Twilight looked between the sword, and the figure presenting it to her.
"WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON!? WHO ARE YOU!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!? WHAT AM I WEARING!? WHAT IS THIS PLACE!? WHAT-" Before Twilight could freakout further, the figure reached out and covered her mouth.
"Maybe I should've explained first." With that, the figure pulled her robe off, revealing the image of a tall, beautiful woman with bright red hair and light blue skin and brown eyes. She was decked out in shiny silver armor with patches of pink cloth.
"I am Tyshira, Goddess of Adventure! Trainer of Heroes!" She struck a heroic pose before pointing at Twilight. "And you, Twilight Sparkle, have been chosen to be the world's newest hero!"
Twilight simply blinked at the woman, quietly looked around the large temple before pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Nope. Nope. I'm out of here. This is crazy." With that she ran to the nearest door. This had to be some kind of nightmare, right? Maybe she had collapsed from exhaustion. There was no way this was happening.
"Ack! No! Wait! I can do a better job!" Tyshira stammered, rushing after her. "Celie warned me about this..."
Twilight, eager to get as far as she could from this place and this crazy woman pulled open the door-
-and found herself right where she entered: at the doorway of an old, abandoned building.
She didn't have time to ponder how that defied every law of space and time she knew and made a dash for it, running down the stairs, into the street and-
*WHAM*
-and right into a running Flash Sentry, knocking them both to the ground.
"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry!" Twilight said, rising and lending a hand to help him.
"It's fine. I actually came looking for you after those guys-" He finally noticed his classmate's new getup. "What are you wearing? And did you get taller too?"
"I don't know but-"
"Found you!"
The two teens turned and found the trio of thugs standing right behind them menacingly.
The leader eyed Twilight's armor. "Listen, I don't know what kind of trick your trying to play, but this ends now!" With that he raised a fist that headed straight for Twilight.
Twilight felt her heart pounding and, on pure instinct, reach out and caught the fist mid air.
"Huh?" The thugs said in unison.
"What?" Flash's eyes widened.
Twilight stared at her hand and slowly moved his arm. This thug had to be twice Twilight's size and if the muscles in his arm were any indication, he should have really hurt her hand in impact. And yet here she was....flicking away his attack like it was nothing!
"Wha-"
The lead thug shook out of his shock and raised his other hand to strike her. Before he could move it down, Twilight formed her own fist and struck him in the stomach. The impact sent him back, rolling on the pavement before stopping.
Twilight and Flash stared open mouthed, aghast at what was going on.
Twilight saw the second thug raising a fist at her and, quickly thinking this time, grabbed his arm and launched into the third thug as he was trying to flee. The impact sent them both rolling.
She gawked at her own fists as she heard Flash breath excitedly next to her.
"That was-"
"-AMAZING!" Flash exclaimed, more excited than freaked out. "How did you do that!? You took them on like it was nothing!" He was quickly gesturing between him and the now unconscious or dazed thugs.
"I-I-"
"There you are!" Tyshira stood at the doorway of the building. She walked over to them. "Nice job handling those guys. A little rough around the edges, but it's nice to see your already stepping up."
"What?"
Flash moved closer to Twilight. "Twilight? Who is this/"
"She-"
The sound of sirens cut her off.
"Uh oh." Tyshira looked around and saw police lights coming down the street. "Let's talk somewhere more private." She gabbed each of them by the arm and dragged them back through the doorway, closing it just as the police arrived.
An officer got out of the car and walked over, looking over the beaten thugs.
"Wonder what happened here?" She asked her partner, who could only shrug at the strangeness of it.
The door had led the trio back inside the round room and, just like before, vanished into thin air.
"Woah..." Flash gawked at the enormous room. "What is this place?"
"Ok..." Tyshira sighed, raising her hands. "Let me try to explain it a little better this time." She cleared her throat and pointed to herself. "My name is Tyshira, the Goddess of Adventure."
"'Goddess of Adventure'?" Twilight said as she searched her memory. "I think I read about you in mythology books."
"Yeah, I'm not exactly as famous as some of the bigger Goddesses out there." Tyshira shrugged. "But I have a very important duty: being the patron and trainer of heroes."
"What do you mean?" Flash asked.
"Okay, so you know about heroes such as Gallopucles, Gusty the Great and Queen Artura?"
Both teens nodded.
"Well, they didn't become heroes all on their own. Who do you think trained them?" Tyshira chest swelled with pride.
"Wait. You-"
"That's right!" Tyshira confirmed, cutting Twilight off. "For thousands of years, I've chosen and trained heroes from all over the world how to fight evil, how to save lives and guided them on their journeys, helping them become legends."
