//------------------------------// // The League of Extraordinary Misfits // Story: Twilight's NEW Friends // by BelleofdaBall //------------------------------// Twilight watched in awe at the various creatures in front of her, starting to take their places around the obsidian table. Not that she had never seen such creatures as rats, cats, tigers, hyenas and snakes before. Fluttershy had such a huge menagerie at her little cottage, and Rarity had a pet cat of her own. But these animals were quite different from the ones she was used to seeing at Fluttershy's cottage or Rarity's shop. They talked, and walked on two legs, and wore clothes... "Hey, Horseshoes!" one of the male hyenas barked, breaking Twilight's thoughts. "Why don'tcha take a picture? It'll last longer!" The other male hyena laughed in a crazy way, amused by his friend's joke. "Now Banzai, don't be like that, the poor thing obviously isn't used to seeing animals like us," the female hyena chastised him. Twilight could tell she was the leader of the three hyenas. Eris clapped her hands to get the various creatures' attention. Everyone looked over to her and Twilight. "Everyone, I have someone I'd like to introduce you to. This is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight blushed slightly as all the creatures' eyes faced her. "Um...hello, everyone." "Oh my goodnessss, she issss ssssoooo cute!" the python hissed. "TOO cute," the rat groaned. "Eris, how in the world is THIS pony a misfit? She's just like every other one of those cutesy, rainbow-colored ponies that make up this whole godforsaken world you've dragged us all to?" "Oh, but she's VERY different, I promise you that, Ratigan," Eris replied. "She was abandoned by her friends and family when I found her." "Oh no, you poor unfortunate soul," the octopus woman crooned, wrapping a tentacle around the unicorn. "To be left behind by the people you loved and trussssted in," the python sighed sadly. "Such a shame," the cat agreed. "It will be fun to wreak vengeance on those foolish ponies for their crimes," the green creature chuckled. "Vengeance?!" Twilight broke out of the octopus' tentacle. "No, no, you've got it all wrong!" She stood in front of everyone in the room. "No one abandoned me at all! I drove them away by being a paranoid madmare! I hurt Cadence by accusing her of being evil, and they let me know it wasn't right! I don't want vengeance! It's MY fault!" "Oh Twilight, don't blame yourself," Eris assured her. "This poor pony was trying to protect her older brother from marrying a wretched whore of a mare. You should have seen the way that bitch was treating Twilight's friends. Throwing away delicious food that Applejack made with her own blood, sweat and tears!" "Horrors!" the hyenas barked. "Making demand upon demand on the poor overworked Rarity to make her already perfect dress even MORE perfect!" "How can you improve upon perfection?" Ratigan asked. "Coldly lambasting Pinkie Pie and the games and dances she had painstakingly prepared for the reception, that would make even the gloomiest being smile with joy!" "I DO appreciate a good time," the octopus chuckled. "And that spell Cadence was performing on Shining Armor!" Eris shook her head. "A migraine spell? Ha! Have you ever heard of such a ridiculous notion, Maleficent?" "If there WERE such a spell to relieve migraines, I'd have used it to send my goons to another dimension," the green creature chuckled. "No! That, my friends, was a brainwashing spell to sway Shining's simple little mind to be her little pet," Eris confirmed. "So poor, sweet Twilight here went to put a stop to the madness before her brother could marry the beast and make his life a living hell!" "What sister WOULDN'T?" the tiger agreed. Twilight felt a bit ill as Eris twisted the story to make her seem in the right. She herself knew she had overreacted; she should have at the very least gathered some tangible proof to show to the princess and Shining of Cadence's wickedness, instead of bursting into the rehearsal and blathering like a mare who'd hit the cider a few too many times. Maybe then things wouldn't have turned out the way they had... And yet, as Eris told her story to the other members of the League of Extraordinary Misfits, Twilight felt that the way she told it had a small ring of truth to it. Cadence HAD been acting horribly, that was no doubt. And the only reason she'd gone the way she had was to protect her brother. It was then that Twilight noticed that Eris began to use her magic to form a replica of Shining Armor. "And how does your precious "BBBFF" repay you for being a caring, concerned sister?" Eris turned to Twilight, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "He rebukes you as soon as that little harpy put on her crocodile tears! He told you to stay out of his wedding, out of his LIFE basically!" As she said that, the Shining Armor copy frowned angrily in a similar way to his face when he'd told her off. "He never said that..." Twilight began meekly, unable to look into the eyes of the form of her brother. "He might as WELL have!" Eris spat. The Shining replica then split into five separate replicas; her Ponyville friends. "And your FRIENDS!" The very embodiments of Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity and Loyalty, according to those stupid necklaces! They took the witch's side! Applejack chose to believe her lies! Pinkie Pie made you cry! Fluttershy cruelly walked away from you! Rarity kept her compassion from you! Rainbow Dash ABANDONED you!" The Ponyville pony replicas turned their backs on Twilight and started walking away as they had after the confrontation with Cadence. As they did, they morphed together to form one more replica; one of an angry Princess Celestia. "And of course, your beloved mentor, your mother figure, the keeper of the sun," Eris snickered. "What help was she during this whole time? None!" "What COULD she do?" Twilight asked. "Cadence is her niece, her family! Of course she'd side with her!" "Maybe so, but she could have at the very least given you some comforting words before she went to check on her precious niece, couldn't she have?" Eris asked. "Some little loving saying or any of that wisdom-sounding bullshit she spouts all the time; but all she said to you was..." "You've got a LOT to think about," the Celestia replica finished for Eris coldly. As soon as she did, she disappeared into mist. Twilight shook and collapsed onto the floor, crying again. However, her tears this time weren't born of anguish or heartbreak as they had been before. No, these were tears of anger, tears of frustration. Tears of hatred. "You're right," Twilight finally spoke, getting up off the floor. "I AM an outcast. I WAS abandoned." "By whom?" Eris asked. "By those wretched whores who called me their friend! By that worthless bastard of a brother of mine!" Twilight's ears flattened. "By EVERYONE." "And what will you do?" "I will take VENGEANCE."