Our Name Across The Multiverse: 10 years later

by DATONETWIxDASHFAN

Chapter 16: Asking For Help

Within the Crystal Empire stairway to the treasure vault, the darkness became filled with streams of flames, and both Dashie and Tempest were running for their lives as they dodged the flames and reached for the top. Behind them, they could see Sunset as this new flame demon and her new follower, a pink flame demon version of Cadence. They could hear Sunset yelling as she kept flying towards them and shooting her flames.

"TWILIGHT! WHERE IS TWILIGHT!?" demanded demon Sunset as she kept blasting the two non stop.

"She's not here!" Dashie said, in her pony form, flying around and dodged the flames. "Why do you even want her, Sunset!?"

Sunset blocked their path with a wall of flames, and standing in front of both mares, she said, "My name is Sunfall!" She made fire in her palm and made a fist. "And Twilight, she stop me at Canterlot High School, but not this time!"

Dashie reacted to hearing that, "What? My old high school? You weren't even there, and the same with your Twilight."

"Remember what the evil mare said?" said Tempest, unleashing her firework blast magic, pushing Sunfall back, teleporting herself and Dashie to the exit, and locking the door shut. "A copy of the prime universe. She might be a copy of another universe Sunset, whose story ended or continued to be different than my universe, Sunset."

"Great," said Dashie, pulling her arm near her face as she was about to turn on her watch to call Twilah, but they were blasted back as the door was blown off and Sunfall was standing there.

"I'm not just a copy. I'm Sunfall, the queen of the sun and chosen savior to my master, and I'm going to kill Twilight and the rest!" she said, her body burning and her flames growing bigger.

Tempest got up and stood in front of Dashie. "Get going and warn Twilah. I'll hold her off."

"Tempest..." said Dashie, trying to get up, but Sunfall sucked in tons of air and released a giant flame breath towards them, and Tempest couldn't create a shield in time, but...

"What?" said both mares as a blue shield appeared around them, and landing in front of them were Shining Armor and his daughter, Flutterheart. Soon, the guards came rushing in with their shields up. The whole hallway was in flames, and Sunfall stopped her attack and watched them all.

"Prince Armor," bowed Tempest.

"What's going on!? We sensed great evil magic and came here!" asked Armor, turning to them, "Where's my wife?"

"Dad! Look!" shouted Flutterheart, making her father turn back. He couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Cadence?" he said, shocked as his now-former wife walked out of the flames, revealing her demon form.

"Shining Armor. We were once married in my old life and have a daughter together. If only you could join me, then we can be together again and rule this land."

Armor shook his head, not believing what his wife was saying, and turned back to Dashie. "Go. Get help! We'll hold them off!"

Tempest and Dashie nodded, taking off as the guards attacked, and Shining Armor was using his magic to protect the guards that had lost their shields when Sunfall blasted them away with her blazing arms. Flutterheart was going to fight her mother, but she was suddenly in a blue bubble shield. She looked at her father, who said nothing and teleported her away.

"Darling, don't make me hurt you!" said Cadence, sending a fireball at her lover.

Armor used his magic, deflecting the fireball and sending it back, hitting her and making her fly back to the floor.

"I'm sorry, but I won't allow our kingdom to fall. You can fight it, darling! This isn't you!" He called out, hoping his love could reach her, and his hope burned brightly as he saw Cadence on her knees and fighting it.

"Shining!?" struggled Cadence as she tried to fight it. "H-Help me!"

Shining Armor smiled, running up to her and hugging his lover. "It's ok, darling. I'll get your help. Just hang on, please. Twi can change you back or-"

"I will!" she said, smirking, and her horn lit up, and she stabbed him in the chest, making him cough up a tiny amount of blood. She stood up as she watched her dear husband drop to the ground, slowly becoming like her—a fire demon. "We can rule together now. We just need to find our sweet daughter!"

Shining could feel his body changing and being powerless as his mind was being taken over. As he felt his body burning, he turned back to look at his former wife with a sad look, seeing her smile, and she spoke.

"Don't worry. Flutterheart will soon join us and be our little girl again."

"...she won't. I believe in Twi and her friends. I believe in her family. You won't win." Armor dropped to the ground, screaming as he was completely taken over and stood back up as a blue-blazing Unicorn flame demon, with his horn burning blue heat. He walked over to his love, and they both nuzzled and watched as Sunfall infected the last guard, and now there were tons of different fire demon ponies among them, ready to serve their new queen.

"The Crystal Empire will be no more!" laughed Sunfall as she blasted the castle walls, exposing the daylight to her flames. "A flame kingdom will rise! Fallen Flames Kingdom and I, as their queen!" She soars out and, along with the fire demon guards, starts to set everything on fire, causing the kingdom to burn and infecting anyone they see. Flame Cadence looked at her husband as they stayed back and watched their kingdom burn to the ground.

"Darling, what about our daughter? What do we do if she gets in our way and doesn't want to join us?" asked Flame Cadence.
Blue Flame Armor turned to her, kissed her, and said, "Simple, we kill her. No matter how hard she tries, her fate is set. Her story will end like everyone else."

Flame Cadence is happy that he is finally by her side and not caring who gets in her way; they will burn everything to ashes, and no one can stop them. Not even their daughter.

"Let's go and find her, darling. The Fallen Flames Kingdom will be ready for her return, and whatever happens, her fate will be revealed." said Flame Cadence.

Her husband nodded, and they both flew off as the city burned, and soon, the entire empire was set on fire as the dark cloud covered the land.

Dashie and Tempest ran down a hallway, telling anyone they saw to flee, but they could see the flames outside and everything in flames. They knew this wasn't good; before they could move again, Flutterheart appeared before them and landed.

"Princess Flutterheart!?" bowed Tempest, but stopped midway as she saw the princess crying as she cursed her father for sending her away like that.

"Where's my mom and dad!? What happened to my mom!?" she asked, tears running down her eyes.

