Prologue: An Invitation from Beyond Space
(A/N: This story effectively takes place in an AU, after the events of issue 4 of the MLP comic book, but does not recognize any events of Season 3 onward. Reading issues 1-4 of the comic will only help, but are not required.)
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Super Smash Bros: Disharmony
by Dusty the Royal Janitor
Prologue: An Invitation from Beyond Space
Princess Luna was not happy.
The sovereign of the night glowered at the sky, her ethereal mane of stars billowing furiously behind her as she stared up into the endless dark. She snorted as she paced back and forth across the balcony, her platinum-clad hooves treading heavily against the marble floor and her visage contorted into a snarl of pure, unbridled fury. A low growl escaped her lips as she continued to survey the stars above her and watch her beautiful work be sullied, herself seemingly incapable of fixing the blight upon her masterpiece.
Princess Celestia, sovereign of the day stood with her younger sister on the terrace. As she too stared into the night sky, she had not a look of rage upon her face, instead wearing an air of confusion. The bright white mare looked back and forth from the stars to the smaller alicorn, still stomping around throwing her little fit. The two remained in that way for some time before Celestia finally cleared her throat.
“It looks fine to me.”
This was obviously the wrong thing to say, as Luna whirled on her sister, her eyes bloodshot with wrath and worry. The royal blue mare clenched her jaw as she pointed an accusing hoof at her older sibling and snarled, “Of course thou wouldst say as such, Sister. Thou dost not know the intricacies of my night! Thou wouldst simply let the night rule itself and fall into disarray were it thy hoof that guided the stars and the moon. ‘Twas what thou did in my absence after all.”
“Luna...” Celestia said pleadingly.
“Just as I would not presume to understand the ins and outs of thy day, do not presume to understand every last facet of my night, simply because thou foalsat it for so long. Just because the stars hang in the sky does not mean all is well, sister.”
Celestia sighed. The lunar princess could be such a drama queen when she was angry. Celestia thought she had done a pretty good job of handling the night sky for the thousand years that Luna was gone, but according to the younger Alicorn, she had to spend the next eight months fixing everything that Celestia had broken. She had assumed that the whole thing was water under the bridge, and was a little annoyed that Luna would bring it up again. Better, though, to apologize and move onto solving the matter at hoof than to try and defend herself if there was indeed something the matter in the night sky.
“Very well, Luna,” Celestia began, bowing her head, “I apologize. Now can you perhaps tell this ignorant older sister of yours just what is wrong with your night? From what I can see it looks as beautiful as ever.”
Luna rolled her eyes and pointed to what appeared to be a comet off in the far reaches of the sky. “That!” Luna barked, glaring at the offending object.
The princess of the sun squinted, looking at the small object floating across the night sky. “A comet? No offense, Luna, but that doesn’t seem to be a good reason to be so angry. Certainly not reason enough to use your magic to crush Prince Blueblood’s bust into a singularity.”
“Yon fusty-headed bugbear doth not deserve a statue anyway!” Luna scoffed, “But ‘tis beside the point, Sister! That so-called comet is an invader! It defiles my night with its presence! It is not a comet at all!”
“It’s not?” Celestia cocked her head.
“Of course not!” Luna roared. “I control the night sky! Every star, every comet, every last shred of insignificant space junk, all of them bend to my will! But this thing... ‘Tis no body of mine! I did not make it! I cannot control it! It does not belong in my night!”
The Solar Princess looked back to the offending object hurtling through the blackness, beginning to see why her sister was so upset. Were a second sun to show up during the day that she did not make and had no control over, she would likely be in much the same state. “So what do you think we should do, Luna?”
The night mare slumped to the floor of the balcony, legs akimbo. “I know not, sister. ‘Tis distressing and worrisome, this intruder, but I know not what I could do about it.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, staring at the looming body in the sky. “Well, if you didn’t call for it, and you can’t send it away, perhaps you should bring it down to investigate it further.”
Luna’s ear twitched, as she looked up to the sky. “That would be the other thing that worries me sister...” she said.
“What, Luna?”
Luna growled. “’Tis coming down anyway.”
* * *
Twilight Sparkle was forcibly jostled from her slumber when she heard the loud belch come from the other side of the room. With a shriek, she tumbled out of the warm safety of her comforter and collapsed to the cold, hardwood floor. She sat up and groaned, rubbing her eyes with fatigue.
“Spike?” she called across the darkness of their bedroom, a warm midsummer night’s breeze gently wafting across her face from the open window. She heard a grunt come from the direction of the baby dragon’s bed as she saw a small silhouette suddenly stand up in the little basket in the corner of the room and toss off a slightly singed blanket.
“Ngh... Why is the Princess sending messages so late at night?” the baby dragon yawned, rubbing his eyes.
Twilight lit up her horn and illuminated the room, drowsily plodding over to her number one assistant’s basket. As she approached, Spike sleepily fished the scroll from his covers and handed it to Twilight, sitting back down in a lethargic stupor. Twilight, though, when she saw the scroll was instantly awake. The scroll’s parchment was bright red and had a black seal on it.
“Spike!” she said, grabbing the scroll away from him in her magic, “That’s an emergency scroll! The Princesses only use that color and seal if something very serious is happening!”
“Mmm-hmm...” Spike said, still in his haze. Twilight, on the other hand, had so much adrenaline pumping through her veins there was no way she was going back to sleep now.
Twilight quickly fixed her mane with her magic and flung the door open. “I’ll need to see what this is about, Spike. You stay here and don’t leave the library for anything, okay? If you think you hear trouble run down to the lab and barricade the door!” She said, barging out the bedroom door and barreling down the stairs.
“Uh-huh...” The dragon droned before falling back asleep.
