//------------------------------// // Emergence of the heroes // Story: End of hatred, Beginning of Hope // by Legendbringer //------------------------------// “It is said that heroes come in all shapes and sizes, from the small to the big. Just the same, the ideals that they represent are just as vastly different. Hope, love, compassion, and justice are just but a few of the ideas that heroes can represent to the people who have need of one. One such ideal...is friendship. Friendship, for some is a failure, but, I would rather discuss how it is more successful than you think...” Friendship is Heroism “Please, save them. Protect my friends,” the voice whispered in Twilight’s mind. “Who are you?” demanded Twilight as she looked at the tall masked figure standing before her. Using her magic, she tried to summon a spell to locate her friends, but found nothing.  Growling, her horn glowed brightly, “And what did you do to my friends!?” The man’s voice was low as he held up his hand, “Jump back and forth between cities you will go. To Apocalypse and back to Future’s Past, you will find your path to the End of Ends. Then, you will meet the Illusion of my facade, before knowing the truth.” Twilight stepped back confused, “End of wha-AHHH!” she screamed as a white light eclipsed her, dropping her through a black void. As the darkness surrounded her, it quickly gave way to a multicolored tunnel filled with light and color. As she looked around, she began to hear whispers in her head. Weird names came to her head such as Xanti, Slugoth, Hogar, and more. Everywhere she looked, she felt like she was being told a new spell or was told of a lost secret that was being given to her.  With the end of the portal approaching, she let out a painful howl as a wave of pain hit her and forced her world into total blackness. When she woke up, she struggled to get over the wave of nausea that had come over her. Twilight then stood back up to her feet, “Ohhh, what in Equestria happened to me?” she asked herself as she looked down at her two legged form. A gasp escaped her lips as she said, “I’m a human again. Must be back in Sunset’s world,” she then began to step slowly out of the alley way. For a second, she paused and looked at the skirt and shirt she wore, “Oh, thank goodness for dimensional clothing transference.” Looking around, she began to watch from he spot on the sidewalk the people walking by and the  cars driving along the street. With a sigh she said, “Ok,definitely the human world. But this is definitely not the city with Canterlot High. Maybe I should call Sunset.” Taking a quick look around she found a small phone booth nearby. With a soft breath of relief, she ran to it and found some change within the change holder. Moving quickly, Twilight dialed Sunset’s number. “Hello? Who is this?” came Sunset’s voice on the other side. “Sunset, this is Twilight! I got an emergency and I-” “Look, I don't know who you think you are,” Sunset said with a growl, “But my little sister is at her first sleepover ever with those five girls that she made friends with over the summer and she knows better than to call me before my college exams. So who-” Twilight gulped and said rapidally, “Um, never mind, I’m just trying to stalk you, bye!” and then hung up the phone. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Ok, bad move. Maybe I just got this world’s Sunset. I mean, makes sense, there was another me, so there had to be another Sunset. I’ll just call Dash’s cellphone,” she said dialing up. Rainbow Dash’s scratchy voice came over the line, “Hey, you got The Dash, what up?” “The Dash?” asked Twilight, her eye arched a little. Shaking her head, she said, “Dash, this is Twilight Sparkle.” “Sparkle? Dude, no, Twilight’s right here, sleeping like a babe. And she is too,” Dash said, looking back. Then she said, “At least I think she is. Yo, Rare babe, is our little angel asleep?” A very girly tone came from across the room, “Like, she totally is. But can you blame her? Considering the awesome shopping that we did, I am like so totes surprised that any of us could actually walk over to Flutters. I am only, like staying up right now, so I can like, call my boyfriend Spike on the line. I am just SOOOOO glad that Flutters mom lets us use her wifi.” Twilight’s eyes opened wide in utter terror as she said, “Um actually never-” “Rainbow Dash, are you talking to the demon phone again,” asked a high pitched voice. “Ah, calm down, Pinks. Geeze, we need to get ya out of that brainwashing,” Dash said. “NEVERMINDI’MACTUALLYASTALKERBYE!!!” Twilight said, changing up. Then she began to take a few deep breaths, “Ok, so, alternate dimension where everyone is different. Friends are missing, I have no idea where I am. This is the perfect time to,” Twilight took a deep breath and screamed, “PANIC!!!!” and with that she ran out of the booth, down the street, and back into the alleyway, coming to a quick stop and panting. Leaning her back against the alley wall, he began to take several deep breaths, pushing her hand away as she slumped to the ground, “Ok, Twilight, it’s ok. Let’s take in everything that we got here.” Holding out her hand, she began to count on her fingers, “Our friends are missing. I am stuck on a parallel world where I never met my human friends. Stuck