//------------------------------// // The Escape // Story: Harmony Hearts // by GenerousGhibli //------------------------------// Twilight was speechless. How could she? She stared in shock as Sunset Shimmer strode casually over to throne of her master and sat upon its wreckage. They had been… Celestia had said she was… She used to be Twilight’s friend… She felt something wet streak down her cheeks. After resting a moment, Sunset stood and moved over to Twilight, wearing a grim smile on her face all the while. “Hey kiddo,” she said miserably, wrapping her arms tight around Twilight’s shoulders. “I missed you.” “You betrayed our master,” Twilight hissed, suddenly aware that she could speak. “Yeah… Look, Twilight…” Sunset stopped for a moment, pulling back and resting her hands on the younger girl’s shoulders. “There’s… a lot going on. Things you wouldn’t understand just yet.” Sunset pulled away and trudged back towards the masters. “To be honest, I wish I didn’t have to do this.” “D-do what?” she asked tentatively, though she imagined that she already knew the answer. “You really need to ask?” Sunset whispered, holding her right hand a little away from her body as she made her way towards Master Zecora. A stream of violet energy cascaded from her palm, convulsing and cascading for a moment before settling into a short, blade-like shape. “Huh. I guess time magic takes more out of me than I thought,” she muttered, holding the blade up to her face. “Never been that small before…” “Sunset, don’t do this!” Twilight screamed, watching with horror as Sunset raised her blade over her head. “Please! I’m begging you!” “Sorry, Kiddo,” the villain said coldly, turning back to her former friend. “They can’t be allowed to interfere.” She turned back to Zecora, only to have a white and gold keyblade fly at her head. Sunset immediately raised her energy blade to block, but it was promptly shattered and she was sent flying several feet, landing on her back. Twilight’s eyes flicked over to see her mentor glowing with a golden aura surrounding her body. Her eyes shone with the same light as she moved towards Sunset holding her hand out. Solar Radiance appeared in her hand, glowing with that same brilliance. Twilight felt her heart seize in panic as she realized what that golden glow really was. It was Celestia’s Limit Break, Supreme Nova. It was her last resort. “No…” she whispered as her master stepped up to the stunned Sunset Shimmer and planted her sandal-clad foot on her enemy’s chest, preventing her form rising. Sunset’s eyes widened as the glow surrounding Celestia quickly expanded into a large sphere, encompassing both of them in its blinding light. The sphere continued to expand until it was large enough that Twilight could feel the heat emanating from the sun-like spell. Twilight’s panic only grew deeper as she processed what would happen if Sunset was alive when the Limit Break ended. The glow surrounding Celestia faded to reveal a grinning Sunset and a shocked Celestia. “It can’t…” Celestia started, her eyes widening, then narrowing in determination. She turned to Twilight, pointing her keyblade at her pupil. “I’m sorry,” she said somberly, before a flash of light enveloped Twilight. When the blinding light subsided, Twilight found herself in a completely different part of Canterlot. Instead of the bright and beautiful marble walls of the palace and surrounding residential areas, she now stared straight into the metallic grey walls of the city hangar port. “Hey, y’all, what happened?” a masculine voice asked from the left. Twilight turned to see Applejack’s brother running towards them, a wrench in his hand. “I… don’t rightly know…” A.J. replied as she put a hand to her head. Big Macintosh came to a stop in front of her, checking her up and down to make sure she was okay. “Nor do I,” Rarity said quietly, crossing her arms. “The last thing Trixie remembers is…” She trailed off, picking Spike’s now unconscious form up off of the ground. He never could handle teleportation. “That scary lady holding up her hand after fighting our masters…” Fluttershy finished, hugging her stomach. “She cast a stop spell,” Pinkie said leaning against the wall. “Well, let’s get back and bea–” Rainbow was cut off as Twilight stood up and summoned Broken Harmony. With a savage scream, Twilight slammed her keyblade into the wall, leaving a long, deep gash in the metallic surface. “Sunset… Shimmer…” she hissed, clutching her keyblade’s grip tightly. “I can’t believe she just…” “What?” Twilight looked over to see Gilda reaching over to put a hand on her heaving shoulder. “What happened, Twilight?” As if to answer her question, Twilight and Trixie both felt something heat up beneath their shirts. Quickly fishing their amulets out of their