Lightning Strikes Arc Part 1: Off to see the Wizard!

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It was not a well-known place, but it was there, Ponyville’s local orphanage, the place known as “Wayward House”. It received ample funding from City Hall despite its outwardly homey look. It blended well into the rest of Ponyville that anypony passing by thought it was just a daycare or a normal house. But that was the point; the ponies who made the place figured that the foals who come to places like this were probably sick and tired of being in a facility like in the bigger cities and towns. So this was a happy change of pace, although these foals were brought in from off the streets, broken homes, and troubled pasts, that didn’t mean they had to be denied the comfort of a home.

That was probably one of many things that Scootaloo liked about it. When Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran out to get her after she quit the Flag Team, she was worried what they would say, or how’d they look at her from then on. Thankfully, they were too focused on helping her to notice, and thankfully most of the staff and foals in the house were at the Crystal Empire to watch the tryouts. But I digress.

Today could have been better for Scootaloo, sure it started off alright. Waking up early in the morning (okay she didn’t like waking up early, but it was part of the daily routine), getting washed up and making her way to the breakfast table.

Scootaloo had found her usual spot at the table, sitting beside one her orphanage friends, Alula. Alula was a vanilla colored filly, with a purple mane and tail, and teal eyes; it was often hard to determine what she was from time to time. Sometimes Scootaloo would see her and she’d be a pegasus, other times she’d see her with a unicorn horn, and, for one brief occasion, both at once, or she wouldn’t have either. There were days when she thought about asking Alula why that was, but it didn’t matter to her, many of the foals here had secrets, and Scootaloo was no exception, if Alula wanted to tell her she’d listen, but neither would she pry into her personal business.

After eating, she broke out her scooter and hurried outside, after saying goodbye to the matron of the house, Scootaloo took off down the street, waving a goodbye to her orphanage friends with promises of seeing them at school.

When she did arrive at school it was business as usual. She met up with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle; they’d catch up on what happened yesterday, and start to formulate new plans for getting their cutie marks. But those plans were mostly in the planning stages, since today was scheduled Twilight Time. You’d think after spending most of the day being taught at school by Miss Cheerilee that the three fillies wouldn’t be interested in even more lessons. And, not to say that they didn’t like Miss Cheerilee’s lessons, but Princess Twilight helped them master different skills, whether or not it was their special talent was another story, but they did enjoy the lessons and seeing how far they could advance in their special skills.

But as it was said in the beginning, the day started out normally for Scootaloo, but that’s when things went bad. So bad, that Scootaloo was standing outside the school building close to the door. A…incident occurred, involving Diamond Tiara meeting Scootaloo’s hoof. Diamond Tiara’s father, Filthy Rich, had come down to the school with a look of outrage on his face and sneered at the pegasus filly before entering. All she could do for the time being was stand out there and listen to the stallion yell as Miss Cheerilee tried to get through to him.

“Miss Cheerilee, I will not allow that ruffian filly to continue to harm my Diamond Tiara in such a manner!” Filthy Rich yelled.

“Please Mr. Rich, calm down, there’s more to this than you are aware of –”

“No, there isn’t! What I am aware of is that this isn’t the first time that my daughter has been assaulted by that tomcolt of a filly! Last year she and her friend, Silver Spoon, were pushed in the mud!”

“To be fair, that didn’t happen at school, and neither was that done by Scootaloo either. From what I understand, it was somepony else from out of town. A cousin of one of my students, Apple Bloom, the other filly’s name is Babs Seed if I remember correctly. Although Scootaloo and her friends were present at the time, they weren’t directly involved, and I don’t believe they were ‘pushed’ from what I understand they backed up too far to the edge of the train platform and fell.”

Filthy Rich scoffed. “Oh please, are you saying my daughter is lying about that?!”

“Are you calling Applejack a liar? Because it was her who recounted the events to me, should it become an issue, you could always ask her. ”

Scootaloo heard silence for a moment and chuckled inwardly, even Filthy Rich wasn’t stupid enough to call Applejack – the Element of Honesty – a liar. Even with that FlimFlam fiasco, she still told the truth in the end.

“Fine, but there were others after that!” The stallion countered.

“And at every instance your daughter, Mr. Rich, has been the instigator. I don’t condone Scootaloo striking your daughter, I’m not saying she deserved it, but there is only so far you can poke a stick at a sleeping dragon before it decides to bite back. And, not to mention, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon have more complaints against them than any other pony in my class you might consider a ‘trouble student’.”

Scootaloo could hear the stallion splutter and huff at the accusation, which in fact was a true statement as she remembered Ms. Cheerilee writing down some of what she had told her during previous incidents.

“Tell me, Mr. Rich, what is it that you expected me to do when you came barging in here?”

“I expected you to do something! Expel her, or put her in a detention center! And if you won’t I’ll find somepony who will!”

Scootaloo’s stomach sank as a feeling of dread washed over her. Sure she was a little quick to fight sometimes, and sure, she often did reckless things, but it was thanks to her friends that most of her old tendencies and habits had been suppressed or even forgotten. But, in cases like this, Scootaloo’s old fight or flight instincts took over, and since she couldn’t fly, not currently anyway, she often had to resort to the former rather than the latter. That was, of course, before she was brought to Ponyville from another orphanage.

But now she was going to be punished, punished for fighting back against a bully, and defending the honor of her friends and herself. Scootaloo briefly contemplated running away into the forest, but stopped when she heard Ms. Cheerilee talk.

“If I did Mr. Rich, I’d have to expel Diamond Tiara as well. I’ve documented many of her discretions, and I have enough, if I so wished, to go to the Ponyville School Board to do the same to your daughter and make her actions public.”

“Y-You wouldn’t dare, or have you forgotten how much money I contribute to the School Board?!”

“Let me be clear that I don’t care. If I had to, I could petition Princess Twilight for aid in the School Board’s finances, and being the scholarly mare I know she is, the Princess would gladly do so to see that the education of the foals comes first, and would absolutely discourage the actions your daughter has taken.”

Scootaloo then heard a single hoof smack against wood, making the young filly jump. Something told her, judging from the edge in the school teacher’s voice, that it was Miss Cheerilee who did it.

“Mr. Rich I will see that punishment is dealt out equally to both students. But never – and I mean never – come storming into my classroom and demand that I expel or incarcerate a student of mine! Threaten my little ponies like that again, sir, and I will see to it that not only is Diamond Tiara expelled and her permanent record plastered with everything I have, I will make sure to report you to the Dusk Guard!”

“U-UNDER WHAT CHARGE?!”

“For threatening a foal, not something you want your business, Barnyard Bargains, labeled with do you?”

Scootaloo heard a few grunts and huffs, along with a growl of frustration. She then heard stamping hoofsteps approach the door and immediately jumped away from the door. Filthy Rich, the tan colored, black maned stallion, looked down at the filly with contempt as he opened the door. He said not a word as she continued storming down the road, not even sparing a second glance as his form vanished in the distance. Scootaloo sighed in relief, not sure how she would’ve reacted if the Diamond Tiara’s father said something to her. But her sigh was cut short when she heard Miss Cheerilee clear her throat.

“Are you okay Scootaloo?” She asked.

“Oh…um, yeah, I’m alright.”

Cheerilee sighed heavily. “I’m sorry Scootaloo; if I knew he was going to blow up like that I would’ve sent you off and talked to you after the weekend.”

“It’s alright, really…” Scootaloo’s wings fluttered nervously as she looked up at her teacher. “You’re not really going to expel me or…or put me in a detention center…are you?”

“Never.” It was only one word, but that one word held all of Cheerilee’s conviction, strength, and belief. “But, as I also said, I don’t like that you struck Diamond Tiara, you could’ve just walked away.”

Scootaloo lowered her gaze as her face scrunched in anger. “We always walk away, and it never makes her stop! If anything she just takes it as a challenge to try harder to make us feel bad! ‘Blank flank, flightless pegasus,’ I’m just sick of hearing it all! And that’s not including the things she says to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom too! Sweetie’s not a fighter, tough though, but she can be sensitive sometimes and get her feelings hurt easily.

Apple Bloom’s confident and strong, but even Diamond and Silver still manage to chip away at that, sometimes more! Apple Bloom won’t fight because of how she was raised by her family, and that’s cool, and Sweetie won’t fight because, well, she’s not much for it, she can get angry but as far as what I did, no. I’m the only one with nothing to lose! So why shouldn’t I use that to my advantage and fight back?!”

“SCOOTALOO!” The severity in Cheerilee’s voice made the filly jump with fright for a moment. “Don’t you ever think of yourself like that! Of course you have much to lose! Are you really saying you don’t care if you get put into a detention center, possibly never seeing your friends again?! That you won’t get to attend school with your friends and graduate? Or get to learn from Princess Twilight and Rainbow Dash, your idol?!

“………No, I would care.”

Cheerilee leaned down and nuzzled the young pegasus filly. “Please Scootaloo; don’t ever say things like that about yourself. You matter to a lot of ponies, me included. So don’t think that you’re not important or that you have nothing to lose, alright?”

Scootaloo nodded affirmatively. “Miss Cheerilee, I kinda need to get going. I need to go to the castle for Twilight Time and I don’t want to be late…”

The maroon earth mare smiled and nudged the filly with her hoof to go. Scootaloo ran down the steps and to her awaiting scooter. She then strapped on her helmet and buzzed away down the dirt road. Cheerilee smiled and waved goodbye, but once Scootaloo was out of eyesight, her smile turned into a frown of concern.

“I’ll have to talk to Twilight about this…”

Scootaloo found herself in a strange dream, not to say she hadn’t had a bad dream before, but she really didn’t know how to classify this one. She found herself before six large stone thrones. Each one carved with weird magicy symbols that would probably make sense to Princess Twilight. But that’s not the weirdest thing, no; the weirdest thing was who, or more accurately, what was sitting in them.

To Scootaloo’s far left she saw, what appeared to be a unicorn, with a body made up of shimmering stars and swirling galaxies. The second looked as if he were made of stone, or that a mountain was given pony form. It had no wings or horn so she assumed it was an earth pony. The third was a pegasus like herself, except his body radiated a shimmery aura of white, along with strands of other vibrant colors. The fourth was another unicorn, but this one’s body was clearly made of pure lightning. The fifth was another earth pony, but his body was made of a shimmering golden aura that radiated an unbreakable will. The sixth, and last, was a pegasus, his body was elemental like the unicorn and earth pony, being completely made of silver wind.

Scootaloo knew she had a good imagination, but she never thought she could think of ponies who looked like this. The scenery shifted slightly, and now she was in a room made of stone and lit by torches. Before the six otherworldly ponies were two pony foals, one was a unicorn colt, with a black mane and mauve coat, and the other was an earth pony filly, with a grass green coat and a sky blue mane. The unicorn colt was on the floor, his body battered, bruised, and littered with bleeding gashes all over. The earth pony filly next to him had some gashes too, but not as severe. Her eyes were watering as she held onto the colt, watching as his breathing became erratic.

“Please, help us!” she cried out.

“The power we offer can save him, but he is near death’s door. If you wish to save him, then you must share the power equally between you,” spoke the starry unicorn.

“But the one you wish to save must also agree. For in taking on this power, you take on all the hopes and dreams, the very safety of the world upon your shoulders. Now, do you accept this?” asked the lightning unicorn.

The filly nodded vigorously and waited for her friend to respond. The colt weakly looked to her and nodded a yes, smiling as he did so.

“It is decided,” said the golden earth pony.

