Scootaloo felt like a train had just ran her over, groaning from the aches and pains that radiated from every muscle in her body. With some effort, she managed to crack open one of her eyes, even her eyelids ached. Once opened she took in her surroundings, she was in a room that was designed in the way of ancient pegasian; white columns holding up the ceiling, along with a bed made of soft, violet fabric.
The bed she was lying on was in fact raised on a five step, marble platform, and the room itself seemed to be surrounded in clouds. Scootaloo started to rise, only to realize that she was no longer in Shazam form, but back in her filly form. The orange pegasus filly looked around, and deciding to try called out into the vastness.
“Murmur, are you there?!” Scootaloo asked.
It didn’t take long before a flock of pink butterflies swarmed in from the high up. The butterflies swirled about, melding into a single being made of light. The pink light shined and then faded just as quickly, revealing the pink flutterpony, Murmur. Her sparkling butterfly wings fluttered excitedly at seeing her Mistress awake. Murmur quickly went to her bedside and leaned forward, nuzzling Scootaloo’s cheek.
“Mistress Scootaloo! Oh thank the ancients you’re alright!”
Scootaloo blushed and giggled from the show of affection. “Okay, okay, Murmur, I’m fine, geez.”
Murmur seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly stopped her nuzzle, lowering her head below the edge of the bed and blushing. “F-Forgive me Mistress! I was just glad to see you awake and alright…you are well, right?”
Scootaloo stood on the bed, taking a minute to assess herself. She gave a flap of her wings, and bent each of her legs, finally rolling her neck and shoulders. “Yeah, nothing seems out of place or broken.”
Murmur released a sigh of relief.
Scootaloo smiled, she didn’t know Murmur cared for her wellbeing that much. She just assumed she showed just as much concern for the other Champions before her, and in a way that made her sad. How many times did Murmur witness the passing of each of the Champions before Scootaloo? How many times did her heart break, knowing she could do nothing prevent their passing but bear witness to it and keep the memory of them alive?
Just then, Scootaloo’s eyes went wide and her wings fanned out when she remembered what happened. “MURMUR! The fight, those Kingdom guys, the pets –!”
“Mistress calm yourself, the fight is over. You defeated your foe.”
Scootaloo’s wings lowered, her pulse slowing back to normal. “I beat him – we beat him? I…I barely remember that…”
“I’m not surprised Mistress,” Murmur rose up and sat on her haunches, settling her own wings before continuing, “What you did was something that I never expected for one so young.”
“What? What did I do?”
“You used ‘The Thunderer’ spell. Most Champions don’t learn to cast that spell until many years of training, but you did, at twelve years old, and only a year after becoming the Champion of Magic.”
Scootaloo cocked her head, lying back down as she asked, “Why, what makes it so special a spell?”
Murmur’s horn glowed and then flashed. Before them glowed four runic symbols, each one the same as what was in the magic circle when the spell was cast. “The spell is powerful, in the way that it draws upon four specific traits. The first is Righteousness, second: Benevolence, third: Wisdom, and fourth: Justice, drawing upon all four enables you to unlock the spell, and release the full destructive force of the Ancient Magic upon your foe.”
“Wow, could’ve come in handy when I was fighting Black Adam,” said Scootaloo with a deadpan expression.
“Well, in truth, the spell has one other…‘failsafe’, if you will. Only those that the caster sees as their enemy and are full of ill intent will be affected by the spell, in other words, you could cast this in the middle of a populated area and only the one you sought would feel its wrath.”
Murmur’s horn flashed again and showed Scootaloo in Shazam form. “You are full of Righteousness, Mistress, and Benevolence, some Wisdom, and you have a strong sense of Justice. But drawing upon each as an energy source is taxing and hard to accomplish while in battle, at least not without proper training.”
Scootaloo scratched her chin as she contemplated Murmur’s words. “So…how come I was able to cast the spell in the first place?”
“My theory is that your animal companions each acted as surrogates, since they were connected to your magic they were able to help in the casting of the spell when you instinctively called upon it. Without them…”
“I wouldn’t be having this conversation…ugh, if these Kingdom guys keep coming and are as strong as that thing, then I’ll need to learn that spell quick.”
Murmur’s expression darkened. “About that Mistress…I’m afraid I know what kind of magic they are using.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “You do?! What is it?!”
“Well…before that, can I ask you to take care of one small thing?”
“Sure.”
Murmur got up and motioned for Scootaloo to follow. The pegasus filly flew up and landed beside Murmur and watched as she summoned a door in the middle of open space. The wooden door opened and Scootaloo’s face fell, her wings drooped, and her right eye twitched.
On the other side of the door, the pets were running amok. Winona was chasing around some strange looking sprites as if they were playing a game of tag. Opal was pawing at a large tassel that hung from a tapestry in the rafters, Gummy had taken refuge is a random mote that ran through the room, and Tiberius had maneuvered the rocks around to form himself a little den to sleep in.
“Wha…Wha…”
“Yes, well, they were growing restless and since your magic was still running through them, their energy levels haven’t gone down since then,” said Murmur in dismay.
“Where are Philomena and Tank?” Scootaloo asked.
“Currently flying around the perimeter of the Rock of Eternity, I tethered them to the fortress so they do not get lost in another dimension.”
“Ooookayyyy…uh…where’s Angel?”
Murmur’s eyes shot wide open as she looked about, not spotting the bipedal white rabbit anywhere. Both Scootaloo and Murmur quickly searched the area, popping up near the Room of Ancient Relics. Murmur spotted Angel, standing near a pedestal that had a golden helmet on it.
“So you’re saying if I put you on I can become the Sorcerer Supreme?”
