Their Names Across The Multiverse

by DATONETWIxDASHFAN

Chapter 3: Needing To Let Go Isn't Easy

Lucy walked around the library tree, amazed at how such a vast tree could be made into a library.

"Oh wow! I can't wait to see the inside!"

She walked up to the door and was about to grab the doorknob when she remembered how Blitz had told her about this place, her sister, and Equestria. It was after she had told her everything from her past, how she lived with her parents, and how happy she was.

"Blitz..." she whispered, remembering the other things that made Blitz and her sister feel guilty.

---

Lucy held Blitz's hand, seeing her holding back from crying again. She listened to her, never saying a word.

"I killed my mothers! I remember stabbing Nightfall in the chest and taking her core." Tears started to fall. "I killed Sky, remembering her charred body, the smell, and the whole world as I became a living bomb, burning the world and all the creatures and plants and the world, ending everything. I killed everyone, and I can't ever forget it. We even destroyed our whole universe. I must carry that pain forever, and I needed to suffer for what we did that night." Blitz slowly turned to Lucy, sadness on her face. "I'm a monster; no matter how much I try to do good in this universe, it doesn't make up for the horrible things I've done."

Lucy held Blitz's hand tighter, looked at her in the eyes, and saddest smile she ever had. "So, that's why you keep making others happy? Always giving away yourself but never taking anything for yourself? Is that what you're doing? Punishing yourself for what you did, no matter what everyone says to you?"

Blitz turned away, her tears flowing.

"Yes, it's all I can do. Part of me believes that we shouldn't have ever been saved, that Twilah, Dashie, and others who saved us that day should have just let us die because it's not fair. We, who killed trillions of lives and destroyed our home and everything else, deserved to die. But they saved us, gave us a second chance at life, allowing us to be loved again, but all I could feel was guilt. So, I can only try to make the ones I love happy and never take anything for myself. I don't even deserve to be happy after what we did. Heck, I'm too much of a coward to kill my-"

Lucy let go of her hand and slapped Blitz. She fell to the floor, holding her cheek. She looked at Lucy, who was angry.

"Don't say that! Don't ever say that!" her tears started falling while her mouth trembled with sadness. "Don't say you're a monster or about killing yourself. That you don't deserve happiness and to be loved." She sniffed. "How do you think your friends will feel when you say that? Tempesta, who has been fighting her PTSD for so long because of what happened to her in the war, but because of you saving her and revealing you were Rainbow Comet to her and that she had a family who loved her, she was able to take those few steps in moving forward. What would she do if you were gone?"

"That's not true. I never helped Tempesta."

"Yes, you did!" Shouted Lucy, standing up. "Your mom is giving her the help she needs because of you! You saved her that night in the alleyway. I'm such a giant Rainbow Comet fan that Tempesta told me how Comet saved her!"

Blitz couldn't look her in the eyes.

"The others won't mi-"

"HORSE SHIT!"

Blitz quickly turned to Lucy, shocked by the foul language, as Lucy had never sworn, since she known her.

"Yes, they would! You helped all of us; you saved King's family's pizza place!" she grabbed Blitz by her shirt, pulling her up from the floor. "You made Wallflower feel like someone finally noticed her when no one would; she was alone. But you were there; you made her happy." She started to shake Blitz hard. "You turned Sunset from a bully to the kindest, caring brute anyone has ever seen!"

"B-Brute?" shuttered Blitz as Lucy kept shaking her.

"Yes!" she finally stopped shaking her and fell into Blitz's chest, crying hard. "And you saved me, a girl who was all alone and just wanted friends but couldn't, as she was a weirdo in many eyes. But you were there, and you took the time to be there for me and became the best friend I ever had." She slowly looked up at Blitz, blushing. "Even more than a best friend, I love you so much! How would I feel if you were just gone!?"

Lucy cried harder.

Blitz was frozen.

"I don't care if you killed trillions of lives; the good you did and are still doing should be enough. Please stop; it's okay to take something for yourself and be happy. You don't have to keep hurting yourself. So, please, Blitz, don't ever say you're a monster or not worth loving or don't deserve happiness and a family. You deserve all of it and so much more!"

Blitz's heart raced as she listened to Lucy's words.

"I-I-I," Blitz couldn't speak. She didn't know what to say, nor did she know if her words were correct. But hearing her talk of her like that made her heart swell. "Okay," she said, hugging Lucy.

She could feel the warmth of Lucy's body and her fast-beating heart. She could also feel her tears, warm as they dropped onto her neck. They pulled away from each other, which made Blitz smile as she remembered what Layla told her all those years ago.

"Make your dawn, make a new light, and create a new hope. Make a better future, a new tomorrow, even if it's not perfect or isn't the best. It's yours and all those you want to share it with." Layla's voice echoed in Blitz's mind, making her smile even more. In front of her was her dawn, the dawn she was always looking for in the darkness of her life.

"Okay, Lucy, I'll try."

"You promise?"

"I promise, Lucy."

"Penny Promise?"

Blitz laughed. "Yes."

Lucy smiled and leaned in, slowly moving her lips to Blitz's lips, which she kissed. Blitz was surprised, but she returned the kiss. Both knew this wouldn't be their first kiss, and it would not be the last.

