//------------------------------// // Entry 21: Orchard Brawl // Story: MLDC: Firestorm Crisis // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// EARLIER THAT SAME DAY… Twilight had spent hours combing over her data on the Firestorm Matrix. Every little note, scan, and everything in between, but no matter what, she still couldn’t find the answers she needed. No, the answers were right there in front of her eyes, she just didn’t – couldn’t accept what it was, magic. Just thinking the word left a bad taste in her mouth, it’s not like she wasn’t open minded about a lot of things, if she wasn’t, Twilight doubted she’d be dating Sunset Shimmer or any girl for that matter. Heck, she’d go so far as to say that she’d doubt any of this Firestorm business was real, but it was, because it was her life, and magic, apparently, was part of Sunset’s life, her whole life if it can be believed. Twilight sat on her rolling chair, Spike was resting in her lap as she petted her loyal canine friend softy. Parallel worlds had always been a popular theory among the scientific community, as well as an endless resource for comic book and television show writers. Dimensions within dimensions, worlds where a single choice lead to a different outcome, or a world populated by a sentient race that wasn’t human but certainly acted like it; although there wasn’t any concrete evidence to back up such theories, it remained only that, a theory. Sunset, however, was the proof. Twilight’s girlfriend was living proof that another world, possibly many others, existed alongside their own. A world where magic was the norm and science was secondary to its mystical teachings and power. A world filled with…equines, ponies who talked, were intelligent, had families, and even were ruled by a wise and gentle demigoddess. Such a thing sounded like something straight out a girl’s TV show. Unfortunately it wasn’t, Sunset had shown her that magic was real, and it was part of who she was. Still there was something that Sunset had said before they arrived back at Twilight’s home, Sunset believed that she wouldn’t accept her because she wasn’t human. Not like I’m that much human myself, thought Twilight a she raised her left hand, examining it carefully. But, then again, I was born a human being. Sunset was born a pony and forced to adapt to an alien body and live in a world that was both familiar and yet completely foreign. No wonder she didn’t have any friends and kept people at a distance.  Twilight sighed heavily, going deeper into thought. What would that say about me then? She’s human by a biological standpoint, but essentially, she was a pony. Does that count as bestiality? Ugh, what am I thinking?!  Spike perked his ears up and glanced up at his master. Twilight noticed Spike’s look and sighed yet again. “I know Spike, it shouldn’t matter what Sunset is, I have no right to judge considering what I am…still, this whole thing with her magic, it’s…unpredictable. How can you control something like that? How can you understand something so mysterious?” Spike gave her another look that said: “Well, you fell for Sunset Shimmer didn’t you? She’s about as unpredictable and mysterious as they get.” “I know that, I just…it’s just so hard to comprehend this and –” Twilight stopped and deadpanned. “And I’m talking to you as if you understand me.” *Bark* Twilight raised an eyebrow, if equines were sentient in Sunset’s world. Did that mean that…? “Spike…bark three times if you understand me.” Spike opened his mouth but suddenly the doorbell rang, making Twilight squeal in fright and jump up from her chair. Spike was unfortunately sent airborne from the quick movement, Twilight scrambled to her furry companion and quickly caught him before he landed on the basement floor. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, but then worried, going still when she thought that it might be Sunset at the door. Twilight quickly put Spike down on the floor, removed her lab coat, and rushed to the door. Spike let out a sigh as he shook his head at this owner. “Sometimes you’re a little too high strung, Twi.” Twilight made it upstairs, her father was at the kitchen table, scrolling through a digital tablet for the latest in astrological, science, and world news, sipping at a cup of coffee. Night Light gave a wave to his daughter and smiled at her. Twilight returned the gesture quickly and made her way to the front door, but apparently her mother beat her to it, now standing in the middle of the doorway, obscuring the visitor from view. Velvet must’ve sensed her daughter’s presence, having glanced over her shoulder and spotting Twilight. She moved out from the doorway and revealed that the visitor was not Sunset, but was in fact Applejack. Twilight’s enthusiasm dropped low at that moment, but she perked up enough so that her mother and friend wouldn’t get worried. “Morning Applejack.” Twilight greeted as she made her way to the door. “Mornin’ to you too, and you, Mrs. Velvet,” replied Applejack. Velvet sighed a little. “Applejack, honey, I told you and Twilight’s friends that you can just call me Velvet, you don’t have to say Mrs. all the time.” Applejack tipped her hat to Velvet. “Sorry, no can do, Granny raised me to respect my