Twilight rushed into her study, kicking up some loose papers as she ran. A flutter of wings and a soft ‘hoot’ signaled the arrival of Twilight’s other assistant and pet, Owlowscious. Twilight quickly sat down at her desk as the faithful owl lit a candle and fluttered it over to her side. She thanked the bird as she sat down in her comfy chair. “Ohhhh no...” she moaned. “What if the Changelings are invading again? Or if an Ursa Major is attacking Canterlot? Or maybe Discord broke out again and he’s turned Luna back into Nightmare Moon and they’ve teamed up! What if she’s dismissing me as her student?!”
She felt a feathered wing slap her in the back of the head.
Shaking it off, she nodded. “Right, probably not that last one. Thanks, Owlowscious.”
“Hoo.”
Steeling herself, Twilight held the scroll aloft in her magical aura. “No time to waste, though. The Princess obviously needs me,” she said, breaking the seal and taking in the words upon the scroll within.
My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
I apologize for the lateness of the hour, but my sister and I are in dire need of your assistance.
Not a half hour ago, Luna called me to the balcony to inform me of a problem in her night. It appears as though there is an unidentified object hurtling through the sky at the moment, appearing to be a simple comet. My sister, however, claims that she did not plan for any comets tonight and that she is seemingly unable to control the comet’s path or to send it away. This makes the object in question particularly worrisome, as it means that some power other than my sister, and greater in strength, is likely controlling it.
As disturbing as that thought is on its own, a more immediate concern is that the object in question is seemingly on a collision course with Equestria. While the object does not appear big enough to cause any amount of mass destruction like the asteroid that wiped out the prehistoric Mastodon race and created the badlands, it does appear to be closing in upon the position of Ponyville. It is imperative that the citizens of the village be warned and evacuated to shelter
My sister and I, as well as Captain Shining Armor and a contingent of royal guards will be coming to assist the town in this temporary evacuation. We should be there within the hour. We shall also bring the Elements of Harmony with us, just in case they are needed. Please gather the other bearers and then come and meet me outside town hall where we will explain proper evacuation procedure. Try to let as few ponies as possible know that anything is wrong until we get there. If your letters are at all accurate about how Ponyvillians react when a crisis is ahoof, then we don’t want them to know anything until we can get there. Citizens screaming and running around in circles will only impede evacuation and make it more likely somepony won’t get out and will get hurt or worse.
Touchdown is estimated to be in three hours. I will be arriving soon.
Your loving mentor,
Princess Celestia.
* * *
Gathering the element bearers had been mostly quick and painless. Twilight followed the letter as best she could, bringing a still-sleeping Spike, basket and all, out to Town Hall where she laid him down on the porch. From there, it was little trouble to gather up Rarity and Pinkie Pie from the nearby Carousel Boutique and Sugarcube Corner respectively. The Cakes, Sweetie Belle, Gummy, and Opalescence all came with them and went off to meet Spike at the city square while the trio of friends went to get Rainbow Dash. The stunt flier posed a little bit of a problem when they couldn’t wake her up, but luckily, Owlowscious had been tagging along and managed to fly up to her cloud house, where he proceeded to peck at the back of her scalp until she begrudgingly woke up. Owlowscious helped Tank get back to Town Hall for evacuation and Rainbow Dash, when she heard of the situation, quickly zipped over to Fluttershy’s cottage to collect the butter yellow animal caretaker. As Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash got Angel Bunny to lead all of her critters over to a safehouse that they all built in case of monster attacks, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity ran over to Sweet Apple Acres. Thankfully, the Apple family was used to early mornings and was easy to rouse. Little Scootaloo, who had been sleeping over with Apple Bloom, however, slept like a rock, and Big Macintosh ended up cantering back to Town Hall with a sleeping orange pegasus draped over his withers. It was just as the group all met at the city center that the Princesses and the Royal guard showed up.
With the guiding hoof of the royal pony sisters and their elite guard, evacuation went shockingly smoothly. There was no screaming or panicking from any citizen of Ponyville, and only a few soft mentions of ‘horror’ from Lily. It took merely an hour and a half to evacuate the entirety of the small country town, leaving a whole thirty minutes for the Bearers of Harmony (all adorned in their magical regalia), the Princesses, Shining Armor and the remaining guard, and Mayor Marion M. Mare to apprehensively stare at the sky, waiting for the unidentified falling object to land. The ten of them and the small contingent of guards that wasn’t busy with keeping order among the townsfolk outside the town all stood behind a magical barrier cast by Shining Armor. The small number stood there, staring up at the blackness of space, and waited.
Twilight fidgeted nervously, fiddling with her big crown thingy as she looked at her brother standing next to her. “And you’re sure, Shiny, that your barrier spell can keep the meteor from hitting us?”
Shining Armor smiled at his younger sister and ruffled her mane. “Of course I am, Twiley. I’ve only ever had one shield ever fail, and that was because my brain was being tampered with by an evil shapeshifter. I guarantee we’ll be safe.”
Luna nodded as she stood on Twilight’s other side. “And thy brother’s barrier is merely a last resort, favored Twilight. The meteor appears to be relatively small, and ‘tis unlikely that it should come down ‘pon our heads. We assure thee that the shield is merely a precaution.”
The mayor shuffled a hoof, looking resigned. “I hope it doesn’t destroy too much of the town. Ponyville has seen enough in these past couple years. I’d hate for the citizens to have to deal with a meteor destroying their homes now, after we only just got over the parasprites, Ursa Minor, Cerberus, and that one astonishingly bad week where the hydrothaumic dam blew.”
