Settling In
Twilight looked at the grassy field she was currently standing. She knelt to touch the grass and noticed that despite how green it looked like the grass was very dry.
"You've become reckless." said a voice.
"You gonna scold me Elementra?" asked Twilight as she got up.
"We both know that would be as pointless as trying to understand your friend Pinkie Pie." Twilight couldn't help but laugh.
"So how is Lily?" asked Twilight.
"Still sleeping." replied Elementra.
"Figures." said Twilight.
"You know you're becoming too much like him." said Elementra. Twilight laughed.
"That's to be expected since my control of the elements stems from the blood he injected in me." said Twilight looking at her hand.
"Have you thought about what you're going to tell the others about Fury?" asked Elementra.
"I've thought of it a lot but I'm still not sure." said Twilight as she fell on her back. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't sometimes remember what happened back then before I went to earth but..."
"You were afraid of bringing up painful memories. I know." said Elementra.
"I guess it's to be expected since you are a part of me." said Twilight with a sad sigh as a door appeared next to her. "Well it looks like it's time for me to awaken." she said as she got up. "Please watch over her."
"It's what I've been doing." replied Elementra as Twilight opened the door and disappeared.
Twilight awakened and looked around. It was dark so switched her vision to night.
'Shawn wasn't kidding. This is useful when you don't wanna wake others up.' Twilight thought to herself as she looked around and saw a number of other beds where she saw her friends as well as Spike, Cadance, Shining, and Celestia. 'It may be because the time I was away but I'm curious as to where they got those beds from.' she thought to herself realizing the beds weren't from the guestrooms.
After she shrugged and snuck out of the castle without making any noise. Once outside she took to the skies at high speeds, making sure to avoid making noise to make sure not to awaken anyone in Ponyville. After a few minutes Twilight simply landed on a cloud.
"That was quite the display." said Luna.
"Well, flying is easier when you don't have to use your wings." said Twilight as she sat up.
"You've changed quite a bit." said Luna.
"I've been through a lot." replied Twilight. "I made many friends. I lost some of them. I learned what makes a hero. I saw creatures so beautiful they might be worshipped and others so vile just their presence would be enough to kill anything they touch." she said looking up. "Luna. Would it be okay if I asked you for some advice?" Luna looked at her surprised but then nodded. "There's something I didn't mention before because....I was afraid of opening old wounds." At this Luna perked up. "Here goes..."
Twilight told Luna the story Shawn had told her of how he met Fury, of her own experience in that situation when it happened, and of her experience training with her. By the end of the tale Luna was left speechless.
"What is it that you need advice for?" asked Luna after a minute.
"I'm not sure if I should tell the others. It feels like I'd just opening up old wounds but at the same time Fury was one of my mentors. She was hard on me but at the same time she was always making sure to watch my back."
"Then you do wish to tell them of someone you admire but because of where she came from you're afraid of bringing up something you never truly got over." probed Luna. Twilight nodded.
"Twilight there are times when things of the past, while painful to speak of, are necessary to remember." said Luna. "In this case, however, the decision must be yours." Twilight sighed.
"I had a feeling you'd say something like that."
"It's about time for the sun to rise." said Luna. "I hope you find the answer you seek." she said before flying off.
"I guess it was too much to ask." Twilight said herself with a sigh. 'I hope the others like Shawn's cooking.' she thought to herself with a smile as she went back to the castle.
Once she got back Twlight went straight to the dining room and took a small box out of her pocket and placed it in the middle of the table. After she tapped the top and stood back as various containers, that started off small came out of it and grew bigger, landed on the table. The others having arrived just before all the containers landed on the table.
"How did you...?" began Rainbow.
"Shawn made these. He was curious as to whether you'd like it or not." said Twilight with a smile. "And I just remembered I forgot to bring the plates." she said getting up. "Elementra was right. I am becoming too much like Shawn." she said as she left returning shortly after with plates and silverware floating around her. She moved them in front of each of her guests who had taken a seat while she got the things. Then she lifted the tops off the containers. "We hope you enjoy them."
"What do you mean "we"?" asked Cadance.
"I helped Shawn make everything here. He figured it'd be best if we worked together to make more for everyone." explained Twilight as she used to remove the tops from all the containers with her magic. A few of the dishes had steam coming out of them while others were completely cold.
"So what do we have here?" asked Spike.
"Well..." began Twilight. "We've got white rice, egg rolls, tofu, sushi, vegetarian dumplings, won tons, shishkabobs, enchiladas, chilé relleno, and various dim sum. We hope you enjoy." she said with a smile as she lifted out various small containers from one slightly larger one which surprised them.
"How did you get all those containers in that one?" asked Cadance.
"Shawn enchanted this container using Pym Particles." explained Twilight leaving everyone confused. "Pym Particles basically can make things shrink or grow making it possible to fit a lot of something in a container." she explained as she took the tops off the smaller contrainers revealing different buns in each one. The others marveled at the food but Celestia, Shining, Cadance, and Spike were a little worried about whether or not the food was edible since Twilight was involved in the cooking. Twilight noticed the way they looked at the food and smiled. "Don't worry. Shawn taught me a lot on how to cook. He had to learn at an early age so he was a good teacher." They sighed and using her magic, Celestia served everyone began serving themselves. As everyone tried the food they were surprised at how good it tasted.
"Just what is in these buns?" asked Celestia eating one that looked like a peach.
