The heavy iron doors creaked slowly as they opened, dragging along the stone floor with a long, drawn out scraping noise. With a heavy thud, they opened fully, revealing the long, dark corridor.
But as the hero took a single step past the threshold, torches along the wall lit up, one by one as light flooded the room, banishing the darkness to the far corners. Pausing only briefly, our hero swallowed the lump in her throat and then took another step.
One after another, her armoured hooves clicked loudly upon the stone, resounding throughout the expansive room.
The tapestries upon the walls fluttered ever so slightly with a breeze that washed in through darkened windows. The sky outside set with steel-grey clouds, covering the land like a solid iron plate. Even now, the only sounds were the hero’s clicking hooves, the occasional clink of her plate mail and the thudding of her heart in her chest.
Her long and arduous quest had built up to this. Many weeks of traversing the landscape, fighting the countless horrors that inhabited it. From performing acts of great heroism, to simple things like running errands for a busy farmer.
Dear Creator, if she had to endure ‘one’ more Tartarus-damned fetch-quest… At least the blonde, orange-coated farmmare was cute.
A roll in the hay was never taken so literally~
Memories aside, it was time to end this. She had tracked her enemy all the way to this distant fortress. Why was it that the bad guys always lived in tall, spiky fortresses?
And on that note, why were the corridors always so long? Was it a fetish or something? She swore it was taking longer to reach the end of the hall than it did to get here from Middle Equestria in the first place.
Eventually, she reached her goal, the door that would lead to the inner sanctum. This was it…
She placed a hoof on the comforting hilt of her broadsword and took a breath, then turned and bucked the door inwards. Striding inside with confidence, but remained cautious for a surprise attack, she saw her enemy.
She sat upon a large throne, decorated with the skull of the fallen alicorn. With her defeat, the hero could incite the ritual that would revive the fallen deity and restore order to the land.
“Dark Empress!” the hero roared, drawing her holy blade and aiming it at the evil one. “Your time on this earth is done!”
“Aww, but I only just got this chocolate milk recipe right. Can’t it wait like… five minutes?”
...The hero was undeterred! The lies of the dark one would fall upon deaf ears. Her time had come.
“Don’t be like that. You want a donut? I have your fav~orite~ Chocolate with sprinkles~”
The hero faltered, she would… she would not be tempted.
“You know you wanna~”
***
The quill dropped and the unicorn mare that had been writing the conclusion for her epic tale looked up with an irritated stare.
“Twiiii~lliiiight!” she whined and stared at the page. “You ruined the ending!”
The lavender unicorn hovering over the table giggled airily, looking at the text she’d altered with her magic.
“Aw, don’t be pouty Ember, I made your story more lifelike.”
”How is that more lifelike?” the unicorn mare frowned. She brushed some of her rust-red mane from her eyes as she picked up quill in an azure-hued aura. “Besides that, it’s supposed to be a fantasy novel!”
“Really?” the Chaos mare hummed and picked up the book, her magic easily overpowering Embers’. “I mean, the ‘hero’—” she made air quotes with her hooves. “—Is an orange and red unicorn mare with green eyes. And, oh look! You’re an orange unicorn with a red mane and green eyes.”
Ember snorted and rolled those emerald eyes of hers.
“Hmm… let’s see,” Twilight continued, either oblivious or ignoring the mare’s irritation. “A renowned mage with impressive sword skills. I guess your Cutie Mark could translate to that in this setting.”
Ember Quill snorted derisively again, though she did glance at her Cutie Mark, a silver sword and a magic wand crossed together.
“Ohh, a sexy scene between the heroine and a strapping Earth Pony mare? Well, you do have a thing for—”
“Aaahh!” Ember snatched back the book with her bare hooves, blushing profusely in the process. “Twilight, shut it!”
“You, are just too adorable,” the chaotic mare giggled and rubbed Ember’s head with a hoof. “And last but not least is your love of chocolate donuts with sprinkles. Speaking of…” Twilight’s smile widened. “Let’s get out of this stuffy library and get some. Come ooooon~”
“Twilight, you know I have a lot of work to do,” Ember replied as she closed her book and set it aside. “I still have to sort the returns, pick up the books left laying around—”
“Booooorinnng,” Twilight rolled her head. “Come on Emby, get out of this stuffy library and live a little.” She cracked her tail like a whip. “Or do I have to free up your day?”
Ember’s eyes widened. She knew what that meant. Chaos unbound within the walls of the library that would likely take weeks to clean up. Ember Quill let out a defeated sigh and hung her head.
“Fine, let’s go then.”
