> Timelines
>  by Dawn Flower
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Supreme Kai of Time led Starlight Glimmer through the halls of the Time Vault. All around them were large columns filled with scrolls, each of which corresponded to different moments in time.

“Alright, Starlight,” the Supreme Kai of Time began, as she halted in her stride and turned around to face the purple unicorn as she spoke. “Now that you have officially joined the time patrol, it’s important that you learn exactly what it is that we do so that you can understand why our work is so important.

“You see, our job is to preserve the timeline from any who would seek to change it. However, there isn’t just one straight timeline, but in fact a near infinite of alternate, branching timelines, and the Time Nest is the nexus where they all meet. Whenever we see an alteration in the timeline in one of these scrolls and we send a Time Patroller back to fix it, we aren’t actually erasing that change; that split has already happened and created a new timeline. Think of what we do more as cauterising a wound in the overall timeline and preventing the new bad future from spreading further. Do you understand?”

Starlight raised a hoof to her mouth in confusion. “I’m not sure. This all sounds really confusing, with this talk of different timelines that apparently exist, but also don’t exist at the same time.”

The Supreme Kai of Time let out a breath before she continued. “I’ll admit that it is difficult to grasp in the beginning.” She then put her hand to her chin as she tried to think of a way she could explain it more clearly. “Alright try to think of it like this: take the world that you originally came from – that’s one timeline, which is separate from, say, the timeline that Dumplin came from. Now imagine that in your timeline, an author wrote a fictional story. In that moment, that author has just created a new timeline, where the world of that story is real, where it exists concurrently but separate from that author’s own timeline – the timeline branched out.”

Starlight’s eyes started to widen as she began to piece together the concept. “Okay, I think I’m starting to get it now; and in that author’s original timeline, if a fan that author’s story decided to write a fanfiction, then that fanfiction would also create another timeline similar to but separate from the others?”

The Supreme Kai of Time smiled and nodded. “Yup, that’s the basic concept. And keep in mind that that’s all from just one fictional story, from just one timeline, so you can’t even imagine how many possible timelines there are in total. There’s basically one timeline for every single idea that any person can imagine – just imagining something can create an entire timeline where it’s real.

“However, an important thing to remember is that the timeline isn’t infinite and that if too many alternate timelines were to arise then it would cause irreparable damage to the overall flow of time, so our job is to regulate that flow and to keep it flowing smoothly.”

Starlight nodded her head along in understanding as the Supreme Kai of Time continued explaining everything. “Alright, I think I understand it now.”

“Good,” the Supreme Kai of Time said, with a proud smile on her face and her hands on her hips. A moment later, she began walking forward again, leading Starlight to a small desk with several scrolls to one side.

“Now in order to make sure that you fully grasp what we do here, I would like for you to have a look through several different scrolls, so that you can see for yourself exactly just what kind of alternate timelines that we have to deal with. Don’t worry, you’ll only have to look through a handful of different scrolls, and for simplicities sake, it will only be offshoots of the timeline that you came from.”

“Alright,” Starlight nodded her head in understanding as she walked up to the table and sat in front of it.

“Alright then,” the Supreme Kai of Time nodded in turn. Seeing that Starlight had everything that needed, the SKoT then began making her way out of the room.

When she was almost at the door, she suddenly realised something else and turned back to face Starlight again. “Oh, that reminds me. Don’t forget that Puddin’s baby shower is later today, so make sure to head over there once you’re finished here. I’m sure she’ll want all of her friends to be there.”

Starlight simply turned towards her and smiled good-naturedly. “Don’t worry; I actually have real friends now, so I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The Supreme Kai of Time just smiled. “Once again, good to hear.” She then turned back around and left the Time Vault.

Now all alone, Starlight used her magic to pick up the first scroll to her left, unfurled it and began to read, taking a glimpse into another timeline.
> Universal Survival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And so there Smooze and I were, in the middle of the castle treasury – the world’s largest emerald in my hands – when all of a sudden the Royal Guard bust in and yell out, ‘Freeze! Put your hands in the air!” Discord reeled off. He and Fluttershy were in the middle of their weekly get-together at her cottage, for tea and cucumber sandwiches, and he was currently in the middle of regaling her with one of his and Smooze’s exploits. “So I, in response, very politely tell them, ‘Freeze and put my hands in the air? I’m afraid that it’s physically impossible for me to do both.”

“Hahahahaha,” Fluttershy laughed good-naturedly. “Oh, Discord. You always have the funniest come back lines.”

“Right,” Discord agreed. “So anyway, there we were surrounded by eight Royal Guards, who had all been rendered speechless by my ingenious remark, when suddenly…”

However, before Discord could continue, he was suddenly cut off by a bright light that appeared in the middle of the living room, just out of his peripheral vision. Confused, and turning towards where the light was coming from, the two of them saw that the source of light seemed to be some sort of portal, in which the silhouette of a figure slowly began to emerge.

When the figure came fully into view, they could see that it was a short male, with blue skin and slicked back white hair, and both of his arms folded behind his back. He wore a dark green outfit, with an orange triangle on his shirt, a belt with a strange symbol on it, and most peculiarly, a blue halo above his head. When the mysterious individual had fully emerged from the portal, he opened his purple eyes and looked up… and Discord immediately paled.

“G-G-Grand Minister!” He stuttered, in shock. Quickly realising his faux pas, he snapped to attention and bolted up to his feet, both arms rigid at his side, and bowed in respect. “Please forgive my disrespect. It won’t happen again, Sir, Grand Minister, Sir!”

“That is quite alright, Discord,” the Grand Minister replied, raising one hand as he did so.

Fluttershy, who was even more confused at the Grand Minister’s unexpected appearance, simply looked between the two of them, noticing Discord’s uncharacteristic nervousness around this individual. “Uhhmm…”

Suddenly noticing the yellow pony in the room with them, the Grand Minister turned to address her. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry for intruding, Miss. Allow me to introduce myself: I am the Grand Minister.” He spoke in a calm and courteous tone.

“Oh, uhhmm, thank you,” Fluttershy stuttered herself. “My name is Fluttershy.”

“A pleasure,” the Grand Minister responded, placing his hand over his chest in a half bow of respect. “Discord,” he continued, turning back to the Draconequus.

“Yes, Sir!” Discord responded immediately.

“Grand Zen-Oh has called a meeting of the Gods. The God of Destruction, Supreme Kai, and angel of each universe are to report to him as soon as possible.” His proclamation made Discord look up from the ground slightly, causing him to meet the Grand Minister’s charismatic smile. The next moment, however, the Grand Minister’s expression changed, and he looked over to the side, as if sensing something in that direction.

The direction of the Everfree Forest.

Discord tensed up even more and was now visibly sweating, but didn’t dare move an inch from his bow of respect.

The Grand Minister’s expression was now scrunched slightly, ‘hmmming’ in suspicion. A moment later, he trailed just his eyes back towards Discord, who was still bowing before him. “I trust that that won’t be a problem?” He said, in an eerily calm tone.

“Oh, no, no problem at all,” Discord stammered out, with a nervous smile on his face, wanting more than anything for this conversation to be over.

“Good,” the Grand Minister replied, turning fully towards him again, now with an eerie smile on his face. “The meeting will commence in five taks. Please do not be late.” With that, the Grand Minister began fading back into the portal from whence he came, with the portal itself closing behind him.

Now that the Grand Minister was gone, Fluttershy had many questions about what had just happened. “Uhhmm, Discord. What exactly was…”

“Wellthankyouverymuchforyourhospitalityfluttershybutireallyhavetogoingnowbye!” Discord spoke in a rush before snapping his fingers and vanishing in a flash of light.

After Discord had disappeared, Fluttershy simply blinked twice in confusion. She then looked down at Angel in her forehooves. “What just happened?”

Her pet bunny simply shrugged his shoulders in response and then shoved a cookie into his mouth.


---


With a flash of light, Discord reappeared in a cavern in the Everfree Forest, desperately trying to catch his breath. “Okay, calm down, Discord,” he said to himself. He then looked to the side and saw the Tree of Harmony, and he gulped. “Okay, don’t panic. This day was always coming. You knew that you wouldn’t be able to keep this up forever. And since the alternative is disobeying Grand Ze…” He paled before he could even finish his sentence. Clutching his eyes and teeth shut tightly, he reached out his still-shaking hands and snapped his fingers.

Immediately, a bright light engulfed the Tree of Harmony, which began folding in on itself. As the light got smaller, reaching Discord’s standing height, it began to change shape, forming a silhouette of pure light.

When the light faded, a new figure stood in its place. The figure was female, with the same blue skin as the Grand Minister, though standing at twice his height. She had long, flowing purple hair that reached all the way down her back. She wore a white dress, with a gold belt around her waist, and a crown on her head that had five coloured gems and a purple star embedded in it. She also held a sceptre clutched in her right hand, and what appeared to be a blue halo around her neck.

As soon as she had come into being, the woman simply stared back at the Draconequus with a straight face and piercing blue eyes that made Discord pale almost as much as the Grand Minister had earlier. “Hello, Discord,” she spoke in a calm and quiet tone.

“Uhhmm, hey there, Harmony,” Discord responded in a nervous tone. “Long time no see?”

“One thousand and fifty three years to be precise,” Harmony responded. “I believe the last thing you said to me was, ‘Hey Harmony, check this out,’ and the next thing I know, I’m a tree.” Her eyes trailed off to the side as she was speaking, before focusing on Discord again. “So, I take it that you have a good reason for suddenly reversing your spell now of all times.” She asked, while tilting her head to the side with her eyes closed, which along with her smile gave what she said some sinister undertones.

The sight made Discord wince for a second before he could respond. “Uhhmm…” He coughed into his fist to regain himself. “Grand Zen-Oh has called a meeting of Gods, so the three of us have to report to him immediately. The meeting will begin in just under five taks.”

Harmony realigned her head before she responded, placing her hand to her chin. “Yes, I suppose that does make sense, doesn’t it? There is little else that could make you this nervous.” She then turned around so that her back was to him. “Well then, shall we go and get the Supreme Kai, then? Grab my shoulder and we’ll be off.”

Discord simply blinked in confusion. “Uh, okay. I kind of thought this moment would go a bit differently.”

“Oh, Discord. We don’t have time for anything like a harsh punishment.” She then turned around and looked him in the eye, still with that sinister smile on her face. “I’ll wait until we do.”

Discord winced for a second, but then slumped in defeat. “Fair enough.”

He then grabbed her shoulder and they both disappeared in a flash of light.


---


“… with the Parasprite infestation in Fillydelphia finally taken care of, we can expect to see a rise in both taxes paid out and tourism coming in in the coming months, which…” Fancy Pants drolled on.

Princess Celestia was in the middle of another round of Day Court proceedings, which if she was being completely honest, she found really boring and wished she could be literally anywhere else if she could help it. But ultimately, everything that was done in these meetings was for the best of her country, so she knew that she had to pay attention to what they were saying; didn’t stop it from being boring, though.

“Now, moving on to international affairs,” Fancy Pants continued. “Dragon Lord Ember has introduced new policies that will make it possible for ponies to conduct business out of the Dragon Lands, which I believe could…”

However, his speech was interrupted by a sudden flash of light from the corner of the room. While Celestia was only mostly paying attention to the proceedings, she still immediately picked up on the distraction and what it meant.

“Discord,” she began, placing her hoof to her head in annoyance at his interruption. “I have told you countless times not to interrupt these meetings…” However, she immediately stopped in her chastising when she looked over and saw, not only Discord, but the figure standing beside him – a figure that she thought she would never see again – causing her to stand up on her throne and her eyes to widen in surprise. “Harmony?”

“Greetings, Celestia,” Harmony responded. “I apologies for the interruption, but this is an important matter. Grand Zen-Oh has called a meeting.”

Celestia’s eyes widened even further upon the mention of that name. This was literally the last thing that she expected.

It took her a moment to remember the business ponies still in the room, who were even more confused than her, right now. “Uhhmm… I need to step out for a moment – Important business. Let us end Day Court for now.”

“What?” One of the business ponies spoke up. “We are in the middle of an important…”

Fancy Pants simply held his hoof out to the side to silence him. “Of course, Your Majesty. We completely understand. We shall reconvene at a later time.” He then turned to lead the rest of the business ponies out of the court room.

When the last of the business ponies had almost left the throne room, Celestia suddenly remembered something. “Raven,” she called out to the white coated, black maned unicorn that was her secretary. “I have to step out for a moment. Tell me sister, Luna, ‘Code Z’. She’ll know what that means.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Raven responded with a nod, and then left the room.

Once the three of them were the only ones left in the room, Celestia stepped forward, and finally managed a genuine smile. “It’s good to see you again, Harmony. I haven’t seen you since you disappeared.”

“Discord turned me into a tree,” She stated casually.

The strangeness and bluntness of the reply caught Celestia off guard. “I… see.” The two of them then turned to face Discord.

With their eyes on him now, Discord quickly turned his back to them, with his arms crossed, trying to act like he had the moral high ground. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I was just getting tired of Harmony constantly having me destroying planets. Maybe, unlike her, I have a problem with genociding entire civilisations. Did you ever think of that, hmmm?”

“Discord, you could have turned down being a God of Destruction at any time. You just wanted the power that came with being a God without any of the responsibilities, like a spoiled child.” Harmony replied, shooting down his smug justification immediately.

Discord raised his finger to retort, but found he didn’t have one, so he just slumped in response.

Celestia just gave him what she liked to call her ‘Discord face’.

“Well, at least you managed to use my power to turn him to stone so he didn’t completely get away scot free.” Harmony continued, facing Celestia again. “Although, I do worry what a thousand years of stagnation has done to our universe, with no one to destroy planets and put up new ones.”

Celestia seemed to consider this for a moment as well.

“Excuse me,” Discord spoke up. “I’d hate to interrupt, but we now have less than one tak left before the meeting begins, and do I even have to say why disappointing Grand Zen-Oh would be a very, very bad idea?”

“Yes, you’re right,” Harmony responded calmly. She then turned back towards Celestia. “Celestia, do you mind? You’re the only one that can get us there fast enough?”

“Not at all,” Celestia said with a smile. Stepping in between the two of them, she extended her wings so that they could both grab on to one. “Kai Kai,” she uttered, activating her Instantaneous Movement and they all vanished in an instant.


---


The very next instant, the three of them had been transported out of their own universe, to the realm of Grand Zen-Oh: The Omni-King. Grand Zen-Oh’s realm existed separate from the thirteen universes. This particular area was out in the middle of space, with many swirling galaxies in the background. The space of this realm was a lot brighter and more colourful than the space of any other universe. There were several floating columns, signifying that this was the Omni-King’s palace. There were also thirteen floating platforms, each with a symbol of their respective universe emblazoned on it. In the case of their universe: a six pointed star, denoting the symbol of magic.

The Gods from the other twelve universes had all assembled, each on their own platforms, forming a ring around a large, central stage.

“Well, it’s certainly been a long time since we were last here.” Discord was the first to speak, looking around the area.

“Indeed,” the three of them heard a voice speak up, just before the Grand Minister floated into view before them.

Celestia and Discord instinctively bowed in respect, while Harmony simply gave him a warm smile. “Hello, Father. It’s certainly been a while since we last spoke, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has,” the Grand Minister responded. He then gave a quick glance to Discord, who immediately sweat-dropped under his stare. “I trust that everything has been going well for you,” he continued speaking to his daughter.

“Yes, it has. Thank you for asking.”

Noticing Discord’s discomfort, the Grand Minister simply smiled before returning his full attention to his daughter. “Well then, we shall have to get together later and talk all about it.”

“Why that sounds wonderful,” Harmony responded in the same calm tone.

“Pardon my intrusion, Grand Minister,” Celestia said as she stood back up. “But what exactly is the purpose of this meeting, if I may ask?”

Turning towards her, the Grand Minister’s eyes widened slightly in realisation. “Oh, that’s right. Forgive me; I was in such a rush contacting each universe that I forgot to inform you.” He then smiled warmly at them. “Not to worry, though. All will be revealed shortly.”

“Hey! Champa, long time no see?!”

All of them turning in the direction of the outburst, they saw that it came from, surprisingly, a mortal, standing on the Universe 7 platform. The mortal had black, spiky hair, and wore an orange Gi, with the angel symbol on the front and back. There were also several other mortals on the platform, one of whom looked like a big piece of pink bubble gum, while another looked like a younger version of the first.

“Son Goku,” the Grand Minister called down to him. “Your silence would be appreciated.”

Seeing a mortal here made Discord curious. “Wait, I thought this was a meeting of the Gods. Why did Universe 7 bring mortals with them?”

Whilst wondering this herself, Celestia took a closer look at the assembled universes, and noticed something else. “It’s not just Universe 7,” she said. “Universe 9,” who had brought three humanoid canines with them. She continued looking around. “And Universe 11 as well,” who had a mysterious, cloaked individual standing behind the Supreme Kai.

“Again, all will be revealed shortly,” the Grand Minister reassured them before floating away again, into the centre of the assembled universes, so that he was at the centre of everything. Raising his hand up so that he had every universe’s full attention, he continued.

“All Gods, gather here!” The Grand Minister announced, spreading his arms wide. At his signal, all thirteen platforms descended so that everyone could see the Grand Minister and each other clearly. “Supreme Kais and Gods of Destruction gathered from all universes, as you already have heard, Grand Zen-Oh wishes to hold a martial arts tournament, called the Tournament of Power.”

“A martial arts tournament?” Discord wondered quietly. He then turned towards Harmony and Celestia. “That’s the reason for the meeting?”

“Shoosh,” Harmony put a finger to her mouth. “He’s explaining it.”

The Grand Minister then waved his arm outward, as Grand Zen-Oh himself descended down on his throne. All of the assembled Gods naturally fell into a bow of respect. As Discord cracked open his eye to catch a glimpse of him, however, both of his eyes suddenly widened in shock and his mouth hung open because of the sight he was witnessing.

Zen-Oh, the all-powerful, Top God, could-wipe-out-all-of-existence-in-an-instant-if-he-wanted-to Omni-King sat on his throne. He was a short, child-like being, with a large, oval-shaped head. He primarily has teal skin, except for two sections from his ears to the middle of each eye on both sides of his head, which were purple, with small round eyes, and small rounded grey ‘ears’. He wore a magenta and yellow lined coat, with yellow pants and magenta shoes, with a black and white shirt underneath, with a strange symbol on the front. He had a blank expression on his face.