Tempest didn't want to tell her the truth, but she knew she couldn't hide it from her, and Dashie said, "Sunfall corrupted your mom. Some dark human-looking pony appeared and infected Sunset with a magic mirror. Sorry, we couldn't do anything to stop her."

"I see," said Flutterheart, her tears stopping and wiping them away, and her eyes glowing blue. "Dad must have known I'd be ok with you two. That's why he sent me away. He'll save mom!"

Tempest and Dashie didn't know how to comfort her, knowing that they wouldn't be able to save Cadence right now. They just nodded, and Dashie pulled out her watch but noticed it was damaged.

"No, I can't call Twilah now!"

"What is that, Rainbow Dash? Who's 'Twilah'? Aunt Twilight?" asked Flutterheart, as she and her family weren't there when Dashie and her family arrived here. She simply told her that she wasn't this universe's Rainbow Dash and turned back into a human, shocking her.

"Still, not surprising seeing a version of Kari here," smiled Dashie, pulling out a picture from her wallet, showing Flutterheart her human counterpart.

"What? Braver wasn't lying when she said she came from a different universe?" whispered Flutterheart as she held the picture.

Flutterheart gave back the picture and asked, what was the game plan? How or what were they going to do now? Dashie and Tempest said they didn't have one. So Flutterheart had one.

"Then we need to recover the crystal heart before it falls into their claws! I'll get the crystal heart, and you two will get everyone out of the kingdom and get some help. If dad is still here, he won't let mom be like this, and I'll help him. If not..." she started to worry but felt Dashie's hand on her head, petting her.

"Yeah, no kid. You need to get out of here first with Tempest. I'll get the crystal heart. I saw memories of it through Dash when we first fused ten years ago." She stopped petting her and quickly shut her down as she saw her about to argue. "No butts, kiddo. If the kingdom falls and we can't save your folks," she saw her tearing up, so Dashie quickly corrected herself, "Which we will! You need to stay safe as your the future ruler! Go with Tempest and find Twilah. I'll be fine. Just trust me. The smartest mind in my universe is here, and she's Twilight's counterpart. She can think of a way to save your home!"

Flutterheart nodded, but Tempest didn't like this plan. Mostly, she felt it was her fault for not protecting the princess from Sunfall.

"If anyone is going to stay, it should be me, Dashi-" Before she could finish, the ceiling above them blasted apart, revealing the three to demon Flame Armor and Flame Cadence. They hovered there, calling out to their daughter, who was backing away in fear and shock.

"Dad, not you too."

"Darling, you need to come with us. You're our daughter and the future right hoof of the Fallen Flames Kingdom and its queen Sunfall. It's time you become like us and be with your real parents. Give your story to our master. Walk down the truth path to the end."

Flutterheart shook her head, backing away, and was now hiding behind Dashie. "No! Dad! Fight it! You can't let this evil control you!"

Both her parents horns started to burn brightly as they said "Then we will burn your story and force the ending now, like our master wants."

They both fired their beams of fire, and Dashie quickly transformed into her anthro form, pushed Flutterheart out of the way, and took the full hit. Dashie felt the pain as the flames burned her blue fur and her clothes. She was on her knees, breathing heavily and slowly getting up, and Tempest was next to her, helping her.

"GO! NOW!" shouted Dashie as she used her wings to push the flames off, rushing to the fallen couple and tackling them back out of the ceiling.

Flutterheart wanted to join her but knew better and looked over to Tempest, who was fighting with herself to flee with her or help Dashie.

"Tempest, please! Get me to this, Twilah. Please!" cried Flutterheart, begging her.

Tempest hated doing this but had to; she grabbed her and teleported out of the empire, leaving Dashie and Flutterheart parents fighting each other in the sky.

---

Twilah sighed as she was done talking to the world leaders of Equestria and leaned back in her chair, watching them all leave the meeting room of the town hall while Ember, the current Dragon Lord of the Dragon Lands,

stayed in her seat. She's pretty big, almost the size of a large tree, as she grabs some remaining crystals from the snack bowel and bites one.

"Someone who's not really Twilight, you sure do act like her when talking to us during meetings. What did Spike say before? A universe copy or something?" asked Ember as she finished eating the rest of the crystals in one go.

Twilah got up, stretched, and said, "I'm from a different universe, a variant of Twilight, you know. I'm not really a pony, but I felt it would be best to not scare you and the rest of the leaders." She looked at her watch and asked Ember why she was still here since the meeting was over.

"Oh, right. The reason I stayed is because..." She shook the empty bowel, and nothing came out as she ate all the crystals and diamonds in the snack bowel. "Were these treats, but since they're gone, See ya." She stood up and headed for the door, but stopped. "I'll send some dragons to help with the black water problem. Our bodies can resist any form of heat; I'm sure we-"

Twilah, tapping her hologram keyboard on the watch, quickly spoke, cutting her off. "Won't work. The first thing I did was put a scale that Spike gave me, into the water and it melted. Your dragon scales don't stand a chance, Ember."

"Damn. Then why didn't you tell us about the scale during the meeting? You requested my race to help, didn't you?" asked Ember, turning to face Twilah.

"If I did, then the leaders would question what to do and start to panic. We don't need the whole world to start freaking out. If they learn that there might be no way to remove the black water, then they'll be even more panicked, and I don't want to deal with them freaking out right now, so I'm not telling them. I already made a few solutions, but I can't test them out right now. I need to visit the Canterlot refugees; my Spike is telling me they're protesting and starting to riot." She looks at Ember with a small smile. "But spending your people isn't a bad thing. Ponies and other creatures seeing dragons helping out here will raise morale, and the thought that your species can withstand the black water will calm everyone for a while."

Ember nodded, not liking lying to the refugees of Ponyville. "Fine, I'll send a group of my finest to come here. Also, don't forget what I said about dragons not resisting the black water, Twilight. When you get the chance, I want you to tell the leaders the truth, got it?"

Twilah didn't reply; she simply looked away, not giving her answer, as she went back to her work on her watch, but she did say, "It's Twilah."

