//------------------------------// // Project Erroria Arc Part 16: Assault The Mansion! // Story: MLDC: SHAZAM, Equestria's Mightest Mare! // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// Scootaloo walked about the castle, she had no need to sneak around, most of the Dusk Guards knew about her and her relationship to Princess Twilight Sparkle. So they paid her no mind as they passed her by, which was perfect for where she needed to go. Following Discords advise, Scootaloo made her way to Twilight’s throne room, a place that she knew Twilight and the others don’t often visit, mostly because Twilight was still getting used to the fact that she had a castle. The young pegasus filly slipped in when nopony was looking and closed the door, gently, behind her. Scootaloo sighed in relief, although it wouldn’t be suspicious of her to check out the throne room, she didn’t need any undue attention drawn to her. “Scoots?” “GAH!” Scootaloo jumped, her wings fluttering at the same time and bringing her close to the ceiling. When she looked down she groaned in annoyance. “Spike?! What’re you doing here?!” The baby dragon arched his brow at that question. “Um, I live here, remember? The question is, what are you doing sneaking into the throne room?” Scootaloo fluttered back down and rubbed the back of her head as she chuckled nervously. “I-I just wanted to check this place out! I don’t always see this part of the castle and I thought it’d be a nice change of scenery!”  Spike continued to give her a suspicious look. “You’re not buying this, are you?” “Not even a bit. So what’s really going on?” Scootaloo was between a rock and a hard place, throughout her time coming to the castle, neither herself or Twilight had told the baby dragon about her secret identity. She wanted to keep the circle of those who did know small, to protect them, but at this point… “Spike, I can’t really explain it, but I need you to leave this throne room! It’s important! Please?!” Scootaloo pleaded. The young drake sighed. “Scoots, just give it up, I know you’re Shazam.” Scootaloo’s left eye twitched, and she restrained herself from yelling out loud. “W-What a-are you talking about, Spike?! Me, Shazam? Yeah right!” Spike had a deadpan expression upon his face. “I’m not as dumb as you think I am.” Scootaloo blushed and shook a foreleg in dismissal. “Nonononono! Spike, I don’t think that! I…I…I…” Scootaloo sighed heavily as she stared down at the floor. “How long?” “Let’s see…There’s the number of times you come here, I know the Crusaders have Twilight Time, but you’re the only one who seems to come here more frequently.” Spike ticked another digit. “Not to mention, when you do arrive, you only spend like a few seconds here, but when you leave, you and Twilight act as if you’ve spent hours doing whatever. Then there’s the fact that Shazam has orange wings and a purple tail.” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “That could be anypony though. Applejack has an orange coat too, but we’re not related.” “True, but there’s also the fact that Twilight and Shazam seem to act like they know each other, I know Twilight’s not ungrateful when somepony helps her, but the way she goes up to Shazam, and the way Shazam talks like they both know each other, it’s little suspicious. And then the girls became superpowered alicorns, it was the final clue, for me anyway,” said Spike. “I’m sure you guys have your reasons, but you can trust me with your secret.” Scootaloo scratched the back of her head, embarrassed for underestimating Spike this whole time, and not giving the baby dragon some credit for keeping the secret this long.     “So tell me, what are you really doing here?” Spike asked. Scootaloo sighed once again, but this time she stood confidently. “I’m going to get Alula back.” Spike’s expression changed instantly from one of suspicion to concern. “W-Wait, how?! I thought Twilight and the Princesses hadn’t located her yet!” “I know, but I think there’s something in here that can help me do that. At least I hope so,” said Scootaloo. The pegasus filly began circling around the six thrones and steward’s seat, checking to see if there was any hidden switch or mechanism that would do…something. Spike began helping out, looking over each throne as well, but still had no clue what he was looking for. “So who told you there was something in here that can help?” Spike asked. “Discord,” said Scootlaoo nonchalantly. “DISCORD!!?” “Shh!” Spike covered his mouth this his claws. “Are you nuts! Why would believe him of all ponie?!” “Hey, he’s weird, but he does a lot for us that you don’t know, trust me!” Scootaloo shot back, surprising Spike at how she was defending the Spirit of Chaos. “Anyway, he was cryptic with the how, so