//------------------------------// // Reincarnated in a New World, Part 2 // Story: The Dragon Sword Master of Canterlot Academy // by GoebelTron //------------------------------// A few moments later, after getting situated, Twilight and the boy sat down on one of the steps so they could get acquainted with each other, while Twilight got out some food, which were salami and cucumber sandwiches, some fresh apple slices, and buttermilk biscuits. But Twilight then decided to pour some water from her steel water bottle into separate cups. He then thought to himself while enjoying his lunch, ‘It’s been awhile since I’ve had a sandwich like this when I was a kid, but I never had buttermilk biscuits like these, except the butter makes them taste good, and I kinda like how the apples taste. But still, I can’t believe how pathetically ridiculous I look. But I wish I knew how I ended up here or why I’m in these clothes or in this useless body. But I’m not gonna lie… that girl sounded pretty friendly and I think I liked her behavior towards me, especially that hug.’ He stopped and looked from her legs to her face, before she turned around, holding two cups of water, one for him and one for herself. ‘Although, this girl did help me from that tomb, so I guess I owe her my life. I still wish I knew why or how I ended up in there.’ “Does your stomach feel better?” Twilight asked, smiling at him. “Yeah, it does,” the boy said. “Thank goodness,” Twilight said, handing the boy a cup of water, before she then decided to introduce herself. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m a swordswoman at training and the leader of the Rainbooms platoon, at the Canterlot Sacred Swords and Divine Magic Academy. Oh, and I’m 17.” “That’s pretty interesting stuff,” the boy said. “So what’s your name?” Twilight asked. The boy then started thinking, “Huh? Hmmmm. Huh? What IS my name?” He then started to panic, “AHHH! I don’t know! I can’t remember!” Twilight spat out her drink in shock, “What?! You forgot who you are?!” “Yup. My mind’s still fuzzy from waking up, meaning I might’ve forgotten something about like where I came from or what happened back then, except for the things I mentioned earlier. Like I’ve been unconscious for months, or worse I’d rather be dead,” the boy said. “Gosh… that is harsh,” Twilight said. “But looking at your appearance, I’d probably say you’re probably 10 or 12 years old, I assume?” “I guess so. I’d probably say 12,” the boy said. “Okay, then,” Twilight said. “But I don’t think you might have gotten down here by yourself. Unless if someone kidnapped you, like one of those monsters or something.” “Uhh… what monsters are you referring to?” the boy asked. “Terror Voids,” Twilight said. “What’s a Terror Void?” the boy asked, leaving Twilight shocked. ‘Wow, he doesn’t know much. Guess I’ll have to explain everything to him,’ she said to herself. Meanwhile, Starlight and Sunset continued on through the rest of the tunnels. The dimly lit tunnel stretched ahead, echoing with the distant sounds of machinery and ancient mechanisms. Starlight and Sunset moved cautiously, their flashlights flickering on the damp walls. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. These old tunnels are probably filled with traps,” Starlight nervously said. “We’ve handled worse. Just stay alert. Look for anything out of place,” Sunset said, confidently. Suddenly, Starlight stepped on a pressure plate, and the ground beneath them began to rumble. Arrows began shooting from the walls. “Move, Starlight!” Sunset yelled. They dashed forward, dodging arrows and tumbling over a series of hidden tripwires. The tunnel narrows, forcing them to duck and weave. Starlight started panting while running, “This is insane! Who designed this death trap?” “Probably someone who really didn’t want us to get to the other side,” Sunset said, until she noticed holes on the walls. “Watch out!” Giant spikes on shot out from the ceiling and the floor. They jumped and twisted to avoid them, then heard a hissing sound. Darts started flying from the walls. “Darts now? Seriously?” Starlight asked, while dodging the arrows. “Keep moving!” Sunset urgently said. Flamethrowers then began to burst to life, filling the tunnel with waves of fire. They timed their movements to avoid the flames, feeling the heat singe their hair. Starlight started coughing, “I hope there’s a reward at the end of this!” Sunset grinned, “Getting out alive is the reward!” They then reached a section where swinging axes threatened to cleave them in two. Starlight used her psychokinesis to slow the axes just enough for them to slip through. From behind, they saw a huge boulder starting to roll