However, while Grand Zen-Oh was an intimidating sight to anyone who knew of him, he was not the cause of Discord’s shock, but the individual who sat in the throne next to him: another Grand Zen-Oh.

“T-two Grand Zen-Oh’s?” Discord gasped. “How is that possible?”

Celestia was equally shocked, though less open about it. “I’m not sure. As my sister would say, the danger has been doubled.”

Still worried, but gulping to try and literally swallow his worry, Discord continued. “Okay, no need to panic. We simply have to be doubly careful from now on not to say or do anything that might…”

“Hey, Zennie!”

Discord, along with every other God assembled immediately paled upon hearing this outburst. Looking up from their bows, they saw the spiky haired mortal from Universe 7 fly over towards Grand Zen-Oh’s throne and casually rest his arm on the side. “Thanks for lettin’ us fight first!”

“What the Hell is he doing?!” Discord screamed out in worry, tugging at his horn and antler so hard that he nearly pulled them off.

Celestia was equally worried about this mortal’s casual demeanour in front of Grand Zen-Oh, though less vocal about it than Discord.

Suddenly, the God of Destruction from Universe 7, Beerus, who resembled a large, purple, hairless cat, quickly launched himself towards the offending mortal, grabbed him, and threw him back to the platform in a loud crash.

“Sorry for the commotion.” Beerus apologised profusely, with several bows in quick succession.

“It’s fine.” Zen-Oh replied.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” The other Zen-Oh replied.

Upon hearing Grand Zen-Oh say that everything was fine and that he wasn’t about to erase everything, Discord heaved a sigh of relief. “After everything that’s happened today, I think I’m on the verge of finding out if God’s can have heart attacks.”

Once the commotion had settled, the Grand Minister again raised his hand to get everybody’s attention. Once he did, he placed both hands behind his back as he continued. “Now then, as I have said, Grand Zen-Oh wishes to hold a martial arts tournament. Before that, however, the Grand Zen-Oh from the future does not know what a martial arts tournament is. So we will hold a Zen Exhibition Match here.

“Everyone,” the Grand Minister continued. “It is thanks to the request from Son Goku from Universe 7 that the Tournament of Power came to be.” He then towards Universe 7. “Son Goku.”

“Right!” Son Goku responded, then stepping forward to address everyone. “I heard there were lots of strong guys out there in the universes. That’s why I asked Zennie: I said I wanna fight such guys!”

The two Grand Zen-Oh’s then floated down on their thrones so that they were at eye-level with Son Goku. “Say, Goku.” Zen-Oh said.

“Say, Goku,” Future Zen-Oh said.

“Show us a fight.”

“Hurry and show us.”

“Got it!” Son Goku replied, pumping his fist out towards them. “I’ll show you an amazin’ one!”

Discord stood with his arms crossed, with an irked expression on his face. “I don’t like how casual that Son Goku is acting towards Grand Zen-Oh. Doesn’t he know that you must show Grand Zen-Oh absolute respect at all times or he’s liable to erase everything?”

“True,” Celestia responded with a smile, not even turning to look at Discord. “But I don’t think Grand Zen-Oh seems to mind.”

Once the two Zen-Oh’s had floated back to their original spot, the Grand Minister then continued speaking. “Now, everyone. By Grand Zen-Oh’s request, in this Zen Exhibition Match, three martial artists from Universe 9 and from Universe 7 shall fight in order one by one. There is no time limit. Until an opponent admits defeat or cannot continue, fight using all powers at your disposal.”

“So we were called here to watch a martial arts match between fighters from different universes?” Discord said to himself, in an uncharacteristically serious tone, as he remained stock still. Suddenly, however, he piped back to his usual self. “Well, that’s a relief.” With a snap of his fingers, a lounge chair and a bowl of popcorn appeared, which he reclined back into and began eating from, respectively. “Well, we might as well get comfy.”

Glancing at Discord, but not saying a word, Harmony simply tapped her sceptre against the floor of the platform, and Discord’s constructs vanished, causing him to crash into the floor. “Ow, what was that for?” Discord asked, rubbing at his sore spot.

“You’re a God of Destruction; you’re not meant to create.” Harmony replied calmly.

Discord gave her an annoyed look, but didn’t say anything beyond that. “Fine,” he said, picking himself back up.

“And now, for the first match.” The Grand Minister continued his announcement after an interruption from Universe Nine. “Warriors, to the fighting stage.”

At their calling, both universes sent out their first competitors. Basil from Universe 9, who was a large, anthropomorphic fox, with red fur, and Majin Buu from Universe 7, who was the pink, bubble gum-looking mortal that they briefly saw earlier.

“Let the first match… begin!”

Once the battle started, Basil immediately went on the offensive, striking his opponent multiple times before he could even fight back. At first, it looked like Basil had an overwhelming advantage; however, after he unleashed a powerful move and assumed that his opponent was down for the count, Majin Buu suddenly jumped back up and began laughing uncontrollably, like the entire fight had just been a fun game.

This callous attitude seemed to irritate Basil, along with some egging on from Universe 7, who told him that his current level wasn’t enough to beat Majin Buu, as he then powered up and began firing off energy blasts, all of them hitting Majin Buu head on. After his recent string of attacks, Basil was confident that that was enough to finish off his opponent; however, the next moment, Majin Buu stood back up, with a huge hole in his chest, and not only was he completely fine, but he even seem to notice it.

“Geez, what is that guy made of?” Discord wondered.

However, a moment later, Majin Buu’s cheerful demeanour changed when he noticed that one of Basil’s energy blasts ended up hitting one of the other mortals from Universe 7. Seeing his friend hurt, Majn Buu was instantly worried, and after his friend had reassured him that he would be alright, that worry quickly changed to anger, directed at Basil.

“You no hurt, Satan!” He screamed at Basil, as the hole in his stomach instantly healed, and he began to literally steam in anger, as hot steam poured out of him.

From the stands, Discord couldn’t resist making a quip. “Well, he certainly looks… steamed.” Harmony and Celestia didn’t even dignify that with a response.

Once Majin Buu began fighting back in earnest, he quickly took the advantage, easily deflecting one of Basil’s energy attacks. The ricocheted shot flew towards the Gods from Universe 11, but it was intercepted by a mortal wearing a black cloak.

Majin Buu continued in his relentless attacks, slapping Basil around like it was nothing, and knocked him off the ring. After he had managed to climb back in, he had to resort to having the Supreme Kai toss him a power up, which caused him to beef up considerably.

Beerus tried to have Basil disqualified for receiving outside help, but the Grand Minister allowed it, since the Zen-Oh’s were entertained.

Once powered up, Basil charged at Majin Buu, who managed to counter his attacks at first, but quickly became overwhelmed. After a savage beat down – which even the God of Destruction of Universe 9 thought was too much – Basil jumped into the air and began charging up his finishing move.

“Wolfgang Pressure!” Basil shouted out, shooting a barrage of energy attacks at Majin Buu, which completely overwhelmed his opponent and tore up the fighting ring, scattering a cloud of dust everywhere.

As the dust from the attack started to clear, Basil stood with his arms crossed, confident that he had finally won. However, he immediately gawked when he saw the rubble shift and Majin Buu jumped out, having taken no damage at all. As Majin Buu stood up straight to face Basil, his face and tone were completely blank. “You’re strong,” he said. Then he opened his eyes. “…but Buu’s stronger.” He then started charging his own version of Basil’s finishing move and fired it at him, producing an explosion twice the size of Basil’s attack.

When the dust from Buu’s attack finally cleared, Basil remained standing, chuckling like a madman. However, upon taking a single step, his entire body began spasming, having reached his limit, and collapsed on the ground, defeated.

Upon his defeat, both of the Zen-Oh’s cheered.

“That was fun!”

“That was fun!”

Upon hearing their cheers, the Grand Minister raised his hand to get everyone’s attention. “The Grand Zen-Oh’s have offered their words of content. The first match is concluded! The victor is from Universe 7, Majin Buu!”

With the first match over, Universe 7 celebrated their victory, and Majin Buu went to tend to his friend. The Supreme Kai of Universe 9, meanwhile, chastised Basil for losing and making their universe look bad.

“Well, that was entertaining,” Discord spoke up. “That Majin Buu guy is a lot stronger than he looks.”

“Yes,” Celestia agreed. She then looked over towards the Universe 7 platform, where Majin Buu had finished healing his friend, Satan, who was now praising him for his victory, and the sight made her smile. “It seems that friendship is just as strong in the other universes.”

“Now for the second match.” The Grand Minister continued, and everyone’s attention was once again on him. “Warriors, please enter the fighting stage,” he continued, and with a snap of his fingers, the entire destroyed ring was good as new.

Universe 9’s next fighter would be Lavender, who looked very similar to Basil, but with brown fur instead of red, and a very deranged look on his face.

Universe 7’s next fighter looked and dressed very similarly to Son Goku, but looked younger, and had shorter, less messy hair. He also wore glasses, but took them off before stepping into the ring. Looking at him now, Celestia couldn’t help but be reminded of her own former student.

“The next match will be between Lavender of Universe 9; and from Universe 7, Son Goku’s son, Son Gohan!” The Grand Minister announced.

“Son Goku’s son, Son Gohan?” Discord parroted. “Anyone else getting dizzy?”

“Let the second match… begin!”

As soon as the match started, Son Gohan rushed Lavender, who met his attack head on. The two of them continued to trade blows, apparently evenly matched, but then Lavender suddenly jumped out of the way of Gohan’s attack, landing on his arm. Catching him off guard, Lavender seized the opportunity and blew a purple poison into Gohan’s eyes, blinding him.

Unable to see his opponent, Son Gohan was at a severe disadvantage, and Lavender seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in toying with him. However, Gohan adamantly refused to give up and continued fighting to the best of his ability; even refusing the Supreme Kai’s offer to heal him, since Universe 9 received outside help in the previous battle.

It was like he was trying to prove himself.

Without being able to see, Gohan would have to adapt in order to stay in the fight. First, since he could no longer see his opponent, he tried tracking his movements by sound. It worked at first, and Gohan was able to fight just fine without being able to see. However, Lavender caught on to his plan quickly and started flying around the stage and attacking from a distance to counter it.

With the advantage his again, Lavender continued firing his poisonous attacks at Gohan from the air, where he couldn’t find him, and Gohan was being worn down quickly. However, despite the odds being laid against him, he didn’t falter in his resolve and continued fighting; and Celestia found this incredibly admirable, which made her smile. Gohan had a fierce determination to win, while Lavender was a blatant psychopath, being open about his desire to kill his opponent. While she had simply been observing the first battle, in this one, she was actively rooting for Son Gohan to win.

Taking a knee from Lavender’s last attack, Gohan panted hard, as the poison slowly continued to build in his system. “Not yet,” he said to himself. “My power hasn’t been fully unleashed yet.” Standing back up, he suddenly powered up, and he gained a visible white battle aura, which shook the fighting stage. As his power continued to build, however, both his battle aura and his hair changed to a radiant yellow colour – instead of his usual black hair – and there was now a very noticeable difference in his power level, which many of the Gods watching were intrigued by.

Lavender, however, convinced himself that this power up wouldn’t be enough to beat him. Flying behind Son Gohan, he fired off another attack, but Gohan somehow knew that the attack was coming and blocked it. Lavender flew to the side again to repeat his strategy, but was met with the same results. Son Gohan then went on the offensive, and quickly regained control of the fight.

It turned out that what Son Gohan was doing was he was expelling his energy outward, using it like sonar to detect his opponent. However, after he slammed Lavender into the stage and went in for the finishing blow, his transformation suddenly cut out and he fell out of the sky.

The poison in Son Gohan’s body was now much more noticeable, as parts of his body were starting to turn purple, where previously, was just around his eyes.

“What’s wrong with him?” Celestia asked, in worry.

“It’s the backlash of his strategy.” Harmony explained. “Beings from different universes have different energy signatures, which makes detecting them that way difficult. Son Gohan couldn’t sense his opponent’s energy, so he powered up so that he could instead bounce his own energy off of his opponent and detect him that way; an impressive strategy. However, using that much power caused the poison to spread around his body much faster.”

Looking back down at the fighting stage again, Celestia saw Lavender quickly take back the advantage by beating on Gohan while he was still weak from the poison, and blowing more poison on him to speed it up even faster.

However, even after all that, Gohan continued fighting back, and then transformed again, despite knowing the risks for doing so. He continued trading blows with Lavender, even as the poison continued to spread throughout his body, and his skin turned purple as a result.

Knowing that he wouldn’t last much longer, Son Gohan decided on one final move and charged towards Lavender, jumping through a large cloud of his poison as he did, and grabbed him from behind. With his opponent locked in a Full Nelson, he then charged straight downwards, in a kamikaze attack, crashing into the stage, hard.

A crater formed from the impact of the crash, and when the dust cleared, Son Gohan and Lavender were both lying facing down. Unlike Lavender, Gohan – whose skin was now almost entirely purple from the poison – managed to stumble back up to his feet, and with a content smile on his face, he simply said to himself. “I won.” He then fell back down again.

The Grand Minister then floated towards the stage to determine the victor. “The second match, with both fighters down, is a tie!” He announced.

“Oooooohh!” Both Zen-Oh’s ‘oooooohhed’ in awe.

With the match over, both of Lavender’s brothers, and Gohan’s father went down to the stage to help them.

Looking down at Son Gohan now, after his father gave him some sort of medicine to heal him, Celestia couldn’t help but smile in support. “The Grand Minister may have called the match a tie, but as far as I’m concerned, Son Gohan won that fight.”

Among the assembled Gods, this fight seemed to have generated much more interest than the first.

“To all Gods gathered here,” the Grand Minister spoke up. Everyone, Gods and mortals, all turned towards him in response. “I have an announcement from Grand Zen-Oh.” Behind him, both Zen-Oh’s stood up on their thrones as the Grand Minister continued speaking. “Grand Zen-Oh is very moved that beings of the lowest mortal level rank could put on such a wonderful fight.”

That seemed to confuse many of those listening.

“Mortal level?” Discord wondered. Harmony simply shooshed him, not even bothering to say the rest.

“Grand Zen-Oh has evaluated all the thirteen universes and ranked them accordingly.” The Grand Minister continued. “The average level of the mortal-inhabited stars of Universe 7 is 3.18. It’s not good. It’s second from the bottom.”

That declaration made Beerus’ mouth hang open.

“If we’re second from the bottom, which universe is below us?” Universe 7’s angel, and Harmony’s older brother, Whis, asked.

“Surely you can tell,” the Grand Minister said, turning towards Universe 9. “That’s right. Universe 9’s average mortal level is the lowest. It’s 1.86.”

The Supreme Kai of Universe 9’s reaction was much the same as Beerus’.

“For this upcoming Tournament of Power,” the Grand Minister continued, in his usual calm tone of voice, with his hands behind his back. “Grand Zen-Oh has often said there are too many universes. And so, Son Goku from Universe 7’s proposal was the perfect opportunity. By his hand, Grand Zen-Oh will erase the universes that lose the Tournament of Power.”

There was a collective gasp from everyone assembled. Celestia and Discord both had the same reaction to hearing this: their eyes dilated and their mouths hung open in shock. “Erase?” They said in unison. “As in…” They thought of their universe, of the ponies under their care, of the other races of Equestria and beyond… of Twilight and her friends. All of that might be erased.

“Grand Minister.” The Supreme Kai of Universe 7 spoke up. “There’s something I wish to confirm.”

“Please go right ahead.”

“You said the defeated universes would be erased. Do you mean every universe that loses the Tournament of Power?”

“Yes,” the Grand Minister confirmed. “However, Universe 1 and Universe 12, and Universe 5 and Universe 8 are exempt from entering. The average mortal level of those four is over seven, so they won’t be erased.”

“So in other words,” Whis spoke up. “The low level universes were already going to be erased, but if they win, they can remain. Is that the true purpose of this tournament?”

“Well, that sums it up.” The Grand Minister confirmed. He then smiled. “Shall we move on to the third match?”

“Grand Minister!” Discord called out, making the Grand Minister face him. “If the universe is erased, what about us Gods?”

“You’ll be erased at the same time, of course,” he responded casually. “Everything but the angels.” He said, holding his hand out towards Harmony.

Discord gasped and turned towards Harmony. “Harmony? You won’t be erased?”

“It would appear so.” Harmony responded, turning towards him. She then looked further back at Celestia, who still seemed to be paralysed in shock.

“That concludes the announcement. Next is the third match. This will be the last.” The Grand Minister said, and with a snap of his fingers, the ring was repaired once again.

With the ring repaired, the fighters for the next round made their way to the ring. Fighting for Universe 9 was Bergamo, who resembled his brothers, though he had blue fur and was more muscly; and fighting for Universe 7 was Son Goku.

“Your name’s Bergamo, right?” Goku asked while cracking his knuckles. “This fight doesn’t involve erasin’ the universe, so let’s go all out.”

Bergamo sneered at Goku in response. “Shut your mouth, you scum!” Turning away from Goku, facing the assembled Gods, he took in a deep breath. “All the Gods, hear me!” He announced, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I am the eldest brother of the Trio De Dangers! Bergamo The Crusher! I am a warrior from Universe 9, a place Grand Zen-Oh said has the lowest mortal level! However!” He then pointed towards Goku. “This man’s level is far below our low-ranking Universe 9! Without his stupid wish, we could have lived in peace! He’s a fool with not a thought in his head!”

Harmony put her hand to her chin. “But Grand Zen-Oh said that he was going to erase the lower ranked universe anyway.” She said to herself. She then looked to the side, where Discord was being sucked in to what Bergamo was saying, while Celestia was still in shock from the announcement earlier. Letting out a sigh, she whacked Discord in the head with her sceptre.

Turning back towards Bergamo once again, as he was arguing with Goku when he tried to refute his claims, he then turned away once again and took a knee. “Grand Zen-Oh,” he said, addressing the Omni-King. “Once I have defeated this man, please rescind your rule to erase the defeated universes!”

This request got an immediate reaction from all of the Gods, including Celestia, who snapped out of her state of shock, and all turned towards Zen-Oh for his response.

“What of that one’s request?” The Grand Minister asked the Zen-Ohs.

Both Zen-Oh’s ‘ummed’ for a moment and turned to face each other, while every God waited with baited breath for their response.