---

Lucy touched her lips while a tear fell down her cheek. She smiled, wiped it away, and finally opened the library door, only to find it in ruins. What surprised her was seeing Blitz and Braver's parents watching her pony counterpart as she was talking to Spark as they cleaned the place up, Blitz's second sister. She walked in, listened, and understood why the parents were upset and heartbroken.

"Braver, you sure make a mess! Silly klutz, you need to be more careful." Luster said before sighing and turning to her. "Never mind, no matter how often I tell you that, you never change."

Spark chuckled a little, saying that's true, and then she cleaned the mess.

Lucy felt a pain in her chest, the pain of not only seeing Luster treating Spark like Braver but Spark herself allowing it, when Luster should know that Spark is her own person, that she isn't Braver or...

"What's going on here?" asked Lucy, making everyone turn to her. Luster's happy face became worried as she noticed her, while Spark cringed with sadness when she heard her voice.

"Lucy, what are you doing here? I thought you and your friends would visit Ponyville, not New Ponyville," Twilah asked.

Lucy walked past Blitz's parents, ignoring the question, and straight to Spark, who looked away and tried to pull up a bookcase with her magic.

"Spark, what's going on?" she asked, hoping she would tell her, but Luster jumped in front of her, blocking her way to Spark. "Luster?" she asked.

"Her name is Braver!" shouted Luster, glaring at Lucy.

"What?"

"Her name is not Spark! Braver is still in there, somewhere! She's part with her sister, Blitz!" Luster turned to Spark, who stood there, looking at the floor. "They fused as one! Like how your Sunny and our Sunset fused into one. We need to." Luster felt Lucy's hand on her shoulder, making her face her.

"Stop it." Lucy gave Luster the most disappointed glare she could, shocking her. "Just stop. I know you miss Braver, but she is dead, and you have to accept that."

Luster looked at Lucy, her mouth wide open and eyes wide with surprise.

"She's not dead. If she was, why would she be standing right over there?"

"Because she isn't her! She is not Braver! She's Blitz and Braver's sister! We were all there and saw her and her sisters in the same place. They didn't fuse or anything. They're gone, and I thought you promised Braver you'd move-" Lucy felt a hoof slap her cheek, shocking everyone, even Spark, who turned her head.

Luster's eyes were waterly as her hoof was shaking after slapping Lucy.
"Jealous," whispered Luster.

Lucy recovered from the slap and shouted at Luster. "WHAT!?"

Luster got right up to Lucy's face. "You heard me! You are just jealous that I found her first and made her remember she's Braver, not Bli-" Luster felt her cheek being hit as Lucy slapped her but much harder.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence! Do you even hear yourself? How could you be so stupid!"

Luster recovered from the slap and pushed Lucy. "Shut up! You are just mad that I am getting closer to her, and she's mine, so you can't do a thing about it. You won't get your Blitz back!"

"Luster!" shouted Twilight, rushing over to break up the fight, while Twilah held back Lucy, who dropped her drawing bag and was ready to throw hands.

Soon, everyone was fighting against Luster, making Spark cover her ears. She tried her best to ignore the loud screaming and yelling, but she could feel her ears and body shaking and the tears coming.

"Stop it! I'm sorry!" she softly said to them, but the loud screaming only to block it out.

"LET ME GO! THIS BITCH NEEDS A GOOD SMACK!"

"LUCY!?" shouted Twilah, shocked by her behavior and swearing.

Dashie also held Lucy but liked this new side of her, so she needed to comment: "I didn't know Lucy had this in her. She's like a beast."

Twilah gave Dashie a cold stare, making her quiet.

"I'M TELLING YOU, SHE'S MINE!" screamed Luster, trying to get past Twilight and Dash but couldn't, so she backed off and stared at Twilight. "Why are you against me on this, Princess? She's back, and she needs to remember who she is! It's your daughter!"

Dash got between them, tick off. "Whoa there, Spark isn't our daughter!"

Spark clutched her ears even when she heard that, and the shouting got louder.

"Stop lying! I know Braver is still alive!" Luster tried to push past Dash and Twilight but got pushed back, and she almost fell to the ground.

"Dawn, stop this right now! You are making a scene, and I'm sure Braver would want you to stop," Twilight said.

Luster ignored her and turned to Spark. "You are Braver, you know it!" Her happiness became a worry as she saw a rainbow aura filling the room, making everyone stop and look at Spark. "Braver?"

Spark flinched, and her aura died down, and she let go of her ears and turned to them all, smiling.
"I'm indeed Braver!"

Luster smiled, but Twilight and others were shocked and sad at what Spark said.

"I am Braver! I remember everything!" she said, tears falling from her eyes.

"See! She's Braver!" Luster walked to Spark, but Spark raised her hand, making her stop. "Huh?"

Spark walked past Luster and right up to Lucy, leaning down and taking her hands, smiling.

"I'm also Blitz! I'll make you two happy by giving myself to you!"

"Spark?" Twilah and Dashie said together, in utter shock at what she said to Lucy. They looked down at Lucy but could see her gripping Spark's hands. They looked at each other, fearing Lucy would act like Luster.

