Strike 39- The Writing on the Wall
When Lightning Strikes- The Writing on the Wall
Mane Hero 6 Headquarters
The morning after the escapades of the other night, Lance and the rest of Mane Hero 6 were up bright and early trying to uncover everything that their team mate Vinyl had retrieved the other night. Unfortunately though, the mare herself was trying to get some much needed sleep after what she had heard the other night and this caused her to toss and turn all over the place because of the nightmares in her head involving her best friend. All this though, just made her teammates and friends worry about her.
“Do you think she’s going to be okay?” The Azure Striker asked as he and a couple of others watched the Unicorn struggle to get some rest.
“I’ve known Vinyl for a long time, Lance.” Hiro told him as he looked back at the Adept. “Vinyl can overcome anything that she’s up against. But some things she can only overcome on her own.” The teen may have looked quite young for his age, but he knew just what words to say at the right time. Besides, even if they could try to help their teammate right now, the bigger issue that they had to deal with right now was The Countess. After yesterday, there was now the possibility that there were other lackeys working alongside her. Some that weren’t even in the power ponies database or the police database either. All they had was names of the two ponies named Black Widow and Shadowmere along with the fact that there was the two mares that were Octavia’s sisters. Not to mention the fact that one of them mentioned the “Countess’ colts”, which meant that the Countess… Like any other possible bad guy… had minions (who probably preferred being called that instead of Henchmen).
His train of thought on the matter was interrupted when Noteworthy trotted in and looked back at the two of them. “Hiro, we’re getting a call from the Sun Fransokyo police chief. Something came up that he wants our help with.”
Both of them looked at one another in confused before Hiro responded to the stallion. “Chief Macintosh needs us? Does it have to do with the Countess?”
“Not quite. Let me get you on the phone and you guys can talk with him.” The Stallion said, guiding them into the Control Center just as Lance noticed Applejack walk into the room.
“What in tarnations is with all the darn commotion?” She asked, just finally getting her suit back on as she followed us inside.
“The Police Chief of Sun Fransokyo needs our help,” Lance explained to her, turning back around to Hiro for a moment as Noteworthy was helping set up the console they used to talk with them. “What was his name again? Mac… something?” However, all that did was cause Applejack’s eyes to widen as she stared back at the both of them with an expression of shock on her face.
“No way… Mac’s here?!”
Both the adept and the genius looked back at her, surprised by the mare’s reaction to what they were talking about and also confused as to how she exactly knew about the city’s chief of police. “You know him?”
“Know him!?” Applejack retorted. “Lance, Big Mac’s mah older brother! Nopony in mah family besides Applebloom knows that I’m… well… Mistress Marevelous.”
“What? I thought your Granny knew!” Aurora asked all of a sudden.
“No Aurora, she doesn’t. Her memory isn’t what it used to be and with the fact that I have a lot of relatives… Family life isn’t what it used to be anymore,” The mare replied. “Ever since he was a colt, Big Mac wanted to find out what happened to our parents after they went missing. I just… didn’t think it would lead to him becoming part of the police force. Out of all of my siblings, Mac is… well… a bit protective at times.”
“I’ve never actually met him… Kinda weird seeing as I was friends with Applebloom.” Aurora said. However, all of them soon directed their attention to the screen as Applejack herself stepped out for a moment and the computer screen lit up.
“Morning everypony,” The stallion on the other end spoke. “I’m sorry for having to have all of you up this early, but we needed your help in investigating something as soon as possible.”
“What seems to be the situation, Chief?” Hiro then asked as both Lance and him looked back at the stallion.
“While I was helping you look into the acts of the Countess, something strange came up. There was an incident that took place at an old building outside of the city. It used to be an old pizzeria dedicated to the power ponies before it was closed and had to be shut down. This morning, one of the lieutenants who works with me on the force found the body of one of Sapphire Shore’s friends laying out here all mangled and twisted,” The Stallion explained, showing photographs of the scene and of the victim. “We don’t know what happened, but we’re treating it like a homicide. If a couple of you can come down and help clear some of this up, we can see what other leads we can find on the Countess.”
“Pizza!?” Aurora squealed. “I lov- Oh… Nevermind.”
“We’ll be there as soon as possible,” Hiro replied, pointing to Lance. “Oh and before I forget, a couple of the power ponies are trying to help us out with some of the things happening around here. I’ll send them your way.” With that, the call ended. But all Hiro got afterwards was a major scolding from Applejack and a whack over the head. “Oww! What was that for?!” He reacted, a bump forming on the back of his head.
“THAT was for sending me out in the field to where MY BROTHER is, you varmint!” Applejack snapped. “Would you really send me out to a homicide with the location of it being a place dedicated to the power ponies?!”
“Hang on… you know about this place?” Lance then asked, hearing what Applejack just said and causing the mare to sigh.
“Yes… It’s one of a couple of locations for the restaurant called “Power Ponies Pizzeria”. After one of our friends was saved by Stopwatch, a friend of ours named Cheerilee opened up a restaurant dedicated to us… However, despite the fact that it’s now owned by a stallion named Crescent Moon, there were many cases over the years that caused them to shut down. Cases of foals going missing, bodies turning up dead and also sounds of movement inside the restaurant… even though it’s been abandoned for three years.” Mistress Marevelous explained. “There’s even been rumors that the souls of those missing foals have possessed some of the equipment that run the place… but again, that’s just a rumor.”
“Originally, the rumor was that Aurora was dead. However, she’s here with us,” Lance pointed out. “I’m not sure how this is any different.”
“Lance, I had an ability that saved me. These are ordinary foals.” Aurora said.
“True, but what’s happening is anything but ordinary… Enough talk though, we can find out more once we’re there.” The Adept insisted. “Geez, all this talk with souls is just bringing up bad memories of the Purple Mare…”
Aurora nodded. Her, Lance and Applejack soon made their way over to the location. Applejack herself trying to stay calm and not stress herself out. Which was hard to do because to her, she had not seen her brother in years. Once they got there, there were only a couple of stallions there, who looked to be part of the Forensics team that was analyzing the body along one other Stallion. A big red one with a Orange mane and a bit of a beard on his chin.
“Must be Big Mac.” Aurora remarked. “Hey… This isn’t Power Ponies Pizzeria.”
“It isn’t? Maybe it used to be before they used the property for something else.” He told her, just as the stallion turned around to face them.
“So, you must be the ones from Maretropolis that Hiro was talking about,” He said, looking back at them. “Name’s Big Macintosh, Chief of the Sun Fransokyo Police Department.”