elders, and it wouldn’t be right of me to call ya Velvet without the Mrs.” Twilight chuckled as she joined her mother and friend. “You better let this one go, Mom. Applejack’s not going to budge on that.” Velvet sighed in defeat. “Oh well, I tried. So, what can we do for you Applejack?” “Actually, Ma’am, Ah was hopin’ Ah could borrow Twi for the day?” Applejack asked. “Oh, did we have something planned for today?! I’m sorry Applejack, I didn’t know!” Twilight apologized. “Nah, we never planned for anythin’, Ah just dropped by to see if you wanted to spend some time out by the farm. A little time away on the farm can sometimes help ya think, especially if there are…problems ya can’t solve at home,” said Applejack. Twilight wasn’t sure where this was going, Applejack wasn’t one to beat around the bush, and yet it was as if she was purposefully trying to avoid talking about the real reason she was here. Whether if it was for Twilight’s sake or because her mother was here was up in the air. Unfortunately, as much as she didn’t want to turn down AJ, Twilight needed to get back to the lab and figure out the Firestorm Matrix, magic, Sunset, everything. “Oh, well, Applejack I –” “She’d love to go!” Velvet interrupted. “What?!” “Honey, you’ve been spending too much time in that basement laboratory of yours. Sometimes getting some fresh air amongst the simplicity of nature can really help,” she explained. “But…But…Hey!” Twilight suddenly felt Spike nudging her leg with his head, telling her to go. It was two against one, and Twilight could tell that this was already out of her hands. “Alright, Applejack, I’ll go with you.” “Great, don’t bother dressin’ up, what ‘cha got on is plenty good!” Applejack quickly grabbed hold of Twilight and pulled her out of the house, manhandling her all the way to her big brother’s car before she could offer any protests or change her mind. Velvet stood on the porch and waved goodbye to her young daughter as the Apples whisked Twilight away to their farm. Once they were out of sight, Velvet let a melancholy expression befall her. She walked back inside, closing the door, and headed to the kitchen. Velvet pulled out a chair and sat across from her husband, sighing again. Night Light noticed his wife’s mood and put down the tablet to see what was wrong. “Dear, you sound a little sad, what’s wrong?” Night Light asked. “It’s Twilight, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she seems a little depressed lately.” Night Light nodded. “Yes, I have noticed. Don’t know why though, I assumed it may’ve been layover from Shining Armor’s passing, or because of the recent attack.” Velvet propped herself up on her elbows, placing her chin in both palms of her hands. “I think it has something more to do with Sunset Shimmer, but I assume those are part of it as well.” The light-gray women took a deep breath and calmed herself before speaking. “I think Sunset and Twilight may be…together, as in dating…possibly.” Night Light nearly choked on his sip of coffee, choking the remnants down and taking in gasping breaths of air. “O-Our Twilight, dating?! And it’s Sunset?!” “Now, honey, we talked about this a long time ago that if we ever had children and they turned out to swing that way,” warned Velvet. “I know, I know, we’d love them no matter what, and I do! Just, still, it’s a little shocking…and honestly I never saw Twilight finding someone to be in a relationship with.” Velvet raised an eyebrow at that. “What? She’s cute, and if I might say so, a knockout with the right clothes. Why wouldn’t she be in a relationship with someone?” Night Light shook his head. “No, no, I’m not saying she’s unattractive. I’m just saying she’s quite focused when it comes to her studies and friends, I just assumed she didn’t want to be in one because she preferred her independence.” Velvet crossed her arms. “Well, she is a girl, a teenage girl at that. Eventually, the heart wants more.” Night Light did understand, he never did see himself finding the right girl when he was younger. Being labeled a “nerd” kind of killed most if not all his dating options, so he just decided to pour himself into his studies and passions. Eventually he met Velvet in college, who was quite the aspiring author and editor. The two of them found each other and, as they say, the rest is history. “Still, Sunset Shimmer, she does have that…bad girl thing going for her.” Night Light commented.         “Well, bad boy or bad girl, the thrill would be the same I guess. But, I don’t know, I think what they have is a bit more…cute, and dare I say, beautiful?” Velvet pondered. Night Light smiled, Velvet was always into the romance stories, that and fantasy, she loved editing those kinds just as much. Just then a thought bolted to the forefront of Night Light’s mind, making his eyes widen with realization. “Oh crap!” “What, what’s wrong?!” Velvet asked. “We left them alone in Twilight’s room sooo many times…you…you don’t think they were…?” Night Light’s face went red at the thought. Velvet deadpanned, sighed, and then face palmed herself, dragging her hand down her face. “Unbelievable, why is it that men always think that whenever girls are behind closed doors, we’re either comparing boob sizes or making out with