So, first I lose a bet and have to go to Supernova dressed as Raven, then I find myself in the world of MLP, as Raven. Just Great
I wanted to just enjoy going to Supanova with some friends. As embrassing as losing a bet, my punishment being going dressed as Raven from Teen Titans is, I'm not going to let it spoil my fun.
However, waking up in the world of My Little Pony as Raven herself might spoil that fun. I mean, being an empath in MLP... after the Changeling Invasion at the wedding?
Yeah. I don't see any problems for me from that. Not to mention keeping my new powers under control when they're tied to my emotions and I haven't had all the years of training Raven did.
And let's not forget that my new powers are shadow magic, so basically Dark Magic. I don't see that causing me any problems socially, either. Nope. None at all.
T due to Scenes of Violence, Blood, (hence the Gore tag) sometimes and nudity of a young girl and other things.
Adventure and Slice of Life tags would be here if they didn't go against each other, plus there was no room. Sex tag mostly for when Raven is nude and how she talks about sex and similar things with the ponies at times.
“I cannot believe you guys,” I growl as we walk into the pavilion.
“Aw, come on, man. You lost the bet, you pay the toll.”
I stop and turn, glaring at him.
My friends and I cosplaying at Supanova. Originally, we were going to come as members of the Justice League... until I lost a bet with my younger brother.
I’m not going to explain what the bet was, it’s too embarrassing.
My punishment for losing the bet, however, is one my friends were all willing to get behind. So, instead of cosplaying as the Justice League, we came cosplaying as the Teen Titans.
Now, you might be wondering, why does that bother you? Cosplaying as Robin, Beast Boy or Cyborg doesn’t sound so bad.
Our group is four guys, one girl. Now, if you know anything of Teen Titans, you know their main team is three boys and two girls.
“Come on, is not that bad,” Starfire says, putting a hand on my shoulder, trying not to laugh.
Figured out why I’m peeved yet?
“Come on, man,” Cyborg says, grinning mischievously. “You make a great Raven.”
“You are so lucky I don’t have her powers,” I growl, pulling from Starfire’s grip and heading further in, leaving them to laugh.
Yeah, I’m stuck dressed as Raven. Not my choice of the two female characters either, even if Raven is my favourite Teen Titan.
So, yeah, big guy dressed in an indigo cloak with a hood, with matching indigo ruffled ankle-boots with blackish-gray soles, with a leotard-like long-sleeved shirt that is blueish-black with cuffs at the wrists of the same blue of the cloak.
Once it was confirmed I’d be stuck going as Raven, my mother went all out to make sure I’d look great. She’s good at sewing and since I’ve rarely asked for much, especially in the last few years, she agreed to do it... when my brother asked.
So, like in the show, on the cloak it has a circular black/red jewel (glass) set in a gold plate that attaches the whole thing together; it covers and around the waist is a red and gold belt with the same jewels around it, while my legs are exposed. The belt ties at the back like a cord.
Hell, they even got me to wear grey body paint and painted a small red diadem on my forehead to make it look even more authentic... as authentic as a guy dressing up as Raven can look, anyway.
I growl, stomping through the pavilion, wanting to put as much distance between me and my friends as I can.
I wanted to come to Supernova to enjoy myself, not suffer ridicule.
You see, I decided to come to Supernova to try and make myself feel better. Family life isn’t exactly at it’s best right now.
My parents recently got divorced and I seem to be the only one of my siblings who feels in anyway hurt about it. I know my parents’ reasoning, but it still hurts and isn’t helped when my siblings don’t seem to give a shit aside from it meaning our dad is out of their lives, which actually makes them happy!
With all that going on, I jumped at the chance when one of my friends asked if I’d like to go to Supanova. I haven’t been to other type of convention like this since, like, I was still in high school, and that was ComicCon at the Adelaide Show Grounds.
“Uh oh, boys. Better watch out,” a guy’s voice jeers from nearby. “Raven’s pissed.”
I snap my head in his direction, my eyes promising death if he says another word. That seems to shut him up, as he and his friends freeze in place for a moment, before running off.
I snort, lifting the hood to hide my face. Teenagers.
“Oh, what an interesting attire.”
I whirl around, growling, “Listen, lady, I—”
I cut myself off, seeing it is an elderly lady sitting at one of the merchandise booths. What shut me up is that she is looking at me normally. There’s no sense of condescending in her expression at all and, now that I think about it, there wasn’t in her tone either.
“Um, yeah, I guess so,” I say, standing straight and rubbing one of my arms sheepishly. Jeez, did I almost just snap at an old lady for speaking kindly? Man, I’m letting my anger at my situation make me a dick.
She just smiles at me, then nods, before indicating to all the items at her stall. “Anything of interest to you, dear?”
I give a wry smile, folding my arms. Not bad. She worked this situation into a chance to sell some product like a pro.
Shrugging, I look over the items she has for sale. I can see some Sailor Moon plushies (that’s all the Sailor Scouts, not just Sailor Moon), some key chains from Astro Boy, even a box with seven very well done glass balls that look like the Dragon Balls from the Dragon Ball series.
However, something else on the table catches my eye and it’s correlation to my current attire has nothing to do with it.
It’s a mirror with black, spiked designs, with a red gem embedded above and below the reflective surface itself and I’ve only seen it in one episode of Teen Titans.
“Raven’s mirror,” I say, picking it up and looking it over.
The craftsmanship is amazing. The details are so good, you could swear this is the real deal.
“How much?” I ask, turning to look at the woman, before I blink.
She... she’s gone.
I glance around, trying to see her, thinking maybe it’s her break and she headed over to the nearby food court. But, looking around, I see no one who looks like the old woman.
Shrugging and deciding I’ll wait to pay her when she gets back; I look closer at the mirror.
I can’t help but frown. Hate to admit it, but, since I shaved before putting on the face paint, I do look a lot like Raven. From a distance you probably wouldn’t even be able to tell I’m a guy.
...
Okay, that thought actually makes me suddenly feel uncomfortable.
Someone runs past me, causing a breeze and I shiver as it goes over my bare legs. Seriously, why couldn’t I just wear some skin-tight pants that were grey or something as opposed to being bare legged.
However, another person comes right after that one that made the breeze, this one not paying enough attention and bumping into me. The sudden thump startles me and I let go of the mirror.
Frantically I reach down to grab it, my hand gripping the handle and I fumble a moment to make sure I have a firm hold.
Sighing with relief and not having dropped the mirror, I look into its reflective surface again, only to cry out when I see two pairs of pure red eyes glaring back at me.
Before I can really figure out what’s going on the world goes black and it feels like my body is being pulled every which way all at once, before feeling myself hit the ground with an "omf".
Ow!
Man, it feels like my head’s been shoved in a washing machine set on high for several minutes.
I sit up, before noticing the feeling of something like dirt underneath my hands.
What? They couldn’t bother cleaning the floor? It’s not been that long since Supanova started. Jeez, are kids coming from the beach running around here or something.
Opening my eyes, I blink, confused as I see a lot of what I can tell is sand in front of my face.
Pushing myself up a bit, I lift my head, only to look around in confusion. There’s nothing but sand for miles. It’s like I’m in the middle of a desert. Glancing up at the sky, I can see the moon out, shining down.
“Okay. I am not in Kansas anymore,” I murmur. Come on, you never made that joke when you suddenly, for reasons you can understand, find yourself somewhere you’ve never been before?
I blink, something sounding off about my voice.
I lift a hand to my throat and feel it, a confused frown coming over my features. I... I can’t feel my Adam’s Apple anymore.
I blink again, before pulling my hand away to look at it, cocking an eyebrow. It seems... slimmer than it used to be. I mean, I don’t have the manliest of hands out there, but they were nowhere near as slim as this before.
“Just what the heck is going on around...?” I lift both hands to my throat this time. “Okay. Why does my voice sound like this? I kinda sound... like...”
My eyes widen and I quickly look myself over, before my fears are confirmed. My body feels different. My hips are more broad and my waist in more slender. I look down and cry out in alarm, bringing my hands up to my chest and feeling the mounds of cloth-covered flesh responding to the feeling of touch. My hands fly down to where my man parts should be and I feel a chill go down my body as they meet nothing, confirming the sudden lack of feeling down there is not an illusion.
“Okay, calm down. Calm down!” I shout at myself as clumps of sand keep bursting with dark energy around me, and putting my hands over my head. “There has to be a rational explanation.” I deadpan, looking up at the sky. “A rational explanation as to why I’ve suddenly woken up in a desert as Raven after dressing up as her at a Supernova convention. Oh, yeah. Like that in and of itself doesn’t have irrationality written all over it!”
Before you ask how I know I’ve somehow turned into Raven, I quickly checked my head and felt something pressing out of it. Something hard and in the shape of a diamond.
Grey skin, slender form, boobs, a diamond shaped thing protruding slightly from my forehead and girl parts down below? Yeah, if I’m not Raven, I’d be very surprised, to be honest.
Some of my friends are fanfic writers and they’ve done stories where people dress up as TV characters, only to somehow find themselves in the worlds of said TV show, so it’s not really too hard to figure out what’s happened here.
The only real difference between my friends’ fanfics and my situation is that what’s happened to me is literally happening.
“Oh, crap,” I say, facepalming. “Please don’t tell me I’m going to have to deal with Trigon. I mean, sure, I don’t have the emotional problems Raven had with him, since I don’t remember her life of being terrified of him save what I know from the show and the Justice League vs Teen Titans movie, but I can’t face him!”
I would rant on further, but something causes me to push, frowning in confusion.
I can... sense, I guess would be the best word to use to explain it, several beings nearby. However, even though I’ve never experienced this before, some instinct tells me they shouldn’t feel this way. Something is... off about that.
A sudden buzzing makes me leap forward, doing a somersault and turning around again to see what came at me.
I blank for a moment.
The creature before me is a quadruped, covered in black chitin, with fin-like things on its head and where a tail would be and its eyes are pure green.
Now, I am a Brony, I will admit that, though I was never as big into it as my friends. I’m more of your casual Brony, I watch the show, check out fanworks from time to time, but that’s about it.
However, when you’ve friends who are bronies, you will read their fanfics about it, if only to give them your opinion on their writing styles. And two of my friends loved writing about the changelings, so I am pretty versed in their appearance, thus can tell this is one of that from just one look.
But, this also gives me an idea of where I am, but still confuses me. Why the hell am I in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic world, when I’ve turned into Raven.
Raven and MLP being together make about us much sense as, um, Princess Celestia being the princess of the moon?
Okay, maybe that’s a bad example, but I’m dealing with a lot of new things right now, like turning into Raven and finding myself in a world she isn’t really likely to fit into here, so cut me some slack, okay?
The changeling and I pace slowly, it not taking its eyes off me, nor I it as we size each other up. Now, Changelings may not be as facially expressive as ponies in the show, but I can tell this one is giving me a look of cautious confusion and I can somehow feel it is confused as well.
Not that I can blame it. A humanoid-looking creature isn’t too common in MLP. Or, at least, not in the show. Seeing as Minotaurs exist in this world, I wouldn’t be surprised if several other anthropomorphic creatures from Greek Mythology exist.
“So, we just gonna keep walking in circles?” I ask after several moments and inwardly frown. Seriously? I’m speaking in Raven’s monotone too? Well, at least I know I can project some emotion into that. Having watched the show as much as I have, with Raven being my fav character, I’ve learned to hear any emotion Tara Strong was working into the monotone she used for Raven.
The changeling seems to narrow its eyes and cock its head slightly.
I blink, before facepalming. “Of course. What’re the chances you speak the same language as I do.” Sure, Queen Chrysalis did in the show, but for all I know, Equestrian might not sound like English in the actual world of MLP. In all likelihood, since a lot of the show has influences from Greek mythology, it’s likely they speak Greek.
Great. I don’t speak that. So, the only question now is, how do I speak the language when I’ve never heard...?
I blink again, before looking down at my hands, before smacking myself in the head again. Duh. If I’m Raven, I might have her powers.
Scratch that. Just remembered the episode where she and Starfire switched bodies. When Starfire panicked in Raven’s body, everything around her kept exploding with Raven’s dark energies, which is what the sand was doing during my freak out a few moments ago.
No, hold on. Of I remember correctly, I may not need to use a spell of any kind to learn how to speak the language. Raven’s bio says she speaks several languages, including Latin, which is derived from Greek in the first place.
Here’s hoping my luck holds out and they speak Latin.
Hang on a tick. How do I speak it?
“Wait,” I look down to my hands. “Okay, so, I’ve got Raven’s powers. Let’s see if I can work with this.” I close my eyes, feeling dark energy surrounding my hands. “Now, concentrate. Like Raven told Star, find your centre, then just... think about it, I guess.” Since I am Raven now, maybe I can unlock an innate ability to speak Latin. After a few moments, I think I’ve found it and call out, “Azarath Metrion... ZINTHOS!”
I feel the dark energy spread all over my body, focusing around my throat. When the feeling fades, I open my eyes and look to the changeling, which has taken a defensive stance. I can sense the caution in its... aura, I suppose. Wait. I can sense emotions now? Cool.
I hold out a hand. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. I don’t even know how I got here, so just chill a moment.” I blink, before folding my arms, smirking. “Wow. Hearing Raven talk like that?” I chuckle. “This might not be so bad.” Then I relize my arms are crossed over my new chest and pressing down and I quickly unfold them. “Okay. Breasts are still gonna take some getting used to.”
The changeling feels confused again, though is still on alert. “How did you speak our tongue?” it hisses.
I blink. Wow. I’m honestly surprised it could talk. I personally always thought Chrysalis was the only changeling that could speak, though I guess if Changelings have their own language the drones in the part two of the finale hadn’t bothered or just didn’t know Equestrian. Though, it seems he speaks Latin fine. Guess it would make sense, seeing as changelings need to pretend to be others.
In answer to his question though, I think I’ll be a troll. “Magic.”
It works. I can feel an annoyance from the insect thing as its eyes narrow a bit.
“You will come, creature,” it says, stepping forward.
I blink, before folding my arms (taking care not to come into contact with my new girls again), and give a deadpan expression. “Hmm. You mean to be taken to your queen and likely be put in a pod for the rest of my days until I’m an empty husk?” I smirk, dark energy glowing around my hands. “Yeah. I think I’ll pass.”
The changeling growls and lunges toward me.
“Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!” I chant quickly, thrusting my arms out. A blast of dark energy flies from both, slamming into the changeling. It shoots backward, flying higher and higher until I can’t see it anymore.
I remain motionless for a moment, before moving into a more neutral stance and wave, smiling sheepishly. “Um, sorry,” I call out. I did not mean to send him flying like that. Guess I’ll need more practice.
I blink, before scowling, dark energy moving like flames around my body. “Practice? Practice?! I’m not even meant to be Raven!”
An explosion of sand flies up around me, before settling down, at which point I’ve a blank expression on my face, my anger cooled.
“Right, right,” I shake my head, putting a hand to my forehead. “Raven’s powers are driven by emotion. The more I feel, the more energy I unleash.”
How I’m meant to keep calm about this to prevent more energy release, I have no idea. It’s not like there’s someone in this world who has skill in spiritual ways and...
I stop myself from facepalming, if only because I feel if I keep doing that I’m going to get a bruise. Zecora. Of all the characters from the show, she’d probably be the most likely to be able to help me out with something like this. She did do the Jedi training thing with Twilight in Magic Dual after all.
Sighing, I look around, my cloak covering me completely as move my view around.
Nothing but desert for east to west. Great.
“Okay,” I say, taking a deep breath. “I know Raven can teleport in a sense, so, focus. If I want to speak with Zecora, seeing as I’ve no real clue where I am beyond the bad lands, teleporting is my only real aid here.” I do my best to picture Zecora’s hut in my mind. “Azarath Metrion... ZINTHOS!”
The world becomes darkness and all feeling and sound just vanish.
Celestia awoke suddenly, sitting up in her bed and turning her eyes to a window that revealed the Everfree Forest in the far distance near Ponyville.
She was still, her breathing slow and intentionally shallow to make little noise as possible. Like someone hearing a thump in their house as they lie in bed, Celestia had sensed something.
It had barely lasted more than a couple of seconds, but it had been powerful.
What troubled her was it felt not like a normal surge of magic. Whatever she had sensed had felt dark, very dark. Not even Sombra or Nightmare Moon had ever had this sense of darkness.
It was something she had never felt before, and it chilled her to the bone.
Quickly getting up and, despite her weariness of being up so late, her bed beckoning to her, she levitated on her regalia and opened her bedroom doors, much to the surprise of the guards stationed outside it.
“Your Highness?” the one of the right asked, giving her a confused expression whilst still saluting to her.
“I must speak with my sister at once,” she said, turning and making her way down the hall. “Also, have word sent to Princess Cadance to return from her diplomatic meeting Romaneia.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” they nodded, one heading off to have a message sent to the Alicorn of Love, whilst the other followed after the princess.
Luna was finding it very hard to keep her focus on the unicorn noble before her continued his riveting explanation as to why it would be right for her Night Court to allow him to build a shopping complex over one of the parks she knew from having frequented it that many families enjoyed going to.
As he was going over how the revenue would aid in furthering Canterlot’s fame, Luna sat up straight, her eyes wide, as if she’d been zapped by a bolt of lightning.
Paying no mind to the stallion’s blabbering, well, less than what little she had been already, anyway, Luna quickly turned her gaze to the windows of the throne look, her eyes fixed in the direction of Ponyville, or, more accurately, the Everfree Forest, the place of her descent into darkness and freeing from it.
She had sensed it. Darkness. Though, this was unlike the kind that had taken over her. There was something different about this darkness. Something... well, darker, she supposed.
It was hard to put into words how it had felt, if she were perfectly honest.
One thing she could not deny though, was it had been powerful. Never had she sensed such a strong dark presence.
“Your Highness?”
She turned at the indignant tone to see the unicorn looking up at her with displeasure, as if he really expected she should be interested in his blustering.
She opened her mouth to explain why what she had just sensed was of far greater concern than he’s self-centred ideas, when the throne room doors were opened and Celestia hurried in, followed by one of her guards.
Luna stood at once, having a good hunch why her sister would be up this late.
“You sensed it, didn’t you, Luna?”
That was a "yes".
Luna nodded. “Indeed, sister. This is most troubling. Have you contacted Twilight Sparkle?”
Celestia stood still momentarily, before levitating over a piece of blank parchment and a quill from one of the nearby tables, quickly writing down a message to her personal student, then sent it off.
A wave from Luna told all present that the Night Court was over for tonight and they all left, the noble grumbling like a foal that didn’t get a new toy they wanted.
“So,” Luna said as her sister looked to her again once the room was empty. “How badly do you think this will go?”
“I hate to guess, sister,” Celestia shook her head, moving over to the window and looking out. “This is like nothing we have ever felt before.”
“Do you think Twilight Sparkle and Cadance will have sensed it as well?” the dark Alicorn asked, moving to stand next to her sister.
Celestia shook her head. “Twilight may be the most magically gifted unicorn to ever exist and Cadance’s magic is tied to the emotions of others, but that does not mean they have the skill to sense things as we do.” She closed her eyes, her expression grim. “And, whatever it is we face now, may very well be the most dangerous being Equestria has ever encountered.”
I leap into the air, narrowly avoiding a giant claw of what looks like the chimera from the episode Somepony To Watch Over Me.
“What the heck are you doing here?” I ask, landing several feet away. “Shouldn’t you been in that fire swamp?”
“What’s our dinner talking about?” the lion head asks in a voice deeper than the one in the episode.
“How should I know?” the goat head says, also in a male voice?
“Who cares?” the snake tail asks, it too having a male voice instead of female. “Let’s just eat already.”
“Oh, I get it.” I stand up straight again. “You’re a different chimera.”
Makes sense. The only creature I know of in the series portrayed as the only one other its kind is Discord, though that could just be because the show had yet to have an episode detailing that before I got here.
The chimera roars and I leap up, pressing my hands down on the tiger head and propelling myself over the beast.
I flip as I land, before whirling around, the chimera not having noticed where I am duo to disorientation.
A surge of dark energy flies from my hands, slamming into the chimera. It gets sent hurtling back, smashing through trees until I can no longer see it, just a trail of fallen trees that it had collided with and smashed through.
For several moments I stand there, breathing heavily. Wow. I just fought a chimera. A bloody chimera, and I came out on top.
“What is there here, I see? A creature of darkness in the Everfree?”
I turn around to find a zebra that reaches up to just below my chest standing there, looking at me with cautious confusion.
I sigh, giving a small smile. “Well, glad I could find you, Zecora.”
She blinks, her frown deepening a little. “How is it you know my name? I cannot say the same.”
I deadpan. Okay, that sounded a bit forced. Surely I don’t have to listen to her rhyming every time she talks. I’m sure I could deal with it any other given time, but I’ve Raven’s powers right now.
Any frustrations caused by my trying to figure out some of her more elaborate rhymes could end in disaster if I lost my temper.
Hmm, I wonder.
I holding my hands up to my head, they glow with dark energy and I focus on the idea of hearing Zecora speaking out of rhyme, murmuring, “Azarath Metrion... Zinthos.”
I feel something twitch in my head, then lower my hands and look to the zebra.
“What did you just do?” she asks, looking more confused.
I wait for several moments. When she doesn’t finish in a rhyme, I smile. “Hello, Zecora,” I bow slightly. “My name is Raven.”
I blink, frowning. No, Raven is not my name. It’s... it’s...
I cock my head, then shut my eyes, trying to remember my name. Every time I focus though, all I get is “Raven” popping into the forefront of my mind. Great. So this change has somehow made it so I can’t remember even my own name? Wonderful.
“Is something wrong?” her voice shakes me from my thoughts and I see her looking at me with curiosity now.
I sigh, shaking my head. “Just call me Raven.”
“Very well, Raven, dear. What brings you to this forest that most ponies fear?”
I blink, before inwardly shrugging. Guess it couldn’t have worked perfectly. Some rhymes are bound to lip in from time to time.
“I have come for your help, Zecora,” I say, bowing again.
“That is quite the tale. I can see why, in your task, you do not wish to fail,” Zecora says, refilling my tea mug.
I take it, nodding my thanks and take a sip. I had just finished telling her everything I could. How I’d found myself in this world, how I knew of the powers I now posses, my encounter with the changeling and the dangers my new abilities pose if left unchecked.
“Is there anything you can do for me?” I ask, holding my mug in both hands.
She puts her teapot down and sits, thinking for a moment, before looking to me. “You say this being you’ve become would meditate a lot, correct?”
I nod.
She smiles. “Then I would suggest we start there.” She moves into a sitting position, one that looks more human than pony, anyway. “Come child and we shall see how we fair.”
I get up and move over, sitting cross-legged next to her, putting my hands on my knees.
I’m not really one for this kind of stuff, that’s more my mother’s area, but, if this can help make sure I don’t lose control whilst I’m stuck as Raven, I’ll do what I can.
“Breathe deeply and let you mind flow,” Zecora chants slowly, her voice a low tone. “Whether we need fear your powers, we shall soon know.”
I take her advice and try to calm down, murmuring, “Azarath Metrion... Zinthos.”
If Zecora has a problem with my speaking, she doesn’t say it as we remain that was for several minutes, the only sound being my chanting.
Whoa, I blink, looking around. I’m standing in a vast expanse of space. Where am I?
We are inside your mind. I glance to my right to see Zecora standing next to me, looking calm. We need not fear. Nothing can truly harm us here.
Why does that just make me feel more on edge?
Wait, we’re not going to be splitting my personalities into the multi-coloured Ravens, are we? I ask, giving her a skeptical look.
She shakes her head. We do not have that much time. The Raven you speak of had years to learn how to control her emotions. We will merely be making it so you have control over them and do not lose your grip suddenly, until we can work with Twilight Sparkle for an easier solution.
I nod. Makes sense.
Now, she says, pointing a hoof directly in front of me. Imagine a sphere containing all your emotions.
I do just that, a glowing, multi-coloured sphere forming within moments.
Now, focus and gently release each colour from within the sphere, then bind it with your will.
I close my eyes and focus, my hands held out. I slowly move them outwards, the colours of the sphere all separating into their own sphere, before being covered by a dark seal that holds them in place.
Once I’m done, I drop to the ground, feeling exhausted.
A hoof on my shoulder makes me glance up to see Zecora smiling at me. You did well, Raven. For your emotions, this place is now a haven.
I give a wry smile. Okay, that one you did on purpose.
She raises an eyebrow.
I give a small chuckle, standing up. Never mind. So, we’re done. We don’t have to worry about my powers going haywire on us suddenly?
She nods, though frowns. It will not be as easy as you think. Your emotions will always be on the brink. She indicates to the spheres. What we have done is maybe a temporary measure. Twilight Sparkle is the only one whom can assure your emotional balance without displeasure.
I nod, standing with the cloak covering me. So, I should go to her next? You think she might be able to do something?
With my aid, yes. I do believe we can save you from distress. She smiles. But first we have much to do, to show. And there is more about you I wish to know.
