//------------------------------// // Long Lost Brother // Story: Kung-Fu Equestria 3 // by Lady Umbra //------------------------------// The following morning, Twilight walked into the Jade Dragon and found it void of any living creatures. The sounds of a knife against a cutting board and the sound of a hammer against gemstones sounded. The smell of cooking filled the air. Twilight smiled. “Somepony’s making his favorite Gem stroganoff” Twilight noted. Twilight made her way upstairs before entering her old room and finding it covered with a small amount of dust. “Dear Faust.” Twilight coughed out, using her magic to conjure up several feather dusters and a small brush. The dusters went to work on her room clearing away the dust on her bed, dressers and countless bookshelves. Meanwhile, Twilight went to personal work on clearing the dust on her figurines. “Okay, what's wrong?” Spike said. Twilight yelped, nearly dropping her figure of Master Rockhoof. Spike was standing in the doorway, and he looked concerned. “Oh, hey, Spike, what's up?” Twilight said, resuming her cleaning. “You’re cleaning rather heavily," Spike replied, pushing aside a feather duster as it tried to clean his scales. "Like, cleaning away dust on your dolls with a paint brush. That usually means something is bothering you." “Oh, Spike," Twilight sighed, setting down Master Rock Hoof and picking up Master Spitfire. "They aren't dolls, they’re collectable figurines. And using a paint brush makes it easier to get every speck of..." She paused, as Spike merely quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms. Twilight sighed, putting down Spitfire. “You are an evil brother, you know that?" Spike shrugged and smiled. "It got you to stop, didn't it?" “You know, you have no room to take about Action figures” Twilight replied. "Okay," he shrugged, "So, you gonna tell me what's wrong?" Twilight sat down on her bed. “Luna says I don't know what it means to be the Celestial Warrior... right after she said that she wants me to be a teacher?” Twilight chuckled darkly. “And I honestly thought I finally figured out who I was. If I'm not the Celestial Warrior, then who am I?” Spike scratched his chin, thinking. Before he could speak, the bell to the front door rang. A customer. "Hang on," Spike said, running downstairs with Twilight in pursuit. "Welcome to the Jade Dragon," Spike greeted. "Home to every book within the dragon's hoard?” Standing in front of one of the bookshelves was a stallion wearing a wide rice hat as he read a book on Kung-Fu Masters. At first, he didn't seem to notice Spike or Twilight. “My baby sister... She’s a Kung-Fu master?” the stallion whispered, reading through the book before looking around. “Maybe this library will give me something on where she is.” Spike and Twilight exchanged a look, before Spike approached the stallion. “Sir, can I help you?” Spike asked, causing the stallion to jump. "Oh, yes. I think so," he replied, removing his hat and revealing a long blue mane around a horn. “I’m looking for my sister. And I think your books could give me a general idea on where she... is.” The unicorn and Twilight had locked eyes. And Twilight felt a memory stirring. She had seen this unicorn before. From her memories of the past. When she had lost her family to Sombra. "How so?" Spike asked, knocking Twilight and the stallion out of their stare. "Well..." the stallion stammered, glancing at Twilight again. "I... received a message. Said my sister was alive. But... it never specified where she was." He put the book back on its shelf. "It did say she was a Kung-Fu Master, so I've been traveling from school to school to see if I could find her." “Well, we do have every book on every master in all Equestria," Spike replied. "Even the ones who are six feet under,” he added with a laugh. “I noticed” the stallion said, pulling a book about the Six Pillars from the shelf. “There aren’t that many places that hold information about Starswirl’s Six Pillars or even Spitfire’s Wonderbolts.” “What’s your mothers name?” Twilight asked, drawing closer. The stallion paused, again seemingly preturbed by the mare. "Um... Twilight Velvet," he replied cautiously. "From Twilight Village," Twilight asked, as her magic sneaked her smartypants doll from the desk, carrying it to her hands as they rested behind her back. "I... am," he admitted, gazing at her in shock. "How...?" Hesitantly, she held out the doll. The stallion gasped as he took the doll from her. "This... I made this for my sister! Where did you...?" "I found it," Twilight whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from him. "In the ruins of the place I was born." She clutched her arms to her chest. "My mother was Twilight Velvet." For a moment, silence reigned. The stallion and Twilight appeared lost in each other's eyes. Spike backed up a bit, already sensing