each other?” Now it was Night Light’s turn to deadpan and cross his arms. “Says the woman who was in a very compromising position with Violet and Cupcake.” Velvet’s face went bright red as she slammed her hands on the table. “T-T-That was just us playing Twister!” Night Light raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Uh-huh, ‘Twister’. Tell me, what version of Twister requires you to be completely naked? Better yet! What version of Twister doesn’t have a mat or a spinner?” Velvet stumbled over her words, trying to explain the situation. The married woman let her head droop down in defeat and then raised her hand up with her index finger pointed upwards. “Okay, okay, we were hammered shitless, we were having fun, things were said, and curiosities needed to be satiated! But that was only back in college, and that was the only time that happened!” Night Light raised his hands up defensively. “Alright, Dear, alright.” The light-gray woman slumped back into her chair while her husband went back to reading his tablet, still smirking the whole time. “Hey, how come you didn’t get angry when you saw that? As I recall, we were dating when that happened.” “Hmm, I did get a little angry, but considering the splendid eye candy you gave me that night, I just burned the image into my brain and let it slide.” Velvet scoffed, and yet she grinned. “You’re such a perv Night.” “Maybe, but so are you.” “Touché.” SWEET APPLE ACRES… Twilight hadn’t said anything the whole way to the Apple Family’s farm. Applejack road in the backseat with Twilight, watching the scenery move by as the car continued to drive to its destination. During the ride, Twilight wanted to ask AJ why she suddenly decided she wanted her to come to the farm, and every response was: “We’ll talk when we get there.” Eventually, they made it to the farm. Big Macintosh let Applejack and Twilight disembark before he pulled into the garage. After saying hi to Granny Smith, Applejack had Twilight follow her into the orchard. The air was clean and fresh, the scents of springtime apples was in the air, making the walk delightfully pleasant. Twilight started to get worried, she noted by the position of the sun and the time of their arrival to the farm, that the two of them had been walking for at least twenty minutes. Another thing she noticed was that Applejack was making a lot of turns, left, right, left, left, right, left, right, right, and so on and so forth. It was as if she was intentionally trying to make it hard for anyone to follow them, Twilight wasn’t too worried though. Applejack was her friend, and the most levelheaded member of their group of friends, she wouldn’t have led her out into the deeper portions of the orchard without a reason, right? Finally, after about twenty minutes, plus, of walking, Applejack settled on a clearing in the orchard. There was a rock jutting out from the ground, acting almost like a nature made bench to sit on. Applejack walked over to the rock and sat down, patting the space next to her. Twilight walked to the rock and sat down beside Applejack. “Okay Applejack, why did you bring me all the way out here?” Twilight asked. “Ah needed a place that was quiet and private, someplace far enough in the orchard where no one would hear us.” “Here what?” Twilight asked. Suddenly, Applejack shot out her left arm and brought Twilight close to her, making the purple girl ‘“EEEP” in surprise. The farm girl looked down at Twilight, the slight few inches of extra height on Applejack made her feel a little intimidating. Applejack looked into Twilight’s amethyst eyes with her own emerald eyes and giving Twilight a half-lidded gaze. “Twi, Ah love ya,” said Applejack. Twilight’s entire body went stiff as the world ceased to exist within her mind, her face growing redder than the apples that surrounded them. “Wha – Whu – WHAT?!!” “And the reason Ah led ya out here, was so that no one could hear us when Ah…” “Applejack, please wait! Y-You can’t – I-I can’t – I…I…I.” Twilight’s face scrunched when she saw Applejack’s trademark “liar face” appear. The farm girl quickly let go and began laughing heartedly into the open air. Twilight’s face was still red, but mostly from anger and embarrassment. “AJ! That wasn’t funny!” Twilight scolded. “Ah-Ah’m sorry, Twi, it’s just that you looked all worried and stiff!” Applejack watched as Twilight huffed and turned away from her. “Aww now, don’t be like that Twi, Ah was only foolin’ around.” Twilight glanced from over her left shoulder, seeing the apologetic, yet good-hearted smile of her friend. In the end she sighed and turned to face her friend. “Sorry AJ, I’m just a little frustrated lately, I didn’t mean to snap.” Applejack clasped Twilight on her right shoulder and nodded to her. “Sorry, Ah’m not as good a jokester like Pinkie and Rainbow, so sorry if that made ya feel awkward. But in truth, Ah wanted to see what it felt like to say that to another gal, you know? Anyway, sorry.” “Well, now that that’s out of the way, are you going to tell me the real reason we’re out here?” Twilight asked. The farm girl sighed as she adjusted her Stetson hat. “Ah wanted to talk to ya about what’s goin’ on between you and Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight’s