I nod. It will take some time to get a good grasp on everything to do with my new powers, but heading for Twilight’s now would probably be a bad idea.
“Oh, this is bad! This is very, very bad!” Twilight Sparkle said as she paced back and forth in her library.
“Twilight, calm down, will ya?” Spike asked as he continued to clean up the mess the lavender mare had created.
Several days ago, his sleep had been interrupted one night by a letter from Princess Celestia. He’d have preferred to wait until morning to show Twilight, but his belch upon receiving the letter had woken her up and, upon reading it, she’d gone into a panic.
According to Princess Celestia’s letter, she and Luna had both sensed a dark presence within the area of the Everfree Forest, so strong they’d been able to sense it all the way in Canterlot.
That in and of itself would’ve been enough to fill Twilight with worry, but when she’d gotten to the part where Celestia said the darkness was stronger and deeper than Nightmare Moon had been, it had been the tipping point, and the library’s current state was the result.
Shelves unorganized, scrolls strewn all over the floor, chalkboards with multiple advanced ideas beyond the baby dragon’s understand; it was a repeat of the Time Travel Indecent all over again, only without the time travel.
Twilight had barely slept over the last few days, running herself ragged.
The princesses had sent the Elements of Harmony to Twilight’s house a few hours after the letter and Twilight had wasted no time in putting on her own Element. Over the last few days, the others had also been given their Elements. The princess wanted them wearing them at all times. She’d estimated that, as long as they wore their Elements, the darkness would not be able to harm them, but it would take all Elements being present to stop it, when it came.
“Twilight, it’s four in the morning,” Spike said, not bothering to hide the grumble in his voice. “You’ve been at this for days now, and we’ve seen no sign of this darkness the princess warned us about.”
“I know, but this could be serious, Spike!” the unicorn stopped and turned to look firmly at him. “We don’t know what kind of dark magic we could be dealing with. For all we know it could be a creature from Tartarus that somehow managed to escape whilst Cerberus was here in Ponyville!”
Spike rolled his eyes. Come on. What were the chances anyone could’ve gotten out of Tartarus?
As the baby drake turned to clean up yet more of the mess Twilight had left, a loud roar suddenly rooted him to the spot.
“What was that?!” Twilight’s cry was followed by her teleporting away, no doubt outside.
Hurrying to the door, Spike went out too, only to freeze in place. A hydra was coming towards Ponyville. What was a hydra doing here?
I sit, cross-legged, floating above a pool of water, the same pool I believe Twilight will be meditating above when learning how to stop Trixie.
It has been almost a week since I arrived in this world as Raven. Whilst it hasn’t been easy, Zecora has helped me to somewhat keep a handle on my new powers.
I believe that is partially thanks to my being able to detach myself from my emotions before becoming Raven.
You see, luckily, I've always been pretty good at distancing myself from my emotions. Just a natural, I guess.
An example is whenever I lost a loved one to death’s embrace. Whilst everyone else was weeping and wailing, I would feel hurt, but only in part. The sadness is always still there, but it is diluted somewhat and easy to distract myself from. However, it always seemed random. Sometimes I could detach myself no problem, other times the emotions would overwhelm me to a point they were all I could think about.
Still, it has aided in keeping my powers under control as Zecora teaches me further control. Until we can find out if Twilight Sparkle can create an enchantment of some kind to aid my emotional control, this is all we can do.
“Meditation goes well today, I see,” Zecora’s voice pulls me from my trance and I open my eyes to glance at her. She’s standing a little away. “Today is the day you can leave the Everfree.”
I blink, confused. How can she be so sure that today—?
A loud crashing, roars and screams from the direction of Ponyville catch me off guard and I lose my focus, dropping into the water.
“Oh,” I say, standing up, now soaking wet. “Right.”
She nods, indicating in the direction of Ponyville.
I nod back, turning into a shadow and zip off towards the sounds of chaos.
“Everypony, move it!” Rainbow Dash cried, zipping through the sky, herding ponies away from where the hydra was attacking the town.
Applejack and Rarity were trying to hold it down with ropes (Rarity’s being far fancier looking than the farm mare’s due to hers being make from silk), but the hydra was still snapping at anything that got to close.
“Twilight, do something!” Pinkie Pie cried as she narrowly avoided losing her tail to one of the four heads.
Twilight grunted, closing her eyes and trying with all her might, but the magic on her horn just fizzled out. Having not slept and worked non-stop for several days trying to figure out how to handle the darkness the princesses had warned her about, she was too drained to even pull off a sparkle.
And the Elements were no help, as what they were facing was a creature following it’s natural instincts, therefore the Elements weren’t willing to work against it.
Applejack and Rarity screamed as the two heads their ropes had been holding down reared back up, tossing the two ponies into the air.
“NO!” Twilight cried, watching helplessly as her friends fell through the air, heading for the open mouths of the heads.
“Azarath Metrion... ZINTHOS!”
Suddenly, both Rarity and Applejack were covered back a dark light and halted in place, causing the two hydra heads to snap their mouths closed on empty air.
Twilight blinked as her friends were moved away from the hydra. She saw them lowered down next to a very tall creature wearing a blue cloak.
“Huh? What in the hay is that?” Rainbow Dash asked. She’d flown over when she heard Twilight’s cry, and was now as confused as her and the rest of the Mane 6.
“Leave this to me,” the cloaked figure said to the unicorn and Earth Pony she’d just saved, before launching into the air, her cloak pulling away to reveal a slender, biped-like body similar to Spike’s, only taller and thinner.
The cloaked figure stopped in the air, floating before the hydra. “Well, aren’t you in the wrong place?” it asked. “Come to take revenge on the meals that got away at the bog?”
“The bog?” Twilight blinked, before her eyes widened. Was this the same hydra she, Fluttershy, Applejack, Spike and Pinkie had gotten away from back when she’d been trying to understand Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense?
The hydra roars and the head nearest the creature lunges out at her. she avoids it, but not before another of the heads lashes out at her.
Still moving with the momentum of avoiding the previous head, she isn’t fast enough to completely avoid the second, it tearing through the front of what Twilight sees is a black, leotard-like shirt, exposing the creatures chest, which, oddly enough, seemed to have its teats there.
Twilight couldn’t help frowning at that. Why would the creature’s teats be on its chest? That seemed pretty impractical. Not to mention they were bigger than more teats. Was this creature pregnant?
“Hey!” Twilight’s attention returned to the moment and she saw the creature was now glaring at the hydra, what looked like dark energy moving around the creature like flames as it broiled with anger. “Do you have any idea how much effort my mother put into making this?!”
Her mother? So this creature was not alone?
Twilight could not ponder this as she felt a surging of magic, realizing it was coming from the biped creature. Though, it was an odd magical feeling.
It felt... dark.
Twilight’s eyes widened as they focused more clearly on the creature. Its face was shrouded in shadow due to it wearing the hood of its cloak up, it’s eyes glowing white through the darkness.
Was... was this creature what the princesses had warned her about?
The hydra seemed to sense it was in danger too, taking a step back, whether from the creature’s clear anger or the dark flames surrounding its body, Twilight was unsure.
Dark energy curled around the creatures long claw-like appendages at the end of its arms as it screamed, “Azarath Metrion... ZINTHOS!”
A torrent of what looked like darkness flew from its hands, slamming into the hydra, sending it tumbling backward.
But the creature was not done with it yet. It rushed forward, grabbing the hydra by its tail, hands still glowing, a glow that then spread all over the hydra and pulled, hurling it up into the air, where it then swung the hydra around and around for several moments, before tossing it off, sending the four headed creature soaring through the sky far off into the distance.
All was silent, and all mouths were agape as the creature floated in the air. After some time, it floated back down, landing close to where Twilight and the rest had gathered, along with anypony else brave enough to witness what had just happened.
Upon touching the ground, the creature turned around, lifting its strange long, slim grey claws to its hood and lowered it, revealing a rounded face with a purple mane that reached to just above its neck, before shifting so its cloak was covering its lower body completely.
Silence answers me as I look around at all the ponies, each wearing a looks but, thanks to my new empath powers, feels of either shock, confusion, curiosity or fear, though I’m sure my little outburst would have much to do with that last one.
“That... was... AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash cries, leaping into the air. “Did you all see that? It just grabbed that hydra by the tail and tossed it aside!”
“What are you doing here?” I blink, turning at the stern tone and cold anger I can feel to look at the lavender unicorn, my eyebrow ever so slightly raised.
“Twi, what’s up?” Applejack cocks her head at the unicorn, who’s glaring at me.
“She used Dark Magic!” Twilight points a hoof at me.
My expression goes from slightly confused, to a deadpan. “Shadow Magic.”
“Huh?” Dash looks from myself to Twilight.
“I used Shadow Magic, not Dark Magic,” I elaborate. “There is a key difference.”
“There is?” Applejack gives me an odd expression. “Sounds the same t’ me.”
I give a small shake of my head. “Dark Magic is twisted magic, fueled by negative emotions. Shadow Magic is magic that keys into the power of darkness— HEY!”
I’m barely able to raise a barrier before a spell with a lavender hue hits me. the other ponies all turn to Twilight with looks of shock.
“Twilight, the hay?!” Dash glares at the unicorn.
“The Princesses warned us that they’d sensed a powerful force of Dark Magic and then this... creature, comes, using magic that clearly is Dark Magic!” Celestia’s student yells, pointing a hoof at me. “It's pretty clear to me.”
I actually take a mental step back at that. The Princesses sensed me? How does that work? Did my arrival really give off that much energy? And, if so, how come they’ve just assumed my magic is Dark Magic?
“Wait. If Raven was the Dark Magic the princesses sensed, why would she have saved mine and Applejack’s lives?” Rarity’s question pulls me from my thoughts and I return to the situation at hand.
“Maybe she’s just trying to trick us,” Twilight says, glaring at me. “Wouldn’t be the first time recently somepony pretended to be somepony they’re not to fool Equestria.”
I blink, before it clicks. She’s referring to the Changeling Invasion. Then I scowl. “Oh, so just because I’m new, I have to be bad. For a pony trying to learn all about friendship, you sure do jump the gun when it comes to being open-minded.” I clear my throat, then, putting on a very fake cheery smile, “Oh, look at me, I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s personal student. I want to learn all about friendship, but I’ll also accuse others who are different of being evil without even trying to get to know them first because I’m holding onto butt hurt from Cadance and Shining Armour’s wedding,” I finish, going into a deadpan.
Once again, I am met with silence for a very long time.
“Um...” Dash says, looking from myself to her unicorn friend, “how come she sounded a lot like Twilight just then?”
“What?” Twilight glares at the Pegasus.
“Well, she does,” Dash defends herself, thrusting a hoof at me.
“Dash’s is... right,” Applejack shakes her head. “The tones were a bit different, but... she almost sounded just like ya, Twi.”
Understandable. Tara Strong voices both Twilight and Raven, so it would make sense we sound similar.
“Well... then maybe she’s a Changeling!” Twilight cries, clearly taken aback by the logic of what her friends are saying now that she’s thinking about it.
I roll my eyes. “So, if someone sounds the tiniest bit like someone else, they have to be a Changeling? What about your mother? Is she a Changleing?” Wait. How would I know what Twilight's mom's voice sounds like?
“Well, okay, yes, ponies can have similar sounding voices,” Twilight stumbles over her words, before glaring at me. “But we’ve still no proof you’re not what the princesses sensed.”
I close my eyes. “And I am not denying it. My arrival into your world was not exactly planned, nor do I know how it worked. However, since your special talent is magic, why don’t you study mine for a moment?”
Twilight goes into a more defensive stance and I can feel her anger rear up again. “How do you know what my special talent is?!”
I just look blankly at her. “Your Cutie Mark is the symbol of Magic and you’re the Bearer to the Element of Magic. It really isn’t that hard to figure out. Plus, I’ve been living in the Everfree Forest with Zecora for a week now. She’s filled me in on anything I needed to know.”
At the mention of the zebra, a calm seems to move throughout most of the ponies, the purple unicorn not included for the most part.
“Well, if’n Zecora figures she’s alright, Ah don’t see why we can’t neither,” Applejack says, nodding.
“I... well,” Twilight mumbles, looking away. She sighs, before frowning, but at least she’s no longer glaring. “Fine, I’ll admit; studying you magic carefully, I do notice it’s not like the Dark Magic I’ve read about. It seems to have some kind of a white glow around it... somewhat similar to Princess Luna in feeling.”
I nod, the glow fading and withdrawing my hand. “That is because I am not using Dark Magic. I do not know if there is a difference in this world, but, as I told you, I use Shadow Magic. A good example of Shadow Magic is Princess Luna. She uses Shadow Magic, but she isn’t evil, is she?”
“Well, no, I suppose not,” Twilight says, uncertainty clear in her tone.
I nod, before walking over to where the torn off piece of my leotard landed after that hydra tore it off me. I just stand there, holding and looking down at it.
“It.. it meant sumthin’ to ya, didn’ it?” I glance over my shoulder to see Applejack coming over and feel a.. mournfulness coming from her. “Back afore ya threw that hydra... ya mentioned yer ma?”
I nod, before returning my gaze to the torn piece of cloth. “Aside from my memories, what I’m wearing is all I have left of my own world. It was the last thing my mother made for me before...” I sigh, closing my eyes and take a deep breath, calming my emotions.
“Well, then,” I startle when I feel the cloth leave my hands and turn to see it held in Rarity’s magical aura, “seeing as you did save my life, I feel I owe you a debt... Raven, was it?” After I nod, she continues. “Whilst it isn’t quite a style I dabble with much, seeing as it means so much to you, I would be more than happy to help repair your clothing. I must admit, I’ve never done attire for a biped of your type before.”
I look to Rarity and give a small smile. “Thank you.”
“Rarity—” Twilight begins, but is cut off by a held hoof.
“Twilight, I do understand your worries, trust me, but, if Raven had been lying, I am sure Applejack would have noticed. From what we have observed, she is no threat and saved mine and Applejack’s lives. It would be wrong not to return the favour in some manner. If you truly are worried, you can send a letter to the princesses, informing them of Raven.”
“Just be sure not to overact and write that I’m some evil being trying to take over the town,” I smirk.
The pouting glare I get from the unicorn in return is priceless.
“Come, Raven,” Rarity calls in a sing-song voice, turning and walking in the direction I’m guessing Carousel Boutique is in, “we shall mend your broken attire. And, perhaps I will even be able to make you some more casual wear.”
I would argue against the latter suggestion, but, knowing Rarity from the show, it would likely be a losing battle that would just result in my losing my temper and then we’d all be doomed, so I nod and go along.
As we walk away from Twilight and the others, I can’t help wondering why things didn’t go apeshit on me. I mean, yeah, Twilight attacked me, but it’s not like I couldn’t stop it.
Maybe she’s still in a bit of shock from nearly seeing her friends get eaten and my introduction just pushed her mind into a weird shutdown? Well, whatever the case, I follow after Rarity into town.
As we walk, I can’t help noticing the fear present throughout the town. Sometimes, having the powers of an empath suck when you’re stuck feeling a whole town’s fear.
Though, I suppose I can chock it all up to the hydra attack and the suddenness of its defeat not having settled yet over the whole strange biped wearing a dark cloak... kinda.
When we arrive at Rarity’s boutique we head inside, Rarity closing the door and locking it.
“Now, I’ll need the rest of your... attire, dear,” she says, turning to me.
I blink, before blanching. “What? You want me to stand around in the nude?!”
Rarity cocks an eyebrow at me and I sense her confusion. Inwardly, I’m slapping myself in the face. Ponies don’t normally wear clothes, you dingus. She wouldn’t understand just why you’d find it so uncomfortable hanging around in the buff.
Sighing, I move over to the changing stand Rarity has, take of the remains of my torn leotard and levitate it out to her, whilst walking out, using my cloak to completely cover me.
Nodding, she takes my torn clothing in her own magic and brings it over to a desk with her sewing machine and gets to work.
With nothing else to do, I move over to one of the stools in the room and sit down on it, making sure to keep myself covered.
For several moments, the only sound in the room is Rarity’s sewing machine as she works on fixing my leotard.
“I... don’t mean to sound rude, darling,” Rarity says after a long while of silence, “but, while I do not feel Twilight’s worries about you hold ground... just, what exactly are you? If you don’t mind my asking, that is.”
I glance up from where I’d been staring at the floor. I look away from the unicorn and back to the ground. “What I am and what I was are two very different things.”
After a moment of quiet, I feel Rarity wants me to continue.
“Well... what I was doesn’t really matter anymore, but... what I am is an Azarathian.”
“Hmm,” Rarity hums in interest. “I’ve never heard of those before? Where in Equestria do you come from?”
“I don’t,” I state simply. Then, at the feeling of confusion, I add, “I don’t come from Equestria. I come from another dimension. This form, it... it’s not mine. Back in my world, there was a comic series—”
“Oh, like the kinds Spikey Wikey enjoys?” Rarity asks.
“—where one of the characters in said comic is called Raven,” I continue despite her interruption, but nod in answer to her question. “I went to a convention with some of my friends dressed as Raven and... well, I don’t know what happened. One moment, I’m there, the next, I find myself in this world, having literally turned into the character I was dressed as.”
Rarity pauses in her sewing and turns to look at me sadly, concern radiating from her. “Oh... oh, dear.”
I nod. “But that’s not all that’s worrying.” I lift a hand out from within my cloak covering and look down at it. “By turning into Raven, I seem to have gained her powers as well. This isn’t a good thing, though.”
Rarity cocks an eyebrow. “Why is having this Raven’s powers not a good thing?”
“Raven’s... well, my powers and are fueled by my emotions. Raven’s character always had to watch how much emotion she felt, or else her powers would go out of control.”
Rarity blinks, before her eyes widen. “Is that why—?”
“Yes,” I interrupt, looking to her, my expression still as blank as when I first started following her. “That is why I have barely shown any emotions since I encountered you all. I have to be careful with my emotions, or else my powers could cause destruction all around me. Which is why I need Twilight Sparkle’s help.”
Rarity blinks, confusion taking over again. “Why would you need Twilight’s help. You seem pretty much in control from what I’ve observed, darling.”
“Because I hate having to hold back my emotions!” I snarl, standing up. At once, several items around the room glow with my aura and shoot from their positions, slamming into the wall or ceiling. At once, I calm myself, taking deep breathes. “Sorry.”
“I... um...” Rarity seems stunned for words as she looks from me top the items I sent flying.
Stilling my emotions and expression, I look to her. “I’m sorry. That is why is need Twilight’s help. I don’t have enough experience to maintain my emotions like the real Raven can. She had years to prepare herself, since childhood. I’ve barely had more than a week and doubt it would end well if I waited. Zecora has helped me some, but what she provided is temporary.”
“So, what will you need Twilight’s help with?” Rarity has moved over and is looking up at me with worry.
I look away. “Zecora is certain that, if she and Twilight work together, they may be able to make a talisman that would help mediate my powers, whilst allowing me to at least express myself a little, without fear of losing control.”
“Hmm,” the alabaster unicorn hums, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Yes, I can see the two of them managing something like that.” She looks up to me with a small smile. “I do hope Twilight will be able to help you, Raven, darling. Um, that is what you want to be called, isn’t it?” she asks, cocking an eyebrow.
I sigh, before sitting down again. “No. I would much rather my own name, but, for whatever reason, after I became like this, I can’t actually express my name. I can remember it, but I also can’t. Whenever I try to say it or even think it, Raven takes its place.”
There’s silence for a few moments, before Rarity smiles, patting my knee. “Well, darling, I’m sure we’ll be able to help you somehow. Til then, let’s focus on fixing your attire.” Turning, she gives a light smirk. “And, after that, perhaps I can design you some more casual wear to have. No offence, darling, but I don’t think wearing your current look will go over to well with newcomers.”
I can’t help giving a small smirk at that. Then, what she said actually clicks and I scuttle back a bit. I’ve just become the next victim of Rarity’s fashion sense. This could prove worrisome.
Twilight’s friends glanced at each other with worry. Almost half an hour had gone by since Rarity and the creature calling itself Raven had left for Rarity’s boutique and, since that time, the lavender unicorn had remained completely still, her eyes focused on nothing.
After a few moments of looking from one to another, all eyes turned to Pinkie Pie, who gulped and took several steps closer to the still pony.
“Uh... T-T-Twilight?” she asked, reaching a hoof out to her statue of a friend. “A-are you alright—?”
“What in Equestria just happened?!” Twilight snapped, causing the pink mare to yank who hoof back for fear of losing it.
“Uh, well,” Applejack began uncertainly, “Rarity, uh...”
Twilight blinked, before her eyes widened in horror. “Rarity’s been put under a spell and that creature took her away! Come on!”
“Huh?” the other ponies asked, glancing to each other, before turning to see their unicorn friend galloping away.
“Twi, wait!” Dash cried, flying after her, Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy right behind.
Catching up, they found Twilight metres from Rarity’s boutique.
“Rarity, don’t look!” a voice from inside that sounded an awful look like Twilight when she was anxious said.
“Sorry, darling. I forgot.”
That caused the chasing ponies to pause and look to each other in brief confusion. The lavender unicorn, however, conitued til she was at the door and banged her hoof on it.
“Rarity? Rarity, we need to talk!”
“Just a moment,” Rarity’s voice called out, before sounding like she was addressing another. “Just finish changing, darling. I’ll just be outside.”
A few moments later, the door to the boutique open, revealing the alabaster unicorn. She had no more than taken a step out, however, before Twilight yanked her out with her magic, much to the other unicorn’s displeasure.
“Twilight, what in Equestria are you—?” the dressmaker tried to say.
“It’s alright, Rarity,” Twilight firmly cut her off. “We understand that Raven put some kind of spell on you. We’ll help you.”
At once, the annoyed frown the held unicorn was wearing became a scowl. “Twilight Sparkle, you release me at once! I am under no spell and the very idea that you would insinuated that I am and that young Raven would even do such a thing is quite disappointing.”
“Yep,” Dash nodded, folding her forelegs. “No spell. That’s Rarity all the way.”
“But— but you wanted to help that Dark Magic user!” Twilight retorted.
Rarity’s scowl deepened and her voice tightened. “Twilight, let me go. Now!”
A few tense moments passed, before, warily, Twilight lowered Rarity back to the ground and lifted her magical hold.
“So, where is Raven?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking around. “Is she inside, trying on dresses?”
“Not exactly,” Rarity said, glancing to the boutique. “Not a dress, anyway. Besides,” she turned to Twilight with a firm expression, “I feel I have much to tell you all from what I have learned.”
“Other than the fact you’ve a being that uses Dark Magic in your boutique?!”
Rarity’s brow narrowed a bit more. “Twilight, Raven explained to us all that she uses Shadow Magic, similar to Princess Luna. Stop with all the Dark Magic talk, already. If you continue to say so about Raven, then you are also saying the same of Princess Luna!”
Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but paused, her eyes unfocused for a moment. After a pause, she closed them, taking a deep breath.
“Okay, maybe she doesn’t use Dark Magic, but how do we know we can trust her? Yes, she saved yours and Applejack’s lives, but I don’t have any knowledge of a creature like her existing.”
Rarity gave a light titter at that. “Not surprising, darling. The form she has now came from that of a comic book.”
Twilight’s expression became a deadpan. “What?”
“Told you they sound alike,” Dash murmured to Applejack.
Rarity spent a few minutes explaining what she and Raven had discussed during Rarity’s repairing of the leotard and the creation of Raven’s more casual wear.
Once Rarity had finished, Twilight took a deep breath, before looking sternly at her. “And you’re certain she was telling the truth? This does sound very... strange.”
Pinkie Pie hummed, frowning. “I dunno. We live in a world where there’s a being who can warp all space and time and princesses who raise the sun and moon.” She shrugged. “Sounds pretty normal to me.”
All of them glanced at the pink mare, eyebrows raised.
“What?” Pinkie asked, looking around at them. “I’m just saying this won’t be too odd a world for Raven to have her baby.”
Twilight’s eyes widened and she rounded on Rarity. “That’s right! Whoever or whatever this Raven really is, you’ve seen her weirdly positioned teats. They’re huge. If she has so much trouble controlling her own powers, what do you think will happen to a baby with those kinds of powers?!”
Rarity frowned. “Twilight, Raven is not pregnant.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “What? You saw—”
Rarity held up a hoof, cutting the other unicorn off. “Yes, I did. I also made the mistake of assuming the same and even asked her when she was due. The look of horror on her face was as if I’d just told her her family had died.”
“Um... come again?” Twilight hesitated, cocking an eyebrow.
Rarity sighed. “Raven explained that her species... hue-man-oids, she called them, I think, have large teats like that, but that it doesn’t mean they’re pregnant. In fact, she said they can get even bigger when one of her own are with child.”
“I... um... wow,” Dash looked from Rarity to each of their friends, all of whom were blushing. “I... don’t really know what to say to that.”
“Rarity?” a voice called from inside the boutique, startling them all. “I’m not about to get blasted by Twilight the moment I step out just because she thinks I’m using Dark Magic, am I?”
