//------------------------------//
// Bonus #1 - Shulk and Twilight 
// Story: Ponyblade Chronicles 
// by ZeroChill 
//------------------------------//

	Shulk stood tall in the lab, boring a deep stare into the Monado on the pedestal.  He shut his eyes, thinking back to the day before.  His teeth clenched hard.

“Why?  Why must the Monado be so difficult to understand?!  Why wasn’t I able to damage the faced Mechon?  Why was it that the vision came in the worst possible time?!”  He shouted under his breath.

“Shulk!”

The train of his thoughts broken, he looked towards the stairs and saw Twilight Sparkle running down them.

“Twilight.  How are your guards doing?”  He asked softly.

“They’re in the infirmary along with Colonel Vangarre right now.  They were beaten up, but it wasn’t anything serious.  They should be able to resume their duties tomorrow.  I came over here to check and see how you were doing right now, and see if you were able to examine this ring on my horn.”  Twilight Sparkle explained.

“Right.  I did promise that we can have that ring looked at.”  Kneeling down adjacent to the ring, Shulk stated.  “Strange, these markings weren’t here on the ring last time.”

“What do you mean?”  Tilting her head slightly, Twilight Sparkle curiously asked.

“I don’t know if it was due to the ring coming into contact with the Monado, but the ring has developed cybernetic markings, not unlike the Monado.  I’m going to have to examine this phenomenon some more.”  Shulk replied.

Shulk walking over towards his desk, Twilight Sparkle uneasily clenched her teeth.

“Shulk… earlier, you told me that you saw a vision of Fiora dying.  I saw you freaking out right beside me.  After the Mechon killed her, I saw a side of you that really frightened me.  It was jarring to see how such a calm and collected individual such as yourself can turn so violent like that.”

Shulk’s body froze up at her words.  He slowly turned around and looked apologetically towards her.

“I’m sorry, Twilight.  I did not mean to frighten you.”  Saying this, he tilted his head upwards and stared into blank space above.  “Fiora… She meant a lot to me.  She was always so cheerful and energetic, had a wonderful heart and was my best friend.  Like Reyn, she would always make me smile when I am down.  She has that effect on people.”  With these words, he clenched his fist hard, his face scrunched in pain and a stray tear dropped from his right eye.

“Shulk?”  Seeing him beginning to blubber, Twilight Sparkle softly asked.

“That faced Mechon!”  Shulk cried out in a voice strangled by tears.  “It took her away from me in an instant.  I can never see her smile, or hear her laugh again.  She won’t be able to scold her friends and family anymore, nor will she be able to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.”

Shulk’s stray tears burst into rivers, and his words became unintelligible.  Seeing this, Twilight Sparkle walked up to him and unfolded her right wing, wrapping it around his legs.  Pulling his hip in for a hug, Shulk snapped back into reality.

“It’s alright, Shulk.  You can cry until you don’t have to cry anymore.  I will be here to hug you, because that is what you need after everything you’ve been through.”  Twilight Sparkle explained.

Looking down to his shaking hands and their closed palms, Shulk slowly opened them.  He kneeled down towards Twilight Sparkle’s level and quickly wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her in closely and crying uncontrollably.  Twilight Sparkle smiled softly and closed her eyes.  She wrapped both her wings and her front hooves around Shulk and slowly rocked him.