"Those have sweet bean paste. The white smooth ones have pineapple paste and the white ones that look layered are plain." replied Twilight as she served herself some food and then pulled out what looked like a red paper container. Twilight then pulled out the two sticks which were attached at the top and placed her hands together. "Itadakimasu." she said before seperating the sticks and eating.
"What was that?" asked Applejack.
"What?" asked Twilight before inserting a chilé relleno whole into her mouth and eating it.
"You said something before you started eating." replied Applejack.
"Oh. That. It's tradition in Japan to say 'Itadakimasu' before you eat. It basically means thank you for the food." replied Twilight before continuing to eat.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Twilight looked towards the window.
"Is something wrong Twilight?" asked Celestia. She sighed.
"Celestia I'm assuming because my disappearance wasn't ruled out as a death I've still got my title." said Twilight.
"That's right." said Celestia.
"Then I'd like to ask that you not send any members of the Royal Guard." said Twilight.
"What?!" yelled out Shining. "You're a princess so you need protection!"
"No I don't." replied Twilight. "In case you didn't realize it from the fight yesterday I've got way more combat experience than any member of the Royal Guard. I'm also the only one who has the power to beat them."
"How can you be so sure?" asked Shining.
"First because the only weapons they know how to use are swords and spears which quite frankly would be about as useful as throwing fruit at a full grown dragon." replied Twilight. "Second there's only Pegasi and Unicorns in the guard and becaues there's no Earth Ponies they're much more vulnerable to physical since it's rare for either of the two to have the kind of endurance Rainbow has. Third: you said yourself that they're trained more as guards than soldiers which means in this situation they're useless."
"It doesn't matter." said Shining. Twilight sighed.
"Man. What a drag." she said. "Fine. How's this. Every monday send....let's say fifteen members of the Royal Guard. If they can beat me in a fight then and only then can they stay."
"Are you kidding?" asked Shining.
"That's my only offer." said Twilight. Shining was about to say something when Cadance put a hoof on his back with a smile.
"Fine." said Shining.
"Good." said Twilight.
"Now that that's settled I'd like to ask ya something if you don't mind Twi." said Applejack.
"Ask away." said Twilight.
"I don't mean to sound mean or anything but....did you gain weight?" asked Applejack. Everyone, except Twilight stared at her.
"Yeah. I did." replied Twilight causing the others to look at her surprised. "When I was granted the power of the Elements I gained an innate ability from each one. I'm heavier because having the power of the Metal Elemental caused me to gain a metal skeleton."
"Metal....skeleton?" asked Celestia uncertain she'd heard right.
"That's right." replied Twilight.
"Wowwie. So I'm guessing you don't have to worry about getting hurt like that time you were following me." said Pinkie. Celestia, Cadance, and Shining stared at her causing Twilight to sigh. "What?"
"You...got hurt?" asked Shining.
"What happened?" asked Cadance.
"Well let's see." said Twilight. "First I got stung by a swarm of bees. Then I fell into Applejack's apple cellar. And then I got a pot, an anvil, a hay cart, and a piano dropped on me, in that order."
"Wow." said Celestia.
"Yeah." replied Twilight. "I left it out of the Friendship Report because I didn't want you to worry."
"I'm surprised you remembered all that since those last four things hit you on the head." said Spike.
"Well an eidetic memory's a blessing as much as it is a curse." replied Twilight. They looked at her confused. "I'll explain that another time."
"So what else do you have?" asked Pinkie.
"Well, let's see." said Twilight. "From fire I have a flame aura which allows me to withstand any temperature. From water I gained the ability to basically breath and move freely under water. From wind I gained Aero Step which basically gives me absolute control of my movements in the air as though I was flying and increases how high I can jump. From Earth I got Nature's Blessing which give me limited control over the earth nearest to me. From Lightning...well you saw it yesterday. I can move really fast when I need to. I already said what I got from metal. From Light I gained the ability to heal. From Darkness I gained the ability to disappear in the shadows and from Love I gained an empathic radar."
"Love?" asked Cadance.
"Well that's what's refered to but in reality she represents emotion." clarified Twilight. "Honestly out of the nine that one's my least prefered one."
"Why's that?" asked Pinkie.
"Because I pick up on what everyone within a one mile radius of me is feeling simultaneously." replied Twilight.
"You seem to have it under control though." pointed out Celestia.
"I don't." replied Twilight as she stood up. She took a few steps away from the long table and then removed her shirt and skirt leaving her in her underwear. After she closed her eyes causing various colored runes to glow through her body. "The lines that are white are Asgardian Runes Shawn had them carve into me to block my empathy because it started affecting me."
"That's...." began Fluttershy.
"Not nearly as bad as it seems." interupted Twilight.
"So what about the other glowy lines?" asked Pinkie.
"They're Asgardian Spells Shawn asked them to carve into me. To be honest while we were on mission in Asgard I was having trouble controlling my magic so had them place a few offensive and defensive spells on me. They're really strong but also very taxing outside of Asgard." explained Twilight as all the runes stopped glowing and she put her clothes back on. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?" she asked as she sat down.
"You really worked out while you were gone, didn't you?" asked Rainbow having noticed how toned Twilight's body looked.
"Naturally." said Twilight with a smile. "To be honest when I first started training, despite the change in my physiology from human to chimera, it took time for me to be able to handle standard physical training so Shawn would train with me. He always said it was to help me catch up with everyone else but I know he didn't want me to train alone."
"Chimera?" asked Fluttershy surprised.
"What's that?" asked Pinkie.
"A chimera is a creature composed of two or more like Gryphons, Minotaurs, or even Manticores." explained Twilight.