Rarity smirked a little at the annoyed glare Twilight got at that comment. “Yes, dear. I’ve talked it over and you should be fine.”
The door to the boutique open and a figure stepped out, and they all got a good look at Raven and what she was wearing.
She was wearing a dark-blue shirt under a black, long sleeve jacket that stopped a bit before her wrist and only went down to just above her waist, black gloves that didn't cover her fingers, a purplish-black skirt and black boots.
The others all stared at her in shock, whist Raven looked away.
“Fine work, if I do say so, myself,” Rarity said, smiling and closing her eyes. “I never have worked on a biped before and whilst it was a challenge, I feel I succeeded.”
I’ve never worn a skirt before, but, I do have to say, I like it,” Raven agreed, looking to the alabaster mare and giving a small smile. “Thank you, Rarity. It is quite good.” She then looked to Twilight, her arms folded. “So, where do we go from here? You gonna report me to the princesses? Keep me prisoner until it can be proven without a doubt I’m not evil?”
At once, Twilight lit her horn and a bubble or purple magic surrounded Raven.
She looked around, before glaring, her body glowing with that black fire they’d all seen right before she attacked the hydra, yet, when she spoke, her voice was as monotone as it had been since they first met, but also hinted at the anger hidden within, saying through gritted teeth, “I was joking!”
“Maybe,” Twilight said, her eyes narrowed. “But I’ve never heard of an Azarathian before, so I’m not taking my chances. And don’t bother trying to use your powers to get out of there. Not even teleport magic could get through this shield; my brother taught me the spell for it.”
Raven looked blankly at Twilight for a few moments, before a smirk came to her face. Outstretching a hand to her side, she murmured, “Azarath Metrion... Zinthos.”
Suddenly what looked like a black hole of energy (it took Twilight a second to realize it was a portal) opened in front of her outstretched hand and Raven walked right into it, the portal closing soon after. A moment later, another appeared just next to the shield bubble and Raven stepped out of it, temporarily silhouetted before it closed and her appearance was visible again.
Raven just smirk at the open-mouthed unicorn. “I may not be a master of my powers, but I’m still no pushover thanks to Zecora. Now, I believe you were going to contact the princesses about me?”
I watch as Spike ignites the scroll and sends it off towards Canterlot. I had been sure to aid Twilight in writing the letter to the princesses, if only so she didn’t just go off the deep end and say I’m an evil being that must be stopped.
So, the letter contains a condensed explanation about who I am, what I am, where I come from and any other details needed to be explained... which I did have to edit several times due to Twilight making it sound like I was sent by evil beings bent on conquering Equestria.
“There,” the soon-to-be-Alicorn harrumphs, glaring at me. “The message has been sent. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna should be here shortly.”
I nod, before glancing down when I feel a tap on my thigh. Fluttershy is looking up at me and I don’t need to see the worry on her face, I can feel it coming off of her in droves.
“Aren’t you worried, Raven?” she asks, before looking down. “I mean, we know you’re not bad because we’ve been able to talk with you, but what about the princesses?”
“Fluttershy’s got a good point there, sugarcube,” Applejack nods. “What’s t’ stop the princesses fr’m jumping the gun, just like Twi did?”
I pay no mind to the quick annoyed pout Twilight send’s the Earth Pony’s way, as I’m caught by Applejack’s choice of words. It’s interesting that, in a world where the idea of guns doesn’t exist, the word still does.
This is a thought I decide to put away for later, other things needing my attention and turn to the pony whom I share a voice with. “Before they arrive, put me in a dense shield bubble, like you did before.”
This, understandably, for multiple reasons, causes confusion to all ponies and dragon present.
“Why?” Rainbow hovers next to me, an eyebrow raised. “You proved Twi can’t keep you in them, so why put you in one again.”
“Besides, darling, you’ve given us no real reasons to put you inside one for our own protection,” Rarity agrees.
I shake my head. “I’m not asking for your protection from me. I’m asking for my own protection from Celestia... maybe Luna too.”
“WHAT?!” Twilight snarls, smoke actually coming out of her nose when she snorts. “How dare you! Are you really suggesting the princess would attack you on sight.”
I just stare back at her. “You did.”
Twilight opens her mouth to respond, when my words seem to filter through and she falters slightly. “I... well, I... but, I was...”
Applejack walks over to the stunned mare and wraps a foreleg around her shoulder. “Sorry t’ say, Twi,” she says softly, “but Raven’s got a point. Ya’ll did jump the gun an’ attack her once ya saw her. An’ the princesses control the sun and moon. Ah really think t’would be fer the best.”
“I... but, I...” Twilight tries, before closing her eyes, her body sagging and nods. “Alright, AJ.”
The teleport ended, Celestia and Luna both bracing for the worst. Whilst Twilight’s letter said the need not fear the creature that had come to Ponyville, neither sister was willing to risk letting their guard down. The last time that happened, an entire empire suffered the cost.
When their vision cleared, however, they were met with a sight they did not expect.
True, the Element Bearers all stood in the field awaiting them and there was a shield bubble holding what was clearly the creature, but that was all that match the similar images they had in their heads as to what they’d see.
Instead of tiredness, worry for safety or anxiety being present... Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike appeared to be playing Go Fish with the creature; the cyan mare’s grown and hoofing over of two cards to the creature, whom was levitating hers in a black aura with white outlining in front of the shield bubble.
“What...? Could somepony please explain this?” Luna asked, feeling very uncertain.
“Dang. Looks like we lose, guys,” Applejack said, looking from Rainbow Dash, Spike, to the creature.
“Oh, for the love of all that’s pony!” Rainbow growled, slapping her cards down on the ground. “How does Pinkie win all the time?”
“I only won so much this time around cos Raven was letting me,” Pinkie chirped, to which the creature nodded.
Princess Celestia cleared her throat and everypony assembled into a more appropriate manor, Pinkie Pie grabbing all the cards and stuffing them into her mane. The sisters had long learned not to question it on advice from Twilight Sparkle and both felt that was for the better.
“So, this is the being that uses Shadow Magic... like myself?” Luna asked, stepping forward til she was in front of the bubble, her elder sister stepping in line next to her moments later.
They were now getting a good look at the creature. As told in Twilight’s letter, she was bipedal, something not seen too often by the sisters, with long slender legs and arms, the latter ending in hands, like the Minotaurs, but fair more delicate in design.
Her skin was grey, something both sisters found odd when looking at it. Colouring wasn’t too odd, seeing as ponies came in multiple fur colours... but skin was never a changed colour, so it was rather charring, to say the least.
Unlike the ponies, she wore clothing; a dark-blue shirt under a black, long sleeve jacket that stopped a bit before her wrist and only went down to just above her waist, black gloves that left her fingers uncovered, a purplish-black skirt and black boots.
Luna found her eyes being draw to the red diadem on the creature’s forehead. Something about it was intriguing, though she could not put a hoof on what.
“You are Raven, correct?” Celestia asked, her expression blank.
The creature nodded. “I am,” she replied in a monotone voice that somehow held no emotion, whilst simultaneously having boredom clear in the tone. “And, no, as stated in Twilight’s letter to you I did not come here to invade Equestria with darkness, I wasn’t sent by any evil beings trying to take over you land, I don’t know how I got here or why I turned into this form. Yes, my powers can be a threat to your subjects if I don’t take great care, no, I don’t have the experience to wield them properly, but have been getting help from Zecora the zebra and will be getting help from Twilight Sparkle, too.”
“I technically didn’t agree, but...” Twilight muttered with an annoyed tone.
Luna raised an eyebrow at Raven. “And the bubble? Surely, if you were not a threat, Twilight Sparkle would not have sealed you inside?”
Raven shook her head. “I asked her to put me in here, for protection.”
Luna’s confusion grew. “From whom?”
Raven looked straight at them. “From you.”
Both sisters startled and looked to each other, before back to the bubbled creature, who just looked at them blankly and folded her arms.
“Tell me, in all honesty, were you two not planning on attacking the moment your teleport ended, seeing me as a threat, despite Twilight’s letter stating otherwise?”
Both Alicorns stared for several moments, their mouths agape. The other ponies and dragon all looked to each other, uncertainly in their expressions.
“I don’t know how I got here, nor why, when you both sensed me, despite Luna having Shadow Magic much like my own, you perceived me as Dark Magic,” Raven continued, filling the silence. “However, as I appear to be stuck here unless a means of figuring out what sent me here and transformed me can be found, I’ll deal with living among your subjects. Probably able to help out more.”
After a few moments, Luna seemed to shake herself out of the stupor she’d been put in, though, when she spoke, she didn’t sound all that convective in her words. “How do we know we can trust you? A creature such as you has never been seen in Equestria, nor the lands beyond.”
Raven closed her eyes. “You can’t. You can only take my word. However, if you like, I’ll stay somewhere most won’t encounter me.” She held a hand up in front of her. “Azarath Metrion... Zinthos.”
At once a black portal appeared in front of her within the bubble and she walked through, it closing right behind. A second later, another portal appeared and Raven stepped out of it as it too closed.
Twilight Sparkle mumbled something about showing off, to which Spike rolled his eyes.
“Seeing as most of Equestria won’t just take to a being that isn’t their princess using Shadow Magic,” Raven said, levitating into the air, a cloak, golden belt and leotard appearing and swirling around her in her aura, “I’ll just go hang with those few guards you have stationed at the train platform out in the frozen north.”
“Wait, what?” Twilight cried, confusion playing over her face and voice. “The frozen north? Why would you want to go there? It’s nothing but ice and snow. Come to think of it,” the unicorn frowned, a puzzled expression coming to her face, “why does the train pass through there and even have a stop, instead of just not going there at all? It just makes trips longer and it’s not like it’s a tourist destination or anything.”
Raven just smirked. “I’ll leave you to figure that out, Smarty Sparkle.”
“Hey!” Twilight snapped out of her train of thought to glare.
Raven gave the tiniest of smirks and waved. “Catch you all sometime soon.” She turned to the princesses. “I’ll leave you to handle the paperwork explaining my being there. Azarath Metrion... Zinthos.”
Another portal appeared, this one actually below Raven, but, instead of her moving down to it, the portal came up over her, before closing.
Silence rained for several long moments. It was Spike who broke it.
The Royal Guard glanced outside the window at the whirling snow beyond the glass. Sighing, he turned and, lighting his horn, took his mug of hot cocoa and headed into the other room, where three more guards were waiting, one snoring on the couch.
“I’m still loving how we don’t gotta worry about the cold no more,” he said as he moved over to the fridge to get something to eat.
“I know, right?” a Pegasus guard said from his armchair, nodding. “Used t’ be this was the worst job a guard could get. Sure, a lot o’ downtime, but how could you enjoy it when yer freezing yer flank off. Man, I love it that apegirl came to stay here.”
“I’m not an ape,” a monotone voice with a hint of anger said, causing them all to jump and waking the sleeping guard.
Sitting in a corner not too far off from the group of stallions was the biped creature called Raven, floating a few metres of the ground, her legs crossed. When she’d first arrived without warning several weeks ago, the guards had thought they were under attack from some unknown force, yet were hardly able to mount a defense with how they’d been doing their best just to stay warm up here in the frozen north.
However, instead of attack them, the creature had created a black sphere that had expanded outwards until it covered their small station not too far from the train stop, at once shielding them from the cold and snow and even bringing warmth. Since then, the job had become much more enjoyable and, to be honest, none were too much looking forward to when they were assigned somewhere else.
Not to mention, even after all this time, there were some things that still worried them about her. Namely, she never seemed to sleep. They’d even taken shifts at one point to try and see if she had just been pretending and was sneaking sleep whenever they weren’t around.
However, she didn’t. Every time they’d tried, she’d called them out on it, eventually telling them something that none were sure what to think of. She explained that she didn’t wish to sleep, so she meditated to give her body the rest it needed, whilst still remaining awake. That couldn’t be good for her, but they had no idea how to convince her to stop it and just get some sleep like any normal creature.
The guard who’d called her apegirl folded his ears back and looked away sheepishly. “Sorry, Raven.”
Raven took a deep breath, her back still turned as she floated in place. “It’s fine, Broad Wing. I know a being like me isn’t something you’re used to. Still, considering I have been here for several weeks now, I would have expected the ape jokes to have long ended.”
Broad Wing felt a smack on his head and turned to see one of two unicorn guards was glaring at him. “Nice going, Wing. Insult the girl who’s been making it so we can actually enjoy our job.”
“It was a slip of the tongue, I swear,” Broad Wings stuttered, turning to Raven, whose only response was another sigh.
“I know. I can sense your emotions, remember?” she asked, her voice still in a monotone despite the tenseness in the air. “Don’t worry, I know I’m not exactly what most would expect from—”
Suddenly, Raven gasped and dropped to the floor, landing on her feet. At the same moment, the two unicorns bent over, groaning as they held their heads.
“Huh?” the two non-unicorn ponies asked, looking around in confusion. “What’s up?”
“Where did that huge spike in magic come from?” one of the downed unicorns asked.
“Brawn Shoulder!” both stallions turned at the tone of urgency that was somehow both in Raven’s voice and not in it. Somehow, even through her deadpan, they could see something new, though were not sure what. “I’m sending you to Canterlot. You have to inform the princess about what’s happened!”
“What’s happened?” Broad asked, looking from Brawn to the two downed unicorns. “What’s going on?”
“There’s not much time,” Raven said, her hand glowing with the black aura surrounded in white they’d all become used to. “Simply tell her that it has returned. Trust me; she’ll understand what I mean.”
Both stallions glanced at each other, before nodding and Brawn stepped forward.
“Oh, and I’ve something else I need you to tell her as well,” Raven said and they could definitely swear they saw a small smirk on her lips.
Celestia was sitting in her throne room as she filled out some papers. She was still surprised how well things had been going over the last few weeks.
After the creature Raven’s arrival right after she and Luna had sensed that powerful force of Dark Magic, she’d been certain the kingdom would have gone to Tartarus by now.
However, strangely enough, things had actually been pretty quiet. Aside from more Friendship Reports coming from Twilight and her friends, nothing of significance had happened since Raven had apparently exiled herself in the frozen north.
Why she went there, Celestia was not one hundred percent certain. She’d vaguely toyed with the idea that Raven somehow knew what had occurred there a thousand years ago, but that was ridiculous. How could she possibly know that?
She had since come to the logical conclusion that, seeing as Raven had said that her powers were a danger to the kingdom, she had isolated herself for the sake of their subjects. She found it hard to distrust one who’d willingly do that... not to mention the guilt it brought up when she compared Raven to her sister.
She and Luna seemed to share far more than the fact the two utilized Shadow Magic. Luna had even scolded Celestia about how disappointed she was in her that Celestia hadn’t tried to stop Raven from isolating herself... not that Luna had had much luck in contacting the girl herself. From what Luna had told her, Raven had not once entered the Dream Realm since her arrival.
It worried both her and Luna. If Raven powers were really that dangerous, surely her never getting any sleep did not help with controlling them.
As she finished another document and levitated it over to Ink Well, the white Earth Pony mare standing to her left, the throne room doors burst open, catching all within the room’s attention.
It was a white Royal Guard. Brawn Shoulders, she believed. Wait. Why was he here? Wasn’t he stationed up at the post in the frozen north near...
The stallion hurried forward, hesitating when he was standing in front of her. “News from Northern Equestria... uh, Your Highness,” he finished with a bow as she waved off Ink Well.
“Yes?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t something about Raven.
Brawn took off his helmet and held it to his chest. “I am simply to tell you that it has returned.”
Celestia gasped, her eyes widening. No. It had come back? Now? She would need to act quickly.
Turning to another of her guards, she ordered, “Find Princess Cadance and Shining Armour.”
“At once, Your Highness,” the guard she’d addressed nodded, before hurrying off with another of the guards.
Brawn remained, for some reason, but Celestia paid it no mind as she magically reached out for a quill and parchment and began writing to her student. “My dearest Twilight, you must come to Canterlot at once,” she said as she wrote her very words.
A cough caused her to stop and look to Brawn, who was holding a small crystal in his hoof. “Forgive me, Your Highness, but I also have the letter that was given to me by Raven before she sent me here with her magic.”
Wait. Raven had sent him here? Well, that would explain how he could have gotten to Canterlot from the frozen north so quickly.
“Yes?”
Brawn bowed. “My apologies, Your Highness, but she said to give it to you before you sent a message to your student... I’m actually scared she somehow knew you’d do that.”
Celestia herself was scared by that idea. How could Raven have possibly known that, once she had been informed it had returned that she would plan to contact Twilight?
Whatever the reason, Celestia took the message crystal in her magic, excusing Brawn, who hurried off to join his fellow guards as she activated the it to see what Raven had sent her.
The crystal glowed and an image of Raven standing in the small living room on her own appeared. She was wearing a cloak with a hood, hiding her face mostly in shadow.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” Raven suddenly stopped and Celestia could swear her expression matched one she’d seen on Twilight several times when she was a filly. “Okay, not gonna lie. Feels kinda cool to be actually saying that and knowing you’ll hear it,” She paused, before facepalming. “Crap. You just saw me fan... girling and I don't feel like having to...” Raven took a deep breath, before returning to her usual deadpan expression.
“Anyway, as Brawn has no doubt just informed you, it has returned. Also, why do we have to be so cryptic about it? It’s not like anyone’s gonna intercept this message or him telling you; I’m literally sending him straight to a little outside the throne room once it...” She put a hand to her face, rubbing above her eyes with her fingers. “Getting off topic again. Okay. Whatever. The point of this message is, I know what you’re about to do and I’m here to tell you, don’t pull such a dick move.
Celestia’s eyes widened at the use of language, but Raven continued.
“I know you plan on having Twilight and her friends come here to teach her about self sacrifice and I’m just going to say, you’re a dick for doing so! Really? You’re going to risk all those lives and the chance of Sombra ruling again just to teach your student about self sacrifice so you know she’ll be ready to become the next Alicorn Princess.”
She rolled her eyes, as if somehow knowing Celestia was now staring at her in shock.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. How could I know that was your plan? I’ll be frank will you, Celly; I know a lot of things that will happen over the next couple years. I promise though, I’ll only interfere where it’s needed. But I don’t want you fucking up your kingdom just because you have this stupid habit of turning life-threatening situations into a test.”
Raven paused, turning her head, before moving out of view from the screen. A few minutes later, she came back.
“Sorry. Sensed one of the guys getting up and didn’t want them hearing this. Oh, yeah, for the record, I’m recording about a week after I came here to the north. Yeah, I’ve been holding onto this recording for that long just so you’ll hear me out.”
Celestia was speechless. Raven had recorded this prior to sending Brawn to inform her of what was currently happening?
“Anyway, as I was saying, don’t do something so stupid. Don’t send Twilight here, putting all of you know where at risk, just to teach her self sacrifice. There’s plenty of other, much safer and less likely to doom Equestria ways of going about that. I’m going to be helping Cadance and Shining Armour handle Sombra when he comes back. Trust me, he doesn’t know the meaning of fear compared to me. Oh, and I’m going to be bringing Spike here to help out. You ask why? The guy needs a moral boast; one you ponies don’t ever seem to realize he needs and deserves. I already sent Twilight a letter about it a day ago, giving her instructions that you’d know about this too and not to bother you about it.
“Whelp, pretty sure Cadance and Shining will be meeting with you any second now, plus, I’ve gotta go make sure Sombra doesn’t jump the gun before they get here, so I’ll end it by saying, we’ve got this, okay? Don’t send Twilight for a test. Once we’re done, Sombra will be beaten, it will be fine and Spike will be a national hero.” Somehow, her deadpan became more deadpanned. “Don’t ask. You’ll learn soon enough. Ciao.”
With that, the message ended and the magical screen vanished, the crystal dropping to the floor.
Before Celestia could even respond to what she’d just experienced, the throne room doors opened again, revealing Cadance and Shining Armour as they hurried in.
“Auntie, what’s going on?” Cadance asked as they both stopped in front of the throne. “Auntie?”
“So, let me see if I understand this correctly,” Twilight says, her eyes very close to bugging out. “This Empire was gone for a thousand years, you knew it was coming back, which is why you came here, you defeated some evil shadow unicorn and somehow made it look like Spike did it and now my sister-in-law is the ruler of the entire Empire full of a species of ponies that I’ve never even heard about?”
I nod, keeping my expression blank. “Nailed it on the head, Sparklebutt.”
We’re all sitting in a small room clearly meant for quiet times. It basically like the room Twilight finds in the Castle of the Two Sisters, only with a crystalline design and a table in the centre, where the six ponies are currently seat around, having listening to my explaining how the shit went down about a week ago.
“I... but you... and how...?” Twilight continues trying to say something, which each sentence stopping before she can even get more than two words in.
I hide a smirk. After I beat Sombra, it was child's play to create a shadow magic duplicate of him and control it, pretending it was him and getting Spike to make it look like he won against it.
In truth, he kinda did anyway. He has no idea it wasn't really Sombra. I got him up to where Sombra was hiding the heart, used a spell to portal it out from the hiding place, thus not activating the trap and had Spike leap down whilst my fake Sombra looked like it was going on the attack.
Shining tossed Cadance, though since she hasn’t been drained fighting to keep a shield of love and light up, I don’t see why she couldn’t have just flown on her own, caught Spike and did the big dramatic Crystal stuff, myself dispelling my fake Sombra as if it had been beaten by it.
That’s not to say Sombra wasn’t beaten, of course.
“So, how exactly did you manage... that?” Dash asks nervously, pointing.
Tucked away in one of the corners of the room is a small crystal three dimensional pentagon, about as big as a normal pony. Inside it, lays a shivering shadow figure with pure green eyes and moving black hair. It looks like a pony, but it has no Cutie Mark and, like I just said, no pupils, just green eyes.
“When I arrived, Sombra was shocked to see me,” I say, walking over to the pentagon, the shadow cowering as far from me in its prison as it can. “He was confused at first, but got pissed when I told him he had no concept of what true fear is.”
“And you do?” Twilight asks sceptically. Guess the questioning pulled her out of whatever stupor she’d been in. Shame. It was fun, watching her mind struggle like that whilst it lasted.
I just glance at her over my shoulder. “Sombra was the lord of fear and what’s left of his darkness is so terrified of me, it tries to get away, even when it knows I can’t touch it. You tell me.”
There’s silence as the gathered ponies process that, giving each other uncertain looks.
Just what did I do to Sombra, you may be wondering? Well, when I pissed him off, he tried to attack me. I opened my cloak and he was swept up, vanishing inside it. I don't really know what happened after that, but when I moved away, the darkness was outside of Sombra’s body and curled up in a ball in the snow, muttering “Make it stop. Make it stop.”
“Thank you again, Lady Raven.”
We all turn to see two ponies standing in the door way. One is a Crystal Pony by the name of Autumn Gem, she’s the pony Twilight and Spike are questioning in the episode. The stallion next to her is a tall, with a dark coat and black mane and tail and red eyes. His Cutie Mark is a trio of red gem stones clumped together.
Twilight frowns at the stallion. “Who are you? You’re not a Crystal Pony.”
I smirk. “Everypony, meat Summer Quarts, the host of King Sombra.”
“WHAT?!” all their eyes bug out, looking from myself to Quarts and back again several dozen times.
I nod, turning around to look at them. “Bet none of you thought of that, did you? It’s like Luna and Nightmare Moon, only the reasons differ. Whilst Luna became Nightmare Moon due to feeling neglected and unwanted by her subjects, this stallion, in attempts at learning all new forms of magic led him to try a spell he thought wouldn’t cause any harm.” I glance over myself shoulder at the ragged sigh that comes from the male pony. “Yeah. Didn’t go over well.”
“So... where’s Spike?” Applejack asks.
I can’t help rolling my eyes. “Spike with Cadance right now. let’s just say a few things need settling and he’s the only one who can help her do it.”
They all look confused at that.
“Please, m’lady,” I turn back to Quarts, who’s bowing low, so is Autumn. “I am at your service.”
“Uh, what’s he mean?” Dash asks, cocking an eyebrow.
Quarts stands up, a firm expression on his face. “Lady Raven saved me from that shadow,” he aims a glare at the darkness within it’s crystal prison, before bowing again. “I own her a debt I can never repay. I am hers to command.”
Worry starts coming from Twilight. “You mean... you’re going to serve her?”
He nods, his expression firm. “I owe her my life. It is hers to do with as she wishes.”
“Mine as well,” Autumn says, her expression just as firm, before looking tenderly to the stallion. “I thought I’d lost Quarts forever that day a thousand years ago. She’s gave him back to me. I can never repay her.”
“So, even though Raven ain’t a princess or anything, she’s got her own followers?” Dash asks, before grinning. “Cool.”
“Not cool. Not cool at all!” Twilight snaps, glaring at Dash, then me. “You mentioned you weren’t quite sure what you did to Sombra. How do we know it wasn’t evil itself.”
I just give Twilight a cold stare. “I’ve been in Equestria for over a month now, Twilight Sparkle. If I really wanted to do anything against you all, I would have by now. You have no concept of where my powers are derived. They make your Tartarus seem like a foal's playpen in comparison.”