"So...what do you want with me?" Twilight asked cautiously.
"It's like I said before!" Tyshira pointed at Twilight, smiling confidently. "I have chosen you to become the world's newest hero!"
"WHAT!?" Twilight couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening.
"That's right Twilight!" Tyshira said, ignoring Twilight's distress and putting her arm over her and pulling her closer, slightly squishing her. "You were chosen and with my help, you will become a hero! The defender of the weak! The protector of truth and justice! The bringer of hope and peace!"
Twilight managed to break free of Tyshira's hold and shook her head.
"Nope! Not happening! I am not a hero!"
Tyshira's face bore the look of surprise. "But....why not? Don't you want to know how to protect people? Or all the cool powers and weapons you have?"
"Twilight," Flash spoke up. "Don't you see how amazing this is!?" His eyes brightened with excitement. "You were picked by the Goddess of Adventure herself! Don't you remember what you did to those thugs? Your like a.....like a superhero! Like we were talking about earlier!? Don't you want to be like them?"
"And don't you see how crazy this all is!?" Twilight gestures to her new outfit. "Look at what I'm wearing! Normal people don't wear stuff like this! Legends aren't real! Superheroes aren't real! I'm a geek in high school! I eat lunch alone and I need to use an inhaler every time I overexert myself! And in case you haven't seen me in gym class, that's a lot! I am NOT a hero!"
"But....what about what I just said?" Tyshira said, confused. "Don't you want to go out there and make a difference? To help people?"
Twilight took a breath. Why did she have to ask her that? What decent person could say no to those questions?
"Why do you need a hero now?"
Tyshira sighed. "I'm sure you know how crazy the world's seemed lately. With all the crime and the monster attacks?"
Twilight nodded solemnly. Over the last few months more and more strange occurrences had appeared in the news, with hardly anybody able to explain it all.
"Well, things are about to get even worse. On Mabon, an ancient evil will be released and try to take over the world."
"What!?" Twilight gapped. "Mabon? That's two days away!"
"I know! But these things take time. What matters is that the world needs a hero NOW! You're the only one who can stop this."
"Well, can't you just pick someone else?"
"No! You're the one who was meant to save everyone. Plus I already did the whole ritual thing and those things take time and energy!"
Twilight bit her lip as she considered as she considered the last few minutes. The prospect of facing an ancient evil determined to take over the world filled her with dread, but she couldn't just leave the world hanging, right?
"What is getting released on Mabon?" Flash asked, curious.
Tyshira sighed before gaining a look of the upmost seriousness. "I assume you know the legend of a sorceress called 'Nightmare Moon'?"
"The one who tried to bathe Equestria in Eternal Night?" Flash asked, shocked.
"B-But according to legend she was defeated by her sister!" Twilight recalled. "She's just a bedtime story made to scare kids into behaving!"
Tyshira shook her head. "No. She's real. I helped fight her. And she was not completely defeated. Only sealed in the moon for a thousand years. This Mabon marks the thousandth anniversary of her containment....and marks her release. This Saturday she will be freed, and try again to take over Equestria and eventually the world by gathering a nightmare army." She looked at Twilight square on. "And you are the only one who can stop her."
Twilight took a deep breath, trying to steady herself from what she had just learned.
"Look just.....let me process this alright? Give me a few days to think it over."
Tyshira's face fell, but she conceded. "Alright....but can you at least try to decide before Saturday? Before Mabon?"
"I'll try." Twilight nodded.
"Ok." Tyshira sighed again. "I'll admit....this is a first for me. Everyone else was pretty eager for this."
"Well, I'm not." Twilight stated. "Now...can you tell me how to get out of this outfit?"
"Oh, that's easy. Just say that phrase I taught you again to change in and out."
"You mean...'By the power of light and darkness'?"
There was another flash of light, and Twilight was back in her usual outfit.
"Well, that's a relief." Twilight unconsciously went to adjust her glasses-
"Wait...where are my glasses?"
"You mean these?" Tyshira simply held out her hand and summoned the spectacles. Twilight slowly took them and held them out, carefully examining them.
"What's wrong?" Flash asked.
What was 'wrong' was the fact that Twilight was seeing the world clearly without her glasses. In fact, the images through the lenses were fuzzy now, a reverse of before where she was half-blind without them.
"I....! don't need my glasses anymore."
"Oh yeah. I fixed that." Tyshira shrugged. "Glasses aren't really practical when you're going into battle. And that inhaler thing you mentioned before? You don't have to worry about that anymore."
