Canterlot Airspace
Two Hours Later
"You know, I'm starting to see why they recommended we set up shop in Ponyville," Robin commented, gazing with interest over the sides of the flying chariot he rode on: inbound towards Canterlot. "That was a pretty short trip, and we must have only been flying around thirty miles per hour..."
"Mmhmm," Twilight smiled at him. "I'm glad Canterlot is so close, to be honest: the only problem is that the distance doesn't get me out being summoned for quick royal needs and all that..."
"Mmmm," Raven sighed. "I can see why you'd be so perturbed. Nobody seems to leave you alone, from what I've seen..."
"Nopony, Raven," Robin corrected.
"No way, Robin..." she sighed.
He rolled his eyes behind the mask.
"Yeah," Twilight said softly. "It is... a pretty big change from what I've been used to. I thought I'd like being thrown in the loop, but... my new position is... complicated."
"How so?" Robin asked.
She glanced away from them. "No offense, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"Is it because you've gained immortality?" Raven asked bluntly.
Twilight quickly shook her head. "Oh no - nonono, it's not that. I age a little slower than every other pony, but I'm not immortal. Excuse me for sounding kind of... egotistical, but Princess Celestia and Luna are pretty much gods, I'm just... a servant of them, I guess."
"A demigod?"
Twilight coughed, blushing. "Well... I wouldn't go that far. Though I have an enhanced amount of arcane magic to work with now, it um... well - I still have to learn how to control it. It doesn't enhance my magic too much, it just allows me to learn more. I suppose I like that part of the... um... package deal?"
"Responsibility can be a tough thing to grow into," Robin nodded. "Especially when it comes to leadership." He closed his eyes. "I never expected to be a leader - ever, really. I've always been a student, a sidekick, or a loner... but when the Titans came together... I was kind of thrust into it. I didn't know what to do, really. I just kind of went with my gut... and... well, things kind of worked out. I dunno if it had to do with luck or if my team was just bound to work well together, but for whatever reason, we're still here."
A beat...
"You're a decent leader, Robin," Raven actually comforted.
Robin blinked, gazing at her wide-masked.
...
"Are you... dying?"
"Ugh..."
Twilght giggled at that.
"So," Robin coughed, changing the conversation. "Prime Minister Slade Wilson, huh?"
Twilight chuckled. "Yes, I know his name is an odd coincidence, but he's actually a very nice pony. He has a decent reason for wanting to reproach the bill, I suppose. His main reason, er - I think this is it, anyway, is that he believes letting vigilantes have free reign is going to do nothing but allow criminals to circumvent the justice system - since they won't be apprehended by the guard. Plus, there's always the issue of vigilantes acting out of line, not following laws themselves, not following protocol, creating criminals just by existing... the list goes on and on."
"Ugh - I've heard this before," Robin pouted. "The same argument was made by the Senate minority back when a similar law was passed on our world. The president pretty much said they could go screw themselves when they begged him to veto it."
"I still think their argument did have some legitimacy to it," Raven said. "I sometimes wondered how many weirdos would be dressing up as supervillains if we weren't around tempting them... egomaniacs, idiots, attention seekers - and sometimes plain old criminals who think we may have wronged them."
"Mph, why don't you go support him, then?" Robin snapped.
Twilight raised her eyebrows.
"No need to be like that," Raven growled. "If I didn't support our side of the picture, I wouldn't be a Titan still, would I? I generally believe we do more good then harm, but you know better than anyone else that knowing your opponent is the key to victory."
"That... was a little rash, Robin" Twilight pointed out.
...
Robin took a deep breath. "Sorry, I guess this whole Slade Wilson thing is just getting to my head..."
"What else is new?" Raven moaned.
...
"Look, I know it's stupid, OK?" Robin grunted. "The chances of Slade somehow being let into the artifact, arriving at the same time we did, somehow being elected the Prime Minister of a country that should know better, and being stupid enough to choose a name that obvious is so unlikely it could make my head spin. But still... Slade did often like to use reverse-psychology. And I do remember we were hunting him when we disappeared - I just wish I could remember more."
"Well, just remember - even if it somehow Slade himself, we've beaten him before with our fists, we can beat him with our words, too," Raven stated.
Twilight blinked in confusion. "This... Slade must really have been terrible... I remember reading about him in the legends, but to know somehow who actually had to confront him-"
"He was the worst of the worst," Robin whispered. "A monster. A psychopath... I tried to distance myself emotionally from the villains we faced, but I couldn't with him... I hated him."