Celestia nodded to the mayor. “Madam Mayor, now as always, the crown promises to help with any damages that should befall this fair town. You don’t have to worry for your ponies’ homes. “
Meanwhile, the rest of the Bearers of Harmony were huddled together in a corner of the barrier, talking amongst themselves.
“So what do y’all think the meteor is?” Applejack asked the rest of the group. “Thing obviously ain’t natural if Princess Luna can’t control it or nuthin’.”
“Aliens.” Rainbow said with a seeming sense of finality. “Gotta be aliens.”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Rainbow, darling, I’m sure there’s a more logical explanation for the object than immediately jumping to the conclusion that aliens are invading.”
Pinkie Pie piped up, “Yeah! The aliens probably aren’t invading! I bet they’re coming to invite us all to a giant intergalactic SPACE PARTY!!”
Rarity cocked an eyebrow at the pink party pony. “Somehow, that seems even less likely...” she muttered under her breath.
“I dunno, Rares.” Applejack scratched the back of her head with her hoof. “I reckon it could be aliens. I mean, after all, Princess Luna can’t control whatever it is, an’ it’s coming in for a landing right in the middle of a rural country town.” Applejack shuddered. “Sounds like most alien stories t’me.”
Rainbow grinned evilly. “Yep, sure does. And of course, you know what happens when the aliens invade, right, Applejack?”
“Don’t you start, Rainbow.” Applejack growled.
Rainbow’s grin seemed to grow even wider, like it was threatening to split her face asunder. “They scoop up innocent ponies into their ship and fly away. Far... FAR away from Equestria.”
“Rainbow...” Applejack started pawing at the ground.
“And then... the probing begi-” Rainbow Dash didn’t have time to finish her statement, as she was suddenly tackled to the ground by the orange farmpony, intent on beating her feathered flank into the ground. Thankfully, Applejack was lifted off of Rainbow Dash before she could do any real damage by a white magical aura.
“Alright, that’s enough!” Rarity said firmly. Rainbow Dash proceeded to roll around on the ground, laughing. “Applejack, what has gotten into you?!”
“Applejack is afraid of aliens.” Came a soft, gentle voice. The other ponies all turned to see Fluttershy, standing there with her face partially hidden behind her mane. The animal caretaker had remained silent up to this point, but only now decided to interject.
Rarity cocked her head to one side. “I beg your Pardon?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Ever since she was little. She told me when we were still both just fillies. Applejack has always been afraid of being abducted by aliens.”
Rarity looked to the farmpony, who was kicking at the dirt sheepishly, hiding her face under her hat. “Is this true, Applejack?”
AJ sighed. “Y’all got me. I know it’s a silly thing to be afraid of, but ever since I read one o’ them science-fiction books for summer-reading. There was a nasty scene in the book when a little filly livin’ on a farm got pulled into a spaceship and was experimented on by the evil aliens. It’s why I sometimes get so jumpy around the farm at night.”
Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped in and pulled Applejack into a hug. “Awww... AJ, there’s no reason to be scared! After all, we’re here to help you, right girls?”
“Absolutely” Rarity nodded. “That assumes, of course, that we’re dealing with aliens at all, though. Frankly, that seems a little far-fetched to me.”
Rainbow got up off the ground. “Hey, you know I was just pulling your tail, right AJ?” She did a little flip in mid-air. “I mean, no alien is tough enough to stand up to the likes of us! You gotta know that, right?”
Applejack sighed. “Yeah, Ah know. Don’t make me any less nervous, though.”
Fluttershy nuzzled up to Applejack. “It’s okay, AJ. I’m nervous too. We all are.” She backed away a bit with a smile. “But as long as we stick together we’ll get through everything alright, right?”
Applejack nodded, straightening her Stetson. “Right!”
The five mares pulled each other into a group hug, when a cry came out from nearby.
“INCOMING!” one of the guards suddenly shouted, pointing into the sky. All the ponies present immediately stopped what they were doing to look into the sky where the soldier was pointing and collectively gasped.
It really was a sight to behold. The falling object came screaming out of the inky blackness of the sky leaving a trail of blue fire in its wake. Hurtling out of the night at a speed which would put Rainbow Dash to shame, the foreboding falling asteroid spelled doom for anypony that dared stand in its way when it came in to land.
And it was coming right for them.
“Merely a precaution...” Celestia muttered to her sister out of the corner of her mouth. The night princess rolled her eyes.
“Typical,” Shining Armor muttered under his breath. “Hold onto your hooves everypony!” the Captain of the Guard called out to the group. “It’s going to get noisy!” he shouted as his horn glowed brighter, the shield around the group suddenly illuminating even brighter with a neon purple glare. Twilight stepped into line behind him and poured some of her own power into the shield as well, Celestia and Luna following suit.
The rest of the ponies all gathered together in a corner as they watched the falling space rock come closer and closer by the second, growing in size until it nearly filled their vision completely. The flaming juggernaut was at least the size of the Ponyville town hall, as it came in to a crashing stop right atop the group.
KA-THOOOM!!
Unstoppable force met immovable object as the fiery stone crashed into the barrier. Though all the ponies were safely sealed in Shining Armor’s magic barrier, the force of the impact sent the group of ponies tumbling back at least a hundred feet, knocking all of them off their hooves; all save for the captain of the guard himself, who was sent skidding back. His hooves dug trenches into the earth, never once leaving the ground. The captain held fast, pouring all his energy into keeping the shield up and his friends and family safe. He was the world’s greatest barrier mage. No mere rock from the sky was going to get through his shield. Not this day.
Eventually, the force of the impact waned and the giant stone fell to the ground before them. It lay on the ground, smoking, as Shining armor dropped his shield. The stallion panted, wiping a layer of sweat off his brow, and turning to face the rest of the party. All of the ponies, even the princesses and his sister were climbing to their hooves, groaning from exertion and the tumble that they had just experienced. Shining shot them all a grin.