“Bergamo, was it?” Zen-Oh spoke up.

“Yes!” Bergamo replied immediately.

“It’s already decided.” Future Zen-Oh responded.

“Yeah, it’s decided.” Zen-Oh responded.

“But your proposal is accepted.”

“It is.”

At that, every God let out a gasp of relief. They were safe after all.

The Grand Minister then turned back around to address the universes. “So if Universe 9 is victorious, the rule that defeated universes will be erased shall be rescinded. However,” he followed up with, which made everyone hold off on their relief. “Son Goku. If you should hold back because you don’t want to be erased, Grand Zen-Oh will erase all the universes immediately.”

“Right. I don’t like losing either. I’m goin’ full on.” Son Goku responded in his determined demeanour, like he wasn’t even aware of the severity of the situation.

Discord gulped hard. They weren’t in the clear yet. Bergamo still had to beat Son Goku.

“Now, let the third match… begin!” The Grand Minister announced with a wave of his hand.

As soon as the fight started, Goku and Bergamo rushed towards each other, exchanging quick blows between one another. At the beginning, they seemed pretty evenly matched, but then all of a sudden, Bergamo stopped in his latest attack.

“Hit me!” Bergamo shouted, with his arms out wide, purposely leaving himself exposed. “I’ll show you why they call me Bergamo The Crusher!”

Goku followed up his boast by punching him repeatedly in the chest, but when he did, Bergamo seemed to take the energy from that punch and use it to grow bigger, and then sent it back at Goku with a punch of his own. Goku recovered from the attack and retaliated with one of his own, but as soon as he did, Bergamo once again used that energy to grow even bigger, and attack Goku back with even more power.

The Supreme Kai of Universe 9 explained that Bergamo can take his opponent’s power and then fire it back twice as hard. However, instead of becoming dejected, Son Goku was first saying that it was boring and unoriginal to use somebody else’s power instead of your own, and yet at the same time, excited at the prospect of fighting someone with unlimited power. He then powered up in the same manner as his son did earlier and his hair turned golden. He then punched Bergamo hard in the stomach, and while Bergamo was still able to take it, he visibly winced from the impact.

As he watched the fight continue, Discord gripped his hands tightly in frustration. “Damn that Son Goku. If he’d just lose then we’d all be safe.”

“But if he loses on purpose then every universe will be erased, even those that are exempt from the Tournament of Power.” Harmony responded without initially turning to face him. When she finally did turn towards him, she only saw him bite down, hard. She then looked over towards her older brother from Universe 7. “Whis. You know Son Goku better than anybody else here. Do you think that he will win this fight?”

Whis turned towards his sister and considered her question before facing forward at the fight again. “If he doesn’t hold back and he doesn’t drop his guard, then almost certainly, yes.”

Harmony raised an eyebrow at that. “You mean he might still hold back even after being told the consequences for doing so?”

Whis simply smiled. “Son Goku is truly something. He can seem so careless and empty-headed at times, but then he can be calm and focused at others. There really no way of knowing exactly what he’s thinking.”

Bergamo kept throwing punches at Son Goku, but by now he was twenty times his normal size, and his increased size meant that it got harder and harder to hit his opponent.

“C’mon, try to get even stronger!” Goku said as he dodged Bergamo’s attacks, and shot multiple energy attacks at him, which caused him to grow even more.

Goku overpowered Bergamo with constant, quick attacks, pushing him back towards the edge of the stage. Once he reached the edge, he grew even more from the energy Goku gave him, and his increased weight caused the ground beneath him to shatter and he fell to his knees.

Son Goku then landed in front of him. “Can you still get stronger?”

Looking up at him, Bergamo just growled back at him.

“Don’t give up!” Looking up at who it was cheering him on, Bergamo saw that it was Discord. “All of our existences are in your hands now, so you’re not allowed to lose. So stand back up and smash Son Goku into the dirt, and be the saviour of nine universes.” He then pumped his clenched fist into the air and began chanting. “Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo!”

Champa, the God of Destruction from Universe Six, who looked like a fat version of Beerus, was the first to join in. “Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo!”

He was then followed by the Supreme Kai of Universe 11. “Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo!”

Then all of Universe 9. “Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo! Ber-Ga-Mo!”

Pretty soon, everyone except for Universe 7 were cheering Bergamo’s name, cheering him on.

Hearing everyone around him chanting his name gave Bergamo the strength to stand back up. “Of course. I can’t just give up; everyone’s counting on me.” He then looked down at Son Goku. “You hear that? Every universe is cheering me on, telling me to defeat you.” He then clenched his fist. “I will defeat you here and now. Everyone will get what they want, except for you.” He raised his fist high into the air. “Now die, Son Goku!” He slammed his fist down, hard.

Seeing the large fist coming at him, Goku simply smirked and leapt out of the way just in the time, backflipping through the air as he did so. When he came to a stop, he suddenly screamed and exploded outward in a blue aura that shook the entire area.

“Ber-Ga-M…” Discord was knocked out of his chant by the blast, and he almost fell over. “What?!” He shouted in disbelief, as he instinctively covered his face with his arm.

Celestia responded similarly, though found it harder to remain standing, as she wasn’t a God of Destruction. As she struggled to simply keep her gaze on Son Goku from the insane amount of energy this mortal was unleashing, she suddenly noticed how familiar it felt. Back when Twilight and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Tirek, by channelling Harmony’s power. “It’s divine energy!” She uttered in shock. “But how can one mortal wield it like this?”

Suddenly, what looked like a separate aura of blue energy shattered around Son Goku like glass. He now looked similar to his first power up, but with blue hair and a blue aura instead of yellow.

“Wow! Goku’s amazing!” Future Zen-Oh said in awe.

“That’s Super Saiyan Blue!” Zen-Oh explained.

Celestia and Discord heard what Zen-Oh said. “Super Saiyan Blue?”

“Not enough for you?” Son Goku asked Bergamo. “Here, try some more. Kaio-Ken!” Suddenly, another aura, this one red, exploded outwards from Son Goku, in a wave of energy, even stronger than the first one.

The second wave of energy forced Discord to his knees, and Celestia fell over completely. Even Harmony had to raise her hand up to her head. “Such power…”

Son Goku brought his two hands together. “Ka… Me…” A bright blue orb of energy began forming in his hands. “Ha… Me…” In preparation for the attack, Bergamo began charging up his power as well. “Ha!!!” Son Goku screamed out, as he shot the beam of energy straight downwards, towards Bergamo.

As the beam of energy came towards him, Bergamo reached out with his arm to try and catch it. “Wolfgang Penetrator!” He shouted, launching his own attack with his other arm. His attack travelled through Goku’s, all the way towards the mortal from Universe 7, until it was only inches away from making contact.

Discord’s eyes widened in relief, said relief allowing him to regain his footing and stand up straight. “He did it!”

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Son Goku screamed, as his attack completely engulfed Bergamo’s, and travelled back until it completely engulfed Bergamo as well.

When the attack faded, Son Goku flew down to the stage, still surrounded by his blue and red auras, while Bergamo staggered towards him, with his arm outstretched. “What’s wrong? Let’s do some more.”

Bergamo just gawked at Son Goku’s overwhelming power. “U-Universe 7… unbelievable…” He stuttered as he collapsed on the ground, defeated.

The moment Bergamo hit the floor, all of the surrounding Gods were rendered speechless.

Descending down on his platform, the Grand Minister raised his hand. “That’s enough. The third match is concluded. Universe 7 wins!”

Once the battle was over, several things happened. Universe 7 celebrated their victory, Basil and Lavender mourned their brother’s defeat and went to go get him, and Discord fell to his knees.

“So that’s it then. Nine universes will now be erased.” Discord deadpanned.

Celestia was still unbelieving the power she just witnessed this one mortal possessing.

Harmony noticed her two charges reactions, but didn’t say anything.

“Zennie!” Goku called out to the Zen-Oh’s. “I didn’t hold back,” he said in a cheerful tone.

Discord simply had no words for Son Goku’s careless attitude towards these circumstances. Slowly, his hand started extending outwards, towards Son Goku, with his palm held flat. It had been over a thousand years since he had ‘Hakai’ed something, but this mortal had quickly made him think of doing so to him.

“Discord.” Harmony simply cut him off with a stern glare. Discord didn’t say anything in response, and simply put his hand down. Then Harmony whacked him in the head with her sceptre.

After Basil and Lavender dragged Bergamo back to the Universe 9 platform, during which he yelled at Goku that now every universe would be gunning for him in the tournament, Son Goku simply turned to all the assembled Gods.

“Okay! Come if you wanna! I’ll take you all on! Gather the strongest guys you can and come at me! I’ll beat every last one of them!”

That declaration of war got all of the universes riled up.

Discord gripped his fingers tightly with one hand, while rubbing his head with the other. “He really is a villain. Does he really want to erase every universe that much?”

Next to him, Celestia was still speechless. There were very few mortals that she was afraid of, but Son Goku was one of them – and not just his monstrous strength.

“How was it, Grand Zen-Oh from the future? Were you satisfied with the matches?” The Grand Minister asked.

“Yeah, they were fun!” Future Zen-Oh said.

“They were super exciting!” Zen-Oh said.

The Zen-Oh’s then high fived.

“We’re super looking forward to the Tournament of Power!” They said in unison.

“It’s as you have heard, Gods,” the Grand Minister said with a wave of his hand. “Grand Zen-Oh is extremely satisfied with the matches between Universes 7 and 9. The Zen Exhibition Match was a success!

“And now, let me explain the rules of the Tournament of Power.” Raising his hand, the Grand Minister created a projection of a large, circular fighting stage, with a large column in the centre. “This is the fighting stage that will be built in the World of Void. To win, one must knock their opponent off. Quite simple, isn’t it?”

“What if your opponent collapses on the fighting stage?” Son Goku asked.

“Drop them off the fighting stage,” the Grand Minister answered. “Also, after observing the Zen Exhibition Match, some restrictions have been put in place. First, weapons other than techniques may not be used. Second, opponents may not be killed. Third, flying skills such as Flight are nullified in the World of Void. And the time limit will be one hundred taks.”

“One hundred taks?” Harmony said quietly. “By the universal standard, that’s about forty-eight minutes.”

“Isn’t that a little long?” Whis spoke up. “Who knows how long it will take to complete every match?”

“That’s not true,” the Grand Minister replied calmly. “Every warrior will be trying to knock each other off. So it will only be one match.”

The Gods all gasped at that.

“A Battle Royale?” Discord uttered.

“Don’t worry,” the Grand Minister continued. “We will make a big fighting stage. After everyone fights to the time limit, the team with the most members left wins. Of course, if only one warrior remains with time left, that warrior’s team wins.”

Harmony placed her hand to her chin. “So it’s not necessarily the strongest mortal who will win, but the team with the most members remaining at the end. Sounds like teamwork will be an important role here.”

Hearing that made Celestia relax a little. If there was one thing their universe had it was good teamwork.

“That’s all.” The Grand Minister ended his projections. “We look forward to each universe’s good fighting, and to the victor go the Super Dragon Balls.”

“Can we really win this tournament?” Discord asked to his Supreme Kai and angel attendant. “Our universe isn’t exactly known for its martial arts.”

Celestia turned towards Discord, but didn’t say anything. Harmony placed her hand on his shoulder. “This may be a martial arts tournament, but it will test so much more.” She then smiled warmly at both of them. “We still have a chance.”

“Son Goku!”

All turning in the direction of the shout, it was the mysterious cloaked mortal from Universe 11, jumping into the ring.

“Oh?”

“Oh, oh?”

“Who are you?” The Grand Minister asked.

“I know this is disrespectful. Please forgive me,” the cloaked mortal responded. Throwing off his cloak revealed he was a rotund male, wearing a red, white and black uniform, with brown skin and a big, white, bushy moustache. “Son Goku, I would have words with you,” he spoke to the Universe 7 mortal. “I am,” he began, amidst a flurry of flashy poses. “Leader of the Pride Troopers from the brave and beautiful Universe 11! Top, The Warrior of Freedom!

“Son Goku. Fight with me! If you bear evil intent and would stand against me, my fists shall bring ruin upon you!”

“Sure!” Goku responded in exhilaration. “I wasn’t satisfied with that last guy.”

“Sounds like he can’t get no satisfaction,” Discord said quietly to himself.

“The only wish in my heart,” Top continued, pointing hard at Goku. “Is to slay evil, wherever it lies.”

“So I’m evil, huh?” Goku said with a smirk. “Interesting.”

After some convincing from the Supreme Kai of Universe 11, Zen-Oh allowed Top and Goku to fight. As the fight started, Goku powered up immediately, but Top was able to easily block and dodge all of his attacks, and completely overpowered Goku, amazing the Gods with his power.

Top then managed to grab Goku from behind and put him in a chokehold, squeezing him tightly to the point where his bones started to break. While Goku’s bones were being broken by the embrace, many of the Gods, like Discord, enjoyed seeing him in pain after everything he had done, while others, like Celestia, thought that it was just uncomfortable to watch.

Just as it looked like Son Goku was about to be defeated, however, he powered up to Super Saiyan Blue, broke out of Top’s hold, and immediately took the advantage. The tables had now been turned completely, with Top being unable land an attack on Goku, and Goku completely overpowering Top.

After one of Son Goku’s attacks had destroyed Top’s Pride Trooper uniform, and Top and Goku both started powering up even further, the Grand Minister suddenly called an end to the match, explaining that at this rate, the two of them would end up killing each other, and that they should save it for the Tournament of Power.

“And now,” the Grand Minister continued. “I shall begin construction of the Tournament of Power fighting stage. It will take a while to complete, so I will require some time until the actual Tournament of Power.

“That concludes all of today’s event. Next will be the actual Tournament of Power. On the 3,135,500,603rd day of the King’s Calender, on the 157th hour, we shall begin.”

“So by the universal standard, that’s about forty hours from now,” Harmony spoke up, on hearing what time the Tournament of Power would take place. “That’s how long we have to prepare?”

“Correct,” the Grand Minister answered. That caused a lot of hustle between the other universes; that they had so little time to prepare. “And now, let us reconvene in forty hours. Adjourned.”

At the Grand Minister’s dismissal, the other universes left to prepare their teams for the Tournament of Power.

After most of the other universes had left, Discord let out a breath he’d been holding in and turned towards Celestia and Harmony. “Do you really think that we can win the Tournament of Power?”

Instead of responding, Celestia simply held her gaze on Discord, with a look of uncertainty on her own.

“First things first,” Harmony spoke up. “Let’s head home.” She then turned towards Celestia, who simply nodded her head in response.

Discord and Harmony each placed one hand on Celestia. “Kai Kai,” she said, with much less enthusiasm than last time, and upon activating Instantaneous Movement, they vanished.


---


In an instant, the three of them were back in their own universe, specifically, the Sacred World of the Kais – the spot Celestia had chosen to have Twilight Sparkle become an alicorn.

Once they reappeared, Discord again looked between Celestia and Harmony before speaking up. “So then… we, by which I mean the mortals from our universe, have to win the Tournament of Power, or else our entire universe will be erased?”

“That’s what Grand Zen-Oh has decreed.” Harmony responded. “And there is no refuting his will.”

Discord clenched his fists in anger. “Damn that Son Goku. If he hadn’t given Grand Zen-Oh the idea for this tournament in the first place, we’d all be fine.”

Harmony immediately whacked him on the head with her sceptre. “Were you even paying attention? Grand Zen-Oh said that he was going to erase all the lower ranked universes anyway. This tournament will give one of them the chance to be spared.” She then squinted her eyes at him. “Perhaps if you stopped blaming everybody but yourself for a moment you would see that. Son Goku has had no effect on our mortal level, but you not doing your job for a thousand years certainly has.”

Discord rubbed at the sore spot on his head. “You know, I was turned to stone for a thousand years.” He tried defending himself.

“As punishment for turning me into a tree so that you could get out of doing your job, which you still didn’t go back to once you were freed.” She immediately shot him down.

Discord had no response to that, so he just remained silent.

With Discord shut down and shut up for the moment, Harmony turned towards Celestia, who was still silent. Before she could speak up, however, the three of them heard a voice.

“Sister!”

Turning in the direction of the voice, they saw Princess Luna appear. “I got your message from Raven. I must say that a ‘Code Z’ is the last thing I ever expected to…” She was now standing right next to Celestia, but she started to trail off when she noticed their universe’s angel attendant. “Harmony? I must say, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I was actually thinking the same thing about you.” Harmony replied. “You do you know that this realm is for Supreme Kais only?”

“I, well… uhhmm,” stuttered, acting all flustered.

“You really shouldn’t be here, considering what happened last time,” Harmony continued drilling her.

“Well, what really happened last time?” Luna sweatdropped, trying her best not to look at Harmony.

“You got jealous of your sister for being passed over as Supreme Kai, and in your jealousy tried taking her out, which would nullify the God of Destruction and the angel, which would leave you as the sole God left to take complete control of the universe?” Harmony stated casually.

Luna sweatdropped even more. “Please, how much damage could a rogue Kai really do, anyway?

“And I can’t believe that we’re actually talking about this right now?!” Discord suddenly screamed out.

Harmony looked back at Discord and released a breath. “Discord is right. Our time is limited. We need to remain focused on the matter at hand.”

“And…” Luna began, carefully trying to get back into the conversation. “…what exactly is the matter at hand?”

The three of them then told her everything about the Zen Exhibition Match, mortal levels, the Tournament of Power, and the possibility of erasure.

Luna was beyond shocked after what she had been told. “E-erased? The entire universe?” She simply couldn’t believe what she was hearing; but if Harmony was here, and this came from Grand Zen-Oh himself, then it must be true. “Wh-what are we going to do?”

“The only thing we can do,” Harmony answered calmly. “Find the ten strongest mortals in our universe and win the Tournament of Power.”

“Gee, you make it sound so easy.” Discord chimed in. “And where are we even going to start looking for the strongest mortals in our universe?”

Harmony turned to look Discord in the eyes. “Discord, I think all four of us know exactly where to start looking.”

Discord held the staring match between them for several seconds before he finally sighed in resignation. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Holding her arm out, the crystal ball at the top of Harmony’s sceptre began glowing. Once that was done, she then turned towards Celestia, who had remained silent throughout. “Celestia, you can rest for now. I’ll take us there.” She then gave her a warm smile, which she knew she needed right now. “That should also give them enough time to come together.”