Raven glanced away from Twilight. "As I said before... we all have our issues with him. But let's just focus on what's ahead of us for now... Slade is long gone and turned to dust, Robin. He may have come back from the grave. He may have survived the end of the world, but the universe itself would have bested him in the end."
....
"With him... you never know," Robin said silently.
"Princess!" one of the pegasi pulling the chariot called. "We're making one more pass - air traffic is dense - but then we're going to be landing at the designated point!"
"Gotcha!" Twilight chirped, before taking a deep breath and gazing at her two, new friends. "Whelp - welcome to Canterlot during political rush hour..."
"Yay..." Raven moaned.
At that, the chariot circled about one of the highest towers protruding from the royal palace, before soaring towards a large balcony hanging off of it...
Royal Palace Guest Tower
"Twili!" Shining Armor grinned as she hopped off the chariot, the two Titans following her. He was the only one there to greet them, it seemed. "How are you, kiddo?"
With that, he galloped towards her, ruffling her mane with a hoof. Twilight gave him a friendly, though slightly reproachful look, as the chariot took off behind her.
"Better than you're about to be," Twilight grunted. "Why in the world are you supporting this thing?! Didn't you get my letter about the Titans?!"
"Er... yeah," Shining coughed, rubbing a hoof into the ground, and facing the two Titans with a friendly, though guilty smile. "It's um - er... yeah, where are my manners? I'm Shining Armor - nice to meet you two."
Raven glanced him over, blushing slightly. "Um - nice to meet you, too..."
Robin and Twilight raised a curious eyebrow, before shrugging it off.
"Prince Armor," Robin nodded formally.
"Heh - just Shining is cool. I hate the formal crap I'm supposed to deal with." He then scratched the back of his mane. "Hey um - might as well get this out of the way. I just want to say you guys are cool in my book - I've heard the stories of you guys kicking a lot of flank - in the right way, too. It's really just the bill itself that I'm against... if they had a 'Titans are allowed to kick butt' bill, but not all vigilantes, I'd be fine with it. You get what I'm saying, right? I just wish they'd take my recommendation and do just that..."
"But that wouldn't be very fair, would it?" Twilight muttered.
Shining glanced away from her.
Robin cracked a slight smile. "I understand, and it's fine, really. If you're Twilight's brother, I'm sure your intentions are noble."
He chuckled slightly. "Heh - I'm sure she's said otherwise..."
She took a deep breath, glancing back towards him and rolling her eyes. "I'm sure they are, Shining, even if you're being stupid. Just don't expect me to hold back in parliament, alright?"
Shining grinned. "A little sibling rivalry to spice up this boring mess? Why not!"
The group chuckled slightly, before a new voice interrupted them. A deep, arrogant, and somewhat obnoxious voice.
"Well, look at this... if it isn't our newest do-gooders, the Tweeny Titans."
"Ugh, Discord, can we please not play hide and seek?" Twilight groaned.
Raven furrowed her brow. "Wait - Discord?! But I thought he was supposed to be-"
POP!.!.!
Suddenly, appearing before two baffled Titans came the draconeques, grinning down at Raven.
"Reformed!" he giggled. "And honestly, I'm starting to enjoy this new schtick! I can have as much fun as I want - to a reasonable degree, of course - without getting in trouble - and I get to meet Equestria's newest and brightest stars first-hoof!"
"Er... yeah," Robin blinked. "Nice to... meet you?"
Shining gave a grunt. "Yeah, very nice Discord, but we have stuff to do..."
"Pffft - yeah right," he said, rolling his eyes. "All you're doing is showing them to their rooms for now, aren't you, Prince Bellboy? Trying to screw me out of an autograph session?"
"He's annoying me already," Raven muttered to Twilight.
"Hey, I heard that!" Discord grunted, suddenly elongating his ears to five times their size. "Secrets don't make friends, you know! Then again, they say you are the loner type, so..."
POOF!.!.!
With a snap of his fingers, Discord was now sporting some very black, very emo-like hair, some of it covering up his right eye. "Mph.. do you like me now, Raven? Not that I care... I mean - who cares about anything, really? Everything is just a black abyss in the end.... meaningless... pointless... it all sucks."
Raven gritted her teeth, her eye twitching at the giggling god of chaos who was busy emo-flipping the hair out of his eye.
"Alright, alright," Robin moaned, standing between Discord and Raven. "You've had your fun. What exactly do you want with us... Discord?"
"What - can't a being of chaos sate his curiosity?" Discord smirked. "I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. And my oh my, I can see why you're the talk of the talk: that outfit of yours is absolutely gorgeous! Do you fight the good fight in that tuxedo?! Oh - you're definitely my favorite now. I can see why Lulu likes to talk about you so much, (though I still can't see why she likes Raven), the ole walking megaphone!"