“Yaay,” Twilight cheered and powered down her magic. This was gonna be so much fun. Ember pushed herself away from her desk and placed her book into her saddlebag. As they passed by the front desk, Ember wrote in the logbook so her sudden absence could be explained.
’Took the rest of the day off.
Reason - Twilight Sparkle’
“You know, when somepony’s very name is excuse enough…” Ember sighed as she finished writing.
“It means I’m doing my job properly,” Twilight nodded with a pleased smile as she dragged Ember along with her magic. “Without me, Canterlot would be amazingly boring. I mean, who would fill the noble’s swimming pools with tapioca? Who would swap my human’s mane with seaweed? Who would stop Sunset Shimmy from living a boring life?” She grabbed Ember’s cheeks and stared into her eyes, the chaos mare’s eyes were wide and watery. “How would Inquisitor Trixie earn enough pay to feed her fifty brothers and sisters!?”
“Twilight,” Ember replied calmly. It sometimes scared her on how used to this she was. What was her life? “Inquisitor Trixie doesn’t have fifty siblings.”
“Oh yeah,” Twilight floated back. “She’s not an Apple mare.”
On a distant farm, Fiddlesticks paused as her ear flicked, her tail twitched and her left hind leg tapped a rapid staccato. Somepony was subtly insulting her kin.
“Wow, that was kind of harsh,” Ember said.
“But true,” Twilight replied. Ember had no retort, that family bred like rabbits. The chaotic unicorn giggled again and the two resumed their trek to the holiest of lands. A veritable utopia of dough and sprinkles. Donut Joe’s!
“Hey Twilight?” Ember asked as they walked, now moving under her own power instead of being dragged along. “How come you don’t just create some donuts with your magic?”
Twilight spun in the air so she was floating backwards. “I’m not a genie Emby. I can’t just clap my hooves and create what I want, when I want.”
“Yes you can,” Ember replied as-a-matter-of-factly.
“Yes I can,” Twilight agreed. “But that’s beside the point. If I simply relied on my powers 33.6/5 times pudding...”
“Don’t you mean 24/7?” Ember corrected, expertly deciphering Twilight’s rambling.
“Maybe for you norms, I operate on Chaos Time,” Twilight said. “But as I was saying, if I did that, I’d get lazy and so would everypony else. Every inane moron would come to me like ‘Oh Great and Powerful Twilight! Please grant my wish for some pointless material object’.” She even had hoof puppets of herself and… was that Prince Blueblood?
“Well, I guess you make a good point,” Ember nodded and gasped internally. Twilight made sense!? It was the End Times. Cities would burn. Anarchy would descend upon the land.
“Wow… rude much?” Twilight deadpanned. Somewhere, a pan fell over dead, it’s relatives would mourn the loss, knowing he died for the Greater Good.
“Twilight? What did I say about the mind reading?”
“Only do it when it amuses me or is relevant to the plot?” the chaos mare asked.
“Aaand everything is normal again,” Ember sighed contently. That had been a close one.
“Besides,” Twilight replied and then looked away, mumbling something under her breath. Ember’s ear flicked and she leaned closer.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” Twilight replied, before a miniscule, robe-wearing Twilight appeared on Ember’s muzzle.
“She said she can’t conjure donuts that taste as good as Joe’s,” MiniTwi said with a flat tone.
“Traitor!” Twilight gasped and reached out with her hooves to grab her runaway Inner Voice. Inner Twi just cackled and teleported, off to cause some Chaos. Twilight sighed and set herself down on the ground. “But she’s right dangit. No matter how many times I try, the ones I make just aren’t as good.” She shook her hoof at the sky. “I will find out your secrets Joe! I will find out exactly HOW you are a Donut Wizard!”
“I worry about you sometimes,” Ember shook her head and sighed at Twilight’s antics. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Twilight was a Chaos mage, she was just so… carefree. And yet, the bookish unicorn could help but be drawn to her. Twilight was an aspect that her life had never had before, excitement, a little danger, a chance to be herself. Ember glanced up to see Twilight’s purple eyes mere inches from her own. Ember let out a startled yelp and fell backwards, a hoof to her chest to try and slow her rapidly beating heart.
“Ahaha, you should have seen your face,” Twilight cackled as she floated there. “You were all like ‘Babwaa!’” Twilight made an odd face and fell back in the air. “Ahahah, you’re a riot Emby!”
“For Celestia’s sake Twi,” Ember picked herself up and dusted her rump off. “Don’t scare me like that.”
“Well, stop spacing out,” Twilight said and booped her nose with a hooftip, making Ember’s muzzle scrunch up cutely to try and shake the tingly feeling.