“Lance Walker, also known as Gunvolt by the Power Ponies,” Lance introduced himself. “This is Mistress Marevelous. She’s a friend and partner of mine on the team.” Applejack herself nodded, replying with a simple ‘hello’ before Big Macintosh looked back at them. “So, what do we know about what happened?”
“Well, as of now, DNA test from the forensics department of the force have confirmed who the victim is,” The Stallion replied, handing a manila folder with some photographs. “The mare’s name was Sassy Saddles. Lived in Manehattan and worked as a fashion designer for many performing artists and did commissions for many of the nobles in Canterlot. She was out here on a business trip to meet Sapphire Shores… however, how this happened to her was another story that we’re still trying to piece together.” Lance nodded, taking the chance to get a little closer to see for herself.”
“She was obviously crushed from all angles…” Aurora said.
“Yes, but what could’ve caused it?” Lance said to himself as she looked down and inspected the body. “Did she have any friends?”
“Searching… Searching… Rarity Belle is all I’ve come up with, but she lives in Maretropolis.”
“Aurora… That’s Radiance.” Lance reminded her in a whisper, now groaning to himself. “Oh god, she’s going to be a emotional wreck when we break the news to her.”
“Lance, we’re in front of the police… Did you just reveal our teammates secret identity?” Lance took a moment to look around, only to notice that nopony was paying any particular attention to them as Lance placed the tarp back over the victim.
“Seems like everypony is minding their own business. One thing that bothers me though is that a lot of blunt force trauma would be needed to cause wounds like these… What do you think could’ve done such a thing?”
“I suppose it could be magic. An advanced levitation spell could easily do this. Perhaps we should talk to the owner.” Aurora suggested. Lance thought about it, walking over to Big Mac in the process.
“Chief… is it possible for us to talk with the previous owner of the facility?” Lance asked him while he was walking up to the stallion.
“I already tried that before calling upon you. I wasn’t able to get much information out of him. He barely even had a clue about anything that could’ve happened here.” Big Mac replied back, causing the Adept to sigh. Then, he remembered something… A trick that he had done before regarding the case with Milano Mash a few months back. Walking over, he took a deep breath, removed the tarp off of the body of mare and placed his hand on the forehead of the corpse as he closed his eyes.
“H-hello? Anypony here? I somehow got lost and I was hoping I could find some directions back to the city-.” Scrape… Scrape… “W-what was that?”
There was a low, distorted growl. A few moments later, what looked like an armless Fluttershy jumped out of nowhere and screeched, it’s jaw unhinged.
“S-STAY AWAY FROM ME!!” The mare shrieked, scrambling to her hooves as she tried to run. Only to trip a few feet later and land face first on the floor. “Oww!” Frantically, she tried to open the door… Only to find it barred shut and unable to open. “N-no! This can’t be happening… LET ME OUT!! Somepony… Anypony… LET ME OUT!!!”
The Fluttershy… Thing, headbutted the mare, knocking her out. But the last thing that was seen was another… thing moving towards her. One that looked like… Sunset Shimmer… But it had nothing but two small glowing lights for eyes as it inched closer to her.
“Nighty night…” It said.
When Lance snapped out of the vision, what he saw was triggering serious flashbacks. These creatures weren’t like ordinary beings… they were Animatronics. Almost like Freddy and the ones he knew from before… But these ones were different. Something about them seemed… off. But it made him think that they were machines possessed by the souls of the dead. It wasn’t until Aurora spoke that it snapped him out of his train of thought.
“You okay Lance?” Aurora asked.
“Y-yeah… Just processing a bit…” He told her, shaking his head a little to snap back to reality as he walked back over to where Mistress Marevelous and the police chief were.
“Why don’t we speak to the newest owner.” Aurora suggested. He thought about it for a moment, before looking back at Aurora.
“That may help… Who’s the new owner though?” He asked her, stopping for a second so he could talk to the spirit.
“I can’t get a name, but her address is close. Seven blocks away.” He heard her say, pulling up a streetside map on Lance’s bracer as he looked back at his teammate.
“Hey Marevelous, I’m going to go have a talk with the newest owner. Meet you back at HQ later?” He asked, her response followed by a nod. But before he was able to go anywhere, he soon heard the chief speak up and catch his attention.
“Excuse me, Lance. But can I talk to you for a minute… in private?” The Adept nodded his head, gulping down his nervousness as he looked back at the stallion, walking back over in his direction. But the first thing he said once they were far away was what surprised him the most. “You know… I was surprised when I saw you show up here with my sister of all ponies.”
“Ah crap…” Lance cursed mentally.
“Don’t get me wrong, I myself was surprised… But Applejack, no matter how good she tries, isn’t always the best when trying to keep secrets.” The Stallion replied. “Can I ask you to do me a favor though?”
The Adept raised an eyebrow, folding his arms for a moment as he looked back at her. “What kind of favor?”
“Can you make sure that she’s alright?” Big Mac asked. “Ah know that she and I have gone our separate ways, but I feel like I still need to look out for her, even if she’s a full grown mare… Can you just please keep an eye on her? Help her out too? I know that this whole Countess thing is a little personal because the Countess used to be a friend of AJ’s, so please… don’t let her feelings cloud her judgement.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Lance promised the stallion. “She’s my teammate and an important friend to me. I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to her.” With that, the stallion nodded his head, thanking the Adept as he walked back over to where Applejack was and the two of them left. Even though AJ went straight towards the base, Lance himself followed the directions that Aurora had provided for him and soon ended up at the address that she had on his gauntlet.
It was a crummy apartment building with three floors and seventeen apartments. The door was open.
“She live in apartment five on floor two.” Aurora said. Lance nodded, going up the stairwell since the elevator was out of service and walked up to the second floor. Upon arriving, he saw a small plaque that was the directory of all the room numbers on the floor. Including room number five as he approached it and knocked it softly. Trying not to disturb whoever was inside.
“Excuse me, is anypony in there? I just want to talk…”
The door opened and a green mare with a red mane opened up. “What’s up dude?” She talked slowly, and her eyes were kinda droopy. Personally causing Lance to think if this was actually the same mare that Aurora was talking about.
“Uhh… Would you happen to be the owner of the old pizzeria that closed down a couple years back?” He asked. “I’m investigating a couple of incidents that happened there miss…” Pausing to look at the name plaque by the mailbox, he then sighed and spoke again. “Tree Hugger?”
“Oh, yeah… I work for a company that bought the place. We’re trying to, like, revive the place.” Tree Hugger said. “We spent a small fortune on the new Animatronic. And we moved locations. So what’s the problem man?”
