//------------------------------// // Familiar Fight // Story: Land of Superpowers // by AkumaKami64 //------------------------------// "Princess! Princess!" Over the centuries, Celestia had determined the many different tones and their implications that could be used just by yelling her title. Shouting like that, sans excited greetings, usually meant something very important. The continued calling and the quickness between them indicated a sense of panic. The speed of his gallops and the look in his eyes confirmed a sense of urgency and fear. "What is it, guard?" She asked with a concerned look. The guard, rather reluctantly, paused to catch his breath. That was a bad sign that he had been running for a while, "M-Milady! There's an incident in the garden! Two large monsters are attacking!" He answered quickly. Celestia had heard enough, giving the pony a nod of thanks as a serious frown marred her usually serene face; with that, she teleported away. She found herself, as intended, flying above the garden and began scanning it. What she saw made her frown a millimeter deeper. A good chunk of the garden was all but destroyed. Statues lay in rubble, some of the staff were trying to put out small fires, and the guards she currently saw were tending to wounded comrades. She heard the sounds of fighting and roaring, drawing her attention to the source of this destruction. She flew over to another area where the guards had formed a perimeter around something, with the Pegasi floating above the space. They all looked a bit uneasy, but weren't engaging the enemies…for good reason. For in her royal garden stood two great beasts…one was a giant red and yellow praying mantis, and the other was a larger grey leopard with a purple manticore-like stinger for a tail. The mantis dwarfed her, but the leopard was only less than a foot taller than her withers. And both of them were having a death battle. The mantis swung ferociously at the tiger, its pincers locking around a statue as the feline dodged. The piece of art exploded, electricity cackling between the bladed limbs. With a growl, the leopard's stinger struck its foe. The pincers blocked it, sending the cat's larger attacker back several yards in a skid. The bug lowered its arms to find the predator charging at it. With an odd, wailing growl, the six legged creature jumped up in the air, over the charge. It landed and quickly turned around as its enemy did a quick turn about as well. With an unholy screech, the insect swung at the ground, sending slash of pure light at its enemy. The big cat let loose a great roar as a wave of utter darkness raced out to meet its opposite. The two attacks met and instantly exploded, blinding the guards temporarily and scorching everything in a fifteen foot radius- luckily, the perimeter was outside that range. The two beasts marched forward before the smoke even cleared, clearly ready to do battle still. They drew close, prepared to strike... "That is enough!" Celestia called loudly as she landed on the ground with an audible thud beneath her hooves, her horn flared with magic as she glared at the intruders. She didn't know how they got here, but she would not have her home and subjects terrorized by these two. To everypony's shock and amazement, they both obeyed, stopping instantly as they turned to face her. She couldn't read the mantis's expression, but the leopard almost looked strangely curious at her. "You can understand me?" She asked slowly, raising an eyebrow at the strange pair. The mantis cocked its head in confusion, but nodded. The feline blinked, as if bewildered by the question as well. Still, it seemed to understand, "I don't know how you both got here, but you must cease with this fighting, at once," She ordered, leaving no room for argument. What happened next was very strange for the princess. Both beasts started screeching and roaring in their own tongue, gesturing to each other as if to put blame on one another. Then, they both suddenly stopped and looked at each other in confusion, making a few more noises. Celestia shared a look with the new captain of the guard, Shining Armor's replacement and both of them shrugged, not sure what to make of it. Both creatures suddenly started making sounds of shock, making everypony tense, waiting for another fight...before they almost face faulted as the two creatures hugged each other tearfully. Celestia was very sure they were both apologizing for...whatever had happened. After another moment, the two parted and started walking up to the princess. The guards tensed again, but held their ground at Celestia's subtle headshake. She stared hard at the pair as they came to stand in front of her...before the mantis erupted into a brief flash of light The guards were treated to the rare spectacle of Celestia jaw dropping as a familiar phoenix emerged from the flash, landing on her withers with a happy shrill, "Ph-Philomena?!" Celestia asked in shock, getting a happy squawk from the flaming avian. Celestia turned to the leopard, shadows covering its body as it vanished...leaving a possum in its