"I don't get it." said Rainbow. "You don't look to be more than one thing."
"Appearances can be deceiving my dear Dashie." said Twilight as her eyes flickered red. Out of everyone the only one to notice this was Pinkie who became curious. "Now that I remember there was something I was gonna mention but I can't remember what it was." she said with a hand on her chin not noticing she had begun glowing causing the others to stare at her.
"Twilight, darling. Are you....supposed to glow like that?" asked Rarity.
"What?" asked Twilight before looking at her hand. "Oh. That's what I was forgetting."
"What is it sugarcube?" asked Applejack.
"Not long ago I....well...I'm not really sure how to describe it so I'll be blunt. Every once in a while I start glowing like this. When I do it means I'm gonna be sent somewhere to fight someone."
"WHAT?!" they yelled out.
"Yeah. I'm not sure why it's been happening but I do know is that I have to win fifteen fights and it'll stop."
"And what fight will this be?" asked Celestia.
"Fifth." replied Twilight.
"Twilight! Please don't go!" said Pinkie as she latched onto her.
"Don't worry Pinkie. I'll be back." said Twilight and then noticed the look in Pinkie's eyes causing her to sigh. "If you want you can come with me to this one fight. Just hold onto me." The other went up to her and touched her. 'I'll bet if this was written someone's gonna have the pervy mind to giggle about it.' she thought as she began glowing bright before they vanished.
The group appeared in a flash of light. They looked around and saw a partially destroyed city.
"What is this place?" asked Rarity.
"Looks like the arena for this fight is a destroyed Tokyo." replied Twilight. The others turned and became surprised to see Twilight wearing a sailor top which was white and lavender, a lavender skirt, her yellow bow on top of her head, and a black cape similar to the one Trixie wears only this one was black and had no pattern. Twilight blushed a bit as the others stared at her.
"Darling I love that outfit." said Rarity.
"Thanks, I guess." said Twilight as Rainbow started laughing. "You know, in this form turning someone into something like a beetle is a lot easier." she said glaring at Rainbow who stopped.
"So why the outfit?" asked Applejack.
"When Shawn started teaching me magic he explained I had to have a uniform in mind to create with magic and I came up with this because I watched a lot of Magical Girl anime." explained Twilight.
"Ah. More subjects for testing." said a distorted voice. The group turned and saw unicorn Twilight only the whites of her eyes were pitch black. As she walked she was engulfed in darkness and when it dissipated she was revealed in human form.
"Grimm Me." said Twilight with her eyes narrowed.
"What?" asked Rainbow.
"I'll explain later. For now do not interfere no matter what." said Twilight before approaching her Grimm self. "Hey there chuckles."
"You mock me?" asked Grimm Twilight.
"I guess you're insane but not stupid." said Twilight as the two looked at each other.
"Triumph or Die!" called out a voice surprising the others as a rune formed under the others creating a barrier. "FIGHT!" the voice called out causing both Twilights to charge at each other.
When they got close Grimm Twilight used her magic to pick up two cars and used them in an attempt to crush Twilight who teleported back. After Grimm Twilight picked up several more cars and began throwing them at Twilight who used her cape to cover herself and disappear. Grimm Twilight became surprised and looked around until Twilight's glowing hand appeared at Grimm Twilight's stomach.
"Hangyaku Jū." said Twilight as she blasted her Grimm counterpart who was shot into one of the broken buildings. Before Twilight could react a dark hand formed under her, grabbed her, and pulled her into said building. Several blasts were fired within the building causing it to collapse which forced the two to fly upwards surrounded by magic as they flew upwards and crashed into one another until Grimm Twilight decided to blast her counterpart causing her to crash near the others. Afterwards Grimm Twilight fired multiple blasts which hit Twilight who was shielding herself with her arms.
"Release Restraints! 100%!" yelled out Twilight causing shackles to form at her ankles, wrists, and neck which then opened and hit the floor.
"That won't be enough to defeat me!" declared Grimm Twilight as she picked up more cars and threw them at Twilight.
"Just try me." said Twilight as she impacted her fists together releasing a fiery aura as she charged. "Power Pummel!" she yelled out as she punched each car with an explosive strike that destroyed them one at a time. However when she got to the last one Grimm Twilight was no longer there.
"Let's have some fun." said Grimm Twilight as she stabbed Twilight from behind with an insane smile.
"Yes. Let's." said Twilight with a smirk before exploding throwing Grimm Twilight into the air where the real Twilight spotted her as she floated in air with her legs crossed.
"Astral Magic." she called as her soul exited her body and flew around Grimm Twilight three times trapping her in three violet rings as her soul returned to her body. After she removed the bow and twirled it as she got in front of her Grimm counterpart causing it to become a rifle that was much bigger than her which she aimed point blank. "Yippee Ki Yay bitch!" she yelled out as she focused her magic into the weapon causing it to glow. "Tiro Finalé Mk V! "she yelled out as she fired a massive blast of magic.
"KO!" called out the voice from before.
Once the blast died down a massive trench was left as the shackles reattached themselves to her. Twilight sighed as she massive rifle vanished, turning back into the bow which returned back to it's previous place. The barrier that the others had been in dissolved allowing them to run towards Twilight as she fell crashing with enough force to embed herself into the pavement.
"Twilight!" they called out as they went up to her.
"Are you okay?" asked Cadance.
"Fine. Just a little tired. I loaded more magic into the rifle than I intended." replied Twilight with a light laugh.
"So that bow turns into that big cannon?" asked Rainbow.