“Well… How should I-... Wait a second, Animatronics?” Lance asked, coming inside shortly after the mare held the door open for him.
“Yeah. Those old ones, like, had a bad vibe about them. So we made new ones.” Tree Hugger said, trotting over to a couch and sitting on it. The place smelled like smoke, and something bad from the kitchen.
“What sort of… bad vibe do you mean specifically?” He then asked, taking out a small notebook to write some notes down for him to look back on later.
“Well, there were those murders. And the bad smells from the original Animatronics.” The mare explained to him, recalling what she could remember.
Lance wrote these things down, then looked back at the Mare and asked her a question. “Can you describe the smells? Was there anything… off about them that really caught your attention?”
“I never smelled them, but the customers said it was bad. There was also complaints of blood and mucus coming out of their eye holes. But that’s ridiculous, I checked the suits myself and they, like, had no problems.” Tree Hugger said, pulling out a cigarette.
“Well, that’s going to make it definitely hard to sleep tonight.” Lance thought to himself, trying to ignore the smell as he asked his next question. “I was told that there were some reports of movement inside the buildings… even after closing hours and sounds of scraping metal… Are you familiar with anything related to that, Ms. Tree?”
“Dude, just call me Tree Hugger, we’re all living creatures.” Tree Hugger said. “And yeah, we let the Animatronics walk around at night. It helps make it so they, like, don’t rust.”
Upon hearing that, it made Lance stop what he was doing and look back at her. “You let them walk… at night? Wouldn’t that be consuming electricity?”
“We, like, charge them up during the day. We use solar panels to run the place.” Tree Hugger said. “It’s a flawless system. Is there something wrong?”
“Well… What would happen if somepony was inside the facility at night? I’m asking about this Tree Hugger because I’m helping the police chief investigate the death of a mare that was found inside the complex this morning.” The Adept explained for her.
“Oh man… Total bummer dude.” Tree Hugger said. “Well, it must’ve been, like, someone from her life…”
The Adept looked back at the mare, raising an eyebrow. “Someone from her life? Who are you talking about, Tree Hugger?”
“Like, I dunno. All I do is facts about the pizzeria. Who, like, died? It wasn’t the night guard, was it?”
“No, the night guard was the one that called the police,” Lance recalled from the police report. “The one who died was a mare that was a friend of Sapphire Shores. One of the wealthy business entrepreneurs in the city… Why, were the animatronics based off somepony you knew?”
“You could, like, say that… I actually knew Saddle Rager. She, like, saved my life.” Tree Hugger offered Lance a cigarette, but he denied the request. His father had a habit of smoking when he was with him, but he didn’t like the smell of tobacco everywhere and always had his windows open so it didn’t fill with smoke.
“You knew Saddle Rager… Like seen her more than once… talk to her?”
“She and I, like, talked every once and awhile. We kinda lost touch after that whole…” Tree Hugger cleared her throat. “Silvermine incident… I don’t even know if she knows I’m alive… But I, like, found my calling.” Lance took a moment, writing the last portion of her sentence in his book, circling Silvermine Incident in it and writing on the side ‘Investigate Further…’ as he closed it and put it back in his coat.
“Well Tree Hugger, it’s been a pleasure talking to you… and if anything new comes up at all,” He said, pulling out what looked like a business card. “Feel free to reach out and call me.”
“Sure dude, ditto.” Tree Hugger said, handing Lance her own business card. “You need you relax your aura, man…” The card itself read BoltingShadow, while it had the address to her apartment and a phone number to reach her by on the back end of it. With that, Lance stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, trying to brush off his clothes. After that, while walking up to the roof, he asked Aurora for a simple favor.
“Hey Aurora, can you call HQ back in Maretropolis? I need to ask Saddle Rager and Radiance something real quick.”
“Done.” Aurora said in a flash, and the screen went to Skype. It showed Saddle Rager there, who looked like she was distracted for a minute. But when Lance spoke up, all it did was cause her wings to flutter and for the pegasus to roll out of her chair and onto the ground, causing Radiance to come in a few moments later.
“Why Lance darling, it was a little unexpected for you to be calling so soon… Did something come up while in Sun Fransokyo?”
“Yeah, but it’s a lot to explain,” He replied, before he remembered that he had some news to break and deeply sighed. “First though…… Radiance, something came up here this morning and… well… I have some bad news… Applejack and I found Sassy Saddles-.”
“You did?! How is she? Is life in Manehattan going well for her? Did she use that mane care product that I recommended for her?” Rarity asked, only to see the grim expression on Lance’s face. “Lance? …… Lance, what’s wrong?”
“Radiance… AJ and I found Sassy Saddles as the victim of a murder case that we’re investigating… I’m sorry Rarity, but she’s… gone.” The Adept told her, trying his best to not sound like he was telling her the news bluntly. “If there’s anything I can do… Just tell me…”
“ ……… Have her funeral be here in Maretropolis… I want to be able to make her one final dress before I see her one last time.” The mare said, holding back her tears as best as she could. “J-just… what happened to her…?”
“I’m still looking into it… but it also brings something up that I need to ask Fluttershy… Are you two familiar with something known as The Silvermine Incident?” He asked them. “The incident involving what happened to Sassy occurred at a location that used to be the Power Ponies Pizzeria out in Sun Fransokyo. I had a talk with the current owner and she mentioned the Silvermine Incident while we were talking… Any idea what that is?”
“That… Was an operation Fluttershy, Twilight and… A former member of our team went on. It was a hostage situation. The Purple Mare kidnapped them. Twilight said it was a failure.” Rarity explained.
“Failure as in the hostages were killed and she got away?” Lance asked, before thinking of another question to add onto that. “Where did this take place?”
“Like the operation was dubbed, a silver mine outside of Maretropolis. That failure cost the lives of ponies close to us.” Fluttershy said. “Where’d you hear about it?”
“Well… The mare that I talked too about it lives here in Sun Fransokyo… I think the name was Tree Hugger if I remember correctly.”
“Tree Hugger!? She’s alive!?” Fluttershy almost fainted.
“Y-yeah… From what she told me, she’s been trying to ‘revive’ the building that the incident took place and remodel it… She also gave me her business card if you want me to send that over to you.” The Adept offered, “The only thing that she gave me other than the stench left behind on my jacket.”
“Tree Hugger was one of the hostages. How in Equestria did she survive!?” Rarity was shocked.
“To be honest… I’m not so sure.” Lance replied, looking back at them after Fluttershy captured her breath. “I’ll try talking with her tomorrow, AJ is probably wondering where the hell I am right now… Oh and Rarity, can I ask you one more thing? I might need a spare set of clothes. With the way the case is going, we might be here longer than I originally thought and I’m going to have to do laundry tonight for sure.”
