All's Right With The World

by Dusty Tome


Chapter Six

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Six

"When you're up high, all the stuff that looks confusing and messed up... suddenly becomes crystal clear.” Twilight said softly, dangling her legs over the edge of the castle’s clock tower. “It’s strange, I know. But it just… yea, it’s just nice to me.”

Luna sighed. “Twilight, I don’t think it even the slightest bit strange, especially with what you have been through. You were forced to grow too fast, and the world has become too big for you alone. It makes sense for you to want to see it smaller.”

“Thanks.”

“Hmm?”

“I said thanks, Luna. For everything. And, I’m sorry for the way I was acting. This has all been one massive surprise after another, especially having to adjust to the constant glowing. I mean, it's cool, but I feel like a human lightbulb. Whatever, I’m just glad that things are going to calm down for a while now.”

Twilight had just finished sighing when a shot pierced her namesake, cutting off the calm air and visibly irritating the shining girl. Luna recoiled and stood, wings flaring menacingly and scythe in hand, to face the intruder. She saw a dark mask and a hat she couldn’t quite see, obscured in a tainted darkness even her sight could not pierce. The large revolver trained on her, however, was all too visible. She drew the weapon back to confront the masked attacker when Twilight spoke in a low tone.

“Well, there goes that. Luna, go get everybody, we’re leaving. I’ll deal with this.”

Luna looked between the girl and the assailant, opening her mouth to protest, but, seeing Twilight draw her sword, decided otherwise. With a quick teleport, she was gone, leaving the two alone in the tower.

Once Luna materialized, she yelled, “Scoddri! Get the others, we must leave at once. We are being hunted, and I suspect that He is behind the Hunter’s sudden appearance.”

The king sighed, stepping into reality. “Should I just trap this mysterious ‘Hunter’ in a pocket dimension? Or is this the agent we were talking about previously?” When he saw Luna nod, he chuckled and opened a door in the hallway, revealing Pinkie and Rarity, much to the latter’s surprise.

“Well, dear girls,” the king smarmed, “I suppose this is where your wondrous and cliched adventure starts. I suggest —”

Suddenly a loud explosion rocked the castle, followed by a disheveled and sooty Twilight appearing before them.

“We gotta go NOW.” Twilight coughed out, breathless, “I give ten minutes before he manages to get out from under all the rubble. Sorry about the tower, Scoddri, but it was that or me.”

He waved it off. “That’s perfectly fine, I was considering some remodeling after all. Well, now that we are all here, best of luck and happy trails. I suggest you take an airship. Ask for a ‘Rainbow Crash’, or something like that, she seems to be building a reputation as one of the fastest pilots this side of the Palomino Ocean. Ta-rah now darlings!” With that, the girls nodded and broke out in a sprint, Luna flying beside them and Pinkie bouncing.

They raced through the sparse and quiet city streets, moving swiftly over the worn cobble and jumping across roofs with ease. They moved swiftly, stopping only for moments, as if demons were at their heels. At long last, they reached their destination, an elegant building bordering a large area for docking.

The airship yard spread both out and up, the docking towers stretching to the sky. Lashed to them was every imaginable craft that helium, hydrogen, or magic could keep aloft: Enormous blimps, nautical ships with spinning propellers, state-of-the-art solid-body crafts that owed nothing to the water, and more besides. Vessels moved in, around, and out of the yard, the lifeblood of the country. The group rushed in frantically, not stopping to take in the breathtaking beauty of the compound, and found the shipmaster’s office quickly.

After taking a few hurried minutes to talk to the shipmaster, the portly man directed them to an air hangar the size of a small house. as they walked up the smooth stone steps to the door, they could hear, faintly, the sounds of a violin and a woman singing softly. Pinkie skipped up the rest of the stairs, peering in the open top of the double door, before banging loudly on the closed half and shouting.

Hellooooooo~ Is Rainbow Crash in there?” The violin and singing stopped, but Pinkie didn’t seem to notice. She began to reach over to open the door, but was stopped suddenly as a large metal fist on an arrow slammed into her forehead. “I’m okay!”

