> Our Name Across The Multiverse: 10 years later > by DATONETWIxDASHFAN > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: Our Lives And Parenting... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was the last day of high school, and summer was going to start the next day. Students are walking out of the building and heading home, but one student ran past everyone as she was the town's fastest runner, almost matching her mother's record in speed. Her name is Blitz; she has long rainbow hair with a bit of black on the sides; she's wearing her Trademark blue and purple jacket with a rainbow comet on the back; she also loves wearing sporty outfits, like right now, when she's wearing black sports leggings with rainbow flames on the sides and her favorite black runner shoes. She has her phone in her hands and is texting Dawn about meeting up later. "Blitz: Hey Dawn! u want 2 hang out? :)" She waited for a reply as she bolted to the woods, easily dodging trees while looking at her cell phone. She waited and waited, but never received a reply. "Ugh, I hope Dawn is okay." She finally got out of the forest and found her home. It was a large two-story house, a beautiful white color, with a balcony with flowers and vines on the sides, a pool, a small pond, and a large garden in the front. Blitz walked up to the house, opened the door, and saw no one in the living room, no one in the dining room, and no one in the kitchen. She sighed in relief. "No one's home." She dropped her stuff on the floor, took off her shoes, and ran up the stairs and straight to her bedroom, which was messy, but it wasn't like there was anything she could trip over; her clothes were all clean and hanging up, her bed was made, and everything was just thrown about. She jumped into her bed and let out a relaxed sigh. "Oh my gosh, it's so great to be home and alone; summer finally started too. I can't wait to spend it with the others and Dawn. Speaking of Dawn, why hasn't she texted me?" Blitz looked at her phone and saw no reply. She let out another sigh and got up, walked over to her window, and stared outside. The sky was a wonderful bright blue, with a few clouds here and there, and the sun was shining brightly, giving off a warm atmosphere. "Maybe she's busy heading home, sis? Like you just got here super fast." said a female voice in the room. Blitz closed the window, and she could see the figure in the reflection. She turned and smiled. "Maybe. So, how was your day, Braver?" asked Blitz as she was looking into a prism-covered window and floating in the middle of her room. There is a dark blue-skinned alicorn pony with a halo; her mane and tail were black with light blue and purple streaks, and like Blitz, she was wearing her trade mark purple jacket with a rainbow comet blasting through a wall on the back of it. "Eh, it was alright; I just wanted the day to end," said Braver as she was reading a book on her bed. Blitz giggled. "What are you reading this time? Another egghead story?" Braver looked at her twin sister and gave her a glare. "Sound like my mom! even though she loves reading too. And no, I'm reading a mystery book about a detective who solves murder cases." "Cool, cool," replied Blitz as she went to her closet and started to look through it. "Hey, Blitz, mind telling me what's going on?" asked Braver as she kept reading the book. "What do you mean?" "You and Lucy Dawn are usually texting each other by now. Isn't that a little odd for her?" "Kin of. She still hasn't replied to me yet." "That's not like her, right? She would had gotten home by now." Blitz pulled out blue jeans and a purple t-shirt, throwing them onto her bed. "Yeah, I know; I'm worried too. Maybe I'll go check on her. See if she's okay. Hope her parents aren't being assholes again." "Alright, just be careful if someone hurts you." said Braver as she closed the book and revealed her true form, a slime creature made of black, light blue, and purple ink slime, and revealed her pure white eyes, which gave her a killing look. "I'LL BREAK THEM!" Blitz walked over, spun the window around, and took off her running leggings. "Yeah, yeah, stop being overprotective, sis! Someone's going to start calling you a siscon at this rate." The window stopped spinning, and Braver was normal again in her pony form. "What the hay is a 'siscon'?" "It means you love your sister more than friends. You don't want anyone touching her, and would do anything for her, including lewd things." "Lewd!? What does that mean, little sister?"asked Braver, as she had never heard of the word before. "Besides, this' 'siscon' thing does sound like me! I love you more than a friend! We're sisters after all!" smiled Braver, completely not getting the word. "Just don't call me the little sister," glared Blitz as she pulled down her runner leggings and tossed them at Braver. "And don't ever say that in public! I'm not going to explain why you shouldn't! Got it?!" "Okay?" replied Braver, confused as she watched her sister put on the jeans, then take off the shirt, put on the purple short-sleeve shirt, and then wear her jacket. "But I think we need a dictionary of your universe's words because it's hard to understand all these new words. You know I can't get out of the Equestria universe and read up on this stuff." "Sorry, sis, maybe one day we can travel through the walls of between again. Who knows, maybe we can go on a multiverse adventure! We can see...'them' again..." smiled Blitz sadly. Braver got up and walked over to the window and touched it, feeling how powerful it was. She couldn't smash it without Blitz being with her again. "Blitz, I miss them too. They saved us, and I want to see them again too. They are the reason we're here now! Living the lives they want us to have." cried Braver "But what if I'm..." Blitz quickly turned around and faced her sister as she pointed to the heavens and shouted, "Don't be distracted by the what-if's, should-have's, and if-only's. The one thing you choose for yourself is the truth of your universe and why you are here." Braver smiled as she remembered those words from Rain and continued the speech herself: "Then live, not die, so that you can find happiness. Be happy, laugh, cry, and be sad. All of it's your choice. So, keep living and never give up on finding that happiness. It's the one thing that can't be taken from you, but the one thing you have to fight for. Don't forget." "Believe in yourself. not in you who believes in us. Not us who believe in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself," finish both twins as they both started to cry. Blitz turned away, rubbed her eyes, and grabbed her phone. "Never stop believing you earned this new life, Braver! It's like what Wanda always said: "Don't see the world how it was, but how it could be. Find a better future for yourself" for us. You and I earned it. Keep moving forward." Braver nodded as she remembered the heroes who saved them, different versions of their mothers, telling them to keep moving forward. The room was quiet as both sisters sat in their beds. "I hope we're making them proud! Not by just living and moving forward, but saving lives and helping others, like how they helped us." said Blitz as she transformed into her anthro form, as her skin was blue and she has wings now, which tore through the shirt but magical pass through her jacket, as it had some magic to it, making her sigh. "We are! You are this town's super hero! Rainbow Comet!" smiled Braver. "And you're helping ponies and other creatures when they need it. I am glad they accepted you for who you are. I won't lie, I was worried they wouldn't. You aren't really a pony like me. I was always thinking about you, sis, and it scared me that you wouldn't find happiness." "Blitz, even if they didn't accept me, I still have you, my friends, Luster Dawn, mom's friends, and my mothers. I wouldn't give them up for anything. They're my happiness!" smiled Braver, making her sister blush a bit. "Yeah, I know!" stuttered Blitz. "What was that!?" "Nothing!" "I know what I heard!" "I gotta go! Talk to you later, sis!" shouted Blitz as she ran over and hugged the window, and within a flash, she was gone as a rainbow trail was left behind. "Oh Blitz...huh?" said Braver as she noticed the window had ripple effects that were weaker than she had ever seen before. "What the?" Blitz was flying high in the sky as she was heading towards Lucy's house. "I hope Lucy is alright. She isn't answering any of my messages, and it's not like her. She would have at least sent a thumbs up by now." Blitz flew fast in the air as she reached the street that Lucy lived on, landed behind a bush, transformed back into her human form, and walked down the street. Blitz stopped at Lucy's house and noticed the door was wide open. "Lucy?" she called out. Suddenly, she saw Lucy running to the door with her two-piece pink swimsuit, which made Blitz turn red as she could see her curves in it. "Lucy?" said Blitz as Lucy looked confused at her friend. Blitz could see that Lucy had her ponytail undone and her wonderful gradient of light vermilion with amber streaks of hair was free. She loved it when Lucy kept her hair down. "Blitz? Why haven't you changed into your swimsuit?" questioned Lucy. "What do you mean?" replied Blitz as she snapped out of it. "Swimsuit? Summer? Going to the lake today?" "I haven't heard about going to the lake with you. You didn't send me a text?" "No, I did. I was sure I did. Hold on," replied Lucy as she ran inside the house and into the kitchen, leaving Blitz confused. "I guess that explains why she didn't answer any of my texts," thought Blitz as she waited. "Hey, Blitz! Want to come in?" asked Lucy as she walked out of the kitchen, wearing her white robe. "Sure." Blitz walked inside the house and went upstairs, where she saw how well-kept Lucy's room was. "Wow, Dawn, your room is so clean. You know, you don't have to clean it just for me, right? Its fine, the way it is." smirk Blitz. "Nope, it's for me. I hate having a messy room," quickly replied Lucy while she sat on her bed and checked her phone for her text, leaving Blitz blushing at her failed flirting she tried to do. Blitz went over to her dresser and sat on the chair that was next to it. "Blitz, I'm sorry," she lowered her phone and looked at Blitz, who was looking into the mirror, fixing her hair. "I did send it, but it's still saying sending." Blitz took the phone, checked it herself, and sighed as she saw the reason why: "It's in airplane mode, you silly!" "Huh? Airplane mode?" "Yeah, that's why the text didn't send. When activated, this mode suspends the device's digital data services. Hold on," Blitz touched her friend's phone and changed the settings. Blitz could hear her phone text tone going off, making Lucy smile but quickly blushing as she made a fool of herself. Blitz knew Lucy was still learning to use a cell phone, as her parents didn't want her to have one for a long time until now. It didn't help that her parents are super into the church, as she could spot crosses around the house and how they home schooled her until two years ago. She was super shy and little weird when they first met in the park. Glad she opened up more and became friends with her and the others. "Oh, so that's what airplane mode does. Sorry." "Hey, don't worry, but why was your phone in airplane mode?" asked Blitz, curious Lucy started to blush hard as she looked away, making Blitz more curious. "Dawn?" "I thought the plane meant it would send the text faster!" yelled Lucy, as she was red as a tomato. "Dawn, your phone didn't work. It was in airplane mode. You didn't know that and thought it meant the text would get to me faster that way." smiled Blitz, trying to hold her laughter. Lucy sighed, as she was right, that Blitz was laughing at her. "You know, I think it's funny when you get embarrassed like that, Dawn," smiled Blitz. "You make fun of me a lot, Blitz! I hate it! WHY CAN'T YOU BE AS SWEET AND KIND AS RAINBOW COMET?" shouted Lucy. "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU MEAN!" yelled back Blitz, standing up and knocking over the chair, making Lucy look in fear. "W-What's wrong!?" Blitz quickly calmed down, realized what she really meant, and started to laugh. "You're talking about the super hero, not the actual person, right? You're such a dork, Dawn!" "I AM NOT!" "Yes, you are!" laughed Blitz as Lucy was angry and grabbed a pillow and chucked at Blitz, missing her. "YOU'RE SO MEAN, BLITZ!" "But that's why we are best friends, right?" smirk Blitz. "That is the worst answer ever!" "I know..." whispered Blitz as she started to blush, and Lucy was confused. "What?" "NOTHING!" "Oh, okay. What swimsuit are you going to wear?" asked Lucy, excited. "Oh, well, I need to get home and get something!" Lucy tossed another pillow at her. "Better be a real girly swimsuit! No boy shorts and t-shirts! AGAIN!" Blitz was already out the window, turned around, stuck her tongue out, jumped out, and landed on the grass. She looked up and saw Lucy worried. "Stop doing that! I swear, one day you'll break your running legs! This is the second floor, you know!" yelled Lucy. "Relax! I'm not going to break anything! You worry too much!" laughed Blitz. "Just because you're the third-fastest person in town doesn't mean you're invincible!" "Fine, fine, I'll be more careful." sighed Blitz as she headed home. "But I like it when you worry about me." Blitz reached the sidewalk, but something fast passed her, and she could see "her". "Mom!" shouted Blitz as her mother, Dashie Reinbold, was wearing her blue jacket, which had yellow stripes on her arms, and blue jeans with her sky blue running shoes. She was also wearing the yellow YMCA shirt, which means to Blitz that her mom was getting off from work, as she's a YMCA child watch staff member who watches kids when their parents are working out or need a babysitter. Blitz was about to yell her name again, but Dashie tossed her a water bottle. "I knew you'd be here!" Dashie turned to the house and waved at Dawn, who waved back. "HI MRS. REINBOLD!" "Hey! Don't yell out to her!" shouted Blitz, causing Dashie to frown as she turned to the first-floor window and saw someone looking at her. Dashie remembers how Lucy's parents treat LBGT folks, especially her and Twilah, when no one is looking. They act nice but are pure assholes. "Sorry," apologized Lucy. "No problem. Don't sweat it!" smiled Dashie as she gave her a thumbs up. "So, did you just get off?" asked Blitz as her mom was walking back home, after they waved goodbye to Dawn and started to chat. "Yeah, and I have tomorrow off too. I got the week off, in fact." "Cool." Dashie looked over to her daughter, who was thinking about her swimsuit. "I'm going to go back and work out." "Alright...why?" "You're not the only one with a beach body to flaunt," winked Dashie, making Blitz groan as she regretted telling her about getting the swimsuit. "MOM! Don't do that!" "What? It's true! We have great bodies and are both hot, especially your mother." "Please, stop!" cried Blitz as she covered her ears. Dashie laughed and rubbed her daughter's hair. "Hey, you know I'm joking. I'm not going to do anything...unless your mom wants..." teased Dashie. "STOP IT!" yelled Blitz as she ran to their house, leaving her mom laughing. "JOKING! THE REAL REASON WHY IS?" shouted Dashie as she took a runner stance and looked at her daughter back, who was just  slow-running "I want you to beat me while I'm still in my prime!" Blitz heard her and saw her mom take off. "No way!" Blitz took her stance and raced her mother home. The two were neck and neck, and Blitz was pushing hard to surpass her mom, which was difficult to do in her human form. If it were her anthro form, she would have beat her in ten seconds flat. "Come on! Move those legs, Blitz!" Dashie cheered her daughter on, as she could see her struggling face "I'm going to pass you, mom!" grunted Blitz. "We'll see about that!" laughed Dashie as the two were still neck and neck. They were almost home, and Blitz was pushing her limit as she pushed more, hoping to pass her mom. "No, way!" Dashie watched as Blitz suddenly got faster and finally passed her and was first to reach home and standing in front of her. "I WIN!" cheered Blitz, entering the house. Dashie was breathing hard but also smiling hard, not because Blitz beat her but because "You're the best of all of us, Blitz. You're on your way. Just...just keep going...just keep running...just keep going while wearing that jacket, because we'll always be with you, we will always support you, and we'll love you. You are our daughter. Nothing can ever change that." "MOM! WHERE ARE THE TANK TOPS AND BOY SHORTS?" Dashie sighed, shook her head, and headed inside. "THEY'RE IN YOUR CLOSET, IDIOT! I THINK LUCY WILL LOVE IT IF YOU WEAR THE SEXY SWI-" "SHUT UP, MOM!" screams Blitz from up the stairs. "She's an idiot, just like me." Dashie face palm as she shut the door and could see Blitz running to the bathroom with her tomboy swimsuit "Forgive her Dawn, I tried." Dashie waved goodbye to Blitz as she ran back to Lucy's place and shut the door. She tossed her work jacket on the couch, tossed her shoes to the wall, and finally jumped on the couch face first. She soon could feel a body lying on top of her and a hand rubbing her head. "I'm home," whispered Twilah, who was floating above her as she was in her anthro form, as Dashie could see her purple hand touching her brown hair. "Hey, welcome back, love. How was the job?" Dashie flipped over and saw that Twilah was wearing her red jacket, black jeans, and red boots, while she also had Twilight face features. Twilah floated off of her lover and stood in front of her. She was in her human form after her chest glowed purple; she was normal again, but she could see Dashie was upset about something. "Work was good. got the first ever self-aware AI to think for itself. It's going to be revealed to the public in a few months. Is everything okay? Why are you looking at my thighs?" Twilah was worried, Dashie kept staring at her thighs Dashie blinked a few times at Twilah's non-thick thighs and smiled as she looked into her lover's eyes. "No reason." "Oh, okay. Hey, where's Blitz? She was supposed to help me with dinner." "She went over to Lucy's house. Apparently, they're going to the lake. They be back around eight." "So, you'll be helping me with dinner, right?" asked Twilah. "Yeah." "Then don't!" "Huh?" replied Dashie. "You suck at helping in the kitchen. Remember that time when you made the soup cold and the salad hot?, HOW DID YOU MAKE THE SALAD SO HOT!?" Twilah yelled as she left the living room and entered the kitchen. "Don't forget the time when you pour milk on the cornflakes and somehow set it on fire!" "I SAID I WAS SORRY FOR THAT! EVEN I DON'T KNOW HOW IT HAPPEN!" Dashie got off the couch and ran into the kitchen, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and kissing her. Twilah blushed as she said, "Don't do that. We haven't eaten yet!" "Blitz is not here! We can eat out, and I'm not tal-" Dashie was cut off as Twilah put a bar of soap in her mouth, shutting her up. "Don't behave like that! Blitz might come in and hear that! We still have to teach her about...you know..." blushed Twilah. Dashie removed the bar of soap "I think Blitz already knows..." "How do you know? Did you talk to her about it? WITHOUT ME!?" "N-NO! She's already a teenager! She's probably sees it on the internet or something. Maybe even in school, kids these days are more bold in doing doing things!" Twilah sighed as she sat at the kitchen table. "That's even worse than her learning about it from you!" "Yeah, that is way worse. Hey!" Twilah started to laugh as she leaned back on her chair. "I CAN TEACH HER THE...you know..." "I don't think that's a good idea, Dashie." "WHY!?" "You'll just be stuttering nonstop and all red in the face. I'm not sure if it's the best idea." smiled Twilah, as she knows Dashie well. "You won't let that go, will you? Least I confess to you!" "Not even in a million years, love and I was gonna say it first but you had to be the first one to say it." Dashie rolled her eyes, sat down next to her, and rested her head on the table. "Hey." "Yeah?" "We raised a good girl, right?" Dashie look nervously at Twilah, like she was scare of something but Twilah picked her up and hugged her tight. "Yes, we did," Twilah held Dashie's hand. "Nightfall and Sky will be happy and proud of how we raised Blitz. Just like we are." Dashie could see the sadness in Twilah's eyes, as she said those names. "Are you okay?...about Nightfall and Sky?" "Yeah, it still hurts, and I want to see them again, hug them, and tell them everything. How wonderful their daughter is! doing great things! We know she would be proud but I just wish they were here to see it all. They'll love how Blitz became a great girl, just like we do." Twilah cried softly, and Dashie held her tight and wiped the tears away "It'll be okay. Even if they're not here, we'll keep their spirit alive by loving Blitz." "Yeah." smiled Twilah. Dashie looked into her lover's eyes, smiled, and kissed her on the lips. "What was that for?" "Just felt like it. Want another one?" "Later. I need to check on my work computer real quick. Don't touch anything! I don't need you burning down the house!" Dashie sad chuckled "Okay..." Twilah left the kitchen and headed upstairs, and Dashie could hear her footsteps. She waited till she was gone and sighed. She took out a small black box from her pocket and opened it. "It'll be the perfect time to do it tonight!" Dashie closed the box and put it back in her pocket. She looked out the window and looked up at the blue sky, as it started to go red as the sun was setting and the clouds turned a light pink. "I wonder how Twilight and Dash are doing with Breaker. I hope they're doing well. The last time we saw them was on the day we saved the girls. I hope they're happy together. I hope Dash found someone else..." Dashie remembered how Dash confess to Twilight but she outright reply didn't notice it and gave up on her. in the other universe and the same time. A pink female unicorn with a long and wavy mane, done in a ponytail, whose color is a gradient of light vermilion with amber streaks, came walking out of the kitchen, using magic to hold her coffee and snacks. She stopped and looked into a room, and she could see the library and the tree bark walls. She lived inside the New Ponyville main tree library, which was made for the town but also for its saver, Braver. The books were on shelves that were all over the walls, and in the center was a huge desk where the pony and creature would do their reading. It was empty, as it was closing hours and everyone had left. "Glad it wasn't busy today," yawned the pony as she headed to her room and finally relaxed on her bed. She had a long day of helping ponies and creatures to find books but also dealing with Braver's clumsiness, which was hard enough, as Braver can break anything. "Braver, can you stop being a klutz for once?" shouted the pony, as she could remember her saying it over and over again. She sighed and smiled, as she always found it cute how Braver would try to help her, even if the place was beyond repair. "I just can't stay mad at her. My one and only friend I'll ever need! I just don't understand why Princess Twilight wants me to make more friends! Isn't being friends with her daughter not enough? Braver is a sweet girl, and I know I can trust her and no one else. So why?" asked the pony to herself, as she took a snack and ate it all mad like. The pony started reading when, suddenly, she could hear banging coming from above her, which was Braver room. She sighed as she believed that Braver knock something over or maybe even broke her bed again. "Braver, are you okay?!" "I'M OKAY! Thanks for asking, Dawn!" yelled Braver Dawn sighed in relief and returned to reading her book. She was about to turn a page in her book when the banging was heard again, but it was more violent. "BRAVER!?" "I'M FINE!" "YOU DON'T SOUND FINE! I'M COMING UP THERE!" Dawn closed her book and was about to get off her bed when everything started to shake with great force, like it was a non-stop earthquake. Dawn was thrown around in her room, and her things were falling on top of her as her room was filled with books and paper. "W-WHAT'S GOING ON!" Dawn held on to her bed and saw that the ceiling was starting to crack"B-Braver! What's going on up there?" The banging and shaking stopped, and Dawn could see that everything was still. She let go of her bed and was about to head to the door when there was one more powerful force shaking the whole place. Soon, she heard a very loud explosion, and from her window, she could see Braver being sent flying and crashing into the dirt road of the town, and everyone that was near it got scared. "B-Braver!" shouted Dawn as she hurried to the window and could see her friend looking hurt as the dirt smoke cleared up. "Braver!" Dawn used her magic to teleport to her and help her up, while other ponies and creatures were asking what happened. Everyone knows Braver is a super klutz, but not like this; she looked badly hurt. "What happened?" asked Dawn. "BREAKING!" shouted Braver as she faced her friend, who was in her slime form but quickly returned to normal as she realized what she had shouted: "Sorry." "Don't worry about it! What did you break this time? To leave you like this!" "Nothing!" replied Braver as she started to melt, which was her way of sweating. "I'm not trying to break through the walls of between again. NOPE!" Braver gave a weird smile as she moved her eye back and forth. "What now?" asked Dawn. Braver covered her mouth with her hooves and quickly flew back into the library tree house and entered the exposed hole. "Hey!" Dawn quickly teleported to Braver's trashed room and could see the pony looking for something as she put on her reading glasses and kept walking into the middle of the room and touching thin air, like she was looking at something. "Braver, are you okay?" "Huh? "Yeah, I'm okay!" "Are you sure? You just crashed and landed outside the tree." "It was nothing. You know, can I recover from anything, remember?" Braver body was fully healed as she said that. Dawn sighed as she used her magic to clean the place up and could see Braver reading a book, a book that Star Swirl the bearded gave to her before he passed away. She was also taking notes as she made an ink pen out of her hoof. "Okay, what's going on? What are you doing?" "I'm...uh...breaking...a wall...in the middle of the room," whispered Braver as she remembered that Dawn was in the room with her. "A wall? In the middle of the room?" "Yes and no." "What?" Braver hurried over to her closet, took out a chalkboard, and started to write on it as she started to explain herself: "Okay, your universe isn't the only one. There are many other universes. The multiverse!" "Okay...?" "And the walls between each universe are called "Walls of Between"...Wow, I'm not good at naming things anyway. It's not a real wall, but an invisible wall that you can't pass through. If you hit a wall, it's like hitting a glass window, and the force sends you flying back." "That's interesting, but what does this have to do with anything?" "Well, there are ways to break the walls, but only a very powerful creature could do it, and she's not whole anymore," Braver looked into the prism window, looking for her sister, as she needed to be one with her to scatter this window but that won't happen now. "She's not that person anymore." "Okay, okay, I'm lost here." Dawn put her hoof on head and trying really hard to understand "Who's not whole anymore, and who's not that person anymore?" "I'm sorry," Braver, started to tear up. "I didn't mean to break it! I DIDN'T MEAN TO BREAK HER WORLD!" shouted Braver as she started to turn into her slime form, melting as she started to cry rainbow tears. Dawn had seen this before and quickly held her greatest friend and told her it was okay. "It's okay. Whatever you did in the past, it wasn't you. I know you, Braver; you are a sweet, caring, and goofy girl. You don't have a mean bone in you." "Dawn." sniffled Braver as she looked at her friend and could see her smile, which made her smile back "Thank you." "The day you'll finally tell me your full past, I'll be here with you. Never leave your side!" "You'll always be by my side," smiled Braver as she was crying happily and hugged Dawn tightly. "Of course. Your my only and one true friend in the world. I don't need anyone else!" "Thanks," whispered Braver as she let her go. "But that doesn't change the fact; I don't know what the hay you're talking about!" Braver sighed as she looked at her friend. She really wanted to tell her everything—everything that happened to her and Blitz—but she was scared. If she wanted to talk about the past, she'd have to talk about killing Blitz mothers, destroying their universe, and trying to destroy the whole multiverse. She didn't want to lose her "Dawn," the greatest thing to happen in her life. "I'll tell you, I promise. One day." Braver whispered as she didn't have the courage yet to tell Dawn "One day." repeated Dawn as she picked up the Star Swirl book and looked at it, "Theories on Walls of Between." Braver took it and started to explain again, as she fixed her glasses. "Yes! Star Swirl and I had theories about the walls and why only I could see them. You don't see the prism window in the middle of the room, right?" "Right, I see nothing." "That's because the window only shows itself to me." "But what does this have to do with the wall between universes?" "Because we believe the prism windows are small cracks in the walls. Since "she" broke through the walls, it must have given —her—the ability to see them. If I can break the prism windows, I can create a pathway to see her again! That's the theory. Star Swirl believed it was because of the power I have. I can break anything! Plus, I noticed something was up with this window—almost like it wanted to be broken. It gotten weaker." "I'm not understanding..." "I can use my power to break the walls. The theory is that it may not break the walls completely, and I'll just make a small crack in them. It will be hard to do without being at my fullest strength." "And...what if you do break the walls and something bad happens?" "It can't be any worse than what's already happened in the past," Braver was getting tired of trying to explain things and started to walk towards the window, which she touched, feeling its weak energy. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm not that person anymore," whispered Braver to herself Dawn could see the look on Braver's face and sighed. She didn't like the look on her face. Being all sad. "Okay okay! So, you want to make a very small crack in the wall. For what?" "To see her again!" "She? Again? Who?" Dawn felt a little worried as she started to blush "My other half!" "Other half?" Dawn didn't understand what Braver meant and just looked at her as she was still touching the invisible object and could see her friend smiling, but it was a sad one. "Wait, are you talking about your little sister...?" "Yes. My sister...I miss her." Braver smile was slowly fading away and she looked down, all sad like, "I really do. We were never apart, as we could talk through the window, but I want to hold her again, hug her, kiss her, and play with her. I'm an overly protective sister. No one will be able to replace her. I'M A SISCON LIKE SHE TOLD ME!" shouted Braver as she was crying more rainbow tears. Dawn sat on the Braver bed and started to put things together. It makes sense that Braver might not be from this universe, as this will explain her powers, as normal slime creatures don't have the same magical power level as she does. She came from another universe and just wanted to see her little sister. The little sister always goes on about how she's the greatest, fastest, and all-around perfect pegasus out there. She clearly loves her little sister so much that she became sad after talking about her. "Okay! If you need to break the wall, you need more power, right?" asked Dawn. "Right," replied Braver, surprised that Dawn was understanding her and seemed to want to help her. "So, do a spell to increase your power!" "An enchantment spell? But those kinds of spells are locked away in my mother's library. Only she and the chosen one she takes on as her students are able to get it." Dawn got off the bed and stood proudly. "But I can't ask mom! She won't allow me inside that place, not after I keep breaking walls in the castle!" said Braver, as she was ignoring Dawn, who tried to get her attention "Also, I'm banned from using mid and high level magic..." "No, no, no! Braver, Braver, Braver, listen, listen, LISTEN!" shouted Dawn, which caused Braver to look at her and say, "I AM YOUR MOTHER'S STUDENT! I can get inside and get the spell book!" Braver was quiet as she was thinking and realized Dawn was right, as she had forgotten that "You'll really do that for me!" "Of course, what are friends for?" "Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Braver hugged Dawn tightly"You're the best friend in the whole wide world! NO! THE MULTIVERSE!" "I know. Now,  can you stop hugging me? YOU BREAKING MY SPINE! AGAIN!" shouted Dawn, as her face was turning blue and purple. "Sorry!" giggled Braver as she let her go, blushing. "You can count on me!" Dawn could see the happy look on Braver face. "If we can break the wall, you'll be able to see her, right?" "Yes." "Then its a plan," smiled Dawn as she went to the door but stopped as she turned around and pointed her hoof at Braver, like a mother scolding her child. "But! This stays between us! Princess Twilight will freak out if she finds out you are doing magic! You hear me? Remember your birthday a few years ago? Giving you spell books is off limits! So I'll cast it instead." "Yes, I promise and okay..." Braver kick the floor, as she wanted to use high level magic again "Good. Now, let's go!" Braver nodded and both teleported away but quickly returned as Braver picked up the window and got crushed by it, but to Dawn, it looked like Braver just turned into a flat puddle. Braver slowly rose up and gave her a nod, and both teleported again. In the castle, Twilight was in the garden, enjoying her tea. After all those years saving the multiverse and saving Braver and Blitz, she became taller, almost the same height as Celestia, even having the flowing mane. She looked up at the sky as she used her magic to lower the sun, like it was nothing. She closed her eyes as she was relaxing. "Ah, another day of peace, and no crazy villain or demon to fight. Maybe I'll ask the girls to go out to the spa or something." "Another boring day, I say! Miss saving the day, you know?" Dash said as she was sitting across from Twilight, wearing her Wonderbolt brown bomber jacket. "We don't have to save the world; we have done enough," Twilight took another sip of her tea, while Dash gave her a look. "Yeah, but... it's a little boring here." "Boring? What's wrong with a nice, boring day?" asked Twilight, as she put her cup down, "You rather be fighting an evil monster and saving the world? Again?" "Well, no. Its just..." started Dash as she was scratching her cheek. "Its just?" "Well...you know. You can't have a boring day without having fun, you know?" Dash was getting a bit flustered and couldn't hide it anymore. "Saving the day isn't fun. Hell, saving the multiverse should be enough," Twilight sighed as she took another sip. Dash sighed as she looked up into the sky, seeing the moon coming out, as Twilight horn started to glow. "I know you heard this billions of times...but I love how you move the sun and moon, like you have all the time in the world," Dash looked back at Twilight, who was sipping her tea and blushing deeply. "Thanks," replied Twilight, as her heart started beating faster and harder. "Twilight, I..." Dash slowly started talking, causing Twilight to quickly look at her in the eyes with glee and hope, but the maids quickly stepped in and refilled their drinks, then stepped back and waited, as the two weren't ever alone. "I like you! Yeah!" finished Dash as she was using her wings as pointing fingers. "...ugh! I KNOW! I've been hearing you say that for years now!" shouted Twilight as she stood up and walked away all upset. All though she and Dash were married, Dash never said those three little words in front of her or when there were other ponies around, and she was getting sick of it. "Huh?" Dash looked confused but quickly look worried as she realize what was wrong "I mean...wait, hold up!" Twilight looked over her shoulder as she was giving her the death glare, and Dash quickly looked away and sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that... I wanted to say something else." Twilight stopped walking and looked away. She knew she was acting like a little filly, a spoiled brat, but she wanted to hear Dash say those three words to her, even if it was just once. "Why can't you be like Dashie? She told Twilah her feelings! Least there's a Rainbow Dash in the multiverse who shows her feelings to her Twilight!" shouted Twilight as she was pouting and walked away. Dash was watching Twilight as she was walking away and sighed. "Damn it. Come on, Dash, get your shit together, and be brave for once. Say what you need to say," thought Dash, as she was shaking herself a bit and closing her eyes. "Twi..." said Dash slowly, causing Twilight to stop and turn around as her heart was racing and she was excited. "Twilight, I...I..." "Yeah, Dash?" asked Twilight, as she was ready to hear those words from her wife after so long. "I..." "Yes? Yes, yes, yes?" "I...lo-" Dash was suddenly tackled by a dark blue blur and crashed through the wall, leaving behind a dash-shaped hole next to other filled in dash-shaped holes. Twilight lowered herself and sighed, as she couldn't get a break from her daughter. "Oh, Braver. Not again." "Mom! Mom, mom, mom, mom!" Braver, who was sitting on her mother's blue chest and hugging her, happy to see her mothers. "Hey kiddo," replied Dash, as she was in great pain and couldn't breathe. "Hi mommy." "Hey honey, what's up? Can you get off of me!?" asked Dash, as Braver was squeezing her tightly and didn't realize her mom was in pain, but she quickly listened like a puppy, following its master orders, and got off and wagging her tail. "Always a mommy's girl," laughed Twilight as she teleported next to them and hugged her daughter. "Moooooom, stop! I'm not a little filly anymore, and I'm not a mommy's girl!" pouted Braver. "But you will always be my little girl. My little girl," smiled Twilight as she was looking into her daughter's eyes and hugging her. "Mom," sighed