"Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Twilight squealed happily, bouncing in the back seat of their ship as Clank set course for Planet Umbris. "We're going to go through Captain Qwark's training course! We're going to prove to be true heroes by the Qwark standard! And then we're going to save the galaxy with him!"
"Calm down, Twilight!" Ratchet cautioned as her bouncing rocked the spacecraft. "You don't want to use up all your energy getting excited about the course and then have none left to clear it, do you?"
Twilight immediately settled down. "Right. Conserve energy, show my stuff!" She was still grinning from ear to ear with excitement, and a quiet "Eeeeeeee!" escaped her mouth as she struggled to control herself.
Ratchet rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Kids," he said jokingly to Clank as he initiated lift off, forgetting for the moment that he himself had gotten just as excited over sillier things as little as two years ago.
As they arrived on Planet Umbris, Qwark greeted them via a megaphone on a helicopter. "Welcome to my Challenge Course," he called out. "Now is your chance to prove yourselves strong and brave, like me!" He chuckled deprecatingly. "Conquer it, and you'll join me in my fight against evil!"
"Haven't we done enough already!" Ratchet called back.
"We'll clear this course in record time, sir!" Twilight called out.
"What?" Qwark called out. "I can't hear you!"
As Ratchet tried shouting louder, Twilight frowned. Focusing her magic, a spot of glowing light appeared in front of her mouth and another right beside Qwark's ear. "We'll clear this course in record time, sir!" she said clearly into the glowing spot, her words coming out the other right into Qwark's ear.
"That's the spirit!" Qwark called back. "Do me proud!" He lowered the megaphone. "Do me proud..." he mumbled.
Clank wasn't certain, but he could have sworn he saw a brief conflicted look flash across Qwark's face as the chopper flew off.
"Alright!" Twilight said eagerly. "Let's go!" Turning, she rushed off towards the course.
"Twilight!" Ratchet called after her, yanking Clank onto his back as he ran. "Wait up! Be careful!"
Twilight, however, plainly had no intention of slowing down. Leaping into a long glide over the first gap, she used her Swingshot to latch onto the second target for an extra boost in speed and altitude, which allowed her to easily glide over the first bomb launching turret, dropping a bomb from her own modified bomb glove to blow it up and clear the path for Ratchet. A fireball from her horn took out the next one as she came in for a landing on the bridge. As she came across the first set of proximity mines, she seized them in her telekinesis, dragging them along behind her as she ran.
Discovering that she was actually too small a target for the machine gun turrets to track, she ignored them and merely leapt over the fire when the automatic sweep came towards her. She used the proximity mines she seized to take out any others she encountered along the path, along with bomb launching turrets she could destroy, always making sure to hold at least three mines for emergencies.
When she reached the first switch locked door, she managed it easily by stepping on one switch while pressing the other two with her telekinesis. It was only after pressing them all that she realized they were on a timer and did not have to be pressed simultaneously. Chuckling at her own exuberance, she managed the next switch set that way, using her captured mines and a fireball to take out the four bomb turrets in the way.
As she crossed the next bridge, she had a momentary panic moment as part of the bridge started to collapse under her. However, quick thinking and a magic step held it in place until she'd disembarked on the other side, letting it fall. Glancing back, she made sure the gap was narrow enough that Ratchet and Clank could clear it with the Heli-pack, then continued onward. Recognizing the unsteady platforms of the next bridge, she created a single magic step to cover the whole bridge to cross on.
Using her hover board, racing through the barbed wire maze proved easy, as the board actually kept her above the level of the machine gun fire. Clearing the next gap with her Swingshot, she continued through the next set of obstacles. Her hover board made the following maze of machine gun fire and switches easy to clear, using her telekinesis to depress the switches while hovering above the machine gun fire on her board. Finding the door the switches opened, she continued onward.