collars, both of their eyes went wide. The sun-shaped pendants continued to heat up and a slight buzz could be heard emanating from them until suddenly, a beam shot roughly three feet from the amulets’ jeweled centers. As the golden hologram of Celestia began to form in front of them, Twilight’s face twisted in grief. “Please no…” Trixie whispered behind her. “Hello, my faithful students,” the hologram said kindly, smiling warmly at them. “I regret to say that if you are hearing this, then I have fallen in battle before you were ready. I’m sorry. Now that I have perished, I fear I must relinquish a daunting task unto you.” The hologram held out her hands and five holographic gems of different colors appeared before her. “You must find these. They are called the Elements of Harmony. They are an ancient and powerful weapon, older even than I am. You must protect them. Scatter them throughout the worlds if you must. There are those who would seek to destroy them; do not let these fiends get their hands on them. For this reason, I cannot tell you where I have hidden them. But I can tell you that they are not in Canterlot. I trust you will see this mission through to the end, no matter the cost.” Twilight stepped forward, reaching her hands out. “No… please don’t…” She brought her fingertips close to the hologram’s face as tears ran down her cheeks in torrents, dripping down onto her coat. “I am sorry that I must now hand my duty over to you, but it is out of my control at this point.” “Trixie?” Spike said quietly, squirming in his sister’s arms. “What’s…?” His eyes widened when he saw the golden visage of Celestia before him. “Oh no…” “I suspect that if I have perished, then so too have the other five masters.” Twilight reached forward and attempted to close her hands on the hologram’s face, only to have them slip through the intangible construct of magic and light. This caused her to fall to her knees, her shoulder trembling and her face twisting even further in grief. “Find their apprentices, and request their aid in this task. You will likely need all the help you can obtain. Unfortunately, your amulets can only hold so much magical energy, so my time runs short for this message. If I have in fact perished before any of your eighteenth birthdays, I would like to give you this…” The hologram held out its hand, and a key ring adorned with a small automotive key appeared before it, then fell to the ground with a clatter. “You will find it in my personal hangar. Take good care of her, and she will aid you in your new role.” “M-master…” Twilight whimpered as the glow of the hologram began to dim. “Fare thee well, my precious, faithful students.” With those final words, the hologram dissipated, leaving Twilight and Trixie to stare at the place it had been only moments ago in utter silence. Twilight brought her arms across her chest and hugged herself tight in one final attempt to stem the tide of heartbreak before it could escape. She bit her lip to try and stop the whimper building in her throat and clamped her eyes shut tight to keep any more tears from falling. All her efforts went to waste when she felt a quartet of clawed feet scamper into her lap and a pair of tuxedo-clad sleeves wrap around her shoulders from behind. As Spike squirmed his way into her arms and Trixie pulled her close, every wall she had been trying to keep standing shattered, and Twilight let loose a heart wrenching wail that filled every eye in the area with tears. Even Big Macintosh was forced to run his arm over his face to dry his tears. ~H*H~ “Fare thee well, my precious, faithful students.” Sunset grit her teeth as the hologram dissipated and she was left staring at empty air. Slowly, she sat down and leaned her back against the white marble railing of the balcony she was on. She stared at the small, sun-shaped amulet in her hand for a moment before tucking it into her coat collar. “Damn it…” she whispered, hugging her knees close to her chest. “Why me?” ~H*H~ It was a while before Twilight managed to calm down enough to process rational thought. When she finally did, she stood in front of the other apprentices and looked to each of them in turn. They had all lost their masters, same as she and Trixie. But they were alive. Celestia had saved them, and had given them all a task. “Twilight?” She turned her head to the right to look at Spike, who was sitting on her shoulder. “What do we do now?” “Indeed, what is our next move?” Trixie asked, tightening her grip on her surrogate sister’s left hand. When Twilight looked to her, she saw that she was not the only one to shed tears. Trixie’s eyes were blood shot and puffy, same as hers probably were. Same as almost everyone else’s were, especially Fluttershy. The poor girl was huddled up