place, known to some as Luna's pet, Tiberius. He scurried over to her hooves, obviously hoping to go back to his owner. As all the soldiers stood, uneasy and stunned, Celestia looked between the furry familiar, than to her feathered one, and finally to the destruction they had caused. She ultimately let out a sigh and muttered one suffering word. "Discord..." "Ohhh, who's an adowable scorpion-leopard!? You are, yes you are!" Philomena, Celestia, and the three guards sweat-dropped as they stood in the lunar Alicorn's bedroom, watching Princess Luna baby-talked to and scratch the transformed-possum's belly, making him wiggle happily on his back with her hooves on his belly, "Well, I'm glad that you're taking this so well, Luna," Celestia said evenly, just a bit annoyed with that reaction. "Ohh, lighten up, sister! Tibby here is too cute! If this is truly a prank of Discord's, it is one I enjoy," Luna said gleefully. "They did destroy the gardens and put about two dozen mixed members of the staff and guards in the medical wing, Your Majesty," Iron Sky, a male Pegasus, reminded neutrally. "Yes, but I am relieved to hear that none were permanently injured," Luna said with a smile, scratching Tiberius under the chin, "Besides, am I wrong in my understanding that these two, not recognizing each other, both attempted to ward off an unknown monster from attacking our royal home?" She pointed out with a smirk as the pets nodded rapidly, "Misunderstanding aside, it is quite commendable." Iron Sky sighed, "I suppose I can't blame them, since that's essentially what we were doing ourselves," He mused. "Do not fear, good guard, we will insure our companions manage these new abilities well in the future," Luna promised before scowling. Tiberius, sensing fun time was over, changed back as she placed him on her withers, "Still, this is a rather strange bout of mischievous from Discord, Sister. Are we sure he simply hasn't contracted a cold?" Luna asked as they all shivered in horror. Chaos sneezes. Not good, very not good. "He's my main suspect for the moment, but I'm having trouble reaching him. He seems to be ignoring my attempts to summon him," She said with a scowl, "I'm assuming he's hiding for the moment, if this is his doing." "Possible, but regardless, we should be on the lookout for any more cases like this," Luna advised, raising an eyebrow as the guards all twitched oddly, "Is there a problem, Captain Iron Sky?" She asked curiously. The Pegasus, his armor enchanted to make him look like a standard grey coated guard, cleared his throat awkwardly as both princesses focused on him, "There...have been a few strange things happening in the guard for the last day or so," He answered nervously. "Strange how? And why were we not informed?" Celestia asked with a hint of disapproval. "Apologies, Princess. It wasn't harmful and we weren't even fully sure what was going on yet, so we were trying to take better stock of the situation before reporting it," Iron Sky said, turning to one of the others, "Go wake up Moon Punch and tell her to use IT to get here," He ordered, getting a salute from the soldier a she walked off. "Moon Punch? Isn't that one of the lunar guards?" Luna asked in suspicion and surprise. "Yes, she is, Milady," Iron Sky answered, taking a moment to gather himself, "Over the past day or so, we've begun to notice some of the soldiers exhibiting...odd abilities," He answered carefully. "Abilities? Explain?" Luna requested with a curious scowl. "A lot of it didn't seem too weird. For instance, a private named Brass Brick suddenly gained a knack for fire magic," Iron Sky began, getting interested looks, "At first, I thought it was just the troops doing some off-duty training and finding a new talent or two." "A reasonable conclusion," Celestia agreed off-hoofedly. "Then some of them became...well, technically, they should be downright impossible," He answered unsurely. "Oh? In what way?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow, only to be interrupted by the familiar sound of a teleport spell. The princesses nearly blasted the lunar guard sitting on Luna's bed, eyeing them sheepishly, "Sorry," She apologized, rubbing her head in embarrassment as she climbed off. "You are Moon Punch, correct?" Luna asked evenly, getting a nod and bow from the fanged mare, "Then tell us...what...your...," Luna trailed off with wide eyes, Celestia already blinking in realization, "You're a Pegasus." "Well, bat-pony while the armor is on," Moon Punch answered with an awkward chuckle. There were, in fact, bat-ponies, but not every Lunar Guard with wings was one- armor with illusion spells was very handy for appearances. "And...you teleported," Celestia finished Luna's point. "Yep! I woke up one night and found I could teleport...was hard explaining that to the staff sergeant," She said with a sigh. "...Are there more cases like this?" Celestia asked slowly. "...Vanilla Hoof, a maid, can walk through walls and got her back hoof stuck in one," Moon Punch informed off-hoofedly. Everypony turned to her and blinked, "That is new to me," The Guard