Past another switch set and an easily dispatched group of mines, and after climbing a ladder using her magic steps - utilizing three at a time as Clank had suggested, and anchoring them in the walls for extra stability - she was forced to come to a screeching halt at the edge of a large pool. Her ears went flat against her skull. "No fair!" she whimpered, staring in despair at the obstacle she couldn't easily clear. Managing to glide over to another platform, she sighed. "And I was doing so well."
Spotting a large, predatory looking fish in the pool, Twilight seized it in her telekinesis and levitated it out of the water. She did a quick scan with her magic. "Well, I am getting hungry," she decided. Sending a spear of magic into the fish's skull, she killed it quickly and cleanly before roasting it with a fireball. She then proceeded to fill her stomach as she waited for Ratchet and Clank to catch up.
As she'd cleared most of the obstacles from the course, she didn't have long to wait. "Hey Twilight!" Ratchet called, leaping across to her. "I told you to wait up!"
"Sorry," Twilight apologized. "Guess I got a little excited. Hungry?" She offered Ratchet some of the roated fish.
"Starved!" Ratchet replied eagerly, grabbing a hunk of the fish. "Thanks, Twi!" He chowed down eagerly. "But how come you stopped?"
"Because I can't swim," Twilight reminded him sadly.
Ratchet smacked his face with his hand. "Dang, keep forgetting to teach you when we get a chance. Well, don't worry. We don't need to swim here." Grinning, he pulled out the Hydrodisplacer. "Ta-da! Here you go!"
Twilight blinked at the one popular Gadgetron gadget she hadn't been on the development team for. "So...what is it?"
"It is a Hydrodisplacer," Clank commented.
"Sweet! I've always wanted one of these..." Twilight struggled to say enthusiastically. Taking it in her magical aura, she examined it carefully. "I...think?"
"Try using it on that interface," Clank suggested, gesturing to an object Twilight didn't recognize.
Shrugging, Twilight did so, then stared in amazement as the pool instantly drained into the Hydrodisplacer. "Sweet!" she said eagerly, leaping down into the drained pool.
"What happened to wait up?" Ratchet yelled after her, rushing to follow.
"I promised Captain Qwark I'd make a record for the course!" Twilight called back. "I have to make up for lost time!"
Running through the tube at the bottom of the pool, Twilight used a magic bridge to cross the next pool, hearing Ratchet just behind her. Emptying the hydrodisplacer into the ocean off the side of the platform, Twilight drained the next pool, followed the no longer underwater path, and used magic steps to allow herself and Ratchet to ascend back to the path.
Using a series of small magic bridges in the same style of her magic steps, the trio crossed the next two pools - one full, one empty - depressing the switches to open the door as they went. Continuing through the narrow path, Twilight spotted Captain Qwark waiting for them.
"We made it!" Twilight called out happily, rushing up to the Captain. "Did we make a record? Did we? Did we?"
Qwark looked quite shocked to see them so soon. "Indeed you did!" he proclaimed. "You cleared the course faster than I usually do." Remembering what he'd seen of Twilight's capabilities, he had to ask, "Umm, it's still more or less in one piece, right?"
"I only broke turrets!" Twilight promised.
Qwark chuckled happily. "Well, well, you three continue to surprise me." He frowned slightly, a conflicted expression crossing his face.
As he watched the unfolding of events from within the Great Clock, Orvus paused time once more as something caught his eye.
"Is something the matter, sir?" Sigmund asked. "Is this moment important?"
"Indeed it is," Orvus said, looking at the readings the Clock's systems gave him. "Three possible futures exist here, all resting on the decisions of that man. And one such path...could lead to the destruction of several galaxies, the ultimate failure of the Great Clock, and the destruction of all reality."
Sigmund shivered. "You mean the fate of all existence rests on him?" Sigmund asked. "We're doomed!"
"Not so," Orvus interrupted. "That future of total loss requires him to be clever here."
"We're saved!" Sigmund cried happily. Orvus couldn't help but laugh at that.