body tensed. “Wha-What about Sunset?” “The two of ya were gettin’ along great like, but all of a sudden you two stop talkin to each other, and avoid each other in the hallways at school. Twilight, what happened?” Applejack asked. The purple girl knew this was probably the issue, her friends had been getting increasingly worried about how she and Sunset were starting to drift away. In truth, Twilight did not want this to happen, but until the mystery of how they were able to fuse, she couldn’t risk them accidentally setting off the fusion and becoming Hel once again. Twilight shuddered at the mere thought of being inside that demoness, an action that caught Applejack’s attention. “Sugarcube, you alright?” “Oh, yes, I’m fine. Like I said, we’re just in a rough patch with our friendship, we just need to work it out ourselves.” Applejack slowly nodded. “Uh-huh, now are ya sure it’s your friendship and not your relationship?” Twilight became nervous. “What do you mean?” “Twi, Ah know you and Sunset have been seenin’ each other, like girlfriends.” Twilight shot to her feet, eyes wide with worry and panic. “Nononono, we’re not like that – I’m not like that! I don’t hold any affection other than platonic or sisterly love for other girls!” “Twi, Twi, sugarcube, relax, ya don’t have to put up a front or pretend. That’s why we’re out here, so ya don’t have to. Ah already know about which way ya swing, and who ya love,” said Applejack in her most convincing tone. Twilight felt like the world was coming to an end, and it might be literally, but that was another worry for later. Applejack knew about her orientation and about Sunset, she had planned to tell her friends at some point down the line, it was obviously going to become a topic they needed to discuss amongst them, and how they would accept Sunset into their group of friends and possibly work towards forgiving the former bully. Out of the group, Twilight was most concerned with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity’s reactions to this news. Pinkie Pie, she knew, would just accept it and say how happy she was for them, she’d might even throw a party for them. Who was she kidding? Pinkie would throw them a party. Fluttershy, well, she figured there’d be some fear from her. After all, Fluttershy did take the worst of the abuse that Sunset used to dish out to the student body. But Twilight hoped that if Sunset could show the gentler and apologetic side of herself, then maybe there was a chance for acceptance. Rarity was a bit trickier to pin down, the fashionista certainly didn’t show, or let slip, that she condoned or was inclined towards female relationships. Best-case scenario was that Rarity, while not really into such things, would still accept the two of them as friends. Worst-case scenario, she’d have nothing to do with them. Rainbow Dash, Twilight knew for a fact that the tension between them would either end up with Sunset and Rainbow beating each other up, or ignoring each other. Twilight held hope, but she knew Rainbow Dash was on a mission to protect her friends from Sunset. Applejack, before this, she’d had concocted a scenario in which Applejack would completely disassociate herself with Twilight, maybe even go so far as to outright protest their relationship. Twilight hated thinking of Applejack like that, she knew AJ was a levelheaded and reasonable girl. There was no need to buy into such stereotyping. Twilight felt like bolting right then and there, maybe even transforming and flying away. But she felt no danger from Applejack, in fact, Applejack just continued to hold her understanding smile, and waiting patiently. “You know…and yet, you’re alright with this?” Twilight asked in tentative tone. “Sugarcube, Ah’m not angry, not repulsed, or anythin’ else you might be thinkin’ right now. Ah’m okay with it, now just sit down and let’s talk.” Applejack patted the empty spot next to her for emphasis, again. Twilight wanted to trust her friend, and so she did, carefully sitting herself down on the empty spot. She kept her gaze downwards, staring at the grass before them, hands coiled into fists and resting on her knees. “So…you know Sunset and I are…together. How…How did you find out?” “Believe or not it was Rainbow who told me,” said Applejack. Twilight whipped her head around and stared at the country girl with wide eyes. “Rainbow knows, too?! H-How did she find out?!” Applejack sighed. “Back durin’ that Science Fair thing, she was talin’ you and Sunset. Mostly because she still doesn’t trust her, and because she cares about ya.” Twilight blushed a little, she knew Rainbow Dash was protective of her, almost like an older sibling would be, but she didn’t think she’d go that far. It was sweet, funny, and a little stalker-ish, but still cute. “She…uh…she overheard you confessin’ to Sunset and all…and then let it slip – accidentally mind you – when Ah went to check on her that day she stormed out of the cafeteria. So, for now, only me and Rainbow know about what you and Sunset have, and it’s also why Ah’m here talkin’ to ya.” Applejack placed her left hand over Twilight’s clenched right hand. “So tell me, Twi, what’s goin’ on?” Twilight felt a great weight come off her shoulders. Knowing that at least