Twilight and Spike are forced together by chance and must defend their home from evil magic forces while learning how to control the power within themselves.
This a story that takes place before Princess Twilight arrives in this world and shows Sci-Twi and Spike become friends who will do anything to defend their city from the forces of magic. They will fight to learn the nature of the magic that is in them and meet characters that we never saw in the movies or series. Both friends and foes will be confronted as the future of Canterlot City is thrown into question.
“Is fate something real or is it all a figment of imagination? I used to think the latter but then I met her and our lives were changed forever. I look up at the stars and feel that something has started now in some other place but that isn’t my story. Our story starts with me doing something completely stupid and reckless, starting off perfectly if I say so myself. I am Spike Nova.”
Spike woke in a cold sweat as he tried to relax his breathing he looked out of his window and found the sun had yet to rise. He sighed as he looked out over his hometown of Canterlot, he always found the name of the town to be a bit too horsey for his tastes but it was named after the animal that helped in the town’s creation. It was a full on city in its own right with everything a family would ever want and more. At least, that was what he knew was true but Spike often wondered if he had made a mistake by dedicating all his time to his studies. Time with his family was something he missed more and more as time passed.
He was abandoned by his parents, even though the orphanage told him that no one knew why they left him there, that's what he believed. He would do whatever it took to impress new families but for years nothing worked until he was six and he met the woman that would become his mother. Celestia Nova was the principle of a prestigious school and had just lost the love of her life. She decided that she wanted her daughter Cadence to not feel alone after she closed herself off from the loss of her father. The small boy with green hair and green eyes who seemed to be broken down was the one that caught her attention, she would later say that she saw the boy’s soul in those eyes and felt that she could make him into what he could be. She kneed down and smiled at him while offering a kind hand which he stared at with large unsure eyes never feeling the touch of a parent. He looked at her eyes and rushed to her, hugging her.
She took him home that day and asked what he would like his name to be and Spike pointed to a necklace which was left with him as a baby, it was a spike that looked to be made of a bone. Spike Nova left from the orphanage and found himself living in a large house that rested on the hills in the outskirts of the town, giving him a perfect view from his new bedroom. He met his new sister, who was thirteen at the time, as she walked down the stairs to greet her mother but once she saw his dirty state she immediately took the boy to wash up. He blushed as he was dragged away and whined while Celestia giggled saying that she would go buy him some clothes while he bathed.
Cadence would roll her eyes as he was embarrassed and called her a weirdo. She said that this was nothing new for her because she was a trained babysitter and had taken care of dozens of kids. Spike blushed more and pouted as Cadence had him undress and started a bath for him, grumbling that he wasn’t a baby. He soon noticed that this seemed to make her happy so he allowed it to happen as she explained. “My father used to wash me when I was young and we would play games or just talk in those old times. I was a lot like you and grew embarrassed but he would splash me and say to trust him. He used to ask me how my day was or if I was happy with school or we’d just talk about nothing really. My mom told me she wanted to bring home another child and I felt worse at first at the mere thought of you, I thought she just wanted to forget me. I hated you before I knew anything about you, no, what she wanted was give me someone I could take care of and maybe the love of a brother can fill the place of a father…”
He grabbed her hand as she washed his hair and smiled at her before extending his hand and wiping away the tears that were falling down her cheek. “I’m Spike, it’s nice to meet you, sis.” Cadence giggled and hugged the boy who only hugged back as his heart soared, he had finally found somewhere he felt was right. A place where he felt loved and wanted.
“Call me Cadence or whatever you find easiest.” They shared a laugh and missed Celestia who smiled at the two from behind the bathroom door and held a hand over her heart. The two were always having each other's backs either with them helping each other in respective punishments or offering their advice when they had trouble. She would give Spike his first true look at Canterlot and all it had to offer, from the Sweet Shoppe and Music Center to the Everything Under the Sun Emporium and the Canterlot Mall. There he met some of her friends and discovered his love for comic books and video games.
Of course, things did change over time but in the end, the family would always get stronger in their bond. Cadence and Spike found themselves getting on each other's nerves at times as Spike grew to be kind of obsessive with how everything was according to design but Cadence was a free spirit who went against the grain and broke the rules if there was fun or another reward in the end. Then came the time where Cadence was distant as a teen but Spike would follow her every time she went into town and managed to tease her in front of her crush from a rival school, Shining Armor. She chased him all over town that day. It was Cadence though that later chose a random date for Spike’s birthday and even invited her aunt Luna to the party.
Spike enjoyed Luna and found that she would be coming to live with them as she had just finished the classes needed for her to become assistant principal to her sister. The whole family had strong ties to Canterlot High as a workplace or to Cadence, it was a place of friendship and love where anything could happen. Spike was homeschooled by Celestia and Cadence but when Luna moved in she offered to teach the boy more if he was eager to learn. He jumped at the chance and between the three of the ladies, he found himself trying to learn everything he could. He was allowed to use the Canterlot High library when his mother brought him to work with her. He studied and dedicated his time to his education but Cadence and Celestia grew to be scared that he was missing out on his childhood. He was an isolated and lonely boy but he was content with having his family and didn’t see the value in friends.
The one time he managed to make a friend was with a girl only three years his senior, her name was Ember. She was hired as a babysitter for when the rest of the family had to leave Spike, she was there to watch the boy and the two eventually began to talk and joke. She was strong and always stood up for herself against anyone, once knocking a red-headed bully out who teased Spike about his family. She was a friend and protector and he vowed that one day he would repay the favor. He would feel safe around her and had no fear about trusting her which is why it hurt when she was forced to move by her father as he had gotten the job of a company president. She teared up a bit
He grew smart but the problem of his lack of friends came back even stronger once Cadence went off to college and Celestia found her son was in his room most times, surrounded by books. It would be a few years until he opened up and it was when Cadence returned and got a job at her mother’s rival school, Crystal Prep. She wanted to prove to herself and others that she had gotten so far not by any bias but because of her own skills. What impressed her mother, aunt, and Spike even more though was that she came back with a boyfriend! Spike performed a test to ensure he wasn’t a clone or robot but when he found that he was real, he used every tease he could. Turns out that Shining Armor, her old crush that she found at her college, would smile and laugh at the teases but knew how younger siblings could be, seeing that his sister had done the same thing to him when he brought Cadence over the first time.
Spike connected with and found a true friend in Shining Armor, growing to trust him with his sister’s happiness. The two would bond over their love of games, comics, and donuts. He basically became the brother that Spike never had and with his sister back in his life, he felt confident in what he did next. At a dinner just a few days before his thirteenth birthday, Spike declared that he was ready to try and skip a grade into high school. He wanted to join his mother at Canterlot High but when he took the test, the school board wanted him to ensure he would be able to last in a school where no bias could be offered so they allowed him to skip a grade as long as he went to Crystal Prep first. He accepted and Cadence hugged him, telling him of how proud she was and Celestia and Luna were just as happy, hoping now that he was at a public school he would be able to make more friends.
The day of his birthday was finally here but he was scared of what would come next, thinking over his life as he looked over his city and knew that what was done was done. No having regrets now. He looked up at the moon and hoped that this would be the day that things changed for him, that he would finally learn who he was. He was not the only life that would change that day as he would soon find out.
. . .
“Hey, Twi! Is it safe to open the door or will something explode in my face?” Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes as she stretched and woke up, groaning before moving a few of her inventions and unlocking her door. Her pink and purple hair was messy and sticking out in random directions and her glasses were lopsided. “Hiya sleeping beauty.”
“Why did you wake me? It’s so early!” Shining Armor widened one of his eyes at his sister before checking his watch.
“It’s one past noon.”
“WHAT!?! Why didn’t you wake me earlier!” He watched in amusement as his sister rushed around trying to get through her mess of a dorm room to get her uniform on. “Are you just gonna stand there laughing!?”
“Yes, because it’s Saturday.” Twilight stopped and frowned at her brother before grumbling and laying back on her bed.
“I hate you…”
“Awe come on you love your B.B.B.F.F besides I did wake you for a reason this time, you promised that you would come with me to Spike’s birthday.”
“Who?”
“Cadence’s brother, remember I talked about him a lot.”
“You want me to go to some kid’s birthday?”
“He is only two years younger than you and he has just been accepted into Crystal Prep as a freshman so give him a chance, he reminds me a lot of you but with a tiny bit more of a life.”
“Oh ha ha. I don’t know bro…”
“Come on you need to get out of this room sometimes and you need a shower, I told you about pulling all-nighters. Cadence really loves you and she wanted her sunshine to be there.” Twilight blushed at the memory of her and her old babysitter doing something so childish but she softened a bit.
“I don’t know…”
“If you go I’ll get you a book from the restricted section of the library~” That was it, Twilight knew this was important to her brother as he usually let her check out a limited amount of books and if he was willing to bend the rules like this she would help.
“Fine but make it two books!”
“Deal, now go get ready.” Twilight smiled and took her time making herself look presentable, stopping for a moment while she looked at her reflection. Shining was right about one thing, she couldn’t spend her whole life behind her books and bedroom door. All this though was what made her happy, it made her feel safe if she could learn about the world from her books then she didn’t need to experience it, did she? Touching her reflection offered no answers but she smiled and shook her head, she could not go doubting herself now or it would never stop. “You ready Twi?”
“Yeah yeah, I’m coming.” She chose a loose purple t-shirt that had a pink star on the back, a mid-length skirt that has tiny stars on it that looked like they would sparkle when she moved. She tied her hair into a bun and slipped on her purple boots. When she came down, Shining Armor smiled and crossed his arms.
“Is everything you own star-spangled and purple?”
“What’s wrong with purple? Everyone loves purple! I can prove it with science. As for stars, space and all that is quite interesting if your head wasn't obsessed with a certain girl~”
“I prefer blue and I am not obsessed, even if I was who are you to lecture me on obsession heh.”
“You’re my brother, I don’t care what you like and as for that other thing I give no comment.” Twilight smiled as Shining pretended to have been wounded. “Come on bro, let’s get going then.”
“One more stop before we get there, I am gonna give you some money to get the kid a gift. I know you don’t know him so stop panicking but he is a good kid who basically likes all the stuff I did when we were little with a splash of you in there.” Twilight was panicking as her mind went through each and every way this could go wrong but when they got to the mall, he gave her his wallet and said that he knew she would take a while so he would take a nap there. She grumbled about him being a big help but when she entered and saw all the shops her mind went even lower.
“I-I’m just gonna give up here…”
“Really? Are you still my little Twilight?” Twilight looked up at the voice and hugged her mother happily. “Twi, you know that if something was bothering you that you could always call me. I miss hearing my little pony’s voice at the house since you moved to Crystal Prep.” She blushed at the nickname and whined a bit.
“Moooom!” Twilight Violet smiled at her daughter now that she was out of her mood from earlier.
“So tell me what was bothering you so much? I know you hate the mall so for you to even be here is a miracle.”
“Well, Shining Armor is taking me to Cadence’s brother’s birthday and asked me to get him a gift with his money but I saw all the shops and panicked on how to buy a gift for someone I never met!” Twilight said this all in a flash but her mother understood and smiled softly.
“So you’re meeting Spike are you? He is a kind and gentle boy, a lot like you actually. I met him when Cadence had me meet her family.”
“What?! You met him already? So can you buy the gift for me?”
“Twilight Sparkle! A gift isn’t something you can just pass off to someone else or it loses its importance. A gift comes from a person’s heart so try that, feel from the heart instead of thinking with your big brain.”
“I’m sorry mom, can you give me a hint then?”
“The boy needs a jacket and is into fantasy. He also knows how to enjoy a good book, not unlike another person I know.” Twilight blushed a bit and nodded, thanking her mother and promising that she will visit soon before running off. All the stores she went into were fine but none had anything that she liked enough to buy for someone else until one of them had a cool blue and black jacket shaped like a dragon. Her mother said that he was a fan of fantasy and what is more fantasy than a dragon? She reached for it when another girl took the last one and stuck her tongue out at Twilight.
“Sorry but the Great and Powerful Trixie needs this.” Twilight glared at the girl as she left the store and she asked the worker behind the counter if he had any more of the jackets and he went into the back to check. The only one he found was a green and purple one which even had a tail attached. Twilight got it and ran to the bookstore, buying one of her old favorites that she was sure anyone would love Daring Doo. She finally got back to the car as Shining was sleeping.
“Hey get up! You are gonna miss your date with Cadence~”
“What!?” He got up in an instant and hit his head on the wheel. He rolled his eyes at her laughing as he remembered what they were doing. “Oh laugh it up, just remember that I’ll get you back I always do.”
. . .
Spike smiled when he woke up again as his aunt, mother, and sister were all there with a blue chocolate cake and sprinkles that looked like gemstones as the boy had always loved rocks and crystals. He hugged them and thanked them for everything but they all shook their head and said thanks to him for still being their Spike. The three each ate a slice of cake in his room while sharing stories and joking around, Celestia being the only other one than Spike to go back for more than one slice. Luna stayed and said that she wanted to play him in a new game that she had gotten him, as long as he didn’t let Cadence or Celestia see the game because it was rated M. They played for a while and fought, when one of them pulled off the first fatality it was brutal and Spike cheered even when he lost with Luna being an expert in the art of gaming.
Celestia spent time with him next, the two going into town and stopping by the Sweet Shoppe to get some donuts from the Cakes who were the best bakers ever according to Spike. She took him to the zoo next as the two were always huge fans of the bird section and Spike wished that he could fly someday. The third visit was a classic place the two went every year on his birthday, the planetarium. He loved looking at the stars with Celestia as she knew everything about stars, planets, and space. While she never prosecuted a career in the subject, astronomy was a passion for the woman as she always felt her best while under the sun. It was a subject that the two sisters would always be able to respect and enjoy together though they liked different parts. Celestia loving the sun and planets and Luna going for the moon and stars.
Cadence took her brother to a superhero movie that he had been wanting to see and the two went for some actual food as she knew that their mother and aunt would have smothered him in sweets by this time. They played with their food and told stories of what they did recently, Cadence telling of the last date she was on with Shining and how they managed to get chased by horses and Spike told of how he found and took care of an egg he found but it turned out to be a regular chicken egg that someone painted. The two took a walk before finding themselves near the newly built Equestria Land amusement park. It has yet to have its grand opening but the two promised to go together once it was ready.
They arrived home and Spike laughed at everyone shouting surprise at him with a small bundle of presents, all his family were there but this time so was Shining Armor and a girl he had never met. He found himself interested in her as she was eye-catching in a wallflower kind of way, her shy stance as she hid behind her brother and held one of the presents against her chest. He smiled and waved at her before going to the gifts and opening them, his mother gave him a new backpack full of things he would need soon and a brand new phone as he had broken the old one. Luna gave him a new game console with a few games downloaded, saying that she approved them as the best. Cadence gave her bro a necklace with a blue crystal heart that they had found together when they were small. He thought it was long gone but slipped on the necklace before hugging her. Shining Armor surprised everyone by giving Spike a cosplay armor set that he had made for himself when he was younger, it was a thing of beauty and Spike quickly tried it one, showing how well it fit him.
He thanked everyone and they all talked and ate food that Shining had brought, he knew that none of Cadence’s family except Spike were skilled in cooking. As they all ate, Cadence and Shining began to tell Luna and Celestia of a few of their future plans now that they were getting closer but Spike left for some air at the time and didn’t hear what they said. He walked to the edge of the hill overlooking the city and smiled as the moon shined brightly above.
“Nice cake choice…” Spike jumped and turned to see the girl from before, Shining’s sister.
“Thanks but really it’s my mom who is the cake expert but never tell her that, she gets self-conscious. I’m Spike, Spike Nova.”
“I think I can relate to that mom problem, I am Twilight Sparkle. I umm… got you a gift too but it’s not too great like the other ones. Sorry.” Spike tilted his head and smiled at the box, he didn’t care of there were only socks in there, someone had cared to try and he was happy with that.
“I wouldn’t worry too much, I’m all excited now!” He opened the gift and stared at the jacket, curious as to how she had known his favorite colors but guessed that she went with the purple one because she liked purple, judging only from her own clothes. He slipped it one and smiled, shaking the tail a bit. “I like it, now I’m a real dragon heh.”
Twilight giggled at how happy the boy was and noticed small details about him, such as his teeth being sharp or how his green hair ended in spikes. He was pretty normal to her but noticed that no one else was at his party, just his family and her brother. Actually, this made her think back to her own birthdays and how they were nearly the exact same thing. She opened her mouth to try and talk to him when Spike pulled out the book and cheered as he started going off about his love for the series and how he didn’t have that one yet. They shared all the stories that they had finished and recommended some new ones, Spike telling her of a story he wanted to write but found it hard to do so.
Twilight found herself enjoying the smaller boy’s company and even sat next to him while telling of her own life, mainly about her love for science and inventing. He was listening until his attention was pulled away, Twilight not noticing this and continued on talking until she noticed he wasn’t speaking. He stared at the stars and took a step back while pointing at the sky, opening his mouth but no words coming out. She turned and stared also as they were watching a falling star, a rainbow trail leading behind it as it seemed far closer than any falling star the two had ever seen. They watched as it crashed into a nearby Equestria Land, the two shared a glance before Spike began to run towards it. Twilight yelped and looked back towards the adults before running after Spike, not wanting him to go off by himself.
“What are you doing! We should go get the others! What if that thing is radiated?!”
“Yeah by the time we convinced them that we saw a colorful falling star some others may have already checked it out! Come on Twilight, aren’t you just a bit interested?! That thing was like straight out of a comic or something! What if it’s magic or gives us superpowers!”
“More like give us some kind of disease…” Twilight grumbled but followed him nevertheless, she didn’t believe in aliens or magic but… the star was something special and real. Say it was a new element! She could get scholarships and books written about her if she discovered it! They got to a fence that was protecting the park and they looked at it and then at each other. “Well?”
“Umm… ladies first?”
“Wow, you are just the shining example of chivalry.”
“Ugh fine!” He got on his hands and knees and she climbed on him, blushing and climbing the fence.
“If you try to peek I swear you’ll wake up with acid in your bed.”
“You serious? That was a joke right?” He wasn’t sure so even though the urge was there deep down he kept his eyes on the ground. She helped him up and the two were in, finding that amusement parks gave off a creepy feeling at night when no one was there. Twilight kept close to Spike as they searched and found there was a smoke trail coming from a hole in the house of horrors.
“Really? Of every place, it could land…” Spike smiled and shrugged at her before walking into the dark ride.
“Awe don’t be chicken.” Feeling around, he kept walking until he felt something grab him and he jumped in fear.
“It’s me genius, your jacket is glowing in the dark.” The green spikes were indeed glowing and he chuckled nervously. The two used the jacket as a way to see as they went along and eventually saw a hole of moonlight shining in. They rushed it and found the star or rather it was a rather small stone. It was pulsating different colors and Twilight reached out to stop Spike as his hand went to touch it, the moment he did he felt like his chest was on fire and the stone turned green before he stepped away from it. Twilight rushed to check on the boy but he shook his head as they could hear sirens were coming soon and she grabbed the stone, also dropping it as the stone turned purple and she glowed for a moment. When the light was gone, Spike could have sworn there was a crown on her head but it vanished with the light.
Twilight rubbed her aching head before taking the jacket and wrapping the stone in it, the two running out as the police were raiding the place.
. . .
They got an earful when they got back to Spike’s home but before Twilight left she told Spike to come to Crystal Prep tomorrow and they would talk about what they found and what it did to them. He agreed and she took the jacket with her. That night the two would find sleep to be difficult as dreams of power and strange magic would appear to Twilight and ones of fire and what seemed to be alchemy appeared to Spike. It was if they were seeing things from another life.
At the amusement park, the police called to the Mayor of Canterlot and reported that they hadn’t found anything but a necklace that seemed to have a spike of bone on it. The mayor ordered that it be brought to him.
“So someone else got to it before me? I’ll find this person and they will be sorry that they dared to try and take the magic that belongs to me!” The older man stared out of his office at his city and fixed his nameplate which read two words.
'Damn did I leave my window open or something? This heat wave is ridiculous! It feels like I’m on… HOLY FLYING COWS I’M ON FIRE!’
Spike’s eyes popped open as he saw his hands were covered in a light green flame and his bed was charred in places. He jumped up as he shook his hands wildly, trying to extinguish them but nothing seemed to help and he was only spreading tiny flames everywhere on his floor that he stomped out immediately. His panic and the heat on his feet caused him to slam against his wall, a knock soon coming to his door. He cursed silently and put his back against his door before it could open.
“Spike? Bro are you okay in there? You were slamming on the wall and stomping like crazy!” Cadence asked kindly even though Spike knew that she hated being woken up by anyone that wasn’t Shining.
“Y-yeah I’m hot, I mean cool! Look I’m just having a burning morning! I pumped myself up to burn through a game and got too excited…”
“Umm sure, keep it down though or I won’t be so nice next time! I have a date later and need my beauty sleep.”
“Not expecting to sleep for a year are ya?”
“Oh ha ha the boy with the dragon hoodie has jokes.”
He smiled at the sound of her footsteps walking away and slowly relaxed when he realized that his hands weren’t burning from the flames. The emerald fire was actually quite warm and kind of comforting in a strange way that he couldn’t explain. He took a deep breath and closed his hands as the fire vanished but he began to excitedly run in place before looking at his window and opened it before breathing in and focusing on his hand. He raised it to the center of his chest and he quickly aimed it at his window, trying to make a fireball but a stream of fire came out and burned his window frame.
He cursed and smacked it with his special Margana pillow, putting it out but killing his pillow in the process. “I won’t forget your sacrifice buddy! Wait… if these powers are from that stone… Oh crap! Twilight could be in big trouble I have to get to her before she destroys her house or something!” He tossed his pillow aside and threw off his pajamas before slipping on some torn jeans, a green t-shirt, and a loose spiked collar. He made himself a bagel while writing down a note to his family that he was visiting Twilight. Snatching the bagel out of the air as it popped out of the toaster and jumping onto his bike he rode down towards Shining Armor’s house.
The town was barely waking up as the boy rode through, smiling and waving at the friendly faces that he had gotten to know here and there as he grew up. He jumped and couldn’t help but show off a bit as he landed on one wheel and kept that up before smiling and laughing. He hadn’t been on his bike in a while as he was so busy and focused on other things that he had neglected the outside world. He skidded to a stop in front of the apartment of his best friend. Shining lived in the more average parts of town even though he had the money to get a better place, Spike once asked him about that and Shining said that the finer things in life weren’t for him and that places like this made him feel more at home.
Spike smiled to himself when he thought back to the day Shining admitted to the boy that he wanted to date his sister and Spike was a bit hesitant to give him his blessing but saw how happy he made her and that Shining really did love her. He thought the two were silly, tough, shy, and above all, perfectly adorkable. His sister was a romantic who would do anything for those she loved and Shining was the one she grew close to. He spent time with the man to see what kind of person he was and found a guy he wished was a brother. He agreed that their dating would be great as long as he stayed the way he was for her. Shining agreed and Spike never doubted him.
He knocked on the door hoping that Twilight lived there or was at least close that he could get to her fast. Behind the door, a loud thump could be heard as someone must have fallen. Shining soon answered the door with a serious mess of bed head, a yawn, and dressed in some pajamas that resembled knight armor which made the boy snicker. Shining rubbed his eyes and focused, seeing that it was Spike and he blushed a bit before rushing back into his room and coming out in a plain white shirt and oversized blue jeans.
“Sooo… what brings you here so early Spike? You would usually be nose first in a book or playing a game right now.” Spike looked around the apartment as it was clean but messy enough to feel natural to any male. He smiled and turned to his friend.
“Yeah but I had something really important that I needed Twilight to see, is she here?”
“Twily? Nah I took her back to her dorm last night, she seemed to not be feeling well and was really tired so I took her back early so she could sleep in at her school.” Spike groaned innerly as he imagined a school catching on fire.
“W-what school!?”
“Yours, of course, Crystal Prep.” Spike thanked his friend and dashed out of the apartment and back onto his bike. He cursed a bit as he used his phone’s GPS and headed to the school. It was far and getting there on a bike would normally take an hour, luckily Spike was anything but normal. He cheated and took each and any kind shortcut he could find, even using his new abilities to burn his way into a large construction site.