“Well, that wasn’t such a bother, now was it?” he laughed.
Twilight swatted him.
* * *
With the danger passed and the alien object thoroughly scanned for anything particularly harmful, the citizens of Ponyville were quickly ushered back into their homes. Some of them grumbled about being woken up so early in the morning and having to get up in a few hours, but ultimately everypony went home quietly and crawled back into their beds to get some well-deserved shuteye. Big Macintosh led the elder and younger Apples, as well as Scootaloo, back to the farmhouse. The pony pets all retreated to their respective domiciles, and other family members like Sweetie Belle or the Cakes trotted back off to bed.
A few ponies, however, stayed behind to observe the fallen space object. Shining Armor had his guards cordon off the area just outside the Town Hall where the meteor had landed. While the object had been scanned for alien bacteria, viruses, or other lifeforms and had come up clean, there was still a chance that somepony could get sick from lingering radiation from space if they got too close or stayed around it for too long. Mayor Mare and her employees would probably have to do business from elsewhere for a while until they could effectively remove the rock, or at least make sure it wasn’t too radioactive.
Along with the guards, the Princesses also remained behind to make sure that everything in the town was running smoothly once more. Not to mention the fact that Luna was particularly curious as to what the object that defiled her precious night might be.
With them also remained the bearers of harmony, now relieved of their respective elements. They had all been told they were allowed to go home anytime they wanted, however Twilight insisted that she stay to help analyze and research the strange object, and none of the other bearers wanted to leave her alone. Whether to support her, or simply to make sure she didn’t go too crazy over her new study, they wished to be near her.
As the guards finished setting up the cordon, Shining Armor trotted over to where Luna and Twilight were scrutinizing the space rock. “Anything seem dangerous?” he asked.
Luna shook her head. “Nay, the radiation levels seem normal. To be safe, though, we would ask that ye keep the area roped off, lest this great stone have any more surprises.”
Twilight tapped at the space rock with a hoof. “It really is incredible, Shiny!” she said, beckoning her friends and her brother over. “I mean, there’s just so much that’s impossible about it just from a glance!”
The six ponies she had beckoned over all looked between one another, confused. Applejack finally spoke up. “Ah, Twi? I don’t mean to sound like a fool or nothing, but it looks like a rock to me. Space rock or not, ain’t nothing so impossible about it from my point of view.”
Twilight sighed. “Take a closer look, Applejack.” She said, motioning for everypony to gather around the rock. “First of all, simply look at it.” They all did. “Notice how reflective it is? Not to mention how smooth and flawless its surface is? How could anything be in such a pristine state after bouncing around through the harsh conditions of space for millennia and then alighting upon entry into our atmosphere?”
The gathered ponies nodded. She was right. They could all see their faces in the reflection of the big black stone. And just as she said, the faces of the stone were flawless. It looked somewhat like the great crystals from the abandoned mine underneath Canterlot, except an inky void of opaque black rather than an iridescent, translucent green.
“What’s more,” Twilight went on, “Is that whatever it’s made out of is incredibly solid. It looks like it might be made of obsidian, except that obsidian is a flimsy stone that breaks easily, hence why it is sometimes referred to as ‘volcanic glass,’” She said, giving the stone a good kick as a demonstration. “This stone, however, stayed completely intact, without a single scratch or chip, when it impacted with Shining Armor’s shield after falling from space! Whatever this is, it’s obviously tougher than any known matter in Equestria!” Twilight made a noise somewhere between a squeal and a giggle, prancing a little in place. “Whatever it is, it’s made of a completely unknown material!”
“My word!” Rarity said, eyeing the stone like a hungry manticore all of a sudden. “That is interesting, Twilight...” Her mind started to swirl with thoughts of jewelry and trinkets hewn from the mysterious rock, but she was snapped out of her reverie by Twilight piping up once more.
“But that’s not even the most interesting part!” Twilight said, suddenly grabbing Fluttershy’s hoof. The yellow pegasus let out an ‘eep!’ but didn’t resist. “Here, feel it!”
The assembled ponies all reached out and felt the object. It was cool to the touch.
“...it’s smooth?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yes, Rainbow. It’s smoother than anything not cut with magical machinery has any right to be. But while that is a notable anomaly, I meant its temperature!”
“What about it?” Applejack asked. “Feels nice and cool to me!”
“Exactly!” Twilight practically squeed. “Something that fell from space like that should be absolutely scalding!” she pointed out. “After falling through the atmosphere at terminal velocity, it should have heated up the atmosphere so much that it caught fire! This thing should be thousands of degrees hot right now! And yet it’s as cool as any stone you might pick up out of a riverbed!”
“So... um... what does all this mean?” Fluttershy asked softly.
Twilight clapped her hooves. “It means we’ve got a mystery on our hooves! One that defies all known laws of science, both arcane and mundane! One that I, Twilight Sparkle, intend to solve!”
“Hark!” Luna suddenly called from the other side of the fallen stone. “Prithee, fellows, come hither!
Practically bouncing with glee, Twilight rushed to the other side of the stone, the other six ponies in tow. Celestia, too, appeared from behind Town Hall and glided over to her sister. “What is it, Princess?” Twilight asked curiously. “Did you find something?”
“Indeed!” Luna shouted triumphantly, her horn suddenly lighting aglow with ebony magic. Her aura suddenly appeared around the several-ton stone, lodged in the ground. “Behold!” she bellowed as the massive monolith suddenly rose out of the ground, not an ounce of strain appearing upon Luna’s face, as it was effortlessly lifted ten feet into the air. Luna rotated it with her powerful telekinesis, forcing the great stone to stand up lengthwise, revealing intricately carved columns of vertical glyphs etched all over one of the faces of the massive rock.
