Chris to inflict several more strikes. Mecha Red then managed to deflect with its sword, before dealing a powerful kick to his stomach.
Watching this, Flash's brain suddenly sparked with an idea. Chris had managed to get a few hits in when he first attacked Mecha Red on his own, the same way he had when he fought it solo...of course!
"I've got an idea," Flash told Chris as he got up.
"I'm all ears," Chris replied.
"Wait for my signal an then attack," Flash said before charging at the robot and slashing at it, managing to get several hits in while watching Mecha Red carefully. Eventually when Mecha Red managed to block an attack, Flash knew this was the moment and leapt back. "NOW!"
Chris nodded before rushing forward and began fighting Mecha Red, using his sword to strike it several times before blasting it with his blaster. Flash meanwhile swapped his Dragon Breaker for his blaster as he watched the two, until Mecha Red managed to dodge one of Chris's attacks.
"Swap out!" He cried as he aimed his blaster at Mecha Red, while Chris jumped back allowing his to open fire. He got closer and closer to the robot while firing, hitting it each time until he got close enough to slash at the robot.
"He's doing it!" Pinkie screamed in joy. "Flash is beating it!"
"But how's he doin it?" Applejack asked, turning to Twilight.
The purple skinned girl watched as the two Red Rangers fought the robot, Flash calling out when to swap. Finally a light flicked on and she realised what Flash had.
"Brilliant!" She screamed.
"What?" Rainbow asked her.
"This thing might be advanced but it's still a machine," Twilight told them. "Every action it makes is done using a program, which it has multiples of for different situations. It's got a program to help fight Flash, Chris or the two of them together. But it takes time for it to switch programs."
The rest of the team quickly caught on.
"I see," Rarity said. "So when it's using the program designed to fight Flash, it can't stand against Chris and vice versa."
Twilight nodded. "All they have to do is keep swapping out whenever Mecha Red switches programs."
"You biggest mistake was reading my mind," Flash said as he kicked the robot down. "Maybe one on one you're a match for me or Chris, but when we work together!" He performed a Power Slash, striking Mecha Red in the shoulder. "You can't beat us!"
"Mom," Chris said over the coms, "did you get that?"
"We heard," Catherine said.
"We're sending the instructions to the rest of the team now," Luna said as she and Celestia typed away at the computers.
The Rangers were all in a dire state, as the Mecha Rangers were proving difficult to defeat.
"We're in trouble," Lyra said as Kade helped her back to her feet while Mecha Blue, who was now holding a sword, slowly made its way towards them.
"We can't give up," Kade told her, but before he could say anything else they both got a message through their visors. "What's this?" He asked as he and Lyra quickly read the writing and as they did their eyes went wide. "That's it."
The rest of the Rangers all got the same message, learning what Flash had learned and all coming up with ways to use it.
Lyra saw Mecha Blue rushing at them with it sword raised, before she looked up see a bunch of pipes overhead. "Give me a boost," she told Kade as she stepped infront of him.
Kade nodded before grabbing her around the waist and hoisting her up, allowing her to grab one of the pipes and swing up. Kade saw Mecha Blue coming at him and slash its sword down, but he managed to grab the robot by the wrist and keep the sword raised high.
This was what Lyra was waiting for, having done some gymnastic moves so she was facing the other way, and swung back down. Using her feet she managed to grip the blade and yank it out of the robot's hands, before letting go of the pipe and flipping through the air until she landed on the ground.
Without a weapon, Mecha Blue was defenceless against Kade. The Blue Revolution Ranger called on his metal gauntlets and dealt several swift punched to the robots body, causing it to be pushed back.
Lyra then pulled out her Spirit Sabre while picking up the robots sword, before rushing passed Kade and dealing several slashes to Mecha Blue. The attacks were so strong, that they managed to rip a hole in the robots armour. Seeing this Lyra took Mecha Blue's sword and shoved the tip in.
"KADE!" She screamed as she leapt out the way, allowing Kade to rush up and punch the end of the sword, causing it to cut all the way through the robot.
The robot shook as it tried to pull the weapon out of itself, but it couldn't.
"We've got it on the ropes," Lyra said.
"Let's take it down!" Kade said, before the two rushed forward.
The rest of the Ranges were also working to take down the doppelgangers, now armed with this knew knowledge.
"Take this!" Dani yelled as she and Mecha Yellow fought against each other with their swords. Micro was nowhere to be seen, so the Yellow Revolution Ranger was on her own. She manged to hit the robot several times, until the robot adapted and managed to block.
In was in that second that a bunch of laser blasts struck it in the back, causing it a let out a robotic scream before turning around. It looked up and saw Micro on some scaffolding, acting like a sniper and firing at him from a safe distance. Before it could retaliate against him, Mecha Yellow felt a powerful slash hit it in the back.
Dani had used his distracted state to deal a powerful blow, before leaping to a safe distance as the robot spun around only to be shot in the back again. This went of several times, whenever Mecha Yellow turned to focus on one Ranger the other would deal it a blow.
Valarie and Mecha Pink were also clashing, both using high powered kicks against each other.
When Mecha Pink managed to hit the Ranger in the leg and send her tumbling to the ground, Sweetie leapt it to block the next attack with her shield. She then started swiping at the robot with her sword, until the robot adapted and managed to block one. Seeing this, Sweetie jumped back before Valarie leapt up from behind her. She landed on Sweetie's shoulder and then bounced off to go even higher, before she quickly descended and dealt a powerful kick to Mecha Pink.
The robot's chest armouring was practically shattered, as it staggered back and looked down to see its exposed wires and pistons.
Sweetie pulled out her Morphin Blaster and spun the barrel, before firing off several rounds which struck the robots systems.
Sandel was currently fighting Mecha Green, both using their two swords to counter each other.
Suddenly the Green Guardian Ranger ducked down, allowing Grant a clear shot. He fired both his weapons, hitting the same spot on the robot's chest. Doing so caused Mecha Green to develop a burn in the centre of its chest, until it managed to adapt and began blocking the lasers.
Sandel meanwhile had swapped his Spirit Sabre of his Fenrir Fang and charged at the robot, before thrusting the weapon into the burn. Due to the damage from the lasers, the armour broke and the Fenrir Fang impaled the robot. Sandel then used all his strength to slam Mecha Green into the ground, before dragging it around. Finally he thrusted his arm up and sent the robot flying off his weapon, before it slammed into a wall and broke right through it.
"It's working!" Luna cheered watching the battle.
"You were right Flash!" Celestia told the Red Ranger. "Battling the Mecha Rangers one at a time is giving us the edge."
"I told you," Flash said smugly while he watched Chris fighting Mecha Red.
The Red Revolution Ranger managed to block the robots two sword with his own, allowing him to jam his blaster into its chest and fire several rounds into it. This sent the robot flying through the air, until it smashed into a nearby wall with a loud thud.
Chris turned back to Flash as the two stepped towards each other, high fiving as the passed. Flash then charged at the robot as it got up, before using his Dragon Breaker to smashing it back into the wall. He did this several times, causing Mecha Red to be sandwiched between him and the wall.
Seeing the robot about to change programs, he then leapt out of the way. This gave Chris the chance to fire several more rounds, which struck the robot in the area Flash had been punching.
Soarin and Aichi were down to the last few foot soldiers.
Soarin slashed down a Megabot. "That."
Aichi blasted three Guardroids. "Should."
"DO IT!" They both yelled as they both struck the final few Megabots and destroyed them.
"Alright," Soarin said seeing them all scrapped.
"Now let's go help the others," Aichi said.
However, as they turned to look for them something suddenly fell from the sky and crashed to the ground. As the dust cleared they saw it was Mecha Blue, who was looking worse for wares. Mecha Yellow soon followed, before a nearby wall was ripped apart and Mecha Pink flew through it. Mecha Green was the last, landing in the same area as the rest of its robotic team.
The two sixth Ranger whistled at this, before they saw the rest of their team rushing towards them.
"What did you guys do?" Soarin asked.
"Discover the Mecha Ranger's weakness," Lyra told him.
"They don't look to good," Aichi said.