"W-What else did you do to me?"
A small smile formed on Tyshira's face. She then reached out her hand and a blast of pink light shot from it, forming into a pillar of concrete in front of Twilight.
"Hit it and find out."
Twilight gulped and slowly pulled her fist back and punched the pillar, bracing herself for the enormous amount of pain and potential broken bones in her hand.
Dust and concrete pieces flew as her fist went straight through the pillar, flowing through it as though it were no stronger than paper.
She barely felt any of it and when she examined her hand, found no bruising or cuts.
"Woah..."Flash was awed. "You have super strength!"
"Yeah, it's a classic. The armor's for extra protection in battle, but the powers around the clock."
"'Powers'" Twilight repeated breathlessly, still hardly believing any of this. "As in more than one?"
"Oh yeah." Tyshira nodded. "Try running around the room."
Now, Twilight hated running. Walking was just fine, she could read, listen to music or look around to distract herself. But she practically hated running laps with a dying passion. But considering everything else that just happened, she took running stance and started.
Tyshira and Flash watched, in amusement and astonishment respectively, as the teen raced around the room with such incredible speed that soon they could hardly see her at all, only a purple dot.
Twilight herself felt the world slow down around her as circled the room again and again. Normally she would tired within the first twenty or so steps, but now she wasn't even breaking a sweat.
She landed on her heels and soon screeched to a stop in front of the rooms other occupants.
"That. Was. INCREDIBLE!" Flash yelled.
Twilight lifted her foot.....and found the sole of her shoe and even her sock completely gone, leaving her practically barefooted.
"Sorry about that." Tyshira aimed her magic at Twilight's shoes, fixing them. "The boots are magical though, so you won't have to worry about it then."
"That was crazy." Twilight gasped.
"Just don't want you to freak out while you're out of the armor." She waved her hand and summoned another door in the wall. "That should be enough for now. This door will take you somewhere safe. Please think about this. We're kinda on a time limit here."
With that, the two teens went through the magical doorway, shutting it behind them.
Once the door disappeared, Tyshira sighed, slumping her shoulders.
"Celie is so going to kill me."
Twilight and Flash found themselves back at the entryway of the library.
Twilight rubbed her temples. "What am I getting into?"
"Twilight, did you just hear what Tyshira said?" Flash asked excitedly. "You're a hero now!"
"No, I'm not. And I'm not sure I want to be."
"But Twilight-"
"Look, thanks for sticking with me, but can you please just drop me off at home now? I....had a big day."
Flash, seeing the mental exhaustion and desperation, just nodded. "Ok. My car should still be here."
Quietly, they made their way back and into Flash's car. He started it and-
"Huh."
"What?" Twilight asked.
"Look at the time." He pointed to the clock. "It's like hardly any time passed since we met those thugs."
"That shouldn't be possible....by my calculations, it should be much later than that."
"Maybe it has something to do with that place we were in."
"Maybe."
The rest of the drive back to Twilight's house was filled with heavy silence.
They arrived with no trouble at all.
"Thanks for the ride." Twilight said, getting out. "I'll look over what we have and text you what you need to know."
"Alright. Look....about Tyshira-"
"Look, can you please not tell anyone about the 'hero' thing? Especially since I haven't agreed to it?"
"But why? This is huge!"
"I just.....don't want any unnecessary attention, ok? I have enough on my plate as it is."
"Well...if you're sure. I won't tell anyone."
"Thank you."
"And please.....just think about Tyshira said. About being a hero....about Nightmare Moon."
Twilight sighed. "I will."
With that, they parted ways and Twilight finally arrived home.
"I'm home!" She called out as she shut the door. Immediately she was met with the happy, fluffy wet tongued being that was Spike, happy to see her again."
"Hey boy." She greeted, scratching behind his ear, his favorite spot.
"Who was that young man just now?" Her Grandmother asked, looking up from her book.
"That's Flash Sentry. He's a classmate from school."
"Oh really?" Aurella gave a sneaky smile. "He's very handsome."
Twilight rolled her eyes as she sat on the sofa. "Not like that Grandma. We're just working on a science project together and we went to the library to get materials."
"If you're sure." Aurella chuckled.
Twilight went quiet for a moment, before asking, "Grandma?"
"Yes dear?"
"What do you know about heroes?"
Aurella's fact turned to surprise. "Well what about them?"
"Well, like, can anyone be one."
"Why yes. If they have the right intentions then almost anyone can be a hero. Why?"
"Just...curious."