“OH NO, RABBIT!” Murmur teleported herself between Angel and the golden helmet. “He’s in a timeout for the next five-hundred years.”
The golden helmet shined, causing Murmur to give it a scolding look. “Don’t be like that Nabu, you most certainly did not have to make the earth swallow those creatures whole!”
The helmet shined again and made Murmur blush. “For a Lord of Order, you have quite the foul mouth.”
LATER, IN THE LIBRARY OF INFINITE KNOWLEDGE…
“All I’m saying is that if you draw upon more natural forms of magical energy, you can conserve more of your own reserves,” said Owlowiscious.
“Well, I have to concur, but natural magic from the surroundings can sometimes cause wild effects to happen and alter the spell,” said Twilight.
The giant owl brought his wing to his lower beak, nodding to Twilight. “True, true, perhaps then we must determine a more formulaic method for tapping into such a source, and applying more modern laws on the conservation of energy. I was reading an interesting tome about the subject, now where was it…?”
Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she was seeing, well, scratch that, she could. After everything that had happened to her, anything was possible. Owlowiscious was sitting in the middle of a large open area, books and scrolls of all kind floating about him, held aloft in his telekinetic energy. Twilight was sitting down across from her large avian pet, sipping some tea as the two of them discussed magic, and science, she supposed.
Owlowiscious craned his neck, now looking in Scootaloo and Murmur’s direction. “Ah, Scootaloo, how wondrous it is to see you recovered, and good day to you, Miss Murmur.”
Twilight snapped to attention, gazing towards the same direction as Owlowiscious did. The purple alicorn’s eyes teared up as she saw her young apprentice alright, Twilight’s horn flashed, and within a fraction of a second had teleported right to Scootaloo. The alicorn mare enveloped her in a strong embrace, reaching Pinkie Pie levels of bone crushing strength at the moment.
“T-Twilight, I may be fine now…but if you keep this up…I might be snapped in half…!”
Twilight quickly, yet gently, released Scootaloo and blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry, sorry, I was just…I was happy and –” Twilight was cut off when Scootaloo returned the embrace, wrapping her arms around her mentor’s barrel the best she could as she nuzzled into her coat.
“I’m sorry I worried you, again…How’s Mo – I mean, how’s Cheerilee?”
“She’s a little worried right now…I think we might need to let her in on the secret soon.”
“Oh…” Scootaloo’s ears dropped.
“Well, sweetie, you knew that at some point we’d have to tell her. I’m here to support you in this, you know that. Believe me, after everything I’ve seen and read, I know you’ve been given a great responsibility and honor, and you’ve been a great hero to all.” Twilight brought her left hoof under Scootaloo’s chin, making the young filly look into the alicorn mare’s eyes as she smiled. “And you’re my hero too, don’t forget that.”
Scootaloo smiled back, her ears perking up at hearing the encouraging words. “Alright…I guess we should tell her…I mean, I don’t like worrying her when I sneak away to transform…Oh boy, she’s going to freak.”
“Oh yeah,” agreed Twilight.
After a few more pleasantries were exchanged, Twilight and Scootaloo talked to Owlowiscious, which was a fun activity since Twilight had never really gotten beyond understanding what each tone in the owl’s hoots meant. And Scootaloo thanked her feathered friend for protecting her while she healed and gathered her strength.
Once that was done, they moved onto the main topic that Murmur needed to discuss with them. Her horn glowed, bringing forth a book that was written in an ancient language long since forgotten by modern time. She opened the tome, showing four orbs. One had the symbol of the Living Lightning in blue, while another held an X like symbol, but in red.
“Before and even after the beginning of time, there have always been opposites. Light and Darkness, good and evil, kindness and cruelty, these are such examples, and it is because of this unwritten Law of Opposites, that there must also stand to reason that for such a powerful force and creative source of energy that the Living Lightning is, so too must there be an equally powerful yet destructive force.”
The book glowed and displayed the X in a kind of holographic image. “We called it: ‘Xanthos’. Magical energy of the most primal sort, its only drive is to destroy, kill, and raze.”
Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “This…I’ve never heard of this, dark magic and chaos magic are the only other things close to this, but a magic that is solely aimed towards killing…”
“Xanthos was born from when the world was young, a simpler time when the law of the land was eat or be eaten. Those who harnessed this power became destructors of the most savage kind, there was nary a magical power that could stand up against it. Versatile as it is, it could never be used for constructive purposes, its nature would never allow it, and to the foolish who tried well…”
Another image appeared, showing a unicorn who tried doing just that, but the red magic struck back, consuming the foolish pony and destroying him. Twilight and Scootaloo winced at the sight.
“The Living Lightning, the ancient magic that once flowed through the land was its only natural opposite, and the only ones capable of controlling it at the time were that of the six gods that comprised the Council of Magic. Much of the trouble of the ancient world came from the use of Xanthos, using it in wars and murders all around.”
“Murmur, didn’t you say that the power of the ancient magic left this world when the Rock of Eternity did as well? Did the Xanthos energy leave, too?” Owlowiscious asked.
“It did, but to where is still a mystery. But just like the Living Lightning, Xanthos left behind remnants that evolved over time into what you now call ‘dark magic’ and ‘chaos magic’, just as the ancient magic became ‘harmony’ and ‘neutral magic’.”
Twilight and Scootaloo’s heads were spinning. Twilight’s whole view on magic was being turned upside down, all she knew and studied about the magic that permeated Equestria was only half the story, the rest lost to the sands of time, but the Rock of Eternity never forgot, no, it housed all the magical knowledge from ages past, all the way up to the present. Twilight had found numerous ways to make her magic more efficient and make some advances as well just by reading the tomes in this library.