Harmony then tapped her sceptre against the immaterial floor of the realm, and in a bright flash of light, they were gone.


---


Twilight Sparkle stood before the Friendship Table, not believing what she was seeing: all seven of her friend’s cutie marks were being displayed on the map.

“What do you think it could mean?” asked Starlight Glimmer, who was standing behind Twilight, alongside Spike.

Suddenly, the doors to the map room were flung open, and Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy came running in. “What’s up, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “We all got the call and came runnin’ as fast as we could.” She said, showing off her glowing cutie mark, the same as all the others.

“Yeah, us too,” Starlight spoke up, turning so that the five of them could see her glowing cutie mark as well.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight spoke up, stepping back from the table and turning to address the room. “The map has never called all seven of us before, so it must be something really important.”

“Well, where is it telling us to go?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, that’s the strange part,” Starlight answered, pointing back to the map, specifically to the point where their cutie marks were orbiting. “It’s telling us to go… here, to the castle.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow in confusion at that. “But we always meet up here anyway, to check where the map wants to send us. Why would it just call us here?”

“What could it mean?” Fluttershy wondered quietly.

Twilight didn’t have the answer to that question, however. While she was busying silently pondering, suddenly there was a bright flash of light from the other side of the room. When the light faded, she saw Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Discord, and someone that she didn’t recognise standing there.

The group of eight naturally fell into a bow of respect towards the princesses, with Twilight out in front. “Princess Celestia,” she began. Looking over at the others, she continued. “Princess Luna, Discord. Uhhmm…”

“We haven’t technically met yet. I am Harmony.” She answered.

With that answered, Twilight swept back over the other three until she was focused on Princess Celestia again, certain that their sudden appearance had something to do with the map. “Celestia, what exactly is going on, here?”

Celestia seemed to take a moment to gather her thoughts and figure out what to say, but before she could, Discord held his hand out to cut her off, and getting Twilight to focus on him. Then, taking a look around the room at the seven ponies and dragon gathered here, he simply let out a long sigh.

“Sit down. This is going to take a while.”
> Flurry's Bizarre Adventure: Crystal Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The crown may be upon your head, Sunset Shimmer, but you cannot wield it, because you do not possess the most powerful magic of all: the magic of friendship!” Twilight called out, as she combined her power with the other five girls. 

“No! Aaaaaahhhhh! What is happening?!” Sunset Shimmer screamed out as she became enveloped in the rainbow blast. I can feel every atom in my body burning in pain. It’s slowly travelling up my entire body. Once it reaches my brain… She thought, her eyes suddenly widened in terror as the horrible realization hit her. If this rainbow is doing to me what it did to Nightmare Moon, then… She then furrowed her brow. No! I will not allow my years of planning and revenge to become undone in a single night. Not when I am so close to my goal. I am Sunset Shimmer!

The rainbow’s purifying power had now reached her breast. There must be some way I can escape this fate. Turning her head towards her left arm, she tried as hard as she could to move it. Come on, arm. Move! Then, just as the rainbows power had reached her neck, she jerked her hand towards it as fast as she could, and with her razor sharp claws, cut right through her neck, cutting it off.

The momentum of her strike caused her severed head to shoot up into the sky, outside of the rainbow’s blast radius, where her demonic servant Snails had quickly flown up to grab her. Fortunately, the light from the Elements was so bright that it prevented anyone inside the blast from seeing her, though the crown did fall from her head, towards the ground. With his master’s head cradled in his arms, the demon boy quickly flew away at top speed, before anyone could see him.

In a manner of seconds, he managed to reach the roof of a nearby building where he landed. Looking at his master’s severed head, her eyes were closed, but thanks to the Element of Magic’s power, she was still very much alive. “Sunset Shimmer,” he muttered, sounding sad at his master’s defeat. “We’ll need to get you a new body,” he said, quickly steeling himself, and flying off once again.

Back inside the rainbow blast, with nothing left of its target to purify and the life inside of it gone, the rainbow’s power disintegrated the body left behind until there was nothing left of it. There was then one final implosion, dispersing the magic power of the blast until the courtyard in front of the school was clear once again. The only sound was that of the crown hitting the ground.

Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy all descended back down towards the ground, and the hypnotised students all regained their senses as Sunset’s brainwashing magic wore off. Once she was back on the ground again, Twilight opened her eyes, expecting to see a defeated Sunset Shimmer laying before her, however, her eyes suddenly widened in shock when she could not see any trace of her at all, save the crown lying on the ground between her and the crowd of students.

Worry beginning to rise in her heart; she quickly looked from side to side, looking for any trace of her at all. “W-where is Sunset Shimmer?” she stammered out.

Hearing how worried she was, the other girls looked around them as well, but saw nothing either. “Ah don’t see her anywhere,” Applejack said.

Rarity suddenly brought her hand to her mouth, trembling. “We didn’t… kill her, did we?”

That caused the others to look at her, except for Twilight, who didn’t turn towards her, but was the one who responded. “We couldn’t have,” she said in what was barely above a whisper. “The Elements don’t kill. They’re simply not capable of doing that… No matter what.”

As she brought her trembling hands in towards her body, her eyes suddenly shot open. “Although,” she continued. “Sunset said that the Elements worked differently in this world, and when she put it on, she was able to use it and transformed into a demon, and turn others against each other…”

She then fell to her knees, as she was hit with the terrible realization that she may have just killed someone.

Behind her, the other girls were equally horrified at the ramifications of what they had just done… except for Rainbow Dash, who looked less guilty about what happened. “Even if we did kill her, so what?” She said, speaking up. “Sunset was clearly evil; she turned into a raging she-demon, brainwashed the students into becoming her army, announced her plans to take over the world, and blatantly tried to kill us.” Rainbow justified. “Why should we feel guilty for trying to defend ourselves and something like this happening that we had no way of knowing would even happen? And why would Twilight feel bad for killing someone like her?” she wondered.

While the other girls, except for Twilight, all turned to look at the rainbow haired girl, it was Fluttershy who placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s because Twilight’s a Princess,” she explained. “And regardless of the things that Sunset had done, she still didn’t deserve such a fate, as it was not in Twilight’s purview to give out. Even now, in spite of all the evil things that Sunset had done, both tonight and before, she still weeps for her. It truly shows just how noble a person she really is. She is a Princess, through and through.”

Looking back to Twilight, she was still slumped on to her knees, silently crying her eyes out. “Well, I guess that’s true,” Rainbow Dash spoke up again, scratching at the back of her head. She then shrugged her shoulders. “But I’m not a Princess, and personally, I couldn’t be happier that she’s gone, even if this is how it had to happen. I’m so happy I could sing about it.”

As Twilight lay there, not listening to what Rainbow was saying, she then felt an arm across her shoulders. When she looked up, she saw Flash Sentry staring back at her, with those big, sympathetic eyes staring back at her. She didn’t say anything; the look in her eyes said it all. She then simply buried her head in his chest and wept.

As soon as Twilight had stopped crying, everyone went back inside the school, with Principal Celestia putting Twilight’s crown back on her head where it belonged. They had decided that since they still had a bit of time before the portal closed, they would continue the Fall Formal in order to cheer Twilight up, so that she didn’t have to go back to her own world in tears.

Since Twilight still wasn’t in the mood to be moving around a lot, Vinyl Scratch instead put on a slow song so that she could enjoy a slow, romantic dance with Flash.

As the two of them gently moved about on the dance floor, along with the other students, gently stepping side to side in rhythm, Twilight began to calm down and melted into his embrace as she lay her head on his shoulder as they continued dancing together. Maybe everything is going to be just fine.

As she opened her eyes again, however, her worry from before returned once again in full force. There, through the crowd of students dancing, poking his head into the room from the corridor was one of Sunset’s demonic henchman, Snails, grinning maliciously.

The shock from seeing him caused Twilight to push back from Flash. T-that’s impossible. She thought to herself. But if he’s still like that, then that means… Her eyes then widened as far as they could. Sunset Shimmer is still alive!

Seeing how worried she looked again, Flash grabbed her by the shoulders to shake her out of her confusion. “Twilight, what’s wrong?”

Being jerked out of her shock, Twilight looked back at Flash, seeing the worried look on his face. After a moment, she then looked back to the entrance to the gymnasium, to see Snails turn back into the corridor and run away.

Reacting on instinct, Twilight half turned towards Flash Sentry, while taking a step forward and said, “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” She then broke into a sprint and ran out of the gymnasium.

Still not knowing what had suddenly made Twilight so anxious, Flash decided to listen to her, thinking that she may simply need some time to herself, and stayed there.

As Twilight entered the hallway, she only just saw Snails turn left into the next hallway up ahead, so she quickly regained her speed and charged after him. A part of her was worried that this might be some sort of trap, seeing how similar this was to when Sunset had her minions dognap Spike to get her attention, but right now she couldn’t think properly about that. If there was a chance that Sunset was still alive, then she needed to know for sure. She needed to know that she hadn’t killed someone.

After running through several corridors, always only just spotting the demon boy enter into the next corridor ahead, and not spotting a single other student, who were all currently in the gymnasium, she finally saw him duck into the boiler room. Knowing that she had him cornered now, she picked up her pace and ran after him.

The boiler room was nothing more than a small room, with a few steps several feet into the room, leading down to the boiler, and there, kneeling in front of the boiler, with his back to her, was the orange demon boy, with hair that flickered about like flames. Hearing her enter the room, he turned his head around to look at her. He then stood up and turned around completely, and instantly Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw that there, on his right arm, was Sunset Shimmer. It was only her head, but when she opened her eyes to look at her, Twilight could see that she was still very much alive.

Twilight had no idea what was going on or how Sunset was still alive like that, but for some reason, a part of her was relieved to see that she was.

“Twilight.” Sunset suddenly spoke, without any difficulty, despite her current situation.

“Sunset?” Twilight gasped. “You’re alive?”

“Yes, Twilight. I’m alive.” She responded in the same flat tone of voice. “I find myself in this position because of you.” But before Twilight could respond to this, she continued speaking. “But don’t misunderstand me. I’m not angry at you; on the contrary, for you, Twilight, I have only the deepest respect.”

“W-what?” Twilight stuttered. She had definitely not expected Sunset Shimmer to say that.

“You see, Twilight, I had you pegged all wrong. All this time, I had thought that you were merely some goody goody Princess who just tried solving her problems by hugging everyone and ranting about ‘the magic of friendship’, but it seems that I was wrong.” She smirked maliciously. “Staring down someone that you had never met so aggressively. Taking credit for another girl’s idea to become popular and pass it off as uniting everyone. And the cold look that you had on your face as you prepared to not strike me down, but to strip away my free will simply for opposing you,” Sunset began listing off. “Truly you are far more ruthless and cunning than I gave you credit for.”

Twilight took a step back in shock. “N-no, t-that’s not what I did. That’s…” She stammered out as she tried to speak.

“Come now, Twilight,” Sunset cut her off again, responding in a cool and calm tone of voice. “I am not criticising you; in fact, I’m impressed. Back when I was Princess Celestia’s student, I believed that even the Princess of the Sun was beneath me; but you, Twilight, are the first that I truly see as my equal. Truly, our destinies were only ever meant to be as one, and so they shall…” Her eyes then suddenly went wide as she shouted, “When I take your body for myself!”

“What?!” She reacted in shock, being taken by surprise for a moment, but that moment was all that was needed, as Sunset suddenly shot a high powered beam of energy out of her eyes, right at Twilight, and pierced her neck.

The surprise attack caused her to fall forward, flipping end over end, as she landed on her back against the cold, hard steps, with her crown falling from her head, landing behind her, near the door.

As soon as Twilight had fallen, Snails, with a slasher smile on his face, began to walk towards her. “Such a shame,” Sunset said, almost sounding sincere. “Had you remained still, I assure you that your death would have been quick and painless. Twilight,” she began again when Snails came to a stop before here. “Please know that I do not mean to cause you any unnecessary harm.” She continued to speak in her creepily calm voice.

As she spoke, Twilight slowly raised her hand to feel her neck wound. This is bad. That attack went right through my windpipe. I can’t speak. Her eyes then suddenly widened in fear. That means that I can’t call for help. In the state I’m in now, I can’t move, and I can barely breathe. She thought as she tried to take in a pained breath of air, causing blood to spurt out of the hole in her throat.

“Hahahahahaha,” Snails laughed maniacally. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen. That’s what you get for daring to stand against Sunset Shimmer. The once great Princess has now been reduced to blubbering mess who can’t even speak or stand up. Hahahahahaha.”

“Snails, that’s enough!” Sunset suddenly shouted at him. “You will not speak one bad word about Twilight. She is the only one who can help me reach my full potential. You will remove her head as painlessly as possible, and treat her with the same dignity and respect that you would show me. Is that understood?” She said, raising her voice as if scolding a disobedient child.

Snails was now suddenly worried over the thought of disapproving his master. “Y-yes, of course, Sunset Shimmer.”

Twilight tried to use her free hand to grab on to the stairs behind her and drag herself away, but she was simply too weak. Seeing this, Sunset returned her attention to Twilight. “Twilight, don’t fight it. Can’t you see that this was meant to be? As I am now, I still possess the Element of Magic’s power just as you do, but another part of it. Light and dark. Positive and negative. I now understand that true power can only come from the union of the two. I shall attain a new level of power that even I never thought possible, and I shall attain this power with your help.” With a slight nudge in Snails’ direction, he suddenly lunged at her. “Now go to sleep and live on, as my body!” She suddenly screamed at the end.

Knowing that there was nothing that she could do to stop her in this state, Twilight shut her eyes and prepared for what was to come, knowing that she had failed in her mission. However, she then suddenly heard a sound from behind her, over by the door. Opening her eyes again, at the tiny glimmer of hope that she had been saved, Sunset and Snails also stopped and looked over at the door and saw Flash Sentry standing there. Before she could respond, however, he quickly reared his right leg back and kicked with it. Sunset had realised only when it was too late that he had kicked a football directly at the demon holding her, with enough force to send him flying backwards, into the open boiler behind him.

Sunset Shimmer, however, was able to react fast enough and flew up into the air, thanks to the magic that she still had from the Element. Looking back down towards Flash, she dropped her calm demeanour, and faced him with a scowl on her face. “Flash Sentry,” she said, through hissed teeth.

“Sunset Shimmer.” He responded in kind. Just as Sunset was about to speak again, he quickly spoke up, pointed at her, and said with a smile, “Let me guess: you’re going to say, ‘What are you doing here, Flash?’”

“What are you doing here, Flash?” Sunset said immediately after, and then winced a bit, in surprise.

Smirking, Flash continued talking. “When Twilight ran off, I figured that she needed some time to herself, but after a while, I decided to check in on her. When I was just outside the boiler room, I heard both your and Snails’ voices. Since I figured that he would still be a demon and I wouldn’t be able to take him on in a normal fight, I grabbed some equipment from the sports closet across the way and came in quickly for a sneak attack.” He then raised his left arm and showed her that he was holding a baseball bat and then gripped it tightly in both arms. “Now, Sunset, why don’t you quit while you’re ‘a head’.” He smirked.

After a moment of simply staring at him, Sunset closed her eyes briefly and smirked herself. “Cute. How long did it take you to come up with that?” she asked, sarcastically. “But bare no false hope. You are a mere paper tiger in front of a storm. Even as I am now, I still possess an advantage that you sorely lack: Magic.” She then opened her eyes again suddenly and screamed, “So don’t you dare look down on me, human!” She then shot a beam out of her eyes and hit Flash in the knee, causing him to fall to the ground in pain, dropping the baseball bat.

As Flash lay on the ground in pain, Sunset smirked to herself. “You never stood a chance against me, Flash. I’m almost glad that you came in when you did. You always did make me sick, and I would have hated for the first action with my new body to have been puking my guts out.” She then rolled her eyes. “To think that we actually used to date.”

Flash grunted at her. “Fuck you, you bitch.”

“Cute,” Sunset repeated. “But you will die knowing that you didn’t even succeed in slowing me down. I will take Twilight’s body, and with it I shall reach even greater heights.” She then used her magic to throw herself forward. “Now die!”

Flash braced himself for impact, however, before Sunset could close the distance between them, Twilight suddenly threw herself forward, catching Sunset’s head in her arms, and crashing against the wall at the back of the room, just next to the boiler.

How the Hell did she do that? Sunset thought, as Twilight cradled her head in her arms. In the state that she was in, she would have had to have used every last ounce of her energy in order to make that leap. But how could she… Her eyes suddenly widened in realization when she felt Twilight’s arms holding her even tighter. Wait, that’s it. She did use up all of her remaining energy. Her body is dying, and when a body dies, rigor mortis sets in, causing the limbs to stiffen. I may have magic, but in the state that I’m in now, I can’t escape her grasp. However…

Sunset suddenly cracked a grin and started laughing. “Is this your last resort, Twilight? Your final desperate ploy? If it is, then it’s pathetic because it will amount to nothing.” She then rolled her eyes to the side. “Snails, to me. Tear me from her grasp.” However, when her minion didn’t respond, she dropped her smile. “Snails?” She repeated.

When she looked closer at where Flash had shoved him through the boiler, however, she suddenly became worried. Before, Flash managed to send him crashing into the boiler. A demon’s body is stronger than that of an ordinary human’s, but Flash caught him off guard with that attack, and the extra momentum caused him to crash into the boiler with greater force than it can withstand. The inside of the boiler is completely destroyed, causing it to go haywire. If the pressure continues to build up… Her eyes then widened. “It’s going to explode!”

Flash only heard the end of what Sunset was thinking, but that was the only thing that he needed to hear. Something big then crashed inside the boiler, causing the whole room to shake. Using the handrail next to the steps to help him stand back up, he called out to Twilight. “Twilight, the boiler is going to explode. We need to get out of here now.”

With what little strength that she had left in her body, she merely lifted her head up just the slightest bit and nodded her head slightly.

“What?” Flash uttered, unfortunately understanding what she was saying, but not wanting to believe it. She then managed to signal him by moving her eyes over to look at her crown, which lay on the ground next to him. Looking over at the crown himself, he then started speaking quietly, but obviously addressing Twilight, without looking at her. “The crown? You told me that you came to this world to retrieve your crown in order to stop Sunset from abusing its magic.” Flash then closed his eyes dejectedly. “And now you want me to take the crown and leave so that I can get it back to your world in time, so that you can sacrifice yourself in order to save both worlds?” He then looked back at Twilight. “Isn’t that right?”