in a human body. Some man in a black outfit and the silliest mask I had ever seen in my life sent me here. So all in all,” she let out a sigh and leaned against the wall, “A typical Tuesday in the life of Twilight Elizabeth Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, Duchess of Barnes But-No-Bell, and Conqueror of the Unreadable Mountain.” holding out her hand, she did not notice the faint purple glow that surrounded it, nor a man screaming about his missing cup of coffee. “I wish I had a cup of coffee to help me focus.” Just as she said this, a cup of coffee levitated into her hand. Her eyes opened wide as she looked at the hot beverage in her hand. Bringing it to her mouth, she sniffed and then took a small drink of the liquid, “Wait, what?”  taking another long sip of coffee, she looked at the cup. “How did? When did I?” Looking up at a discarded towel, she held up her hand and levitated the cloth to her. Wiping her lips a little she stood up and looked at her hands. Around them glowed an all too familiar purple aura, “My magic? I still have my magic! But I wonder if I can use my other-” “Help! Tentacles!” shouted a civilian. Another man ran by, screaming, “Hair tentacles! Can’t believe my hair-dresser predicted this!!!!” A young man with a camera around his neck ran into the alley, brushing past her, “Oh excuse me.” he said, his brown hair waving in the wind. Twilight looked out of the alley and watched as the green tentacles began to attack and strike out at innocent people. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Guess I’ll have to figure out how magic works in the field. Can’t ignore people who need me.” she said, narrowing her eyes and running out into the streets. Pinkie Pie let out a small cheer as she looked at the cake she had made, “Ooohhh, Twilight is gonna love this!” she said, looking at her triple layer chocolate, coffee, and banana cake. Smiling, she added on last dolla of frosting that sadi, “Happy Princess-aversary Twilight.” Looking up at the clock she let out a sigh and gently tapped her foot, practically counting the second with each tap. A small frown creased her lips as she could feel herself become more annoyed with each second. Looking down at the watch that she had put on her freleg, she said, “Come on you silly clock! Get to the time already so I can deliver this cake to the castle and give Twilight her surprise party!” That was when her tail began to twitch and she could feel her knee pinch, “Pinchy knee and a tail twitch? But, how could something fall and be a bit scary?” Pinkie asked herself as she ran outside to see the darkening clouds over head. Before she could ask any more questions, a  lone figure fell from the clouds and slammed his hand onto the ground. Slowly rising up, the figure turned his head to Pinkie, allowing a voice to speak into her mind, Please, give them hope. Keep their smiles bright. Pinkie Pie looked confused at the voice’s words, “What?” she then looked to the man in his  black suit and knee high boot. This combined with a long dark grey cape and collar turned up made it hard for Pinkie to not break down in laughter, “Oh, my Celestia! That outfit!!!!!” The man was not amused as his featureless mask showed, his eyes eyes glaring at her before he spoke in a low tone, “Jump into the city, To face the futures of days past. You shall wander apocalypse before facing the end of ends. Then you will challenge my facade.” “Well, that’s a weird rhy-” Pinkie said, before a flash of bright light enveloped her, sending her falling down a multicolored portal. For a few moments, she screamed as she fell, her screamed of panic quickly turning into peal of laughter as she fell down the hole. It was not long after her descent that she felt a lighting bolt struck her, and again,and  again, until her body was covered in lighting. Vibrating, she began to giggle, “Hey, this is making me sound silly!”. Before she had a chance to enjoy the toes that her voice was having, she quickly found herself face first in a mattress store. After getting up, she slowly shook her head, alling her poofy mane to shake around her, “Brrrr, what a rush. Wonder what just happened to everypon-oof!” she squeaked as she fell out of the bed. Looking down at her forelegs, she let out a gasp as she saw in place of her normal pony parts, she now had the body of a human woman,” Woa, what are these things, and,” she looked down at her chest, “Why are my funbags on my chest? Wait,” she said, standing on her feet, “Am I one of those human things that Twilight told me about? OMC! I always wanted to be one of those!!!” With a squeal began to run around the store, her body becoming a blur as she did so, “Twilight! Hey Twilight! You’ll never guess what happened to me! Hey Twili-” she had to pause in her running as she noticed that she began to cause a flame trail in her wake. Holding up her hand, she watched it vibrate in place, little pink bolts of electricity flowing from her fingers, “”Super speed? EEEEEEE! This world is getting better by the second!” Then with a frown, she added, “Or it would be, if my friends were anywhere nearby.” she said to herself, racing off across the city, and doing a lap around the world before coming back to her original destination. “OK Pinks, you are on another world, your