“Don’t worry Twilight I’m on my way!”
. . .
Twilight groaned as she turned on her bed and cuddled her pillow closer, reaching for her old friend/toy Smartypants. When she didn’t find her friend and the headache she was feeling got worse she finally opened her eyes and found her toy immediately. Smartypants and a collection of other items that were around her bed normally were now surrounded by a lavender aura and floating in the air. Twilight shrieked and the items were sent flying hard against the wall. She held her head and shook it while more things began to fly around her. She began to scream as she hit her head against the wall to make the pain stop but then she heard knocks and voices from her door. She hid under her covers as she didn’t want anyone to see her and think she was even more of a freak.
She heard something as her eyes began to glow and the covered were removed, the sweet color of emerald filling her sight as Spike had barged in and locked the door behind him. He grabbed her shoulders even when the items began to hit and attack him but he just smiled and hugged her. “S-Spike? Why are y-you here?”
“Sorry I was so late, this was a hell of a bike ride I’ll tell you… I woke up with strange new powers too and I thought you might so I came looking for you. Yours are a lot more powerful and unstable than I thought. Look at me and try to focus, you need to focus to make them stop. Think about what you want and what you don’t.”
Twilight couldn’t understand this and she hated not understanding things but this time she decided to put her faith in a person than in what she knew, she took a deep breath and slowly the light faded from her eyes and the objects all fell to the ground. Twilight sighed and hugged the boy back in thanks before looking at her mess of a room and shaking her head.
“We really are freaks…”
“Yep but, then again, we always were right?” Twilight smiled a bit and pushed the boy away before looking around and finding his dragon hood. She removed the stone from it carefully before giving the hood back to him.
“Speak for yourself kid, I am the textbook definition of normal.” Spike looked over the girl in the space-themed lavender pajamas that had bed head that rivaled her brother’s. He smirked and grabbed Smartypants from his place on the floor.
“If that’s true then heaven help us all. Also, I thought is a bit strange that a high schooler’s best friend would be a stuffed… what is this little guy? A horse?”
“Whoa whoa do not insult Smartypants!” She took the toy and held it against her chest with a small childish pout. “He will curse you and I can’t save you because you deserved it.”
“Heh and here I thought you wouldn’t believe in curses.”
“I don’t but Smartypant’s powers cannot be denied!” The two laughed and Twilight blushed a solid scarlet after thinking for a moment about their situation and how it looked to the other girls. She said that she needed to change and when Spike didn’t seem to understand she dragged him to her door and pulled it open to toss him out. “I say I need to ch-” The two looked up as the rest of the dorm were all there and seemingly were trying to listen or look into the darkened room. Twilight’s blush grew and Spike also realized that he had entered the girls' dorm and then locked the door behind him as he went into one of the rooms. He waved at all the girls and would be lying if he said that he didn’t notice they were mostly all in pajamas and sleep gear.
“Yeaaah… I better go!” Spike escaped the grip and whispered to Twilight to meet him in the construction site nearby before running off. A few of the girls snickered at Twilight while others just looked confused but she shook her head and went to change and find her glasses. Spike stretched and smiled as he was laying down on the dirt ground that still had faint patches of grass here and there. His view getting blocked not too long later by Twilight crossing her arms down at him.
“So this is how you treat a gift? I just got you that hood and you already got it all dirty!”
“Dragons aren’t known for their cleanliness! We’re known for our awesomeness! Besides, it feels good down here, lay next to me.”
“I’m not in the mood to do another load of laundry later so I’ll pass but I do need you to tell me what happened when you woke up this morning. This stone did something to us and I need all the information that I can get.” She held up a small purple pouch that was meant for marbles but held the stone for now. “Even now I can feel power or something radiating off it but I ran a quick scan on it before leaving and it wasn’t any type of radiation that we know of.”
“So it’s alien stuff!? That’s so awesome!!” Twilight gave him a light glare and he smiled and rubbed his head. “Focusing sorry, okay so I woke up this morning and found my hands had caught fire! It was green and I panicked a lot like you did and scorched a bit of my room here and there before Cadance asked me what was wrong and I realized that my hands weren’t burning and I was able to turn it off.”
“So your power is tied to fire and doesn’t hurt you like mine does me, it seems like my power is tied more to mental power and if I can keep it focused and imagine what I want to do. Show me a bit of your power.”
“So you admit it’s a superpower~”
“I admit something has changed in us and mostly it’s tied to the radiation on the stone than to magic or something.” Spike sighed and lit his hands on fire after a moment of thought. He tried again to throw a fireball but a stream of fire erupted. “Try to make a flame in your hands instead of your whole hand turning on fire, we don’t want that happening accidentally and you burn someone.” Spike nodded and slowly closed a fist as the fire recited slowly but it broke out again after he began to sweat. “So it can take a mental drain on you too.”
“Y-yeah but it’s pretty hot huh~” Twilight cracked a small smile and took her turn next and focused on the pebbles around her and willed them to move to her command. They shook and some finally began to float as she tried to bring them all together but the magic went unstable and shot the rocks outward and towards the two. Spike tackled Twilight before any stone could hit her. “Yeah… we have to get better at this…”
“Really? Here I thought we were just perfect… you can let go Spike.” The boy removed his arms from her and rolled away getting dust everywhere and sneezing. The two practiced using their powers for the next hour, Twilight finding that she was able to shoot a concentrated beam of energy from her hands but it wiped her out for a few minutes after a single use. Spike finally was able to shoot a fireball after rolling the flames in both his hands again and again until he had a ball. Seeing that it was still breakfast and Twilight was writing in a book, he made sure he had enough bits that were given to him for his birthday in a letter from an old friend before offering a hand to the girl.
“You look like a girl that could use some food, ever been to Big Bang Burger? No finer place to get some food in town, plus it has games!!” Twilight rolled her eyes a bit at the childish reasoning but decided that she could afford to relax a bit and agreed. Spike left his bike hidden while they walked to the large restaurant, the two more or so walking in silence until he decided to ask a question. “How is Crystal Prep really? I was planning to get into Canterlot High but the school board denied it for at least a year so I’m going to CP.”
“It’s… a very prestigious school and the staff and students have great pride in that. I like it enough and seeing as I’m one of the best students when it comes to classes other than gym and they may even give me an old broom closet that isn’t used anymore for my studies but it can be a bit lonely there as the students are a bit distant…” Spike rubbed his head a bit before giving her a smile.
“Well, at least there is one problem I’m able to fix.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we’re friends right? When I go there we can hang out and maybe we can make the school a bit more fun.”
“Friends....” Twilight thought about that as they arrived at the burger joint. It was a large black building that had stars and neon lights of various colors everywhere. The entrance to the building was a tunnel that led to a pair of see through sliding doors but before the doors were markers that had glowing ink. The sign next to the markers said that the guests should take one and draw a message or sign on the wall but that anything wrong would be erased. Spike took a green one and Twilight took a purple one before they each drew one thing on the wall. Twilight had drawn a large star with several others surrounding it, something she came up with when she was small and had more or less used it as her own calling sign. Spike went with a green flame for obvious new reasons and asked her what she thought and she smiled before complimenting him of his creativity.
The two entered and were nearly hit by a girl with short purple hair and purple eyes who was holding three plates on her each arm and one on her head while skating. “My bad! I’ll be right over to help you just need to get these delivered.” The two nodded and took a booth for themselves while looking around at the kids and teens that were around playing games or just hanging out. The girl from before skated over and smiled at them while holding a notepad. “Sorry again for before, I’m more of a scooter user than skates but my sister taught me well enough. I’m Scootaloo, what could I get you two? Hey, I know that uniform! You’re from Crystal Prep right? I’m going to Canterlot High with my friends as freshmen right now.”
“I’m just started Crystal Prep myself, I’m Spike.”
“Twilight Sparkle.” Spike and Twilight shook the girl’s hand and they talked a bit before giving her their orders. Spike taking a burger with fries hile Twilight got a pizza slice with a large cupcake. She blushed a bit at the look Spike gave her and she crossed her arms while pouting. “Hey I barely eat nowadays, don’t judge my desserts…” Spike held up his hands in surrender before smiling and pulling her to a game. “Spike I’m not great at the video games…”
“Lucky for you then, I have enough skill for the both of us! I’m pretty much the second or third best gamer in Canterlot.”
“Who’s better than you?” Spike pointed to a young teen nearby who had spiky brown hair, brown eyes, a colorful cap, red jacket, faded blue jeans, and a juice box hanging from his mouth. He had a small group around him as he was nearing the high score.
“That’s Button Mash. He and I are pretty even but my aunt Luna is number one!” Twilight nodded and then was dragged over to a pair of dancing machine games and she immediately shook her head.
“Nope! Not happening!” Spike ignored the girl and started the two machines while pulling her onto the one next to him. She bit her lip and fixed her glasses while trying hard to keep up with the game’s instructions but Spike only stopped her for a moment and told her to try and just have fun and ignore the steps it was telling her to make and just dance her way. She sighed and took a deep breath before slowly singing the song to ignore everything around her. “Hey brother, there’s an endless road to rediscover…”
Spike could see what she was doing and smiled while spinning and taking the next verse. “Hey sister, know the water’s sweet but blood is thicker.” The two began to sing in unison and back to taking turns while Twilight did get into the music and their moves started to slightly mirror each other. Neither noticed the small crowd that was clapping and stomping in beat to the song and their singing, no one cared much about the score on the game and more just on watching the two. Twilight smiled with her eyes closed as it had been so long since she had sung and had so much fun. The song soon came to its end and the two blushed at seeing the crowd that cheered them on. They thanked everyone and let another two on the game while they went back and ate their food. The meal was silent as both still had a blush on their faces.
“T-thanks Spike for bringing me here… I had a lot of fun. Maybe Shining was right about getting out more.”
“Me too! Never really had a partner that could sing, Cadence is skilled in many many things but cooking and singing ain’t some of them.”
“Shining and I used to sing a lot when I was small but I grew out of it when I young but I guess the skill never went away. “
“I’ll say.” They shared a laugh and finished their meal, leaving money and a large tip. Scootaloo passed them a cupcake on the house from her as she liked their song and waved at them as they left. The two walked aimlessly for a while when Spike got a phone call and answered it to his mother’s voice. “Hmm? Hey mom.”
“Spike, I need you to get home quickly if you can and is Twilight with you?”
“Uhh yeah? What’s wrong.”
“I just need you home and bring her if you can.” The call went dead and Spike told Twilight what happened and the two ran straight to the house on the hill.
. . .
Celestia frowned after she finished her call and crossed her arms at the uninvited guest in her living room. “My son and his friend are on their way, Mister Beezen, but after they tell you they weren’t where you said they were you have to leave.” Luna and Cadence both nodded in agreement as they weren’t happy at the Mayor who basically forced his way into the house saying that he suspected their Spike had accidentally gotten his hands on something he wasn’t meant to have. One officer searched Spike’s room but reported nothing found.
“I only wish to speak to the boy, after that, I can leave you all in peace.” The mayor toyed with a cane in his hand that had a large red jewel on top that seemed to glow on its own. “Just a friendly chat…”
Spike wanted to burst through the front door of his home and blast away any person who dared mess with his family, but Twilight was trying to help him relax some, saying that if something was wrong then they had to keep cool heads. She pointed to his hands which had caught fire and used her power to force him to stop.
“Think this through Spike! If you go in there with flame hands you could hurt you, someone, maybe one of your family!” Just the thought of hurting one of his family caused the fire to vanish and him to tear up a bit. Twilight walked to him and let him out of her magical hold, holding the boy close. “We can do this okay? Trust me, but you have to think this through.” Spike nodded and thanked her before unlocking the door and the two walked in cautiously. Everything seemed to be quiet and normal, that was never what Spike’s house was like. Celestia would either be working on some new school project, watching TV, or enjoying a bunch of sweets while reading. Luna would be shouting obscenities at games, writing her notes on Celestia’s projects, or be napping somewhere. Cadence would always greet her brother when he got home from anywhere usually to ask him to cook some real food for them all, or she’d be talking endlessly to Shining Armor over the phone, or she would be in her room with her special shipping notebook where she would pair up students or adults she thought would be nice together.
The sound of someone drinking brought the two to the living room where a man with two guards was sitting in a chair, facing Spike’s family. Spike nearly ran to them but Twilight stopped him and stared at the man as he turned to face them.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?!” Spike shouted already getting angry but sighed as Twilight again calmed him down.
“That is the mayor, Alfred Beezen.”
“Just what I’d expect from Crystal Prep’s own prodigy girl and now it seems like you finally made a friend, strangely enough, it would be this one. I heard from the school board that a boy would be attending high school, a genius in his own right. you three must be so proud of your adopted child.” The mayor asked Spike’s family who glared at the man, Cadence nearly looking like she would attack while Spike took a step towards him.
“I’m no genius, I just did my best to learn and make my family proud of me. I realized today how much I gave up for that even though they just wanted me to be happy. My family stood by my side no matter what so tell me what is it you want with them!”
“Well boy it’s not them I’m curious about it’s you and Miss Sparkle here I need to talk to. After that, I’ll be on my merry way.” Twilight and Spike shared a look, guessing what it is he could want with them but they agreed as long as it would make him leave. Celestia and Luna began to stand to go with them but the guards stood in their while Spike said it would be okay and the three went into another room to talk. Twilight and Spike took a seat next to each other while across a small table Beezen sat down with his cane by his side. “So I realize that you two were at the closed amusement park last night and I want to know what it was you found.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, last night we were here celebrating my birthday.”
“Then I suppose this isn’t yours boy?” Beezen held up a necklace with a spike pendant and Spike’s eyes widen as he jumped at the man to get it back but before he even touched him, he was pulled back into his seat. Twilight grabbed the necklace and glared at the mayor for the dirty trick. “Y-you did find it! Where is that thing?! What did you do!?” Twilight smiled a bit deviously as she leaned back in her chair while giving Spike the necklace back.
“We were there because we thought it would be fun, after all a solo adventure between a boy and a girl…” Spike’s mouth hung open limply as he blushed but before he said anything he caught Twilight’s eye. Her look told him to just go with it for now. Beezen didn’t seem to believe it and nearly shouted at them again and then realized what the girl had done. She had loudly given a very valid reason why two teenagers would be in such a place and he had no true evidence to say that they were there for any other reason or risk sounding insane. He growled at them and grabbed his cane as the red stone on top began to glow.
“Don’t go thinking you two are the only ones with magic on your side.” He whispered to them as he tapped his fingers on the stone. Twilight and Spike stared at the stone in awe and horror.
“T-there’s more… where did you get that thing?” Twilight paled as she thought of more magical items like the stone getting into the hands of the mayor or others like him.
“What does it do? Just glow?”
“No, you fool! This cane has been passed down since the city was founded and it was stolen from the original holders of this land. It has many powers but its main use has always been to find other magical items like itself. Do you think you two just happened to be the first to find magic? No, we have been finding things like this and hiding them for ourselves for generations. See the glow? Guess what that means.”
“You knew the thing wasn’t here… you thought it was on one of us…”
“Yes and now you have just given me everything I needed. The bloodstone scepter glowing proves that to me and you two have just made a powerful enemy. No one ever refuses me.” Twilight and Spike stood at the threat and glared at the man.
“We aren’t giving you anything now leave I think we’re done here, I don’t see how anyone ever could have voted you in…”
“Well that is a funny tale, I used to be young and naive too. I used to believe in things like caring for your neighbor and the city but slowly my eyes were opened to true power and when I gained the job I could have anything my heart desired.”
“That staff… whatever other magic objects you had twisted your mind and changed you… the power changed you…” The man seemed to get angry at the thought and waved off the girl.
“The power awaken me! I finally see what the world is and why I deserve to be on top of it now you will obey and give that to-” The man raised his staff and even swung it towards Twilight while Spike got between them and closed his eyes to take the pain but nothing came. Celestia was there and had grabbed it, pushing the man back and throwing him out of the room while Cadence and Luna dusted themselves off after dealing with the guards and sent them out of their house. Celestia dragged the mayor by his shirt tossed him to the floor out of her house.
“No one touches my boy, now you leave and don’t come back.” The mayor angrily aimed the staff at her but saw Luna and Cadence stand beside her and he stepped back.
“This isn’t over! I’ll get you all back for this unless I get my property! I am not one to be messed with! I will make all your lives hell!” As he left, the three sighed and checked on Spike and Twilight who were both seemingly deep in thought. Cadence said that she would take Twilight to Shining and explain their new situation while Luna and Celestia stayed with Spike. Before they were separated Twilight made sure to give Spike her number as they now had a problem to fix.
“Hey mom, Aunt Luna, what do you think he meant by that? That he would make us pay?”
“That bastard is too cowardly to ever stand up to us so he is probably gonna try and get us fired or something. Don’t worry about it sweetie, someday he’ll get his.” Spike looked up as he hugged his mother and aunt.
“I know he will… thanks for believing Twilight and I.” Luna smirked a bit and giggled.
“Oh you are still so grounded, we heard what Twilight said and you should have seen Tia’s face. She was red as an apple and steam came out her ears. You know she always told you to tell her first thing if you ever got a girlfriend.” Spike blushed and tried to explain but ended up grounded that night. He looked out his window at the full moon and shook his head before pulling out his phone.
“Hey Twi... you asleep yet?”
“Yeah because I can so sleep after that talk earlier…”
“He’s gonna make my family’s lives hell if we don’t do something about him, not to mention that if he was telling the truth about all that magic stuff….
“The whole city has been in danger and now he is more unhinged than ever because we didn’t give him what he wanted. I may not believe in magic but I do believe he is dangerous and we need to take him down.”
“Sooo superheroes?”
“More like detectives. If we leave him, your family could be the least amount of problems and not to mention that he will be after Shining and me now… I want the scepter.”
“The scepter?! Why would you want that thing?”
“It detects magical items! If we had that thing and we manage to take down Beezen then we can find all the things he had hidden away. I know they’re dangerous but we can’t let others like him get them so might as well take them for ourselves.”
“...okay but I should hold the stone, for now, trading off who holds it should keep us safe from its effects.”
“...fine… we should attack now while we have the chance”
“I’ll meet you at city hall then.”
. . .
Spike jumped out his window and took his bike down to the city, marveling a bit at the different lights and kinds of people that were out now. Some were drunk, just hanging out with friends, or just now heading home. Only now did Spike realize how many bars and nightclubs Canterlot really had and wondered if his mom would ever let him see a club. He skidded to a stop and looked up at City Hall feeling strange about the building now knowing the man that ran it. It was an imposing building made of white marble and gold trimmings here and there. It had a statue of a girl dressed in a sundress and straw hat in front, she seemed to be pointing upwards at the sky.
“Boo.” Spike jumped at the voice and turned to see Twilight there giggling “Got ya.”
“Hey! We are trying to get a mission done here not scare each other. Where’s the stone?”
“Here in the pouch and I know why we’re here, get the scepter and get out. We don’t want to get caught or leave anything that can be led back to us.” Spike nodded and put his necklace in his pocket before holding out a hand for the pouch. “What?”
“Give the stone to me, we don’t want you getting lost in the magic as he did.” Twilight grumbled and untied the pouch before giving it to him and after a quick peek inside he tied it to his belt. Unsurprisingly the door was locked, so they snuck around and found a latched window and Twilight used her powers to unlatch it and they helped each other get inside. They carefully walk through the building, careful to avoid touching anything that could set off an alarm, before getting to the mayor’s office. The lock was strange and seemed to need a special kind of key but Spike softly blew fire into the lock, keeping it going until the lock’s internals melted and they walked in. The office was small but cold and much of the furniture was a dark oak, behind the main desk was a view of the whole city not unlike Spike’s own from his bedroom. Awards and paintings of Beezen himself were on the walls.
“So if I was a crazy guy where would I keep a magical glowing scepter?”
“He would want quick access to it so maybe around the desk?” Twilight checked out the desk for any secrets while Spike looked over the books since he saw it in a movie once. They decided to take a break after twenty minutes and Twilight sat in the mayor’s chair, tapping on it annoyed. Spike snapped his fingers repeatedly, making tiny flames out of boredom. Twilight watched the flames and noticed something, grabbing Spike’s hand as he made a flame and slowly moved it around. The flame would move a bit the nearer they got to one of the paintings of Beezen. “There is a draft coming through this painting!”
They moved it to see an empty hole behind it where the staff should have been, they turned just as Beezen entered the room. “You little fools! You truly thought I would leave my personal favorite item behind when two children would surely come for it? Seeing as you have come this far it’s only fair that I treat you both with the utmost respect! Now give me the artifact or die." Twilight levitated several objects and Spike's hands caught on fire while Brazen rolled his eyes and reached into his coat, pulling out a gun and shooting it towards Twilight's leg. The girl called out and held her leg while she fell and gritted her teeth. Spike rushed towards her but another shot blocked his way, skinning his hand. "Nope, you two may be strong but you only had your powers for a day at most so ask yourself, you think you can beat me before someone gets shot? Now give me the artifact or pay the price." He pointed the gun at Twilight who glared at the man and forced herself to stand even though it hurt worse than anything before.
"Spike, if you give it to him the whole city could be threatened! You can't let one person endanger everyone else!"
"Ahh yes boy, she is correct of course. Refuse me and save the city, you may very well have the time to strike me down before I get a shot to you but she won't be so lucky. Be greedy and give me the artifact then the girl will live a few moments longer before I take this city for myself. Which will it be hero?"
Spike took a step back as he looked at Twilight and then pulled out the stone, letting its power wash over him as he thought about what he wants to do and what he should. He remembered a conversation that he once had with Cadence a long time ago, one he never understood until now.
. . .
She had just gotten the biggest grounding of her life because she had snuck out of the house in the middle of the night to have a picnic with Shining under the stars and they fell asleep, both missing school the next day and scaring both sets of parents. This started Celestia's reluctance to let the two date until she realized how much he really cared for Cadence and when Spike also took their side Celestia decided that she would give the boy a chance to impress her. Luna never doubted their feelings, after all, if you liked someone enough to go against her sister then that was true love right there.
Even with the grounding, Cadence was smiling the whole day and Spike had asked her why she did something she knew was wrong. She smiled and giggled at him while pulling him into a hug which made him feel like a plush toy as she nuzzled him.
"Still so young and even with all those smarts, you have a lot to learn about people's hearts little bro. I did what I did because to me it felt right and if I regretted it for even a moment then I knew that it was never right but I don't regret it. I spent a wonderful night with the man I care so much about and I would never take it back even if mom grounded me forever. There is a time that comes for everyone when we make a choice between what we know is right and what we feel is right." Cadence turned Spike so he was facing her and she gently put her forehead against his and closed her eyes while laying a soft hand on his small chest. "Promise me, Spike, that when that day comes you'll listen to your heart and what you feel. I know it seems foolish or stupid but I have always believed that it is the path we should take and that was the path that gave us you so let your heart choose your fate."
"Let my heart choose? I don't know if it will be able to make a choice like that but I promise to try Cadence!"
"Thank you my wittle Spikey Wikey!"
"Ugh you know I hate that nickname!! Only mom calls me that!" Spike pouted and tried to tickle his sister only to be taken down and his attack reversed onto him. Luna and Celestia smiled looking on and thought back to when they were younger and had a similar conversation with their mother. . . .
"Promise… to do what I feel is right…" Spike whispered to himself before touching his heart and tossing the stone to Beezen. The man tossed the gun aside, allowing Spike to run to Twilight and check on her leg, and he grabbed the stone waiting for the power to fill him but nothing happened…
"W-what is this!?! Why am I not gaining magic!? What did you do boy!!"
"It is not the boy at fault here!" A voice shouted out from the stone as it glowed but the voice was strange and sounded as if it were many voices together, two of which Spike and Twilight identified as their own.
"I-I don't understand why I was given nothing when the brats were! I demand power!!"
"I do not grant power, only amplify what a being already has or awakens their power. You have no potential or even the barest spark of magic in you." Beezen seemed to be physically hurt by the words until that hurt turned to anger and denial.