Twilight gasped. “A script of some sort!” She said, looking as if she was going to burst.
Pinkie cocked her head. “It’s a big rock and all, but if that’s the script it must be a pretty short play.”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “No, dear. She means there’s writing on it.”
“Indeed...” Celestia mused, standing behind the rest of the ponies, a pensive look on her face. “But what could it say? Obviously something of great power sent it here if my sister was unable to influence it. I worry for what this could mean for Equestria.”
“Well...” Twilight began. “I doubt it’s anything too terrible,” She mused. “This doesn’t seem the sort of thing that would be a precursor to an invasion or anything like that. Why would an invading force warn us ahead of time? Not to mention that fact that this is the only thing that Luna sensed out of order in her night sky, right Princess?” She asked the midnight alicorn.
“This is true.” Luna agreed with a nod.
The purple unicorn proceeded. “And frankly, given the script upon it and the fact that it landed in an area so close to Canterlot, I might hypothesize that it’s been sent with intent to reach you, Princesses. Something out there might be trying to contact you... or perhaps us, the bearers of harmony, given that it’s landed in Ponyville. Granted this is all speculation. I can’t say anything for sure until we read it.” She said, addressing the two royals. “With your permission, Princess, I’d like to cast a written translation spell upon the script.”
Luna cocked an eyebrow, looking back and forth between her sister and the scholarly unicorn. “We... are not sure this is wise, Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps after more investigation, but there are some things in this vast universe not meant to be gazed upon by mortal eyes.”
Twilight wilted, but perked up as her mentor spoke. “On the other hand, Luna...” Celestia said, addressing her sister. “Twilight makes a point that the situations surrounding the stone’s arrival do not seem to have sinister motives. And what may be contained in the message may be of dire importance.”
Luna cocked an eyebrow. “Thou thinkest it wise to charge into this blindly, sister?”
“I thinkest- AHEM!” Celestia coughed, excusing herself. “I think that I trust my student’s instincts.” The sun princess said calmly. “The guards have turned up nothing sinister about the stone’s makeup or found anything suspicious about its composition. There is no trace of infection or radiation upon it. And though the circumstances of its arrival were flashy, they do not seem to herald anything too malevolent. I doubt that a single written translation spell will do much harm. As far as my own senses can tell, it is merely an odd rock.”
“...very well.” Luna said, softly, turning to the purple unicorn. “You may proceed with your spell, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Yes!” Twilight cheered, hoofpumping for a little bit, before suddenly remembering the company she was keeping and taking on a sheepish smile.
Luna ushered Celestia away from the group for a moment with a wing. They walked a few paces before Luna started whispering to Celestia. “Are you sure this is the right course of action, sister?” she asked. “We know so little about this object and you let your student poke it with a stick?”
Celestia shook her head and chuckled. “Sister, you needn’t raise such a fuss. Twilight is the brightest unicorn I’ve met in centuries. She knows what she’s doing.” She hugged Luna closer to her with a wing. “You worry too much. The constant dangers that were always right outside our doors a thousand years ago are far gone now. The world has become a much safer place.”
The night princess looked away from her sister out of the corner of her eye. “You seem to forget, Celestia, that this thing is not from our world.”
Meanwhile, as the royal sisters stepped away to talk, Twilight stood in front of the large space rock her horn pointed at the alien script, her body in a wide stance. “Alright, stand back, everypony. I’m going to cast Dusty Tomes’ enchantment of Free Translation!”
“What does that do?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Shining Armor piped up. “It’s a basic level spell that translates script the caster cannot read into the language the caster is most comfortable with. It’s one of the only written translation spells created, but it can sometimes be a bit... unreliable. It’ll usually get the gist of a message across, but some words can sometimes slip through a bit garbled. It’s not usually good to use if the message in question is particularly important.”
“Soooooo... It’s like a magical Babelfish?” Pinkie asked, a big grin on her face.
Shining Armor cocked his head. “Babel-what?”
Fluttershy suddenly raised a hoof, a wide smile on her face. “The babelfish is a species of magical cartilaginous fish that inhabit the Southern Pegacific ocean, in the coral reefs off of Hosstralia. Notable for being one of the only sapient fish on the planet, they’re best known for the fact that they mysteriously seem capable of understanding most spoken languages, should another sapient being attempt to talk with them. However, conversations with a babelfish can sometimes become confusing since their knowledge of our languages are imperfect at best. The babelfish, however, tend to be very friendly and accommodating to surface dwellers and have been known to go out of their way to save survivors of shipwrecks and other accidents.” She finished, only to notice everypony nearby staring at her for having said so much at once. She blushed and hid behind her mane a little.
Twilight blinked herself before smiling and shaking it off. “Thank you, Fluttershy. That was very interesting.”
Fluttershy smiled gently behind her mane.
“Anyway, yes.” Twilight continued. “That’s about how the spell works. Until we can get a better grasp on the language and get some decent linguists on the case, we won’t have a perfect understanding of exactly what the message is. However, the spell I’m casting should hopefully at least give us a starting point to work from, and the general gist of the message.” Her horn lit up and a purple glow began to encase the stone, sending violet light seeping through all the carved alien letters. “Hopefully it won’t be too garbled. Just a little more and... there!” She said, a bright white light flashing through the town square. All the ponies present covered their eyes as the light slowly faded, revealing a new message written in neon purple light, hovering in the air over the ground about an inch in front of the alien text.
“Hot damn!” Applejack exclaimed. “That’s some fancy hornwork there, Twi!” The purple unicorn blushed at the praise. “What’s it say?”