The six ponies rose from their thrones and raised one hoof above them. Their power gathered at the tips of their hooves and shot out into the air above. The six powers became one, transforming into lightning that struck both the filly and colt at the same time…

~~~

“AAAAAAHHHH!!!” Scootaloo screamed as she awoke with a start.

The orange pegasus filly was sitting up in her bed, covers thrown off her and half slumping to the floor. Her body was drenched in sweat as she felt her heart pound at her ribcage rapidly; Scootaloo quickly looked around, but noticed that she was in her room and not in the stony room with the strange six. From the bed across from her, a filly looked at her with concern. She was an earth pony, with a mulberry colored coat, aquamarine mane, and turquoise eyes that carried an odd shimmer in the night. Scootaloo’s roommate, and often time’s secret keeper, Aura.

“Scootaloo, you alright?!”

The pegasus filly took a moment to calm herself down, implementing the calming technique that Princess Twilight had taught her and her friends a while back. After going through the technique a couple of times, Scootaloo was finally able to get her breathing under control and slow her heart rate.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine Aura, thanks.”

“Really? ‘Cause you don’t look fine to me.”

The earth pony then plopped head first out of the bed and onto the floor. Scootaloo winced at the thud of the impact, but just as always, Aura sprang up and sat at Scootaloo’s bedside. She can be as random as Pinkie Pie sometimes, but at least she knows when to be serious.

“You had a nightmare didn’t you?” Aura asked.

“Well, tell me. It’s not like I haven’t heard a weird dream before…unless it’s one of those dreams that’s better kept private, in which case I totally understand if you don’t want to tell me! But, maybe it’s better if you do, talking about it might help! That doesn’t mean I’m trying be nosey or anything I just want to make sure you’re alright! Because, well, obviously you’re not and –!”

“AURA!” Scootaloo interrupted. She liked Aura, really she did, but sometimes the filly tended to ramble on and sometimes it ended up making things awkward, which is why she derailed it then and there.

“I did it again…Didn’t I?” Aura asked with a sheepish smile and a blush.

“Yep.”

“Sorry…”

“It’s okay, and the dream wasn’t weird that way it was just…weird and a little scary…”

Scootaloo began to tell Aura what she saw, the six ponies made of different things, the strange thrones they sat on, and the two foals who were in front of them.

“That’s when the six of them raised their hooves and shot these beams into the air. They combined together and became lightning that struck the colt and filly! I mean, how messed up is that?! They were bleeding and beaten and asking for help, and what do they do?! They zap them with a lightning bolt!” Scootaloo noticed Aura’s eyes were wide as saucer plates and her jaw hanging open slightly. “…Um, Aura, you alright?”

The earth pony filly quickly shook her head and put on her usual smile. “Oh yeah, just fine! But that dream, while intense, was something else! But I don’t think you should read too much into it.”

“Really…it felt real…like it happened, maybe not to me, but somepony…I don’t know.”

“Well, if nothing else, it makes for a good story – Oooh! Maybe you can try and get your cutie mark in story writing! ‘Cause that sounds like something I’d see in Power Ponies!”

Scootaloo thought about that for a moment, she never saw herself as the story writing type, she mostly enjoyed reading a comic then writing it. Then again, who knew what her special talent was, and if all else failed; maybe it would help her friends to discover their talents.

“Yeah, that sounds great! I’ll run it by the girls tomorrow and see what they think!”

“Cool, well, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired.”

As Aura made her way back to her bed, Scootaloo glanced at her blank flank. “Aura, y’know, we always have room for another Crusader. I mean I like what the girls and I have, but they definitely wouldn’t mind having another join. Apple Bloom’s cousin is part of the Crusaders and is starting our Manehattan branch, and with you we could probably come up with more ideas!”

Aura stopped mid climb and turned to glance at Scootaloo. “No, that’s alright. I know getting your cutie mark and discovering your special talent is something you three are doing together. It’s good that you want others to join, but at the same time, you might want to enjoy how close you guys are, every try brings you closer together, success or fail.” Aura flashed Scootaloo a cheery smile before getting back fully under the blankets.

Scootaloo, once again was thrown for a loop with Aura, as silly as she could be, ramble on and on, she could be oddly mature. The pegasus filly yawned and laid back down, hoping she could back to sleep after that dream she had.

That morning Scootaloo headed towards Sweet Apple Acres, the girls having promised to meet up at their HQ as soon as possible for crusading. No sooner did she arrive at the treehouse did she notice the lack of any sound coming from up top.

Guess AB is busy with chores or something. I’ll just –

At that moment a flash went off inside the treehouse. Scootaloo looked up curiously, wondering if she was mistaken about her friends not being there. Another flash of light went off, and again, and again. Scootaloo, now curious, walked up the ramp that led to the front door of the treehouse. The flickering light inside went off more rapidly, almost as if it were reacting to Scootaloo’s presence. When she finally reached the door, Scootaloo swallowed nervously as she tapped the door open. The result of which was a giant blinding light that bathed over her and turned her world into nothing but white.

When the light dimmed down Scootaloo ventured to open her eyes, and what she saw nearly made her want to swear.

Gone were the treehouse and the vast orchards that made up Sweet Apple Acres. What had been left in its stead was a room filled with ancient artifacts, some weird, some scary, and one that appeared to be a golden helmet on a stand that was placed away from the other items. Scootaloo meandered through till she spotted a hallway. She looked back to see if there was maybe a doorway she missed that would take her back home, there wasn’t one.

So, with a reluctant sigh, Scootaloo walked down the hall. She didn’t know where she was, but from what she could tell, it had to be a castle. The texture of the stones though made her think that it might’ve been an old castle, like the Castle of the Two Sisters. Granted she had never been there before, only going off of what Rainbow Dash and the others told them about it. But she imagined it would look like what she was seeing. Along the way, there were tapestries hanging from the walls, some depicting great battles and terrifying monsters.

Near the end of the hall, Scootaloo noticed the light changing, where it was lit with magical crystals imbedded into the wall, now it was transitioning into torches. They lined the walls, like a beacon leading her to her destination. As she neared, what she believed to be, the end of the hallway. Scootaloo noticed that the hall expanded as she passed through an archway. On either side of Scootaloo stood the statues of creatures that looked like something from a nightmare. Each of the statues had words carved onto them; she read them allowed as she passed each one.

“Pride…Gluttony…Greed…Envy…Sloth…Anger…Lust? What are these things?”

“They are the Seven Deadly Enemies of Mortals.”

Scootaloo jumped at the sound of the echoing voice, her head snapping to and fro as she looked for the source of the voice. “W-W-WHO’S THERE?!”

“Calm yourself young one, this way…”

Scootaloo saw a small orb of light poof into existence before her. The orb then flicked towards the other end of the hall and down another hall. Scootaloo didn’t like this, for all she knew the one who was calling to her had laid out a trap, planning to do unspeakable things to her, or a monster that only sounded normal just to lure you in before it tears you limb from limb. But, the prospect of venturing off into this strange place was equally dangerous, at least this way she knew that there might be someone or something waiting for her. So, reluctantly, she followed the orb.

The orb moved like a firefly, zipping around as it led the filly further into the depths of the mysterious castle. Then that’s when she saw something that nearly made her let out a very uncool girly gasp. The hall opened up into the same room she saw in her dream, albeit with more detail. But something was different, where there should be six thrones there was only one, and there was a pony sitting in it. He was wearing heavy white robe, his coat was grayish silver as his long beard stretched down till it nearly touched the floor, along with his equally long mane.

The old stallion was a unicorn, his single horn was long and sharp, and it almost reminded her of Princess Celestia’s horn. The old pony slowly opened his eyes and revealed them to be to pools of blue, glowing magical light.

“Come closer child…step forth.”

Scootaloo, not knowing why, obeyed the old pony and walked slowly, but cautiously, to him. She stopped about halfway, rooting herself to the spot and telling herself not to get any closer.

“Who are you…? What are you…?”

“I am he who has stood guard over the ancient magic! The last of Council of Magic, you may refer to me as the Wizard!”

At that moment the unicorn’s horn let loose bolts of arcing lightning that shot up and thundered loudly.

“Welcome young maiden, to the Rock of Eternity…”

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 2: Her name means power!

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Scootaloo watched as the powerful lightning energy arced from the ancient unicorn’s horn, flashing and roaring as the power lit up the inside of the room, making arcane runes appear as they reacted to the magic of the Wizard. Scootaloo ducted down, covering her head with her hooves, watching each of the lightning streaks to make sure that they weren’t going to hit her. When the lightning ended, Scootaloo cautiously rose back to a standing position.

“Hey, watch where you’re you letting off that magic lightning stuff, you can seriously hurt somepony! And what the hay is the ‘Rock of Eternity’?!”

The Wizard raised his right hoof and waved it, gesturing to, well, everything. “You are standing in it now young maiden, this place is the Rock of Eternity. In it is housed the greatest collection of magical artifacts, knowledge, and history, a fortress of magic, and the very source of the ancient Power. And it is the Power that I used to forge the spell that summoned you here before me. Now, tell me your name young maiden.”

Scootaloo didn’t know what to make of this old pony. He looked ancient, and even though she wasn’t a unicorn, she could still feel deep down that this pony had a lot of power, maybe even alicorn level power.

“S-Scootaloo…my name’s Scootaloo, and you can quit it with that ‘young maiden’ mess,” said Scootaloo.

“Hmmm, Scootaloo…hard to believe that my spell brought a child before me, given that it has been many millennia since the last time one had been summoned to this place. Still…let us see if you are worthy.”

“HOLD ON! Why am I here and what are you planning on doing with me?!” Scootaloo lowered herself into an attack position, flaring her wings and raking her left hoof against the stone floor as she glared at the Wizard. “Because I’m not just going to lie down and let you hurt me!”

The Wizard raised a bushy eyebrow as he gave the filly an inquisitive look. “You are quick to judge and prone to violence.” The old pony rose up from his stone throne and slowly walked down the steps leading down to Scootaloo. The Wizard stopped when he reached the bottom and looked at the filly with his eyes of power. “Show me now, are you worthy of this power?! Are you the one destined to become magic’s champion?!”

The Wizard let loose his magical lightning from his long horn. The lightning zipped through the air and struck Scootaloo, her eyes glowed blue with the same magical light. She could feel her memories unraveling before her, but she could also sense that the Wizard was seeing them as well.

Images of a filly loved by two parents appeared within the living lightning. The next set was of a somber scene, of a tragic death of the father, and the great sadness that followed suit. Feelings of hurt and betrayal by one who was said to love her, but twisted the love until it became hatred and lust, bearing it all down on the little filly. Anger and violence found their way into her heart, as well as mistrust. Her whole life, as far as the Wizard could tell, was nothing short of sorrow and strife. The Wizard waved his right hoof, ceasing the spell altogether. Scootaloo fell onto the floor in a heap, quiet whimpers and splashes of tears hitting the stone floor resounded within the chamber.

“You…you had no right to see that or to make me see it again!” Her expression was warring between wanting to break down into sobs or glare with anger and fury at the old stallion who made her relive those awful memories in an instant, memories she was happy to forget.

“How…why has my magic brought me another like him? This can only lead to disaster…” The Wizard tilted his head to the roof as if seeing into something. “Is my body so weak now that my spells are becoming distorted?” The Wizard looked back down to the filly. “I am sorry; it was not my intention to make you see that which you did not want to remember. But I had to be sure…”

A cloth appeared before Scootaloo, small and white like a handkerchief. The orange pegasus filly eyed the cloth suspiciously, but when she looked up into the eyes of the Wizard, somehow, she was able to feel his sincerity in the act. Scootaloo carefully reached out and grabbed the handkerchief and wiped her tear soaked eyes and face. When she was done, the cloth disappeared with a poof.

“T-Thank you…So, what exactly did you have to be sure of, and again, why did you even bring me here?”

The Wizard sighed heavily. “I am old little one, and I sense that there is a great stirring of power. Something that might threaten the world you now live in. For centuries I have held fast and kept the power that the Rock of Eternity possesses from falling into the wrong hooves. But unfortunately, it means that I could not leave it. I was searching for one who could do what I could not. An individual who could wield the great power of the ancient magic and defend the world as those before me did long ago. Someone who could become magic’s champion…”

Despite the scariness of the situation, she found the plight of the unicorn troubling. “So…you thought that I could be ‘magic’s champion’ or whatever? I’m not even a unicorn! I mean, I have magic, pegasus magic, but nothing like what unicorns like my friend’s sister can do, or you.”

The Wizard smirked at that. “Believe me, Scootaloo, that would not become an issue. But yes, that spell I cast was meant to find me one who was pure good.”

Scootaloo scratched her chin with her hoof, mulling over the Wizard’s words. “Well…I don’t know if it would help, but maybe Princess Twilight would be a good fit or maybe Rainbow Dash! Don’t get me wrong, Princess Twilight is the greatest, I like her a lot, but Rainbow Dash is practically my big sister! If there’s anypony you’d need to be a ‘champion’ then Rainbow Dash is your mare!”
The Wizard smiled at the young filly’s enthusiasm for this mare she spoke of. “Truly you think highly of these two, but it is the spell that choses who is worthy, or who has the potential to be. But…I am curious about something. May I ask to take another look into your memories?”

Scootaloo jumped back a few feet, taking on a defensive stance. “Look, living through that once was enough! I don’t want to have total recall all over again!”

“No, believe me young filly; I will not tread into that part of your mind. Merely, I wish to see what your life is now.”

Scootaloo shifted her eyes and fidgeted nervously. After a few tense seconds of silence, Scootaloo tentatively nodded her head. The unicorn’s horn lit up with the same magical lightning as before, his eyes glowing brightly as he looked down upon her.

“Show me, does this filly have hope?! Does she possess the sparks of good and righteousness?!”

The lightning shot straight for Scootaloo, but unlike last time she did not feel the sadness and pain of her past, this was closer to her present. Memories of the many endeavors Scootaloo and her friends made to discover their special talent flashed before the Wizard’s eyes, the struggles of not being able to fly and having been mocked because of it. The friendships she made with the two fillies, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Her adoration and idolization of the pegasus mare who took the young filly under her wing and proclaimed her as her “little sister”, Rainbow Dash. The fun times she had learning from the two mares she respected as much as the rainbow maned pegasus, her school teacher, Cheerilee, and the Princess of the region who took the time out of the day to devote to developing and nurturing their unique skills, Twilight Sparkle.

The foals of at the orphanage, the caring matron, the sisters of her friends, and all the other ponies of her town, the Wizard saw it all. It all combined into one, yes the bad was there, and it was most likely it would never leave the filly, but all that she has now had changed her from what she once was. Scootaloo loved and cared about her friends and those closest to her and would do anything to protect them, even at her own risk. Violent prone, yes, but her heart held little malice and much righteous fury. The old stallion’s eyes softened as a content smile spread across his face, lifting the corners of his beard.

The Wizard ended the spell, and unlike the first time, Scootaloo did not feel the crippling sadness of her past memories. She looked up at the old pony and noticed his smile. “Are you okay?”

“Better than okay young one, my search is over. My spell was not wrong; you are different from the last. You can overcome the sadness and the pain of your past and bring forth a shining future. And with my power, you can protect it.”

Scootaloo quickly brought up her hooves and shook them as if stopping him. “Whoa-oh-oh, wait, what are you saying?! I’m the one you’ve been looking for after all?!” The Wizard nodded an affirmative. “I…I…I’m no hero, or protector?! Yes I want to keep my friends safe and all…and I do care about the ponies in my life, but…I don’t even have my cutie mark! I’m just a twelve-year-old, orphan, flightless, pegasus filly!”

“You think too less of yourself, Scootaloo. You –” Suddenly, the Wizard looked off into the distance, his face scrunching as if he saw something threatening.

“What, what is it?!” Scootaloo asked, looking in the same direction.

“It would seem there is something wrong. A danger looms over your two friends.”

Scootaloo’s eyes went wide with shock. “WHAT?! How, why, where?!”

The Wizard’s horn glowed and a portal of light appeared before them. The portal shimmered and wavered until it became still. The texture of the portal started to take on the form of glass, like a mirror. The opening then swirled bringing up the image of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy for some reason, and…

“WHAT THE HAY IS THAT THING?!”

TEN MINUTES EARLIER…

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were walking down the dirt road. The youngest Apple sibling had her saddle bags on, carrying within them precious cargo, well, precious to her anyway. The whole trip, Sweetie didn’t understand why her friend was so secretive about what was in them, and it only made her more suspicious when Apple Bloom told her to come with her to Fluttershy’s cottage of all places, and not tell Scootaloo. Finally, after not having had her question answered yet, and hoping that her friend would just come on out and say it, Sweetie Belle just had to ask.

“Okay, are you going to tell me why we’re heading to Fluttershy’s? And why we didn’t tell Scoots that we were? She’s going to get mad that we left her out of, whatever it is that we’re doing, and I don’t like that we are.”

Apple Bloom stopped in the middle of the dirt road. She cautiously scanned the area, making sure that there wasn’t anypony within earshot. Once satisfied that they were the only two there, Apple Bloom jimmied open her saddle bag and opened the flap, revealing a couple of vials filled with a strange, bubbling, sparkly liquid.

“This is why we’re headin’ to Fluttershy’s cottage.”

“Are those potions?” Sweetie asked.

“Eeyup…Ah, um, Ah made these specifically for Scootaloo…”

Sweetie cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “For Scootaloo, why? What do they do?”

“Well…Ah…” Apple Bloom started to draw circles in the dirt with her hoof, her mind working to find the right words to convey her intentions to Sweetie. “Ah made this to see if it will help Scootaloo to fly…”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened. “Really?! When did you make these?!”

“A couple a months ago…ever since the whole Flag Waving Tryouts for the Equestria games – no, even before that, Scoots always wanted to fly like Rainbow Dash. Heck, she’d be happy if she could just fly like the other pegasi in our class. So, when Twilight made Twilight Time for us and said she’d help us develop special skills. Of course, after we made fools of ourselves in front our classmates and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in the Princess’ home, Ah wanted to take it more seriously. Not just because Ah could get a cutie mark out of it, but maybe Ah could help Scoots get what she’s wanted more than a cutie mark.”

“So this stuff’s supposed to…make her fly or something?”

“Close.” Apple Bloom nodded in the direction of the road, telling Sweetie Belle that she wanted to continue the conversation while they walked. “Ya see, Ah found this potion in one of Princess Twilight’s books, it was a recipe for makin’ a potion that could cure mostly anythin’, but it was complicated, so Ah studied it hard, even went to Zecora a couple of times for help. It’s finally done, but Ah wanted to test it out on a one of Fluttershy’s animal friends before I did.”

“You’re going to use one of Fluttershy’s critters as a guinea pig…? You do realize this is Fluttershy we’re talking about,” said Sweetie Belle, warning her friend.

“Ah know, Ah told her about it. It’s a healin’ potion, so Ah wanted to test it on one of her injured animal friends. And there was another reason why Ah wanted you to come with me.”

“What…?”

Apple Bloom chuckled nervously. “Y’all did learn that Failsafe spell Twilight taught ya, right?”

“Yeeeeesssssss…she did, it takes a lot out of me, but yeah, I do know the spell. Why does that –?” Sweetie Belle’s expression then deadpanned as she gave her friend an incredulous look. “You wanted me to be there in case something bad happens so I can cast the spell, don’t you?”

Apple Bloom nodded a yes and Sweetie Belle let out exasperated sigh. But she did a little smile did show on her lips.

“Okay, okay, I’ll help. This is a really nice thing you’re doing for Scootaloo, and I know she’ll be really happy when it works.”

“Thanks Sweetie, but, don’t ya mean if it works?”

“Uh-uh, when, ‘cause I know you. If it’s for Scoots, you’ll put 110% into this potion. You don’t know it, but you can be like Princess Twilight when it comes to potions, and I know you like Scoots, so you won’t let anything bad happen to her.”

Apple Bloom smiled happily at that, but caught something in that sentence that made her give Sweetie an inquisitive glance. “Uh, of course Ah like Scoots, Ah like you too Sweetie, we’re friends.”

Sweetie Belle’s demeanor was slowly shifting to that of her sister’s, playing coy with her words. “Oh, I know that, I’m just saying you like Scootaloo, so that’s why you’re putting in the extra effort.”

“What are ya tal…kin’…about…” Apple Bloom noticed the knowing look that Sweetie Belle was giving her. She then averted her gaze, looking straight ahead as her cheeks tinted red. “Shut up…”

“My lips are sealed.” Sweetie said as she giggled.

Soon Fluttershy’s cottage was coming into view. The modest home of the shy pegasus mare, a place of healing and care for many of the woodland animals of the forest. Fluttershy maintained the property regularly, making sure every animal was fed and taken care of, and that any and all equipment she used was properly stored away, not wanting a small or large animal to trip or hurt themselves because of her negligence. So when the two fillies arrived at the cottage, they gasped in horror at the state of the property.

Chicken coops were demolished, various feed was strewn all around the yard, and the cottage’s front door was busted up along with long deep gashes running around it and everywhere else. The two fillies couldn’t believe what they were seeing; it looked like a monster went berserk on Fluttershy’s house and everything else. A deep concern for the mare crept into their hearts. They wanted to shout and call out to Fluttershy, but they didn’t know if what caused the damage was still there or not and they did not want to alert it to their presence. Carefully they walked through the damaged area, minding any protruding pointy things that were in their path. As they walked around the yard, Sweetie Belle gasped when she saw the pink tail of Fluttershy further behind the house.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle quickly ran to her. When they rounded the corner their jaws hung open. Fluttershy was lying on the ground; two large puncture wounds were on her right flank, blood trickling out of it in a small steady stream, indicating that the wound was deep. Her breathing was shallow and her body shook. Sweetie Belle gingerly touched the mare’s forehead and found that her fur was damp, apparently from sweating profusely. The unicorn filly gently shook Fluttershy, biting back the urge to cry and shout out to her.

“Fluttershy…? Fluttershy please wake up, what happened here?! Fluttershy please you’re really scaring me!”
“Girls……?”

Fluttershy’s voice was weak and raspy, as if just the one word was a struggle.

“We’re here Fluttershy! What happened, can ya move?!” asked Apple Bloom.

Fluttershy breathed in and out, trying to speak, but her throat felt like sandpaper and she was very weak. “R-Run……Get……Away………!”

“Run? Run from what?!”

“I thought I smelled apple filly!”

Apple Bloom felt a chill run down her spine. She recognized that voice. It can’t be…! There’s no way they can be here!

They quickly turned around and saw a large creature stalking towards them. Its upper body was that of a tiger, but the rear was like that of a goat. The creature also had two heads, one was a tiger, and other was a goat with razor sharp teeth to match the tiger heads’. The tail arched up, revealing a third head, a snake which acted as its amalgam’s tail. Apple Bloom knew what this creature was, she had hoped to never see this thing again, but here it was, standing right before Sweetie Belle and her, the Chimera from the Fire Geyser Swamp.

“Well, looks like that mare wasn’t lying when she said she was coming here,” said the goat head.

“Good thing my venom killsss slowly, elssse they might’ve ran away at the sssight of dead pony,” said the snake head.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all so happy to have you sister, quit milking it!” The tiger growled in annoyance.

Apple Bloom shook her head in disbelief at the sight of the creature her big sister had beaten when she went on the delivery trip on her own. But why was it here and not in the swamp?!

“H-How did you find this place?! Ah thought ya couldn’t leave that darn swamp?!”

The goat head chuckled, sounding like a “baaaah” when she did so. “It took us awhile to get out of there, but all we had to do was figure out the route where you and that sister of yours used to get in and out!”

“Your sister has made a fool of us for the last time! Every time she or the big red one go through our swamp they end up getting the better of us! Well no more! We’ll go to them, while their unprepared, and unknowing of our presence! And we will finally have our fill of pony meat, and one filly fillet!” The tiger head growled.

“B-But why did you hurt Fluttershy?! What did she do to you?!” Sweetie Belle cried.

“Oh, her, she tried to stop us, gave us this weird stare that…well…”

The snake head tail slipped between the two heads and smirked smugly. “Ssshe had you two frozen ssstiff, but luckily I was able to ssslip around and give her a quick bite on her juicy flank. And now she’s filled with my venom and dying oh so slowly, painfully, but slow all the same.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked to each other, and then to Fluttershy. The poisoned mare gave them a desperate look, pleading with them to run now. Reluctantly, the two fillies readied themselves to run as fast as they could, but were cut off when two blazing streams of fire shot out on either side, cutting off their escape. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle huddled closer to Fluttershy, utterly frightened at what they saw. The Chimera’s tiger and goat heads had flames dripping from their maws, the glow of the fire making the already fearsome look in their eyes even more sinister.

“SINCE WHEN IN THE HAY COULD YOU DO THAT?!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“You weren’t worth the effort before,” said the goat head.

“But now you are. You should feel honored,” said the tiger head.

“Now letsss feassst!”

PRESENT…

“Oh no…Nonononononono! You have to help them!” Scootaloo pleaded as she turned to the Wizard.

“I cannot, much of my power is weak and I cannot affect the beast from here. And as I said earlier, I cannot leave the Rock of Eternity.”

Scootaloo looked from the portal to the Wizard, back and forth as she desperately thought about how to save her friends. In the end she couldn’t think of anything better, with that thing’s two fire-breathing heads and the snake head tail, it almost had no blind spots. She then looked directly at the Wizard, her expression serious as determination burned within her eyes.

“The power you were talking about, can it save my friends?!”

“Yes, but realize that by me bestowing this power upon you, you carry with it all the power, knowledge, and skill of the ancients. A power that can nary be matched by others and will call upon you to fight against the vilest evils of your world, knowing this, will you accept it?”

Scootaloo nodded vigorously. “I will, just tell me what I have to do!”

The Wizard’s cloak and beard parted down the middle, showing the symbol of a blue glowing lightning bolt on his chest. “You must speak the magic word Scootaloo, say ‘Shazam’.”

Scootaloo gave the Wizard a confused look, but complied with his instruction. “Shazam…?”

“No, you must speak it with your good intentions and righteous fury poured into it. Feel it in your heart and speak the word of power!”

Scootaloo closed her eyes and concentrated, letting the good memories and feelings fill her heart and the righteous fury burn inside her and give her strength. She then opened them and spoke the magic word of power.

“SHAZAM!!! ”

A powerful and massive bolt of lightning shot down from high above Scootaloo. The bolt struck her and empowered every cell, every atom in her body. When the lightning bolt ended Scootaloo was completely transformed. Her height was equal to Princess Celestia, with large majestic wings, and a long horn protruding from her forehead. She was donned in a red suit, her hooves in golden ornate horseshoes. Her chest plate was golden as well, with a lightning bolt symbol engraved in it. Within the engraving, it appeared as if the very lightning that transformed her was living within it, almost like a glimpse into the magic that now resided in her soul. Scootaloo’s tail was longer, along with her mane, which was now a tad bit spikier and long enough to partially cover her right eye. The lightning from her chest arced to her horn, and then to her hooves, traveling along her graceful form as if recognizing its knew wielder.

Scootaloo, after getting over the shock of being struck with lightning and still being able to breathe, lifted one of her forelegs and gasped at how tall she had gotten.

“What the…What the heck, I’m an alicorn! Eep!” Scootaloo put her hoof over her mouth after hearing that her voice had changed. It was smooth as silk, but strong like a waiting storm. “My voice changed too! And…I-I feel stronger actually. Really strong, like I could split a mountain in half and not even break a sweat! Is this the power you were talking about…hey, Mr. Wizard, are you alright?”

The Wizard was sitting on his haunches, and the power in his eyes had dimmed considerably till they became just plain white. He even seemed tired; the strength that radiated from this old pony had somehow gone all at once. Scootaloo feared that she might’ve just hurt the old pony by speaking the word of power. But the Wizard looked up at the newly christened magical warrior and smiled contently.

“Do not worry about me child, I am most happy…Happy to see that the power of the ancient magic has found one with as good a heart as yours.”

“You don’t look so good…”

“I am simply tired young one, and it is time for this old stallion to rest. Go now and save your friends…farewell, Scootaloo…truly you are a remarkable filly, I am glad to have met you…”

The Wizard’s horn lit up with magical lightning and before Scootaloo could inquire further, she was struck by his spell, sending her through the portal in the form of pure lightning. The old stallion’s body shimmered; particles of golden light began to rise up from him as his form began disintegrating with each passing second. But there was no fear in the Wizard’s eyes nor was there regret, there was simply peace. He had fulfilled his last duty as a member of the Council of Magic, and protector of the Rock of Eternity. The Wizard then closed his eyes and let go, and with that the rest of his body turned into particles of light that rose into the air and disappeared completely.

At that moment a new tapestry was created in the hall from the entrance to the throne room. It unrolled and revealed a young alicorn stallion, his coat was a gleaming silver color, and his mane white as snow. His eyes were glowing with the power of his magic as the lightning bolt symbol glimmered and sheened from catching the light from the crystals. He wore a white cloak around his body that flapped in the wind as he stood before two creatures, one was a black and red centaur with two long horns on his head, and the other was a beast with a lion’s mane, spiked whip-like tail, and large bat wings on his back.

Near the bottom of the tapestry was golden lettering that read “The 51st Champion, Quiksilver of the Unicorn Kingdoms. The Liberator. Banisher of Lord Tirek and Skorpan the Beast. ”

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 3: The Beginning of Everything, Good and Bad

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High above a bolt of lightning zipped through the sky. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and even the Chimera looked up, hearing the sound of thunder in the distance, but not seeing a cloud in the sky.

“Thunder, but there are no ssstorm cloudsss,” said the snake head.

“It’s probably just some random storm from the Everfree Forest. That place is freaky like that,” chided the goat head.

“Sisters, can we please get back to eating these three?! I want to go and maul that blonde earth pony and the big red one before the day is done!”

After refocusing the other two, the Chimera was about ready to pounce on their prey. Apple Bloom and Sweetie held each close, eyes shut tight as tears ran down their cheeks in preparation for their death. Fluttershy continuously tried to focus her Stare ability to the Chimera, but her vision had blurred and she was only able to make out blotchy colors of where the two fillies and the monster were. Plus, the poison had nearly paralyzed her entire body, and soon, she figured, the venom would reach her vital organs and shut them down completely. Even the sounds were becoming muffled; she could barely hear Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom or the Chimera.

Just as the two fillies believed their end was here they heard the great roar of thunder, stronger than the last, rocking the entire area. They blinked once and in that instant a giant lightning bolt crashed down before them with resounding force. The entire area was bathed in light-blue as the crackling of electrical energy filled their ears. The Chimera jumped back in surprise, crouching low and preparing to run the other way. When the lightning bolt dispersed, all eyes were on the alicorn mare who now stood before them. Her wings were flared out, tail and mane waving in the cross breeze of the ionized air. Lightning arced from her horn to the rest of her body as she glared with anger at the beast before her.

Scootaloo didn’t have the time to question what happened to the Wizard, or how she got here. All that mattered now is that she was there, and she had the power (hopefully) to protect the three ponies behind her. The three heads of the Chimera didn’t know what to make of her, they were obviously threatened by her, and an alicorn suddenly descending from the sky in a flash of lightning is enough to put the fear of the divine in any creature. Normally, Scootaloo would’ve just lashed out at the beast, but her mind was thinking more clearly for some reason, more tactical. She had made the Chimera afraid of her, so she used this to her advantage.

“You don’t belong here, return from where you came and you may leave with your dignity, and limbs, intact.” Scootaloo threatened. She liked the sound of her voice, strong, but smooth.

The three Chimera heads each glanced at each other, wondering if it really was in their best interest to fight an alicorn. The started to assess their enemy, she seemed young despite her physique and height, obviously she had great power, but they sensed a hesitation to use it, otherwise she’d have already vaporized them with a spell by now. Feeling bold, the Chimera stood her ground and began to advance a little on the alicorn mare.

Scootaloo instinctively took a step back, which unfortunately was all the Chimera needed to verify their next course of action, attack. The Chimera quickly lunged for the alicorn mare, both heads baring their fangs and extending their claws to kill the mare. Scootaloo felt fear for a moment, uncertainty even, but the whimpers coming from behind her, and the fear she could feel radiating from her friends spurred her on. A wellspring of courage she never knew of before rose up from within her and, without even thinking, Scootaloo dashed forward with blinding speed, becoming a literal blur of red, gold, orange, and purple.

The result was her forelegs wrapping around the Chimera’s barrel, creating a slight concussive force that resonated within the air, and stopped the Chimera mid lunge and simultaneously knocking the air out of its lungs. Scootaloo’s eyes widened at the fact that she just stopped a beast of this size and strength, and wasn’t even feeling any strain at all. However, the Chimera was feeling strain, trying to push against the mare blocking them from their prize. They tried to wrench themselves free, but the iron grip of Scootaloo was keeping them rooted to where they were.

The snake head tail maneuvered herself so that she was in a good striking position, opening her large mouth to reveal her four, long dripping fangs. Scootaloo knew from that this head had venom in those fangs and was not about to let it bite her. With a flap of her large wings, Scootaloo propelled herself forward, but she was not prepared for the great acceleration that followed. That one flap propelled her and the Chimera like a rocket, sending them into the woods as the Chimera and Scootaloo smashed through one tree after the other.

Scootaloo angled herself down and let go of the Chimera. The beast landed hard against the ground, but Scootaloo was able to correct herself, turning around and slamming her hooves into the dirt and leaving a large trail of disturbed earth till she stopped completely. Scootaloo panted, not from exhaustion, but from the rush of going so fast, it was exhilarating.

I just…I just flew! I flew as fast as Rainbow Dash and I only flapped my wings once! Oh my Celestia! That was epic! Scootaloo thought.

The Chimera also thought it was epic, epically painful. The beast slowly rose from the small crater it created on impact, shaking off the loose dirt from its body as the three heads glared at Scootaloo with bloodlust. The alicorn mare had a cocky smile on her face, knowing that she was in dense forest made flying hard, so she opted to test her speed in running. Scootaloo got into a running stance, and the Chimera readied to charge for her. The Chimera moved first, running at Scootaloo as it roared with fury.

Scootaloo flinched like she was about to take off, but something was odd about her surroundings in that moment. The leaves from the branches seemed to be falling in slow motion, even the dust from the dirt she kicked up was lingering longer than usual. She then looked towards the charging Chimera and saw that it was moving as slow as molasses.

Okay…either I can manipulate time or I’m moving super-fast and everything else around me is moving slow compared to me.

Scootaloo decided to test her theory and ran to the Chimera; it only took her a few short steps before she was right in front of the beast. The creature had no idea she was there, or if it did, it was too slow to do anything about it. Scootaloo felt the fury in her rise at this moment, she then drew back her right hoof as electrical energy began to arc off of her limb. The energy then coalesced around her right hoof as she thrust it forward, making contact with the left cheek of the goat head. The strength of the punch knocked the Chimera right through five trees before slamming against a sixth, and the lightning that was around Scootaloo’s hoof had added an extra kick to the attack, giving it a slight paralyzing effect.

Everything went back to moving at normal speed after that. Scootaloo looked behind her and saw that a dust trail had kicked from where she ran to where she was now.

Super speed, definitely super speed! I wonder if I could do a Sonic Rainboom…?

“RAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!!!!”

Oh right, Chimera, deadly, need to beat it.

The Chimera simply did not want to stay down. After challenging the alicorn, it was a matter of pride for them, they weren’t about to back down from her. The tiger and goat head inhaled deeply and bellowed forth a large flaming inferno. The flames jetted through trees, incinerating everything the flames touched into molten slag. Scootaloo instinctively shut her eyes and raised her forelegs up, protecting her front from the searing hellfire of the Chimera. She felt the flames hit her, but that was all. There was no heat, no pain, she was aware of something smothering her, but Scootaloo found that she could breathe and move just fine.

Either my nerves just got burned so bad that I don’t feel that I’m being burned alive or…

Scootaloo opened her eyes wide, watching as everything, including herself, was engulfed in a stream of fire. She reached out and touched the burning plasma, not feeling any heat from it. She even stuck out her tongue and caught a small ember of it like a snowflake, and still she felt nothing.

Yep, fireproof too! This just keeps getting better!

Scootaloo then focused her eyes, her vision piercing the veil of fire as she watched the Chimera advance on her while still breathing fire. Scootaloo decided to try something she’d never done before, use magic. She concentrated on the power within her, she had seen Sweetie Belle, Rarity, and even Twilight Sparkle cast numerous spells with such an appendage. Remembering some of the lessons that Twilight taught Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo channeled the great magic within her to her new horn. The lightning energy crackled as it built up quickly, encasing her horn in its brilliant, shimmering power. More and more energy built up on her horn, so much so that it was starting to get a little too big.

Whoa wait I don’t want that much magic! Stop, STOP!

Too late, the magic discharged in the form of a powerful bolt of lightning. The force generated by the attack completely destroyed the fire of the Chimera as it stared down the giant bolt with growing dread. Scootaloo angled her head up as quickly as she could and made the lightning shoot straight into the sky. Thunder roared with a powerful boom through air and in the ground when the attack ceased. Scootaloo looked upon the devastation of her spell and gasped. The bolt had turned everything in its path into charred, smoldering remains. Scootaloo then looked at the canopy of trees and saw a large hole burned right through.

Scootaloo immediately went to where the Chimera was standing, but gasped in horror at what she had done. The Chimera was gone, the only thing that managed to remain was the snake head tail, but she was dead, only half of her was left, and the slit eyes of the snake had rolled up as its mouth hung open loosely.

“I…I didn’t mean to kill it! I just wanted to give a nasty burn, at the very least singe it or electrocute it! I didn’t…” Scootaloo tried to calm down, she had never taken a life, even if it was a monster’s life it was still a living, sentient creature like her and other ponies. The alicorn mare shook her head, trying to focus on something else. “I-I need to go back to the girls! Fluttershy’s still hurt!”

Scootaloo opted to run instead of fly, afraid that she may overshoot her destination or crash through Fluttershy’s property and cause further damage to it. The run was not a long one; with her incredible speed she was able to make it to the edge of the forest in only a few short seconds. Scootaloo was about to leave the forest but stopped for a moment.

What if they’re afraid of me? What if they don’t believe it’s me? I need to hide myself, just until I can figure things out.

As if to answer her request, the living lightning from her chest arced out, forming an outline of something. The energy flashed and the light materialized into a white hooded cloak with gold trimming around the edges, and a golden clasp that kept the cloak held fast around her neck.

Guess this’ll do, hope it’s enchanted or something…

Scootaloo then used her hoof to raise the hood up, covering most of her face before she went to see her friends.

Apple Bloom had been keeping an eye out for any sign of the Chimera’s return or the mysterious alicorn mare that fought it. Sweetie Belle had stayed by Fluttershy’s side, nuzzling the side of the mare’s cheek to keep her awake and with them. Fluttershy smiled, wanting to reassure them that everything was alright, but truthfully, she knew that this was not the case, for herself at least.

The earth pony filly had been watching and listening, eyes glued to the forest as she heard multiple crashes and the saw a few trees fall in the distance. A giant bolt of lightning then roared into the sky, shooting off higher and higher into the sky until Apple Bloom was sure that it left the stratosphere and went into the deep recesses of space.

“What was that?!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“Magic, really, really, really powerful magic!” Sweetie explained.

Apple Bloom was about to ask how she knew that, but saw that Sweetie Belle’s horn was glowing with her emerald green aura, possibly reacting to said powerful magic. The apple filly gulped, she didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Sweetie’s horn did that. Stuff like that didn’t happen when her sister and her friends used the Elements of Harmony, or their newly acquired and named “Rainbow Power”. Although this mare did save them from the Chimera, there was a strong possibility that she just fought the thing because it threatened her. For all she knew, this new alicorn mare was as evil as Nightmare Moon.

“Ah don’t like this. It’s way too quiet now. And who was that mare anyway, the Princess of Lightnin’ or somethin’?!”

“I don’t know, but Fluttershy needs help now! We need to get her to a hospital!”

“Ah don’t think a hospital carries stuff for curin’ Chimera venom, it may’ve been a snake, but it could be completely different! Ah remember the doctor sayin’ this one time that Big Mac got bit by one, he said ‘If you don’t know the kind of snake that bit ya, givin’ somepony the wrong anti-venom can kill’em faster’!”

“Well…What about Princess Twilight?!”

“That’s too far; even Ah can’t run that fast!”

“I could teleport!”

“The last time ya tried that you ended up with your front half on one side of the door, and your rear on the other!”

Sweetie Belle was starting to get frustrated that Apple Bloom was shooting down all her ideas. “Well then what do you think we should do! Because I’m not going to sit here and watch Fluttershy die!”

Apple Bloom didn’t mean to be negative, but she was just being practical and as level headed as she could given their situation. There was something that could save Fluttershy, and it was in her saddle bag. She was hesitant though, Apple Bloom didn’t know if the potion would cure Fluttershy, kill her, or change her into something unrecognizable. Helplessness crept into Apple Bloom’s heart, she was the leader of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and when her friend and their favorite foalsitter were in real trouble, she couldn’t do anything.

“Hello…?”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked in the direction of the voice. The alicorn mare from earlier was walking towards them. Her face obscured by the shadows of her hood as her cloak flapped with each step. Apple Bloom quickly put herself between Sweetie and Fluttershy, adopting an attack position and putting on the fiercest expression she could muster. The alicorn mare stopped, she almost looked hurt by the action.

“Don’t come any closer, who are ya, and what do you want?!” Apple Bloom demanded.

The alicorn mare paused, her wings fidgeted under her cloak as if thinking about the question. “My name…? My name is…is…Shazam.”

Apple Bloom looked at the mare with confusion. “‘Shazam’, that’s yer name, really?”

“Y-Yeah, it’s my name, I’m Shazam! And I just want to help, I don’t want to hurt you,” said the mare.

Apple Bloom didn’t know why, but she felt a strange familiarity with the alicorn mare, as if she knew her.

“APPLE BLOOM!”

The earth filly’s attention was drawn elsewhere as she turned her head to look at Sweetie Belle, her face filled with worry and panic. Apple Bloom, forgetting the alicorn mare, rushed back to her friend and skidded to halt.

“What’s wrong?!”

“Her breathing is getting worse, look!”

Indeed Fluttershy’s raspy breaths were becoming strained gasps for her, as if she were submerged underwater and was being held there against her will. She could not thrash around in a panic; her body was almost completely paralyzed now. Neither of them noticed till the last moment when the alicorn, Shazam, stood right beside them. They let out a surprised “eep” and jumped a bit from her sudden appearance. Shazam looked over her Fluttershy’s body, noting the puncture wound and the condition she was in.

“Can you help her?! Please help her she’s dying!” Sweetie begged.

“I…I don’t know if I can…”

“Wha’dya mean ya don’t know?! You’re an alicorn and you just fought a Chimera and came back with not a scratch on ya! You have to have some sort of spell to heal her!”

Shazam hesitated, her own inexperience with her newfound power could accidentally kill Fluttershy, the same way she obliterated the Chimera. Apple Bloom grunted in frustration and decided enough was enough.

“Buck it! We ain’t got a choice no more!” Apple Bloom knew she’d get scolded for using such language if her sister, brother, or Granny Smith found out, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that. The filly reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a vial of the potion she was going to use to help Scootaloo, now she was instead going to use it to save Fluttershy’s life, hopefully.

“Wait, you said you still needed to test it first!” Sweetie exclaimed.

“We ain’t got time for second guessin’ here! Either Ah do this and she lives, or I buck up and she dies either way!”

Apple Bloom started to think of how she was going to get the potion in Fluttershy. She couldn’t swallow with the way she was breathing. The only other way was to pour the concoction into the wound directly. Apple Bloom held the vial in the crook of her hoof as she popped the cork off of it with her teeth. She was about to pour it into the wound when the mare stopped her by putting her hoof over the opening.

“No wait minute, something’s…not right with that.”

“What, what’s wrong with it?!” Apple Bloom asked.

Shazam stared at the vial intensely, almost like she was trying to unravel the makings of the potion just by sight alone. After a few tense seconds Shazam shook her head.

“Don’t give it to her, it’s not ready,” said Shazam.

“How can you tell?” asked Sweetie Belle with suspicion.

“I can’t explain it, but…I can just tell that it isn’t. It needs something, something that will bring it together.”

Apple Bloom let out another frustrated grunt. “What else does it need?! An herb, a flower, some rock shavins’, what?!”

“It needs…” Shazam then looked down to the lightning bolt insignia on her chest, the very one that housed the living lightning. “Let me try something, and hopefully I won’t blow us all up.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing! Just hold that potion still.”

Shazam reached out and gingerly touched the vial with the tip of her hoof. The lightning in her chest streamed from the insignia and through her foreleg. When it reached the tip of her hoof a tiny bolt zapped the vial. The magical energy caused a chain reaction within the vial, energizing it and changing the color to that of a bright pink. Apple Bloom stared at the new concoction and then at Shazam. The mare nodded her okay, although weary, and with little options left open, Apple Bloom carefully administered the potion. Pouring the liquid into the open wound and making Fluttershy hiss with pain. When the vial was empty Apple Bloom tossed it to the ground, now all that was left was to wait and see.

At first nothing happened, Fluttershy’s breathing was still irregular, but that slowly changed as her strained breathing began to slowly become less labored. One of her front hooves twitched and then one of her back hooves. Steadily Fluttershy was regaining feeling in her limbs, and most importantly, in her chest. Fluttershy’s eyes slowly opened, her vision became less blurry as the world came back into focus. The first thing she did was smile at the two fillies, letting them know that she was still here with them.

“I…I’m starting to feel better girls…” Fluttershy then looked to the hooded alicorn who stood next to them. Her first instinct would be to worry and panic about a strange hooded pony, but the smile she saw on the face of this mare made her feel safe. “Were…Were you the one who helped us…?”

“Um, y-yeah, I did…”

“Thank you.”

Apple Bloom didn’t know if she saw it or not, but she could’ve sworn she saw a tear fall from under Shazam’s hood.

“One of you might want to go and find some help.”

Shazam then began to walk away, before either Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom could say anything the alicorn mare sped away, leaving behind only a dust trail in her wake.

Scootaloo was right back where she started by the time she had ended her super speed run. The cloak vanished, sensing that she was alone. Scootaloo then leaned up against the tree that supported the CMC HQ, she wasn’t tired, but she needed to get things in order.

“Okay…Fluttershy will be alright, AB and Sweetie will be too. I…I killed the Chimera…so now…now…Oh no.”

It just now dawned on Scootaloo that she never asked the Wizard if this was a permanent transformation.

“Oh crap, no! Am I going to be an alicorn for the rest of my life?! Granted that’s not a bad thing, but how am I going to explain this to everypony?! Will the Princesses be mad that I am an alicorn?! Damn it why didn’t I think to ask?!”

Scootaloo began pacing back and forth, trying to think of how she could explain this or change back. It took a while, and she knew that she would not have enough time before somepony was out looking for her. It was then that a crazy idea entered her head.

“Well, it worked to change me into this; it should turn me back right?”

Scootaloo stood away from the treehouse, not wanting the lightning bolt to come crashing down on their clubhouse. Once she was a safe distance from it, Scootaloo concentrated on the feelings she used to initiate the transformation, and when she felt it the alicorn mare spoke aloud the word.

“SHAZAM!!! ”

A lightning bolt suddenly shot down from the sky out of nowhere and struck Scootaloo. A cloud of white smoke appeared around her, obscuring the form of the super heroine. Scootaloo walked forward out of the cloud of smoke and opened her eyes. She was no longer a tall and slender alicorn mare, but merely a small, pegasus filly. Scootaloo inspected her form, checking to see if anything was amiss or permanently altered.

“Okay, it looks like everything’s back to normal. But still…”

Scootaloo’s mind briefly flashed back to the fight with the Chimera, and how she lost control of the spell and vaporized the beast and almost a good portion of the forest. Even knowing that the creature was going to kill her friends, it filled her with regret, killing wasn’t her intention, but it happened, because she had lost control of her power.

I really need to find somepony to help me out with this magic stuff.

Deciding that that was enough adventure and excitement for today, Scootaloo strapped on her helmet and made her way back to town. She’d pretend like she didn’t know what was happening, and she would also play dumb. Scootaloo needed time to break this news to those closest to her, but for now, she would pretend like it was any other day.

THE NEXT DAY…

On the outskirts of town lied the newest tourist attraction for Ponyville, Castle Concordia. The name was chosen by Twilight herself, having come across the word and learning that it meant “harmony”, “unity”, and “togetherness”. Even though she still missed the modest Golden Oaks Library, which had served as both Ponyville’s library and her home ever since she came to reside in this town, she couldn’t deny that the castle did have some benefits. The first, and most important thing as far as Twilight was concerned, was the library. Unlike Golden Oaks the library within Concordia could house thousands of books more than the old one.

Although it wasn’t as enormous as the Canterlot Royal Library, it was still big. The second was the extra guest rooms. Twilight liked the closeness of her old home, but with Spike growing up, she knew she’d have to move him out of his basket and into his own room. The young drake was elated when she presented him with his very own room, it was only a couple of doors down from Twilight’s chambers, being in the same room and sleeping just a foot away from each other didn’t really offer much in the way of privacy. This way, Twilight had her privacy and Spike had his, but both were still close enough to be reached.

The third was the finding of her personal study. A sense of nostalgia washed over Twilight when she first entered the room, remembering the days and nights when she was a filly, and she would go to Princess Celestia’s study to ask a question or to just spend time with her mentor. And, along with the study, she found ample room to have her own personal laboratory, which was housed in a sub-basement some feet below the castle, so if anything went wrong it wouldn’t affect the citizens up top.

But, with the joys of a new castle, also came the woes. Mountains of paperwork had to be signed and sent to Canterlot, classifying Ponyville as a region under Princess Twilight’s rule, officially making it a kingdom, with the small town as its capital. Nobles were in an uproar about the town becoming a kingdom, believing that there was no nobility amongst the Ponyville citizens and that they were unworthy of such an honor. Then there was the flood of construction propositions. Since Ponyville was now the Capital of Friendship, there were many ponies who arrived from different parts of Equestria, propositioning Twilight for Ponyville to expand and grow into a city.

Serene Script, also known as Mayor Mare, was given the role of Minister of Internal affairs. Which was basically a glorified title, but it allowed the earth pony mare to keep her station as the mayor of Ponyville. Twilight had no intentions of putting the ponies who ran the town out of work. So with some creative loopholes, Twilight was able to keep everypony who aided Serene Script in maintaining Ponyville’s welfare. Twilight’s friends were very helpful as well, especially during meetings that some had come to call the “Council of Friendship”. Silly little titles, but Twilight didn’t mind, she actually liked them.

Today however was not a fun day for the purple alicorn. She had been moving about the town and her castle frantically answering questions and making investigative plans. Apparently Fluttershy was attacked by a Chimera that had come to kill the Apple family. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were there, and the two almost became lunch. But according to them, a mysterious alicorn mare appeared and fought the Chimera. Subsequently, this coincided with the reports of citizens witnessing strange phenomenon in the sky.

Loud roars of thunder and lightning flashing in the sky when there wasn’t a cloud to be seen, Everfree or otherwise, and then there was the oddity of many unicorns’ horns reacting to a powerful magic that was in the area, Twilight’s included. They weren’t able to find this “Shazam” anywhere despite a wide search. Twilight had ordered the Dusk Guard to keep a close watch on the borders of the Everfree Forest, as well as set up a sentry post to monitor if any other such beasts would try and come seeking revenge.

At this moment, Twilight was lying on her queen sized bed, splayed out in exhaustion. All of today’s and yesterday’s events had taken their toll on her and she needed some rest. As Twilight’s eyelids began to lower she was roused back from the edge of sleep by a knock at her door. With an annoyed sigh, she answered.

“Come in,” she said with a slight amount of annoyance.

When the door opened Twilight craned her neck in the direction of the door, her expression softened when she saw the familiar maroon colored earth pony mare. Cheerilee entered the bedchambers and looked a bit nervous about entering.

“Sorry Princess, Spike said you’d be here and I know you’ve been busy lately but…”

“Cheery,” said Twilight, “you know my rule about my friends…and marefriends calling me ‘princess’ when it’s just us.”

Cheerilee blushed, both for forgetting the rule and because Twilight called her, her marefriend. “Sorry Twi, it’s just a habit when around royalty. And to be fair, we started dating what, like, three months before you ascended?”

“More or less, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not the same Twilight as I was when I was a unicorn. Remember that winter when I had Spike stay over at Rarity’s and we cuddled near the fireplace?”

Cheerilee started to get a dreamy look in her eyes, remembering that cold winter when she and Twilight were in her old home, the roaring of the fire, the loving nuzzles each would give, and sharing in their knowledge. There’s was a relationship of the mind as well as the heart. But as much as Cheerilee wanted to indulge in her fantasies she had to get back to the matter at hoof.

“Twilight, there was something that I wanted to talk to you about, and it is rather serious.”

The Princess of Friendship’s expression fell, worry now clouding her face. Twilight repositioned herself so that she was lying down on the bed with her legs tucked under her. She then motioned for Cheerilee to come and sit by her, an offer that the maroon mare accepted quickly. Cheerilee then began her talk, she hated burdening her marefriend with her work problems, but she knew that Twilight cared about Scootaloo and her friends, so she was the only other one (well other than Rainbow Dash, but that mare was hard to track down as fast as she was) who would understand.

She began with the incident, following into the parent-teacher conference with Filthy Rich. Cheerilee noticed Twilight furrow her brow upon mentioning how he acted and spoke about the little filly, and lastly, she expressed her concerns about how Scootaloo apparently saw herself. The words she spoke worried Twilight.

“I had no idea she thought of herself like that…”

“Don’t beat yourself up Twilight; it’s the same for me.” Cheerilee then sighed. “As great as it is that she’s willing to stick up and protect her friends, it really sounds like she doesn’t care too much about what happens to her in the process of doing so.”

Silence reigned within the room for a while, neither mare saying a word as they contemplated what to do for the young pegasus filly.

“Yes Cheery?”

“What would you say to me…adopting Scootaloo?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she stared at her marefriend with a gaping mouth. The alicorn princess had to shake her head and gather her thoughts before she spoke again.

“Cheery…you….you want to adopt Scootaloo!”

“Well, she is an orphan at that Wayward House, and, I am a school teacher. Plus I’m not really splurging on needless things, I mean, you’ve seen my place. I have more than enough room for Scootaloo.”

“But…are you sure about this? I mean, I have no doubts about you being a good parent or guardian for Scootaloo, but…this is a big decision.”

Cheerilee reached out her hoof and placed it over Twilight’s as she smiled at the alicorn mare. “That’s why I came here to talk to you about it. I want to, but since you’re just as much a part of my life as you are in Scootaloo’s, I wanted your opinion first. Because, let’s face it, when she finds out her teacher is dating her other teacher, it’s going to be awkward.”

The thought of being a parent sound really nice. Spike was technically a child she raised, but the young drake could more or less take care of himself most the time. Plus she saw him as more of a kid brother than her actual child, even if she was the one to hatch him. Spike hadn’t showed that much difference between treating her as his mother or like a big sister, since she did pretty much switch between roles from time to time. So she did have experience.

“Well, I’m not against it. In fact, if you’d let me, I’d like to help.”

Cheerilee leaned over and kissed Twilight softly on the lips. Twilight melted into the tender lips of the mare before her, closing her eyes to savor the moment. When they parted, Twilight and Cheerilee both had adorkable looks on their faces.

“I would love for you to, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a Princess’ recommendation to ‘speed things along’.” Cheerilee added with a sultry smirk.

“Oh, so you date me for favors? And who said you could use me as a threat anyway, granted Filthy Rich is an exception for being a total plot-head, but still?!”

“Yeah, I used you as a threat, so what are you,” Cheerilee booped Twilight on her snout, making the purple alicorn wrinkle her nose, “going to do about, Princess Twilight?”

There was another minute of silence as the two mares locked eyes with each other.

“I’ll get the skirt, shirt, and stockings,” called Cheerilee.

“And I’ll get the ruler,” said Twilight.

Did I mention privacy before? I’m pretty sure that I did.

FAR TO THE EAST…

The desert winds blustered and howled, kicking up sand and sediment into the air and creating sand twisters here and there. In the distance, within this almost vast ocean of sand, was a large fence that cordoned off a good section of the desert. There were two unicorns standing sentry at the entrance, both wore uniforms with no markings, but strapped to their sides was a long scimitar.

Within the fence, hundreds of ponies and zebras were hard at work digging into the ground. Remnants of old structures stood in a dilapidated state. Pictograph carvings were littered around different pillars and walls, each one telling a story of the history of the ancient civilization that once occupied this region. Near the center of the dig site was a large white tent, and inside was an earth pony with a five o’clock shadow, a light-brown coat, teal eyes, and a black mane with a gray streak in it. His cutie mark, a golden skull with an empty right eye and a ruby in the other, was a testament to his work and his intentions in getting at what laid beneath the ground.

Dr. Caballeron was a business stallion, and an archeologist. Of course, a certain mare by the name of Daring Do might say he disgraced the noble profession, simply calling him a lowly tomb raider. But really, was she any different? What are archeologists if not tomb raiders, off in search of ancient artifacts and treasures hidden in the earth and lost by the ravages of time. The only real difference was who got paid at the end of the day. Archeologists often got meager grants that paid for equipment that was sometimes dated or inefficient, and how many times was a project derailed because some nobles wouldn’t foot the bill just as they were on the verge of a major discovery?!

Well, the good doctor had had it with that. So he went into business for himself. Now not only was he being paid to go after and dig up ancient artifacts, but depending on what he found, he could make a good amount of money by selling them on the Black Market.

Now, Dr. Caballeron was commissioned by a new client. They apparently knew of his shady dealings, but they knew his work was thorough and excellent. That was why he was now in this Celestia forsaken desert. They wanted something that was buried underneath this sandbox, and hired him to find this certain something and in exchange he could take as much of whatever treasure he found as he and his cohorts could carry.

Currently, the good doctor was scrutinizing over an ancient map that detailed the structure that was still yet to be unearthed. Dr. Caballeron had his “assistants” go in search of somepony who knew the area. There were many nomadic tribes moving in and out of the area, and given that most of their history and legends are passed verbally, though they may be tales and legends, there was always a hint of truth to them, and some had hidden messages that could help in finding what he sought. Luna knows he had gone through quite a few “informants” before getting those other golden rings for Ahuizotl.

Caballeron heard the flapping of the tent doors opening and turned to see his thug cohorts throw in a cloaked stranger. The two stallion marehandled the stranger up roughly and drew back his hood, showing that the stranger was an elderly zebra stallion, he may’ve been old, but his long years of being a nomad had made him fit and strong. He had a black and blue bruise over his right eye, and some blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he huffed and panted in pain.

“The workers tell me that you my friend are the holder of legends amongst your tribe, a ‘shaman’, correct?”

“…………”

“Oh come now, don’t you want to tell me a little story? Perhaps about what once used to stand here?”

The old zebra remained silent.

Caballeron could see that this zebra was going to stay quiet, and it seemed that he had made his peace with whatever spirit or deity he worshipped.

“Fine then, the hard way then.” Dr. Caballeron then looked to the stallion on his left. “Did you remember to collect the members of this zebra’s tribe?”

“Yes doctor.”

“Very well, start killing them, one at time, and start with the foals. Don’t want any those little snot nosed brats coming back for revenge now do we?”

The shaman looked at Caballeron with shock; he couldn’t believe the earth pony could so easily order the murder of a foal. Caballeron noticed the expression on the shaman’s face and smirked.

“Once you’ve gone through them, start on the adults next.” Caballeron then walked up to the zebra shaman and stared him directly in the eyes. “I wonder, can you bear the burden of being responsible for the deaths of so many? How many foals will you let die before I reach somepony you actually care about? Make no mistake my friend; they will die unless you say something now that saves them.”

The shaman could see it, this stallion meant it, and he wasn’t bluffing. The shaman sighed in defeat and glared at the earth pony.

“Listen well, though your black heart I do condemn, I shall tell you the tale of Teth Adam…”

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 4: Discovery

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Two days had passed since the incident, and Scootaloo hadn’t changed since then. As fun as wielding all that power was, she realized in the same day just how dangerous she could be if she didn’t learn how to control it. There weren’t that many places for Scootaloo to practice unfortunately, she had thought about going to Ghastly Gorge to practice, but then there was the matter of the Quarray eels, if she went around throwing lightning bolts in there she was sure to accidentally kill the creatures.

It was something that weighed on her mind since Saturday, and now it was Tuesday. She had been suspended from school for at least three days and today was the second day of her suspension. Cheerilee had made it clear that she was on her side, but as a teacher, she couldn’t condone what Scootaloo did to Diamond Tiara. Scootaloo thought that that was fair, it wasn’t so bad knowing that her teacher did believe her, some would just write her off Scootaloo as a violent troublemaker, but not Cheerilee.

The matron at Wayward House had Scootaloo help around the house and having Scootaloo go to the market when she wasn’t able. It was fine with her, she needed time to think. As she made her way into the market district, Scootaloo saw Fluttershy walking about with Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Even though she came close to death’s door, she was back on her hooves and just as happy as always.

After she was done at the market and getting the groceries back to Wayward House, Scootaloo decided to just hang out somewhere, not the clubhouse. She found herself at the park; her scooter leaned up against a tree and her helmet hanging off the handlebar. She stared up into the sky, watching the clouds roll by. There was just so much she didn’t know about magic she obtained, for one thing it didn’t seem to alter the state of her weak wings, nor did it give her a cutie mark. She was starting to wonder if the old pony was senile and just chose her because there was really nopony else he could find to do the job.

Scootaloo then closed her eyes and started to drift into a brief nap, taking after her big sister.

“Hi Scoots!”

“AAAH!”

Scootaloo’s eyes flew wide open as she hurriedly jumped to her hooves and almost spoke the word of power out of defense, but stopped when she saw the familiar purple and green scales.

“Spike?!”

“Y-Yeah.”

Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. “Jeez Spike, you almost gave me a heart attack! And you know that’s a good way to get a black eye.”

Spike rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Sorry about that, but I’ve been looking for you.”

Scootaloo froze. “Looking, for me, why?”

“Don’t know, Twilight said she wanted to talk to you privately about something. But you weren’t where she sent me, so I went out looking for you. Well, now that I have, let’s head to the castle.”

This was a predicament. Scootaloo hadn’t yet figured out a way to properly explain where she had gone, who she spoke to, and why she could change between an alicorn mare and a pegasus filly. Scootaloo knew she’d have to explain this somehow, but she never imagined that time was now! There was a chance for her to run now, if she hopped on her scooter now she could be halfway out of town, and with a quick transformation she could be in Manehattan in less than a few seconds. But that wouldn’t be cool, besides, this was possibly the lesser of two evils. She wasn’t sure how Princess Celestia would take to all this, but she had a better chance if it was Twilight; even Princess Luna would have been fine too.

“Let’s go then…”

Scootaloo never felt such a sense of dread since, well, since she was before she arrived in Wayward House. The pegasus Dusk Guards stood on either side of Castle Concordia’s double doors. The two stallion’s followed Spike and Scootaloo with their eyes, unflinching, like statues. She gulped, believing that they knew who and what she was.

Spike led her through the halls of the castle, there were many ponies walking about, some were cleaning staff, most were guards and the ponies who helped run Ponyville. Spike kept walking till they were at the doors to the library; Spike opened the door and gestured with his claw for Scootaloo to go inside.

“Twilight’s waiting for you in the usual spot you have for your Twilight Time, I’ll be around if you guys need anything.”

Scootaloo gulped again. She entered the room, hearing the doors close behind her. Scootaloo looked around the large rotunda room. Bookshelves littered the walls on the first and second level, a round table was set in the middle of the room, it was where Apple Bloom would practice her potions and where Sweetie Belle read her spell books, and where Scootaloo read up on how different things worked, engineering books if she remembered correctly.

But there was only one book near the table, a book which bared Princess Celestia’s sun cutie mark, and it was being held by Twilight. She had seen that book on a stand in her throne room and on her desk in the study. She could hear a few giggles coming from behind the book, which made Scootaloo wonder what was so funny. Knowing that delaying the inevitable wasn’t going to make this any easier, Scootaloo walked up to the table and cleared her throat.

“Ahem, Princess Twilight?”

Twilight lowered the book and smiled when she saw Scootaloo. “Oh Scootaloo, sorry, I was just reading a message.” Twilight levitated the book to the stand and set it down before turning her attention to Scootaloo. “You know you can come sit by me, I won’t bite.”

“Yes Princess…”

Scootaloo walked over to where Twilight was and sat down next to her. The Princess of Friendship looked upon the filly with concern, all three of Crusaders never called her “princess” when they were alone and having Twilight Time. Twilight extended her right wing and gently placed it on Scootaloo’s back, she felt the filly flinch and tremble slightly, and she wasn’t even looking at her.

“Scootaloo, are you alright?”

“N-Never better…”

Still skeptical, Twilight decided to start. “Well, Scootaloo, there’s an important matter I wanted to talk to you about. Now I know –”

“IT WAS ME, I’M SHAZAM!”

Twilight stared at Scootaloo, blinked two or three times, and opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to get some words out.

“Pardon me –?”

Scootaloo quickly turned to face Twilight and inhaled deeply. “Just let me explain first! I was at the clubhouse when it happened, that’s where I got sucked into this weird dimension! I met an old pony there who called himself the Wizard and he said I was ‘chosen to become magic’s champion’, of course I didn’t believe him at first, but then he looked into my memories and saw my past and my present! After that he said I was worthy and I admit I wasn’t really confident about the whole thing, but then he showed me that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy were being attacked by a Chimera! I told him I accepted and then I said ‘SHAZAM’ and then I changed into some kind of super alicorn or something?! He sent me back and I fought the Chimera, I didn’t mean to kill it, but I lost control of a spell and ended up vaporizing the Chimera and almost everything else! I helped AB fix her potion and she used it to save Fluttershy! Then I went back to the clubhouse, said SHAZAM again, and turned back to normal! I haven’t transformed sense then! I’m sorry, I know I should’ve told somepony, especially you, but I was afraid of what you would say!”

Scootaloo stopped to take in some air before continuing.

“But now you found out…I should’ve known you would Twilight, you’re great at magic, of course you’d figure it out that that power was mine, probably used some kind of spell to link it to me. So…am I going to go to Canterlot to see Princess Celestia or are you going to do something me…?”

Twilight’s left eye was twitching as her brain worked to take in the flood of information that Scootaloo had just dumped on the young alicorn princess. After her mind finally caught up, Twilight looked at Scootaloo in confusion.

“What did you expect me to do to you?”

“I-I don’t know! Throw me in a dungeon, banish me to the moon! That’s why you called me here right, to tell me that you knew about me being Shazam and that I need to be locked up?!”

“Scootaloo…that’s not why I called you here.”

The world just ground to a halt at the moment, Scootaloo looked up at Twilight in disbelief, a nervous smile forming on her lips.

“You’re kidding, right?” asked Scootaloo in a worried tone.

“I honestly had no idea until you just said all that.”

“…………………Twilight, may I please request the Angry Dome spell please?”

Twilight lit up her horn and created a large bubble of solidified mana around Scootaloo. She then watched as Scootaloo shouted, screamed, and yelled at the top of her lungs. She then kicked the barrier repeatedly and just utterly had a freak out within the cone. Twilight was more than sure she lip read a few adult curse words while she was ranting and shouting inside, but that was the reason for the spell in the first place, to vent one’s frustrations. By the end, Scootaloo’s mane and tail were a mess as she panted in exhaustion from her little freak out. She then nodded to Twilight who brought down the barrier and used her magic to straighten the filly’s hair and tail.

“Thank you, Twilight.”

“Alright, now that you got that out of your system, I think a more detailed explanation is in order.”

Scootaloo sighed. “I know, so, where do you want me to start?”

“Let’s start at the beginning and we’ll go from there.”

Scootaloo spent the latter part of the day explaining to Twilight how she obtained the Power of Shazam. Twilight listened intently as the young filly spoke, wanting every little detail, from the things she saw in the place she was in, the description of the Wizard, and even the sensations she felt while in his presence. Scootaloo then spoke of how she felt when the power transformed her, turning her into an alicorn mare of exceptional power, strength, and speed.

Twilight could hear the lament in her voice when Scootaloo spoke of killing the Chimera; she empathized with the young filly, remembering when she had to take on the power of the other Princesses. The rush it gave her, it made Twilight feel invincible and scary powerful. It showed when she fought against Tirek, unleashing all her anger and fury upon the centaur, not holding back anything as she blasted him with one powerful magic blast after the other. She wasn’t thinking of subduing him then, but stopping him by any means possible. The only thing that prevented her from killing him in her rage was the fact that they were equal in power and could not harm each other as easily as they would’ve thought.

But Scootaloo was vastly more powerful than the Chimera, she knew this, which is why she only wanted to beat the Chimera, not obliterate it. Twilight could scarcely imagine the burden she was carrying, a monster though it was; the Chimera was still sentient like they were. Twilight started to wonder how she’d react if she killed Tirek during their battle. But that was a thought for another day, right now Twilight had a more pressing concern.

“So, you transform whenever you say ‘shazam’? But you must’ve said it at least six or seven times already and you’re still you,” said Twilight.

“I know. I found that out when I first tried it. The Wizard said that saying the ‘word of power’ isn’t enough to make me transform. He said I have to concentrate on all the good inside, all the righteous fury, and pour it into the word as I say it.”

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin in contemplation. Twilight then used her magic to bring out a chalkboard and some chalk and started writing on it, while drawing a few diagrams and images.

“A physical transformation spell that only requires the caster to verbally speak one word, and they don’t have to be a unicorn to begin with. Such a drastic transformation between ones original tribal species to that of a form that incorporates all three isn’t easy. While the addition of special requirements for a spell to activate isn’t unusual, what is unusual is the amount of power required to pull it off. The spell that changed me was a powerful one that needed the Elements of Harmony, and with me the transformation is permanent.”

Twilight finished the first part of her notes, showing the power required for such a transformation, the three pony tribes, the amalgamation of those tribes which was an alicorn, and of course herself and the Elements of Harmony. Twilight then divided the board and began to write another set of notes.

“On the other hoof, we have a spell that seems to be able to be cast by either an earth pony or a pegasus pony, and we’ll say unicorn ponies as well for argument’s sake. Not only does it have special requirements in order to transform its caster, but it has enough power to change the pony’s biology – at least from what you’ve said – in a near instant.

Although, your power, strength, and speed appear to be equivalent to that four alicorns’ magic combined, there is a possibility that it could exceed that. On top of that, unlike myself, you can change between your original pegasus form and into your alicorn form. This power also appears to take the form of lightning, which makes sense since light travels at 186,000 miles per second and the amount of power a normal lightning bolt contains is fifteen million volts. It could be assumed that this was the most efficient way to have the transformation take place since our bodies are jumble of nerves that connect every part of our body, in order to facilitate the transformation quickly and with little resistance via other means.

But what’s interesting are the conditions, you must feel good and righteousness in your heart when you speak the word, otherwise you could say the word a hundred times and nothing will happen. Whereas mine was triggered when I finished the spell of Star Swirl the bearded, creating the Magic of Friendship and uniting it with my friends…”

Twilight stopped to examine her notes. The other half of the chalkboard had a line that splintered off from the first set, showing the divergent difference in Scootaloo’s magical transformation. The three tribes, a bubble that said “good and righteousness”, both of which had lines that led to another bubble that read “Spoken Word: SHAZAM” which led to the picture of a generic alicorn mare. Scootaloo, for her part, just stared at how Twilight was able to break down everything she told her, and putting it together in a scientific way on a chalkboard.

The Princess of Friendship then put down the chalk she had in her telekinetic aura and looked to the young filly. “Scootaloo, I hate to ask you, but could you show me?”

Scootaloo looked around the room, wondering if she should. “Do you really think it’s a good idea for me to do that here, in the library, with all your books?”

Twilight’s eye twitched again. She quickly lit her horn and cast a spell, a wave of rose colored light swept over the books and doorway, layering over it like a protective shell. She then made brick walls of magical energy and surrounded all the bookshelves in a second layer of protection. Scootaloo chuckled at the sight of Twilight doing all she could to make sure her books weren’t destroyed.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Heh, heh…” Twilight chuckled embarrassedly as she blushed at the extensive measures.

Seeing that everything was well protected, Scootaloo put some distance between herself and Twilight. She didn’t know what would happen when she called upon the power, if the lightning would even reach her through the castle or if it would just crash through the roof altogether.

Worst case, Twilight can explain it as an experiment.

Scootaloo concentrated on the feelings, she was aware of Twilight watching her intently, and she hoped that nothing would happen to her, with that in mind, Scootaloo proclaimed in a loud voice.

“SHAZAM!!! ”

Twilight looked up at that moment and watched as a bolt of lightning shot down from the ceiling, completely out of nowhere. Her first instinct was to protect Scootaloo, but the lightning was faster than her reflexes and struck Scootaloo. The room flashed with blue light and the sounds of electricity crackling, along with the smell of ozone from the ionized air. White smoke appeared around were Scootaloo was and Twilight felt a great dread grip at her heart, but that was quickly forgotten when a large orange wing appeared out of the smoke and flapped once.

The flap generated a small gust of wind that blew away the smoke and nearly lifted Twilight off the floor. After righting herself, Twilight stared in awe at the transformed filly.

“Sorry about that Twilight, I still don’t know my own strength, literally.”

“This…is…amazing!”

“Uh-oh…”

Twilight quickly ran up to Scootaloo, a pencil and notepad somehow appearing within her telekinetic aura, and started to examine Scootaloo’s form. Scootaloo tried to remain calm and as pliable as possible as Twilight lifted one leg, looked at it, wrote something on her notes, and then moved on till all four legs were examined. She then pulled out a measuring tape and had Scootaloo flare out her wings, notating the increased wingspan. She then ran her hooves along the muscles and bone of the wings, an act that made Scootaloo let out an embarrassed gasp.

Twilight quickly took her away and blushed. “Sorry, sorry, I-I didn’t mean to – I mean – I wasn't trying –!”

“I-It’s fine, Twilight, just, be more careful,” said Scootaloo blushing.

Twilight continued her examination, noting all the curves her lithe body had developed, and no doubt her muscles were lean to ensure no increased weight. The final part of her examination was Scootaloo’s chest. She stared into the lightning bolt insignia, watching as the living lightning inside it ebbed and flowed. It was almost as if Twilight was staring directly into the heart of magic itself, feeling a strange with the energy. Twilight stepped back and looked over her notes to make sure that nothing was missed in her examination.

“Well, looks like that’s it, but still, this is truly amazing. Does it hurt when you change Scootaloo?”

The orange alicorn mare thought the question over. “It feels…tingly, I guess, at first. But afterwards I feel strong, powerful. Like nothing could stop me from picking up a mountain and hurling it into space!”

“Wow…”

“Well, since I’m like this. I was wondering, could you teach me how to use magic Twilight? I don’t want something like that to ever happen again!”

“Scootaloo,” spoke Twilight softly, “I don’t want you going out and putting yourself in dangerous situations like that. I’m not going to teach you so you can go out and fight monsters.”

The alicorn mare shook her head vigorously. “No, I just want to know how to control it! I’m sure I can figure out the speed and strength thing on my own, but magic, I don’t know the first thing about it! I only cast that spell by remembering all the times you, Sweetie, and Rarity used your magic, and look how well that turned out!”

Scootaloo got closer to Twilight, even though there was desperate and pleading look in her eyes, the height difference made Scootaloo just a bit intimidating.

“Please Twilight; you’re the only one who can help me with this…!”

Twilight looked from Scootaloo’s eyes then to the living lightning within her chest. The great power she possessed was dangerous, how dangerous was up for debate, but that was the point. Scootaloo knew how dangerous her power was and did not want to hurt or kill anypony with it accidentally. As a Princess of Equestria, Twilight knew she should forbid her from ever using this power for her own safety and find a way to seal it. But then again, the part of her that was a teacher and the part of her that cared about Scootaloo warred with her emotions. After a few short minutes of tension filled silence, Twilight gave her an answer.

“Okay Scootaloo, I’ll help you the best I can. But you have to do as I say, that means when I say to stop you stop, if I say don’t change at all, don’t. We’re going to do this carefully and safely the whole time. Do you understand?” Twilight asked with her best authoritative voice.

A grateful smile split Scootaloo’s face as she reached out and hugged Twilight close to her. “Thank you Twilight! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Twilight had felt bone crushing hugs before, mostly from Pinkie Pie, but right now, she felt as if Scootaloo was about to snap her in two like a dried out twig.

“Bones…crushing…lungs…collapsing…” Twilight croaked.

“Oh my gosh!” Scootaloo immediately released Twilight, letting the princess drop onto the floor in a heap. “I’m so sorry Twilight! Are you alright?!”

This…This is going to be rough…Ugh, I wonder if I should tell Cheery about this…? Twilight glanced up at the worried Scootaloo. No, she’d freak out, definitely a no for now…

While this was going on, neither mares took notice of a small, pink shimmering butterfly fluttering overhead. The butterfly then flew up to the ceiling and disappeared into particles of pink light.

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 5: The Rock of Eternity

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“That’s it Scootaloo, breathe in, breathe out,” instructed Twilight.

Scootaloo, in her alicorn alter ego form, Shazam, was sitting in the lowest level of Castle Concordia, Twilight’s personal laboratory. The Dusk Guard and many of the other ponies who worked in the castle knew never to go down into her laboratory unless otherwise told it was safe to do so. About the only one allowed to stroll in was Spike, but even he knew not to go opening the door to the lab without first knowing if Twilight was experimenting with a spell or concoction that was volatile.

The walls were reinforced with stone, a diamond shell, and spelled with many protective wards to prevent anything harmful or hazardous from getting out. Twilight had magically moved the majority of her equipment to a storage area and left the room mostly empty, barring a table with some books that read “A Young Unicorn’s Guide to Basic Magic”, “Magic 101”, and “Dimwit’s Guide to Practicing Magic.”

For the past two weeks Twilight had thought it best to teach Scootaloo the most basic of magic techniques, taking into account what she saw at the forest near Fluttershy’s home, she knew that Scootaloo had a ridiculous amount of magical power, and that it could cause massive damage if not properly controlled. It made the young alicorn shudder when she thought about what would’ve happened if one of her magic energy blasts had hit Ponyville during her battle with Tirek.

There would be no Ponyville, nothing and no one left…

Shaking the grim thought from her mind, Twilight went back to the task at hoof. A red rubber ball was in the middle of the room, set right between Twilight and Scootaloo. The transformed mare was currently trying to use telekinesis, a simple and basic magic ability that many unicorns master early on in their foal years. Teaching Sweetie Belle was not too hard, being a unicorn she already had a connection to her inner magical power, but Scootaloo on the other hoof was the opposite. She had too much power, and even though she seemed to master the spell, it had some…complications.

Scootaloo’s magical aura was bright blue, mimicking the color of the lightning within her chest plate. It wrapped around the ball and began to raise it five inches off the ground. The orange alicorn’s brow furrowed as she concentrated on the task, breathing in and out as she slowly gave the mental command to move the rubber sphere higher into the air and at a steady pace. The ball then rose to Twilight’s eye level, staying in that position.

“How are you doing Scootaloo?” Twilight asked.

“Just…fine, it’s getting a little easier,” said Scootaloo.

“That’s good. Now I want you to slowly lower the ball back down to the ground and we’ll take a break.”

Twilight watched as the rubber ball floated back down to the ground, she smiled proudly as she watched Scootaloo work. Although she was teaching Sweetie Belle magic, Twilight hadn’t taken on an official apprentice, but Scootaloo and Sweetie were as close to that as she was going to get. Her smile however started to fade when she noticed that the aura around the ball started to spark with electrical currents. Twilight quickly looked to Scootaloo’s horn and saw that it was also arcing lightning. The ball began to shake up and down, trembling as the lightning energy built up around it.

“Duck?” Twilight asked.

“DUCK!”

The ball bounced against the floor and shot up to the ceiling. It then ricocheted off the ceiling at an angle and flew towards the other side of the room. The dome like structure of the room, along with the emptied contents allowed the ball to continuously bounce around the room uninterrupted. Twilight hit the deck and covered her head with her hooves; Scootaloo was busy trying to tract the ball’s movements in order to get a handle on the super charged orb.

Twilight, after seeing one of the walls that the ball hit had a two inch impact crater, quickly created a shield around herself. Unfortunately she was not fast enough as the ball ricocheted again off the wall behind her and sailed right for rear, the strike resonating within the room with a loud “SMACK” as it did so, making the purple alicorn yell in pain from the hit.

Scootaloo had had enough and focused more on the ball. Her horn glowed as lightning sparked off it. Her eyes tracked the movement of the ball as it zipped around the room, remembering her moves from the Chimera fight, Scootaloo dashed forth. She felt as the world around her slowed almost to a grinding halt, her incredible speed putting her in a different speed zone that few, if any, could enter. Within this heightened speed state, she saw the ball move around. It was moving at a medium speed, but not faster than her. Scootaloo noticed that the ball was starting to make another pass for Twilight, but she wasn’t going to let that happen.

The demi-god mare intercepted the ball before it reached Twilight, striking it with her right hoof and exploding the rubber ball into shreds. Scootaloo stopped and everything returned to its normal speed. She quickly turned around and looked at Twilight with worry.

“Twilight are you alright?!”

Twilight, after making sure that the ball was gone, slowly stood up but winced from the pain that radiated from her now reddening rear.

“Well…I think I’m not going to be sitting comfortably for a bit, but otherwise alright.”

Scootaloo hung her head low with shame. “I’m sorry Twilight, I thought I had it! Ugh, this is so frustrating!”

“It’s alright. Most unicorns when using levitation can’t do it right because they don’t have a good enough grasp on their magical energy, but with you it’s the opposite. You have so much magical energy that it sometimes overflows and causes…well, stuff like this. We just need to help you figure out how to better focus your magic.”

Scootaloo sighed sadly. “I wish I had asked the Wizard some questions, but all I could think about was saving Apple Bloom, Sweetie, and Fluttershy…”

Twilight walked up to the taller mare and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Scootaloo, you shouldn’t feel angry or upset because you chose putting your friends’ safety before everything else. Despite how it ended, you saved them, and they’re alive because of you.”

Scootaloo looked to Twilight and gave a small smile at her kind words.

“C’mon, let’s head up stairs. I’m sure you’re hungry, we’ve been here for hours now.”

The dining hall was large and long, just something you’d expect from a royal palace. Scootaloo and Twilight sat at the end of the long table and eating an assortment of prepared foods by the chefs of her castle, with Spike being the Head Chef and allocating his position to the Sous-Chef when he was busy with other duties around the castle or with Twilight in general.

“Hey, Twilight?”

“Hmm-hmm?”

“Do you think we should tell Spike at least about my whole…you know, alicorn transformation thing?” Scootaloo asked.

The filly pegasus watched as Twilight’s face scrunched in contemplation. She knew the importance of keeping her powers a secret, mostly because she didn’t know how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would react to her presence. Although the two sisters were benevolent and kind, they were not above fighting something that could potentially threaten other ponies. And right now, Scootaloo knew that she was a danger to others, at least while in her alicorn form.

“Honestly…I’d rather keep this between you and me. We just got over dealing with Tirek and then there were those Sirens in the other world, I’m sure Rainbow told you about when I went there, right?”

Scootaloo nodded.

“Right now Equestria’s in a delicate state, plus…”

“Plus what?”

“There are a few ponies within the nobility as well as some foreign powers that didn’t exactly take too kindly to the Princesses bestowing all their power to me.”

Scootaloo gave Twilight a confused look. “What are you talking about? They did that to make sure that that Tirek guy didn’t get all the alicorn magic. You said it made you super powerful, like me right?”

Twilight took a bite of her daisy and daffodil sandwich before answering. “Yes, but that’s why they didn’t like it. I was equal in power to Tirek during our fight, some were speculating that even if I did defeat Tirek with the power I had, they didn’t think I would so willing give up that power. That I’d take control of Equestria for myself since the Princesses were without power.”

The young filly’s eyes narrowed with anger and indignation. “That makes no sense! You protected everypony! Why would they think that?!”

“Scootaloo, have you ever heard the old saying ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’?” Twilight noticed the slightly confused look that the filly had on her face and decided to explain. “It means that if a pony has absolute power, sooner or later, that pony will become drunk on their power, and become something evil and bad. Tirek consumed magic, and the power he consumed the stronger he became, he was already evil, but the more power he gained the more he was able to delve himself deeper into that evil.”

Scootaloo thought about what Twilight said for a moment, pushing her sandwich around with her hoof as she did so.

“So…what you’re saying is some ponies might think I’m the next Tirek or Nightmare Moon and probably make me out to be a badpony?”

Twilight nodded solemnly.

“I know you’re not like that Scootaloo, but there are those ponies who will jump to that conclusion. That’s why we’re working to help you control your magic, so that ponies would have a reason to be afraid of you…but, it would help if we had more information.”

Scootaloo knew what Twilight meant. Since that day she revealed herself to be Shazam, and after telling Twilight how she obtained the powers, the alicorn mare had been doing a crazy amount of research on alicorns, ancient magical civilizations, and this so called “Rock of Eternity”. But so far every book and archive Twilight looked into turned up nothing.

“If it is information you want, all you need do is ask.”

“Did you say something Scootaloo?”

“Uh-uh.”

“It was I.”

Scootaloo and Twilight looked around the room, heads swiveling to and fro in search of the strange voice.

“On the table my dear Champion.”

The two ponies’ eyes went straight for the table and saw a strange sight. A pink, shimmering butterfly was perched right before them. Its wings moved back and forth in small movements, making sparkles of pink light fall from them.

“Um…Twilight…is it me or did I just hear this butterfly talk?”

“If you did then I’m not going crazy, or it means we’re sharing in a delusion or suffering from some food poisoning…”

“I assure you that you are both in perfect health.” The butterfly spoke.

There was silence in the room, and then a fluttering of wings as Scootaloo and Twilight jumped back from the table. Twilight’s horn flared as she prepared to cast a magic bolt at the unknown light creature, and Scootaloo prepared to use the Word of Power to transform.

“W-Who are you, and what are you doing here?!” Twilight demanded.

“I feel that introductions are best done face-to-face. Speaking through astral projections is good for communication purposes, but being the Princess of Friendship, I would assume you value interactions of a more personal nature. Also…” The butterfly lifted off the table and fluttered towards Scootaloo, hovering in front of her. “I’ve wanted to meet the new Champion for a while now, and I would very much like to show you around the Rock of Eternity.”

Scootaloo and Twilight’s ears perked up at the mention of the Rock of Eternity.

“You…You’re from the Rock of Eternity?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yes.”

“And…you can take us there?!” Twilight asked.

“Well…only the Champion can enter, outsiders aren’t allowed within it.”

Twilight looked flabbergasted at what the butterfly had said, and so too did Scootaloo.

“B-But I need Twilight, I want her to come with me!” Scootaloo quickly dashed for Twilight and held onto her right foreleg and shot the butterfly a defiant look. “Either she comes with me, or I won’t go at all!”

The butterfly was silent, but after a minute of silence, the pink butterfly nodded its little head. “Very well, I will permit her to enter. If you two are ready, we can leave at any time?”

The butterfly watched as the two ponies nodded and proceeded to exit the dining room. Twilight and Scootaloo gave chase; passing by several other castle personnel as they did, but when the butterfly passed by a Dusk Guard or an official, none of them reacted to its presence. The butterfly continued onward, coming to a stop before the door to Twilight’s basement laboratory. The mare and filly looked to each other in confusion as to why the butterfly would be leading them there. The butterfly then passed right through the door as if it were a ghost, and so, with a slight bit of worry, Scootaloo and Twilight opened the door to the hall that led down to laboratory.

For some reason the jaunt down felt…worrying. Scootaloo felt as Twilight placed her wing over her in a protective manner, she didn’t mind it, she actually liked it. Reminds me of Mom before…No! Don’t remember that stuff; focus on the glowing butterfly in front of you!

The three of them reached the entrance to the laboratory and Twilight magicked the door open slowly, expecting to find some sort of interdimensional portal awaiting them on the other side. Luckily it was just her regular lab. The butterfly flew till it was at the center of the room, prompting the two ponies to meet her.

“Alright, for now, since you are new to entering the Rock of Eternity, I will serve as your way in and out. Simply ask me to take you there and I will Champion.”

Scootaloo looked to Twilight, wondering if it was okay to do so. The purple alicorn nodded tentatively as she still eyed the butterfly with suspicion.

“Okay, um, take us to the Rock of Eternity, please.”

“Very well, here we go.”

The room started to rumble and moan as the light within it was sucked away. Little by little the shadows crept over everything, slowly making their way towards Twilight and Scootaloo. Twilight quickly hoisted Scootaloo onto her back, her protective maternal instincts kicking in. The butterfly was starting to become the only light source in the room as the room became pitch black. The was a sudden shift, almost faint, but it happened; almost as if the world was being pulled out from under them.

In the distance, a white outline of a door appeared. The butterfly made its way to the door and upon its proximity, the door opened to near blinding white light. Twilight and Scootaloo both gulped, wondering if they were somehow spirited away to Elysium before their time. But with remaining in darkness being their only other option, they moved towards the light, squinting as their eyes adjusted to the brightness.

When the two ponies passed through the other side, audible gasps rang out from both of them.

“Welcome Champion, and esteemed guest, to the Rock of Eternity.”

Cheerilee was a happy mare; for today was the day she was going to Wayward House to apply for Scootaloo’s adoption. She wasn’t going to lie, it scared her. This wasn’t an easy decision for her to make, especially with what others could say about her doing so. It wasn’t uncommon for a single mare to adopt a child, some older mares did so when they decided that they wanted to give more of themselves, wanting to fulfill that maternal instinct and give a foal a good home. Plus, she imagined adopting Scootaloo wouldn’t be too hard a task. It was an often known fact that older children were harder to adopt.

She knew why of course, a younger child would still be open to change and not as difficult. Whereas an older foal might have some problems and issues that they are working through from where they were brought from, a bad home, off the streets, it made them who they were and it was often a daunting task to penetrate the protective shell they had placed around themselves, and they were less likely to comply with their adoptee.

But that didn’t bother Cheerilee in the slightest, she’d seen Scootaloo grow into a fine young filly, and her friends have been a great influence on her, and Scootaloo seemed to like her well enough. Although, liking a pony as a teacher was a stark contrast to liking somepony as a guardian/parent. Suddenly she stopped mid-stride. Butterflies started to flutter within the maroon mare’s stomach, worry creeping into her heart.

Was this a mistake…? I can’t really expect Scootaloo to just accept me just like that…! Cheerilee you featherbrain did you even think about asking if she even wants you as a guardian?!

Well technically even if you asked and if she said yes, there’s no real guarantee that they’ll even allow the adoption in the first place. They do typically like to have a foal adopted to a two parent home instead of a single…

Cheerilee started to doubt that this was a good idea, and she was only just twenty feet from Wayward House. She gulped, suddenly slightly afraid of the homey orphanage before her.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…”

“Yep, knew ya get cold hooves.”

“EEEP!”

Cheerilee jumped back and stared at the pony who had surprised her. Her surprise quickly turned to irritation when she noticed who it was. A purple grape colored earth pony mare stood before her, eyes a soft shade of magenta, a mane and tail that were a tad darker than her coat, and a cutie mark of grapefruit on her flank.

“S’up Cheers?”

“Hi Berry…What are you doing here?” Cheerilee asked.

“What, I can’t come and support my sister when she’s about to make a big, life altering decision? Especially when she doesn’t even bother to tell her beloved little sister?! I’m hurt!” Berry moved her hoof to her forehead to feign said hurt, but then winked and stuck out her tongue playfully.

“Yes, well…I didn’t need to burden you with my problems, you already have your hooves full with Berry Pinch and –”

“Oh, you mean our secret love child?! You remember her name! ”

“BERRY! I don’t have time for your dirty, inappropriate humor, so save it for your bar patrons!”

Berry Punch was slightly taken aback by the anger level in Cheerilee’s voice. Usually her big sister would brush off her humor, chuckle, smile and say “Sure, sure”, sometimes she would even shoot back with one of her own and the two would laugh out loud. But that wasn’t the case right now.

“Jeez Cheers, what crawled up your plothole and died? I was just trying to lighten the mood,” said Berry.

“Yeah, well…it’s just…I’m……” Cheerilee then released a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry Berry, I’m just a little stressed out is all.”

“Because you want to adopt a foal, and not just any foal, one of your students at that.”

Cheerilee looked at her with utter confusion. “How did you know…?”

Berry walked over to her big sister and threw a foreleg across her withers. “Let’s see, you talk about this one filly and her friends a lot about how they make your day both fun and exciting, and yet stressful. Among them you mention a pegasus filly that lives at a place called ‘Wayward House’, which is where we’re at, that’s gone through a lot and how you find it sad.”

Cheerilee blushed as her little sister recounted this conversation. “When exactly did I tell you this?”

“Hmmm, about three and a half months ago. You stopped by my bar one weekend and we shot the breeze while tossing back a few, you got hammered and started spilling about all kinds of stuff.”

The school teacher’s blush intensified as her mouth hung open, completely mortified by her behavior. “W-W-What?! I don’t…I barely remember that happening!”

“Well how else do you think you ended up in your marefriend’s place?” Berry asked with a smirk.

Cheerilee could’ve been mistaken for Big Mac at that moment. Berry Punch chuckled at her sister’s flustered state and decided to take pity on her.

“C’mon, let’s head to my place.”

“B-But I-I have to – I mean, I have to go and –!”

“Cheers, not to sound negative, but with how nervous and flustered you are you’d probably give them the wrong idea. You want to make a good first impression, right?”

Cheerilee looked from the compassionate eyes of her little sister and back to the orphanage. With a reluctant sigh, Cheerilee nodded a “yes” to Berry Punch.

“Alright, Pinchy’s going to love seeing her favorite aunt.”

“I’m her only aunt,” said Cheerilee.

“Huh, guess that’s it, chosen by default.”

Cheerilee elbowed her sister in the side, it was a light jab, enough to tell her to stop, but at the same time playful enough that it brought a smile to Berry’s face.

Twilight was officially having a “nerdgasm”. When the two ponies exited the door they walked right into the largest, most expansive library that either of them had ever seen. Books were automatically re-shelving themselves as they floated from one end of the bookshelf to another across the way. Bookshelf upon bookshelf was filled with ancient and forgotten tomes and texts of all kinds, a large rotunda of knowledge that seemed to stretch all the way to a never ending ceiling. Warm, golden light bathed over the area, making it just bright enough to read the books without being too dim to hurt your eyes.

Scootaloo playfully rolled her eyes as she watched Twilight zip from one bookshelf to the other, like that Zipporwill filly she saw at the Pony Tones’ concert. The butterfly landed softly on the bang of Scootaloo’s mane as it watched Twilight’s peculiar movements.

“Champion, is your friend…well? Or does she have a bit of the madness?”

“If loving books counts as madness, then yeah, she’s nuttier than a fruitcake.” Scootaloo chuckled at her joke before crossing her eyes to look at the butterfly. “Okay, so, are you going to tell us who you are or what?”

“Oh yes! Pardon me, just a moment.”

The butterfly floated up into the air and dissolved into particles of pink light. Scootaloo felt a sense of panic, wondering if she had demanded the impossible and the butterfly perished as a result of her demand. However, her fears were quickly put to rest when the particles multiplied and recollected on the floor a few feet away. The sparkling dust started to take on the form of a pony; Twilight saw what was happening and quickly made her way back down to the floor, standing right beside Scootaloo.

The sparkling dust then combined and formed a solid body with a flash of pink light. When the flash subsided, what stood before them was not a butterfly, although this equine being did have beautiful, translucent butterfly wings that shimmered as they made the slightest move. She was taller than Scootaloo, but only came to Twilight’s chest. Her coat was a soft pink, eyes like sapphires, and a long aquamarine mane that flowed down her shoulders. This mare before them also had a horn in the middle of her forehead, but it wasn’t the natural spiral of a normal unicorn horn, it was slightly curved, almost like a blade.

“My name is Murmur, and it’s a pleasure to meet you Champion.” Murmur then bowed before Scootaloo.

The orange filly, while feeling a bit of pride from the display, was feeling uncomfortable with the bowing of this mysterious mare, butterfly, thing.

“O-Okay, you don’t have to bow. So you’re name’s Murmur, uh, what are you?”

Murmur rose up from her bow and happily answered Scootaloo’s question. “I am a flutterpony, although, you may know my kind more infamously as changelings.”

Twilight’s and Scootaloo’s left eyes began to twitch in sync with each other at the mention of changelings.

“YOU’RE A CHANGELING?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Well, technically yes, but we differ greatly by a few hundred-thousand years or so.”

Twilight had to stop and think about that number for a moment. “Wait…you said a few hundred-thousand years, how old are you?”

Murmur put a hoof to her chin in contemplation. “Hmmm, I kinda lost count around 255, 086. But with the way I am, age and time don’t really hold sway over me in the Rock of Eternity.”

Scootaloo was starting to get a headache with all this magic stuff, even Twilight was starting to get one and she was the expert on it.

“Okay, what is the ‘Rock of Eternity’ exactly, what is with this power I have, where are we exactly?!” Scootaloo asked.

Murmur chuckled lightly and turned around. “Perhaps an explanation along with visual aids would help. Please follow me.”

Twilight and Scootaloo shrugged and followed Murmur. Scootaloo noted that as they walked through the halls of this castle like place that the atmosphere was a lot brighter. The last she was here it was darker and felt old. Although that could’ve been due to where she was inside the structure and now she was in a place that had more light than where she was at before.

The three ponies continued down the long hallway till they arrived at their destination. When they exited the hall, they were surprised to see a large flat surface, like a platform. Above them was the bright blue sky with just a few strands of clouds hanging around. Twilight and Scootaloo walked further out onto the stone platform, trying to see what exactly Murmur wanted to show them. When Twilight looked back to Murmur her eyes were drawn to the large pyramid structure that was behind the flutterpony. Scootaloo soon followed Twilight’s gaze and stared in awe at it, the pyramid had to be twice the size of Canterlot Mountain, if not three or four at the very least. The stone was stacked like stones, one on top of the other. At the very tip there were spires that resembled castle turrets and towers.

“This…This is the Rock of Eternity?!” Scootaloo asked.

Murmur flittered over to Scootaloo’s side as she shook her head. “No, no, no, the rest of it is down below.”

Twilight and Scootaloo made their way, carefully, to the edge of the platform. Only to find that the platform was just a small segment of the giant structure. The edge sloped and kept going further down. The two ponies made their way to other side to find a better angle. When they did, Twilight and Scootaloo found that the giant structure continued downward, matching the height of the tip. The width and circumference of the Rock of Eternity was beyond Twilight’s ability to calculate without the proper equipment.

“This thing…is massive…” Twilight spoke in astonishment. “How…How was this created?”

“The Rock of Eternity was forged from the most ancient of magics; it is the source and the container. The structure itself was formed from two opposing, yet equally powerful land masses. The top half of was created from a portion of land from Elysium. While the bottom half was created from a portion of the land that comprises Tartarus. Both halves held together by a magic that brings harmony to both warring sides and subdues their rage towards the other, in order to create the ultimate fortress of magic and storehouse of knowledge, the Rock of Eternity.”

Scootaloo tried to comprehend what Murmur had just said. The thing that they were standing and were inside of earlier, was in fact made of one part Elysium, the place where all good ponies and heroes of the past go to rest after they die, and the other part Tartarus, the place where evil ponies, criminals, and creatures like Tirek were sent to spend the rest of eternity in fire and darkness. For a while now, Scootaloo, as well as other ponies, knew that Tartarus existed, Tirek and Cerberus were clear indications that it did exist. So by that logic, Elysium existed too. But everypony believed it was place that could only be entered by the spirits of the departed.

Twilight went to Tartarus, but she only got as far as the gates and never went into Tartarus herself. Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were banished to Tartarus by Tirek, but they were alicorns, and Tirek was…different, as strong as an alicorn. But now, here she was, standing atop an amalgamation of both.

“Murmur…how did this – how was this all built, and how is it connected to my powers?” Scootaloo asked.

“That my Champion is an excellent question.”

Murmur took them into a room that held a single book. The flutterpony used her magic to open the tome and immediately light flooded the room, taking shape and form, becoming holographic images of civilizations that existed long ago. Scootaloo and Twilight stuck close by, watching as Murmur’s magic resonated with the book’s and allowed her to begin the story.

Eons ago, before the founding of Equestria, before the rulers of Night and Day, and even before the rule of the Lord of Chaos, there was the Council of Magic. They were made up of six unique ponies, each possessing incredible magical power that equaled that of a god. These ponies saw that the world of Equus was a harsh land, governed by the strong who swallowed the weak, and corrupted the innocence of all things good. The Council of Magic could no longer stand and watch as this injustice went on and decided to act. They used their magic to forge the Rock of Eternity, uniting it to call upon the ancient magic. Together, with their newly created fortress, the six gods fought against the corruption at its root, The Seven Deadly Enemies of Mortals.

Each one was a demonic entity that represented a mortal sin of ponykind. The first was Lust, the sin who used her power to make many fall prey to their depraved desires and to defile and ravage. Mare, stallion, and foal, all were equal in her eyes, and all could succumb to debauchery. The second was Gluttony, the demon which consumes and consumes but is never satisfied, eventually bringing ruin to everything, even oneself. The third was Sloth, his brought about apathy and laziness, sapping the will of others to walk, talk, or even care about others.

The others were Anger or Wrath as he liked to be called. He steeped himself in violence, murder, and bloodshed, be it friend, foe, lover, brother or sister, mother or father, child and parent, all would kill and spill the blood of their fellow pony without reason or mercy. The fifth was Envy, his power caused mortals to covet that which they believed to be rightfully theirs, so much so, that they would indeed kill to have it. Whether it was beauty, wealth, power, nothing was too simple or too grand. The sixth was Greed, although not the strongest, his power does bring great woe and destruction, making other ponies take and take until there is nothing left for anypony. Food would be scarce and they would hoard, the poor would die and be sold into slavery for they were taken for all their money.

And the lastly, but not at all least, was Pride, the most powerful and destructive of all the seven. Her power was the cause of many wars and deaths across the planet, and it is she who leads the Seven Enemies. The six gods fought against these seven demons in a titanic duel that ravaged the planet and nearly tore it in twain. In the end, the Council was able to seal the Seven Enemies within the depths of Tartarus, and it is there that they will remain until the end of time.

“What happened after the battle? To the ponies who were left after they endured such devastation?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, so much devastation. But unfortunately, all was not well…”

The Council of Magic saw the destruction caused by their war with the seven and decided that they should never set hoof on the mortal world again. They retreated to the Rock of Eternity; from there they watched as the remnants of the ponies left picked up the pieces and forged new kingdoms and territories. And, although not as severe as when the seven were more present on Equus, their influence had not diminished. It was clear to the council that order and harmony needed to be restored, but they could not be this symbol for they had a hoof in the destruction.

So, they decided to pool their magic together and grant it to a chosen individual, one who would wield their collective powers in one body and become a symbol for the weak and defenseless to rally behind and give them hope. They created the Word of Power, a magic incantation that would combine their powers, and so they used the first initial of each of their names in order to create this word.

S, for the Wisdom of Star Swirl.

H, for the Strength of Herakles.

A, for the Stamina of Atlas Shrug.

Z, for the Power of Zeus Thunderer.

A, for the Courage of Achilles Heel.

M, for the Speed of Mercurius Zephyr.

So was born the Word of Power, the word that means power incarnate and would be the battle cry of the Mightiest Mortal and Champion of Magic…SHAZAM.

Before each of the letters stood the image of the one of the six gods, Scootaloo had to bite her lower lip to stifle a gasp. The six pony gods looked exactly like the strange ponies that were in her dream not too long ago. And now that she saw this, saw them and what they were, Scootaloo began to wonder if that dream wasn’t a dream, but a vision. And if it was, they weren’t hurting those two ponies, they were giving them power like the Wizard did for her.

“Murmur, who was it that they picked to be the first Champion?”

“They, Scootaloo. The first champion was made up of two ponies sharing the power equally in one body.” Murmur lit her horn shifted the scenery around, before them stood the two foals that Scootaloo saw in her dream long ago. “The colt was named Adamant Resolve and the filly was Alchemy. They were brother and sister, sold into slavery after their father had laid with an earth pony mare, which most were slaves under the rule of the privileged, be it pegasus or unicorn. They were beaten, tortured, and defiled, suffering their whole lives.”

“The Council saw something within them, the potential to bring about great change. They had suffered hardships and still fought to stay alive and keep each other safe. It was because of these traits that they were summoned to the Rock of Eternity. But unfortunately, it was after the older brother had suffered mortal wounds in protection of his sister. Alchemy begged the Council to save him, and the only way was for the two of them to share the power and become a single being. And so they agreed and the word was spoken.”

“SHAZAM!!!”

The image of the two ponies was then struck by lightning and what emerged from the smoke was a male alicorn. His suit was black, with golden gauntlets and greaves similar to Scootaloo’s. Upon the alicorn’s chest was a golden thunderbolt insignia, and just like her own, it too held the magical lightning. His mane was black, but his coat was dark violet, giving him an intense visage, but his eyes were gentle and soft, but they did not hide the great power that lay behind them.

“Their united form’s name was combined from both their names. Teth, meaning black, and Adam, from Adamant, thus was born Teth Adam.”

“‘Black Adam…’ sounds like a dark name for hero,” said Scootaloo.

“Actually Scootaloo, in Neighgyptian times, black was generally associated with good, mostly because it was the color of fertile soil. And, if I’m right, Alchemy is a name that means ‘black earth’.”

Murmur nodded her head. “You are correct Ms. Sparkle. So it was that Black Adam would come to be known as the great hero, using their power to bring down the tyrannical society that made many suffer, freeing many pony slaves and other subservient sentient beings, such as minotaurs, griffons, and many more.”

“What happened to them next?!” Scootaloo asked excitedly.

Twilight watched as Murmur’s normally happy expression turned to a frown. “They fell, neither member of the Council of Magic understood how or why, but Black Adam changed. He became obsessed with the power, conquering one kingdom after another and bringing them under his rule of power and might. The Council could not take away his power; so instead, they sealed him away, locked inside of a sarcophagus for all time.”

Murmur transported them with fluid use of her magic to the hallway that Scootaloo recognized. It was the hall that led to the throne room, the one that had the tapestries.

“From Black Adam rose better heroes, true Champions of Magic that upheld the ideals of justice, harmony, and peace.”

Scootaloo and Twilight stared at one tapestry after the other, reading the names of the various heroes who held the title of Champion and the power of SHAZAM for countless millennia. It felled Scootaloo with a sense of pride to be included in this pantheon of heroes who changed the world and made a difference. Granted it was a shame that nopony knew of their sacrifices and struggles, nor of their heroic deeds, but, Scootaloo thought, maybe she could bring back the legacy.

Twilight felt the need to ask upon hearing whose name the S stood for. “Wait a minute, Star Swirl, as in Star Swirl the Bearded?! He was on this council?! B-B-But that pony didn’t look a thing like him!”

Murmur seemed confused but it quickly dawned on her what she was talking about. “Oh, you mean Star Swirl the second.”
“The ‘second’?”

“After a worthy champion was decided, the six relinquished the remainder of their powers to Rock of Eternity and entered the mortal world. Star Swirl became a great scholar of the magical arts, and down the line, through his lineage, was born the stallion you know as Star Swirl the Bearded, but in actuality, he is really Star Swirl II.”

“Bubba – he – amiomorphic – greatest sorcerer – the second – related to a –” Twilight then fell onto the floor, babbling like a madmare as her brain struggled to comprehend the fact the unicorn she most idolized was in fact the descendant of an ancient pony god, and that there were two Star Swirls and not one.

“I think you broke Twilight’s brain Murmur,” said Scootaloo.

“Oh dear, I did not wish to do such a thing! Does she require a healing spell, I know several?!” Murmur asked in a panic.

“No, she’s fine; her worldview has just been rocked is all. She’ll get over it, hopefully. Still trying to understand all of it myself really,” said Scootaloo.

It was then that they got to the end of the hallway and Scootaloo’s eyes found themselves drawn to a tapestry that read “Quicksilver”.

“Why do I feel like I know this pony?”

“Because you do, that is the Wizard that granted you your powers, although he was much younger back then. He saved my life, gave me purpose.”

Twilight, after getting over her little freak out, noticed that Murmur’s voice held a tone of sadness, and for some reason, she was talking about him in past tense. Scootaloo turned to Murmur with large eyes full of wonder and excitement.

“So that’s what his name is! Where is he, I wanted to ask him some questions about how to control this power?”

“Scootaloo…Champion, Master Quicksilver is no longer with us…”

And there it was, exactly what Twilight feared. “He’s dead, isn’t he Murmur?”

The flutterpony nodded.

Scootaloo shook her head in disbelief, it wasn’t possible. “N-No way, are you telling me that a pony as powerful as him died! He was alive when I left, how did die, why?!”

“It is…inevitable. When a Champion grows too old his powers suffer as a result, they weaken. So, in order to make sure that there would always be someone to fight against evil, the power seeks out a worthy successor or a potential worthy successor. And once one is chosen, the previous holder is allowed to go in peace to Elysium.” Murmur then gestured to all fifty tapestries. “Each of these is of a fallen Champion. That is what this hall is for, a memorial for the past heroes.”

Twilight and Scootaloo looked upon the tapestries, images of mares and stallions from ancient times each of whom fought to protect this world and did so till they grew too old and passed on the mantle to a new warrior.

BACK IN PONYVILLE…

Cheerilee was standing at Berry Pinch’s beside, the little unicorn filly, having been playing with her aunt for a while, had tired herself out while showing off how her magic studies have progressed. So Cheerilee volunteered to take her to her room for a nap. She gently lowered the young filly off her back and maneuvered her till her head rested on the pillow. A happy smile was still prominent on Pinch’s face, making Cheerilee smile back. She gently stroked her niece’s mane, making the filly nuzzle against the hoof of her aunt. Cheerilee released a sigh of content at watching the filly sleep peacefully.

“She’s got your eyes,” said Berry as she sidled next to Cheerilee.

The maroon mare knew what she was getting at and smirked at her little sister. “Yes, she does, and your horn too.”

“I don’t have a horn.”

“No? Then it must be for your horniness.”

“Ha, ha, ha, hilarious sis.”

“Thank you, I try.”

The two sisters shared a quiet giggle at the lame joke. Berry then looked down at her daughter and smiled the same smile as her sister.

“I don’t see why you don’t think you’ll be a good mother, guardian, whatever, to that filly you talk about. Look how well you do with Pinchy.”

“My niece, who loves me unconditionally, is different from a filly I have taught and sees me as a teacher. A shift like that can be a little hard for somepony like Scootaloo to accept. And…”

“And what?”

Cheerilee removed her hoof from Berry Pinch, who was now fully asleep. “I don’t know what she’s been through Berry, abusive parents, a runaway, what if I say or do something that makes her think I’m like somepony she’s afraid of? What if I drive her away? Or what if I undo all the good progress she’s made since being in Ponyville?! There’s so much that could go wrong, and that’s even considering I can adopt her! And –!”

Berry quickly put her hoof onto Cheerilee’s lips, silencing her big sister. She then gestured for the two of them to step outside. Once the door to Berry Pinch’s room was closed, the younger sister gave the elder a serious stare.

“What does your cutie mark mean Cheers?” Berry asked.

“What does that have to –?”

“I said, what does your cutie mark mean?!” Berry asked again in a firmer voice.

It was Cheerilee’s turn to be taken aback by the tone of her little sister. “It-It represents my love of teaching. To put smiles on the faces of the foals I teach, and to help them bloom into the ponies I know they can one day become.”

“Exactly, so how can you say you’ll be bad at taking care of that filly?! Sure, I’m not going to lie, raising a foal is different from being a teacher, but it’s not like you’re going through this alone! You have me, I may not be the best example, y’know, having Pinchy after a drunken escapade, but I’m still a mother! And then there’s Princess Twilight, I know she helped raise that little dragon of hers, and yes I know dragons are different from pony foals but that’s another matter, point is she has experience. Hay, you can even ask Derpy for help too!”

Berry then placed her hooves on Cheerilee’s shoulders. “Point is Sis, you care. You care enough to want to give her a good home and help her heal from whatever emotional scars she may or may not have.” The grape colored mare then brought Cheerilee into a hug. “You’re the best big sister ever, and you’ll be just as good a whatever to that filly.”

Cheerilee felt all the worry and doubt leave her body, the warm hug of her little sister somehow restored the confidence she had lost on her trip to Wayward House. The maroon mare then returned the hug, giving a sisterly nuzzle to Berry’s cheek.

“Thank you Berry,” said Cheerilee.

“Any time Sis.”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

Berry separated herself from Cheerilee looked at her sister.

“Will you go with me tomorrow? I want to try again and I…”

“Sure, I got nothing to do tomorrow. Pinchy’s going to be on a playdate with Dinky and Twist, so I’ll be free.”

“Thanks, again.”

MEANWHILE…

The tour was ended with Scootaloo returning to the throne room where she met the Wizard, now known as Quicksilver. The room wasn’t as dark as before, it was lighter, as if signifying a renewed vigor and power. The room itself was expansive, with a crystal orb sitting near the throne, held up by three ornate, iron posts. The throne itself was polished marble; the symbol of a thunderbolt was carved at the top, a symbol showing the rightful guardian of Rock of Eternity.

Scootaloo tentatively walked up the steps. When she reached the top, she gently touched the armrest, dragging her hoof over its smooth surface. The throne thrummed as it resonated with the power within her.

Twilight watched all this from below; she could only imagine how strange this was for Scootaloo. A filly, who lived in an orphanage, had no cutie mark and was barely able to fly, was now the sole protector of this gigantic floating fortress of magic and knowledge, gifted with the power of six god-like ponies culminated in one body, and hefted with the responsibility to uphold a legacy of heroes spanning ages forgotten to the sands of time. Twilight could barely fathom this.

I was worried about my role as a Princess of Equestria, whether or not I’d be a good ruler or if I was even really worthy of becoming an alicorn. Now, compared to all this, it seems like nothing.

Scootaloo looked to Murmur as she walked down the steps. “So…I’m really in charge of protecting all of this. And keeping the world safe from evil?”

“Indeed, a great responsibility, but one I know you can shoulder. The Living Lightning and Master Quicksilver would not have chosen lightly.”

“At least now I know what the Wizard meant when he said ‘another like him’. He meant Black Adam, didn’t he?”

Murmur shook her head. “I was not present during the choosing. I know not what Master Quicksilver saw in your memories. But keep in mind; it is not our past that defines us, but what we do here and now.”

Scootaloo thought about Murmur’s words, she wasn’t sure how true that was, but it did make her feel better at least. “Now if only I can control this power…”

“Don’t worry Scootaloo, some more practice and you’ll get,” said Twilight.

“Well, for the time being, there is a way for you do better access each power, at least until you can learn how to focus them all at once.” Twilight and Scootaloo looked to the flutterpony with wide eyes. “First change and I’ll show you.”

Scootaloo didn’t wait for Twilight’s okay; she quickly put some distance between them and spoke the Word of Power.

“SHAZAM!!! ”

The lightning bolt struck Scootaloo and in an instant she was once again in the form of her alicorn alter.

“Okay, so how do I do it?”

“Do you remember when I was telling you what each of the letters stood for?” Murmur saw Scootaloo nod. “Call upon one of the gods’ powers. Repeat after me: Power of Zeus Thunderer, but concentrate as you do so.”

“Okay…Power of Zeus Thunderer! ”

Scootaloo suddenly felt the power of the magical lightning surge through her body, arching off of her horn, wings, mane, and tail in random intervals. But there was something different in this, she felt a stronger connection, more in tune with it than she did when she first called upon it. Scootaloo was starting to get the idea of how this worked.

“Speed of Mercurius Zephyr! ”

The lightning stopped and Scootaloo felt the familiar sense of the world slowing down around her. To Twilight and Murmur, Scootaloo had disappeared and was moving around in a near invisible blur of red, orange, purple, and gold.

“This is so awesome!”

“EEEK!”

Scootaloo had reappeared behind Twilight and accidentally scared the mare enough to jump into the air.

“Oops! Uh, uh, Strength of Herakles! ”

The magic turned inward, infusing every fiber of the mare’s muscles with a strength that could move the very continents if she so wished. She reached up with a single hoof and caught Twilight before she landed on the floor. Twilight was expecting to hit the stone floor, but instead felt the cool metal hoof of Scootaloo. She opened her eyes and gaped at how she was being held in one hoof as if she weighed less than a small pebble.

“No more worrying about control, huh Twilight?”

“N-Nope, um, you can let me down now.”

Scootaloo did so gently, knowing that her increased strength was still in use. Murmur chuckled at the flustered purple alicorn, making Twilight blush.

“While this will give you better access and control, it is a crutch. When you can learn to control all six at once without speaking their names will be the day you have full control.”

“Well,” spoke Twilight, “it’s a starting point. At least now we can work on your control and where to train you in what. I think we should get back, I’m not sure how time works in here, but we’ve probably been here more than an hour. If the guards find out I’ve disappeared they go crazy and form search parties, ugh.”

Scootaloo nodded vigorously, almost bouncing with anticipation at how they were going to train. “Thank you Murmur, I promise I’ll come back and see you.”

Murmur bowed her head in gratitude. “Thank you Champion, and since you have shown a deep caring for my Champion, I shall grant you a boon Princess Twilight.”

The flutterpony’s horn glowed as a magic rune symbol appeared over it. The rune symbol then shot towards Twilight, landing on her chest and vanishing as quickly as it was placed.

“Now you may enter the Rock of Eternity whenever you wish. However, I’ve restricted your accessibility to mainly the library unless I’m around to escort you. You don’t mind do you?”

Twilight shook her head. “Oh no, that’s no trouble at all! I can’t wait to see what sort of books you have! But, how exactly do we get here? Do we call upon you?”

“You need to be either underground, or in a closed, but moderately sized room. For you Champion, merely will it and you will appear here, and Twilight, with the rune, simply channel your magic while meeting the first criteria and you will appear here again.”

“Cool, hey Twilight, I’ll get us back home!”

“Wait, what – AAH!”

Scootaloo used her large wing to drag Twilight towards her and held the alicorn princess close in a wing embrace. The Princess of Friendship blushed at the awkwardness of the situation.

“Let’s try two at once! Wisdom of Star Swirl , Power of Zeus Thunderer! ”

Lightning quickly enveloped both of them, Twilight thought that she was going to be electrocuted by the magical lightning, but miraculously she was unharmed, thinking that it was by Scootaloo’s will that the energy didn’t harm her. Scootaloo’s normally purple eyes were now colored light-blue, the same color as her magical power.

“Wow, never knew teleportation was that simple.”

Before Twilight could make any objections a thunderbolt shot down and struck them and in a flash they were gone.

All was peaceful in the laboratory, until two alicorns appeared in the middle of the room in flash of lightning. Scootaloo released Twilight from her wing embrace and let the older alicorn wobble around in a daze.

“Okay, traveling via lightning bolt is way more disorienting than teleportation…”

“Heh, sorry Twilight, I just got excited to try it out. But on the bright side, you could take me on as your personal student, like Princess Celestia did with you.”

Twilight stopped her wobbling around and went stark still. The idea of being a personal teacher like Celestia was to her had always been a secret dream of hers; wanting to pass on her knowledge of magic and the things she had learned as the Princess Friendship to a young pony so that they may carry them on to others. It was enticing, although she wasn’t sure just how much she could teach Scootaloo, she already outclassed Twilight in raw power. But that was minor, Scootaloo was seeking guidance and help in controlling her powers, and that’s what Twilight was going to do.

“If you want to Scootaloo, I’d be more than happy to take you on as my student.”

“YES! Let’s go to Sugar Cube Corner and celebrate!” Scootaloo proclaimed while unconsciously hovering in the air.

“Wait a minute, Scootaloo, there’s something I wanted to ask you before we did anything else.”

Scootaloo’s celebration was cut short; she floated back down to the ground. “Sure, what is it?”

“You said that the Wizard compared you to Black Adam…Scootaloo, in what way did you think he meant you were similar?”

The demi-god mare’s eyes went wide for a moment but then narrowed as her gaze turned downcast, her bangs covering her eyes.

“It’s nothing…”

“Well obviously it isn’t if it was a factor in choosing you.”

“Just forget it Twilight…!”

“Scootaloo I’m just trying to understand –”

“I SAID IT’S NOTHING SO LEAVE IT ALONE!”

Scootaloo’s eyes flashed with magical energy as the roar of thunder echoed within the room, making everything rattle and shake. Even her body was flaring with lightning, lapping off her body as her spread wings made her look even more intimidating than she already was. Twilight felt a surge of fear and out of instinct hit the deck and covered herself with her hooves. Scootaloo, after the anger subsided, looked upon the now cowering form of Twilight, and her heart sank.

“No…Twilight…I-I didn’t mean to scare you – I…I’m sorry I…”

Scootaloo felt her legs give out from under her as she slumped to the floor, tears stinging her eyes as she cried at what she had done. Twilight heard Scootaloo’s weeping and slowly raised her head up from under her hooves. Guilt and shame gripped at Twilight’s heart as she saw the filly turned mare cry on the floor. Twilight rose up onto her hooves and slowly walked over to Scootaloo. The purple alicorn then placed her left hoof on Scootaloo’s head and gently stroked her mane, while making soft shushing noise.

“It’s alright Scootaloo, you surprised me is all. I’m fine.”

Scootaloo looked up to Twilight; she then buried her face in Princess’ chest, crying more. Twilight held her close, almost forgetting that even though she may appear to be a grown mare, Scootaloo was still a filly underneath. But the reaction the young filly had to Twilight’s questioning made her worry.

There are only two things that the Wizard could’ve meant. Either he was comparing Scootaloo in the sense that she would become drunk on her power like Black Adam, which seems highly unlikely, there’d be no point in choosing somepony like that. Which leaves the only other one, which is…that you suffered like Adamant Resolve and Alchemy did…I hope to Faust that it’s neither.

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 6: Runaway

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A month and a half had past, summer was right around the corner in Equestria, and Dr. Caballeron was now fifty feet underground, searching through an old dusty tomb for Celestia knows what. The zebra shaman had been very helpful to his search, Caballeron had to admit, he never heard of such a tale in all his years as an archeologist, not even when he briefly worked together with Daring Do. The good doctor chuckled inwardly as he thought about the look on Daring Do’s face when he made the greatest archaeological discovery in the world, not only would he be richer than he could ever imagine, but he’d be famous the world over.

The shaman had spoken of a warrior who became king, an alicorn stallion who wielded lightning and the strength of the gods. Caballeron thought that last part about “gods” was probably exaggerated, many civilizations worshipped deities, some were made up without any bases for the actual existence of these “gods”, and others were just different forms of the sun and moon, giving them personified forms like “Amaterasu” and “Tsukuyomi” from Neighpon, “Brigid” and “Arianrhod” from Norhay, and of course the Neighgyptian versions known as “Sekmet” and “Bast”.

But many scholars believed those were just the names given to Celestia and Luna, thinking those civilizations didn’t know their names, but knew they existed, so to understand and worship them they created names for them and various myths about them. Caballeron knew that the two alicorn sisters were on another level of power, possibly demi-goddesses, but if what he found out was true, then it could rewrite Equestrian history – no – world history, forever! Of course he didn’t forget his clients, they would have whatever it was they wanted from these ruins, but the fame and wealth would be all his.

Dr. Caballeron was with a team of excavators down in one of the tunnels, overseeing their progress and making sure that they didn’t destroy something significant that could help them find what it was they were looking for. Along the way, from the light of his head lamp, Caballeron looked upon the ancient hieroglyphics, telling the story of a powerful alicorn who tore down the tyrannical system of oppression and brought about a free world under his wisdom and power, a hero.

“This ‘Teth Adam’ appears to be quite the inspirer and conqueror, I can’t wait to see the amount of wealth he had accumulated over the course of his reign,” said Caballeron with greedy glee.

Suddenly he heard one of the workers further down exclaim along with the sound of metal striking metal. Caballeron grunted with irritation as he walked down the hall to where the digging had stopped, one of his cohorts was standing by the team that had stopped digging as they stared at something.

“What is the meaning of this, why have you stopped digging?!”

“Um, doctor, sir, we can’t go any further,” said the stallion.

“And why’s that?!”

“There’s some kind of metal rock blocking the way?”

Caballeron mouthed the words “metal rock” in confusion. He then shoved his way through the workers and stopped when he saw what it was that had put a halt in their operation, and that’s when he saw it. It was not a metal rock, but rather a section of wall made of some kind of metallic ore. Caballeron wrenched a pickax from one of the workers and gave the wall a few taps with it, and sure enough the sound of metal striking metal rang out within the hall. The middle-aged stallion then inspected the spot where he struck with the tool but found no sign of denting or scratches.

“The fact that not even a pickax can make a dent must mean the ore of this rock is stronger, possibly iron.”

“I’ll reorganize the workers; we’ll find another hall and dig that way. Maybe we can get around it?” The stallion suggested.

The doctor shot his cohort a glare at that suggestion. “No, the signs all point down this passage and that old zebra’s tale matches that of the hieroglyphics. The thing we seek is down this here, we cannot deviate or we waste time trying to find a way around through a maze of tunnels.”

“So…what do you suggest doctor?”

“What do you think?” Caballeron walked over to a wooden crate, he then used a nearby crowbar to break it open and took out a foot long red cylindrical object that had the letters “TNT” stamped on it. “We blow it the hay up!”

PONYVILLE (SUB-DIMENSION: ROCK OF ETERNITY)

Twilight was in Elysium, there was just no other way to describe it. The well-read mare wasted no time in using her all-access pass to the Rock of Eternity’s library. A mare well into her early twenties was reduced to a giggling schoolfilly as she darted from one bookshelf to the other, taking down one book after the other, creating mountainous peaks of books that reached up twenty, sometimes thirty feet tall. The library knew no concept of night or day, stuck in a dimension between one plain of existence and another; it was perpetual daylight outside, which also meant that the room was constantly bathed in perfect reading light. The temperature was comfortable, not too cold and not too hot, only adding to the perfectness of this wondrous place. She also noticed that the books and scrolls must’ve had an enchantment placed upon them, keeping each ancient tome in perfect pristine condition.

Unfortunately, Twilight’s love of books and knowledge slightly frightened the steward of the magical fortress. Murmur had nothing against a pony’s, or any creatures, thirst and love for knowledge; she was a bit of a bookworm herself. But this…this troubled her. The first day was fun, the second just as much, tenth and fifteenth, just a bit worrying, and the twenty-first and twenty-fifth days, well…it was time to call the Champion.

Murmur stood by near a clear area, a place designed for entering and exiting the Rock of Eternity’s library from another location. The flutterpony then heard the sound of rolling thunder, and in the fraction of a second a lightning bolt struck the ground, revealing Scootaloo in her alicorn form.

“I got your message Murmur, what’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, well, it’s a little hard to describe sanely. Better to show than tell.”

The flutterpony quickly led Scootaloo through the rows of bookshelves, and as they rounded the corner Murmur stopped dead in her tracks, prompting the transformed filly to do the same. Scootaloo then beheld the towers of books that littered the area, as well as stacks of scrolls. Scootaloo deadpanned at the state the area was in, she then sighed heavily.

“Wait here Murmur.”

Scootaloo walked into the area of towering books, looking for a certain purple alicorn amidst the contents. She then arrived at a huge pile of books at the center; Scootaloo then looked around but couldn’t see neither hide nor hair of Twilight.

“Twilight, Twilight where the hay are you?!” Scootaloo called.

Just then there was movement from within the pile of books, within a matter of seconds Twilight burst out from the top like a dolphin surfacing for air. Her mane was unkempt, pupils reduced to pinpricks, right eye twitching erratically, and a disturbing smile that would make the Mane-iac crap her spandex suit. To Scootaloo it was an all too familiar sight, only the cause back then was completely different.

“Hi Scootaloo~”

“Hi Twilight, how are you doing?”

“Oh great, just GREAT! There are books here I never knew existed! Magic, history, fiction, everything, everything under one impossibly large magical dimension and I have unfettered access to it ALL! HA! HA!”

Yep, Twilight has definitely gone cuckoo, thought Scootaloo.

Scootaloo slowly made her way to Twilight, putting on a placating smile as she did so. “Okay Twilight, I’m happy you’re happy about all this…knowledge, but I think you’ve had enough. Maybe you should take a break from here for a bit?”

“NO! I’ll tell you when I’ve had enough! And I haven’t!”

“Twilight, c’mon, you’re acting like a spoiled filly, let’s just go back to Ponyville,” said Scootaloo.

“NO! You can’t make me!”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at that statement. “The hay I can’t. Strength of Herakles! ” The magical lightning surged through Scootaloo’s muscles, granting them the strength of a god. “Now we’re going back to Ponyville, together, even if that means I have to drag you back kicking and screaming!”

Twilight glared at Scootaloo, who returned the glare with equal intensity. The purple alicorn then lit up her horn and wrapped the numerous books in her rosy-purple aura. The books then swirled around Twilight like a tornado, making Scootaloo back up a bit in surprise. The tornado of books (booknado) stopped spinning entirely, the books then began to stack themselves like bricks. After about a few seconds Twilight had created a literal book fort around herself. It reached up till it stood fifty feet tall and was twenty feet wide, it even had a visor at the top so Twilight could look down at Scootaloo.

“Oh for Luna’s sake Twilight, really, a book fort?! Really?!” Scootaloo walked right up to the fort and knocked on the front. “Twilight come out or I’m breaking in!”

“NO!”

You asked for it.

Scootaloo cocked back her right hoof and struck the book fort, but when she did the strike reverberated through the fort, absorbing the impact of the blow and completely nullifying it. The demi-god mare stepped back a bit and launched a flurry of punches at the fort, but it was no use, the fort absorbed the kinetic energy of each blow and cancelled it out.

“Did she cast a spell on those books or what?!” Scootaloo asked.

“The books in the library are enchanted with a spell that makes them indestructible, in order to preserve them under any extreme conditions.” Murmur explained.

“Great, is there any other way to get through it?”

Murmur hesitated to answer, but as the steward of the Rock of Eternity she was duty bound to help the Champion.

“Yes…you could hit it with a powerful lightning blast; the enchantment isn’t able to withstand the power of the Living Lightning…but, if you could, please don’t. Some of my favorites are among Miss Twilight’s.”

Scootaloo sighed in frustration. “No, I won’t. I may not read that much, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to go and blow up all those books. Just gotta find another way…Aha, I got it!”

Twilight was lying down within her fort, with her nose firmly planted in the book before her. She hadn’t heard a peep from Scootaloo since she stopped trying to break through the fort’s walls. Twilight smiled triumphantly, thinking she had just bested the heroine.

“Twilight…?”

The Princess of Friendship poked her head up from the book and looked towards the front of the fort. She then went up the staircase and looked out through the visor. When Twilight looked downwards she saw that Scootaloo had reverted back to her filly self.

“Yes…?” Twilight asked cautiously.

“Um…could…could I come inside your fort? It just looks so cool! Please Twilight, please?!”

Twilight eyed the filly with scrutiny. But then she saw Scootaloo look up at her with large watery eyes and a frown upon her face. It reminded the mare about the times when other foals wouldn’t let her into their own forts, thinking her weird for liking books more than other ponies. It was Shining Armor who got her into making book forts and the two of them playing in them together chased away the sadness of those times. Now she was repeating the same mistake those foals did to her to Scootaloo. Twilight’s heart hurt.

“Of course you can sweetie.”

Twilight’s horn glowed as she willed the books to move and form a door big enough for Scootaloo to enter. The alicorn mare walked down the stairs and met with the filly, nuzzling her cheek in a comforting way.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you out,” said Twilight.

“It’s okay.”

The young princess smiled. “Okay, so what do you want to do first? Should we reenact the battle of Fort Whinny? Ooh-Ooh or maybe we could read a book together?!”

“YAY! Which one do you want to read?”

“I want to read…SHAZAM! ”

Outside, Murmur watched with anxious worry at what was going on inside the book fort, even more so when she heard the sound of thunder from within. To her surprise, the fort began to crumble and fall, and from the former fortress walked out Scootaloo back in her alicorn form, carrying Twilight in a bubble of light-blue mana energy. Murmur flittered over to the Champion and looked at the bubble that contained the pouting mare.

“Is Miss Twilight alright?” Murmur asked.

“Yeah, it’s just embarrassing that I have to be the mature one in this situation.”

“Humph, I didn’t even get to read the Ponynomicon…”

“You can read it next time!”

Twilight was still pouting as she walked Scootaloo back to Wayward House. Scootaloo, despite knowing it was the right thing to do, still felt bad about prying the Princess of Friendship from such a vast collection of knowledge.

“Are you still mad at me, Twilight?” Scootaloo asked.

The purple alicorn glanced down at the young filly, sighed, and then shook her head. “No Scootaloo, I’m not mad at you. I just get carried away when it comes to books, especially those books. Such wondrous, wondrous books filled with wisdom and knowledge of ancient times and…” Twilight caught herself before she went into a rant. “Ahem, anyway, thank you.”

“No problem. So, did you find anything else out, about the Rock of Eternity and the other champions?”

“A lot actually, I’ll have to compare it to the books I have as well as those in the Royal Canterlot Archives. It’s just so hard to believe that there have been these great heroes from ages past who have sacrificed so much to protect us, and yet we know nothing about them. They’re even older than Luna and Celestia!”

Scootaloo was still trying to grasp it all. To think a little orphan filly like her was chosen to become a hero, a Champion of Magic, defender of the weak, and the bane of evil. Actually, thinking about it sent a shiver of excitement up her spine. As they approached the orphanage Scootaloo became a little sad that they’re time was done, she had been enjoying her private tutelage under Twilight, secret from her friends and others. But she did live here, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it…unless.

“Um, Twilight…?”

“Yes Scootaloo?”

“Did…um…have you ever considered…having a foal?”

Twilight froze mid-stride upon hearing that. Her left eye twitched as her brain struggled to reboot after hearing that question.

“Well…ahem, Scootaloo, that’s certainly a question out of the blue. W-Why the sudden interest?” Twilight asked.

“I was just wondering, since you took care of Spike and you seem to like Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and me. I mean, you take the time to teach us things that we didn’t know we were good at. I was just wondering if you, maybe –?”

“Scootaloo?!”

Both the filly and mare looked to the orphanage and watched as the matron of Wayward House walked towards them. She was an earth pony mare, with a manila colored coat, chestnut brown mane and tail with red hairbands tied at both ends, and crystal blue eyes. Her cutie mark was that of a heart with baby bottle next to it. The matron saw Scootaloo with Princess Twilight and politely bowed to her.

“Oh your highness, I didn’t know you’d be coming here! Had I known I would’ve cleaned up a bit more and –!”

“No need to worry Miss…?”

“Milano, Mrs. Milano” answered the mare.

Scootaloo nudged Twilight’s foreleg, making her look down at the filly. “She’s Button Mash’s mom, you know, that colt I told you Sweetie has a crush on.”

Twilight made an “O” with her lips and then smiled. “Milano, no need to bow, really. I’m just here to drop off Scootaloo.”

Milano rose up and smiled graciously at Twilight. “Thank you again for taking the time to tutor Scootaloo, I know you must have a busy schedule, but I’m happy you can make time to help her.”

Scootaloo chuckled knowingly; their “tutoring sessions” were a cover story for Twilight to help the young filly master her powers and explore the Rock of Eternity. That’ added on top of their Twilight Time with Sweetie and Apple Bloom, and whatever lessons Miss Cheerilee had for that day as well. If it wasn’t for the Wisdom of Star Swirl, Scootaloo’s brain would’ve burned itself out just trying to keep up.

“Oh, that reminds me Scootaloo, I have great news for you!” Milano spoke excitedly.

“Really what great news?” Scootaloo asked.

“Somepony walked in a couple of weeks ago while you were out and asked if they could adopt you!”

Scootaloo’s wings fluttered with joy as her eyes grew wide. “R-Really?! Somepony’s going to adopt me! Who is it?! Do I know them?! I bet it’s Rainbow Dash!”

“Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash is in Manehattan filling in for a Wonderbolts show.”

“Oh yeah…I forgot. So who is adopting me?!”

Milano smiled at Scootaloo’s eagerness. “Well, all I can say is that it is a mare and she knows you quite well, and she has been looking forward to this happening for a long time.”

Suddenly Scootaloo felt less confident about her adopter. Old memories were resurfacing, and hidden fears along with them.

“Oh…alright…Uh, Mrs. Milano, I’m going to my room now. Bye Twilight.”

Scootaloo didn’t wait for a reply, but simply trotted past Milano and into Wayward House. Twilight had a look of concern at the odd change in Scootaloo’s reaction to the news, so too did Milano.

“Will Scootaloo be alright?” Twilight asked.

“I think she just needs to let it sink in. You have to understand, Princess, that not many foals her age get adopted, even more so when she turns thirteen. Some couples or ponies in general don’t always pick older foals, but I really want this one to work for Scootaloo,” said Milano.

“Well, if there’s anything I can do to help you, Scootaloo, or the orphanage, don’t hesitate to come to the castle and ask.”

“Thank you Princess,” said Milano with a bow.