"Lucy, I remember you, the girl who wanted friends, who was socially awkward, who listened to me and loved me. I loved you, and I still do."

"Spark?"

"Yes, Lucy, I'm Blitz, so-OWIE!"

Everyone was quiet as they watched Lucy grab Spark by her ear and drag her to the exit. Luster quickly snapped out of it and teleported in front of her human counterpart.

"What are you doing to Brav-ouch, hey!?" Luster felt her ear being grabbed and dragged out of the library.

"Should we follow them?" questioned Dashie, facing the others.

Twilight and the others nodded and hurried outside, following Lucy as she took them somewhere, but they didn't know where.

---

Spark could feel her back aching as Lucy pulled her along. Being tall has its drawbacks, and this was one of them, as Lucy was pretty short; in fact, Spark realized that Lucy and Blitz were the same height. She smiled at the thought of the two being girlfriends and having each other, but that's when reality hit her, making her frown as she followed Lucy.

Finally, they arrived at New Ponyville Park, where she let Spark and Luster go. She turned to Twilight and Twilah, pointing at Spark and Luster. "Can you two make sure they don't teleport away? I need to make a call." She walked off, took out a phone, and made a call.

Twilah transformed into her anthro form and wondered something. "I see she's using the phone I gave her and the others after infusing it with magic. I wonder if she's calling her friends or someone else?"

Twilight and Twilah's horns glowed, preventing Luster from escaping, but both Dashie and Dash could see the surprised look on Twi and Twilah.

"What's up, Twi?" asked Dash, hovering near her.

Twilight tilted her head. "It's Spark."

"What about her?"

"...she's letting us contain her."

Dashie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Twilah fixed her glasses, explaining what Twilight meant. "You two won't understand it, but we can sense her magical power level; even with us giving it all, we're not on Spark's power level. She could easily teleport away without breaking a sweat."

"Then why isn't she?" Dashie asked.

Dash shrugged her shoulders, not sure either.

Twilah and Twilight could feel Spark's sadness as she stared at the ground, and both wondered if it was because of what Luster had been saying. The two nodded and walked up to her.

"Sweetie, can you continue where you left off? Before Luster dropped in." Twilight asked while sitting down with the others, while Luster wondered what she meant.

Spark remembered, put her emotions aside, and continued where she had left off.

---

Haze and Snake continued, walking down the tunnel until they finally exited. They found themselves in what seemed like a forest; all the trees were just wood. Even the leaves were just wood.

Snake touched one of the trees, checking if they were indeed wood."Okay, this is pretty weird."

Haze agreed with her as they continued to walk through the wooden forest. Haze looked up, seeing the third-floor ceiling very far off.

"Looks like if we find this woman, getting to the third floor will be a long walk."

Snake was about to agree but stopped when she heard a noise. Haze heard it, too, and they both drew their weapons, looking around and seeing nothing.

"Show yourself, or I'll cut you to pieces!" shouted Haze, readying her sword, only to lower it as a wooden apple rolled into their view. "An apple?"

"A wooden apple." Snake corrected her as she walked over to it, picking it up and checking it. "I've never seen an apple made out of wood."

"Neither have I," added Haze, looking up and seeing that the trees were all filled with apples. She looked back at Snake, noticing she was shaking. "Hey, old timer, you okay? Not having another attack, are you?" She was going to touch her, but Snake yelled at her to stay back.

Snake could see the apple dug its roots into her hoof, injecting something into her. "It's alive! It's injecting something into my body and causing my body to be paralyzed!"

Haze was going to use her magic to remove whatever was affecting Snake, but all the trees started to shake, dropping all the wooden apples to the ground. She could see them rolling near and surrounding them.

"Shit, they're monsters!" Haze raised her sword, ready for a battle, as the apples slowly rolled closer and closer.
She swung her sword at the ground, making it back off, but others kept rolling. She quickly cast her fire spell, burning the area around her and Snake, keeping the tiny monster at bay. She turned back to Snake. "Hey, how are you feeling? In pain or anything?"

Snake tried to talk, but she could muster up only grunts. She could only look at the apple in her hoof, at which point a single eyelid appeared, and an orange eye looked at her.

Haze noticed and quickly stabbed it, but only for it to send out orange vines from its wound, covering Haze's sword and stabbing into her hands. She felt the same injunction of fluids that Snake felt.

"Crap!" Haze said in a panic as the monster continued to inject fluids into her, paralyzing her.

"Kid!" Snake shouted within her mind, worried, as the monster forced Haze onto her knees.

"Shit, this isn't good."

Haze could feel her body going numb, her arms falling to her sides, her sword falling to the ground. The monster continued to inject her, making her feel lightheaded.

"Sorry, old-timer. I can't help you anymore," she mumbled before her mouth became paralyzed.

The two could see the apples getting much closer, and they saw all of the tiny monsters opening their eyelids, which revealed their eyes also acted as mouths. Within the tiny mouths were razor-sharp teethes, ready to devour the two.
Snake closed her eyes and could hear the apples getting much closer. Soon, all was quiet, with nothing making a sound until a drumming noise could be heard. She slowly opened her eyes and saw all the apples turning away from them, looking at someone who had just arrived. One apple roared at the new guest, only for it to be blasted to bits by a shotgun shell.
Snake and Haze looked at the woman carrying a custom-made shotgun. She was wearing an H.U.L.L suit from Aaira Universe. She pointed her weapon at the other apples.