Twilight paused to skim the message a little bit before her eyes widened in happy anticipation. “It’s an invitation!” she shouted. “I think some of it may have gotten garbled, but it’s very clearly inviting somepony to some sort of event!”
“Well, out with it, Twi!” Applejack said, rolling her eyes.
The purple unicorn cleared her throat. “It reads...” she began.
Dear Champions.
You are hereby invited to taking part in new Super Smash Brothers Event.
This gathering of distinguished champions from across many worlds is gathering of the brightest stars in all worlds, brought together in comradeship.
The Super Smash Brothers Event will test you to limits and then be encouraging champions from many worlds to forge pacts friendly competition. The event is definite a hundred percent lockbox. The winner of the event shall receive grand prize.
We hope to see you there.
Master.
There was silence in the town square. It didn’t last long.
“CALLED IT!” Pinkie Pie squealed at the top of her lungs.
“So you did...” Rarity said, wincing at the ringing in her ears from the party pony’s outburst.
Applejack scratched her head. “So we’ve been invited to an alien hootenanny?” she shuddered. “Ain’t so sure I’m down for that.”
“Oh come on, AJ!” Rainbow shouted. “When are you going to ever get another chance to do anything like this?!”
Twilight turned to the princesses. “What do you think, your Highnesses?”
Celestia narrowed her eyes. “It was very... vague.” She mused. “Not to mention that some things were obviously lost in translation. While I’m certainly not against the idea of spreading our friendships beyond Equestria itself, this is not something to be taken lightly. I’m concerned how the spell might have mistranslated certain parts of the message and what the true intention may be.”
“They aren’t very good invitation senders.” Pinkie nodded. “No RSVP.”
Luna stepped up to the monolith. “Indeed, there is a disconcerting lack of information given to us, Pinkie Pie.” She said, trotting around the stone and taking every detail of it in. “How does one join the gathering?” She looked pointedly at the rest of the gathered ponies. “And moreover, do we want to?”
“It is something to mull over, indeed.” Celestia agreed.
Twilight had stopped paying attention to the Princesses, however, when she noticed something odd about the invitation. The runes had started glowing a bright red, rather than the purple of her magic. “Come and look at this, you guys.” She said, pointing to the strange light.
The ponies all gathered round and observed the strange glow with her. “How very odd.” Luna said. “Thy magical aura hath changed.”
As the ponies watched, the red light seemed to seep out of the runes, to the gasps of the ponies assembled, and in streams of visible light beams, started to slowly creep around the sides of the monolith. The ponies all nodded to each other and followed the light beams around the stone to the other side of the artifact, where they noticed the glow was collecting in a big pool of red light.
“What do y’all suppose that’s about?” Applejack asked.
Twilight cocked her head. “I’m not sure.” She answered. “It must have something to do with the invitation. Perhaps it’s how we’re meant to respond?”
Shining Armor spoke up. “How do you think we should proceed, your Majesties?”
Princess Celestia started to say something, but Twilight didn’t hear it. Her eyes were locked on the swirling pool of red, resting on the face of the monolith. She didn’t blink. She hardly breathed. She swore, instead of the musical voice of her mentor, she heard the whispers of dozens of strange voices in her ears. This light. This stone. It was a mystery. One she had to solve. It was her job. She was invited. She was the recipient. She was the translator. It was her job to come. It was her duty to see what lay ahead. Yes. This was her destiny.
Oblivious to what her mentor was saying, Twilight started to charge her horn with magic, readying herself to perform a spell upon the red light. Applejack and Fluttershy were the first to notice.
“Twilight, what in the hay do y’all think you’re doing?!” Applejack shouted
“Twilight, stop!” Fluttershy shouted simultaneously.
Twilight didn’t listen. She couldn’t even hear them. Her hearing was drowned out by all the voices. Just as she felt her two friends tackle her to the ground, her spell released. Suddenly snapped out of her reverie, she noticed what she had done. Her violet spell collided with the red glow, causing the light to spin out of control, growing larger and larger. The spell crackled with energy, lightning arcing from the intense bright red void, striking all over the town square. The monolith shuddered as a deep crimson portal opened up in the rocky face.
“Twilight!” Princess Celestia cried.
“Princess-!” Twilight started to cry back, only to be cut off. A gigantic burst of lightning shot out of the portal and struck her, along with Applejack and Fluttershy who were still sprawled atop her. The three mares screamed and convulsed with the strike, as the portal suddenly began to emit a powerful pull.
Like a black hole, the portal started to draw everypony in the square towards it. Most of the ponies were capable of defending against it. Rainbow grabbed onto a nearby flagpole while Rarity grabbed onto a tree for support. The princesses used their considerable strength to stand their ground against the gravity well. Shining Armor cast a barrier around himself and Pinkie Pie, but after his earlier exertion could not manage to extend his shield any further. That left three stunned forms alone before the void.
“Twiliey!” Shining Armor shouted at his little sister.
Twilight managed to regain consciousness for just a moment, her eyes widening before she, Applejack, and Fluttershy were suddenly drawn into the void, a scream only barely passing her lips before she vanished, the portal closing the moment she and her two friends disappeared from sight.
And then all was still in the town square.
* * *
Another time...
Another place...
A deep red portal suddenly opened up over a marble floor. It crackled for a moment before three little ponies suddenly spilled out of it. All of them looked worse for wear, tired and disoriented. Applejack stood up, only to retch all of her stomach contents all over the floor.
“Oh my...” Fluttershy whimpered, clutching her aching head. “What was that?”
“Not sure...” Twilight whined. “I don’t know what came over me. There was this... feeling.”