"Then let's use that to finally take them down," Kade said.
The rest of the group nodded, before Aichi went to his communicator. "Mom, send us the Jet Booster Cannon."
"You got it," Catherine replied.
Back at the Megazord battle, the Revolution Megazord stood still as the Phoenix-Wing held the Mecha Megazord still. A compartment then opened in its leg, before something shot out of it. It was a silver space shuttle like vehicle, about the size of a motorcycle.
It flew through the air towards the Revolution Rangers, before it suddenly stopped right above them. From the bottom of its wings, a pair of objects folded out and linked together to become a gun handle. The shuttle then dropped down and the Revolution Rangers caught it, Kade and Dani placing the wings on their shoulders while Grant and Valarie linked arms and placed the end on them. Aichi stepped to the back and grabbed the handle.
"Jet Booster Cannon ready!" He cried as the nose opened up to reveal a blaster head.
"Nice," Soarin said as he took out a Magi-Charger and clicked it. "Guardian Buster, activate!" He threw the Charger into the air before it transformed into the super weapon, which he caught and activated.
Magi-Chargers," everyone said, as they activated their Chargers and placed them in the compartments before shutting them. "Locked and loaded."
Soarin placed his Charger in the main compartment and shut it, causing the white streaks along the blaster to turn navy blue
GUARDIAN BUSTER...THUNDER CHARGE!
"ENERGISE!" The Revolution Rangers yelled as they began to glow, while a compartment opened near the back of their weapon. The light flew into the compartment, as the Jet Booster Cannon began to power up.
As Soarin aimed the Guardian Ranger's weapon, Lyra, Micro, Sweetie, and Sandel took position behind him. "Guardian Buster, Thunderbird Blast..."
The tail of the cannon split into a V shape, which Aichi aimed through as they prepared to attack. "Jet Booster Cannon..."
FIRE!" They both pulled the trigger and the two weapons fired. The Guardian Buster firing a single powerful blast shot out, which morphed into the shape of the Thunderbird Zord's head. Meanwhile the Jet Booster Cannon shot a single cannon ball sized energy blast.
The two attacks flew at the Mecha Rangers, who were all to damaged to do anything to save themselves, before it struck them and caused a massive explosion.
KABOOM!
The ten Rangers all spun around as the explosion engulfed the Mecha Rangers, destroying them once and for all.
"We did it!" Sweetie cheered once the blast died down.
"Finally," Grant said, "the Mecha Rangers are gone."
"It's not over yet," Lyra told him.
"Yeah," Dani said, "the others need our help."
"Then let's go," Kade said.
The others all nodded before rushing over to where the Megazords were fighting.
That fight wasn't going so well, as the two Megazords were still forced to hold back while their opponent didn't have such a handicap.
It fired several blasts at the Phoenix-Wing, forcing it to stay back and dodge while the Revolution Megazord tried to get closer. However as it tried to slash the Mecha Megazord, it raised its cannon arm and blocked it before bringing its claws together and spinning them like a drill. It thrust the drill into the Megazord's chest, doing serious damage to it before pulling back and jamming its cannon into the hole made. It fired, sending the energy through the Revolution Megazord and causing it to spark as it was blown back.
"NO!" Catherine yelled as her computer went dead.
"What happened?" Celestia asked.
"That blast knocked out the remote control unit. I've lost control."
"Can't you do something?" Luna asked.
"Not from here," Catherine said as she moved over to another computer. "Someone needs to get into the cockpit and take control."
"We're on it!"
They all looked to the computer and saw the Rangers rushing towards the Megazords.
The Revolution Rangers arrived at where their Megazord had landed and all jumped into the different Zord parts.
Each one sat in their cockpits and put their hands on the steering wheels.
"Rev Medic online," Valerie said as her Zord powered up.
"Rev Dozer online," Grant followed as his Zord powered up.
"Rev Copter online," Dani said as her Zord powered up.
"Rev Cruiser online," Kade said as his Zord powered up.
"Power Hauler," Aichi said as he took control of Chris's Zord. "ONLINE!" The Zord's engine gave a mighty roar as it powered up.
All five parts of the Megazord were at full power, allowing it to stand up and reengage into the fight.
In the Phoenix-Wing's cockpit the rest of the Rangers teleported inside and readied themselves for battle.
"Nice to see you made it," Shining told them.
"You doubted we would?" Soarin joked.
"Not a chance," Sunset told them.
"Flash," Lyra called out, "you need to get out of there now."
"Way ahead of yeah," Flash replied as he and Chris stood side by side, their sword blades leaned against their shoulders and their blasters charged.
Mecha Red wasn't looking much better then his siblings had done, barely seeming to stand up.
"Let's end this," Chris said as their weapons began to glow.
"Agreed," Flash replied.
They aimed their blasters at the robot and both fired a shot, before slashing that shot with their blades. "BLAST CUTTER!" The two attack flew through the air, combining as they did so, before striking Mecha Red and causing an explosion.
The two Red Rangers stood their as they waited to see whether or not Mecha Red had survived.
Suddenly something stepped out of the flames. It was Mecha Red, but its armour was melted way and leaving only its robotic skeleton. The robot looked at the two and tried to reach out to them, but eventually it gave up and fell to the floor. Mecha Red...was dead.
"YEAH!" The Mane Six all cheered, as they watched the two Red Rangers fall to their knees in exhaustion.
"Great work guys," Twilight said.
"Indeed," Rarity agreed before looking at her shackles, "now if you would kindly."
"Right, right," Flash said as they got up and moved over to them. Using their swords, they managed to slice the manacles off them.
"Finally," Rainbow said once she was down. She held her ache shoulders as she stretched out her arms.
"I'm glad your all okay," Flash told them.
"Thanks to you guys," Twilight said.
"Can we get out of here please?" Applejack asked.
"Agreed," Chris said as he moved over to where they had entered through.
The rest of the gang quickly followed and were out the door.
In his cockpit, Mechano was busy fighting when he suddenly got an alarm.
"A problem in the power core?" He asked as he switched one of his monitors to the room and saw the girls gone. "WHAT!?" He looked at his power supply and saw he had enough energy stored to give him a half hour before it would go down. "Plenty of time. Once I destroy these Zords, I'll find those girls and take them back." He typed in his next command, causing the Mecha Megazord to raise its drill and then thrust it towards the Phoenix-Wing.
The Megazord however, raised its Mino-Claw and used it to grab the robot by the wrist.
The Guardian Rangers were giving everything they had got to keep the drill away from them.
"Guys," they then heard Flash's voice, "we could use a lift out of here."
They looked over at the hole that the Red Rangers had leapt into and zoomed in to see them and the girls there.
"Love to," Shining groaned, "but we've got a problem right now."
"We've got this," Aichi's voice called out. They looked around to see the Revolution Megazord charge at them and raise its sword, before swinging it down and slashing the Mecha Megazord's drill arm completely off.
"NO!" Mechano screamed at the loss of his weapon.
"NOW!" Shining called out, as the Phoenix-Wing threw its Phoenix Fist at the Mecha Megazord and thrusted it into the hole. When it pulled back, eight figures were holding on for dear life.
"What?" Mechano said as he saw them. Suddenly it all clicked, why the two Megazords seemed to be holding back. "They tricked me!" He watched as the Phoenix-Wing moved its fist close enough to the cockpit for seven of them to jump inside, before pit moved over to the Revolution Megazord and Chris leapt into it.
In the Phoenix-Wing, Flash and the girls warped in.
"TWILY!" Shining screamed as he pulled his sister into a hug. "Thank goodness, you're alright."
"I'm fine BBBFF," Twilight assured him.
Shining then pulled away from her and turned to Flash. "Thank you."
Flash just nodded before turning back to their enemy. "Chris, you ready?"
"You bet," Chris said, having relieved Aichi of the Power Hauler's control.
"Then lets end this," Flash told him. "Once and for all!"
Chris nodded, before putting his Zord into gear. "You heard him guys. Let's do this!"
The other Revolution Rangers all agreed as they to put their Zords into gear.
The Revolution Megazord's sword flew out of its hand, before returning to it X shaped rotter form that began spinning above the Megazord's head.
