First published
Raven is chosen as a replacement for Twilight by Discord at the beginning of season 4. But old friends and enemies soon follow.
It started out as a normal day in Jump City. Raven was meditating, Beast Boy and Cyborg were gaming, Starfire was cooking what looked like buckets of pink paint, and Robin was training somewhere downstairs. Then, in a burst of light, a dimensional rip opened. However, none of the Titans even noticed that their cloaked teammate was missing.
Raven awoke to the sounds of murmuring.
"Can you be sure?"
"I'm telling you, she was just here!"
"Now Spike, I ain't callin you a liar, but I don't see Twi."
"She was being attacked by the plundervines, I, I saw." Whoever this Spike was, he sounded like he was near tears.
"Spike, darling, take a deep breath and tell us exactly what happened after we left Twlight at Ponyville." Ponyville? that seemed like a strange name for a city. Then Raven glanced down. She gasped, loudly, she was a lavender colored pony! Her trademark blue cloak was still there, but she didn't have wings the last time she checked. It was only when the face of a bright pink pony with unruly hair burst through the bushes that she realized she had been spotted.
"Found her!" The Pink pony yelled loud enough to make Raven's hears ring.
A white unicorn with a curled violet mane that wasn't too far from the shade of Raven's hair walked over to them. "Twilight! We were so worried! Are you okay?"
Raven blinked in confusion. They think I'm Twilight, she realized. Best to play along until she found her way out of this forest and back to Jump City. "I'm fine just confused."
The unicorn looked Raven over with a confused expression. "Where on Equestria did you get that cloak?" Raven swalowed nerviously and was prepared to make up some crazy excuse when a cyan pegasus with a mane of many hues inturupted.
"Rarity, can you focus less on Twilight's new accsessory and more on her health?"
The unicorn who must be Rarity looked flustured, " I was simply curious Rainbow Dash! After all, I've never seen fabric like this before and, Agh!" Rarity suddenly exclaimed. "Twilight you're cutie mark, it's missing!" What on earth was a cutie mark? Raven wondered as she surveyed all the ponies, realizing each one of them had a unique (tattoo maybe?) design on their flank. All of them but her.
"Let's not focus on that!" Raven said nervously. "Instead let's thank Spike for getting me help!" She gazed at their faces, waiting for them to call her bluff any second now. But they didn't instead they seemed to buy it completely.
The yellow pegasus with the pastel mane walked over to the smug looking dragon and said very quietly,"Thanks for bringing us here Spike."
Spike waved off the compliment like it was nothing. "It's just what us heroic dragons do Fluttershy."
"Ah hate ta break up Spike's gloating, but the tree of harmony's still in danger," the orange pony wearing a cowboy hat said.
Then almost in unison the ponies (and dragon) all ran (galloped?) to a set of stone stairs. At the bottom was a tree that didn't look natural choked by vines that also didn't look natural. Raven closed her eyes and couldd feel a powerful source of white magic somewhere inside the tree. But it's light was being covered by black magic that had an aura of red around it.
"I know that magic," Raven murmered. Then she turned to face the ponies. "The tree is under attack by powerful black magic. The only way to save it is to provide the tree with more power in order to streangthen it."
"We have to give up the elements of harmony," said Rarity sadly.
"But what about our friendship?" The cowboy pony said.
"Friendships aren't held together by matching necklaces, they're held together by experience. If a piece of jewelery is what friendships mean to you, they're not important or strong." Raven said hopeing that sounded like what Twilight would say.
"She's right!" The energetic pink pony yelled. How do these ponies stand her? Raven wondered. Then she focused and lifted the gems out of the necklaces. She eased them closer to the tree when suddenly the lifeless vines around the tree snatched up the other ponies and Spike. Yet they didn't even try to touch her, rather they slid underneath her and lifted her up to make it easier to place the elements. Why is this so easy? Raven thought as she placed the gemstones in the tree.
"Twilight!" Spike yelled as the vines engulfed him. "You forgot your element!" At these words he held up a gold crown with a magenta six point star in the center.
"Throw it Spike!" She yelled. If I fail at this, they'll know I'm not Twilight.
The little dragon threw the crown as hard as he could and Raven let it fall, but at the very last second she used her magic to pull the gem out of the crown. The second the gem was in her magical grasp, the vines attacked. "Come on Raven," she muttered. "You've moved whole trucks before, a tiny little gem is nothing." With a last burst of effort she pressed the gem into the center of the tree. The vines disappered and she could hear the ponies cheering behind her. The two clumps of vines at the base of the tree became two unicorns with wings, no wait the term was alicorn.