friends are missing, and you got sent here by a big dumb meanie. Time for the plan!” she said, holding her finger up” First, find the others, and then group hug. Then, let Twilight do an explanation and a plan that I only pretend not to listen to, but in actuality hear every word just play dumb to make everypony there smile. Then come up with a new plan, and then beat bad guy. Then, big dance party!” she said, listing everything on a small piece of paper. Her ear then twitched when she heard screaming from outside, “Hair Tentacles? This is what I get for using Nair!” “How did my Hairdresser know this! HOW!?” “I’ll never get a mohawk again!” Seeing a piece of rubble about to fall on a person, Pinkie raced out of the building and picked the man up to save him. After racing away, she looked at the attacking figure in the distance, “That big jerk! What gives her the right to-” “I am giving you one chance!” shouted a familiar voice, “Back down Mane-iac, or I will hurt you.” Pinkie gasped as she ran and glomped Twilight, “Twilight! You’re here! Oh, I am so glad to see you.” Twilight let out a gasp as she said, “Good to see you Pinkie, but bad girl, over there.” As Pinkie let go of Twilight, she turned around to see a woman dressed in purple. Sprouting from her head were several green hair tentacles that struck out, breaking cars and buildings, “Oh, her.” “Her? Do you not know who I am?” asked the woman, “I am Mane-iac! Hair queen and conqueror of the follicle! I am here to wipe out the good people who dare insult hair!” “Used to work in a place hat made hair gel, fell into an experimental bath, and now her hair is alive and evil,” Twilight said calmly. “How did you figure that out, Twilight?” asked Pinkie. “She gave it to me in her speech,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “And then when I was thirteen, I was bullied for...” Mane-iac shouted, monologuing. Rarity let out a sigh as fabric began to fly around her, arranging themselves on spools or onto various ponyquins for later use. In front of her was a list of names, money, and expenditures. Another sigh escaped her lips as she ran her hoof down some of the names, “ Sassy Saddles has been with me the longest, so she should get a raise but then I might end up hurting poor little Coco and heavens knows she needs the money more.” Another sigh escaped her lips as she lowered her head onto the paper, watching as her magic began to cut and sew fabric into six individual dresses, “Well, at least I’ll have the dresses ready Twilight’s anniversary. If only balancing the budget and work was so easy.” with a groan, Rarity said, “why does owning a business have to be so hard.” That was when she heard a large explosion from outside and the sky becoming covered in black clouds. Curious, she put away her glasses and ran outside, just in time to watch as Pinkie vanished from sight. Gasping, her ignited her horn and ran to the man, “What have you done with my-” Please, give them your nobility, remind them to give them a chance. “Wha-” Before Rarity could ask, the figure held out his palm and said, “Jump into the city, Past the days of your future, run through apocalypse, and face the end of ends. There, you will see my illusion.” “What on earth are you talking,” before Rarity could ask more, her body was teleported in a flash of black light. Like her fellow ponies, she fell through a multicolored tunnel of magic. As she did, she began to scream in fear, pausing only to fix up her mane, and then she screamed again. Her screaming paused again when she saw a purple crystal began to crawl up her arms and body, covering it. Then, she blackout as the portal ended. When she awoke, she found herself in the back of a clothing store, behind some long white gowns. As she stood up, she began to take in her surroundings, “Oh, my...that was, an interesting experience. One look around and she began to get a little used to her bearings, “Well, Twilight  never did say that the magic that turns us into these... things would be so good at dressmaking.” she said, looking at the long white gown she wore. Looking at her pocket, she smiled as she looked and saw a set of small diamonds within. With a smile, she said, “Must be from that dress I was making before falling in. Now,” she looked at a mirror and saw the mess of her mane, and sighed. “Wish I had a comb to fix my mane, plus some clippers to-” A soft gasp escaped her lips as she saw a purple image of a comb and clippers flying around her mane. Once she stopped her concentration, the images faded. “What on earth? How did I-” “Run AWAY! Hair Tentacles!!!” A young japanese school girl ran faster than anyone else,” Ara iyada! Kore ga watashi ga Nihon o hanareru riyūdesu! Watashi wa betsu no mono o motteinai! Ich,Tsu no shokushu no akachan wa jūbun ni arigatō!” “Seriously! Is my hairdresser a mutant or something?” shouted another guy. “What on earth?” Rarity asked as she saw a purple clothed person flying through the air, followed by a girl wearing a pink skirt. It took a few second to recognize her friends, “GIRLS!” without thinking, she threw out her hand and caught the two girls with a giant crystal hand. Twilight looked down at what caught her, “Wait, what caught-” “Rarity!” Pinkie said, jumping off the giant hand and running off into the dress