the building tension. Suddenly, the stallion dropped the doll... and scooped Twilight up into a hug. “You’re Alive!” he cried, burying his head into Twilight’s shoulder. “I can't believe you're alive Tally!” “Uh, Twilight,” the Celestial Warrior gagged, causing the unicorn to pull away from his long lost sister. “Right... I guess you wouldn’t know your birth name,” the stallion admitted sheepishly. He used his magic to pick up the doll. “You were... so young... when it happened..." His head lowered, as did Twilight's. "Yeah," she admitted. "I was young. So... I know your face, but..." She gazed up at him with sincere regret. "But I don't know you're name." Her brother smiled. "My name's Shining Armor," he replied. Twilight returned his grin. "Well... Spike named me Twilight Sparkle," she replied, before blinking. She turned to the dragon, who was still watching the whole thing with the air of someone that had walked into something he shouldn't be a part of. "Oh! Shining, this is my... well, this is my brother. Spike." Shining and Spike stared at each other, both unsure what to say. On the one hand, Spike was happy that Twilight was reunited with her brother. But, on the other... what did this mean for them? "I... thank you," Shining said, bowing to the dragon. "Thank you so much for taking care of my sister." "Y-Yeah," Spike mumbled. "Sure." She looked back at Twilight. "But... I don't understand. Twilight said she was the only survivor." Shining chuckled. "No," he admitted. "No, there's way more. We made a sanctuary for ourselves." He chuckled again. "Well, ourselves and any wayward souls." Twilight clasped her hands together. "Is mother there?" she asked. Shining’s expression became pained. He looked to the ground again. All he could muster was a sad shake of his head. As Twilight's own expression grew pained, Spike gazed at them both before quickly interjecting, "S-So... where have you all been?" The pain cleared from Shining's face. "R-Right," he admitted. "Uh..." He glanced from Spike to Twilight, before leaning in close to whisper in Twilight's ear. "A secret village hidden in the mountains." Spike's eyes narrowed in surprise, but Twilight didn't seem to notice. “And... how did you know I was alive?” Twilight asked. “I received a message," Shining reminded her. "That told me you were alive." Spike scratched his head. "But... how could you recieve a message if no one can find you?" "It was a message," Shining said dramatically. "From the universe!" He made a sweeping motion with his hands as he spoke. Spike raised an eyebrow. "Universe?" he muttered. "Come on..." Despite his suspicion, Twilight pulled Shining from the library. "Come on," she insisted. "I gotta show you where I've been all this time." Twilight wheezed, reaching the top of the stairs, yet Shining walked up easily. “I hate these stairs,” Twilight gasped. “Mother had the same problem,” Shining said with a nostalgic smile. “She could run for miles but got very winded going up a small set of stairs.” “Really...?” Twilight said, catching her breath. “Well, Shining, I promise, you're gonna love this. It's like the coolest thing ever.” She pushed open the door to the palace. “Behold! The Hall of Heroes. Home of the most priceless Kung-Fu artifacts in all of Equestria! “Whoa! This place is…” Shining said in awe “Awesome? Were you gonna say— You were gonna say awesome, right? Because it totally is!” Twilight said rather fast going full fangirl over the artifacts “Totally!” Shining agreed, admiring the artifacts as he and his sister walk around the hallway "Oh, but be super careful," Twilight asked. "Everything is very fragile here. Like the Urn of Chaotic Evil. Someone almost broke that... once.” Twilight glanced away as she remembered her first day at the palace. Shining grinned mischeviously. "Who?" he teased. "Some fan," she said evasively. Shining chuckled again, before he noticed a set of red armor. "Whoa," he whispered, walking up to it. Eagerly, Twilight followed after him. "Yeah," she agreed. "Master Bright Mac's Flying Rhino battle armor." She squeaked and pulled him over to another weapon. "And this is Master Rockhoof's crossbow; the Infinite Gate Smasher.” Twilight then moved onto the next relic “Master Nova's waterproof Seaquestria armor." She squeaked and pulled him over to another. "And this is my favorite. Check it out. It's the legendary battle rickshaw of Empress Umbra! A master who fell into the Darkness but fought for the side of the light!” However, in all her excitement, Twilight didn't notice Shining return to Bright Mac's armor. At least, until she noticed him reach for the armor. "Oh, Shining!" she protested. "We aren't supposed to..." But before she could stop him, Shining pulled on a white cord. After pulling the string, the armor activated, conjuring up a spiked neck brace, metal wings, and a red flag on top of the