Anon-A-Miss’ reign of terror was over.
That was the general belief of CHS’ student body. The day after the CMC were confronted about being Anon-A-Miss, Principal Celestia has called the students for an assembly. Truth be told, Celestia did not want to expose the CMC as the culprits as they were still freshmen and after all the secrets they had spilled on Anon-A-Miss, the three girls would become targets.
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, with some coaching from Sunset Shimmer, revealed themselves as the culprit behind Anon-A-Miss. At first, none of the students believed them until Applebloom posted something on Anon-A-Miss with her phone.
Then the screams off outrage started. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack quickly went and put their sisters behind them to protect them from the students’ wrath. What really stopped the students was Sunset Shimmer who came forward. She silenced them with a bullhorn and addressed all the students, calling them out on their hypocrisy.
“These girls might’ve started Anon-A-Miss, but you all could’ve ignored it. Instead, you followed it, fed it secrets to post. You’re all responsible for Anon-A-Miss just as much as they are. So don’t act like you’re all innocent. You’re all part of the problem too.”
It turned out, most of the secrets posted by Anon-A-Miss had been sent to the Crusaders by the students themselves.
If the CMC were going down for Anon-A-Miss, those students who had sent those secrets would need to step forward too.
“And I can’t believe how easy it was to turn you all against me. Haven’t I proven myself? Or have you forgotten that, if it wasn’t for me, you’d all be the Sirens’ mindless slaves? Well, guess what? You’re all shown yourselves to be just as bad or even worse than how I used to be.”
Sunset Shimmer really needed to vent.
“I learned that not all of you will ever truly trust me or give me a chance,” Sunset continued. “Those people (you know who you are) have been waiting for me to slip up so you could cast me out, and say you were right. But when I didn’t slip up, you manufactured one using the profile these three girls made. You didn’t actually believe that I was Anon-A-Miss, you just needed something to blame me for. Well, guess what? While these three are getting punished, it will be nothing, compared to what you’ve got coming. ”
“Yes, yes, thank you Sunset,” Principal Celestia interrupted, suspecting that she was getting too into her tirade, “However, the point still stands. While the Crusaders will be punished for making Anon-A-Miss, those of you that willingly participated in perpetuating it, will receive much harsher treatment. This school will not tolerate this sort of mass, single-targeted bullying.”
At the principal’s ultimatum, a number of students began sinking into their seats in dread. Celestia’s patience was legendary, when she lost it, she was a force to be reckoned with.
Suddenly, the auditorium doors swung open, revealing Celestia’s secretary Raven Inkwell ask she briskly marched up to Celestia on the stage.
“What is it, Raven? We’re in the middle of a critical assembly,” Celestia stated before Raven pulled her head close to whisper into her ear.
“Uh oh, are we found out?” Scootaloo whispered to her friends.
“Ah don’t think so. This sounds like somethin’ else,” Applebloom whispered back.
Raven finally moved away from Celestia, who was wide-eyed in shock, “Are they sure?”
“No, but it seems to be the only thing they have to go on,” Raven whispered.
Celestia gained a disgusted look on her face before moving back to the microphone, “I apologize everyone, but it seems that we will have to cut this assembly short.”
The response was immediate anger and confusion from the student body. Anon-A-Miss was about to get what was coming to them only to stop halfway? Were the Crusaders actually going to get off scot-free?
Not wanting the students to get too riled up, and already short on patience, Celestia pulled out a whistle… and blew it into the microphone. The auditorium immediately became silent as the once agitated high schoolers cringed and covered their ears in pain.
“Now, as I was trying to say, before I was rudely interrupted,” Celestia continued, giving a pointed stare at the student body, “I have just received some… disturbing news. Last night, Gloriosa Daisy, head counselor of Camp Everfree, was attacked. She was discovered this morning by her brother, who was returning from an overnight trip to the city. The police are being tightlipped on specifics, but they have stated that the evidence points to some, at this time, unknown monster.”