Scootaloo on the other hand, well, her head was just plain spinning. All this talk about divergent magic and evolving strains of the original good and bad magicks was way over her head, but she more or less got the gist of the matter.
“Okay, to sum it up, blue good, red bad, right?”
“Um – I – well – I probably wouldn’t put it such simplistic terms as that, but essentially yes,” said Murmur.
Scootaloo began rubbing her right shoulder, feeling a kind of phantom pain. “So is that why it hurts a lot more than when somepony else tries to hit me with a magic bolt? Most of the time I can shrug that stuff off, but when that red Xanthos stuff hits, it really hurts, and it’s able to actually do some damage to me…” Scootaloo shuddered, remembering the pain inflicted upon her body from the spells and attacks of the Kingdom Agents.
Murmurs features drooped. “Unfortunately yes, this particular mana is the opposite of the ancient magic and can likewise damage you severely.” She then perked up a little. “However, the opposite also holds true, which is why your magic is able to hurt them just as much if not more so.”
Twilight and Scootaloo sighed, at least there was a silver lining in this. Even though the Kingdom was using this Xanthos magic, Scootaloo’s Living Lightning was just as dangerous to them and their abilities.
“Murmur, how would the Kingdom gain access to this Xanthos magic? If it’s as old as the Living Lightning, and has tangents like you said, that would mean it hasn’t been here for a long time.” Twilight queried.
Murmur brought a hoof to her chin, knowing that the Princess of Friendship had a point. Up till now the older forms of magic hadn’t been around in Equestria for ages, its offshoot tangents like Harmony and Chaos, dark magic and neutral magic, had taken the place of those ancient powers in its stead. For a quick second Murmur’s face paled with dread.
No…certainly HE can’t be behind this…!
“Murmur, you alright?” Scootaloo asked.
The pink flutterpony shook her head, dispelling the dread filled look on her face, and slapped her cheeks to make the color return. “Oh yes, I am! Don’t worry Mistress, just some old memories trying to resurface.” Murmur then turned to Twilight. “To answer your question, Princess Twilight, I’m unsure.”
“Perhaps it is a cause and effect scenario?” Owlowiscious offered.
“How do you mean great owl?” Murmur inquired.
“If the Living Lightning, the ancient magic as you put, is present on Equestria now that Scootaloo is there, then in theory the Xanthos magic might return to countermand the power that Scootaloo possesses.”
Owlowiscious brought a wing to his lower beak, rubbing it in a contemplative fashion. “However, that theory has some drawbacks. This ‘Kingdom’ sounds as if they have been plotting the deaths of the Princesses of Equestria for a time now. Which could indicate that they have had access to this Xanthos magic for a long while now, and have only recently put into practical use.”
Twilight nodded as she listened to her pet owl. “True, they may’ve been planning on using this magic for a long time, but Scootaloo as Shazam was something that they weren’t planning on interfering with their plans. In other words…”
“They’ll most likely be coming after me after this,” said Scootaloo, finishing the thought that Twilight didn’t want to.
Twilight scooted closer to the young filly and draped a protective wing over her back. “Don’t worry, you won’t be alone in this.”
“Quite,” said Owlowiscious as he rose to a proud standing height. “You are not alone in this, should you require our aid yet again, then don’t hesitate. If you wish, I can stay close to you?”
Scootaloo thought about that, no doubt having the pets around helped in that last fight. Had she known that they could fight alongside her, Scootaloo might’ve empowered them sooner and the fight would’ve ended a lot sooner than it did.
But then again, there was an added fear to this, should they fall in battle it would be her fault. Guilt and fear gripped at Scootaloo’s heart, not knowing what she would do if Winona, the Apple Family’s loyal pet and family member, were to perish in battle. Seeing the grief stricken look on Apple Bloom’s face, just imagining it raked at her young heart.
The same held true for all of them, being responsible for the death of the pets of the Princesses, hearing Fluttershy’s painful wails of sadness from having her own pet and seeing innocent animals killed. It all left a bitter taste in the young filly’s mouth, today was one thing, she had no choice and they were willing to help her. But Scootaloo couldn’t just keep calling on them for help when things got bad.
Everypony’s going to be put in danger because of me…These Kingdom guys keep trying to kill the Princesses, and if I don’t fight them then they’ll die!
Scootaloo sighed heavily, she then narrowed her gaze and looked to both Murmur and Twilight in kind. “Murmur, Twilight, I need you guys to train me even harder than before! I need to learn that spell so I can cast it on my own, that’s the only way to beat these guys.”
Murmur looked a little unsure. “Mistress, I do not mind teaching you how, but the spell is vastly powerful, and using it in succession would not be wise. You saw how it drained you severely after one use.”
“Yeah, but, you and Twilight can still teach me other magic spells and stuff! A-And maybe some fighting techniques, too! Oh horse feathers, I knew I should’ve asked Princess Sakuya to teach me some fighting moves when she was here!”
Twilight brought up her hoof in a stopping motion at hearing this. “Whoa, whoa, slow down Scootaloo. I understand the need to advance your training, and honestly I’m not opposed to it, but you can’t rush this.”
“Let me come up with some kind of training regimen for you. Magic lessons won’t be a problem, as far as combat…well…hmmm…that’s going to be a little harder. I have an idea, but it’ll take some finagling. For now what do you say we head back?”
Scootaloo released a sigh of reluctance, but nodded all the same. Despite having rested so long in the Rock of Eternity, she wouldn’t mind resting in her bed back home and seeing Cheerilee. Just then, Scootaloo face hoofed herself. “Oh duh, I forgot! I need to get the other pets back to our friends!”