A compartment in the middle of each other their steering wheels opened up, as the Rangers all began to glow. "X ELEMENT!" They all cried as they thrusted the palms into the compartment, the light streaming into it.
The Megazord began to glow, the light flying upwards into the rotter and causing it to glow and spin faster. Eventually it became a glowing buzz saw like weapon.
"FINAL X STRIKE!" They all yelled, as the attack was sent flying through the air towards the Mecha Megazord.
"ULTIMATE FIREBALL FINISH!" The Guardian Rangers all cried out.
Their Megazord's Phoenix wings ignited, before the flames flew into the Dragon Zord's mouth.
"Three!" They said as they pulled their weapons out of the podiums.
"Two!" They aimed the weapons at the monster.
"ONE!" They pulled the trigger.
"FIRE!" The fireball flew out the Dragon's mouth, creating an flaming arrow which flew at the monster.
The two attacks flew into the air heading straight for the Mecha Megazord.
They struck the giant robot, causing a massive explosion which consumed it.
In his cockpit, Mechano was being deafened by alarms and explosion as he tried to stop what was happening. "No, no, no, no!" He cried as he did everything he could, but nothing seemed to be working. He looked over at a big red button on his control board and having no other choice, he slammed his robotic fist down onto it.
The Rangers watched as the explosion continued, until finally the fire ceased and the Mecha Megazord could be seen. It was charred and standing limp, swaying from one side to the other. Eventually the robot slowly began to fall face first towards the ground and collapsed into a pile of junk.
The Rangers and their teammates screamed in joy at the sight of their opponent's defeat.
"You did it!" Rainbow yelled.
"I knew you could!" Fluttershy screamed.
"Victory party!" Pinkie cheered.
Everyone else was down with that, but then Micro saw something.
"Wait," he said before pointing at the sky, "look!"
Everyone else looked at where he was pointing and saw what he did. It was a familiar looking egg shaped ship, which was flying through the air with a trail of smoke behind it.
"Mechano!" Flash yelled.
"He must have ejected from his Megazord before it blew," Twilight said.
"Then let's get him," Sandel said.
But before they could even think of a way to grab him, the ship glowed before it disappeared in a flash of light.
"He's gone!" Sweetie yelled.
"He must have returned to his world," Lyra said.
"We've gotta do something," Soarin yelled.
"No," Chris said over to coms, "don't bother. He's no threat now."
"He's right," Catherine said, "he's lost his troops, his base of operations and the X Element was most likely in his Megazord, so it must have been destroyed. He has nothing to use against us now."
"So that's it?" Applejack asked, "it's over?"
"Yeah," Grant said, "it's over."
"We did it," Flash said as he looked over his friends, "together. Guardian, and Revolution Rangers...VICTORY IS OURS!"
They all cheered at this, while the two Megazords fist bumped. The threat to both their world had been eliminated and now, they could celebrate. |
Power Rangers Guardians vs Power Rangers Revolution X | Parting of the Ways | And celebrate they did, as later that day Catherine, the principles and even Starswirl were preparing a feast on the school's back field.
As soon as they had finished putting the last bowl on the table, they heard multiple voices behind them. They all turned to see the fourteen Power Rangers, six magic teenagers and one military commander walking towards them and waving as they got closer.
The principles and Catherine all waved back.
Once they all gathered around the large table, the party began. There was music, singing, dancing and incredible food.
After eating, the group all started having fun.
Fluttershy used her magic to summon several woodland critters, which she showed to Valarie and Sweetie. The Pink Revolution Ranger was amazed by the sights of the animals, that were practically none existent in her world.
"Hello," she said as she petted a dear, "you are gorgeous."
"isn't she," Fluttershy said with joy in her voice.
Meanwhile Lyra was reading a book, unaware that Kade was snooping over her shoulder. "What'cha reading?"
Lyra yelped in shock, accidently throwing her book in the air.
Kade caught it and read the cover. "Oh, we've got this on my earth. Saucy."
"Give it here," Lyra said with a laugh as she reached for it, but Kade just laughed and held it out of her reach. He then rushed over, with Lyra in hot pursuit.
At the table, Applejack, Micro and Grant watched as Sandel and Dani were about to start an arm wrestle.
Applejack held both their grasped hands in hers. "One, two, three, GO!" She let got and Sandel pushed Dani's hand, but the Yellow Revolution Ranger was holding him back without even trying.
"Come on man," Micro told Sandel, seeing his reddening face as he tried to win.
Grant just laughed at the sight of Dani yawning, before turned to his Twin. "Dani, just beat him."
Dani gave a smug look. "Okay," she said before pushing Sandel's hand so hard she literally threw him off the table.
Soarin and Rainbow and the other more physically activate members of the group, were all playing a game of soccer on the field. Aichi and Commander Ryn were dribbling th ball towards the net, until Rainbow used her super speed to steal it away from them. She stopped to show off as she bounced the ball on her foot, before rushing towards the goal and scoring.
One the race track, Twilight and Catherine rushed over to the finish line before turning back. A hundred meters away we find Flash and Chris, getting ready to race one another. "READY!" The two women yelled as they raised a white flag, "AND GO!"
The two Red Rangers shot off the starting block, quickly hitting their max speed and rushing down the track. They stayed even the whole way, laughing as they did so. They were enjoying it so much, that when they both passed the finish line they shot passed Twilight and Catherine and just kept going. The two females both laughed seeing this, with Flash and Chris doing the same when they finally came to a stop.
The party lasted until the sun kissed the horizon. It was finally time for the Guardian Ranger's new friends to return home, all lined up opposing their Ranger counterpart.
"So," Flash said to Chris, "this is it."
"Yes," Chris replied to him, "as amazing as this world is, our world needs to be rebuilt."
"We'll miss you guys," Twilight told them.
"We'll miss you all to," Catherine said.
"Maybe you can write," Pinkie said, causing them all to laugh.
"I don't think the post office has an interdimensional package service," Valarie joked.
"Even so," Sweetie said, "this is goodbye."
"It doesn't have to be," Grant said. "Instead it can be...until we meet again."
"I like the sound of that," Sandel said.
The others all agreed, knowing that this wouldn't be the last time they all met.
"If you ever need help," Micro said as he corrected his glasses. "We're only a portal away."
"Same with you brain box," Dani told him.
In that moment, their was a flash of light behind the Revolution Rangers. A large portal opened up, signalling it was time to go.
"That's our ride," Aichi said.
"Well then," Ryn said, "we should get going."
The others all nodded. "I hope you manage to find Mechano," Shining told him.
"Yeah," Soarin said, "make sure that guy gets what's coming to him."
"We will," Kade said.
"Good luck rebuilding your world," Lyra said.
The others nodded, before turning towards the portal. Ryn was the first to step through, followed by Kade, then Valerie, Grand and Dani. Catherine gave everyone one final hug, before stepping through the portal and leaving only Chris.
The Red Revolution Ranger held his hand out to Flash. "Like Grant said, until we meet again."
Flash smiled before taking the hand and shaking it. "Until we meet again. And thank you, for helping me find my confidence as a leader again."
"My pleasure," Chris replied before pulling away and walking towards the portal. He gave them a backwards wave as he stepped through, before the portal slowly shrank in size and eventually disappeared.
Everything seemed to go silent now that their new friends were gone, Flash in particular continuing to stare at where the portal had been.
Twilight stepped up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know you and Chris got close. I know this must be hard."
Flash just sighed, before giving her a sincere smile. "Yeah," he then put his arm around her, "but I've got you...and everyone else." They turned back around and walked over to where their friends were.
"So what now?" Rainbow asked.
"Well," Celestia said, "school starts in a few days. I'd suggest you enjoy your last few days of summer, before your senior year arrives."
"She's right," Flash told his friends, "let's go have some fun!"
"YEAH!" They all cheered.
The latest danger to their world had passed, now a new adventure was awaiting our heroes. What amazing situations will they get into? There is only one way to find out. |
Hard Chicagoat Nights: The Zebra and the Priest | pre | "But you've never had a lover?"