shop, picking up Rarity and rushing back before giving her a hug, “Bad guy, need help, glad to see you.” “Um, happy to see you as well, Pinkie,” Rarity said, smiling. Then she turned to watch as the woman slowly stepped towards the three, her tentacles holding her aloft while three more poised themselves to strike, “And I am guessing that is our bad guy of the day?” Rainbow Dash sped across the fields of the mountain leading from Canterlot to her home in Ponyville on hoof, creating a small dust  cloud all the while behind her. With a final grunt, she jumped into the air and did a somersault, letting her see where she had been. Giving out a small hoof bump, she said, “AW YEAH! Beat my own on hoof speed record. Canterlot to Ponyville in five minutes, who’s awesome? I’m awesome! Who’s the best, I’m the best.” Turning around, she smiled and began to fly to her sky mansion. The wind blowing through her mane suddenly took a cool chill as the sky became dark around her. Frowning, she asked herself, “Clouds? But it isn’t supposed to storm.” Looking down below, she saw a strand figure dressed in black with a top hat holding out his hands and zapping away Pinkie and Rarity. Growling, she dove down towards the man, “Hey, buttface! Leave my friend-” “Stay with them, protect them, watch your friends.” “Watch-” “Through many cities you will jump,” the figure whispered, “Fly to days of future’s past and then through to the Apocalypse. Then, at the end of ends, you will face my phantasm.” “What do you mean by-” before she could ask any more, her body was wiped out of existence. For the next few moments, her body began to fall through the portal. Magenta eyes began to look all around her for a way out, only to to find herself surrounded by every weather type imaginable. Each one of these weather phenomena hit her body hard, energizing her, and changing her. When she found herself on the other side of the portal, she found herself on top of a tall building. Another thing she discovered was that she was cold, and shivering. Hugging herself tightly, she said, “I’m cold? But, I’m a pegasus! I don't’ get cold.” and with that, she turned to look at the reflective A that was on top of the tower with her. A gasp escaped her lips as she looked at the tan body that started right back at her. Taking a step back, she asked, “My wings? Where are my? What happened to my-” she began to look over her body, looking at the bare back that her sports bra exposed, showing no wings. Shaking her head, she whispered to herself, “Ok, this is freaky. I don’t have my wings and,” she looked down and watched as lighting began to crackle along her fingertips, “I have lighting in my hands!!!” She shook her head, trying to clear it, while not seeing the small rainstorm that began to erupt right behind her, “Ok, this is getting weird. Where are my wings, why can I shoot lighting out of my fingertips, and where is everyone?” As she looked around, she began to walk in circles along the top of the tower, taking note of the building with the large four on the top in the distance as a place to check out later. Continuing her walk, she began to get annoyed as her mind tried to come up with answers to her questions. Little did she know, her body began to levitate the more she walked along the edge of the building, “Grr, this makes no sense. One minutes, in Equestria, now I am stuck her in a weird body with no speed and no,” she paused as she began to take note that her head was now in the clouds. Looking down, she saw that she was in the air, “Flying? I can still...fly?” With a bright smile and a childish glee, she shouted, “I can still fly!” cheering, she flew down into the city at top speed, allowing the gusts of wind to follow her, “I suppose if I was Twilight, I would spend time trying to figure out how, but...” she shrugged, “Egghead stuff later, fun now!” and with a shout, she was off once more, not hearing the people screaming or the one guy talking to his hairdresser, or even the purple dressed villain she barreled into, “Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie, Rarity, and Twilight shouted, panting a little. “Yeah, that’s me,” looking down, Rainbow Dash gasped as she saw her friends, “GIRLS! Am I glad to see you!” she said, swooping down and hugging them. “Rainbow Dash, dear, not that I am not happy to see you, but we have a situation here,” Rarity said, pointing to the Mane-iac as she slowly rose to her feet. “What?” asked Dash as she looked over her shoulder at the woman. Rolling her eyes, she said, “ Can’t you girls last five seconds without me? Fine. Just sit back and watch while I kick her ass!” Fluttershy smiled as she looked at her animal shelter, seeing all of the animals work and play together. For her, this was a paradise and though she would occasionally had to make sure that the predators would stay away from the herbivores, she mostly was able to keep the peace. Nodding, she turned to walk away from the scene of relative peace and back to the castle. A small frown came to her lips, “You know, I wish everyday could be like this.” Angel looked up at her, confused. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I am always there for them, always want to help my friends, but I,” Fluttershy shook her head, “Just sometimes wish the fighting would stop and I could live without worrying about helping my friends when they need me.” Angel shrugged as he followed Fluttershy into town. Only to stop, gasp in fear and run away. Fluttershy looked at her bunny companion with worry, and then looked back up at the dark clouds and the strange figure that floated down from the heavens. Gasping in fear, she did the only thing she would do in this situation, run towards it, whispering, “Oh dear, oh dear. Please be ok, please be ok. Don’t let my friends be hurt.” As she ran, she began to hear a voice speak in her mind- Your kind heart, please, the world needs it. Keep it pure. “What? My kind heart?” asked Fluttershy before she found herself trapped in a magical field. The strange being glared his eyes at Fluttershy and began to speak, “ To face my delusion, you must jump into the city, face the days of future past, avert apocalypse, and then you travel to end of ends.” Before Fluttershy could do any more, she was wrapped in a flash of light and sent through the long tunnel. As she fell, screaming in fear, her eyes began to see all of the anger, hatred, and pain that the other world had to offer. As she watched all of it happen before her eyes, a faint green glow surrounded her before finally flashing as she let out an animalistic roar. Back in the city, Twilight and friends stood glaring down Mane-iac, “You are surrounded Mane-iac, now back off.” “You think you have me? HA!” she laughed as she sent out four tendrils at the girls, “In one minute you will be begging me to let you live as I choke the air-” That was when her tentacles were grabbed by a very large muscular hand. Then with a roar, the hand pulled the tentacles towards the woman, spun her over head like a top, and into a wall, “DON’T HARM MY FRIENDS!!!” she shouted. As the dust cleared, a large woman of faint italian descent stood before the quartet. Thanks to her large muscles lining her form, she seemed to be a very large body builder. Her yellow sundress was slightly ripped thanks to her musculature, giving her the appearance of a monster. For a moment the girls raised an eyebrow at the identity of the girl, except for Rainbow and Pinkie who both shouted as one, “Fluttershy?!” “Girls! Help!” Fluttershy said, running to them, “I just landed here in this huge and beefy body. I don’t know how to go back to normal and I am so scared I might hurt someone like this.” “It’s ok, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “We’ll figure it out once we-URRRK!” she gasped as a hair tentacle wrapped itself around Twilight’s neck, followed by four more that grabbed the girls, strangling them. Mane-iac began to laugh as she rose into the air, using the tentacles as a means of lift, “Keep on multiplying, you pathetic fools. I will always be strong enough to destroy you slowly!!!!” Applebloom lightly kicked a stone across the water, watching the ripples form from each landing of the stone, “Applejack, does it ever bother you that you are... not special?” “What do you mean, Applebloom?” Applejack asked as she laid on her back, letting her stetson cover her eyes while resting against a tree, “Ah’m plenty special. Element of Honesty, owner of my own farm, and one of the strongest ponies you know.” “Well, it’s just,” Applebloom sighed, “Rainbow Dash is a cocky speedster, Rarity is a noble lady and is so business smart, Fluttershy has a dang strong will, Twilight is like a magical god, and Pinkie is...Pinkie. You’re just, you.” “A pretty strong mare?” Applejack chuckled. Applebloom shook her head, “But everypony’s got their own problems, and are so strong. Don’t you get a little jealous that everypony else just seem so, unique while you’re just a pillar?” “Apple Bloom,” Applejack said, smiling, “We all have something that makes us unique or something that only we can do. I just happen to be a pillar for all of them, somepony to hold the girls up when they need it. Ah don’t need to be egotistical, vain, or a little mad. Ah just need to be me.” “If you say so,” Apple Bloom said, kicking another rock. Then she looked up at the darkening clouds over head, “Applejack?” Applejack slowly got up, an adjusted her hat, “Apple Bloom, get into the barn, now!” “Ok!” Apple Bloom said, running off while her sister ran towards the blackening clouds. Applejack straightened her hat as she ran, narrowing her eyes as she looked on. If there was a part of her that was worried for the fate of her friends or ponies in the town, she didn’t show it. Instead, she had a look of indomitable will and strength that she usually carried with her. As she neared the center of the storm, she saw a mysterious figure standing in front of Fluttershy, wiping her out in a flash of light, “You!” Please... Applejack paused and looked confused as the voice echoed in her mind, “What? Stay true to who you are, teach them the same. The figure looked at Applejack and held up his hand, whispering, “Within the will-o-the-wisp, you will jump to the city. From Days of futures past, you will see through the illusion. In the Apocalypse, you will see the will-o-the-wisp, and at the end of ends, you will see through the Ignis Fatuus.” and with a wave of his hand, Applejack vanished within a second. Her eyes looked back and forth at the tunnel that she found herself in, watching at the