With that, Twilight opened her wings and flew off in the other direction. From the second floor window however, one filly watched as the pony she called mentor and had hoped guardian fly away, leaving her with a growing sense of anxiety and dread at who it was that had come to adopt her.

LATER THAT NIGHT…

Scootaloo tossed and turned in her bed, the news she had received, though good, still stirred up memories best left forgotten. Memories that she had been buried until the Wizard used his magic to see into her life. She then awoke with a start, clasping her hooves over her mouth to keep from disturbing Aura. Scootaloo quietly made her way out of the bedroom and headed down the hallway and to the bathroom. She flipped the light switch on and closed the door behind her. Scootaloo then ran the faucet, watching the water flow down and pool a little before it went down the drain.

The pegasus filly stood on the hoofstool and placed her forehooves in the flowing water. She then took in a breath and splashed her face. She did this multiple times, splashing her face with cold water, trying to shake away the memory induced nightmares. But it did little to alleviate the growing fear inside her.

Calm down Scootaloo, Mrs. Milano said that it was only a mare. She did say if it was a pegasus. But she also said this mare knew me well…But there’s just no way she could’ve found me here! I did every damn thing I could to make sure she’d never find me and that I’d never have to see her face again!

“You’re a bad filly Scootaloo, and you know what I do to bad fillies.”

“Shut up!” Scootaloo quietly shouted while scrunching her eyes shut.

“Don’t make me have to punish you Scootaloo, Mommy doesn’t like that.”

“Then why did you…did you–!”

“Now let me show you how to be a good filly for Mommy, and maybe others…”

“RAAAGH!”

Scootaloo suddenly punched the mirror, fracturing its surface and sending many cracks spider webbing from the point of contact. Scootaloo retracted her forehoof, cupping it with the other and wincing at the pain. Just then she saw the door open and for a moment wondered if one of the older foals heard her. The orphanage was different at night, since Mrs. Milano had a home and family to take care of, she had some of the older, more responsible and mature foals, watch over Wayward House at night. And since Mrs. Milano was only a block away it wasn’t hard to go and get her should something bad happen. Of course, explaining why she broke a mirror wasn’t on her top things to explain. The young filly closed her eyes and waited for colt or filly to ask with a stern voice.

“Scootaloo are you alright?”

That wasn’t the voice I was expecting to hear…?

Scootaloo dared to open her eyes and saw that Alula was standing in the doorway, looking worriedly from the mirror to Scootaloo’s slightly bloody hoof. The, at present, unicorn filly quickly went inside and closed the door silently behind her.

“Scootaloo what happened, you’re bleeding?!”

The pegasus filly looked to her right hoof and noticed that she had been scratched by the glass from the mirror she had just punched in. Now that she was aware of it, the scratches were starting to sting.

“Ow! I uh…I…”

“Later, first let me have a look at your hoof.”

Alula used her telekinetic magic to bring another hoofstool next to Scootaloo. She climbed on top of it and stood on her hind legs, she then used her magic to gently pry Scootaloo’s hoof out so that she could have a better look at it. After a tense moment, Alula let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, they aren’t deep, and I don’t see any glass in the cuts. Let me take care of this.”

“‘Take care of this’? What are you talking aboooooooo – OW!”

Alula wrapped her purple aura around Scootaloo’s injured hoof; she then placed both of her hooves over it as she held onto it gingerly. The stinging pain was soon replaced by soothing warmth, after a few seconds the magical aura around the three hooves flashed. When Alula removed her hooves Scootaloo gasped at seeing her hoof completely healed.

“Alula, you…you know healing spells?”

Scootaloo raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you know how to ‘heal’ mirrors?”

Alula playfully rolled her eyes. “If by ‘heal’ you mean ‘fix’ then yes I do.”

Alula’s horn glowed once again, concentrating on the broken mirror. The pieces of glass that had broken off from the mirror were suddenly lifted into the air and began floating towards the mirror. One by one the shards melded together until they had become whole again, any evidence that Scootaloo punched the mirror had completely vanished, except for the small droplets of blood in the sink, but a quick rinse would take care of that.

“Thanks Alula.”

The unicorn filly blushed. “Heh, heh, n-no problem Scootaloo. But, why did you break the mirror in the first place, and hit it hard enough to hurt yourself?”

Scootaloo hopped down from the hoofstool and kept her gaze downcast as she spoke. “It’s no big deal…”

“Yes it is a big deal! Y-You could’ve really hurt yourself! What if I hadn’t heard that noise and the cuts were deeper?!”

I’d just say “SHAZAM” and turn into an invincible alicorn. Instant healing.

“That didn’t happen, so I’m fine.”

Alula hopped down from the hoofstool and stood in front of Scootaloo with a determined expression.

“I don’t want you hurting yourself for no reason Scootaloo! You’re better than that!”

Scootaloo groaned in annoyance at what Alula was implying. “Look I’m not suicidal or anything! I just got really angry and punched something, I wasn’t really looking or caring what I hit, alright?!”

Alula was now less worried about Scootaloo doing something stupid like suicide, but now was more concerned as to what provoked her fury enough to just randomly hit something with such force. Silence reigned within the bathroom for what felt like minutes. After a bit longer, Alula decided to lighten the mood by talking about something positive.

“So…I heard you’re getting adopted soon!”

“…………”

“Um, I wanted to say congratulations, and I’m glad somepony has opened their heart to let you into their lives,” said Alula happily.

“You don’t know who that pony is…for all you know it’s some cover to foalnap and sell foals.”

Alula deadpanned. “I think Mrs. Milano and the ponies at the castle would know if the pony coming to adopt you was like that or not. Besides, there’s that three month trial period, so they have to double and triple check the pony who’s adopting you.”

Scootaloo scoffed. “Yeah, well how do you know they’re not a timberwolf in sheep’s clothing?!” Her worry and fear was starting to rise again, flashes of her mother, the pain, the humiliation, all of it rising up from a deep pit that she thought had been forgotten under years of new and happier memories.

No! I won’t be put through that again! No matter what!

Scootaloo started walking but was blocked by Alula.

“Where are you going Scootaloo?”

“Get out of my way Alula!”

“No, Scootaloo you’re acting weird and it’s scaring me, I think we need to go see Mrs. Milano.”

“Not going to happen!”

Alula’s horn ignited with magic, wrapping around Scootaloo and holding her in place. The pegasus filly struggled against the magical grasp, trying with everything – short of transformation – to get free.

“Let me go Alula! Now!”

“No way, not until you calmed down and we talk this…Oh no, not now!”

Scootaloo watched as the magic around Alula’s horn began to flicker, like a candle desperately trying to stay lit against the wind. After a few short moments Alula’s horn fizzled out, releasing Scootaloo. She then watched as Alula’s horn shrunk down until there was nothing left. The hornless filly panicked as she looked to her sides expectantly, but when nothing happened she panicked.

“No not earthy pony, not now!”

Scootaloo would’ve stuck around to question why Alula lost her horn and was now an earth pony filly. But that wasn’t her concern, all this meant was now Alula couldn’t use magic to stop her. The pegasus filly dashed away, leaving Alula in the dust. It took a few seconds for Alula to realize that Scootaloo had run faster than she had expected.

She chased after Scootaloo, who already had a good head start. The vanilla colored filly made one sharp turn after the other, listening closely for the sounds of hooves against floorboards. Scootaloo couldn’t fly, so she was restricted to just running, but if she got to her scooter than Alula could kiss any chance of catching her goodbye. Alula then heard the sound of the back door closing; she rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen. When she arrived there Alula was about to fling the door open, but a flash of light and the roar of thunder stopped her dead in her tracks.

There’s no storms scheduled for tonight, at least not according to what Mrs. Milano told us!

Alula, getting over the fear of the possible lightning strike, flung the door open. But there was nopony there, just some wisps of white smoke that were slowly dissipating into the air. She also noted the unusual odor of ozone in the air and tingling sensation where her horn once was. Unfortunately she didn’t have time to ponder this.

“Scootaloo?! Scootaloo?!” Alula cried.

There was no reply, Alula ran through the house and straight to the front door. She flipped on the light switch and searched frantically about the front closet. The filly gasped when she saw that Scootaloo’s scooter was still there, in the same position she left it, even her helmet was hanging off it.

Alula automatically assumed the worst, Scootaloo never went anywhere without her scooter, it was the one thing that gave her the thrill of being able to fly fast like her idol, Rainbow Dash. The vanilla filly ran up the stairs and burst into Scootaloo’s and Aura’s room. She then jumped right onto Aura’s bed and startled the filly awake.

“Aura, Scootaloo ran away or got foalnapped, I don’t know! I’m going to go tell Mrs. Milano, you go and wake the older kids up, hurry!”

Alula once again dashed away, leaving Aura sitting up in her bed. It took a moment before her mind finally got up with Alula’s words.

“SCOOTALOO’S WHAT!!?”

MEANWHILE…

“Doctor, do you really think this is safe?”

Caballeron and his crew were standing outside the entrance to the tunnel, he then lit the match held by his teeth and let it fall onto the fuse. “‘Safe’?! We’re just a few feet away from the greatest discovery and payday of our careers and you ask if it’s ‘safe’?! The time for safe is done, now we pull out all the stops!”

The fuse continued to dwindle as it got closer and closer to the piles of dynamite that were set before the iron wall. The ponies outside all waited for the inevitable explosion, covering their ears and clenching their jaws in preparation for the giant boom that was to follow. After a few seconds more, the fuse hit the pile of dynamite and set it off. The result was a mighty and thunderous explosion that rattled the ground and reverberated through their dig crews’ bodies. A cloud of dust and debris shot out of the entrance and hit everypony in its way.

Caballeron and several others were covered in dust, coughing and spluttering to get the tiny dirt particles out of their mouths. They waited many minutes for the dust cloud to settle, letting some of the pegasus ponies work their magic to clear the cloud away faster. Once it was gone, Caballeron and his crew went back into the corridor, so far, nothing seemed damaged, which was odd considering the strength of the blast would’ve been magnified due to the enclosed space. After a while they eventually found their way back to the iron wall which blocked them from advancing further. The good doctor however was severely disappointed to find that the wall still stood, not even a dent was made.

“You’ve got to be kidding me?! It should’ve at least put a hole in it with that much explosive force!” Caballeron shouted.

“Maybe we can try a diamond tipped drill or something,” said one his henchponies.

“A DIAMOND TIPPED – Are you kidding me?! Need I remind you that we aren’t even supposed to be here, and that no one is to know this place exists until we have found what our clients want! A drill that expensive is bound to draw attention; it isn’t an easy piece of equipment to come by!”

Dr. Caballeron walked up to the iron wall and scowled at it as if it were an enemy. He then turned around and kicked the wall with his hind leg in anger, venting his frustration. But at that moment something happened. The wall started to hum and emit a strange azure light. Caballeron stepped back and watched the spectacle while the henchponies and diggers stood way back.

Then the wall started firing off bolts of lightning, some striking the ground and leaving craters, others hit the walls and somehow energized the hieroglyphics. The wall then let loose one final bolt, striking Caballeron’s right eye and making him scream in pain. The wall stopped glowing and all was silent. Dr. Caballeron’s breathing was ragged from his screams of agony at having his eye blasted with lightning. One of his henchponies dared to break away from the group to see if the doctor was alright, after all, if he died, none of them would be getting paid.

“Doc, you alright?! Can ya hear me?!”

“I’m…I’m fine…in fact…!”

Caballeron stood on all four hooves again. He glanced over his shoulder to the henchpony, showing him what the bolt had done to him. A scar had appeared over his right eye in the shape of a lightning bolt, the eye itself was gone, but in its place was pure magical lightning energy.

“I can see magic!” Caballeron exclaimed.

“Um…Doc, we see magic a lot, unicorns use it all the time.”

“Not that kind of magic you imbecile! No, this is something greater; a higher form of magic that I dare say could rival that of the Two Sisters! And not only that, but I can see the ancient writing!”

It was true, the hieroglyphics had changed. They were only surface writing, made to hide the true words that lay hidden beneath them. The words danced in the air as wisps of sky-blue light, each one speaking to him. He then turned his attention back to the iron wall, and just like he thought, the wall was covered in magically hidden carvings and glyphs. An image of an alicorn stallion was at the center, the carvings and glyphs depicting this stallion as some kind of ancient hero king. Though he ruled with an iron hoof, prosperity reigned.

“Yes, yes I see now, this is the story of Teth Adam! The old zebra was right! And he lies just beyond this wall!”

“Doc I don’t think we should be messing with –”

“It’s here, the way to enter the sacred chambers, the way to the hero. It is so simple, a single word! Sha…zam!”

At that moment a lightning bolt insignia flashed before the iron wall, splitting it in half and opening it like a pair of large double doors. Dr. Caballeron wasted no time running through, prompting his crew to follow. Deeper and deeper they ran through the corridor, till at last they found it. A vast room filled with treasures the likes of which Caballeron and his henchponies had never seen, compared to the golden rings he stole for Ahuizotl, those were pocket change compared to this.

Dr. Caballeron’s new ocular abilities showed him the way, to a source of great ancient magic. The earth pony stallion trotted further into the room while his cohorts went crazy and started collecting as much of the treasure as they could. Of course the doctor knew better, the mountains of gold and priceless gemstones were all but a distraction, and one that he was more than willing to indulge in, but business before pleasure. The stallion passed by another hill sized gold pile and found it at last. It was a sarcophagus, made of gold, with several carvings that told the story of the one locked inside.

“Hello, Teth Adam.”

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 7: Show Time

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“Alright, see youse guys at the show!” Babs yelled.

The city of Manehattan, a vast metropolis known for innovation and ingenuity, with its towering skyscrapers, paved roads and sidewalks, and the near overwhelming amount of ponies living in here, it was a hub of activity pretty much every day, even at night. Currently, Babs Seed, cousin of Apple Bloom, member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and leader of the Manehattan Branch, was walking home. She had just gotten through with a meeting of the CMCMB, a few of them making plans to go see the Wonderbolts airshow later tomorrow.

She liked the Wonderbolts but she wasn’t as big a fan as some ponies were. Still, it got some of the schools to give their students the day off tomorrow for the show, so she thought she’d at least spend it having fun. As Babs made her way to her building she stopped, noticing a very familiar pegasus filly asleep on the front step, leaning against one of the guardrails for support. It didn’t take long for Babs to recognize this filly.

“Scootaloo?!”

The filly roused from her sleep and blinked her eyes a few times to get them to focus.

“Oh, hey Babs.”

“Don’t hey Babs me! C’mere!”

Before Scootaloo could protest, Babs pulled her into a fierce hug that felt like it was about to crush her spine. After a few agonizing seconds, Babs released Scootaloo and allowed her precious life giving oxygen.

“Happy…to see…you too…Babs,” said Scootaloo in between gasps.

“Wow, never thought I’d get to see youse in my own backyard. Are you visitin’ with Cuz?”

Scootaloo bit her lip. “Um, not really…I uh…”

Babs’ excitement over seeing her friend was starting to turn to worry. Usually Scootaloo was a lot more energetic than this and wasn’t one for holding back how she felt.

“Hey, what’s up? You’re not in trouble are youse?” When she didn’t get an immediate answer, Babs placed her hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “C’mon on up to my place, not a smart thing for a filly to be sleepin’ out here in the middle of the day, even more so at night.”

Scootaloo didn’t argue. The only reason she felt safe enough to nod off was because she could change anytime she wanted and pummel the pony dumb enough to try something six feet under. Babs led Scootaloo into the elevator; she had to admit she didn’t think this was where Babs lived. The outside looked nice, there was no doorstallion but it was still fancy enough, even the elevator looked well maintained and up to date. The flashing numbered lights made little “ping” noises with each floor it passed, till eventually they reached the twelfth floor.

The doors slid open and revealed a plush red carpet. Scootaloo was starting to wonder if they really were in the right building. After passing by several doors the two fillies stopped before a door with an Apple engraved onto a plaque. Babs fished through her saddlebags and took out a key, once unlocked Babs opened the door and allowed Scootaloo to enter first.

The pegasus filly walked in and found her jaw meeting the floor rather quickly. The inside was big, with sliding glass doors in the back that led to a wide veranda. Lush carpeting, and soft faux leather couches, and a fireplace, currently off due to it almost being summer. Scootaloo heard the door close behind her, but still couldn’t take her eyes away from the decor. Babs walked up beside her, noting the flabbergasted expression she had.

“Before you ask, this is my place, and no you’re not dreamin’.”

“Wha…You…You’re rich?!”

Babs blushed sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head with her right hoof. “Well…rich by Manehattan standards, not sure what Canterlot standards would be. But we do pretty well for ourselves.”

It was now starting to make sense to Scootaloo why Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon so easily accepted Babs into their circle. A simple mean act like destroying their float might’ve given her props by the two fillies, but she didn’t believe they’d overlook the fact that she was related to Apple Bloom and couldn’t resist calling her out on it. But now factor in the newly discovered rich side of this equation, then it starts to make much more sense. It only made Scootaloo happier to know that they wrested Babs from lure of the dark side that was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“Does uh, does Apple Bloom know about…this?” Scootaloo asked as she gestured with her hoof to the entire apartment.

“Eh, not really, no…I kinda wanted to tell her when we’ve become a bit closer…As friends and cousins I mean! Ya know I just don’t want her to think I’m like Diamond and Silver, especially after the way I treated youse back in Ponyville…”

Scootaloo shook her head confidently. “No way Apple Bloom would think that, she calls you her ‘favorite cousin’ all the time! She really likes you Babs, so she’d never think about you like that, no matter how rich you were.”

Babs blushed a little harder after hearing that, she knew that Apple Bloom was happy to see her during the last reunion, but she wasn’t sure if that was just because of the festivities of the reunion or if she had genuinely forgiven her. Now after hearing this, her tension about the whole thing was a weight that lifted off her shoulders.

“Thanks Scoots and you won’t tell her about this will ya?”

“Not unless you want me to, I won’t,” said Scootaloo.

“Good, now, let’s see about figurin’ out a good excuse as to why yer here before my folks and sis get home.”

“Right!” Scootaloo then paused for a minute and then gave Babs and incredulous look. “Hang on, ‘excuse’?! What makes you think I need one?!”

Babs then gave Scootaloo a deadpan expression. “Scoots, yer here in Manehattan, and you’re alone. If Cuz was here then so would cousin Applejack, and because I don’t think she would just leave youse sleepin’ on my stoop without anypony to keep ya company.”

Scootaloo suddenly became a bit nervous. “H-How do you know I didn’t come here with Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts?!”

“Scoots, I remember ya talkin’ about Rainbow Dash and how she was like yer big sister, and if she’s anythin’ like what you told me, I doubt she’d leave you alone in Manehattan. Or at the very least you’d be stayin at the hotel where the Wonderbolts are booked.”

Scootaloo opened her mouth to counter, but no words came out. Babs had her pegged and she knew it, only problem was how she was going to explain how she got there or found her in the first place. Babs seemed to notice the slight distress coming from Scootaloo and stood before her, resting a hoof on her shoulder.

“Look, just answer me this: are you in trouble?”

“You have a fight with somepony?”

“No.”

“Somepony hurt ya?”

“No!”

Babs raised an eyebrow at the way she responded to the last question, but decided to keep it to herself for now.

“Alright, here’s what we’re goin’ to do. You’re gettin’ in the shower and cleanin’ up, and then when ya get out we’ll figure out somethin’ to tell my ‘Rents and big sis.”

“A shower? What, do I stink or something?!” Scootaloo asked slightly offended.

“Ya smell like Manehattan, now get in, c’mon.”

Babs started to shove Scootaloo in the direction of the guest shower, with the pegasus filly protesting the whole way. They eventually reached the shower and Scootaloo did an about face.

“Yep.”

Scootaloo sighed heavily but entered the bathroom.

“Scoots…” Scootaloo stopped and glanced at Babs over her right shoulder. “Whenever ya want to talk about the real reason why yer here, I’ll listen.”

“………Thanks Babs.”

The rest of the night went well for the two fillies. Babs was able to convince her parents and sister that Scootaloo was in Manehattan with Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts. She explained that there was an error with the booking and that there wasn’t any room for Scootaloo at the hotel. So Rainbow Dash dropped Scootaloo off wondering if it was okay for her to stay until the Wonderbolts show done and out. Thankfully Babs’ parents bought the story, happy to have a friend of their daughter’s from Ponyville stay over, her big sister was little more skeptical, but she seemed to let it go for now.

Dinner was good, a lot of laughing and telling of how each of their days was. Babs’ big sister didn’t miss this opportunity to embarrass her little sister by telling Scootaloo various embarrassing stories about Babs when she was younger, and even some that were current. Scootaloo couldn’t help but laugh at Babs’ expense, even the earth filly’s mother and father couldn’t help a chuckle before calming the two siblings down.

The remainder of the night was spent with Babs, Scootaloo, and Sissy, as Babs’ nicknamed her, playing little board games or overlooking the Manehatttan skyline from the veranda. Eventually the night grew late and it was time for Scootaloo and Babs to hit the hay. Unfortunately the spare guest room wasn’t in any condition to receive anypony at this point, so Scootaloo had to bunk with Babs for the time being. Mind you this wasn’t the first she had to share a bed with another filly, but it felt a little more personal for some reason, given that it was Babs and despite their sisterhood bond as a Cutie Mark Crusader, didn’t make it feel any less embarrassing. She blamed it on her hormones.

Puberty sucks…

But since Scootaloo and Babs were close to each other in age it didn’t bother the earth pony filly. The two fillies laid in silence for a while, back to back, neither one saying a word. Scootaloo just breathed normally, mimicking sleep, but really she was wide awake. Her mind was abuzz with what she had done, she had run away to Manehattan in a panic, without any real evidence that the one coming to adopt her was in fact her, but deep inside, Scootaloo couldn’t risk it, she never wanted to go back to that witch, and with the power she had she’d never have to ever again.

“Scoots, you awake?”

Scootaloo flinched. “Um, yeah.”

“I hate to ask, but since we’re alone, do you want to talk about it?” Babs asked tentatively.

“I…Babs…If you knew what I knew, you’d probably never look at me the same way again…I don’t want to lose the friends I have…”

Babs glanced over her shoulder at the pegasus filly, she could tell that Scootaloo did want to say something, but as she said she was afraid of what others would think, more specifically, her friends. That’s when Babs smiled as an idea popped into her head.

“Quid Pro Quo.”

Scootaloo turned around and stared in confusion at Babs. “Qui – what now?”

“It’s somethin’ Sissy taught me, it basically means ‘somethin’ for somethin’’. Like I give you somethin’ and you have to give me somethin’, like say a secret. But if I tell youse somethin’ big you have to do the same, otherwise it ain’t fair to the other pony.”

“So it’s like a game?”

“Kinda.”

“I don’t know…”

“What if I do that Pinkie Promise thing that youse guys showed me the last time I was in Ponyville, like I promise not to tell anypony yer secret unless youse tells me otherwise, and you do the same?”

Scootaloo thought it over, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to tell Babs, but right now it felt like a dam was about to burst inside her if she didn’t tell somepony, and really, Babs was a good confidant. She lived all the way in Manehattan, and nopony here knew her so it wasn’t like there would anypony to care if she did say something, but she knew Babs wouldn’t.

“Alright, I promise not to tell anypony the secrets we tell here tonight.”

“Ditto.”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

With that the pact was made. Babs turned around so she and Scootaloo were now facing each other. She took a deep breath as her cheeks started to grow red.

“Wait what?”

“I said I have *mumble*…”

“Babs I can’t understand you.”

The earth filly’s face became beet red as she gathered what courage she had inside as she blurted out.

“I have a crush on Cuz!”

Scootaloo mind stopped for a second to process that. Because the last time she checked, she referred to Apple Bloom as “Cuz”, and that would mean that Babs liked Apple Bloom as more than just a cousin, and that she was a filly, who liked another filly.

“Uh…wow…” Was all Scootaloo managed to get out of her mouth.

“I know…Ya probably think I’m disgustin’ for likin’ her like that, but I can’t help it. I just do, I can’t really explain it well, I just feel good around her and she makes me happy…You probably want to get out of my bed now don’t ya?”

After she let that sink in, Scootaloo shook her head to bring her back to her senses. “What – no – heck no! I don’t think you’re disgusting or anything like that! I mean, I’m not going to pretend I get it, I mean, that’d be like saying Sweetie Belle and Rarity like-like each other, ugh!” Scootaloo couldn’t help a shudder at thinking of those two in such a relationship. “But, you and Bloom, I guess I could get behind that. I mean, you’re not really hurting anypony, so long as Apple Bloom is onboard with it.”

Babs felt a great weight was lifted off her chest. “Thanks Scoots, don’t worry I don’t expect ya to understand, but just knowing that you’re alright with how I feel towards Cuz helps a lot. She really values youse guy’s opinions, y’know?”

“She does?”

Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel a blush of embarrassment tint her cheeks. But now that just left her, after revealing something that big, nothing short of the truth would be able to equal it. Anything less would be insulting to Babs. So, with a shudder Scootaloo made an odd request.

Babs would’ve thought it a strange request had she not heard the hurt and fear in the pegasus filly’s voice. With a gentle smile, Babs poked her hoof out from under the blankets and presented it to Scootaloo, who quickly grasped onto it, holding on as if it were her only lifeline in a dark ocean.

“I don’t think I told you, unless Apple Bloom found out and told you, but I’m an orphan…I live in an orphanage called Wayward House along with a few other homeless or runaway foals.”

Scootaloo waited for that to sink in, watching Babs for any change in her expression. Fortunately there was none, she looked a little surprised, but in Manehattan it wasn’t that unusual to run into the occasional homeless or orphan kid. With a nod to go on from Babs, Scootaloo took in a shaky breath.

“I wasn’t always an orphan; I used to live in Vanhoover, with my Mom and Dad. My Dad was an important manager at one of the dams there that provided electricity to most of the city and eastern half of Equestria. My Mom was a consultant for different businesses; she just helped them with money problems and did most of our family’s money stuff. Between the two of them we were never without money, and we could do all kinds of fun things together. Needless to say Hearth’s Warming was a fun day for me. But…then it all changed.

There was an accident at the dam during a really bad rainstorm, something went wrong when the Weather Factory sent the rainclouds, and it overflowed and pushed the dam too far. He was the only pony to go back and open the floodgates so that the dam wouldn’t burst apart and flood most of Vanhoover. Needless to say, it also flooded the inside, and swept him away with it…they never found his body…just his hardhat…”

Babs looked upon the pegasus filly, who was usually so full of confidence and strength, start to cry a little. And Babs had to admit, she had to keep herself from bawling too. But she could sense that that wasn’t the end of this sad tale.

“My Mom was sad, I mean really

Babs felt Scootaloo’s grip tighten as pegasus filly’s eyes scrunched shut at the memories.

“She…She was bringing stallions home, I thought she was just dating again because she missed Dad, but that wasn’t it…! She was…doing things with them! Stuff I didn’t understand until later, and made me sicker when I did! She started getting weirder, snapping at me for making a mistake, punishing me…badly…if I did something wrong. And then…at night…”

Babs grabbed hold of Scootaloo, bringing her close to her chest, and stroking the back of her head soothingly.

“It’s alright; you don’t have to finish…”

Babs’ teacher’s had long given them lectures and talks about how to spot foals who had been abused, and the way that Scootaloo was holding her hoof in a death grip, along with the sobs she was now letting out onto her chest, she knew that this wasn’t a lie or a ploy to satiate her curiosity as to why she was here. Scootaloo was speaking from what she had experienced.

“Ya ran away.” Babs finished.

Scootaloo nodded.

“Scoots, whatever yer…mother…did to ya, it wasn’t yer fault. And if yer scared of her findin’ ya, why don’t youse tell yer big sis Rainbow Dash, or even that Princess Twilight?”

Scootaloo vehemently shook her head in protest. “No way! I don’t want them to know what she did to me! Not Rainbow Dash, Princess Twilight, or my friends! I can barely believe I’m telling you this!”

Babs sighed, she knew that it was a big deal that she even told her this much, and she did promise to keep it a secret.

Scootaloo sniffled a little. “I…I know, and maybe someday I will…but I can’t go back…”

“Scoots ya don’t know if that mare whose comin’ to adopt ya is her or not. Tell ya what, I’m goin’ with my friends to the show tomorrow, maybe we can talk to Rainbow Dash about gettin’ ya back home. Just remember that yer friends are there for ya, a’ight?”

Scootaloo nodded a yes. She felt stupid, even with all the power of the gods within her, she still acted like such a foal when she got scared of being sent back to her. Scootaloo was more powerful than any pony on Equestria, maybe equal to Princess Luna, Celestia, and Twilight; actually Twilight told her that her power was equal to four alicorns or more. But the point was that if anything, if her mother ever showed up, it wasn’t Scootaloo who should be afraid, it should be her.

“Thanks Babs…and yeah, that would work. Do…you mind if we stay like this…?”

“If you don’t mind cuddlin’ with a pony who has a crush on her filly cousin, then ya sure.”

“We’re kinda messed up, aren’t we?” Babs asked with a chuckle.

Scootaloo chuckled a little as well. “Yeah, but that’s debatable.”

BACK IN PONYVILLE…

All of Ponyville was awoken in the dead of night, pegasus, earth pony, and unicorn alike enlisted to search for one missing filly. Cheerilee was among those ponies searching, her and Twilight both, scouring the town and outskirts with frantic worry. Fluttershy had asked the woodland critters for help as well, allowing them to have more eyes, especially those that could see better in the dark. The Dusk Guard was called in as well; half of them searching the outskirts while others went door to door.

The thought that Scootaloo could’ve been foalnapped wasn’t too farfetched, especially after what the filly, Alula, told them. So a systematic search of the resident’s houses was conducted, making sure to rule out everypony, even the castle was searched, along with Sweet Apple Acres. But despite a massive search, they came up with nothing. Princess Twilight had had her Dusk Guard inform other Guard Stations in different towns.

During all this, Twilight was consoling a worried Cheerilee, the school mare pacing back and forth within the throne room.

“How could this happen Twilight?! Why would she run away?!” Cheerilee asked.

“Cheery calm down, we’ll find her,” said Twilight, doing her best to keep her own worry from showing.

“‘Calm down’?! ‘Calm down’?! Twilight she’s missing, possibly taken by some sicko pony! What if she’s…she’s…” Cheerilee had to bite her tongue, not daring to say the last word for fear of it coming true.

Twilight walked over to her marefriend and brought her into a gentle hug. Cheerilee started to cry into Twilight’s chest, hugging her back as if she was the one thing holding her together.

“Why did this happen…? The adoption was almost finalized…”

Twilight separated herself just a little, looking at Cheerilee with shock. “Cheery…You were the one Mrs. Milano was talking about?! The mare who was going to adopt Scootaloo?!”

“Of course, I told you I was! Although…at the time I was scared to even go in. Until Berry helped me realize that I was being afraid for nothing, she even came with me to Wayward House and sat there with me as I talked to Mrs. Milano and did the paperwork.”

“Oh Cheery, if you had said something I would’ve come with you.”

“I wanted to surprise you both…Although, I have to admit, your official recommendation was helpful in most of the process. You did that for me, didn’t you?”

Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly. “Heh…yeah…I did…Are you mad about that?”

Cheerilee leaned forward and nuzzled Twilight under her chin. “Thank you…I just can’t believe this is happening…hasn’t she gone through enough?! No parents, no home, and when she’s finally about to get both she vanishes!”

Twilight brought Cheerilee back into the hug, holding her tighter. There may be one other place she might’ve gone too… “Cheery, I’m going to go out and search again.”

“I’ll come with you!”

“No, I’m going to try some spells and other things that I don’t want you caught in. Better it be done without anypony around. I should be back soon.”

Cheerilee reluctantly nodded to Twilight. The alicorn mare separated herself from her lover and made her way to the double doors, she spied Spike standing, watching his surrogate sister worriedly.

“That goes for you too Spike,” said Twilight.

“But…”

“No buts, besides, I need you here for Cheerilee. Okay?”

Spike sighed reluctantly. “Okay.”

Twilight leaned down and nuzzled the drake on the cheek, he didn’t shy away from the nuzzle, instead leaning into it as if reassuring her that he would look after the mulberry mare.

With that settled Twilight galloped out of the throne room and quickly made her way to the door that led to the basement. She flung the door open and quickly closed it behind her, Twilight teleported herself from the top of the stairs and into the laboratory. Concentrating, Twilight focused on the rune marking, it was an odd feeling, giving off a phantom feeling, like when you lose a limb but know it’s still there. She reached out to that phantom feeling and grabbed hold of the rune with her magic.

Twilight then imagined the rune as a key, and a door. The room went pitch black like before, and the sensation of space shifting around her returned once again. Soon the white outline of a door appeared. Twilight trotted up to the door and focused the rune’s magic onto it. Immediately the door responded and opened up, bringing Twilight right into the Rock of Eternity’s library. Twilight ran inside and stopped once she reached an open space.

“Murmur! Murmur! I need your help!”

It didn’t take long for a flash of pink to appear before Twilight, revealing the flutterpony Murmur, who was now looking up at the alicorn mare with concern.

“Miss Twilight, what’s wrong, you look distressed?”

“Murmur, has Scootaloo been to the Rock of Eternity at all in the past few hours?!”

“No ma’am, she has not. I would’ve sensed her presence the moment she entered here. Why, is Mistress Scootaloo alright?!” Murmur asked.

“She’s…She’s been missing for the last twenty-four hours, and it isn’t like her do this kind of thing! Granted I know she has the powers of a six different gods, so there’s little chance she was foalnapped, but it’s really worrying me and everypony else where she is!”

Murmur took a moment to think. “There is a way to find her, hold on.”

Before Twilight could ask “onto what” she and Murmur were teleported straight into the throne room of the past Champions of Magic. Murmur then flittered over to the crystal ball near the throne and lit up her horn. Twilight was never one for fortunetelling and strange hocus-pocus like this, but if it helped to find Scootaloo she was prepared to read tarot cards if it would help.

“Mistress Scootaloo is never far from the Rock of Eternity. She and the Rock are eternally connected, no matter where she is. The connection works both ways; I can locate Mistress Scootaloo through the crystal ball.” Murmur explained.

“So you can bring her here?!”

“No, I cannot force the Champion to come to the Rock of Eternity, I am but a steward. She must make the choice, but I can astral project myself like I did when I first encountered you and speak with her.”

Murmur’s horn glowed with a pink aura, the energy then flew into the crystal ball, creating a white, hazy fog. The fog swirled around with the sphere, like a mini hurricane. Soon the fog became dense, transforming into tall buildings and various other structures. Soon the fog began to change into another state of matter, creating a blue sky, with the statue of a mare bearing a torch, situated in a harbor. It didn’t take long before Twilight recognized the sight, having been there once before.

“Manehattan! Scootaloo’s in Manehattan?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“It would appear so.”

“Okay, how did she get there in – never mind I know how. But why would she have gone there of all places?!” Twilight employed her calming technique before she could fully freak out. “Okay, now I have to figure out how to tell everypony I’m going to Manehattan to go and get her…Oh, but would that be a good idea, I still don’t know why she even left in the first place…?”

“Miss Twilight, if it eases you at all, she is not alone, I sense Mistress Scootaloo is with a friend she trusts.”

“Who does she know in Manethattan? Can you show me?”

A quick flash of Murmur’s horn and the image changed, focusing in on a particular building and stripping away the walls to allow an unobstructed view of the two fillies.

“That’s…That’s Applejack and Apple Bloom’s cousin, Babs Seed. She’s with her…? Thank Celestia, at least she’s with somepony we can get a hold of.”

“Shall I contact her then?”

Twilight thought about it for a minute. “Maybe wait a moment; I know Rainbow Dash is there. If I can get a message to her she might be able to pick up Scootaloo. If I know her, she’ll go to the Wonderbolts show. Thank you Murmur.”

The flutterpony bowed to the Princess of Friendship. “Of course.”

THE NEXT DAY…

Babs and Scootaloo met up with the Manehattan filly’s friends from school, two colts, and two fillies. One of them was a blue earth pony colt with a blonde mane and tail; he wore a blue cap in the middle of his head, which parted his weird mane in two different directions, and ocean blue eyes. The other colt was a pegasus, brown in color, with a curly tail, chestnut colored eyes, and a tall mane that was about a foot or two above everypony, how that thing didn’t mess up his flying was beyond Scootaloo.

One of the fillies was a light-blue unicorn, wearing green rimmed glasses, her mane style made her look like she was Neighpon. The last of the group was a pink earth pony filly; a lighter shade compared Diamond Tiara. She wore a bow that kinda reminded her of Apple Bloom’s. The filly’s mane was a blonde color similar to the colt’s, Her mane was in pigtails, and her eyes were an intense green as she looked upon Scootaloo with an almost permanent scowl.

“Scoots, meet the CMC Manehattan Branch. The guy with the tall hair is named Cool Kat.”

The brown pegasus slid up to Scootaloo and held out his hoof. Scootaloo got the gesture and hoof bumped the colt.

“My pegasister, nice to meet ya.”

“The filly who looks like a genius is Cerebellum, but call her Cera.”

Unlike Cool, the unicorn filly simply smiled and bowed to Scootaloo. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“The boy who looks like he’s deep in thought is Magnanamus, Magnanemos?”

The blue colt rolled his eyes playfully at Babs trying to say his whole name. “Magnanimous, but you can call me ‘Arnold’.”

“‘Arnold’? Why’s that?”

“‘Cause it’s a lot easier to remember than Magnanimous.”

“Gotcha.”

“And of course, the girl who looks like she’s goin’ to beat you up at the drop of a hat is Helga Heartsong.”

“That’s a pretty name,” said Scootaloo.

“Yeah well, don’t think I’m all sunshine and lollipops because of it sister. Try anything and you’ll answer to Old Betsy.” Helga raised her right hoof close to Scootaloo, indicating that her hoof was “Old Betsy”.

“Down girl,” said Babs.

“Anyway, Babs told us about how you guys back in Ponyville made the CMC, we thought it sounded cool, helping others to figure out their special talents, and hopefully finding out ours while we’re at it,” said Arnold.

“For now we’re the only members, testin’ the waters. But once we figured it out, we’ll get more to join. And it’s all thanks to you fillies in Ponyville,” said Cool.

Helga then shoved her way past the two boys, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, warm fuzzies all around, we’re all so happy to have her in our lives. Now can we get in?! It was a pain to get these tickets for the show, and even more so when Babs told me about a sixth, my Dad does not listen well when I’m talking to him so you get the where I’m coming from. Now if I was freakin’ Olga he’d buy her the whole city…”

Babs tapped Helga on the shoulder. “Quit yer belly achin’ let’s just go in and enjoy the show already.”

The group of six then entered the arena where the Wonderbolts would be performing, it was jam packed with ponies young and old, filling the stands from the bottom to the nosebleed sections. Vendors were out hawking their wares of food, drinks, and swag. Scootaloo hadn’t been to a Wonderbolts show in a while, even when Dash offered her free tickets to a few, she couldn’t go unless Mrs. Milano okayed it. Rainbow Dash may’ve been an Element of Harmony and a close personal friend of Princess Twilight, but Mrs. Milano didn’t weigh that in unless she was sure that one of her foals would be properly looked after. It was that aspect of Mrs. Milano that she both loved and found annoying at the same time.

The groups’ seats were located in a private skybox, allowing them the privacy to enjoy the show and partake of the stocked food and drinks. The ponies all sat two by two, Babs and Scootaloo stayed close together, Cool and Cera sat next to each other, although Scootaloo was sure she saw the polite unicorn filly glance at Cool Kat, smiling and giggling softly. Helga and Arnold sat close, the colt didn’t seem to mind but Helga was complaining. Despite this, when she thought nopony was looking, Scootaloo spotted the earth filly give Arnold a strange look that reminded her of the love poison incident a year and a half ago.

“Psst.”

Scootaloo turned to her right and saw Babs trying to get her attention.

“After this, the Wonderbolts will be signin’ autographs in the lobby. We’ll go and find Rainbow Dash then.”

The pegasus filly was both looking forward to seeing her surrogate sister/idol again, but at the same time she was dreading having to explain how she got there in the first place.

Oh I just transformed into an alicorn and zoomed across Equestria at a hundred times your top speed, and made it here in less than five minutes. Yeah, that’s going to be a great conversation! Guess I’ll just enjoy the show while I can…

{MARES AND GENTLECOLTS, THE WONDERBOLTS AIRSHOW WILL START IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES.}

LOCKER ROOMS…

Rainbow Dash was staring at the letter she had gotten, via dragon flame. She must’ve read it over a dozen times but it was still hard to believe what was written.

Dear Rainbow Dash,
I know how important doing this airshow is to you, and the last thing I want to do is make you lose your focus, but this is urgent.
Scootaloo ran away, now before you go flying off in the middle of the night, relax, I know where she is.
She’s staying in Manehattan with Applejack’s and Apple Bloom’s cousin, Babs Seed. Don’t ask me how she got there so fast or how she wound up there, since I’m still trying to figure it myself.
For now do your airshow, she might be there in the audience. You know her; she wouldn’t miss seeing you perform. She might even be with Babs. If you can, please find her and look after her. Send a letter back to me via the same way once you find her, there’s a charm attached to this letter that’ll help you to send a message through Spike’s dragon fire. Once you do I’ll come and pick her myself.
Thank you
Your Friend
Twilight Sparkle

“Three minutes till show time Dash, Rainbow Dash?”

Spitfire entered the mare’s locker room, spying Rainbow Dash at her locker, staring at a letter. The Captain of the Wonderbolts walked over to the prismatic mare and sidled next to her.

“What’s up, fan letter from a crazy mare?”

“Not really, no.”

Spitfire raised an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash lackluster response, she sounded down, which was odd considering how jazzed the mare was before and after each show. She then took a peek at the letter, reading it carefully. After a few seconds Spitfire had a concerned look.

“Rainbow, is that the same filly you told me about, the one that looks up to you and calls you her big sister?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Some big sister I am, I wasn’t even there for her when she needed somepony to talk to, maybe then she wouldn’t have run away…”

Spitfire glanced about the locker room, when she was certain there wasn’t anypony else there, she extended her wing and brought the pegasus mare close to her.

“Hey, you had no idea. If she is here we can have them make a general announcement and have her stay in the team meet up room until the halftime show.”

“No, if she is here then I don’t want to spook her off with random security ponies coming to escort her. The last thing she needs is a reason to run; if she came all the way out here then it means she’s probably here to talk to me. I’ll find her once the show’s over.”

“Dash, the arena lobby will be packed with fans, it’ll be hard to find her.” Spitfire thought for second until she got an idea. “Do the first half of the show, fake an injury, and then while everypony’s at their seats you can go and find her.”
Rainbow Dash looked at Spitfire with surprise. “You’d let me do that?!”

“Hey, you’re the one who taught me and the others to never abandon a teammate, and to look out for our fellow flyers. I mean, how would it look if we left a future Wonderbolt Cadet out there alone with no Wingpony?”

“Thanks, Cap.”

“No problem, now let’s go and give that filly a show!”

“Aye, aye!”

With that Rainbow Dash zoomed out of the locker room and towards the gate where the rest of the team was waiting.

“Umph, that flank.”

The Wonderbolts airshow was in full swing, the elite pegasi team took to the skies with a thundering roar. Clouds of electrified smoke followed in their wake. Amongst the streaks, two unique trails were more distinguishable than the others, one made of blazing fire, and the other a trail of six different rainbow colors. Anypony who was anypony knew who those belonged to, Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts, and Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and the Mare of the Sonic Rainboom.

Scootaloo cheered the loudest of the six; they didn’t mind her enthusiasm, especially Babs when she remembered how the filly was the previous night. Scootaloo’s eyes were riveted on the Wonderbolts’ moves, more specifically, Rainbow Dash’s. She zoomed to and fro, looping, and zigzagging through obstacles and creating cool patterns in the sky with her teammates. It had been a long time since she had been to a show, but seeing one with her idol performing was even better.

But, despite the excitement in the air, Scootaloo couldn’t help this nagging feeling in the back of her head, a sense of danger. Why she felt this she had no idea, there was nothing dangerous about their stunts. Okay, scratch that most of them were dangerous, but this feeling was something along the lines of…death, and a wanting to hurt others.

Scootaloo, as much as she didn’t want to, pulled her eyes away from the show and looked down at the crowd. Her eyes roved over everypony, searching for something or someone, which she had no idea, but something told her that she’d know it when she saw it. That’s when Scootaloo started to notice something strange; some of the vendors were sticking awful close to the various entrances to the stadium, their placating smiles belayed something…sinister beneath the façade.

The Wonderbolts ended their routine, assembling in the middle of the stadium, that’s when it all went bad. Suddenly a net made of crimson light stretched forth around the entire stadium, completely covering the structure. The Manehattanites all cheered, thinking it part of the show, but the team of ten knew better, they had finished their routine, this was something different.

{ATTENTION PONIES OF MANEHATTAN.} A voice boomed over the stadium speakers. {I AM HERE TO INFORM YOU THAT THE SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED, AND WE ARE NOW IN CONTROL OF THIS STADIUM. YOUR LIVES ARE IN OUR HOOVES.}

The audience looked around for the one who was talking; all eyes then converged on a stallion who was standing in the middle of the hoofball arena. His body was cloaked in a black suit, wearing a white mask to conceal his identity. Scootaloo looked around and saw that the vendors from earlier had donned similar masks, now each standing sentry at the various entrances.

“The hay with this! I’m out!”

Everypony turned to one of the entrances, watching as a stallion got up and started to leave. But the pony standing sentry at the entrance, a pegasus from what Scootaloo could tell, brought up their right hoof and violently pressed the flat of their hoof against the stallion’s chest. Violet electrical energy shot through the strange device clasped around their foreleg, coursing through the stallion as it electrified his entire body. The stallion led out an awful, blood curdling scream as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. And then, silence, the pegasus retracted its hoof, ending the shock. The stallion’s ears, mouth, and nostrils were emitting smoke as the smell of charred skin and ozone wafted through the air. The body of the stallion then fell, and continued falling down the stairs till it hit the bottom, dead.

{AS YOU CAN SEE WE ARE PREPARED TO USE LETHAL FORCE TO MAKE YOU COMPLY. BY NOW THOSE OF YOU AT HOME ARE LISTENING TO THIS BROADCAST OF THE WONDERBOLTS AIR SHOW, BUT NOW I MAKE MY ULTIMATUM. THIS IS NOT A NEGOTIATION. TO THE PRINCESSES OF EQUESTRIA, RENOUNCE CONTROL OF EQUESTRIA TO THE PONIES OF THE REALM, AND RELINQUISH YOUR ALICORN MAGIC, AND SCATTER IT TO THE AETHER. YOU HAVE UNTIL NOON TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. IF THESE DEMANDS ARE NOT MET BEFORE THE ALLOTTED TIME THEN WE SHALL BEGIN THE SYSTEMATIC CULLING OF ALL THE PONIES IN THIS STADIUM, TEN FOR EVERY MINUTE YOU GO OVER THE DEADLINE. WE ARE THE KINGDOM, AND YOUR TIME HAS COME.}

Babs, Scootaloo, and the gang couldn’t believe what they were hearing. This crazy pony and all the other ones in masks were insane! They wanted the Princesses to give up their magic and Equestria! Scootaloo could feel her power surge within her, telling her stop these madponies. But she wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, these guys weren’t afraid of killing others, if she made the wrong move or one mistake she could end up seeing more than just the one pony who got killed earlier.

“You have no right to do this!”

Scootaloo looked up and saw that it was Spitfire who yelled out against the earth pony down below.

{IT WOULD SEEM WE HAVE ANOTHER WOULD-BE HERO, A WONDERBOLT NO LESS…}

The masked stallion raised his left hoof and made waving motion. Suddenly a red violet beam shot out from somewhere in the stadium, piercing right through Spitfire, the yellow pegasus mare then fell out of the air and began to head straight for the ground. Rainbow Dash saw this and quickly went to her aid, catching her just moments before she hit the ground. Rainbow laid Spitfire down, scanning her for the injury that brought her down. The beam had shot right through her left shoulder, cutting into her wing as well. The wound was cauterized from the heat of the beam but it was still a bad injury.

Scootaloo continued to watch this, but she couldn’t anymore! The pegasus filly got up from her seat and ran out the door, despite the protests from Babs and her friends. She ran, keeping to the shadows to avoid detection by the creepy ponies in masks. She found the door to the stadium rafters and went inside. After climbing a few ladder steps, Scootaloo found her way onto the maintainence rafters that overlooked the arena below. She quickly galloped out till she was halfway between one end and the next.

{HOW NOBLE, A FRIEND AND COMRADE COME TO AID THEIR FALLEN CAPTAIN. COMMENDABLE, ELEMENT OF LOYALTY, BUT LOYALTY CAN BE A VIRTUE AS WELL AS A SIN…AND IT IS TIME YOU PAID FOR YOURS, FOR BLINDLY SERVING THE ALICORN PRINCESSES, THE SENTENCE IS…DEATH.}

“NOOOO!!!”

Scootaloo climbed up on the guardrail, and without the slightest bit of hesitation, pushed herself over the edge. She fell down hundreds of feet; she was so small that whoever was shooting wouldn’t even notice her, not yet.

“SHAZAM!!!! ”

A blue lightning bolt appeared from above, shooting down till it met her in midair. Thunder roared within the enclosed stadium, making everypony, even the masked ones look up.

“Speed of Mercurius Zephyr!!! ”

Scootaloo became a blur of color as she streaked through the air and landed right between the masked stallion, Rainbow Dash, and Spitfire. She then flapped both her wings at once, causing a powerful gust of wind to blow, sending the masked stallion flying till he landed at the fifty yards away. Scootaloo’s hooded cape appeared as she folded her wings, obscuring her face. She then turned to Rainbow Dash and Spitfire.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah we are…who the hay are you?”

“I’m Shazam, Equestria’s Mightiest Mortal.”

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 8: The Return of the Hero King

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There were many things that Rainbow Dash had seen in the past couple of years. She’s seen the rise of Nightmare Moon, gone to the Grand Galloping Gala, performed the legendary Sonic Rainboom, helped plan a wedding for Twilight’s big brother and helped stop a changeling invasion, heck, she even helped defeat Tirek. But now Rainbow Dash was beholding another strange sight.

An alicorn mare, wearing a red body armor-like suit had just blown away a masked psycho pony with one flap of her large and impressive wings. Not only that, but her speed was ridiculous, Rainbow’s eyes barely noticed her when she appeared before them.

“Is she alright?" Shazam asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head to regain her composure and to get her mind back on the situation at hoof.

“Not really, whatever hit her injured her badly,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Let me see. Wisdom of Star Swirl! Power of Zeus Thunderer! ”

Rainbow Dash watched as the alicorn mare’s horn flared up with magical lightning, and at the same time, her eyes shined with an azure light that matched the lightning. She hung her head low to get a good look at Spitfire’s injury, after a few seconds the alicorn raised her head and nodded.

“Alright, it’s not as bad as it looks. That shot missed her more vital organs, and clipped her wing, but it’s not undoable.”

Shazam’s horn glowed once again as her magical lightning shot out and struck the wounds on Spitfire’s body. At first Rainbow Dash thought that the tall mare was electrocuting the injured pegasus, but Spitfire showed no signs of pain, nor was there the nauseating smell of a body being roasted. A few accidents at the Weather Factory gave Rainbow Dash the unfortunate ability to spot that small immediately. The lightning ceased after a bit and revealed that the hole that had been bored through her was gone; Rainbow Dash even checked on her wing and saw that it too was healed. The prismatic mare looked up to Shazam with tears in her eyes.

“Thank you! You saved her life!”

Before Shazam could respond a tingling in the back of her head alerted her to something dangerous. Her head snapped to and fro as she scanned the audience for the source of the danger, spotting a unicorn mare up in the rafters, horn blazing with red light as she prepared to let the pent up energy fire. Shazam immediately cast an electrified shield around them, just in time for the beam that shot down Spitfire to be blocked. The high order magic of the shield completely cancelled out the attack, overwhelming whatever lethal spell the unicorn used.

Shazam then aimed her horn right where the mare was, unlike before, she had control over how much power her lightning attacks had, so when she released her lightning bolt and struck the mare it didn’t turn her to ash, rather, it paralyzed her body. Shazam noticed movement all around her, seeing the various Kingdom agents don their masks and prepare to kill the hostages. She had to act fast or the entire stadium would be filled with dead bodies.

“I’m going after those masked ponies! Watch that guy over there! Speed of Mercurius Zephyr! ”

Shazam disappeared in a gust of wind in the blink an eye, Rainbow Dash was completely astonished by this mare’s speed, she heard a various grunts of pain echoed within the stadium, she looked around as a blur of white, gold, and red made short work of the agents, even taking down a few that were still hiding amongst the crowd and waiting to strike. For the brief glimpses she did catch, Rainbow Dash watched as she appeared before one of the agents and struck them, putting them on the floor with one blow. She alternated between physical blows and magical lightning blasts for those she couldn’t get to in from her position.

“THAT ALICORN BITCH IS RUINING EVERYTHING!” The leader yelled.

Rainbow Dash turned her head in his direction and smirked at the stallion. “You mad bro?”

The masked stallion growled and ran furiously towards Rainbow Dash. The pegasus mare entered a fighting stance, ready for the masked one to attack. He jumped into the air a good twenty feet, cocking back his right hoof as violet electrical energy arced off of the device that was fastened around his foreleg. Rainbow Dash remembered what happened to the pony who got hit with that and nimbly dodged the attack, sidestepping to the right till she was out of range.

The masked one struck the ground; the electrical energy discharged and burned a hole in the ground eight inches deep. Another buildup of violet electricity formed on his left hoof, the masked one then sprinted towards Rainbow again, thrusting out with his left hoof, Rainbow Dash barely dodged the attack, the hoof grazing her right cheek slightly. She flapped her wings to put more distance between them, and to keep his attention on her and not a still unconscious Spitfire.

Her cheek burned from the attack. The other gauntlet lit up in preparation for another attack, Rainbow Dash took the initiative and struck first, she flew straight at the masked stallion, smashing her hoof into the stallion’s face and sending him flying back a few feet. She was sure that that blow hurt her more than him, the mask feeling like it was made of something stronger than whatever cheap materials she thought it was originally.

The masked stallion quickly recovered from the blow and prepared to counter attack, Rainbow Dash flew up again, keeping control of the high ground. But the masked stallion jumped up onto his hind legs and thrust out his right hoof. From underneath the gauntlet shot out a metal cable, the cable whirred as it extended higher and higher to an unsuspecting Rainbow Dash. The cable then lassoed itself around her left hind leg, making the pegasus mare let out a yelp in surprise.

“Gotcha,” said the masked one.

A surge of violet electricity blasted forth, traveling along the cable and hitting Rainbow Dash. The pegasus mare let out a scream as all her nerves flared out with pain. Her muscles tightened, causing her wings to lock up. The masked stallion saw that his attack had the desired effect; he then drew back on the line, using his earth pony strength, and whipping the cable downward. Rainbow Dash followed suit, having no way to stop herself as she was mercilessly slammed back down to terra firma.

The masked stallion approached the pegasus mare menacingly, looking down on her as her body convulsed from the powerful electric shock.

“Hmm, even for a pegasus that should’ve at least knocked you out. Guess you’re not an Element of Harmony for nothing Ms. Rainbow Dash. But I don’t think you can survive a point blank blow.”

The masked stallion brought his left hoof to Rainbow Dash’s head, letting his gauntlet build up the necessary charge that would kill Rainbow Dash instantly. She tried hard to make her body move, constantly yelling at her limbs to move and hit him before it was too late. Her eyes went wide with horror as she saw that the weapon was fully charged, although she couldn’t see, Rainbow was sure that the stallion was smiling from behind his mask.

“Goodbye, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty.”

“GET AWAY FROM HER!!!”

At that moment Shazam appeared before them, her eyes blazing with magical lightning as her horn and body was covered in the same power, the energy crackling violently in response to her fury. The masked stallion quickly reevaluated the priority of his target, bringing his right hoof up to attack Shazam should she get close.

“Strength of Herakles!!! ”

All the magical lightning transferred inwards to her muscles, granting her the strength of a god! With one swift stroke of her hoof, Shazam batted the masked stallion away. Although it was a simple strike to the chest, the power behind it sent the stallion flying to the other end of the field, slamming into a wall and leaving a body sized crater before he fell to the ground, unconscious, and in most likely in need of medical attention, and a body cast.

With that nuisance out of the way, Shazam looked down at Rainbow Dash, her body still convulsing from the harsh electrical energy that had shocked her body. Shazam placed her hoof upon Rainbow’s chest and concentrated, using her Living Lightning to seek out the malevolent energy that had caused her harm and eliminated it within a few seconds.

Rainbow Dash started to get feeling back in her legs and wings, soon she was moving again. Shazam stretched out her hoof, offering Rainbow some help. The rainbow maned mare gladly accepted her help, locking her hoof with Shazam’s so that she could help her up. But be it because of Shazam’s super strength or Rainbow Dash still regaining functionality of her legs, the pegasus mare found herself falling forward into Shazam’s chest. The alicorn mare gently held her close, steadying Rainbow Dash so that she would not fall.

As embarrassing as this was, Rainbow Dash didn’t mind it. She looked up at the tall alicorn, the shadows of the hood giving way a bit to allow her a glimpse of the mare under the hood. There was a sense of familiarity, and, although she couldn’t believe it herself, her heart skipped a beat. Realizing that, Rainbow Dash quickly separated herself from the hero, trying to keep whatever shred of dignity she had left.

“Th-Thanks for the help, and for, you know, saving my life,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Anytime, I’d never let anything happen to you!” Shazam shut her mouth right then, afraid of spilling too much and revealing her true identity.

And yet again, Rainbow felt her heart skip another beat. “Oh…! Um, well, ahem! So what happened to those other guys?!”

“Oh they’re over there.”

Shazam pointed to a makeshift prison that she fashioned out of the obstacle course equipment, where all the Kingdom agents were now being held. They were all unmasked and disarmed, their gauntlets lying next to the discarded masks in the form of a tightly condensed metal ball. Rainbow Dash whistled, thoroughly impressed and astonished that she had gotten all that done while she was fighting the ring leader. Rainbow then looked up and noticed that the stadium was still completely covered by the red energy net.

“Why the hay is that still there?! Shouldn’t it have gone down when you knocked them out?”

“Not necessarily, if the spell is a Loop Cast type, it can feed on the ambient magical energy once cast and sustain itself for a long period of time, regardless if the caster is conscious or not. Then again it could also be the work of a Spell Generator, something feeding the spell mana in order to stay active?”

Rainbow Dash just stared at the alicorn mare, feeling like she just got a lecture from Twilight. “In equish please?”

Shazam seemed to realize that she was going over Rainbow’s head, which scared her a little since she never knew anything about magic and now with Star Swirl’s wisdom, she could identify different kinds of spells and magicks almost instantly.

“Sorry, um, basically this spell’s going to stay active unless we find a way to break it or find out what’s keeping it powered.”

“Okay, then you go on and find out which it is, my teammates and I will keep the crowd calm and out of your mane for the time being,” said Rainbow Dash.

Shazam nodded her approval and in an instant was off to find the cause of the spell.

Scootaloo could hardly believe she had done all that! She single hoofedly beat up dozens of those terrorist ponies, saved Captain Spitfire and healed her, and just now she knocked out the masked stallion and had him flying like a rag doll. She was so afraid and angry at the same time, seeing her surrogate big sister almost be killed by that psycho, and those others threatening to kill everypony in the stadium, she couldn’t take that lying down. Thankfully they were all safe for now, but the fact that the energy net was still cast over the stadium did worry her.

Scootaloo zipped around till she made it outside, a large crowd had gathered outside the net, watching with worry and fright as to the fate of those trapped inside. Royal Guard unicorns and pegasi were mobilized all over; some were trying to break through the barrier net, while others flew around the net, trying to find a way inside. Many spotted Scootaloo, the news ponies photographing her as best they could. But that wasn’t her concern right now, nor was she concerned with the Royal Guard lieutenant who was ordering her to release the hostages and surrender.

Geez, I’m the good guy here pal! The crazies are in there! Ugh, doesn’t matter, they can figure it out when they get in, not like they can arrest me anyway.

Scootaloo landed upon the ground, getting close to where the net met the ground.

“Wisdom of Star Swirl! ”

Scootaloo’s eyes were immediately able to see the tendrils of magical energy that flowed through the air, she focused squarely on the net’s energy, trying to figure out where it ended or began. The energy seemed to flow all the way beneath the stadium, forming a perfect sphere of enclosure. It didn’t break through the ground; it merely passed through the ground, making sure not to cause excessive structural damage.

These Kingdom guys really didn’t want anypony leaving, even underground.

But still, something wasn’t right. The masked stallion had said that they were going to kill everypony in the stadium if the Princesses didn’t meet their demands, although there were many, there wasn’t enough to massacre an entire stadium’s worth of ponies, ten dozen against five or eight hundred ponies? The hostages had the advantage in numbers, if they so wished they could’ve overwhelmed them. But they must’ve been ready for that, and they must of had a way to kill them all in one fell swoop should their demands not be met.

Okay, it is starting to get scary cool how I can think like this, but back to the net thingy…Wait a minute, the net!

Scootaloo focused her magical vision upon the net itself; piercing through the layers of magic till she saw it. With the speed of the wind she rushed back inside, appearing in the middle of the stadium, standing right below the focal point of the net. Rainbow Dash flew down next to her with a worried look.

“Did you find a way to get us out?” Rainbow asked.

“We might not get out, alive anyway.” Scootaloo answered.

“WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!”

“That net is made to kill us all; it’ll send an electrical surge through the entire stadium and kill everypony inside it. This whole building is basically one big conductor for the spell, to maximize its killing power!”

Rainbow Dash shook her head in disbelief. “That’s…That’s insane! If they did that, then they’d be killed too! They were suicidal!”

“Don’t worry; I might be able to stop it.”

“How?!”

“By letting it happen.”

Rainbow Dash was starting to think that his mare was just as crazy. “Yeah, you mind running that by me one more time?”

“If I use my powers I can absorb the lightning and convert it to mana I can manipulate. I’ll basically be acting as a living lightning rod.” Scootaloo explained.

Rainbow Dash looked worriedly at the alicorn hero, “Are you…Are you sure you can handle that? I mean, I’m not saying you haven’t proven how crazy strong and powerful you are, but for you to absorb a spell that’s meant to kill! You could…”

Scootaloo had to admit, she was taking a big risk, as invincible as she was Scootaloo had no idea if the spell was strong enough to kill her. She may be a demi-goddess alicorn mare, but she was still a mortal pony beneath all that. Who was to say that that part of her wouldn’t be affected by the spell? Scootaloo glanced at the crowd, at all the scared and frightened faces, her hawk-like vision settled on Babs and her friends, still together and scared at what was happening. The mare then looked to Rainbow Dash, to the one mare she had always looked up to, who she strived to be like one day, to be as loyal and heroic, and unafraid to push the limit whenever possible.

“I can do this, I know I can,” said Scootaloo.

The confidence in the alicorn’s voice seemed to alleviate Rainbow Dash of her worry, it reminded of a certain filly who had the same kind of drive.

“Alright, we’ve got your back Shazam! Go for it!”

“Thanks.” Scootaloo flared her wings and stared up at the focal point of the energy net, she then glanced back to Rainbow Dash. “You might want to step back a bit; this is going to be big.”

“Oh, yeah, sure!”

Rainbow took ten steps back from Scootaloo.

“Further.” Scootaloo prompted.

Rainbow took twenty steps back.

“A little further back.” She said again.

Rainbow was starting to get worried again about how “big” this was going to be. She then flapped her wings till she was standing in high bleachers. She then received a nod of approval at the distance she put between them.

Oh buck how bad is this going to be?!

Scootaloo could feel it coming; the energy in the net was building up quickly. Although the unicorns in the crowd hadn’t notice yet since it was a subtle build up, but she could, and it was enough to fry even last one of them.

“Courage of Achilles Heel! Power of Zeus Thunderer! ”

The Champion of Magic could feel the Living Lightning imbue her body with godly invincibility, as well as her magical aura surging around her, ready to be wielded as she saw fit. The metal of the stadium began to release little red sparks, there was a subtle crackling sound in the background that seemed to steadily get louder as the seconds rolled by. The manes and coats of the ponies inside began to stand on end and frizz out as the currents began to move through them.

The energy of the net gathered at the center, right above the opening, and with twinkle of light, a powerful lightning bolt blasted down towards the stadium. Scootaloo could see how the bolt was about to catch onto the metal and surge through the building to kill everypony inside. She quickly countered by firing her own lightning bolt, striking the red one before it hit and bringing it right to her. The red lightning overwhelmed her azure colored lightning as it mixed in and completely surrounded her. Scootaloo grit her teeth, baring the pain of the malevolent spell as long as she could, drawing in more and more of the energy.

The net started to dissipate as it continued to pour its energy into killing, but Scootaloo held fast, her invincibility was keeping her from dying, but the pain was excruciating, as if it was doing everything it could to make her want to die! She let out a pain filled scream as the last of the mana was brought into her aura, the net completely gone. However, she was surrounded in a sphere of red lightning, holding it together to keep the spell from lashing out. It tried to arc towards the nearest metal object to pass along the current and find somepony to kill, but she wrangled it back in just as quickly.

All the ponies in the stadium watched as the alicorn mare continued to grunt and scream from the unimaginable pain she was no doubt feeling from the spell, a collective gasp was let out by all when they saw her drop to one knee, fearing that she might lose control of the spell and that they were all about to die. Rainbow Dash feared for her savior’s life, she couldn’t imagine the pain she feeling, not even sure of Twilight or the Princesses themselves could’ve withstood this for this long. Seeing the dismayed and panicked faces of the crowd, and the continued wails of Shazam, Rainbow Dash couldn’t take it anymore.

“YOU CAN DO IT SHAZAM!” Rainbow yelled.

All eyes were drawn to Rainbow Dash; even Scootaloo managed a weak glance at her idol, whose face held unshaken confidence in her.

“DON’T LET THAT STUPID SPELL BEAT YOU, YOU’RE A HERO AND HERO’S NEVER QUIT!” Rainbow Dash flew up into the air addressed the crowd. “C’MON EVERYPONY!!! SHE SAVED OUR LIVES, DON’T YOU DARE RUN ON HER NOW! SHE CAN SAVE US! SHA-ZAM, SHA-ZAM, SHA-ZAM!”

Rainbow began chanting Scootaloo’s heroic name, and pretty soon Babs, Arnold, Helga, Cera, and Cool began joining in as well. Spitfire, having regained consciousness earlier, got up weakly, standing on her hooves and made her way to the guardrails, joining her fellow Wonderbolt in cheering the hero mare on. All the foals joined with the two mares and the CMCMB and not too far along, the adults and teenagers as well. Even the rest of the Wonderbolts flew around to the crowd and urged them to chant with them. Soon the entire stadium was a turned into a giant amplifier, echoing the name of the hero, showing their faith in her.

“SHA-ZAM, SHA-ZAM, SHA-ZAM!”

Scootaloo’s screams were drowned out by the chanting of the crowd, letting her hear their faith, their confidence in her to save them all. She gnashed her teeth together, ceasing her screams. She let the crowd’s chanting fuel her strength, giving her a second wind as she stood back up to her full height. She wasn’t about to let them all die, nor was she about to let this spell beat her.

The crimson lightning shined forth as her will and inner power took control, changing the color to that of the azure of her magic. Scootaloo then unleashed the pent up power in a massive lightning bolt that shot up through the opening in the stadium roof. The bolt sailed upwards as strong, concussive thunder roared through the city of Manehattan further out into the skies above, being seen and heard for miles around.

Scootaloo nearly collapsed from exhaustion but caught herself before she did. The chanting stopped and was soon replaced by thunderous applause and cheers from everypony inside, Scootaloo felt an enormous amount of pride and joy from saving them, even more so when Rainbow Dash hoof pumped and mouthed the words “You the mare!”

Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay and bask in this adoration for long, now that the danger had passed, there was no doubt that Babs and the gang would be out looking for her. So, using her great speed, she vanished, reappearing in the hallway a few ways down from the private skybox.

“Alright then…SHAZAM!” The lightning bolt crashed down from above her, instantaneously changing the alicorn mare back to a young pegasus filly. “Okay, just lie here and pretend to be knocked out.”

She wouldn’t have to pretend that hard, Scootaloo was tired after that fight and the spell. The moment her body hit the floor she was out cold, but with a smile on her face.

MEANWHILE…

“A toast to our never ending wealth!” Caballeron announced.

The good doctor had successfully excavated the sarcophagus of the one known as “Teth Adam” and was currently in the midst of celebrating the removal of the vast treasure trove that was buried with the glorified coffin. Even though his right eye was gone and replaced by the ancient magic, allowing him to see magic itself, it was still a good day. It was just one more weapon in his arsenal, already thinking of the numerous ways he could apply this ability to his work.

One of Caballeron’s cohorts walked up to him, looking uncertain about something. “Uh, Doc, far be it from me to ask why they want this thing. But, why do they want that coffin so badly, I mean, compared to all that gold and other stuff we found, it’d be chump change?”

Caballeron took a sip of his wine before answering. “A very good question, to which I shall answer, who cares?! They want some millennia old mummy in a golden sarcophagus, they can have it. By the time they have it, I will have sold off all this treasure and we can all have an early retirement.”

“Speaking of ‘retirement’, what do you want to do with those workers?”

Caballeron gave his cohort a pointed glare. “We were never here, understood?”

The stallion knew exactly what that meant and went off to make sure that their presence was that of a ghost. Just as Caballeron was about to take a second sip his enchanted eye caught sight of something from the sarcophagus, it started to radiate an ethereal glow, reaching up into the air as if trying to grasp at something. The doctor covered his enchanted eye and looked only with his normal one, making sure that it wasn’t a trick of his mind. There was no ethereal aura, but after uncovering the other eye it came back into full view. Something was going on with this coffin, something magical, he could feel it.

Dr. Caballeron gazed upwards into the sky, trying to see what it was this aura was reaching out to. His vision was then overwhelmed with a powerful light, magical power of an unprecedented level was hanging just overhead and growing bigger, no, it was getting closer!

“EVERYPONY RUN NOW!!!”

Caballeron ran as fast as his hooves could carry him, but it was too late for the others. A massive lightning bolt tore through the clouds and crashed down upon the sarcophagus, the ponies nearby were instantly vaporized, the workers and some of Caballeron’s cohorts caught in the blast. The shockwave blew away all their excavating equipment, either tossing it miles away or shorting out whatever sensitive components that made it up. Caballeron himself was thrown into the air and landed into some tents, breaking a table that had incidentally broken his fall. Groaning in pain, the middle-aged stallion looked up, watching the lightning bolt be sucked into the sarcophagus, he didn’t understand why this was happening, but whatever was inside was drawing upon this power.

Soon the lightning bolt ended and everything was deathly quiet. The few remaining cohorts, four in total, all slowly made their way towards their fallen leader, helping him out of the tent and back onto his hooves. Dr. Caballeron cautiously walked towards the sarcophagus, common sense dictated that he should be running the other way right now, but this was his ticket to vast wealth, if the lightning damaged the coffin or whatever was inside, his scary clients would no doubt track him down and kill him, vast wealth or not.

Caballeron was within five feet of the sarcophagus and as far as he could tell, there was nothing wrong with it; in fact, it seemed to shine brighter like it was polished recently. That would’ve put him at ease, if it wasn’t for the fact that his enchanted eye gave a glimpse of a pony body, outlined by powerful magical energy. Suddenly a hissing noise broke the silence; the edge of the sarcophagus was being burned into, tracing a line from the left side and coming full circle to the point where it began. A whoosh of air could be heard being sucked in as the top half of the sarcophagus was raised up and flung a good twenty feet before embedding itself into the ground.

The stallion watched as a figure rose from the sarcophagus, white smoke pouring out of the sides. His body was covered in a black suit, golden gauntlets and greaves covering all four of his hooves, a black hooded cape with gold trimming bellowed in the crosswinds of his power, and upon his chest was the lightning bolt insignia, with actual magical lightning at its center. The stallion continued to rise, flaring his dark violet wings as he rose a good ten feet into the air. A horn protruded from his forehead, meaning that this stallion was an alicorn, a male alicorn! His eyes glowed a powerful azure blue from the darkness of his hood as he stared down Caballeron.

“T-Teth Adam…” Caballeron gasped.

The alicorn stallion’s horn lit up, sending a telekinetic aura to wrap around the doctor’s neck, hoisting him into the air to meet the ancient one. One his cohorts, a unicorn, was foolish enough to launch a magic bolt at him. The blast of magic didn’t even make it to him, fizzling out before the awesome power that his aura radiated. Teth Adam’s eyes locked onto the unicorn, a small lightning blast was fired from his horn, and in the blink of an eye the blast exploded, vaporizing the unicorn.

The other two were about to make for some nearby pickaxes, but Teth Adam quickly hit them with another round of lightning bolts, disintegrating them instantly. The remaining cohort was about to make a break for it, but a strong telekinetic grip clenched around his throat and brought him up next to Dr. Caballeron. The alicorn stallion then drew back his hood, revealing his short cut black mane and intense topaz eyes. Teth Adam looked between the two stallions, making the already nervous tomb raiders even more nervous.

“<Who are you? And what happened to my kingdom?>”

“What is he saying doc?!”

“It’s an ancient language, I might – GAK!”

Teth Adam increased his grip on their throats. “<My patience wears thin, answer me now!>”

Dr. Caballeron thought back to his days studying dead languages and hoped he had picked the one that sounded as close to his as possible.

“<I am Dr. Caballeron, great Teth Adam! This is the future, many millennia from when you ruled!>” Caballeron croaked.

Teth Adam loosened his grip on the stallion. “<You know my language,>” he then turned to the other in his grip, “<you however do not.>”

The demi-god stallion then tossed the cohort with a flash of his horn, sending him crashing into a stone pillar and collapsing the entire thing on top of him. Caballeron was then released from the choke hold and allowed to plop back down to the ground, he took in deep raspy breaths as he stood, but quickly bowed his head when Teth Adam stood before him. Caballeron was no fool, he knew power when he saw it, and he did see it, with his enchanted eye he could see just how powerful Teth Adam was, and to show nothing less than royal respect would mean a death sentence.

“<The Ch-Champion your Highness? What Champion?>”

Teth Adam seemed confused by his answer. How was it that he knew of his existence, yet knew nothing of the Champions that more than likely came after him?

“<Others who wield the power of the Living Lightning, the ancient magic?>”

The alicorn stallion took a moment to concentrate, feeling the magic in the air and ground.

“<Humph, it would seem that they made good on their promise to keep the Rock of Eternity separated from this world, but to foolishly take the ancient magic with them, disgraceful! Caballeron, the magic that awakened me, it tasted of a Champion’s power, help me to find him and I will grant you a place at my right hoof when my kingdom is restored to its former glory.>”

Dr. Caballeron weighed his odds, from the way he spoke he had seemed to have no knowledge of the Two Sisters or the ascended alicorns Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Princess Twilight Sparkle.

If Teth Adam is as powerful as the legends speak, then it is possible for him to defeat the Princesses, as a citizen of Equestria I need to stop him or find some way to alert the Princesses! Then again, he is offering me a place at his table, to be his comrade through this all, and really there’s no guarantee that the Princesses or Elements of Harmony can stop him, and I wouldn’t have to worry about my clients.

Self-interest won out as Caballeron bowed lower before the former hero king, “<I will assist you in any way I can.>”

Teth Adam nodded his approval at Caballeron’s loyalty. “<Now, I sense many powers in this new world, four in fact. Take me to them, one of them is bound to be the Champion.>”

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 9: The Battle of Manehattan, Black Adam's Might!

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The crisis at the Manehattan stadium had passed, the agents of “The Kingdom”, had been captured and sent to prisons for interrogation and incarceration for their crimes. All through the city word of the hero who saved the ponies that day had spread far and wide, newspapers headlined the name of the savior, “Shazam”. Various accounts were given of the heroic alicorn, how she defeated the agents all on her own, saved two Wonderbolts, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, and was the one to bring down the death net spell that was cast over the stadium. Blurry pictures accompanied the headline, the net having obscured their shots and made getting a good shot of her hard. Still, they published the only good one they had, and soon, it was spread all over the Equestrian Times.

Some were skeptical as to the sudden appearance of a fifth alicorn mare, believing that there were only four in existence. Tensions between the crown and the citizens was somewhat strained, although many accepted the ascension of Princess Twilight Sparkle, there were those who believed, the conspiracy theorists, that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were trying to increase the number of alicorns in the world so as to repopulate it with a superior race of equines. There was no need for three tribes when a single being encompassed all three’s abilities and strengths, and magnified them times ten.

Such was the theory, but to those knew better, it was just a lot of malarkey. It was these events, however, that lead to Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, Twilight, and the remaining Elements of Harmony, to make the venture to Manehattan, to reassure the citizens that their faith in their Princesses was not misplaced and to address the issue of the terrorist attack. A royal train had been made specifically for long journeys like this, heavily guarded, and, if necessary, able to levitate off the track and like a bullet to escape danger.

Currently, Twilight was going over the speech that Celestia and Luna were to give later that afternoon, she memorized both her part in the speech as well as the others, wanting to be ready and not miss her cue, but really though, her mind was otherwise occupied by another matter. A day passed since the incident, and when Twilight received word about what had happened in Manehattan, all she could think about was if Scootaloo was alright. She may have fought a manticore, but these were armed terrorists and a spell that was designed to kill everything living inside it. Thankfully, from what the papers said, and the letter she soon received from Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo was okay.

*Knock*

“Come in,” said Twilight.

The door to her car opened and revealed Applejack standing in the doorway. “Howdy Twi, you doin’ alright?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, why do you ask?”

Applejack entered the private car and sat across from Twilight. “Well, it just seems like yer deep in the thought, more than usual.”

“I guess all this business with those terrorists is just a bit scary. I never imagined something like that would happen, and we almost lost Rainbow Dash because of it,” said Twilight with a hint of sadness.

“Ah see, ya got a lot on yer plate. What with this mess and then there’s little Scootaloo goin’ missin’. I’m surprised you haven’t become a nervous wreck by now.”

Twilight looked up to Applejack; she then looked around the room to make sure they were alone. Once satisfied that there was nopony around Twilight looked directly at Applejack.

“AJ, there’s something I need to tell you in regards to Scootaloo.”

“Does it have somethin’ to do with the fact that you wanted me and Rares to bring our little sisters along with us?” Applejack asked.

“Yes. Scootaloo’s in Manehattan, I’m not entirely sure how she got there, exactly. But she is, and I just got a letter from Rainbow telling me that she has her and is taking care of her until we arrive.”

Some of the tension in Applejack’s body visibly ebbed away. Many of the ponies closest to the little pegasus filly were worried to death about what had become of her since they couldn’t find her anywhere in town or in the forests, but after hearing that, Applejack was very much relieved. But there was something about the way Twilight said she didn’t know how Scootaloo got there that didn’t sit well with her.

“Not that I’m not unsure as to the reason she went there, but the question is Twi: why did she run away in the first place?”

Twilight sighed heavily. “I don’t know, but hopefully I can find out when we get there.”

“While we’re on the subject, how did Scootaloo get to Manehattan from Ponyville? It takes at least a full day’s ride to get there? And Ah doubt anypony at the train station would’ve let her on the train without a ticket; trains goin’ there are pretty full of passengers, so Ah think somepony would’ve noticed an unaccompanied filly hitching a ride.”

Twilight was starting to get nervous, she couldn’t flat out tell the earth pony mare that Scootaloo was gifted with the powers of six gods and was now able to be anywhere in near the blink of an eye! For Twilight it wasn’t too farfetched, but for a little filly like Scootaloo? Applejack was definitely going to need an explanation. It didn’t help that the farm mare’s green eyes bared down on her, like a judge waiting to hear the testament of guilty. But as Twilight began to open her mouth to speak, Applejack raised a hoof to stop her.

“Look, explanations and answers will be fer later. Right now, just concentrate on Scoots when ya see her. We’ll settle up with the girls, or alone, later. Okay?” Applejack asked.

Twilight nodded.

“Alright, well, at least I can reassure Apple Bloom that she doesn’t have to worry about Scoots, little thing’s been plum worried sick over her.”

Applejack stood up and made her way to the door, exiting the private car and heading back to her shared room with Apple Bloom. Now that Applejack had brought it up, why did Scootaloo run away? When Twilight thought about it more, the only correlation she could make was when Mrs. Milano said that Cheerilee was going to adopt her, granted Scootaloo didn’t know it was going to be her own school teacher who was going to adopt her, she would think that Scootaloo would be more excited to hear such good news.

Scootaloo, you better have a good explanation for all of this, thought Twilight.

HOURS LATER…

Scootaloo laid in bed, sleeping soundly. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked the sleep from her eyes, once her vision adjusted she slowly took in her surroundings. It was a hotel room from what she could make out, a nice one at that. She was also aware of an ungodly whinny like snore coming from her right. Scootaloo slowly turned her head and saw the owner of that snore, and really, she was mentally chastising herself for not recognizing it sooner.

Rainbow Dash was sleeping at her bed side, her forelegs tucked under her head as a makeshift pillow. She was still in her Wonderbolts speed suit, showing that the prismatic mare hadn’t left the young filly’s bedside for even a moment. Scootaloo smiled at this, seeing how worried Rainbow Dash was about her, she really was the best big sister. Scootaloo reached out and gently placed her hoof on her mane, the sensation was just enough to rouse Rainbow Dash from sleep. Groggily she lifted her head, her tired eyes opening to check on the filly she had long since taken on as not only her protégé, but her surrogate little sister as well.

“Morning Rainbow Dash,” said Scootaloo.

“S-Scootaloo…? Scootaloo you’re awake!” Rainbow quickly enveloped the little filly in a tight hug. “Don’t you ever do something like that again! Running out to help me when those psycho terrorists were all over the place! You could’ve gotten killed!”

She should’ve felt more guilty about that, but Scootaloo was the one who saved Rainbow’s, and everypony else’s lives. Still, she couldn’t tell her that, not yet.

“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, I just…When I saw what that masked stallion did to Spitfire, I couldn’t let the same thing happen to you.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, a little ticked off that Scootaloo was so reckless, but honestly, it was that reckless side of the filly that Rainbow secretly adored about her, seeing her as a mini version of herself, albeit with some minor differences here and there.

“You’re lucky that Shazam mare was there to save you, I don’t want to think about what those guys would do to a foal if they were willing to kill everypony there. Never mind, it’s over. Are you feeling alright?”

Scootaloo nodded in affirmation, but a thought quickly entered her head. “Where’s Babs and her friends?”

“Babs is here, she’s resting in the other room. She really didn’t want to leave you alone, as for her friends; their parents came by and picked them up. The only reason Babs’ parents let her stay was because she vouched that I was friends with Applejack and that I’d keep an eye on her.”

Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief, smiling in the knowledge that her friends were okay. It was then that Scootaloo noticed the slightly impish grin on the older mare’s face.

“What?”

“She was pretty worried about you, kept refusing to go with her parents until she was sure you weren’t hurt or anything. She’s a special little filly isn’t she?” Rainbow asked.

“Well, yeah, I mean, we didn’t exactly start off that well when she came to Ponyville, but now, and more so recently, I really like her.”

“Uh-huh, would you say you like, like her?”

Scootaloo’s face turned red at the notion.

“Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed, or ashamed. It’s alright to like other fillies, just make sure she feels the same way about you, it can get all kinds of awkward if you try to make a move on her and find out that her barn door doesn’t swing that way.”

Scootaloo felt the heat growing around her face, Rainbow may have been trying to impart some sort of sisterly advice, but it was just embarrassing.

Believe me Rainbow Dash, I’m more than sure her “barn door” swings that way, and directly towards Apple Bloom.

“Rainbow stop, Babs and I are just best friends and Cutie Mark Crusaders! We aren’t like that! A-And I’m not like that…either.” Scootaloo proclaimed.

Rainbow brought up her hooves defensively. “Alright, alright, it’s cool. Just remember what I said about the not being ashamed part.”

“Alright, got it, moving on!”

Scootaloo wanted to get off the topic of romance, never really having an interest in such things, but recently her hormones would beg to differ. Rainbow Dash ruffled Scootaloo’s mane playfully, to which the young filly giggled. But when Rainbow eased up and moved her hoof to Scootaloo’s shoulder, a serious expression appeared on her face. Scootaloo knew what was coming, it wasn’t like she could avoid this discussion the whole time she was with her, still, she at least wanted a few more minutes of bonding time before they did.

“You look like you know what I’m about to say,” said Rainbow Dash.

“I do…”

“Then I’ll just come out and say it…What were you thinking! Running away to Manehattan to Ponyville is dangerous! You could’ve been foalnapped or fallen into a ravine and down a waterfall!”

“Okay, that only happened one time!” Scootaloo interjected.

“And Manehattan itself may be a nice place, but it isn’t like Ponyville where you can walk around at night and feel safe, if you got caught out here at night, there’s no telling what would’ve happened to you! I…I was scared Scoots…”

Scootaloo looked up at her idol. “You, scared?”

“Of course I was! My little sister needed me and I wasn’t around for her to come running to! That’s why you ran all the way here isn’t? You needed me?!”

Scootaloo didn’t deny that, she wanted to be with Rainbow Dash, she felt safe with her; the pegasus mare being in Manehattan was a bonus really.

“So what made you come out all the way here? Was it those two fillies from your school?! If it was, I’ll go back with you right now and I’ll put the fear of Faust in them!”

Scootaloo briefly contemplated allowing Rainbow Dash to do just that, but as much fun as would’ve been to have Rainbow Dash scare the two fillies who made her and her friend’s lives a near living Tartarus, she knew that that would only cause more problems that she really didn’t need right now.

“No, it wasn’t them. But I’d like a rain check on that ‘fear of Faust’ thing.”

“Fine. But really, why did you run away?”

Scootaloo’s gaze became downcast; her memories of divulging her painful past to Babs resurfaced and almost threatened to make her break down again. She wasn’t going to let that happen, the last thing she wanted was for her idol to see her bawl like a newborn foal, especially if it meant telling Rainbow about the things her mother did to her when she was younger.

“I can’t tell you…”

“Not even me?”

Scootaloo bit her lower lip. “Especially not you, Rainbow Dash. I…I don’t want you or anypony else looking at me differently…and don’t say you wouldn’t…”

Rainbow Dash looked upon her surrogate little sister with even more concern now. What was so bad that she couldn’t even tell her, and that it would change her opinion of her? Whatever it was, it seemed painful for Scootaloo to just think about it. They both just survived a hostage situation and a near death experience. The last thing she wanted was to put more stress on Scootaloo.

“Whatever scared you enough to run away from Ponyville, tell me, is it a big deal to you?” Rainbow asked.

Scootaloo still kept looking down, but gave a small nod.

Rainbow Dash moved her hoof and rubbed Scootaloo’s back soothingly. “Alright, we’ll leave it at that then. If it’s a big deal to you then it’s a big deal to me. If you want you can get a little more sleep, it’ll be another couple of hours before Twi, the girls, and the Princesses get into town. I was also thinking of ordering room service, was there anything you wanted to eat?”

Scootaloo glanced up at Rainbow Dash, “Well…A deep dish Manehattan pizza would hit the spot right now.”

“You got it, just snooze for a little longer Squirt; I’ll wake ya when the food’s here.”

Scootaloo did as her idol told her and laid back down onto the comfy bed. Rainbow Dash walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, letting out a long sigh. Pressing Scootaloo was not a good idea, but at least she got some idea as to the reason for her coming here. Rainbow spotted Babs on the couch, starting to wake up from hearing the bedroom door close.

“Wha-What’s up? Do ya need me to watch Scoots for a bit?” Babs asked.

“No, Scootaloo’s awake and she’s fine. I told her to rest a little more while I order us some grub, she hasn’t eaten in like, what, a day and a half?” Rainbow went over to the intercom buzzer that was meant for ordering room service. “By the way, is there anything you want Babs? The hotel is covering everything so we can pig out and run up the bill.”

Babs chuckled at the offer. “I’ll just have whatever Scoots is havin’.”

“Guess I’ll make that pizza a large.” Before Rainbow Dash pressed the button, she looked back at Babs Seed. “Hey Babs, Scootaloo spent the night at your place right?”

“Yeah.”

“Did she happen to mention why she ran away?”

Babs tensed up, and the earth filly could tell that Rainbow Dash noticed. All her teachers, her big sister, and even her parents have always told her that if somepony had been hurt like Scootaloo had, she was to tell an adult she trusted. Babs could tell that Rainbow Dash was one of those ones she could trust, seeing as how the pegasus mare never left Scootaloo’s bedside. But she made a promise to Scootaloo, even divulged her own guilty secret crush on Apple Bloom. She trusted Scootaloo with her secret and as a friend and Crusader, she couldn’t break that trust. Besides, it was Scootaloo’s tale to tell, and from what she saw that night, Scootaloo telling somepony like Rainbow Dash or even Princess Twilight would help her to heal better than if she did say anything.

“Pinkie Promise?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Pinkie Promise,” replied Babs.

“Well, worth a shot.”

MANEHATTAN CITY HALL, THAT AFTERNOON…

Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Babs Seed were escorted by Royal Guards to where their friends would be. The Princesses were going to make a speech before the citizens and their venue would be city hall. A great crowd of ponies had gathered and Scootaloo could see a mixture of fear and anger. In truth she couldn’t blame most of them, some may have had family members that were almost killed inside the stadium that day, and others were probably outraged because their Princesses couldn’t do anything to stop those terrorists. And, she imagined, some of the were probably angry and scared of Scootaloo, more precisely, Shazam. Some of the ponies in the crowd were holding up signs saying “Tell Us the Truth!” and “We Aren’t Safe!” it got to Scootaloo when saw these ponies.

How can they say things like that! After the times that Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and the others saved Equestria, and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeating Discord! Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor stopping the Changeling invasion! Ugh!

The carriage finally arrived at the back entrance, away from the crowd. The three ponies exited the carriage and were lead inside where they were to meet with the others. Scootaloo had seen the inside of Ponyville City Hall, but this was way different. The inside was huge, hallways leading to different wings of the buildings, and ponies dressed in business attire were scrambling all over the place, no doubt rushing to get everything ready for the speeches that were soon to take place. Babs had lived in Manehattan her whole life, but this was the first time she had ever seen the inside of City Hall, mostly because she and her family never had a particular reason for coming here, but she was impressed all the same.

The Royal Guards passed them off to another group of RGs, who led them down one hall and up the stairs to the right wing of the building. The Guards opened the double doors to a large meeting room, revealing –

“SCOOTALOO!!!” Cried out two fillies.

Babs stepped to the side just in time to dodge Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who had launched themselves like a couple of rockets right at Scootaloo. The three fillies became a ball of chaos as they rolled on the floor and stopped abruptly with the pegasus filly pinned underneath her two friends.

“We were worried sick about you!” Sweetie Belle cried.

“We didn’t know where you were! You really scared us Scoots!” Apple Bloom cried as well, a mixture of happiness, anger, and sadness all rolled into one.

Scootaloo felt the earth filly and unicorn filly hug her tighter, as if thinking she’d run away again if they let go. She felt ashamed for making her two best friends worry like this, and she could only imagine what Aura and Alula were like back home.

“I’m sorry girls, really.”

“You didn’t even say goodbye,” said Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo leaned her head forward and nuzzled both Apple Bloom’s and Sweetie Belle’s cheeks in turn. It seemed enough to convey the sorry she felt as the two nuzzled back. It was then that Apple Bloom separated herself from Scootaloo, remembering that Babs was there. She ran to her cousin and nearly bowled her over like Scootaloo. She wrapped her forelegs around Babs’ neck and hugged her tightly, crying into her shoulder. If Apple Bloom wasn’t crying, Babs would’ve been more flustered from the action.

“H-H-Hey Cuz, what’s wrong?”

“Ah heard about what happened at that stadium! And how those ponies almost killed everyone! Ah was afraid that you and Scoots…” Apple Bloom couldn’t bring herself to say the word, afraid that uttering it would break whatever imagined spell that kept her favorite cousin standing there with her.

Babs brought up one of her forelegs and gently patted Apple Bloom on the back. “Hey, hey, it’s alright Cuz, I’m here. I ain’t goin’ anywhere. Me and Scoots are fine. So quit yer bawlin’ would ya? You’re cuter when ya smile.”

Apple Bloom separated herself from Babs; she then wiped her face of the tears and put on a smile for her cousin as she blushed slightly. Babs draped a foreleg over Apple Bloom’s withers and brought her into a half hug, smiling back.

As Scootaloo watched this, she noticed just how well the two really got along, even after the rocky start to their friendship. She found herself accepting the idea and possible reality of Babs confessing to Apple Bloom, and maybe the two would be more than just cousins, an idea that Scootaloo was little more accepting of than she did last time. After another minute of hugging and crying, the older mares, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, all gave Scootaloo their hugs and told her how they looked for her everywhere. Pinkie in particular looked everywhere, violating a lot of privacies in doing so. There was one, however, that didn’t join them in the hugging, she merely stared at the pegasus filly with a neutral expression, one could almost mistake her for Maud Pie. Scootaloo knew why Twilight looked at her this way, which only made it worse.

“Scootaloo,” said Twilight in an even tone, “I’d like to talk with you privately in the other room.”

Scootaloo didn’t protest as she followed the alicorn mare to the adjacent room, but Rainbow Dash cut Twilight off before they got to the door.

“Hold on Twi, I’m coming with her.”

“I want to talk with Scootaloo alone Dash, so please allow me to do so.”

“Not without me you won’t! I’m her big sister; whatever you gotta say to her you can say to both of us!”

Scootaloo jumped between the two mares quickly. “Rainbow Dash it’s alright, really! Twilight and I are just going to talk for a bit.”

Rainbow Dash looked between Twilight and Scootaloo, eyeing her best friend critically. After a tense minute, Rainbow relented and nuzzled Scootaloo’s cheek.

“I’ll be out here if you need me.” Rainbow walked towards Twilight and said in passing, “Go easy on her Twi, she has her reasons.”

Twilight nodded and opened the door to adjacent office with her magic. Scootaloo walked in first with Twilight following behind her. The alicorn mare then shut the doors and seamlessly layered the room with a soundproofing spell to prevent eavesdropping. Scootaloo sat on the floor, facing the Princess of Friendship; she let out a sigh and prepared for the verbal accosting she was no doubt in store for.

“Twilight…” Suddenly Scootaloo felt her body lift up off the floor and float right into the awaiting forelegs of the purple alicorn, embracing Scootaloo. “T-Twilight?!”

“Don’t you EVER run away like that again, EVER! You really scared me Scootaloo; I was so scared for you!”

“T-Twilight, why were you scared? I have my powers, it’s not like I’m a helpless filly…”

“I don’t care, I was still scared! What would’ve happened if that spell succeeded in killing you! What if one of those terrorists got you before you could say the word and transform?! Or what if that death net kept the magic from coming to you?! And then you coming here to Manehattan! How did you even know where Babs lived?!”

“I…may’ve used my Wisdom of Star Swirl to help me look for her…How did you find out I was here anyway?”

“I went to the Rock of Eternity and asked Murmur to locate you. She told me that the Rock of Eternity and you are always connected no matter where in the world you are, so she used that connection to find you. I actually thought you were hiding out there since your friend, Alula, said she heard thunder before you vanished.”

In retrospect, hiding out in a magical fortress that’s in between dimensions might have been a better choice in places to run away to, can’t get any further than another dimension.

Twilight just hugged Scootaloo tighter. The pegasus filly hadn’t ever seen Twilight crying or worried like this before, she’s seen Twilight go temporarily insane that one time, but not like this. Scootaloo wrested her forelegs out from the hug and hugged Twilight back. The two ponies stayed like that for a few moments longer in silence. Twilight gently released Scootaloo, letting her set her hooves back onto the floor.

“So, I’m sure you can guess what my obvious question is then,” said Twilight.

“I do.”

“So, why?”

“Like I told Rainbow Dash, I can’t tell you…”

“Scootaloo I just want to know what made you think you had to run away from Ponyville.”

“…………”

“Scootaloo, was it because of what Mrs. Milano said? That you were going to be adopted?”

The pegasus filly flinched. Yes, because I thought my witch of a mom was coming to take me back and…

“Why would you be afraid of that? I thought you’d be happy to be adopted?”

“Because I…I…!” Because I was afraid that I’d be dragged back to my whorse witch of a mother and be forced to…to… “Because I was afraid I’d be taken away alright?! I was afraid that the one coming to adopt me would take me away from Ponyville and take me somewhere else! I didn’t want to leave my friends behind, and I really didn’t want to leave you, Rainbow Dash, Miss Cheerilee, everypony!”

It wasn’t a total lie, more like a half-truth; this was part of the fear even if it wasn’t the main reason. Regardless, it seemed Twilight could tell that she was sincere in saying what she had said as the alicorn smiled at her. The Princess of Friendship patted Scootaloo on the head, stroking her mane comfortingly as she brought herself down to eye level with her.

“Oh Scootaloo, that was never going to happen sweetie. Listen, the mare who was coming to adopt you was Cheerilee.”

Scootaloo’s eyes went wide as her pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks. “You’re kidding! Cheerilee?! W-Why would she want to adopt me?! And why wouldn’t she want Mrs. Milano to tell me?!”

“Why wouldn’t she want to, Scootaloo? You’re an amazing little filly, she’s admired how you never give up, you’re reckless ways, and how you stand up for your friends. She’s wanted to give you a good home ever since she found out that you were an orphan of Wayward House, but she was so unsure of herself, afraid that you’d hate her or flat out reject to be adopted by her. I mean, your teacher adopting and taking you in can be a bit weird.”

“Kinda,” chuckled Scootaloo.

“But she finally got up the courage to do it, and she talked to Mrs. Milano. That’s why she didn’t say anything; she wanted to surprise you and me with the adoption.”

The fear in Scootaloo’s heart was replaced with shock and happiness. Miss Cheerilee wanted to adopt her, Miss Cheerilee, the nicest mare she knew next to Fluttershy. The very mare who looked after her and the other foals, teaching them and nurturing them as was her special talent. But to find out that the teacher she held in high regard was actually willing to open her home to her and adopt her…it was just so unreal, and fantastic all at the same time! A smile started to form unconsciously on her lips, she loved Wayward House and the other foals there, but it was always their dreams to be adopted, and she would still be in Ponyville!

“Wait a minute, why did Miss Cheerilee want to surprise you?”

Twilight’s face went red as she rubbed the back of her head embarrassed. “Um…Scootaloo, you might find this just a bit strange, but…Cheerilee and me…we kinda, sorta, have been marefriends since little before I became Princess, and after as well.”

Scootaloo blushed a bit. “M-Marefriends! Like, you two have dated and kissed and stuff?!”

“Yes…”

Scootaloo sat back down and let that sink in for a moment. “So…does that mean that you’re adopting me too since you’re going out with her…?”

“In a way, you could say that.”

Scootaloo moved closer to Twilight and hugged her foreleg. “I’m sorry Twilight…I never would’ve done this had I known it was Miss Cheerilee.”

“It’s okay to be scared, but don’t forget that there are ponies that you can come to at any time, ponies who care about you and will do whatever they can to help. After we’re done here, we’ll head back to Ponyville and back to Cheerilee.”

“‘Kay,” Scootaloo then looked up at Twilight with an impish grin. “I bet you can’t wait to get back to make out with Miss Cheerilee.”

“Heh, heh, yeah…Wait! I mean – that’s not why – Scootaloo!”

THIRTY MINUTES LATER…

Black Adam and Dr. Caballeron walked the streets of Manehattan; both were an odd sight to see. Most thought that the ancient hero king was just a tall unicorn since his wings were hidden by his cape. Caballeron wasn’t as lucky; some averted their eyes when they noticed his scar and magic filled eye. The former king had sensed a large concentration of magical energy coming from the city and brought Caballeron along so that he could better navigate this “city” as he called it.

It was a stark contrast to what he remembered cities were. These were towering spires of steel, mortar, and glass, not stone, paved roads and concrete sidewalks as opposed to the natural materials that were used to fashion such things. He also took notice of the difference in the garbs the mares, stallions, and foals wore. Where once they wore robes and tunics, now they looked more modern and colorful, and some walked around with nothing more than a saddlebag or a necklace.

“<Caballeron is it natural for slaves to be walking around so freely?>” Black Adam asked.

“<Slaves, what slaves are you speaking of your Highness?>”

Black Adam nodded to a mare and some foals who were crowding a food vendor. “<In my time, ponies without garb were slaves, it was a way for the nobles and royalty to show that slaves didn’t need clothes since they were a commodity. It was also a form of humiliation since they were so exposed.>”

Caballeron thought about this, true, back during the days of the Warring Tribes, ponies wore clothes more often, but that was due more to the endless winter of the Windigos. When Equestria was founded and the tribes migrated to this place, the need for excess clothing wasn’t needed anymore. Some found it more comfortable to move around in their natural coat and so clothes were regulated to just accessories, reserved for special occasions or to express their individuality. All this he explained to Black Adam, to which the violet alicorn found strange.

It was then that Black Adam noticed one of the newspapers, much of it he didn’t understand, but there was one word he did recognize. Black Adam levitated the paper to Caballeron.

“<Caballeron, what does this parchment say, it has the Word of Power printed on it?!>”

Caballeron took the paper and read over it, “<Apparently there was an attack on the citizens of Manehattan and a alicorn mare calling herself, ‘Shazam’, defeated the ones responsible and saved the ponies.>”

“<Shazam, so the new Champion is a mare. Where is she, does it say?>”

“<No your Highness it does not, but there’s another part that says the Princesses are to hold an announcement at City Hall today. Maybe the Champion you are seeking is there.>”

“<Then we have little time to waste, let us away!>”

Black Adam grabbed hold of Caballeron in his telekinetic grip, unfurled his wings and took off into the air at great speed, causing a gust of wind that threw all the ponies nearby ten feet away. Higher and higher the two climbed into the air till Black Adam came to a stop, hovering in midair as he scanned over the city from above. Caballeron was freaking out, he was an earth pony, not a pegasus, the sky was not his friend! His enchanted eye caught sight of a collection of powerful magic in the direction he was looking, three sources of powerful magic, as well as six others that seemed to be stronger than those.

“<Your Highness, there, that’s where the magic is,>” said Caballeron as she pointed towards it.

Black Adam gazed into the direction that Caballeron indicated, indeed he could see that there was magic there, but only a small amount of it appeared to be connected to the ancient magic. Still, it was worth his time to investigate, as well as announce his presence. Black Adam sped through the skies, covering miles and blocks in a mere few seconds. Caballeron bit his lip to keep himself from screaming his head off as the city blurred beneath him; flying was not his happy place.

Thankfully, Black Adam landed on a building that overlooked City Hall. He released Caballeron and trotted to the edge, staring down at the gathered crowd of ponies. His eyes were drawn to the steps of white building, where, to his surprise, were four alicorn mares. One white with a flowing mane of four different colors, the second a midnight blue with a mane that resembled the night sky, the third was pink and had a strange aura of amorous energy surrounding her, and the fourth had strange, yet powerful magic in comparison to the other three.

“<Caballeron, are these the alicorn Princesses you spoke of?>”

Caballeron, reluctantly, made his way to the edge of the building beside Black Adam. “<Y-Yes, the first is Princess Celestia, she controls the sun. Her sister is Princess Luna, and she controls the moon. The other two are Princess Mi Amore Cadenza; she’s the Princess of Love and ruler of the Crystal Empire along with her husband, Prince Shining Armor. The other is Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship as she is called.”

“<And those five mares beside her, what of them?>”

“<From what I understand, Princess Twilight and those five comprise the Elements of Harmony, powerful magic that can make the impossible possible, it has defeated many different threats to Equestria. If I were you Milord, I would be weary of those six in particular. It is rumored that the artifacts that channeled that power were no longer in their possession, but they still defeated a powerful enemy that threatened to enslave all of ponykind.>”

“<‘Princesses, where are the Queens and Kings of these mares? Why do they send their children to take on such threats?>” Black Adam asked with intrigue.

“<They are all that has ruled us ever since the founding of Equestria. With the exception of Princess Mi Amore and Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia and Luna have ruled for a long time. There were kings and queens within the unicorn tribe, but they were abolished when the three tribes embraced them as the rightful rulers of this land.>”

Black Adam was finding this future to be more and more disorienting the longer he lingered. Rulers who were referred to as Princesses instead of Queens, the change in the customs, and the numerous threats that seemed to have sprouted in the absence of a true Champion of Magic. Black Adam wasn’t sure to label these Princesses as incompetent or just lackadaisical in their duties. In his time, rulers who showed such ineffective leadership were often the victims of coup d’états or assassination. Still, these two mares of the sun and moon did have a place in this world, ridding this world of their presence would most likely throw it into unbalance, and if he was to reign once again, he would need to keep the natural order in check, at least until he could figure out the mechanics of how they moved the sun and moon.

“<Well Caballeron, I believe this world has been without a true king and hero for far too long. It is time for a regime change.>”

“<If it’s any difference to you Milord, I’ll take the stairs down.>”

Scootaloo, Babs Seed, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle were standing off to the side with Prince Shining Armor, currently garbed in his Captain of the Guard uniform. Princess Celestia and Luna had been reassuring everypony that this was an attack by a radical group of anarchist ponies, and that they meant to cause the collapse of Equestrian society, Cadance and Twilight spoke on the topic of the mysterious mare, Shazam. They had to deal with several ponies who yelled out that they were trying to increase the number of alicorns to overpower and rule over the other races. Thankfully they countered with the fact that they were once like them as well, that Cadance was once a pegasus mare and Twilight a unicorn, signifying that they had been chosen to ascend to such a form and power.

Scootaloo hated that those ponies were trying to make them look bad, and saying things that they knew nothing about. Luna and Twilight especially were the subject of their attacks, pointing out Luna’s time as Nightmare Moon, and how Twilight was groomed by Celestia to become what she was. It was just a few, but it was still annoying to hear them talk like that. Thankfully the crowd didn’t get too agitated so they were able to take in everything they were saying.

Just then, Scootaloo felt something, just like before when she felt that unicorn in the stadium was going to shoot her with that death ray spell. This was danger, whatever it was, its presence was almost overwhelming. Apple Bloom was the first to notice Scootaloo’s attention to the presence.

“Scoots are ya alright? Yer shakin’ like a leaf.”

“I-I…No, no something’s wrong…! I can feel it,” said Scootaloo in hushed whisper.

“Wrong? Wrong how?”

At that moment thunder roared from up above as lightning flashed. A sphere of electrical energy began to descend from the sky, causing the ponies in the crowd to disperse so as to not be under it. Slowly the ball of lightning lowered itself to the ground, when it did, the ball of lightning shattered and revealed, to the surprise of everypony assembled, an alicorn stallion. His wings were fully flared out as his horn arced with lightning that seemed to arch from the lightning that raged within the insignia on his chest. Only two ponies knew who this pony was, for they had seen the image of the stallion once before, he was the first Champion.

“Black Adam…” Twilight and Scootaloo whispered at the same time.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were the first to approach Black Adam, along with a swarm of Royal Guards ready to fight the being before them. Celestia and Luna were on edge, but at the same time intrigued at seeing him.

“Sister…he is an alicorn like us, but a stallion,” said Luna.

“I can see that,” replied Celestia.

“But we are the only two natural born alicorns, there are no others. So how is it that somepony like him exists?!”

Black Adam took a step forward, causing the Royal Guards to ready themselves for a fight. “<Princesses of the sun and moon, I greet you.”

Both Celestia and Luna looked at each other, wondering what language the alicorn stallion was speaking, it sounded close to Saddle Arabian, but they weren’t sure. Black Adam noted the confused looks on their faces, Caballeron wasn’t there to translate, and he needed to be able to communicate with them easier. One of the RGs got jumpy and lashed out at Black Adam before either of the Princesses could stop him. The unicorn guard drew a sword and brought it down on Black Adam’s body. To his and everypony else’s surprise, the blade shattered upon contact with his body, the guard having aimed for his exposed neck.

Black Adam looked upon the Royal Guard with narrowed eyes. He disappeared for a moment and reappeared behind him, his horn flashed, destroying his helmet. Black Adam then placed his right hoof atop his head as the Royal Guard froze.

“<Teach me your language!>”

Magical lightning surged from Black Adam’s hoof to the stallion’s brain, the energy stayed there for a moment before surging back up his foreleg. The Royal Guard fell to the ground, unconscious and convulsing.

“That’s better, now we may communicate more easily,” said Black Adam.

“Who are you?! What is it that you want?!” Luna demanded with anger in her voice at seeing what he had done to one of their loyal guards.

“My name is Teth Adam. I am the rightful ruler of this world, a being who has existed since before even you two were born.”

“That is quite the bold statement Teth Adam, we have dealt with foes who have said such things, all claiming to be a ruler or a conqueror, but in the end it was all the same. All they wanted was either destruction or enslavement,” said Celestia.

Black Adam smirked. “I can see why you would think so, but I am not like those others. No, I once ruled over this world as its hero king, with the power bestowed upon me by the Council of Magic, by the six gods themselves. I used this power to unify all opposition under my camp. I have been asleep for thousands of years, but my long sojourn has come to an end and now I am ready to rule once again. I appear before you as a benevolent king, I do not wish to needlessly spill the blood of two alicorn mares, especially those who were born by natural means. I proposition you both, become my Queens, or if marriage does not suit you, then pledge allegiance to me, and your kingdom of Equestria shall become a protectorate state under my rule.”

Everypony in attendance couldn’t believe what this stallion was saying. Either Celestia or Luna marry this nut job and become his queens or they swear to be governed and ruled by him?! Celestia looked to her younger sister, who shot her a glance of disbelief at his ultimatum.

“And if we refuse your offer?” Luna asked.

“There is no need for refusal, once I have reacquired what is rightfully mine, I shall bring the world together, united under one banner. As it was in times of old, so shall it be done again!”

Black Adam’s body flared with magical lightning, making the guards ready themselves for a fight. Celestia and Luna glared down the alicorn stallion, letting their own magical aura’s ignite as well. The Royal Guard were taught long ago that when the Princesses got serious in a fight that they were to stand back and let them have it, at that point, all they needed to do was keep the bystanders as far from them as possible.

Luna’s royal blue aura mixed with that of Celestia’s sun yellow aura, the two energies of the sisters combining and mingling with each other in sort of synergistic bond. Luna or Celestia alone were powerful adversaries, but together was when the two sister’s power truly shined. The fact that they were unleashing this power meant that they took Black Adam as a serious threat.

Black Adam’s horn shined as he conjured a sphere of pure magical lightning, making it expand with each passing nanosecond! Celestia and Luna used their combined might to create a magical energy blast that slammed against the sphere, the two warring powers grinded against each other, creating one concussive shockwave after the other! Twilight and Cadance used their magic to shield the ponies who weren’t able to get away from the initial blast, Shining using his special shield type magic to reinforce his sister’s and wife’s barriers.

The two powers then detonated, cancelling the attack altogether, kicking up a dust cloud from the explosion. A flash of azure and black lightning shot up from the cloud, followed close behind a sun-yellow streak and royal-blue streak. The three energies met in the air and clashed, creating thunderous booms with each strike.

Celestia broke off and unleashed a volley of solar flare blasts, the comet-like plasma chased after Black Adam as he flew through the skies, dodging one after the other, only for the dodged blasts to double back and chase after him again. Suddenly the comets veered off, making him stop, wondering what Celestia was up to. What he wasn’t aware of was Luna high above him, collecting her mana into her horn as she charged her spell. Once enough power was gathered, Luna cried out as she unleashed her magic blast onto Black Adam.

Blue light shined down upon him as the ancient king looked up at the last second before being deluged in a sea of raw magical power. Celestia willed all ten of her comets to change course and deliver a second blow to the stallion. With each impact of the magical fireballs came a massive explosion, one after the other in quick succession. The two sisters grinned at each other from their different positions in the sky, glad that they had defeated a powerful foe. When the smoke cleared from the explosions, they gasped.

Black Adam was unharmed, the only real damage having been done to his hooded cape. The alicorn stallion looked upon his ruined mantle and threw it off his body with a simple whisk of his telekinetic aura.

“You two are powerful, just what I would expect from two who command the sun and moon. But…compared to me, you two are just juvenile foals playing with fire. And you will get burned.”

Black Adam vanished from sight, Luna and Celestia quickly scanned the skies for any sign of him, as they did, Black Adam reappeared right behind Luna. He cocked back his right hoof and backhoofed Luna upside her head. The blow was so strong that it sent the lunar mare flying like bullet straight for a rooftop, plowing through it and smashing through three floors before coming to a stop on the fourth.

“LUNA!” Celestia cried out.

The elder sister glared daggers at Black Adam as she fire yet another volley, this time releasing one-hundred blasts at once. The fireballs flew around Black Adam like the electrons of atom, covering all three-dimensional directions at once. Celestia then sent the command through her magic for the fireballs to attack, unfortunately, Black Adam released a magical lightning blast from his horn that surged through all the fireballs. Miraculously they did not explode; they were instead wrapped in his electrical mana.

Black Adam then pointed his hoof at Celestia, to which all one-hundred fireballs shot off and aimed themselves right for their caster. Celestia was unprepared for this tactic, never had an opponent thrown one of her spells back at her like this! The fireballs seemed to have doubled their speed as they rocketed towards Celestia, the white alicorn mare attempted to conjure a shield, but it was too late. All one-hundred fireballs struck Celestia at once, creating a gigantic explosion in the sky. Blazing heat could be felt from even down below, making all the ponies watching this fight gasp in horror at the fact that their Princesses were soundly thrashed as they witnessed Celestia being blown right into the same building as her younger sister.

Black Adam gave a look of disappointment, he couldn’t believe, despite the titles of the two alicorn mares, that they were really that easy to defeat.

“That was hardly worth the effort, ‘Princess’ Celestia and Luna. Come now; show me your true strength, if you’re going to be like that then resisting will be pointless.”

Deep inside the confines of the skyscraper, Luna was busy getting back up from the powerful strike that Black Adam had given her. Luna grunted as she threw a metal girder of her body. The midnight blue alicorn mare slowly rose up and scanned the area, it didn’t take her long to find Celestia, her form lying in a smoldering crater twenty feet away from her. Despite the magnitude of the blast Celestia only received minor damage, being the wielder of the sun, fire based spells had little effect on her.

“He’s stronger than he looks sister,” said Luna.

Celestia lifted herself out of the crater and made her way to Luna. “I hate to say it, but we really can’t hold back here little sister.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes.”

Luna looked pensively to the golden collar around her big sister’s neck, thinking how long it had been since they had done this, not even Discord warranted this, his chaotic powers no doubt would’ve turned their powers against each other. With looks of determination on both mares’ faces, they stepped in front of each other. Luna, with a slight blush, leaned forward and pressed her lips against the amethyst stone on Celestia’s golden collar.

“I release you, dear sister.”

Celestia, smiling her warm smile, lowered her head and pressed her lips to the silver crescent moon on Luna’s collar, mimicking her younger sister’s actions.

“And I release you as well.”

At that moment their regalia shattered apart as their eyes blazed forth with the true extent of their alicorn powers.
Twin star-like lights flashed into existence as the entire upper half the skyscraper was disintegrated in the blink of an eye. What stood there on the remaining half were two alicorn mares, their manes sparkling and bellowing with a fiercer power than ever before as a white aura made of both their energies roared around them. Luna had blue mana construct chains wrapped around her forelegs, they wove around her in an endless double helix, and at the end of the chain links were diamond shaped spikes. Celestia had her own weapon, a blazing orange-yellow mana sword construct.

Black Adam looked upon the two mares and smirked. “Well now, seems you two are finally getting serious, are you?”
Luna spread her wings and took flight, she then launched her two spiked mana chains, both winding and turning as they moved liked lightning towards their target. Black Adam sped away, disappearing and reappearing in few yards away from the initial attack. However, the chains followed his movements and appeared right behind him. Sensing this, Black Adam flew like the wind, with the twin chains following him the entire time.

Black Adam unleashed a powerful lightning bolt blast, hitting both chain spikes at once and creating a dust cloud. The ancient one was sure he had destroyed the chains, but the chains pierced through the cloud. The spikes then extended, becoming crescent blades that slashed at both his shoulders, the power of his aura kept the chains from piercing his flesh, but the force exerted on him from the attack was strong. The former hero king channeled the power of the Living Lightning and created a burst shield that forced the chains away from him.

An intense heat ignited from behind him, Black Adam turned in time to watch as Celestia zoomed towards him, with her blazing mana sword prepared to strike him down. But Black Adam was quick. He brought up his right foreleg and encased it in pure magical lightning. Both of them struck at the same time, causing a powerful shockwave that exploded out, shattering the glass of the buildings within the immediate vicinity. Black Adam heard the clinking of the bladed chains, turning his head to the left and watching as Luna had her twin chains form a double helix as they flew like an arrow towards him. Black Adam focused the Living Lightning into his left foreleg as well and met the attack just as he did Celestia’s, the chains’ spikes hitting the lightning and causing another shockwave to ring out.

Down below, Twilight and her friends, Scootaloo and the Crusaders, all of them stood there in sheer awe at the power that the Princesses were unleashing in their fight against Black Adam. As much as Twilight and Scootaloo believed in them, Black Adam’s power was derived from the same source as Scootaloo’s. Though Celestia and Luna’s powers touched upon a realm of power and magic that nopony could reach in even a hundred lifetimes, they were still only two, up against the amalgamated powers of six gods in one body!

Twilight looked to one of the Royal Guards, “YOU THERE!”

The Guard snapped to attention and stood before Twilight. “Yes your majesty?!”

“I want you to take these fillies to the train station, and make sure they get out of the city ASAP! That’s a Royal Order!” Twilight commanded.

To Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, the idea of sending their little sisters away from danger was the right move, considering that this “Teth Adam” was dangerous enough for the Princesses to attack full power. But to Scootaloo, she couldn’t believe it. She quickly ran up to Twilight who proceeded to drape a wing over her so as to keep their conversation muffled.

“Twilight,” Scootaloo whispered, “why are you sending us away?! I can transform and help the Princesses fight him!”

“No Scootaloo! You can’t engage with Black Adam! He wants your power, the Rock of Eternity’s power! I don’t think he knows you’re the Champion, otherwise he would’ve just called you out, so that means he can’t detect you while you’re in your normal form. Please Scootaloo, just do as I say and leave with Babs, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom! If…”

Twilight looked up into the sky, watching as both Celestia and Luna continued their dual assault of Black Adam, and he in turn releasing powerful lightning blasts at the two alicorn mares that struck nearby buildings, causing them to explode and send debris falling to the streets below.

“If for some reason the Princesses can’t stop him…If my friends and I can’t…and if Discord can’t either, then you are our last chance. So go and be safe, and pray to Faust that we’ll beat him.”

Scootaloo didn’t like the idea of running away from a fight. Running from her psycho mother was one thing, but an actual fight was a different matter altogether. She didn’t back down when a bully like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon started to mess with them, and she didn’t back down when the Kingdom terrorists almost killed everypony in that stadium, and she definitely didn’t run when she faced the Chimera. But now…she had no choice. She had to go with Twilight on this.

“Alright…”

“Thank you, it’ll help us to know that you four are safe while we take care of this.” Twilight gave Scootaloo a quick nuzzle. “Now go.”

Reluctantly, Scootaloo did as Twilight said. She stopped momentarily in front of Rainbow Dash and gave her a quick nuzzle as well, afterwards the Guard started leading the four fillies towards the train station.

I won’t let you fight him Scootaloo. He’s dangerous, I can feel it. He’ll kill you to regain the power of the Rock of Eternity. But I won’t let that happen, I won’t let him do that! I’m bringing you back to Cheery, so you two can become a family and you can have the life you deserve! Black Adam, you will NOT take away her future!

Celestia and Luna panted hard as they floated up in the sky. Fighting the ancient hero king for so long was taking a toll on their bodies, neither sister and been in their released forms for so long, normally an opponent would’ve fallen by the time they launched their attack, but Black Adam was holding his own quite well, too well in fact. Though the alicorn stallion did look winded, it wasn’t like he was exhausted or overtaxed.

“Tia, I don’t know how much longer we stay like this,” said Luna.

“I know, I feel it too Lulu, my reaction time is slowing, and it’s getting harder to stay afloat.”

“Then we end this, here and now, put everything we have in this last attack!”

Black Adam simply floated in midair, assuming a defensive stance as he waited for the two alicorn mares to finish their conversation. He had to admit, these mares were deadly and powerful, as well as beautiful. He was starting to wonder if killing them was a good thing, a king did need a queen after all, or in this case queens.

Maybe put them down hard enough to incapacitate them, I wouldn’t want to ruin such lovely figures, or their beautiful faces. Oh, look, they’re attacking.

Luna gathered her magical energy into her horn, her eyes glowing with the royal blue energy of her mana. Soon her horn flashed and the entire area was shrouded in darkness. Black Adam readied himself for an attack, keeping his eyes on the two sisters.

“Wait…where’s the other one?!”

Black Adam saw only Luna, her body now glowing, having become pure mana energy. She then took flight, her form changing to that of tyto owl. The giant owl flew towards Black Adam who readied his horn to unleash a thunderbolt, but the owl only zoomed past him, dragging behind it the mana chains. Soon the owl rounded back to the alicorn stallion, passing him with the chains again. Again and again the owl flew around him in a tight pattern, becoming a blue blur to Black Adam. Finally, Luna reappeared a few yards in front of Black Adam, her dual chains hanging loosely around both her forelegs. She then pulled them down, making them go taut.

Black Adam realized too late that the chains were woven around him, encircling his wings, forelegs, hind legs, barrel, and neck. The former hero king struggled against the chains, trying to wrest himself free of the weapons. He sensed a growing power somewhere, but he couldn’t tell exactly where. Suddenly, the darkness shattered up above him, like somepony had thrown a rock through a glass window. Celestia descended down from high above, her sword glowing as bright as the sun itself. With a somersault she brought down the blade of her blazing sword right on Black Adam’s right shoulder.

The stallion was not expecting such power, the blade was literally trying to saw him through as it let out a shower of sparks as Celestia tried to cut him down. Black Adam grit his teeth and grunted with effort as he tried to withstand Celestia’s blade. The white alicorn mare gave one last push, slashing at a right angle! The result was an explosion that was as white as snow, breaking apart the dark sphere that Luna had created. From the blast zone emerged two streaks of light, one yellow and one royal blue. The two streaks stopped at least a hundred yards from the blast and reformed into Celestia and Luna, both sisters having a satisfied look on their faces, knowing that they had vanquished a mighty foe.

When the light of the white hot inferno dispersed, the two sisters’ mouths dropped. Black Adam was still standing, although his body was sizzling from the intense heat, his head was lowered but he slowly raised it as he gave the two sisters a cocky grin. The slash that Celestia had given him earlier was only enough to cut his suit from the right shoulder to the left side of his chest, it didn’t even seem to damage the lightning energy that was still raging within the insignia.

“I’ll give you two this. Never has any opponent of mine ever pierced my armor, the fact that it took two alicorns to do so is no small feat. For that I must commend you, one warrior to another. However…”

Black Adam moved like lightning and appeared right before Celestia. Channeling the Living Lightning into his right hoof, he punched the mare right across her left cheek, stopped, and backhoofed her with the same hoof on the backswing. Black Adam moved the energy to this left hoof and struck her in her barrel, sending the white mare flying into the air. The impact of each hit made Celestia feel like somepony was hitting her with all the weight of an entire planet. The attack she used earlier had drained most of her power, and now she could barely defend herself. Using what magic she had left, Celestia stopped herself from rising higher into the air, but Black Adam was ready.

He reappeared right above her and brought down both his hooves in a hammer punch right in the middle of Celestia’s back. The blow knocked the wind out of her and sent the older alicorn mare plummeting straight down like a meteorite. She impacted the ground with powerful “BOOM”, creating a crater five-hundred feet wide. Celestia was about to get up but heard the sound of thunder roaring above her. The area began to glow brighter and brighter, the sound of crackling electricity was also getting louder.
Celestia dared to glance upwards as a massive lightning bolt blast fell down upon her. Blasting the area and then some as buildings crumbled and the streets caved in from the tremendous power bearing down on her.

“TIA!!!!” Luna cried.

“She’ll be wishing I had rendered her further into unconsciousness when or if she wakes up.”

Black Adam flew at Mach speed, appearing right in front of Luna. He then placed both his forehooves on either side of her head and released a surge of magical lightning. The twin streams hit Luna’s head, scrambling her mind and sending her neurons into overload position. When it was over, Luna’s eyes had rolled into the back of her head as he let her fall naturally out of the sky and back down to terra firma. But before she could hit the ground a powerful aura of cerulean and rosy light encompassed the alicorn mare, along with her elder sister. Black Adam traced the energy back to its source.

One unicorn stallion and the Princess of Love were using their magic together to form a protective barrier bubble around the two sisters and bring them back to their side. Black Adam descended back down to the streets landing before the Prince and Princess. But six mares put themselves between him and the knocked out Princesses.

“So, it is you eight that stand against me?” Black Adam asked.

“No, just us six!” Twilight corrected. “Shining Armor, Cadance, get those two out of here! NOW!!!”

Shining Armor looked to his wife, and she to him. Neither of them liked the idea of leaving Twilight to fend against this alicorn who just defeated the two oldest, and most experienced alicorns with almost little effort on his part. But one stern gaze from the youngest alicorn reaffirmed that she wasn’t asking, she was telling them. Reluctantly, Shining Armor and Cadance took the two mares with them, running off towards the train station and leaving the six protectors of Equestria alone with the ancient hero king.

“You seem to know who I am, young one. Why is that?”

“I don’t have to answer that, nor will anything you do make me tell you! We won’t let you get away with what you’ve done here!” Twilight proclaimed.

Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash gave a firm nod to what Twilight had said.

“And how will you manage that?”

Rainbow Dash smirked upon hearing that. “We’ll show you!”

At that moment beams of light shot down from the sky, six in all. All six beams hit each of the mares and enveloped them in spheres of blue, white, yellow, orange, pink, and purple. The orbs rose up into the air as Black Adam took a few steps back, sensing a growing power emanating from the six spheres of light. The sphere’s then broke apart, revealing the representatives of the Elements of Harmony. Their manes were longer, flowing and undulating much like that of Celestia and Luna. Their hair and parts of their bodies had streaks of varying colors within them as they shimmered and shined forth with a power that Black Adam had never seen before. This was the personified power of the Elements of Harmony, manifested within the six mares who represented the powers of Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic.

“What…What kind of magic is this?!”

“It’s a power that you could never understand Black Adam! You who have turned your back on what it truly means to be a hero, and instead have become a conqueror and destroyer! This is the power that has protected Equestria against many foes, and it is the same power that will defeat you as well! ‘What kind of magic is this’ you ask?! THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!!!”

The six mares’ power united into a swirling sphere of magical might. Before Black Adam could counterattack he was struck with a beam of purple light, followed by a beam of blue light, and then orange, white, pink, and finally yellow. Black Adam was completely engulfed in a rainbow of magical energy, the Elements of Harmony using their united power to end this fight once and for all. A rainbow pillar appeared where Black Adam stood as the attack reached its apex.

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity all floated back down to the steps of City Hall, watching as Harmony’s Rainbow worked to strip the ancient alicorn stallion of his power or banish him to Tartarus, either way was fine with them. They waited and watched as the pillar burst forth with a bright white light, signifying that the attack had done its work. But what followed after astonished them all.

Suddenly powerful lightning bolts fired off in multiple directions at once, striking one building after another, creating gashes of molten steel and glass, and demolishing others. The remaining bits of the rainbow were laid waste to in the wake of Black Adam’s intense magical aura. But there he was, unchanged and unfazed by the power of the Elements, staring them down with his intense gaze.

“W-What in tarnation?! Shouldn’t that of – Ah don’t know – taken away his powers?!” Applejack asked.

“That or sent him to Tartarus like Tirek!” Rarity added.

“This is impossible! The Elements’ power never fails!” Twilight shouted with disbelief.

“Maybe Discord messed with it! He is watching the Tree of Harmony while we’re away!” Rainbow Dash accused.

“Now Rainbow, you know Discord would never do that!” Fluttershy yelled.

“Welllllllll…he did totally sell us out for a necklace, but it turned out that that’s what Twilight needed to find her key, soooooo…fifty-fifty chance,” said Pinkie Pie.

Black Adam found their confusion amusing, and why not, he just discovered something about their power that he himself just realized.

“Your strange magic caught me off guard, but once you struck me with it, I understood it better. This power of ‘Harmony’ this, ‘Magic of Friendship’, it feels similar to my ancient magic.”

Twilight stared at Black Adam with wide eyes. “You’re lying! That’s not possible!”

“When the Council of Magic sealed the Rock of Eternity – source of the ancient magic – in another dimension, some of it must’ve been left behind and splintered off. Without the Rock of Eternity to supply it, the remnants of ancient magic must’ve latched onto something that could function as focal points to increase its potency and power.”

“If that’s true…then…that means…”

Black Adam grinned at Twilight’s realization. “Correct, your Elements of Harmony, your Magic of Friendship, is ineffective against me.”

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 10: Magic's Champion!

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Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Babs Seed ran as fast they could, being led by the Royal Guard stallion who was tasked with getting the four fillies to the safety of the train station. All the while thunderous explosions and monstrous crackling of lightning could be heard raging from behind them. Scootaloo hated this, she wanted to stay behind and fight! But Twilight was vehement in her request, she wanted Scootaloo to be safe and she didn’t want to disappoint another mare she looked up to, and possible second guardian, to worry about her even more than she had already put the others through.

Suddenly, all was quiet. Scootaloo skidded to a halt and looked back towards where the battle was taking place. There were no bright lights, no lightning flashes, or sounds of thunder, nothing. It was too quiet, especially after such a fierce battle.

“Scoots what’s wrong?! We need to go!” Apple Bloom cried out.

“She’s right Scoots, the Princesses, Dash, cousin AJ, and the others will be alright, they can handle this,” said Babs.

I want to believe in them, I know they faced strong bad guys before…but, something tells me that Black Adam’s tougher than he looks…

“LOOK!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

Six beams of blue, yellow, white, orange, pink, and purple light shot down from the sky. Within the beams rose up six spheres with the silhouette of a pony inside each of them. The spheres broke apart and revealed six glowing ponies, sparkling like a rainbow. The older mares had told the young fillies about how the defeated Tirek, how the Tree of Harmony bestowed them with a powered up version of the Elements, Rainbow Power. This was the very same power that they used to defeat Dark Lord Tirek, and now, they were about to use it to defeat Black Adam.

Every Manehattan pony stopped and watched as the sparkling sphere shot out six beams that united into a single rainbow blast. A pillar of the same six colors shot up, indicating that they had hit their mark and that the battle would be over in just mere moments.

“Ha! I knew it! I knew they could do it!” Scootaloo shouted glee.

“What’dya expect, no way they weren’t,” said Babs as she playfully bumped Scootaloo’s shoulder.

“Guess we can head back now that –”

Sweetie Belle was cut off when multiple, column sized lightning blasts shout out from the rainbow pillar, scorching or destroying every building within range and shattering the pillar. Scootaloo felt a pit grow in her stomach, this wasn’t a good sign. She closed her eyes and concentrated, tapping into the feeling she had earlier right before Black Adam appeared. And sure enough, the feeling was still there, he was still there.

“It didn’t work,” said Scootaloo.

“What didn’t work?!” Apple Bloom asked.

“That rainbow blast thingy, it didn’t stop him! He’s still there!”

“B-But that’s impossible! Rarity and her friends’ Element powers always beat bad guys like that! Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Tirek! They all got beaten by that light!” Sweetie shouted.

“Trust me Sweetie, it didn’t work this time…” Scootaloo couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer.

Damn it if Twilight gets angry at me, she can be angry after I beat Black Adam into the ground!

“Young fillies we must move quickly, Princess Twilight ordered me to get you four to safety so we must hurry to the station,” said the Royal Guard stallion.

“OH MY GOSH WHAT’S THAT BEHIND YOU?!”

The Royal Guard stallion quickly did an about face, entering an attack stance. Scootaloo turned around and gave an apologetic look to the stallion behind her.

Sorry mister.

Scootaloo then balanced herself on her forelegs and tucked in her hind legs. She then thrust her rear legs forward and bucked the stallion right between his legs as hard as she could! The guard’s face contorted in pain as he let out a sharp, high pitched yell as he fell to the ground, curling into a ball as his privates continued to radiate pain.

“Scoots, have you lost yer mind?!” Apple Bloom shouted.

Scootaloo didn’t have time to answer, she quickly dashed away down the street, looking to and fro for somewhere, anywhere so she could transform. Her eyes locked onto an alleyway just few feet down the road. The pegasus filly made a sharp turn and ducked into the alley, running as far down it as she could till she reached the end. Scootaloo was about to speak the Word of Power, but stopped when she heard the voices of her friends calling out to her. Apple Bloom, Babs, and Sweetie stopped at the entrance to the alley, panting heavily from keeping up with the young pegasus filly.

“Okay, explain to us why the hay you went and kicked an RG right in his nuts and ran off like the wind?!” Babs demanded.

“He was just doing his job Scootaloo, why did you even run in the first place?!” Sweetie asked.

Scootaloo didn’t have time to go into a full explanation, none of them did. But from the looks on their faces, she knew they wouldn’t be satisfied with just an excuse or lie. Scootaloo gritted her teeth as she came to the realization that there was no avoiding this, she had planned to show her friends someday, but she was hoping under better circumstances than this.

“Listen you guys, just go back to that Guard, I’m going to go and help Twilight and the others!”

“Ah repeat: Have you lost yer mind?! Scoots, you saw how scary strong that alicorn was! If there’s anypony who can stop him –!”

“Apple Bloom, you guys, that rainbow thing didn’t work! Black Adam’s still kicking and I’m the only one who can stop him!”

“Scootaloo, no offense, we all know you’re tough, but you’re NOT AN ALICORN! Or an Element of Harmony! You can’t beat him,” said Sweetie.

“……I can, and I promise when this is over I’ll explain everything to you guys. But for now, keep what you’re about to see a secret. And stand back!”

The sudden harshness in Scootaloo’s last words made all three fillies jump back a couple of feet. Scootaloo then turned her gaze up to the cloudy sky and with a fierce expression, shouted out the Word of Power.

“SHAZAM!!!”

An azure lightning bolt shot down from the heavens and struck Scootaloo, enveloping her in white smoke. Babs, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom stared with horror, seeing their friend getting struck by lightning and seeing her be vaporized before their eyes. They were almost on the verge of tears until a mighty wing beat blew the white smoke away and revealed Scootaloo in her alicorn alter ego, Shazam. The white hooded cape flapped from the crosswinds generated by the flapping of her wings, her hood was drawn back, showing her identity to the other CMC members. Their horrified looks changed to ones of disbelief and awe, Scootaloo’s hair was a little longer and spikier, covering part of her face, and her horn arced with lightning that traveled back and forth from her horn to her insignia.

Apple Bloom’s mouth was agape, remembering the filly she knew and now gazing at this older, taller, and…hotter version of her. “S-S-Scootaloo…?” She dared ask.

“Ya Apple Bloom, it’s me.”

“Yer…Yer voice is different, Ah mean, not in bad way, but it’s…uh, nice.”

Scootaloo couldn’t help but blush at the compliment.

“You’re Shazam…? The mare who saved Apple Bloom, me, and Fluttershy from the Chimera?!”

“Yes.”

“The Shazam that saved our flanks at the stadium?!”

“Same one.”

All three fillies fell onto their rears at the same time and let out a collective, “Whoa”.

“Listen guys, I’ll explain all this later. But like I said, I have to go and help them! Speed of Mercurius Zephyr! ”

In a flash of lightning Scootaloo vanished from sight as a trail of crashing thunder followed in her wake. All three fillies stared up into the sky as they followed the sounds and glow of lightning streak through the cloud ridden sky.

“Cuz…”

“Yeah Babs…?”

“I gotta move to Ponyville.”

“Not that Ah’m complainin’, but why?”

“Are you kiddin’?! Cool stuff seems to happen on daily bases with youse guys!”

Sweetie Belle silently groaned and face hoofed herself.

Harmony’s Rainbow had no effect on Black Adam, and what more, apparently the power they used was an offshoot of his own. Their powers basically cancelled each other out and left the ancient alicorn stallion unharmed. With their greatest attack rendered useless, all that stood between Equestria’s conquest were the six mares who stood before him.

“Well then, where does this leave us mares?” Black Adam asked smugly.

All six eyes shifted between each other before answer was given.

“It leaves us with this!” Applejack shouted.

The farmmare, still wielding her Rainbow Power, jumped off the steps of City Hall and punched the ground with her right hoof. The asphalt and cement rose up in a tidal wave of earthen power, towering over Black Adam. The alicorn stallion held his ground and let out a battle cry as he struck the wave with his own hoof, destroying the wave in one strike. But that was only a diversion.

From behind the wave, Rarity summoned forth large, extremely sharp, extremely dense, diamond shards. With a flick of her horn, the twelve dozen shards shot out like missiles. Black Adam was then bombarded with a steady stream of diamonds, some cutting at his armored suit and others grazing his more exposed neck and face.

Up above, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash gathered their Rainbow Power into their wings. With a mighty flap, Fluttershy unleashed a tornado made of butterflies, each one made of pure energy. Rainbow Dash released her own vortex, made of a spectrum of different colored lightning. The two attacks struck at the same time, slamming into Black Adam and forcing him down to the ground. He grunted in irritation as the dual attacks not only kept him down but were doing some damage at the same time.

Pinkie Pie, somehow gaining a mix between Filly-Flash’s and Twilight’s teleportation powers, zipped around a twenty foot radius of Black Adam. Setting up one party cannon after the other. When all fifty were set up, Pinkie lit the fuses and all the cannons fired simultaneously, all fifty energy rounds struck Black Adam at the same time, exploded like fireworks at a Wonderbolts airshow. A smoldering crater was left in the wake of the three way attack, but it was over yet.

Up above Twilight gathered her magical energy into a great sphere. The five mares channeled their remaining Rainbow Power to Twilight as she focused it all into one attack. With a fearsome look upon her face, Twilight tilted her horn down and let the sphere release into a torrent of magical power. The beam crashed onto the crater, detonating on impact and throwing whatever wasn’t nailed down or cemented into the air.

A giant dust cloud formed from where the blast hit. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity were all enveloped in spheres of protective magic, bringing them all safely to a mostly undamaged portion of the street where Twilight joined them. Their Rainbow Power was spent, all six of them had reverted back to their normal forms, panting in exhaustion from using so much of the power of Harmony.

“Do you think that did it?” Rainbow asked.

“It had to, there’s no possible way anything could’ve survived that kind of onslaught,” said Rarity.

Twilight kept a close watch over the cloud, looking for any sign that Black Adam was still alive after all their attacks. Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of something blue flashing from within the cloud. Twilight quickly erected a barrier in time for a giant lightning bolt to cut through the dust cloud and smash itself right into her shield. The power and ferocity of the magical lightning was tremendous and overwhelming, Twilight had to pour all of her magical energy into the shield, lest it break. Cracks started to appear along the shield, spider webbing outwards with each passing second.

The energy of the shield and lightning finally gave way and exploded! The force of the blast buffeted the six mares and sent them slamming onto the sidewalks, streets, and sides of buildings. All of them laid upon the ground, motionless and in pain from being thrown like rag dolls. Twilight’s vision blurred as she tried to focus on the still bodies of her friends. She felt warm blood trickle down from her head, as well as the stings of various cuts, and the throbbing of the bruises. How could she fail like this? After everything they did to defeat Tirek, and every other challenge the six of them had faced, and the challenges she faced in the parallel world, was this the limit of everything she learned?