Still, Orvus thought to himself, which path will you walk, Captain? If you are blinded by greed and weakness, the path shall make both Ratchet and Twilight into much greater warriors, and eventually lead to greatness for all of you. But if you heed honor, this journey will be much shorter...and there is no predicting what will come with future events when your nemesis returns. And more than that, the four stars may not form.
Orvus sighed sadly. What kind of universe is this...that the good must be evil for the sake of history?
"Step into the Ring of Heroes," Qwark said, jumping back onto a floating platform, "and I will finally give you what you deserve."
Clank eagerly raced onto the platform.
Orvus held his breath as he watched.
"Ratchet!" Clank called back as Twilight raced onto the platform as well. "This is no time to be cautious! We have reached our goal!"
"Come on Daddy!" Twilight yelled happily, bouncing on the platform. "We're going to be heroes!"
Orvus exhaled explosively in relief. "The darkest path has been evaded..."
Cautiously, Ratchet stepped out onto the platform. "...something fishy's going on here," he mumbled under his breath, watching Qwark.
Qwark stared at the three of them on the platform for a time, his face in an agony of indecision. Then, his eyes closed, he pressed the switch behind his back.
The platform dropped, letting the trio fall into the depths.
Orvus sat back sadly, frowning.
"What's wrong, sir?" Sigmund asked. "Is...is this a bad path?"
"Ultimately? No," Orvus said sadly. "Ultimately, it will lead to great things, and the awakening of the Four Stars."
"Four Stars?" Sigmund asked.
"Not a part of our responsibility," Orvus explained, "but something that has to happen nonetheless." He sighed sadly. "But...this path will lead to mistakes, regrets, and pains that may never fade completely. Fate sometimes demands great sacrifice." He shook his head. "And sometimes...none can be sure if they were worth it."
As the trio landed softly, thanks to a quick inertia dampening spell from Twilight, they looked around, Clank and Twilight in confusion, Ratchet in sudden rage. Seeing Qwark lowering down on the platform, Twilight spoke up. "Captain! Why?"
Qwark frowned down at her. "I'm the spokesman for Drek's new planet," he explained. "That means, amongst other things, I have to stop anything getting in the way of the planet being completed. And...unfortunately, that means you three."
"You won't get away with this!" Ratchet snarled, brandishing his wrench as Twilight shrunk in on herself in tears.
"...one can only hope," Qwark muttered under his breath, his eyes still on Twilight. "I wish it hadn't had to come to this," he said sadly, his platform rising up as a large green beast broke free of its bindings. "I never wanted to hurt you, Twilight. I'm...so sorry." On those last words, his platform vanished.
As the Blargian roared, stomping its way towards them, Ratchet leapt to Twilight's defense, as she just huddled there. The worst part for Twilight was that, somehow, she knew Qwark's apology was the truest words he spoke there. For some reason, that realization came on the heels of an unfamiliar taste in her mouth that she somehow knew was the taste of apples. "No..." she muttered, clenching herself.
"Twilight?" Clank asked nervously.
"No..." Twilight repeated, green fog leaking out the edges of Twilight's closed eyes. "No!" she screamed, red energy pouring forth from her horn, instead of her usual purple. "No!"
On this last scream, she jerked her head. Red energy surrounded the Blargian, and it was flung forcefully through the solid rock of the chamber's ceiling.
Back in his ship as he flew off, Qwark was surprised as he saw the Blargian come bursting out of the mountain, fly off into the distance, and crash into the sea. "Nope!" he said quickly, focusing on his course. "Didn't see it, didn't see it..."
Back in the magma chamber, Twilight buried her face in Ratchet's chest. "Why?" she wailed. "Why would he do this?"
Ratchet, at a loss for what else to do, held her close and stroked her comfortingly. Clank stood back, struggling to control his own emotional state.
In the Great Clock, Orvus sighed as he watched events unfold. "This is the path fate requires," he explained to Sigmund. "This is the darkness I foresaw, that I wish could have been avoided."
Sigmund stared, wiping his optics as he saw the filly's sorrow.