FLUTTERSHY’S COTTAGE
Shazam appeared in a flash of lightning at the caretaker’s residence, with Angel still in his magic empowered state. The hooded alicorn and white, bipedal rabbit looked about the quaint cottage with a bit of confusion.
“I don’t get it, didn’t Twilight say that the others would be back at their places by now,” said Shazam.
Angel’s ears twitched to and fro, both facing towards the cottage. He then let out a sigh as he shook his head. “She’s here.”
The white rabbit went up to the front door and opened it, which proved to be his mistake. Upon opening said door, a deluge of water came flooding out of the cottage and carried the rabbit away with it. Shazam instinctively created a bubble of magical energy, shielding herself from the flood. She reached out with her telekinetic magic, grabbing onto Angel before he could be swiped away with the tide.
It took a minute before the flood ended, leaving Angel suspended in midair as he crossed his arms and put on an annoyed expression. Now that the waters had receded, Shazam could clearly hear what sounded like crying in the house. The alicorn mare winced, knowing that it was she who caused the kind mare to worry over her critter friend this much.
Angel huffed, he then placed his large paw on his feet where the telekinetic energy was holding him. He sent a focused burst of lightning to it, cancelling the hold and allowing him to land on the ground. “Ah don’t worry about it, she’s just being a crybaby as usual.”
Shazam gave the rabbit a pointed look, but despite the comment he went on into the home. Shazam waited outside, hearing the crying and approach of footsteps.
“Shy, Shy! I’m here, alright, so you can stop with the water works,” said Angel.
The crying stopped, and for several seconds there was dead silence. All of a sudden a blur of yellow and white came zooming out of the open door and past Shazam. The alicorn mare watched as the blur came to a stop, revealing Fluttershy giving her critter friend a death hug as she flapped her wings, keeping them in midair. Of course, the hug was mainly around his midsection, being too big to bring any closer as she used to.
Angel looked down at the mare hugging him, it was really embarrassing to be lifted up so easily by a mare half his size and having said mare nuzzle his chest fur. Despite his bravado and cranky attitude, Angel smiled and brought his arms down to hug the mare back.
“Oh Angel, I was so worried when you got struck by that lightning! A-And then the fight! And then that flash of light! And then that other lightning strike!”
“Yeah, yeah, I know it was crazy, but I’m back, so stop with the whining. Alright?” Angel asked.
Fluttershy looked up with her ocean blue eyes nodded a yes, smiling even while still sniffling and crying. Shazam couldn’t help but smile at the scene, walking slowly towards the descending duo.
“Um, Miss Fluttershy, I’d like to apologize for what happened…The critters said they wanted to help me and I granted them the power to do so…I didn’t want to put them in danger, but things were going crazy during the battle and I didn’t want to risk those monsters going after you all…Can…Can you forgive me?”
Fluttershy turned to Shazam, and gave her a kind smile. “Of course, I know you wouldn’t have done that if there was no other way. You’ve saved my life more than once, I know you’re a good mare.”
Shazam felt her heart swell upon hearing that, but held back her tears of happiness. “Well…ahem…I-I need to return the other critters back to their homes, keep safe Miss Fluttershy.” Shazam turned to leave but stopped suddenly. “Oh yeah, almost forgot. SHAZAM!”
A bolt of lightning shot from Shazam’s horn and struck Angel, enveloping him in white smoke. The smoke quickly disappeared, revealing the rabbit back in his diminutive size, much to his displeasure after enjoying the feeling of being taller than everypony, and cool looking. The white rabbit stuck his tongue out at Shazam, to which the alicorn mare did the same before disappearing in a flash of lightning.
Angel looked back to his owner, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at her. *You were this close to putting her six feet under, weren’t you?*
Fluttershy looked down at her pet and kept her kind smile. “Now Angel, that wouldn’t be very nice. But…let’s just say that nopony – NOPONY – harms my animal friends, especially you.”
The pegasus mare trotted towards the house, while Angel followed, feeling a chill run up his spine. *Sheesh, and I thought that bulked out Kingdom dude was scary.*
CAROUSEL BOUTIQUE
“Oh my…”
“Wow!”
Shazam had stopped by Rarity’s residence, both the unicorn mare and her baby sister were there, staring at the giant lioness that was Opalescence. Sweetie Belle was completely awestruck at the sight of the giant cat, looking over her lithe, yet muscular body, and the pristine white coat she sported that sheened in the daylight.
“Yes, I am quite the sight, am I not?” Opal asked with hint of pride.
“Well…I…Y-Yes, you are indeed Opal,” said Rarity.
Opal chuckled in amusement at the stunned demeanor of her owner. Yes, Opal did care about her owner, and to a degree held affection for the younger sibling, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t above acting like the diva she knew herself to be. Opal was suddenly aware of some extra weight on her head, forcing her to turn one of her emerald eyes up to see Sweetie Belle plopped on the white lioness’ head.
“Oooh, oooh, we should totally to do a play! I’ve been working on one for a bit now and with Opal like this she’d be perfect!” Sweetie Belle proclaimed.
Rarity smiled with a bit of dread. “Oh…and what play would that be?”
“‘The Lion Queen’! It’s about a lioness cub who’s destined to be the Queen of the Pride Lands, but her father, the King, is killed by his evil, scheming younger sister, and manages to trick the cub into thinking it was her fault! The cub runs away and meets a wise cracking meerkat and a stinky – yet lovable – warthog! Eventually there’s a love interest and then a climactic final showdown with the Evil Aunt and White Lioness, and all of it going down as a musical!”