“I’ll send them as soon as I can. Filli-Second is out on patrol, so sending it to you may take longer than expected.” Lance nodded at that point, looking down to notice some of the greenery that had been lying through the cracks of the apartment… That though, made him think of a question to ask his teammates as he looked back at them.
“Hey… just out of curiosity… did Tree Hugger have any sort of powers when you two knew her?”
“No. Why?” Fluttershy asked.
“I was just curious… that’s all.” He said. “I’ll see you guys back in Maretropolis.” With that, the adept ended the call, sighing to himself as he looked back at Aurora. “Well that could’ve gone better… You ready to go back to AJ at HQ?”
“Yeah. What was that about Tree Hugger having powers? Dad told me she was basically Fluttershy’s damsel.”
“Well… Fluttershy said that Tree Hugger was suppose to be dead… but then I thought… Like how you used your powers to survive and escape dying and how Coloratura discovered hers when she felt in danger… what if it was the same thing for her? Did you happen to notice all the plants in her apartment?” The Adept asked her, causing the spirit to think a little.
“Lance, she’s a hippie, and her cutie mark is related to plants. Her name’s Tree Hugger for crying out loud! Not everyone has powers. I got mine through my parents, Coloratura got her’s because of a toxin.”
“You’re not getting my point… What if the plants… and nature… were her powers… Back home, there was a comic book character called Poison Ivy, who had control of those same abilities-.”
“Lance… Not everyone’s a supervillain. You’re not getting my point. I have a bunch of movies in my room. If you didn’t know I had a power, would you assume I have the ability to control movies?” Aurora groaned. “Sometimes, I wonder if you’re the real child. Lance, be realistic.”
“Aurora, it was just a thought that came up inside my head. It’s no big deal… Let’s just forget that I ever thought of it and move on. Applejack’s waiting for us to come back anyways.” The Adept insisted. “I’m sorry that if I’m boring you or anything like that, I just feel better when I get the chance to speak my mind a little. That’s all…”
“When you speak your mind, it’s always outlandish. Like Ash being related to Anarchy.” Aurora explained. “Next you’ll say the Animatronics killed Sassy Saddles.” That had Lance not say anything, causing Aurora to become a little concerned… until she realized something and put it together. “Oh come on…”
“Don’t give me that Lumen… I saw it for myself. One of my abilities with my powers is to see visions through my powers, whether that person is alive or dead. I used the same trick before I met you and just now, I saw two Animatronics kill Sassy Saddles. One of them being a Fluttershy without a foreleg and another one of them looking like Sunset Shimmer.” Lance explained. “You may not believe me, but I know exactly what I saw Lumen…”
With that, the Adept used his abilities to return back to HQ and to the room he was staying in. He personally was thinking of some things in order to get to the bottom of this case, but he did not want to resort to getting information from Roach. He was now only a last resort for if he had no other options when it came to a case. But trying to understand the Silvermine Incident and The Purple Mare’s involvement along with what happened was tricky… However, in order to understand it more… it seemed like he needed to understand more about spirits.
“Lumen… Can I ask you something?” The Azure Striker asked as he pulled up her screen on his gauntlet. “You told me before about the Purple Mare’s abilities, but could you give me a refresher real quick?”
“She can summon the souls of her victims.”
“Hmm…” He thought to himself, before asking something else. “Could she have them do anything? Other than what she did to me when she broke into the base like how you would control machines?”
“Kinda. More like how one would control another with a control chip.” Lumen said.
“So… Hypothetically speaking… She could force those souls to do things against their will?”
“Pretty much, but most of them seem to enjoy it.” Lance personally could disagree, but decided to focus on asking Aurora something else.
“Do you think it would be possible for her to have her put the souls of certain victims inside contraptions… Like you do with machines, but prevent them from getting out?”
“Oh my god… Lance, the souls aren’t controlling the Animatronics. You killed Purple, how the hay would she be able to fuse the souls she lost during our fight into a few robots thousands of miles away.”
“No I don’t mean then… Think about before then… Radiance said that the Silvermine incident was a failure and that they weren’t any survivors. It was an incident that the Purple Mare was involved in before I even arrived here.” He told her, allowing her time to process this information for herself.
“Lance… Just because Tree Hugger was abducted by Purple Mare doesn’t mean the two are connected.”
“That’s not what I mean… Are you thinking about the other victims?”
“Aren’t we talking about Sassy’s death?” Aurora asked. Lance sighed, fully taking a deep breath before continuing.
“What I’m talking about Aurora is that the victims from the Silvermine Incident had their souls robbed by the Purple mare and stuffed into the suits of the Animatronics. This would explain why there would be no survivors and also why I saw those same Animatronics kill Sassy Saddles… You don’t need to believe me if you want, but I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Even if I need to do it myself.”
Aurora sighed. “Lance, there were no survivors because Purple blew the mine up. The whole place collapsed.”
“That would be the case… but remember… Tree Hugger was suppose to be dead…” He replied back as he turned to see the new clothes that Rarity had sent to him. “There’s something about this that just bugs me… and not in a good way.”
“Why not ask Tree Hugger?” Aurora suggested.
That… was a good point. One that Lance originally overlooked. “... Good point.” Taking the card he was given, he took out his communications device and dialed her number, waiting for it to connect.
“Hello? This is Bolting Shadows office, would you like to speak to Tree Hugger or our president?” A mare asked.
“I would like to speak to Tree Hugger please.” Lance replied in response.
“One second…” The mare said. Then Tree Huggers voice was heard.
“Y-ello?” Tree Hugger asked.
“Hey Tree Hugger, it’s Lance from earlier today.” The Adept spoke, only to think that he was somehow calling at the wrong time, “ … I’m not interrupting anything now, am I?”
“Nah man, I’m free until the pizzeria is open. Though I might act as the new Night Guard.”
“New Night Guard?” Lance asked. “Man, and I was going to ask if I could come over. There was a few… things I was confused about while trying to process the information you told me about the place along with some other files and I wanted to see if we could somehow clear this up. You know… to avoid any confusion?”
“Sure. What do you wanna know?”
“Well, it’s kind of hard to explain over the phone, so would it be alright for me to meet you back at your place? I can be there in ten minutes if you need some time to get ready.” He asked, multitasking in the process as he looked over the new set of clothes that Rarity had sent him only about half an hour ago.