Braver, as she knew she couldn't escape her mother's grip. "Come on, Twilight, let our daughter breathe for a second." "Fine. She's a teenager, so she has to grow up at some point." Twilight let go of Braver, who was happy she was free from her mother's loving hug but was quickly hugged by Dash as Dash flew her into the air and tightly hugged her. "HOW'S MY SWEETEST GIRL DOING? I MISS YOU!" Dash kissed her daughter on the cheek. "Mom... You're embarrassing me, but don't stop." Blush Braver, as her tail was wagging even harder "Awww, you're so cute." "And a mommy's girl," smirked Twilight, which caused Braver to blush hard. "Dash, you need to stop spoiling her! She's 16 years old now!" "So!? Our kid is always a kid! Right Braver!?" "Right," nodded Braver, always agreeing with her "Mom can spoil me anytime! She's the best!" "Oh, come on!" mumbles Twilight as she face palm "This is what I mean; she's going to grow up all needy and dependent on you." "So? Being a parent is fun, and you are the best." Twilight was blushing and smiling, hearing her wife finally say something and mean it. "Don't think a compliment will get you off the hook! Braver doesn't need you babying her!" shouted Twilight as she and Dash started arguing and didn't notice Braver melting. "I don't deserve your love? ...I shouldn't have earned this," Braver melted and slipped out of Dash's arms and hit the hallway floor, quickly making her mothers noticing as Braver became a slime puddle. "What!? NO, NO, NO! I didn't mean it like that, sweetie!" shouted Twilight, all worry and concern, as she quickly scooped up the pile of melting slime and tried to hug it, not caring how gross it looked. This was her daughter, she never cared for her real look. She loved her no matter what. "Braver, we love you! We really do! Twilight didn't mean it like that!" answered Dash, as she too started to scoop up the pile and hug it. "You deserve this! You earn this new life!" Dash started to cry, as the slime slowly held on her and Twilight body, like if it was hugging them back. "Dash's right! Never think you don't, and never think you don't deserve our love! We love you, sweetie; we really do! You're a brave soul and our daughter!" also answered Twilight, as she was also crying. "R-really?" asked Braver, as the pile slowly rose up and took form between her mothers arms and looked into their eyes. "Yeah, you aren't a breaker of worlds or universes. You are a brave soul who will help people in need and tear down anyone or anything to save them! You have a great spark in you!" Twilight replied as Braver was normal again "You are great, greater than all of us. Braver. You proved that so many times. You've done things we couldn't ever do." Dash said as she gave her a smirk "We are proud of you!" said both, as they hugged their daughter tightly. "Thanks, mom," Braver was tearing up and hugging her mother back, but she could see Dawn waving at her at the end of the hall, holding a book. "OKAY, I LOVE YOU TOO, I GOTTA GO!" shouted Braver as she slipped through her mother's arms and flew towards Dawn. "She sure has her energy," sighed Twilight. "That's the best thing about her," replied Dash as she watched their daughter flew through the air and landed next to her best friend, Dawn, which caused Twilight to quickly stand and hurry over to them. "Dawn? What are you doing here?" asked Twilight, as she didn't notice Dawn hiding the book inside Braver's body. "Oh! Hello teacher! Just visiting with Braver here!" Dawn was nervously sweating and tried her best not to look at the book that was inside Braver Slime's body, as it was poking out a bit. "Visiting huh? How's your friendship report going? I still haven't gotten one...in the past year..." Twilight said all worry like, which made Dawn nervous and bit of anger. "Friendship Reports? Psh, you still need that! You already know the answer! I don't need any more friends! Maybe you should ask Braver? She always makes new friends! and maybe start talking to Br-" "That's true, but this isn't about her. This is about you. I'm starting to worry about you. Not just me, but your parents as well. Even more so with your mother, Starlight." "I'm fine! No worries, teacher!" said Dawn with bit of hidden anger, as she quickly turned around and was about to leave. "Dawn, please talk to me. I can't help you if you won't tell me." "No. No, I'm okay." "Dawn..." "Braver, can we go? Now, please?" asked Dawn, as she was getting very uncomfortable and more madder. "W-Wait! Stay for the night!" shouted Twilight as she started to freak out. Dash and Braver were looking at this and looked at each other and nodded. "Hey mom. We'll take that offer up. Dawn, head up to my room. Also..." Braver hugged Dawn, calming her down like always. "I'm always here for you," letting her go. "Braver, thank you. You are truly my greatest friend. I truly don't need anyone else. You are my world!" smiled Dawn, quickly blushing as she saw Twilight and Dash staring at her. "I'LL BE UPSTAIRS IN YOUR ROOM!" she ran off and was all red. Braver looked down and could feel something—something burning in her chest. She didn't know what it was, but she could feel her wings being opened. "Oh," said both Twilight and Dash, as they could see Braver wings flapping and trying to be wide and tall, like it was a bird dance. "Oh no." Both girls huddled together and started to whisper. "Dash! I think we need to start telling her about the birds and the bees!" Twilight looked very worried and afraid as she had the thought of teaching Braver 'that'. "What!? No, no! She's a smart cookie; she will learn about it on her own!" "That might have worked for you when you were young, but she's not you; she's not like us; she isn't even a real pony." "Twilight, she's a real girl, and she has a heart! Don't think of her like that." "I know, but I'm taking about...you know...down there...does she have-" "Ohhhhh. That's going to be hard to explain. She isn't like our universe's slime creatures too, thanks to Cozy in doing research in the great library." "You're right. You're right. Let's do this the old-fashioned way." Twilight used her magic to create kids books about where babies come from. "What? No, my daughter isn't going to read baby books on that. Just tell her normally!" "You don't get it; she doesn't understand these things. She doesn't understand love." "What are you talking about? She loves me and you! She loves her friends!" "Yeah, family and friend love. Not love, love. She's going to learn and see it, and I think that's now. Look!" Dash turned around and could see her daughter standing there, and could see her wings slowly stop dancing and standing firm. "Huh? Braver?" asked Dash, getting red. "Yeah, mom?" smiled Braver as she looked at her mothers, seeing them all red in the face. "Are you ready to know about the birds?" Twilight tried to ask but Dash shoved her hoof into her mouth. "Sweetie, can you lower your wings?" quickly replied Dash Braver was confused until she saw her wings were indeed standing up. She tried to lower them but realized they were super stiff. "I can't. Something is wrong!" "Okay, it's okay. Maybe try to think of something cute or things you like." Braver nodded and started thinking of cute and things she likes. "Cute things. Okay, uh...kittens...rainbow...clouds...the sunset...the sunrise...Dawn..." whispered Braver as her chest was burning again and her wings turning to stone, causing her to fall backwards. "STUPID WINGS!" she quickly stood up and tore them off. "I'm going to my room! I need to blow off some steam anyway!" she shouted and left her mother. "Well, I guess she has a crush," smiled Dash, but quickly looked at the stone wings on the floor and held her own wings. "She doesn't know what love is. We never showed her that," sighed Twilight as she started to walk in a circle. "We're the worst mothers ever! I was already the worst teacher, but now this!" "Come on, Twilight. She's a big girl now. She will figure it out." "But her wings turned into stone; she doesn't even have a clue about love, and was that her race's way of showing their love? Being hor-" she stopped talking as Dash put a hoof in her mouth again. "DON'T STAY IT!" Twilight pushes Dash away. "But it's the truth! God, Nightfall, and Sky trusted us to help their daughters, and we're failing them. We're not great mothers like them!" Twilight sat on the floor, losing all hope in her mothering skills. "Hey, don't say that. You're a great mother, Twilight. We're great mothers! It's why Nightfall and Sky will be proud of us! Come on, we need to figure this out together! It's like what Heat said to the twins that day: 'You aren't alone in all this. Just ask for help, and you'll see. It may not change everything, but you'll feel better and be stronger for it.' Remember that. We're a team here!" smiled Dash as she helped her wife up. "You're right. You are, and I'm sorry. It's just that our daughter is growing up...so fast!" Twilight started to tear up as she hugged Dash. "I know. But hey, she's our daughter, and she'll be fine. She's a great kid. brave and kind. She will figure things out; she's a great learner and a great kid. We can trust her!" Dash smirk and kissed Twilight on the cheek. "Yeah, you're right. You are." Both started to nuzzle their noses but suddenly felt the whole castle shaking with great force, almost in a rhythm with each blast of force. "What was that? Wait, what did Braver say before leaving?" shouted Twilight as she started to sweat hard. "To blow off steam in her room. What are you...no...no, no! We can trust her! She won't do that with Dawn. Dawn knows better too! They're too long!" Both Twilight and Dash looked at each other, both sweating and trying to believe in their daughter and Dawn, but that was scattered as they heard Braver's loud, powerful voice echoing through the whole castle. "DAWN! THIS FEELS GREAT!" "BRAVER! WE NEED TO LEARN ABOUT THE BIRDS AND THE BEES!" shouted Twilight as she held the books and ran towards her daughter's bedroom. "TWILIGHT, WAIT FOR ME!" shouted Dash as well as she followed behind Twilight. Luster Dawn was on Braver's bed, covering her face, and she could hear Braver shouting. "THIS IS WONDERFUL! I FEEL LIKE BLITZ IS WITH ME AGAIN!" Braver yelled with such great strength as she was hitting the window, which gave off sparks when she hit it and slowly turning into her slime form as the cast spell was working. "Damn, chill, sis!" laughed Blitz, who was on the other side of the window, as she was hitting it too. In the other universe, during the time when Dawn got the book Dashie and Twilah were enjoying their dinner alone, enjoying their alone time as they talked and showed their love to each other by hugging and kissing. "I love you," whispered Dashie as she told her that in her ear, making Twilah blush red and cover her face. "I-I-I love you too," whispered back Twilah as she returned the love by kissing her. "It's why..." softly said Dashie as she got out of her seat and got on one knee. "What are you doing? Drop something?" asked Twilah, looking down, trying to see what her girlfriend was doing. "Nope." "Then what?" Twilah not getting it at all. "Twilah, will you, ma?" Dashie was cut short as Blitz blasted into the kitchen in her anthro form and looked very worn out. "Hey mom's! Sorry, I'm late for dinner. I couldn't enjoy the lake with Dawn." huffed Blitz as she caught her breath. "Oh my, are you alright?" asked Twilah, while Dashie quickly stood up and blushed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just there was a boating accident and the people needed help, and you know me, I can't stop myself from helping. Well, Dawn thought I bounced or something and got upset at me as she left the lake. Man, I wish I could tell her that I'm Rainbow Comet." "Tell her then. Stop doing this to yourself," Dashie calmed herself down and her mom mode kicked in. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," sighs Blitz, as she's tired. "Want us to make you a plate?" asked Twilah, wanting to cheer her daughter up. "Nah, I got something on the way here. Just going to my room." "Blitz, please. Tell her. Tell her everything," repeated Dashie. "I can't..." "And why not?" "I just can't. I just can't tell her." Dashie sighed as she walked up to her daughter and held her shoulders. "You truly take after me. Just tell her. If you love her and want her to understand you better, open up to her. I know it's scary, but if you truly love her, just be brave and tell her. Trust me," Dashie hugged her. But Blitz broke the hug as she turned bright red. "Love? Me and Dawn...in love?! No way! That's gross. I don't love her like that... I'm her friend, her BEST friend. And she's mine, that's all." huff Blitz, not wanting to hear any more about this. "Blitz, it's okay. Love is a beautiful thing," Twilah said in a motherly way. "Christ, you super do take after me." face palm Dashie as she could see herself in her daughter and the way she was acting up. "Just admit it? Everyone knows you love her." "Admit what? That she's cute—yeah, I will admit that. And her smile and the way she makes me happy when she's with me...she's amazing...and her smell...it's sweet like her heart...her body..." trailed off Blitz as her wings shot up, causing her parents to look and blush and look away. "Hey...kiddo... I know no child wants to hear this, but...your poles are up!" Dashie said it in the most motherly way she could. "MY WHAT!? OH SHIT!" shouted Blitz, as her wings were stiff. "I GOTTA GO! BYE!" Blitz flew to her room, slamming the door. "So..." softly said Dashie as she slowly turned to Twilah. "Was that...fine? Right?" Twilah just shrugged at her, not knowing the right words to say. Causing Dashie to sigh. "She is growing up. Maybe I should tell her about...you know..." coughed Dashie. "Yeah, don't. Remember what I said before?" replied Twilah, smiling. "I CAN DO IT!" shouted Dashie, feeling a little mad and hurt "No, you can't," chuckled Twilah as she gave Dashie a kiss on the cheek. Dashie rubbed the back of head, wanting to say something but didn't. Instead help cleaning the dishes. "I can!" pouted Dashie, but all of a sudden, they could hear Blitz Bed creaking loudly, making both parents turn to each other and blush hard. "Should we go...I  mean, I've never done this before. What are we supposed to say?" asked Dashie, starting to get scare as the thoughts of telling Blitz about her body. "Don't worry, we got this. She's our daughter." "Yeah, you're right." "We have too." "But are we really ready? This is a huge step." "Yeah, but I'm not going to let anyone teach my little girl this. Not even the internet." Twilah glared at the computer in the living room "This is our turf!" "You're right. So, we'll do this. Together?" "Yeah." Dashie and Twilah took a deep breath and were about to walk up the stairs, but they could hear moans and screaming. "DAWN! THIS FEELS GREAT!" "OH GOD! LET'S HURRY!" shouted the two as they hurried up the stairs. few minutes ago Blitz ran into her room and closed it. She started to think cute things, and finally, her wings started to calm down and she returned to her back. She finally turned back into her human form and jumped into bed after passing the prism window. She hated this and didn't like thinking dirty thoughts about Dawn, but her body couldn't help it. "Ugh, man. Mom is right, I should tell her everything, but I can't. To both things, will she even love a freak like me? No, she would be freaked out if I told her. Man, this is hard." Blitz was lost in thought, as she didn't notice the window was moving, and suddenly Braver was looking at it from the other side. "Blitz you there!" asked Braver. "Braver!? What's up?" she asked as she stood up. Braver quickly explained everything and made Blitz's face light up as she grabbed the floating window. "WE CAN SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN! IN PERSON!" shouted Blitz. "Yeah, I can't wait! You just need to hit the window at the same time as me! I believe we're our combined powers and boosted spell on me. We can scatter the window, creating a small hole in the wall," explained Braver, holding the chalkboard and showing awful drawings of them. "Right, but this won't cause any multiverse crises, right? I don't want to get grounded!" "Nah, it'll be fine!" smirked Braver, but she looked away. "I hope." Within a second, Blitz was in her sport running wear and took the window and placed it on the bed. "Okay, I can punch it without it flying off! I still don't understand why it appeared to us a year ago." thought Blitz, but she didn't care! She was going to see her sister again. "One, two, three!" shouted Blitz and Braver together as they punched the window. They kept punching until cracks started to appear, and Braver's voice could be heard coming through the cracks. "DAWN! THIS FEELS GREAT!" shouted Braver as she turned into her slime form and smiled. "Braver, chill!" smirked Blitz as she kept pounding the window but stopped as she heard her moms as Dashie opened the door before asking her to cover up, as they needed a talk. "Sweetie, we know you are going through womanhood and learning about your body!" Twilah said while Dashie was stuttering her words as they walked in and froze as they saw a prism window on the bed. "What?" said all three. On the other side, Twilight and Dash knock on the door. "I'm respecting your privacy by knocking, but!" called out Twilight. "BUT ASSERTING MY AUTHORITY AS YOUR PARENT!" shouted Dash "By coming in any way!" shouted both of them as they blasted the door down, blushing bright red. "We need to talk about...the birds...and...what?" Twilight froze as the floating books fell to the ground. "What...the hay?" simply said Dash as she drop to the floor in shock. Twilight and Dash stared at Braver, as she was in her slime form and punching at the prism window on the floor, while Dawn was covering her eyes, as the color prism lights were too much and she didn't see how Braver was acting, but to Twilight and Dash, they had seen this before. They saw this in Sky's memories. The day that Breaker destroyed her world, killing her mothers and then their universe. "BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!" happily screamed Braver, as she had the evilest smile on her face. "WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU DOING!" shouted Dash as she tackled her daughter, but her force didn't made her move at all. "DAWN! GET BACK!" Twilight grabbed her student with her magic and pulled her out of the room, repairing the door and shutting it. While Dash was trying to pull Braver away from the prism window, but she couldn't; she wasn't moving one bit. "BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK!" chanted Braver as Twilight's fear grew. "B-B-BREAKER!? N-NO! THIS ISN'T YOU!" Twilight shouted over Braver yelling, as she was scared. She could feel the magic of Breaker all over the room, and her daughter was becoming her old self. "I'LL BREAK IT! I'll see you again! WE'LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN! I'M BRAVER! I'LL BREAK ANYTHING DOWN FOR THE PEOPLE I LOVE!" Braver screamed as rainbow tears were forming, causing her mothers to be confused. On the other side of the window, Blitz and her mother could hear Braver screaming. "Is that Breaker!" shouted Dashie, but she could see her daughter making a glaring face towards her. "HER NAME IS BRAVER! SHE'S MY IDIOT, OVERPROTECTIVE, KLUTZ, SISCON!" Blitz rose her fist into the air. "Was that Blitz and Dashie!?" shouted Dash as she heard them and looked into the window, but it was too badly cracked to see into it. "BLITZ! MY SWEET, CUTE, CARING, AND DEAR LITTLE!" Braver rose her hoof into the air. "SISTER!" shouted the two as they brought their strikes down at the window, finally breaking it, and with a great flash, the whole room was filled with prism lights and afterimage effects, causing everyone to have prism afterimages and be blown back, but this time, instead of being blasted with a rainbow pillar, Braver slammed her hoof through the window, and her slime hoof became a slime human hand. "BLITZ!" shouted Braver as her arm was stuck. "BRAVER!" shouted Blitz as she grabbed her hand, and soon, a rainbow sun in a black void ocean flashed in everyone's minds, but quickly erased from their minds and suddenly, Blitz and her parents were sucked into the window and were tossed into the Braver room, landing on their counter parts. Soon, the prism window just vanished into thin air. Within the world of between, millions of prism windows floated around the multiverse tree, and floating along with them was a dark figure, as it was crying, like it had lost something. "...where are you!? I'll find you!" cried the figure as it touched a window, but quickly sensed something—something so familiar to it. "That magic...is...her. The one I lost, and...no, this isn't the right one, but it is similar. Is she in trouble? Is she in pain? Where are you?" cried out the figure. It flew around, looking into each and every prism window, not noticing the broken one that appeared and floating away from it. "WHERE ARE YOU? PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN!" figure screamed as darkness faded away from its back, revealing a black jacket and a rainbow sun, as it lost its core and only left was a black empty hole. "I'll find you! ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE! EVEN IF I HAVE TO SCATTER IT! JUST TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN!" End of Prologue > Chapter 1: Breaking Points > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "My head!" Dash sat up and could see the Braver room completely destroy and in ruins; the wall was damaged, the bed was on the other side of the room, her closet was broken, and her window was shattered. She soon noticed Braver standing and looking at someone. Dash was about to turn to the person that Braver was looking at but was quickly picked up and tossed to the side. "Man...what happen?" asked Dashie as she sat up and noticed who she had pushed off of her body. Both Dashes looked at each other, not believing what they were seeing, as they saw their counterparts again. Dashie pulled Dash's cheek hard, causing Dash to shout in pain, and quickly did the same to Dashie, causing her to shout in pain as well. "OUCH!" they shouted together as they pulled a second time. "Y-Your real! I'm not dreaming!" Dashie with tears filling her eyes. "Same here!" cried Dash as well. They looked at each other, happy they were really together, but both Dashes saw as Twilight moved the bed off of her and rubbed her head. "What hit me?" asked Twilight as she stood up, but quickly she was met with Twilah as she stood up too and asked the same question. Both Twilight's quickly noticed each other and were both at eye level, which took Twilah by surprised, as she remember Twilight being smaller. "...Twilight...is that you!? YOU LOOK TALL!" Twilah asked, as Twilight was taken back by the sudden hug. "Yeah, is that you, Twilah?" she returned the hug, both happy to see each other again. "What's going on? Why is this happening?"Dash said as she flew up in the air. "I don't know!" replied Dashie as she stood on her knees and shook her head, still recovering from the sudden blast. Everyone suddenly looked in the middle of the room and saw the twins, both standing there. Both were crying as they looked at each other. The girls slowly walked up to each other, and Blitz lowered herself to Braver height and smiled. "See, I'm not the little sister," Blitz wiped her tears and smirk at her sister "B-Blitz!" cried Braver, who hugged her twin. "Braver!" cried back Blitz as she returned the hug. "Sis!" Braver happily shouted as she tightened the hug. "S-sis! H-Hug is too tight!" Blitz started to tap her sister back, feeling her spine being crush Braver quickly let go and blushed as she watched Blitz cough for air and rub her back. "You always do that..." coughed Blitz. "Hehe, yeah, sorry," replied Braver. Both girls were about to say some stuff but quickly heard loud coughing coming from the sides of the room and seeing their parents, and they were not very happy...well, they were but still. "Blitz, care to explain this?" asked Dashie, standing up finally. "Braver, you're not in trouble, but I'm curious to know what happened," Twilight told her daughter, as she moved the bed up right. "Well, you see..." replied Braver, but she was cut off as Dawn entered the room, checking to see what happened. "What happen...huh? Who are you? In fact, what are you?" asked Dawn as she saw the other Twilight and the other creatures in the room. Before Braver could explain everything, Blitz grabbed her sister and booked it out of the room, causing their parents to yell at them. Dash gave chased after them "Hey! Where are they going?" "Not sure, but let's go!" shouted Dashie as she chased after them as well. Both Dash and Dashie ran after Blitz, who was holding a confused Braver. It wasn't long before Dash caught up to them. "HA! You can't outrun me, Blitz. I'm the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria!" Dash grabbed Blitz's shoulder, but she was quickly met with a smug look from Blitz. "I'm faster!" replied Blitz as she went into her anthro form and took off with a giant blast of wind, knocking back Dash into Dashie, who caught her. "What the hay!" Dash watched Blitz soaring through the castle halls and out to the garden, flying into the night sky within five seconds flat. She had never seen that kind of speed before; not even she could do that in her prime. Dashie let Dash go, looking into the sky "Crap, what did you say to her!" "I just said I was the fastest," replied Dash. Dashie sighed as she heard that "Blitz doesn't like it when someone says they're faster than her, since her runner ego is too big for that." Dash turned to the sky, opened her wings, and took a flyer stance "I'll get them and bring them back! No one is going to out fly me on my home turf!" she took off and headed to the sky. Dashie sighed, got into the runner stance and was about to transform but stopped as Twilight joined her and behind her was Twilah, who was in her anthro form now. She could also see the unicorn from before, and for some reason, she looked like someone she knew. "Stop! Dawn told us everything!" Twilight said, making Dashie stepping out of her running stance. "Where's Dash?" asked Twilah, Dashie pointed up into the sky. All four looked up in the sky and saw a rainbow blur chasing after a rainbow comet as both flew around the night sky. Racing each other. "They're egos were triggers, weren't they?" said Twilight and Twilah at the same time, causing them both to look at each other and laugh. In the sky, Dash was pushing it all to chase after Blitz. Dash can't believe how fast Blitz was flying, as she is few feet ahead of her. "Damn, what's her secret? She's faster than me, and I'm pushing it!' thought Dash as she tried to catch her. "Hey, Blitz!" Dash tried to get Blitz's attention and seeing her and Braver, who was still being held by her sister's arms, turning to her. "How are you so fast? What's your secret?" Blitz, just smirk, and flew even faster. "Oh, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but..." replied Blitz as she flew back to the castle and quickly passed over the others who were watching through the window, seeing Dashie smiling and saying, "Learning from the best! My mom!" Dash smirked at the answer, as she felt proud that her other version taught Blitz so well, so well in flying so fast. Dash headed back to the castle and flew around it. She was starting to lose speed; she was slowing down. "This is bad! I'm going too slow!" thought Dash as her old age started to show up. "No, I'm not that old; come on, Dash! Push it, push it, push it!" She quickly pushed herself more and managed to fly around the castle within a few seconds and almost catching up with Blitz, but even then, she could feel herself getting tired "What the hell! I'm the fastest pegasus in Equestria! There's no way I'm losing this!" Dash pushed harder again and managed to get right behind Blitz, but she was sweating a storm; she couldn't keep this up for long. Dash could feel her wings not flapping hard anymore and seeing Blitz getting far and far away. She was done; her body couldn't go on any longer. She felt herself falling, unable to flap her wings anymore, but she heard a voice from above. It was Braver, shouting at her. "MOM! YOU CAN DO IT! DON'T GIVE UP!" She quickly looked up and saw Braver, her daughter, cheering her on. She can't give up now, not with her daughter watching. She remembers that day when Braver was a filly and watching Dash fly in a Wonderbolt show and would scream her lungs out to cheer her on. She always felt happy, hearing your child cheer you on. "I got it, honey! Don't you worry about me! Your old mom will win this one!" she flapped her wings harder than ever and felt her wings burning as she was gaining on Blitz, who was surprised that Dash was getting closer. Blitz is surprised that Dash was still flying "She's not giving up!" "Mom is the fastest and strongest! That's why she's called the fastest pegasus in Equestria! So don't let your guard down, Blitz!" shouted Braver, who was enjoying the race as her mom was catching up. Dash quickly gained ground on Blitz and was only a few inches away from her. Both Blitz and Dash were trying to push each other more and more, as both of them were running on fumes. Dash and Blitz were flying face-to-face "You're not out flying me, kid!" "As if, old lady! No one beats me in the sky!" replied Blitz. The race was neck-to-neck and they took off straight up into the sky. It wasn't long before their race was reaching its end, as both started to slow down. "Damn, my body is at its limit! I need to end this now!' thought Blitz, who was panting as her body was telling her to stop. Braver noticed her sister was losing steam "We're going down!" but was happy as Dash passed them and kept flying up into the sky. Dash was smiling. She was able to catch and pass Blitz, which she didn't think she could. She was pushing her limits, but it didn't matter. As long as she's doing her best for her daughter, she will break any limits! Her daughter is her everything, so she can't lose, never lose for her. "Gotcha!" said Dash, as she turned her head back and smiled as she passed her. Blitz, shocked that Dash had the stamina to pull through "W-WHAT! How did she?" "Mom is the best; I knew she could do it!" said Braver, happy that her mom won the race. Dash faced forward and could feel the light and sound barrier forming a cone in front of her. She was going to do a sonic rainboom, but something happened that she never thought she would ever see. She couldn't break through it, and she came to a dead stop as the barrier forced her to. The clone faded away, and she just floated there in shock as her body was screaming in pain. Dash weakly started to fall back down, having no strength to move or do anything "W-What?" "Mom!" shouted Braver, scared that her mom might be hurt. Blitz saw Dash falling and not moving. She couldn't catch her in time with how low her energy is and didn't have the strength to flap her wings fast, so she held Braver tight and flew towards Dash to catch her. Blitz spun around like a fast top and sent Braver flying towards her mother "GET HER BRAVER!" "Mom, mom, please wake up! You did it! You won the race!" shouted Braver, worried as she caught her mother in her arms and saw her open her eyes. "Did I? Ha, of course I did. I'm the best." Dash said as she weakly smiled and hugged her daughter but passing out, while Braver slowly fell back to the castle, with Blitz slowly following, but she too lost her will to fly but was caught by Dashie, who was in her anthro form and wearing her flying sunglasses. "I got you, kiddo. You did a great job," said Dashie as she held Blitz in her arms. "But you are grounded for two months!" "WHAT?! Why?" asked Blitz. "You went off without permission and not telling us what happened!" replied Dashie, angry that Blitz just left like that. "WHY DID YOU LEFT ANYWAY!?" "I was scared," replied Blitz in a quiet voice. "Scared? Scared of what?" asked Dashie. "Of you guys wanting to leave right away..." replied Blitz, sad that her mother would make her leave after finally seeing her sister in person again. "I just want to be with Braver again." Dashie was silent and realized that was the case, since the kid had to wait for ten years before she could even see her sister again. "Listen, kiddo, you should have talked to us instead of running away. You had us all scared and worried. We would never tear you two apart. If you wanted to live here with her, we would allow it, even if it meant never seeing you again. We would gladly hurt ourselves to see you happy. We made that that promise to you ten years ago, remember?" "You would...let me stay here...even if it means I'll never see you again?" asked Blitz, seeing her mom crying but not letting it phase her one bit. "Yep. Anything for you?" replied Dashie, smiling. "But...I don't want to live here. I want to go back with you," answered Blitz, making Dashie look at her, all confused. "What?" "I don't want to leave; I really don't. But I don't want to lose you or mom! You're my world, just like Braver! I love you two so much! You're my mothers, the reason I'm living. I love Braver with all my heart and soul and will do anything for her, but... I'm a part of you, mom." she hugged her tightly. Dashie didn't know what to say, but she started to laugh and smile as she hugged Blitz tightly, but she could feel her going limp, causing her to be scared "Blitz. What's wrong? Answer me, what's wrong?" she tried to get Blitz to speak. "I'm tired. I want to sleep," replied Blitz weakly. Dashie was worried for nothing as she carried her in a princess carry. "...grounded for a week then," "I love you, mom," said Blitz, who was drifting off to sleep. Meanwhile, Braver landed in the castle garden, carefully laid Dash on the grass, and tried to wake her up. "Mom, you're okay, right? I'm sorry. Please don't leave me. Please," Twilight came running to them and helped her daughter, as she saw how worried she was. "Dash? What's wrong!? Is she okay?" asked Twilight, worried. "I don't know. She tried to used her sonic rainboom, but she just stopped and... I'm sorry! This is my fault. I should have stopped Blitz! I just wanted to have fun with her! I BROKE MOMMY!" shouted Braver as she started to turn into her slime form, holding her head. "WHY!? WHY DO I CONTINUE TO HURT OTHERS? Why do I keep breaking things?" Twilight quickly hugged her daughter as she cried and held her tightly. "No, you didn't break anything. You didn't mean for this to happen," Twilight let Braver cried in her shoulder but was pushed back as Braver's form started to look more twisted and evil-looking. "BUT MOM IS HURT! I HURT MOM! I'M A MONSTER!" shouted Braver as the air around her darkened. "No, you aren't! You!" shouted back Twilight, but she started to lose her voice as she saw the dark aura around Braver and flashes of Breaker of the past appeared in her mind. She didn't realize it, but she stepped back in fear, which Braver noticed right away. "You're scared of me! Mom is scared of me!" Braver slowly turning into her true form and crying. Five rainbow halos tried to form behind her, but something was fighting them. "No, I'm not," replied Twilight as she tried to move but couldn't. "Why won't you believe me? Why can't you trust me?" Braver face was melting away and becoming faceless, as her white halo started to become black. "Because...you remind me..." whispered Twilight, scared, but she suddenly stopped as Dawn teleported between them and slowly walked up to Braver. "Hey, it's okay. Look at me. Don't look at your mom. Everything will be ok," Dawn stood in front of Braver, who was still crying and trying to pull herself together, as the dark aura around her was slowly disappearing and her face started to reform itself. "Remember, breathe in and out. Calm your mind. You don't want to hurt others. You never have, and you never will. Just calm yourself; you're scaring your mom." Braver was starting to calm down as her form started to change back to normal. She looked up and saw her mom was scared of her. She quickly turned away, as the dark aura around her was almost completely gone, the halos were gone, and her head halo was white again, before vanishing. "That's it. Calm down," smiled Dawn as she held Braver's head and stroked her mane and soon started to hum a little song. It was a lullaby that her mom would sing to her. She started to hum it and soon sang it softly. "Sleep, sleep, let the night be gone. When you wake up, you will wake up bright and strong. Let your dreams take over your mind. With your soul and heart, be fine. Sleep, sleep, and you will dream. Of many things, of many people, you can't help but scream. Let those dreams fill you up. And when you wake, you feel floating in a warm sea.. Sleep, sleep, and you will see. All the things you wish for—the future, the past, the now So, sleep, sleep, and rest your eyes. Tomorrow is a brand new day; the sun always rises," sang Dawn, as Braver was slowly calming down and starting to cry again. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry; please don't be scared of me; please don't be scared; I'll try harder; I'll be better. Just, please, don't hate me," cried Braver as Dawn held her head and smiled. "I will never be scared of you, and I won't ever hate you.I will always be your friend. You are my one and only friend." "Dawn, please don't leave me..." Braver believed she might lose her, the same way she lost her mothers. "Your my friend and you know it,I'm not leaving you. Ever!" replied Dawn as she pulled Braver head back and kissed her forehead. "No matter what, I will always be your friend and be here for you." "Thank you," said Braver quietly. Twilight was watching all this and couldn't help but feel ashamed, ashamed of how she acted and ashamed of thinking her daughter was Breaker from the past. She tried to move, but couldn't. She could see Braver looking at her and looking away in pain. Soon,  Dawn faced her and gave her a disgusted look. "I'm a horrible mother," thought Twilight, as she watched her daughter being comforted by her student. She just lost her daughter and is still losing her student. "Braver, it's okay. It wasn't your fault," Twilight was crying and felt guilty as Braver looked at her with an hurt look. "Really, now? Now you want to say something to her! Now, of all  times!" shouted Dawn, angry at her teacher. "You can't say anything to her. Not anymore. You have no right to call yourself a mother anymore. You know her past! I don't, and yet, I don't see whatever she was in the past! Braver is a great pony! She saved and helped so many lives; she was always doing good! every single day! I know it was to make up for whatever she did. I can see it in her eyes—like it won't ever be enough. It's eating away at her, but she hides it. Haven't you ever noticed it? She's your daughter! I'M NOT YOUR DAUGHTER, BUT YOU TREAT ME BETTER THAN HER!" Dawn finally revealed her feelings to her teacher "STOP WORRYING ABOUT ME AND WORRY ABOUT HER! STOP ASKING ABOUT MY FRIENDSHIP REPORTS AND START LOOKING AT HERS! STOP IT!" Braver held her and tried to calm her down "Dawn, stop!" "She's right... I haven't been paying attention to you, my daughter, haven't I?" asked Twilight as she started to tear up. "Braver, it's not your fault; it's hers. She doesn't care about you, or else she wouldn't have treated you like that." Dawn looked away from her teacher and towards her friend. "If you're a monster, then I'll become one too. I won't ever leave you! I won't ever be scared of you!" "But...why? I'm a freak," Braver weakly spoke to her, trying to hold back her tears "No, you're not. You're not a monster or a freak. You're the kindest and sweetest creature I ever met," Dawn held Braver. Twilight, as she sat on the ground, crying. "What can I do? How can I make this right?" "Leave her alone," simply said Dawn as she teleported Braver and herself away, leaving Twilight alone. Twilight tried to use her magic to track them down but couldn't. "I'll fix this, I promise," Twilight was hoping they would come back but they didn't, making her lower her head, crying "Wait, please come back." Twilah was watching all this from the entrance of the garden and was crying. She couldn't bear seeing her other self like this. She quickly teleported to Twilight and hugged her "I'll help you. I promise," "Thank you," replied Twilight, as she couldn't stop crying. Within the darkness, Dash could hear echos of Braver crying. She started to remember that day when she was teaching her how to fly. It was a great sunny day. She was on a cloud and watching little filly Braver flapping her wings as she wanted to jump off the cloud "Okay, kid. Try it now!" smiled Dash as she flew down and stopped a few feet away from her. "Alright," replied Braver, trying to calm down. Braver flapped her wings and was ready to fly. "You got this, kid," thought Dash as Braver jumped. Braver started to fall like a rock as she passed her mother. "Ah, crap," panic Dash as she dove under Braver and caught her. "Mom!" cried Braver, scared. Dash gave her a smirk and said "Heh, sorry, kid. But you'll get the next one. I just need more practice," Braver nodded but was still crying her eyes out. "Don't worry, I'll be here. Twilight will be here for you as well. We're not going anywhere. We're not ever going to let you fall again." Dash smiled as she petted her head and hugged her. Braver hug her back "You promise?" "Yeah, I promise." Dash held Braver and started to cry as the memories continued to play out as she watched Braver fly for the first time, but she heard something. "Please, tell me everything is going to be okay, Dash," echoed Twilight voice all around Dash, as she tried to fly towards her voice. "Twilight, where are you? Twilight!" called out Dash, as her vision was becoming blurry, as her memory was fading away, and she was now flying through the darkness "Twilight, answer me, please!" Dash voice echoed through the darkness and her eyes were getting heavy and couldn't open. She soon saw someone standing within the darkness, as it turned to Dash and tried to reach out to her. Whoever the figure was, Dash could see a golden sun in the figure's chest, but it soon became a rainbow sun. She could hear Twilight repeating the same question. Dash reached out and shouted... Dash opened her eyes and shouted "Everything is going to be okay!" Dash could see the dark sky and seeing she was in the garden. She raised her head and could see Twilight on her chest, just looking at her with relief but also sadness. "Please tell me everything is going to be okay," whispered Twilight. "Twilight, I'm alright," said Dash, smiling but stopping as Twilight kept repeating the question, "Hey, Twi. I'm fine." "Please tell me everything is going to be okay," repeated Twilight, finally breaking down in hard tears. "I'm alive, Twilight. Please stop crying." she slowly hugged Twilight, who just kept crying and hugged her back. "She's not crying about you," replied Twilah as she was on the side and petting Blitz's head, who was sleeping on her mother's lap, while Dashie was next to them, looking worried. "What? What do you mean?" asked Dash, confused. "...It's Brea-" "IT'S BRAVER! That's the new name she chose after saving everyone in New Ponyville...Sorry, you wouldn't have known that," Dash realized she shouted at them as she remembered Braver's old name but quickly looked at them. "Wait, what's wrong with Braver?" "I hurt her!" cried Twilight, digging deeper into Dash's chest as she was crying harder. "Twi, please," begged Dash, petting her wife's head. "I'm sorry," sobbed Twilight. "What happened?" replied Dash, continuing to pet her. Meanwhile, Dawn and Braver teleported in a glassy field, overlooking the land by the cliff side, as it was their spot to hang out and talk. Braver is angry as she hurry over to Dawn "You didn't have to teleport us here," "I couldn't stand being near your mom anymore," sighed Dawn, upset. "She's my mother, Dawn," replied Braver. "So, you're just going to forgive her?" asked Dawn, glaring at her, "Really! She hurt you; she sees you as a monster!" Braver sat down on her spot, and her ears drooped. She was indeed a monster; everyone should see her that way. "Braver, did you really forget what I said to you?" said a female voice with hope in her tone. Braver quickly looked up and could see Supermare, aka Flare, as she was hovering there and smiling as she was giving off hope like she always did. Braver could see the bright red 'S' on her chest and remember what it meant. "I did. Sorry," replied Braver. Flare kneel down in front of Braver and looked at her "It's okay. I'm here for you. We're all here for you. Don't forget that." Flare gave her a big smile and step aside, revealing everyone who saved Braver and her sister, appeared in front of them and smiled.at Braver, who started to cry as they all disappeared, including Flare. "You don't have to be sorry about anything, as long as you understand," smiled Dawn as she just heard Braver saying sorry and walking over to her. "Dawn, 'How others see you isn't important; how you see yourself means everything.' That's what "she" told me. That's what they told me." Braver had a smile on her face, as tears started flowed down her cheeks "I'm not a monster, Dawn." "Yeah, you're not," replied Dawn, sitting down next to her and holding her hoof. "My mother doesn't see me as a monster; she loves me! She always had and always will; even if she doesn't show it, it's still there! That's why I can't stay mad at her or anyone," replied Braver, smiling. Dawn angrily let go of her hoof "What!? She hurt you! Are you really going to forgive her?" "Yes." "WHY!?" "Faith." simply said Braver Dawn was taken a back by her response. "W-What?" "Yes, have faith in yourself and have faith in others. Never give up on faith, and they won't give up on you. Just stand tall, stand proud and others will stay with you...it's what a brave knight once told me. I'm going to have faith in my mother and she will have faith in me, like she always had." she stood up and seeing Eirika behind Dawn as she was smiling, before just disappearing again   "I'm going back. I need to talk to my mother...she must be blaming herself...are you coming?" asked Braver to Dawn but she just looked down, trying to understand. Braver frown and walked away. "I won't forgive you!" shouted Dawn, making Braver stop and turn around "If you go back, I won't forgive you!" "I can't stay mad at her and neither should you. It's not the way we are and it's not the way the people around us are." Braver frown as Dawn said nothing and turned back and continued to walk but Braver could hear her crying and sobbing. "...don't go...don't leave me..." sobbed Dawn, crying. Braver's ear twitch and continued to walk. "...I don't want to be alone... I don't want to see you get hurt...please, stay..." Dawn started to cry harder and louder "...you are the only thing I care about in this world..." Braver's ear twitched, again. "...you're all I have...please..." Braver's ear twitched, and her horn lit up. Braver was floating in the air and teleported away...right next to Dawn. "Huh!?" cried Dawn, confused. "You're not alone." smiled Braver, holding her hoof "You will never be alone. You have me and I have you." "But, your mo-!" Braver shaking her head and smiling "That doesn't matter right now. I'm not going anywhere and you're never be alone. Because your my best friend!" "Braver..." Dawn blush and couldn't stop crying, as Braver was smiling and holding her. "Dawn, please. Have faith and don't give up. I'll always be here, I won't ever leave you." Braver, looked at her, with a smile "Please, don't be sad." "Braver..." "Have faith." "...okay." smiled Dawn. Braver was glad that Dawn is happy. They looked out over the cliff and seeing a very large town, as few lights filled the large town. Blitz opened her eyes and can hear her parents talking. She started to listen as her vision started to become clear. "...So Braver has that?" asked Dash, with a worry tone. "Yeah, she must of have been bottling it up all these years and been eating away at her. To the point..." Twilah replied, with a sad tone and couldn't finish. "...she's breaking herself with it...we thought it was her just being self-conscious who and what she is. We never thought it went deeper than that...which it was, when it was right in front of us..." Twilight, frown and started to try and think back when Braver first started to act like that. "Twilight..." whispered Dashie "I wish we were there for her, like before, ten years ago, like how we should of had." frowned Dash, feeling like she failed "What kind of parent am I, if I can't be there for my own kid and not truly seeing she was suffering all this time!" she picked up her chair and tossed it to the wall hard "SHE ALWAYS SMILING! BEING KIND TO OTHERS AND NEVER ASKING FOR ANYTHING! ALWAYS GIVING!" shouted Dash,in angry. "...never showing how she truly felt..." "Dash, it's not your fault!" yelled Dashie as Dash stopped and looked down, her face showing she was hurting. "How is it not, Dashie? I let that suffering fester inside of her! I should had noticed! I should had seen! But...I didn't and because of that, she's hurting!" Dash started to cry, her body was shaking, as her heart was hurting and her body was filled with regret and pain "I'm sorry..." "I didn't notice either, Dash." Twilight looked down in shame "Don't blame it all on yourself. You've always been a good mom. I have to take half of that blame. If we're being honest, I didn't notice it either. Even when I was looking at her, I couldn't see her true feelings. She hid it so well." "You can't blame yourself, Twilight. It's all on me." Dash tried to sound cheerful but her tears kept falling. "We both made the same mistakes, Dash. I'm the one that needs to apologize the most here..." replied Twilight, crying and looking at her wife, who just stood there, with her head hung low and her ears were folded back, her breathing was uneven and her tail wasn't moving. "I'm sorry..." cried Dash, her voice was breaking "...I couldn't see how she was suffering. I'm sorry..." "Dash..." Twilah whispered, as she knows how they felt, as she turned to Blitz but surprised to see her up. "Twilight, Dash... you shouldn't blame yourself, or anyone." Everyone else turned to see Blitz sitting up from the bench they left her on. "It's my fault..." "Blitz..." said Twilight, shocked by her words "You shouldn't blame yourself." replied Dashie. "Yes, it's my fault..." "You are not to blame or anything, Blitz." Dash flew over but quickly drop to the ground and still feeling worn out. Blitz could see how hurt Dash is "If I haven't just blitz off like that...you wouldn't be like that or whatever happened after. I know it was my fault. It's always is...blitz into trouble without thinking and causing problem..." Dash stood there, unable to fly right now, as she wanted to hug her and tell her everything is alright. "It's alright." said Dashie as she stood up herself. "It's not, Mom! If I wasn't being 'me'! Bad things wouldn't had happen..." replied Blitz "I'm a terrible daughter and sister! I couldn't be the best daughter to you... I should had known that. It's not the first time...it's never the first time..." Twilah stood up from the chair in response to her daughter saying that "Blitz, don't talk about yourself like that!" "Twilah is right, Blitz. You are a great daughter and sister, that has never change! I can see it!" smiled Dash. "Then why are you on the ground, Dash? Why are you hurt?" asked Blitz as she walked over to Dash. "Blitz..." "You shouldn't be on the ground. You shouldn't be hurt and whatever happened to Braver." "I'm not on the ground because of you." replied Dash, trying her best to look fine "It's because I'm getting old and not been flying like I used too. Don't blame old age on you, kid." "But..." said Blitz, her voice trailing off. "What about Braver?" "It's not your fault, Blitz," answered Twilight. "She's right. Listen, Braver had what you had," replied Dashie "She has PTSD and survivor guilt." "Really? But...ah," Blitz couldn't blieve it, as Braver never showed or even told her about suffering from what they did in the past. Blitz had triggering events in the past and still do, but she saw help for them "Braver...Why didn't you talk to me?" Everyone was quiet and down, until someone ran into the garden. It was a Spike. "TWILIGHT! I HURRY AS FAST I COULD! I EVEN GOT EVERYONE!" shouted Spike as he stopped in front of her, noticing the others. "So, this is them? Your counter parts!?" "Spike? What are you doing here?" asked Twilight, confused. "Didn't you send me a letter? Tell me about what happened. You also asking me to get the girls and friends of Braver?" replied Spike as he took out a letter, but it wasn't a scroll but a white piece of normal paper. "See?" "Spike, I didn't send you that. Twilah?" asked Twilight as she looked at her counterpart, who was still in her anthro form. "Yeah, it was me. We shared each other's memories before, so I knew how to do this. Right now, Braver needs people around her and giving her the support she needs," replied Twilah as she walked over. Suddenly, Fluttershy flew into the garden and landed in front of her friends and turned to the others "Oh, Twilight! Is this them!" "Gosh, she looks just like you, Twi," AJ hurried into the garden and said that, facing Twilah and quickly turning to Dashie, who was human again, and back to Dash and back to Dashie. She tips her old hat up. "I'm confused. She doesn't look anything like Dash." "Will, not all Dash's can be awesome like me!" smirked Rainbow Dash. "Please, I'm cooler than you'll ever be! I'm 20% cooler!" replied Dashie, as she smirked back. "Ah, there it is," laughs AJ. Soon, Rarity, wearing a white fur coat, with Pinkie, teleported in front of everyone. Pinkie gasped and was already on top of Dashie and Twilah. "OMG! TWO DIFFERENT DASH AND TWILIGHT! SO COOL AND SO CUTE! AH! SO MUCH TO CELEBRATE!" shouted Pinkie as she quickly started to take out the party decorations from within her mane. Rarity walked up to them. "Sorry about Pinkie, but I must say, I love your style! Who gave you that wonderful red jacket?" asked Rarity to Twilah, who turned back into a human, making the girls all shock by the sudden change. "She's right next to me." Dashie blushed red, causing Rarity to smile. "I see...These are your counter parts." said Luna as she walked in. "Ah, yes. They are the ones who saved Equestria and the multiverse, along with you, Dash, and other versions of you." Tempest teleported in front of everyone, wearing a cloak "I came as I heard! The others should be right behind me, Princess Twilight!" Soon, a very large shadow appeared at the garden entrance with black and tiny yellow eyes. Twilah and Dashie remembered who this was as they saw Twilight and Dash past memories and quickly transformed into their anthros forms and stood in front of it, ready for a fight. "STOP!" shouted both Twilight and Dash, making their human counter look back at them. "It's okay! They're okay." Twilah and Dashie looked back and could see Tirek stepping out of the shadows and wearing a teacher vest. Soon, an older Cozy Glow and Chrysalis, who was in her metamorphosis form as a beautiful all-white carapace with white webs and a long straight horn, Soon, Tempest and Luna joined them. "Our daughter...is something." Twilight smiled proudly. "So, our little klutz needs help?" Chrysalis step forward "You're lucky I had time in my schedule." "What a former queen of Changelings has a busy schedule these days?" asked Tempest, walking over and smiling. "I have a life. Like a normal citizen of Equestria, trying to take it over!" replied Chrysalis. "Oh please. I still see you working at the daycare for the changing babies," laughed Cozy, flying over. "I still see you and Tirek teaching classes for the kids in the School for Gifted Unicorns," quickly replied Chrysalis, blushing. Tirek,walked over to them "At least, our job is better than yours," "Excuse me, we'll leave soon if you have to work," Twilah said, as she didn't realize some of them had jobs at these hours. "Pfft, classes are out now. It's fine," replied Tirek in a cold tone, but there was a hint of warmth. "I think it's nice," Cozy flew around Twilah and Dash "It's nice to meet other versions of those two over there. So, you two are their counterparts? I can see that you are a version of her. I can just sense the power of "friendship" in you," said Cozy as she pointed at Twilah with sickening eyes and then looked at Dashie. "And you're her. Right down to the lame choice of jackets." "Hey!" shouted both Dash and Dashie. "Can we get back on track here? Braver needs our help!" said Tempest as she pulled Cozy away from the two Dash's. "Yes! She helped us; now it's our turn to do the same!" shouted Luna all worry like. "HA! She's going to owe us one! Maybe be a slave for a day? Using her dumb powers..." smirk Cozy before coughed as she realized everyone was looking at her. "Sorry, old habits..." "That mighty girl needs help; I'll help. Even if I have to beat her to a pile of slime!" smirked Tirek, cracking his knuckles "Okay, so we have everyone ready. Now, let's find my little girl!" said Twilight, smiling. "Right!" everyone agreed. Everyone started to talk among themselves, trying to guess where Braver and Dawn went, but watching afar was Blitz, as she started to tear up, happy to see that Braver had friends and others who loved her. Soon, everyone took notice of her crying. "Why is that creature crying?" whispered Chrysalis to everyone. Blitz step forward, closed her eyes, and became her real self, her pegasus pony self and everyone was shocked but quickly recovered as they knew who it was. "My name is Rainbow Blitz, I'-" but Blitz was cut off as everyone quickly surrounded her. "So, you are the klutz little sister? Well, you don't look cute to me." Chrysalis poke Blitz face Cozy joined in poking Blitz in the face "Yeah, she was going off about how cute and cool you are. not seeing it." "Are you even strong? She said you were stronger than her?" asked Tirek, scanning Blitz's body. "I love your jacket, darling. Braver also said you have good taste in clothes." Rarity said, as she touch Blitz jacket and amazed how it looks just like Braver jacket. "Can't wait to spar with you, girl!" grinned Tirek as he could sense the magic within her finally "Just like your sister!" "Oh, she's going to owe me so much!" shouted Cozy in glee "Guys!" shouted Dashie, getting everyone's attention. "Give the girl some space!" Everyone backed away from her. "She told you about me? To all of you?" asked Blitz. "Yes, she did, and she really cares about you," answered AJ who took off her hat "A lot, lass really cares about you." "We're going to find her," Pinkie hopped around Blitz, making her smile a bit "We're her aunties! Plus, we're your aunties too!" "She loves talking about you. You two do look alike, though. More like twins than just normal siblings. Braver doesn't look the oldest." asked Fluttershy. Blitz sighed as she hated how Braver painted herself as the big sister here. "Again, can we get back on track here?" asked Tempest, as she summoned a map with her magic and looked at it. "Where could those two have gone?" Soon, everyone started to guess and wanted to split up, but Blitz quickly remembered something. "Hey! Sometimes she took the prism window to a cliff side and oversaw a large town... I think it was called New Ponyville or something. She said she loved looking at it from up there. The place she saved if I remember right. Maybe she's there?" "What is a prism window?" Spike and a few others asked, as they never heard that before. "She has to be there! It was the first place that made her feel welcomed. Let's go!" ordered Tempest. Everyone shouted in agreement, and with every magical user there, they were gone in a flash. It was still nighttime, as Dawn and Braver were starting a fire and were going to sleep, but Braver could sense something. A huge amount of magical energy, so she quickly protected Dawn, as Braver could sense it coming towards them. In a flash, both girls could see everyone standing in front of them, from the Braver family to friends. "Everyone?" Braver hurried over and met with her aunts and friends, but they stepped to the side as Braver could see her family, her mothers, Blitz, and Blitz's mothers. Twilight stepped forward; she wasn't trying to look her daughter in the eyes, as she felt shame, but Dash raised her head for her "Look her in the eyes, Twi. Don't be scared or anything. I'm here. We're all here. So, what if our daughter is a powerful slime creature that can destroy the universe? So what? She's our daughter, and she's special." Braver looked at her parents, who were looking back at her "...mom. I-" "No, sweetie, I'm sorry. I should have seen your suffering, but I didn't." "We didn't." added Dash as she held Twilight's hoof. "I was blind to everything and didn't see the pain you were in, and now I'm afraid. I'm going to lose you, as you hate me. I hurt you. I can't be forgiven, not after you proved you aren't...not your old self no more but a better person now." Braver slowly walked up to her mom and hugged her, catching her by surprise. "I forgive you, mom. So don't cry. I'm okay!" smiled Braver, causing Twilight and Dash to cry. "Stop it!" shouted Dash. Braver was confused as she saw them crying in pain. Dash softy moved Braver arm from her "Stop putting up a front!" "Wha-" "Don't pretend you're okay. We hurt you, and I should have done something. I was so stupid." "Mom..." "I could have been a better mom, but I wasn't. I was too busy being a wonderbolt captain while you suffered alone. I thought I could protect you. I failed as a mother and didn't see that you needed me. Please forgive me." Braver watched as Twilight made her let go of her as well, causing Braver to step back, feeling something, as her heart was beating fast. "I'm fine! Really! I'm not hurting anymore!" Braver smiled again but it didn't feel real this time, as everyone took notice of it. "Sweetie, you need to stop. You can't keep lying to yourself. You aren't okay. You hurting deep down. What you did in the past. You have to let it go!" cried Twilight "W-What? I'm not hurting deep down. I learned to move on." "Stop pretending!" Cozy flew up to her friend and playfully bop her on the head, causing Dawn to glare at her. "Cozy, don't shout." warned Chrysalis, as she joined her friend and bop Braver on the head as well. "No, she needs this! I know when someone is pretending to be something they're not. Stop lying to  yourself."Cozy closed her eyes and said, "Just let us help you for once. Like how you helped us!" Braver looked at the former princess Luna, rest of her friends, and others who were nodding their heads towards her. "Stop putting up a front and just tell us what's wrong. I'm here, and I'm listening," Twilight gave her daughter a warm smile. Dash hugged Twilight, and Twilight hugged back. "Just tell us what's bothering you. We're here for you, and we'll never leave," Dash raised a hoof to her daughter. Braver fell to her knees and cried, letting out years of pain, hurt, guilt, and sorrow. all the buildup she created. Braver could feel her world was breaking and started to cry and scream, scaring her parents and friends. "I...can't...forgive myself...for all those...deaths," sobbed Braver. Dash and Twilight hurried over and tried to hug their daughter but were suddenly forced back, as a dark aura was forming around her as she was in her slime form. "I CAN SEE ALL THE LIFE I ENDED THAT DAY! I REMEMBER KILLING MY MOM! BOTH OF THEM! I CAN REMEMBER STABBING HER! BURNING HER!" shouted Braver, as flashes of Nightfall body appeared in her mind. "SWEETIE, NO!" shouted Dash and Twilight "I CAN'T FORGIVE MYSELF! How can you ever forgive me?"Braver covered her face, trying to hide her hurt face "Because I love you! Your mom loves you! Our friends and family love you! We'll never stop loving you! So stop thinking the worst and think about all the good times we had and will have!" replied Twilight. "Please, don't do this! Let us in! Let us help you!" Dash slowly got closer but could feel strange, like there was something in the air. Braver started to cry; her screams were echoing into the sky and beyond. "NO! I CAN'T! I DON'T WANT TO OVERWHELM YOU! ALL OF YOU! TO SEE YOU SCARED OF ME! I'M A MONSTER! I'M BREAKER OF WORLDS AND STARS! NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY! IT WON'T EVER BE ENOUGH!" Braver screamed as the dark aura grew stronger and was starting to consume the area as five rainbow halos were returning. "NO! SWEETIE, STOP IT!" called out Dash "P-please...listen to me," stuttered Twilight as she was getting hurt by the aura. "We aren't scared of you! We want to help you, so stop hurting yourself!" Tirek shouted as he was shielding the others as he tried to drain the aura within him but wasn't working Tempest tried to push forward but the aura was too much but she stood her ground "You have people who love and care about you!" "Yeah! So, stop this! Let us be there for you!" cried out Fluttershy "You don't have to shoulder the burden yourself!" Pinkie shouted, hiding behind Tirek Luna tried to use her magic to push back the aura but wasn't working too "I want to be there for you! So, let us be there for you!" "We'll always love you, so don't push us away!" Rarity shouted, hiding behind Luna "You were the one who made me remember my true self! You helped me, and now I want to return the favor!" shouted Chrysalis, trying to push forward "Yeah, so, please. Stop this. Stop hurting yourself!" Cozy and the other friends tried to approach Braver but were thrown back, as a powerful shock wave blasted out of Braver as she stomp the ground but only ones standing were her friends and mothers. "We'll help you, like you helped us. Just please, stop hurting yourself." begged her friends at the same time. "NO! I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY! I NEED YOU ALL TO HATE ME! MAKE ME PAY FOR WHAT I DID!" "We will never hate you! No matter what, you're our daughter. You're my daughter!" Dash shouted as she tried to move forward, while Twilight was at her side, who was using her wing to shield her from the aura. "And mine! We'll never abandon you. So, please. Listen to me," pleaded Twilight. "You have such a loving family and friends. Why are you doing this?" asked Tirek "You need to forgive yourself and let us help!" begged Twilight and Dash. Braver stopped and looked at them, seeing they were smiling, even while getting hurt. "...stop it." sobbed Braver, seeing that she was hurting everyone and couldn't take it anymore "STOP IT!" Braver aura grew larger as she was screaming and crying. "SWEETIE!" screamed Dash and Twilight as the aura consumed the area and was going beyond the land, heading towards the sky. Dawn was being forced back and tried to push forward, calling out to Braver, even trying to sing her song for her, but it wasn't working. It was being drained out by the sound of Braver family and friends. "NO! STOP THIS! THIS ISN'T HELPING BRAVER!" Dawn shouted as she was using all her power to walk forward but the pain was too much "NO! NO, SHE'S DOING IT AGAIN! STOP IT!"  But her words weren't reaching them, as they were trying to get through Braver. "Please stop hurting her!" Dawn body was getting weak from the dark aura. Braver closed her eyes and could feel her mind wanting to break something, anyone—she wanted to break herself! She had enough, and her mind was breaking apart, piece by piece, shard by shard, and her family and friends were getting closer and closer, wanting to comfort her. She wanted them to stop. "SIS!" screamed Blitz, causing Braver to look up in the night sky and see a rainbow comet as it was heading towards her "GRIT THOSE TEETHS!" With one mighty blow, Blitz tackle hugged her sister and held her tight. "STOP THIS, YOU IDIOT! YOU AREN'T THE ONE WHO DID THAT STUFF! I WAS THERE TOO! I HELPED YOU DO THOSE THINGS!" shouted Blitz, tears rolling down her eyes. Braver froze and was slowly processing what her sister said, as the dark aura was slowing down. "It was us! Not you alone, so stop thinking the worst of yourself!" Braver quickly spoke to her as the loud, howling aura blasted around them. "No! Don't say that! My hooves are covered in blood! NOT YOUR! NEVER YOURS! IF YOU SAY THAT, THEN THAT WILL MAKE YOU THE MONSTER, AND I RATHER BE THE MONSTER, THEN SEE YOU BLAMING YOURSELF!" "NO, SIS! It's not like that! I don't want to leave you by yourself! WHY WON'T YOU LET US HELP YOU? WHY WON'T YOU TELL US YOU'RE IN PAIN? I understand you! I WENT THROUGH THIS TOO! YOU KNOW THAT!" "THAT'S WHY I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO THROUGH IT! NOT AGAIN!" "YOU SAID WE'RE TWINS! So, I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO GO THROUGH THE SAME AS YOU! Because I love you! I CARE ABOUT YOU!" "SO, WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE YOU? I CAN HANDLE IT MYSELF!" "Because I LOVE YOU! YOUR MY TWIN! YOUR MY BIG SIS!" Braver quickly spoke. "What did you say?" Blitz blush "I said, I love you! I care about you! WHY ARE YOU TAKING ALL THIS BURDEN ON YOUR OWN? Let me share it with you! Let me hear you and listen! SO, JUST SAY IT!" Braver finally opened her eyes to everything, looking at her sister with tears in her eyes as she was trying to smile. "Just say it already! It's like what Heat said to us on that day!" Braver quickly remembered the memory from all of those years ago. Heat looked at the little filly with sadness as she hugged and smiled with warmth as tiny flames danced around them, so much warmth that to Braver, it reminded her of her mother's warm hugs. "You sounded like me just now. I thought the same way, but then I found Bolt. She opened my eyes and let me see that I wasn't alone and that she and our friends would always be with me, no matter the odds or the situation; they'd always be there for me. So, you aren't alone in all this. Just ask for help, and you'll see. It may not change everything, but you'll feel better and be stronger for it. Remember that." whispered Heat "OR WHAT THE OTHERS SAID TO US! REMEMBER!" cried out Blitz Braver could see all of them. The heroes who saved her and Blitz all standing behind Blitz. all hugging them as their words reach out to her once more. "I've killed a lot of people too. I was the cause of my sister's and her children deaths. I had a whole family, and I was their world. I loved them, and they loved me. Then I had an accident, which caused me to lose control of my psychic powers. Ending their lives and putting me on a dark path in life. I became a weapon, a weapon to kill. There were times I killed good people, even when I didn't mean to. I still see their faces and hear their screams. I killed so many good people. All their lives were wasted." "But...why? knowing what I did?" whispered Braver "Because you're not a waste. You feel regret and shame! You feel guilty! That means you can still move forward! You are not a monster, just a lost child," said Terra, putting her purple visor on, disappearing "It's not about worth; it's about life. Your life is worth living, no matter what, no matter what you think or feel. Every life is worth saving. You are worth saving." Flare gave her a smile of hope, as she too disappeared. "As long as you keep fighting and not giving up, your mother will always be here with you, in your heart and soul. Just believe and keep fighting. Find that drive, your fighting spirit," Flash with a big, stupid grin on her face, let go and pound her fist together and vanish "I'm not strong, I'm not smart, and without my powers. I'm just a normal pony girl. So, how was I able to keep fighting and not be scared? Simple: I did it for the ones I loved. You need to do the same. Don't be brave for yourself; be brave for your mother. Show them that you are brave and will continue to fight," said Berry as she started to cry. "They're waiting for you. Just stand up and be brave!" Berry wiped away her tears and smiled as she too vanish "You have to let that go. You can't keep living with regret. If you do, you'll never move forward. I was like that for a very long time, thinking of the past and letting my regrets, shame, and guilt eat me up. I didn't want to let go, because if I did, I'd have nothing. I'd be empty. But I'm not, not anymore." Aaira said as her helmet shut itself, revealing her purple grill lights "You have to let go. Let go of your hate, let go of your pain, and let go of your sorrow. Move forward. You can't forget, but you can't let those feelings consume you. Don't make a hole inside of you. Embrace what's in your heart. You have the same problem that I do. You hate yourself; you think you're a monster and that you're worthless after you hurt the people you care about. That's not true. You are a good person, a beautiful child, and a kind soul. You didn't have a choice; you had no control. Don't let that destroy you; don't let your guilt destroy you." Lil Star plead to Braver, as she became Aaira with long hair, holding on to Aaira as the two disappeared(see note for this). "My mother always told me to not see the world as it was, but as it could be. It's why I want you to have a better future. a dawn for you to see and treasure. A new beginning." Wanda removed her glasses and gave Braver a happy smile as she vanish. "Make your own dawn, make a new light, and create a new hope. Make a better future, a new tomorrow. even if it's not perfect or isn't the best. It's yours and all those you want to share it with. Make the sun rise for your mothers, and they will make the sun rise for you. They will shine in your heart, showing the world that you are the light." Layla let go and placed her hands on her chest, crying as she faded away "We're here for you. So, never give up on faith, and we won't give up on you. Just stand tall, stand proud, and others will stay with you. You'll make the right decision." said Eirika with a smile on her face"If I had the answer, I would tell you, but I don't. It falls on you and others you let in. You aren't alone in making the decision. Remember that, because I have, thanks to the Knight of Dawn." Eirika and Aero, who was there too, disappeared. "There are times where I want to give up and just throw in the towel, but my friends are always there, reminding me that I'm not alone, that I can count on them, that together we can beat the odds, that together we're stronger than anything the world can throw at us. Live and learn! Open your heart! It doesn't matter now what happens, as long as I follow my rainbow. So, don't give up on the chance for friendship and a second chance. That's what life is about: giving and taking chances." Bolt wagged her wing feather like a finger and Heat joined her in doing the wagging and both disappeared. "Do what is right and fight for what you believe in. Even if no one will back you up, even if you're alone, Keep going. Never stop being yourself; never stop being the person you are." Wonder shut her eyes and turning off her magic, opening her eyes again, revealing her grey out eyes. She too disappeared "Be happy, laugh, cry, and be sad. All of it's your choice. So, keep living and never give up on finding that happiness. It's the one thing that can't be taken from you, but the one thing you have to fight for. Don't forget. Believe in yourself. not in you who believes in us. Not us who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself.” smiled Rain, as she pointed to the heavens and was gone as well. All of them were there for her again, even if it was just memories, they will always be there for her. Soon, she could see "them"—her real mothers. Sky and Nightfall as they hugged her. "Just like Blitz, wear this jacket. Wear it proudly, as it's our symbol of our love for you, loving you for the past 2 years in this little universe." Braver could feel her jacket glowing with a purple aura of warmth. "The comet on the back is you—breaking through anything—for the friends you will make. We love you, Breaker, we love you sweet pea" both mares smiled as they let go of their daughter "We love you, Braver." "Mommy," cried Braver, but soon, her mothers became Twilight and Dash as they flew up to her and hugged her and Blitz "It's okay; you're not alone. We're here." smiled Twilight as Braver hugged her back. "That's it; just let it all out." Dash could feel her daughter tears "We're here now. Everything will be fine. You're going to be okay, I promise." both said at the same time. "We won't ever let you fall again!" Soon, her friends joined in. "I was the monster! But, as you helped me realize, I'm not. I shouldn't let others see me as that!" Tirek smirk as he rubbed Braver mane, as it was starting to turn back to normal Tempest had tears in her eyes as she said "You showed me I had meaning and worth! I have a place in this land!" "You showed me I had to let go of the past and move forward! Don't be distracted by the what-if's, should-have's, and if-only's. The one thing you choose for yourself, that is the truth of your universe! Having faith in myself! Letting others in..." Chrysalis smiled as her body started to glow white and sparkling "It helped me find the power in my own strength rather than using others, but also seeing I need others. It was worth taking a chance and finding my drive!" growled Cozy, pounding Braver head playfully. "To forgive and move on from my past. Be brave, not letting my guilt make a hole within me." Luna whispered as her eyes were shut, as tears were falling. "THANK YOU!" shouted her friends together "Thank you, sister! mommy! Momma! Friends!" Braver could hear everyone and felt their warmth as the dark aura was finally disappearing. Braver was back to normal and crying her eyes out. Soon the others joined in on the hug, all but one. "Stop it," whispered Dawn as she was staring at them. "Stop taking her away from me." Dawn was jealous of how happy Braver looked, of the attention she was giving to everyone, and that she wasn't making Dawn the center of attention. Her thoughts started filling her mind. "This isn't fair... I'm her friend. We promised to be friends, to stick together... Only I can help her and make her happy," Dawn was trying not to cry but was shaking, and tears were falling. "Don't leave me behind...No one ever notices me. Everyone looks at you... Why? I'm not special. I'm not a princess. I'm not strong. I'm not smart. I'm not anything. What is the point in trying if nothing changes? I want to change... I want to be noticed. I want to be acknowledged. I want to be happy, too, but only with you. I want you to see me, and only me. Braver, look at me. Please, just once. Look at me. Say my name and smile at me. Why can't you understand? Why can't I understand this friendship? Why can't you see the real me? All of my fake friends left me behind, so why are you still here? Braver...Braver...BRAVER!" Dawn pound the ground, as she screamed within her mind "STOP IT! STOP LOOKING AT EVERYONE BUT ME! DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME! Why do you hate me so much? Why, Braver? Why? Why don't you like me? Don't you know how much I love you!? You're all I have—my only friend. Please, stop leaving me behind." Dawn fell to the ground and just broke down. Within the sea of the prism windows, the dark figure with the rainbow sun hole on its back kept searching the window that it sensed from before, and they felt it again, but like before, they couldn't find it. It was sobbing once more. "PLEASE! Let me see you again! Let me love you again! PLEASE!" The figure just floated away, not noticing that their tears hit a broken prism window, causing it to glow, revealing Dawn's thoughts, which echo across the white void and reach the figure's ears. It turned and started to cry. "...is that..." "Don't forget about me." "Braver, please... Look at me." "I want to stay by your side... I want to be noticed and acknowledged. I want to be loved by you, please." "Please, stop forgetting me." "It hurts. My heart hurts. Braver, don't leave me." Soon, the darkness faded away, revealing a human with pony ears. On her chest, there was the same sun and the same hole, but it was bleeding rainbow liquid. She was crying and could hear the words echoing as the prism sea became black and the only light was her, as she listened to the pleas of a young girl... "...me?" End of chapter one > Chapter 2: Realizing What We Become... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- So...so warm...this feeling...so nostalgic. "Please, look at me." "This feeling...this feeling of someone loving me and holding me when I said those words... "I don't want you to hate me." "I don't want to forget you." Please stop looking away from me. I'm not perfect... "Please, Braver. Just once, say my name and smile at me." "You're my only friend, the only one who sees me." ... I love you... I gave you all my love. So wh y? Why can't I have a chance? Why do you keep forgetting me? Why am I not enough for you? You're all I have and all I want. the only one for me... ...don't leave me ...or I'll break... ...I'll scatter... "Dawn, I'm right here." Both Dawn's looked up and saw Braver smiling—not the others but them; she was reaching out to them. "Its okay. You're my friend. My best friend I won't ever forget you." Dawn's eyes went wide. "Braver..." Within the darkness of the void ocean, Kemonomimi Dawn grabbed the window and looked at her pony self, as if she were being loved by Braver. She started to cry. "Keep loving her! Please! Don't let her go!" cried Dawn as she started to break down in tears. "She needs someone to love her and hold her! Protect her and help her when no one else will. Don't let her end up like me! Give her a chance!" Flashes of her memories filled the void with water; it was her life; it was her meeting... "I lost my rainbow light—my very reason to rise like a morning dawn every day—but I won't let the same happen to her! Love her, protect her, and keep her safe!" Soon the memories stopped as they froze on one memory. She looked down, and she clutched the prism window harder, as the memory was covered in rainbow slime as it was oozing out of her chest. "You promised! Don't forget it!" Dawn looked at the window and smiled, as rainbow tears came oozing out of her eyes. "Don't break! Don't break her! Make sure she lives a happy life, no matter what. Love her. Always be by her side." She slid down on the window, feeling her chest hurting, as more colorful slime came out of her hole "Don't leave her alone. She will be a good lover to you... She will make you so happy, as you did for me," Dawn kept watching this universe while in great pain. "It's warm...and wet?" thought Blitz, who was in her human form, as she opened her eyes and could see she was in Braver's bedroom in the library. After what happened, she was allowed to stay at Braver's home, as Braver needed her. She turned and could see the broken wall was covered with a blanket. She sat up from the hay bed and felt something wet between her legs, which she quickly turned red. "No! I haven't wet the bed in years!" shouted Blitz within her mind as she pulled the cover off and sigh with relief as she saw Braver sleeping on her lower half and her mane was in slime form and oozing on her. She couldn't help but giggle at how cute her sister was. "You are such a cutie." Blitz got up and went to the bathroom, and she could see she was covered in Braver slime. It was dark black with bits of light blue and didn't stain her clothes; it was just a bit slimy and sticky. She looked at it, then back at Braver and back to her finger. She couldn't help but lick some of it and taste how sweet it was. Blitz laugh a bit as she turned to her sister "Black berry with blue berry...huh... Braver, you're so delicious." "I love you too, Blitz," whispered Braver as she flipped over "We'll always be one now." Blitz quickly sighed, "Sister complex dummy." Blitz cleaned herself and could see it was morning. She went and picked up the blanket and covered Braver, as she was sleeping soundly. She looked out the huge window—well, hole—and could see the town as ponies and creatures were waking up and starting their day. This place is called New Ponyville as she remembered it. She walked away, got her running leggings and shoes, and was heading to take a shower, but was suddenly tackled by Braver and fell into the tub. "MORNING LITTLE SISTER!" shouted Braver "AHHH! Get off me! YOU'RE ALL WET!" screamed Blitz, who was trying to push her sister off. "Hahaha, come on, let's wash together!" laughed Braver "No way, it's weird!" cried Blitz, who was struggling in the tight bathroom. Braver puff her cheeks and said "Its not! Little fillies do it all the time!" "B-Braver, get off me! It's not funny!" Blitz pulled her sister cheeks, hoping she would let go but her cheeks just became slime and oozed all over her. "You're right, it's not. Because it's not a joke," Braver fully turned into her slime form, giving off an evil vibe as she held up a bath sponge. "Now, hold still, little sister, as I scrub you clean!" "NOOOOOOO! BRAVERRRR!" screamed Blitz as she was fighting off Braver slime from getting her naked. "What the hay was that?" thought Luster Dawn as she was getting ready for the day. She looked out her door and could hear screams coming from up the stairs "Oh, Braver and her sister? What are they doing? It sounds like someone is being eaten alive," Dawn closed her bedroom door and headed up stairs to check on them. "You are such a perv!" shouted Blitz as she was quickly putting on her clothes, also running away from Braver, who was chasing her as a blob of slime with a creepy face on it. "But you need to wash in your ears!" cried Braver. "I can do that myself!" cried back Blitz, who ran around the library, dodging the slime attacks as Braver was spitting at her. "What the hay is going on?" Dawn watched all this going on as she was in the stairway, seeing the slime hitting the walls but the slime quickly returned to its master like it was alive. Heck, one even waved at Dawn before leaving. Brave turned and saw Dawn and waved at her as well as she said "I'm washing my little sister's ears! It's my job as her big sister!" "Get off meee!" screamed Blitz, who was quickly jumping away from Braver slime and landing on top of books, only to slide off the bookcase and crash onto the floor, only for Braver to quickly chase her down as Blitz jumped up and ran off. "Are they really sisters?" thought Dawn, who was watching all this with an emotionless face. "Ahhh! Get away from me!" Blitz was being chased, only to be quickly caught by Braver's tail and thrown to the ground as Braver pinned her down and quickly turned back to her pony form and closer to Blitz's face. "Got ya! Now stay still!" smiled Braver, as she wet the sponge with her slime "Noooo! Let me gooo!" Blitz was kicking her legs and trying to break free. "You two are so noisy," sighed Dawn as she walked over to them. "Dawn! You're here!" happily said Braver as her head made a 360-degree turn to meet her, which didn't freak her out, again being use to Braver over the years but she did froze for a second, smiled, and returned, walking to her. "So, what's going on? What was all the noise?" asked Dawn "Nothing," answered Blitz as she pushed her sister off and got up. "Well, it didn't sound like anything. It sounded like someone was being murdered," replied Dawn. "Hahaha, that was me screaming from a scary siscon," nervously replied Blitz as she backed away, as Braver slowly turned to her and had the evil smile again. "A what?" asked Dawn, who never heard that word before "Siscon?" "Nothing; we need to leave!" replied Blitz, who turned and ran out of the library. Braver turned her head and then her body back to Dawn and explained what a siscon is to her. "Oh, okay..." Dawn walked past Braver, cleaning up the mess, away from Braver sight and revealing her anger in her eyes as she learned what the word meant. She's simply jealous. "Why didn't you stop her?" asked Braver. "Huh?" answer Dawn, not facing her. "Stop her from leaving, silly." Braver started to help with the mess that she created, picking up the books. "You have four legs, don't you?" replied Dawn in a very cold tone. Braver look at her legs and giggle as she look back up "Oh, right! I do!" "Hey, Braver, can I ask you something?" asked Dawn "Sure, anything." replied Braver. "Why is Blitz acting so coldly towards you?" asked Dawn, still not facing Braver. "What?" "Well, I'm not going to deny it. She has been acting mean to you and has been ignoring your love." answered Dawn Braver pushed up a bookshelf and fixed it "It's a sibling thing! She's just hated it when her big sister loves her so much!" "Hmm..." replied Dawn. "Something the matter, Dawn? You don't seem happy." Braver was cleaning the room alone, never realizing that Dawn hadn't moved once from her spot. "I'm just...confuse. You are giving her so much love, yet she's rejecting it. I would never do that to you. I'll gladly take it all! You're my one and only friend, after all. I would never treat you like trash," replied Dawn, with an evil smile, showing her true colors. "Hehe, its a twin thing, Dawn. Don't worry, I'm sure she will come around." "You know I love you, right? My bestest and only friend!" "I know, and I love you too!" "And you would always love me, no matter what?" "Of course!" "Would you ever stop loving me?" "Nope, not even death will do us part." "Oh, Braver." "Dawn?" asked Braver as she turned around, seeing Dawn just standing there. "You are my whole world." "And your mine...are you okay?" "I will be soon..." Dawn turned around, giving Braver a bright smile. "Just fixing my mane with this mirror." she said, revealing a small mirror she summoned with her magic. "Oh, okay. Hey, you don't mind if you hold down the fort for today... I have to be somewhere today. I promise, I'll make it up to you. I'm so sorry, I can't stay with you today." explained Braver "Oh, no worries, Braver. I'll take care of the library." answered Dawn "You are the best friend I could ask for!" cheered Braver as she jumped on Dawn, hugged her, and nuzzled her cheek. "Thanks, I love you." "Love you more." "I love you most." "I love you more than most!" "Then I must love you more than anything else," whispered Dawn as she hugged her back, never wanting the hug to end. "Hehe, you're so silly, Dawn. I love you so much." whispered Braver "Me too." "You know, I'm so glad I'm friends with you, Dawn." "Same. You're the only friend I have." "Well, I hope we can make more soon." "No. You have me. That's all you need. Me," thought Dawn, hugging tighter. "I'm so happy, I can't stop smiling!" "Yeah, me too." Braver. as a slime, pass through Dawn's grip, hurry over to the door, and wave goodbye to her. "Bye! See you later, Dawn!" shouted Braver "Goodbye," replied Dawn, who didn't wave and just stared at her. Braver quickly closed the door and ran off to catch up with Blitz, who clearly created a crowd because no one had ever seen a human before. Dawn stared at the door for a long time, never blinking. She rose her mirror, and without noticing, her other self was pounding the glass surface, begging her to stop but also clutching her chest. "I'll scatter it—all of them, all the friends you made, all the family love you have—I'll scatter it and make you break. It's the only way. for me to have you, as you will need me. Only me." Her kemonomimi counter part started to punch the glass surface and start screaming, but it was useless; no one could see her. "I love her. I truly do. But I won't stand by and let anyone come between us. I'll shatter her. She'll never leave me if she can't leave at all." The mirror was shattered by her magic, and Dawn just smiled as she walked away. Within the sea of the white void, the other Dawn kept pounding the glass window and trying to get out and save herself. "Please! Stop it! She will be hurt! She will lose everyone, and she will be alone and broken! Please! Listen to me!" cried Dawn, trying to break the window and trying to reach her pony self. She stopped as she placed her head on the glass and started sobbing...until her chest started to pour out more rainbow liquid, and her sobs went from crying to laughter, and her eyes were wide and full of madness as dark covered her whole body "She will lose everything and be all alone. I won't let anyone take her away from me. I found them again! She is mine! ALL MINE!" laughed Dawn as the rainbow liquid started to fill the endless sea of void. Back in town, Blitz was back in her pony form as she had enough of the town folks annoying her as they're grouping up at her. Braver was super happy, as she was proudly showing off her little sister to everyone that came near. "SHE'S MY SISTER!" cheered Braver, showing off a nervous Blitz. "Please, stop it," whined Blitz, hating the attention. "And look how cute she is!" "Please, stop. Ponies and other creatures are staring." "Isn't my sister the best?" "Braver, please." "She's the cutest pony, ever!" "You're embarrassing me," said Blitz as she was using her wings to hide her face. "Aww, Blitz. Why so shy?" asked Braver, hugging her. "I hate the attention." "Don't worry, everyone will get used to you. Like they are with me." Blitz just wanted to leave and head back to the castle like what was planned, but Braver wanted to walk out of town first, and she couldn't say no to her; she wanted to spend time with her as well. "Oh, oh, look. A cafe; let's go there and have lunch together," suggested Braver, pulling Blitz. "It's still morning. When we come back." said Blitz, pulling her back by the tail. "I'm hungry," whined Braver, still pulling her. Blitz, still pulling her back by the tail "We will eat at the castle." "I want a milkshake." "We will have breakfast soon." "I want one now!" "Braver..." sighed Blitz, turning to her and seeing her as a long streak of slime, as her upper body was still back at the cafe. Soon, town folks started to slip on the slime as they walked by, not noticing it. "Please. Just one. It will be really quick. Please!" shouted Braver from afar. Blitz sighed "Fine, fine," she walked up to her and seeing the slime returning to its master. "Yay! Blitz the best!" cheered Braver as the slime started to pull her sister in. "Braver, stop it," said Blitz, but she wasn't fighting back; she pretty much gave up. "But I'm so happy," smiled Braver as she sat at the table. "I can tell, but your slime is spilling out," replied Blitz as she saw a dragon waitress tripping over the slime and tossing the drinks on a couple. "Oh, whoops. Sorry." blushed Braver as she scooped her slime back up and into her. "Sorry about that." apologized Blitz. "It's alright, miss. It happens. Classic Braver," smiled the waitress as she left. "So, what will you like?" asked Blitz, opening the menu. "Hmmm, how about this one? You'll enjoy it! I'm buying!" Blitz nodded and watched as Braver called the waitress from before and ordered the drinks. Though Blitz was confused, the waitress was blushing and smiling as she left. "Is it just me, or does that waitress like you?" asked Blitz, pointing at her. "Hmmm, what do you mean?" "Like...like." "Like, like? oh like a friend?" answered Braver with a happy smile. "...no, like 'love you'." "Ooooh...family love?" "No, more like a lover, love." "A what?" asked Braver as she tipped her head to the side, not knowing what Blitz was trying to tell her. "You don't know what love is?" Before Braver could answer, the waitress returned and placed a huge milk shake on the table. She turned to Blitz and gave her a thumbs up, confusing her until she saw a heart-shaped straw in the middle of the shake. The dragon waitress quickly ran off, giggling. "...what is this?" asked Blitz, seeing the heart-shaped straw. "It's a milkshake with 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream, 4 strawberries, 5 cherries, a lot of sugar, and a special love heart straw," answered Braver with a smile. Blitz looked at the mountain of ice cream "This is not a milkshake. This is a drink of diabetes," "Hehe, I know, isn't it cute? I always wanted to buy it, but it's for couples only! But you are here now! We can do a couple things too! We're sisters!" "Sis-" "Drink up!" "But-" "Drink up! Drink up! Drink up!" chanted Braver, cheering her sister on. "..." "Drink up! Drink up! DRINK UP!" chanted Braver as she gave off an evil look and pounded the table hard "Sister always shares! Let's drink it together!" "Braver, can't we just..." "Nope! It's for a couple only! So, you have to drink it with me, your sister! Now, drink it or I'll force you!" Blitz started to sweat as her sister was giving her the evil eye, and she slowly took a sip, as did her sister, and the milkshake was going down slowly. Soon, Braver pulled something out of her slime, and it was a camera. She took a picture of them drinking like a cute couple. "Nope, I'm out," quickly said Blitz as she stood up and walked away, ignoring her sister's cries to come back. "Hey, where are you going?" cried Braver, following after her. "Anywhere but there," replied Blitz, looking for an escape. "But why?!" "I'm not doing a couple thing with my sister! Stop being a siscon!" "But this is so cute." "No, it's not." Braver got a bit mad at her and angrily told her "Why are you being so stubborn?" "Because it's weird." "It's not weird!" "To me, it is!" Blitz turned to her, with a upset look on her face but also blushing. Braver held up the drink and shaking "Come on, Blitz." "No." "Come on!" "Stop." "Come on, Bli-" "...you okay?" simply asked Blitz, with a very worried tone in her voice, catching Braver off guard. "...huh?" "Are you okay, Braver?" asked Blitz again, as she walked up to her. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" Braver started to melt as she smiled at her. Blitz put her hoof on her sister's cheek and gave her a worry smile "Don't lie to me. not after what happened last night. Talk to me. Are you scared for today? Afraid of the session with my mom?" "..." "If so, don't worry. She's not that bad. She got her license and has been helping one of my friends back in my universe. She got it also to help me, to help me if I ever get triggered and she needed to understand what to do when it happens." "..." "I'm not sure if you're the type to like that kind of stuff or if it even exists here, but it helps. Trust me, I had my first session with her years ago when I got triggered, and, well, it's embarrassing to talk about since I'm telling my mom everything, but she didn't act like my mom; she acted like a real professional therapist who just listened to me and made sure I didn't harm myself. That's what she will do with you, Braver. Make sure you don't hurt yourself, and make sure you're happy and help deal with...you know..." Blitz took the drink and set it down. She waited for her sister to say something to her "Come on, say something. Anything," "...you're right." "Huh?" "You're right about me... I'm...scared. Very scared, in truth, Blitz. I don't want to have a therapy session. I hate the idea of telling my life to someone, and that person has seen what I did in the past. Worse, it's another mommy." "...other mother? You see Twilah as a mom?" "Well, yeah, she's mom after all. It's like Discord said to everyone that day when he showed them their other prime selves. 'The multiverse is the place where anything can happen. No matter how far you change—in name, body, or whatever—it's still the same person. You are still the same, deep, deep down inside. It's always you.', remember that? Mommy is always mommy!" explained Braver as tears started rolling down her face and onto her body, forming back into her. Blitz smiled, hugged her, and let her cry. "Thanks, sis. Thanks for helping me through this. Thanks for understanding me. Thank you..." "Come on, it's okay. You're alright, Braver," smiled Blitz as she rubbed her sister's head. "I'm a bad twin... I shouldn't be making you worry." "No, you're not. You're not bad. You're a great sister." "I am?" "Of course." Braver returned to her happy self, picked up the drink, and finally started to leave with Blitz and head off to the castle. "Spike, can you move the patient chair over here?" asked Twilah, still in her anthro form. "Gotcha, Twi," answered Spike as he moved the chair with ease after growing up so big and well built. "Spike, can you move the desk to the right? It's off center now with the patient chair," asked Twilight as she was checking everything was well placed, as this old storage room is being used as a therapy room for her daughter. "Sure." answered Spike again, as he moved the desk. Dash walked in and over to Twilight, who was still triple checking everything "Twi, it's fine. Everything looks fine." "You're right. It's perfect," replied Twilight. "No, the picture is off center as well. Spike?" "On it, Twilight," answered Spike, who was putting something away and hurried over to the picture. "I'm Twilah." Twilah quickly corrected Spike. "Oh, sorry. It's just that you two are alike and even sound alike. I can't help but get the wrong name." "I know, right. I mean, I can't even tell my own wife from Twilah," jokey reply Dash as she laughed "What do you mean by that?" "Just what I mean, sweetheart. I can't tell which one is you. Your both the same to me," simply answered Dash, kissing Twilight on the check. "Dash, she's not an nothing like me. You can easily tell us a part," replied Twilight with a deadpan look and tone. "True." Dash started to fell like she was about to start something and started to sweating. "Dash, are you saying you can't tell me or your wife a part?" asked Twilah with an upset look. "What! Of course, not. I'm just playing around, Twilight. I mean, Twilah," corrected Dash, as she started to sweat as she felt Twilight's dagger glare. Dashie walked in with the potted plants and knew where to leave them, as she knows her girlfriend very well. "Dashie, move the plant to the other side; it will be a better fit over there." "Alright, love." Dashie picked up the pot but heard an upset cough from behind her. She turned and saw Twilah tapping her foot "...What's wrong?" asked Dashie, as she ignored Dash,who was behind Twilah and was waving no at her but face palm as she heard her talk. "You spoke to me." Twilight walked up to Twilah side, also little upset. "Sorry?" "Even you can't tell us apart?" questioned Twilah, also little upset. "What?" "You two can't really tell us apart." "I'm sure I can...right Dash!" angry shouted Dashie as she saw Dash trying to leave the room and pulled her back inside. Dash flew to her face and whispered, "Dude! WHY!?" "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me! I know you started this!" whispered Dashie back. "I did not." Spike wasn't sure what to do. Should he leave or stay? He was told to get everything ready, but both Twilight's told him to stay. So he stayed in the corner...and watched the poor Dash's suffer. "Okay, we're going to play a little game. You two ready?" asked both Twilight's at the same time. "No," said both Dash's, sweating. "Good. Turn around." both mares asked. Dash and Dashie did what they were told and were faced with a wall. "You both have 10 seconds to guess who's talking to you. Twilight or Twilah If you fail three times, we're not talking to you for a week." both said at the same time. "..." "And no cheating either. got it?" "Yes..." "Let's start!" "Okay, we're ready!" said Dash and Dashie, still facing the wall. "Okay, here goes. Who's ready for a fun time in bed later?" "..." Both Dash and Dashie started to sweat a storm when they heard that. They were too scared to answer, but they had to. "Can't be Twilight; she doesn't have the guts to say that. It's Twilah!" Dash answered, still freaking out but hopeful. "Oh, like how you don't have the guts to say those words to me? It was me, by the way." answered Twilight, sounding angry. Dash started to sweating more as she got it wrong "I'm sorry!" "Strike one for Dash. Spike, put that down." "Right Twil-" Spike quickly stopped as he looked up, seeing both mares glaring at him, realizing he almost stepped on a land mine. "Right. Dash has 1 strike." Twilight and Twilah both talked, as it sounded like they were enjoying this "Now, the next one." "Here goes. I love it when you run. It turns me on." "..." "Dashie, are you blushing?" "NO! IT'S NOT THAT; YOU'RE NOT MEANT TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH OTHERS AROUND, TWILAH!" "You had it; it was me, but I wasn't asking you that question. Dashie got a strike." angrily said Twilah "I'm sorry!" shouted Dashie, blushing and sweating a storm. "Here goes. When we first met, I knew you were the one for me." "..." "It's Twilah. There's no way Twilight can say that." "Sorry, Dash, but it was Twilight. Strike 2 for Dash." "What!? It was Twilight!" shouted Dash as she turned around, seeing Twilight blushing and mad at her. "Dude, really?" asked Dashie, punching Dash on the shoulder. "What? How did you know?" "Because Twilah isn't the type to say something like that, it should be more like, 'When we first met, you were the one who saved me. Thank you.', right?" asked Dashie, turning to her Twilight "You are right," answered Twilah, sounding happy and blushing. Dash, not believing this "What? Really?" Twilight looked at her counterpart and at Dashie. She started to feel jealous of the two "Okay, turn around.". Both girls turned around. "I love you..." "..." "..." Both girls had no idea who said it. They looked at each other, realizing they're so freaking screwed. "You both are terrible at this. How can't you not tell us a part? Even our kids can. I'm not letting you touch me." "..." "..." Both girls knew that question was not only a trap but also a way out. They had to guess, so they guessed. "Twilight!" answered both at the same time. "Correct, it was Twilight." "Yes!" cheered Dash and Dashie, happily. "But both of you have two strikes," Twilah gave Dashie a glare of death "So, you can't figure it was me, huh?" Dashie gulped as she heard Twilah's upset voice. "Okay, turn around." The girls turned around and faced the wall again. "Here goes." "When you said 'I love you', it filled me with a feeling I had never felt before. I was so happy... I didn't care if I died right then and there." Dashie tried to guess, but she noticed Dash just sitting there, looking sad. "Dash? What's wrong?" asked Dashie. "I'm sorry." simply said Dash as she turned around, seeing Twilight looking away, looking hurt. Twilah and Dashie were confused, even more so as Spike said Dash had three strikes, making her the loser. Before they could say anything to them, they could hear the girls coming down the hall, causing everyone to forget what just happened and wait for the girls to come in, which was Braver tackle hugging Dash to the ground. "MOM!" shouted Braver. "Oof!" Braver was wagging her tail like a dog and rubbing her cheek against her mother's cheek "Hello, sweetie," Dash is happy to see her daughter being her normal stuff. "Braver, honey. Get off your mother." smiled Twilight as she used her magic to pull her off, setting her in front of Twilah. "Honey. Twilah is going to help you until we find a way to get her and her family back home, which, by the way, we need to talk about, but not now, so don't worry. Alright." "Sure..." answered Braver as her ears dripped down and her body melted for a bit. Twilah bent down and looked into Braver's eyes, asking her a few questions "You've been a good girl, Braver?" "Yup!," answered Braver. "Nothing is making you feel uncomfortable." "Nope!" "You know, your mom and mommy love you very much. Okay?" "Yup!" "You don't have to worry. You are safe here." "I know," whispered Braver, returning to normal. "Good. Before we start, everything that is said here stays here, okay? Unless you want to hurt yourself, others, or your family. So, unless they need to know something very important, like self harm or other important things, nothing is leaving this room, but don't worry; if they ask me for stuff during the session, I won't tell them." "Okay." Twilah stood up and showed her the long chair to lay on, asking her to sit. As she sat down, everyone started to leave, making her scared. "Hey! Wait! Where are you going? You can't just leave! What's going  on?"shouted Braver "It's okay, sis. This is how things go. Relax, okay?" Blitz said, walking back into the room and sitting next to her. "B-Blitz, why is everyone leaving?" "It's because we can't know what you tell my mom. What you say here stays between you and her, remember? It's the rules." "I don't understand." "Don't worry about it. You'll be okay. I promise. Just do your best." "Okay." Blitz turned around and walked out with the others, shutting the door behind her. leaving Braver with Blitz's mom. "Well, hello, Braver. I'm Twilah Finkelstein. Nice to meet you." kindly said Twilah as she sat in the chair right next to Braver. "Nice to meet you too." "How are you feeling? Is there anything I should be concerned about?" "Not really. Just a little nervous." "Alright. I know you might have some questions. So, let's start there. I'll answer what I can. Okay?" "Okay." "Good. Now, what do you want to know?" "OH! How was it like raising Blitz?" shouted Braver, standing up, all excited. "W-what!" replied Twilah, catching her off guard by the question. "Yeah! How did you raise Blitz?" "Well, it was a lot of hard work and..." "Like, did you teach her how to use her powers, like flying and changing form?" "Well, we taught her the basics as best we could since we saw your mother's memories and..." "Like, what did you do?" Twilah stopped her by raising her hand up to her mouth "Braver, when I said questions, I meant what we were going to do here today. We can talk about Blitz after this, okay?" "Okay," replied Braver, sitting back down, all sad "Good. Let's start with the CBT." "What's that?" "CBT stands for cognitive behavioral therapy. It's a psychotherapy treatment used to relieve or change troublesome thoughts and feelings." "That's...a mouthful." "I'll try to make things simple for you. Basically, this is how I can help you. With what we will talk about here, will it help you to be a better pony? Slime? Both!" "That's why you wanted everyone to leave. So, it was to make me feel comfortable talking about personal things. Like Blitz was saying." "That's correct." "That's actually a smart way to help others. I like it." "Thank you. Alright, Braver. First, I need to know more about you before I can help you." "Alright." "Okay. First question: have you ever had a nightmare before?" "Of course." "And can you describe this nightmare to me?" "I dreamt that I was back in my mommy's garden. She was happy; she was alive. Even when she told me she loved me, she was dying again, right in front of me. I was screaming that I was sorry. I killed her again! I KILLED HER AGAIN!" shouted Braver as she broke down crying. "There, there. It's okay. It's just a dream," replied Twilah, petting her and held her close. Braver cried and cried as she cried into her chest, hugging her back. She knew it was from the past, when Breaker killed Nightfall that night, as Braver was only protecting Blitz as Nightfall hurt them after seeing their slime form for the first time. Nightfall only did that as her fear took over. She saw her memories; she regretted them, like how Twilight regretted hurting Braver last night. "I killed her," sobbed Braver. "Shh...shhh. Its alright. Its okay. You didn't mean too." "But I did! She was scared of 'us' and I only wanted to protect Blitz from the pain she felt on her body but also her heart. It was hurting me too." "What are you talking about, honey?" "When mommy was alive, she was kind and loving to Blitz. I saw all the love they gave her as I watched within Blitz. I felt jealous, but yet, I was happy for her. She is me, after all. I wanted to protect her, never seeing her being hurt, so I started to reach out to her and talk to her. To the point, we started to become one on that night. Mommy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." "Braver, can you tell me a few things about what you've been through?" "W-what did I go through? What do you mean?" "Like, before meeting your mom's? Like, where your 'slime' came from? Prime Discord talked about it. Do you know where your from?" "Oh, that." "Yes, that." "I don't want to talk about that." "That's okay. Let's move onto the next part." "Okay." "Good." Twilah pulled out her book and started to write a few things as Braver sat up and looked at her. "Hey, Twilah." "Yes." "Do you love Blitz?" "Of course. More than anything." "Did you hurt her?" "Excuse me?" said Twilah, looking at her with a bit of anger. "Blitz. Did you ever hurt her? Like, did you hit her when she was bad or yell at her when she didn't do her homework?" "Oh...no, never. Dashie was always the one to help her with homework and other things. She never did that; trust me." "You never helped her with anything? You never did anything to help her?" "I did. I was the one who took her to the doctors for her shots and the dentist when her teeth were hurting her." "No, I mean, be around her. like spending time with her. Reading her a book, doing arts and crafts together, or taking her out to play" "Well, I was busy working." "Too busy?" "Yeah." "So, you're the breadwinner." "T-That's correct." "So, how many jobs do you work at?" "O-One." "One?" "Y-yeah...." "Hmmm...okay. Mommy is a princess! It's her one job as well! Even though she's ruling over Equestria, she's always made time for me! even when I don't ask. You two are truly alike!" "That's great; we're each other's counterparts after all!" stuttered Twilah, as she realized Twilight was being the better mom here, as they were nothing alike in that department. "I'm glad. Sorry for asking! Just wanted to check if my sister was in good hands with you, momma!" Braver smiled at her, which took Twilah off guard again as she heard Braver call her 'momma'. "It's alright. We're just getting started, okay? Let's get back to it." Twilah, fixed her glasses. "Okay. I'll answer anything." "Good. Now, when did the dreams start to happen?" "Oh, it was when mommy taught me to fly when I came to live here!" "You mean, Dash, right? Can you start calling them by their names? It will be easier to keep track," asked Twilah as she was writing stuff down, and Braver nodded. "So, can you give me full details that day? The day when you learned to fly?" "Oh! Yeah!" smiled Braver, nodding as she remembered it all, like it was yesterday. Dash was teaching her how to fly by jumping off a cloud and catching her if she wasn't flying. It went on like that until she was able to fly without falling. Dash was so proud of her! "Dash was smiling at me! She was so happy that I could fly!" "Good, good. And how did that make you feel, Braver?" "Oh, I felt so happy!" "Why did it make you happy, Braver?" Braver was quiet as her eyes went wide, making Twilah notice this. "Braver? Are you okay?" asked Twilah, and Braver just looked at her "Braver, please tell me. Why did learning how to fly make you happy?" "It was the third time... I was facing Mommy again... I was happy...happy that she will kill me," Braver smile as her memory of Dash flashed between Sky, when Sky fought the slime in the kingdom of night and then later, in the kingdom of day. "Braver!" "I didn't want to hurt her or anyone anymore... I didn't want to kill her again. I just wanted to make her smile." "Braver, snap out of it!" "I DIDN'T WANT TO BURN HER AGAIN!" Braver held her head as her tears fell from her face and the ground rumbled, as a dark aura was around her, with her pony ears and tail fading. Twilah jumped back and looked at Braver in fear, as Braver's mind was taken over by her past. Twilah quickly wrote something down, nodded to herself, and shouted at Braver. "IS THAT WHY YOU LOVE HER SO MUCH!? ALWAYS BEING SPOILED BY DASH, LIKE TWILIGHT TOLD ME! NO, YOU SPOILED HER, RIGHT? AS A WAY TO FORGIVE YOURSELF!" shouted Twilah as the howling noise was getting louder "BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T, THE