Twilight merely nodded her head in affirmation.

Flash balled his fist in anger. “It’s just not fair. You had won. If you had just gone back to your world right away, none of this would be happening, but like an idiot, I wanted you to stay.” He then looked at Twilight, with tears in his eyes. “I love you, Twilight. I know that we only knew each other for a few days and we’re from two different worlds, but I love you. I knew that you couldn’t stay here, and I knew that I couldn’t go with you. I just wanted to spend a little bit more time with you, and now you’re dying.” He then slammed his fist against the ground and completely broke down. “This is all my fault.”

Daring to look back up at her again, Twilight only held a sympathetic smile on her face, as if to say, ‘It’s not your fault’. She then winced her eye a bit, reminding him that he needed to take the crown and get out of there now.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Flash moved over to grab the crown. His leg wasn’t that hurt, so he was still able to walk if he dragged his foot along slowly. When he grabbed the crown and made his way over to the door, he turned around one last time, said, “Goodbye,” and then closed the door and went to warn the rest of the school about the boiler explosion.

Once Flash left and they were all alone in the room, Sunset spoke up. “Twilight, release me at once. With my magic, I can heal your wounds,” she bargained with her, cracking a smile. “You can go back to your friends. You’re the Princess of Friendship; that’s what you want isn’t it? To be with your friends forever?” Her smile suddenly dropped when Twilight didn’t do anything to respond. “Twilight?” She called out again, but was met with no response. Twilight simply stared blankly ahead and her eyes slowly fell down, with a peaceful smile on her face. “It’s too late. She’s already dead.” Sunset said, in defeat.

The two of them simply lay there for the next few minutes, with Sunset’s head wrapped tightly in Twilight’s embrace.

Then the boiler exploded.


---


Twilight Sparkle died that night. However, because Flash Sentry left when he did, he was able to reach the other students and warn them in time so that no one else would die.

After the school had been evacuated, he told them all about what happened – about Sunset Shimmer, and how Twilight Sparkle had sacrificed herself to save two worlds. Everyone who heard the story was heartbroken after hearing the news, but none more so than Spike, who had blamed himself for not being there for his friend. With only one minute until the portal between their worlds closed, Flash gave the crown to Spike, who took it back Equestria and completed the mission that he and Twilight had set out on together.

When he returned, he relayed the news to his Equestrian friends, who took it even worse than their human counterparts. From that day forward, Spike vowed that he would become Twilight’s living legacy and swore to live out the rest of her life for her, managing to accomplish such feats as defeating Tirek, and reforming Starlight Glimmer.

However, this is not the end of the story, but merely the beginning of this bizarre adventure.
> Kingdom Hearts III: Canterlot High
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Gummi Ship hovered in between the space between worlds. Inside, Sora sat in the captain’s chair, with his arms folded behind his head, absently moving his head back and forth, trying to figure out what their next destination would be.

Donald Duck and Goofy sat in the two chairs behind him, glancing between each other, with awkward looks on their faces, as they had all been there for a while now. “Sora!” Donald spoke up, facing forward again. “Where are we going next?” He asked.

Sora seemed to scrunch up his face, as if hoping to try and force a decision to come to him. However, he still couldn’t think of anything. “Uggghhh, I don’t know!” He said, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.

Behind him, Donald and Goofy both slumped in their seats, releasing heavy sighs.

Sora then turned around to face the two of them, looking over his chair. “We should just head to the Realm of Darkness now to rescue Aqua.”

“You can’t!” Donald shouted back at him. “Not until you get the Power of Waking!”

“And how am I supposed to do that?!” Sora shouted back at him. “We’ve been to several worlds now and I’m still not any closer to finding it. I’m not even sure what the Power of Waking is or how I can get it. And I don’t hear you offering any suggestions!” Sora and Donald were now glaring at each other, hard.

Seeing his two friends arguing, Goofy knew he had to say something to diffuse the situation. “Remember what Master Yen Sid always says: May your heart be your guiding key.”

Sora looked over towards Goofy and was starting to calm down now, but he was still confused and released a sigh in frustration. “But what does that even mean?” He asked, now looking down at the ground, dejected.

Goofy brought his hand to his chin, as he now started to actually think about what he just said. “Hmmm. Well, we’ve been travelling to a bunch of different worlds and helping them out. Maybe if there’s a certain world out there that needs our help, you just have to listen to your heart and let it show you the way.”

Sora looked back up at Goofy again, trying to take in everything he just said. “Just listen to my heart?” He repeated, more to himself than responding to Goofy. He then turned back around and sat down properly in his chair once again. He then closed his eyes and placed his left hand over his chest, thinking not just with his head this time, but with his heart.

For a few moments, the Gummi ship was completely silent, with Donald and Goofy both sharing a quiet look between each other. Suddenly, Sora began to extend his right hand and summoned his Keyblade, pointing forward; all the while his face never changed expression. A beam of light then suddenly shot out of the tip of his Keyblade, out into space, where it materialised a portal right in front of the ship.

Donald and Goofy both had surprised expressions on their faces. Sora then slowly opened his eyes and was just as surprised, though that surprise quickly morphed into a cheerful smile. “It worked!”

Goofy turned towards Donald and smiled before facing forward towards Sora once again. “So Sora, do you know where we’re going now?”

Sora looked back at him over his shoulder, with a big smile on his face. “Yeah!” He then jumped back into the chair and grabbed the steering wheel tightly with a lot of enthusiasm, pushing the ship forward straight ahead, once more into the breach.


---


The world that the three of them emerged on to appeared to be some sort of large city, with many tall buildings in the background, though the area that they were in now seemed more residential, with smaller buildings near them.

As the three of them walked along an empty road, Sora had a huge smile on his face as he looked around. “Wow. This place is so cool.”

Goofy had a similar smile on his face, while Donald seemed to be more annoyed, crossing his arms. “Stay focused, will ya?”

“I can’t help it, okay? I grew up on an island. Cities are just so much bigger than I’m used to.” Sora defended, whilst putting his arms behind his head and smiling.

Donald just let out another annoyed sigh. “We aren’t here to sightsee, Sora. We have an important job to do.”

Sora then mimicked Donald’s actions and crossed his arms as well. “Oh, yeah? And what’s that?” He asked sarcastically.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

The three of them all suddenly snapped to attention at the sound of a terrified scream. They then all began looking around, trying to discern the direction from which it had come.

“That sounded like a girl screaming,” Sora said. He then looked over his shoulder, towards the other two again. “Do you think she’s in trouble?”

Goofy turned his head around so that he was looking at Sora, and when he did, his ear suddenly lifted up in the other direction. “I think it came from that direction,” Goofy said, pointing in the direction in which he had heard the scream.

“Then let’s go,” Sora replied instantly, putting on a tough look of determination and charging off immediately, with Donald and Goofy following close behind him.


---


In a courtyard in front of a large building, a teenage girl with purple skin and pink and purple striped hair, wearing matching coloured clothes, which included a six-pointed star pattern on her skirt sat in front of a horse statue, with a bewildered expression on her face, as she fiddled with the fingers on each of her hands, as if she were unfamiliar with the digits. A small purple and green puppy dog sat beside her, observing her.

Meanwhile, unnoticed to the girl and her dog, up on the roof of the building, a mysterious individual emerged out of a Corridor of Darkness, wearing a black coat with the hood up, completely concealing their identity. As the mysterious individual reached the edge of the roof, they looked down and saw the girl in front of the statue.

“There you are,” the cloaked individual said, in a deep and masculine tone of voice. Suddenly, he spotted three individuals in his periphery vision, approaching the courtyard in front of the building; three individuals that he recognised.

The first was a young boy, about the same age as the girl that the mysterious figure had been observing. He had brown, spiky hair, wearing a red and black plaid outfit with several zippers and belts. The other two were an anthropomorphic dog and duck. The duck had white plumage and wore a blue sailor’s suit, with a beret and no pants, while the dog had black fur, with droopy ears, and wore a green turtleneck sweater under a sleeveless leather jacket, and yellow pants.

The mysterious figure seemed to regard the trio closely as they approached.

When Sora, Donald and Goofy reached the courtyard, they stopped once they saw the girl in front of the statue. Sora observed her from afar, and while she didn’t seem to notice them at the moment, he noticed that she seemed to be confused.

“Do you think that’s her?” He asked the other two.

“I don’t know,” Donald responded from behind him.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone else in this area right now,” Goofy offered.

Sora focused once again on the girl after hearing his friends’ answers. He then decided to investigate further, so he took another step forward and held his hand out towards her. “Hey…”

The cloaked individual snapped his fingers, and suddenly Heartless began spawning in the courtyard. This immediately drew the attention of Sora, Donald and Goofy, and the girl also looked up from her previous confusion to see a bunch of strange, shadowy monsters appear before her.

The Heartless that appeared consisted of Shadows, Soldiers and Flutterings, who seemed to be drawn to the girl, as they started to approach her slowly. The girl reacted in fear and shuffled back towards the base of the statue. Next to her, the purple dog seemed scared of these creatures as well; however, when he noticed the girl also looked afraid, he then put on a brave face and hopped in front of her, facing the approaching monsters and growled at them. He was obviously still afraid, but he wasn’t going to let these guys hurt her.

Seeing the Heartless move towards the girl and her dog, Sora, Donald and Goofy instinctively ran over to protect them, placing themselves between the two groups. Sora summoned his Keyblade, Donald summoned his staff, and Goofy summoned his shield, all of them getting into a fighting stance, ready to fight this group of Heartless.

“Don’t worry, leave these guys to us,” Sora told the girl, speaking over his shoulder before turning back fully towards the group of Heartless once again.

The battle begun.


---


Sora immediately dashed forward into the group of Heartless and unleashed a Thunder spell, striking every enemy around him. It didn’t destroy any of the Heartless, but it did weaken them significantly. He then immediately followed up by homing in on one of the Fluttering Heartless and started bashing it with his Keyblade, destroying it after a couple of hits.

The initial Thunder spell had knocked the Heartless back, away from Sora, who was at the epicentre of the attack. One of the Shadows had been knocked in front of Goofy, who proceeded to bash it with his shield. Meanwhile, Donald targeted a Shadow further away from himself with a Fire spell, destroying it immediately.

Sora showed off his speed by immediately targeting another Fluttering Heartless, before he even landed back on the ground after destroying the first one, locking it into another Keyblade combo and destroying it after a couple of hits. Once he landed back on the ground again, he cast another Thunder spell, destroying the rest of the Heartless.

Once the first wave of Heartless had been destroyed, another wave spawned immediately afterwards, this one consisting of four Soldiers, two Flutterings, two Large Body’s and a Water Core.

As soon as the Heartless spawned, one of the Large Body’s charged Sora, knocking him back. Sora managed to recover quickly and shot the Large Body with a Fire spell. While it was distracted, he circled around it and began hitting it in its exposed back.

While Sora was engaging the Large Body, Goofy began spinning, using the Goofy Tornado to take out several of the weaker Heartless. Donald then cast Blizzard on the second Large Body, freezing it in place.

After Sora delivered the final Keyblade strike to the Large Body that he had been fighting, he then targeted the Large Body that Donald had frozen and cast a Fire spell at it, the combination spell destroying it instantly.

The Water Core enveloped itself in water and charged into Sora, knocking him back. Sora managed to recover quickly and cast another Thunder spell, striking all enemies in the area. He then locked on to the Water Core and began hitting it with his Keyblade, destroying it after a full combo.

A third wave of Heartless spawned once the second had been taken out, and this one was the largest yet, containing five Soldiers, five Flutterings, ten Shadows, and one Large Body.

“Sora!” Donald called out.

Sora and Donald then combined their power to use Flare Force, shooting off an array of fireworks in every direction, striking every Heartless around them. When the attack finally ended, only the Large Body remained, though it had still taken a lot of damage and had been knocked down.

Sora then quickly dashed behind it, unleashing a Keyblade combo into its exposed back, destroying after just a few hits.

Maximum HP increased


---


After the battle had ended, Sora, Donald and Goofy all banished their weapons. Sora then turned back around towards the girl at the base of the statue and made his way over towards her.

Hearing that the fighting had stopped, the girl returned her gaze fully in front of her and saw her three saviours approaching her.

“Are you alright?” The boy asked her.

“Yes, thank you,” the girl replied.

Sora smiled at her. “That’s good to hear.” He then held his hand out towards her, to help her up.

Seeing the outstretched hand before her, the girl first placed her clenched fist into it, before then laying it flat, and then finally grabbing it tightly, interlocking her fingers with his. The girl could only laugh nervously at how strange she must be making this obviously simple gesture, which in return made the boy smile as he pulled her up to her feet.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Sora,” the boy introduced himself.

“Donald Duck.”

“The name’s Goofy.”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle,” the girl replied. “And this is Spike,” she added, gesturing to the small puppy dog beside her, who started smiling and wagging his tail.

Sora smiled as he looked down at the purple and green puppy and waved at him. “It’s nice to meet you too, Spike.” A moment later, he looked back to Twilight again. “So, Twilight, have the Heartle…”

“Sora!” Donald suddenly interrupted him, to stop him from revealing too much about the World Order.

Sora jumped at the sudden interruption, but quickly realised why Donald had done that. He then turned back towards Twilight again. “I mean, have those monsters been appearing here a lot lately?” He quickly corrected himself.

“I’m not sure. I only just came to this wor…” Suddenly, Spike kicked Twilight lightly in the leg to stop her from saying something, which she quickly realised. “I mean, I’m from out of town, so I wouldn’t know,” she spoke in an embarrassed tone, while absently playing with her hair.

Sora noticed that something was off about her reply, but decided not to press it since he had basically done the same thing from her perspective. “Okay, so if you’re from out of town, what are you doing here now?” He inquired.

When Twilight replied, her nervousness suddenly disappeared and she became completely serious. “Something important to me was stolen recently, and it’s really important that I get it back.”

Sora noticed her sudden tone shift and was now more intrigued. “What is it?”

Twilight seemed to wince before responding. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but I can’t tell you. I just… don’t know who I can trust right now,” she replied, looking away as if ashamed.

Seeing Twilight now, Sora was confused by her reply, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but empathise with her. A moment later, he started smiling again. “Well then, why don’t we help you look for it?”

Sora’s offer seemed to catch Twilight by surprise, as well as Donald, Goofy and Spike.

“Are you sure about that, Sora?” Goofy asked him.

“Sure, why not?” Sora replied as he turned around to face him and Donald. “We can fight the ‘monsters’ while we help Twilight find whatever she’s lost. It must be really important if she’s this worried about it?”

Twilight still couldn’t believe that this boy was offering to help her after they had only just met. “You would really help me look for it, even though I can’t tell you what it is?”

Sora turned back to face her, with the biggest smile on his face. “Of course. That’s what friends are for.”

Twilight suddenly looked taken aback. She then looked down at the ground, almost introspectively, as if something he said had resonated with her. A moment later, she looked back up at Sora once again, now with a similar smile on her own face. “You’re right. Sora, Donald, Goofy,” she listed off. “I would be honoured to accept your help.” She then strode past them. “I suggest we start searching the castle first,” she said, pointing at the large building in front of them.

“Sounds good,” Sora responded, following after her.

The group of five then made their way inside.





When the group of five entered the building, they found themselves in a large, circular entryway. The floor was a clean, reflective surface. On the other side of the room, the path split into three different corridors, each of which were lined by rows of green lockers.

As they looked around to investigate further, Goofy leaned in close to Donald. “This doesn’t look like a castle to me.”

“That’s because it’s a school,” Donald replied, in a tone like it was the obvious thing in the world.

When Sora heard his response, he quickly spun around to face them, with a horrified look on his face. “A school?! But I don’t want to have to go to class!”

Donald was now seething, having had it up to here with Sora’s childish attitude. “That’s not why we’re here!”

After Donald’s outburst, Sora quickly realised the situation. “Oh, right.” He then threw both of his arms behind his head and smiled like he usually did. “Careful, you had me worried there for a second.”

Donald just folded his arms and glared at Sora. Beside him, Goofy just chuckled good-naturedly.

Turning away from Donald’s stare, Sora noticed Twilight at the far side of the entryway, investigating some sort of glass trophy case.

“What am I?” Twilight spoke quietly to herself as she observed her reflection in the glass surface.

“Twilight?” Sora asked, approaching her, noticing her confusion. She then turned around to face him. “Is everything alright?”

Twilight still seemed bothered by something, but for now, she simply put on a strong face. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Sora, look!” Donald yelled out, not in anger, but in worry.

Turning back around to face him, Sora noticed that his friend was pointing directly ahead of him, down the central corridor. Following where his friend was pointing, Sora’s eyes widened when he saw what Donald was alerting him towards. The corridor was swarming with different types of Heartless, including Shadows, Soldiers, as well as a new type of Heartless that he hadn’t seen before – at first glance, it looked like an ordinary book, that came in a variety of different colours, and was flapping its pages to fly through the air; however, it also had the unmistakable Heartless emblem on the front cover.

The Heartless didn’t seem to be going into any of the classrooms, but that could easily change if the three of them didn’t do something to stop them.

Sora instinctively summoned his Keyblade, followed immediately by Donald and Goofy summoning their own weapons. “Twilight, you and Spike hold back. We’ll clear the way,” Sora said while still facing forward, not taking his gaze off of the Heartless. They then all got into battle positions.


---


Sora, Donald and Goofy, charged ahead, with Twilight and Spike following behind them at a safe distance. Before heading down the central corridor, Sora noticed a large chest off to the side of the school entryway, so he decided to investigate. When he reached the large chest, he tapped it with his Keyblade to open it.

Obtained: Map of Canterlot High – Hallways

Now armed with a map of the area, Sora headed down the central corridor, since that was currently the only one in which the Heartless were appearing. When he left the entryway and entered the corridor proper, he jumped off against the lockers, using Flowmotion to continually jump between the two walls to move more quickly down the corridor, faster than he could on foot.

When he reached the first group of Heartless, mid Flowmotion travel, he slammed his Keyblade into the ground, creating a shockwave that hit all of the Heartless in the group. He then cast a Thunder spell, which hit all of the Heartless in the group again, which, combined with his previous attack, destroyed them all except for one of the new book Heartless, which had a red cover. Sora quickly locked on to the new Heartless type and destroyed it after a single Keyblade combo.

