Just a few dimensions to the left, and following that second star to the right between the walls of the worlds, lay a place where only your imagination was allowed. A wonderful world where fairy tales reigned, a kingdom ripped right out of Arthurian myth where truth and justice was law. Where creatures of darkness scurried back into the shadows and where all tales sprung forth.
Of course, wood tended to rot every now and again, old papers being chewed away by wood lice. Regular upkeep and repair was needed, the books needing regular tending if they were to be saved for the next generation. To make matters worse, new chapters were always being added to these stories so there was always more to save.
That was where the Sword of Logos stepped in, their goal was to defend this wondrous land of myth and magic from those who would do it harm. And harnessing the powers of the elements, they brought sharp steel to the megid who would bring about this land’s apocalypse.
And Twilight, for her part, brought flame as well. Clad in full crimson armor, she strode through the forest slashing down anyone who got in her way. Her opponents were literal bookworms, the megid’s footsolders. Silver, marionette-like beings wearing tattered cloaks who easily fell by her blade.
“Rekka, battou! The name of the divine beast handed down is Crimson Dragon! Three Rekka Books! The crimson sword pierces evil and burns everything!” her belt rang out in the silent forest.
Raising her blade, the knight charged passing through the footsoldiers as easily as a hot knife would pass through butter. Several tried to swarm, and dogpile her but Twilight slammed Wukong’s staff into the earth. Rising above them, she scanned a book before slashing through the air as if she held a wand not a blade.
Needles of lightning rained down upon the low-level megid as from above the crimson warrior fell back to earth. Her sword was impaled in the ground, releasing a shockwave which quickly ignited into flame. Pulling it from the earth, Twilight slashed in a circle quickly eliminating any who remained.
Gasping and panting for breath, she nearly fell to the ground before being helped up by her fellow swordsman.
“You need to pace yourself, Wonder Ride combos are taxing,” Hayato reminded her. “Even veteren swordsman sometimes struggle with them. And you have been going through several combos in the span of a few short hours. I’m amazed you’re still standing.”
“Relax, I’ve still got a fire burning inside,” Twilight said, gathering her strength. “What I’m worried about is finding the Megid who kidnapped all of those people. More to the point, why did he want them?”
“There could be several reasons, really,” Hayato remarked. “I’ve heard legends of dark spells that can be performed by human sacrifice, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Storious knew all of them.”
At that, Twilight picked up the pace.
“And what do you intend to do?” Hayato asked. “Search the whole forest?”
“If I have to, yes,” Twilight replied. “Those people were under my protection and I failed them once. Never again! On my honor as a knight I will save them.”
“This forest is huge, searching it on foot is an exercise in futility,” Hayato said bluntly, honestly reminding her of Sugarcoat. Maybe like master like student Twilight supposed? “Remember your training. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, or in this case a salamander.”
Remember her training? ...what was that supposed to mean? Unless… Oh! That would work!
“Rubrum flamma ardeat! Ego autem testem draco!” she chanted, and summoned her most loyal ally. A crimson serpent now searched the skies scything through the air with ease and scorching it. It was soon followed by a similar beast made up of shadows, inky black in color with eyes as bright as the moon.
With twin dragons brought forth, no evil would be able to hide for long…
“Let us out of here!” someone cried, Storious paying their pleas no mind. Behind him were at least 30 Acra citizens trapped in bubble-like eggs, ready to be converted.”Please!”
“Hahahahaha, they honestly think they’re going to be released,” the salamander megid commented, sitting on a nearby tree stump with his blade resting nearby. “Their naivety, it’s almost too pathetic! I kinda feel sorry for them, really…”
“Take heart, humans,” said Storious before setting down his spellbook as he stroked one of the eggs softly, gently his voice like syrup. “Your lives, normally going to waste, will feed our grand plan. You should be honored, not many are given such an opportunity.”
“Tch, I hope they’re all worth it,” Legeiel remarked, standing off to the side with his armor slowly starting to regenerate from Kurayami and her blows. “We’re wasting time here, I’m trying to keep a cool head here but I worry. Each second we waste brings those idiots from the Sword of Logos one step closer.”