PAIN YOU AND BLITZ FELT FROM YOUR MOM DEATHS WILL BE REPEATED, RIGHT? THE ONLY WAY YOU COULD STOP IT WAS TO LOVE HER!" shouted Twilah as her voice echo through the room "LOVE HER TO NOT REPEAT HISTORY AND TRY TO GET HER TO LOVE YOU, BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING MORE SCARED IN LIFE, RIGHT!? THAT'S WHY YOU'RE SO ATTACHED TO DASH! YOU'RE LETTING HER IN, BUT, IN REALITY, YOU'RE SCARED OF HER! SCARED OF LOSING HER! SCARED OF LOOSING YOURSELF!" shouted Twilah once again. "NO!" shouted Braver, crying harder, but her ears and tail started to return as the aura left, making Twilah sigh "No, I'm not scared of her. I'm not," Braver cried as Twilah sat back down and nodded. "Yes, yes, I know. Now, let's talk about  this, huh?" said Twilah as she suddenly heard yelling from outside the door. It was Dash yelling. "LET ME GO TWILIGHT! Don't you hear her crying! SHE NEEDS US!" "Dash! Twilah said to not go in there, no matter what happens, unless she calls for us!" "SCREW THAT!" Suddenly, Dash broke through the doors. She was being held down by Twilight's magic, but she didn't care; she needed to be there for her daughter. "I'M HERE, SWEETIE!" "Mommy!" Braver saw Dash and flew to her, but suddenly saw flashes of Sky, who was slowly being burned alive by her rainbow aura. This caused Braver to fall backwards, screaming, "STAY AWAY! GET AWAY!" Twilah noticed she was having a panic attack, wrote something down, and shouted to Twilight and Dash. "Get out now!" "What?! No, I need to." "She's having a panic attack; you triggered her! DAMN IT!" shouted Twilah at Dash, as she was enraged by her actions in coming in here. "But she needs..." "SHE'S SCARED OF YOU! OUT! NOW!" shouted Twilah with an angry tone, causing Dash to be confused. Twilight knew she had no choice and teleported Dash away with her. finally leaving Twilah and Braver alone. Dashie and Blitz were outside and saw what happened. Blitz was about to go to her sister, but Dashie stopped her. "No, you might make it worse. Let mom handle this; trust her." "Okay," sighed Blitz, as she didn't want to cause anymore problems. She saw her mom shut the doors with her magic. Back inside the room, Twilah was holding Braver, rocking her back and forth. "Shhh, its okay, its okay, I'm here, I'm here. It's okay, its okay." Braver was crying her eyes out and was hugging her. "I-i-I'm sorry! I'm sorry, mommy, I'm sorry!" "Shhh, shhh, its okay, it's okay. Let's start the diaphragmatic breathing. Breath in and out. Good, good, again. Breath in...and out." For a good five minutes, Twilah taught Braver diaphragmatic breathing to calm her nerves and to relax. Braver was starting to feel better, and the aura was fully gone. "You alright now, sweetie?" asked Twilah, with a smile, causing Braver to smile. "Yeah, thank you." "Good, now let's do the progressive muscle relaxation next. I want you to slowly take in a deep breath and exhale slowly." "Okay, like this?" "Very good. Now, tense up every muscle in your body and hold for 10 seconds. Then release, and repeat. Keep going until I say so." Twilah was holding a timer as Braver slowly tensed up her body. "Tense, 10 seconds. Relax for 5 seconds. Good. Again. Tense, 10 seconds. Relax for 5 seconds." They kept this up for a good few minutes until Twilah stopped the timer. "Very good. Now, can you feel your body slowly relax?" "Yeah, yeah, I can feel it. I feel so much better. Thank you, mommy!" answered Braver, wagging her tail "Good, now I want you to do this when you start feeling overwhelmed, okay? It will help to reduce your stress and anxiety." "Okay." "Now, I'm going to tell you something important, and you're not going to like it, but you need to hear it." Twilah had a serious face, causing Braver to nod "Your feelings are valid. I can't tell you to stop feeling a certain way or try to get rid of those feelings. But I can teach you how to manage those feelings so that they don't take over you." "You...can? So, it's okay that I love mommy so much?" "Yes, it's okay. In fact, it's wonderful that you love your mom so much. She loves you too, so much." Twilah smiled, causing Braver to smile as well "You just need to understand that love is a two-way street. You can't love someone else without loving yourself first. If you don't, then you're only going to end up hurting yourself." "I...don't understand." "Well, for example, you can't give 100% of yourself to someone else if you're only giving 10% of yourself." "Oh, I think I get it. If I'm not putting myself first, then I'm not going to be able to put others first. Right?" "Right. It's very easy to become codependent and lose yourself in a relationship. You have to make sure you're always taking care of yourself before you take care of others." "Codependent? What's that?" "It's when you rely on someone else to make you happy. And when you're not with them, you're miserable." "Oh. So, I should love mommy, but not be too dependent on her." "Exactly. You need to learn to stand on your own two feet. I mean, four hooves. Wait, two wings? Whatever you get it, right?" asked Twilah as she scratched the back of her head. "Heh, yeah. I think I do. Thanks, mom." "Of course. I'm always here for you. Now, let's try this again, okay?" "Okay." Twilah sat down in front of Braver and took out her notes. "Good. Now, let's talk about these flashbacks you're having. Tell me, Why do you think you're having these flashbacks?" "Um, well, I guess because I'm scared of losing mommy again. Just like when I lost my other mom." "I see. Tell me, why are you afraid of losing her?" "I don't want to lose her because I love her. both of them. They're my moms, the ones who saved me. You and the others saved us! I just can't lose them, not again. I don't think I could live with myself if I lost them again. Not when they're the reason I'm here." "The reason you're here? Do you mean the reason you were created?" "No, no. I mean, yes, I was created to break things, but that's not it. She's the reason I'm still alive. Again, all of you are the reason we're here. Blitz and I, If it wasn't for you guys, we would've died." "Oh, Braver, I didn't know you felt that way. But I have to ask, did we really save you? Or did we just bring you back?" "Huh? What do you mean?" "Well, yes, you were brought back. But was it because you wanted to be brought back? Or were you forced back?" "What are you talking about?" asked Braver, seeing Twilah's very upset face. "Tell me, do you believe in fate?" "Fate? What's that?" "Fate. Fate is the concept that everything in the universe happens for a reason. There is a set plan for everything and everyone. that nothing can ever be changed. Do you believe in that?" "I, um, I don't know. I mean, I know I was created, but was it because I was fated to be born?" "That's exactly what I'm asking. Someone told us that there were rules in the multiverse—that things were meant to happen, no matter how bad or good they were; it was fate, and we weren't allowed to change anything. Do you believe that?" "I don't know. It sounds like a lot to take in. I mean, if everything's fated, then does that mean mommy is fated to die?" "Hmm, well, not necessarily. Remember, fate is just a concept. I believe it's not set in stone. There are plenty of things that happen in life that are outside of our control. We can't predict the future. Like how your mothers came to us and set off everything, bringing all of us to you and Blitz. They fought against fate to save you two. Again, did we really save you? or did we just bring you back by force? Because if the latter is true, then it means we just brought you back from death and made you suffer. Are you suffering, Blitz? ...did we..." Twilah suddenly stopped as she realized she was crying and calling. Braver by her sister's name "Mommy?" "I'm sorry, Braver. It's just that I can't bear the thought of making you or Blitz suffer. All of us, if everyone were here right now, we just couldn't handle the thought of losing you two. Your mothers gave everything to bring you back and make sure you lived. You earned this life, but if we made you suffer, it would've all been for nothing." "Mommy..." whispered Braver as she got up and ran towards the door, causing Twilah to stand up. "Braver! Wait! Where are you going?" Braver pushed Blitz into the room, walking back to Twilah. "Blitz told me she has what I have. We might be suffering, but..." Braver looked behind herself, seeing Blitz confused. "We're suffering together. That's what we want. If we're going through something, we want to go through it together, not alone. You and everyone saving us weren't for nothing! You did save us. You saved us together. You didn't force us to come back; we came back on our own!" yelled Braver. "To be with you. both of you. Because we love you!" finished Blitz, as she realized what was going on. She, too, said this to her. "Mom, are you still thinking that?" Twilah Horn started to flash purple on its own, releasing a memory, maybe it was her element of magic at work? Twilah started to remember a few years back, as she asked Blitz the question of not really saving them but making them suffer... "Your mothers gave everything to bring you back and make sure you lived. You earned this life, but if we made you suffer, it would've all been for nothing.Are we making you suffer, sweetie?" "Mom," said Blitz, as she saw her mom crying as she was sitting in her chair. She didn't know why her mom was acting this way, as she's been like this for a few weeks after having a session with her when she had a bad trigger, and Blitz can't get her to stop. "Blitz. Tell me, is it wrong that I don't feel like a real mother to you? I just keep thinking that if I hadn't saved you and your sister, none of this would've happened. None of this would've been real. If we didn't save you, then you would be at peace and wouldn't have to deal with me and Dashie. We would've never known you, and we wouldn't be a family. We wouldn't be making you suffer like this. Blitz, sweetie, am I really your mother? ...am I doing more harm than good? I just feel like I'm not being a good mother to you. Am I? No, I know I'm not. I'm the reason you suffer, the reason you have PTSD. If we didn't save you, would it have been better?" "Mom! Don't say that!" shouted Blitz as she sat up from the long chair. "Why not? It's the truth. This life isn't what your mother wanted for you. She wanted you to have a good life, not a life of trauma. Maybe, if we hadn't saved you, you would've had a better life in de-" "Stop! Please, don't say that; please, please stop!" yelled Blitz as she ran into her mother, wrapping her arms around her, crying. "Please don't leave me. I need you. Please, I don't want you to go! We'll suffer together. That's what I want. If we're going through something, we should go through it together, not alone. You and everyone saving us weren't for nothing! You did save us. You saved us together. You didn't force us to come back; we came back on our own!" cried Blitz, as Twilah remembered her daughter's words as her horn stopped flashing and the memory disappeared. "To be with you. both of you. Because we love you!" finished Blitz, hugging her mom tightly, as she could feel her mom hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry, sweetie, Braver. I just realized it's been bothering me for a while now, and I couldn't get rid of it." "It's okay, mom," whispered Blitz as she just hugged her while Braver looked on, smiling, but Dashie looked upset. After a few minutes, Twilah was okay again and told Braver they should stop here for today. "I'm sorry, sweetie, about all of this. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." "It's okay, Mommy; it helped me... I want to keep doing this. Can we?" asked Braver, with her puppy dog eyes. Twilah giggled as she said yes, they can do this again in two days, but she lowered herself to her and said, "Listen, Braver, if you feel like a trigger is coming on, you need to tell us or whoever you are with it. No one is going to judge you or hate you. We will understand and help you through it, no matter what. Do you want a safe word? So, we can know if you're in trouble, and be careful what we do or say to you." Braver nodded as she thought of one. "Dawn..." blushed Braver. "Dawn?" said all three. "Your friend's name? This universe, Dawn? Why?" asked Twilah, confused. "Because that's when I feel happy, and I don't want to see or hear the bad things, so I'll say her name. She'll make me happy." Twilah closed her eyes and smiled. "Yup, both of you are twins," thought Twilah as she turned to Blitz, who was smiling, as her daughter's safe word was the same and for the same reason. Soon, Twilah asked them to head to the garden, as they needed to talk about how to get home and other things. She told them to go ahead while she finished up here. Both girls left, but Dashie stayed behind and shut the door. "Dashie, why are you?" "Why didn't you tell me?" simply asked Dashie, as she didn't turn to her, as she was still holding the doorknob. "...what are you talking about?" "That, you felt like that!" shouted Dashie as she turned to her, tears in her eyes. "You think you weren't good for the blitz? You felt her, and Braver was better fucking dead, right? Right?! How could you feel that way? Why, would you think that?" Dashie was crying now. Twilah was silent, as she just simply stared at her. "We're a team! We're in it together! We should talk about this! Instead of you keeping it to yourself like that, that's not a team! We're supposed to work together and support each other! I should be there for you, and yet, I didn't even know, until now, that you felt that way!" "Dashie, you couldn't do anything about it. Besides, it's all in the past." "What if I could do something? What if I could've stopped it? Or at least, comforted you, or helped you through it?" "You couldn'-" "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" screamed Dashie as she stood there, clutching her fist. Twilah was very surprised by this, as she had never seen Dashie so mad before. She started to feel small "Why do you keep putting me down? I can do things! Yet, you never trust me! Am I that much of a failure to you?" "No, of course not! You're a great-" Dashie glared at her as she slowly walked up to Twilah, making her even smaller "Don't. You. Dare. Lie. To. Me. Am I a failure? Tell me the truth. Am I? You still feel that I am, right? Not going pro in running!" "...no...you're not..." "Then why do you put me down? Why do you treat me like I'm a weakling? Huh?! I'm not weak!" "I know! But I just want to protect you!" "Protect me!? What the hell are you talking about?" "Dashie, calm down; you're overthinking things. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You know, I love you." "You can't love me, and put me down! That's not love! You're treating me like I'm a child, not your girlfriend! Is that what I am? A child? To you?" "No! You're not! Dashie, please, let's stop this. It's getting too far." "Too far?! You think this is too far? After all of that, you can't even give me a straight answer! What do you see me as?" "Dashie, please, you're actin-" "LIKE WHAT?!" shouted Dashie "LIKE MY FATHER!" shouted back Twilah, as Dashie was taken aback by this. "What are you talking about?" "Dashie, my father, used to scream and shout at me and my mom. He would hit us. If my mom talked back to him, he would beat her. Even if I said the right things, he would still beat me. You know that. That's why I can't stand yelling and screaming, especially in the house. I told you this. I told you not to raise your voice in the house and not to scream at the top of your lungs. If you do, you'll trigger me, like before. I didn't tell you, because I didn't want to scare you or have you look at me the way my father did." "How...did he look at you?" "...like you are doing right now." Dashie took a step back, as she felt ashamed and was staring at Twilah the same way her father did. "Oh, my god... Twilah, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." "Don't worry about it. You were mad and wanted answers. You're just like me. We don't like to be lied to or treated like kids." Both kept quiet until Dashie put her hand in her pocket, felt the box of the wedding ring, and clutched it hard. "Dashie-" "I need to run for a bit," Dashie ran out of the room, leaving Twilah alone, feeling like a failure and that she had hurt the most wonderful person in her life. "Sorry," whispered Twilah as the door slowly closed behind Dashie. Meanwhile, Twilight teleported Dash and herself into the AJ barn. "Why are we here?" "I just thought of whatever, and it happened to be this place!" Twilight sat on the hay covered ground. "Why? Why didn't you listen to me? You saw how she acted! You hurt her! ...just like I did." Dash sighed "Sorry, I just didn't want her to be alone! I wanted to be there for her! I don't know if we're good parents. I mean, the way Braver acted, we failed her. We should've noticed her triggers. I thought we would've been a great team, a great couple, and the best moms ever. I guess I was wrong." Dash sat down on the hay-covered floor and started to cry, which made Twilight heart break in sadness. "Dash-" "Twilight, I'm sorry. You should be with someone better than me." "But I love you. And only you. There is no one else like you. I didn't have any feelings for anyone else but you. I only love you." Twilight used her magic to carry Dash to her, hugging her, "I love you, Rainbow Dash." "I...I...I like you too," stutters Dash, causing Twilight to shake her head. "Why?" simply asked Twilight. "Huh?" "Why can't you say "I love you" to me? I told you that I loved you. But why can't you say "I love you" too? Even right now, when I'm pouring my love out to you, You can't even say it right now. Am I not good enough for you?" "NO! Of course, you're good enough! It's me; that's not good enough!" "How are you not good enough? You're my lover! My wife! You're amazing, in every way possible! What's stopping you from telling me that you love me?" "...because I'm afraid." "Afraid of what? Me? Loving me? Me not loving you? What are you afraid of?" "Everything!" yelled Dash as Twilight looked at her, confused. "I'm, afraid. I'm not good enough for you. I'm scared that you might leave me for someone else. I'm scared that if I told you that I loved you, then something would go wrong. You would realize that you don't love me and want to break up with me. If I did tell you, "I love you" now, then that would cause you to not love me." "Oh, Rainbow," whispered Twilight as she hugged Dash tightly while crying. "I love you. No matter what, I love you. No one can change that. I'm not leaving you for someone else." Dash pushed her away. "You don't know that! You don't know that!" "Yes, I do!" "You don't know anything about the future, and neither do I! You could be thinking of leaving me for some other mare! Behind my back!" "You think I would cheat on you? REALLY!?" "YES! YES! Because you can! YOU CAN HAVE ANYONE YOU WANT!" Twilight was taken aback by this, as she took a step back. "You can have anyone and anything. You're the princess of friendship; you could get anyone. Even, Celestia. You could have her if you want! Hell, even Cadan-" Dash couldn't finish as Twilight slapped her for the first time ever. Dash looked at her and saw how hurt she was. "Is that what you think of me?" cried Twilight as tears poured down her eyes. "No, no, it's not." "THEN WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?" "Because, I'm scared! Scared of losing...you," Dash realized she was doing very thing right now. "Twilight, I'm so sorry." "No, you are not. If you're scared, then maybe you should be with someone else. If that's how you feel about me." "I'm not saying you would, Twilight. Please, you're the best thing in my life, besides Braver and the others." "I can't take this. Dash, I can't take being with some pony who can't say, "I love you," because she thinks I'm a... I can't even say it. I can't deal with this right now." said Twilight as she opened a portal. "Twilight, wait! Let's talk-" "About what? The fact that you're scared of losing me? You think I would cheat on you? And the fact that you think I'm a..." Twilight shut her eyes as she could bear to say it "please don't follow me. Just let me be alone," Twilight walked through the portal, and the portal disappeared, leaving Dash alone. Dash fell to her knees as she started to cry. She cried and cried until she couldn't anymore. She wiped the tears from her eyes, looked up, and saw the sun in the sky. She smiled and laughed at it, as she thought it was funny. "Hahahaha, hahaha...ha...it's just a sun. You have all the time in the world when you have to move it... I don't. Twilight, I'm sorry. I'm scared of losing you. I don't know what to do without you. You're my life. I can't lose you. Not, again." Dash worst fears were coming true and she didn't know what to do...just to head back to the castle... Soon, in the castle garden, the twins were enjoying lunch as the maids brought them food to enjoy. They soon noticed Twilah and Dash walking to the garden, but without their partner, and were wondering why. "Hey, Braver, is your mom okay?" asked Blitz, who was confused. "Why wouldn't she be?" asked Braver. "I dunno, I mean, isn't Twilight supposed to be with your mom? In fact, where's my mom?" Braver and Blitz were starting to get a bad feeling about this as they looked at each other. Dash and Twilah sat down and put on a great front as they acted like nothing happened between their lovers. "Okay, girls, we need to know. How did you get that prism window?" asked Twilah as the twins looked at her and then at each other. "I just appeared in front of us one day, and we saw each other," answered Braver. "Then you just didn't question it? It just popped out of nowhere," asked Dash as the twins nodded. Twilah placed her hand on her chin and spoke, "This is odd. Nightfall explained that the prism windows can only appear in the wall of between, not within the universe. How did one end up in both worlds? ...And why was it for you two? It's as if someone wants the two of you to meet again." "Someone like who?" asked Blitz, confused. "Maybe..." whispered Twilah as she remembered wanting to ask Prime Discord a question before he left but couldn't, which was about the person he was talking about. "Hey, wait a minute," whispered Dash as everyone turned to her. "You said both of you could see each other, right?" "Yeah?" asked the twins. "That's impossible; prism windows aren't two-way. It's like watching TV. It's not really a true window." explained Twilah. "Then how did we hear each other? How could we talk to each other?" asked Blitz. "That's the thing. They can't. Unless..." Twilah started to put things together and was gonna say her theory but Braver quickly finished her theory already as she spoke. "Unless they can fuse as one! That has to be it!" shouted Braver as she jumped out of the chair, put on her glasses, and started to explain her theory. "If a prism window could fuse with another, then they could become a real window! a real doorway. It wasn't a crack in the walls, but a window! So, we fused a prism window with another, which means it can go back and forth! We can always see each other!" shouted Braver as she hugged Blitz, who was just as happy as her. Twilah was shock and could only smile in how smart Braver was "Wow, she was thinking what I was going to say." Dash puffed her chest out as she was proud of her daughter. "Well, she is a smart cookie but also takes after Twilight." Dash quickly remembered Twilight and became sad, but quickly shook it off. "Okay, so how do we find it again? Did we scatter it? Is it gone forever?" asked Blitz Braver shook her head. "No, even though we smashed our way through, I felt myself getting stuck when I was reaching out to you, like it was repairing itself... I believe they're off in the wall of between and recovering. But the problem is, will it return to us after it's done repairing itself? Maybe it's waiting for a sign to come back to us." Twilah had a bad feeling—like another multiverse crisis was going to happen soon. She turned to Dash, who had the same feeling. They both turned to the twins and felt worried. Without realizing it, they both held each other by the hoof/hand, and when they did, they quickly let go and blushed. "Sorry, Twilight. I mean Twilah," whispered Dash. as she corrected herself "It's fine, Dashie. I mean Dash," whispered back Twilah, both blushing harder. They both sighed and stood up, turning to the twins and walking up to them. Twilah put her hands over her daughter. "What is it, mom?" asked Blitz. "It looks like we're staying here for awhile. Go have fun with your sister. Go see the land. Think of this as a summer vacation. Have fun for now and play catch-up with her. If there was someone who truly brought the two-way prism window to you, they'll bring it back again. It's just a feeling, but I feel it's true. Go, be sisters," answered Twilah, who gave Blitz a motherly hug.Blitz returned the hug and kissed her cheek and stood up from the table. Dash got up and walked up to Braver, who was going to hug her too, but Braver quickly had flashes of Sky and started to call out Dawn. "Braver? What's wrong?" asked Dash, confused. Twilah quickly ran up to Dash and pulled her away, holding her as she explained Braver's safe word. "What's a safe word?" asked Dash, still being confused. "It's like a word you say when you can't handle what's happening. A word to make everything stop and to calm down. to tell others to stay away for now and be careful with what you say. like a code. I'll explain why she's feeling like that, since this will impact you," whispered Twilah. "Huh?! Why will it impact me?" asked Dash, getting out of the hold. "You'll see," answered Twilah as she watched Dash walk up to her daughter, who was breathing heavily and somewhat melting, having flashbacks of her fights against Sky. "Braver, listen, calm down. Just breathe," Dash held out her hoof and touch Braver own hoof, which was like holding a warm goo. "I'm sorry, Mom, but...stay away!" Braver ran from Dash touch and to the middle of the garden and kept repeating Dawn as she tried to do the stuff that Twilah taught her. Dash, first time, in a very long time, felt alone, until Twilah bent down to her and told her it was okay. A heartbeat skips... Dash was scared again. She didn't want this feeling she suddenly had, but she didn't want to be alone. "Running out of time..." whispered her voice within her head as her midlife crisis was coming back. "You are running out of time. Be with someone! Anyone!" "Shut up," thought Dash, closing her eyes. "You are alone..." "I'm not." "You're going to die alone." "Shut up." "She won't love you." "She will...again." "But...maybe Twilah will? It's Twilight after all." "Shut it!" "She left you." "Shut up," thought Dash as she hanged her head in shame while Braver was still repeating her words. "Dawn." "Dawn." "Dawn." "Dawn." In the library, Dawn could somehow hear Braver's voice, hearing her calling out to her. It was making her smile with joy and love, wanting to hug and kiss her. Be with her one and only friend in the world. "I'm coming, Braver." Dawn smiled as she looked up to the window. "I'll protect you! So look at me!" "Dawn!" "Dawn!" "Dawn!!" "DAWN!!" Within the dark sea of the void, The other Dawn was holding the prism window and sending out Braver's cries to her pony self. She was smiling, as another voice was mixing with Braver's voice; it wasn't the same but somehow was. She was listening to it. It was calling out to her. "DAWN!!!" "DAWN!!! STOP!" Her chest started blasting out more rainbow liquid as the voice started to cry in pain as it kept calling her name. She started to laugh and was smiling. "DAWN! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" cried the voice, crying harder as the rainbow liquid started to leak from her back now, as she could see the memories of that day. "DAWN! STOP! STOP HURTING ME!" the voice, was in pain, as the rainbow liquid started to drip from her eyes, as she was now remembering the fight and was starting to smile, as she was finally going to see her again, even if it was a memory. "DAWN!!!" "DAWN!!!" Dawn pulled her head back as she started to cry and laugh. "I see you. My reason to rise," smiled Dawn, as tears were leaking from her eyes and her hole in her chest had a faint glow, like the core wanted to come back. "Dawn, don't forget; you will never be alone." the voice said, as for a few seconds, Dawn returned from her madness and talked to no one. "You were my reason. Why did you leave me?" whispered Dawn as her chest glow started to fade away. "But don't worry. I found you again." Dawn stood up and smiled. She touched the window and stroked the image of Braver and Blitz. "I found my rainbow comet again." > Chapter 3: You Are 'You'...Just Don't Fall... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Dawn..." Braver whispered as she finally felt calm and at peace. She looked at the others and smiled at them. "I'm okay now. Sorry." "Never be sorry! We're here for you! Right?" Twilah said as she placed her hand on Dash's shoulder, telling Dash to support her daughter, as she needs to hear from her mother right now. "Yeah, sweetie, we are all here for you, no matter what," Dash gave her a small smile but stayed where she was, not letting her emotions be shown, as she was hurting. "Yeah, sis, it's never your fault when it happens. Don't be sorry about getting triggered. We are all here," smiled Blitz as she hugged her sister. "Never forget that." Braver hugged her sister back. "We raised good girls, right, Dashie?" happily said Twilah as she rubbed Dash's shoulder lovingly. Dash quickly looked at Twilah and still had her heart beating fast. She could feel her face burning with a blush "W-What?! What are you saying and doing, Twilah?" "Oh, sorry! I mean Dash. I meant we raised good girls with our partners. Sorry," Twilah apology as she realized she messed up Dash with Dashie name and showing love like that. "Here I was, mad at you guys. You couldn't tell us apart, but I'm doing the same thing," sighed Twilah, feeling bad. "N-No... I understand; it's hard since we are the same people but different. Thanks for the kind words and affection of love," Dash blush was dying down as she tried to hide it. Twilah smiled "You really are a different Dashie; she is all stuttering and stuff. She's always been like that when it comes to showing her feelings about herself and others, but she still says it. It's cute, though. Again sorry." Dash shook her head and spoke, "It's fine; besides, you have the better Dash. At least she can say her feelings. You got a better version of me." "...Dash? What are you talking about?" asked Twilah, confused but also worried now. Before they talked anymore, they could hear Braver shouting about what place they could visit first "OH! We should visit Canterlot! We're already there anyway! You can fully meet Aunty Rarity! Oh, and Tirek!" happily said Braver as she hugged her sister and flew around the garden. "Okay! Okay! Just stop flying around in circles!" laughed Blitz, trying to calm her down. "LET'S GO RIGHT NOW! IT BE FUN AND AW-" Braver was shouting before she flew right into the wall, making it fall over and crash into the hallway of the castle, and there was a repair team as they were already there, just waiting for Braver to break something. "Pretty common, I take it?" asked Blitz as the workers helped her up and all nodded. "Oops..." blushed Braver, as the crew just walked pass her and started to work. Both girls took off to the city below and entered it. It was a city with flying pegasi everywhere, unicorns doing their magic as some were students, and the earth ponies just walking around or working. Even other creatures were among them. "Welcome to Canterlot!" happily said Braver as she showed her sister her home city. Blitz was amazed by the place but noticed something about the city folks; they mostly looked like they were rich. There were normal-looking people in New Ponyville, but there weren't that many here. "Wow, this is awesome and cool and everything. I would love to run through here, but...why is the city filled with so many rich looking folks?" asked Blitz. "They are rich, so they like to live here. There are normal ponies and creatures that live here, including the poor and middle class. Most of the people here are the middle class, and the poor folks are mostly the workers, such as the cooks, cleaning crew, etc.," answered Braver as she was walking, as the city workers quickly put signs around them as they walked; clearly, the city knows about the Braver-Klutz problem. "Wow, this is a strange place," replied Blitz as she looked at the sky and then turned around and saw the palace, which was a beautiful site to see, and wondered why Braver wasn't always living there with her parents. "Why didn't you live in the castle?" asked Blitz, turning back to her sister, and soon noticed the yellow tape and orange cones being placed ahead of them. She also noticed that the city folks were looking at her, as she was still in her human form, but it wasn't like in New Ponyville; they stayed away from her, giving her the awful look she had seen before—the same look that Lucy's parents gave her. She kept walking with anger in her eyes. "Oh, well, I don't like living in the castle. As you can see, I break stuff...a lot. Mom can't keep spending bits on repairs on the castle, and plus, it's great to live away from home!" happily answered Braver, as the workers kept doing their jobs as the sisters were walking through the city. Blitz was such if that was a good reason or not "Wow, that's pretty nice, I guess." The girls kept walking until they stopped in front of a large boutique building, and Braver walked up to it and waved her hoof "This is Canterlot Boutique!" proudly Braver announce "This place is owned by Aunty Rarity and run by Sassy Saddles!" "Cool. So, are you going to ring the bell?" asked Blitz. "I will once Aunty is done working. I don't want her to be annoyed with a distraction while she's working." explained Braver as she walked away, tripping on nothing and rolling through the city workers that were following them as they all grouped up together and knocked over like bowling pins and a X marker sign appeared above them. Blitz rolled her eyes as she was about to get her sister, but the store door opened and Rarity came out, as she was wearing a white fur coat like before but different design "I hope that was my dear, sweet Braver. She does have the habit of knocking things over and breaking them. Oh, hello! Blitz!" happily Rarity said as she walk down the steps and was standing in front of her. "Aunty Rarity!" happily reply Braver as she rolled past them and into a street pole, making it fall over and almost landing on the workers as they were getting up, but within seconds, Blitz, in her anthro form, caught it before it hit them and dropped it safely to the side. "Are you okay, sweetie?" shouted Rarity. "Yeah, I'm okay!" answered Braver as she sat up and looked around. "Huh, what happened?" "You hit the street pole. I caught it before it hit anyone. You can say I'm a natural hero." Blitz acted all high and might, as she puff her chest out. Rarity couldn't help but be amazed by Blitz's looks. She was a different creature, like Dash Counterpart, but now she looked like a hybrid of a Pegasus and the creature. Twilight's counterpart did look like this. "My heavens! You look like a Pegasus and the creature that I was told of! Human, right? How amazing! Are you going to be staying long, darling?" asked Rarity, very interested in the new girl. "Yeah, I'm going to be living in this world for a while, until we find our way back. So, mom said to treat this as summer vacation. And since my sister wants me to meet everyone, we decided to start here." explained Blitz, as she helped her sister up and dusted her off. "Ah, well, I'm sure Braver is very happy to have you three visiting! She talked a lot about you! Come in, come in!" Rarity allowed the two to enter as she followed them inside. Meanwhile, the city workers put up warning signs that Braver was in this area and to be on guard for anything. "You have no idea," muttered Blitz, remembering the many times Braver talked about her to everyone that saw her back in New Ponyville. "Aunty Rarity's fashion design and work place is the best place in Canterlot! The best!" happily spoke Braver, giving her aunt a hug and sitting down with her sister in the house part of the building. "Thanks, sweetheart," giggled Rarity. "Braver has a lot of things she wants me to do and places she wants to show me. So she started here. I gotta say, not a bad place you got here! So you make clothes as well?" asked Blitz as she looked at the very messy room, seeing some mannequins, dress racks, sewing machines, and lots of fabric everywhere and clearly wasn't cleaned up in a long time.. "Why, thank you, darling. Yes, I'm a fashion designer. Wait, as well?" asked Rarity, looking at her. "Oh, right. Sorry, but in my universe, there is a version of you called Rachel. She does the same thing for a living. She's not a pony but a human, like me—well, not like this—and I'm really a pony," explained Blitz, scratching her head, as she realize this might get confusing. "A human! A version of me! How interesting! Does she just act like me?" asked Rarity, very interested in learning more about the world Blitz came from. "Umm...a little...but more wilder? She likes to party, not fancy but real parties like raves and stuff, its how she shows off her designs that way. I heard a few rumors that she might be dating someone famous. She's like an aunt to me. Same with the others. She's a nice woman. So you two have that in common." explained Blitz. "Really now? Wilder and partying? I thought we would be the same pony," Rarity felt a little disappointed that she wasn't a party girl, as showing her design at parties and raves was a smart thing to do. "Don't worry! You're still the greatest aunt ever!" Braver said, hugging her aunty and smiling. "Just because you're not wilder doesn't mean you're not awesome!" "Oh, thank you, sweetie!" giggled Rarity as the door opened and came in was a mare. "Rarity, do you have the designs yet?" asked the mare. "Sassy Saddles! This is my sister, Blitz. The one I told you about, the other universe!" happily said Braver. "Oh yes! So nice to meet you!" Sassy walked up to her and shook her hand, and Blitz was happy she wasn't like the rich people outside; she was like the town folks. "Likewise," smiled Blitz. "So, the designs?" asked Sassy, turning to Rarity, who was looking around the room. "Yes, I'll give them to you in a moment. If I just remembered where I put them, Where did I put them?" asked Rarity to herself. "It's the ones on the table," Blitz, pointed at as she was standing rather than sitting now all of a sudden. She moved within a blink of an eye. "Oh yes! I forgot I was working on them last night. Wait, how did you know that and...standing all of a sudden?" asked Rarity. "Mom always says I have the best intuition and sense of the situation. I can't really explain it; I just know it. Plus, I'm super fast." explained Blitz, as she suddenly had the designs and handed them to Sassy, who was amazed by Blitz. "Fascinating. I can truly see it now," Rarity stood up and walked around Blitz, checking her body. She picked up Blitz's tail and then lowered Blitz to her, pulling her cheeks, and checking her wings. "You almost look like..." whispered Rarity as she started to cry a bit. "Dash. You have her fur color and her rainbow hair, but yours has black in it, and I think I notice a tiny bit of dark sapphire purple and brilliant raspberry mixed in with the purple! Not only that, but...your eyes!" "My eyes? What about them?" asked Blitz. "Your eyes are the same color as Twilight's! My goodness! You have Dash's looks but a bit of Twilight in you, including the eyes. You look like the perfect blend between your parents, darling!" cried Rarity, hugging Blitz. "Thanks?" replied Blitz, not knowing how to respond to that. Sassy walked over and joined in the talk, but Braver got up and looked into the mirror that was nearby and suddenly realized something as she looked at her body. "I don't look like my mom's," said Braver as the room went silent and she turned to look at her. "Sweetheart, what do you mean?" asked Rarity, walking up to her and placing her hoof on her shoulder. "I'm... I'm not... I don't look like them..." cried Braver. "Hey, hey. Sweetheart, it's okay. You have nothing to worry about. You are beautiful, inside and out. It doesn't matter how you look." said Rarity, as Blitz walked up to them. "Yeah, what Aunty said. You have nothing to worry about. So you don't look like our moms, so what? Who cares!? You're the most beautiful and nicest person I know; not only that, you're the greatest sister in the world—no, the multiverse! So stop worrying about it," said Blitz, hugging her. "Your right. Thank you," Braver hug her back and wiping away her tears. "You know, I do see Dash and Twilight in you," spoke Sassy as she walked and playfully rubbed Braver's hair. "You do?" asked Braver, with a bit of hope in her voice "Yup. In fact, if I didn't know you better, I would say you are their daughter, without a doubt." "Now that you say that, I can see it too. It's there. You have them in you, like a spark." Rarity got closer towards Braver, who was confused and a little embarrassed by the compliments and them checking her out. "Really?" Braver whisper as she turned to the mirror and looked at herself again, looking closer. Sadly, she didn't see it and sighed. She started to walk around the messy room, speaking. "I don't see it! I don't look anything like my mom! I'm not even the same color as them. I'm more dark blueish than purple or light blue! My mane looks nothing like theirs! I might look like an alicorn, but it's just the slime part of me! I can remove it!" Braver turned from the desk and pop out her horn and placed it back on her forehead "I'm just a faker—a slime pretending to be a pony—something I'm not. Blitz, you're the real daughter here," Braver walked out from the mannequins and exited the room. Blitz hurried after her while Rarity and Sassy had their mouths opened as they looked at the room in front of them. "Sis! Stop thinking like that! You are not a fake! You are beautiful and kind! No matter how you look, you're my twin and best sister! The coolest and greatest person ever! Even if you're a slime, which is the opposite of a pony and is a totally different species, I wouldn't care! You're 'you' and no one else. Remember what Wonder said to us: 'Keep going. Never stop being yourself; never stop being the person you are'. Don't think less of yourself because you're not like our moms! Because you're my twin, my family, and my friend," Blitz, hug her and holding back tears, not wanting to cry—not because of her pride but because her sister is crying and doesn't want to make her sadder. "Thank you... I'm sorry. I got all emotional and stuff." whispered Braver. "It's fine, sis. It's what sisters are for." replied Blitz, wiping away her tears. "You are your mother's child, sweetie." Rarity softly said as she walked up to Braver, holding her cheeks as tears formed in her eyes. "...I am?" "Yes, follow me back into the room," she turned around and walked back into the room with the two following her. She stood in the middle of the room, standing next to Sassy, who was smiling. "Look around." "Um, okay?" said Blitz and Braver as they both looked around the room, seeing what looked like a clean fashion studio with the designs, fabrics, and tools of the trade in their places, including some finished and complete outfits hanging on manikins. 