> Dream Realm Destroia: Equestria > by RowanSkie > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1 - Arrival > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “That isn’t natural!” a pegasus named Rainbow Dash shouted as she and her pony friends struggled to keep the balloon stable where they were in. “Nopony could’ve done that!” “Can’t we go around it?” a unicorn, Rarity, suggested over the roaring of the wind. “TRY TO GO AROUND IT!” Their navigator and leader, Twilight Sparkle, was staring right at the tornado that was obstructing their path. She peered over the edge and looked straight down at the sea, something that their shy pegasus friend Fluttershy hated to do. While their rainbow-maned friend was struggling with the tornado, Twilight decided to tie a rope to her body, to the balloon, and then jumped. “Twilight!” a country-looking earth pony named Applejack shouted as she watched Twilight jump into the eye of the tornado. “Rainbow, Twilight just went into the tornado! Do somethin’!” Rainbow Dash flew and tried to pull Twilight back only to get the whole balloon thrown into chaos and inside the tornado. Two Days Before… (Golden Oaks Library, The Pony Nation of Equestria) Twilight Sparkle was empty. Figuratively empty. She groaned after trying to remember a piece of her dream which she was documenting into a book, much to Spike’s warnings about writing books and how bad it can be. As soon as she remembered what she was about to write, she quickly wrote it down and pasted it on a blank book which had then become her most valuable treasure. She only needed a few pages left before she was to give it to her mentor so that she could check if it was enough. She closed the book and called her faithful assistant, a baby dragon named Spike. “Spike, anything new in Ponyville?” Twilight asked as he walked up to her. “Any letters?” “Hmm.” Spike looked at the closed book and burped out a letter. “Speak of the discord, here’s a letter from Princess Celestia.” “Huh.” They both opened the letter together. As Twilight read the letter, she told his assistant to take a break. It always worked. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I know you are currently busy in your studies in friendship, but can I ask you one simple request? I need you to head towards Horseshoe Bay with your friends. I will be supplying more directions as soon as you arrived. Your mentor, Princess Solar Celestia. PS: The book is needed. Bring it with you. “Solar Celestia,” Twilight repeated. ‘How did Princess Celestia know a character from my dreams? She must’ve seen a part of it when I showed it to her. Sneaky.’ She immediately took her saddlebag with her unicorn magic and packed the book. She took another glance at the letter and left the study room where she wrote the book and headed towards Sugarcube Corner, a bakery where one of her best friends, an earth pony named Pinkamena Diane Pie shortened to Pinkie Pie lived. As soon as she entered, the bakery’s owners, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, noticed the book. “You’re still writing about that?” Mrs. Cake asked as she lended Twilight a slice of cake which she happily ate. “It’s giving me the creeps.” “Why tho?” Twilight asked over the small bites. “It’th just a book.” She gulped. “It’s just a book I‘m writing for Princess Celestia.” Mr. Cake looked at the spine. “It’s not named ‘Universes of the Dream Realm’, right?” Twilight stopped. “How did you know?” The owners looked at each other before they pulled a secret lever from one of the cake stands and gave Twilight a small notebook with the same name. Twilight opened it to find the exact same text she had on her book project. “How did you know it?” Twilight asked as she turned the pages to scan the book. “It’s exactly like mine!” “You see,” Mr. Cake replied. “It’s…” “Mhm?” Twilight waited for the response. “It’s what?” “It’s nothing,” Mrs. Cake replied. “Now, I can hear Pinkie coming down, why don’t you both skedaddle? I’m pretty sure she was the reason you’re here, right?” “How about the cake slice?” Twilight protested. “What can I do about it?” “It’s a sample. You like it, right?” Mr. Cake disappeared into the kitchen as soon as he saw Twilight nod. After Mrs. Cake left as well, Twilight had enough time to think about the events that had just been laid down and stared at the notebook that was in front of her. She read it again. And again. And again. Written by The Stargazer Mrs. Cake The Stargazer? Twilight made note of the name and hid the book underneath the table as Pinkie hopped past her. She quickly rose her head and caught Pinkie right before she left Sugarcube Corner. “Pinkie!” Twilight called. “Call the others, I think we all need a talk.” Today. (???, ???) Twilight Sparkle woke up coughing sand and saltwater out from her mouth. She stood and the first thing she remembered was a tornado. A tornado, a blue hoof tugging on her rope, and a hot air balloon. Five figures, a white one, an orange blur with a brownish blur above it, a pink one, a yellow and pink one, and a bluish one. Her mind readjusted the memory and everything was now clear as the day. She stood and looked around, immediately knowing that they were on a beach since she just coughed sand and water out. Along the shoreline, she noticed the white unicorn pony, Rarity, and Fluttershy. But she couldn’t find the Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie. Realizing that she might’ve lost them forever with no way home, she tried her best not to panic. This was no time to panic. She needed to find the others first and foremost. Then she could panic. Or she could make sure she and the two are fine and they have enough materials for a search, then she could panic. Or maybe she shouldn’t panic at all and try to take things logically… if she knew where she was, that is. The only thing she recognized for the moment is her friends and a bunch of equipment that seemed to be navigational tools from the balloon. “Okay, Twilight, don’t panic,” she told herself as she trotted over the equipment. “Let’s see, there’s my telescope, the book, my sextant, Pinkie’s party cannon, Rarity’s make up kit, and my pony travelling kit. And… This. How did this…get here?” Twilight pulled out a saddlebag which was half-buried and removed the sands covering it. “It looks familiar for some reason…” Twilight shrugged the familiarity and wore the saddlebag and all of the surviving equipment into it, then walked back towards Fluttershy and Rarity. As soon as she took another step, she saw Rarity sit and squint her eyes as the sun was right behind Twilight, giving the lavender unicorn a slightly ticklish feeling. ‘I never felt the sun this ticklish!’ She went toward Rarity and gave the make up kit, immediately filling Rarity with joy. “I thought I lost this!” Rarity hugged Twilight. “But wait! Where are the others!? What happened to the Twinkling Balloon?” “I guess it split into two,” Twilight hypothesized, freeing herself from Rarity’s slightly suffocating hug. “And now, I guess we need to survive for the night. And then we need to find the others using a scrying spell. Then learn where we are right now.” “I think the answer of where we are lies on the landmarks, dear.” Rarity’s eyes landed on a mountain inland as she took notice of the surroundings. “Isn’t that Mount Verley?” “Mount Verley?” Twilight looked on the same mountain. “If that’s Mount Verley, then we must be…” The pair’s eyes landed on the book and then into each other as realization dawned on the both of them, ignoring the third set of eyes. “Dream Realm Destroia?” “Dream Realm Destroia.” Without a moment’s notice, the two finally noticed Fluttershy who was staring at the two unicorn ponies. "Um… What’s going on Twilight?" She asked, unsure of the situation that was at hoof as she shrugged off the sands from her wings. "We're in Dream Realm Destroia, Fluttershy! That's what’s going on!" Twilight replied, nervousness clear in her voice. "B-but Twilight... If that's true then we're..." "We're what dear? You must speak up," Rarity said as she shifted nervously at the her timid friend's reaction. "Well, if that's true, then how are we in Dream Realm Destroia? I thought we can only visit this place by going to sleep?” … … “Are you okay, Twilight?” … and then Twilight Sparkle panicked. > 2 - Reunion > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack blinked and stared at each other as they walked around a small clearing they woke up in. They could have sworn that they heard a friend of theirs. It almost sounded like their bookworm friend was having trouble with her friendship letters again.Then they heard another voice which sounded more like the shriek of a certain fashionista pony. It sounded like somepony must have messed up her mane.  Rainbow Dash chuckled at the thought of her friends misfortune. “So it seems like they’re alright,” Applejack noted. “Let’s go, ponies.” “You? You’re leading?” Rainbow indecorously asked. “I thought I was the leader!” Before Applejack and Rainbow Dash could start into a fight, Pinkie Pie immediately noticed a cloth sticking out from one of the trees around them. She approached it, poked it, then quickly came to the two with a wide grin on her face. It was also just in the right timing as the country mare and the athletic pegasus paused. “Hey girls,” Pinkie began, hopping up and down. “I just found the balloon! Or, well, parts of it! Let’s try to salvage something out of it! Maybe your ropes are there, Applejack!” “If you say so,” they both replied as the group headed towards the suspicious cloth. Applejack was the first to recognize it. “Huh,” Applejack tugged the cloth until something got dislodged and fell out into the clearing where they were. “Would you look at that.” Rainbow Dash pulled out a thick, unfinished book and opened it and began to read only to have the book taken by Pinkie Pie who quickly shoved it into her saddlebag. Rainbow was about to complain until another huge cloth flew over her, surprising Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “I think we hit a blue tiny horse with colorful mane with that piece of balloon,” Rarity said to Twilight Sparkle as their group approached the Forests of Firea. “This is what you call the Firea Forest, right darling?” “Yup,” Twilight replied, still recovering from the panic attack. “The Forest of Firea is found near the border of Satyrn Beach and stretches until the city of Litteroot.” “I thought it was the town of Litteroot,” Fluttershy corrected as she tugged their salvaged equipment. Twilight blinked and then nodded. “Right, sorry. I just still can’t believe we’re here. I mean, I’ve been trying to remember the dreams of when I was here just to finish my book…” “We know Twilight.” Rarity squinted as something headed towards them. “We got something coming!” Pinkie Pie ran towards three figures that seemed was approaching them until she approached them instead. “What!? Where?” She knew those voices. She recognized the voices. “Fluttershy, quickly, give me my travelling bag!” The voices seemed to be drawing closer in every step of the way. ‘Because I’m approaching them, d’oh!’ she told to herself. “Stop! Whoever’s there!” Pinkie Pie didn’t stop, even if the speaker sounded like… “Twilight!?” … Pinkie found herself above Twilight Sparkle who seemed to be not amused by the turn of events. She stood, stepped away, stared at the other group, pulled out the thick book she knew Twilight made from her saddlebag, looked straight at Rarity, grinned, looked away, and quickly ran as she giggled all the way. Applejack felt movement and quickly went into a defensive stance only to learn that it was just Pinkie Pie moving through the forest. Sighing in relief, she approached Pinkie Pie. “What was it that you saw Pinks?” Applejack asked. “Oh, nopony,” Pinkie replied. “Nopony but our missing friends! GIRLS, COME OVER HERE!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened as three ponies went out into the clearing. (Horseshoe Bay, Equestria) Princess Celestia was not happy about the turn of events happening over her nation since her little ponies learned that Twilight ‘went missing’ after heading straight into a freak hurricane in the middle of the Celestial Sea. If she only would have gone to Canterlot and explained what happened and how it could be resolved… But no, she insisted her guards that she’d stay here in Horseshoe Bay. She falsely explained that she’ll investigate the mysterious hurricane herself, without guards. Most of the Royal Guard followed her orders, all except for a unicorn Captain named Shining Armor. “You know Cadance told me that you sometimes do this stuff just to hide the truth, right?” Shining explained the Princess. “What happened to my sister?” “She’s…” Princess Celestia looked in the direction of the sea. “She’s fine, Shining. You may leave.” “Auntie,” a voice called out from the shorelines. “I didn’t expect you and Shining here!” The pair looked over the west side to find a pink princess wearing beach dress and drenched in saltwater. Shining giggled at the sight while Princess Celestia tried to resist the urge to laugh and ended up chuckling instead. The pink princess stared at herself and joined in on the laughter. “Wow,” Shining commented between giggles, “Cadance, I didn’t know you liked the beach.” “How come I didn’t notice you there?” Celestia asked just after she stopped chuckling. Cadence pointed to the small camp located right at the edge. “That, and we also found a balloon torn into two with a few ponies in it.” Celestia’s eyes widened and quickly teleported to the location she pointed, leaving Shining Armor and his wife in the shore. “Tell me dear,” Shining Armor asked. “Did the ponies that you found look familiar at all to you?” Cadence shrugged. “I don’t know. My bodyguards just found the balloons, and I only got a glimpse of the scene. Why?” He looked at her. “I think my sister’s in there, with her friends.” “Oh.” Princess Cadence looked at Shining. “Really?” “Well, there were reports of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony being lost at sea after their balloon crashed somewhere…” The couple then ran towards Princess Cadence’s camp. They found that Princess Celestia was reading a letter and was…crying? In front of her were six bodies laid out in six tables, each one of them having life support. Shining approached the Solar Princess the same time she turned around, accidentally scaring the unicorn guard and the alicorn princess, causing them both to jump slightly. Princess Cadence and a few watching guards couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. “Wha– wai– Oh.” Celestia recognized Shining Armor. “Events happen so fast, don’t they?” As Shining nodded, Princess Cadance’s eyes landed on the letter her aunt was reading. “What are you reading?” Cadence asked as she took the letter and saw who wrote it. “What in Equestria!?” Shining took the letter from his princess wife and read it aloud. To Princess Celestia, I’m very sorry about their Equestrian bodies, especially if they end up having no legs, broken bones, broken wings and horn, and everything else that might have happened to them. I know that you sent them here for the wrong reasons, but I tell you, I gave you the wrong reason as well. The true reason I needed the Elements for Harmony is… They’re back. The same reason you and Princess Luna were sent here before is the same true reason I needed their help. The Spirits of Evil have returned to ravage this poor realm. For now, you can either also come here and help, or guard the bodies against those who try to destroy them. See you soon. A future friend, Twilight Sparkle IX PS: Captain Shining Armor, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, try to give respect next time when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna talk about dreams, please? My brother here, King Armor the 15th, gets a lot of headaches. Shining Armor read the letter again silently. And again. And again. And again until his mind couldn’t bear the confusion. He gave out a “What?” afterwards. > 3 - Rescue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So…what’s the plan, sugarcube?” Applejack asked after Twilight’s group explained the situation at hoof. “Besides finding a way home and repairin’ the balloon, that is.” “We write ourselves a letter?” Fluttershy suggested, trying to keep her voice loud enough. “Oh, how about we find shelter! Twilight, you’re the only one who knows this place so why don’t you lead us? You must know the best place to stay.” “I could, but it would be better to try and tell Princess Celestia we’re fine. If we even can that is.” Twilight pulled out a scroll and a strange quill, but it had a circular base with the usual pointy tip of a normal quill. “What’s that you’re usin’ Twilight?” asked the Ponyville’s resident apple farmer and the bearer of Element of Honesty. “Oh this?” Twilight raised the strange quill for them to show. “This is a fountain pen! I made it specifically for the journey,” Twilight responded with a bright smile before she quickly got back to writing their letter. As Twilight wrote the letter, a curious adventurer pegasus was trying to get a better look at the new ‘fountain pen.’ Rainbow Dash was trying to nonchalantly inspect the pen, but she didn’t want them to think she was an egghead too. Twilight eventually finished writing so Rainbow had to back off, only to accidentally fly into an old sign.Twilight took note of the sign and inspected it. She was elated at Rainbows discovery. “Rainbow! Do you know what this is?” Twilight said. “A sign?” “Yes, but it's more than that!” Ruins of the Ancient City of Firea Ahead -Litteroot Town Council “Whatever does it mean?” Rarity asked. “It either means we’re going to an awesome ruins of a city or we’re heading straight into a big trap,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Let me check.” She flew up only to be stopped by Applejack who pointed towards a large, shiny, capsule-like metal being with wings on its side and tail in the sky.  Twilight chuckled at the act and stared right at the path and followed it. The others follow until they reached a bridge where another sign was laid beside it. Beware the Vine Mark -Litteroot Town Council “Vine mark?” Twilight repeated before she continued. The others followed until they reached an old tower where they decided to take shelter for a while. As they recovered, all of them couldn’t help but notice that Twilight was rewriting most of the pages of her book. After Twilight finished, she stared at what seemed to be an old control panel and flipped a switch on. “What are you doing?” Applejack suspiciously asked. “Testing to see if this tower could teleport us towards Litteroot Town,” Twilight replied as she pressed a set of buttons on the old control panel. “Besides, I’m also trying to guess the correct combination so that we can send letters to Princess Celestia. If I’m not wrong, this tower is called a Dream Realm Pylon Tower.” After Twilight messed with the control panel, a bolt of electricity zapped Pinkie Pie, who was investigating the floor of the room they were in. Applejack, being the one to witness the pink pastry pony getting shocked, immediately called the others to help save Pinkie. “Pinkie just got stuck by some weird, freaky lightnin’!”Applejack explained. “We need to make sure she’s okay.” Twilight then turned to the rest of the group. “Rainbow Dash, you’re on on guard duty. Rarity, get my first aid kit. Fluttershy and Applejack come with me. If we can save her right now, we must hurry!” Everypony followed Twilight’s orders while Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy went to save Pinkie. Rarity looked at Pinkie and then leaned on closely only to get a slight shock. Pinkie Pie stood, surprising the rest. “Are you okay, Pinkie?” Rarity checked. Pinkie Pie looked at the others before she fell to the floor again, her eyes opened. Twilight took a small popsicle stick from her first aid kit and poked Pinkie. She waited for Pinkie to react. It took a few minutes for Twilight to conclude that Pinkie was alive and well again which everypony was glad for. Unknown to them, Pinkie was having trouble dealing with a special and more recent memory that had suddenly surfaced thanks to the surprise lightning bolt.. “So, Twilight Sparkle, before I go…” “Yes, Pinkie?” “I… Thank you for all of this. It was fun to learn that the alternate universe you is different from my Twily.” “Why was it fun, anyway?” “The way you act, the way you talk, the way you took out that evil Nightmare, of course! It totally reminds me of the old times.” “Old times. Did you know that my home universe only appeared after Dream Realm Destroia was replenished? And it only diverged when I got to marry a unique pegasus?” “It… was!? Oh my gosh! Then I really need to get back now!” “Why? Why do you— Oh, so that’s what happened. You were zapped by a spiri-quantum lightning bolt that sent you here! Why haven’t I thought of that?” “Maybe because it was locked on the memories so that it wouldn’t destroy the timeline?” “Huh, and then make it more fun to see clues. Nice guess.” “Yeah… I gotta go. Bye, Harmonist!” “Goodbye, Pinks!” ‘Don’t mess with the timeline,’ she thought. “Hey girls, why are you looking like that? Don’t we have something to do?” “Uh… we don’t exactly know what to do,” Fluttershy complained. “That’s easy!” Pinkie looked at the flooring. “We follow the map!” Everypony then looked at the flooring. Twilight facehooved as she didn’t notice the floor pattern and how it was shaped like a map. Back in the real world at Horseshoe Bay, Equestria Princess Celestia watched Pinkie’s body convulse and move then return to normal. She looked up, giggled, then went away to take a few donuts from one of her little ponies’ favorite donut shops in Canterlot. midway, she stopped, and then whispered something to the air. “You are not escaping this time, old friend.” Now back to the group at Litteroot Town, Eraida, Dream Realm Destroia “Hey!” Twilight excitingly called. “We’re here at Litteroot Town! This is my favorite place among the five capitals of Dream Realm Destroia.” The six gazed over the size of the town which was big. “That’s a huge town.” Pinkie called out. “How will we know where’s where and which is which?” “I really don’t understand why you Dreamers are like that.” said voice out of nowhere, interrupting Twilight’s answer. “She’s random. Fun, but random!” another voice shouted back. “Whatever Diane,” a third voice replied. “Don’t you guys notice that something is weird? For some reason our Dreamers seemed to be right in here, right now?” The six ponies listened as they went closer to the source of the conversation only to spot five ape-like clothed beings Twilight recognized. Pinkie herself also recognised these beings, but she didn’t want to let the others know that she knew what was going on. “Soiras,” Twilight notified her friends. “I think that’s our Soiras,” Pinkie whispered. Fluttershy raised her hoof and asked, “what’s a Soira?” Twilight looked at Fluttershy. “They’re beings we use in this place when we sleep. Most of the time they’re humans, but sometimes they accept other forms.” “Maybe we should go talk to them?” Rainbow Dash suggested. Rarity looked at the Soiras before looking at Rainbow Dash. “It looks like our only option…” Before the others went out of their hiding to meet the Soiras, Pinkie Pie first went out and went towards the pink-clothed one and poked her. The Soira looked back and stared at Pinkie for a few seconds before they both jumped in joy, confetti filling the air around them. As they introduced themselves to each other and to the rest of the Soiras, Pinkie Pie called the others to come out. Twilight Sparkle was the first to appear. “Hello,” she greeted. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The Soira that resembles a human Rarity bowed down. “Nice for you to be here, dearie.” The Soira that looked like Fluttershy walked closer. “Uh…” “Uh…” Fluttershy looked at her Soira before she spotted something in the air. “Ooh! Are those butterflies?” Everyone in the area stared at the sight and backed away as it landed. A few seconds later, the butterflies disappeared, only to show a Soira that looked like Twilight Sparkle. ‘I didn’t get any part of this!’ Pinkie thought to herself. ‘I hate the future!’ ‘That’s not my Soira…’ Twilight thought. “Who are you?” The Soira opened her eyes as it flashed green. “I’m sent by the Queen to escort our… guests in.” The ponies went behind their Soiras except for Twilight and Pinkie Pie. As Twilight thought of a plan, Pinkie Pie pulled out Twilight's book, opened it to a page, and recited a strange verse. After doing so, Pinkie slammed the book shut and everypony and their Soira was teleported to the Dream Realm Pylon Tower of Litteroot. The Soira that was supposed to be Twilight's suddenly shimmered as its image was replaced with the group's old nemesis that fed off of other ponies love. “You!” Chrysalis pointed to Pinkie. “How did you do it? It’s impossible to cancel out a changeling’s disguise!” “I just did a simple teleport!” Pinkie defended. “Why are YOU here?” The changeling queen was about to answer until she fixed her posture and bowed down. “Do whatever you must.” “Blast her with the Elements!” Rainbow Dash’s Soira excitingly suggested. “But how?” Rainbow Dash asked. Pinkie’s Soira, Diana, went up and explained. “By summoning them! We’re under one of the biggest imagination-come-real areas of DRD!” “Oh.” Twilight thought about having the Element of Magic crown on her head and promptly it appeared. She watched the others summon their Elements and then faced Chrysalis. “Just hit me and end this nightmare!” she shouted. Clearing in a Forest near South Lunar Sea, Equestria. “It’s been a while since we’ve used this,” Luna told the air as she pulled out a thick book from an enchanted tree. “I wonder if this still works.” “It will work, I am sure of it,” a small voice answered from her head. “You just need your sister.” “I guess we’ll wait,” Luna replied. She opened the book in page one. “Twilight doesn’t know that Destroia’s real, not just a visitable Dream Realm. Lucky her, she’ll be able to learn it the easy way… from me.” “You don’t say,” Celestia replied as she landed beside her, eating donuts. She raised up a box and offered, “want some?” “Don’t mind if I do, Tia.” Luna took the donut box, opened it, and took out a glazed moon donut, and ate it. “So, are you ready?” “Thure, let’th do it.” Celestia gulped. “Sure, let’s do it.” She moved the donut box aside and cleared the area they were in. “The last time we did this, Starswirl was the one who casted the portal open. Can you do it, Lulu?” “Don’t worry about it Celestia,” Luna replied as she placed the book in the middle. “You’ll see.” Princess Luna lit up her horn. As soon as she began to cast a spell, Celestia recognized the color Luna’s horn was and quickly stepped back. She looked around and then realized something. “STOP!” She shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice. “SOMETHING’S WRONG!” Luna stopped at the book began to levitate, causing it to fall and open in a rather unusual number. Celestia quickly dived in but it was too late. A memory surfaced as she was hit by a magic beam. “The best way to guarantee that the portal is fine is that the book is never opened to page 55, 57, and 63.” “Why, Ms. Sparkle the Ninth?” “Because those numbers… they bring in magic.” “What kind of magic?” “All of them. That’s why I’ll also have to remove the memories of having some of the powerful ones, Celestia.” “Having the magic of three species is enough for me, as well as the magic of friendship. Do it.” Luna dived and quickly closed the book as Celestia went flying towards the donut box. Luna managed to save the donut box as Celestia crashed into a tree. She quickly ran towards Celestia with the book and asked if she was fine after being shot by a powerful magic beam. “I’m fine Lulu,” Celestia replied. “I just had to do it, huh?” “You just had to do it,” a voice repeated. The princesses stare at a changeling queen which was approaching them. “Good morning, Princesses.” “Why are you here?” Luna demanded. Chrysalis yawned in frustration. “A treaty, and a thanking because your Elements of Harmony lifted me out of that selfish dream!” Celestia looked at Chrysalis. “What dream? Is it about someplace named Eraida?” “Yes… that place!” Chrysalis buzzed closer. “That awful place!” “Why is it awful?” Luna asked. “Well…” Chrysalis began to explain, but Celestia picked up only a few words, including “human”, “Soira” and “Clan Ponifera,” which peaked her interest. “Have a donut first,” Celestia offered, taking the donut box and levitating it to Chrysalis. “It’s a crazy world, isn’t it? Me, giving one of Equestria’s most dangerous enemies a donut. Lulu here, trying to make sense of it. Your drones, also trying to make sense of it. I wish this was the case when you planned to ruin my niece’s wedding. Peace and harmony.” “Hmm.” Chrysalis took a donut and ate. “It does make a sense of things.” “So, what was the treaty about, if you were to handle it?” Celestia asked. “You want your changelings to freely roam in my nation?” Chrysalis nodded. “I accept, in return that they’re disguised in most of the time and you’ll come with us.” “Where are you pony princesses going, anyway?” Chrysalis asked after finishing up the donut. “To ‘That Awful Place’ so that we could help them,” Luna answered as she finished a circle and placed the book in the middle. “Ready?” They didn’t answer as the magic beam that had hit Celestia hit all of them, who were coincidentally inside the circle Luna drew. Litteroot Town Dream Realm Pylon Tower “Oh. So that’s what happened,” a girl answered after Twilight explained everything that had happened. “Let me get this straight, you six came on a hot-air balloon, got separated into two groups, reunited at Firea Forest, found ways into the ruins, Pinkie Pie got zapped but is fine, walked towards the Litteroot Edge, met your Soiras, saw a pack of butterflies, saw what you thought was Twilight’s Soira, Pinkie teleported all of you here, Queen Chrysalis is revealed, you blasted her with the Elements of Harmony, and then I came?” “That’s a lot to take in when you say it all at once,” Pinkie commented Ignoring Pinkie, Twilight nodded. “Ooh,” she whispered. “Anyway and anyhow, my name is Autumn H. Ravenshire, and all of Dream Realm knows me as Ms. Ravenshire.” “Nice to meet you, Ms. Ravenshire.” Twilight looked at the other ponies. “These are my friends, which you might already know since you seemed to know Pinkie Pie.” “Maybe,” Ms. Ravenshire replied. “Maybe I do. That said, get to the groups you came here, I got to show you something, and it might blow your minds. Figuratively.” Confused, Applejack decided to do what Ms. Ravenshire said rounding up Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie beside her. Ms. Ravenshire came back with a picture with six ponies divided into two groups. Twilight took the picture and stared at it. “This… isn’t possible,” Twilight nervously proclaimed. “The Founders are here, Princess Celestia, Luna, and even Starswirl the Bearded is here… but why are they…” “Rule of 3,” Ms. Ravenshire answered. “Fact, they also used the same balloon you crashed in when you all came here. It’s weird that you six survived in Firea ruins, those ruins always breaks things until they’re in threes.” “Huh.” Twilight Sparkle remembered something. “I think we escaped whatever was supposed to happen because I was with Rarity and Fluttershy while close to the other three.” “If that’s the cas—” Ms. Ravenshire stopped dead as a series of beeps echo around the room. “Someone’s coming!” DING! “What was that?!” Rainbow Dash complained as the beeps resided. Applejack pointed at the clock tower. “It came from over there!” DING! “She’s coming!” Ms. Ravenshire shouted. “Who’s coming?” Twilight asked. DING! “I think it’s Princess Luna, Celestia, and somepony else,” Pinkie Pie pointed out. “Huh, it looks like Chrysalis.” “Really?” Fluttershy looked closer. “It… is her, but how?” DING! “One more ding, and it’s complete,” Ms. Ravenshire told them to the others in a sing-song tone. “Whoever’s coming, they’ll arrive in a beat!” “Everypony cover your ears!” Applejack announced as she covered hers. DING! > 4 - Fear > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Twilight Sparkle, are you alright?” Ms. Ravenshire asked as the fifth ding passed and everything calmed down. “Are you all okay? You ponies seem have sensitive ears alright… too sensitive…” Twilight looked up and removed her hooves from her ears and nodded, “I’m okay, Ms. Ravenshire.” Twilight looked at the others and called all of them. “Are you alright?” Twilight watched them nod as a yes. “Now, we just need to learn what was that, what caused it to happen and then we’ll get moving and ask why in Tartarus did we end up here in the first place. Got it, girls?” “No need to find the answer that question,” a gentle voice replied to Twilight, making the mare jump. “My faithful student.” The six looked at the doorway to find Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wearing tactical clothing as they stood at the path. Princess Luna stepped inside first and cleared her throat to speak. What Twilight didn’t expect was that Luna’s accent to be different because she usually spoke with the old Canterlot accent but when she spoke during that specific window of time, it was like somepony possessed Princess Luna because she talked like… “Let’s not go into formalities y’know,” said Luna as she faced the six ponies. “Surprised by my slightly casual accent? Let’s say I had the best tutor, only I couldn’t stop my old habits back home.” Luna winked at Ms. Ravenshire. “Now, I guess you all want to know the truth, right?” Applejack idly stared and nodded at Princess Luna. The others were too, except for Pinkie Pie who seemed to have expected it beforehand. Princess Celestia made a note of this on her head. “Please not the cookie joke,” Ms. Ravenshire whispered. Princess Celestia glared at Ms. Ravenshire. “If it isn’t our old friend. Care to share what happened to Pinkie? She had a seizure back up there.” “I don’t know, why don’t you ask them?” Ms. Ravenshire pointed to the group particularly to a shocked Pinkie after hearing the news. “She’s the one who might’ve known what happened.” “One thing for sure,” Pinkie immediately answered as Princess Celestia faced her. “Is that I was hit by a lightning bolt and somehow I am back. That, and I think I actually died at that time, and I know dying is NOT fun!” She gave them the innocent grin as she gave that statement out. Princess Luna doubted about this and decided to enter her mind with Pinkie’s permission. Before Princess Luna could take get deeper into the memories, she was welcomed with one memory that was crystal clear. She approached and watched this memory. To Luna’s surprise, she noticed how Pinkie acted different here… December 23, Harmonia Year 3 (Litteroot Town, Dream Realm Destroia of Rowan’s Crossia) I think I was human during these times… “Hey Pinks!” Twilight called and I quickly responded by hopping towards her. “So, you remember Dream Realm Destroia, right?” “Well duh!” I reply. “My memories are still sharp! Sort of, since you know, mysterious lightning bolt thing hit me, all I lastly remember was a map of the whole thing.” “A map which never was supposed to be in the ruins of Firea in the first place,” Fluttershy, whose mane is strangely cut enough not to cover her face, pointed out. “You know, I’ve been getting this watched feeling lately after we entered here. Something’s terribly wrong in these areas…” “You tell me,” I said as I walked. “Quickly, we should be able to regroup with Dashie, Rarity, and Jackie in the Litteroot Edge, which is… that way!” I pointed towards the cliff that overlooked the whole town. “We entered through the Northeast from Destroia, and they’re coming from Northwest from Amura. If we’re fast enough, we might be able to collect all the items we need to escape just in time!” “Speaking of time, the blood moon is tomorrow,” Fluttershy pointed out again. “Yeah, and that’s the onl—” Twilight stopped after something smashed through the road behind us. I checked my six and quickly pulled out my Emerald staff which was strapped on my back. An Eye of Cthulhu! I managed to get some hits as Twilight pulled out her own staff, a stronger Diamond staff and fired some shots as well. Fluttershy also reacted as she threw poison darts and blew seeds from a blowpipe towards the big boss monster which wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place. We also ran, but I got a little detour and ended up nearly falling into a sinkhole. I quickly regained my balance and pulled out my secret weapon: a Terraria tome. It didn’t took long enough to kill the eye, and we just got lucky no one got hurt, except for the road which repaired itself. “No one got hurt,” I assured to myself. “Now, where am I?” I checked my bearings and found a crafting area. I looked into my items vital for escape. A rope made from web, lens from a dark flying eye-monster, a shield made of obsidian, and a cross-thing. I placed all of the items in the area and watched as the four items merge into something. I can’t let you see the next, Princess Luna. I’m sorry. Present Time (May 17, Harmonia Year 1) (Litteroot Town, Dream Realm Destroia of Rowan’s Rediscoveria) Princess Luna blinked. Pinkie Pie smiled and mouthed “do not tell”, which Luna did since she looked at the others with a glint of determination. “You guys must defeat the Spirits of Evil to escape,” she began. “It won’t be easy, but it wouldn’t be too difficult since you managed to free Queen Chrysalis from this place as the Spirit of Deception.” “Who are these Evil Spirits?” Twilight inquired. “Do we need to use the Elements of Harmony on them?” “Well, yes.” Princess Celestia looked over the control panel of the tower they were in. “The spirits are the Spirit of Chaos, Spirit of Darkness and Spirit of Destruction. They’re taking forms of Discord, Nightmare Moon, and King Sombra respectively.” “Huh.” Ms. Ravenshire took a notebook from her bag she just got and opened it. “Chaos is located in Destroia, which is northeast of this place. Darkness is located in Amura, which is basically also known as the Nation of Light and located northwest. And Destruction is found in Markia which is north.” She closed her notebook. “I’ll handle the Marken Blade and try to drive something out. Although it’s strange. Usually they’re five.” “What’s this Marken Blade you speak of, darling?” Rarity asked after hearing the term. “Is it something like a sword that can hurt?” “Not really,” Ms. Ravenshire replied as she reopened the notebook and pulled out a yellow glowing sword. “This is the Marken Blade. Enchanted by the best Enchantment Tables of Minecraftia, forged by the Elves in the Middle-Earth, soul-bonded through careful use and enchanted by Princess Celestia–” Said princess blushed at the mention. “–to prevent misuse and destruction.” They heard a clapping sound from the outside and saw a man. “Wow,” the man commented. “And really, wow. I’ve never heard you speaking of the Marken Blade before.” Everyone present saw him. This man wore a bowler hat and lab coat. Ms. Ravenshire, recognizing the man, facepalmed and signalled Princess Luna to move the others out which she followed since the man felt different. Twilight and the others idly followed Princess Luna until they reached a familiar Canterlot school which seemed to be out of place. “Welcome to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns,” Luna announced. “Eraida branch.” As soon as they entered, they saw ponies and Soiras working together. One of the ponies approached them and smiled. “Ah, nice to see some new faces!” the headmaster greeted. “My name is Sapphire Gleam. You wouldn't happen to be Princess Celestia's personal student, would you?” she asked towards Twilight. “I am,” Twilight replied. “Why?” “Well, we have been expecting your company,” Sapphire replied, pointing out the ponies who looked at Twilight. “Now, don’t be intimidated. We’re trying to update this as much as the actual school back in Canterlot, but ever since few particular events happened we cannot. That, and you’ll feel like back home in—” “Wait a second,” Rainbow interrupted. “how did this place even exist? Did Princess Celestia built this here by her own?” “Goodness, no!” Sapphire pointed to a painting in the wall depicting an orb and Princess Celestia smiling for it. “She sent this building here. For the greater good, since we always ended up with meanies.” “Like who, I might ask?” Rarity questioned. “King Sombra?” Sapphire Gleam nodded and looked outside to see Ms. Ravenshire swinging a blade. “Anyways, I guess something’s wrong and Ms. Ravenshire is using her Blade again. Might as well use mine to protect the school.” She sighed. “When will the cycle ever break?” “If you mean the cycle about the Spirits of Evil,” Luna objected, ”we cannot simply break it. We must need someone, or somepony to do it.” Twilight stared at the orb painting and grinned. “I’ll do it,” she announced. Everypony looked at Twilight and asked, “how?” Twilight pointed to the orb, her left eye slowly twitching faster and faster every word. “If I could get my hooves on that thing and replicate its power, then head towards Mt. Verley and use it to seal the Evils and break the cycle…” ‘And… the cycle’s already broken,’ Pinkie mentally commented. “What?” Twilight snapped and looked back at Pinkie Pie. “What did I just say?” Pinkie Pie repeated all of her words and added, “and basically what I understood is that you’re going to Mt. Verley after you got the Orb.” “Huh,” Twilight realized. “It’s happening sooner than I thought…” “What is?” everypony except Sapphire asked. Sapphire sighed instead. “She’s one of them,” Sapphire proclaimed. “The staff-bearers. I told her once when she dreamt being here. Check pages 256 to 258 girls.” Everypony except Princess Luna checked Twilight’s unfinished book to find crude drawings of seven staffs, each with its own description. Sapphire took Twilight’s fountain pen and circled the one with a six-sided star on it. Twilight looked at it and raised her eyebrow. Sapphire took a piece of paper and drew something else. Instead of a six-sided star on a t-shaped base since all of the staffs had a t-shape base, it had a v-shaped base connected by an arc. The arc had five rays pointing outside, and a double helix inside. In the middle of the rays and the double helix were six gems. She also took the liberty to explain it as she drew. “… And the six gems are the Elements of Harmony instead of the Crystal Eight,” Sapphire finished explaining. “How did I know? I was the one who created it.” … “Now, Pinkie’s group must head towards Northeast and reclaim Destroia.” Princess Luna looked at Twilight and her group. “Your group must head Northwest and reclaim Amura. Destroia bears the Spirit of Chaos while Amura bears the Spirit of Darkness. Be careful out there.” “Why?” Twilight asked. “Is it because the last one is controlled by King Sombra?” “No.” Princess Luna took out her own complete book and opened it to page 500 which was the last page and pulled out a necklace. “Because when you finish the book, it will turn into a tome.” She flipped the page towards page 57 and a blue ball of fire floated up. She giggled, which wasn’t a common sight for the Night Princess. “Good afternoon, Stargazer.” Twilight perked up at the name calling and looked at the blue fire. The blue fire seemed to recoil before it took shape of a blue pony. The blue pony even backed up as Twilight examined her. “Daughter of Night Light!” the blue pony shouted as she bowed down. “You shouldn’t be here!” “Okay, that’s really weird,” Sapphire commented. “How come you know who she is?” “She is—” The blue pony immediately turned into a blue fire and returned to the book as soon as Princess Luna closed the book. The others looked at her and notice that her horn was absorbing light. She stopped and a flash of light blinded all of them. “What happened? What’s going on? Why do I feel… Different?” “Princess Luna… You look weird.” Princess Luna looked at herself and slightly blushed. She hated being in a form like this. She wanted to turn back, but it would need her to use all of their life forces which was a very bad idea. “I…” She checked herself and noticed she was wearing a gown which shimmered like her mane. “… Hate the humour of this dimension.” She faced at Twilight and imagined her group like her. “Should I give them the Transformation Spell, Ms. Gleam? That’s what happened.” “If it is only necessary to do so,” she replied before she remembered something out of the blue. “Do it; the people of Amura hates ponies.” “Really?” Luna amusingly raised an eyebrow. “Cross my heart,” Gleam swore. “Besides, we are wasting too much time. You two groups must leave afterward.” Princess Luna readied up for the spell and fired it on to Twilight. Before anypony else would have flinched or moved a muscle, three humans were seen where Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy was. The human that replaced Fluttershy blinked and looked at herself. “I feel naked even if I have these clothes on,” she commented. “And these fingers are hard to use. And also standing on two legs is quite a surprise. What is this species anyway?” “Humans,” the human that replaced Twilight replied as she wobbily struggled to keep balance. “We’re human.” She pressed her palm to her cheeks. “I’m human! Oh my goodness, this is amazing! It worked! I totally feel like my Soira, Lienna Sparkle! This is really good!” Twilight stopped. “This is really bad!” They all looked at Rarity who was panicking. “Panicking does not lead anywhere,” Rarity confessed as she tried to walk. “Oh, please. Why does it have to be me with them?” “I can answer that!” a voice replied from Luna’s book. “It’s fate.” “What does it have to be a fate?” Rarity complained. “Why did we have to enter this stupid place?” She kicked one of the objects on the floor. “Can you answer that, Stargazer?” The book was silent until it spoke again. “I suppose you are right and this quest is useless,” the voice in the book replied. “But you don’t know why Twilight, Luna, Celestia and Pinkie wants to finish this, I think.” Rarity was confuzzled at the mention of one of her friends. “Pinkie?” Rarity asked. “What about her?” The book opened itself and the blue fire came out. This time, the fire turned into a human who bowed and faced the unicorn-turned-human. “She has knowledge of the timeline that lies ahead,” the Stargazer replied. “She is one of the five who will help a Daughter of Night Light become the Harmonist.” “Harmonist…" Rarity repeated. “I do see the connection, darling. But I can’t see why she haven’t told us if she really did have this information.” “Do you want to know?” Stargazer asked. “You must promise me not to tell everyone, though. It’s top secret.” Rarity did a Pinkie Promise and nodded, “tell me.” The Stargazer quickly began the story of everything she obtained. She told Rarity where everything started, from a small riverside village on a dimension where everything were cubes and pixelized. She told her how it transformed to be Destroia. How Destroia City became the conduit for travellers and adventurers. How the five nations were founded on the continent of Discordia. How Dream Realm Destroia came and how Ms. Ravenshire ruled it. Rarity absorbed all of this information, unaware of a certain Pinkie Pie watching them. As soon as she finished about what the future might be, the party pony clapped. Rarity turned her head and looked at Pinkie. “How much did you heard from us?” Rarity demanded. “Everything,” Pinkie flatly replied. “Now that makes sense why I got into Isle Destroia instead of the other Pinkies! I’m chosen by the Director! Wow, and then that means—" She gasped. “No way, you? The Seeker of the Anomalist Four? How did this happen?! Oh, I wish I was on your team!” Rarity panicked again because the fire-turned-unicorn forgot to tell what it meant. The next morning, the two groups now named as the Dreamer Squads set out and headed towards their locations. Twilight’s group decided to take the white capsule-thing with wings called an airplane while the ponies set out on hoof. As their plane, DAS Equestria, passed a few towns, Twilight practiced sword fighting on a mannequin. She practiced on the mannequin since they might encounter a few zombies based on Ms. Ravenshire’s scouting party, the Realm Reclamation Squad. One of its pony members, a pegasus pony named Meteor Feathers, controlled the airplane crazily which seldom disrupted Fluttershy’s practices on balancing. Rarity complained and moaned about how it flew. “This is Captain Meteor speaking,” the pilot announced. “We will refuel at Blacklight City before we head over to Amura. Please get ready.” Twilight and Fluttershy went towards a chair near Rarity and buckled their seatbelts. Rarity looked around and took a glass of orange juice. “Say darlings,” she called. “This is what flying feels like, huh?” “Not really,” Fluttershy said. “The best feeling of flying when you’re not in these airplane things and you have wings on your own.” Rarity looked at Fluttershy. “Right, you were a pegasus,” she apologized. Twilight blinked and looked at the two. ‘There’s a side effect for being a human, huh. No wonder Princess Luna hated it’, she thought. “Hey girls, when we land in Blacklight City, let’s go see Mt. Carpath. I hid something in there that you might all love.” “What is it anyway?” Rarity asked. “Magic wands,” Twilight replied as she resisted the act of squeeing. “Best defense when we’re magically defenseless. And, it totally acts like unicorn magic.” “Do I get one? Because I’m, you know, formerly a pegasus,” Fluttershy inquired. Twilight smiled. “I actually reserved six wands for the six of us.” “So, six magic wands for the six of us,” Rarity counted. “But since we three are the ones visiting, we get to have a head start on using those wands. Marvelous!” “Heh,” Twilight scoffed. “What can I say? Sometimes it’s good to be prepared.” “Anyways, we are about to land!” the pilot told all of them. “That fast already?!” all of them complained. Meteor Feathers began to steer the plane downwards. “Si! Now buckle up!" Despite the sudden dive, their plane landed safely relieving Twilight’s apparent fear of death by flying objects. Rarity felt an urge to investigate which she resisted and blamed the urge to the Stargazer and Pinkie. They just had to say it. Twilight noticed this slightly irrational behavior and decided to walk towards Rarity. “Is everything alright, Rares?” Twilight asked. “Not really,” Rarity replied. “You see… there’s something I want to confess but I promised not to tell it.” “Anything about the thing you want to confess that isn’t covered by the promise?” Twilight looked around. “You know, maybe you could tell me on the way. It looks like we’re going to stay a little tad longer.” “How long?” Fluttershy questioned as she ran towards them. “Hmm.” Twilight pointed towards their pilot who was arguing with somepony. “Half a day, more or less.” “That’s a lot of time,” Fluttershy whispered. “So, Mountain Carpath?” Twilight looked at Fluttershy and nodded. However, their only problem was they had no money. Or it was when Meteor walked up right to them and handed them twenty five packs of $20 bills. They looked back at Meteor only to find a human. Fluttershy asked where is Meteor Feathers and the human replied saying that she is their pilot and she was really human, not Soira nor pony. “You guys aren’t the only ponies around y’know,” she said. “And besides, when you’re a Guardian of Light and at the same time a regular visitor of an Equestria, you tend to stick to the pony form and forget you were once human.” “An Equestria?” Rarity asked, receiving glances from Twilight and Fluttershy. “Excuse for my curiosity now and then.” “When did you become that curious?” Fluttershy questioned. “You were only curious before when it is related to fashion.” “Uh…" Rarity looked at the direction of the school where she felt a warm smile and a ghostly nod. “I’m the Seeker of the Anomalist Four, as it seemed.” Meteor momentarily lost her balance after hearing it. “You? Seeker? The Anomalist Four? Oh, wow. Another Seeker, another Four! This is better than finding the millionth digit of pi while eating a ten-layered ice cream!” Meteor looked at the others and whispered, “did she tell you about the history of this place?” “Yes,” she whispered back. “What about it, darling?” Meteor stepped back and gave them space. “Would you believe that I myself is a Seeker of the Guardian Four? I cannot believe that the Anomalist Four are here! Wait.” She closed her eyes and unconsciously pointed to Twilight and Fluttershy. “Well, that’s a coincidence.” “Why are you pointing at me?” Twilight asked. Meteor immediately pulled back her hands. “A–Anyway, we’re going to leave and head towards Mt. Carpath.” “Mt. Carpath,” she repeated as she turned into a pegasus pony. “Okay. Return quickly, you do know you girls weren’t here for sightseeing!” Before Meteor Feathers finished, they had already left. She made sure they left before she fangirled over the fact that she was assigned to be their pilot since Twilight Sparkle was a very famous celebrity for being the Element of Magic. After being so, she remembered that she was just also a