"No, this can not be true! I will not have my destiny be denied!!” He angrily shouted and smashed the stone into the scepter, boosting its natural ingrained power and unlocking old abilities that the scepter had lost over time. Beezen’s eyes turned red as the scepter’s power overtook his mind and reverted him to his most basic desire. Spike checked Twilight’s leg and cursed while he moved his mouth close to it and told her that this would hurt, he blew fire on the wound to make it stop bleeding and Twilight shouted an obscenity. The two looked up to see that Beezen had the full power scepter in his hands and he aimed it at them just as Twilight used her power to use a bunch of books as a shield but the power was too much and both of them were blasted right out of the building and landed hard on the road.
“O-ow… Oh no…” Spike looked around as people started to run over to check on them but he waved them off. “Run!! The mayor has a shotgun and is on a rampage!!” That got the desired effect as they all ran off and Spike looked around for something he could use to get them away, seeing a colorful house nearby that had a lot of random sporting equipment everywhere on the lawn. Spike rushed over and took a scooter from the pile of things and helped Twilight onto it just as Beezen floated out of City Hall. Spike shot a fireball at him while he began to ride away, a window from the house opening as a girl with rainbow hair shouted after him.
“Hey!! That’s my sister’s scooter!!”
“Sorry I’ll return someday!!” Spike shouted back as he rode as fast as he could, Twilight regaining consciousness and using her powers to send things flying or to defend them from Beezen’s attacks. The old man sent fire and blasts of energy at the two and at anyone that dared to say anything to him. Spike thought hard about where to go, Beezen was too dangerous right now to just fight him in the middle of the street and he was attacking everything. He thought of where this all started and made a sharp turn into a narrow alleyway.
“You brats have messed with me for the last time!” He chased them as Twilight brought down the metal walkway steps above their heads as they passed, causing them to crush the man if only for a second before he shouted and blasted all of them away. “I’m done playing games!!”
“Oh, really and you had just gotten fun too!” Spike shouted as he asked Twilight for something and she nodded, focusing her power as Spike drove them right in the direction of a fence. “Hey Beeswax! Screw you! Now Twi!” Twilight propelled them into the air as Beezen rushed at them, shooting a large blast, and Spike shot a torrent of fire at the man. The two attacks collided as they jumped the fence into the amusement park, causing an eruption that sent Twilight and Spike flying in different directions. Beezen landed nearby and walked around the park, looking for the two as he sent electric energy and fire in several locations.
“You two can’t hide from me forever! Once you two are out of the way there will be no one left that can get in my way, why not give up this game? You two can’t hope to beat the scepter!” A hotdog stand was tipped over and he immediately blew it up, leaving himself open as Spike shot several fireballs at his back before hiding again in a maze of tents and games. Beezen angrily shot fire at the tents as Twilight used her powers to make the games fight back, shooting water and throwing its prizes at the wizard. Spike rolled out from under his hiding place and Twilight sent him into the air as he pulled back his fist as the emerald fire turned a darker green and he punched the wizard to the ground.
“Damn you damn you DAMN YOU TWO!” Beezen shouted and smacked the stone on the ground, causing sparks and power to erupt out in waves. “I need more power! Give me all I need to reduce them to ash!!” The stone and cane glowed brightly as Beezen’s skin cracked and magic entered his body, causing the cracks to glow red and his eyes to glow a bright scarlet. His screams turned into roars as the man lost himself fully and he shot bolts of red lightning at them as they ducked and weaved around them. The night sky began to take on a blood color as the two shot fire and energy of their own but the attacks did nothing.
“We can’t hurt him now… wait wait Twi! Remember what happened at the construction site yesterday?! When you tried to get all those rocks together!”
“Hurry and shot as many fireballs as you can Spike!” He nodded glad to see she had gotten his plan and the two set it into motion.
“Hey, you Harry Potter wannabe! If you are some big powerful wizard how are you being stopped by two kids?!” Beezen roared and focused on Spike while shooting everything at him while Spike ran. Spike shot fireball after fireball but none were hitting Beezen and after a minute he hid behind a burning tent to try and regain his breath. A hand shot out from the flames however and gripped his neck from behind as Beezen lifted Spike and floated above the park, looking down as Spike tried to escape.
“Come on out girl or this boy will suffer my wrath!” Twilight did come out but she was sweating and looked extremely stressed.
“O-one more Spike!!” Spike nodded and looked up as he shot out a large fireball through his mouth into the sky. Beezen looked up to see an enormous unstable ball of fire barely being held together by magic.
“W-what!? NO!!” He tried to escape but was held in place by the air pressure as Twilight sent the ball down at them. Spike smirked and headbutted the man in the nose, breaking it and making him drop him as Beezen took on the fire and magic as it exploded with him in the center. Twilight rushed forward and grabbed Spike before he hit the ground and the two laid there.
“N-never doing a plan like that again…”
“Deal… U-ugh I could go for some breakfast…” Both teens laughed a bit when they saw a body fall to the ground. They forced themselves back up as they walked over to see their defeated foe but neither could stop the shivers as the man stood again. “N-no… just stay down!”
“I-I… with all my power… If I can not have Canterlot… then I will see it burn by those you two fought to protect…” Beezen’s body was beaten, burned, and broken as he raised the cane one last time in the distance Twilight and Spike could see dozens of lights shootout around the city from the same location. It took a moment before Twilight realized what they had just seen and shot a beam into Beezen’s arm, making him drop the cane in pain.
“All those magic things they had collected over the years… He sent them all around the city. He hopes that others like him will find them and destroy Canterlot.” Spike blinked and looked up at the sky as it turned back to its rightful color and he looked down at the smiling old man.
“Then it looks like our job’s not down yet. Let a thousand people like him find those things but we’ll always be there to stop them.” Twilight smiled and nodded, high fiving the boy as they went for the cane but it sparked and the stone broke free from the cane and sent it flying while it dangerously floated and sent energy everywhere. “W-what’s going on?!”
“I think the stone absorbed all of Beezen’s negative energy and now it’s just releasing it all! We have to grab it!”
“That much greed and evil… if one of us grabbed it we don’t know what could happen to our bodies!” Both slowly made steps to the stone as it attacked them and they reached out feeling greed and hate fill their bodies and minds.
“No! Keep true to yourselves and don’t forget why you’re doing this! Think of your values, your family, and friends! Think of them and let this be the end! Only you two can finish this fight and bring back the light!” Both thought of those they loved and how dearly they wanted to protect them, they held hands while reaching with their others. Visions of Shining, Cadence, Luna, Celestia, two others that Spike didn’t recognize but guessed were Twilight’s parents, Scootaloo, Button, dozens of the townspeople that they had gotten to know, and lastly, two beings that resembled a purple pony and small dragon nodded at them. Spike’s eyes caught fire and he pushed forward and Twilight’s eyes turned completely white and both grabbed the stone together as it was overpowered by their emotions and the stone cracked. The shock waves of power sent the two back to the earth but in their hands was the stone.
That morning, the whole town was talking about how the mayor had gone on a murderous rampage and attacked two local children who managed to work together and bring down the man. He was insane as he went on about magic and how he would take over the world. Reports of the red sky and lights were being investigated by the scientific community but they came to the conclusion that it was hallucinations caused by mass hysteria. Spike and Twilight were taken to the hospital where they were fawned over by their families and told they would be grounded indefinitely once they were home. Spike had escaped his bed and visited Twilight one of the days and said that since he will be going to Crystal Prep soon the two should make a club that hunts down the magic items that are all around the city. Twilight didn’t think they would get much support for such a concept but would work on pitching it to Principal Cinch and they could use her extra room as a clubhouse. After all, who knows what other crazies could be out there?
. . .
A teenage girl with red and yellow hair crossed her arms as she looked over the destroyed amusement park and examined some of the burn marks as something caught her eye. She walked over to an open sewer line that had yet to be closed when the park was destroyed and stuck inside was a cane which she took. Looking over it, she smiled deviously as it glowed softly.
“Well, what do we have here?”
. . .
A few weeks later, Twilight and Spike had cleaned up and prepared the closet as a place where they could plan out where to start their search for the other objects. Behind them in a glass case, the cracked stone sat peacefully until a light glow returned to the stone…
“Hiya again! I know it’s been awhile since our first case but we just recently had another which took a lot of twists and turns but I think I am letting a certain group write out this case as they were much more affected then I was. So here we go! Only the facts girls!” “We knoooow! Only the facts~”
. . .
“Ugh, Twilight how long does it take for someone to find one of all those magic items we saw be scattered? It’s been a few weeks and nothing! I even had time to make posters about our club!” Spike said as he looked away from his comic and pulled a stack of posters from his bag. They had just finished their classes for the day and the two sat in their clubroom not doing much of anything, Spike pulling a bit at his school uniform collar. “Ugh I hate uniforms but at least the color is cool. What do you think of the posters I made? It doesn’t have our names but has a number where someone can contact us.” Twilight was tapping a pencil against her chin as she looked over the large map of the city they had hung on the wall. She turned and grabbed one of the posters while fixing her glasses.
“'Are you having a problem that can’t be explained? Do you need private help to stop something you can’t call the police about? Try calling the Magic Detection Squad!' I don't know about the name it's on the nose yes but also makes us sound like crazy people you haven't put any of these up yet did you?"
"Umm… nooope! Of course not..." She looked at him before shrugging it off and going back to her research. The local school paper hit their floor as it was delivered but neither paid attention to the headline.
"New Candidate for mayor rises! Local father and school teacher, Sombra Black, promises change for Canterlot City if elected!"
. . .
"Hiya Big Mac! Is Applebloom home?" Big Mac had been drinking some homemade apple juice after a long workout when a knock pulled him away from the delicious drink. He opened the door and looked down to see two familiar girls standing there. Scootaloo was wearing a slightly too long black leather jacket over a purple undershirt and dark blue jeans. The jacket had a cloud with a rainbow lightning strike patch on the back. Sweetie Belle was wearing a white dress with a light pink skirt, the dress seemingly to have been made by an expert's hand. Three diamonds seemed to have been stamped onto the skirt.
"Applebloom was told to go get some apples from the orchard but knowing her she is probably taking a nap somewhere."
"Thanks, Mac we'll go find her and help her with her chores!" The two girls ran off and Big Mac chuckled remembered the last time they tried helping Applebloom with her chores. They somehow ended up covered in tree sap and had with not gotten down a single apple. "Those three are just like their sisters."
Applebloom was, in fact, doing her chores or rather she had been before she had climbed one of her family's trees to get down an apple and ended up taking a nap with a cowboy hat on her face. She wore blue overalls with one side unhooked as it was broken.
“Ay Mac, have ya seen my hat?!”
“Applebloom has it! Said she didn’t want to get too hot while doin her chores!”
“Fine but she better not mess it up!”
. . .
Applebloom was, in fact, doing her chores or rather she had been before she had climbed one of her family’s trees and ended up taking a nap with a large cowboy hat on her face. She wore some worn down blue overalls with one side hanging low due to a lost button, a green undershirt, red boots, a green bandana around her neck, and a large pinkish bow. Her bright red hair fell across her chest as she slept. A breeze blew through the orchard and caused one apple to fall on the young girl’s head. She luckily caught herself before she fell and jumped down, grabbing the apple and shrugging taking a bite of it as she walked along with her wagon of apples.
“Man this was supposed to be Applejack’s job but she’s gotten so busy with school and her friends. She owes me one after… this…” She was silent as she came across a single dead tree. The grass and flowers around the tree were dead and the land took on a grey and ashy look as it everything there was stolen of its life. She walked to the tree and touched it, cold and devoid of life. She sighed and felt bad for the tree, a bit of her sister coming out of her right then. Before she could leave something caught her eye on one of the bare branches, an amulet seemed to be stuck on the tree. She climbed up and snatched it before landing on the ground and looking it over. It was a simple black necklace with a red jewel pendant that seemed to draw the girl in. A shiver went over her spine as she swore she had seen something move nearby but nothing was in the sea of trees but her. A whisper came across her ear as if the wind itself was speaking.
“Apple… bloom…” She turned and felt fear grip her heart before she slipped the necklace in her pocket as she heard her best friends calling out for her in the distance. She grabbed her wagon and rushed to the voices, not seeing the single blade of green grass sprouting among the grey land…
. . .
“You found a necklace on a dead tree? That’s pretty weird AB, you sure you weren’t just dreaming? Remember when we were little and you thought you saw a red falling star crash near our city?”
“Hey Ah did see that star! Ya swore that ya once saw your sis have wings Scoots so Ah don’t wanna hear about dreams from ya.”
“Relax you two we have bigger problems than trees and wings. That video contest deadline is coming up pretty fast and we don’t have a single idea on what we should submit! We have to beat Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, oh to knock those annoying smirks off their faces will be beautiful! But we couldn’t decide on comedy, action, or romance!”
“Action is obviously the best but I’m still waiting for my replacement scooter after mine was stolen so no big car chase…”
“But comedy is cheap and really easy for the three of us, Ah mean what’s funnier than Scoots trying to be serious heh.”
“Yeah… hey!”
“But romance leaves way more of a mark than action or comedy, we can make a story that reaches the heart of the viewer!”
“I don’t know Sweetie, neither I or Apple is very romantic.”
“You two won’t have to be, love guru Sweetie Belle is here!”
“Love Guru? You haven’t even had a real date before.”
“Annnyway! We have to focus and try to combine our ideas into a video that will blow away everyone at Canterlot High!” The three girls began to think in their own ways, Scootaloo pacing around, Sweetie Belle writing out her plans and different possible ideas, and Applebloom laid on her back and tapped her fingers on the ground. It was then the whisper from before came back and this time had a certain allure to it.
“Do you need my help… Let me free you from your burdens… let me free your friends from theirs…” The necklace from before fell from her pocket and she grabbed it before looking it over and felt the strange attachment to the object return. She shook her head trying to get rid of the voice as her friends seemed to have heard nothing. She tilted her head before slowly slipping the necklace on and her body began to convulse as her friends turned and rushed to her side.
“APPLEBLOOM!!!” They grabbed her trying to make her stop and Scootaloo even swung her hand towards her face but it was tightly grabbed by the girl as her eyes glowed red and a smirk grew across her lips. “A-Applebloom?”
“Sorry, I had to put her to sleep… now if you two nuisances would excuse me.” She tossed Scootaloo away like a doll, sending her crashing into the clubhouse wall, and Sweetie ran over to her friend as they looked up at Applebloom examining herself and stretching. “Been so long since I had a body but this one is strong and will do for now. As for you two…” She extended her hands to the girls as they felt something being taken from them but then Applebloom’s eyes turned back to their normal color and she threw herself away from her friends as she looked at them and teared up, running away.
“N-no… Applebloom it’s not your fault…”
“W-we have to go after her or she c-c-could get hurt!” Sweetie Belle stepped in front of her friend as she struggled to move.
“W-whatever that thing did to us weakened us down we need help. Should we call our sisters?”
“No they could get hurt too you saw how strong she was… we need people who can deal with magic or weird stuff like that.”
“Yeah like, who?”
“Didn’t Applebloom meet some witch doctor once? She told us about her, all we have to do is find her!”
“You mean Zecora right? But she never told us where to find her…”
“No, but she did tell us where they met! That weird shop where the Great and Powerful Trixie lives with her parents, right? We can ask there!”
“Ugh but that girl hates our sisters and she is just so…”
“Annoying? Irritating? Idiotic?”
“Egotistic but if it means helping our friend then we should hurry.” Both stood and ran best they could back to Canterlot City, however, things were far worse in the city than they could have imagined many of the citizens seemed to be drained of their color and all were wearing a downtrodden expression. “No… Scoots you don’t think…”
“That thing controlling her did this… if we don’t do something then all of the city can become like this…” The two ran to the curiosity shop as their sisters named it but it seemed to be closed and as they beat on the windows no one came. Before they could lose hope, Sweetie Belle’s eyes caught sight of a flyer someone had taped onto the side of the building.
“‘Are you having a problem that can’t be explained? Do you need private help to stop something you can’t call the police about? Try calling the Magic Detection Squad!’ Maybe they can help us!”
“I don’t know… that name is pretty crappy.”
“Not really in the place to be picky!” She pulled out her phone and the girls leaned close to the phone as it was answered by a boy who seemed to just have woken up.
“Ouch!"
"Sorry, Twi! It was an accident! Hey, put down the broom!! Hello? This is Spike.”
“Umm… we were gonna ask for the Magic Detection Squad?” They heard a curse as another voice came into the call and seemed to argue with the boy before his voice returned.
“Sorry about that, my partner had a disagreement with me so what can we do for you?”’
“Look our friend is being controlled by some necklace and she… did something to the people around Canterlot City they seemed to be drained of all their happiness…” Spike didn’t answer for a minute and a much more determined voice answered.
“Where are you two?”
“Umm in front of the curiosity shop?”
“Curiosity Shop? You mean that weird looking pawn shop for anything strange. Okay, we’ll be right over! Don’t leave unless you have too and don’t chase after your friend I know how much you must want to but that might not be her.” The wait was torturous for the two girls but Spike and Twilight did arrive on two bikes, Spike skidding to a stop expertly while Twilight’s hair was a mess, her glasses were crooked, and she was out of breath.
“I-I hate bikes! My legs are on fire… I am one of the smartest students in all of Crystal Prep and I did not sign up for exercise!” Spike smiled softly at his partner and asked her to give the bike to Scootaloo while she can ride on his back.
“Hey did we meet at-” Scootaloo blushed and covered his mouth while laughing lightly and glaring at the two.
“Oh, I did meet you two before at the arcade riiight?” They nodded and smiled while Sweetie Belle tilted her head and shrugged.
“So you two can help our friend? That necklace is controlling her right?”
“That’s the theory but we saw some of those people you talked about, the happiness sucked right out of them but Twilight saw something else about them had changed.”
“It seems like it happened to you two as well, your shadows were stolen…” The two girls looked down and blinked as the words were proven right, their shadows were gone and they didn’t leave any even if Twilight’s and Spike’s were there. “Whatever your friend is doing it is stealing a bit of their lives away but looks like she didn’t finish with you two. If she is on feet then she couldn’t have gotten too far but where-” A loud crash and police sirens could be heard about a mile away and the group on the bikes while going towards the sound as fast as they could. A large crowd were surrounding a holdup as the police were all aiming their guns at Applebloom as she sucked the shadow out of another person and let them fall.
“No!!! Please don’t hurt her!!” Twilight and Spike looked at each other and nodded as she sent him into the air and he slammed a fist into the ground, cracking it as flames burst around him. Before their guns could aim at him they were stolen and raised high in the air and thrown away. Twilight pushed her way beside Spike and defended Applebloom.
“We’re sorry but you all were about to make a big mistake.” Twilight started before she and Spike felt a hand on the backs of their necks and they fell to their knees as it felt as if something was being stolen from them. The sensation stopped as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo tackled their friend away and Twilight used her power to pull the two girls close to them, placing a shield around the four as Applebloom’s eyes glowed and her necklace sent a blast all around, sucking the shadows out of the police and the crowd in one strike.
“Element holder… if you wish to save the girl then bring the others to the edge of the Everfree Forest!” The girl pointed at Twilight and vanished as the shadows surrounded her and she was gone.
“Element holder? What did she mean?” Sweetie Belle asked the two but neither Spike nor Twilight knew another about any elements she could be holding.
“I’m not sure but that thing is clearly confused, but at least now we have a location, the Everfree Forest isn’t too far from here and now we have a chance to take your friend back but this is obviously a trap.” Twilight raised her fist and the other nodded and cheered in agreement before they rode to the forest and stopped at the edge. The sun was setting and the forest took on a much more sinister look as if the shadows themselves were beckoning the four.
“You two don’t have to go in, we’ll get your friend back.” Spike said but the girls shook their fears off in an instant.
“Applebloom is our friend and almost sister… we would never forgive ourselves if we abandoned her when she needed us most besides, she would do this for us!”
“You two are good friends, okay team let’s go! Spike lead the way with your fire and I’ll be in the back in case someone attacks.” He nodded and took the lead while igniting his hands and using them as a light.
“Sooo how did you two end up like this? Were you able to do it when we first met?”
“Well we came into contact with a mysterious object that fell from the sky and the radiation from it must have manipulated our DNA to give us enhanced abilities such as pyrokinesis and telekinesis.” The girl nodded but seemed to have trouble wrapping their heads around it as Twilight went off on a scientific tirade and Spike chuckled.
“We touched a magic rock and it gave me fire powers and her basically the force.” Twilight pouted at his explanation and blew her hair out of her face.
“I guess if you wanna be boring sure let’s just go with that.” The group walked for around ten minutes before the hairs on their arms stood and Twilight grabbed the girls and pushed them to the ground as Spike blasted fire at the ground around them. Dozens of shadowy figures with eyes that reflected the red of the flames had surrounded the group. Twilight stood back to back with Spike as she levitated several stones around them. “Right into the trap, let the girl go or we’ll have to force you to.”
“I see you disobeyed and didn’t bring the elements… no matter they can’t be too far and once you all are disposed of I will chase them to the ends of the earth. You want the weakling back? Take her the, I have no need for a puppet any longer!” The necklace floated off Applebloom and shadows swirled into the form of Applebloom and this shadow put the necklace on before grabbing the girl and throwing her to the group. “You can’t hope to beat every shadow I stole but you’re welcome to try. Kill them all!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo held their friend while picking up sticks and rocks to defend her. The army of shadows roared and ran towards them while Spike blasted fire out at them and Twilight shot beams of light out that annihilated them. Scootaloo hitting her stick and breaking it on one of the shadows. She looked at the stick before plunging it into the eye of the shadow and delivering a solid punch to its face. Sweetie Belle’s stick was stronger and she swung it towards a shadow’s head, knocking it down and then blocking two strikes from two more from behind her. She jumped away and playfully stuck her tongue out at her friend’s shocked expression.
“What? You think that my crazy sister wouldn’t teach me how to defend myself?”
“T-Twilight we’re being overrun here! She stole a good chunk of the city and I’m not sure if we’re making any progress doing this!” Spike clapped his hands while igniting them with more flames as he was forced to stick to punches and kicks as they had gotten too close. Twilight had started to sweat as she spun things around her like a tornado to keep the shadows at bay but had not trained enough to keep this up for too much longer.
“We don’t have to beat them all! As long as we get that necklace then the shadows should return to their rightful owners!”
“Should or will?”
“Not the time Spike!” Spike kicked off one of the shadow’s heads and blasted several fireballs into the sky and Twilight used her powers on them to make it rain fire down. Spike rushed to the girls and blocked them from the fire, some of it getting on his back.
“D-doesn’t that hurt?”
“Nah my skin is pretty tough and near fireproof. Spike and Twilight stepped up to the shadow Applebloom but were surrounded again as the shadow girl backed away from the two. The real Applebloom finally woke up and didn’t seem to remember anything but that she had attacked them back at the treehouse. She held her friends and apologized but they shook their heads and didn’t blame her. They gave a quick explanation of what was happening as they watched the shadows all attacking Spike and Twilight. Applebloom looked at the shadow version of herself and glared while the three looked at each other and nodded before running around the shadows and heading for the necklace. Before they reached the shadow AB they were stopped by two familiar shadows.
“S-Scootaloo… Sweetie Belle…” The two shadows struck quick and knocked back their counterparts as they surrounded Applebloom and shouted at her.
“You call yourself our friend? After hurting us and nearly turning us into one of those joyless husks of people! Look at what you did to your own city! Stealing and hurting countless people because you weren’t strong enough to resist the lure of power and beauty. Those two fools came here to save you and will die fighting a useless fight as you sink to your knees like the coward you are! Imagine who else you could have hurt! Your precious family~” Applebloom stepped back from the shadows and shook her head at the shouts as their voices filled her head and she screamed to get them out as they blamed her.
They were finally silenced as Scootaloo knocked her shadow down and then landed a swift kick to her face as the shadow vanished back into her. Sweetie Belle tried to headbutt the shadow but found that headbutts hurt before she kicked the shadow’s feet from under it and then elbowed her in the face. The shadow went back into her and the two girls looked down at their friend who apologized again and again but they hugged her and told her that they never blamed her.
She looked up at her friends as they held their hands out to her. “Come on Apple girl, let’s finish this and give that shadow some hell.” Applebloom looked down at her sister’s hat, her father’s hat, on the ground and then slipped it back on before grabbing the hands and standing beside her friends. A tiny light shined in the center of Applebloom’s chest as they walked to the shadow and it laughed at the sight of the three girls.
