//------------------------------// // Double Mane Troubles // Story: Twilight Scarlet // by vincent789 //------------------------------// While Twilight and David fell in a comfy sleep in Cherry Town. Fluttershy and Rarity had a stand off in Manehattan. Unlike the rest of the kingdom of Midi which was mostly resting in an uneasy peace. Manehattan was basically a battlefield. As the citizens of Manehattan were constantly resisting Celestia's rule. Which caused a strong stand-off between the kingdom and the city. "Please. Come back! You don't have to do this!" Fluttershy pleaded towards Rarity. "What the fuck would you know?! The princess took away all our friends! We are all alone! Hiding isn't the way to go. So I joined the princess." Rarity snapped back, rapier in hand. And preparing to cast a powerful ice spell on Fluttershy. "You WHAT?!" Some of Rarity's friends said in the background. Rarity instead gave them an evil grin. Shocked, but mostly angry, Fluttershy grabs her massive sword from her back and points it to Rarity instead. Causing her to temporarily look stunned at the size of the blade. "So you wish to lose another friend, huh?" Fluttershy said intimidatingly. This caused Rarity to cringe at the statement. All she wants is her friends back, but now she is pushing away her last remaining friend instead. Which caused her to flatter. Fluttershy sees the moment, and took it. She swung her massive blade at Rarity's rapier, causing it to be swung out of her friend's hand. Successfully disarming her friend. And instead of trying to grab the rapier once more, Rarity fell to the ground crying. Finally realizing that she has been taking out her demons at Fluttershy, she gave up. Turning into a crying mess. And Fluttershy understood this. Fluttershy placed her sword back on her back. As she regained a small smile. She then merely gave Rarity a strong hug, before leaving her alone in her room. "Give her some space. She has been through literal hell." Fluttershy ordered. "Yes, Madam." One of the guards saluted. "Leader! I have some good news!" One of Fluttershy's right hands said as she runs happily towards her leader. "Hm?" Fluttershy simply said. "Canterlot and Cherry Town has been liberated. Princess Luna is re-assembling the Elements of Harmony!" The right hand said happily. "That IS good news." Fluttershy said with a small smile, but then it fell once more. "And Twilight?" she asked. "Nothing. It is as if she fell from the map. We do have... interesting news, I suppose." The right hand said. "Which is?" Fluttershy asked curious. "A Twilight lookalike has been liberating the kingdom of Midi. She is responsible for Cherry Town and Canterlot." The right hand explained. "Oh?" Fluttershy said curious. "And where is she heading next?" she asked. "Right here. As I said previously, Princess Luna is re-assembling the elements of harmony. As she as been going around searching for them. And since Rainbow Dash and Applejack have been confirmed safe. She is probably making her way to Manehattan for you and Rarity." The right hand said. "Good. And Celestia's forces?" Fluttershy added. "Weakened. With the loss of their source of corruption gone and Darkness HQ destroyed. The men's morale is at all time low. And the fact that this person is an outsider speaks even more volume. They are rather scared at the moment." Fluttershy's left hand explained. "Our men?" Fluttershy asked slightly worried. "Well. They have high morale, but we have too many injured at the moment. And we are low on food in general." The left hand said slightly disappointed. "Well. We might have some good luck this time around. With the corruption gone, we recently had a very good wheat and carrots harvest. So this might turn around in mere days." The right hand offered optimistically. "That is actually true. And Celestia is too busy watching this Twilight lookalike to be busy with us. Not to mention, the lack of corruption and Darkness HQ is probably hurting her quite a bit." The left hand agreed. "I would imagine that the guild inside of the port is active once more. Stopping her from calling backup from overseas. And requesting help from her marine." The left hand stated. "Actually..." The right hand began, "The magic council has been actively destroying Celestia's marine forces. So even if she wanted to, she would probably have not many forces left." she stated. "In other words?" Fluttershy asked. "After three years of constant fighting. We might win soon." Both her hands said excited. "But what about the true cause of the darkness? Where is he?" Fluttershy asked. "Weakened. That bounty hunter did quite a number on him a few years ago. I think he is too busy licking his wounds." The right hand stated. "Is that bounty hunter that strong?!" Fluttershy asked shocked. "Apparently." The left hand said shrugging. "No wonder then. I can't wait to meet this Twilight