//------------------------------// // Royal Flush (Edited) // Story: Final Fantasy: Twilight Elysium // by Matrix7o6 //------------------------------// (Chapter 4) Royal Flush Twilight drifted in an endless abyss, the darkness never seeming to end as she floats aimlessly, unable to move. “Hello?” she calls out to the great nothingness surrounding her. “If I were you, I wouldn’t show up at all!” a familiar voice boomed out. “Shining?” she called out. “Come on y’all, let’s go check on the princess,” a familiar country voice echoed. “Applejack?” Twilight asks, only being answered by her echo. “You have a lot to think about,” a condescending tone rings through the darkness. “Celestia,” Twilight says through gritted teeth. “And no one will bother to look for you!” a sinister cackle follows Celestia’s voice. The very sound caused Twilight to see red. “Chrysalis!” Twilight yells. “I don’t want to die.” Her eyes widen at the sound of her voice. “Stop it,” she says. “I don’t want to die,” the voice repeats. “Please stop!” Twilight tries to cover her ears, but to her dismay, her body wasn’t cooperating with the command. “Wake up,” the echo of Twilight says. The echo is soon joined by other voices as they begin to chant. “WAKE UP!” the voices chant in unison. “Stop it!” Twilight screams. She is engulfed in a burst of white, followed by a resounding thud. Her eyes slowly open to gaze upon a marbled floor. She slowly eases herself off the floor on all fours. For some reason, this didn’t feel quite right to her. Twilight looks down at her ho… “WHAT IN FAUST’S NAME?” She stumbles back as she shouts, looking upon the alien appendages where her hooves should be. She shakes her head, hoping this was just a dream. “You are safe, little pony.” A woman with long, black hair, olive green eyes, and clad in a formal black and gold dress walks slowly into the room. She is sure to not frighten Twilight further. “I am Gentiana.” She bows formally. “I am the Lady-In-Waiting and caretaker of our princess.” Gentiana speaks softly as she approaches Twilight. “I’m also your teacher.” Twilight struggled to wrap her head around her current situation. “What? Where am I? What am I?” Twilight fired endless questions as she looked herself over in fear and curiosity. Gentiana kneels in front of Twilight and gently clasps her hands around hers and brings them together. “You are Twilight Sparkle. As far as what you’ve become, you’re human; a little girl, by the looks of it.” Twilight looks down at the reflective marble. She sees the reflection of a twelve year-old girl with lavender hair and eyes. She slowly touches her face. “I’m not entirely sure why your age has seemed to reverse,” Gentiana states. “It could have been caused by the way you arrived here.” “The Crystal Mirror,” Twilight murmurs to herself. “Wait.” Twilight looks up at Gentiana. “How do you know me?” “That is a story for another time, dear,” Gentiana sweetly replies. “You know, it’s rather rude to not introduce yourself.” “Sweet Faust!” Twilight yelled out in surprise. “How could I have gotten so distracted? I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Gentiana chuckles. “I understand; if I were in your position, introductions would be the furthest thing from my mind.” She smiles. “Now onto more important matters, you need to get changed and follow me downstairs. The queen seeks an audience with you.” Gentiana hands Twilight some undergarments. “You’ll need these.” “Um.” Twilight holds up a pair of panties. “What are these for?” Gentiana couldn’t help but laugh. (Queen Nox Fleuret’s Throne Room) (One hilarious hour later) Gentiana gently pushed open a pair of thin bronze and silver lined doors with a nervous Twilight close behind. She had helped Twilight into a green linen dress lined with gold trimmings; a rather odd contrast to her lavender features, Twilight thought, but for now it would do. As they passed several windows, Twilight couldn’t help but admire the scenery. She gasped at the sight of lush forests along with floating mountains, some of which waterfalls were streaming from. She yearned to find out everything she could about this place. However she calmed herself, knowing she had something to accomplish. “If only the girls could see…” Her hopeful tone came to an idle at her sudden realization. “What troubles you, Twilight Sparkle?” Gentiana asks as they resume their walk through the corridor. “It’s nothing,” Twilight replies somberly. “Come now, child. If it were nothing, you wouldn’t be upset about it, would you?” Twilight’s gaze moved to watching her own steps. “Well,” she starts, “I’m used to just blowing things out of proportion. “Don’t sell yourself short, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight looks up at the same time Gentiana offers a reassuring smile. “I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you.” “We?” Twilight asks as they arrive at another pair of bronze doors. These were lined with smooth, lightly stained wood. “This must be where we part ways for now, young one,” Gentiana states as she opens the doors. “I will wait or you here. Remember to be respectful.” “Of course,” Twilight says, nodding her head at Gentiana. Twilight steps through the