“Come to see the last bit of fight in your champions leave them? I must admit they lasted longer than I thought they would.” Spike’s raging flames were much smaller and didn’t last as long with the ones on his hands now fully gone. Twilight was pushed back as her tornado was gone and she cast a shield around the two but how long it would last was anyone’s guess as it was cracking already.
“No, we came to stop you.” The shadow frowned as she floated above the three and the shadows around began to swirl around her.
“You think so… the time for games is over and I think it’s time you three disappear!!” She aimed a hand at the three with Spike and Twilight shouting at them to run away but the girls stood determined. The shadow taking in all the darkness around her, even the storm clouds above them as she prepared to annihilate the three in one attack. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle each grabbed one of Applebloom’s hands as they closed their eyes but she kept her eyes open and looked up at the shining full moon that was now uncovered by clouds. “Die!!”
A beam of concentrated shadow and darkness shot from her hands and towards the three but as Applebloom grabbed her friend’s hands back and shut her eyes the small light in her chest expanded to her friends and shined as brightly as the moon. The blast hit a barrier as a large blue shield that seemed to be made of moonlight itself was protecting the three. Three symbols were on the shield, an apple with a heart in the middle, a wing with a lightning bolt in it, and lastly a star with a music note in the center.
“N-no!! What is this!?” Applebloom opened her eyes and stepped towards the shadow as the shield pushed forward also.
“This is the gift that my friends bring me, the strength the three of us share! You’ve hurt them, hurt me, threatened my city and family! Now I sent back all your hate back at you and take back my shadow!! I am not you!” The shield reflected the blast back and knocked the shadow out of the air. She fell on the ground cursing and turned to attack but was met with a stick to the face by Sweetie Belle and then a punch by Scootaloo before Applejack grabbed the shadow by the bandana and smirked. “You know Apples are pretty hard headed right?” She headbutted the shadow down before taking the necklace and the all the shadows vanished back to their owners and Twilight let her shield fall.
“You three did it! You beat that shadow with a giant shield like some kind of anime fight if only you had mechs…” Twilight flicked Spike on the forehead to get him to stop before they smiled at the girls.
“I think you three did an incredible job and I would like to make you three honorary members of our little club. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom you three saved the city this time.”
“Only after I put it in danger. We would love to join you two, maybe even help change that dumb name heh. But I don’t think the city is saved until we give this to you.” They handed the necklace to Twilight and she nodded before putting it in her bag and smiling at the pouting Spike.
“Heh, what’s wrong Spike?”
“...Everyone’s a critic… come on girls, Twilight is paying for dinner!!”
“Wait what?!” The girls cheered and Spike laughed as they all ran back to the forest entrance, Twilight rolling her eyes with a smile using her magic one more time to steal Spike’s wallet before giving chase.
“Okay journal, this one will be fun! We had a third case not too long ago and it involved a role model of mine! Here I wrote a record of the adventure, or could it be called a daring adventure?” . . . “Ugh stop knocking so loud I’m coming!” Spike shouted as he rolled off his bed and let himself fall to the ground. He landed on all fours and stretched out each limb until he heard a satisfying crack. He hopped to his feet and popped his back before letting a hand move through his messy green hair and yawned while opening the door to his dorm room.
“Look Cheese if this is one of your surprise parties I’m gonna lose it, the last time I almost drunk that punch you- C-Cadence!?! What are you doing in the boy’s dorms!?” He jumped away from the door as he was only dressed in his boxers but she rolled her eyes and walked into the room.
“Spike I took you baths I have seen you in your boxers.”
“No so long are you crazy!? You’ll be destroying my rep!”
“Rep? Bro you haven’t got much of one yet heh. Twilight is your only friend here and this is the reason I came over to see you today.”
“If you are gonna tell me I need more friends I have three others that go to Canterlot High and mom said no interfering with my love life and friend life.” Cadence put a hand to her heart and acted hurt.
“I am hurt that you would think I would do such a thing but if I did want to I'd say that it’s all because I want my dear Spikey Wikey to be happy.” Spike smiled and slipped on some jeans before hugging his sister.
“I know you’re looking after me but I’m also old enough to make my own decisions. Was this all you came for today?”
“Nope I need a favor, I need you to get Twilight away from Shining today so we can go on a date. Today is their sibling day but we really want to spend time together since it’s our only day off please!” Spike sighed slipping on a shirt and leaned against his bed while thinking about it.
“Hmm… I’m not sure if I could get her away from him, you know how she can be.”
“I do but I have something that may help, I have a group pass for you two and any others you want to take to go and see the set of the new Daring Do movie.” Spike froze at her words and slowly turned towards her as she smirked a bit and pulled out said pass. “So do we have a d-” She blinked and looked down as the pass was gone and Spike was happily jumping around her.
“Deal! I’ll get her to come and you two can go have fun.” He was hugged from behind as Cadence rubbed her face against his with a smile and headed to leave.
“Okay I’ll go tell Shining we’re on for tonight so I hope you enjoy the set. Oh and as your dean and sister, clean up your room some bro heh,”
“Yeah yeah, just don’t come back from your date with a bun in the oven or mom will kill us both!” Cadence blushed a bit and left Spike as he pulled out his phone to call Twilight and the other girls. While Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all easily got permission and were excited as they all loved the Daring Do movies, especially Scootaloo who said her sister would be so jealous, Twilight was a bit harder to convince.
“So why should I go to some action movie set again?”
“Twi this isn’t just any action movie, it’s Daring Do! Not only that but we may even get to meet her! She is an adventurer, explorer, author, director, master disguise artist, and treasure hunter! She has novels, comics, movies, and even games of her adventures! She’s been all around the world!”
“Okay that does sound pretty impressive but we have faced magic and this is our sibling day…”
“I bet during her journeys she saw magic before, maybe she can tell us about it and even if she hasn’t thought of the knowledge she could give you! I bet you could write a paper on it that could help towards that scholarship~”
“...Ugggghhhhh okay okay I’ll come with you and the girls. Come get me at the cafeteria oh and we’re almost out of food so you better hurry.”
“WHAT!? Why didn’t you tell me what time it was?! I’m on my way, save me a waffle!!”
. . .
Spike and Twilight looked out the window at Canterlot High feeling strange as their eyes went to the horse statue the school had and the strange red/yellow-haired girl that was touching it. Her blue eyes narrowing in frustration before they caught Spike’s and Twilight’s for the barest of moments.
“Howdy guys!” The voices made them jump as they turned to see Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo smiling there. “Sorry Ah guess we surprised ya. Were ya looking at Canterlot High? We may be freshmen but we can give y’all a tour sometime!”
“Yeah and maybe you’ll be able to show us Crystal Prep, my sister Rarity doesn’t even know how to get there.”
“My mom is the principle here so I know a lot about Canterlot High but if you want a tour of Crystal Prep then you should really ask Twi.”
“I’m not sure… Principal Cinch isn’t a big fan of Canterlot High or it’s students…”
“She hates my mom and aunt, which is one of the reasons she hired my sister. Cadence is skilled and very talented at her job but she needed experience to become a principal herself, but how much experience will depend on Cinch… It’s also why they sent me to Crystal Prep. Cinch said that she wanted to teach me to ensure no bias would be given but she has given me a large amount of work, equal to Twilight’s even though she is an advanced student.”
“That lady is what my sister would call a bit-” Scootaloo was cut off as they arrived at the movie studio and they got off excitedly. The lot had plenty of workers around moving things, guiding tours, some were dressed up all ready for shooting, and others seemed to be assistants getting things. The younger four of the group were all in awe and excitement at everything around them and even Twilight had to admit that she did want to see all the lot had to offer even if movies weren’t her thing.
“Okay everyone, we have one pass that proves we are allowed to be here so try not to run off on your own okay? Where did Spike run off to?” The three girls pointed nearby as Spike hopping in place while looking up at a large poster of a violet-eyed girl with long black hair and a darker grey in her bangs. She wore a confident smirk while she was dressed in a loose explorer’s shirt, cargo pants, a safari hat, and had a sapphire stone in her hands while several dangerous animals surrounded her. “So that’s her huh? Your adventurer.”
“YEP! A.K. Yearling as Daring Do in Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone! This was the first movie in the series based off the book, Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue! The next movies were Daring Do and the Lair of Secrets, The Forgotten Prisoner, The Griffin’s Goblet, and finally the Rings of Power. The movie they are filming now is the sixth movie, The Last Temple. I really have to show you them sometime.”
“Sure whatever but stay nearby so we don’t get kicked out, girls watch him and make sure he doesn’t fangirl too much after Miss Yearling. Girls?”
“Paranormal Defense Force, Movie Set Explorers!!” The three girls shouted and jumped next to Spike looking at the posters as Twilight gave a deadpan look and looked around before lifting them and making them come to her side. She found them their set and after showing one of the guards their pass they were allowed in. The whole inside of the set was turned into a giant temple with a forest surrounding it and an artificial night sky above them. The temple was illuminated by torches and at the very top was what seemed to be a giant magnifying glass.
“It’s crazy huh? How they can just recreate a whole other place in the world right here. Kinda like magic hmm children?” The group turned to see an old woman with a veil over her face who leaned on a cane.
“Yeah magic… if you don’t mind me saying miss, you don’t seem like you would be a Daring Do fan. Are you sure you’re in the right set?” The old woman chuckled under her veil and smiled at Twilight while she walked around her.
“Ahh, you are the one who uses your eyes and mind the most right? A realist in a world where reality is subjective and prone to change. The heart and soul of a child can live in anybody little miss but I do like you. A girl who can examine a situation and catch the details most others would miss, the mind of a true treasure hunter.” She walked slowly and leaned close to Spike before grabbing his mouth and pulling it open, touching his sharp teeth with a finger. “Strange but nothing I haven’t seen before. You seem to be smart too but your heart isn’t in the knowledge but the joy it could bring to others.” She smacked the back of his legs with her cane and he yelped holding his leg. “And so strong for someone so small. A hit from me would stumble most you know? The soul of a hero is in you my friend but heroes need more than guts and strength if they are ever to truly help someone..”
“T-thank you?” She moved on to the three girls who all held different expressions, Applebloom seemingly curious but cautious if she was to raise the cane against one of her friends, Sweetie Belle was behind Applebloom as she didn’t fully trust the woman yet and the examination she was doing on them all, but Scootaloo was all but jumping for joy as she seemed to be excited for what the woman would say about them. She genuinely laughed and patted the head of all three.
“Much like your two friends there, you three are quite the team and balance each other. Curiosity and strength, care and logical, and of course you have grit and determination. Yes, I do believe that you all were destined to be here, for us to meet.”
“Who are you? After that, I think we deserve an explanation.” Twilight knew that she was letting their recent adventures affect her as she prepared to use her powers if needed but the old woman smirked and doubled backflipped onto one of the ruins props before she grabbed the bottom of her dress and threw it off. Spike blushed as she grabbed the bottom of the dress and extended an arm to cover the girls’ eyes and was about to shut his own eyes before a large prop rock magically flew into his face and covered his view. He yelped in pain and groaned as Twilight’s eyes widen at the sight of the woman.
“Pretty hot huh kids?” The voice was stronger and confidence oozed from it. Spike moved his arms and the rock as he stared and forced some sound from his voice.
“Y-y-you’re d-d-d-”
“DARING DO!!!” The three younger girls shouted in surprise and joy as said adventurer nodded and did a playful bow.
“The one and only! Always nice to meet a few fans who have the potential to become adventurers.” The moment the woman jumped down from the ruins Scootaloo was right there holding a book out to her with stars in her eyes.
“My sister is your biggest fan ever! I-I was wondering if you would sign her first edition of Quest of the Sapphire Statue!” The star smiled kindly and nodded writing her name, a bit of a note about how good Scoots was to do this for her, and Rainbow Dash’s name. “Oh my gosh, she is gonna freak out when I get home!!!!” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle smiled and slowly pulled their friend away as Spike and Twilight walked up.
“So why the big disguise? Couldn’t you just show us who you were?”
“I could have done that but I didn’t for three reasons, one was because that would have been no fun, two I wanted to see what kind of people you all were and not some press, and three is I was hiding from my director.” Just then a dark-haired man with large glasses, a lopsided suit that was unbuttoned, came in while holding up his pants.
“Yearling!! Must you always be so difficult? We've been working together for over ten years now! Why must you treat me like a first timer every time? And give me back my belt! I don’t even know how you got it this time.” Daring smiled softly at the closest thing she had to a best friend and took off his belt and gave it back to him. She threw an arm around him and pulled him close.
“Come on Pic it’s all part of my charm and I know you love it! I just get bored when it’s all work and no play.” The man sighed but did smile softly and fixed his glasses.”
“We’ll get to the fun parts soon, promise but we need to finish these next few scenes. I even got a new camera that I found at some antique shop around here and tried it earlier by filming some of the sets. Oh, who are your friends?”
“These are the people who got your group pass thingie, I like them, lots of spirit.”
“Heh coming from you? That’s scary. It’s my pleasure to meet you all, I’m Photo Finish, the director of every Daring Do movie and the occasional romance.” He held out his hand to each one and they all shook excitedly with the slight exception of Twilight but she was just as excited, wanting to ask him everything about directing a movie. “Come on then children, you’re just in time to see Daring unlock the entrance to the temple.” The group walked with Photo as they got all the workers out of the sight of the camera and in walked Daring with a torch and looked around in cautious wonder. She looked up at the temple and pulled out a map which had a crude drawing of the temple and she smiled at it.
“The local people call it the Polyphemus Temple, said it was created by a cyclops or something to hide away the Sapphire. I may not have faced a Cyclops before but let’s see how good their traps are.” She cracked her knuckles before running up the temple stairs. When she reached the top she spent a moment to look at the view around her and sighed. She searched the ground and guessed there was a way to get into the temple. She examined the giant magnifying glass and saw that it had gotten dirty and clouded with age. She tried to move it but the thing was created to be unmovable and after wasting some water to try and clean it, she found that under the grime was tar or something that was made to permanently cover the glass. She followed the direction where the sunlight would be if reflected off the glass and ended up at the bottom of the temple again. After a bit of searching, she found a hole that was carved into some of the ruins.
“Why try to keep light out of this?” She pulled out a flashlight and concentrated the beam before shining it into the hole. Something in it shined bright and the ground trembled as she turned and saw some of the temple stairs opening to reveal a passage.”I understand now! A photometer opens and closes the entrance and since someone covered the glass they wanted it to be locked away for good.” She leaves the light behind to hold open the entrance as she traveled into the darkened temple.
“Cut! Not bad AK, we’ll shoot the action scene next.” Photo said as they waited for her to exit but only a voice came out.
“Umm Pic! Something happened down here!” The group all exchanged looks before following Picture into the temple after Daring. Inside they all gasped as it did look like a moss and spider infested tomb.
“Wow, the designers really went all out! I didn’t remember giving them the budget for all this.” He walked deeper into the temple before he stepped on a loose stone and the ground in front of him crumbled and fell into an abyss. He yelped and nearly fell when Daring grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back as they caught their breath. “W-what is this?! That kind of fall could have killed me! We don’t even have a basement so how?” The exit behind them started to close as the flashlight’s batteries died and they all beat against the exit trying to reopen it. “These aren’t real stone, so why can’t we open it!?” Spike, Twilight and the girls sat down in a circle questioning what could have happened and Twilight snapped her fingers pointing at Photo.
“You said before that you had gotten a new camera from around here right? Where exactly did you find it?”
“Some weird pawn shop, when I walked in a girl with a magic hat and cape was coming out shouting about the great and powerful Trixie. They said that they had just gotten the camera not too long ago.”
“Well I think the camera had some form of magical ability to turn everything it shot into the real thing so this temple is real and the traps and dangers here are real too…”
“Magic please, that’s insanity! AK?” Daring walked to them and looked deep into Twilight’s eyes.
“You don’t seem the type to believe in magic but you all knew the moment this happened that something had changed… how?” Twilight looked to Spike and he nodded.
“Fine, let’s say that we have experience with this kind of stuff.” She pointed at the hole from earlier and soon the rocks were brought back up from the depths. Spike let his hand burst into fire and the two adults stared at them before looking ahead.
“Okay so you all have superpowers… at least that is something we have to our advantage. Knowing how excited Pic usually gets, he taped this whole place right to… The stone! If you taped the stone then it should really have the power of what we wrote it to have so it can get us out and destroy the camera!” The group decided to go along with Daring even when Photo took the intuitive to try and call the police but the temple walls blocked his signal. Twilight helped everyone across the hole with her powers and then jumped across, not quite making it but Spike and Daring were able to catch her while they were pulled by the girls and Photo. They walked down their path, much more careful of where they stepped, Spike telling the girls to stay slightly back from the group and to watch Photo as he was having a bit of a breakdown at all that was happening.
“So Miss Yearling, how are you so okay with this explanation of magic? You haven’t really questioned us on anything and seeing that you said that you have been all around the world but hearing something like this is out there and you’re not surprised?” Daring looked back at the two and giggled a bit.
“Of course I’m curious and want to ask you all a thousand questions but we have bigger problems at the moment and I have always been a firm believer in magic. I did add more magic and that kind of stuff in my books to add actions and fantasy but it may also be how I wished those adventures went as most ended once I got the treasure and simply left. Not much fun there huh? I trained all my life for things like this and finally getting the chance to prove I’m more than just some movie star or explorer is exhilarating! I finally have a chance to be that hero that those girls and this young man with you believe I am. I also can take this as a learning experience, I always have done my adventures alone so having partners with me is different. Having someone I want to protect is different…” She said the last part looking over at her friend and giving him a smile.
“I think I know how you feel, I thought the best way I could do anything was through logic alone and focused on it but through my adventures with Spike and now the girls I want to do more than learn I want experience. Having friends like them, people who aren’t family that I would do anything for is scary but… I wouldn’t regret a moment with them.”
“Not to say that her mind hasn’t helped us here and there, usually outthinking the foe or finding their weakness. Even though she can really drone on and on sometimes too. We all love her too.” Twilight blushed a bit and punched the boy’s arm as he laughed. They stopped in front of their next challenge, a wide open hallway and the walls immediately started to close in on them and they rushed forward while Twilight was using her powers to hold open the door at the end of the hall. Daring saw ahead that the floor was readied to extend spikes out at them so she dug in her bag and used her whip to swing across and sent it back to them.
“Hurry, those walls are still closing in!!” Spike encouraged the girls to steel their nerves and then tossed them one at a time to the rope. Twilight quickly let the door close more as she jumped across and had to stop using the powers. Spike was about to jump when he saw Photo was panicking and he rushed to his side telling the girls to go and they would be right behind them. Twilight and the girls refused of course but Daring saw in his eyes that he needed to talk to Photo and dragged the girls with her saying that they should trust him. He smiled softly and turned to the man.
“Look I know a lot of crap is happening right now and most of it makes absolutely no sense.”
“Wow, you are bad at this part huh?”
“But you have to think about what you can do to help in this situation not worry about it and never get anything done.” Spike looked at the closing walls and dragged him to his feet as they ran and jumped at the whip with Photo catching the smaller boy’s hand and the two got across. As they ran to catch up to the others Photo let go of fears and baggage.
“I know I’m acting horrible but this life isn’t for me! I’m not great adventurer like AK… I always dreamed of impressing her on an adventure but accepted that it could never happen. Now that I have my chance to impress her… I’m blowing it. This is her life and maybe it has no place for someone like me.” Spike kicked Photo’s legs and knocked him down before he kicked him away the walls shot arrows at them and Spike used his arms to take the attack. He walked through the danger zone and picked the arrows off his skin, seeing that the tips had managed to pierce through his skin and left tiny droplets of blood dripping off the arrows.
“I guess I’m not as invincible as I thought. The door is closing let’s go!” The two men rushed to the door that Twilight was struggling to keep open any longer, collapsing on the ground from exhaustion. Spike gasped at the sight as the girls were desperately trying to wake her up. Photo ran faster and slid under the door, turning on the spot and groaned loudly while he held it open just long enough for Spike to roll under. He thanked Photo and went to Twilight and after making sure she was fine, lifted her into his arms. Daring led the rest of the way as they were finally approaching the stone which was on an alter just a bit ahead.
“The Sapphire Stone… it can’t be this easy…”
“No… You will never reach the stone with your life!” Daring jumped back as a boulder smashed the spot she had been at and her eyes widened as she saw what had thrown it.
“Oh dammit…” A large creature stepped out and blocked their way. It was blue and had an elongated dog-like head, except for his eyes, which are positioned over his nose at the end of his snout. He walks on all fours, with dog-like hind limbs and ape-like forelimbs, and a long monkey-like tail with a hand on its end. “Ahuizotl…”
“Yes, Daring Do. You really believe that you can just walk into here and take the prize that is rightfully mine?! Then you will make this place your grave and how kind of you to bring dinner.” The girls stood together stood in front of Spike but he carefully placed Twilight down and asked them to protect as he walked up beside Daring and his arms ignited into flames.
“I won’t let you or anyone hurt them.”
“Heh looks like you’re finding that inner hero kid, well let’s knock this bad dog back into his cage!” The two rushed at Ahuizotl, dodging his first punch which smashed and cracked the ground under them. Spike jumped and punched at the beast while Daring worked with what she had left in her bag including a nail filer which she used to stab into the monster’s eye making it roar and throwing the two away. Photo ran forward and grabbed a bone from one of the skeletons from around the set and jumped at the monster but it simply grabbed him and threw him behind him.
“Weakling.”
“Hey! That was my best friend you oversized stuffed animal!!” Daring Do shouted as she ran at the monster with a rage that Spike had never seen before, latching on the best and tearing out hair and beating on him all over quick as a flash. Spike and the others cheered her on but eventually, he managed to grab her foot and smash her into the ground. Spike blasted several fireballs at its head and sent a torrent of fire to keep the hand away from Daring but the monster used it’s other hand to punch Spike Into a wall. He groaned as he struggled to stand but fell back down. Daring struggled as she was grabbed and the monster began to squeeze but a voice made them all turn.
“Put the girl down!” Photo was standing there with the stone in hand as his veins glowed a soft blue and he jumped farther than most humans could, smashing the beast with several punches. Ahuizotl attacked and swiped at the man but he used the stone to block and push the monster back. Photo smiled and punched as Ahuizotl did, the two equaling in power and sending a small shock wave around. By this time, Ahuizotl noticed the stone had given the weakling power so he grabbed a rock and threw it towards Daring and even when she dodged, Photo went to help her. He blocked the stone but right behind it, the beast was there and knocked the stone away. He ran for it only to find his body thrown away, Twilight standing back up with a very peeved expression on her face. He stumbled back and found something push against his back, turning he was met by a giant blue shield smashing hard into his face.
“All yours Spike!”
“Nice one girls!” Spike shouted as he put all the flames he had left into one fist and jumped, uppercutting the monster and sending him to his last foe. Daring stood with the sapphire in hand and smirked as she had been charging it up and let all the power go.
“Lights out!” Her attack blasted him right out of the temple, destroying it and making them an exit. They all climbed out and smashed the evil camera, giving the remains to Twilight and Spike and letting the girls have the sapphire even though it had no powers now. Photo and Daring said that the sets would have to be remade and the destruction was blamed on an earthquake. They also invited them all to return for a much more normal day, something that Daring said she was actually looking forward to as long as Photo was there. The group waved at their newest friends before they got on the bus back home.
. . .
“Here are the next videos you requested sir! Your daughter also wished to enter and see you.”
“Let her in! Remember that she is to be treated with just as much respect as me.” The bodyguard nodded and apologized before he opened the door and a girl with purple hair and light blue streaks, light purple eyes, wearing torn purple jeans, a light blue shirt with a vest over it, and a beanie with stars entered.
“Hiya dad, found anything new?” The girl asked as she walked over to where a man with long greasy black hair, red eyes, wearing a black suit and black slacks was watching a screen intently and smiled at his daughter.
“Yes, it seems our friends have gotten more powerful with each adventure and have found more and more magical items while the other girl seems to have collected magic of her own and seems to have a goal with it. I believe that it’s time we make our move, how are you feeling Starlight?” Starlight Glimmer smirked as she looked up at her father, Sombra Black.
“Like things are about to get magical around here...”
