//------------------------------// // Part 3: Dark Revelations // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Cine-magic: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children // by IndyWriter Productions //------------------------------// The large doors of the abandoned church swung open. Two figures walked in. One was young with smokey hair with pigtails on the back of her head held by an orange bow. She wore a grey sleeveless sweater and skirt. The other was much older with long, dark brown hair. She wore a sleeveless white shirt underneath a sleeveless black vest as well as black shorts and a cape tied into them. As the two walked down the disheveled building, the younger one giggled and jogged over to a huge flowerbed that was sustained from a giant opening in the church, allowing sunlight to flood in. As the older one approached, they both looked over to see a make-shift living quarters near the flowerbed. The older one gave a straightforward look. "Does Cloud live here?" The young one asked. "I guess he does." The older one dismissively. The two walked over and spotted a large, grey crate. "What's this?" The young one asked curiously. The older one shook her head, as if to express that she didn't know. She stepped over to Cloud's supplies. The young one followed and noticed a thin, pale cloth. She kneeled down and picked it up, inspecting it. "It's just like Denzel’s. Is Cloud sick?" She asked with a hint of worry. "Why didn't he just say something?" The older one asked to herself. "Did he leave because he's sick?" The younger one pressed on. "He just wants to fight alone." The older one said in a downcast tone. "Fight?" "No." There was an emotional silence. "I don't think that he will." The older one said to herself. "Tifa." Tifa looked over to the young girl who looked at her with longer eyes. She kneeled down with a warm smile. "Ready, Marlene?" She asked, implying that they were leaving. Marlene ran over to Cloud's stuff. "We can't! Cloud's not here yet." She said earnestly. Tifa looked down, deep in thought. "I know, sweetie." She said grabbing the cloth. "I miss him, too." "Yeah." Marlene said confidently. "So. Say he comes back." Tifa riddled. "We'll all go home!" Marlene answered. "Not until he gets a lecture." The fighter girl responded. "Uh-hu." Marlene agreed. Meanwhile Both men collapsed to the floor in pain. They groaned miserably. "Boy, do I hate liars." Kadaj announced. "I apologize. This time you'll get the truth." Rufus said without emotion. "The object you seek fell from the helicopter while we were running from you. I'm afraid we were careless." Kadaj stopped pacing around, his evil smile change into a more serious look. "Is that right?" He hissed. "I swear it." The crippled man replied. "Fine. Then swear on these." Kadaj said as he pulled out two bloody ID cards. He threw them to the flew for Rufus to see. The cloaked vice president looked down. "Why did you do this?" He asked, aggravated. "We need Mother's power." The sword-wielder replied. "The reunion is coming and we need her." "Reunion?" Rufus asked thoughtfully. "My brothers and sisters who share Mother's cells will all assemble. And together, we'll take revenge on the planet." Kadaj explained maniacally. "We've already sent out the invitations, but...you know. Someone's gone and hidden the guest of honor." "Invitations?" Rufus asked. "The stigma. But you know all about that." Kadaj pointed out. He eyed Rufus' infected skin. "Mother's memetic legacy lives on in the Livestream and makes it happen. She does so much for us, and we...we don't even know where to find her." Kadaj explained further. Rufus stayed still. "But what can we do? We’re just remnants of Mother's legacy. Until we find Mother and receive her cells, we can't be whole again." He said, walking up to Rufus. "Geostigma and a legacy aren't enough. Not for a true Reunion." Kadaj said. "What do you mean?" Rufus asked cautiously. Kadaj smiled sadistically. "Mr. Shinra, surely you've noticed." He said He inched closer to the vice president then kneeled obstructing his face. A vaporous aura surrounded him as he slowed raised his face at Rufus. Flashbacks darted in and out of their visions. The atmosphere became more and more foreboding. Meanwhile Cloud stabbed the rusted sword back into the ground. He looked at it, then stepped back. "I said I'd live out both our lives." He said to himself. "Easy to make that promise." "What's on your mind now, Cloud?" Twilight asked. Cloud didn't answered. The