"It's a rifle not a cannon but yeah." replied Twilight. "It was a going away gift from Shawn and this girl name Tomoe Mami."
"Weird name." said Rainbow.
"They'd say the same thing about yours." replied Twilight.
"So was that a birthday present?" asked Pinkie.
"No. Some of the others gave me enchanted items to remember them by whenever I have to fight." replied Twilight. "Welp. Everyone huddle up." The other approached her and like before made contact with her causing them to disappear.
"They reappeared in the dining room with Twilight still laying on the ground.
"Alright. Now can everyone let go so I can stand up?" Everyone took a step back allowing Twilight to stand revealing, to their surprise, that she her clothes had changed back.
"So...does this mean you have more than outfit to fight in?" asked Rainbow.
"Yeah but no that many. My Elementrix uniform is Lavender in my default form but only changes color to match whatever Element I'm using. Outside that I think I only have like four other outfits." replied Twilight.
"Well. This certaintly has been... eventful." said Celestia. Twilight laughed.
"You think this is weird, just wait until things actually get interesting." she said with a smirk.
"I'm almost frightened by what'll happen." said Celestia.
"If I could still feel fear I probably would be too." said Twilight. This caught everyone's attention.
"What do you mean?" asked Rainbow.
"I guess I didn't mention it before." said Twilight. "It's a side effect of what Shawn had to do to save me. He had to make me like him using a spell. Because of it I have a computer that blocks off the part of my brain that allows me to feel fear."
"So you're not afraid of anything?" asked Applejack.
"Nope. Not even death scares me which is why I've become quite reckless." replied Twilight. The others looked at her. "It's strange but oddly liberating."
"Twilight." said Celestia causing her to turn. "I'd like you to send me reports about the enemies as you face them."
"Sure thing." said Twilight.
"Now I must be going. The court musn't be delayed if not for an emergency." said Celestia as she turned to leave.
"We should be going too." said Cadance. "I'm sure our guards might get too worried if we're gone for too much longer since we teleported right after we got the letter." Shining nodded.
"Alright. Maybe we can meet up for tea and cake in the weekend." said Twilight.
"We'll have to move some things around the schedule but sure." said Cadance before they left.
"Hey, where'd Pinkie go?" asked Applejack looking around.
"She left about half a minute after we returned." said Twilight. This surprised the others. After she started heading back to her room followed by her friends.
Once back in her room Twilight moved her left hand over the top of the her backpack causing it to flash. Then a hologram appeared above it from which various sheets of rolled up paper began flying out, expanding in size as they flew out. Twilight caught them with her magic and began placing them on the walls.
"Why'd you bring so many posters?" asked Rainbow.
"They were all gifts." replied Twilight.
"So what are they of?" asked Applejack.
"Anime, movies, a few bands." replied Twilight.
"What about this one?" asked Rarity looking at one that had a girl with long bluish hair that was tied in twin tails.
"Oh. That's my autographed Hatsune Miku poster." replied Twilight.
"Who's Hatsune Miku?" asked Fluttershy.
"She's an amazing pop star!" exclaimed Twilight. "She's beautiful, has a voice that's to envy, and she's insanely talented."
"Sounds like you might be a bit more than a fan." said Applejack. Twilight laughed scratching the back of her head.
"I kinda got this way because Shawn actually had me be part of a mission to protect her." replied Twilight. "I got into her music because Nagisa found me depressed one time and the next thing I knew I'd fallen in love with her music. Not long after Shawn asked me to be part of an operation to protect her and that's how I got this." she said looking at the poster.
"What does it say?" asked Rainbow trying to read the autograph but not recognizing the characters.
"It says to my greatest fan. Thanks for saving me Twilight." replied Twilight.
"What language is that darling?" asked Rarity.
"Japanese." replied Twilight.
"Um....Twilight?"
"Yeah?" replied Twilight turning around.
"Is this supposed be flashing like this?" asked Fluttershy pointing to the left strap which was flashing red. Curiously Twilight placed her thumb on it. The light flashed red twice and then became green causing the projection to become green as it released a blue metal box.
"Huh."
"What is it?" asked Fluttershy.
"A gift from Shawn." replied Twilight as she ran her fingers around it until she felt a button. She felt as it heated slightly burning her finger. After she threw it towards a corner of the room right before it started expanding until it was the size of a wardrobe.
"That was....impressive." said Rarity surprised.
"So that's what he was working on." said Twilight.
"You know what it is?" asked Rainbow.
"Not a clue." replied Twilight. "Shawn has a habit of making things without thinking until about half ways." she said walking up to a part of it causing to extend and a part just above it to open revealing a screen. 'I hate these so much.' she thought to herself as she placed her hand on the part that had extended. It was four needles came out and went into her hand causing her to wince. Some of the others noticed so the moved to her sides becoming shocked as the needles came out of her hand.
"What was that?!" asked Rainbow.
"A DNA scanner. Shawn designs a security lock with a four needles that go into the person's hand and check the person's blood to make sure only they can unlock whatever they may have." explained Twilight.
"That sounds painful." said Applejack.
"I stings at worst but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant." replied Twilight.
"Could he just used a key like everypony else?" asked Rainbow.
"Keys can be stolen." replied Twilight.
"What about a password?" asked Applejack.
"Inflict the right kind of pain on anyone and they'll give any password or anything that needs to be memorized." replied Twilight as the screen showed what almost resembled some strange graph.
"What is that?" asked Fluttershy.