Get up…She egged herself on…Get up or he’ll hurt Scootaloo…

Twilight grunted in pain she lifted herself up from the ground, wobbling as the world spun around her. The alicorn mare heard the sounds of metal hooves walking against asphalt. She slowly turned and saw Black Adam, eyes gleaming with annoyance and anger at her and her friends. Twilight stood before him, wings spread as she mustered the best defiant expression she could.

“I will give you this, you mares certainly are fine warriors. And you lead them well, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Even taking the brunt of my attack to spare them, commendable. However – wait.”

Black Adam’s eyes looked upon Twilight, stripping away the physical and peering into her magical aura. A familiar symbol hovered about her, along with the familiar traces of a certain magical fortress. The alicorn stallion concentrated his telekinetic aura around Twilight’s neck, putting her in a near chokehold as he levitated her towards him.

“THE ROCK OF ETERNITY! You have a rune mark that grants you access! The only way you could’ve gotten such a thing was from the Champion! You know who it is don’t you?! Tell me where the Champion is and I’ll spare your miserable life!” Black Adam barked.

Twilight struggled against the aura wrapped around her throat, trying to claw at it with her hooves but to no avail. Black Adam then released her and let Twilight plop to the ground in a heap as she took in deep raspy gulps of air.

“My patience wears thin, mare. Where is the Champion?!”

Twilight looked up into the eyes of the former hero king and narrowed her gaze. “Buck…you!”

“So be it. Perhaps I should introduce you to the way uncooperative prisoners were treated in my era!”

Just then the sound of thunder roared across the sky, both Black Adam and Twilight looked in its direction, catching the tail end of a lightning strike descending to the ground. Black Adam could sense the familiar power of the ancient magic, its presence was close, and getting, surprisingly, closer.

A thunderous “BOOM” sounded as Scootaloo appeared out of the sky and smashed her right hoof into Black Adam’s face! The combined force of her speed and strength sent the alicorn stallion flying through three buildings, leaving behind a body sized hole. Scootaloo landed swiftly onto the ground, her eyes went wide at the state that all six mares were in, especially Twilight.

“S-Scootaloo…”

“I’m here Twilight, I just sent Black Adam flying. Let me heal you guys before –!”

Scootaloo’s advanced danger sense warned her of an impending attack. She turned around just in time to see Black Adam zooming right for her. Scootaloo took flight once again and went to intercept Black Adam in the sky. Her right hoof was coated in magical lightning, at the same time, so was Black Adam’s. The two alicorns thrust out their right hooves, weaving around their punches till Black Adam’s hoof met Scootaloo’s cheek, and Scootaloo’s hoof met Black Adam’s! The result was a mighty cross-counter, sending both the mare and stallion alicorns barreling into skyscrapers. Streaks of lightning shot out of the buildings and stopped in midair.

Scootaloo and Black Adam stared each other down as the clouds churned and released lightning and thunder, almost as if nature itself was frightened at the two superpowers that occupied the same airspace. Scootaloo felt something on her chin and wiped it off with her left hoof, it had a metallic taste to it, which didn’t come as much of a shock when she saw the gold of her horseshoe bracer had small blood stains on it. Black Adam, despite receiving two blows from Scootaloo, still held a confident smirk as he spat out some blood from his mouth.

“So here you are, the new Champion, chosen by the Rock of Eternity. At least you’re easy on the eyes,” said Black Adam.

“Thanks for making me feel gross. Well, I’m here, you still want my power?!”

“Humph, isn’t it obvious? Although, I’m surprised at you. Allowing so many to get hurt, and not once coming to their aid, I’m starting to wonder if the Living Lightning, the power of the Rock of Eternity, has chosen a suitable Champion.”

Scootaloo gritted her teeth as electrical energy sparked off her horn and body.

“This could’ve all been avoided if you had just appeared before me and given me the power.”

“What’s so special about my power?! You have the same power too, are you that power hungry that you still want more?!” Scootaloo asked.

“It’s not just about the power. The Rock of Eternity is my goal, if I wish to rule over this world once again, I need its power and knowledge to do so. I will reintroduce the ancient magic into this world, and bring it under one banner. But…only the current Champion may access the Rock of Eternity, and come and go as they please. Which is why I need your power.”

“The world’s fine! The Princesses have kept us safe for a long time, along with the Elements of Harmony, and now I’m here! The world is fine without you, and it’ll still be fine when you go!”

Black Adam narrowed his gaze at Scootaloo, his own aura flaring. “Such a childish argument. You have no idea the resolve it takes to make the world one, to end all strife with your bare hooves!”

“You conquered the world!”

“I made it one world!”

Black Adam dashed for Scootaloo, raising his hoof up to strike. But Scootaloo still had the speed and strength channeled at the same time, allowing her to dodge the former hero king. But then, Black Adam vanished yet again, and appeared behind her. Scootaloo brought up her forelegs to protect herself as the stallion punched forward, hitting her forelegs and sending her flying ten meters away. Scootaloo quickly opened her wings and stopped herself from going any farther. Black Adam was serious, so it was time she got serious too.

Her cape disappeared into electrical particles, freeing up more of her wings and body. “Power of Zeus Thunderer!”

Scootaloo’s body flared up with magical lightning energy, she channeled the tremendous power into her horn and fired a giant lightning bolt right at Black Adam! The alicorn stallion, who was flying towards her, stopped where he was and thrust out both of his hooves. The magical lightning crashed into him as he pushed against the attack. Black Adam gnashed his teeth as he forcibly redirected the blast away from him, throwing it off into the direction of the harbor. The lightning blast flew till it struck the Statue of Freedom, severing the foreleg that held the torch.

Having saw her attack diverted, Scootaloo opted for a more close range option. “Strength of Herakles! Courage of Achilles Heel! Speed of Mercurius Zephyr!”

Black Adam unleashed a blinding barrage of punches at Scootaloo, equally so, Scootaloo counterattacked with the same speed and strength. Some she was able dodge, others struck her in the stomach or in the side. Thankfully her invulnerability was in full swing, keeping most of the damage to a minimum. But Scootaloo could feel something different about the way Black Adam was using his power, he seemed a little faster, a little stronger, and little more powerful than her for some reason. She definitely could tell when it came to speed and strength. But it made no sense, they had the same kind of powers, so the only real difference should be experience. Before she could inquire further, Scootaloo was struck with a lightning burst, sending her careening to the streets below. She struck the asphalt and continued skidding through the streets, plowing through and upheaving much of the dirt and concrete in her wake.

Scootaloo groaned from the pain of the impact fight she just had. The transformed mare dragged herself out of the crater and stood tall once again. Black Adam landed a couple of meters away, slowly stalking towards her.

“I see, you still need to call upon the names of the different gods in order to channel their powers.”

“What, and you don’t?!”

“Actually no, I do not. What they neglected to tell you was that, yes, calling out their names helps to direct the flow of your magic to that specific power. But the more powers you call upon, the more you split it up. Which is why it is meant only as a training crutch, meant to help you one day tap into all six powers at once, without speaking their names. So you see, that is why you are weaker than me, and now you can see, you have no chance of winning.”

Now it made sense, but now knowing this, Scootaloo was in a bind. Calling out the names was the only way she could use all their powers without losing control.

I-I can’t…If I make a mistake, I could end up destroying Manehattan! But…Black Adam has full control over all his powers, and the years he spent fighting and ruling to master them…NO! I’m not giving up! To Tartarus with what he said!

“I was chosen to be the Champion, I don’t need advice from a disgraced former Champion!”

Scootaloo took off right for Black Adam and dove in for a punch, unfortunately, the only thing she hit was his afterimage. Scootaloo then felt a powerful strike hit her midsection, causing all the air to leave her lungs as she gasped in pain. Black Adam then grabbed the mare by her tail and swung her around, tossing her right into Mom & Pop store. Before she had time to recover, Black Adam was already inside the store, using his telekinesis to grab her and throw her out of the store and back onto the streets. Scootaloo was starting to get angry, shooting Black Adam a defiant look as she rose to her hooves yet again.

“Is…Is that all you’ve got?!” Scootaloo shouted.

“You do not understand the kind of world I’m trying to bring back. A place with no war, no discrimination, and no slavery either! I created a kingdom, a paradise for all! But of course, there are always those who wish to cling to their old ideals and traditions, and shrug away the embrace of change. It is beings like them that cause rifts between races, between friends and family, and even nations! If I had to quash such elements by raising my hoof and striking them down then so be it! Such was the duty of a king! You can never understand what I went through!”

Scootaloo’s fury lessened a little upon hearing those words. “You’re wrong…I’m just like you.”

Black Adam scoffed. “In this modern era?! I was told there was no slavery.”

“I might as well have been…I suffered, just like the both of you did. I was…forced to do things I didn’t want to do, beaten, and hurt for the smallest things…” Scootaloo’s jaw tightened as she staved off a wanting to cry from the memories. “So don’t think we’re different, we’re basically the same!”

“Then you should know, more than anypony, that such things should not be tolerated! You deserve justice as much as anyone! That is the kind of world I will bring back!”

“But it’s gone alright! Your world’s gone! That was thousands of years ago! Sure, can things be better? Yes! But that doesn’t mean you have to conquer and rule over everypony to do so!”

“Work with a flawed system, instigated by two rulers?! You have no idea the kind of resolve needed to remake the world!” Black Adam appeared before Scootaloo and slammed both his hooves on either side of her head. “Let me show you!”

The magical lightning coursed through Scootaloo’s body, painful as it was, the power that surged through her recognized the other, allowing it to show Scootaloo the memories of Black Adam…

Alchemy and Adamant walked through the halls of the ruined palace, it was a fierce battle against the pharaoh’s magicians and mythic beasts, but in the end they were no match for their combined power. The two of them were cloaked in white capes with gold trimming, their faces hidden underneath the shadows of the hoods. As they approached the balcony from which the old king made his grand announcements, the brother and sister could see the ponies, griffons, and minotaurs celebrating in jubilation that the tyranny of the pharaoh was over. All of them chanting the name of their savior over and over again.

“We did it sister, the slaves are free, and the ones responsible for this corrupt monarchy are in the dungeons, free to rot for all eternity.”

Alchemy nuzzled against her elder brother, happy to see their dream of freedom for all finally coming true.

“We did brother, look how happy they all are. The children that will be born here will no longer have to fear the yoke of oppression, they shan’t face the same tribulations as we did.”

Adamant nodded firmly. Alchemy brought up her forelegs onto the rail of the balcony, resting her chin on top of them as she looked out into the night sky, and at the partying free slaves and citizens below.

“Sister.”

“Hmm?”

“The citizens have approached me about wanting us to rule in the stead of the last pharaoh. For us to be king and queen,” said Adamant.

Alchemy let out a sigh. “I know Adamant, a few have asked the same of me as well.”

“And?”

“I do not think it is the right path we should take, not with the powers we have been granted.”

“But we could do it, you and I dear sister! We can be better than the kings who have ruled over this land, for we have lived through the strife and pain of slavery, and we are heroes to the citizens! We can be the beacon of hope that this land deserves, that this world needs!”

Alchemy shook her head. “No big brother, we mustn’t. If we truly want to be better than those who ruled then we must give this land to the citizens. We must make it a republic.”

Adamant looked upon his sister incredulously. “A republic?”

“Yes, I think it’s time we abolished this land’s hierarchy of kings and queens, it’s time for the citizens to decide what they want.”

Adamant moved further into the throne and pointed at the large dual thrones. “The citizens want us to be their rulers, and rightly so, with the pharaoh out of power, there will be others who will seek to subjugate this kingdom! Foreign powers that will do worse than what he did.”

“Well…while we’re on that matter. I think we should go out beyond our land, to the countries and nations that are out there. We can be an example to what the others can strive for! To be better, not with an iron hoof can we unite the world big brother.”

Adamant gritted his teeth as he gazed down at the floor. “But Alchemy, have you forgotten what we were put through, what they did you!”

Alchemy lowered her head, placing a hoof on her stomach in mourning as she did so. “True…what I have suffered, has left me unable to have children…I will never know the joy of giving birth to a new life. And Adam, I know what you have been through for my sake, the pain you endured to shield me numerous times, and how you sacrificed your life for mine, I will never forget that brother.”

The young earth pony mare walked over to her brother and nuzzled under his chin, prompting him to raise his head as her kind green eyes met his intense yellow.

“I love you Adam, and, despite what we’ve been through, I love this world.”

“How can you say that…?”

“Because, if I wasn’t born into this world, I would’ve never gotten to meet you. There are other places that I want go to, to help others and bring them hope. Show them that this world isn’t as cruel as they may think. Let Teth Adam be a bringer of peace, instead of a conqueror, the world has had enough of those kind!”

Alchemy spoke with such belief and conviction, and with a joyful tone in her voice. She had always kept high spirits, always smiling for him even when things were at their bleakest. It was that trait that Adamant loved about his little sister, but at the same time, it was her naïveté that was a problem some of the times. Her ideal world was a possible one, but not through the methods she wanted. War would come, and in its wake many would die or be sold, and Adamant wasn’t about to allow that to happen again. As sure as the cutie mark of a diamond shield upon his flank, it was clear what needed to be done.

Adamant smiled at his younger sister. “You’re right Alchemy, we must be more, and lead the world down a different route.”

Alchemy smiled happily and hugged her brother tightly. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, blushing all the while. A sharp whistling noise could be heard coming from outside, followed by explosions of multi-colored lights that lit up the night sky. Alchemy looked up and watched as the fireworks went off and painted the sky in various colors. At the same time, she could hear the citizens chanting the name of their hero.

“TETH A-DAM, TETH A-DAM, TETH A-DAM!!!”

Alchemy turned to her big brother. “They’re calling for us, let us show them their Champion.”

Alchemy stood at the center of the balcony, breathing in the cool night air as she took in the sight and sounds of the fireworks overhead. Adamant walked up behind her, and draped his forelegs over her shoulders, hugging her from behind, she didn’t mind, and the safest she felt was in her brother’s embrace.

“Let’s create a new world together, okay Adam?”

“Yes…a new world…because this world is too cruel for you my little sister, you shouldn’t have been born into it. Not one with as kind a heart as you.”

Alchemy felt Adamant’s hug. “Oh Adam, don’t worry. We’ll make it one…”

Adamant’s horn glowed as he weaved his magical aura around her neck and on the sides of her head, careful not to exert pressure.

“SHAZAM!!!”
“SHAZAM!!!”

Lightning thundered down from the sky, but at that moment, Adamant pressed his aura against the sides of Alchemy’s head and around her neck.

“I’m sorry…”

“Brother –?”

*CRACK!*

The lightning bolt struck and what appeared from the white smoke was Teth Adam, although, his cape was no longer white, it had turned black as night, and his kind green eyes were now intense yellow eyes.

Black Adam released Scootaloo and let her step away from him. She gazed upon the stallion, her eyes wide with horror at what she had seen. Tears fell as she came to grips with the memories of…Adamant Resolve.

“You…You killed your little sister?! Y-You bastard! How could you?!” Scootaloo screamed.

“It was necessary…”

“NECESSARY?! HOW WAS IT NECESSARY?!”

“She was right in saying the world didn’t need a conqueror, but neither did it need a bringer of peace. No, it needed a ruler, one with the sight, might, and power to keep the world from plunging into chaos, to keep it from destroying itself and harming the innocent. Alchemy did not have that drive, and I couldn’t let her suffer any longer in this world. So I freed her from her last bond, and now she is happy.”

Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she was hearing. And, as if to bear proof of what he had done, Black Adam used his magic to erase the illusion that kept his mark hidden, revealing the diamond shield that was Adamant Resolve’s cutie mark.

“And I will not let her sacrifice be in vain! Give me the power now, and I shall overlook your transgressions!”

“Like hay I’m going to give it to a murderer like you!!!”

Black Adam’s eyes flared with the power of the Living Lightning! His horn charged up with mana and fired a blindingly powerful lightning bolt right at Scootaloo! The resulting explosion threw Scootaloo into the air, semi-conscious as she flew careened toward a building.

I can’t beat him…He’s too strong…I’ll die if I keep this up…

“SHA…ZAM…!”

The magical bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and struck Scootaloo, changing her back to her filly form while still in midair. The bolt helped to slow her down, but she was still heading for the old condemned structure. Scootaloo flapped her wings as hard as she could, faster and faster to try and slow her pace down a bit. The young pegasus filly went right through the glassless window, disappearing from sight.

Black Adam appeared where the remnants of the white smoke were, he scanned the skies and rooftops, even the ground below, but he couldn’t sense Scootaloo at all.

“COWARD, YOU CHANGE TO HIDE FROM ME?!!!” Black Adam yelled.

He waited for an attack, maybe even a response, but there was nothing. In his anger, Black Adam released a burst of magic that burned away part of a skyscraper. It was then that an idea popped into his head.

Very well, if you won’t come out and fight then I shall make you!

Black Adam took off towards City Hall, where he fought against the Princesses and Elements of Harmony, he remembered how quickly she came to the aid of the purple alicorn, so, he thought, using her as a bargaining chip would be a good way to bring her out and hopefully attain her power quicker. When he arrived the place was still in shambles, just as if left it, but below, five of the six mares were still unconscious. Black Adam gazed over the battlefield and found what he was looking for, plus a bonus.

Scootaloo lied on the dusty floor of the abandoned building. Coughing as she slowly rose up and winced from the pain radiating from her right shoulder. A bruise had started to form, a bad one from what she could tell, having crash landed shoulder first into the unforgiving wooden floor. She dragged herself over to a wall, panting in pain as she did so. Finally she slumped her back up against the wall and took a moment to regain her bearings. Just then, through her somewhat blurry vision, Scootaloo saw a flash of pink light. She blinked a few times to bring her eyes into focus and saw that the pink light was actually a pink butterfly made of light.

The butterfly landed on a chunk of drywall next to Scootaloo and looked up at her. “Mistress Scootaloo, thank the gods you’re alright!”

“M-Murmur, that you?”

“Yes my Champion it is! When I sensed Black Adam’s power I feared for your life! I saw you and your allies fighting bravely against him, I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you about the division of your powers when in use…forgive me.”

“It’s not your fault…I didn’t think he’d be this crazy strong…! Murmur, did you know what happened? Did you know that Black Adam is actually Adamant Resolve?! Alchemy’s older brother!”

The light butterfly shook its little head in surprise. “No my Champion, the Council couldn’t ascertain how or why Black Adam became the way he is. Often the mark of one’s destiny would switch between them during their transformations, so they knew not that only a single being had all the power…this makes more sense now…”

Scootaloo winced as she tried to get more comfortable where she sat. “Well…glad I could – ouch! Clear that up…! I can’t beat him Murmur…he’s going to kill me and take control of the Rock of Eternity…”

“Mistress, please, you can defeat him! You were chosen by Master Quick Silver, the ancient magic – the Living Lightning – chose you to be Magic’s Champion!”

1“WELL WHAT IF IT CHOSE WRONG?!!!” Scootaloo yelled. “I’m no ‘Champion’ Murmur! I’m a coward, just like he said!”

“Mistress you are not a coward.”

“AM I? When I was with my Mother, there many times when I could’ve stopped it…A teacher, a Royal Guard, one of my friends, I could’ve told them all about her and ended it all! But I was too afraid, afraid that nopony would believe me! Afraid that she would find out and hurt me more than she did, or worse, make me do more of those disgusting things! I ran away, that’s what cowards do Murmur, they run away! And when I found out I was going to be adopted, I was afraid that it was going to be her! If I had stayed I would’ve found out that it was Cheerilee who was going to adopt me, but stupid me, I ran all the way to Manehattan! MANE-HATTAN!!!”

Scootaloo turned away from the butterfly as tears flowed down her face. Murmur wished she wasn’t in her astral projected form, else she’d comfort her mistress in her time of doubt, but all she could do was try and convince her of the opposite.

“I know all of that Mistress…I know exactly of what has befallen you in your young life…”

Scootaloo snapped her head back to Murmur’s astral form. “But…you said that you weren’t there when the Wizard saw my memories!”

“As the steward of the Rock of Eternity, I am also made privy to the selection of new Champions. I see what Master Quick Silver sees in you Scootaloo, and you are not a coward, not by any means.”

Scootaloo sniffled. “You saw, so how can you still say that?!”

“Because it was in those memories, past and present, that I too saw the greatest source of your power. It is from this that the ancient magic flows strongly within you, and sets you apart from Black Adam in every aspect. It surrounds you, keeps you safe, and is something that you forged on your own and are willing to give your life to protect.”

“Equestria…? My wanting to fly? What?”

“Think Mistress Scootaloo, the answer is there…I must away, lest Black Adam sense my presence and locate you…”

The butterfly rose up into the air and began changing into particles of pink light that drifted into the wind. Scootaloo watched all this till she was gone, alone again. She hit the back of her head on the wall in frustration, Scootaloo had still doubted the Wizard choosing her. As much as she tried, she wasn’t like Rainbow Dash, she wasn’t smart like Twilight Sparkle, not wise like Princess Celestia. If there was anypony she thought would’ve made a better Champion it might’ve been Apple Bloom or even Sweetie Belle…

Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Miss Cheerilee, Princess Luna…Aura, Alula, Mrs. Milano…Ponyville…Wait…could that be it…?

“CHAMPION!!! I GIVE YOU THIS ULTIMATUM!!! COME OUT NOW AND RELINQUISH YOUR POWER TO ME, OR I WILL EXECUTE THE ONE KNOWN AS PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!”

“PRINCESS TWILIGHT!!!” Scootaloo shouted.

The pegasus filly, although with some difficulty and pain, made it to the window where she heard Black Adam’s voice boom from. She looked down at the streets below and gasped when she saw that Princess Twilight was indeed with Black Adam, thrown to the ground before his hooves, being suppressed by his powerful telekinetic aura.

“IF THIS IS NOT ENOUGH INCENTIVE, THEN I PRESENT YOU WITH THESE THREE!!!”

Black Adam brought up from behind him three spheres of transparent energy. In each one was housed Babs, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom, desperately pounding at their spheres to try and get loose.

“THIS PRINCESS ALONG WITH THE BLOOD OF THESE INNOCENT FILLIES WILL BE ON YOUR HOOVES CHAMPION!!! SHOW YOURSELF AND PRESERVE WHAT HONOR YOU HAVE LEFT!!!”

Seeing Princess Twilight battered and bruised, her friends held captive within the spheres of magical energy, somehow made whatever doubts Scootaloo had about herself
vanish in an instant as they were replaced by a fervent need to come to their aid. It was then that it clicked in Scootaloo’s mind, the reason why she was chosen, it was right in front of her the whole time. With new found determination, Scootaloo looked towards the heavens, feeling the ancient magic well up inside her.

This is why you chose me, right Wizard? This feeling in my heart whenever I’m with them, whenever I see them in danger! I won’t hesitate anymore, I won’t be afraid!

“SHAZAM!!!!!!!”

A lightning bolt, shining more brilliantly than its predecessors, shot down from the sky and struck Scootaloo! The strike was so powerful that it blew away the portion of the building where she was looking out the window, sending chunks of brick and cement falling to the ground. At the epicenter of the destruction was Scootaloo, her wings flared out, body shining with the power of the Living Lightning and eyes glowing brightly. Upon her suit, around her flanks, was a mark, the symbol of Shazam! Although that hardly registered in Scootaloo’s mind, she had only one concern, and that was to kick Black Adam’s ass!

With blinding speed, Scootaloo sped away till she was right in front of the alicorn stallion, the dramatic increase in her speed did not go unnoticed by Black Adam, if his shocked expression was anything to go by. Scootaloo delivered and uppercut to the stallion’s jaw, sending him flying straight into the air! The attack made him lose control over the spheres as they popped and released the three fillies. Scootaloo quickly grasped them in her telekinetic aura and set them down beside Twilight. Without saying a word, Scootaloo took off into the air after Black Adam, kicking up a whirlwind from her sudden ascension.

Black Adam stopped himself from going any higher into the sky. His jaw ached from the strike, tasting a bit of his blood. Something was off, she was stronger, that much he was certain of, and faster as well. Sensing the approaching presence of the Champion, Black Adam decided he wasn’t going to hold back anymore. His own electrical aura ignited as he let out a fierce battle cry! The alicorn stallion shot towards Scootaloo, fast as lightning! The two superpowers cocked back their right hooves, channeling their mystic might into them. At the moment before they met they thrust out, both punches hitting each other dead on at the same time! An explosion of crackling electrical energy boomed in the air, blasting away most of the clouds in the area.

The two broke off, becoming streaks of blue and red lightning, and blue and black lightning. The streaks continuously intercepted each other, creating a sonic boom with each impact. Multiple concussive booms could be heard raging across the sky as both lightning strikes dueled in the air above Manehattan! Scootaloo broke off from another interception, concentrated her power into her horn, and fired a massive blast of magical lightning! Black Adam saw this and raised his hooves to stop the attack and divert it. He was surprised to find out that when the blast hit his hooves, it hurt. The power raging from the blast shot through his forelegs and through his body, threatening to tear it apart! He tried to divert it, but found that the energy blast wasn’t going to be swayed so easily.

“Damn it! Why can’t I throw it like last time?!!!” Black Adam shouted.

In the end, the alicorn stallion defended himself the best he could and let the energy blast hit him. The lightning washed over him like a raging river, the energy coalesced right around him and detonated spectacularly, surrounding the blast zone in a gray dust cloud with sparkling blue particles.

Scootaloo awaited Black Adam’s response, knowing that that wasn’t going to be enough. But she wasn’t scared, she was ready. The smoke cleared, showing some of the damage done by her attack, his armor-suit had scratches and was burned in some places, and small chunks had been eroded away from the lightning blast in different parts of the armor. Black Adam lowered his forelegs from their protective formation and glared angrily at Scootaloo. His horn lit up and fired a volley of lightning strikes! Scootaloo took flight, dodging as many as she could with agility that would’ve made Rainbow Dash jealous. Black Adam then conjured spheres of electrical magic and fired them off like missiles!

Scootaloo continued her aerial acrobatics, barrel rolling, looping, diving, and accelerating out of harm’s way. But the with the frequency of the lightning bolts coming from Black Adam’s horn, and now the electro spheres chasing her, Scootaloo was starting to feel the heat. Just then she saw ten of the spheres appear in the direction she was going. Ten more were about to hit her from every direction, and the bolts were about to hit their mark. Thinking quickly, Scootaloo erected a barrier and braced for the impact of the attacks.

All of them hit at once, exploding mightily! Scootaloo’s shield fell from the onslaught, her eyes immediately scanning the skies for Black Adam. But she didn’t have to look far as the former Champion struck her in the barrel, making her let out a pain filled gasp as some blood spat from her mouth. Scootaloo gritted her teeth and rolled off Black Adam’s punch and delivered one of her own right across his left cheek! The stallion was stunned for a mere moment before returning with a punch to her right cheek. Scootaloo returned with an uppercut! Black Adam elbowed her in the chest! Both titans of magic traded blows one right after the other, the sky roaring with thunder from each blow!

To the two of them, they were fighting at normal speed, but to everypony else, they were moving at a blindingly fast speed that they were mere blurs, wrapped in an orb of electrical energy. The two warring powers grappled with each other in the sphere, shooting straight down to the ground and hitting the street, releasing a concussive wave that put the three fillies, and Twilight on their backsides. A large dust plume covered the area where both magical warriors landed, Twilight and the CMC held their breath, wondering who was going to emerge when the dust settled. Astonishingly enough, both alicorns were standing!

Scootaloo panted hard from her long battle with Black Adam, and so too was the former Champion. Black Adam couldn’t believe this, moments ago he had the mare on the ropes and now she was matching him blow for blow, with power equal to his. That’s when he realized something, during the whole fight, the alicorn mare had not spoken the names of the gods.

Impossible! Did she somehow manage to figure out how to unite all six powers at once?! Black Adam thought.

Scootaloo took a moment to survey the area, much of Manehattan’s tall buildings, shops, and streets were either badly damaged or on the verge of collapsing from the prolonged battle.

At this rate, we’ll destroy Manehattan before either one of us falls…There’s only one other option, I have to bet everything on this!

“Black Adam!” Scootaloo shouted. “We’re not going to end this fight any time soon.”

“Oh it will end, when you are beneath my hoof and begging me for mercy!”

“I think you’ve realized that I can control the powers within me now, I’m as fast, as strong, and as powerful as you! We can fight for an eternity without any real winner. But I have solution.”

“Proceed,” said Black Adam, dubious of what the solution might be.

“A real fight, pony to pony! No super powers, no magic, just our bare hooves. You win, you get my power, I win, well, I don’t care where you go, just so long as you never threaten anypony again!”

Black Adam scoffed in indignation. “You expect me to become mortal and let you deliver a killing blow while I am vulnerable?!”

“No, that’s something I’d expect you to do. SHAZAM!”

The magical lightning bolt struck Scootaloo, changing her back to her filly form before Black Adam. The stallion gawked at the true identity of the Champion he had been dueling against this whole time.

“A FILLY?! I’ve been fighting a filly! The Rock of Eternity chose another child?!”

“Like I said before, we’re not so different. Now, are you going to pony up and fight me?!”

Black Adam laughed at the absurdity of it all. His horn glowed as he wrapped his telekinetic aura around Scootaloo’s neck, hoisting her into the air and bringing her to eye level.

“You expect me to do that, now when I can so easily take your power?!”

“Go ahead, do it! Show everypony how much of a coward you really are!”

“What?!”

Scootaloo stared down Black Adam, unafraid of him as she spoke. “You killed your little sister, from behind! You didn’t have the nerve to look her in the eye, or give her a chance to fight back! You call yourself a ‘hero king’, you call yourself a Champion?! You’re no Champion, you’re just a disgrace! A cowardly disgrace who can’t even face down a twelve-year-old filly without his super powers! Why don’t you be a real stallion and fight me!”

Black Adam’s eyes narrowed with anger, his grip around her throat intensifying and making Scootaloo squirm and writhe in pain. With an infuriated roar, Black Adam tossed Scootaloo away.

“SHAZAM!!!”

The transforming magic lightning shot down from the sky and struck Black Adam. White smoke swirled around him and quickly dispersed, revealing a violet unicorn colt, glaring down at the orange pegasus filly.

“I am no coward! Have it your way, all this means is that you’re suffering will be prolonged!” Adamant shouted.

Scootaloo looked upon the teenage stallion in surprise, this wasn’t what she was expecting him to look like.

“You…You haven’t aged? I don’t get it, the Wizard was old, and he lived for hundreds of years, why aren’t you old and gray?!”

“What does it matter?! Now get up so we may – GACK!”

Adamant’s body suddenly started to grow, his mane and tail grew at an accelerated rate and continued to get longer, his body grew muscular and bigger, making him look like a stallion in his thirties, but it didn’t stop.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ME?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

“I…I didn’t do anything!”

“You have no one to blame but yourself Black Adam.”

Scootaloo looked up and saw the pink butterfly that was Murmur’s astral projection hover over them.

“Whaaaaaaat…doooo you me…an?!” Adamant asked, his voice becoming raspy.

“You’ve spent thousands of years in that form, not once have you changed back since the day you murdered your sibling. Now time has caught up with you, no longer protected by your magical form, the ravages of time are passing you by. Years are flying by in mere seconds, soon, you will become dust.”

Scootaloo had no idea that was possible, but here it was before her. In the time she had spent looking and listening to Murmur, Adamant had become an old stallion, wrinkled and graying. He looked three times older than Granny Smith, and the aging wasn’t stopping. Scootaloo stood boldly before the aging Adamant, glaring at him through narrowed eyes.

“I have to thank you Adamant Resolve. Because of you, I realized where my magic draws its power from. It was the biggest difference between you and me, why the Wizard chose me despite seeing that we were alike. Unlike you, you are willing to destroy and kill anypony, even your own flesh and blood, to get what you want. For me, it’s the opposite. I ran away from my old home town and wound up in Ponyville, I thought I’d never get back the family that was lost to me when I was a littler filly. But there, with all my friends, and the ponies I look up to, I realized I had a family all along. And that I’d do all I could do make sure that they were safe. Seeing what you did to Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and the others, and what you were going to do to my friends. I knew that I wanted to protect them, and this world we live in! That’s the reason I was chosen…”

Adamant, now a decrepit mummy of a pony, let out a shrieking roar as he ran for Scootaloo, his withered body leaving behind a trail of dust as he did so.

“…Because I am…”

Adamant dived for Scootaloo, trying to get to her magic to keep from dying such a pitiful death.

“SHAZAM!!!!!”

The azure lightning once again stuck Scootaloo, the force of the transformational blast completely blew away Adamant, breaking him apart and disintegrating his dust into nothingness. Scootaloo stood there, in her alicorn form, letting out a sigh of relief, the battle was over, she had won. The pink butterfly that was Murmur fluttered down to her, Scootaloo raised her left hoof and let the ping construct land on the tip of her horseshoe bracer.

“Well done, Champion of Magic.”

Scootaloo smiled at Murmur, but then sensed something strange. She looked back up and stared wide eyed at the ghostly image of Alchemy. She looked as she did in Scootaloo’s vision, an earth pony filly, with kind green eyes, a brown coat and a black mane with a streak of white in it. The specter smiled at Scootaloo and bowed her head before disappearing into the ether. Scootaloo couldn’t help but cry and smile back.

“You’re welcome.”

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 11: Home Sweet Home

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The devastation at, what is now being called, “The Battle of Manehattan” was quickly being taken care of. For the past three days, relief workers, Royal Guards, and many others had come flooding in from different parts of Equestria, each one helping to rebuild the damaged city. All in all it could’ve been worse, at least that’s what some were saying. Three days had passed since the battle between the alicorn mare known as “Shazam” and the alicorn stallion who the journalists called “Black Adam”.

Opinion on Shazam was divided amongst the ponies of Equestria and mostly in Manehattan, some praised her for coming to the rescue of the Elements of Harmony and defeating Black Adam. Others claimed that she was menace, a renegade alicorn who seemed to have no affiliation to the crown, which meant she was a rogue element, somepony with power greater than the rulers of Equestria, a potential threat to the peace of the land, and quite possibly the world.

For now though, those thoughts took a backseat to the rebuilding of the city. And speaking of the heroine in question, Scootaloo, along with Twilight, Babs, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle, were currently at a shelter that the other Elements and the Two Sisters were brought to after the battle. All were still busy recovering, Luna and Celestia had used up quite a bit of their magical power and needed time to recharge it before making any speeches or aiding in the recovery. Shining Armor and Cadance were doing a good job of coordinating rescue and recovery efforts in the Princesses absence, it was the least they could do considering that they couldn’t enter the fight. Although, seeing the kind of thrashing that Twilight and her friends took, on top of the Princesses, they pretty much figured that their presence wouldn’t have made a difference.

Scootaloo had been sleeping for a day and half, thoroughly exhausted from fighting such a grueling and emotionally draining battle. Luck was on her side however, none of her friends overheard what Black Adam and Scootaloo said about their pasts, all three of them more concerned about keeping safe during the fire fight, and Twilight was still too dazed and hurt to make much sense of it either. But that still didn’t mean that they had forgotten that Scootaloo was Shazam, and, after giving her some time to get settled after she had woken up, they pretty much grilled her with questions. So, like she promised, Scootaloo spilled the beans.

“And that’s it…” Scootaloo finished.

“Wow…So, wait, if we were with you that day, we could’ve gotten sucked into that other dimension too?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I don’t think so, at least I’m not sure. The way the Wizard and Murmur told me was that only somepony chosen by the Living Lightning could’ve entered, most likely it would’ve taken just one of us.”

“Ah can’t believe you were the one who saved us…Ah mean, you kinda freaked us out when you showed up like ya did back then. Why didn’t ya say it was you?” Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo turned away from her friends, staring the blanket. “Because…during that fight with the Chimera I…I…killed it.”

All three fillies’ eyes widened just a tad at hearing that.

“I didn’t mean to kill it…I just wanted to beat it, to make it go away and leave you guys alone…When I saw what I did I was so scared of my power…I didn’t know what I had become, and I didn’t want to risk hurting you guys until I figured it out…which was why I kept it secret.”

Babs turned to Twilight, who was occupying the adjacent bed. “Is that when Scootaloo came to you Princess?”

“Yes Babs, although, I called for Scootaloo to come my castle so we could talk about something else unrelated. It was a complete accident that I found out. But since then, I’ve been trying to help her to control her powers little by little. Trips into the Rock of Eternity have helped too.”

“So that’s how you were able to get all the way from Ponyville to Manehattan so fast, you transformed and flew here lightning quick,” said Babs.

Scootaloo nodded.

“So, what happens now?” Sweetie asked.

“As far as I’ve been able to tell, nopony seems to have caught wind of who ‘Shazam’ really is. For now, it’s just us four. So for Scootaloo’s sake, please keep her identity a secret. There are too many things happening right now, too many ponies who are both grateful for her saving Manehattan and just as many blaming her for it.”

“That’s a load of manure! Scoots saved all of us! Why are they saying that?! She’s a gosh darn hero!” Apple Bloom argued.

“I know that, and you three know that, but other ponies are scared right now, and fear can make rational ponies think crazy things sometimes.”

Apple Bloom scoffed. “Still ain’t right.”

“Thanks Bloom, but it’s alright. As long you guys know I’m the good guy, I don’t care what they think.”

Apple Bloom blushed from the compliment, a reaction that caught Babs’ eye, but she just shrugged it off, she had the same reaction when she told Apple Bloom she was cuter when she smiled.

“Why don’t you guys go and see if the others are awake yet, I’m pretty sure they’d like to see you.” Twilight prompted.

With a small bit of reluctance, the three fillies went off to go see their older family members who busy recouping from their battle as well, leaving Scootaloo and Twilight alone in the same room.

“So…are you alright Scootaloo?”

“Of course I am. I beat Black Adam and saved Manehattan, and everypony I care about, why wouldn’t I?”

Twilight thought carefully on how to say what she meant. “Well…it just seemed that the battle took a lot out of you, more than physical strain I mean. You looked tired beyond belief, like you had to face something, an old wound that was reopened. I just want to make sure that you’re alright Scootaloo.”

The pegasus filly sighed heavily. “I know what you mean Twilight…During the fight, Black Adam showed me his past and what happened to make him how he was. He was actually Adamant Resolve, he killed his little sister, Alchemy, right before they transformed, allowing him to take on the full power of the Living Lightning…”

Twilight had a shocked expression upon her face. She never imagined such a thing was the cause for his change, and she could never imagine a sibling being so cruel to their younger sibling like that, it hit a little closer to home considering the close relationship that she and Shining Armor shared. For a moment she let herself imagine being betrayed in the same way…it almost broke her heart and made her bawl right then and there.

“I’m sorry you saw that…”

“Not your fault, he made me see it. I had no choice. But, in a way, it’s because of all that that I learned about who I really am and what I want to do from here on out…”

Twilight shook away the sadness and looked to Scootaloo with intrigued. “Oh really? What?”

“I want to continue being Shazam, I know everypony is scared of me, and that’s fine, I’ll still continue to fight. Because whatever threatens Equestria, threatens my friends – my family. That’s why I got this.”

Scootaloo pushed the blankets off her till they slid past her flank, giving Twilight and unobstructed view of the mark that now adorned it. A golden lightning bolt, similar to that of the insignia on her chest plate, had appeared there. Twilight looked to the filly who was smiling happily, and Twilight couldn’t help but mimic that smile, seeing the young filly that had been through so much finally achieve that which she and her friends strived for numerous times before.

“My destiny, my special talent, is being a hero, being Shazam, Equestria’s Mightiest Mare. But I’m going to need help until I have it all figured out, if you don’t mind, I still want you to be my mentor, Twilight…?”

Twilight nodded to Scootaloo with a smile splitting her face. “Of course you can, I promise to help you in any way I can Scootaloo you have my word.”

Scootaloo looked away for a moment as a face began to turn red. “Um…in that case, can I ask you favor?”

“Go ahead.”

“Uh…c-can I rest with you for a while?”

Twilight giggled, she knew Scootaloo was quite the tomcolt, so asking such a thing was embarrassing for her to do. Twilight opened the blankets and bayed her to come over. Scootaloo happily got out of her bed and jumped into Twilight’s, slipping between her forelegs and resting her head on the pillow. Twilight closed the blankets and even draped her wing over the young filly for added comfort. Scootaloo nuzzled up against Twilight’s chest, enjoying the warmth and comfort she brought her.

“I can’t wait to see Miss Cheerilee…

“I know she’ll be happy to see you again,” said Twilight.

“Do you think she’ll still want me, even after I ran away?”

“I know she will.”

“Thanks…” Scootaloo looked up at Twilight, an impish grin forming on her lips as she did. “…You’re going to make a great second mom, Twilight.”

“Thanks Scootaloo…………Wait ‘second mom’?!”

“When you marry Miss Cheerilee.”

“MARRY?!” Twilight squeaked as her face burned bright red.

PONYVILLE, TWO DAYS LATER…

After the turmoil that had occurred at Manehattan, the six Elements of Harmony, and the CMC, minus one Babs Seed, were back in their home town. Many were glad to see that Scootaloo was alright, some of the foals from Wayward House and Mrs. Milano were there to greet Scootaloo back home. Among them, of course, was a very happy and very tearful Cheerilee, who held the young filly close her. Scootaloo’s heart grew heavy, she didn’t like seeing Cheerilee sad, and knowing that she was the cause of it only made her heart grow heavier with guilt.

Once all the commotion was over, Twilight, Mrs. Milano, and Cheerilee headed to Castle Concordia. It was in one of the private meeting rooms where the three older mares discussed what had happened, both Scootaloo and Twilight came up with as decent a convincing story as possible to satiate the curious nature of how Scootaloo had gotten all the way to Manehattan from Ponyville. Luckily, there was in fact a train heading to the city at around the time she “supposedly” ran away.

Scootaloo went on to say that she stowed away on the train and departed when the train stopped. She said she really didn’t know where the train was going and that it was a complete fluke that she ended up in Manehattan. From there she told Cheerilee and Mrs. Milano how she found out where Apple Bloom’s cousin lived and went to stay with them. From there Twilight took over, stating that she used a more complex and powerful locator spell to find Scootaloo, and since Rainbow Dash was in Manehattan at the time, she sent a letter via Spike’s dragon fire to the mare in question so that she could locate and keep her safe. And that’s when all the craziness happened.

“Well we’re just glad that you’re alright Scootaloo,” said Cheerilee.

“But sweetie, tell us, why did you run away, you really scared us?” Mrs. Milano asked.

Now came the hard part, she didn’t want to reveal too much, but there was no point in letting this fester too long.

“I…I was afraid…”

All three mares looked at each other with worry.

“Afraid of what Scootaloo?” Cheerilee asked.

“When Mrs. Milano told me that somepony was coming to adopt me, I was happy, but I…I got scared that it might’ve been somepony else…somepony that…” Scootaloo took a deep breath, focusing on keeping her composure. “Somepony that hurt me a long time ago…”

The three mares’ eyes grew wide with shock.

“Scootaloo…” Twilight gasped.

“It was before I came to Ponyville, somepony I loved and trusted…they…did things to me…things I really don’t want to remember or talk about, but…let’s just say that they’re things that fillies shouldn’t know about till their about your guys’ ages…”

The shock and disbelief was plain on everypony’s faces. A mixture and sympathy for the young filly, and a boiling anger rose up in all of them at the thought that anypony could abuse the trust of a young foal and do such cruel things to her.

“I didn’t want to tell you, any of you, because I didn’t want you to look at me differently…that, and I thought nopony would want to adopt me if they knew what happened to me…I know I should’ve said something to you sooner, especially all three of you, but I just couldn’t.” Scootaloo was starting to tremble as tears began to well up in her eyes. “I wanted to forget all those things, to focus on my life in Ponyville, with the friends I’ve made and everypony here who’s acted like a parent to me…Ponyville is my home, and the ponies who live here my family! That’s why I ran away, I thought that the pony who did those things to me was coming back to take me away, I didn’t want to go back and…and…”

Cheerilee rose up from her cushion and quickly enveloped the pegasus filly in the most comforting hug she could muster. Scootaloo buried her face into Cheerilee’s shoulder, letting the tears flow as she held the maroon mare tight, while Cheerilee stroked her mane and made soft shushing sounds.

“Scootaloo, I know this doesn’t mean much, but I’m so sorry that you went through such awful things. And I want you to know, that this doesn’t affect the way any of us see you honey. You’re such a strong little filly, courageous, sometimes a little too reckless for some our tastes. But that’s who you are, none of what happened to you defines the way we see you, that will never change.”

Scootaloo gently wrested herself from Cheerilee’s shoulder, looking over it to Twilight and Mrs. Milano were on the verge of tears themselves, but nodded firmly in their conformation with Cheerilee.

“So does this mean I can’t get adopted…?” Scootaloo asked with dread.

Cheerilee and Twilight looked to Mrs. Milano, for she had the final word in such things. The manila colored mare seemed to be pondering the question hard as she looked between all three before her.

“Normally, I need to start an investigation into what you’ve told us Scootaloo. Child Abuse is the one thing I will not tolerate, and if somepony hurt you they need to be punished by the law. Unfortunately, there will need to be some questioning done by the Special Investigations Division of the Royal Guards, they’ll need to conduct interviews with you and will probably recommend that you stay at Wayward House for a bit longer till their investigation is done, as well as receive counseling and evaluations to determine if putting her in a new household is acceptable, there’s a laundry list of things that need to be done to insure that Scootaloo is being put in the best home for her situation.”

Twilight was very knowledgeable about the different branches of the Royal Guard, the Special Investigations Division handled mostly cases dealing with child abuse crimes and other such cases, and that an investigation, especially if it’s years old, could take just as long depending if the pony that hurt Scootaloo is still even around. That meant that the adoption would have to be delayed for a time. She also saw the look of disappointment on Scootaloo’s face and on Cheerilee’s, she knew that Scootaloo was safest and would be well cared for by Cheerilee, the mare had nothing but love for the little filly, and really, she was a teacher, nopony better to help deal with such things.

“Mrs. Milano –” Twilight began.

“However.” Mrs. Milano interrupted. “I can make exceptions, so long as Scootaloo has a strong support system and a stable home – and seeing as how Miss Cheerilee has an official recommendation from the Princess of Friendship herself – I’d be willing to allow the adoption to go through unimpeded, provided that Scootaloo feels comfortable with this.”

Scootaloo’s eyes beamed with happiness at hearing as he looked at Cheerilee, the same happiness reflected in her own eyes. The two of them hugged tighter, joyful in hearing Cheerilee could still be her guardian.

Mrs. Milano then slipped closer to Twilight and spoke in a soft tone of voice. “Princess, I know you have a lot on your plate, but I can tell that Scootaloo looks up to you as well as Miss Rainbow Dash. If it’s not too much, I would like you to be there for her as well, she’ll need to be around ponies she can count on and trust.”

Twilight nodded in affirmation. “I will, you don’t have to worry about that. But, um, should I tell Rainbow Dash about this? I know Scootaloo sees her as a big sister and Rainbow feels the same way about her, but…I don’t know how she’ll take hearing this, or if I should be the one to tell her…?”

“That’s up to Scootaloo, it took a lot of courage to tell all three of us, and I know how much she looks up to Rainbow Dash, the best I can say is that you make sure it’s as comfortable as possible for Scootaloo.”

Cheerilee separated herself from Scootaloo, smiling the whole time she did so. “I hope you don’t mind having your school teacher as your guardian.”

“No way, this means I’ll be able to know all the answers to your tests before you give them. Straight A’s here I come!”

“Nice try young filly, but you’re going to have to study just like all the others.”

“Shoot. Oh well, so when will you and Twilight get hitched?”

Cheerilee’s face turned bright red, and the same time so did Twilight’s face.

“SCOOTALOO!” Both mares cried out.

Scootaloo’s response was a smart-alecky grin and sticking out her tongue at both mares.

“Something you want to let me in on, Princess, Miss Cheerilee?” Milano asked with a knowing grin of her own.

THE NEXT DAY…

Wayward House was abuzz with excitement, Scootaloo, a longtime resident of the orphanage was at long last being adopted and about to start living with her new guardian Cheerilee. Many of the foals were wishing her luck, throwing a party to show their support for her. During the festivities, she found Aura, somewhat avoiding Scootaloo, she was able to slip away from the other partiers and catch the young filly alone.

“Hi Aura.”

“Oh, hey Scootaloo! Is something wrong?”

“Well…not really. I was just wondering why you don’t look like you’re having that much fun?” She asked.

Aura sighed. “I guess I’m just a little sad. I mean, we’ve been roomies ever since I was brought here…you were the first the pony to talk to me, and well, draw me out my shell. Now you’re leaving – but I’m happy you’re getting adopted, don’t think I’m not!”

Scootaloo shook her head as she draped a foreleg over Aura’s withers. “Hey, this isn’t goodbye Aura, it’s not like I’m leaving Ponyville. We’ll still see each other at school and around town. I even asked Mrs. Milano if it was alright for me to come and visit you guys here from time to time, and she said it was okay. So relax Aura, I could never forget any of you. You’re also my family, and I won’t turn my back my family.”

Aura couldn’t help some tears falling from her eyes as she heard that. She nuzzled the side of Scootaloo’s cheek, apologizing for the tears as she did so.

“Thanks Scoots…”

“No problem. Hey, have you seen Alula around? I kinda wanted to apologize to her too, but haven’t seen her.” Scootaloo asked.

“She said she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest in her room. I think she’s sad too honestly. I think she has a crush on you, you know,” said Aura.

“Pfft, sure, sure, that’s what you said about Peachie Pie and Sunny Days. You read too much into that ‘shipping’ thing.”

Aura rolled her eyes playfully. “Okay, so I’m not the Princess of Love like Princess Cadance, but still, she does act weird around you. Anyway, why don’t you go and see her, I’ll run interference for you!”

Without even giving her the time to answer, Aura was already zipping through the party, getting everypony’s attention. Scootaloo sighed and shrugged, deciding that it couldn’t hurt to go see what was up with Alula. Scootaloo went up the stairs and down the hallway to where Alula’s room was. She gave a couple of knocks when she reached the door, waiting to hear a response from the filly. She heard nothing, so Scootaloo gently opened the door.

“Hello…Alula? It’s me Scootaloo, I’m coming in, hope you’re decent.”

Scootaloo opened the door a little more and slipped in, seeing Alula sitting at the window and staring out into the horizon. She glanced over to Scootaloo, but quickly turned her gaze away.

“Hey, what’s up? How come you’re not downstairs having fun?” Scootaloo asked.

“……I just…I just didn’t think you wanted a freak at your party…”

Scootaloo looked at Alula incredulously. “‘A freak’? You’re not a freak Alula.”

“You saw me that night didn’t you?! You saw my horn disappear, didn’t you?!”

Scootaloo thought back to that night, the night she ran away from Wayward House, to be honest, with everything that had happened in the past five days, Scootaloo had completely forgotten about that event.

“Oh…”

“Yeah ‘oh’.”

“Okay, so what?”

“‘So what’?! It’s not normal for a pony to have a horn and then not have one, to sprout wings and then shortly after a horn! Or sometimes none! How can you be around me…? And how come you haven’t told anypony yet?!”

Scootaloo scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. “Honestly, Alula, I completely forgot about that whole thing…I had other stuff on my mind and then there was that stuff in Manehattan…but even still, it was your secret to tell, I wasn’t going to tell anypony.”

“Thanks Scootaloo…”

“No problem.”

Scootaloo walked over to where Alula was and sat across from her, looking out through the window, seeing the street below, Ponyville, the forests further on, and of course wide blue sky.

“I can’t believe you’re really leaving us,” said Alula.

“Not really, I’m just living someplace else. I’m still going to come by and see you guys and of course I’ll see you at school and stuff.”

“I know…I just…I just wish I got to know you more…I mean, you’re a great pony Scootaloo, and I…I kind’ve admired you…a little…” Alula was blushing the entire time she was saying this.

“O-Oh, I didn’t know…” Scootaloo felt her own cheeks heat up, not knowing why, but she guessed it was from the compliment. “…Well…maybe we could spend more time together? I mean, if you want, you and Aura could join the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we’re always looking to expand y’know!”

Alula smiled at the pegasus filly. “I’d like that, a-and I know Aura would too.”

“Cool, so c’mon, let’s head downstairs, ‘cause I think Aura’s going to run out of ways to keep everypony from wondering where I’m at.”

Alula nodded and followed Scootaloo out of the room. When she closed the door behind her, Alula glanced back at the orange filly.

“Scootaloo!”

“Yeah?”

Alula seemed to hesitate, struggling with something that Scootaloo couldn’t figure out. After a moment Alula shook her head dismissively.

"It’s okay, it’s not important.” Alula assured.

Shrugging, Scootaloo and Alula headed downstairs, and the whole time, Alula looked at the pegasus filly longingly.

One day Scootaloo…one day…

Project Erroria Arc Part 1: A New Start & New Worries

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Cheerilee was busy preparing for the last day of school. Summer vacation for the foals of Ponyville would start tomorrow and that meant it would mean a lot more time with Scootaloo. It had been almost a year now since Cheerilee took in the pegasus filly, although, soon she wouldn’t be calling her a filly for much longer. In one month Scootaloo’s birthday would come around, and she’d make that transition from tween filly into a teenage mare. The earth pony mare sighed, she could hardly believe it was about to be a year since she took her in.

Since taking in the young filly, Cheerilee had been so nervous, especially when she, Twilight, and Mrs. Milano found out about the abuse that Scootaloo had endured. The thought that somepony had hurt her, violated her, made Cheerilee’s blood boil. Cheerilee prayed to Faust that the day never came when Scootaloo’s abuser showed their face in Ponyville.

Because when they do I’m going to –!

“Morning Miss Cheerilee…”

The maroon mare snapped to attention at the sound of Scootaloo’s voice, quickly gazing towards the stairs to watch the orange filly walk down, half drowsy.

“Good morning Scootaloo, did you sleep well?”

“Uh-huh, I think I talked to Princess Luna in one of my dreams, but not sure it that was the dream or if she did come to me though?”

Cheerilee’s eyes widened slightly at hearing that Princess Luna may’ve visited the young one in her dreams, which wouldn’t be too odd seeing as she was the Princess of the Night, the Dream Walker. Cheerilee waited until Scootaloo had gotten to the table and set their breakfast down before asking any specifics.

“So, what did you two talk about, if you don’t mind me asking dear?”

“Oh…Well, it’s not like this was the first time she’s visited me in my dreams. One time she helped get over a nightmare while I was out camping with my friends, their sisters, and Rainbow Dash. Stuff happened, and in the end it was how me and Dash –”

“Dash and I.” Cheerilee corrected.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the correction. “Dash and I became sisters. But this time…she uh, came to apologize to me…”

Cheerilee raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that statement. “Apologize for what?”

Scootaloo became a little hesitant to answer, but in the end she sighed and relented.

“To apologize for not helping me with…you know…that.”

Cheerilee cursed herself mentally. The investigation into Scootaloo’s abuser was still going on, thankfully they were able to determine that it was nopony in Ponyville, but that it was someone in Vanhoover that was the guilty culprit. Unfortunately that was all the information Scootaloo would give them, they believed it was enough to go on, for now, not wanting to traumatize the young filly any more than she already was. Cheerilee knew that the Special Investigations Division submitted reports not only to Twilight, but higher up to the Princesses. Princess Luna in particular took interest in the wellbeing of the foals of Equestria, seeing as they were the ones who so happily accepted her back. Cheerilee believed that Princess Luna might have blamed herself for not doing something to help Scootaloo sooner.

“I told her it wasn’t her fault, I was keeping it a secret, even from myself. Burying it so I wouldn’t have to remember. But now she’s promised to do whatever she can to help, even if it’s just to give me peaceful dreams.”

“That’s very gracious of her, you’ll have to send a letter to her and thank the Princess properly.”

Scootaloo nodded her affirmation and went to eating her breakfast.

It was still weird for her, living with Cheerilee, it wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy it, and her house wasn’t overly big, but just right for the two of them. She wasn’t going to lie, it was a little awkward living together, Scootaloo was used to leaving school, hanging out with her friends, and at the end of the day heading back to Wayward House. Now though, whenever she came back it was to Cheerilee’s house. More than once she accidentally went to Wayward House instead of Cheerilee’s, having to get used to the routine of learning where she lived. In fact, the two of them had to walk home together more than once until it just became muscle memory to go that way.

“Once we’re done we’ll head out,” said Cheerilee.

“Oh c’mon, it’s still early. Can’t I just lock up by myself and you go on ahead?” Scootaloo asked.

“Nope, you’ve had good attendance lately, and I’m not about to let that stop even if it’s the last day of school.”

Scootaloo slumped her shoulders and groaned in indignation. One of the benefits of living with a teacher was that she never was late to school, the downside, she was always early.

LATER AT SCHOOL…

The last day of school was off to a good start, everypony had made it to class and Cheerilee’s last lectures and assignments of the school year were underway. Unlike before, Scootaloo now sat at the front row, it was embarrassing since all her classmates knew that Miss Cheerilee had adopted Scootaloo, thankfully that was all they knew.

She understood it was so she could be closer to her, and honestly, she didn’t mind it too much, for Scootaloo, it was nice having a grownup that cared like Miss Cheerilee, that’s not to say that the other pony’s in her life didn’t care about her either, but it was different with Cheerilee, it was the kind of care that she missed in her younger foalhood years. The care and love that came unconditionally from a parent.

Scootaloo had more than once tried to call Cheerilee “Mom”, but it always came out awkward and forced, but the older mare assured Scootaloo that she didn’t have to call her “Mom” if she didn’t want to. Cheerilee went on further to tell Scootaloo that she only had to call her that if it felt right, until then she could just keep calling her Miss Cheerilee or just Cheerilee. She wondered if she could call her Cheers like her sister, Berry Punch, did. For some reason Cheerilee got red in the face and said that that was a personal nickname between sisters, the details of which she didn’t want to get into.

Soon the recess bell rang and all the foals were let out to go and play. Scootaloo had met up with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and having added a new member to their group, Aura. The purple earth filly was very energetic, just as Scootaloo had warned, and proved to be helpful in thinking of new ways for them to earn their cutie marks. Even though she already had hers, she still remained in the CMC, their goal was for all of them to find their special talents and get their cutie marks, so the crusade wasn’t over for Scootaloo, not just yet.

“Hey have you guys seen Alula?” Scootaloo asked.

“I think she went to the little filly’s room when we were let out,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Oh alright, let’s find a ball so we can have some fun around here!”

“What the hay!?”

Many of the young ponies turned their heads towards the school building. Scootaloo’s senses were telling her something was up, she flared her wings and zipped into the air, flying above the others to get to whatever it was. Although she had told everypony at her cutecenera that the lightning bolt symbolized her fast flying skills, which she was happy to find out that flight was the added bonus, it was only a lie to hide its true meaning. It was the symbol of her alter ego, the symbol that forever marked her as a hero, the hero known as Shazam.

Scootaloo rounded the corner and slowed to a hover, her eyes widening at what she was seeing before her. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were standing there gawking dumbfounded at Alula. The vanilla colored filly’s horn was in the middle of retracting back into her skull, while on her sides two pegasus wings were beginning to sprout. Alula tried to cover herself, but there was nothing nearby for her to duck behind, she was completely exposed. After about ten seconds the transformation was complete, her horn was completely gone and her wings popped out into existence, causing a few of her loose feathers to cascade and flutter to the ground.

“OMG, did…did you just turn into a pegasus?!” Diamond Tiara asked.

“I…I…”

“You saw that right?! She turned into a pegasus, she was a unicorn earlier, right Silver Spoon?!”

“I saw, she was! What kind of freaky magic spell did you cast?!” Silver Spoon asked.

Alula was too shocked and scared to say anything, her secret of being able to randomly change her physical appearance between each of the pony tribes had been found out by two of school’s most infamous fillies, no way was this not going to be spread to the others.

“Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, please don’t tell anypony what you saw!” Alula begged.

“Don’t tell anypony?! Are you nuts?! You just turned into a pegasus!”

“Yeah, what are you?! I didn’t see your horn glowing when you changed, all unicorns’ horns glow when they use magic, so why wasn’t yours when you changed?!” Diamond Tiara demanded.

That was as much as Scootaloo could stand before she flew off the roof of the building and landed between Alula and the two bullies.

“Okay that’s enough with the questions, just move along Diamond.” Scootaloo ordered.

Alula felt her spirits raise, as well as her heart rate, at seeing the pegasus filly she admired. But it did not last as the rest of the foals had gathered behind Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, all with curious looks at what was transpiring. Fear gripped Alula, making her cower and hide as much of herself behind Scootaloo’s body and flared wings.

“Oh look it’s her.”

Scootaloo could see and hear the contempt in Diamond Tiara’s voice. Ever since she earned her cutie mark, the bully filly could say nothing back to her, not about being a blank flank or being unable to fly, and now she had no snappy or hurtful comeback to throw at Scootaloo. It annoyed Scootaloo that even though she had her cutie mark and could fly now, it was like Diamond Tiara wouldn’t – couldn’t accept it. For a long time now she had mocked the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo especially, and now she had proved everything she said about her was wrong. Because if Scootaloo was able to do it, then it wasn’t a stretch to believe that the others would get theirs too.

“Yeah me, Scootaloo, I have name remember?! So now that we have that established, why don’t you two take a hike.”

“Like hay we are! Did you not see that?! She turned into a pegasus! And that’s not the first time either!”

“Yeah, why is it that there are some months that she’ll have wings and other times a horn?! It’s not natural, right?!” Silver Spoon asked, looking to the crowd of foals.

Soon the other foals began to talk amongst themselves, their voices carrying to the ears of both Scootaloo and Alula.

“Well I have seen her with wings before.”

“Yeah, but other times she did have a horn.”

“That can’t be right, you’re only born with one or the other, or neither.”

“But the Princesses are alicorns, and they’re supposed to be, like, all three tribes in one right?”

“But their alicorns, they were born that way.”

“Yeah, they don’t switch between all three.”

Diamond Tiara glared at Alula like some grand inquisitor of a witch hunt, and Scootaloo could make out just the faintest traces of a smirk on the other side of that glare.

“See I knew it, now fess up! Are you a changeling?!” Diamond accused.

The others gasped and went wide eyed at the accusation, Scootaloo glared back at Diamond and Silver Spoon, normally this was about the point where Scootaloo would punch out the pink earth pony filly for saying something like that. But recent events have proven that such methods lead to less than favorable results for her. Plus, it wasn’t just Scootaloo who’d get in trouble, Mrs. Milano and the adoption officials might think that Cheerilee wasn’t doing a good job at helping Scootaloo and might take her back. Which wasn’t a bad thing, Wayward House was a good place, but there was no guarantee that they’d let her go back. Luckily she didn’t have to do anything as Aura was the one to step to the defense of Alula as well.

“Now hold on, I’ve lived with Alula just as long as Scootaloo has, and she’s definitely NOT a changeling! Besides, do you really have any proof that she changed?” Aura countered.

The other foals all looked to Diamond Tiara. Her eyes shifted between the crowd and three ponies in front of them.

“Well…I…!”

“So that’d be a no then?” Scootaloo asked sarcastically.

“Hey, I saw it too!” Silver Spoon shouted.

“Oh yeah, her best friend and partner in crime, and we’re supposed to believe you because…?” Aura let the question hang in the air intentionally.

That seemed to shut Silver Spoon right up, the gray earth pony filly couldn’t think of anything to say back, since it was in fact true.

“Thought so, why don’t you guys just walk away so you don’t embarrass yourselves anymore,” said Scootaloo.

Diamond Tiara growled in annoyance, turning around and storming off through the crowd of foals, with Silver Spoon following right behind her. With the spectacle over with, Aura, Scootaloo, and Alula let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ll just go and fill in AB and Sweetie, see ya in a bit!” Aura said as she trotted away.

Scootaloo looked back to Alula, the vanilla colored – now pegasus – filly looking very vulnerable at the moment.

“You okay Alula?”

“Not really…Diamond and Silver saw me change…I was okay with you knowing, but them! They won’t let it go Scoots, they’ll try and catch me changing again, and next time they might have a camera or something!”

“First off: they wish! The only pony who could get shots like that is Featherweight and –” Scootaloo tapped into her mystical power, throwing out a minuet wave of energy like a radar system. “He’s nowhere around.”

“But what if she gets him to take pictures! You know how good he is at getting pictures like that!”

Scootaloo knew all too well how good he was, her time in the Foal Free Press saw to that. The young filly walked up to Alula, and placed a hoof on her withers.

“I’m sorry Alula, this is partially my fault. Diamond Tiara’s got nothing to make fun of me and my friends with anymore, so she’s probably on the lookout for somepony else to target. You know, the offer still stands, you can join the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and she won’t bother you as much if we’re around.”

Alula smiled at Scootaloo. “Thanks, but it’s alright. The Crusaders is yours and your friends’ club.”

“And you’re not my friend?”

Alula’s eyes went wide. “Nonononono! That’s not what I meant, I –”

“Chill Alula, I know what you meant. But still, it’s not like you’d be a fifth wheel or anything, heck, it’d probably be good to have another pony to bounce ideas off of. Aura’s been making sure that there’s no end to the stuff we can do to find our marks!”

Alula smiled at that, briefly glancing to Scootaloo’s flank. She remembered when Scootaloo told them about her cutie mark, she admired the pegasus filly for her perseverance. No matter how hard it got, Scootaloo would always try, going at it with all her heart to defy what others said about her wings and her ability to fly. And it was rewarded with that lightning bolt, emblazoned onto her fur, right on her well-toned flanks and athletic body…

Where the hay did that come from?!

“Hey Alula, you alright?” Scootaloo asked.

“I wasn’t staring at your flank!” Alula blurted out.

Scootaloo blushed at hearing that, causing Alula to clamp her mouth shut and stare at the grass below her hooves. The orange filly chuckled nervously, the entire situation becoming awkward now that Alula said that. And for some reason, Scootlaoo felt kind of giddy that Alula said that, a weird kind of giddy that made her heart pump a little faster.

“Well…uh…ahem…We-We better get back to the playground, I don’t want to worry the girls,” said Scootaloo.

“Y-Yeah, okay, sure!” Alula agreed.

Both fillies started walking back to the playground, not noticing that, on the other end of the wall, Aura was peeking in on the scene, hearing every word that Alula and Scootaloo were saying. By the end of the whole thing she face hoofed herself, dragging it down her face and groaning in annoyance of her two friends.

“OH COME ON?!”

LATER THAT DAY…

“Really Discord, you don’t have to keep saying you’re sorry. That’s usually my thing,” said Fluttershy.

The shy pegasus mare was outside her cottage, having her usual tea time with the Spirit of Chaos himself Discord, and Twilight deciding to enjoy this great day, joined them. The draconequss was filled with regret for not having entered the battle in Manethattan, after hearing about how Fluttershy, her friends, and the Princesses, all fell at the hooves of the stallion known as Black Adam. When he saw the injuries dealt to Fluttershy a few days after the battle, the master of chaos was infuriated, his only regret then was that he didn’t get the chance to dispense his own thrashing on the rogue, but he supposed this “Shazam” mare did the job for him, at the very least she saved Fluttershy.

“Still, I wish I was there, then you wouldn’t have had to fight at all!”

“Well, to be fair Discord, I’m not sure your powers would’ve been nearly as effective on him,” said Twilight.

“Oh pish posh! One snap of my claw and he’d be a puddle of goo! Or at the very least skewered by a thousand swords raining down from the sky! Oooh, and they’d all be on fire!” Discord exclaimed.

“Why do you seem so sure Twilight? I mean, it was odd that Black Adam’s powers were connected in a way to our Harmony magic. But Discord has hidden away the Elements of Harmony once before, and almost choked the Tree of Harmony with Plunder Vines.” Fluttershy blushed as she looked up to Discord. “No offense.”

“Eh, hakuna matata,” replied Discord as he took a sip of the tea, only to have the cup disappear instead of the tea itself.

“Yes, but…It’s kind of hard to explain, I’ve been doing a lot of research…so much research…endless books of research…so many books…!”

Discord and Fluttershy scooted from Twilight, watching her face form into something that was colloquially called the “O” face, also she was drooling a bit.

“Oh, I was meaning to ask you, are you almost ready for your meeting with the Neighponese Princess tomorrow?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight snapped herself out of her reverie and smiled sheepishly at both her friends.

“Sorry, and yes! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are busy with the Manehattan rebuild. Plus they said it was time – now that I have my own castle and official title – to involve myself more directly in negotiations with the Equestrian Territories. Personally I’m a little nervous, but excited that I’m finally contributing more as a Princess!”

“So you’re nervexcited?” Discord asked while chewing on the tea that he didn’t drink earlier.

“Yep!”

“Want me to help with that? I do have a knack for making stuffy negotiations livelier!”

Twilight glanced to Fluttershy nervously. “Discord, let’s let Twilight do this on her own. Maybe next time you can assist, but you have to keep your magic under control. Promise?”

Discord harrumphed, but smiled and conceded to Fluttershy’s request with a nod. Just then they heard a noise coming from up above them. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Discord looked up and saw Rainbow Dash of all ponies flying in. Landing a couple of feet away from the table.

“Hey Flutters, Twi…Discord.”

“Hello to you Rainbow Dash! Would you care for some cucumber sandwiches?” Discord offered, stretching his tail towards Rainbow while the fluff at the end acted as hand to hold the tray.

Rainbow Dash eyed the sandwiches dubiously, but gently pushed them away. “Sorry not really hungry.”

“Still haven’t forgiven me about the Tirek thing have you?”

“You made Fluttershy cry.” Rainbow Dash stated.

Discord’s gaze was downcast, feeling an icy dagger stab his heart at the memory of his greatest folly. Betraying the one friend he ever had and acting so nonchalant about her sorrow over the betrayal. Fluttershy placed her hoof on his eagle claw, rubbing soothing circles around it as she gave Rainbow Dash a stern look.

“Rainbow that’s not fair, I’ve forgiven him for that. You should too, besides, Discord was the one who stayed behind to guard the Tree of Harmony! If Black Adam knew about it, who knows what he could’ve done to it if Discord wasn’t there!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “He’d probably mop the floor with him.”

“Rainbow!”

“Guys, guys, enough!” Twilight intervened. “Discord’s past transgressions haven’t been forgotten, but he’s working towards earning our forgiveness. As friends, Rainbow, we should at least give him that much.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, she knew Twilight was right, but the draconequss had hurt her oldest friend in a way that she just couldn’t forgive. A lot of things made Fluttershy cry, mostly from fear and anxiety, but on that day, she cried true tears of sorrow. Her trust, her friendship, her kindness, all spat on and thrown right back in Fluttershy’s face, and all for a chance to rule Equestria and go wild with chaos magic. Rainbow Dash almost laughed at how Discord got his magic stolen from him by Tirek, the betrayer being betrayed. Maybe it was because Rainbow’s element was Loyalty that she couldn’t forgive him entirely, the act of betrayal was the greatest offense to Loyalty, and by nature was often unforgivable.

“Whatever…hey Twi, can I talk to you, in private?”

Twilight nodded, excusing herself from the table as she and Rainbow flew up into the sky. The alicorn and pegasus found a large cloud to lie and got cozy for whatever it was that Rainbow Dash wanted to talk about. Twilight spotted something that she didn’t notice earlier, it was a necklace, and on it was a gold lightning bolt suspended by a small chain-link.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“What’s what?”

“That necklace you’re wearing.”

Rainbow Dash’s pupils reduced to the size of pinpricks, she quickly brought her hooves around her neck and tried to play it off.

“What necklace?! I don’t wear necklaces, that’s Rarity’s thing!”

Twilight deadpanned. “Rainbow Dash, it’s clearly hanging around your neck.”

“You lie! You liiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Rainbow Dash persisted.

“Rainbow, I can do this one of two ways. Either you tell me what the necklace is or I use a spell to phase the necklace through your hooves, which sounds better?”

Rainbow Dash knew Twilight could that, but she also knew that she might have a chance to get away before she did. In the end she let out a defeated sigh, the necklace was part of the reason she came to talk to her friend, although she didn’t want her to know about.

“Fine, here!” Rainbow Dash pulled her hooves away, displaying the lightning bolt medallion on it.

“Oooh, that looks nice. It’s clearly not your cutie mark, you only have one curve in your lightning bolt, so what’s it of? Is it from your special somepony?” Twilight teased.

“N-N-NO! It’s…It’s…*mumble*”

“What?”

“I said *mumble*”

“I’m sorry Rainbow you’re muttering or –”

“It’s Shazam’s insignia!”

Twilight blinked, now that she looked at it again the lightning bolt did match that of Scootaloo’s hero alter.

“Oh…okay, so what’s the big deal Rainbow, I’ve actually seen a few colts, fillies, and even grown ponies wearing some paraphernalia like that around town.”

“Yeah…okay, I’m a fan, but…I also admire her, Shazam I mean! She saved my flank and my teammates’, and again during that fight with Black Adam! I guess I…I…”

“Yeeeeessssss?” Twilight urged.

“Twilight I think I have crush on Shazam!”

Twilight’s brain shattered right then and there, her left eye twitching as she tried to pick up the pieces of her once brilliant mind and put them back together.

“I mean Shazam’s beyond awesome! She took out an entire group of terrorist ponies singlehoofedly! Saved me from getting electro-fried by that mask wearing freak, and was willing to sacrifice herself to save the ponies in the stadium! And there’s that fight against Black Adam, I was knocked out for most of it, but from what I heard it was EPIC!”

I’m sure “epic” isn’t the right word that some of the Manehattan ponies would use after having half of their city demolished. But never mind that, Rainbow Dash has a crush on Shazam – on Scootaloo! Granted she doesn’t know that Scootaloo is Shazam, and if I told her I have no doubt that she’d immediately drop it like a bad habit! But if I do, I’ll be revealing her secret identity, if too many ponies know about Scootaloo’s powers it’s bound to cause trouble, especially with the way Equestria divided on how to see her!

This was a fact, the Equestrians were divided on what to classify Shazam as. After having a super powered, psycho stallion alicorn nearly kill the Princesses and the Element bearers, and then a sixth alicorn mare appearing to do battle with said stallion and almost break Manehattan in two, ponies were starting to whip up conspiracies about the Princesses hiding more than one alicorn in the world. The backlash wasn’t as bad when Twilight ascended to alicorn, her time as Princess Celestia’s student and the times she and her friends saved Equestria have made the public more accepting of her alicorn status. But when two god-like alicorns appear and battle ferociously like they did, it starts to make ponies wonder.

“Twi, you in there? Twi?!”

Twilight shook her head, apparently having slipped into deep thought.

“S-Sorry Rainbow Dash, what were you saying?”

“I needed your advice. Is it bad that I’m crushing on Shazam like a damn schoolfilly?! I have these weird fantasies sometimes of Shazam saving me and taking me to – I don’t know – her ‘Fortress of Solitude’ or something!”

It’s actually called the Rock of Eternity.

“And then further in it she takes me into this giant room and we, ahem, you know.” Rainbow Dash was blushing, despite her confident smirk.

Twilight had to swallow a bit of bile that threatened to jettison itself from her mouth.

“And there’s another one when I see her and me fighting side by side and she asks me to be her partner in fighting bad guy butt! Those ones are pretty cool. Anyway, should I be worried about this? It’s not like the time we met Daring Do, I thought she was awesome, and she totally is, but now I can’t stop thinking about Shazam!”

Twilight tried to calm herself before she spoke. There were so many things she wanted to say to Rainbow Dash right now, a few involved calling her sick and a foalaphile, but since Rainbow Dash had absolutely no idea that Scootaloo was Shazam, she had no bases to call her those. Twilight had to keep reminding herself of this, and the fact that she needed to keep Scootaloo’s identity a secret.

“Well…Rainbow, it’s not at all unusual for somepony to develop romantic feelings for somepony who’s saved your life, in your case it was twice.”

“Three if you count that spell that almost killed everypony in the stadium.” Rainbow added.

“Yes, well like I said, it’s not unusual for something like that to happen. It’d be the same thing like the way Scootaloo looks up to you, and you did save her life once,” said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash imagined herself in Scootaloo’s place, looking up to somepony and wanting to be by their side. Although Rainbow wasn’t looking to be Shazam’s little sister, she was – admittedly – wanting to try and have something more romantic than that. Then Rainbow Dash had a startling revelation.

“Twi, you don’t think that Scootaloo’s the same way do you?!”

There was a shattering of glass, a sound that indicated that Twilight’s mind had been broken again. Now that it had been said, she wondered if Scootaloo was the same way?! What if she didn’t just have a simple case of Hero Worship and actually was trying to get closer to Rainbow Dash to try and have a romantic relationship?! And given the events of her past, there was a strong possibility that her views on love and romance might be skewed! To what degree was uncertain, but nevertheless there was a possibility.

“Um…I-I don’t think you have to worry about that Rainbow! Scootaloo’s just really happy around you, given that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both have big sisters to rely on and help, she probably was seeking that in you more than anything.”

Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her chin. “Yeah…I could see that. But still, maybe I should talk to her about this, just in case that’s what’s going on.”

“It’s probably better if I do it, or that I’m there when and if you do so. It’s best to have somepony there to keep control of the situation if need be.”

“Yeah…Hey, thanks for the talk Twi. But, uh, I’m still crushin’ on Shazam, maybe you could introduce me if you get the chance?”

Twilight blinked. “Why me?”

“Well, you weren’t there when we woke up, and Shazam was the one who brought you and the fillies back to us after the fight was over. You kinda seemed chummy with her, but maybe that was just because you both were alicorns. Anyway, I’ll see ya later Twi!”

Rainbow Dash took off into the sky, leaving Twilight to contemplate what exactly she needed to do, and if there was anything to do in the first place.

Project Erroria Arc Part 2: Assassin

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All of Ponyville was abuzz with excitement at having a delegation from Neighpon arriving. They had played host to the Saddle Arabians a while back, but this was the first time they were welcoming foreign dignitaries as a capital of a kingdom under the rule of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Many of the Ponyvillians were sprucing up their shops and homes, they knew that they wouldn’t be actually visiting their homes, but that was no excuse not make a good first impression.

Twilight herself was standing at the foot of the stairs to Castle Concordia, along with her number one assistant, Spike. Her Dusk Guards were lined up and at attention for their arrival, keeping a constant lookout for anyone who would attempt an assassination on the visiting dignitaries or Twilight herself. A crowd had gathered – naturally – to see the foreign ponies. Amongst the crowd, Twilight spotted her lover, Cheerilee, along with Applejack and Apple Bloom, Rarity and Sweetie Belle, and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo standing at the front of the crowd, practically having a front row seat to the event.

“Uh, Twi, how exactly were they getting here? I don’t remember the Princesses saying anything about it.” Spike asked.

“It’s very interesting, they’re not arriving by normal means. It’s actually via a complex teleportation magic!” Twilight squealed.

“Seems a little excessive, couldn’t they just come by boat or airship?”

“They could, but this was easier for them, and faster too.”

Twilight snapped her head up to the sky, sensing a disturbance in the magical energies around Ponyville. Up above the town a golden light appeared, it made a circle and expanded till it was fifty miles wide and twenty miles high. The ponies down below watched as the center of the circle was emblazoned with a yin-yang symbol, along with a coiling dragon. The center rippled like the surface of water being disturbed.

Suddenly a dragon flew out of the portal, its body was long as it undulated up and down, and giving a flick of its tail as its body exited the portal. It was white scaled, with a golden mane that bellowed in the crosswinds of portal’s power. Its underbelly scales were crimson red, and its eyes were a deep emerald green. The dragon had brown antler horns that glowed gold, the same as the energy ring of the portal.

The portal rippled again, and from it flew out a palanquin, drawn by four pegasi, each one garbed in the traditional samurai armor of their native land. Two other objects exited the portal, long chariots that held a five unicorns in monk robes, and five more samurais. When all three exited the portal the dragon’s horns flashed, closing the gateway.

The palanquin flew down to the road that was cleared for their arrival. The dragon, which was pretty much a head taller than city hall, and twice as long as the Friendship Express train, flew above the palanquin and chariots. Spike’s eyes were glued to the dragon, seeing a wingless, very long dragon flying in the sky and using magic was an incredible sight to see. Twilight was of a same mind, she could tell that the dragon was the one who conjured the portal, which fascinated her immensely, she knew dragons had an aptitude for magic, but she never saw one casting spells before.

The crowd stepped back more and more, giving the visitors more room. The palanquin touched down, along with the two chariots. The palanquin had an awning on it that held a curtain, obscuring the dignitary from view. Once the pegasi had landed, they detached themselves from their harnesses and bowed down. The monks and the rest of the samurai ponies did the same, followed by the dragon who landed behind them.

A single pink hoof parted the veil, when the veil was fully drawn a beautiful young pegasus mare stepped out. Her wings were a bit larger than other pegasi, almost as big as Princess Luna’s. Her coat was a soft pink color, with a black mane that was pinned up and held together by a headdress that acted as her crown. Her eyes were a shimmering goldenrod yellow, gentle, and yet held great authority. Her cutie mark was that of cherry blossom petals that wisped into fiery embers. The young mare stopped before Twilight, bowing her head to her.

“Kon’nichiwa, I am Princess Konohana Sakuya. I am very honored to meet you, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” said Sakuya as she bowed.

Twilight quickly snapped herself out of her awe. “Oh, yes, and I am honored as well! Welcome to Equestria, and to my kingdom. Um, might I ask who your dragon friend is Princess Konohana Sakuya?”

The young pegasus giggled. “Sakuya is fine, and actually, that is my husband to be.”

HUSBAND?! Thought Twilight and Spike at the same time.

The dragon’s body was quickly engulfed by his magical energy, changing into a sphere and floating towards Sakuya. The sphere then took the form of a dragon, bursting apart and revealing the same dragon, although he had shrunken considerably, now the size of a stallion, but only a head taller than Sakuya.

“Greetings Princess Twilight Sparkle, my name is Kagutsuchi. An honor to meet you,” said Kagutsuchi as he bowed to Twilight.

“Oh well, it’s very nice to meet you as well! Shall we head inside then?”

Sakuya and Kagutsuchi nodded and followed Twilight and Spike inside Castle Concordia. The monks and samurai followed close behind them, along with Twilight’s Dusk Guard. As they walked, Spike couldn’t help but keep looking up at the dragon who was once towering over the town earlier, and even more surprised to hear that the dragon was betrothed to a pony, a princess even!

“And who might you be young one?” Kagutsuchi asked.

Spike looked to the dragon. “Oh me?! I-I’m Spike!”

“Princess Twilight, is this your betrothed as well?” Sakuya asked.

Twilight looked to the young princess. “W-What?!”

“I admit he is quite young, but given the longevity of an alicorn, it’s a minor oversight,” said Kagutsuchi.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I am NOT Twilight’s ‘betrothed’! I’m her number one assistant! And she raised me since I was a hatchling!” Spike corrected.

Sakuya looked genuinely surprised. “Oh my, forgive my assumptions! It’s just, dragons are very common around Neighpon, and are a part of our citizenry.”

“It’s alright your highness. But dragons are also part of Neighpon’s pony citizens? So I assume marriages between them are also commonplace?” Twilight asked.

Kagutsuchi nodded. “Yes indeed. Although it is understandable that dragons and ponies stay with their own, there are an amount of the Neighpon ponies and dragons who seek out romantic relationships.”

Sakuya nuzzled Kagutsuchi’s neck, causing Spike and Twilight to blush from seeing how close they were. Soon royals, guards, and assistant arrived at the throne room. The round setting of the six thrones was perfect for their talks, allowing everypony and dragon to equally look at each other. Twilight took her usual seat in her throne as well as Spike. Sakuya took a seat in Rarity’s throne, making Twilight imagine how thrilled the fashionista would be knowing her throne had royalty sitting in it. Kagutsuchi took a seat in Pinkie’s throne, allowing him to be close to his love.

The three royals began their talks, primarily discussing trade with Equestria proper as well as reaffirming their alliances. Once that was out of the way, they entered into less heavy topics, current events and all. Particularly the event a year ago about the fight in Manehattan. Twilight assured them that it was nothing to be worried about, and that the mysterious alicorn wasn’t a threat to anypony, especially not Neighpon or any other territory.

“I am glad to hear that the appearance of this newest alicorn hasn’t disturbed the land too much. Kagutsuchi sensed the stirring of powerful magic all the way to Neighpon, when word reached us about the battle in Manehattan we were very shocked to hear it,” said Sakuya.

“Yes, it was a very harrowing battle, but I’m happy to say that there were no fatalities, injuries, but no deaths thankfully,” said Twilight.

“It’s good hear that. There was another matter that we wanted to bring to your attention Princess Twilight, something that concerns the royals of mainland Equestria and is connected the incident prior to the battle.” Kagutsuchi warned.

Twilight and Spike sat up straighter in their thrones. The white dragon looked his love and nodded to her, to which she nodded back and began to address the issue.

“It was the incident that involved the taking of hostages by a terrorist group of ponies, the ones whom called themselves the Kingdom.”

“‘The Kingdom’, those same crazy, mask wearing ponies?!” Spike asked.

Both the dragon and pegasus nodded.

“This isn’t the first time we have heard of them. Kagutsuchi has friends in different corners of Equus, many are dragons and ponies that have heard things through the underground and word of mouth. We learned that the Kingdom isn’t just satisfied with the relinquishing of authority from the royals but what it really wants is –”

“The death of the alicorn Princesses!”

Twilight, Spike, Sakuya, and Kagutsuchi all snapped their gazes towards one of the samurai. He parted himself from the group as a red aura overtook his armor and blasted it apart! Underneath was, at first glance, an earth pony, but all in attendance saw a growing protrusion coming out of his forehead. After a couple of seconds it became a unicorn horn, glowing with blood red mana. The samurai to either side of the unicorn were about to reach for their swords, but a telekinetic burst from the unicorn’s horn threw some of them against the wall, the others that were further away managed to dodge the blast and link up with the Dusk Guard.

Twilight immediately rose up onto her hooves, taking Spike into her protective aura and placing him behind her. Princess Sakuya and Kagutsuchi did the same, but the Princess of Neighpon flared her wings and the dragon bared his sharp fangs and talons. The unicorn had a mad look in his eye, his coat was sand colored, with a brown mane and tail, and his irises were just as red as the light of his magic, a maniacal look in them that radiated blood lust.

“Who are you?!” Twilight demanded.

“The Kingdom shall rise, and your time has come!” The unicorn proclaimed.

The monk unicorns lit up their horns, channeling their mana to form a protective barrier around the royals. The Dusk Guard and Samurai placed themselves between the
mad pony and their charges. Blades were drawn, and shields were braced. The unicorn only scanned them, eyeing each in turn before deciding to bum rush them all!

“Did ya see how that dragon came through the gate and turned real small?! That was so cool!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“And did you see that Neighponese Princess?! She looked really pretty!” Sweetie Belle gushed.

“Yeah, those wings of hers were big, I bet she’s an awesome flier!” Scootaloo added.

Cheerilee, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all had the pleasure of watching their respective charges during the arrival of the Neighpon Delegation, and they had to admit, seeing the foreign ponies and the dragon that accompanied them was awe inspiring, it even made them feel like little fillies.

“I’m sure Spike got a kick out of seeing the huge dragon open that magic portal thingy and then shrink down to the size of a stallion! I mean, how the hay does that guy fly without wings?!” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I actually read that oriental dragons have an innate magical ability to fly, they don’t need wings like some of the dragons native to this part of Equestria, only the magic that freely floats in the air.” Cheerilee explained.

“Hope Twi’s doin’ alright, this is her first talk with foreign diplomats that she’s in charge of since the Maretonia thing back in the Crystal Empire,” said Applejack.

“Now Applejack you really must have more faith in our Twilight, why I’m sure she has them eating out of her hooves,” said Rarity.

*BOOOOMM!!!*

A massive explosion detonated from deep within the castle, followed by a second, a third, and a fourth. The crowd of ponies started to get worried from hearing the multitude of booming sounds rumbling from within Castle Concordia. Applejack decided to try and calm everypony down before they went into a panic.

“Now just hold on y’all, don’t start gettin’ yerselves all worked up! It’s just most likely the Princess is showin’ ‘em some magic tricks!”

*BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!*

And stronger explosion went off and this time it blew a hole in the side of the castle, sending debris scattering out in all directions. Everypony ran for cover as chunks of crystal and stone struck against houses and came deathly close to flattening some ponies. From the hole emerged a dozen Dusk Guards and Samurai, all bleeding and wounded from some unknown assailant. Kagutsuchi, Princess Sakuya, and Twilight flew out of the hole and onto the grassy field a few feet away. A unicorn came flying out as well, wrapped in a blood red aura as he landed a few feet away from the three royals.

The unicorn fired a powerful beam of crimson mana at Twilight! The Princess of Friendship summoned a barrier bubble to protect herself as the blast struck it, but after a few short seconds the beam cut through her shield and grazed her left cheek, causing her to cry out from the intense burning, stinging pain.

Kagutsuchi glared angrily at the unicorn and erupted into shimmering magic. His size quickly became that of the behemoth dragon he was earlier, now towering over the unicorn. With his large claw Kagutsuchi slammed it down on their foe, but the unicorn teleported away at the last second, leaving the mighty dragon to strike the earth where he once was. Kagutsuchi saw the flash and prepared for another attack, he opened his maw as fire and mana gathered between his razor sharp fangs. The white dragon inhaled deeply and fired a roaring fireball magic bolt! The unicorn saw this and cast a spell.

A barrier formed in front of the unicorn as the fireball struck with resounding force. The unicorn assassin held his ground, his hooves digging into the soil. His mad smile hadn’t faltered in the slightest as his spell activated in full, the barrier wrapped around the fireball, charging it with the red mana of his power, the assassin then took one step forward and rebounded the fireball right back at Kagutsuchi! The white dragon summoned a shield to defend himself, but the barrier was no match for the attack as it shattered the shield like cheap glass and hit Kagutsuchi, exploding and shrouding the great dragon in a haze of smoke.

“CHI-KUN!!!” Sakuya cried.

From the haze of smoke the white dragon descended, his form had shrunk back to that of a grown stallion’s as he hit the ground hard. His body was slightly singed and his head bleed, but the dragon was still breathing from the looks of it. Sakuya looked towards the assassin and glared at him with fire in her eyes.
“Princess Sakuya…?” Twilight asked.

“You hurt Chi-kun…how dare you…HOW DARE YOU!!!”

The pink pegasus mare flared her wings and stormed off towards the assassin with great speed, leaving cherry blossom petals fluttering in her wake. The assassin fired a beam of crimson mana that bellowed forth from his horn, when the beam struck Sakuya her body disintegrated into a multitude of sakura petals, surprising both Twilight and the assassin. The sakura petals continued to multiply, turning into a whirlwind of pink petals that floated around them.

The assassin suddenly felt someone kick him across the face, he blinked but for a moment and saw the petals had solidified into Princess Sakuya. After the kick the petals dispersed back into the whirlwind, the assassin fired another beam at where she was, but only managed to hit nothing. Another strike hit his right side, knocking the air out of him! Another came from above, an elbow drop right to the center of his back, making the assassin let out a painful cry as he bounced against the ground. In that split second that he was off the ground, the sakura petals kicked up into a tornado that completely surrounded him. The vortex spun at great speed, keeping him in it. Punches and kicks came at him from every direction and at ever increasing intervals of speed.

Outside the tornado, Twilight could only stare in amazement at what was happening. She had rushed to Kagutsuchi’s side, making sure he was still alive. The dragon groaned painfully as he tried to get up with Twilight’s help.

“I don’t understand, how is Princess Sakuya doing this?!” Twilight asked.

“In Neighpon, the daughters and sons of the Emperor are taught to hone their personal magical abilities, in the west it is simply magic, but in the east it is called ‘chi’,” said
Kagutsuchi.

“‘Chi’?”

“It is a more universal form of magic, it merely required discipline and physical skill, it can allow for the most unique of spells when used by monks and tao magicians, but in the case of Sakuya-hime, she can channel her chi into her pegasus magic, creating a storm of sakura petals that can hide her and allow her to reach great speeds in short controlled bursts to enact her taijustu skills. This is her Hijustu: Sakura no Arashi!”

Princess Sakuya then reappeared outside of the sakura tornado, a small trail of petals followed her, leading right to the tip of her right wing. Kagutsuchi saw the look in her eyes and quickly brought up a barrier to protect Twilight.

“Tsugi no dankai…” Sakuya gently brushed the tip of her right wing against the trail of petals, “…Honō no Kōru!”

The trail of sakura petals lit up into embers, the embers caught on the petals, like a trail of oil leading back to a barrel. The final flaming petal hit the tornado, igniting the entirety of the tornado and transforming it into a blazing tower of flames that burned a bright pink and white. The tornado exploded upwards, sending a shockwave that practically threw everypony to their rears, along with the intense heat, it was a wonder that the flames didn’t reach the town itself. With a wave of her wing, Sakuya dismissed the remaining embers of the fire tornado.

Sakuya took a calming breath and ran to where Twilight and Kagutsuchi were, tears streamed down her eyes as she looked upon the beaten form of her beloved. Kagutsuchi smiled and placed a claw on her head, smiling as he stroked her mane.

“You did well Sakuya-hime…I am sorry that I couldn’t stop him.”

“Chi-kun don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you’re alright.”

Twilight smiled endearingly at the mare and drake, but it was not to last. From the burning pile of pink flames rose up the assassin, his body still burning from the flames of Sakuya’s attack. His maddening gaze and smile were still plastered on his face, even with some of it burned away. The burned flesh was regenerating, muscle and tissue mending quickly to reform his body. The dragon, pegasus, and alicorn stared dumbfounded at this spectacle before them.

“That is impossible!” Kagutsuchi exclaimed.

“Nothing could’ve survived my attack, it burns too hot for anypony to withstand,” said Sakuya.

“The Kingdom shall rise, and your time has come!” The assassin shouted.

Some ponies had stuck behind to watch the fight between the unicorn, the delegates, and Twilight. But after seeing the assassin get back up after being roasted alive, those remaining ponies ran for the hills. Cheerilee, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash stayed a safe-ish distance away. Cheerilee was beside herself with worry for her marefriend as this fight continued, the others were wondering if they should try and find Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to use their Rainbow Power, heck, even Discord might help!

Scootaloo, however, gritted her teeth, she needed to get in there, she needed to help Twilight fight that assassin, but with the older ponies keeping an eye on them there wasn’t a chance for her to do so. The orange filly looked to her friends for help, giving them knowing looks as she pointed to herself then to the fight. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle understood the gestures, but they too were stumped on how to get Scootaloo away so she could become Shazam. No doubt one of their sisters would offer to escort them away from the action, but that would just make it harder to get Scootaloo away, they’d surely notice her absence.

Maybe now’s a good time to spill the beans about me being Shazam?! No, now’s not a good time, definitely not! But I need to stop that unicorn, he’ll kill Twilight if this keeps up!

“GUYS, OVER HERE!!!”

The group turned and watched as Pinkie Pie came running along towards them, her eyes just as wide and panicked at the goings on.

“Pinkie Pie?!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“This is really getting loco, we need to get together and use our Rainbow Power on him,” said Pinkie.

“Yeah, but we can’t just leave Twi here to face this alone!”

“Okay, but Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom don’t need to be here to see this! I’ll take them to your farm AJ, it’s far enough away that hopefully the fighting doesn’t reach it!”

“Good idea Pinkie Pie, Scootaloo I want you to go with Pinkie Pie, now!” Cheerilee ordered.

“No, I have to be here for Twilight!” Scootaloo protested.

“Scoots, you heard Cheerilee, and I agree, go with Pinks and get away from this mess! You almost got hurt by that Black Adam guy last year, we don’t need that to happen again! Now GO!” Rainbow demanded.

Both her sister figure and guardian were adamant about this, the tone in their voices was enough indication of that. Reluctantly, Scootaloo agreed, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom offered their own protests, but their respective sisters were just as vehement about it. So with little else to say, the three fillies were escorted by Pinkie Pie away from the fighting. The four of them ran through the town as dozens of ponies screamed and fled as far from the battlefield as possible. After a few minutes of running they stopped, now halfway into the town. Pinkie Pie fell on her rump as she started to cradle left foreleg, rubbing the elbow as if it hurt her. The three fillies looked to Pinkie with worry as she did this, but she still held her smile nonetheless.

Her blue eyes darted from one filly to the next as she continued to rub her ailing elbow, till eventually her face grew determined. “Scootaloo, I don’t quite know how to explain this…but I think you need to run somewhere other than where we’re going!”

All three fillies stared at Pinkie Pie in confusion.

“I can’t really put it into words, but for some reason my Pinkie Sense is telling me that somepony has something very important to do, at least that’s what an achy elbow means. And usually, the more it aches, the more important the thing the pony it’s about has to do it! I don’t want to leave you alone Scootaloo, but you have to go!”

“Uh…yeah, okay, sure!” Scootaloo flapped her wings and took the air. “I’ll be okay, just get as far from this thing as possible!”

Scootaloo flew away, she didn’t know what that was about, but if life had taught her anything it was don’t doubt Pinkie Sense, and right now it gave her a way to get to the fight. Scootaloo aimed for the nearby tree line, diving into its depths and weaving in and out of the gaps as she headed for the site of the battle. The sounds of explosions grew louder and louder the closer she got, the beating of her heart thumped in her eardrums. The combined fear and excitement of venturing into danger was a rush, but one that Scootaloo had learned to manage, it often made her wonder if this was how Rainbow Dash felt whenever she performed her aerial stunts, doing a dangerous maneuver even knowing that a mistake could me a trip to the hospital.

In that case she had even greater respect for Rainbow Dash, the Princesses, and Twilight. At last Scootaloo made it to the site of the battle. The Neighponese delegates and Twilight were bleeding from cuts, dark blotches were showing underneath their fur, no doubt the bruises suffered from fighting the assassin. It all only served to strengthen Scootaloo’s resolve, she took a couple of steps back and focused on her righteous fury, the good within her, bringing it all to the forefront of her mind and gathering it into her heart. The power swelled within her as her eyes opened and lit with the azure color of her magical might, yelling forth the Word of Power!

“SHAZAM!!!”

A bolt of lightning shot down from out of nowhere near the tree line, causing all four to look towards the light and sound of thunder. Twilight had a knowing smile on her face, but at the same time was worried, this assassin was throwing back and withstanding many of their attacks, not to mention his magic was piercing through their barriers and nearly came close to killing them. The unicorn took advantage of Twilight’s momentary lapse in concentration, teleporting away from Sakuya and Kagutsuchi and appearing right behind her. The assassin channeled a large amount of the crimson mana and fired a large magical beam. Twilight turned around as her vision filled with red, a barrier wasn’t going to stop this, and he was dead set on this shot.

Fast as lightning, another alicorn stood in the front of Twilight, her white cape bellowed from the whirlwind generated by the incoming blast. Crackling lightning surged all over her body and coalesced to the tip of her horn, with a roar of thunder the alicorn mare fired a giant lightning bolt that struck the crimson beam, the two attacks detonated upon impact, throwing up dirt and dust into the air. With a wave of large orange wing, Twilight’s savoir was revealed as none other than Shazam! Twilight smiled at seeing the heroine, or rather, she smiled at Scootaloo.

“Sorry I’m late Twilight, had a hard time getting away,” said Shazam.

“No problem, although, this guy’s been tough to keep down, he regenerates every time we attack him, and when he’s not breaking through our barriers he’s tossing back mine and Kagutsuchi’s magic like it was nothing!”

Scootaloo glared at the assassin, his mad hatter smile lessening upon seeing Equestria’s Mightiest Mare. “I’ll take care of him, I’ll try and take him alive so we can find out what’s up.”

As Scootaloo was about to take a step forward she felt a tug at her cape. “Shazam!” The Champion of Magic turned around and looked at Twilight, who was holding the edge of her cape in her telekinetic grip. “Please be careful.”

“Who the hay do you think I am, Twilight? I’m always careful!” Scootaloo proclaimed.

Shazam started walking towards the unicorn, sizing him up. He wasn’t muscular, but he did have a lot of magical power for a single unicorn. She didn’t sense dark magic, that stuff gave off a very distinct vibe, and yet, neither did this feel like the usual unicorn or alicorn magic, but Shazam did sense something else, a killing intent, a thirst for destruction. But there was one thing that stood out just as much as this unique magic, it was the fact that the stallion had no cutie mark, he was a blank flank!

That’s not right, he looks like he’s just a bit older than Cheerilee, and she has her cutie mark! What is going on here?!

The assassin attacked, lobbing crimson magic bolts at Shazam. Scootaloo’s speed proved more than sufficient for dodging his attacks, though she admitted the rate of casting was high. Scootaloo decided to end this in one strike, she dashed for the assassin and feinted to the left, and cocking back her left hoof she channeled her magical lightning all around it. She then delivered a thunderous punch to the stallion’s face, sending him flying and skipping on the hard ground like a stone in a pond.

Scootaloo sped away and reappeared where she estimated the assassin was going to be. She then brought up both hooves, electrifying them with her power. When the assassin was in range, Scootaloo brought down both in a joint hammer strike, slamming the assassin right into the dirt and creating a crater twenty feet wide. The magical hero stood at the edge of the crater, looking upon the still body of the assassin, she worried that she may’ve used too much power in those attacks, perhaps overestimating the assassin’s skills and abilities.

Just then the assassin’s head snapped in her direction, his horn lit up and fired a beam of crimson light at her. Scootaloo jumped back, narrowly missing the beam as it passed over her left shoulder. When she landed, Scootaloo winced at the slight pain that radiated from where the beam grazed her.

I actually felt that?! Okay, this guy is way more dangerous than I thought!

The stallion teleported out of the crater, his left hind leg and right foreleg were twisted out of place, but within a few seconds the bones cracked and popped back into their original positions and the assassin was back to standing on all fours again.

“Ugh, that’s gross,” said Scootaloo in disgust of the regeneration.

The assassin summoned orbs of condensed mana energy and fired them in rapid succession. Scootaloo took flight and zoomed into the air, performing all manner of aerial tricks to avoid the blasts, the beam from earlier gave her a hint of the damage the red mana could do to her if it hit. Scootaloo found an opening and dove down, cocking back her right hoof in preparation to plow him into the ground for a second time. But the assassin teleported away at the last second, causing Scootaloo to make a sudden stop, kicking up a concussive whirlwind in the process, she looked to and fro for the assassin, finally spotting him heading right back for Twilight and the others.

“The hay you’re getting away from me!”

With a sonic boom Scootaloo took off after him. The assassin looked as if he was preparing to cast another attack spell. Scootaloo had planned to refrain from using attack spells, heeding Twilight’s warning about him throwing them back at her. But right now the only way to stop him was with a long-range attack spell. Scootaloo’s horn surged with magical lightning, building into a sphere that she launched right for the assassin.

The stallion sensed it coming and quickly turned around to intercept. His barrier, the same one that repelled and rebounded the attacks from earlier was up again, ready to throw Shazam’s lightning sphere right back in her face. The crackling orb struck his field with resounding force, pushing him back like Kagutsuchi’s fireball from before but when the assassin went to infuse his power into it to throw it back the lightning reacted, striking back at his attempts to take it over. The assassin’s mad grin was faltering as he tried to throw it back, but the sphere just kept pushing at the barrier, and now there were signs of breakage.

In a panic, the assassin redirected the attack upwards, letting the lightning sphere explode high above them. Scootaloo landed a few feet away from them, the Wisdom of Star Swirl allowing her to see that action for what it really was.

“You can’t handle my power, can’t you big boy?”

The assassin said nothing, he merely growled and glared back at her.

With this new knowledge Scootaloo went back into the air, once up she flared her wings out, calling to her magical power. Around her formed thunderbolt spears, each one crackling and sparking, Scootaloo lit up her horn and tossed a few right at the assassin. The stallion used his own magical blasts to intercept them in midair, hitting a couple but missing one or two, but returning with his own energy bolts. The two of them exchanged fire from the air and ground, with Scootaloo gracefully dodging the energy bolts, while simultaneously throwing more thunderbolts.

Scootaloo made one last throw before landing a few feet away next to Twilight. “You’re done.”

The assassin noticed too late, the thunderbolt spears that he had missed had formed a circle around him. The thunderbolts united their electrical energy and shot it below where the assassin was standing. In no time the circle erupted into a giant column of pure magical lightning, with the assassin at its center. Whatever cries he let out were muffled by the thunder that roared from the attack. Scootaloo willed the attack to end, watching as the column dispersed into particles of ionized mana.

Scootaloo cautiously made her way towards the charred ring, along with Twilight, to assess the condition of the assassin. When they arrived they saw that the stallion’s body was badly burnt, although he was alive, his regeneration was very, very slow, not like it was when he survived Sakuya’s inferno.

“I saw that he couldn’t deflect my attack, so I assumed he couldn’t take my power head on,” said Scootaloo.

“Looks like you assumed right Shazam, we’ll get some medics to tend to him and then we’ll find out who put him up to this,” said Twilight.

“The…”

Both alicorn mares glanced at the assassin.

“Kingdom…”

At the center of his body a red light began to glow, the light grew brighter and brighter with each passing second.

“...shall rise…”

“He’s not doing what I think he’s doing?!” Shazam asked.

“He is!”

“...and your time…”

Thinking quickly, Scootaloo used her telekinetic aura and wrapped it around the stallion, she stepped back, lifting him off the ground.

“...has…”

Scootaloo then reared back and tossed the stallion as high into the air as her magic would go.

“...come…!”

High above the town a red light exploded forth, everypony looked up and watched as the explosion slowly died out and fizzled away into nothingness. Twilight fell to her haunches and Scootaloo let out a relieved sigh.

“I can’t believe it, he…he self-destructed!”

Twilight couldn’t say anything, her mind was busy trying to understand how anypony knew of such a spell, such spells like that were forbidden and locked away from all ponies, not even Twilight herself was allowed to see such spells.

“Twilight, you okay?” Scootaloo asked.

The purple alicorn shook her head. “Sorry, yes, I’m okay. You should leave now, we’ll meet later at the Rock of Eternity and compare notes about this whole thing.”

“Got it.”

Before Scootaloo spread her wings she saw a crowd of ponies gathering in the distance, the ponies cheered loudly for their hero, whooping and whistling in gratitude for her heroic deeds. Scootaloo spotted one pony at the head of the crowd, Rainbow Dash, looking upon her with awe and adoration, it was weird seeing that from her idol and sister figure, seeing as how she was the one who was usually giving those looks to her. She smiled at Rainbow, and she could’ve sworn she saw the pegasus mare blush.
With that, Scootaloo vanished in flash of lightning, using her speed to get around the crowd and head to Sweet Apple Acres.

SWEET APPLE ACRES…

It didn’t take long for Scootlaoo to make it to the farm, she landed some yards away from the barn and household, not wanting to be seen by Pinkie Pie, Big Mac, or Granny Smith.

Scootaloo had done a lot in the year she since she had become Shazam, going around Equestria and helping out with disasters, stopped some rampaging dragons, and she managed to help out Daring Do with a little adventure of hers, now that was a fun month.

But what happened today, this fight, had come close to being as dangerous as the battle with Black Adam. The pony she fought just up and blew himself up without a second thought. He may’ve been an assassin, but was that was really extreme. And then there was the issue with him not having a cutie mark. Everypony had a cutie mark, even an assassin would have one!

“Unless he was using some kind of magic to hide it, cutie marks are unique to the pony who has it, so that might be the case…” Scootaloo sighed heavily. “A year without nothing major – well super deadly major – happening and now this? Well, there goes my summer vacation.”

Scootaloo saw the house of the Apple Family come into view and decided to change now while there wasn’t anypony around.

“SHAZAM!”

A bolt of lightning shot down from out of nowhere and struck Scootaloo, shrouding her in white smoke for a couple of seconds before revealing her back in the form of a pegasus filly.

“Oh my Celestia!”

Scootaloo’s heart stopped as her body completely froze up. Her right ear twitched to where the voice came from. She dreaded this. That voice sounded familiar, but it didn’t carry the southern twang of Apple Bloom nor the usual crack of Sweetie Belle’s. Slowly Scootaloo turned her head to the right and gasped.

Standing five feet away, with her hooves over her mouth and her eyes as big as saucer plates, was Alula.

Project Erroria Arc Part 3: Well...that escalated

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Alula wasn’t feeling good today, for some reason she felt downright awful. She wanted to go and see the Neighponese delegates arrive, excited as the rest of the ponies in town to see foreign dignitaries coming to Ponyville. She was around for when the Saddle Arabians arrived with Princess Celestia, and they were a sight to see, so she could only imagine what ponies from Neighpon looked like. Unfortunately, this sick feeling was really kicking her flank. She was on her way to the meeting place, for some reason somepony forgot to wake her up and let her sleep, which was strange because Alula was usually an early riser.

Nonetheless, the young filly had slept in and was now trying to make her way to Castle Concordia, but along the way was when the sickness hit her. It was hard to describe, she felt nauseated, her head pounded, and her body ached. This had never happened to her before, sure she got sick with a cold every once and awhile, but what foal didn’t get the occasional sniffles or tummy ache. But this was different, it was like her body was trying to tear itself apart from the inside out, and right now, she was all alone.

The, currently, pegasus filly slumped up against the water fountain, her breathing was labored and her vision was coming in and out of focus. She wasn’t going to lie to herself, she was scared, and she was alone with nopony around to call for help because most of them were far away near the castle. But still, Alula pressed on, as much as it hurt to even move, she had to at least find somepony who could help her. Alula thought about heading to the hospital, but it was too far away from where she was, and flying was definitely out of the question, her wings were in just as much pain as the rest of her body.

At that moment Alula heard, what sounded like an explosion. That’s when the pain in her body spiked, causing the vanilla colored pegasus to scream out loud. She fell to the ground, feeling the pain focus right around her head, it was agonizing, it blocked out every thought with throbbing, stabbing pain. What was even stranger was that this pain seemed focused on her forehead, almost exactly where her horn would pop out.

More explosions went off in the background, making Alula scream in agony from the pain. It was like somepony was torturing her from far away, and she had no idea why they would be doing this to her! Her eyes began to water, begging to Celestia, Luna, Faust, and even the ancient goddess Bonny for one of them to make the pain go away, or at least put her out of misery.

Alula dared to open her eyes, she watched as ponies stampeded away from something, yelling in a panic, not even noticing the pegasus filly lying on the ground in enough pain to wish for death at this point. Her eyes roved over to the sky, seeing a pink tornado swirl around, and within a few seconds that tornado caught on fire, transforming into a column of flames that bellowed up into the air.

It was at that point that Alula no longer felt the pain, it was silenced, almost as if it were never there to begin with. Alula had no idea why or how it happened but she was just thankful that it did. Her thankfulness was short lived, however, when the pain came back again, making her fall to the ground again. Now she saw even more ponies come running down the streets, but she still had no idea what was going on, or why this pain was plaguing her now. Time seemed to skip around for her, one minute she closed her eyes, and the next, she’s seeing three familiar ponies.

“Scoo…Scootaloo…!” Alula cried weakly.

The orange pegasus filly seemed to be talking with Pinkie Pie, about what was a mystery to her, but whatever was said made Scootaloo leave the group and head off in some random direction. Alula couldn’t waste this chance, there were ponies there who knew her, ones who could help her. With great effort the filly pushed herself up onto all four legs, and woozily walked towards them. Her vision began to blur again, but she just focused on the pink color in front of her.

“Miss…Pinkie Pie…! S-Sweetie Belle…! Apple B-Bloom…!”

Alula’s vision focused enough for her to see three ponies looking straight at her, the three she had wanted and was hoping she was loud enough to hear her. Thankfully, she was. Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle rushed to Alula’s side. The young pegasus collapsed before Pinkie, making the earth pony mare quickly catch her in her forelegs.

“Alula, sweetie, what’s wrong?!” Pinkie Pie asked.

Alula was about to answer, but the roar of thunder echoed out over the town, and with it another surge of pain struck her. The filly screamed out in pain, feeling like her head was about to be ripped open. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked to the filly with worry and concern.

“What’s wrong with her Pinkie?!” Apple Bloom asked.

“I-I don’t know, she’s in pain, but I don’t know from what! Oh Alula, just hang on! Just…hang…on…………! ”

Pinkie Pie’s voice was becoming distant, fear gripped her heart as Alula felt her consciousness being to drift away, and despite her best efforts, Alula couldn’t stop herself from closing her eyes and passing out completely.

Alula suddenly felt herself become weightless, she looked around, feeling like she was in a daze. The environment was green colored, it had been a long time since Alula had this dream, she knew it well enough to know she was in a dream. It was some kind of ocean, she thought, judging by the way this green stuff felt, slowing her movements and making it feel as if she was floating, it was just like water. Although, Alula couldn’t imagine where she had seen a green ocean before, or had ever been to the ocean period. The only time she was fully submerged in water was at the lake when she went swimming with the other Wayward House foals.

Suddenly bubbles of foam started form around her, blanketing her vision of the endless green ocean. She looked up and saw the image of a pony standing over her, Alula felt a connection to this pony. Was it her parent, her mother or her father perhaps? A relative? She wasn’t sure, the image was always too blotted, too murky to see fully, all she knew was that the one standing over her was a pony, and that it was someone she knew…

Alula’s eyes fluttered open, she was then greeted by the worried gazes of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle…?”

“Oh my gosh! Pinkie Pie, Alula’s awake!”

Alula started to take in more of her surroundings, she was in a bed, covered up to her chest. Ponyville’s flag that was hung on the wall across the room, along with a wreath, the same one that the Cutie Mark Crusaders earned when they won the flag waving competition in the Crystal Empire. And of course she spotted the dresser with the various pink bows on it, allowing her to conclude that she was in Apple Bloom’s room. Alula heard the rushed clopping of hoofsteps coming towards the room, and in no time flat the party pony Pinkie entered the room. She looked upon Alula with relief, running her hoof through violet mane soothingly.

“Ms. Pinkie Pie, am I at Sweet Apple Acres?” Alula asked.

“You are, I brought you and the girls here. I wanted to take you to the hospital, but with all the craziness going on, I didn’t know if it would be safe to go there. So I brought you here and hoped you wouldn’t get any worse before it was safe to go! Are you feeling any better?”

Alula took a moment to check herself. The throbbing pain was gone, her body no longer ached, and the nauseous feeling in her stomach was nonexistent. It was as if whatever ailed her had up and vanished without a trace, like it never happened at all, however, she did feel really tired.

“I’m alright, tired, but alright.”

“Oh good, I don’t like seeing other ponies hurting, especially foals. You really scared me, but still, we’d better get you to a doctor later just to be sure,” said Pinkie.

Alula hated the doctors, what kid didn’t, still, after that mysterious pain, she was worried about what it meant and scared that it could happen again without warning.

“Okay…”

“Alright then, I think the frackus is almost over. I’ll just double check and we can take you later. C’mon girls, let’s let Alula rest a little bit more.”

The two fillies nodded to the older mare and walked behind her as they left Apple Bloom’s room. The farm filly turned around and looked to Alula with concern etched in her face.

“Are ya sure yer feelin’ alright? Do ya want me to stay with ya?” Apple Bloom asked.

“No, it’s fine, thank you Apple Bloom.”

Reluctantly, the red maned filly closed the door behind her, leaving Alula alone in the room. She sighed and turned onto her right side, trying to close her eyes and sleep again. I don’t want to be a burden to Scootaloo’s friends…and I don’t want her worrying about me more than she does…especially with that whole Diamond Tiara thing. Although, who am I kidding, she’s going to worry when she hears what happened to me from Sweetie and AB, or even Ms. Pinkie Pie. Scootaloo…

Just then Alula saw something rush by across the window, it moved fast, only appearing as a blur of red. The young filly rose up out of the bed and carefully got out of it, she then walked over to the window and scanned the tree line where she saw the blur enter. Something tugged at her consciousness, something that told her she needed to go and see what it was. For all Alula knew, it was whoever was responsible for the explosions and chaos earlier. She gulped, if it was, then they were in danger!

No! Scootaloo wouldn’t be afraid! Alula thought.

Alula steeled herself, opening the window and glancing about to make sure that she couldn’t be seen by anypony. She gave her wings a few test flaps, making sure they didn’t hurt or were in some way nonresponsive after her little episode earlier. Thankfully they were working. Alula flapped harder and was now airborne, she zoomed out of the window and went headed for the trees. Alula landed on the ground as quietly as she could, not wanting to alert a possible intruder to her presence. The young filly walked for a few more feet and stopped suddenly when she saw who it was.

Walking through the trees was none other than the mysterious alicorn mare known as Shazam! Her gaze was kept forward, her hood obscuring her face. Alula had to put her hooves over her mouth to stifle a squeal of excitement, she had always wanted to meet Shazam after hearing about how she saved everypony at Manehattan, and wanting to thank her for saving somepony she…ahem…cared about, a lot.

Shazam seemed to be muttering to herself, making Alula wonder what it was she could be talking about. It dawned on her that whatever the explosions and chaos from earlier were what brought Shazam here in the first place, maybe something had happened at Castle Concordia, prompting the intervention of the superhero mare. Regardless, it appeared that whatever the crisis was it appeared to be over, and not without some damage either. Alula could faintly make out a tear in her armor-suit when she angled her body just right, and there were scuff marks, and dust on her.

Shazam stopped when she reached the edge of the tree line, making Alula wonder what it was she was looking at, come to think of it, why was she even at Sweet Apple Acres to begin with.

“SHAZAM!”

Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot down out of nowhere and struck the alicorn mare! Alula gawked in horror as the white smoke bellowed around where the alicorn once stood.

She…she vaporized herself?! Wh-Why would she do that?!

The smoke started to clear, fading away into the wind. When the air was clear, what stood in place of the alicorn mare was instead a pegasus filly. Orange fur, a spiky purple mane, purple colored eyes, and a yellow lightning bolt cutie mark upon her flank. Alula watched as some sparks of the lightning energy arced off of Scootaloo for a moment before disappearing, leaving the vanilla colored filly to utter in shock.

“Oh my Celestia!”

Scootaloo became as still as a statue. Alula covered her mouth with her hooves, but it was already too late to take it back, or attempt to hide. She watched with slow dread as Scootaloo turned in her direction, looking upon the vanilla filly with shock. Alula had just unintentionally discovered Shazam’s secret identity, and never, in her wildest dreams, could she have imagined it to be the very same filly she had developed a crush for so long ago.

CASTLE CONCORDIA…

Royal Guards and Dusk Guards swarmed the entire castle, all of them taking up defensive positions while others assisted with helping the other guards, samurai, and monks get back on their hooves. Twilight was with Sakuya and Kagutsuchi, watching over them in the medical wing of the castle. Of all the things she loved about her new home, the addition of a place for ponies to come and receive medical care was one she highly liked. It always bugged Twilight why the castle had such a place, it was furnished with a sterile operation room, rooms for examination equipment to be brought in and mounted, and even a delivery room! Twilight blushed when she saw that room in particular.

Honestly, does this castle think I’m going to be giving birth to foals left and right?!

Even with that, she was still grateful for it. It allowed for some doctors from Canterlot to come down and practice medicine in the town, some of whom were specialists in different fields who could help ponies with certain disabilities or diseases. That’s not to say she was looking to run the local hospital out of business or put anypony out of a job, on the contrary, many of the doctors and nurses worked in a rotating staff to allow them time at the hospital and some at the castle, making sure that the medical wing always had at doctors and nurses at the ready, be it for small things, or in this case, treating the various injuries from a psycho, unicorn assassin.

Kagutsuchi was lying on one of the beds provided. His wounds were a little bad, considering the strange magic that the unicorn wielded, but his dragon physiology allowed him to regenerate his body fairly quickly, he merely needed to enter a hibernated state to focus his magic on healing himself.

Sakuya hadn’t left his bedside for the past couple of hours. Twilight admired the young princess, she was very worried for the one she loved, she could both see it in her face, and feel it like an aura surrounding her. At the same time though, Twilight felt bad. The assassin was out to get her, not Sakuya or Kagutsuchi, but the two delegates sprang into action, fighting alongside Twilight even knowing that their lives would be endangered.

“Forgive me Princess Sakuya,” said Twilight.

The pink pegasus mare looked up at the Princess of Friendship curiously. “Forgive you for what Princess Twilight?”

“That assassin had come to kill me, I was the one responsible for your safety the moment you entered Equestria, and now…”

Sakuya extended her right wing towards Twilight, draping it over her withers in a comforting fashion. “The blame is not yours. Kagutsuchi and I chose to fight, we could see that the assassin was concentrated on you, and even knowing that we engaged. Honor is important to those of Neighpon, and having a ruler die while we stood by and did nothing would bring shame to my family and our nation. Plus…I did not want to lose a new friend so soon after making one.”

Twilight smiled and bowed to Sakuya, to which the Neighponese mare returned. “I hate to bring this up Princess –”

“Sakuya.”

“What?”

“My friends just call me Sakuya.”

“Oh…then, Sakuya-hime.”

“Nice use of the honorific, but no, just Sakuya.”

Twilight smiled a little more, in Neighpon, the use of honorifics was used as a way to show respect to another pony. The meaning of the honorific changed also depending on the relationship the other pony had, or where they worked. When one forgoes the honorific, it is usually only reserved for when another pony considers that pony a close enough friend that no honorific is needed. It spoke volumes that Sakuya told Twilight to forgo them.

“Alright, Sakuya, I hate to bring this up, but because the assassin was disguised as a samurai, and arrived with you…”

A sad smile appeared on the young pegasus mare. “I understand, we will need to remain under close watch until you are done investigating. Again, I’m truly sorry that this happened, but on a lighter note, I get to extend my visit.”

The door to the room opened slightly as Spike stuck his head inside. “Twilight, um, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are here. They wanted me to come and get you if you’re alright to talk with them.”

“Thank you Spike, I’ll go now. Sakuya, if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. For now, my home is your home.”

Sakuya bowed her head yet again, grateful for Twilight’s hospitality. Spike opened the door a little more, allowing Twilight to walk out. The young dragon was about to close the door, but stopped momentarily, glancing at the worried and yet loving gaze Sakuya gave Kagutsuchi. This did not go unnoticed by the Neighponese Princess.

“Yes Spike-chan?”

“Oh, uh, me?!”

“Was there something you needed?” Sakuya asked.

The young dragon rubbed his left arm nervously. “Can I ask you a question Princess?”

Sakuya nodded.

Spike walked closer to Sakuya and stood before her as she looked down at him with curiosity. “I…You said that Kagutsuchi was your…coltfriend?”

“Fiancé,” she corrected.

“Oh right…you also said that ponies marrying dragons was…okay there?”

“Yes, it is not that uncommon. In fact, we have a few half-dragon, half-pony citizens that are quite beautiful. They came up with the name ‘Kirin’, as a way to distinguish themselves from either race. But I imagine it’s just the same here, or are there laws against it that I am not aware of?”

“No, none that Twilight has found.”

Sakuya looked upon the young dragon, feeling where this conversation was going. “Spike-chan, by chance, is there a pony you have fallen for?”

Spike’s cheeks went red as an apple, which was all the indication that Sakuya needed.

“I just…well…she’s really pretty, and nice, and I’ve had a crush on her ever since Twi and I moved to Ponyville.”

“And what is the name of this one who has stolen your heart, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Her name’s Rarity…she’s the Element of Generosity, and…yeah, I know, she’s way older than me.”

Sakuya got onto the bed beside Kagutsuchi’s, she then sat on it and patted the empty side next to her. “Why don’t you tell me about this mare, and if you wish, I will tell you how Chi-kun won my heart.”

Twilight headed for the library, which was the default meeting area since the throne room was in need of some repairs. Once she got there at least twenty Guards stood sentry along both sides of the door, normally she’d scoff at the extra security, but given recent events, she wasn’t complaining. Twilight nodded to the guard and the unicorn stallion turned and knocked on the door.

“Your Highnesses, Princess Twilight Sparkle is here.”

“Enter,” said Luna.

The doors opened up and inside was Celestia and Luna, gathered around the round center table. Celestia and Luna had looked a lot better since the fight in Manehattan, both of them releasing their full powers like they did took a bit of a toll on their bodies, on top of the beating they received from Black Adam. But their recovery had gone well, and while they probably weren’t up to combat strength just yet, they were still strong enough to move the sun and moon, as well as protect themselves and others if the need arise.

Celestia waved with her wing, silently telling the unicorn guard to leave them to their talks. The guard obeyed and closed the door behind him, and at that moment a layer of magic fell over the door itself. It was a kind of magic that the castle would use instinctually, if Twilight required privacy, then the castle would release a magic ward over the doors and walls, preventing any eavesdropping. Once the ward was up, and the three alicorns were completely alone. Celestia broke away from the table and rushed to her former student’s side, quickly hugging her and holding onto the mare tight as if afraid to let go.

“Princess…”

“Twilight I feared the worst when news reached us of an assassin. I…” Celestia couldn’t speak the words, afraid that doing so would undo the spell that kept Twilight here with them.

The lavender alicorn brought her foreleg up and hugged Celestia back. “I’m alright Princess, really I am. A little tired and shaken, but alright all the same.”

Celestia pulled away and Twilight saw some tears in her magenta eyes. Luna came up beside her big sister, she bent down some and hooked her neck around Twilight’s, her own tears falling. Twilight hated that it took events such as this for her know just how much she meant to them. Celestia was her teacher, the mare who was like a second mother to her, always there for when she needed advice, always pushing her to be better than she was the day before. To Luna, Twilight was the one to free her of Nightmare Moon, the first to show her friendship when others showed her fear, she was a dear friend, one that she dare not ever fathom being lost to her, for the pain would be too great. That was reflected in the alicorn mare beside her.

The three alicorns went to the table, sitting at different spots so that each of them were in the other’s field of vision. Twilight decided to start things off. “I assume you’ve been informed thus far about what’s happened here?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes we have, and it is troubling, although that is a gross understatement.”

“Indeed, an assassination attempt on a Princess hasn’t occurred since King Sombra dispatched the Crystal Princess a thousand years ago. This ‘Kingdom’ is a most troubling thorn in our sides,” said Luna.

“I was hoping that they were just a radical group of ponies, but that was just wishful thinking. I hate to say this, but we may be up against an organization, one with different cells ready to pick up the slack of the others.”

Luna hummed as she thought. “They’re name is very generic. ‘The Kingdom’, kingdom of what?”

“They seem to be concerned with our deaths, they might see themselves as revolutionaries, seeking to end our rule in favor of a different political system, but they could also be anarchists, seeking to destabilize Equestria and its territories. But what concerns me more is this assassin you and the delegates faced. He appeared as an earth pony, but he grew a horn?”

Twilight nodded. “His armor was on as well as his helmet so I’m not a hundred percent sure if it was some kind of illusion. But when it did come off, I saw his horn grow from his forehead and emit a strange type of mana. It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever sensed or felt, it was different from dark magic, which is normally fueled by pride, hatred, greed, negative emotions in general; this kind…it glowed red like the alicorn amulet, but it had such a bloodlust to it, it was primal in nature and yet unyielding, like it was fueled by the need to kill.”

“Is that what caused your scar Twilight?” Celestia asked.

Twilight had forgotten that the beam from the unicorn had cut her cheek during the fight. One of the medics had tended to her, but Twilight was too busy directing the Guards and helping where she could to notice the regeneration spell that was working to heal her scar to the best of its ability.

“Yes, it’s also why Ambassador Kagutsuchi was badly hurt during the fight. The assassin redirected his attack, doubled its power, and laced it with his own energy, and threw it back at him. He did that with a few of my spells as well. Princess Sakuya’s physical attacks in combination with her chi magic was able to inflict severe damage to him. However…”

“However?” Luna asked.

“The assassin suffered terrible burns, third degree! He rose up from the ground, and I watched as his body repaired itself almost instantly! That kind of damage should’ve incinerated any chances of cellular regeneration, even with magic! And yet somehow he gets back up and is ready to fight again as if shrugging off a light blow to the jaw!”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. “And yet, this Shazam mare was able to defeat him, despite his ability?”

Twilight became a little skittish around the subject of Shazam. “Yes…her magic seemed to have an adverse effect on his body and magic. Allowing her to deal more damage to him and circumvent his strange malign magic.”

Luna leaned forward with a dubious look. “Most peculiar, an assassin shows up and tries to kill you, and then Shazam appears out of nowhere and suddenly is able to combat and in the end kill his menace.”

“She defeated him, yes, but didn’t kill. He used some kind of self-destruction spell, turning his body into a living bomb! Shazam hurled him into the air, if she hadn’t done that the delegates and myself would surely be dead right now.”

Twilight still saw the look of suspicion in her teal eyes. She knew Luna was dubious of Shazam, and Celestia to a degree. After the battle with Black Adam, and the subsequent victory over him by Shazam, both sisters weren’t sure how to take this news. She stopped a rogue alicorn from killing them, Twilight, and her friends, and saved the citizens of Manehattan. However, in their eyes, this meant that Shazam was stronger than Black Adam, possibly even more dangerous since she was able to go undetected within the land. Although neither of them would publically endorse or renounce the heroic deeds she has done in the past year, for doing so would show that they took a side, and right now tensions were high enough as it was.

“Twilight, I want you to consider something for me,” said Celestia.

“Of course.”

“From what I understand, Shazam appeared in Ponyville first, and now she appears in Ponyville again. Is it possible that one of the citizens in the town is Shazam in disguise?”

If Twilight were drinking something this was the moment when she would be spitting it out. “O-Oh, well, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out, although Shazam did leave after the battle so she’s either really far away or gone back to wherever it is she hides out.”

Celestia and Luna nodded.

“Nevertheless, be vigilant Twilight Sparkle, this Kingdom seeks to take our lives, and for a cause we know not. And an unknown element like Shazam only complicates matters.” Luna spoke in a stern voice.

Twilight became nervous. She didn’t like how Scootaloo was being cast as a suspicious mare, but right now Twilight had to remain silent about her, it was her choice to tell those about what she was, and Twilight had no right to tell anypony, just like she did when she told Twilight, Milano, and Cheerilee about her painful past.

“We’ll be increasing the Guard patrols and personnel within Canterlot, I suggest you do the same as well Twilight. We’ll also send additional Guards to aid in this endeavor.”

“Thank you Princess, and what of Princess Sakuya and Ambassador Kagutsuchi?”

Celestia smiled. “We did a thorough check of her guard, personally. We found nothing to indicate that either the Princess or the Ambassador knew anything of the unicorn, and as far as we were able to detect, none of the remaining samurai or monks have any signs of the strange magic you fought against.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, at least Sakuya and Kagutsuchi were free of suspicion. “I’ll let them know the good news.”

Luna smirked. “Getting off topic for a moment, and to dispel this dreariness, how goes your relationship with the schoolmarm?”

Twilight’s cheeks blushed red. “H-How do you know about Cheerilee, Luna?!”

“Dear Twilight, there is little that the land of dreams cannot make me privy to. I must say, I am not surprised you chose her for a mate, very in keeping with your comfort zone,” said Luna as she glanced at her sister.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. “How do you mean.”

“Well, Twilight grew up studying, and being taught by mare who was seen as the most beautiful and most desirable mare in the land, and she just so happened to be her teacher. Perhaps young Twilight wished to fulfill a hidden desire that she could not fulfill or perhaps was afraid to for fear of a certain mare’s reaction.”

Twilight tried to make herself as small as possible, adopting a very Fluttershyesque demeanor. Celestia’s ears were perked up and her face held a crimson blush that was very visible on her alabaster coat.

“T-Twilight, so you – ahem – have a marefriend?”

Twilight was now hiding under her wings, but addressed Celestia anyway. “Y-Yes…her name’s Cheerilee and we’ve been seeing each other for a couple of years now, and yes, she is the teacher of the local school. I meant to tell you both, but I…this was the first real relationship I’ve had with anypony and I just wanted to be sure of it…that and I was worried you might not like her.”

Celestia forewent the embarrassment Luna put on them both and gave her former student a cheerful smile. “Twilight, anypony, mare or stallion, you have chosen to be a part of your life is something special. And for you, knowing how you were in the past, to see you have gained somepony special for yourself makes me very happy.”

Twilight opened her wings as a relieved smile started to form on her lips. “Really?”

“There is one condition though that must be met before I say much more though.”

Twilight gulped, but nodded.

“I want to meet this mare who has stolen my former student’s heart. But at a time that you’re comfortable with.”

Twilight unraveled herself from her wings, her face scrunching as she thought about the best way – most comfortable non-stress inducing situation – they could meet. That’s when it hit her, and honestly, it was something that she thought both Princesses would enjoy.

“Why don’t you both come to our Pony-Pet Play Date!”

The sisters of moon and sun looked to each other curiously. Seeing the confusion on their faces, Twilight clarified.

“My friends and I gather together every Wednesday and head to the park with our pets, so they can play together and we can play with them! You both can come too since Cheery’s coming as well!”

“‘Cheery’ is it? My, my, they already have pet names for each other,” said Luna with a cattish grin. “But that does sound rather enjoyable, it’s been quite some time since little Tibbles got to play with others besides the normal animals in the gardens!”

Celestia rubbed her chin with her hoof smiling at the idea. “And Philomena has been getting a bit antsy lately, expanding that extra energy playing with others would definitely help. Very well Twilight, next Wednesday Luna and I will be back in Ponyville, and we’ll all have a Pony-Pet Play Date, and I’ll get to meet this Cheerilee face to face.”

Twilight looked nervous but happy at the prospect of her marefriend getting to meet the most important ponies in her life.

“And don’t take any of this personally Twilight Sparkle, Tia was the same way whenever I wanted to date a cute mare or a handsome stallion, always giving them – what’s the modern slang term for this…oh yes – the third degree as they say.”

Celestia rolled her eyes at that. “Oh please Luna don’t exaggerate.”

“You scared one of them so bad they defecated and ran away into the night.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped, Celestia spluttered and tried to explain, but each attempt ended up with her spouting gibberish.

BACK TO THE DRAMA…

Scootaloo was not having a good day. She just got through fighting a psycho, suicidal assassin pony, and now, now Alula just witnessed her transformation from Shazam to her filly self. The vanilla pegasus filly just sat there, still stunned at the revelation. A million different ideas popped into Scootaloo’s mind on how to best deal with this situation, all of them as out there and as hit or miss as her ideas for earning cutie marks. For safety reasons, Scootaloo wanted to keep the circle of ponies who knew her identity as small as possible. She didn’t want somepony to come after them for knowing who she was, but now…now Alula knew. Scootaloo’s mind and heart were racing, and she didn’t know why. Well, scratch that, she did know why, but not why it should be affecting her as much.

“You saw…didn’t you?” Scootaloo asked. It was a stupidly obvious question and answer, of course she did. But for her, it needed to be said.

“Y-Yeah I did…”

Silence reigned once again, both fillies’ eyes darting from each other or down to the ground. Now Scootaloo was wishing she knew a memory-erasing spell, would come in very handy right now.

“I…I didn’t know you were like me!”

Scootaloo’s head shot up. “Wh-What?”

“You can become an alicorn, and can be just a regular pegasus pony! How long could you do that?!”

Scootaloo threw up her hooves quickly. “Whoa, wait a minute Alula, I…I can’t switch like you can.”

Alula gave her a confused look. “But you just changed, I saw you!”

“Yeah but, that’s completely different from what you have. At least I think it is. Never mind. Alula I – MMPH!”

Before Scootaloo knew what was going on, Alula had darted forward, finding the speed within her to close the distance between them, and in that same moment, the vanilla filly placed her lips against Scootaloo’s. Her eyes bulged and her wings flared out stiff, her heart pounded in her ears as her face became incredibly warm. Scootaloo’s could feel Alula’s warm lips against hers, holding them there as time felt as if it had become slower than Tank.

This couldn’t be happening, right? This just couldn’t be happening. Alula was kissing Scootaloo, kissing her on the lips! And all the preteen filly could do was just sit there in shock as her brain tried to process this. Alula drew back, a twinkle within her eyes as a blush as fierce as Scootaloo’s glowed upon her face. She then reached out and hugged the filly close to her.

“I knew I couldn’t be alone…couldn’t be the only one! I knew you were special, every time I was around you my heart would beat faster, and I felt…I…I like you Scootaloo!”

If it were possible to look more shell-shocked then Scootaloo found a way. Her pupils reduced to pinpricks at hearing those words, Alula liked her, no, from that kiss, she like-liked her! And the scary and exciting part of all that was…Scootaloo liked it. The hugging, that kiss earlier, she liked this, but was it really alright?

Project Erroria Arc Part 4: Advice

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Today was an emotionally and physically exhausting day for Twilight. Not only was she almost killed by a psycho, but now her mentor and surrogate mother figure had just learned about her having a marefriend, and introducing said marefriend to said mentor and mother figure.

Twilight knew that seeing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna up close and personal was a little overwhelming for other ponies, unlike her and her friends who have on multiple occasions met with her and talked to either Celestia or Luna face to face.

Still, this was different than introducing a friend. This was her marefriend the pony that held a special place in her heart, somepony that Twilight had shared intimate and private moments with.

A twinge of fear gripped her heart as she made her way down the stairwell to her basement laboratory. What if Celestia disapproved of her relationship with Cheerilee? Twilight didn’t know if she could take hearing that. This was her first real romantic relationship with anypony and she didn’t want to lose that.

The lilac mare sighed heavily, there would be time to worry about that later. Right now though, she had to meet with Scootaloo, hoping that Murmur might be able to shed some light on the matter, and to see if the young filly was alright.

When Twilight entered the basement she firmly shut the door behind her, locking it and placing several wards to keep anypony from entering it, via magic or other means. Once she was done, Twilight made her way to the center of the room and stood there. She closed her eyes and focused her magical energy onto the glyph symbol within her. The symbol took on an ethereal form as it floated before her.

The light in the room was suddenly drained away, replaced by darkness. It had taken a while for Twilight to get used to that, being placed in an abyssal darkness did tend to make a pony skittish and frightened. The only light now was that of her horn and the glyph.

The glyph shined brighter and released a radiant beam of light straight ahead of Twilight. The same symbol appeared and formed a doorway in the middle of the darkness. A stone pathway formed beneath her hooves, leading directly to the door of light.

Twilight casually walked the path as the glyph hovered before her. Once she made it to the doorway, she entered it. A blinding light enveloped her vision, but only for a brief moment. Soon the familiar scent of ink, paper, and old tomes wafted to her nostrils, easing her worry.

When next she opened her eyes she was inside the vast expanse of the Rock of Eternity’s library. Twilight marveled at that sight, no matter how many times she came back to this place, it always managed to evoke such elation from her. So many stories to read, books of magical theory, lost manuscripts and scrolls of civilizations, it was all here before her, waiting to be read in a dimension that knew not the bindings of time.

Twilight had to calm herself, she was an immortal alicorn, and this was a place that was free of time. She could spend all the time in the world in here, because she had all the time in the world. But right now, friends and young apprentices were of the highest priority. The Princess of Friendship walked down the rows of shelves, glancing about. Just then a flock of butterflies appeared before Twilight. The butterflies were pink and made of light, fluttering around her and tickling the alicorn mare.

The butterflies coalesced into a single entity, forming an equine body. With a flash of light, the form became that of the Rock of Eternity’s steward, Murmur the flutterpony. The young mare bowed to Twilight as she smiled happily. “Greetings Twilight.”