Captain said in surprise. "It only happened this morning as I was heading to bed," Moon answered with a shrug. Luna and Celestia shared a look at that, "It would seem that whatever gave Philomena and Tiberius the ability to transform is also affecting ponies as well," Celestia commented. "Indeed. Strange though. While confusing and alarming, these powers could be a great aid in the future, with time and practice," Luna mused curiously, "Could this be Discord's misguided attempt to benefit Ponykind?" "Possible, but he had best aid us in minimizing incidents like today's if that is the case," Celestia said with a shake of her head, "For now, it might be best to request Princess Twilight attend a meeting and get her up to speed on the situation." "Yes, and in the meantime, we can figure out why your shadow is doing that," Luna said idly, drawing everypony's attention to Celestia's shadow, which looked like a giant tentacle swishing about, "Hmm, wonder what powers I'll get," Luna mused as Celestia continued to stare. Iron Sky cautious took a step closer to it, only for it physically slap his hooves, "I best get something sun related if you have shadows," Luna said dryly as Celestia glared at her in disapproval. Meanwhile "See ya Granny, see ya Winona!" Apple Bloom called as she left the farm house to go meet with her friends, waving over her shoulder at her grandmother, rocking away with the family dog eating out of a dog bowl on the porch. She hummed a tune as she went, feeling in good spirits today for some unknown reason. "Hi Big Mac! Hi Winona!" It must have been something in the air, because she felt extra ready to meet the day with a smile. "Hi Sis! Winona, don't "go" on the path!" It wasn't like today was anything special though. Maybe she just slept well. "Be a good girl, Winona!" Okay, maybe she hadn't gotten enough sleep, she realized, wondering how Winona got all over the farm so quickly. "Ahh-there-you-are-Apple-Bloom!" The young earth pony nearly jumped as she found that Rarity was suddenly standing right next to her, "Rarity! You scared me!" "Oh?-Dreadfully-sorry-about-that,-Dear!" Rarity apologized quickly, yet calmly with a smile, "I-do-believe-this-belongs-to-you?" She asked with a knowing smirk as she pushed forward a shivering, scared, and fuzzy Winona towards Apple Bloom, "I-found-her-outside-my-boutique," She explained idly yet speedily. "Winona? How...ya know what, never mind," Apple Bloom said with a head shake as she turned to the unicorn, "Thanks, Rar-" She started, only to blink and find her gone, "Huh?" "Hey, Apple Bloom!" A familiar voice greeted, making her blink in surprise. "Scootaloo! Where are you?" Apple Bloom called in surprise, looking all around for the filly, but seeing no trace of her. "Ruff, Ruff!" The puffy Winona barked, looking straight up "Up here!" Scootaloo called again, making Apple Bloom look up at her flying friend. "Scoots, since when can you fly!?" Apple Bloom asked in surprise, blinking as she saw the filly's passenger- how Scootaloo could carry that was beyond Apple Bloom's understanding of flight. "Since this morning! I got something for you!" Scootaloo said with a grin as she plopped down yet another Winona. The purple maned filly blinked as she spotted the other hound look alike, "Wow, when did Winona have a twin?" She asked as she put her Winona down on the ground, both dogs yapping happily at each other. "She doesn't," Apple Bloom answered with wide eyes, "You think they might be changelings?" She whispered loudly to Scootaloo. "I thought they only turned into ponies?" Scootaloo asked in confusion. "I don't know, I'm not some bug-pony expert! All I know is there is...more than one Winona now," Apple Bloom trailed off, not sure how many she actually saw back at the farm. Four? Five? Why was she the only one noticing this?! "Well, look on the bright side? You got more pets!" Scootaloo said with a grin, trying to perform an aerial backstroke before getting wobbly in mid-flight, "Okay, that is dizzy!" She said, righting herself before she fell out of the air. "How are ya doing that? Yer wings aren't even flapping that much!" Apple Bloom pointed out. "Bloom, I have no idea what I'm doing right today, but I hope it sticks," Scootaloo answered honestly, "Ohh, just wait until Rainbow Dash sees me now!" "Yeah, well, help me show these two ta my sister," Apple Bloom requested with an eye roll, as she nudged the playful dogs back towards the farm, "Hopefully someone knows what to do about this..." Meanwhile *BANG!*BANG!*BANG!*BANG!* "Okay, okay, I'm up," Twilight said with a yawn as she rolled her neck and blinked away her sleepiness. She squinted as a baby dragon came into focus, "Spike? Why do-*YAWWWWWN!