//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: The Human Hero of Ponyville // by Alex Rite //------------------------------// Chapter 13 Twin Trouble (Part 3) Written by Alex Rite with the help of the amazing Deyeaz and the brilliant LikeaBaws As they were walking home, Alex couldn't help but feel...sad. He didn't think he would make her so angry. He didn't mean to, and now, this is the result of his mistake. He stared at the ground, seeing spots on the ground becoming wet. His vision became blurry and uncontrollable, his eyes burned, on the precipice of crying, his hands trembled, and he regretted every word he said. "You okay there, big guy?" Rainbow asked, floating next to him in worry. "Yeah, it's just--" "You. Are. Not. My. Brother!” His throat choked on the memory, and his whole body stopped. No matter how hard he tried, his body refused to move, and his emotions overwhelmed him. His mind repeated the words, ‘I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry...’ "I'm fine." He lied. "I just need to...have a walk to town." His body obeyed his words and took him back to Ponyville, and the others worried. Rainbow, however, was a different story. She yelled in anger and stared at the sky. "Trixie's a JERK!! It wasn't his fault he became this way!!" She argued. "Rainbow!" Applejack yelled, resting a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "Ah know yer gettin’ angry an’ such, but this changes nothing!" "It changes everything, Applejack!! Trixie's just angry that her brother Alex gets all the cool stuff and she's stuck being humiliated!" Rainbow argued back. "While I do agree that is rather harsh on Trixie's side, Applejack's right. It doesn't change a thing. We're stuck in the back, letting them solve their own problems." Rarity said. It was now Twilight's turn to step in, but nothing came out. Both sides were right. Trixie was humiliated, she can't get back on her hooves, and she's stuck in a paradigm of ignorance and neglect, like rancid mounds of trash. This changes nothing. However, to play the devil’s advocate, Trixie was rude to her brother. It wasn't his fault, it just happened! Twilight regained her senses and sighed. "It's okay, girls. I'll handle this. Smokey's at home waiting for us. He's got nowhere else to go." Twilight said. Rainbow huffed and crossed her fore legs. "You better. Otherwise, Trixie's gonna have to go through me!" She said as she took off into the skies. The ponies sighed, and their sorrow was back. "C'mon, let's go back home. We've got to find Alex before he gets into anymore trouble." Twilight says. The ponies nodded and walked through the forest, hoping to find the friend they once had. Back at the library, Twilight, Spike, and Smokey walked up the stairs. It had been a few hours since the gang's encounter with Trixie, and after they had all gone home, Alex had gone up to his room and hadn't come down since. Getting worried, the three went up and opened the door a crack, peeking in. They found Alex staring out the window at the late afternoon sun, a mournful look upon his face. Then, unexpectedly, Alex began to sing a sad, sad song. "Once as close as possible, two sides of a coin. Could never be separate, since the day we were born. Sharing what little we had, never letting our sorrows win. That is what life is like, when you have a twin. "But what is one twin without the other? Where is the other half of me? Together we were always optimistic, but now there's no good that I can see. How does she not see how I feel? Can't she see that I have missed her? And I just can't help but think- What am I without my sister? "Sure, our lives weren't easy, And the world was pretty rough. But we made each other smile whenever things got tough. We always stayed together, 'cause together we were strong. But what does all that matter, now that she is gone? "For what is one twin without the other? Where is the other half of me? Together we were always optimistic, but now there's no good that I can see. How does she not see how I feel? Can't she see that I have missed her? And I just can't help but think- What am I without my sister? "And I just can't help but think- What am I without my sister?" Hearing Alex's song, the three friends' concern for him grew, and they knew they had to do something about it. Twilight walked into the room, followed by Spike and Smokey, and put a sympathetic hoof on Alex's shoulder. When he made no response, she began to talk to him. "Ya know, I've been situations like this with Shining Armor. Siblings have fights, that's normal, and I'm sure Trixie will come around eventually." Alex sighed and replied, "Thanks, Twi. But you don't know Trix like I do. Her reaction to my powers, I... I've never seen her like that before. I don't know what to think, but right now... I just wanna be left alone." Twilight nodded to him, understanding his current position, and left the room with the others in tow. Once they were in the main library, Twilight turned to the dragon and diamond dog pair and saw the same concern she felt for the half-Draconequus in their faces. "This is bad," she told them. "It's like that's not even Alex in that room." "I know! He's not even trying to add a funny comment to the conversation to lighten the mood! Not even a bad one like, 'she should grab some ice and cool down,'" replied Smokey. "Yeah, but the worst thing is the hat," added Spike. "Alex kept that hat close to him like it was his greatest treasure, and now he just threw it away like an old