lookalike." Fluttershy said as she walked off. --------------- After a solid eight hours later, Twilight and David woke up and took the taxi. Twilight noticed that her previous taxi pig had followed Rainbow Dash to Canterlot. Since she had been using the same pig from the port all the way to Cherry Town. And this one was a little darker in color. Regardless, something they both didn't expect this area to look like was the fact that so far, the area to Manehattan was a barren wasteland that screams death. "What happened here?" David asked worried. The pig was then making some sounds, and Twilight did knew a bit of pig language. So she listen closely, to try and figure certain words out. "I think the pig said that when Celestia fell, Manehattan was the source of the resistance. Manehattan stayed independent from Celestia from the very beginning. This caused many wars to rage between the two. With Celestia's forces mostly losing." Twilight explained. "Oh wow. The underdog being the winner is rare. Are you getting us all the way to Manehattan or are we going to have to walk some of the distance?" David asked. After some words coming from the pig, Twilight translated it. "He said that he can get us all the way to Manehattan. Since it didn't fall to the darkness." Twilight said smiling. "That is very good news." David said excited. "Yeah. But the amount of injured must be high. Luckily I have some spells. And I also took some food with me from Cherry Town. That I will share with Manehattan." Twilight said, hopeful. "So where is it?" David asked. "In my pocket dimension." Twilight simply stated. "You're using Forbidden magic?!" David asked. "Yup and forgotten magic." Twilight simply shrugged. David sighed, "Fine, but Gramps better explain to me, why he allows it." he said defeated. "It is the only magic I know how to use." Twilight admits. "You don't know requip magic? Or like normal spellbooks?" David questioned. Twilight looked him deep in the eye. "David. With all due respect. I have my reasons. I am sure you understand. This isn't about who I am. You can ask those questions to Gramps. I shall stay quiet about the matter however." Twilight growled annoyed. David didn't like the answer, but he did shut up. As he looked at the massive city known as Manehattan. It was huge. Bigger then Canterlot and atleast six times larger than Cherry Town. He was both in awe and concerned. As the area around Manehattan was littered with bodies. Both human and corrupted. It was an awful sight. As the smell could smelled from several kilometers away. However David only cared about the humans as they looked most worse for wear. Twilight on the other hand cared for both parties as the corrupted also were humans at one point until the darkness became too much for them. To a point that Twilight almost asked herself the question, who was really evil in this war. Celestia or Luna. "I hate the corrupted." David stated simply. "Hm." Twilight simply replied. She wasn't entirely pleased with that statement. But said nothing about it. "What about you, do you also hate them?" David asked. "Not really." Twilight said. "Why? They are mindless beasts." David stated venomously. "And yet. They were once human too. Until something happened to them." Twilight stated far more relaxed. "You care for these beasts?!" David shouted triggered. "Yes. Every creature deserves a little kindness." Twilight said saddened by the sight. "Ha! Yeah right..." David said as he heavily disagreed with Twilight's statement. "David... If you treat everything that is unknown with hatred. You will one day pay the price in return." Twilight said slightly sad at David's behavior. "I am too strong for that." David said as he basically didn't listen. Twilight simply raised her eyebrow at that, but she had no reason to care about it. So she left it at that. As Twilight was more focused on the massive door that they were arriving on. "Who goes there?!" Shouted a guard in the tower of the gate. "Two travelers, that wants to assist you in destroying the corrupted!" David shouted. "Hm. Names?" The guard shouted. "Scarlet Death!" Twilight stated. "David McGarden." David shouted. "Hm. Alright. Welcome to Manehattan." The guard shouted as the gate opens. And right as that happens, two corrupted beings attempt to enter. David slaughtered the one on the right. Twilight merely held the one on the left in place. She had no interest in killing it. The corrupted individual could tell that her grip held no lethal intend. So it didn't struggle. "Kill it!" David shouted as he sent a volley of fireballs into the face of the corrupted. Only for a shield to block it. "No." Twilight merely stated as she shielded the fireballs from hitting the target. "KILL IT!" David demanded. "No. And that is final." Twilight said as she calmly placed the corrupted back onto the ground. Allowing it to flee