Shazam, Opal, and Rarity blinked at the rundown of that story, still trying to compute it.
Sweetie Belle turned her head towards Shazam, looking at her with hopeful eyes. “Can you keep Opal like this for a little longer?!”
“Sweetie Belle, honestly, we cannot let Opal stay a she is!” Rarity protested.
Opal got a devious look in her eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of a musical, I’ve always wanted to try my paw at the theater and song.”
“Yay!” Sweetie Belle cheered.
“Oooooh…”
At that moment Rarity fainted right on the spot, prompting Sweetie Belle to hop off of Opal’s head and go to her unconscious older sister. The lioness let out a purring chuckle at the reaction she got out of her owner and then sighed wistfully.
“Okay, now, I’m ready to change back.”
SUGAR CUBE CORNER…
As could be expected, most of the town either screamed or hid in their houses at the sight of Gummy the giant alligator. Shazam had offered to change him back before they entered the town, but Gummy insisted that he remained this size until he met Pinkie Pie. Luckily that didn’t take long as the party planning mare exited the establishment with lightning fast speed and latched onto Gummy’s oversized right foreleg, hugging it tightly and unafraid of her pet’s monstrous size and appearance.
“Ooooooh, Gummy! I was so, so, worried about what happened to you! I mean, it was super cool and scary that you turned into a giant alligator and shot super-mega-ultra magic beams from your mouth, but it was still really neat!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“Yes, it was indeed, ‘neat’, Pinkie Pie. But now the question remains, should I return to what I once was. To a life as a small, oddly cute, reptile; toothless and unable to spread my metaphorical wings and soar? Or shall I stay as I am, a being that towers above all, a virtual demigod amongst my fellow animals and ponies? What shall the gator decide? What should he decide?”
Shazam raised an eyebrow, apparently her power not only increased his size and strength, but also his brainpower as well. Pinkie separated herself from Gummy, taking a few steps back so that she could look her pet alligator in the eyes, so to speak.
“Gummy?” Pinkie Pie spoke with uncertainty.
“Such a thought, leaves me with only one recourse in which to decide my fate.”
Before anypony could ask what that meant, the giant gator opened its mouth, lashed out its tongue, and wrapped it around Pinkie Pie. The tongue then retracted just as quickly and brought Pinkie into the mouth of the giant gator, where its massive jaws slammed shut on the earth pony mare like a steel trap. Shazam’s mouth practically hit the ground, eyes big as saucers at what she saw. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had the same looks, but fainted after a few seconds. Pumpkin and Pound Cake just giggled and clapped their hooves together.
The other residents were in the same state of shock at seeing the beloved hyperactive earth pony mare made into a snack for the giant reptile. Shazam shook her head, snapping herself out of her stupor and prepared to strike against the gator, but stopped.
Gummy’s mouth suddenly opened back up, his tongue slithered out and plopped an uneaten Pinkie Pie right on her rear where she had been snatched up earlier. The gator’s tongue went back into his mouth as he shut his massive jaws, and then sighed contently. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Shazam rushed to Pinkie’s side, but cringed upon seeing her coated in alligator saliva. “Ewwww…Pinkie Pie, are you alright?!”
“That…That…That…was HILARIOUS!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she threw her saliva dripping forelegs into the air.
Shazam deadpanned. “What?”
“Well, duh, it’s so obvious! Gummy wanted to prank me like that for forever, but he wasn’t big enough! But thanks to you he is and he could!” Pinkie then placed her hooves on her hips and looked directly at Gummy. “But we’re going to start using some mouthwash for you mister, and floss four times a day!”
Gummy visibly drooped.
“Awwww, who’s Momma’s little gator?” Pinkie asked.
Gummy looked off to the side.
“Who’s Momma’s little gator?” Pinkie asked again in baby talk tone.
Gummy looked back and this time his eyes widened and he gave a very big, very teeth filled, smile.
“That’s my Gummy,” Pinkie then reached into her mane and pulled out a cupcake, “here you go!”
Pinkie tossed the cupcake to Gummy, upon which the gator opened its massive jaws yet again and snapped them down once the confection hit his tongue. Gummy’s tongue then stuck out from the corner of his mouth and licked all around his chops, and his left eye while it was open.
They’re both nuttier than fruitcakes…
SWEET APPLE ACRES…
“I’m home, I’m home, I’m home, I’m home!” Winona repeated.
The wolf-dog had practically tackled each member of the Apple Family and began licking them mercilessly, mussing up their manes and coats with dog slobber. She was large enough that she somehow managed to catch Big Mac, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Babs all under her and began licking them.
“Okay, okay, we’re happy to see ya too, Winona!” Applejack managed to say in between licks.
“E-Eeyup!” Big Macintosh agreed.
“Winona, c’mon, you’re gonna make my coat mat!” Apple Bloom begged.
“Like I said, I definitely need to move here! Ha-ha!” Babs shouted excitedly, fully embracing the weird of this whole situation.
Shazam tried several times to make Winona settle down so she could change her back to normal, but it was no use, the wolf-dog was just too hyper and happy to remain still. Just then, Granny Smith came walking out of the house, cocking her head to the side and squinting her eyes.
“Ah must be hallucinatin’ again, either that or Winona’s taken to that new dog food real well?”
Winona’s head snapped up and her tail wagged even more at the sight of the oldmare. “Granny, Granny!”
“WINONA, NO!” The others cried.
But it was too late, the giant wolf-dog bounded towards the elderly mare. They knew Winona had no intention of hurting her, but the way she was now, Winona was likely to hurt Granny Smith by accident. Just as Winona got within five feet of Granny Smith, the lime green mare stamped her hoof on the floorboard.