"... This isn't my costume," Robin said blankly.
Discord gave a mock gasp. "So you mean the rumors about you wearing tights were true?!"
"Well, I used to wear tights," Robin sighed. "Until I got my new costume, of course..."
"Meh, still - booooriiiinggg!" Discord sighed. "You're not my favorite anymore."
Robin blinked. "Um... shoot?"
"A shame, too," Discord smirked. "Because I was about to let you on to a little secret that I know you'd just die to have..."
Robin raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't you tell me a part of it and I can decide for myself?"
"Oh, I might just do that," Discord giggled. "But only when it'll be the most fun."
"Ugh, Discord... the Titans may not be doing much at the moment, but I have a lot of paperwork to go through," Twilight growled. "And I don't just want to leave them without showing them around a little."
"Oh, that's alright," Discord said, sticking his tongue out. "I have stuff to do, too, you know - a few things in the land down under, or the caves down under, that is."
He then glanced directly at Robin, before leaning down towards him, and whispering in his ear:
"Where the gears of Equestria really turn..."
Robin raised an eyebrow.
He then chuckled, his normal tone returning. "But I'll be seeing you soon, Titans...... very soon. Good luck with the preceding! Tootles!"
SNAP!
POOF!
And with that, the being of chaos was gone.
"Thank you, god," Raven sighed in relief. "Even if I don't necessarily believe in you."
Robin glanced upward in contemplation. "Still - what do you think he was talking about?"
Twilight shrugged. "It's Discord. Trust, me - he's Equestria's biggest troll. He'll do anything to mess with you if he'll get a laugh out of the end."
Robin furrowed his brow. "Yeah... alright..."
Raven glanced at him suspiciously, as if she knew he was going to obsess over this a bit.
"Anyway, sorry about that," Shining sighed. "Why they let him stay in the castle is anypony's guess. I think they just like to keep an eye on him."
"That's pretty much the only reason," Twilight stated. "He doesn't make the best court jester - particularly because he's not very funny." She then shrugged slightly. "Well... he does make me laugh, occasionally, so I guess he's getting better at 'normal' humor instead of his type of humor."
"The day he makes me laugh is the day my magic starts working again," Raven muttered.
Twilight gazed at her, concerned. "H-Huh?"
"Nothing," she moaned.
...
Shining smiled brightly, breaking the tension.
"Come on, let's get the tour started," he stated, before leading them into the castle.
Shining's mirth continued as he led the Titans down a particular hall of the castle, occasionally showing them an award or medal or two that hung on the walls.
"... And this one is what I got for slaying the dreaded Two-Headed Dragon of Whispersong," Shining smirked, constantly gauging Twilight's reaction as he did so. "Oooo, this one's nice, too... I got it for beating down the Goblin King of Clockwork City... man that was one hell of a battle. No casualties, though. The Elite Guard's finest moment!"
"Nice," Robin smiled. "They made a mistake giving you a... 'promotion', I guess you could call it?"
"Pffft, you got that right, buddy," Shining muttered. "Being a prince isn't the same as being a captain. I mean - I love the Crystal Ponies, but I'd rather be here fighting for my home instead of filling a role I have no idea how to do, ya know?"
"Tell me about it, you big show off," Twilight grunted.
"Just giving details of the awards in this hall," Shining said innocently. "Not my fault I only happen to know about so many..."
"Gee- I wonder why he knows about the ones only dedicated to him..." Raven whispered to Twilight, causing her to stifle a chuckle.
Twilight then smirked slightly. "Robin seems to be taking to him pretty well..."
Raven rolled her eyes. "Trust me, as humble as he may come off - Robin has an ego the size of this castle. And the only thing he likes more than being an egomaniac is talking to other egomaniacs."
"Ooo! Ooo! And here's the one I got for totally saving the Crystal Empire!" Shining grinned. "Heh - Twilight may have helped with that one, though."
"Oh no," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I was just there as moral support!"
"Pffft - give yourself more credit," Shining smiled, causing Twilight to give him a blank look.
"Heh, alright, now you've got me jealous," Robin said, before giving a competitive, foreboding smirk. "And there's only one way to resolve that..."
"Oh I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying...?" Shining grinned. "Cus I don't want you walking into parliament bruised..."
"Ohohoho," Robin chirped. "Now it HAS to happen!"
Raven and Twilight sweat-dropped.
"What has to happen?" Raven groaned.
Twilight facehoofed. "Ugh- please... not now, Shining. You know what happened with the Griffin Ambassador..."