memories, from way back when, played in his head. "So you wanna be in SOLDIER? Hang in there." "Hey, you okay?' "Well, what're you gonna do once we get back to Midgar?" "We're friends, right?" "Cloud, run!" "Cloud?" The alicorn asked. Suddenly, Cloud fell on his knees and grasped his arms. He grunted and moaned as the painful memories sifted through his head. The Main 7 galloped to his aid. They all did the best they could to found out what’s wrong with him. "Cloud, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. "Cloud, buddy, it's okay." Rainbow comforted. "Darling, what's going on now?" Rarity asked worriedly. Cloud continued to moan and groan in emotional pain. Meanwhile While Cloud was having a panic attack Marlene was tending to the flowerbed in the church. She was humming a tune while Tifa watched her. All of a sudden, the doors to the church were blown open. Marlene instinctively got open and running over excitedly, thinking that Cloud had returned. But the person coming in wasn't Cloud. Tifa grabbed the girl's shoulder, forcing her to stop. The figure happened to be Loz from earlier. He walked over to the girls, who cautiously stepped back. Loz smiled. "Wanna play?" He challenged, gesturing with his hand. The two didn't answer and made no movements. Loz's expression soured. "I guess that's a no." He said, disappointed. He stepped closer. "Where's Mother?" Loz asked. Then he noticed the flowerbed. He gave a long, disgusted groan. "Gross." Loz grunted. "Hey, where's Mother?" He demanded. "There's no one here!" Tifa answered swiftly. "Fine. Play with me." Loz challenged again. Tifa gestured Marlene to a leaning support beam. Marlene ran over and hid behind. Tifa then put on her black leather gloves and got into her fighting stance. Loz gave a cocky chuckle. "This'll be fun." He said, readying himself. Tifa made the first move intending to start with a right hook, but Loz grabbed her right arm and merely grinned sadistically. Tifa followed with a palm strike which connected, allowing her to combo a few more hits. Loz slid back and regain himself. Tifa followed up with a side kick to the face. Loz grunted, but then retaliated by decking her in the face. The Dual Hound on his hand allowed an electric current to surge into Tifa's body. She was launched back into the flowerbed. Tifa grunted in pain while Loz laughed. The electricity wore off and Tifa pounced towards him with a sliding kick, but Loz front-flipped out of the way. Before he could turn to face her, however, she connected a monstrous punch that sent him flying into the church walls. Tifa jumped after him, but loz back-pedaled to avoid her. She then kneed him right in the face, sending him back, but Loz flipped to recover. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't out of the woods yet. Tifa ran up and delivered a front kick to the chin which was followed by an axe kick and then a full-on flip kick. Loz recovered immediately and blocked an on-coming hook. He jabbed her with the Dual Hounds leaving her vulnerable enough for Loz to deliver a front kick of his own. He was about to finish her with a brutal punch, but Tifa ducked under and struck him in the stomach. She tackled him into the air and, as if it were in slow-motion, she forcefully leaped off him causing Loz's body to collide with the ground. Loz shook it off and grabbed Tifa by her leg. She gasped as he whipped her around into the old pews sending them flying everywhere. He spun around several time before launching her into the back wall. Tifa landed perfectly against it. The shockwave disturbed the flowers so much the petals broke off. Tifa looked on in shock while Loz grinned evilly. Tifa launched herself toward him. Loz was about to catch her, but Tifa was quicker. She grabbed his face and force him to the ground, his head grinding into the wooden floor. Throwing him back up, Tifa eyed the body sailing through the air. She jumped up, grabbed him by the wrist, and threw him down to the ground. Loz came down with a mighty crash. Dust and splintered wood went everywhere. Tifa landed back down and surveyed the damage. She was panting from the exhaustion of battle. "Tifa!" Marlene called. She ran from her hiding place toward Tifa, who smile and was ready to embrace when a calling tone went off. She didn't know why, but the tone felt...fitting...somehow. The two girls looked around wondering where the sound was coming from. Tifa realized it before Marlene and turned to the crash site just as Loz stood back up, sending