instead. Enraged, David sent a volley of fireballs after it. Only to miss since it was too far away. David looked very angry at Twilight as they calmly entered the city. "They are enemies!" David shouted angry. "Then perhaps they are to you. But not necessarily to me. They haven't ever been hostile to me. So I see them as merely confused individuals." Twilight calmly explained. "Bullshit!" David shouted. "Okay. So David McGarden is nothing like his daughter. Dully noted." Twilight simply stated. "Fuck you." David shouted. Twilight sighed, "Let me calm you down for a bit." she said as she re-petrified the man instead of letting him rage on. "Gah!" David said before he was entirely petrified. "Uh." The guard said confused at the sight. "Oh don't mind my friend. He is a bit too angry right now. He needs to calm down." Twilight said with a sickly sweet smile. "Very well. Miss Fluttershy wishes to speak to you and your, now petrified, friend." The guard said still slightly worried at Twilight's smile. "Sure." Twilight said as she used her Celestial orb to levitate her friend with her. While walking to their HQ, Twilight took in the sights. This city was filled with high-rise buildings. And despite the literal graveyard outside the city. The city itself looked alive with thousands of lights and hundreds of ponies walking about. And the weird looks Twilight was garnering thanks to David. Nonetheless, this city looked nothing like the rest of the country. "This is Element HQ. The last remaining Elements of Harmony member are here. Element of Generosity, Rarity and Element of Kindness, Fluttershy. Just take the elevator to the top level. They are waiting for you." The guard said. "Thank you. I will do just that." Twilight said as she levitated David into the elevator and then walked into it herself. She presses a button with the number one hundred on it. Causing the doors to close and the elevator to go upwards. After a few seconds, the elevator makes a small sound of a bell. As the doors open. Both Rarity and Fluttershy looked very pleased to see Twilight, until their eyes land on David. Turning their face into confusion. "So you are the Scarlet Death?" Rarity asked. "Yes. But you may call me Twilight Scarlet. And this is David. He was a bit too rowdy on the way here. So I petrified him." Twilight introduced. "Oh. I though perhaps a Cockatrice got to him." Fluttershy admits. "Don't say that. It is giving me nostalgia." Rarity said annoyed, though she was smiling. "Is that so." Twilight said somewhat confused. "Anyways what did he do?" Rarity asked. "He does not understand the concept of kindness. When the door opened, two corrupted beings attempted to enter. He massacred the corrupted being on his side of the carriage. While I gave it a bit of kindness by stopping it and letting it go instead on my side. Since everything deserves more than mere hatred." Twilight said annoyed. Fluttershy practically beamed at Twilight for what she did, while looking a bit sad at David. Rarity meanwhile also gave Twilight a small smile, while giving David an slightly annoyed look, though with understanding inside of the eyes. "You... are really nothing like our Twilight. She would probably try to kill it instead of giving it kindness." Rarity said smiling. "About Twilight, what was her last known location? I am still trying to rescue her." Twilight asked. "The Element of Friendship holder and the leader of the Elements of Harmony. Twilight Sparkle's last known location was in an abandoned tower to the east of Celestia's castle." Rarity said. As she said so, Fluttershy looked shocked at Rarity. "How do you know that?" Fluttershy asked shocked. "Life sign beacon. I picked it up yesterday. But when I visited it, I saw nobody there." Rarity said. "Perhaps there is a basement to it." Twilight reasoned. "There is. But it had too many corrupted inside. I was too scared to enter." Rarity admitted. "I will visit that later. First! You two. Princess Luna is trying to assemble the Elements of Harmony to attempt to blast Celestia with... Friendship." Twilight said as she hesitated about saying it as such. "We know. But we can't leave Manehattan. They need us." Fluttershy said saddened. "Hm. Perhaps you guys can meet Luna's party at the capital city of Midi and with Twilight hopefully in tow." Twilight offered. "That is an excellent idea." Rarity said pleased with the compromise. "I see. That is a good idea." Fluttershy said in thought. "Do you guys have a communications orb. I will contact Luna. Oh and I will leave David here. I will free him after my job is done, since he is useless right now." Twilight said serious. "Sure. I will use him as a mannequin for my men clothing line." Rarity smiled as she used her magical rapier to levitate David away from Twilight and onto a small platform in the background. "It is right there." Fluttershy pointed towards a small side