against the wall with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, still sobbing her eyes out. “Our next move…?” she muttered, contemplating the matter. Suddenly, she lifted her head. “Everyone, listen up!” All those gathered turned to look at her with despair in their eyes. “We’ve been given a mission by the Grand Master herself! It’s our job as apprentices to fulfill her wishes!” “Twilight,” Applejack said, stepping up to her. “We all just lost our mentors. I just lost my kin. Ain’t nobody here ready for that kind of task just yet.” “Even so, Applejack, it’s our responsibility,” Twilight countered, grimacing at her new friend. “You heard what that message said. We have to do this. She wouldn’t have trusted us if she didn’t need to.” “I hate to be the brush-off here, but Twilight’s right,” Gilda chimed in, crossing her arms. “If these Elements are so important that someone would kill our masters for them, then we need to find them A.S.A.P.” “Y-yeah!” Fluttershy suddenly stood up, drying her eyes on her gloved forearms. “M-Master Luna would want me to be strong… I’m in!” Rainbow and Pinkie joined her, each putting a hand on her shoulders. “Count us in, too.” Rarity, who’d been standing off to the side while everyone wept, tucked something into the collar of her coat and turned to face the others. “I will aid you as well,” she said simply, scowling at the rest of them. “I wish to… avenge… my master’s death. I may yet do that if I am involved with this quest of yours.” Twilight smiled and turned back to Applejack. “So? Will you join us?” “I…” Applejack paused for a moment, clenching her teeth. With a sigh, she crossed her arms smiled warmly at Twilight. “I reckon so. I can’t scold Rarity for being a priss if I wuss out now, can I?” “Most assuredly not,” Rarity added, planting a hand on A.J.’s shoulder and offering a warm smile. “Then it’s decided,” Twilight proclaimed with a smile as she summoned Broken Harmony. “We take the Grand Master’s ship and we complete this mission.” She held her keyblade up above her head. “And if we can, we avenge our master’s deaths!” Trixie let go of Twilight’s hand and summoned Magician’s Delight, and then raised the weapon up to meet with Twilight’s. One by one, the other apprentices joined in, holding their keyblades up to touch the tips with Twilight and Trixie’s; even Big Mac raised his fist up to the keyblades. With a bright flash, they all dismissed their weapons and smiled at each other. “Aw, isn’t this cute…” Every head in the room turned to see a woman wearing the same coat as Sunset walking towards them. She was built different than Sunset, having a more curvaceous figure, but she still looked to be in decent shape. In her right hand was a strange metal staff that separated near its middle and came to two points. It almost resembled a tuning fork. “You kids think you’re a threat…” she said, giving a haughty laugh as the apprentices all took a collective step back. “Another one?” Trixie hissed, summoning her keyblade. As she took a step forward, Twilight held a hand up to bar her path. “No, Trixie. We need to get out of here. These people… Sunset was able defeat all six of the masters. There’s no telling how strong her allies are.” Trixie would have objected, but the look on Twilight’s face was all she needed to understand the situation. “That might be a good idea,” the woman said sweetly. She held her staff out, gesturing behind her at the number of spacecraft lining the docks. “But you seem to forget that I’m blocking the way to your ships.” “What do we do, Twilight?” Trixie asked, dismissing Magician’s Delight. “If she’s anything like that Sunset woman, we can’t hope to defeat her…” “I need a mana boost,” Twilight whispered, trying to move her lips as little as possible lest this new enemy catch her ploy. “How much?” “A lot. Mass teleport levels.” “Understood.” Trixie turned and wrapped her arms around Twilight’s neck, hugging her tight. “Oh, Twilight! If we should die, Trixie wants to be in your arms!” Twilight, for her part, closed her eyes and hugged Trixie’s waist. “I feel the same way, Trixie…” “Daggum it, y’all, is this really the time?” Applejack shouted, earning a punch in the shoulder from Rarity. “The poor girls deserve a final embrace, don’t you think?” She scolded, scowling at the two ‘lovers.’ She knew what they were doing… and she wasn’t sure that she approved. “To be honest, I wouldn’t mind dying in a pretty girl’s arms…” she glanced over to Fluttershy and winked, causing the meek girl to squeak in surprise. “Um…” The cloaked woman turned her head and crossed her arms over her stomach. “Well, this is… uncomfortable…” she said quietly. “That’s enough, Trixie…” Twilight said, tapping her friend’s shoulder. The magician pulled back and took Twilight’s hand as she moved to stand behind her. “Everyone, link hands!” Twilight shouted, noting with a bit of pride that everyone did as she said. “What?” The woman turned her gaze back to the group. Her shoulders trembled as she pointed the forked end of her staff at the group. “You tricked me!” she yelled as a mass of turquoise energy enveloped her weapon. Before she could do anything, however, the entire group vanished in a flash of light. With an agitated growl, she turned to the ships behind her and pointed her staff at the one comprised of black and red crystalline structures, then fired of a blast of pure mana at the craft. It was promptly destroyed in a ball of fire. “Calm down, Starlight,” a soft voice said behind her. She turned to see her comrade approaching, in the process of removing her tattered coat to reveal a short, orange tube top, a pair of black tights and her black boots. “Remember, we need them alive.” Starlight gave a soft sigh and pulled her hood back, letting her purple and teal pony tail fall heavily between her shoulder blades. “I know, Sunset… But I dislike how we’re going about this… It really doesn’t give them a fair chance.” “I don’t like it either,” Sunset whispered, clutching the pendant in front of her chest. “I mean, I just…” “I know… It couldn’t have been easy.” “You don’t even know, Starlight,” she replied, before grabbing Starlight’s upper arm. “Let’s get back to base. We don’t want to keep the new members waiting.” The two of them blinked out of existence, leaving the hangar completely empty. ~H*H~ The sound of retching filled the private hangar as Rarity leaned over a rail and released her lunch and breakfast into the void of space. Likewise, most of the other apprentices were either keeled over, curled up on the ground, or doing the same as Rarity. “Easy, Twilight…” Trixie said gently, supporting Twilight as the two sank to the floor. “Trixie’s got you…” “Hey,” Twilight grumbled in response, “Not so loud… kind of have a headache…” “Sorry…” “Remind m–” Rarity stopped as another wave of nausea overcame her, prompting her to retch yet again. “Remind me to never teleport again. That was dreadful!” Pinkie appeared beside her, holding a phial of brownish-gold liquid. “Here, take half of this. It’ll ease the nausea.” “Master Zecora really had a potion for everything, didn’t she?” Rarity asked as she accepted the phial and took a rather unladylike swig of its contents. “Well… yeah,” she said as she ran off to hand out more ambrosia. “But I learned that from my mom. She came up with it when she was pregnant with me and Marble.” Rarity’s brow raised as her nausea suddenly vanished. “Marble?” she asked as Pinkie finished passing out medicine. “Yeah, Marble Pie. My twin sister,” Pinkie explained, kneeling down next to Twilight. “There are… two of you?” Rainbow asked. She and Gilda were currently in the process of helping Fluttershy to her feet. “You mean two people like me?” Pinkie asked, holding an ether to Twilight’s lips and tilting her head back. “Cuz actually having two Pinkies around might get confusing–” “And annoying,” Twilight mumbled as she downed the last drop of ether. “–but probably lots of fun.” Pinkie stood up and tossed the empty bottle behind her. “Oh, and no. Marble and I are like day and night. She’s really shy and super adorable.” Applejack wobbled as she stood up, summoning her Honest Apple and leaning on it for support. “Hate to break up this chat, but we should probably scoot on out of here before them coat ladies find us.” “They were hardly ladies, darling.” “You know what I meant,” A.J. snapped back. “Regardless of their manners, Applejack is right. We need to leave,” Twilight said as she staggered to her feet. Trixie stood up beside her, holding Spike’s unconscious form in her arms as though he were a housecat. “I got the ship ready!” a masculine voice called from inside a nearby cruiser. Surprised, everyone turned to face Applejack’s brother, who was standing on the gangway to Celestia’s personal craft. The ship itself was simple and small, about the size of a larger house. It was pure white and had smooth features, looking more like an airplane than a spaceship. On the side was emblazoned the name Sol Navem. “Everybody, get on board! We’re leaving now.” “Sheesh, who made her the boss?” Rainbow whispered to Rarity, who gently placed her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “She did get us out of the hangar,” she stated plainly, gesturing at Twilight with her free hand. “Not to mention, she was the Grand Master’s apprentice. I don’t think it will hurt to follow her for just a little while.” Rainbow’s expression softened as she watched Twilight turn her back to Trixie so she could gently deposit Spike in her backpack. “Yeah… good point,” she