Trixie smiled darkly. "Yes, Twilight Snarkle, it is I, The Great and Powerful Trixie! And I'm here to settle a little debt between us. Trixie is going to have fun taking you down a peg." The blue pony's character was similar to her, except instead of her usual magician get-up, she had spiky, slightly uncomfortable looking pieces of armor. She pulled out a curved blade that was also spiked, and Twilight had no problems imagining it cutting into her character. Vinyl and Octavia backed away slowly.
"Whoa... so you really weren't joking," said Vinyl hesitantly. "Sorry about the jokes... you don't think you can take them out, do you?" Twilight shook her head, never taking her eyes off of Trixie. The mare was halfway to the group, when Twilight heard a voice call out.
"Where are you?"
"What the- did either of you say anything?" Both the ponies shook their heads, and Trixie chuckled.
"Hearing things, are we? Maybe it is simply your own cowardice. Trixie always knew you were a coward at heart." Twilight gritted, when the voice spoke out once more.
"Where are you, little one?"
Inside her chest, Twilight could feel a bulge of energy. The feeling was like pure ecstasy, and she soon felt herself encouraging it. The power started to swell more and more when the Chaos Gate burst with light. Rarity stepped forward, and stood between Twilight and Trixie. "Miss Trixie, I believe you should leave. Now."
"And do you, Little Miss Marshmallow, think you can defeat The Great and Powerful Trixie?" the enraged blue pony demanded. Her glare could shatter glass, and Twilight continued to feed the power within herself. Rarity tilted her head, smirking at Trixie.
"As a matter of fact, I do believe that I could handle you quite easily; however, I do not like dealing with scum," Trixie growled at the statement, "Which is why I have informed Moon Tree of your intentions. I do believe your guild and theirs has a very interesting history, no? So if you don't wish to have several of their members pay you a visit now, I suggest you find another area to occupy. Immediately." Rarity calmly watched as Trixie backed off, and ran back into the dungeon. Snips and Snails, who had watched the entire exchange, galloped after their leader with haste. Rarity turned and looked at Vinyl and Octavia. "I'm dreadfully sorry you two, but may I speak to Twilight in peace? There is some rather sensitive business we must discuss. Need to know basis only I'm afraid. Don't worry though, I'll more than make up for it later."
Vinyl looked to Octavia, who gave a tentative shrug, then the two exited the area. Twilight and Rarity stood in awkward silence, both waiting for the other to begin. Twilight was the one to break the silence. "Thanks for the help Rarity... but I could have handled Trixie on my own." The power she had felt had already ebbed away, almost like a fading memory. She tried to feel for it, but Rarity spoke up.
"Twilight darling, I know things have been rather... strained as of late, but know it was not without reason. There is much you are not aware Twilight; 'The World' is not simply a game. It is much, much more. And this world needs our help Twilight... especially yours. If you could just come with me-" Rarity cut off when Twilight stamped her hoof to the ground. The sound echoed throughout the chamber, ringing in their ears.
"You think that after abandoning me, you can just walk in here and say 'Let's be friends again,' like nothing happened?!" Twilight's heart began to harden once more. "Look Rarity, it'll take a lot more than you getting rid of Trixie to mend our friendship. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy." Twilight stormed off, and Rarity pouted her lips. The white unicorn sighed, then turned to Twilight.
"Listen Twilight... I know you're feeling hurt, abandoned. I mistreated you; we all mistreated you. For that, I apologize. But things are happening, and sooner or later, you're going to have to forgive us, or at the least, you'll have to deal with us. There is a power within our characters, a dangerous power. I could see it in your eyes when I arrived and you were going to face off with Trixie. That power is not to be trifled with, for it is not like our magic; no, this power is even stronger than that, and can deal much harm to many ponies. Just think about what I've said Twilight. We'll see each other again soon, and hopefully, under better circumstances."
Twilight activated the Chaos Gate, and stood still. Her legs were trembling with concealed emotion. But she did nothing, said nothing, simply stood there and waited for it to pass. When she thought she was alright, she looked around. Neither Vinyl nor Octavia was around, so she figured they had gone to deal with other business. She checked and confirmed that they had both left her party, though Vinyl had left her a message saying "Let's rock out together some other time!" Twilight smiled at the pony's silliness. She was so distracted by the message that she didn't notice until it was too late that somepony was rushing towards her. She closed the message and was immediately bowled over and embraced tightly.