“Spells take time,” Storious said, a runic circle drawn all around them just touching the edges of the clearing. “You cannot rush them. Thankfully, we have nothing but time as those two knights have a whole forest to search.”
“And with each passing second they grow ever closer,” Legeiel reminded him. “I’d rush this spell along, just this once. Tch, can’t believe that girl is no longer alone. The Swordsman of Shadows is here now.”
“As your armor can attest,” Storious said, running a hand down the partially-destroyed dragon’s armor. Placing his hand on Legeiel’s shoulder, the druid shook his head. “Are you that surprised? Where one swordsman goes, the rest are soon to follow correct?”
Legeiel pulled himself away. “Yes, but all I’m saying is we need to hurry up. Those little woodworms you sent after the two won’t last forever. They’re not meant to. They’re only meant to be a hindrance, and to fully-trained swordsmen they’re nothing more than a bother.”
“If you’re so worried, why don’t you go after them yourself?” Storious remarked, behind him now and running his hand down Legeiel’s arm. “They won’t find you so easy to stop. ...maybe.”
“Maybe?” Legeiel scoffed. “I’d give them an actual challenge!”
“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Storious shrugged before going back to his spellbook. “You barely lasted five minutes against Calibur.”
“Tch, only because that little lady give me quite the fight,” Legeiel replied. “She’s stronger than she looks. Stupid, but fairly strong. Her fighting Sombra and surviving is evidence of that.”
“She is determined isn’t she?” Storious admitted. “In the end, I think, Sombra created his own worst enemy. That day he slaughtered Searing Steel was perhaps a mistake.”
“You think she’ll beat him?” Legeiel asked, surprised. “Saber I mean?”
“Only time will tell, really,” Storious replied, more focused on his spellbook than the actual conversation. “Let’s wait and see, it should be interesting no matter what the outcome really!”
“I hate to interrupt, but it looks like we’ve got company!” the salamander megid said, gesturing upwards where roars split the skies. Twin dragons circled above, before flying back to their masters. “Legeiel was right, looks like you shoulda hurried up that spell!”
“Damn,” said dragon admitted. “I hate being right…”
Now emboldened and reassured, two knights charged forth with blades in hand. The forest seemingly parted to let them by, ferns and undergrowth moving aside as fire and shadow surged through the mystical land.
Perhaps ordained by magic herself to free this world from rotting corruption, they knew their purpose. More importantly, they knew where their targets had decided to hold up. While their plans were still currently unclear, they would break through the mist and let the sun shine on their darkness.
Kurayami, supposedly forged in the hearts of several stars bore a blade of gold that seemed to shine impossibly bright in moonlight. And despite its association with the shadows themselves, it brought brand new days of peace and security, all dark creatures falling before it. Just ask the megid.
“Hissatsu Read! Jaaku Daishougun Momoichirou!”
The blade bellowed it’s proclamation, the tale of a little peach boy leading his army against a demonic general. Calibur waving his sword like a wand, he cut through wood worms bringing a rain of peaches down upon them.
“Oh come on, you’re hogging all the fun!” Twilight said, scanning a book on her own blade.
“A Deathly Quiet Christmas, mm-hm!”
Rekka called this out, even as several of the footsoldiers were taken on a sleigh ride by a laughing skeleton.
“And to all a good night!” Twilight called out, wondering if Sir Terry ever guessed that his books would be used like this. Grinning under her armor, she couldn’t resist the quote. “IT'S A SWORD, said the Hogfather. THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO BE SAFE.”
“Indeed,” Hayato agreed. “Why would you give a child a sword unless you knew how dangerous it was?”
Twilight laughed. “And as Death himself said, if they cut themselves it would be a valuable lesson.”
“And you two children shouldn’t be playing in the forest, running with knives,” said a voice from atop a hill, Legeiel leaping down off the hill and landing in a babbling book. “It’s double dangerous, I hear!”
“What, so one beating wasn’t enough?” Twilight asked. “There’s two of us now!”