celebrity guest and chuckled. “Twilight Sparkle is best pony after all,” she excused. “I wonder how my sister reacts when I told her I became their pilot… Probably better than the last time when I told her that Trixie passed by… Oh, I can’t wait to tell uncle about this!” They went to Mt. Carpath by train. After a rather nostalgic and entertaining ride, they walked on foot until they arrived on a small cave where Twilight’s cutie mark was seen on the entrance. Twilight stepped first until she fell on a hole in front of the cave. “I’m okay!” she shouted. “Inside the cave are six small boxes! Take them! Meet me back at the airport!” The hole then is covered up as she heard their voices and footsteps until it all vanished. She sighed and faced the lit part of this cave chamber and felt something on her forehead. She poked and grabbed it only to pull her head down painfully. Her horn! “I have my horn, maybe I have my magic.” Twilight focused and then light came out from her horn. “Lumos.” The horn, still glowing, released a small glowing orb of light which flew towards an area of the cave chamber where the floor seemed to be more smoother than the rest. She approached this area and screamed as she fell to her knees, a burn forming at her wrist. As she managed to keep her eyes open, she saw what happened and closed her eyes as she tried to block out the pain. Exactly one minute later, the pain resides and Twilight saw the burned area bleeding. She looked around and checked her travel bag which she had since she entered and took a few bandages. Basing on her knowledge for “Universes of the Dream Realm” and basic medical first aid, she carefully wrapped the bleeding part and stood up. Looking around, she walked towards an opening and took a deep breath. She looked around and then back to find the opening gone so she decided to make a run towards Blacklight City Airport. After a truck, a small visit to a clinic, and a car away, she arrived just in time to find her friends waiting for her and already using their wands outside the plane waiting. She smiled, boarded the plane and then sat on a chair as she examined the burn on her left wrist once more. It was a curved line with three spirals on the right and two on the left. Something on her head told her to stay alert and watch for this mark since they have encountered it before in text. As she stared at the burn, Meteor Feathers boarded the plane and began to start up the engine. Fluttershy and Rarity follow only to be surprised that Twilight was already ready for the flight. She smiled. “What happened, darling?” Rarity asked. “What was with that cave chamber?” “And why is your left wrist bandaged?” Fluttershy asked out of concern. Twilight looked at her wrist. “Promise you won’t tell anypony about this.” “Pinkie Promise?” Rarity asked. Twilight took a few seconds to think. “Just a regular promise.” They both nodded and Twilight began to unwrap the bandage. Much to her shock, it wasn’t as worse as before but the burn was still there. Fluttershy went closer and touched the burn only for Twilight to flinch. “Is that the ‘Vine Mark?’” Rarity immediately reacted. “Where did you get THAT!?” “I don’t know really,” Twilight admitted. “All I remember was the pain. Did you get the boxes, anyway?” “They did,” the pilot replied over the intercom as they flew. “Say, where did you find such things in DRD?” “A friend of mine gave them,” Twilight answered. “He said it would be useful during times magic is ineffective. Speaking of magic, have you both mastered the wands already? I kinda saw you both using it.” “We’re practicing for it,” Fluttershy replied. “Captain Feathers helped too, since apparently she knows all kinds of magic. Although there’s one box I can’t seem to open…” “That must be my box,” Twilight answered as she took the said box and popped it open. Inside were a wand and a ring which she quickly wore. “Would you look at that, the ring fits perfectly.” “What’s with the rings, though?” Rarity inquired. “Are they important to generate magic?” “Yes,” Twilight firmly stated. They were finally silent as the plane zoomed into Sancto, Amura where Nightmare Moon had no power to control. Back in Equestria… (Canterlot) “Hey candy, you alright?” asked Shining Armor as the royal couple walked around the throne room in Canterlot. “I’m fine,” Princess Cadence answered. “It’s just that I can’t get over the fact that Auntie Celestia and Luna would leave us alone to rule Equestria…” “Well, it’d probably be better if were to look over a small empire full of crystal artifacts, right?” Shining nuzzled her wife. “They’ll be fine. In fact, if they’re not then the sun and the moon should’ve stopped right now.” A Royal Guard came barging in as they giggled a bit. “Your highness! The sun! It’s—” Another Royal Guard pulled the other guard pony outside. “It’s a false alarm!” Shining managed to catch a glimpse of the guard’s eyes as it flashed green. ‘A changeling!?’ Shining immediately ran towards the guard only to find two guardspony being lectured by a changeling. “What’s going on?” The two ponies and a startled changeling look at the Captain of the Royal Guard. The changeling immediately takes disguise and immediately attempt to run only to be caught by Shining. “Where are you going, insect?” “Oh please, don’t bloody use that horrid insult!” the changeling complained in a british accent. “I’ve been on ranks since I was a little colt by order of Queen Chrysalis before she planned that outrageous wedding! And I wasn’t even told!” “What?” Shining asked, now more confused than angry. “Is that you, Steel Forge?” “Damn yes I am!” the changeling proudly proclaimed. “This bug pony have proof if you want, Cap!” Shining nodded and the disguised changeling pulled out a picture of him as a trainee. Shining immediately blushed and took the picture and then looked at the other two guards before he faced Steel Forge. “What did we miss and you go on like that showing who you are?” “Orders by the Queen,” Steel replied. “All changelings stay peacefully in Equestria and in return never to remove disguise in public, sir.” “I don’t follow,” Shining told him, his hatred for the changeling bubbling again. “Your stupid queen told you that?” “Apparently Princess Celestia made a peace treaty out of it,” one of the two guardsponies answered. “She did?” Shining idly asked. Princess Cadance teleported inside and looked around. She then whispered something to Shining Armor and the pair teleported away, leaving three members of the Royal Guard stunned and silent for a few seconds. “So,” Steel told the two. “Her Highness and Princess Sunbutt and Moonbutt told us that they can be seen at South Luna Sea.” “What are you going to do now?” they both asked. “I just need an escort.” Steel faced the others. “Can’t I just have some luxury for this trip!?” “Uh…yes, sir,” they both replied. (Carousel Boutique, Ponyville) “Uh… Sweetie Belle?” “Yes, Ms. Saddles?” “Are you sure that I could do this?” “Of course you can!” Sweetie firmly declared. “Just get your imagination on the dresses and forget your plan first.” Sassy Saddles looked at Sweetie Belle and silently groaned. (Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville) “Ah’ve been wondering,” Applebloom told Granny Smith and Big Mac. “Have ye been dreaming as somethin’ else?” “Can’t say I do,” Granny Smith replied. “‘Cause Ah can’t even remember the last time Ah dreamed of something.” “Eeyup,” Mac replied. Applebloom stared at him. “Ah once helped Twilight in her book for a few pages.” (Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville) “Where are they anyway?” Spike asked to Roseluck. “Have you heard anything about them?” “Not really,” Rose answered. “The last thing we all heard from them was that they were lost at sea.” “Huh.” Spike looked at the notebook Mr. And Mrs. Cake gave him. “Have you heard of the humans?” Rose backed up a bit. “Those crazy things Lyra keep claiming true? What about them?” Spike showed a page to Rose. “They probably are real since she’s not the only one who talked about them.” Rose read the page and pushed it away. “Mrs. Cake made this?” she asked. “So unlikely of her.” Spike glanced at it and nodded. “It does seem a little bit weird.” As they talked, Mrs. Cake headed towards the basement and pulled out an envelope named ‘The Stargazer’s Files’ and pulled out a picture from it. The picture was an orb. She turned it and read the words her husband wrote on them. “Everfree Castle Third Basement Mirror” She once wondered what that meant until she remembered about the Castle of Two Sisters. Mrs. Cake cursed herself for staying too much out of danger. She would make up for the rest of the Cakes and Princess Celestia if she would interfere with Dream Realm Destroia’s cycle. After all, she was still the Stargazer and it wouldn’t change until the second generation after her came. Mrs. Cup Cake of North gulped. It had been a long time she thought like this. Too long. Mr. Carrot Cake of South gulped. He hasn't felt like this ever since Pumpkin and Pound Cake arrived. Something was wrong. As he went towards the basement, he found something. A map of the Everfree Forest and a picture of the Orb. Back in Dream Realm Destroia… (Sancto City, Amura) “What!? You guys were so afraid to do the one thing to destroy the Spirit of Darkness!?!?” > 5 - Pinks > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity survived and rescued Amura from the Spirit of Darkness,” Pinkie told her two friends. “While we’re heading towards Destroia to face the Spirit of Chaos. I mean, how can we even defeat Discord with only us? How did Twilight defeat Nightmare Moon with only three elements? Did they use something special? Oh, so many questions left unanswered!” “Not to mention the nation between the two is where the Spirit of Destruction is hiding,” Rainbow added in as they walked down the purple path. “Anyways, how did you know the Spirit of Darkness is gone?” Pinkie pointed towards the light blue beam of vertical light. “Ms. Ravenshire told me what those beacons meant. Yellow for Destroia, Green for Markia, Blue for Eraida, and Light Blue for Amura. If they’re not lit up, that means something is really really really wrong in that place.” “Huh.” Applejack looked back at the path they took. “How come Eraida’s beacon isn’t up yet?” Pinkie frowned. “I have no idea. Maybe they forgot to turn it on.” She watched a blue beam of light turn on. “See? Now they’re turned it on.” “I’m really starting to hate this Dreamer Squad business,” Rainbow confessed as they continued walking. “I hate the name itself. Can’t they create a better name for us since Ms. Dashing Awesome™ is on this little group?” “Ah had an idea of naming our little group Equestrian D-Team,” Applejack told them. “Maybe Twi’s group could be Dreamer Squad while we’re the Equestrian D-Team, don’tcha think?” “That sounds 20% cooler.” Rainbow nodded. “Let’s go, D-Team!” Pinkie Pie suddenly pulled Rainbow and Applejack close to her as a herd of cows walked across the path. After the herd passed, she didn’t move as a herd of shepherds and their sheep passed by. Surprisingly, one of those shepherds were Applejack’s Soira, Mistress Jack. Mistress Jack stopped as the herd of sheep and their shepherds continued. She went towards Applejack and kneeled down. She fixed Applejack’s hat, secretly placing a note, and then lead them towards the boundary of Destroia where things have changed a lot. The trees were upside down, there were dried blood and guns lying around, and most of the people were hiding from one another. “Ever since Chaos came, we’ve been like this,” Jack explained. “Well, at least chaos caused a resistance group who humbly waited for ya.” “It did?” Pinkie asked. “What kind of chaos is war?” “The deadly kind of chaos.” Jack took her hat from her head and looked at a picture inside. “Those chaos-incarnates tried to kill me once, but they didn’t knew Ah was protected.” “Protected by what?” Applejack asked. Jack chuckled and showed her left wrist to everypony present. “That’s not… it’s not by chance that ‘Vine Mark,’ is it?” “Unfortunately, yes.” Jack took an armband and put it one while adjusting her hat. “Now come along, sugarcubes. The day ain’t over yet, and Chaos doesn’t know you three.” “Maybe he does,” Pinkie objected. “Ms. Ravenshire knew me, so maybe they all know me.” “Why’d you say that?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “Well, rumors tell that Ms. Ravenshire is a Dreamer who ruled Dream Realm Eraida,” Pinkie explained. “She also was the one who guarded Dream Realm Destroia before the Evil Cycles began. I even heard a few of her friends calling her ‘Last One’ or ‘Survivor,’ which really intrigued me since no record told her that she survived something! And her accent is something I’ve never encountered in my life.” “Are you sure those nitpicks are rumors, though?” Jack asked. “‘cause you sound like you actually know these things way before then, which is impossible since nopony or no one has ever heard of what you said, lass.” ‘Whoops.’ “Maybe you haven’t listen so hard,” Pinkie innocently excused. “Yeah. And maybe that. I dunno, they have a pony party coming, and nopony expects the Pony Inquisition!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash groaned as Pinkie continued following the path until she fell into a hole. Pinkie landed safely and looked up before she realized that it had gotten dark on her location. Because of this, she cautiously wandered around until she spotted a torch where she trotted towards it. Pinkie stretched out her left hoof to reach the torch only to feel a burning sensation. She quickly withdrew the hoof and found herself back on the path. She stared at her left front hoof to find a symbol she barely recognized. It was a something between a compass rose star and a four-finned fan. ‘What is this?’ she thought as she pointed the hoof to a crate and imaginarily pulled it towards her. The crate moved, which surprised Pinkie even more. ‘By Starswirl’s crazy beard, I have an 1843 Class II Magi Mark! Wait!’ She stared at her hoof again and pushed the crate away. ‘This is that scar I got when I was initiated as an Aware. Does that mean Agent Pinks the Laughter is back?’ She heard her friends calling her. ‘Mystery later, rescue party first. Then I’ll tell Jack about this mark and how it was different with hers!’ She hopped towards the others who were deadly worried about her. “Where have YOU been?” Applejack asked. “Fell into a hole and just came back,” Pinkie replied. “Then got this.” She lifted up her hoof and showed all of them her burn. “It still hurts, you know. No touching.” Applejack looked closer and felt like her hat was about to fall out from her head which was strange since it was secured. Pinkie chuckled and waved her hoof up, causing her hat to fly up. Applejack immediately notice this and quickly took her stetson back down to her head as Pinkie giggled in embarrassment. “Whoops?” Pinkie muttered as she pointed towards Jack and pulled something from her. Something came flying at her which Pinkie caught and stared at it. It was a vial with blue liquid inside. She looked at Mistress Jack and noticed that she was glaring. Pinkie playfully ignored this and drank the liquid, surprising all three of them. Pinkie threw the empty vial away into a bin and then stared at the others who stared back in shock. Pinkie looked at herself and shrugged before she continued walking towards Unovis City as stated by the signs Jack were following. The others quickly caught up and then stared at the city before them. “Huh,” Jack commented. “Unovis is just a regular city but look at that, it has its own shield.” “Surprising, huh?” Pinkie told the others. For a split second she thought she heard herself saying the same thing on another location near them but she ignored it. “Let’s go! Maybe they have a Pylon Tower! I’m starving!” “Starvin’?” Applejack questioned. “Starving for fun!” Pinkie answered with a smirk. “Because the real fun’s about to start!” Nopony but Mistress Jack failed to notice the barrier breaking apart as she grinned. “Why are the people here afraid to do their own things without asking others first?” Twilight asked. Meteor shrugged. “Maybe because the cycle’s breaking up since the actual Amura is full of scientists and explorers who keep tangling into ancient ruins.” “They are?” Rarity exclaimed. She looked around and saw someone familiar. “Hey, isn’t that my elegant Soira?” Said Soira flinched and looked at Rarity. “Oh, hello.” Rarity’s Soira walked over them. “You look…familiar. Anyways, I am Bella the Head Dressmaker of all of Dream Realm Destroia. Call me Belle, darlings.” “My name is—” Twilight was stopped by Meteor Freathers. “We all already know,” Bella answered, much to Twilight’s bemused expression. “Besides, we just wanted to surprise you all.” She nudged Meteor gently who blushed in reply. “We don’t really hate ponies, the ponies hate us for our hospitality and supreme cowardness around ponies.” “You’re an Amuran,” Fluttershy pointed out. “No wonder you tried to persuade Diana.” “Did not!” Bella defended. They then began to argue over who was correct. “Stop fighting!” Twilight shouted, stomping her foot. Rarity noticed something and took away Twilight’s bandage on her left wrist to find her burn glowing in a violent shade of violet. She looked over her feet and saw some few sparks coming from where she stomped and then told her to slightly lift her foot. Twilight followed and gasped at the outcome. They saw that the land was also pulsing violet as it repaired itself. Meteor looked at Twilight and bowed down before the three of them became ponies all of a sudden. Fluttershy was the first to react. “Uh…how did this happen?” Fluttershy asked as the ponies went on all fours. “I may have an idea what did this.” Rarity pointed to Twilight’s left foreleg where Twilight’s scar is seen. “That mark.” Twilight looked at her scar and pointed upwards. The scar pulsed white and then released a small beam of violet light upwards. “Woah.” “Awesome.” “That’s impossible!” Everypony and everyone else looked at Bella, glaring in confusion. “Only the founders can do such!” Bella abruptly shouted as she pointed at Twilight. “You are not Soira nor Dreamer! You’re one of them! You’re here to destroy the cycle as prophecy tell us all! You are the chosen from the roots of Harmony itself! You’re not a regular pony, you’re the Ha—” Bella was interrupted by gunshots coming from… Fluttershy? “Uh… girls?” Jack called. “Ah think Unovis is under attack.” “Attack by what?” Applejack asked as her eyes passed the barrier and back to Jack. “Oh.” “It doesn’t seem like the bad kind of under attack,” Pinkie pointed out. “I mean, if I’m seeing this right, that’s the same shapes I found back in Eraida.” Jack squinted. “Ah don’t see—" Applejack and Rainbow Dash watched as Jack fall towards the road after Pinkie kicked her in the stomach. They then glare at Pinkie who dusted herself and looked back. “Why did I did that?” Pinkie guessed. “Because she’s our target. I know how these work out, alright?” The three look at Jack only to find a mass of black smoke. Pinkie smiled and pointed her left hoof towards the smoke and began to mutter a spell. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash wondered if Pinkie has gone mad. Applejack also had the same thought until Pinkie stopped and a beam of white light hit the black cloud. The black cloud promptly vanished and then they watch the barriered city react toward the attackers which then vanished. “Well, how'd ya know that’ll happen?” Applejack asked. “Also, why are you acting like this? You weren’t like this before that lightnin’ bolt struck ya out!” Pinkie winced. “Why are you thinking about Pinkie like that?” Rainbow asked to Applejack. “It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie on an opera scale.” “Woah,” Twilight commented. “That’s way beyond the meaning of kindness, Fluttershy. What happened to you?” Fluttershy looked at the gun she used and holstered it on her saddlebag. “I don’t know what came over me, Twilight,” she calmly expressed. “I’m sure you were hit by a spiri-temporal lightning bolt,” Bella answered. “Because you looked like it was supposed to happen so you did it anyway.” “Spiri-temporal lightning bolt?” Twilight wondered. Twilight’s Soira came from the crowd which war around them. “A peculiar thing for the Dream Realm. I’m still trying to solve how it happens, but since I don’t have proof, all I got are just mental pictures of things.” The three ponies stared at the Soira. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle the Ninth. Call me Lienne.” “Ninth?” Rarity asked. “9th Twilight Sparkle of Dream Realms,” Lienne clarified. “What? You think this is the only Dream Realm around?” “Yes, I did.” Rarity recounted Pinkie Pie’s odd behavior. “I think Pinkie got hit by the Spiri-Lightning Bolt, darling.” The crowd, including Twilight and Fluttershy, gasped. “Why?” Twilight asked. Rarity redrew the scene in Firea Ruins on the dirt. “All I know is that Pinkie seemed to be more Pinkie than before, like she really know the future which I hope isn’t true. She did explain how dying felt…” “Aha! So she did get struck by one of those anomalous lightning bolts!” Lienne announced. “My goodness, if this is real, then the gears are coming to motion, oh my goodness!” “Gears? What gears?” Fluttershy asked. Lienne chuckled only for Twilight to solve what she meant by gears. “The gears of a new era?” “Yes!” Lienne did a victory dance right on the spot and immediately stopped soon as the crowd dispersed, leaving only the four ponies and two Soiras on the park where they were the whole time. “And Pinkie have knowledge of the future…” Twilight whispered. “The way she denied things… No…” “No what?” Rarity, Meteor, and Fluttershy questioned the stunned mare. Lienne blinked and called dibs for snacks before things got out of hand and hooves. After that, they headed towards a crossroad where three ponies and one revived Soira waited. (Clearing near South Luna Sea, Equestria) After recovering from the slight uneasy experience, Princess Luna, Celestia, and Queen Chrysalis saw themselves back on the clearing where they were sucked by a mysterious light. Luna stood up first and shot a fire spell at the book, much to Celestia’s horror. Luna watched Chrysalis vanish into the trees around them. “Why did you burn the tome?” Celestia demanded. “Why did you burn it, sister?” “I saw the future,” Luna answered. “And the future showed books on fire, with Twilight’s book the most burned of them all. The copies are dangerous, I doubt we aren’t the ones who have one.” “Are you saying that somepony has tried creating this before?” Celestia mused. “Yes.” Luna looked towards the sky for it was night time. “I have seen few of my ponies dream about their own Dream Realm Destroia. I have seen ponies dream about things they didn’t understand because they had read a book which vanished after I personally visit the said ponies.” “Out little ponies don’t realize they’re hiding a weapon,” Celestia realized. “Actually, we do know,” a voice called out from the forest. “We all kept it so that we could soon destroy all of it at once.” Celestia looked around and saw a hooded pony who then revealed herself as Mrs. Cake of Sugarcube Corner. Princess Luna noticed the star figure that kept the cloak together and stepped back. Mrs. Cake looked at the pin and giggled. “Before I was a baker I was known as the Stargazer,” she told them. “Now, to finish my job…where is Twilight Sparkle?” “I don’t know,” Celestia lied, much to Princess Luna’s surprise. “Begone, pony.” “I can’t,” she answered. “The Stargazer can’t leave until Twilight Sparkle is safe.” “She is in good hooves, Missus Cake,” Luna defended. “Why haven’t you surfaced and tried to contact me when I came back?” “I was busy,” Mrs. Cake answered. “You know, handling the customers, baking some goodies, taking care of the little fillies.” “Huh.” Luna looked at her saddlebag. “Huh?” Mrs. Cake pulled out the notebook and threw it towards the burning book. “Well, the only thing I need to do is to make sure Twilight is safe. Although, your highnesses, I need you to tell me where she is.” (4-State Crossroad, Dream Realm Destroia) The Six got into a group hug. Lienne stared at Pinkie’s burn at her left hoof and noticed its shape. Bella and Jessie stared at each other before they both waved. Lienne… Lienne stared at the burn Pinkie had and took notes. She noted how it faintly pulsing pink and checked her right leg. She noticed a familiar burn also faintly pulsing pink. Pinkie looked at Lienne and shrugged before noticing Twilight’s burn and stared at Twilight. “Uh… Where did you get that?” Pinkie cautiously asked as she began to back off. “That’s… That’s…” Lienne looked at the burn on her left hand and blinked. ‘You son of a—’ Pinkie froze and pulled out a sword from the ground and pointed it to Lienne. “Spirit of Destruction!” Pinkie shouted. The sky began to darken, along with the burn on Pinkie’s arm which seemed to glow brighter. Twilight didn’t realize what she was doing until the sky was black and Lienne is grinning madly. “Oh.” She looked at her burn then summoned a match and began to burn herself more until the burn shaped different. Pinkie smiled as the sword glowed green. “By the Past, Present, Future, in the name of Harmony!”  She swing the sword towards Lienne as it flashed violet. “You are not messing with the Pink!” “But I just did,” Lienne answered in a dark voice. “Oh, let’s see how destructive you really are, Laughter!” Lienne’s form shifted into a dark monster. Twilight and the others backed off as they watched the duel. Bella and Jessie looked at the others and pulled out similar-looking glass knives and pointed it towards the spirit. “What in tarnation is that!?” Applejack shouted. “What in the wide heavens is Pinkie doing?!” Rarity simultaneously asked. Fluttershy added in another question. “Why is that sword glowing green?” Bella answered. “It’s the Syn Blade. If Eraida and Amura got themselves the Marken Blade, Destroia has the Avalon Blade. Think of it, they do possess the colors…” “I see that,” Twilight answered. “What’s with the colors?” “Ah don’t know,” Jack answered. “Ah think it’s because the Blades are made by three siblings who were special on their own way.” “Why are they named like royalty?” Rarity suddenly asked. “I mean, they sound like royalty, don’t they?” The others looked at Rarity. “They don’t sound like royalty,” Fluttershy corrected. “Unless you’re noticing something that we don’t…” “She does,” Bella explained. “Amurans have keen sense and a bit of name-selections. Since I’m here, my influence passes over to her. So darlings, the answer is yes.” “What does that mean?” both Applejack and Jack hissed. Twilight blinked and looked at the duel saw a weak spot and fired a spell on it. Pinkie noticed this and loses the Syn Blade as Lienne gets spit out of the dark creature as it grew. Twilight gulped before they saw three kids running around the monster. They watched. The kids ran around the creature until they stopped and then pulled out what seemed to be hilts and clicked a button on it. ‘Lightsabers,’ Twilight thought before realizing she didn’t have these kinds of thoughts before. ‘Are you messing with my mind, Lienne?’ ‘How did you—’ Lienne looked at Twilight and rolled her eyes. ‘Whatever. Just watch.’ The laser swords– lightsabers– was then stabbed towards the creature which groaned in pain as vanished into dust. The three kids looked at each other before they morphed into men and woman. Twilight blinked. “So, Syn,” the woman called. “I guess we just saved the future by altering my favorite moment.” “Your favorite moment,” the taller man– Syn,– repeated. “Wow, Eva. Much wow. And please don’t tell me this is your favorite moment too, Mar." “No,” the second man answered. “My favorite moment is the finale. The start of a new Era. Hey, when we go back home, dibs on roleplaying!” They all nodded on each other as they retrieved their lightsabers which were on the ground forming a triangle. Soon as they touched it, they vanished. Twilight was the first to react. “They’re Dreamers like us,” she commented. “Not just any Dreamers, I’m afraid.” The mane six and three Soira looked back to find Princess Celestia and Ms. Ravenshire. “They’re the Trinity Resistance Leaders,” Ms. Ravenshire began. “They created a group named Trinity Resistance Organization and they just pop up everywhere. This world, my homeworld, and your world apparently are their bases.” “Equestria?” Rainbow Dash pointed. “Their base? Pfft, impossible!” “I’m afraid not, my little pony.” Princess Celestia cut in. “They’re from the future, which is why you might not recognize them for now.” Pinkie hopped over to them and then spot a mark where the creature was. “Oh my gosh, I know this symbol-thingy!” Everyone looked at Pinkie. “It’s Destroia! Something tells me a big party is going on…” Everyone groaned. … … “Now that I think about it, we have two Pinkie Pies.” Meteor added in after a quick window of silence. “Just to point out.” … … Twilight Sparkle panicked, due to the dire realization of such horrible antics the Dreamer and the Soira Pinkies would do. > 6 – First Victory > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a party blazed on around the Dream Realm Destroia, Twilight Sparkle had wandered off from the party’s main location, Destroia City, towards a plateau where a dream realm pylon tower stood tall against all of the odds. Much to her relief, the tower was soundproof so she entered and began to make progress on her book which hasn’t been touched since they flushed the Evil Spirits out. She sighed as she added the finalizing touches. After doing so, she looked around and recognized the tower she was in, and why it was soundproof. It wasn’t a dream realm pylon tower at all. It was an Xtermis Destroia Tower, albeit the first of the fifteen towers created both in DRD and in the actual continent, which in her surprise was named Destroia. She tried to ask Ms. Ravenshire about it, only to have no answer as she explained that she left the continent before she knew the name of the continent. Few Soiras wondered it as well, including her own Soira, Twilight “Lienne" Sparkle the Ninth. I guess they can’t blame the ones controlling the actual continental island. She was going through sentiments until she heard the all-familiar hum of a lightsaber. She looked back and saw the three ninjas, which were now dressed formally. They all stared at Twilight as she stared back. “Hello,” the shortest one greeted. “What’s your name?” “My name’s… Twilight Sparkle,” she answered. “How about you?” “Marrum Heraldiño,” he answered. “But call me Mar. It’s more cool that way. There are my brother and sister. Synnir and Evangeliña. But call them Syn and Eva for short.” Eva waved as Syn approached Twilight and shook her left hoof, causing the unicorn pony to wince. “Oh, sorry.” Syn looked at the remnants of the burn on her left forehoof. “Well, this thing… It’s surely is magical in nature. Can I see it closer?” “Why should I let you?” Twilight defensively asked. “I’m a doctor,” he answered. “Well, if you consider Autumn a doctor, that is.” “Ms. Ravenshire’s a doctor?” Twilight asked as a metallic armband is placed by Syn. “I didn’t know.” “Well, she was a doctor,” Syn excused. “Okay, you should feel something… Cold.” Twilight’s left hoof became numb as soon as Syn said so. “I really hate Dream Realm logic,” Syn muttered as he removed the armband and pulled out a wire which he connected towards a clipboard. He then stared at the clipboard. “Well, look at that. You match almost all of the magical signatures, except for one.” “Magical signatures?” Twilight wondered. Syn ignored her. “Huh, the one that didn’t match is spiri-thaumic energy. That’s…cool.” The two look at Eva as she facepalmed. “Did I say something wrong?” “She’s the freaking Harmonist,” Eva answered. “Can’t you see how it’s the same from my vine mark?” She explained by showing a scar on her wrist which  was shaped exactly like Twilight’s magical burn. “How did that happen?” Twilight asked. “Not that I’m asking now, I guess. And also, how did you know Ms. Ravenshire? You three are Dreamers, aren’t you?” “Yeah, we are.” Eva looked at Syn who walked towards the middle of the room they were in. “We’re from Altaris.” “Really!?” Twilight jumped from the chair, nearly tipping her fountain pen off the table where she wrote the book. “Ohmygosh, this is so amazing, another world! And it’s not a dream realm! This is great! And to think we were the only ones…” Mar, Syn, and Eva chuckled. “Our same reaction before we saw you and that Spirit of Destruction! How did you girls get wrapped up in such business anyway?” “I have no idea, actually.” “Maybe I can explain,” a voice called from the doorway. The pony and three humans looked at the creature at the doorway, who in turn out, was Princess Celestia. “Oh, who’s the three humans?” “We are the Trinity Resistance Organization founders,” they introduced altogether. “Resistance?” Twilight wondered. “Resisting who?” “Twilight Sparkle the Ninth,” Mar answered. “Autumn Ravenshire,” Syn added. “The ones who try to stop the Dreamers from reaching Mount Verley,” Eva finished. “They’re keeping something there.” “What are they keeping?” Celestia asked. Mar looked around before she pulled Princess Celestia in and closed the doorway by pulling a lever. “They’re keeping a broadsword named Superlia Enchancia.” “I’ve heard of that!” Twilight faced her book and flipped towards a page. “It’s a broadsword which is said be able to pierce through powerful persons. But why are they avoiding Dreamers to enter such place?” “I think I know why.” Princess Celestia stepped towards the middle of the room, excusing Syn out. “La-Morphocia—" She pointed her left hoof upwards. “—Sanctem!” A lightning bolt hit Princess Celestia and left a scar at her left hoof and was promptly turned into a human. Mar and Syn recognize who she turned into. “Princess Susanna!” They quickly kneeled in respect. “Who?” both Eva and Twilight asked. “Please rise,” Celestia begged. “We’re inside an Xtermis tower. We need to move quickly and teleport towards Firea if we were to retrieve SA-498.” “How did you—?” Twilight was interrupted when she saw the page again. “Right. Princess Luna told me you had your own book with her.” Canterlot Castle, Equestria “Have you seen Celly?” Luna asked towards Cadance who was drinking lemon soda and wearing some socks. “I think she went to her quarters,” Cadance answered between gulps. “This soda is good, try some Auntie Luna!” “You look cute,” Luna commented. “I’ll try some later—” She shook her head. “She’ in her room, you said?” Cadance nodded. Luna walked towards Celestia’s room only to find a carpet in the center and a frozen statue of Celestia. Her eyes widened as she exited the room and locked its doors. Luna looked back to see Cadance and Shining Armor, both in socks and drinking lemon soda. “Hello Princess Luna,” Shining called. Luna’s eyes widened even more. “What?” Luna giggled. “I look ridiculous, right?” Luna continued giggling. “I told you this wasn’t a good idea.” Cadence joined in the giggling as Shining sighed. “Yeah, whatever.” Ruins of Firea, Dream Realm Destroia “I felt a disturbance,” Mar told the others, including the rest of Twilight’s friends who joined in midway after the party dissipated. “Something’s with this place.” “The last time we were here, I was struck by a spiri-temporal lightning towards Isla Destroia,” Pinkie mumbled. “What was that again, Pinkie Pie?” Celestia asked. “Nothing!” Pinkie dashed towards the Pylon tower. Everyone was forced to follow Pinkie. As soon as they arrived in the tower, the Dreamer Squad split into two and looked at the flooring where the whole map of DRD was laid. Princess Celestia took a closer look and smiled. “It seems like we’re in the right place,” Celestia announced. “Yeah, right place.” Rainbow Dash looked away to find soldiers. “With the wrong guests.” Everyone and everypony looked back to find that they’re surrounded. One of the soldiers stepped closer and removed his helmet only to reveal Ms. Ravenshire. Celestia quickly returned to her pony form as everybody went into battle stances. “Calm down,” Ms. Ravenshire told all of them. “We are just wondering why you’re…” Her eyes landed on the Trinity kids. “Here.” “Good morning Altarian,” Syn grumbled. “The Knight, the Medic, and the Queen,” Ms. Ravenshire called. “Nice to see you kids here.” “Why are you here?” the three asked. “Just doing my job,” Ms. Ravenshire told them. “The ruins are very crazy nowadays.” Mar muttered something that caused Pinkie to gasp and run off towards the control panel. Everypony dismissed Pinkie except for Twilight who teleported towards the control panel as well. “What are you doing?” Twilight asked. “Mar told me to fire up the lightning areas,” Pinkie answered as she flipped switches. “That, and moving everypony out of Firea towards the fifth country they still don’t believe that exists.” “Illyria?” Twilight assured. A portal opened on a doorway after Pinkie flipped the last switch and the two watched Mar, Syn, and Eva enter. “Are you sure that’s safe…” “Ah don’t know,” Applejack answered. “But run!” Everypony ran towards the portal as they were surrounded and heavily outnumbered 50,000 to 6. Twilight found herself on a throne room along with the others, excluding the three kids that helped them out. She looked around and saw that the burn on her left hoof was glowing in a cool blue. ‘Think, Twilight. Think. What’s going on…’ She looked around again. ‘I’m on a throne room. I must be in sort of a castle. Or maybe it’s just an illusion.’ She walked towards a pillar and tapped it. “Not an illusion, that’s sure.” She walked around and saw Fluttershy and Rarity first awake. “That felt like an déjà vu.” “Yes, a deja vu it is,” Rarity added in. “Where are we, Twilight? And why… Why are we in a throne room!?” “I… They were right… You broke the cycle,” a voice called from the throne, causing the awake mares to look at the one at the throne. “I don’t know if we should try to keep you here a little while longer or kick you out before Illyria is destroyed again…” “So wait, you mean this place is always destroyed?” Fluttershy asked. “It doesn’t deserve such a fate.” Rarity nodded. “Who are you, anyway?” Twilight inquired. The man at the throne stood to answer her inquiry. “King Armor the Fourth, Twilight Sparkle.” “You mean…” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Don’t!” the king warned. “I am Shining Armor’s Soira. But, I’m not just a regular Soira.” “Huh?” “I’m a Soira from Dream Realm Equestria,” he said, grinning. “Dream Realm Equestria,” Twilight repeated. “There’s a place called Dream Realm Equestria.” “Nopony knows about it since nopony didn’t know about it,” Armor told them. “Except for us. Now, seriousness aside… Trixie! Put up the disguise shield!” “Yes sir!” a very familiar light blue unicorn answered and placed up a big shield around the castle they were in. “Castle Marken is secure!” The three watched King Armor as he walked closer to the mares and raised his left hand to show a burn which looked like winds. “As the Namer,” the King announced. “I’ll have to check all of your left hooves and make sure that we are having what most of us are afraid with.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?” The unicorn teleported right in front of Twilight. “He’s sure.” The unicorn glanced at Twilight’s burn before she teleported away. Twilight rose her left hoof which was inspected by King Armor who nodded and looked at the others before he fell towards the floor. Twilight quickly caught him and saw something from his neck. Or so she thought. Or maybe she did saw something and she ignored it. Or not. “Thank you, dear one…” King Armor then faced the others who were unconscious and waved his left hand. “Awaken.” They all soon woken up and looked at King Armor confused until Pinkie recognized the man and smiled. “Prof. Johansson Armor of Equestria!” she called. “Or is it King Johansson? I don’t know. It’s been…a week from now!” King Armor raised his eyebrows before chuckling. “The Agent,” he called. “Nice to see you back to your home world. Did the Dreamer tell you, or you figured it out yourself?” “No, the Harmonist pulled the pieces together after I explained,” Pinkie replied. “I mean, I can’t lie to my Harmonia Group, right?” Pinkie winked at Twilight. “Except for her. Because she has no idea what we’re talking about.” “I do know that you’re an hypertelligent pony, darling,” Rarity interrupted. “That, and your reflexive system is what you call your Pinkie sense.” “H-how?” Pinkie asked, jaw hanging. “But…” “Oh, please.” Rarity threw her mane upwards. “You’re not the only one that has been hit by that lightning bolt.” Twilight and Fluttershy look at Rarity. “I didn’t see a lightning bolt hitting you,” Fluttershy complained. “No, it happened in a split second before we entered the portal, darling,” Rarity explained. “It was just a quick one-minute journey to warn the others here, darlings.” “Warn about… What?” Armor asked before the room was lit up by a flash of lightning and saw another Rarity. “Everypony,” she began. “You need to leave! The North King–” she shortly glances toward Armor. “–He’s gonna give you enough time to teleport you towards the Thirteen. Hurry, I don’t think there’s much time before she—" The second Rarity promptly vanished before she finished. “See?” Rarity explained. “There’s actually not much to see right now. Although I don’t know what I meant…” “That’s ridiculous,” Rainbow told her. “Who was this she?” Applejack questioned. “Thirteen?” Fluttershy added. Midst the confusion, Twilight Sparkle pulled out her book from the saddlebag she was wearing from day one and wrote on it a few more details which no one knew. As she wrote, she got the attention of the light blue unicorn who was standing by the corner and sat beside Twilight. “Hey… Twilight?” she called. Twilight took a glance to the light blue unicorn and went back to what she was writing. “Yes?” “I was wondering, if we all manage to get out safe…” she began before she saw three figures at the door. “‘We?’ What do you mean?” Twilight questioned as she closed the book and faced the unicorn. “Are you…” “Yup, I am the Great and Powerful Trixie.” She let Twilight see her cutie mark. “Although here, I am rather also known as Magician.” “What?” Trixie showed her left hoof to find a slightly complicated mark. “It just makes sense, I guess. Time doesn’t really matter here if you got the right formula for escaping, which nopony has for centuries, and since I am named Magician, I guess I could just zap myself from my home …which was destroyed because of those two rats… and here.” “Oh.” Twilight looked at her mark on her left hoof which now looked more or less like a tattoo, which made Twilight slightly but not really relieved inside. “Can you explain this?” Trixie looked at Twilight’s hoof. “Oh, that’s a dangerous one for those who hate balance. It just means you’re the Harmonist, something in you can cause harmony.” Trixie looked at the five friends. “I guess because we’re ponies and friendship is magic, right?” Twilight looked at the five as well. “Yeah, friendship is magic. I don’t think I’ll ever see a version of Trixie like…you.” “Well, maybe.” Trixie stood up and raised her hoof. “La-Teleporticia! Home!” Trixie then vanished to a flash of light as a small orb floated towards her left hoof and the mark she had changed into a smaller one. King Armor’s eyes widened among the sets of eyes watching Twilight. “My lady,” he announced. “You and your friends must head towards Mt. Verley. I shall be at your service. Mar, Syn, Eva! Activate the Xtermis Protocol Charlie!” “That protocol’s the one we can’t do without a host, your highness!” Syn whined. “Charlie–Two!” Armor corrected. Mar smiled as he ran from his location and began to circle the six— seven, since Princess Celestia just also woke up— and pulled out something that looked like a handle with a blade on one point while running. “What are you doing?” Celestia asked. “What is he doing?” “I don’t know, I thought you know,” Twilight deadpanned. “You had one of the books, Princess.” “We didn’t have this information on the book,” Celestia shot back. “Where did you find these people anyway?” “They helped me against the Spirit of Destruction,” Pinkie answered. “Why, don’t you trust them?” “They’re too trusting,” Celestia told them. “They helped you, Pinkie Pie? How?” “They stabbed the spirit and casted a spell,” Pinkie explained as Mar turned into a white blur. “Huh.” Pinkie looked at her mane which unpuffed. “Oh, look. It’s a temporal-lock time-teleport spell.” “WHAT!?!” came Twilight’s voice. “Why didn’t you—" “—Say so…? Where are we?” Twilight asked after they found themselves on a cliff. “I recognize this place,” Celestia answered as she walked towards the edge. “It’s the Firea Valley. Why are we teleported here?” “Maybe you should step aside and let me explain,” a voice called towards the seven. They all looked back and saw, much to Twilight’s surprise, another Twilight Sparkle with wings. “Dreamer Squad, let me introduce myself.” The second Twilight cleared her throat. “I am the Equestrian Peace Minister Twilight Sparkle-Gemstone,” she introduced. “Princess of Friendship, Peace Minister of Equestria for Otherworlds, and a mother to twins.” “Twins?” Twilight asked. “Hold on, you’re me, right?” “Yes.” “Are you from the future?” “Yes.” “Are you some sort of traveller?” “Yes, I feel a bit embarrassed seeing you like that.” “Will I remember this mission?” “No.” “Why?” “Your book didn’t turn into a tome, but rather it became a spiritual anchor,” she began. “That’s why I’m here to burn it.” “Why?” Celestia interrupted. “Because the book…” The second Twilight looked towards Mt. Verley which was seen. “If the book isn’t burn, the balance will fall, and two currently non-existent universes will destroy the omniverse…” A flash of light temporarily blinded all of them. After they regained vision, they saw a third Twilight, this time with a burned wing. “Ah. Oh!” The third Twilight jumped. “Hello, Dr. Sparkle! Dreamer Squad!” “Who are you?” Rainbow asked, trying to make sense of the situation secretly, because reasons. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, silly!” The third Twilight summoned a mirror and looked at it. “Well, The Crossia Twilight, as what the second Twilight calls me.” “Yeah, I can see that you’re enjoying it,” the second Twilight deadpanned. Twilight ignored the two Twilights and walked to the edge where she saw a stone gateway and decided to throw her book to the edge. She looked back to find the two Twilight staring at her before the third Twilight vanished. She tilted her head before the second Twilight approached Twilight. “Wow, that went well,” the second Twilight commented. “I’ll be here when you need me the least. Good luck, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight watched the alicorn Twilight get blown to dust which flew towards the stone gate. Twilight blinked before she saw another book and opened it up. Everypony followed suit and looked at the book as they began to get a feeling of being watched. Pinkie looked up and took her wand Twilight gave her and took defensive stance. 5, she mentally counted down as the others looked at Pinkie and ignored her. 4. It’s coming… Twilight looked at Pinkie and realized what will come. “3,” she whispered. “2,” Pinkie continued. A roar disturbed the whole group. Pinkie looked around and jumped away her location as a big eye monster appeared. Pinkie was fast to react however. “Incendio!” she shouted and a trail of fire shot from her wand. She raised her free hoof to the sky. “La-Morphocia-Ultima!” “Ultima?” Celestia asked. Pinkie didn’t answer as her form shifted into a human and she had a pink cloak with her cutie mark emblazed on the bottom. “Oh, ultimacrum. I didn't know that’s possible.” “It is, if you have some knowledge of the future and/or know what your Power Forme looked like,” Pinkie replied. “Butnowwehaveamonsterinthemidst— TWILIGHT! WATCH YOUR SIX!” Twilight jumped sideways as she nearly got herself turn into dust. Rainbow Dash looked at the monster and then smirked as she proceeded to punch it. The eye monster was knocked back and then began to spin. Pinkie’s eyes widened as she hid the wand and morphed back into a pony. She looked around as she summoned a blowpipe and began to shoot seeds at the eye monster which now had a mouth with fangs. “Okay, Ah’m pretty sure this is going nowhere,” Applejack told them as she walked back. “We probably should leave it alon— OW!” Applejack stared at the the stone she stepped on and to her left hoof where a burn was in place. She saw it glow orange. “Huh.” She pointed towards the eye monster and an orange beam shot towards it, dealing massive damage. “This is unusual.” “We’re in Dream Realm Destroia!” Rainbow Dash said with glee, flying towards the monster and kicking it. “Can’t you see, unusual’s the new usual here! Man, why didn’t I notice that before…” Rarity was just admiring the view as she continued reading the book until the last word. “Oh,” she commented. “That makes sense. Wow. I mean… Oh, sweet royalty.” She fired a spell from her horn to the monster which was the final blow, much to everypony’s surprise. “Let’s see what I can get from this…” She trotted towards the body and levitated a few materials out of it. “Ew. Blood.” Before Rarity could get a hold of the materials she had on her telekinetic grasp, Pinkie took it first. Rarity shouted something that was blocked by another roar. Twilight looked around and picked up the stone Applejack stepped on and pressed her left hoof on it. The stone crumbled, causing the ground to rupture. All winged ponies lifted themselves up from the ground and helped the non-winged as Twilight was left levitating on the spot where there had been ground. “Santo Dos!” She shouted as a black cloud of darkness approached the area. Celestia noticed what she was about to do and dived in but she was too late. Twilight exploded into a ball of light which destroyed the dark cloud. Everything except for Twilight came back to normal. Celestia felt that something was wrong. Very wrong. “Twilight!” she called. “Where are you, my faithful student? Twilight?” Her friends soon called along. “Twi! Where are ya?” “Twilight Sparkle!” “Where is Twily?” “Twilight!” “Um… Twilight? Hello?” But they did not find her, only her fountain pen which Rainbow Dash brought to the group. Celestia lowered her head. > 7 – Second Coming > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Horseshoe Bay shoreline, Equestria Twilight Sparkle woke up with a headache and the feeling of pins and needles poking at her body. She grunted, causing a very recognizable brother who removed all of the needles. She smiled as she hugged her brother who returned the hug. Twilight then looked around and couldn’t help but be amazed by the technology used. “How long have I been out?” The purple mare asked. “Five days,” Shining replied. “Welcome back to the real world, L.S.B.F.F.” “Thanks, B.B.B.F.F.,” she said before stepping outside. A strong light momentarily blinded her which caused her to back up. She shook her head a few times then went outside again to find that the light was just a lamp pointed at the entrance. The guards positioned around looked at her before returning to their posts as a dark blue alicorn walked towards her and checked her left hoof. “You managed to bring the power here,” Luna realized as she moved few furs away to show a burn. “How did that happen?” The guards were suddenly alerted by an intruder. “Uh… What’s going on?” Twilight asked, now unsure of what had happened. “Somepony went too close.” Luna faced the guard nearest of her. “Bring the trespasser to thy camp. Follow along, Twilight Sparkle. You’ll be surprised.” Twilight nodded then began to follow Princess Luna as she headed towards a small spot in the beach where a small blue camp sat still in the sand. They entered the camp to find that it was bigger on the inside, and the intruder was none other than… “Mrs. Cake?” Twilight called. “What are you doing?” “Well, I was about to secretly check on to you,” Mrs. Cake explained as she looked towards the floor and drew a rune which made the guards back away towards Luna. “Until they spotted me and brought me here.” “Alas, why are you worried about dear sister’s student?” Luna asked. “You have a crush on her, yes?” “Oh no. I’m married,” Mrs. Cake defended. “It’s just that a Stargazer must make sure that everypony who comes towards Dream Realm Destroia must be safe.” “Stargazer?” Twilight asked. Luna ignored Twilight. “I am a Stargazer as well, am I not?” she asked. “Yes, but that was until you entered yourself,” Mrs. Cake defended. “It’s been a thousand generations, your majesty.” All of a sudden, Mr. Cake came bursting in carrying an orb. “You! Why’d you left this Spirit artifact in our house!?” Mr. Cake angrily snapped. “You could’ve hurt the babies!” “Sorry about that!” Mrs. Cake shouted back as she took the orb and looked at Mr. Cake and winked. Mr. Cake winked back as they both shook their heads and stared at the orb. “What’s with the orb-thing again, honey?” “Something valuable since the dark ages,” Mrs. Cake told him as she opened the orb to reveal a long stick with a trigger. “Hey, I know that.” Twilight tried to remember the name of the