“Greetings Murmur, has Scootaloo appeared yet?”

“Oh yes she has, she’s awaiting you in your usual meeting spot. Would you like some refreshments?”

“Not at the moment, but I need to ask you. Do you know what transpired earlier?” Twilight asked.

Murmur’s smile faded a little as she nodded. “I saw the battle, and it was quite the oddity. Mistress Scootaloo was slightly injured by that magic the unicorn wielded, normally such magic would not affect her magical form.

The ancient magic, the power of the Living Lightning, is of the highest order magic. It imbues her very body, and protects her against spells that would otherwise harm a lesser pony. But the fact that it managed to pierce her armor was…strange.”

“Have you ever seen magic like that before? Or have any of the previous Champions gone up against something like that?”

Murmur shook her head. “Not to my knowledge, but I will search through the archives, there is seldom nothing that the Rock of Eternity’s library does not know. If this magic existed at one point, then it is likely documented here.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you Murmur, I wish you could come to our world. I feel bad that you’re stuck in here.”

The flutterpony chuckled appreciatively. “I thank you for your compassion Twilight, but to be honest, I’m a bit afraid to.”

The alicorn mare stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Why is that? I know things have changed since your time Murmur, but Scootaloo and I would help you readjust.”

“Oh no, nothing like that, I’m quite up to date on modern Equus. I’m afraid…if I tried to, or if there was a way, I would meet the same fate as Adamant Resolve.”

Twilight recalled what happened to the young stallion, how Scootaloo managed to call him out and make him change back into a mortal pony, and how rapidly Adamant aged within mere seconds until he was nothing but dust in the wind. Twilight shivered in horror at the thought of that happening to Murmur. She then placed her left wing over Murmur’s back in a comforting fashion.

“I understand Murmur, I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

“It’s alright. Mistress Scootaloo is just around the bend, I’ll start searching and notify you if something pops up.”

Twilight nodded and retracted her wing. Murmur transformed into a flock of pink butterflies and scattered about the library. She had to admit, Murmur did have impressive ways of using her astral form to look through multiple places at a time.

Twilight made her way around the bend and saw Scootaloo sitting on the plush rug that was their meeting area. The young filly looked deep in thought, no doubt pondering the events of today.

You’re really something, Scootaloo, thought Twilight.

“Scootaloo.” She called out.

The pegasus filly’s head shot up and glanced in the direction of Twilight’s voice. Her wings fluttered frantically as she propelled herself right at Twilight, hugging the mare’s leg tight and catching her off guard by the sudden embrace.

“Twilight I need your help with something?!”

“Wha-What’s wrong Scootaloo?! Did that unicorn’s magic do something to you?!” Twilight asked with dread.

“What? No, not about him! I need your advice!”

Twilight was now confused as to the sudden change in the topic they had planned to discuss, but she could see the desperation in Scootaloo’s eyes and Twilight just couldn’t have that.

Using her magic, Twilight gently removed Scootaloo from her foreleg and placed her in a sitting position on the carpet. She then took her place across from her and sat down, adopting the visage her mentor did with herself so long ago. Twilight will admit, it made her giddy being on this end of it.

“Of course Scootaloo, whatever it is I’ll help.”

“Okay…um…well…” Scootaloo was rubbing her right foreleg as a crimson blush fell upon her face. “T-Twilight…I know this is going to sound stupid…but, when did you realize that you…uh…liked mares?”

Twilight’s serene and stoic visage cracked right then and there, her eyes widened and her face tinted red. “OH! Um…Scootaloo that’s…why the sudden interest, sweetie?”

“I was just wondering is all? Like…was it hard? Did you have to think about it? Did you feel weird about it? Did other ponies…make fun of you?”

Twilight, after taking a moment to compose herself, thought hard about how to word her response. “Well Scootaloo…I can’t say it’s easy for every mare. I guess you can say I doubted myself a lot.”

“Why’s that?”

“It mostly stems from upbringing. I was told and taught that fillies are supposed to fall in love with colts, get married, and have foals. From a scientific point of view it serves the purpose of reproduction and increasing a civilization’s populace. At least that’s how I viewed it at first.”

Scootaloo blinked. “So what changed it?”

“Cadance.”

“Princess Cadance? Wasn’t she your foalsitter when you were my age or something?” Scootaloo asked.

“A little younger, but yes, she was. The best foalsitter I could ever hope for.” Twilight smiled as past memories of her younger years with Cadance came to the forefront of her mind.

“She changed how you viewed it…does that mean…she kissed you or did stuff with you…?” Scootaloo was really hoping that wasn’t the case.

Twilight took a moment to take in Scootaloo’s words, upon understanding the meaning, she quickly shook her head. “Nononononononononono! She didn’t do anything like that! It was…” Twilight sighed, “One time when the two of us were taking a stroll through Canterlot, I saw her use her magic to stop couples who loved each other from arguing over the smallest and trivial things. It amazed me the way she did that, and it’s only now that I understand why she did it.

Cadance’s power stems from love, and because of that, she must’ve known that sometimes, even the most stable and loving of relationships can be broken apart by something small and irrelevant at the time and make those ponies regret ever doing it.

There was this one couple, a unicorn mare and an earth pony mare. I didn’t understand why they were arguing, although to be fair I didn’t understand much about relationships at that age. But when I saw Cadance use her magic it caught me off guard since I knew her power reminded ponies of why they loved their special somepony.

I remember asking her: ‘Cadance, why did you use your magic on those mares?’

She looked at me and said, ‘Because they’re in love Twilight, I couldn’t let their love fall apart.’

As you can guess I was confused by that, so I asked, ‘But they’re mares, two girl ponies. Fillies can’t be with other fillies, right?’”

Scootaloo seemed on edge as she leaned forward. “And what did Cadance say?”

“She said ‘Love isn’t exclusive to one gender Twilight, ponies can fall in love with whomever they choose. It’s not up to other ponies to decide what another pony’s heart tells them who they’re meant to be with. Or who makes them happy.’”

Scootaloo lowered her head as she pondered those words. “So…it’s not a bad thing to like fillies…but you said Miss Cheerilee is the first marefriend you’ve ever had, did that mean you had coltfriends before?”

Twilight blushed and shook her head. “I never had any special someponies Scootaloo. You have to understand, I wasn’t interested in friendship and relationships, only magic and knowledge.

It wasn’t until I moved to Ponyville and met Rainbow Dash and the others that I started to realize what friendship meant, and subsequently, what love meant.”

“So did it feel weird, going out with Cheerilee? Were you scared about what other ponies would think?”

The alicorn mare chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. “I kinda was…I mean, my parents, and I’m sure my big brother, were probably thinking I’d find a stallion. I was mostly scared of what they’d think about me, although the social stigma of being a…fillyfooler, isn’t as bad as it used to be, there are still someponies who don’t think it’s…natural or right.

And sometimes I’m my own worst enemy, thinking that I’m not good enough for Cheerilee or that I might be dragging her into something that would only hurt her later on…” Twilight shook her head again. “Scootaloo, exactly what happened that prompted this line of questioning?”

Scootaloo had a pensive look on her face. “I…” she sighed, “you know what I’ve been through…what was done me.”

Twilight nodded solemnly.

“I just…I think I like somepony, and I think they like me the same way. Scratch that, I know they do. I’m afraid…afraid that what happened me has messed me up somehow…Twilight, I…I think I like fillies too! But I don’t know if it’s because of…of that or if it’s really what I want!”

Twilight could hear the anguish in Scootaloo’s voice. It only confirmed part of her fears about what Scootaloo suffered, because of that now she’s confused about how to feel towards another pony. The alicorn mare stretched out her right wing, Scootaloo saw this and scooted herself over until she was up against Twilight’s right side. Her purple wing wrapped around Scootaloo in a comforting embrace.

Twilight knew that Scootaloo wasn’t going to cry, it was already hard for her the first time when she broke down and told her, Mrs. Milano, and Cheerilee, but still, sometimes it was better to let it out. Now that that fear was confirmed, Twilight wondered who it was that Scootaloo knew liked her enough to make her question herself like this.

THE NEXT DAY…

Scootaloo couldn’t get to sleep at all last night. The fight with the assassin pony was one thing, but that wasn’t the thing that kept her up at night, oh no, it was something more important. And that something was Alula.

The young filly had tossed and turned multiple times in her bed, trying to figure out her own feelings about the vanilla colored pegasus filly. She didn’t dislike Alula, quite the contrary, she considered her a friend like Aura, but given the circumstances, it wouldn’t be the same way as she felt about Aura.

The young hero combed over every little memory about Alula, going back to Wayward House, trying to find something, anything that would’ve indicated that Alula like-liked her, or at the very least a subtle hint that she missed. Scootaloo wasn’t always good with subtle hints, which was why she was really thinking hard about this.

Despite her late night memory soul searching, Scootaloo could only remember vague little reactions, a smile, a long glance or two, talking to her. And there was that incident in the restroom of the orphanage when Scootaloo cut up her hoof because she smashed a mirror.

Alula had held her hoof so gently and delicately as she used her magic to heal her wounds, and then there was the more recent event of protecting Alula from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. That comment about her flank was starting to make more sense now, and the longer she thought about it, the redder her face got.

By morning, Scootaloo had bags under her eyes and looked like death warmed over. Cheerilee couldn’t help but look worried about the state her young charge was in, she seemed like a zombie all through breakfast, and now she seemed as if she was just moving along to the motions of the day while her mind wandered someplace else.

“Scootaloo, honey, are you alright?” Cheerilee asked.

The maroon mare’s voice snapped Scootaloo out of her reverie, she chuckled nervously at Cheerilee as she put on her best grin. “Y-Yeah, sorry, I just…have a lot on mind right now.”

“I don’t blame you, after what happened yesterday. Not to make it sound belittling, but Twilight said it was better for the foals to have something else to focus on rather than the events of yesterday. Which is why we’re heading to the school house.”

“No, I understand, and besides. Princess Twilight has a point, after going through crazy stuff, doing something fun can help.” I should know, I do crazy heroic stuff almost every day or every other week.

Cheerilee felt elated at hearing Scootaloo speak with such maturity. “Well, I was going to keep this a surprise, but we’re going to have a couple of special guests visiting our school today.”

“Really who?”

“Well met everypony, my name is Princess Konohana Sakuya. But you may call me Sakuya.”

“And I am Kagutsuchi, or just Chi for short.”

Practically every foal was staring at the two Neighponese ambassadors with mouths agape and eyes almost bulging from their skulls. Cheerilee wished her students would show better manners even if they were awestruck, but still, she found their reactions amusing. Scootaloo still looked surprised, she didn’t believe they would actually be there, but here they were, standing outside in the flesh.

“Now everypony, Princess Sakuya and Sir Kagutsuchi have come to spend the day with us as a form of cultural exchange. So what do say children?”

“Thank you Princess Sakuya and Mr.Kagit – Kuga – Mr. Chi!”

Sakuya giggled at how the foals struggled to say her fiancé’s name properly, while the white dragon sighed, but smiled nonetheless at their attempt at doing so.

“Now then, if it is alright with your teacher, how many of you would like to ride on a dragon’s back?” Sakuya asked.

The eyes of every foal brightened as they looked to their teacher with hope. Cheerilee didn’t know if this was a good idea, but when she glanced over to Kagutsuchi, the white dragon nodded to her.

“Oh very well, but you will all need to take turns!”

“Yes ma’am!” They said as one.

The white dragon summoned his magic and shot into the air, his body was then enveloped in a swirling sphere of gold mana. Within a matter of seconds the sphere grew bigger and bigger, shattering apart to reveal the full dragon form of Kagutsuchi.

The serpentine white dragon lowered himself to the ground, letting his hind legs touch down before his forelegs did, followed by his head, which he rested on the ground; the foals all jumped up on his snout and kept going till they were resting on the top of his head, grabbing hold of his tensile thick mane for support.

“Seven at a time young ones, now hold on tight!”

With that said, Kagutsuchi took off into the sky once again, along with seven foals screaming in sheer excitement. The white dragon kept his flight pattern around the area of the schoolhouse, keeping the ride interesting by doing some winding turns and creating rings of mana to fly and loop through.

On the ground, Sakuya decided to have her own fun with the children. She used her chi magic and summoned forth her cherry blossoms, Sakuya used the petals to create duplicates of herself, playing a bit of hide and seek with the foals as they tried to guess which one was the real one.

During all this fun, Cheerilee kept an eye on her students, but one of them wasn’t joining in the activities like she usually would. Scootaloo was sitting on the ground, her eyes roving about as if looking for someone. Cheerilee walked up to her young adoptee and sat next to her.

“Bit for your thoughts?” Cheerilee asked.

“I was just wondering…I haven’t seen Alula around, is she alright?”

“Oh, Mrs. Milano was taking Alula to the doctors for a checkup today. Apparently she wasn’t feeling too good yesterday and…well, let’s just say that they want to be safe.”

Now as if Scootaloo wasn’t worried enough about how she felt about Alula, and her secret being blown, now she was worried about her health. “Miss Cheerilee, is it okay if I ask you something personal?”

“Scootaloo, you can always come to me with anything, ask away.”

“When did you first realize you…liked mares?”

Cheerilee’s tail went rigid as her left eye twitched. “I-I’m sorry sweetie, could you repeat that?”

“I asked when did you realize you liked other mares.”

And there was that twitchy eye again. “That’s what I thought you said…” Cheerilee was conflicted now. She wasn’t sure if she should go into the whole “birds and the bees” talk, but then again, given what Scootaloo had gone through in her life, Cheerilee doubted she needed to touch base on that subject. “Well…Scootaloo, it wasn’t something I discovered right away…”

“How did you then?” Scootaloo asked innocently.

Cheerilee’s maroon face was turning red as memories of how indeed she found out were coming to the forefront of her mind. “Ahem…I-I guess you could say I never really stopped…the truth is Scootaloo, I’m what you call bisexual.”

“Bi what now?” Scootaloo asked in confusion.

“It means that I like both mares and stallions, that I can be attracted to one or the other.”

Scootaloo blinked. “That’s…you can?!”

“I know it might sound a bit confusing for you, but honestly it was confusing for me when I was young. It was around my teenage years, while I was studying to get my teaching license, I’d often let off some steam at…ahem…my sister’s bar.”

“You mean Aunt Berry?”

Cheerilee groaned. “Yes…anyway, I got a little inebriated and one thing led to another. By the way, don’t you ever drink until you’re old enough, and even then, know your limit!” Cheerilee had said that with such a stern tone that Scootaloo quickly nodded her a “yes”. “Anyway…I woke up the next morning…*sigh*…In the bed of another mare…At first I was mortified that I drank so much that I ended up like that, but at the same time, it didn’t feel wrong. The mare I spent the night with was very understanding and we even dated for a little while.”

“So…it took that to happen before you realized it?” Scootaloo asked with a bit of dread.

“Oh heavens no! I did…before that. I always found myself glancing at a mare in my class, or a filly when I was in kindergarten. But I never acted on it, I guess you could say I was a little afraid of what the other mare or filly would think of me after.”

Scootaloo could relate to that a little. Simply recalling what she went through gave her nightmares, somehow she’d figured something like that would label her, call her a fillyfooler for the rest of her life.

“Cheerilee…do you think…is it bad if I like other fillies too?” Scootaloo asked with trepidation.

The maroon mare looked down at the young pegasus with worry. “Of course it isn’t Scootaloo, there’s nothing saying you have to like just colts or just fillies. I know it may be hard to comprehend, but it’s not always about gender.

So long as you know in your heart that the pony you’re with cares about you and will be there for you, then that’s all that matters.” Cheerilee looked to the playing foals, spotting Sakuya next to Kagutsuchi as he readied himself for another flight. “Look at them Scootaloo.”

The pegasus filly looked up at the Princess and dragon. Sakuya was looking happily and loving into the big, green eyes of Kagutsuchi. She then got up beside his face and pecked him on the cheek, causing the fillies and colts to go “Ooooooooh!”

“Oh hush now, he’s my fiancé. I can kiss him if I want.”

“Sakuya-hime…” Kagutsuchi groaned.

“Chi-kun, you’re free to do the same too you know.” Sakuya huffed.

“If I did, I’d be afraid of you getting sucked into my mouth.”

The foals let out a combination of “ewws” and laughter at the prospect of the pegasus getting accidentally sucked into the dragon’s giant maw. Even Scootaloo and Cheerilee couldn’t help but join in.

“You see, even though Sir Kagutsuchi is a dragon, Sakuya loves him. He’s not even a pony, so do you understand, maybe a little?” Cheerilee asked.

Scootaloo believed she did. “I think so. Thanks Cheerilee.”

The older mare nodded, but then raised a curious eyebrow. “Scootaloo, what exactly made you ask me that?”

“Oh…well…can I tell you about it later? I’m not really sure myself, yet.”

Cheerilee didn’t want to press the matter, what they talked about was already embarrassing enough for herself, that and she didn’t want to have Scootaloo feel like she was being interrogated.

ELSEWHERE…

Alula sat patiently in the doctor’s office, with Mrs. Milano sitting next to the examination table. When word reached her of what happened to Alula during the fiasco yesterday she was worried, Milano had gone to wake her that day, but when she had checked on her she seemed under the weather and wouldn’t rouse from sleep no matter how many times she called out to her. Milano decided to let the young filly rest in bed, but she had no idea that Alula would later go out to where the delegates were arriving.

After Alula described the pain and symptoms leading up the attack, she almost broke down. But despite all that, Alula looked fine now. The two of them had been at the hospital for most of the morning, taking in a quick breakfast before getting there. They ran different tests on Alula and, much to her reluctance, drew blood from her. Now they awaited the results of those tests, and hopefully it wasn’t anything serious, they hoped.

“I wish you hadn’t gone out there if you were feeling bad Alula,” said Milano.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to see the Neighponese ponies and the Princess. I realized it was getting worse and was trying to find somepony to help, but most of ‘em were already at the castle so…”

Milano patted Alula’s head comfortingly. “I’m sorry Alula, I should’ve had one of the older kids stay with you – I should’ve stayed with you.”

Alula gave Milano an appreciative smile. “It’s okay Mrs. Milano. I’m fine now.”

Milano hoped she would be, she cared about all the foals at Wayward House as much as if they were her two boys, so it pained her to see one of her children ill or in pain. Just then the door opened and Nurse Red Heart entered the room, the white mare had a clipboard hanging around her neck as she made her way to them, her cheerful smile as prominent as always.

“Hello Alula, Mrs. Milano, we got your tests back and I’m happy to say that we didn’t find anything wrong.”

Milano and Alula released a breath neither of them knew they were holding. “Thank you Nurse Red Heart. But what could it have been?”

“Unfortunately that’s the downside to this. We might not have found anything wrong now, but illnesses are tricky. For now, the doctor is prescribing some pain medication in case you have another episode. It’s pretty strong so only give to her if she’s experiencing that same pain or worse and bring her back immediately.”

Milano nodded.

“Well I be alright?”

Nurse Red Heart ruffled the filly’s mane. “Don’t you worry, that’s why doctors and nurses are around, to help ponies feel better.”

With that, Milano and Alula left the hospital after getting Alula’s pain meds. The pegasus filly and earth pony mare walked along the road heading towards Wayward House.
Alula was a little disappointed that she wasn’t at the schoolhouse today, because she wanted to talk to Scootaloo. Her face heated up and tinted red when she thought back to what she did, kissing Scootaloo and hugging her like she did.

Oh…I can’t believe I went and did that! That was so stupid! I’m happy that I’m not the only pony who can switch between tribes, but there were a thousand different ways to say that other than kissing her and hugging her like that! Stupid Alula!

The pegasus filly face hoofed herself as a form of self-chastising.

Now she’s probably going to start avoiding me…I wasn’t even sure if she liked other fillies and I did that! I wanted to tell her I like-liked her, but not like that! I wouldn’t blame her if she hated me now…

“Alula, are you alright?” Milano asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because honey, you’re starting to hover above me now and you were walking not just a couple of minutes ago.”

Alula took a moment to look at her surroundings and found out that she was indeed hovering above Milano without her even realizing it. The vanilla filly quickly descended back to terra firma and chuckled nervously.

“Sorry Mrs. Milano.”

“It’s alright Alula, I just didn’t want you high in the sky before you realized that you were. But what’s on your mind sweetie, you looked deep in thought?” Milano asked.

Alula hesitated, she trusted and respected Mrs. Milano, but she wasn’t sure if the matron mare would take it well if she told her that she liked fillies, and that she kissed Scootaloo. But as it stood, Aura was the only other one she could confide in, but right now she needed some motherly advice.

“Mrs. Milano, would you be mad if I told you I…liked fillies?” Alula asked cautiously.

Milano considered the question. “How do you mean Alula? Because I like you, and you’re a filly.”

“I guess…” Alula sighed heavily. “I mean…sometimes, when I see another filly, I get a butterfly feeling in my stomach, and I get nervous around them.”

Milano’s eyes went wide with understanding. “Oh, I understand now, you mean…Oh. Alula why would you think I’d be mad about something like that? There’s nothing wrong with feeling that way. Did somepony say something to you?”

Alula could tell that Milano was about to enter “Momma Ursa” mode if she didn’t say something quickly. “No, no, it’s not like that! I…I think I messed up my friendship with Scootaloo.”

Alula had Milano’s attention, but now she had her full attention. “What would make you think that sweetie?”

The two of them stopped in the middle of the road as Alula sat on her haunches. “Yesterday…I saw Scootaloo at Sweet Apple Acres…I…” She couldn’t tell Milano about what she saw, not about the switching, and definitely not about Scootaloo being Shazam. “I told Scootaloo how I felt about her…I’ve kind of had a crush on her for a while now and I was scared of ever telling her. Then yesterday, it all came out and I…*gulp*…kissed Scootaloo!”

Milano’s brain just came to a grinding halt at that moment, her left eye twitched as she tried to process this. It’s not that she was disgusted, but it wasn’t something she was exactly prepared for. If Button had kissed that filly, Sweetie Belle, or Sweetie Belle kissed him, Milano was more than ready to explain such things to her son.

And by proxy, she was prepared to help the other foals in such a way as well, but this…this was slightly different. Because now, she didn’t know if there was damage control to be done, given Scootaloo’s past.

“Well…Alula, what happened after you…kissed her?” Milano asked tentatively.

“She just blushed and her wings flared out, I think she was too stunned to really say anything, because after that I kinda…kinda ran away back inside Apple Bloom’s house. I was just so scared that she was going to hate me. And I’m still scared that she hates me now! I don’t even know if she likes other fillies like I do, and I went and did that!”

Milano’s heart grew heavy as she saw the anguished look on Alula’s face. She really did care for Scootaloo, and was worried about messing up their friendship. In a way, Milano was hoping that Scootaloo would find somepony, although she was expecting that when she was older.

The abused filly was still in a fragile state deep down, and Milano knew that there might be troubles ahead of her if ever she found her special somepony. But maybe Alula would be good for Scootaloo?

Now came the question. Would Milano tell Alula that Scootaloo was abused, and that she might not want to be her fillyfriend because of the kind of abuse she suffered, or play it by ear and see how this develops? Either way it was a gamble.

“Alula, I need you to listen closely sweetie. What I’m about to tell you is secret, nopony other than Miss Cheerilee, myself, and Princess Twilight know this. I want you to promise me that you won’t tell a soul about this, because I need you to know that if Scootaloo says no to you, it might not be for the reasons you think,” said Milano and a serious voice.

Alula looked up at the orphanage matron with equal parts worry and anticipation. “Yes Mrs. Milano, I promise.”

Milano sighed heavily. “Scootaloo was hurt by somepony a while back, before she ever came to Wayward House. They did some very bad things to her, things that hurt her physically and emotionally. Do you remember Miss Cheerilee giving your class that talk about ‘Stranger Danger’ and how you should say ‘NO’ to somepony?”

Alula thought back to that day in class, now that she thought about it, Scootaloo looked really upset by that talk, despite her trying to hide it, Alula could see that she was uncomfortable about it all. The vanilla filly’s eyes went wide as she made the connection.

“S-Somepony did that stuff to Scootaloo?!” Alula cried.

“Yes, I’m sorry to say, somepony did Alula.”

The little filly began to cry, not for herself, but for Scootaloo. It all made sense now, why she seemed agitated that night in the bathroom when she ran away. Why she smashed the mirror, she must’ve remembered everything bad that happened to her and was venting.

Milano scooted closer to Alula and brought the filly into a hug against her side. “What’s worse, it was a mare who did those things to her.”

Alula looked back up at Milano. “A mare?! Why?!”

“I don’t know, and honestly I don’t care to know why. But know that the Royal Guard is looking for that mare and will find her and bring her to justice. But now you see why she may not feel the same way or find it hard to accept your feelings Alula.”

Alula did understand. “But I still really like her…and, I want to help her!”

Milano patted Alula on the head and smiled. “You have a big heart Alula, but be sure to not let Scootaloo know I told you these things. They’re personal, so let her be the one to tell you.”

“Okay.”

“And Alula, while I’m not a hundred percent sure on how a filly and another filly are supposed to feel towards each other, I do know that love comes in different forms. And if you do care about Scootaloo like you say, she’ll know you do too.”

Alula sniffled, wiping her face with her right foreleg before smiling up at the matron mare. “Thank you Mrs. Milano.”

A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER…

The air high up in the clouds was cool and brisk, despite the approaching summer heat, high altitudes were still the one place where a pegasus pony could really cool down. Scootaloo loved it up here, looking down at the ground below, feeling the freedom of the big blue sky.

She chuckled inwardly, realizing that a year ago, she wondered if she would ever be able to fly. And now, she was soaring up here with the best of them, and the best of the best was flying right beside her.

Rainbow Dash was staying in town again, since the Wonderbolts tour was over for the time being, she decided to spend more time with her surrogate little sister. It brought a smile to the brash pegasus’ heart, seeing that little filly so happy and excited to be up here in the air with her.

Rainbow Dash was glad when Scootaloo got her cutie mark, she didn’t know how, but whatever magic came with that mark gave her the boost she needed to fly like she always dreamed.

The pegasus mare and filly zoomed through air, weaving around cloud formations, sometimes busting right through them with a dramatic kick for fun. Rainbow Dash was going at nearly her top speed, it only impressed her when she looked to her left and saw Scootaloo keeping pace. Seeing this filled her with pride. Ever since that day when she could fly, the two of them had been practicing as often as they could, and now the young pegasus was almost at her level, and only at age twelve!

You can only get better from here Scootaloo, the older you get the stronger your body will be, for you Squirt, not even the sky’s a limit, thought Rainbow Dash.

The two pegasi decided to take a short break, finding a large enough cloud, the two of them flew over to it and settled down on it. Both of them panted a bit from their flying session, a little tired, but it was a good tired.

“You’re doing way better with each practice Squirt, pretty soon you might even be up to my level,” said Rainbow Dash.

Scootaloo blushed at the compliment. “Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll get to be that good. At least I can keep up with you a little better than before.”

Rainbow Dash lightly punched Scootaloo’s right foreleg. “Are you kidding me Scoots, at this rate, you’ll blow away all the rest. Hey, maybe you can enter the Best Young Flyers competition in Cloudsdale next year.”

“You really think I’m that good?!”

“Hay yeah I do! You’re turning thirteen next month, if we start now we can have a routine drawn up and start practicing early. I’d say you were good enough to go in now, it starts up around summer time, but I’d say we wait and really blow ‘em away when you’re at your best.”

Scootaloo was excited by this idea, she never even dreamed of entering the competition, due to the fact that she thought she’d never be able to fly. But now, after all this time, maybe it wasn’t such a farfetched idea. Winning the competition and getting a golden laurel-wreath just like Rainbow Dash’s. If it wouldn’t have made her look girly, Scootaloo would’ve fainted.

“That’s sounds awesome! Let’s do it!”

“That’s my Lil’ Sis.” Rainbow Dash got Scootaloo in a headlock and began mussing her mane up as the filly struggled to get out. “Pretty soon you’ll be beating off the colts with a stick.”

“Colts?” Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow released her. “Well yeah, I mean, when they see you out there they’ll be lining up to date you. Just sayin’.”

Scootaloo blushed. “Um…I don’t…um…Rainbow, can I ask you something?”

“Sure kid, what’s on your mind?”

“If uh…If you found out that somepony liked you…I mean, really liked you, a-and you weren’t sure how you felt about them…or if it was even alright to like them back…what would you do?”

Rainbow Dash’s ears drooped as her right eye twitched. Oh crap…Oh no…is…is she talking about me?! I…No, no, no, this isn’t happening! She can’t…I’m way too old for her – okay, maybe not that old, but still too old for her! Plus, it’s not…After what she went through…! Twilight will have my head, only after Cheerilee’s done cutting off my wings and beating me to within an edge of my life! Okay, just calm down Dash, just calm down, you can handle this.

“Oh…ahem, that sounds like a toughie…does that mean you, uh, like somepony like that?”

“That’s the thing. I feel like I want to…but, I don’t want to mess it up because she has the wrong impression of me. I guess the other thing of it is…what if…what if I’m like this because of the messed up things that happened to me?” Scootaloo asked as her gaze turned downcast.

Rainbow Dash felt her heart grow heavy. “Hey, Scootaloo, none of what happened to you is your fault. Neither does any of that stuff define who you are, you got that? So what if you like fillies instead of colts. I do too.”

“That’s what I’m scared of…what if I can’t feel like that with Alula?! What if –!”

“Wait, hold on, ‘Alula’, who’s Alula?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh…” Scootaloo looked away for a moment. “She’s…She’s a filly from Wayward House, an orphan like me. Alula…Alula kissed me and I liked it.”

Rainbow Dash wiped her brow, “Oh thank Celestia it’s another filly.”

Scootaloo quirked her eyebrow at that, “Yeah, who did you think I was talking about?”

“Nothing, no one! Definitely not me!”

“Wait wha –?”

“Anyway!” Rainbow interrupted. “I wouldn’t sweat it too much Scoots. Sometimes we tend to overthink stuff, it’s kinda like flying. You take too long in making a decision you end up crashing, if you overcompensate for another thing, you’ll also crash. Best thing to do is go with your gut, or in this case your heart.” Rainbow placed her hoof on the filly’s chest for emphasis. “Take a chance, and go with it.”

Scootaloo put her left hoof over Rainbow’s hoof. “Do you really think I can…y’know, have a fillyfriend? What if somepony says something?”

“Then you tell me, and I’ll put the fear of Faust into them.”

Scootaloo laughed, making Rainbow Dash join in. The young pegasus knew she couldn’t be fearful of these kinds of things, true her past would always haunt her, but it was the present, the memories she made here in this town, with the ponies around her, that would keep the ghosts at bay. A step forward into a new beginning was awaiting her, in the form of another filly who apparently like-liked her a lot.

“Thanks Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo moved forward and hugged her surrogate sister.

“Any time Squirt, that’s what big sisters are for.” The cyan mare hugged Scootaloo back.

Just then Scootaloo noticed something that she hadn’t earlier. “Hey, what’s this necklace?”

“Oh…that…um, it’s a –”

“Is that the lightning bolt of Shazam?”

“OKAY! Let’s do a few more laps around Ponyville and we’ll get a treat from Sugar Cube Corner! One! Two! Three! GO!”

Before Scootaloo could inquire further Rainbow Dash zoomed off into the sky, her rainbow streak the only indication of the direction she was going. Scootaloo shrugged and zoomed off to catch up to her. She wasn’t going to hesitate anymore, not if she wanted to move forward.

Project Erroria Arc Part 5: Arrival & Confession

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The train ride was nice, if not long. Babs had been looking forward to this Summer Break for a long time. Because it would be the first Summer Break she would get to spend with her favorite cousin, Apple Bloom.

Three whole months of nothing but hanging around with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo; she had hoped to bring along Kool Kat, Arnold, Cera, and Helga with her, but unfortunately they had plans as well, either some going to camps while others were going on family vacations. Babs understood, but still, she couldn’t help but think of how fun it would’ve been to have the Manehattan Branch CMC and the Mane CMC together.

Probably get into so much trouble we’d be labeled the new spirits of chaos, thought Babs.

If Babs was honest with herself, which was more or less mandatory since she was an Apple, she did have an ulterior motive in coming. Yes, she wanted to spend time with her friends, she wasn’t denying that. But it was mostly to get closer to Apple Bloom.

Babs found her heart racing every time she thought back to that night when she confessed her forbidden feelings to Scootaloo about her cousin. She trusted the pegasus filly to not say a word about her feelings to Apple Bloom, just as she trusted them with her secret identity as Shazam.

Still, there were nights when she would wake up, heart racing again. Expecting her parents or sister to come barging into her room and throw her out for how she felt. Honestly, Babs never imagined herself feeling this way for another filly, especially her own family. Guess those corny love songs have a point, the heart wants what the heart wants, ya can’t help who ya fall for sometimes.

These three months with Apple Bloom would decide for Babs if she was confident enough, and really sure of her feelings, to tell Apple Bloom how she felt. Of course she wasn’t going to just blurt it out all at once the moment she saw her. No, only way I can really tell Cuz is when we’ve spent enough time together to really get to know each other. Heck, I don’t even know if she likes fillies or even if…if she feels the same way.

And there was Babs’ greatest fear. What if she confessed and Apple Bloom didn’t feel the same way? Well, she expected to be a heartbroken, but that’s not the root of the fear. It’s what Apple Bloom thought of her afterword. Would she call Babs disgusting and never want to see her again?

And if she did feel the same way and they became fillyfriends, the day would come when their family and friends would find out about them. Babs knew Scootaloo had their backs, she was pretty sure Sweetie Belle would be okay with it.

What it really boiled down to was what would her cousin Applejack and the matriarch of the Apple Family, Granny Smith, would do. There were so many things that could go wrong, so many ways this could all end badly for one or both of them.

Sometimes Babs wondered if it was worth it at all, to just let these feelings stay in the back of her heart and just go on pretending that her love for Apple Bloom was nothing more than that of two close cousins. But if she never tried, never said a thing, it would be just as bad as, or worse than, confessing.

Babs sighed heavily, she was a thirteen-year-old filly, and already she had anxieties about her love life. Can’t let what ifs bog me down, no guts no glory. I’ll just take it one day at a time. Babs gazed out the window, seeing Castle Concordia in the distance and the fast approaching train station. It was a pain in the flank to get Mom and Pops to let me come here after that mess a couple of days ago, no point in wussin’ out now.

The familiar hissing of the steam engine and slight jerking jolt let Babs know that the train coming to a stop, when the train had fully docked into the station the conductor came out yelling, “PONYVILLE! NEXT STOP, FILLYDELPHIA, ALL ABOARD WHO’S COMIN’ ABOARD!”

Babs grabbed her suitcase and got off the train before she accidentally found herself in Fillydelphia. Once she had disembarked, Babs spotted the very filly who had occupied her thoughts the whole way here.

Apple Bloom came bounding towards Babs with the biggest smile on her face, and Babs couldn’t help but mimic it. The Manehattan filly dropped her luggage and allowed Apple Bloom to wrap her forelegs around her and hug her. Babs blushed a little as she returned the hug and slight nuzzle.

“Babs Ah can’t believe you were able to still come!”

“Yeah, took some negotiatin’ to get my ‘rents to let me spend summer in Ponyville, but I talked ‘em down. There’s no way I was goin’ to miss out on spendin’ time with my favorite cousin,” said Babs.

“Ah’m really glad too, stuffs been crazy ‘round here…well…crazier anyway.”

“Seein’ as you guys have yer own Princess livin’ next door in that huge castle, I’d expect crazier.”

Both fillies chuckled for a bit before Babs got her backs and proceeded to let Apple Bloom lead her through town and to Sweet Apple Acres. During their walk, Babs noted some the damage to the castle as they passed by it.

She sort of didn’t want to believe it, but the evidence of the event was staring her right in the face. Princess Twilight Sparkle had an assassination attempt on her life, thanks to the Neighponese delegates and Shazam, the assassin was stopped.

Babs had never heard of anypony ever attempting to assassinate a Princess, at least, not nowadays. She imagined way back when, during medieval times, that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna probably had their fair share of attempts.

But this was the modern age, and everypony was pretty much living happily. What need was there to assassinate a Princess, and Twilight Sparkle at that, a mare who had recently gained a castle and official title. “I’m glad Scoots was there to stop the whole thing.”

“Tell me about it. Sweetie and Ah didn’t get to see the fight, honestly Ah didn’t really want to after seein’ that crazy unicorn walk out of a twister made of fire!”

Babs nearly tripped on her own hooves after hearing that. “Seriously?! Wowza! I knew it was bad, but I didn’t think it was that bad!”

“Yeah, but what was really bad was what happened when Pinkie Pie was takin’ me and Sweetie back to the farm. We found one our classmates, Alula, sick and hurtin’. We brought her back to Sweet Apple Acres, and after a bit she looked like she got better.”

“Is she alright?” Babs asked.

“Oh yeah, she’s fine now last Ah heard.” Apple Bloom sighed. “With all this goin’ on, it’ll be nice just to hang out.”

Babs Seed chuckled a bit. “I seriously gotta move here one day, I thought Manehattan had crazy stuff goin’ on, but Ponyville is crazy central.”

“You’d move here just fer that?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well, yeah, d’at, and…um…well, to be closer to youse. ‘Cause you’re my favorite cousin!” She added.

Apple Bloom averted her gaze for a bit, feeling her cheeks grow surprisingly warm at what Babs said. “Ah’d like that Babs, but ya don’t hafta. Ah mean, if ya get your cutie mark before me then you’ll need to stay in Manehattan. You’ll be able to do more there than here when it appears.”

“I know, but hey, who says my cutie mark won’t be somethin’ to do with apples, it is in the family. Ah, hold on.” Babs’ bangs got into her field of vision. She gave a quick puff up at the unruly locks and made them move out of her eyes. “I really need to see a barber or somethin’.”

“Ah don’t know, it’s kinda cute when ya do that.”

“Cuz!” Babs exclaimed, her cheeks tinting red.

“Heh, heh, gotcha back for Manehattan when ya said Ah was cute when Ah smile! So there!”

“Why you little – c’mere!”

Apple Bloom took off for the farm with Babs Seed right behind her. Despite the vague threat, both fillies were giggling and laughing the whole way home, with Babs feeling a familiar warmth in her heart at seeing her cousin just ahead of her. I hope you feel the same way. I hope I’m doin’ the right thing…

ELSEWHERE…

I hope I’m doing the right thing.

Scootaloo was pacing the ground outside Wayward House, she had made her decision about what to do about her feelings about Alula, and Alula’s feelings about her. It wasn’t an easy decision to come to, and she was kind of going behind Twilight’s back with what she had planned on doing. But it had to be done, she needed to make sure of the reason why Alula feels this way towards her.

She arrived early this morning, which spoke volumes to how serious she took this since there were only two things that got her out of bed early. Flying lessons with Rainbow Dash, and having to turn into Shazam to save somepony.

The pegasus filly had asked Mrs. Milano if she could speak to Alula alone this morning, for some reason the matron of the orphanage had a strange look on her face when she asked. She also blushed a little and stumbled over her words a bit before eventually saying yes and for her to wait a moment. Scootaloo believed she should’ve pondered that reaction, but shrugged it off, she had other things to think about.

Scootaloo’s ears perked and swiveled in the direction of the door. She glanced towards the opening door of the orphanage and saw the familiar vanilla colored filly exit, but when she exited fully, Scootaloo’s jaw dropped.

Alula was sporting a unicorn horn, her wings completely gone. Scootaloo had to rub her eyes and shake her head a couple of times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating this. The – now unicorn – filly walked towards Scootaloo and stood a couple of feet in front of her.

“Morning Scootaloo,” said Alula.

“Morning…did, uh, did you switch again?”

Alula nodded.

“Did anypony see you?”

Alula shook her head.

Scootaloo sighed in relief. “That’s good.”

“Um, Scootaloo, Mrs. Milano said you wanted to talk to me about something.”

“Y-Yeah I do…uh, not here though. You mind walking with me?”

“No, I don’t mind.”

Scootaloo turned around and Alula stood next to her. With the pegasus filly leading, the two of them left Wayward House and proceeded to some unknown destination. The whole trip was nothing but silence, awkward silence, but at the same time it felt nice. Just being near each other made them feel nice inside, calm almost. Scootaloo began wondering what she should do in this situation.

Normally she had seen pegasi drape their wing over their special somepony. Scootaloo glanced over at Alula, the unicorn filly was just gazing about at the scenery. With a gulp, Scootaloo extended her right wing very, very slowly, but just as quickly jerked it back to its resting position.

You featherbrain, don’t go and do something like that! Alula might take it the wrong way, plus…after today she might not even…

“Um, Scootaloo, where are we going exactly?” Alula asked.

Scootaloo was snapped out of her inner thoughts and brought back to the present. “Oh, it’s…it’s someplace special…and secret, very secret. Like, only two ponies know about it at all, and one of them is me.”

Alula was now intrigued and a little elated that Scootaloo was taking her someplace that very few got to go. “Wait, if you’re the one of the two, then who’s the second?”

“Princess Twilight, but keep that under wraps. Oh that’ll do!”

Before Alula could ask she found herself watching Scootaloo rush on forward to an old tool shack. It most likely belonged to one of the farming ponies around town, but to whom Alula knew not. Scootaloo then opened the shack door and took a look inside, she inspected it for a couple of seconds and nodded her approval.

“This’ll do. Okay Alula, I need you go inside.”

Alula cocked an eyebrow at that. “Why do you want me to go into an old tool shack?”

“I promise it’ll make sense when we’re both in there.”

Alula’s face went red, her mind already jumping to something that she had heard some of the slightly older colts and fillies talk about. A game that consisted of a colt and a filly, sometimes two of the same gender, entering a somewhat cramped space like a closet and the two inside would…kiss and do other things.

Is…Does Scootaloo want to play that Seven Minutes in Heaven game with me?! Does that mean she likes me enough to want to do that?! I…I mean I did kiss her already but that was a spur of the moment thing! I don’t know if I could…and for seven whole minutes!

“Alula what’s wrong, you look a little flushed?”

“I fine!” Alula answered in a strangely high-pitched voice. “I’m perfectly fine! Whelp, let’s head in!”

Scootaloo watched as Alula marched into the shack, a strange mixture of trepidation and nervousness was plastered onto her face as she did so.

Weird filly, but it’s kinda cute, thought Scootaloo.

Once Alula was inside Scootaloo took one last look around and carefully closed the door. Alula’s heart was racing, beating so hard she thought it would burst out of her chest. She was alone with Scootaloo, in a place nopony would think to look for them, and only just enough space to do…whatever it was that ponies in this situation could or would do.

“Alright Alula, like I said earlier, I’m going to take you someplace special.”

“Um, o-o-okay Scootaloo. Just…Just know that I’ve only ever kissed so I don’t know what else to do in this kind of place.”

Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion. “What are you talking about? When did I say anything about kissing?”

“But you brought me in here, to this special, secret place!” Alula pointed out.

“Oh this place? Pfft, no, no, this isn’t it.”

Now Alula was confused. “Then, why here?”

“Because we can only get there if we’re in a closed space like this. It’s not underground, but with my powers that shouldn’t matter. Just stay close to me and try not to freak out.”

Scootaloo closed her eyes and extended her wings, Alula looked on curiously but noticed something strange. She wasn’t sure, but it felt like the room had gone completely still, and the sounds of the outside had vanished and gone silent. What little light was in the room began to fade away, giving rise to darkness.

The cramped space began to expand within the darkness, making Alula dance around on her hooves to try and avoid it. Despite the growing darkness Scootaloo seemed to glow within it.

Alula quickly stood next to Scootaloo, practically meshing their fur together. The contents of the shack, its walls, ceiling, floor, and its various assortment of tools, all of it vanished and two fillies were left standing in nothingness, as if they were in an abyss. Suddenly lightning arced off of Scootaloo’s body and surged forward, creating a road made of azure magical light.

The lightning struck against something solid and the symbol of Shazam appeared. The symbol morphed into a door and opened, allowing light to shine into the abyss. Scootaloo closed her wings and opened her eyes, with a nod in the door’s direction, the pegasus filly began walking down the light path.

Alula followed suit, not wanting to be left alone in the darkness. The two fillies continued along the path and went through the door. Bright light blinded Alula for a few seconds before giving way to what laid beyond the door of light. She gasped when she got a clear look at their surroundings.

Columns of stone jutted up and held up the ceiling, a few feet away was a marble throne with the lightning bolt insignia etched into the top of it. A crystal ball was set up just a foot away, and the throne itself was situated on top of a three-step pyramid, with a long red carpet leading from the foot of the throne all the way down a hallway.

The unicorn filly turned around and watched as the door of light they entered from disappeared, revealing nothing but empty space behind them. She had thought they entered from another room, but in reality, they had entered through another dimension.

“What…What is this place, Scootaloo?!”

“This is the Rock of Eternity, and I’m its keeper and protector. It’s part of the whole superhero package. I get powers, a costume, and a secret base.”

Alula continued to stare in awe of the throne room, still trying to come to grips with the fact that Scootaloo had brought her to hidden base of her alter ego. Just as she was admiring the throne room, something else caught her attention. A swarm of pink, glowing butterflies fluttered into the room.

The swarm flew around Alula and Scootaloo, tickling the unicorn filly a little as their wings brushed against her sides, causing her to giggle. The swarm began to coalesce on Scootaloo’s right. The pink glowing constructs meshed into one being, forming a body. With a brief flash of pink light Alula was now staring at a young mare.

She was unsure of what tribe she was, seeing that she had a horn, but also possessed beautiful butterfly wings at her sides. The flutterpony gave a small bow to the new guest of the Rock of Eternity. “Greetings Mistress Scootaloo, and to you esteemed guest. My name is Murmur, and I am the steward of the Rock of Eternity.”

“H-Hi, I-I’m Alula.”

“Left her a little speechless there Murmur,” said Scootaloo.

“Oh dear, I did not mean to frighten you.” Murmur apologized as her ears drooped a little.

Alula shook her head vigorously in protest. “Oh no, no, no, I was just surprised! I-I’ve never seen a pony like you before, and you just looked, um, pretty with your wings and all.”

Murmur blushed from the compliment and bowed again. “Oh, well thank you Miss Alula.”

“Murmur’s been living here for…well, a lot longer than the Princesses have been around, I think?”

“Um, Scootaloo, not to seem rude, but why did you bring me here?” Alula asked.

The pegasus filly rubbed the back of her head nervously, earning her a confused look from Murmur and a worried one from Alula. Scootaloo released a heavy sigh and then looked to Murmur. “Hey, Murmur, do you mind giving us a minute?”

The pink flutterpony nodded. “Certainly Mistress, I will be in the library researching, call me if you have need of me.”

Murmur’s body turned into a swarm of butterflies made of light that flew off into the distance. Now alone once again, Scootaloo looked to the filly whom she brought to the magical fortress.

“Alula…you said I was like you when you…k-kissed me.”

Alula cringed and rubbed her left foreleg. “I’m sorry, I was just really happy and…”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to be sorry, I…I liked it when you kissed me. Which is why I’ve been thinking hard on what I wanted to say to you.” Scootaloo took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “I’ve…I’ve had things happen to me…bad things Alula…things that made me wonder about myself, about if I could like-like another pony. And if…if my feelings were – are messed up because of that…I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

Alula already knew what Scootaloo was talking about, but hearing the pain in her voice, just talking about it was hard. Inside Alula prepared herself for the worst, steeling her heart for when Scootaloo said that she couldn’t like her that way. Even though she knew it wasn’t because she might not like her, it was still going to be hard to hear.

“That’s why…I needed to tell you that…I’m not like you.”

Alula cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Earlier, you said you were happy that I was like you. You meant it like I could switch tribes like you. The truth is I can’t switch like you, my changing is mostly due to magic, really, really, really old and powerful magic. I only change into an alicorn when I do superhero stuff, but when I’m done, I change back to what I was born as, a pegasus.”

Scootaloo took a few steps back. She channeled the ancient magic of the Rock of Eternity, concentrating on the good and righteous strength within her heart.

“SHAZAM!!!”

A bolt of lightning shot down from the ceiling and struck Scootaloo, wrapping her in a cloud of pure white smoke. Alula watched as the smoke cleared, and revealed the super powered mare, Shazam, or more accurately, Scootaloo as Shazam. The, now taller and older, Scootaloo walked over to Alula and sat down in front of her.

Alula looked up at her, now getting a good look at her without the hood and cape. Looking upon Scootaloo now made her cheeks grow warmer by the second. In this magical form, Scootaloo was, well, beautiful and yet handsome at the same time.

Like a warrior mare from the fairytales Alula read, a perfect combination of beauty and strength. And the fact that some of Scootaloo’s purple bangs were covering one of her eyes, and gave her a sort of mystique, was an added bonus.

“Now do you understand? That’s why I brought you here, to see all this, because I’m not like you…I can only become this when I say the word ‘Shazam’. I’m sorry…” The alicorn mare lowered her head in remorse.

Alula sat on her haunches and looked up to Scootaloo. “So…does that mean you don’t like me? ‘Cause, Scootaloo, that wasn’t the only reason why I like you.”

Scootaloo raised her head a little. “It’s…It’s not?”

Alula shook her head. “No Scootaloo, I mean, it would’ve been cool if you were like me, but it’s not the only reason! I liked you way before I found this out!”

Scootaloo perked her head up. “Y-You did?! You do?!”

“Of course I do!” Alula placed her hooves over her mouth, a little embarrassed that she yelled that. “O-Of course I do…but, do you feel the same way?”

Scootaloo ran her hoof through her mane. “I do, I know do…I just don’t want to mess it up…I mean…if you knew what happened to me before I came to Ponyville, you might not even want to be with me…”

Alula placed her left hoof over Scootlaoo’s right. “And what if I didn’t care about all that? Scootaloo, whatever happened to you, I…I’m sure it was bad, and that you’d rather not talk about it, but I’m fine with it. ‘Cause that’s what you do if you care about somepony, you take the good and the bad.”

“You…You would?” Scootaloo asked hopeful.

Alula nodded, giving Scootaloo her biggest smile. “Of course. Um, Scoots, do you mind changing back? Looking up at you is kinda giving me a kink in my neck.”

“Oh sorry!” Scootaloo stepped back. “SHAZAM.”

A bolt of lightning shot down and struck Scootaloo for the second time, changing her back to her original form. The young filly walked up to Alula, heart fluttering as a queasy sensation filled her stomach, not the bad kind, but the kind that you got when you felt nervous. Both fillies sat there in silence for what felt like hours, neither one not knowing what to do.

“So…you really don’t mind being my…fillyfriend?” Scootaloo asked.

“No, but only if you don’t mind having a weird fillyfriend who changes her tribe every other day…?” Alula asked with a chuckle.

“Heh, heh, not a problem with me, so long as you don’t mind having a fillyfriend that’s a superhero and is kinda messed up.”

“Sounds like we’re a good match then.”

Both Alula and Scootaloo giggled at that, realizing in their own unique ways, they were both odd ducks, but that only made this feel all the more special. The young fillies looked nervously to each other, with Scootaloo rubbing one of her forelegs and Alula’s playing with her mane nervously.

“So do we kiss or something?”

“O-Only if you think we should.”

“Well, it’d be better than that surprise kiss that you gave me a couple of days ago.”

“Sorry about that, again.”

“Nah, don’t sweat it…To tell you the truth, I want to, but I’m kind of scared to, if that makes sense,” said Scootaloo.

“We could just kiss each other on the cheeks, it doesn’t have to be on the lips. Would that be better?” Alula asked.

Scootaloo nodded. The orange filly scooted closer to the vanilla colored filly, she leaned forward and gently gave Alula a light peck on the cheek. It was only for a few short seconds, but that small kiss on the cheek was enough to make Alula’s horn spark with excitement. When Scootaloo pulled away, she stood still and awaited Alula’s response.

The vanilla unicorn moved with the same careful and slow movements that Scootaloo had done, her lips meeting the fur covered cheek of the orange pegasus. Scootaloo’s reaction was visible, her ears stood up, wings flared, and her face became a darker shade of red. Even though it was that one area, Scootaloo felt like her whole body was tingling. When Alula pulled away, Scootaloo noticed she had an equally fierce blush on her face.

“I guess we’re fillyfriends now, do you think we should tell your friends?”

“Our friends Alula, my friends are your friends too. And let’s wait a couple of days. With everything that’s happened lately, I don’t want to throw this on top of it. Sound good?”

Alula scooted closer to Scootaloo, now at her left side and brushing her fur against her new fillyfriend’s. “That’s okay with me.”

Scootaloo stiffened at the sensation of Alula’s fur against her own, but at the same time it comforted her. This was the right decision, I’m sure. I like Alula, this feels right. I just hope I don’t mess this up…

Project Erroria Arc Part 6: Pony Pet Playdate Disaster!

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Scootaloo and Alula had been together almost three days now. After bringing her new fillyfriend to the Rock of Eternity, Scootaloo showed her around, even taking her outside to see the structure in its entirety. It was funny to see the same stunned expression she had the first time seeing this place on another pony.

The tour didn’t last long, time may not exist in Rock of Eternity, but there was only so much she could show before Scootaloo herself became lost. The rest of the time after that was spent figuring out who to tell about this. Scootaloo knew she’d need to tell her friends soon, but there was one pony that both of the thought deserved to know straight away. And her reaction was as expected.

“YES, YES, FINALLY! Do you two have any idea how frustrating it’s been watching you two not get together?!” Aura shouted.

Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head nervously. “Y-Yeah, sorry Aura. Seriously, you knew I liked Alula?”

“Well, not so much as knew, as I had a feeling about you.” Aura then turned to Alula and grinned deviously. “You though, I knew you were head over hooves for her.”

“Aura!” Alula exclaimed.

“Aw well, I’m just glad you two are together!” Aura then let a very giddy squee that made her trot in place. She then darted towards her bed and pulled out something from below. Curious, Scootaloo and Alula walked over to Aura and peeked over her shoulders to see what it was.

It was a journal of sorts, in it was Scootaloo and Alula’s names, and right across from it was their names combined into “Scootalula”. Aura then took out a green crayon and put a check mark next to it.

“What is that about?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh this is my Book of Ships! See!” Aura turned the page and showed another pair of names

Sweetie Belle x Button Mash = Sweetie Mash
Spike x Ms. Rarity = Sparity
Big Macintosh x Cheerilee = CheeriMac
Fluttershy x Discord = FlutterCord

It continued on from there, but Scootaloo and Alula got the picture, although Scootaloo felt a little bad for Aura when she eventually finds out about who Miss Cheerilee was really with. It was then that Alula spotted a red tag on one of the pages.

“What’s that page?” Alula asked as she went to turn it.

“Alula wait – no!”

When she turned the page it showed a bunch of other names shipped together, the heading above the page read “Guilty Ships”. Aura hurriedly closed the book, but not before the two of them were able to glimpse one couple’s name, making both fillies blush. Aura held the book close and smiled nervously at them.

“So…Princess Celestia x Princess Luna,” started Alula.

“‘Equals, Lunestia’?” Scootaloo finished.

“Please don’t tell anypony,” Aura begged.

Scootaloo and Alula looked to each other and nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

All three giggled happily, Aura put down the book and hooked her forelegs over both her friends. “But really girls, I’m glad you’re happy together.”

Scootaloo and Alula hugged Aura back, three orphan friends, now two were a couple. It was nice to say the least. The three ended the hug, but something bothered Aura.

“Have you guys told Sweetie, Babs, and AB yet?”

“No,” they said in unison.

“Well, you might want to soon. The longer you keep this a secret the more they’re going to feel as if you don’t trust them.” Aura warned.

“I know, but we’re just trying to take this slow, and figure out the best way to tell them,” said Scootaloo.

Aluala placed a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder as she spoke. “But, we are going to. They’re my friends now too, and I want to be honest with them.”

Aura nodded her head, thinking that that was a good enough plan for the time being. “AH HORSEAPPLES!”

“What?!” Alula and Scootaloo asked worriedly.

“If this keeps up, who am I going to ship myself with?!” Aura asked with all the seriousness in the world.

Both fillies face hoofed themselves.

THURSDAY…

The day had arrived, and everypony was anxious. Twilight was standing in the park with her marefriend, Cheerilee. On Twilight’s back stood Owlowiscious, the owl lightly brushed Twilight’s mane with his wing, trying his best to calm his owner. Twilight smiled gratefully at her little friend, but unfortunately, her nervousness would not be so easily tamed.

Next to Twilight was Scootaloo, who looked up at her mentor and friend with an equal amount of worry as Twilight, and Cheerilee. Despite this, Cheerilee looked calm, she was probably trembling on the inside, but she knew Twilight needed at least one of them to be strong. “It’ll be okay, Twi, I’m sure.”

“Oh, I know, I mean, it’s you! I mean, the Princess respects educators, and you are one! And you adopted Scootaloo, which shows you really care! And the fact that Princess Luna is coming too certainly doesn’t mean she’s going to do anything strange!”

Scootaloo noticed Twilight’s eye twitching. She glanced up to Owlowiscious and both knew that this was probably going south if she didn’t loosen up. “Twilight, trust me, it’ll be great! You two didn’t freak out that much when I told you about Alula, and you two might as well as be as intimidating as the Princesses, you even more so Twilight, since you are one.”

Twilight and Cheerilee remembered that day quite well. When they talked about what Scootaloo had been asking them they figured something like this was coming, so it wasn’t a total shock, but that didn’t stop them from worrying. Both of them thought that Scootaloo would have trouble with romantic relationships, considering what she had been through in her young life.

But when they met Alula, and saw how Scootaloo stuck by her, they were really moved; so, with caution and care, they approved of their little love and would help where they could.

“I guess you’re right, still…”

“Just relax, Twi,” Cheerilee nuzzled Twilight’s cheek, calming her nerves, “it’ll be alright, you’ll see, it’s just a playdate.”

Scootaloo moved closer to Twilight and nuzzled her leg, while Owlowiscious hopped closer to Twilight’s head and nuzzled it from the back. The Princess of Friendship felt less nervous, now surrounded by those who truly cared about her and loved her made her forget the nervousness altogether.

Just then Scootaloo’s ears picked up on the familiar barking of dog. The four looked towards the noise and spotted Winona bounding towards them. The hyperactive dog tackled Scootaloo, causing Twilight and Cheerilee to jerk their heads back as they watched the young filly fall on her back a couple of feet away.

Winona was jumping up and down on Scootaloo, licking her muzzle in between and causing the pegasus filly to giggle. Twilight turned to where Winona had come from and spotted Applejack coming their way, with Babs Seed and Apple Bloom in tow.

Owlowiscious fluttered off of Twilight’s back and landed next to Winona. He then reached out with a single talon and tapped the bouncing dog a couple of times to get her attention. Winona looked upon Owlowiscious with her big brown eyes, tongue hanging out of her mouth as she grinned at him.

*Hoot*

*Yep*

*Hoot, hoot, hoot*

*Yep, yep?*

*Hoot.*

*Yep!*

Winona got off of Scootaloo and went back to her owner. Scootaloo wiped her now matted fur and chuckled lightly. “Thanks Owlowiscious.”
The owl hooted and gave a wink to Scootaloo, returning to Twilight’s back, which had become his temporary perch.

Soon the others began arriving. Pinkie Pie came bouncing in with Gummy latched onto her tail, Rarity and Sweetie Belle arrived next, with the former carrying Opalescence in her lavishly decorated carrier, the diva kitty exiting said carrier with all the grace and poise of a feline such as herself.

Rainbow Dash descended from the skies, her companion, Tank, flying in on his magical helicopter rotor. Fluttershy appeared next, with Angel bunny sitting on her back and hopping off to meet with the other pets.

Tank landed on the ground and looked to the others, smiling slowly. Opal came up to Tank, stood there, bopped him on the nose with her paw and then nuzzled him, as was their odd greeting. Angel, the ever-irate bunny he was, looked annoyed as Winona kept circling him and barking, asking in her own animal language to play with her, and as usual Angel sighed in annoyance. And Gummy, well, Gummy just stood there, his two eyes blinking at different intervals as his violet orbs stared into nothing.

“Twilight, darling, where are the Princesses? Have they not arrived yet?” Rarity asked.

“I sent them a letter to remind them of the Playdate yesterday, but I wouldn’t get too worried. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna leaving the Canterlot Castle is a bit of a chore, what with all the stuff that’s been happening lately. The Royal Guards and court work do bog things down a bit.” Twilight explained.

Just then a dual aura of midnight blue and sun yellow appeared a few feet away. With flash, the lights disappeared, revealing the Princesses standing for all to see, and what they saw kind of shocked the others.

Celestia and Luna weren’t wearing their regalia, in fact, both alicorn mares had their manes tied into, well, a ponytail. It was an odd sight, very, very odd, to see the rulers of their realm, the demi-goddesses, look normal-ish.

“Huzzah! We have made it just in time! Tibbles, come now, do not be shy, greet your new friends!” Luna insisted.

Despite her mane being in a ponytail, there was still a good amount of it still untied. The group of ponies watched at that starry mane stirred for a moment before something poked its head up from it. The creature was a faded cobalt blue color, with a white face, and a long whip like tail that stuck up from the opposite end. The opossum then rolled up into a ball and rolled out of Luna’s mane, down her left foreleg, and onto the ground before her.

Rarity had to bite her tongue at seeing a humongous rat fall out of Luna’s mane, she wanted to scream to high heaven and run for the hills. But given what this Pony Pet Playdate meant for Twilight and Cheerilee, Rarity used every bit of her willpower not to scream so high that glass shattered. Opal on the other hand regarded Tiberius, trying to decide if the giant rat was worth the effort to hunt and eat, or not getting her fur all messy.

Celestia had her pet phoenix, Philomena, perched on her right foreleg, the regal phoenix scanning her new playmates from her ivory tower, so to speak. “Now Philomena, play nice with the others, these are friends. And no monkey business, understood?”

Philomena let out a couple of trills that could’ve been construed as compliance or a simple “Yeah, yeah, whatever”.

Celestia rolled her eyes, but leaned closer to whisper to the phoenix’s ear. “And look after Tiberius, this is the first time he’s meeting the other pets as it is yours, but…”

Philomena looked down to the shy opossum, she didn’t need to be told to look out for him. It had been so long since she had another animal friend in the castle, and when Luna brought home Tiberius, she immediately made it her duty to look out for him, like the little brother she never had. The phoenix nodded to Celestia and went down to join her fellow Royal Pet.

The other six pets looked upon the new additions to their group and tilted their heads, wondering how best to approach them. Five of the six looked to Owlowiscious, the owl looked to each of his fellow Pony Pets and sighed.

It had become an unspoken decision amongst the others that Owlowiscious was their “leader” in a way, being the wise, calm, and collected one amongst them, he would often settle little disputes amongst the others, heck, even when Spike was “taking care of them”, Owlowiscious was practically helping him the whole time.

With that established, Owlowiscious fluttered and hopped over to Tiberius and Philomena. The firebird scuttled forward a bit, putting herself between the opossum and owl. Owlowiscious had only ever interacted with a phoenix once, but Pee Wee was a phoenix chick, and he didn’t stay long, which was a shame, he rather looked forward to having a feathered friend.

*Hoot*

*Brak*

*Hoot, hoot hoot, hoot* Owlowicious extended his wing to the other pets.

Philomena looked upon each of them, Angel she was familiar with, and knew to make sure that Tiberius didn’t hang around him too much. Gummy…that thing she had no idea about, she wasn’t even sure it was paying attention to anything.

Opal was probably the one pet she was most concerned about, being a cat and Tiberius being a member of the rodent family, Philomena was a little worried that the cat would harm him.

Winona, if anything she looked overly energetic, tail wagging to the point of blurring. But the owl, he seemed polite enough, and a little more together than the others. The assembled ponies all silently watched the little exchange between the critters, a form of politics happening that nopony wanted to interfere with, and was fascinating to watch.

The only one who had any idea of what was going on was Fluttershy, who got a slight kick out of being the only one who understood what was happening.

*We are a rather odd sort, but quite friendly Miss Philomena*, said Owlowiscious.

Philomena arched her brow. *Hmm, you could say that again. I trust you Owlowiscious, your pony was Tia’s student. But…*

Tiberius poked his head out from behind Philomena and tugged at her wing a little. *C’mon Philly, I’ll be fine, they look like fun!*

*Tibbles…you’re not used to being around daytime critters, these lot well…I’m just looking out for you.*

*I know, and thank you, but it’d be nice to have other friends then the ones I know in the gardens. And Lulu’s really excited to play since we don’t get to spend a lot of time together with her royal pony work.*

Of that Philomena couldn’t deny, in centuries past, Celestia and Philomena played pranks and had fun a lot when she was a filly and a little more into her teenage years. But as the centuries grew older, so did the responsibilities that came with Celestia being a Princess, even more so when Luna was gone.

That was a sad time, seeing her pony so broken and crestfallen, and being able to do little more than just nuzzle and be there beside her. But now, Luna had come back, and seeing Celestia now, mane in a ponytail, and without regalia, it reminded her of the good old days.

*Very well, let us have fun!* Philomena leaned forward to whisper to Owlowiscious. *That alligator won’t be a problem will it?*

*Gummy? He’s no threat at all, no teeth in there, all gums. So if he bites down it’s nothing.* Owlowiscious twisted his head around and looked to Opal, he then faced forward again. *I’ll keep an eye on Opal.*

With that established, Philomena and Tiberius both walked over to the group, with Owlowiscious leading them. They all chittered, trilled, and barked, all excited to have new friends.

*Hi, hi, I’m Winona! Who are you?! Are you a rat?! You don’t look like a rat. You’re really furry!* Winona barked.

*Geez, Wi, are you sure you’re with the right pony? Maybe the pink one’s more your speed.* Angel commented.

*Hi…I’m…Tank…* the tortoise slowly said.

Gummy blinked once, twice, and a third time. Tilted his head, walked forward, and bumped his snout against Tiberius’s nose. He then stood back and blinked again. *Hi.*

Opal walked up to the rodent and smiled widely. *Hello, Tiberius, I have a feeling we’re going to get along perrrrfectly.*

Scootaloo, who was closest to Fluttershy, nudged the pale yellow pegasus. “What are they saying?”

Fluttershy crouched down and whispered. “They’re just saying hi, it’s really cute.” She then added. “Make sure to keep an eye on Opalescence.”

“What for?”

“Just because.”

The rest of the day went along fairly well, each of the ponies played around with their individual pets, once in a while joining another group for a game or two. After a few hours of the ponies and pets playing together, they left their critter friends to their own devices while their owners rested up for another round of running, fetching, or flying.

During this downtime, Celestia and Luna managed to corner Twilight and Cheerilee. They spoke about the reason for their slight delay. Apparently the Royal Guards didn’t want to let them out without an escort, and their personal assistants, Raven and Kibitz, were even more concerned, so they gave them the slip and came here.

Celestia stole Cheerilee away for a moment, wanting to talk with schoolmarm alone, all while Luna kept Twilight company, and restrained if she suddenly flew off the handle. The elder alicorn smiled at the maroon mare, and yet somehow Cheerilee felt as if she was about to be smote.

“So, Cheerilee, you are quite taken with my former student?”

Cheerilee gulped. “Why yes Princess, I…I am.”

“Oh please, no titles here. Just Celestia is fine.”

“Yes ma’am!”

Luna snickered at how nervous Cheerilee was, remembering how often her big sister would adopt such a calm air while being no less intimidating. The lunar princess glanced towards Twilight, who was seated next to her, watching this dialogue transpire with more nervousness than her marefriend.

“So, how long have you and Twilight been dating? I must say, she has made no mention of this to me.”

“Yes, well let’s see…We’ve been together almost a year and six months now,” said Cheerilee.

“Mmm, I see. How did you two meet, by chance?”

Cheerilee and Twilight’s breath hitched at that moment. “Well, I’ve been in touch with Twilight before that, consulted with her on the curriculum that I teach, as well as petitioning her to instruct some of my unicorn students in magic. But…”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “But…?”

“It’s really embarrassing…”

“Is it now?” Celestia asked with a level gaze.

Cheerilee gulped, she could lie, lying would be easy, but lying to the Princess of Equestria, a variable goddess amongst ponies, would not only hurt her relationship with Twilight, it could very well end it. Steeling herself, Cheerilee recanted the tale of how she and Twilight began their little relationship.

The tale consisted of Cheerilee visiting her younger sister’s bar, and unbeknownst to her, Twilight – a unicorn at the time – had been brought there by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Apparently Twilight had never partaken of anything besides the Apple Family’s cider, and was curious what alcoholic beverages tasted like.

Cheerilee joined their group, at Twilight’s behest, hoping for some stimulating conversation, knowing Pinkie and Rainbow would be on about other things that would totally lose her.

After a few drinks the two of them found themselves alone in the bar, with just Berry Punch closing up. Both were too inebriated to actually get to either one’s home, so Berry Punch had them stay over at her place until they were sober, and in need of one of her patented hangover remedies.

The two of them were put in the same room, Berry Punch’s house wasn’t very big at the time. While sleeping, the two of them talked more and more, and found that they didn’t just have a common love of learning and knowledge, but also the fact that neither of them had ever really had found somepony they liked.

Twilight for her intense focus on friendship and magic, and Cheerilee, well, she dated a couple of ponies, mares and stallions, but nothing ever clicked with them. Not like Twilight, it was so easy to talk to her, she could open fully to her, and the feeling was mutual.

In the end, the night found them embracing each other, and acting on emotions and desires that neither of them knew they had for each other.

“We took it slow after that night, making sure what we felt was real and not just something that happened because we were drunk. But, as time went on, Twilight and I realized that we do indeed love each other. Even after her ascension, she was so scared that I wouldn’t want to be with her after going through such a drastic change.”

Celestia hung her head a little. “I’m sorry about that, I didn’t know she was seeing you at the time. I was so proud of her when she understood friendship, and in the process created a new kind magic from it. She has earned this ascension and title, but…”

“Celestia, you’re not saying you wouldn’t have ascended her if she was with somepony, are you?” Cheerilee asked.

Celestia sighed as she looked to the smaller mare. “Understand this Cheerilee, Twilight is an alicorn, like Luna, myself, and Cadance. And in so becoming one, her lifespan is without end. Time will never ravage her, she will live on. Can you bare that Cheerilee? Knowing that one day, you will grow old and be no more, while Twilight will continue on.”

Cheerilee looked towards her marefriend some ways away, who was being consoled by Luna. “I can, because I knew already what it would mean when she became an alicorn. I even tried to break up with her once, to spare her having to watch me grow old and die one day.”

Cheerilee turned back to look up at Celestia. “But the moment I did, my heart nearly ripped apart seeing the devastated look on her face. I promised to be with Twilight, for however long I have, and give her as much happiness as I can, enough, hopefully, to offset the sadness of my passing.”

Celestia regarded this mare, finding her words heavy with truth and sincerity. The alabaster mare had rarely heard such conviction, towards herself or Luna, and those who did held a special place in either sister’s hearts. It actually put Celestia at ease, knowing that Twilight had found somepony like that as her first love. Celestia extended her wing and draped it over Cheerilee, causing the maroon mare to squeak at the sudden wing embrace.

“Cheerilee, while the way you courted my former student is…questionable, I see that your heart is true. I worry about Twilight sometimes. She has come so far from the filly I taught and practically raised, so forgive me if I act overly motherly about her wellbeing.”

Cheerilee shook her head. “It’s not a problem at all Celestia, I know how much Twilight means to you, and how much you mean to her.”

“Well then, know that you have nothing to fear from me. You are a good mare, Cheerilee, and I wish you and Twilight happiness.” Celestia watched as the mare’s face contorted into a grateful smile. The sun princess, however, had a devious grin appear on her face. “So, Cheerilee, while we’re on the subject, how long will it be until you make an honest mare out of Twilight?”

Cheerilee froze in place as she blushed. “H-H-Honest mare?!”

“Oh, and should you two make the decision, I know of a few spells that can help you two…how shall I say…‘expand’ your family,” said Celestia.

Cheerilee’s body was no longer maroon, it had in fact now become a lovely shade of crimson as certain thoughts drifted through her head. “I-I-I don’t think that’ll be necessary, with all due respect! I-I’ve adopted Scootaloo, and she’s already like a daughter to me, and she adores Twilight as well, so there’s no need for that.”

Celestia brought Cheerilee closer. “Oh, but who’s to say that little Scootaloo wouldn’t mind having a sibling or three?”

“T-T-THREE?!” Cheerilee cried.

“Alright, that’s enough Tia.” Luna appeared before them, using her magic to separate Cheerilee from her elder sister’s wing and place her next to her marefriend. “You’re going to give the poor thing a heart attack.”

Celestia pouted, puffing her cheeks like a foal would. Twilight looked to her mentor and then to Cheerilee worriedly, but Cheerilee assured Twilight that there was nothing wrong, just some private humor between her and Celestia.

The rest of the day went pretty well, the CMC were busy playing with the pets, having an unknown wellspring of energy that no adult could fathom. But just then, all the pets froze. Winona turned towards the west, her tail straightened and fluffed out, lips curling back to reveal her canine fangs, and growling.

Opal was the same why, turning in the same direction, her back arching up as her rounded pupils became slits. Claws bared, tail fluffed and standing up, and letting out a low yowl.

“Winona, what’s gotten inta ya?” Apple Bloom asked cautiously.

“Opal, I swear I didn’t step on your tail or anything so why do you look like that?!” Sweetie asked with worry.

“Guys they ain’t lookin’ at us, they’re starin’ out that way,” said Babs as she pointed in the direction Opal and Winona did. “And it ain’t just them, look!”

Gummy, surprisingly, showed complete alertness, his eyes were facing forward, both eyes blinking simultaneously, hissing warningly. Tank retreated into his shell. Angel, the irate thing he was, scurried like the wind to Fluttershy, practically burying himself in her mane to hide.

Philomena and Owlowiscious, who were perched on a tree branch, had ruffled feathers, wings spread slightly for intimidation. Tiberius mimicked Angel, finding his owner and scurrying to the safety of her mane.

The older ponies took notice and quickly went to their pets, calling out to them but not receiving any reply. Fluttershy looked upon each of them, and it didn’t take her long to figure out what they were doing.

“Something’s wrong, they’re scared of something,” said Fluttershy.

“Scared of what?” Rainbow asked while trying to sooth Tank.

“Whatever it is, it’s really, bad to get them all riled up like this! They’re on guard, something threatening is coming our way!”

Twilight, Celestia, and Luna glanced between each other, their fears coming to light. Scootaloo readied herself, she didn’t know what would be coming, but she hoped it was something that the Princesses could handle, and if not, she was ready to spring into action if needed.

Just then they spotted somepony walking towards them, it was an Earth Pony, a stallion, but none of the mares present recognized him. He was brown in color, with a white mane and tail. He looked pretty bulky, a contender for Big Macintosh, with a stoic expression to match. The stallion continued to trot towards them, the pets becoming ever more agitated the closer he got. Suddenly the burly stallion stopped a yard away from them. His violet eyes roved over the group, until they rested on the three alicorn mares present.

Twilight decided to break the ominous silence that had fallen over them all. “Ahem, excuse, who are you?”

“The Kingdom shall rise, and your time has come…”

The eyes of everypony there flew wide open. At that moment, the stallion’s violet eyes turned red. Red mana wafted off his body, increasing his already bulky body into a hulking mass, along with doubling his height, making him taller than Celestia. The brutish Kingdom agent growled low, he then raised his right hoof, channeling the crimson mana down into it. He then stomped his hoof hard into the dirt, causing the energy to surge forth.

The ground fissured as the crimson energy bolt surged through the ground, upheaving the earth and destroying anything that was in its path. Celestia and Luna acted fast, putting themselves in front of their friends and summoned forth a powerful shield, mixing their magic together in order to double its defensive power. The crimson bolt slammed against the barrier, exploding on impact and shattering the barrier.

The force of the blast sent both alicorns sprawling to the ground, but they quickly got back onto their hooves. They gasped upon seeing the destruction his single stomp caused, a fissure had opened up, six feet deep and three feet wide.

“Twilight, get everypony out of here immediately, we’ll hold off this cur!” Luna ordered.

Twilight didn’t argue, she knew exactly how dangerous this stallion was. Despite not having a horn, somehow this stallion was able to use the same crimson mana that the unicorn last week used.

“Everypony this way –!”

“TWILIGHT LOOK OUT!!!” Rainbow Dash cried.

A sudden tornado, laced with crimson mana, roared towards Twilight. The Princess of Friendship channeled her magical might, and fired a column-sized beam of rose-colored energy. The beam and tornado clashed in midair as Twilight pushed against it, she concentrated, putting more power into the attack, pushing the attack back. But at that moment something, or rather somepony, came flying out from it.

It was a pegasus, a mare, silver with a white mane and tail, and her eyes were glowing the same color as the stallion’s. She gave them all a menacing glare, a strangely sultry yet sinister smile forming on her lips as she locked her eyes on Twilight.

“The Kingdom shall rise, and your time has come!”

“Another one?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Um, make that three, darling!” Rarity warned.

The others gazed towards a sphere of crimson mana, the sphere broke apart, revealing a third Kingdom agent. A unicorn stallion, sporting a svelte frame, white mane and tail, and a dark-violet coat, his horn glimmered with the hostile red magical power, ready to be cast at a moment’s notice.

“The Kingdom shall rise, and your time has come!”

The group of ponies backed up, now surrounded by three agents of The Kingdom, wielding the deadly crimson mana that could pierce other magic, and whatever else they had yet to learn. The three alicorns thought quickly, the younger ponies, along with their assembled pets were in danger if they stayed her. All but one of the foals knew she needed to help them, but as it stood, transforming now would be a bad idea. Unfortunately, at this point, it was seeming to be the better option.

“They only want us,” said Twilight.

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked.

“When Sakuya and Kagutsuchi intervened the agent went after them as well. I think they’ll only attack those who get in their way, they’re only here to…kill the three of us.”

Cheerilee’s eyes went wide, already having figured out where Twilight was going with this. “Oh hay no! You’re not suggesting –!”

“It’s the only way, you and everypony else need to make a break for it. Celestia, Luna, and I will engage each of them individually, while we’re doing that, all of you can run as far from here as you can!”

“Yeah, that plan sucks! You’re not seriously going to take these guys alone!” Rainbow Dash accused.

Applejack gritted her teeth, and grunted in frustration. “She’s right.”

“AJ?!”

“We ain’t no good to ‘em right now, Rainbow! And do ya think they can fight as hard as they want if they’re too worried about us?!”

Rainbow opened and closed her mouth several times in an attempt to argue the point, but in the end she conceded to her friend’s logic. With the Crusaders and their pets around, nopony could go all out against them without somepony getting hurt, and the last thing she wanted was to see Scootaloo hurt.

Celestia looked to Philomena, who was still perched in the tree next to Owlowiscious. She gave her pet phoenix a look, a silent conversation being spoken between them as Philomena nodded her head.

“When I say so,” Celestia whispered, “cover your eyes and run as fast as you can.” Her tone was stern yet soft, conveying that she was not be questioned in her order, but to also convey her concern for their safety.

The three Kingdom agents surrounded the group in a triangle formation, crimson mana lapping off their bodies in preparation for an attack. Just then, Celestia winked towards Philomena and the phoenix shot towards them, stopping right above the group of ponies.

“PHILOMENA, SOLAR FLARE, NOW!”

The phoenix spread her wings wide as each feather shined with the brilliance of the blazing sun itself. The bright light shone over everything, its intense glare so powerful that it literally felt as if a force of power was pushing against you. The Kingdom agents, fortunately, got an eyeful of Philomena’s Solar Flare. Their eyes burned as their vision became nothing but white and dancing rainbow spots. The three howled and grunted in pain as they fell back, trying to distance themselves from the light.

Philomena’s Solar Flare began to die down, and thankfully, the others had been quick enough to shut their eyes so as to not be blinded as well. “NOW RUN!!!” Celestia ordered.

Applejack led the way, barreling for the more open and clear path as she cried out for the others to follow behind her. Rarity and Fluttershy took up the sides while Rainbow, Cheerilee, and Pinkie took the rear, keeping the pets and foals in a protective encirclement as they all ran away.

Scootaloo looked back, knowing that she needed to help them, but she wasn’t in a good position to do so.

When Philomena’s light died out, Celestia looked to her oldest friend and motioned for her to go to the others. The stubborn phoenix would not leave her owner’s side, letting off trills and squawks of disagreement at the order, she was an immortal phoenix, and if she died she could simply reconstitute herself from the ashes upon death. If anything, she worried more for Celestia, she had not the same ability and could very much die.

Just then Philomena spotted Tiberius’s head stick up from Luna’s mane. The phoenix’s eyes widened with fear, she had thought the opossum had left with the others. Seeing this as well, Celestia nodded towards Tiberius. Reluctantly, Philomena swooped down and grabbed Tiberius by the tuft with her talons, being careful not to dig too deep as she flew him in the direction of the others.

Now they were alone, three alicorn princesses and three temporarily blinded Kingdom agents. “Twilight, now’s probably not the best time to mention this, but my sister and I have yet to fully recover our more powerful magicks,” Luna said.

“I figured as much, Luna. But even so, these three aren’t like normal ponies.” Twilight warned.

“Let us end them swiftly!” Celestia bellowed.

The group had made some ways away, but even from their current location, they could still hear the fierce explosions and beams of rose, royal blue, sun yellow, and red light being shot off this way and that. The earth beneath their hooves shook violently from time to time, and the skies would churn with clouds, spitting out red lightning down to the ground below.

Five of the six mares wanted to go back, to aide Twilight and wield their Rainbow Power against the Kingdom agents, but they were hesitant. After their joint defeat at the hooves of Black Adam, they weren’t sure if the power of Harmony could really defeat those blank flanked killers.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo was thinking hard, she needed to separate from the group, transform, and save the princesses. But unlike before, Pinkie Pie didn’t seem in a position to help them, and neither did any of her friends. Philomena had returned with Tiberius, the phoenix ruffled her feathers as she fumed. Knowing that she needed to get her friend to safety, and angry at herself for not going back to help.

It was then that Scootaloo got an idea, whether or not it would work was up in the air, but something was better than nothing. Quietly, she slipped by the adults and was able to get close to Owlowiscious to whisper to him.

“Listen, I know you know what I am and that I can help, right?”

Owlowiscious nodded his understanding.

She figured as much, the owl was smarter than he let on, and with the frequent trips to Twilight’s castle, she was sure he put two and two together. Plus, she was pretty sure he was in the library that day she transformed in front of Twilight, most likely perched somewhere inconspicuous.

“Okay, I need you to get Philomena to do that flashy thing again. It’ll give me enough time to get out of here and help Twilight and the Princesses, do you understand?” Scootaloo asked.

Owlowiscious glanced towards the phoenix and then to Scootaloo, he then gave a quick nod and hopped along towards the still fuming phoenix. Once he got there, Philomena was hardly in the mood to talk.

*Philomena please, you must listen to me!*

*I don’t want to talk right now! My Tia is fighting for her life over there and I can’t do a thing to help!* Philomena yelled.

*I feel the same, and so does Tiberius. But there is a way to help, and you can provide us with the opportunity!* Owlowiscious pleaded.

The phoenix stopped and looked upon the owl curiously. *What do you mean?* Owlowiscious bayed for Philomena to come down closer, once she did, he whispered to her. The phoenix’s face had a shocked expression on it. *That filly chick is –!*

*Shh, shh! Yes, and if you do this she can help!*

Philomena glanced towards Scootaloo, giving her an apprising look as if still unsure of that the young foal was the alicorn mare, Shazam. But at this point, long shots were better than no shots at all.

*Be ready, I used a lot of my magic to make my Solar Flare strong the first time. This time it’ll be weaker, but it should be enough for her to change and leave,* said Philomena.

*Excellent!*

Owlowiscious hopped back to Scootaloo and winked at her. Scootaloo took that as a conformation that Philomena was in, now all she needed to do is move back some. She whispered her plan to Sweetie, AB, and Babs, who both nodded in agreement and said “Be careful” as they covered her retreat. Slowly Scootaloo backed away as the adults kept a careful eye on the explosions and fighting in the distance.

Once she was sure she was far enough away, Scootaloo nodded towards Philomena. The phoenix nodded and took off, flying in front of the group. Babs, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom shut their eyes, along with the other pets and Scootaloo. The phoenix let loose her Solar Flare, hitting each mare in the eyes with blinding radiance. It didn’t take long for them to all shut their eyes and wince from the slight stinging sensation.

“PHILOMENA, WHAT THE HAY?!!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“SHAZAM!”

A bolt of azure lightning shot down from the clear sky and struck Scootaloo, concealing her within pure white smoke. With a great “whoosh” Shazam burst forth from the smoke and into the sky, she then took off in the direction of the battle, becoming a bolt of lightning as thunder roared through the skies. Philomena ended her Solar Flare, but still weary, she flew after Scootaloo.

*Miss Philomena!* Owlowiscious called out.

*Oh cripes, the flashy bird just flew the coup!*

*C’mon, c’mon, we can’t just let her go on her own!* Winona barked.

Angel crossed his forelegs in front of his chest and gave Winona a defiant look. *Oh heck no, there ain’t no way I’m –!*

There was a sound, like knives being unsheathed, which suddenly caught Angel’s attention. He looked in front of him and saw Opal with her claws at the ready, giving him her best persuasive face.

*We’re going, now,* she said with finality.

Angel hopped onto Winona’s back quickly, moving like a white blur. *Well what are we waiting for?! Giddy up little doggy, ‘cause we’re all going to die!*

*That’s the spirit!* Winona howled as she ran like the wind.

*Yay…!* Tank added.

*I-I’m going too! Luna and Philomena, I won’t leave them behind!* Tiberius proclaimed.

With that settled, Tank flew down and picked Tiberius up by the tuft, while Owlowiscious picked up Opal, and they all took off towards the battlefield.

Leaving Gummy behind, still blinking. And blinking, and blinking, and – oh wait, he’s gone now. Wait what?

During the battle, the three alicorn mares had chosen their dance partners. Twilight took on the unicorn stallion, both trading magic bolts back and forth. Luna had decided to test her strength against the brutish Earth pony stallion, arguing that she hadn’t had a good test of strength with anypony for centuries. Which left Celestia to duke it out with the pegasus mare in the sky.

Luna may not have access to her full power, but she was no slouch in combat. She channeled her magic into her body, calling upon her own Earth pony magic to strengthen her muscles. The Princess of the Night charged forth, using her wings to increase her running speed. The Kingdom agent dashed towards her as well, his hooves thundering against the dirt with each hoof fall.

Luna’s royal blue aura lapped off her body, and the stallion’s crimson aura flared as well. The two met at the center as they slammed their bodies against each other in a fierce tackle. A shockwave rang out from the impact, forcing the dueling pair back. Luna channeled her magic into her right hoof and swung it right at the stallion.

The Kingdom agent caught the blow against his left cheek. The blow would’ve normally sent anyone else flying, but with his added massive frame, and his unknown power, it didn’t. The stallion tensed his neck muscles, pushing back against Luna’s hoof, despite how much she continued to drive the hoof forward.

The stallion flicked his head to the left, swatting away Luna’s hoof. He then reared back and brought down his forelegs. The Night Princess gave a quick flap of her wings, propelling her backwards and away from the stomp. The stallion’s hooves met the ground, his crimson power surging through them and blasting the ground beneath him, creating a small crater.

Celestia wasn’t faring any better. The pegasus mare zipped around with great speed, enough to make Rainbow Dash envious. Her wings would crackle with red lightning, causing the air around them to stir. The sky, which was nice, clear, and sunny, was blackened with dark, heavy clouds that rumbled ominously.

Celestia fired off condensed spheres of sun yellow mana, aiming for the pegasus mare. The mare flew around with great acrobatic skill, weaving around the spheres, but thankfully, Celestia’s attack was homed in on the mare’s unique magical aura, dogging her everywhere she went.

The pegasus mare pulled ahead and did a quick one-eighty, facing the orbs. Her wings crackled with power as she unleashed a barrage of red lightning bolts at the incoming spheres, detonating them in midair.

Celestia had used this time to concentrate her magical energy, and swiftly teleport behind the mare. The Kingdom agent was caught off guard, only now sensing Celestia’s presence. The Solar Princess fired off a powerful beam of magical energy at point blank range. The mare screamed for a few moments before her half-charred body fell from the sky. Celestia did not enjoy taking a life, especially those of her subjects, however misguided or demented they may be.

However, her regret didn’t last long. The crimson mana, which should’ve left the dead body, glowed bright. The charred skin and fur regenerated at an unbelievable rate of speed, muscle and sinew reformed in a matter of seconds. The fur and mane regrew in the blink of an eye. And just before hitting the ground, the pegasus mare came to, pulling out of her nose dive and straight back up towards the diarch.

“By Faust!” Celestia exclaimed.

“Princess!” Twilight shouted. “They can regenerate from severe wounds, even fatal ones!”

The unicorn stallion let loose a series of sickle mana blades, shooting them off in rapid succession. Twilight had summoned a thick, powerful magical barrier, but the blades were chipping it away at a dangerous rate. One of the blades, twice the size of the others, was launched. The blade sliced through the barrier, and through Twilight.

Luna and Celestia gasped as Twilight stood there stunned, after a moment her upper half began to slide off, but at that moment her body faded away in a wisp of magical energy. The unicorn, along with the Princesses, were confused as to what happened to Twilight. Their answer came when Twilight teleported right above the stallion and delivered a massive mana ball right on top of the Kingdom agent.

The stallion had little time to dodge the attack as the orb of dense magical particles and power slammed on him with the combined weight of Canterlot Mountain. The mana ball exploded upwards, kicking up a cloud of dust as a result. Just then her horn flashed, twice.

Near the Earth pony stallion, another Twilight appeared. She quickly fired a powerful, column-sized beam of magic right to the back of his head. The stallion was not at all prepared for the attack as his body was sent straight to the ground with a powerful thud. Luna stepped back and looked as the stallion’s beheaded form was now slumped into a smoldering crater.

Up above, a third Twilight appeared. Her horn flared up, sparking a rose-colored tornado below the mare. Like her two companions, she too was ill prepared for this surprise attack. The tornado, made of pure energy trapped her within its vortex. It spun her around at terminal speeds, enough to shatter bones, rupture internal organs, and nearly pull limps apart.

The two Twilights disappeared in much the same manner as the last one, leaving the original still standing a few feet away from her opponent. Celestia and Luna used this chance to regroup, standing by their fellow Princess.

“Twilight, what in Equestria was that spell?!” Celestia asked.

“Before Princess Sakuya left, I asked her about Neighpon’s chi magic, specifically her ability to make copies of herself. I figured out that I could do the same, but make my copies think independently of myself and sustain their forms for a few minutes. I guess you could call it a Doppelganger spell?”

“Very inventive Twilight Sparkle! You must teach us this spell, it can come in handy for a few pranks I’ve not been able to pull off alone,” said Luna with a devious smirk.

“Luna, if we make it out of this you can have a free month to prank me, but now we have bigger problems!”

The Earth pony stallion’s body raised itself from the crater, making the three mare’s wince in disgust of its headless form. The spine grew out and formed a skull, muscle and soft tissue grew out from the severed area, connecting the regrown head to the rest of the body. When the Earth stallion’s head was back, he cracked his neck a few times, working out the kinks that no doubt accompanied regenerating a vital part of the body.

The tornado of magic had ended, with the body of the pegasus mare falling from the sky, crashing through a few trees, and then skidding across the dirt to a stop. Her legs were broken at odd angles, and noticeably detached from their sockets, all of them. Her wings were the same, detached internally and broken in three different spots. Her hindquarters were twisted, disgustingly, to the point her hind legs faced up, and her forelegs down.

Her head hung limply, indicating her neck had snapped while within the tornado. A little blood trickled out of her mouth and ears, showing that the internal damage was just as severe to her more vital organs. By all accounts, it was a gruesome, and extremely painful way to do die, but that’s when things went south. The crimson mana flowed out, wrapping up her entire body.

The sound of realigning bones cracking into place made the Princesses taste bile in their mouths. Her rear end, flesh and bone, twisted back to its proper place, along with her wings snapping back into place. Finally, the mare’s head shot up, alert, and smiling that same, evil, sultry smile. She rose up from the ground and dusted herself off as if nothing had happened, lapping at the trace amounts of blood that clung to her lower lip.

The unicorn stallion crawled out of the crater. His body was less burned by the power, and more crushed, with every bone shattered, but of course that didn’t last long. It was like watching a balloon re-inflate, as his skeletal structure grew back and gave his flesh form. Even his horn grew back, spiraling out and sparking with crimson mana.

“They’re monsters,” said Celestia.

“Can they not be killed?!” Luna cried.

Suddenly, the sound of resounding thunder roared through the sky, but unlike the previous roars, this one sounded stronger, and carried the sound of hope with it. “Yes, I believe they can, but not by us.”

Celestia and Luna looked to the youngest of their kind in confusion. Suddenly the clouds overhead were blasted away as azure lightning shot down from the sky. The bolt of lightning struck the ground before the alicorns and Kingdom agents. When the bolt ended a new contender appeared. Her cloak flapped in the crosswinds of her power, and lightning arced off and around her body. The Champion of Magic had arrived, Shazam.

Equestria’s Mightiest Mare glanced over her left shoulder, eyes covered by the artificially created shadows of the magical cloak, and smirked. “I heard you guys needed some help, mind if I tag in?”

Project Erroria Arc Part 7: The Comeback! Enter the SHAZAM Pets!

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Author’s Notes:
Owlowiscious
Winona
Opalescence
Angel
Gummy
Tank
Tiberius
Philomena
Murmur

“Shazam, what are you doing here?!” Luna asked dubious.

“Oh thank Faust,” Twilight whispered under her breath.

“I…sensed something amiss, trouble doesn’t seem to stray far from Ponyville, so I stuck around after the first incident in case something happened. Looks like I was right,” said Shazam.

Celestia and Luna were still cautious and suspicious of the mysterious alicorn, but at this moment, none of them were faring well against the Kingdom agents. With a reluctant sigh, Celestia addressed the orange mare.

“Very well, how do you wish to handle this?”

“On my own.” Shazam stated.

“EXCUSE ME, ARE YE DAFT?!” Luna exclaimed, slipping into the old tongue.

“Look, my magic’s the only thing that can take them down! The three of you here makes it harder for me to fight them! So run away now, I’ll give you an opening!”

Shazam’s body flared up with azure lightning, widening her stance, and flaring her wings in preparation for the fight. The Kingdom agents all readied themselves, they could sense that Shazam was no ordinary alicorn, and, despite their engrained orders to kill the Princesses, they knew that this alicorn mare was a greater danger and higher priority on their kill list.

Shazam, in a flash of lightning, disappeared from sight. The Kingdom agents looked around frantically for their quarry, but not for long. Shazam reappeared and delivered a haymaker right to the Earth stallion’s head, slamming him back into the earth with a thunderous “BOOM!”

The unicorn spotted her and fired a beam of crimson mana. Shazam sensed the attack and dodged to the right just in time, she then charged her horn with magic, firing a bolt of magical lightning that struck the unicorn stallion dead center of his chest, throwing him back into a tree as his body convulsed from the electrical charge.

The pegasus mare took to the skies above, putting some distance between them so that she could counterattack. But Shazam was way ahead of her. With the same god-like speed, the orange alicorn mare appeared ahead of the pegasus mare.

She then brought up both hooves and brought them down in a hammer blow, striking the mare on the head with resounding force. The blow sent her opponent flying back down and into several trees before cratering in terra firma.

“GO NOW!” Shazam ordered.

With reluctance, the three alicorn mares hurried away, with Twilight stopping a moment to shoot the heroine a worried glance. Shazam saw this and mouthed the words “I’ll be alright.” Twilight continued on, believing those words. The Champion of Magic descended back to the ground below, landing with the grace of a falling feather as she surveyed her handiwork.

The Kingdom agents were already getting back up, but unlike with the Princesses, their recovery was noticeably slower than earlier. Just like the last agent, Shazam’s ancient magic had an adverse effect on their strange magic.

“Now, are you three going to tell me why you’re targeting the Princesses, or are you just going to say that same line again?”

“The Kingdom shall rise, and your time has –!”

Shazam fired a bolt of lightning at the Earth pony stallion, silencing him as he flew backwards. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Suddenly, red lightning shot out from her left. Shazam quickly summoned a magical shield, blocking the bolts. But at the same time, another attack came at her from the right, this time a magical beam of crimson mana. Shazam changed the shield into a full spherical barrier, blocking the oncoming blasts from both sides. Their magical energy was just as malign as the last agent she fought, it somehow reeked of primal power, destruction seeming to be its only purpose.

Just then, the Earth stallion came lumbering towards Shazam. He quickly jumped into the air, and cocked his right hoof. The crimson mana wrapped all around it, transforming his hoof into a blazing red comet. The burly agent descended and smashed his hoof into Shazam’s barrier, causing the earth below to cave in and fissure, sending cracks spider webbing in all directions.

Despite the single hit, the stallion continued to drive his hoof forward, trying to punch through the shield while his colleagues hit her from the opposite sides. A three pronged attack, and one that was straining the young hero.

Shazam’s eyes glowed with azure light, her horn sparking with magical lightning. With a fierce cry, she poured her power into the barrier, making it burst and push back her opponents. The stallion was thrown off balance, and Shazam seized this opportunity to attack him. She began throwing one punch after the other, pummeling him with rapid-fire succession.

The Earth stallion brought up his forelegs, using them to guard himself as Shazam pushed him back with her assault. She figured his great size would hinder his speed, the stallion may be able to punch a hole in the earth, but all that power meant nothing without the speed to back it up. And she had both in spades.

Shazam energized her left hoof, surrounding it in crackling lightning. She then thrust her hoof forward, preparing to break through the stallion’s guard and hopefully put him down for the count. But at the last second, a strong gust of wind blew on by, howling like a maelstrom. The wind, laced with traces of crimson mana swept Scootaloo’s hoof off course making her whole body turn. The Earth stallion, as if on cue, reared back his head and delivered a head-butt right to her left temple.

The sudden blow sent Shazam’s head spiraling, her mind blinked in and out of consciousness as pain shot through her head. At that same moment, a lasso of crimson lashed out like an angry cobra, wrapping itself around her forelegs. When the lasso tightened, Shazam wailed in pain. Even with her opposing magical aura, and the protection of her armor, the malevolent energy still burned her.

The lasso jerked upwards, carrying the hero with it. The lasso whipped Shazam back and forth, slamming her through what remaining trees there were, and even flinging her against the ground, hard. She caught a brief glimpse of the lasso’s origin, seeing the red tether connect all the way to the horn of the unicorn Kingdom agent. Shazam concentrated, summoning her ancient power to break free, but her efforts were for naught.

A surge of crimson lightning zipped through the air and struck her body. Shazam cried out in pain as every nerve in her body cried out in agony, she recognized this pain, this mana. It was the same as Manehattan, the same kind of magic that had held the stadium hostage, and would’ve killed all those innocent ponies.

They were using this kind of magic back then too?! Shazam thought.

The lightning wracked her body with pain, but the torment did not end yet. The unicorn stallion sent a pulse of mana through the lasso, a crimson orb of magic followed the trail laid out by the lasso, building up its size the further it went. When the orb reached Shazam it smashed into her, exploding with a powerful “BOOM” that shook the very air around them. She didn’t linger in the dust cloud of the explosion for very long, the unicorn stallion whipped her down from the cloud and crashed her back into the unforgiving dirt.

The crimson lasso retreated from the large crater that was left in the wake of Shazam’s crash landing. The Champion of Magic groaned with pain, her entire body stung, like hundreds of tiny knives digging into her muscles, protesting any effort she made at trying to move. Shazam opened an eyelid, watching as the sun was briefly blotted out by something shining. The object was in fact the Earth stallion, his entire form ablaze in crimson mana as he dived down, forehooves first, straight towards Shazam.

No doubt he was to deliver the final blow, but Shazam wasn’t one to give up, she would never give up. Pushing past the pain, Shazam rose to her hooves. Magical energy surged around her body until it became a raging azure aura. Her violet irises turned azure blue as she summoned forth her power. She then released a powerful battle cry, unleashing a column-sized pillar of lightning, shooting straight up from the mouth of the crater.

The stallion’s eyes widened as he saw an ocean of blue headed right towards him. The pegasus mare swooped in, summoning a whirlwind that pushed her fellow agent out of the pillar’s path. However, it wasn’t quite far enough as the stallion’s right foreleg was caught in the blast, burning it away into nothing as he plummeted straight to the ground.

He rolled around a bit before recovering on his three legs. The crimson mana began to reconstruct his missing limb, but even he could tell that it was taking longer than it should to regenerate. Shazam burst out of the crater and landed on the edge of it. She stared down the Kingdom agents, looking quite perturbed that their enemy was still breathing.

“You think that that’s enough to take me down?! Then you have another thing coming!”

The Pony Pets had made it to the site of the battle, against better instinct. When they arrived, Philomena, Owlowiscious, and Tiberius noticed Luna, Twilight, and Celestia’s absence. For a moment they feared their owners had perished, but Winona’s keen nose detected the scents of their owners, live scents that had traveled away from the fighting. The three Royal Pets released a sigh of relief, but it did not last.

The seven pets watched as Scootaloo struggled against the dangerous ones. Just by instinct alone, they could tell that Scootaloo had become vastly powerful, but even she was having trouble against three opponents. Owlowiscious ruffled his feathers in agitation, feeling helpless in this moment.

The other pets watched with equal frustration, for all the little griefs that the CMC had brought to them, they each did care about the youngest ponies deeply. It wasn’t just the companion in them, it was their instinct, to protect those who protected them.

*We cannot just sit by here and watch that little pegasus chick get killed by those monsters!* Philomena cawed.

*For once, I agree with the Drama Queen over here. But what can we do?! You may be a phoenix, but even you’re not that strong to help her out!* Angel pointed out.

*Even our ponies fled because of those things, what chance do we have against them that she alone can’t?!* Opal asked.

*I wanna help Scootaloo! I wanna help Scootaloo! Right now!* Winona barked.

*I…do…too!* Tank agreed.

Just then a small pink butterfly flew around the critters. It was no ordinary butterfly, it was made of pink light energy. The pets looked upon this strange insect with equal parts curiosity and caution.

You wish to help my Mistress?

*Who’s that?!* Tiberius asked.

I am but a servant and guide to my Mistress, the Champion of Magic, she who you know as Scootaloo. Tell me, do you wish to fight alongside her?

*Yes, we want to help.*

The other pets gasped and jumped back, suddenly hearing the voice of their more silent member, Gummy. And the fact that he mysteriously just appeared out of nowhere nearly gave them heart attacks. But he was right, they did want to help, they just didn’t know how to.

Very well, your chance well come quickly, be prepared…!

The butterfly fluttered towards the battlefield, leaving the pets wondering what the butterfly meant.

Scootaloo was panting hard, her body ached, and her armor was torn from the various magic blasts and cutting wind attacks. Her cloak was in tatters as it flapped in the wind, she even tasted a little blood in her mouth from a punch she had received from the Earth stallion, and possibly there was some internal damage as well.

Scootaloo thought she could handle these guys, but she had only ever fought powerful opponents like this one on one. Black Adam, and then the agent before these three, the only multiple opponents she had faced were that of thugs who thought they could overwhelm her with just sheer numbers. But that wasn’t the case here, no, these three had the power to confront her, and just three of them was enough to keep her off balance.

If I attack one, the others will bail him out, I can’t take on these guys one at a time, I need to get them all at once. But if I try that, they’ll just gang up on me and use that weird magic to throw me around like a ragdoll! This royally sucks, I…dammit I need help!

Ask and ye shall receive my Mistress.

Scootaloo caught sight of a pink butterfly, the go to astral projection form for Murmur.

Murmur?! What are you doing here?! And what did you mean by that?

Mistress, I had hoped you would have more training before now, but time is not on our side!

What are you talking about?

In the past, Champions have had to face impossible odds, outnumbered a hundred, a thousand, even a million to one! And each time those Champions knew that, despite how powerful they were, there was only one of them. It was then that they discovered that the Champions could empower others, create allies imbued with the power of the Living Lightning!

You mean…I can make other Shazams?!

Only if you trust them, and only if their hearts are true like yours.

But everypony’s gone, I’m alone!

No you’re not Mistress. Murmur pointed towards some bushes with her antenna, Scootaloo’s keen eyes pierced through the brush and saw the assembly of Pony Pets.

Them?! But they’re…can they even fight?!

Even animals can have true and good hearts, and I know you trust them Mistress! They’re willing to help you!

Scootaloo’s eyes shifted between the three agents and the pets waiting to help her. She had no idea how those little pets would be able to help her, Scootaloo was more afraid of them getting hurt and dying, she couldn’t bare knowing she caused the deaths of those closest to her group of friends. Just then her eyes caught sight of Owlowiscious, and as if knowing she was watching, winked at her.

Scootaloo slowly nodded, trusting in her animal friend. Alright…let’s do this!

Scootaloo concentrated, like before, she looked to the good and righteous fury within her. Her body began to glow with azure lightning, making the Kingdom agents weary. The fragments of rock and dirt levitated off the ground as her power reached its apex. Scootaloo’s eye shined a brilliant azure color, the power of the ancient magic, the Living Lightning was coursing through her body, channeled from her heart and soul. The three agents went on guard, preparing to defend themselves from Shazam’s next attack.

It was then that Scootaloo glanced towards the pets, praying to Faust, and whatever other high order deities that existed above, that what she was about to do did not kill the pets. Scootaloo moved all that power towards her horn and aimed it directly where the pets were, and in a loud voice, she spoke the Word of Power.

“SHAZAM!!!!!”

Lightning shot out from Scootaloo’s horn, crackling and roaring with thunder as it streaked across the way. In the distance, the ponies who had escaped earlier had ran back for their pets, having met with Celestia, Luna, and Twilight half way. They spotted their pets and were about to go to them when Scootaloo’s lightning bolt struck them all at once. Horrified expressions befell the ponies as they watched a lightning bolt powerful enough to put a new crater in the moon zap their beloved animal friends.

When the bolt ended, the area where the pets were exploded into a cloud of white smoke. The Kingdom agents looked to where Scootaloo had fired her lightning bolt, wondering what the heroine had planned. Scootaloo felt her confidence in this begin to falter, she may’ve just vaporized the pets of her mentor and surrogate big sister, not to mention the pets of her friends’ sisters, and all while Fluttershy saw it all. No doubt there would be Tartarus to pay, the Kingdom agents would have nothing on Fluttershy’s wrath.

Just as the sobbing and grief was about to hit, something happened. A great howl echoed from the smoke, along with what sounded like the roar of a mountain lion. With a great gust of wind the smoke was cleared away, along with some deep-rooted trees, displaying the previously thought dead little critters. But they weren’t so little anymore…

Winona had become gigantic, easily half the size of Applejack’s barn. Her features were more wolf like, graceful, and yet muscular. Her brown eyes gleamed with the azure color of the Living Lightning, her fur sheened in the sunlight with each movement. The she-wolf took a step forward and howled into the air, signaling her stand against the agents.

Another transformed animal, a white lioness, joined Winona, her green eyes scanned her now powerful, and sleek new feline form, standing just as tall as Winona. Opalescence loved this, the power, the new body, it was like her true inner beauty had been made manifest by the magical power given to her by Scootaloo. She planted her paws, flexing her claws to dig into the earth, she then released a powerful roar, one that would make her distant lion cousins proud.

Stepping towards Winona’s right was, well, it looked like Angel. But now he stood on two feet, wearing blue pants and a red vest that was emblazoned with the lightning insignia. He had muscles, but they were lean, making him look slim. His long ears twitched to and fro as he picked up on new and distant sounds. Angel looked at his paws, which were now digits, flexing them and hearing the knuckles crack each time, feeling the surge of power within him. The bipedal bunny stood tall next to the giant wolf, crossing his arms in front of his chest and shooting the agents a cocky smirk.

The next to appear was something quite large, Tank had changed, a lot. He stood taller than Winona and Opal, definitely taller than the barn. His shell was edged like armored plates, his front legs were now like arms, with four fingers and each clawed. Tank’s lower legs were now like feet, with three clawed toes digging into the ground. His mouth now had razor sharp teeth, two of which stuck out upwards from the bottom row, looking more like tusks. The now giant tortoise let out a powerful roar that echoed into the distance.

Joining the giant reptile, was another equally giant reptile, Gummy. Only now, Gummy was sporting a full row of dagger like teeth, and his hide had become hardened to the point it was like armor. His violet eyes no longer blinked at different intervals, but consistently and together, his pupils narrowed to slits as she eyed the Kingdom agents.

Owlowiscious was bigger as well, his body somewhat longer too. The wise owl spread his wings as he revealed his elongated neck, making him look like a dragon-bird hybrid. But just as much as he changed on the outside, so too did he on the inside, his mind was on fire, seeing a myriad of possibilities and able to think in ways that he wasn’t able to before.

Philomena flew overhead, her body was literally made of flames burning gold and a deep orangey-red color. Her wings had split into two pairs, now sporting four wings. Her crest was now a fiery mane, and her tail feathers were like two long streams of fire. She had become the truest form of a phoenix, connecting to the magic of rebirth, becoming eternal flame that both destroyed and renewed.

Lastly, Tiberius was a massive critter, looking something like a hybrid of an opossum and a badger. His body was bulky, all muscle, but his thick fur made it hard to see. His front legs and paws had grown out and become large, with five long claws on each paw. His now furry tail whipped back and forth as he felt at one with the earth beneath him. As if to make his owner proud, Tiberius sported a crescent moon at the center of his forehead, showing his affinity for the night.

All eight pets had become something more, they were powerful, they were more intelligent, and now they could help.

“So this is what the butterfly spoke of, this is how we may help her,” said Owlowiscious.

“Whoa, you can talk! Ah heck, I can talk! And…wow I got tall!” Angel exclaimed impressively.

“Taller? Yes. But no less annoying,” said Opal. “But I am rather impressed by our dear Tank’s transformation, bravo.”

The giant tortoise turned his head away from Opal, blushing a bit at the compliment. “Thanks, Opal.”

“And he talks faster! This is really fun! I feel like I can jump over a mountain! Can I jump over a mountain when this is over?! I want to!” Winona chattered.

“Later, right now we have business to attend to,” said Philomena.

The SHAZAM Pets all got into their various attack positions, growling, cawing, and roaring challengingly at the Kingdom agents. The three didn’t know what to make of this, or what they should do. Taking advantage of their confusion, Tiberius made the first move.

The giant opossum slammed his massive clawed paws onto the ground, making the earth beneath him ripple forward. The terrawave threw the three agents into the air, the pegasus mare quickly righted herself and took to higher ground, but the other two weren’t as lucky.

Angel jumped up and down on each foot, getting a feel for his new form. He threw a couple of light jabs into the air, feeling his new strength and speed. Once he was sure he had acclimated, Angel sprinted forward, faster than the wind. The anthropomorphic bunny was a white blur as he made a beeline for the Earth stallion. Angel met him in midair, and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the stallion, sending him flying in the other direction as he plowed through the dirt.

The unicorn righted himself by using his magic, and setting himself back on the ground. Tank stepped up next, staring the unicorn down. Tank began to feel something deep inside him, a power raging that beckoned for him to release it. The giant tortoise opened his great maw, magical energy lapping out like flames.

The unicorn saw this and brought up a shield to defend himself. Tank reared his head back and then lurched forward, opening his mouth and launching a magical fireball blast at the unicorn. The giant fireball roared towards the unicorn, the stallion’s pupils shrinking in fear with each passing second.

The fireball struck the barrier, shattering it like a bowling ball thrown into a china shop. The intense blaze threw the unicorn stallion back, burning his form severely as the area around him exploded. The pegasus mare agent saw all this transpire with wide eyes, she gritted her teeth and glared towards Shazam, the mare who made the giant beasts.

She dived towards her, wings crackling with crimson lightning. The Champion of Magic looked up and saw her enemy swooping down, but at the last second Owlowiscious swiftly made it to her side.

Owlowiscious, craned his long neck and spread his wings. The wise owl’s mind was open to new facets of power, things were clear to him now, and with that clarity came the ability to focus his mental energy. Owlowiscious used his massive wing to block the attack, just as the crimson lightning was fired. The lightning struck his wing with a thunderous “BOOM”, but Owlowiscious did not flinch. A barrier had formed, layering over his body, and it seemed to absorb the energy of the blast, but not the magic itself.

The wise owl had tapped into a form of psychic energy, that of Tactile Telekinesis. The barrier absorbed the kinetic force of the blast, channeling it through the barrier that surrounded Owlowiscious like a suit of armor, making it stronger.

When the pegasus mare saw that her attack had no effect she cancelled it, but that was all that Owlowiscious needed. He then brought down his wing, focused his psychic energy, and sent it surging forward. The power was like a getting hit with a freight train going three times its top speed, while carrying steel girders.

The pegasus mare was buffeted by the psionic energy, sending her into a tailspin, along with giving her a myriad of broken bones and most likely massive internal injuries. The large owl craned his neck downward, looking directly at the transformed mare he knew to be Scootaloo.

“Are you alright, Scootaloo?” Owlowiscious asked.

Shazam – Scootaloo – could hardly believe what she was seeing. Her magic powers had transformed her friends’ pets into giant super monster animals, and now they were fighting to protect her. Seeing Owlowiscious up close like this allowed Scootaloo to grasp just how much her magic had changed the once small critter. Dumbly, she shook her head in affirmation to his question.

“Take your time and heal your wounds, I will guard you and the others will have at them!”

True to his word, Owlowiscious spread his wings and fanned them over himself and Scootaloo, expanding his psychic barrier in order to guard them from further attack. It was so weird, in a way, she always felt as if Owlowiscious was looking out for them, in his small ways he tried to help and steer them from trouble when he could.

Such was evident during some of the times that Scootaloo found out about Spike’s exploits, such as the magical tome that made Rarity go dark magic crazy, and the one she was most familiar with, the pet sitting incident.

But to actually hear Owlowiscious say that he would protect her, and to see him do so, it was oddly comforting and made Scootaloo’s heart swell a bit. Owlowiscious would be lying if he said he wasn’t feeling the same way, because of Scootaloo, he now had the power and ability to protect the ones who took him in and gave him a home, and to protect those closest to his pony and dragon.

The Earth pony stallion finally got back up from his beating and cried out in rage. He then slammed both hooves onto the ground, sending an energy wave that split the ground as it traveled towards the pets. Angel smirked and channeled his newfound magical might into his right fist, he then slammed that fist against the earth, sending his own energy surge through it.

The azure lightning and crimson wave both cut through the dirt and sediment as they traveled on a collision course for each other. When they met, it was violent. A massive explosion sent dirt and rock flying everywhere from their collision.

In the dirt and dust cloud, two sets of glowing eyes streaked through towards the stallion. Opal, claws bared, struck the stallion on his side, digging her perfectly pedicured talons into his muscled flesh. Opal grimaced as she felt her claws not moving much due to the stallion’s thick and strong muscles. The stallion saw this and was about to raise his left hoof in retaliation, but Winona burst out of the cloud, jaws wide open as her fangs pierced the thick shoulder muscle of her enemy.

She too was having trouble going all the way through his flesh, as strong and big as they were, the stallion’s muscles were like thick leather armor, durable and not easily cut. The stallion suddenly roared out as crimson mana spewed forth from his body. His muscles and bones began to enlarge, increasing his already formidable size.

The stallion grew until he was roughly the size of Winona and Opal, but the dog and cat were not ready to let their prey go. Winona bit harder as she used her claws to bring the stallion down. Opal took to digging her claws as deep as she could, but then used her own fangs to bite down on the stallion’s jugular.

Unfortunately, she ran into the same problem. The thick muscle forming around his neck just made it harder and harder for Opal to get her fangs to the preferred artery that would end this immediately. Suddenly the stallion bellowed out as he flexed his muscles all at once. The energy within him blasted forth, pushing Winona and Opal off of him and causing the canine and feline to skid to a halt some ways away.

Winona channeled her magical energy, her vocal cords reverberated as the power that she was bestowed flowed to them. Suddenly, Winona opened her mouth and released a powerful howl, the sound was transformed into pure energy as a stream of electrified power roared towards him. The beam struck the stallion in the chest, he flexed his chest muscles, using his bulk and aura to push against the onslaught.

The stallion kept on pushing through the attack, galloping right for Winona. The Earth stallion reared up and thrust his right hoof forward, punching Winona right across her muzzle and ceasing the howling beam from her maw. The giant wolf dog tumbled to the ground. She began to rise, growling at the stallion, but she gasped when she noticed the stallion about to come down on her with a powerful double hooved hammer blow.

At that moment chunks of the earth beneath their paws cracked and splintered off, they shot upwards like rockets towards the stallion, striking him with great force and sending him sprawling onto his back. Winona looked behind her and saw Tiberius, his aura flaring as he willed the dirt and rock to fight on his behalf.

“Thanks Tiberius!” Winona cried out appreciative.

“No problem,” replied Tiberius.

The sound of cracking knuckles caught Winona and Opal’s attention. Angel was walking towards the downed stallion, his aura shining with magical energy as he prepared to do battle. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t a small creature, afraid to be eaten by predators. Now, Angel was a fighter, he had the power and the strength to stand up to those who would consider him an easy target. The stallion shrugged off the rubble he was slammed with and glared the anthro bunny down.

“Are we just going to stare at each other, or are we going to fight!” Angel yelled.

The stallion bellowed and ran towards Angel, the bunny sprinted for the stallion, leaving behind a dust trail in his wake. Angel was upon him within seconds, the stallion had only time to blink once before Angel had appeared in his field of vision. The white rabbit then unleashed a flurry of rapid-fire punches.

His fists moved so fast that it appeared as if the Earth stallion was getting struck by an endless stream of white comets. The stallion wasn’t one to be bested easily and launched his own rapid-fire punches. The two traded blows between them, some connecting, others blocked, but there was always the powerful and painful thudding “BOOM” that occurred when contact was made.

Meanwhile an aerial battle was taking place. The pegasus mare agent was being dogged by Philomena as she gave a mighty cry, chasing the mare with a vengeance. The pegasus unleashed a barrage of crimson lightning from her wings, trying to shoot down Philomena. But the four-winged phoenix, despite her great size, nimbly dodged the scarlet bolts. She fanned out her wings, focusing her magical fire to them.

Four orbs of fire formed at the tips of each wing, Philomena then gave a mighty flap of her four wings and melded the four orbs together. The united orb then let loose a dual stream of fire that took the form of a double helix. The pegasus mare’s eyes went wide as she watched the winding helix flame roar towards her. She hurriedly flapped her wings, using the red mana to push her flying power beyond normal pegasus limits, but the flames still kept after her.

Thinking quickly, the pegasus mare summoned her power, creating a storm front overhead. She commanded the wind and the rain to stream down from the clouds, forming a tornado of wind and water. She stopped and fired her lightning attack again, adding its power to the giant column that was plummeting from the clouds. The helix flame and tornado clashed in midair, sending out a loud sizzling sound as the water evaporated and pushed against the flame.

The pegasus mare could see that Philomena was locked in combat the tornado, granting her a chance to counterattack. Unfortunately for her, there was another aerial opponent she hadn’t anticipated. There was a whirring noise, like something spinning, but at the same time, it sounded like rockets firing. The Kingdom agent looked around until she spotted, what appeared to be, a flying saucer. She tilted head in confusion at what she was seeing, not sure whether to regard this as a foe or some strange phenomenon.

Suddenly the saucer slowed its spinning, allowing the agent to see that the saucer was in fact an armored shell of some sort, with bellowing jets firing from four holes. Two of the jets ceased firing, allowing two scaly, clawed arms to stick out, a fifth hole appeared, allowing a head to pop out. Tank had become airborne, normally a tortoise wouldn’t know how to fly, but given all his flying with Rainbow Dash, he had grasped a pretty good working knowledge of flight.

The Kingdom agent hovered there with a stunned expression, truly not able to comprehend how a giant tortoise was flying in the air. That hesitation was all that Tank needed, opening his mouth to launch a sparkling fireball at the mare. The agent snapped out of her confusion and flew out of the way with great haste. The fireball exploded, buffeting her, but not enough to make her lose her balance.

Tank’s front arms sparked with magical lightning, morphing them into large fins akin to his turtle cousins. His rear leg jets fired full throttle as he took off after the mare, using his fins as wings to control his direction and balance. The pegasus mare found this absurd, she was being chased by a giant flying tortoise – turtle – thing!

All the years and months flying with Rainbow Dash and watching her perform was paying off now, even if it didn’t look like Tank was paying attention, in reality, he was. Being in the air fascinated Tank like nothing he’d ever dreamt about, he considered himself lucky to have been picked as the companion to a pony who was willing to share with him the feeling of great freedom that flying bestowed upon her and those of her kind. And now he was going to do his pony proud, by using that freedom to take down this evil pony.

Tank opened his mouth, flames lapped out and coalesced into another fireball. He then launched three fireballs in rapid succession. Each one exploded near the mare, coming just inches away from hitting directly, and considering the size of them, calling it a close call was generous.

The pegasus mare had had it with these weird monstrosities. She flew up high into the sky, channeling her malevolent magic from the deepest part of her being. Her wings arced with red lightning as it she stopped, looking down at the flying tortoise. The lightning swirled about her, growing bigger and more powerful by the second.

Tank stopped and growled at what he was seeing, knowing that the mare was about to unleash a devastating attack. However, he was not alone. Philomena flew up next to Tank, looking up at their opponent who was ready to unleash her fury.

“Together?” Tank asked.

“Together!” Philomena affirmed.

The flame orbs appeared on Philomena’s wings, Tank began to glow as his magical energy built up inside him. With a loud battle cry, the pegasus mare fired off a bolt of lightning the size of a small mountain. Philomena flapped her wings, firing the double helix flame. Tank’s charging was complete. Four of the armor plates on his chest opened up, and from the opening a beam comprised of fire and light blasted forth. The two attacks met with the agent’s, creating a thunderous roar through the sky as they both pushed against each other.

Even using all her might, the Kingdom agent’s malicious magic was somehow being disrupted by the magic that was laced within the two animals’ attacks. With one final push, the fiery beams overwhelmed the lightning and completely engulfed the pegasus mare. Not a sound was heard as her entire form was disintegrated, ashes and all.

Angel and the Earth stallion were panting hard, the white rabbit was scuffed, bruised and had some blood trickling from his mouth. Yet his cocky smirk hadn’t faded, holding up his fists in a defensive position as she watched the brute of a stallion. The Kingdom agent was just as bruised and battered, but the magic that flowed through Angel had done more damage than his own power. Patches of his skin were burned, showing the areas where Angel’s punches landed, some looked like scars you’d get from a blade, but that was only because of a grazing blow.

Winona and Opal hovered on the fringes, keeping low and growling, looking for an opening to end this hulking stallion’s onslaught. Suddenly, the stallion yelled loudly as his body erupted once again with red mana. His wounds were healing, but more than that, he was getting bigger again. He had gained at least three more feet in height, his muscles growing to accommodate his new size, becoming bulkier and more deranged looking than before. He let a snort as steam shot out of his nostrils, irises gleaming red as he looked upon each pet. Well, more like looked down at each pet.

“Oh give me a break, this guy can still keep getting bigger and more muscular?!” Angel groaned.

“He’s like trying to claw a scratching post made of eight layers of thick faux leather! We’ll never hit him at anything vital at this rate!” Opal concluded unsatisfactorily.

“C’mon you guys, we can’t give up! Our ponies are counting on us!” Winona pleaded.

“The Kingdom shall rise…” The Earth stallion took a step forward, the ground trembling from a single fall of his hoof. “...and –!”

Suddenly the stallion was snatched up into the massive jaws of Gummy. The giant alligator had the lower half of the agent in his mouth as he repeatedly body slammed the stallion into the ground. Left, right, left, right, left, right, pause, left, right, left, right, and left again.

Angel, Opal, and Winona stared wide eyed as Gummy used his muzzle to keep slamming the stallion into the dirt on either side of his massive body, he then tossed the stallion into the air like a rag doll, waited for him to reach a certain altitude, and then opened his mouth to fire a large beam of silver and blue light right at the agent, exploding him in midair. When the fireworks were over, the three pets looked back at the smoking maw of their reptile friend. He then stared back at them with his violet eyes and blinked.

“He was starting to get annoying.” Gummy stated.

The other pets just nodded and thanked Mother Nature that the alligator was on their side.

Meanwhile, the unicorn was doing everything in his power to try and kill Shazam, but Owlowiscious wasn’t ever going to allow that to happen so long as he was alive. His kinetic barrier absorbed much of the force that the attacks generated upon impact, allowing the shield to reinforce itself with each defended blow. However, even if the shield was strong, the impact still took a mental toll on the owl as he did his best to keep the barrier up. Scootaloo could feel her body nearly at full strength, a couple seconds more and she’d be able to put the Kingdom agents six feet under.

The unicorn stallion prepared to unleash a powerful mana blast from his horn, but just then, a massive object came crashing into him, sending the agent tumbling about the ground till he came to a stop a few feet away. Owlowiscious and Scootaloo watched as the other pets returned to their side, each having defeated their respective opponents.

“Two down,” said Angel.

“And one to go,” finished Tiberius.

The unicorn dusted himself off and looked to see what hit him. He growled when he noticed it was the charred body of the Earth stallion and was gearing up to make one last stand against the monster pets and alicorn hero. Just then, something grabbed his hoof. The unicorn agent looked down and saw the hulking stallion grab hold of his right foreleg, his one good eye opened and stared maddeningly at his compatriot.

Suddenly the Earth stallion raised his head up and swiftly bit down on the jugular of the unicorn agent. The unicorn went still as a stifled gasp escaped his mouth. Shazam and the pets watched in horror as the Earth stallion let out a primal growl as he chomped down harder, severing the artery and causing a spray of blood to come gushing out.

The Princesses gawked with wide, horrified eyes at the scene before them. Applejack, Rarity, and Cheerilee quickly covered the eyes of the three foals, not wanting them witness such an act, and even they couldn’t stomach this.

The stallion’s body began to regenerate at an accelerated level, red mana drained from the unicorn and flowed into the stallion. The death rattles of the unicorn began to fade as his body withered, his horn retracting into his head and fully disappearing. Just then, the Earth stallion grew a large horn on his forehead, crackling with the stolen power of his fellow agent. His charred skin had completely healed, and, as if that wasn’t enough, his body had grown now to match the height of Gummy.

When it was over, the Earth stallion released the unicorn’s emaciated body, looking like a dried out raisin. He then let out an incredibly loud roar as his eyes burned with red light. Not a pet or pony alive had ever seen something like that happen. Not even the two immortal sisters, in all their lived lifetimes, have they had the displeasure to witness such an act of cannibalism.

Scootaloo tightened her jaw, stepping away from Owlowiscious’ protective wings and stood unflinching before the massive stallion. His hoofsteps made the earth shudder with each fall, but Scootaloo wasn’t about to let this monster win and kill all those she cared about. It was then that she saw the pets join her, standing behind and side-by-side with her.

“You guys don’t have to stay here, protect the others and go!” Scootaloo ordered.

“Hey, you may’ve been the one to change us and give us powers, kid, but you ain’t the boss of me,” said Angel.

Scootaloo face hoofed herself, “Are you kidding me?!”

“The furball is right, besides, since when have I ever ‘listened’ to anyone?” Opal asked.

“I have my pride as a loyal dog, I can’t just leave my pony or the pony that my pony cares about alone! I’ll fight and protect you too!” Winona said with conviction.

Tiberius and Philomena nodded, along with Tank and Gummy, Scootaloo then looked up to Owlowiscious who gave her a look as if saying “Do I really need to explain myself?” Scootaloo chuckled as she shook her head at the obstinance of the pets.

“No wonder you guys drove Spike crazy. But thank you, all of you.”

The stallion snarled and broke into a gallop as his horn glowed, channeling his newly acquired magic around him and turning himself into a magical battering ram to mow down the pets and Shazam. The team of magical beings stood firm, their bodies glowing with the power of the Living Lightning. Each pet had electrical energy discharging from their auras, and each aura melded with the one next to it. A chain of energy was made, all of it leading right back to its originator.

A magic circle appeared before Scootaloo, the lightning bolt symbol was at its center, four other symbols, each housed in a smaller circle, appeared around the insignia in the shape of a diamond. Runic symbols littered the circle’s layers, spinning around as ancient magical energy was gathered. Particles of blue mana rose from the ground, air, and from the assembled nine. The pet’s each released a lightning bolt that directed itself straight to Shazam’s horn, acting like a lightning rod to collect the power.

Celestia, Luna, and Twilight could sense the buildup of magical power, they quickly joined the rest of their friends and threw up a barrier to protect them from what was coming. The stallion was nearly on top of them, but at that moment, Scootaloo’s eyes opened and shined with a brilliant white light.

“THE THUNDERER!!!”

Shazam’s horn fired the combined power of the lightning bolts straight towards the center of the circle. When it hit, the other side of the circle shined with a brilliant light that blanketed the entire area. The stallion tried to push through the light, but it was too strong, overwhelming, as if the wrathful forces of the divine were trying to smite him then and there. The red mana was stripped away from him, his horn cracked and shattered, and lastly, the stallion’s body was then buffeted by a great force that burned upon his skin. Azure flames ignited all over his body, and within a fraction of a second, his entire form was destroyed.

When the light faded, so too did the barriers protecting the others. When they looked upon the damage that Shazam’s attack had done, they were surprised to see that, despite the power of that spell, everything was still standing. Yet the Kingdom agent was obliterated, and the magic circle was still there. After a few seconds the circle faded away, and the light that shone from Shazam’s eyes did as well. The Champion of Magic, to the shock of all, stumbled forward and collapsed onto the ground.

“SHAZAM!” Twilight, Rainbow, and the Crusaders called out in fright.

Thunder echoed overhead, rumbling through the skies, and in that instant a massive bolt of lightning shot down from the cloudless sky, engulfing Shazam and the pets all at once. When the lightning ended, both Shazam and the pets were gone.

Project Erroria Arc Part 8: News

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Scootaloo felt like a train had just ran her over, groaning from the aches and pains that radiated from every muscle in her body. With some effort, she managed to crack open one of her eyes, even her eyelids ached. Once opened she took in her surroundings, she was in a room that was designed in the way of ancient pegasian; white columns holding up the ceiling, along with a bed made of soft, violet fabric.

The bed she was lying on was in fact raised on a five step, marble platform, and the room itself seemed to be surrounded in clouds. Scootaloo started to rise, only to realize that she was no longer in Shazam form, but back in her filly form. The orange pegasus filly looked around, and deciding to try called out into the vastness.

“Murmur, are you there?!” Scootaloo asked.

It didn’t take long before a flock of pink butterflies swarmed in from the high up. The butterflies swirled about, melding into a single being made of light. The pink light shined and then faded just as quickly, revealing the pink flutterpony, Murmur. Her sparkling butterfly wings fluttered excitedly at seeing her Mistress awake. Murmur quickly went to her bedside and leaned forward, nuzzling Scootaloo’s cheek.

“Mistress Scootaloo! Oh thank the ancients you’re alright!”

Scootaloo blushed and giggled from the show of affection. “Okay, okay, Murmur, I’m fine, geez.”

Murmur seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly stopped her nuzzle, lowering her head below the edge of the bed and blushing. “F-Forgive me Mistress! I was just glad to see you awake and alright…you are well, right?”

Scootaloo stood on the bed, taking a minute to assess herself. She gave a flap of her wings, and bent each of her legs, finally rolling her neck and shoulders. “Yeah, nothing seems out of place or broken.”

Murmur released a sigh of relief.

Scootaloo smiled, she didn’t know Murmur cared for her wellbeing that much. She just assumed she showed just as much concern for the other Champions before her, and in a way that made her sad. How many times did Murmur witness the passing of each of the Champions before Scootaloo? How many times did her heart break, knowing she could do nothing prevent their passing but bear witness to it and keep the memory of them alive?

Just then, Scootaloo’s eyes went wide and her wings fanned out when she remembered what happened. “MURMUR! The fight, those Kingdom guys, the pets –!”

“Mistress calm yourself, the fight is over. You defeated your foe.”

Scootaloo’s wings lowered, her pulse slowing back to normal. “I beat him – we beat him? I…I barely remember that…”

“I’m not surprised Mistress,” Murmur rose up and sat on her haunches, settling her own wings before continuing, “What you did was something that I never expected for one so young.”

“What? What did I do?”

“You used ‘The Thunderer’ spell. Most Champions don’t learn to cast that spell until many years of training, but you did, at twelve years old, and only a year after becoming the Champion of Magic.”

Scootaloo cocked her head, lying back down as she asked, “Why, what makes it so special a spell?”

Murmur’s horn glowed and then flashed. Before them glowed four runic symbols, each one the same as what was in the magic circle when the spell was cast. “The spell is powerful, in the way that it draws upon four specific traits. The first is Righteousness, second: Benevolence, third: Wisdom, and fourth: Justice, drawing upon all four enables you to unlock the spell, and release the full destructive force of the Ancient Magic upon your foe.”

“Wow, could’ve come in handy when I was fighting Black Adam,” said Scootaloo with a deadpan expression.

“Well, in truth, the spell has one other…‘failsafe’, if you will. Only those that the caster sees as their enemy and are full of ill intent will be affected by the spell, in other words, you could cast this in the middle of a populated area and only the one you sought would feel its wrath.”

Murmur’s horn flashed again and showed Scootaloo in Shazam form. “You are full of Righteousness, Mistress, and Benevolence, some Wisdom, and you have a strong sense of Justice. But drawing upon each as an energy source is taxing and hard to accomplish while in battle, at least not without proper training.”

Scootaloo scratched her chin as she contemplated Murmur’s words. “So…how come I was able to cast the spell in the first place?”

“My theory is that your animal companions each acted as surrogates, since they were connected to your magic they were able to help in the casting of the spell when you instinctively called upon it. Without them…”

“I wouldn’t be having this conversation…ugh, if these Kingdom guys keep coming and are as strong as that thing, then I’ll need to learn that spell quick.”

Murmur’s expression darkened. “About that Mistress…I’m afraid I know what kind of magic they are using.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “You do?! What is it?!”

“Well…before that, can I ask you to take care of one small thing?”

“Sure.”

Murmur got up and motioned for Scootaloo to follow. The pegasus filly flew up and landed beside Murmur and watched as she summoned a door in the middle of open space. The wooden door opened and Scootaloo’s face fell, her wings drooped, and her right eye twitched.

On the other side of the door, the pets were running amok. Winona was chasing around some strange looking sprites as if they were playing a game of tag. Opal was pawing at a large tassel that hung from a tapestry in the rafters, Gummy had taken refuge is a random mote that ran through the room, and Tiberius had maneuvered the rocks around to form himself a little den to sleep in.

“Wha…Wha…”

“Yes, well, they were growing restless and since your magic was still running through them, their energy levels haven’t gone down since then,” said Murmur in dismay.

“Where are Philomena and Tank?” Scootaloo asked.

“Currently flying around the perimeter of the Rock of Eternity, I tethered them to the fortress so they do not get lost in another dimension.”

“Ooookayyyy…uh…where’s Angel?”

Murmur’s eyes shot wide open as she looked about, not spotting the bipedal white rabbit anywhere. Both Scootaloo and Murmur quickly searched the area, popping up near the Room of Ancient Relics. Murmur spotted Angel, standing near a pedestal that had a golden helmet on it.

“So you’re saying if I put you on I can become the Sorcerer Supreme?”

“OH NO, RABBIT!” Murmur teleported herself between Angel and the golden helmet. “He’s in a timeout for the next five-hundred years.”

The golden helmet shined, causing Murmur to give it a scolding look. “Don’t be like that Nabu, you most certainly did not have to make the earth swallow those creatures whole!”

The helmet shined again and made Murmur blush. “For a Lord of Order, you have quite the foul mouth.”

LATER, IN THE LIBRARY OF INFINITE KNOWLEDGE…

“All I’m saying is that if you draw upon more natural forms of magical energy, you can conserve more of your own reserves,” said Owlowiscious.

“Well, I have to concur, but natural magic from the surroundings can sometimes cause wild effects to happen and alter the spell,” said Twilight.

The giant owl brought his wing to his lower beak, nodding to Twilight. “True, true, perhaps then we must determine a more formulaic method for tapping into such a source, and applying more modern laws on the conservation of energy. I was reading an interesting tome about the subject, now where was it…?”

Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she was seeing, well, scratch that, she could. After everything that had happened to her, anything was possible. Owlowiscious was sitting in the middle of a large open area, books and scrolls of all kind floating about him, held aloft in his telekinetic energy. Twilight was sitting down across from her large avian pet, sipping some tea as the two of them discussed magic, and science, she supposed.

Owlowiscious craned his neck, now looking in Scootaloo and Murmur’s direction. “Ah, Scootaloo, how wondrous it is to see you recovered, and good day to you, Miss Murmur.”

Twilight snapped to attention, gazing towards the same direction as Owlowiscious did. The purple alicorn’s eyes teared up as she saw her young apprentice alright, Twilight’s horn flashed, and within a fraction of a second had teleported right to Scootaloo. The alicorn mare enveloped her in a strong embrace, reaching Pinkie Pie levels of bone crushing strength at the moment.

“T-Twilight, I may be fine now…but if you keep this up…I might be snapped in half…!”

Twilight quickly, yet gently, released Scootaloo and blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry, sorry, I was just…I was happy and –” Twilight was cut off when Scootaloo returned the embrace, wrapping her arms around her mentor’s barrel the best she could as she nuzzled into her coat.

“I’m sorry I worried you, again…How’s Mo – I mean, how’s Cheerilee?”

“She’s a little worried right now…I think we might need to let her in on the secret soon.”

“Oh…” Scootaloo’s ears dropped.

“Well, sweetie, you knew that at some point we’d have to tell her. I’m here to support you in this, you know that. Believe me, after everything I’ve seen and read, I know you’ve been given a great responsibility and honor, and you’ve been a great hero to all.” Twilight brought her left hoof under Scootaloo’s chin, making the young filly look into the alicorn mare’s eyes as she smiled. “And you’re my hero too, don’t forget that.”

Scootaloo smiled back, her ears perking up at hearing the encouraging words. “Alright…I guess we should tell her…I mean, I don’t like worrying her when I sneak away to transform…Oh boy, she’s going to freak.”

“Oh yeah,” agreed Twilight.

After a few more pleasantries were exchanged, Twilight and Scootaloo talked to Owlowiscious, which was a fun activity since Twilight had never really gotten beyond understanding what each tone in the owl’s hoots meant. And Scootaloo thanked her feathered friend for protecting her while she healed and gathered her strength.

Once that was done, they moved onto the main topic that Murmur needed to discuss with them. Her horn glowed, bringing forth a book that was written in an ancient language long since forgotten by modern time. She opened the tome, showing four orbs. One had the symbol of the Living Lightning in blue, while another held an X like symbol, but in red.

“Before and even after the beginning of time, there have always been opposites. Light and Darkness, good and evil, kindness and cruelty, these are such examples, and it is because of this unwritten Law of Opposites, that there must also stand to reason that for such a powerful force and creative source of energy that the Living Lightning is, so too must there be an equally powerful yet destructive force.”

The book glowed and displayed the X in a kind of holographic image. “We called it: ‘Xanthos’. Magical energy of the most primal sort, its only drive is to destroy, kill, and raze.”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “This…I’ve never heard of this, dark magic and chaos magic are the only other things close to this, but a magic that is solely aimed towards killing…”

“Xanthos was born from when the world was young, a simpler time when the law of the land was eat or be eaten. Those who harnessed this power became destructors of the most savage kind, there was nary a magical power that could stand up against it. Versatile as it is, it could never be used for constructive purposes, its nature would never allow it, and to the foolish who tried well…”

Another image appeared, showing a unicorn who tried doing just that, but the red magic struck back, consuming the foolish pony and destroying him. Twilight and Scootaloo winced at the sight.

“The Living Lightning, the ancient magic that once flowed through the land was its only natural opposite, and the only ones capable of controlling it at the time were that of the six gods that comprised the Council of Magic. Much of the trouble of the ancient world came from the use of Xanthos, using it in wars and murders all around.”

“Murmur, didn’t you say that the power of the ancient magic left this world when the Rock of Eternity did as well? Did the Xanthos energy leave, too?” Owlowiscious asked.