"Well done...Twilight?"The white alicorn looked at her confusedly. She took a deep breath murmuring, "I've seen stranger." Then louder, "We must prepare for the summer sun celebration."
Raven swallowed nervously, "I'm sorry but after being attacked by the plundervines, I'm not feeling at my best."
The alicorns appeared upset, "Very well if you must."
"Um, Spike?" Raven asked, turning towards the purple dragon. " I can't remember the way out."
Spike patted her side, "I'll show you the way home Twilight."
Raven awoke to see Spikes face only inches from her own.
"I don't appreciate beomg lied to," Spike said, narrowing his eyes.
Raven gulped, " What are you talkiing about?" She could feel sweat dripping down her forehead.
Spike held up a photo of a lavender alicorn. "Why didn't you tell me you dyed your mane!" He yelled, jabbing a claw at a pair of colorful streaks in the alicorn's mane.
Raven sighed in relief, " I didn't think you'd care."
Spike looked upset, "Of course I care I'm your number one asisstant remember?" Raven nodded in reply. Then she walked over to a mirror that was mounted on a nearby wall.
"Alright Twilight," She mumbled as she watched Spike walk downstairs. She used her magic to lift the discarded photo of Twilight closer. "Let's see how you and I compare." Looking in the mirror Raven could see te the lack of colored streaks in her mane. But other than that, it apeared she and this Twilight pony were nearly identical. There were slight differences, but nothing that a little makeup wouldn't fix.
Raven looked at Twilight's photo,"How am I supposed to pretend to be somebody I don't know?"
Suddently a voice came from the mirror, "For one the correct term is somepony, and for two simply do some reading." Raven turned to the mirror to see who or what had spoken to her. However, no one was there.
(One Huge Makeover Later)
Raven folded her familar garment up and slid it underneath the bed. She missed it's comfort already, but until she could go home, she'd be Twilight. As she turned to go back downstairs, she noticed something by the mirror that hadn't been there before. It was a journal with a six pointed star on the front. A slip of paper stick outof the middle read, this book contains the information you seek, along with letters sent to a princess every week.
Just as Raven was about to start reading, Spike came up the stairs. "Twilight!" He yelled before stopping with his hands onhis knees, breatheing heavily. Once he caught his breath he continued, "I just wanted to know if you were still interested in going to the castle of the two sisters like you talked about yesterday." Yesterday, the last day the real Twilight had been here.
Raven couldn't understand why Twilight would possibly be intrested in visting a dusty old castle. But maybe reading this journal could help[ her to. "No thank you Spike, I'd prefer to spend today recovering from yesterday's excitement."
Spike shrugged, "Well okay Twilight, if that's what you want." He started to walk back downstairs.
"Wait Spike!" Raven called out.
Spike turned to face her again. "Yes Twilight?"
Raven started to rethink her desision. No, she had to go through with this. "Could you invite my friends over for lunch?"
Raven had now been in Equestria for a few weeks and every day it became easier to pretend she was Twilight. The voice from the mirror had been correct in saying that Twilight's Diary would be helpfull, and as much as she hated to say it she wished Twilight would never come back. Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were amazing friends. However there would be times when she'd feel a pang of homesickness. Rainbow Dash's exclamations of AWESOME reminded her of how every time they defeated a villain Cyborg would yell BOOYAH at the top of his lungs. Applejack's stubborness reminded her of how determined Robin always was when it came to Slade. Pinkie Pie's joyful spirt reminded her of the many times Starfire had asked her to go to the "mall of shopping" with a hopeful expression on her face. But none of them were really the Titans, they were only kind to her because they thought she was Twilight. And so it was with a heavy heart that she headed off to the castle of the two sisters.
Spike was already inside, looking as down as she felt. "What's the matter Spike?" She asked as she sat down beside him.
Spike glanced up at her. "Nopony seems to need my help."
Feeling his saddness she had an idea. "Well I need your help!"
Spike jumped up and spun around to face her, "You do?"
Raven nodded, "I sure do! I've been feeling stressed lately and I heard that reading a comic book is a great way to calm down. You mind if I borrow yours?" She guestered toward the rolled up power ponies comic he was carying.