object. “It’s a lightsaber hilt.” She took the lightsaber hilt and activated it, which made a bluish blade. “Why does it look familiar?” Luna asked as Twilight happily swung the lightsaber, cautiously trying not to destroy anything. Twilight then stopped and deactivated it to anticipate Mrs. Cake’s answer, now being curious. Mrs. Cake sighed. “It’s Starswirl the Bearded’s first lightsaber.” “First lightsaber?” Twilight asked. “Wait, Starswirl the Bearded’s first lightsaber!? You mean Starswirl is a…” Twilight looked at Luna before to looking at Cup Cake. “Really? Starswirl’s lightsaber?” “Yes, until he unfortunately lost it during one of his travels,” Mrs. Cake continued. “Fortunate a pony found it and hid it until her dying breath. I think the pony’s name was Searching Star.” “The Stargazer,” Luna concluded. “It all comes full circle now.” “Uh…why?” Twilight asked. “She’s my granddaughter,” Luna told her. Mr. Cake now smiled as he took something from the orb and threw it towards Twilight which she quickly dodged without looking. “Um, Twilight, you should probably take a rest before you come back to Destroia, because you aren’t done yet.” Mrs. Cake nodded. “Being the Stargazer, I also say the same. Now, sweetie…” “Yes, I know.” Twilight looked around and placed the lightsaber hilt beside her book, which was on Princess Luna’s table. Princess Luna’s eyes widened as the lightsaber began to levitate and the book opened. Twilight noticed this and felt the familiar pain she had on her left hoof. Mrs. Cake and Mr. Cake could only watch in horror as the lightsaber deconstruct itself until the magic crystal which is the saber’s power source was left, and the crystal is then absorbed by the book. The lightsaber reconstructs without the blade then falls back into the book which was closed again. Twilight picked up the lightsaber and activated it again, only for nothing. She activated it a few times until she saw the burn on her left hoof. Twilight then activated the lightsaber again using her left hoof and, much to Luna’s surprise, it activated and now sported a purple blade. Twilight looked at her left hoof to find that a scar had took place. She huh’d. She turned off the lightsaber again and they all called it a night. The next day, Mr. Cake had left as Mrs. Cake, Princess Luna, and Twilight Sparkle prepared for another teleport until Mrs. Cake stepped out of the procedures. Princess Luna wondered why she did an action and she replied that Twilight is the one that should be back, not the both of them. Luna wondered how a 1-pony teleport worked until she found Twilight drawing runes around herself. “Uh…” Luna didn’t notice what to say. “What thou doing?” Twilight looked up at Princess Luna and pointed to her book which was…on fire. Luna quickly dove in to save the book only to be too late since Twilight vanished as soon as the book was ash. Luna and Cup Cake looked at each other before recognizing the runes she used. Destroia Xtermis Tower, Illyria, Dream Realm Destroia Twilight groaned as she rose from her location in what seemed to be another Destroia Xtermis Tower. She stood and checked her surroundings, only to recognize her wand, her fountain pen, and the saddlebag. She also saw a note from King Armor the Fourth and read it. “‘By reading you returned, Through her the book  is burned,’” she read out loud. “Huh, what does that mean?” She looked at the saddlebag and realized whose bag it really was. She went towards the saddlebag and began to search for the lightsaber. After a few careful inspection, she found the lightsaber and activated it. The hum of the now violet-bladed lightsaber echoed around the room as Twilight swung it around. She then heard voices. Familiar voices. Voices of her friends and mentor. She smiled as she deactivated the lightsaber. “Hello?” she called out. “It’s me, Twilight!” She see six pony heads pop from a corner looking at her. She waved back awkwardly as they come out one by one and look at Twilight. Before Twilight could’ve move, they all hugged her except for Princess Celestia who seemed to be confused. Twilight looked at her mentor and approached her. “What’s wrong, Princess?” Twilight asked. Princess Celestia looked around. “You came alone?” “Uh… Yes?” Twilight answered. “Is it because nopony came alone here?” Celestia nodded. Think, Twilight. “What if Starswirl the Bearded was the first one who came alone?” Celestia and the others looked at Twilight. “You can’t possibly mean—” Rarity began only to be interrupted by the hum of her lightsaber. Twilight deactivated the lightsaber again. “Where'd you get that thing?” Rainbow Dash questioned. To answer Rainbow’s question, she first wrote something in her book before turning to Rainbow Dash. “This tool was Starswirl’s first lightsaber.” Celestia remembered something about the lightsaber. “Starswirl the Bearded had a blue blade. Why is it violet?” “No idea, I guess the book have the answer,” Twilight answered as she noticed the original crystal embedded in the front cover. “Ooh. I think it’s this crystal.” Twilight went to approach the crystal only to stop. She looked at the lightsaber and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes again to find two lightsabers and and a pile of ash. She chuckled. “Unexpected,” Twilight told herself as she activated the first lightsaber to check its blade. Violet. She deactivated it then holstered the lightsaber on her belt— stop. She’s wearing something. She’s wearing the same clothes she noticed Mar wore. She looked around and saw all of them wearing similar robes. Rainbow Dash was more or less posing as an action hero while Rarity was also more or less trying to modify her robe. She felt somepony poking her only to find Princess Celestia with her own lightsaber which had a green blade. “I thought I lost these, actually,” Celestia excused to why she had her own lightsaber. Twilight looked back to find that the book has regained and there are four more lightsaber hilts. She blinked. “Well, looks like we’re the Destroia Resistance while Ms. Ravenshire is the Destroia Empire,” she announced. All of a sudden, there was a flash of thunder and at the opening doorway was King Armor and Mar who was holding a blaster and a lightsaber respectively. “I’ve been waiting for a generation of the pony Dreamer Squad to say that!” Armor exclaimed in anticipation. “May the Force be with us all,” Mar proclaimed before getting strange looks. “I’m a Jedi Knight, and I don’t think we’ll get through this easy. They have the Dark Side of the Force, and I’m just one. All others are in other Dream Realms.” “Do I count?” Celestia asked. “I don’t know,” Mar admitted. “My Master, a time travelling one, says that true Jedi can be found both in acts and enlightenment. She said emotions guide to both the Dark and Light, but be wary of the true balance.” “And true balance comes with harmony, which powered the magic of friendship inside one’s hearts, I presume?” Celestia finished. “Yes, but, how did you know Master Flystar’s words?” Mar asked. “She was also my mentor,” Celestia answered with a wink. Twilight knew who her mentor was, it was well written. But to think that… Starswirl…? Twilight now looked at her lightsaber and saw how different it was from the original, which was the second one. The difference from his and mine is the the violet blade and the… hilt. It’s changed completely from the last time I saw it. If Starswirl the Bearded is Flystar… “Who is Flystar?” “Master Ro-Wan Flystar,” Mar answered. “Rowan G,” Rainbow noticed. “Wasn’t that the name you kept babbling when we came for another sleepover at your library?” “Rowan Geneva Flystar?” King Armor pointed out. “You’re kidding. That guy’s a mad man!” “Why?” they all asked. “He’s the—" King Armor felt something and ran off. “He’s the what?” Twilight asked before the room darkened for another enter teleport. “Clear the middle!” Everyone cleared out as a man appeared and the room lightened themselves back up. The man looks around before he looked up and turned into a colt. The colt looked at himself and chuckled. “Oh jeez, never been a pony since the day Starswirl Sr. adopted me as Starswirl the Bearded!” he exclaimed out of joy. He looked around and regretted saying that since he spotted both Mar and Princess Celestia. “Blasted potato-creamed cockroaches. Hello, my apprentices.” “Hello,” they both growled back. “Master/Teacher.” Rainbow Dash pulled all the other six and whispered, “things just got real.” Twilight smiled. Luna’s Sanctuary, Unknown Location in probably NOT Equestria “Welcome to my sanctuary, citizens of Ponyville,” Luna announced. “Be lucky that you were the only ponies, along with a select few of the other nations, to be chosen to see this. Princess Celestia doesn’t even know this place.” “Why doesn’t Princess Celestia know of this?” the Mayor asked. “Because she cannot visit this place,” Luna answered. “Only I can.” Mr. Cake smiled. He now know of a sanctuary, and looking at it there was somepony here before. He needed to know who was. “Excuse me, Princess, but it looks like somepony was here before.” Luna smiled. “Who wants to know who?” Almost all of the ponies raised their hooves. “Very well.” Luna looked around. “Starswirl the Bearded.” > 8 – Time Clash > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Let me tell you where I was over a thousand years,” Starswirl said. “I was at Luna’s Sanctuary keeping it safe.” “Luna’s Sanctuary?” Celestia asked. ‘Where could she have hidden such a place?’ “I think it’s another dimension, master.” Mar answered. Starswirl faced Mar. “And I see you are a true Jedi now,” he commented before looking back at the ponies. “You guys want to know where is Luna’s Sanctuary is?” The ponies, except for Pinkie, nodded. “The Lithium Complex, Alerith Laboratories, Rediscovera Multiverse,” Starswirl answered, only receiving strange and confused looks from the ponies. He frowned. “Just what branch of magic did I do?” “Time and portal magic,” Twilight pointed out. “Hold on, time and space. Dimension magic. Why didn’t I figure it out before that you’re actually somepony not from Equestria?” “Because, dear student of my student,” Starswirl replied. “I casted a curse upon Equestria to remember me as the great unicorn pony who invented hundreds of spells, not an alien who helped advance Equestria’s technology in a tenfold by quantum physics.” “That’s… a horrifying picture to look at,” Twilight answered. “Well, to think that if it’s a curse for Equestria, then it must be wearing off since there are alien conspiracists telling you are not from Equestria, but rather a changeling…” Twilight winced at the mention of changeling. “Changeling, madam?” Mar asked. “Well, excuse my actions but, there’s a changeling species in your world!?” “We decided not to talk about it,” Rainbow Dash answered. “It brings too much action.” “No, do tell!” Mar answered. “They’re Jedi, not much thing for emotions,” Celestia whispered to her ponies. “I heard that, Celestia!” Starswirl shouted. “And I might have slightly offended by that, Celestia,” Mar added. “Even if that’s the truth.” “Speaking of truths, Starswirl told me about a rule about having one student,” Celestia called back. “I guess I now see where he got the idea from, Jedi Master.” “Please call me on the names you have grown with,” Starswirl begged. “Master Flystar, sure. Starswirl the Bearded, that’s acceptable. Rowan, well, I’ll let you six call me that.” Twilight heard a sigh from Pinkie. “Now… did I hear something about a rebellion?” Starswirl asked. “Why don’t you all tell me your plans.” They all looked at each other before they told Starswirl/Rowan Flystar their plans. King Armor also went back to their location and kneeled down to Flystar and when they asked why he did such thing… “I’m just giving respect,” he had answered. … So after they had told the plans, they all looked at Twilight seemed to wear different clothing. Twilight tilted her head before looking at herself and found herself chuckling. “How did you do that?” Starswirl asked. Twilight pointed to the saddlebag. “There were clothes there, so I switched with my robe while casting an illusion spell that I was listening and adding the plans,” she explained. “That, and this clothes are really, really comfortable.” “You’re wearing a shirt, pants, and a jacket,” Mar noticed. “Aren’t those what Earth humans would wear?” “My padawan,” Starswirl called. “I am a Jedi Master of Earth.” Mar’s eyes widened as Starswirl chuckled. “There’s a hidden Jedi Council on that primitive planet, you know.” Everypony except Twilight groaned and rolled their eyes. Twilight just removed her clothes and took on a cloak and her saddlebag where her improved survival kit lies ready, which includes her basic materials since first contact, her violet-bladed lightsaber, and her book which returned into its previous state being a book not a pile of solid readable ash, because that’s what it was. She then headed outside as a small voice in her guided her. “Twilight, head to Firea…” the voice whispered in her head. “There’s no good side from the both of them. You need to run…” Twilight, not knowing who the voice was, hesitated a bit until she found herself running towards the forest after what seemed to be a portal. She abruptly stopped herself afterwards. “Who are you?” she shouted. “Why are you in my head?” “I… I cannot explain. It’s… Follow the arch trees,” the voice replied. “Then you’ll find your answer.” Twilight looked around and now recognized three paths, one she knew she passed by because of a knocked sign lying beside of the path. She looked at the two paths and saw that one path had arch trees. She followed down this path. She followed on until she saw an old pony with a cloak and approached her. Soon after she had come close enough, the old pony’s cloak turned to dust to reveal a young unicorn mare. The mare smiled as Twilight looked at her cutie mark, a blue compass star. “I see that you’ve followed my instructions,” the mare answered, frailness present. “I believe that it would be wise not to tell anypony, including your friends, about this. It’s a fate you will choose.” “Why?” Twilight asked. “Why can’t I tell anypony?” “Because they have ignored my call and went to help Illyria,” the mare explained. “Any more questions?” “What’s your name?” Twilight asked. The mare chuckled. “Twinkle Starlight, granddaughter of the Princess of Friendship and the Stargazer,” she answered. Twilight opened her mouth to speak only to close as Twinkle raised a hoof. “I know what you might be thinking, I thought Missus Cup Cake was the Stargazer, yes?” Twilight nodded. “She is. Heh, my cutie mark for navigation and yet I’m the best in cooking and kids!” “Like Mrs. Cake,” Twilight noted. “Exactly like her,” Twinkle corrected. The two looked at each other before a spark flashed from both of their horns. Twilight jumped as her brain began to register what seemed to be instinctive responses as well as more battle stances. She looked at Twinkle. “What did you do?” Twilight asked. “I… I don’t know, it’s been doing that since…” Twinkle looked at her left hoof. “I found my grandmother’s lightsaber…” Twilight quickly threw her cloak away and pulled her lightsaber out in a defensive stance. Twinkle stepped back before she pulled out her own lightsaber, which was colored green. The two began to battle. A few minutes later, they find themselves both equally tired and wounded before deactivating their own lightsabers. Twilight giggled. “The Force is strong in us,” Twinkle joked as she threw the lightsaber towards a small bag which was near a tree. “The Force of determination.” “Now, why did you say neither Ms. Ravenshire nor King Armor are the good ones?” Twilight asked as she hid her hilt on her saddlebag and wore her cloak which was on a tree branch. “Because the true good in this place is those who roam free,” Twinkle replied. “Like me. And Sergeant Flystar, that is.” Twilight froze. “You know Starswirl!?” “That was his name too?” Twinkle wondered. “That makes sense, he created hundreds of spells and a few of them were time and space-related. Good game, Rowan. You owe me thirty million.” Starswirl blinked before he facepalmed while watching Twilight’s friends and mentor find her. “Thirty million what?” Twilight asked. “Not that I’m curious.” “Thirty million bits,” Twinkle replied as they find themselves on a small wood cottage. “We have been walking, it seem.” Twilight blinked. “Huh, I didn’t notice that,” she commented. “That’s your house, right?” “That’s my summer dream house, yes.” Twinkle approached the door, opened it, quickly entered and closed the door, and went back outside with a small vial containing blue liquid. Twilight inspected the blue vial and stared at Twinkle with one eyebrow up. “What’s this?” she asked. “It’s a serum my grandfather made,” she explained. “Whoever drinks it will physically and spiritually have tome slowed down. Basically, whoever drinks it turns the whole thing around her from 1 hour into a day! Good for practicing, never hurts. Also works as a body resistance potion for area where you cannot simply barge in, one example, it severs the link from causing you and your Soira to share the same everything.” She looked at Twilight and took her lightsaber and inspected it. “You seem to have resetted it… Good! Now drink the vial before they could trace you out!” “Trace me out!?” Twilight looked at the vial. “What do you mean?” “Autumn H. Ravenshire can trace and track all Dreamers in Dream Realm Destroia,” Twinkle muttered quickly as a wind began to blow. “She’s coming, drink it!” Twilight hesitated before she drank the vial and noticed that it tasted like apples. Twinkle looked around and quickly dragged her towards the house as the wind slammed down where Twilight was. Twilight blacked out as she was dragged in. “Thank goodness your safe, Twinkle! Wait a minute…” “Yes, that’s grandma. No, that’s not her, her.” “Wait, so that means Mom was a unicorn pony before she became a Princess?” “Sort of. She’s awake now. Rise and shine!” Twilight jolted upwards and saw Twinkle with a white unicorn pony with a yellow-orange compass rose star. She looked around and saw herself not on a small cottage but rather on a luxurious house. Her eyes widened as it reminded her of her apartment back in Canterlot and cringed as she remembered her old friends. “Okay… Twinkle, get some sandwiches. I’m talking her in,” the white pony commanded. The pony then faced Twilight who stood and fixed herself. “Good day, my name’s Twilight Sunshine.” “Huh. Well… my name’s Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight introduced herself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sunshine.” “Call me Twilight,” Sunshine corrected. “If I call you Twilight, then how will everypony know whose Twilight is Twilight?” Twilight pointed out. “My friends call me Twilight, you know.” “I call you Sparkle while you call me Twilight,” Sunshine suggested. “Hm… I call you Sunshine in public and I keep the Twilight instead, sounds good?” Twilight asked. “Deal,” Sunshine suggested as Twinkle came carrying a plate full of daffodil and daisy sandwiches. “Oh, snacks! Yummy!” Twinkle shifted the plate to avoid getting the snacks being taken by her mother and floated a sandwich towards Twilight who quickly ate it. Sunshine looked at Twilight and quickly shook her head as she looked outside. She sighed and smiled. “Ravendesk clear,” she announced. “Thank goodness. Twilight, Twinkle, since you two have drunk the vial, go train yourselves outside. The effects of the vial in the Dream Realm Destroia is awesome; you guys can go anywhere undetected. Just…don’t reveal yourselves.” “Not even my friends?” Twilight asked. Sunshine blinked. “Especially your friends because they’re still under the Cycle.” “Not me!” They all looked around to find Pinkie Pie inside the house. Sunshine and Twinkle jumped as Twilight noticed an empty vial hanging from her neck as a necklace. “You had one the whole time, didn’t you,” Twilight deadpanned. “No, it came with the lightsaber.” Pinkie pulled out her lightsaber and pointed towards the bottom. “Only I had it, probably because of the spiri-quantum bolt.” Her eyes landed on both Twinkle and Sunshine and grinned. “Hey, Sunshine and her daughter Twinkle Starlight the Stargazer! What’s up!” “Auntie Pinkie?” Twinkle called. “Wait, how did you know?” “The Fourth Princess told me!” Pinkie answered as she took a sandwich from the platter and ate it. “Which I won’t even tell who.” “Actually, I may have forgot to tell you but,” Twilight told them as she pulled out her book which promptly turned to ash. “After this, we’re all going to forget it. Everypony who was within our timeline will, except for Mrs. Cake.” “What about her?” Pinkie asked. Twinkle giggled as she said one word. “Stargazer.” “What’s so special about stargazing?” Pinkie continued. It was Sunshine’s time to answer. “Not stargazing, the Stargazer. In laypony’s terms, a historian.” “Really?” “Yeah, but in a way that he/she records history by burning/reading specific books,” Twilight finished. She blinked to recount her words and gulped. “I actually didn’t know that until now.” Pinkie’s eyes drifted on the book and then to Twilight and then smiled. “I know.” The three looked at Pinkie. “The Fourth Princess explained all of that to me too,” Pinkie declared. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” … They finally sighed in relief. Day 1 “So… We can’t tell anypony about the vial,” Pinkie clarified. They nodded. “Which means this is a secret to the four of us,” she added. They nodded again. “What will we do now?” Pinkie finished. Twinkle answered alone. “We train.” “Train for what, exactly?” Twilight asked. “Training to be as powerful and wise as both Autumn and Armor,” Sunshine answered. “Well, that, and if you also want, trying to make decoded messages only we four could interpret.” “Why does everything almost have to be something that needs to avoid my friends?” Twilight complained. Pinkie sighed. “Your greatest ally in a corrupted world is yourself and those free from corruption,” she answered. “Right now… We’ve broken the cycle. If we don’t act now we’ll lose the whole group first, then we’ll have to redo the whole thing from scratch. Probably after they try to find us and suck the information out of us!” Twinkle raised an eyebrow. “You certainly know a lot.” “Well, after we got to Isla Destroia we came here searching for the Crystal of Blue for starters…” Pinkie trailed off. “And then we went for a secret adventure around the water borders of Equestria to find the last copy of the Universes of Dream Realm.” “Destroia…?” Twinkle looked at her mother then back to the two. “I guess we should skip the lore and into the petty facts now.” “Lore?” Twilight asked, curious mode activated. “There’s a lore?” “Uh…” Twinkle motioned Pinkie to tell her. Pinkie blinked then faced Twilight. Pinkie took a deep breath. “Everything began when a guy named Mark Johnson Crafters was lost in a place called Minecraftia and after a few years of exploring he became a mayor just after founding a town into the shores and then the years afterwards the town was named Destroia after Mark’s favorite location the Destroia Garden which frankly was located in an island which was soon named Isla Destroia as humanity created safehouses to get themselves out of the dangers which the island can bring without the proper equipment like the vial we drank,” she finished, taking some air in. “Phew.” Twilight blinked. “Carry on,” she encouraged. “It doesn’t seem to tell how Dream Realm Destroia founded, how there are five countries, and why Soiras were formed.” Twinkle promptly dropped a book on Twilight’s head in annoyance and in Pinkie’s relief. Day 5 “It’s cool how time slows down from a day to 24 days,” Twilight noticed. “How did you get it to work?” “Well, it started as a spell immunity potion for spellcasting Dreamers,” Sunshine explained since Twinkle and Pinkie chattered on another room. “An invention the Princess made so that she could feel better and not experience any limitations. However, after the initial testing, the test subjects who took it experienced a different effect. They weren’t immune to magic, but they were immune to the ambient magic and makes their bodies experience what it should’ve been before. 24 days for a day.” “Test subjects… were they pony?” Twilight asked, worried. “Nope, only volunteers,” Sunshine answered. “Although 2832 and 449 are ponies.” “Oh, what happened to them?” Twilight asked. “449 is me, 2832 is my husband,” Sunshine replied with pride. Twilight opened her mouth to ask something before her eyes landed on Pinkie and Twinkle who were laughing. She closed her mouth and frowned, thinking it would just be a question for another time until she landed on a portrait. Twilight approached the portrait which surprised both Twinkle and Sunshine. She took the portrait and showed it to them. “Who is this?” Twilight demanded. Pinkie took a closer look and gulped. “That’s nopony.” “Then why does it look like me with…” Twilight checked the portrait for a few seconds. “Wings! Wait, wings?!” Twilight looked at the portrait again and saw where it was shot along with who were in the picture. “Okay, break the locks, tell me or else I’m telling everypony about this.” They all gulped. Twilight watched them as the three huddled up. The three engaged in a conversation about the matter. “What should we do now?” Pinkie asked. “I thought you girls hid that photo?” “Hey, I thought she wouldn’t even notice it,” Twinkle defended. “Well, we have two decisions left,” Sunshine noted. “The truth, or memory removal.” “No fair!” they both proclaimed. “It’s been five hours!” Sunshine took notice of this and facehooved. “She knows her timings well, I suppose.” “So, truth it is then?” Twinkle asked, grinning. “Why are you smiling like that?” Pinkie noticed. The smile vanished. “Can’t I just smile like I used to when I learned about that one thing with the orb?” Twinkle asked. “Orb? You mean…” Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Ooh. So that’s what she meant by ‘each sphere by the truth past hear’ a few hours before I left.” Twinkle tensed up. “You mean… she knew?” “Hey, remember, we came here AFTER Isla Destroia,” Pinkie reminded. “‘Each sphere by truth the past hear,’” Sunshine began. “‘As ash cover memories of the flash. Let be reminded of the journey before disaster strikes permanently.’” “The Poem of Dream,” Twinkle recognized. “Why does grandfather speaks in rhymes when he goes all prophecy?” “Probably because it looks awesome,” Sunshine noticed. “Anyways, we need to tell her now.” The three ponies looked at Twilight who was surprisingly patient, Twilight looked up and tilted her head, keeping her expression the same “What?” face. Twinkle took a deep breath and began. “The Fourth Princess is you. The Princess of Friendship, Peace Prime Minister Princess Twilight Sparkle-Gemstone,” she said. “‘Sparkle-Gemstone?’ I’m married?” Twilight asked. Her eyes landed on Sunshine. “Oh wait, if I wasn’t there wouldn’t be the both of you, isn’t it. Who did I marry?” “A Exiled Soira who took the name of Opalescence Keyheart Gemstone. Or Opal Gemstone,” Sunshine answered. “Took form in a wingless horned pegasus.” “That’s weird,” Twilight commented. “Why didn’t he have any wings?” “Apparently Princess Celestia found him first and saw his horn and wings, then cut off his wings because he wanted to,” Twinkle explained, shivering at the thought of seeing her own grandfather go through it. “Then, a magical storm ended up removing his memories and cutie mark, you came to the rescue, found a way to turn his magic into unicorn magic, happily lived ever since.” “Not to mention the advancements Equestria had on our time!” Sunshine added. “Apparently Eraidans are very smart and creative.” Twilight looked at the portrait. “Who’s the other one, Sunshine?” Sunshine blinked. “Pardon?” “It’s a family portrait of me, if it was really me, Opal, you, and a colt,” Twilight pointed out. “Crystal Spinwheel? Ol’boy’s watching us through that camera.” Sunshine pointed to a security camera hanging from the ceiling. “That, and he’s really shocked when he found you.” “Really?” Twilight looked at the camera and waved. “Hello!” I moved the camera up and down. “Oh, he did saw me,” Twilight noticed. “That’s weird, I thought this was a third-person thing,” Pinkie commented. The three, plus the camera, looked at Pinkie. Day 9 (9 Hours since Twi and Pinkie Vanished) “They’ve been missing for nine hours!” Applejack complained. “Any luck, Fluttershy?” “Nope,” Fluttershy answered. “How about you, Rarity?” “Well, nothing, but I did craft a sword for my protection and some clothing,” Rarity replied. The four ponies and Princess Celestia looked at Rarity and saw her with a rose on her mane, a diamond cloak, and hellstone boots. “Don’t I look fabulous, darlings?” “Yeah, where’d you get it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Didn’t it came from those materials you looted from that monster… right?” “It is…” Rarity looked at her sword, a Terrarian Night’s Edge. “Well, this cloak isn’t, I found it lying around near a dead guy holding a diamond staff. I didn’t take the staff though.” “A staff like Pinkie’s, isn’t it?” Celestia asked. Rarity blinked. “Yes, yes it is, Princess.” “And you said you found it near a skeleton with the staff, right?” Celestia clarified. Rarity nodded. “Could it be that the cloak has magical properties?” Celestia suggested. “It could be, I haven’t thought of that…” Rarity pulled out the rose from her mane and willed a fireball to appear. A fireball shot itself from the rose, and bounced four times before it popped off. Rarity then sparkle a little a few seconds later. On Twinkle’s cottage, Pinkie felt something. The others all looked at Pinkie and asked. “What happened?” Twilight asked. “I don’t know,” Pinkie told them. “I haven’t felt this since I donned my favorite diamond cloak I lost on the way.” “Diamond cloak like what Rarity is wearing right now?” Sunshine pointed out as she levitated a small monitor focusing on their friends. “Wow, how did you do this?” Twilight asked as she took the monitor. “Is this real-time, as if their time?” “Er… yeah,” Sunshine answered. “It is powered by a lithium battery, it’s immune to everything except for electricity, because it’s electric. Modern tech. Nopony knows yet in your time. That.” “That doesn’t make sense,” Twilight commented. A flower pot beside them turned around to show a smiling face. “What doesn’t make sense?” Twilight jumped. “Wha-who!?” The flower pot turned into a creature after a snapping sound and took a deep breath before staring at Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle,” he called. “The flashy unicorn who will be the Princess of Friendship. I missed you ever since you got the wings from where we three are from.” “Hardy har har, Dissy,” Pinkie deadpanned. “Hardy har har.” “Yes, I know, and I already said I’m sorry, you know,” Discord half-heartedly said. “Speaking of which, goldfish!” He snapped his claws. Walking goldfish began to enter the room. Pinkie looked outside and didn’t see rain. “Huh, it’s not raining outside.” Discord tilted his head as to what Pinkie meant as she began to laugh. Twinkle rolled her eyes as Sunshine whispered something to Twilight made Pinkie’s statement make sense. Well, it roughly made sense since she haven’t played the game where Pinkie got the reference. Neither did I. Pinkie looked at the camera again after abruptly stopping. Discord also looked at the camera. Day 21 “It’s weird how things look different on the outside world under the effects of the serum,” Pinkie commented as they arrived back towards the cottage from the outside. “As if we could totally see another version of this place, this time with more Soiras than ever.” “Those Soiras you saw were actually ourselves from the very future,” Sunshine corrected. “Well, astral projections unless they themselves drank the serum themselves.” She then notice something. “Where’s Twilight?” Pinkie looked around and saw that Twilight wasn’t with her. She looked outside to find Twilight running towards the door. She opened the door, only to find two Twilights. She tilted her head. “Thank you, Twinkling Star,” Twilight told the second one which everypony now noticed had one busted eye. “I… I wouldn’t survive Allem Canyon without you.” “Anything for the Prime Twilight, mistress!” Twinkling Starr told her as she took a red-colored vial and looked at them. “You do know what this is, right?” Twinkle went closer and sniffed the liquid. “Antidote. ANTIDOTE!?” “Yes, antidote.” She drank the vial and stepped outside. “Viva Equestria!” The mare then promptly vanished as the door closed on its own. They all looked at Twinkle who took a flower and clipped it on her mane. She then facehooved. “I have a heightened sense of smell,” she explained. “A trait dad had.” Everypony didn’t ask questions afterwards until Sunshine noticed something. “Allem Canyon?” Sunshine asked. Twilight winced. “The line from Firea Edge to Litteroot Edge,” she began. “Look, I know I shouldn’t have—” “Stop.” Twilight looked at Sunshine. “You know, maybe I should let you give you the memory orbs of my mother. Maybe turn yourself into a princess here, but never above.” Twilight tilted her head before Twinkle poked a metal ball on her horn, causing her to flash into white light. A few seconds later, she returned with wings. Twilight took the time to adjust before nearly panicking, only to be calmed by the three who reminded her of the portrait. “Thanks,” she told them. Twilight flexed one of her wings. “This is weird. How many times did I crash practicing?” “We have no idea,” they all answered. “How many disasters did I go through?” she asked again. “Quite a lot,” Pinkie answered. “I think the last one was… End of the World.” “How did I survive that out?” Twilight asked indecrously. The door opened to show another Twilight with a burnt wing and a busted eye along with a maroon unicorn whose horn seem to be wired to his torso. “Okay, that explains everything,” Twilight answered her own question. “Uh… hi?” The two entered, stared at Twilight, then headed off towards the basement. Twilight blinked and closed the door afterwards. Pinkie facehooved. “Twilight, I think time is running out.” “Why? Is it because of her?” “No. It’s because the war is coming faster than we could stop it! The triplets are trying, but they’re stuck with Armor. Autumn Ravenshire has gone nuts, and the Doctor of Alexandria hasn’t left the portal.” “It is because of her.” “No! I wouldn't blame you! In fact, if time serves right, Eldrick von Saphyr, the Soira me before I met you, should be trying to solve a mystery while seldomly staring at a picture of you. Or her.” “Heh, when did you start doing it? Have a picture of me?” “Well… If memory serves right… Before you were even born, I think. I– Eldrick was a time travelling genius. Heh, probably fascinated by Starswirl.” “Cool. I mean, you bloody stalker. What should we do now? They have three Earth hours left before they are kicked out.” “Kicked out? Seriously? Don’t worry, I have a plan.” Helena T.S. Ryder looked at Dr. Opalescence Keyheart Saphyr Gemstone who smiled. “Call them both out.” > 9 – World Beyond > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle waved goodbye to Twinkle Starlight and Twilight Sunshine as the vial’s effects wore off, causing the cottage to vanish from their eyes as they vanish from Twinkle and Sunshine’s eyes. However, Twinkle ran off and followed them, drinking the antidote along the way. This surprised Twilight and Pinkie as they were halfway to Firea’s abandoned city. “What are you doing here, Twinkle?” Twilight asked. “I thought—” “You girls won’t survive very long if you both were to face a Sith that fast,” Twinkle warned. “I’m going with you as Hollander Cross.” “That’s a human name,” Pinkie noticed. “Ironically it is,” Twinkle— I mean, Cross told them. “Call me Silver Cross. That’ll surprise him. Now, where were we going? The Pylon Tower, yes?” Twilight nodded. “Let’s go, Suvivia Team! Wait, that’s a weird name.” “Not exactly,” Cross told them. “Just get on with it.” As soon as they stepped on the tower grounds, Twilight found her friends, Princess Celestia, Mar, and “Starswirl” staring back. The first thing their friends didn’t recognize from Twilight and Pinkie was that they wore what Cross called Cross Compasses. They were simple compass lockets which were enchanted to protect them. A long explanation short, anti-evil. All of them noticed Starswirl glaring at the compasses while Twilight ignited her purple-bladed lightsaber and pointed at Starswirl. “I sense darkness in you,” Twinkle called as she pointed him as well. “Me? Why me?” Starswirl asked. “I’ve done nothing wrong!” “I don’t think so,” Pinkie replied, walking towards Starswirl. Starswirl was trembling. Pinkie went closer until she was too close and close enough that her compass was only a milimeter away from touching Starswirl. Twinkle immediately recognized what Pinkie did and ran to get her away… *CLINK* A flash of darkness engulfed Starswirl, much to everypony’s shock. Pinkie backed off, her compass broken and the enchantment faded. They dismissed Pinkie as they checked on Starswirl who was now in a different human form, which Mar was shocked to see. He immediately drew his lightsaber only to get slammed away into an avandoned building. Celestia backed off as well as the other four while Pinkie, Twilight, and Cross faced the Sith. “Meltor Ryn!” Cross called. The human that was onced Starswirl smirked. “Hello, sister.” The human jump-charged on Cross while igniting his own red-bladed lightsaber. “I hope you’re ready to meet father!” “Not if I have to say about it!” Cross answered as she Force-blocked the attack while drawing her own lightsaber. “Why are you doing this?” Meltor answered by slashing which was blocked by Twilight. Pinkie ignited her lightsaber and swung her blade, only to be blocked by the same blade. Meanwhile, one cannot simply describe a lightsaber battle without making its scenes on an animation tool. As I watched them battle, I found something that was peculiar. Twilight Sparkle’s Cross Compass was glowing in eight colors every time she striked. What is going on down there? “This is Pinkie, and I guess… This will be my first and final message for my girls there. I… I don’t have much to explain, but since you’re here, let me tell you some insights before we go. “One, all six of us won’t remember this adventure. I don’t know why it was needed, but apparently it was a side-effect after the ticket used to enter was destroyed. Things couldn’t get worse, right? I have seven lives. Apparently another side-effect of entering Dream Realms, or not since Twilight told me that we had it. But don’t take it as a reincarnation thing within Equestria. It means seven different lives as seven different species. Heh, we are really lucky to be ponies then. It also makes sense, Twilight becomes a Princess! Of course, that’s the whole timeline unexplored. “I… I made this message in case that somepony, or someone, killed me and this recording was heard and seen by another me. I… It’s hard to explain, but it’s plausible, you know? It’s me, being me. “One of the things I have learned that this was my fourth life. I don’t exactly remember myself as other species, but it does make sense since I can go random at times. I must’ve been some sort of stretchy alien, a baker, a farmer, and/or a fortune teller. Heh, I wouldn’t be surprised if I was all of them during my life as a human girl! Actually, that sounds stupid. “Speaking of stupid, do not ever take my items, especially the broken locket. It’s a remembrance. Even if… If… If something happens, like something is drawn to my items, don’t ignore. Who knows, you might be me all the time. “I really wish the others were here. Pinkie out.” “I’m sure why I should do this. It’s weird. Oh, it’s already recording? Seriously? Okay… My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m recording this in case that I die. Well, sort of. I know I can’t just die… Whatever. To whoever that can received this, I can just say that it’s either you are me, or you are someone with my spirit. Seven lives, I have. Seven species. Hmm.” Cross was stabbed after a few minutes of blocking. Twilight and Pinkie watched in horror as Meltor smiled as Cross fell to the floor. Twilight quickly came to her aid while Pinkie charged at the unsuspicious Sith, causing the Sith to vanish into the shadows. Twilight looked at Cross as she dies. “Stay alive Twinkle,” she told her. “You can do this.” Cross weakly chuckled. “‘There is no death, there is the Force.’ That’s what they told me. But there is something within me that cannot simply be killed,” she told her. “I am the Stargazer of the Fiftieth Degree, the Stationist of 17, and a crazy unicorn mare with a knack for getting into trouble.” “Don’t say that, kiddo,” Pinkie told her. “We may have known each other for a rough total of five months, or a day, but that doesn’t mean you should die the next day…” “It’s okay, auntie,” she told Pinkie. “Besides you girls will see me again back there.” She pointed towards the broken doorway where a swirling mass of green was seen. “What’s with it anyway?” Twilight asked as she looked at the swirling mass. “Is that…” “Equestria.” She coughed. “You two need to leave, now. Take all your friends, it’s your chance…” “Chance of what? Losing our progress?” Pinkie asked. Cross slightly shook her head. “Chance of… the timeline… broken book… the nineteen chapters…” Cross began to turn into dust. “Sorry…” Her body was now dust which flew towards the swirling mass. All that was left was Cross’s uniquely crafted lightsaber and a…notebook? Twilight took the notebook and began to read. She was shocked to learn that it was her diary, and all of the entries were about Twilight Sparkle, and apparently Cross— er… Twinkle had been tracking progress on her book. She blinked as she reached the final entry. The days are over. The timeline is secure. Marrum, Synnir, and Evangeliña broke the main cycle along with the Dreamer Squad. Destroia is freeing itself and the true enemies are showing itself. When death comes first, All orders will thirst. Altaris, Discordia, Orisis, Illyria Free me from this loop! Save me from repeated death! Doctor… I guess this is my last entry as a Jedi Stargazer. I wonder what would be next… a pony? Heh. Jedi was my seventh. I guess I will be a pony, then an eagle, then an elf, a wizard, sorceress, a regular human, and then a cyborg. First six. Whatever now. Twilight blinked as she faced the swirling green mass as it ejected a body of a blue unicorn pony who just laughed before looking at Twilight. “Good day in the Dream Realm Destroia,” Twinkle joyfully called to her. Twinkle immediately noticed her diary and took it by her magic and began to read it. Her face frowned as she reached the end  “That makes sense why you had this.” “How about your lightsaber?” Pinkie pointed out. “Dismantle it and give me the kyber crystal,” Twinkle commanded as a flurry of items flew over to a saddlebag which was levitated by a scarlet glow her horn had too. “Or maybe just leave it like that, sure. Anyways… Ms. Sparkle? Ms. Pie?” “Yes?” they both answered. “Don’t go overboard. You girls are still on life zero,” Twinkle told them. “One small mistake and you both will end up like Firea. This is a Dreamer City, you must know that.” “AAAH!” The trio quickly ran towards Fluttershy who was trembling. They notice that she was staring on a rather disturbing topiary of Twilight lying on the ground with what seemed to be a…burnt wing… Twilight promptly lost her wings, causing all of them, except for Pinkie and Twinkle, to hug her. They unhugged her as they stared at Twilight, waiting for an answer. “Well…” Twilight rubbed her head. “It’s a long story why we vanished…” “Yeah, and by the looks of that compass, you sure did,” Rainbow commented as she pointed to the compass, only getting a slight shock. “Ow!” she rubbed her hoof and noticed static charges. “Woah…” Twilight looked at her locket and poked the area where Rainbow poked it and blinked as her horn ignited in a shade of gold. She looked up and levitated her lightsaber, which wasn't in a gold glow, but rather is floating on her own. She then levitated Pinkie, who was shocked to find herself floating. She then cancelled her magic, and much to her surprise, Pinkie and her lightsaber didn’t quickly drop, but they gradually fell towards the ground. She ignited her horn again to find it pink with a flicker of gold. Rarity looked at her locket and inspected it. She avoided the area where Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle touched and clicked a button which opened the locket to show a compass with its arrow spinning wildly. “What’s with this compass anyway, darling?” Rarity complained. “It doesn’t work—” the arrow suddenly stopped pointing towards Mt. Verley— “well.” Twinkle looked at the compass as well. “It’s pointing to Verley Mountain. Probably even to the Gate,” she commented. “Hmm. Mother and I really outdid our first models. May I borrow that compass for a second?” Twilight nodded and gave the locket to Twinkle who just spinned it super fast until five seconds later when she stopped it, causing the compass arrow to point towards her. The compass then began to deconstruct and reconstruct to form a square prism. Pinkie looked at her destroyed compass and tried to do the same, only to end up in a sphere which was self repairing. Twinkle looked at the sphere and remembered everything that was when she was a Jedi pony. Her frown was turned upside down. “I guess Hollander Cross is too human for my taste,” she told them. “Heh, I’m thinking of Meteor Skyfeathers, twin of Meteor Feathers. Should it be good to confuse?” “No,” Meteor answered as the mentioned pegasus pony swoop down to Twinkle. “Just… No. Not my pony name, for pony’s sake!” Meteor looked at the prism and bumped her head on it, causing her to transform into a white being with a staff. “Not by any chance, Twinkle Starlight Sparkle, you’ll use my name. My pony name, since I’m in my form which I took every time someone wore my amulet. Well, an Amulet of Light. Whatever now.” she flipped a metal amulet like a ring off to Pinkie and vanished towards it. “Illumina lives! All hail Destroia!” “All hail Destroia indeed,” Twinkle told her as she turned both the prism and the sphere into compass lockets and returned it to their owners. She looked at Pinkie and took the amulet to look at it. “Mina, stop hiding,” she scolded the amulet. “Look, I don’t think you should do this right now, but the Raven is going to destroy all of us in one clean sweep if we don’t do a revolution…” Twinkle’s eyes turn blue and another voice replied. “Really, Twinkle?” she asked in Meteor’s voice. “Well, if you say so… But make sure that the good side wins, or else call Luna for that! You know that Stationist is going to be mad— no, furious that the balance is destroyed.” Twinkle’s eyes normalized. “Thank you, Destroia Guardian of Light. Thank you,” she answered. She then faced the others as she removed the amulet and threw it to Rarity. “Okay, girls. Meteor Feathers is actually a Destroia Guardian spirit named Illumina. Illumina is actually a human named Mina Alexandria Santalune. That thing you all watched is what one would call a conversation. I talk, she takes over and talks, I regain control and talk again. Rarity, since you have the amulet, don’t go chat too long with her, please.” “Maybe I should handle it, I am the Equestrian Princess of the Sun,” Celestia vouched. “Very well,” Rarity answered in Meteor— er, Illumina’s voice. Rarity removed the amulet and gave it to Celestia. Celestia wore the amulet and one of her eyes turned to blue. The others watched in amazement as Celestia talked in two alternating voices before the eye color returned to normal. “Heh, who knew,” Celestia commented as she made a slightly funny face. “Now, let’s go and face a tyrant.” > 10 - Time of Escape > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Who are we facing again?” Twilight asked. Celestia answered, “Ms. Ravenshire.” “Oh, that girl,” Twinkle commented. “Yeah, let’s go charge to her house and then stab her? Is that the plan? How will you guys even do what you are planning?” Everypony looked at Twinkle. Twinkle glared back as Twilight decided to walk off towards Mt. Verley alone. While this happened, everything fell to chaos as they tried to formulate a better plan. Pinkie, frustrated, leaves the group and catches up with Twilight who decided to rest underneath an oak tree. Rarity, feeling useless, followed Pinkie. The three found themselves underneath the shades of a tree which reminded Twilight of books. The reminder gave Twilight determination to continue a ridiculous quest which started as a rather unusually easy adventure of destroying four spirits to a resistance which they never signed up in the first place. The thoughts alone of killing caused all of them shiver, nonetheless follow such a plan Meteor and Celestia had made. Now that the group has divided into two again, Twilight’s mood freshed up. “So… girls,” she called. “What are we going to do?” “I don’t know,” Rarity replied in frustration. “At first, we thought it was to be a wonderful experience, but it looks like we got caught in a storm.” Pinkie smiled. “Glad you can say that, this place is different from Equestria after all,” Pinkie said, taking Rarity’s cloak. “May I?” “Oh, sure.” Rarity looked at Twilight. “Whatever shall we do now?” Rarity watched Pinkie mess with the cloak. “And what in the blazes are you doing to such fashionable item!?” “Nothing,” Pinkie replied as she finally wore the cloak. She emitted few small blue stars from the cloak. “Just feels good to have this cloak back. Ever since that eye… well, I think Twilight has something to say.” “Let’s go home,” she stated. Pinkie and Rarity gave looks. “How?” they both inquired. “Easy.” Twilight extended her left hoof, causing the burn mark, which was a runic symbolizing Harmony, to glow in eight colors. “We use the runic marks.” “But I don’t have a runic mark on my left hoof,” Rarity protested before feeling a burn. “Ow! Nevermind.” She glanced at her burn and saw a cross with a circle. “What does this mean?” Pinkie grabbed Rarity’s hoof and investigated it. “It’s a runic for unicorn. Easy peasy,” Pinkie said, smiling. “It looks rather simple compared to the Agent, Magician, Namer, and Harmonist runes.” She extended her left hoof towards Twilight’s. “Come on, try it. It probably also means teleport too. Who knows?” Rarity, hesitant, touched her two friend’s hooves, causing sparks to the three runes. The sparks, flew towards them before their vision turned black. The other ponies, who had just finished rebuilding the plan, caught up at the three and to their horror, saw three columns of smoke and a small pole pointed to the original points from where Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie had sat. Horseshoe Bay, Equestria Three ponies woke from three tents, causing activity to spike up within the tents as well as waking up Shining Armor. As the captain of Equestria’s royal security, he felt a tingling sensation and found himself being teleported into another camp where a certain purple mare was  in a mess of stuttering words. “Co-cold...H-h-hi, Shining,” Twilight greeted. “D-di-did you guys pl-placed c-c-cooling spells!?” Before Shining could answer back, two ponies entered her tent and much to Shining’s surprise, it was both Rarity and Pinkie Pie. “How are you… awake?” he muttered. He immediately noticed something within their left hooves. “Uh… what’s with your hooves?” The two looked at their left hooves and shrugged. “Huh.” Twilight stood up. “How long have we been out?” “Uh… just a day, Twily,” Shining informed. “Why?” “Nothing, Shining,” Rarity answered. “We were there in a whole month, and I think Twilight had left once. Right?” Rarity saw Twilight nod. “How many days since we headed to the ocean, darling?” “Roughly a month and two weeks, why?” Shining asked. The three looked at each other before answering as one. “Nothing, we wanted a break because things have been way beyond our control, darling/brother/Mr. Armor.” “Like what?” Shining Armor demanded. Twilight flashed a smile as she began to hum a tune followed by Pinkie whistling with it. “Probably would even make sense if you were there, however.” Rarity looked at the two who were now singing and dancing in tandem. “What…?” Shining Armor chuckled. “Let’s leave them be,” he told Rarity. “I have her book anyway, let’s see if we can finish it. You saw whatever that book has anyway.” “It would be wise if I finished it,” Twilight interrupted. The pair looked at the dancing duo to find that they have finished dancing and signing. “There’s this thing about the book that turns it into a magic tome. Celestia and Luna had one, and if I’m right, Celestia must be worried as Tartarus. I wonder if Luna’s around.” “What happened to respect, dear Twilight?” Luna asked, walking towards the group. “I also sense ancient magic in you and Pinkie Pie. What hath happened?” Twilight’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks and fell to the ground after the question. Pinkie Pie went fast enough to get a grip of her to slow her down. She looked at Princess Luna before whispering something in an old language Luna understood, causing her to recoil in horror in the complication