room with some windows and a small table, on top of the table sat the communications orb. "Good." Twilight said as she approached it. And placed her hand on it. It then showed a list of people that she can call. She pressed Luna. "Twilight! How is everything going?" Luna asked happily, Twilight noticed that both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in the background also looking curious towards the communications orb. "I finally got a lead on Twilight's location. And Fluttershy and Rarity wants to meet you guys at the capital when everything is going down. As they are the leaders of the resistance. They can't leave this place alone." Twilight explained. "That is fine. Are they safe? Can I open a portal between Canterlot and Manehattan?" Luna asked. Twilight looked at Fluttershy, she nodded at Twilight. "Yes. Go ahead." Twilight said. "Good. Then they are saved as well. Thank you Twilight. I will speak to you later." Luna said and as she was about to hang up, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash shoved Luna away as they got closer. "Is that Fluttershy?!" Rainbow said surprised, and as soon as Fluttershy heard Rainbow's voice she came running towards the communications orb. "Rainbow! Are you safe? Not hurt?" Fluttershy asked as some of her shyness showed itself towards both Rainbow and Twilight. Twilight merely smiled at the sight. It reminded her of back home and most importantly, it reminded her of Levy. Which is also when her face turned sad as she looked towards David in the background. "I am fine! But why are you carrying that massive behemoth of a sword with you?! It is bigger than yourself!" Rainbow asked confused and in awe. Fluttershy merely smiled, "Oh this?" she said as she pull out her massive sword. "This is angel. She is my current pet, though angel bunny is still alive... I think." She explained slightly concerned. "Nevermind that. How is Rarity?" Applejack said as she now shoved Rainbow away from the orb. "Ah. She has been better. She has been getting nightmares and um mental breakdowns lately." Fluttershy said saddened. "That's-" Applejack was about to speak only for Luna to interfere. "Thank you for telling me that. I will see if I can relieve some of those nightmares from her." Luna said. She was glaring to the two intruders. Both of the two elements of harmony holders backed away. "Anyways. I have kept you long enough. I am certain you are busy. And with the portal soon opening, Rainbow and Applejack can visit instead. Was this all, Fluttershy, Twilight?" Luna asked. "Uh yes. I hope I can see you two soon." Fluttershy said excited. "Yes. I will see you as soon as I found Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said hopeful. "Alright. Until then." Luna said as she finally hung up. "Oh I can't wait!" Fluttershy said excited. "I know. Yet waiting is something you are good at, no?" Twilight pointed out. "Yes. It has been three years since I last spoke with those three. Back when Twilight was still with us, she sent us all to different places in an attempt to maintain peace and stop the corruption." Fluttershy explained. "But, that was not the right move. Was it?" Twilight asked wisely. Fluttershy nodded, "It sadly was the wrong move. It was exactly what Celestia wanted, causing her student to fall into her hands." she explained, her voice saddened as she looked back. "I see. Oh well. If we succeed now, we can stop this corruption fight once and for all. However..." Twilight said in thought. "What is it?" Fluttershy asked confused. "If Celestia and your people can't make peace with the corrupted. This was is going to start all over again in the future." Twilight explained. "That is... not a very nice thought." Fluttershy admitted. "However, that is not my business. I have been hired to act. I am not your Twilight Sparkle. Surely she will find a peaceful solution." Twilight explained. "So I hope." Fluttershy added hopeful. "Anyways while I was traveling. I found this farmer that claimed to be a friend to you and Rarity. She gave me some cherries to give to your people." Twilight said as she grabbed the bag from her pocket dimension. And put it onto the table. Fluttershy then approached the bag and opened it. It contained several hundred thousands of cherries. Perfect for cooking and feeding people. "Thank you so much. I will turn these into cherry pies later today." Fluttershy said grateful. "By the way. Now that I think about it. Do you know the location of Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked professionally. "She is one of our secret agents." Fluttershy said while holding one of the cherries. "Yes. We recently attempted to pull her out of the Capital city of Midi. With little success. We also lost communications with her." Her left hand explained. "Yeah. She had discovered the portal to the corruption. Only to totally vanish from the