towards them. Starlight’s eyes widened, “Oh, come on! A boulder?” “Run! Now!” Sunset said, feeling determined. They started sprinting down the tunnel, as the boulder started gaining on them. They suddenly saw an alcove and dove into it just as the boulder thundered past. Starlight, breathing heavily, looked at Sunset, “Thanks, Sunset. I owe you one.” “You can pay me back by not triggering any more traps,” Sunset said. “Noted,” Starlight said. They continued on, the tunnel turning sharply. A blade swung down from the ceiling, narrowly missing them. Starlight started getting annoyed with this, “Seriously, who thought swinging blades were a good idea?” Sunset laughed, “Probably the same guy who thought rolling boulders were a must-have.” They finally reached a wider chamber, momentarily safe from traps. They took a moment to catch their breath. Starlight began looking around. “Do you think we’re close?” she asked. “We have to be. Just a little further. Let’s go,” Sunset said. They pressed on, ready to face whatever else the tunnels would throw at them. But as they kept walking, Starlight started getting reading from her scanner, which came from behind them. “You hear that?” Starlight asked. “Yeah,” Sunset said. Suddenly, they saw purple swirling voids appear out of nowhere, before out came a pack of, except some were different. They resembled chameleon-like beings with thick arms, spiked backs and a small horn at the front, and had purple smoke emitting from their backs. Nine of these creatures had cyan-hued and black colored skin with glowing purple markings on their bodies, while six of them were slightly taller and their horns and tails were larger and more jagged. They also had several more teeth with tusks in the corner of their mouths, and they had a great number of spikes on their backs (which are larger than the other ones). Additionally, their skin was colored a darker blue, and their markings glowed in a darker electric crimson. “Uh-oh. We got trouble,” Starlight said, as she and Sunset actively their sacred gear, which was Sunset’s pyrokinesis and Starlight’s psychokinesis. The Nightmares and Deep Nightmares began to move slowly towards them, while Starlight and Sunset made defensive positions. “It just had to get worse, didn’t it?” Starlight asked. “Looks that way,” Sunset replied, feeling confident that she and Starlight will make it out alive. Twilight then began explaining the situation to the boy, “Ever since we were children, random beasts appeared out of nowhere and began causing chaos every night or in the shadows. We call them Terror Voids, because according to our many recent studies, we’ve discovered that they’re perpetually nocturnal, neon-glowing, savagely intelligent and offensive monsters. They’ve been our enemies since they attacked Canterlot 7 years ago. All I know is we don’t know what they really are or what they want. It’s said they came from another world or another dimension, but that’s just one of the many theories that are out there. The Terror Voids however are just beings that are like filled with negative energy but appear from the shadows.” The boy then understood what she meant, until Twilight continued, “Me and my friends Starlight and Sunset came here to do an analysis of the Terror Voids. The outbreaks are normally caused in ancient ruins or temples.” “I think I understand what you’re saying, but I have no idea what it’s got to do with me. I don’t think I was kidnapped,” the boy said. He then started to realize that he forgot to ask something, “So, uhh… Miss Twilight?” Twilight giggled, “You can just call me Twilight.” “Right. Anyway, I don’t know if I remember or might’ve lost track, but what year exactly is this?” he asked. “Oh. Well, according to the annual calendar, the year should be 2075,” Twilight answered. The boy then realized that he might be somewhere in the future, before Twilight got up and started packing up her backpack. “How about this? Maybe after we go find my friends, we can take you to Canterlot and get you settled in. What do you think, Spike? Sound good?” she asked. The boy got confused until Twilight started walking, before asking, “Spike?” Twilight stopped and turned around, “Gotta call you something, don’t I? Besides, I thought I’d help give you a name. What do you think?” “Spike… Yeah, Spike! I like it!” The boy, now named Spike, said, enjoying his new name. “I think I’ll stick with that.” Suddenly, they heard a faint explosion, making Twilight gasp. “Incoming enemy Terror Void attack! Currently engaged in combat!” Starlight’s voice said over Twilight’s earpiece, which was platinum white and silver, but looked like an earbud that had a microphone