*-you have a broken shovel?" She asked curiously. Spike sighed in relief before looking very, very annoyed, "...What? There something in my mane?" She asked in confusion. Spike, in response, jumped up on the bed and pinched Twilight on the nose, "OW! Spike! Whoot woos thoot for?!" She demanded, her words coming out awkwardly as she rubbed her nostrils. Spike, still annoyed, pointed to a corner of the room, "...Why is there a pile of broken stuff in my room?" She asked flatly, eyeing the heap, almost twice as high as her withers. Spike, still silent, held the shovel up again and pointed to its dent. Twilight looked at the rounded shape..., "WERE YOU HITTING ME WITH THOSE!?" She screamed in disbelief. "NOTHING WOKE YOU UP! You actually GIGGLED when I broke most of these!" Spike finally answered, obviously frustrated as she went over to the pile. "You hit me with a FRYING PAN?!" Twilight yelled in outrage. "Are you even LISTENING to me!?" Spike asked with a glare. "YES! I'm Just Having A Hard Time Processing It!" Twilight answered loudly. "I'm buying a metal bat," Spike informed flatly. "Please be very sure you need to use it before you ever do," Twilight requested, also flatly, as she turned back to the pile, "How the buck am I still alive? You should have fractured my skull ten times over!" She asked in confusion. "Buck if I know! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get a drink and lay down- all that banging gave me a headache," Spike informed with a sigh as he left, "Oh, and message from Princess Celestia on the stand." Twilight blinked as her assistant left, her brain still booting up, before glancing towards the table next to her bed. There indeed was a scroll, lying innocently for all to see. Twilight's mind rapidly spun through twenty terrible reasons for why the Princess had sent her a letter: Had she contracted some skin-hardening disease? Did some Alicorn allergy suddenly come about? Was this some weird effect of the Elements of Harmony? Or the Rainbow Power? Or was this an odd way of growing into her new species? Did Discord go evil again? Did Discord's brother show up? Or his father?! Were the Changelings invading again!? Had the Griffons declared war!? Was Sombra back?! Was she being fired from being a Princess!? At that one, Twilight banged her head against the crystal wall. That last idea was a good sign that she wasn't thinking straight, prompting her to take several deep breaths as she collected herself. It could have nothing to do with...whatever was going on with her. It could just be Celestia checking to see how she's settling in to her new home…or informing her of a meetings or event. Or asking her if one thing or another was from her or Discord, a prank he occasionally played. With one more breath, she righted herself and opened the letter with her magic. "My Dear Princess Twilight I regret to inform you that this letter is not one between friends or even former mentor and former student. I have recently become aware of strange events taking place in Canterlot and possibly other places. Creatures, be they ponies or otherwise, have suddenly gained new abilities for no apparent reasons and many defy what that individual is normally able to do. We do not know why this has occurred or the full extent of these abilities yet. I have witnessed full body transformations and heard of element manipulations, along with things we have not classified yet I must request that you come to a meeting in Canterlot and I would advise bringing your friends. Partially to catch them up to speed on this as well, but also to see if they are experiencing any changes like this as well, as we do not know how many it affects or how wide the area yet. As you are no doubt aware, these abilities will likely lead to panic and accidents if we do not handle this situation with care. I do hope to see you soon. Your Fellow Princess Celestia" "..." Twilight took a deep breath as she reread the letter to make sure she understood it correctly, realizing that she did indeed read it correctly, "...Oh my bucking buck, this is bad!" She declared with pinprick eyes. Everypony, no, possibly every living and thinking creature gaining some measure of new power out of the blue?! That...The amount of chaos that could cause was unimaginable! No one would know what kind of power they had until it made itself obvious and even then, they wouldn't know how to control them! The amount of damage a young unicorn could do without knowing what they were doing was already a risky hoofful in their lives, but at least they knew how to deal with that! This was...this wasn't new territory, this was a new continent! "Okay, okay, calm yourself Twilight," The Alicorn of friendship shakily said to herself, her wings and tail twitching a bit as her face trembled in its forced-calm expression, "It might not be that bad. Transformation, elemental control, you've heard of all those things before! Sure, there's bound to be some hiccups, but this should be manageable, right?" She asked herself, looking towards her mirror...prompting her to stare owlishly. The mirror rippled like water as a figure stepped out of it. Normally, she'd be worried but the mirror-traveler threw her for a loop. It was a very sleepy and groggy Sweetie Belle, looking about lazily before determining she had made a wrong turn and walking back into the mirror without a word. Twilight only resisted the urge to faint because she knew Spike would probably start hitting her again.