I’m just checking everything. Does anything weird happen when Twilight or any of the others come in here?” Spike rubbed his chin as he walked to the center of the six thrones. His green eyes looked over the thrones, drawing toward the cutie mark symbols etched into each one. “Well…Whenever Twilight sits in her throne, which isn’t often, the symbol of her cutie mark glows. I thought it was just Twilight’s throne since it’s her castle and all, but when Rarity sat in hers, the mark on her throne glowed too.” “Really, even Rainbow’s?” Scootaloo asked. “Yeah, but neither of them sat in the throne for too long, Twilight’s not used to it, and neither are the girls, but the marks do glow.” Scootaloo stared at the throne that had Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark on it, humming in contemplation as she neared it. On a hunch, Scootaloo placed her hoof on the seat and stared wide eyed as the mark lit up. She quickly retracted her hoof and at the same time, the mark stopped glowing. Spike’s jaw had dropped at seeing the reaction to Scootaloo touching it, and practically broke through the floor when she walked to Fluttershy’s throne touched it, and made its mark glow as well. “How are you doing that?!” “I think…I think it has to do with my magic.” Scootaloo walked to another throne, Applejack’s, and got it to glow as well. “Murmur told me that my magic is the original power from what the Elements of Harmony sprang from, maybe it’s reacting to it?” The filly walked up to Pinkie Pie’s throne and got it to glow too. “Have they all ever sat down at their thrones at the same time?” Spike scratched his head as he thought about it, but to his recollection he never saw them all sit on the thrones. Maybe two or three of them, but never all six at once. “Nope, not even once. Why, what are you thinking?” “Something probably crazy, but better than nothing at this point.” Scootaloo climbed into Twilight’s throne and closed her eyes. If she was right, then the magic inside her would connect to whatever magic was present. Spike watched and for a few seconds nothing happened, but that changed quickly when a spark of azure lightning arced off of Scootaloo’s body. Soon another spark went off, and then another, and another, and another. Soon her whole body was releasing small bolts of lightning, lightning that seemed to resonate with Twilight’s throne as the cutie mark symbol above began to absorb that power. “Generosity…” “Loyalty…” “Honesty…” “Kindness…” “Laughter…” “Magic…!” All six symbols absorbed the magic of the Living Lightning, resonating with its ancient ancestor, and from the symbols they fired a rainbow beam of magic straight to the floor. Scootaloo opened her eyes and suddenly, something began growing from the crystal floor, forming, taking shape with each passing second. A bright flash went off, making Spike shut his eyes to prevent blindness. A few more seconds passed before the light finally dimmed down a bit, allowing Spike to open his eyes, and then they went wide at what was now at the center of the throne room. Scootaloo’s eyes became normal again, making her shake her head and come back to the now. It didn’t take long before she too saw what was at the center of the room, a large table. The tabletop, however, wasn’t ordinary, in fact, it showed a holographic map of Equestria. It appeared to be in real time since there some small beings walking about if one looked close enough. Spike jumped up onto his steward’s chair, gazing in awe at the map along with Scootaloo. “What did you do?!” Spike asked. “I have no idea, but…! Maybe this is what Discord was talking about, the way to find Alula!” “How?” “I have an idea.” Scootaloo placed her hooves on the edge of the table and closed her eyes yet again. Her mind brought up memories of her fillyfriend, the sound of her laughter, the way she smiled, the faint scent of vanilla that always seemed to accompany her, the first time they…kissed. “Scootaloo, look!” Spike called out. Scootaloo opened her eyes and watched as her lightning bolt cutie mark shined and then floated off her flank. It zoomed over the map,  hovering high overhead for a moment before descending down on a spot on the map. Spike and Scootaloo looked closer at the spot her mark was hovering over, and both cocked their heads to the side in confusion. “She’s being held at a mansion?” Spike asked. “Doesn’t matter where, if that’s the place, then I’m going!” Scootaloo hopped off of Twilight’s throne and made her way to the doors, only to be stopped by the purple drake, holding his arms out to bar her way. “No way, you’re not going alone! If Alula is there, then those Kingdom guys are there too! And…” “I know, I got my flank kicked, but trust me…” Scootaloo looked down