"My genetic code." replied Twilight as part of the box extended. Twilight and the others stepped in front of it just in time for a bright flash to blind them temperarily.
The others slowly recovered their vision but once they did they looked around and saw a very arge place with some shelves and various things they didn't recognize.
"Nice place." said Twilight.
"Just what is this place?" asked Fluttershy surprised.
"I think we're about to find out." said Twilight as a hologram of Shawn appeared.
"Twilight. If you're watching this then you've made it home. This place is a base Hank, Tony, Master Strange, and I made for you. As you may have figured out this place is a combination of magic and technology. To be honest part of the reason I made this place was to store all your gifts. I realized everyone would want to give you things before you left so I made this place. Well.... that was the original purpose at least. Some of the other convinced me you'd need a proper base of operations so I've equipped this place with different things." he explained as more shelves arose from the ground. While there were many books on them there were also items that looked like books only much thinner and made of plastic. "As you can see there's a number of books here as well as DVD's and various video games. We've also installed an entertainment system which includes and PS3 and an XBox 360. I've also included a some slightly modified Arcade Sticks for your friends since I figured they wouldn't able to use controller with their hooves and it wouldn't really be fair for those with magic to use them since part of the fun is the dexterity. I know you'll need some assistance so I made these." he said as parts of the wall opened revealing several small trophies. "These are Champion Trophies. I created them with a bit of help. They're sentient and they'll assist you in battle when necessary but due to the number of them they won't all go at once. As you can see most of them are familiar faces while others are not so familiar. Those are friends of mine from the tournament some of us entered back when we were kids. In addition to this I created a little something to help you in some of the tougher battles you'll have ahead." he explained as a part of the floor arose revealing an armor in it unlike anything the others had ever seen. It was enough to cover the entire body but also had wings. "The armor itself is run by an AI which will also be running this place. Her name is Silver. This place will also have a number of training devices for when you need them. Most of them are pretty simplistic but as you recall sometimes the some simpest devices can be the most effective. I've also included these." he said as parts of the floor near the wall arose revealing statues of different people. "I know you would sometimes spend time looking at the statues of our Hall of the Honor so I had a few of the more recent....enductees here for you and Lily to remember. Now that I've explained that there's something I want you to know. Twilight I know that the trials you face will be hard but always remember that everyone here loves you although everyone thinks of you differently. For me you're one of the greatest friends and sisters I could've asked for. No matter how far apart we are whether it's in a different universe or a different point in time we'll always be with you even if can't be there physically. Everyone recorded messages for you here but I figured it'd take too long to have them all play continuously so I have them all as seperate messages for you to listen to. To be honest I also had Dom and Sara make messages of their own before.... well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you. Good luck in you future endeavors. You'll need it. Avengers forever Elementra." he said as the hologram disappeared. The others looked at Twilight and saw she had tears running down her face even though she was smiling. "Baka." she said as she wiped her tears.
"Are you okay Twilight?" asked Fluttershy concerned.
"I'm fine. Just...a little emotional." replied Twilight. "Let's check out what we've got here. Silver?"
"Yes Miss Twilight?" asked a mechanical voice with a british accent.
"Did Shawn program a catalogue into you?"
"Yes he did." replied Silver. "I believe his exact words were 'She's got insane OCD so she'd freak if I didn't'."
"I do not have OCD. I just like being organized!" exclaimed Twilight.
"What's OCD?" asked Spike.
"Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's basically something that some people have where they have to have things or do things in a very specific way like organizing decorations by size or color." The others looked at each other and then her before smiling. "I do NOT have OCD!"
"Whatever you say Sugarcube." said Applejack trying not to laugh.
"So these are Champion Trophies?" asked Rainbow Dash as she flew to some of them.
"That's what he called them." said Twilight.
"Why does this one look so familiar?" said Rainbow looking at one of a young girl with short purple hair.
"I should think so." replied Twilight. "I'm sure there's some that are familiar to Rarity and Applejack as well." The two looked at the statues and noticed something.
"Now that you mention it darling...." began Rarity as she took one with a somewhat familiar hair style. ".... this one does resemble Sweetie Belle."
"And this one looks kinda like Applebloom." said Applejack taking one with red hair who had a navy blue bow in her hair.
"Now that you mention it this one kinda does look a little like Scootaloo." said Rainbow.
"They don't just look like them. Those are them. In a manner of speaking." said Twilight.
"How is that possible?" asked Rarity.
"Same way it's possible with this one." said Twilight showing them a statue that looked like her.
"Is that....?" began Fluttershy.
"Her name's Twilight Fury." replied Twilight.
"Why Fury?" asked Rainbow. Twilight looked away from them. "Twilight?"
"I was hoping I could avoid speaking of this but I'm guessing Shawn was fully aware this would lead to this discussion." she said.
"What's going on Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"The multiverse is.... fascinating because every possible eventuality exists. So much so that there are some in which events we've lived through had different results." explained Twilight. "They came from different realities." she added holding out Fury's statue. "This version of me came from a reality where.... she refused to forgive her friends at the wedding." At the mention of the wedding they winced. "The way they told me the story Fury was angry because of what happened and decided that if her friends turned their back on her there was no reason she couldn't do the same and she went off on them. Because of this she displayed so much anger that when Shawn arrived in that Equestria one of the marks of rage in him reacted to her anger and he arrived after they got rid of Chrysalis so he made her an offer. She could take the mark and it would change her. Give her power like his but in doing so she'd have to go with him to train so she could control it. Once she learned to control her new powers she could do whatever she wanted and he wouldn't interfere with her decision so long as she didn't use her power to harm others." she explained. "Fury saw this as an opportunity. A chance to forget her past. To forget those who had betrayed her. The others believed Shawn was actually trying to brainwash her and the Rainbow Dash of that reality attacked him. Unfortunately for her even at the age of ten Shawn was extremely dangerous so she wound up with several fractures in her skull, ribs, and wings." Hearing this made Rainbow wince. "Shining tried to attack him but she basically just slapped his blast back at him."