The Ginga Gang exchanged alarmed looks. This was the first time they had heard of a possible monster attack happening outside the city, and it seemed that they were not the only ones. The auditorium had become abuzz with hushed conversations on the topic, mostly wondering what this meant for the Camp Everfree trip the following year. Fortunately, one student thought to voice this concern, “Um, Principal Celestia!? What does this mean for the Camp Everfree trip!?”
“I… I don’t know. Only time can clear that up. But, in light of this turn of events, I have decided to declare an impromptu half-day,” Celestia said, but as the students began preparing to leave, she cut through the noise again, “However! If those who contributed to Anon-A-Miss think that this absolves you, oh no. When you come back, we will be bringing each and every one of you in for punishment. But, for now, you are spared from my wrath.”
With a final shiver at Celestia’s promise, the students filed out of the auditorium.
*///*
In the music room, which had long since become the Rainbooms’ unofficial clubroom, the Ginga Gang were in an uproar.
“A monster!? At Camp Everfree!? How the hell did we miss that!?”
“I hope Gloriosa is okay, but Rainbow’s right. If a monster did attack, people should have seen it.”
“Not true, strictly speaking. If the monster is more figurative than literal, it’s possible that the attacker was Fall.”
“Yeah! But what about the aliens? Heck, what if it’s a new alien?”
“While that is true, let’s work with the assumption that Fall is behind it. In that case, there was something at Camp Everfree that she wanted.”
“But what? It’s not like Everfree is some major seat of power; it’s just a summer camp.”
“Well, Trixie thinks it’s obvious what she wanted.”
“Realy? What?”
“Magic.”
“That’s dumb. We would’ve know if magic was there.”
“Oh? Like you knew about the Dazzlings?”
“HEY THAT WAS… That’s… Okay, yeah, you got me.”
Sunset, who had been listening to this back and forth, finally spoke up, “Girls, look, I know you’re all worried about Fall and what she’s planning. Since we used to share a body, then her motives are simple: she wants to become more powerful and take my body for herself. So whenever she strikes, we will be ready.”
“OK, so what’s our next move?” Lightning Dust asked.
“I’ll go to Camp Everfree and ask Gloriosa a few questions. We need to know what kind of magic Fall might have gotten her hands on,” Sunset explained. “It might be stray Equestrian magic that got to this world.”
“I’m coming with you,” Rarity said.
“What? No, Rarity, I can’t ask you to do that,” Sunset replied.
“Oh, pish posh, I would never miss a chance to break out my noir outfit.”
“Oh, jeeze, Detective Rarity,” Trixie groaned.
Sunset rolled her eyes, “Well, if you insist. Just, please don’t start narrating to yourself.”
“I cannot make make any promises, darling. Plus, no busses are heading out in that direction, and you don’t have a license yet,” Rarity pointed out.
“Okay, yeah, that’s a good point. Why don’t you lead the way,” Sunset replied.
“Happy to, darling,” Rarity said, while sashaying towards the door, followed by Sunset.
*////*
“I have several questions,” Sunset said while stepping out into Camp Everfree, “When I suggested using Halen to get here, you said, understandably, that it was too overt, and that they would be too terrified to talk about what happened.”
“Yes?” Rarity asked innocently.
“THEN WHY THE HELL DID WE ROCK UP HERE IN A FUCKING LIMO!?” Sunset screamed while frantically waving her arms at the vehicle in question.
“Sunset, language! And what’s wrong with the limousine?”
“What’s wro-? Rarity, a limo is one of the most disgusting displays of wealth you could possibly find! We’re trying to talk to these people, not offend them by showing off how much better off we are than them.”
“Pish-posh, darling. Nothing wrong with riding in comfort, once in a while,” Rarity brushed off Sunset’s concern.
“A bus would’ve been as comfortable and less pretentious,” Sunset glowered.