at her right hoof, raising it and watching as electricity danced around her foreleg. “I feel like I can win, I won’t doubt myself again!” Spike snorted. “Still, it’ll only be you! Besides, AB, Babs, and Sweetie are down still and can’t help!” “I never wanted them to be involved like that, and they got hurt because of me…I won’t put them in danger like that again!” Scootaloo declared. “Fine, then I’ll go with you! You can empower me the same way, right?!” Scootaloo looked away, she couldn’t do that, not after what happened to her friends. “I…” Spike walked up to the pegasus filly and clasped her on the shoulder, shooting her a kind smile. “Look, let’s just get this out of the way, I’m going with you and that’s final.” “Why…?” Scootaloo asked. “Because…well…” Spike scratched at his cheek, his face blushing a little. “Twilight’s going out with Cheerilee, and you were adopted by Cheerilee, so…you know, it kinda makes us brother and sister, in a way. And brothers are supposed to look out for their sisters, right?” Scootaloo started to feel choked up, even though Twilight and Cheerilee hadn’t married, yet, Spike already considered her family, and was willing to protect her like family. Scootaloo sniffled a little and wiped a stray tear from her eye. “Fine, but you stay close to me and do what I say.” “Heh, shouldn’t the big brother be calling the shots?” Scootaloo blinked and then smirked. “Who said you were the older sib? If anything I’m older, I’m turning thirteen in a couple of weeks!” Spike returned her smirk and pointed a thumb at himself. “Fourteen in five months.” “I call horsefeathers on that!” Scootaloo retorted. “You can ask Twilight when we get back, c’mon, I know a spot where you can do your thing.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes, she was definitely making it a point to ask Twilight if Spike was indeed older than her. But as far as big brothers go, I don’t mind at all. Thorn continued to watch over her created daughter, Alula. Her body had already begun altering, she had grown some in the past three days, already a match in height with Princess Luna. Her horn had grown longer, and her short wings had begun to grow into majestic, elegant avian appendages, ones that could rival even that  of Princess Celestia. Her mane had grown out as well, flowing with a steady shimmer to it. The Magi-Scientist placed her hoof against the tank, stroking the glass gently as if vicariously trying to rub her daughter’s cheek. “Erroria, my Erroria, my daughter, you’ve become so beautiful…” Thorn gently pressed her ear to the glass, hearing the faint, yet strong, thumping of a heart beating. “And your heart is strong. Soon, your mind will be filled with the memories of what was supposed be. The memories of your old life will fade away, and we’ll not only be a family, but the creators of a new world, with a competent ruler, and no equals in either the heavens above or Tartarus below!” Thorn backed away and lit up her horn, casting a spell to amplify her voice. “Now hear this, all staff, set the remaining blank slates into production, and once that’s completed, convene in the meeting hall.” Already the brown unicorn could hear her staff setting to work, the vats shifting into place and the Xanthos magic being infused. She knew from here it’d be automatic, and no further involvement would be needed from outside hooves. But soon, very soon, her daughter and her would have an army. An army that was strong enough to make an alicorn sweat, and now lead by an anti-alicorn infused with the destructive power of Xanthos, along with the Ancient Magic of Shazam, it would the dawn of a new era. One of the masked assistants appeared behind Thorn and bowed to her. “Mistress, all has been set and the staff awaits you.” Thorn glanced behind her, seeing the mare who had been - possibly - the most competent of all her staff. Thornsmiled as she approached the mare, using her magic to remove the mask, which took the mare by surprise. “My dear filly, you’ve been my assistant for a few years now, haven’t you?” “W-Well, yes Mistress, you’ve been wonderful - it’s been wonderful being with you and working with you,” she said. Thorn walked up to her, placing a hoof on her chin. “Yes, and you’ve been ever so helpful. Which is why I wanted to spare you, my dear.” The unicorn mare tilted her head in confusion. “‘Spare me’? Mistress, I am afraid I don’t understand…?” Suddenly, the hallway behind her erupted with screams of agony and death. The mare did an about face, hearing the sounds coming directly from the meeting hall. The screams echoed out into the hallways and through the stony caverns of her lab, making the unicorn mare’s eyes widen with shock and terror. She was backing up out of instinct, trying