Ember apologized and closed the door as she left, leaving Twilah alone, as Spike's voice could be heard from the watch.

"The gateway is opening. Better hurry; they're gathering at the front door. So be ready for anything."

Twilah nodded, saying, "I am. Just open it."

A small light flashed, and a purple portal appeared. Twilah walked into the portal and disappeared.

Just as Twilah left, Ember came back in, as she remembered something: "Hey, by the way, I saw this white-haired pony-looking creature while coming here, and she flew by with a black-haired pony-looking creature. They were fighting and just disappeared into this-Twilah?" She looked around and saw no one in the meeting room. "Guessing, she teleported away. "

She was about to leave when Tempest and Flutterheart appeared on top of the table.

"Twilah!" shouted Tempest, not seeing her anywhere but seeing Ember in the doorway, waving at them as she was confused. "Where's Twilah, Princess Ember?" she asked, bowing, but was told she just missed her as she left somewhere, and Tempest cursed under her breath as she realized that Twilah headed to that pocket universe to help with Canterlot refugees. She quickly asked Ember to watch Flutterheart and told the young alicorn to explain what's going on to the Dragon Lord, as she needed to find her friends and gather Twilight's friends. They needed everyone to deal with the problem in the Crystal Empire, and she soon teleported away.

"What's going on?" asked Ember, sitting in her chair and looking at the scared young princess. "What's happening in your home?"

---

Back on earth, Blitz was having a nightmare as she helplessly watched Lucy being chased by the black slime monster, and it slowly opened its jaws, revealing the waterfall of rainbow liquid.

"LUCY!" screamed Blitz, trying her hardest to reach her, but the monster jaws came down and ate Lucy, causing Blitz to shoot out of her bed and shout out Lucy's name. She quickly realized she was dreaming and fell back in bed. Her chest was beating hard and fast as she slowly started to calm down, but tears rolled down her cheek as she could still see Lucy getting eaten.

She suddenly smelled something and could see black smoke coming from the closed door. She ran to it and opened it. The hallway had black smoke, and she could see Dash opening her door and saying what's going on, but she looked back in the room and quickly darted to the kitchen, saying, "Twilight cooking!"

"Shit!" said Blitz as she followed her down stairs, rushing to the kitchen and seeing the fire on the stove. As Twilight, still being naked, tried to ask the toaster AI what to do,

"Serra, how do I stop the fire!?"

"Sorry, I didn't get that. Can you repeat that?"

Blitz rushed in and grabbed the fire extinguisher and put the flames out; the fire was no more, but the smoke was still there.

Blitz sighed as she sat at the kitchen table and could see burned eggs.

"You can't cook, Twi. Why did you try cooking breakfast?" asked Dash, taking the pan and tossing out the burned eggs.

Twilight sat in the chair and felt sad. "I thought with this universe cooking tech and Serra here, I could finally make something for once." She looked and watched as Dash started to make breakfast with no problem, making her jealous. "This isn't fair."

"You're a smart girl, Twilight, just not good at cooking. So no use in trying to learn when someone else can do it for you." laugh Dash as she took out eggs, but Blitz got up and told her to make some breakfast sausage as she needed to get ready as Sunset should be coming soon and went upstairs to get ready for the day. Dash held the weird pack. "Sausage? Never heard of that," she shrugged and read on the pack how to make it.

---

Sunset, wearing a rock band t-shirt, blue jeans shorts, and flip-flops, finally reaches Blitz House and knocks on the door. She started to play the guitar as her headphones were on her ears, blasting her favorite band songs as she waited. She was a few minutes late due to her mom wanting her to drop something off at the post office, but she bet Blitz doesn't mind. She rang the bell, and she heard someone coming to the door. The door opened, and she freaked out and blushed as an upset and naked Twilight was at the door.

"SHIT! GET INSIDE!" shouted Sunset, pushing Twilight inside, looking outside, and hoping no one saw this.

She shut the door and sighed, but couldn't look at a confused Twilight, who asked if something was wrong.

"You are naked! That's the problem!" replied Sunset, keeping her eyes to the floor, as she was beet red and Twilight looked down and back at her.

"I don't understand you humans, my universe; we don't wear clothing unless it's for big events. Is it really bad that I can't be seen like this? What's wrong with nudity?"

Sunset couldn't believe it. How could someone not understand the importance of clothes? She took her headphones off and remembered where they were heading first before meeting everyone at the mall.

"It's because you're a female."

Twilight was confused and asked what's wrong with her being a female, but Sunset was getting even more embarrassed as she explained that it's different for girls and boys.

"Boys and girls don't show their skin around each other, especially not when one is naked. It's called shame, and we humans get very uncomfortable and embarrassed, especially boys, when...you know, please, you know what I'm saying. This is giving me real-life physical damage."

Twilight started to laugh, and Sunset still didn't look up, as Twilight told her she understood the boy part.

"Oh, thank goodness," said Sunset, relieved and glad that Twilight understood, but Twilight still didn't understand the shame part and wanted to know more about what she meant, causing Sunset to die inside.

"Please stop. I can't take this much emotional damage trying to explain to a grown woman, who's really a pony, why being naked is wrong in my universe. It's too much."

Twilight apologized and went upstairs to wear a blanket. Sunset finally looked up and headed to the kitchen. She could see Dash eating a sausage link, and her eyes went wide as her taste buds were in heaven. Sunset realized something.

"Dash, where did you get that!?"

"Oh, hi Sunset. Blitz wanted this awesome thing for breakfast. What is this!? So freaking awesome!" Dash took another bit and was filled with joy and bliss.

Sunset gulped as she became worried. She asked Dash a question about what her pony race normally eats. She was told to eat eggs, toast, hay sandwiches, hay fries, hayburgers, and so on.

"Why do you ask?"

Sunset gulps again, trying to decide if she should tell her or not that she ate meat for the first time, and going by what they eat, they're not supposed to eat meat.