doors. Upon entering, Gentiana closes them behind Twilight. Looking around, Twilight finds that the room was lined with blue and red carpets. Crème colored drapes with green trimmings were held open at the windows. There were marble pillars off-set from the windows that added an extra regal feel to Twilight. She noticed that the windows gave a beautiful view of the outside, which amplified the majesty of the inside. Twilight’s appreciation was interrupted by a woman with blonde hair, tied up in a bun, and blue eyes. “Hello,” the woman says. Twilight’s head goes in the direction of the voice. “Come forward, dear,” the woman encourages Twilight from her gold throne. Twilight walks to the base of the stairs and kneels. She bows her head then stands back up to properly address the woman. The woman stands. “Such manners,” the woman says. “My name is Sylva Nox Fleuret, Queen of Tenebrae,” she explains. “I am sure you must have many questions, but before I can answer them I have some questions of my own. I feel this is a fair trade for nursing you back to health.” “What would you like to know first, your highness?” Twilight asks. The queen ponders for a few moments. “Are you a daemon?” the queen asks. Twilight offered a puzzled face to the question. “What is a daemon?” she says after a moment. The queen’s eyes narrowed, looking for any hint of deception in the young girl’s eyes. Twilight became worried as the queen looked her over, hoping that she hadn’t said anything to offend her. After what seemed like hours of staring the queen’s gaze softened and she smiled at Twilight. “Forgive my guarded hand. It is not every day that a young girl lands in your garden. Now, onto more light matters; what is your name, dear?” “Twilight Sparkle,” she answers hesitantly. “Well, Twilight Sparkle, it has come to my attention that you are not from this land.” Sylva’s voice was calm. “That being said, I must ask if this is true and, if it is, where is it you come from?” Twilight sighs, trying to prepare briefly for this explanation. “I am from a different world. I come from the land called Equestria. In my world…” “No more,” the queen interrupted. “We have enemies here who would be more than willing to take advantage of your origins. A ‘yes’ was all I was looking for. Keep your past a secret, Twilight Sparkle; only reveal it to those you deem worthy of knowing.” Sylva stands and slowly walks down the stairs. “Since you have no home here, you’ll need a place to stay. It would be best for you to stay here. My staff will keep quiet about you.” She looks at the doors across the room. “There is just a small matter of my children,” she says, more to herself. “Gentiana,” she calls a little louder. The double doors open as Gentiana enters with a boy and a girl. “Looks like you were already listening in. Shame on you for eavesdropping,” she scolded the children. “Sorry mother,” the children say in unison. Sylva smiles. “I cannot blame you for your curiosity, but all the same, I do not wish or our guest to feel uncomfortable. Now say hello.” “I’m Lunafreya Nox FLeruet, Princess of Tenebrae,” the girl starts. “But you can call me Luna.” “And I am Ravus Nox Fleuret, Prince of Tenebrae,” the boy follows. Twilight smiles at the two as she curtsies at them. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Ravus looks away while Luna giggles slightly. “So you weren’t born here?” Luna asks. Twilight cautiously looks to Sylva, who gives her a small smile and a nod of approval. “Nope,” Twilight answers. This causes Luna’s eyes to light up with joy. “That means you’ll need to learn everything about our world!” Luna exclaims joyfully. “We have a library full of books on our history…” Twilight interrupts Luna with a loud gasp. “You have a library?!” Twilight asks excitedly. “Yes,” Luna nearly shouts getting as excited as Twilight. Ravus held back a smile and rolled his eyes. “Girls,” he sighs, letting the smile come out. Sylva smiles as the three children make small talk. “I’m glad you are all finding some common ground.” They all look to Sylva. “I have a few things I need to take care of today so Luna, Ravus, I want you to show Twilight around the home; starting with the library.” She turns to Gentiana. “Get Maria to prepare a room for our guest, and make sure it is close to Luna’s room.” Gentiana nods. “Alright, Mother,” Luna replies, and grabs Twilight by the hand. She starts to walk away with Ravus close behind. “One more thing,” Sylva mentions, stopping the three. “We found this close to you when we took you out of that crater.” She gestures to Gentiana, who pulls a thin, cone-shaped, lavender-colored object from out of her sleeve. Twilight’s eyes widened. “My horn,” Twilight whispers to herself as Gentiana hands it to her. Sure enough it was her horn; however it seems to have gotten a lot longer and sharper than she remembered. She looks up at the two adults. “Thank you,” she manages. With that, Luna and Ravus escort Twilight to the household’s library. Once the doors were closed, Sylva ascends the stairs and sits on her throne. “Are you sure about this?” she asks Gentiana. “I sense a great power in her.” “All the more reason she should be here,” Gentiana responds