“It did, but to where is still a mystery. But just like the Living Lightning, Xanthos left behind remnants that evolved over time into what you now call ‘dark magic’ and ‘chaos magic’, just as the ancient magic became ‘harmony’ and ‘neutral magic’.”

Twilight and Scootaloo’s heads were spinning. Twilight’s whole view on magic was being turned upside down, all she knew and studied about the magic that permeated Equestria was only half the story, the rest lost to the sands of time, but the Rock of Eternity never forgot, no, it housed all the magical knowledge from ages past, all the way up to the present. Twilight had found numerous ways to make her magic more efficient and make some advances as well just by reading the tomes in this library.

Scootaloo on the other hand, well, her head was just plain spinning. All this talk about divergent magic and evolving strains of the original good and bad magicks was way over her head, but she more or less got the gist of the matter.

“Okay, to sum it up, blue good, red bad, right?”

“Um – I – well – I probably wouldn’t put it such simplistic terms as that, but essentially yes,” said Murmur.

Scootaloo began rubbing her right shoulder, feeling a kind of phantom pain. “So is that why it hurts a lot more than when somepony else tries to hit me with a magic bolt? Most of the time I can shrug that stuff off, but when that red Xanthos stuff hits, it really hurts, and it’s able to actually do some damage to me…” Scootaloo shuddered, remembering the pain inflicted upon her body from the spells and attacks of the Kingdom Agents.

Murmurs features drooped. “Unfortunately yes, this particular mana is the opposite of the ancient magic and can likewise damage you severely.” She then perked up a little. “However, the opposite also holds true, which is why your magic is able to hurt them just as much if not more so.”

Twilight and Scootaloo sighed, at least there was a silver lining in this. Even though the Kingdom was using this Xanthos magic, Scootaloo’s Living Lightning was just as dangerous to them and their abilities.

“Murmur, how would the Kingdom gain access to this Xanthos magic? If it’s as old as the Living Lightning, and has tangents like you said, that would mean it hasn’t been here for a long time.” Twilight queried.

Murmur brought a hoof to her chin, knowing that the Princess of Friendship had a point. Up till now the older forms of magic hadn’t been around in Equestria for ages, its offshoot tangents like Harmony and Chaos, dark magic and neutral magic, had taken the place of those ancient powers in its stead. For a quick second Murmur’s face paled with dread.

No…certainly HE can’t be behind this…!

“Murmur, you alright?” Scootaloo asked.

The pink flutterpony shook her head, dispelling the dread filled look on her face, and slapped her cheeks to make the color return. “Oh yes, I am! Don’t worry Mistress, just some old memories trying to resurface.” Murmur then turned to Twilight. “To answer your question, Princess Twilight, I’m unsure.”

“Perhaps it is a cause and effect scenario?” Owlowiscious offered.

“How do you mean great owl?” Murmur inquired.

“If the Living Lightning, the ancient magic as you put, is present on Equestria now that Scootaloo is there, then in theory the Xanthos magic might return to countermand the power that Scootaloo possesses.”

Owlowiscious brought a wing to his lower beak, rubbing it in a contemplative fashion. “However, that theory has some drawbacks. This ‘Kingdom’ sounds as if they have been plotting the deaths of the Princesses of Equestria for a time now. Which could indicate that they have had access to this Xanthos magic for a long while now, and have only recently put into practical use.”

Twilight nodded as she listened to her pet owl. “True, they may’ve been planning on using this magic for a long time, but Scootaloo as Shazam was something that they weren’t planning on interfering with their plans. In other words…”

“They’ll most likely be coming after me after this,” said Scootaloo, finishing the thought that Twilight didn’t want to.

Twilight scooted closer to the young filly and draped a protective wing over her back. “Don’t worry, you won’t be alone in this.”

“Quite,” said Owlowiscious as he rose to a proud standing height. “You are not alone in this, should you require our aid yet again, then don’t hesitate. If you wish, I can stay close to you?”

Scootaloo thought about that, no doubt having the pets around helped in that last fight. Had she known that they could fight alongside her, Scootaloo might’ve empowered them sooner and the fight would’ve ended a lot sooner than it did.

But then again, there was an added fear to this, should they fall in battle it would be her fault. Guilt and fear gripped at Scootaloo’s heart, not knowing what she would do if Winona, the Apple Family’s loyal pet and family member, were to perish in battle. Seeing the grief stricken look on Apple Bloom’s face, just imagining it raked at her young heart.

The same held true for all of them, being responsible for the death of the pets of the Princesses, hearing Fluttershy’s painful wails of sadness from having her own pet and seeing innocent animals killed. It all left a bitter taste in the young filly’s mouth, today was one thing, she had no choice and they were willing to help her. But Scootaloo couldn’t just keep calling on them for help when things got bad.

Everypony’s going to be put in danger because of me…These Kingdom guys keep trying to kill the Princesses, and if I don’t fight them then they’ll die!

Scootaloo sighed heavily, she then narrowed her gaze and looked to both Murmur and Twilight in kind. “Murmur, Twilight, I need you guys to train me even harder than before! I need to learn that spell so I can cast it on my own, that’s the only way to beat these guys.”

Murmur looked a little unsure. “Mistress, I do not mind teaching you how, but the spell is vastly powerful, and using it in succession would not be wise. You saw how it drained you severely after one use.”

“Yeah, but, you and Twilight can still teach me other magic spells and stuff! A-And maybe some fighting techniques, too! Oh horse feathers, I knew I should’ve asked Princess Sakuya to teach me some fighting moves when she was here!”

Twilight brought up her hoof in a stopping motion at hearing this. “Whoa, whoa, slow down Scootaloo. I understand the need to advance your training, and honestly I’m not opposed to it, but you can’t rush this.”

“Let me come up with some kind of training regimen for you. Magic lessons won’t be a problem, as far as combat…well…hmmm…that’s going to be a little harder. I have an idea, but it’ll take some finagling. For now what do you say we head back?”

Scootaloo released a sigh of reluctance, but nodded all the same. Despite having rested so long in the Rock of Eternity, she wouldn’t mind resting in her bed back home and seeing Cheerilee. Just then, Scootaloo face hoofed herself. “Oh duh, I forgot! I need to get the other pets back to our friends!”

FLUTTERSHY’S COTTAGE

Shazam appeared in a flash of lightning at the caretaker’s residence, with Angel still in his magic empowered state. The hooded alicorn and white, bipedal rabbit looked about the quaint cottage with a bit of confusion.

“I don’t get it, didn’t Twilight say that the others would be back at their places by now,” said Shazam.

Angel’s ears twitched to and fro, both facing towards the cottage. He then let out a sigh as he shook his head. “She’s here.”

The white rabbit went up to the front door and opened it, which proved to be his mistake. Upon opening said door, a deluge of water came flooding out of the cottage and carried the rabbit away with it. Shazam instinctively created a bubble of magical energy, shielding herself from the flood. She reached out with her telekinetic magic, grabbing onto Angel before he could be swiped away with the tide.

It took a minute before the flood ended, leaving Angel suspended in midair as he crossed his arms and put on an annoyed expression. Now that the waters had receded, Shazam could clearly hear what sounded like crying in the house. The alicorn mare winced, knowing that it was she who caused the kind mare to worry over her critter friend this much.

Angel huffed, he then placed his large paw on his feet where the telekinetic energy was holding him. He sent a focused burst of lightning to it, cancelling the hold and allowing him to land on the ground. “Ah don’t worry about it, she’s just being a crybaby as usual.”

Shazam gave the rabbit a pointed look, but despite the comment he went on into the home. Shazam waited outside, hearing the crying and approach of footsteps.

“Shy, Shy! I’m here, alright, so you can stop with the water works,” said Angel.

The crying stopped, and for several seconds there was dead silence. All of a sudden a blur of yellow and white came zooming out of the open door and past Shazam. The alicorn mare watched as the blur came to a stop, revealing Fluttershy giving her critter friend a death hug as she flapped her wings, keeping them in midair. Of course, the hug was mainly around his midsection, being too big to bring any closer as she used to.

Angel looked down at the mare hugging him, it was really embarrassing to be lifted up so easily by a mare half his size and having said mare nuzzle his chest fur. Despite his bravado and cranky attitude, Angel smiled and brought his arms down to hug the mare back.

“Oh Angel, I was so worried when you got struck by that lightning! A-And then the fight! And then that flash of light! And then that other lightning strike!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know it was crazy, but I’m back, so stop with the whining. Alright?” Angel asked.

Fluttershy looked up with her ocean blue eyes nodded a yes, smiling even while still sniffling and crying. Shazam couldn’t help but smile at the scene, walking slowly towards the descending duo.

“Um, Miss Fluttershy, I’d like to apologize for what happened…The critters said they wanted to help me and I granted them the power to do so…I didn’t want to put them in danger, but things were going crazy during the battle and I didn’t want to risk those monsters going after you all…Can…Can you forgive me?”

Fluttershy turned to Shazam, and gave her a kind smile. “Of course, I know you wouldn’t have done that if there was no other way. You’ve saved my life more than once, I know you’re a good mare.”

Shazam felt her heart swell upon hearing that, but held back her tears of happiness. “Well…ahem…I-I need to return the other critters back to their homes, keep safe Miss Fluttershy.” Shazam turned to leave but stopped suddenly. “Oh yeah, almost forgot. SHAZAM!”

A bolt of lightning shot from Shazam’s horn and struck Angel, enveloping him in white smoke. The smoke quickly disappeared, revealing the rabbit back in his diminutive size, much to his displeasure after enjoying the feeling of being taller than everypony, and cool looking. The white rabbit stuck his tongue out at Shazam, to which the alicorn mare did the same before disappearing in a flash of lightning.

Angel looked back to his owner, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at her. *You were this close to putting her six feet under, weren’t you?*

Fluttershy looked down at her pet and kept her kind smile. “Now Angel, that wouldn’t be very nice. But…let’s just say that nopony – NOPONY – harms my animal friends, especially you.”

The pegasus mare trotted towards the house, while Angel followed, feeling a chill run up his spine. *Sheesh, and I thought that bulked out Kingdom dude was scary.*

CAROUSEL BOUTIQUE

“Oh my…”

“Wow!”

Shazam had stopped by Rarity’s residence, both the unicorn mare and her baby sister were there, staring at the giant lioness that was Opalescence. Sweetie Belle was completely awestruck at the sight of the giant cat, looking over her lithe, yet muscular body, and the pristine white coat she sported that sheened in the daylight.

“Yes, I am quite the sight, am I not?” Opal asked with hint of pride.

“Well…I…Y-Yes, you are indeed Opal,” said Rarity.

Opal chuckled in amusement at the stunned demeanor of her owner. Yes, Opal did care about her owner, and to a degree held affection for the younger sibling, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t above acting like the diva she knew herself to be. Opal was suddenly aware of some extra weight on her head, forcing her to turn one of her emerald eyes up to see Sweetie Belle plopped on the white lioness’ head.

“Oooh, oooh, we should totally to do a play! I’ve been working on one for a bit now and with Opal like this she’d be perfect!” Sweetie Belle proclaimed.

Rarity smiled with a bit of dread. “Oh…and what play would that be?”

“‘The Lion Queen’! It’s about a lioness cub who’s destined to be the Queen of the Pride Lands, but her father, the King, is killed by his evil, scheming younger sister, and manages to trick the cub into thinking it was her fault! The cub runs away and meets a wise cracking meerkat and a stinky – yet lovable – warthog! Eventually there’s a love interest and then a climactic final showdown with the Evil Aunt and White Lioness, and all of it going down as a musical!”

Shazam, Opal, and Rarity blinked at the rundown of that story, still trying to compute it.

Sweetie Belle turned her head towards Shazam, looking at her with hopeful eyes. “Can you keep Opal like this for a little longer?!”

“Sweetie Belle, honestly, we cannot let Opal stay a she is!” Rarity protested.

Opal got a devious look in her eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of a musical, I’ve always wanted to try my paw at the theater and song.”

“Yay!” Sweetie Belle cheered.

“Oooooh…”

At that moment Rarity fainted right on the spot, prompting Sweetie Belle to hop off of Opal’s head and go to her unconscious older sister. The lioness let out a purring chuckle at the reaction she got out of her owner and then sighed wistfully.

“Okay, now, I’m ready to change back.”

SUGAR CUBE CORNER…

As could be expected, most of the town either screamed or hid in their houses at the sight of Gummy the giant alligator. Shazam had offered to change him back before they entered the town, but Gummy insisted that he remained this size until he met Pinkie Pie. Luckily that didn’t take long as the party planning mare exited the establishment with lightning fast speed and latched onto Gummy’s oversized right foreleg, hugging it tightly and unafraid of her pet’s monstrous size and appearance.

“Ooooooh, Gummy! I was so, so, worried about what happened to you! I mean, it was super cool and scary that you turned into a giant alligator and shot super-mega-ultra magic beams from your mouth, but it was still really neat!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Yes, it was indeed, ‘neat’, Pinkie Pie. But now the question remains, should I return to what I once was. To a life as a small, oddly cute, reptile; toothless and unable to spread my metaphorical wings and soar? Or shall I stay as I am, a being that towers above all, a virtual demigod amongst my fellow animals and ponies? What shall the gator decide? What should he decide?”

Shazam raised an eyebrow, apparently her power not only increased his size and strength, but also his brainpower as well. Pinkie separated herself from Gummy, taking a few steps back so that she could look her pet alligator in the eyes, so to speak.

“Gummy?” Pinkie Pie spoke with uncertainty.

“Such a thought, leaves me with only one recourse in which to decide my fate.”

Before anypony could ask what that meant, the giant gator opened its mouth, lashed out its tongue, and wrapped it around Pinkie Pie. The tongue then retracted just as quickly and brought Pinkie into the mouth of the giant gator, where its massive jaws slammed shut on the earth pony mare like a steel trap. Shazam’s mouth practically hit the ground, eyes big as saucers at what she saw. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had the same looks, but fainted after a few seconds. Pumpkin and Pound Cake just giggled and clapped their hooves together.

The other residents were in the same state of shock at seeing the beloved hyperactive earth pony mare made into a snack for the giant reptile. Shazam shook her head, snapping herself out of her stupor and prepared to strike against the gator, but stopped.

Gummy’s mouth suddenly opened back up, his tongue slithered out and plopped an uneaten Pinkie Pie right on her rear where she had been snatched up earlier. The gator’s tongue went back into his mouth as he shut his massive jaws, and then sighed contently. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Shazam rushed to Pinkie’s side, but cringed upon seeing her coated in alligator saliva. “Ewwww…Pinkie Pie, are you alright?!”

“That…That…That…was HILARIOUS!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she threw her saliva dripping forelegs into the air.

Shazam deadpanned. “What?”

“Well, duh, it’s so obvious! Gummy wanted to prank me like that for forever, but he wasn’t big enough! But thanks to you he is and he could!” Pinkie then placed her hooves on her hips and looked directly at Gummy. “But we’re going to start using some mouthwash for you mister, and floss four times a day!”

Gummy visibly drooped.

“Awwww, who’s Momma’s little gator?” Pinkie asked.

Gummy looked off to the side.

“Who’s Momma’s little gator?” Pinkie asked again in baby talk tone.

Gummy looked back and this time his eyes widened and he gave a very big, very teeth filled, smile.

“That’s my Gummy,” Pinkie then reached into her mane and pulled out a cupcake, “here you go!”

Pinkie tossed the cupcake to Gummy, upon which the gator opened its massive jaws yet again and snapped them down once the confection hit his tongue. Gummy’s tongue then stuck out from the corner of his mouth and licked all around his chops, and his left eye while it was open.

They’re both nuttier than fruitcakes…

SWEET APPLE ACRES…

“I’m home, I’m home, I’m home, I’m home!” Winona repeated.

The wolf-dog had practically tackled each member of the Apple Family and began licking them mercilessly, mussing up their manes and coats with dog slobber. She was large enough that she somehow managed to catch Big Mac, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Babs all under her and began licking them.

“Okay, okay, we’re happy to see ya too, Winona!” Applejack managed to say in between licks.

“E-Eeyup!” Big Macintosh agreed.

“Winona, c’mon, you’re gonna make my coat mat!” Apple Bloom begged.

“Like I said, I definitely need to move here! Ha-ha!” Babs shouted excitedly, fully embracing the weird of this whole situation.

Shazam tried several times to make Winona settle down so she could change her back to normal, but it was no use, the wolf-dog was just too hyper and happy to remain still. Just then, Granny Smith came walking out of the house, cocking her head to the side and squinting her eyes.

“Ah must be hallucinatin’ again, either that or Winona’s taken to that new dog food real well?”

Winona’s head snapped up and her tail wagged even more at the sight of the oldmare. “Granny, Granny!”

“WINONA, NO!” The others cried.

But it was too late, the giant wolf-dog bounded towards the elderly mare. They knew Winona had no intention of hurting her, but the way she was now, Winona was likely to hurt Granny Smith by accident. Just as Winona got within five feet of Granny Smith, the lime green mare stamped her hoof on the floorboard.

“Winona, sit!” Granny Smith ordered.

Winona’s ears perked up and her tail stopped wagging. She skidded to a halt and stopped just a foot away from Granny Smith. The giant wolf-dog then sat on her rear, tail wagging now, and panting as she looked down on the oldmare happily.

“Good, girl,” said Granny Smith, walking up to Winona and petting her side. “Well, don’t just stand there gawkin’, do whatever mystical, bibbidi bobbidi boo ya got to do.”

Once again, Shazam was dumbfounded.

CASTLE CONCORDIA…

Princess Celestia, Luna, and Twilight were standing in what essentially was the “backyard” of the castle. They had been told to standby and await the return of their pets. Luna was pacing back and forth, reminding Twilight of herself whenever she was trying to schedule and plan out something, it was funny to see this happening from the opposite side. However, Celestia was a little more subtle about it, sitting down beside Twilight and tapping her hoof against the grass impatiently.

“I swear if that mare has harmed one hair on my little Tibbles –!”

“Relax, Luna, I’m sure Tiberius is alright, just as my Philomena is.” Celestia glanced to Twilight, worry heavy in her eyes. “She will be alright, right?”

Twilight placed a hoof against the diarch’s foreleg, flashing her a comforting smile. “Of course they’re alright, I’m sure Owlowiscious, Tiberius, and Philomena are just fine.”

As if on cue, a lightning bolt shot down from the sky, landing a few feet away from the Princesses and an assembly of Royal and Dusk Guards. The giant bolt dispersed and revealed Shazam, along with the still transformed Tiberius, Owlowiscious, and Philomena. The Guards all entered defensive positions, the unicorn division had their horns glowing, ready to cast a defense or offense spell at a moment’s notice. The pegasi division were already in the air, hovering with spears at the ready. The earth division widened their stances, ready to sprint at the alicorn and her beasts.

Philomena looked upon their surroundings and then looked directly at Celestia. “Quite the welcome party, Tia, a bit over the top for my tastes though.”

Celestia stood on all fours and walked towards the giant phoenix. She still couldn’t get over the fiery appearance of her beloved pet and companion through the ages, Philomena looked akin to a celestial spirit rather than a flesh and blood avian creature. The Princess of the Sun sighed heavily, upon which a smirk formed on her lips.

“As if you’re in a position to talk, Philomena; does the term ‘Drama Queen’ or ‘Ham’ mean anything to you?” Celestia shot back.

Philomena turned her beak up haughtily. “You just don’t know how to appreciate a good time and have fun, these days you go around like somepony shoved the world’s biggest iron stick up your plot, and quite frankly, I’m surprised they found one for that grandiose flank of yours.”

Celestia’s eye twitched as her face went bright red from the comment, her wings unconsciously moving lower to cover her flanks. Luna didn’t even bother to stifle her laugh, losing all the pent up seriousness and falling to the ground, rolling back in forth in laughter at the expense of her elder sister. The assembled Guards bit their lower lips and coughed loudly, trying to keep themselves from joining the laughter coming from the younger sister Princess.

Twilight was trying, in vain mind you, to keep her laughter in as well. This was her mentor, teacher, second mother, it would be rude to laugh at such a crude jab at her flank. Which…she had to admit…was a bit on the plump side. Oh who was she kidding?! Twilight quickly cast the Dome of Silence spell around herself and laughed loudly, and hysterically.

“Philomena how dare you!” Celestia accused, her face becoming even redder than earlier.

“Hey, don’t blame me, yours is the sun, so it only makes sense that some things are proportionally…large, shall we say.”

Celestia huffed. “Well, at least I don’t look like a rubber chicken when my feathers molt.”

Now it was Philomena’s turn to get embarrassed. “Y-You know I can’t help that! I’m a phoenix, I molt my feathers and then, rebirth!”

Celestia formed a grin at this. “Yes, well, for a phoenix, one would think you’re rebirth cycle would look a tad more…majestic? Graceful? Ah, but instead we get – ack – ooh – ack!” Celestia began to mimic Philomena’s over dramatic death scenes from cycles past, finishing it by falling onto her back and making a death rattle, finally giving a few twitches of a leg before going silent. “Something like that I believe?”

The horseshoe was the other hoof this time, and now Philomena was the one embarrassed. Celestia extended her wings and flew up to the great phoenix and placed her hoof on Philomena’s beak. “I’m so happy to see you again, you little Drama Queen.”

Philomena chuckled. “Well, so am I, Sun Butt.”

Tiberius smiled, seeing his friend and her owner happy to see each other. Just then he sensed Luna’s presence before him. The giant opossum looked down directly at the lunar princess, a little worried that she hadn’t said anything about his new form. “Um…Lulu…I…”

“Shush!” Luna commanded.

Tiberius did as she told him, preparing to get a scolding remark for running off with the other pets to aid Shazam in her fight against the Kingdom agents. But just then, Luna jumped up high above him and the landed directly on the giant marsupial, nuzzling into his thick fur. She then hummed in content, rolling about like a filly with a brand new set of bedsheets.

“Tibbles you’re fur is incredibly soft, I could fall asleep if I stayed any longer!” Luna maneuvered herself until she was looking down at Tiberius’ face. “Did you at least have fun with the others?”

Tiberius smiled and shook his head in affirmation. “Yes, I did, very much, Lulu!”

Luna giggled, “Well, I’m glad, at least this event wasn’t a complete debacle.”

Twilight had ended the spell, finally catching her breath and noticing that Owlowiscious had stealthily made his way to Twilight’s side, nodding down at her respectfully. The two of them then turned to Shazam, who gave them a nod as well.

“Shazam,” said Celestia.

The alicorn mare turned to the elder sister, giving her, her full attention. “Y-Yes, Princess Celestia?”

The solar diarch trotted until she was a couple of feet away from the red armored mare. Luna extended her wings and flew to her sister’s side, keeping her gaze locked on Shazam. The hero mare gulped, despite having faced down Black Adam, and multiple Kingdom agents, the part of her that was a filly still feared the serious gazes of the Princesses, a kind of scolding look one would receive from their parents.

“Thank you, for saving our lives, and the lives of our friends,” said Celestia.

Shazam blinked. “Did…Did you just say ‘thank you’?”

“Yes, Shazam, it is called gratitude. You have, more than once, saved our lives and protected the wellbeing of our subjects. Despite your similarities in power and form to a certain other alicorn, you have shown that you are not as he was,” said Luna.

“Trust me, Princess Luna, I’m nothing like that monster, and I never will be,” said Shazam with great firmness and conviction.

The diarchs nodded in unison, sensing the seriousness in Shazam’s words.

“Tell us, Shazam, why hide yourself? Surely you can remove your hood in our presence. It’s not every day my sister and I meet other alicorns that we ourselves aren’t already familiar with.” Luna asked curiously.

Shazam brought a hoof to the back of her head, rubbing that spot nervously. “I…I would, and part of me wants to. But I can’t. With everything that’s happened, it’s imperative, more than ever, that I keep my identity secret from you and those around me. I don’t want to put any of them in danger…”

She spoke the truth, with the Kingdom still at large, revealing the knowledge of her true identity could put those she loves in danger, which was why the circle of ponies who did know kept the secret well.

“Alright, it does make sense. We are an open target as it stands, but yourself, you have anonymity, and that is your greatest weapon in our current situation.”

Celestia held out her hoof, extending it to Shazam. “Right now we are in a critical situation where our lives are being targeted, and those around us are sure to pay the price if we are not careful. Shazam, I know not if you are a royal of another land or dimension, and if so we have no right to ask you…”

Luna placed her hoof over Celestia’s, looking to Shazam as well. “But, for the sake of those we care about, can you continue to fight for us? There is little we know of you, and so, completely trusting you is difficult for now. But as it stands, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Kingdom seeks your destruction as well as the alicorn Royals. Will you continue to aid us?”

Shazam smiled and carefully extended her hoof to the Two Sisters, placing it atop the two. “You have my word, I will always defend Equestria. This is my home after all.”

The two Princesses nodded and all three retracted their hooves. Twilight watched from afar, grateful that, for the time being, Celestia and Luna trusted Shazam. How long that lasts would depend upon the next move of the Kingdom.

Twilight found it frustrating, it was like a game of chess, the only difference being they were constantly on the defensive, counterattacking their opponent’s moves. If they knew where and who they were, the Elements, Princesses, and Shazam could start going on the offensive. But that was a concern for another day, for now, small victories were to be celebrated, such as the forging of an alliance.

RESIDENCE OF RAINBOW DASH…

Shazam decided to take the long way back with Tank, at the giant tortoise’s behest of course. The two of them zoomed through the air, Shazam with her wings and lightning aura, and Tank with his jet fire thrusters and his fin arms. The duo did a number of aerial acrobatic stunts, just for the heck of it. Shazam and Tank would perform a helix maneuver, going up and down and coming real close to each other as they passed by. They raced for a little bit, Tank wanting to see just how fast his thrusters could make him go.

All in all, it was a fun flying trip. But as with all good things, this had to come to an end. Rainbow Dash’s house was coming up fast and no doubt the prismatic mare was worried about her tortoise friend. Shazam didn’t see a need in announcing their presence, the roar of Tank’s jets were plenty loud enough to grab Rainbow’s attention. As they grew nearer, Tank retracted his fin arms and allowed the forward thrusters to fire, allowing him to enter into a hover mode.

As expected, the sound of Tank’s jets roused the attention of Rainbow, making her zoom out of her cloud house and appear in the sky. At first she seemed ready to pick a fight, but that look quickly vanished.

“S-Shazam, Tank!” Rainbow cried out.

“Hello Rainbow Dash, we meet again,” said Shazam. The alicorn mare noticed a slight red tint to Rainbow’s cheeks upon her saying that, but she paid it no mind.

Rainbow approached the two, her confident smirk on full display. “We gotta stop meeting up when psychos are trying to kill us.”

“Heh, heh, I seriously wouldn’t mind that,” said Shazam.

Rainbow felt her heart skip a beat, but quickly shook her head and focused on her flying buddy. “Tank, you were so awesome at out there! Flying around and blasting that psycho mare with fireballs and the fire beam thing! So awesome!” Rainbow squished her cheeks as she said that last part.

Tank blushed, hearing his owner’s praise was always uplifting, and her displays of affection were always heartwarming to him. Even though she didn’t show much of that when they were in public, he understood. Besides, Tank knew how much she loved him, and didn’t hold it against her if she didn’t give him a little affectionate nuzzle, she’d give him a quick nose rub instead. Which, Tank admitted, was cute to see and do.

“Thank you, Rainbow,” said Tank.

“And you can talk, that’s even more awesome! Jeez, look at the size of these teeth!” Rainbow flew to one of the large tusks and poked at it carefully. “They’re longer than dragon teeth! And how the heck are you doing that with the fire!”

Tank looked down, realizing she was talking about his thrusters. “Don’t know, really.”

“Seriously? Doesn’t that, like, hurt? I mean, that is where your arms and legs are.” Rainbow asked as she gazed upon the jetting flames from the arm and leg holes.

“Truthfully, it doesn’t, I’m actually not sure where my arms and legs go when I do this to be honest.”

Rainbow continued to smile, flying back up and landing on the giant tortoise's head, and splaying herself out in an attempt to hug him. “Ah, whatever, you’re still the most awesome pet, ever!”

Shazam chuckled, seeing her idol acting in such a way did not diminish the amount of respect and sisterly love she felt for Rainbow Dash, actually, seeing her act like this served as a reminder that the cool and brash Rainbow Dash did have a loving and caring side to her. Now that she thought about it about, Shazam herself was just as much a tomcolt as Rainbow was, and even then, she managed to fall for somepony.

“Well, I should be changing him back and getting out of here,” said Shazam.

Rainbow Dash flew up from Tank’s head to the alicorn mare’s side. “You’re not like completely leaving, right? As in going to some other dimension or something?”

“No, no, I’ll still be close. But right now, me being in the open is just putting you guys in danger, for now, I need to maintain a low profile.”

The cyan pegasus mare released a sigh of relief, thankful that the hero was not leaving Equestria, but most likely going into civilian hiding. “I…I don’t suppose you’d mind giving me a hint about that? I mean, you’re some kind of superhero, does that mean that you have a secret identity, too?”

Shazam nodded.

“Okay, so that kind of hiding, cool.” Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head for a bit, feeling anxious about asking her next question. “Will we run into each other again?”

Sooner than you think, Rainbow, thought Shazam.

“I’m sure we will.”

“Cool.” Rainbow said in a very calm manner, belaying the high degree of giddiness she was containing.

LATE AFTERNOON…

It had been a long day returning everypony’s pets, but Scootaloo managed it. Now she was tired again, and needed some time in her own bed, or maybe another power nap in the Rock of Eternity. Scootaloo decided on her own bed, as comfortable as the accommodations at the magical fortress were, there was no beating the feeling of lying down in your own bed.

Scootaloo chuckled at that, “her own bed”, it was something she never believed she’d be able think. Of course the bed at Wayward House was hers, but it was just a temporary bed, more than one pony had slept in that bed over the years the orphanage had been up, and Scootaloo had no doubts that at some point down the road another foal would call that bed theirs.

But now, she had a bed of her own, bought for her, and for her alone to sleep on and in. Sometimes it felt like a good dream that she was destined to wake up from, only to face the reality that was her life.

That wasn’t the case however, it was all real. She was a hero now, with friends surrounding her, older ponies who believed in her, loved and cared about her, and a place to truly call home. Scootaloo let the warmth of those memories carry her to the ground, flying under her own wing power and not that of her super powered alter. She landed a few feet away from Cheerilee’s house, her home.

The pegasus filly trotted towards the house and stopped at the foot of the door. She knew that at some point, possibly soon, that Cheerilee was going to need to know about Shazam, the Rock of Eternity, and the identity of the pony who hurt her. She gave them all a vague description of her Mother, she didn’t know why she did it. Had Scootaloo told them the name and who it was, she’d never have to fear her Mother’s return, but then again, what would Cheerilee think?

Would she see their situation differently if she knew that Scootaloo was assaulted by her own flesh and blood? Her own Mother? Maybe some part, a secret part of her still clinged onto the hope that her Mother would be different after all these years, and that maybe she’d beg Scootaloo for her forgiveness so that they could be a family once again.

Scootaloo shook her head. No, I can’t think like that anymore! This is my present, and my future is ahead of me. I can’t keep wallowing in the past, she’s not in my life anymore! Ponyville, Cheerilee and Twilight, my friends, Rainbow Dash – Scootaloo looked to her flank, seeing the lightning bolt cutie mark that represented her destiny– and my future as a hero. And…Alula…

The orange filly took a deep breath and the exhaled it. She turned the knob and opened the door, peeking her head inside first and spotting the maroon earth pony mare. “Cheerilee? I…I’m home, sorry for coming home late, I was helping Twilight organize her library and –” Scootaloo stopped upon opening the door more and spotting a second mare on the couch beside Cheerilee. “– Mrs. Milano, what are you doing here?!”

Cheerilee and Milano glanced to each other and then to Scootaloo with sad expressions. “Scootaloo, I think you need to sit down first,” the maroon mare spoke.

Fear gripped Scootaloo’s heart. “W-Why, what’s wrong?”

Milano could already see the signs of fear in Scootaloo’s eyes and quickly reassured her. “Scootaloo I’m not here to take you away, this has nothing to do with your adoption, you’re with Cheerilee now and no one’s going to take you away from your home, understand?”

Scootaloo could see and hear the sincerity in Milano’s voice, but a quick glance to Cheerilee was made just for extra assurance. The schoolmarm nodded in agreement with Milano, which eased Scootaloo’s mind, but that still didn’t mean that she could breathe a sigh of relief yet.

“So, why are you here?” Scootaloo asked as she slowly walked towards them.

The two mares waited until Scootaloo was sitting before them, Milano hopped off the couch and sat before Scootaloo. “I…I know you and Alula have grown closer, Scootaloo. I know you and her are together. And before you say anything, no, I am not here to tell you that you can’t see her anymore, really, you seeing her right now would probably be a good thing for her right now.”

Dread started to replace fear. “What’s wrong with Alula?”

“She…She had another attack, Scootaloo. It was…much worse than the first time…”

“Where is she?” Scootaloo asked.

“Scoota –”

“WHERE IS SHE?!” Scootaloo demanded, stamping her hoof for emphasis.

Milano sighed. “She’s at Ponyville General Hospital.”

Project Erroria Arc Part 9: Innocent Pain

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The morning rays of the sun pierced through veil of sleep, rousing from slumber the occupant of the lavish bed. She stirred and groaned but for a moment before coming to full consciousness. The mare rose up, sitting in her bed. Her black mane was the picturesque of “bedhead”, wild and spread all over the place. She blinked her eyes a few times, getting the sleep out of them before those orbs of fuchsia rested upon the clock on her night stand.

“Hmmm, eight, about time I rise,” said the mare.

A glow of lilac appeared beneath the mass of hair, parting it to allow her horn to show. The unicorn mare focused her magic and raised a bell from a drawer in her nightstand. With a ring, the doors to her bedroom were opened up, showing quartet of maid ponies. The four mares bowed to the unicorn and as one said, “Good morning Mistress Thorn!”

Thorn smiled lazily at her maids. “Good morning, let’s get started ladies.”

Thorn slowly got out of bed and swayed a little as she stood, still a bit sleepy. One of the maids, a pegasus mare, asked, “What would you like for breakfast this morning Mistress?”

“Hmmm…coffee…toast…some eggs…nothing extravagant…”

“Yes ma’am!” The pegasus mare quickly made her way downstairs to alert the chef.

The other three set to work on helping their Mistress get ready for the day. A unicorn maid used her magic to make the bed, while two earth pony maids helped guide their mistress to the large bath down the hall.

Once there, the maids removed their own clothing and drew the bath for her. Thorn was still groggy but was aware enough to know she was in the baths, and aware enough to enjoy the view of her maids disrobing. The two mares helped Thorn into her bath, bringing various shampoos and brushes. One earth pony mare helped get Thorn’s unruly mane under control, combing it delicately as if it were as brittle as thin ice.

The other mare went to work lathering Thorns coat, applying enough pressure to both wash the fur and massage her limbs. Thorn didn’t know why she just didn’t fool around with these two, a little extra time alone with them wouldn’t be all that bad, but she needed to get to work, else her superiors bitch and moan about it.

After both mares were done attending to their mistress, they exited the large bath and went to grab towels. Thorn exited the waters and stood on the smooth, heated, marble floor. The two maids returned, towels in hoof, and began drying off Thorn carefully, and thoroughly. Once their work was done the two maids stood aside and waited for their mistress’ next order.

“Thank you, dears. You may enjoy the baths a little while longer,” said Thorn.

“You are most gracious Mistress!” They said in unison.

“Oh, and depending on how today goes, I may have need of you to help me…‘unwind’.”

Both earth mares blushed but bowed and nodded nonetheless. Thorn continued her routine after that, arriving back to her room where the unicorn maid from earlier styled her mane and helped her with her outfit. A business suit for the modern mare, being one of importance was something that came with a lot of work, one of which being their looks. Once she was done, Thorn left her lavish manor for her routine work.

Thorn Blackforest was a mare of the ponies, most notably, she was widely known for her charity work with many different orphanages in many different cities around Equestria, as well as her advances in magical scientific research, or Magi-Science for short. She made it a point to visit some of the orphanages, whenever her schedule allowed it. The look on the faces of each of the children she visited was always bright and glowing, you’d think Celestia herself had come to see them.

But today wasn’t about going to those orphanages, no, she was needed for an important meeting. And it wasn’t good to keep her constituents waiting. Thorn made her way to a carriage, drawn by four strong stallions, while a stallion butler opened the carriage door for his mistress. Once inside the stallions neighed in unison and took off down the dirt road.

Thorn looked out the window, sighing as she enjoyed the view of the forest that surrounded her estate. It took a good hour before the carriage made it past the gate that marked the boundary of her land. Once Thorn was sure they were to a certain point down the road the unicorn mare set to work. She gave three loud taps of her hoof against the carriage, signaling to the stallions. The four neighed in affirmation that they heard her. Thorn concentrated her magical energy, her horn glowing with intense mana energy.

A few feet down the road a magic circle appeared. The circle then caved in on itself, forming a gateway. The stallions galloped full speed towards the portal, close to the chest harness that kept them secured was a medallion. The medallion glowed with inscribed rune markings, glowing the same color as the magic portal. Once they neared the portal, the medallions coated the stallions and the carriage in a protective field.

The carriage passed through portal, the carriage and the stallions running down the pathway of light down to the exit far away. Inside the carriage Thorn used her magic to open a secret compartment below her hooves, the contents of which held a black cloak and a mask that had a painting of black vines with thorns coming from them.

“Time to get ready,” said Thorn.

HOURS LATER…

A portal opened up in the darkness, shining its ethereal light upon the stone structure of the room. A carriage burst out of the portal and skidded to a halt. The four stallions who were pulling it were now donned in black armor, with helms that covered their faces from view. A flash of light went off, revealing a lanky unicorn stallion as he used his magic to open the carriage door.

Thorn stepped out, wearing a black cloak and the mask. The lanky stallion also wore a mask, but it was blank, symbolizing his role in everything. The lanky stallion bowed to Thorn as he spoke, “Hail to the Kingdom.”

“Hail to the Kingdom,” replied Thorn. “Have the others arrived?”

“Yes milady, they have. They await your presence at the King’s Table.”

Thorn nodded and began walking, the lanky stallion lead the way, his horn glowing with magical light to illuminate the way. It was more than a simple light spell, the room, like the rest of their hidden fortress, was layered in magical wards. Some would cause disorientation, confusing any would be intruders from discerning where they were, practically making them run in circles until madness overtook them. Others ensnared, some killed, and a few even made you hallucinate pleasurable scenarios.

Only the Blank Masks were given the spell needed to escort their superiors to the required destination. Most would think this would be a great opportunity to kill, but the spell had a failsafe, it needed to detect another being’s life force, specifically Thorn’s. Else the spell would cancel out and leave the Blank Mask to the horrors that awaited them within.

The Blank Mask and Thorn continued walking until they arrived an intimidating pair of large, wooden double doors. The Blank Mask used his magic to open the doors, allowing tendrils of light to brighten the area. When Thorn’s eyes adjusted, she was able to see the full assembly.

A long table stretched out before her, made of black marble. There were chairs made of the same material, and each had a cloth sash draped over them, embroidered with a symbol. At the head of the table was a throne like chair, the “King’s Chair” as they called it. Although none of them held the title of king, they kept it there for when a true king was named. Thorn walked behind the chairs of her fellow members until she found her seat, bearing the sash with a black rose on it.
Once seated, the assortment of twelve ponies placed their right hooves on the table and spoke as one.

“We embrace that which is denied us.
We embody all that is dark and light.
We struggle to enlighten the masses.
We slay those who would maintain the status quo.
We take hold of our desires and make them a reality.
We await the day when our True King is crowned.
We shall rejoice, and follow him unto glory.
We are the Kingdom, and their time will come.”

The twelve stamped their hooves against the black marble table, creating a loud and thunderous echo within the stone room.

“I, War Blade, would like to open our meeting with the following debacle of an operation that took place,” said the stallion with a mask that had streaks of red on it.

“Indeed, the Agents we dispatched to Ponyville have failed twice in a row, that’s two times too many,” said the unicorn mare with gear symbols on her sash and mask.

Thorn scoffed. “I do not see how these are my blunders. My Agents were created to slay alicorns, from what our surveillance has shown, my Agents use of Xanthos has indeed harmed the Princesses. Proving that they can be killed.”

“Yes, well, they can’t kill ONE alicorn, some knew mare that wields thunder and lightning! How do you explain that?!” War Blade shouted back.

“They seemed to have damaged this ‘Shazam’ during both battles, but whatever magic this mare possess is very versatile and powerful. Besides, I’m the head of the Magi-Science Division, such things should be asked of the head of the Arcane Research Division!” Thorn countered.

Eyes turned to an earth pony mare, with a flower symbol like that of Thorn’s.

“What say you, Pink Tulip?” The unicorn mare with a gear mask asked.

Pink Tulip brought her hoof to where her mouth was and giggled lightly. “Well, from what I’ve gathered, she uses magic from a time before Equestria. Possibly dating back further before the Warring Tribes Era. Caballeron’s findings in the desert were most helpful.”

“I can’t believe you hired that tool, he would’ve ran off with all that treasure and left you high and dry,” said a pegasus stallion with a mask that had bit coins on it.

“Money I have plenty of, it’s what he found there that intrigues me. Especially after the appearance of that male alicorn, Black Adam. He was a rather rough customer, nearly killed the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony bearers, singlehoofededly.”

“And that’s the problem,” said another member. “He was beaten by another who matched him in power and strength. Whatever this magic is, we need to understand it better.”

“And YOU, Black Rose, need to figure out how to make us stronger Agents! Or have you forgotten that it is the Magi-Science Division’s duty to create a suitable King’s Vessel –”

Thorn stamped her hoof the table. “Do not remind me what my duty is! I am limited, Xanthos is unstable, and will not easily bend to my experiments. Working with living ponies has helped to craft what it will do, but if we had a sample of this magic that Shazam uses, I may be able to make many breakthroughs in a single day!”

“Hmm, I might be able to help you with that,” said Pink Tulip, “it may take a few days, but I believe I can get you a sample of this magic for you.”

The other members murmured silently at this. Thorn looked to Pink Tulip dubiously, she was a curious one, and Thorn made it a point not to get too involved with her matters. However, if her projects were to move forward she needed a sample of the magical power of Shazam, and with the alicorn hero vanishing and appearing at the drop of a hat and out of the blue, it was going to be a difficult task to get it from her.

“Very well, Pink Tulip, I will accept your cooperation in this, contact me via the standard method should you get it,” said Thorn.

Pink Tulip giggled, but there was a bit of a sultry tone in it that made Thorn cringe for some reason.

“In that case, I move that we – for the time being – suspend assassination plans for the Princesses.”

“Gears you can’t be serious?! We have yet to attack Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, why not try with her?!” War Blade asked.

“Because, the Crystal Heart protects the Crystal Empire, and the Crystal Ponies are fiercely loyal to their new Prince and Princess. After suffering under the yoke of oppression that was their King Sombra, they would rather die than let their new royals be slain and return them to dark times,” said Gears.

War Blade harrumphed and sat down. Another point that Thorn agreed with, the Crystal Heart was still a relatively unknown power, strengthened by love, it could – in theory – automatically repel the malicious nature of the Xanthos magic, and prevent the Agents from getting into the Empire. Add to that, Gears’ telling of the Crystal Ponies’ loyalty and drive to protect their Princess, they would be another problem.

“For now,” Thorn spoke, “as Gears said, we shall suspend assassination attempts until Shazam’s power can be analyzed by me. She was not part of the equation when the Kingdom was first founded, and thanks to her we have been setback, we should’ve already had all four Princesses killed and taken control of Equestria. So let us take a step back and see what needs doing first. All in favor, say ‘I’.”

“I!” All but War Blade answered.

“Majority rules,” said Thorn.

HOURS LATER, PONYVILLE GENERAL HOSPITAL

Scootaloo wanted to see her that night, but Cheerilee and Mrs. Milano had told her that visiting hours were over and that she needed her rest. It was only out of that regard for her secret fillyfriend that she kept from going Shazam and visiting her in the middle of the night. But by dawn’s early light Scootaloo’s was wide awake and hopping on Cheerilee’s bed like a foal on Hearth’s Warming morning.

Knowing the urgency, Cheerilee got herself ready as well as Scootaloo before making their way to the hospital. Once there, Cheerilee asked Nurse Redheart where Alula was and the white earth pony mare gladly showed them the way. Once they were at the door to Alula’s room Nurse Redheart paused and looked down to Scootaloo.

“Listen now, Alula went through a very bad attack and is a little weak. She’s still resting and I can’t let you stay with her long, is that alright?” Redheart asked.

No it’s not “alright”, I want to stay with Alula as long as it takes! Scootaloo looked up to Cheerilee and then to Nurse Redheart, she then sighed heavily, knowing that acting overprotective wouldn’t help Alula. But, I don’t want her to get worse because I kept her from getting rest.

“Alright, that’s fine,” said Scootlaoo.

Redheart nodded and smiled kindly at the pegasus filly. She slowly opened the door and motioned for Scootaloo and Cheerilee to enter, but the maroon mare shook her head. “I know you need to see her Scootaloo, and I don’t want to intrude on you two. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

Scootaloo smiled, her heart swelling with happiness at how Cheerilee knew how important it was to be with her special somepony in her time of need. With that, Scootaloo entered the room, hearing the soft click of the door shutting behind her. The room smelled sterile, as hospitals often did. It was one of the things that Scootaloo disliked about the hospital, well, what twelve-year-old enjoyed the hospital. For her, too many bad memories were connected to this place.

The numerous times that she could’ve told a doctor about what her mother was doing to her, all the times she could’ve cried out for help, all gone because she was too afraid. And, there was no telling what her mother would’ve done to keep her or the doctor silent about her abuse. Scootaloo shook the bad memories away, there was no time to worry about the past.

The pegasus filly walked further into the room, hearing the soft beeping sound of the ECG monitor. Scootaloo choked back some tears, there were wires going from Alula to the monitor, hidden underneath her hospital gown. An IV tube ran from her neck to a bag of clear fluid that released a steady drip. Luckily, from what she could tell, Alula wasn’t hooked up to anything that was breathing for her.

Scootaloo got closer to the bed, and carefully dragged over a chair so she could get a better view of her fillyfriend. Scootaloo flapped her wings and set herself in the chair, scanning over Alula’s body to see if there were any scars or signs of surgery. For a moment, Scootaloo considered channeling her ancient mystic powers, and using them to heal Alula. But, then again, what would that do to Alula? For a pony who randomly switched between the three tribes, who knew what effect that might have on the healing magic.

The pegasus filly growled and gritted her teeth, feeling helpless to do anything for somepony she cared about. Alula stirred, and Scootaloo went still. Alula moaned a little, her eyes weakly fluttering open. Her violet eyes fell upon Scootaloo and a weak smile formed on her lips.

“S-Scootaloo?”

“Y-Yeah, it’s me Alula!”

The, at the moment, earth pony filly slowly looked down at herself. It didn’t take her long to realize where she was, making her release a dry chuckle.

“Guess it was worse than I thought…I really wished you didn’t have to see me like this…”

Scootaloo shook her head and nuzzled the side of Alula’s face gently. “Stupid, I don’t care. I was just worried about you when I heard that you were in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?”

“Barely…I just remember my head really hurting…my body felt like it was wanting to tear itself apart from the inside out…and then, there was this weird flavor in my mouth. It tasted metallic, like iron or something?”

Scootaloo gulped, she knew what that taste was, she knew it all too well from the battles she fought, she could never forget that taste. The irony taste of one’s own blood. “S-So, how are you feeling now?”

“I feel really tired…and a little weak. But I think I’m alright. What about you? You said you were meeting the Princesses for a pet playdate.”

The orange filly rubbed the back of her head nervously, chuckling the whole time. “Well…ya see…things went alright, then things went crazy, and then –”

“Scootaloo.” Alula interrupted. “Just tell me what happened. No secrets between us.”

Scootaloo knew that telling her about the attack was probably a bad idea, but then again they did make a secret promise to not keep things from each other. So, reluctantly, Scootaloo divulged the sorted details of the Pony Pet Playdate. Everything from how Princess Celestia embarrassed Cheerilee, to the appearance of the Kingdom Agents, her battle with said Agents, the transformation of the pets, and the subsequent debriefing and returning of the pets after the battle.

Despite the danger of the story, Alula looked a little entertained. If nothing else, Scootaloo knew how to make a dangerous situation sound like a fun time. Once she was done, Alula carefully reached out with her left hoof towards Scootaloo. The pegasus filly placed her hoof over Alula’s and looked back to her.

“I’m glad you’re safe, and everypony else too…”

“C’mon Lu, you don’t really think some freaky badguy ponies are going to beat me? I’m a superhero, we always kick butt and save the day.”

Alula chuckled. “I know, but still, be careful.”

Scootaloo nodded slowly. “I will, I got Twilight and Murmur looking out for me, and now I have the pets saying that they’ll lend me a hoof when I need one. So, I’m not alone, not anymore.”

“I don’t want you to ever be alone either.”

A gentle rapping was heard from the door, Scootaloo and Alula looked back and saw that Nurse Redheart had stuck her head inside. “Scootaloo, sorry, but I need to cut this short, Alula needs her rest.”

Scootaloo wanted to protest, but glanced back to Alula and saw the tired look in her eyes. No doubt she was trying to stay awake and alert because she was there, and didn’t want to fall asleep and miss her.

“Okay,” said Scootaloo. “Alula, I promise I’ll be back. I’ll come by every day!”

Alula smiled and nodded to her. “I’d like that Scootaloo, but you don’t have to.” She then lowered her voice into a hushed whisper. “I know you have things you need to do as Shazam.”

“Hey, don’t worry about those things. Just concentrate on getting better. My birthday’s in a few weeks, and if you don’t get better, then I’m spending it here with you. In this small, cramped hospital room, which Pinkie Pie will fill with balloons and confetti until it’s all hanging out the windows!”

Alula chuckled and nodded back to her fillyfriend. “Alright.”

Scootaloo spread her wings and flapped to lift herself out of the chair and back onto the floor. She moved the chair back and gave Alula a smile before heading out. Once she was outside, Scootaloo saw Cheerilee sitting against the wall and waiting patiently for her adopted daughter.

“How is she?” Cheerilee asked, her voice full concern.

“She looks okay, she sounds exhausted though. Guess it’ll be better to come back tomorrow. Right?” Scootaloo asked as she glanced towards Nurse Redheart.

“Of course, as her condition improves we’ll allow her longer visits and more visitors. I don’t doubt that the rest of your friends will want to visit as well.”

“C’mon Scootaloo, let’s go and get some breakfast and we’ll figure out something afterwards.”

Scootaloo sighed, there was nothing left to do until tomorrow. With that, Cheerilee and Scootaloo headed off to town to get something to eat.

SWEET APPLE ACRES

Babs was struggling a little, for the past few nights now really. Since the first day Babs came to stay with her cousin, Apple Bloom insisted on the both of them sharing her bed. Did they have a spare guest room? Yes. But Apple Bloom wanted to spend as much time with her favorite cousin as possible, so having her sleep in the same bed as her was the best solution.

While Babs loved the idea, she didn’t quite feel…safe about doing that. More so for Apple Bloom’s sake than her own. Babs didn’t really trust herself, being that close to Apple Bloom and risking acting upon her incestuous feelings. Which was why she declined the offer at first, offering instead – privately – that she sleep on the floor. A way of penance from when Babs kicked Apple Bloom out of her own bed when she was acting like a bully towards the Crusaders, her friends for life.

Apple Bloom considered the incident water under the bridge, and even gave Babs her famous, big, teary, puppy dog eyes. Babs couldn’t say no after that, so, in the end, she was sleeping next to AB for many nights now, waking up to her sleeping face. Inhaling her scent before, during, and after they went to sleep.

When Babs woke up this particular morning, she was sweating bullets. Somehow, in the middle of the night, Apple Bloom had cuddled up next to Babs, ending up wrapped in Babs’ forelegs. Apple Bloom unconsciously nuzzled against Babs’ chest fur, making happy moaning noises as she got comfortable.

Babs’ heart was hammering in her chest, face heating up from how this looked. She was already a teen mare, and Apple Bloom was just a few months behind her. Babs was already struggling a little with understanding feelings of love, but she knew how she felt for Apple Bloom, it wasn’t a simple crush or a matter of wanting to experiment with someone safe.

She was sure of it, this was love. Was it wrong? Yes. Did she care? No. Well…maybe a little. This was always going to be that nagging voice in the back of her head trying to talk to her out of what she was planning, but her mind was made up. Babs was going to confess to Apple Bloom, for good or bad, come Tartarus or high water, that was her plan.

Still though, if Cuz keeps donin’ stuff like this I won’t be able to keep to my stupid plan! Babs dared to look down at the sleeping filly in her forelegs, gulping at the peaceful expression on Apple Bloom’s face, and her unkempt red mane. Dammit, why do ya have to be so cute?!

Her gaze became more concentrated on Apple Bloom’s lips, enchanting her, calling to her. I…I can’t…If I kiss her and she wakes up…! I could ruin what we have! Or she could totally be cool with it and just write it off as a secret between cousins. Heck, she may even like it.

Babs mentally face hoofed herself. Please, wishful thinkin’ much?!

“Mmmm…”

Babs froze, feeling Apple Bloom nuzzle closer to her chest and breathing lightly onto it as she continued to slumber. The Manehattan filly held her cousin closer, feeling her heart beat just a little faster from this moment. Babs blew up at her bangs, seeing a few strands of neon red mane block her view, she didn’t know why, but there was something about seeing Apple Bloom without her big pink bow on that made her look a little more mature, but still, she’d never say to get rid of it. It looked too cute on her cousin to tell her to not wear it.

The bronze colored filly gently maneuvered her right hoof to her cousin’s head, noticing a few strands of her apple red mane block her face from view. As she did, Babs still felt that sensation in her stomach, the metaphorical butterflies, fluttering as she unknowingly began leaning in closer to Apple Bloom. Closer and closer, centimeter by centimeter, she was closing the gap. Her gaze focused on her cousin’s lips, her desire to kiss her but once driving her body almost against her will.

“Mmmm…”

Suddenly, Apple Bloom’s eyes lazily fluttered open, and Babs froze as her heart practically stopped then and there. Apple Bloom’s eyes were open now, a drowsy look was upon her face, meaning her conscious mind had yet to catch up. Maybe, Babs contemplated, she still had time to –

“Babs…? What’re ya doin’…?”

I spoke too soon.

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAAAAAAAP!!! Think Babs Seed, think, else she’s goin’ to start gettin’ weirded out!

With little recourse, Babs decided to kiss Apple Bloom, but not in the place she originally intended. The bronze Manehattan filly placed her lips against Apple Bloom’s forehead, giving her a quick peck before pulling back and smiling bashfully.

“Ya just looked too darn cute sleepin’, couldn’t help it,” said Babs with a nervous chuckle.

Apple Bloom blushed and squirmed a little in Bab’s embrace, but smiled back at her nonetheless, her last minute change seemingly worked. “Aw, Babs, that’s sweet. And Ah ain’t that cute, Ah’m just average.”

Babs scoffed. “Please, you look a lot better than those gussied up mares and fillies back home. They got so much make up and products on it almost makes ‘em look like clowns at the circus.”

Apple Bloom chuckled at the thought of seeing such a mare, Rarity was the closest to the statement, but even she never went overboard with the beauty makeup. Except for when she apparently entered the Best Young Fliers competition in Cloudsdale, but that was another matter.

“You’re, well, I guess the word is ‘natural beauty’? Ya don’t need fancy makeup or anythin’, you look…um…prettier without that stuff,” said Babs, dangerously edging to the line.

The yellow filly’s face went redder, nopony had ever said she was pretty. Cute, a tomcolt, a hard worker, her sister and Granny had said she looked pretty, but with an accompanying country-ism. This was actually the first time somepony said she was straight out pretty, and without anything like a dress or an accessory like her bow. For some reason, Apple Bloom was feeling a warmness in her cheeks, she didn’t know why she felt like that, and it was just Babs, her cousin, her family. Why was her compliment making her feel flustered? And on that note…

“Uh, Babs, why are ya holdin’ meh close like this?”

Babs chuckled, knowing that this wasn’t her doing. “Youse rolled around in your sleep, and ended up like this, Cuz. Even nuzzled up against me and everythin’.”

Apple Bloom was now as red as the fruit her family grew, backpedaling – albeit slowly – out of Bab’s forelegs, and curled in on herself. “Ah’m so sorry! Ah wasn’t tryin’ to be weird or nothin’, it just happens when Ah sleep, Ah shoulda said somethin’!”

“Hey, hey, don’t sweat it! Not like ya did anythin’, I’m cool with it, really,” said Babs with all sincerity.

Apple Bloom looked up at her cousin, seeing that her expression was sincere and honest. “Still…sorry.”

“Hey, you say ‘sorry’ again, I’m boppin’ ya one on the back of the head, got it?” Babs mocked threatened. Apple Bloom gave a small smile and nodded. “Good, and I don’t mind it, really. It’s kinda nice wakin’ with somepony next to ya.”

“It is, actually…Well, alright, but if ya start to feel weirded out we can put a pillow between us or somethin’.”

Babs reached out and placed a hoof on her cousin’s foreleg. “Trust me, Cuz, it ain’t a problem.”

*Knock*

Babs and Apple Bloom looked to each other and then to the door. Apple Bloom shrugged, neither one was expecting to be woken up by Big Mac or Applejack.

“Come in,” answered Apple Bloom.

The door opened and showed Applejack, hatless, her face a little solemn looking. “Um, Sis, Babs, Ah think ya need to come downstairs. There’s somethin’ ya need ta know.”

It was sometime later that the Crusaders met up at the treehouse. Scootaloo and Aura had arrived first, both looking downtrodden, Scootaloo resembled this the most. Sweetie Belle, Babs, and Apple Bloom arrived together, having all heard the news about Alula’s hospitalization. Once all were assembled, the fillies sat in a circle and waited for somepony to speak.

“Is she…alright?” Sweetie asked.

“She’s weak, but she looked alright. They won’t allow any more visitors today, she needs to rest.” Scootaloo answered.

“What happened to her? Did she get into an accident or somethin’?” Babs asked.

Aura sighed. “No…Yes…? It’s hard to really put into words what happened, but I was there when it happened…” The fuchsia filly hugged herself as she trembled from the memories. “She was in so much pain…and there was nothing I could do!”

Scootaloo draped her left wing over Aura’s back, comforting her orphan friend the best she could. “You don’t have to tell us Aura, it’s alright.”

Aura shook her head. “No, Sweetie, AB, you two saw how she was the first time this happened, right?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded, remembering how they, along with Pinkie Pie, found the young filly in pain and semi-conscious.

“Well…it was worse than that…”

ONE DAY AGO

Aura and Alula had been moved into the same room, since Scootaloo left the Wayward House, her bed was vacant, and Mrs. Milano saw it that Aura was with a friend she knew as well as Scootaloo. It was a good arrangement as far as Aura was concerned, it afforded her future opportunities to tease and embarrass Alula about Scootaloo and her being fillyfriends. She was happy for them, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to enjoy watching Alula squeak, blush, and just die of embarrassment from the things Aura had planned.

I’m such a bad filly, thought Aura as she chuckled sinisterly.

“Aura, you okay?” Alula asked.

“Oh just fine my dear Alula, just fine.”

Alula was clearly skeptical of that statement, and it didn’t help that Aura had this wide grin on her face akin to a Cheshire Cat. “Uh-huh…ooookay, guess I’ll just take your word for it.”

“Yes, yes you will. So, how’re things with Scootaloo?!” Aura asked excitedly.

Alula blushed noticeably, she was currently sporting pegasus wings, so the sudden question made them flare at the same time she blushed. “E-Everything’s fine, we’re good!”

“Ugh, Alula, don’t go all ‘fine’ and ‘good’ with me! I want to know all the dirty, gritty details!”

Alula raised an eyebrow at the words “dirty” and “gritty”. “Just what exactly do you think we do?”

Aura shrugged. “Well I don’t know, but I have an active imagination~”

The vanilla pegasus filly groaned inwardly. “I’m going to hate myself for asking…but, what do you imagine?”

Aura grinned wider. “So glad you asked!”

The fuchsias earth filly dove under her bed, disappearing in the shadows. A few seconds passed and Aura had yet to surface, making Alula wonder how deep, or rather, how far the she went. Given that the wall was on the right side of the bed, the only open space was before Alula. The pegasus filly slowly crept forward, hearing the sounds of shifting objects and other things coming from shadows. Alula lowered her head, trying to peek into the shadows of the bed.

“No peeking!”

“GAH!”

Alula jumped back, actually, she flew into the air, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling before landing on her bed. Suddenly, a large journal was tossed from under Aura’s bed, sliding to the middle space between their beds. The earth filly finally emerged from the mysteriously deep underbelly of her bed.

“How – what the – huh?!”

“Heh, heh, sorry that took so long. I gotta remember to reorganize down there.” She then glared back at the shadows. “Or get somepony who can properly organize!”

“Bite me, filly!”

“Don’t make me come down there and actually bite you! I’m a biter, you know that!”

A low whimper could be heard from under the bed before a grunt accompanied it. Alula’s right eye was twitching, hearing a mysterious voice from under her bed, and Aura arguing with said voice was just Pinkie Pie levels of weird. Morbid curiosity begged her to ask Aura what it was, but a little voice in her head warned her against that.

“Okay then, now let’s see.” Aura sat down before her journal and began flipping through the pages. “You can come down, it’s alright.”

Alula cautiously stepped hoof onto the floor. Once she did, Alula quickly flipped up the blankets, taking a look under her own bed, noticing that the shadows weren’t as dark, allowing her to see the wall on the other side. This only confused her further.

“Oh don’t worry, he likes it under my bed.”

“Who – I – You know what, never mind, it’ll just keep me up at night.” Alula sat down across from Aura and eyed the journal dubiously. “So what’s this journal about?”

Aura chuckled. “This, my dear Alula, holds my various stories and ideas of how each of my special pairings interact when in a relationship. Yours and Scootaloo’s made up…mmm…I’d say fifty-one percent of my works. Ah, like this one!”

Aura pointed to one title and Alula followed her gaze, reading aloud “‘You Don’t Need Wings to Fly’? What’s that?”

“Basically a scenario in which two orphan fillies, who are friends, grow closer and closer. Scootaloo wishes to fly, but like before she got her cutie mark and all, and tries desperately to do so! You, Alula, stand by her side, comforting her when she fails, and cheering her on as she manages to lift off the ground. Like in this excerpt.”

Scootaloo cried hard, after all the months of training and hard work, she could still not get more than two feet of the ground. But, then, her heart was nearly broken in two when her mentor, Rainbow Dash, returned from the doctor.
“I’m sorry Scoots…the docs…they said you have a disease that’s keeping your wings from getting stronger…”
“What does that even mean?! Just give me a shot or some spell to fix me then!” Scootaloo shouted.
“It’s not that simple, it’s a born illness, Scoots. If it was something you caught, maybe Twilight or one of those doctors in Canterlot could maybe fix it! But…you were born with it. It’s a part of you, I’ve already asked Twilight – begged her – do something! She gave me the same answer: ‘I’m sorry’. Scoots, if we caught this when you were younger, maybe we could’ve made it not as bad, but at this point, all they can do is give you therapy to keep your wings strong and healthy.”

“Aura that’s horrible! How could you write that about that happening to Scootaloo!” Alula scolded.

“It’s part of the story, it adds drama and gets ya in the feels! See, even you’re tearing up!”

Alula wiped a couple of tears from her eyes with her wing tips. “That doesn’t matter! What if that actually happened?!”

Aura rubbed her foreleg as she answered. “Honestly, I knew it wouldn’t. Call me crazy or whatever, but I just had this feeling like Scootaloo would fly one day, and whether it was literally or metaphorically, I didn’t know, but I just knew. And, it helped to write out the fear, made it easier to forget.”

Alula was a little shocked at that revelation, the only reason she knew that Scootaloo wasn’t going to end up like that was because she believed in her, and also when she told the tribe-shifter about her secret identity as Shazam.

“If it makes you feel any better, you end up kissing her and making her feel like she can fly, in the metaphorical sense of the word. And the two of you spend the rest of your lives together happily, growing up here and eventually moving out together and living in the same place.”

Alula blushed hard, she was happy that Scootaloo was her fillyfriend, and in truth, she hadn’t thought that far ahead. Alula wanted to be with Scootaloo, and the thought of living together, as a couple, growing up together as lovers, it made the young filly’s heart go aflutter.

“Well…so long as it has a happy ending, I’m good with it, I guess,” said Alula.

Aura nodded. “Good, but of course, that’s just one of many others. I…ahem…even wrote certain things…” The filly’s face blushed at mentioning this.

“What sort of ‘things’ Aura?” Alula immediately dreaded asking that.

Aura turned a few pages of the journal, landing on a story that was entitled “The Passion of the Two Orphans”. The earth filly turned the journal around to face Alula, apparently wanting her to read it instead of Aura reading it aloud. With a little uneasiness, Alula read the passages of the story. It was apparently written in this story that Alula and Scootaloo were in their early twenties, much like Rainbow Dash and Princess Twilight were currently.

It started out innocently enough, apparently they were living together, which was sweet. They had a nice house, in Ponyville of course. Were still friends with Aura and the other members of the CMC. As night fell in the story, however, things started to take a turn.

“Why does Scootaloo keep staring at my flank?” Alula asked.

“Keep reading,” answered Aura.

A couple of sentences later. “Why am I swiping at her cutie marks with my tail?”

“Keep reading.”

Another couple of sentences later Alula’s face became redder. “I-I don’t think we’d kiss each other like that! Using our tongues?! Eww!”

“Keep reading…”

A whole paragraph later had Alula quickly slamming the book closed, wings flared out fully, face glowing red. Aura drew circles in the floor with her right hoof, face about half as red as Alula’s was.

“W-W-Why did I…Why did Scootaloo?! The bed…hooves…wings…screaming…! What the hay is a wingbo –?!”

“Yeah, so, anyway, that’s just a couple of things. That last one may or may not be a product of the part of my imagination that sits in the gutter…” Aura quickly put her hooves into a prayer position and bowed to Alula. “Please don’t tell Mrs. Milano or the other foals!”

Alula blinked, trying to shake off the shock of what she just read. Unfortunately, she was not going to be forgetting any of that anytime soon, but she did understand why Aura was begging her.

“Y-Yeah…okay, I won’t. Just, um, promise you won’t write anymore like that about us…I mean, Scoots and I are together now so…”

Aura nodded in agreement. “Of course! I haven’t written anymore since you two told me, these were from a month ago, I was having writer’s block.” The earth filly raised an eyebrow. “Do you, by chance, want to keep that story for yourself?”

“N-NO! HAY NO!” Alula shifted her gaze away. “………Maybe hide it until Scootaloo and I are…older.”

Aura winked at her friend. “Will do. HEY MANNY, FILE THE RISQUE ONES UNDER ‘SPECIAL REQUESTS’ SECTION! CAREFULLY!” Aura brought the journal to her, positioning behind her left hind leg before kicking it back under the bed.

“For a filly of your age, you have a vivid, and yet, dirty imagination at times.”

“I don’t pay you to criticize Manny, I pay you to file and keep things neat and organized,” replied Alula.

There was a low grumble and spluttering within the darkness. “You don’t pay me at all!”

“Not with that attitude I won’t.”

Suddenly, something long and green slithered out from under Aura’s bed, causing Alula to shriek with horror as she once again went airborne. Aura looked back and saw the green tentacle slithering out from under her bed, watching as it began to coil towards her. Aura quickly sidestepped the tentacle and gave it a bite. The tentacle retreated back under the bed, whimpering a like dog.

“You bit me!”

“I told you I was biter, now be a good boy!”

“Yes ma’am.”

Aura sighed frustratingly. “Honestly, he’s a nice…whatever he is, but he can be so stubborn. Alula?”

Aura looked around not seeing Alula, she then looked up and saw said filly. Hooves against the ceiling, wings flapping at a rapid pace to keep her clinging to the ceiling, and shaking like a leaf.

“What the hay was that thing?!”

“Heh, heh, yeaaaaaah…mind keeping that a secret too? I promise he’s not dangerous, Scootaloo lived here this whole time with Manny under my bed and she’s fine!” Aura hung her head low. “You probably want a different roommate now…?”

Alula stopped clinging to the ceiling and floated down to Aura, seeing the saddened expression on her face. “I’m sorry, it just startled me. I don’t want change rooms, you’re my friend, and whatever that is, and as long it behaves I’m fine.”

Aura smiled broadly and threw her forelegs out, hugging Alula. The pegasus filly was a little surprised, but that wore off, allowing her to return the hug. Just then, a sharp pain shot through her skull, causing Alula to rip herself away from Aura.

“AAAAHH!”

“Alula?!” Aura cried.

“M-M-MRS. M-M-MILANO…G-GET HER!!” Alula yelled as pain surged through her body.

Aura shook her head and bolted out the door, yelling for the matron of Wayward House at the top of her lungs. Alula collapsed onto the floor, her body was once again wracked with the soul tearing pain like before, but for some reason it was even more intense than last time. The young filly grunted and screamed, her head felt as if it wanted to split open, her body felt like it was tearing itself apart from the inside out.

Each breath she took hurt, making her want to stop breathing, but she couldn’t. She had to keep breathing, no matter how much it hurt she had to keep breathing. Soon she heard the rapid thudding of hooves echo through the floorboards, and in no time Aura and Milano appeared in the doorway. The matron mare gasped in horror at what she saw, hoping that it wasn’t as Aura described, unfortunately it was.

Milano rushed to Alula’s side, she threw her saddle bag onto the floor and fished out the pain medication that the doctors prescribed for when an attack happened. The brunette mare managed to pop off the cap and get a couple of pills out.

“Alula, sweetie, I need you to try and swallow these pills, it’ll help stop the pain so we can take you to the hospital!”

“I-I can’t! It hurts – AAAAAAH!!!” Alula continued to thrash around as every possible nerve in her body ignited with a jolt of pain.

Aura was panicking, she didn’t know what to do to help. Milano knew in this state that Alula couldn’t swallow of her own accord. “Aura! Hurry and get me a glass of water now!!!”

The earth filly complied, dashing out of the room and towards the bathroom. Some of the staff and other orphans were crowding outside of the room, watching anxiously and worriedly as Alula continued her howls of pain and spastic thrashing. Milano used her inborn earth pony strength to keep Alula from thrashing about too much and hurting herself against the furniture or walls.

“Milano, I called the hospital, they’re sending EMT ponies right now!” A staff member shouted.

“We need to stabilize her, c’mon Aura!”

“OUT OF THE WAY!” Aura cried.

The crowd parted way for the filly, who was miraculously balancing a glass of water on her back as she skidded to a halt before Milano. “I got the water, now what?!”

Milano took the pills into left hoof, she sighed, knowing that what she was about to do would seem wrong but it was the only way to get them down. She popped the pills into her mouth, and quickly took a sip of water. Milano maneuvered Alula onto her back, tilting her head up just a bit. Milano, to the surprised gasps of everypony, placed her lips onto Alula, forcing the young filly’s mouth open as she let the water carry the pills down her throat.

Alula coughed a bit, but felt the pills and water flow down her esophagus and down into her stomach. Milano quickly retracted her lips, gasping for air having had to keep her muzzle pressed against Alula’s to force her into swallowing. Luckily, the pills were strong medicine, Milano knew it wouldn’t take long before they started working. Milano brought the filly into an embrace, her ears were assaulted by her constant screams of pain, but she held on.

Even while Alula thrashed and writhed, she kept holding her. Trying to help lessen the frightening experience by offering her presence as comfort and security to the young filly. A minute passed and Alula’s thrashing started to subside, ten seconds past and her cries lowered. Upon the second to third minute Alula wasn’t crying out in pain anymore, sobbing and sniffling, body still in an amount of pain, but compared to earlier it was ignorable.

“Shh-shh, I’m here Alula, you’ll be alright, the medicine is kicking in, just give a little more time. I won’t leave you, honey,” said Milano in her most comforting, motherly voice.

“I-It hurts all over…my head…my body…”

Milano gently stroked Alula’s mane, doing so as if touching brittle glass. “We’ll get you to the hospital, and then everything will be alright.”

Alula felt reassured by Milano’s words, she held onto them, not wanting to think about the pain. But unfortunately, this episode was far from over. Alula’s body glowed red, her wings retracting back into her body. Aura saw this and quickly bucked the door, slamming it shut to keep others from seeing Alula’s tribe-shifting.

Milano watched as a unicorn horn sprouted from her forehead, making the mare jerk her head back before it punctured her neck. The horn suddenly retracted, and then she was an earth pony, but then the wings popped out again, then the horn, and then wings left. Her body was randomly cycling through the three different tribes. Alula opened her eyes, which had rolled back into her head as her body convulsed from the rapid shifts.

The glow around her body began releasing bursts of red light, firing a bolt for Aura. The filly dodged the bolt, nimbly rolling to the right as the bolt struck the wall behind her, scorching it on impact. Another one was fired, hitting the ceiling, a third shot through the window, a fourth struck the nightstand. Feeling the energy against her unprotected fur and skin, it was as if hundreds of jagged needles were digging into her skin and sawing through it, as if protesting her contact with Alula.

Milano bit down on her lower lip, enduring the pain and refusing to relinquish the filly. Suddenly, to the shock and horror of both Milano and Aura, the red energy snapped, cancelling itself out as her purple aura came back into existence. But even that snapped away, and Alula went completely limp in Milano’s grasp. She then heard a loud cough like retching. Milano figured Alula had vomited, it didn’t bother her. After giving birth and raising two colts she’s seen her share of spit up, throw up, and other things.

However, Milano wasn’t prepared for the look of pure horror on Aura’s face, having gone pale. Milano was about to ask what was wrong, when she realized it wasn’t Milano herself she was looking at, rather, it was where Alula was resting. The mare looked down at herself, her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull upon seeing what the wet substance actually was. Blood had stained her coat, a lot of it. Milano pushed back on Alula, showing that the blood had come from her mouth.

All that was heard after that was a loud scream.

PRESENT, 3 DAYS LATER…

Scootaloo had gone to visit Alula, she promised to stay with her fillyfriend as along as she could until they booted her out. But Scootaloo swore that Nurse Redheart was letting her stay a little longer than normal. If she was, she didn’t say anything, and Scootaloo wasn’t about to jinx a good thing.

Thankfully, each day that past Alula seemed a little better. Scootaloo could still hardly believe what happened to her, inwardly she cursed herself for not being there when the filly she cared about was in pain and possibly dying. If it wasn’t for the Kingdom Agents the playdate could’ve ended on time and she could’ve visited Alula, maybe even used her magic to stop it before it got this bad.

But there was no sense in beating that dead horse, what was done was done, and the good thing was that Alula was getting better. “Seriously, I can’t believe you haven’t met Manny yet!”

Alula shuddered under her blankets. “I can’t believe you actually knew about a thing like that living under Aura’s bed!”

“Nah, Manny looks creepy as hay, but he’s just a big push over.” Scootaloo assured.

“Aura had to bite him to get him to behave,” said Alula with a deadpan expression.

Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “Okay, so he’s got some issues with behaving, tough love helps.”

Alula gave her a dubious look, but chuckled nonetheless. Scootaloo placed her hoof over Alula’s, smiling at her fillyfriend warm heartedly. The bedridden filly smiled back, enjoying the warmth of Scootaloo’s hoof on her’s.

“So how much longer did the doctors say you were going to stay?” Scootaloo asked.

Alula sighed heavily. “Mrs. Milano was here when the doctors came in, they told us that whatever caused my attack they can’t find.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Scootaloo shook her head at this revelation. “C’mon, they’re doctors! They have to know what’s wrong with you so they can fix it!”

“They don’t know, and neither do I. I wish I did so I could tell them.” Alula coiled her hoof around Scootaloo’s, gripping it tightly. “I don’t want to feel that again…it was so scary…and it hurt so much more than before…!”

“Well…maybe I could use my powers! I mean, what’s the point in having the magic of six gods if I can’t use it to heal you?! O-Or I could go back to the Rock of Eternity’s library! I’m sure Murmur and I could find something in all that mess about what’s happening with you!”

“Scootaloo,” Alula spoke up, “it’s alright, and you don’t need to do all that. I’m feeling better, a little weak, but I will be back on my hooves soon. Besides, it’s not fair of you to use your powers like that on me. What if there’s another attack and you’re not at full strength because you used a lot of your magic to heal me?”

Scootaloo lowered her head. “I…Well, what are the chances of an attack happening as soon as I do that?” Alula gave her a deadpan expression. “Right…we live in Ponyville, forgot.” Scootaloo sighed dejectedly, she really wanted to help Alula, but she also had a responsibility as the Champion of Magic. She needed to be at a hundred percent for whenever the Kingdom attacked again. “I get it, I won’t do that. But least let me ask Murmur to check up on this in the library.”

“I-I don’t mind that, but I don’t want Murmur to run herself ragged because of me.”

The orange filly blew a raspberry. “You kidding, you should see her when she’s buzzing around the library searching for something. I think she’s just happy to be doing something now that a new Champion was chosen.” A solemn look befall Scootaloo. “She must’ve felt so sad each time a Champion passed on, growing old while she stayed young. I wonder…”

Alula tilted her head inquisitively. “Wonder what?”

“Quicksilver, the Champion before me. He looked really old, probably older or as old as Princess Celestia and Luna. Black Adam stayed in his Champion form for thousands of years and never aged a day, at least until he changed back to normal and he became dust.”

Scootaloo looked at herself, and then to Alula.

“If I did that, I could be, like, immortal, live forever…and watch everypony I love go…”

“You wouldn’t be alone. Princess Twilight, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Princess Celestia would still be around. If the other three knew who you really were, I’m sure they’d help you not feel as sad anymore.”

Scootaloo shook her head in frustration. “Yeah, but, how did they do it?! I can barely imagine Cheerilee, Twilight, you, or any of my friends dying in an accident or killed by somepony! I mean, what would be the point in having a special somepony after you?! I don’t think I could l-love somepony else after losing you!”

Despite the sad notion of that thought, Alula couldn’t help but blush, having realized just how much she meant to Scootaloo. “Well, I know I wouldn’t want you to be sad forever. I would want you to be happy, and really, if you did find another special somepony after I was gone I’d be cheering you on! Because I know how happy they’ll make you, and you them.”

The orange pegasus filly’s eyes glistened with tears from hearing Alula’s words. She quickly rubbed them and pouted. “Great, now you’re making me get all sappy! I don’t do sappy!”

“Could you at least do one more sappy thing for me?” Alula asked.

Scootaloo sighed. “Sure.”

“C-Could…um…could you kiss me?”

Orange wings flared, and crimson colored Scootaloo’s face. Both fillies had nervous looks, fidgeting where they were as they a response was awaited. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Scootaloo nodded and gave an “Mmm-hmm”.

Alula blushed harder and closed her eyes, leaning up towards Scootaloo and holding her position. Scootaloo glanced about the room, making sure nopony was around. She didn’t mind getting sappy when it was just the two of them, but she really didn’t want to lose her tough filly rep for it in public.

Scootaloo kept her eyes open as she leaned forward, bringing her muzzle and Alula’s close to within a hair’s breathe. The pegasus filly closed her eyes and closed the gap, pressing her lips against Alula’s. Neither one of them was old enough to know anything more advanced…well…in Scootaloo’s case she might know, but those were memories better left buried and forgotten. No, this was a simple butterfly kiss, but even this simple action conveyed their feelings for each other.

Both fillies parted, looking at each other through half-lidded eyes. Scootaloo rested her forehead against Alula’s, both of them breathing as one and just enjoying this moment between them.

“OH MAH GOSH!”

Alula and Scootaloo quickly broke their contact and looked towards the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was Apple Bloom, ears against her skull, her mouth hanging open as her eyes widened and her pupils became pinpricks.

“A-Apple Bloom, this is…uh…well…I…”

“You…You were kissin’ Alula…and then you were…Ah…Ah need to go,” said Apple Bloom in a daze.

“Apple Bloom wait!” Scootaloo cried out.

But it was too late, the youngest Apple sibling dashed away, running full speed down the hall and towards the entrance. When Apple Bloom rounded the corner she accidentally ran into Babs who dropped whatever items she bought at the hospital gift shop. She groaned in pain, rubbing her head and preparing to cuss out the pony who ran into her, that is until she saw who it was.

“Cuz, what’re ya doin’ runnin’ around?! I thought you were goin’ ahead of me to see Alula?”

“Ah…Ah just…they were…Ah’m sorry Babs I need to go!”

Apple Bloom picked herself up and kept running through the sliding glass doors and down the road. Babs got up, she looked to the entrance Apple Bloom went out through, and then to the hallway where Alula’s room was. But before she could decide on which direction to go, another pony came skidding out of the hallway, nearly knocking into Babs. The bronze filly recognized this pony and quickly blocked her off.

“Scoots!”

“Babs!”

“What the heck is wrong with Apple Bloom?!” Both asked in unison.

Project Erroria Arc Part 10: Confessions

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Scootaloo and Babs Seed had chased after Apple Bloom, which was a bit of an effort since she had a good head start on them, and was very fast. Scootaloo had the flight, Babs wasn’t a pushover when it came to running around, but honestly, she wasn’t nearly as fast a sprinter as her cousin, and having grown up on the farm definitely improved Apple Bloom’s endurance and muscle strength to allow her to keep going.

“Ah dammit, at this rate we ain’t goin’ to be catchin’ up to Cuz anytime soon! Just go on without me Scoots, I’ll catch up!” Babs shouted to her airborne friend.

“I don’t have to, I could transform and we’d catch up to her in a second!” Scootaloo suggested.

“And risk somepony seein’ ya change or those scary-ass Kingdom guys findin’ youse?! No way! Just go!” Babs demanded.

With a reluctant grunt, Scootaloo flapped her wings harder, propelling herself at greater speeds and making the distance between herself and Babs widen with each second. Thankfully, Scootaloo didn’t need her Shazam powers to be a fast flyer, she had developed her speed ever since her wings were made stronger, and now she could fly nearly on par with Rainbow in her normal form.

The gap between herself and Apple Bloom was starting to lessen, the yellow coat and red mane of her friend coming into view quickly. Scootaloo increased her speed, narrowing her eyes in determination to catch up with her friend. Apple Bloom must’ve sensed her, or had an inkling that Scootaloo was following, because she quickly doubled her speed.

Why was she running from her? Was what she saw between Alula and herself really that shocking? Whatever the case, answers were needed, and the filly who could answer them was doing her damndest to get away.

Apple Bloom had ducted into the woods, trying to use the trees to slow down Scootaloo. But the pegasus filly had long learned how to slalom through obstacles such as this, and even more when she had to do it at super speed in hero form. Scootaloo leaned left, avoiding a branch, she then barrel rolled around two trees, and threaded herself through a narrow opening between two larger trees.

If there was only one thing that both fillies had in common, it would be their athletic prowess. Apple Bloom glanced upwards and saw that Scootaloo was still in pursuit, she scanned the area and saw an approaching tree that was home to a beehive. The earth filly dashed forward and delivered a strong kick to the base of the tree, employing all her skills in apple bucking to cause the hive to shake from its branch at exactly the right moment.

Scootaloo watched as the beehive cracked open on the tree branches below it, causing a swarm of bees to come buzzing out in a cloud of yellow and black. Apple Bloom had already ran far from the bee’s line of sight, but unfortunately, Scootaloo just happened to be within proximity that the bees believed that she was the culprit. The pegasus filly pumped the metaphorical “air brakes” and came to a hover a couple of feet from the swarm.

“Heh, heh, you guys wouldn’t mind just taking my word for it that I was not the one responsible for breaking your hive, right?” Scootaloo asked with a nervous chuckle.

The sound of multiple bees aiming their stingers caught Scootaloo’s attention, a sound that, ironically enough, sounded like the unsheathing of swords from their scabbards. Scootaloo’s eye twitched as she gulped.

“Oh buck me…”

Apple Bloom panted hard, believing she had put enough distance between herself and Scootaloo, and definitely Babs. Although, she did worry that the beehive thing was a little excessive.

“Ah, who cares,” said Apple Bloom, pouting and sniffling.

Suddenly, the sound of thunder roared through the sky as a bolt of lightning appeared from the cloudless sky. Apple Bloom had long already come to associate such an occurrence with the arrival of a certain alicorn superheroine and was already on alert.

It proved to be a futile exercise as Shazam appeared before Apple Bloom, the pressure wave generated by her landing caused the filly to be thrown onto her back as she rolled to a stop. But before she could rise up, a large, armored hoof planted itself right in the middle of her chest, pinning her down. Apple Bloom looked up and saw her friend, older, and in the identity of her alias. The youngest apple tried to squirm and thrash her way out from under Shazam’s hoof, but it was no use, the godly strength of this mare ensured that Apple Bloom was not going anywhere.

“Apple Bloom, you know how strong I am like this, I can wait her for hours for you to get tired, or you can tell me what’s up?”

“Ah ain’t sayin’ nothin’, just let me go!” Apple Bloom demanded.

“Look, if this is about me not telling your guys that Alula and I were a thing, then I’m sorry, I meant to tell you guys at my birthday, but…well…this happened,” said Scootaloo.

“Let me go!”

“No, not until you tell me what’s wrong!” A thought crossed Scootaloo’s mind as she shot her friend an inquisitive, yet pointed look. “Are you…Are you ashamed because I like fillies instead of colts?! Is that it?! Did you run away because you thought what Alula and I were doing was gross?!”

“NO, DANG IT, THAT’S NOT IT!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“Then what?! I can’t apologize or anything until you tell me what’s up!”

“AH LIKE-LIKE YOU!!!”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened, and Apple Bloom ceased her thrashing. The alicorn mare removed her hoof as she took a step back, looking down at her friend with shock. “What…What did you say, AB?”

Apple Bloom rose to a seated position, wiping her eyes of the tears that had fallen. “Ah said Ah like-like you…” The young filly looked up but then looked back to the ground. “Could ya change back, lookin’ at ya like this feels like Ah’m confessin’ to somepony older…”

Scootaloo shook her head, regaining her senses. “Um…yeah, sure - SHAZAM!”

The mystical bolt of lightning shot down and struck Scootaloo, changing her back to her normal kid-self. Apple Bloom glanced in Scootaloo’s direction, now seeing a look of confusion upon her face.

“AB, what…what do you mean you ‘like-like’ me?!”

“Ah…Ah do…Ah have fer a bit…it just started out like anythin’ else. Bein’ friends and hangin’ out as Crusaders. But the more I got to know ya, and even all the times we argued and fought, Ah felt somethin’ inside me. Meh heart would go faster when Ah’d see ya look at me with a smile. Ah felt sad when Ah thought ya might not fly like Rainbow Dash, and Ah’d think about what Ah could do to cheer ya up if that day ever came…glad it didn’t.”

Scootaloo chuckled as she gave her wings a quick flap. “You and me both.”

Apple Bloom sighed heavily as she continued. “Ah just…all this made me confused until Ah asked Sis what it meant, course Ah didn’t tell her it was you, but the answer was the same. Ah liked somepony, and that somepony was you, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head nervously. She had no idea Apple Bloom had feelings for her, she’d be lying to herself if she said that knowing this didn’t make her feel a little giddy. Scootaloo wasn’t going to lie, Apple Bloom was a cute filly, and if she could get over the slight awkwardness of their being best friends, then she could see herself with her. But, despite that, her feelings were stronger with Alula, she couldn’t betray her, for that matter, she couldn’t betray Babs.

“When Ah saw ya kissin’ Alula, Ah panicked…Ah wanted to tell ya for a while, but with the bad guy and hero stuff happenin’ lately, Ah thought the last thing ya needed was a fillyfriend. Heck, Ah wasn’t even sure that ya liked fillies until now…” Apple Bloom chuckled, finding it just a tad funny that she worried about that for nothing.

A million things ran through Scootaloo’s mind, chief among them: How was this going affect their friendship? How was Babs going to react when she found out that the friend she confessed to about her secret crush on her own cousin, is in fact the filly that said cousin has feelings for?

“Apple Bloom…I…I…”

“It’s alright, Scoots…just…go on and be happy with Alula…Ah’m…Ah’m sorry…”

Scootaloo stood there, still stunned by Apple Bloom’s words, so much so that she barely registered that Apple Bloom walked passed her and was now leaving. The pegasus filly whipped around and was about to call out to her friend, but she couldn’t. Her mind went blank, she had no idea what to say to her. What could she say to make her friend feel better? What was the right thing to say in this situation?

Babs…I…Apple Bloom…

Scootaloo didn’t know what to do as she trudged along the trail back to the hospital. Apple Bloom, one of her best friends, had a crush on her. This whole time the Earth filly had feelings for her and she didn’t even notice. Scootaloo cursed herself for being so oblivious about it. She spent so much time around Sweetie and Apple Bloom, even Scootaloo knows Sweetie Belle likes Button Mash. But she couldn’t even notice the feelings her other friend had for her.

And now, now she had to…do something…right? The whole time she walked, Scootaloo could only think of Babs. Her friend, who she had promised to help in confessing her feelings to her cousin, was going to find out that said cousin already has feelings for another pony. Scootaloo.

“I broke AB’s heart…without even meaning to…and now Babs, I…I don’t know what to do!” Scootaloo growled.

This was not like her battles thus far, there was’t a clear and definite enemy to combat, it was emotion and relationships. Something that Scootaloo herself was only now starting to figure out thanks to Alula, but now she was starting to see how complicated things like this were.

Well…it’s not like there was any guarantee that Apple Bloom would’ve accepted Babs’ feelings…I have nothing against it, but Apple Bloom…I don’t know if she could take having her cousin confess to her after finding this out, thought Scootaloo.

“HEY, SCOOTS!”

Oh horse feathers…

Babs galloped to Scootaloo, skidding to a stop as she panted from her long run to find her and Apple Bloom. “Finally caught up! So where’s Cuz at?! Is she alright? Why’d she take off like that?!”

Scootaloo released a long sigh as she stared at the ground. “She’s…upset…but there’s something I need to tell you…”

“Well spit it out, Scoots! What’s wrong?!” Babs asked.

“Babs…” Scootaloo bit her lip and sucked wind. “Apple Bloom’s upset because…because she saw me and Alula kissing…”

Babs’ mouth fell open, her cheeks tinting red. “Youse…wow, I mean…I didn’t know ya had somepony like that!”

Scootaloo blushed for a moment but her forlorn expression held. “Yeah…we started this whole thing pretty recently…”

“O-Okay, so why would that make Cuz upset?” A thought crossed Babs’ mind, feeling her heart with worry. “Oh no…is she…does she think that –?”

“No,” interrupted Scootaloo, “it’s not that, she doesn’t think it's wrong, two fillies being like that anyway.”

Babs breathed a sigh of relief, and yet the expression on the peagsus filly’s face was still the same. “Why do I have a feelin’ that there’s somethin’ worse attached to that?”

Scootaloo scuffed the ground with her forehoof, she had to tell Babs, she couldn’t just not tell her. She had made a promise to Babs, to help her however she could in her endeavor, and to be there if it didn’t work out. But how was she going to tell her that the same filly Babs was thinking about confessing to was the same filly who was not only her best friend, but who also had feelings for Scootaloo.

“Babs…I don’t know how to tell you this…Apple Bloom…Apple Bloom has a crush on me! I didn’t know! I had no idea she like-liked me like that! If I did I would’ve told you about it, but that’s why she ran away! She…I made her sad…because I never told her – anypony – that Alula and I were going out! I’m sorry, Babs…I’m sorry…”

The pegasus filly tensed up, not knowing what to expect. Getting yelled at? A punch to the face? Babs running away in tears? Never speaking to her again? So many bad scenarios ran through her head that Scootaloo wanted to just transform and zoom off into the mesosphere. Babs was her friend, a Crusader, and the first pony she told about her past. Instead of judgement, she received comfort and reassurance, and gave it back in turn when Babs confessed her hidden feelings. Now it was going to be ruined.

Scootaloo heard the dirt shift, knowing Babs was moving towards her. If she wished Scootaloo could dodge anything Babs could throw at her, and if she transformed, any wounds or pain she’d feel would vanish the moment she was in superhero form. But in her mind, Scootaloo felt she deserved what was coming.

The next thing she felt was a hoof resting on her shoulder.

“Scoots, why do ya look like I’m gonna slug ya or somethin’?” Babs asked.

Scootaloo dared to open her eyes and see into the no doubt furious gaze. But there was no anger in Babs’ jade eyes, only a concerned yet saddened look.

“Because…I hurt Apple Bloom…and now that you know she likes me…I….”

“Hey, Scoots, don’t look at the glass half empty on this, a’ight? It may be Arnold rubbin’ off on me, but in way this is not a bad thing. At least I know that Cuz swings that way, so that’s one worry out of the way, right?”

“But…well, yeah.”

“So tell me this, do ya like Cuz that way?” Babs asked.

Scootaloo thought about it, but it didn’t take long for her mind and her heart give her the answer.

“I like Apple Bloom, but it’s the same as I like you or Sweetie Belle, you guys are my best friends and I’ll always care about you! But Alula…she makes me feel, weird, good weird though! Like…Like I’m flying without flapping my wings! Does that make sense?”

Babs chuckled. “In a way, I do. It’s the same way Cuz makes me feel. So stop sweatin’ it, Scoots. Youse didn’t know, judgin’ from the way yer feelin’ about this whole thing.”

“Yeah…but what about Apple Bloom? What can I do?!” Scootaloo asked desperately.

“Fer now, I’ll talk to her…It’s not exactly the ideal way I wanted to tell her how I feel, but we’ll see what happens.”

Babs leaned in and gently nuzzled Scootlaoo’s cheek, offering her reassurance and comfort in a physical form. Normally Scootaloo would’ve shied away from such displays, but in the case of Alula, Twilight, Cheerilee, and her friends, she would make exceptions.

“I’m off Scoots, go on back to Alula, I’m sure she’s wonderin’ where her fillyfriend ran off to,” said Babs with a wink.

With that said, Babs took off towards Sweet Apple Acres, which was most likely the place where her cousin ran off to, to get lost in the family’s apple orchard. Scootaloo watched Babs’ disappear into the distance. There were a lot of ways that could’ve ended badly, but for now, Scootaloo would take this. Hoping that Babs might be able to help Apple Bloom…and maybe herself.

No point in brooding over it now…I’d better get back to Alula, she’s probably freaking out right now.

The pegasus filly spread her wings and took off into the air, heading back towards the hospital. All the while wondering and worrying how this would affect the friendship of their group now, and in the future.

ELSEWHERE…

There were long, cylindrical tanks filled with a strange liquid concoction, and within those tanks were ponies. Each one was featureless, no mane, no tail, no cutie mark, and none had any defining features of unicorn or the pegasus tribes, nor did they have the muscular structure that accompanied Earth ponies. Not to mention, it was unclear if they were stallions or mares.

Thorn looked upon each of them, using her magic to levitate a clipboard and pen, writing down the data that displayed on the screens on each tank. Her various blank slates, all ready to be morphed and molded into whatever she deemed. Such was her work as the head of the magi-science division.

Every one of her creations was perfect, on any given day they could take out the Princesses of Equestria, the recent battles have proven so, her work was flawless. However, this Shazam continued to elude her. This alicorn, who appeared straight out of nowhere, was stronger, faster, and quite possibly even more powerful than the four Princesses combined. A magic older than theirs, a power unmatched by any magic to date. Yes, that was the only reason, it had to be, for there was no way her creations could be defeated.

Thorn prided herself on her magical talent and knowledge, the still relatively new venture that was science, and all that it could bring forth. And what wonders it did, creating life from nothing, like some kind of goddess. Thorn got chill of excitement up her spine, wondering if this is how the All Mothers, Faust and Zacherle , felt when they breathed life into this world?

Twas a thought for another time, right now though, Thorn was patiently waiting for one of her colleagues to bring the supposed “sample” of Shazam’s power.

“Honestly…if Alpha had been successful, those fools would be kissing my flank just to make sure I didn’t turn Alpha on them!”

“Hmm, I’d still kiss your flank even if you didn’t threaten me with a clone super assassin,” said a voice.

An Earth pony mare walked in, wearing a mask with a pink flower on it. Thorn scowled at the sight of her, but hoped she was here with some news.

“Pink Tulip, you’d better be here for a good reason, other than to make salacious comments,” said Black Rose.

Pink Tulip chuckled, covering her mouth in a ladylike manner. “I have, I found a way you can use the magic of Shazam, but I’ll have to leave it to you on how to apply it. Come.”

Thorn sneered, but followed Pink Tulip. Both mares walked side-by-side, with Pink Tulip’s eyes glancing to Thorn every few steps. Glances that weren’t going unnoticed.

“What?” Thorn asked.

“You were talking about something rather interesting, what or who is this ‘Alpha’?”

Thorn scoffed. “My…first creation, my perfect creation.”

“Oh, you mean there was another Assassin model before these others? The prototype?”

“Yes, but I put everything into creating that specimen…! Only to lose it all…”

Pink Tulip hummed in contemplation, intrigued that she was even able to get this much out of the usually brooding and brilliant magi-tist. Both continued through the hall until they arrived in the cell block.

“What are we doing here?” Thorn asked.

“Well the ‘sample’ was hard to track down, didn’t want him getting away.” Pink Tulip walked up to the cell and knocked against it with her hoof. “Isn’t that right, Caballeron?”

Thorn looked into the cell and saw said stallion tied up, squirming around like a madpony trying to get free. The unicorn mare raised an eyebrow at what this was about.

“Exactly how does this pompous graverobber have any use to me?!”

“Take a look at his eye, closely, and use your magic while you do.”

Thorn released an exasperated sigh, she focused her magic, reaching out to sense whatever she was supposed to sense. It didn’t take Thorn long before she picked up on something strange in the Earth pony’s aura. She was well aware of the differences in magical auras when it came to Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns, but this was off, as if something had been added to it, or forced onto him.

After further analyzing his aura a little more, she noticed it was focused more in his right eye. She blinked away her magical vision and noticed that the tomb raiding stallion had a lightning bolt shaped scar down his eye, and that his eye was no longer of a physical nature. It glowed and shimmered with power, a power wrought from magic most ancient. Thorn’s eyes widened and a maniacal, gleeful smile split her face at the sight of this.

“He’s been imbued with the same ancient magic as Shazam!” Thorn exclaimed.

“Yes, but it seems to be only a little. Not enough to augment his physical attributes, but it did give him the ability to see magic as good, or even better than unicorns,” said Pink Tulip.

“You magnificent whorse I could kiss you!”

Pink Tulip blushed under her mask. “Oh I was so hoping you would do more for such a gift.”

“Yes, yes, anything, later! Fetch me my equipment and ready my lab!” Thorn looked back at Caballeron, who was not sweating bullets. “Now, Shazam, it is I who will have the upper hoof!”

Project Erroria Arc Part 11: Sparks a Flyin'

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PONYVILLE (SUB-DIMENSION: THE ROCK OF ETERNITY)

Lightning arced from one end of the room to the next, at the same time, sparkling golden dust, along with rosy-violet beams of light were flung back.
The room looked like a warzone, scorched with holes blasted into the stone and mortar of the ancient magical fortress. Shazam skidded to a halt as her armored clad hooves dug into the floor, shooting off sparks that danced in the air for a minute before coming to an end.

Up above her was Murmur, her butterfly wings now shimmering with an ethereal iridescence, and with each wing beat, she generated glittering, golden dust. Each particle acting as a conductor of magical energy, causing her to be wrapped in a cloud of golden energy. Beside the flutterpony was Twilight, her body had changed, now in its Rainbow Form.

Both mares seemed to be tag teaming Shazam, but the Champion of Magic shot a cocky grin at her challengers.

“C’mon you two, is that the best you got?!” Shazam mocked. “Y’know, after the beat down I heard you put on Tierk, I was expecting more from you, Twi.”

Twilight smirked at her young apprentice – and technically adopted daughter. In a way she was happy to see Scootaloo’s cocky attitude was still holding up.

“Just because you have all that power, Scootaloo, don’t think you’re stronger than everypony,” warned Twilight.

“‘Pride goeth before the fall’ as the old proverb says. Between Princess Twilight and myself, the amount of experience we have with our magic far outweighs your own, Mistress,” said Murmur.

“Really? I don’t see that paying off much right now!”

“Then allow us to demonstrate, fully!”

Murmur flapped her butterfly wings, releasing a gust of golden fairy dust at Shazam. The superheroine smirked yet again, her body sparking with azure lightning as she spread her wings. Before the dust struck, Shazam sped off to her left, dodging the glitter storm. But the attack veered to off to the left following after her.

Shazam flipped around and fired a bolt of lightning from her horn, she had seen this attack enough times to know that Murmur’s glitter storm would just part down the middle to avoid it, giving Shazam the opportunity to fly through that gap and make a beeline for its caster.

When the bolt made it to within an inch of the storm, it did not part. The golden dust took on the bolt, allowing its supercharged magic to flow through each particle of the cloud. Shazam went slack jawed at this, cutting off her attack before anymore could be done. The cloud of golden dust had somehow caught her lightning, conducting it within itself.

“You’ve got to be kidding me – OMPH!” Shazam exclaimed.

Magic’s Champion felt herself smack into something, back first. She turned around and witnessed a magical, crystalline construct form. The crystal structure formed quickly, ensnaring Shazam in its confines. Shazam was able to tell that this was Twilight’s work, nopony could be as meticulous with their magical constructs as she was, but she knew that this wouldn’t hold her. All it would take is one lightning charged punch and –

“YOWCH!”

Suddenly, Shazam realized she was not alone in the trap. Murmur’s supercharged glitter storm had been trapped inside with her, swirling about its confines like a swarm of angry hornets, and stinging her like hornets as well, with her own power.

“Hey c’mon that’s – ouch! – Okay, this is seriously getting annoy – OW! – ENOUGH WITH THE STINGING!”

As if by request, the magical dust stopped moving and fell to the floor. Shazam grunted in relief that it had stopped, but stiffened upon noticing a glow coming from beneath her. The golden dust was now being absorbed by a detailed magic circle. It took Shazam’s enchanted intellect but a few moments to understand what the circle’s purpose was, and she groaned.

“Oh buck me –!”

The circle ignited exploding in a bright flash of light that engulfed Shazam. On the outside of the explosion, Murmur and Twilight were standing some distance away, both wearing smirks at their show of teamwork. A dust cloud formed and some coughing could be heard from inside it. Shazam came wobbling out of the cloud, moving about like a drunk. Her feathers were ruffled, mane frizzed with stray strands sticking out, and soot covering her face. The alicorn mare coughed and released a small cloud of smoke before shooting both her mentor and her assistant an annoyed glare.

“Did you two have to blow me up?!”

“Well, had you been more aware, you would’ve noticed or at least sensed that I was constructing that circle and trap,” said Twilight.

“And, pardon me Mistress, you would have realized that I was intentionally avoiding your attacks. Despite the fact that you’ve seen they conduct energy just fine, it should not have been a stretch to think I could do the same with your lightning,” said Murmur.

“So basically, I’m dumb,” said Shazam in a deadpan tone.

“No, but you need to draw on more of that Wisdom. The other powers you have are strong, but your greatest weapon is your mind. I’ll admit, Murmur and I aren’t as powerful as the Living Lightning, but our combined experience with our own magic gave us a way to work in tandem, and use that to our advantage.”

Shazam hung her head low, groaning a little. “At this rate I’ll never learn the Thunderer spell! If we have to fight more assassins like that last one, then…”

Twilight walked over and lifted Shazam’s chin with her hoof. “You’ll do it, because I know you can, all of us know you can. But just remember, you’re not alone.”

The smaller alicorn nuzzled the side of her apprentice’s cheek in comfort, making Shazam feel a little better.

“Wow that was amazing!”

Shazam winced, forgetting that there was a guest amongst them. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted Alula, sitting behind a magical barrier as she waved at them.

Aaaaaand, I got schooled while my fillyfriend watched…ugh.

“SHAZAM.”

A bolt of lightning shot down from out of nowhere and struck the superheroine. White smoke enveloped the tall mare and within a few seconds it dispersed, revealing Scootaloo, back in her filly form. Murmur tapped her hoof against the floor, and the magical barrier protecting Alula fell. The vanilla filly, now sporting a unicorn horn, slowly made her way to the group.

Scootaloo scrambled towards Alula, flapping her wings to give her a boost of speed, bringing her right next to her fillyfriend. “Alula careful, let me help you!”

Alula giggled and let Scootaloo sidled next to her. “I’m fine, Scoots. The doctors said I can start moving around now.”

“Yeah, as long as somepony’s around to keep on eye you.”

“Well then, guess it’s a good thing I have you,” said Alula with a beaming smile.

Twilight let a small “Awwww” escape her lips, and Murmur giggled a little. Scootaloo blushed furiously, trying to maintain her tomcolt bravado, but her ruffled feathers and still blushing face betrayed her expression.

“You two are so adorable together,” said Twilight.

“Ahem, so, how long until you ask Cheerilee to marry you?” Scootaloo shot back.

Twilight’s wings flared out, and her face went red. “M-M-M-MARRY?! I-I-I don’t – I mean, marriage is a huge step and we’re still fairly young and all! A-A-And I don’t want Cheerilee to feel like she’s obligated to because I’m a Princess and-and-and –!”

Scootaloo grinned impishly, knowing that bringing up Cheerilee and marriage always seemed to get Twilight flustered, because it worked on Cheerilee just as well. Alula lightly elbowed the orange pegasus filly in the side, giving her a chiding look.

“Anyway, I’m going to walk Alula back to Wayward House, and hopefully look in on Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo.

Twilight snapped out of her flustered state and looked upon her young apprentice with concern. “Would you like me to come with you? I mean, from what you told me…”

The pegasus filly looked down at the floor for a moment, but Alula gave her an encouraging nuzzle. Scootaloo smiled and looked up at Twilight.

“No, I’ll be fine. Apple Bloom’s my friend and I need to handle this myself.”

Twilight nodded and stood back.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“SHAZAM!”

A lightning bolt shot down from the ceiling and struck both fillies. In the blink of an eye they were gone, the only occupants now being Murmur and Twilight. The purple alicorn released a sigh of content, happy at seeing Scootaloo so happy after everything she had been through.

“Scootaloo deserves this kind of happiness,” said Twilight.

“In that I can agree, Princess.”

“Oh and Murmur?”

“Yes Princess?”

Twilight used her magic to lift a golden helmet into view. “This thing keeps asking me to put it on, and keeps saying something about being the ‘Sorcerer Supreme’.”

Murmur glared at the helmet. “NABU! I told you stop doing that!”

The helmet’s eyes glowed and Twilight made an “EEP!” and dropped the helmet, where it landed right side up.

Murmur shook her head. “I know she has a high proclivity for magic, but your time out isn’t over!”

The helmet’s eyes glowed.

“Do you want to make it five-thousand years?!”

Scootaloo and Alula reappeared a couple of yards away from Wayward House. She walked Alula down the road, their pace slow and easy, not wanting to overexert Alula.

“Sorry,” said Alula.

“Sorry for what?”

“I know you like to move faster than this, I’m just slowing you down now.”

The tomcolt shook her head dismissively. “What? No, don’t worry about! I really don’t mind. It actually helps me knowing you got here and are alright.”

Alula smiled and continued to walk close to Scootaloo. The orange filly nervously unfurled her right wing and draped it over Alula’s back.

“You’re wing feels nice and warm.”

“Uh-Uh is it too warm? I can put it back!”

“No, leave it.”

The two fillies continued walking down the path to the orphanage, all the while, Scootaloo felt happy. She never saw the excitement in doing mushy things like this, or how walking with somepony could be enjoyable. But now that she had a very special somepony, she was starting to see the appeal. It wasn’t so much the act of doing something, as much as how you feel while with them. Thinking on this, Scootaloo felt her spirits rise and then fall like a tidal wave cresting and ebbing. This was not lost on the unicorn filly.

“You’re thinking about Apple Bloom, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Kinda…are you mad that I am?”

“No way, she’s your best friend! I know how close you guys are, I don’t want you guys to not be friends anymore!” Alula affirmed.

“So…knowing that she like-likes me doesn’t bother you?”

Alula took a moment before answering. “I won’t lie about it, when you told me I was a little…jealous.”

Scootaloo snickered. “Jealous of Apple Bloom? Why?”

The vanilla filly blushed. “Okay…well…for one thing she’s nice. She always looking out for everypony and never quits, I mean, she started the Cutie Mark Crusaders, you can’t say that’s not something to be impressed about!? Also…she’s…ahem…she is cute, and you two are very, um, physical, like your flying and her working on her farm.”

For a moment, Scootaloo thought about that. It was true, the two of them did get along well together. But if she had to compare their relationship, it was more alike to Rainbow’s and Applejack’s friendship. They argued a few times, but they always made up and never got hung up on one thing. Although Sweetie Belle more than likely had a hoof in keeping the two of them on track. And if she thought a little more on it, Apple Bloom did look cute, the pink ribbon did make it even truer.

“Ahem!”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Okay, those points are true. But, I just don’t feel like that towards her. It’s different with you, I feel…lighter, and…happier. I mean I’m happy with my friends, and Twilight, Rainbow, and Miss Cheerilee. But with you…it’s like all that rolled together, but better………Okay, that made no sense whatsoever.”

Alula chuckled and nodded. “It does, ‘cause it’s the same way I feel about you. But like I said, I want you and Apple Bloom to still be friends, because, I want to be friends with your friends, too.”

“You’re really something, you know that?”

It wasn’t long before the two fillies saw their long time home. Strangely enough, despite having lived in Wayward House for so long, and now having an actual home, Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of homesickness. Alula noticed Scootaloo’s look when she saw the orphanage and wondered.

“Do you miss this place?” Alula asked.

“Yes and no. Yes because I don’t get to see you guys everyday like I used to, but no because I like my new home, with Cheerilee.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Alula snuck a quick peck to Scootaloo’s cheek that made the pegasus filly freeze up. The unicorn filly took the opportunity to leave the embrace of her fillyfriend’s wing and skip the rest of the way to Wayward House. Scootaloo kicked the ground and huffed.

“That’s totally not fair how you do that!” Scootaloo yelled, smiling.

Alula turned for a moment and stuck her tongue out before continuing on. Scootaloo shook her head, she then spread her wings and crouched low. Within a few seconds she jumped up and took off into the air.

Scootaloo knew she couldn’t put off seeing the young Apple filly for long, eventually, they would need to talk about this and figure out how their friendship would continue, if there was one to salvage. Time to let Apple Bloom cool off and for Babs to handle the situation was probably a good thing. Right now though, there was the little matter of her usual flying lesson with her surrogate big sister.

Today however was a little different. When Scootaloo arrived at Rainbow’s cloud home she saw a note posted on there that stated:

Sorry, Squirt, I completely forgot that I was supposed to report to the Wonderbolts Academy today.
Captain Spitfire wanted me to help out with the newbies training and I totally spaced on the date!
Sorry again, I promise I’ll make it up to you, anything!
Rainbow Dash

Scootaloo groaned a little, not really sure what else to do since she was planning on giving Apple Bloom some space.

“Well…technically it doesn’t say I can’t pop in on her,” said Scootaloo.

The orange filly took a quick look about, checking the skies to see if there was anypony flying by or down below. Once she was sure there wasn’t she flared her wings, and her eyes shined azure.

“SHAZAM!!!”

WONDERBOLTS ACADEMY, 3 MINUTES LATER

Scootaloo had appeared at the Wonderbolts Academy, using her magic to cloak her presence and remain invisible to all prying eyes. She had always wanted to come to this place, in fact Scootaloo had figured that once she learned to fly well, she’d join the Academy and follow in Rainbow Dash’s hoofsteps.

Now though, well, it was still a possible scenario, but given that her powers bled into her body when she wasn’t transformed, making her a little stronger, faster, and more durable than the average foal.

Yeah, it’d be unfair for me to join. I’d probably be breaking academy records all in one day, thought Scootaloo.

With that thought, she floated on, locating the new recruits standing at attention. In front of them was a pegasus mare with a yellow coat, and a fiery mane. She wore a navy blue uniform, with medals and stripes that indicated her rank. She wore a pair of silver framed sunglasses that hid the pegasus mare’s eyes from view and giving her an intense look.

Scootaloo immediately recognized this mare as Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts. She was busy barking orders at a group of new recruits, having them do wing-ups as she walked the line and watched them as they performed the task.

The alicorn shook her head in pity for the poor recruits, but them’s the breaks. Scootaloo floated on, looking for one pony in particular, but it didn’t take her long to find the cyan mare.

Rainbow was helping out in the obstacle course, watching the newer recruits as they carefully made their way through each portion; looping through the rings, powering through the storms, and dodging each cloud that was shot out of the giant weather machines.

The pegasus mare was much different from how she was teaching Scootaloo. For one thing, she had a serious look on her face, and it was a little more intimidating while she was wearing a Wonderbolts speed suit, with a Lead Pony medal pinned to her chest. Her rosy eyes were narrowed as Rainbow kept a hawk-like vigil on the recruits.

Scootlaoo remembered how Rainbow told her about one mare called Lightning Dust, how she wanted to be the best by pushing things to a dangerous level and not caring if her fellow flyers got hurt in the process. Rainbow was opposed to this, and made it clear to the Wonderbolts that a team that put such emphasis on the individual skill while forsaking the safety of their teammates was not a team worth being on.

So Spitfire had Rainbow come back to the Academy from time to time, after she became part of the Reserves, to check and see that the way that Rainbow had showed them was still being carried through the newer ranks as well as the current.

“C’mon Stormy, stay with Flitter, don’t leave your Wing Pony behind!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

The pegasus in question panicked and slowed down until Flitter was side-by-side with her. Rainbow nodded and continued watching the others as they flew through the course.

Wow so this is the place! It’s better than I thought it was!

Scootaloo continued to watch for a few more minutes and was about to leave until she watched Spitfire make her way to Rainbow’s position. As bad it was to eavesdrop, Scootaloo couldn’t help but want to listen.

“So how’re we lookin’?” Spitfire asked.

“Not bad, some could use a little more work, but nothing like when I was in,” said Rainbow.

“Good, we really want to make sure we’re promoting the correct kind of message to all our future teammates.” Spitfire rubbed the back of her head and then gave Rainbow an apologetic look. “Sorry for…y’know, how we’ve kept valuing skill and neglecting our teamwork and the welfare of our teammates.”

Rainbow waved off her concern. “Don’t worry about it, better late than never, right?”

“Heh, still, thank you. Having you has definitely made this place more… colorful,” said Spitfire with a slight blush.

Rainbow Dash snickered at her Captain’s attempt at humor, but stiffened when she felt something soft drag itself over her left flank. She glanced to her left, where Spitfire was, and noticed the pegasus mare’s wing lightly brushing up against where her rainbow bolt cutie mark was. Rainbow gulped, feeling her face heat up from the somewhat intimate action Spitfire was taking.

In pegasus culture, rubbing your feathers against another pegasus pony’s cutie mark was an indication that they were interested in you, whether it was physically or romantically was another story until otherwise made known. Although you couldn’t tell it by looking at the hardass mare, her slight blush however was a definite indication.

Oh no way, is Captain Spitfire hitting on Rainbow Dash?!

“S-Spitfire, um, y-you know your wing’s touching my, uh…flank, right?”

“I know.”

“Do you, ahem, like me like that or are you just asking to -?”

“Look…Rainbow Dash, I know it’s inappropriate for a Captain to be acting this way with one of her subordinates, and I know I haven’t exactly shown you that I care about others…But I’d like to try and show you how much I care,” said Spitfire, her voice unusually soft.

Scootaloo was wringing a cloud, leaning forward as she awaited her idol’s answer to her second idol’s question. It was like when the three of them were trying to hook up Cheerilee and Big Macintosh together, of course that ended badly, but this, this was something out of her fantasies. The ultimate speed duo were going to be marefriends, and Scootaloo had an invisible front row seat to history in the making.

Rainbow Dash had a pensive look on her face, as if she was struggling with her answer. Spitfire’s features drooped a little as she noticed the hesitation.

“Sorry…I guess I should’ve asked if you were really into mares.”

“Well, I am…it’s just…”

“There’s another mare, huh?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head as she released a frustrated sigh. “Look, I mean, it’s not like I wouldn’t want to be like that with you! A few months ago, I would’ve zipped into the air and made a Sonic Rainboom just out of excitement! But, yeah, I do kinda like somepony else. The thing is though, I’m not sure if she’d feel the same way, that and I don’t really get to see her much to get the chance to ask.”

Spitfire folded her wing. “Oh…I didn’t know…Heh, and here I thought I’d be able to bring a descent mare home to Ma.” The yellow pegasus bumped her shoulder against Rainbow’s and smiled a little. “Well, you better tell this mare how you feel and make a move. Otherwise, next time, I’m not taking ‘no’ for answer.”

Rainbow Dash smiled back. “I will, and thanks, I’ll hold you to that, Captain.”

“Spitfire, when it’s just us.”

Spitfire slid her shades down a little and gave Rainbow a wink before unfurling her wings and taking off back to her work. Scootaloo’s jaw dropped as she overheard the whole conversation, shaking her head in disbelief.

Are you kidding me!? Rainbow Dash likes another mare!? Enough to turn down Spitfire!? I-I-I never thought she actually liked somepony like that!

Just then, Scootaloo’s magical danger sense went into overdrive, alerting her to some impending disaster. The superheroine’s eyes scanned the area, looking for anything that was amiss, but she didn’t need to look long before somepony yelled “LOOK OUT!!!”

Suddenly the cloud makers began to malfunction, shooting off sparks of violet electricity and surging wildly. The tops began to suck in moisture and shot out black, angry storm clouds. The clouds mixed in with the storm portion of the obstacle course, the two fronts collided and sparked a massive thunderstorm. Thunder roared and lightning crackled, causing every pegasus pony to scramble. The winds kicked up to gale force, blustering at high speeds. Rain cascaded down in sheets, pelting everypony. It felt like getting hit with small pebbles.

Rainbow Dash tried to hold her ground against the winds, and was holding up well, but it was then she noticed that the trainees were no longer there. “OH NO!!!”

Without a moment’s thought, Rainbow Dash flew straight towards the heart of the storm. Scootaloo quickly removed her invisibility spell and took off after her idol and surrogate big sister. The buffeting winds took Scootaloo by surprise, but after a couple of seconds she was able to adjust herself, creating an aura field and layering it over her body to offer protection from the elements.

Her god-like vision pierced through the raging storm clouds, spotting the rainbow mane from a mile away. Rainbow Dash appeared to be rounding up the recruits, trying to save them from the turbulent winds. Scootaloo glanced out of the corner of her eye and watched as a lightning bolt came careening from one of the clouds and straight into the path of Rainbow Dash and Flitter.

With the speed of Mercurius, Scootaloo zoomed to Rainbow. It was a race between the wielder of the Living Lightning, and lightning itself. It wasn’t until the sound of thunder roared behind them did Rainbow Dash and Flitter turn around to see the incoming streaks of lightning. Out of instinct, Rainbow pushed Flitter as hard as she could away from the impending strike, while she braced herself for what would undoubtedly be her demise.
Scootaloo wouldn’t allow it.

The super powered alicorn’s eyes glowed with magical might as she focused her magic into speed. She became a lightspeed blur, making time slow down around her. Scootaloo could see the blazing plasma of the lightning bolt, and every little spark it discharged from the main bolt. Every raindrop moved as if in molasses, and every time she hit one of them with her wings or body, it would look like she had cut it before it splattered several seconds later.

The super powered alicorn maneuvered ahead, getting right between Rainbow Dash and the incoming lightning bolt. Scootaloo crossed her forelegs in front of her, bracing herself as she refocused her magical energies into her invulnerability for what was to come.

Time resumed its normal pace as the lightning bolt struck Scootaloo, her own lightning aura countered the natural lightning, allowing her to absorb it and channel the excess into her horn. Shazam cried out as she released the lightning, shooting it higher into the sky and away from anypony. She panted for a few seconds and then regained her composure before turning to face Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, are you alright?” Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow and Flitter’s eyes widened with awe at the sight of Shazam, although, Shazam was sure that Rainbow Dash was blushing.

“H-Huh? Oh, right -- no -- we’re good -- I’m good -- Uh you’re okay, right Flitter?”

Flitter nodded, still awestruck.

“Good, let me see what I can do about this storm!”

It was a good thing she was a pegasus, weather manipulation magic was second nature for her. Although she never had the need to use it before now, but thankfully, when you’re imbued with the all-knowing wisdom of a demigod, and the knowledge associated with it, spells that could stop disasters were as readily available as air. Scootaloo’s horn shined and sparked with magical lightning. Her eyes shined a bright azure as her horn unleashed a crackling wave of magical energy. The wave hit every storm cloud in the area, causing the lightning and stormy winds to cease immediately.

With another flash of her horn, Scootaloo willed the storm clouds to disperse immediately, bringing back the sunny day. Scootaloo gave a sigh of relief and scanned the area to make sure that everypony was okay. Some ponies had got thrown far, some of the senior Wonderbolts were already helping out the recruits and Med teams were flying in to deal with injuries.

“Looks like everything’s okay, for the most part,” said Shazam.

“Thanks for that, but I don’t get it, how could that happen?” Rainbow asked. “The storm generators are set to only create a light storm shower, not a deadly one like that!”

“Maybe the equipment malfunctioned?”

Rainbow Dash seemed a little suspicious of that. “Hey, if you don’t mind, can you come with me to investigate? I just wanna make sure of something.”

Shazam nodded her head in affirmation.

“Flitter, you okay with getting back to the others on your own?”

“Y-Yeah I’m fine, I’ll see if I can find my sister and see if she’s alright,” said Flitter.

Rainbow and Shazam waited for the mauve pegasus to depart before they flew towards one of the weather making mechanisms. Both mares landed on the cloud that the large machine was sitting on, Rainbow Dash took the lead and began inspecting it. Scootaloo differed to Dash’s experience in this area. At some point in their early age, when a pegasus learns how to fly, they are taught how to control their innate weather manipulation magic. And every pegasus is required to learn about some of the basic aspects of the Weather Factory, since the local pegasi of different towns and cities were in charge of maintaining the weather as a job, and others help voluntarily or are drafted for major projects.

That being said, Scootaloo relied on Rainbow Dash right now to tell if this was an accident or -

“This wasn’t an accident,” said Rainbow.

“Are you sure?” Shazam asked.

“Positive, look here.”

Shazam flapped her wings and floated up to where Rainbow Dash was floating. The mare pointed one cyan hoof to a control panel that had blasted off, the wiring fried by something powerful.

“This was sabotage, somepony wanted this to happen.”

Shazam raised an eyebrow under her hood. “Who in the hay would want to harm everypony here?”

“I can give you three guesses, but you’d only need one.”

Rainbow Dash and Shazam turned around, spotting movement from one of the other machines. Stepping out from behind the weather generator was a mare with a turquoise coat, goldenrod mane and tail, and the image of a lightning bolt with three stars on her flank. Shazam looked upon this mare with confusion, especially since she was wearing a stolen Wonderbolt speed suit. However, Rainbow Dash immediately recognized the mare, evident by her narrowed gaze deepening frown.

“Lightning Dust,” said Rainbow with distaste.

“Dashie, it’s been awhile hasn’t it? Guess all that ass kissing finally got you in with the ‘Bolts? Well, a Reserve member, but still.”

Shazam felt her anger grow at this mare, especially after she just said that to Rainbow Dash.

“Rain - I mean, Ms. Dash -”

“Ahem, just Rainbow’s fine,” corrected Rainbow.

“Sorry. Rainbow, do you know this mare?” Shazam asked.

Lightning Dust shot both mares a sinister smirk. “Oh Dashie, I can’t believe you didn’t tell anypony about me? After all the hard work we did together in the Academy, but I guess you wouldn’t want ponies to know how you went behind my back and got me kicked off the Wonderbolts!”

Rainbow Dash landed on the cloud across from turquoise pegasus and glared at Lightning Dust.

“‘Behind your back’!? I told you straight to your face how messed up I thought your way was! All I did was repeat it to Spitfire, in the end, Lightning, you got yourself kicked out! And believe me, if it didn’t happen then, it would’ve happened when you seriously got a teammate hurt because of how reckless you are!”

Lightning Dust narrowed her gaze and gritted her teeth, fury building within her at hearing Rainbow Dash’s words. “You don’t know anything! I have to be the best, I have to push myself to the limit and beyond, the Wonderbolts would’ve given me that chance, to show - to show the world what I can do!”

Suddenly, violet lightning blazed around the pegasus mare. Her stolen Wonderbolt trainee suit burned off around her forelegs, revealing two metal bracers, silver in color, with a glowing amethyst at their center. Shazam stepped forward, using the Wisdom of Star Swirl to enhance her vision and knowledge of what was happening to Lightning Dust. Her magical senses alerted her to a malevolent energy coming from the bracers around Lightning’s forelegs, channeling through her body and causing the very air to react to her will.

“Those things have magic, where did you get them?!” Shazam inquired.

Lightning Dust raised her right foreleg, admiring the bracer. “Oh, this old thing? An heirloom I found collecting dust in the old ruins of Pegastopolis, you know, the abandoned city where our ancestors used to live before the Great Freeze? It was made as an attempt at drawing out a pegasus pony’s true potential when it came to weather manipulation magic, that they may stop the never ending winter, before they found out it was the work of Windingos.”

“My ancestor, an alchemist by the name of Lightning Sprite, created these using a pair of gemstones that supposedly ‘fell from the heavens’. When he used them, it gave him control of the elements, and then some.Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough to keep the power from completely frying his brain and turning him insane. I’m different though, I can control this power, and I’ll show you all by taking down this stupid academy!”

Rainbow Dash and Shazam did a double take at that, shaking their heads in disbelief. Such a thing couldn’t have been created, not by the pegasi, although, the Alicorn Amulet was created by ponies unknown, and for what purpose was unclear. Now another artifact from the past has risen and found itself a wielder with a vendetta. Shazam (Scootaloo) and Rainbow remembered how Ponyville was when Trixie was corrupted by the amulet and became more and more insane the longer she wore it. Scootaloo wasn’t going to let another city or innocent ponies suffer for the ego of another whose hopped up on super magic. Shazam flared her wings, horn crackling with magical lightning in preparation to take down Lightning Dust. That is, until a cyan hoof stretched out before her and halted her movements.

“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?” Shazam asked.

“Shazam…I know I’m asking something stupid, but I need you to stay out of this one,” said Rainbow.

Shazam shook her head, baffled. “Excuse me!? You cannot fight this mare! She’s using magic that you don’t possess! I can beat her easily before she hurts anypony!”

Rainbow Dash’s bangs covered her eyes in shadows as she tilted her head down. “Yeah…I know you can…but Lightning wouldn’t be this way if I had spoken up or just flat out said what I said to her face before it got to that point. I need to be the one who stops her, besides, she’s as much a victim of this as anyone. I doubt you know about this, but a unicorn mare came to Ponyville a couple of years back, wearing an amulet that did almost the same thing as those bracers. They made her go insane, but my friend helped her to get them off. She saved the town, and saved the mare who had a grudge against her. Now it’s my turn!”

Shazam looked to Rainbow Dash, and then to Lightning Dust. Personally, Scootaloo wanted to just truss up Rainbow Dash like a turkey and then go off and beat Lightning Dust into the ground, and then remove the bracers. Easy one, two, three. But, when Rainbow Dash looked up at the alicorn mare, she had this fire in her rosy eyes, and it wasn’t anger or hate that fueled it, but a need, the need to help Lightning Dust see how wrong she was, to save her from herself. Scootaloo remembered well the same incident with Trixie, in the end, it was Twilight who got her to see the error of her ways.

You see Lightning Dust as the kind of pony you would’ve been if you thought the same way, so you’re really saving yourself as much as saving Lightning, thought Scootaloo.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you,” said Shazam.

Rainbow Dash smiled in gratitude.

“Just one thing.” The superheroine placed her armored hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, earning an inquisitive look from the speedster mare.

“What are you -?”

“SHAZAM!!!”

A mystical bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and struck Rainbow Dash and Shazam. Lightning Dust entered a defensive stance, her bracers crackling with malevolent fury as she prepared herself for whatever it was the two mares had in store for her. But when the dust cleared, Lightning Dust’s jaw dropped.

Standing beside Shazam was Rainbow Dash, but her form had changed. Her wings were larger, giving off a bright sheen in the glow of her aura. Her rainbow mane was longer, and spiky at the edges, but if one looked close enough, one would swear the colors were alive, as if made of light. A horn protruded from her forehead, not as long as Shazam’s, but about the same length as Twilight’s. Rainbow’s body was covered in an armor suit like Shazam’s but altered, slightly.

The lightning insignia was on her chest, containing within it a raging lightning storm. The color was violet, but the forearm coverings were gone. The lower half of her forelegs and hind legs had golden metal bracers and greaves, engraved with the symbol of Shazam, and within the lightning bolt was Rainbow’s cutie mark.

Rainbow Dash took a step back, looking at herself from every angle possible. She could feel a great power within her, not dissimilar from when she entered her Rainbow Power form, but somehow more whole, and complete. Her body had a little more muscle to it, but it was lean muscle, not enough to sacrifice her speed, and she could swear she was a little taller now.

“W-W-What the hay just happened!?”

“I shared a bit of my speed, strength, magic, and wisdom with you Rainbow Dash. Just like I shared my powers with the critters back in Ponyville.” Shazam explained.

The transformed pegasus mare touched a hoof to the new appendage now sticking out from her forehead, shuddering when she actually sensed feeling in it.

“Whoa, wonder if this how Twilight felt when she became an alicorn…BUT THIS IS SO AWESOME, I’M AN ALICORN!” Rainbow exclaimed.

Her aura released lightning bolts that Shazam blocked out of instinct, while Lightning Dust managed to create a barrier of violet lightning around herself. Shazam placed her hoof on Rainbow Dash to get the cyan mare’s attention.

“Calm down, Rainbow. Focus, it’s only temporary. I agreed to let you handle this, but I wasn’t about to let you face her without a little power up of your own, just think of it as me fighting beside you, in a way,” said Shazam with a coy smile.

Rainbow Dash felt her heart beat at a million miles an hour as her cheeks flushed. But it didn’t last long as Lightning Dust released a violet bolt at both of them. Without even thinking, Rainbow Dash’s horn ignited, forming a shield of magical lightning that blocked the pegasus mare’s attack. Rainbow Dash glared at her rival, a pony who embodied the extreme of her athleticism, and her lack of compassion in the pursuit of her goal. The cyan alicorn took a few steps forward and flared her wings, crouching low as she readied to engage.

“Rainbow!”

The former pegasus mare glanced behind her, seeing Shazam with a worried look.

“Just…please come back to me…I’ve lost a pony I cared about a long time ago, don’t make me have to see that again,” said Shazam, her tone heavy with concern.

Rainbow Dash’s heart ached, hearing the sadness in the super alicorn, but then shifted it to a smirk of confidence.

“You won’t, believe me.”

“ARE YOU TWO DONE YET!?” Lightning Dust fired a maelstrom of violet bolts at Rainbow Dash, forcing her to raise a shield to defend herself. “Seriously, do you two want some time for a quickie!? If you’re not going to screw then stop ignoring me and FIGHT!”

Shazam’s whole face went red at the implication, while Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but let her mind wander down that gutter.

PONYVILLE, A COUPLE OF MINUTES AFTER THE START OF THE BATTLE…

Babs was in the orchard, Applejack had asked her to find Apple Bloom, who hadn’t come back after doing her chores. Of course, she had a good idea where she was, it was probably the same place she found her last time. The first time was after Scootaloo told her about Apple Bloom having feelings for the pegasus filly. Babs had found Apple Bloom, back at the Crusader Clubhouse, curled up on the floor and crying. She wanted to go inside and comfort her cousin, but, for some reason, she was afraid to. So she stayed outside the door, whether or not Apple Bloom knew she was there was another story, if she did know, Apple Bloom never vocalized her wanting of Babs to leave.

A couple of days since that first incident, and she was still clueless on how to help her cousin. Her heart was a storm of conflicting feelings, the need to comfort her best friend, the need to be there for her family, and…the need to fill that hole in her heart. Babs shook her head, she didn’t want to do that to Apple Bloom, she just found out her crush was with another filly, and the last thing she needed was to find out that her own cousin had a crush on her too, and was wanting to be more.

Babs felt disgusted with herself, she began to wonder if even confessing to Apple Bloom was worth it at this point? Her plans to potentially win her cousin over, and to hopefully either walk away from this with a new fillyfriend, or at the very least a closer friendship, was made moot.

The bronze filly had gone into town, just wanting to clear her head. Ponyville was nice and quiet, which wasn’t bad, but sometimes a city girl needed to be surrounded by noise in order to think. Babs had found a bench near one of the fountains in Ponyville, just sitting there as she contemplated the best way to make something out her current situation.

“Babs…?”

Cuz is still hurtin’, now’s not the best time to tell her.

“Babs…!”

But if I don’t, I may not get another chance…and, maybe it’s not all that bad to ask her now. She may be more open to the idea!

“Babs…! Babs…!”

Stupid! What are youse thinkin’!? Ya can’t just take advantage of Cuz like that! It wouldn’t be right, and I don’t want her to just be like that, with me, if it’s just ‘cause I was there!

“Babs Seed! HELLO!”

Babs was snapped out of her reverie by a breaking voice, a familiar one at that. She snapped her head to and fro until her eyes settled on a couple of ponies now standing in front of her. The first one was Sweetie Belle, but the other one she didn’t know. It was a colt, with a helicopter beanie hat. His coat was brown, with a dark orange mane and hazel amber colored eyes. His flank was blank, from what she could tell, but other than that, she had no idea who he was.

“Sweetie?” Babs asked.

“Finally, I’ve been calling your name, but you never said a word! I was starting to get a little worried for minute,” said Sweetie.

“Nah…Sorry, I was just thinkin’ about somethin’ and I sorta tuned out everything,” said Babs.

“Heh, yeah, sounds like me when I’m playing a good game.”

Babs turned to the colt, gave him a confused look, and then turned to Sweetie Belle. “Sweets, not tryin’ to be rude or nothin’, but who’s the colt?”

Sweetie Belle’s cheeks went red and then proceeded to face hoof herself. “I completely spaced, I forgot to tell you…and introduce you. Babs, this is Button Mash! He’s a friend and…ahem…my coltfriend.”

The bronze filly blinked. “Sorry, did I hear you say ‘coltfriend’? As in, you two like-like each other?”

Button Mash and Sweetie Belle blushed furiously. The young colt cleared his throat before addressing his fillyfriend’s best friend. “Y-Yeah, I am, and I do - like-like her, I mean! So, um, yeah, hi!”

Babs crossed her forelegs in front of her chest and smirked, she then hopped down from the bench and gave Sweetie Belle a teasing nudge on the cheek. “You little sneak, youse been hidin’ the fact that ya have a coltfriend! Never thought you could pull that off, nice!”

Sweetie Belle giggled at the display of affection, and praise from Babs. The bronze filly, with her inherent Apple Family strength, picked Sweetie Belle up and moved her to the side as she stared down Button Mash. The brown colt flinched under her gaze, it wasn’t enough that she just picked up Sweetie and moved her over like she was a rag doll, but Babs had that city filly “don’t take no guff from nopony” attitude and look that was just a little intimidating.

“So, you’re datin’ Sweetie. Ya treatin’ her right?”

“Y-Yes…”

“Ya better, else you’ll be hearin’ from me,” warned Babs.

Button gulped.

Sweetie Belle sighed and stood next to Button. “Babs, stop, he’s been a gentlecolt, promise.”

“Uh-huh, alright, guess I’ll approve, for now,” said Babs as she smirked.

The unicorn filly rolled her eyes, knowing full well that Babs already approved, Button on the other hand looked like he was worried. Sweetie Belle smiled, leaning over and giving the colt a quick peck on the cheek, making Button Mash turn bright red.

“Hey, Button, can you get me and Babs some ice cream? We’ll wait here for you,” said Sweetie.

“Huh, ice cream? Sure, be right back!”

Button Mash took off towards the ice cream vendor, who already had a bit of a line forming.

“Okay, now that he’s away, spill, what’s wrong, Babs?”

“Nothin’s ‘wrong’.” Babs replied.

Sweetie Belle wasn’t convinced. “Babs, you were thinking really hard on something, and from the look on your face, it was something serious. We’re friends, remember, Crusaders? If you can’t tell us, then who else?”

Scootaloo, but can’t tell ya that, though Babs.

The bronze filly rubbed the back of her head as she let out a long sigh. “It’s complicated, it has to do with Cuz…and other things.”

Sweetie Belle nodded her head. “Mmm-hmm, like the fact that you have a alicorn sized crush on Apple Bloom?”

Babs Seed literally felt the whole world grind to a screeching halt. She gawked at Sweetie, eyes wide open, jaw practically hitting the ground. Sweetie Belle knew, she knew about her crush? Fear started to grip at Babs’ heart, Scootaloo she knew would keep her secret, especially after Scootaloo divulged hers, and after that Babs knew Scootaloo wouldn’t look at her strangely for it. But she wasn’t sure about Sweetie Belle, she didn’t show any kind of disapproval or contempt for two fillies being together, but the stigma of that was not as common. However, she wasn’t sure how Sweetie Belle would react if she knew that filly was her own cousin.

“W-What are you talkin’ about!? I-I-I don’t feel that way towards Cuz! That’s just-just…wrong! I mean, she’s my cousin for Celestia’s sake, a-a-and besides…besides…ugh…You’re not buyin’ any of this, are you?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head and added a “Nope.”

Babs groaned as she dragged a hoof down her face, feeling her world crumble around her.

“Fine…yes, I like-like Cuz that way, and I ain’t apologizin’ for it neither!” Babs affirmed.

“That’s fine, I never said I didn’t like it. I mean, I had a crush on my big sister awhile back.”

Babs raised an eyebrow at that. “Really, you had a crush on your big sis?”

“Well…more like I idolize her, kinda how Scootaloo does Rainbow Dash. I mean, I love Rarity, I really do, and we do argue and fight, but I know she loves me, and I love her. You just…have a stronger love that goes above that. I mean, eventually, I got over my crush, I just look up to Rarity now. Besides, I can’t really see us like that anymore, not after Button told me he like-liked me.”

Babs hung her head low, keeping eye contact with the ground below her hooves. “So…do you think I’m disgustin’ for thinking about growin’ up with Cuz as…fillyfriends?”

Sweetie Belle scooted over and nudged the earth filly with her shoulder. “I won’t lie, I’m not fully settled on the idea of two cousins being like that. But, with you and Bloom, I don’t mind. Plus, I think you two look really cute together!”

Babs blushed, but smiled in relief. Sweetie Belle smiled back and gave Babs a friendly nuzzle to reassure her that everything was alright.

“By the way -- and I’m not tryin’ to be mean or nothin’ -- but what did ya see in a dork like that?” Babs asked as she pointed to Button Mash, now holding a tray of three ice cream cones.

“Well, he’s sweet, he is nerdy, but that just makes him cute, and well, I feel good around him. I mean, it’s different from when I’m with you or the girls, like I feel sick, in a good way.” Sweetie paused a moment to think over what she just said. “Did any of that make sense?”

“I’d say yes one way, but no on another.” Babs replied.

Both fillies chuckled, but after a moment they heard the sounds of tumbling, crashing, and three consecutive splats. Babs and Sweetie Belle looked in the direction of the sounds and found Button on the ground, with all three ice cream cones splattered on his face.

“WAAAH, SWEETIE BELLE!”

Sweetie sighed and smiled. “And he makes me laugh. Coming!”

BACK AT THE WONDERBOLTS ACADEMY…

Violet and azure lightning blazed across the sky, crackling, and thundering with each loosed bolt of magical power. Rainbow Dash flew at amazing speeds, faster than she had ever flown before, dodging one bolt after the other, and performing aerial spins to keep from getting hit.

Lightning Dust had created a monstrous storm over the Academy, with herself at the eye of the storm. Lightning’s eyes glowed with violet light as she scowled into the raging storm she created. The clouds were black as night, releasing one violet lightning bolt after the other, having them rain down Tartarus on the Wonderbolt Academy.

But Shazam saw to it that the Academy was spared, forming a giant barrier with the magic she had left to encompass the whole of the facility. It helped that the magic in the lightning itself wasn’t Xanthos magic, otherwise Shazam didn’t know if she could hold the barrier with her divided powers.

Rainbow Dash dodged another bolt and flew directly for Lightning Dust. The pegasus mare saw her eternal rival and enemy fly towards her, and generated a shield made of the malevolent lightning energy. Rainbow Dash focused her newly obtained magic into her right hoof, causing it crackle and blaze with the power of the Living Lightning. In the short span of a few seconds, Rainbow Dash thrusted her hoof forward, impacting it against the barrier.

Azure and violet lightning clashed in that moment, some taking on the forms of serpentine dragons as they smashed and cut into each other. Rainbow reared back for another punch and struck the shield again with a charged hoof, each blow causing thunder to roar throughout the sky and into the distance. The cyan alicorn’s horn glowed with magical might, at the same time, Lightning Dust’s bracer jewels glowed, as if both displaying the immense willpower their wielders had.

“Lightning Dust, you’ve got to stop! You’ll kill everypony, and not just at the Academy!” Rainbow warned.

“You afraid Dashie!? That’s your problem! You weren’t willing to push the limits, to go the distance and give everything you have!” Lightning Dust bellowed.

The twin jewels shined brighter, causing the field of violet lightning to triple in size. The serpent lightning dragons out number the azure colored ones, and now began to assault Rainbow Dash. One caught the super mare by her left foreleg, trapping her limb in its electrical jaws. The construct shot up into the air, dragging Rainbow Dash with it. Before she could break free, the electrical beast tossed her up higher into the air.

Rainbow fanned out her wings, bringing her to a halt in the sky. Just then, she felt a strong force strike her in the midsection. Rainbow gasped and then looked down, seeing Lightning Dust, covered in a violet electrical aura, delivering a punch to her gut. The turquoise pegasus shot away in the form of a lightning bolt, and reappeared to give Rainbow another punch, this time to her face. The cyan alicorn was sent flying, but Lightning Dust intercepted her, hitting her in the side with a kick.

Lightning Dust poured on the speed, circling around Rainbow Dash as she continued her unrelenting assault. From a distance, it looked like the rings of an atom, and at the center, was Rainbow Dash, getting pummeled in all directions.

“You think you know me!? You think you can help me!? We’re nothing alike!”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes glowed with a bright azure; Lightning Dust came in for another punch, but at the last second, Rainbow caught the blow in her own hoof, sending a shockwave that pushed some of the clouds away.

“You don’t think I know!? I want to be the best, and that’s not a bad thing!” Rainbow came in with a left uppercut to Lightning’s jaw, sending her rival flying upwards into the air, with Rainbow Dash in pursuit. “It’s only bad when you don’t stop to see how it’s affecting those around you and yourself! I could’ve been like you! I could’ve been the kind of pony who doesn’t give a crap! But that’s not me!”

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, giving her a burst of speed that had her close the distance between Lightning Dust and herself. The pegasus mare snapped out of the delirium the punch had put her in, allowing her to focus on the rapidly approaching Rainbow Dash. Lightning Dust cried out as she dove down, wrapping her body in violet lightning. Rainbow did the same, her entire form layered in azure electrical might.

The two speedsters collided in the center, sending another powerful shockwave, but it didn’t slow them down. Both streaks of lightning flew away, one trailing the other. The two streaks clashed in the sky, creating more shockwaves that thundered out in rapid succession, one right after the other.

“Oh spare me all that ‘friendship’ bull! Friends only hold you back, other ponies hold you back and keep you from becoming what you’re meant to be! Besides, you can never know, I was never given that chance!”

The twin streaks spiraled each other and crashed again and split off to opposite sides. Both circled back and flew on a collision course with the other. Both streaks crashed, creating a sphere of pure lightning energy. The sphere was divided into two halves, one side was violet, the other azure, both mares were locked hoof in hoof as they glared down the other with glowing eyes.

“You don’t know what it’s like to have to live up to a legacy, to do everything right and be told ‘It’s not good enough’!”

“What are you saying!? Who told you things like that!?”

The massive sphere of lightning began to swirl, mixing the two variants of lightning. Rainbow Dash just couldn’t understand why Lightning Dust acted this way, what drove her to be the best at the cost of harming herself and endangering others. Just then, Rainbow’s horn glowed, releasing a spark of magical energy that shot towards Lightning’s head. At first, Rainbow thought her powers were acting on their own and sought to kill Lightning Dust with a headshot, but the spark didn’t pass through her, but merely entered her mind.