“You know, for a former student to a princess, you seem to hate travelling in style,” Rarity observed.
“Sue me for preferring practicality.”
“You wanted to fly here as a monster. How practical is that?” Rarity deadpanned.
“Well, flying around as a monster is cooler and faster than this,” Sunset pointed to the limo. She exhaled, “Sorry, sorry, we’re wasting time. Let’s just go question Gloriosa and find out what she knows.”
“Sunset, are you OK?”
“No, not really. I’ve got an evil twin on the loose and working with the big bad behind these monsters. It’s just a lot to process and deal with.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much, darling. I mean it’s not like Fall is… What is this?” Rarity drifted off as she and Sunset entered the camp proper.
Right in the open, in the center of the camp, was a brown-skinned, green-haired young man, assembling a small hut. However, what truly caught Rarity and Sunset’s eye, was the pink-haired woman frozen in the center of it.
The man, not even looking up from his work, spoke, “Look, I don’t know what you people think you’re going to find, I’ve already told you everything I know. Just, please, leave us alone.”
“Hello there,” Rarity said, trying to sound cheerful but failing as she saw the frozen woman. “We’re just concerned students from Canterlot High.”
“Canterlot High?” the young man looked over to them. “Oh, you guys are scheduled to come next summer. Hi, I’m Timber Spruce. Welcome to Camp Everfree.”
“I’m Rarity and this is my friend Sunset Shimmer. We heard about Gloriosa and just had to come speak with her,” Rarity said.
The young man’s face noticeably darkened, “That so? Well knock yourselves out, it’s not like she’s going anywhere.”
“Wait, that’s Gloriosa?” Sunset said, indicating the frozen woman.
“Yeah, that’s my sister. She’s been like this since...” Timber sighed.
“Since the attack,” Sunset finished. Guess asking Gloriosa any questions was out of the question but maybe Timber Spruce could shed some light on what happened.
Sunset bet it had something to do with an alien.
“So, uh, what are you doing?”
“Putting a roof over her head.”
“What? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just move her to one of the huts already here?” Rarity asked.
“You think I haven’t tried!?” Timber Spruce snapped, “By all means, give her arm a yank, or pick her up, or hell, try to remove her hoodie. It won’t matter, she is completely rooted to this spot!”
“He’s right, Sunset!” Rarity gasped, drawing Sunset’s attention, “Watch.”
Rarity first tugged on one of Gloriosa’s outstretched arms, then attempted to push her over, before finally trying to pull down the zipper on her hoodie. Nothing the fashionista did could move the woman in any way.
“What’s wrong with her?” Sunset wondered. It looked like a sort of stasis spell. The problem there was that stasis spells were all area of effect. Bubbles, not single targets. The other problem was that stasis spells needed to be actively maintained by either its caster or an artefact, and Sunset very much doubted Fall would waste magic to keep one summer camp counselor frozen. So then, if not magic, then what?
“If I knew that, don’t you think I would’ve done something about it?” Timber hissed.
“Sorry! Sorry! I was just thinking out loud,” Sunset placated, waving her hands defensively, “Look, we might know someone with some knowledge about this, but we need to know more.”
Timber suddenly brightened up, “YOU DO!? Well shit ask away!”
“Well,” Rarity began, “We do think that a monster is behind this, but we don’t think it was alone. The pair might have been after something, do you have any ideas as to what it could be?”
Timber huffed derisively, “Well that’s an awful lot of assumptions, got anything to back it up?”
“The fact that Gloriosa is out here for starters, and her attire. She has a coat on and zipped up, but is wearing sleeping shorts, meaning that she wasn’t expecting to have to come out here, and only had enough time to put on the coat and nothing else. Second of all, if the monster was the only one out here, I imagine she would have just stayed in the main cabin, and tried to remain unnoticed. Instead, she came out here to confront it, meaning she had reason to think that it was fake, like, say, a person standing next to it. Lastly, when I asked about what the monster could have been after, you deflected my question back to me, indicating that you do, in fact know something. So, are you going to answer me now?”