"Let them go, you freaky apples or you'll be applesauce!" she threatened, backing the apples off from Haze and Snake, backing up to the tree, and confusing the two.

Their savior hurried over and glared at the apple that paralyzed them. The monster didn't back down, even when she pointed her barrel at it.

"Listen here, you tiny bastard. I already killed a ton of your kind, and your small fries are nothing like Changers. I saw and fought corpse nightmares, so you little bastards are nothing! So, I won't repeat myself." she pumps her shotgun, waiting for the apple to move.

The tiny monster hissed at her and removed its vines from Snake and Haze. It rolled away, used its vines to grab a branch, and disappeared into the wooden tree leaves.

Snake and Haze felt their bodies returning to normal and felt relief. Haze grabbed her sword and stood up. She turned to her savior, who had her back to them and was loading her shotgun.

"Thanks for the save. I'm guessing you are, Amelia Jarvis?"

She stopped loading her weapon and faced the two. Her helmet became undone and entered the back of her neck collar, revealing her face. Haze and Snake saw that face before from their universes, making Haze blush while Snake smirked.

"Yup, you are right, Pecan Pie. So, who are you two? And please, call me AJ." Asked AJ, reaching out her hand and waiting for a handshake from Haze, but Haze just looked at it and crossed her arms.

"Names Haze, Former 1st Class SOLDIER. The old timer here is named Solid Matter Snake."

AJ could see she wasn't getting a handshake from Haze, so she turned her hand toward Snake, who happily shook it.

"I'm Snake, like the kid here said. Former soldier. Nice to meet you, AJ."

AJ let go of Snake's hoof and scanned the two. She could see from their get-ups that they were, indeed, soldiers.

"Alright, you two are from another universe, right?" AJ placed her shotgun on her belt and waited for their answers, which they explained they were. "Knew it, I wonder how I got here? Is it another multiverse crisis?"

Haze and Snake look at each other and back at her.

"Another multiverse crisis? I take it this isn't your first time, it seems," replied Haze as they started to walk toward the stairway tower in the distance.

"Yup, this isn't my first rodeo. I joined my friend, Aaira, and we teamed up with other versions of other universe folks and saved the multiverse by helping stop this poor girl named Rainbow Sun Dawn. The last thing I remembered was staying at Applejack's farmhouse." She placed her hand on her head. "For some reason, everything is like a fog. I don't remember why I'm here."

Snake took out a sugar stick and handed it to her. "Join the club,"

AJ saw the treat and took one. "What do you mean?"

The two explained everything they knew, so AJ touched her chin.

"I see, so Rainbow Spark gathered us, huh? We have something in common?" she looked at them seriously. "I wonder what that is? Is it related to us being soldiers?"

Haze stopped, crossing her arms. "Maybe?"

Snake stopped, sitting on the ground and eating her sugar stick. "Or maybe something else?" she faced AJ. "Going by your reaction, you seemed to know her, don't you?"

AJ nodded and explained everything that happened in her multiverse adventure. When she was done, the two now knew Spark's background.

"So Sparkly is a clone of her parents, and her sisters weren't the clones." Snake couldn't help but smirk, which the others took notice of and asked why she was smirking. "Well, like I said before, I might look old, but I'm not. See, I'm a clone of the most outstanding soldier in my universe, and her name was Naked Matter Snake or

Big Boss. I had a sister called Liquid Antimatter Snake, who hated my guts because she thought I had all the best genes."

"Had? What happened to her, old timer?"

Snake chomps down on the stick, eyeing Haze. "MAGICDIE killed her, then Ocelot chopped off her arm, and Liquid took over her body as a ghost, then I fought Liquid Oclet to the death and won. Big Boss also died to MAGICDIE."

AJ scratched her head, not understanding one part of the explanation. "What the hell is a MAGICDIE?"

Snake pointed at herself. "MAGICDIE is an engineered retrovirus, made to kill specific targets until it mutated thanks to my clone body aging at an accelerated rate. I became a walking bioweapon, as the MAGICDIE will target anyone now." She could see them stepping back from her, making her laugh. "Don't worry, you guys can't catch it. I was injected with a new MAGICDIE version, which overwrote the old one. I'm still a walking bioweapon, but it takes years before this new MAGICDIE can mutate like the old one." she stood up and started to head in the direction the stairway tower was in while the others followed her.

"Damn, Snake. That's a lot to take in. So are you?"

"Dying? My body is aging so fast that I only have a few months to live." Snake could see their saddened expressions, so she laughed again. "Don't look so glum, guys. I don't want people crying for my sake."

"Sorry, it's just that's pretty shitty, you know?"

Haze got closer to Snake but did not look at her.

"So, who created this MAGICDIE? And those suppressors you have and used back there, is it to suppress your aging or something?"

Snake didn't turn to her, only looking ahead as she answered her.

"An old friend, Nami Diamond.