There’s silence for several long moments. After it becomes too quiet, not to mention the emotions are just making me uncomfortable, I turn to Quarts and Gem. “Yes?” they asked eagerly, if a bit nervously.
“Just remain in the Empire for now,” I say, ignoring the shock I feel from Twilight. “If I do require you for anything, I’ll let you know. Til then, simply live your lives in the Empire, like you did before. Enjoy being with each other and hold on to what you have.” I then give Quarts a firm look. “But, if you think a spell you’re trying to learn is even remotely off like the one you used that something that,” I nod my head to Sombra, “inform me first. I’ll know.”
“Yes, Lady Raven,” they say, bowing.
Quarts stands up first, a slightly confused expression on his face. “Um, how would I contact you, Lady Raven?”
Urgh. I get the feeling I’m going to be getting the Lady Raven as much as Spike will Spike the Brave and Glorious.
I hold out my hand. Floating above my palm is a red crystal, like the one in my forehead. “Just call my name into this. I’ll come right away.”
He nods, his horn glowing with a red aura and taking the crystal in his magic.
I nod, before glancing over my shoulder. “This Empire’s to bright and colourful for someone like me. I’m going back to the Everfree. Think I’ll stay with Zecora til after you fix your screw-up, Sparky.”
Before any of them can respond, though I do smirk as I feel Twilight’s rage, I open a portal underneath me, it coming up my body until the Empire is gone from my sight.
“Screw up? SCREW UP?!” Twilight seethes, her nostrils flaring. “Why the smart mouthed biped! Where does she get off talking to me like that?! I’ve never screwed anything up in my whole life!”
“Want it, need it spell,” Dash coughs, earning a glare from the unicorn.
“There was also how ya’ll handled lettin’ us know Cadance wasn’t Cadance at the weddin’,” Applejack pointed out.
“Alright, two times in the recent year, but—”
“Twilight, darling, everypony makes mistakes,” Rarity said gently. “Raven probably was just being a little bit rude. I don’t think she’s gotten over how you treated her during our first meeting.”
“Then there’s also how you blatantly just excused her of evil or whatever you were talking about regarding Quarts and Gem wanting to serve her,” Rainbow reminded.
“Maybe, if you tried to get to know her better, you’d realize you both have a lot in common,” Fluttershy suggested, before hiding behind her mane. “I mean, if you want, that is. You don’t have to. I was just suggesting...”
Twilight fumed for several moments, before sighing, frowning. “Fine. I’ll try, alright? Though, with the way that... Raven acts, I doubt she even wants friends. Also, just what was she even talking about? What do I need to fix?”
The group of ponies walked out trying to figure out whatever it wanted the purple unicorn to fix, the lights in the room going out. The other source of illumination becoming from the prison inwhich Sombra resided.
He sighed with relief. It was gone. He still couldn’t get the images of what he saw under that... thing’s cloak out of his mind.
“Well, seems he was right after all,” a soft, yet cold female voice said suddenly. “You were useless.”
Sombra looked up, his eyes scanning the room, before he noticed a pair of pure green eyes, much like his own, staring at him from across the room.
They just stared at him and he felt the disgust wafting off of the being they belonged to.
“I suppose I shouldn’t have expected one of your kind to stand a chance against her. She’s far more powerful than anything you could’ve dished out.” A green glow appeared around what looked like hands, just like it had. “Guess I’ll have to find another way to make my sister pay for her sins. Too bad you won’t be around to see what happens.”
There was a flash of green light and the sound of crystal smashing. When it faded, as the light from the shattered crystal dimmed, where the darkness of Sombra had once been, there was now a small pile of ash.
“Not like I care though,” the figure chuckle, lifting a black crystal, a portal opening behind her. “You weren’t even real to begin with.”
She walked through the portal, which closed behind her, the room slowly falling into darkness as the last remnants of energy faded from the shattered crystal.
“So... just to clarify, you’re willing to give me a shot?” I ask, giving Twilight a blank look.
I’m sitting in Twilight’s kitchen, a pot of tea between us and cup in front of myself, her and Spike.
She sighs, looking down. “I’ll admit it. I have been a bit judgmental about you.”
I slightly raise an eyebrow.
“Okay, I’ve been completely judgemental of you,” she groans, before taking a deep breath and doing the breathing technique Cadance taught her. “I wanted to try and start things off on the better hoof again. And I really should thank you. Spike seems more sure of himself since returning from the Empire.”
“Yeah, having an entire Empire of long lost ponies seeing you as their hero can do that,” I say, lifting my cup and taking a sip.
Twilight chuckles, before coughing. “Raven, I don’t want there being any negative feelings and, seeing as I am meant to be studying friendship, to refuse to be friends with somepony who hasn’t done anything actually wrong would be, well, wrong. Friends?”
“Just don’t try turning me into another study project,” I put my cup down. “It wouldn’t go well.”
She laughs nervously.
I would deadpan, if I wasn’t already. Seriously, trying to maintain your emotions on your own means you have to watch even showing emotion. It sucks. “You were planning on it, weren’t you?”
“Well...” Twilight grins sheepishly.
I shake my head. “I’d be careful, Twilight. There’s a saying back home. Curiosity killed the cat.”
With that, I get up, thank her for the tea and head back towards the Everfree.
Despite my lack of leaving the Everfree all that much since moving to Ponyville, the townsponies seem at ease with my presence.
Honestly, I’m surprised, what with how my Welcome to Ponyville Party went. Somehow, Pinkie had got it in her head to go with a theme more fitting my appearance. It wasn’t grim or anything, but it was closer to a night theme, but also creepier.
Despite that, it seems I’ve been accepted by the town, even if I live in the Everfree and barely show any emotion. I mean, sure, Zecora lives there too, but she shows emotion.
As I’m walking, back, I can’t help noticing Pinkie is darting about. Her aura seems frantic.
I shrug. Probably nothing. Most likely she’s worrying about a party of something.
“Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos,” I murmur, sitting in the lotus postion and floating above the floor of Zecora’s hut.
I honestly hope she and Twilight can figure something out soon, now that Twi and I are on at least neutral terms. It’d be nice not having to meditate for hours just to keep my powers under control.
“You must head to Ponyville at once, Raven, dear,” I open my eyes to find Zecora standing before me, looking as worried as her aura feels. “If not, Twilight Sparkle will commit many horrible crimes, I fear.”
I blink, before raising an eyebrow. “And just what kind of horrible crimes could our future Princess of Friendship be about to commit?”
Yeah, I kinda spilled some stuff to Zecora about the future. I made sure she promised not to tell anyone. Though it did give her the incentive to try making the potion that relies on Alicorn magic. She’s still working on that, FYI.
“If you do not hurry to Ponvyille like I say, Twilight Sparkle will take many lives this day!”
I blink, confused. I blink again, before facepalming. “Dammit.”
“Wait up, I got one more!” everypony turned to see Rainbow Dash flying in, carrying a moping Pinkie in her forelegs. “Found this one poking at the ground with her hoof, drawing frowny faces.”
Twilight held out a foreleg. “Have her come sit with the others.”
“Are you really that dumb?” a voice from behind made the unicorn jump, turning around to see Raven, who had had hood down... and a not at all pleased look on her face. “And your Celestia’s star pupil?”
“Hey!” Twilight frowned, looking hurt. “I thought we were friends now.”
“Just because we’re friends, doesn’t mean I’m not going to call you out when you do something stupid,” the biped said walking forwards to stand next to the unicorn. She then groaned, a frown playing across her face. “I cannot believe I actually have to do this.” She took a deep breath. “Will the real Pinkie Pie please stand up? Please stand up?”
“Oh, oh, oh! Me, me!” one Pinkie said, followed by a chorus of Pinkies cheering the same thing, after which they all started doing some odd rap song with the words Raven said as the chorus.
Dash gave the grey skinned creature a deadpan stare. “Oh, yeah, that worked wonders.”
Raven just gave a small smirk, holding up a hand glowing with her black energy. At once, all the Pinkie were lifted up into the air, held by the same energy... save one. The only Pinkie who hadn’t reacted.
“That’s the real Pinkie.”
“Huh?” Dash looked from the supposed real Pinkie, to Raven, confused. “Wait. How can you tell?”
“She’s the only one feeling pain and worry,” Raven replied simply. “Every other Pinkie in this room is only feeling giddy for fun.”
“But... how can you know, she’s the real Pinkie?” Twilight asked anxiously, looking from the pink mare flopped on the floor and the ones held in Raven’s magic.
“Simple,” Raven said, walking over to Pinkie and kneeling down, a small smile forming on her lips. “All the other Pinkies are blank slates. Pinkie herself had to tell them all who was who and what to do. She’s the only one who actually cares about any of you.”
“Hey, we care!” one of the spellbound Pinkie called down.
“Yeah, we care about fun with them!” another called enthusiastically.
Raven turned, giving Twilight a cold stare. “Every clones’ only thought is to have fun, because that’s why Pinkie made them. So, if that’s the case, why would one of the clones have decided to just wallow in sadness at a table, admitting she doesn’t know which Pinkie is which, whilst every other Pinkie kept insisting they were the real one?”
“Um, well, you’ve got a point there, I guess,” Twilight murmured, becoming unsure.
“Also,” Raven’s expression soured again and Twilight yelped as the book she’d brought with the spell to deal with the Pinkie clones floated out of her saddlebags, clipping her flank and floating over to Raven, stopping and floating in the air next to her. “You realize you almost did something horrible here, don’t you?”
“Um, what?” Spike glanced between the two, confused.
“If you couldn’t tell the real Pinkie from a clone, you might have sent her into the Mirror Pool by mistake, correct?” Raven asked and nopony could ignore that her black energy was starting to glow around her slightly, similar to what had happened when the Hydra had torn her clothes. “Did it not occur to you that if this spell couldn’t tell the difference between the clones and the original, that it meant it takes living beings, regardless of their origin?!”
Raven looked up at the ceiling, where all the Pinkie clones were staring down, confused. “I’ll find somewhere they can exist in peace.” She glared at Twilight, causing the mare to flinch. “I will not let lives be lost because you ponies didn’t think it through.”
She held up her hands and a sphere of black energy spread out, covering her and the Pinkie clones. When it faded, they, Raven and the book were gone.
“Wh... what did Raven mean?” Spike asked worriedly, looking around, only to see a horrified expression on Twilight’s face. “Twilight?”
“I... I could’ve... I almost...” tears started to run down her face, before she rushed forward and pulled Pinkie into a tight embrace, sobbing apology after apology.
Trixie slumped down in the dirt, her pick axe lying next to her. How could ponies live like this? More the point, how had she sunk so low?
She used to be the most revered unicorn in all of Equestria, all ponies admired her skills, wanted to be her. Now, she was just toiling away on a damned Rock Farm, just to make enough bits to eat. Sure, the owners fed her, but the stuff they ate... Trixie was sure she’d never understand these ponies.
“What a shame. Such greatness wasted on this pathetic farm.”
Trixie shot up, whirling around. The quarry was empty, her having been left alone. Now, however, she was not alone. Standing nearby was a figure in a cloak.
Being the only other living thing near, Trixe assumed she, judging by the voice, was what had spoken.
Trixie snorted. “Trixie doesn’t need reminding of her failures.” She turned, lifting the pick and thrust it hard into a nearby stone, trying to vent some anger.
“Shame. And here I was about to tell you how you can get revenge on the one who wronged you.”
Trixie paused, glancing at the cloaked figure. “Trixie is listening.”
The figure chuckled. It was a light sound, but held an edge to it as well. “In a town not too far from here, there’s a store that sells old relics. One such relic is called the Alicorn Amulet. It gives power to whomever wears it. More than enough to punish the one who caused your downfall, Great and Powerful Trixie.”
“And you would tell this to Trixie why?” the unicorn asked, eyes narrowed. She wanted revenge on Twilight Sparkle, yes, but she could tell there was something this being wasn’t telling her.
The figure chuckled. “Oh, I just need you to use your magic on these.” She chucked a small cloth bag at Trixie, who caught it in her magic.
Opening it, Trixie pulled out several small stone figures. Some looked like ponies, but others didn’t.
She looked to the cloaked figure. “And for what reason do you need of Trixie to do this?”
The figure gave a long chuckle. “Let’s just say it’s a little surprise I’m planning for my sister.”
I walk through the Everfree, taking a deep breath of the forest air. It’s pretty peaceful, at least if you follow the path to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Strangely, no creatures go only this path. Won’t even go near it.
It’s been about a week since the whole Mirror Pool incident. Mayor Mare had several ponies, plus a squad of Royal Guards go with Pinkie to seal off the entrance, to ensure nothing like it ever happens again.
Unlike in the show, Twilight didn’t go with her. She really didn’t take the fact she’d almost risked killing her best friend, on top of the deaths of so many other living ponies all that well. She’s been in Canterlot the last couple days, Princess Celestia helping her with a personal psychiatrist.
Not that you could blame her. After all, this is Equestria and I doubt, aside from natural or accidental, the concept of death is thought of that much, let alone murder.
She is doing a far lot better. She came back yesterday and I heard her mention something about practicing something with Fluttershy. I didn’t ask why, though I swear something has been nagging at my brain since then.
I’m not gonna lie that it took a lot of meditation to get myself under control with the guilt of putting Twilight through that. I mean, we are meant to be friends now and, in anger at what she’d almost done, I gave it to her straight.
Had I been less angry about it, maybe gotten to her before the girls rounded up all the Pinkies, I could’ve explained it in a way that wouldn’t have horrified her so much, or at least let her down more gently.
As for what I did with the herd of Pinkies, I was very tempted to just drop them all in Starlight Glimmer’s village. Let her see that ponies all having the same mark doesn’t mean everything’s all fine and dandy without the Mane 6 having to show it to her and her just ignore it... but I resisted.
Maybe it’s my anxiety over how big an amount of changes I can do to the timeline without screwing things over, or maybe it’s a subtle message from the Tree of Harmony, but, on meditating about what to do with the Pinkies, I got a strong feeling living Starlight’s village alone was the right course of action. Don’t ask me why, it’s just a feeling I got.
So, I helped them sorted their minds out through meditation, and believe me, it was nowhere near as easy as it sounds (more like a bloody nightmare). I nearly blew up Zecora’s house several times because of it.
That might also be why I can’t figure out this nagging feeling in my brain about today. With all the stuff I’m having to juggle along with maintaining my powers, it’s understandable that I’d forget a few things.
I’m pulled out of my reminiscing of the past as by a twig snapping. I’m pause, glancing around, extending my senses. I can sense two things nearby. One is a sleeping Manticore which, by its aura, is pregnant with cubs. But that’s not all. There’s something else nearby, too. Someone else is here, watching me.
“Whoever you are, come out,” I call, whipping my cloak back. “I don’t like playing games.”
Before I understand it, the ground seems to explode from below me and I tumble back, hitting my head against a tree.
I groan, rubbing my head. “What just hit me?” I look up, only for my eyes to widen. Standing before me is another humanoid. She’s wearing a brown outfit with a T on the front. Her hair is long and blonde. But her eyes are the most startling thing; they’re blank, completely white.
“T-Terra?” I gape. “What the hell? Why’re you—”
“HRRAAH!” Terra cries, throwing her arms forward, the earth beneath her flying out towards me.
“Shit!” I cry, leaping into the air, flipping and landing behind her. I swipe my legs under her, knocking her over. “Just what the flying hell? First I end up as Raven, then Terra shows up and attacks me?”
Terra gets up, turning to me and growling like a wild animal. She hurls several chunks of rock at me, which I manage to stop with a shield of energy I manage to raise in time.
“Terra, quit it! What the hell is going on around here?” I shake my head. Frowning, I decide to get to the bottom of this and focus on Terra’s aura, only to reel back in horror. I... I don’t sense anything. No emotions, nothing. Just pure blind instinct. What happened to her?
In hindsight, this was a bad move on my part, as, my concentration broken, my shield falls and I’m slammed back into a tree by a large chunk of rock.
I slide down the tree, wincing. Shit, I think my right arm just got dislocated.
Okay, yeah, maybe refusing sleep since my arrival and meditating to replenish myself instead wasn’t such a good idea after all, even though I fear sleep itself right now.
I look up to see Terra glaring at me, thrusting her arms back and shooting towards me, propelled by the ground moving beneath her.
I try to focus my magic, but the pain from my arm is too strong. I can’t focus.
Just as Terra’s about to reach me, I hear a roar, followed by Terra being knocked aside and slammed into a tree.
Groaning from the pain, I turn to see my rescuer, only to find it’s the Manitcore I sensed earlier, its bloodshot eyes indicating it clearly just got woken up, and it looks pissed.
Terra gets back up and snarled, foam forming around her mouth and charges, her hands glowing, several large chunks of earth coming out of the ground behind her, which she sends soaring at the Manticore.
She dodges, before whirling around and slamming Terra back with its scorpion-like tail.
With Terra distracted, I push myself up and turn to the tree I’d slammed into. This gonna hurt. Taking a deep breath, I pull back, then slam my shoulder into the track, crying out in pain as my arm returns into its socket.
Fuck, that hurt more than I thought it would. Never trust the advice of crazy women in cartoons. Shit!
I turn in time to see Terra lifting the Manticore up by lifting the earth beneath it, before throwing her arms forward, sending the creature slamming headfirst into a nearby tree, followed by a sickening crack.
I stare, wide-eyed as the Manitcore, the one who’d come to my rescue (even if only by chance due to it coming out of anger at being woken so abruptly), slumps down to the ground, not moving.
There’s silence for several long moments, my eyes fixed on the beast lying there, unmoving.
“RAH!” Terra roars, looking up at the sky.
I’m not really sure what happened next. I remember getting really angry, an ear-splitting scream and an explosion... then I’m standing the middle of a huge crater, Terra’s body beneath me.
I blink, groaning as I hold my head, before looking down, my eyes widening. Terra, she... she’s not breathing.
I take a step back, my eyes wide with horror. Did... did I just...? Oh, God, please tell me I didn’t...
Suddenly, Terra’s body, even her clothes, turn brown, like dirt, before crumbling away.
I fall to my knees, looking down at my hands, tears running down my face. “I... did I just commit...?”
My attention is caught by something glinting in the light of the sun coming down from the canopy, coming from within Terra’s... her remains.
I slowly walk over and, with disgust, push some of the dirt away to reveal what looks like some kind of gem. It’s yellow with a T emblazoned on it.
I lean down and pick it up, confused. Why would Terra have a gemstone inside her body with a T on it?
Frowning, I run my magic over it, before my eyes widen. This... that wasn’t Terra, not the real one, anyway. Whatever this gemstone is, I’m getting a strange hunch that it’s some kind of means of summoning golems. So, that thing had Terra’s powers and it looked like her, but it was just a blank slate, earth infused with magic in the shape of her.
But... but how? Why? I’m the only being in this world who should know anything about Teen Titans. Why and how would someone create a golem of Terra and send it to attack me.
I blink, before my eyes narrow, black flames glowing around my body. Someone made me feel like I’d killed another living being! They put me through that emotional shit and for what? What possible reason?!
I’ll take this gem to Twilight. She should be done with whatever it is she and Fluttershy were doing by now.
I head back towards town, only to groan after coming out of the forest when I see a giant fish bowl surrounding the town.
I walk up to it and bang on the glass. “Yo, Lulamoon. Get your second rate, self-absorbed, lying flank out here now.”
I stand, my arms folded, waiting several minutes, before I see Trixie in a large golden chariot without wheels, being pulled by Snips and Snails.
I growl. She’ll be sorry I for treating children like that. I don’t care how powerful the Alicorn Amulet is, she’s never dealt with my brand of magic.
The chariot stops and Trixie looks at me in confusion. “And just what are you?”
I snort. “I’m Raven and I demand you release Ponyville at once. You have no right to act like tyrant ruler.”
She just sneers. “Trixie is only punishing these ponies for mocking her.”
“Alright, I’ve had enough,” I mutter, already in a bad mood from what happened in the forest with that Terra golem, becoming surrounded by my aura and appearing in front of Trixie, only this time inside the dome.
She yelps, startled. Before glaring and firing a spell at me, I move to this side, avoiding it, only to get bucked in the head, flying backwards and hitting my head against the dome.
Shit, does that hurt!
I try to get up, but suddenly feel a magical aura around my head. Looking up, I see Trixie leering down at me.
I start feeling woozy and panic. No! No, I can’t fall asleep. I’ve been avoiding it for so long, I can’t fall asleep now!
“Trixie will learn about you later, creature,” Trixie’s voice is getting fainter, no matter how hard I fight back. “For now, just sleep.”
I try one last ditch effort to get up and use my own magic, but it doesn’t work. Meditation doesn’t stop my body from feeling tired, it only would lessen it. Now, having just had to deal with that Terra Slate, I’m too exhausted.
Too weak to fight it, I fall into the abyss, everything going dark... for now.
I blink, looking around, seeing only darkness. Though, I honestly wish it stayed that way as, several seconds later, my vision clears up and my heart leaps into my chest.
The sky is red and black, with small islands of rock scattered around, several of them floating in the sky.
“No”, I gasp, glancing around. “Not here. I can’t be here. I can’t be asleep. I can’t let Luna see this!”
A deep chuckle causes me to freeze in place. “Oh, you’ve far bigger things to worry about now.”
I whirl around, my panic rising by the second. Rising from the edge of the stone plateau I’m on is a huge humanoid shape, with a powerful build. It’s completely black, as if in shadow, but I can see its red eyes looking down at me, all four of them.
“No,” I gasp, taking several steps back. “No, no, no, no-no-no. Not here. You can’t be here! You can’t!”
“Oh, my dear Raven,” the shadow being chuckles. “You cannot escape what you are. Nor, what you must do...” He lifts a giant arm and starts reaching for me. I cry out in fear and leap into the air and try to fly away, only for a giant black hand to wrap around me. He pulls me over until I’m looking right up into his eyes. “You cannot escape your fate and you know what that fate is.”
“NO!” I shout, trying desperately to free myself, my heart hammering in my chest. He can’t be here! This has been be some kind of illusion within this world. “I’m not that Raven! I’m me! I won’t bring you out!”
He gives a mocking, chilling laugh. “Raven, you have no say in the matter. Soon, everything will be as it is meant to be...”
I scream as images start flashing before my eyes. Equestrians running from fire raining down from the sky, the princesses being blasted out of the air as they fight a beast they never could’ve expected, everypony turned to stone with expressions of fear, some in the motion of running or mares holding their foals.
“This is what you have wrote, Raven,” Trigon’s voice reaches through the visions, which continue on in an endless loop. “You will embrace your destiny and bring this world to its doom—”
“BE SILENT, MONSTER!”
The visions suddenly halt as I hear Trigon screaming in agony. Before I can properly process that whilst still reeling from the horrible visions that were forced into my mind, I feel myself falling, only to plop down on something soft and furry.
“We came as soon as we could, dear Raven.” I turn to look over my shoulder to see I’m sitting backwards on Princess Luna’s back.
“Princess Luna?” I gasp, very confused. “What—?”
“RAVEN!”
“I think we have more urgent matters to attend to for now,” the Alicorn states firmly, heading down to one of the many larger plateaus of rock.
I slide off of her back and we both turn to see a fuming Trigon looking around, clearly having lost sight of us. His body is still completely shadow, but I know it’s him. That voice matches just like the show. And with this character, it turns my blood cold.
“What is this monster?” Luna asks, glaring up at the shadowy figure.
“T-T-Trigon,” I stuttered, hugging myself tightly, my body shivering. I can still see the images he forced into my mind. “Remember that fictional thingI said my body comes from?”
Luna glances at me, an eyebrow raised. “This has bearing on that beast’s origins how?”
I look down, tears of absolute terror running down my face. “He’s a villain from it... and Raven’s father.”
That causes a shocked look to warp the Night Princess’s face. “That creature is your father?!”
“What?” I cry, turning to her, before shaking my head. “No! He’s Raven’s father. I may be stuck in her body, but he’s not my father!”
“Then why do you fear him?” she asks, after teleporting us behind a large mass of rocks to avoid Trigon’s eyes. “I can imagine from how you speak of him the Raven from the fiction was terrified of him, likely due to him being an abusive father.” Ha! Abusive father? That’s an understatement. “So, why does he cause you such terror?”
Why the hell not, now that he's real?! “He’ll bring about the end of the world,” I murmur, sliding down until I’m sitting against the rock and curl up into a ball, shivering. “He’ll end the world and there’s nothing I can do. I don’t have the skills the real Raven did to beat him.”
Luna remains silent for a moment, before a smacking sound echoes throughout the area.
I slowly turn back to look at her, my hand reaching up to the cheek she slapped.
“Do not allow your fears to control you!” she glares down at me, before thrusting a hoof in the direction of Trigon. “That is not the real Trigon. If it were and he is as horrible a being as you say, would the world not be ended already.”
I just shake my head, my eyes wide with panic. “B-but those visions—”
“Illusions,” Luna states firmly. “You have not slept since you first came to our world. Am I to understand it is because you were afraid of encountering this Trigon?”