"Yikes." said Rainbow.
"It gets worse." said Twilight. "The Elements of Harmony picked up what had happened through Fury's feelings and decided that their current bearers were no longer worthy. So they decided to leave with them."
"Wait what?" asked Applejack confused.
"The Elements decided to find new bearers in the place that they were heading to. The Element of Magic dematerialized and became one with Fury. The Element of Loyalty did the same but chose Shawn as it's bearer. Once Shawn made a Dimensional Veil to return home the other four crossed over and found new bearers of their own."
"That's.... quite the story." said Rarity.
"So then what's the deal with these?" asked Rainbow looking at the Scootaloo statue.
"Before I go into that there's something else I need to explain." replied Twilight as she walked up to another statue and grabbed it before turning and showed it to them.
"Who's that?" asked Rainbow not being able to place why she seemed so familiar.
"Is...Is that me?" asked Fluttershy causing the others to look in shock.
"Yes." replied Twilight. "You see a few months before he met Fury Shawn accidentally crossed over to another universe. An alternate version of the world behind the mirror from the Crystal Kingdom. He met her when they were kids and he was amnesiac. She helped him and he got his memories back but on that day Fluttershy recieved a letter that her parents had died at sea." This caused Fluttershy's eyes to widen. "Shawn made her an offer to stay with him since he already lived with some other kids. She was....sad so when he asked she accepted. Because of what happened she didn't really interact with anyone until Shawn convinced her to let him teach her martial arts."
"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa." said Rainbow. "There's no way Fluttershy would do that. She's too soft. No offense."
"None taken." replied Fluttershy.
"From what they told me at first she didn't really want to because she disliked the idea of hurting other but was convinced when Shawn explained that learning how to fight didn't she had to use what she knew to hurt others. If she wanted she could use it to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Like other kids who were getting picked on by bigger kids or animals who were being mistreated. So he convinced her and they trained. She picked up on it so quickly that he felt she could enter a street fighting tournament that was being held at the end of that month. He convinced her to enter by explaining that there was no point in training if she didn't test her skill against others to see how good she was and where her weaknesses were. She eventually gave in and entered with him. If I'm remembering this right she made it to the quarter-finals where as he made it to the semi-finals. Shawn believed that her making it as far as she did was an accomplishment so he took her back to her world to an ice cream parlor. After they got the ice cream theywent outside and it started raining so they ducked into an alley." she explained as she walked to one of the statues that had a girl in strange robes who held a book in her left hand and had her right hand held out. "That was where they met her." she said.
"Who is she?" asked Applejack.
"Many remember her by Sorcerell." replied Twilight. "They knew her by her birth name. Sunset Shimmer." she said causing the others to look at herin shock.
"Hold on. What do you mean "knew" her?" asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight didn't move but the others noticed what looked like drops of water falling in front of her. The others remained silent as they looked at the expression on her face.
"What happened?" asked Applejack.
"About a month after they met the human Sunset creatures started appearing in different parts of Japan. Eventualy they found out who was sending them. Six who refered to themselves as the Elements of Insanity."
"Elements of Insanity?" asked Spike surprised. Twilight nodded.
"Shawn said that they were corrupted versions of us who all but destroyed their world."
"W-What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy shaking.
"The six of them were....monsters. They killed Celestia. Luna. Even Cadance. They took over doing things. Horrible things." she said with a sigh. "But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Silver can I get some chairs here?"
"Right away." At that the ground opened up and six chairs came up. Twilight and the others sat down. "They fought the Elements of Insanity but were only able to stop their attacks as they happened. This led to them deciding to attack them. So the six of them ambushed Fluttershy. She made it because Shawn and the others made it in time. Sunset Shimmer wasn't so lucky. She saw they were gonna attack her in a public place and knew they couldn't care less about civilian casualties so she led them to a secluded area and tried to fight them." Twilight chuckles humorlessly. "They toyed with her beating her for kicks until the others arrived. When they got there. They killed her in front of them."
"Th-That's horrible." said Fluttershy with tears in her eyes. Twilight sighed.
"I hate to break the moment but what exactly does this have to do with Fury and the others?" asked Applejack.
"After Shawn....took care of them, he came to realize that they'd had a Fluttershy just like he did. In different realities simple things can change. From something as simple as choosing to have fruit or cereal to choosing to let your anger take over in a bad situation. Shawn knew this and he realized the possibility that he only knew of two Fluttershies. The one who lived with him and the....other one. This led him to three possible conclusions. A. The Fluttershy he knew was an anomoly meaning that it could that any Fluttershy from another reality could be as dangerous as Butchershy. B. Butchershy was the anomoly meaning that had happened which maybe shouldn't have but did resulting in the Elements of Insanity. C. Fluttershy grew into that psychopath over time which meant that his Fluttershy had the possibility to grow up like that. Uncertain of what could happen he used a sample of Brutalight's magic he absorbed to get to Equestria but it was a sample that had nearly faded so while he did end up in An Equestria it wasn't the one he sought. He began traveling from Equestria to Equestria in search of the universe the Elements of Insanity came from and this eventually led him to meet Fury. Not long after he also met Scootaloo who was having a hard time."