"I have to tell Blitz something," said Sunset as she turned around but saw Blitz's sister, Braver, half asleep and back in her human form. She watched as Braver sat at the table and ate the eggs with the sausage, also having the same reaction as her mom.

"This tastes wonderful! I want more!" said Braver, happily eating the last sausage from her plate.

"What's going on? What's taste great?"

Sunset turned around and saw Twilight coming into the kitchen in a large purple blanket. She sat down and saw Dash giving her a plate of weird-looking food. She picked up a fork and took one. Sunset watched as Twilight also joined them in the bliss.

"This tastes so amazing; what is it?"

"It's called 'sausage'?" answered Dash, holding the empty bag as she made the rest with no eggs.

"Can I have some more, please?" asked Twilight, wanting more, and Dash gave her more.

Sunset stepped away, went to the living room, and saw her friend coming down the stairs.

"DUDE! What did you eat when you were in your sister universe?"

Blitz got down and looked at her, as she was wearing her trademark purple jacket and running leggings and shoes.

"Well, they had eggs, bread, pasta, baked goods, and basically anything not related to meat. We could eat hay if we were in our pony forms. Why?"

Sunset pointed to the kitchen and the sound of enjoyment.

"What's wrong?" asked Blitz, as Sunset was freaking out and couldn't think of how to tell her.

"They ate meat today! Sausage!" said Sunset, panicking and pointing to the links on their plates. "They won't be the same when they return home! They'll start eating the talking pigs and cows! They'll be eating their own people in a way."

Blitz laugh "Pigs don't talk in their universe, but cows do. Anyway, that's fine. I'm a pony, remember?" Blitz turned into her normal pegasus form. "See, I didn't change—are you okay?" she asked, realizing Sunset looked freaked out. That's when it hit her. "They didn't tell you that I'm also a pony like them." Sunset said nope. "Really!? My sister is half slime and half Alicorn; how didn't you realize I'm also a pony like them? Heck, everyone called me Super Horse before Rainbow Comet finally got around and stuck. You know how much crap I had to do to get people to call me that?"

Sunset couldn't help but start to laugh as Blitz started to explain her trouble with creating tons of media accounts and such.

"Okay okay! I'm sorry! Sorry for being too stupid to put it together." She was about to head to the kitchen, but Blitz, in her human form, grabbed her hand, making her blush.

"I'm not calling you that. Sorry, I'm just stressing out. With protecting Lucy and beating her evil version." She put her other hand between her eyes and rubbed them. "Getting these three back home, getting my own parents back, hoping their bosses don't come knocking and not noticing something off with my parents copies, and hoping our friends don't freak out about me. I'm happy you took it well, but the others?" Blitz finally let go, but Sunset held her hand tight and turned to her.

"Dude, it's okay. I understand you are going through a lot right now. Don't worry too much; our friends will understand. You helped us a ton, and we love you no matter what you are. Trust me, we got your back." She smiled at her, hoping that would cheer her up, and it did.

Blitz smiled at her. "Thanks, Sunny."

Sunset punched her shoulder. "Sunset! Hate my real name, you ass! I love the nickname you gave me!".

Both girls started to laugh, while Braver and the others were watching from the kitchen entrance and smiling, but they all noticed something with Sunset, who was still blushing a bit.
"Oh," said all three.

After breakfast, everyone was in the living room, sitting down, and Blitz was going over the game plan as she stood in front of them. She pointed to Dash, who was wearing a YMCA shirt and work clothes now.

"Dash, that device in your hands is called a phone. You can call me by pressing that symbol there and looking for my name. I entered the street address of the Y, and you only have to work from noon to four today. Got it?" She saw Dash raising her and knew what she was going to ask: "No, you can't wear your jacket during those hours." Dash lowered her hand, making Blitz sigh. She then turned to Braver, who was in her anthro form; her wings were gone as she and Blitz could summon them at anytime, wearing a face mask, sun glasses, and a cute unicorn winter hat. "Sis, while in that form, you need to cast an invisibility spell on Twilight; we need to get her to the Rachel clothing store and get her measurements and some clothes right away and same with you, sis, you're taller than me, so my stuff won't fit you. I texted her boss that she had a family emergency and wouldn't be coming into work, and I got her the day off for today, but you have to go in the next day." She could see Twi looking a little worried about starting a new job. "It's okay. I'll explain later what you have to do." She turned to Sunset, but Braver raised her hand. "Yeah sis?"

"Who gave you this cute hat?" She pointed to the winter hat on her head as the eyes moved around a bit.

Blitz blushed and said it didn't matter, but Sunset answered, "Lucy gave it to her as a Christmas gift. She wears it during the winter." She felt a pillow hit her face.

"ANYWAY!" Blitz coughed and went on, "After we get you clothes, we will be heading to the mall and seeing my friend group. Lucy should also be there, and we'll explain everything to them in our meeting spot outside the mall. After that, I just hope they don't freak out." She claps her hands. "Okay, let's move out!"

They all cheered, ran out of the house, and headed out. Dash went her way, while the others went straight to the mall. It was a long walk, and few people were giving them looks, mostly because of the Braver winter hat. But Twilight was blushing, as it felt like people were looking at her more than her daughter's silly hat.

"I think I understand what Sunset might mean by shame and embarrassment now." She hid more in the blanket, blushing harder.

The girls got to the mall; it was the biggest mall in town and a very busy one. People walking, kids running, teenagers talking—the place was alive, and Twilight and Braver were a bit overwhelmed by the noise and activity. Blitz pointed to the large building near it; it wasn't as big as the mall but still pretty big for a clothing store.

"That is the clothing store, Rachel's Closet. They make clothes, sell them here and a few other places around the world, and have their own website. You can find any style of clothing, from casual to business to formal to even dresses. Aunt Rachel is pretty famous in the clothing industry." The girls could see a few models walking out of the store, wearing the latest fashion of Rachel's design.

"Wow. Your Rarity is really famous." Braver was amazed at Rachel's designs. "This is amazing!"