cryptically. “She is going to play an important part in the trials to come.” (Equestria: One week after Twilight’s disappearance) (Canterlot Castle) The situation in Canterlot was escalating out of control. Between Celestia raising the sun and moon by herself, the nobles demanding an investigation of Princess Luna’s imprisonment, and the citizen’s constant fears of changeling attacks, Celestia was being pushed to her very limit. But she wasn’t going to give up; she must endure for her ponies. This was, after all, why she was a princess. “Captain Armor,” Celestia says, looking at the stallion sternly, “status report.” “We managed to quell riots on the eastern side of the city. However, a few ponies became injured during a store fire; nothing serious, other than some second degree burns,” Shining Armor read off a report. “And what of the mirror?” Celestia’s tone was cold at the memory of what happened to it. “From what we were told, the mirror is repairable. But it won’t be able to activate or another year.” His ears drooped as the words left his mouth. “Not good enough!” Celestia shouts. “We must get it repaired as soon as possible. Round up everypony with a two to three year degree in magical artifact.” Shining Armor puts his papers away and bows. “Yes Princess.” He walks out of the throne room. Celestia slumps back into her throne, her front hooves rubbing her temples. Meanwhile, outside in the Canterlot Gardens, a statue o a creature with different types of limbs was sitting on a pedestal. A look of horror on his face slowly begins to crack as the grimace contorts into a wicked grin. (Ponyville) (Golden Oaks Library) Spike sat alone at the base of smooth, wooden steps. Though it had already been a week since Twilight was hurled into the mirror, it felt only like hours ago to him. Hours that he felt he made the biggest mistake of his life. It felt like hours ago that he betrayed the one who has cared for him since the day he was hatched; she even hatched him… She was basically a mother to him. He betrayed his own mother. The thoughts became too much for him. He broke down sobbing on the steps. “Twilight, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” he sobbed, hoping his cries would equate to some sort of prayer. Because you’re a child, Spike. What could you have done? Spike’s hands went to his head as Twilight’s final words to him echoed through his mind. “This is what you deserve, fool,” a voice spoke from the emptiness of the room. “If you were stronger, this wouldn’t have happened.” “Who are you?!” Spike shot up, in no mood to tolerate someone speaking to him in such a manner. “Look in the bathroom mirror,” the voice commanded. Spike did as was told. In an instant, his eyes lit up as he faced a familiar lavender face. “Twilight!” he yelled out. “Twilight, I’m so sorry about…” “No you’re not,” she responded coldly. “Twilight?” he asks. “You never cared about me.” The Twilight reflection grits her teeth. “You never cared at all. Okay, sure, I made you do a lot of chores, and I usually left you alone when I went on dangerous journeys to save Equestria. But it wasn’t out of hate; it was because I couldn’t stand to see you hurt.” A few tears fell from the reflection’s eyes. “Maybe I deserve this.” “No!” Spike shouts. “Twilight, it was all my fault! I should have believed you at the wedding. I should have sided with you when Celestia wanted to erase your memories. But… I wanted to see you smile again.” The purple dragon sobbed. “I had never seen you so heart-broken in my entire life. It hurt because you were right about me; what could a baby dragon do to help? I hate it. I hate myself. I want it to stop. I wanted to protect you. Please, Twilight. Give me another chance!” he begged. “It’s too late for me now,” the reflection said calmly. “But who’s next? Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy? Will you let someone else be taken?” “No,” he says, clenching his fists. “Then do something about it.” The Twilight reflection fades from the mirror. As Spike stares at himself in the mirror, his eyes become dark green, the pupils narrow to slits. “I want to protect them. Spike… WANT.” (Canterlot Castle) (Dungeons) The sharp clang of metal colliding with flesh rang through the dark, empty halls of the dungeons as Celestia slams Luna into her cell wall. “I’m only going to ask this one more time,” she says. She lets go of Luna, dropping her face-first in front of her. “Where did you send Twilight?” Luna ignored the pain shooting through her body as she gets to her hooves. “We will not allow you to do this, Sister. Though you may think you have good intentions, the only thing you’re going to do is hurt her more in the end. You are letting your fear guide your judgment.” “My judgment may be called into question. But, the ends will justify those means. Now, where did you send her?” Celestia asks sternly. Luna looks at Celestia with a great deal of pity. “Sister, I do not know. She was meant to go to the same realm you banished Sunset Shimmer to, but now there is no telling where the mirror might have sent her.” With that, Luna was met with another hoof to her jaw, which knocked her into the dirt. “I’m sorry it has to be this