She wanted revenge against me for killing her brother and my best friend, Grey Moon Fox. She realized I wasn't the cold killer that she thought I was and forgave me. Before Fox was killed by Liquid, who drove the Metal Gear Spike, she told me to tell Nami to forget about her and go on with her life. To let the past go. She did, but years later, she died..." Snake had a hurt expression on her face. "In the same spot as Fox died all those years ago."

They were all quiet as they kept walking through the woods. Snake eyed the two and continued with her story explaining.

"And yes, the suppressors are meant to stop my body from aging. Like I said, I don't have long to live." She stopped and turned to them, smiling. "I don't know what we have in common, but I'm glad my last mission is to save those kids at the top of the tree. I'm just an old soldier with little time left in this world. So, I'm grateful my final time is saving lives rather than taking them."

AJ understood her, walking up to Snake and giving her a soldier's salute.

Snake gave one back, smiling. Haze wanted to join them but didn't, so she heard something coming from AJ's suit.
"...do I hear drums?"

The two turned to her, and AJ put back on her helmet and opened her radio feed, which gave off the drumming song.

"Yeah, my H.U.L.L suit radio keeps picking it up. Sounds like it's getting louder when I get closer to the tower over there."

Snake pressed her codec in her ear, but it didn't pick up anything.

"I'm not liking that. It sounds like a military marching song." Snake replied, looking at the tower.

AJ kept the radio on and listened to it. She was happy the two could hear it, but that's when she heard it.

"Mommy, where are you?"

When she heard the voice again, she didn't react to it. Instead, she eyed the others and waited to see if they listened to the little girl's voice. She watched as they spoke to each other and continued to walk to the stairway tower.

"How? I thought the Pillar radio wave was gone after Bolt destroyed the Mother Moon. So why am I hearing my daughter's voice?" thought AJ, as she turned off the radio feed, only to still hear it. She feared she might be going insane again and wasn't sure if she should tell the other about it.

The three kept walking in the wooden forest for an hour or so. They were almost near the spiral tower, from which they could practically see the entrance to the stairway from a hill.

"Finally, we can leave this weird forest," stated Haze, walking ahead with Snake.

Snake walked down the hill but turned to AJ, as she didn't hear her coming. She could see her on the hill, still wearing her helmet. She could tell she was staring off at something and walked up to her, waving her sugar stick in front of her face with her magic.

"Hey, AJ, you alright?" asked Snake, making AJ jump.

AJ didn't answer, looking around as if she didn't see her, and then her eyes met Snake's, making her feel embarrassed.

"Sorry, Snake. I just had a bit of a moment. So, what's the hold-up?"

Snake bit the stick and pointed at her.

'You. You are the hold. What's wrong?"

AJ rubbed her neck, not sure how to say it.

"Well, it's just..."

"Yes?"

"I'm..." she sighed. "Never mind; I shouldn't bother you with it." She walked off, but Snake stopped her as she spoke to her.

"As a soldier, you should know that if someone isn't feeling right, you should help them out."

AJ knew Snake was right, but she was even more embarrassed when she turned to Snake and saw her holding out her stick.
"Take a bite and tell me, or I won't give you any more."

AJ couldn't say no, so she did.

"Well, you see, the truth is, from my universe, there was an alien pillar that brought back the dead to life as dead flesh monsters."

Snake put her hoof on her chin.
"That's what you meant, huh? When you are threatening those apple monsters."

"Yeah, I saw untold horrors during my time in stopping those Pillars. See, the Pillars can also make everyone near it slowly go insane over time, until they are bat insane and killing others to make more of those monsters."

Snake started to understand.

"So, let me guess: Do you feel like you're going crazy again? Because you look fine right now." AJ nodded. "So, is there a Pillar nearby or something to make you feel like this?"

AJ shrugged, not knowing for sure. As the two talked, Haze was at the bottom of the hill, turning back to see the two still on top. She sighed and waited but sensed something, making her grab her sword handle. Ready for anything, she looked around.

"It's back..."

She quickly turned to the others, about to call out, when everything went dark again, and mist started filling the land. Snake and AJ could see what was happening around them, so Snake quickly explained this.

"An evil version of you is attacking us? Why?" she loaded her shotgun.

Snake held her handgun and knife at the ready, standing by AJ's side.

"Whatever it is, it's no doubt trying to stop us from reaching the top and saving those kids. It must be Fayth doing it, or maybe somehow the kids?"

AJ pointed her shotgun, aiming at nothing, only seeing the mist covering everything but them She picked up the drumming song again, and like before, she could hear her daughter calling out to her. She started to sweat and felt her breathing get faster as she tried to ignore the voice.

"No, it's not real, it's not real."

She didn't notice a black mist forming behind her, and it shot at her, knocking her to the ground and her gun out of her hands. Snake quickly turned around, firing a few shots into the mist, but like before, it did nothing as the red eyes looked at her and disappeared. She grunted in anger and turned to help AJ, but she pushed her away, screaming that it was unnatural.

"ITS NOT REAL! YOU ARE DEAD!"

"AJ, what the hell are you talking about?!"

AJ was breathing faster, her mind thinking she was being attacked by one of those Pillar monsters that brought back her family from the dead, making them into a Changer. She quickly grabbed her shotgun and just unloaded it into the darkness.