she had said. The captain of the Royal Guard asked what she said, his curiosity taking the best of him against his well-trained mind specifically trained not to ask anything unless it was too suspicious. “She… Oh, dear Maker.” Luna looked around and went closer to Twilight. “I guess I went too far.” Looking at Shining Armor before to Twilight, Luna sighed. “Do you know what’s the most embarrassing moment I had because of what I subconsciously got when I came to the place?” “What?” Shining wondered what it was. Luna answered by licking her hoof and poking the hoof towards Twilight, who twitched in response. Shining’s eyes widened before everything went black on his view. Pinkie Pie chortled as she caught Shining and placed him gently on his tent with the help of the other Royal Guard members before heading back to Princess Luna. She then glanced into Luna’s left forehoof to find a familiar vine. Pinkie poked it, causing Luna to recoil in surprise. Before the lunar princess could ask why she did it, the party-loving pink fluffball raised her own left hoof, where a certain runic burn was bleeding. Luna looked at Pinkie before pointing at Rarity. “I’m just here for a while, although I am rather disgusted about the licking,” Rarity protested. Luna smiled. “I suppose I should tell you that I once licked my sister from her hooves to her horn,” she mentioned. “It was rather embarrassing, since somepony saw what I did. Heh. Should I?” Rarity recoiled a little before nodding and looking away. After the quite peculiar and embarrassing and unrecorded accident, Twilight woke up. She was drenched in saliva, something she didn’t expect because she saw Luna like a filly trying to calm herself. Twilight wondered if she licked her whole body, since she was wet. Probably her sweat too. Pinkie and Rarity immediately flushed her with buckets of saltwater, coincidentally around the same time where Twilight was thinking about a bath. It also caused Princess Luna to slightly calm down and stand up, albeit slightly shivering. Twilight noticed this and went to help the lunar princess. “Are you alright, Princess?” Twilight asked. Luna nodded. “You should call me Luna for the moment,” she instructed. “What a cold you caught, travelling within realms. Hahaha.” “Uh… why?” Twilight looked at Luna. “Did I say something wrong, Pr— Luna?” “Well, before you faint, you were a little disrespectful,” Luna trailed off. “But then, Celly did sometimes tell you to call her without the title, right?” “Oh, right, although I couldn’t think of a reason why before,” Twilight commented, eliciting a giggle. “I guess she wanted to think of us as friends. Hmm. I get a feeling you licked me to remove something.” “It’s nothing,” Luna lied. Her friends’ expressions spoke different words and meanings, however. “You didn’t lick me, did you, Luna?” Twilight deadpanned before her expression softened even more than usual. “Let’s just try to keep our tongues to ourselves next time, please.” “Duly noted,” Luna answered before exiting the tent. A few seconds later while ignoring Rarity’s glare that was usually reserved for Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie that meant ‘are you serious;’ Twilight summoned her book which transformed again into a small notebook with a completely different title and pseudonym. Pinkie snatched the notebook and read the title and author name, before giving it back with a frown and a bloodied left forehoof. Excusing herself, she went to clean her hoof. “Aren’t you supposed to clean the stain on your fur, too?” Rarity asked. Twilight looked at herself. “Uh… I don’t know. We’re basically supposed to be back in DRD, although I guess a little time in the beach could clean me up. How about you?” “Illusion spell, will only clean up in the proper places, my boutique one of them,” Rarity explained. As the maroon rays of the sun touched the surface of both sea, land, and sky, Twilight Sparkle and her friends went off to visit Ponyville for a moment only to see a rather disturbing change and a distressed Stargazer. “If you girls are here, that means the Dream Cycles are broken for good,” Mrs. Cake told them. “How?” Before Twilight could answer, Pinkie spoke first. “It was already destined to be broken because of me being spiritually transported to the future and back, then followed by a rather secret meeting of somepony in the future.” “Who is that, I suppose?” Rarity asked. Pinkie looked at Rarity before gesturing a Pinkie Promise for Twilight. “The Last Stargazer, Twinkle Starlight of the house Sparkle, Ambassador of Equus, et cetera,” she answered. “I think she’s here listening to us right now.” “How could you… tell…” Mrs. Cake’s eyes drifted off to a dark blue unicorn mare whose purple mane tied up like hers, and tail tied on its end. She had a cutie mark of a compass rose, and she looked suspicious. “That’s her.” The present bearers looked at Mrs. Cake’s direction. Shocked, Pinkie hopped out of her chair and casually walked towards the mare before ‘accidentally’ spilling a glass of milk. The mare glared at Pinkie and froze before her expressions quickly softened into a smile. “Oh, Pinks,” she called. “What’s up?” Pinkie thought of an idea and invited her. “How about a private party between me, you, and my friends? Meetup at six on Twi’s library?” were her words. The mare smiled. “Time to party.” As they part ways, Twilight was flabbergasted about what she had said. “How did you do that?” she asked. Pinkie scoffed. “Nothing your egghead brains would remember after we end this journey.” “Pinkie being Pinkie times twenty,” Mrs. Cake whispered. “I don’t know if I should react to that,” Rarity whispered back. “So… obligatory party for what?” Pinkie wondered. “I have a feeling I missed a few birthdays, but since we have been on this thing, I guess I wouldn’t miss anything after this.” Twilight raised her eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?” “What?” Pinkie looked at Twilight. “What did I say?” “My birthday was the day we set out to explore,” Twilight began. “So if these events were to be removed from our heads but not to those who look well, I’d say it’s still my birthday. Happy 23rd to me.” “Well, looks like the private party will have two guests of honor then,” Mrs. Cake declared. “Better whip up a birthday cake for you then.” as the Baker Stargazer went off, she remembered something. “There was this gray pegasus, Blaze I think. She said to give you this, anyway.” Twilight’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks as Mrs. Cake gave her a package which she recognized as a box. A very dangerous box. A box covered by her rune in a hexagonal pattern. A rune-covered box with a “Where could I meet this mare?” she immediately asked. Mrs. Cake seemed to be taken back by the sudden shift in behavior. “Uh… library, I think.” She immediately galloped out, leaving three confused mares. Rarity, who seemed bored, decided to experiment with her newfound magic on the house by sending a letter to her sister. Pinkie merely smiled as she knew that the magic they found back on Destroia, which will be named “Equalitrin,” had such ability to send letters by mind. What they didn’t know was that Equalitrin had a side effect, which caused Rarity to jump as her left forehoof grew a small white rose. She plucked the rose and immediately ate it, causing her own left hoof to have a vine encircling her mark. “How did you do that?” Mrs. Cake asked. “That looks like it could hurt.” The vine promptly turned into an emerald bracelet, causing Pinkie to sport a grin smaller than her usual smiles. “how can a bunch of shapeshifting vines hurt me when they’re made to help me?” The bracelet grew a vine and booped both Rarity and Mrs. Cake’s noses before retracting to the bracelet. “Besides, I think I see Sweetie Belle and… Oh, sweet goddess no. Not you.” Sassy Saddles glowered at Pinkie as she and Sweetie Belle walked to the group. “Hello, Agent,” Sassy hissed. “How’s your expedition going?” Pinkie blinked. “I don’t remember you being this sassy. Nor cranky. Nor being Rarity’s temporary replacement while we’re gone.” She paused. “Wait, how do you remember me when you’re supposed to be Canterlot Boutique’s future CEO when Rarity decides to buy that former lot?” “I have no idea,” Sassy declared. “Weird. Was I supposed to remember such?” “Nice magic!” Sweetie interrupted. “How did you do that? Sending a letter like the way Spike sends letters?” “Spoilers.” Luna blinked. Then sneezed. Then blinked again to see a police box in front of her. Then sneezed again to find that the police box had vanished. She looked around before settling into a rather odd conclusion. “What?” “Oh come on! That doesn’t make any sense!” Sweetie exclaimed as Rarity and Pinkie Pie tried to explained what had happened. “Lightsabers? Starswirl the Bearded being an evil alien? Time travel? runic markings on your left forehooves? What does runic markings even mean!?” “They’re runes, more or less a better or worser version darling,” Rarity explained. She felt a slight pang in her head, probably due to the new information. “I wish we could remember this adventure. Unfortunately, all the days after we went off will be just memories removed, a story only those who spent their time will notice…” As they all looked at Rarity, Twilight came back with a couple in tow. Pinkie was about to ask why she brought the couple until she recognized the box and decided to shut up for the moment. Twilight nudged the two to introduce themselves. “My name’s Infernal Blaze, and this is my coltfriend, Emerald Slicer,” the gray pegasus who mane and tail resemble fire and cutie mark a burning tree introduced. The sky blue unicorn stallion who wore a stetson and a watch smiled and introduced himself. “You already know my name, but I repeat, my name is Emerald Slicer, and this is my marefriend. We knew the rune of Harmony would somehow react on somepony, but we didn’t think it would be Twilight who would come and get us. Another thing, I have Enochlophobia. Can’t stand crowds without freezing in place.” “Blazy and Slicy,” Pinkie called. “I know you two. You guys were certainly noisy some nights.” Both of them had their cheeks reddened by the discovery, but they decided to stay silent for the moment. “Give this old Pinkie a hug!” Pinkie offered, causing Emerald to jump to Blaze. Blaze chuckled and the three share a hug afterwards. She smiled as the two adjusted themselves to the seats. “Now, let’s see… You knew the rune of Harmony. Which means you’re a runic reader. What’s in the box?” “I wonder about it too,” Blaze added. “What was in that box?” Emerald answered by taking the box from Twilight, who had already knew what was in the box since it was slightly obvious, faced Blaze and winked. Before he could’ve opened the box, Twilight separated the two using her magic. “Okay, please not yet, we do need a little bit of help here,” Twilight complained. “Look, I know you lovebirds are that close, but there is consequences for leaving Destroia early.” “Such as?” Emerald wondered. Twilight pointed to the sky which had a small crack. They all saw the crack, but the others, who were Sweetie Belle and Infernal Blaze, didn’t. Emerald let out an “oh,” because he had been in Destroia once, but in another life. He swore never to return, but if he thought they were about to do what he was thinking… “Can she come too?” Emerald asked. ”I don’t want my little fireball missing out the fun.” Blaze slightly blushed at the comment. “That depends,” Twilight answered with a stern expression. “On if she doesn’t get the rune of Firea.” She looked at Emerald with slight confusion. “I want to come.” “Oh, then I must be off!” Mrs. Cake walked back to the kitchen. “This mare still needs to do her part.” A few seconds later, Sweetie Belle also left. They apparently have decided to move to the library. “But…” Emerald muttered. “We just came from there…” “How do we bring ourselves back to that place?” Rarity asked. It has been an hour, twenty-three minutes, and fifty seconds since they tried to research how to mass-teleport themselves to DRD. They find themselves on a dead end, even after they had all of the technology they could have and the research they had, including the books of Universes of the Dream Realm. They couldn’t find a single thing about returning with somepony who haven’t been in the realm… until Infernal Blaze stumbled into a stone pad which was steaming hot. She yelped as her hoof received a rather nasty burn. “What did you do?” Twilight asked as she ran to Blaze who was constantly blowing her hoof. “I don’t know, I just touched this stone pad,” Blaze explained as she pointed to the stone pad. “Then, I felt like I was touching the sun!” “Really?” Twilight landed her left hoof on the pad. “I feel nothing.” She looked at the stone pad which now glowed violet. “It looks like an isomorphic pad. Hmm…” “Iso-what?” Emerald Slicer asked. “Single-pony stone pads? Is that what you mean?” He looked at the stone pad closer. “It is! I’ve seen this thing before, at our house, on my room!” Emerald ran off, leaving a rather surprised Blaze with the three. Pinkie, who blinked as she processed the information, and ran away towards the direction of Sugarcube Corner. Twilight looked at Rarity who was looking at Blaze with an eerie intent. “Rarity, maybe you should check the boutique for any suspicious-looking stone pads,” Twilight instructed her. “Mhm.” Rarity looked towards the door. “And I also just realized I haven’t finished doing her dress and Emerald’s suit. Huh.” “You’re… unusually calm,” Blaze noticed. Rarity raised her left hoof in response. “Right…” Blaze commented. “How does it work?” “I guess it’s psychic,” Rarity answered before trotting off. Twilight and Blaze blinked, still looking at Rarity who went towards her boutique, leaving the pair staring at an open door. This caused the two to awkwardly look into each other before looking back at the door. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight introduced herself. “Princess Celestia’s student, et cetera.” “Nice to meet you, I’m Infernal Blaze,” Blaze told in return. “Is this what you usually do?” “Not really. I was sent here to study the magic of friendship,” Twilight answered. “What about you?” “Just your normal pegasus from Cloudsdale moving to Ponyville, taking a job at the weather,” Infernal Blaze explained. “Then met him in the library.” “I know,” Twilight said. “I was there when you two first met, and I was also there when we were at Sugarcube Corner for a snack.” “Right.” Blaze looked at Twilight. “What’s with the latest events, however?” Twilight looked back and booped Blaze in response, wanting her to learn all by herself. Before anything could happen else, there was a huge flash of light which temporarily blinded the whole town. Oak Tree, Mt. Verley Path, Dream Realm Destroia Five ponies appeared where there was supposed to be only three, surprising the solar princess for she recognized the two ponies that came with the Magic, Generosity, and Laughter bearers. On the five, Infernal Blaze and Emerald Slicer were happy to be together again and kissed, causing the others who were looking to stare away. Twilight and Pinkie merely laughed at the reaction before they stepped toward the road and touched it. The began to glow in four colors and eerily shifted into four-colored stone/cement/dirt/carpet road. Somehow, a certain stallion was giggling. “Road of Verley!” Emerald pointed out. “I remember where we are!” He looked at the oak tree. “My tree!” He hugged the tree before climbing up. “Sweet apples! It’s still here!” A two bags fell to the ground. Emerald soon followed after, with Blaze helping him land. After touching the ground, he both opened the bags and began to gear up. He wore a stetson, a chestplate which seemed to have seen battle, boots which had small wings placed on it (Blaze immediately recognized why it was colored like her wings, apparently out of love), and a heart locket. Infernal Blaze recognized the heart locket and opened it, only to cry toward him in return. “Love life. Here,” Twinkle deadpanned. “Wow. Just what we need to overtake Ravenface out.” “Ravenshire?” Emerald asked. “That woman?” Celestia nodded. “Do you know her?” Emerald looked around. “That girl has problems,” he began. “It looks like she remade the world in her likeness… too much gloomy here.” He tapped his hoof on the floor twice and everything looked a bit lively. “There.” “Emerald, when did you learn all of this?” Blaze asked. Emerald looked at Blaze and sighed. “Remember that time when I… uh… ran away just because you were a little… cranky?” She nodded. “I actually had died when Twilight slid that healing bracelet to me. My death, led me here. Somehow. Or did I actually die? If I came here after that… episode…” Emerald sat down for a few seconds before looking at Mt. Verley. “Hold on. What happened to the Mountain of Harmony?” “That’s the Dream Realm name of Mt. Verley?” Twinkle wondered. “You sound like you came before Ms. Ravenshire.” “Autumn Gauntress Ravenshire,” Blaze recited from memory. “You told me stories, Emerald. Stories about an island! This is THAT island!? Oh my gosh! Wait. You also told me about another pony… The Old Master.” The world seemed to flinch and stutter from the harmonic presence to the presence before he appeared. Emerald tried to stay calm. “I am The Harmony’s Guide and stop this madness at once, you old island!” Emerald shouted. His voice changed as the island seemingly returned to the semi-gloomy state. “Hmm. Cycles. That bad.” Emerald promptly stepped away from where he was, clutching his head in horror. Twilight looked at him before staring at his runic burn. She now saw something others, except for Pinkie who had enough evidence that she knew the future, didn’t see. The world doesn’t rest upon harmony as she had initially thought. It rested on balance. The balance of chaos and order. And she realized that to break the cycle that had been plaguing this world… The cycle of repeating torment. She closed her eyes and tapped into the balance. Everypony, including Emerald and Infernal, stared Twilight who undergone a transformation. From her normal unicorn body, her mane and tail became longer in length and she grew taller. She sported wings, which she extended. Around her, black and white specks of energy swirled around and entered her slowly. Once everything had calmed down, Princess Celestia could only recognize what had happened. And the Mare of Magic opened her eyes and cracked the world. > 11 - An Oak Shade RESET > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- She knew it would end, but she didn’t hear how. She never knew that an old friend would return to destroy what she had done. What they had done. Ms. Ravenshire simply wouldn't allow it. She never would tolerate such a thing would destroy the world she had guided. There were things she didn’t know that could alter the fate of the island. One of these things was Twilight Sparkle learning about her Power Forme. The other being about her first trip returning. She had too many old friends and too little time. She needed more time. She need to do something. Yet, since she was the only one with enough power... After a few moments, she smiled. “I’m declaring martial law!” Ms. Ravenshire announced through a subwave channel. “Hunt down all Dreamers and take them to me!” “You know, Ms. Ravenshire reminds me of a certain yellow flower,” Twinkle confessed. There were a few gasps. “Yes, that flower that comes in the name of Flowey.” “Sorry… who?” a voice asked. The group, which at present, consisted of a couple, the bearers of Elements of Harmony, the solar princess, and the Magic bearer’s granddaughter from the future. Still, the question didn’t come from them, but to a certain flower which appeared beside Twinkle. Everypony nearly panicked before the flower turned into a goat-boy. He waved a paw. “Howdy!” he expressed. “My name’s Asriel Dreemurr. Mind if I joined in?” “Uh… sure. How are you here?” Twilight asked. “Probably the same fashion as you ponies are.” Celestia glanced at Asriel, who looked back. “Uh… what?” “Nothing.” Celestia looked towards the middle were a bustling fire rested peacefully between the twigs supporting it. “I guess I should’ve seen this earlier, hmm… Prince Asriel, was it?” Asriel flinched. “Well, not really nowadays.” He returned to his yellow flower shape. “I’m more of like this now and then. Howdy, I’m Flowey! Flowey the Flower!” Emerald felt a sense of dread coming up his spine, which both his marefriend and Asri— Flowey noticed. Everypony then looked at Flowey with varying degrees of emotions which caused him to yelp and dig into the ground, hiding. This caused Twilight to wonder if they weren’t the only ones who were sent here by a message by Ms. Ravenshire. Twilight stood up, faced the mountain, and closed her eyes. She reopened her eyes and the first thing she felt was that her special features are gone. “Oh, look! I hated those wings anyway, I wonder how future me handled them,” Twilight commented as she inspected herself. “Although my horn…” Twilight ran a hoof and noticed that it was somewhat longer. Was she already taller? “Am I taller?” “Uh… you are,” Rarity stated. “Like Fleur de Lis. You prompt me of her now, darling.” Twilight Sparkle blinked. Everypony blinked back. Twilight blinked again. “This won’t change anything, right?” Twilight asked, concerned. Rainbow Dash flew to her and flashed a smile. “Nope.” Before the conversation continued its pace, there was a blast of white light which momentarily dazed everypony. Looking around the area, it was then that they felt a sense of horror as the trees wilted except for Emerald’s oak tree, which seemingly glowed in a calming sense of green. They all hurried over to the tree while Emerald climbed up. Infernal Blaze wondered why he went up until a set of stairs descended from the branches, and a unicorn head popped out. “Quick, climb up,” Emerald instructed. Without hesitation, all the ponies began to climb up one by one with Blaze first, much to Twinkle’s dismay. As soon as Twinkle was the one who was about to climb, three ponies appeared out of nowhere and Twinkle recognized them. “Mom!” Twinkle called in surprise. “Grandma? Grandpa? I thought—” “No time to lose, Twinkle,” Twinkle’s grandfather interrupted. “We’re being hunted. Get on with whoever that was.” “But—” Twinkle’s grandmother frowned. “Yeah, time paradox, but there’s no paradox in Dream Realm Destroia. Only unlucky encounters.” She began to climb up, much to Twinkle’s protest. Soon after the whole family climbed up, Twilight Sparkle was staring wide-eyed at her future self. Emerald placed the ladders up and realized who the newcomers were. “Professor Sparkle?!” Emerald called. “Dr. Gemstone? Ruby Sunshine!?!?” “Ruby Sunshine?” Twinkle asked her mother whose cheeks were red. Sunshine rubbed her back. “Rubius Twilight Sunshine,” she corrected. “More known as Ruby Sunshine AND Twilight Sunshine. Eheh. Deceptionist.” “Really?” Twilight asked, unamused. She then moved her lips into a smirk “So, Twinkle, if this mass of purple fur and feathers is me…” “Hey!” “What am I in the future then, asides being a professor, a parent, and a rather interesting looking princess?” Twilight asked, teasing. Twinkle’s grandmother blinked. “Right, silly me.” She cleared her throat. “My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle, Equestria’s Princess of Friendship and Peace Minister for Foreign entities. Also a teacher in Ponyville Elementary.” “But he said professor,” Twilight protested. “Yeah, because Ponyville Elementary becomes…” Princess Twilight explained before letting out a smile. “Spoilers.” “Let me guess, an egghead university,” Rainbow guessed. The purple princess frowned as she nodded. However, the solar princess didn’t believe what Princess Twilight claimed. “How will you prove that you are not a fraud?” Celestia asked. Princess Twilight smirked as she pulled out a journal with a swirl of stars emblazoned on its cover. She opened the journal into the left page where Starswirl’s fabled cutie mark spell lied along with Twilight’s version which was more or less a better one. Celestia read it and gasped as she realized that her plan to place Twilight on another level succeeded and the result was right in front of her. Celestia looked at the Princess again and asked a question which made everypony else jump in surprise. “Wait, why are you asking me this?” Princess Twilight asked. “Why do you need the answer at all?” “Because I have nightmares that Equestria might fall and I need to save my subjects from demise,” Celestia explained. Princess Twilight sighed. “Yes, Equestria will fall into war.” She looked to her right wing and released an illusion spell to show that it was damaged. “Final Frontier Against Enemies… at least they did a good job throwing us into places.” “Places?” Rarity asked. “Yes, Rarity, places.” Princess Twilight began to list places. “Past Equestria. Altaris. The Underground. Manhattan. Earth. Destroia. England. Gallifrey. The Doctor’s TARDIS. Kalos Region. Far Far Away Kingdom. And more to count if you managed to find all of Equestria’s habitants.” Twinkle looked at the others who immediately noticed what they felt. “Don’t feel sorry for us, girls. Auntie Celestia.” Twinkle winked at the shocked expression of the Equestrian diarch. “The only thing that would help is to tell me where are we right now and why this place is bigger on the inside.” “Oh, I can explain that!” Emerald trotted towards a gun cabinet and opened it, revealing a room with a console in the middle and a glass column connecting the floor to the ceiling. “This oak tree is my TARDIS! Get into the gun cabinet.” Everypony except a curious Infernal Blaze followed. Emerald sighed. “Okay then. Don’t react if you girls are left behind.” There was a sound that was like a brake, metal screeching against metal, and deformed sound of keys being ran to a piano on the treebase. Soon after, the gun cabinet disappeared, only to be replaced by a black telephone booth. The door opened to find Emerald and Blaze, both wearing hats. “How long did we leave?” Blaze asked. Twilight calculated. “About seconds, more or less.” “We actually left for a week,” Emerald corrected. “Timey wimey stuff. Time travel sucks. Get in already or else I’ll destroy this oak tree out!” This time, they followed. Staring at an oak tree which had vanished, he asked the buttercup flower. “Ponies?” he asked. Flowey nodded. “What are you gonna do, Frisk? We’re not alone after all,” he explained. “Besides, they’re magical talking ponies.” Frisk faced a skeleton who wore a purple snow jacket. “What do you think, sans?” “dunno.” He looked towards the tree that had reappeared while it made sounds similar