That deflection did not go undetected by the retired detective. "Well, anyone can be a hero, but they also have to be willing to stand up to the position. To be willing to risk their lives to protect others, and that's not something everyone can do." She stared straight at her granddaughter. "But I believe you are more than capable of it."
A small smile formed on Twilight's face. "Thanks Grandma."
Later on, Twilight found herself pacing in her room, explaining everything that happened to her most faithful canine. It wasn't like he was capable of telling anyone.
"I don't know what to do Spike!" Twilight exclaimed. "I want to help people, I really do, and I don't want Nightmare Moon coming back and taking over the world. But I'm nobody! There are so many other people more qualified to do this than me. There's nothing special or heroic about me." She stopped her ranting for a moment, thinking about something before going to her desk. Instead of sitting in the chair to use the computer or do her homework like usual, she used one hand to lift it several feet in the air effortlessly. Spike's jaw dropped.
"...I miss it when my life was normal."
Twilight arrived at school still thinking about the events of the day before while also keeping in mind that the next day might bring about an ancient evil.
Could I really do this? I don't even know where to begin in how to stop her! Though Tyshira said she would help me...
It was then Twilight noticed the other students whispering as she walked by, averting their eyes when she looked at them.
What is going on?
She arrived at her locker, still wary of the stares she was receiving.
"Is it true!?"
"Ack!" Twilight jumped and turned to see the Rainbow haired girl from before, this time looking directly at her with excitement and curiosity.
"Is...what true?"
"That you took on three crooks by yourself?"
"WHAT!?"
"The whole school is talking about it! Flash Sentry said you fought off three thugs that attacked you guys yesterday at the library by yourself!"
Twilight blinked and tried to think up a good response. "Well...I technically did but-"
"Really!? That is awesome! I wasn't sure what to think of before because, I mean, look at you! No offense, but you seem more like an egghead than a fighter. But whatever! That must've been amazing!"
"That was certainly very brave...." Twilight looked behind the athlete to fine the same pink haired girl hiding behind her.
Twilight retrieved her books and shut the locker with a bang, surprising the two girls.
"Thank you both for the complement. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go kill and idiot!"
Twilight then stormed away, leaving a very confused pair of teens behind.
Twilight managed to ignore the stares and whispers finally caught up with Flash in the halls two classes later and proceeded too literally drag him into an empty classroom.
"Twilight? What's wrong?" Flash asked in concern.
Twilight rubbed her temples in frustration. "What's wrong? WHAT"S WRONG!? You told everybody about what happened yesterday after I explicitly asked you not to!"
"Well I didn't tell them about the 'hero' stuff with the powers and the literal Goddess. I left all of that out. I only talked about the three thugs and you saving me outside the library!"
"And?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
Flash rubbed his neck nervously. "....and I may have mentioned you fighting them in the street. But I didn't say how you beat them! I told them that you used that metal pipe! I swear, I didn't tell anyone about the superpowers, or the armor, or the Goddess, I promise!"
Twilight released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Why did you still tell them about the fight?"
"Well.....my dad's the chief of police so when he heard I was the one they were originally after, he practically interrogated me about them after they were arrested. And that just so happened to be during band rehearsal so by bandmates heard the story too and they decided to text everyone they knew about it and so on. Look, I'm sorry ok! I didn't mean for it to get out like this! At least they don't know about the other stuff."
Twilight took a deep breath. "It's....ok. I just don't like having this much attention."
"Why? I mean, you deserve it! You still saved me yesterday. Thanks for that, by the way."
"No problem."
"So...did you decide on what you're going to do? About the whole Nightmare Moon thing?"
"I'm...still thinking about it."
Before he could say anything else, the bell rang and the teens were forced to stop and race to class.
Lunch arrived and thing hadn't gotten any better.
Twilight had been hounded endlessly by classmates, curious if the story about the outcast saving the most popular boy in school were true or not and asking for details. Even some of the teachers were catching wind of it, eyeing her curiously and Miss Cheerilee had even asked her about after class.
"It was a very brave thing you did, Twilight. But please try to be more careful next time."
Twilight dug into her lunch, eager for a break from all the attention.
"Well, well, well, look who's trying to play hero."
Twilight held in a groan as Virtual Genesis took a seat across from her.
"I'm getting really sick of that word, Virtual."
"So it's true then? Man, I'm surprised Flash isn't hiding in shame."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, relying on a girl to save you? If I were him, I'd rather have the thugs have at me than have a girl like you defend me."
Twilight felt the plastic fork snap in her grip, not realizing how hard she was squeezing.