way,” Celestia says while walking out of the cell. “Lock it back up,” she says to Flash Sentry as she leaves. (Eos: Tenebrae) (Nox Fleuret Household; four months after Twilight’s arrival) Twilight wasted no time in picking up the history of the world. It seemed like every day Lunafreya and Ravus would find her buried in a new book. However, today Twilight was going to meet someone new. “Twilight,” Gentiana called out. “We have a guest. Ravus and Luna are already outside. “Be right there,” Twilight answered. She marked her place in the now tow hundred and forty-fifth book she was on and hurried to meet the visitors. Once outside, she sees Lunafreya speaking with a boy with dark hair and blue eyes. He was in a wheelchair. “Twilight!” Luna exclaims happily. “Don’t act like you haven’t seen me in forever,” Twilight responds. She lets out a giggle that was quickly stifled by Luna grabbing her hand to take her closer to the boy. “Noctis, this is my friend Twilight. Twilight, this is Noctis.” Twilight takes Luna’s impromptu introduction as cue to formally introduce herself. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” she says, bowing her head at him. Noctis, seemingly bashful of Twilight’s actions, returns the gesture. “I am Noctis Lucis Caelum,” he states. Twilight gasped when she heard his full name. “You’re Lucian royalty?” she asks. “Yes?” He seemed caught off-guard by her reaction. “I can’t believe I get to meet you,” she says, taking his hand to shake it. “I thought I’d have to travel all the way to Insomnia to see anyone from the Lucian bloodline!” Twilight simply could not contain her excitement. “You have to forgive Twilight,” Luna tells Noctis, smiling at the two. “She’s been living with us for a few months and has been dying to see everything outside of Tenebrae.” “What’s going on over here?” a man says. Twilight turns her head to see a man wearing a black suit and a trench coat over his shoulders walking toward them. “Hello Luna. Who might this be?” he asks, looking curiously at Twilight. “This is my friend, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna answers. “Twilight, this is Regis Lucis Caelum, Noctis’s father.” Twilight’s squeals of excitement gave the prince and princess a start, but the king could only laugh at the young girl’s reaction. “Nice to meet you,” Regis says. He turns to Noctis. “Alright, the summons is almost ready Noct. We must be on our way.” He comes closer to his son and starts pushing him away from the girls. “Then we’d better be on our way as well,” Luna adds as she takes Twilight by the hand. They head toward the palace. “Let’s get dressed Twilight; Mother didn’t wish to leave you alone. She also thought you could use some fresh air.” Luna giggles as they head to their respective rooms. “Wear something nice,” she says before disappearing into her room. Twilight skimmed through her closet before deciding on the fanciest dress she could find (she wanted to make a good impression for the Lucis family). She got into it with only the minor struggle of working out how to tie it in the back. As she was about to leave the room, she spots her horn gleaming in the sunlight on her nightstand. She didn’t really want to take it; something like this could be perceived as a possible weapon. But something was telling her she needed to bring it. So, she discreetly tucks her horn into her sleeve and goes outside to wait for Lunafreya with Ravus. (One Hour Later) Though Twilight had read all about them in books, she was still captivated at the very idea of formally meeting the Lucis family. There was only so much a book could tell her; she was hoping to get to know them as individuals rather than just the royal family. She smiled to herself in the back seat of the automobile, or car, as these people called it (though, in her head, she originally saw it as a self-propelled chariot). She seemed to be having a ball in her mind while in the back seat with Lunafreya and Ravus. There wasn’t much talk while they made way to their destination. Judging from this, Twilight figured it may be something serious. It only took them shy of a half hour to reach their stop; a large clearing with massive roots. These roots seemed to run through a rather small, but raging waterfall. Offset from the area were some old pillars. “What is this place? Twilight inquired. “This is where we’re going to heal the young prince,” Sylva answered. She rested a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Stay close to me,” she insists. The two begin to walk toward the pillars as the others gather close by. Regis makes his way toward the group, with Noctis being pushed by Lunafreya. As they walked, Twilight saw that there were a lot more people there than she expected (around abut twenty four). Twilight smirked at seeing Ravus in his formal black and white suit. He only rolled his eyes and looked away, hoping no one saw the slight blush playing at his cheeks. Twilight stifled a chuckle, however, she couldn’t help but look around as the wind started to pick up. Even Lunafreya and Noctis had stopped to look to the sky as a large shadow began to swallow the light. “Niflheim,” Regis says, fearfully glancing at his son. “Everybody