After Sora had destroyed the new Heartless, Jiminy recorded its data in the Gummiphone. They were called Bookspooks, and while they were physically weak, they made up for it by being able to cast powerful spells. They were also themselves immune to all forms of magic, save for one, which was represented by its colour. Yellow ones were vulnerable to Thunder, red ones were vulnerable to Fire, light blue ones were vulnerable to Blizzard, dark blue ones were vulnerable to Water, and green ones were vulnerable to Aero.

After they had destroyed the group of Heartless, Sora repeated his strategy as they continued down the corridor, using Flowmotion to move down the corridor faster, use the Flowmotion as a first attack against each group of Heartless to stun them, and then finish them off with his Keyblade and magic.


---


When the group turned the corner into the connecting corridor, they noticed that there were no Heartless in this area, so Sora, Donald and Goofy banished their weapons for now. They then all started to slow down again and take their time investigating the area.

Suddenly, a loud bell started ringing, and the next moment, the doors to the adjoining classrooms opened up and dozens of students began filing out into the hallway. The hallway had instantly become crowded, and the group of five struggled to push against the crowd of students to get through. The other students mostly ignored them as they hurried to get to their next class.

Sora pushed his way through the crowd, into a mostly free area of the corridor by the lockers, followed soon by his friends, both old and new. “This is part of why I hate school so much,” Sora huffed in frustration.

“Oh, I’m really sorry. I-I just found it, and-and I thought I should give it to her.”

Sora’s ears suddenly perked up when he heard someone talking. While there had been quite a bit of chatter coming from the other students in the corridor, as they made their way to their next class, this one in particular seemed to stand out from the others, not because it was louder, but in fact the opposite; it sounded much quieter. 

Peaking around the corner, there were two girls at the end of the corridor. One currently had her back to him as she spoke to the other girl. She had a large head of red and orange hair, and wore a black leather jacket, and a skirt, which bore the symbol of a red and orange sun. She stood with her arms cross and rigid, trying her best to look large and intimidating.

The girl that she was speaking too was the exact opposite. She had bright pink hair and yellow skin, wearing a pure white tank top and a light green skirt with a butterfly symbol on it. She hugged her books close to her chest, shrinking back and staying close to the ground to look as passive as possible. It was very clear that she felt very uncomfortable speaking with this other girl. “I didn’t know you had dropped it,” the shy girl concluded.

“Well, I did!” The other girl responded in an aggressive tone. “And I was about to get it before you swooped in and ruined everything. You shouldn’t pick up things that don’t belong to you.”

“It… doesn’t really belong to you, either.” The shy girl responded quietly, in a hushed tone, looking away as she did.

“Excuse me?!” The red-headed girl suddenly screamed, slamming her hand against the locker in anger.

The sudden action made the other girl jump. “N-n-nothing…” The shy girl apologised hastily, shrinking back down to the ground even further.

“That’s what I thought. It’s as good as mine, and you know it.”

Sora bit down hard, seeing this red haired girl act so aggressive to this other girl. She was a bully, plain and simple, and Sora hated bullies. Suddenly, he noticed a small aura of Darkness emanating off of this girl. “Darkness,” he gasped quietly.

“You really are pathetic,” the red haired girl continued. “It’s no wonder your best friends are all stray animals.”

Sora clenched his fist in anger. Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and stepped out into view. “Hey, leave her alone!”

The red haired girl seemed caught off guard by Sora’s interruption and quickly spun around to face him. “What did you say?” She had an angry scowl on her face as she addressed him.

“I said, ‘leave her alone’,” Sora repeated, walking up to the girl so that he was right in her face, staring her down, not flinching at all.

The red haired girl simply stared back at Sora for a few seconds, before her angry scowl then morphed into a devilish grin. “You must be new here,” she said, poking Sora in the chest before then pushing passed him and walking away.

Sora just glared at the girl’s retreating figure as she disappear down the corridor, while Twilight made her way over to the pink haired girl and knelt down beside her. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, yes, I’m alright,” the shy girl responded. She then turned to face Sora. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“I couldn’t just stand there and let her do that you,” Sora reasoned, looking down at the girl as he spoke.

“Well, it’s just,” she began. “That nobody ever stands up to Sunset Shimmer.”

Twilight’s eyes widened at the name. “Wait, did you say Sunset Shimmer?”

Sora seemed to notice her reaction. “Do you know her?”

“Uhhmm,” Twilight began, turning back towards Sora, looking a bit awkward. “Sort of…”

“I don’t think I’ve seen either of you around before,” the girl said, standing back up again. “Did you just transfer to Canterlot High from another school?”

“Um… yes!” Twilight answered, in an exaggerated tone. “Another… heh, school! My name’s Twilight.”

Seeing Twilight’s reaction, Sora decided to play along as well. “Yeah, me too. My name’s Sora.”

“Donald,” Donald introduced himself, from behind Sora.

“And I’m Goofy,” Goofy introduced himself with a wave and a smile.

“And this is Spike.” Sora introduced the small purple dog between him and Twilight.

Seeing Donald, Goofy and Spike seemed to brighten Fluttershy up, and she now had a genuine smile on her face. “Oh, well, it’s nice to meet all of you,” she said enthusiastically. “My name’s Fluttershy.”

The scene between them now felt much more calm and friendly.

“So, Fluttershy,” Twilight began. “Sunset Shimmer said you picked something up. Something that belonged to her. It wasn’t a crown, was it?”

Fluttershy looked confused. “How did you know?”

“Uh, lucky guess?” Twilight replied, again in an awkward tone, like she was hiding something. “Do you still have it?” Fluttershy simply nodded her head to the side in disavowal.  “But you know what happened to it.”

This time she nodded her head up and down in affirmation. “This morning, I was passing out flyers for the animal shelter like I do every Wednesday and I found the crown. I had no idea how it got there. But I didn’t want anything to happen to it, so I decided to give it to Principal Celestia in her office.”

“Principal Celestia?” Twilight said in surprise. She then put her hand to her chin in thought.

Sora seemed to notice Twilight’s contemplation. “Twilight?” He spoke up.

A moment later, Twilight turned to look at him. “Sora, I need to speak with Principal Celestia about this crown that Fluttershy mentioned, but I’m also concerned about Sunset Shimmer. Could you, Donald and Goofy keep a close eye on her while I go and see about the crown?”

Sora nodded back at her in agreement. “Sure, sounds like a plan.” He then looked behind him in the direction Sunset Shimmer had walked off in, and changed his expression a bit. “I noticed something about Sunset Shimmer too just now, and I want to check up on it,” he said, remembering how he had seen her channelling the Darkness earlier. He then turned back again. “We’ll all meet back up later.” He then looked down at the puppy beside Twilight, his usual smile returning once again. “You make sure to keep Twilight safe while we’re gone, okay, Spike?”

The purple dog stood at attention and gave Sora a salute.

Sora nodded back at him in response. With one last look at Twilight, he then turned around fully and started running after Sunset Shimmer, with Donald and Goofy following close behind him.


---


After having entered into the adjoining corridor, which was now once again empty of students, Sora, Donald and Goofy made their way along, following after Sunset Shimmer. They couldn’t even see her down the long corridor, so they started running to try and catch up with her. No sooner than they taken a few steps in, however, a wave of Heartless suddenly spawned, containing the usual Shadows, Soldiers, Flutterings and Bookspooks of this world. The three half-pints instinctively summoned their weapons and went on the offensive.

Sora started with a Thunder spell to strike at every Heartless around him. He instantly destroyed all of the yellow Bookspooks, which were weak to Thunder, and also dealt a good bit of damage to the Shadows and Soldiers. A red Bookspook, however, remained unaffected, and launched a fireball at Sora while he was casting Thunder, knocking him back. Sora was able to recover quickly, however, locked on the red Bookspook and destroyed with a single Keyblade combo.

Goofy then used the Goofy Tornado to finish off the remaining Heartless that had been weakened by Sora’s magic.

Since the Heartless had started appearing in the school again, Sora once again used Flowmotion to push off against the lockers to travel faster down the corridor. When another group of Heartless spawned, he slammed his Keyblade down, creating a shockwave that stunned and damaged all enemies in range. He then finished them off with his magic, Keyblade and friends.

Things continued on like this as they made their way down the corridor.


---


Reaching the end of the corridor, the three of them found themselves back in the school entryway once again, having done a loop of the school, now standing at the mouth of the left corridor, opposite of the front door.

Walking into the centre of the entryway, Sora began surveying the place, looking for any signs of where Sunset Shimmer had gone from here. A moment later, he spotted her making her way down the third corridor, to the right of the entryway.

“There she is,” Sora said to the other two, pointing in the direction in which he spotted her. He then immediately broke into a run, after her.

As they were crossing the entryway, suddenly a Corridor of Darkness appeared, and a mysterious individual in a black coat emerged from it, causing the three of them to stop again. Knowing that this person was from Organization XIII, Sora got into a battle stance, ready to summon his Keyblade at a moment’s notice.

“You’re with the Organization, aren’t you?” Sora spoke.

In response, the cloaked figure reached up and pulled back their hood, revealing themselves to be a young man, with white, spiky hair, whose style and colour looked very similar to Young Xehanort, but still distinctly different. He also had the same yellow eyes and pointed ears common to every member of the Organization.

He regarded Sora with a devilish smirk, not unlike Sunset Shimmer had earlier. “Sora,” he began, in a deep and also familiar voice. “This moment has been a long time coming.”

“What?”

The mysterious figure continued. “First you destroyed my Heartless, then you destroyed my Nobody, and now after all this time, we finally meet face to face.”

Sora was at first confused, wondering why this Organization member seemed familiar and not familiar at the same time. A moment later, his eyes widened and he gasped loudly when he had figured out why. “Xehanort?!” He exclaimed, realising that this version of Xehanort looked like a younger version of Xemnas, and sounded just like Ansem.

Behind Sora, Goofy seemed to make the same connection. “You mean this is Xehanort before he split into Ansem and Xemnas?” He asked Donald beside him. Donald didn’t respond, but his silence answered Goofy’s question.

Sora tried to steal his resolve and put on a tough face. “What are you doing here? What do you want with this world?”

Xehanort simply smirked derisively at Sora. “You’ve come so far, and still you understand so little,” he began, gesticulating with his hands as he spoke; a common trait shared by all versions of Xehanort. “The clash between Light and Darkness is fast approaching, yet as of now, both groups remain incomplete. However, this world offers us something to tip the scales,” he continued, raising both hands out to his sides. “Two Princess: one of Light and one of Darkness,” he gestured with each hand. “They could both prove useful to the Organization should either group fail to fill out their ranks.”

“Princesses?” Sora wondered, looking confused. A moment later, his eyes widened and he let out a gasp when he realised what Xehanort was talking about. “Twilight!”

Xehanort smirked. “So you’ve realised it. That girl has inherited the Princess’ Light, and holds the potential to forge the χ-blade. And the other: a vessel of Darkness to carry my Heart.”

“Sunset Shimmer?” Sora whispered, but was still audible.

Xehanort simply responded with a villainous grin.

After a moment of absorbing everything that Xehanort said and taking it all in, Sora steeled himself again and looked Xehanort right in the eye. “I don’t care what your plan is. I’ll stop you, and I’ll keep Twilight and everyone else in this world safe!” He declared.

Xehanort, however, simply smirked derisively at the young Keyblade wielder’s declaration. “Then you had best be careful, Sora,” he said as he turned back around. “The closer you get to the Light, the greater your shadow becomes.” He then disappeared once again into a Corridor of Darkness.

Now that the three of them were once again alone in the school’s entryway, Goofy turned towards his two friends. “What do we do now?”

Sora looked down at the floor for a few moments, trying to decide what their next course of action should be. He then looked back up at them once he had decided. “Forget about Sunset Shimmer for now. We need to find Twilight and make sure that she’s safe.”

Donald and Goofy both agreed with Sora’s plan and nodded in affirmation. The three of them then made their way back through the corridor that they had just fought through, to reunite with Twilight and Spike once again.
> The Kirin of Fairy Tail
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a land far, far away, lies the Kingdom of Fiore, a small peaceful nation of 17 million, and a place filled with magic! Found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace, for most, magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, magic is an art, and they have devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds they apply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore. But there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest, one from which countless legends have been born… a guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name… is Fairy Tail.

One day, one of the wizards from that very guild was out in the Forests of Magnolia, near the Fairy Tail guildhall. He was a young boy, with pink, spiky hair, who wore a red shirt, tan coloured shorts, and most notably, a long, white scarf, with patterns that resembled dragon scales.

This is Natsu Dragneel: Fairy Tail’s resident dragon slayer.

Natsu had an irritated look on his face, as he continuously punched the tree in front of him, which had two photos strapped to the trunk. One was of a young girl with long, scarlet hair, and the other was of a young boy, with black spiky hair, similar to his own.

“Stupid Erza! And Gray! You stink!” Natsu yelled, as he continued to punch the effigies. He then reared back his fist and delivered his most powerful punch yet, which rattled the leaves at the top of the tree, sending the birds nesting in it flying away.

He almost immediately regretted it, however, as he clutched at his fist, which was now throbbing from the extra hard impact. “That didn’t hurt at all,” he said to himself, trying to hold back the pain.

His pained expression vanished quickly, however, and was replaced with one of confusion when he suddenly felt something land on his head. Whatever it was, it was small – probably less than half his size – to be able to fit on his head, it seemed to be moving, and it felt fluffy. The most logical explanation was that it was some sort of creature that had been resting in the tree, and his last punch had knocked it down.

Wanting to know what it was, Natsu reached up, grabbed whatever it was, and pulled it down in front of his face so that he could get a good look at it. It was a small creature like he had guessed, of an equine shape, with four hooves. It had a light goldish grey coat, a red mane that wrapped around its head, and most strangely, a curved horn on its forehead with ridges along the curve. It also had a rounded snout and long eyelashes, indicating that it was most likely female. She simply stared back at Natsu with a blank expression on her face.

Natsu was confused as to what exactly this creature was, and tilted his head slightly to the right, which this creature mirrored. He then tilted his head to the left, which she again mirrored. The adorable sight made Natsu smile, which in turn made this creature break its previously stoic expression and giggle adorably.

Natsu then placed this creature down on the grass in front of him and sat with her. “Sorry about knocking you out of the tree like that. Gray and Erza just made me so mad and I needed to hit something, but I didn’t want to do it in front of the guild.” He said to her, clenching his fist in anger. Calming down again, Natsu suddenly wondered something and looked up at the tree above them. “What were you doing up there, anyway?” He asked, since this creature didn’t look like something that lived in trees. “Were you looking for your parents?”

In response, the creature simply tilted her head in confusion.

“Parents,” Natsu repeated. “You know, like a mom and dad.”

She then realigned her head. “Dad?” She asked.

“Yeah, a dad,” Natsu replied, apparently not confused that she was able to talk. “Like, my dad’s name is Igneel. He’s a dragon, and he’s super strong.” Suddenly, Natsu became sombre and looked down. “I’m actually looking for him. He disappeared a few years ago and I have no idea where he is.” He said, sounding sad. He then looked back up. “You haven’t seen him, have you?”

Again, she simply tilted her head in confusion.

Natsu just let out a laugh. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

When Natsu was finished talking, the creature simply looked down. “Dad?” She spoke, as if she were trying to understand the word.

Noticing this, Natsu then started thinking himself, to try to explain it better. “Well, let’s see. A dad is… somebody who looks after you, who protects you when you’re scared, and teaches you everything you need to know.” He said, thinking back to all of the time he spent with Igneel, and it brought a smile to his face. “Someone who’s always there for you.”

Looking back up at Natsu after he had told her what a dad is, the creature smiled again. “Dad,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s it. Dad.”

She then picked herself up on her two front hooves and leaned into Natsu. “Dad.”

It took Natsu a moment to realise what she was actually saying to him. “Whoa, wait a minute,” he said, gently putting his hands on her, pushing her back into her sitting position. The strange equine simply gave Natsu another confused look for this, but this one had more emotion in it.

Taking in a deep breath, he started to speak again. “You see…”

*Boom*

Suddenly, Natsu was cut off by a loud crash from directly behind him. Turning around, he was greeted by the sight of two large creatures standing behind him. They were large, ape-like creatures, with green fur and a purple exposed underbelly, and elongated arms.

Vulcans.

Without thinking, Natsu instinctively stood up and faced them, standing in a protective stance between them and the filly.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing here, runt?” The first Vulcan asked. “This here is our turf.”

“Says who?” Natsu replied, biting down.

“Simple,” the Vulcan replied, taking a step forward in an intimidating manner. “We’re the biggest things around here and we say it’s our turf, so that makes it our turf! Now scram, runt!”

“You don’t scare me,” Natsu barked back, bearing down. “You should know, I’m not just any wizard, I’m a dragon slayer.”

“Oooohhh, a dragon slayer,” the Vulcan said in a faux-scared tone. “You here that, Butch?” He asked, turning towards his friend.

“Ha, big deal,” Butch scoffed, with his arms folded. “Everyone knows dragons don’t exist.”

Upon hearing that, Natsu curled his fists tighter and bit down even harder. “Take that back,” he said, in an eerily quiet tone.

“Huh? What was that?” The first Vulcan asked in an exaggerated tone.

“I said take it back!” Natsu screamed out, as he leapt towards the Vulcan. “Fire Dragon Iron Fist!” As he exclaimed this, his right hand became enveloped in flame, and he slammed a punch right into the Vulcan’s chest. Unfortunately, this attack didn’t seem to do any damage at all, as the Vulcan wasn’t even fazed. Sneering at Natsu’s failed attack, the Vulcan then reared back his fist and delivered his own punch right into Natsu’s chest, slamming the young wizard into a tree about ten feet back.

“Ha, see, runt? That’s why this is our turf,” the Vulcan exclaimed. Looking down, he suddenly noticed the small equine creature, which was looking over at where Natsu had been knocked back, with a shocked expression on her face, before turning back towards the Vulcan, now wearing an expression of rage and growling at it. “Oooohhh, and what do we have here? Our next meal, maybe?” He asked, leaning in close to her.

Struggling to pick himself back up, Natsu could only look on at the sight of the two large Vulcan’s looming over the small equine. “No, run away.” He called out to her.

“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!” The filly screamed out in rage. Suddenly, she was engulfed in a bright flame, and when it faded, her previously light gold coat turned as black as the darkest void, offset only by her eyes which had become completely white, and her mane, tail and the tips of her hooves became pure flame of blue and red.