“Weren’t we supposed to be getting donuts?” Ember deadpanned
“Good point,” Twilight nodded and pointed a hoof towards Joe’s cafe. “Onwards! To sprinkly heaven!!”
Ember just rolled her eyes and trotted after Twilight.
“Twilight,” Ember said with an exasperated sigh. “Eat your food, don’t play with it.”
The chaotic mare had constructed a miniaturized Canterlot out of donuts, with a little Dough Twilight sitting on the throne, with a Dough Celestia licking her hooves.
“Really?” Ember said and shook her head. “And where am I in this little donut dollhouse of yours?”
“Hmm,” Twilight looked around. “Ah… the library. Where else?”
“Figures,” Ember sighed. “Even in Donutland, I can’t get any excitement…” While she hadn’t meant to say that outloud, she had.
And Twilight Sparkle had heard.
The chaos mare’s eyes widened, along with the cheshire grin on her muzzle. So little Emby wanted some excitement in her life? More than Twilight currently brought?
Oh this made Twiley a very happy mare indeed. The real question was, where to begin?
Inquisitor Trixie ran a very… structured life. Everything had it’s place and everything had a schedule. By the book and to the letter. No other way about it.
She trotted down a hall in the palace, the footsteps of a young human behind her as they approached a certain room. This room was strictly off limits to all but a select few. What was contained inside was unruly, dangerous and wild. It was for everypony’s sake really.
At least the young Scribe standing guard next to the door looked like he was doing his job properly.
“At attention!” Trixie barked as the colt flinched and fumbled the spear he held in his grasp. An enchanted weapon designed to disrupt chaos magicks… just in case. “Has there been any… difficulties?”
“N-None at all, Inquisitor Trixie Ma’am!” the colt saluted her. “She’s actually been pretty quiet all morning.”
Trixie’s eyes narrowed and her near-permanent glare hardened. A quiet Twilight Sparkle meant only one thing. With a small application of magic, the door unlocked and Trixie stepped inside, to see a room devoid of any chaotic lavender unicorns.
“Of-bucking-course,” Trixie muttered as her brow knitted with a frown. “Colt! Trixie will ask you but once. “Where. Is. Twilight. Sparkle?”
“I-I-I—” the colt stammered and shook as the human placed a hand on the slender unicorn mare, stroking her neck.
“Master Trixie,” he said gently. “If Miss Sparkle isn’t here, she’s very much likely to be in one other place.”
Trixie let out a soft sigh. “Of course, either her… boyfriend—” she said with more than just a hint of contempt and annoyance. “—”Or that librarian mare. Flare-something?”
“Ember Quill,” Cato corrected her. The human was under, not so much orders, but more of a request to help Trixie calm down a little. Between the return of Princess Luna and the recent events in Ponyville, Trixie had been more on edge than usual. Dot was a little worried, underneath all that sarcasm, he was a good stallion.
“Whatever,” Trixie snorted and brushed some of her mane aside with a small application of magic… “Colt! Go to the barracks and get a squad ready. Half a dozen should be fine. Outfit them with Anti-chaos weaponry and armour and tell them to remain battle ready. Trixie will give the order if she requires them and she expects them to be ready at a moment’s notice!”
“Yes Inquisitor Trixie Ma’am Sir!” he fumbled over the words, then his own hooves as he ran down the hall to fulfil her command.
“You know your height alone intimidates them enough,” Cato chuckled. Trixie had some Prench lineage in her bloodline, as such, she was far taller than most Equestrian unicorns, as well as more slender. The model Fleur De Lis was of the same descent, seeing as how she was Trixie’s mother. Another tell tale sign was a long furred tail with a bushel of hair at the end, much like a Griffon’s tail. Her horn was also longer, almost on par with Celestia’s and her hooves had a cloven appearance.
“Then it is their fault that they cannot appreciate the grandness of Trixie’s appearance,” the mare scoffed. It might have had something to do with the fact she liked to waved her weapons around when she was mad as well. “Now come along Cato, we shall fetch Dot as have a chaos mare to locate before this whole city goes to Tartarus in a basket.”
“Of course Master,” Cato nodded and fell into step behind her.
“Twilight?” Ember asked as she followed the mare through the winding streets of the city. Twilight had said that she wanted to show her something interesting. “Did you tell Inquisitor Trixie that you’d be going out? I haven’t seen her all day.”
“Huh… oh, I left her a note… I think?” Twilight shrugged as she floated in the air. “Well, I’m sure the excitement will do her good. I don’t think she’s been getting any from Dot lately. I wonder if he’s been getting hungry…”
Ember just flushed a deep red and shook her head. “Ahh, that’s not a mental image I need Twilight!”