'It's your fashion work room; what about it, aunty?" asked Braver, turning back to her. "Remember how it looked? It was a mess, and I had unfinished designs and other stuff that needed to be done, but look! You cleaned it and did everything!" "...I don't get it." "Same," added Blitz, as she too wasn't sure where this was going. Rarity and Sassy both laughed as they heard them. Rarity walked over, held Braver's hoof, and spoke with a caring voice, almost like a mother talking to their child. "You have Twilight in you, sweetheart. You are just like her. You love books and reading. You also love putting things back in the right place and order, like you do in the library, and you do it so fast! Just like Rainbow Dash when she moves! You and your sister have her speed! I can tell by the way you walk and when you are in a hurry. Your kindness and love for others, like you do in helping others and making friends, Protecting others and putting yourself in danger. You're brave and strong; not only that, you're smart. Like Twilight, you have both of their best parts in you." "But I'm not really their child," whispered Braver, but she felt Rarity hoof under her cheek. "They raised you. They are your parents. It doesn't matter if you were born by them or not. You are their child, sweetheart. You are their daughter. You might be of the same race as slime creatures, but that doesn't matter. They are your parents, and you are their daughter. Nothing will change that," Rarity softly said with a big smile on her face and tears rolling down her cheeks. "You carry both their spirits in you, my darling niece." Braver started to cry but wanted to hold them back, but Sassy placed the mirror in front of them. "Like we said, we see them in you. You look like them. Just look closer." Sassy and Rarity pushed her closer to the mirror. "You have Dash's fur color, but it's much darker because of Twilight's color mixing in it. You have Twilight's streaks but are more lightning-looking because of Dash's messy hair, which she had when she was younger. Finally, it's like what your sister has. You have Twilight's wonderful eyes." Rarity could see two of her wonderful friends making up Braver's body and features. "You are our twin sister, and this proves it!" Blitz proudly said as she was behind Braver and smiling. "Stop doubting yourself! You are their kid. Other universe or not!" smiled Sassy. "Your...their daughter...never let anyone say other wise, my dear sweetheart," Rarity and Sassy pulled her into a hug and started crying together. "Yeah, we are our mother's daughter," whispered Braver as she returned their hug and cried her eyes out. Blitz looked on, wiping a tear away. She was really happy that Braver has a great life here. All that worrying she had before was gone. She was just a sister who was worried about nothing. 'I'm so happy that she has a good life. She's happy. Everyone is happy,' thought Blitz as she joined the hug, joining in on the crying with them. After a good few minutes of crying, everyone was back to talking about normal stuff, and Sassy returned to work, leaving the others with their snacks and drinks. "By the way, darling, your outfit—I really like it! You have a wonderful taste in fashion. Just as Braver said!" smiled Rarity as she turned to Braver, who was dipping her stone into her coffee and not listening to her. "Thanks! I love sportswear fashion. Mom kind of made me into a tomboy," blushed Blitz, looking at her sports leggings and shirt. "So, you have her hot-blooded side too." giggled Rarity. "So, your Dash is the same then? Not surprising; she doesn't look like Dash at first glance, but when you hear her voice and the way she acts, it's Dash, alright. It was nice talking to her after what happened last night. By the way," said Rarity as she pulled Blitz to the side. "How is she doing? I remember your Twilight explaining the problem she has. PTSD right? I remember her telling the girls and Braver's friends to be careful about what we say around her. So, I was wondering how she's holding up and if there's anything we can do?" "Thanks for asking, and yeah, she's doing okay. It's going to be a while before she can 'fine' like me." replied Blitz as she gave Rarity a sad smile. "...wait, what? Sweetie, you too?' gasp Rarity, as she didn't hear this from Twilight or Braver. "Yeah, I have it too. Not only am I seeing someone for it, but mom, "Twilight," also gives me sessions for it if we can't see the doctor or I get a trigger somewhere far away. It helps, and I'm doing fine, so don't worry, Rare!" smirk. Blitz with the happiest grin she could do. "Oh, sweetie," Rarity smiled, like if she was talking to Rainbow Dash herself. She saw her in Blitz, and she couldn't help but smile at that reason. "That's wonderful that you're getting help, but you can't keep everything inside and bottle it up. If you ever want someone to talk to, come to me as well. Same with your sister." Rarity slowly stopped talking as she and Blitz turned around and could see the broken table as Braver was trying to fix it. She quickly noticed them and could only say sorry. "It's fine, sweetie. We know about your habit. It's fine," replied Rarity as she and Blitz returned to the table and could see everyone was done with their treats. Braver wanted to show more of the city to Blitz and was ready to go, but Rarity stopped them. "Before you go! I must make you a dress! Plus, Twilight asked me to make clothes for you and your parents. just in case you are staying here and it looks like you will. Now come along!" explained Rarity as she pushed Blitz to the measuring room and could hear Braver asking about how long it would take, but it wasn't going to be a long wait, as she said. "Wait! A dress! Why a dress? Ugh," groaned Blitz, not looking forward to wearing a dress. "You have a wonderful figure, sweetie! Don't worry, it's going to be quick, and yup, you are Dash's daughter, alright." laughed Rarity. "No...it's fine. Just not used to it... Rachel says the same thing," mumbled Blitz as she followed Rarity into the room. "Don't worry, darling. It's going to be fun," replied Rarity as she forced Blitz clothes off with her magic. She was shocked to see her magic wasn't working on the jacket. In fact, she looked closer and noticed it was also the same as the Braver jacket. "By the way, darling, who gave you and your sisters these jackets? I notice they're magical. As Braver grew up, the jacket would change its size to match her and sometimes completely change at random, and my magic couldn't touch it." "Our real moms gave them to us," answered Blitz in a sad tone as she clutched her jacket, but also because she was butt-naked. "By the way, why do I have to be naked for this?" "Well, because I need to get all of your measurements and the clothes are in the way...plus, why are you acting so shy, sweetie? We ponies only wear clothes to events. We're always naked." teasingly smirked Rarity, seeing Blitz zipping her jacket "...what?" blushed Blitz as she realized that was true. "You have nothing to fear. Now come here so I can get your measurements." giggled Rarity, as she was already holding her measuring tape and giving Blitz an evil smile. Blitz might be starting to know why Braver was like this when she screamed for her life. "NNNNNOOOOOOO! GET THAT MEASURING TAPE AWAY FROM ME!" Meanwhile, after the girls left, Twilah waved goodbye and turned to Dash. "Is everything okay?" asked Twilah. "Yeah, just some things on my mind. But I'm fine! Yup! Peachy!" smirked Dash as she hovered in the air, sweating a lot. Twilah could tell that she was lying. Just like Dashie would lie, Dash was awful at hiding something that was affecting her. She thought of something real quick, and she had an idea. "Well, since the girls are out and I'm done with work for today, wanna do something?" asked Twilah, using her horn to open a portal, but Dash noticed it wasn't like Twilight's magic portals. The color was much darker. Before Dash could say anything, Twilah pushed her through it and joined her as it closed behind them. "What? What the heck are we?" shouted Dash, as she could see a house and a world of white. "Welcome to my home. Well, not really my real house, but a copy of it where I can go to have free time to myself or just a place to work in peace." explained Twilah as she opened the door, letting Dash in. "Oh wow," Dash looked around and could see it was a very big and modern-looking house with a bunch of high-tech gadgets and machines she had never seen before as they entered the kitchen. "Wait, you said a copy? Where is this place? I can't be in your world, right?" "Nope. It's in a space I created. By using magic and my knowledge of science, I was able to create a space where time, magic, and technology can exist together. It's like a pocket universe," explained Twilah as she opened a fridge and tossed Dash a soda. "Oh wow. That sounds like something that Twilight would create, but she never did. So, what is this place? Your home, a secret hideout, or what?" asked Dash as she opened the soda and took a sip. "Kind of. It's my own little world, like I said. a place for me! to be by myself and work on a project. or just to get away from others when I'm stressed. This is the first time I brought someone else here," smiled Twilah. "...oh?" blushed Dash "See? She wants you," whispered the dark thoughts in Dash's mind. "Shut up," growled Dash in her mind as she drank the whole drink in one go. "Hmmm?" Twilah watched Dashie's weird behavior and made notes in her mind. "You must be thirsty. I'll get you more." "Sure! I could go for another one!" reply Dash, crushing the can against her head and tossing it to the trash and missing. Suddenly, a small white robot dragon came out of nowhere, cleaned up the mess by eating it, and turned to Dash. "Man, you suck at tossing things." laughed the robot as it ran off, freaking Dash a bit. "Spike!?" "Oh, that's not Spike. It's a robot with advanced AI installed into it. In my universe, I don't have a Spike, so I created one. Its name is S.P.I.K.E., which means Superior Program Intelligence Keeper Entity. He's keeping the house clean and protecting it if someone gets inside. Don't worry, he's sweet like your Spike, which I based it off of. Even calls me mom'." Twilah watched as Spike returned with something and asked for head pets. "Okay. Wow. Your world is different," replied Dash as she watched Twilah signing something and petting Spike, then he left with the paper. "Yeah. It's my little world. My home. So, what do you think? Do you like it? You can explore it, or we can do something else if you don't like it here." asked Twilah, smiling at her with great warmth, causing Dash to blush hard. "No, this is cool! I haven't eaten yet, though," Dash looked away, trying not to show her blushing face. "Then I'll make something for us. How about some grilled cheese sandwiches? You want some?" asked Twilah, smiling as she took Dash hoof and pulled her close, making her blush even hard. "Um sure," mumbled Dash. "Good! Let's make something together!" As the two started to make the sandwiches, they talked about their world, the differences, and the same stuff. They were laughing and having a great time together. "Wait, wait, wait! You are telling me, you guys choose your leader every four years!" laughed Dash as she sat at the table, putting the cheeses between the slices of bread. "And one time, your homeland voted for a clown! HAHAHA!" "Hey! That wasn't funny! He was a very funny clown, but a lot of stupid and awful people like him. It was not a great look for America at the time. At the very least, the next clown was more amusing. He was a stand-up comedian," pouted Twilah as she turned on the stove and waited for the pan to get hot. "Man, your world is so weird! You guys have different ways of ruling and having... well, this!" pointed Dash to all the high-tech stuff in the kitchen. "Pinkie will have a field day in here. Like no cap, she'll flip her shit. This is awesome!" "Oh no, please. Pinkie doesn't need to know or she'll never leave, Dashie," joked Twilah, but she quickly realized what she said and turned red as the pan. "Oh, are you calling me that too now? I see, I see," teased Dash as she floated next to Twilah with her evil smile and poking her cheek, making her turn more red. "It's not like that. It's just like talking to Dashie is all." pouted Twilah, looking away as she put the sandwiches on the pan, but she quickly turned around and stopped Dash from poking her again. "By the way, how are you? You've been acting odd, like something happened." Dash flew a few inches back, and her heart was beating fast as she saw her pretty and worried face."I'm fine! Just some things on my mind," lied Dash as she looked away, knowing Twilah could tell she was lying—it was Twilight after all. "Love her." said the voice in Dash's mind once again, but she ignored it. "...you can't lie to me. It's not healthy to keep everything bottled up inside." Twilah said as she placed the sandwich on the pan, turning around and holding Dash close and tight, hugging her, "I'm not going anywhere. If you need help, you can count on me. I'll do anything for you. We're friends." "..." Dash said as her body shaking and her heart beating fast. "She's not your friend. She's just pretending. She wants you," said the voice again, taunting her now. "..." "If you love her, then just say it. Why do you fight it? Tell her the truth," "I know! But...it's not that easy," said Dash without realizing she said it out loud. "It's never is, but you don't have to face it alone. If you need someone, we'll be there for you." smiled Twilah, rubbing Dash mane. "Love her, you idiot! Tell her already! You are running out of time!" shouted the voice, but Dash shook her head and softly pushed Twilah away from the pan. "Move aside! I'm a grill cheese master!" smirked Dash as she moved the pan around and flipped the sandwich into the air, landing on the pan. "Wow. Impressive." "Thanks." "If this was Dashie, she would have burned something already!" laughed Twilah. "The same can be said about Twilight! She's pretty much banned from the kitchen in the palace after she set it on fire. Surprisingly, Braver isn't banned from there, just to show you how bad it was!" laughed Dash as she put the cooked sandwich on a plate. "No way! Twilight can't cook?" Twilah was surprised that Twilight would ever be banned from the kitchen. "Well, that's why she has me to cook and do stuff," replied Dash, smiling as she put another sandwich on the pan. "Let me guess, you're the wife who cooks, cleans, and takes care of the kid, and Twilight is the wife who's busy with her job and is always out, leaving you with the kid and doing everything." asked Twilah, seeing how Dash is like Dashie. "Nope!" proudly said Dash, confusing Twilah. "Huh?" "I'm the working wife as well! We both have important jobs, but we make time to share the burden of doing things and make time for Braver! We're a team! An awesome...team," sadly said Dash as she looked away, thinking about her wife. "Oh..." softly said Twilah, as he realized Dash wasn't like Dashie in taking care of everything, but yet, they were the same by talking about being a team. "We're a team! We're in it together! We should talk about this! Instead of you keeping it to yourself like that, that's not a team! We're supposed to work together and support each other! I should be there for you, and yet, I didn't even know, until now, that you felt that way!" shouted the echo of Dashie in her mind, her voice filled with sadness. Twilah hated herself for not telling Dashie how she felt at the time. Dashie was always doing everything, and while she was off doing her own thing, it made her feel alone, and she couldn't take it. She couldn't tell Dashie because she didn't want her to see her as weak. She wanted her to see her as strong and confident. not the weak person she was ten years ago. She was protecting Dashie from herself, her weak self, and being a burden to her again. She clutched the plate she was holding, trying to fight her sadness and tears. "So, how is life with Dashie and Blitz? I'm assuming good, right?" asked Dash as she turned to her and quickly noticed the pain on her face. "LOVE HER!" shouted the voice in her mind, and for once, Dash listened and took Twilah hands, making her jump a bit and drop the plate, shattering it. Soon, Spike entered the room to clean it. "What are yo-" Twilah was interrupted, as Dash put her hand on the handle of the pan. "Here, let me show you how to make a perfect grilled cheese!" smiled Dash, as their faces were almost touching each other and staring into her eyes. "O-okay." shyly said Twilah, as she didn't understand what was happening or why Dash was acting like this; her heart was beating fast and her cheeks were red for some odd reason. It was like seeing Dashie in front of her. "Now, first, the pan must be hot, but not too hot. Then you place the sandwich on the hot surface. Now, you wait a bit, and then you have to flip it! So, what you have to do is grab the pan and lift it high like  this." explained Dash as she used Twilah's hand to lift the pan high, making her smile as the bread landed on the uncooked side. "The tricky part is that you have to flip it, using your strength and skill, and catch it! It's not that easy, but when you get the hang of it, it's easy!" said Dash as she removed the sandwich and put in a new one. "Go ahead, try it. I'm right here." "Okay..." Twilah held the pan handle and lifted it high, but when she tried to flip the sandwich, it fell on the floor, which Spike ate as well. "Don't worry, I'll make a new one!" Dash said, making another one and placing it on the hot pan. "I didn't think it was going to be so hard!" pouted Twilah, feeling a bit frustrated. "Don't worry, I'll teach you; it takes time. It took me forever to get this right. Now, let's try again!" After a few tries, Twilah got the hang of it and was able to flip the sandwiches with ease. "Great job! You learn fast!" cheered Dash, patting her on the shoulder and smiling brightly. "Thank you. You are really good at teaching others. I see why Twilight is with you. Your such a sweetheart, Dashie." smiled Twilah, making Dash's heart flutter and her cheeks turn red. "Love her, you idiot!" "Hey, can I ask a personal question?" asked Dash, looking down. "Sure, go ahead." "Um, well, why are you always like that?" asked Dash, pointing out that Twilah's body. "NO YOU IDIOT!" screamed the voice as Dash kept ignoring the voice. "What do you mean?" "You are always in this hybrid form and not your human form." Dash said, pointing at the pony ears, horns, and... well, everything else. "Oh. Well, my human body isn't like Dashie. Her body is better than mine," pouted Twilah as she sat down. "What do you mean?" asked Dash, sitting across from her, confused. "Dashie is well built; her stomach is amazing. Mine is just...average," frowned Twilah as she patted her stomach. "I'm kind of weak in my human form. I can't ever catch up with Dashie and Blitz in morning runs, as they leave me behind in the dust. In this form, I can keep up with them and never be weak, like before. Also, I hate how small I am in human form. In this form, I'm bigger in some places!" happily spoke Twilah as she showed off her anthro body. Dash quickly stared at her thighs and nodded. "Yup, I can see where..." Twilah noticed and put her hand on her chin. "Odd, you too. Why do they keep looking at my thighs? I even caught Twilight looking and blushing," thought Twilah. "So what about your pony form? Do you use that too?" asked Dash as she realized she was staring too much. "Nope! I rarely use that form!" "Why?" "It's weird, like being a pony. It's different, but it's not bad. It's just that it's not what I'm used to, plus, it has little use in my world. Well, Dashie and I tried it once but..." Twilah blushed red as she remembered that night. "It was like our first time all over again. It was super weird." Dash, who was drinking her soda, quickly spit it out and coughed a lot "W-WHAT?" Dash was surprised by her answer. "I know, right. I thought it was going to be the same, but nope, totally different!" "Again, WHAT!" shouted Dash as she took a slip, just to spray it out of her mouth again. "Why are you so surprised, Dashie?" "D-d-did you guys really...?" "Do the deed. Yes. Like, it wasn't our first time, but yet, it was in that form. Like, did you know the unicorn horn becomes very sensitive and your wings feel weird? I don't know how to explain it, but yet, I can't stop thinking about that night," blushed Twilah, remembering it. Dash just stared at her with wide eyes, mouth open, and a red face, thinking how she's nothing like Twilight; Twilight wouldn't be so open about this. "What's wrong?" "Nothing, nothing," Dash got up and getting a rag, cleaning up her mess she created. "But I do understand. The first time Twilight and I did it, it was weird because her wings were all over the place and she had a hard time controlling her magic. I got blasted out of my cloud house and into AJ's barn. Man, AJ wasn't happy  about..." Dash covered her mouth, as she didn't understand why she said that. "Sorry! Twilight!" "Oh, Twilight is at the bottom?" asked Twilah, getting closer to her and smiling. "...y-yeah?" nervously asked Dash, sweating and blushing, looking away. "You okay? You know this is a common thing in my world to talk about your love life with a friend. Like, I'm not going to tell her, but it's fun to talk about it. Is it not like this in your world?" asked Twilah, worried if she had done something wrong. "I know, it's just that..." "What's wrong?" "Twilight isn't the same as you; she would never talk about our sexual life to someone else," softly said Dash, thinking about Twilight. "Well, you know, I'm not the same as her, but, you know, we are similar. I wouldn't be able to talk about it without blushing and feeling weird, but I'm fine with it because I trust you, and I'm fine talking about it. In fact..." Twilah closed her eyes, and Dash could see a flash from behind and turned to see... "Twilight...?" whispered Dash as she saw Twilight, as she looked like ten years ago but wearing glasses and a red jacket. "No, Twilah,right? Why?" "To make you more comfortable talking to me, Is it helping?" asked Twilah, fixing her glasses. "Yes, it is," smiled Dash as she remembered how Twilight looked so beautiful many years ago, the old her, before she became taller. "Good. So, how was Twilight like after blasting you like that? I bet she was super embarrassed, right?" giggled Twilah as she took a bite out of the sandwich. "She was, but it wasn't the only time she had done that. One time, she did that, and she destroyed a castle wall, and we had to say it was Braver to the repair crew!" laughed Dash, as she was starting to enjoy this and having fun. "Oh god!" laughed Twilah, giggling super hard, causing Dash to feel calm and forgetting... "You love her..." whispered the dark thoughts as Dash was starting to cave in to them. "You love..." "Twilah." happily smiled Dash as her wings stood up and were firm. Meanwhile, Braver was pulling Blitz by her hand, as she was too embarrassed by the cute sundress she was wearing. "Come on, sis! Stop being so slow!" "No way! This is embarrassing, and why do I have to wear this?" yelled Blitz, pulling away and blushing as hard as she could. "Because Aunty Rarity made it for you! You got to wear it!" Blitz groans and walks beside her sister as they walk to the next place that Braver wanted to visit before heading back to the castle. They stood in front of the gate, looking at a school building. "What's this place?" asked Blitz as they entered the school grounds and headed inside. "It's the School for Gifted Unicorns! It's where talent unicorns come here to study!" happily smiled Braver as they entered the building. "Why are we here?" "Because I want to see my best sparring partner and friend! Oh, there he is!" shouted Braver as they looked into the classroom, seeing Tirek watching over young unicorn kids as they were trying to use their magic. "Stay focus. Use your magic and not your emotions," Tirek calmly said as he kept watching the children. "Mr. Tirek!" happily waved Braver as Blitz stood behind her, waving as well. "Braver...and Blitz," smiled Tirek as he saw Blitz and remembered her. Before he could say anything else, one of the students magical powers started to go out of control, creating a large tornado. The students were slowly being sucked in, but Tirek quickly drained the magic out of the student who was out of control, making sure he didn't overdo it and hurt him. "Thank you, Mr. Tirek!" said the young boy as he ran to the others and continued their magic studies. "You're welcome. Now, it's almost time for lunch, and we will continue after. Go eat, kids," said Tirek as he got up and walked out, with the sisters following him as the class passed them and soon joining other kids as they all headed to lunch hall. "Mr. Tirek! Heading to lunch?" asked a female orange unicorn teacher, as her puffy blue hair was hiding her eyes as she stepped out of her class room. "Care to join me? If that's okay with you?" blush at the unicorn as she was clearly staring at his muscles, while Tirek didn't notice the stare. "Not today; my friend and her sister are visiting me today. Maybe we can go out to eat for dinner." "Oh, o-okay! See you then," smiled the unicorn as she walked away, and Tirek turned around and saw Braver, staring at him. "So, who was that?" "A friend. She's been trying to get close to me. It's weird," said Tirek as they exited the hall and were outside on the school field where other kids were playing. "Weird? How?" asked Blitz, raising her eyebrow. "Well, she's a pony, and I'm not." "So?" "It's weird for a pony to love a creature like me. The kids don't care how I look, but the teachers and the parents of the kids are not so..." "They're still treating you like a monster." whispered Braver, her ears falling back and looking sad. "Yeah, but that's not what's bothering me." "Then what is it?" asked Blitz, looking confused. "The way she stares at me It's different than other ponies. When I was younger, before I met you and before my brother left me, a few ponies stared at me, calling me a monster, but hers had a very different stare." "What does that mean?" asked Braver. "It means that she likes you, dude!" smiled Blitz, patting him on his huge back. "But...why? Why would any pony like me?" "Maybe it's the fact that you're not a pony. That might be what draws her to you." "Yeah...maybe." Braver had no idea what the two were talking about. But she knows one thing: "Least she's looking at you, for you!" happily smiled Braver, hugging him as they stood on an open field. "Thanks. You were right about me, Braver. Thank you." smiled Tirek, but Blitz was a little lost by what he said. "So, care to fill me in here? Did something happen in the past?" asked Blitz, her anthro pony ears twitching. "It started five years ago..." said Tirek. Five years ago Chrysalis and Cozy got free four years ago from our stone prison, and soon I escaped too and started to drain all magical powers from all creatures. It was here at the school where I was having my meal. Soon, Princess Twilight and friends came to stop me... "Tirek, I won't let you harm these children!" shouted Twilight, as she was half her normal present height and her mane was longer but not flowing, as she and her friends stared him down. "And here I thought I was finally free, without the likes of you ponies holding me back," growled Tirek as he turned around and glared at the group "Twilight Sparkle, I see you're back for more. Let's hope this time you bring your a-game, as the kids say." smiled Tirek as he fired a beam of magic, as Twilight created a magical shield, protecting her and her friends. "Oh, she brought her a-game, big guy!" shouted Dash "Thanks, honey!" smiled Twilight. "No problem, sweetheart!" smirk Dash Tirek stopped firing his beam and looked confused. "Wait, are you two dating?" "Yeah, you have a problem with that?" shouted both "No, no, it's just that...well, kind of surprise is all. I never thought you two would ever date each other. And with the way you were acting in the past, it seems odd." said Tirek "We're gay," said both mares in a deadpan tone. "Oooh. Yeah, that makes sense." "Can we get back to fighting, please?" yelled AJ, getting tired of the small talk and dusting off dirt from her hat after the attack Tirek did. "Oh yes, let's," smiled Tirek, but before he could fire another magical beam, a blur passed him, and he could see it scattering Twilight's shield and sending Dash into the ground. "What?" "MOMMY!" shouted young Braver, who is known as Breaker at this current time, as she nuzzled Dash's face. "Breaker!? Why are you here?" shouted Twilight in great fear "Who is that? Why do I sense so much magical energy from her?" growled Tirek with joy. "Dash! Why is our child here?" "I have no idea!" shouted Dash as she pulled Breaker away and held her up like a small dog "Why are you here?  