inside. “Starlight! Sunset!” Twilight said, trying to get their signal, but unexpectedly noticed tumbling rocks falling towards them, before Twilight scooted Spike out of the way, landing on top of him. Twilight looked down at Spike, “Are you okay, Spike?” “Y-Yeah…” Spike replied. “Don’t worry, Spike. I promise that I’ll protect you,” Twilight said, which Spike agreed on. Suddenly, they heard the walls crumbling, until Twilight got out her two dual slingers, which were two blasters that had ring shaped handles and rectangular nozzles on the front, and were all black, dark chrome and navy blue. From out of nowhere, more Terror Voids came, from Nightmares and Deep Nightmares, but they had a much bigger problem. There were more Nightmares and Deep Nightmares but they had a pinkish-red colored skin and their glowing marks were cyan. The bigger problem was the Titan, which was a five-meter tall cyclops-like giant with oxford blue and cyan skin, and had magenta highlights all around its face and neck area. Its body was bulky with large forearms and feet, a broad chest, a thin tail, and a head with two horns and a magenta-colored eye that seemingly floated on its neck. It possessed curved spikes on its knees, wrists, chest, and back, and had a motif around its neck and shoulders that resembled a monstrous mouth of some sort. “A Titan-class Terror Void?” Twilight asked, looking at the size of the creature. Spike suddenly got really afraid, but tried to stay calm. ‘So that’s what a Terror Void looks like? Freaky…’ he said to himself. Twilight then started shooting her blasters at the Titan and the other Terror Voids, but there was no sign of slight damage to the Titan. ‘Something inside of me is saying I should help. I guess I could, but how? I don’t even have anything to defend myself,’ Spike said to himself. ‘It doesn’t matter. I can’t let that thing hurt Twilight after what she did for ME!’ He then tripped over his cloak, and fell face flat on the ground. Twilight stood in front of him so she can defend him. “Stay behind me, Spike!” she said, while continuing to fire her slingers. Spike raised his head, and from his view of Twilight’s backside, he saw she was defending him from the Terror Voids, “Damn it! This stupid cape’s in the way. Wait a minute…’ He then poked and punches his arms, and discovered something odd. ‘How come I’m scrawny but have a ripped bod?! It doesn’t make sense!’ Twilight kept shooting as the Titan Terror Void got closer to them both, until her guns overheated. “These weapons aren’t doing any damage!” Twilight said in a panicked reaction. As the Titan was about to swing its club, a blast of cyan colored energy hit the creature in the arm, causing it to fall off, before striking it in the eye and then the stomach. It was Starlight and Sunset, with their weapons. Except Starlight was wielding an antigravity particle wave cannon, which was silver, and has some shades of aquamarine, chrome purple, and neon cyan lights. It was held by two hands. Sunset, however, had a Solar Blaster, which had a sleek, futuristic design with a metallic finish that glows with a faint orange hue, reflecting Sunset Shimmer’s fiery nature. And alongside her was a Solar Blade, which had a sleek, futuristic design, with a blade that glows with a vibrant orange light, matching the blaster. “That was too close!” Sunset said. “Are you okay, Twilight?” Starlight asked, as she and Sunset walked over to Twilight. “Starlight! Sunset!” Twilight said. Starlight turned to Spike with confused brows, “Whose the little kid?” “And why’s he dressed like that?” Sunset asked. “I’m protecting him. I’ll explain later, but right now it’ll have to wait. We have more important matters in mind,” Twilight said, as she saw another Titan appear from the depths as the other one got back up. “Looks like we won’t get anywhere with firepower like this!” Starlight said. “Then it’s time for me to turn up the heat! Super Solar Bazooka! Combine!” Sunset said, as she inserted her sword on top of the blaster, and then charged it up with the power discs. ‘What kind of weapon is that? Did she say bazooka?!’ Spike asked to himself. Sunset’s weapon began charging up, before it blasted a huge beam of orange blazing energy into the first Titan as the other Titan missed. “Is that one dead?” Twilight asked. “Please, Twilight. Are you trying to jinx us?” Sunset asked. The first Titan disintegrated magically, as the other Titan regained its balance, before the other Terror Voids began to charge, including the second Titan. ‘Those weapons are so awesome! I’ve gotta get me some of those for myself! But how come the other Titan missed?’ Spike said to himself. “Head for the exit, Twilight! Sunset and I will deal with them!” Starlight said. Twilight looked at Spike, until she grunted, arguing with herself about what to do. But suddenly, her mind was made up. “Okay then. You two gonna be alright?” she asked. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine, I hope,” Sunset replied. “Hurry! Well hold them off!” Starlight said. Twilight put her slingers away and turn to Spike, reaching her hand out, “Take my hand, Spike! Let’s move!” Spike looked at Twilight’s hand, until he didn’t know whether to trust her or not. Later on, Twilight and Spike started running down the halls and through the tunnels, with Twilight holding Spike’s hand. ‘Nothing about myself is making any sense. It’s all so confusing. So far, I’ve only been awake for a couple hours with no memory of what happened or who I am, and to make matters worse, now these Terror Voids or whatever they’re called are everywhere, following me around and trying to get me killed or something! I wish I could’ve done something to help, but I hope this girl here has the answers I’m looking for. So I’m probably gonna have to stick with her,’ he thought to himself. “We’re almost there, Spike! Keep running!” Twilight said. But suddenly, they stopped, and more Nightmare and Deep Nightmare Terror Voids appeared, but this time, there were Killer Bees, Little Rexes and Dark Frights. The Killer Bees looked more like wasps or yellow jackets than bees. They had a long thin horn and antennas on their foreheads and possessed mouths that resembled a beak with tusks. Their thoraxes were rather spherical and possessed small spikes and four wings, and they had purple smoke emitting from their backs. They also had stingers on their abdomens that resembled arrowheads. Finally, they had yellow-green and black skin with cyan markings. The Little Rexes were small creatures that mostly resembled a cross between a bulldog and a Tyrannosaurus rex. They had stubby legs, tiny arms, spikes on their backs, a small horn on their snouts and rather large heads with jaws that were very large in comparison to their bodies. Like the rest of the Terror Voids, they emitted purple smoke. The Dark Frights mostly resembled balloon-shaped birds with small wings, a small knot on the bottom of their body, and a small horn on their forehead. They had dark blue and black skin, and had markings on their body that resembled a face, while their actual black faces with yellow eyes were hidden inside their "mouths". ‘Now there’s of more of them?! Seriously?!’ Spike asked, hiding behind Twilight. “Listen to me! Run away!” Twilight said, as she pushed Spike aside. ‘I guess it’s necessary since I don’t know how to help,’ Spike said to himself, until Twilight took out another gadget, which was a handle with a mechanism that opened up into a katana of some sort. Suddenly, Spike’s hands started glowing in a cyan-green color, and did a flaming aura. Before inside his head, he felt the presence of a dragon, which felt more like a vision or something. ‘What was that? Weird…’ Spike said to himself. “GET OUTTA HERE! RUN!” Twilight said, pushing Spike, until he landed on the ground. Before Twilight could attack, one of the Deep Nightmare swatted its arms at the girl, until they did one more attack from above, slammed her to the ground. As she got up, a Killer Bee tried to jab its stinger into her, but she kept dodging it, before she felt a painful feeling from her stomach, which was the part where one of the Killer Bee’s stinger stung Twilight, before a Deep Nightmare made a rolling attack and struck Twilight, leaving scratches on her stomach. Until she was sent flying to the ground, and was hurt really bad, but also fatally wounded. “Twilight!” Spike said, as he rushed over to her, seeing if she was okay. “Run… away…” Twilight said, feeling weak, as she was bleeding from the wound, and saw a purple mark, meaning that it must’ve been poisoned. “Find Starlight and Sunset and get to the surface. They’ll help care for you. My sacrifice will not be in vain.” “No, I’m not leaving you behind,” Spike said, holding her hand in his hands, as the Terror Voids started to surround them, and got closer. “Please hurry, Spike. You must…” Twilight said, as Spike wiped the tear from her eyes. “I’m s-so-sorry… sorry th-that I… couldn’t p… pr-p-p-pro-p-protect you… Spike…” before she then did one last breath of air, then her eyes closed, and her head was laid on the ground. Twilight was dead. Spike then closed his eyes and lowered his head, mourning for Twilight’s selfless sacrifice for him. The Terror Voids stopped in distance, forming a half-circle over them both. One of the Nightmares began to charge towards the boy, before he seized the creature’s arm