two of her friends knew about her relationship with Sunset and weren’t at all repulsed or protesting of it helped ease her nerves. However, the same could not be said about this situation. Twilight couldn’t tell Applejack the reason – the real reason – why she and Sunset seemed to be avoiding each other lately. “Well…it’s just as I said earlier, we’ve hit a bit of a rough patch and we’re giving each other space.” She lied. “I understand you wanting to help me, Applejack, and believe me, I’m truly grateful that you took time out the day to bring me here so we could talk privately. But for now, it’s something that Sunset and I have to work out ourselves.” Applejack sighed heavily, the country girl herself wasn’t that great a liar, honesty ran strong in the Apple Family, it’s what built up their business and their respect among their fellow neighboring farms, family friends, and business partners. But such honesty also came with learning how to spot a liar as well, and AJ could see it in Twilight’s eyes and body language that she was holding something back. “Twi, you should know, you ain’t the only one gettin’ a talkin’ to right now.” Twilight turned to Applejack with a curious look. “What do you mean?” Applejack stood up and stretched a little as she spoke, “Right about now, Rainbow Dash is havin’ a little chat with Sunset Shimmer. Ah figured we had a fifty-fifty shot of findin’ out what’s eatin’ at the two of you.” That’s if Rainbow doesn’t start gettin’ into a fistfight with Sunset, or sabotages what they have, first. “Y-You did?! Rainbow’s talking to Sunset, right now?!” Twilight asked in a surprised tone. “Eeyup. So, sooner you tell me what’s up, the sooner we can hopefully put this mess behind the both of us. And hopefully we can find out soon, Ah don’t rightly feel comfortable leavin’ those two alone, in a crowded area or private one,” said Applejack with a bit of dread. Twilight wasn’t worried, Sunset wouldn’t say anything about the Firestorms, or Hel. “AJ it’s just too complicated and…really, too personal to go into…” Twilight began hugging herself, memories of her time as Hel flashed in her mind. “Too painful to want to remember…” Applejack raised an eyebrow at that, glancing over her shoulder. “Twi…did…did Sunset…did she, uh…hurt you? Physically?” The intelligent girl gazed at Applejack with incredulity. “Did Sunset – NO! Applejack she did nothing to me!” “Twilight, Ah know that talkin’ about stuff like that is hard, but it won’t do ya any good keepin’ it bottled up. We’re alone out here, you can tell me anythin’ sugarcube,” said Applejack in a consoling voice. Hearing Applejack talk like that, as if she were her older sibling, it hurt. It hurt because she knew Applejack only cared about her wellbeing and looked out for everyone, she was ready to be her rock if need be, but the secrets Applejack thought Twilight was keeping from her were a far cry from the reality. “Applejack…I want to tell you, everyone…but the truth will only get you all hurt!” Twilight cried.   {Oh that is a much truer statement than you know.} Applejack and Twilight snapped to attention, hearing an unfamiliar voice speak from out of nowhere. The farm girl clenched her fists, tensing her body in preparation for an impending brawl. “Who’s there?! Show yerself!” Applejack demanded. {Be silent Calamity Jane, I’m not here for you, but I am however here for you, Twilight.} Twilight jumped off the rock, eyes narrowed as she looked to and fro for the enemy she knew was there. “You’re from the Organization, aren’t you?” {Correct, I am indeed. It pains me that we can’t meet in person, but I’m afraid if I did, I’m not quite sure what I’d do to you. And I’d rather not kill you so soon before getting to speak with you at length.} Twilight connected to the Firestorm Matrix within her, trying to sense out where her opponent was, but she couldn’t find any trace of Protocol energy. {If you’re trying to sense me, don’t bother, I’m not really there.} “Then how are you talking to us?!” Twilight asked. A rustling from the tree line caught their attention. Two beings stepped out of the shadows of the trees, but not one of them was human. They were machines, with metal plates that acted as the location of the major muscles along the arms, legs, and chest areas. Their faces were a generic mold cast, sculpted in no particular likeness. One was colored a cobalt blue, and the second was silver colored. “What…What are those?!” Applejack shouted. The silver automaton opened its mouth. {I think you’ll appreciate these machines.} The cobalt one opened its mouth as the silver closed his. {They’re a little gift from an associate, Professor Ivo. He’s a brilliant scientist, and I convinced him to let me test drive his latest creations.} The silver opened its mouth next as the cobalt machine closed its mouth. {Bear in mind that they may have some bugs to work out, so try to last as long as you can Twilight. He’s a stickler for making sure his creations are flawless.} “Who are you, and how do you know my name?!” Twilight demanded. {I am the director of the Science Division of the Organization. But that’s all you get for now, don’t want to spoil the big surprise. Oh, and you can forget about calling on Sunset Shimmer. By now she’s neck deep in trouble.