Sunset stared open-mouthed at Rarity. How the hell had this girl fallen, not just to her tricks, but Anon-A-Miss? She then looked to Timber Spruce, who appeared to have become nervous. It seemed that Rarity was onto something, “Timber. Whatever secret Gloriosa was hiding, you won’t help her by keeping it now.”
After some further hesitation, Timber sighed, “Goddamn it Glori. I told you those things would get you into trouble. I fricken TOLD YOU!”
So, Timber Spruce caved and told them that in order to keep Camp Everfree, Glorioso had borrowed money from Filthy Rich while putting the camp up as collateral. However, if Glorioso was unable to come up with the money to pay him back, Filthy Rich would take the land and tear down the camp to build his luxury spa.
Sunset glanced at Rarity, who nodded, then turned back to Timber Spruce, “I’m sorry, Timber, but I think your sister was conned.”
“What?”
“It’s true,” Rarity added, “Our friend Applejack got herself into an arrangement with Filthy Rich, that also meant that she had to pay him money. Fortunately, she has family in positions of government, so it was swiftly overturned, but in the process, it was discovered that he makes a habit of targeting paranoid individuals. These are people that he can easily convince need his help, without the fact checking that would normally be required to inform such a decision, like, for example, a highly family focused girl of losing her ancestral home.”
“What!? No! Glori wouldn’t do that!” Timber protested.
“Wouldn’t she?” Sunset asked, “Tell me, when your sister signed off this loan, did she have you there as a second pair of eyes? Or did she sign it alone, and only told you after the fact?”
Timber’s eyes widened in realization. What the hell was his sister playing at!? She made a major financial decision without his consent, and never thought about the implications of it. Filthy Rich stood to lose nothing in the loan, either Gloriosa paid the money back and set the camp back to square one, or he got his spa. One thing was for sure, he was going to see what his sister was spending the camp’s money on after these girls left. Speaking of which…
“Um, I think we got a bit distracted there. Long story short, Glori found something in a cave that she swears will get Filthy Rich to back off.”
“Really? What was it?” Rarity pressed.
Timber remained silent for a moment, then replied, “I don’t know. Apparently Glori didn’t trust me enough to let me in on her plan. What she did share with me, was that they were something powerful, and not exactly from around here.”
“Can you tell us where she found it?”
“Not really. Outside of ‘in a cave,’ I don’t know what direction, how far, or anything about it,” Timber then became thoughtful, “But she may have a record of it in the main cabin. If you could give me some time, I can look into it for you.”
Rarity winced, “ Are you sure you should be going through your sister’s things?”
“Right now, I just wanna figure things out and do something. Plus, it’s not like she’s in a position to complain right now. And I’m pissed about her hiding shit from me, like where the hell the camp’s money went!”
“Okay, we get it,” Sunset placated, “Here, let me give you my number so you can call me if you find anything. And nothing else, understand?”
Timber shrank back with a squeaked out, “Yes.”
With that, Sunset passed her number to Timber, and along with Rarity, returned to the limousine.
“So, what do you think happened?” Rarity asked.
“Glorioso found some Equestrian magic and Fall attacked her,” Sunset surmised.
“But she’s frozen in place and looks catatonic,” Rarity pointed out.
“True, but I don’t think a spell did this. While similar to Equestrian stasis magic, the effects don’t match. Then there are paralysis spells, but those wouldn’t affect her clothes. Petrification magic would, but in that event, she would look like she had gazed into Medusa’s eyes,” Sunset explained.
“Then, what about Icarus and Metron?”
“Maybe, but if they could do this, I imagine Taro would’ve warned us about it.”
“Meaning…?”
“It has to be a new alien,” Sunset concluded, opening the limo door.