“Winona, sit!” Granny Smith ordered.
Winona’s ears perked up and her tail stopped wagging. She skidded to a halt and stopped just a foot away from Granny Smith. The giant wolf-dog then sat on her rear, tail wagging now, and panting as she looked down on the oldmare happily.
“Good, girl,” said Granny Smith, walking up to Winona and petting her side. “Well, don’t just stand there gawkin’, do whatever mystical, bibbidi bobbidi boo ya got to do.”
Once again, Shazam was dumbfounded.
CASTLE CONCORDIA…
Princess Celestia, Luna, and Twilight were standing in what essentially was the “backyard” of the castle. They had been told to standby and await the return of their pets. Luna was pacing back and forth, reminding Twilight of herself whenever she was trying to schedule and plan out something, it was funny to see this happening from the opposite side. However, Celestia was a little more subtle about it, sitting down beside Twilight and tapping her hoof against the grass impatiently.
“I swear if that mare has harmed one hair on my little Tibbles –!”
“Relax, Luna, I’m sure Tiberius is alright, just as my Philomena is.” Celestia glanced to Twilight, worry heavy in her eyes. “She will be alright, right?”
Twilight placed a hoof against the diarch’s foreleg, flashing her a comforting smile. “Of course they’re alright, I’m sure Owlowiscious, Tiberius, and Philomena are just fine.”
As if on cue, a lightning bolt shot down from the sky, landing a few feet away from the Princesses and an assembly of Royal and Dusk Guards. The giant bolt dispersed and revealed Shazam, along with the still transformed Tiberius, Owlowiscious, and Philomena. The Guards all entered defensive positions, the unicorn division had their horns glowing, ready to cast a defense or offense spell at a moment’s notice. The pegasi division were already in the air, hovering with spears at the ready. The earth division widened their stances, ready to sprint at the alicorn and her beasts.
Philomena looked upon their surroundings and then looked directly at Celestia. “Quite the welcome party, Tia, a bit over the top for my tastes though.”
Celestia stood on all fours and walked towards the giant phoenix. She still couldn’t get over the fiery appearance of her beloved pet and companion through the ages, Philomena looked akin to a celestial spirit rather than a flesh and blood avian creature. The Princess of the Sun sighed heavily, upon which a smirk formed on her lips.
“As if you’re in a position to talk, Philomena; does the term ‘Drama Queen’ or ‘Ham’ mean anything to you?” Celestia shot back.
Philomena turned her beak up haughtily. “You just don’t know how to appreciate a good time and have fun, these days you go around like somepony shoved the world’s biggest iron stick up your plot, and quite frankly, I’m surprised they found one for that grandiose flank of yours.”
Celestia’s eye twitched as her face went bright red from the comment, her wings unconsciously moving lower to cover her flanks. Luna didn’t even bother to stifle her laugh, losing all the pent up seriousness and falling to the ground, rolling back in forth in laughter at the expense of her elder sister. The assembled Guards bit their lower lips and coughed loudly, trying to keep themselves from joining the laughter coming from the younger sister Princess.
Twilight was trying, in vain mind you, to keep her laughter in as well. This was her mentor, teacher, second mother, it would be rude to laugh at such a crude jab at her flank. Which…she had to admit…was a bit on the plump side. Oh who was she kidding?! Twilight quickly cast the Dome of Silence spell around herself and laughed loudly, and hysterically.
“Philomena how dare you!” Celestia accused, her face becoming even redder than earlier.
“Hey, don’t blame me, yours is the sun, so it only makes sense that some things are proportionally…large, shall we say.”
Celestia huffed. “Well, at least I don’t look like a rubber chicken when my feathers molt.”
Now it was Philomena’s turn to get embarrassed. “Y-You know I can’t help that! I’m a phoenix, I molt my feathers and then, rebirth!”
Celestia formed a grin at this. “Yes, well, for a phoenix, one would think you’re rebirth cycle would look a tad more…majestic? Graceful? Ah, but instead we get – ack – ooh – ack!” Celestia began to mimic Philomena’s over dramatic death scenes from cycles past, finishing it by falling onto her back and making a death rattle, finally giving a few twitches of a leg before going silent. “Something like that I believe?”
The horseshoe was the other hoof this time, and now Philomena was the one embarrassed. Celestia extended her wings and flew up to the great phoenix and placed her hoof on Philomena’s beak. “I’m so happy to see you again, you little Drama Queen.”
Philomena chuckled. “Well, so am I, Sun Butt.”
Tiberius smiled, seeing his friend and her owner happy to see each other. Just then he sensed Luna’s presence before him. The giant opossum looked down directly at the lunar princess, a little worried that she hadn’t said anything about his new form. “Um…Lulu…I…”
“Shush!” Luna commanded.
Tiberius did as she told him, preparing to get a scolding remark for running off with the other pets to aid Shazam in her fight against the Kingdom agents. But just then, Luna jumped up high above him and the landed directly on the giant marsupial, nuzzling into his thick fur. She then hummed in content, rolling about like a filly with a brand new set of bedsheets.
“Tibbles you’re fur is incredibly soft, I could fall asleep if I stayed any longer!” Luna maneuvered herself until she was looking down at Tiberius’ face. “Did you at least have fun with the others?”
Tiberius smiled and shook his head in affirmation. “Yes, I did, very much, Lulu!”
Luna giggled, “Well, I’m glad, at least this event wasn’t a complete debacle.”
Twilight had ended the spell, finally catching her breath and noticing that Owlowiscious had stealthily made his way to Twilight’s side, nodding down at her respectfully. The two of them then turned to Shazam, who gave them a nod as well.