“Don’t get cocky, Twilight,” Hayato warned. “He’s still dangerous!”
“Yes, don’t get cocky Twilight!” Legeiel mocked, running forwards and breathing fire. As both knights dived to the earth to avoid the flame, he laughed out: “I’m still dangerous!”
Kurayami rose up to meet his blade. “You taint this world, Megid. I’ve been tending to the papers, repairing them for over 30 years. Fixing the wood rot.”
Ice met shadow, Legeiel’s blade growing to an impossible size as it was encased in frost. He raised it above his head, and slashed downwards as Calibur staggered letting out a cry of pain. Ice slashed through his shoulder, nearly shattering armor.
Twilight knew she had to act fast and raced to grab a fallen novel, before scanning it across her sword.
“Daishougun Momoichirou, mm-hm!”
Her sword became like a baseball bat, as she launched a massive peach towards Legeiel not just beaning him in the head but knocking him over completely. “Annnnnnnnnnnd it’s out of the ballpark! She races around the bases and it’s a home run! The Seattle Mariners win the World Series!”
“Ugh, I hate sports…” a certain megid groaned, rubbing his head as Twilight danced around happily. “And I’m beginning to hate you even more.”
“I know you mean love!” Twilight said, riding atop a cloud and racing towards him. Legeiel lashed out with his blade, and would have cleaved her in two if not for a last second jump. Flipping over his head, she landed back on her cloud as it circled around for another pass.
“Get over here!” Legeiel hissed out.
“If you say so,” Twilight shrugged, Wukong’s staff propelling her forwards. “Time to slay a dragon!”
“Don’t get too full of yourself,” Legeiel said ducking a sword slash as Twilight landed near him. Whirling away from another slash, he blocked a third with his own blade. “I can still defeat you easily. I’m not like Storious who relies solely on his magic. I, on the other hand, know exactly how to wield a sword. After all, as they say… when in Rome! It takes a swordsman to defeat another swordsman after all.”
“You do realize that applies to me as well right?” Twilight asked, the two continuing to clash swords. Legeiel, perhaps realizing her point broke away and led her deeper into the forest.
The chase continued, eventually leading to a stone bridge -no trolls underneath!- that led across a lake. The waters were like glass, literally reflecting into another world. If you peered into the waters, you could see our world skyscrapers rising tall and proud.
“Look at it,” Legeiei said. “All concrete and steel. It’s truly horrendous isn’t it? You’ve forgotten myth and magic, and it’s rather disappointing. It used to be you could put up an actual challenge against us. But now, to you, magic is only in fairy tales! Wizards no longer roam the land, and knights are almost a thing of the past.”
“I didn’t know you cared,” Twilight remarked.
“It was a better time,” Legeiel lamented. “If you’d lived it, you’d understand…”
He slashed, ice screaming through the air. Twilight ducked under it, the freezing missiles rocketing overhead.
“So you’re basically just a grumpy old man,” Twilight said, engaging her finisher. “Is that it?”
“Brave Dragon, Storm Eagle, Journey to the West! Sansatsu Geki! F-F-F-Fire!”
Leaping forwards, orange fire gathered around her foot with Legeiel bracing himself. Absorbing the blow, he directed it back outwards. The sheer energy backlash was enough to sent Twilight into shock, her whole world going white.
When she finally regained consciousness there stood a man in front of her, clad only in robes like an old world warlock.
“...where? Where am I?” she wondered.
“In a land that only exists in one’s imagination,” said the man, in heavily accented Japanese. “I thought you knew that!”
Okay, why did she want to punch him?
“You disappoint me, you are a Kamen Rider right?” the man asked.
Okay, now she really wanted to punch him.
“Why do you care?” Twilight shouted. “And how do you know who I am?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had experience, but you are a Kamen Rider right?” the man asked again. “Saber, they call you right? Well, you need to shape up if you’re going to defeat Legeiel, never mind Sombra. I really guess I shouldn’t, but you’re in need of some help.”