“It’s Dash, you prick,” said a young, athletic-looking girl with multicolored hair, walking to the door. “And what could… you…” She trailed off, staring at Twilight. “Nine Hells. Twilight Sparkle, out in the open? Now I’ve seen everything. How have you been, you crippled introvert, you?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up in sudden realization, remembering, now, where she had seen the short girl before. “I haven’t seen you since Dad died, Dash. I thought you left after you finally got out of the Orphanage. What happened to ‘I’m gonna see the whole world’?”

“Twilight, life happened. You guys look like you’re in some serious steam, come on in.” Rainbow said, opening the door for them, and setting a crystalline bow aside.

Twilight followed her, noting just how different the woman in front of her was from the girl she had known as a child. Dash had never been a soft child, hardened by growing up in an orphanage, but she used to wear dresses and skirts, tying her prismatic locks back into a sweeping ponytail and playing with the other girls and boys. Every time Twilight had visited the ‘Boys and Girls’ Home’ with her father, Dash would always run up and talk with them about mechanics and magics, her powder-blue wings buzzing with excitement. She had changed little over the years before she left, always talking to Twilight about making her own airships and traveling the globe, making her mark in history had been her goal, but this Dash seemed different.

She wore loose fitting canvas cargo pants, loosely held above her slender hips with a simple leather tool belt, and a dark, stained tank top covered with a short, simple purple vest. But what seemed to strike Twilight as the most different was her hair. Gone were the long, flowing locks that shifted in the sunlight, replaced instead with a short, choppy style that was shaved on one side. There were scars and burns running up and down her exposed limbs, including a long, white gash across her left eye. When Dash turned back to face her, Twilight noticed that one of the other woman’s eyes was gray, while the other shone a brilliant, beautiful rose hue.

“Noticed the eye, huh, gearhead? Don’t worry about it. It’s been blind for two or three years now, I adapted to it. Looks like you aren’t the only one with a gimp on your left side now, eh?” Dash grinned, nudging the shocked Twilight and closing her gaping mouth. “You guys were out of breath when you got here. I’m guessing you need to leave fast? I mean, don’t get me wrong, but you can teleport, so there’s not much faster ways than that. Wait, you can still teleport, right?”

“Tele… port?” Twilight blinked, then buried her face in her palms. ”Crap. I actually forgot we could have done that instead of running. Pinkie, why couldn’t you have reminded me?”

“Because I thought you wanted to get some exercise, silly.”

“Are you… Did… Did you just call me fat?” Twilight asked, turning slightly to the girl, “Actually, nevermind. You still living on Sugar Street, Pink?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yup, just on the corner of Q Boulevard. Why?”

“Alright, Dash, I’m gonna teleport us to our houses, so we can gather some stuff and grab Spike, then we will all make our way back here. Think you can have whatever flying contraption you made ready by then?”

The short girl smirked, looking up to Twilight, “You really don’t remember, huh? Ten. Seconds. Flat.”.

“I think it best if perhaps I went with you Twilight,” the goddess intoned seriously, “incase the interloper comes after us again.”

“I should be able to handle myself anyways, dear” Rarity chimed in.

Twilight returned the smirk. “Alrighty then girls, meet back here in no more than half an hour. Get ready.”

With a bright flash of light, the girls were gone off to their respective homes.

Twilight and Luna appeared in Spike’s room moments later, with Twilight calling for him. “Spike? Come here now, big emergency.”

“The bloody Hells did you destroy this time? Haven’t killed anyone yet, have ya?” Spike drawled, shuffling through the massive door frame, stopping when he saw Twilight’s appearance. “What happened to ya girl?”

“Listen Spike, we need to leave now. Grab what you think you’ll need and I’ll expl—” Twilight was cut off with a cry, as a bullet ripped through the room into her shoulder.

Spike closed his eyes, and reached toward the wall where a massive slab of steel and oak was mounted. He hefted the odd blade onto his shoulder, and sighed. “Luna, take Twilight, gather some stuff, and get to safety. Where are we meetin’?“

“The Shipyard,” Luna replied quickly, somewhat shakily. “In the building with a lightning bolt painted on the side.”

“Alright, go. I’ll deal with this bastard.” He turned, coming face to face with a short figure, cloaked in a dark trenchcoat, a wide-brimmed hat, and an onyx mask. The figure raised the revolver in its right hand, pointing at Spike’s heart, before the drake replied. “Well then, ya daft bastard, ya want to shoot my sister, then you better have the stones to attack me too.”