Brasta stared into his glass. "Not really. The Church kind of disapproves of gay ponies, so I've kept my nose and record clean, so to speak."
"Oh." Zeke took a cautious sip of whiskey. "Why would you do something your religion doesn't like?"
Brasta, as usual, fidgeted. "I.. don't necessarily agree. I think they may be right, but... I'm not entirely sure. I've tried to figure where I stand, and well..." he took a breath. "I figure as long as I'm not engaging in extreme debauchery, I'm safe, spiritually speaking."
"I see. So nothin' with ropes, then," Zeke murmured with a grin.
Brasta's face turned a shade of red so deep someone passing by would have thought he'd been dumped headfirst into a paint can. "Erm... yeah, about right."
Zeke cackled, swinging down some more whiskey. "Hah! That's gotta blow, man! You're young and wild and free and all that!"
Brasta rolled his eyes before giving his companion a mock-stern glare. "I may be young, but do I really seem that wild to you? Also, not really, because it allows me more time to focus on my duties."
"I guess I know what you mean," Zeke chuckles. "I ain't got time for romance either..."
Brasta chuckled. "Yeah, but that's because you're busy wubbing your flanks and ears off. A bit more time occupying, especially when finding gigs, I imagine"
"Wubbing? Shit, man, that's that pony-ass unicorn dubshit bullshit," Zeke grumbled. "Show some respect to hip-hop."
Brasta shrugged. "Considering the music I'm usually around is at least 300 years old, it's difficult for me to tell the difference."
"You don't listen to any new stuff?" Zeke murmurs.
"Unless I'm going to a bar and hear it being played? No."
"Well, on most accounts, you ain't missin' out on much," Zeke chortles, taking another swig.
"I'll take your word for it." Brasta said, taking another sip of his own whiskey.
Zeke took another swig, sighing. "So what's your taste, then?"
"My taste? Usually, anything with an orchestra, or loud, solemn-sounding chanting in a foreign language, or some combination thereof-"
"I meant in stallions," Zeke said with a wink. "You like big guys, or are ya in favor of the more feminine kind?"
"Oh." Brasta, to his credit, did not turn scarlet this time. "I suppose a little bit of both. I mean, the feminine kind of stallions have a certain allure to them, though they lack the... how do I put it? More strong, protective, 'gentle giant' appeal you get from the bigger guys. Even if the bigger kinda blokes scare me just a little..." he muttered under his breath.
"How 'bout a big 'bloke' with a feminine touch?"
"Hmmm... that sounds like a good compromise, actually. Though forgive my lingo- you forget, I picked up a fair bit of my mother's Canterlot terminology."
"Where do I stand in this stuff, then?" Zeke chuckled.
This time, Brasta's face did, predictably at this point, colour slightly. "W-What exactly do you mean?"
"Uhh... Nothin'." Zeke giggled nervously. "Forget I said anything, man."
"No, I just want to know what you meant."
"Uhm... Nothin'. Nothin' at all."
"Errm... well..." Cue yet another awkward moment of silence. "I suppose you fall into the not particularly feminine, but not exactly macho and musclebound, sort of, erm... exotic category, so to speak?"
"Exotic?" Zeke looked at his bottle intently, as if expecting for it to refill itself. "Huh. Mama always said I was special."
Brasta found himself absentmindedly tapping his hoof on the floor anxiously. "Errm... well, don't all mothers?" he asked, hoping that the nervousness had not entered his voice once again.
"My mama didn't rhyme it," Zeke said with a nod. "That's how I know she meant it."
"Oh, I had no doubt she meant it-" he said nervously, backpedaling furiously in hopes he hadn't just screwed up to the nth degree.
"Well, how bout your mama? How does she say it?" Zeke huffed.
"Well, she just says usually 'you're my little star sapphire' or something equally sappy."
Zeke raised his eyebrows, taking a draught of whiskey. "Aw, man..."
Brasta leaned forward onto the table in embarrassment. "Look, I already told you my parents are VERY sappy..."
"Just tell me that it's bearable when intoxicated, and we're good," Zeke cackles, taking another swig only to find the bottle empty. Glancing at it in confusion, Zeke rolls his eyes, placing it down on the counter. "Another," he calls to the waiter, sighing.
Brasta rolled his eyes. "I survived 24 years of it in first-person contact without a drop."
"I wouldn't, man," Zeke sighed. "I wouldn't."
Brasta smirked. "And that is why your alcohol tolerance is obviously higher than mine." he said, gesturing to the one glass he was still sipping, then to the empty bottle of whiskey on the table.
Zeke cackled. "Man, you gotta drink more often. Ya build that shit up."
The priest mock glared at him. "I'm a Bitalian priest, not an Eirish one. The only thing I'm used to drinking is a little brandy or gin while relaxing at home."
"I'm at clubs a lot. So that's one way..." Zeke shook his head. "Wonder what kinda drunk you are..."
Brasta eyed his glass as if it was going to punch him. "I got drunk once at that coltcuddler bar... once. Apparently I'm the 'happy drunk' type."
"How happy? What happened?"
"Apparently I flirted with this Eirish distillery worker, who apparently turned out to be one of my parishioners who was just bringing in a new crate of whiskey... boy, that was difficult to explain." He snickered at the memory, in retrospect. "First time he'd ever seen 'Father Brasta' in a gay bar and pissed off his sorry priestly arse, and he assumed I was attempting to save some souls by joining in the revelry. We agreed to never speak of that incident again."
"Was he good lookin'?" Zeke murmured. "Big, rugged-seemin' dock workin' Eirish..."
Brasta blushed. "Well, he was fairly handsome... even through whiskey goggles."
"If I didn't ruddy hate 'em for hurtin' my mom, I'd be tappin' Eirish all day, brother. They got some fine mares in that lot."
Brasta rolled his eyes. "Believe me, you wouldn't agree if you'd seen some of my pari- wait, what about your mom?"
"Nothin'," Zeke said, before he turned his head to shout over his shoulder. "Yo, Pete! Get your striped ass over here and get my ass some whiskey!"
"On it Zeke!" the zebra waiter shouted back, bringing another bottle.
Zeke grabbed the bottle before it hit the bar, grunting as he pulled the cap off and swung it to the ceiling, practically chugging the volatile liquid down.
Brasta just watched the chugging dubiously. "Really Zeke? That's single-malt whiskey, not a bottle of water."
Zeke slammed the bottle onto the counter, burping uproariously. "Eff you," he murmured. "It's drink! D-Drink and... Alright, I... Thhiiink the brain-centre is a... A bit... muddied." He slumped in his chair, sighing. "Anyways. Parisshishish. Keep talkin' bout it. Who's in it?..."
Brasta just looked at him, wondering if having this conversation with a pissed zebra was a good idea. "Well, you have the usual crowd- the steel mill and dock workers, the seamstresses from the cloth mills and garment factories, their kids, the local generic "doctor, lawyer, engineer' crowd. In total, about 2000 people on the register."
"Right," Zeke murmured. "Okay. So any fine mares?"
Brasta shrugged. "Single? A few Bitzantine, Hispanhoofian, and Eirish mares- maybe, 60 in total. Mostly because their parents haven't asked me to marry them off yet."
"Whoa, wait, what? I thought... That... That that that arranged tosh died out, like, a hundred... Century ago or somethin'," Zeke slurred, raising an eyebrow.
"It has. Doesn't mean the parents still don't try to arrange things, anyway."
"So... You turn 'em back the uvver way."
"I'm a priest; it's in my job description that I can only marry willing couples. And thank goodness for that, too."
"I don't imagine you've married two stallions," Zeke asked.
Brasta shook his head. "Once, and it was a very low-key wedding."
"Awww," The zebra said. "That's so... Romantic or some shtuff."
Brasta smiled slightly, repressing the urge to snicker at the choice of words. "That's one way to put it, but yes."
Zeke looked into his drink, scanning it, pleading with it for a subject of conversation as Brasta cleared his throat. "So... where's your next gig?"
"I do local stuff, man," Zeke chuckled. "So like... I dunno. Some club up in Anglewood. Not the friendliest place, but I'll live. Been in worse places."
