Glim-Glam's Unusual Expedition
The Power of Love
Starlight Glimmer threw the doors open as she stepped through. Despite being shut down for nearly a century, the theater looked pristine. Brass fixtures shined brightly in the beam of light from behind, looking freshly polished. The seats look as nice as the day they were made. The carpet under her shoes was a brilliant crimson color, untouched by age.
"CHRYSALIS!" Starlight called out as she started down one the walkway. The doors slammed shut behind her, leaving her in darkness.
A spotlight turned on, and dark blue curtains opened.
There on stage stood Chrysalis. She was a tall, thin woman, whose body was formed primarily of straight lines with minimal curves. For the most part, she was dressed in an outfit that looked like it had been painted on, with the exceptions of a jacket with extremely puffy shoulders, and a top hat. Said hat was held up above her head as she posed like a pin-up from a magazine. The light made her dark skin glisten.
"Hello, Glimmer," Chrysalis said while grinning as best she could. "So glad you can make it." She turned forward and spread her arms wide, tossing the hat in the process. "What do you think?" Her grin widened, showing the long, sharp cuspids. "I figured it would be the perfect place for our big finale."
Starlight Glimmer now stood at the base of the stage, glaring at Chrysalis (which looked like every other expression Starlight bore, all of which could be described as "mildly constipated").
"Where's Trixie?!"
"Ah, yes," Chrysalis replied. "The damsel of our little play. She's in distress of course." Taking a step back, she turned and threw a hand upward.
Another spotlight turned on, revealing the young woman in question. High above the stage, Trixie hung upside-down, her body bound in ropes, and a bandana stuffed in her mouth. What portion of her normally well-tanned skin could be seen looked extremely pale in the spotlight, like she had lost a lot of blood, or had the color drained away. Directly beneath her was a magician's water tank, just large enough for one person, with fish of some sort swimming inside.
"TRIXIE!" Starlight called out. She jumped up onto the stage, running toward her bound girlfriend.
"Not so fast!" Chrysalis cried out. An aura of acid green energy engulfed her. "Beat Bugs!" The aura grew brighter as figure formed floating behind her. It took the shape of a lean, feminine form, covered in a glistening black shell. Over-sized green eyes glowed from an otherwise featureless face, with a similar glow emanating from gaps in the armor.
"Silver Mallet!"
The black figure shot forward, raising one arm. The outreached hand shifted, turning into a piece of metal the size and basic shape of a cinder block. The massive hammer head swung down, aiming for Starlight Glimmer's head.
Starlight jumped out of the way just in time, avoiding the attack.
"I put a lot of effort to get you here, Glimmer," Chrysalis stated. She bared her fangs. "Did you really think I was going to just let you take her and go?" One hand came up, pointer finger extended. "Oh, no. If you want to save your sweet and precious Trixie, then you're going to have go through me."
Starlight stood up, her eyes shifting from Chrysalis to Trixie, and back.
"We don't have to do this," she stated.
Chrysalis let out a chuckle as Beat Bugs appeared behind her again.
"That's fine with me," she declared. "I was hoping for at least an amusing fight," her grin widened and became predatory, "but I'll take just crushing you without a struggle.
"SILVER MALLET!"
Again, the massive hammer head appeared and Beat Bugs attacked. Then it attacked again. Then again and again. The Stand did not let up. Starlight Glimmer was able to dodge them, but they were getting closer and closer. Which meant that if she did not do something, she was going to get crushed.
Despite the risk, Starlight turned to look at Trixie.
They were both Stand Users, but it had been a while since Starlight had used hers. Even when Trixie had actually asked, she had refused. Although Trixie had been disappointed, it had not been too big a deal. She simply assumed that it was because her stand was stronger. Besides, Trixie loved to show off, and that included using Abracadabra.
In truth, it was because Starlight was afraid. She had been in a dark place when her stand appeared, and it reflected that. So she was afraid. Afraid that anyone who saw it, who saw that part of her, would be scared away.
Still, if the choice was having Trixie leave her or letting her die, Starlight knew which she preferred.
Closing her eyes, Starlight Glimmer reached down into herself and touched darkness she had buried years ago.
"MONSTER MAN!"
A black aura engulfed Starlight's form.
She opened her eyes just in time to see Beat Bugs coming at her, and instinctively threw up her arms.
Two massive arms covered in black fur appeared in front of Starlight, blocking the attack.
As Beat Bugs retreated and Chrysalis watched, the rest of Starlight Glimmer's Stand appeared. The arms ended in hands, with each digit having a massive, glittering claw. The body was thick with muscles, and covered in a coat of black hair. Its head was a cow skull, with blood stained steel horns. Red light glowed from the eye sockets, glaring at all it could see.
Chrysalis eyes narrowed as she grinned.
"Well, this just got interesting."
Huh. I actually expected the title to refer to Trixie not actually being there. "You Fool! You thought that was Trixie, but it was he! Chuck Testa!"
Stands usually reflect abilities based on the desires of the user. Those abilities tend to be part of their core.
Joseph for example. He was a savant with Hamon, and found all sorts of ways to extend his reach with it. His uncanny ability to predict what someone would say, combined with his trickery, form the basis for Hermit Purple, expanding his precognition and range with Hamon.
Kira required a means to dispose of evidence. He became more and more thorough, and Killer Queen’s invisible explosions reflect this well, along with Sheer Heart Attack ensuring no witnesses.
And cue Roundabout.
Also, I can't tell if this is a stealth Them's Fightin' Herds reference or not.
10287487
A reference so stealthy, not even I caught it.
But no, I wasn't thinking about it at the time.
All I can say is - wow. You have a MUCH wider range of anime knowledge than I do. By my admission, my anime knowledge is limited to Yu-Gi-Oh! (which was already covered), Dragonball (which was also already covered), Pokémon, One Piece, Sailor Moon, Lupin the Third (and even then, just a few episodes of the English dubs of those four shows), Astro Boy and One Punch Man (and, even then, only heard of those two). Still, have to greatly respect the work that is going into this. And the exchanges, characterizations, action, humor and future set-up are all quite well done.
And, yeah, might be amusing to see a chapter where Chrysalis is a mob boss that got robbed by Starlight and her gang and chased by Inspector Flash Sentry (who is actually after Starlight and her gang, but does stop to arrest Chrysalis after the right amount of evidence against her gets exposed [so, yeah, basically Lupin the Third with Starlight as Lupin and Flash as Inspector Zenigata]).
Or Chrysalis as a giant robot insect that gets trounced by a much smaller, but surprisingly powerful robot version of either Twilight or Starlight. (so, yeah, Astro Boy [or Astro GIRL in this case]).
Or Chrysalis as a ruthless magic-powered she pirate who runs afoul either Twilight or Starlight as another magic powered pirate (albeit a much more heroic one) with an oddball, but extremely powerful crew (so, yeah, One Piece).
Sorry about that. Got carried away with my thoughts (sheepish grin)
But in all seriousness, I AM looking forward to seeing which animes are going to be next.