} “WHAT??!!” Twilight’s cellphone went off at that moment, blaring the alarm signal for Firestorm activity, not only that, but her half of the Matrix was blaring at her that there was danger to the other half of the Matrix. “FIRESTORM!!!” Twilight’s body was engulfed in pink flames, surprising Applejack to the point where she fell on her rear. She watched as the flames died out and revealed Twilight in Firestorm form, pink flames whipping from her arms and head. “I’m going to turn these things into tin cans!” Twilight thrust her right arm, opening her hand as the atomic rings formed around it. Silver and Cobalt’s eyes glowed red, indicating that the androids had entered battle mode. Within their mechanical brains their processors analyzed every bit of Twilight’s transmutational energy. [Analyzed: Firestorm 02. Countermanding.] Silver spoke in a monotone robotic voice. Silver thrust out its right hand, and atomic rings formed around it. Plasma began gathering to his hand as the automaton fired a beam of fiery plasma right for Twilight. The purple Firestorm switched her transmutation from offense to defense, making light particles form before her and harden into a shield. The plasma beam struck the light shield, but just as that attack happened, Cobalt’s hands glowed with the same atomic energy. With a wave of his hands Cobalt summoned made the earth beneath Twilight turn into quicksand. “Wh-What in the world?!” Suddenly, Silver dashed for Twilight, concentrating its plasma energy into its fist. With a single punch Silver broke through her light shield and struck Twilight in the face, sending her flying to the other end of the clearing. At the last second Twilight summoned a gravity burst, halting her flight and bringing her to a dead stop before she plowed through the apple trees. Twilight rubbed the corner of her mouth, wiping away a bit of the liquid-light ichor. How is this possible?! They aren’t human, so how can they use transmutation and atomic energy like a Protocol user?! If there was anything Twilight couldn’t stand it was unsolvable puzzle. Twilight focused, using her spectral vision to peer into the inner workings of the androids on a microscopic level. It was here she could see it, the atoms, they weren’t static at all. No, they were in motion. It was then that Twilight understood what these things were, they were made of nanomachines. “Oh my god…I didn’t think…I thought that technology was too far from coming into creation!” Cobalt opened his mouth. {So I see you understand, Twilight.} Silver opened his mouth next. {Yes, Professor Ivo’s greatest advancement in robotics technology, adaptoids. Androids made of nanobots, and given a computer brain that nearly reaches the level of a quantum computer.} Cobalt spoke next. {Combining the two together yields a machine that can not only mimic their opponent’s powers, but also think three moves ahead of their opponent as well.} Silver dashed again and balled up its fist. Twilight flew for Silver, gathering graviton particles to wrap around her right fist. The two met at the center, punching at the same time and meeting at the middle. The impact sent out a shockwave the nearly threw Applejack into the air. {As smart as you are, Twilight, you’re still human, to a degree.} Suddenly, Cobalt appeared behind Twilight. {And the drawback of the human brain, it’s a little slower to process information, no lag time with a demi-quantum computer.} Cobalt spun, performing a roundhouse kick that struck Twilight in her left ribs and propelled her to the rock that she and Applejack had sat on earlier. Unfortunately, Twilight was unable to stop herself as she impacted against it, making an indentation of herself and sending bits of the rock flying in every direction. “TWILIGHT?!” Applejack called out. Twilight opened her eyes and saw Applejack now looking down at her. “Applejack, get out of here! They’ll kill you if stay here?!” “Ah ain’t leavin’ ya alone?! Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on, but Ah ain’t abandonin’ ya!” The pink-flamed Firestorm tore herself from the rock, getting to her, now shaky, feet. “Applejack, if there were ever a time for you to put your stubbornness and pride aside, now would be the most opportune time!” Cobalt summoned his atomic energy again, condensing the air and kicking up a whirlwind. Twilight turned just as the android fired a blast of highly pressurized air straight at them! Without a moment to spare, Twilight did the only thing she could do. She stood in front of AJ and covered her front with her forearms, willing light particles and gravitons to layer in front of her. Multiple sheets of light and gravity energy formed in front of her, creating walls of protection all the way to Twilight’s position. Silver joined in and released a double helix blast of plasma fire, the dual beams swirled around the air stream and doubled its power. The stream of pressurized air took on a sharp point, making it look like a spear of air and fire. The stream pierced through the first shield layers, shattering them like fragile glass, but with each destruction of a layer, the androids found that their attack was slowing. Twilight’s quick thinking paid off, by layering the barriers