I nod, looking down pathetically.
Luna snorts, before shaking her head. “You have been worrying all this time. Clearly you fear that by becoming Raven, you inherited her past. Am I correct?”
I don’t answer. I just keep curled up. Well, why not? If Trigon can get into my dreams the moment I’m asleep, it’s clear he’s real.
Luna scowls, before turning and peaking from our heading place. “I will show you this being is nothing to be feared.”
Before I can cry out a warning, she unfurls her wings and leaps over the rock, flying right towards Trigon, who currently has his back turned.
“Trigon!” he turns at the mention of his name, to have Luna blast him in the face with magic. “You have no place here! Be gone!”
Trigon’s shadowy form growls, before lashing a hand out and grabbing Luna. She cries out in pain as he starts squeezing.
I know I should be helping. I know I have to save her from him, but what can I do? How can I stop Trigon?
Suddenly, as I look out at the sky, notice the world flicker, the red of it going purple for a moment. I stare for several long moments, before my eyes narrow.
“I will enjoy ending your life, pitiful equine,” he jeers, tightening his grip. “With your body empty, your magic will be most useful to me, even if you are dead.”
“NO!” Trigon pauses and glances up, only to get a face-full of black energy.
I stand atop the rocks we’d been hiding behind, my eyes narrowed. “I won’t let you harm Princess Luna!”
He leers down at me, increasing his grip on the mare. “Oh? And what will you do, Raven? You cannot hope to defeat me. You fear me.”
I close my eyes and bit my lip. “I do fear you.” I open my eyes and fix him with a determined stare. “But I won’t let you hurt the princess, either!”
He laughs in amusement. “So, I hurt the pretty pony and you grow a spine. You really are a fool, child!”
He opens his free hand, a blast of fire coming forth and rushing towards me. I just narrow my eyes and stand there. The fire washes over me, but it isn’t hurting me.
“What?” he cries, shock and anger clear in his voice.
“Luna said something,” I mutter, before glaring up at him. “She told me you’re an illusion.” I glow, before I’m suddenly white Raven and fire off several black energy blasts. They make contact and he stumbles back, losing his grip on Luna, who rights herself and flies over to me. “I let my fear cloud that idea. I let my fear that you could be real blind me. This is a dream and you are not really here!”
“NO!” he snarls, lunging for me. “You will suffer for—”
“Azarath Metrion... ZINTHOS!” I yelled, cutting him off and sending a wave of magic flying from my hands.
The blast slams into Trigon, him being unable to dodge it due to moving towards me at the time. He screams in pain, before seeming to break apart within the blast, until there’s nothing left.
After the dust settles, I stumble forward, returning to my previous look, only for Luna to catch me with a wing, giving me a smirk. “Well done.”
I smile back, slowly pushing myself up and getting into a stable position, before sighing. “So...” I look up at the sky, which, though still red, isn’t as menacing as before, “what’s going on?” I give her a raised eyebrow. “I was petrified of him. But, soon as I saw that flicker of blue, it was like all my fear was gone.”
The Alicorn sighs, sitting down. “Then it would seem Twilight Sparkle and Zecora were successful.”
I cock an eyebrow. “Uh... come again?”
She pats the ground next to her with a wing, so I sit down next to her and indicate for her to go on.
“After Twilight Sparkle outwitted some unicorn named Trixie, who was foolish enough to put on the Alicorn Amulet, an item of great, but dangerous power,” she says, frowning at the mention of Trixie, though I can understand why, “the mare led us to you. she had placed you in the mayor’s office, with the intent to study you. However, when they arrived, your body was glowing with your magic and they could not wake you, no matter what they tried.”
“So they sent word for you to help,” I nod.
“Indeed,” she replies, before her expression saddens. “However, your mind had many safe guards, barriers that made it difficult for me to enter; ones I am certain you did not even know you had.”
I have to blink at that. Unless she’s talking about the safe guards I put around my emotions so I didn’t lose control of my powers, those must have been there prior. I wonder how they got there.
She sighs again and I refocus. “As such, much time has passed since you were put to rest.”
I can’t help feeling uncomfortable by the way she worded that, makes it sound like I’m dead or something.
Then what she says catches up to me and I frown. “Just how much time has passed?”
She doesn’t meet my gaze. “I honestly feared that you would not get to enjoy the Summer Sun Celebreation.”
I blink, before I deadpan. “Twilight’s an Alicorn now, isn’t she?”
Her eyes widen. “How could you have known—?”
I sigh, shaking my head. “It was bound to happen sooner or later. Just a little annoyed she’d sing a song about everything in Ponyville being fine whilst I’m out cold.”
Luna gives me an odd look. “I do not know what you mean, Raven. Unless one of her friends has been in need of her, aside from when she went o the Crystal Empire with her friends at the behest of Princess Cadance, Twilight has remained at your side since learning of your condition. She even thought Starswirl’s spell might have helped,” she mutters that last part.
I blink, frowning. Huh. So the season three finale didn’t quite go the show route in how and why Twilight cast the spell, and I’m assuming the same with how she figured out the Cutie Mark switched up.
“However,” the stern tone in the princess’s voice catches my attention and I look back to see her giving the same expression as her tone suggests. “I hath noticed that you are keeping much of your mind hidden. In trying to find a way in, I stumbled upon many areas that felt too strong to get into easily, so I left them be. Why do you lock such memories away?”
I look away. If I’m right, the memories she’s talking about are those about the show. No way can I explain the reason for their being blocked without tipping my hand.
“It’s not important,” I mutter, standing up and pulling my cloak over myself. “They’re nothing to worry about. Besides,” I give her a firm look, “I know you are hiding things, too, Princess.”
She frowns, cocking an eyebrow at me. “And just how am I hiding anything?”
I deadpan. “One word. Tantabis.” Her eyes widen, but I hold up a hand to stop her. “You tell me not to hide things away. Well, I will tell you thing in return. It will feed on your guilt. You do not need to keep punishing yourself. All the ponies that know you have already forgiven you and know Nightmare Moon is in the past, that you are not the same mare you were then. You are a better pony now, Luna. The ponies trust you, as do I. Forgive yourself and realize that you need to move on.”
Luna gives me a shocked look, before glancing down, clearly thinking, before closing her eyes. “Very well, Raven. I shall... consider what you have said. I believe it is time for you to return to the waking world at last.” She smirks. “Be sure to get sleep every night from now on. Thanks to mine and your friends’ efforts, I feel you need not worry about encountering that being ever again upon sleeping.”
I slowly open my eyes, seeing a white ceiling above me. Well, if anything, maybe I've been able to steer Equestria away from the very real threat of Luna guilt and she'll be able to move on
“Oh, my gosh! You’re awake!”
I suddenly find it very hard to breathe due to the purple pony crushing me.
“Twilight—” I gasp out. “Earth Pony strength— crushing me!”
“Oh!” she pulls back, a sheepish grin on her face. “Sorry. It’s just... oh, I’m so glad you’re finally awake.”
Strange, she acts like she was seriously worried. We barely chose to be friends not that long ago, not to mention how much of a dick I was to her when explaining the Pinkie clones thing and all, so I’m kinda confused. She’s acting like one of the Mane 6 is in my situation, not me.
What’s confusing, however, is I’ve seen this thing before. It’s the cufflink or whatever you’d call it that Gwen Tennyson finds the Key Stone of Bezel embedded into in the embedded into in the classic Ben 10 series, only this one’s colours are different, with the yellow of it being purple and the fact it has no Key Stone.
“Um, Raven?” I look up from my pondering over why something that looks like it’s from Ben 10 is here, only to see Twilight looking at me with sad eyes.
“Uh, what wrong?” I ask, feeling weird. Twilight’s emotions are a confusing mess. I’m getting relief, joy, sadness, guilt and confusion, along with a few others a little too jumbled to figure out at the moment.
Twilight looked away, not meeting Raven’s gaze. She had been so happy when Raven finally started waking up, but... now they had to talk. She hated having to remember this, but she needed to say it. “Raven, I... I really wanted to thank you” a few tears formed in her eyes, which she wiped away with a forehoof, before looking to the bedridden girl. “If... if you hadn’t intervened when you did I... I might have lost one of my closet friends and it would have all been my fault.”
Raven said nothing but closed her eyes and nodded, indicating she was listening, before glancing down, then lifted her wrist, showing it and what was on it to Twilight, an eyebrow raised. “What is this thing, exactly?”
Twilight’s smile return as she was happy to talk about this instead. “Well, remember when you asked me before if I could make something to help you with your powers?” Raven nodded. “Well, Zecora suggested that finishing what you asked for might help you, so, combining our resources, we were able to create a device based on the principle of magic inhibitor rings. Well, Discord helped a bit too. It wasn’t just the two of us” Twilight indicated to the thing on Raven’s wrist, which she looked down at, her eyes widening slightly. “Unlike an inhibitor ring, however, you’ll still be able to use your magic whenever you call on it. The only real difference is that you won’t have to hold back your emotions while you wear it.”
Raven stared down at the piece of metal. She then looked to Twilight, her eyes wide. “Y-you mean... I don’t have to fear losing control like before.” A look suddenly entered her eyes, as if she’d realized something.
“Now, it’s not perfect, mind you,” Twilight continued, not noticing the look in Raven’s eyes. “You’ll still need to be sure not to let your emotions run away with you, but, for the most part, you should be able to express yourself like a regular—”
Twilight was cut off and her eyes widened she was pull into a hug by Raven. It took a moment before Twilight realized she could feel tears dripping onto her fur. Raven was... crying.
“Raven?” she asked uncertainly. Why was she crying? Had she done something wrong with the device? Was Raven not happy with it?
“Thank you,” the biped murmured softly, before pulling back, her eyes showing more emotion than Twilight had ever seen and, whilst nowhere near as expressive as she or any of her friends would’ve been, Raven was giving a genuine smile.
“Raven?” Twilight asked, uncertain about the way she was looking the metal object bound to her wrist.
Raven closed her eyes. “You have no idea how wonderful this is.” She looked back to Twilight, before bowing slightly. “I can never repay you enough for this, Twilight. I will be forever in your debt.”
Twilight looked down, shame etched on her face, instead of pride, like one might expect. “No, Raven. I owe you... more than you know. I was horrible to you when we first met and now... you helped stop me from doing something horrible. And how do I repay that, by leaving you unaware of what was happening in Ponyville and getting you caught by Trixie.”
She was silenced by Raven pulling her into another hug. “Never mind that. You couldn’t have known I’d head there while she was still here. It was my own fault for getting caught and... if I hadn’t been avoiding sleep since I first got here, maybe things would’ve gone differently.”
Twilight pulled back, giving the girl a smile.
As they settled down, Raven smirked. “So, Princess, huh?”
“So... why did the princesses ask you to come along?” Rainbow asks me as the Crystal Empire starts showing over the horizon.
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolds the Pegasus, sitting in the seat next to me.
“I honestly don’t know,” I say, not meeting their eyes due to keeping them fixed outside at the approaching empire. I can assume Luna convinced Celestia to get me to come, as a kind of favour for my advice. Either way, it’s good I have reason to be here, what with the reason for Twilight and the gang even coming here in the first place.
It’s Twilight’s first Princess Summit and we all know what that means and I’m going to be prepared. I know how the movie went, but I’m pretty sure there will be differences.
It’s been a few days since I got out of the hospital. I wasn’t too pleased I was kept in there after waking up, but it is procedure, I guess and shows that, despite my being an alien from another world, the hospital staff were still doing their job in regards to my health and weren’t judging me by my species.
After getting out of the hospital I was very surprised by how much Twilight wanted me to stay close. Guess the idea that I was put in danger because she’d failed to originally stop Trixie has made her anxious about my safety. I even had to refuse strongly when she wanted me to move into the library. No need to live in a place, which likely will end up holding several items of personal value, only for it all to go up in flames when Tirek blows the thing sky high.
I didn’t meet Trixie after waking up. Apparently, like in the show, once she’d tried to fix the mistakes she could (since it took Luna to wake me up, she clearly wasn’t any help there), she hightailed it out of there; probably too ashamed about what she’d done to me to meet me face to face. Could be something to do with how Rainbow explained to her once the Amulet was off what I did the first day they saw me, but I digress.
I’m also a little surprised that I haven’t run into Discord yet. I’m guessing he’s planning on making an entrance for our first meeting. So looking forward to that.
Actually, not gonna lie, I kinda am looking forward to it. I’m curious to see how he’ll react to me.
Half an hour later (we would have gotten here quicker but, like in the show, the Crystal Ponies can’t help but swarm Spike with praise whenever they see him and it took a fair bit of work to get away from all that, despite that not happening in the movie) we all are walking into the Crystal Empire’s throne room and— ah, fuck! I knew I’d forget something.
I face palm as the purple princess bumps into the pony counterpart of the guy she’ll get a crush on. Great. I’m gonna have to put up with that.
The princesses excuse the ponies and dragon, who all head off to their rooms, myself moving to follow, when I clear of a throat gives me reason to pause and glance back over my shoulder.
The three princesses are looking at me, one with a slight frown, likely due to my punking her.
Turning back around, I walk back and nod. “Yes, princesses?”
Cadance looks to her aunts, then steps forward. “Luna told us about... your fear.”
I give Luna a glance, to which she nods in return and I return my attention to the pink pony princess. God, why is that so fun to say with the context in mind.
“Twilight’s also mentioned something about a gemstone?” Cadance continues.
I reach back and pull out the gemstone with the T on it. Twilight gave me a small bag with a spell on it that makes it so I can fit anything inside it and it’s so light I can wear it around my waist. I’m currently wearing my Raven outfit.
Cadance takes it in her magic and studies it for a moment. “I know a miner in the Empire who would probably be able to figure out what it is. Give me until the end of the Summit and I’ll see what can be done.”
I shrug. “’Long as I get it back before we leave, I’m cool.”
With that, I walk off to join the rest of the Mane 6 and Spike in finding their rooms, though I won’t be getting any sleep tonight.
The cloaked pony stood before the bedside table, making sure the Alicorn Princess in the bed was still asleep, before lighting her horn with her green magical aura, lifting the crown with the Element of Magic up and replacing it with the fake crown she was sure the purple princess wouldn’t notice until too late.
“You honestly think you can just take that?”
The unicorn jumped in fright, nearly knocking over a nearby lamp, but caught it in her magic and put it back, before turning. A tall figure in a black cloak, hiding its features beyond its strangely human-like mouth from view.
“Who are you?” she growled in a whisper, lowering her stance, her horn glowing. That monotone whisper had scared the shit out of her. “What are you?”
The figure chuckle dryly. “Someone who knows more about you than you do yourself, Sunset Shimmer.”
Her eyes widened under her cloak. This thing knew her name? It knew who she was, even under this cloak? How?
Her eyes narrowed. “Then you know I can’t let anyone or anything stand in my way!” Sunset rapidly charged a spell before firing it at the creature, expecting it to hit.
Imagine her shock when a barrier of black energy seemed to come out of the floor, redirecting the blast.
Sunset dived forward to avoid her own magical blast, which smashed against a vanity mirror on the other side of the room.
“Huh-wha...?” a light voice said.
Sunset glanced over her shoulder to see the princes had woken up and was looking right at her, or, more accurately, the crown in her saddlebag.
“My crown! She’s got my crown!”
“Ponyfeathers,” the unicorn muttered, casting a quick glare at the still cloaked figure and surprising them with a blast to the face they hadn’t been ready for, before running out the door, hearing the princess and several other ponies giving chase.
The princess tried to stop her by teleporting in front of her, but Sunset cast her own teleport, leaving her cloak behind and revealing herself, before hurrying back to the room she’d found herself in after exciting the mirror.
However, just as she was inside the room, she heard a terrified cry, before being bowled over by the princess, their impact with the hard crystal floor causing the crown to fly out from Sunset’s saddlebag and through the mirror.
Everypony who wasn’t Sunset gasped, before the princess glared at her. “What did you do with my crown?!”
Sunset just smirked. “Sorry it had to be this way, Princess.”
She teleported to the mirror and was about to hurry through it when she heard a voice growl, “I’m not done with you, Shimmer!” before being bowled into again, falling through the mirror.
Tumbling out of the portal onto the concrete of the human world, she struggled against whomever it was that had charged her, them both shoving and kicking so much Sunset couldn’t get a chance to look at her assailant, before she managed to toss the person off her back and back through the portal.
She smirked, before standing up and looking around, before frowning in anger, clenching her fists. Where was the crown?!
“This is something Princess Twilight must do alone,” Celestia says to the room.
After I came back out of the mirror (flew out more like, damn, crystal hurts when you smash your head against it at high speeds) I was rather disoriented at first whilst Celestia explained about her former student and how she herself basically fucked up as a mentor to her.
Okay, she didn’t say that exactly, but it’s how I’ve always seen it, especially after reading the IDW comic about how Sunset fell from grace.
The main reason I didn’t pay much attention is, well, one, I’d heard it God knows how many times when I watched the movie and, two, I was still trying to figure out why I came back a humanoid.
I read a fic series called Five Score Divided By Four, a fic series in which it’s revealed the Equestria got betrayed by Discord, again, and he sent everypony and even non ponies, into the real world as human babies. Now, the interesting thing is, in that, if a normal human goes into Equestria through the portal, they wind up a pony or whatever.
That’s honestly how I thought the portal would work, which is one reason I’d honestly tried to stop Sunset here, so I wouldn’t end up going into that world and risk coming back as a Raven Pony.
But, for whatever reason, when I came back into Equestria, I’m still the same. Maybe it’s because I’m not from this world and that effected me somehow, messed with the portal in some way?
Whatever the case, I’m now with the princesses, the rest of the Mane 6 and Spike after everything was explained.
“Yeah, sorry, but I’m going with,” I state bluntly in response to Celestia’s last words. The slight frown from Celestia makes me smirk. “Last I checked, the main reason for why you don’t want the rest of the group going with her doesn’t apply to me, since I’m not from this world.”
The feeling of annoyance from Celestia is quite amusing, even if she doesn’t show it. Man, she’s got a good poker face. But, what does she expect? I know magic won’t be back in that world until after Twi gets her crown back, so, I’ll be the only one with magic until then. Can’t say that wouldn’t come in handy. That is if my magic still works there, of course. I didn’t exactly get a chance to try it whilst basically having a brawl with Sunset. I mean, Twi can’t just use her magic there whenever, but, since the portal didn’t turn me into a pony on the way back here, maybe it won’t restrict my magic either.
Plus, maybe I can keep Flashlight from becoming a thing.
With everything else said and done, Twilight heads into the mirror, myself kneeling down a little as I pass through to follow her.
As the world stops being a multi-coloured blur and put a hand to my head and shake it.
Wow, is that uncomfortable. How I didn’t notice it when I went through it before, I don’t know, but man is that weird.
Standing up first, I glance down to see humanized Twi’s still looking a little dizzy, even though doggified Spike looks perfectly at ease.
I decide to look myself over. Huh. I seem to be just the same, the only odd thing being I’m now wearing the clothes Rarity gave me to wear so I’d have something other than my Raven outfit. Lifting my wrist, I see the inhibitor Twi made for me is still there. Good. Last thing I wanna do is lose control in a world devoid of magic.
I finish looking myself over and hold up my hand, trying to focus some magic in it. It works just fine, my normal aura glowing around my hand. Okay, cool, so, whatever turned me into Raven gave me the added perks of being able to travel to and from this world without fear of changing species or losing my magic. That’ll be handy to know once Twilight gets the portal working 24/7.
“Spike?” Twilight’s voice catches my attention and I stop using my powers to see her giving the dog a confused look. “Are you a... dog?”
Spike spins in a circle, looking himself over. “I... think so. But, why do you look like Raven?”
“What?” Twilight looks down at herself... and I face palm as she cries like in the movie, before doing the body check from the movie.
“You’re a human in this world,” I state in a deadpan, taking a few steps forward and turn back to look at her with folded arms. “Get over it. It ain’t that bad.”
Twilight blinks, before looking down, then sighing.
“And stand up already,” I indicate for her to stand with a finger aimed upwards. “Since you’re humanoid now like me, it should be obvious you don’t walk on all fours.”
Oh, this is going to be more of a headache than I’d anticipated.
And I was right for the most part. Glad my inhibitor kept me from going nuclear. I never realized getting through the events of the first movie would be so frustrating.
I almost lost my shit and attacked Sunset when she was putting down human Fluttershy due to feeling the poor girl’s fear and sadness, got annoyed when Twilight still did that damned little speech insulting hands, to which she apologized after I glowered at her for several long minutes and instead of Twilight screaming for the mane 5 to shut up with all their bickering, I did, almost using my magic to separate them all. And don’t even get me started on what outfit Rarity put me in for the idea of disguising Twi and me after Sunset’s slander video went out.
Finally it’s the last day and everything’s been going pretty well since. Strangely though, when we were all at Sugar Cube Corner, Twilight didn’t get into that obvious crush moment over Flash. In fact, she kinda just blew him off as if he was just some other guy.
Huh? Weird. Maybe I don’t have to do anything against the Flashlight. Somehow, it’s killed itself. Sweet. That’s one less headache.
Anyway, Twi and I head for the library to wait out the rest of the day, pretending to be students (seriously, why haven’t this world’s Luna or Celestia caught on that we’re not really students already?), myself knowing what will happen later.
As I finish showing Twilight for the umpteenth time how to work a particular search engine, I tell her I’m just gonna head for the toilets. Finishing up in there, I head out, only to notice Sunset walking towards the gym with Vice Principal Luna following her.
Frowning, I follow at a distance, listening to Sunset giving Luna the bullshit lie that Twilight destroyed everything in there. As I do, I frown as I notice Flash is nowhere to be seen.
Once Luna and Sunset head out, Luna clearly going to find Twilight to interrogate her, since I didn’t see Flash, I’m going to take matters into my own hands.
Alighting my hands with my magic, I reach out and try sense for Sunset’s aura, more specifically a part of her residue aura that isn’t with her now. Following it, I come across a bin near the library and, using my magic to rummage through it since I don’t to actually use my hands (though it feels gross, since this makes it feel like I’m still touching everything in this dang bin), I find the photo cut outs Sunset used and head to deliver the news myself.
I get in just as Luna’s about to give Twilight her punishment (which I know, dumb as she is about that kind of thing, Twilight would accept, even if it means we’re stuck here for thirty moons).
I give Luna the photos and explain how I found them in the garbage.
“In light of this recent evidence,” Vice Principal Luna says, sitting back at her desk, “you may of course continue your bid to be crowned Princess of the Fall Formal.”
What happens next takes me by surprise though. In the movie, since it was Flash who saves her ass, she gives him a big hug and it’s a badly done forced romance moment.
What catches me off guard is... Twi gives me that same kind of hug and her emotions are gratitude and several other too blended together for me to make hide nor hair of them.
“Uh, Twilight?”
She blinks, before pulling back and grinning sheepishly. Wow, the embarrassment coming off of her is... odd.
Luna tells us the dance will have to be postponed until tomorrow night and leaves.
Twilight sighs, looking to me. “Again, thanks Raven. If not for you coming here with me, we might never have been able to get the crown back to...” She trails off, her eyes widening. “Tomorrow night?!”
When Twilight races into Rarity's boutique and runs into one of the changing rooms, I walk in to see the girls giving me confused looks. I just shake my head and indicate a hand to let them know they can ask her. A little over a minute later Twilight opens the curtains, all the girls having gathered in front, looks of concern on each of their faces.
Twilight explains about what happened at the school and takes a breath to explain just why the formal needs to happen tonight, myself looking to Pinkie, knowing what’s coming.
Twilight sighs, holding and arm. “You see...”
Pinkie Pie pulls Applejack’s hand off of her mouth, “You’re from an alternate world and you're a pony princess there and Raven’s actually a being from a totally different world than that which has no magic at all and became a character based on a comic book/TV series from said world where having powers of any kind isn't unheard of who ended in your world after touching a weird freaky deaky mirror before finding herself stuck in your world and the crown actually has a magical element embedded in it that helps power up other magical elements, and without it they don't work anymore, and you need them all to help protect your magical world, and if you don't get the crown tonight, you'll be stuck in this world and you won't be able to get back for, like, a really, really long time!” she finishes with a squee.
I join Twilight and Spike in staring at the pink girl, my eyes wide in a “What the hell?” kind of why. How...? How could she...? Okay, I know it’s Pinkie Pie and the rule is It’s Pinkie Pie, Don’t Question It, but... how did she know that about ME?!
We go through the girls’ unbelieving reactions, followed by Spike talking and what that leads to, before Twilight turns to Pinkie.
“How did you know all that?”
Pinkie shrugs “Just a hunch.”
A hunch? A hunch?! How the hell could she get a hunch I’m from a dimension different to Twilight, or that I’ve been turned into Raven, or how it had anything to do with the mirror (that latter part I’m still trying to understand how it happened in the first place)?
“Wait a minute!” Applejack says, holding up her hands. “Lemme get this straight. You're a pony?”
“You're a princess?” Rarity says, still not having recovered.
“You're from another world?” Fluttershy asks.