colors flew by her. Frantically, Applejack began to try and reach out for a way to either slow her fall or to stop completely. While she fell through the hole, she began to watch as a golden lasso coiled itself around her hips and then attached itself to her belt. Then with a final flash of light, she found herself falling into a small bit of rubble in an alleyway. After taking a few moments to get her bearings, she slowly got back up with a grunt, “Ok, Applejack, let’s recap. Some jerk teleported you away from your friends, you are in some strange planet, body has been changed,”  she then looked down at her impressive chest that now had moved up to her upper torso, “Yep, the girls are now up there, you got hands now, and you have no idea where everypony is.” Slowly she reached up and patted her head where her hat rested, and smiled warmly, “Well, at least my hat is still here. That’s a plus.” Any further ruminations was quickly interrupted by shouts from the street, “Why is hair tentacles the least weirdest thing in my life!” “I swear, my hairdresser is a freaking mutant! She predicted this, the end of Naruto, the plot twists of my favorite manga, and my secret recipes!” “So this is why my cousin said to run away from tentacles! No wonder she left Japan!!!” Applejack looked perplexed as she ran out and stepped back in shock as she saw green hair tentacles striking, strangling, and attacking people. Before she could ask more, she heard five familiar gasps and chokes. Looking behind her, she saw her friends being strangled by the attacking tentacles. Narrowing her eyes, she reached to her side and brought out her lasso. Then, without a word, she threw her lasso around Mane-iac’s neck, tightened it, and swung her into a wall. “APPLEJACK!” Pinkie said racing to her friend as the tentacle released it’s grip and hugging her. Soon she was joined by her other friends, each hugging Applejack tightly. “Girls, as much as I do love affection and caring towards our friends,” Rarity said, hugging Applejack, “We are in the middle of a fight.” “Shh, always time for a group hug,” Pinkie said, hugging Applejack one more time. Applejack then turned to look at the Mane-iac as she pulled herself away from the impact crater, “So, what are we dealing with?” “Alternate universe, bad guy was turned to that thanks to chemical, and we have no way to go back,” Twilight said. “So, normal weird Tuesday?” asked Applejack. “Sadly.” Rarity sad, looking down and sighing. “More and more, you FOOLS seem to arise. Is there anymore that I should be wary of?” asked Mane-iac as she got to her feet, her tentacles sprouting out. Twilight shook her head, “Nope, just us. Which is bad if Spike and Starlight did land here because there goes back up plan Beta for keeping Equestria safe while I’m stuck here.” “Yeah, bad news for you!” Rainbow Dash said, cracking her neck, “Because you see, now that we are all together-” “Standing as one,” Rarity said. “We are now-” Fluttershy said, smiling as she looked from friend to friend, “Invincible, and unbeatable!” Pinkie shouted. “Now, no man, beast, or god can take us down if we tried!” Applejack said. “So, basically...run,” Twilight said. “Do I look like I care?” asked Mane-iac, “6, 7, or five! I will crush all who stand in my way!” Twilight looked across from her, left and right, all the while taking in the sight of her friends. The sight of her friends turned on a computer in her mind that began to quickly calculate a plan to utilize her team effectively and then she nodded to the five. In perfect synch, the six ponies scattered and jumped out of the way from the assaulting tentacles. Rainbow Dash used her hot air currents to fly her through the tentacles, bobbing and weaving through the assault. Once she neared her opponent, she summoned a series of lighting strikes into Mane-iac’s body. This stunned her and allowed for Rainbow Dash to unleash three rabid punches into her stomach. While in the midst of Rainbow performing a roundhouse kick into the chest, one of Mane-iac’s tentacles grabbed her extended leg and flung her up into the air and then slammed Dash hard into the ground. With a high pitched laughter, the villainess began to slam her down again and again into the ground. Before she could repeat the same attack, three buzzsaws flew through the air, cutting the tentacle into pieces. A purple comb and hair-dryer then began to pull back Mane-iac’s three other tentacles. With a growl, she turned to look at Rarity as the girl continued to mess with her mane. Turning her three tentacles into bladed points, Mane-iac struck them out, hoping to plunge them into Rarity’s chest and throat. Seconds before her attack could be made, she gasped as a pink blur ran to each one of the offending tentacles and turning them into little bow ties. Then Pinkie ran right up to her and began to rapidly box her chin and then ran off. Mane-iac only had time to gasp as Applejack and Flutter popped up and delivered a combined punch hard into Mane-iac’s stomach. Not willing to let them the chance to strike again, Mane-iac grabbed both girl’s arm’s and threw them into the building. However, this left her open to a giant pillar that was thrown into her body and into the wall. Twilight lowered herself slowly to the ground, turning off her magic as