and progressively increasing their density, she was able to slow the beam and reduce the amount of force and power it generated. Some of her stronger layers were shattering, but the rate of their breakage wasn’t as alarming when they reached the third wall layers. “I’ve had enough of this!” Twilight gathered gravitons to her left hand, and ion particles to her right. With a thrust of her left hand she fired a massive gravity beam that tore through her own shield layering, absorbing them to gather even more power. The two androids saw this coming and quickly dodged the attack as the gravity beam struck where they once were. Twilight concentrated the ion energy into the ring and index fingers of her right hand, both fingers crackled with charged ion particles as she pointed in the direction of Silver. The android fired a plasma flame beam to strike the ion lightning, both colliding in the middle, the main body of the lightning released two divergent arcs. Both arcs struck Silver, electrifying him. Cobalt saw this and prepared to counterattack, but Twilight quickly snapped her fingers in his direction. She willed the air molecules around Cobalt to grind against each other, creating super-heated friction which she doubled and condensed. The result was an explosion of flames in front of Cobalt, throwing him backwards. Twilight transmuted the gravitons around Cobalt, creating a dense sphere of purple colored gravity energy. The sphere swallowed Cobalt, and began shrinking as Twilight closed her hand as if squeezing a stress ball. With the chain lightning wrapped around Silver, and the slowly shrinking gravity sphere containing Cobalt, Twilight was sure she could prevail, at the very least she could damage the androids enough to get Applejack away from the battle. Just then, Twilight sensed something, a shift in power that made her lose control of her hold on both Cobalt and Silver’s bindings. Twilight dropped to one knee, clutching at her chest as the Matrix within her reacted. She turned her gaze skywards and suddenly beheld an aurora borealis. What’s…What’s happening?! Why do I feel as if something just happened to Sunset?! Oh no, did she – was she –?!  Applejack rushed towards her friend, being mindful of the pink flames. “Twilight, what’s wrong, talk to me?!” “I…I can sense something happening to Sunset, I can’t explain it in full to you, but trust me, something is definitely happening to her!” The farm girl’s eyes went wide, now looking at the aurora borealis. She remembered that Rainbow Dash was supposed to be talking with Sunset Shimmer, and if what Twilight said was true, then Rainbow Dash was also caught in whatever crossfire was going on near Sunset. Cobalt shattered the gravity sphere, its hands glowing with atomic rings, and Silver burst apart the ion lightning with an aura of plasma fire. Both androids’ eyes glowed red, locking onto Twilight. Cobalt and Silver moved as one, floating off the ground and jetting straight for their target. Twilight noticed the incoming attack and pushed Applejack away with a force wave, throwing her back ten feet. The purple Firestorm gathered photon energy, shaping it into a staff-sword. Twilight twirled the weapon around and slashed at androids, but Cobalt countered with a magnetic shield, causing the light particles to bend and repel. When the blade struck, it rebounded and sent Twilight stumbling back, Silver took this chance and moved in, with inhuman speed the android delivered a volley of plasma power infused punches. Twilight lost her hold on the spear as blows came at her from every direction, with some effort, she willed her flames to explode outward, forcing Silver back. Cobalt countered, transmuting the air into nitrogen and firing it in the form of a frosty wind. Twilight’s flames were smothered and the heat of her flames was robbed. Silver decided to help with that, jumping into the air and spinning around as he descended. When he was close enough, Silver extended his right leg, wrapping it in flames, and struck Twilight with an axe kick to her right shoulder. The blow creating a powerful explosion that kicked up a dust cloud and muffled Twilight’s pained cry. Cobalt entered the dust cloud, his optic sensors easily allowed him to pierce through the dust and find his target with ease. The android cocked back its fists and then thrust them forward, striking Twilight in the chest with a double palm-heel strike! Cobalt channeled his atomic energy, and used it to quadruple the kinetic force behind the blow. To Twilight, it was not a single blow, but multiple blows at once, feeling as if a wall made of titanium was constantly smashing against her body before throwing her into the distance. She bounced on the ground like a stone skipping water, rolling to a stop and slamming against a thick apple tree that groaned in protest of the impact. Cobalt and Silver stood side-by-side, not one of them showing much signs of damage thanks to their nanomachines, repairing their bodies and systems with each passing second. Twilight felt like every bone in her body was about to snap at once, she even coughed up some liquid-light ichor from her mouth. Her breathing was labored as she tried to rise, but failed in each attempt. Upon the fifth