//------------------------------// // A Spell Part 1: Prologus // Story: An Avenger Returns // by Ultimate Mayhem //------------------------------// Twilight had become excited when she recieved a book with some old spells. As it turned out the book was more of a journal kept by Starswirl the Bearded himself about different concepts for spells he came up with but was uncertain of but the one that caught her attention the most was a spell meant to create temperary portals which would allow a pony to travel long distances instantaniously. She'd read the basics of the spell and it seemed simple enough but then she saw that the last entry was when he tested it but nothing no other entries after suggesting this was the spell that resulted in his disappearance. For a few days she went over the spell trying to break down every detail in order to figure out what needed to be done to the spell so ensure nothing bad happened. A few tests with nonbiological items resulted successful so she went on to run some tests with biological items such as fruits and vegetables. That proved to be a success as well so after a few more days going through her calculations she was ready to test it on with a living being. Namely, herself and that's where we stand today folks. Princess Twilight was standing with her friends ready to test the spell to go from her new castle to Canterlot. "Alright it's finally time." said Twilight happily. "Are ya sure you're ready to test it yourself sugarcube?" asked Applejack. "There's no need to worry. I've checked my calculation extensively and I'm certain it'll work." replied Twilight. "Besides she's already run like a bajillion tests on it." added Pinkie Pie. "I'm just worried this might put the train out of business." said Fluttershy. "There's no need to worry." replied Twilight. "As far as I can tell the spell requires too much magic for a unicorn to use. To be honest I don't think I could've done this before my ascension." "So the only reason you can do it is because you're an alicorn?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Well not exactly. Creating a portal isn't that difficult. The hard part is keeping the portal stable enough to cross over. I think that's why Starswirl disappeared." explained Twilight. "Then if this trip is successful we'll be able to travel Canterlot or even the Crystal Empire without trouble." said Rarity. "Oh that would just be delightful." "Hey Twilight, did you tell Princess Celestia about this?" asked Spike. "No." replied Twilight. "I haven't told her because I wanted to surprise her. Once I'm in Canterlot I'll tell her everything. She'll be so surprised." she said nearly bouncing like Pinkie Pie. "So that why you decided to do this at sundown?" asked Applejack. "That's right. I figured it'd be the best when she no longer had court so we could talk for a bit before I come back." explained Twilight. "Now Spike I shouldn't be gone too long. At the latest I may spend the night over there so if I'm not back tonight I'll be back in the morning or possibly in the afternoon. In the meantime you'll be in charge of the castle library during that time." "You can count on me." said Spike with a salute causing the mares to smile. "Alright everypony, stand back." said Twilight. They all stepped back as Twilight began to charge her magic. Within seconds a sparks formed which then expanded created a lavender vortex. "I'll see you later." she said as she stepped put a hoof in causing her to be sucked in. That was the last time they saw her. A full day passed and no one in Ponyville had seen Twilight causing Spike to worry. He sent a letter to Celestia asking if Twilight was okay but was shocked when her reply was that she hadn't seen Twilight in quite some time. He then sent a letter explaining about the spell and how Twilight had been wanting to surprise her. This alarmed Celestia and she left for Ponyville to find out what had happened. Upon hearing Twilight never made it to Canterlot Twilight's friends became alarmed. At first they believed she may have just missed her mark and wound up in another country so Celestia immediately sent letters to all the diplomats asking for somepony fitting Twilight's description unexpectedly appeared but to no avail. Celestia then asked Luna for her help so that she could cast the spell and they could track where it would lead but something strange happened. Everytime either of them tried to create a portal it would start forming but then would just cause a small explosion. Not with enough force to hurt anyone but enough to push them back. Eventually things became so desperate they asked Cadance and Shining Armor for help. Months went by with no results and eventually they all resigned themselves to hoping she'd someday find her way home. For the most part. On Pinkie' birthday they were still pretty sad and she wished for Twilight to return soon. It had been seven months since Twilight disappeared and while the Friendship council continued everypony felt a bit emptier inside without Twilight. So much so that each of Twilight's friends would spend some of their time off in the castle with Spike so he wouldn't be lonely. Even Twilight's friends from Canterlot decided to do the same to help him get through the