~~~

All time stopped moving, and Rainbow Dash found herself being pulled out of her body. The next thing she knew, Rainbow was looking down at herself. “Wow, I look hot as an alicorn, who knew?”

In the blink of an eye the world changed around her, no longer was she in the skies and dueling a magically powered and possessed Lightning Dust, but in a home. It was a rather large cloud home, a mansion she’d go so far as to say. Rainbow floated about, passing through walls as if she were a ghost, suddenly, a door glowed and the cyan alicorn felt drawn to it. When Rainbow reached the door it opened to her; a light shined from within and temporarily blinded her until images appeared in the doorway.

Lightning Dust was there, but as a filly, flying laps around an obstacle course. Rainbow could see it on the filly’s face, she was panting, her breathing labored, and her movements were becoming more forced than fluid.

“She’s exhausted,” said Rainbow.

“What are you doing Lightning, you’re going too slow!?”

Rainbow looked to the source of the voice, spotting a pegasus stallion with a stop watch. His mane was a different color, but his coat color was the same as Lightning’s, but a couple of shades darker. His goldenrod colored eyes were piercing and unforgiving, with a grimace that made even Rainbow shudder.

“I…I’m trying, Daddy!” A young Lightning Dust cried out.

“Do not try, do! You’re ancestry is filled with elite flyers, dating back to the beginnings of the Wonderbolts! Speed is everything to a pegasus, our physical prowess needs to outmatch all those would-be pretenders who can only dream of becoming a Wonderbolt! You, Lightning, will be a Wonderbolt!”

“Y-Yes, Daddy!”

“What the hay!? Can’t you see how tired she is!? If she keeps this up she’ll --!”

Rainbow’s prediction came true as Lightning Dust came falling out of the air and hitting the cloud underneath her. Despite the fact that it was a cloud, it was made of the harder stuff, which meant when Lightning Dust impacted, it was not painless. Lightning hit the cloud ground and bounced once before coming to a stop. The little filly sniffled and coughed, her body weak from flying and training so long. The stallion, her father, flew over to Lightning and glared at her with displeasure.

“That was pathetic, get back up there and do it again!” he ordered.

“D-Daddy…I-I can’t…I’m too tired, and I hurt all over…”

“Nonsense! Pain is just weakness leaving the body! You’re getting stronger, Lightning! Months ago you would’ve dropped without even finishing, and now you’ve finished the lap! Don’t you see!? You have to keep pushing your limits, find them and surpass them and yourself!”

The door slammed shut, closing the memory, Rainbow Dash was drawn to another door and it was here she found another memory.

It was Lightning Dust, a teenager, in the school’s racing team. They had won their race thanks to Lightning Dust, but in the process, she inadvertently caused many of her teammates to go into tailspins and get hurt.

“Dad…I-I did what you said, but…my team, I almost got them hurt with that maneuver…”

“Feh, your so called ‘team’ was only holding you back, Lightning, you could’ve won it on your own. Don’t worry, once you’ve made it into the Academy, you’ll find those who can better understand how being the best is what matters. Those who cannot keep up are lift in the dust, do well to remember that.”

Lightning Dust held her head low, in a way, her dad made sense. Why should she have to slow down because the rest of them couldn’t keep up? It wasn’t her fault she was faster than them, if anything, they should’ve worked harder to get to her level. Still…it hurt a little to see her teammates give such disapproving and angry glances. Lightning’s father walked up beside her and draped his wing over her back, gaining his daughter’s attention.

“Lightning, do not let the rabble bring you down. One day you will find the right kind of partners, and it is these partners who will understand the need to stand above the rest and become better!”

Lightning’s ears perked up as a small smile graced her face.

The door slammed shut yet again, but now Rainbow Dash could hear the inner thoughts of Lightning.

‘Dad was right, I’ll find somepony who understands me…who won’t slow me down, who knows what it takes to be the best!’

‘I can’t believe I found somepony! Rainbow Dash, she’s as fast as me, and Spitfire made us a team! And she’s pretty hot, is this what Dad meant? That I’d find my partner here in the Academy, among like minded ponies!?’

‘How…How could you betray me like that!? So what if the tornado was excessive, it worked! And your stupid friends are alive, so what are you bitching about!? Spitfire…she stripped me of my wings…and kicked me out! I…I can’t fail…I have to be the best, and Rainbow Dash, you were going to help me be the best! We could’ve pushed each other, become even faster, become legends among the Wonderbolts! But now…you did this…I…I liked you! You were the first pony I had those feelings towards, both competitive and… the other kind!’