she did. Then she looked to the rubble where Mane-iac laid and waited. A few seconds later, Mane-iac rose from the rubble and looked to the six girls, “C-c-curse you.” she said, before finally fainting. With the battle over, Fluttershy found her body returning back to normal from the overly muscled version, “OH, thank goodness. I was scared that I would stay this way.” “Hey, that was a pretty badass  look on you,” Dash complimented. “Ah’m just glad we’re all together,” Applejack said, tipping her hat, “Now, how about we leave before we are-” Her sentence was cut off by the group of reporters and people talking to them. “That was amazing!” “Unbelievable!” “Are you new heroes in town? A part of the Avenger’s training program?” “No, they have to be Teen Titans.” “Are you super-heroes for hire?” “The lighting girl, could you bear my children? Somewhere, on the side of a building, a red and blue suited man rested on the side of the building, “Guess I wasn’t needed,” Spider-Man said, his eyes watching the fight, “But still, a bad-guy with hair attacking the city? Why do the weird villains always seem to attack when I’m around?” he asked himself, before taking some photos with his phone and then swinging off. “Excuse me, Sophie Jansen, of the Bugle,” the red haired reporter asked with a notebook in hand, “What are your names? Who are you?” “Us? Well, um,” Twilight said, looking down and trying to get her mind to think. Over to her right, she could hear her friends whisper to each other. Rainbow Dash smirked as she brushed her hair back, “Zapp.” “Um, Saddle Rager,” Fluttershy gasped, hiding behind Rainbow Dash. Rarity bowed to the group, “I am Radiance and this is Mistress Marevelous,” Rarity said, giving Applejack a look that said to let her do the talking. “And I’m Fillisecond!” Pinkie said with a grin. Nodding Twilight said, “And I’m Masked Matter. Together we are,” pausing, she looked back at her friends and nodded, an idea coming to her for a name in an instant, “The Rainbooms. Now we would love to answer more questions but we got to go and get some uniforms!” she said, her magic glowing bright and enveloping the group. When the girls opened their eyes again, they found themselves in the alley where Twilight landed. Pinkie gasped in shock and amazement as she looked around, “Wow! Twilight, that is amazing! I didn’t know your teleporting was that good here!” “It’s not,” Twilight said with a frown, looking down at the magic of her hands dissipating, “Truth be told, I’ve kind of been using my power on raw instinct. Not even sure how I’m casting some of my spells, it’s just coming to me.” “Yeah, know the feeling,” Dash said, taking flight, “It’s like me and the weather, just...know it, you know?” “Hmmmm, probably has either to do with our previous experience, or instinct,” Twilight said, walking from side to side in the alley, thumb to her chin, “Right now, I think we need to answer some questions. Like how did we get here, who sent us here, and how do we get home? I am also going to assume Spike and Starlight are home, so there’s that.” So each girl began in turn to speak of their experiences and how each wound up in the world. Intensively, Twilight paid rapt attention and began to write down the similarities and the notes in her head. After each finished, Twilight began to speak, “Jump City, Apocalypse, Future Past, and End of Ends. Those words keep showing up in the spell. With the only thing changing is that last word, but what can it all mean? What’s the connection.” “Maybe there is none, Twilight,” Applejack said, “Maybe he’s just a monster that decided the best way to take over Equestria was to send us away.” “Then why not kill us instead? He should know we’ll find a way back,” Twilight said. Shaking her head, she groaned a little and slumped back, “Grrrrr!!!! I hate it when I don’t have all of the pieces of the puzzle!” “Hey, I got an idea, lets just check out where this Jump City place is and start with the answers there,” Rainbow Dash said, hovering, “Better than just waiting here.” Rarity looked up at Rainbow with a frown, “Brilliant idea, Rainbow Dash. Care to tell us how to get there? We don’t even know where it-” “It’s on the west coast of this country we’re in called the United states of America. We’re on the east coast here,” Pinkie said, bringing out an atlas and pointing her finger at New York City, “and the city is WAAAAAAAY over there.” she then pointed to California. “Pinkie, how did you get this map?” Fluttershy asked, looking at her friend with a quirked eyebrow. Pinkie smiled, “Oh, I got it from this place called an airport when I ran there and then when I went over to the city I got their tourist pamphlets. I also got some for some other places too, like this place called the Mystery Shack. Can we go there Twilight? I know you love...”Before Pinkie could continue, she began to sway back and forth, holding her head, “Whoa, getting a little bit dizzy.” Fluttershy gasped and grabbed Pinkie before she could fall, “Pinkie! Are you all right?” “Just a little woozy,” Pinkie said. Rainbow Dash landed right next to her, “Pinks, when was the last time you ate?” “A few seconds ago, a nice cupcake,” Pinkie said, smiling. Rainbow Dash groaned and facepalmed, “Pinks, you are a speedster now. Eating a cupcake isn’t going