He held out his hand, and golden energy manifested in it forming a book, blank white with its subject unknown.
“To borrow a certain quote: “It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.” You’ll come to understand what it means in time,” the wizard(?) said. “Now go forth!”
“W-Who are you?” Twilight stammered out, in awe of such raw magical power.
“Oh, just a wizard passing through,” said the man. “Nobody really all that important.”
With that, he snapped his fingers and Twilight found herself back in the thick of battle. With a yelp, she narrowly dodged a slash from Legeiel before blocking his blade with her own.
“Now, let’s do this right!” Twilight cried. “This ends now!”
“Oh, there’s that fire!” Legeiel laughed. “Maybe you’ll be an actual challenge this time!”
“Oh, I intend to be…” Twilight replied. “Brace yourself! My emotions are at their peak, and my pride as a knight is on the line!”
Slamming a large book into her driver, she transformed from a crimson warrior to one of raw emotion.
“Rekka, battou! The Loving Dragon! The Valorous Dragon! The Proud Dragon! Emotional Dragon! Divine Beasts, Unite! These feelings are overflowing...!”
Smashing through a thrown rock with her shield, Twilight swapped defence out for offence. Her master’s old booster appeared on her wrist, the maw opened wide.
“Living for someone using my power for someone and fighting for that someone? Protecting them with my own two hands?” Twilight said, clenching her fist. “That is what being a knight is truly about.”
Slamming a book into the booster, she let it be scanned.
“One reading! Journey to the West! Flame spicy!”
Thrusting forwards, she launched a flame from her wrist keeping it steady as the booster breathed fire. Legeiel encased his body in ice to defend against it, but slowly but surely his defense began to melt away.
“Two reading! Storm Eagle! Mix spicy!”
More flames shattered his defense.
“And now, the finale!” Twilight called out.
“Three reading! Brave Dragon! Draconic spicy!”
The blast sent Legeiel sprawling, rolling along the ground.
“I am willing to give everything to the people I love to protect them,” Twilight said. “Are you I wonder? I doubt it very much, given you don’t have anyone to protect, and for that reason I feel truly sorry for you. My desire to become stronger… it comes from the very people I want to protect!”
“One day you’ll understand,” Legeiel snarled, his cool head vanishing for a moment. “There are things that require sacrifices.”
“I doubt that very much,” Twilight said, leaping forwards to slash him across the stomach. “As I said, I truly pity you if that’s what you truly believe.”
“Tch.”
And with that Legeiel vanished into the fire. But even with him gone, Twilight could not rest. She still had a certain amorphous amphibian to deal with.
She honestly thought she was going to be sick gazing at his new form. It was bad enough that he'd returned at all. But did this megid now have to look like something out of a fever dream?
Seriously, he looked like something that crawled out of the gaping maw of H.P. Lovecraft's worst nightmares. Or maybe Gigers's. She wasn't sure.
Nope. Lovecraft's. The magic wasn't nearly phallic enough. (Though that sword was probably overcompensating.)
“I’m really starting to get tired of salamanders…” Twilight uttered, even as she flipped and rolled several times to avoid lobbed balls of gunk. Spinning like a ballerina, she ducked behind a tree trunk, slicing it down and letting it topple atop the megid. However, she’d forgotten about it’s own sword.
“You think that’ll stop me?” asked the salamander monster. “Maybe Legeiel gave you one too many blows to the head!”
Twilight flipped over a fallen log, and then spun again to dodge two more gunk shots. And they weren’t super-effective! She shoved her sword into the ground, pulling it upwards as a dragon of fire raced towards her foe. However the megid gathered dark energy in his sword, slicing it apart.
Cailbur leaped out of the gloom, he and Saber locking their swords with the Megid’s own.
Behind them, in the eggs, the captured citizens uttered: “Masked Riders?” in Hebrew. The cheering soon began, them chanting out the names of their saviors.
“You hear that Megid?” Hayato asked disdainfully, sparks flying off Kurayami as steel ground against steel. “That’s what you’ll never have, glory and admiration.”