“Sure dude, my door’s unlocked.” Tree hugger hung up. Causing Lance in order to chuckle a little as he closed his communication device and went into the bathroom to change clothes. When he came out though, the outfit that he had on was one that really surprised Lumen based on his newfound appearance. His coat was now that of a navy blue shade along with some newfound features and a replacement for the clip that he had on the end of his braid.
“What do you think? I honestly did not expect for Radiance to have an entire spare outfit on hand… But then again, it is Radiance after all.” The Adept admitted as he looked back at Lumen, who was right now in the computer that was inside the room that Lance was staying in.
“Seems great!” Aurora said.
“Thanks. I’m glad to hear that,” He said as he holstered his weapons and looked back at her. “Well, I better get going. Think you can handle being here with AJ and the others while I’m gone?”
“Yep.” Aurora grinned.
“Alright. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” He assured her, but then looked back and added onto what he had already said. “Call me if anything happens okay?”
“Okay, but you do the same!” Aurora said happily. Lance smiled, nodding his head before leaving the facility and making his way back over to Tree Hugger’s place. Once there, Tree Hugger welcomed him back inside.
“Want a drink?” Tree Hugger asked.
“Do you have any water?”
Tree Hugger nodded. “Who doesn’t? Let me just get a bottle.” The mare trotted into the kitchen and returned with a water bottle. “The water this place provides doesn’t do good things to my temple, if you know what I mean.”
“Like doesn’t taste well?” The Adept asked as she handed him the bottle and opened it up.
“It isn’t healthy. I, like try to use my bits sparingly.” Tree Hugger explained.
“Water not healthy? Please don’t tell me this stuff is contaminated.” He thought to himself as he decided to close the bottle and set it on the coffee table. “So Tree Hugger, about what I was saying earlier…”
“...” Tree Hugger waited.
“You mentioned something about a Silvermine Incident briefly when talking about Saddle Rager and how you two… lost touch after that. I tried doing some research about it, but it was hard as hell to understand it because of how the report was formatted. Can you please tell me a little more about it so I could understand it better?” He asked politely, hoping for the result in the end to turn out positive.
“Sure man. Some confused mare took me captive along with a few others because of our relationships with the Power Ponies. She was planning on, like, killing us, but when she left, some radical ponies saved us.” Tree Hugger said.
Now THAT was the opposite of what he was told by Rarity and Fluttershy. “Could you describe this… confused mare for me?” The Adept asked her.
“She was purple… White eyes…” Alright, that was the Purple Mare. That he could tell. But one thing still bugged him though… and hopefully, Tree Hugger could answer that for him.
“Okay, and what about the ponies who saved you? Could you describe them?”
“Nah… I don’t see how that’s important to Sassy’s murder.” Tree Hugger said.
“Well, that didn’t work…” He thought to himself. Until he thought of an idea. “Good point… but there's been something that’s on my mind revolving this and also something I… well, saw in a vision.” He wasn’t quite sure if he would get her attention with that, but the thought of her saying about her Aura and everything else lead to him wanting to take a gamble with it. “Would you like for me to explain what I mean?”
“Sure, it’s always good to relieve one's troubles verbally.” Tree Hugger said.
“Well, when I work on cases like these… I have a special talent besides my normal abilities. That talent allows me to see visions of the last thing somepony see’s before they die… For the case of Sassy Saddles though… she was locked inside the restaurant, running away from an animatronic with a missing foreleg… Yes, you heard me right. I saw an Animatronic. The same ones you said you let walk around at night? Well, this one was chasing her and just before she died… She saw one other Animatronic… But this one… actually could speak… And looked similarly to a mare I know in Maretropolis.” The Adept explained fully, hoping not to confuse Tree Hugger in the process while he recalled everything for the mare. “Does that explain why I’m a little concerned?”
Tree Hugger scratched her head. “I suppose… Look man, how about you come in tomorrow night and check the place out. But, like, the only legal way to do that is becoming an employee.”
“Well, how exactly am I… wait a minute… are you suggesting that you hire me as a night guard?”
“Well yeah, tonight was Electric’s last week. I was gonna do it myself, like every week we don’t have a night guard, but I dislike working that late.” Tree Hugger stated. “I work day shift, so working both isn’t good for my aura.”
“Makes sense… So if I’m understanding it correctly, I’m going to be taking on the night shift for the week while I’m here?” He asked, thinking that this was temporary until either A; he would get to the bottom of this… or B; he was to go back to Maretropolis within five days. “Sounds like something I can handle.”
“Great dude. Come in tomorrow and I’ll see you then.” Tree Hugger smiled. Lance himself felt relieved that Tree Hugger was able to understand him and also very thankful that she had given him an opportunity to get to the bottom of this. It was progress, that was for certain. But as he walked all the way up to the top of the apartment, the Adept was unaware that somepony… else was there to greet him.
“So, you’re the one who’s been chasing me.” A synthetic, slightly female voice said. Lance turned around, only for his eyes to widen a bit at what he was seeing. He did not have much time to react though to those words as he felt an ear piercing screech go through him before being sent back a few feet near the edge of the rooftop.
Wiping the blood from his mouth that slowly dripped, he looked back at his attacker and grinned. “And you must be the Countess that I’ve heard about…”
“Countess Coloratura, pleasure is yours.” The Countess said, smirking herself. She coughed for a moment before returning her gaze back at the adept. “And you must-must be Gunvolt.”
“That I am… Are you okay? You sound like you’re sick.” Lance asked, unsure about if it was something with her voice or if the mare wasn’t feeling well.
“Why does that matter?” Countess asked. “Some of us had to deal with screaming for years.”
“What? Is it rude to be concerned?” Lance asked the mare. “I just thought that I would be polite.” He folded his arms and when Coloratura sighed deeply for a moment, the adept activated a beacon on his position to alert Applejack. Hopefully, she would get there in time, but right now, Lance had to find a way to stall her in the meantime. “However… I have a slight feeling that your version of getting acquainted with me is killing me right here.”
“You really are sharp.” Countess said, trotting closer. “I can’t have you interfering with our plan.”
“Hang on… Our plan? Would you happen to be working with someone other than those minions of yours that you have used before… or is it with somepony else entirely.”
Three more ponies appeared around Lance. One of them looked like Pinkie, but had an orange coat and darker orange mane with yellow highlights and ocean blue eyes. Another was cyan with a red mane, and the last was a white coat with a pink mane.
“Yeah… Somepony else entirely.” He said, cursing his bad luck at being outnumbered four to one and hoping that Applejack or someone else will show up soon.