a screech and a wheer. “we’re in our own here. no paps, no toriel, no undyne, no alphys, no chara—” “Chara’s right here with us,” Flowey interrupted. “He’s basically Frisk’s guide-slash-guardian.” A human-like being raised itself from Frisk’s shadow and slowly materialized until the one-striped shirt feature Chara always wore was noticed. Chara gave a sly smile as her brown eyes stared into Flowey’s own. Sans glared at her. “Okay, okay, look, stop staring at me like that,” Chara begged. “When a Player controls me, I control Frisk. It’s their fault that they go genocide,  not me. I just take the SOULS of the genocidal Frisks to remind them that they did that! Besides, most of the time I start as a wraith who guides Frisk.” “... good enough.” Sans looked at Frisk. “what now?” Frisk looked at the tree. “We check it out and see why it vanished?” he suggested. “Maybe the tree is like me,” Flowey added. “Maybe the tree is a souless husk of someone, or maybe—” A bunch of vines went out of the tree and grabbed them, much to their surprise. Chara wasn’t affected until Frisk grabbed her and they were pulled towards the tree. Inside the tree, Frisk gasped at the sight of ten ponies and tried his best not to faint at the sheer cuteness of the ponies and if Flowey was right about them being magical and talkable… “Holy cow, Pinks, you fished the RESET Trio! And Chara,” the sky blue unicorn with a yellow hat and worn armor shouted. “RESET Trio?” the pink with cotton candy-like mane and tail asked. “You mean…” Chara recognized the pink pony and groaned. It was her. “I don’t recognize them.” Pinkie pulled out a list from her mane. “Ah! Sans, Frisk G. Winscott, and Asirel “Flowey” Dreemurr. But I see… four persons here.” “You don’t know who I am?” Chara asked. “Not even a single cl—” Pinkie saw something on the back of Chara’s left hand and her expression hardened. “Wraith Legendárian. Chara H. Dreemurr. Are you?” Chara was silent before she rolled up her sleeve to reveal a long tattoo that extended from the back of her hand towards her elbow. “You are correct.” She charged at Pinkie. “And your SOUL is good for the taking!” Emerald stepped in between them. “Okay folks, we still are missing somebody,” he announced. “So, I want you guys and girls keep everything to yourselves, do nothing bad, and no boss fights.” “Okay,” Flowey answered only to be followed by something incoherent. “Oh, and keep the languages safe. I’m currently trying to work on finding the rest of us. Blaze, want to join? I’ll tell you more on the way,” Emerald clarified. Infernal Blaze smiled. “Yeah, I’d love to hear more about this place.” The pair threw the ladder down and climbed out. The ladder retracted on its own, leaving all of the persons inside dazed on how it worked. Chara decided to fall back into Frisk’s shadow, keeping an eye at the ponies. > 12 - Recognition and the Final Meeting > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the humid air spun, creating a miniature tornado around the tree, Twilight Sparkle finished her book for the final time. With the aid of her future self and the girl looking boy named Frisk, she was now reaching the end of the book until it glowed blue and flew towards Sans. “hold up.” Sans pulled out a bone-covered fountain pen and wrote a few specifics. “i’m done.” “Was that a bone pen?” Rainbow Dash wondered, snickering at her little pun. Applejack gave the rainbow speed-loving, athletic a disinterested expression. “Exactly when were you interested in pens?” she countered. The pegasus with cyan fur shrugged, and Flowey immediately saw something different about the curiosity of Rainbow Dash. “Hey, purple horn horse,” he called. “You brought a fountain pen too?” “Uh… yeah, I do.” Twilight fetched her own fountain pen which was decorated with her cutie mark, keeping herself calm from the insult he used to address her. “Cool. That’s actually a coincidence you saw there, Flowey.” Pinkie Pie had an idea to join the two pens together. She executed the idea by getting hold of both pens with permission and threw them in a general direction. Nothing had happened until Twilight’s book set itself on fire and wiped out itself. The result was quite impressive. “Pinkie! What did you do!?” Twilight wasn’t impressed as Pinkie guessed. “Wait, I believe I know where this leads,” Princess Twilight told them. The alicorn picked up the book and opened it. “Reset. Destroia. Inventory.” There was a flash of light and the book vanished. Twilight was about to complain about what had occurred until she felt a weight on her saddlebags. She looked into her saddlebags and to her surprise, her book, her wand, her fountain pen, her survival kit, and her lightsaber hilt were placed nicely inside. Looking at Princess Twilight, she gave off a smile of satisfaction before she repeated the words. Everypony who was with her from the start saw saddlebags appearings on their backs, and items began to appear. All of them had their own arcane wands so it flew in first. The following things that appeared were lightsabers, then their personal items followed. After a moment, Pinkie saw a watch above which made her raise her left hoof letting the item slide to her left foreleg. It beeped twice. “Nice to see you too,” Pinkie whispered. “Operation report, Team 1 and 4.” The watch beeps once and the display flashed. “I see.” Pinkie looked around, oblivious to the stares. “Is Team 4-04 there? Ryder classification Undyne.” Sans, Flowey, and Frisk immediately stared at Pinkie who frowned before smiling. “I imagine not, old girl.” Pinkie removed the watch from her hoof. “Cupcake, return to normal form!” The watch beeped once before it glowed. “Wait, Cupcake’s a Porygon!?” Frisk exclaimed. “That’s fantastic!” “What’s a Porygon?” everyone asked in return except for Pinkie Pie who was snuggling the said Pokémon. “Where did you manage to get it?” Twilight asked. Pinkie Pie glanced up before smiling. “You gave it to me, about… after the world ended and I was stuck in a universe where there're these things which I won’t even dare to explain.” “Really?” “Yup.” “Aw…” Twilight looked like she was performing a very wonderful and hilarious puppy-dog eyes. “Anyway… what did Emerald mean by no boss battle?” Sans and Flowey both nervously shifted towards one end of the tree. Pinkie was about to explain when she saw both Chara and Frisk gesturing her to remain quiet. She knew what they had in mind, and also decided to shut up. Princess Twilight, however, had other plans and decided to explain it much to their scorn. “Well, certain worlds act different than ours. What could be from our world a very colorful and flashy attack can be a simple dodge-and-win.” Princess Twilight glanced at the RESET Trio. “And to think I had a boss battle sequence when I am in their world is just plain funny.” Promptly, white lines begin to come out in front of Frisk against Princess Twilight, and a red heart appeared among four choices. Frisk, knowing what it meant, used her determination to lead the heart straight to the fourth choice and afterward the heart sprouted legs and ran off soon after using the second choice given by the fourth choice. Twilight blinked in agreement. As Twilight opened her mouth, the tree started to shift on its own, turning into what seemed to be a metal room as the leaves hardened into four walls, and the gun cabinet melted into a door. The door quickly opened and everybody saw a hexagonal control panel. The door closed and to their surprise, the whole room rocked back and forward. Infernal Blaze looked around as her husband’s TARDIS materialized around them. Much to her shock, the passengers from the other room were teleported around the console, making her feel a bit uneasy. “Yeah… I should’ve gave a head start, you were right,” Emerald admitted as he gave Blaze a slight peck on the cheek and hurried to over one of the panels. “It was the quickest way to get back.” “But you do realize that we are being hunted,” Blaze pointed out. Emerald chuckled. “Let me scoff at them. Besides, it’s not like you liked it as much as the next Dreamer in town who arrived by hot air balloon.” They turned to Twilight who sneezed lightly, making Blaze chuckle. “Yeah. I see that.” Blaze looked over a screen. “Oh, hey, we got someone on the comlinks trying to communicate with us. How do I…?” “Oh? It’s that big yellow button over there,” Emerald pointed. Blaze clicked the button and he cleared his throat. “This is Emerald Slicer, is this the Doctor?” “Yes, it is the Doctor!” a disgruntled and tired voice answered back. “So… I hope you are ready for an all-out incursion to the Mt. Helms.” “Verley,” Emerald corrected. “And why should we?” Twilight had regained her bearings and walked over, listening. “Because that purple unicorn beside you was planning to march to the mountain and news really spread fast,” the Doctor explained. “So I got more passengers here. Two TARDISes could get in.” Twilight realized something and spoke up. “...? Doctor?” “Yes, my dear?” the Doctor replied. Twilight tried her best to make her speech look natural. “Were you stalking me?” “No! Well, maybe, but no.” There were some sounds of clicking buttons and flipping levers. “Anyway, if I was, then would you rather be surprised to see that I have rounded up all Dreamers on foot of Mt. Verley, ready to really clear Ms. Ravenshire out of position?” “I don’t believe you,” Twilight stated. “Too suspicious.” “Oh, of course you don’t, Lady Magic.” Twilight flinched at how he called her. “I’m the last Time Lord who ended up trapped in this dimension because one of my former companions created a rift that ended us here. Then, while hiding from the Soiras and the corrupted face of innocence, I heard about how you broke the cycle because you went to Firea first, not into one of the cities.” “We… already did before I had a plan for it?” Twilight clarified. “Huh. What now?” “Meet up at the east foot. I’ll tell you the rest,” Doctor replied. “Allons-y!” “Well, that went fast,” Emerald commented. “Now… someone wants to help me? This ship is a six-pony transport… after all.” “I thought it was a single-pony,” Rainbow subtly commented. Chara went up from Twilight’s shadow and gave Rainbow a look before most of them hurried over to the console and then began to fly a very stable flight. It was even more stable when Emerald pressed the blue button. On another TARDIS, the same thing happened only with a Time Lord who was in his 10th regeneration with the black leather jacket, a Jedi whose father had fallen into the dark side once, an anthromorphic fox who was a ex-con artist, an anthromorphic bunny who was a cop, and a Pokémon Trainer with a red hat and his trusty Pikachu. Once both TARDISes landed, the Doctor and Emerald ran over to the dopr and found that their ships have landed facing each other. “Somebody has bad parking skills,” Infernal mused. Ash Ketchum sniggered. The two closed their doors and turned their parking so that they face a general direction, and everybody came out. “So,” the anthropomorphic bunny began. “How are we going to work? Looks like we’ve been… overtaken by talking ponies. Anyway, speaking of talking, my name’s Judy Hopps, ZPD.” “What does ZPD mean, you fluffy rabbit?” Flowey asked. “Hey!” “It means Zootopia Police Department,” both the Doctor and Emerald stated factly. Twilight looked around and counted. There were them six, four local ponies which were actually from the future, Princess Celestia, a couple, Frisk, Sans, Flowey, Chara. Then, on the other side, there’s the two animals, that man who likes black clothes, a yellow rodent-thing, and a kid with a red hat. “So… six, plus five, plus two, plus three, plus another two, a one, and another two. That makes…” Twilight mentally added them. “Twenty-one… Twenty-one Dremas against one corrupted Drema who took over the world. Wait, Chara’s included so that makes twenty-one Dremas.” “Drema?” Twinkle asked. “Sounds like currency.” “It actually sounds like a better term for Dreamers,” Ash admitted. “Besides, it kind of rolls nicely with Pikachu. A Drema Pokémon.” “Drema Time Lord sounds like a chant, which is a little weird,” the Doctor mused. “Drema Earth Ponies... now that’s fantastic!” The anthropomorphic fox pulled out a gun and shot upwards. “Nicholas P. Wilde!” Judy scolded. “What was that about?” “I just shot us an entrance, Carrots,” he explained. “I really would wish we didn’t come here now…” Everyone looked up. A pink cat-like creature looked back, seemingly trying to keep herself awake from the tranquilizer dart. Ash glared at Nick. Princess Twilight flew herself up and glided, taking close attention to the creature and took her in her hooves, then flew down. Twilight then went to remove the dart. “Thank you, good madams!” she told them. Ash immediately recognized who the creature was. “Mew!” Ash ran over. “You alright? Wait a second, I think I know who you are! You’re one of those otherverse Mews who took care of… otherverse me!” “Well, that’s certainly surprising,” the Doctor remarked. “Well, to be more specific, maybe,” Mew smirked. Ash groaned. “Not another game please, we’re in a life and death problem. And it involves a chunk of reality.” “At least I now understand where we ended up,” Mew confirmed after everyone had explained and told their part of the main story, which was currently under Twilight’s view and not through Ash, Judy, Doctor, or Flowey’s view. “hey, no 4th wall,” Sans called. “it makes me shiver.” “Shiver ye bones?” Mew asked. A rimshot accompanied the sentence. Sans looked around. “...good one.” (Back home in Ponyville, Equestria) “Remind me where to tell Celestia that only we’re still moving.” “Yes, Princess Luna.” “Speaking of moving, how is your family, Mr. Cake?” “Uh… um… they’re hiding in your sanctuary, your highness.” “Oh… anypony else?” “Applejack’s dog.” Luna twitched an eye. “No, no really, he just jumped towards your place after we have arrived,” Mr. Cake explained, nervous. “It was annoying.” “An annoying dog?” Luna mused. “Why, I think I remember a white dog which was also annoying.” (The Underground, Frisk’s Earth) A white dog sneezed once, then twice, then fell over the table, leaving residues. A certain goat-like monster blinked before returning to her groceries back to the surface. That was strange, Toriel thought. “Hmm.” Toriel looked around. “Must’ve been a royal person or a pony.” (Ponyville, Equestria) “So… why don’t we introduce ourselves?” Twilight asked. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I came from Equestria with my friends.” “i’m sans.” The said skeleton looked over the ponies then to the other humans and anthropomorphic animals. “sans the skeleton. that human child with striped shirt is frisk while the flower is flowey.” “Smiley trashbag,” Flowey whispered. The one who had a yellow creature on his shoulder and the pink floating mouse went to take the nest turn. “My name’s Ash Ketchum. I’m a Pokémon Trainer, and this is my pokémon, Pikachu.” Ash looked over Mew. “And that’s Mew, a Legendary Pokémon.” “Legendary Pokémon?” Fluttershy asked. “I’m Fluttershy, and I like animals and… anything. I’m just curious.” “We’re like, very powerful!” Mew demonstrated by turning Ash into another Pokémon Pinkie recognized as a Riolu. “Mew!” Ash was promptly transformed back into a human. “Well, that gave me some pleasant experience,” Ash commented before there was a sudden pop, and Ash was replaced by another Mew. “Since… technically…” That Mew returned into Ash. “I’m kind of a Pokémon myself.” Pinkie’s Porygon appeared and jumped on Ash. “that was an unreasonably unpleasant experience,” Sans noted about Ash’s current situation. He was currently being snuggled by the Porygon. “Yeah, tell me about it.” The red anthropomorphic fox blinked. “Name’s Nick. Nicholas P. Wilde.” “And I’m Judy Hopps,” the bunny added. “We came from Zootopia.” “Isn’t that the place where—” Frisk was immediately shushed by Chara. “Uh… it’s nice. Does your world have Mt. Ebott?” “Yeah, I think so, why?” “Nothing.” Frisk made a grin that made Sans flash a glowing blue eye before returning to normal eyes. Twilight Sparkle blinked. “Okay…” She then noticed that only her friends, Emerald Slicer and Infernal Blaze remained. “Wait, where’d Twinkle go?” They only saw a floating clock locket from where Twinkle was. It fell to the floor with a soft thud. Blaze walked over the locket and opened it to find that it was too fast. She calculated the speed and let out an expression. “This watch seems to move a day per hour,” Blaze stated. “It’s fast…” “Actually that’s normal,” both Pinkie and Ash noted. They stared at each other. “How did you know?” “Magic potion,” Pinkie answered. “Celebi,” Ash answered too. “Wait, the Porygon is yours, right? What can he do?” “Nothing much, I’m afraid.” Pinkie pulled out a spherical object and clicked its button, causing a red flash to direct towards the Porygon who let out a whine. “Besides, we have a mission at hand.” “Really?” Pinkie nodded. “Defeat Ms. Ravenshire and return this world to its normal state.” … … … … “Doctor, get the extrapolator,” Emerald commanded. The Doctor smiled before running off to his police box-disguised flying time machine. > 13 - Until we Meet Again, Destroia. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a blur as the group began to prepare for a fight. Twilight and the others, however, decided to take a quick trip towards the beach where they first landed, and Twilight realized they had left something as six shining objects called their attention. “That’s weird,” Fluttershy commented. “Didn’t we make sure everything was taken?” “Yes, we did, Fluttershy.” Rarity picked up one of it and gave it to Twilight. “This isn’t ours.” Twilight inspected the object and grinned at the realization. “It’s a Class 2 Magical Artifact with a self-sustaining energy spell and a…” Twilight looked closer. “Yup, a Mega stone. Odd.” “What is it anyway?” Rainbow Dash wondered as she took the one with a rainbow fleck. “It feels tingly holding these marbles.” Something clicked. Everyone stared at Twilight whose eyes seemed to be locked on the one located nearest to her with a white tint. Before anypony could react, she took the stone. At once, everything seemed to change except for their memories as they found themselves back at the time when they first landed, on the same beach where Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Fluttershy woke up in. Fluttershy gasped. “How the… why are we…?” Fluttershy mumbled as she scanned the skies. “Wait… where’s the beacons… what’s going…” Rarity looked over themselves and saw that their things had reset. Checking her bag, she still had her things that she brought, along with a small black notebook and a wooden wand clipped with it. Taking it with a tinge of light from her horn, she inspected the wand and the black notebook. To her surprise, all of what she remember were written in the notebook. Looking over, Rarity saw the others taking suit except for Twilight who was staring at Mt. Verley. Approaching her fellow unicorn, she was about to open her mouth went Twilight beat her to it. “I never saw the mountain so beautiful, even before all of this,” she stated as she looked over to Rarity, “now that it looks like we returned here before everything happened. What now? I can’t face the same things again.” “Honestly, I think we should head to Firea,” Rarity answered, setting her eyes on the mountain. “But, you are right, it does look ravishing.” “Girls! Girls! I found something!” Pinkie called from the forest line where the trees met the sands. Everypony went to look at what Pinkie saw and Twilight was the one who looked a bit disturbed at it because it was the gems of the Elements of Harmony and they were on the chests of six wooden ponies. Rainbow Dash tried to take the Loyalty one but ended up touching a convex barrier. The violet mare realized that they were shielded against the wooden ponies and frowned before walking back on the beach where she saw a very peculiar sight. She saw herself, Rarity, and Fluttershy just waking up from another side of the beach. Remembering what she had saw when they started, she looked over the sea and quickly drew back towards the trees. The others wondered why Twilight did it until they were carried back to the beach. Twilight had a new idea. “Girls, we’re going to build a boat!” “And we just made a functional speedboat out of wood,” Twilight finished, her left eye twitching. “How in Starswirl’s big beard did we got materials for a speedboat?” “No idea, must be the magic seeping around,” Fluttershy innocently answered, reminding herself that it was an accident which caused them to get the engine for a speedboat. “The ‘imaginative power,’ I suppose.” “And the boat has guns. Guns! Who gave the idea to give it guns?!” Twilight complained. Rainbow Dash sheepishly rose her hoof. “I thought they were cool.” “Oh, please, not this argument again,” Rarity pleaded. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had found a wet photograph and hid it on her mane. Afterwards, the rest of the conversation was drowned by the sound that was like pegasi flying very fast in circles. Everypony looked up. “What’s that?” Rainbow wondered. Twilight walked closer to the curious pegasus. “That, is the reason why I didn’t let you fly up that one time in Firea,” she explained. “It’s called an airplane. I got in one of them, and they’re… flying.” “Uh… girls… look.” Applejack pointed. “The flyin’ thing is headin’ our way.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Sweet fiddlesticks, get in the boat!” Everypony momentarily gazed on their fuzzy bookworm friend before following her towards the wooden speedboat. “Huh, how did my fountain pen get in here?” It went unanswered as the plane crashed toward the sea, sending the boat outwards out of the beach momentarily. Picking up the pen, Twilight moved the boat back to shore. All of them looked over and saw the remains of the plane and its survivors, which were swimming to the beach. “Let’s help them,” Twilight decided. “Sure.” “If ya say so, sugar.” “Mhm.” “Yeah!” “I agree.” Twilight, oddly, started the engine and drove the speedboat closer to the survivors and stopped once one of them gently bumped the speedboat. Setting it on idle, she went to check on the survivors and a few words entered on her mind. “Have any bits?” she asked. The survivor nodded. “You got a violet fountain pen?” she asked back. Twilight blinked. “Yeah. Want to get on board? What’s your name?” The survivor did not answer but instead got into the boat. She smiled. “I suppose Princess Solaria Celestia sounds familiar?” she wondered to herself, seemingly affecting Twilight. “It seems so. My name is Solaria.” “Wait, I have read in the ruins of Firea one time that Solaria was the former ruler until Autumn overtook the place,” Fluttershy pointed out. “And don’t ask how I got to read it, please.” The woman didn’t answer because she drove the speedboat back to shore with a raft full of survivors being tugged. Rarity and Rainbow Dash could only wonder how they got to tie the raft to the wooden speedboat but shrugged it off. “So… I see.” Solaria looked over to Mt. Verley. “You wish to head to the mountain, but your original quest was to visit and remove the three ‘evils,’ you say?” Twilight nodded, “yes. We were then said that Autumn Ravenshi—” “Shush,” Solaria interrupted. “I see. It seems like the fabric of space is slowly trying to throw out what should not be here. Hmm. I need an opinion on this, dear Valcaronimasus.” She looked around and blinked. “Oh, off to swimming again? I am feeling a bit refreshed after all.” The ponies jumped when a snow leopard jumped out of the beach and walked into them. “Yes, I did. I suggest returning them without the memories temporarily,” it spoke with a silver voice. Fluttershy nearly fainted at the sight while Twilight began to protest. It was ignored as Solaria pulled something out and Twilight saw it as the letter Princess Celestia had sent her before she had learned the truth. The woman waved it in the air before looking at the others. “You six deserve a break, after all.” Solaria tore the parchment apart, leaving Twilight slack-jawed. “Don’t worry. The Dremi’s request of defeating the Shire of Raven has already been done, isn’t that right Pinkamena Diane Pie?” Pinkie was too busy to say something because she was reading the original “Universes of the Dream Realm” book and nodded. Before Twilight could take a look, all of them felt like something froze their hooves. Pinkie reacted first by starting to laugh. “Pinkie!” Rarity scolded, the frozen feeling reaching up to their shoulders. “This is no laughing matter!” Solaria chuckled. “So, Agent Pinks, I suppose the conditions are in favour?” she asked. Pinkie looked over. “For the Queen of Altaris, the Solar Princess of Equestria, and my best friend Twilight Sparkle, the conditions are in favour. Byee!” She tried to move her hoof. “Oh, right, from the ground up. Huh. I swear I thought it was from the tail to the head…” Afterwards… they were all gone except for their equipment. Pinkie’s bag had an alethiometer however, and it had joined her as well. Solaria muttered something about cotton candy before facing the sky as four beacons slowly lit up. Val, Solaria’s dæmon, smiled. “We are going to see them again, right? When the end approaches for their Equestria?” he asked. Solaria nodded. “I just hope that they don’t get too excited on returning.” She looked over the speedboat. “But I still wonder how they made a speedboat out of wood.” “Magic?” Val suggested. Solaria groaned. > Book 1 of 19 Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Twilight Sparkle, Are you alright? I just felt time being modified out of my senses. Of couse, being an alicorn lets me being aware, but it seems like it has stopped be from writing something important from you. And Solaria… doesn’t her name sound like what I would use, only without the -ia? I know this because the thought had lingered my mind. And I seem to have an adventure book missing from my personal collection. Did you steal it? No, that is impossible, you couldn’t have teleported here by a second and vanished with it on another second. You’re too noisy for it and I was reading it. Alas, as your Princess, I have a special request for you. Included in a package you will receive is Starswirl’s diary. I have not yet checked most of it, but one particular spell I had wondered was his last spell. If you may, you can, if you really can, check on it because it is unfinished. Poor unicorn had never furnished the ancient spell he had made. I trust that things will be in favour. I hope to see your progress soon. Must you fail, always remember that your friends are there to help. Your mentor and princess, Princess Celestia.