to cut it with you right now. Not even one as hyper as you. We’ll need to get you something a lot more substantial.” “Awww, thanks for the advice, Dashie,” Pinkie said, looking up at her friend. “Hey, I’m no longer the speedster of this team. Someone has to teach ya,” Dash said with a smirk. Twilight sighed, “That leads us to the biggest problem. I’ve been in the human world four times before and I can tell you that we need two things to get to this so called Jump city. First, money, and then a car.” Applejack looked confused, “Uh, Twilight? What’s a Car?” “Um, think about the carts back in Manehatten, only except self propelled with an internal combustion engine. Sunset helped me to learn all about it and Flash taught me how to drive it,” Twilight said with a fond smile, “I really should tell you how it works. It’s absolutely fascinating...” As Twilight began to discuss and describe all of the inner workings of a car, Rarity reached into her pocket and pulled out some gems, “Well, luckily I seem to be in possession of some gems from when I was working on the dresses. Perhaps they’ll get us some much needed money.” Applejack shook her head, “Not sure Rarity. Ah mean, they are just some diamonds and sapphires, can’t be all that much.” “Well, we’ll see,” Rarity said, walking out of the alley way. “Be right back!” A few hours passed and soon Twilight was done talking, “And that is about it.” when she turned around, she saw her friends passed out with the exception of Fluttershy, “Well, it's nice to know SOMEONE paid attention.” “Oh, I’m sorry, I was actually on the lookout for Rarity,” Fluttershy said, hiding behind her hair. Twilight paused and looked around, “Wait, where’s Rarity?” At that point, a powerful engine reved up and drove to the side of the alley. When the five girls peeked out from there, they saw a lovely white van complete with decals of the girl’s cutie marks. On the front of the car had the license plate of ‘RBOOM1’ and seemed to sparkle in the fading sunlight. When the driver side opened, Rarity stepped out and took off her designer sunglasses, “Good news everypony. It seems that gems are a rare mineral around here.” “Well, yes, that’s what Sunset told me,” Twilight added as she looked at the vehicle, “She said that it isn’t like Equestria where you can dig up gems in an instant. Some people have to dig a long time in mines to find them. So the fact that your gems were worth hundreds-” “Thousands darling, close to two hundred thousand. So what you are looking at is Wayne-Auto brand new 4X4 custom. It has a GPS, cushion seats, minibar, storage space, and a wonderful sound system for my...smartphone is it?” said Rarity. And then she threw each one of the girls a smartphone, “Here you go. I signed a personal contract with six lines, the man tried to cheat me can you believe that? Oh and there is a few random bags of food for Pinkie.” “Yum!” Pinkie said, running into the backseat and chowing down on the food. Slowly, each one of the girls began to get inside, leaving Twilight to be the last, “Ok, since I’m the only one of us who can dri-” she paused and looked to Rarity, “Rarity, how did you drive this car all the way here?” Suddenly, out from the car stepped out a large man who seemed to be made of orange moving rocks. He turned to Rarity and said, “Ok, I got yas to your friends, Miss Belle. That’ll be a hundred.” “Oh, sure Mr. Grimm, thank you so much,” Rarity said, handing the money to Ben. “Thank ya,” Ben said turning away, “Oh, and thanks for the offer. Alicia said she has more than enough offers for her wedding dress.” “I understand, but please note, Mr. Grimm,” “Call me Ben, lady,” Ben said, “I don’t take to any formal stuff.” “Right, but I’ll have you know that I can do tuxes as well. Especially one for your unique size,” Rarity said, smiling. “I’ll keep that in mind,” Ben said, walking away from the group. “Uh, Rarity, who was that?” Applejack said. “Oh, him? He is Mr. Grimm. Apparently in this city he is a famous superhero, and it seems he was taking odd jobs for his upcoming nuptials. When I bought the car, I offered him quite a hefty sum to help drive me where I need to go and give me lessons.” “Well, good,” Twilight said, getting into the car, “This means if I get tired you can take over and we can make sure Rainbow Dash never drives.” “Hey! What’s wrong with me driving,” asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight’s eyes opened wide as she began to imagine Rainbow Dash driving... All around her, many people laid dead in the streets. Tire marks lined their bodies and blood ran through the streets. Fires touched the sky while the towns burned and babies cried. All the while howls of  “WHY DIDN’T ANYONE STOP THIS!” echoed through the area. “Nothing!” Twilight said as the others go into the van. She had a smile on her face as she started the car, “OH, can’t wait! This is going to be so exciting! And while we’re on the road, I can help train all of you in your new powers!” “Training? Come on Twi,” Dash grumbled, “What kind of heroes need training in their powers?” Somewhere in New York, in Manchester, there sits a large school for those with a special gift. Though silent now, soon the day will begin and students will start their classes. It is also in this school... That a Phoenix, roars.