"SHE'S DEAD! I WON'T LET YOU MAKE ME GO INSANE AGAIN; YOU HEAR ME!"

Haze could see the flashes of the gunshots and ran toward them, but the mist filled the forest so that she couldn't find the others. She watched as the white flashes were gone but still heard AJ screaming. But another voice joined in, calling out to her.

"Haze."

Haze flinched when she heard that voice, which she knew so well that it almost made her drop her sword. She looked around but couldn't find the person until that person found her. Haze lowered her sword and was shocked at what she saw in front of her.

"Can't be...Aeris?"

Standing there was the flower girl and the one who summoned the Holy, the one she fell in love with before she was killed by 'her.'

"Haze, it's been a while."

Haze dropped her sword and slowly approached her, reaching out and feeling her cheek. She couldn't believe this. How was she here?

"Aeris, is that you? How?"

Aeris held Haze's hand, smiling at her.

"Haze, why?"

Haze felt Aeris's hand gripping her very tight, almost like she was crushing it. She tried to force her hand off, but Aeris just increased her grip and pulled Haze to her face, asking the same question.

"Why? Why did you let me die?"

Haze's heart started to beat fast as Aeris's eyes began to cry out blood; her chest had a stab wound, and sensing something, Haze dodged a long blade that almost impaled her as it exited out of the wound.

"Haze, you let me die! You let Zara die as well! YOU ARE A FAILURE! YOU KILLED US!"

Haze didn't speak, but she could see another figure in the mist; it was Zara, wholly covered in bullet wounds and slash marks.

"You killed us, Haze."

Haze felt her face covered in sweat as she desperately tried to get Aeris off of her hand, only for the two to pull her down and start to choke her.

"It was you. You did this to us, Haze. You did this. It's all your fault."

Haze could feel her vision blurry as she ran out of breath.

Meanwhile, Snake tried to calm AJ down but was prone on the ground as the shotgun blast went over her head.
"AJ, snap out of it; whatever you see, it's not there! It's just a trick!"

But AJ wasn't listening. She could see shadows of Changers charging at her but disappearing as she shot them down.
"FUCKERS! STAY AWAY!"

AJ blasted a Changer and quickly reloaded, only to see a small hand on her hand, making her drop the shell clip. She slowly looked up and saw her daughter, and behind her was her husband—the two people she killed.

"No..." she dropped to the ground, trying to back away, but they were always in front of her no matter how quick she was.
"Mommy, why did you kill us? Did you hate me and Daddy?" asked the redhead girl.

AJ quickly stopped and held her daughter, who was crying.

"No! Never!"

The girl hugged her back, crying. "Then why, Mommy, why did you stop loving me and ignore calling or visiting us when you returned from your tour? I don't understand. You are my hero. Mommy, why did you stop caring for us? Don't you love us anymore?"

AJ hugged her harder, shaking her head.

"No, I didn't mean to. I just felt like a failure to you and your father! Having a family was too much for me, and I was scared I would fail you and him. I didn't want to become a failure in your eyes!"

"Mommy, is that why you hit me? You hated seeing me?" the girl broke the hug, slowly putting her hands on AJ's helmet face.

"No, no, sweetie! I just had issues because of what I was going through, and that's why I stopped visiting!"
AJ felt like her heart was breaking.

"Sweetie, please believe me; I didn't want to hurt you or your father. It was because I was a fool and didn't know how to raise you and love him." she looked at her husband, who glared at her, not seeing a word. "Believe me, please!"

The girl smiled and stabbed her fingers into the helmet joints, trying to pull back the mask.

"Liar, you never loved us! You wanted us gone, didn't you? WE FELT HATED! THAT'S WHY YOU KILLED ME AND DADDY!"

"NO!"

She felt half of her helmet getting pulled back and saw the girl's face change to the same face as the nightmarish monster, with eyes filled with blood and a twisted face that was once her daughter.

"MOMMY! MAKE US WHOLE! LET US IN!" her daughter said in a twisted and evil tone. "MAKE US WHOLE AGAIN!"

AJ's helmet face covering broke off, and the twisted hands of her daughter grabbed her face, making her watch as her daughter's mouth opened and blasted her with a blast of mist, burning her face slowly.

"MAKE US WHOLE!" said her daughter and husband as he, too, grabbed her and blasted mist into her, but only for a grenade to fall in between and go off with a bright flash. AJ's family vanished, and grunting in pain was the same evil-looking Twilight as she rubbed her eyes.

"I knew that would work," said Snake, hurrying over and pulling a pin from the can-looking grenade and tossing it at the dark creature. It blinded her again and made her stagger back. "Good old flash bangs, never let me down," she quickly grabbed AJ and shook her.

"Hey, AJ! Listen up, we need to go! NOW!"

But AJ pushed her and couldn't stop crying.

"I killed my family, Snake. I couldn't be there for them when they turned into Changers; I had to put down my daughter! I'm a failure, a fuck up, why did I have to be a mother, I'm no good."

Snake punched her, making her shut up.