I thought you were back at the castle with Spike!" "I was visiting Dawn, but she's sick and grey looking." whimpered Breaker as her ears went back and tears formed. "Oh, oh, no. Don't cry! Mommy is here!" Dash smiled as she hugged her tightly, which made Twilight sigh as Dash was spoiling their child again. "Wait, wait, wait, she's your daughter? like your own flesh and blood?" asked Tirek, confused by this. "YUP! They're Twilight and Dash, kid!" cheered Pinkie. "PINKIE!" yelled the girls. "I see! You created her with magic? So much magic! She will be my next meal!" grinned Tirek as he fired a beam of energy and shot it at Breaker. "BREAKER!" shouted Twilight, but she saw Dash quickly used herself as a human shield to protect their child. "Mommy!" Breaker could see her mother turning gray, losing her cutie mark as well, and falling on top of her "Mommy!" "DASH!" shouted Twilight and the girls, but they quickly dodged Tirek's beam as he was attacking them now. "Sorry, little princess, but your daughter will be my meal now! with her magical power! I can get my revenge on those who have wronged me and get stronger than ever! No one will hold me back now!" grinned Tirek as he started to attack Twilight and the others. "I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH HER!" said Twilight, using her Royal Canterlot voice. "Oh boy, she's mad now," whispered AJ. Fluttershy turned to the rest of the girls, who were huddle together and whispered "The power of motherhood is something," "Maybe I and Cheese Sandwich should try to have a kid too!" replied Pinkie "Dear Celestia, help us if you ever get a kid!" Rarity was scared of another Pinkie in this world, as the other girls were laughing but they all quickly turned to Twilight as they heard talking again "NO! YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME, TIREK!" shouted Twilight, using all her magic within her horn, to surround her body with a bright purple aura. "I WILL HAVE HER! JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!" shouted Tirek as the two collided their powers together, as it was a struggle for dominance. "I will...have...her..." "I won't let you..." "GIVE...ME...HER!" "NEVER!" Soon the two were pushing their powers against each other, as it was a tie, but Twilight was winning as her magic was slowly pushing him back. "No, I can't lose!" "YOU WILL LOSE!" "NO! I WON'T GO BACK TO THE PLACE I WAS BEFORE!" Breaker ears twitched as she heard that. "YOU ARE A MONSTER TIREK! JUST LIKE THE OTHER CREATURES SAID!" Breaker ears lowered again as she was hugging Dash and feeling sad for Tirek, as Twilight words struck a nerve. "THEY...CAN'T SEE BEYOND HOW I LOOK! IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO I AM!" Breaker could hear the sadness and pain in his voice as the two collided their powers again, as Twilight's eyes were glowing, as the power was overwhelming him. "You're right." said Breaker, which took both Twilight and Tirek by surprise as they saw her between them and were staring up at Tirek "Tirek, you aren't a m-" Before Breaker could say anymore, Tirek could feel Twilight's magic fading, giving him a chance to punch her away and grab her child. "Now, time to eat you and be the most powerful creature alive!" laughed Tirek as he opened his mouth and tried to eat her, but before he could, she was knocked out of his hand by Dash, as she was still grey and losing her strength, as she gave everything she had to fly over to them, as she fell to the ground. "Not my baby..." groaned Dash, as she was trying to keep her eyes open. "Mommy!" shouted Breaker as she landed far from her. "GIRLS! TAKE BREAKER!" Twilight ordered as she slammed into Tirek again, pushing him back and away from Breaker, but he was able to toss her away into the school shed and fire his drain beam at the girls, who couldn't dodge in time and lost their strength and became grey as well. "No!" shouted Breaker as she rushed to them "Aunties, are you okay?"Breaker checked each one of them, who were trying to warn her, but it was too late, as Tirek picked her up and held her in his hand. "Don't worry, they are fine," laughed Tirek. "Put me down!" yelled Breaker as she struggled in his grip. "As you wish." And with that, he dropped her to the ground and slammed his other hand on her, holding her down "Now, time for me to gain more power and finally put you all in your place!" laughed Tirek as his hands started to glow. "Tirek, please don't do this." Begged Twilight, as she stood up from the destroyed shed and seeing what was happening. "You are in no position to talk to me, princess." Twilight hurry out of the ruins of the shed and stood in front of her "I'm sorry." "For what? Imprisoning me!? Ha! I got my revenge on you! By hurting your daughter!" "Don't!" Twilight cried out with her hoof out. "Don't what, princess?" "Please don't hurt her; take me instead." "NO!" cried the others. "Twilight, what are you doing?" cried Dash, in her weak voice. "If he takes your powers, he'll be unstoppable!" Twilight looked over to Dash and rest of her friends "Taking a gamble. Breaker was mostly created by magic...I'm not risking her life...but I'll trust my daughter..." with that said, Twilight closed her eyes and gave herself to him. "You can't! I won't lose you again!" shouted Dash as she tried to stand but couldn't as she fell back down. Twilight shed a tear "Sorry, Dash." And with that, Tirek moved his hand, shot his beam at her, and drained her dry as her wings vanished and she was just like the other girls. Grey and her cutie mark gone. "MOMMY!" shouted Breaker as Tirek was just laughing as he won. "I won! I won! I'm the strongest being alive! With the power of an alicorn princess and with the magic of an alicorn child, I'll truly be unstoppable." "No," whispered Breaker, as tears started to flow. "What was that, little girl?" "I said NO!" and with that, her mane became slime, confusing Tirek: "I WON'T LET YOU HURT NO ONE ELSE!" Tirek was grabbed by the slime tentacles from the child mane and thrown away from her and into the school open field. He watched as Breaker walked up to him, giving off unbelievable magical powers. He was scared; he could tell the little alicorn could easily break him in one strike. "I am the daughter of two strong mothers! And I won't let some big jerk hurt my mommies!" And with that, Breaker attacked Tirek, who closed his eyes and waited for the attack. But nothing came, but he felt something. A hug on his leg He opened his eyes to see the small child hugging his leg. He could feel how warm she was and could hear her sobbing. "Tirek, you aren't a monster," sobbed Breaker. "You're not a bad person! I can feel it; I can feel your pain!" "W-what?" "It's going to be okay," simply said Breaker "because you have me. I'll be there for you. No matter what, even if we're different." "Foolish child!" shouted Tirek as he raised his fist and slammed it down, crushing Breaker, causing everyone to scream. "BREAKER!" "YOU'RE MISTAKEN, CHILD! I AM A MONSTER!" "No, you're not..." whimpered Breaker as the removed fist revealed her crush's body but was covered in slime, which was healing her crush body, shocking Tirek. "You aren't a pony. What are you?" "I...am...here for you," smiled Breaker as she tried to reach out to him but was crushed again. "I'm not scared of you. Don't be sad." "STOP SAYING THOSE WORDS!" "I know how it feels to be a monster and to be called one! That's why I want to help you." "STOP SAYING STUPID THINGS!" And with that, Tirek slammed his fist at her over and over again. "Don't..." "SHUT UP!" "Be..." Tirek closed his eyes "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" "Sad..." "AAAAAHHHH!" screamed Tirek as he kept punching the little girl, while Twilight and others could only look on in horror. "...stop it. Please!" cried out Dash "She's just a little girl. Please..." "Please...Tirek...stop," cried Twilight, as she couldn't keep watching. Tirek finally stopped, as he couldn't hear the little girl's voice. He looked down at his hand to see it covered in black slime. He didn't mean to kill her; he was just so angry. "I..." "It's okay," whimpered the voice, which caught him off guard. The slime reformed into a blob and landed in the crater, forming into Breaker, who was clearly hurt. "Let it all out. Hurt me as much as you want. I won't fight back. I'll gladly take the pain." "Why?" "Because I understand you, Tirek. And I won't give up on you. You are not a monster." "Yes, I am! My brother was loved by the ponies, but when they saw me, They saw a monster! I wasn't given a chance! I was called a monster!" Tirek was breathing hard as he said that word, like it was hurting to always say it. "You're not a monster." "I don't care! I'll prove to the world that I am!" "Then I'll show you how much you're not." "NO! I AM A MONSTER! That's how everyone needs to see me!" shouted Tirek as he punched Breaker, crushing her again, but as he pulled back, he could see the girl holding on to his fist and smiling, while her body was badly hurt. "How others see you isn't important; how you see yourself means everything. The world will see you as a monster, but you are a good person. You are a centaur that needs help," smiled Breaker with hope on her face. "Why do you care? I'M NOT WORTH SAVING!" Tirek, threw her into the school building and started to fell something. "Yes, you are," said Breaker, as she was covered in rubble from the falling wall. "Shut up, brat." And with that, Tirek stomped on her, but she wouldn't let go of him as she hugged him. "It's not about worth; it's about life. Your life is worth living, no matter what, no matter what you think or feel. Every life is worth saving. You are worth saving." Breaker hugged harder and tighter, trying her best to get through the centaur Tirek couldn't understand why the little filly will keep going like this, as he was lost for words "I-I..." "You can change and become a better person; you are capable of that. No one is beyond saving; everyone can be saved. Everyone is worth saving, including you, Tirek. If people see you as a monster, then prove them wrong. Don't be the monster they see." Tirek closed his eyes as he saw images of the ponies calling him a monster as they pointed at him "..." "Prove them wrong; make them see the real you. You are worth saving." Tirek opened his eyes and seeing the little filly, hugging him and reach out to him, with a warm smile "SHUT UP, BRAT! STOP SAYING THOSE WONDERFUL WORDS!" "They're not wonderful; they're true. The truth will set you free. And the truth is that you aren't a monster. You can prove the world wrong. You can make a change in yourself." "But...it's too late." Tirek looked all around him, seeing the destruction he created and the ponies he hurt "I'm not worth saving. I'm just a monster." "The word 'monster' is just a label. But it's not who you are. The world is full of people who will make you doubt yourself, but it's also full of people who will believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself. The question is, are you the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to be the person you want to be? Or are you the kind of person who will just let fate take the wheel and go on the ride?" Breaker asked him as her hug on him got tighter and tighter, still hoping her words will get through him. Tirek slowly closed his eyes "It doesn't matter anymore. I've lost the fight; I'm done...its over..." Tirek surrender, which made everyone looked on in shock, even more so when they saw him crying. Breaker took notice and said "You haven't lost. Do what is right and fight for what you believe in. Even if no one will back you up, even if you're alone, Keep going. Never stop being yourself; never stop being the person you are," Breaker gave him one last strong hug, which made Tirek fall to his knees. "...why? Why do you care so much?" asked Tirek as he opened his eyes "Because I'm a monster too," smiled Breaker. She revealed her true slime form, shocking Tirek once more. "I hurt people, did awful things, and hurt the pony I really cared about, almost breaking her and losing her forever...until a great group of people saved her...and me. I was a monster for a long time, but they came and showed me the light. Even if people see me as a monster, I never let that define who I am. I'm Breaker, daughter of Twilight and Dash, and I will show the world that I can be great and that I can be better, no matter the cost, even if I'm a slime monster. Never let anything stand in the way of who you are, Tirek." "..." Tirek closed his eyes again and slowly shaking his head as his tears started to build up again. "It's okay. Let it all out and cry. Don't be scared." replied Breaker, as she softly stroke his knee Tirek tears finally came out again and his soft sobbing could be heard, as he saw his brother again in his thoughts, as he looked him and smiled "..." He could see his brother mouth moving but his voice was Breaker voice as she spoke through him. "I love you," smiled Breaker. "So, please, don't give up. There is always hope; make a new light and create a new hope. Make a better future, a new tomorrow. even if it's not perfect or isn't the best. It's yours and all those you want to share it with. So, don't give up. We can change and be better; we are worth saving. Even if we feel like monsters, we aren't. We're worth saving, no matter what, no matter our flaws. I know that you can be better because I am." Tirek could see his brother reaching out to him, soon It was Breaker along side him "..." He wanted to reach out but couldn't do it. He couldn't as he could see all ponies who called him a monster was all around them, pointing at them. "Please." asked both Breaker and Scorpan, still reaching out to him. Tirek tried again but still feel like he couldn't "I..." "Please." asked both again, but this time, Tirek could feel a warm coming from them and he could see the morning sun, the dawn raising behind them, the ray of lights blasted away the ponies that were calling them monsters and soon was replaced with shadow figures of his future friends, who reach out to him as well. He finally reach out and took their hands and hooves. "...you're an odd child. What's your name?" asked Tirek, who was now calm and relaxed. "Rainboom Breaker, the daughter of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. And I want to be friends with you, Tirek." smiled Breaker as Tirek hugged her. "Thank you, little one," whispered Tirek as he let her go. Tirek released all the magic he took and returned it to everyone. Twilight and the others stood up, and everyone but Twilight was surprised, that Tirek wasn't really a monster. Twilight's eyes went wide as she could see Flare, Dr. Wonder, and Layla standing behind Breaker, like they were with her. She blinks, and they are just gone. "Breaker," Twilight started to cry as she fell to the ground, crying her heart out. The girls were worried as they called out to her, and Dash was trying her best to calm her down until Breaker jumped on her. "MOMMY! DON'T CRY! I'M OKAY!" shouted Breaker, causing Twilight to cry harder. She knew Breaker had something that she had once had when making friends—a spark. "After that, they gave me a chance because Braver reached out and helped me change. They even made me a teacher here, and I was happy." finish Tirek as he was watching Braver playing with the kids in the grassy crater, the very same spot he fought and was saved by her. "She's the best," smiled Blitz, wiping a tear away. "Yeah, I'm so lucky," smiled Tirek. "Oh, by the way, how is she doing?" asked Tirek as he was told about her PTSD. Blitz explained everything to him and he nodded. "Good, she needs the help. She hasn't told me or the others her past, and we will never push her to tell us. When she's ready, we'll be there for her. Like how she was there for me and the others when no one else was." "She's a lucky girl too. having a great friend like you big guy. Promise me you'll protect her. I can't stay here forever." "Of course." "Hey, Tirek!" shouted Braver, getting his attention. "Didn't you want to spar with my sister?". "OH, THAT'S RIGHT!" shouted Tirek as he turned to Blitz. "Braver and I always spar to get stronger but also to burn off the magical energy I drain from the kids. Care to fight me?" asked Tirek, smirking. "Let's do this!" smirked Blitz as they walked to the crater. "Don't hold back!" smirk back Tirek Soon, the kids and the unicorn that likes Tirek gathered and cheered him on, telling him to beat her up. Blitz was feeling like she was the bully here and Tirek was the underdog or something like that. "This sucks," thought Blitz, but she quickly heard Braver's voice as she was screaming her best cheer towards her. "GO BLITZ! GO!" shouted Braver, making a big scene. "THAT'S MY LITTLE SISTER!" "What is wrong with her?" asked Blitz, face-palming at her sister's antics. "Whatever! Here I co-ah!" screamed Blitz in a girly scream as the wind blew her sundress up, showing her pants to everyone, including Braver. "LET ME PUT ON MY SPORTS LEGGING FIRST!" Everyone was laughing. "Braver," whispered Dawn, as she was looking at her from the shadows. She tracked down Braver's magical power level and started to plan something as she heard the talk between Blitz and Tirek. "Soon, I'll scatter you. You'll only look at me once more. You'll be mine," Dawn walked away. "I win," smirked Tirek as Blitz was on the ground, covered in bruises, and her sundress was torn. "Not fair. You drain me dry!" "And your so-called friends will help me if they truly love you like I do." Within the darkness, Dawn made a creepy smile, and behind her was Rainbow Sun, which became the other Dawn, as she smiled along with her as she watched all this and spoke herself, her voice overlapping with her pony self. " You belong to me and only me." End of chapter 3 > Chapter 4: Just Talk And Listen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gonna keep running Gonna keep on running. Running from the pain Those words echoed across Dashie's mind as she was running in her pony form through the city. She liked using her wings in her anthro form but hated using them in her pony form. Running was much better in this form; she was way faster and she loved it, but today she just needed to run, no matter what. "I hurt her! I didn't want to, but I did!" She hurt Twilah by becoming the thing she feared when growing up; she hated herself for it "She hates me! She hates me! She must hate me! She won't marry me! She thinks I'll do it again!" Her fears were coming true, and it was all her fault. She was a bad girlfriend. "I have to make it right! I have to prove myself!" As she kept running, her mind was clouded, and her eyes were watery. She didn't know where she was going; all she knew was that she needed to run. Run as fast as she can and try not to look back. That's what she was good at—running away and being a failure, like Twilah always saw her as. "I'll show her... I'm not a failure. I'll prove her wrong." As she kept running, the city got bigger and more crowded. She was bumping into people left and right and not paying attention. Her mind was filled with thoughts and feelings. "I'll prove her wrong!" That's all she kept thinking as she bumped into a male griffon and knocked him over, causing his groceries to fall to the floor. "Sorry," whimpered Dashie, trying not to look at the man's face. "No, it's okay," said the griffon as Dashie ran off, blasting gust of wind making the apples being blasted away "Oh no, my apples!" As the man tried to pick up his apples, Dashie was already far gone and kept running. She bumped into a few more creatures and kept on running, but her tears were clouding her eyesight. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear, and she couldn't think. All she was thinking about was Twilah. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" shouted Dashie as she kept running. "Hey! Watch it!" shouted a female voice, but she didn't care. "Sorry!" shouted Dashie as she continued to run without paying attention. "Look out!" shouted a man's voice, but she couldn't hear them. "Stop running, you idiot!" shouted another female voice, but she didn't pay attention. "Get out of the way!" shouted a little kid, but this time, she listen. "I'm so-" But before she could say the rest, she trip and crashed in a building and feeling a massive pain in her back "I'm... sorry," whispered Dashie as her eyes started to close. "Are you alright?" asked a female dragon, running over to her, but her voice was echoing. "Yeah, I'm okay," replied Dashie as she started to run again. "You're hurt; you should get that looked at," said a male griffon. "I'm okay," replied Dashie. "Please don't run. It's not safe," said a young male voice. "I have to keep running," Dashie, vision started to fade. "Why? Why are you running?" asked the same man. "To prove her wrong," replied Dashie as her eyes closed. Dashie opened her eyes and kept running until the city started to become an open field and a lake. There were no more buildings, just a beautiful, open landscape. "This place...it's so familiar," thought Dashie as she kept running. She remembered this place; she remembers coming here...in her universe. In fact, the place must be close by if her universe and this universe are truly the same, then that means...She took off into the forest and found a small dirt road. "A dirt road..." She followed it, hoping to find the familiarity, hoping to be right. She ran, until she came to a large, opened crater covered in grass and different-colored flowers. Dashie stopped as she looked around, remembering everything. "It's the same place where everything started ten years ago." She looked around, as everything was the same. The grass, the crater, the flowers, the forest—it was all the same. Even the grave stone... "Twilight and Dash did the same thing. We're truly the same people deep down," thought Dashie as her tears started to fall. She walked up to the grave and sat down "Hey, its been awhile, you two. I never thought you'd see me here in this universe. How have you been?" asked Dashie, smiling sadly. She started to cry, her tears hitting the grave. "You two are probably wondering why I'm here. Well, our...no, that's not right. Your daughters found a way to see each other again; I don't know the details, but they did. Your daughters, Blitz and Braver, are together again." Dashie said, crying but smiling proudly. Dashie touched the gravestone and looked up at the blue sky, hoping to see it one more time, as in her universe, it didn't exist anymore. "Sometimes I keep looking into the night sky and hoping to see the rainbow comet again. I hope to see you two again, even the others." Dashie, closed her eyes. "Hoping to see you guys again and to ask you all... I'm a good mom? A good person? Was I the right pick for Blitz? I keep failing in life, and with Twilah feeling the same, I'm doubting myself even more. I'm sorry, sorry if I failed you too," Dashie opened her eyes and seeing dirt on the grave, she started cleaning the gravestone "Am I a bad parent?" asked Dashie, her tears falling onto the gravestone "Please... I'm so confused, so lost... I want you to tell me. Please tell me. Please, Sky, Nightfall!" Dashie didn't know how long she was there, but she felt something warm oozing on her back. She started to feel dizzy...until she fell backwards and felt something wet on her back. She was getting sleepy, very sleepy, but she saw something. A portal was opening, and someone was walking out and noticing her. Her vision went dark as she heard her voice. "Dashie!?" "Twilah," whispered Dashie before darkness consumed her. "Dashie!" screamed Twilight, running to her and picking her up. "Oh, Dashie, what's wrong? What's wrong?!" "Twi...lah?" whispered Dashie weakly, her eyes fluttering open and closing. "Dashie, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here, I'm here," replied Twilight as she started to check her body for any signs of damage. "T-Twi...la...h...I'm sorry." whispered Dashie. "Sorry? Sorry for what?" asked Twilight, but Dashie passed out. Twilight noticed the blood as she felt it on her hooves and seeing the wound on her back as she removed the jacket, a deep slash wound from a sharp object. "A cut! How did this happen?" Twilight checked her pulse, and she was stable. Her breathing was fine, but she needed to hurry and heal her with her magic. She didn't know who or what hurt her, so she needs to protect her, in case someone was after her. "Twi...la...h, I'm sorry," whispered Dashie once again "It's okay, Dashie. Its okay. I'm here." She quickly lowered herself to Dashie's face, putting her horn on her forehead but causing Twilight to blush, as Dashie was a one-to-one copy of Rainbow Dash. Even though she was pissed off and heartbroken by Dash's comments, she couldn't feel like that towards Dashie, who was a friend "Hold on, Dashie," whispered Twilight. As her horn glowed, soon Dashie's body started to glow purple. "I love you," Dashie said, as her wound started to heal itself. "H-huh! What What!?" stammered Twilight, surprised by the sudden comment. "I love you. I love you so much. Please, don't leave me. I'm sorry... I won't hurt you again. I promise." Dashie spoke within her sleep "I-I..." stuttered Twilight. "Twilah, I love you. You're the best thing that happened to me. I'm sorry for what I said, and I won't say it again." Twilight sighed as she had no reason to feel like this. Dashie was dreaming about Twilah, Twilight's human counterpart; she wasn't really talking to her. Plus, Dash won't ever say 'I love you' like that, even when sleeping. "Please don't leave me, please," whimpered Dashie, as she was reaching out to someone "... Don't worry, I won't leave. Not now, not ever," replied Twilight, still healing her, but she felt Dashie's hooves on her cheek. "Thank you... I love you, Twilah." whispered Dashie, kissing Twilight deeply and lovingly. It completely took Twilight by surprise, so much so that she lost control of her magic, and rose her head up as her horn shot a powerful burst, hitting a nearby tree, exploding it, and creating a large crater in the ground. "WHAT THE FUCK!" screamed Twilight, her face turning red. "T-THAT WAS TOO INTENSE! WHAT THE FUCK! Why'd she kiss like that? Is this how they kiss?" whispered Twilight as she touched her lips with her hoof. Twilight was surprised at how intense it was; it was better than her first kiss with Dash, and it made her blush. She shook her head, as she didn't have time for this, and started healing Dashie again. "Twi...lah...I'm sorry." "I know, Dashie. I know." She smiled but slowly blushed as she looked at Dashie lips. "Twi, I love you." "I know," Twilight slowly moved her lips to Dashie lips, but the wound healed completely and Dashie's eyes flutter open, making Twilight move back and act like nothing happened. "...Twilight?" "Dashie," replied Twilight, smiling and looking back and forth like crazy. "How? I thought..." "You had a deep slash wound; I just healed it," replied Twilight. "Oh? Thank you," Dashie, sat up and rubbing her back. She saw that her jacket was ruined and was upset. "Do you remember anything? How or who hurt you?" asked Twilight, "Not much, just bumping into a few people and a building... I think I cut myself on broken glass when I crashed into said building. I kept running and realizing I was near..." "Where has everything started?" finished Twilight as she believed that the Dashie universe must have the same layout and the crater in the same spot from ten years ago. "Y-Yeah," stuttered Dashie, looking at "their" grave, and then back to Twilight. "I guess we four had the same idea to make a grave for "them," it seems. We must be the same person, deep down, right?" Twilight nodded, and she and Dashie sat in front of the grave and started to pray. "We're sorry we couldn't save you two. We hope you are watching over us, wherever you are. We're trying our hardest and trying to be the best mothers to your daughters." said Twilight, while Dashie just nodded. After a few minutes, they stopped and looked at the sky. "Dashie," asked Twilight, as she turned to her. "Yes, Twilah. I mean Twilight?" "What did you mean when you said you wouldn't say it again?" asked Twilight. wondering what happened between her and Twilah "What do you mean?" "When I was healing you, you were mumbling some words, and you said something about 'I won't say it again', did you say something to Twilah? Hurting her too?" asked Twilight, staring at Dashie and making her feel uncomfortable who looked away. "Yes, I did." replied Dashie, but blinks a few times and looked back at Twilight. "...'her too'?" "Oh, n-nothing! Nothing! It's jus-" Twilight, stopped talking, realizing what she just said. "What did I say to you?" asked Dashie, realizing she might have said something awful to Twilight. "It's nothing," replied Twilight, looking away. "No, what did I say to you?" "I said it's nothing. It's fine, really. Forget it," replied Twilight, moving away from Dashie, who tried to her to face but couldn't. "Tell me, Twilah," demanded Dashie. "Its Twilight" started Twilight but stopped as she sighed, realizing Dashie wasn't going to drop it. "It's Twilight, but alright, since you want to know." "Tell me, what did I say?" asked Dashie, starting to sweat. "You said..." started Twilight, pausing and blushing. "Yes?" "That you loved 'me' a lot, that you're sorry, and that you won't hurt 'me' again," replied Twilight, looking away and blushing as she remembered the kiss "..." Dashie couldn't say anything; her face was bright red. "You were probably dreaming about Twilah as you kis-" "I'm sorry!" shouted Dashie; her whole body was red and looked like a tomato. "I'm so sorry! Oh god! I'm sorry!" "Huh?" asked Twilight, surprised by the outburst. "I'm such an idiot! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" repeated Dashie. "Dashie, what are you talking about?" asked Twilight. Dashie was freaking out "The kiss! I kissed you! I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I thought,Oh god, I'm sorry!" "It was just a kiss. There was nothing behind it." smiled Twilight—almost like she felt hurt by saying that—she didn't know why...in fact, why was her head hurting? "I'm sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean too... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. You're a wonderful woman and a great friend, but you're not her. You're not my Twilah. She's my soon-to-be wife, and I love her. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It was a mistake. I'm sorry, Twilah." "Soon to be wife?" "Huh?" "What do you mean,'soon to be wife'?" "Uh, I was going to give purpose to her before we came here." Twilight gave Dashie the biggest, warmest smile ever, making Dashie feel calm and relaxed again. "Really now?" asked Twilight, almost like she was jealous. "Yeah, I had to pick the perfect place and time. Then the girls broke the barrier, sending us here and ruining the plan. Sigh, now that I think about it, I don't know if I should be angry or thankful," replied Dashie, sighing, as she lay on the ground and stared up at the sky. "Why?" asked Twilight. "Because I know I would have had chicken out or messed it up... Twilah is right; I'm a failure. I'm just scared of failing her or messing up. I don't want her to leave me. I love her so much; she's the best thing that's happened to me," replied Dashie, closing her eyes and sighing hard. "Well, I think you have nothing to worry about. If she's anything like me, which I'm sure she is, she won't leave you. She'll love you and stay by your side. No matter what happens, she'll stay with you. Trust me, Dashie." replied Twilight, as she lay next to her, "She loves you, as I love mine." "Thanks, Twilight," Dashie smiled towards her and gave her a friendly hug. "Dashie, it's fine. I'm not mad or upset; I'm happy," replied Twilight, hugging her back and closing her eyes. "Still, I'm sorry for everything. You don't deserve it, Twilight." Twilight started to picture Dash and the awful things she said to her "No, I don't. I didn't deserve any of it." "Yeah, you didn't. You're a great person, Twilight. I'm sorry for what I said and did to you." "Thanks, Dash. I forgive you," whispered Twilight as she pictured Dash saying it, and she started to cry. "..." "Are you okay, Twilah?" asked Dashie, seeing her tears Twilight said nothing but could feel Dashie's hoof on her back as she started to stroke it. "Hey, everything's okay. Don't cry. I'm really sorry I hurt you," whispered Dashie with a caring and loving tone. Twilight let go of the hug and looked Dashie in the eyes, who was looking worried, until Twilight kissed her out of nowhere. "W-what are you doing?" asked Dashie, breaking the kiss, causing Twilight to completely turn red, firing off a magical beam from her horn, and destroying a small part of the forest in the distance. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, Dashie!" Twilight was panicking and started to shake her. "I didn't mean too! It just happened, I swear! Please forgive me!" "Its okay, its okay! Don't cry, Twilah." Dashie saying as she was still being shake by Twilight, so she grab Twilight and making her blush "Twilah, everything's fine. It was just a kiss," said Dashie. "It wasn't 'just' a kiss, Dashie." replied Twilight, "It's a kiss I gave 'you', not my Dash, from my world. Oh god, she's right. I am pathetic, and a..." Twilight felt so ashamed when she thought of the word "Dash had every right to say those things! Oh god..." Dashie was completely lost in what Twilight was saying. "I'm pathetic; I'm a weakling... Dash had every right to treat me the way she did. I'm a..." whispered Twilight, crying her eyes out, as Dashie could feel Twilight's tears on her chest. "What the hell is going on with you?" asked Dashie, trying her best to understand what Twilight is going on about. "You're not making any sense!" "Dash," whispered Twilight, hugging Dashie tightly and crying her eyes out. "Twilah..." said Dashie, hugging her back. After a few minutes, Twilight calmed down. "Are you alright?" asked Dashie as she rubbed her back. "Sorry, sorry... I just had a moment there," replied Twilight, letting go and getting up. "Twilah, it's okay. Don't worry." Dashie stand up as well. "...thanks, Dash." "Hey, no problem. Now, I have a question for you, Twilight." "Sure, what is it, Dashie?" "What's going on?" Twilight looked down with her ears down, knowing what she meant. "..." "Come on, tell me. What's going on between you and your  Dash?"asked Dashie, placing her hoof on Twilight's shoulders, "You're not telling me something, and it has to do with your Dash." "Dashie..." "Twilah, just talk to me. What's going on with you and her?" "We have a bad fight," whispered Twilight "Dash said awful things that hurt me, but she was right... I was the one who hurt her, not me. "What did she say to you?" asked Dashie. Twilight started to explain everything, and Dashie was caught up and pissed off as she started to run in place, trying to burn off her anger. "Are you okay?" asked Twilight, seeing Dashie doing runner poses. "No, I'm pissed! What the hell?! Who the hell does she think she is?" shouted Dashie. "She has every right too. She was right about me." "NO! Don't start blaming yourself! You didn't cheat on her! It was just a kiss, and it wasn't you who started it; it was me! If anyone is to blame, it's me, and I will tell her that the next time I see her." "Don't bother, it's over." "No, it's not! Look, don't give up," sighed Dashie as she sat down. "Never give up. You did nothing wrong; it was a spur of the moment; you can't control that. Your Dash should understand that." "..." "Don't give up on her because...I think I understand her. She's not just scared of losing you but also of failing you and herself. When she sees you, she sees the most perfect person and is scared she'll fail you. Not being the person you deserved and wanted." "That's crazy," replied Twilight, not buying it. "It's true, I think. I was scared to purpose to my Twilah a few times and always felt like I'm a failure to her. I was scared I was going to screw it up. I would be a terrible wife, and I'm not the person she deserves. She's a wonderful person and a great mom, and she's smart and funny; she's just great. I feel like she deserves better, and I'm worried I won't live up to that, which is why," Dashie took out the wedding ring box from her jacket, she started to cry, "maybe Dash is on to something? Maybe I don't deserve my Twilight too. like how she doesn't deserve you. We're just losers. We can't do anything right; for me, it's not even proposing to the woman I love or how I keep failing her... I'm pathetic." Twilight looked at Dashie and then at the wedding ring. She remembered that day, and she will always remember it. The day when Dash finally popped the question. Twilight grabbed Dashie's hoof, giving her the warmest smile. "You're not pathetic. You holding that box reminds me of when Dash was acting like this..." Four years ago Dash had everything planned out; there was a big party at Ponyville, and everyone was there. She was going to pop the question there, but things started to go wrong, like the cake falling down and landing on AppleJack, who was mad at Pinkie and the Cakes, and suddenly the 'Endless Party Cake' ate AJ up, and Pinkie and the Cakes had to dive in and find her. Fluttershy, with her animal friends, had to bake a new cake, get it done, and set it up before the night was almost over. Rarity brought with her some famous rich friends who were complaining about how this wasn't a great party and started ruining it. Big Mac was the DJ, and as DJ-pon3, Starlight, and Derpy got lost in a magical portal somehow, Celestia was super drunk, and Luna tried her best to control her. Discord was being Discord, and Braver was being Braver. Everything was in ruins, like fire ruins. Twilight, wearing her torn-up party dress, looked at Dash, who was wearing a torn-up cool party dress and was in the middle of the town, looking defeated. "Dash..." "It's a bust, Twilight... I-I failed again," sighed Rainbow, hanging her head down. "Rainbow, it's okay." "No, it's not; it's never okay! Everything I touch turns to shit, like me... I'm a loser; I can't do anything right, not even this." "Rainbow..." "I can't do anything; I'm useless and pathetic... This was meant to be your special night, your special moment, and I can't do anything right." Twilight placed her hoof on Dash's shoulder, who still hung her head low. "It's not your fault; everyone was caught off guard and had to improvise. This wasn't the best party ever, but I had a great time, as did everyone." Twilight looked around the party and saw Pinkie and the Cakes were pulling AJ out of the cake finally. "Pinkie! Did you put a whole yellow room in there? It looked like the backroom of some building!" shouted AJ, covered in frosting. "I'm sorry, AppleJack. The 'Endless Party Cake' doesn't follow any rules!" laughed Pinkie, while the Cakes finally pulled AJ out and cleaned her off. Twilight turned and saw Fluttershy and her animal friends, all in a baker outfit, covered in flour and cake, looking exhausted, as they had a new cake made and ready. "Huff, huff. It's done, everyone." sighed Fluttershy, laying down and panting, as her animal friends were in the same boat, all laying next to her. The cake looked like Pinkie's purple cake, but it was blue. "Sorry Dash, there was no purple frosting. Someone kept eating it!" shouted Fluttershy to Angel the bunny, who was huge and fat, as sat next to the new cake. "What's a purple cake for?" asked one of the rich friends of Rarity's. "Because it's a special cake. A cake to celebrate Twilight being the best mare ever, but you all kept being rude, selfish, and ruining everything!" shouted Rarity. "How dare you?! Do you know who we are?" "Do you know who I am?" shouted back Rarity as the two stared each other down. "Whatever! We're leaving!" shouted the rich friend as the group left. Twilight walked over to her and placed her hoof on her back as she could see her friend mad at herself "Rarity, it's okay." "No, Twilight, it's not. I can't believe I thought they would be on their best behavior. They were so rude and selfish!" said Rarity, crying, "I'm sorry, Twilight. I was supposed to help your night to be great, but I ruined it. I'm the worst friend ever!" "Oh, Rarity." Twilight went and hugged her friend, who hugged her back. "Its okay." "But, Twilight..." "No, it's not your fault." Rarity nodded and went to help Fluttershy, who was trying to stop Angel from licking and getting lost in the 'Endless Party Cake'. Twilight turned around and could see Big Mac trying his best, playing songs and using the DJ stuff, but he was having a hard time and was stressed out, while Applebloom and her friends were trying to keep the dancing floor active and fun. "Sis, how the hell do theses work? Are these things on?" asked Big Mac, pushing buttons, moving the records, and scratching them. "Don't know, bro! Is this what they call Dubstep?" asked Applebloom. "No, this is what the ponies call 'bad music'! Turn it down; we can hear that garbage from a mile away!" shouted someone, throwing a soda at the booth. "Why, you?" shouted Applebloom, running after the pony. "Thanks a lot, little sister. How am I supposed to play these records if I can't read the notes?" All of a sudden, Starlight, Derpy, and DJ Pon3 fell out of a portal and landed in front of the booth. "Well, that was fun. Can we do that again?" asked DJ Pon3, excited and bouncing around. "FUN!? We were fighting for our lives against an endless horde of monsters!" shouted Starlight, angry, as she was covered in dirt and blue blood. "And we won! That was awesome!" shouted Derpy, all hyped up and covered in the same stuff. "Vinyl Scratch, can you take over?" asked Big Mac, seeing that the real DJ had arrived. "Sure!" Vinyl jumped into the booth and started blasting better music. "I'll take a break," sighed Big Mac, walking off. Twilight turned around and saw Celestia and Luna. Luna was holding Celestia, and she was trying her best to hold her down and keep her under control "Sister, you need to stop drinking! Its making you crazy!" "NEVER! LET ME GO!" Celestia threw Luna off of her and went to the 'Endless Party Cake' and ate a lot, until the 'Endless Party Cake' ate her. Luna ran to the cake and dove in "Sister!" trying to save her sister and pulling her out, and two alicorns came out with them. two Celestia's and two Luna's, as the four looked confused and started arguing with their own sisters. "Pat, where are we?" asked the new Luna, with gaming headphones on. "How should I know, Matt?" replied the new Celestia, looking around and at their doubles, who were fighting with each other, until the new Celestia saw Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. "Hey, it's Woolie and punch dad!" The two clones? stood up and walked to them, yelling, "Woolie! Stop stealing those pies!" and "Woolie, remember when you killed that one guy?" Cadance ran off with the tray of pies, screaming that they couldn't prove any of the murder stuff, making Armor sigh. "Pinkie?" asked Twilight, who was still looking at the new princess. "Again, the 'Endless Party Cake' doesn't follow any rules! including the multiverse rules! Hehehe!" laugh at Pinkie as she hops past Twilight, who is still confused. "Sister! Why are you drinking so much? You were never