“Bah! I’ll take fear and horror, thank you very much!” the megid responded.
“Very well then!” Hayato replied he and Twilight breaking away before charging their finishers.
However, before they could there came a sharp shriek. Both knights clutched their heads in pain, Storious standing atop a ledge and reciting a spell. Blades clattered into the dirt.
“Not this time,” Storious uttered, eyes glowing green with evil. “Fire and shadow will not stop me, the twin dragons shall be slain.”
He split into three, his two doubles binding the two Riders in chains of lightning even as the salamander megid struck them again and again.
“No…” Hayato said in a low tone.
“No?” Storious laughed, confident in his victory. “What can you even do to stop me?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” Hayato said slamming his boot into Kurayami’s hilt making it flip up into his hands. Slicing himself and Twilight free, he readied his finisher. “Now as I was saying…”
“Hissatsu Read! Jaaku Dragon!”
A great arc of dark energy cut through the forest, tearing apart the salamander megid and sending Storious fleeing for his life. “Your stories are over.”
After this, of course, Hayato reasoned his student needed a few days off. Some time to cool her head, and basically just work out who she really wanted to be. A true knight, or an agent of vengeance.
“I’m disappointed in you, young Twilight,” Mr. Ogami had said. “I thought you knew better, to never strike out in anger and rage! Your training as a knight forbids it.”
She knew he was right, of course. It’s just… well, her Master cried out to her. He had to be avenged! If that wasn’t enough, she’d realized that Falchion was now one step ahead of her. He had a page of the Codex Gigas. The question was… why did he even want it?
“Okay, now I’m beginning to see what Master Hayato meant. I need time to cool down, work things out. Just… maybe not think about being a knight for a bit eh?” she mused to herself, in the backseat of a limousine. Instead of her usual clothes, she wore a nice party dress. “Go back to my normal life. It’s just… well, hopefully fate will cooperate, because with my luck I’m not going to be able to sit down and relax…”
Especially not with Lemon’s terrible singing.
“...And we keep dreaming of a time
When good is all that we can find
We need a, we need a hero!” Lemon sang along to screaming, squealing guitars.
Twilight groaned, so wishing she could block out what had to be considered torture under the Geneva convention.
“Ugh, God,” Sugarcoat mumbled beside her, wearing a little black cocktail dress. “Can she just shut up?”
“So what, are you going to tell her?” Twilight asked.
“No, I may be a knight but I’m nowhere near that brave!” Sugarcoat admitted.
“So you won’t stop the microphone megid?” her friend teased her.
“You’re lucky I’m covering for your absence the past two days,” Sugarcoat replied, looking Twilight directly in the eye. “And even luckier that I didn’t vouch to have you thrown out of the organization.”
Twilight swallowed nervously.
“It was a mistake?” she squeaked out.
“No, you had every intention of striking out on your own, on your foolish quest for revenge,” Sugarcoat replied, her voice as cold as an arctic blizzard.. “If it were up to me, Twilight Sparkle, your sword would be taken from you and given to someone else.”
“But…” Twilight tried to argue, even if she knew it was probably futile.
And Sugarcoat’s voice softened, just a little. “Don’t be like Sombra, and fall to darkness. Don’t corrupt your own blade.”
Twilight knew what she was talking about. Long ago, Kyomu had belonged to the Sword of Logos. That is, until Sombra stole and corrupted it. From embodying perfect zen, it now was shrouded in the power of the Void.
“I don’t ever want to see that,” Sugarcoat whispered. “Ever.”
Any further discussion was cut off when the limousine pulled to a halt, outside a place known as Club Contour. Lemon’s voice breached their ears, as the Arabic woman called out: “We’re heeeeeeerrrrreee! Now, let’s have some fun girls okay? It’s time to get loose, and paaaaaaaaarty~!”
“Whoopee…” Sugarcoat drawled even as they stepped out of the car and into the club. Almost immediately, they were greeted by flashing lights and a wall of pure sound. As they moved through the sea of grinding bodies like it was a maze, hearing and personal space was almost a luxury.
