Twilight opened her eyes very slowly. She was still trying to process the turn of events that had led up to this point. What had gone wrong? The spell shouldn't have pulled her and Spike into... whatever universe this was so strongly.
Looking around and getting her bearings, the alicorn found that she appeared to be in the Everfree Forest. Everything seemed much the same as she always remembered it being. Yet she could sense that something was not right. Something seemed... off, for lack of a better term. What that something was, she didn't know. But she was going to find out one way or another.
Well, first thing's first, Twilight knew she had to get out of the Everfree Forest. No telling what it might be like in whatever universe it was that she had ended up. Maybe it was as tamed and restrained as she remembered it being in her own universe, or maybe it was in a universe that had never brought it under control even just a little.
Fortunately, the young alicorn had no need to find out. With a simple lighting up of her own horn, she was able to teleport to the forest's entrance and escape. As she then slowly trotted towards Ponyville, she by chance happened to look up at the sky. That was when her fears were confirmed! Something was most definitely wrong! The sky was an eerie shade of blue, and it looked like huge bubbles displaying various images were drifting along. There was also this constant roar of wind, and crackling of lightning.
"My spell couldn't have caused all this by itself, could it?" Twilight pondered.
Well, those were thoughts for another time and place. Right now, what worried Twilight the most was that she was separated from Spike. She needed to find him so they could return to their own universe. No telling what might happen if they stayed too long in a universe that wasn't theirs. Plus, with any luck, returning to where they belonged would cause the sky in this universe to go back to normal.
That just left the question of how to get in touch with Spike. He could be anywhere, possibly even in another universe all together. But Twilight knew she had to find him and find him fast.
So it was that, with no particular destination in mind, the alicorn made her way into Ponyville proper. All the buildings looked exactly the same as she remembered them being in her own universe. The only thing that struck her as odd was that as she looked over the horizon towards Sweet Apple Acres, she thought she saw a large tower in the shape of the letter T where the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse should be. And it looked fairly recent, as if it had just been constructed a short time ago.
Was it possible that this universe had its own superheroes in the same vein as Super Dragon? If so, who were they?
Twilight was suddenly snapped out of her ponderings and observations when she heard a low rumbling sound overhead. She looked up, and her eyes widened in shock and surprise! An ominous looking zeppelin painted black all over was casting a large shadow as it slowly but surely hovered over the town of Ponyville. A few ponies happened to look up, and upon seeing it they stopped what they had been doing. None knew what to make of this airship's mysterious, sudden presence.
Slowly but surely, the zeppelin crept across the sky. It didn't seem to be affected by the strange happenings in the sky. It just floated on by, its engines humming slowly but audibly. It appeared to be heading towards the clock tower. Why that was, nopony knew.
Against her better judgment, Twilight chased after the zeppelin, keeping it in her view and following it to its apparent destination. Zeppelins were a rare sight in a place like Ponyville. And this zeppelin's presence and paint scheme suggested something sinister.
When at last the clock tower drew near, the zeppelin slowed down to a complete standstill and drifted into position. After a moment of silence, ropes dropped down from it!
Hastily, the alicorn dove into a nearby bush for cover! She then peered through its leaves, watching as several ponies clad from head to hooves in thick, black robes descended from the zeppelin. Two of them even appeared to be holding up a large object that looked like it had a timer on it, not to mention colored buttons and wires. Despite the object's size, they carried it as if it weighed nothing at all.
Twilight put one hoof forward, determined to pursue these mysterious figures and their unknown object. But then she hesitated when she saw something sticking out from their outfits. They were large, sharp sabers. It was also possible to see them carrying daggers. And both the sabers and daggers appeared to be coated with blood. Granted, the blood had long since dried on the weapons, suggesting that they had gone a long time without being used or washed. But the blood indicated they had been used at some point, and that made the alicorn nervous.
That is, until Twilight Sparkle got an idea. Lighting up her horn again, she blinked as she gazed down at a small puddle and saw that she could not see her own reflection staring back at her. She was now invisible to the naked eye. "Now to get some answers." She thought, slowly following the weapon wielding ponies as they entered the clock tower from its base.
Once inside the clock tower, the two ponies carried the large object up a winding staircase until they reached the top. They then set their cargo down, letting it rest next to the bell that would chime to mark the hour.
One of the robed ponies then approached the device, punching a few of the buttons before flipping a switch. A display of numbers in red appeared on a panel on top of the object, and began counting down.
"Our work here is done. The rest, we'll leave up to The Joker." One robed pony said to the other.
And the other robed pony replied. "Yes. Soon, all universes will be made one. And the demon's head shall rise!" They then ran back down the stairs, unknowingly phasing right through Twilight. All they knew was that for a brief second, it felt as if something had made contact with them. But the feeling soon passed.
Once certain that the coast was clear, Twilight Sparkle dropped her invisibility spell. She then hurriedly rushed to the object to get a good look at it. A close inspection confirmed her worst fears! It was a bomb! Not just any bomb, though. This bomb appeared to have been magically enchanted and enhanced. It was intended not to destroy the clock tower, but to bring about a collapse of the entire multiverse, fusing all parallel universes into one shared universe.
The alicorn looked over the panel, watching the seconds tick down. She had to find a way to defuse this bomb, and quickly! She started searching all over the bomb, looking for any clues or leads into how she might deactivate it before it was too late.
Oh, if only Spike was still here with her. She was certain he'd be able to make short work of the bomb with his powers. But who knew where he was or what had happened to him?
"Please, Spike, be safe." Twilight thought to herself, all the while she continued her search in vain. The seconds were ticking down slowly but surely. If she didn't find a way to deactivate the bomb soon, it would be too late!
Suddenly, however, the young alicorn felt herself be yanked away from the bomb as something (or someone, rather) was pulling on her tail! She spun around, finding herself face to face with a unicorn stallion who looked like Prince Blueblood. Except this stallion's entire coat was the kind of white that looked like all the color had been drained out of his fur. His mane and tail were a sickly shade of green, his lips were blood red in color, and he wore a finely pressed purple suit and white gloves.
"Well well well," The stallion spoke as he quickly pulled out a knife and pressed it up to the alicorn's neck. "I guess a certain somepony forgot about the age-old saying. What did curiosity do to the cat again?"
Twilight hastily used her magic to push the knife back, only to find that the Blueblood look alike was using his own magic to counter her, forcing her into a sort of magical tug of war to keep the knife away from her. She stood up, trying to back away. "Don't you realize what you're doing?!" She shouted in a defiant tone of voice, determined not to show fear. "Who knows what could happen if you destroy the multiverse and bring all the universes together?!"
"I know!" The stallion cackled with fiendish glee. "It'll be glorious! Chaos and anarchy will reign! And that'll be just fine for an agent of chaos like me: The Joker! I'll finally have the resources to take my skills across the whole world! No one will be able to stop me!"
Just then, however, there came the sound of crashing wood! Light suddenly flooded in through a hole, accompanied by the sound of roaring wind. And a voice very familiar to Twilight declared. "Leave Twilight alone, or you'll answer to me!"
Twilight let out a triumphant gasp when she saw Super Dragon in all his glory! "Spike's okay!" She thought to herself.