The sudden transformation caused both of the Vulcans to stumble back a step, in shock. Natsu, meanwhile, stared at her in awe.

She then opened her mouth and released a high pitched, slightly distorted screech, followed immediately by powerful burst of fire, which completely engulfed the Vulcan in front of her, and sent him flying backwards into a tree, in the opposite direction to which he had sent Natsu, and the force of the blast, combined with the Vulcan’s mass, caused the trunk of the tree to snap, burying the Vulcan beneath it. A single, slightly twitching leg stuck out from the pile of debris, indicating that he was still alive.

“Biff! No!” The second Vulcan called out. Turning back towards the small flaming equine, who was now growling at him, he took another step back, sweat dropping at the thought that now he was the target of her rage.

However, a moment later, her eyes began to droop, like she was tired from lack of energy, and with another quick flash of flame from up and down her body, she returned to her original form.

After she had transformed back, the remaining Vulcan slowly lowered his arms from around his head. “All out of fire, huh?” He asked, inquisitively. When the little filly simply looked up at him with tired eyes, he then grinned, his earlier smug expression returning. “Lucky me!” He announced, rearing back with his foot and kicking her hard, sending her flying backwards.

“Nooooo!” Natsu screamed out in worry. With adrenaline flooding his system, he quickly pushed himself up off the ground and charged at the Vulcan. “Fire Dragon…”

“I told you, that won’t wor…”

“Roar!” Natsu finished, unleashing a stream of fire breath focused entirely on the Vulcan’s left foot.

“Ow! Ow! Hot foot! Hot foot!” The Vulcan repeated, as he cradled his now burnt foot, while hopping on the other.

“Here, have another!” Natsu exclaimed, followed up with another Fire Dragon Roar, this one focused on the Vulcan’s right foot.

This caused the Vulcan to quickly hop on to his left foot, to cradle his now burnt right foot, but the still present pain from the earlier burn caused him to quickly switch feet again. He then began hopping away in retreat, alternating feet every other second.

With the Vulcan gone, Natsu quickly turned back towards where the filly had landed and ran over towards her. “Are you alright?” Natsu asked worriedly, kneeling down to inspect her more closely. She seemed to be in bad shape from the Vulcan’s kick. “Don’t worry; I’ll get you some help.”

Scooping her up into his arms, he ran off in the direction of the Fairy Tail guildhall.


---


The Fairy Tail guildhall was always a lively place, and today was no exception. Fairy Tail was home to a large, diverse group of wizards, who were gathered in the main hall. Veteran members, Macao and Wakaba were sitting and drinking and comparing how well they did on their last mission. Nab stood by the jobs board as always, looking over new jobs to take but never actually taking one. 

Many of the guild members were young children and teenagers, as well. Cana sat at a table, reading her magic cards. Erza sat next to her, eating a strawberry cake, which was her reward to herself for completing another successful mission. Gray sat across from the two of them, lounging around in nothing but his underwear, as usual, to the annoyance of the rest of the guild.

The guild master, Makarov, sat on top of the counter, nursing an ale, while occasionally slapping the underaged Mirajane’s hand away when she tried to sneak a drink from his barrel.

Suddenly, the lively atmosphere was interrupted when Natsu ran into the building, carrying the little filly in his arms, with a worried expression on his face. “Hey, I need help. This little filly is hurt real bad.”

The other members in the hall immediately stopped what they were doing and all turned to face him, noticing his distressed tone.

Cana was the first one to speak up. “What is it, Natsu?” Cana was a young girl, about the same age as Natsu. She wore a plaid, strapped dress, and wore her long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail.

“We were attacked by Vulcans in the forest and she’s pretty banged up,” Natsu answered.

The mention of Vulcans caught everyone’s attention, with many in the guild knowing how dangerous the creatures were, and were now looking at Natsu and the filly more worriedly.

All except for one.

“Didn’t take you for the type that goes out his way to save animals, Natsu,” a voice from the crowd of guild mates spoke up, dripping with sarcasm. It was a young girl in her early teens, who looked to be about the same age as Erza; a bit older than Natsu, himself. She had long, white hair tied back in a ponytail by a large, purple ribbon. She wore a black tank top and short shorts, with knee-high stockings, giving her a gothic look. She had a snide expression on her face as she spoke.

“Shut up, Mira!” Natsu barked back. “It’s not like that. She’s not just some animal; she actually talked to me.”

“Yeah, right,” Mira scoffed. “Animals don’t talk, Natsu.”

“She did so talk,” Natsu replied immediately. “Back in the forest she even called me…” He suddenly cut himself off, realising what he was saying.

The sudden cut off peaked Mira’s attention. “Yeah, she called you what?”

Natsu now looked embarrassed. “Uhhmm… she called me…” He looked down at the ground. “Dad.”

The entire guildhall was completely silent for a moment, which to Natsu seemed to last forever, before suddenly erupting in laughter a moment later.

“Oh, man. Natsu as a Dad: can you imagine it?” Gray laughed.

“Gray, your clothes!” Cana suddenly exclaimed, noticing that he had taken off his boxers and was now completely naked.

Gray, being so casual about his nudity, was just as surprised.

As everyone continued to laugh at the notion of Natsu, a small child and… well, Natsu being a dad, Natsu’s cheeks burned red with embarrassment, but he didn’t verbally respond to anyone.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Master Makarov spoke up as he got up off the counter and walked over towards Natsu and the filly. Makarov was a short, balding old man, who barely stood taller than the children in the guild. He had white hair and a moustache, and wore a brown cloak over his clothes. His expression remained completely neutral throughout everything. Despite his size, as Guildmaster, he was far more powerful than anyone else in the guild, and commanded respect from all of the other members, like the father of the Fairy Tail family, so when he spoke up, everyone else immediately complied and ceased laughing.

Stepping close to Natsu, Makarov took a closer look, to examine the small creature in his arms more closely, and after a moment, his eyes widened when he seemed to notice something about her. “Natsu, where did you find this creature?” He asked, looking up to look the young Dragon Slayer in the eyes.

“Out in the forest,” Natsu answered casually. “She just sort fell out of a tree and I found her.”

Makarov listened to Natsu’s simple answer and spoke up again. “You may not realise exactly what it is you have found. From what I can tell, I believe that this creature is a Kirin.”

“A… Kirin?” Natsu repeated. “I’ve never even heard of that.”

“I’m not surprised. Kirin are rare and mythical creatures spoken of in legends, with many people not knowing for sure if they even exist at all. These legends also say that they’re part Dragon.”

That last part seemed to catch Natsu’s attention. “Part Dragon? You mean she could be Igneel’s kid?” He wondered aloud, looking down at the small Kirin in his arms once again.

“I’m not sure,” Makarov replied. “Like I said, very little is actually known about Kirin. They’re as rare and mysterious as fairies.”

“Can you help her, Master?” Erza was the first guild member to speak up from her seat.

“Yes, I believe so,” Makarov responded, which relieved the guild, but most of all Natsu. “From what I observed, she doesn’t seem to have any serious physical injuries; she’s just magically drained. She seems to have simply used up all of her magic and collapsed from exhaustion.”

“Oh, yeah, she did use this really big attack to knock out one of the Vulcans,” Natsu said, looking up as he did so. The rest of the guild seemed impressed, if a bit sceptical that a creature so small could defeat a creature so big. “So, can you heal her, Master?”

Makarov smiled warmly to reassure him. “Yes, it shouldn’t be a problem.” He then held his hands out towards the unconscious Kirin, as they became enveloped in a bright light as he lay hands on her, transferring some of his own magic to her to replenish her strength. After a few seconds of this, the filly’s eyes starting twitching, and Makarov ceased his healing spell, seeing that it had worked.

As the filly began to stir, Natsu knelt down and placed her on the ground in front of him as she began to wake up. As she opened her eyes, the rest of the guild started to gather around her and Natsu to get a closer look at this strange, mythical creature now that she was awake. Opening her eyes and seeing a large group of strange, unfamiliar creatures around her, remembering what happened with the previous creatures she met, she reflexively backed away in fear.

A moment later, however, she then switched from looking scared to growling at them, trying her best to look intimidating. Suddenly, there was a flash of bright flame and she transformed once again into her flame form.

The rest of the guild, seeing this transformation for the first time, immediately backed off in shock.

“Whoa, hey, it’s alright,” Natsu called out, trying to calm her down as he reached out and grabbed her around her midsection.

“Doesn’t that hurt, Natsu?” Cana asked in concern, seeing him being burned by the fire.

“Nah, I’m a Dragon Slayer; the heat never bothered me anyway,” Natsu replied casually.

After being picked up, the Kirin looked back towards Natsu, who she seemed to recognise, and after seeming to calm down, there was another quick flash of flame and she was back to her normal form. She then turned around and buried herself in his chest for protection, the way a small child would hide behind their parents when they were scared.

“Wow, she really does see Natsu as a Dad,” Gray – who had put his underwear back on again – spoke up, seeing the way she acted towards Natsu and no one else.

The thought of Natsu as a Dad again got a round of quiet laughter from the guild, now that the worry for the Kirin’s safety was gone.

“Alright, back off, everyone! Can’t you see that she’s terrified?” A new voice spoke up from amongst the crowd and stepped forward. It was a young girl, who looked to be the same age as Natsu. She had short, white hair, the same shade as Mirajane’s, and wore a long, pink dress.

Natsu looked up from the filly as she spoke. “Oh, hey, Lisanna.” He spoke very casually to her.

Lisanna immediately smiled and blushed a bit when Natsu spoke to her. She then knelt down a bit, so that she was at eye level with the Kirin. “It’s okay,” she spoke quietly, approaching her slowly so as not to alarm her.

The small Kirin, hearing someone approach, peeked out from Natsu’s chest, but not being familiar with her, immediately retreated from her again.

Seeing the Kirin filly retreat from her in fear, Lisanna started thinking about a way she could get this creature to trust her the way she did Natsu. A moment later, she stood up and smiled when she thought of one.

“Animal Soul!” She announced as she became enveloped in a bright light. When the light faded a moment later, with a puff of magic, Lisanna had used her transformation magic to turn into a similar-looking Kirin, slightly larger than the one in Natsu’s arms, with pink fur and a pure white mane. “Look at me, I’m Kirin-Lisanna; aren’t I adorable?”

Erza, seeing Kirin-Lisanna in front couldn’t help but blush at how adorable she looked. When she noticed Mirajane next to her giving her a sly smirk, the red-headed wizard hastily looked away again.

Hearing some commotion going on, the Kirin peaked out from Natsu’s arms and saw a similar-looking creature to herself smiling warmly at her. The familiar sight made the Kirin feel more relaxed, and she stepped out from Natsu’s grasp, moving slowly over to Kirin-Lisanna, who likewise took things slowly, trying not to scare her, and gave her a comforting hug.

The rest of the guild all looked relieved when they saw the Kirin start to calm down and open up a bit more; although, when she looked around at the rest of the guild, she still shied away a little from them, cuddling up to Lisanna this time.

Noticing that the filly was still uncomfortable around the rest of the guild, Lisanna scooped her up into her now-hooves and turned towards Natsu. “Hey, why don’t we go take care of her outside?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Natsu replied, as he and Lisanna took the Kirin and made their way outside.
> Persona EG: A New Generation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, August 31, 2024 / Afternoon

I stand there, at the top of the hill overlooking the town, with the Sun bearing down on me. It is a cloudless day, with the clear blue sky for as far as the eye can see, save for the bright sphere in the centre of it all. It was a textbook example of a perfect summer day, fitting perhaps for the final day of summer before school begins once again, but for me, however, it does nothing to warm me up or reflect how I feel.

I spare one more glance backwards at the home that I have known my whole life up until now – a tall lighthouse, with several extensions built on to it to make it feel more like a proper home. A Brighthouse, as I had called it, in a childish way of trying to make something so remote feel more like a home. Of course, it wasn’t the name that had ultimately accomplished that, but rather the people that had been there.

Unfortunately, the sight of it did nothing to take my mind off of things, so I tried something else and looked at my phone to check the time. I immediately got what I had sought, but also instantly had my mind drawn back to what I was trying to keep off of by the wallpaper on the screen: a middle aged man, with calm blue skin, short black hair and light stubble, wearing a pair of glasses resting on the tip of his nose, and a calming expression on his face. In his arms, he held a young girl with bright orange skin, with her long, purple hair tied up in a long pony tail that she so loved, represented by the beaming smile on her face that she wanted to capture forever so she could look at it whenever she wanted.

Me and dad.

I choked up immediately upon seeing it. Dad was gone, and so recently that all of the hurt was still there, no matter how hard I tried to stay strong. For as long as I could remember, Dad was always there for me. Living this far from the city, I didn’t have many friends to interact with, aside from Hitch and Sprout – though mostly just Hitch. But through it all, Dad was always there for me, whether it was by playing with me when I was feeling down, or just talking to me and instantly putting my mind at ease.

But now he was gone and I was all alone again.

The thought alone was causing tears to well up in my eyes; however, my attention was instantly on something else when I felt something touch my shoulder. Looking over, I see a small, white butterfly, so light and delicate that I feel like I shouldn’t have been able to feel it, yet somehow I did.

Simply looking at the small, delicate creature on my shoulder had an instant calming effect on me, halting my tears and even getting me to smile a little.

My attention was again drawn away from the current moment by the sounds of an approaching vehicle. Turning in the direction of the noise, I see an approaching mid-sized sedan, of the same colour blue as the sky overhead. Since I was the only thing of note in this isolated area, I had a good feeling as to who it was, so I quickly dried the few tears that had formed in my eyes.

When the car came to a stop in front of the lighthouse, the front door opened up and a man stepped out. He looked middle aged, around the same age as my dad, and with a similar light blue skin colour. His hair was a slightly darker shade of blue to stand out, short, and jutting out at the front. He looked rugged and built, with well defined, muscly arms, exposed by his short sleeved t-shirt. In all, he was what any fifteen year old girl would describe as a handsome man, and clearly someone else thought so too judging by the wedding ring on his finger. There was one thing about him that stood out, however, and that was the red fez that he wore on his head, which frankly, did not suit him at all.

After exiting the vehicle, he made his way over to me. “Sunny Starscout?” He asked, in a way that implied that he already knew, so I simply nodded in affirmation. “My name is Gallus. I’m from the orphanage.” With an understanding look on his face, possibly from reading the expression that I was still trying not to show, he then knelt down so that he was at eye level with me. “I know that this is a hard time for you right now. Nobody should ever have to go through what you’re going through, especially at your age; but I promise you, things will get better. And I and other people will be there to help you. Understand?”

I feel that somebody in his position has probably had to say something like this a lot, and his speech could likely have been rehearsed and used several times before; however, at the same time, he sounded so genuine that, in spite of those thoughts, I still couldn’t help but smile. I didn’t respond verbally, but I still gave him a reassuring smile and an affirmative nod.

“Good,” he responded in kind, standing back up as he did so. “I know that they might sound like just words to you, but it’s the truth. I’m sure that you will be able to make the most of it, and even make some new friends. That’s probably just what you need right now.” He then stepped to the side of me. “Anyway, I’ll grab your bags, so you can get in the car and we’ll get going.”

“Okay,” I said, responding verbally this time. While he was putting my bags away, I turned back towards my shoulder to see if that little butterfly was still there, but it was already gone, having disappeared as silently as it appeared. I then walked over to the front passenger seat and got in, while Gallus grabbed my bags and put them in the trunk. I only had four suitcases, containing the sum total of my possessions that I would be taking with me.

Once he had put everything away, he then joined me in the front of the car, behind the driver’s seat. “The orphanage is in the city centre, quite a while away, so you can go ahead and get some sleep if you want.”

“Yes, thank you,” I responded. I was already feeling calm around him, but I still wasn’t really in the mood to talk at length of what he implied was a long journey, or to sit in an uncomfortable silence, so as he turned the key in the ignition and started the car, I rested my head against the seat, getting one last look at the Brighthouse as I did so, and fell asleep.


---


The world around me appeared blurry before coming into focus. As I looked around at my surroundings, I appeared to be in a circular room, with bookshelves full of books lining the walls, and each bookshelf separated by a window to the outside. However, there was nothing beyond the windows outside but a deep blue that looked like it stretched on forever. In the centre of the room, from floor to ceiling stretched a large glass tube, with a bright, colourful rainbow within it.

“Welcome.”

I’m immediately caught off guard by the voice. Looking directly ahead of me, I see a man, sitting on a couch before a small table, in front of the base of the glass tube. He is a short, roundish man, with bulging eyes, balding grey hair, and most noticeably, an almost comically long nose. He’s wearing a black suit with white gloves. He honestly looks a bit creepy, but not menacing.

“Who are you?” I stagger out.

“My apologies, allow me to introduce myself,” he begins, in a quiet and understanding tone. “My name is Igor. Welcome to the Velvet Room.”

“Velvet Room?”

“That is correct,” Igor continued. “While you may be alarmed and feeling uncertain right now, I can assure you that you are in no danger. Right now you are sound asleep in the real world. This room exists in the space between dreams and reality, and is shaped by the heart of those who enter. No harm may come to you while you are here.”

His calm tone of voice is doing its job of reassuring me instead of, as his initial appearance may assume, though I am still confused.

“However, the fact that you are here now is of the utmost importance. Therefore, before we proceed any further, you must first sign the contract.” He then waves his hand and a stack of papers appear in the air before him before floating over towards me, with a pen beside it.

“Contract?”

“Do not worry. It merely states that you will take responsibility for what comes next. Your future will be entirely shaped by the choices that you make from this point on, and so you must be prepared to live with the consequences.”

I was still very confused about what was going on; however, if this is all just a dream, then there’s really no point in worrying about it. I then pick up the pen and sign the contract.


Sunny Starscout


As soon as I sign, the contract disappears.

“Excellent,” Igor continues. “Now that that business is taken care of, we can see what the cards have to say.” He then picks up a deck of cards from the table in front of him and begins shuffling them. He then draws the top card and places it on the table.





“The Fool,” Igor states. “The Fool represents the beginning of a journey, and just like it, you now stand at an important crossroads in your life. You will face many obstacles and difficult decisions in the coming days, but fret not, for you need not face these challenges alone. The Fool also represents untapped potential; strength inside not yet shown, power yet unleashed. You may yet also have allies to face the trials ahead. These bonds you may choose to grow may be just what you need to help you succeed, but it will be up to you to discover and nurture these bonds.”