Spike handed it over to her, "Sure thing Twilight!"
Raven smiled and used her magic to carry the comic over to a nearby room. She wasn't actually intrested in reading it, she had only wanted to help Spike. But so long as she had it here... She skimmed over the book not really keeping track of the plotline, just missing jump city where she had been like these ponies, a hero deticated to fighting crime. She reached the end of the book and was about to close it when she noticed writing on the back cover. Squinting she slowly read, "You can return to the place you started, when the mane-iac is defeated." At the same moment she could hear Spike and the others calling for her. Just then the comic book started glowing and pulling everything nearby into it, including Raven. Suddently she felt a strong pull on her tail. Turning arou nd, she could see Spike hanging onto her tail so hard he was causeing the dye to smear. Behind him she could see the rest of her, no Twilight's friends hanging on as well. But all the horsepower in the world couldn't stop the book from consuming them.
***
Raven was the first one to come to after being sucked up into the comic book. She looked around only to see that they were on top of a tall building, much like the businesses she'd normally see in Jump City. She then turned to look at Twilight's friends. They all seemed to be fine, execpt for the fact that they were all in ridicoulous costumes. Looking down she saw herself in a brightly colored violet, pink, and blue ensamble. Frowning Raven used her magic to pull the offending garment off.
"If they want a hero, I'll give them one!" Raven mumbled as she retreated into the shadows and rifled through her saddle bag until she found what she was looking for. For a brief second she smiled. "Now that's more like it." She levtitated a familair blue cloak out of the very bottom of her saddle bag. Pulling the hood up so it concealed her face, she turned to see Twilight's friends slowly getting up. Raven started to walk towards them, then she stopped herself. "What am I doing? I can't risk them figureing out that I'm not Twilight!" She said to herself. She glanced back at where the dye on her tail was smeared. She smiled, "Maybe they won't have to." It wasn't hard to remove the dye, Raven simply used her magic to break a rain gutter and rinsed it off. The hard part was still aheaad of her.
She arived back at the rooftop to hear Spike exclaim, "You're the heros from my comic book! But..."
"But what Spikey Wikey?" Raven heard Rarity ask.
"But one of the Power Ponies is missing," Spike said looking down sadly.
The rest of Twilight's friends looked around until finally Pinkie Pie blurted out who their missing member was.
"Twilight! Right? Did I get it wrong? Do I get three guesses?" She said as she began pacing at an alarming rate.
"What could've happened to her?" Applejack asked looking to Spike as their resident expert on the Power Ponies.
"The Mane-iac must have kidnapped her!" Spike said as he pounded his first into his palm.
Raven took a deep breath, "Here goes nothing. Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The rush of relief and homesickness she got from finally having an oppertunity to chant her mantra almost made her turn around. But she continued her walk out of the shadows. "What are you doing up here?" She asked the Power Ponies. It was then that she finally got a good look at their uniforms. Applejack's traffic light colored outfit was all too similar to a certain spikey haired titan's.
"I reckon we can ask ya the same question." Applejack asked her, as she stared her down suspiciously.
"I don't recgonise you from my comic book." Spike mumbled in confusion.
Raven racked her mind for an explination he would believe. "Of course he manages to remember every minisule detail of that clique comic." She growled in annoyence, as her mind went back to a certain battle between an evil fanboy with delusions of granduer and a green shape shifer. Why did everything seem to be reminding her of the Titans nowadays? Clearing her throught she answered Applejack's question in her usual monotone. "I'm from the reserves, when we recieved word that the Masked Matterhorn was missing they dispached me."
Everypony but Spike seemed to completely buy her explination. But before he could question her authenticity a large object flew into the side of the building they were standing on. Raven watched quietly as the Power Ponies tried and failed to catch the Mane-iac. However even an expert at ignoreing catastrophies like her couldn't stay quiet after being sucked up into a tornado.
"These are your powers, shouldn't you be able to control them?" She asked, fighting nausia.
Rarity chuckled nevously, "Well, about that..." But before she could finish the tornado suddently evaporated. Out of instinct Raven levitated before hitting the ground. "They're not really our powers persay."
Raven replied in her typical monotone. "What do you mean? You are the power ponies right?"
But before Rarity could respond Spike walked up to them, a bucket on his foot. " I let her get away, she was right there and I let her get away!"