“Does it include a stepladder?” Twilight asked. “Trix is really tall and Dot is… not so much.” But then, he was a shapeshifter...
“Ahhhh!” Ember flailed her hooves as she turned an even deeper shade of crimson. “I do not need to hear that!”
“Suit yourself, maybe you’re the one that needs a stallion,” Twilight giggled and noticed something of a lack of reaction. “Ooor, maybe a mare?”
That got a cute little squeak from her friend. Ahh, so she preferred tacos over hot dogs. Good to know~
She filed that info away for later and got back to the matter at hoof. Namely, spicing up Ember’s life a little. She’d come up with all sorts of ways at first, but precisely 93.2% of those would have gotten Ember killed or at least horribly maimed. Still, playing tag with Eldritch Abominations was fun. Cthulhu was a dirty cheater though,and Molag Bol was kind of a poopy head.
So that led Twilight to finding what the average equine would find exciting. And that train of thought exploded at first, before she reconstituted it and tried again.
“Twilight,” Ember said as she looked at the building. “Why are we at the Canterlot LARP’ing Association?”
“Well, because real combat would see you killed in a most gory and delightful way, and I like you too much to see that,” Twilight nodded. “This should be harmless, if a little boring… okay, a lot boring my my standards.”
“Twilight,” Ember said with a facehoof. “What clubs am I a part of again?”
Twilight paused and pulled a scroll out of her mane. “Let’s see, Biography for the OC, Ember Quill…”
“OC?”
“Overly Cuddly~” Twilight explained and hugged her. “Now, let’s see, age, 21. Height, huh, you’re kinda short. Weight… you weigh less than me? No fair!”
Ember groaned and facehooved. Her forehead was going to have a permanent dent at this point. Twilight ignored it and continued.
“Hobbies… Writing, reading, hanging out with Best Pony, aka, The Irresistible and Sexy Twilight, aka…” She saw Ember’s flat stare and chuckled. “Moving on… oh? You’re a member of the LARP’ing Society?”
“Not an active one,” Ember explained. “I write adventures for them. Scenarios, villains to fight, that sort of thing.”
Twilight hovered there for a moment. Ember was so adorable… but by the Warp was she boring! Even the most exciting hobby she had revolved around books!
“You need to get out of those dusty old books and live a little!” Twilight sighed. “Okay, so this place is out. We need something… real. Something…” She waved a hoof in a small circle, trying to think.
Then a distant noise caught her attention and she smiled. That would be perfect! ‘I can kill two birds with one spear… Oh wait, I’ve done that before. Aaaanyway, a club could get her to loosen up and meet a cute mare~’
So why did that last one not sound like such a great idea? Twilight shrugged internally and dragged Eber off to the source of the techno music. This would be a good day.
Today was a terrible day! What on Equus possessed Twilight to think this was a good idea? Ember’s ears flattened against her head to try and block out the loud music as some mare with way too many tattoos was trying to flirt with her.
“Come on cutie, there’s a nice room out back,’ she said as she trailed a hoof down Ember’s spine. “Lemme show you a few tricks I’ve picked up~”
“N-No thank you,” Ember stammered, more afraid than embarrassed at this point. Twilight had been busy dancing when she caught sight of her friend and the mare that was harassing her. A small growl built up in her throat as she walked towards them. Somepony was crusin’ for their head to be put on a spike.
“You know this is a fillyfooler’s bar right?” the mare said to Ember as she continued to invade her personal space. “Why else would you be here hon—” She never got to finish before there was a whipcrack, a flash and she was gone.
“Huh? Wha… where’d she go?” Ember blinked as Twilight snorted from behind her.
“Where all good trash goes,” she replied, having teleported her to the dumpster outside. That was odd for her, to be so… reserved. Normally she’d have the whore’s head on a pike.
“Thanks Twi,” Ember sighed, relaxing a little. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I like this place much.”
“It’s fine,” the unicorn replied. She was disliking this place as well. “There’s more fun to be had in Canterlot. Come one Emby!”
Ember Quill barely had time to squeak in surprise before Twilight hauled her off. Where were they going this time?
Trixie frowned. Today… was not a good day. Any day Twilight Sparkle could not be accounted for was not a good day.
“You really need to calm down,” Dot replied. His black carapace shone in the midday sun. Vibrant blue eyes scanned the donut shop where some citizens claimed they seen Twilight. “You know if the wind changes, you’ll be stuck like that.”
“Trixie will not—”
“I will not,” Dot corrected her. It was… a lengthy process to get her to stop the third-pony thing.