"So he lost a few feathers," Shining shrugged. "Big whoop."
"... He declared to have an assassin sent after you," Twilight said blankly. "In the middle of parliament. I think it's safe to say you bruised his ego..."
Shining smirked sarcastically. "Oh come on! Robin won't be like that! He doesn't mind being bested, does he?"
"As long as you don't, brotha," Robin grinned, locking eyes with him.
"Oh god - are you two about to duel or something?" Raven moaned.
"Please don't... this is totally irresponsible!" Twilight said firmly.
Robin and Shining gazed at each other, shaking their heads.
"Didn't think they'd understand," Robin sighed.
Shining chuckled. "It's alright, my friend - my wife's like that, too."
"Shining, I swear-" Twilight began.
"Come on, let's get going before they try to stop us!" Robin said. "Where's the gym?!"
"Right this way!" Shining grinned, gesturing forward.
And the two galloped off.
Raven face-hoofed. "They... Robin didn't even bring his costume with him. They brought it to the room..."
Twilight raised her eyebrows. "Hopefully he won't rip that suit. He may be able to beat Shining, but Rarity would break his neck..."
Raven chuckled slightly, before the two shared a semi-awkward silence.
...
"So... you said this place has a huge library?" Raven said.
"Heh - great minds think alike," Twilight grinned. "There has to be something there about... your type of magic. Just let me take care of a few things and I'll meet you there, alright?"
"Gotcha," Raven nodded, before giving her an honest, friendly smile. "Um... and thanks, Twilight. I really appreciate all the effort you've put towards trying to... fix my magic. Especially with all the bureaucratic stuff you have to handle on the side..."
Twilight shook her head. "Trust me - if I didn't have side projects I'd be driven insane. Um - speaking of which..."
"Don't let me take you," Raven smiled. "Have fun."
"Yeeeah..." Twilight sighed, before blinking away with a flash of purple.
Raven smiled to herself slightly, before taking a look around. "Hmm... now about that library..."
PUFF!
Raven's eyes widened. She twirled about, facing the same shadow from Everfree.
"The Archives of Canterlot, hmmm?" it smiled. "Man - I haven't seen those in years! Talk about bringing back old memories, huh? Learning how to use eye of newt to create a hellspawn potion, practicing my art in the moonlight... good times."
"I thought I told you to leave me alone," Raven muttered. "I can regain my magic on my own instead of trusting some individual who won't even tell me his own name."
"What's in a name?" he shrugged. "Besides, if I told you that, you'd just be scared away! My reputation sort of precedes me around here... well - everywhere for that matter."
...
Raven's expression somehow turned blanker.
"... Yeaaaaaah, you're King Sombra, aren't you?" she grunted.
A beat.
The shadow laughed nervously, his eyes widening. "Mwah? That butt? Please - don't insult me!"
"Don't screw with me," Raven snapped. "I've done my homework the two months I've been here. A creature from the north... gone for a thousand years... ruling over an Empire.... yeah - wasn't that hard."
...
A beat.
Then - a deep, dark laugh emanated from the shadow.
"Hehehehahahaha! You're as smart as I thought you were, you know that?"
Raven gave him a blank look. "Or maybe you're not as smart as you think you are?"
"Are you saying I lack common sense?" he chirped.
"To put it bluntly: yes."
He narrowed his eyes, slowly moving towards Raven. "Are you so sure about that?"
"Ugh - get out of here, will you?" she sighed, beginning to trot away from him in the opposite direction. "Before I go and tell somepony you're not as dead as they think."
"Go ahead!" the Shadow said apathetically. "It'll hurt you more than me. And sure, while I may not have much in the common sense, who cares, really? I still hold the keys to giving you back your powers... just let me turn the lock..."
Slowly, a wicked grin, sharp-toothed grin formed on the shadow.
"Or do you really want to be left alone, by me... and everyone else, hmmm?"
Suddenly, Raven halted, her pupils dilating.
"I honestly don't know why I even bother," King Sombra chuckled. "This idea pretty much sells itself."
At that, Raven twirled about, hissing at him. "Here's a grand idea! Why don't you go screw yourself instead of trying to screw me, huh?!"
The shadow raised its eyebrows. "Ewwww... I may be an 'evil' overlord, but I'm not into that sort of fun, you know."
She rolled her eyes. "Not in that way, either..." She then turned about, and began to trot away again. "I'm heading to the first floor of the palace, so unless you want to die twice, I suggest you hide yourself."
...
"Fine - Whatever," Sombra grunted, halting himself.
"Thank you."
With that, Raven was gone.
...
...
"Damnit," he sighed. "Why won't you just let me help you?"