Finding a Place

by Battlecat

Chapter 7 - To Fight (R)

The crazy experience of feeling my body getting stretched and modified by the portal cut off abruptly and I tumbled out onto the hard ground. There was still an aching sorrow in my heart but it was no longer oppressive. For the next two hours at the very least, I had a singular purpose and that filled me with energy that I hadn’t felt in ages. I scrambled up to my feet and turned around to find out where this mysterious portal was.

I chuckled when I discovered I was standing in front of the horse statue at the front of the school. I pushed my hand against the stone face and stared as my hand slid through the stone and morphed into a blue hoof. I pulled my hand out and stared at the statue as the truth became apparent. It was pure, utter dumb luck that I was alive right now.

I only chose to meet here because it was away from the school cafeteria.
She only dumped us in there because it was right here, didn't she?
If I hadn't met Sunset here to talk, would I be dead in a corner somewhere?
Ugh, that's a horrifying thought. Let's move on.
I'm amazed nobody has stumbled in by accident.
No kidding. Hey, what the heck are we wearing? Are those gloves?

Instead of returning me in my ratty old sweats, the portal had provided some simple black pants and a long-sleeved black collared shirt. It was very similar to what I typically wore before I lost my parents. My running shoes were replaced by a pair of heavy boots that went up to my ankles and I was wearing a particularly nice pair of combat gloves. The strangest addition was a set of arm bracers over my lower arms.

The bracers drew my eye in. They were made of a strange black metal shimmered with a purple iridescence. Etched into each of the bracers were two emblems. Near the wrist was the crossed hammer and sword symbol that was in the cutie mark I had as a pony. The upper end was adorned with the silver crescent moon symbol that was Princess Luna’s cutie mark.

Well would you look at that.
Where did these come from? And why do they have Luna’s cutie mark along with mine?
Who cares? The bracers alone would have taken you ages to forge.

I ran my fingers over the two cutie marks on my bracers, following the ridges and grooves of the symbols. They felt right; like they were a part of me that I hadn’t been aware of before that moment. There wasn’t any reasonable explanation for why it felt that way. Sadly, that mystery would have to wait. I had a job to do and not much time left to take care of it. I could hear the muffled thumping of music playing already.

Of course, one problem was I didn’t have a ticket for the formal. From my experience, they weren’t terribly fond of party crashers and I wouldn’t be welcomed on the best of days. The doors of the school were no doubt locked but fortunately, there was another option. The end of the gym facing the road had a series of tall windows that I could peek through. The flashing lights and thumping music indicated that the formal hadn’t been canceled after all.

I crept over to the school, keeping to the shadows, and took a cautious peek inside. The dance hall was full and it was clear most of the school had turned out. The music was currently being provided by a live band. Flash Sentry and two other students were performing some generic pop music. Then I spotted Twilight Sparkle and her friends. They were up near the front dancing enthusiastically and they were utterly stunning in their dresses. I couldn’t make out their expressions from where I was hiding but they looked like they were having fun.

Ok, I don’t particularly like Rarity but if she really made that dress in two days . . .
Wow indeed. Looks like we overreacted.
Yeah. They didn’t really need me.
We aren’t done, she doesn’t have the crown yet.
Ok, am I really still talking to myself?
Looks like it. Guess we’re still a bit broken.

At least the voice in my head wasn’t trying to convince me to commit suicide but this still didn’t bode well for my recovery. Flash Sentry wrapped up the song and then stepped off the stage. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna walked out. I stared at them as if I had never seen them before. Their resemblance to the Equestrian Princesses was beyond simple coincidence. It was utterly uncanny and I wasn’t surprised to discover their voices were equally similar.

“First off, I want to say how wonderful everything looks tonight. You all did a magnificent job pulling things together after the unfortunate events earlier today. And now, without further ado, I'd like to announce the winner of this year's Fall Formal crown. The Princess of this year's Fall Formal is . . . Twilight Sparkle!”

I had been bracing myself to act if Twilight hadn’t won but I shouldn’t have doubted her. Everyone was cheering and jumping for joy as she walked up onto the stage. I idly wondered how much she looked like the other princesses as the crown was placed on her head. The crown seemed to catch the light as it settled on her brow. Twilight looked like she was searching the crowd and her eye finally settled on the girls. I looked away from the window and up at the night sky.

Victory is Twilight’s. Shame they won’t forgive my disappearance.
That’s defeatist talk.
Don’t forget Sunset probably framed us.
For Luna’s sake, will you just get over it! We don’t have enough information yet.
Wait, did I just swear by Luna?
Yes. Now please stop being a pessimist.