Raven moved to comfort him before remembering, I don't look like Twilight anymore! He doesn't know me! And for some reason, this made her, sad. That's impossible! Raven thought, I hardly know these ponies and they don't even know me! How can I feel things for them? How can I feel things at all without blowing something up?
"Don't ya worry Spike, I'm sure you'll get another chance to give that Mane-iac the what for!" Applejack said as she patted Spike on the back, hard.
Spike's mask creased in concentraion, "i do know where her hideout is."
"And where's that?" Raven asked.
* * *
The Power Ponies stood outside a shampoo factory. "I really should've seen this coming." Raven muttered.
"She's in there." Spike said pointing.
"Personally," Raven started. "I think we should try a surprise attack." But just as she finished speaking she noticed Rainbow Dash yelling threats at the neon sign of the factory. "There goes that idea."
"Allright ya'll," Applejack shouted as the Mane-iac and her minoins flooded out of the factory. "Time to Power Pony up!"
"Titans go!" Raven mumbled.
She started running forward along with the others only to hear Spike suddently shout, "It's the hair spray ray of doom! It stops you in your tracks and renders your powers useless!" Raven slid to a halt and focused on avoiding the ray as it froze the other power ponies. She came to stand beside Spike just as he yelled out, "Don't spray!"
The Mane-iac laughed in his face. "Why Humdrum why would I waste the hair spray ray of doom on you?" She laughed insanely again before turning to Raven. "I don't waste my best weapons on hero wannabes either."
* * *
Raven and Spike sat in the rafters of the Shampoo factory watching as the Mane-iac refroze the Power Ponies every three minutes. "Why don't you go down there and help them?" She asked Spike.
Spike sighed, "Because I'm Humdrum, I have no powers, and I can't do anthing right. Everypony only keeps me around cause they feel sorry for me."
Raven had to chant to keep herself from feeling sad for Spike. "You know some the world's best heroes have no powers."
Spike lifted his head to look at her. "Really?"
Raven nodded, "Honest. I once knew a hero who had no powers at all and you know what?" Spike shook his head. "That hero went to a place called Jump City and formed his own team of heroes. And even though he was the only one out the team with no powers, it was him they chose as their leader."
Spike looked at her skeptically, "You're just telling me this to make me feel better."
Raven shook her head, "No. That hero's name was Robin and I was a part of that team."
Spike smiled, "You know, you know our names what's yours?"
Raven allowed herself a small smile, "It's Raven."
* * *
Raven stood in the main hallway of the castle of the two sisters mane and tail re-dyed. She looked behind her at the five ponies surrounding Spike and praising him for his heroic actions. Raven remembered the moment directly after she had defeated Trigon, how her friends had crowded around her the same way, how Beast Boy had hugged her. She had hated that hug, but now she'd do anything to return to that moment.
"But I couldn't have done it without Raven's encouragement." Spike finished.
"That's quite the story!" Raven said, reminding herself to sound cheerful.
"Ya know Twi, we never did find out what happened to ya." Applejack said. Raven could hear the suspicion in her voice.
"I was held captive by some mare with the strangest hair." She responded. "Do you not trust me anymore Applejack?"
Applejack blushed, "Nah Twilght, it's just you've been actin kinda odd. I can't put my hoof on it though."
She's on to me, Raven realised. Then again, Robin would notice imedatly if someone else replaced her. Even if she looked exactly the same. I just need to fool them until the real Twilight comes back. But she would soon face something far more frightning than being discovered.
Raven awoke shortly before sunrise for her daily meditation. Like it or not, even in another land her powers were the same and only a few quiet moments helped her to keep calm. As she sat chanting on the roof of the library she noticed a strange burning feeling coming from her flank. She glanced down and gasped, in the place where a cutie mark should be was a large red mark of Scath.
"But that's impossible," Raven wispered, her eyes never leaving the all too familier mark, "I defeated him." She then remembered yet another problem. "The trip to the Crystal Empire! If I'm not there, or worse! If I show up with this on my flank, they'll find out for sure I'm not the real Twilight!" Raven began to panic and the telescope sitting on the balconly was ingulfed in a black aura before splitting in two. Seeing the damge, Raven took a deep breath and stopped pacing. "All right, control, think, what would Twilight do?" Suddently she bolted upright, she knew exactly what she needed to do.
* * *
"Twilight darling, I'm honared that you want to wear one of my creations to such an important diplomatic event," Rarity said as Raven struggled to hold her wing over the mark.