“Whoa nelly.” Applejack muttered. “I feel like a stampede just ran over me.”
The three of them lay there for a few seconds in a tangle of limbs, their vision blurry when they tried to open their eyes. Suddenly the three of them heard a deep voice chuckling in front of them.
“Heh heh...” The low, guttural voice growled. “Looks like the new blood didn’t enjoy the trip.”
The three ponies squeaked in alarm, scrabbling back. Twilight rubbed her eyes, quickly clearing up her vision. She looked up, only to gasp at what she saw. What could only be described as a giant, monstrous bipedal turtle stood in front of them. He had a fiery red shock of red hair atop his dinosaur-like head, a patch of green scales framing his red eyes, and a yellow muzzle outlining rows of razor sharp fangs. He wore black, spiked collars around his limbs and neck, his paws ending in deadly claws. His tail ended in nasty looking barbs, and his shell was armored and covered in even larger spikes. He grinned down at them sinisterly.
“Welcome to hell, girlies.”
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I wonder if I should put up the "Anthro" tag as well, given that there are going to be characters from Starfox in this story... what do you guys think?
3526847
Don't. Also you should remove the [Alternate Universe] and [Human] tags. The [Crossover] tag basically comes with those built-in. You only need to use those tags if the [Alternate Universe] elements or [Human] characters are not a part of the [Crossover] element, such as crossing over with Steampunk-Equestria or including a random human guy in addition to the [Crossover] characters.
Hope that helps explain it.
3526883
I dunno, the fact that I'm basically going to be mucking with a lot of show canon post Season 2 at this point makes me think that I should at least keep the Alternate Universe tag, and I've seen a ton of other crossovers that have humans in them use the human tag. Most of them, in fact.
3526889
Doesn't mean they're right either. I'll go through the FAQ for you.
While there are no official rules dictating [Alternate Universe] when it comes to season 3 plot points, general practice indicates that it is not needed. Old stories that have been jossed don't have [AU] tags added to them, and using Unicorn Twilight does not require the [AU] tag. You can think of it in terms of advertising, I think. When you include the [AU] tag it indicates that you are going to change or otherwise obviate/subvert canon. Placing your story in an otherwise not-current timeframe does not do that.
3526903
Alright, I guess I'll work it around then. I'm still iffy about removing the AU tag, though.
3526912
Let me phrase it to you this way. Are you including anything that is not only not canon, but has never been canon, or perhaps actively changes what is canon? Those are the things that necessitate the [AU] tag. In any case, you're the author, so it's up to you to find the answers to these questions. I wish you the best of luck with the story! I'll probably read it the next time I'm feeling nostalgic for my SSBB tournament days
.
3526927
Well... Yes, but it won't be revealed until the end of the story and it's a MASSIVE spoiler and it would completely make the end of Season 3 onward impossible. I don't exactly want to describe it here, but it would make this particular story a huge divergence point in the "timeline of Equestria"
This is an interesting premise...
>Inb4 unicorn Twilight haters
3526934
Then the [AU] tag might be justified! Odds are it isn't required, but without knowing all the delicious, spoilery details, I can't help you with the judgement call.
On a random note, I don't suppose you have any competitive Smash experience?
3526945
I'll snake it back in then.
If you mean things like tournaments and stuff, then I don't have any competitive Smash experience, no. I've played it with friends of course when I have them over, so it's not like I just play it alone. I am a BEAST with Snake, Ivysaur, Mr. Game&Watch, Wario, and Olimar, if I do say so myself.
Interesting premise... but I fear I'd read later, I need to recover some sleep before drive tomorrow.
3526955
Very nice
. I cut my teeth playing Snake. I adore all of the grenade tricks he has. The up-tilt isn't half-bad either
. Later I discovered an affinity for ROB. There's just something fabulous about his flashlight-eyes
.
3526973
I was really iffy about ROB when I first heard that he was in Brawl. I thought he was a waste of a character slot that could be filled by someone like Ridley or King K. Rool or another F Zero character. But he's since grown on me. I'm not that good with him, but his little arc in Subspace Emissary was neat.
So are any of the characters going to be villainous or just very competitive?
I guess they're going to lose their first matches,most of them are non experienced combatants against ones who have been in the business for years.
Also mind explaining some of your fanon on the Smash bros. world(Unless you want to hide spoilers),considering how fic Fanon in Smash Bros. is a very...abstract thing,with all characters being viewed in more ways than...I don't know what analogy to put
Choose your Character!
Twilight sparkle! Hey!
AppleJack! Whoa Nelly!
Fluttershy! Eep!
Queen Chrysalis! HAHAHAHAH!
Well, I'm sold.
Lookin' good.
Keep going, please. 
Looks really good. With 4 people, I wonder if it qualifies as a match or if they're in some kind of lobby. If it's a match, a 3v1 Bowser stomping would be absolutely hilarious, but I'm used to Bowser being Worfed really badly, even though, like Worf, he's actually pretty powerful. Lobby would be quite fun though, introduce them to all the characters, and perhaps we can see if you've added any other new characters to the cast. Also, perhaps hear how the other characters were invited. Given the amount of Mario characters, I think, assuming the portal is closed once it's been used, that story would be quite fun.
Really can't wait to see how this turns out.
Well I know I'm clicking the fave button in a bit. great story and I can't wait to see it unfold. I wonder how Chrysalis gets dragged into this mess and when all the conspiracies and plotting will get started.
I liked how well you got into the character's heads. I could see Luna being a bit more wary. but I could also she her being more brash too. she's got a bit of a habit of trying to bludgeon reality into the shape she wants. I was surprised that Celestia didn't make Twilight wait until more scholars were around but I could see her indulging her like that.