tough times. He'd always assure them he was fine even though they could all tell he was taking her disappearance the hardest. Currently Moon Dancer was with Spike helping him run the Castle Library while the others had something of a memorial picnic in which they'd eat together and think back to the good times they had with Twilight. However it was then heard what sounded like an explosion in the sky. Upon looking up they saw what looked like two streaks in the sky but then saw as one headed down, straight for the Everfree Forest. They looked at each other before heading in. In one of the deeper parts of the forest a girl got up rubbing her head. "Damn it." she said as she saw a black sphere drop. "That bitch." she said before heading in the direction the sphere landed. The five mares were running when the sphere crashed hard not too far from their location so they headed for it. When they arrived they saw as the sphere melted revealing a strange silver creature that looked to be made of stone but wore shorts with a 4 on the side. "What is it?" whispered Rainbow Dash. "I don't know but it might be a new friend!" said Pinkie Pie excited. "Pinkie! Wait!" yelled out Rarity as Pinkie jumped out of the bush they'd been hiding. "Excuse me!" yelled out Pinkie. The creature turned to her revealing its eyes were red causing Pinkie to screech to a halt. The then charged at her but just as it was gonna strike Pinkie vanished surprising the others and became startled when something appeared right in front of them holding Pinkie and placed her down. They looked up and saw it appeared to have it's mane tied in a pony tail but what was odd is that it looked to be on fire. It wore a dark red trench coat and when it turned they saw it wore a purple shirt under and pants with white shoes. They also noticed it had something hanging from its back and seemed to have a pair of horns on the top of its head. "I need you to get out of here while I take care of this imposter." it said in a very familiar voice. "Is that..." began Fluttershy. "I said go NOW!" yelled the creature causing them to break out of their stupor as it charged. "What do we do?" asked Fluttershy. "You guys go. I'll stay on a cloud and make sure whatever this thing is doesn't try to run away." said Rainbow. "Alright but do be careful darling." said Rarity. Rainbow smirked. "Come on. This is me we're talking about." she said with confidence. The others smiled before leaving. Rainbow flew up to a cloud and watched as the smaller of the two creatures dodged attacks from the one that appeared to be made of stone. As she watched Rainbow noticed that the smaller creature seemed to move fast enough to leave an image of itself as it moved but only for a moment. After a few seconds the smaller creature stopped a fist with its claw before it began striking back delivering blow after blow. Rainbow then heard it mutter something to itself but was too far to tell what. "It's time to end this." said the creature. Then it jumped while spinning as its elbow was engulfed in what appeared to be a dark red flame. "Ban Ban Chū." it called striking the rock creature's head with its elbow causing it to stagger. "Atsu Atsu Shō!" it called out striking part of the rock creature's chest causing what looked like a shock wave to pass through it before it was launched back a few feet away. Then the smaller creature drew a sword from its left side and held it in her right hand with the blade to her right. The blade began to glow as the smaller creature moved its hand in a circular motion before jumping in a spiral. "Zangeki Musōken!" it called slashing the rock creature several times before landing leaving the rock creature on its knees. Then the smaller creature approached the larger one before its right claw became engulfed in what looked like fire and it put it into the other creature's chest. Dash became shocked as the smaller creature seemingly pulled something out which resulted in the larger creature dissolving into particles of dark energy. "Well that was disappointing." said the smaller creature. It turned looking right at the cloud Rainbow had been watching from and was now hiding in. "Rainbow Dash I know you didn't leave with the others so you can stop hiding." "I wasn't hiding!" declared Rainbow before realizing something. "Hey. How did you know my name?" "Oh. I guess it's my fault for not paying attention I was still in this form." said the creature sheepishly as it was engulfed in flames which upon dissipating revealed a girl with navy blue hair which had a dark purple and pink streaks running through it. She now wore a pair of dark purple loose shorts, a lavender shirt, socks, shoes, a pair of black wrist bands, and necklace with a strange looking gem hanging within what looked like an egg. For a moment Rainbow could swear she knew this creature but was uncertain as to how she knew it. The creature smiled as it went and picked up its backpack. Rainbow flew down to examine it but was caught by surprise when it hugged her. "I missed you a lot Dashie." it said causing Rainbow's eyes to widen and tears to form. "I-Is that you....." "Tadaima Rainbow." said the creature. "It is you Twilight." said Rainbow as she looked at her friend in shock who smiled.