Twilight gulps. “Mm-hmm.”
I shake my head, before smirking as I shake off the... whatever it is Pinkie did there. “And in case you girls don’t believe that, which I wouldn’t blame you, even with the talking dog.” I hold my hand up, it glowing with my magic. At once several of the items around to room an encased in the same aura and lifted into the air, where I spin them around the girls heads for a few moment.
“Wheee!” I blink, before realizing Pinkie has somehow gotten atop one of the boxes I’ve levitating and is riding it.
“What a minute!” Twilight turns to me, wide-eye, one of which is twitching. “You mean you’ve been able to use your magic this whole time?!”
I nod, before rolling my eyes. “I figured I’d be able to after I returned through the portal but hadn’t changed species between dimensions. Guess my being this way makes me immune to the affects you or any others would suffer.”
Twilight just stands there, her eye twitching several times.
“That... is... awesome!” Dash cries, changing the subject and they all gather around us, snapping Twilight out of her daze, though her aura tells me she’s not done with me about not telling her my magic works.
After we head back to the school and get everyone to help clean up the mess in the gym (I started with using my magic to move stuff around until I sensed students coming, so had to go with just my hands afterwards), we head back to the boutique to get ready. Suprisingly, Rarity’s made me a long dark-blue dress that is designed like my hooded cloak, the sleeves even look like my ordinary outfit. The only differences are these see through bits of fabric over my shoulders.
I grab the crown in my magic to keep it away from Snips, but a sudden tackle from Snails knocks me over and the crowns flies towards Sunset instead, who catches it.
When we all ran out to get Spike and Sunset gave us her lame ass ultimatum, I explained in a deadpan how Sunset’s threat didn’t make any sense because of how the hammer would just go through the portal, we got the speech Twi gave in the movie about how she won’t let Sunset have power in this world anymore and the girls praising her for it, leading to Sunset charging and the game of Keep Away... which we’ve just lost.
Before I can get my wits about me enough to summon my magic to grab the crown from her hands, she puts it on her head, transforming into her demon form.
I help the girls up who’ve fallen whilst Sunset turns Snips and Snails into demons, makes a giant hole in the front of the school and zombifies the students and faculty.
Sunset comes out to see us all standing there, blocking her path. She chuckles. “Spoiler alert: I was bluffing when I said I was going to destroy the portal. I don't want to rule this pathetic little high school; I want Equestria!” I face palm as her hair acts like a fire at that moment. “And with my own little teenage army behind me, I am going to get it!”
Yeah, even being here in person and hearing her say that... it sounds dumb. Twilight took ages to get used to walking on two legs and she expects brainwashed humans to work out how to walk on four legs, use wings, horns, etc, right away? If she isn’t stopped here... I’m pretty sure her plan is still pretty much doomed the moment she goes through that portal.
Sunset Shimmer just laughs. “Oh, please! What exactly do you think you're going to do to stop me? I have magic, and you have nothing!”
Dash steps up to Twilight, along with the other. “She has us!”
“And they may not have magic,” I say, my eyes glowing white, before blasting Sunset with black energy and levitating into the air, “but I do.”
Sunset shakes her head, before looking to me with wide eyes. “What? But how? Nopony that comes through the portal can use their magic!”
I shoot forward, my hands glowing as I aim to punch her, which she narrowly avoids as I smirk. “I’m no pony.”
She glares, before smirking and snaps her fingers, Snips and Snails quickly flying up to her side. She points at me. “Handle her.”
Wow. I’m not sure whether to laugh at her stupidity or feel insulted that she thinks those two nimrods can “handle me”.
They both leer at me and charge. I avoid them, spinning in the air and fire off several blasts of magic, which they dodge and come back at me.
Thinking fast, I stop using my flight abilities and just drop like a stone, avoiding them, before flying up again and sending streams of black energy from my hands that end in hands, grabbing the two of them and smacking their heads together.
I frown slightly at the comedic bonking sounds that happens or the sounds of birds tweeting as they’re eyes rolling around in a daze.
“She needs to be dealt with!” I hear, before turning to see Sunset has already thrown her fireball at Twilight and the others.
It collides just as I’ve lowered Snips and Snails down.
Sunset laughs, before shouting, “What!?” upon seeing Twi and the others safe, surrounded by a lavender aura.
Twilight and the others go through their transformations, Ponying Up for the first time, but Sunset is struggling against the crown.
Thinking fast, I do what I did with her lackeys and grab her with my giant magic hands.
“Argh!” she growls, trying to break free as I fight to keep my hold on her.
Twilight looks firmly at Sunset as she and the others float in the air. “Together with a crown, they create a power beyond anything you could imagine, but it is a power you don't have the ability to control! The crown may be upon your head, Sunset Shimmer, but you cannot wield it, because you do not possess the most powerful magic of all: the magic of friendship!”
The light around the girls grows brighter, before a rainbow swirls up into the air before crashing down on Demon Sunny.
“No!” she screams as the rainbow engulfs her, allowing me to release my hold. “What is happening?!”
After that and Twilight gives her speech to Sunset, we all head back to the dance where Twilight does dance with Flash, though I, for whatever reason, still don’t feel anything for him coming from her, even though I do feel something coming from him. Weird.
Once the dance is over we all meet up at the portal, myself keeping an eye on the moon.
Twilight looks to each of the girls. “I know we've only been friends for a short time, but I'm gonna miss all of you so much.” She sighs, before turning and walking towards the portal.
I look to the girls, my arms folder and smirk. “Don’t worry. I’ve a hunch we’ll be meeting up again sooner than you’d think.”
I hurry over to join with Twilight and Spike as the dragon in dog form says, “And the wings?”
Twilight gives him a smirk. “I've been walking on two legs and picking things up with these! Wings? I'm thrilled that's all I'll be dealing with back in Equestria! I don’t know how Raven does it.”
“I am right behind you, ya know,” I say as we pass through the portal.
We come back out, Twilight flopping forward whilst I have no problem, coming back into Equestria just as I was before, I’m even still wearing my original Raven outfit. Sorry, Rarity, looks like that cool dress ya gave me is lost to the multiverse.
After the girls says their bits, Celestia walks forward, an anxious expression on her face that doesn’t even begin to express how much I’m feeling off of her. “Sunset Shimmer, is she alright?”
Twilight and I look to each other, before she smirks and nods to her fellow princess. “I think she's gonna be fine. I left her in good hands.”
Rainbow Dash blinks. “Wait. They have hands in that world, like Raven’s?”
As the sun began to set, two cloaked figures stood over a pod deep within the Everfree Forest.
“You honestly believe this will work?” the first asked in a light female voice, turning to her taller companion. “You’re plans with Terra failed miserably. I don’t see why he’s giving you a second chance.”
“The Titans are strong together,” the other figure said, his voice smooth and calm. “If things are to go as our master wishes, we cannot rely on the luck of these ponies. The Titans are the best chance for the outcomes to work.”
“So you say,” the first replied snarkily. “Your character lost many times to them. I don’t see how this will fair any differently.”
Enough, they both turned as a shadow of a head with long, goat-like, curved horns formed behind them. Equestria will see many a foe in the coming time. I will not have that fool, Tirek, ruining everything I have worked towards because of his own illusions of grandeur. The Titans are a force he will not be able to stop, for they do not have magic he can take. Now, begin the plan. I am tired of your squabbling.
The shadow head faded away into thin air, leaving the other two alone.
“Well, then,” the male said, turning and kicking the pod, causing it to burst open, a pony dropping out from it in a pool of green liquids, “let the chaos begin.”
“Azarath Metrion Zinthos,” I murmur, my eyes closed in concentration.
Books levitate into the air, moving slowly around me as I hover in the centre of the library’s main room.
Twilight’s off in Canterlot at the moment to help with the Summer Sun Celebration and I know exactly what that means. Season four is starting and by tomorrow, the Plunder Vines will have already begun trying to take over.
I’m not sure if my magic will work against them, as I know the vines were affecting unicorns’ magical abilities, but am unclear if I’ll be affected in the same way, so I’m brushing up on some more ancient forms of magic, just in case. I’m wearing my casual wear, since my costume is hanging out to dry.
A scream from outside catches my attention. My eyes snap open and I hurry out.
The sky already is stuck between day and night, with both the sun and moon in the sky side by side. The vines are already coming towards town, but they’re not behaving like I’d have thought.
They’re more aggressive. Ponies and running this way and that as the vines strike out at them, I don’t even see the rest of the Mane 6, yet.
I rush forward, my hands glowing with my magic. I reach one vine that’s grabbed a hold of Dinky Doo and make a slicing motion with my arm.
The vine slices through, dropping Dinky, who I grab and lower to the ground.
She nods in thanks, before hurrying off.
I don’t get much of a chance to think on that, though as several vines lash out at me far more aggressively than I’d have expected. I flip over them, using my body’s dexterity to my advantage and slip through several gaps, over the vines, if only just.
I put my hands together, grunting as I thrust them apart, a wave of energy spreading out from me, forcing vines back, while destroying others.
A pair of high-pitched screams causes me to turn my head, to see Diamond Tiara and Silver being lifted by several vines, while several spiked ones are rushing towards them.
My eyes widen in panic and I move to get to them, but a pair of vines grab my ankles, causing me to fall to the ground, before another pair of vines snake out and grab my wrists, before the vines all lift me into the air and hold me outstretched.
I stare in horror as the spiked vines thrust towards the fillies, before a whirling sound reaching my ears.
Suddenly, the spiked vines change direction violently, as if something slammed into them, before there’s a small explosion at their tips.
Another whirling sound, followed by a thunking sound right by my head. Looking to my left, I see something with a boomerang shape resting next to me, embedded into the vine holding my wrist. It’s red and yellow.
Wait. I’ve seen that design before.
A red circle of light flashes in the centre of the boomerang, before it explodes, destroying the vines holding my wrists.
Thinking fast, I move with the momentum to aim myself and blast the vines holding my ankles, before flipping and righting myself.
“Booyah!” I turn my head to see several vines that had surrounded the flower sisters be blasted apart by a blue ray of energy.
Looking around, I see a green bear charging at several of the vines that are covering a house, where it starts tearing at them with its teeth and claw.
No... no, it can’t be. I have to be dreaming here.
“Duck!” I do so on instinct, only for a pair of the yellow and red boomerangs to fly right where my head would’ve been, where they impact with several incoming vines and explode.
I turn to look in the direction where they’d come from, only to see another humanoid figure land not too far away from me. he’s wearing a red shirt with green on the arm’s shoulder parts, green tights, boots, green gloves, a face mask, has short, spiky black hair and be black circle with a yellow R emblazoned on the light side of his chest.
I just stare at him, my mind not processing who I’m seeing.
“Robin?” I realize I actually spoke my question instead of just thinking it.
“Good to finally find you, Raven,” he smirks, giving me a thumbs up. “But let’s talk later. These ponies need our help. Titans, go!”
I would question how Robin knows they’re ponies, but I’ll save that for when the vines aren’t being so violent.
After several tiring minutes, the vines seem to settle down a little, giving us some room to breathe.
I stand with my hands on my knees, panting a bit from all the effort I’d had to put into that. These vines are way more violent than the show implied.
As I catch my breath, I look up as Robin comes over, joined by Cyborg and the green bear, which shifts into Beast Boy.
“Finally found you, girl,” Cyborg says, grinning.
Beast Boy gives me a confused look, folding his arms. “Wow. Never saw you in anything but you’re cloak and stuff, Raven. It’s kinda weird.”
“And the green boy who turns into animals has a right to call me weird for a simple change of clothes?” I say, without thinking. “Besides, what about that time when Robin was away?”
The green on his face is joined by red.
“So, how’re you all here?” I ask, looking around at them.
They each look to each other, seeming a little surprised, before looking to me, Cyborg saying, “We were hoping you could give us an idea.”
“Um...” I say, scratching my forehead with a single finger. Okay, this isn’t quite how I expected my day to go.
“I don’t get it,” Beast Boy frowns, having gotten over my little quip, it would seem. “One minute we’re relaxing after beating Trigon, then suddenly we’re in this weird world where animals talk, but I can’t understand a single word.”
That catches me attention for two reasons, one, Beast Boy mentioned beating Trigon, which confirms that these are the real Teen Titans and apparently right from the tail end of season four, but he also mentioned something very odd.
“Wait. You can’t speak Equestrain?”
They all look to me, before Robin folds his arms, frowning. “So that’s what they call it. Huh. So Equestrian and Latin are the same languages in this world.”
I cock an eyebrow. “You can understand the ponies?”
He nods. “Learned Latin back in school.”
“And I can speak over thirty languages thanks to the programs in my systems,” Cyborg taps his head, before pointing to our green companion. “We’ve both had to translate for BB here whenever we spoke with anyone... though they mostly avoided us.”
“And when I tried turning into one them, they all started shouting at us and chased us out of whatever town we were in,” Beast Boy pouts. “What in the world’s a Changeling, anyway?”
“One step below a succubus,” I say, without thinking.
They all stare at me.
I shrug. “Is it really so hard to believe I’d know about such creatures?”
“It’s not that, Raven,” Robin says, glancing to the other two, before returning to me. “You’re just being a lot more... expressive than we’re used to.”
Beast Boy gets an uncertain look. “Yeah. Last time you were like this, you ended up freeing an evil dragon from a book.”
I give him a deadpan glare.
Okay. So, for whatever reason, the real Teen Titans are here, minus Starfire and I seem to be the only one who’s not really a Titan, but just in the body of one.
“So, any ideas what brought us here?” Cyborg asks, looking to me. “Robin’s tried to come up with some theories, but we can’t really narrow it down.”
“Why hello there, Teen Titans!”
The other three flinch, while my eyes go wide. Oh, no. Not him.
There’s a flash of white light and suddenly Discord is hovering above us, grinning.
I faceplam. “I should’ve stayed in bed.”
“Robin, what a delight to meet you at last,” Discord says, popping over and shaking Robin’s hand. “I must commend you on your masterful skill in foiling that stuck-up Slade on his plans for you being his apprentice.”
Cyborg looks very confused as Discord sits atop his shoulder, now tiny. “And Cyborg, oh, the way you resisted Brother Blood after infiltrating his little Hive, brilliant.”
Beast Boy looks very uncomfortable as Discord wraps himself around his body like a snake, though he’s wearing a small sombre expression. “And Beast Boy, I do so apologize for Terra. If only she’d waited a little for Robin to explain, things would’ve gone so differently, would they not? But at least she went down as a hero, yes?”
I’m about to get angry, but now he’s suddenly in front of me. “And Raven, of course, how can I forget? Oh, I must thank you for coming to our world. Gave me the insight to visit you own and, oh, my word, what a hoot your Earth is! The fact I can have an alter-ego there and even play not only a character like myself but actually myself and no one even realize it? Oh, it’s so hilarious!”
It takes a few moments for my brain to properly try and figure out just what Discord was going on about there.
Did... did he just say HE is John De Lancie... and plays himself?
I... that sounds so beyond ridiculous, but, with this being Discord, it would also make so much sense!
Then, I realize what else he just said and I whirl on him, glaring. “You can go to Earth?! You could take me back, this whole time?!”
Suddenly Discord’s expression sours and he folds his arms. “Hmm. Not quite. When I first went in I ended up right where you left from and ran into something I’d rather not encounter again. Quite the spoil sport, that one.” He waves a claw in the air. “I’d rather keep this world out of that little squabble of his, thank you very much. He’s fine with me travelling to your world to play my roles, I am an act-tor, after all, but that’s as far as I can go without him making things troublesome on this end.”
I just stare, confused. What in the bloody hell is his babbling about?
“Um... Raven?” Beasty Boy asks, looking to me uncertainly. “Who or what is this?”
I groan. “Titans, meet Discord, Lord of Chaos and, supposedly, reformed.”
Discord gives an over the top gasp, claw over his chest. “Even you, Raven? Why, the idea that I’m not reformed seems to be shared by so many.”
“I can’t imagine why,” I say flatly.
“Anyway, I noticed we’re one Titan short, are we not?” he says, looking directly at Robin this time.
Robin looks away, clenching a fist. “We haven’t found any sign of Starfire in this world.”
“We found each other easily enough,” Cyborg looks to me. “And we learned about you from some newspapers, so we headed to this town. Didn’t expect we’d have to fight plants when we got here, though.”
“Yeah, I wonder why that would be,” I say sarcastically, looking to the draconequus with a firm look.
He just blows a raspberry at me. “I can assure you, despite the besmirching of my good name; I had nothing to do with this.”
I cock an eyebrow.
“Oh, alright fine. I suppose you’d already know, but it’s not like I meant for the Plunder Seeds to sprout now, of all times,” he folds his arms, sticking his nose in the air.
No, he literally uses his tongue to take his nose off and sticks it into thin air.
Cyborg groans, putting a hand to his head. “It’s like that time with Control Freak in the TVs all over again, only in real life.”
...
Nope. Not going there. Too much of a headache.
Discord scoffs. “Oh, please, that cheap imitation of my first me role? I am far more than he could ever be.”
With this world having been based on a cartoon, I’m pretty sure that’s begging Murphy’s Law, right there, Discord.
“Anyway, I’m surprised you’re all still here,” the draconequus continues, taking a pair of needles and knitting several vines into a shape. “After all, if I’m not the one making the vines so violent, who is?”
As he says this, I notice he’s knitting the vines into the shape of a female human.
I frown. I don’t know what his game is, but if I have to go check on the Mane 6, I will. For all I know, he’s doing something he didn’t in the show.
“Where’re you goin’?” Cyborg asks as I start to walk towards the Everfree.
“To make sure the only ponies able to save this world from its worst dangers don’t die because someone left dangerous seeds planted a thousand years ago,” I say, glaring at Discord over my shoulder.
“You should’ve stayed back,” I say as we make our way towards the Castle of the Two Sisters. “I don’t trust Discord to pay full attention to helping keep ponies safe.”
“Hey, if not for me, you wouldn’t know where you’re going,” Beast Boy says, stopping at my feet. He’s currently in the form of a grey hound.
I just give him a deadpan. “I can sense auras. Even if I can’t smell them, like you, I’d find them.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with a little backup?” Cyborg says merrily, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah, well— Look out!” I cry, pushing Cyborg out of the way as several vines lash out from the ground.
Well all tumble, falling through some underbrush and flopping onto the ground.
“Well now, isn’t this amusing?”
My eyes widen and I look up as a human shape moves out from the shadows onto the large branch of a nearby tree.
“Slade,” Robin growls.
“Please, call me Deathstroke,” he says, giving a mocking little bow. “Suits me far better, don’t you think? I do hope you like what I’ve done with the place.”
I just scoff. “You really expect us to believe you’re controlling Discord’s Plunder Vines? Yeah, and I’ve a crush on Beast Boy.”
Beast Boy blinks, before looking to me with his mouth hanging open. “You do?”
The rest of us, even Slade/Deathstroke, roll our eyes (well, Deathstroke’s rolls his eye, but whatever). Seems BB’s still immune to sarcasm.
“These vines are quite interesting though, aren’t they?” Deathstroke says, leaning against the tree. “Quite a poisonous situation, with how it affects the plants, even the ivy.” He chuckles. “Have fun, Titans. Give my regards to the princesses.”
He seems to fade away into the shadows.
I, however, am thinking about his word choice. Discord said he’s not the one in control of the vines and Slade, Deathstroke or whatever’s choice of words was odd.
“Come on,” I say, getting up and moving in the direction we had been before.
After a few minutes, screaming causes my heart to leap. That’s the Mane 6!
I rush forward, pushing through the vegetation, coming out into a clearing, where the six ponies and dragon are struggling to avoid the vines.
“Nopony will bring harm to my forest!” Turning, I’m met with a very odd sight, even for Equestria. It’s a pony, a Earth Pony mare, her body akin in design to Cadance’s than a regular pony, with a green coat and red mane and tail. She has vine like patterns along her hooves and her Cutie Mark is a batch of Poison Ivy.
I just stare for several seconds, before deadpanning.
Wow. Just... just wow, is that so dumb.
Her eyes, glowing bright red, turn to me and she snarls. “You were attacking my vines. You want to destroy my forest!”
Wait, her forest? Since when...?
The pony screams in anger as explosions occur behind me and I glace over my shoulder to see Twilight and the others being released from the vines and hurrying off in the direction of the Tree of Harmony’s cave.
The pony screams again, vines shooting from nearby her, heading towards the retreating ponies and dragon. “Leave my tree alone!”
I send a blast of energy towards the vines, stopping them from reaching their targets.
“Whoa. Who’s that?” Beast Boy’s voice is followed by him, Robin and Cyborg coming up next to me, the vine pony’s full attention on us.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I roll my eyes, “but I think this is a pony version of Poison Ivy.”
Robin cocks an eyebrow. “Poison Ivy ended up in this world, too?”
“Seems like it,” Cyborg fires a beam at Ivy, who shields herself with vines that crumble, which only seems to make her madder. “Any ideas how we can stop her, when this whole forest is under her control?!”
Poison Ivy in control of the Everfree Forest. Ain’t that a terrifying thought?
“We just have to keep her busy,” I say, my hands glowing with my magic. “Trust me, Twilight and the others will handle the rest.”
“How? Yikes!” Beast Boy cries, turning into a small bird to avoid a vine from snatching him.
“They just will, now come on!” I yell, charging at Ivy. The others follow and we each leap out of the way as she sends vines at each of us.
“Yipe!” I turn to see Beast Boy grabbed and held by a vine, only for him to turn into a mouse and drop out of its hold, before turning into an eagle and flying up.
“Raven, behind you!” I turn and only just manage to avoid the jaws of... a tree?
“Argh!” I grunt, feeling something hard hit me in the head, disorienting me for a moment, giving several vines a chance to grab me by the wrists and ankles and lift me up, giving me a view of the open mouth of a clearly mutated fly-catcher plant as it comes in for a taste.
Just as it’s about to snap down on my head, a red and yellow disc with an R emblazoned on it flies into the mouth, causing it snap shut on reflex, before exploding.
Beast Boy lands on my shoulder, switching from an eagle to a mouse and quickly chews through the vines, letting me get free.
“I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up,” the green mouse says, shifting into an eagle again.
“We can’t give up,” Robin shouts as he avoids another slew of vines, before he looks directly at me. “Raven, can you get into Ivy’s mind somehow?”
I frown. I’ve never really tried that kind of thing, but I guess now’s as good a time as any.
I try to calm myself, taking several deep breathes, before looking right at Ivy. “Azarath Metrion Zinthos!”
At once, my view of the world changes to a wide expanse of blue and green, with lines of energy moving all around my line of sight.
I frown, seeing something in the distance.
Raven?! Robin’s voice calls, sounding far away. What’s going on?
“Not sure,” I answer honestly, straining my focus. Things become clearer and I see the pony Ivy. “She looks like she’s struggling against something and... wait, what?”
A shadow seems to be forming behind her. It has a pony shape, but I can’t make anything else out, save for its pure red glowing eyes.
Suddenly, it looks up and I feel a wave of pain wash over me.
I stumble back, my vision returning to the Everfree as Ivy hovers above us, her eyes glowing red.
“What happened?” Cyborg asks as Beast Boy helps keep me standing.
“Something’s inside her mind,” I grunt, holding my head. “It’s usurping her will, causing her to act on her base instincts and desires, while clouding others. But, she’s struggling against it, trying desperately to break free.”
“Did you get a chance to see what it was?” Robin asks, leap-kicking a vine that was coming at him away as he swats another with his Bo staff.
I stand up straight, shaking my head. “All I got was a dark shape of a pony, with glowing red eyes.”
“Glowing red eyes?” Cyborg blinks, before frowning, looking to Robin. “Think it could be Blood?”
“There’s a pony Ivy in this world, so it wouldn’t surprise me at this moment,” he says, using his Bo staff to flip over another large vine.
“We just have to keep her or, I guess since Blood’s controlling her, him occupied long enough for Twilight and the others to give the Elements of Harmony back to the Tree of Harmony,” I say, firing a wave of energy at several vines, tearing them to ribbons.
I glance around to see the other three staring at me like I’ve suddenly grown a second head.
Oh... right. To those that don’t know squat about MLP, what I just said probably sounded like random nonsense.
“Just trust me on this!” I shout, before crying out in alarm as a large vines takes me by surprise and wraps around me tight, its grip getting stronger and stronger as it tries to crush me.
“Raven!” the others cry, before a bright flash lights up the area as a rainbow of colours flash around us, going over the vines.
As the light passes over me, I feel the positive energy from the Elements and Tree, as well as the vines around me vanishing, allowing me to drop back to the ground.
Once the light fades away, the forest looks more like it should and the vines are nowhere in sight. Ivy, however, is still here.
She’s lying on the ground, looking exhausted.
She groans, lifting her head and slowly opening her eyes, causing us all to tense, but I relax when I see her eyes are normal. Her irises a green, who’d a thought?
She looks around in confusion. “What...? Where am I? Wasn’t I in Vanhoover? Where’s this?”