helmet. Twilight gasps out in utter excitement. “Oh my faust.” Twilight squealed in excitement. “I read his armor could do that but seeing it in person….” “I’m positive mother told you," A voice noted, causing Shining and Twilight to jump. "Touching the relic and artifacts is forbidden." The siblings spun as Tai Lung walked in. Even worse, Luna Solaris was right behind him. “I did,” Luna said, narrowing her eyes at Twilight. "Uh... but I... you see..." Twilight stammered, shrinking down causing Twilight to shrink back. Thankfully, Luna's face shifted to a grin, and she and Tai burst out laughing. “Wait, what’s so..." Twilight got it as Luna's eyes flashed green. Twilight growled. "Urtica! That's not funny!" Her anger only made the two laugh harder... until another figure walked up behind them and put her hands on their shoulders. Tai and Urtica went silent. “Something funny... Master Luna” Luna asked, before Urtica turned back to normal. "Sorry, Master Luna," Urtica whimpered with a bow. Shining gasped. "A changeling?" Twilight winced. "Wait, Shining, it's not..." she started to say, before noticing her brother was... grinning? At the same time, Urtica's nose twitched. She sniffed the air around Shining. “Twilight, why does your brother smell like a changeling?” Urtica asked. At that moment, the Furious five entered the hall. “BROTHER?!” all five yelped in unison. “Girls!” Twilight said as the Furious surrounded the unicorn. However, before they could ask any questions, Shining teleported over to Urtica and poked at a spot near her horn. She squeaked and jumped back, but the stallion chuckled. "He wasn't joking," he mused. "You do squeak every time you're touched there." He laughed before Tai Lung got between them. "Listen here..." he started to growl, before Urtica pushed him back. "Tai, wait," she insisted, before scrutinizing the unicorn. "Who told you about that?" "Thorax," Shining said. "I believe he's a mutual friend of ours... Princess Urtica." He gave a slight bow. "Thorax?" Tai whispered, his fur standing on end. Before they could ask any questions, however, the bell began to ring. Rainbow Dash turned. "An attack on the village," she growled. “An attack on the village?!” Twilight eagerly grabbed her brother. “You’ve got to see how me and the girls fight!” Eagerly, the group raced from the palace, Luna and Shining Armor giving chase. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took the lead, and it didn't take them long to find the problem. Travelling across the rooftops were a strange group of creatures, made out of what looked like solid green gems. Bright, beady eyes turned like spotlights, analyzing the fleeing citizens. “What in Celestia’s name are those?” Rainbow muttered. “I don’t know,'' Fluttershy said. Her ears flicked, and her bandaged eyes widened. “They... I can't hear their heartbeats." In their moment of pondering, the creature's eyes landed on them. And instantly, the creatures attacked. The masters met them in combat, battling across the rooftops. Yet, as Luna got into a grapple with one of the gem creatures, she gasped in recognition. "Master Starswirl," she declared. In her moment of shock, the Starswirl lookalike kicked out of her grapple, and drove her back. Luckily, Twilight was there to aid her. “Enemies of justice! Prepare…!” Twilight paused, seeing a pair of Twins among the gem creatures. “Wha... Are you kidding me?" In her moment of distraction, Twilight’s foot slipped on a tile. She fell off the roof with a yelp, and hit the ground with an "Oompf!" For a moment, everyone - master and gem creature alike - paused, staring at Twilight as she pulled herself up. "I'm okay," she assured them. Sated, both parties returned to fighting each other. Twilight and Tai Lung took on the twins, yet Twilight's brow remained furrowed in confusion. “What's the deal with these creatures?” Twilight pondered. Tai caught one of the twins in a headlock, throwing it to Rainbow and Urtica. However, the pegasus and changelings' double kick only hurt them more, as their barks of pain implied. "Whatever they are, they're tough," Urtica replied, shaking her foot before launching after Tai, whom the green creature had freed himself from with a headbutt. It's like I'm punching solid jade," Rainbow agreed, dodging a jade staff from the other twin. "And they look like long dead masters," Twilight pondered, as she blocked and dodged, luring the jade creature over to Pinkie, who shot it with her cannon. "Jade zombies, maybe?" Pinke offered, before gasping in delight. "No... JOMBIES!" “Pinkie!” Luna shouted, but her warning came too late, as the Pink Master was hit on the top of the head by one of the twins staffs. “Tally, be careful!” Shining called out. “It's okay, Shining," She tried to assure the unicorn. "I do this every da-AAAAAHHH!!” Despite her reassurance, a large jombie managed to