Brasta raised an eyebrow. "Anglewood? Isn't that the Rusyn side of town, chock-full of Stalliongraders?"
"No, man. That's Gangland. It's where the Pinto gangs and the zebra gangs clash the most. Lotta poverty and shit."
Brasta frowned, then promptly found his hoof colliding with his forehead. "Oh- THAT's why my parishioners stay clear of there. I remember asking several of them to find some volunteers down there for a parish soup kitchen, and they said flat-out no."
"They got they own soup kitchens, if ya know what I'm sayin'!" Zeke cackles, slapping a knee, coughing on his whiskey. "Nmmh... Damn..."
The priest looked more than a little alarmed. "Err, Zeke, I think that might be enough whiskey for one night..."
"Hey, brother, all I did was choke!" Zeke gagged, shaking his head. "I think I'm... Good."
Brasta frowned, a slightly incredulous look on his face. "The slurring says otherwise."
"Hey," Zeke reassured, "The night is still young."
Brasta snorted. "The night may still be young, but it's easier to enjoy it when you're a tad more sober."
"Man," Zeke purred, "That's your philosophy. Now... Thankfully, I'll still prolly remember this, so..."
The priest sighed in exasperation. "Oh, have it your way then. Where to next, then, Mr. "The night is still young?"
Zeke's head was resting on the table, slightly woozy. "Man... Wherever, man. Wherever..."
"You'll have to be a bit more specific than that." Brasta said, trying to get an answer out of him.
"Err... Do you do strip clubs?"
Brasta fixed him with a rather stern look. "I'm a priest. I try to avoid places that my more lewd parishioners would go to. I do have to set some kind of example."
Zeke tilted his head, thinking for a moment, then shook it. "Naah. I ain't feelin' it either... Huh. Ain't much to do as an adult 'cept eat shit and drink liquor..."
"Isn't there something you like to besides eat and drink? You know, something that you really like to do, but never really get the chance?"
"...I dunno, man," Zeke murmured. "Uhhh... We could go to see a film?"
Brasta smiled at the thought; a film. God, he couldn't remember the last time... "Sure. Anything particular in mind?"
"Just... a movie."
The priest sighed. "Alright then- nearest cinema's off of Marino Street. Though..." he looked at the bottle of whiskey. "You might want to pay for the drinks before we go."
"Yeah, yeah, no prob," Zeke murmured, pulling his wallet from under his hat and pulling out two twenties, leaving them on the bar. "Fuck it. Keep the change. Let's go."
Brasta glanced back for a moment, before following the zebra out the door and into the Chicagoat night once more. |
Hard Chicagoat Nights: The Zebra and the Priest | Chapter 4 | Chapter 4
Almost immediately after stepping outside, the cold air blanketed the zebra in an icy-feeling. A slight wind buffeted the two of them, causing Zeke's dreadlocks to whip about. "Damn," he muttered, teeth chattering. "Guesh it's gonna... Shtorm t'night..."
Brasta nodded, shivering slightly as he levitated his coat out of his saddlebags,. "Better get there quick then, I suppose." Brasta reached deeper into his saddlebags, and tossed out to Zeke an extra cloak for warmth.
Zeke nodded, eyes glued to the street ahead. "Lead on, brother..."
Brasta and Zeke made their way to the nearby Marino Cinema. They made their way to the ticket booth as Brasta scanned the dilapidated posters on the outside wall.
"Man, wow! Some of these are like twenty years old!..." Zeke tilted his head, trying to read the posters with unfocused eyes. "Ya sure this place is still open?"
Brasta nodded, and pointed at a half-asleep mare on the other side of the ticket booth.
Zeke tapped on the glass, and the mare shot up, shaking her head, her eyes wide. "Huh? What? How- Oh. Hey, handsome, can I help ya?"
Zeke nodded. "Ya know what's playin'? All these posters are like, old..."
The mare smiled, her eyes half-lidding, which Zeke attributed to her sleepiness. "Well," she began, twirling a lock of her mane in a hoof, "I'm not sure a handsome, exotic specimen like yourself needs to go to a place like this..."
Brasta rolled his eyes and stepped up to the window. "Miss, seriously, what films are playing right now?" He felt slightly annoyed by the mare for some reason, but pushed that thought aside.
"Father?" Her face fell in recognition, and she quickly gathered herself up. "Erm... fancy meeting y-you here! I, erm, well... " She glanced up nervously at the posters on the walls. "What's playing, let's see, errm..."
Brasta's eyes widened just as suddenly, recognising the mare as well, but he quickly composed himself. "Yes, Joana?"
She leaned in, voice lowered to an embarrassed whisper. "Father, this is an adult theatre!"
"Adult theatre?" Zeke murmured, raising an eyebrow.
Brasta's face went red, before once again, face met hoof. "Errm... let's find someplace else, shall we?" he sighed, "Of all the cinemas, this one has to be one of those..." he muttered to himself.
"Father, wait!" Joana said, "I... I don't judge you for this, not at all. You said we're all merely ponies and thus sinful in your last sermon. If you need someplace to... Relax, it's all well and good."
Zeke cackled, voice seeming a little too loud to Brasta's ears. "Hahahahaha! She's a good salespony, Brasta!"
Brasta groaned in exasperation at the drunken zebra. "Zeke, you're not helping." He looked back at the mare. "Look, I was kind of looking for a regular cinema, so if you wouldn't mind kindly pointing me in the right direction..."
Joana's face softened, and she sighed. "It's too bad, Father... Well, there's a small place up a few blocks, but the neighbourhood's tough, so keep your head down."
Brasta nodded his thanks, and sent a casually traced sign of the cross her way before heading off. As he trotted along the street, he glanced over at Zeke. "Go on, say it. I know you really want to say SOMETHING."
"I was gonna say, she prolly woulda given ya a pretty good deal," the zebra chuckled. "Ya know her from church?"
Brasta nodded, "Yep. Joanna Diava, from the parish finance committee."
"Don't say?" Zeke chuckled. "I hope she's doin' that on the side! Somethin' tells me your folk wouldn't take lightly to a church getting funded by porn."
Brasta glanced upward, as if trying to pray the very idea away. "You'd be right. Next time she goes to Confession, I'll have to ask her." He shook that thought away. As they entered the darker, rougher part of town, Brasta stiffened up a little, eyes glancing in all directions.
Zeke stepped a bit closer, walking side by side with Brasta, looking over at the priest and giving him a wink. "You'll be fine," he murmured. Brasta, despite his anxiety, felt a slight boost of confidence, and nodded in response.
After a few minutes worth of walking, they made their way to a surprisingly much nicer cinema, with a short line to get in.
They headed to the back of the line. After a few minutes of standing there, however, Zeke looked a little ill. He leaned slightly against his companion, coughing violently. "Man, I don't feel so good..."
He glanced over at Zeke, worry written across his face. "Zeke, what's wrong? If you need to leave, just tell me."
"No, no, man... I just feel a bit sick to my stomach," he murmurs. "Just need ta... Ya know..."
Brasta's eyes searched around, spotting a door with the word 'Lavatory' on it. "Over there," he said.
Zeke shook his head. "Man, I'm not going in there! That place probably stinks like hell!"
"Do you have any better idea?" he asked.
"Yeah, there's prolly one inside," Zeke murmurs.
Brasta nodded and rushed towards a now line-less ticket window with Zeke in tow. "Excuse me, sir, errm, two for... " he glanced up at a poster. "Carrie? I'm kind of in a hurry..."
The window stallion punched out two tickets, blowing out the smoke of his cigarette.
Zeke quickly nabbed a ticket, rushing inside.
Brasta grabbed his ticket, tossed a few bits at the stallion, and rushed inside , heading into the entrance hallway to the lobby. "Thanks, bye!"
Zeke ran down the hallway and into the bathroom, slamming the stall door behind him and jamming his snout into the toilet, unleashing about everything he had eaten that day in a whiskey-tinged monsoon of alcoholic fury.
Brasta stood outside the door, wincing at the sounds of his nauseous, yet probably at least sober now, companion.