"Cheap school utensils." Virtual muttered. "By the way, where are your glasses."
"I'm trying out contacts for a few days." Twilight repeated the lie she told to her mother and grandmother that morning.
Virtual sneered. "Typical. You pretend to be a hero and now you're acting all high and mighty."
"I am not. Look, if your not going to say anything nice, then maybe I should just-"
It was at that moment Twilight saw a girl, Pinkie Pie?, walking....or rather, skipping near her table, food tray in hand, not seeing the spilled milk on the ground before her. As soon as her foot hit the dairy, she slipped, throwing her lunch in the air as she fell back.
To Twilight, the whole thing happened in slow motion and, without hesitating, she rushed over, caught Pinkie with one arm and caught the tray with the other, while also using it to quickly catch the food without spilling any of it.
"Wowee!" Pinkie gasped. "You've got some great reflexes!"
Twilight then noticed the whole cafeteria staring in stunned silence, so after putting Pinkie down and handing her back her lunch, Twilight gathered her own things bolted out before anyone could stop her.
Gym class had alway been a thorn in Twilight's side. Most people would be grateful its only pass/fail, but for someone as athletically averted as Twilight is, it's a regular pain.
Especially when it was laps around the track field. Which, to be fair, hardly anybody else liked either.
"Ready....go!" The teacher signaled and everyone sped forward.
The usual formation took place: Jocks at the front, everyone jumbled in the middle with the geeks in the back. Normally, Twilight would be near the very end, but not today.
The exhilaration from yesterday still filled her as she passes runner after runner, not feeling the usual soreness or breathlessness, but with constant energy and stamina even as she approached the front of the pack.
She ended up being one of the first to cross the finish line.
Twilight looked and saw most everyone, leaning over trying to catch their breath while she felt perfectly fine.
They were also looking at her again. Even the Gym teacher was looking at her and their stopwatch in amazement.
The final bell rang and students rushed out, making plans with their friends for the annual Mabon festival the next day.
Twilight quickly gathered her things eager to end the strange and eventful day. Suddenly she felt a chill up her spine-
"Well if it isn't the wannabe hero?"
Twilight felt sweat form as she turned and saw Gilda leaning against the lockers across from her. Several students moved away in fright, but still stuck around to see what would happen. Whereas Sunset used verbal bullying, manipulation and blackmail to get what she wanted, Gilda was more than happy to use her fists.
"Please Gilda, this isn't a good time-"
"Aw whatsa matter?" Gilda said in a mocking tone. "Not so tough without your stupid little metal pipe or whatever? You know, you've been avoiding me for a while now, I just wanted to see if you were still the same, nerdy weirdo."
"Just leave me alone Gilda." Twilight firmly.
Gilda frowned at that. "Uh oh, looks like somebody forgot how things work around here. Looks like you need a little reminder." She swung a fist aimed directly at Twilight's head. But like with the thug, this appeared to Twilight in slow motion, allowing her ample time to dodge.
Gilda glared in confusion while more students gathered, curious to see what would happen next.
"Please, I don't want to fight you Gilda."
"Good, I wouldn't want to fight me either!" She threw another punch, and again Twilight dodged easily. She threw a bigger swing, and Twilight bent over backwards so easily, she could see the surprised looks of her classmates.
"Rainbow Dash!?" The pale pinked haired girl cried out softly.
Twilight straightened up, but before she could process what just happened, she heard rapid footsteps coming at her from behind and jumped high in the air over Gilda, doing two backflips before landing safely on her feet. The crowed made noises of amazement.
"Gilda stop it!" The Rainbow haired girl from earlier emerged from the ground and tried to hold Gilda back.
"Knock it off Dash!"
"You can't afford to-"
"What is the meaning of this!?"
Everyone turned and saw Cranky Doodle standing there, glaring even more than usual.
"It was her Mr. Doodle!" Gilda said, pointing at Twilight. "She started it!"
"What!?"
Cranky eyed Twilight before turning to the bigger teen. "Do you really expect be to believe that?"
"Well, she was dodging super fast, and she flipped- literally! and-"
"I think that's enough." He pointed down the hall. "I think Principal Potts would like to hear about this."
With that, Gilda slumped her shoulders and marched down the hall, but not before giving Twilight one last death glare.
"This isn't over, freak!"
The crowd quickly dispersed, but Twilight could hear them talking:
"Woah, did you see that?"
"Are you sure that's really Twilight?"
"It's just like what happened at lunch."
"What a freak."
Alone, Twilight rushed all the way home as fast as she could without going into super-speed.