and began choking it with the other hand, twisting the Nightmare’s arm in pain. Electricity and fire surged through his being, reaching the poor defenseless monster and killing it. The other Terror Voids watched in horror as the Terror Void was fried alive until it’s nothing but stone. Once he was done, Spike tipped the statue over, letting it crumble into pieces, before turning into darkness dust. “You hurt her. So I’ll take you all on!” Spike said, until he summoned something from his own power: the Bloodstone Scepter. “Whoa! I didn’t know I can do that,” Spike said, as he was unfamiliar with the scepter’s powers and abilities. The Terror Voids started charging towards Spike, until he made a defensive position. “Okay, then. Let’s dance!” Spike said, as he was about to find out what the Bloodstone Scepter does or how it works. He then sprung into action, taking them out one by one with lots of lightning strikes on the Killer Bees since bugs are weak to bug zappers, flurrying blizzards and ice shards, and lots of flaming meteors without destroying the place. As Spike kept demolishing the Terror Voids, Starlight and Sunset appeared to find out where their friends are. But they suddenly saw Spike taking out the rest of the Terror Voids, which surprised them. “Since when did he learn to fight like that?” Starlight asked. But suddenly, they both saw Twilight injured. “TWILIGHT!” Sunset and Starlight both said, rushing over to their friend. Starlight checked on Twilight’s pulse while her head was laid on Sunset’s lap gently. “There’s no pulse. I think… I-I-I think she’s dead…” Sunset said, in heartbreaking concern. Spike then used some dark magic tentacles to smash a group of Deep Nightmares by whipping them side by side and some others like a hammer slam, before using some spiraling light lasers at the Dark Frights and Killer Bees. While he was distracted, the Titan Starlight and Sunset faced came in, and was about to crush Spike, but he used a flashing light spell, which knocked the Titan back, which was strong enough to send some rocks from all around the chamber tumbling down. A huge pile of rocks appeared, coming down on the two girls aiding their friend any minute. They ducked, spotting it. But so did Spike. He generated a lightning bolt strong enough from his scepter and directed it at the stone, razing it instantly, and saving Starlight and Sunset, and an unconscious Twilight. Spike then used whatever amount of fight he had, and with a wave of his staff, summoned two spirit dragons: one dragon was purple and blue with yellow horns, and started breathing smoke to create a huge foggy cloud of dragon smoke. The other dragon was yellow and orange with yellow horns and blazing yellow eyes, which started to breathe fire. From inside the fog, Starlight and Sunset could see some flashes of magical energy of various magical abilities that Spike’s scepter wielded, and painful screeches from the Terror Voids. After all of that was over, the fog began to clear out, leaving what looked like piles of rocky debris, and lots of dead Terror Voids that disintegrated magically. “That… was so cool!” Spike said, seeing how awesome he was at this stuff, he then turned around and remembered Twilight’s condition. “Oh, right!” He went over to Starlight and Sunset, and knelt down, and noticed that they were both very sad about the loss of their beloved friend. ‘Man, I wish I had more time, meaning I could’ve saved her,’ he said to himself. But he then looked at his scepter, before he got an idea. “Hey, let me try something. So I’m kinda gonna need you both to take a couple steps back.” Starlight and Sunset nodded as they backed away. ‘I may not know who I really am or why I’m able to wield this thing, but something tells me that I’m about to find out next, hopefully if this one works. So I’ll probably have to offer something in return, honoring someone such as her. Meaning, she did risk her life trying to protect me, but I’ll guess I’ll thank her when she wakes up,’ he said to himself, before the orb of the scepter turned green and began to form a spell circle around her, which looked like a flora based circle, before she started glowing green. Her fatal wounds began to disappear, some of the blood went back into her body, some of the cuts and bruises began to fade away, and the poisonous sting began to fade permanently and the mark healed. After she gasped for air while her eyes were still shut, she began breathing silently. When the spell was done, Starlight and Sunset went to her, with Spike between them, until Twilight’s eyes slowly began to open, her vision blurry. “Twilight…” Starlight said, as Sunset sniffled with pride. Twilight then lifted