map." Her right hand added. "She might have fallen into it." Twilight pointed out. "That is bad. I heard the place corrupts people." Fluttershy admitted somewhat scared. "Eh. I somewhat doubt that." Twilight said calmly. "Based on what proof?" Fluttershy asked. "Well. Did the corruption spread as soon as it hit the surface? And when a corrupted being touched a living being, did they get turned into the corrupted?" Twilight asked. "No and no." Fluttershy said as she suddenly realized what this meant. "Exactly. This isn't an attempt to control this world. It is merely a reminder that you can't just ignore them. They are also a part of Midi. And by isolating them, they will only grow angrier. Until eventually they snap and attempt to retake Midi for themself. Even while knowing that they will lose a lot in the progress. It is better than being entirely ignored or worse, alienated from Midi itself." Twilight explained. "By the gods. I didn't know that was what is happening. So Celestia... is she?" Fluttershy asked. "Unlikely. I doubt she is actually corrupted or evil. She is merely acting like a pawn in their hands. And a part of me, knows that she is probably playing evil. To attempt to appease the corrupted." Twilight explained. "I see. I will talk to Luna about this later." Fluttershy said in thought. 'Fluttershy is probably the only one that understands this better than most. Being shy is usually caused by a form of bullying or caused an innate ability to show good social ability. However being shy can often alienate people. Since they prefer being alone and far away from large crowds of people. And when they do attempt to communicate, they are usually overshadowed by more loud speaking people. And then people with good social ability might want to bully her for her lack of it.' Twilight thought. 'If anyone can solve this problem. I think Fluttershy is the biggest candidate. And surely Celestia knows this.' Twilight mind added later. "Well regardless. I have a question." Fluttershy stated. "Hm?" Twilight simply replied. "We have a bunch of injured people. And they need medical help. Can you help them?" Fluttershy asked. "I can. But please understand. I am no doctor. I merely have some powerful healing spell to my availability. Will that be enough?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy smiled, "Of course it is. Please follow me. They are inside the Elements HQ. But in a side building of ours." she said as she started to walk towards the doorway and into the hallway. "Very well." Twilight said as she simply followed. After some walking, Twilight and Fluttershy arrived at the attachment building to the HQ. Which was turned into a massive hospital. As Twilight walked around the injured. They arrived at massive hall. Which was filled with the worst of the injured. "We can heal most people in this hospital. But these are left to die, since we don't have enough medication to help them. Please safe these people." Fluttershy pleaded. "Alright. I will do what I can." Twilight said as she proceeded to walk past each and every injured being. Healing all of them back to maximum health. That is until she finds the last person. Which was most definitely not human. No, this disguised being was a corrupted. "Help me." It said in broken English. "I will. Regardless of where you are from. Regardless whether you are human or corrupted. I will heal you. I just need to use different spells. Or I will harm you more than I heal you." Twilight knowingly. Fluttershy was slightly stunned at the revelation. But smiled nonetheless. It smiled, "Thank you, human." It said, adding the word human later on. Twilight proceeded to heal it using a dark magic version of the holy healing spell she was using on all the other human individuals in the room. While she healed, she saw a white bird on a branch staring at her. Twilight smiled at the bird before nodding. The bird saw this and immediately flew away. "And that is all I could do. I healed your broken limbs and removed some stab wounds." Twilight stated pleased with her work. The creature looked in awe at the fact that she healed an limb by putting it back, since his left leg was entirely missing. It then looked at Twilight and smiled, a smile so genuine, that Fluttershy instantly realized that Twilight was not wrong. "I am truly grateful. You are Scarlet Death right? I am truly honored to have been healed by you." The creature said smiling. "That is fine. If you can, can you answer just one question?" Twilight wondered. "If I don't break any of the rules put in place, then yes. What is it?" The creature asked. "Is the Darkness HQ made by you? Or merely another ploy by Celestia?" Twilight asked. The creature smiled, "Don't worry. We don't have enough forces for such a massive task. We can't just take Midi over. However we can certainly give you a scare." it said determined. "Thank