“I will not be calm. You know what Sparkle is capable of and if left to her own devices…”
“If she was planning something insidious, we’d either be on the frontlines or checking the obituaries,” Dot pointed out. “You know as well as I that if Twilight truly wished it, she could double the population of our graveyards in an hour. I’m sure she’s just off being a pest to some poor pony.”
“Trixie does… I do not believe things are quite so simple,” the unicorn mare replied.
“Did you read that report from Ponyville?” Dot asked her as they left the store… after Cato bought some sprinkled donuts. What? Joe made the best in the city!
“Care to narrow it down?” Trixie snorted. “I’ve seen written reports triple ever since Shimmer went to that little podunk town.”
“The one about High Sun Priestess Bon Bon. You know, that little Earth Pony that flipped out because of stress and lack of sleep?” Dot stopped in front of her and put a hoof to her chest. “I’m worried Trix. You haven’t been sleeping well yourself lately. And I know you’re skipping meals. Don’t lie.”
Trixie frowned again. “Trixie is not—”
“Emotivore,” Dot the Changeling put a hoof to his head.
“Bucking cheater,” Trixie mumbled under her breath. “Fine, so what if Trixie has skipped a meal or three? It’s not the end of Equestria. But it will be if we don’t find Sparkle!”
“I’m going to keep bugging you about this,” Dot said with a small nod, making Cato facepalm over the terrible pun. “But let’s find Twilight first then.”
“Finally,” Trixie said as she saw some mare climb out of a dumpster. Covered in tattoos and fake jewelry. Some ponies just had no self-respect…
Well, the museum was certainly a lot nicer than that horrid bar. But Ember had to wonder what Twilight would find exciting in here?
“Woulda look at this?” Twilight said excitedly. Ember followed her voice until she saw her standing before the bones of a Tyrannosaurs Rex. Ember had to admit that they were impressive creatures. Sure, they weren’t as big as dragons, but something about them just commanded respect.
“They were certainly impressive creatures,” Ember said.
“Yeah… hey, wanna see one?” Twilight asked. Ember blinked and looked at her.
“What?”
Oooh, that was the wrong answer.
Twilight’s horn shone as the massive skeleton shook… and then its jaws opened and it roared loudly. Ember’s first thought was ‘How does a skeleton roar? It has no vocal chords’ Her second thought was ‘RUN THE BUCK AWAY!’
And that she did, running screaming through the halls of the museum as the massive bony dinosaur chased her and Twilight, the latter giggling in delight. Now this was fun. Running for your life as a reanimated T-Rex skeleton chased them around. She idly thought of keeping him after this. She’d name him T-Bone.
But right now? Running away~
“I. Hate. Yoououu!” Ember wailed as she ran for her life. “So much!”
“Aww, you love me,” Twilight giggled as she floated beside her. T-Bone just wiped out an exhibit as he rounded the corner after them. Ooh, it looked expensive too. Twilight was so busy watching the carnage her new pet wrought that she failed to see the blush on Ember’s face.
Eventually, Twilight had to stop the chase because Ember was not a very fit pony apparently. Spending all day inside reading and writing was not good for your physical fitness. Still she ran further that Twilight assumed Trixie could. Ohh, she could wait to show her new pet to the Inquisitor.
“That… was… why?” Ember gasped, laying on her back as she panted heavily.
“Aww, you didn’t like playing with my bone?” Twilight asked. “Was it too hard? I thought you’d have more stamina.”
And now Ember wasn’t sure if her face was red from exhaustion. Or the fierce blush that heated her up quite nicely. “You’re a pervert Twilight.”
“Nah, you just have the most adorable reactions,” Twilight said with a light giggle. “Also, blame Dot for leaving his diary around. But to be fair, I had no idea Trixie could bend like—”
“Again! Too much information!” Ember exclaimed. She’d never be able to look at Inquisitor Trixie without blushing again.
“Aww, so cute,” Twilight giggled as she tossed a little metal ball at T-Bone and he was trapped inside of the Portable Storage Sphere™ Hmm, maybe that needs a better name. Fossilsphere? Bone Ball? Ah, she’d think about it later. “You gotta admit, that was pretty fun though.”
Ember groaned and put her hooves to her face. She hated to admit it, she didn’t want to admit it. But a small part of her had thought that was fun. Kinda like a haunted house on Nightmare Night.
“Come on, I’ll take you home,” Twilight said, figuring that was enough for a day. No need to rush it after all. She had all the time in the world when it came to Emby. “I know some shortcuts.”
“Sure,” Ember nodded as Twilight helped her up. She hoped the museum curator wouldn’t be too mad at Twilight trashing the place.