candy wrapper. It's like he's been discorded, he's not himself anymore." "He hasn't been discorded Spike," said Twilight sadly, "but he has been seriously hurt. To find a sister that's been missing for years only for her to disown you... I can't imagine how much that hurts." "What we need is something to take his mind off it," said Spike. Suddenly, a shadowy dragon wielding a spear broke down the library door. "Ya mean like that?" asked Smokey. "What's going on down here?" Alex questioned, coming down the stairs in an alarmed manner at the sound of the intrusion. Seeing it's apparent target, the shadow roared and charged at Alex. Dodging it, Alex ran to the other side of the room. But, being persistent, the shadow attacked again, but Alex dodged it just as easily as the first time. "Hey! Stupid shadow figure!" Alex heard from across the room. The shadow turned around to see Spike standing tall and firm. The shadow looked at him, then back at Alex, then back to the purple dragon. Spike took as deep a breath as possible, and blew his green fire at the shadow. Alex rolled at the random attack, shocked as the baby dragon smirked. "Alex, I did it! I did...it?" The shadow stared at Spike, unharmed and not burned in the slightest. The shadow dragon's curiosity at Spike shrunk to boredom as he went back for Alex. "Crap!" He yelled as the Shadow Dragon swung the spear overhead once more. "What does he want from me?!" Alex swept his leg, only for it to pass through the shadow figure and sweep Spike instead. His face fell right onto the floor and Alex hissed at his misfortune. "My bad, Spike!" Alex said apologetically. The shadow looked at the dragon and held his spear high, only to miss inches from Spike as Alex quickly sidestepped to grab him. As he did, Alex turned around, his hand filled with his dark chaotic aura. He aimed it at his enemy, determined to finish it off. "I hope you know this is your last chance to talk. What do you want from me?!" He asked. It did nothing but stare, the room was filled with quiet. "YoU REEK oF KinDNeSs, LoNE WaRRiOR." It said, it's voice filled with dark and almost unclear. "Thank you. It's my new cologne, ode de Fluttershy. But you still haven't answered my question." "MaSTeR toLD mE To FiNIsh YoU OfF, AnD i SHaLL." "Who is he? Who is your Master?" It glared, not wanting to answer that question. Alex didn't realize that his hand recoiled a bit, but he held it out firm despite that. "Well, time to finish you off." He said. He could feel its smirk rise up as two things happened. One, his Chaos Magic fizzled out, and two... ‘So what if you suck at magic?’ Alex's eyes widened and his body went into a pause. Seeing it's chance, the shadow hit him in the head, forcing him and Spike out the door of the library and open to attack. Both Spike and Alex groaned as the shadow being stepped out. The Shadow still stood firm, even in the sunlight. Alex could hear its--no...he could almost feel the Shadow's hardy laugh. Laughing at his failure. The shadow tried to cut into his chest, and as Alex attempted to move, it made a shallow, bloody, PAINFUL cut on his left leg. Alex almost screamed in agony, barely keeping it in. He looked at the cut, to see it quickly change into a lizard's leg. It's skin was red, and the line between it was white, but the Chaos Magic changed it back to human form before it could do harm. 'Great. Just what I need right now.' He thought. 'Draconequus Kryptonite.' He grabbed Spike once again and set him straight as they took off. "Wait a minute, what am I doing here?!" Spike asked, running alongside him. "You wanted to be my sidekick, welcome to your first day on the job!" Alex said, wincing each time he took a step. "I didn't realize being a hero's sidekick would be so dangerous!" "That had better have been a joke, Spike!" "I could be asleep at home right now." Spike mumbled. "I'm sorry, excuse me?" "The Shadow thing can run." Alex turned back as Spike's statement was confirmed. he was faster than he looked, and he was closing very quickly. "Shit..." He looked around to see Sweet Apple Acres in his sight, and he smiled. "Quick, into Applejack's!" They took a turn in that direction, the Shadow following. "YoU WiLL DIe PiTiFuL HoO-MaN!" It mocked under it's breath. That's when things took a turn. Alex ran into the orchard, Spike running along side. They ran into the forest of Apples, breathless, and confused. "That guy is relentless!" Spike said, sliding down the tree. "No kidding." Alex said. He checked, and the Shadow was nowhere to be found. Alex sighed, and slid down as well. "He's gone. He's gone." Alex repeated with relief. That is, until his shadow grew immensely as the Shadow slowly appeared. "You're kidding me." Alex said, slightly annoyed on how easy it was to find him. He raised his staff and Alex rolled to the side. The Shadow let it's staff fall with a hard ThUNk onto the tree, and Spike truly scared to bits. They ran into the forest of apples, further and further in as the apples slowly disappeared. "Where are we even heading?!" Spike asked. "How should I know?! I'm following you!!" Alex shouted, his legs almost giving out. They looked back, to find the Shadow giving a big finger to Mother Nature and ran through the trees, each one flying into the air. "Now that's just bull." Alex said, more annoyed. "LOOK OUT!!" Spike said, holding his hand out at the rushing lake. The water was to fast to move through, and rocks stuck out like a sore thumb. They looked as the Shadow got closer as he