“Ugh, where is that damn mirror? Why do those princesses never have one of their thousand guards to ever clean this place out? It’s insanity and coming from me is something. Ahh, here it is!” The being smiled wide as he threw a sheet off the mirror and it pulsed with power. “This world was so boringly devoid of my presence for centuries and this other world must also be dull so I will take this and sent them some fun.” The being grabbed a nearby statue of Celestia and changed it into one of himself before throwing it into the mirror…
. . .
“Hey, Twi! What’s up? Why call me back to this place?” Spike asked his best friend as he rode up to the old construction site where they first used their powers. Twilight was there leaning against the wooden fence while reading a book. Seeing that it was a hot day, she was dressed in knee-high purple shorts and a sleeveless pink T-shirt. Spike had also changed from his usual dragon jacket to a more comfortable red short-sleeved shirt with a fire pattern and worn blue jeans.
“Spike, we have been wasting too much time looking for the items when they usually end up coming to destroy us or those around us. Not only do we need to refocus on our studies as the Shadowbolts are looking to us now for the Friendship Games in a few months but these fights are getting harder and our tricks aren’t enough anymore.”
“I’m not sure if I wanna go against my mother’s school… so you brought me out here to train our powers more? New tricks and things?”
“Yes, we have been getting more friends and while I love that… we are putting them in danger over and over again.” Twilight sighed, tired at looking back and not being able to protect them and him but Spike gave her a small smile and put his hand on her shoulder.
“I know you’re right, so let’s deal with this and get stronger together!” She smiled back and nodded before they entered the construction site, not noticing the girl watching them nearby. Twilight prepared herself as she decided that their training would start with sparring with each other. Spike rushed in first and started blowing fireballs at Twilight who used her magic to reflect the fire back to Spike who put his arms over his face as the fireballs all hit him and pushed him back. He yelped and put out the tiny fires that had started burning his shirt, the skin in his arms seemed just fine despite the soot on them. “Hey watch the shirt! I didn’t bring any other clothes!” Twilight rubbed her neck and blushed a bit before they went on again for the next hour, sending attacks at each other and learning a bit on how they can manipulate their abilities.
“Hmm so I can use my magic to reflect the attacks but if I can focus that into more of its own thing…” Spike looked around and smashed his foot into ground, sending up fist-sized chunks of rock and sending the rocks at Twilight. She tried to reflect them but seeing that they weren’t magic they sent her flying onto her back and rolling on the ground.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!! Twi you okay?” Twilight got back on her feet and held out a hand to him to stop before starting to use her magic and twisting it, making it thicker and able to actually be seen.
“Send all the fire you want Spike because I am so getting you back for those rocks.” Spike blinked a bit and hesitated before throwing several fireballs but Twilight expanded her ball of magic into a bubble around her which the balls of fire stuck to. Spike spit out a bit of fire before running at her and blowing a hand of fire at her, ready to stop at a dime if it looked like the shield would fail. Once his fire stopped he saw all the fire as swirl around the bubble. Twilight was sweating as she moved her hands and the bubble folded on itself, keeping all the fire inside the bubble and she threw it at Spike. He groaned and put a foot behind him as he was prepared to catch the bubble but it slammed into him and pushed him hard into the ground. Spike yelled and forced his fingers into the bubble causing it to explode and flames to rain over his body. As the dust settled, Twilight was jumping at being able to use a new power but stopped and had an embarrassed smile as Spike walked out of the smoke cloud, his shirt burned and entire pieces were gone, and his hair was a mess.
“Oops… my bad but heeeey I have force fields!”
“Congrats Twi now let’s see what I can- what the hell?!” Spike shouted looking at his hands as they had a more claw-like look to them. His nails were long, sharp, and thick.
“Hmm… it may have happened when you tried to stop the magic ball. My powers improve what my mind can do and depend on my mental strength to improve. These powers that you have, the fire and super tough skin, all seem to be improving your body and relies on your physical strength. When I sent that ball of magic your body must have decided that these claws were needed to survive so it adapted.”
“So I have claws now… I wonder how tough they are.” Spike looked at a fallen metal beam and back at his hand before swiping at it and finding that the claws were able to make a clean cut on the metal. “Not very long but very dangerous. He smiled and turned back to Twilight and she giggled giving him a thumbs up in return. The two decided that that was enough for now and spent some time laying next to each other and saying what passing clouds looked like. “Twilight, I think you need your glasses cleaned because that thing does not look like Godzilla!”
“It does your just not trying to see it! Tilt your head and squint.”
“Oh wait… I think it’s coming. I can see it!”
“Really?”
“Nope.”
“Bonehead.”
“Bookworm.”
“Shrimp.”
“Witch.”
“The sexiest witch you ever saw!” That did get a laugh from Spike as Twilight had said it in a mock tone and she snapped her fingers at him while moving her head.
“Hey looks like you do watch movies between all those books, yet you have said no to coming over to my dorm and watching some of my collection. That’s so unfaaair! Two nights ago, I snuck the girls in and we had a fun night eating popcorn, apples, reminiscing memories…”
“Spike I usually spend the night finishing my studies and sleeping. I want to go through a marathon with you but I’d have to find the right night.”
“I know and you’re right, I just don’t want you to never relax with good friends. I never made a single friend because of my sole focus of impressing my family when all they ever wanted was-”
“For you to grow up happy… my parents are the same way. I should visit them soon. You should have heard how happy they were after they first met your mom and aunt when Shiny and Cadence started dating.”
“Wait I think I heard that from my room… oh my gosh, I remember now, my mom and aunt Luna pulled out the destroyer of worlds and humiliator of gods… the photo album!!” Somewhere Spike imagined it was thundering and lightning struck when he spoke the name. Twilight giggled and rolled her eyes.
“A photo album? How bad can it honestly be?” Spike gave her a deadpan expression as his face was red just thinking of it. “Wow, that bad? Why not try to get rid of the book?”
“Cadence and I have tried but even together our powers were not enough and I think that she actually has multiple copies! She has Cadence’s baby photos, her first haircut which she did herself, Cadence eating her first food, her first day with braces (One of Spike’s favorites), and a lot more.”
“Wow, that does sound bad… and what does she have on you?” Spike groaned at the thought and blushed worse.
“...bathtime with my sister, me buying my first book and game with my own money, my first roller coaster, and lots of other stuff she was able to get when I wasn’t looking. I’m telling you, it’s a book of horrors that we tried to destroy.” Twilight smiled knowing that her mother had a book like that but also knew that she had taken all the embarrassing photos of herself (or so she thought).
“So how long before you think Shining and Cadence tie the knot? Heh, I give it a few years, Shining might try a few times but break before going all the way unless he gets us to help him or something.” Twilight asked thinking of her brother freaking out over something like a ring.
“I believe in my bro, Shining will ask her sooner I think. Those two really have something special.”
“They do don’t they? That is what I want, someone that through all their flaws and mistakes will always hold you in their heart and just… love you for you...”
“I think we all want that… someday but for now I don’t think we should worry too much about it.”
“You sure Spike? I mean, think of all the possible things that go wrong! I mean we have powers now and who knows what they have done to our bodies?! What if when either of us decided they wanted to marry and have a family the children are born like this… Not to mention all the danger that comes with dating…”
“Twilight! Relax… let me tell you something an old friend of mine once told me.”
“I thought you didn’t have any friends before me?”
“Ouch and that is mostly right, I had my babysitter. She was tough and could come off as cold but all the guys around would always call her hot. I didn’t understand back then what they meant but now I find myself agreeing heh. No, she was kind to me and taught me a lot that I didn’t understand until now. She always noticed how hard I was dedicating myself to my studies and told me that my family loved and will be proud of me no matter what. She tried to get me to take slow down and enjoy my life day by day. We may not always win but day by day we can take things as they come and we show the world that we’re living right and true. She believed that this was the only real way to live and she stuck to her word, never letting anything get to her or worry her.”
“She sounded amazing… I don’t if I could live like that, I just get too anxious and scared of something going wrong. ”
“She was… I miss her from time to time. Imagine if she saw me now, I wonder what she would think? I know it’s not easy but I think you could manage it.” Spike smiled softly and extended an open hand up at the sky before letting it close and pulling it to his heart.
“How touching…” The deep voice made them both jump to their feet as a man stood there. He had long black hair, piercing red eyes, a black suit and red tie despite the heat, and a somewhat kind smile. A car behind him showed that he must have snuck on them when they were focused on their talk.“I don’t think I had the pleasure of being properly introduced to you two. I’m-”
“Sombra Black, father, school teacher, and mayor candidate. If you don’t mind me asking sir, why are you here in such a place?” Twilight questioned while pushing her glasses up, not fully trusting the man after what Beezen had done to the two. Sombra bowed his head to the two and nodded but ignored the question.
“Yes, that’s me though the paper got that wrong as well. I’m no teacher but serve as the school’s counselor. I’m actually a good friend to your mother and aunt mister Spike. I used to be a man who was not worth such a position much less one of a father but thank the stars above that your mother Celestia was willing to give me a chance to prove myself. With her help and kind words, I turned from my old life of drugs and illusions of grandeur to earn a degree in psychology. I turned my life around but I wasn’t yet happy and decided to take one more lesson from Celestia’s book, I adopted a child. The poor girl had lost her father after he met an unfortunate end. I’d like you to meet my daughter, Starlight Glimmer.” His smile grew a bit at the mention of his daughter and he gave them his card which was all black and had his name, job, and number in it. Out of the car came a girl dressed in sunglasses and wearing a dark blue tank top and purple shorts.
“Nice to finally talk to you two, after all that following you around and making sure no one else discovered your gifts. For two of the smartest people around you make a lot of mistakes.” The two stared at the girl, not so shocked that they knew about their powers but more than they had been protecting that fact.
“Making sure no one knew but-”
“Cameras and sites of your… actions have to be seized and cleaned up with people asking questions. You have to be more careful but all in all you and your little posse have done a fine enough job I suppose.”
“Be nicer Star, I bet it can’t be easy for them to balance studying and learning more about their own abilities.”
“No, it’s not easy sir but sorry for asking again but why are you here?” Spike asked while lowering his guard somewhat he was still confused and got an off-putting feeling from Starlight.
“I wished to thank you on behalf of the city and those you have protected, I know somewhat of what Mayor Beezen had done to you and why you were forced to put him down. You two have been collecting magical items and defending us best you could but I believe that together I would be able to help you with this mission of yours.”
“No… I apologize but I’m not sure if I could trust someone in your position yet. We have been doing just fine by ourselves.” Twilight said while taking Spike’s hand and the two began to walk away but Starlight stepped in front of them.
“My father is trying to help you two! Imagine what we could do together! We could call you right when threats happen so no one would be hurt, think of your little friends getting into danger and if you weren’t around to save them! We have a bunch of people around that work for us and are trying to help!”
“Starlight! Stop and let them go, this is a big offer and it shouldn’t be something they rush into. Authority hasn’t been good to them or you so try and see this from their view, maybe they see me as trying to get them under my control. We will have our chance to help them, after all, we all want the same thing. To protect Canterlot City and her people.”
“But… yes, father…” Starlight moved as Sombra walked to her and hugged her while smiling and nodded at Spike who had looked back while they left. When they were a good ten minutes away Twilight stopped and sighed hard.
“I’m sorry Spike… I lost my cool back there… I don’t know about trusting him. Having friends like you, the girls and others have been making me question if we are enough alone but I don’t want to trust anyone else because they could get hurt…”
“I understand and you’re right, we need to think this over not really giving him all we know. We’ll be fine, just try not to keep this all on your shoulders, we’re partners after all right?”
“Right, partners…”
. . .
“Okay Marble, you can do it this time! Just like Pinkie said, just be bold and introduce yourself and you’ll have a hundred and ten percent chance you’ll gonna be friends. Even if that is over a hundred percent and doesn’t really make much logical sense… anyway, all you have to do is say hi to Big Mac.” Marble Pie talked to herself in the mirror before splashing some water in her face and preparing herself to go talk to the older boy but as she had finally gotten the nerve and was exiting the restroom, she was smashed by the door.
“Oh, I hate those three and their dumb stories… all that talk about magic and their friends who are some kind of superheroes. How dumb do they think we are Silver?”
“I don’t know Diamond, they seemed to have gotten the class pretty convinced.” Marble rubbed her face and ignored the two other girls that had entered deciding that she should just go home and do this a different day. She walked out of the restroom and hit someone who was drinking water but the person grabbed her before she hit the ground.
“I-I’m so s-s-sorry… I didn’t se-” She was silenced by the sight of Big Mac there and he just gave her a kind smile but before he could say anything, Marble was gone only leaving dust behind and people questioning if they had seen a flash of grey or not. Marble leaned against a locker and breathed deeply as her careful plan of making a friend had combusted in front of her eyes. “Why do I get all the bad luck… Pinkie has so many friends and everyone likes her… I just want one…” A yelp from nearby drew the girl’s attention and she turned a corner just to freeze in shock and fear. A boy was on the ground sniffling as his eye was blackened and his lip was bleeding. He was covering his face from further injury as three other boys were standing over him but they turned before they could deliver any more damage.
“Hey, you! Stay there!” The leader of the three shouted at her but her eyes were at the boy who mouthed the word run. She willed her feet to move and she ran, hiding in the unused science room as she heard the footsteps past by. She came out and rushed to the boy who was leaning against the wall. He had long grey hair with grey irises, an oversized black and white striped shirt, and black dirty jeans. Marble lightly helped him up and handed him a cleaning rag that she usually used to clean off the rocks that Maud would bring home.
“Thank you… Those guys wanted more money from me even though they know I barely have any… I think they only want to hit someone…”
“Who were those jerks? We should get you home…”
“They were the Diamond Dogs or that’s what they call themselves, nothing but a bunch of trouble makers… I just need to get to the bus. Thank you again for helping me, Miss…”
“I-I’m Marble Pie and I only wished I got there earlier… What’s your name?”
“Grey Matter, wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t remember it, the teachers barely do.”
“I like it… okay, Grey, I’ll get you to the bus and tomorrow you can bring this back to me.” She said while pointing at the rag and giving him a small smile. The boy stared at her unsure but nodded and relaxed a bit more. He thanked her as he climbed on the bus and took a seat in the front that was empty.
“Good job Grey… the first time you talk to a girl and she has to save you from getting beaten up I’m so sick of this… Someone has to teach those guys a lesson…” Marble smiled to herself as his bus left and she let out a cheer that someone could have confused as her sister’s but the moment she made it she hid behind her hair and blushed while getting to her own bus. A loud excited shriek shook the bus as she got on and was immediately pulled into a hug.
“OH MY GOSH, MY BABY SISTER HAS A FRIEND! MY FRIEND SENSE IS GOING OFF! I WAITED YEARS FOR THIS MOMENT!”
“Crushing me into gravel Pinkie…”
. . .
Grey slammed his door as he had just gotten back to the shack he called home. He let his book bag hit the ground and decided he would do homework later, after a short nap and before he had to get ready for work. He ignored the small stack of bills and rolled his eyes. He stretched and grabbed a banana before heading past the small kitchen and into his room. Most of the walls in the house were either an aged white or a dull grey due to not having permission to paint them. He wanted some color to offset the boring shades. He relaxed on his bed and turned his music as loud as his old speaker could get it and let his playlist run endlessly. He had to admit that being alone far from others in a shack had the one advantage of not having neighbors to bother but also left a lonely existence.
“I should rest, may not get any tonight if I miss the bus again…” The boy yawned and hugged his sheets close to his chest as he let the loud music take his mind to sleep. He woke just as the sun had set and stretched before groaning and rubbing his eyes tiredly. He ignored the mirror and homework and walked out of his house, looking up at the moon and feeling his anger of how the day turned out build up and he shouted curses at the moon and sky. He went off on his rant for a full five minutes before he cried and fell to his knees. “Please… I just want something… something more… I wish I had someone who could help me…” As if the sky itself was listening or trying to kill him a fireball rained from the sky and he jumped to his feet, trying to run as the ball smashed into the earth and sent the boy flying into the wall of his shack. He yelped in pain and held his back as he saw he had dented his wall. He slowly walked to see what had caused the damage and found something on the ground as the smoke cleared.
“Y-yoooou~” The boy tilted his head in confusion as a voice could be heard in his mind. A statue was on the ground, even after the fall from the sky it was in perfect condition and seemed to have been masterfully made.
“W-what are you?” Grey asked as the statue spoke to him.
“I have gone by many names but only one really matters to you human, you can call me your greatest wish granted. You want power, right? You want to make things right. Think of that girl from earlier, what if those Diamond Dogs saw her face and go after her? Who will protect her? You can’t do anything by yourself but if you accept me then you will have the power to save everyone. You will get the life you want.”
“What would I have to give up…”
“Nothing, all I ask is you share something with me…” Before grey could ask what he would have to share he grabbed the statue and he screamed as power filled his body and his hair began to stand and his eyes lost the grey look and took on manic yellow and reds. A twisted smirk grew on his face and he began to laugh as he looked at the statue and dusted it off. “Looking good. Well, kid now that you agreed to share, call me Discord…”
“Damn kid, this place of yours is a dump! I mean you felt my power right? You think a guy like me who should live like a king, will be staying in a shack? Nope, we are gonna give this place a complete makeover!” Grey was still there as he felt the power surge through his body again and Discord showed off a bit of what he could do, smirking and rolling up his sleeves as his hands sparked. He masterfully raised the entire shack and maneuvered it around, causing Grey to slight freak out at the idea of his stuff being trashed. Discord only offered a chuckle to the boy’s concerns before he expanded the building until it was the size of a real house if not a strange one that most would have called insanity. The chimney resembled a corkscrew and one side of the building was taller than the other making it seem as if it was leaning on the other side, It was hard for his mind to see how the house could honestly work in the inside.
“H-how did you? This place is too big for one person! THINK OF THE TAXES!”
“Relax kid, I got this and there are two of us in this body now. So you’ve lived here alone? Aren’t you a bit young for that?” In his mind, Grey’s consciousness took form and he rubbed his arm as Discord was also there, sipping tea and seating on a chair that wasn’t there.
“I’m alone… no family left. I was all I had and I worked to keep my lifestyle going with some help from Principal Celestia. She gave me a well-paying janitor job at the school.” Discord crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
“Ugh, so she is here too? I shouldn’t be surprised that the princesses would have been reborn in this world but not me?! Blasphemy! Does explain why things are so boring though.” Discord took on nearly a kind or pity expression at the familiar feeling of loneliness flooding this boy. “So we’re both alone huh… last one of our own. I guess that’s another reason this body feels right, we’re not so different. Both wanting power and change in our lives, well you should get to feeling better now. After all, I am here now and with me by your side things around this place are about to change.” Discord walked into the new house and snapped his fingers to turn the inside of the house from it’s grey coloring to a vibrant array of colors with no reason nor rhyme to their patterns.
“Dear god it’s like an insane five-year-old with a chest full of crayons painted my house.”
“I was going for more professional six-year-old.” Grey gave a confused look at Discord and wondered if the being was dumb or a genius. “But never mind all that for now, I want to see what this world can offer someone like me.”
“I don’t think Canterlot City has ever had someone like you… but I suppose that I can skip my nap to try and… SHIT I’M GONNA MISS THE BUS AND BE LATE FOR WORK!!” He took back control of his body just as Discord was about to eat a sandwich and he left it there as he ran out of the house.
Discord spoke in his mind, an irritated tone lining his words. “And they call me evil? You sir just abandoned a legendary lunch!”
“It was a sandwich.”
“A legendary sandwich!!” Grey ignored the urge to facepalm and waved his arms as the bus began to leave him and blew dust in his face as it left. He sighed and dusted himself off as he sat down on the curb. “Wow, that bus driver hates you.”
“I spilled hot coffee on him once when I was pushed…”
“You know what could make you feel better right now?”
“You using your powers to get me to the school?”
“Nope, a sandwich.” Grey sighed and put his head in his hands before finally giving in.
“If you get me to school I’ll let you eat all the sandwiches you want.”
“Deal! Hold on to your… what are these uncomfortable things on my crotch? Hold on to those.”
“I really hate you…” Discord retook control before magically making a stack of notecards appear out of nowhere and flipped through them wearing a tiny pair of glasses. “Uhhh what are you doing!?”
“Shush I’m looking through all the ways that I could get you there, ooo this one includes a flamethrower and a rubber duck!”
“No even gonna ask but I need to get there fast please!”
“Fine fine gosh you are just no fun.” Discord grumbled as he flew up and looked around the city and sped down to the school, spinning, twirling, and actually enjoying the wind through his hair. He let Grey in on the fun as he gave the boy his powers in mid-flight. He panicked but at the last second before hitting the ground he started to fly and he opened his eyes in awe at how fast the world seemed to go by him before tilting his body up and shooting into the sky. Grey laughed looking down before going through a cloud and letting himself fall back to the earth, saving himself last moment and feeling his heart race from the thrill. He shouted his joy out as he flipped and landed on the ground behind the school as it looked empty. “Now look who was having fun, we might save you yet heh.”
“I-I flew!! I really flew!! Oh my gosh, that was the most amazing thing ever!! Ahh the wind, the excitement, I never wanted to come down… Thank you Discord for the help…”
“Don’t mention it, kid… besides if I didn’t help I would have to hear you complain all day and it’s still my first one here so not the way I wanted it to go.” The two shared a laugh as he went into the school for work.
. . .
Celestia was not a very nostalgic person most of the time, regardless of what her children would say, but there were times that she needed to look back. She sat in her office and grabbed a large tomb that was special to her among the dozens in the room. In the book’s first pages, the old photos were yellowing in the corners and depicted a mother and father holding two bundles. Twins were a shock, shown by one of the photos showing the father had fainted. Writing was under the photos and the words always made the woman smile. “My sweet love was less ready for the second one than I was! Luckily, girls, he was only down for a minute before getting back to his feet and wanting to hold you both. He even came up with the first name when he fainted, Celestia. I tell you two, he comes up with his best ideas when he isn’t fully conscious hehe.”
The next image showed Celestia and her sister whose name her mother came up with, “I saw her starry eyes and beautiful face and I knew my little Luna could be the light in the darkest skies.” and the two seemed to be happy in their parents' arms. The next images flew through the years and showed them all growing as a family, going through the ups and lows. He laughed seeing her old school photo where she had braces and Luna had gone through a goth phase in her life. The next photos showed a drastic change as the years past by much more quickly and Celestia felt guilt stab her heart as she remembered that they had rejected any photos as they got older. Finally, she came to the image of them graduating and leaving Canterlot City as their parents looked on with tears. By the time the sisters returned their parents had passed peacefully and Celestia used to want to burn this book but then something incredible happened.
She turned the page and saw herself in the hospital with a bundle of her own. The writing under the image was her own. “My sweet baby… she was so small and filled with life. I felt something then that I never knew was possible, absolute and unbridled love. I felt like I could move the whole earth if my girl asked me too. I wish you could have seen her mom. Luna was so happy she held her up and announced her name would be Cadence.” The next pictures always hurt her as her only love arrived late to the birth but would be there all images after until finally, the last photo of him smiled back at her as he held their girl in his arms. The pictures may have stopped there if not for a special someone. The next picture was the family again, Celestia hugging Cadence and playing with her hair as next to her Luna was giving Spike a nuggie. “A family, a broken and small one, but together we are all we need.”
The four were unbreakable as a family with more photos than ever until more faces entered the photos, more recent ones. The family’s first meal with Shining, where Celestia accidentally spilled hot gravy on the man’s pants, them all at a festival that was in town, the group at an amateur concert, and the latest one where the family had grown beyond what the mother thought possible. Behind the group, fireworks exploded but they were all facing away for the moment. Three girls were in front, all smiling wide as they leaned on Spike’s head while he looked annoyed, the middle one had a candy apple in her mouth, the left was smirking and had sparklers, and the last one had a party popper ready to blow. Behind the girls was Cadence and Shining who were sharing a kiss. Celestia holding up a drink, (it was a celebration cut me some slack!) while looking red in the face while Luna was holding her up and smiling. The last member of the group was a girl wearing glasses as she watched her brother’s kiss and was caught in the middle of her fangirling.