"Pull yourself together, soldier! What happened, happened! You can't let that hold you down. We all have regrets and things we aren't proud of, but if you don't do something about it, then you are the true failure!" she picked up AJ's shotgun and held it out. "It's like what Grey Moon Fox once told me before she died: she killed Nami's parents. She couldn't bring herself to kill her too, that she took her in but distance herself from her, because when she looked into Nami eyes, she only saw Nami's parents staring back at her, that's how guilty she was."

"Snake..."

Snake tossed her the gun and grabbed her arm, lifting and helping her walk.

"She told me to tell Nami the truth, that she killed Nami's family, but I couldn't; I couldn't bring myself to do it; I was too afraid of how Nami would react. Even when I spoke to her, I still couldn't say it; even when I knew Grey Moon Fox had forgiven me, I still didn't." Snake and she turned to the dark creature, slowly recovering from the flashbang. "It's one of many things I regretted, even more so when Nami died. I couldn't ever tell her the truth." she eyed AJ, giving her a look. "So do you want to be like me, or someone who has no regrets? If it were me, I would want to be able to move on from the past and have no regrets. You need to be that person, AJ. It would be best to forgive yourself and not be weighed down by something out of your control. So what will you do, soldier?"

AJ took her shotgun and looked at the dark creature, then back at her shotgun and the ammo clip she had dropped. She slowly grabbed it and held it in her hand. She remembered something Aaira had once told her, making her ask Snake something.

"Is that what a good woman does?"

Snake was confused and asked.

"What do you mean?"

AJ loaded the shell clip into the gun and looked at her.

"I asked Aaira that question after I told her the things I had done, from killing my family and letting others die because I was too scared. I asked her about it, and she said good women mean well. We don't always end up doing well. But we still try, and the important thing is that we keep trying."

Snake smiled at her, knowing that AJ would be fine now. AJ stood up, part of her helmet masked, covering her face. She narrowed her eyes at the dark creature. She aimed, blasting it and making it stagger backward with each shot.

Snake slowly followed AJ, talking to her as they walked around the creature.

"Just going by that answer, I can tell your friend has also been through a lot. If she can be a good woman, then so can you. As she said, we're only human, and sometimes, we don't do well, but as long as we keep trying, then I say we are good women, no matter what we did."

AJ laughed a bit. "Yeah, but aren't you a talking pony?" she could hear Snake grunting in annoyance.

The dark creature was now on the ground, with holes in its body, not moving. The two quickly took off and down the hill, only to find Haze being choked by a young woman while the other one just looked on.

"Kid!" shouted Snake, who leapt and tackle the woman off of her friend, seeing the bloody woman stagger back into the bullet wounds Zara and the two vanished into the mist. Snake turned to Haze and saw AJ pulling her up. She tried to pick up the sword to return it to her but couldn't, as it weighed a ton.

"Jesus Christ, how the hell were you lugging this around?"

Haze coughed, picked up the sword, and looked around for Aeris and Zara, but she felt AJ pulling her hand, making her face her as they ran.

"Come on, Haze. We need to get out of here!"

Haze blushed and forced her hand out of AJ's. "Don't need to tell me twice," she hurried along, confusing AJ. Snake noticed the blush and wondered. She remembered AJ looking like the girl in the photo Haze showed her, but she quickly put that thought aside and hurried behind them, almost reaching the stairway.

"WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS!?"

They all turned around, seeing the dark creature rushing towards them, blasting out more mist. The three made their stand and waited for it to come closer. Before it could reach them, the apple monsters shot out of the trees and attacked the dark creature, biting their tiny jaws into its dark flesh. It screamed out and tried to fight back, but more apples joined in, swarming it until it was on the ground, the mist being pushed back.

"Damn buggers saved us, it seems," AJ said, lowering the weapon. "We better hurry out of here."

The three left and quickly hurried up the stairway, hearing the creature's screams echoing in the forest, making them think that it was dead. They ran to the next floor, as the darkness that the beast made was being drowned out by the orange lights that the wooden trees were emitting.

---

Spark stopped with her story as she and others could hear Lucy returning.

"Spark, I have someone coming here to help, as she's the best person for this issue."

Luster stood up, eyeing her counterpart. "What issues? Other than making her remember she's Braver?"

Lucy rubbed her eyes and put her hand up at Luster. "No, not this starting this shit again." she looked at Spark and sat down next to her. "Spark, listen to me. I don't know what's going on, but you aren't Blitz or." she eyed Luster a bit and returned to Spark. "Or Braver, you are you! You are your own person; we all saw that." She faced Luster with great annoyance. "SOMEONE HERE NEEDS TO SEE THAT TOO!" she looked back at Spark, holding her hand. "So please, don't try to be something you are not; it doesn't suit you."

Spark gave her a sad smile, softly gripping Lucy's hand.

"But if I'm not my sisters, what am I then? Just a clone of other ponies. How can I be me when there is no me from the start."

Lucy sighed, not sure what to say.

"Braver, look." Luster was about to speak, but Lucy glared at her, not wanting to hear any of it.

"No, stop right there! She isn't Braver! You need to stop this already, she's gone and forcing Spark here to be her isn't right! She's a different person, with a different personality, so stop treating her like Braver."