Igor was saying a lot of things, but I honestly barely understand any of it. I was about to speak up when suddenly my vision begins to fade.

“Ah, it would seem that our time together is drawing to an end. You are about to wake up. Do not worry, for I am certain that we will meet again, and when we do, you will have grown stronger.”

My vision continues to fade, along with my other senses, and soon all is black.


---


My senses come back and I return to consciousness as I feel somebody shaking me awake. “Sunny,” I hear Gallus as I turn to face him. “Sorry to wake you, but we’ve arrived.” He then turns and leaves the car.

Still feeling a bit groggy, I wake myself up, un-strap my seat belt and get out of the car. Immediately the surroundings are different from when I fell asleep, going from a coastal view of the cliff side to an urban view of grey streets and tall buildings.

A thought suddenly comes to me that since I was asleep the whole way here, I don’t actually know the way back to the Brighthouse, but I suppose that doesn’t really matter. I probably won’t be going back there again or at least not for a long time.

Turning around to the other side where Gallus got out, I see a smaller building, only two storey’s tall and about a hundred feet across. Directly above the doorway is a sign reading ‘Canterlot City Griffon’s Tear Orphanage’. I do know that there are a few orphanages in Canterlot City, so I wasn’t expecting it to be huge, but I still wasn’t expecting it to be this small.

Not that I really had anything to compare it to.

“I’ll grab your bags for you,” Gallus spoke up, already pulling them out of the trunk of the car. Seeing him carry all four bags was honestly impressive and showed that those muscles weren’t just for show. “You head on in.”

Looking back to the doorway of the orphanage, the situation was suddenly hitting me all at once. This was it; no turning back now. Taking a moment – and a breath to steady myself – I entered the building that would be my new home for the foreseeable future.

Inside, the building was exactly what you would think it was. The room was a dull grey, with a receptionist desk straight ahead. There were also signs pointing to the different rooms, with a cafeteria and kitchen to the right, and a living area to the left, with stairs leading up to the bedrooms from there.

There was a receptionist at the desk. She was a woman, looking like she was a bit younger than Gallus – late twenties, maybe – and I was unsure about what exactly I should do next. Should I walk up to her and introduce myself? What should I even say? ‘Hi, my name’s Sunny, I’ll be living here from now on’.

Fortunately, Gallus was right behind me, even with all of my bags and spoke up first. “Hey, Gabby, this here’s Sunny Starscout.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, Sunny,” the receptionist, who I now knew was named Gabby spoke up in an excitable and bubbly tone.

“I’ll show her to her room, so you two can get acquainted later.” He then turned to me. “That okay with you?”

I simply nodded in agreement. I then followed behind Gallus to the left, through the living area and upstairs. The living area was completely deserted except for one girl who was sitting silently on the couch. We ignored her for now and kept going. I’ll probably talk to her later.

Once we reached the top floor, we walked past several rooms before we reached my room at the end of the hallway and stepped inside. The room was as basic as you would expect: a bed, a desk, a window, empty walls, and a cupboard for my clothes.

“Well, here we are,” Gallus said, putting my bags down. “I know it’s not much, but hey, at least you get your own room.”

“It’s great, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Anyway, dinner’s in about an hour, so maybe you can spend until then unpacking. All of the other kids are out at the moment so you probably won’t get to talk to them until dinner.”

Hearing that made me think of something. “What about the girl downstairs?”

Gallus looked at me for a moment before he realised who I meant. “Oh, that’s Misty. She’s...” He looked away for a moment as if considering his words. “She’s quiet and doesn’t get out much, but she’s a good kid.” He then looked back at me with a warm smile. “I hope you can become friends with her. I think that may be just what you need right now... What you both need.”

After another moment, he then turned around again. “Well, anyway, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.” He then left the room.

Now that I was alone with my thoughts again, the reality of the situation started to sink in again. Well, I’m here now, so the least I can do is try and make this room feel more like a home.

I quickly check my phone to confirm the time; yeah, I’ve got plenty of time.

I then unpacked my bags and spent the next hour decorating my room.

Saturday, August 31, 2024 / Evening

Dinner came and by the time that it did, I was so worn out from unpacking that I didn’t have the energy left to socialise. I met the rest of the kids at the orphanage, but I didn’t really say anything besides my name. I don’t even remember any of theirs. I hope that won’t make things awkward with them in the future.

Strangely, even in my tired state, I noticed that Misty wasn’t at dinner. Did she not go? Maybe she was at the same level of energy as me. That might make her more my speed. I should try talking to her tomorrow.

Once dinner was finished, I made my way back to my room. I was so tired from the events of the day that I immediately fell on my bed and lost myself in unconsciousness.

Sunday, September 1, 2024 / Morning

I wake up the next day still feeling a bit groggy. Despite falling asleep relatively early, I still feel sleepy and don’t want to get up, however, that’s not really anything special or related to my current events; it’s just standard waking up in the morning. I can only imagine how bad it will feel tomorrow when I actually have to get up for school.

Pulling myself up off of the bed, I do some stretches to try and get some energy into my body. Since I ended my day yesterday by just falling on my bed, I’m still wearing my clothes from yesterday. I’ll probably need a shower before I go out today; there aren’t that many other kids here at the orphanage so hopefully the line won’t be too long. The rumbling in my stomach, however, tells me that I should have breakfast first.

I leave my room and make my way down the hall. My room is at the far end of the upper floor, so I pass by every other room on my way to the stairs.

Heading down the stairs, I enter into the living room. Since I was just passing through the living room yesterday, I didn’t really spend time taking it in then. The living room was basically where the residents could hang out and pass the time, so it was set up with several amenities. There was a television in the corner of the room, with two small couches lined parallel and perpendicular to it. There was also a cupboard against the wall, filled with an assortment of books and board games. There were a few small tables lined up against the walls and windows, likely for a quiet, solitary contemplation or reading, and a larger table in the centre of the room, likely for engaging with a group.

To my immediate right upon entering the room, I again see the same girl that I saw here yesterday: Misty, Gallus had called her. She was a young girl, about my age. She has dark blue skin, with an even darker blue hair, mostly pulled to one side; combined with the fact that she was huddled up, with her legs on the couch and her head down made it difficult to make out her face.

She definitely looked like she didn’t want to talk to anyone. I wonder if that was how I looked to others since Dad died. Considering that she might be in a similar position to me, and Gallus had even suggested that I try to become friends with her, maybe I should try talking to her. The other kids at the orphanage are a bit too energetic for me right now, so talking to Misty might be easier.

Well, here goes nothing.

“H-hey there, Misty,” I manage to stutter out, still feeling a bit nervous.

No response.

I decide to try again.

“Um, Misty?”

This time she seemed to notice and turned towards me. “Who’s Misty?”

That caught me off guard. Wait, did I actually get the wrong girl?

“Um, isn’t that your name?”

She blinks at me. “Is it?” She responds. She then looks down again. “I’m sorry. I can’t remember.” Once I saw her eyes, I saw how hollow and empty they looked, like she wasn’t all there. Combined with her monotone voice, she sounded so... She didn’t sound depressed, as her words all came out just fine; they were just... empty.

Huh. “What do you mean?”

She seemed to slink further down in response, dejectedly. “I can’t seem to remember anything from before I came here. And I can’t remember anything that I do learn here. I probably won’t even remember you tomorrow.” She then turned towards me again. “But I hope I do.” She then faced forward again as she was before I spoke.

Misty certainly seems strange, but not bad, and I definitely feel like she is being genuine; however, I don’t think that I can talk to her properly right now. Maybe later.

“Okay, well I’m Sunny. I hope we can talk later.” She didn’t say anything or move in response, but I’m sure she heard me, and hopefully she’ll remember me.

I make my way out of the living room and continue towards the cafeteria. While breakfast is going on, the other kids are a lot more energetic and I can’t get a word in edgewise. Once they finish eating, they all leave in groups, likely friendships that have been built up over time and stick together now. That could potentially make things difficult in ingratiating myself into a group here, so for now I think I’ll start with trying to get closer to Misty. Besides, outside of the orphanage, I still have my friend group of Hitch and Sprout.

Once I finish eating, I put my empty plates away and make my way back to the foyer, where I see Gallus. “Oh, there you are, Sunny. Now, I know it hasn’t been long yet at all, but do you think you’re starting to fit in here yet?”

Gallus has been nothing but kind to me so far, so I can’t bring myself to lie to him so I decide to be honest. “Honestly, it’s hard to talk to the other kids here. I don’t think I’ve made much progress yet.”

Gallus just stares back at me for a moment in silence before smirking. “Yeah, I get it.” He looks back at me full on, like I can tell he’s about to say something serious. “Listen, I’m not blind to the situation here. Kids that come here aren’t exactly in the best state of mind to be opening up and talking about things, so they’ll mostly stick to themselves. And by the time they are full of energy and talking and doing things again, it’s within a group that they’ve built up over time that they now feel comfortable in. And that’s good, but it can make it harder for those coming later, who can’t join a group easily.” He then looked down at the ground. “Trust me, I know. I’m... actually a former resident of this place myself, so I know from experience.”

I don’t really know how to respond.

He looks up again. “What I’m trying to say is, I know how the kids who come here feel, what they’re going through and what they might need, but also the difficulties that come along with it, so I try to give them the freedom and knowledge they need to deal with everything.”

He steps forward. “I like to think that I’m helping them, anyway. This place doesn’t exactly scream ‘welcoming’ what with its grey walls inside and surrounded on all sides by tall oppressive buildings, so it’s usually deserted around here during the day since they’d rather be out having fun, and they’re full of energy when they return, so I think it’s safe to say that I’m being helpful.”

I’m already smiling. I know it’s only been a day, but I can already tell that Gallus is completely genuine in everything he says.

“That goes for you too,” he continues. “I want you to feel safe and have the freedom that you need to get stronger, so don’t feel like you always have to be holed up here. I just have two rules: if you leave here, always have your phone with you so that I can call you; and be back before dark. We are in the middle of the city, so it isn’t safe to be out alone at night.

“Oh, and on that first point, I should get your phone number so that I can reach you at any time, right?” He says, pulling out his phone.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I reply, with a smile on my face. And I meant it. I know I only just met Gallus, but I already feel that he is someone I can trust. He’s a lot like Dad, actually; not just physically, but in how he acts and talks to me.

I take out my phone and exchange contact information with him.

“I mean it,” he says. “If you’re ever in trouble, just call me and I’ll help.”

“Thank you, I will.” I then suddenly remember the other thing he talked to me about. “Oh, yeah, I tried talking to Misty earlier, but it didn’t go well. She said that she had trouble remembering anything, even her own name.”

Gallus’ expression suddenly shifted as I changed the topic of conversation. “Oh, yeah, that’s true. When she first came here, she couldn’t remember anything about herself. Not only that, but she also struggled to retain any new memories afterwards, which as you can imagine, makes it difficult for her to do pretty much anything but sit there, which of course just makes it harder for her to get better.”

He went silent for a moment before speaking up again. “However, she’s not completely incapable of remembering anything. I made it a point to at least introduce myself to her every day to try and help her, and after a while, she was able to remember my name, if nothing else but through muscle memory.

“I think that you can do the same for her as well. Before you came here, she was the last one to arrive, and her memory issues combined with everyone else having already established themselves in a group made it even harder for her to get better.

“I think that you can help her, though; help both her and you get through this hard time.” He shook his head. “I’m not saying you have to do it all right away – I mean she probably won’t remember you tomorrow, but if you take it a little bit at a time, even if it’s just saying hello to her in the morning, I think it will eventually help her to remember you too, and maybe even help you two become friends.”

That does sound like a good idea. “I think you’re right. She seemed nice enough when I spoke to her earlier; and when I saw her eyes...” Thinking back to the look she had on her face when she spoke. “I think she might be more like me than I realise, and I wouldn’t want to leave anyone in a state like that, so...” I perk up again and start smiling. “I’ll try my best.”

Gallus also smiled in turn. “Well then, I’ll leave you to it. And remember, if you need anything, I’m always here.”

Suddenly the front door opened and Gabby walked in. “Oh, hey everyone. What’s going on here?”

“Just helping Sunny fit in,” Gallus answered.

“Awww, you’re always doing that,” Gabby said as she skipped over to him. “You really are a big softie at heart, aren’t you?” She said, playfully poking at him.

“I’m just doing my job, like you should be,” Gallus replied, almost turning away in embarrassment, his body language indicating that this was how these two usually spoke to each other.

“Well, anyway, I’m gonna go take a shower now,” I spoke up.

Gabby turned to me. “Bathroom’s upstairs, right smack dab centre of the floor... or wall as it were.”

Gallus just sighed quietly and lightly whacked Gabby on the head. “Just go,” he said, addressing me.

I then turned around and made my way upstairs, passing by Misty as I went. I really did want to become friends with her, for both her and my sake, but if what Gallus said is true, I have to take it slow. I could start by simply talking to her every day, but for now, I really needed a shower.

The orphanage’s bathroom had all the basic necessities that I needed, including shampoo and body wash. Once I was finished, I returned to my room and got dressed. It was the first day of September and the weather had already changed accordingly from summer to fall. For now I kept things simple with a pair of blue jeans, a plain t-shirt and my favourite orange hoodie.

Once I was dressed, I made my way downstairs again, saying hi to Misty as I passed, and came back to the foyer. Gabby was now sitting at her desk like yesterday.

“I’m going out for the day.”

“Alright, just be back before dark. You wouldn’t want Gallus to worry about you on your first day here.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I say, smiling back at her. I then made my way outside.

I was in such a rush that it wasn’t until I was outside until I started wondering what I would actually do today. Opening up my phone, I checked my contact list and saw that I currently only had four numbers: Hitch, Sprout, Gallus and... Dad.

I didn’t really notice before just how few numbers I had. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I click on Hitch’s name and call him. I hear a couple of automated beeps as the call went through.

“Hello?”

I hear a familiar voice pipe up through the phone, and it honestly makes me calm down more.

“Hey, Hitch. It’s me.”

“Oh, uhh, hey, Sunny. What’s up?” He sounds kind of nervous, which starts to bring back some of my nerves.

“Oh, you know? I just got settled in at the orphanage.”

“Oh, really? That sounds good.”

“Yeah, it is. Everyone here is super nice.” I start to calm down again. “Anyway, I was just thinking that, since this is our last day of summer before school starts, maybe we could hang out today. You know, while we still can?”

“Oh, uhhhh...” Hitch started. That wasn’t a good sign. “Sorry, Sunny, it’s, well... like you said, school’s starting tomorrow and I still have a lot of preparation to do to get ready, so I don’t really have time right now. B-but I will see you there tomorrow, so we can talk then, alright?”

“Oh, uhh, okay,” I respond, disappointed.

“Okay then, I’ll see you tomorrow then. Bye,” he spoke hastily before hanging up.

Once the call had ended, I looked back at my phone. I had been really excited about hanging out with him today. Looking back at my list of contacts, the only other option I had was Sprout. I was less excited about that. The two of us had been friends since we were kids, but unlike with Hitch, we had started to drift apart recently. Since he was literally my only option right now, I decide to give him a call anyway.

Thirty seconds of automated beeps, followed by a generic voicemail telling me to leave a message. He didn’t even bother recording a personal one. He was always like that; at least hadn’t changed about him.

“Hey, Sprout, it’s Sunny,” I began. I started thinking about what I should say. “Listen, uhh... call me back when you can, alright? I’d really like to talk to a friend right now. Let me know, okay?” I hung up. It was just a voicemail and I could still feel the awkwardness from it.

Closing my contact list, I lazily scroll through my phone looking for something, anything to occupy my time. Suddenly, I come across an app that I don’t recognise: it’s a black square, with a red P front and centre, in a wavy-looking font.

Okay, that certainly looks intimidating, and I don’t remember downloading it; and a mysterious app on a phone is never a good sign. With a flick of my finger, I delete it without opening it first. It probably would have given me a virus.

Well, my plans for today are completely shot. And it’s the last day of summer and I really don’t want to waste it doing nothing. Looking up from my phone and around at the unfamiliar city, I think that I still don’t know my way around or any of the sights, so I resign myself to spending the day familiarising myself with it for the future.

After all, I’m likely going to be here for a long time, at least until college in three years if not later. Plus it will be useful to know my way around and what’s around for any future plans.

I put my phone into my pocket and make my way through Canterlot City.

Sunday, September 1, 2024 / Afternoon

My day is basically filled with me learning the sights and sounds of Canterlot City, familiarising myself with the layout so that I can know it better for the future. I start with the basics, such as the nearby street signs, and a couple of Mom & Pop shops in the area.

I eventually find my way to the local mall, and it is huge. There are several stores that peak my interest, including a boutique, a game store, a smoothie stand – I buy a strawberry smoothie while I’m here – and even more. I quickly end up losing track of time to the point that I can’t even see every part of the mall before it starts to get dark and I head back.

I’ll have to continue my reconnaissance of the city some other day when I have free time.

Sunday, September 1, 2024 / Evening

I return to the orphanage just in time for dinner. This meal goes about the same as the one from last night, with everyone else keeping to their own pre-established groups while I eat alone.

I also don’t see Misty as I look around the room; she probably eats on her own as well. If so, that’s just another reason why I should try and get closer to her so that neither of us will have to eat alone. Of course, I’ll have to wait until she’s able to remember me first.

I eat my dinner alone.

Sunday, September 1, 2024 / Night-time

When I’m done eating, I make my way back to my room to pack my backpack in preparation. Tomorrow, I’ll officially be moving on from Junior High to High School.

Canterlot High: a lot of people have spoken highly of that school and have encouraged me to go there. It may not be as prestigious as Crystal Prep, which boasts the highest test scores, academic performance and graduation rate in the state, but from what I have heard people say about it, it has more of a focus on helping me to make friends and deciding my future; and with how my life is going right now, I think that’s more of what I need right now.

This is going to be most of my life for the next three years, so I should at least start it off right and make it a good one. Especially since Hitch and Sprout will also be going there, so I’m already starting out strong.

By the time I finish packing, it’s already pretty late and I feel tired from being out and busy all day. Once my backpack is squared away for tomorrow, I put on my pyjamas, let my hair down, and crawl into bed.

I’ve done enough thinking already today; I’m asleep within minutes.