“Very astute observations, Sunset,” Taro suddenly chimed in, causing Rarity and Sunset to jump in fright.
“Dammit, Taro, don’t do that! And what are you doing here anyway?” Sunset asked, while holding her hand over her chest in an attempt to calm her heart.
“Sorry,” Taro sheepishly replied, “I teleported myself here shortly after you arrived, using the light of the Ginga Spark to track you down.”
“Wow, stalker much?” Sunset whispered to Rarity.
If Taro had heard her, he made no comment, “You are right to assume that a new alien is in play, as Gloriosa’s condition matches the Red Freeze Ray of the Alien Baltan.”
“Oh, dear,” Rarity sighed.
“Indeed. Baltan are worse than even Icarus or Metron due to their complete lack of emotion and empathy. In fact, all they care about are their goals,” Taro said, speaking from experience. Members of the Baltan race have been a consistent enemy for the Ultra Warriors. “What makes them dangerous is their reputation as ‘Space Ninja’.”
“So, Fall’s working with a Baltan,” Sunset concluded.
Taro nodded, “Seems so. By the way, while you were away, Rainbow remembered something important about Fall’s appearance.”
“Really!?” Sunset was ecstatic, finally, a way to tell herself and Fall apart.
“Yes. She said that, before Fall stomped on her face, she could see something purple swinging from her neck. When she mentioned this, Applejack also recalled seeing a similar object on Fall’s neck, she merely didn’t think it was important to mention before now.”
“Why that’s wonderful news!” Rarity exclaimed, then paused, “But, what is this ‘purple object’?”
“I’m not sure,” Sunset said, climbing into the limo, “But if I know myself, which I assume Fall is based on, she wouldn’t have it unless it was important. It might even be related to Red King’s power-up in that fight.”
*////*
Tartarus was Equestria’s prison for the most dangerous of villains. Guarded by Cerberus, it was nearly inescapable. In the last 1,000 years, there had only been one ever known escape from the prison.
The prisoner in question, was Lord Tirek.
However, if one were to see him now, there would be very little lordly about him.
Old, decrepit, wrinkled and skinny, he looked relatively harmless. However, he had long since learned how to absorb the natural magic of ponies to strengthen and restore himself. However, the last time he attempted to take all the magic and conquer Equestria, he once again fell and was defeated when Twilight Sparkle and her friends used their Magic of Friendship to stop him and send him back to Tartarus.
Normally, the only thing Tirek was forced to endure was the silence and solitude. The other beings that were locked in here were not at all intelligent - mere beasts - really. He pretty much occupied his time by thinking of all the delicious revenge he would have on those ponies once he managed to break free again.
But now, Tirek had a visitor.
It was Discord, the Lord of Chaos himself.
Tirek scowled.
“Now, now, Tirek. It’s like you don’t enjoy my company,” taunted Discord as he shuffled a deck of cards. “How about a game of Poker? Or maybe Bridge? Or do you prefer Solitaire?”
“Are you here to torment me?” Tirek growled.
“Torment you? Why would I do that?” Discord said as he tossed the deck of cards back and forth between his hands. “Oh, wait. Was it because you stabbed me in the back and took my magic?”
“It was your own fault for trusting me,” Tirek mocked.
“A mistake I don’t intend to make again,” Discord shot back as he made the deck vanish and put on a tuxedo. “How about I tell you a few jokes? I’m getting good at stand-up.”
Tirek just turned away and covered his ears, wishing for Discord to go away or for anything to happen right now.
A swirling portal of fire suddenly opened up inside Tartarus. Discord noticed this and watched as two strange beings emerged.
Fall’s boot-clad feet touched the floor of Tartarus and she took a moment to appraise herself.
“So, using a different portal prevents my form from changing,” she said to herself. That’s good to know.”
She was followed by Alien Baltan who stood beside her, ever silent, ever watching. It was hard to tell what he was thinking since his face lacked the ability to emote. Of course, he could express how he felt through his eerie, haunting laughter.