to get away, but only to end up backing into Thorn, who disturbingly stayed motionless. “M-Mistress what is happening down there?!” “Oh, I had The Five go in and dispose of some unnecessary equipment.” It didn’t take long for the unicorn mare to get the gist of those words, she had set the Xanthos Assassins on the staff, and now they were killing everypony in there. “But why?!” “I have no more need of them, now that my daughter has almost completed her metamorphosis, all I really needed was to have the last batch of Blank Slates process. But I didn’t want you to die like that.” Tears of joy flowed from the unicorn mare’s eyes, her Mistress had spared her a horrible fate, and had dubbed her worthy of standing by her side through her endeavors from here on out, it was truly a blessing. The unicorn mare watched as Thorn brought her hoof to her cheek again, but this time directing her towards her muzzle, to which she received a tender kiss from her Mistress, making all thought of the horrors behind her fade away. Thorn parted lips with her assistant, and smiled at her. “I have more respect for you dear, so that’s why……I’ll kill you myself.” The brown unicorn mare’s horn glowed with red light, and immediately a noose of magic formed around the other unicorn’s neck. The noose pulled tight, quickly cutting off the mare’s air and hoisting her up higher and higher at a slow and agonizing pace. The choking mare tried to cast magic, indicated by the numerous times her horn lit up, but just as quickly as it did, the magic dispersed before she had chance. “A unicorn can’t cast magic if their minds are too preoccupied with something else that’s preventing them from focusing, like, for example, the pain of slowly dieing.”  Thorn watched as the mare reached out to her, while her other hoof desperately clawed at the magical ring around her neck. “I respected you more than the others, and I noticed how much you stared at me. I could tell the dirty thoughts that ran through your mind, in some way, I think you actually like this.” The hanged mare tried to protest, but the noose was too tight around her neck, not only cutting off her air but her ability to speak. Thorn turned her back and walked away, still hearing the choking and gagging noises her former assistant was making. A flash of her horn made the noose rise higher and then suddenly go taut to the point that Thorn heard an audible snap, followed by the sound of a body hitting the stone floor. Thorn continued to walk away, until she was back at the vat where Alula, or rather, Erroria still resided. She laid down on her belly before the vat, curling around it as if trying to comfort a foal. Her moment was interrupted when she heard five sets of hooves coming towards her, she grinned, seeing that it was her Five, each sporting new patches of red on their coats. “Get your brothers and sisters ready, we’ll be marching on the Kingdom, and soon enough after, Canterlot.” The Five nodded and readied to leave, until, a loud rumbling noise caught their attention. Alula twitched in her vat, and her horn gave off a spark of lightning, Thorn didn’t need to guess who it was that caused the rumble. “How?! How did she figure out where we were?! Send the rest up, kill Shazam! If she gets to her before the process is complete everything will be lost!” The Five nodded and quickly went to assemble the fighting force needed to engage the Champion of Magic. Thorn turned to her created daughter and placed a hoof against that glass. “I will not let her take you away, no, by the time she reaches us, you will be the one to end her.” “Well that woke up the neighbors,” said Shazam. Down below, hundreds of Xanthos Assassins came rushing out of Thorn Blackforest’s mansion, some even popping up from secret passages closer to the surrounding forest. The Xanthos unicorns got into position, charging their horns and preparing to unleash a volley of magic bolts. “Hey look, they’re lining up,” said Spike, with a rather strong and booming voice. “They’re eager.” Flying high in sky, with the full moon at their backs, was the alicorn heroine, Shazam. Her hooded cape flapped in the crossbreeze generated by the flapping of her wings, her horn ablaze with magical energy. Earlier, she had fired a lightning bolt, and found that the mansion was protected by a large dome of magical energy, it only reaffirmed The Map’s accuracy that this was the place where Alula was kept. “Spike, you wanna bust in?” Behind Shazam was a huge, purple and green scaled dragon. It’s wings beat thunderously with each flap, and its  row of spines were glowing with the power of the Living Lightning, Sinewy muscles rippled across its body, and its eyes glowed with the magical power he had been bestowed. “Just