I looked back into the gym just in time to see all hell break loose. Twilight’s happy expression had dissolved into fear. Over at the door to the gym, Snips and Snails had Spike pinned under their arms. They ran out the door with Spike under their arms. Twilight and her friends were out the door in mere seconds while I began berating myself while casting around to figure out where to go.

Gah! I should have been looking for trouble! Where are they taking him?
They’re heading to the portal.
Wait, how do I know that?
Sunset had to go to Equestria to steal the crown, remember? Magic power is what she's looking for.

I turned to look at the statue just in time to spot Sunset Shimmer lurking in the shadows. I guess she had walked over there while I was watching the crown being awarded. As far as I could tell, she hadn’t spotted me. A moment later, Snips and Snails came running up to the statue with Twilight and the girls hot on their heels. That’s when Sunset stepped out of the shadows beside the statue, raising a sledgehammer.

“That’s close enough!” Sunset threatened.

“Don’t hurt him!” Twilight shouted.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it,” Sunset gloated. “I’m no monster. Let the dog go boys.”

Snips and Snails put Spike down on the ground and he immediately ran over to Twilight. Sunset had the sledgehammer ready to smash the portal. I was frozen with indecision and guilt knowing I might have been able to stop this.

“Twilight, you don't belong here. Give me the crown and you can go back to Equestria tonight. Or keep it and never go home. ”

If I had been paying attention I could have helped.
There is one thing we can do!

The despair I had been feeling washed away at that moment and a plan appeared in my mind. I stayed low and started jogging across the courtyard towards the statue. The dark clothing provided by the portal was absolutely perfect and everyone was watching Sunset and Twilight. I knew I had only one shot at this.

“Tick-tock Twilight,” Sunset mocked. “We haven’t got all night. What’s your answer?”

I was almost there where Twilight gave her answer. Hearing the confidence in her voice made me run faster.

“No,” Twilight answered firmly. “Equestria will find a way to survive without my Element of Harmony. This place might not if I allow it to fall into your hands. I've seen what you've done to the people here without magic. Go ahead, destroy the portal. You are NOT getting this crown!”

Before Sunset could respond, I was ready to act. I made a mad leap that sent me soaring past the front of the portal. I wrapped both my gloved hands around the handle of the sledgehammer and used my momentum to wrench it out of Sunset’s grip. She was pulled over to the ground as she tried to maintain her grip while I landed in an easy combat roll. I bounced up to my feet and effortlessly hefted the hammer up over my shoulder.

“You are not touching that portal,” I said firmly. “Twilight will be leaving with the Element of Magic.”

I ignored Sunset swearing on the ground over her burned hands and looked over at the girls. The surprise on their faces was marred by uncertainty and pure anger in the case of Rarity and Rainbow Dash. It was about what I had expected.
There was no doubt my disappearance had been accompanied by the nasty rumors Sunset had promised. Still, the intensity of the hate in their expressions made my anxiety spike. Fortunately, Twilight's expression washed my worry away when I saw only gratitude and worry in those purple eyes.

“Sorry I took so long to catch up,” I said, letting a smile creep onto my face. “I was . . . unavoidably delayed. Congratulations on your well-deserved victory Twilight.”

Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw my smile and she returned it in kind. I think it was the first time I’d smiled since I met her. She just had the time to mouth the words “thank you” before the other girls surrounded her and started talking all at once. I was relieved they decided to ignore my presence, though Rainbow Dash still shot another dark glance in my direction. Unless Twilight could pull off a miracle, my time at CHS was going to end after her departure.

“That speech was so awesome Twilight!” Rainbow gushed.

“Can’t believe you would have done that for us” added Applejack.

Rarity was positively gushing. “It’s no wonder you’re a princess!”

“THAT DOES IT!” Sunset screamed. “That crown is MINE!”

She was already sprinting towards Twilight as she spoke. I reached out to try and stop her but my reflexes still weren’t at their best. She tackled Twilight sending them both sprawling to the ground. The crown bounced across the grass and Sunset tried to scramble over her to grab it. She almost had her hands on it when Twilight grabbed her leg and pulled. Spike bounded in, jumped onto Sunset’s head, and then scooped up the crown in his mouth. He ran off towards the school, looking for an escape route.

“GET THE CROWN YOU FOOLS!” Sunset roared at Snips and Snails while she tried to escape Twilight’s grip on her ankle.