The vomiting continued, going up Zeke's nose and firing out of his muzzle, leaving the zebra stallion breathless. Eventually, the sound stopped, and Brasta knocked on the door lightly. "Zeke?"
"Yeah?" came the reply from the other side, weakly.
"You didn't lose a lung in there, did you?"
"Hahaha, screw you..."
Brasta rolled his eyes. "You alright?"
"I'm better," Zeke muttered, getting up from the toilet and flushing it. A few seconds later, he emerged from the doorway of the bathroom. "When's the movie gonna start?"
The priest glanced up at a giant clock over the concessions booth. "Ten minutes, I think." His eyes turned back to the zebra. "You still up for it?"
"Aight," Zeke murmured. "Plenty of time. I feel good now, but just in case..."
Brasta felt a hint of relief. "Well, at least you'll feel better in a few hours."
"Yeah," Zeke murmurs. "Sorry. Not very polite of me to get real drunk on a date, huh?"
Brasta snorted. "There are better ways to make an impression, one could say." He almost didn't noticed the anxiety returning at the mention of the word 'date.' "Anyways..." he glanced back at Zeke. "How about that movie?"
"Yeah," Zeke groaned. "Guess we head on in, then..." Brasta nodded and the two of them trotted towards the end of the hallway and into the lobby.
Zeke trotted into the theatre, taking a back seat and sitting on his flanks, watching the previews zoom across the screen. He patted the seat next to him, silently suggesting that Brasta sit there. Brasta nodded, settling down comfortably into the theatre chair.
"These are good seats," Zeke said, patting the back of his chair. "Nice and comfy... If I find the movie boring and shit, I won't be sleeping on a park bench."
Brasta rolled his eyes. "Please, places like this prefer for movie-goers to want to come back-- I don't think they'd consider a park bench a good business choice."
"Nah, prolly not," Zeke murmured. "Prolly not... What's this movie they're gon' play?"
Brasta glanced down at the ticket. "Something called... Carrie, I think?"
"Carrie? Never heard of it..."
Brasta shrugged. "Neither have I, but it was the first thing I saw, and we were kinda in a hurry..." He paused, embarrassed. It's not like he was going to carefully look for a good movie when his companion had been about to vomit. "Still, gotta try new things from time to time, right?"
"I hope it ain't gory slasher shit. Makes me sick to my stomach..."
Brasta looked a little queasy himself, remembering the last time he saw that kind of movie. Trying to lighten the mood a little, he chuckled awkwardly, "I don't think you have anything left in your stomach to get sick."
"Shut up," Zeke chuckled, leaning back into his seat with a fake pout on his face.
Brasta smirked at the look on Zeke's face. "Don't try to go pouty on me. It doesn't suit you."
"Heh. Guess you gotta teach me, colt lover," Zeke cackled, sticking his tongue out at his friend.
Brasta looked almost alarmed for a moment, eyes glancing around, before he shook his head and snorted. "In time, Zeddy. I've got more than enough patience to teach you-- and I'll likely need it." He crossed his forehooves and sent him a mock-teacherly glare.
"Yeah, you'll have your work cut out for ya-- I wasn't too good at school, man," Zeke giggled, tapping the side of his head with a hoof.
Brasta grinned wide, then suddenly out came the broadest East Canterlot accent Zeke had ever heard. "Yew don't say? Well, at least I 'ope yew learnt sumfin' or uvver, uvverwise I'd hefta give yew some educatin' meself."
A few seconds passed, before Zeke just looked at him like he'd swallowed a lemon whole. "...Man, what the blazes happened to your speech there?"
: Brasta faintly blushed. Apparently, he'd still managed to retain the Coltney he'd picked up back in Canterlot. "Sorry. Some of my mum's East Canterlot speech comes through sometimes- and not the posh kind I normally use, either." He shook his head. "Anyway, the movie's starting up."
"Right..."
The two of them waited for the movie to start. In a span of roughly thirty minutes, Brasta found himself torn between laughing from nervousness, being horrified by some of the darker scenes, and cringing at the poorly directed parts.
Zeke, erstwhile, had fallen asleep within five minutes. Leaning against Brasta's shoulder and drooling softly, a bubble rising and falling from his nose.
An hour later, Brasta found himself clinging onto the nearest pony to him for dear life-- which unbeknownst to him, happened to be the sleeping Zeke--, eyes fixed on the screen until the closing credits came up. Taking a sigh of relief, he heard a soft snore. He looked over to his right to see Zeke leaning on his shoulder, mouth set in a somewhat cute- errm, peaceful smile. Ignoring the weight, he gently poked Zeke with his hoof. "Zeeeeke?"
Zeke jolted awake, the bubble popping and his mouth dry. "Hmmph! Wha?! Who died?! The zebra did, I know it! Zebras always die first!"
Brasta felt the sudden urge to laugh at the look on Zeke's face. However, he restrained himself and simply said in the flattest voice he could. "Correction- the unicorn died first in this one."
"Oh." Zeke yawned, unconsciously nuzzling into Brasta's shoulder.
The priest's face heated at the sudden touch, before he shook his head and said, "Well, movie's over anyway."
"Yeah..." Zeke yawned again. "Damn... What time is it?..."
Brasta shielded his eyes from the brightening theatre lights and found the clock on the wall. "About... I think one in the morning."
"Mhh," Zeke murmured. "Can I crash at your place again?"
Brasta nodded, ignoring the slight lightheaded feeling that he knew hadn't been there previously. "Sure. Ready to head out?"
Zeke was already snoring again on Brasta's shoulder, his eyes shut gently and mumbling slightly under his breath.
As endearing as this was, he had to get Zeke out of the theatre. Trying not to disturb him, he gently lifted Zeke into an upright position, leaning him against his shoulder. It was an awkward position to move in, but it worked. Using his right foreleg to keep him from falling over, he took a breath and headed out of the theatre.
Groggily, Zeke came to again, walking alongside the priest wobbly, his eyes drooping shut. "Whoof," he murmured. "I... I guess I'm not a movie pony."
Brasta snickered softly. "I suppose not. How about you pick what to do next time?" A moment of silence stretched into minutes, before his voice was heard again, much smaller and slightly nervous this time. "Assuming there, errm, will be a next time, if that's all right with you...?"
"Yeah," Zeke murmured, eyelids shutting again. "I'm down for it. Wait, I don't remember, but didn't I ask for a movie...?"
Brasta thought back for a moment. "Yes, actually you did. Hmm... then... I'll pick next time?"
"You better," Zeke chuckled. "And it better be good! No golf or... any of that rubbish." he finished lamely, leaning slightly more against Brasta,
Brasta rolled his eyes, ignoring the increased weight on his shoulder. "Believe me, I'm not a golf fan. How about just plain food next time? A decent place with decent grub?"
"Sounds fabulou- Awesome," Zeke said with a nervous chuckle.
Brasta smiled. "Good. Now let's get back to the rectory before you fall asleep again." With a sleepy Zeke in tow, Brasta managed to find their way back to the rectory, navigating the lamp-lit streets with caution until they arrived safely at the doors.
Zeke half-stumbled his way with Brasta alongside him, humming and muttering incoherently before snapping himself awake whenever he dozed off again into the priest's shoulder.
Brasta unlocked the doors of the rectory, shutting them behind as soon as he managed to get Zeke in. Gently taking care to avoid his furniture, he opened the door to the guest bedroom and led him in. "We're back, Zeke.," he said, as the zebra stumbled towards the bed.
Zeke looked around, blearily closing his eyes as he swayed slightly. "Can I sleep in your bed, Papa?..." Zeke mumbled in his sleep, nuzzling further into Brasta's shoulder.
Brasta looked more than a little alarmed- though his title was "Father", he doubted that was who he was referring to. Well, on second thought, it couldn't... No. that might lead to unfortunate temptations. So naturally, he would just leave him here in the guest bed. Nowhere near him. "Errm... not... tonight, Zeke?" he said, his speech speeding up a little., as he gently pushed the other stallion towards the bed. Either he pushed too hard, or Zeke was just that tired, as the zebra promptly fell sideways onto the bed.