to be clear, they’re not real ponies, right?” Spike asked in a worried tone. “No, they’re not. They’re empty, hollow, and only want to kill because of the Xanthos in them. So go to town on them!” Spike nodded firmly and roared into the night sky. The mighty dragon dived down and opened its maw, all the spines on his back glowed with great intensity, and at the same time, emerald flames gathered in its mouth. In less a second, Spike unleashed a torrent of green flames, laced with lightning that struck the barrier, the magical forcefield quickly began fissuring, showing cracks all over it. The shield soon shattered like fragile glass and allowed the inferno to continue forward, hitting all the Xanthos unicorns and scorching the ground  and everything that rested upon it. The Xanthos unicorns didn’t even have a chance to scream or react, having been reduced to nothingness in an instant. Spike landed on the ground with a loud crash, the shockwave generated by his landing snuffed out the embers of his previous attack, leaving only scorched earth. Xanthos pegasi all left the safety of the trees, covering the airspace around the mansion, preparing to pounce on the large dragon, but they forgot, he wasn’t alone. Shazam shot forth from her position in the sky, she zoomed like lightning, streaking down until she was upon the vast array of Xanthos pegasi and zoomed to the closest one, striking it in the face with her hoof and sending it flying into the side of the mansion. Before one of its brethren could react, Shazam speed blitzed five more, sending them crashing into the ground, through trees, and high into the sky until they landed further in the distance with a loud crash. Meanwhile, on the ground, Spike was being encroached upon by Xanthos earth ponies. The mighty dragon, roared and bared his fangs, claws at the ready, with flames lapping out of the corners of his mouth. The first wave came at him head on, which Spike punished them for such a reckless move by torching them with dragon fire. Another wave tried to attack him from the rear, but Spike wasn’t as slow as his bulky form led them to believe. Suddenly, thunder roared overhead and a bolt of lightning struck Spike’s hulking form, engulfing him in white smoke. The Xanthos earth ponies backed away, not knowing what to expect from their draconic opponent. From the plume of white smoke, a figure shot out at amazing speed, and in the blink of an eye, put seven of the Xanthos earth ponies down. Spike had changed considerably, no longer a large, hulking dragon, but a lithe, bipedal drake. His forearms and shins were clad in golden armor, along with a chest plate that had the lightning bolt insignia, which coursed with the contained essence of the Living Lightning. Spike was granted a cape, but his hung off to his left side. Another wave of Xanthos ponies came for Spike, but in the blink of an eye, Spike had disappeared, and reappeared in front of one of the earth ponies. Cocking back his right fist, and coating it in a layer of fire and lightning, Spike struck the pony, sending it flying into a crowd of its fellow Xanthos infused. A group of earth ponies tried to dog pile Spike, but at the last second, Spike jumped into the air to meet them. Coating his shins and feet with lightning and fire, Spike performed a spiraling windmill kick that struck every Xanthos stallion and mare that was unfortunate enough to get close to him. Spike landed on the ground, but stumbled a little to where he almost lost his footing. “Whew, not totally used to this yet.” Suddenly, the young drake sensed a power build up behind him. “Now what?!” Another row of Xanthos unicorns were preparing to unleash a united magic blast. Spike grinned and widened his stance, digging his toes into the dirt and making it crack beneath his might.  The young drake inhaled deeply, his spines glowing with built up magical energy. The Xanthos unicorns fired a combined magical, crimson beam that roared towards Spike. His eyes shimmered with azure light, and at the last second, Spike exhaled and released a mighty stream of fire and lightning. The electric blaze’s roar was even greater than that of the Xanthos as it quickly overcame the crimson beam and pushed it all the way back until it hit the group of unicorns, sending them into the mansion and exploding a good chunk of it away. In the air, Shazam was quickly making short work of the aerial team, casting a cloning spell on herself and splitting herself up into five different Shazams. Each one took out ten a piece, either speed blitzing or firing off bolts of lightning to fry them like bugs. The five clones reunited into one, with Shazam giving them a death glare. “I don’t have time for you!” Shazam declared. The superheroine