“Oops, almost forgot to clean up,” Twilight giggled as her magic flashed and the place was as good as new. “Come on, let’s go.”
“She… WHAT!?” Trixie roared as she heard about the news of the chaos Twilight had unleashed in the museum. “That… bucking… idiot!”
“Trixie, temper,” Dot said. “At least nopony was hurt. But, would you mind telling me why you are so upset over losing Twilight? It’s hardly the first time, and I am certain it won’t be the last either.”
Trixie frowned, but the looks she was getting from Dot and Cato made her expression soften. “There’s a group of Chaos Cultists skulking about town. We haven’t been able to get an exact fix on them yet, or else Trixie would have seen the city cleansed or their filth.” She stomped the ground with a cloven hoof. “What makes these idiots dangerous, is that they believe since Twilight is the most powerful of Chaos mages, that she is key to restoring Discord…”
“That way of thinking will get them killed,” Cato replied. “Do they even know who they’re up against?”
“I’d imagine they do,” Trixie replied. “They’re sure to have all sorts of Chaos counter-measures. And you know how overconfident Twilight can get.”
“I do, she’d quite the hooffull, but then I’ve met much stranger ponies… and even stranger Changelings,” Dot said, his mind wandering to the Queen. It was by her orders that he’d come to Equestria in the first place.
And he hadn’t regretted a single letter of that order.
“I think I have a lead on her now,” Trixie said, surprised by their good fortune that she’d dropped the third-pony act. “Let’s go before we lose her again.”
“All we need is a talking dog to be complete,” Cato muttered. Twilight had said that to him at some point… and tried to get him to wear an ascot. He still had no idea why.
“Um, Twilight?” Ember said as she moved close to the mare. “I don’t think I like your shortcut.”
“Yes, I’m beginning to think it wasn’t my best idea,” Twilight replied dryly as she stared at the robed ponies that surrounded them. There must have been over a dozen, some carried torches with a special purifying flame. One that made her horn itch and her coat stand on end.
Chaos Cultists, and they’d come armed enough to start a small war.
“So,” Twilight replied and flashed them a wink. Above all else, she had to keep Emby safe. She knew what these freaks did to mares like her. “Can we help you boys? We’re in a bit of a hurry.”
“You will be coming with us, Daughter of Discord,” one cultist said as he levelled a crossbow at her. “While we need you alive, we aren’t above making you more… co-operative.”
Aww, that was so cute. They actually think they stood a chance.
“What about the other one?” a second cultist asked. The first thought for a moment.
“We’ll bring her too. She’d make a wonderful monster with the right rituals,” he replied with an almost hopeful tone. Ember’s eyes widened as she moved closer to Twilight, her flank bumping hers.
“Oh dear,” Twilight sighed and shook her head. “And there went your chances of living. Time to die boys.” Her horn flared with life, just as a magic circle appeared beneath her and Twilight let out a sharp scream as her powers fluctuated and started draining.
“A nice spell isn’t it?” the first cultist said with s smile. “A modified spell of the ones Changelings use to drain emotion. Mind you, we had to dispose of quite a few until we figured that much out. Plus there was the testing phase. But I am so happy to see that it works well.” he sat back and clapped his hooves. “Such beauty in those screams. Like the purest melody. You’ll make the perfect vessel for restoring our God to his prime state!”
That was what they wanted? Twilight grit her teeth and clenched her jaw, before another round of pain ripped through her body. What the hell was this spell? She needed… five minutes. She’d figure this out, break it… then break them!
What nopony expected, was Ember stepping between her and the lead cultist. “Leave her alone!” she shouted at him. “You’re hurting her! She didn’t do anything to you… not today anyway. Ahh, not the point. Stop hurting her!”
“She’s the instrument to Lord Discord’s revival,” the cultist snapped. “Step aside or we’ll kill you here and now!”
“I-I’m not afraid of you!” Ember said after flinching from those words. No, Twilight was her friend and if that… if that meant hurting these bad ponies. She reached up and slid the nullification ring from her horn. While it still allowed Telekinesis, it stopped her… other abilities.
Namely her uncontrollable Pyrokinesis.
“Last chance,” she said as a small flame ignited the tip of her horn.
“Run… away…” Twilight grunted under the sealing spell. “Ember… there’s too many. Run!”
“NO!” Ember said firmly and Twilight’s eyes widened. “I’m not going to leave you alone with these jerks. What kind of friend would I be if I did that?”
“One that might have kept her life,” the Cultist sneered. “Forget it, we’re wasting time. Kill the mare and secure the Key!”
Several Cultists lowered their horns, and started casting an array of spells that would brutally maim Ember. Though… they flinched as they heard an odd sound, a feral-like growl that was coming from somewhere.