Reflexively, the zebra seemed to curl up slightly in his sleep, forehooves, clasping even tighter to Brasta. "Mmmf, but Papa..." Zeke mumbled.
"No Zeke." Brasta said, letting go of Zeke and heading towards the door. Still, he looked so... (was cute the right word?) dozing half asleep on the guest bed... No. That wouldn't be a good idea.
"Papaa..." he said in an almost desperate tone, unconsciously stretching his forehooves out towards the door.
No, Brasta thought, walking further towards the door.
Zeke tossed on the bed, fidgeting in obvious discomfort, his eyes squeezing shut, his hooves pushing out. "No..."
Brasta turned around with a sigh, seeing Zeke obviously afflicted by what he guessed was a bad dream. Resigning himself, he headed back to the bed, placing a foreleg around Zeke to hopefully calm him down. "Shh, I'm here."
Zeke wrapped his forelegs around Brasta, still fidgeting. "Mama... those guys who... you couldn't... Mmhmmm..."
Brasta, to his dismay, soon realised that he couldn't get away now without disturbing Zeke. With his heart still against it (or so he told himself), he managed to sort of half-climb, half-fall into the bed alongside Zeke.
Almost immediately, the zebra's forehooves pulled him even closer. Zeke nuzzled his head into his 'Father's' chest, humming and murmuring more quietly, his hat still on his head. The body besides him was warm, soft and comforting, and that was all that mattered.
Brasta stayed in that position, staring at the ceiling for hours. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. On one hoof, it was nice and warm; on the other hoof, it was a bit too close for his taste. Okay, that was a lie. Truth was, he was afraid. Afraid of this kind of closeness, afraid of the feelings that came with it- and afraid of himself. It was only because of the closeness he was reminded of just how scared he was. But he knew he couldn't dwell on it, not now- he had to get some sleep. Repeating a few Hail Mary's in his head, Brasta finally drifted off to sleep... |
Hard Chicagoat Nights: The Zebra and the Priest | Chapter 5 | Chapter 5
Zeke awoke to the smell of incense seemingly pressed against his muzzle. It was a pleasant, homely scent,; the kind of scent his mother would make. Whichever mare had crawled into bed the night before had some good taste. Or stallion. Drunken musicians never discriminated.
Zeke had draped his forehooves around his bedmate and refused to let go, holding them close and nestling his nose deeper into their chest, trying to pull in as much of the smell of incense as he could.
Brasta had not moved from the spot on the bed all night. Blinking awake, he let out a yawn as he glanced around the darkened room. However, as he tried to move, he soon found he was... well, trapped.
Brasta's eyes glanced over to the figure he was curled up against, and he struggled to get out of bed as his face turned a lovely shade of puce. "Zeeeke.."
"Urrgh," Zeke groaned, holding Brasta tighter.
"Zeke... let... go.. of.. me."
"No," Zeke mumbled drowsily, shaking his head weakly and tightening his grip on his fellow stallion.
Brasta groaned, and tried to climb away, extracting one limb from Zeke's grip at a time. This would have worked brilliantly, except for one thing- the guest bed had no footboard, resulting in Brasta falling off the end of the bed and onto his stomach. "Errrgh..."
Zeke, meanwhile, ignored his partner's injury and rolled back under the covers; snoring gently and twitching on occasion.
Brasta was getting more than irritated now. Getting back onto his hooves with some difficulty, he trotted over to the bed, glaring sternly down at the zebra. "Zeke, wake up. Now."
"Just five more minutes," the zebra grumbled, pulling together his sheets and holding them close to his body.
"Fine.," Brasta growled, before heading out of the room. As he walked along the hallway to his kitchen, he couldn't help but think, as usual. He had brought Zeke home with him, gave him the guest bed, and somehow managed to end up... cuddling with him? The worst part was, he had liked it, after a while; just the feeling of somepony warm and soft lying near him. That wasn't wrong was it? Just sharing the same bedspace. It's the same thing he would have done for anyone obviously having a bad dream, right? Right. Especially somepony who looked so cute- somewhat endearing, when sleeping. That little anxiety and slight colour in his cheeks when thinking back to it meant nothing, of course.
Shaking his head with a sigh, Brasta made his way to the kitchen, and put his tea kettle on the stove, turning up the burners and grabbing his tea bags from the pantry. Good, strong peppermint tea- that's what he needed to clear his head.
Several minutes later, Brasta found himself sunken into his armchair, reading his Morning Office in an attempt to curb his thoughts. "Benedictus Dóminus, Deus Israel: quia visitávit, et fecit redemptiónem plebis suæ: Et erexit cornu salútis nobis: in domo David, púeri sui. Sicut locutus..." Try as he may, he wasn't succeeding particularly well. The Canticle of Zechariah couldn't keep him attentive this morning. Instead, his thoughts kept straying back. Dear Lord, what if Joana had seen him bringing Zeke home, or any of his other parishioners? What if somepony had come knocking this morning, seen him with Zeke, and made certain assumptions? "Aghh... this isn't helping." he said, shutting his breviary halfway through the Benedictus. If this kept up, he was going to go crazy, and it wasn't even eight o' clock yet!
His mental rambling was suddenly broken by the sound of a whistling tea kettle. "Sweet Theotokos, I need my tea." he groaned, heading back towards the kitchen.
Five minutes later, Brasta found himself in his kitchen, drinking his favourite tea with a buttered scone. In short,: normal breakfast for him. Now that he'd shaken off the morning dust, his head was a bit clearer. The fact that he found Zeke somewhat cute while sleeping was simply an observation. Nothing more. Right.
______________________________________________________________________________
Zeke, erstwhile, was mentally beating himself in his half-sleep. If word of this got out, he'd be lucky if he got hired to do school dances. In a genre ruled by "gangsters" and thugs, having his... occasionally 'gay' moments were pretty much heresy. It most certainly didn't help the morning wood that Zeke had been absently begging to go away, but such was such.
Maybe he wasn't really a coltcuddler. Maybe he was just so comfortable in his sexuality that he engaged in riskier 'gay' stuff more often. Like shopping for scarves or makeup or something. Or literally cuddling with colts. Okay, he really wasn't helping his case much. Scrunching his eyes up, Zeke rolled around a bit more, groaning. "Gaaah..." With a mumbled stream of expletives, he crawled laboriously out of bed.
The morning light pierced his slightly hung-over eyes, but Zeke trudged onwards, aimlessly wandering the halls of the rectory. It wasn't a massive building, nothing worth exploring, but Zeke found a good enough reason for it.
Finally, Zeke stumbled into the kitchen, smiling as he saw Brasta's familiar face seated at the table.
...And there went Brasta's clear head. Still, the priest couldn't help but brighten at the infectious smile on Zeke's face. "Good morning, sleepyhead."
He wasn't entirely sure what to say, as the image of Zeke sleeping peacefully kept popping back into his mind, as well as the feeling of- No. This wasn't the time.
"Hey, man," Zeke groaned. "I'm starving."
Brasta glanced over at the fridge. He wasn't heavily stocked on food, and needed to go to the grocer, but he had enough. "I'll whip up something.," he said, heading towards the fridge. Because, loathe to admit as he was, he was hungry too.
Zeke followed, glancing into the fridge, raising an eyebrow, and sighing. "Ya got any tea leaves? Not mix, leaves."
Brasta's eyes lit up. "Hold on a moment..." He rummaged through his cabinet, before levitating out a small tea caddy. "Got some in here.," he said, lifting the lid of the tin container.
Without further ceremony, Zeke stuck his head in and immediately began chewing on a mouthful of leaves, contemplatively.
Brasta looked at him as if he'd grown another head. Normally, somepony made tea, not ate it. "Something on your mind?"
"I'm a cow," Zeke giggled, exaggerating the chewing and mooing to the ceiling.
Brasta rolled his eyes. "I suppose I should be lucky you're not eating all of them."
"Don't tempt me," Zeke cackled.
"I'm not." With that, he continued searching his pantry, getting out flour, salt, milk, and baking powder. "You're awfully chipper this morning..."
"Man, I got some good sleep in," Zeke said. "Good enough to wake a brother up..."