“I’m proud of them, all found their place together even if some still question it.” he put the book down at a knock on her door and the voice reported he was coming in to work. Celestia shouted back that she would catch the time and smiled lightly. The poor boy had no family or friends but he insisted on doing all he could alone. He had a good heart if not a stubborn one. She only hoped that her helping him would eventually get through to Grey Matter. She hoped the boy would one day open up to others and make some friends. If her son and Twilight Sparkle could do it, anyone could.
. . .
Grey worked the halls and cleaned up many of the classrooms that were empty. Most of the students that were still there were mostly in the library with a choose few in classrooms with teachers for tutoring. Discord was proudly many things but patient was not one of them. He complained and whined about how boring this was but soon enough found himself staring more at the humans around him and how familiar they were. Grey talked to him about their history and listened as Discord spoke about his home but neither was paying attention to where they were walking until they crashed into someone.
“Hey! You brat watch where you’re walking!” Grey rubbed his head and looked up as fear gripped his heart, standing there dusting herself off was the scariest girl in school, Sunset Shimmer.
“I-I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean to…” Sunset glared down at the boy before rolling her eyes and began walking away from him.
“Weakling, couldn’t even stand up for yourself for a moment before groveling.” He lowered his head and gritted his teeth as a tiny bit of Discord’s magic flared and Sunset looked back as something in her backpack glowed. She turned back to him but Grey was already gone. “Impossible…”
He ran down the hall and sat in front of his locker, rubbing his eyes as tears filled them. He waited for the taunting voice of Discord but it never came, the other being in his head was silent. “A-aren’t you gonna laugh or make fun of me?”
“No… I don’t see much funny about this right now. I… can feel what you’re feeling and it’s strange. A deeper sadness than what I could feel on my own, we draconequus are meant to find happiness in chaos and fun in insanity but being stuck in you, my emotions are off what they should be.”
“What’s a drac-”
“Hey, wimp!” Grey groaned and sighed as he looked up and saw the Diamond Dogs coming to him and long-held anger filled him again, Discord inside beginning to get affected himself. “Oh, man are you crying back here? Looks like you’re slacking off your work, you have to earn us our wages boy or do you need a reminder of why you pay us for our ‘protection’?” Grey didn’t answer as he only gritted his teeth, this pissed off the thugs as they tapped his forehead to get a reaction and again nothing. Then he punched the boy’s stomach, knocking him to the ground and began to kick him as all the insults came back at once.
“Orphan, Trash, Pathetic, Idiot, Weakling…” He spat out blood as he forced himself to stand again and when another punch was thrown at him, he grabbed it easily.
“No… Never again!! I am not weak!” He looked up with burning tears in his eyes as one was a manic yellow and red. His hair stood up as power filled his body and he threw the bully into the lockers hard. The other two rushed him but he waved his hand at them as they were sent flying and crashing into the walls. “I will never be treated like this again, I am not weak and I will show the world that!! They will pay for ignoring me and my pain! You all will pay!!” The leader of the bullies tried to run but felt a magical grip around his throat as he struggled and choked.
“Hey!” The boy turned with a snarl as Sunset Shimmer stood there holding a scepter in her hand and she glared at the boy before shooting out red electricity that dropped the bully. “That power… it doesn’t belong to you and I will take it back!” Grey roared and shot a blast of energy at her but she used a shield and sucked up the power before shooting it back at him. He slammed against the lockers and could hear more people coming, looking up he found her holding the scepter at him. “You’re too weak to have that much power, you’re just a human.”
“Weak… you called me weak!?” He yelled and shot both his hands out at her before she could react, sending her smashing through a classroom door with an explosion of power. Some of the students rushed to her side and some screamed at the sight of him. “You all ignored me… you never cared and so you will bow!” He sent a wave of magic at them and all felt their bodies contour and fall into a bowing state. He walked through the hallways making everyone bow, except when the principal and her sister stepped up to him.
“Grey Matter… what have you done? I don’t know what is happening to you but please, don’t do this to everyone! Think of those that tried to help you!”
“Y-you did… you two did your best for me… I’m so sorry, I hope your dreams give you peace.” He struck the two with magic and they lightly fell into a deep sleep. He sadly put them into one of the empty classrooms before hearing someone nearby moving…
. . .
Sombra had been taking some time off his campaign to return to his job as in case he lost to Filthy Rich than he would still have a job. He was teaching the kids how crystals were created and how they had electric power in them and the benefits they had over other alternatives. The lesson was interrupted when they all heard shouting from the hallway and Sombra had the children put their heads down as he went to check it out, just to see one of the students was surrounded by a strange aura. Sombra couldn’t resist the smirk growing on his lips as he had seen the magic before on tapes butseeing it at work in person was a entirely different beast. He could feel the power from where he stood and immediately ran to his desk and pulled out his phone and making a call.
“Starlight, get to the school and quick! A student here must have come into contact with an object and is- Ack!!” The phone fell from his grip as he felt himself being choked from behind and started to float in the air. He struggled and glared as his students cried out for the torture to stop.
“I always like you Mr. Black, a good teacher if not a dense one. Now the rest of you will join the others in the hall or hurt your teacher more, your choice.”
“Y-you can’t control… this much power…” The teacher’s words sparked rage again in the boy as he pulled the man close.
“Oh yeah? How’s this for control!?” He pushed the man away and he slammed hard against the wall and crumbled to the ground. The students did as they were ordered and went into the hall as Grey continued to search the school and take everyone he felt had a place in his vengeance until he reached the library. He again took all the students but he saw one that was hiding under a table and her eyes stared back at him in fear. Pain and guilt stabbed his heart as he stared at Marble Pie and he left her alone as he shook his head and rushed out of the library, not able to keep seeing how the girl’s kind eyes had turned into fearful ones. “N-no… they’re the ones at fault… they did this to me and hurt her. I am not the monster here!”
Marble held out a hand as the first friend she had made ran out and left her all alone. She cursed herself as she had let her shyness and fear at the sight of him keep her from even speaking his name. Why did she have to be like this? Why couldn’t she be like Pinkie? The two were twins yet nothing alike. Pinkie was funny, pretty, always able to stand out and make a person smile no matter how bad their day but she was quiet, timid, frightened of being the center of attention. “N-no more… He needs me. This is going too far! I h-have to help my friend!”
Grey was heading for the front door so all the town would feel his wrath when three girls stood in his way. He gritted his teeth and aimed a hand at them causing it to glow. “Stand aside, I do not wish to harm you.” The three stood strong and when he struck at them he was shocked as they held each other’s hands and a shield reflected his spell back at him and he glared at them. “How dare you!”
“Ah think this as gone on far enough!”
“She’s right! Look around you! Is this what you want?! To be feared and hated!?”
“You think you’re the only one who has felt like this? Like they were deserving of something more? Well, get used to it! You can’t just force the world to be what you want!”
“I can do anything, I have all the power and will not be stopped by the likes of you!” He zapped them with more and more power as they fought back with their shield, the three pushing themselves past their limits as electricity sparked between the shield and power. The three shouted out as Grey pushed them all out of the front doors to the ground and flew into the air before looking down at them and lifting several other objects and sending them to crush the three. Another energy project came from the three this time taking the form of a sword which sliced the objects and protected the three. He roared and blazed to the brim with magic as he fueled on more and more hate and rushed at the three, the sword swinging at him and he punched it with all the power he had resulting in a explosion. The three girls reached out for each other despite their pain, their sword laying broken on the ground before vanishing, but felt gentle hands grabbing them gently.
“You three know you should have just waited for us after you called us but I knew you would never be able to stand aside. So stubborn and brave… maybe you’ve been hanging around Twilight too long…” Their vision cleared to see Spike and Twilight had finally arrived and both looked up at the boy as he laughed and the very sky above turned a dark red. They stood to face their foe but Sweetie Belle grabbed the boy’s hand and he looked down.
“Be careful… he’s strong than anything we faced before. He even got your mom and aunt…” Spike’s eyes widened and he made her look at him as he pleaded with her to tell him where they were. Sweetie didn’t answer but Scootaloo did as she was standing while holding up Applebloom. She told him where they were and Spike rushed to the school, Twilight grabbing his arm.
“Spike! I know you’re worried about them but we have a bigger problem! If he gets to town it would be havoc!!” Spike looked at her eyes and back at the school before taking his arm and looking away.
“I’m sorry… but she’s my mother…” Spike shook his head and ran into the school, leaving a shocked and hurt Twilight behind as she looked away to face Grey on her own, or rather she would have been alone if someone didn’t just arrive. Starlight Glimmer jumped out of the passenger side door and ordered the driver to leave as she ran beside Twilight.
“Sparkle! What is going on?! My father called saying that a student had found magic and looks like he had gone crazy!! I know you don’t trust me and I may not even like you but we have to do something!” Twilight stared at the girl before she looked at the place Spike ran off to and nodded if she let this madness spread then she could be dooming her home and friends. The two shook hands just as a third person joined them, holding the bloodstone scepter in her hands. The girl’s normally perfect look was now ragged and dirty, her red and yellow hair sticking out in several places. “Sunset Shimmer…”
“Who?”
“Yeah, and who are you two? What?! The scepter senses magic in you both… I don’t have time to deal with you, I want that runt!” She shouted pointing at Grey. “Why are you two after him?”
“He hurt my father.”
“For the safety of my city and best friend. You?”
“He smashed me through a door.” The three stared at each other, none really liking the others much at all but decided they would work together for now. Sunset spun the scepter and jumped onto a bench as it was swept up by the spinning storm of magic Grey was causing. Twilight levitated stones to create stairs up to him and Starlight slipped on two items she brought just in case, a pair of shoes and two bracelets. The shows sprouted wings and which she struggled to keep herself steady she did start flying towards the others and yelped as a table caught in the powerful winds was heading for her but as she blocked, the table snapped in half. She looked down at the bracelets and cheered that they really worked, her father thinking they should have at least one or two items of their own for protection and they kept the wing shoes and the bracelets which increase strength and durability.
Twilight barely ducked under a stone that he threw at her and Sunset was jumping from one piece of debris to another. She looked around and then saw Starlight in the distance. “Glimmer! You are the only one that can fly! Distract him so we can get closer!”
“Of all the dumbest… fine!” Starlight grabbed one of the pieces of debris herself and used her strength to fling it at Grey, smashing it against his back. “Yeah take that!” The boy turned his head to glare at her as his eyes glowed yellow and he focused all his attention and magic at her. She gave a nervous laugh and waved before cursing and flying erratically to make sure he couldn’t hit her. The two others slowly got closer with Twilight helping save Sunset once as the debris under her shattered and she fell, but using her powers she got her to the next piece. The two shared a look but refocused on their goal. Grey had started tearing up entire chunks of earth up and throwing it at the three, one piece going straight at Twilight before it was destroyed by a violet fireball. Sunset had used her scepter. “We have a bit of a problem!!”
Starlight shouted as he manipulated the earth he had brought into the air into the shape of a hand and grabbed Starlight, pulling her close as she began to squeeze. “Any last request pest?”
“Ugh, yeah… punch.”
“Punch?”
“Punch!” Grey looked away as Sunset Shimmer jumped at him from above, punching him in the face while Twilight created a ground under them and Sunset uppercutted the boy away. His hold on the rock hand weakened and Starlight busted out and the three began to attack him all at once, every time he managed to block one or two the third was able to get in a hit. They were pushing him back and causing real damage before a shout made them stop.
“Please! No more!!”
. . .
Spike ran through the halls ignoring all the students before he reached the classroom and found his aunt and mother in a deep sleep. He cradled their heads and hugged them, apologizing for not getting there sooner and even thinking of trying to wake them with his flames. He shook his head and laid them back down as a sound behind him caused his arms to burst into flames in case it was an attacker. The girl squealed and hid, shivering so bad that he could feel the vibrations in the ground. He immediately extinguished the fire and sighed as he slowly walked to her, slowly as to not frighten her anymore.
“I-I’m sorry miss… I just thought you were attacking me.” The girl looked at the boy and shook her head before finding some of her courage and taking a deep breath.
“I-I’m Marble Pie… those p-powers you have are like the others! Like h-h-him… you have to help me! Please!” Spike looked back at his family and wanted to stay but the next line she said made something in him stop. “If we don’t stop them the girls could kill him, please he’s my friend…” Spike blinked as he thought about that. She was willing to go straight into the eye of the storm for a friend and here he was only worried about his family instead of trying to actually save them.
“I’m such a bonehead…” He chuckled imagining Twilight’s voice and kissed his guardians on the forehead before facing Marble and nodding. “I’ll help you after all my mother told me that we Novas help everyone we can.” Marble smiled and nodded before climbing on the boy’s back and they ran for the front door. The two exited to find the magic storm had gotten much bigger and taken on the look of a twister, pulling and tearing the earth into its grips. Spike rushed to Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle as they were protecting the school best they could with their shield and sword. “Girls! I’m sorry for leaving like I did but I have to get up there.”
After a very tiny planning period that took thirty seconds, the girls came up with an idea. “Ready?!” Spike and Marble were looking very unsure as they were crouched on top of the girls’ shield and they prepared to knock it with the sword right into the storm.
“No, this is a horrible plan!!”
“What he say? I can’t hear because of the winds!”
“Ah think he said to do it!”
“Finally! Maybe I can finally get a hole in one!”
“Wait wait NO!” Spike shouted as Scootaloo slammed the shield as hard as she could and they flew right into the storm. Marble was screaming and holding Spike in a death grip as they flew and Spike was forced to shoot fire at anything that could hit them. They landed on a piece of the street as the looked up and saw the girls beating on Grey.
“They killing him, even with his powers his body can’t take much more please get us up there!” Spike nodded and was able to jump on one of the rocks that were floating but Marble shook her head. “That one will crumble under our weight go to that one! I live on a rock farm so if there is anything I know it’s rocks…” Spike uses his flames to make his jumps go farther and under her instruction, they reached the top before they could land the final hit. “Please! No more!” The girls stopped as Grey’s eyes shined and he struck them with a blast. He held his hand out at them but the yellow of his eyes vanished as he felt arms wrap around him. “P-please Grey… stop this. No more pain, I know you’re angry but this is not the way. Hurting people won’t make you happy, it won’t cure that pain inside.”
Grey lowered his hand and slowly fell to his knees as he teared up, realizing everything he had done and what he almost became. He looked at the girl as she cried and he lowered his head as he sobbed. “W-why… why do you care so much… I could have killed you…”
“Because my sister told me that you never leave a friend behind. I believed in her words and in you…” She touched his heart and he hugged her as the last of the anger vanished and his powers were gone, Twilight cursing as they began to fall to the earth but with her magic, she kept them all safe in a bubble. The group made sure everyone was okay and Grey stood, his eyes, hair, and voice slightly changing as he looked at the school.
“I’m… sorry to all of you. His anger was something that overpowered my common sense and I was the one who did this. Now I can fix a small part of it.” Discord raised his hands to the school and all the students seemed to be in a daze before talking about the twister that had gotten to the school, all forgetting that magic was involved except for their group. “I am Discord, oh great you two again.” Discord said while rolling his eyes at Spike and Twilight. “Did you come after hearing I was here? Wait… you aren’t the ones I know. You’re not as strong and have subtle differences. So the princesses I get but the universe even let you two be in other worlds? What a joke.”
“We don’t know what you’re talking about but it’s time you leave that body!” Before Twilight could do anything, Grey took back control and pleaded with her.
“Please, I know that I caused trouble and all that I nearly did will haunt my dreams but I ask you to leave Discord with me…”
“Look kid I know the power is addicting but-”
“It’s not the power! I… I was so lonely and never had someone that was willing to be there for me except Marble now but she shouldn’t be counted on to be watching me all the time… but Discord was more of a brother to me than anything. I was to blame for what happened and I’ll take responsibility but please let me keep him…”
“I don’t know… if you lose control again.”
“I have something that may help.” He used Discord’s powers and summoned the statue that united the two in the first place. “This is what serves as our connection, if you break it then we would be disconnected. If I ever lose control again then you can break it, take it but please let me have him…” Spike took the statue and Twilight while having a small meeting.
“I… think he should keep him.”
“But think of what could happen if he did this in the city! People could have died!”
“Yes but this was born out of bitterness and hate, we both can see that this is not what the boy is normally like and if we took him away we could be making a worse monster. Besides, being connected we can use their help for bigger problems, Discord seems to know more about magic than us and that could be valuable.”
“...using my love of knowledge is cheating… He could be a help with that much power… plus seeing the two connected if we give them more friends then Discord would be changed also. Fine…” They returned to the others and agreed to let him keep Discord. He hugged them and turned into Discord as he smirked, pulling all the others into the hug with magic.”
“I see this is the start of a beautiful friendship!”
“Don’t push it…” Twilight grumbled and pushed out of the hug. “You are the first dishonorable member of the PDF…” Discord magically made a plaque of the title.
“I’ll treasure this moment always, I wanna thank the academy, my mom, my second-grade teacher, sunbutt….” Starlight ignored the rest of the speech and noticed Sunset Shimmer had vanished and she smiled as she saw her father coming out of the school, telling him of what really happened and the two left.
“I’m so proud of you Starlight, you are now one of their group. Just a bit more, one last adventure and they should trust us. I do want you to keep an eye on that Sunset girl, she will be more dangerous than ever now that she knows there are others.”
“Yes, dad…”
. . .
“So may I cause some bits of chaos here and there? That is my natural state after all.” Twilight was about to flat out deny it but gave some thought to a conversation from before and looked at Spike as he gave her a smile.
“As long as it doesn’t endanger people… who knows maybe a bit of chaos here and there will make me loosen up some. Take life one day at a time instead of planning everything.” She held her hand out and Discord took it, shocking her with a joy buzzer. She shouted and chased him as Marble, Spike, and the girls laughed.
It’s strange looking back at our adventures and comparing who we are now and what our role is to the people we were and how lost we were without even knowing. Seeing the danger in keeping a journal that holds all our secrets and what we have done I see it as important to stop writing until the need arises again but I feel it is my duty to write down this final adventure before things were changed for good. We all come so far and now a stage of our lives and journey comes to an end but I think it’s only the start of something great. Somewhere I know that we were chosen for this and I swear to do my best as myself and as a hero…
. . .
Spike looked down at his watch and sighed in content as he let himself relax a bit in the shade of a tree. Things had been havoc since his birthday nearly a year ago but he had felt better than ever before. He had gotten everything he could ever want and relaxing under the sun was a nice change of pace. He smiled and waved as he saw Grey maneuvering through the small crowds of families and dodged a few strays joggers as he huffed in front of Spike. “H-hey Spike… what was the e-emergency? Giant alien squid, robots, monsters from other worlds? You look pretty okay to me.” Spike chuckled seeing how out of shape the petite boy really was but that was one of the reasons that he asked him to meet in the park.
“Stop listening to Discord so much man heh. Well, it’s been nearly a year since Twilight and I got these powers and you are the only other guy who we became friends with so I was hoping to invite you to a guys night with Shining Armor and me.” Grey tilted his head a bit as he thought the offer over, the whole PDF group had hung out together a bit here and there but he had never hung out with just guy friends. Discord took form in his consciousness, wearing a Sherlock Holmes cosplay and blowing on a pipe that only had bubbles coming out but somehow he still blew smoke from his mouth.
“I think we should join him Discord, could be fun and I never had enough guys friends to actually do a guys night..”
“You never had a single guy friend. Hmm, I suppose that it couldn’t be as horrible as I think and if it is that bad I can always lighten things up heh.”
“Relax a bit on the chaos remember? The school incident was only two weeks ago.”
“Boooring. Nearly destroy the city once and they never let you forget it. Heroes.” Discord stuck his tongue out disgusted and vanished while Grey nodded at Spike.
“So what do you two do on guys night? I don’t think I’ve met Shining Armor yet, he’s Twilight’s brother, right? I’ve seen his name over at the school, he was a pretty famous athlete who won a lot of local championships only ever losing a game here and there to the Shadowbolts.”
“Yeah, that’s him! Shining has been my best guy friend basically since I met him. He’s strong, cool, usually calm and collected, but most of all he is a huge closet geek like me heh. I even got him to play Ogres and Oubliettes once and he was actually pretty damn good at the game but made me promise to never tell Cadence or Twilight!”
“Wow and Discord calls me a geek heh. So what were you all planning for tonight?”
“Well, Shining was able to get a bunch of cool movies and my mom and aunt are working late at the school since the field trip the Sophomores went on so we were planning a movie marathon at my place with chips and drinks. You and Discord are welcome to come over and hang out, I know being with your best friend is awesome but sometimes it’s good to hang out with others so you don’t drive each other crazy.” Spike chuckled thinking about Twilight and how the two have gotten close enough to get ticked off by each other’s little quirks, such as her tendency to start reading outloud when she got really into a book or the smoke he would start to fill the room with if he got a bit too into his comics and their… artwork. But he also figured that Marble and Grey might not be like that, they weren’t the argumentive type like Twilight and Spike. “If you wanna bring anything else, you’re more than welcome to.
“I may come over, Marble was invited out with the girls and I hate being home alone when I could be out with friends. Thanks, Spike for the offer.” Spike smiled, showing off how sharp his teeth had gotten recently, and bumped his fist against Grey’s before he ran off to go get the chips for later. Discord came back at due to the previous words, showing that he was listening to their conversation.
“What am I chopped sushi? I happen to be the bestest friend that you’ll ever have! So when are you ever really alone when you have someone else living inside that brain of yours?”
“Best, bestest isn’t a word. You know what I meant, I like having a friend to talk to that has an actual body and is more human. You’re the best friend I could have asked for though and you do keep me on my toes so thank you. So we hanging out with the guys later?”
“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt and you do need to man up a bit so why not? I suppose I’ll try not to blow up the house in a blaze of glory! Oh our first movie night, this will be fun.”
“Umm… thanks, Discord…”
. . .
Marble looked around nervously as there were people everywhere she looked and none were her friends. She checked her watch again and saw it was five minutes after the time they were supposed to meet. Twilight had invited her to hang out together at the mall with Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle as the three had spent the night with her. Marble was happy to accept the offer knowing the three would feel a bit lonely with their sisters all on the field trip, she would be lying if she said she didn’t already miss Pinkie. Her mind began to ran with ideas of abandonment and if she had been set up by the only people that she trusted that weren’t family but before those thoughts could grow, her name was shouted by three voices she knew well. Marble smiled and waved as three girls all jumped and hugged her. She steadied herself and hugged them back with a laugh. Twilight came running up and leaned against a bench to catch her breath, she was wearing a lab coat over her usual outfit.
“S-sorry Marble… I was so caught up in an experiment that I lost track of time… Luckily the girls reminded me and we came right away, they missed you.”
“Well, they’re such sweethearts and I love helping out with all their crazy ideas heh.”
“Yeah they’re sweethearts all right until you say it’s bedtime, I never seen my entire dorm up like that since the day I first got my powers and Spike woke me up. They thought I was fighting a great battle last night.” Marble and Twilight shared a laugh before the girls all started telling Marble about last night and their newest plans for helping the freshmen of Canterlot and Crystal Prep. The group walked around the mall with Twilight buying a few new things for her experiments and a new scooter for Scootaloo seeing that they had broken her first one and made sure to write a note that Spike would pay her back half. Marble was glad to walk around and went into a more peaceful and eighty-themed stone where she was able to find a special kind of crystal. She bought two for her sisters and got a cookie cake that they were able to share.
“Hey, Twilight? Not that I don’t appreciate the offer and I do like spending time with you all but why did you invite me out here?”
“Well, I was planning to come alone but then the girls asked if they could have a sleepover with me and I agreed and then they wanted to see you again. You really have a way with kids.”
“Heh well, that’s what you get when you’re the youngest of four. You know how they think and stuff, I love my sisters but each one is a different level of crazy so the girls are a nice change of pace. I was planning on going on the field trip but backed out last second because I knew Pinkie would be with her friends and if Grey wasn’t there I’d be alone.”
“Why not hang out with your sister and her friends I bet they wouldn’t have said no.”
“I know they wouldn’t but I didn’t want to be a burden.”