“Allow me to introduce you to Bumblesweet, Magnet Bolt and Twinkleshine.” The Countess said. The last name just causing Lance to chuckle to himself as he looked back at them and laughed a little to himself in the process. This though, just angered the Countess and also confused her.
“Is my name funny to you!?” The pink maned Unicorn asked, glaring.
“Oh I’m sorry, your name just makes me think of a nursery rhyme that parents would tell their foals.” The Adept commented, not sure what kind of response he would get from the mare.
Twinkleshine growled. “You bucking jerk!”
Bumblesweet though, laughed. “He’s right, your name does suck!”
Magnet Bolt sighed. “Can we just kill the ape?” She raised her hoof, causing nearby metal objects to hover.
“Polarity? …… I’m tempted to say a certain joke on the subject, but I think I will wait on that matter.” He said to himself as he watched the mare float these metallic items around her.
Bumblesweet shook her puffy mane, and dozens of bees swarmed out of it. “Hope you aren’t allergic, beecause I’m ready to fight, honey.”
Lance had nothing to respond to that. But instead, he let the mares try and do their worst to him as the swarm was sent towards him along with the metal objects. As they made contact smoke was rising everywhere and it made it hard to see. But when the dust settled, the Adept was brushing the dust off of his jacket as bolts of electricity hovered around him.
“That did sting… a little…” He smirked, clenching his fists and planting his feet into the ground. “Now though… It’s my turn.”
“Nope!” Twinkleshine shouted, pulling out a greatsword and charging at Lance rapidly. He blinked behind her, using a ball of electricity to strike her from behind as he backpedaled to ready himself against the other ponies that were going to attack him. He was unfortunate enough to not realize his attack did nothing, and was sent flying by his own attack.
“Well, this is new… Even if lightning attacks aren’t as effective against me, she was able to rebound it back towards me… Need to be careful of that.” Lance thought to himself, shortly before noticing the other two ponies prepare a follow up attack to Twinkleshine’s deflection.
Bumblesweet sent large bees at Lance that somehow shot their stingers, which sparked as they flew at him. Magnet Bolt sent random pieces of garbage at him at lightning speed. The Adept was successful in dodging most of them while also switching clips to Dullahan in the process. His bolt clips would be ineffective here since Magnet could send the metal flying back towards him, but Dullahan was an energy based projectile. This worked out well in his favor when he shot a few rounds from both his weapons and broke Magnet’s concentration.
This was all for naught though as the Countess shot a focused sonic attack, which somehow caused Lance to become paralyzed. That worked for a bit… until a rocket propelled hoof smashed into the side of the Countess’ head. Turning, Lance soon saw Hiro and BAYMAX flying in on their location. “Well, looks like the Cavalry is here.”
The Countess only smiled wider. “Two down, five to go… You’re Hiro, correct?”
“And you’re the Countess.” Hiro responded. Only in that moment did Lance notice something. The Countess was actually amused when backup arrived instead of concerned or afraid… It felt like she wanted them to arrive.
“Hiro, something’s not right…”
“Oh please, we found her and she doesn’t seem too much to handle.”
“So… Where’s everypony else?” Countess asked, circling Hiro and BAYMAX. Only to feel herself get wrapped up as she was hogtied from behind.
“Sorry to disappoint you Coloratura, but it’s only us for tonight.” Lance looked up to see Applejack at the end of the Lasso as she tried to keep her friend secure.
“Hello AJ… It’s been a long time… How’s your brother?” Coloratura grinned evilly. Only leading to AJ smacking Coloratura with her hoof.
“Watch your tone with me, Coloratura… You have got a lot to answer for.” The mare snarled, looking back at Lance as the Adept was looking back at the three other ponies nearby. All who were equally surprised at the fact that somehow, other members of the Power Ponies showed up… and they didn’t know how he did it.
“I don’t have a tone anymore thanks to you Mistress Marevelous.” Coloratura said coldly. “This isn’t my voice. I lost that years ago.”
“Lance, watch them.” Applejack sternly growled, having him and Hiro watch her accomplices as the earth pony looked back at the Countess. “Now, start explaining why are you causing all of this… the robberies, the murders… everything. Explain now… because my patience with you is running thin…”
“Oh come on AJ, isn’t it obvious? I work for someone, like always.” The Countess laughed. “I made myself a deal with the Devil, and you’re all invited.”
“Enough talk, Who are you working for!?” Applejack growled, her grip on the lasso tightening as the rope began to compress around the countess.
“You wouldn’t and couldn't understand… I fear him more than I do you, friend.” That, caught Lance’s attention as he looked back at the Countess, walking towards her.
“And who would he be?” Lance then asked her, trying to see if the question asked from a different interrogator would provide better results.
“I’m already a dead mare…” The Countess said hollowly, and the group around them heard a beeping sound. “Boom…” Lance was caught off guard by this as Hiro and BAYMAX backed off, but he was trying to find out where it was coming from as he heard the beeping increase. “If you don’t comply with my demands, I’ll make a crater the size of this city. And now that I know you’re all here, I can safely say I’ve got two superhero teams. Tell them if I’m lying AJ.”
The mare herself was silent in response, but Lance himself took initiative, seeing that AJ’s silence was her saying that she was telling the truth, even if he personally thought that the mare was bluffing. Still holding onto his weapons, he then said something simple. “Name your terms.”
“Release prisoner zero from Elyse Asylum, bring me Bioloo, and give us the access codes for Paradise Tower.” The Countess said. “Oh, and also… I’m taking Mistress Marevelous as a hostage.”
“That wasn’t part of the plan.” Magnet said, glaring at the Countess. “I’m telling the boss.”
“Such a shame… You were very nice.” The Countess said. Magnet’s eyes widened and she tried to run, but the Countess shrieked directly at her head, which made her collapse. “Now, you have twenty-four hours to deliver all the aforementioned items here or I’m detonating the bomb.”
“Wait, there’s really a bomb!?” Bumblesweet yelped. “That’s what they injected us with!?”
“I don’t have codes on Paradise Tower… and what the hell is this prisoner zero you’re referring too?” Lance asked.
“Miss Filli-second knows the code. And go to the asylum to find out.” The Countess said, smirking and wrapping a foreleg around Applejack. “The timer starts… Now.” She said before disappearing with Applejack. Lance only had mere seconds to respond as he pulled up his communicator to contact Filli-Second.
“Filli-Second, we have an emergency!” Lance tried to contact them, only to not be successful. “Dammit…” It was around then that he noticed Twinkleshine and Bumblesweet had not left the scene… primarily because they seemed to be too terrified to do so… Especially when they just found out that a bomb was injected into their bodies without them knowing, but nevertheless soon escaped. Now… He was unsure what the hell he was going to do at this rate… But he couldn’t give up… not while he could still fight and do something.