Wait, Vanhoover? Now I’m confused. And why does her accent sound like she's from New Orleans? What's the MLP version of that called, anyway.
“Doesn’t she mean Vancouver?” Beast Boy asks.
I shake my head, looking to him and the other two. “In this world, a lot of the towns and cities are named a lot like in the real world, but with a pun of sorts, mostly equine ones.” Then I frown, turning to the green boy. “Wait. You understood her? I thought you couldn’t speak Latin?”
Beast Boy shakes his head. “I can’t. That’s why...” he trails off, turning to the pony. “Wait. I did understand her. How?”
I blink, before groaning and facepalm. “If I had to guess, Discord has a part in it. Nice of him to not inform us beforehand,” I grumble under my breath.
“Raven!” we all turn to see Twilight and the gang heading our way, Celestia and Luna following alongside them.
As they near, however, Luna’s eyes fall on Ivy and she starts tearing up as I sense a wave of emotions coming from her I wouldn’t have expected.
“Ivy?!” she cries, before rushing forward and pulling the green mare into a warm hug.
I just stare with my jaw hanging open and look to Celestia, hoping for some kind of explanation.
Celestia herself looks stunned.
It is Twilight, however, who speaks first.
“Wait. Those designs on her hooves, the Cutie Mark,” the purple Alicorn’s eyes shine. “Oh my gosh! Poison Ivy, the cousin of Mage Meadowbrooke?!”
...
And... now I’m totally lost.
I turn to Celestia, hoping she’ll clue myself, and the rest of us in.
Celestia looks from Luna holding tight to Ivy, then to me, the other Titans, giving them a raised eyebrow that implies I will need to do some explaining of my own later, her ponies and then me again, before taking a deep breath and sighing.
“Ivy was an old friend of Luna’s when we were little,” she says as the Lunar mare helps the other to her hooves. “Though plants rely more on sunlight than moonlight, Ivy and Luna got on well and became good friends, with Luna helping Ivy to be known as a great expert on plants.” Her face saddens and she closes her eyes. “But, shortly after her cousin vanished without a trace, so to did Ivy. It is still unknown to this day what happened to her, but, with her gone, Luna felt more alone than ever and...”
Yeah. Aside from the other Titans, we all know where that led.
A small smile returns to Celestia’s face. “Perhaps, however, we now can learn what happened.”
“Not likely, sister.”
We turn as Luna joins us, Ivy leaning against the slightly taller pony.
“What do you mean, Princess Luna?” Applejack asks, causing me to wonder why she used Luna’s title for a second, before I notice the expressions on the other Titans.
Right. I hadn’t gotten around to explaining about the princesses yet and AJ somehow figured it out just by looking at them.
Luna shakes her head, before looking to Ivy. “I... I don’t remember what happened before I awoke in this forest. I went out looking for my cousin... and that’s all I can remember. Everything else is just blank.”
“A matter for another time, then. As for now,” Celestia nods, before looking to the boys, who get uncertain looks at the attention from the white pony, “who are you three?”
It seems only now that Twilight takes notice of the other Titans. At once, her eyes light up.
Oh, boy. I know that look.
I clear my throat and the ponies all look to me. I hold out a hand towards the boys. “Everypony, there’s are the other Teen Titans. Cyborg, Beast Boy and the leader of the Titans, Robin.”
The ponies look at the Titans, before looking to me, the Titans again and me once more.
“You’ll please forgive our lack of respect, Your Highness,” Robin says, bowing politely to Celestia and Luna and Twilight in turn. Guess he got clued in pretty quick that, since Luna’s an Alicorn, chances Tia and Twi are royalty too were likely. “My team and I aren’t quite clear how we came to your world... and it seems some things about our world somehow leaked into yours.”
“How so?” Rarity asks, though I see her eyeing Beast Boy’s attire with a firm eye.
He indicates to Ivy. “In our world, there’s a woman who goes by the name Poison Ivy, who has power over plants, much like this mare.”
Nice that he omitted that the human Ivy is a criminal.
“And, if what Raven sensed before is any indicator, an enemy of ours, Brother Blood, is here in your world, too,” Cyborg nods.
At once, Celestia’s expression darkens. “Brother Blood?” She looks away, scowling. “I had hoped we had heard the last of him.”
...
Um, come again?
“So, now that things seem settled here,” Robin looks to me. “Raven, any clues you’ve seen since you got here as to how the four of us got here? Maybe it’ll help us find Starfire.”
At once, it suddenly hits me. These are the real Teen Titans and they still don’t know I’m not their Raven.
I look away, wrapping my arms around myself. “I don’t know.”
Twilight comes over and puts a hoof on my hand. “Raven? Is this about... about how they’re from a different world than yours?”
That causes confusion to play across the boys’ faces.
“Um, what are you talking about?” Beast Boy asks, cocking an eyebrow.
“I’m not your Raven,” I say, not willing to meet their eyes.
I refuse to tell them they’re cartoons, just as I refuse to tell the ponies. But... unlike the ponies, I look like someone they know, someone they care about. I can’t pretend I’m her. It wouldn’t be right.
“What d’ya mean you’re not our Raven?” Cyborg asks.
Twilight looks up at me, seems to understand, and looks to them. “You know this world is an alternate reality, a world different from your own?” They nod and she continues. “Well, Raven may look like someone you know from your world and have the same powers, but she isn’t from the world you know. She’s an alternate Raven. Your Raven... I don’t know if she’s in our world or not, but I don’t think she is.”
I feel Robin’s eyes on me, before he speaks. “I understand.”
“You do?” Cyborg and Beast Boy ask in unison as I glance his way.
He nods. “Back when I was working with Batman, we met our share of weird things. There was also the time Superman dealt with something to do with an alternate dimension.”
Okay. I did not know that detail. Either I’m clueless because I never really got to watch much of the Superman Animated Series that was spawned from Batman the Animated Series, or that was something that happened in-universe, that never got made into an episode.
Robin holds out a hand. “You may not be our Raven, but we’d be happy to have you join us.”
I look to him for a few moments, before giving a small smile and take the offered hand.
“And I would recommend you stay in Ponyville, for a while at least,” Celestia says, looking to Robin. “I feel you will be able to adapt to our world far easier if you are around the town Raven has taken to calling her home since her arrival. Not to mention give us time to find a way to introduce you to our subjects.”
“I have so many questions! So much to learn!” Twilight leaps in front of the guys, that grin on her face. “I can’t wait!”
“Better not to fight her, guys,” I smirk as they give me uncertain looks. “Just role with it as best you can. You should make it out alive.”
“Hey, Raven. What’s up?” Rainbow Dash asks as she and Twilight come over to where I’m hiding in the bushes, Spike riding atop the Alicorn’s back, a checklist in hand indicting the two had been going over something.
“What’re you doing?” Twilight asks, cocking an eyebrow.
I giggle. “Watching, despite my telling him how fruitless it is, Robin trying to study the impossibility that is Pinkie Pie.”
The two follow my gaze to see Robin hiding behind some other bushes, wearing a very frazzled expression, clipboard in hand as he watches Pinkie, who is pretending to not notice him.
It’s been about a week since the Titans arrived and they’ve somewhat settled into Ponyville. Beast Boy has been oddly scarce but I’ve seen Cyborg hanging around Doctor Whooves a lot.
The two get along really well.
It was when going over to speak with Cyborg about something that I’d actually understood why Doctor Whooves never seems to talk or act like The Doctor, but has mentioned living for centuries offhandedly, never seeming to remember saying it and why had doesn’t talk about being a Timelord.
I’d noticed a particular pocket watch sitting on his workbench. A very familiar pocket watch for anyone who’d watched season 3 of Doctor Who with David Tenant as The Doctor.
It was a Chameleon Arch pocket watch. Different design from the ones in the show itself, but it was unmistakeable, especially when I heard his voice from within it as I held it, telling me it wasn’t time yet, so I’d left it alone.
Doctor Whooves is a Chameleon Arch Doctor, hiding out, for whatever reason, until he’ll open the watch and return to being a Timelord.
Dash snickers as Robin continues to try following Pinkie. “The poor fool.”
Twilight just shakes her head. “I can say from experience that this will not end well for him.”
“Maybe he just needs a little hand!”
I blink, cocking my head. Was that… Gilbert Gottfried? Why would I be hearing his voice? He doesn’t voice any characters in MLP, at least not up to the seasons I’d seen before getting sent here.
How could he be here unless…
“Hey!” Robin yells in surprise and I notice one of his hands has shrunk in size.
I groan, facepalming as a little… Earth Pony (?) wearing a purple suit with a green tie over his pinkish-white coat and a purple bowler hat atop his head appears, floating in the air above us.
“What the hay?” Twilight and Dash take a step back.
“Who’s this guy?” Spike asks.
“Mister Mxyzptlk,” I groan, standing up. “Basically, he’s like Discord before he’s reformed, but more annoying.”
“Hey! I take offence to that!” the pony pouts, folding his forehooves.
“Like… Discord?” Spike’s eyes widen in horror. He gets it, easy.
“I really don’t wanna have to deal with this,” I deadpan, looking up at the floating Earth Pony. “How about we make a deal?”
“Ooh, I like deals!” he grins, rubbing his hooves together. That’d be funnier if it were Iago from Aladdin.
“If I get you to say your name backwards three times in a row within the span of ten seconds, you’ll remain in your home world and never interfere with any other reality, in any way, shape or form, for as long as you exist,” I state simply.
The others look to me in confusion, while his eyes widen, before he narrows them.
“That’s a pretty big demand there, little bird.” I glare as I’m suddenly an actual raven. “What’s in it for me if you can’t?”
I indicate to my beak. He blinks, before shrugging and I’m back to normal.
I kneel down, bowing my head. “If I fail to get you to say your name three times in a row within ten seconds, I will be at your service for as long as I live.”
He blinks, before a disgusting smirk falls over his face as he looks me over. Should’ve known that’d be one of his first thoughts.
He rubs his chin, thinking it over, before grinning and holds out a hoof. “I don’t see any downsides or loopholes for ya to sneak through here, so deal.” He smirks. “I’d like to see how yer gonna pull this one off. Even Sups never tried anything that stupid.”
I smirk, my eyes glowing as I take his hand, activating the deal.
“Wait, wha—?” he starts in confusion.
“Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!” I say quickly.
At once, his mouth glows with my aura.
“Kel-tip-zix-um, Kel-tip-zix-um, Kel-tip-zix-um!” I say quickly, his mouth making him say the same thing at the same time.
He blinks, before his hind legs get sucked into himself. “How did you—?”
“I know you better than you think I do, Mxy,” I say, stepping back as his front legs pop out of existence too. “I knew you’d be unable to resist a deal that seems to impossible. You let your being a 5th Dimensional Being blind you to the idea a mere mortal like me could outsmart you, so you dropped your guard, giving me the chance to cast my spell on you.”
His face fills with rage. “You may have outsmarted me, ya little brat, but your stars ain’t gonna escape her fate. She’ll be smilin’ til the day she dies!”
With that, he pops out of existence, never to bother us or any other form of reality ever again.
“Was that… Mister Mxyzptlk?” The others turn as a worn out looking Robin and Pinkie as they come over, his hand looking normal as he flexes it.
“You knew that weirdo?” Dash asks, hooves on her hips as she hovers in the air. “Is he from your world?”
“Not exactly,” Robin shakes his head. “He’s a being from the 5th dimension. The Titans and I encountered another of his people a while ago. He went by the name Larry.” He rubs his neck, seeming more exhausted. “He was a really big fan of me. Too big, to be honest. He almost caused our whole world to be destroyed.”
“So, who was this Mister Mxyzptlk, then?” Spike asks, an eyebrow cocked.
Robin sighs. “He had a real grip with another hero from our world, Superman. The two clashed a lot and he always kept trying to find ways to make things worse for Superman and anyone close to him. Though, I’m guessing Raven found a way to outsmart him, from what I heard on the way over.”
“Raven? What’s up?” At Twilight’s question, they all look to me.
I’ve only half been paying attention, a slight frown on my face. “Mxy’s last words. Something about them feels… worrying.”
“Like what?” Dash cocks her head. “Sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me. “Your stars ain’t gonna escape her fate. She’ll be smilin’ til the day she dies”? What’s that about?”
“Raven?” Twilight asks with worry as my eyes widen.
“Starlight,” I murmur, fear creeping into my voice.
“Huh?” they all look confused, before their eyes widen as I do a sweeping stance, my eyes and hands glowing.
“No time! We need to go, NOW!”
We’re all consumed by my energy and disappear into the ground.
We rise up from the ground, my energy fading away to reveal we’re in a completely different location.
“What the—?” Dash whirls around as the relatively desert like area. “How’d we get here?”
“Where’s here?” Robin asks, looking to me, before his expression firms. “Raven, what’s wrong?”
I quickly duck down, pulling the others down with my magic and point down the ridge.
Not too far off, there’s a small town, with houses all lined up in two straight lines.
We shouldn’t be here. This could risk the timeline, but if I know Mxyzptlk like I think I do, there’s no way he couldn’t have meant here. This is the only place in Equestria where smiles could be seen as a bad thing. And if he was threatening Starlight, then that means things aren’t going to go as well for her as they should before the events of season 5 even start.
I blink, noticing something off. There wasn’t any barbed wire fencing around the village in the show. The fence extends around it and towards the cave where the Cutie Mark vault is.
“Why’re we at this boring village?” Dash asks as we watch the ponies going about their day. “Just looks like a normal pony village to me.”
I guess Dash somehow can’t tell the barbed wire shouldn’t be there. “What kind of normal village has barbed wire around it, Dash?”
“I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit,” Pinkie says, her face a hard glare. “I know smiles. And those smiles?” She points down at the ponies. “They’re just not right.”
Twilight’s eyes widen. “Forget the smiles. Look at the Cutie Marks.”
“They’re… all the same!” Robin’s eyes widen. “I know I haven’t been in this world as long as Raven, but I do know that can’t be normal.”
Rainbow looks at the multiple ponies more closely, before getting an uncertain look herself. “Okay, that’s weird.”
Twilight rubs her chin. “An entire village with the same Cutie Mark? How can that be?”
Rainbow grins, rubbing her hooves together. “I bet there’s some sort of horrific monster behind it.”
Twilight looks up at her, an eyebrow cocked. “What makes you say that?”
Rainbow spins in the air excitedly. “‘Cause fighting a horrific monster would be super-awesome!”
Robin just gives her an annoyed look. “Raven literally just outsmarted a being who could’ve ruined this whole world and made our lives a living hell, and you want a monster to be behind this?”
“We can’t just go in there without a plan,” I say, extending my aura outwards, trying to sense anything off. “Mxy wouldn’t have made that kind of a threat lightly and I’m sensing something here that doesn’t belong, but I can’t make it out. Something’s blocking me from locating or properly sensing it.”
“Then we need some recon. I volunteer!” Dash yells, holding her hoof up like a child in class.
I shake my head. “Sorry, Dash, but a bright blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail don’t exactly scream covert.”
“Wait. Where’d Robin go?” Twilight’s question stops Rainbow from responding to me and they look around, finding the Boy Wonder had vanished from sight.
“I didn’t even here him leave,” Twilight says, shocked.
“He was trained by Batman,” I say, keeping an eye on Robin’s aura. “He does that. We’ll just have to wait til he comes back.”
We all sit, waiting.
“So… mind explaining what happened that Mxy-whatever his name is?” Dash asks, looking to me. “What did you do to force him to say his name backwards?”
“Simple body piloting spell,” I shrug. “Robin’s Raven used a variant of it back in their world to see the same thing he was one time. I merely altered the idea a bit to work on the mouth instead. Can only work for about ten seconds though before the spell breaks.”
Twilight cocks an eyebrow at me. “Since when did you have the time to learn a spell like that?”
“What did you think we were doing in the library?” Spike asks, folding his arms and smirking proudly. “I was letting her practice it on me.”
“You were practicing spells on Spike?!” Twilight looks to me with the glare of a protective mother.
“Not like you haven’t practiced spells on him in the past?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow.
Twilight opens her mouth to argue, before pausing, closes it and opens it again, clearly trying to think of a comeback.
“Okay,” the others yell with a start as Robin just is suddenly next to me, cutting our conversation short.
We all turn around, coming close and forming a circle.
“What have you found?” I ask.
“All the ponies in the town have the same Cutie Marks, even the young ones. There’s literally no other kind of mark. Those without Cutie Marks at all are the only exception... though they still act just as creepy. Their leader is some pony named Starlight Glimmer. I didn’t actually see her, but I heard enough of them talking about her. Something is definitely wrong here.”
Dash cocks her head. “How do you figure that? Those smiles may be a bit creepy, not helped by their same Cutie Marks, but smiling isn’t a crime or anything.”
Pinkie Pie just shakes her head, her face grim. “Those smiles are bad news.”
Robin nods. “Pinkie Pie is right. Those smiles aren’t willing. They’re literally being forced to smile all the time.”
I cock an eyebrow at Robin. “Okay, what do you mean by that?”
I know Starlight is strict at this point in time when it comes to her village, but it’s not like even she was trying to force the ponies to smile every moment, even when not in her presence and in their own homes.
“I couldn’t get a good look at it, but something was prowling throughout the village, hidden in the shadows,” Robin says, looking around at us. “It was fast, whatever it was, and I noticed it was only going after specific ponies.”
“What was it about them that it was targeting?” Twilight asks, her face firming.
“They were starting to stop smiling,” Robin says. “They were leaving their houses, looking worried about something. There was a flash of a shadowy figure that blocked them from my sight. Soon as I saw them again, their smiles were back, while their eyes said something was very wrong.”
“This isn’t right,” I murmur, bitting my lower lip. “Whatever’s going on here, it shouldn’t be. Looks like Mxyzptlk’s threat was more than just that. He clearly knew something was going wrong here.”
“What’ll we do?” Dash asks.
I stand up, my eyes glowing. “Azarath Metrion Zinthos.”
There’s a flash. When it fades, Robin and I are both Earth Ponies, though still wearing out hero outfits, our coat colours just our normal skin tones.
“What in the world?!” Twilight gasps, looking between the two of us.
“It’s only an illusion spell,” I say, nodding to Robin. “Trust me, it’ll work better if we don’t draw more attention to ourselves than our arrival already will.”
As we near, I notice the barbed wire fence has a huge opening, which, at first glance, would seem pointless, but I can sense some kind of magic humming around it and, as we pass through the opening, I feel that magic passing over us.
I immediately get a feeling it’s some kind of warning system or force field. You can get in, but you can’t get out. How encouraging.
As we enter, everypony close by stops what they’re doing and turns to us with those far more disturbing in person smiles.
“Welcome!” one pony says as we pass him.
“Welcome!” a mare surrounded by foals says.
“Welcome!” a unicorn stallion says.
“Welcome!” says a mare with her hair in braids. That one’s welcome was always more unsettling whenever I watched the episode in question.
“Welcome!” says another unicorn stallion.
“Welcome!” another mare will a group of foals says
“Welcome!” the foals says as they pass. They’re “welcome” is the least creepy, if you ask me. They at least sound innocent when they say it.
“Okay, I am officially creeped out,” Robin says, eyeing Night Glider as she welcomes us too.
We’re stopped by a pony I recognize as Party Favor, who looks solely at Twilight. “Welcome! Pardon my forwardness, but are you an Alicorn?”
I nod. “This is Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship.”
Party Favor’s smile somehow becomes creepier. “Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place for friendship.”
“I really don’t like the way he said friendship, like that,” Robin whispers to me.
I nod. Yeah, out of context, even with foreknowledge as to what he actually means, it does still bring up very uncomfortable thoughts.
“What brings you to town?” Double Diamond asks Twilight.
“We’re not entirely sure,” Twilight glances at me and I nod as Party Favor moves over to smile at me the way he did with Rarity in the episode, but I just glare at him, causing him to back off. Rarity might’ve been intimidated by it, but you pull that shit with me and you’ll be sorry, pal, good pony or not.
Double Diamond nods. “I see. Well, all are welcome here in our little village. My name is Double Diamond, and this is Party Favor.”
“Greetings, Double Diamond,” Robin nods, his voice firm and authoritative. “I’m Robin, and these are Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Raven and you’ve already met the princess.”
Double Diamond leans forward, his head close to Twilight and Pinkie’s marks in turn. “And you all have your own unique Cutie Marks.” Not that he can actually see the illusionary Cutie Marks Robin and I have thanks to our costumes covering them up.
Pinkie moves her tail over her mark, glaring at him.
Twilight looks to Double Diamond. “If you don’t mind, has there been any sort of... trouble here, lately?”
He looks to Party Favor, before returning his gaze to the Alicorn. “Trouble? Why, I don’t think we’ve ever had trouble in our little village.”
Party Favor nods. “It’s true. You’ll see.” He giggles.
Yeah, if that were true, I wouldn’t be sensing all the fear that I am. The smiles of these ponies, including these two, hide fear of whatever it is Robin noticed when he was patrolling the village.
Double Diamond turns around and starts walking, clearly trying to lead us to Starlight’s house. “Perhaps you’d care to speak to our founder, Starlight Glimmer.”
“Yes,” I say, glancing around, trying to sense the thing Robin saw. “That is exactly where we wanna go.”
Pinkie Pie snorts. “I’ve got my eye on them. Something’s rotten in... whatever the name of this village is that we’re in right now!”
We arrive at the one house not part of the equal lines, the two stallions knocking, the door opening and they just walk in.
“Starlight,” Double Diamond calls, “we have some new visitors.”
Rainbow Dash grins at Robin. “Be ready to fight. We don’t know what’s gonna come through that door.” She indicates to a door at the end of the small room.
It opens, Starlight Glimmer stepping out from behind it. “Welcome! I’m so pleased to have you here.”
Dash groans, folding her forelegs.
Double Diamond indicates to each of us. This is Robin, Raven, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle.”
Starlight notices Twilight’s wings thanks to the Alicorn’s uncertainty causing her to fluff her them a little. “Forgive my bluntness, but I’m assuming it’s Princess Twilight Sparkle? We don’t get many Alicorns around here.”
Twilight nods. “Yes, but Twilight is fine.”
Starlight smiles brightly, it being genuine. Pretty sure that’s a rarity at this point in time. “So! How did you hear of our little village?”
Twilight glances at me. “It’s kind of a long story.”
Not really, but we need to know what Mxyzptlk’s threat was about, so the faster we get this over with, the better.
Starlight looks us over, seeming to take notice of the pointed stare I’m giving her, but acts like she didn’t. “Well, however you found us, we’re happy to have you! We’re happy to have anypony who wants to experience true friendship for the first time.”
Robin cocks an eyebrow. “Can you elaborate on that?”
Starlight nods, indicating to a picture of the same sign as on everyponies’ flanks. “Oh, indeed. That’s what’s so unique about our village, you see. Around here, we don’t flaunt our special talents because we don’t have any special talents to flaunt.”
Twilight blinks in surprise, pointing to Starlight’s flank. “Is that why you all have those Cutie Marks?”
Starlight glances at her flank, before looking to us. “Perhaps it would be easier to understand if I gave you a tour of the village!”
I sigh. “Actually, let’s just skip to where you lead us to the Cutie Mark Vault.”
Starlight’s eyes widen, while the others look to me in confusion.
“How did you know about that?” the unicorn asks.
“Why else would we be here?” I ask. Despite my deadpan delivery, I don’t think she senses anything wrong and genuinely believes me, while the others just look more and more confused.
“Oh! Very well, then. Follow me!” she says, her voice chipper and she leads us out of her house and towards the caves.
“What’s going on, Raven?” Twilight asks in a hushed whisper as we head up the path, she and Robin staying close to me.
“Yeah, you seemed just as uncertain as the rest of us, then blurted out something about a vault,” Robin gives me a look. “How did you know about it?”
“Prior knowledge,” I whisper back. “Besides, there’s plenty of energy around the vault and it’s around where I can’t properly locate the thing I’ve been sensing since we arrived. Whatever Mxyzptlk was threatening, it’s in that cave.”
“Just through here!” Starlight says, leading us into the cave and pulling down a huge curtain, revealing the vault. “Behold! Our Cutie Mark vault!”
Twilight and the others stare in shock. “I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Starlight nods, walking over to the piece of wood she found in the desert. “And here is the Staff of Sameness. It was one of the great Mage Meadowbrook’s nine enchanted items.” I notice Twilight’s suspicion rise without looking at her. Yep. That was your first flub in the original, Glimmy. Here, though, it wouldn’t have mattered. “We are incredibly fortunate to have it here. This is the tool that allows us to free ourselves from our marks!”
“Alright, cut the act, Starlight Glimmer!” Robin says, stepping forward, his face firm.
Starlight looks a bit taken aback. “Huh? What act?”
“We know that staff is fake,” I say, glancing at Twilight.
“Mage Meadow Brook only had eight enchanted items. I should know. I did a history report on it back in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.”
“So, if the staff isn’t doing anything,” Robin looks Starlight straight in the eye, “that means you must be the one removing ponies of their Cutie Marks!”
“Wait. What?”