“And who are you two?” Discord asked.
“We just came to recruit people,” Fall answered. “I’m Fall and my friend here is Baltan. You’re Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, right?”
“I am the one and only Discord,” Discord confirmed.
“Thank goodness,” Tirek muttered.
“Good, then you wouldn’t mind if I did this,” Fall said and she immediately pointed her device at Discord. Almost instantly, it struck him with a beam that drained the poor soul of his magic. He had not expected it and went down instantly.
Discord fell to his knees, the loss of his magic leaving him too weak to even stand, “Not again.”
Fall knew she could not recruit Discord. As she had Sunset’s memories, she remembered reading an entry from Twilight about Discord being their friend. It was much easier to get rid of him before he became a nuisance.
Cerberus noticed their arrival and snarled before barking out of its three heads. Immediately, the three-headed canine lunged at the intruders.
Baltan was ready and leaped to intercept Cerberus and struck its centre head with a hard blow, stunning it. However, the heads on the right and the left snapped their jaws at the Baltan who disappeared from their sight.
Baltan reappeared near the ceiling and he plummeted on Cerberus. The alien then slammed his claws onto Cerberus’ spine. The three-headed beast howled and collapsed, whimpering in pain.
Baltan grabbed hold of Cerberus’ tail then dragged it over to the pit. With incredible might, the evil alien tossed Tartarus’ guard dog into the pit.
Fall callously walked by the weakened Discord to Tirek’s cage.
Tirek, shaking off his amazed stupor, gave a vile grin and a round of applause, “Heh heh, HA HA HA! Brilliant! Fantastic work! Now, what business would a little demon like yourself have with the great Lord Tirek?”
Fall stopped within easy arm’s reach of the wicked centaur, “I’m here to free you, under the provision that you join me as one of my servants.”
“Hm, interesting offer, but I have a better one. I take that amulet, consume its magic, destroy you and that insect beside you, and return to Equestria to take my revenge!”
Fall scoffed, “That so? Well you’re welcome to try. Just know that you’ll have to reach it before Baltan can catch you.”
Tirek immediately lost his grin. This lesser being dared to mock HIM? LORD Tirek?
“I don’t need your invitation to try,” Tirek said, suddenly lunging for Fall’s amulet.
What followed was initially confusing for centaur, as a white flash crossed his vision. The first thing he noticed when his sight returned, was the outstretched, smoking claw of the bipedal insect, followed by a growing pain in his hand. The last thing he noticed before the pain fully took hold, was his hand, burned and blackened, and his ring finger missing, having burned off.
Tirek screamed in agony, pulling his ruined hand back into his cage, while Fall laughed, “Wow! You actually went for it! Did you really think that I would be this close if I didn’t think Baltan could beat you to the punch. Besides, it’s not like you’ll need this magic where we’re going.”
Tirek, still gasping in pain and cradling his injured hand, took a moment to look at Fall, “Baltan, show him what we’re offering.”
The insect slowly nodded its head, then launched a purple, dagger-shaped object into Tirek’s cage. The centaur, however, was not keen to touch anything offered by a creature that had burned his hand, and severed a finger. This seemed to annoy Fall, “Look Tirek, you can pick that Dark Dummy Spark up and get out of that cage, or you can stay there and I’ll peddle what I’m offering to someone else. I don’t strictly need you, but, I feel that your dark desires will make a very powerful addition to the team I’m building.”
“I don’t do team-ups,” Tirek growled.
“Do you want to know how Twilight Sparkle and her friends managed to beat you? It was because they had each other. You had Discord then you stabbed him in the back. All the power in the world means nothing if you wield it alone. Now, do you want to get out and see the power I offer? Or stay here to rot in your tiny little cell?”