Brasta suddenly looked very embarrassed. "Yeah, I bet you did..."
"What's up?" Zeke asked, raising a quizzical brow. "Why ya gettin' flustered?"
Brasta just shook his head. "Not flustered- just... glad you slept peacefully, that's all."
"Uh huh," Zeke smirked.
"Yes. That's it. Only it." He wasn't sure if Zeke knew exactly why he's slept so peacefully, but he wasn't going to bring it up unless he asked.
"Right. So... This morning, totally nothing happened?"
Brasta thought for a minute, panicking slightly. So he did know. But still... technically, nothing had happened more than cuddling. "Nothing happened this morning."
"Well, I had this big ol' pillow, and then it went away somehow..."
"Err..." Brasta's eyes became fixed on a crack in the floor tile. "Shall I explain?"
"Go on," Zeke murmured, sitting on his rear.
Brasta swallowed. Ergh, why am I so flustered? "Well, last night, you were kind of stumbling half-asleep when we walked back from the cinema. When I brought you and led you to the guest room, you kind of... clutched onto me a bit." He rubbed his neck with a hoof. He wasn't sure who this was more embarrassing for; him or Zeke. "In your sleep, you started mumbling something about 'Papa' and sleeping on my bed. Then, when I tried to leave, you were sort of agitated- it looked like you were having a bit of a nightmare, in fact. So, I came back, just to calm you for a second, and you kind of clutched onto me more and, well, pulled me into bed."
Zeke's face blanked a little bit. "I... I called you what?"
"Err... you called me "Papa."
"Shit," Zeke murmured. "I was really out then..."
Brasta shifted slightly. "Yes, I kind of figured that.."
"Yeah. Papa... Papa, well, he tried hard and stuff, but he wasn't, y'know..."
"All that affectionate, I suppose?" Brasta finished.
"He tried. He was a doctor."
"Hey, I'm not trying to rag on your Papa or anything, okay?" Brasta said, backpedaling slightly.
"He tried. Didn't save Momma."
Brasta's face fell. "So that's what you were talking about..."
"No... I'm just sayin', he tried as a papa and he failed."
Brasta bit his lip slightly at the look on Zeke's face. It wasn't sad; but it was a look of grim realisation of a hard truth. Brasta felt the urge to want to make him smile again. "Well, despite his failure, at least you turned out just fine from what I can see."
"Blame Momma for that," Zeke chuckled.
"Not as much blame as congratulate." he said in reply, finally glad to see the zebra light up once more.
"Nah, man," Zeke chuckled. "She was just the right kind of crazy to survive and thrive in the hood, ya know?
Brasta rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but a very special kind of crazy, I'd imagine." Like you, he almost said.
"Exactly..."
There followed a moment of awkward silence once again.
Zeke stiffened up, sighing. "Well... Can I get a hug, bro?"
"Err.. sure." Brasta said, reaching forehooves out tentatively towards Zeke.
Zeke pulled the other colt into a tight, powerful hug, squeezing Brasta as hard as he could and tightening his own eyes, shivering.
Brasta felt slightly crushed by the hug, but returned it just as fiercely, ignoring the slight redness in his own face.
Zeke's eyes bulged out of his head as he was smushed by Brasta's grip, his hooves trailing down the other pony's back.
A moment later, Brasta let go of Zeke, panting slightly, face flushed, presumably from lack of air. It had nothing to do with close contact with the other stallion. Not at all.
Zeke chuckled, still holding onto Brasta, even tightening his grip slightly.
Brasta coughed slightly, eyes watering. However, for some reason he was still enjoying this. Perhaps too much.
Zeke gave one last squeeze before pulling away with a faraway look in his eyes. He looked off to the side, for some reason, shivering. "Th-Thanks, man..."
Brasta nodded. "Y-you're welcome." He noticed the shivering. "You cold, mate?"
"No," Zeke squeaked weakly. "Just thinkin'..."
Brasta stopped. Why would thinking make him shiver? "Erm... about what, if you don't mind me asking."
"Ma."
Brasta's face dropped into a solemn look. "Errm... what exactly happen-" he stopped, shaking his head, "I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't asked tha-"
"She... got raped," Zeke muttered quietly.
Brasta's eyes widened, and an expression of horror and sympathy flashed across his face. "Theotokos protect her." he whispered, glancing at his image of the Mother of God on the wall, before lifting his eyes back up to Zeke. "I'm sorry, I just... I d-didn't want to pry... I-I." He stopped, realising he was babbling. "I'll just g-go now..."
Zeke waved it away, expression neutral. "Man, it was years ago. Shit happens. Happens a lot to zebra folk." Despite his even tone, Zeke's eyes spoke quite a different story.
"Well, that doesn't make it bloody right." Brasta said, suddenly angry. It was that common? There was something wrong with this city-- and more than the obvious. "I just-" Zeke's neutral expression dropped into a frown, eyes pleading for Brasta to leave it alone. But Brasta was more than a little incensed. How the blazes could he pass off a rape as something that could simply be mentioned then forgot about? Long time ago or not, things like that left lasting scars on all ponies involved. He had a strong feeling that Zeke wasn't quite as stoic about this as he seemed. "Shit happens?' Really? That sounds a little too la-di-da a take on something as serious as this. I mean, surely you must have at least been deva-"
"Brasta. Now is not a good time. Just... leave it, please?" Zeke's tone was no longer quite as even, instead sounding much more fragile.
Some of Brasta's anger faded at the suddenly hurt-sounding tone of the zebra, but still he couldn't help a bit of indignation coming through. "Zeke, are you sure you don't feel a bit more, I don't know, angry about this? I mean, sure it was years ago, but-"
"Nope," Zeke muttered, beginning to shiver once more. "Nope, I'm fine..."
"Then why did you tell me about this if it wasn't-"
"I just... because thought I could confide in you." Was I right?, Zeke thought.
Brasta's thoughts stopped. He trusts me? he thought. He trusts me enough to confide in me, after only a couple days? He felt a warm feeling in his chest. He trusts me...
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, before Brasta broke the stillness. "Well, onto a happier subject..."
"Errm, shouldn't you be getting back to your own home now? At least, until we-" Go out, he thought to himself. "-hang out again."
"I... I guess so," Zeke murmured. "I mean, I'm free all day, but if ya need me to go..."
"No!" he exclaimed, then looked down. "I mean, no. Don't need you to go yet. Just not sure if you were... recuperated or not."
"I'm good," Zeke murmured. "Just... Wonderin' if ya wanna hang a bit more.
"Oh. Sure!" Brasta said with a smile. There went that little flutter again... which he ignored.
"Cool," Zeke murmured. "Sooo... Like, you got TV here or anything or what?"
Brasta nodded. "I've got a TV in the living room- don't use it much, as I've got my books, but you're welcome to watch it."
"Aight," Zeke murmured. "Show me?"
Brasta led him to the living room, opening a cabinet against the wall to reveal a small tv with remote nearby. "Here you go."
Zeke smirked. "Man, that thing's gotta be like a hundred years old..."
"Ten years, actually."
"Well, tech marches on, brother..."
"My need for it does not- as I said, I mostly stick to my books," he said, glancing back down the hall towards his own room. Unbeknownst to Zeke, it was dominated by a plenitude of bookshelves, heavily loaded down with a ton of tomes.
"What books do ya like?"
Brasta shrugged. "A little bit of everything. Classics, history, philosophy, theology, and some contemporary books." The contemporary meaning his small collection of romance novels- the tame kind, granted, but still...
"Snoooore," Zeke murmured. "I'ma watch TV. I need to catch up on Las Pegasus Five-0 ."
Brasta rolled his eyes. "Fine, you do that. But at about noon, meet me at the door" Brasta glanced up at the clock on his wall. "I have a daily Mass to say, so I'll be back in about thirty minutes."
Yet Zeke was already snoring in a chair, the TV running and his eyes shut tightly.
Brasta rolled his eyes, and headed across the street. Standing at the threshold of the church, he glanced back at the rectory once more before entering his world of incense, chant, silk, and sometimes, divine silence. |
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