“Well, I mean…” Twilight tried to help her friend see on the bright side. “It could be worse?”
“Yes,” Sugarcoat admitted. “It could be much worse. It could be grunge!”
“Hey, Keanu Reeves fronted a grunge band once. Dogstar remember?” Twilight reminded.
“...nope, not even he could save grunge,” Sugarcoat replied. “Not even him.”
“Hey, he saved Cyberpunk!” Twilight tried to argue.
“Cyberpunk and Grunge are two totally different animals.”
Lemon had already started busting her moves on the dance floor, banging her head and apparently lost in her own little world. As she moved, she slid and she stepped in time to the pounding beat before spinning like a woman possessed seemingly hit by a jolt of electricity.
Raising her fist to the sky, she threw her head back almost like she was in orgasm in a show of feminine power. All the while, Sugarcoat and Twilight just watched, slightly embarrassed and somewhat enthralled from the upper balcony.
“...She knows how to dance, and this is how she chooses to show it?” Twilight questioned, watching Lemon grind up against another dancer. Right now, she really wished she was somewhere else, with a good book. “Honestly…”
Sugarcoat just took a long, and deliberate sip of her margarita. “Maybe if I keep drinking, I’ll just forget what’s happening in front of me. Can’t hurt, can it?”
“We are so out of place,” Twilight admitted. “Now I don’t mind dancing, but that’s not what this is. This is… this is… well, I don’t know what this is. It’s not a ballroom waltz, that’s for sure!”
“Well, at least Lemon’s having a good time…” Sugarcoat tried to see on the bright side.
“So that’s what we’re doing?” Twilight asked, adjusting her glasses. “Standing on the side lines, looking pretty in a show of solidarity?”
“Something like that!” Sugarcoat drawled.
“Yeah, something like that,” Twilight agreed. “Hmm, fighting a megid or watching this show? Hmm, what’s more painful?”
“I’ll take the megid,” Sugarcoat replied watching Lemon continue to bump and grind. “Yeeeeep, definitely the megid.”
“I’m…” Twilight paused to take a sip of one of the house wines, god knows she needed it. “Starting to agree.”
The song switched, from a glitch hop number to a dance take on ‘Seven Nation Army’ as Twilight began bobbing her head.
“What?” she asked, Sugarcoat giving her a look. “At least it’s got a good beat to it.”
“Just don’t go turning into… well, that!” Sugarcoat replied, the Indonesian girl turning to look again at Lemon.
Twilight laughed, the Asian shaking her head. “Don’t worry, I won’t!”
“Well, at least your former classmate is doing well for herself,” Sugarcoat noted, turning to look all the way across the room. “I gotta admit, outfit aside she’s having fun!”
Sure enough, there was a face Twilight recognized. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so surprised, given this was her kind of scene. There was Vinyl Scratch, perhaps better known to the public at large as DJ-Pon-3. She was a blur of motion as she manned her tables, dressed only in a halter and short pants, her famous shades covering her crimson eyes.
Doing a spin for the crowd, she bumped up the beat and the sound came faster and harder. Spinning her records, she was ever the masterful DJ and the life of the party. “Hey, yo, what’s up peeps? This is DJ Vinyl Scratch coming at ya, master of this party and your one way ticket to Nirvana!”
The lights flashed against her pale skin, the woman writhing to the sound of her own beat.
“It’s so good to see so many new faces in this crowd tonight, man!” Vinyl shouted into her mic. “So glad to know your friends know who’s who and who’s hot. Namely, me! Am I right, or am I right? Now prepare yourself, because ready or not here comes the drop!”
Sound crashed as lights flashed, the woman punching the sky and not unlike Lemon throwing her head back as if she’d just reached her peak.
“I can’t believe I’m watching this,” Sugarcoat groaned. “Oh god, now there’s two of them.”
“You’re only now just realizing this?” Twilight deadpanned.
“Man, I’d hate to be next door over,” Lemon laughed as she walked up, a lightning bolt running down her arm. “Like, ouch, I pity the flies on the walls! This sound is hot tonight, and I gotta say, so is the DJ!”