Twilight knew though, being the closest to the source. The noise was coming from Ember.
“I said…” Ember took a step forward. The torches the cultists were carrying… changed. The white holy flames suddenly turned a deep azure. “To leave…” Her eyes narrowed and the brilliant emerald green took a crimson hue. Her round iris’ took a more… beastial slit. Her upper lip curled back and revealed a row of pearly white and very sharp teeth. “Leave. Her. Alone!”[i/]
“Kill it!” the lead cultist yelled. “Kill the monster!”
“Ohh, that’s rich, coming from you,’ Ember cooed in a tone Twilight had not heard from her. Ember Quill was a skittish mare, easily startled and not good in public situations.
This Ember, she knew the aure the… mare? Exuded. This was the aura of an apex predator. One staring down her next kill.
“The Key must be Warping her. Use the sacred flames!” The cultist yelled. The others raised their torches and…
Ember… laughed. A small quiet one as she opened her mouth and started to inhale. The flames flickered, before traveling like a stream as the mare ate the flames. Every last one, she absorbed into her maw and when the last ember vanished, her jaw clicked closed and she gave a contented sigh.
“Mmm, delicious. How kind of you to bring me a snack.”
“She’s a Fire Blood Mage,” one cultist said. “Oh Chaos, we just made her stronger!”
“Close,” Ember smiled as azure flames licked at her hooves, ears and the tip of her tail. Her ears grew longer as sharp claws sprouted from her hooves, well, they were now snow-white paws. Her tail flicked, becoming longer, fuller and more lustrous.
Twilight then realised what her friend was. She also wondered if Ember herself even knew… and of all the things the chaos mare had seen in her life, the foal of a pony and a kitsune was not one of them. Ooh, these cultists were so unbelievably fucked. And not in the happy funtime way.
“What are you idiots doing?” the leader yelled. “Kill that Sunblessed bitch!!”
Ember snorted as her tail flicked and a whip of fire snared the nearest Cultist, flinging him like a ragdoll as she tossed him around, not even sparing a glance as she slammed him into another one. Several levelled crossbows at her and fired. Her ear flicked as a wall of flame surrounded her, incinerating the bolts before they even reached her.
Her eyes flashed blue and a concussive blast of energy slammed the trio that shot her, knocking them against a far wall.
Less than a minute, and she taken out five of them already.
The Cultists were starting to have second thoughts about this plan. This was turning out to be a really bad plan.
“She’s just one mare!” the leader screamed and then sighed. “When you want something done right…” He stepped forward as the darkness encroached on them. “I’ll inflict horrors on you the likes that even your deepest nightmare couldn’t conjure. I’ll break you, remake you and break you again. I will relish the fear you feel and your tears will be like the sweetest wine. I’ll—” he was sent flying by another psychic blast, before a whip of fire plucked him out of midair and slammed him several times against the walls, floor and the remaining Cultists.
The whole time, Twilight noticed something. Ember was crying. She didn’t like hurting ponies, no matter how much they deserved it. It was a trait that Twilight respected and admired about her. Even ponies that wanted to turn her into a monster, she felt bad for beating them senseless.
And once Ember was finally done, she sighed as she looked at the unconscious leader. “Anypony ever tell you that you talk too much?” she said as her form wore off and she gave Twilight a faint smile before she passed out. With the Cultists out cold, Twilight had enough to time to analyse the seal and shatter it.
“Oh Ember,” she sighed as she ran a hoof through her mane. “Let’s get you home.” With a flash, she left the alleyway… for now.
The leader picked himself up, that plan had… not worked out well. How knew the Key had a Celestia-damned Fire Blood protecting her. Well, there was always next time…
“Aww, isn’t that cute,” a voice cooed from above him and and the conscious cultists glanced up to see Twilight Sparkle floating there. Their chance had come sooner than expected. “You guys are just… so adorable.”
“We have you now,” one said.
“Really, is that so?” Twilight said as she summoned a spear. “Well, I guess it’s cool to be hopeful for the future. More power to ya I say. But… I’m afraid this is going to be a very, very bad day for you.” She lowered herself closer to the ground as a dark aura overcame her. “You see, I don’t mind that you came after me. Hazard of the job and all that. But then… then you idiots had to go and drag cute little Emby into it.”
One Cultist had gotten the right idea to flee, well he would have if Twilight hadn’t thrown the spear, the weapon whistling through the air and skewering him through the head with enough force to pin him to the wall behind him.