her self up before looking at Spike, smiling at her. “Welcome back, Twilight. Glad you’re doing better,” he said. She then quickly got up and hugged him again, “Oh! Thank goodness you’re alright!” “Uhh… shouldn’t you be more worried about yourself?” Spike asked. “But how am I…?” Twilight asked. “Sunset and I wanted to check on you and Spike, so we kinda did whatever we could to take out the Titan class Terror Void,” Starlight said. “Sorry, Twilight,” Sunset said. “But the bad news is your injuries looked fatal, and not only did you lose a lot of blood, the sting you received might’ve had poison in it or something,” Spike said. “I’m not entirely familiar with this staff but I kinda figured that I can perform a healing spell, so I thought I’d do it on you, and maybe bring you back to life.” “You… saved me?” Twilight asked. “Yeah,” Spike replied. “Oh, by the way. Starlight and Sunset had weapons of their own. Since I don’t know much about these powers or how, what exactly were those guns they were carrying?” “Our main weapons are Sacred Swords and Divine Magic,” Sunset explained. Twilight then took over, “Sacred Swords are a source of power that arose in humankind in order to protect our city and its people and fight the Terror Voids. When the Terror Voids first appeared many years ago, children all around Canterlot who possessed many mysterious abilities began cropping everywhere. The majority of those abilities took in the shape and form of weapons and energy constructs, so we began to call them Sacred Swords, while the ones who used energy based attacks were what we called Divine Magic.” “So Starlight and Sunset’s abilities?” Spike asked. “Psychokinesis is Starlight’s ability, including her sacred sword, but the one you saw was another accessory. Sunset however can form two weapons into one, along with the flames of the phoenix. Her Blazing Sword is her primary weapon while her Blazing Bazooka is the secondary, but her combined forms are useable in both ways: one as a super weapon like for a supercharged power shot, or a scythe,” Twilight said. “We’re not entirely sure how they work, but it seems as though these weapons have the ability to embody the personalities of their wielder.” Spike understood what she meant. “I, however, have yet to claim my own Sacred Sword soon,” Twilight said. “I hope you get there,” Spike said. “Aww, you’re so sweet,” Twilight said, but suddenly realized something she completely forgot. “WAIT! Spike, what happened to those Terror Voids earlier?!” “I didn’t want to lose you, so I might’ve taken care of them. I didn’t know how or why I was able to do that, but I kinda found out that I had this with me,” Spike said, showing them the Bloodstone Scepter. “THE BLOODSTONE SCEPTER!” the three girls said in unison. “That’s what this thing is? Weird,” Spike said, admiring the texture of the crystals encrusted on the metal plating. “According to legend, the Bloodstone Scepter is a source of ultimate power, but whoever wields it grants a huge advantage against any enemy. But only one whose pure of heart and undying spirit can wield it,” Starlight explained. “Guess it likes me better,” Spike said, while looking at the scepter in his hands. “Looks like Terror Voids tend to typically behave in many ways we don’t fully understand,” Starlight said. “I think we should get going. It’s not safe here anymore,” Sunset said. “Right,” Twilight said, until she stopped and looked at Spike. Until she walked over and knelt down to him, “Do you want to come with us, Spike? We can give you a good home, if you want. And hopefully find someone who knows you.” Spike then thought for a moment, until his decision was made. Outside the cave’s entrance, the three girls, and Spike, who accepted Twilight’s offer earlier, began to walk towards their ride, which was a motorcycle in blue, purple, cyan and chrome silver, but it looked wider, and had a sidecar that looked like an ATV from the front and back. “So, did you ever figure out who the kid is?” Starlight asked. “Well, not entirely. He doesn’t remember like where he originally came from, so it seemed like he was abandoned or something, and now he’s suffering from a small case of amnesia. And from the look of his clothes, it looked like he hasn’t been outside for a while,” Twilight explained, until she raised one of her legs up and swung it around before placing her butt on the seat of the motorcycle, and then patted the seat behind her to Spike, “Hop on behind me.” “Okay…” Spike said, feeling unsure about it. Later on, they were riding down the hill, with Spike riding behind Twilight, his arms wrapped around her waist and abdomen, and Starlight and Sunset in the sidecar. “My name