“Get a room, why don’t you?” Sugarcoat drawled. “Both you and your egos.”
“Well, now there’s an idea!” Lemon grinned, the Arab licking her lips at the thought.
“...why do I even bother?” Sugarcoat asked, hitting her head against a pole. “I shoulda known I’d give you an idea…”
“Well, to be fair, it is a very good idea!” Lemon replied, making Sugarcoat groan even louder. “Like, you’ve got killer taste, Sug! Too bad though, cause I call dibs on Vinyl. Like I want a piece of that! Because oooooh her taste in sound! Like, she knows how to do a drop!”
Twilight suddenly got an image of her classmate doing Lemon right on her mixing table. Which, honestly, she wouldn’t be surprised if she saw that during the next hour. Fighting back the blush, she managed to choke out: “Have fun!”
“Hey, you alright?” Lemon asked, walking over in concern. “You sound like you’ve got something in your throat! You need me to perform a heimlich?”
“No… No,” Twilight swallowed as Sugarcoat wheezed out a laugh, the traitor. “I’m good!”
“If you say so,” Lemon shrugged. “Anyways, back to being the life and soul of the par-tay~!”
Some people graduated high school, Twilight mused. Some people never seemed to stop acting like they were still living it.
“Right, should we be worried about Ferris Bueller over there?” Sugarcoat pondered as she watched Lemon wade back into the shark-infested wat… sorry, the crowd.
“No, I’m sure she’s fine. Lemon’s many things, but she’s not stupid,” Twilight replied.
“The jury is still out on that!” Sugarcoat replied.
She wasn’t sure how, maybe it was the wine but Twilight soon found herself joining her friend out on the dance floor. She brought what she hoped was an element of class to happy hour, spinning like a ballerina.
Several dancers considerately moved aside to let her have some room as Twilight did a little pirouette. Spin and turn, she remembered from her classes as a young girl. Spin and turn. Her fight style had often incorporated some of these graceful steps to keep her on the move while in a duel, directly out of an opponent’s reach even as her sword flashed its steel.
Right now though, it was less of a fight for survival and more a fight for this night to keep some semblance of dignity. Honestly, if Lemon intended to represent the art of dance she was doing a terrible job of it.
Even as the beat pounded in her ears, threatening to make them burst in a show of sound, Twilight went into an assemblé. Lifting off on one leg, and and landing on two she shut her eyes to the crowd before spinning again and trying to block out the noise as beast as she could. Maybe a grande jeté next?
“You’re at a club, Twi, not at a ballet hall,” Lemon said pulling her close, her head pressing against the lime-haired girl’s shoulder. Twilight blushed as she felt her friend’s breasts press into her bare back. “As much as I appreciate you showing your style, you need to loosen up and have a little fun! Go on, get loose! Act like you want to be here.”
“And what,” Twilight replied, spinning around so she could look Lemon in the eye. “You think I’m not enjoying myself already?”
“Listen, all I’m just saying is there are different styles of dancing for different situations,” Lemon replied, breaking away and writhing her hips. “Ballet is for recitals, street dance is for clubs.”
“So you assume I want to make myself look like some harlot?” Twilight drawled, amazed Lemon was able to hear her over the noise.
“...Pretty sure nobody’s used the word harlot in ages, dear,” Lemon deadpanned.
“Well, I just used it. And I know Rarity uses it!” Twilight sputtered.
“Yes, well Rarity is Rarity,” Lemon replied.
“Will you get to the point?” Twilight hissed.
“I am, don’t worry,” Lemon rolled her eyes, even as she boogied down. “All your life you’ve been so serious, and I respect that. You do you, okay? But there comes a time in life you’ll have to let down your hair just a tad, have a bit of fun. You only live once, so don’t let life pass you by eh?”
Lemon Zest was actually making a point. Twilight wasn’t sure how she exactly felt about that.