Twilight smiled sweetly at that. “You idiots made her cry. That… that is unforgivable. I’m going to make you scream now. But on the bright side,” Twilight hummed a merry tune as she started summoning more spears. “There is a silver lining. This will be your last[/] bad day~”
Their screams were indeed music to her ears.
Trixie looked at the scene in disdain. The normally grey cobblestone was coated a thick red as the bodies of at least a dozen ponies littered various pikes and spears. Oh, she’d used some railroad spikes this time too, very creative.
Amidst the gore, Twilight floated there as she stripped the last of the blood from her coat with her magic. So much more effective than a shower. Hmm, maybe she should go over to Ember’s for a bubbly bath. She had the nicest soaps.
“Really?” Trixie said, washing aside the filth as she stepped closer to Twilight. “A little much don’t you think?”
“Now you don’t have to worry about those Cultists,” Twilight said offhandedly. “There were idiots to start something with me.” Well, not that that was a problem anymore.
“And the mare you were with?” Trixie asked. “Eyewitnesses report that they saw a mare matching Ember Quill’s description with you.”
“Emby wasn’t here,” Twilight said plainly, as if Trixie had just asked about the weather. “She’s at home taking a well-earned nap.” ’And I’ll be damned if she gets involved with anything like this…’
Dot raised a non-existent eyebrow, a motion that Twilight caught. “I said she wasn’t here!” the unicorn said with a little more force. “I’m going home,” she said with a scowl, she teleported away again.
Trixie sighed and rubbed a temple. That was something worth investigating. Well, later anyway. She took out a small crystal and channelled some magic into it.
“I need a cleanup crew on the alley between Bridleton Avenue and Stirrup Street. Make sure you have a Class Three cleanser with you.” She stopped the transmission and pocketed the gem.
“Well, it’s not usual that Twiley lies like that,” Dot said. “Also, don’t think I didn’t catch you sending Cato off to fetch some groceries all of a sudden. Is Mommy Trix being protective of her little human babbu?”
“Shut up,” Trixie blushed slightly. She'd have eviscerated anypony besides Dot if they’d said that. “Just start taking notes. There’s an odd magical seal on the ground… and those burn marks aren’t normal either.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Dot chuckled. She was awful cute when she was teased. He’d make it up to her later. It’d been a while since they…
“Dot! Today!” Trixie barked, breaking him out of his delightful daydream. With a resigned sigh, he took out his notebook and started writing.
Ember groaned softly as she rolled over, tugging the blankets up over her face.
Wait, blankets?
With a sharp gasp, she sat up quickly, wobbling at the slight vertigo that caused anss he put a hoof to her head. It hurt for some reason. What… where was she?
She rubbed her eyes and looked around. It was… her bedroom? She spied her Null-Fire Ring on her nightstand and slipped it over her horn. She was lucky she hadn’t burned anything in her sleep…
But, why was she here? She remembered that she was with Twilight. They’d had donuts, had a very touchy mare hit on her and run away from a dinosaur skeleton…
So, how did she get home and into her bed?
Ember groaned as her head throbbed. She… remembered an alley… some robed ponies and Twilight was…
“TWILIGHT!” Ember shouted and cried out as her own voice nearly deafened her. And it didn’t do her headache any better.
“You rang Princess?” Twilight said, teleporting in and reclining on Ember’s back. “Oh, are we playing that game now? Should I get a maid’s outfit.”
Ember’s brain briefly shut down at the thought of Twilight dressed like a maid, before she recovered and pulled the mare into a hug. “You’re alright! I… what happened?”
“Ah?” Twilight shrugged. “Yeah, you kinda passed out, but I broke the spell and spanked those naughty ponies good. Now…” She floated in front of her. “I’m thinking… Prench maid, or Vulpan? Both are good, but Vulpan ones are so ruffly and cute. Prench ones are outright sexy~”
“That’s…” Ember blushed hard. She liked both of them. Maybe Twilight could—? “AH! Stop distracting me Twilight!”
“Ooh, are you saying I’m distracting?” she said and gave her flank a wiggle. “At least you have good taste in mares Emby~”
Ember Quill was reduced to a blushing, babbling mess and Twilight giggled before realising… oh. Did Ember actually like her? Like, like-like her?
Hmm, how… interesting~
That was a game for another day. For now…
She leaned forward and hugged Ember. “Thanks for sticking up for me. Not a lot of ponies would have done that.”
“You’re my friend… i just wish I could have done more than pass out,” Ember sighed and Twilight chuckled, ruffling her mane.
“You helped out a lot. Now…” She lifted Ember with her magic. “Let’s go have a bubble bath.”
“I… whaat!?” Ember blushed and squeaked as she was carted off. How… How was this her life?