On the Smash bros side of things I wonder if Villager, Ms. Fit. and Mega man will be joining the party or will this be brawl cast only? Either way this looks to be a fun ride.
Fav'd and liked. This aught to be interesting. I'm also curious about how Chryssy gets involved here.
Give me some goofy Luigi action (like something out of the Mario and Luigi series) and I'm sold times twenty, by the way.
Pretty good I must admit. Solid writing from what I can see, and what looks like will be an interesting crossover. Keeping an eye on this.
Good luck!
I wonder who will win this idea
Fluttershy v.s Luigi
Pinkie Pie v.s Olimar
Twilught v.s Ike
Applejack v.s Donkey King
3529155
This cast will not include Villager, Mega Man, or Wii Fit Trainer. I actually came up with this idea sometime in between Seasons 2 and 3, so when I first conceived this story, Smash Bros U wasn't even announced yet.
It will have characters from Brawl, though some of them that I wasn't sure how to write for were removed. It will also have a few characters that I thought would be really neat to have in a Smash Bros. game.
(I had a very intense requirement policy for choosing new characters, so it's not like you need to worry about, say, Albert Wesker showing up or anything)
Liked and Fav'ed :)
3529993 Kinda a bummer they won't show up but it's your fic so I can't complain. Though I'm sure I'll have to deal with Ridely being in the fic. But that's a minor annoance. And really the only reason I don't want him in the fic or the game is because I'm tired of seeing arguments about why he should or shouldn't be in smash bros for on inner net forums. if I hadn't run across said arguments I likely wouldn't care one way or the other.
You are Fave and Like on Concept Alone #3. Congraturation. Haz cookie.
Bowser is the first alien they meet. It could definitely be worse.
3529993 Will any of the "cancelled" characters from Melee make an appearance, or is it just Brawl + or - fan choices? Also, I'm assuming Chrysalis' listing is going to be explained later?
This chapter looks really good, and the story, quite interesting. I really hope to see it continue.
I have nothing to say..... But........... MOAR!
(But you saw that coming, didn't you?)
GGRRrr
[Darn it, I was actually thinking of making a SSBB crossover story until this came up.]
GGRRrr
[I wonder if I should still write it?]
My Little PonyXSuper Smash Brothers.... where the fuck has this been hiding?
3534232
IN MAH BRAIIINS
3534578 Well, it's about time you let it out.
And have a moustache for no reason.
I surprisingly love this so far. I admit I wasn't expecting to. Update soon!
3534143
Go for it. It's not like I own the idea.
I admit, I'm quite interested to see where this goes. Though I have no idea what to think of what Fluttershy's fighting style is going to be like... apologizing so much her opponent gets annoyed and just jumps off the stage?
One problem
Assuming that is Rarity holding them,isn't her magic blue?
Anyway, this is so good so far, eagerly awaiting next chapter!
~Silvz
3526883 Since you're so knowledgeable in all that, could you check this out real quick and tell me if the correct tags are used? I admit my story's premise is most likely harder to categorize than Dusty's here.
Speaking of which, I'm definitely faving this and am looking forward to more.
3538502
Your description is too ambiguous for me to tell. The rule of thumb is that if you drastically change Equestria before the Crossover then it deserves the [AU] tag. If it is otherwise extremely close to canon you don't need it. It's kind of like the [Random] tag but refers to setting exclusively whereas [Random] refers more typically to the characters... Except that the [Random] tag typically implies a forgoing of logic that the [AU] tag doesn't.
3539100 As much as I want to understand what you're saying (believe me, I truly do), I don't. I meant for you to take a look at the first chapter, because I can't find a good way to describe the story in a short paragraph or two. I'm not trying to self-promote the story or anything, however, as I'm truly concerned as to whether I need the human tag for it, or whether the AU tag isn't needed at all. I guess the best way I could describe it is that the currently selected tags apply in a more literal sense than what you might be used to.
...
Okay, fine. I'll give you this one, Dusty. But I'm watching you. 
3537730
Watch Lesson Zero again, especially the part when Fluttershy takes care of a bear.
3537730 Watch how she plays in Fighting is Magic.
Well, this is going to be fun to watch. Not to experience, obviously, but that's the ponies' problem. I'm eagerly looking forward to more. I'm also very glad to see someone using the same full name for Mayor Mare as I do.
Also, do babel fish fit in pony ear canals?
I have but one complaint:
This makes it sound like Applejack is illiterate, given that the translated text is implied to be in the same position and logically the same size as the original. Or I'm just misinterpreting it.
3548673
Hmmm... I missed that. You're right, though. I guess I just pictured that Applejack was looking at it from an angle where she couldn't quite make it out or something.
I'll probably go back and fix that soon.
Well my good man i gotta say this fic of yours caught my eye. I really like how this is hitting off so far and correct me if i am wrong but were u referencing that jimmy neutron episode when u included that message rock? Well anyways i wish u the best of luck in writing your fic and maybe i will also get to finish up my smash fic lol
3585086
I'm surprised somebody caught that. It's a bit obscure. Yes, back in the day I used to watch the Jimmy Neutron show (when nothing better was on), and I did see that episode. I believe the episode was called "Win, Lose, and Kaboom," but don't quote me on that. I only saw that episode once, and I missed most of the beginning, but I came in on the scene where Jimmy translates the inscriptions on the stone and gets teleported away. That scene stuck in my head (and it's really the only bit that stuck in my head since most of the episode afterward I can't really remember save for a scene where they play soccer riding on giant dragonflies or something) and inspired this opening.
3585145
You pulled it off great by the way, again i look forward to your future chapters. 
Figured as much, it just hit me all of a sudden when i caught that reference.
MOAR!!!!!!