‘I’ll blow it all away…the Academy…and your friends, Rainbow! I’ll take everything away that’s holding you back, and then I will do the same for myself! Dad can’t fly as well as he could, so there’s no point in him staying alive! I’m stronger than you, I’m faster than you, and when I’m done, I’ll make sure that I stand above them all!’

~~~

The images stopped and Rainbow Dash found herself back in reality, with Lightning Dust and herself still grappling and at the center of a swirling mass of magical lightning. Only now, Lightning Dust had tears in her eyes.

“Lightning…”

“Why did you have to make me remember my crappy foalhood!?”

“Lightning Dust, I’m sorry…you were right, I didn’t have an idea, but now I do!”

Rainbow Dash broke their lock, both mares taking their respective sides within the giant orb of dual lightning.

“You were never given a chance to see, to know what it feels like to work with other ponies, to trust in them! Your dad messed you up growing up, but your past doesn’t have to mean that that’s the pony you’re meant to be!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

Lightning Dust tried to make her tears stop falling, but sadly she could not. The turquoise mare looked at her hooves, and then the silver bracers that were emitting their wicked energy.

“I don’t know how to be anything else…I don’t even know if being a Wonderbolt was really something I wanted or not!? I’m…I’m nothing, I’m a hollow shell of a mare! So…Why not make everything just disappear!” Lightning’s voice became slightly distorted.

The violet shades of the lightning sphere became more dominant, crackling angrily against the azure magical lightning. Rainbow Dash couldn’t raise her hooves to Lightning Dust anymore, her heart wouldn’t let her. She began floating towards Lightning, making the crying mare lash out with violet bolts. Each one would either hit Rainbow or glance off her aura, some even stung a little, but regardless, Rainbow Dash continued to float towards her.

Lightning Dust brought up both her hooves over her head. A ball of tightly condensed lightning energy formed above her, becoming bigger and bigger. She then brought down her hooves and pointed them at Rainbow Dash. With a deafening battle cry, Lightning Dust fired her attack, making the sphere shoot a beam of pure violet lightning straight at Rainbow Dash.

The super powered pegasus did not flinch, she merely raised her right hoof and continued to move forward. The beam struck Rainbow’s hoof, making her flinch from the force generated by its power. But the beam never washed over her, in fact, her one hoof was keeping the beam stifled. Lightning Dust poured on more power, making the beam triple in size and become the size of a column. The beam forced Rainbow Dash to stop moving as the new, bigger, and stronger beam pushed against her.

Rainbow’s eyes glowed yet again, her horn releasing a surge of magical lightning from it and to her right foreleg. The surge followed the length of her foreleg, all the way to her hoof, where it shot through the column of violet lightning. The surge passed all the way through until it reached the beam’s point of origin. The azure lightning surge detonated from within the column, slicing away at the energy from the inside out and dispersing what was left of the attack. Lightning was thrown back, and quickly flared out her wings to stabilize, but in that brief moment, Rainbow was able to close the gap between them, surprising Lightning Dust. She closed her eyes fast, bracing herself for an attack she was sure was coming her way.

But to her surprise, instead of a punch or blast of magic, she felt a body hugging her own. Lightning Dust opened her eyes and gasped, Rainbow Dash was hugging her, and it wasn’t some vice death grip, it was a genuine hug, one that would normally convey comfort.

“What…What are you doing…?”

“I’m sorry, Lightning, I’m sorry you had to go through that. But you’re not nothing, you can be somepony new, you can be a better pony, I know that!” Rainbow assured.

“But…I don’t…I don’t know where’d I even start…!”

Rainbow Dash parted slightly from Lightning and gazed into her eyes. “For one thing, you can take those things off, they’re bad for you Lightning.”

“N-No…No you’re just trying to tick me so you can betray me again!” Lightning accused.

“I never betrayed you, Lightning! I had to stop you from getting yourself hurt or putting others in danger! That’s what friends do, they look for each other, even if that means they have to do something harsh to help them from doing something they’ll regret!”

Lightning Dust’s eyes widened, her irises and pupils returning. “I…I’m your friend?”

“I always was, Element of Loyalty, duh.” Rainbow took Lightning’s hoof into her own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I won’t abandon you, I never let my friends down. I’ll do whatever I can to help you be the mare you want to be, so…please, just let them go.”

Lightning looked to the rainbow maned mare, and back to her bracers. A friend, she was her friend, the first real friend she’d ever had, and she wanted to destroy her and everything else. The pegasus mare cried bitter tears at her actions and the choices that were both taken and equally ignored, with a loud cry Lightning began to rip off the right bracer. The malevolent lightning magic sprang out, as if defending itself against being taken off by their wearer, but Lightning Dust was not one to give up.

She pulled and pulled until the first one was removed, and then proceeded to the next. But this one proved to be more difficult, it wasn’t about to release its host so easily, now feeding back the energy into Lightning Dust and wracking her body with pain. The pegasus mare gritted her teeth, grunting and growling through the pain as the bracer began to slip. The pain was starting to get worse, and she was losing the will to keep pulling, but that’s when a pair of armored cyan hooves shot out and grabbed ahold of the last bracer. Lightning Dust looked up and saw Rainbow Dash, who nodded towards her.

Lightning Dust smiled and then yelled as she pulled back, and Rainbow Dash pulled forward, using her magical power to negate the resistance of the bracer. With one final tug, the bracer was taken off. The sphere of lightning ceased to exist, and the dark storm clouds evaporated into nothingness.
Rainbow Dash hurriedly took both bracers and threw high into the air and turned to look down at the superheroine alicorn.

“SHAZAM, FIRE!!”

Shazam didn’t wait, her horn crackled with stored power, and in the next second, let loose bolt of magic lightning. Rainbow Dash charged her horn as well, firing it right along with Shazam’s. The two bolts spiraled around each other and formed one giant lightning bolt that struck the two bracers, engulfing them in ancient magical might. The crystals cracked, and in the next second they shattered into a millions pieces, the bracers themselves having melted into nothing, not even ash remained. Both alicorns ended their attack, satisfied that they couldn’t sense the negative energy of the bracers. Rainbow turned to Lightning Dust, who smiled her, a genuine smile, and not the usual cocky one she sported.

But then Lightning Dust’s wings stopped flapping, a tired expression befall her face and just like that, she began to fall out of the sky. Rainbow’s eyes widened, and bolted for Lightning Dust, catching the exhausted mare in her forelegs before she could start free falling.

“You caught me…?”

“Like I said: I never abandon my friends. You’ll be fine, Dust, you just need some down time,” said Rainbow.

“Yeah…I’ve never felt this tired before…guess I overdid it?”

Rainbow glanced around them and shrugged. “Eh, maybe a little.”

Lightning Dust chuckled and laid her head against Rainbow’s chest, closing her eyes and drifting into a much needed sleep. Rainbow floated back down to the Academy, where Shazam and several Wonderbolts awaited them. Many of the pegasi were awestruck at seeing Rainbow Dash in the form of an alicorn, some even wondered if they should be bowing to her like one of the Princesses.

Shazam stepped forward and used her telekinesis to lift Lightning Dust out of Rainbow’s forelegs and onto a gurney. The medic pegasi looked at the mare who nearly destroyed the Academy and hurt everypony and wondered if it was a good idea to bring her into the infirmary.

“She’s alright, trust me,” said Rainbow Dash.

The medics then looked to Spitfire, and the fiery maned pegasus nodded her okay. The medics quickly, yet gently, took the stretcher and flew Lightning to the infirmary.

“Everypony, move out, let’s start cleaning this place up,” ordered Spitfire, leading the rest of the pegasi off to their work.

Rainbow felt a hoof rest on her shoulder, but she didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“You did good, Rainbow,” said Shazam.

“Yeah…I just wish it hadn’t gone this far for her cry for help was heard.”

“Better late than never, this could’ve been a whole lot worse, but I’m glad it didn’t. Nice job handling the powers I gave you, by the way.”

Rainbow Dash blushed from the compliment, cursing under breath for feeling like a schoolfilly.

“Anyway, as awesome as I’m sure it is to have those powers, I’ll have to take them back,” said Shazam.

There was some slight disappointment in Rainbow’s demeanor, the rush of being a super powered alicorn was fun, but she knew that wasn’t the way a real hero would act. The cyan alicorn nodded and bowed her head. Shazam lowered her head, crossing their horns; a surge of magical lightning passed between them, and in an instant, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and struck Rainbow Dash.

A cloud of white smoke engulfed Rainbow, but after a couple of seconds it dispersed, revealing the mare as she once was, a pegasus. Rainbow opened her wings and looked about her body, even touching her forehead to see if the horn had gone, and it had.

“Wow, if that’s what Twilight has to deal with every day, then I have to give her more credit. Even for a few minutes, having an extra body part and power like that was a little…” Rainbow waved her hoof in the air as if trying to pluck the word from the air.

“Disorienting?” Shazam asked.

Rainbow thought on that for a moment. “Eh, close enough.”

“Well, I know what you mean anyway. It threw me off a little when I first got these powers, but after a while it just felt right, it’s a part of me now.”

The cyan pegasus unconsciously drew circles in the cloud beneath her with her hoof, feeling her heart thump in her breast and her face growing hotter. Rainbow Dash gulped audibly and steeled herself.

“Um, Shazam?”

“Yeah Rainbow?”

“I…I just wanted to tell you, because I never really got the chance to – uh – thank you.”

Shazam shook her head. “You don’t have to thank me, Rainbow Dash. I care about you – I mean – I care about all of Equestria and its citizens!”

Despite Shazam’s attempt to cover that last bit, Rainbow’s mind had already latched onto it. She-She said she cared about me! Shazam said she actually cares about me!

“I know you do, ‘cause that’s the kind of pony you are! Brave, strong…beautiful…”

Shazam’s eye twitched at that. “Wait beau – MMPH!”

Before Shazam knew what was what, her mouth had found itself silenced by a pair of cyan lips pressed against hers. The alicorn mare’s eyes bulged under her ivory hood, her body seizing up as the reality of what was happening had clicked with her mind.

Rainbow Dash was kissing her, hooves resting gently on her cheeks, eyes closed, and breathing softly. This was happening – it IS happening – and poor Shazam, aka Scootaloo, could only think of one thing to say…

WHAT THE ACTUAL F – !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UNDER BLACKFOREST MANSION…

Lightning, how simple could it be? This ancient and powerful magic was linked to one of the most primal forces on the planet, and yet it was so pure and so powerful. It was hard to believe it was a form of magic, but it was. A magic that could destroy as well as create.
It was fascinating, to say the least.

Thorn Blackforest was busy looking under a oculus magi-scope, with several lenses, each tinted different colors that would give Thorn a good and detailed view of the magic. In her underground lab, connected via magical portals to her mansion, she had Caballeron strapped to a table.

She didn’t realize it at first, but after some day and night research and experimentation, Thorn figured out the magical energy that was inside the stallion was actually being harming him. Although he was able to see magic and pierce through enchantments, the tomb raider was actually hurting his body each time he used it.

So by syphoning the excess with her equipment, Thorn was actually helping out Caballeron. She could care less, however, all she cared about was obtaining more and more of the ancient magic, and applying it to her newest batch of blank slates.

Thorn’s horn glowed as she used her magic to lift up an enchanted orb that contained the magical lightning energy. The orb was then inserted into a special machine that she had been using to funnel the Xanthos energy into the assassin clones.

The orb glowed brightly, bringing the machine to life. Thorn watched diligently as her creation began its work, using her telekinesis to flip a switch or turn a knob, making sure everything was in perfect working order.

A tube was connected to the machine, which ran all the way to a cylindrical tank that housed a featureless pony. The chestnut brown mare gave her blank slate one last look before opening the valve that released the ancient magic into the tube.

The electrical magic crackled and zoomed through the insulated tube, heading right for the tank. The moment the energy reached the tank a reaction took hold. The tank’s liquid contents began to bubble, the pony inside getting struck several times, over and over again, with magic lightning.

The body twitched, giving slight convulsions. Its body began to morph, taking on shape. The limbs were getting longer, the neck extending slightly as the body became lean. Next the forehead grew a protrusion, the bone spiraling until it became a horn, longer than the average unicorn.

What the blank slate sprouted next was unbelievable, wings. It grew wings. The body was morphing into that of an alicorn, the energy was so potent that it was creating such a being. Soon it began to grow a tail and mane, its features becoming more feminine. It had no cutie mark, but that was to be expected.

Thorn quickly shut off the energy, letting the last vestiges of energy from the tube enter the tank. The unicorn mare carefully made her way to the tank, taking each step with extreme caution. With Xanthos, she knew what to expect, but this ancient magic was full of unknowns, and Thorn knew not what it would do to a pony that was created.

Suddenly, a crack formed on the side of the tank. The crack spread out, spider webbing until it was all over the glass. And in less than a second, it shattered. Thorn raised a shield, protecting herself from the flood and glass shards that were carried by the liquid.

After a minute the tidal wave ended, and Thorn gazed with eagerness at what the new life looked like. Thorn slowly approached the body, which was lying on the floor. Its mane and tail was colored silver, with an electric blue streak running through it. Its coat was white as snow, which had a beautiful glow to it.

Truly this is the power of gods! It created an alicorn, the Xanthos always created random Earth, Pegasi, or Unicorn ponies, but with this, it automatically created an alicorn! With this, I could make a suitable King’s Vessel!

Thorn approached her creation, running her hoof over the lean musculature of her newborn creation, getting goosebumps as she enjoyed the velvety feel of its coat. It was quite beautiful, and maybe worth a little extra love and care, in another sense of the word.

“Wake up my little one, wake up and feast your eyes on the new world that will soon be at your mercy,” said Thorn in a strangely motherly tone.

She waited for a response, but nothing came. Thorn cocked her head to the side, staring at the alicorn with worry. She gave the newborn adult a few shakes as she would a child that did not want to wake.

“Come now, open your eyes. I have so much to show you, teach you, and you have so much work ahead of you. You can’t just sleep all day.”

Yet again, there was no response, making Thorn become even more worried. She quickly levitated a stethoscope from a workbench and placed the two nodes in her ears. She maneuvered the round piece to the alicorn’s chest and listened carefully. Her eyes widened, there was no sound, no rise and fall of a chest breathing, and most definitely not the rhythmic drumming sound of a heartbeat.

Thorn threw her instrument away and used her magic to carefully open one of the eyes, using her horn to shine some light onto its eye. The pupil didn’t react at all, despite the warmth of the body, it was utterly lifeless.

The unicorn mare fell back on her haunches, shaking her head as she gritted her teeth. How…? How could this have happened? Her calculations were perfect, her machine in top working order. The specimen was one of her finest of her batch. So why…

“Why are you dead?! Why are you not breathing with life?! You look so beautiful and majestic, you would’ve been so elegant on the battlefield! And yet…you taunt me with this warm body, this thing that looks so full of life and yet is dead!”

Thorn’s eyes stung with tears, sadness and anger mixing within her. This reminded her too much of the day she lost her prized creation, the day she lost Alpha. She was meant to be the ultimate anti-alicorn creation, fueled by Xanthos energy.

She remembered it as a foal, it was the first time she created life in its infancy stage, believing that it would be easier to start on a small scale rather than a full grown pony. Her theory being that a young body imbued with this deadly, primal magic could control it.

But something went wrong, her lab – her first lab – was destroyed, and the Alpha with it. Thorn had gone over all her notes and readings from that day long ago, and everything was perfect, the Alpha should’ve been born without complication.

It was a great blow to her, research wise it advanced her findings, but emotionally, it was akin to a mother losing her child. Thorn never saw herself becoming a mother, her work with the Kingdom and her life’s work was far too involved for her to have one. In a twisted and strange way she saw the blank slates as her pseudo children. Maybe that’s why it seemed to sting so much when one was lost to her? Why Alpha was so much more precious?

A trio of No-Face masked attendants entered her lab, two were unicorn stallions and a third was an earth pony mare. The mare at the center walked towards her mistress and cleared her throat.

“Mistress, are you well?” she asked.

“There’s a lifeless body lying in the middle of my lab…does it look like I’m ‘well’?!” Thorn sneered.

The attendants stiffened, they knew not to get on their mistress’ bad side. As understanding and rewarding as she was, they knew their mistress was not opposed to dealing pain and misery to those who crossed her while in a foul mood.

“What is that you want?! What is soooo important that you deemed it necessary to enter my lab, umannounced, and while in the middle of my…experiment!”

The mare gulped, but dared to answer. “Well…Milady, I wanted to inform you that one of your scheduled days to visit one of the many orphanages you sponsor is coming up. If you wish, I could cancel it…?”

The chestnut brown unicorn smirked, ah her charity work. It was good to keep up appearances. Not many would look twice at a wealthy mare who spent her enormous wealth on those less fortunate. It kept suspicious eyes off her, the nobility never bothered her for fear of what her wealth could bring down upon them. Equally, it made it easy to get close to the Princesses of Equestria, what their wanting to meet with such charitable ponies. Had she the power, Thorn could have killed them at her discretion.

Thorn scoffed, it didn’t matter now. No, what mattered now were results. There was no time to mourn over a husk, and there was no reason for one setback to keep her from trying again later.

“No, I shall adhere to my visit. You two!” Thorn pointed at both unicorn stallions. “Dispose of that and clean up this work space as quickly as possible!”

Both stallion bowed and moved swiftly towards the lifeless body once Thorn had walked away from it. The first No-Face masked stallion looked upon the husk clicked his tongue.

“Damn, now that’s a shame, it actually not half bad lookin’ compared to those other ones.”

“Y’know it’s not entirely dead-dead, maybe –?”

“I am not so depraved in my work that I would allow such a disgrace, even to a husk!” Thorn yelled.

The two stallions suddenly felt something wrap around their necks, a kind of collar made of magical energy. Both looked to Thorn, whose horn was aglow with magical power.

“Now you have three minutes to get that husk to the nearest disposal, or those collars will remove your heads,” said Thorn.

“B-BUT MISTRESS?!”

“Two-minutes and forty-eight seconds.”

The two stallions’ eyes bulged in fear, both hurriedly used their telekinesis and lifted the body, running like mad towards the nearest disposal and disappearing from her sight. The No-Face masked mare sidled next to her Thorn.

“There is no time limit, is there?”

“Oh there is, the nearest disposal is but a mere twenty feet away, but I did lie about the time itself. I allotted them just enough time to get them there and dispose of the specimen. I can’t have such filth around my creations.”

“Indeed. And how much time is that?”

*POP*

The attendant blinked and twitched her ears, swearing she heard a balloon popping somewhere.

“Long enough. Now, to where am I to visit?” Thorn asked.

The mare pulled up a clipboard that was hanging around her neck and checked the papers before settling on the page she needed.

“Ah, it seems the orphanage is ‘Wayward House’ in……Oh my.”

Thorn raised an eyebrow at how her attendant paused. She used her magic to flip the clipboard around and spied the location.

“Irony…thy name is Ponyville.”

Project Erroria Arc Part 12: Consideration / Determination

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Scootaloo brushed and scrubbed her teeth as much as she could, squeezing out the toothpaste until it looked like a shriveled up raisin, gargling mouthwash until the bottle was bone dry, and every time she stopped to look at herself in the mirror, her teeth sparkled and shined with a pure white that, if she were to walk outside into the sunlight. Scootaloo was fairly sure she’d create a blinding light from the rays reflecting off her pearly whites.

And yet, after all the scrubbing and gargling, Scootaloo could still feel the tingling sensation of Rainbow’s lips pressed against her, and it didn’t help that in that moment, all her senses were heightened, so everything was more vivid and lasted longer in her mind. The feeling of her lips, her natural scent, the hooves that were placed against Scootaloo’s cheeks, not to mention that dreamy look on the older mare’s face when she pulled away.

Scootaloo shuddered, remembering that look of both attraction and excitement in Rainbow’s eyes. The young filly growled and threw her forelegs into the air, it wasn’t Rainbow Dash’s fault, she couldn’t blame her surrogate big sister for kissing her, because she had no idea that Scootaloo and Shazam were one and the same. Had she known, Scootaloo was sure Rainbow Dash would never had done that.

“But she did…and now I can’t stop replaying that in my head!” Scootaloo smacked her lips. “Damn! I can still feel them!”

The pegasus filly broke out another tube of toothpaste, squeezed some onto her toothbrush and began scrubbing away, for what was either the tenth or fifteenth time, she lost count around eleven.

This was so not what she needed right now. On top of figuring out what to do with a broken hearted Apple Bloom, now she had to deal with a mare – who she loved and cared about like a big sister, and looked up to – who was in love with her superhero alter ego.

There were soooo many things bad with this situation, especially if Twilight or Cheerilee found out about it, considering what Scootaloo had told them about her past they might take this the wrong way with Rainbow Dash. The last thing Scootaloo wanted was for Rainbow Dash to get in trouble over a misunderstanding.

This was definitely a problem that needed to be resolved quickly and post haste. But first thing was first…

“CELESTIA, THEY DON’T MAKE TOOTHPASTE OR MOUTHWASH STRONG ENOUGH TO BRUSH AWAY THE MEMORY!”

Cheerilee was concerned, very concerned, Scootaloo had come back home but immediately had flown straight into the bathroom, and hasn’t come out for two hours now. The mulberry earth pony walked up to the bathroom door, raising her hoof and preparing to knock. She paused though, wondering if it was a good idea to do that.

Scootaloo is nearing that age for young fillies to…ahem…explore themselves…I mean, you were a young teenage filly once, too, Cheerilee.

There was one thing that made Cheerilee suspect that it wasn’t that, the sound of running water, and the scrubbing noises. Taking a deep breath, Cheerilee knocked three times against the bathroom door.

“Scootaloo, sweetie, are you alright? You’ve been in the bathroom for a good two hours now, I was getting a little worried,” said Cheerilee.

“I’m fine! Just fine, I promise!” Scootaloo assured.

A pensive look befell the teacher, she really didn’t like this, but neither did she want to ruin her relationship with Scootaloo. It had been weighing on her mind lately, Scootaloo disappearing at different times of the day, her frequent trips to Twilight’s castle for…Celestia knows what. Twilight had always told her that it was for tutoring or “Twilight Time” like they used to have before her old home was destroyed by Tirek. Was it just that she liked Twilight more than her?

“No that’s silly, why I am even thinking like that!?” Cheerilee whispered to herself. “Scootaloo, I’m going to go see Twilight for a bit, I should be back later.”

“Yeah, that’s good! You should totally go see Twilight!”

Cheerilee blinked, a little more worried at how fast that response was. Despite this, Cheerilee decided that she probably, really, needed to talk this out with Twilight.

LATER, AT CASTLE CONCORDIA…

Twilight considered herself a calm, rational, logical, and above all, understanding and kind mare. So she thought nothing of it when Rainbow Dash came bursting through one of her castle windows – a habit she had not grown out of since the days of Golden Oak Library – but the Guards did nearly attack her out of instinct, which kind of scared her straight from then on.

For some reason the speedster mare had a very excited expression on her face, and she was blushing to boot. Twilight admitted, she was curious as to what could have garnered such a reaction out of Rainbow Dash. The mare who tried to always act cool under pressure and not betray her air of “awesomeness” as she put it.

“So Rainbow Dash, what brings you here? Seeing as you decided to ignore the front door and just zoom on in during a heightened state of alert?” Twilight inquired.

The cyan pegasus rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “Y-Yeah, sorry about that…I forgot that the Dusk Guards are on super alert right now. But I couldn’t wait, especially since you were the one I told about it first! I thought about telling Fluttershy, but since you’re close to this subject you might be able to give me more feedback.”

Twilight quirked her head to the side curiously. “Feedback? On what?”

“Okay, okay, I was at the Wonderbolts Academy ‘cause Spitfire wanted me to help with the training of the new recruits,” said Rainbow.

Twilight walked over to the sofa and took a seat, watching as Rainbow hovered about the room as she continued on.

“So I got there and everything was going alright, and then the cloud generators go haywire and create this big storm at the Academy!”

With eyes wide with fear, Twilight quickly shot up and stood upon the couch. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t know! Are the other pegasi alright!? Do we need to dispatch relief to the Academy!?”

Rainbow Dash quickly put her hooves in a stopping motion. “Twi, chill, chill, everything’s okay! I mean, some of the Bolts are a little shaken up and a few are banged up, but nothin’ life threatening or anything.”

The alicorn mare took a deep breath and sat back down, taking Rainbow Dash’s word for it that everything was alright.

“Anyway, the storm was stopped, by none other than Shazam!” Rainbow exclaimed with an extra squeak of joy.

Thank goodness Scootaloo got there in time, thought Twilight.

“So what happened next?”

Rainbow Dash went into detail on how Lightning Dust appeared at the Academy, brandishing some bracers that were similar to the Alicorn Amulet. Twilight had to admit she was intrigued by this information, the fact that the pegasi created an item similar in power, and apparently with the same corrupting effect, was fascinating. Now she wondered if they should be on the lookout for an item for the earth ponies.

The story continued with Rainbow detailing Shazam transferring her magical might into her, and transforming Rainbow Dash, temporarily, into an alicorn. To which, Rainbow gave Twilight props and apologized for the times she poked fun at the awkwardness of getting used to an extra appendage.

Further in she told Twilight of the great battle she had with Lightning Dust, learning of her past by delving into her memories, and in the end getting her to remove the bracers.

“Sounds like you and Shazam had your hoofs full, I’m glad you two were able to help Lightning Dust,” said Twilight with a smile.

Rainbow Dash mirrored her smile, genuinely glad that she was able to help Lightning Dust, and hopefully could steer her towards the right path as not only a good friend, but also a future role model for other Wonderbolts. Although glad, that wasn’t the full reason why Rainbow was excited.

“Well, that wasn’t even the best part!”

“Oh? Really? What else happened?” Twilight asked.

The cyan mare opened her mouth, but stopped when she heard a knock at her foyer door. One of the unicorn Dusk Guards cracked open the door and poked his head in.

“Begging your pardon Princess Twilight, but there is mare by the name of Cheerilee waiting, should I send her in?”

“Cheerilee? Yes, you may. Um, you don’t mind if she comes in, right?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No way, bring your marefriend in, I don’t mind if she hears this.”

The Dusk Guard bowed and used his magic to open the door fully to allow the mulberry mare to enter. Once inside, the Dusk Guard closed the door behind her. Twilight got up from the couch and walked over to meet Cheerilee, both gave each other affectionate nuzzles before pulling back.

“Cheerilee, it’s good to see you, what’s the occasion?”

“Sorry, I just wanted to talk to you about something, but I didn’t know you had company over, sorry,” said Cheerilee.

“Ain’t a problem, now, hold on your saddles, because…!”

“Because…?”

“I KISSED SHAZAM!”

Cheerilee’s jaw dropped, showing an expression of awe that she did this. Which was in severe contrast to Twilight’s expression, whose jaw was hanging open, with a look that was warring between disgust, anger, and disbelief.

“YOU DID WHAT!!!??” Twilight shouted.

“I know, right!? I mean, I-I never thought I’d be able to! But this is me, after all, so I couldn’t just not do it! I needed to show her how I feel! You know I’m not good at…wording how I feel,” said Rainbow Dash as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

Twilight was still stunned, trying to take this information in as best she could. Rainbow Dash had kissed Shazam, who is in fact Scootaloo, so Rainbow Dash really kissed Scootaloo. A filly, an underage filly, a filly who Rainbow Dash had adopted as a little sister, a filly who has been through a traumatizing experience involving somebody she trusted taking advantage of her. Twilight wanted to scream, wanted to shout and yell at Rainbow Dash at how irresponsible and how furious she was with her.

Alas, she knew Rainbow Dash well. The loyal mare would never knowingly do that to Scootaloo, in fact, she was a hundred percent sure that Rainbow would beat herself into the ground for doing something like that, had she known about Scootaloo’s more traumatic past. And yet Twilight couldn’t help herself from mentally throttling Rainbow Dash and that happy, elated look on her face.

“Oh my, Rainbow Dash, I had no idea you had a crush on Shazam like that! How did she take it, the kiss I mean?” Cheerilee asked.

Rainbow shook her head and brought herself back to her two friends. “Oh, right, well after I kissed her she was blushing like crazy! And it was cute, although I couldn’t see all of her face, that magic hood kept me from seeing her fully…”

Twilight was doing everything she could to keep herself from throwing up right now.

Cheerilee walked up and patted Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. “Well, while not the most conventional way to tell somepony you like them, I must admit I’m glad you were at least able to tell this mare how you feel, or rather showed her.”

Rainbow Dash felt a little better after hearing Cheerilee’s encouragement. “Thanks Cheerilee, I mean…I wish I could’ve said it right, but it was like that was the only thing I could think of how to tell her! If I had just said it, she’d think I was a fanfilly or something, at least this way she knows I’m serious about how I feel about her!” Rainbow declared with confidence. “Say, do you think it’s possible to have kids with two mares?”

Cheerilee and Rainbow turned around and saw Twilight hunched over the backside of the couch, making what sounded like retching sounds. Which made both mares raise an eyebrow in both curiosity and disgust. There was a flash coming from behind the couch that had the same rosy-violet tint that Twilight’s magic usually had.

The alicorn mare came back up, her face looking a little haggard, but she tried to maintain an air of calmness. Although, Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash weren’t buying it.

“Are you okay, Twilight?” Cheerilee asked.

“F-Fine! I-I’m just fine!” Twilight insisted, left eye twitching as her right flicked.

“Oooookaaaay, because you kinda look sick,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Sick? Why would I be sick!? I’m not sick!”

Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash did not look convinced, deciding not to stick around in case it was spreading, Rainbow Dash casually glanced towards a clock. “Well, look at the time! I gotta go find Scoots, I kinda owe her a flying lesson since I forgot I had Wonderbolt duties today! Later!”

Twilight watched as Rainbow Dash zoomed out of the room, and breathed a sigh of relief that she did. Her dueling emotions were beginning to frazzle her. She had never felt such a strong combination of anger, sympathy, and slight disgust all at once, Twilight could only imagine what Scootaloo was going through with this whole thing. Having your idol/surrogate sister kiss you romantically had to be some kind of traumatic for Scootaloo.

“Twilight are you sure you’re alright? I could come back later,” said Cheerilee, noticing the strange look on her marefriend’s face.

The alicorn mare snapped out of it and focused her attention to her marefriend. “Oh, yes, yes! I’m fine, Cheery, nothing’s wrong, really,” she lied, “I’m just a little…shocked, still, at how Rainbow Dash…kissed Shazam.”

“Shocked that she’s attracted to mares or shocked because she kissed a superhero?”

“The latter,” responded Twilight. For more than one reason.

Cheerilee smiled coyly at the purple mare and with a raised brow. “Oh, are you jealous that Rainbow Dash kissed Shazam? Perhaps you entertained fantasies of doing just that? I wouldn’t blame you, from the encounters I’ve seen and heard, you both seem to be on friendly terms. Perhaps you were playing the long game, Twilight? Twilight?”

Twilight’s mind was becoming riddled with thoughts she didn’t want, she knew Cheerilee wasn’t saying these things to be mean or gross, she was just honestly teasing her like any marefriend would. Although, the fact that it was Scootaloo who was Shazam is what made all the insinuations all the worse.

Maybe it really is time to tell her…? I shouldn’t keep something like this a secret from Cheerilee, considering how important she is in Scootaloo’s life! In my life…!

Twilight’s face tinted red at that last thought, it was true, she really did feel that Cheerilee was important to her. Despite all the teasing Scootaloo would do and bring up marriage, the thought of marrying Cheerilee wasn’t too far from her mind whenever she was around the school teacher.

“Alright, if you want, maybe later this week we can plan a little ‘role play’? Do you want to be Shazam or should I?”

Smoke bellowd out of Twilight’s ears, followed by a thudding sound when Twilight fell over, her right hind leg twitching.

Okay, DEFINITELY need to tell her!

ELSEWHERE, SWEET APPLE ACRES…

Babs had worked up her courage, had talked to Sweetie Belle, and had the support of Scootaloo to boot. The only real hurdle here was the one she was planning to confess to. Either this was just going to end with the two of them looking back on this as an awkward little time in their young lives, total ruination of their bond as both friends and as family, or - the more hopeful route - Apple Bloom could say yes.

The Manehattan filly shuddered at the second option, at most she was hoping for the first, the third being best best case scenario. Babs Seed walked back to Sweet Apple Acres, with most of the other Apples going about their daily farm work. She thought about heading to Apple Bloom’s room, but was worried about actually finding her there. Confessing in the house where anypony could drop in would be bad, so on a hunch, Babs opted to check the CMC Clubhouse.

A short walk through the orchard brought the bronze filly to the Clubhouse, the very place where she started a new chapter in her life, with real friends. Babs walked up the ramp until she reached the door, turning her ear in that direction to hear any movement inside. Sure enough, she heard the thud of a small hoof against the wood. Almost symbolic that this would be the same place she would start something else new in her life, well, it was now or never.

Babs raised her hoof and knocked on the door.

“Go away,” said Apple Bloom, her voice a little lack luster.

“Heh, not much of a greetin’ Cuz,” said Babs.

“Babs? Ah’m sorry, but can ya just leave me alone?”

The door to the clubhouse opened and Babs gave her cousin a sad smile.

“Sorry Cuz, no can do. Especially with you lookin’ all sad like that,” said Babs.

Apple Bloom glanced over her shoulder, her eyes looking a little red a puffy. Babs felt a pang in her heart at seeing her friend, and crush, looking this sad. Given that Apple Bloom always seemed like the strong willed leader, it was times like this that made Babs aware that as strong a filly as her cousin was, she still a filly like herself.

Babs slowly walked in and closed the door behind her. She then made her way to where Apple Bloom was lying down, and plopped down next to her. The red maned filly looked away trying to keep her cousin from seeing her “crybaby face”.

“Wanna talk about it, Cuz?”

“It ain’t worth talkin’ about…”

“C’mon, Bloom, don’t act like that. Remember what happened with me when ya didn’t tell yer big sis about the…stuff I did, and how it got from bad to worse?” Babs asked, feeling a little sting in her heart remembering the terrible menace she was to her cousin and friends.

Apple Bloom’s ears drooped, but she understood what her cousin was getting at.

“Ah’m sure Scoots told ya by now, right? How Ah…Ah like-like her.”

Babs nodded. “Yeah, she did. Ya know she’s still your friend right?”

Apple Bloom wiped her nose and sniffled a little. “Ah course I do! At least…Ah hope we still are…”

Babs nudged Apple Bloom’s shoulder with her own and smiled at her. “Hey, you three have been friends for a long while now, a little thing like this ain’t gonna mess all that up! Okay, it’ll be a little awkward between youse two.”

“Yeah, it will…Ah’m just worried that it’ll get more awkward later on…but mostly, Ah’m still just…UGH!” Apple Bloom shot to her hooves, and started pacing back and forth. “Ah’m mad at mehself because Ah didn’t say nothin’ sooner! Ah’m sad ‘cause she’s already got special somepony and it ain’t me! And…And…!”

Babs tilted her head forward waiting for her to get that last word out.

“H…Happy…that she has somepony like that…Is that weird?”

Babs shook her head. “I don’t think so, you want yer friends to be happy.”

Apple Bloom sighed and fell on her haunches staring down at the floor, her eyes glanced up at Babs, still in the same spot across from her. A thought crossed the filly’s mind as she realized everything she was saying.

“Babs…do ya…do ya think Ah’m weird, fer likin’ fillies Ah mean?” Apple Bloom asked with a little trepidation in her voice.

The bronze filly stood and walked over to Apple Bloom, sitting next to her and placing a hoof on her shoulder for comfort. “Nah, you aren’t weird, Cuz. Ya like who ya like, ain’t nothing more or less…”

Apple Bloom noticed how Babs’ gaze drifted away from her when she said that, and if she wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like there was a little shame in her voice, but not at Apple Bloom herself.

“Ya ever like somepony like that, Babs?”

“Yeah…still do,” she replied.

Apple Bloom turned her head towards Babs, a little surprised that she admitted to actually liking somepony the way she did.

“Have ya…told ‘em?”

“Nah…I haven’t…for more than one reason,” said Babs, keeping her gaze lowered.

An indignant look befall the yellow filly. “Babs, ya can’t just not say nothin’! Don’t do what Ah did and wait! Just tell him – or her! Ah mean, not that Ah’m sayin’ that yer like me, and…ahem, Ah’ll shut my yap now.”

Babs chuckled a little and sighed. “Yeah, I know, Sweetie Belle already gave me a talkin’ to about sayin’ how I feel…guess I’m still scared of what’ll happen, between me and…her.”

Apple Bloom blinked, catching on that she said “her”, feeling a little better that she hadn’t offended her favorite cousin, and fidgeted with her hooves. “Well, don’t let what happen to me stop ya, it doesn’t mean that it’ll turn out better for you.”

“Problem is Cuz, this filly I like, she’s hurtin’. Kinda heartbroken kind of stuff, I just don’t want her to think I’m takin’ advantage of her, y’know?”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at the way Babs was describing her crush. Heartbroken, a filly…Apple Bloom’s eyes widened, she wanted to flinch but she managed to keep herself from moving. She had to be reading too much into this, that was it. There was no way Babs was talking about her, right? They were cousins, and cousins don’t’ feel that way about each other…right?

Although…Babs is kinda cute from this angle and all…Darn it Apple Bloom, stop it! Ya can’t think that way! But…

“What do ya think, Cuz, should I just hold off?” Babs asked earnestly.

Apple Bloom gulped, if this was her Babs was talking about, her next words could determine the course of their relationship, as friends, favorite cousins, as family. With deep sigh, Apple Bloom decided to stand firm and speak what was in her heart.

“Honestly, Ah don’t think she’d think that of ya,” said Apple Bloom.

Babs turned her head to Apple Bloom with a look of surprise. “Y-You really think so?”

“If anythin’, if Ah were her Ah mean, Ah’d be happy knowin’ that there was somepony else who like-liked me that much, and was willin’ to be there for me…Ah know it sounds mushy and stuff…” Apple Bloom rubbed the back of her head, her cheeks tinting red. “But Ah know Ah wouldn’t say no, at least not without seein’ if it would work!”

A confident smile broke out on Babs’ lips, she leaned forward and gave her cousin an affectionate nuzzle against her cheek. Apple Bloom’s heart rate skyrocketed from the show of affection, although, she did not shy away from it. It felt nice.

The yellow filly nuzzled back, both having their eyes closed and just basking in the comforting feeling of it. Without realizing it, or by some subconscious act, their muzzles slowly gravitated towards their lips, until their lips accidentally brushed the others’. Babs and Apple Bloom quickly pulled away, faces red as the apples in the orchard.

The Manehattan filly blew a puff of air up to get her hair out of her eyes. “Well…I-I’m glad that she’d feel that way…but that’d only be one problem, on top of a bigger one…”

“Y-Yeah, and what’s the other problem?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We’re related…and I don’t want to mess up what we have if it’ll hurt her, anyway…sorry, I’ll leave you alone,” said Babs as she got up and began walking towards the door.

Just then, she felt a tug at her tail that made her stop suddenly. Babs turned around and found her cousin had bitten down on her tail to prevent her from leaving. She then released her and stood up to face her.

“S-So what if we are…? Ya like-like me, right?”

Babs turned around nodded her head.

“Well, Ah can’t say Ah haven’t felt somethin’ when yer around me. Sometimes, Ah think it’s more than just family bond and stuff –”

“Cuz,” Babs interrupted, “ya don’t have to just for my sake or nothin’. I know it’ll just be messed up for ya, I mean…yer sister, my folks…the family…if they knew…”

Apple Bloom snorted and marched up to Babs Seed, making the bronze filly gulp as she looked into those narrowed amber eyes. Without warning, Apple Bloom pressed her lips against Babs, making the freckled Manehattanite turn an even brighter shade of red than before. She stood there, stunned, afraid, and happy, her brain still trying to process all the emotions she was feeling in this moment that seemed to drag on for much longer than time perceived.

When Apple Bloom pulled away, she looked down, bashful like, and moved closer to nuzzle under Babs’ chin. “Well…tough horse apples, Ah don’t care. Ah do like ya Babs, and Ah feel somethin’. A-Ah’m willin’ to see how this goes…if you are?”

Babs didn’t know what to say, it felt like this was a dream, like she was going to wake up right now right next to Apple Bloom. But this felt real, it was real. Babs cautiously raised her left hoof and wrapped around Apple Bloom, bringing her into a half-hug.

“I-I am, I mean, as long as you are.” Babs replied.

“Do ya mind if…if we stay here like this for a bit longer?”

“As long as you want, Cuz.”

PONYVILLE, NEXT DAY…

The marketplace was always busy, with ponies walking about, and vendors hocking their wares, it was a veritable hub of activity, even in a quaint little hamlet like Ponyville. Currently, two fillies were walking through the crowd of ponies, Alula and Aura. The – currently unicorn – filly focused her magic, levitating a bag as the two of walked.

“Seriously Alula, what did you get her?!” Aura asked.

“I’m not telling you, I was saving my allowance that Mrs. Milano gives us, and I finally had enough to buy Scootaloo a present, and thankfully it was before her birthday! Which will make this even more special!”

The vanilla filly peeked into her bag and then turned to Aura with a worried look. “Do you think she’ll like it?”

“I don’t know, because you won’t show me!” Just then, a pervy grin spread across the young filly’s face. “Did you buy her something naughty?”

Alula’s face turned beat red, both out of embarrassment and anger as she huffed. “AURA! NO!”

The lavender filly bumped her shoulder against Alula’s and chuckled. “Relax, I know you wouldn’t do that! Of course, when we’re older then…”

Alula shook her head back and forth. Her knowledge of such things was limited, but they had already gotten a lesson about the “Birds and the Bees” a while back. “Jeez, now I know how you can write those stories. I’m almost afraid of what you’ll be like when you’re grown up.”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe a famous writer, I do love to write! Maybe I’ll be as big as A. K. Yearling! Writing awesome fantasy adventure stories, and much more…grownup stories,” said Aura with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Alula shuddered. The day Aura gets her cutie mark is a day we will all fear.

“Anyway, don’t sweat it. I know Scootaloo will like whatever you got her, she’s your fillyfriend after all, as long as it’s from you, she’ll love it.”

Alula blushed, but smiled nonetheless. “I just want to give her something to show her how special she is to me…considering all of my problems lately, with my weird shifting and whatever it is that makes me hurt. I mean, any other pony would probably think I’m a bother or something.”

Aura bumped Alula’s shoulder again and smiled confidently at her. “Hey, you’re not a bother! You’re my friend, and Scootaloo’s fillyfriend, you two are going to grow up, be happy, and have a lot of cute foals together!”

The vanilla filly scoffed. “Aura, please, fillies can’t have foals with other fillies.”

“An older unicorn friend of mine said there’s a spell for that~” Aura spoke in a sing-songy voice.

Alula blushed to the point steam was coming out of her ears.

“Had a naughty thought, didn’t ya?”

“You know, there is a word for ponies like you. It begins with a P and ends with ‘vert’.”

Aura held her head high and smiled widely, taking the implied accusation as a badge of honor. Realizing that Aura would probably never stop being, well, Aura, but then again, that wasn’t entirely a bad thing, the two of them continued on their little shopping trip. It was the same for her fillyfriend, Alula liked Scootaloo for who she was, even she never had superpowers.

“AAAAH!” Aura yelled.

Startled, Alula nearly lost her hold on the gift for Scootaloo, but just as quickly caught it in her magical grasp before it hit the ground. “What?! What is it Aura?!”

“We need to head back! That VIP is supposed to be coming today and Mrs. Milano wanted us all to be there to greet her!”

Alula’s eyes widened. “Oh pony feathers, I forgot too!”

With that established, the two fillies made a mad dash for Wayward House. Zigzagging between ponies, and weaving in and out of alleyways and vendor stalls. The orphanage was on the other side of Ponyville, and even at their current rate of speed, there was no way they’d make it in time to meet the VIP.

It was then that Aura remembered another important thing. She quickly came to sudden stop, her hooves digging into the earth as she ground to a halt and quickly did an about face to make Alula stop as well.

“What’s wrong now?!” Alula asked.

“We can’t keep running! How could I be this stupid? You got released just a few days ago, the doctors said not to strain yourself!”

“I’m fine, Aura, really, we can keep running.”

Aura shook her head. “Uh-uh, Scootaloo would kill me if I made you go into another episode!”

Alula opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when she thought about how bad the last one was. The last thing she wanted to do was make everypony worry about her, especially Scootaloo.

“Okay, fine but what are we going to do?! You don’t want me to run, and there’s no way you can carry me,” said Alula.

“Hey, I’m an Earth pony, I could so carry you!” Aura stated with a huff.

Alula raised an eyebrow, although she knew she wasn’t that heavy, and yes Aura was an Earth Pony, that didn’t’ mean she was Apple Bloom strong.

“Okay, point made, still…”

Suddenly, both fillies heard the stomping of hooves approaching rapidly behind them. Both turned around and watched as a carriage drawn by four strong Earth pony stallions came up the road. Alula and Aura moved out of the way, but once they had, the carriage slowly came to a stop. Both fillies glanced to each other as the door opened up and revealed a brown unicorn mare.

“Young fillies, would you be kind enough to point us in the direction of Wayward House? I am supposed to make a visit today and fear we may be lost,” said the mare.

Both fillies’ eyes widened, this was the talked about VIP that Mrs. Milano was talking about, Thorn Blackforest.

“Uh…Uh…Uh…Uh,” was all that Aura could say at seeing the famous mare.

“Oh my, is your friend alright?” Thorn asked.

“Y-Yeah, she’s fine, um, actually we’re from Wayward House! We were heading that way now!”

Thorn smiled at the two fillies. “Wonderful! If you wish, I could give you two little ones a lift?”

Aura shook her head back and forth to snap herself out of her awestruck state. “That would be great! My friend’s not really supposed to be doing anything too…what’s the word…strenuous!”

Thorn placed her hoof to mouth in worry. “Oh my, well then, by all means, come in!”

“Cool!” Aura exclaimed.

With near Pinkie Pie levels of speed, Aura had moved Alula into the carriage and went to close the door before Alula called out to her.

“Aura what are you doing?!”

“I’m going to give these guys directions, you just relax, is that okay Ms. Blackforest?”

Thorn nodded with a happy smile.

“Excellent! We’ll be there in no time!” Aura closed the door, and what they heard next was the sound of scampering hooves crawling over the carriage and into the driver’s seat. “Alright guys let’s get a move on, hyah!”

In less than a second, the carriage was underway. Alula sat on the opposite end, her gift placed next her, and Thorn Blackforest in front of her. Alula tried not make direct eye contact, not wanting to make Thorn Blackforerst feel uncomfortable, or annoy her.

What Alula didn’t know was that Thorn was looking at her with a critical gaze. There was something strange about this filly, something familiar that she couldn’t put her hoof on. Her magical senses as a unicorn were picking on an energy that she knew all too well, but it didn’t make sense, a filly could not be in control of the Xanthos magic.

“Um, Ms. Blackforest?”

Thorn shook her head to snap herself out of her reverie. “Sorry, yes little one?”

“Thank you for letting my friend and I ride with you to the House, sorry if we’re inconveniencing you,” said Alula.

“Not at all my dear, but I must ask, is your health really that out of sorts?” Thorn asked.

Alula fidgeted a bit. “Well…I’ve had to go to the hospital a few days ago, and before that I was in bed for while…”

“Goodness, that sounds awful…If I may ask, why ales you?”

“Well…sometimes I get these headaches that makes it feel like my head is going to literally split open. And this last time…it felt like my whole body was going to tear itself apart…it was scary…Mrs. Milano said I had a magic surge and coughed up…blood.”

Thorn’s eyes widened with horror at hearing what the young foal had been through, and she could see that there was pain in talking about it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you relive that…”

“It’s okay, Ms. Blackforest, it was scary, but some good things happened from it,” said Alula with a cheerful smile.

The brown unicorn raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Oh? What might that be?”

“I…ahem…I met my special somepony, and she cares a lot about me, and I do too!”

Thorn looked to the bag sitting next to the filly and pointed towards it with her hoof. “I take it, that that is a gift for this special somepony?”

“Yep, she was an orphan like me, but she was adopted and still lives here Ponyville, and the pony who adopted her is really nice too!”

Thorn reached out and patted the filly’s head gently. “It sounds like you have a good life little one.”

As Thorn patted Alula’s head, she ever so gently brushed her hoof against Alula’s horn. For a brief moment, a surge of mana sparked off the tip of the short horn, and at the same time, a similar spark went off on Thorn’s horn. Her heart raced and her pupils dilated to pinpricks. This was more than familiar, this was a connection. Without drawing too much attention, Thorn pulled her hoof away, still tingling from the surge she had felt.

“Um, sorry little one, I never caught your name?”

“Oh, my name’s Alula, and my friend’s name is Aura.”

“Alula…Alula…it’s a pretty name. Did your parents give it you, or did the orphanage?” Thorn asked.

“Actually – and I know it’ll sound weird – but I saw it in a dream.”

“A dream?”

“As far back as I can remember I’ve had this dream of being surrounded in green water, like an endless ocean or something. And sometimes I can see letters, some look worn, but the best I could spell them was A, L, U, L, and A. So that’s been my name, and it feels right.”

“WOAH!”

Thorn and Alula felt the carriage come to a sudden stop, sending Alula flying towards Thorn. But the aristocratic unicorn quickly enveloped the young filly in her magical aura and caught her, bringing Alula into her forelegs to embrace her and keep her from getting jostled around. Once the carriage came to a full stop, Alula looked up and saw Thorn smiling down at her.

“Are you alright, Alula?”

Embarrassed, Alula was gently released back to her seat. “Y-Yes, sorry about that. Aura! Could you please watch where you’re going?! You almost launched me out the other end of this carriage!”

“Sorry, got a little carried away there, anyway…” Aura opened the door and gave an exaggerated bow. “We have arrived your ladyship.”

Alula rolled her eyes, and Thorn chuckled at Aura’s playfulness.

The mare and filly disembarked, with Aura walking beside the VIP mare. When they approached the house, they were greeted by Mrs. Milano, who looked at Aura and Alula with astonishment that they were with Thorn Blackforest.

“Ms. Blackforest, welcome!” Mrs. Milano greeted. “Aura, Alula, I thought you were in town shopping?”

“We were, but we sorta forgot Ms. Blackforest was coming today, so we hurried over,” said Aura.

“But Aura didn’t want me running, so we stopped to try and figure something else out. Fortunately, Ms. Blackforest picked us up and we showed her the way to Wayward House,” finished Alula.

Mrs. Milano gave a slight bow in gratitude to the unicorn mare. “Thank you, ma’am, for ferrying them all the way here.”

Thorn smiled kindly at the matron of Wayward House. “Oh no Mrs. Milano, it’s no trouble at all…” her eyes briefly glanced over to Alula, and for that brief moment, Black Rose looked upon her, “…believe me, none at all.”

I’ve found you…I don’t know how, but it is you, a mother never forgets. My little Alpha.

Project Erroria Arc Part 13: The Kingdom's Assault

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Thorn and her lab assistants worked tirelessly to set up her equipment. The moment she had returned from Ponyville she hit the ground running, cancelling most of her meetings and other appearances, as long as it wasn’t Kingdom related, she didn’t bother with it. She had found her, after so long of thinking her greatest creation destroyed long ago, it survived. Not only that, it was living, breathing, thinking for itself and acting like a normal pony.

Her first attempt and trying to create life with the Xanthos magic, and it was not a failure, it was a resounding success! She created a pony that had accelerated its growth into a child, and knows how to speak and think cognitively on its own without orders. However, Thorn could sense that the power her Alpha had was unstable, and from what information she as able to collect on the filly in question, it would appear that her “illness” coincided with the appearance of the assassins fueled with Xanthos.

She’s resonating with the energy subconsciously, but her young body is not equipped to handle the overload…yet.

It wasn’t a good plan, nay, it was a foolhardy plan that could very well expose the Kingdom and her identity as one of its members. Not to mention the unethical experimentation she has been doing in secret. But such was the price, after all, wouldn’t a mother go to any lengths to get her daughter back?

“You seem to be in high spirits today, Black Rose.”

Thorn turned her head, glancing over her shoulder to the Earth mare who came strolling towards her.

“Pink Tulip, heh, why yes, yes I am,” she answered.

“Oh, now that is strange, you actually looked at me without a scowl or an ounce of agitation in your voice. The last time that happened was when I brought Caballaron and his sparking eye, I’m two for two,” said Pink Tulip with a bit of giddiness.

“Well, not even your presence can bring down my mood this day.” Thorn looked up at the sphere that contained the magical Living Lightning, sparking and striking against the container as if wanting freedom. “Tulip, have you ever heard the story of Princess Erroria?”

Tulip hummed as she tapped her chin. “I don’t believe so.”

“I’m not a bit surprised. It’s an old unicorn tale, one that remains buried, out of shame no less.”

“Long ago, before the tribes united, and the Unicorn Kingdoms still existed. There was a King and a Queen, both wanted a foal very badly to carry on the ruling of their kingdom. They sought the assistance of mages, and through their help, the Queen was heavy with foal. Time passed, and the day of delivery came. The Queen gave birth to a colt, but that’s where things went wrong…”

“The Queen went into labor, again, despite the birth of the colt. To the surprise of all those around her, she gave birth to a second foal, a filly. The strain of the birth was too great for the Queen and she was dead in mere minutes. The King did not understand, nopony understood really. How was a second foal born? How did she go so long without knowing? It’s still unclear, but that’s not the tragedy of this tale.”

“She was an error, and error that cost the life of his beloved. So the King aptly named his daughter Erroria. She was treated as well as a princess could, but not to the degree that the prince was. But in time Erroria sought the approval of others, she began to work on her magic, and learn more about the kingdom she was born into. Her feats of magic grew more and more, she took an active interest in her subjects, and was loved by them.”

“Which was in stark contrast to the King and Prince. The Prince had become arrogant and spoiled by this father, made to believe that he would one day rule the kingdom. But as it stood, Erroria was becoming more popular and well liked among the citizens, some say that if the Prince assumed the throne, that there would be an uprising to ensure Erroria was the Queen instead.”

“Jealousy burned within the older brother, and anger boiled in the King’s heart. The filly who took his beloved from him, the mistake, was more liked than the son whom he loved! Madness, it was utter madness! They had to do away with her, they had to, or else risk the scorn and revolt of their subjects. But how do you make one who was so kind and hardworking unliked?”

“Simple, you make the pony do that to themselves. With a little help from toxins. Through underhoofed deeds, they poisoned Erroria. Apparently Poison Joke has some strange side-effects when ingested with other toxic plants. When Erroria drank the concoction…she went mad…”

“It was if the gates of Tartarus were unleashed, and Erroria was the Queen of the Underworld. Unleashing an unholy destructive force upon her kingdom. She killed every subject, mare, stallion, not even foals were spared. Killing them all with such sadistic glee and insanity that one would have thought her possessed!”

“In the end, only a small number of ponies survived, some from the castle, those who, ironically enough, were kind to Erroria, along with some subjects she considered friends, which is the only reason why this tale survives and is known. Nonetheless, the castle was in ruins, her brother was killed in such a way that can only be described – as the young ponies say these days – ‘Nightmare Fuel’. The King survived, although, death was more preferable. His horn was severed, his magic drained, and all four of his limbs were ripped off and cauterized to prevent him from bleeding out, she wished for him to suffer, helplessly, for the rest of his days.”

Tulip had remained quiet through the tale, she had combed over many things of pony history, but had never come across such a story. “And, Erroria?”

“They later found her, magic drained from her body, forcefully expelled from by her own will. Her horn was removed, from the accounts, there was a tree with a lot of impact marks. Along with magic ichor stains and a broken point. And lastly, she hung herself. It was speculated that the combination of toxins from the other poisonous plants, along with the Poison Joke, released Erroria’s darker emotions, all the pain and anger she had for being rejected for simply existing, all of it came out, releasing all her inhibitors. When it was over, she became distraught over the destruction she caused, hence her sad end.”

“And,” Tulip asked, “why do you feel the need to tell me of this rather tragic story?”

Thorn smiled. “Because, the others mocked my Alpha as an error, when in reality, it was a success.” The brown unicorn mare strode forward, looking at the empty vat that was awaiting an occupant. “I don’t expect you to understand, Tulip, but believe me, a reckoning is swiftly approaching, and I would decide which side you’re on before that happens.”

Pink Tulip gave a very ladylike chuckle, genuine amusement was laced in each chuckle. “Oh my dear Rose, I’m on the side of whichever one’s more fun! We’ll see how history unfolds, and then we’ll see.”

Thorn scoffed silently, but nodded, figuring that was the best she’d get out of Tulip, not that she cared that this mare was on her side or not. It won’t matter. The ‘King’s Vessel’, the Kingdom, feh! She will be not a vessel, but a ruler, my Alpha…my Erroria.

“Ma’am, we’re ready to proceed.”

Behind the empty five empty vats, many other vats stood tall, each with a blank slate pony inside it. Thorn nodded to her lab assistants and the vats were immediately struck with a large amount of Xanthos energy, making the bodies writhe and squirm as destructive force brought them to life.

“You know, War Blade will not take too kindly to this little…operation,” said Pink Tulip.

“It won’t matter, the reward far outweighs the risk.”

CASTLE CONCORDIA

Twilight and Scootaloo were meeting in the castle library, Scootaloo had given Twilight the full details of the incident at the Wonderbolts Academy, everything from when she went to see Rainbow at her house, to her sneaking into the Academy, the subsequent alicorn power up she gave to Rainbow Dash, and ending with the emotionally scarring moment when her idol/big sister kissed her on the lips.

It took all of Twilight’s willpower not to dry heave at that moment, Scootaloo too. But, nevertheless, the story was told, and a decision had to be made.

“I really think we need to tell them,” said Twilight.

“Cheerilee…yeah, I kinda think so too, but Rainbow?!”

Twilight put a hoof to her forehead and shook her head back and forth. “I know, and after that, I don’t think Rainbow would take too well to the idea that she did that to you……I still can’t believe she did that to you!”

Scootaloo saw a few sparks release from Twilight’s horn, after spending enough time as an alicorn, Scoots could tell what that meant. “Twilight, please try and get over that, she didn’t know it was me, she wouldn’t have done that if she knew!”

The alicorn mare took in deep calming breathes, the sparks from her horn dissipating with each inhale and exhale. “I know…I know, a-and I’m trying to. It’s just…when I think about what you went through, and now this happens! I’m just worried for you, Scootaloo.”

The orange filly smiled, touched by Twilight’s concern for her mental well being. She not only had a school teacher who loved her enough to give her a home, but also had a kind of second maternal figure who cared just as much, along with a pseudo big sister.

I’m really lucky, thought Scootaloo.

“So, we can agree, Cheerilee needs to know before something else goes wrong, or something else awkward?” Twilight asked.

Wearily, Scootaloo nodded her head in acceptance. She knew she couldn’t keep the secret forever, her friends knew, her mentor in the magical arts, aka Twilight, knew, it was only a matter of time before word reached Cheerilee. And in the long run, it would probably help if she knew now rather than years later, having both your marefriend and your adopted filly keep a secret like this for so long would definitely hurt their relationship.

“Good, now, when do you want to tell her? And before you ask, a year would not work, the sooner the better.”

“Well…what about on my birthday? Y’know, after everypony’s gone home and it’s just the three of us? At least she’ll be in a happy mood when we tell her,” suggested Scootaloo.

Twilight used her magic to levitate a schedule book, she flipped through the pages and saw the date of Scootaloo’s party. “Just a week away. I think that’ll work, it’ll also give me time to prepare for any possible contingencies and questions Cheery might have.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “‘Cheery’, huh, that your little pet name for her?”

Twilight blushed and cursed inwardly at the slip up. “I-I meant she’ll be cheery! No wait – I meant – I didn’t say……There’s no way you’re going to forget that are you?”

“Not a chance.”

The purple mare huffed, and then looked slyly at Scootaloo. “So, on that note, what’s your little name for Alula?”

Scootaloo’s feathers fluffed as her cheeks turned red. “I-I don’t have one…..yet.”

“Awwww!”

“Shut up!”

Scootaloo flew through the air, having been asked to come to the CMC Clubhouse, by Apple Bloom no less, for a private meeting. As much as Scootalooo liked tearing through the orchard on her scooter, she had to admit, flying over the vast sea of apple trees had its own thrills.

Being able to fly as an alicorn was one thing, but this, this was by her own strength, her own wing power. Soaring through the skies and being able to touch the clouds like a real pegasus pony should, it was a dream she’d always wanted to achieve, but luckily, flying was only one part of it, it’s what came after finally achieving flight is what excited Scootaloo, the sky was the limit, but even then, she could soar higher than the sun.

The orange filly spotted the clubhouse tower sticking up from the canopy of trees and angled herself downward, folding her wings and going into a nosedive as she plummeted several feet in mere seconds. She shot through the leaves and was approaching the ground, but before she hit, Scootaloo unfurled her wings and brought herself to a halt, performing a somersault to decrease the momentum and stuck the landing.

“Geez, Scoots, ya goin’ for daredevil or most reckless flyer?”

Scootaloo recognized that Manehattan accent anywhere, glancing over her shoulder and spotting Babs leaning up against one of the trees.

“Eh, somewhere in the middle,” Scootaloo glanced about and looked back to Babs, “is-is Apple Bloom here?”

Babs nodded. “Yeah, Cuz is waitin’ for ya up in the clubhouse, ya think yer ready?”

Scootaloo sighed heavily. “She already told me she like-likes me, honestly I was more scared of how you’d take it, but then you said what you said, and now the only thing worrying me is how Bloom’s going to be…how is she, by the way?”

The bronze filly walked up to the pegasus filly and smiled. “She’s doin’ alright, but I think she needs to get some things off her chest first. No regrets kinda thing.”
Scootaloo nodded.

Babs led Scootaloo up the ramp and to the door, she stood off to the side, leaning on the railing and nodded her head towards the door, apparently this was as far as Babs was going. Scootaloo inhaled deeply and knocked on the door.

“Apple Bloom, it’s me,” said Scootaloo.

There was some hoofsteps that approached the door, to which Apple Bloom opened, giving Scootaloo a confused look. “Scoots, why do ya look like yer about to meet yer doom or soemthin’?”

“Oh…um…I…sorry.”

Apple Bloom chuckled. “It’s fine, c’mon in.”

She sounds happy…but then again, she might be just pretending to be for my sake...

Scootaloo walked in and closed the door behind her, she then joined Apple Bloom, who was sitting at the table. Once she had sat down, Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo an inquisitive look.

“So, how long have ya known that Babs feels a certain way about me?” Apple Bloom asked, bluntly.

Scootaloo’s right eye twitched, and she gulped. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, you mean how she’s your best friend or –?”

“Scoots, Ah know Babs like-likes me.”

Scootaloo’s wings fell to her sides, ears flopping down. “Oh……and…you’re alright with that?”

“Better than alright!” Babs called out from behind the wall.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, “Thank you, Babs!” she then sighed and returned her attention to Scootaloo. “But, ya, Ah’m actually alright with that, we’re alright.”

It was then that it clicked with Scootaloo, her wings flaring out as a small smile dared to show itself. “That means you two are, fillyfriends now?”

“Well, we’re tryin’ it out, seein’ where it goes. Ah’ll say this though, it feels alright. Anyhow, Ah just wanted to tell ya, sorry.”

Scootaloo tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Sorry for what?”

“Fer actin’ the way Ah did when Ah saw you and Alula kissin’. Ah shouldn’t have been so shocked like that, considerin’ that Ah never worked up the courage to tell ya how Ah feel and all.” Apple Bloom extended her hoof towards Scootaloo. “Still wanna be friends?”

Scootaloo stood up and brushed Apple Bloom’s hoof away with her wing. She then walked around to her left and draped her right foreleg around Apple Bloom’s neck, bringing her into a half hug, half chokehold.

“You kidding? We never stopped being friends!”

Apple Bloom smiled cheerfully, matching Scootaloo’s cheerful expression.

“Hey now, Scoots, don’t be tryin’ to make a move on my Cuz,” said Babs.

The orange filly rolled her eyes at the comment. “Get over here, will ya!”

Babs walked up to Scootaloo’s free side, to which the pegasus filly got her friend in a headlock hug. This felt great, better than great really. Her best friends were doing okay, her fillyfriend was looking a lot better, and right around the corner was Scootaloo’s birthday, where she’d be the first of the original three Crusaders to become a teenager. That was a day she looked forward to and dreaded, mainly because of having to reveal her secret to Cheerilee, but she had hope that her adopted mother would accept this part of herself.

Seriously, I got the insignia as my cutie mark, it’s my destiny, thought Scootaloo.

BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Suddenly, a loud explosion ripped the air, causing all three fillies to jump in a fright, eyes wide as they looked about in a panic.

“What the hay was that!!!?” Babs shouted.

“It sounded like an explosion!” Apple Bloom answered.

“Oh no don’t tell me…!”

In less than a minute, another explosion went off in the distance. Scootaloo rushed out of the clubhouse and flew high above the trees, from her position she could spot black smoke rising in the distance near Ponyville proper. Scootaloo flew back down to the ground, where Babs and Apple Bloom were awaiting her.

“What’s goin’ on Scoots?!”

“An attack, I think! I need to go now!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Hold on, what if it’s more than one of those freaks from before?! You could barely handle three at once!”

“And even then, ya had the pets to help ya!”

Scootaloo gritted her teeth in anger as she did remember that, and she had yet to learn how to summon the Thunderer spell without the help of the pets. “I’ll just have to try and beat ‘em on my own!”

The orange filly turned around, spreading her wings in preparation to speak the Word of Power, but at the last second, Apple Bloom and Babs got in front of her and, with serious gazes, looked the pegasus filly in the eye.

“Then let us help ya,” said Apple Bloom.

“WHAT?!”

“Ya heard her Scoots, we ain’t leavin’ ya to fight alone!” Babs affirmed.

Scootaloo fidgeted, she knew she could do for them what she did for Rainbow Dash, however, Rainbow Dash, along with Twilight and the others, have faced dangerous enemies, pseudo-gods, and monsters before. The most dangerous thing they’ve faced was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Scootaloo was the only one who knew how dangerous it was, but at the same time, she knew she couldn’t take down more than one at a time.

“C’mon Scootaloo, ya can debate if this is a bad idea or not later, but right now, we need to help everypony!”

Scootaloo glanced between her friends and growled in frustration. “FINE! But you guys have to listen to me, got it?!”

Both Babs and Apple Bloom nodded in affirmation.

Scootaloo thrusted her right hoof forward and held it out. Apple Bloom and Babs placed their hooves on Scootaloo’s and watched as the pegasus filly closed her eyes and flared her wings. There was a low rumbling of thunder in a cloudless sky, both Apples could feel a tingling sensation all over their bodies, making their fur stand on end.

“Hang on girls, you’re about to feel a real rush!”

Both fillies gulped.

“SHAZAM!!!”

From above the canopy of branches and leaves, a bolt of azure lightning descended from the heavens and struck the area where all three fillies were.

Ponies were running around frantic and scared at the explosions that were going off everywhere. Stallions and mares were running in terror from groups of ponies clad in black wraps and silvery armor. Their faces were covered by masks which were molded into frightening visages, a small army of Kingdom Drones.

One of them broke off from the group and charged for a building, its body glowing brighter and brighter until it impacted against the building. What followed next was a powerful explosion that blew a hole in the wall, and the pony who did it was gone.

Diamond Tiara, her father Filthy Rich, and mother, Golden Fleece, were running like bats out of Tartarus, with their daughter running to catch up.

One of the armored ponies kamikazed himself into one of the adjacent structures, the weakened support buckled under its own weight and collapsed. Diamond Tiara skidded to a halt at the last second as the building fell in front of her with a loud crashing sound, separating Diamond Tiara from her parents.

The pink Earth filly spun around, seeing three Kingdom Drones heading for her. She desperately tried to climb up the rubble, but it was no use as the rubble was too loose or jagged to climb safely. The pink filly curled into a ball and shut her eyes, knowing that her death was near.

Suddenly, the sound of thunder crashed three times overhead. The Kingdom Drones each looked up, just in time to witness something drop out of the sky. The unknown pony smashed their hoof into the earth, sending a surge of azure lightning. A low rumble tore through the ground and made the dirt erupt beneath the hooves of the Kingdom Drones. In less than a second the ground morphed and grew out several stone glaives, each one building on the other in a wave, charged with magical lightning. The three Drones were completely overwhelmed by the glaives and detonated from the damage they had sustained.

Diamond Tiara looked up and saw the tall pony standing before her, with a long horn and big majestic wings. The pink filly could tell, just from the blue lightning, that this was Shazam, the superheroine. Diamond Tiara quickly threw herself at the hooves of the alicorn mare, hugging her right foreleg in gratitude.

“Oh thank you, thank you, Shazam!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed.

“Wow, never thought Ah’d ever hear ya thank me fer anythin’,”

Diamond Tiara’s eyes shot wide open, that voice, it was so familiar, and yet not. The pink filly backed away and looked up at her savior, only for her jaw to almost comically hit the ground and caused her eyes to bulge out. Standing almost as tall as Celestia herself, was a yellow alicorn mare. Her mane was bright red, with a spiral horn protruding from under her bangs, and large wings.

She wore an armored suit of emerald green, with a golden lightning insignia at the center of her chest, and within the symbol was contained a portion of the magical lightning. Her forelegs were uncovered, but the lower half of her forelegs were covered in golden bracers with apple themed engravings. And around her neck was a twin tailed white scarf with golden trimming and tassels.

The alicorn mare looked down on Diamond Tiara with shimmering amber eyes, eyes that held tremendous strength and willpower.

“You okay Diamond Tiara?” The alicorn asked.

“A-A-A-A-A-APPLE BLOOM?!!!” Diamond shouted.

“Eeyup,” she replied.

“B-B-But how?! You were – and now you – you just – HUH!?”

Apple Bloom raised her hoof and gently padded Diamond Tiara on the head, minding her tiara. “Easy there Di, else ya might sprain yer brain.”

Diamond Tiara couldn’t believe this, not only was her rival bigger, older, and had a voice that would make a country western singer swoon, but she was an alicorn.

“I don’t…How did you –?!”

“Become a superhero? Well don’t worry, it ain’t permanent. Shazam just needed some help with the mess goin’ on here.” Apple Bloom’s head suddenly popped up. “One minute, Di.”

Apple Bloom balanced herself on her forelegs, tucked her hind legs underneath her, and thrust them both out. At that moment, two Kingdom Drones, who that were charging straight for her, received a mighty buck to their lower jaws, sending them flying into the air, jaws undoubtedly shattered. Which mattered little when they reached a height of fifty feet in the air and exploded. Apple Bloom returned to all fours and looked back down at a still slack jawed, and stunned Diamond Tiara.

“Diamond Tiara, if ya keep yer mouth open that long, you’ll catch a fly,” said Apple Bloom with a chuckle.

Diamond Tiara quickly clamped her mouth shut, her cheeks tinting red in embarrassment. The next thing she knew, Apple Bloom was lowering herself until she practically lying on her stomach.

“Hop on DT, I’ll get ya back to yer folks.”

An indignant look befell the rich filly’s face. “Like hay I’ll ‘get on your back’!”

“Look, Diamond, Ah’m gonna be honest. Ah don’t have a good handle on this here super strength and Ah don’t want to accidentally crush ya, so stop actin’ like a high horse and just let me help ya get back to yer ma and pa!”

Despite knowing it was Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara couldn’t help but cower a little as if being scolded by an adult, and, in a way she’d never admit, she was touched that she’d help her. Diamond Tiara hurriedly climbed onto Apple Bloom’s back, working her way to her neck and wrapping her hooves around for support.

“……Thanks.”

Apple Bloom grinned appreciatively and rose to take off, but at that moment, twelve Kingdom Drones dropped in and surrounded them, making Diamond Tiara squeeze Apple Bloom’s neck in terror. If it wasn’t for Apple Bloom’s invulnerability, she was more than sure that Diamond would have been strangling her by now.

However, Apple Bloom’s concern about fighting the killer ponies while protecting Diamond Tiara would not be a problem.

“Geez, Cuz, what’s takin’ ya so long?”

Diamond Tiara’s ear flicked up, recognizing that Manehattan accent anywhere, even though it sounded older. The rich filly dared to open her eyes and look in the direction she heard the voice, her jaw then dropped for a second time.

Standing on one of the rooftops, was a bronze alicorn mare. Her mane was short, and electric red, with sparkling emerald eyes. She too wore and armored suit, colored cerulean, on her left shoulder was a pauldron that had a white cape with gold trimming flapping in the crosswind.

“You have got to be kidding me! Seed’s one too?!” Diamond exclaimed.

“Ya, ya, I’mma alicorn, big deal. Cuz, get her out of there and leave these guys to me,” ordered Babs.

Apple Bloom nodded, spread her wings, and leaped over the rubble and the Kingdom attackers. Babs jumped down from her perch and landed where her cousin once stood, giving each of the Kingdom cronies a cocky look.

“Ya know, if ya can even think that is, you can just turn tail and run at any time.”

As if to respond, two of the Kingdom lackeys attacked Babs. The empowered filly – well mare – sidestepped the first attacker and delivered an uppercut with her right hoof. A trail of lightning followed her attack, only adding more power to the blow as the Drone was sent into the air and exploded. Seeing their fellow Drone get exploded, and not by choice, seemed to put the others in a bad mood.

Babs’ horn sparked with azure lightning, causing an aura of lightning to appear around her. The lightning began to weave together, forming a literal lightning chain construct that coiled around Babs like a snake. The Manehattan mare grabbed hold of the lightning chain, swinging it around as she glanced about each Kingdom Drone.

“Ya know, I probably should be hesitatin’ with killin’ another pony, but from what I’ve seen, all of you are monsters! And I’ll show ya how a Manehattan filly deals with monsters!”

Babs took to the air, lashing out with the lightning chain. The chain shot out and wrapped around the neck of one of the Drones, and with swift tug, pulled the drone into the air with her. Babs twirled the Drone around and then slammed him on top of another, causing a dual explosion to go off, destroying them both. Babs cocked back her right hoof, charged it with energy, and descended down to the ground.

She then struck the ground with her powered hoof, causing a shockwave to resonate within the ground. The energy traveled through the earth and shot up from underneath the Drones, throwing them all into the air. Babs whipped that chain around in a circular motion, lashing through each Drone and exploding them in the safety of the air.

The lightning chain returned to Babs, and the Manehattan filly nodded at her job well done. However, at that moment, three bolts of red mana came careening towards her. With her quick reflexes, Babs struck each bolt with the lightning chain, destroying them in midair. Babs narrowed her gaze as more Kingdom Drones were approaching her.

“Oh you guys want some?! Bring it!”

Meanwhile, Shazam and Twilight were double teaming a group of the Kingdom Drones. Now armed with more knowledge on the strange Xanthos magic, Twilight was able to rework her magic to at least counterattack the enemy, giving Shazam some aide in her battle.

Shazam unleashed several lightning strikes from her horn and struck each of the Kingdom Drones, detonating them in an instant and causing a chain reaction with those closest to them. The superheroine summoned a shield of blue mana and allowed the explosion to die out.

“This is so random! Why are they attacking the town?!” Shazam asked.

“I know, it doesn’t make sense, they’ve always targeted royalty or you, but now they’re blatantly attacking the town!” Twilight yelled.

“Must be getting desperate or something!”

The explosions died down, and Shazam brought down the barrier, both mares keeping a close eyes on the cloud of smoke left in the wake of the many detonations. Unfortunately, Shazam wasn’t one for waiting. The Champion of Magic unfurled her wings and gave a mighty flap forward, the result created a whirlwind that blew away the smoke and revealed what was hidden. More Kingdom Drones were sneaking through the smoke, but now bracing themselves as they tried not get blown away by the powerful gust of wind.

“Yeah, not going to be that easy! Twilight!”

The Princess of Magic and Friendship nodded to Shazam.

Both alicorns took the air, with a few airborne Drones following them. Twilight and Shazam’s horns began to glow with stored mana. Suddenly, the earth rumbled beneath the Drones, causing many of them to look about in a panic. Without warning, a giant rosy-violet pyramid construct shot out of the ground, slamming shut and capturing the pegasi Drones, as well as the ground troops.

Shazam charged her horn with even more power and fired a lightning bolt straight at the pyramid. The pyramid conducted the magical lightning, and released it in millions of separate lightning strikes within the construct, essentially, lightning in a bottle. All the Drones exploded one after the other, their damaging explosions contained within Twilight’s carefully crafted construct. Once the last vestiges of the self-destructing Drones burned out, Twilight released her pyramid construct, taking a small breather and relieved that their plan worked.

Magic’s Champion gave Twilight a soft tap to the shoulder, which was the equivalent to a shoulder punch. “Nice work Twi, it’s fun being on this end of it!”

Twilight rubbed the spot where Shazam had “tapped” her. “Agreed, but still doesn’t explain any of this.”

“Right we –!”

At that moment, Shazam’s danger sense ignited. Her head turned towards the direction of the town, her enhanced sight allowing her to cut through the many obstacles to see Carousel Boutique surrounded by Kingdom Drones. She could also sense two ponies inside, one she recognized as Rarity, the other…

“SWEETIE BELLE! Twilight, Rarity and Sweetie Belle are in trouble!”

“Go! Now! I’ll be fine!” Twilight ordered.

Without missing a beat, Shazam bolted, literally, towards Carousel Boutique. The world around her was a blur as she moved faster and faster towards her friend’s second home, never taking her eyes off her destination. And once she was in range, Shazam fired a lightning bolt beam of magic at the home/business, encasing it in a shield of ancient, mystic might.

The Kingdom Drones who were about to attack looked befuddled at the sudden appearance of the shield, but did not have long to ponder how it was erected. Dropping out of the sky like a mortar shell, Shazam slammed the ground with her hoof, causing an electrical shockwave that threw the Drones several feet away. The spiky haired mare glanced about, checking to see who or what was left standing after her impact. To her surprise, only one was still holding its ground. Shazam narrowed her gaze and charged her horn, entering a fighting stance.

“You’re not like the others, are you,” asked Shazam.

As if to answer, the Kingdom Drone’s outfit and armor was wrapped in crimson mana, which then shredded the outfit, revealing a unicorn stallion. His fur was opaque, and his hair a dirty red color, but his eyes burned with the glow of Xanthos. From what Shazam could tell, his physique was altered, magic being drawn from the ground and feeding into his body, possibly strengthening him on a physical level. The corner of Shazam’s mouth tugged upward, a kind of primal excitement building within her at the prospect of a fight with a strong opponent.

The Kingdom unicorn charged for Shazam, and Shazam followed suit. Aura fields of both Living Lightning and Xanthos magic covered both respective combatants as they drew closer and closer to each other. Both reared back on their hind legs, and, at the last second, rammed forward. Their fields of energy crashed into each other, sending a concussive wave of force that threw wagons into the air, shattered glass, and formed a crater beneath them. The opposing forces of the primal and harmonic magicks cried out as Shazam and the Kingdom unicorn battled for supremacy.

Shazam snorted as she took a step forward, pushing her opponent back a few inches. The Kingdom unicorn dug its heels into the earth, halting his movement. With a violent snort he retaliated, taking two steps forward and pushing Shazam back a few inches. Xanthos energy leaped off the aura field in the form of red lightning, while the Ancient Magic returned fire with blue bolts of lightning, each striking in midair around both of them.

At that moment, Shazam’s danger sense alerted her to something else. For a brief moment she glanced skywards above them, watching as a shadowy figure appeared in front of the sun. There was a flash of red light, and Shazam quickly went into action. She focused the energy of the aura field to the tip of her horn and fired a powerful lightning beam at the Kingdom unicorn. The beam slammed into his aura field, sending him spiraling to the ground a few feet away. Shazam focused her magic into her speed and dashed away at the last second.

Two sickle shaped energy rays struck the spot where Shazam once stood, carving an X into the ground six feet deep. Shazam skidded to a halt and surveyed the area for her new opponent, who wasted no time in revealing themselves.

The second opponent was a pegasus mare, her mane and coat colors an exact match to the unicorn. She had landed next to her downed twin, who was now pulling itself up from the attack she had delivered earlier.

Great, two on one…it’s gonna be a repeat of the Pet Playdate, with no pets for backup, thought Shazam.

Just then, Shazam heard something akin to fireworks going off, a small popping sound coming from behind her. The alicorn mare turned around and spotted Sweetie Belle sticking her head outside the Boutique window, firing emerald sparks of magic into the air to catch Shazam’s attention. With little recourse, Shazam fired a lightning bolt at the ground in front of the duo, exploding the ground and throwing rock and dust into their eyes to distract them.

Shazam flapped her wings and jumped backwards, phasing through her barrier and landing safely next to the Boutique. The door was quickly opened and Shazam rushed inside before the killer duo could spot her. Once inside, Shazam found Rarity and Sweetie Belle waiting for her.

“Well, welcome, although I do wish it were under better circumstances,” said Rarity.

“Likewise, look, you two need to get out of here! I can sneak you two away while they’re distracted, but we need to hurry,” said Shazam.

“Yes, I quite agree, let me just…Oh Celestia, where’s Opal!?”

“I think you better go look for her, I thought I saw her hiding somewhere in the back,” said Sweetie Belle.

Rarity bolted for the back of the Boutique without a second thought, leaving Sweetie and Shazam alone. “So how bad is it?”

“Bad, two super freaks are outside, one I can handle, two…maybe, but it’s not like when we fought in the park, there’s too many ponies still in town and I can’t go all out without worrying I’ll destroy something, if I had the numbers advantage we could just overwhelm them but…”

A cunning grin formed on Sweetie’s lips. “In that case, we’ll help.”

“Who, you and Rarity?” Shazam asked.

“Nope.”

As if on cue, the white feline stealthily appeared from behind some drapes, and proudly walked to Sweetie Belle and stood beside her. It took but a moment before Shazam understood where Sweetie Belle was going with this.

“Oh no, I already powered up Babs and Apple Bloom, I don’t want to risk anymore of my friends!” Shazam stated.

“Scoots, we don’t have time to argue this! You’re outnumbered, and don’t have many options, besides, I’ll have Opal beside me.”

Opal, with a serious expression, nodded to Shazam.

Shazam glanced between the two before her and the area where Rarity had disappeared to, knowing that the fashionista would probably not take too kindly to finding out she had super empowered her little sister and cat, then again she was sure that Applejack would have some words with Scootaloo after doing the same to both Babs and Apple Bloom.

“Ah horse feathers, let’s do it. Give me your hoof, and, er, paw.”

Shazam extended her right hoof towards Sweetie Belle and Opal. The white unicorn filly eagerly placed her hoof over the armored hoof, and Opal reached up and placed her paw on the golden clad hoof. Shazam’s horn sparked with magic lightning, the air around them becoming fully charged with built up mana. The sound of thunder rumbled with the structure, and in that instant, Shazam’s eyes glowed.

“SHAZAM!!!”

A bolt of lightning descended from the ceiling and struck all three, enveloping them in a cloud of white smoke. Depending on your point of view, whether unfortunate or not, Rarity entered the room after hearing the loud rumble and flash of light.

“What’s happening!? Sweetie Belle?!” Rarity called out.
Her ocean blue eyes fell on the plume of white smoke, which was exactly where Shazam and her little sister were standing not a moment ago. With worry, the unicorn mare inched herself closer and closer to the smoke, fearing what she might find.

“Sweetie Belle…? Sweetie Belle, please, say something, you’re starting to scare me!”

“RAAAWWARRR!”

Rarity jumped back at the terrifying roar that sounded from the smoke. A small gust of wind blew out from the smoke, dispersing it and revealing what was hidden. Rarity’s mouth, in a very unladylike fashion, dropped open at seeing her little Opalescence transformed into a large white lioness, with currents of magical lightning arcing off her body. However that paled in comparison to whom was standing beside the white lioness.

Her armored suit was a soft pink color, it mostly covered her chest and hind legs, leaving her forelegs exposed. Her hooves, however, were clad in golden horseshoes, same as her hind hooves. A white flowing skirt, with gold trimming, was attached to her suit’s waist, and flowed down elegantly over her flank and down to the floor. A long spiral horn pierced through her long, curly pink and purple streaked mane, with wings sprouting from her back.

For a moment, Rarity almost believed the beautiful mare before her was Celestia, but Rarity could never mistake those bright emerald eyes, eyes that sparkled with a magical power she had only seen from the superheroine standing at her side.

“S-Sweetie Belle?” Rarity dared to ask.

“Rarity?” Sweetie spoke.

The unicorn mare had to do a double take, she knew her sister had a beautiful singing voice, but her voice now, so mature, so gentle, she could hardly believe that this was the same little filly whose voice would crack from time to time.

“Y-Y-You’re an alicorn…You’re an alicorn! H-How in Equestria –?!”

As if like a ghost, Sweetie Belle closed the gap between them, resting her hoof gently against her older sister’s cheek. Sweetie Belle lowered her head and crossed her long horn with Rarity’s. A soft glow emitted from Sweetie Belle’s horn, enveloping Rarity’s horn and filling the unicorn mare with a soothing warmth.

“S-Sweetie…what…are…”

“Shh, rest a bit Sis, you look really stressed,” said Sweetie Belle in her velvety voice.

“I…I suppose, a brief nap will…”

Before Rarity could finish her sentence, she passed out. Sweetie carefully caught her big sister with her telekinetic aura, keeping her gently floating in the air.

“Okay, should I be concerned at how easily you just put your big sister to sleep, and when in the Tartarus did you learn that spell?” Shazam asked.

Sweetie Belle grinned sheepishly. “Wisdom of Starswirl…Look, we don’t have time to answer questions, right? Besides, I don’t want Rarity getting hurt or try to protect me while I’m like this. Heck, I can feel how powerful I am, so I don’t want her trying to do something foolish to try and save me during the fight. Is there any way you can teleport her somewhere safe?”

Opal, the white lioness, nodded her head in agreement. “True, Rarity, for all her gripes and little…ahem…posh tendencies, she is quite caring, and would no doubt do just that. This is the best recourse for everyone.”

Shazam sighed and shrugged. “Fine, I won’t argue. I’ll send her to Twilight’s castle, she’ll be safe there.”

With a flash of the horn, Rarity was teleported from sight. Sweetie Belle smiled in relief, knowing her big sister was out of danger for now, Opal smiled as well, but she kept her show of affection contained, not wanting to ruin her now regal and nonchalant attitude.

“Very well then, now I do believe that there are two vile creatures outside that are just begging to become my new scratching posts,” said Opal as her diamond hard claws extended, sounding like swords unsheathing from their scabbards.

Sweetie Belle and Shazam nodded, both with eager grins on their faces. Shazam’s horn glowed and enveloped all three of them in a field of magic, and in the blink of an eye they were transported outside the barrier surrounding Carousel Boutique. The twin Kingdom Assassins, now spotting their previous opponent, entered combative stances, but paused when they noticed the additional alicorn and lioness.

“Yeah, you’re not the only one who has backup,” said Sweetie smugly.

“Alright, round two!” Shazam exclaimed.

Opal released a mighty roar that released a pressure wave that made both the Pegasus and unicorn assassins dig their hooves into the ground just to keep from being blown away. With that, all three charged for their opponents.

WAYWARD HOUSE, A COUPLE OF MOMENTS LATER…

Mrs. Milano, along with Button, and a few other of the orphanage’s attendants were watching cautiously. The many explosions that rang out through the town had them worried, but Mrs. Milano was able to rally the others to get the foals together and ready to run out of the orphanage if situation called for it. The other attendants knew this was hard for the matron of Wayward House, although Button, her son, was here with her, she still did not know the fate of her husband and oldest son.

Meanwhile, Aura was keeping a close eye on Alula, at the moment, the tribe shifting filly wasn’t having a major episode as was the case the times before. Although, she noticed how she seemed to be in a little pain.

“You okay, Alula?” Aura asked.

“Y-Yeah, I am, in a way. I have a headache, but compared to the last time, it’s not bad,” assured Alula.

The lavender filly nodded her head, but still kept a close eye on her. There was something that she couldn’t shake off though. From what she understood, when Ponyville had that assassination attempt on the Dignitaries from Neighpon and Princess Twilight, Alula had an attack and was taken to Sweet Apple Acres. The second time, during the apparent battle between Shazam and three other assassins, Alula’s condition was worse then and she went to the hospital.

Every time it happened was when Ponyville was under attack…why is that?

Unbeknownst to Aura, Alula was wondering as well. Why her body wasn’t hurting as much as it used to, and why the headache wasn’t as skull splittingly painful as before? But that could wait, she was more worried about her fillyfriend. She knew Scootaloo, as Shazam, could take care of herself during this crisis, and was no doubt right in the middle of it, trying to save everypony. She only prayed that her condition would not worsen.

The last thing Scootaloo needs is to worry about me while she’s trying to save the town, thought Alula.

At that moment, Alula grunted in pain, holding her head with one hoof. Her tribal shifting went into effect, changing her from an Earth pony to a unicorn. Her horn began to give off sparks of red colored mana, which was a stark contrast to her pinkish purple aura.

Aura noticed her friend was in pain and quickly scooted closer to her. “Alula, what’s wrong, is it happening again?!”

“N-No…something else…I…I feel something coming towards us,” said Alula with a strained voice.

“What do you mean ‘something’s coming’, what’s coming?!” Aura asked.

For a moment Alula’s eyes were no longer their blue hue, but were crimson to match her mana aura. “They’re here…”

As she could see into the future, a collective gasp rang out from the adult ponies. Many of them backed up in hurry, just in time before the front half of the orphanage was unceremoniously ripped off, completely wrapped in a crimson aura. The large chunk of Wayward House floated away, revealing five ponies.

To the far right and left were two pegasus mares, their manes were short, and their feather tips dyed in blood red crimson. The second pair were two Earth pony stallions. Their manes were bur cut, and uniform, much like an elite guard of the Crystal Empire. Both stallions had blood red coloring around the lower half of their forelegs and hind legs, and their chests were covered in strange tribal markings. The center pony was a unicorn mare, with long rose colored hair. Her bangs covered half of her face, allowing one glowing red eye, and glowing spiral horn to shine from it.

The front half of Wayward House floated up above the five, and with a flash from the center unicorn’s horn, the entire chunk that was ripped off was crushed and condensed until it was nothing. The lead unicorn stepped forward, causing the attendants and Mrs. Milano to encircle the orphans in a protective ring.

“Give us what we want and we’ll go away,” said the Leader.

Milano gulped, but with steeled nerves dared to ask, “What do you want?”

The lead unicorn raised her hoof and pointed towards the crowd. Milano and the others followed her hoof, which lead to one of the orphans. The foal pointed to himself with dread, but the Leader sneered and motioned with her head for him to move. The colt did so without hesitation, which revealed Aura behind him.

Aura gulped and spoke, “Me?”

The Leader grinned a little, but shook her head and motioned for Aura to move.

The lavender filly hesitated, the only other pony behind Aura was…No!

Aura slowly moved away, revealing Alula. The other orphans, attendants, Mrs. Milano, and Aura looked back at the Leader who was grinning like a Cheshire cat and nodded in affirmation.

“They want Alula?” One colt asked.

“Why would they come for her?” an attendant spoke.

Milano stood her ground and leveled her intense gaze at the Leader. “I will not give you this child, monster! Get out of here before you regret it!”

The Leader’s smile faded slowly. “Give us what we want, or die.”

The group’s eyes widened with fear, that was no idle threat, and they knew it. Milano looked to her child, ButtonMash, who was hugging her left hind leg with terror gripping his mind and heart. Milano glanced back at Aura, who was valiantly putting herself between the assembled foalnappers and Alula.

Milano’s motherly instincts were warring between protecting her son, and protecting the lives of the orphan foals behind her. To save them all, she had to sacrifice one to Celestia knows what kind of horrors. Give up one foal to save her own flesh and blood child, along with dozens of other orphaned foals she and other attendants were responsible for, or defend this filly? The choice was obvious.

Milano’s shoulders slumped and she stepped to the side. Many of the attendants and orphans gasped in complete shock that Milano would willingly step aside like that and let them take Alula. Aura looked about ready to bug out with Alula to save her, but, as the Leader walked towards the crowd, Milano swiftly delivered an uppercut into the unicorn’s jaw, putting as much of her Earth pony strength as she could into the blow.

The mare’s hoof struck the lower jaw of the Kingdom Assassin, a sickening crunch sound ringing out as bone cracked and dislocated. The strength behind the blow sent the unicorn spiraling away from the group and skidding across the ground like a rag doll. Every foal and adult pony present looked with big, widened eyes, and hanging jaws as they looked at Milano with both new found fear and respect.

The matron of Wayward House snorted and glared down the remaining Kingdom Assassins. “I will NEVER allow any of my foals be taken by the likes of you! Not a single one!”

“Mom that was both the craziest, and coolest thing I have ever seen!” Button Mash exclaimed.

Milano blushed and grinned sheepishly. “I may not be as strong as Applejack, but I’m still an Earth pony.”

One of the Earth stallions snorted and began running towards Milano, murderous intent blazing in its eyes. But just before it pounced on the manila colored mare, a rosy-pink filly with green eyes, and pigtails, jumped out of the group of foals. She threw back her right hoof and thrust forward, just as the burly stallion got in close. The blow sounded like thunder when striking the stallion’s chest. There was a brief distortion in the air as the force generated from the punch resonated.

The stallion was then thrown back towards his cohorts, skipping like a stone in the pond against the ground. The three Kingdom Assassins looked back and saw the little Earth filly standing in front of Milano. She looked scared out of her mind, but beyond the fear was courage that the little filly didn’t know she had.

“Lily Longsocks!” Milano exclaimed

“I-I won’t let you hurt Mrs. Milano! A-A-And you’re not t-t-taking Alula!”

The other foals, apparently emboldened by the Lily’s show of bravery, formed a protective circle around Alula and Aura. Both fillies couldn’t believe that the other foals of Wayward House would be ready to defend one of their own like this, if Alula wasn’t still in pain from her headache, she’d feel very moved right now.

There was a gross cracking sound, a noise that made everypony cringe from how painful it sounded. One of the attendants pointed towards the downed unicorn, now slowly rising up. The Leader turned around, showing her dislocated jaw and making everypony want to throw up from the sight. A red aura surrounded the wounded area, and with a few jerks, snapped the jaw back into place.

The spectacle earned a collective “EW’ from every colt and filly.

In the distance, the stallion Lily Longsocks had knocked out was getting back up, his chest had a sizeable dent in it, but the sound of regenerating rib bones made the filly’s earlier efforts seem meaningless.

The Leader’s horn glowed and with murderous intent, focused her aura to wrap around the neck of Milano. The other’s watched helplessly as the matron of Wayward House was lifted into the air, held aloft like a rag doll. Button watched in horror, with tears running down his face as his mother was being constricted, the life being choked out of her as she attempted to claw at the aura that was cutting off her airway.

“Death,” said the Leader.

“Not happenin’!”

Suddenly, the ground beneath the Leader rumbled and quaked. Without warning, a column made of earth rose up with the speed and force of a bullet, striking the Leader in the midsection and carrying the assassin all the way into the air, there was also a quick and loud snap, crack, and crunch. The attack had launched the Leader into a nearby structure, making a hole in the roof as the assassin plummeted two stories through the structure.

Everypony looked about frantically, trying to determine the originator of the attack. Their answer came in the form twin lightning bolts that descended from the sky. Both struck the earth with resounding force and emitted a bright flash of light that temporarily blinded everypony, but once it dissipated, the residents of Wayward House gasped.

Two alicorns now stood before them, one yellow with a red mane, the second, bronze with a short electric red mane.

With the Leader taken out, there was nothing keeping Milano suspended in midair and she began to fall, screaming at the sudden drop. Luckily, the red maned alicorn’s horn shimmered with a pinkish-red glow, and traces of blue lightning. Milano was quickly wrapped in the alicorn’s aura, which gave off a very warm and protective feeling compared to that of the assassin’s magic. Like a gentle feather, Milano was drifted down to the ground and found herself being set on rear. Button quickly rushed to his mother, hugging her fiercely. Milano comforted her son and then looked to the scarlet maned alicorn.

“Thank you...uh...Shazams?”

“Not quite ‘Shazams’ Mrs. Milano, but ya can bet we’re definitely superpowered.”

Button’s ear twitched at hearing the voice of the alicorn. Despite its older tone, Button Mash couldn’t mistake that country accent.

“A-Apple Bloom?!” Button Mash exclaimed.

“Eeyup,” said Apple Bloom.

“Well, since ya know her, then gotta know who I am, right?”

Aura broke through the crowd and skidded to a halt beside Button Mash in awe at the sight. “Babs?! That’s you Babs Seed?!”

“Da one and only.”

The assembled assassins entered combative stances, and glared down the two alicorns. Babs and Apple Bloom turned their attention back to their foes, eyes narrowed as they flared their wings. The power of the dual auras caused bits of rock to rise up, and in the blink of an eye, both mares were wrapped in crackling auras of Living Lightning. The four assassins’ red colored patches of fur began to glow bright red, along with their eyes.

“Ya might want to take few steps back,” warned Babs.

Button, Aura, Milano, and the group, moved back a few steps until they were practically back inside the ruined orphanage. In a split second, a whirlwind gust was kicked up, and Babs and Apple Bloom took off towards the assassins, letting out loud battle cries. The assassins cried as one and charged for the two alicorns.

From a distance, red and blue lightning erupted alongside monstrous thunder. The battle had only just begun…

Project Erroria Arc Part 14: What is lost.....

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Ponyville, despite the blitz attack from the Kingdom, was still standing. For all the explosions and augmented pony soldiers, there weren’t that many casualties, mostly just property damage. Of course, to the citizens of Ponyville, this was an attack that left them wondering why? But for those who fought, they knew the reason.

At Castle Concordia, three fillies were confined to the guestrooms. Apple Bloom and Babs Seed were lying in bed, both bandaged up, and bearing looks of disappointment. Babs laid close to Apple Bloom, the yellow country filly resting her head against her cousin’s shoulder as she curled her apple red tail around herself. Babs’ ears flicked towards the door, hearing hoofsteps approaching the room.

It was of no surprise to see Applejack, with a saddlebag of medical supplies hanging off her back. The elder sister didn’t know how to look at her young cousin and little sister. The blonde mare’s visage was a struggle between anger, concern, happiness, and curiosity.

“Ya still mad at us, Cousin AJ?” Babs asked, her tone was firm, but it betrayed the worry in her emerald eyes.

Applejack sighed as she walked up to the side of the bed and plopped herself there, sitting on her haunches. She brought the saddlebag over and opened it up, revealing various ointments, different types of bandages, gauze, basically a First Aid Kit. Living on a farm, it was considered a given that at some point somepony was going to get hurt, and the Apple Family made sure to learn about the basics of First Aid for emergencies.

“C’mere, Ah need to change yer bandages,” said Applejack in a stern, yet caring tone.

Both fillies did as she said, with Apple Bloom and Babs sitting in front of her. Applejack began to slowly remove the day old bandages, grimacing at the sight of the bruises and scars that they hid. Compared to the day before, she could tell that they were healing fast, Applejack attributed this to the power that Shazam must’ve given them, believing that whatever was leftover was still protecting them and healing them.

“That was a darn fool thing to do, all three of ya,” said Applejack.

“S-Shazam needed help, and since the pets weren’t around, she needed somepony she could trust,” said Apple Bloom.

“She couldn’t come to Twilight? The Princesses? Heck, me or one of the other girls would’ve gladly helped the ‘hero’ out if she bothered to come and ask us?!”

“You weren’t there!” Babs shot back. “She needed help then and now! She had to make a tough decision! Besides, Cuz and I, we wanted to help her! In fact, Shazam didn’t want us to in the first place!”

“All the more reason why Ah can’t fathom the fact that her last course of action was to endanger my little sister and her cousin, in a fight against ponies who have no qualms with killin’ another pony and usin’ themselves as bombs!”

Applejack took a moment to calm herself. She had already gone over this a dozen times in her head, how, whenever she met Shazam, she’d vent her frustrations at the superheroine, how she’d say it, and how she’d give the alicorn a swift apple bucking to the face. And yes, she knew that it more than likely wouldn’t hurt Shazam, but it would at least make Applejack feel better. Now though, it didn’t do her any good to scold the recovering fillies.

“Fer now, just rest. Regardless of how Ah’m feelin’ right now, Ah have to say, you fillies did good out there,” said Applejack with a small smile. “Ah’ll bring some supper up to ya here in a few minutes, just keep restin’ up.”

Applejack packed away the First Aid Kit and took up the used bandages, she then made her way out of the room, and left Babs and Apple Bloom alone again. Despite Applejack’s praise, neither of them felt victorious in the least.

“‘Did good’ she says……we bucked up,” whispered Apple Bloom.

“AB, don’t do that, don’t go blamin’ yerself,” retorted Babs.

“But it is! We had the power that Scoots gave us! We should’ve beaten them, then…then…!”

Apple Bloom couldn’t finish her words, but merely pressed her face against the crook of Babs’ neck, crying. Babs nuzzled the top of her cousin’s head, trying to remain strong by focusing on her, that way, she could forget how sad she was as well.

“Really, Sweetie Belle, I can’t believe you did that to me young lady!” Rarity vented.

Currently, Sweetie Belle, was facing down the triad that was being dealt to them by Rarity. Unfortunately, Carousel Boutique was damaged from the fighting, and would need to be repaired as it was unlivable at the moment. Thankfully, Twilight was generous enough to let Rarity stay at her castle for as long as the repairs needed. And it was in the castle, in the study to be exact, where Rarity found it best to scold her little sister for her actions.

“As valiant and thoughtful as your actions were, I can’t for the life of me understand why you did that, or why Shazam thought it was a good idea to have you, a young filly, fight against those horrible ponies!”

“Sorry Rarity…but if I hadn’t, you’d have asked Shazam to do the same!” Sweetie Belle shot back.

Rarity huffed. “Well of course I would have! Sweetie, I am your big sister! I’m older than you, and despite the fact that I still wish to do more with my life, I’d much rather put my own life in danger than risk yours!”

Sweetie Belle knew this well, in spite of the fact that her sister can be a little on the selfish side from time to time, and act little too high society, she was still the same loving big sister. The same big sister who leaped into mud and ran a whole race covered in it. The fact Rarity and her friends have stood up against threats just as great or worse to save Equestria more than proved that she was willing to give her all to defend her little sister.

Unfortunately, that was also why Sweetie Belle didn’t want her big sister to do anything. “Sis, you’re going to be the biggest designer in all of Equestria someday, and I don’t even have my cutie mark yet! You’re just now living your dream, I still don’t know what I want to be yet!”

Rarity had a shocked look upon her face upon hearing this. “And because of that, you think it’s better for you to risk your life?!”

Sweetie Belle turned her gaze to the floor, not wanting to look up at Rarity. The older mare walked closer to her little sister and stood before her. “Sweetie Belle.” She was met with silence. “Sweet Serenity Belle, look at me, NOW!”

With a whispered grunt, Sweetie Belle looked up at her big sister. In a split second, Rarity’s horn glowed and Sweetie Belle suddenly felt something slap her across her cheek, surprising her until she realized Rarity had slapped her with a concentration of magic. Sweetie Belle’s eye watered from the sting of the blow, but managed to glare back up at Rarity, her horn sparking with green mana in preparation to retaliate, but she stopped when she saw that Rarity was crying too.

Without warning, Rarity drew Sweetie Belle in for tight hug, all while still crying. “You stupid, kind, and brave silly filly…Don’t ever say such things! Yes, I’m making my dreams come true, slowly but surely, but do you honestly think that I’d be happy living my dream knowing that my little sister sacrificed her life to ensure that?!”

“R-Rarity…?”

“Yes, my dreams are being lived. But it’s because you have yet to get your cutie mark, and have yet to live a dream, is what makes what you said to me so sad…please don’t ever say such a thing again! Ever!”

Sweetie Belle, after trying to hold back her tears, couldn’t any longer. The young unicorn filly sobbed into her sister’s chest, crying because she realized just how much she meant to her big sister, and because of the loss they suffered

Scootaloo, her head hanging low and steps labored as if she was forcing the movement, walked through the streets of her beloved hamlet. She caught glimpses of each and every pony helping each other out. Whether it was fixing up what could be fixed or sifting through rubble for what was still useful, and to see if there were any ponies caught underneath. Scootaloo felt like she should transform and give them a hoof with the clean up, but right now, her heart ached too much to even utter the word, any word for that matter.

The young pegasus filly continued to trod through the streets until she somehow found herself at Wayward House. The place was still a mess, the area showing signs of a great battle that had been fought here.

She continued to wander, her hooves just moving, no thought as to the direction she was heading.Without realizing it, her walk brought her to a ten foot wide crater in the middle of the courtyard of Castle Concordia. It was here that the strength in Scootaloo’s legs finally gave out as she collapsed, whether by accident or on purpose, she rolled down into the crater and stopped at its center.

Scootaloo looked around at the empty crater, pushing herself to lie on her back and stare up at the blue sky. Without anypony around to see her, she cried. She tried to hold it back, she couldn’t let herself become some weepy, little helpless filly. That wasn’t her anymore, she had the power of the gods, she was a superhero. But that didn’t stop the tears from being shed.

Numerous times she rubbed her eyes with her hoofs, attempting to stop the tears from falling. The endeavor only made her eyes ache from the constant rubbing. Scootaloo even bit her lip as she tried to stave off a sobbing fit. Again, this proved futile as she raised her right hoof and struck the earth beneath it, causing a small fissure to form as she let out her sorrowful sobs into the sky.

I’m sorry Alula…! I’m so sorry…!

24 HOURS EARLIER

Two Kingdom Assassin pegasi took to the skies and began flying about in the air, of course they weren’t alone. Babs had taken to the air as well, finding that she had become quite fond of flying.

The Manehattan filly summoned her Lightning Chain and readied it for battle, while the twin Kingdom pegasi summoned their Xanthos power, their markings glowing an angry red as they did so. With the speed of a cobra, the Lightning Chain shot out towards the duo. Both took off in opposite directions, but the chain chased after the one on the left. It dogged her for several seconds until finally wrapping itself around her neck. Babs pulled back and the chain went taut in that instant, causing the Assassin to release a choking “ack” sound upon doing so. Babs pulled again and dragged the Assassin across the sky, aiming directly for its partner.

Before the second pegasus could react, the first was smashed into her, sending both Assassins hurtling to terra firma. Both struck the ground with resounding force, sending up a dust cloud spitting upwards into the air.

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom was currently engaged in a contest of strength with both Earth stallions. Their bodies were glowing with the crimson magic of Xanthos, and similarly, the former Earth filly’s body was layered in azure lightning energy, the power of the Ancient Magic flowing around her, acting as an opposing force against her two opponents.

Their auras grew larger and larger, a spherical torrent of raging lightning, grinding against two fiery red orbs of mana, vying for supremacy. Apple Bloom bellowed out a battle cry as she focused her magic into her right hoof; raising it up. She then stamped the earth below her, sending that energy surging through the ground. The twin stallions had an idea of what she was doing and quickly cancelled their power struggle to jump back as quickly as possible. At the last second, two glaives made of sharpened rock jutted out from where they once stood.

Both stallions skidded to a halt, glaring at Apple Bloom and at how they nearly were caught off guard. But the country alicorn smirked, knowing that it wasn’t over yet.

The earth rumbled again, and from the first two glaives appeared, sprouted dozens of jagged stone glaives that rushed towards both stallions, angling themselves directly at their targets. The two Assassins grinned and jumped out of the way again, despite how fast the glaives sprouted, they could still dodge them easily enough.

“Ya think it’d be that easy?!” Apple Bloom shouted.

Another surge of magical lightning shot through the ground and ran up the glaives, making each of them glow a bright blue. Within seconds the glaives shot off like rockets, propelled by the lightning and aimed at the two stallions.

Now with a little panic in their eyes, the two Assassins ran at a quickened pace.

The stallion, who had a scar-like tattoo mark over his eye, charged his energy and began punching at the lightning propelled glaives with rapid strikes, shattering them and causing a mini explosion of energy from each impact. After smashing through another couple of glaives, the scar marked stallion’s eyes widened in shock as Apple Bloom pierced through the explosion, and charged her right hoof with magic. In less than a second, Apple Bloom delivered a powerful right hook to the stallion’s face, electricity crackled, accompanying the sound of breaking bones, and booming thunder.

The second Earth stallion, bearing a spiral mark on his forehead, saw his teammate getting smashed in the face and dashed with maddening speed to aide him.

Apple Bloom turned her head and once again smirked confidently. “Ya’ll ferget about somethin’?”

Approaching from behind the spiral marked stallion were the remaining glaives that weren’t destroyed. The stallion realized too late, turning around to try and counter, but instead he was treated to a barrage of sharpened stone being sent flying at two-hundred miles per hour. The Assassin was blasted, pummeled by the glaives and lost in a plume of smoke.

The fight was not over just yet however, both alicorn mares now turning their attention to the unicorn Kingdom Assassin. With a flash of her horn the being quickly disappeared, Babs and Apple Bloom glanced about, trying to see where she went. Suddenly the bodies of the two stallions vanished as well, and another flash of light went off in the distance. Apple Bloom and Babs glanced to each and nodded.

“Get everypony to Princess Twilight’s castle, now!” Apple Bloom ordered.

Mrs. Milano noded her head firmly in confirmation, along with the other attendants, they began leading the group of orphaned foals down the road and away from the danger.Babs and Apple Bloom flared their wings and shot into the air with a crack of thunder. Both mares used their enhanced vision to scout around the area, but it didn’t take long before they noticed a burst of red magical light coming from the forest. Without a fear in the world they flew towards the red light, landing on the ground with twin “booms!” that cracked the earth beneath their hooves. But when they arrived, they were treated to a horrible sight.

The five ponies were glowing, the two Earth stallions, and two pegasus mares, were standing on either side of the lead unicorn mare, looking straight at her, while she stared down the two heroines. The stallion and mare to her left walked up, with the pegasus mare opening her mouth and sinking her teeth into the neck of the unicorn mare. The stallion followed up with biting her on her side. The mare and stallion on her left walked up and did the same, their eyes glowing red as blood began to drip down from where they had their teeth.

“W-W-What in the name of Faust are they doin’?!” Babs asked horrified.

The answer came quicker than they expected.

The lead unicorn mare’s horn glowed blinding bright, wrapping all five in a tornado of crimson light. Sickening sounds accompanied the tornado, hiding what was going on inside, and right now, both were kind of grateful that they weren’t seeing it. But as the sounds lessened, the tornado grew in size, making both alicorn mares jump back to avoid getting caught in the vortex. After a minute, the tornado began to disperse into particles of scarlet light, and revealed what was hiding inside.

It was massive, and grotesque. The lower half of this creature’s body was bulky, almost the size of a horse. It had eight legs, they came from the same limb but down the middle it split into two separate legs. On its back were four large pegasus wings that each had red tipped feathers as if dipped in blood. The upper half of this creature had a torso where its head would be, with two long muscular arms, and a head that had six eyes, and a long crooked horn. It’s main was the same color as that of the Assassins previous, standing at least seven feet, and retained some of the tribal tattoo markings. The closest thing Apple Bloom and Babs could compare it to was Tirek, but even he didn’t look as monstrous as this thing.

“It’s like Scoots said, they became one monster,” said Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, and didn’t she say she had a hard time beatin’ this thing?” Babs asked.

“Eeyup. Well, it nearly killed her, but yup.”

“Great. So what do we do?”

Apple Bloom glanced behind her. Her feelings of protection allowed her magic to show her a vision of where the Wayward House foals and adult ponies were. She grimaced and then turned her attention back to the monstrosity before them. “They’re still not there, we can’t let this thing get them, or Alula, for whatever reason it wants her!”

“Gotcha, let’s just hope that Scoots can lend us a hoof.”

Suddenly, the Beast released a demonic whinny and charged up its energy. The energy built up more and more, becoming a field of raging red light around it. Realizing what was about to happen, Babs and Apple Bloom quickly joined their magic together and erected a barrier around themselves. The barrier formed just in time as the Beast unleashed its pent up power, releasing a burst field that engulfed everything around it. Trees were reduced to ash and a crater formed beneath them, charring the very earth and turning it into a near molten state. The energy wave continued into a twenty foot radius and dissipated.

The Beast huffed and grunted as it stared at the two alicorns who still stood. Apple Bloom and Babs were sweating, the strain of keeping the barrier up against the tidal wave of power was taxing, but they knew from the destruction around them that they could not let that creature fire that again.

Apple Bloom and Babs took a running stance, lowering themselves as they prepared to take off. The ground rumbled beneath them as the loose gravel began to rise up from the release of their magical energy, in less than a few seconds the two mares zoomed off with twin thunder as the ground was torn apart in their wake. Babs cocked back her left hoof, while Apple Bloom cocked back her right, charging them with magical lightning as powerful crackling noises echoed around them.

The Beast roared and charged for them, raising its right fist in preparation to intercept. At the last second, the alicorn mares shot off to the right and left just as the Beast brought down its fist, a blow that caused the already cracked earth to fissure even more. The Beast suddenly felt pain erupt from its back, along with a deafening sound of thunder. Babs and Apple Bloom struck the back of the monster, and used their combined speed and strength to zoom forward with their opponent, taking it up into the air.

They pushed the Beast off, making it fly higher into the air. Babs gathered her magical lightning into a sphere of condensed energy roughly the size of a beach ball, meanwhile, Apple Bloom’s horn raged with charged lightning as it arced off, almost begging for her to fire. The fillies turned mares bellowed out a loud battle cry as they fired their two attacks. Babs’ sphere was chased by Apple Bloom’s lightning beam, to which the two combined and became one.

The Beast finally flared its wings and managed to stop its ascent, but it was too late as the beam completely engulfed it, washing it away in a river of ancient, magical lightning. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long, from within the river of power, a red star appeared, this star grew to become a red giant as a beam of Xanthos magic was fired from inside the beam, pushing against Apple Bloom and Babs’ attack.

Babs saw this and got closer to Apple Bloom, she crossed her horn with that of her cousin’s, adding her power to the attack. The beam’s size doubled into a column of raging magical might. The Beast matched this, pouring more energy into the attack until its beam was the same size as theirs. The red beam continued to push back until their attacks were deadlocked in the middle, one gaining some ground, and then losing, a literal tug-of-war of power raging in the skies above the little hamlet.

The nexus of power that formed at the center of the two beams screamed and screeched as the opposing magics vied for supremacy, the energy growing in size as they continued the power struggle. Eventually, the power became too great and the center exploded, sending a shockwave that pushed both the Beast and alicorns back some feet.

The Apple Cousins shook their heads from the disorienting blast wave, but their recovery time would not be allotted as the Beast appeared before them, interlocking its fingers together, and bringing down a double hammer fist onto Apple Bloom, sending her flying down towards the ground.

“CUUZZ!!!” Babs shouted. The Manehattan mare glared at the Beast, her eyes glowing blue with the power of the Ancient Magic. “YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT!!! MONSTER!!!”

Babs drew back and delivered a super charged uppercut to the Beast’s jaw, sending it reeling back. It stopped itself from going further and charged forward, thrusting its large fist right for Babs. The Manehattan mare swiftly dodged the attack and prepared to buck the creature with her hind legs. But the Beast quickly twisted itself around, grabbing Babs by one of her hind legs and twirled her around like a rag doll. The Beast glanced in one direction and tossed Babs like a shotput straight in that direction.

The alicorn mare flew across the sky as a bolt of lightning, striking the far off mountain side in distance. Luckily, Babs’ magic instinctively threw up a layered aura barrier around her body, absorbing a majority of the impact damage. Groaning, Babs worked to dislodge herself from the hole, but the Beast wouldn’t allow her the time. In the distance, a beam of scarlet light blazed through the sky and struck the area where Babs was thrown.

The beam tore through the mountain, burning a hole straight through it. The Beast wasn’t through however; orbs of crimson light formed around the monstrosity, a dozen each second. With a wave of its hand the orbs fired off in rapid fire succession, blasting the mountainside with unrelenting fury. Soon the entire side of the mountain crumbled into a landslide that sent a giant dust cloud bellowing into the air.

The Beast grinned toothily and prepared another large beam to make sure its opponent was dead. Unfortunately, it would not get off the next shot.

Tearing through the forest below in the form of lightning bolt, was Apple Bloom, her eyes lit up with Ancient Magic as she stopped suddenly, and zoomed upwards from right under the Beast. Before the monster knew what hit it, Apple Bloom delivered a double hoofed punch to the underside of the Beast, breaking its concentration. The Beast’s right eye twitched, but little else could be uttered as Apple Bloom continued to soar higher.

Whilst letting out a fierce battle cry, Apple Bloom began pummeling the Beast’s underside with rapid punches, the only way you were able to track them were by the streaks of lightning left in their wake.

Apple Bloom drew back once more, gathering lightning energy to the tip of her hoof and drove her uppercut straight up, sending the Beast higher into the sky at much greater velocity than she did.

The Beast did not appreciate the low blows, resetting itself in the high altitude and setting a course straight back down to Apple Bloom and breakneck speed. Apple Bloom’s eyes widened as the Beast reappeared in front of her and delivered a haymaker to the side of her head, launching the filly turned mare through the air, the Beast flew after her, becoming a streak of crimson light that cut through the sky.

When the Beast reappeared, it was ahead of Apple Bloom, holding out its right hand and catching her by throat. The Beast squeezed hard, strangling her with one hand. Apple Bloom desperately tried to get the meaty hand off off her throat, but to no avail. The Beast brought up its left hand, collecting crimson Xanthos mana into it as it prepared to fire a point blank blast at the empowered mare. Before the Beast could fire, a noose made of lightning quickly wrapped around its neck and hoisted it upwards, causing the monster to let go of Apple Bloom.

When the yellow alicorn looked up, she was happy to see that her cousin - and secret fillyfriend - was okay, and playing hangmare with the monster. Babs roared as she pulled at the lightning chain and sent a jolt of electricity straight through it. The Beast wailed in pain, but managed to grab hold of the chain and pull her down. The Beast’s horn began to glow, about to release a beam of mana. But at the last second, a blue and orange streak of lightning shot past Apple Bloom and a appeared right in front of the Beast.

Looking down too late, the Beast was assaulted by a roaring beam of magical lightning that threw it down into the forest below. Babs halted her descent and managed to get her bearings, it was then she noticed who her savior was.

“Scoots!” Babs called out.

The spiky haired alicorn mare looked up and smirked at her friend. “Sorry I’m late, we got held up clearing the last of the those things out!”

Apple Bloom flew over to Scootaloo, giving her a confused look. “Who, you and Twilight?”

“Not exactly.”

Below, a large explosion, coupled with a sonic boom, erupted at the forest below. It was also accompanied by a loud roar, something close to a lion’s roar.

“What the hay was that?!” Babs asked.

“Sweetie Belle and Opal.”

“Ya gave her a power up too?!” Apple Bloom asked amazed.

“Tight spot, not a lot of options, Rarity may be peeved at me later - but right now what’s that thing?!”

“We’ll tell ya on the way down, come on!” Babs shouted.

Meanwhile, the Beast was having a some trouble fighting against two new opponents. One was a large white lioness, it’s claws electrified by the Ancient Magic, sliced through its flesh and caused the Beast great pain. Sweetie Belle would jump in after Opal, while not as physical as her tomcoltish friends, she found her abilities in magic were getting better, and it translated well into her knew form.

With flash of her horn, the area around the Beast lit up with dozens of explosions, one right after the other. Thanks to the Wisdom of Starswirl, Sweetie Belle was able to wield her magic with precision, igniting the air around the Beast and causing mini-explosions to go off one after the other.

The Beast became frustrated and lashed out at Sweetie Belle and Opal. The white lioness dashed away at the last second in a streak of blue and white lightning, but Sweetie Belle teleported, becoming a blue and purple lightning flash. The Beast’s fist struck the ground where both once stood, smashing into the earth and creating a three foot wide crater. The monster retracted its fist, looking around to find its prey.

“Looking for somepony?”

The Beast turned around and was delivered a powerful blow from a lightning hammer construct that sent it flying back up into the air. Awaiting it were three alicorn mares, each one with horns primed and ready to fire. Before the Beast could react, the trio fired a combined lightning beam that plowed into the Beast and sent it straight into the ground on the outskirts of the town.

The Beast finally hit the earth again, following a large explosion from the power of the beams. Within the fiery crater, the Beast snarled, dragging itself out of the crater and onto ground level. It’s body was already rapidly healing itself, but the contrasting power of the Ancient Magic was making the process a little slower than it usually would be. Suddenly, chains made of lightning sprung from the ground and coiled themselves around the Beast’s arms, and all eight legs, with one final one wrapping around its neck. The Beast’s ear twitched, turning its gaze forward and seeing them.

Scootaloo stood at the center, with Apple Bloom and Babs to her left, and Sweetie and Opal to her right. All five glared at the monstrosity with narrowed gazes, the fury inside them had been primed and ready to be released, to punish this creature sent by evil ponies who sought needless death and destruction.

“You’re going down, here and now!” Scootaloo declared.

The Beast roared its defiance at the heroines and tried to break the chains with multiple bursts of Xanthos magic, but nothing was breaking these chains if Sweetie Belle had anything to say about it.

“CRUSADERS…GO!!!”

Opal, Apple Bloom, Babs Seed, and Scootaloo, launched a full on assault on the Beast. Their bodies moved with such speed that they became streaks of lightning. The Beast was lost in a flurry of multicolored lightning, getting slashed, punched, bucked, and blasted from every direction possible.

At that last second, all five took position, forming a star. Sweetie, Babs, AB, and Scootaloo’s horns charged up for one large mana beam, in front of Opal, an orb of pure magical lightning formed, resonating with her growls.

“FIRE!”

All four mares fired their beams, and Opal roared with pride as her voice acted as the catalyst to launch her own beam. All five hit their target at once creating a large explosion that swiftly engulfed the creature in an inferno. The wielders of the Ancient Magic kept on edge, waiting for any movement from the crater. Suddenly, Opal hissed and lowered herself into attack position, pupils becoming dangerous slits as her fur stood on end.

“It’s not dead yet!” Opal warned.

The fire swirled about, tinting red from the influence of the Xanthos magic. The flames were then absorbed by the Beast, taking them in and using the raw power to hasten its healing factor. The monster grinned maliciously and took off for Scootaloo, grabbing her by the neck, and delivering several left jabs to her face as she was pinned to the ground. Apple Bloom came in with a hind legged buck to the face, making the Beast skid across the ground, but halt after a couple of seconds.

Opal dashed for the monster, landing on its back and biting its muscled neck, drawing blood. But the Beast reached back, grabbing Opal, and proceeded to bodyslam her straight into the unforgiving earth. Opal let out gasp as she felt the wind getting knocked out of her lungs and tried to recover, but the Beast swiftly punt kicked Opal in the side, sending her zooming into a nearby barn.

Sweetie Belle retaliated, opening her mouth; and using her voice as a weapon, she fired a hypersonic blast that tore the ground apart as it flew towards the Beast. The monster raised a shield and charged for her, the shield showed cracking fissures across its surface the closer it got to the epicenter of the attack. Once in range, the Beast quickly reached out and forced Sweeties mouth shut, making the alicorn mare go wide eyed with shock.

The Beast’s horn shined and ignited a column of crimson light right underneath Sweetie Belle, releasing her as the column took her up. Sweetie Belle was disoriented from the attack, allowing the Beast to come up to her and strike her with a double hammer fist back down to terra firma. Babs didn’t let that one slide, flying up to the Beast hitting it square in the jaw, dislocating it. But the Beast stood firm and returned with a punch of its own to the right side of Babs’ face. The Manehattan mare was staggered, but not done, throwing a right hook into the Beast’s temple.

Blow for blow the mare and monster traded, sending waves of resounding thunder booming through the area. Finally the Beast had had enough, drawing back its wings and flapping them forward, sending a malevolent whirlwind of buffeting force slamming into Babs to get her away. Apple Bloom saw this and flew up to help, but at the last second the Beast noticed and flapped its left wings towards Apple Bloom. From that one flap, a barrage of razor sharp feathers fired straight for her. There was no time to dodge as Apple Bloom formed barrier, but even that was getting sliced through, the feathers cutting through her armored suit and creating gash wounds all over her body.

Scootaloo, having concentrated, fired three spheres of pure lightning energy and had them collide around the Beast, pinning it in the sky. This allowed all five to regroup and prepare a counterattack, however, the Beast was ready. At the center of the tri orbs, the Beast gathered more and more of its Xanthos magic, pushing the orbs away as a sphere of blood red light was formed.

“Oh buck us…”

CASTLE CONCORDIA, SAME TIME

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Cheerilee, and many of the Dusk Guards helped in getting the refugees to the castle. Rarity, upon waking up from the sleep spell Sweetie cast on her, explained to Twilight what happened, which was also corresponded by several eyewitnesses who saw an alicorn mare who looked like Sweetie Belle, as well as a big white lioness, fighting side by side with Shazam.

“Wait a second, then that means…Oh sweet Celestia, my cousin and Apple Bloom are fightin’ too!” Applejack realized in horror. “And here Ah thought that Diamond Tiara filly was just spoutin ’ nonsense, how - why did Shazam do that?!”

“Hey, hey, calm down, there’s gotta be a reason she turned your little sisters, cousin, and cat, into superheroes! She probably needed help with this mess, she did the same thing for me back in Cloudsdale!” Rainbow defended.

“Yes, but you’re a grown mare, Rainbow! These are fillies! Young, little fillies who shouldn’t be putting themselves in such danger!” Rarity argued.

“Admittedly, when they went on their little cutie mark escapades, they could be a might dangerous, but nothin’ like this!” Applejack shouted.

“I’m just worried about Scootaloo! I haven’t seen her all today, I hope she wasn’t wrangled in with Shazam as well!” Cheerilee worried.

Twilight bit her lip, she so desperately wanted to tell her friends who Shazam was, so that maybe they would at least understand that more than likely the girls wanted to help Scootaloo. She knew that Scootaloo wouldn’t put her friends in danger like that unless there was no other choice, and given the situation, Twilight couldn’t blame the little filly, four or five Shazams helping yielded greater chances of success in pushing back the Kingdom’s forces, and so far it had been successful.

“Twilight!” Cheerilee yelled.

The alicorn mare shook her head, snapping herself out of her inward thinking. “What’s wrong?!”

“I was asking if you seen Scootaloo?! The last thing she told me was that she was going to meet with Apple Bloom, but then this happened!”

Twilight knew exactly where she was, but she couldn’t tell her, not without revealing her identity to everypony present. “I-I-I’m sorry, Cheery, I was at the castle when the attack happened! I-I haven’t seen her all day!”

Cheerilee paced back and forth, till finally she sat down stamped her right forehoove into the dirt as tears began to fall from her. “I’m such a horrible parent! I should’ve gone looking for her when the attack started! I should be looking for her right now! What if she thinks I abandoned her?! If anything happens to her I…I…I…”

It broke Twilight’s heart to see the mare she loved in such pain, even more so when she knew how to alleviate that pain and could do nothing, however, a promise was a promise. Scootaloo would need to be the one to reveal her secret, that was the trust she put in Scootaloo, and she couldn’t betray that trust. Twilight scooted closer to Cheerilee, bringing her marefriend into a wing embrace.

“Cheerilee, you are not a horrible parent! It was chaos when this all started, you couldn’t have foreseen that Ponyville would get attacked like this! Besides…I know for a fact that Scootaloo loves you, Cheery, she’d never think that you would abandon her!” Twilight nuzzled her lover’s cheek, trying to offer what comfort she could. “So please, don’t think badly about yourself, you’re doing a great job, okay?”

The maroon mare sniffled and gave small smile in thanks for the talk.

“Help!”

Everypony’s attention was turned towards the large group of foals, lead by Mrs. Milano and the attendants of Wayward House. The Dusk Guards quickly got the foals into the safety of the castle, while Mrs. Milano stayed behind to inform Twilight of what happened. Applejack was most noticeably worried after hearing the news and quickly grabbed Milano by her shoulders.

“What happened to ‘em?! Are they alright?!” Applejack asked.

“I-I don’t know, they were fighting those monsters and gave us time to escape, I-I’m sorry, I was too focused on getting everypony to safety to look back!” Milano responded.

Applejack released Milano and turned in the direction that she and the foals came from. “Ah’m headin’ to what’s left of Wayward House, hopefully they’ll still be there!”

“Applejack, I’m coming too! It’s more than likely that Sweetie Belle and Opal have joined with Babs and Apple Bloom,” said Rarity.

Applejack nodded and prepared to make their way to the last place they were seen, at least, until a giant explosion of crimson light went off in the distance.

“THE BUCK WAS THAT?!!” Rainbow exclaimed as she flew higher into the sky to get a better vantage point. Her eyes squinted as she noticed something flying towards them, something that made her face contort in panic. “EVERYPONY HEADS UP!!!”

At that moment, five objects crash landed in various spots around the castle, with the fifth actually crashing through a wall into the castle. Ponies moved away from the craters, after today, they weren’t sure what to expect. On a hunch, Applejack ran to one of the craters, and gasped.

Inside the crater was Apple Bloom, bruised, dusty, and bleeding, some of her mane and tail were singed as well. Applejack hurried to the crater closest to Apple Bloom and gasped again at seeing her injured cousin inside the crater as well.

“APPLE BLOOM AND BABS, THEY’RE HERE!” Applejack yelled. “Rarity, hurry and check those other two craters, it might be Sweetie and Opal, Twi, give me a hoof here!”

The mares set to work, Rarity galloped as fast as she could to the two adjoining craters, and sure enough, Sweetie and Opal were in them. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy helped Rarity get them out, while Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Cheerilee, helped Applejack her sister and cousin out.

By process of elimination, Twilight already had an idea of who the fifth crash victim was. With little time to explain, she teleported herself inside the hole in the castle. Her eyes darted around the area, frantically looking for Scootaloo. She followed the trail of destruction until it ended in Spike’s room. Remembering to compensate her baby dragon later, Twilight rushed in and quickly used her magic to clear away the debris from the walls. Unfortunately, Scootaloo was in the same condition as her friends down below.

“Scootaloo, Scootaloo!” Twilight yelled.

Scootaloo groaned as she slowly got up. “Ugh…five more minutes, Cheerilee…”

“Scootaloo, it’s me Twilight!”

The superpowered mare regained her senses and sprang to her hooves. “Oh Faust, how the hay did I get back here?! Where are the girls?!”

“They’re down below, they’re being taken care of, but right now I’m worried about you! What happened?!” Twilight asked.

“There were five Assassins, but they did that merging thing and became something close to Tirek!” Scootaloo’s magical senses began to alert her to approaching danger as she snapped her head in the direction they all flew from. “And it’s heading here!”

“O-O-O-Okay, we-we can…Scootaloo, I think we might need to move everypony into the Rock of Eternity! It might be the only safe place left right now!” Twilight suggested.

“There’s no time to grant access to everypony here! Ugh! That was so stupid, I should never of let them help me!” Scootaloo galloped to the edge of the hole in the wall, her enhanced vision zooming in on the Beast. “When I gave my power to them, I realized that I was dividing up my own power.”

“When did you notice?” Twilight asked.

“The first time was with the pets, I felt a little weaker, but it wasn’t bad. But when I did it for Rainbow Dash, I felt a stronger drain. Best I can guess is that a pony can store more magic than a small animal. So, I’ll take back enough of my power to make one last stand, but I’ll make sure that there’s still enough for their injuries to heal.”

Twilight hurriedly put herself in front of Scootaloo and gave a stern glare. “No! You’re not fighting that thing alone! If you give me some of that extra power, I can fight alongside you! With my magic and yours combined, we’ll beat it for sure!”

Scootaloo smiled at her mentor, and technical second mother. “Twilight, maybe that’s true, but the last thing I want is to for you to be hurt! If you die in the fight then the Kingdom wins, and Cheerilee…Cheerilee would be heartbroken. I’m sorry, I’ve made up my mind!”

“Scootaloo!”

“Twilight, I don’t have the time or energy fight you on this! Just keep everypony safe, especially Alula!” Scootaloo teleported outside the castle, her eyes glowed with the power of the Ancient Magic as she spoke aloud the word of power. “SHAZAM!!!”

Four bolts of lightning shot up from the ground and struck Shazam. Scootaloo could feel the magic returning to her, healing her injuries and erasing the pain. She cut off the stream, leaving enough for Apple Bloom, Babs, Sweetie, and Opal to heal their wounds quicker.

Shazam’s lightning aura flared, her gaze narrowing as she locked onto her incoming opponent. At all costs she needed to keep the battle airborne, fighting on the ground would put too many ponies in danger, but the creature didn’t care, it would blow away the entire town if it thought it could kill Shazam in the process. Releasing a fierce battle cry, Shazam shot towards the Beast. A streak of blue lightning and red lightning zoomed on a collision course for each other. At the last second, both streaks shot up higher into the sky. The red streak crashed into the blue steak, creating a thunderous shockwave.

The blue streak staggered for a bit, before zipping around and hitting the red streak from one direction, spiraling around, and coming in for a second hit. Again and again, the two streaks battled in the air, the sky erupting with thunder from each strike the other made. Crimson and azure lightning arced out from each attack, the red lightning would move like it had a mind of its own, aiming itself right for the innocent ponies below, but the blue lightning would chase after the red lightning and strike it down before it reached them, failing that, the blue lightning would do its best to redirect the red lightning to hit far from the castle.

Down below, however, all looked to the sky with worry and fear, some even cheering on Shazam. One looked to the sky with more than just worry, it was fear born from love, a fear that one can be only experienced when someone they truly, and deeply care about is thrust into a life or death situation, Twilight knew this, but Alula was suffering more as she looked up with wide and and terrified eyes.

The monster that was fighting her fillyfriend was going to kill her, but she held out hope, believing with all her heart that Scootaloo would triumph over this beast.

Both streaks of lightning parted ways, heading in different directions and increasing the distance between them.

What are they doing…?

The two streaks stopped once they reached what they believed to be the appropriate distance from each other. They became large spheres, balls of pure azure and crimson lightning. The skies started to crack with the sound of thunder, the tension building as the two powerful beings prepared to square off.

Alula gulped, hard.

At that moment, both spheres took off like rockets, blazing across the sky and crackling loudly as they drew closer and closer. Within the span of a few seconds, both column sized streaks closed the distance and exploded upon impact, the two lightnings clashed and turned into a tornado of magical lightning, spiraling together so fast that the color morphed into the color violet.

A sphere of pure light formed at the center of the tornado, growing in size as the violet lightning tornado tried to contain the growing mass. Suddenly, the center erupted and released a blinding white light that made everypony shut their eyes for fear of going blind from its brilliance.

Alula shut her eyes as well, but dared to squint to find out the fate of her fillyfriend. The young, unicorn filly’s ears twitched when she heard the sound of something striking the ground, followed by a rumble and gust of wind that rushed through the crowd. Alula wasn’t sure, but she swore an object flew straight to the ground.

The light began to die out, but Alula didn’t wait a second longer. She galloped right towards where she saw the object impact. She weaved through everypony in her path, desperately trying to get to the site of the impact. The tribe shifter continued to run, but was finding it more difficult to get around the older adult ponies, so desperate and anxious was little Alula, that, without knowing, her horn began to glow.

In the blink of an eye, Alula’s horn flashed red, and she was suddenly teleported ahead of the crowd of ponies. Alula didn’t bother questioning it, she just needed to know - had to know, if Scootaloo was alright.

Alula skidded to a halt, coming up on the edge of a small crater that was formed. Cautiously, Alula opened her eyes more, the blinding light finally fading away into nothingness, and that’s when she saw her worst fears.

Scootaloo, Shazam, was lying in the crater. The alicorn mare had bruises on her face, her armor suit ripped and torn, with medium sized gashes that bled red ichor, and not to mention the ragged breathing she could hear from her.

Alula, with watering eyes, leaped into the crater. Once she reached Scootaloo, she gently placed her hoof on her fillyfriend’s head. “Are you alright?! Scootaloo, please speak to me!” She spoke these words again and again, keeping her volume as low as she could even in her frantic state of mind, because she knew that Shazam’s identity must be kept secret. “Scootaloo, it’s me, Alula! I’m here, please say something!”

Shazam coughed, spitting up some blood in the process. “A…Alula…?”

“Yes! I’m here! Open your eyes!”

Slowly, Shazam maneuvered her head to look up at Alula, cracking open one eye and showing a weak grin. “I…I must not look that good…judging by the look on your face…Sorry, guess I’m not hot anymore…heh…”

“Shut up!” Alula spat as she rested her forehead against Shazam’s mane. “Like that matters right now…!”

“Alula…that monster…it’s too strong…! It’s stunned, but it’s coming, I can sense it…!” Shazam grunted in pain as she slowly lifted herself back up to her hooves, wobbling through the process. “Y-You have to go to Twilight, and have her take you to the Rock of Eternity! That thing won’t be able to find you there!”

A loud crash echoed in the distance, kicking up a whirlwind nearly knocked everypony over. Shazam groaned, seeing the Beast had returned. Shazam began her walk out of the crater on shaking forelegs, she stumbled for a moment, but caught herself.

“Alula, have Twilight get everypony to the Rock of Eternity…I’m taking this thing out, now…”

Alula ran up to her fillyfriend’s side, and with a anxious expression asked, “What are you going to do?”

Shazam lowered her head, her spiky bangs casting shadows over her eyes. “I’m going to use all the Ancient Magic I have within me, and release it all at once at point blank range…and, I do mean ALL my magic!”

Alula didn’t know what that meant, she knew Scootaloo was fighting with everything she had, what more could she possibly use to - and then it clicked, and Alula’s face went from anxious to aghast. “Y-You’re going to sacrifice your life…all your magic…to destroy it?!”

“If that’s what it takes to take it down, then yes! I won’t let my friends, my…my new family, and especially not my fillyfriend, be killed by this thing!”

Alula watched as Shazam stepped out of the crater and stared down the incoming Beast. Alula, however, shook her head in disbelief. She remembered that Murmur had showed her the tapestry hall, where the previous wielders of the power of Shazam were memorialized. Tapestries that were sewn with the images of their greatest heroic deed. In her mind, Alula could see another tapestry being unfolded, one of Scootaloo using her magic and life to destroy a monster and save everypony.

But that’s not what she wanted.

Scootaloo…how…how can you say you’ll do something like that…? Don’t you understand…? So many ponies will be sad if you do that…!

Alula gritted her teeth and ran up the walls of the crater, pulling herself out just in time to watch as the Beast readied itself for attack. She also witnessed how Scootaloo was struggling just to stand up, let alone summon more of her magical might.

I won’t let you! Alula dashed. I won’t let you die Scootaloo!

Alula galloped until she stood before Shazam, facing down the Beast. The Beast, either realizing too late, or so deranged that it did not care, launched itself at the two targets before it. Alula could not hear anything else, she knew Scootaloo was yelling at her to move, but nothing reached her ears. Her horn began to glow with greater light, turning a blood red shade as the power within her began to manifest itself.

I won’t let you die because I…I…I lo-!

At that moment, an earth shattering scream was unleashed and scarlet light erupted from Alula. Twilight hurriedly constructed a barrier to shield everypony from the blast, but the barrier showed immediate signs of shattering, with fissures creeping up and around the shield. Within a matter of seconds the shield shattered like fragile glass and threw everypony back from the sheer force of the power being unleashed.

Shazam was forced back into the crater, having been buffeted by the polar opposite of her magic, and watched as the light bathed over everything.

Everything went silent, and still. Scootaloo, who could barely move a muscle, dragged herself out of the crater and surveyed her surroundings. The citizens of Ponyville were all struck unconscious, lying on the ground. She noticed that Rarity and Applejack had used their bodies as shields for Sweetie, Opal, Babs, and Apple Bloom, but thankfully, both of their sisters were alright.

Shazam hurriedly cast her gaze to where Alula was, and her mouth fell open. Alula was floating five feet off the ground, and her eyes were glowing with the crimson light of Xanthos magic. Her body had grown wings, but her horn remained, which was still burning with the scarlet energy. The Beast, still standing, walked up to Alula, it’s crooked horn pulsating as if to resonate with the power Alula was displaying.

“She desires you…Mother desires your return,” the Beast spoke, which sounded as if five ponies were speaking in unison.

The Beast reached out with it’s large hand, and with its index finger, tapped on the tip of Alula’s horn. Suddenly, all the power she was emitting ceased, and Alula’s body reverted to that of an Earth pony. Before she hit the ground, the Beast caught her, cradling her in its arms as if she were their child.

“No…”

The Beast turned its back on Scootaloo, and flared its wings.

“Let her go…!”

The Beast crouched low as the wind began to spiral around it.

“LET! HER! GOOOOOO!!!”

With that, the Beast took of, zooming through the air with tremendous speed and disappeared on the horizon…….

PRESENT

Twilight and Cheerilee walked around the Palace, looking for Scootaloo, however, Twilight had an idea of where she might be. With Cheerilee in tow, the two of them headed outside, and found the orange filly, curled up at the edge of the crater where Shazam impacted.

It took much of their willpower to keep from breaking down, but they had to remain strong, for Scootaloo. Both mare walked until Cheerilee was on Scootlaoo’s left, and Twilight was on her right. Both mares lowered themselves until they were lying on the ground with Scootaloo. Twilight unfurled her left wing and draped it over Scootaloo’s back, while Cheerilee nuzzled the side of her adopted daughter’s head comfortingly.

“They took her…” Scootaloo whispered.

Cheerilee glanced to her lover, there was no way she could simply say “It’ll be alright” or “Don’t worry”, because nothing about this situation was alright, and it was pointless to tell Scootaloo not to worry. The filly she cared about, who she had feelings for, was captured by the same group of ponies that were trying to kill the princesses, the very same ponies who sent in-equine ponies to destroy a superpowered hero like Shazam, and had no qualms with hurting innocent ponies.

“Scootaloo…” Twilight whispered.

There were no words that could make this better, the fact was thus. Alula, the pony who confessed her feelings to Scootaloo, had been taken by an organization bent on bringing down the Princesses. And even with the power of six gods, Scootaloo was powerless before their use of the Xanthos magic.

Twilight lowered her head and brought next to Scootaloo, curling her tail around pegasus filly, at the same time, Cheerilee did the same, placing her tail over Twilight’s. They could speak no words of true comfort, only the feelings of compassion and empathy, feelings of maternal love, these were all they could offer the young filly, their presence.

Even though they spoke no words, Scootaloo responded, nuzzling closer to the both of them, wanting their comfort as she let out her sobs. Because she did not have to act cool with them, they knew how much she hurt, and would not think less of her for it.

Project Erroria Arc Part 15: And what is found!

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DAY 1

Alula tossed and turned, groaning and muttering incoherently. Suddenly, she awoke with a start, gasping for air as if she had been held underwater, her tiny body was dripping with sweat, and her irises shrunk to the size of pinpricks. The - at this time - Earth pony filly, glanced about her surroundings. She wasn’t in Wayward House, no, Wayward House was torn apart, this room she was in, it was twice as big as anything in the orphanage. It was very spacious, with ornate furniture littering the room. The young filly took notice of the bed, the silky smooth sheets that begged anypony who lied down upon them to sleep in, and the awning that hung overhead that had embroidered, velvety red drapes hanging from them. It was all too surreal.

The tribe shifter began to panic, this definitely wasn’t her home, in fact, she didn’t know any place in Ponyville that had such nice accommodations. Diamond Tiara came to mind, but she was pretty sure that her house was damaged during the attack.

Alula’s panic rose even more when she saw the door at the other end of the room open up. A myriad of bad things ran through her head. Was she foalnapped? What was the pony who took her going to do her? There were no shortage of horror stories of what could befall her, if the whispered talks of the other orphan foals was any indication.

The door finally opened, revealing a pegasus mare, with a fuchsia coat, and neon blue mane. She wore a maid outfit, and had a kindly smile upon her face. “Oh my, Young Miss, you’re finally awake!”

“W-Who are you?! Where am I?!” Alula demanded.

“Just a moment! - Mistress! Mistress she’s awake!”

The sound of galloping hooves echoed from the other side of the door. The pegasus maid backed away and allowed the one she called Mistress to enter, but before she could see this mysterious mare, Alula ducked under the covers. She didn’t know what to expect, she didn’t want to imagine it. She was foalnapped, and in the home of somepony who would do Faust knows what to her.

“She’s awake, truly?! Let me see!”

Wait…I know that voice…

Alula, with great caution, peeked from behind the covers. She was surprised, and relieved, to see a familiar face. That of the kind mare who offered her and Aura a ride to Wayward House, somepony who everypony knew was kind and caring.

“Thorn Blackforest!” Alula exclaimed.

The brown colored unicorn mare strode to the filly’s bedside and released a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness, I feared you wouldn’t wake. How are you feeling, little Alula?”

“A-Alright, I guess, but how…how did I get here? And where is here?”

“You’re in my mansion, I found you outside, alone. I remembered you from my visit to Ponyville and quickly had my staff bring you inside, I’ve had my best doctors looking after you, I apologize for not taking you to a hospital sooner, but something told me that a public place was not good at this time,” explained Thorn. “Tell me, what do you remember?”

Alula rubbed her head, her memories were fuzzy, but there was one thing she knew happened, and made her pulse race. “PONYVILLE! We were attacked by some bad ponies, Shazam helped! What happened?!”

Thorn nodded solemnly and began to brush the young filly’s mane with her hoof. “I’m afraid…Ponyville was decimated…The Princess of Friendship and some of the residents made it out…but Shazam…Shazam has fallen.”

Alula’s eyes widened with horror, her heart feeling as if it stopped completely. The heat of her blood felt as if it had been stolen, and time itself crawled at a snail’s pace. “No…That can’t be…Sco - Shazam, she’s too strong to be beaten like that!”

With a saddened gaze Thorn looked to Alula. “I’m afraid it is true, she sacrificed her life to defeat the monster that attacked everypony.”

Alula felt as if the world was spinning, Scootaloo was…gone. She defeated the monster and lost her life in the process. The one thing she feared would happen, has happened. Alula’s vision became blurry as tears formed within her eyes. Thorn reached out and brought the young filly into an embrace, one that Alula gladly accepted as she began to sob into the mare’s chest, her home was destroyed, and the filly she loved was dead, it was all too much for her, she couldn’t understand why this was happening.

It took a couple of hours before Alula calmed down, her eyes were red and puffy from the crying, and she began to feel really tired from her crying.

“I’m a little sleepy,” said Alula.

“If you wish, I could leave you alone. I know you must be feeling a little overwhelmed.”

As Thorn motioned to leave she felt tiny forelegs wrap around her left foreleg. The unicorn mare looked back and saw that she was being held captive by the distraught Alula. “Please…can…can you stay in here a little longer, just until I fall asleep…please…?”

A gentle smile appeared upon Thorn’s lips. With a flash of her horn, Alula was lifted up and placed just so within the comforting embrace of the silk sheets, tucked in with care. Thorn got onto the bed and laid on top of the sheets beside her. “Of course I will.”

Alula curled up next to Thorn, and the mare continued to stroke Alula’s mane, lulling her into sleep.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

DAY 2

Alula stood at the window to her room, well it was not her room per say, it was one of Thorn Blackforest’s guest rooms. The sun was high in the sky, casting its light on the flower garden down below. Many gardener ponies were walking about, attending to the delicate roses which made for a beautiful sight. But even the beauty of nature could not lift Alula’s spirits, to her, right now, the world might as well be colored gray and black. Her fillyfriend was dead, and her home practically destroyed. Yes some ponies made it, but the majority didn’t, all the residents of the town she called her home, their smiling faces and warm greetings. She would no longer hear or see any of them.

Alula cursed herself, she wished she had asked Scootaloo to grant her access to the Rock of Eternity like she did Princess Twilight. But the Princess and Scootaloo didn’t want Alula to accidentally enter the fortress without one of them by her side, apparently the inside was more or less infinite and filled with many magical and dangerous things. Even though Murmur would be there, she might not always reach her in time.

“Plus…if she’s really gone, there’s no way I’d still be able to get in…whose to say that the door shuts automatically when the person who has the power…” Alula couldn’t finish that sentence, she could say “dies”, because it would just drive the fact that much more home.

Thanks to Thorn, Alula found out that she had been asleep for three days. After everything that happened, she had no doubts that there were ponies who would count her among the dead. It was probably just as well, she was just another orphan foal. A freaky, orphan foal.

A knock came at the door, but Alula didn’t turn to see who it was. “Come in.”

Thorn peeked into the room, looking at Alula with concern. “Alula, my maids tell me that you’re not eating, Dear.”

“I’m not very hungry.”

Thorn walked to Alula, standing next to her as she gazed out through the window. “I understand how much it hurts, believe me. You feel as if nothing matters, that the world has become less colorful.”

Alula glanced up at the older mare curiously. “Ms. Blackforest, did you…did you lose somepony too?” Thorn looked down at Alula, but Alula quickly looked away. “Sorry! I-I didn’t mean to -!”

“I lost my baby.”

The Earth filly snapped her head back up to see Thorn. “You…You lost your foal?”

“I was a little younger, it was a few years ago. She was my first and only child, and I was so proud of her, because I knew she would do great things one day…but, sadly I’ll never know,” said Thorn forlornly.

Alula’s ears drooped in sadness. “I…I’m sorry, was it…um, what’s the word…miss carry?”

Thorn shook her head. “No, she was born. She was healthy, and I held her in my arms. But…One day, she just disappeared. I felt as if the world was ending, that nothing - not even my own life - mattered. But, the fact that she just vanished gave me hope. I guess that’s why I sponsor and help so many orphanages, because I hope that one day I’ll find her there. That, and my motherly instincts compel me to help foals when I can.”

Silence prevailed over the room for several seconds before a word was uttered. “I wish I could have that kind of hope, but…the pony I really cared about is…gone, and I know for sure she is….”

“This filly, you were in love with her, weren’t you?” Thorn asked.

Alula’s cheeks tinted red, but in spite of her sadness, she smiled and nodded.

“What was she like?”

“She was brave, strong, and not just like she can lift something heavy kind of strong, but strong in a way that I can’t describe. Everypony, well some bullies, told her that she would never fly, that she was a flightless pegasus, but she never let that bring her down. Until, one day, she flew, and she got her cutie mark on top of it. She never stopped believing, and I admired that. I knew that she’d get adopted to somepony nice, and she did, but she still hung out with us despite that. And she was even willing to be my fillyfriend, even after finding out about…”

Thorn raised an eyebrow. “About what, Alula?”

The young filly sighed. Did it really matter now that her home was gone? Thorn Blackforest had been kind enough to let her stay and recover, but she couldn’t keep this a secret if she intended to continue staying at her mansion. Alula stood back, feeling the change coming. Thorn looked curiously at Alula, but her eyes widened when she spotted a red glow around her forehead, and immediately, a unicorn horn grew out. Alula figured that Thorn could tell that it wasn’t an illusion, or a spell, that Alula literally grew functioning unicorn horn.

“Alula…”

“I’m just a freak…I don’t know what tribe I’m even supposed to be…but Scootaloo, she didn’t care, she cared about me. I had resigned myself to never being adopted, because, well, who would want to adopt a filly who can change their tribe at random…”

Thorn shook her head, walking over to Alula and sitting down before her. “I think anypony who would judge based on that, and not see the filly within doesn’t deserve to be your parent, Alula.” Thorn blushed as she made circles in the carpet with her hoof. “I…If you wish, Alula, you could stay? Live with me.”

Alula’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “Ms. Blackforest, are…are you saying…you’ll adopt me?!”

“I don’t want to send you away to another orphanage, and honestly, after what you have been through, the last thing I want is for you to be alone. If you want, Alula, I could adopt you, but only if you want me to,” said Thorn with all sincerity.

“Miss Blackforest you…you’d really adopt me?!”

Thorn opened her forelegs, welcoming Alula. Without hesitation, Alula jumped into them, feeling those forelegs wrap around her, and offer her protection and comfort.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

“You’re quite the twisted little minx aren’t you?” Pink Tulip teased.

“Not now,” said Thorn.

Thorn and Pink Tulip were standing before a tank filled with green liquid, and floating within it, was Alula. Two unicorn mares were standing on either side of the vat, their horns glowing as a machine mounted to the top of the tank blinked and pulsated. Pink Tulip walked up to the machine, inspecting it carefully.

“So, this machine absorbs the spell from these two fine mares, and uses that power to bring to life the script that you’ve written, to feed it into this filly’s mind and practically brainwash her. Am I correct so far?” Pink Tulip asked.

“Yes, but it’s not so much brainwashing as it is giving her the memories she was always meant to have. After all, she is my biological daughter,” said Thorn in all earnest.

Pink Tulip gasped at hearing that little revelation, sidling up next to Thorn grinning lasciviously under her mask. “Oh my, Thorn! I had no idea she was literally your daughter! So, who’s the lucky stallion……or mare?”

Thorn scoffed at the mare. “Why must everything with you be perverted! For the Archivist, you’re not very scholarly!” The brown unicorn mare took a moment to calm down before she explained. “I mean to say, I used an egg from my own womb to grow her. The Xanthos magic, along with base DNA of pegasi and earth pony, were introduced to make her.”

Tulip looked upon the filly again, regarding her in a new light. “Aaaah, so you were trying to create an alicorn, and you are technically her mother. Soooo~ how did you manage to extract your own egg? I don’t suppose there was some kinky method in doing so?”

“I had one of my assistants help with the extraction, utilizing a phasing spell and -”

“Yeah, yeah, boring science way. Why do you have to go and ruin my fantasies?” Tulip once again glanced upon the filly in the vat. “So, are you still going through with your plan?”

Thorn walked up to the vat, placing a hoof gently to its surface. “I will not let her be used in such a way. My Alpha, my Erroria, she was meant to be beautiful. Truthfully, once the Kingdom had done its work, she and the rest of my ‘children’ would wipe out the lot of them, and take the place of the useless Royals who have let Equestria slip into danger time and again.”

Pink Tulip smiled. “Is that so? But there are those who who won’t allow your plan to come true, they may even try to kill you.”

“Is that a threat?” Thorn asked with a sharp glare.

“A warning, dear, only a warning.”

Thorn chuckled. “She was meant to be a symbol, ponies would look up to her and see mercy. But when her enemies look upon her, they will know only terror the likes of which the depths of Tartarus can ever know. Will you still stand with me, ‘Pink Tulip’?”

Pink Tulip put on a sultry smile and sidled next to Thorn, practically having their cutie marks touch. “I stand next to those who hold my interest, those who have the potential to cause a great change, and I see that in you. Plus, I find you to hold my interest in the physical sense as well.”

Thorn rolled her eyes.

“And…I can sympathize with your desire…mother to mother,” whispered Pink Tulip.

“What?” Thorn asked.

“Nothing! Now, how about my reward for bringing you Caballeron? You still haven’t given it to me.”

“Ugh…”

PONYVILLE

Cheerilee walked back and forth in her living room, she didn’t know what to do for her adopted daughter. She hadn’t come out of her room for two days, Cheerilee had been leaving food at the door to her room, and Scootaloo seemed to be eating it. But upon inspecting it, there were small nibbles, her appetite hadn’t improved, and the only time she heard her come out was to go to the bathroom.

Babs, Sweetie, Aura, and Apple Bloom had come to visit Scootaloo, in hopes of cheering her up. But each attempt was met with the same result, a closed door, and no response. It made Cheerilee sad every time she saw Scootaloo’s dearest friends come and stay for hours trying to talk to her, but leaving not being able to coax her out of the room.

Cheerilee felt helpless, she couldn’t offer any words of comfort to Scootaloo. What do you say for a situation like this? Her special somepony was taken from her, and the young filly was powerless to help, even Twilight, even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, proved to be powerless against the might of the Kingdom…even Shazam.
It was the weekend now, and Cheerilee had her sister, Berry Punch over. She was at her wits end with how to help Scootaloo, and decided to ask somepony who already had experience.

“Jeez, Sis, that’s…Well, are the Princesses going to mount a rescue or something?! That thing foalnapped a kid! They can’t just let that stand!” Berry argued.

“Believe me, Twilight is going over every possible way to locate Alula…Even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have mobilized the Royal Guard to start scouring known shady area of Equestria, and even making contact with allies in the Minotaur City States, the Eastern Regions of Neighpon, Prance, anypony at this point. But no luck as of yet.”

Berry sipped a glass of grape juice, nonalcoholic, she needed her wits about her, and sighed heavily. “I wish I knew what to do, it’d be one thing if the one you’re crushing on up and moved away, but foalnapped…I…”

Cheerilee rubbed her temples as she continued on. “To make matters worse, she thinks it’s her fault somehow. I don’t know where she got such an idea! She’s only a foal, a little filly! I’m starting to think having Rainbow Dash as her ‘big sister’ is starting to make her think that she’s meant to be a hero like her, or Shazam!”

Berry rubbed the back of her head, chuckling a little. “You’d be surprised how much kids idolize somepony who’s their hero, and how harshly the judge themselves when they don’t meet up to that of their idol. My Berry Pinch was like that, still like that. She sees me as Super Mom, and says she wants to be like me when she grows up…I really hope not.”

Cheerilee glanced to her sister, her expression morphing to one of compassion. “Berry, you were young and reckless, yes, but you weren’t a bad pony.”

“Getting drunk off my ass, partying day and night - oh, and let's not forget the number of mares and stallions I slept with in between! Crap, Cheers, I don’t even know if Pinch’s other parent is a unicorn mare who spelled herself with the proper equipment, or if it was a stallion! And yet she defends me, it’s not like the other foals’ parents don’t talk, and their kids hear it and repeat it.”

Berry shook her head. “Ugh, getting off topic, this is about you and Scoots! Sorry, I don’t have any good advice in this…”

Cheerilee sighed, but gave a small smile. “It’s fine, I guess it’ll just be one of those things that we’ll have to figure out together.”

The purple mare placed her hoof over Cheerliee’s and gave it reaffirming squeeze. “Hey, don’t forget, you’re not alone. I’m here, so is Pinch, she’s our family too you know and Pinchy’s been wanting to spend more time with her new cousin. Maybe when this is over we can figure out a family outing.”

The school teacher’s smile widened. “I’d like that, and I think Scootaloo would too.”

“Good, now how about you marry that hot piece of alicorn flank so we can have a proper family outting?”

Cheerilee’s face switched from its normal mulberry color to full red. “BERRY PUNCH! Honestly, between you, and Scootaloo, I don’t know who embarrasses Twilight and I more!”

Suddenly, they heard a clicking noise coming from upstairs, not soon after the sound of hooves descending the stairs caught their ears. Cheerilee and Berry watched as Scootaloo came down the stairs, her movements were sluggish, as if she were moving through molasses, her gaze downcast as she barely even acknowledged their presence.

“Hey Scoots, it’s your Aunt Berry!” Berry called out.

Scootaloo raised her head to look in their direction, her eyes looked as if she were somewhere far away, despite her body being physically here.

“Hey…”

“Um, Scootaloo, did you need something sweetheart?” Cheerilee asked.

“I’m going out…” Scootaloo replied.

“Oh…um, are you heading to Twilight’s? Rainbow Dash’s place, or maybe one of your friends?”

Scootaloo turned her back to Cheerilee and Berry and began walking towards the door.

“Scootaloo?”

The orange pegasus filly didn’t respond.

“Scootaloo.”

Again, no response.

“Scootaloo?!”

“I’m just going out, I don’t know where! Maybe I’ll fly up and hang out on a cloud! Maybe I’ll go to the Apple Orchard and get myself lost in the trees! I don’t know where I’m going so just stop asking!” Scootaloo snapped as she did an about face.

Cheerilee was taken aback by the harsh tone Scootaloo took, even Berry Punch was surprised. It finally sunk in what she had done and Scootaloo’s face quickly changed from one of anger to one of apology.

“I-I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry Cheerilee! I…I just…” Scootaloo hung her head, tears beginning to form. “Please…Please don’t hate me…”

Cheerilee rose from the couch and walked to her little filly. She sat before her and gently stroked her mane. “I could never hate you, Scootaloo. You just surprised me is all. I’m sorry to ask you so many times, but I’m just worried about you, and after all that’s happened, I don’t want to lose you.”

Scootaloo moved closer and nuzzled into Cheerliee’s chest. The older mare lowered her head and nuzzled the top of Scootaloo’s head.

“I just need to get out for a bit…is that alright?” Scootaloo asked?

“Alright…just promise me you’ll be home before the sun sets?”

Scootaloo backed up and nodded to her. With that, Scootaloo left the house, leaving Cheerilee to sigh and worry for her adopted daughter.

“Well, guess I’m staying. No way I’m leaving you alone,” said Berry Punch.

“Thanks Berry.”

“No prob, so how about you bust out the good stuff and we’ll play a round of Shot or Dare!”

Cheerilee face hoofed herself. “The last time we played that you dared me to - brrr,” the mulberry mare shivered at the memory, “you had me do that!”

“Hey you could’ve just taken the shot, but uh, to be fair, you didn’t seem like you were disliking the dare that much, Sis,” said Berry with a wiggling eyebrow.

“You do know my marefriend can send you to the moon, right?”

Scootaloo began wandering Ponyville, not really going anywhere in particular. The loss against the Beast was made all the more painful by losing Alula, her first fillyfriend, and she let her get taken by a monster, to an organization of ponies who’ll do, Faust knows what. In the back of Scootaloo’s mind though, she had an idea, she knew all too well how cruel some adults could be to foals, her own past was evident of that.

It made Scootaloo’s blood boil, to the point that she almost uttered the Word of Power. Unfortunately, just as soon as the hot blooded fervor was stoked, it died out in the face of cold logic. Even if she did transform, she had no way of finding Alula, and even so, she was still no match for the Kingdom’s Assassins who wield Xanthos magic. Scootaloo may be the bearer of the Living Lighting, but she was no champion. In her mind, losing Alula was grounds for dismissal as a hero.

If a hero can’t protect those they love, how can they call themselves heroes, she thought.

As Scootaloo walked she found herself bumping into somepony, sending her going rumb first to the ground. “Sorry, I-I wasn’t watching where I was - DISCORD?!”

Well, it wasn’t just one Discord, it was a team of Discords, all flying around Ponyville and using their chaos magic to fix up the town. The Discord that Scootaloo bumped into had on denim overalls, an orange plaid shirt, and a yellow hardhat. Around his waist were various tools, a hammer, wrench, measuring tape, and other items. Discord turned his head, looking back and forth before finally looking down and seeing Scootaloo.

“Sorry little filly, but access to this road is strictly off limits until construction is complete.”

“Wha…What are you doing here?!” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, well, you know the construction industry is booming right now, what with all the superpowered beings smashing walls, and the now and again little crisis Ponyville has from time to time, I thought to myself, ‘Discord, why not start a construction company and make Ponyville your prime local?!’”

Discord lowered his head to Scootaloo’s level and whispered in her ear. “Between you and me, with the amount of mishaps this town has, I’ll be able to retire in less than a month!”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at that. “Seriously?”

Discord pouted. “Oh alright, Twilight asked me to help……and Fluttershy may’ve had a hoof in it, too.”

“Uh-huh, so why did the other yous stop working?”

Discord turned around and spotted his various clones all setting, drinking coffee and eating donuts. Discord zipped over to one of his clones and gave them a stern look.

“And why are you lazing about?! We still have work to do!”

“Union break,” the clone answered.

Discord slapped his forehead with his lion’s paw. “I swear, the things I put up with.”

The Spirit of Chaos turned to talk to Scootaloo, but soon found that the pegasus filly had already begun walking the other way. Not achieving more than five feet of distance between them, did Discord teleport to Scootaloo, hovering over her. “Now, what’s with the looong face? I mean other than the fact that you’re a pony, but then, you’re faces aren’t very long, unlike that one horse I know with the terrible bad luck, now that’s a long face.”

“Ugh, why do you care?” Scootaloo asked.

“Because, you and your little trio get into all kinds of chaos, and it’s always fun to see what kind of mishap you get into next. So when one of you looks a little down in the dumps, it affects the chaos! So what’s wrong?”

Suddenly, with a snap of his claw, Scootaloo found herself lying on a couch, and Discord sitting on a stool with a clipboard, a lab coat, and wearing some large frame glasses. “Tell Dr. Discord what troubles you, remember, everything that’s said is held in strict confidence.”

Scootaloo gave the Spirit of Chaos a deadpan look and hopped off the couch. “Look, I’m not really in the mood for your mind games, I just want to be alone right now.”

“Hmm,” hummed Discord as he stroked his goatee. “Now what exactly can be troubling a young, twelve-year-old filly like yourself? Colt trouble? Filly trouble perhaps? Has to be filly trouble, the ratio of stallions to mares in this place is severely off kilter, how can you not end up with a another filly and/or mare?!”

“Discord,” said Scootaloo in a warning tone.

“Perhaps it’s a friendship problem? In which case this would’ve been solved two chapters ago, but seeing the current length of this story, it’s definitely not that. That or the author is long winded.”

Scootaloo stopped in her tracks on that one. “Wait what?”

Discord began pacing around Scootaloo, well, his bottom half did so while his top half just hovered there and thought hard.

“Oh well, if it isn’t any of that then it must have something to do with your losing the filly you cared about, and getting beaten soundly by a supercharged, mutant pony monster, thing.”

Scootaloo’s jaw dropped, time felt as if it had ground to a halt, and every hair on her body stood on end. Well, the time grinding to a halt may have something to do with the fact that nothing and nopony was moving, at all.

“Wha…Wha…I mean, what are you talking about?!” Scootaloo asked, trying to feign ignorance.

“Oh please, you really think I wouldn’t have figured it out? Filly please, I knew you had that Ancient Magic the moment you came back from that Rock of Whatever.”

“YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ROCK OF ETERNITY?!” Scootaloo quickly slapped her hooves over her mouth, cursing herself for yelling out the name of her interdimensional fortress.

“Ah don’t worry, time has completely halted, they can’t see or hear us. Ooh, one moment!”

Scootaloo watched as Discord teleported over to two ponies. The pegasus filly knew these two as Lyra Heartstrings and Bonbon, Ponyville’s closet mare couple, who constantly kept saying they’re “best friends”. After having a fillyfriend of her own, Scootaloo was able to tell just how obvious those two were. Discord, in pure chaos fashion, worked his magic and somehow joined both mares at the middle. Scootaloo’s eye twitched at the odd sight, seeing how Bonbon’s top half, and seeing as her vanilla coat color transitioned into Lyra’s mint green coat color, and ending up with the top of Lyra.

Discord then teleported over to the local Mailmare, Derpy Hooves. She was with her daughter, and fellow classmate of Scootaloo’s, Dinky Hooves. Scootaloo dreaded what DIscord would do, but after a snap of his paw, Derpy had been transformed into a filly, and Dinky had changed into a grown mare. Which, oddly enough, made Scootaloo’s jaw drop at how hot she looked.

With one last teleport, Discord appeared before Scootaloo, leaning on a lamppost. “Sorry about that, had to get jiggy with the chaos while I could. Now what were you saying?”
Scootaloo shook her head and gave the draconequus an intense glare. “How the hay do you know about the Rock of Eternity, and how do you know I’m Shazam?!”

Discord’s lips formed a somewhat sinister grin. “Because, my little pony, I once battled the Ancient Magic. Back before there was a Champion of Magic, before existence, there was only Chaos and Order - Order being the Ancient Magic.”

“For eons both Chaos and Order fought against each other, struggling for supremacy. And then, existence came into being. Worlds were created, life sprang up, and with it, those whom Order chose to wield it’s power, the Ancient Magic. The Six Gods of SHAZAM. Through them, the power of Chaos would be beaten back and defeated time and again. Oh sure, there have been those who try to wield its power, but they all fell short and were left wanting.”

“That’s when Chaos chose to create its own envoy, its own personification, the Spirit of Chaos!”

Scootaloo gulped. “You?”

Discord, after somehow acquiring a game show host suit, turned around and pointed to a weird electronic board. “Show me ‘Discord’?!” In less than a second, the board flashed with Discord’s face, ringing loudly. “Give the filly a solid gold cupi doll!”

Suddenly, a gold doll in the form of a pegasus holding a bow and arrow fell from the sky and landed next to Scootaloo with a “thud”, making the pegasus filly jump to the side. “DISCORD!”

“Heh, heh, sorry, that should have just appeared on the ground. But yes, I was the enemy of your predecessors. For a time anyway. Until the Ancient Magic left, and Harmony took its place. It was then that I thought to myself, why does chaos have to be destruction and all around bad stuff, fun things can happen from chaos, too you know!”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but sometimes your definition of ‘fun’ involves turning reality inside out.”

Discord huffed. “Now that’s unfair, I’ve mellowed out over the years! Mostly.”

“So, what, are you…going to fight me or…?”

Discord regarded the little filly for a moment. “I have no need to fight, it’s been sooooo long since those years, besides, there’s other things brewing that require the return the power you wield. And by the way, why haven’t you shouted out your battlecry and sped off to save your bonny lass?”

Scootaloo hung her head in shame. “Because…I’m not a hero…I can’t beat the Kingdom…and if I can’t beat them…I can’t save Alula…” The pegasus filly looked back to her flank, seeing the golden thunderbolt, the symbol of her heroic persona, the mark of her destiny to be a hero. “I don’t deserve this…the Wizard made a mistake! Discord, use your magic to take it off of me, I don’t deserve this mark!”

“Hmmm, nope. Not my thing to steal cutie marks, that’s more of a certain unicorn mare’s thing in this little village - nevermind. In any case, I won’t be taking it - not saying I can’t - but I won’t.”

Scootaloo glared at the Spirit of Chaos, of all the times Discord would pull a prank or do something that would be near catastrophe levels, he did it without question, and now here she was, practically offering him the chance to get rid of an old enemy and he wouldn’t take it.

“WHY WON’T YOU!!? I’M NOT WORTHY OF THIS POWER, OR THIS MARK! JUST…Just take it away away…all of it…it was a mistake to make me a hero…”

Discord raised an eyebrow at the young filly, and, possibly the only other time he’d ever show it. The Spirit of Chaos, had a serious expression. “So, you don’t think you’re worthy? Don’t think that you’re supposed to be a hero?” Discord glanced off to the side and nodded as if affirming his decision. “Come with me.”

The draconequus turned around and snapped his fingers. In an instant a door appeared and opened to a world of light. Discord motioned with this paw for Scootaloo to follow, the pegasus filly sighed, she had nowhere to be right now, especially with time having been frozen. So she followed the Spirit of Chaos into the doorway, which shut behind her and disappeared from sight.

“Where are we?”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened when she beheld an infinite expanse of stars, and gasped when she noticed that she was standing on a platform made of light. The pegasus filly knew this wasn’t the normal night sky that she’d normally see, there was power around her, echoes coming from the distance and reverberating throughout the expanse.

“Welcome to the Multiverse! Well, our little corner of it anyways!” Discord announced.

“‘Multiverse’, what’s that?”

Discord reached out and somehow plucked a few stars from the sky, he then had them float before the both of them as he held his claw and paw behind his back. “The full explanation would take too long, but simply put, it’s the idea that many universes exist, ones that are based upon different choices we make. For instance…”

An orb rose up from the rest and showed Ponyville, the orb fast forwarded and showed herself, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. She didn’t think anything of it, not at first, it looked like a normal day, but then something caught her attention. “Wait…Class President? I don’t remember doing this for Pip?”

She continued to watch as the three of them learned of Diamond Tiara’s real reason for being the way she was, and how she came to realize what she was meant to be. Further into watching, Scootaloo witnessed as the three of them gained their cutie marks, together.

“This…This never happened! What kind of trick is this?!” Scootaloo shouted.

“It’s no trick, Scootaloo, this is a glimpse of a world that took a different path, where you and your little friends all gained your marks together. Quite an amazing feat I might add. There are other worlds like this one Scootaloo, ones where you’re still with your parents before anything ever bad happened, and never did. Others where Nightmare Moon became victorious, where Queen Chrysalis terrorizes the land, and others where…Tirek is large and in charge.”

At the last one, Discord snorted some flames, the sting of betrayal still fresh. “Then you run into other ones, worlds that splinter off from the main path, some, are due to the influence of other universes, powers that have somehow injected themselves into Equestria’s universe and caused all kinds of wondrous things, and sometimes awful things. Take this world, I’m sure Twilight has filled you in on her little venture to a parallel world?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Discord brought forth another orb, one that showed the pony that stole Twilight’s crown, Sunset Shimmer. But, there was another Twilight there. Both, Sunset, and this other Twilight, seemed to be enemies, but then they attained powers by calling out the word

“FIRESTORM!!!”

Scootaloo backed away, covering her eyes until the glow subsided. She gasped upon seeing both non-pony Sunset and Twilight transform into fiery warriors. “What is this?!”

“A world where an organization, not unlike the Kingdom, is threatening global domination through the use of that power you see. Dear Twilight and Sunset are opposing this currently, but are in bit of a rough spot, but sadly, no spoilers!” Discord then proceeded to toss the orb back behind him, which then shot off back into the universe behind him.

“Oh, I think you’ll find this one interesting! A world where seven lights powered by seven different emotions, and the beings who are the sources of this light, come to Equestria and seek refuge from a War of Light.”

Scootaloo looked upon this orb, regarding it with great fascination, but blushed when she saw herself and a blue pegasus filly kiss.

“And did I forget to mention that you happened to fall in love with one of them? She embodies hope itself, so A+!”

Scootaloo shoved the orb away and glared to Discord. “Why are you showing me all this?! These different worlds?!”

“Haven’t you wondered why I haven’t been able to help much lately?” Discord asked.

Scootaloo opened her mouth to explain, but, after thinking it over for a second, she didn’t know. After everything that had happened lately, not once had Discord come to intervene, and nopony seemed to know where he was during this time. “What…What have you been doing?”

Discord pointed a single digit up to the expanse above. “Look, it’s about to happen.”

Scootaloo looked up and watched as something red and fiery came straight for them. The tween filly was about to speak the Word of Power, but at the last second, the object struck something. An invisible wall crafted of chaos magic, which stretched on for as far as the eye could see. The red comet, which took on a shape similar to that of the non-pony beings in that parallel world, struck the barrier again and again, spewing crimson flames that seemed endless. Finally, the creature changed form and shot off into the distance.

“W-What was that?!”

“An invader, something that was attracted to this world because it shares similarities with whatever world it came from. It happens frequently, and my job is to keep our universe safe from outside influence such as that. That’s why I haven’t helped much, why my powers are mostly limited to my usual brand of chaos and nothing reality warping.”

“Because you’re using all your power to keep the universe safe…does Twilight know?! Do the Princesses know?!” Scootaloo asked in a frantic state.

Discord shook his head. “Twilight does not, and Celestia has an inkling, and nothing more. But that’s why you are needed more than ever.” The filly tilted her head in confusion. “The power of the Ancient Magic, it’s return means that there’s a crisis coming that warrants the return of the Champion of Magic, and out off all the ponies and living beings in our universe, I knew you would be chosen. Even before the old snowbeard knew himself.”

Scootaloo’s head felt as if it was going to burst open. Discord knew about her, there were other worlds, he was protecting everypony from otherworldly threats? Scootaloo felt as if she needed to transform just to have the wisdom needed to process this information.

“I…Okay, so why, why am I the only one out of everypony on our planet?!”

Discord waved his paw over Scootaloo, and immediately, a field of azure blue and white, and a field of violet and red, formed around Scootaloo.

“Every living thing has two halves to them. The good and the bad, the light and the darkness, Chaos and Harmony. Your unique, in that part of your life was filled with chaos, the likes of which even your friends wouldn’t dare to even speculate or say aloud.” Discord watched as the young filly turned her gaze away, tears beginning to leak from the corners of her eyes. “But, because of that, it’s allowed you to see the good and makes you strive to be even better than what your past could’ve done.”

Discord waved his paw and brought both dual auras to bear before Scootaloo. “Your powers are hinging on this duality. When you’re confident, brave, and selfless in the face of danger, your aura of Harmony is that much stronger, and you’re powers answer to that strength.” The blue and white aura began to grow, shrinking the red and violet aura. “But when you’re in doubt, when you fear of your past may take hold, it poisons your power.” The violet and red aura began to grow, and push back against the blue and white aura.

Scootaloo hung her head low. “So, I’m my own worst enemy, but more proof that I shouldn’t be the Champion, at all!”

Discord waved his paw and made the aura return to a state of transparency. He then teleported next to Scootaloo, and hovered there as he spoke. “I have witnessed many paths that you could’ve taken. Paths that have led you to doing things similar to what you suffered, but with those you care about, your friends, and those you look up to, like a kind of poison. Others I’ve seen show you going so far into the darkness that not even light or friendship would dare touch you.”

Scootaloo screwed her eyes shut, she knew all this, she knew she was messed up inside. How could she not be? After what her mother put her through, did to her, how could anypony expect to escape that and not be broken or messed up. Scootaloo had made sure to push all those memories so far into the back of her mind that they would only be bad dreams and nightmares when she slept, afraid that those things would come back and her brokenness would hurt her friends, and corrupt those she cared about and looked out for her. Rainbow Dash, Cheerilee, Twilight, she couldn’t bare to drag any of them into that.

“But you know what, all of those possibilities vanished the moment you spoke the word ‘Shazam’.”

The pegasus filly opened her eyes and glanced at Discord, half expecting to see a mocking grin. But, his expression was not mocking, it was actually sincere, he was even smiling. A kind smile, not his usual Cheshire cat grin. “You…You mean that?”

“Yes, I watched that moment carefully, because at that moment a number of scenario worlds were about to be born in which you chose a different path, a dark path, a painful path, and ones that would - after a lot of hardship and drama - would bring you to a somewhat happy ending. But you chose this, and from then on, well, it’s completely up to you. Because this world needs a Champion to watch it, I watch the outside, while you watch over the inside.”

Discord placed his claw on the filly’s mane and ruffled it, earning a groan from the filly, but Scootaloo smiled nonetheless. “The world chose you to be a hero, but it was your decision to answer the call, and you accepted it, which makes you that much stronger. No more doubts?”

Scootaloo looked up to the infinite universe above her, every glow of light, every star was another world, a different existence where she wasn’t a superhero, where things weren’t as crazy as they are now, and ones that were probably even crazier than her own situation. How many other versions of her were fighting to live a better life? How many versions of her became heroes, even superheroes? How many were fighting this very moment, with everything they had to save the ponies they cared about?

One thing was for sure, there was no time for the sadsack routine. She was chosen, but she made the choice to be the Champion of Magic, to become Equestria’s Mightiest Mare. All kinds of bad things happened to her before she came to Ponyville, and a lot of good things happened after she got there. Friends, the start of a family, and a filly she could call her very special somepony. The Kingdom would not take that from her, nor would she let them do that to anypony.

“Discord, take me back.”

The Spirit of Chaos raised an eyebrow. “Oh, why’s that? Time’s still frozen on the other side.”

“I have a mission to start, and a pony to bring back home!” Scootaloo declared with vigor.

Discord grinned and snapped his paw, creating a door that swung open to Ponyville. “Go get ‘em!”

Scootaloo nodded and dashed for the doorway, but just before she crossed over, Discord's eyes and mouth appeared in the middle of space, making Scootaloo come to a screeching halt.

“Oopsie doodles, almost forgot! You may want to have a look in Twilight’s throne room, there may or may not be something that can help,” said Discord with a winking left eye.

Normally Scootaloo would roll her eyes and blow off his advise, but this time, she felt as if she could trust the Spirit of Chaos. With an affirming nod, Scootaloo charged through the doorway, with the door closing shut behind her. Discord righted himself, standing on his cloven hoof and dragon foot.

“You play a dangerous game Discord.”

The Spirit of Chaos grinned as he turned around and saw a blue-green flame flicker behind him.

“No more dangerous than what’s going on,” replied Discord.

“You didn’t need to show her this, it’s too much for her to understand! Right now she needs to focus on saving Alula!”

Discord turned around and put his claw and paw on his hips, where his hips would be anyway. “Yes, but as you could see, she was a little down in the dumps, and nothing you could’ve done would’ve helped. She needed a pep talk, and I gave her one, and it wasn’t as if what I was saying was untrue.”

The blue-green flame flickered in agitation. “What you say is true, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready for what’s to come!”

“No one is. But trust me, knowing now will save you some trouble later.”

The flicker formed itself into a question mark. “And how do you figure?”

Discord pulled an orb from the infinite expanse. In the orb was the image of a battlefield, ravaged by unparalleled destruction. Amidst the chaos, seven figures stood together. Lightning flashed, fire roared, lights beamed, magic and chaos were unleashed, and cannons were fired, all while these seven charged forth into battle, against impossible odds.

“Let’s just say, you’ll bear witness to Legends.”

Project Erroria Arc Part 16: Assault The Mansion!

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Scootaloo walked about the castle, she had no need to sneak around, most of the Dusk Guards knew about her and her relationship to Princess Twilight Sparkle. So they paid her no mind as they passed her by, which was perfect for where she needed to go. Following Discords advise, Scootaloo made her way to Twilight’s throne room, a place that she knew Twilight and the others don’t often visit, mostly because Twilight was still getting used to the fact that she had a castle.

The young pegasus filly slipped in when nopony was looking and closed the door, gently, behind her. Scootaloo sighed in relief, although it wouldn’t be suspicious of her to check out the throne room, she didn’t need any undue attention drawn to her.

“Scoots?”

“GAH!” Scootaloo jumped, her wings fluttering at the same time and bringing her close to the ceiling. When she looked down she groaned in annoyance. “Spike?! What’re you doing here?!”

The baby dragon arched his brow at that question. “Um, I live here, remember? The question is, what are you doing sneaking into the throne room?”

Scootaloo fluttered back down and rubbed the back of her head as she chuckled nervously. “I-I just wanted to check this place out! I don’t always see this part of the castle and I thought it’d be a nice change of scenery!” Spike continued to give her a suspicious look. “You’re not buying this, are you?”

“Not even a bit. So what’s really going on?”

Scootaloo was between a rock and a hard place, throughout her time coming to the castle, neither herself or Twilight had told the baby dragon about her secret identity. She wanted to keep the circle of those who did know small, to protect them, but at this point…

“Spike, I can’t really explain it, but I need you to leave this throne room! It’s important! Please?!” Scootaloo pleaded.

The young drake sighed. “Scoots, just give it up, I know you’re Shazam.”

Scootaloo’s left eye twitched, and she restrained herself from yelling out loud. “W-What a-are you talking about, Spike?! Me, Shazam? Yeah right!”
Spike had a deadpan expression upon his face. “I’m not as dumb as you think I am.”

Scootaloo blushed and shook a foreleg in dismissal. “Nonononono! Spike, I don’t think that! I…I…I…” Scootaloo sighed heavily as she stared down at the floor. “How long?”

“Let’s see…There’s the number of times you come here, I know the Crusaders have Twilight Time, but you’re the only one who seems to come here more frequently.” Spike ticked another digit. “Not to mention, when you do arrive, you only spend like a few seconds here, but when you leave, you and Twilight act as if you’ve spent hours doing whatever. Then there’s the fact that Shazam has orange wings and a purple tail.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “That could be anypony though. Applejack has an orange coat too, but we’re not related.”

“True, but there’s also the fact that Twilight and Shazam seem to act like they know each other, I know Twilight’s not ungrateful when somepony helps her, but the way she goes up to Shazam, and the way Shazam talks like they both know each other, it’s little suspicious. And then the girls became superpowered alicorns, it was the final clue, for me anyway,” said Spike. “I’m sure you guys have your reasons, but you can trust me with your secret.”

Scootaloo scratched the back of her head, embarrassed for underestimating Spike this whole time, and not giving the baby dragon some credit for keeping the secret this long.

“So tell me, what are you really doing here?” Spike asked.

Scootaloo sighed once again, but this time she stood confidently. “I’m going to get Alula back.”

Spike’s expression changed instantly from one of suspicion to concern. “W-Wait, how?! I thought Twilight and the Princesses hadn’t located her yet!”

“I know, but I think there’s something in here that can help me do that. At least I hope so,” said Scootaloo.

The pegasus filly began circling around the six thrones and steward’s seat, checking to see if there was any hidden switch or mechanism that would do…something. Spike began helping out, looking over each throne as well, but still had no clue what he was looking for.

“So who told you there was something in here that can help?” Spike asked.

“Discord,” said Scootlaoo nonchalantly.

“DISCORD!!?”

“Shh!”

Spike covered his mouth this his claws. “Are you nuts! Why would believe him of all ponie?!”

“Hey, he’s weird, but he does a lot for us that you don’t know, trust me!” Scootaloo shot back, surprising Spike at how she was defending the Spirit of Chaos. “Anyway, he was cryptic with the how, so I’m just checking everything. Does anything weird happen when Twilight or any of the others come in here?”

Spike rubbed his chin as he walked to the center of the six thrones. His green eyes looked over the thrones, drawing toward the cutie mark symbols etched into each one. “Well…Whenever Twilight sits in her throne, which isn’t often, the symbol of her cutie mark glows. I thought it was just Twilight’s throne since it’s her castle and all, but when Rarity sat in hers, the mark on her throne glowed too.”

“Really, even Rainbow’s?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, but neither of them sat in the throne for too long, Twilight’s not used to it, and neither are the girls, but the marks do glow.”

Scootaloo stared at the throne that had Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark on it, humming in contemplation as she neared it. On a hunch, Scootaloo placed her hoof on the seat and stared wide eyed as the mark lit up. She quickly retracted her hoof and at the same time, the mark stopped glowing.

Spike’s jaw had dropped at seeing the reaction to Scootaloo touching it, and practically broke through the floor when she walked to Fluttershy’s throne touched it, and made its mark glow as well. “How are you doing that?!”

“I think…I think it has to do with my magic.” Scootaloo walked to another throne, Applejack’s, and got it to glow as well. “Murmur told me that my magic is the original power from what the Elements of Harmony sprang from, maybe it’s reacting to it?” The filly walked up to Pinkie Pie’s throne and got it to glow too. “Have they all ever sat down at their thrones at the same time?”

Spike scratched his head as he thought about it, but to his recollection he never saw them all sit on the thrones. Maybe two or three of them, but never all six at once. “Nope, not even once. Why, what are you thinking?”

“Something probably crazy, but better than nothing at this point.”

Scootaloo climbed into Twilight’s throne and closed her eyes. If she was right, then the magic inside her would connect to whatever magic was present. Spike watched and for a few seconds nothing happened, but that changed quickly when a spark of azure lightning arced off of Scootaloo’s body. Soon another spark went off, and then another, and another, and another. Soon her whole body was releasing small bolts of lightning, lightning that seemed to resonate with Twilight’s throne as the cutie mark symbol above began to absorb that power.

“Generosity…”

“Loyalty…”

“Honesty…”

“Kindness…”

“Laughter…”

“Magic…!”

All six symbols absorbed the magic of the Living Lightning, resonating with its ancient ancestor, and from the symbols they fired a rainbow beam of magic straight to the floor. Scootaloo opened her eyes and suddenly, something began growing from the crystal floor, forming, taking shape with each passing second. A bright flash went off, making Spike shut his eyes to prevent blindness. A few more seconds passed before the light finally dimmed down a bit, allowing Spike to open his eyes, and then they went wide at what was now at the center of the throne room.

Scootaloo’s eyes became normal again, making her shake her head and come back to the now. It didn’t take long before she too saw what was at the center of the room, a large table. The tabletop, however, wasn’t ordinary, in fact, it showed a holographic map of Equestria. It appeared to be in real time since there some small beings walking about if one looked close enough. Spike jumped up onto his steward’s chair, gazing in awe at the map along with Scootaloo.

“What did you do?!” Spike asked.

“I have no idea, but…! Maybe this is what Discord was talking about, the way to find Alula!”

“How?”

“I have an idea.”

Scootaloo placed her hooves on the edge of the table and closed her eyes yet again. Her mind brought up memories of her fillyfriend, the sound of her laughter, the way she smiled, the faint scent of vanilla that always seemed to accompany her, the first time they…kissed.

“Scootaloo, look!” Spike called out.

Scootaloo opened her eyes and watched as her lightning bolt cutie mark shined and then floated off her flank. It zoomed over the map, hovering high overhead for a moment before descending down on a spot on the map. Spike and Scootaloo looked closer at the spot her mark was hovering over, and both cocked their heads to the side in confusion.

“She’s being held at a mansion?” Spike asked.

“Doesn’t matter where, if that’s the place, then I’m going!”

Scootaloo hopped off of Twilight’s throne and made her way to the doors, only to be stopped by the purple drake, holding his arms out to bar her way. “No way, you’re not going alone! If Alula is there, then those Kingdom guys are there too! And…”

“I know, I got my flank kicked, but trust me…” Scootaloo looked down at her right hoof, raising it and watching as electricity danced around her foreleg. “I feel like I can win, I won’t doubt myself again!”

Spike snorted. “Still, it’ll only be you! Besides, AB, Babs, and Sweetie are down still and can’t help!”

“I never wanted them to be involved like that, and they got hurt because of me…I won’t put them in danger like that again!” Scootaloo declared.

“Fine, then I’ll go with you! You can empower me the same way, right?!”

Scootaloo looked away, she couldn’t do that, not after what happened to her friends. “I…”

Spike walked up to the pegasus filly and clasped her on the shoulder, shooting her a kind smile. “Look, let’s just get this out of the way, I’m going with you and that’s final.”

“Why…?” Scootaloo asked.

“Because…well…” Spike scratched at his cheek, his face blushing a little. “Twilight’s going out with Cheerilee, and you were adopted by Cheerilee, so…you know, it kinda makes us brother and sister, in a way. And brothers are supposed to look out for their sisters, right?”

Scootaloo started to feel choked up, even though Twilight and Cheerilee hadn’t married, yet, Spike already considered her family, and was willing to protect her like family. Scootaloo sniffled a little and wiped a stray tear from her eye. “Fine, but you stay close to me and do what I say.”

“Heh, shouldn’t the big brother be calling the shots?”

Scootaloo blinked and then smirked. “Who said you were the older sib? If anything I’m older, I’m turning thirteen in a couple of weeks!”

Spike returned her smirk and pointed a thumb at himself. “Fourteen in five months.”

“I call horsefeathers on that!” Scootaloo retorted.

“You can ask Twilight when we get back, c’mon, I know a spot where you can do your thing.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, she was definitely making it a point to ask Twilight if Spike was indeed older than her. But as far as big brothers go, I don’t mind at all.

Thorn continued to watch over her created daughter, Alula. Her body had already begun altering, she had grown some in the past three days, already a match in height with Princess Luna. Her horn had grown longer, and her short wings had begun to grow into majestic, elegant avian appendages, ones that could rival even that of Princess Celestia. Her mane had grown out as well, flowing with a steady shimmer to it.

The Magi-Scientist placed her hoof against the tank, stroking the glass gently as if vicariously trying to rub her daughter’s cheek. “Erroria, my Erroria, my daughter, you’ve become so beautiful…” Thorn gently pressed her ear to the glass, hearing the faint, yet strong, thumping of a heart beating. “And your heart is strong. Soon, your mind will be filled with the memories of what was supposed be. The memories of your old life will fade away, and we’ll not only be a family, but the creators of a new world, with a competent ruler, and no equals in either the heavens above or Tartarus below!”

Thorn backed away and lit up her horn, casting a spell to amplify her voice. “Now hear this, all staff, set the remaining blank slates into production, and once that’s completed, convene in the meeting hall.”

Already the brown unicorn could hear her staff setting to work, the vats shifting into place and the Xanthos magic being infused. She knew from here it’d be automatic, and no further involvement would be needed from outside hooves. But soon, very soon, her daughter and her would have an army. An army that was strong enough to make an alicorn sweat, and now lead by an anti-alicorn infused with the destructive power of Xanthos, along with the Ancient Magic of Shazam, it would the dawn of a new era.

One of the masked assistants appeared behind Thorn and bowed to her. “Mistress, all has been set and the staff awaits you.”

Thorn glanced behind her, seeing the mare who had been - possibly - the most competent of all her staff. Thornsmiled as she approached the mare, using her magic to remove the mask, which took the mare by surprise. “My dear filly, you’ve been my assistant for a few years now, haven’t you?”

“W-Well, yes Mistress, you’ve been wonderful - it’s been wonderful being with you and working with you,” she said.

Thorn walked up to her, placing a hoof on her chin. “Yes, and you’ve been ever so helpful. Which is why I wanted to spare you, my dear.”

The unicorn mare tilted her head in confusion. “‘Spare me’? Mistress, I am afraid I don’t understand…?”

Suddenly, the hallway behind her erupted with screams of agony and death. The mare did an about face, hearing the sounds coming directly from the meeting hall. The screams echoed out into the hallways and through the stony caverns of her lab, making the unicorn mare’s eyes widen with shock and terror. She was backing up out of instinct, trying to get away, but only to end up backing into Thorn, who disturbingly stayed motionless.

“M-Mistress what is happening down there?!”

“Oh, I had The Five go in and dispose of some unnecessary equipment.”

It didn’t take long for the unicorn mare to get the gist of those words, she had set the Xanthos Assassins on the staff, and now they were killing everypony in there. “But why?!”

“I have no more need of them, now that my daughter has almost completed her metamorphosis, all I really needed was to have the last batch of Blank Slates process. But I didn’t want you to die like that.”

Tears of joy flowed from the unicorn mare’s eyes, her Mistress had spared her a horrible fate, and had dubbed her worthy of standing by her side through her endeavors from here on out, it was truly a blessing. The unicorn mare watched as Thorn brought her hoof to her cheek again, but this time directing her towards her muzzle, to which she received a tender kiss from her Mistress, making all thought of the horrors behind her fade away.

Thorn parted lips with her assistant, and smiled at her. “I have more respect for you dear, so that’s why……I’ll kill you myself.”

The brown unicorn mare’s horn glowed with red light, and immediately a noose of magic formed around the other unicorn’s neck. The noose pulled tight, quickly cutting off the mare’s air and hoisting her up higher and higher at a slow and agonizing pace. The choking mare tried to cast magic, indicated by the numerous times her horn lit up, but just as quickly as it did, the magic dispersed before she had chance.

“A unicorn can’t cast magic if their minds are too preoccupied with something else that’s preventing them from focusing, like, for example, the pain of slowly dieing.” Thorn watched as the mare reached out to her, while her other hoof desperately clawed at the magical ring around her neck. “I respected you more than the others, and I noticed how much you stared at me. I could tell the dirty thoughts that ran through your mind, in some way, I think you actually like this.”

The hanged mare tried to protest, but the noose was too tight around her neck, not only cutting off her air but her ability to speak. Thorn turned her back and walked away, still hearing the choking and gagging noises her former assistant was making. A flash of her horn made the noose rise higher and then suddenly go taut to the point that Thorn heard an audible snap, followed by the sound of a body hitting the stone floor.

Thorn continued to walk away, until she was back at the vat where Alula, or rather, Erroria still resided. She laid down on her belly before the vat, curling around it as if trying to comfort a foal. Her moment was interrupted when she heard five sets of hooves coming towards her, she grinned, seeing that it was her Five, each sporting new patches of red on their coats.

“Get your brothers and sisters ready, we’ll be marching on the Kingdom, and soon enough after, Canterlot.”

The Five nodded and readied to leave, until, a loud rumbling noise caught their attention. Alula twitched in her vat, and her horn gave off a spark of lightning, Thorn didn’t need to guess who it was that caused the rumble. “How?! How did she figure out where we were?! Send the rest up, kill Shazam! If she gets to her before the process is complete everything will be lost!”

The Five nodded and quickly went to assemble the fighting force needed to engage the Champion of Magic. Thorn turned to her created daughter and placed a hoof against that glass. “I will not let her take you away, no, by the time she reaches us, you will be the one to end her.”

“Well that woke up the neighbors,” said Shazam.

Down below, hundreds of Xanthos Assassins came rushing out of Thorn Blackforest’s mansion, some even popping up from secret passages closer to the surrounding forest. The Xanthos unicorns got into position, charging their horns and preparing to unleash a volley of magic bolts.

“Hey look, they’re lining up,” said Spike, with a rather strong and booming voice.

“They’re eager.”

Flying high in sky, with the full moon at their backs, was the alicorn heroine, Shazam. Her hooded cape flapped in the crossbreeze generated by the flapping of her wings, her horn ablaze with magical energy. Earlier, she had fired a lightning bolt, and found that the mansion was protected by a large dome of magical energy, it only reaffirmed The Map’s accuracy that this was the place where Alula was kept.

“Spike, you wanna bust in?”

Behind Shazam was a huge, purple and green scaled dragon. It’s wings beat thunderously with each flap, and its row of spines were glowing with the power of the Living Lightning, Sinewy muscles rippled across its body, and its eyes glowed with the magical power he had been bestowed.

“Just to be clear, they’re not real ponies, right?” Spike asked in a worried tone.

“No, they’re not. They’re empty, hollow, and only want to kill because of the Xanthos in them. So go to town on them!”

Spike nodded firmly and roared into the night sky. The mighty dragon dived down and opened its maw, all the spines on his back glowed with great intensity, and at the same time, emerald flames gathered in its mouth. In less a second, Spike unleashed a torrent of green flames, laced with lightning that struck the barrier, the magical forcefield quickly began fissuring, showing cracks all over it.

The shield soon shattered like fragile glass and allowed the inferno to continue forward, hitting all the Xanthos unicorns and scorching the ground and everything that rested upon it. The Xanthos unicorns didn’t even have a chance to scream or react, having been reduced to nothingness in an instant. Spike landed on the ground with a loud crash, the shockwave generated by his landing snuffed out the embers of his previous attack, leaving only scorched earth.

Xanthos pegasi all left the safety of the trees, covering the airspace around the mansion, preparing to pounce on the large dragon, but they forgot, he wasn’t alone.

Shazam shot forth from her position in the sky, she zoomed like lightning, streaking down until she was upon the vast array of Xanthos pegasi and zoomed to the closest one, striking it in the face with her hoof and sending it flying into the side of the mansion. Before one of its brethren could react, Shazam speed blitzed five more, sending them crashing into the ground, through trees, and high into the sky until they landed further in the distance with a loud crash.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Spike was being encroached upon by Xanthos earth ponies. The mighty dragon, roared and bared his fangs, claws at the ready, with flames lapping out of the corners of his mouth. The first wave came at him head on, which Spike punished them for such a reckless move by torching them with dragon fire. Another wave tried to attack him from the rear, but Spike wasn’t as slow as his bulky form led them to believe. Suddenly, thunder roared overhead and a bolt of lightning struck Spike’s hulking form, engulfing him in white smoke. The Xanthos earth ponies backed away, not knowing what to expect from their draconic opponent.

From the plume of white smoke, a figure shot out at amazing speed, and in the blink of an eye, put seven of the Xanthos earth ponies down. Spike had changed considerably, no longer a large, hulking dragon, but a lithe, bipedal drake. His forearms and shins were clad in golden armor, along with a chest plate that had the lightning bolt insignia, which coursed with the contained essence of the Living Lightning. Spike was granted a cape, but his hung off to his left side.

Another wave of Xanthos ponies came for Spike, but in the blink of an eye, Spike had disappeared, and reappeared in front of one of the earth ponies. Cocking back his right fist, and coating it in a layer of fire and lightning, Spike struck the pony, sending it flying into a crowd of its fellow Xanthos infused.

A group of earth ponies tried to dog pile Spike, but at the last second, Spike jumped into the air to meet them. Coating his shins and feet with lightning and fire, Spike performed a spiraling windmill kick that struck every Xanthos stallion and mare that was unfortunate enough to get close to him.

Spike landed on the ground, but stumbled a little to where he almost lost his footing. “Whew, not totally used to this yet.” Suddenly, the young drake sensed a power build up behind him. “Now what?!”

Another row of Xanthos unicorns were preparing to unleash a united magic blast. Spike grinned and widened his stance, digging his toes into the dirt and making it crack beneath his might. The young drake inhaled deeply, his spines glowing with built up magical energy. The Xanthos unicorns fired a combined magical, crimson beam that roared towards Spike. His eyes shimmered with azure light, and at the last second, Spike exhaled and released a mighty stream of fire and lightning. The electric blaze’s roar was even greater than that of the Xanthos as it quickly overcame the crimson beam and pushed it all the way back until it hit the group of unicorns, sending them into the mansion and exploding a good chunk of it away.

In the air, Shazam was quickly making short work of the aerial team, casting a cloning spell on herself and splitting herself up into five different Shazams. Each one took out ten a piece, either speed blitzing or firing off bolts of lightning to fry them like bugs. The five clones reunited into one, with Shazam giving them a death glare.

“I don’t have time for you!” Shazam declared.

The superheroine began spinning about, building up wind speed as she wrapped herself in a tornado. Lightning arced off the tornado as she rose into the air and collected every Xanthos pegasi in its vortex of power. Shazam charged her horn with her ancient power, and in the next moment, unleashed a bolt of lightning that fused itself with the tornado, zapping every Xanthos pegasus within it and detonating them in an instant. Once the skies were clear, Shazam flew down, landing right beside her teammate and surrogate/soon-to-be-big-brother.

“Skies are clear, enjoying yourself?” Shazam asked.

“This is amazing! I didn’t know you felt this powerful when you became Shazam, it’s almost scary,” said Spike.

“Believe me, it was at first, but after training with Twilight, it’s become a lot easier. By the way, when did you learn how to fight like that?”

“Power Pony comics, some Neighpon comics, ever heard of Pixie Tail?”

Before Shazam could answer, more and more of the Xanthos infused ponies entered the fray. The alicorn and dragon glanced to each other and nodded. Spike raised his fist, and Shazam her right hoof. Fire and lightning ignited in that moment as both heros punched the ground beneath them, creating a combined wave of fire and lightning that erupted from the ground below to the surface above. Everything within a one mile radius was lit up in a column of crackling, blazing, lightning.

When it was over, the ones left standing where Shazam and Spike. The Mansion had been completely wiped off the map, along with any and all plant life in the vicinity. Despite having wiped out the Kingdom’s forces, Shazam was still on edge.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.

“Just waiting for the other horseshoe to drop,” she answered.

“Well we gotta find Alula, I felt something underneath when I landed, like there was something sturdy below us. There might be an underground lair or something,” said Spike.

“Might as well give it a shot.”

Just then, a low rumble began to shake the earth they stood upon. With each second the tremors grew stronger and stronger, until, from the ruins of the mansion, a creature burst forth from the rubble and landed a few feet from the heroes. Shazam recognized this foul creature as The Beast, the centaur amalgamation of the five Xanthos Assassins from Ponyville. The centaur monster snorted and glared at its opponents, ready to show Shazam her place yet again.

Shazam’s gaze turned serious as she prepared to fight him, but Spike threw out his left arm, preventing her from even moving forward. “S-Spike?”

“Don’t waste time here, the fact that this monster’s here means Alula is. If you go down the way that thing came you might reach her. I’ll handle this thing,” said Spike.

“WHAT?!! I won’t let you fight that monster alone! Do you remember what it did to me and my friends?!”

“Yeah, I know. But don’t forget, I’m a dragon! I won’t go down easy - no, I’ll bring that thing down with my own claws!”

“B-But…”

Spike glanced over his shoulder Shazam, glaring at her, but at the same time shooting her a confident smile. “Alula’s waiting for you to save her, go!”

Shazam knew she had to go and save her, but at same time she didn’t want to leave Spike to deal with this monster. Although, the faster I find Alula, the faster I can get her to the Rock of Eternity and come back to help Spike, she thought.

“Don’t you dare die on me, I still need to ask Twilight about how old you really are so I can rub it your face later!”

With that, Shazam focused her magic into her speed and zipped by Spike and The Beast in practically the blink of an eye. The Beast turned around, seeing only a bolt of lightning streaking from where Shazam once stood to where it just appeared from. The Beast prepared to give chase, but at the last second, Spike appeared overhead, his right fist burning with emerald flames and crackling with lightning.

“UGLY, I’M THE GUY YOU’RE FIGHTING!!!”

Scootaloo flew down the tunnel, coming across various Assassins as she did. She didn’t linger on any of them, using quick strikes and lightning blasts to obliterate them in an instant, for they weren’t her true goal, no, her true objective awaited her down below. Using her magic, she could sense something, whoever was behind this would surely be there, and when Scootaloo found them, she’d be sure to wring out where they had taken Alula.

Soon the tunnel came to an end, opening up into a large room. Shazam’s eyes widened at the sight of so many vats with pony bodies in them, floating in some strange green liquid and completely still. Each one was as white as a sheet, as if made of clay and waiting to be molded. She couldn’t tell if they were stallion or mare, but they seemed to be just Earth ponies.

“What…What is this?!” Shazam cried.

“My workshop.”

Shazam’s eyes were drawn down to the voice, where a unicorn mare was standing next to a tank that seemed to be more advanced and elaborate than the rest. Magic’s Champion flew down and landed upon the floor with a mighty “BOOM” shaking everything around them. The unicorn mare appeared to be unimpressed by her show of power.

“Who the hay are you?!” Shazam demanded.

“I am Thorn Blackforest, but my friends in the Kingdom know me by Black Rose, and this is my laboratory, where I’ve made the lovely little assassins that I’ve been trying to kill you and the Princesses with,” said Thorn in a rather cheerful tone.

Shazam’s eyes narrowed as arcs of lightning sparked from the corners of her eyes. The alicorn heroine slowly walked towards Thorn, her body starting to radiate with magical might. “One of your monsters came to Ponyville and foalnapped a filly, I don’t know what kind of sick and twisted things you do here, but if you harmed a hair on her mane, you’re going –!”

“It’s not ‘foalnapping’ when it’s your own child,” said Thorn.

Shazam stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening with confusion. “W-What are you talking about?! Alula is not your daughter!”

Thorn’s brow rose a bit, curious as to how she knew her creation’s name. “I take it you are friends with my little Alpha? Ha, ha, how the universe loves to throw curveballs at us! But yes, she is my daughter. Albeit she wasn’t born the normal way, and thanks to a little accident, she was lost to me. Now she’s back, and will soon emerge from her cocoon a beautiful butterfly, my Erroria!”

“What are you talking about?! Where is she?” Shazam demanded.

Suddenly, alarms blared, and lights flickered around the tank that Thorn stood next to. The unicorn mare smiled and took a few steps back as she spoke, “She’s right here.”

Cracks started to form on the vat’s glass, spider webbing at an alarming rate. The green liquid began to bubble and leak from the cracks, and violet lightning surged around it, lashing out at everything around it. A stray bolt hit some of the tanks of blank ponies, destroying them in an instant, another raked across the ceiling, causing the earthen rock and mortar to fall and crush the nearby machinery. Thorn stood there amidst the chaos, drinking in the sight of her creation reaching perfection, about to be reborn, she didn’t even flinch when a bolt flew by her head and struck the wall behind her.

After a full minute, the tank burst apart as violet light shined within the room. The glass was vaporized along with the liquid, the power of this light sent shockwaves that reverberated throughout the entire estate, causing a localized earthquake that shook everything not nailed down violently.

The light began to fade, allowing Shazam and Thorn to behold the end result. An alicorn mare of vanilla color stood before them, her mane was long and purple, with large majestic wings. Her spiral horn released an occasional spark of violet lightning, adjusting to its newfound power. The alicorn’s eyes opened slowly, revealing the sky blue eyes of the pony Scootaloo cared about, she blinked a few times, and slowly her head drifted towards Thorn.

“M-Mom…?” Alula spoke.

Shazam’s mouth gaped at hearing her fillyfriend utter those words.

“Oh look at you, you’re so beautiful,” said Thorn as she approached Alula. “How do you feel? Are you well? Do you feel any pain or that something isn’t right?”

Alula looked herself over, giving her wings a good flap, which kicked up a whirlwind and nearly threw Thorn on her back. The new alicorn blushed in embarrassment. “S-Sorry, Mom! I-I didn’t think that would happen with just a flap!”

Thorn’s face was split by a mirthful grin at seeing her “daughter’s” power. “Oh my little Erroria, you have nothing to be sorry for! That was amazing, you weren’t even trying to do that!” Thorn rushed back to Alula and began nuzzling her cheek affectionately.

“Mom, stop that’s embarrassing!” Alula giggled.

“DON’T YOU TOUCH HER!” Shazam shouted.

Thorn scowled at the heroine, while Alula turned to Shazam, looking at her in confusion. “Mom, who’s that?”

“What?!”

“She is an enemy, Erroria, she and her like are attacking the mansion, she’s come to kill me and take you away,” said Thorn.

It was then that Alula’s eyes began to glow violet, electric arcs shooting from the corners of her eyes. “You want to kill my Mom……? I WON’T LET YOU!”

Before Shazam could utter a word, Alula shot forth with blinding speed and struck the Champion of Magic with her right hoof. Shazam was sent flying into the back wall, slamming with enough force to rattle the entire room. But Shazam barely registered the pain, her brain was still trying to process the fact that Alula was an alicorn, and was now her enemy.

“No……”

Project Erroria Arc Part 17: "I love you..."

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Explosions littered the grounds of the mansion as fire and lightning, and arcane magic dueled. Spike flew in the sky and ignited both his claws, the flames and lightning then formed into large dragon wings as he came down on The Beast. Spike roared out as he struck both hands against the collarbone of The Beast, another explosion went off and sent The Beast flying in the opposite direction, but after a few seconds the monster regained its balance and skidded to a halt.

The deformed horns of The Beast began to charge up with Xanthos magic, and at the same time, Spike inhaled deeply, his cheeks puffing out. The Beast cried out as it fired a beam of scarlet light at the super powered drake, but then Spike exhaled, unleashing a huge jet of emerald, lightning laced flames that tore the ground beneath it.

Both the beam and the flames struck, slamming with resounding thunder. Spike dug his claws into the dirt, anchoring himself as he continued to bellow out his dragon fire. At the same time, The Beast snarled and snorted, doing all it could to keep the flames from reaching him.

The beam and flames began to churn at the center, mixing and clashing as the opposite powers dueled each other. After another moment the two opposing forces built up and exploded, sending up a thick dust cloud into the air. However, that did not stop either one from continuing the attack, both The Beast and Spike had charged for the center and met each other halfway.

Thunder erupted from each traded blow, shaking the air above and ground beneath. Spike struck the monster in the stomach, making it hack up bile, but The Beast returned the favor by punching him right across the face and making Spike fall back just a tad. But Spike pulled himself back and struck The Beast across its left cheek, knocking out a few of its teeth, and sending some blood flying through the air. Their blows only became more savage and faster, the naked eye only catching blurred images of their fists.

Spike came in with a right hook, and at the same time, The Beast was delivering its own right hook. The empowered dragon saw this and angled his fist to intercept, the end result had both of their arms pass by each other and connect with the jaw of their intended targets in the form of a cross counter. The power generated by their blows sent Spike and The Beast jetting off in opposite directions. The Beast skidded across the ground, occasionally skipping like a stone on water before it came to a stop and formed a body sized crater.

Spike ended up skipping on the ground in much the same manner, smashing through a few trees and what remained of the ornate stone columns that decorated the grounds. He eventually stopped, plowing into a water fountain and sending a plume of dirt, water, and dust into the air. Spike groaned as he picked himself up from the rubble, panting hard from the arduous duel he was having. Thanks to the power up, Spike was able to see from his current distance the damage the monster was taking.

Compared to what he saw in Ponyville, The Beast was healing slower if not at all, Spike chuckled as he began walking towards his opponent. “You wondering why you can’t heal up as fast as you used to?”

The Beast turned to Spike and snorted.

“Thanks to this Wisdom of Starswirl, I learned something about myself. Dragons have a slight nullifying ability to offensive magic, and when applied right, can negate other magical abilities. Like say, the ability to heal yourself,” said Spike with a cocky tone to his voice.

The Beast snarled as it rose on its four legs, but stumbled a bit, catching itself on its arms before it could do a full face plant.

Spike took a fighting stance, lightning arcing off his body as he charged up. “I’m going to end this in one shot, I’m done wasting time with you, Scoots needs my help! FIRE LOTUS –!!!”

Suddenly, a giant column of violet lightning shot forth from the ground right beneath The Beast. The creature as completely engulfed in the torrent of power, its body turning into nothingness without so much as a wail or scream. Spike’s aura fizzled out, and his left eye twitched, he then stomped the ground and growled in anger.

“Oh c’mon! I was about to use my finishing move!” Spike shouted. However, his anger over his stolen victory was quickly replaced by shock when he saw Scootaloo flying out of the column of lightning and landed before him in a heap. “SCOOTS!”

The young drake ran to the alicorn mare, skidding across the ground as he knelt down beside the heroine. Her armor was singed, and she was bruised all over, with blood trickling down her head. Spike glanced over to the column of violet lightning, which was now slowly fading away. From the giant hole in the ground something shot out, zipped around in the sky and then landed a few feet away in a large cloud of smoke.

Spike’s eyes widened when he saw the responsible party, a vanilla alicorn with piercing sky blue eyes. The empowered dragon growled as he snorted flames from his nostrils. “Did you do this to her?! I’ll make you pay –!”

“Stop…!” Scootaloo cried. “Don’t hurt her…!”

Spike looked down to his friend in utter confusion. “Give me one good reason why!”

Scootaloo rose to her hooves slowly, groaning from the effort as she turned around to face the alicorn mare ahead of them. “Because…that’s Alula!”

“No…that-that’s not possible! How can she be an alicorn?!”

“Some Kingdom whorse messed with her mind and used some weird magic-science to do it! I don’t know how, but her powers are similar to mine!”

Spike looked upon the transformed mare, with his magic vision, he could see a raging torrent of both Xanthos and the Ancient Magic swirling around her, both were fighting within her, but at the same time they created a strange balance that kept either one from destroying her.

“You want to kill my mother, destroy my home! I lost my home, my town! The…THE PONY I LOVED! I WON’T LET ANYONE TAKE ANYTHING FROM ME!”

Alula’s horn released violet lightning, striking the ground and everything else around her. The dirt and rock began to rise up, the magical lightning changing the properties of the raw material into something else. With a flash of her horn, Alula willed the newly formed matter to rush to her and cover her body, finally, with another magical flash, the material hardened and took shape.

In an instant, Alula was covered in obsidian armor, with violet metal boots on and gauntlets. Upon her chest was a gold outline of a lightning bolt, but within the symbol raged violet lighting. Alula flared her wings, her purple mane flowing in the crosswinds generated by her power, as her eyes glared at the two heroes.

Spike got into an attack stance, but spared Scootaloo a glance and saw a peculiar look on her face, her cheeks were red. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah…She just…looks sorta, kinda…hot.”

Spike face palmed himself. “Really?!”

“Give me a break, she’s my fillyfirend!”

“Yeah, will here she comes!”

Alula dashed across the field with great speed, prompting Scootaloo to form a barrier. A dome of magical energy appeared around Spike and herself, just in time to have Alula slam into it, her lightning aura was already covering her body, acting as both armor and battering ram as she pushed forward, trying to get at her opponents inside.

Spike prepared to attack, but Scootaloo quickly shot out a hoof in front of him to halt any action. “What are you doing?!” he asked incredulously.

“We can’t hurt her! It’s still Alula, she’s just messed up in the head right now!” Scootaloo argued.

“Even if she is, we can’t help her if she’s trying to kill us! We can at least knock her out!”

Scootaloo had a pensive look on her face, she knew Spike was right, but this was Alula, her friend, her fillyfriend, how could she hurt her when she came to save her?

The shield began to crack, showing signs of Scootaloo’s lack of concentration. Alula capitalized on this, cocking back her right hoof and charging it with violet lightning. She threw the punch against the barrier and shattered it like fragile glass. Scootaloo and Spike quickly shot off in different directions, allowing Alula to plow through down the middle until she came to a halt, realizing her targets weren’t there.

Alula growled as she scanned the area for her opponents, but she didn’t have to look long as a giant fireball came flying towards her. Alula flew up in time to avoid the hit, the fireball exploding at the spot where she once was. However, it was nothing more than a feint, allowing Spike to reappear behind the alciorn mare.

Before she could react, Spike used his tail to whip her across the back of her head. The blow sent Alula’s head reeling as she spiraled away, after a moment she regained her senses and halted herself in midair. Suddenly, chains made of azure lightning sprang up around her, going taut and locking up her hooves and wings, keeping her held in the air.

Scootaloo flew to her, looking at her with saddened eyes. “Alula it’s me, Scootaloo! Whatever that witch did you, you have to fight it! Remember Ponyville, remember our friends, remember ME!”

Alula growled angrily at Scootaloo, glaring at her with fury in her eyes. “The place I loved is gone! This is my home now, and my mother is here! I know your lies, you have her face, but you’re not Scootaloo! Just some imposter!”

The orange alicorn mare shook her head in disbelief. “What did she do to you…?”

A spark of violet lightning went off, snapping the chains that bound Alula. Before Scootaloo could react, Alula struck Scootaloo in her barrel with her left hoof, causing a shockwave to erupt through the air. Scootaloo gagged as she felt the wind leave her lungs, hunching over in pain. Alula then brought both hooves up and brought them down over Scootaloo’s head in a double hammer blow.

Magic’s Champion was sent all the way down to terra firma, making her eat the dirt. Alula prepared a spell cannon blast to rain down on Shazam, but at the last second Spike bathed her in a torrent of emerald, lightning infused flames. Alula quickly erected a shield, but it was hastily erected, and could not withstand all of the power behind the dragon fire.

The shield shattered right then, and without missing a second, Spike snapped his jaws shut and flew through his own flames. He then emerged from the other side, and, with a grimace, struck the alicorn mare in the face. Spike slammed the flat of his palms together, concentrating as fire and lightning coalesced in between them. Within seconds a fireball formed, Spike hefted it overhead and brought it down on Alula. The fireball exploded brilliantly and set the alicorn flying backwards.

Spike flew down to Scootaloo, wanting to see if she was alright to get back into the fight. When he landed he saw Scootaloo, half risen, with tears in her eyes. “Scoots, are you alright?! How bad are you hurt?!”

“I…I can’t do it, Spike, I can’t…It’s her! It’s Alula! I don’t want to hurt her, she would never want to do any of this!” Scootaloo cried.

“Scootaloo I get it! I didn’t like what I just did, in fact, I hated it! But if I didn’t she would’ve killed you!” Spike grabbed the alicorn mare by the face and brought her eyes to meet his. “If there’s anypony who can snap her out of it, it’s you, Scootaloo! So what are you going to do?!”

Before a reply could be properly given, Alula appeared behind Spike, her eyes glowing with violet lightning as something formed above her. A construct scythe formed from the violet lightning was brandished, preparing to behead her friend – and potential sibling. Scootaloo’s instincts took hold, tapping into her wellspring of power as she pushed Spike out of the way.

An azure lightning construct sword formed next to Scootaloo as she let out a fierce battle cry, swinging the weapon at Alula. The two weapons clashed, causing a shockwave of power to roar out from the epicenter, arcs of violet and azure lightning shot off wildly from their weapons as either mare struggled to push back the other.

Scootlaoo looked into the eyes of the mare, filly, she cared for and loved, but all she could see were pools of raging power, hell-bent on destroying the enemy before her. Tears began to fall from Scootlaoo’s eyes, shutting them for a moment as her strength waned.

Alula, I know that’s you, I know you’re in there somewhere…

The scythe began to push forward, bringing the blades close to Scootaloo’s neck.

But right now, this isn’t you…you’re not in control!

Scootaloo’s eyes shot open and had now become pools of azure lightning energy.

“That madmare messed with your head, and turned you into some kind of weapon! I’ll bring you back, Alula! Even if I have to knock you out and drag you back to Ponyville, I will bring you back!”

The lightning sword shined brighter, pushing back the scythe and surprising Alula. But the anti-alicorn would not be discouraged, pouring more of her own power into the weapon and attempting to get the upper hoof on her enemy. With a fierce cry, Scootaloo knocked the blade away with an upward strike, leaving Alula wide open.

Scootaloo drew back her right hoof and struck Alula in the chest, sending her zooming away as thunder erupted from the point of impact. Scootaloo became azure lightning as she sped away after Alula, Spike grinned and did the same, green lightning chasing after the blue.

Alula caught her breath and stopped, spotting the two streaks of lightning heading right for her. With a flap of her majestic wings, Alula took off for them both, becoming a streak of violet lightning. The three streaks clashed at the center, creating a powerful explosion that flattened everything in the area. From there the three streaks shot up into the air.

The azure streak would attack the violet, break off, and then the violet streak would come in, but at the last second the green streak would intercept and stop the violet. Their battle continued in the air as fire and lightning of three colors were traded in the air, the ground below shook from their titanic blows, even the air trembled from their might.

Scootaloo traded blows with Alula, punch for punch, bolt for bolt, but unfortunately, it was Scootaloo who was getting more worn down, and so was Spike. Alula, however, seemed to be running at full steam, which was quickly giving her the edge. She disappeared from Scootaloo’s sight for a split second, before reappearing and delivering a powerful uppercut to Scootaloo’s jaw.

Spike came in from behind about to attack with a fiery punch, but Alula teleported at the last second, appearing above the drake and creating a noose of violet lightning that wrapped around his neck. Alula pulled up on the noose, and dragged Spike along for a ride. She proceeded to slam the empowered dragon right into the semi-destroyed mansion, she then pulled on the line as if reeling in a fish. Alula released the line and charged up her left hoof, when Spike was in range, Alula slammed her hoof into the side of his head, sending Spike blasting off to the ground below, kicking up a huge plume of dust and dirt upon impact.

Scootaloo flew off towards Spike, but Alula intercepted her at the last second, appearing right in her path. The empowered filly fired a lightning bolt that was deflected off of Alula’s barrier, but then gave a strong flap of her wings, creating a buffeting gale force wind that created a tornado funnel, forcing Alula back into the tree line in the distance.

Thankfully the gust had the added bonus of clearing away the dust cloud, allowing Scootaloo to quickly come to the aid of her friend, and soon-to-be brother. “Spike are you alright?!”

The young drake coughed, taking in raspy breaths, “I’ll live…I think,” he managed to croak.

“She’s stronger than I thought, the Xanthos and Living Lightning are giving more power, enough to counter us,” said Scootaloo.

Spike glanced to Scootaloo and then back to where he knew Alula had been thrown. It was then that he came to a decision. Spike placed his right claw on Scootaloo’s shoulder, earning him a confused look from the filly turned mare.

“SHAZAM!!!”

Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot down on Spike, and at the same time, the magical lightning zipped right into Scootaloo’s body, granting her more power and melting away her fatigue almost immediately. Scootaloo cleared away the smoke and saw the tiny dragon on his back with a look of exhaustion on his face.

“Spike what did you do?!” she asked.

“I gave you back the power you lent me, it takes away from yours when you share it, so now you should be able to go one on one with Alula,” said Spike.

“But you’re still hurt, take it back, at least enough to heal yourself!”

“No time, hurry and beat her so we can take her back and go home!” Spike shouted weakly.

Before any more protests could be given, Alula had zoomed out of the foliage and prepared to strike Shazam. But when she threw her punch, Alula found it halted with a great, thundering BOOM. Alula’s eyes were wide with shock as she saw her punch stopped by Shazam’s own hoof.

With a flash of her horn, Shazam teleported Spike away from the battlefield and to the safe haven of the Rock of Eternity. Murmur, help Spike out and get him back to Twilight once he’s healed up, Shazam projected this thought to the Rock of Eternity, and once she felt that it was received, she went to work.

The rubble around Shazam began to rise up as a great amount of magical power was released from her, in the blink of an eye, Shazam slapped Alula’s hoof away and spun around to deliver a kick with her left hind leg. The blow hit the anti-alicorn in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Shazam whirled around and began striking with a flurry of blows that came in at a rapid fire rate.

Before Alula could recover, Shazam created a magic circle beneath them. With a mighty battle cry, the circle erupted into a pillar of azure lightning that reached high into the sky, eclipsing both Shazam and Alula from sight. After a few seconds, the pillar of light faded away, with only faint electrical crackles and arcs going off here and there.

Unfortunately, the attack had caused a cave in, the ground having become unstable from the prolonged and heavy hitting battle, which left both Shazam and Alula to fall back down into the underground complex. Shazam groaned as she rose up, looking above to see where they had fallen from and then around to verify where she was. Her eyes finally fell upon Alula, who was getting back up to her hooves and staring her down menacingly.

Shazam released a tired sigh. “We can go at this for hours on end, and I doubt either of us will win, at best we’ll destroy each other!”

“It doesn’t matter, everypony I cared about died! All that’s left is my mother, and you want to take her away from me!” Alula spat.

“Maybe she is, maybe she’s not, but everypony is still alive – I’m alive!” Shazam argued. “I-I love you, Alula!”

“LIES!” Alula shouted, her aura raging as her eyes once again were aglow with violet lightning. “You’re not her! You’re not Scootaloo!”

Shazam stood before Alula and fixed her with a firm gaze. “I am…SHAZAM!!!”

A bolt of lightning shot down from high above them and struck the red armored mare. Alula entered an aggressive stance, prepared to fight tooth and hoof against her opponent, however, her aggression faltered when she saw who emerged from the white smoke. A pegasus filly, with an orange coat and wings, a purple mane, and amethyst eyes. She looked up at Alula, a smile on her face, with no evidence of fear.

“Alula?” Scootaloo asked.

“No…No it’s a trick! Y-You’re…S-She’s…!” Alula stammered as her lower lip trembled.

“I’m not dead, everypony’s alive! Whatever was done to you has messed up your head! You have part of the Ancient Magic inside you! You can tell I’m not lying, you know that
I’m Shazam, you’ve met Murmur, been to the Rock of Eternity! We’ve done all of that, please remember!” Scootaloo pleaded.

Alula shook her head, part of her wanted to rip the filly apart, but at the same time, another part said that she wasn’t lying, that this was the filly she cared for and had a crush on for a long time. Alula put her left hoof to her head, feeling a bad headache spawning as she struggled with indecision.

“If you really believe that that mare is your…mom…then do it.” Scootaloo took a step back and sat on her haunches. She then flared her wings and closed her eyes, keeping her head held high. “I won’t fight you anymore, I don’t like hurting my fillyfriend! It’s your choice, Alula.”

The anti-alicorn looked to Scootaloo, her heart and mind were in conflict with each other, what she knew didn’t match with what she felt. The two powers inside were also warring, the power of the Xanthos magic ignored all thoughts of love and sought only destruction and death, and right now it was urging her to slay the filly before her. However, the Living Lightning fought back, telling Alula that Scootaloo’s words were true, that everything she was feeling was right.

Alula screamed into the underground chamber as a scythe of violet lightning formed before her. Her horn glowed as she hefted the construct weapon up to behead the filly, but even hearing this, Scootaloo didn’t waiver; she still sat there, unafraid. Alula did not know if this was just a matter of giving up or if she believed she was right enough to risk her life in the process.

‘I love you, Alula…’

The anti-alicorn roared with fury as she brought down the scythe, creating a crescent of lightning energy that flew off and cut the wall behind Scootaloo. The orange filly opened her eyes, and gasped.

Alula had tears in her eyes, her horn now sparking with blue and red lightning, occasionally reforming into the violet form. “S-Scootaloo…?”

Scootaloo’s ears perked up, eyes wide with happiness as she saw that her fillyfriend recognized her. However, that moment of happiness would not last. A spike of red mana shot through the darkness and pierced through Scootaloo’s right shoulder. The young flier yelped in pain, gritting her teeth as the spike burned in her shoulder, sending every nerve in her body on fire with pain. Scootaloo managed to glance in the direction the attack came from, and glared when she saw who it was.

At first, only red, tribal markings could be seen in the darkness, but the markings were approaching them at a steady pace, until the one wearing them stepped into the light. It was Thorn, her eyes were colored that of the Xanthos magic, her brown fur marked with red lines that brimmed with the killer magic.

“I would appreciate that you not seduce or otherwise corrupt my daughter, thank you,” said Thorn with a cool voice.

“Y-You! AH! W-Wh-What did you – Mother of Celestia this hurts!” Scootaloo shouted as she tried to focus.

Thorn walked up beside the little filly and smiled cruelly at her. “Who would have thought, Shazam, Equestria’s Mightiest Mare, is in fact a little filly. Interesting magic you have, but it looks like you can’t transform with your body wracked with such pain, can you?”

Scootaloo opened her mouth to respond, but the spike again shot a jolt of pain through her that turned her words into a scream.

“I thought not.” Thorn made her way to Alula and placed a hoof, gently, on her daughter’s cheek. “Honey, it’s time to be rid of our biggest obstacle.”

“B-But Mom, it’s Scootaloo! The pony I told you I liked, my fillyfriend! She’s alive! She’s…She’s…please stop it!” Alula pleaded.

Thorn shook her head. “My little Erroria, she’s just an imposter, she so easily changed her form from Shazam to the filly you loved, how can you be sure that this form is not some illusion?”

“D-D-Don’t – AAAH! – listen to her!”

Thorn moved into Alula’s field of vision, blocking Scootaloo. “I’m ready, my little one, and so are the others.” At this, several of the Blank Ponies began to emerge from the shadows, each androgynous pony had opaque colored fur, and eyes as black as tar. “With your power, we can mold them into the fighting force needed to overturn the corruption of the Princesses, and the nuisance of The Kingdom.”

Scootaloo forced herself to stand on her three legs while her right leg hung limply, blood streamed from the wound as red lightning continued to course through the young filly’s body. “Y-You know what’s right – Alula! I know the kind of pony you are, you’re kind, you’re caring, thoughtful, and stubborn enough to put up with a filly like me! You have the Living Lightning inside you, same as me, do not let the chaos outweigh the harmony inside you –!”

“BE SILENT YOU LITTLE TRAMP!” Thorn shouted with a distorted voice.

Another construct spike appeared and launched itself from up above. Scootaloo noticed it at the last second, but not in time for the spike to pierce her side. She was sure no vital organs were hit, but the now lodged spike was sending even more pain inducing energy into her body, making her wail and cry.

Alula was hesitant, she didn’t know what to do. If Scootaloo was right, her mother was lying, and if her mother was right, then Scootaloo was lying. Her mind told her one thing, but her heart was saying another.

“I…I…I know you’ll – AAAH!!! – make the right choice!” Scootaloo managed.

Thorn turned around and faced the filly, looking at her with a mixture of annoyance and mild impressiveness. “I can’t believe you haven’t completely fallen into a coma from the pain you’re experiencing right now. Even grown ponies would have lost their minds from this.”

Scootaloo managed to shoot Thorn a steely glare and smirked. “I had a mother, she was messed up, too, and put me through all kinds of things that you can’t imagine! So THIS?! THIS! IS! NOTHING!”

Thorn pursed her lips in an indignant grimace. “I see, so you’ve been abused have you? Disgusting, despite what you may think, I don’t condone such things to foals. I’ll be sure to rid Equestria of such ponies once we’ve reformed it.”

“AND WHAT DO YOU CALL THIS?!”

“A battle between foes, but since you’ve told me your pain, I’ll grant you mercy.” A third spike appeared above Thorn. “And grant you a quick death.”

Scootaloo didn’t avert her eyes, she was too stubborn to look away even if it was her impending death. Meanwhile, Alula’s internal struggle was reaching its boiling point, at the last second, her lightning changed to blue, her eyes snapping wide open as she tapped into her magic to boost her speed.

Time slowed down to a snail’s pace as Alula zipped between Scootaloo and Thorn, Alula quickly took Scootaloo, using her magic to dispel the spikes and zip away. When time resumed its normal course, Thorn’s spike struck nothing but bedrock. The unicorn mare looked to and fro, finally spotting Alula and Scootaloo in the corner.

Scootaloo looked up at Alula, her beautiful eyes glistened with tears, and her lips curled into a smile. “I-I remember…Scootaloo, I remember!”

“Alula – ahhh!” Scootaloo grunted, her wounds still bleeding.

“You need to change back, your power will heal you if you do!” Alula urged.

“Erroria!” Thorn shouted, causing the alicorn mare to turn and face her mother. “What are you doing?!”

“Mom…I can’t do this! I don’t want to hurt anypony!”

Thorn’s eyes narrowed as she glared at her created daughter. “Erroria, you have the power to reshape this land – the world itself! Ponies like the Princesses, and her, would rather keep it as such, stagnant, and unchanging! It’s time for an upheaval! The Kingdom has its own lofty goals, more for the betterment of themselves, but we will work towards the future for everypony!”

Alula waved to the Blank Ponies. “With this army of created ponies, killing machines that are soulless?! Mother, you’ve even infused your body with Xanthos!”

Thorn looked her body over and waved a hoof dismissively. “I do not wish to be weak, to not be able to stand my ground beside you when the fighting starts, and these Blanks will be more obedient and trustworthy than so called ‘allies’!”

“This is still wrong! I--AAAGHH!” Alula screamed.

Suddenly, Alula’s body began to release arcs of red and blue lightning as a pained expression befell her. Scootaloo sprang to her hooves, but quickly regretted it as her wounds spiked with pain and forcing the tween filly to flop back to the floor. Thorn, however, shook her head as if disappointed.

“My little Erroria, the more you allow these dangerous thoughts and emotions to overtake you, the more your alignment with the Xanthos and Ancient Magic will diverge and struggle within you. It will literally tear you apart!” Thorn warned.

Now Scootaloo understood why Alula’s magic lightning was violet, it was mixed between the destructive Xanthos and protective Living Lightning, somehow the mad scientist found a way to unite both powers inside Alula, which made her just as strong as Shazam, if not stronger. Alula looked to Scootaloo, she remembered everything, their feelings, and she also knew that her mother wasn’t lying. Thorn was her mother, biologically, and she knew the mare’s feelings for her were genuine. So too, however, were her ambitions. The warring energies of destruction and creation, primal and harmonic, they waged war within Alula, threatening to devour her if there was not balance.

“I understand…” Alula whispered. Suddenly, Alula’s horn flashed with red lightning, and in a harsh tone, she yelled “DUCK!”

A wave of crimson lightning blasted forth from her horn and thinned itself out into a sharpened edge. The the lightning ring blade whipped out, making Thorn and Scootaloo get as close to the floor as possible, and sliced through the heads of Blank Pony that was around them. Multiple thuds were heard as heads hit the floor, eerily, red blood did not seep from the wound, only black tar. Thorn shot back up to her hooves and looked about in shock as the bodies of the Blank Ponies all hit the floor, unmoving. The the empowered mare glared at her daughter as her marks glowed brighter with her anger.

“What have you done, Erroria?!” Thorn shouted.

“What needed to be done. This isn’t the way, Mom! Just stop now, and maybe we can be a real family?!” Alula pleaded.

Thorn’s eyes glowed red, matching the brightness of her Xanthos laced markings. “We are a family! You were made from my egg, I grew you here, in this lab!” Thorn’s horn flared with Xanthos magic, and in the next moment, fired a beam of pure energy at both of them.

Alula quickly erected a shield, the color turning blue in response to her need to defend. Scootaloo tried to concentrate, to muster the strength to call out the Word of Power, but even with the Xanthos spikes gone, the pain they inflicted still radiated enough to make break her concentration.

“I watched over you every day and night! I made sure you were getting enough nutrients in your tank! I treated you better than any of my creations because you were mine! My flesh and blood, not a ‘Blank’, not some throwaway! I could call you my daughter, Erroria!”

Thorn’s horn shined brighter, causing the beam to double in size and wash over the barrier Alula had constructed. Alula and Scootaloo watched as cracks began to spread all across the bubble, and Alula could feel the power inside her tearing her up, wanting to split her in half like a ragdoll, but she had to persevere, for Scootaloo’s sake.

Gritting her teeth, Scootaloo stood up on all four hooves, blood continued to seep from her wounds, and the pain came back again, threatening to make her fall back to the ground. “Scootaloo!”

“I’m…standing…with you!” Scootaloo’s eyes had sparks of lightning coming out of the corners as she called forth the Word of Power. “SHAZAM!!!”

Within the beam a bubble formed inside, growing bigger and bigger until it burst apart, revealing Shazam and Alula standing side-by-side. However, Shazam looked fatigued, her brow already glistening with sweat. For a moment she lost feeling in her legs and almost collapsed, but Alula quickly got next to her for support, keeping her standing.

“Thanks, Alula,” said Shazam.

“Looks like I get to return the favor for once,” said Alula with a smile.

Thorn continued to glare at both of them as she stamped her hoof on the floor in anger. “Okay, you had your little fun, but this rebellious phase ends now!”

Alula shook her head. “You’re right, it will end. I’m not going to kill the Princesses, and I’m not going to kill Scootaloo!”

Thorn smacked her hoof to her forehead. “Would it make a difference if I said we can seal her powers and you can continue with your little relationship?” Alula and Shazam only narrowed their gaze at the mare. “Very well, I’ll just have to discipline you, young lady!”

The unicorn mare released a burst wave of Xanthos magic, throwing both alicorns back a few feet. Shazam tried to counterattack, but her body was not responding as well as it should.

What’s wrong with me, I can’t move right and I’m still aching all over, thought Shazam.

‘The Xanthos magic is interfering with your accelerated healing,’ said Murmur. ‘When you transformed you forced your magic to purge the Xanthos from you and heal you, so you’re weaker right now! You need time to regain your strength, Mistress!’

Unfortunately, Murmur, I don’t think she’ll give me that luxury…!

“Alula, I’m pretty banged up…but I think if we work together…” Shazam trailed off once she looked at Alula.

The anti-alicorn’s body had red and blue lightning arcing around her, making her body glow as a pain filled look was plastered on her face. “I-I-I’m not that good for fighting, either…in fact…I don’t know how much longer I can stay like this!”

“Alula!”

“I can’t hold onto both, they want to separate, and it’s not going to be pretty for anypony,” said Alula.

Shazam shook her head in disbelief. “NO! We can find a way, I can take you back to the Rock of Eternity and--MMPH!”

Before Shazam could finish her sentence, Alula captured her lips in a kiss. For a moment, Shazam forgot about everything, the pain, the fighting, all of it faded for this kiss. Alula pulled away, blushing and giggling at the stunned expression on her fillyfriend’s face. “I love you, Scootaloo, I always will.”

“ALU--!!!”

A bright flash of blue light went off, and in less than a second, Shazam was gone. Alula sighed, but then winced when she felt the energy strain her body. Thorn growled yet again, not understanding what was going on with her daughter, but the anger slowly dissipated as she analyzed the situation.

“I see, it’s not your fault, I wasn’t there with you as long as I should have, and you weren’t properly brought up,” said Thorn.

“So now what will you do?” Alula asked.

“I promise not to make the same mistakes twice. I have saved samples of your blood, and with that I can create you anew, do not worry, I’ll bring you back,” said Thorn.

Soon Thorn’s horn glowed as she prepared to teleport away from the danger zone. However, the moment she tried, her magic fizzled out, with an annoyed grunt Thorn tried again, but the result was the same. Again and again her horn continued to cast the teleportation spell, but it continued to fail. “I…I don’t understand, why can’t I teleport?!”

Alula walked over to her mother, showing that her horn was glowing and flashing each time she tried to cast the spell. “I can’t let you do that, Mom. I can’t let anything of this place be used to hurt other ponies…”

Thorn shook her head in dismay, she couldn’t believe that this was how it was going to end. “Erroria…”

Alula quickly enveloped Thorn in a hug. “I love you…Mom.” Red and blue lightning began to wildly shoot off from her body, blasting the walls and ground beneath. Her body began to wrap them in the dual magics, as everything around them began to crumble with the ever increasing power buildup. “I love you…Scootaloo…”

Project Erroria Arc Part 18: No More Secrets

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MILES AWAY…

Shazam found herself in a clearing, looking about in a daze as she tried to understand where she was and what happened. “Where am I?! What just--ALULA!!!” Shazam took to the skies as quickly as she could, hovering over the forest to get a good sense of where she was. However, the answer to her question came sooner than she wanted when a giant bubble of blue and red lightning erupted on the horizon. Shazam shook her head, she couldn’t believe it, it couldn’t be happening, right?

The explosion grew in magnitude, engulfing the forest and fastly approaching Shazam’s position. Shazam saw this, but didn’t move, her mind still trying to comprehend that the filly she cared about was at the center of that explosion. She couldn’t move, or maybe she didn’t want to move.

But, before she realized it, something pulled at her tail from behind, and in an instant the world around her faded into a starry expanse and subsequently hit the nonexistent ground. When she got her senses back, Shazam got up, recognizing the new realm immediately, her purple eyes settling on her savior as he floated down to meet her.

“Whew, now that was a close shave, you almost got vaporized,” said Discord, turning into ashes and then reforming himself after.

“D-Discord?! Why am I here?! What did you do?!” Shazam asked.

“I just saved you from dying in a explosion of magical lightning, you were hovering there staring at it like a moth with a lamp.”

Shazam narrowed her eyes and stamped her hoof on the invisible ground. “TAKE ME BACK! I have to save Alula!”

Discord’s eyes lowered as a saddened expression befell his face. “I’m sorry, Scootaloo, but…she’s no longer here.”

“YOU LIAR, I DON’T NEED YOUR RIDDLES AND MIND GAMES RIGHT NOW!!!” Shazam shouted as her eyes became pure pools of azure light. “I KNOW SHE’S BACK THERE, I KNOW IT! She…She can’t be…” All the strength left Shazam’s legs as she collapsed onto the floor, tears pouring from her eyes as she took in deep breathes and sobs. “SH-SHAZAM…!”

A bolt of lightning struck Shazam, creating white smoke that obscured her from sight for a moment. Once the smoke cleared there was only a pegasus filly, lying on the floor with her tail curled around herself as she continued to sob. Discord looked about uncomfortable, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to figure out what to do for this filly, comforting was never his strong suit. Trickery, pranks, good times, the occasional riddle to help Twilight and her friends along, but comforting? That was uncharted territory. Discord carefully walked towards Scootaloo, not teleporting in his normal manner, he figured she’d had had enough with the surprise entries. Slowly the draconequus laid down at her right side, and almost immediately Scootaloo latched onto him, crying into his left arm.

Discord panicked a little, but managed to keep it in check. He remembered how Fluttershy looked when he betrayed them to Tirek, and using that feeling, he managed to figure out what he needed to do, because it was something he wanted to do for Fluttershy when she cried. He curled himself around Scootaloo, and nuzzled the top of her head as she continued to cry.

“Do you want to go to Twilight?” Discord asked.

Scootaloo spoke not a word, but simply nodded her response.

Discord understood.

CASTLE CONCORDIA…

“The two of you did WHAT?!!” Twilight shouted.

Spike cringed as at the harsh tone in Twilight’s voice, but despite the tone, he had to tell her. “Scootaloo discovered a clue to find a Alula, and then that map thing sprang up in the middle of the throne room and then it should us the way! We didn’t really have time to tell you, actually we needed to act to save her!”

Twilight face hoofed herself, growling in frustration that her number one assistant and her apprentice had gone off to battle a branch of the evil that came to Ponyville, and apparently, Scootaloo was still there after having sent Spike to the Rock of Eternity. “We’ll talk about that map later, right now we need to get the Princess Celestia, Luna, at this point I may have to ask Discord to help out! But I’m not going to leave Scootaloo to fight alone!”

Before Twilight could do any of that, a tear in spacetime ripped open behind her. The alicorn mare jumped forwards and did an about face, ponting herself in the direction of the tear. Spike didn’t know what was happening with the tear, but nonetheless he stood tall, snorting a puff of green flames as he readied himself to fight. But then Twilight quickly teleported him behind her, despite the young drakes bravery, he no longer had the Ancient Magic in him.

The tear opened wider, almost folding out around a designated perimeter. Once the fold stopped, two beings emerged, both lying on the floor. Twilight took a moment to take this in, and realized that it was the mismatched form of Discord, the former librarian was about to plead with the Spirit of Chaos, but stopped then she saw Scootaloo curled up next to him, crying. All worry left her and was now replaced with overwhelming concern as she approached them.

“Discord…What happened, is Scootaloo alright?” Twilight asked.

“If you mean physically, then yes. Emotionally, that is a different story,” he answered.

“How do you mean?”

Discord raised his right paw and placed a single digit on the tip of Twilight’s horn. “Better to show than tell.”

With a flash of his chaos magic, Discord flooded Twilight’s mind with images, images that he transmitted from Scootaloo’s mind via their contact, along with the emotions that were felt. After a brief second, Twilight understood everything, and her eyes began to release tears as she looked down at Scootaloo. “May I?” Discord nodded and uncurled from Scootaloo, Twilight got a little closer and called out to her. “Scootaloo?”

In less than a second the pegasus filly rushed from Discord and latched herself to Twilight, continuing her sniffling into the mare’s chest. Twilight let herself fall back on her haunches, allowing her to hug the young filly and offer her comfort. Discord rose up and gave a small wave of his paw over his left arm to dry the wetness caused by the filly’s tears. With a solemn look, Discord faced away from them and used his left eagle’s claw to rip open space.

“I trust you can take it from here, Twilight?” Discord asked.

Twilight nodded slowly. “Thank you, Discord, for saving her.”

A small smile formed on the draconequus’ muzzle, he then walked forward and into the tear, sparing one last glance to the filly as the tear closed up.

Spike joined Twilight’s side, he didn’t need to be told to know that what happened did not end like he had hoped.

“I…I want Cheerilee, too, please Twilight…” Scootaloo asked.

“Okay, we’ll go see her.” Twilight looked down to Spike, who then placed a hand on the mare’s foreleg and nodd up to her. “Let’s go.”

In a flash of rosy light, all three teleported away. It would not be long after that the news of the battle would spread, the large scale explosion would not go unnoticed either, and many would still be asking why the Kingdom took a foal and for what reason. Barely a handful of individuals would know the truth, but would not tell, to preserve the memory of Alula.

2 WEEKS LATER…

Scootaloo’s birthday came and went in the blink of an eye, because, well, there was hardly any party. At the behest of the filly, she did not want a party, and who could truly blame her, losing a friend--more than than that, her fillyfriend--was a great blow to her. Thirteen years old and already she knew the joy of love and the pain of losing it tragically. Babs, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Aura all tried to help and reassure her. Their words fell on deaf ears, either met with silence or avoidance.

Cheerilee began to worry for her adopted daughter, she barely ate, or said a word, her grieving was starting to worry her. The school mare could not even imagine the pain the filly was going through, for a moment she tried to imagine how losing Twilight would make her feel, the sadness that enveloped her for that mere moment almost made Cheerilee bawl right then and there, but she was an adult, and Scootaloo was a child, and no child should have to go through that kind of pain, nor anyone for that matter.

It was a surprise when Twilight teleported into her house with Scootaloo in her arms. Even more when she was told that one her students, and the pony that Scootaloo had feelings for, had died. While contemplating this, Cheerilee heard a knock at her front door and went to check and see who it was. When she opened the door, Cheerilee looked down and saw Sweetie Belle standing there with, what looked like, a present.

“Sweetie, if you’ve come to give Scootaloo that present, I’m afraid she’s not any better, or in the mood for birthday presents,” said Cheerilee, hoping to spare the filly from wasting her time in front of a closed door.

“I know, but I think this is one that she’ll want. Please Miss Cheerilee?” Sweetie Belle asked.

The maroon mare hesitated for a moment, but something inside her told her that this was a good idea, Sweetie was a smart filly, and Scootaloo’s best friend, if there was anyway to hopefully bring Scootaloo out of her despair she was willing to give it a chance. “Come in, Sweetie.”

The unicorn filly pushed the present into the house, and with Cheerilee’s help, hefted it onto her back as she ascended the stairs. Sweetie made her way to Scootaloo’s room, she didn’t bother knocking, knowing that there would be no response, Sweetie merely opened the door and slowly walked inside. There, she saw Scootaloo, perched on her bed, staring out her bedroom window. She made no acknowledgment of Sweetie’s presence, but Sweetie doubted that she was unaware. Taking a deep breath, Sweetie Belle walked over to her best friend and got in front of her.

“Scootaloo, I know you’re sad--no--sad doesn’t begin to describe what you’re feeling, but I know Alula wouldn’t want you to be this way forever,” said Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo looked down at her friend and scowled. “What would you know what she wanted?! I’m sure she never wanted to be turned into some weapon to kill alicorns! But she did! I’m sure she never wanted to blow up because of her powers! But guess what? SHE DID! I don’t expect you to understand, any of you! So why are you here?! What do you want?!”

Sweetie Belle had to bite her lower lip, the harsh tone that Scootaloo spoke her words with was all stemming from her loss, she had to remind herself that she was not angry at her, simply lashing out. After collecting herself, Sweetie placed her hoof on the present. “I brought this, for you.”

Scootaloo scoffed and turned her back to Sweetie. “I don’t want a present right now! Just take it, it’s yours!”

“I can’t, and it’s not my present…it’s Alula’s,” said Sweetie.

Scootaloo’s attention quickly snapped back to the box, carefully, Scootaloo made her way to the floor and sat before it. Gingerly she opened the box as if it were fragile enough to break. Once she opened it, Scootaloo tilted her head curiously, but once she reached in and pulled it out, her eyes widened. It was a hoody, and not just any hoody. It was sky-blue, with streaks of yellow lightning, there was no mistaking what this was.

“A Wonderbolts hoody,” said Scootaloo.

“A custom ordered, and made, hoody. My sister did it after Alula came by one day and requested one for your birthday. I think she saved up some of her allowance from Wayward House to pay for it, I remember Rarity talking to her about giving Alula a discount,” Sweetie chuckled at the memory, “but she said ‘no’. I still think Rarity gave her a discount anyway, ‘cause she still had bits left over.”

Scootaloo took out the hoody, the lightning streaks had a nice golden sheen to them, no doubt a subtle request from Alula in reference to her superhero alter ego, there were precut holes for her wings, and at the end of each draw string was a small chain that hung the image of her cutie mark. Once Scootaloo held it aloft, something fell out of it, a card that read “To Scootaloo”.

The orange filly placed the hoody on her bed and picked up the card, gently she opened the back and spotted a warning label. “To recipient: This letter was sent to you by Enchanted Stall Marks, where our cards are not only meaningful, but magical.”

Scootaloo shrugged and took out the birthday card, once she opened it the inside glowed bright, making Scootaloo drop the card onto the floor, and caused Sweetie Belle to reflexively cast the teleportation spell and dropped herself on the other side of the bed. After a moment to compose themselves, Sweetie peeked from around the corner of the bed, while Scootaloo remained wary of the card, ready to transform.

However, all pretense that this was something volatile left when the image of Alula formed before Scootaloo, making the teenage filly’s eyes water. “A-Alula?!”

“Happy birthday Scootaloo! I…I um, I hoped you listened when I asked you to open this when you were alone, ‘cause it’s going to be a little embarrassing if you open it with everypony around.”

Sweetie took this as her queue to swiftly exit the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Scootaloo alone.

“It’s still a little unreal to me, that we’re together as fillyfriends. I thought nopony would like a freak like me, somepony who changes from one tribe to the next at random. I had always had a crush on you, but I left it at that, a crush. Until I found out that you were Shazam, and that you wanted to be together! It made me so happy, even Aura was happy – oh don’t ask her anything about her ‘books’ if she brings it up!”

Scootaloo scratched her head at that, but decided to leave it.

“I saved up for this gift for you, I know you wanted to join the Wonderbolts like Rainbow Dash, but with your powers you said it’d be like cheating your way in. So, I thought even if you can’t fly with them, you can still fly with their colors!”

The magical image of Alula sat on her haunches and stared straight ahead. “I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me, that you accepted me for me. I don’t know what’ll happen when we’re older, you may even find somepony else better than me…”

Scootaloo shook her head. “No, never…!”

“But, no matter what the future holds, I’ll always care about you…because…” Alula blushed all the way up to her ears as she gathered the courage to finish her sentence. “I love you! Eeep! I can’t believe I said that! Oh this is so embarrassing…please don’t think I’m weird – well weirder?! Anyway, happy birthday!”

The image of Alula retreated back into the card, upon which it shut itself. Scootaloo stared down at the card, her lips curling to form a small, sad smile. She fluttered up and took hold of the hoody, bringing it close to her and hugging it dearly. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she once again cried.

The door opened slowly, with Sweetie Belle coming in, but stopping when she heard the sniffles. As she began to leave, Scootaloo spared her a glance and called out, “Wait…Sweetie Belle, can you…can you stay here for a little bit…?”

Sweetie Belle smiled compassionately and walked in, closing the door behind her. She leapt onto Scootaloo’s bed and sat next to her. Without any coaxing, Scootaloo leaned up against Sweetie’s shoulder, prompting the unicorn filly to nuzzle the top of her friend’s head as she continued to cry.

“Alula would kick my flank if stayed like this, wouldn’t she?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well…at the very least she’d pout at you and try to push you out the door,” said Sweetie Belle with a giggle.

Scootaloo giggled as well, imagining that Alula would do just that. “I don’t know what to do, Sweetie…I have all this power, and even with it I couldn’t protect the one pony I…I loved from being taken away! It’s stuff like this that makes me wonder why I have this mark on my flank, or why that old pony chose me!”

Sweetie Belle sighed heavily. “I won’t pretend I understand all this superhero stuff, that’s more of Button’s thing. But, if those comics he reads are any help, superheroes go through this kind stuff…unfortunately. And every time I read those parts I ask him ‘Why do these comics always put them through bad things like that?’, you know what he said?”

The orange filly shook her head.

“He said ‘Because, bad things can still happen to heroes, but it’s what they do after that shows who they are, to let themselves get swallowed up by despair, or stand up and continue the fight against evil!’”.

Scootaloo digested those words, and on some grim level it did make sense. If a superhero was all powerful then they’d be a literal god over everything, her power was derived from six deities, and even they couldn’t do it all. “I don’t know if I’m ready just yet, but there is something I need to do.”

“What’s that?” Sweetie asked.

“I’m going to need you and Apple Bloom to get your sisters, and for them to get Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, no more secrets between family.”

A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER…

“Are you sure you want to do this? I know I said Cheerilee should know, but everypony, too?” Twilight asked with a worried tone.

“I’m sure, not knowing hasn’t helped. The bad guys still come and put those I care about in danger, at least this way they’ll know that help’s always near them. Also, it’ll help a lot with me needing to get away to transform,” said Scootaloo.

About two days ago, Scootaloo, with the help of Twilight, managed to get Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Cheerilee to come to Castle Concordia. The older mares had been led there by three of the four Crusaders and Spike, none of them had been told what the purpose was in their meeting up, only that Scootaloo had something important to tell them and wanted everypony there to tell them in person.

Once they had assembled, Twilight and Scootaloo led them all down to the basement, with the others following behind them. Rarity stepped a little closer to Cheerilee and asked in a hushed voice, “My dear, do you know what it is that Scootaloo wishes to tell us?”

Cheerilee, sadly, shook her head. “I don’t, she had completely isolated herself for days and then after Sweetie Belle brought over that present, she kind of sprang back to life in a way. Although…” The maroon mare glanced at the two ahead of her, her marefriend and her adopted daughter, both talking so clandestinely as if they were in their own little world.

After descending the stairs, the group entered Twilight’s basement, upon which the Princess of Friendship closed the door with a quick spell. The alicorn mare cleared her throat, gaining the attention of all assembled. “You all were asked to come on Scootaloo’s request, she has something to tell you all, something extremely important. I only ask that you keep an open mind and to allow her to explain.”

With those words spoken, Twilight walked away and took her place next to Cheerilee. The maroon mare felt a twinge of fear in the way that Twilight had said that, wondering if the thing that Scootaloo wanted to talk about was her abuse. The only ponies who knew of that were herself, Twilight, and Mrs. Milano. She wasn’t sure if letting her friends know about this was a good idea, she had gone over about bad ponies who abduct foals and others who want them to do things they don’t want to do in classes, but hearing it from Scootaloo might make it hit too close to home for them.

For a moment, Cheerilee wanted to go over to Scootaloo and tell her she didn’t have to tell anypony else if she did not want to. However, before she could take the first step, Cheerilee felt Twilight’s downy wing drape over her back, drawing her attention. The school teacher glanced over to her marefriend and saw a pleading look for her to stay by her side and allow Scootaloo her moment.

Twilight cared about Scootaloo just as much as she did, and Cheerilee believed she’d never let Scootaloo do something she believed was reckless.

“Thanks for coming everypony, I know I’ve been a bit of a shut in since…since…” Scootaloo took in a deep breath, calming herself before she went into another crying fit. “Since Alula died. Most of you were told it was the Kingdom that did it, but that’s not the whole story. For months now I have kept a secret from some of you. Four ponies, and one dragon, know of my secret.”

“I thought I should keep it secret, to protect you from somepony looking to come after me. But recently, I’ve realized that not knowing just makes things complicated and doesn’t really protect you. I’d rather tell you, and have you know that there is somepony close by to help you when things are really bad.”

Most of the older ponies were a bit confused, save for the Crusaders, Twilight, and Spike.

“Sugarcube, what kinda trouble are ya in?” Applejack asked.

“Seriously, whatever it is we’re here for you, especially me,” said Rainbow Dash.

Scootlaoo nodded to Rainbow and Applejack. “Thanks, but I’m not in trouble. I just want to show you all something. Murmur, are you ready?”

A pink butterfly appeared in a flash of light and landed on the tip of Scootaloo’s nose. “Yes Mistress.”

Everypony blinked in confusion.

“Okay, did anypony else hear that butterfly talk?” Rainbow asked.

“I did! Oh wait, we can’t hear animals talk unless –” Pinkie gasped, “unless Fluttershy has the power to allow us to animals talk too?!” The pink party pony quickly took hold of the shy mare and stared her in the eyes. “Fluttershy I didn’t know you could do that!”

Fluttershy nervously shook her head. “I-I can’t do that, I’ve never been able to do that…although to be honest I’ve never tried that.”

Twilight giggled. “It’s not that Pinkie, it’s just Murmur there, you’ll see.” The alicorn then nodded to the pegasus filly.

“You’re on Murmur.”

The pink butterfly flew towards the center and looked upon everypony assembled. “For those of you who have transitioned to the Rock of Eternity, this needn’t be repeated. But for those who are taking this trip for the first time, please stand still and try not to move around too much while we transition from this dimension.”

Before anypony could ask what that meant, there was a sudden shift in gravity as if the room was being moved around. All light left the room save for the pink glow of Murmur’s astral form. After a few seconds of unseen movement, everything went still. A door opened about five feet from the group which led into a white light.

Murmur flew through the door and Scootaloo followed after her, but not before stopping at the foot of the door and looking back at the group. “C’mon everypony, it’s on the other side!”

Without much prompting, Babs Seed, Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom followed Scootaloo into the door of light. Applejack and Rarity called out to their younger siblings but their calls went unheeded, making both of them run after them out of instinct. Pinkie Pie hopped to the door, looking at it from all angles as if trying to see where the others ended up. She then shrugged and jumped right in.

Fluttershy had become rooted to the spot she was standing. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes began pushing the mare from behind towards the door. “C’mon Shy, if this was dangerous Twilight wouldn’t bring us here before telling us it was, that’s kind of my thing.”

The pink maned pegasus mare gulped and shut her eyes tight as the two of them entered the doorway. Now only Twilight and Cheerilee remained, with the former glancing to her marefriend and nodding towards the door. “Shall we?”

“T-Twilight, what is going on?!” Cheerilee asked.

“It’ll make better sense once we’re on the other side, believe me, that place is amazing!” Twilight exclaimed. “So many books~”

Cheerilee still looked skeptical, but Twilight gave her a loving nuzzle to the cheek, and some of Cheerilee’s worry ebbed away. Twilight was her marefriend, she trusted her, and out of her friends she was the most levelheaded – if not neurotic – so she would never bring them somewhere she didn’t believe was at all unsafe without at least a warning.

Trusting in her feelings and in Twilight, Cheerilee allowed Twilight to lead her into the doorway.

“You can open your eyes now,” said Twilight.

Cheerilee had closed her eyes the moment they entered the door of light, slowly she opened them and watched as everypony’s eyes were wandering to, well, everything. It was a giant library, with books flying from one shelf to the other, organizing themselves. Far off to the left was a hallway that led into some kind of museum with artifacts that did not look particularly Equestrian. Another hallway led towards, what appeared to be, a kind of spa bathhouse.

Ahead of the group Scootaloo stood in the middle of the open rotunda, flanked by a filly who had butterfly fairy wings. The most excited of the group were the Crusaders and Spike, all four just browsing around and looking up into the nearly infinite ceiling that seemed to shift like a puzzle.

“W-What is this place,” Cheerilee asked.

“It’s…It’s simply breathtaking, such a complex structure,” said Rarity in awe.

Scootaloo chuckled a little. “Welcome to the Rock of Eternity. The secret, interdimensional fortress of magic that’s been around since, like, forever, and my secret base.”

“‘Secret base’, what in tarnation is goin’ on here, Twi?”! Applejack asked.

“Scootaloo, I think it’s time you showed them.” Twilight suggested.

Scootaloo nodded and flared her wings. There was a low rumbling sound like thunder that echoed in the room. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Cheerilee were completely confused, and a little on edge at hearing the thunder. The Crusaders and Spike were just eagerly awaiting what was to come, Twilight was just watching with a smile on her face, while Pinkie Pie, well, Pinkie Pie looked just as excited as the Crusaders. The orange filly closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, lightning arced from the corners of her eyes.

“SHAZAM!!!”

Lightning crashed down upon Scootaloo, zapping her and obscuring her form in a cloud of white smoke. The smoke did not last as a swift gust of wind from within the cloud blew it away, revealing Equestria’s Mightiest Mare, Shazam, her hooded cloak flapping in the crossbreeze she generated. The superheroine took one step forward, and with a spark of her horn, willed the cape and hood to disappear into particles of light, revealing Shazam’s face to all. At first it didn’t click, but upon further inspection, they noticed the similarities.

“S-S-Shazam is…is…SCOOTALOO??!!” Cheerilee exclaimed.

“Oh my,” gasped Fluttershy.

“Surprise,” said Shazam sheepishly.

Pinkie Pie squeed loudly and bounced around excitedly as she ran up to Shazam and placed both hooves on her face, smushing Shazam’s face a little. “AAAAH! I knew it! I mean, Scootaloo disappears and Shazam appears, Scootaloo appears and Shazam disappears, and there was my Pinkie Sense on that day when Ponyville was first attacked and -- I just knew it!” The pink party pony then got a serious look on her face “You do realize I owe you a ‘Congratulations on Becoming a Superhero Party’ and a birthday party too, right?”

Shazam gulped. “Y-Yeah, I-I know, but let’s keep the former a secret between all of us, we’ll work on the latter.”

“Yeppie!”

Out of nowhere, ranchous laughter could be heard echoing in the library, it didn’t take long for the group to find the source. Rainbow Dash had fallen on her back, holding her sides as she continued to laugh out loud.

“Rainbow Dash, are you quite alright?” Rarity asked.

The prismatic mare wiped a tear from eye and took a moment to compose herself. “Sorry guys, but you gotta admit that this is a great prank!”

“‘Prank’?” Shazam and Twilight said at the same time.

“Obviously, I mean it took you a while to finally come up with a good one, but I’d never thought you’d get Shazam of all ponies in on it, and Scootaloo! Ha, ha!”

Shazam raised an eyebrow. “I’m not joking Rainbow Dash, I am Shazam. I’ve been Shazam for months now.”

Rainbow Dash’s chuckling took on a nervous tone. “No, no, you really can’t be Shazam, okay? Because if you were then that means when I kissed you on the lips I was really kissing Scootaloo, and that would be SO wrong! Ha, but anyway how are you pulling this off?”

Shazam sighed, she knew this would happen. “Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry…but it’s true, I am and you did…I-I wanted to tell you that I was, but when you kissed me I had no idea how to break it to you.”

Babs Seed, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Spike all had open mouths, jaws literally hanging open when they heard this. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack were no better, their eyes now falling on the rainbow maned mare.

“This is really awkward,” said Pinkie in a whisper to Cheerilee. “Especially when you adopted Scootaloo, and Rainbow Dash promised to be a big sister to her, and now we found out that she kissed Scootaloo. Hmm, does this count as incest? I mean you’re not related to each other so it’s not that…I’m confused.”

Rainbow Dash’s eye twitched as she chuckled nervously. “Heh, uh…okay…I’m, uh, I’m going to throw up now.”

Murmur quickly tapped the floor with her hoof, and a bucket immediately materialized from the floor. The cyan mare took the bucket and turned away from everypony and began retching into it, Fluttershy hurriedly went to her side and gently rubbed her back, making soothing sounds to try and ease the discomfort.

“You’re taking this really well, Cheerilee,” said Shazam. “Cheerilee?”

Shazam turned to see the mare in question, but her eyes went wide when she saw Cheerilee contained in Twilight’s magical aura, frozen mid-rant with a furious expression upon her face.

“Yeah…this is going to take a bit to explain,” said Twilight.

MLDC: SHAZAM, Equestria's Mightest Mare!

by Michael_Ravencroft

Prologue: A Mystery

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 1: Off to see the Wizard!

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 2: Her name means power!

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 3: The Beginning of Everything, Good and Bad

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 4: Discovery

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 5: The Rock of Eternity

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 6: Runaway

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 7: Show Time

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 8: The Return of the Hero King

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 9: The Battle of Manehattan, Black Adam's Might!

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 10: Magic's Champion!

Lightning Strikes Arc Part 11: Home Sweet Home

Project Erroria Arc Part 1: A New Start & New Worries

Project Erroria Arc Part 2: Assassin

Project Erroria Arc Part 3: Well...that escalated

Project Erroria Arc Part 4: Advice

Project Erroria Arc Part 5: Arrival & Confession

Project Erroria Arc Part 6: Pony Pet Playdate Disaster!

Project Erroria Arc Part 7: The Comeback! Enter the SHAZAM Pets!

Project Erroria Arc Part 8: News

Project Erroria Arc Part 9: Innocent Pain

Project Erroria Arc Part 10: Confessions

Project Erroria Arc Part 11: Sparks a Flyin'

Project Erroria Arc Part 12: Consideration / Determination

Project Erroria Arc Part 13: The Kingdom's Assault

Project Erroria Arc Part 14: What is lost.....

Project Erroria Arc Part 15: And what is found!

Project Erroria Arc Part 16: Assault The Mansion!

Project Erroria Arc Part 17: "I love you..."

Project Erroria Arc Part 18: No More Secrets

Epilogue