Several hours had passed since being kidnapped by her friend and right now, Applejack would do anything to get out of the restraints that were placed on her to knock some sense into her friend. But she knew that anything she tried would be in vain. Her friend was long gone now… jumped fully off the deep end and not the same pony she knew.
“So AJ… I bet you’re wondering what I’m doing.” The Countess said, grinning triumphantly.
The mare stayed silent, stubborn as hell as she stared down her friend with eyes of anger and rage for what she did.
“Fine, don’t speak.” The Countess, her goons and Applejack had landed a helicopter outside of Paradise Tower. Applejack’s eyes widened when she saw a few familiar ponies…
“Oh look, it’s the original…” A mare that looked identical to her said. She wore a black stetson and vest. “Bet ya didn’t see this comin’.”
This mare was Marevolence. Like Blaster, she was a mare that was a doppelganger of herself. But how she was here was beyond her. Shortly though, the small group, lead by the Countess herself, had entered a building that was by Paradise Tower. They were to wait in the Cathedral that was next to the Tower while they were waiting on the Azure Striker. But shortly after they entered, all of them soon heard a feminine voice echo across the room
“Another set of lost souls, I see…” All of them turned around, only to find a tall, yet slender woman in a religious nun like outfit approach the group from behind.
“Damn it, I thought this place was abandoned!” Marevolence said. “And another damn ape!”
The Countess rolled her eyes at the clone. “Oh please, she’s just a nun… In a laboratory...”
“My my… It is rather rude to assume the worst of anyone based on first appearance.” The nun replied, holding a book in her hands as she looked at all of them… and then saw Applejack. “Especially when you are trying too hard in order to discipline someone by force… But I must ask… what brings you here at this hour? Is there something you are looking for?”
“We’re waiting for the Gunvolt to deliver… Some stuff…” Bumblesweet said, only for the Countess to glare.
“Hmph… I see… And what would be the end result that you all seek?” Something did not seem right to Applejack at this point… like the one who was speaking now was… hiding who she really was. She could tell by her words. “Is it strength… power… revenge… or is it an item that can grant all three?”
“Yes… Why do you ask?” The Countess asked, narrowing her eyes.
“My oh my… Is it wrong to be just a little curious?” She asked. “Besides… I’ve never actually had visitors in a long time. Too long in fact.”
“Well… I’m Countess Coloratura, this is Bumblesweet, Twinkleshine, Mistress Marevolence and Mistress Marevelous.” The Countess remarked. Marevolence didn’t trust the nun.
“Nice to meet you!” Bumblesweet said, beaming. “Is it true that there’s something called the Left Eye around this place?”
“Hmm… I see… But if you are here for the Left Eye… Then you’ve made a grave mistake coming here.” Within seconds, the woman flipped the book into the air before having it be sent at Bumblesweet’s head at rocket speeds. With another few quick motions, the nun that was thought to be showed her true colors… as her left eye gave off a sinister glare. “For you see… I am the bearer of the Left Eye…” A smash of her foot broke Applejack’s restraints as four guns soon can be seen on both her hands and feet. “And besides this one here… you all have met a terrible fate, haven’t you?”
“... Buck, this was just supposed to be a simple grab!” Marevolence shouted. “We haven’t even gotten into the tower and already Bumblebrain bucked up!” She only had seconds to react as the newfound opponent dashed at her at blinding speed, striking her up close with a series of chained kicks. Even if that mare was able to block most of them, she still did not expect the giant oversized fist that was going at her.
The Countess though, was able to shout her out of the way. “Get to the tower!”
Marevolence, Twinkleshine and Coloratura retreated. “We never wanted your stupid eye!” The pinkette shouted. Only for Bayonetta to reappear in front of her and shoot at her point blank.
“If it were so… then I would’ve let you go… However… you f***ed up a second time…” The Witch warned them. “You dare mess with my son…” The hairs on her body began to move as she called upon Inferno to summon a vicious beast. “... And I’ll let Gomorrah feast upon your damned souls.”
“W-we w-wouldn’t h-harm a hair o-on his h-head…” Twinkleshine gulped.
“Oh really… I think the mare I freed could say otherwise…” She said as the beast that was Gomorrah roared and unsheathed its fangs.
“N-no! It’s true, he attacked us!” The Countess added. “He’s f-fine… I m-may have made it so he couldn’t move for a minute, but that’s it!” That was when Gomorrah disappeared, but Bayonetta grabbed Coloratura by the neck and pointed a gun to her head.
“You try hurting the Adept again… and you’re going to have to deal with more than just me… Got that?” She threatened.
“Y-yes…” The Countess stuttered as Twinkleshine left and Marevolence grabbed Bumblesweet and ran out. The Witch sighed, looking back at Applejack as she just stared at her, slack jawed.
“Who or what the bloody hell are ya?” Applejack asked.
“That… is a long story… But can you do me a favor and keep a secret?” She asked. The mare nodded as the two of them were talking for a bit, filling each other in on what was happening before Bayonetta asked if she could keep their meeting a secret. She did not want to startle Lance right now… Especially not with everything that was going on and the last thing she wanted to do was distract her son.
Because she had warned the mare that this was only the start of an even bigger plan that was set in motion.
Unknown Location
The Countess breathed heavily, barely able to keep herself together. What was that? Fear for her life? No… It couldn’t have. She wanted to die, she was too tired to go on for much longer.
She noticed a group of ponies outside Paradise Tower’s entrerance. The Power Clones, the clones of the Power Ponies stood at attention. They looked like mercenaries since their leader, Blaster, was gone. Then there was Symphony and Fiddly Faddle, looking demented as always with the cult’s second in command, Shadowmere. And then there were the Wondercolts. Their leader, Sophistica AKA Bleak and her group, Heath Burns AKA Inferno, Tennis Match AKA Hardball, and Captain Planet… That was it, he used his actual, retarded name.
And finally… Raider… Her boss.
She wasn’t happy.
“What were you doing!? Who the buck knows that b*tch will do to our operations!” Raider’s yellow eyes glowed. “And calling all of us here wasn’t part of the plan!”
“With the loss of our benefactors, and the Shadowbolts and Sumeragi moving in on our turf, and the fact that the Power Ponies, I thought-”
“You didn’t consult me. We’re bucking vulnerable!” Raider snapped, then sighed, trying to keep calm. “Get everyone inside… Other than that, you did good.”
Coloratura nodded and prepared the elevator. The leaders went in first with her while Raider stayed behind.