The figure merely chuckled, a deep, throaty sound, before cocking the gun again. Spike sighed again, breathing a long stream of green fire on his blade, setting all seven feet of it ablaze. He watched as Luna took to the skies with Twilight before swinging the massive thing with a mighty heft.

The masked figure darted back, and Spike’s sword shattered the floor. Its flames reached out and brushed against the stranger’s coat, catching it alight.

“Clever one, dodgin’ my sword like that, but it won’t save you from the Dragonfyre.” Spike said darkly, as the green flames began to eat away at the stranger’s coat.

The intruder beat at the flames, but only helped them to spread. The fire burned even brighter as Spike roared more fire everywhere, spreading it onto the walls around them. He spat onto the floor next to the burning assassin, and extinguished his blade, sheathing it across his back, before walking slowly into the darkness of the city streets. Behind him, the emerald flames ripped through the building, reducing the home to ashes.

Spike landed softly for his size, closing his wings and looking around for Luna or the girls. He spotted Luna carrying Twilight into a building, and thought to himself that he must have fought faster than necessary. Shrugging, he walked further into the yard, following them, and followed in turn.


At the entrance to the Shipyard, a guard scratched his head. He checked his thick notebook again, just in case the Guard code had changed since he’d begun his pursuit. Sadly, it still specifically said to follow the criminal until close enough to say, in a firm tone of voice, “Halt”. He placed the notebook back into his armor, adjusted himself, and followed the reptilian rapscallion.

“This is going to be fun Flash,” he muttered to himself. “First day on the job and you get night shift, and now some random dragon arson? Perfect way to start your illustrious career. Although, the ladies are sure to be smitten with the man who caught a dragon arsonist before he could escape.”

And with that, he strode a little faster, confident in his pep talk. He wasn’t five feet from the door to the dragon’s hideout when the windows and surrounding wall blew apart in front of him, and the criminal he was looking for was flung into a group of crates nearby. He looked back to the wall, and saw a shadowy, masked figure striding menacingly out of the smoke and debris towards the dragon. after consulting his notebook once more, he drew himself up and shouted, “Halt!”

When the figure kept moving, he shouted again. “Halt, or I shall be forced to say ‘halt’ again!” He started a bit when the figure raised a gun and fired twice, now advancing towards him. Flash flinched, bringing his shield to bear, and felt the shots ping off of it ineffectually. He peeked over the top just long enough to catch a boot to the side of his head, before feeling the ground. He heard one last shot, then everything went black.


Twilight sat up from Rainbow Dash’s couch, wincing as the sudden movement sent a fresh stab of pain through her bandaged shoulder. She heard someone shout, and watched as Spike hurtled through a wall, making a hole easily three times his size. She could only watch as the masked figure walked out, drawing a large revolver, and advanced toward the bleeding and helpless dragon. Then another voice rang out, its commanding tone striking out at the assassin, before the figure turned on the owner of that voice. She heard two shots and two deflections, then heard the sound of someone being knocked down. She tried to raise her voice to scream, but time froze around her and thoughts not her own echoed through her mind.

Child, you must act quickly, before much blood is shed this night. I have watched you for many years, aware of the power that sleeps in your veins. Allow me, in my daughter’s stead, to awaken this power, if only for a brief while.

“Who?”

All shall come in due time. There are more here set to harm you than just your assassin. Do you wish the power to save your friends?

Twilight managed a gasped “Yes” before her vision blurred. She blinked, was met by a violet aura surrounding her, filling her with knowledge of magics not known to the world, and stood. The pain from her wounds was forgotten. She manifested the fire and ice onto her limbs, spread her wings, formed the blazing halberd, and calmly strode out to meet the enemy.

As she left the gaping hole, she saw a terrifying amount of shadows and demons surrounding the house. Pinkie and Luna were putting up a valiant effort in trying to keep them away, but the sheer numbers were clearly overwhelming them, and Rarity and Rainbow were too busy preparing the airship to help.

“Twilight…” Pinkie was huffing and puffing as she swung her hammer. Twilight couldn’t remember her being out of breath. Ever. “Now would be a great time to be a big darn heroine.”