"I can't wait to see how your Rarity looks." Said Twilight, trying not to get too excited but still was.

"Alright, let's go in," said Blitz, and they entered the building.

"WOW!" shouted Twilight and Braver, seeing the wide range of clothes.

"Hey girls! Glad you came!" A woman shouted in the shoe area. It was Rachel, and she was wearing a white dress, a purple fur coat, matching purple lipstick, and black high heels.

"Hi Aunt Rachel," called out Blitz as she ran towards her and hugged her, while Sunset walked over and nodded at her.

"Blitz, darling, where have you and your mothers been? The girls and I were getting worried when you just vanished three days ago."

Blitz scratch the back of her head. "Yeah, about that. Can we talk in your office?"

Rachel raised her brow but didn't say anything and took the girls to her office, which was a fancy-looking room with a large wooden desk and chair, a couch, a mini bar, and a few clothes designs on the wall. She let them in but looked surprised as Braver followed them in and was about to shut the door, but it felt like someone was holding it open to get inside. She soon felt it being free and shut it. She sat in her chair and asked if anything was okay.

"Rachel, before I say anything, Sunset knows who I am now. So it's okay to talk freely now."

"Oh?" Rachel gave Sunset a big smile. "I thought Lucy was the one you liked and was going to be the first person in your friend group to know who you really are." She winked at Sunset, making her blush and twiddle her fingers.

Blitz shook her head. "We can talk about that later. I have something else to talk about. This is my twin sister, Braver. The one I talked about."

That got Rachel attention, and she was staring at Braver, who was looking away and playing with her hat but soon took it off with the mask and sunglasses, revealing what looked like Blitz in her superhero form but also having Twilah hair style. Rachel stood up, walked over, and touched her cheeks.

"You look just like your sister! Just different hair styles!"

Braver blushed and smiled. She had always wanted to meet Rachel, ever since Blitz told her about her aunts.

"Hi, I'm Rainbow Braver Sparkle. Nice to meet you."

Rachel kneeled down and said her own name. She wanted to know a few questions, like why she was here and such.

"We'll explain, but first, Braver, turn back into a human; Rachel needs to meet Twilight."
Braver nods and becomes a human girl again, making Rachel cry a bit.

"My word, it's like looking at a double. You two are truly twins." She then had a thought. "But wait. Who's Twilight? I see no one...else!?" She froze as she saw Twilight towering over her and removing the blanket from her head. "...Twilah?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, well, kind of. My name is Twilight Sp-"

"Sparkle. The one that Twilah met ten years ago, when she and Dashie and their counterparts saved Blitz and her dear sister... I thought you were a pony."

Twi scratched her head. "To be honest, I have no idea why I'm like this."

Rachel suddenly knew why they're here as she looked back at Twilight's tall body. She soon learned what's going on from Blitz as she measured Twilight.

"I see, so that's what's going on." She turned to Blitz. "Are you going to fight that crazed version of Lucy by yourself? Even with your sister by your side, it sounded like it wasn't enough! Will you be okay!?" She was worried, and Blitz placed her hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"I will, Aunt Rachel, because I have friends by my side."

That made Rachel smile. "I'm glad," she hugged her. "You also have us, your aunts, on your side too. Even if it's small, we will help you as best we can! Just like your mothers did."

"Thanks, Aunt Rachel. We'll do our best and keep you informed."

"Thank you." She let go and went to her computer, picked out Twilight's new clothes, and then went over to Blitz's sister. Even though they're twins, she could tell Braver is slightly taller and more built. She was about to measure, but I could see her looking scared. "What's wrong, dear?"

Blitz pulled Rachel to the side, explaining that Braver is part slime and how their universe gave her both genders. Braver dug deeper in her chair, feeling beyond scared that Rachel knew what was down there. She shut her eyes as she heard the tapping from Rachel heels, felt her hands on her own, and heard the caring voice, which sounded exactly the same as Rarity.

"You are you, sweetie. Don't be ashamed of your body, even if you have two gender parts down there. I see no shame in your body, as your body is a work of art and beautiful. No matter how many parts or lack of them, You are still you, and I would love to make clothes for you."

Braver shot open her eyes, and with her watery eyes, she thought she saw Rarity, but when she wiped them away, it was Rachel. No matter the universe, Rarity was caring and loving. She allowed her to measure her body and sat back down.

"I think a sundress and a few casual clothes for her would do."

Rachel nodded to herself and went back to her computer. Blitz went and hugged her sister, glad she wasn't scared anymore. Meanwhile, Twilight had tears in her own eyes and was wiping them away.

"Okay, here's the list of clothes I picked out. Take the list and get them. They're on me, so don't worry about paying anything."

"Really? Thanks, Aunt Rachel!"

"You're welcome. Oh, and sunset. Here's some of my new line. Try them on." She handed her a bag full of clothes, and Sunset was shocked and was about to protest, but she was shoved out the door. "Go! No butts! You have a great body, and..." she whispers into her ear, "Blitz will like seeing you in them." she winks, causing Sunset to blush hard and hurry out with Braver.

She chuckled. "Come back and show me too."

Sunset rolled her eyes, and she left with Braver, but Blitz stayed behind.

"Twi, stay here. The changing room will be too small for your size. I'll get you your clothes and bring them here." Twi nodded, and Blitz turned to Rachel and asked, "Hey, um, do you have the 'thing' I ordered from you?"

"Thing?"

"Don't play dumb; you know what I'm talking about." blush Blitz.

Rachel giggles and goes over to her desk, pulls a long flat box, and hands it to Blitz, who opens it. She saw Blitz smile.

"Sunset helped a ton and covered my ass last night. This was her birthday gift, but she earned it now." She closed the box, thanked Rachel, and shut the door. Twilight sat on the floor and watched Rachel open the blinds, looking at the girls looking for the clothes on the list. Twilight smiled, as she knew that look.

"Different Rarity, but still the same. Doing matchmaking."