“Shazam,” said Celestia.
The alicorn mare turned to the elder sister, giving her, her full attention. “Y-Yes, Princess Celestia?”
The solar diarch trotted until she was a couple of feet away from the red armored mare. Luna extended her wings and flew to her sister’s side, keeping her gaze locked on Shazam. The hero mare gulped, despite having faced down Black Adam, and multiple Kingdom agents, the part of her that was a filly still feared the serious gazes of the Princesses, a kind of scolding look one would receive from their parents.
“Thank you, for saving our lives, and the lives of our friends,” said Celestia.
Shazam blinked. “Did…Did you just say ‘thank you’?”
“Yes, Shazam, it is called gratitude. You have, more than once, saved our lives and protected the wellbeing of our subjects. Despite your similarities in power and form to a certain other alicorn, you have shown that you are not as he was,” said Luna.
“Trust me, Princess Luna, I’m nothing like that monster, and I never will be,” said Shazam with great firmness and conviction.
The diarchs nodded in unison, sensing the seriousness in Shazam’s words.
“Tell us, Shazam, why hide yourself? Surely you can remove your hood in our presence. It’s not every day my sister and I meet other alicorns that we ourselves aren’t already familiar with.” Luna asked curiously.
Shazam brought a hoof to the back of her head, rubbing that spot nervously. “I…I would, and part of me wants to. But I can’t. With everything that’s happened, it’s imperative, more than ever, that I keep my identity secret from you and those around me. I don’t want to put any of them in danger…”
She spoke the truth, with the Kingdom still at large, revealing the knowledge of her true identity could put those she loves in danger, which was why the circle of ponies who did know kept the secret well.
“Alright, it does make sense. We are an open target as it stands, but yourself, you have anonymity, and that is your greatest weapon in our current situation.”
Celestia held out her hoof, extending it to Shazam. “Right now we are in a critical situation where our lives are being targeted, and those around us are sure to pay the price if we are not careful. Shazam, I know not if you are a royal of another land or dimension, and if so we have no right to ask you…”
Luna placed her hoof over Celestia’s, looking to Shazam as well. “But, for the sake of those we care about, can you continue to fight for us? There is little we know of you, and so, completely trusting you is difficult for now. But as it stands, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Kingdom seeks your destruction as well as the alicorn Royals. Will you continue to aid us?”
Shazam smiled and carefully extended her hoof to the Two Sisters, placing it atop the two. “You have my word, I will always defend Equestria. This is my home after all.”
The two Princesses nodded and all three retracted their hooves. Twilight watched from afar, grateful that, for the time being, Celestia and Luna trusted Shazam. How long that lasts would depend upon the next move of the Kingdom.
Twilight found it frustrating, it was like a game of chess, the only difference being they were constantly on the defensive, counterattacking their opponent’s moves. If they knew where and who they were, the Elements, Princesses, and Shazam could start going on the offensive. But that was a concern for another day, for now, small victories were to be celebrated, such as the forging of an alliance.
RESIDENCE OF RAINBOW DASH…
Shazam decided to take the long way back with Tank, at the giant tortoise’s behest of course. The two of them zoomed through the air, Shazam with her wings and lightning aura, and Tank with his jet fire thrusters and his fin arms. The duo did a number of aerial acrobatic stunts, just for the heck of it. Shazam and Tank would perform a helix maneuver, going up and down and coming real close to each other as they passed by. They raced for a little bit, Tank wanting to see just how fast his thrusters could make him go.
All in all, it was a fun flying trip. But as with all good things, this had to come to an end. Rainbow Dash’s house was coming up fast and no doubt the prismatic mare was worried about her tortoise friend. Shazam didn’t see a need in announcing their presence, the roar of Tank’s jets were plenty loud enough to grab Rainbow’s attention. As they grew nearer, Tank retracted his fin arms and allowed the forward thrusters to fire, allowing him to enter into a hover mode.
As expected, the sound of Tank’s jets roused the attention of Rainbow, making her zoom out of her cloud house and appear in the sky. At first she seemed ready to pick a fight, but that look quickly vanished.
“S-Shazam, Tank!” Rainbow cried out.
“Hello Rainbow Dash, we meet again,” said Shazam. The alicorn mare noticed a slight red tint to Rainbow’s cheeks upon her saying that, but she paid it no mind.
Rainbow approached the two, her confident smirk on full display. “We gotta stop meeting up when psychos are trying to kill us.”
“Heh, heh, I seriously wouldn’t mind that,” said Shazam.
Rainbow felt her heart skip a beat, but quickly shook her head and focused on her flying buddy. “Tank, you were so awesome at out there! Flying around and blasting that psycho mare with fireballs and the fire beam thing! So awesome!” Rainbow squished her cheeks as she said that last part.
Tank blushed, hearing his owner’s praise was always uplifting, and her displays of affection were always heartwarming to him. Even though she didn’t show much of that when they were in public, he understood. Besides, Tank knew how much she loved him, and didn’t hold it against her if she didn’t give him a little affectionate nuzzle, she’d give him a quick nose rub instead. Which, Tank admitted, was cute to see and do.
“Thank you, Rainbow,” said Tank.
“And you can talk, that’s even more awesome! Jeez, look at the size of these teeth!” Rainbow flew to one of the large tusks and poked at it carefully. “They’re longer than dragon teeth! And how the heck are you doing that with the fire!”
Tank looked down, realizing she was talking about his thrusters. “Don’t know, really.”
“Seriously? Doesn’t that, like, hurt? I mean, that is where your arms and legs are.” Rainbow asked as she gazed upon the jetting flames from the arm and leg holes.