Tirek glared at the arrogant demon. On one hand, yes, he did want out, but in order to do so, he would need to go against everything he stood for to do it. Then again, with that creature beside Fall, saying no would probably get him killed anyway, given what it did to Cerberus. With a growl, he reached a shaky hand out to the dagger.
The sheer, intoxicating darkness that engulfed him as he touched the Dummy Spark killed any of his remaining reluctance, “Yes. YES! I FEEL ITS POWER! Tell me, where did you find such a powerful device?”
“Agree to join my team, and you’ll find out,” Fall offered with a smile.
“YES! I AGREE! NOW LET ME OUT!” Tirek demanded desperately.
“Hm, very well. Baltan?”
The alien gave a slow nod, then leveled its pincer at the lock with a light from within, causing a series of clicks to emit from it. Within mere moments, the cage door swung open, unleashing Lord Tirek back into the world.
“Hah, free again. It feels so sweet!”
“Glad to hear it. Now,” Fall began, but was cut off by Tirek.
“Just one moment. I have some unfinished business.”
Tirek began walking to the weakened Discord, who was attempting to sneak away while he and Fall were speaking. Taking hold of the Draconequus’ tail, Tirek dragged him back to his recently vacated cell and tossed Discord inside.
“Let's see just how much your ‘friends’ truly care about you now,” Tirek said before slamming the cage door.
“Ah!” Fall gasped in realization, “I like the way you think, it’s poetic. Baltan, lock it up!”
Baltan slowly nodded again, and aimed its pincer at the lock, causing the mechanism to drop, trapping Discord inside.
“Now that that’s taken care of, tell me, where did you acquire this power?” Tirek asked.
Rather than answer verbally, Fall opened her amulet and ripped open another portal, “Your answer is beyond that portal.”
Tirek took a cautious glance at Fall before stepping towards the portal.
“Just one more thing,” Fall said, “I’ve made this particular portal to mimic the one that currently resides in Princess Twilight’s castle. This means you will be transformed into a form more able to hide among the population of that world.”
Tirek raised an eyebrow at this information, but otherwise remained silent as he crossed through the portal. As Fall made to follow him, Discord spoke up at last, “Heh, what? You think he’ll just march in lock step behind you? You said it yourself, the guy is a chronic backstabber, he’s just waiting for a chance to turn on you.”
“Oh, I beg to differ, Discord, do you know why?” Fall replied, “First, that demonstration by Baltan scared the ever loving shit out of him. Two, the power of the Dark Dummy Spark speaks to even the most cheerful of beings. And three? When he sees what else I’m offering, he will be begging to be involved further in my plans. Now be a good powerless chaos spirit, and stay in your cage. I wonder if your ‘friends’ will even notice you’re gone.”
Cackling, Fall and Baltan walked through the portal, leaving Discord alone in the now very empty-feeling Tartarus.
“Well Discord, how did you manage to manage to find yourself at both the wrong place, and wrong time, with all your powers? It’s almost like some higher power just wanted an excuse to kick your teeth in.”
*////*
“And that’s basically where we’re at now. The Crusaders got punished for Anon-A-Miss, but in more of a lip service way. They have six months of detention, but it’s more of a free period than an actual detention. They’re also banned from the internet while at school, but only in school, and have to turn in their phones to the front office. They thought that last one was a bit much, until a rather funny story Applejack told me where Applebloom found herself reaching for her turned in phone, and the first thing she told AJ upon seeing her was, ‘I get it now!’
“As for those who sent in secrets? Well, that’s still a work in progress, just by virtue of how many were sent in, on top of the severity of the secrets requiring a case-by-case basis. Though, I have heard of at least one person getting expelled because they tried to get a faculty member fired with a false secret out of spite. To avoid dwelling on it; person tried to sleep with faculty, faculty refused, person got pissed and lied about it to save face.
“You know, despite how much Anon-A-Miss hurt at first, I think we all came out of this better for it having happened. I don’t just mean the Ultraman stuff either. Like, it got everyone talking about their problems, instead of just acting like everything is fine.