Luster stomps her way over to Lucy, face to face with her. Twilight was going to stop this, but Dash and others stopped her.
"She IS Braver! Why do you act like she isn't!?"

Lucy became more pissed off and shoved Luster, making her step back and was surprised at how strong Lucy was.

"Because she's not; she's her own person! Why are you so dead set on thinking like this? Braver is-"

"SHE'S NOT DEAD!" Luster screamed back, shaking with anger and tears in her eyes. "She's back...she can be Braver." She lowered her head. "Don't you miss Blitz? Don't you want her back?"

Lucy reacted with a hurt expression, feeling bad for her.

"Of course I miss her. I miss her dearly..." She placed her hand over her heart, tears falling. "I wish she were here, alive again, but I'm not going to make her sister suffer for it so that I can be happy. It's wrong and selfish."

Luster looked away, not sure what to do. Spark felt so awful right now. She was going to speak up, but Lucy stopped her.

"It's not your fault, Spark. Blitz and Braver gave up their lives so you could finally have a life outside of the prison you created for yourself." she faced her, smiling at her. "There was a saying that Blitz told Wallflower after they met. Make your dawn, make a new light, and create a new hope. Make a better future, a new tomorrow, even if it's not perfect or isn't the best. It's yours and all those you want to share it with. They didn't want you to become a copy of them or something you aren't. They wanted you to live for yourself and make the life you want, even if it's not perfect. It's yours and all those you let in. Don't let Luster, or anyone, make you think otherwise."

"Lucy..."

Luster was about to speak up, but someone stopped her.

"Braver is dead," said Twilight, getting everyone's attention. She faced Luster with a sad expression. "Braver is gone, Dawn. I know it's hard to come to terms with it, but you need to, as it's the only way to move on and stop living in the past." She walked over to Luster, placing her head on her shoulder. "Braver would have wanted this, for you and all of us, to move on."

Luster suddenly felt tears falling down her neck, and her former teacher cried.

"Please, don't soil the memory of my daughter like this, Dawn. She wouldn't have wanted you to act this way. It would be best to accept that Braver is gone and move on. We all need to, as it is the only way."

Luster closed her eyes and leaned into Twilight, wrapping her arms around her, and began crying.

"But she was my reason for living, princess. She made me rise like the morning sun! How can I not think about her or miss her!? She meant so much to me, and you know that! What do I do when she's gone!?"

Twilight closed her eyes, holding her and rubbing her back. The others just watched in sadness, but Spark broke down. Seeing how much pain she caused Luster and Twilight, she started to have panic attack.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"

Lucy hugged her and rubbed her back, comforting her.

"Shh, calm down, it's okay."

But Spark's rainbow aura pushed her away into Dashie and Twilah's arms. They and others watched Spark's magical aura increase in size, feeling the overwhelming pressure. Twilight got in front of everyone, unleashing her magical energy and trying to push it back, but she couldn't. Lucy got up and shouted at Spark, hoping she would listen.

"Remember what I said!? All those you want to share it with!? Open up to us, Spark! Let us help you!"

Spark slowly opened her eyes, revealing her rainbow-glowing eyes, and spoke with a higher-power tone.
"I DON'T WANT TO BURDEN YOU ARE! NOT AFTER HURTING YOU ALL SO MUCH!"

"Spark, you are never a burden! Not to us!" shouted Dash, trying to push forward, with the others trying the same.

Spark looked at her fist, which started to glow. "I am! And the only way to make this right!" She raised her fist and scattered reality in front of them, seeing a rift being created. They watched as Spark dropped to her knees, crying her eyes out.

---

In a universe, a woman bought two ice cream and looked at the time at the park's clock. She grunted and tsk in disappointment as she licked the pink strawberry ice cream while looking at the melting ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

"Ditching me AGAIN! I swear, when I see her again, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!" she was about to leave when a rift opened up, making her smile.

But she could hear someone crying. Her pony ears twitched when she knew that voice from anywhere. She quickly tossed the ice cream away, clutched her hands into fists while wearing pink battle gloves, and darted through the rift.

---

Everyone watched as someone jumped through the rift, slammed her fist into the ground, and faced them. Everyone but Lucy had seen this person before, the woman who appeared and stopped Rainbow Dawn while Twilight cast the spell that would make Braver into a real Alicorn.

"WHO THE FUCK MADE MY GIRLFIREND CRY!?" shouted the girl, eyeing them with pure rage. "I'm going to bea-ugh?" she suddenly felt Spark hugging her and crying in her chest, making the woman soft and less angry. "Aw, sweetheart, what happened?"

Spark looked up at her with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Dawn, I'm sorry!"

Dawn tips her head in confusion, trying to figure out what happened.
"Huh? For what? You didn't do anything, babe."

"I hurt everyone because of what I did! I made my sister's girlfriends hurt so much; this is the only way to make it right!"

Dawn was confused, but before she could ask what she was talking about, Spark kissed her, making her all red. Spark broke the kiss and said.

"I'm breaking up with you! They lost their dawn, so it only makes it right if I lost it as well, the very thing that makes me happy in this multiverse. You!"

Everyone was quiet after Spark had said. The only one to say anything was this new Dawn, who looked most confused.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

End of Chapter 3