began spinning about, building up wind speed as she wrapped herself in a tornado. Lightning arced off the tornado as she rose into the air and collected every Xanthos pegasi in its vortex of power. Shazam charged her horn with her ancient power, and in the next moment, unleashed a bolt of lightning that fused itself with the tornado, zapping every Xanthos pegasus within it and detonating them in an instant. Once the skies were clear, Shazam flew down, landing right beside her teammate and surrogate/soon-to-be-big-brother. “Skies are clear, enjoying yourself?” Shazam asked. “This is amazing! I didn’t know you felt this powerful when you became Shazam, it’s almost scary,” said Spike. “Believe me, it was at first, but after training with Twilight, it’s become a lot easier. By the way, when did you learn how to fight like that?” “Power Pony comics, some Neighpon comics, ever heard of Pixie Tail?” Before Shazam could answer, more and more of the Xanthos infused ponies entered the fray. The alicorn and dragon glanced to each other and nodded. Spike raised his fist, and Shazam her right hoof. Fire and lightning ignited in that moment as both heros punched the ground beneath them, creating a combined wave of fire and lightning that erupted from the ground below to the surface above. Everything within a one mile radius was lit up in a column of crackling, blazing, lightning. When it was over, the ones left standing where Shazam and Spike. The Mansion had been completely wiped off the map, along with any and all plant life in the vicinity. Despite having wiped out the Kingdom’s forces, Shazam was still on edge. “What’s wrong?” Spike asked. “Just waiting for the other horseshoe to drop,” she answered. “Well we gotta find Alula, I felt something underneath when I landed, like there was something sturdy below us. There might be an underground lair or something,” said Spike. “Might as well give it a shot.” Just then, a low rumble began to shake the earth they stood upon. With each second the tremors grew stronger and stronger, until, from the ruins of the mansion, a creature burst forth from the rubble and landed a few feet from the heroes. Shazam recognized this foul creature as The Beast, the centaur amalgamation of the five Xanthos Assassins from Ponyville. The centaur monster snorted and glared at its opponents, ready to show Shazam her place yet again. Shazam’s gaze turned serious as she prepared to fight him, but Spike threw out his left arm, preventing her from even moving forward. “S-Spike?” “Don’t waste time here, the fact that this monster’s here means Alula is. If you go down the way that thing came you might reach her. I’ll handle this thing,” said Spike. “WHAT?!! I won’t let you fight that monster alone! Do you remember what it did to me and my friends?!” “Yeah, I know. But don’t forget, I’m a dragon! I won’t go down easy - no, I’ll bring that thing down with my own claws!” “B-But…” Spike glanced over his shoulder Shazam, glaring at her, but at the same time shooting her a confident smile. “Alula’s waiting for you to save her, go!” Shazam knew she had to go and save her, but at same time she didn’t want to leave Spike to deal with this monster. Although, the faster I find Alula, the faster I can get her to the Rock of Eternity and come back to help Spike, she thought.   “Don’t you dare die on me, I still need to ask Twilight about how old you really are so I can rub it your face later!” With that, Shazam focused her magic into her speed and zipped by Spike and The Beast in practically the blink of an eye. The Beast turned around, seeing only a bolt of lightning streaking from where Shazam once stood to where it just appeared from. The Beast prepared to give chase, but at the last second, Spike appeared overhead, his right fist burning with emerald flames and crackling with lightning. “UGLY, I’M THE GUY YOU’RE FIGHTING!!!” Scootaloo flew down the tunnel, coming across various Assassins as she did. She didn’t linger on any of them, using quick strikes and lightning blasts to obliterate them in an instant, for they weren’t her true goal, no, her true objective awaited her down below. Using her magic, she could sense something, whoever was behind this would surely be there, and when Scootaloo found them, she’d be sure to wring out where they had taken Alula. Soon the tunnel came to an end, opening up into a large room. Shazam’s eyes widened at the sight of so many vats with pony bodies in them, floating in some strange green liquid and completely still. Each one was as white as a sheet, as if made of clay and waiting to be molded. She couldn’t tell if they were stallion or mare, but they seemed to be just Earth ponies. “What…What is this?!” Shazam cried. “My workshop.” Shazam’s  eyes