“Oh! Before I go, we haven’t told the Crusaders about Ultraman Ginga yet, because we didn’t want to dump another bombshell on them so soon after they were freed from Fall’s influence. Don’t worry though, we’ll tell them soon enough.
“Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.”
Princess Twilight leaned back from the magic journal with a happy smile on her face. Sunset was right, for all the trouble Anon-A-Miss caused, the net positive seemed to far outweigh the negatives. She giggled. Of course, Ultraman helped it happen, but it was ultimately her friends who saved Sunset from Fall’s plot.
Twilight’s smile dropped with that name. Fall. The demon from the Fall Formal given physical form. Apparently, it was not only aligned with Dark Lugiel, but was pursuing magic, and had something Sunset called an “Alien Baltan” following her.
Twilight really wished she could be more help, but aliens, giant monsters and Ultramen were so outside her depth that she just wasn’t sure what she could do. She had gone and done some research and, to her surprise, found mentions of ‘Giants of Light’ dating back long before Equestria was founded. However, the most blatant reference to something that sounded like an Ultra, came, not from Equestrian records, but from the Crystal Empire.
It described a moment in the early days of the Empire, where builders disturbed a creature that held a massive, glowing crystal on its back. The enraged beast went of a year long rampage in what seemed to be an act of revenge for some, unspeakable crime that ponykind committed. Suddenly, some Earth Ponies appeared, asking for forgiveness on behalf of the monster. They said that they resided beneath Equis for millenia, and that the creature was their guardian deity, and offered to subdue it for the ponies. With magic and weapons proving useless against crystal beast, the Empire swiftly agreed to let these odd ponies try. One of the ponies then transformed into a giant, and battled the monster until it was finally subdued. As an apology gift, the “Subterranean Ponies” gave the Crystal Empire a powerful artefact in the shape of a heart, now known as the Crystal Heart.
The strangest thing about this story, and others like it, was that they just sort of, stopped appearing around the time Princess Celestia and Luna appeared on the scene. Did they do something to these “Giants of Light” that stopped them from appearing? Twilight did not want to think that way about the princesses, but the timing was too convenient to not seem like a possibility.
Her thoughts were abruptly cut off when a sound echoed throughout the castle that resembled a teleportation spell.
After a moment, Twilight uttered a cautious, “Hello?”
No answer. Closing her journal, Twilight crept up to the door of the library and peeked into the hallway. Nothing.
Suddenly, Twilight was startled by the pop of the teleportation spell going off behind her. Turning around, she found nothing but some loose papers fluttering to the floor… and the magic journal missing.
“Wha? What just?” Twilight spluttered, until she gasped in realization, “The portal!”
Twilight immediately began running through her castle, hoping beyond hope, that she could reach the portal before whatever had taken the journal could open it. On that thought, who or what could have taken the journal? As far as she knew, only herself, Spike, the princesses, and her friends, knew about the portal, but, could something else that she did not know about have discovered it. Thoughts like this, and more, flew through her mind as she approached the room that held the Mirror Portal.
“Are you... sure that this is a good idea, Auntie?”
Twilight’s eyes widened, and she skidded to a stop, “Wait, wasn’t that-?”
“I agree with our niece, sister. Suddenly packing up, and running to another world that neither Cadance nor I have ever even seen strikes us as reckless, and irresponsible.”
“It is! But, what?”
“Oh, stop complaining. I’ve already told you why we’re doing this. I recharged the Ginga Spark with the understanding that I would get to see Sunset. I didn’t get to then, but by Faust I’ll appear for the holidays! And I’m bringing the rest of her family to join her.”
Twilight completely froze at that voice, “WHAT!?”
Bursting into the portal room, the last thing Twilight saw of the intruders was a sun-shaped cutie mark, and multi-hued, ethereal tail, disappearing into the portal.
“... Oh, horseapples.”