Twilight nodded and raised her hands. The aura around her roiled and grew even brighter, tendrils of energy lashing out against the hordes, brushing against them almost gently. Each touch froze some, immolated others, reduced still others to dust. The effects seemed chaotic, but Twilight directed the spells with surgical precision, maneuvering around her friends with ease. Soon, the only remnants of the amassed monstrosities were a few petrified statues.

Bullets bounced off of Twilight, doing all the harm of a light poke. She brought her attention to the assailant. Its mask and hood were charred, giving way to brilliantly golden locks of hair, and a hard, emerald eye. Twilight asked a single, soft-spoken question, and the yard rang out in a tone that reflected eons of power and rage. “Why?”

The figure responded by rushing Twilight, moving almost too fast to see, only to have its blurring roundhouse caught softly in an icy hand, before being lifted into the air and sent down with force that shattered most of the windows in the district. Twilight doubted it would be enough to kill the girl, as she looked down to see a beautiful face, tanned from the sun and labor, and long glimmering locks flowing free.

Twilight felt the presence leave her mind as she opened her eyes again, and took in the faces of those around her. All but Luna and the unconscious guard were shocked and seemingly terrified, but she managed to pull them from this long enough to get them all to the ships, and bring along the guard and the gunwoman. “Dash, are we good to go?”

The pilot blinked and shook herself. “Oh, uh, yeah. Everything’s green.”

“Then let’s get out of here. Spike, keep an eye on whoever that is.”

He nodded. “Can do, Twi.”

Several minutes later, the guard came to. He looked around woozily. “Is this Elysium? Are you all angels?”

Rarity smirked. “Well, aren’t you the charmer?”

Luna harrumphed. “I am far more than a mere angel.”

Flash’s eyes widened. “Oh Goddesses.”

“Just the one. My sister is not with us.”

“Don’t worry!” Flash turned and flinched back as he saw Pinkie about an inch from his face. “You’re not on the moon, so she must like you!”

Twilight crossed her arms. “Are you all done tormenting the poor man?”

Luna dipped her head. “Ah, my apologies, dear Twilight. He is, of course, yours to do with as you please.”

Twilight and Flash took on surprisingly similar expressions of shock, eyes wide, mouths gaping. As one, they said, “What.”

“Did you not take him as the first member of your harem? It is your prerogative.” Luna put a finger to her lips. “Well, the first male member of your harem, at least. I do not know if you have made any official arrangements with your other friends.”

“I just unleashed arcane havoc the likes of which I’ve never seen because of a voice in my head. I’m pretty sure I’m going insane if I haven’t already. We all almost died. Is it really so much to ask that we take this seriously for a minute?”

Pinkie gagged. “After that, why would you want to take anything seriously? It’s called stress relief!”

“Um…” All eyes turned to Flash. “What exactly just happened?”

“We are saving the world,” said Luna.

“Is this kind of thing normal for you?”

“Increasingly so,” Twilight groused.

“Well, uh, maybe you could use some trained backup?” Flash rose and saluted. “Flash Sentry. Private First Class, of the Solar Division. Glad to make your acquaintance ladies.”

Rarity gave him a half-lidded grin. “Yes, I do think we could use a strapping young man in uniform.”

Pinkie tutted. “He’s Twilight’s, remember?”

“He is not!” Twilight’s face went crimson. “Besides, Luna and I…”

“Speaking from experience,” said Luna, “it simply is not done to limit one’s partners to one gender or the other. Variety, dear Twilight, variety is key, lest the pleasures of the night grow stale through rote repetition.”

Twilight put her hands over her ears. “I am not having this conversation. I am not having this conversation…”

“Oooh, oooh, Twilight!” Pinkie had her hand raised, waving it in the air. “Does this mean we’re your harem?”

“No!”

“Obviously.”

“Luna!”

The goddess smirked. “Isn’t it?”

“We are saving the world here!”

Luna shrugged. “Your point? I was fighting for its continued existence when I had my harem.”

Twilight groaned. “Is it so much to ask the lot of you not think with your crotches the moment some decent-looking guy shows up? We need to decide our next course of action.”

“I have already asked our erstwhile pilot to fly us to Sinskaald in the south,” said Luna. “Chrysalis’s aid will be invaluable against the Tartaran hordes.” She grinned. “And in the meantime, there is little else to do.”

Twilight groaned all the louder. Rarity and Pinkie laughed. Flash said nothing. His training had never prepared him for this.