Rachel looked back. "There's nothing wrong with pushing the right buttons, so to speak." She returned looking at the girls and seeing Sunset smiling. "To be honest, I was rooting for Sunny rather than Lucy. She was Blitz's first friend."

"Really?" Twilight was surprised, thinking Lucy was Blitz's first friend, like Braver and Dawn.

"Yes. Sunny Shimeren was a bully and a troublemaker. Her father died during her birth, and her mother has problems, and she was always getting into fights with other students. When Blitz came to live here, it was she who changed Sunny from the worst to the best. It was thanks to Blitz that Sunny Shimeren turned a new leaf. Sunny is a good girl now. She's a great friend to have around my darling Blitz and is a sweet heart."

"Wow, care to tell me how it happened?"

"Gladly, since Blitz is busy and we have plenty of time." Rachel sat next to Twilight and told the story.

---

5 years ago
Blitz came to our universe during the tail end of summer and started her first school year in middle school here, as Twilah had to create fake paperwork on her and such. To the world, Blitz is adopted by Twilah and Dashie, as her real parents died in a freak accident, leaving her alone with no other family. Word travels far in a town like this, even more so when the smartest woman in the world has a kid now. It caused her to be an outcast and to be picked on, and soon, Sunny got her sights on her.

A young Sunny sat in class

, not giving a crap about history, but looked over to Blitz,

who was writing in her note book. She could hear some of her classmates talk about Blitz and not liking that she's in their school, making them look bad as she's an adopted kid to the smartest woman in the world. She didn't care one bit about that, but bullying a kid like her for lunch money will be fun. She smirked.

After class, Sunny cornered Blitz, who was trying to make her way to her next class, but Sunny was standing in the way and the hall was empty. She was ready to take her lunch money.

"I'm going to take your lunch money. I'll make it easy; give it now, and I won't hurt you."

Blitz looks confused.

"Why do you want my lunch money? Do you need money? I could ask my mom, "

"Your moms?" Sunny sneer. "You were adopted by a woman who doesn't have kids and is dating another woman. They're not your parents. Now, I'll take that money." She grabbed Blitz by her purple jacket.

"I don't understand."

Sunny's sneer turned into anger. "Just because your mom is smart and famous doesn't mean you are! You're no different from any other kid in this school, so just give me the damn money."

Blitz smiled, leaving Sunny confused.

"You really think so! I'm the same as everyone else here!?"

Sunny nods, not sure what's going on.

"SWEET!" shouted Blitz, doing a silly dance, making Sunny a bit happy. "This is awesome! I'm normal!"

Sunny didn't know what she meant by that, but she didn't care and grabbed her again, but she could see Blitz giving her lunch money.

"Take it! I don't need it; you can have it."

Sunny took the money but was confused and angry, thinking she's playing around and making her a fool of herself, and hit her in the face.

"You're messing with me! Give me your money every day, unless you want more than a bruise."

Blitz looks surprised.

"What did I do?"

"I know you're trying to trick me, like you're smart or something."

"Huh? But I'm not."

"Just shut up and have my money every day."

Sunny was going to hit her again, but Blitz caught her fist and shocking to see how strong and fast she is.

"Stop it. Why are you hitting me?"

"Because you're a loser and no one wants you here. Easy prey."

Blitz was a shock. "Is that why everyone is mean to me? What do I do wrong? How can I fix it?"

Sunny could see she was being honest and let her fist go.

"Just...don't act weird?" She said, "Like that stupid dance you did. You look lame. Just be cool and be nice."

"Cool and nice, got it." Blitz smile.

Sunny didn't know how to feel or respond, so she walked away. She didn't care, as she was set for life by getting free food.

---

The next day, Sunny saw Blitz talking to other kids, taking her advice, and trying to act cool and nice. It wasn't going so well. She didn't seem cool or nice.

"You don't need to be friendly. Just be chill." Sunny told her after class, counting the lunch money she got from Blitz.

"Oh, okay." Blitz smiled, making Sunny ask why she's giving her that look and not being cool.

---

Few days later after school, out behind the school, Sunny was enjoying Blitz lunch money with the food and drink she bought, but she could see older kids walking up to her and smirking.
"What do you assholes want?"

"I heard you were taking lunch money from a kid."

"So what?"

"Well, she's our prey, and we don't like others touching what's ours."

"You mean, Blitz? She's a wimp, and I got her first."

"We still don't like you hanging with our prey. Get it?"

Sunny drank her can of soda, crushed it on her head, and tossed it away, ready for an fight. "And I should care, why?"

The boys laughed and said, "You got some balls on you."

Sunny narrowed her eyes at them and said, "Damn right."

"But not for long."

They threw the first punch, hitting her square in the nose. Sunny was shocked and pissed off and started fighting back.
A little later, Sunny was sitting on the steps, nursing her wounds, feeling proud that she had taken on all those older kids and won. She heard someone coming, and it was Blitz, looking surprised and worried.

"Oh man, what happened?"

Sunny didn't look at her. "It's none of your business, so buzz off."

Blitz was concerned and was going to ask her questions, but ton of boys came over. Some are much older than hers.

"You think you can beat us up?" one of the boys asks.

"Didn't I?" replied Sunny with a mocking tune.

"Really? Well, let's see how strong you are."

The boys went at her, and the one who talked pulled out a brass knuckle and punched her in the face, breaking her nose, spitting blood out, and kicking her in the chest, knocking her back. Sunny was on her knees, holding her broken nose.

"See? Not so strong, are you, little girl?"

They all laughed, and Sunny was ready for another beating and was surprised that Blitz stepped between them and the boys.

"Move."

"No." Blitz replied, her voice cold and serious.

"Oh? And what are you going to do? Cry to mommy."

"No," she said, taking a fighting stance. "I'm going to kick your ass."

The boy laughed, and one of his friends smacked Blitz in the face, but she took it and acted like nothing happened.
"Oh, we have a tough guy," said another.