you." Twilight said before using the magical orb to create a portal. "What is that?" It asked. "A portal to the corrupted lands. That way you don't have to worry about attempting to escape." Twilight said wisely. It smiled, "Thank you. I will speak good things about your deed to my kind." It said before entering the portal. And Twilight closing the portal behind him. "Are you sure about that?" Fluttershy asked. "No. But hey, do you want him to die instead?" Twilight asked in return. "You have a point. Fine. Now are you immediately going to set out to rescue Twilight? Or are you first going to take a break?" Fluttershy asked slightly annoyed. "Take a break. I must not go too fast. I need to take plenty of breaks in between. Do you any place I can stay at?" Twilight asked. "I know a good place follow me." Fluttershy said as Twilight once again followed her. This walk when out of the HQ and into a fabulous hotel on the corner of a very busy intersection. The hotel itself looked rather expensive however. "This is Mane Hotel. It is the best hotel in Manehattan." Fluttershy introduced as soon as they entered the massive hotel. "Huh. It is quite fancy I suppose." Twilight simply stated. "Ah Fluttershy! Who is your friend?" The receptionist of the hotel asked. "This is Scarlet Death. She is bringing the elements of harmony back together." Fluttershy said. "With great success I hope." The receptionist said hopeful. "I mean, Applejack and Rainbow Dash is safe. I am going out tomorrow to attempt to retrieve Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said. "Ah! In that case, here. Take that key. It is key for guests such as yourself. Don't worry about the payment. A friend to Fluttershy is a friend of mine." The receptionist said happily. "Are you sure? Won't your boss get angry?" Twilight asked, Only to receive a laugh from the receptionist. Which caused Twilight to look confused. "I am the owner." The receptionist smiled. "Oh!" Twilight said surprised. "But I do understand your fear. Don't worry. Friends get special treatment at my hotel." The receptionist explained while smiling. "I understand. I thank you miss...?" Twilight asked. "Miss Coco." Coco said happily. "Thank you Miss Coco." Twilight said with a smile. "Here let me show you to your room." Fluttershy said happily. "It was a pleasure meeting you Miss Coco." Twilight said before following Fluttershy. "Likewise Miss Scarlet." Coco said happily. Twilight followed Fluttershy to room 113 and entered it. She looked around, it was a good looking room. "Welp. I will see you tomorrow." Fluttershy said before leaving so fast, it didn't allow Twilight to reply. "Uh, Likewise?" Twilight said confused. She then took her clothes off and took a shower. Before re-dressing herself with her pajamas and laying in bed. Falling fast asleep in her room. Just as a white bird watched her go to sleep before flying away. Meanwhile inside of Celestia's castle. The white bird transformed back into a human as it rushed to Celestia's side. "And?" Celestia said annoyed, right as human entered her bedroom. "That Twilight imposter knows of the truth. Based on little things she noticed here and there." The human spoke scared. Celestia sighed before a genuine smile appeared on her face. "Even if she is a different Twilight, she can still detect the truth. That is so Twilight." she said smiling. "What do we do now?" The human asked. "Simple. We wait. The corrupted should now be aware, that this Twilight imposter is in fact real." Celestia said with a sip of her red wine. "Uh. Is that tomato juice?" The human asked. "It is. I do not like wine. I like thee." Celestia said smiling. "Also, this Twilight acknowledges the corrupted as just another citizen of Midi. Although one that has been suppressed too much." The human stated. Celestia's smile turns wider, "Well old friend. If this being accepts the corrupted. Who says nobody else does?" she said to someone inside the mirror. "Hm. We shall see. We shall see." ??? responded. "That we shall. I cannot wait until the truth gets revealed." Celestia admitted. "I agree. This game has been going on for far too long." ??? admitted. "Oh and Blueblood. Please don't get spotted again." Celestia said. "Impossible. She is far too alert when awake for that." Blueblood dismissed. "I suppose I can for once, agree with Blueblood on that one. Spying on her is not possible. She will detect you, and hold her mouth tightly shut." ??? agreed. "Huh. Then do me one favor. Watch Fluttershy for me. She is going to be the one making change. I can feel it." Celestia asked instead. "I can do that." Blueblood said before transforming back to a bird and flying away. "And Celestia. With that seed of doubt inside of Fluttershy, it is unlikely that the elements of harmony can now be used." ??? said quite serious. "I know." Celestia said before sipping some more of her tomato juice.