The others all whirl around as the towns ponies come out from the shadows, but, unlike in the show, they aren’t surrounding to trap, they’re just looking confused.
“Starlight, if you’re the one taking our Cutie Marks, how can that be?” Double Diamond looks very confused. “You don’t have your Cutie Mark, so how could you cast such a powerful spell, all on your own.”
“Because she hasn’t given up her mark!” Dash shoots forward, seeming to have caught on, stopping in front of Starlight and flapping her wings quickly, causing dust to fly up and the make up on Starlight’s flank to whip off.
Everypony gasps.
Starlight looks around frantically. “Wha... What are you looking at?! They’re the problem, not me!”
Party Favor steps forward, his face showing heartbreak. “How could you?”
“You said Cutie Marks were evil!” Double Diamond says. “You said special talents led to pain and heartache!”
“They do!” Starlight’s floundering, before pointing to us. “Don’t you see?! Look at them!”
We all just glance at each other.
“You guys feeling any pain or heartache?” Dash asks.
We all shrug, shaking our heads.
“Then why?” Sugar Belle asks. “Why did you take ours and not give up your own?”
“I... I had to, you fools!” Starlight says defensively. “How could I collect your Cutie Marks without my magic?! Besides, it’s my magic that makes all this possible! You’d all still be living your miserable lives thinking you’re better than everypony else if it weren’t for my magical abilities! I brought you friendship! I brought you equality! I created harmony!”
“Sheesh. And I thought Johnny Rancid was over the top,” Robin mutters and I find myself chuckling.
Double Diamond points at Starlight. “You lied to us!”
Starlight grins nervously, trying to regain control. “So what? E-Everything else I said is true! The only way to be happy is if we’re all equal!”
Party Favor narrows his eyes. “Except for you.”
Twilight steps forward. “Everypony has unique talents and gifts, and when we share them with each other, that’s how rea—”
“QUIET!” Starlight snarls, whirling around to glare at the princess.
Sugar Belle glares at the unicorn. “You can’t have a Cutie Mark, Starlight! Either we’re all equal, or none of us are!”
“What I wanna know,” Robin says firmly, stepping forward, “is what you did to force these ponies to smile, even against their free will.”
“What is the creature you have prowling your village?” I ask, my eyes narrowed.
Starlight turns to look at us, her anger quickly being replaced with confusion. “Creature? What creature? And what do you mean “forcing ponies to smile against their will”? Everypony smiles whenever they want here. And they’re free to not smile whenever they want.”
“Well, well, well. Instead of a bird in the hand it seems we’ve too smart cuckoos in our little nest,” a new voice says.
Everypony else starts looking around in confusion, while Robin and I meet eyes, his face a mask of horror that likely mirrors my own.
We know that voice. And I highly doubt Mark Hamill is in Equestria and I know he never voiced a character in the show.
But… No! No, he can’t be here. Not in Equestria! Why would he be in Equestria?!
A sound from above makes us all look up where a pair of red eyes are looking down from the ceiling. They lung forward, a form following them.
“Everypony, run!” Robin and I yell together as I quickly cancel the spell, dropping our disguises as I create a shield that knocks back what just fell down, sending it back further into the cave.
Everypony starts screaming and runs as the large snake creature moves comes back quickly, rising to its fall height in front our group.
“It… it can’t be,” Robin shakes his head. “What… what happened to him?”
“Who… what is that?” Dash yells, pointing.
“Joker,” Robin glares, teeth gritted. “A criminal from my world.”
It’s the Clown Prince of Crime himself, alright, … but something is seriously wrong here. It’s Joker, no doubt about that, but… he looks like a Lamia.
My eyes widen as it clicks. “Of course. That’s why the ponies can’t stop smiling. Joker’s fangs are filled with his Joker Venom.”
“Ooh, there’s a smart little birdy,” the snake man replies, chuckling as he slithers around the barrier, which contains us and Starlight. Thankfully, Joker seems more focused on us than the rest of the ponies, so they were able to get away. “In small doses, it keeps them smiling. Of course, if I were to try a more potent dose,” he smiles sinisterly, showing off his fangs.
“Wait. What?” a small voice says.
We all look to Starlight, who’s eyes are shining with hurt. “That’s… that’s not true. The ponies in my village weren’t smiling because some freak’s venom was making them. They’re happy being here. They… they are…” tears well in her eyes as I sense her aura indicating her sense of self is being questioned, “right?”
Joker slowly chuckles, before it rises into his signature cackle. “Oh, you ponies are quite the riot.”
He lunges forward, stopping just in front of Starlihgt’s leering at her.
“You act all tough but you’re just a wee widdle foal who wost her best fweind and trying to hide the hurt.” He pulls back, folding his arms. “It’d be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.” He glances up in thought, before grinning. “Oh, what the heck? I’ll laugh anyway.”
He bursts into laughter.
“NOW!” Robin yells and I drop the barrier.
He throws a birderang and it hits Joker square in the face, exploding on contact and sending the snake hurtling back into a wall.
“Just what in the world did this to him?” Robin glances back at me as I stand close to a now sobbing Starlight, while Twilight tries to comfort her. “Do you think it had something to do with coming to this world?”
“Could be,” I say, looking down, trying to think.
“No’ ba’, Boy ’on’er.” We all turn as Joker gets back up, his jaw… disgustingly dislocated, but it’s even more stomach churning when he adjusts it back into place. “Your replacement certainly wasn’t so lucky.”
Robin blinks. “Replacement.”
My eyes widen, before I snarl. “He’s talking about Tim Drake. What did you do to him, you fucking asshole?” I just hope the answer is what I know from the Return of the Joker movie.
Joker spends a moment licking his lips, testing his jaw, before grinning at me. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Screams from outside draw our attention. What? But Joker’s in here. What could they be screaming about?
“Seems your little pony friends have met my bitch,” Joker gives a wide grin. “Too bad you won’t get to meet her.”
He lunges forward, his fangs bared.
“Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!” I yell, hands outstretched.
At once, he freezes in place, unmoving.
“Freezing Spell,” I say to the confused looks from the ponies. “It won’t let long. We need to get out there and help the other ponies and save them from whatever it is Joker’s unleashed on them.”
We all hurry outside to see three houses have been destroyed and the ponies are running around frantically, trying to escape what looks like a large human sized dog.
I blink as I notice it’s wearing a red, black and white jester’s outfit… and it clicks.
“Joker said his bitch,” I look to Robin, who meets my eyes. “Looks like he actually made Harley one for real.”
I wave my hand, teleporting as down to the ground area as Harley is looming over Party Favor, a massive oversized mallet held in her hands.
She thrusts it down, but he warps over to me thanks to a quick teleport from me.
Harley turns around. “Naughty, naughty, birdie!” she says in a lecturing tone. “You gotta wait your turn.”
Twilight and I just blink, before we look at each with deadpans.
“Why does she sound like me on helium?”
I facepalm. As if Twilight and I sharing a voice isn’t confusing enough, now we’ve got a Harley Quinn who sounds like Tara Strong. I guess I should’ve seen this coming. What happens in twos happens in threes.
“It’s hammer time!” Harley yells, running towards us, mallet raised high in the air.
I glance short as she thrusts down… only for the mallet not to come with her.
She looks down at her hands, confused, before looking up to see the mallet hovering in the air above her, surrounded by my aura.
I let it go and it drops, slamming Harley in the head, hard.
She stands there with a goofy look on her face, her eyes unfocused. “Anyone catch the licence plate of that bird that hit me?” she asks in a daze, before flopping to the ground, unconscious.
“And to think, she and Robin hook up in the future,” I say, shaking my head.
There’s a long pause, before Robin whirls to stare at me with wide eyes. “WHAT?”
I don’t get to answer as a loud booming sound draws out attention back towards the Vault Cave as Joker comes flying out of the entrance, his eyes wide, his mouth pulled back in a sinister smile.
Robin, Twilight, Dash, Pinkie and I get into defensive stances.
Joker lands, looking around, before spotting the unconscious Harley and snorts. “You just can’t find good help these days.”
He leers and lunges forward, all of us leaping out of the way, my eyes widening as his fangs clang against metal and I feel something being ripped from my arm.
As I soar through air, I look to my arm, the bracelet Twilight gave me gone.
“AH!”
Party Favor’s scream of pain causes my eyes to wide as I land and whirl around to see Joker pinning him down, fangs sunk into the pony’s neck.
Party Favor’s terrified expression quickly morphs into a grin and he starts laughing, the laughing getting more and more hysterical by the second.
“Joker!” a birderang slams into the snake men, exploding and knocking him back.
Joker wipes his arm over his mouth, his fangs covered in blood. Meanwhile, Party Favor is still laughing hysterically.
“Shit!” I grit my teeth. “We gotta get him the antidote. Robin, can you make some?”
“Gimme a few minutes,” he nods. “This world is surprisingly bountiful of the rare plants that are needed.”
Joker’s laugh causes Robin to look, before leaping back, using his bow staff to propel himself through the air, landing near Twilight.
“Like I’d actually let you have the time, Boy Wonder?” Joker cackles.
A groaning of metal and wood makes me turn to where Harley’s lying, unconscious, to see the nearest house to her is about to collapse, right on time of her.
“Dash!” I yell, nodding in the direction.
The Pegasus gets it and flies over, but isn’t fast enough to get herself and Harley out of there, leaving her to try and keep the beam that was gonna fall on Harley from doing just that.
“Uh… Mister J?” the dog woman asks, slowly opening her eyes to see Dash protecting her instead.
Blinking in confusion, she looks around and meets my eyes as I dodge the psychopath she’s so infatuated with.
“I… can’t… hold up… much longer!” Dash grunts as the beam lowers slightly.
“Puddin, help!” Harley cries, trying to get away, only to find her right leg pinned by a previously fallen pile of rubble.
“Help yourself!” he cackles as Pinkie narrowly misses his fangs. “I’m busy!”
I glance over to see Dash struggling, before Joker inadvertently knocks her aside with his tail as he passes by, aiming for me.
Harley screams as the beams comes down towards her.
A quickly flash of red and green and Robin is now standing there instead, keeping the beam from getting her.
“This isn’t working!” Starlight says as we both land, Joker whirling around and grinning at us. “We can’t fight him and keep that crazy bitch safe on our own.”
I would scold her for her language, if not for the fact she doesn’t know what Harley’s supposed to look like, so is likely referring to her by species.
Plus, when did we start fighting on the same side?
“Pinkie, help Robin!” I yell, wave my arm in an arc, causing a black barrier wall to sweep around and isolate us and Joker from the rest.
Pinkie salutes, before hurrying over, pulling her party cannon from out of nowhere and uses it to blast the wall away.
“AH!”
The cry of pain makes my eyes widen in horror as I whirl around to see Joker has Twilight, his fangs buried deep into her flank.
Her face shows pain as she tries to fight it, but it slowly morphs into a grin more akin to the one she had back in Lesson Zero, before she starts laughing hysterically.
Robin was setting a once again unconscious Harley down when he heard the princess laughing.
Her turned to see her laying on the ground in a fit of laughter he knew was not natural, before his attention was drawn to Raven and his blood turned cold.
Her eyes were red and she had four now.
Not good.
With a scream of rage, Raven became a mass of shadow and lunged for Joker, who seemed just as shocked as Robin and started slithering away as fast as possible, while the mass of black rush after him, lashing out with venom.
I need to calm Raven, down, fast. But I’ll need help to make the antidote fast too. He blinked, before turning to the pink unicorn. “Starlight Glimmer!”
The stunned mare watching Raven go berserk turned to him. “Wh-what just happened?”
“Raven’s powers come from her emotions,” he said hurriedly. “That bracelet helps her keep a stronger grip on her powers so they don’t go berserk on her, but now she’s lost to her rage because Twilight was attacked. We need to calm her down. Are there any ponies in your village who are good with medicine?”
Starlight blinked at the odd question, before shaking her head and nodding. “Patchwork. Her name sounds like she’s more fitted to do sewing, but her talent was for fixing ponies… but her mark’s up in the vault. Without it, she wouldn’t be of any help to you!”
“Then teleport me to the vault!” Robin said as a roar of rage from Raven range throughout the village. “Now!”
“I— uh— okay?” the mare said, flustered and confused, but cast the spell.
The world went blue for a second, before Robin found himself in front of the vault.
He whipped out ten birderangs. “Time to crack this safe.”
“What… what happened?” I ask, blinking as I’m standing over a prone, unconscious and completely toothless Joker.
Glancing to my arm, I see my inhibitor back in place and look around the village. Several more houses are destroyed and the sound of Twilight’s hysterical laughter is dying down.
I look down at my hands. Did I…? Did I just lose control? What…? What caused it?
“Raven!” I look up as Dash flies over, indicating for me to follow.
I arrive near a makeshift shelter of fallen timber and roofing to see Twilight and Party Favor asleep, their breathing normal.
Robin is kneeling in front of them, a green Earth Pony mare with a pink mane and a bandaged hoof for a Cutie Mark next to him.
“Don’t worry, Raven,” Robin says without turning around. “You didn’t cause too much damage and no one blames you.”
“Heck, if anything, we’re grateful,” a pony I recognize as Night Glider says, zipping over and hovering in front of me. “Sure, we’ll need to rebuild a bit, but that shouldn’t take too long and you beat that snake guy.”
“R-Raven?” we all turn as Twilight slowly opens her eyes. She groggily looks around, before her sight falls on me and she smiles. “Thank you.”
I turn away, bitting my lower lip. “Don’t thank me. That shouldn’t have happened to begin with.”
“That may be,” I hear Robin getting up and sense him walk up and stand behind me, “but the truth of the matter is you saved these ponies, Raven. You saved a lot of lives today.”
I try to look anywhere but at the ponies and notice a tied up, unconscious Harley leaning against a house.
“What do we do with her?”
“We’ll take her to the princesses,” Robin says firmly form behind me. “We’ll leave it up to them to decide. Maybe they can even cure her of whatever it is Joker did to make her into that and get her some help too.”
“And… if it isn’t too much trouble, after I’ve helped rebuild the town, I’d like to move into this Ponyville you’ve all talked myself,” Starlight says, and I sense how uncertain of herself she is. “I think it might do me some good, you know?”
Joker grumbled from within his cage as the ponies carried his cage through the mountains.
When he’d come to, that worthless retch Harley had been nowhere in sight and he was told the rulers of Equesstria had sentenced him to Tartarus.
“Ish not rea’y fai’, you know,” he says, looking around at the ponies. “I don’ shee how I di’ any’hing wrong.”
“Shut up, criminal!” one of the ponies snapped at him, glaring back at him with contempt. “You’re going to Tartarus, where monsters like belong— Hah.”
The stallion suddenly keeled over and flopped onto the ground, unmoving.
“We’re under attack!” another guard yelled, before his head went flying off his body.
Joker watched as the ponies floundered around as something kept shooting past them, a pony falling each time, until they were all lying on the ground in a bloody mess.
Blinking in confusion, Joker looked around, before seeing a humanoid form step out from behind a tree.
“Deafshroke?” he asked as the figure came towards him. “Good choo shee you, ol’ boy. Hewe cho he' me out?”
Deathstroke just looked at him with his one eye, before raising his arm, revealing some kind of gemstone. “You did your part well. But, now your usefulness has ended.”
The valley was filled with the sound of Joker’s scream of pain, before all went silent.
“I got the scent, guys,” Beast Boy said, before howling. He was currently in the form of a Bloodhound.
Robin looked around, frowning. “I don’t like this. Why would Raven be hiding out in in the Everfree Forest?”
It had been almost two months since he, Raven, Princess Twilight and the Element of Loyalty: Rainbow Dash and the Element of Laughter: Pinkie Pie, had gone to the unicorn Starlight Glimmer’s village and found both Joker and Harley Quin, transformed into animal like creatures and Raven, after losing control of her powers and going on a rampage, had vanished.
Harley was currently being held in suspended animation within a type of crystal in the Crystal Empire.
The doctors hadn’t been able to identify what had caused her mutation, but that it wasn’t magic.
The fact science had been involved worried Robin more, though.
Magic would’ve made it easier to accept given the way this world functioned and it would’ve made changing Harley back into a human far simpler a process.
With science being the cause, though… well, it just made things way more complicated.
After she’d vanished, Raven hadn’t returned to Ponyville. She hadn’t gone to Canterlot, either.
More worryingly, Princess Luna said she’d lost track of Raven’s magical signature.
Since the lunar princess used Shadow Magic similar to Raven, the two were able to sense each other and, after less than a day after Raven vanished from Starlight Glimmer’s old town, Luna had sent an alarming message to Princess Twilight about Raven’s magic simply vanishing altogether from their world.
Knowing from personal experience just how bad that revelation could be, Robin and Cyborg had gone looking for Beast Boy, finding him hiding with the zebra, Zecora.
Apparently he’d been trying to avoid the Pegasus Fluttershy due to how eager she was to learn about him and his ability to turn into any kind of animal.
The three had agreed to go looking for Raven, Zecora saying she would help, but that it would take some time before she could.
In the meantime, the three had done their best to search for anywhere they could guess Raven would’ve gone.
They’d checked the old castle above the Tree of Harmony, they’d asked those Raven had gotten to know during her time in this world before they’d arrived.
They’d even asked the stallion Cyborg had been hanging around, who, briefly, had some weird kind of moment where he said something about Raven’s family needing to stop hating before seeming clueless about what he’d said.
The only family they knew Raven hated was her dad and he was long gone, so they chalked it up to the odd moments Cyborg said the stallion has from time to time, where he says gibberish, then forgets whatever he was talking about.
Princess Twilight had tried to help out, but, what with her being occupied with trying to understand the odd crystal box that had grown out of the Tree of Harmony and helping Starlight Glimmer settle into Ponyville, her hooves were tied and she seemed really upset about it too.
Clearly, she and Raven had become close during her time here before they arrived.
Finally, though, after several months, Zecora had come to them with a finished potion. Or, rather, a salve, which she then put on Beast Boy’s nose.
“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Cyborg said as the green dog started quickly moving through the brush, nose to the ground. “I didn’t understand half of what that zebra said.”
“True, Zecora’s odd rhyming talk was tricky to figure out,” Robin nodded as the two followed the dog to an opening in the ground and sliding down into an underground cave. “Still, at least, whatever she meant by With this salve upon your nose, you will find the scent where it grows actually meant now.”
Until Beast Boy had the salve on his nose, he hadn’t been able to follow Raven’s scent.
Sure, he could smell her scent, but it was all over Ponyville. Finding where she’d teleported to didn’t exactly help when her scent would’ve only restarted wherever she’d teleported to, which they’d had no clue of.
However, soon as the salve was on BB’s nose, he’d become more keen to smells he claimed he never even knew were possible.
Zecora had then lead them to these woods and told them to keep searching until Raven’s scent picked up again… and now it had.
“Still, why did Raven choose to stay in this murky old cave?” Cyborg asked as he turned out some lights on his body to help Robin and Beast Boy see. “From what we’ve seen of her since arriving in this world, she’s not fond of these kinds of places anymore.”
“Whatever the case, since Princess Twilight said she and Spike would be searching the old castle for information on that crystal box, if we need their help, they’ll be close by,” Robin said, glancing up at the entrence, before re-joining his team.
The three continued through the cave, Beast Boy keeping his nose in the air to follow the scent, indicating Raven had flown through the cave, not once setting down on the ground.
After several hours, they stopped by a dirt wall, Beast Boy looking up at it in confusion.
“What’s up, BB?” Cyborg asked.
Beast Boy shifted into his human form. “The scent just ends here.”
“Huh?” Cyborg and Robin glanced at each other, then to the green boy.
Beast Boy frowned at the dirt. “This doesn’t make sense. Zecora said my sense of smell is way stronger for at least the day, right? I think that’s what she meant by Now smells far away, will be viable to you this day, right?”
Robin looked firmly at the dirt, before glancing to Cyborg. “Cyborg, scan that patch of dirt.”
He nodded, doing so, before blinking in surprise. “There’s some kind of energy convergence in that spot. It’s reminiscent of that time we… we… what was I talking about, again?”
The other two looked to Cyborg’s vacant, confused expression, then each other.
“Seems hanging with that stallion’s started Cyborg doing that too,” Beast Boy pointed a thumb at him.
“Either way,” Robin looked to the patch of dirt, before his eyes narrowed. “Wait. Look closer at that patch. It’s some kind of swirling pattern.”
Beast Boy cried out in alarm, while reaching up, his hand went right through the dirt and it starting glowing with a yellow light,
He yanked his hand back… only to find it totally fine.
“What just happened?” Cyborg asked as the light faded form the patch.
“That was weird,” Beast Boy shook his hand, frowning at it. “It kinda felt familiar… by I can’t say why. Kinda like that time that dude pulled us into his games to take all our powers, but… not?”
The three looked to each other, then the patch.
“Raven’s scent ends there, correct, Beast Boy?” Robin asked firmly.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
Cyborg grunted. “Then, whatever’s going on, she clearly went through there and we gotta go in and get her back.”
The three nodded to each other, before one by one climbing up through the dirt patch, which glowed as soon as they touched it, passing through.
Beast Boy gave a loud, desperate, dramatic gasp as his head pushed through the sand, his hand waving around wildly.
He felt a larger hand grab it and help pull him out.
After coughing several times, Beast Boy opened his eyes and looked around, confused.
“Um… how did we come out in the forest?” he asked, darting his head back and forth. “How long were we climbing through that dirt… that’s somehow turned into sand? In a forest?”
“We were barely in there for a few seconds,” Cyborg shook his head.
“Plus, smell the air,” Robin said, the other two doing exactly as told. “Smell that? That’s salt water. We’re near the sea.”
Beast Boy blinked. “How? How did we go from an underground cave in a forest to anywhere near the sea? Is there a sea near a forest in Equestria?”
“There isn’t.”
The three whirled around as someone stepped from out of the shadows of the nearby trees.
I sigh, shaking my head. “Should’ve figured Robin would find the natural portal.”
“Portal?” Beast Boy asks, glancing to the others. “What portal?”
I walk out from the trees and kneel down in front of the pool of quicksand. “This portal. It’s a link between this world and Equestria.”
“This… world?” Robin blinks.
Cyborg gasps as he’s looking down at the screen on his arm. “Whoa. I got reception. We’re back on Earth? How?”
I shake my head as I get up. “Not Earth. Not yours, anyway. And not mine, either. This world is one Princess Twilight and I visited not too long ago. In this world, it’s a humanified version of Equestria.”
“Humanified?” Cyborg glances up from his screen, cocking an eyebrow at me.
I shrug, walking forward, leading them down a path. “In this world, almost all Equestrians have a human counterpart.”
“Wait, even Spike?” Beast Boy asks, intrigued.
I shake my head. “No. he’s a dog in this world.”
Beast Boy blinks, before rubbing his neck. “That’s rough.”
We all turn, giving him deadpan glares.
“What?” he asks, apparently not aware what just happened.
I sigh.
“Raven?” I look to Robin. “It’s been just over two months now. When you didn’t come back, we all got really worried. Princess Twilight’s especially upset.”
“I probably deserve whatever lecture is waiting for me,” I admit, stopping and looking up at the sky through the trees. “And, if you’d said that four days ago, I’d probably do my best to avoid it.”
“Four days ago?” Cyborg looks to the others, then back to me. “What difference does four days make?”
I chuckle. “You have no idea.”
“I… have to confess, Raven, I’m surprised how calm you are,” Robin says uncertainly.
“Yeah,” Beast Boy says. “After what Robin told me and Cy about your freak out in Starlight Glimmer’s village, we expected you’d be a nervous wreck. What?” he adds to the anger I feel aimed at him from the other two.
I take a deep breath, then let it out, turning around. “Yeah. When I found the portal, I choose to isolate myself here. Thought it the best way to keep everyone safe and to punish myself. But, a young explorer helped me understand it wasn’t my fault. I can’t blame myself for actions beyond my control.”
They all look to each other, then to me, an eyebrow raised, Robin asking, “A young explorer?”
I chuckle, walking passed them, back towards the portal. “I’m sure you’ll meet her one day. Thanks to that magic crystal of hers, I can open portals straight to her world anytime I want. And she can visit me, should she ever want.”
To the confused looks and emotions, I just laugh. “Come on, boys. Let’s head back. I’m sure I’m getting an earful from a certain purple pony princess. No point putting it off, right?”
“She’s way more mellow than I expected,” Beast Boy mutters to Cyborg.
As the four Titans left the forest, heading for Ponyville, they didn’t notice the figure in the trees watching them.
He turned to his right and bowed as a dark portal opened in front of him. “Good news, Master. Raven has been found… and she seems to have accepted what happened in that village.”
Good, came the voice from within. Raven needs to develop her powers in order for the plan to work. Her wallowing in self-pity is of no use to me. And her sister?
Deathstroke chuckled coldly. “Doing as instructed as we speak… and none the wiser to the truth.”
The figure in the portal grunted in approval and the portal closed.
Deathstroke looked back to the Titans, watching as the headed down the path.
“Such a shame when family fight for no reason, wouldn’t you agree, Raven?”
Um... okay.