"Anything to brighten your day Rarity," She responded, struggling to keep a fake smile plastered across her face. "Besides it isn't that important."
"Well, welcoming an important dignitary is important in my book." Rarity replied as she pulled out a bolt of fuisia fabric.
"Do you think you'll actually have time to sew something?" Raven asked as she used her hoof to press her wing down again. "I mean, we leave in a few hours."
"Nonsense darling," Rarity chuckled. "I won't be sewing anything, I simply need to alter one of my old creations." She brought the fabric over to a violet colored dress. "It will merely take me a moment."
* * *
A few hours later, Raven stood on a balcony in the Crystal Empire, bedecked in a violet gown with yellow and white ruffles and a fusia sash tied in a bow. Personaly, Raven thought it was tacky but so long as it covered the mark she was content. On her cue she used her magic to release a banner that unfurled down from the balcony. She then waved as the other princesses walked beneath her.
"That's it?" Spike yelled from behind her. "We came all this way for that?"
"Spike!" Applejack shouted, "Don't be rude! I'm sure the princesses musta needed Twilight ta do it or they wouldn'ta asked her!"
Raven turned around, almost tripping on the dress as she did so. "Exactly right AJ. After all, I'm still a relativly new princess, Dignitarys don't entirly trust me, but it's still meaningful that I make an apperence."
"She's right Spike," Said the white alicorn, Princess Celestia. She placed her hoof under Raven's chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. "I'm so glad you understand."
Raven resisted her instinct to move away from phisical contact. "Thank you Princess."
* * *
Raven stood on the balcony again a few hours later waiting for the princesses to finish up with their meeting. "How long can they talk?" She grumbled under her breath.
"Twilight?" Cadence said as she walked out on the balcony followed by Luna andd Celestia. "Are you okay? You've been acting a bit, well, strange lately." Before Raven could assure her that there was nothing wrong Cadence continued, "I hate to assume the worst but," She began to do some sort of chant and dance. Raven watched with a raised eyebrow. When Cadence finished she looked at Raven with an amount of anger so strong and sudden it made Raven take a step back. "Changling!" Cadence shouted. Luna and Celestia wore matching glares.
"No wait!" Raven cried her mind racing to think of an excuse. "Ever since getting attacked by those plundervines I've been having memory problems! Ask Spike he'll tell you!"
The Princesses looked at each other with varying levels of apprension. Finally, Celestia spoke, "Very well then Twilight, we will talk with Spike to confirm this." And with that the princesses left.
* * *
"Don't worry Twilight, I cleared everything up with the Princesses," Spike said in between gem stones as they rode on the train heading back towards Ponyville. "I can't believe they thought an imposter could take your place and I, out of everypony, wouldn't notice." Raven winced. If I'm discovered it will break his heart. Before Spike could start talking again, the conducter came to announouce that they had arrived.
"I still don't get why the Princesses thought you were a changling," Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah they'd have to be mega menie pants to not trust Twilight!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced joyfully off the train.
"I don't know Pinkie, the Princesses ain't the only ones who noticed somethin strange about Twi lately," Applejack said.
"Applejack, you didn't really think Twilight was a changling, did you?" Fluttershy asked.
Applejack blushed, "I had ma suspicons."
Rarity gasped, "Why Applejack I'm appalled!"
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash yelled, "That's 100 percent not cool AJ!"
"No," Raven mumbled, "That's 100 percent correct."
* * *
Raven was summoned to Canterlot later that day. She burst into the throne room still wearing the dress from the day before. "What's wrong?" She asked Celestia mentally pleading, please don't be Trigon, please don't be Trigon.
"An old enemy of our past has returned," Celestia responded, her tone grave. Crap, Raven thought, Even if it's not Trigon I still need to figure out how to fight without giving myself away.
"Who is this enemy?" Raven asked.
"His name is Lord Tirek," Celestia answered, turning to face Raven. "He has the power to consume magic, if he managed to take the magic of even one alicorn he would become unstoppable."
"So what are we going to do? Go into hiding?" Raven asked.
"No," Celestis said turning towards Luna and Cadence again. She bowed her head and closed her eyes for a brief moment before taking a determined stance. "We must rid ourselves of our magic!"
Raven gasped, if she removes my magic she'll sense that it's demonic. And for a breif moment the world seemed to hold still.