wood pieces flying all over. Tifa readied herself for another attack while Marlene hid behind her. Loz pulled out a flipped phone and slowly brought it to his ear. "She's not here." He answered, frustrated. … "I'm not crying." He said while on the verge of tearing up. He looked over to Tifa and Marlene. "No I got it. We'll bring the girl." He put the phone away and sighed. "Where were we?" He asked sarcastically. Loz threw one of the pews toward the girls, but Tifa backhanded it completely destroying it. But before she could even think of her next move, Loz was already behind her. He had delivered a powerful dose of electricity. Marlene stood in shock as Tifa cried out in pain. Loz was now lightning fast and had pinned Tifa to a column. Another electrical surge, this time destroying the column completely. He threw Tifa into the flowerbed. She laid there moaning in pain. Loz walked up to her and grabbed her by her vest. He readied his Dual Hounds to finish the job, but was stopped when a glowing orb struck him in the head. He grunted and looked over to Marlene who was stood as bravely as she could. Beside her was the now opened crate filled with colorful orbs. His surprised expression turned into twisted glee. He slowly walked over to the girl. Tifa desperately tried to get back up, but it was no use. Loz's slitted eyes looked down at the defenseless Marlene who looked utterly terrified now. She clutched the cloth in her hands. "Cloud." She whimpered. "Just run!" Tifa cried. A rush came through a young boy. It was as if he felt a disturbance. The boy, in question, had wavy brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a white shirt with a black sweat coat and black pants to go along with it. Denzel was his name, he was one of the many people infected with Geostigma. He sat against a building along a backstreet. Just then, a girl walked up to him. "You got the Stigma, too?" She asked. Denzel eyed the stuffed animal she was carrying and then at her. "C'mon. They're gonna fix us." She said, grabbing his hand. Denzel was surprised that this girl was so forward with him. As they rounded a corner, there was a small truck surrounded by other infected children. Denzel was hesitant, he felt that something wasn't right, but he also wanted to be cured so he followed along with the others. Unknown to him, to threatening figure stood in front of the truck. Kadaj watched as the children boarded. Meanwhile Cloud and the Main 7 walked into the ruined church. Their footsteps echoed throughout the old building. "This is where you live?" Spike asked incredulously. "Mostly." Cloud replied simply. "Well, I do say that these living situations are absolutely atrocious!" Rarity said dramatically. "Honestly, how could anypony live in such a decrepit place." "You don't see me judging where you live." Cloud said irritably. "Well, ya don't know where we live. So ya can't judge us for that even if ya wanted to." Applejack counted. "Ooooo, called out!" Rainbow said playfully. Cloud rolled his eyes in annoyance and stopped just in front of the flowerbed. "Who's that?" Pinkie asked happily. The mercenary's eyes darted toward where Pinkie was pointing. There was Tifa laying on the ground not moving. He ran to her and lifted her up slightly. "Tifa!" Cloud said urgently. All he could hear was Tifa's quiet groans of pain. "Tifa!" Cloud said, getting more emotional. "Oh, no." Twilight whispered. "I-Is.......is she....." Fluttershy quivered. Tifa began coming to, much to the others relieve. "You're late." She groaned. Her eyes fell upon the Main 7. "What are they?" She asked. "That's not important." Cloud said. "Who did this?" "He didn't say." Tifa said, weakly shaking her head. "What even happened?" Spike asked worriedly. Tifa was about to answer, but then she remembered. "Marlene?!" She called out. She tried to get up, but she was too weak to even stand. Then she passed out in Cloud's hands. "Tifa, was it? Is she going to be okay?" Rarity asked. Cloud looked around the church. The crate was gone and Marlene was missing. "Damn." He hissed. Then the memories came back in full force. Cloud's whole arm began to shake and a black liquid began oozing from his gloved hands, staining the grass. Though, he wasn't sure if it was real of not. "Cloud, what's going on?" Twilight asked frightfully. Her friends gathered around the two. Cloud was emotionally panicking, he was beginning to tear up. He could see a face, a figure within a fiery backdrop. It felt like the world was spinning. Then