raised his weapon. "MoNKeYs LIke YoU SHoULdn'T ExIst In tHiS wOrlD." It purred. It swung as hard as it could, but a loud *CLANK* rang out. "Smokey?!" Alex's eyes almost shot out from his face, followed by a smile. He grunted as the Shadow added more forced onto his weapon, and Smokey's weapon glowed brighter than the sun itself. "Oi! Ya think ya can hurt my friend like that, bugger?!" He said through with confidence. Hooves were heard as Trixie slid in, her horn glowing bright. She jumped and slash the Shadow, killing it in an instant. The Shadow disappeared with a scream, dropping it's spear, and Smokey's light weapon disappeared from his hands. "Trixie, Smokey, you’re back!" Alex said with a smile. "Yeah, and this belongs to you," Trixie said, placing Alex's hat back on his head. She smiled and added, "Fighting shadows 101: if there's one thing they hate, it's light." Alex facepalms and says, "How the hell did I forget that?" "Can someone please tell me what's going on?!" Spike asked during the confusion. "Later, but right now, we need to find out what that weapon is, and why that Shadow chased us." Alex, said, staring at the discarded weapon. "Alex! I found it!" exclaimed Twilight. It had been a few hours since the battle with the Shadow Puppet, and Alex, Trixie, Spike, and Smokey had returned to the library, much to Twilight's relief. After showing her the green stone on the spear and explaining it's effect on him, they had all begun searching for an answer to what it was. During the search, Alex's chaotic magic had fully returned, and his leg was now healed. "About time!" said Alex, crossing his arms, the spear still clutched tightly in his grasp. "Lay it on me, Twilight." The group gathered around Twilight as she showed them the page in her book as she began to explain. "It's an extremely rare element known as Draconium, known for dispersing chaotic magic. Long ago, back when Discord was free, ponies used to use it to try and keep him away, but it didn't work because Draconium can only drain the magic of a Draconequus if it makes skin contact, and, apparently, a weapon made of Draconium can harm a Draconequus. Maybe even kill it!" "Draconium, huh?" Alex replied, observing the spearhead of his new weapon closely. He smiled and said, "nice name. Kind of rolls off the tongue. I think that's what I'll call this thing. Draconium." "You're naming your spear?" asked Spike. "Yeah! All the great weapons have names. Excalibur, Riptide, Mjolnir, the list goes on and on." "I think it's a great name!" Smokey stated. "Thank you," Alex replied to the Australian-accented canine. "Whatever," Twilight said, breaking the pointless conversation. "The point is, this stuff is seriously bad news for Alex, and it seems whoever has access to it is not friendly." "Well now we know to look out for it," said Alex, who then turned to his sister. "And it's thanks to you that I'm still alive to do that." "Alex, we're family." replied Trixie with a small smile. "It's what we do." Trixie wrapped Alex in a big hug, which was happily returned. After they were done, she turned to Spike. "I have something for you, little dragon." Trixie's horn began to glow, then an old green book appeared floating before her. She levitated the book into Spike's hands, and he looked at the cover, which read 'Magic Spells of the Magnificent Merlin the Magician.' "If you're going to be my brother's sidekick, then I have to make sure you're able to protect him. During my time in Equestria I discovered that this spell book is the genuine article. However, the spells were meant for magically gifted humans, so I was unable to use them. I do believe, though, that a dragon such as yourself will be able to use it. Take good care of that book Spike..." Trixie glanced over at her brother with a small smile on her face. "...it was a birthday gift." Spike nodded enthusiastically, a huge grin on his face. Satisfied with these events, Trixie left the library, promising her brother and new friends that she would come back and visit. [hg] Trixie returned to her cart and entered the door, glancing around to see if there was anypony nearby before shutting the door. Turning to her bed, Trixie levitated a glowing green crystal ball onto the bed. The silhouette of serpentine figure with glowing dark purple eyes appeared in the center of the crystal ball. "Did the meeting go as planned?" asked a deep voice from the magic orb. "Yes sir. The mission was a complete success. I have made contact with Cooper and his friends." "Excellent! Given your performance reviews on that Ursa Minor incident and that unauthorized Alicorn Amulet venture, I was afraid I might have to... let you go." Trixie shuddered at hearing that, but she quickly regained her composure. "That.. that won't be necessary. They trust me, and I'm sure I can convince my brother to join us. I will not fail you, Master Terror." "Please, my dear. Business hours are over, no need to be formal. Call me..." The dark figure stepped out of the shadows. Standing there was a Draconequus, similar to Discord, but at the same time very different. It looked as though it was a discorded version of him, totally devoid of any color. Instead of a goatee, he had a pencil moustache. He wore a dark grey suit with a black shirt and a blood red tie, the only color on him. He had no protruding fang like Discord and Alex did, but a frighteningly sinister dragon-toothed grin. The Draconequus' calm demeanor radiated an air of evil that was truly terrifying. "...uncle."