Half the group sprinted off after Spike but I kept my focus on Sunset Shimmer. I dumped the sledgehammer on the ground and strode over to her. When she reached her feet I deliberately got between her and the crown. I dropped into a Tae Kwon Do sparring stance.

“Don’t move,” I growled. “You’ve got a lot to answer for.”

She laughed out loud at the sight. “Looks like the wimp watched a few martial arts movies. Like you’re capable of stopping me.”

Sunset Shimmer wound up and unleashed a punch at my face. It was even clumsier than Rainbow Dash’s and it probably wouldn’t have hurt much. However, Luna told me to defend myself so I could protect others and this was exactly what she was talking about. My hand snapped up, blocking her first punch and pushing the arm away from me. Sunset was following up with a second punch that I sidestepped. As the punch flew past my face, I grabbed her wrist and began to step in behind her. I attempted to pin her arm behind her back but I didn't have a proper grip.

“It’s a possibility,” I muttered.

“OUCH! Get your filthy hands off me!”

Sunset then twisted her wrist before I could finish getting her in a lock, breaking out of my grip. Then she stomped on my foot with the heel of her boot and elbowed me in the stomach. None of her strikes hurt but I was still forced to let go of her. She stumbled away and turned to face me. Her confidence had been replaced with fear when she stared at me.

“When did you grow a backbone?” she demanded.

“The Princesses repaired it when I woke up in Equestria,” I sniped back at her.

“Fluttershy catch!” Rainbow shouted.

She was being mobbed by Snips and Snails and threw the crown into the air. The crown went flying over my head straight to Fluttershy who was standing back from the chaos. She caught it without thinking and stared at it confused for a moment. Sunset of course turned and ran after the crown with me close on her heels. Fluttershy was frozen with fear holding the crown up as high as she could as Snips, Sunset and I all converged on her position. Applejack somehow managed to lasso her and dragged her out of our path but she lost her grip on the crown.

I managed to body-check Sunset before she could grab the crown out of the air and then turned to check on the crown. Seeing that Snails had caught it, I started towards him. Pinkie suddenly appeared behind him and snagged it out of his hands. I watched as it became a bizarre game of hot potato. The crown was tossed from Pinkie, to Applejack, to Rarity, and then over to Twilight as Snails pursued it. Twilight turned to run from Snails but Snips had come at her from the other side.

There wasn't any other choice so she blindly tossed the crown in the air. It flew over my head again and I turned to jump after it but Sunset was already there. She caught it with an expression of triumph on her face even though I was charging straight at her.

“At last! More power than I could ever imagine! You'll never stop me!” She let out a horribly evil laugh as she put it on her head.

I was so close to stopping her, only a handful of steps away from tackling her to knock the crown off her head. Before I reached her, the crown glowed with a sickening green-black color and that glow quickly expanded into a pillar of black fire, engulfing Sunset inside. The shockwave from the magic sent me flying backward through the air and I wound up sprawled on the ground near the sledgehammer. I could hear Sunset screaming in pain as the magic surged out of control.

This is not good.
We weren’t fast enough.
I failed.
We failed.

I grabbed the sledgehammer and got up to my feet. When I looked up, the fire had faded, revealing a creature that only had a passing resemblance to Sunset. She was a demon, pure and simple, complete with tattered leathery wings, ruddy red skin, fangs, and claws. Sunset cackled with glee looking over her body. Then her hands glowed with black energy and two beams shot out engulfing Snips and Snails. When the light faded they had been transformed into demonic creatures as well.

“This is gonna be so cool,” Snips exclaimed.

The two of them began stalking towards Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie who were trying to retreat from the horribly mutated kids. I growled at the sight and hesitated for one brief moment. Then I saw Applejack’s heeled boot catch on the sidewalk and she tripped.

We can still do something.
Even if they won’t appreciate it.

I ran across the courtyard and stepped between Applejack and the demons. The sledgehammer was held tight in both hands, held in front of my body ready to strike. It was no sword but a makeshift war hammer would serve for the moment. Snips and Snails stopped short with glares fixed on their faces. Snails actually hissed at me but I refused to be cowed.

“Back off unless you want to find out how tough those new bodies are,” I snarled.

They might have looked like Demons on the outside but they were still just kids inside. They exchanged one glance and then flew off to follow Sunset who was floating towards the school. I held my hand out to Applejack, offering to help her up. It was just the polite thing to do even though I wasn't expecting her to accept. To my surprise, she grabbed my hand without hesitation and let me pull her up to her feet. She brushed herself off and looked over at me. Her face wasn't angry, just curious.