They all started laughing, and one went at her and threw a punch. Blitz dodged it and punched him in the gut. He went to his knees and coughed hard. Sunny watched as Blitz was quick in moving around the boys, knocking each one down to their knees, and finally reaching the oldest boy with the brass knuckle.

"Walk away, and we'll forgive you." said the boy, being nervous.

"Sorry. Can't."

"What?"

Blitz narrowed her eyes at him and became mad. "You can't hurt my friend."

They started to laugh and pointed at her, "She's not your friend, you wimp. She's just bullying you for your lunch money."

Blitz shook her head. "She's not, and I'm going to make sure no one hurts her anymore."

"And who's going to stop us?"

"Me." Blitz answered, and the boy sneered and went to hit her in the face. "Not so tough, are you?" but became shocked as Blitz just took the punch and slowly looked at him with pure rage in her eyes.

"Not without her." Blitz replied, punched the boy in the face, and knocked him to the ground. She turned around and went back to the other boys, beating them until they cried and ran away.

Sunny didn't understand what happened. She just watched as Blitz beat those guys to tears and ran away. She could see blood on the knuckles of her fist. She didn't understand.

"Blitz?"

She heard Sunny call her name, and she went over and checked her injuries.

"You okay!?"

Sunny was shocked at how caring and concerned Blitz is.

"Don't worry. It's just a broken nose. I'll be fine."
Blitz sigh. Glad it wasn't more than that. She watched as Sunny got up and walked away. She called out to her, "Where are you going?"

"Away from you."

Blitz stood up. "But I'm your friend. Right?"

Sunny didn't answer.

"We're friends, right?"

Sunny just left, leaving Blitz alone.

---

A few days later, Sunny ignored Blitz, as she didn't want her to be targeted by other bullies, especially the ones who broke her nose. So when she saw a bully going over to Blitz, she would step in and beat their ass.

"Why are you protecting her!?" asked the boy, running away.

Sunny looked at her fist and asked the same question.

A few days later, Sunny was walking home when she saw a big fight in the alleyway. She didn't care about the fight but was shocked to see Blitz was in it. She was fighting older kids and winning. She could see her getting bruised, but she was still winning. She didn't understand why she was fighting.

Blitz won and was nursing her wounds before leaving. Sunny walked up to her and stopped her.
"What are you doing? You could get hurt!"

"But you fight."

"Because I'm used to it."

"What do you mean?"

Sunny turned away to leave. "Nothing. You shouldn't be getting into fights, okay? That's not like you."

Blitz grabbed her hand. "I'll get into fights for my friend." Sunny turned around and asked what she meant. "They were after you, not me. I heard they were going to jump you and hurt you. I didn't want you to get hurt."

Sunny was confused. "We're not friends."

Blitz smiled. "Sure we are."

She pulled her arm away. "No. We're not. Why do you think that? You weirdo!"

"You help me."

"No, I didn't."

"You gave me advice, tried to help me, and beat up those older kids who were bullying me. You were protecting me. That's what friends do."

Sunny sneer "Well, you're wrong."

"So, you don't care about me?"

Sunny didn't answer.

"You don't, then why are you here? Worried about me getting hurt? You could have walked away and not cared. So, you do care about me or what?"

"I don't," blushed Sunny, looking away.

"You do." Blitz smiled.

Sunny blushed more. "Do not."

"You do."

"Do not!"

"You do!"

"Don't."

"Do!"

Blitz held her hands and put a stupid grin on her face as Sunny blushed. "Someone told me a lesson about helping others. I want to help those who can't help themselves. Because if I were in your shoes, I would need someone to help me. That's my fighting spirit! The spirit of someone who doesn't care about the odds or anything; they fight because they want to, but also to help those in need. I want to help you, no matter the cost, no matter the pain or sacrifice. If that makes me an idiot, then I'm a big freaking idiot! Just like Flash!"

Sunny could see how serious and truthful she was, but she pulled her hands away from Blitz and stepped far back.
"Yeah, you're an idiot, alright. I don't need protection, and I don't need help."

"Sure you do."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"You're not helping!" shouted Sunny, her face red.

"Heat taught me that it's okay to ask for help. She opened my eyes and let me see that I wasn't alone and that she and the others would always be with me, no matter the odds or the situation; they'd always be there for me. So, you aren't alone in all this. Just ask for help, and you'll see. It may not change everything, but you'll feel better and be stronger for it. Remember that." Blitz walked up to her, reaching out her hand. "It's okay. I'm here for you. Even if you don't see me as a friend, I'll always be here for you. Even if no one else will be." She smiled and said, "You'll never be alone. Never."
Sunny didn't know how to handle it. She didn't want to cry in front of her, even if Blitz was acting nice and caring, even if it was annoying and stupid.

"If you're not my friend, then what am I?"

"A pain in my ass," replied Sunny, turning away and leaving.

Blitz chuckled and left the other way, but heard crying and turned back. Saw Sunny standing there, looking back at her.
"Sunny?"

"I don't need your pity." She started to walk away. "Just leave me alone," but before she could leave, she felt Blitz arms around her.

"I'll always be here for you." Blitz smiled.

Sunny blushed and pushed her away, running off.

---

The next day, Blitz finally had money for lunch, as Sunny didn't ask her today. She could finally try this school food. She sat down at a table all alone, like always, ready to dig in, but someone sat next to her. It was Sunny.

Sunny blushed and said, "What's up?"

Blitz, smile, and reply, "Nothing much. Just having lunch."

"Okay." She took a deep breath and said, "Thanks."

Blitz didn't know what she meant and was going to ask, but Sunny didn't want her either.

"For what?"

"Being there for me."

"You're welcome. Want some of my lunch?"

"Sure."

Blitz was surprised but glad and shared her lunch with Sunny. They both ate together and laughed.
After school, they hung out at the park, and they sat on a swing while Sunny was playing with her feet.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"All this. Being nice and friendly. No one likes a friendly person. That's just asking to be beat up. What's the catch?"

"No catch."

"I find that hard to believe. So, why?"