grab her and suplex her into the roof. Bursting out from the roof, Twilight peered at the twins as they batted Pinkie back and forth. "Wait," Twilight muttered. "Dead masters..." She gasped. "I recognize them!" She pointed at the twins. "The Master Blossom Twins, Aloe and Lotus... with their crushing double gong technique!” A technique they promptly used on Twilight, smashing her deeper into the roof. "Yeah," Twilight mumbled. "That's the one." She pulled herself up again, turning to Luna's foe. "And that's Master Starswirl..." Twilight muttered, before dodging a beam of magic from the old sorcerer. "But Master Starswirl died hundreds of years ago," Rarity protested, as she came up alongside Twilight. "He was killed in the first battle against Nightmare Moon!" Luna winced at the memory. "Regrettably," she added with sorrow. Applejack was thrown into Urtica and Pinkie, nearly knocking them off the roof. "And we got Master Rock Hoof," she added, pointing at her opponent as he charged after her. "The world's strongest master." “These guys are legends!” Twilight stammered, unable to stop herself from fangirling... even as Starswirl blasted her with a spell that formed a tendril that began choking her. "I'm being choked by Master Starswirl," she gagged. "This is too cool!" “Twilight. Focus” Urtica barked, moving to kick Starswirl, only to get caught and knocked off course by Aloe. As Twilight struggled with Starswirl, she was thrown into the Jade Dragon. As Spike jumped up, seeing his adopted sister getting strangled triggered his dragon instincts. "Hey!" he barked, blasting Starswirl with flames. The jombie jumped back, pawing the ground with a feral growl. “Get away from my sister!” Spike barked, blasting the jade zombie out the window with another fireball. “Thanks Spike,” Twilight coughed, rubbing her throat before jumping down to help the others. Upon landing Twilight’s collar was grabbed as well as her tail. Fear gripped Twilight, thinking it was one of the Jade Zombies. Thankfully, she quickly saw it was Pinkie. "Minigun technique," Pinkie whispered. And Twilight understood. Flaring her magic, she let Pinkie use her as a minigun, peppering the jombies with a barrage of magic bullets. As the jombies were knocked off the roof, the masters took advantage, pinning down Starswirl and the Blossom twins. And though Rock hoof at first managed to knock aside the masters trying to pin him, Urtica pulled away, and her horn glowed. ‘Brothers and Sisters! Your queen calls upon you!’ Within minutes Changelings swarmed the area and buried the strongest master. Even then, he poked his head above the horde, straining with all his might. Urtica merely smiled as a Shadow loomed over the Jade Master. “Oh, Little Sister, would you and Roar care to join us?” The small Changeling and the hulking yak jumped down and smashed the jade zombie into the earth. No matter how much the earth pony master struggled, he was no match for their strength after that. “Squeeze him Roar” Tak said in bliss. “Squeeze him like a...” Without warning Tak was blasted from Roar’s back by Starswirl. Before he could get anyone else, however, Tai caught the unicorn's horn, rendering it useless. Yet, even as the battle wound down, the jombies still had more surprises in store. Their eyes began to glow, as an eerie laugh echoed from them all. “I see you,” the voice said with glee. “Your chi will soon be mine.” “Is he... talking to me?” Twilight asked, staring down at the jade zombies with confusion. “Which one?” Rainbow asked. “They're all talking.” “That's creepy.” Pinkine said before she brightened. “We should try that, too. Maybe it'd be scary back at them. Let's try it!" “Okay, but we gotta plan what we're gonna say first.” Rainbow pointed out. “Otherwise, it won't be scary, it'll be just stupid.” “It's not them talking, you idiots!” The voice bellowed through the masters. “It is I: Tirek.” The masters glanced at each other. "Who?" they asked in unison. "Yes!" Pinkie whispered in glee. Though it wasn't a terrfied whimper that came from the Satyr. Only an irritated growl. “Okay, That’s it. I’ve had enough.” Tirek growled. With those words, the jade zombies glowed, and turned back into jade pendants. The masters were only able to look on in confusion as the pendants launched into the air and flew out of sight. Twilight, Luna, Tai Lung, Urtica and the Five looked around in confusion. “Did you see that? Did you see—?” Pinkie said only for Applejack to cover her mouth. “So... um... What just happened?” Fluttershy asked. Humming, Applejack pulled her hand away from Pinkie's mouth. “The green smoke just poof... and then poof!” Pinkie chattered, before looking at her master. “Master Luna, what was that? “Tirek?” Luna said, putting a hand to her chin. “Tirek? Tirek?” Luna looked like she was about to answer before walking away. “I have no idea who that is.”