"Hard time how? There should've been another me there to help her." said Rainbow Dash angrily.
"Are you sure you want to now? This is gonna be worse than the previous one."
"I wanna know." demanded Rainbow. Twilight stood up and walked around before turning to her friends.
"Scootaloo told me that in her reality there's a test all pegasi have to take when they reach a certain age." began Twilight. "I don't believe we have it here but as I was not born a pegasus I wouldn't know. Anyway there's a test which all pegasi have to take when they reach a certain age. Pass it and they're free to continue their lives. Fail and they were seen as worthless and taken to a specific part of the Weather Factory."
"What part?" asked Rainbow.
"The Rainbow Factory." replied Twilight. "It's a place where pegasi who are seen as worthless are taken and fed into a machine that rips them apart and extracts their color." The others looked in horror. "That... is the secret of of the rainbows in her world. Scootaloo was lucky because Rainbow was able to find a way so that Scootaloo wouldn't have to take the test. But in exchange she had to work there. Cleaning the machine. Having to remove pieces of fillies and colts from it. When Shawn arrived in that world he was somewhere between Ponyville and Canterlot. He spotted Rainbow flying and followed her. He followed Rainbow through the factory and found Scootaloo but in far worse condition than anything he'd seen in this life. He made contact with her and offered to get her out of their by offering to kidnap her. Everything she'd seen weighed on her so much she accepted. Since then she's had to go to a psychiatrists for her PTSD."
"I'm almost afraid to ask but what's that?" asked Applejack.
"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." replied Twilight. "It's something one gets when they've been through serious things like surving a massacre or anything like that."
"So..."
"She's messed up and Shawn's been doing what he can to help her since he adopted her. She's on medication that help her avoid panic attacks as well as another to help her sleep at night." explained Twilight. "Apple Bloom was who he met after. He met her in the reality that the Elements of Insanity came from. It seems that her Applejack, or Applejerk as she prefered to call herself, didn't just dislike lies. She tied up Bloom, Mac, and Granny over something. Mac helped her escape. She's unsure of what happened to them since for the years that followed she had to learn to survive in the Everfree Forest because it was the only place that was safe."
"The Everfree Forest?! Safe?" asked Applejack.
"Safer than what they had begun doing in Equestria." replied Twilight. "After the fall of the Princesses the only constant thing was fear. Fear of what their new rulers would do."
"What did they do?" asked Rainbow.
"They killed. Killed for pleasure. Killed for fun. One of them went as far as to kill ponies to make cupcakes out of them."
"That's....horrifying." said Rarity.
"Shawn went there with his cousin and when they found her Evelyn adopted her. After she changed her name to Bloom Garrett. She's been going to her own therapy but she was gone for most of the time that they terrorized Equestria so she didn't really need medication."
"What about Sweetie Belle?" asked Rarity.
"Shawn figured Equestria would have threats that they wouldn't be able to fight without the Elements of Harmony and he convinced her to go back to Equestria with him when certain threats appeared."
"Certain threats?" asked Rarity.
"Yeah." replied Twilight.
"How would they know if they were in another reality?" asked Rainbow.
"Shawn placed a spell in the form of a rune in the Canterlot Castle. After he was able to pick when there was a big enough threat." explained Twilight. "One of these threats was Sombra."
"So what happened?" asked Rainbow.
"It's not entirely important for this but I will say she kicked his ass." said Twilight. "Anyway Shawn convinced her to take a walk around Ponyville and Sweetie Belle ran up to them completely sick and tired of her parents dumping her on Rarity only for her to ignore her in favor of her work so she asked them to take her with them. Fury felt bad for her and decided to give her the chance to have a proper sister and they took her. As far as I know it was a few days later that Rarity finally found out that Sweetie Belle was gone."
"What happened then?" asked Rarity. "I'm certain my counterpart wouldn't exactly be happy about her leaving."
"Shawn picked on the State of Emergency Sweetie's disappearance caused." replied Twilight. "They started thinking that they were after Rarity because of her place as a former Element of Harmony so Shawn, Fury, and Sweetie showed up. Sweetie explained her reasons for leaving and as they were about to leave Rarity tried to stop her by pulling Sweetie with her magic and....well Sweetie took that as a hostile action. She used her magic to swing Rarity into a wall, transformed, and stood ready to fight but once it became obvious Rarity had no intention of fighting Sweetie turned her back. Fury said that she couldn't believe what she said to Rarity that day."
"What? What did she say?" asked Rarity fearing the answer.
"After Sweetie turned her back she said I hope it was worth it Rarity. 'You prefered your work and it cost you a sister. I hope you're happy.' After that they left." explained Twilight. Rarity's eyes widened. "I figured this is how it was gonna go." she said with a sigh. "Silver did Shawn add any drinks?"
"Yes. Various drinks ranging from soft drinks to a fully stocked bar." replied Silver. "Then give me a Scotch on the rocks." Part of the ground in front of Twilight arose with a small glass that had some ice and a brownish liquid. "Thanks." she said taking the drink.
"What's that?" asked Spike.
"Something you're not allowed to drink for a few years." replied Twilight as she sipped the drink.
"How is she?" asked Rarity.
"Considering she's the only one of the three who doesn't have to see a shrink I'd say pretty good." replied Twilight. Rarity sighed. "She does have some anger issues though." sipping her drink.
"Is she well?" asked Rarity.