were drawn down to the voice, where a unicorn mare was standing next to a tank that seemed to be more advanced and elaborate than the rest. Magic’s Champion flew down and landed upon the floor with a mighty “BOOM” shaking everything around them. The unicorn mare appeared to be unimpressed by her show of power. “Who the hay are you?!” Shazam demanded. “I am Thorn Blackforest, but my friends in the Kingdom know me by Black Rose, and this is my laboratory, where I’ve made the lovely little assassins that I’ve been trying to kill you and the Princesses with,” said Thorn in a rather cheerful tone. Shazam’s eyes narrowed as arcs of lightning sparked from the corners of her eyes. The alicorn heroine slowly walked towards Thorn, her body starting to radiate with magical might. “One of your monsters came to Ponyville and foalnapped a filly, I don’t know what kind of sick and twisted things you do here, but if you harmed a hair on her mane, you’re going –!” “It’s not ‘foalnapping’ when it’s your own child,” said Thorn. Shazam stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening with confusion. “W-What are you talking about?! Alula is not your daughter!” Thorn’s brow rose a bit, curious as to how she knew her creation’s name. “I take it you are friends with my little Alpha? Ha, ha, how the universe loves to throw curveballs at us! But yes, she is my daughter. Albeit she wasn’t born the normal way, and thanks to a little accident, she was lost to me. Now she’s back, and will soon emerge from her cocoon a beautiful butterfly, my Erroria!” “What are you talking about?! Where is she?” Shazam demanded. Suddenly, alarms blared, and lights flickered around the tank that Thorn stood next to. The unicorn mare smiled and took a few steps back as she spoke, “She’s right here.” Cracks started to form on the vat’s glass, spider webbing at an alarming rate. The green liquid began to bubble and leak from the cracks, and violet lightning surged around it, lashing out at everything around it. A stray bolt hit some of the tanks of blank ponies, destroying them in an instant, another raked across the ceiling, causing the earthen rock and mortar to fall and crush the nearby machinery. Thorn stood there amidst the chaos, drinking in the sight of her creation reaching perfection, about to be reborn, she didn’t even flinch when a bolt flew by her head and struck the wall behind her. After a full minute, the tank burst apart as violet light shined within the room. The glass was vaporized along with the liquid, the power of this light sent shockwaves that reverberated throughout the entire estate, causing a localized earthquake that shook everything not nailed down violently. The light began to fade, allowing Shazam and Thorn to behold the end result. An alicorn mare of vanilla color stood before them, her mane was long and purple, with large majestic wings. Her spiral horn released an occasional spark of violet lightning, adjusting to its newfound power. The alicorn’s eyes opened slowly, revealing the sky blue eyes of the pony Scootaloo cared about, she blinked a few times, and slowly her head drifted towards Thorn. “M-Mom…?” Alula spoke. Shazam’s mouth gaped at hearing her fillyfriend utter those words. “Oh look at you, you’re so beautiful,” said Thorn as she approached Alula. “How do you feel? Are you well? Do you feel any pain or that something isn’t right?” Alula looked herself over, giving her wings a good flap, which kicked up a whirlwind and nearly threw Thorn on her back. The new alicorn blushed in embarrassment. “S-Sorry, Mom! I-I didn’t think that would happen with just a flap!” Thorn’s face was split by a mirthful grin at seeing her “daughter’s” power. “Oh my little Erroria, you have nothing to be sorry for! That was amazing, you weren’t even trying to do that!” Thorn rushed back to Alula and began nuzzling her cheek affectionately. “Mom, stop that’s embarrassing!” Alula giggled. “DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!” Shazam shouted. Thorn scowled at the heroine, while Alula turned to Shazam, looking at her in confusion. “Mom, who’s that?” “What?!” “She is an enemy, Erroria, she and her like are attacking the mansion, she’s come to kill me and take you away,” said Thorn. It was then that Alula’s eyes began to glow violet, electric arcs shooting from the corners of her eyes. “You want to kill my Mom……? I WON’T LET YOU!” Before Shazam could utter a word, Alula shot forth with blinding speed and struck the Champion of Magic with her right hoof. Shazam was sent flying into the back wall, slamming with enough force to rattle the entire room. But Shazam barely registered the pain, her brain was still trying to process the fact that Alula was an alicorn, and was now her enemy. “No……”