suddenly, darkness. Cloud had fallen unconscious. The Main 7 began to panic. "Agh, what are we gonna do now?!" Rainbow asked hurriedly. "We have to do something." Rarity said. "Maybe there's a hospital nearby." Twilight said as she lifted Cloud up with her magic. Rarity lifted Tifa up. "Maybe were better off taking them home." Spike suggested. "We don't know how the other people would react if they saw us. Need I say we're still technically aliens in this world. "He has a point, Twi. ah mean, if ah didn't know any better, Cloud was probably seconds away from slashin us to bits when we first met." Applejack said. "Ugh, you don't have to bring that up." Rarity said, disgruntled. "Lighten up, AJ. Just because Cloud didn't take to us well doesn't mean everyone else will do the same." Rainbow countered. "How would you know?" The farm pony asked in a huff. "Girls! Enough!" Twilight yelled. Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity shut up immediately. Twilight sighed. "Even if we wanted to take them back to their real home, we don't know where that is." The young alicorn explained. "But we do." A voiced called. The ponies and dragon looked to the door to see two somewhat familiar faces. "Are those the two who were with Rufus earlier?" Spike asked. "It looks like it." Twilight answered. "What do you want this time?" Rainbow asked aggressively. "To help you guys out, duh." Reno said smartly. "We know where Cloud and Tifa live." Rude said. "And we should believe you because?" Rarity asked skeptically. "C'mon, ribbon-hair. Were friends of Cloud, too." "Ribbon-hair!?” Rarity shouted, sounded insulted. "Why you insolent-" "Not now, Reno. Don't start any fights." Rude commanded. "Besides, what other options do you have?" The Main 7 all looked at each other. The eventually relented. Much later Cloud began to stir, he realized that he was on soft bed. As he got up, he looked over to see Tifa sleeping soundly on another bed. He stood and watched her sleeping figure. "You know, you're pretty heavy." A voiced said. Cloud turned to see Reno, Rude, and the Main 7 in the room as well. "I second that." Twilight muttered to herself. "Are you okay, Cloud?" Fluttershy asked softly, putting a hoof on his shoulder. Cloud just shrugged, unable to give a straight answered. "Weren't there kids living with you?" Rude asked suspiciously. "Cuz they ain't here." Reno added. "What!?" The Main 7 gasped in horror. "You have kids?!" Twilight asked in shock "And they're missing?!" Pinkie asked in a panic. "Oh, this is an absolute travesty!" Rarity wailed. "We have to look for them." Rainbow said, determined. "Darn tootin, Ah feel bad for the little fellers." Applejack added. "What can we do?" Spike said sadly. "Those poor things." Fluttershy whimpered, tearing up. Cloud ignored the shock-fest and simply looked over at his arm. "You don't care?" Rude pressed on. There was a stunned silence. All eyes were on Cloud, waiting for an answer. "I just..." Cloud started, looking over to Tifa who was still asleep. He didn't say anything else. The Main 7 just looked crestfallen at him. Reno gave an annoyed sigh. "You're a real handful." He simply said, before he and Rude left the room. "At least you're animal friends seem to care." Rude said sharply. Rude closed the door leaving Cloud, Tifa, and the Main 7 in the room. "C'mon, Cloud. These are your own kids. Your own flesh and blood." Twilight said frantically. "They aren't my biological kids. Me and Tifa are just taking care of them." Cloud pointed out. "But, they're still children, Cloud." Rarity countered. "How can you be so calm about this when they're missing?" "Yeah, that's just messed up." Rainbow said, crossing her front hooves while flying. "Uhm. I don't mean to interrupt, but..." Fluttershy said quietly. "What is it, Flutters?" Applejack asked calmly. "W-Well, if the foals, erm, I mean kids aren't here, then where are they?" The caretaker pegasus said worriedly. Far away, in the the middle of nowhere, Kadaj and his gang stood around a large formation. Loz was holding Marlene who was too scared to move. "Look at what Big Brother was hiding." Kadaj said, viewing the crate of colored orbs. He grabbed one of them. "Powers forged in the Livestream." He said smartly. Kadaj chuckled to Loz. "With this materia, those powers will be ours." He said. He put the orb against his arm. The orb promptly was absorbed and a bright light and smoke began emanating from Kadaj's arm. He smiled creepily. Things were about to get a whole lot scarier.