"TWILIGHT!!!" cried Spike, the purple dragon hugging her neck fiercely. She managed to get him off, and patted his head. "Twilight, I missed you so much! You didn't reply to any of the letters I sent, and I thought something was wrong. I just got a message from Rarity saying you'd be here and I could talk to you!"
Spike smiled up at Twilight, his silvery armor shining brightly. If Twilight remembered correctly, he was an Edge Punisher, a character that could use the heaviest armors and weapons. Though it looked natural on him, Twilight had a hard time imagining the real Spike in such heavy gear. She was glad to see him though. She needed a friend right now, and he was the only one she felt she could talk to.
"Oh Spike, I'm so glad to see you-" Spike pulled Twilight over to the Chaos Gate frantically. "Um, Spike? Heartfelt speech going on."
"Sorry, Twi, but I wanted to go on an adventure! I don't know when Celestia will need me again, though, to be honest, it seems all she does is sleep and play 'The World.' I never see her though, interestingly enough. Hey, add me to your party!" Twilight told Spike that all her game addresses were gone. "What?! That's nuts! What could've done that? Ah, it doesn't matter. I'll just resend it to you. Now, we're gonna head to this awesome area I found. It's got some of the best scenery in the game! It's at Delta Soaring Phoenix Feather."
Twilight sighed, then said the words. In a flash, they were at a field, but unlike one Twilight had seen before. This field was beside the ocean, with a large cannon in the background. A passage from the game's lore kindled in her mind:
'The Sentients had grown tired of the gods, tired of their interference in their lives. Banding together, the Griffon Tribe, the Pony Tribe, and the Dragon Tribe began work on their greatest weapon: the Celestial Cannon. The structure was as sickening as it was beautiful: a device designed purely to murder those said to be undying. On the day of its completion, the gods rebuke the Sentients, preaching that they had grown impudent and overzealous. They told that if the Sentients went through with their plan, then their world would fracture and be filled with unrest. But the Sentients would not give in. A terrible battle took place, and many fell. In the end, the Celestial Cannon fired, and the gods fell. On that day, the world split into pieces upon pieces, day and night being set in place, never changing. Many of the once peaceful beasts grew violent, and the Sentients realized the folly of their pride. They spent their time, harnessing the power which had filled their destructive creation, and used it to form the Chaos Gates, connecting the pieces of the world. Among the tribes, new leaders were born, gods from mortal flesh. From the Dragon Tribe rose Ancalagon the Black; from the Griffon Tribe rose Starcrest the Golden; and from the Pony Tribe rose the sisters Celestia of the Sun, and Luna of the Moon. These leaders did not take power, nor intervene as the old gods. Instead, they simply lived with their tribes, helped them progress, and in time, united them. And so, 'The World' began anew.'
Twilight shook her head from her reverie, only to see Spike gazing at her in awe. "Wow, Twilight. You can actually recite the lore from memory. That is so cool!" Twilight blushed. She hadn't realized she had been speaking aloud. She turned to look at the actual area. The large stone building in the distance showed that it was a 'Find the Treasure' mission. She looked to Spike.
"So, Spike, ready to get hunting? I need to get stronger if I'm going to help Fluttershy." Spike tilted his head and looked at her strangely. "What is it?"
"Nothing, nothing," Spike muttered, and headed off. Twilight trotted along behind him, and they started looking for monsters to fight. The pair found a few golems loafing about, and looked each other in the eye. "Piece of cake, right Twi?"
"Please, Spike, I could handle these in my sleep," Twilight joked. With incredible speed, the two of them defeated the golems, and were in search of more monsters. As they fought, Twilight felt all the tension she had been feeling begin to slip away. It felt as if the darkness in her heart was gradually fading. Spike finished off the last monster, a bat-like creature with a scroll, then the two heard the stone doors opening. "Time to get our reward, Spike." Twilight trotted to the building quickly, and Spike followed at a more restrained pace. He managed to get to the treasure room as Twilight was holding the treasure. She moved to him and gave him a hug, then started for the Chaos Gate when Spike heard a high-pitched noise, like a tuning fork.
"Hey Twilight, wait! I just heard something outside!" Spike raced to the sound, and Twilight had to gallop to keep up. When the two went outside, they moved to the back of the stone building, and saw a Tri-Edge symbol slashed into it. "What the-? This wasn't here before. Hey Twilight, do you know what this is? Um. Twi? What's wrong? Why do you look so upset?"