whispered before setting off towards the spaceship. ~H*H~ “So, think you can fly it?” Gilda asked as she and Big Macintosh took to the cockpit. He took the pilot’s seat, while she flopped down in the copilot’s. “Eeyup,” he replied calmly as his eyes scanned over the control panel. He found what he was after and put Celestia’s key into the ignition, turning it as soon as it was seated properly. “I’m still a little confused about that key…” Gilda said quietly, pulling her harness around her and fastening it just under her bosom. Big Macintosh gave her a puzzled look as he buckled himself in. She answered with a shrug. “I mean, it’s not like this is an older model, like a Highwind or something… It looks brand new! Why would she have such an outdated ignition switch?” “Beats me.” “You don’t really say much, do you?” “Nope.” “How come?” Big Mac sighed as he wrapped his hands around the controls. “Mostly ‘cuz I don’t need to. I live a life where words usually just drift off into the wind. Ain’t really nobody around to here ‘em, so I keep ‘em to myself.” “Sounds pretty lonely,” Gilda said quietly, moving her left hand up to clutch her scarf. “I got my sisters.” A small smile crossed Gilda’s lips. “You’ve got more than one?” she asked as the ship started to lift up. Big Macintosh smiled too, though he was clearly trying to hide it. “Yeah… I got two,” he said warmly. He seemed to finally give up on hiding his smile and let it spread across his face. “A.J. and Apple Bloom… They mean the world to me, y’know?” “I’m an only child, but I think I know what you mean,” she answered as the door behind them slid open and Twilight stepped in. She stepped up between the seats and leaned forward. “Are we all ready?” “Eeyup.” “Good to hear,” Twilight said cheerfully as she reached for the panel. She quickly brought up the holo-map and scanned over it. “It looks like the closest world is Ponyville. We’ll head there and get supplies before we start looking for the Elements.” Gilda gave a thumbs-up in response, while her copilot simply nodded in response. His earlier smile had vanished, replace by a soft frown. “Sounds like a plan to me.” “Then we’re off. I’ll go get buckled in.” With that, Twilight disappeared through the door and they were left to pilot the ship in peace. “Hey, Big Macintosh?” “Call me Mac.” “Okay, Mac… So, uh…” Gilda crossed her arms and scowled at the control panel. “You’re… from Ponyville, aren’t you?” “…Eeyup.” “What’ll you tell your family?” she asked quietly. Mac didn’t respond at first. He stared out into the void of space as a look of sadness came over his face. That look was immediately replaced with one of stark determination. “I’ll tell Apple Bloom that we’ll find that monster and make her pay.” She didn’t say anything else; she merely nodded and grabbed her controls as they flew out towards Ponyville. ~H*H~ Sunset strode into the chamber with Starlight jogging close behind her. Group Seven’s two new members, who stood on opposite sides of a table in the center of the room, looked to her with a mix of confusion and annoyance. “Where is your master?” one of them asked. She was tall and thin, looking more like a wraith than a human with the way her coat hugged her body. “You don’t get to ask me questions like that, Number Three,” Sunset said harshly, placing the bounty of her last mission on the table. “Will you at least tell us what that is?” the other one asked, reaching for the gem. Sunset made no move to sop him, yet his hand recoiled in pain as a number of jagged triangles materialized as a dome shield around the table. “No,” Sunset said sharply, turning away from the table. “Number Four, you are to travel to the world of Everfree, and capture three manticores. I don’t care how; just do it. You leave immediately.” “You have no right to order me around li–” He was cut off as Sunset whirled on him and held out her hand. Number Four immediately sank to his knees and clutched his chest. “Don’t think you can talk back to me, just because of what you were,” she said coldly, lowering her hand. “You may have been something great before, but now, you’re just a rookie. Remember, Four: I am Number One, and she is Number two. You serve us and follow our orders. Is that clear?” “Y-yes!” Four shouted as he fell on his side, curling up in pain. “Please, stop! I beg you!” “I’m glad we could come to an agreement.” She turned away once again, gesturing for Starlight to follow. “Come on, Two. We’ve got more work to do.” “Right away, One,” Starlight replied, jogging to catch up. “What’s next on the agenda?” Sunset held out her hand, prompting a large glass jar to appear in it. Inside of the jar, a mass of dark violet energy squirmed and struggled, hoping to escape its prison. “Now, we recruit our next new member.”