run!” he shouts as men clad in armor fell from a ship overhead. They started shooting at random. “Luna, Ravus, Twilight! Hide!” Sylva shouts. Many people were gunned down as the first wave of men began to land. Twilight scrambled to get behind a pillar as tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn’t believe it; people, good people were being slaughtered for seemingly no reason at all. She looked up from her hiding place and watched as a bulky figure clad in heavy armor landed from the ship. He wasted no time in cutting down the knights sent to guard the ceremony. Through the chaos, Twilight spots Ravus. “Ravus, over here!” She tries to catch his attention, but he only looks around in shock. He’s brought out of his stupor by a bullet to the arm. The pain in his arm was so intense, all Ravus could do was drop to his knees. He looks around with blurry eyes as he sees the other boys trying to flee get riddled with bullets. He turns to face the offenders to meet one of the armored men looking at him with unfeeling, demonic red eyes while his arm separates to reveal a spark. What Ravus saw was a burst of white hot flames; what he did not see was Twilight running towards him. “RAVUS!” Sylva screams. She jumps in the way of the flames with her arms spread open, preparing to meet her fiery end. “No!” Twilight shouts, jumping in front of Sylva. As the flames licked at her face, Twilight’s sleeve began to glow a lavender color. “Twilight!” Sylva attempted to force Twilight out of the way, only for a concussive force to send the flames flying back at the armored man, which sent him flying into another, causing them both to explode. The bulky man in the heavy armor was astonished at what he just witnessed; this little girl used some kind of magic to fight off one of his troops. He had his target. The Lucis King would have to wait as long as the Queen of Tenebrae was still alive. “What was that?” Ravus asked Twilight as he helped his mother onto her feet. “I don’t know,” she answers as she pulls her horn from her sleeve. It was still glowing as she studied it. “LOOK OUT!” Sylva screamed. Twilight turned to see the bulky man was mere centimeters away from her. Out of reflex, she blocked the man’s attack with her horn. He was clearly stronger, as he brought Twilight to her knees easily. The horn started to crack under the weight of the large sword he was wielding. “Looks like you’re not as tough as I thought,” the man boasts. However, his words are quickly taken back as he watched the horn. Twilight lets out a gasp of astonishment. The horn begins to extend and rearrange its shape. Upon finishing its transformation, the horn has changed to a lavender colored version of the man’s sword. Twilight uses her advantage of his distraction and throws him back. She follows up by running at him. The man simply dodges to the side and back hands Twilight, the force takes her off her feet and she falls into a shallow puddle. She tries to get up, but the man pins her under his foot and points his sword downward. Everything seemed to slow to a crawl for Twilight as the man raised his sword and began to drive it down. As Twilight closed her eyes and resigned her fate, she felt a warm trickle of liquid fall onto her chest; but no heavy sharp objects. She opened her eyes to see Sylva looking down at her with one of her reassuring smiles, with blood slowly dripping from the side of her mouth. Twilight looked down to see Sylva was cradling the blade tip that had been run through her, keeping it from reaching Twilight. The man violently pulls the blade out of Sylva, making her fall atop Twilight. Twilight’s tears were never-ending as she held onto her. “I’m sorry,” she uttered. “No,” Sylva managed to choke out. “You saved my son. For that, I thank you. You have been wonderful, Twilight. You have gifts; don’t let anyone take that from you, and don’t let them take away your ability to love.” Twilight could only nod right before wiping away a few tears. “Protect Luna a-and Ravus.” Sylva closes her eyes. “Thank you, again.” The last of Sylva’s breath left her body as her arms went limp. The light from her eyes were completely faded. Twilight looked at the man in heavy armor with pure rage in her eyes. She gently moves Sylva’s body off of her own, then takes her lavender sword and rushes at him. “DIE YOU MONSTER!” She brings her sword down on his back, only for him to grab her by the throat and hoist her into the air. He smirks under his helm. She gasps for air as she attempts to pry his grip from her. After a solid thirty seconds, the man throws her into a rock wall. Twilight’s vision becomes blurry, her brain unable to keep up due to the sudden oxygen intake. Her vision starts to fade as she faintly sees King Regis reaches for his son. “Noctis!” King Regis yells as he picks up Noctis from his wheelchair and grabs Lunafreya by the hand; he starts to run away with them. She watches as Lunafreya rips her hand away from the king. “Please help us, King Regis!” Ravus bellows as Twilight’s vision leaves her. The man in heavy armor looks at Twilight’s unconscious body as several of his troops pull guns on her. “Stand down,” he commands. “I think we can use this one.”