"Because you need a friend."

Sunny sneered, got off the swing, and started to walk away.

"I see something in you too."

"Yeah? What?"

Blitz asked her to stand over there, and she did.

"I see a beautiful sunset in you. You're so colorful and warm." Blitz smiled as Sunny was standing in front of the setting sun, the wind blowing her orange and red hair, and crying as her cheeks were red as the setting sun. "I'm happy I met you. Meeting such a warm and beautiful girl just makes me happy."

Sunny wipes her tears. "You're such a weirdo. You really are." but her blushed never left.

"So, you want to hang out more?"

"Only if..." Sunny turned around and looked at the sunset. "You call me Sunset from now on. I like it."

"Okay, Sunset." Blitz smiled.

Sunset blushed, and they went over to the swing and started playing on them.

---

"Sunset started to chill out when she was around Blitz, to the point she became laid back and relaxed. She stopped being a troublemaker and became a kind, sweet girl like you see in front of you." Rachel sighed "That Blitz, darling, sweeping that girl off her feet like that and still haven't noticed she loves her. It was a real shame Blitz fell in love with Lucy; I really wanted Sunset to be the one. Oh well. I guess it's not meant to be. Fate, one can say."

Twilight looked at Blitz and Blink but didn't see anyone. She thought maybe she would see Heat or Flash standing there, but nope, no one but a rainbow blanket girl... "Wait, what?" She could see the blanket girl behind Blitz and Sunset, but stopped and looked at a puffy rainbow jacket and touched it. "Who is that?" thought Twilight, but when she blinks again, she is gone.

"Everything okay, Twilight, darling?" asked Rachel, noticing how Twilight was looking weird.

Twi shook her head, saying she's okay and just saw something, but her eyes were playing tricks on her.

---

Blitz and the rest of the girls exited the store, waved goodbye to Rachel, and headed to the mall, leaving Rachel alone and watching Twilight get stares since she is so tall. She sighed, took out her phone, and dialed a number. The phone rang until someone picked up the other end.

"AJ? It's me. Listen, Blitz is in real trouble and needs our help. Get Penny, and I'll get Faith, and let's meet up at the bar right now. I need to tell you what's going on."

---

Inside the mall, Blitz and everyone waited in the food court for an hour, making Blitz look at her phone.

"Where is everyone?" asked Blitz.

"They'll be here," replied Sunset, looking at her phone.

"Maybe they got caught up in something?" asked Twilight.

"Possibly." Blitz, mumble, and drip in her chair, but she heard her phone text going off and read it, groaning in annoyance.

"Who is it?" asked Braver, looking over.

Blitz tossed the phone on the table. "Everyone in the group chat. They're busy with stuff. Even Lucy is busy helping her folks with the up-coming church fair.

Sunset joined in that annoyance. "Damn guys..." she turned to Blitz. "Now what?"

Blitz got up and turned to a long green-haired girl who's wearing a brown shirt, blue jeans, and a flip-flop. "Least Wallflower came!".

The rest of the group got spook as they could see a girl sitting with them and was wondering where she came from.

"Christ, Wallflower. You need to stop doing that." laughs Sunset, feeling like she's getting a heart attack. "I swear you're a freaking ninja in how well you hide your presence."

Wallflower chuckled, "Sorry, didn't mean too. I just got here, and even then..." she looked over to Blitz and smiled with a blush. "Blitz can always tell I'm always here."

Sunset noticed the blush and said whatever, not liking how most of their friend group likes Blitz. "I liked her first than anyone else," she whispered.

"So what's wrong? You sounded worried in the group chat and wanting to explain in person." Wallflower asked, concerned.
Blitz was going to answer her question and head to their spot, but her phone went off, and she saw a number and went pale as she answered it. Everyone watched her nodding and shouting, 'What!?' and saying they'd be there soon and hanging up.

"Who was it?" asked Sunset.

Blitz faced them, and then at Twilight, saying, "Dash got fired and is in jail."

---

Tempest returned with everyone in the meeting room and sighed as she and the rest of her friends looked at the chaos behind them.

"Nice hat!" shouted JA as she and AJ were wrestling with each other while Starlight pulled them apart with her magic.

"Rock candy?" asked Pinkie's counterpart to Flutterheart, but Pinkie slapped it out of her hoof, saying, "That prank is too mean, Quartz Rockie Pie!" Both started to yell at each other about what true laughter means to them.

They turned and could see Fluttershy calming her counterpart down as her other self whispered, "War...what is it good for?" She rose, hooves in the air, "EVERYTHING! War is like a GAME of chess! WITH GUTS ON TOP OF IT!" Fluttershy tried harder to calm her down. "Please, Flutterwar! Calm down; you aren't in the war right now!"

"But we need war!" She turned around and saw Fluttershy and smiled, "Shy! Are you a war horse too!?"

Fluttershy was going to answer, but Flutterheart flew into the air and shouted, "Wars and battles and fighting and killing and destruction are the best things in life, and if you don't like them, you are a pussy; you hear me, a pussy!" then she drop down, breaking down and crying.

They looked over to Rarity, who's wearing a biohazard suit, while her counterpart is standing next to her, coughing all over her.

"Clarity. Please, darling, can you cough somewhere else?"

"Oh, sorry. I guess my sickness is contagious." Charity turned to Flutterheart and said, "I'm badly sick; can you give me money? Or take care of me." Rarity pushed Clarity away from the princess and shouted, "Stop that! Stop asking for things!"

Flutterheart turned to Tempest, asking what's going on, but Cozy just said, "We're so fucking boned."

Suddenly the door slammed open, and Ember walked in and shouted, "Good! Everyone is here! We can get going."

"We?" asked everyone, while Flutterheart smiled nervously.

Ember had a big smile on her face. "I'm coming too!"

"I take that back." Cozy poke Tempest side "We're super fucking boned now."

Tempest eyes simply twitched as Ember walked over, giving her a thumbs up, while the fighting behind her started up again.

End of Ch16