“But she’s right,” the woman mused to herself, doing her best to let loose just a bit. Her club dance moves were lacking, but it was the spirit that counted maybe? “Someday I’ll defeat Falchion, but… what then? What then? Have I even stopped to consider what I’ll do next?”
Honestly, she hadn’t. That was the scariest part. Her whole life had been probably ruled by this one man, and her training and when she defeated Sombra… where would she go next? Would she just jump to the next battle with another megid and then the next? Would she devote her whole life to the blade, block the rest of the world out?
“Good to see I’m getting to you,” Lemon observed as they made their way back to the bar. “See, I’m not as dumb as I look. Listen, I won’t pretend to understand what you get up to in your spare time. I know Sugarcoat’s lying out of her ass though. She’s great at being honest, but she’s terrible at the other thing. Her only failing really.”
“You sound like you admire her!” Twilight noted.
“Heh, course I do. She’s always been the one with the high grades, she’ll probably go far. She’s already been offered so many colleges of her choosing,” Lemon laughed bitterly. “Meanwhile, I just barely passed high school and took it easy through college. Doubtful I’m going anywhere fast!”
“No, don’t say that…” Twilight frowned.
“Don’t patronize me dear,” Lemon said. “Now I don’t know if it’s the alcohol talking or maybe I’ve suddenly decided to get real deep with you hon, but honestly? I worry if I’ll peak before I hit 30. I’ll just be the party girl, contribute nothing to our little band.”
“Well, you got into Crystal Prep so-”
“Only because my parents are super rich,” Lemon pointed out. “I got in only because of that. Not because of any good grades or anything. Yeeeep, bet my parents are really disappointed in me. I’ve hardly lived up to their expectations. The only thing I do is wind up in the papers every odd week!”
Well, yes, that was true but she wasn’t about to agree with Lemon. “You’re still pretty impressive, drunken escapades or no. You’re the life of-”
“Don’t say it, yeah yeah I’m the life of the party,” Lemon muttered.
“It’s true though, you bring such light into everyone’s lives,” Twilight pointed out. “Buuuuuut, if you really want to do something with your life? Go do it. Sitting here complaining about it won’t solve anything. There are those who moan about their lot and life and there are those who do something about it. Which are you?”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Lemon laughed. “...guess we’re both giving out advice that we should honestly heed eh?”
“Probably,” Twilight admitted. “See, you’re not so dumb. You actually give out great advice. Maybe you could publish a self help book or two?”
“And here I thought you were the only one who wanted to do something with books!” Lemon laughed. “Me, an author. ...interesting thought. Well, I kinda do got that sort of face, good for the cameras and all. Perfect for giving autographs!”
“You’d be surprised, words are perfect for saving the world,” Twilight replied. “Pen being mightier than the sword and all that.”
“And you’re honestly saying I could save someone else’s world from crashing down all around them?” Lemon thought, before smiling appreciatively in such a world that her smile lit up the whole room. “Thanks, Twi. Genuinely, thanks.”
“What I’m here fo…” Twilight said, before letting out a yelp as Vinyl pulled her away. “Hey!”
“No kidding!” Lemon said. “I was supposed to be the one getting lucky tonight!”
Vinyl met her in an alleyway.
“I… I hate to dash your hopes, Vinyl, but I’m just not into you like that,” Twilight said. “I mean, I guess you’re cute but…”
“No, I’m hot, get it right. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about, even if I am awesome,” Vinyl said. “You disrespected your blade yesterday, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, this again?” Twilight groaned. “Look, Sugarcoat already gave me the low down. I stay in line, don’t do anything stupid or I’m out of the Sword of Logos.”
“Good, then she’s smart as ever,” Vinyl replied. “Please, don’t do anything else Twi. Let the rest of us handle Falchion. Don’t do anything stupid, otherwise… I may just have to come and stop you.”
“I… see.” Twilight swallowed.
“Please,” Vinyl said. “Don’t make me raise Suzune against another knight. I never want to even consider doing that. Just… please, give it some thought okay? Don’t let your life be ruled by that one man. Trust me, revenge isn’t worth it. Be a Kamen Rider, not an agent of vengeance.”