“Truthfully, it doesn’t, I’m actually not sure where my arms and legs go when I do this to be honest.”
Rainbow continued to smile, flying back up and landing on the giant tortoise's head, and splaying herself out in an attempt to hug him. “Ah, whatever, you’re still the most awesome pet, ever!”
Shazam chuckled, seeing her idol acting in such a way did not diminish the amount of respect and sisterly love she felt for Rainbow Dash, actually, seeing her act like this served as a reminder that the cool and brash Rainbow Dash did have a loving and caring side to her. Now that she thought about it about, Shazam herself was just as much a tomcolt as Rainbow was, and even then, she managed to fall for somepony.
“Well, I should be changing him back and getting out of here,” said Shazam.
Rainbow Dash flew up from Tank’s head to the alicorn mare’s side. “You’re not like completely leaving, right? As in going to some other dimension or something?”
“No, no, I’ll still be close. But right now, me being in the open is just putting you guys in danger, for now, I need to maintain a low profile.”
The cyan pegasus mare released a sigh of relief, thankful that the hero was not leaving Equestria, but most likely going into civilian hiding. “I…I don’t suppose you’d mind giving me a hint about that? I mean, you’re some kind of superhero, does that mean that you have a secret identity, too?”
Shazam nodded.
“Okay, so that kind of hiding, cool.” Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head for a bit, feeling anxious about asking her next question. “Will we run into each other again?”
Sooner than you think, Rainbow, thought Shazam.
“I’m sure we will.”
“Cool.” Rainbow said in a very calm manner, belaying the high degree of giddiness she was containing.
LATE AFTERNOON…
It had been a long day returning everypony’s pets, but Scootaloo managed it. Now she was tired again, and needed some time in her own bed, or maybe another power nap in the Rock of Eternity. Scootaloo decided on her own bed, as comfortable as the accommodations at the magical fortress were, there was no beating the feeling of lying down in your own bed.
Scootaloo chuckled at that, “her own bed”, it was something she never believed she’d be able think. Of course the bed at Wayward House was hers, but it was just a temporary bed, more than one pony had slept in that bed over the years the orphanage had been up, and Scootaloo had no doubts that at some point down the road another foal would call that bed theirs.
But now, she had a bed of her own, bought for her, and for her alone to sleep on and in. Sometimes it felt like a good dream that she was destined to wake up from, only to face the reality that was her life.
That wasn’t the case however, it was all real. She was a hero now, with friends surrounding her, older ponies who believed in her, loved and cared about her, and a place to truly call home. Scootaloo let the warmth of those memories carry her to the ground, flying under her own wing power and not that of her super powered alter. She landed a few feet away from Cheerilee’s house, her home.
The pegasus filly trotted towards the house and stopped at the foot of the door. She knew that at some point, possibly soon, that Cheerilee was going to need to know about Shazam, the Rock of Eternity, and the identity of the pony who hurt her. She gave them all a vague description of her Mother, she didn’t know why she did it. Had Scootaloo told them the name and who it was, she’d never have to fear her Mother’s return, but then again, what would Cheerilee think?
Would she see their situation differently if she knew that Scootaloo was assaulted by her own flesh and blood? Her own Mother? Maybe some part, a secret part of her still clinged onto the hope that her Mother would be different after all these years, and that maybe she’d beg Scootaloo for her forgiveness so that they could be a family once again.
Scootaloo shook her head. No, I can’t think like that anymore! This is my present, and my future is ahead of me. I can’t keep wallowing in the past, she’s not in my life anymore! Ponyville, Cheerilee and Twilight, my friends, Rainbow Dash – Scootaloo looked to her flank, seeing the lightning bolt cutie mark that represented her destiny– and my future as a hero. And…Alula…
The orange filly took a deep breath and the exhaled it. She turned the knob and opened the door, peeking her head inside first and spotting the maroon earth pony mare. “Cheerilee? I…I’m home, sorry for coming home late, I was helping Twilight organize her library and –” Scootaloo stopped upon opening the door more and spotting a second mare on the couch beside Cheerilee. “– Mrs. Milano, what are you doing here?!”
Cheerilee and Milano glanced to each other and then to Scootaloo with sad expressions. “Scootaloo, I think you need to sit down first,” the maroon mare spoke.
Fear gripped Scootaloo’s heart. “W-Why, what’s wrong?”
Milano could already see the signs of fear in Scootaloo’s eyes and quickly reassured her. “Scootaloo I’m not here to take you away, this has nothing to do with your adoption, you’re with Cheerilee now and no one’s going to take you away from your home, understand?”
Scootaloo could see and hear the sincerity in Milano’s voice, but a quick glance to Cheerilee was made just for extra assurance. The schoolmarm nodded in agreement with Milano, which eased Scootaloo’s mind, but that still didn’t mean that she could breathe a sigh of relief yet.
“So, why are you here?” Scootaloo asked as she slowly walked towards them.
The two mares waited until Scootaloo was sitting before them, Milano hopped off the couch and sat before Scootaloo. “I…I know you and Alula have grown closer, Scootaloo. I know you and her are together. And before you say anything, no, I am not here to tell you that you can’t see her anymore, really, you seeing her right now would probably be a good thing for her right now.”
Dread started to replace fear. “What’s wrong with Alula?”
“She…She had another attack, Scootaloo. It was…much worse than the first time…”
“Where is she?” Scootaloo asked.
“Scoota –”
“WHERE IS SHE?!” Scootaloo demanded, stamping her hoof for emphasis.
Milano sighed. “She’s at Ponyville General Hospital.”