"She's got enough combat training to take on a small army by hersef. She's got enough skill with her magic to do things that would make the high mage look like an amateur. She's got many more friends aside from Bloom and Scoots. She knows what it means to be a hero and be part of a team." repied Twilight as she looked at the glass before finishing the drink in one swig. Part of the ground in front of Twilight arose so she placed the glass on it.
"Would you like another?" asked Silver.
"No. Do we have smokes?"
"Yes. Do you have a brand preference?"
"Nah. Just get me a menthol." replied Twilight. Part of the ground next to her arose with a small cylindrical object that was part white and part yellow. Twilight took it and placed it the yellow part in her mouth and lit a flame on thumb which she used to light a small flame which she used to light it.
"And what is that?" asked Rarity.
"It's called a cigarette. Menthol to be precise." replied Twilight as she puffed it and blew the smoke. "These have a minty taste."
"Is there a reason for that?" asked Applejack.
"Helps me relax with these stories. When you experience these memories yourself and you experience everything they felt.... it's too much." explained Twilight.
"What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy.
"Remember how I mentioned earlier that some of the runes on me are meant to block my empathy?" The others nodded. "Before I got them. That was when they told me these stories. Because of my empathy I... I didn't just hear these stories. Everything they told me, I experienced it through their emotions."
"Judgin' by your what you've said these weren't the happiest of things to feel, were they?" asked Applejack. Twilight released another puff of smoke.
"Just the emotions I felt when they talked about Shimmer gave me nightmares in which I watched her die in Shawn's arms night after night. It was hard to deal with them and Shawn felt these might help me and they kinda do."
"I'm not sure those are all that good for you." said Applejack.
"If I was normal they wouldn't be but as I am any damage they do to my insides heals so there's no danger to me." replied Twilight as she flicked the cigarette causing a hole to open in spot it would've hit.
"Darling, now that I think about it we've been here for quite some time. Perhaps we should go to Sugarcube Corner for a snack." suggested Rarity. Twilight smiled.
"It's been a long time since I've had something from Sugar Cubecorner." said Twilight. "Silver. How do we exit?"
"You merely need to ask. I believe we have synchronized quite well Miss Sparkle so it should be a simple matter for you." explained Silver.
"Alright then. Everyone get near me." said Twilight. The others huddled near her before they were blinded by another light.
After they found themselves back at the castle. The others felt a bit dizzy while Twilight simply looked a bit bored.
"Let's get going." said Twilight. 'After all it'd be rude to be late to my own party.' she thought with a smirk. After a few seconds the others followed Twilight. As they walked the others were trying to figure what they'd say to her if she asked why there nopony was outside but to their surprise she stayed silent the entire time. Twilight internally smirked when she opened the door.
"SURPRISE!!!" yelled out most of Ponyville as the lights came on....only for everyone to become confused when they saw Twilight was gone.
"Where'd she go?" asked Rainbow confused. Everyone started wondering if something dangerous was going on when the lights began to flicker a bit but turned their attention when they heard the strumming of a guitar.
"Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again. Because a vision of softlty creeping. Left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound of silence." sang Twilight. Everyone was trying to find Twilight as she seemed to be difficult to track. "In restless dreams I walked alone. Narrow streets of cobblestone. 'Neath the halo of a streetlamp. I turned my collar to the cold and damp. When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of neon light. That split the night. And touched the sound of silence." It was then Twilight seemingly appeared sitting on the counter with a guitar. "And in the naked light I saw. Ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening. People writing songs that voices never share. No one dare, disturb the sound of silence.' At this point the ponies couldn't help but watch as she played. "Fools said I, You do not know. Silence lie a cancer grows. Hear my words that I might teach you. Take my arms that I might reach you. But my words like silent raindrops fell. And echoed in the wells of silence. And the people bowed and prayed. To the neon god they made. And the sign flashed out its warning. In the words that it was forming. And the sign said "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls. And tenement halls." And whispered in the sounds of silence." With a final strum Twilight ended the song. The ponies looked surprised as Twilight hopped onto her feet and the guitar disappeared. "I hope you all enjoyed it. That was Simons and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence."
"I told you guys she was different." said Pinkie going next to Twilight.
"Is that really Princess Twilight?" asked Derpy.
"New and improved." said Twilight.
"Do you know anything about that dragon from yesterday?" asked Mayor Mare.
"That was Elementra." replied Twilight. "It's a little complicated to explain but the simplest way would be to say she's a part of me. In other words she's a living being but is as much a part of me as either of my hands." she explained. "Everyone. I'm glad to be back and I'll gladly answer your question but first let's get this party started!" As everyone cheered Twilight. smiled.
In the Badlands Rose landed and saw two changelings.
"Time to begin Phase 2." she said with a giggle.
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7385811 If you didn't think it was a mash up what did you think it was?
Nice choice of music! I prefer the Disturbed version of that song...
Activating tracking beacon...
when can we expect the next chapter?
9093350 Hard to say. I've been going back to it but I've kept having trouble continuing. I still go back and I'm able to add a bit to it but I haven't been able to finish it. Hopefully I'll find the inspiration to complete it. Sorry it's taken so long
found another one that's in a coma
(possibly dead till summer where it may wake up, and if it doesn't it is most near definitely dead)
New chapter?
9094015
Until you either find the inspiration to continue or just proclaim this story abandoned i am tracking it and regardless of your decision i will read what is here
do more chapters
...Did she gain Pinkie Pie's abilities? Or has she become predictable?
I hope to see a continuation in the future.