Twilight couldn't believe her eyes. Tri-edge had been right here. Probably only moments ago. And she had been simply running around with Spike, as if she didn't have a job to do. As if everything had went back to normal. She gritted her teeth, then pressed her hoof to the mark. As she mentally reprimanded herself, the symbol began glowing ominously. Spike backed up, and prepared to run away when the two of them were sucked in. Twilight opened her eyes and saw they were in a new area. It was a large cave, and the symbol was behind her in the wall. Spike held his head, complaining her was going to be sick.
"Where are we?" he asked when he had recovered. Twilight just shook her head, and moved forward. Spike followed, and gasped in awe at the sight before him. The cave they were in housed a small lake, and housed on a small island was a beautiful ebony white willow. It softly swayed, as if to a ghost wind. Twilight was just as awed, and didn't notice until Spike pointed it out that they weren't alone. "Hey, Twi, there's a pegasus over there! She looks kinda familiar..."
Indeed, a pegasus was flying lightly above the water, playing with a small crop of black bubbles. Twilight didn't focus on the bubbles, so much as the pegasi. The character indeed looked familiar. When the pegasus flew closer to the tree, the light coming from it revealed the rainbow mane and tail. "Rainbow Dash?! What's she doing here? And what is she holding?"
Rainbow Dash turned, and looked at the duo with empty eyes. She flew off, not acknowledging them in the slightest. Twilight rushed to see the mare, and Spike followed closely behind, when a roar tore through the chamber. A giant monster, similar in nature to a jellyfish, rose from the lake. It seemed to look at them despite having no eyes, and it sent two tentacles at them. Twilight and Spike drew their weapons, prepared to retaliate, when a voice called out.
"Don't let 'em touch you!"
Twilight, who was able to react faster than Spike, pushed them both out of the way of the tentacles. From behind, a mysterious character leaped forward in front of the creature. "Come on out, Magus!" The mare began glowing green, and Twilight watched as a strange, giant, puppet-like creature surrounded her. It looked somewhat like a dragon, with a long tail replacing its legs. It opened its arms, and a wall of energy appeared before it. It shot out an orb of energy which hit the jellyfish-monster, and then appeared to drain its essence away. Within seconds, the creature disappeared, as well as the puppet-like one surrounding the mare.
"Tha-Thank you," Twilight mumbled, then let out a gasp when the mare turned. "Applejack?! What in the hay are you doing here? What was that creature? What was that power you just used?" She got up and confronted her friend, while Spike still tried to recover. Applejack looked at Twilight with a light smile. Twilight's mood soured more. "Why are you smiling?! I thought you didn't like me anymore! I mean, you did just blow me off yesterday; or did you forget that?"
Applejack put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I cans explain everything Twilight. You'll just have to trust me. Meet me outside; I have something to give you." Applejack walked off, leaving Twilight with more question than answers. She helped Spike, then they went back the way they came. Placing her hoof on the Tri-Edge symbol, they were once more teleported to the field, behind the stone building where the treasure had been. Applejack was there to meet them.
"Here you go, Twi," AJ said, handing (hoofing?) Twilight a key to a guild's @home. "That goes to the guild, Raven. Visit when you get back to Mac Anu, and everything that's happening will be explained, I promise." She teleported out, and Twilight stamped her hoof, kicking up a large patch of dirt.
"Why is everypony being so difficult?! Why can't they just answer my questions or talk to me like normal?!" Spike patted her flank, and she turned on him. He backed away slowly.
"Come on, Twi. You shouldn't stress out so much. Maybe you could just slow down, take things easy and enjoy the scenery-"
"Slow down? SLOW DOWN? How can I slow down Spike? Fluttershy is in a COMA, all my friends have abandoned me, and now three of them are acting bonkers! And then you, all nice and cozy in Canterlot, you have the nerve to ask me to slow down? When I'm probably the only one who can save Fluttershy?!" Twilight drew her daggers and turned to a stone pillar. She began hacking away at it in a rage. "And stop talking about the scenery! Its nothing but an invention by some ponies that they thought looked nice! It doesn't matter sat all. You just sound like Fluttershy!"
Twilight slowly calmed, then turned to Spike. "Go, Spike. I don't feel like seeing you right now." The little dragon, with tears in his eyes, ran away and teleported out of the area. Twilight, alone with her cloudy thoughts and broken heart, simply stared at the sky, wondering if the Sentients had felt as she did when they killed their gods. Did they feel as empty? Did they wish things could return to normal?
Did they wish the pain would just... disappear?