“Thanks,” Applejack said. “And Rarity wonders why ah hate heels. Where the heck did you disappear to Silver?”

“It’s a long story,” I replied. “Right now, I think we’d better- OH BUCK!”

Sunset had just torn the entire front of the school apart. Bricks, mortar, and glass were crumpled up in a black aura and dumped in the courtyard. I could hear screams of terror inside and I realized the other students had left the dance to find out what was going on. There were flashes of green and black light inside and the screams quickly faded away into nothing. Sunset flew out and landed on the front steps, followed by a scene that made my heart stop. The other students began shuffling out of the school with blank faces and glowing green eyes. Sunset’s gaze focused directly on me, her eyes pure black with sickly green irises around her pupils.

"Get out of here you pathetic little boy. I'll find a use for you later once I have the leisure to break your mind."

Sunset pointed at me and before I could react I was engulfed in green energy. With a flick of her wrist, she sent me flying across the courtyard again. I skidded to a stop and got up to my feet as quickly as I could. Sunset was floating in the air watching the students shuffle out while she looked at Twilight.

“I was bluffing when I said I was going to destroy the portal of course,” she cackled. “I don’t want to rule this pathetic little school; I want Equestria! And with my own little teenage army behind me, I am going to get it!”

“No, you’re not! We'll stop you.” Twilight shouted.

The other girls gathered near her and stared up at Sunset with defiant expressions. Sunset's expression shifted from amused to fury. She glared down at Twilight.

“You have interfered with my plans one too many times Twilight! It's time for you and your pathetic friends to die!”

She wouldn't.

My heart was racing and time seemed to slow down as I began to run towards where they were standing.

No!

Sunset began to form a massive ball of magical fire in her hands.

Faster.

Sunset released the fireball. It cast an angry red light over the courtyard as it began to fly towards the girls.

Run! We promised.

The girls clustered in close to hug Twilight and comfort her in their last moment.

Please let me be fast enough. I can't fail again.

I was running as fast as I could. I gathered my strength into my legs.

This is insane. There's no way.

For a moment I could see Twilight’s face clearly in the light from the fire. My only friend.

We have to do it. Jump now!

I put all my strength into my legs and sprang into the air. Sunset was cackling maniacally.

There's no way. I'm not going to make it.

The fireball was about to cross my path. I tried to move faster even though I was already in the air.

Maybe. Just a bit farther.

For a moment it felt like I was actually flying again. I felt myself relaxing and a sense of peaceful acceptance filled me.

We've got this.

The light of the fireball overwhelmed everything else. I crossed my bracers in front of my face and prepared myself.

No regrets. Goodbye Twilight.

Then the fireball exploded against my chest in a burst of heat and pressure. Everything went white and I dimly felt something hit my back.

Did we protect them?
I don't know.

My ears were ringing from the explosion and everything else was a haze of pure pain. My eyes felt like they were scorched but I forced them open. Through the blur of smoke and sweat, I could just barely see Twilight and her friends floating into the air, engulfed in a purple force field. My face was pressed against a cold concrete surface but when I tried to lift my head, my body refused to cooperate.

They aren't hurt. They’re ok.
We did it.

One by one the six girls sprouted long ponytails and pony ears. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Twilight even sprouted feathery wings. I could feel the energy building in the air and my bones ached as the sky lit up with color as a rainbow of magical beams flew out from the girls, hitting the other students and engulfing Sunset Shimmer’s demonic form who was screaming silently. Or maybe I had just gone deaf.

Incredible. What a sight

The pain began to fade away and someone turned the lights in the courtyard out. One last thought drifted through my mind as it all ended, a thought that left me at peace with my choices. The only thought that mattered to me at that final moment.

Twilight won.

Author's Note:

With regard to the portal, I have decided it gives the traveler an appropriate fixed outfit when they become human no matter what they were wearing when they left Earth. The reason why this happens may be important later, so I'll leave it be. For your consideration: In Equestria Girls Twilight leaves in the fall formal dress from Rarity. When she returns in Rainbow Rocks she arrives wearing the same clothes from her first arrival. The fate of the gown is still unknown.

Comments

[2x]

Does that mean he almost looks like how he was before he lost his parents, body and all?

[Battlecat]

7646222 - I expect they won't go away that easily. There is a reason why as well; it's not just cruelty.

[Alot Master]

*sees text in gray*
BEGONE!