Nightmare Moon’s magic had transformed the area Twilight had gone to into one with many sharp dangers afoot. She had to jump around giant scissors, leap over seemingly bottomless holes, shoot automatic turrets and deal with a smaller version of the eye robot near the end of the area.
After finding a small sanctuary between two doors, she paused for a moment to wonder how she’d ever manage the same process for the other seven ponies. She then had the idea to return to Celestia to request a replenishment of her magic and stamina instead of going to each area one after another. Nodding to her plan, she entered the final room.
As soon as she did so, a short alarm rang, followed by a “WARNING!” voice. An Earth pony, seemingly no older than Twilight was hopped into view, slicing a block of wood in half with a scissor that looked just like his Cutie Mark. The young, red-coated and white-maned stallion faced her, almost…surprised to see her.
“N-Nightmare Moon was right! You’ve changed into a bad student…” The stallion said, as if he seemed sad.
“Rolling Cutter!? What’s going on?” Twilight demanded to know, hoping to get answers without having to fight.
“You’re an evil fighting mare now! I’m gonna stop you, Ms. Mega Mare, and make you good again!” Rolling Cutter replied, wielding the scissor in his hoof. “Cutting it up!” He yelled, throwing the weapon at Twilight before she could question why he called her Mega Mare.
She jumped over the sharp weapon, shooting at him for a moment before realizing the weapon was arcing back towards its owner. She nearly got a manecut ducking under the weapon, unable to shoot before the weapon was thrown at her again. “Will you quit this already!? And why did you call me Mega Mare!?”
“Because Nightmare Moon warned me about you! Celestia’s student gone rogue and abusing her powers just to overthrow her sister!” Rolling Cutter said as he was struck by a few more blasts. Enraged, he pulled out a much larger scissor from out of nowhere and chucked it at the unicorn.
“I would never-ah!” Twilight said as she rolled out of the way. “I don’t WANT to be a princess!” She said, the scissor slamming into her from the back without warning. Under normal circumstances, she would probably be half the mare she used to be, but the armor made the attack bounce off. It wasn’t without its consequences, however, the impact forcing Twilight to the ground from just how damaging it would have been.
“W-what? That didn’t-“ Rolling Cutter said, being cut off by a final volley of magic blasts before being knocked to the ground. He could barely stand as Twilight approached him. He fell to the ground, curling up in fear as he looked up at Twilight. But, instead of being finished off, the mare offered a hoof up. “Wait…but you’re…”
“I’m no rogue. Nightmare Moon is the rogue here. Something corrupted Princess Luna and turned her into her bitter counterpart once again. I’ll find out what happened and save your friends…as well as Luna. But, you have to trust me.” Twilight told the fearful stallion, seeing he was still unsure about accepting her speech.
“B-but…Mega Mare…” Rolling Cutter uttered.
“Please, call me Twilight.” Twilight smiled as she helped him up.
“Maybe you should…take this.” Rolling Cutter offered his weapon.
“No need for that.” Twilight simply replied as she focused her magic on the weapon. Her armor turned a light grey upon completion of the spell. Instead of her yellow magic blast, a copy of the scissor appeared in front of her, which swung in the same arc that was previously used against her.
“Wow, that was amazing!” Rolling Cutter smiled, happy that Twilight was able to use his ability without needing to borrow his own weapon.
“Now, I’ve got your power.” Twilight explained. “Hold on to me, I’ll take you back to Celestia.”
“Sure thing.” Rolling Cutter said. “Say, are you going to name that power?”
“I guess I should, for quick reference. I’ll call it the…Rolling Cutter.” Twilight said with a grin. “It’ll be a sign of our friendship.”
“Thanks, Mega Ma-I mean…Twilight.” Rolling Cutter replied as the two teleported out of the area.
You got a new Weapon! “Rolling Cutter!” Twilight mentally shouted as she pictured using it against basic enemies.
-----------------
“A fitting name, I should say, given your new powers.” Princess Celestia said to Twilight after she brought Rolling Cutter back.
“I’d still rather be Twilight, but if that’s what they want to call me, I’ll have to deal with it for the time being.” Twilight said. “Are you sure the Elements can’t help me out?”
“Nightmare Moon will likely have a plan ready in case you try to use them on her once again. It would be safer to have a different strategy, even if it’s something I would not normally condone.” Celestia replied.
Twilight nodded, still disappointed that her friends were unable to help. She was at least glad that it hadn’t taken much for the first recruit to be stopped. Still, as a precaution, her energy was restored before she chose her next target.
“Twilight, give it your all on the next stage too, alright?” Celestia told her as she teleported away.
“…Princess?” Shining Armor called.
“What is it, Captain?” Celestia looked upon him.
“What do you mean by ‘stage?’?” Shining asked.