“There is a thing as being too nice Marble, but I am glad you’re here.” Twilight hugged the girl before they all ate some food and Marble joined them back to Twilight’s dorm so they could play some games and hang out. Twilight grumbled as the girls tried to show her how to play but found she had no skill in the gaming world. Marble was actually very talented at games, easily able to beat the others when she got really into the game and was almost scary when they found she was really into the violence. Applebloom, Sweetie, and Scootaloo went out to test the new scooter while Twilight finished her last experiment. “So Marble… What’s Canterlot High like?”
“Hmm? Well, it’s okay I guess, lots of nice people and crazy things are always happening because the students so things never get boring. Why do you ask? Are you not happy at Crystal Prep?”
“No no, it’s not that… I’m proud to be here and if my school needs me I’ll be willing to help but the people around here aren’t that nice to me and Spike. They aren’t overly mean either but they just look down at us and are really serious about anything they do. I guess that is how I was too with my studies before the city could be attacked any day by magical forces. I hear what they say about us, I mean our club is about paranormal investigation so the jokes about us I can handle but the insults do build… I wish I could just ignore them like Spike does but he is young enough that he only pays attention to me and not much to things around him. I just wish that there were people there like you or the girls.”
“Maybe you should think about transferring? I know Principle Celestia would take someone like you in a heartbeat.”
“Maybe but I can’t just leave Spike behind, besides I feel like I owe it to Dean Cadence because she is always standing by my side against Principle Cinch. I just want to study, to be with my friends, and be happy.” Twilight sighed and looked down before Marble hugged her and pushed her head between against her chest.
“It’s okay Twi, you just need to think about what’s important to you and stick with it. No matter what, remember that we all are beside you a hundred percent!” Twilight mumbled something and Marble loosened her hold a bit as Twilight pulled her head back and breathed, her face a bright scarlet due to where it had been just a moment ago. Twilight was lying if she said that she wasn’t a bit jealous now after being that close but she smiled and giggled a bit.
“Thanks, Marble, I’ll remember that.”
. . .
Sombra groaned and slid a hand through his hair as he looked at his phone and saw that even with everything he had done and how hard he had worked this campaign race was going to come down to the wire. That damned Flithy Rich had managed to buy many of the more influential members of the community and Sombra managed to win the common people coming from them and being a parent. Not to mention, but many of the wealthy in town believed that since he had no experience that he shouldn't even be in the running. He wouldn’t just allow someone like Rich to beat him, all he needed was a chance to show that he was right for the job. He punched a mirror in his anger and shook his head at the thought of not being able to accomplish his goal and seeing the pity expression his daughter would have.
“No… No! I won’t let it end this way! He thinks that just because he’s wealthy that he can walk over me? We’ll just see about that…” He looked at the broken mirror as his hand bled, his reflection broken and dozens of himself looked back with judgemental eyes. He fixed his tie and walked into his chest, digging through a chest that he had hidden away. The one artifact that he had found and didn’t tell Starlight about due to the danger but now he would give it a use.
Sombra looked up at the prison as held a small box, the police stopping him before he was allowed in too far. He told them who he was there for and they asked why a mayor candidate would want to visit an insane inmate and only answered that it was something he had to do. They took the box only finding a leather-cord necklace inside and after close examination they allowed the necklace in. It was a simple necklace with a white pearl hanging on it, the image of the moon on it. Sombra followed where the guards led and eventually came to a glass where he could talk to the inmate he wanted to. The man that came out was bald with his left eye covered as it had been shot out when he was captured, his body thin but fit and handcuffs tightly secure on his hands. His eyes shined yellow as he glared at Sombra who calmly grabbed the phone. He did the same and leaned back in his seat.
“Who are you?”
“A friend… I want to give you a gift and I ask you to wear it tonight under the moonlight and it will give you all the power you could ever want.”
“A stranger with an offer like this doesn’t just fall from the sky, tell me what it is you want from me.”
“I need someone like you to cause trouble, something I think you would do anyway and I will have everything I need.”
“I am not a puppet to be played with, once I’m out of here everyone would pay.”
“You are free to try, we’ll be waiting.” Sombra stood and gave the man the necklace through a very small hole in the bottom of the glass used for rings or small pieces of jewelry. The guard examined the necklace again and allowed the inmate to have it as he was taken back to his cell. “Don’t disappoint me, Arabus Cloud.”
“We’ll be waiting huh? Okay then, let’s see what this can really do.” Arabus whispered as he slipped the necklace on and the moon shimmered.
. . .
Starlight Glimmer shouted out that she was home but guessed her father was put somewhere trying to get any last voters on his side. She couldn’t believe that egotistic fool Flithy Rich had managed to catch up so fast, something she knew was more due to wealthy than his personality. She only hoped that they would be able to edge out a win. She walked up to her room and tossed her backpack aside as she looked over her room and several pictures that were hanging on her wall and stuck to the mirror. The ones on her wall were of her and her father doing everything together and showing the years that he cared for her and how much she truly meant to him.
“Oh, dad… I hope you don’t let whatever happens change you…” She touched the photos and sighed before looking at new ones on her mirror. The first few were of her targets, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Spike Nova, Grey Matter, plus the children Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo but the last one was different. It was of her with the group excluding Sunset Shimmer as they officially celebrated their victory over the entity Discord. She did not look comfortable but remembered actually growing to enjoy her time with the group. “It was foolish to get so close… it clouds the judgment.”
The last thing she looked at was a tore up journal that was all she had left of her real father, only the first page being left. The following is the property of the Canterlot City Preservation Society head, Firelight Glimmer. I have recently begun to discover hidden secrets of my beloved city and decided to keep a record of what I find for the future. I hope that what I find can help the city and maybe even improve lifestyle for those here, especially my daughter.
“What you found… these hidden secrets could have been connected to the magic that has been coming out so much now. I knew you didn’t die in that car crash, I want to know what happened and the only way is to help father become mayor. I won’t fail… I won’t forget.” She put the book down as she left the room, hearing her father coming home. When her door shut, the photo of her and her friends fell from the mirror and landed on the journal.
“So this is the place huh? It’s actually pretty cool looking, never really thought a high school principal could afford an entire observatory and still have the money to turn it into a house.” Grey said talking to himself as he looked up at Spike’s home, making sure he had the right address even though it was the only house around.
“Still impresses even me sometimes when I visit but don’t forget that the Nova sisters weren’t always working at Canterlot High, to be honest, no one really knows where the sisters came from and they never talk about it.” Grey turned to see Shining Armor standing with a box of old movies and comics, the man smiling at the building and turns to the boy. “I’m Shining Armor, we never really met but I heard from Spike you are pretty cool. Glad you could come to our guys night.”
“Well I’m not so sure about being cool but we have grown as friends, let me help a bit.” Shining gave the boy the box so he could grab the rest of the stuff he brought, Grey nearly falling from the weight of the box. He now had a new respect for Shining’s strength and was forced to ask the chuckling Discord for a hand, the mental image taking off its own hand and tossing it towards him. He fake laughed before crossing his arms and Discord sighed before taking control of the body and carrying the box.
“So you’re dating Spike’s sister huh? Must be a pretty tough guy to last in a family like this. I bet Celestia was a bit of a handful huh? Heh.” Discord chuckled at the thought of his Celestia not having power over something and just losing it. Shining laughed a bit thinking back to when they first announced they were dating and how he needed Spike and Cadence by his side because he was afraid Celestia would attack him. The mother was calm and collected when they told her and she even smiled but that changed in a moment when Luna hugged Cadence, going on about her little girl was growing up, and Spike stared at them with a chuckle. Celestia glared at the boy, sizing him up, and Shining could have sworn he saw hell in her eyes if he hurt Cadence. But now, looking back, he couldn’t help but be happy for his love and how close her family was to her.
“Yeah, I might not be a man right now if I didn’t treat Cadence right. Celestia would have made sure of that herself, but I think that’s because family here is the most important thing each one of them has. It’s the same thing I feel for my parents and sister.” Discord frowned and looked down as they knocked and heard shuffling coming to the door.
“We… I don’t have a family…” Shining looked at the boy before smiling softly and shakes his head.
“I don’t believe that you’re here now right? You’ve been hanging with my sister, her friends, and Spike. Each one is as stubborn and hard-headed as people come but they go all out with everything they do or everyone they put their trust in. I believe you found your place, your family.” Discord stared at the blue-haired man as he blinked and felt both him and Grey were struck by his words, could they be true? Could he honestly have found his place? A family? The thoughts were knocked away as Spike finally opened the door and let the two guys in. The two looked around as the door shut and everything was flooded in darkness but Spike smirked and clapped as dozens of Christmas lights lit the hallway to the living room. “Wow… bro we need to seriously get you a girlfriend man, you have way too much free time.” Spike punched Shining’s arm and the two laughed while Discord smiled a bit at seeing the two.
“I’m glad you were able to make it… Grey. Let me help you with that while Shining gets everything ready for the movie, I set up something you two will like.”
“Sounds cool.” Shining went on to the living room, seeing the surprise and immediately realized what Spike had planned. “Oh, this will be awesome.” Spike turned back to Discord and smiled while chuckling.
“And here I thought we would be too lame for Discord to come on out, you and Grey gonna switch through the night and hang out with us?”
“Well I wasn’t planning on coming out, Grey needed some help lifting stuff. I told him that he needed to buy some dumbbells but why would you listen to an all-powerful entity living in your body?”
“Maybe because he likes counting on you, you two balance each other out as I do with Twilight or the girls do with each other. I just think that he has come around to having someone like you in his mind that can make up for any shortcomings. It’s like me and my powers if my fire was a person.”
“Hey you two coming or what? I got the projector working so the entire roof is our movie and I am really considering just forgetting you two and eating all these cookies by myself.” The two looked at each other before Discord shoved the box into Spike’s arms and rushed to the living room, Spike yelling out.
“What!? I baked those you jerks!!”
. . .
“Ah want a candy apple!”
“I like donuts.”
“Cupcake! The one with rainbow frosting looks cool!” Mrs. Cake giggled and wrote down the three hyper girls’ orders while Twilight looked embarrassed and Marble relaxed the girls enough to get them to go sit down.
“Sorry about that Mrs. Cake, they can get a bit ecstatic when around sweets but I thought we all deserved a bit of sugar and where better than Sweet Shoppe?”
“Of course dear, I know kids can be a handful especially when bedtime comes up. My little Pumpkin and Pound always keep us up until they feel like it’s bedtime but that’s the secret. Don’t force them to go to bed but make them think they are tired and they will go themselves. Now, what can I get you and your friend dear?”
“Hmm, make them think they’re tired… I may try that next time. I’ll take some ice cream while Marble was hoping you all had some rock candy?”
“Oh that’s sweet Marble Pie, isn’t it? Her sister Pinkie is one of our best customers if you would be a darling and tell Marble that Pinkie’s shipment of whipped cream arrived and to tell the girl to pick it up when she gets home from her field trip. I’ll right out with your sweets!” Twilight smiled knowing the Cakes for a few years now after seeing them here and there. She went back to the group and told Marble about the shipment.
“So why does your sister need that much whipped cream?”
“Twilight, I haven’t been on this earth long but I have learned things while I’ve been here and one of those things is to never ever never try to question or rationalize my sister. She is… completely wired differently than you and me and I can’t really tell you why or how.”
“Wow… that sounds like a person I should run some tests on…” The Cakes soon brought out the sweets and Twilight asked for some chocolate and oats in her ice cream, enjoying the crunch the ice cream now had. Marble was happy with her candy, imagining how Maud would have wanted one too if she was there. “So why rock candy?”
“Don’t rock it till you try it heh.” Marble smiled and giggled at her inside joke before taking another bite. “S-so how about we all check out No Strings Attached after this? There is a new album from High Note that I wanted to pick up… if that’s okay…”
“Course it is, I haven’t gotten new music in years so this could be fun. Do you know where it is?”
“We do! It’s the place down the road whose entrance is shaped like a giant record! Someone we know works there, she’s the coolest around!”
“Guess that settles it then heh.” The group ate up and waved goodbye to the Cakes before following the younger girls to a building that was exactly like they described. The whole entrance and name of the place were covered in neon lights of that changed colors periodically. Inside, soft music was playing that put everyone at ease. Behind the counter nearby was a blue-haired girl who was wearing shades and giant headphones that Twilight had never met but the three girls waved and fist bumped the girl before they went to look at music. Marble waved a bit and smiled while the girl nodded and waved back. She wore a stylish black leather jacket over an electric blue crop top and torn black jeans. “So who’s that?”
“Vinyl Scratch, you’ll never find someone who knows more about music than her, I heard she is able to know what kind of music someone will like just by looking at them. Everyone calls her DJ or DJPon3, her stage name.”
“We have someone like that over in Crystal Prep, her name is Lemon Zest or was it, Lemon Tart? Maybe I should check to see what music she thinks I would like.” Twilight walked to Vinyl as she was shredding an imaginary guitar but before she could reach out to the girl, Marble shook her head.
“Never bother a music lover at a time like that, especially if they’re a fan of rock. My sister Limestone is a big fan and rages when one of us would interrupt her during her favorite part.” The two waited and soon the imaginary guitar solo came to its end and Vinyl turned to them with a smile, shouting as she spoke.
“What’s up!? Everything to your liking?!” The girls had to cover their ears but Twilight shouted back.
“I want a suggestion about music!” Vinyl nodded, reading her lips, and leaned extremely close to the girl. Her shades sliding down just enough that Twilight was able to see magenta eyes staring intently at her and after that moment she reclined back in her seat and pointed at the classical and jazz section of the store. Twilight thanked her and checked on the girls, Applebloom was snapping to some country, Scootaloo was shaking her head to a loud rock song, and Sweetie Belle was rapping in a speed Twilight was impressed by. Marble walked over to the pop section and began to listen to her own favorite songs.
Twilight slipped on some headphones and clicked some old classics before going to some jazz and falling into a bit of a trance with the tone and calming words, nearly forgetting how it felt to relax and get lost in the music. Vinyl glanced up from a magazine she was looking at and saw how happy everyone in the group was and smiled a bit to herself. She waved a bit as her coworker arrived, a dark-haired girl wearing the actual official store uniform, a pink bow tie, and a black skirt. Vinyl smirked at the girl who only smiled back and pulled out a cello bow before using it to steal Vinyl’s headphones.
“Now you better not be slacking again, you know what the boss said.”
“Me slacking off? I thought you knew me better than that.”
“Heh, the problem is that I do~” The two laughed as the sun was beginning to set.
. . .
Sombra looked up at the sun as he prepared to go to the final debate before the town would choose their new mayor and he was confident that his plan would come to its perfection. Starlight entered the room as she helped her father tie his tie and looked up at him with a nervous smile.
“This is it, dad, just go out there and give it your all. No one can give more than that… I love you.” Starlight hugged the man as he smiled and hugged her back.
“I love you too dear but I feel good about this, let Filthy use all the dirty tricks he wants to because I have the truth on my side. I have you and that’s all I could ever need.” The man smiled at her before leaving and Starlight couldn’t help but look out of the window and hoping for the best.
“Pain… If I could take from your life would that finally give you joy? If I was true to myself would I still be alone? Where do I go from here? Trust in my heart or in my head? Accept their friendship or turn away… can they be my sanctuary or a new prison? Who do I choose? How do I know I won’t be hurt… let me these fears… side by side those I love.”
. . .
Arabus Cloud stared up at the dying light that still peered into his cell, the moon could now be seen as the sun left them. He looked down at the pearl around his neck and wondered if the man could be trusted and if this gift truly was just that. He decided that he had nothing really to lose if the power truly was real and if it wasn’t he had someone he wanted to kill once he found a way out. The last rays of the sun faded and left the sky in a blackened state only broken by the shimmering stars above that shined like diamonds. The moon’s light slowly grew over Arabus and finally hit his pearl as it glowed and evaporated into yellow light which vanished into his chest.
“N-no! He said I would have power! This was nothing!!” He reached and rubbed his chest in anger before glaring out at the moon and grabbing the bars, reaching a hand out to the orb in the sky. “I want what I deserve! The power I need! I want what was promised!!” He screamed to the sky as the white of his eyes turned into a blood red, his pupil taking on a sick green color. He collapsed to his knees as his body shook and bones began to meld and shift. Dark clouds began to swirl and build over the prison as some reached down and forced their way into Arabus’s cell and around his body. His teeth sharpened and his ears molded into a sharp point. The clouds covered his entire body and molded it into something else with the pearl bursting from his chest and being the last thing visible as Arabus’s body was completely taken over.
Standing there now was an enormous being made of dark grey clouds with claws, jaws, and piercing eyes that glowed. A patch of black clouds covered his chest where the pearl was hidden. He began to chuckle and soon that expanded into a bellowing manic laugh that echoed down the hall and caused all the prisoners to either go into a frenzy or shrink away. Guards raced to calm the insanity but froze in fear at the sight of Arabus before they pulled out their guns and shot at the creature. The laughter died as Arabus’s eyes glowed with rage and he smirked, extending his arms at the police as the clouds shot out and entered the officers’ mouths and began to suffocate them.
“I will never again be locked away!” Screams echoed through the prison for the next ten minutes as dozens of brave women and men tried to fight but none stood the shadow of a chance. Finally, Arabus flew high above the burning and chaotic prison before he screamed and his rage erupted from the pearl in the form of a black inky substance which flooded the prison and coated the remaining cops and prisoners, forever freezing them in terror. His eyes turned to the shining city nearby, the very one that sent him there to begin with. “And you all will feel my hate, my rage as it destroys all you love.”
. . .
Celestia sighed as she walked out of the school and stretched as she allowed a groan to escape her mouth. “How does this never get any easier with every passing year?”
“Getting old sister~” Luna snarkily asked as she walked beside her and smiled. “Or maybe all that cake finally catching up?”
“Oh please, you wish. Unlike you Looney, I am in the best shape of my life!”
“Heh whatever you say, Sunbutt~”
“Hey we were both drunk that night so don’t try teasing me about that Moonbutt.”
“So sensitive… what the hell is that?!” Luna pointed behind that as Celestia turned and saw a storm coming towards the city with red and black electricity sparking off the clouds. Inky black rain fell from the sky and at the first sight of it, Celestia pointed at the school.
“Make sure no remaining people get out of the school and be prepared to barricade the doors! Something is coming…” Luna nodded at her sister and shouted at any remaining students to get inside as Celestia stared at the storm and rushed to her car for something she had hidden inside.”
. . .
Cadence pushed the last child into the school as they panicked and she looked out at the strange storm that seemed to be attacking the city. She called Shining and Spike again hoping that they were safe at home since it was guys night but she couldn’t help but worry. She did get a hold of Twilight and told her to get out of the streets and try to get to the town hall as a lot of the people should be there. The call dropped as the entire city shook as the storm attacked and destroyed the power plant, knocking out power across the city. She held some of the students and shushed them gently as they waited for whatever would happen next.
“Please… stay safe Shining...”
. . .
“Hey, what the hell? I know we paid the power this month!”
“Umm, Spike? I don’t think money is the problem…” Grey said as he looked out a window and the group ran out the door to see a storm over the city and destroying parts of it with strange bolts of lightning. Spike and Grey looked at each other and nodded before preparing to go to work but Shining beat him to it.
“Spike, where is that sword I gave you?”
“In my closet but-” Shining rushed into the house and soon came out with the blade in hand. “Shining wait we don’t know what’s going on what if it’s dangerous?!”
“I need to get to Twilight, to Cadence! Please, Spike… I can’t stand aside knowing they are in danger…” Spike was caught off guard by the sincerity and nodded, giving him a white hood that had a blue outline.
“We’ll get to Twilight and the others, go to Crystal Prep and protect Cadence.”
“But-”
“Shining I am asking as a brother that you trust me and go protect my sister while I protect yours. We won’t let her get hurt.” Grey nodded and Shining thanked them before rushing into the city and Spike glared at the storm, turning to see Discord was now in control with a smile. “If we are going to do our thing in town then we may need different outfits and something that protects us from this rain.” Discord smirked and cracked his knuckles before snapping his fingers.
. . .
Twilight was currently running while using her body and arms to keep the rain from getting on the girls too much. She didn’t know what the black rain was but didn’t trust it on them. They finally made into Town Hall and saw dozens of townspeople were all gathered up there in the dark and she knew she needed to find a way to get Spike’s and Discord’s attention if they were all gonna fight what was going on. She started to think when someone grabbed her and pulled her to a corner, before she could attack back she saw the face or Sombra Black and relaxed a bit.
“Do not grab me like that or you might get shot right out of this building, what can I help you with mayor?”
“Soon to be mayor if you and your friends manage to beat that thing out there, there has to be a way you can stop it! My daughter is out there! I thought she would be safe at home but she is trying to get over here! Please, I can’t lose Starlight…”
“We’ll do what we can but I need to find a way to the roof to get Spike over to us.”
“I can do that.” He took her back to the others and Marble told her to just be careful and she’ll try to relax the people while they go do their thing. Twilight thanked her and after a bit of wandering in the dark, they got to some stairs and the roof. Twilight ran out and used her powers to create a ball of magic and shot it into the sky before making it explode, sending a shockwave across the city. “Now we wait… and hope that your friend is on his way.”
. . .
Arabus stared down at the city as it was being wrecked by his storm and he flooded the city with his rain and he felt joy for the first time in years seeing the city pay but then a wave of energy hit his back. It was weak and not meant for an attack but to know there was something out there that could even touch him at his power was a chance he didn’t want to take. His hate returned as the rain turned into a downpour and the pearl began to glow and dark beams of energy erupted from it and went to everybody that was fully enveloped in the black goo. They shook and screamed as they were forced back to consciousness and he sent them out with one goal, to destroy every last person they saw.
Spike and Discord rushed through the streets dressed in their new outfits which Spike had a suspicion were influenced by the movie they had just seen as his was a green jumpsuit with purple lines throughout. An emerald flame was the symbol on his chest and spikes were added to make it resemble a dragon. A mask covered his eyes and changed their natural color. Discord was dressed in a suit similar to Spike’s but white and black with no real pattern or rhyme to the uniform which made it hard to look at sometimes along with a cape. As the two checked off another place they thought the group would be, a magic blast from nearby pointed them to Town Hall. As they made their way several of the people that had been covered by the rain began to move and roar as if the city itself was screaming.
“D-Discord! What are these things?! People?”
“Something has overpowered their minds and what it feels like is… pure rage. They’re not in control of what they are about to do. Try not to barbeque any too bad.” The bodies turned towards the two and rushed them while they began to fight back, knocking them down or out as fast as they could without leaving lasting damage. Spike kicked a group’s feet from under them and apologized before kicking one of the bodies into another group. Discord smiled and mocked a yawn before slamming his foot on a sewer lid and lifting it with ease. He spun it on his finger while smiling and summoning down a lightning strike of his own, right on the lid and sending it in several directions.
“I thought no killing!”
“It’s just a little shock they’re fine- behind you.” Spike kicked the one that nearly jumped on him and climbed to the top of Town Hall where Twilight and the girls were waiting. After quickly telling her what was happening on their end and Twilight doing the same they decided that one person was the cause. “Now if we are about to go off and do this you need new clothes too Sparkle.”
“Ugh fine but if I look ridiculous that you will pay Discord.”
“Relax, I’m nothing if not fashionable. Now hold still.” Discord snapped and when Twilight opened her eyes she was standing in dark purple spandex which had silver lines and a silver chest plate. Her hair was let down and styled slightly differently. She was wearing strange goggles and had star symbols on her gauntlets and boots. “Not bad, I can even make you look good. I impress even myself at times.”
“Oh ha ha but I must admit that it feels nice.”
“What bout us? We wanna protect the city too!”
“No girls this could be even more dangerous than the other fights, what if you were to get hurt…”
“Twilight, with all due respect. If we can’t stop this then all of us will be a lot more than hurt. Please trust us.” Twilight bit her lip before sighing and nodding.
“Fine, Discord get them ready.” He nodded and decided to put some extra magic into the girls’ suits to help them even if it would weaken him a bit. Applebloom’s hair straightened out and a red mask covered the bottom half of her face as her shirt turned into a red hooded jumpsuit. It gave her the look of a ninja even if it was one dressed in bright red and green, but the best part of the suit was how powerful Applebloom felt now. Scootaloo’s costume was made of the same stuff as Apple’s but purple and had rainbow strips down the sides and a rainbow lightning bolt on the chest, plus wings on the boots. Her mask was more of a dark visor that blocked the upper half of her face. Sweetie Belle’s was a blinding white with a diamond on the back and her costume actually caused a painted diamond to move over her eye and change its color. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and the diamond symbol was on her hands.