Once everyone but Raider and the Power Clones were inside, the six mares sat and waited.
Twilight’s clone, Echolight, also known as Flamestorm, was… On fire and wearing glasses. Pinkie Pie’s clone was a darkly clad mare, her face hidden by what looked like a hockey mask and large yellow goggles. She wasn’t given a normal name like Flamestorm, but was known as Filli-Minute. Rarity’s clone was a grey version of the real thing, emotionless and bland, she was the same as Filli-Minute as her only know name was Dullness. Fluttershy’s clone was… Unique, compared to the others. Only Flamestorm and her shared something in common with their original selves, as Flamestorm was a bookworm and Fluttershy’s clone was timid and oddly kind. But the most noticeable thing was that she wore a pure white cloak, and wielded a long, silver claymore. She was only known as Claymore.
“So… How are you girls?” Marevolence asked awkwardly.
“Horrible.” Dullness replied boredly.
“Okay, thanks for asking.” Flamestorm said.
“... Fine…” Claymore stated quietly.
But Filli-Minute was staring straight ahead, not paying attention to the others. She was looking forward to the inevitable fight. To prove she was better that Filli-Second.
“Ooooooookay… You know, I realized...” Marevolence said.
“What?” Flamestorm asked.
“That I forgot how much I hate Dullness…” Marevolence said, while the others nodded. Even as all the ponies gathered and talked amongst themselves, nopony could shake the feeling that somehow… something was watching them… All of them… Including their boss as she turned around, thinking that something was behind her.
“Who’s there?” Raider asked, surveying the area. Silence continued to linger for a moment, but upon turning around, her eyes widened upon the figure that somehow entered their base undetected.
“Good evening, everypony… I don’t intend to bring any harm.” It was Nova… the one in charge of Sumeragi. But how he got in here or why he was here in the first place was beyond everypony.
“So you’re Nova… I’ve heard a lot about you.” Raider said.
“The same goes for you… I can even recognize a few familiar faces of some of the prisoners of the Zero Zone I… liberated.” He said, for the lack of a better term. “However, I’m here for my own reasons and, if you hear me out, I think it can benefit both of our causes… Data? If you may please…” Some of the ponies looked at each other in confusion, only to be beyond stunned when they saw a pony dressed in black and Neon green with a set of eyes that were similar to the Purple Mare. Except that the eyes were the same as the mane… and it emerged straight out of the goggles that Filli-minute had around her neck.
“Whoa- ah!” Filli-Minute yelped.
“This is Code Cracker… or as he was known as before being locked away, Data Breach. Once a Hacker, he is now an adept with powers revolving around Code, tech and machines, even going as far as going through active networks itself to infiltrate security networks… Which of course brings me to this.” He said, looking back at them. “I want your group and mine to become partners… and I think I have exactly the right bargaining chip for this kind of deal.”
“Oh? You’ve got my interest…” Raider said. “Go on.”
“Well… Code recently informed me of a mission that went… sideways. After something in particular with a prisoner in the Zero Zone I believe it was?” Nova’s words caused Coloratura and a few of the other ponies that came back recently to blush in embarrassment. “Well… Maybe this could be useful.” From his horn, Code had bits and blocks of pixels from his body take form and solidify into a small device that resembled a USB flash drive.
“... Be clear with what you have. Do not hold it back.” Raider said.
“Now now… Think clearly… What do you think Code might’ve retrieved that would be essential to your cause?” Nova asked them, only causing Raider’s eyes to widen.
“The codes?” Raider asked.
“Exactly… And there’s more to it… You see, there’s this lawyer named Lauren Order that has what would be phrased as a Suicide Squad at her disposal. Both her and the Power Ponies are thorns in my side… Plus, if I remember it correctly…” She said, looking at Filli-minute and Marevolence. “One of it’s members, Anti-Zapp, is responsible for the tragic defeat of a friend you knew… Blaster I think her name was?”
Filli-Minute snarled, and Marevolence, Flamestorm and Claymore seemed to tense.
“This Suicide Squad has hindered my plans… And the Power Ponies killed a friend of a friend…” Raider smirked.
“Which brings me to my offer… We form a coalition to help each other’s causes… and the codes you need and the data Code managed to acquire is yours to keep. All I ask is that we work with one another and not share any secrets between each other that could hinder our future success.” The Adept asked. “I have several ponies who are Adepts that are on my side and also have equipment that could be beneficial for future encounters… Plus, we are developing some ace’s that might be to the liking of some of you.”
“Hmm… Seems we may have ourselves an alliance. Now, how are we supposed to know the other is telling the truth?” Raider asked as Filli-Minute swiped the code and went into the elevator. “Don’t mind her, she just wants to use the codes.”
Nova just grinned, all before a screen popped from Code as it showed a line moving up and down like a heartbeat monitor in a hospital. “Data here has been scanning my pulse and others in the vicinity since the start of this conversation. Any spikes in the heartbeat mean that something is being hidden.”
“Yet, the only thing is that she doesn’t have a heartbeat… or possibly… no heart at all.” Code growled, looking at the mare.
“What can I say? I died a long time ago… Or I was born without a heart.” Raider grinned. “But I can assure you, my goals are nowhere near as… Grand as yours. What is your goal?”
“My goal you say… Well, it is to simply help guide those who are lost. I’ve met many through my time here and have helped several. But I ultimately believe that in order to help everyone… I must have no opposition. We may discuss your goals another time, but I don’t believe you answered my question… Do you agree to these terms?” He said one last time, offering an outstretched hand for her to shake.
The mare placed her dark blue hoof in his hand. “I agree…”
Nova smiled, looking back at the mare as he grinned a little. “I’m glad you are on board with this new coalition… Now… I should get the chance to introduce you to the rest of my… companions.”
End Strike 39
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Uh oh... It's the Rouge's gallery!
Dun dun dun!
I just had an Idea.
Have the new axis(I'm just calling them that) have to fight this girl
encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQQ8JIKYc6utDctDCskUuoazPYKoqXIGtpVqgjfxugaBqEt-K2Y
Is Fluttershy's clone appearance based on characters from the manga series Claymore?
7180059 Pretty much. I've got an image of each one. (I'm the one who made the Power Clones and what iron calls the Axis. As well as pretty much a lot of stuff in the past few chapters.)
7178354 ... Why?
7183734 Why the hell not?
encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSsP1twy4iwZlWsooRBxiRkxjJ-7fkAK50LHBXnQqbwPb08HELeDg
7183768 Can't really argue with that.
Also why is corrupted Rainbow Dash from Seeds of Darkness in this?