is Starlight Glimmer, and I’m the intelligence officer of the Rainbooms platoon,” Starlight said, introducing herself to Spike. “And I’m Sunset Shimmer, and I’m second-in-command of the platoon. Nice to meet ya,” Sunset said. “It’s nice to meet you too,” Spike said, nervously blushing. “Hate to say it, but I think this kid’s kinda cute,” Sunset said. “I was thinking the same thing,” Starlight said. “I guess he’ll fit right in.” “I’m counting on it,” Twilight said. “Spike, it’s gonna get bumpy! Hold tight!” Spike then made some screaming noises as the road got bumpy. “Relax, Spike. We’ve got you,” Sunset said, looking over with a playful smile. “And don’t worry, if you fall, I’ll catch you.” Spike’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. “Thanks, I think…” Starlight leaned closer to Spike from the sidecar. “You know, you’re pretty brave coming along with us. Not many boys your age would dare.” Spike gulped, trying to act nonchalant. “I… I just want to help.” “Well, we appreciate it,” Sunset added. “Plus, it’s nice having someone as cute as you around.” Spike’s blush deepened, and he looked down, trying to hide his face. “Uh, thanks…” “Don’t let Sunset tease you too much,” Starlight said with a wink. “She can be a bit of a flirt.” “Hey, I’m just being honest,” Sunset replied, chuckling. “You’ll get used to it, Spike. We’re a fun bunch, promise.” Spike managed a shy smile. “I think I’m starting to see that.” Twilight glanced back, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Just hang on, Spike. We’re almost there, and then you can get to know everyone better.” As they continued down the hill, the conversation kept Spike distracted from the bumpy ride, and he started to feel more at ease with his new companions. But suddenly, he began to see something up ahead from where they were now. As they descended the hill, the sight of a futuristic city of came into full view, sprawling out beneath them like a glittering jewel set against the azure backdrop of the ocean. The city was constructed on a massive artificial island, shaped in a perfectly symmetrical circular design, with intricate geometric patterns of waterways and streets radiating from the center. It was a marvel of advanced urban planning and engineering, blending natural beauty with cutting-edge technology. The outer perimeter of the island was fortified with sleek, high-tech defenses, a testament to its role as a bastion of international security. Docks lined the edges, housing an impressive array of navy ships, while the perimeter roadways buzzed with the activity of military vehicles and personnel. The landscape was dotted with green spaces and lush, futuristic parks that harmoniously integrated with the urban environment, providing a balance of nature and technology. In the heart of the island, towering above the rest of the city, was the central building. It was an imposing, cylindrical structure with a commanding presence, resembling the hub of a giant wheel with the city radiating out from it. The building’s sleek, metallic surface gleamed under the sunlight, and its design was both functional and aesthetically striking, symbolizing the strength and unity of the city’s inhabitants. It served as the headquarters for the advanced military technology and intelligence operations that the was renowned for. As Twilight, Spike, Starlight, and Sunset approached the city on their motorcycle, the true scale of the city’s sophistication became apparent. The roads they traveled on were smooth and well-maintained, lined with streetlights that doubled as surveillance equipment, ensuring the safety of its residents. The architecture varied from ultra-modern skyscrapers to preserved ancient structures, showcasing a blend of the old and the new, where historical sites were meticulously maintained for tourists and scholars to explore. Spike’s eyes widened in awe as they rode past gleaming towers and verdant gardens. “Whoa…,” he said, his voice filled with wonder. Sunset smiled and nodded. “There it is, Spike. Humanity’s last hope, built to defend us all against the Terror Voids.” Starlight leaned over, pointing out various landmarks. “That central building you see is the heart of our operations. It’s where all the strategic planning and intelligence work happens. And is the home for the many trusted sacred swordsman, and the most important weapons and equipment we use to fight back. You’ll get to see it up close soon.” Twilight glanced back at Spike, her eyes twinkling with pride. “Spike… welcome to Canterlot.” As they continued their journey into the heart of Canterlot, the city buzzed with life and energy, promising new adventures and discoveries at every turn.