“Seeing as you three have powers that rely on you being together I gave you some of my own… can’t have you dying and Twilight go yelling at me.” The girls smiled and hugged Discord before he pushed them off and cracked a smile at them. The rain now didn’t stick to any of them, just slid off the suits. All six of the group met together looking over the city as several pillars of black goo were falling from the sky and dozens of the bodies were approaching. “So we have a city that has gone to complete hell and a building full of people we need to protect while an army of brainwashed people is closing in. Anything else I’m missing?”
“Umm, the large storm overhead trying to kill us all?”
“The fact you dressed us up like superheroes?”
“Ah think the biggest problem is that some of our families are still out there! Luckily Big Mac went with AJ for that field trip and Granny Smith went over to visit ma Aunt and Uncle Orange.” Sweetie and Scootaloo breathed out of relief that their sisters were all gone. That was when Spike and Twilight looked at each other and looked at separate parts of the city.
“My mom and aunt are at Canterlot High… knowing them, they’re protecting the students. They need help…”
“My brother and Cadence are at Crystal Prep even if Shining is armed he can’t take them all on…” The three girls were nervous and knew that the two would have to go protect those they love but could they deal here alone?
“Go, we can do hold them off together. I won’t let those things get close to us.” Discord said as he looked at the girls and smiled. “We got this right?” His words reinspired them and they nodded eagerly. “Well, let’s clear the way for them then!” Discord gave out the first order, telling the girls to make their shield and throw it into the center of the army as he jumped onto it. Right before it hit anyone or the ground, he punched it and the shattering sent the bodies flying. Twilight immediately used her powers to gather the shards before the could vanish and sent the flat ends out, knocking a dozen of the bodies away from Discord. Scootaloo was next to join the fray as she found her hands had developed small tornadoes around them that allowed her to get to the ground in a more or less graceful manner. She smirked and used the tornados to blast the bodies away with wind and spin in a circle to get rid of a group, using her new control over the winds that Discord gifted her with, she was able to help the others down.
Apple Bloom showed off her new skills as she punched the ground, causing it to shake a bit and she tore off an entire chunk of the street, using all her strength and carefully covered those she knocked down making sure they still had air but were unable to move. She felt like the earth itself was helping her as she knocked down body after body. Sweetie Belle took a deep breath as bodies surrounded her and she shot her arms out, large crystalized shields pushing and wrapping around the bodies before smashing them into the ground. “Ouch… sorry!” She turned her head as one of the bodies tried to attack from behind but her outfit shot out a shield of its own to protect her. “Diamondback… not bad.”
Twilight and Spike smiled seeing how the four were able to handle themselves and gave a nod to each other before running off in separate paths, Twilight clearing a way by using her mind to blast a path through while Spike took a more hands-on approach, running through them and kicking or punching through any he needed to. Starlight Glimmer was just about to reach Town Hall when she saw Spike and Twilight dressed in strange costumes and going away from the hall. She was shocked that they could just leave the people until she looked at the building and saw several others in costumes protecting it so she decided to help out a bit and whistled making a large group chase her as she followed Spike.
. . .
Sunset Shimmer cursed and gritted her teeth as she spun the bloodstone scepter around above her head, creating a small torrent of flames to keep the bodies at bay before slamming the scepter down and letting the flames wash over the bodies. She quickly sucked them all back into her scepter and left the bodies beaten as she leaned against the school, tired from her fighting. A hundred bodies laid in front of her but more seemed to be coming on the horizon. “Damn it… they just don’t quit. Even I can’t use the scepter forever!” Luna rushed to the girl, surprised by the number of beaten bodies in front of her but again decided to hold her questions for a different time. They had no time to be picky about who was willing and able to fight the monsters even if they used what seemed to be magic. The school was one of the only other buildings that had power still for it had a backup generator but that only turned the school into a beacon as the creatures were drawn to the light.
“Miss Shimmer, I must ask you to get inside. You can keep this up forever and that staff is taking its toll, if you continue then we may not be able to get to you in time. If you turned into one of those things we would be losing a valuable ally and giving them that staff.”
“I am not running Dean Luna… I can still fight!” Shouts from nearby brought the two back to the front of the school where a boy in a strange costume beat down two large bodies and he waved at them, seemingly not noticing his arms were covered in green flames. “Is that… Behind you!”
Before Luna or Sunset could get over to help the boy, a swift hand knocked the body down and the sound of metal could be heard as she knocked it out cold. Spike turned to see his mother holding a pistol in her hand. Before he could say anything, Celestia wrapped him up in a hug and dropped the weapon as she looked him over and he turned off the flames. “Oh, why did you come here, Spike? You were safer at home! What is with this costume and the fire.”
“Mom, we really don’t have the time for this. I will explain everything and pay any price but right now I am gonna help get rid of these things and get back to Twilight and the others. I think we can stop this but none of the bodies should have to die for whoever is doing this.”
“Fine, we will have a talk about this but the school needs us all now, more than ever.” She caught the glance from Spike at the gun she was picking up and she smiled. “Oh please sweetie, we live in a house, mostly populated by women, away from anyone else, and I had just brought a lonely young boy into the family. I was going to protect you and your sister no matter what, this was how I chose to learn how. Luna took karate lessons. Don’t worry I didn’t load it, but it does come in handy when it comes to whacking these things around.” The group looked up and could only sigh or groan as they saw Starlight Glimmer running towards them, her artifact giving her the enhanced speed she was using to get away from the army of bodies behind her. She shrugged and jumped over Spike before getting into a fighting stance.
“Sorry I didn’t know where else to take them!”
“So a school was your first thought!?! What is wrong with you?!” Starlight didn’t get to answer as the five began to fight with Sunset getting distance from the others so she could use the scepter to maximum effect. Starlight was using her abilities to confuse the bodies and getting them to fight each other, even jumping off Spike’s head and kicking several bodies down. Luna and Celestia stood back to back before smiling at each other and interlocking their arms, every movement was perfectly in sync as they kicked and beat down an entire wave. Coming undone and back together whenever an enemy struck. Spike looked around and knew he needed to end this quickly so he asked Starlight for a boost and began to charge up a fire blast. He ran to her and she let herself fall on her back and used her feet to send the boy flying.
“Sunset!!” Sunset Shimmer looked up at the boy and saw the fire in his hands, understanding immediately and swearing to kill him if he fired them all. She blasted her own fire at him as he shot his and the two mixed and exploded. The bodies were all beaten as well as most of the others. Spike groaned and helped his aunt and mother to their feet but they were done with fighting for now. Sunset and Starlight also seemed to be fine if not tired. Spike carried the women into the school and asked those inside to take care of them and to bar the doors and shut off the lights just in case. Before he left, Celestia grabbed her son and smiled at him.
“So… proud of you…” She allowed her conscience to slip away as Spike smiled and his very soul caught aflame with power as he thought about those words. Nothing would stop him now, he would prove that he deserved that pride. He rushed back to Town Hall to finish this.
Starlight watched as Spike left and looked back up at the storm. “They are all gathering together again… they won’t be able to even get near whoever is doing this if he is solely focused on them… wait they are drawn to light!”
“Yeah, your point is?”
“If we can power up a building and draw all the monsters away then they will be clear to end this!”
“The power center was destroyed remember? How do we lure them away?”
“...With some help from an old friend…” Starlight whispered as she stared at a nearby clocktower with a sad expression.
. . .
Shining shouted as she used the sword to cause small wounds on the bodies around him and put them down with a sweep kick. He groaned as he stumbled a few steps back and leaned against the school walls, holding his side as he had been bitten hard on by one of those bodies. Cadence was inside, beating back any of the bodies that managed to get past her boyfriend and was thankful for the first time that Luna had forced her to learn how to fight. She protected and relaxed the students whenever anything would get back, saying that she trusted in Shining and meaning every word. Seeing the next wave of bodies was approaching, she grabbed a broom from nearby and told them to bar the door as she ran out and joined Shining who had torn off a piece of his shirt to cover the wound.
“Cadence, get back in there before you get-” The dean frowned at the command and spun the broom expertly.
“I will not let you get hurt again Shining! I can’t… I need you…” Shining smiled gently and kissed her, his hand moving through her hair lovingly. If they were gonna go out well he wanted to do that again.
“I love you, now let’s show what happens when you mess with the best couple in Canterlot.” As the bodies attacks, the two held their own by using each other as their backup, every foe that Shining missed or knocked down was quickly put out by Cadence. The two were forced again back up as the army never seemed to stop their assault but a shout from above blew the army back with a strange force and a girl in a superhero costume landed in front of them and shouted at them to cover their eyes as she created a ball of light and smashed it into the ground. The blinded bodies never saw the flying bench crashing into them.
“T-Twilight?!” Twilight jumped at the voice and cough trying to sound different and more manly.
“W-who is the Twilight? I am… umm… Trickster! Yeah, I am the hero Trickster!” Cadence and Shining stood with unimpressed expressions and crossed arms as the girl sighed. “Fine, okay it’s me… party poopers… I needed to make sure you two were safe. I promise that we’ll talk about this and why I and Spike kept it from yo-”
“What the hell?! Spike can do all that too and has been fighting people?! I am gonna kill that little-”
“Well to be fully honest, his abilities are different than mine, fire manipulation, enhanced strength, and extra tough skin.” Shining made a motion to Twilight to stop talking as Cadence was strangling the air and muttering about all the times that he acted too weak and their mom made her lift all the heavy stuff. Shining slowly rubbed her shoulders to relax his girlfriend before smiling at Twilight and nodded.
“We’ll be okay and thank you Twi but I think that finishing this is more important than us. Trust in us that we’ll be able to protect ourselves and trust in your friends now and show why you don’t mess with our family!.” Twilight smiled and hugged the two before running off, only stopping when Shining shouted to her. “Hey, by the way, your costume looks ridiculous and you are so grounded for not telling me!”
“Whaaaat?! I couldn’t hear the last part, you’re breaking up!”
“We aren’t even on the phone!”
“Bye BBBFF!!”
“See you soon Twily...”
. . .
“So you want us to put the fate of the entire city or maybe even the world in this place…” Sunset and Starlight were standing in front of one of the oldest structures in the whole city, a rundown and nearly ruined clocktower. The face of the clock had long since stopped working and it was made of misshapen stones with it seeming as if no person has stepped into the building in decades. “Why do you just have the worst ideas? How are we supposed to get this place working and turned into a light?”
“The work is already done for us, all we have to do is turn on the power here. My old friend, Sunburst, was a bit of a prodigy and with help from yours truly we turned this place into a hangout and he started experimenting on how to turn it back on.”
“So say we turn it on, then we just have a working clock tower.”
“Sunburst was never one to stop where it was reasonable, so if I remember right, he managed to figure out a way to show off his work to the entire city.”
“Lights…”
“Now you’re getting it, he turned the face of the clock into a light to show off his genius but if we raise the power output beyond its proposed use then we will have a beacon for the bodies and free the way for Twilight and her friends to finish this.”
“Okay but one part of this plan is still working on ifs, if we can turn it on and if you two were able to make a generator or something that could last this long.”
“That’s where the faith comes in…” Starlight led the way to a small, child-sized hole they used to sneak into to get in but when she attempted she found herself stuff because of her waist. Sunset facepalmed before simply using her scepter to smash the entrance and stared pulling on Starlight. “P-pull harder! I thought you were strong!!”
“Sorry for not having to pull girls who clearly enjoy cupcakes too much through holes everyday!!”
“Are you calling me fat!? I eat ice cream not cupcakes!” She finally pulled her free and the two landed on the floor with each other covered in dust. They looked at each other and sighed, speaking in unison.
“I hate you…”
. . .
Discord was starting to get bored and slightly pissed off as he pushed away another body and clapped loudly, causing several of the bodies to become trapped inside hamster balls. He kicked and punched several of the bodies into the balls and then pushed them into other bodies. The girls were starting to get tired, the powers running their toll on their bodies as they weren’t used to Discord’s gifts.
“Where are those two already?! Even I can’t keep this up when I gave so much of my power away…”
“They’ll be here… I know they will…”
“Scoots’ right, we have to trust them!” Sweetie Belle sighed and fell to her knees, her powers taking a heavy mental toll on her and was done first. “We have to believe in them.”
“I know! I know… but they owe me after this.”
“We’re here! We’re here! Sorry for leaving you all for so long but everyone is safe and doing what they can. We have to find the eye of the storm, that’s where the person doing this will be.” Discord groaned and flew high into the air, knowing that he was running low on magic. Grey would be left on his own soon. Discord knew that he needed to get the person’s attention if they were gonna show themselves so he decided to take something from one of his old foes. He focused all his remaining power and shot it at the moon, the celestial body absorbing the blast and shining brighter than the sun for a moment, shattering the storm. Arabus turned at the blast and screamed in pain as the light of the moon burned through his cloud body and left his skin charred. He burst from his safe place and grasped the boy who shot the blast by the throat.
“So you were the magic user I saw before? A foolish choice to go against me!” Grey was alone as Discord had been forced to sleep to recover his magic but he did leave the boy a gift. He muttered something and Arabus tightened his grip on the boy’s throat. “What was that?”
“Lemon go.” He spit a mouthful of lemon juice in Arabus’s eyes and he dropped him while he rubbed his eyes in pain. Grey laughed a bit at the pun and wondered if Discord would have been proud of him for it but closed his eyes before he could hit the ground. Twilight slowed the boy’s descent but couldn’t stop him, so Spike and Applebloom had Scootaloo about to run at their arms as they prepared to launch her towards him.
“You ready to fly?” Scootaloo was stretching and nodding.
“Oh yeah, I so got this.” She ran towards him shouting before jumping and both used all their strength to send her flying. “You’re the boss, you’re the boss, YOU’RE THE BOSS!!!” Scootaloo felt incredible as she rocketed towards Grey and managed to snatch him right out of the air. “Oh shiitake mushrooms! I did it!! Damn I really am the boss!!” Scootaloo cheered and yelped as she realized that they were just about to crash into a building. She blocked Grey with her body best she could when they smashed into the windows and broke a desk before they slammed against the wall. Scootaloo cursed and groaned in pain before she fainted.
Arabus roared as the clouds began to swirl around him and he stared down at the remaining four and pushed the pearl as it forced every last one of the bodies left to storm the four. “Destroy the light! Kill those fools!!” He extended both his hands down at them as the columns of hate slid through the sky like a snake before all attempted to flood the four but Twilight used all her power to create a shield that saved them but forced her down. Spike and the girls held Twilight as she could make the shield smaller but it was already cracking the shield. The group closed their eyes ready for the inevitable but then a screech rang across town as the blackness stopped and they saw that a light was shining on Arabus before he moved and ordered his army to destroy the light. They all forgot the group as they rushed to the old clock tower…
. . .
“We did it Sunset!! Now all those two have to do is go after that guy.” Starlight smiled and hugged the girl but Sunset grabbed her scepter and spun it.
“Yeah, but now I realized we forgot a part of the plan.” She pointed at the army heading for them and Starlight cursed before she prepared herself. “Well Glimmer, any fancy plans for this?”
“Fight till the end?”
“Now that is something I can go along with. Try not to hold me back any.”
“Hold you back? I’ll like to see you try to keep up~” The two smirked at each other as they jumped and attacked at the army, it was gonna be close.
. . .
Twilight looked around as the city had been destroyed, her friends were now beaten on the ground, fear had gripped all the people remaining in Town Hall, and darkness was everywhere except for the light above. She glared at Arabus as he watched his army, standing and beginning to create steps under her feet as she began to walk up towards him. She felt a hand of her shoulder as Spike was standing and smiled softly at her and began to follow as they climbed higher and higher.
Arabus watched as the two injured and broken heroes walked to him and finally reached his height. “You all have nearly ruined this perfect night for me, but no matter. This all ends here and with you, your pathetic friends are gone and will not save you again! Taste this and go to hell!” He roared and sent a blast of black goo from his chest, the pearl giving all its power. Spike blasted fire from his hands and Twilight shot a beam of energy of her own but neither was standing well against the goo as it slowly approached the two. The goo finally broke through the attacks and began to cover and swallow both of them. Their chests sparkled as a sliver of light remained despite the darkness covering their bodies. “How weak your lights are, they won’t last. Looked around, my hate has swallowed this city and left it completely in fear. Two people alone could never save the whole world, you were never going to be able to win this.” The clocktower’s light faded as the structure collapsed and was reduced to rubble. Everywhere it seemed the city had gone dark.
Cadence was holding Shining as he had suffered more blows and one to the head knocked him down. The two had lost the children and were forced to run and now were surrounded as the bodies approached. She grabbed the sword and aimed it at them threateningly. “Stay away from him! I will never let you have him!” A small shimmer of light appeared in her chest and the bodies all rushed her at the sight. “I will not let this end here!!” Her light exploded as she put her arms out to protect Shining and that act of love caused the light to expand and turned the bodies back into real people. Her light becoming a column that tore through the clouds and became a beacon to the city.
Celestia and Luna pushed past their students as they were trying to protect the two like the masked boy had asked them to but the two wouldn’t allow it. They were protectors, teachers, and would never stand aside and let others get hurt for their sake. The children put their trust in the two, believing that they would protect them, their lights all entering Luna and Celestia as the bodies broke into the school only to be flooded in light. Both women were shining bright and their lights lit the darkness around and saved the bodies anywhere near the school.
The three lights moved and were sent to Spike and Twilight as the shadows were destroyed and the two were freed. Arabus immediately covered himself in more darkness before shooting at them again but this time they stood. “You were right before… We can’t save the world alone but we are never alone! You think you could destroy our lights and bonds with darkness and hate but that only made them stronger! Through their love for their family, care of a lover, the touch of a mother, or spirit of friendship, our lights burn bright!”
Applebloom opened her eyes and weakly reached out through the shadows and darkness, looking for anything when she felt a familiar touch. Sweetie Belle was also feeling around and they grabbed each other’s hand, small lights appearing in their chests. They hugged each other as they minds turned to the third member of their group, miles away Scootaloo moved and a light shined in her chest before moving to its counterparts. The two girls swore that they could feel Scootaloo beside them as warmth filled their bodies and pushed out any fear that remained, the light the three released destroying all the shadows around and giving newfound hope to those in Town Hall as their lights shined.
Grey looked out over the city through the hole they had caused and smiled as he saw lights beginning to shine all over the city and pushing out more of the darkness. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”
“...Yes, but beauty can’t last forever nor should it. If something is eternal then it would become worthless, no what you see are the hearts and loves of people here and now. They are focusing on hope and things that bring harmony into their lives, something that I never understood until now. This feeling deep down, would it be peace? I’m not sure if I like it or accept it but for this moment I will… allow it.”
“Thank you Discord and I think you’re right about beauty. We’re not perfect but if we were then what would we be?”
“Boring as hell?” Grey chuckled and sighed before smiling and his chest began to glow.
“Boring as hell.”
Starlight gasped as she felt heat radiating around her and found her beanie was on fire. She jumped to her feet and tossed the hat off before stomping on it. Pain struck her like a truck as she stumbled. “Hey, don’t go puking on me. I set you on fire to wake up not go making another mess.” Starlight looked up as he head spun and was steadied by Sunset who was leaning on her scepter. The two smiled at each other and looked out at the city which was now flooding with light and the two sighed before taking a seat in the rubble. “Can you guess who’s gonna get all the credit for this?”
“Yeah, not us. Why is the world so cruel to heroes?” Sunset chuckled at Starlight’s words and looked down at the scepter.
“Heroes… that’s a boring job that doesn’t really suit us. How about we go more anti-hero? While the city has to rebuild, how about we go to my place for some ice cream?” Starlight giggled and nodded standing.
“Sure, eating your place out of ice cream sounds evil to me.” The two began to walk off when their chests began to glow and they spent one more moment looking at where all the lights were gathering. Again in unison, they spoke.
“You got this Twilight.”
. . .
Arabus stared in shock and anger as the entire city began to shine and all the lights gathered and flooded into the two before him. He jumped away and absorbed all the hate and shadows he could as the two erupted in new forms. The boy had two horns of white energy on his head and strange flames covering his eyes. A single dragon wing made of the light was on his back and one hand was a claw. The girl’s eyes were solid white and a large horn was on her head. Soft and graceful wings were on her back. The two had two of their hands grasped together before they raised their other ones at him. Arabus sucked in every bit of darkness as that negative energy grew in the pearl. “I-I will drown you in shadows in the darkness of the night!”
“Even the darkest night will have a moon or star that never goes out!” Twilight and Spike shot white flames and a white beam respectfully and the three attacks met in a final battle of wills and values. Arabus pushed and pushed but found his power was at its limit, he had no more hate in his heart. Twilight and Spike slowly began to take steps towards him and he tried to back up but they never stopped. “Their spirits and hearts live in us and we will give them back their lives!!” They shouted and sent all their light at him as his beam was scattered and body completely taken over by the light, burning away his clouds and destroying the pearl. The man was left as he fell to his knees and felt his heart be shredded of its hate and left his body smoking as the attack stopped.
He was beyond saving with his body broken and spirit ripped apart by the pearl and final attack. As he looked up at the children and Twilight used her powers to keep them all in the air, he asked for a final request, to see their faces. The light died and returned to its rightful homes and the two unmasked themselves. Arabus stared at the faces of children and allowed a chuckle to pass his lips with a single word before he breathed his last. “Funny…”
. . .
The city was in the process of repair and accepted the new mayor Sombra into office as he was the one who had found the heroes that had saved them all. The city went on about magic and superheroes but soon even that would become normal. No one knew who the heroes were or why they came and stayed but it only made the city folk excited and others scared. The students would be going back to school soon now that both had been rebuilt but two students were already in one.
“This sucks…”
“Spike you've been complaining and saying that every day since we started! Will you please shut up!?”
“Hey, I’m bored okay Twi?! Besides, you’ve been whining about all the lost study time even when we aren’t in school!!”
“You can never learn too much, now get back to painting!” As the two bickered and painted another classroom, Celestia and Luna were relaxing nearby with two glasses of juice.
“Well sister, I’m not sure how I feel about this new peace but I could get used to this.”
“I know what you mean Tia but remember that we need to stay alert in case something else crazy happens? I don’t know how much more Canterlot City can handle.”
“Oh please, after what just happened, what crazier thing could possibly happen?”
. . .
Cadence covered her mouth in shock as she stared down at the third test, it read the same answer as the others. Positive. She would be a mother and Shining a father, that is if her mother didn’t kill him.
. . .
Sombra entered a bar and ensured it was completely empty as he joined the lone man there, Filthy Rich was there and glared at him as he sat across from the drunk and spat at him. “What do you want now, Black? You got your job even if you used those kids for it… I know what you did and the magic that is still around. You won’t be able to control what you’re playing with…” Filthy took another long gulp as Sombra cleaned himself off and spoke calmly.
“I guessed you knew the magic existed this whole time, I must say that I didn’t expect Arabus to die or how much hate he truly had inside. A miscalculation on my part that worked out in the end but will not happen again.”
“You can’t control the magic… mayor or not you’re just human.”
“Poor fool, I don’t want to control magic. I want to destroy it. Magic is what has given people like you the power to step in and control people like me and now I will balance things out.” Filthy waved his bottle around as his mind forced itself to sober up.
“B-but those children!”
“Pawns who will collect the magic for me and once they are all that remain… they too must die sadly… to protect my daughter and give her a world where she could live happy I will pay any price.” Filthy stood as he couldn’t believe what he had been told. It was insanity! It was then that fear began to set into his mind.
“W-why are you telling me this? I could tell the whole city.”
“...because you won’t live to. The paralyzing agent should be kicking in now…” Filthy looked down at the bottle he was drinking from before it shattered on the ground and he fell, unable to move. “This was personal and I can’t promise that I won’t take pleasure in it. Know that the world will become a better place with me in charge.” Sombra sighed and pulled out a polished black crystal dagger and stabbed the man in the chest several times. After the fun part was done he grabbed a bottle from nearby and drank from it as he went off to ensure all evidence was destroyed and to get what he needed to clean up the mess as Filthy muttered his final words and cried a tear.