she felt someone move under her for support. Twilight’s white eyes widened at the sight of Applejack, maneuvering herself under Twilight’s left arm as she used her right arm to hold Twilight close for support. “Ah got ‘cha Twi.” “Applejack…how many ways can I say run away before you actually run away?! Nigemasu! Huir! Weglaufen! Fuyez! Aufugerit! Tréxte makriá! Táopǎo! Scappa! Ubegat'! Bhāga jā'ō!” “Don’t start usin’ fancy words on me, Twi! Ah don’t run from nothin’, not now, not ever!” Twilight grunted in annoyance, which only hurt. “You have got to be the most stubborn girl I have ever met, AJ! I’m trying to protect you, to keep you safe, why won’t you do what I say and just let me save you?!” “BECAUSE AH WON’T LET SOMEONE ELSE DIE BECAUSE OF ME!” Twilight paused, hearing the pain behind Applejack’s voice. “What…What do you mean?” The farm girl lowered her gaze, her hat shrouding her face in shadows. “Ah was young…Ah wandered into the orchard alone…tryin’ to prove that Ah was as tough as Big Mac, and that Ah didn’t need to be fussed over. Ah wandered too far in, and Ah got lost…” Cobalt and Silver slowly made their way towards Twilight and Applejack, their footsteps thudding against the dirt. “Ah caught the attention of some lone wolf, Ah ran from it but it cornered me. My parents finally found me, my Pa told Ma to get me outta there and she did, leavin’ ‘em behind to take on the wolf. After a bit, Ma could tell that Pa didn’t make it, she put me down and told me to run straight ahead to a search party. Ah did what she told me…and in the end, both of ‘em died…because Ah wanted to prove somethin’…” “Applejack…they sacrificed themselves because they loved you,” said Twilight. “It still don’t make it right! Because of me, Apple Bloom won’t ever hear Ma sing her a lullaby, or have Pa give her a ride on his shoulders…Ah took away Granny’s child… Ah promised never to let that happen again, not with my friends, or my family!” Applejack stood higher, planting her feet in the earth. “So don’t you tell me to run, if Ah’m runnin’ we both run! If you fight, then Ah will too!” Something clicked within Twilight, a surge of power erupted from the core of her being, but it felt different than the Matrix’s energy, but at same time very familiar. Pink flames raged and surrounded Twilight and Applejack, causing the androids to halt their advance. The flames churned around in the form of an orb, but quickly changed color. Particles of green light seeped from the earth beneath the flames and flowed into the sphere, changing the color of the flames to a bright emerald with some highlights of purple and orange. The sphere grew in size, until, the flames transformed into a giant lotus that bloomed. The emerald flame petals disappeared into particles, revealing the occupant within who was neither Twilight nor Applejack. She was kneeling, but once the flames disappeared she rose to her full height. She stood at an impressive seven feet, practically looking down at the androids. Her upper body was covered in a metallic, dark navy, mesh-like fiber, the hem of the cloth stopping short, exposing her midriff. Her skin was made of glowing emerald plasma, but solidified to a degree that it almost looked like human skin. From her shoulders down to her hands, her entire right and left arm was covered in a bronze armor, with grooves that outlined muscles and glowed with orange light. It almost looked as if she had molten lava running through them, and the metal was the crust. Her flame hair was short, coming down to shoulder length, made of the same emerald flames. Upon her chest was the sun emblem, within it was a black six-pointed star, and within that was an apple outlined in red. Six purple bands stretched out from the emblem, but the red orbs were not there, but they were somewhere else. Behind the giant woman was a golden halo ring, each red orb was embedded within the ring, with the top two bearing the image of an atom, and the other a tree with many roots shooting downwards. Her lower half was covered in baggy pants made of the same material, the overall color was a dark navy blue that had orange flame details on it. Towards the legs, metal bronze colored greaves wrapped around her shins, but her feet were left completely exposed. The giant woman wasn’t overtly muscular or defined, bearing Twilight’s svelte body type, but much like Applejack, she was lean with a strength that was unparalleled. She opened her eyes, which were glowing white as she raised her right and left hands, clenching them into fists. [Error: New target not in database.] Cobalt spoke. [Demand: What is your designation?] Silver said. The giant woman crossed her arms and smirked at the two automatons. “‘My designation’? Hmph, listen well tin cans, this is the name of the badass who’s going to turn you into freakin’ scrap metal!” Green flames erupted around her, the purple bands and orange flame detailing glowed bright to match, along with the red orbs in the halo ring, and the sun emblem. “Born of honesty, and bound by courage! The innocent cheer my name, and the wicked tremble before it!  I’m Firestorm Gaia!” Gaia thrust her left arm forward and pointed at the androids with a cocky grin on her face. “And your asses are grass!”