a heavy drinker like this! Please, stop!" "Because! Because..." cried Celestia, drunk and slurring her words. "Because of what?" asked Luna, grabbing Celestia. "Because...because..." "Because, what?" "Twilight is getting ma-." Celestia stopped talking as Luna shoved a bottle in her mouth and looked at Twilight and Dash, sweating. "HAHAHA! She means Twilight is getting older! YES! Let's go, sir! BEFORE YOU RUIN THIS NIGHT FURTHER!" shouted Luna, pulling her drunk sister and pushing her into the crowd of people and waving to Twilight, who was suspicious of the princess. "Luna..." muttered Twilight. "What's the problem with them, Liam?" asked Pat, who was eating some party snacks, 2 snacks, as he stood next to Twilight and Dash, who was still staring down and never noticing the new princess. "It seems Celestia and Luna are fighting," answered Matt, looking around. "Wait, where are we? What's going on?" "I don't know, like I said, dumb nutz! Great party, Liam," Pat and Matt walked back into the cake and disappeared. Twilight, not wanting to deal with what just happened, turned and could see Fluttershy stopping Discord from being himself, as he was creating chaos with his magic. "Discord! We're at a party; please behave and be a normal pony. No magic or tricks." "Fluttershy, can't you let me have a bit of fun? This party is so dull! There's nothing to do or eat; I'm so bored and hungry." Discord said, looking around the party. "Discord, please. For me, Dash, and for Twilight, can you just act like normal? Dash really made this party very 'special'...can you do that for me?" asked Fluttershy, looking and acting cute, making Discord blush. "O-okay." "YAY!" shouted Fluttershy, hugging Discord. "Yeah, yeah," blushed Discord. Twilight smiled and suddenly saw Tempest and Braver's friend group as they were carrying Braver inside a bubble ball to stop her from breaking anything else. Braver waved her mom, and Rainbow Dash smiled, who finally looked up "MOMS! MOMS! MOMS!" Braver shouting as the friends four walked her over to them and were all worn out. "What's going on with my baby girl?" asked Dash. "Dash, I love Braver, but your daughter is a danger to herself and everyone here. She keeps breaking walls, doors, and anything in her way." told Tempest, pointing to the damage that Braver made "Oh, is that so?" asked Dash, looking at Braver, who was looking away. "Mom, it's not my fault." "Oh, is it now?" asked Cozy, turning to the half-destroyed Ponyville. "It seems a little bit like it's your fault." "It's not, honest!" replied Braver as she pushed her face against the see-through surface, giving Cozy a sad look and causing her to blush. "Whatever...idiot," Cozy looked away, not wanting to fall for the cuteness. "I don't think she needs to be here right now because it's your p..." muttered Tempest, looking at Twilight and quickly to Braver, who was frowning. "She stays, and if anyone has a problem, then I'll take care of them myself. Got it?" shouted Dash, very angrily. "Yes, Rainbow Dash." replied Tempest, who was shocked. "Yes, Mom," replied Braver, smiling. Se tried to tackle hug her but instead bounced into her because of the ball she was inside, and Braver went flying. "Braver!" Dawn arrived and used her magic to save her friend from falling into the river, catching her. "Thanks, Dawn," smiled Braver. "Anytime," Dawn smiled back, but she quickly turned to Tempest and the others, filled with rage. "Tempest and the rest of you! What the hell were you thinking, putting her in there? She's not a hamster!" "You sure?" smirked Cozy as she pointed to Braver, who was getting cake from Pinkie and stuffing it into her cheeks like a hamster and waving at her friends. Dawn found it super cute but blush as Cozy cough at her, making her shouting "Don't play stupid!" "Calm down, Dawn. We're just trying to help her. She wanted this," replied Tirek, trying to calm her down. "Well, I can't trust you or the others, so... I'll do it myself," said Dawn, looking away. "Are you sure, Dawn?" asked Chrysalis. "I am. So, go." "Dawn," sighed Braver, still sad that Dawn won't still open to her friends. "Fine, see you later, you two. I'm getting me some cake!" Cozy and others walked off but kept looking back, as the group was worried for Dawn, as they kept trying to be her friend but wasn't working like Braver had hope. "You two, be careful. You're our best friends, and we will be over there," said Tirek as he left. Dawn ignored them and was looking for a way to get Braver out of the bubble until her parents walked over. Sunburst and Starlight were looking worried for Dawn. "Dawn, what are you doing? Can't you see everyone is enjoying themselves? You need to relax and have fun with your friends. We raised you to be better than this." Sunburst touch her daughter shoulder but she quickly brush it off "What? I'm not doing anything wrong, dad." "Then what are you doing, dear?" asked Starlight, looking at her with worry...and bit of fear Dawn had the most disgusted look when she saw her mother, not because of the blue blood but because of something else. "Nothing. I'm fine." she answered with a very cold tone. Starlight could see how her daughter was looking at her, so she walked away, and Sunburst was shocked but followed her. "Starlight, wait!" Dawn looked away. "Wish you stopped trying to be a mom?" "Dawn," muttered Braver, watching her try to use her magic to pop the bubble but failing.. Twilight had a very serious look on her face as she watched her new student act like that, but she'll deal with that another day, so she turned back to Dash, who was getting off the ground after being crushed by their daughter "See? Everyone had a great time! It worked out in the end, so don't be like this; you did your best, and that's what matters. That's what matters to me; always do your best, no matter what, because that is what is most important in life," said Twilight, smiling, helping Dash up and wiping the dirt off her face. "You think?" asked Dash as she looked up, seeing Braver and Dawn inside the bubble and playing with balloons that Pinkie dropped in. She was soon joined by Cozy and the rest of their friends, causing Dawn to sigh. Dash turned to see Luna splashing cold water on Celestia, who finally snapped out of her drunken trance and felt ashamed, but Luna hugged her and pushed her sister to join her with Braver and her friends. Dash smiled and turned to the dance floor, seeing everyone enjoying the music as DJ Pon3 was joined by Big Mac as the two were djing it up together. Dash's face started to fill with hope, and she finally turned to the two cakes, seeing Fluttershy and Discord chatting and enjoying the night. Rarity, Spike, and AJ were trying to understand how Pinkie Cake even works, as Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich kept pulling out different versions of themselves, one being Weird Al and another being Deadpool Pinkie, who joined the party. Dash couldn't help but laugh and, finally had a smile. "Thanks, Twilight. I think you're right. It did work out, and everyone did enjoy the party," smiled Dash happily. "Of course I am," Twilight was happy to see her girlfriend smiling again. She turned around and said, "Now come on, let's join the girls, huh?" she noticed the music stop and everyone was looking at her. "What's everyone looking at?" "Twilight," whispered Dash, making Twilight turn to her. She saw Dash on one knee and holding a box. "Dash? What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself? What's with the box?" Dash just shook her head at Twilight question "No, no, Twilight. It's not that." "Then, what's the problem, Dash?" asked Twilight, concerned. "I have something to ask you." "Okay?" "Twilight, we have known each other for so long, and we were there for each other. We helped each other, fought together, were there for one another, and more. Heck, we saved the multiverse and saw different versions of ourselves, some loving each other. I want a universe where we're together, not as girlfriends but...more," said Dash as she opened the box, revealing a blue diamond orb necklace. "Twilight Sparkle, will you marry me?" Twilight was completely speechless and shocked and was just staring at her, while everyone was looking and waiting for her response. Twilight could hear every sound—the river running, the trees rustling, the leaves dropping, and the music playing a wonderful tune—as she didn't know what to do. She kept looking at Dash, seeing her eyes fill with tears, as she was starting to get scared, thinking for the worst. "I...I..." Twilight took a deep breath and looked at Dash. "Well? Say something!" yelled Weird Al, causing Dash and the others to stare at him. Soon everyone joined him by calling out to Twilight, asking her to say something. "Okay, okay! I have something to say to Dash, so everyone, please, listen!" shouted Twilight as the crowd became silent. Twilight turned to Dash, who was still waiting for an answer. Twilight smiled, took a deep breath, and said "No." The whole party was shocked as they all looked at Twilight with their mouths dropped, including Braver, who melted in sadness. "Huh?" asked Dash, as tears flowed from her eyes, as she didn't know what to say or do as Twilight got down on her knee. "No, I will not marry you, Rainbow Dash," simply said Twilight, looking her right in the eye and smiling. "Then why ?" asked Dash, as she looked away and couldn't help but cry. "To do this," replied Twilight, as she summoned a box from her magic, put it down on the ground, and grabbed something inside with her hooves. "W-What?" asked Dash, trying not to cry as she rubbed her eyes, as she felt something around her neck, seeing a purple orb necklace, causing Dash to look at Twilight, who was wearing the blue necklace and crying. "Okay, I'll marry you now. I can't believe you beat me to it," Twilight laughed as she kissed her while the crowd cheered for the newly engaged couple. "Wait? For real?" asked Dash, still trying to wrap her mind around what was happening after they kiss "Yeah, silly," smiled Twilight, wiping her tears. "Wow, that's awesome," smiled Braver, who was crying herself. "Yeah," said Dawn, wiping away her tears. Dash started to tear up, hugged Twilight back, and soon nuzzled her nose, whispering, "I'll try to be the best pony for you... I-I-I like you, Twilight." Twilight teared up, shaking her head, and smiled, "I love you too, Dash." They both kissed again, while everyone was cheering. "Like I said, Dashie, you're not pathetic. You are a great and beautiful girl, and anyone should be lucky to have someone like you. But the main thing is, you need to believe in yourself; don't put yourself down like that. Twilah is lucky to have you, and you're lucky to have her. Okay?" "Okay," said Dashie. "Good. Now, I think you and I need to talk to the people we love the most. And thank you for talking to me and telling me the real reason Dash acted like that. I should have seen it sooner, but I didn't. I pushed her away and might be kicking herself right now and worried sick about me," Twilight, wiped her tears. "Now, come on, let's go. You have to tell Twilah that big question!" she got up and helping Dashie up as well. "Thanks, Twilight," smiled Dashie. "It's no problem, Dash. Let's go. They're waiting for us." Twilight opened a portal, and both were about to enter until they turned back to the grave and waved goodbye. "See you later, you two; I hope you watch over us." said Dashie "Yes, keep watching over us and your daughters. I know they miss you so much. We'll be back with them." Twilight waved goodbye, as the two entered the portal and it closed, leaving the grave, sitting alone in the sunlight, the wind blowing. On the bottom of the grave was a gray piece of rock, but when the sun hit it, it revealed itself to be a rainbow shard. Shinning brightly as more shards appeared within the crater... Meanwhile, Dash and Twilah were both in the living room, laughing their butts off. "I can't believe Twilight is into that!" snored Twilah "Me neither, but it was a good idea, and it did help her last longer," smiled Dash. "So Twilight isn't a quick shooter now?" laughed Twilah, pointing to her horn. "Nope," smirked Dash, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay! I gotta ask, what are you into? Stuff that Twilight agreed to do, you know, to spice up things in the bed. You don't have to share everything, just a little something, if you know what I mean." grinned Twilah, winking and nudging her, making Dash blush. "U-uh...well, um..." "You can say it. Don't worry, it won't leave the room. Heck, I'll tell you mine, deal?" "Oh, uh, sure." blush Dash "She wants you," whispered the voice in the back of her mind, but this time, Dash was slowly agreeing with it. "Well, it's not a big deal like what Twilight was into, but..." "Come on, just say it, Dash. You know you want to," smirked Twilah, pushing her playfully and making her blush. "Um, well, I asked Twilight to start holding me and snuggling me while in bed," simply answered Dash, bright as a stop sign. "You're kidding." "No." "Really?" "Yes, Twilah. Really." "And you're into that?" "Yeah, I don't know why, but when Twilight starts to cuddle with me and rub her face against me, I feel warm and safe. I just love it, and I can't help but smile and blush. So, when I asked Twilight about it, she agreed, and it was wonderful." Dash smiled, covering her face, blushing. Twilah just smiled and patted Dash on the back. "You love being held by tall and big girls, Strong girl loves being weak and protected by a tall girl, huh? That sweet and cute." "W-What? No way!" "Then why are you blushing so much?" "It's because, um, I'm just hot and I need some fresh air. Yes, fresh air! I'll be back!" Dash tried to fly off but was caught by Twilah's magic, and soon, Twilah was back into her anthro form and held Dash like a baby, cuddling her and rubbing her head, causing Dash to blush more. "What are you doing?" "What do you think? I'm cuddling with you, just like you like. I want you to admit it, that you like it!" laughs Twilah, causing Dash to blush even harder. "P-please stop." "Why is my baby getting flustered?" "N-no." "You are!" "P-put me down!" "I don't think so. Until you say it. Say it!" Dash could feel the warm and fuzzy feelings, feeling protected, as her body felt so warm and the way Twilah was holding her was perfect. She was starting to love it, as she didn't want Twilah to stop. The voice in her mind was right; she wanted to be held by her and loved by her, just like Twilight did. Dash placed her face in Twilah's chest, crying, making Twilah surprised "Are you okay?" "I LOVE YOU!" Dash just blurred out as her wings shot up, causing Twilah to be super confused but realizing what the wings meant, causing her to blush hard "You do? For real? Dash, I love Dashie." she replied, as didn't know what to do, as she kept holding her friend in her arms. "I'm sorry. I keep ruining things...always. I finally said those words to the wrong Twilight. I'm a fuck up, a loser! I was right. I'm a failure. Twilight deserved someone better than me. I said awful things—things that I can't take back, things that I wish I never said. I hate myself. I'm a horrible wife," Dash buried her of her face into Twilah chest. "You're not a failure, and you're not a loser. You are a kind and sweet pony who is the most caring, cool, and loving person I have ever met—well, other than Dashie. Anyway, you're not a horrible wife; you're a wonderful and beautiful woman who's so amazing and deserves so much more than anything. Twilight is like me, so she doesn't care if you say those three words to another Twilight. She doesn't care if you make a mistake, because it's okay. Because everyone makes mistakes and they are bound to happen, it's normal. The important thing is that you learn from it and move on. It might take some time, but it'll be worth it, okay?" "But, Twilight..." "Don't worry, I'll help her. I'll help you. It's what friends are for. You also showed me... I'm not a team player with Dashie... I have been hurting her without realizing it because I wanted to protect her from me. Dash poked her eye out and said "Protect her? What do you mean? Why do you want to protect her from you?" "I don't want to be weak. Always being weak and dependent on others... I need to be strong for Dashie. to show her that I can be strong and not need her when I'm suffering with things. She was always there for me, always making time for me. It felt like I was draining her, and I couldn't bear it, so I changed. By pushing her away and not seeing that I was putting all the weight of our relationship on her, even raising Blitz almost alone, I realized that I was being an awful mother and not spending enough time with my daughter. I even compare Dashie to my father. I've been a bad girlfriend and mother." Twilah tears formed in her eyes and fell on Dash's body, causing Dash to look at her fully. "I think we all have. We all said bad things we regret. I hurt Twilight by not showing my love to her and saying awful things to her. You're pushing Dashie away by trying to be strong. We're all trying to be strong, but it's okay to rely on others. Even I'm not the best. I've been doing the same to Twilight. She wants to help, but I don't want to be a burden and push her away. She's been so kind and loving to me, and all I've done nothing but say awful things. I can't forgive myself, as I can't take them back, and I'll live with them till the day I die, but Twilight will forgive me, and that hurts more, because why should she? She's too good, too perfect for me." Dash said, looking at Twilah. "I agree. We're lucky to have great people in our lives, and we're too busy worrying about the little stuff. All the time we wasted... I just wish there was a way we could fix this." "Maybe we should just talk to them? We should tell them the truth." "You're right. They deserve the truth." "Yeah, we should tell them. We should have told them the truth long ago," she slowly lowered closed her wings as the feelings she had slowly faded away. The same was true of the voice. "Let's go." "Right," said Twilah, placing her down, as the two were about to head off to talk to their loved ones. When Twilah stopped and told Dash to head outside, she needed to do something real quick. "Hurry up, slow poke! Don't keep me waiting!" smirked Dash as she flew out the door and sat on the white void floor and touch it, as she was worrying what it was ever since she got here. Twilah summoned Spike, who came running, and she lowered herself to him. "Something was off. Did you notice anything?" Spike screen eyes showed the times Twilah was calling Dash, Dashie, and vice versa, with Dash calling her Twilight. Twilah nodded and held her arm out, rolling up her sleeve, showing it to Spike as he looked sad. "Active program, R.C.S," simply said Twilah. Spike looked at her arm and back at her"I ts going to hurt a lot, you sure?" "It has to be done, and I can handle the pain, so don't worry Spike." "Alright, if you're sure. This might take a while, since I haven't been active for a while, and since I'm cut off from earth, I can't connect to the main server. The process will take time longer, but once it's done, I'll message you. a]Again, are you sure?" "Yes. I have to...this might be because of the 'rules' of the universe at play, and I have theory, but I need you to run tests and other things for me. Sorry, but I need to be with my family right now. I can't keep pushing them away. Sorry, Spike," Twilah replied, petting the small robot dragon. "Don't worry, it's the least I can do. Now, stand back and brace yourself." "Understood." Spike nodded, and Twilah held out her arm again, watching as Spike's little mouth suddenly became large, thanks to the nanomachines, and biting down on her arm, causing her to scream but holding it in as Spike started to scan her arm and taking samples of her blood and DNA. Soon, Spike stopped and let go, returning to his normal size and looking sad. "I'm done." Twilah unrolled her sleeve "Good work. Is it working?" Spike eyes turned to readings and other stuff "Yeah, I'm already working on it. It'll take some time. I'll message you." "Thank you, Spike. I'll be waiting. See you later." replied Twilah as she petted Spike head "Bye." Twilah watched Spike walk off and head somewhere in the house. She stood up, headed outside, and returned with Dash back to the garden. At the same time, both portals opened, and both parties met each other as they stepped out and stood in the garden, confused as they looked at each other. "Uh, Twilight, why were you with Dashie? Why is she in her pony form?" asked Twilah Twilight looked at Dash, who looked away in shame "That's my line." "Twilah, Twilight and I were talking, and..." said Dashie as she transformed back into her human form. Dash faced Twilight "Same here." Both parties wanted to say something but felt scared to, as they couldn't find the words. "All of you aren't alone in all this. Just talk to each other, and you'll see. It may not change everything, but you'll feel better. " Blitz and Braver said as their parents looked at them from the entrance of the garden. "Girls?" said all four. "We know something is up between you guys. Just talk already. Let's go, Braver; they need space," Blitz said, grabbing Braver like she was holding a dog. "But what if they fight or worse?" Braver asked as Blitz walked away with her into the hallway and told her 'It happens; it happens', which Braver just whined"BBBBUUUUTTTTTT SSSSSSIIIIIIISSSSSSS!." Everyone started to laugh, finally breaking the ice between them as Dash stepped forward and couldn't look Twilight in the eyes as she spoke. "Twilight, I'm sorry for saying those things to you. It's just that...I can't bear the thought of losing you again, like what happened in the past, but also because..." Dash took Twilight's hoof and held it tight. "You don't deserve me. I mess up, I do things wrong, and I'm just a screw up." "Dashie..." "Let me finish. Twilight, I love you. You're the love of my life. The first time I saw you, my heart skipped a beat, and you took my breath away. It's cheesy, but it's true. I didn't say it before because I was scared and thought of you leaving me... Then I lost you when we touched the rainbow shards, forgetting you... I don't want that to happen again. I don't want to lose you. Please don't forgive me, because I don't deserve it," Dash started to tear up. "I don't want to fail you, like I failed myself. You are the most perfect person ever. If you want to leave me, I understand." Twilight was shocked and started to herself cry, as Dashie was right about why Dash acted like that. "Don't say that. Don't put me on a high pedestal. Yes, you do mess up, but that doesn't mean you're a screw-up. You're wonderful, you're amazing, and you're so brave. Dash, I love you, no matter what happens. I mess up too, like not realizing you were bottled up as you were putting yourself down. I need to be better at seeing that. But Dash, please tell me the next time you're feeling like that, okay?" Dash looked at Twilight and cried, "Yeah!" Twilight smiled and hugged her, which Dash was surprised by but returned it as she smiled. "Dash, I forgive you." Twilight whispered, but Dash stopped her by pushing her away softly and saying "Don't, don't say it. I don't want you to. I want you to punish me. Don't brush what I said under the rug so easily." Twilight was confused but understood; she picked Dash up like a mother holding a baby, causing Dash to turn red. "Okay, no sex for a week. Just cuddles, like you love doing." "W-w-what?!" Twilight gave her a warm smile "Two weeks." "But I didn't mean it like that!" replied Dash as she felt safe in Twilight arms Twilight could see Dash enjoying it, as she became calm again, so nuzzle her nose "Three weeks." "Wait, Twiliiiiiiiaaaaaaa-" cried Dash as she buried her face in Twilight warm chest Twilah was laughing at the scene, and Dashie was shaking her head but smiling, knowing that Twilight was joking. "Four weeks." simply said Twilight "T-Twilight, p-please, don't!" answered Dash, as she started to fell scared again. "Five weeks." "N-no, please. Twilight, you're joking, right? I can't live without you! Please, Twili..." "Eight weeks." quickly replied Twilight as she rock Dash back and fourth "Wait, Twilight, you can't do this. We haven't had sex sinc-" Twilight smirk as she said "A year of no sex. Want to keep pushing it to two?" "You can't be serious!" shouted Dash in disbelief "Maybe not..." thought Dashie, really feeling bad for her counterpart. She sighed and turned to Twilah, who took notice of her and walked over to her. "Dashie...I'm sorry..." "No, don't be like that. I'm the sorry one. I hurt you by being like your dad...I'm a failure. You have every right not to put your trust in me for anything. You should be mad, not saying sorry." "But I can't be mad at you because you did nothing wrong. You are one hundred percent right here. I wasn't being a good team player and still putting all the burden on you. I was trying to protect you from doing that again. I don't want to keep draining you and hurting you, but that's what I was still doing, and I can't ever stop doing it. I hate it. Why can't I stand on my own without putting the burden on you and others? That's why I kept stuff to myself, but I was pushing myself away from you and Blitz by not spending time with her. I'm always working, working, and working, and I can't see the forest through the trees." Twilah took off her glasses and look into her lover eyes "Dashie, I'm sorry, sorry, I'm so weak. My dad was right about me," Twilah said, but quickly felt Dashie embracing her. "No, don't say that, and don't you dare believe that asshole! Twilah, you're amazing, and I wouldn't change you for anyone else. I love everything about you, and the reason why I love you is because you are strong." Twilah was taken aback by this "Strong? H-How?" "Because, no matter what life throws at you, no matter how hard you get knocked down, you always get up. You're a fighter—a fighter that can never be stopped. That's why I and the girls back home want to protect you—not because you're weak, but because we don't want to see you stand alone anymore. I want you to lean on me and to trust in me again, because that's how we're going to be stronger. Together. Let me in again. Let me stand with you again. Don't let me see you suffer alone again. I don't want to fail you in that. Not again." Dash closed her eyes, as she could remember all the times Twilah was knock down in life and then picturing her all alone and suffering, while she could only watch "...please." Twilah returned to her human form and started to cry as she could feel Dashie shaking with fear "Dashie..." "And the reason why I'm a good team player is because you're my partner, and we love each other. We are one, no matter what world or reality we are in. You are the love of my life, Twilah, and the only girl for me. No one can replace you," Dashie lowered herself on one knee, but stopped as she heard Dash laughing. "Dude, that was corny." smirk Dash, still being held by Twilight, as the two were watching them. Twilight sighed and stuff Dash into her chest and upset that Dash ruined this sweet moment "Dash! Don't ruin the moment! PLEASE!" Dash pulled her head out and blush"Sorry, sorry. Go on." as she waved her human counterpart. "Nah, you ruined it!" Dashie angrily replied she stood up and turned to her counterpart. "Also, why is Twilight holding you like that anyway? It's kind of...odd?" she covered her mouth, trying to hide her blush. Dash looked away and simply replied with "She's punishing me." "It doesn't look like it," Dashie pointed to Dash wings. "You really enjoying it..." Dash turned red as she hid her wings. "What are you talking about? I'm not liking this in that way." "Even though Dash is a strong mare, she likes being held by a tall and powerful woman like Twilight. Basically she likes being weak in front of her lover and at least Twilight isn't blasting her" Twilah said to Dashie but she quickly shut her mouth as she realized what she let out, which made Twilight drop Dash and blush pure red. "W-who told you that!" asked Twilight, looking embarrassed and angry, until she looked at Dash, who was sweating a storm as she tried to crawl away. Meanwhile, Dashie was giving Twilah a cold stare, as she wanted answers. "Did you..." "NO! We were just talking about our sex life with you two, and then Dash told me she liked being held, and I wanted to see if she was telling the truth or not. And it turns out she wasn't lying. She was telling the truth." explained Twilah, as Dashie was still glaring at her, which made Twilah to freak out as she was in full panic mode "Then she finally told me her problems and said, 'I l-" Twilah put her hand on her mouth as fucked up again as stared at Dashie and Twilight who was looking at her but she couldn't tell if they were upset as shadows covered their eyes. Dash was hiding behind a tree as Twilight slowly turned to her, still having the darkness over her eyes, so Dash shouted out "IT WAS SPUR OF THE MOMENT AND MY MID LIFE CRISIS CAME BACK, TWILIGHT! REALLY! YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME!" Dashie and Twilight looked at each other and sighed as they both turned red and their eyes were seen again "We kiss each other on the spur of the moment." Dashie and Twilight both said at the same time. "WHAT!" shouted Dash, who flew up next to Twilah, who also looked upset, but they both sighed. It was quite before everyone started to laugh, and Dash returned to the ground, holding her sides as she laughed, while Twilight was leaning against a tree, holding her side as well, and Dashie and Twilah were laughing. "Hey, I'm fine with it. She's still kissing me, but not with a random mare! So Twilight, how bad of a kisser is she?" asked Dash as she flew towards her Dashie gave her a cold stare "HEY!" "Her kiss was something, though," thought Twilight as she held her lips. "But I'm not fine with you and Twilight getting along better than with me!" pouted Twilah to Dashie. "Even if it's me from another universe!" "Twilah, I should be saying the same thing! So you two are buddy buddies and talking about my sex life with Dash, huh?" said Twilight, causing Twilah to blush. "What else did Dash tell you?" "NOTHING ELSE!" Dash getting between the two and waving her hooves, looking upset and embarrassed. Twilight set Dash down on the ground and said "Dash, take it easy, we're not going to get into a fight over this," "Really?" asked Twilah and Dash, to which Twilight nodded. "You fire your horn when you get too horny and had to train yourself in lasting longer in bed." simply said Twilah, pointing to Twilight horn "Dash likes getting sat on." simply answered Twilight as she gave Dash a glare of "So, you told her that? huh? Well, eye for an eye", making Dash pure red. Dashie could see her girlfriend enjoying seeing Dash suffering from embarrassment, so she joined in and said "Twilah likes getting her stomach rubbed and kiss on." Twilah quickly turned to her and was not only bright red but steam was blowing out of her head "Dashie!!!" Twilight laugh at this new knowledge of her counterpart and also wanted to reveal another thing about Dash "Dash like her tail is being played or being pulled on." "Twilight!!!! Oh yeah! Twilight likes getting her ears rubbed—hey!" shouted Dash as Twilight played with her tail, causing Dash to blush and her wings to stand up, which Twilight smiled and embrace her from behind and kissing her cheek "...Twilight, stop it. We're not alone..." Soon, Dashie grabbed Twilah from behind and rubbed her stomach with caring love. Twilah was taken by surprise, so much so, that she turned into her anthro form without realizing it, and blasted a beam into the sky from her horn, causing Twilight to glare at her and say, "Yup, you are me." leaving Twilah blushing hard, while Dashie was kissing her neck. ...soon everyone started to laugh again and started to talk with each other like great friends. "Sis, I don't understand?" whispered Braver as she and Blitz were near the entrance as they never truly left "Sis?" Braver could see Blitz blushing red. "I really, really wish I never heard that stuff... Maybe it's good you don't understand this yet." replied Blitz as she was hiding her face with both hands "But why?" asked Braver, still trying to understand what was happening. Blitz moved her fingers, revealing her eye and simply said "Just trust me on this..." Braver didn't understand, but she trusted her little sister, but she wanted to be with her mom's, so she started to walk out, but Blitz stopped her. "What are you doing?" asked Braver. "Let them be! Don't ruin the moment!" shouted whisper Blitz, pulling her back. "But I want to see my Moms." Braver started to cry and, without fail, bumping head first into the wall, knocking it over, revealing them to their parents. "Braver!" shouted Twilight and Dash, surprised to see her. "Blitz!" shouted Twilah and Dashie, also surprised. "Hey mom..." waved Blitz, while Braver flew to Twilight and hugged her, but Dash stepped away from her, which Braver noticed. "Mom? Why are you over there?" asked Braver, looking upset, causing Dash to look at her with worry "Twilah told me, sweetie. I'm being careful around you, so you won't get triggered. I'm sorry." Dash smiled, still keeping her distance. Braver let go of Twilight, closed her eyes, and calmly breathed in and out. Within seconds, she tackled Dash into the ground, hugging and nuzzling her like crazy. "Braver?" Dash was confused, as Braver started to cry. "Please don't avoid me, Mom! I'm trying to not see Sky in you, so don't leave me," cried Braver. "Sweetie..." smiled Dash, patting her on the back. "DON'T CRY! Mom is here!" Dash loudly said as she started to spoil Braver like always. "I wish she would stop spoiling her..." whispered Twilight, glaring at her wife and heading over to them. Meanwhile, Blitz walked up to her folks, who hugged her. "How was your day, sweetie?" asked Twilah "It was fine. I fought a centaur, though," replied Blitz, hugging back. "Did you win?" asked Dashie, not phased by what her daughter said "Nah, I got my butt kicked by him," replied Blitz, looking upset as she sigh "Aww, don't worry, you'll win the next one." smiled Twilah, hugging her tighter but letting her go. "By the way, I was thinking, since I haven't been around you as much because of my job have been getting in the way. Sorry about that, sweetie, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and your mom. Think of it as catching up on lost time with you two. I would love that, as we haven't hung out much as a family." Blitz was quiet, as she was confused by her mother's offer. "Blitz?" asked Twilah, noticing her just looking at her. "What are you talking about, mom?" answered Blitz, making her confused. "We already hung out a lot together." "Sweetie, we haven't done anything as a family... I haven't been there a lot," whispered Twilah, looking down. Blitz looked at her with a confused face, put her hand under her mother chin, and smiled at her. "Mom, I'm not a kid. I know your job is very demanding. And I know you are busy a lot. I'm not mad about it or upset about it. I know you love me and want to be with me. I'm not a little kid anymore. I understand what you do; you are doing great things in the world. Like, who can be upset with a super genius who's using her brain to help others? I'm proud of you, and so is mom. I want you to keep doing what you do best, so don't worry about me. Okay." smiled Blitz, who was glad she told her her feelings, but Twilah was tearing and quickly hugged her daughter as she said, "BUT I WANT TO SPOIL YOU!" and cried into her shoulder. Dashie smiled as she joined in the hug, but they stopped as they heard Dash. "If you guys are looking for family activities, you can join us tomorrow in doing an apple picking event at AJ farm," explained Dash, walking over to them. "That's a great idea, Dash! Yes, you must join us!" smiled Twilight "Yeah! You must! You can meet Aunty AJ, Fluttershy, and Pinkie! Oh, and Tempest! They would love to see you!" cheered Braver as she flew around the two families. "Well? Want to do that?" asked Dashie to her family, to which Blitz and Twilah nodded. "Well, it looks like we're picking apples then!" Everyone was talking among themselves, but unknown to them, Dawn was listening as the parents were talking among themselves after the twins showed up. "Oh yes, this information can be useful," smiled Dawn as she turned to her human double "Right? Rainbow Sun Dawn?" who appeared behind Dawn, smiling as well. End of Chapter 4 > Chapter 5: Where Monsters Are Born... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was the next day, and Braver was eating breakfast with Dawn, who was slowly eating her toast as she just stared at Braver. Braver, of course, didn't notice as she was talking to Dawn about what happened yesterday and what she was doing today with her family and was writing things down that she wanted to do with her sister. Dawn just smiled as she stared at her, not really caring what she was saying, only thinking about one thing, which was Braver and being her only true friend and the one she truly loves. "Braver." Dawn said, making Braver look at her. "Can I go with you?" Braver was shocked by her question "What?!" "Can I go apple picking with you? You can have me there for company, and I can spend time with you," explained Dawn, shocking Braver even more. "You want to come with me and my family?" Braver was trying to think if she really was asking her that or she misheard her. "Yes." "Like, with my mommies and my little sister and her family?" "Yes." "Like, meeting all of them and being a part of the family activities?" "Yes, what's the problem with that?" asked Dawn, trying to understand what was wrong by asking this request. "The problem is..." said Braver as she put the pen down and slowly walked up to Dawn, who was getting nervous, not sure what Braver was going to do. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO SOONER?" Dawn was taken aback by this, but then she remembered who she was friends with and smiled as Braver grabbed her hoof and started to talk about what they were going to do, but Dawn wasn't listening again as her dark thoughts filled her mind. "Braver, keep looking at me... Don't ever look away from me, because no one will ever love you, not like me. No one else matters in your life except me, and I will protect you from everyone and everything," thought Dawn as she continued to stare at Braver. "Oh, and Dawn," Braver grabbed Dawn's attention. "I would love for you to be a part of the family, as you are always welcomed!" Dawn didn't say anything and just smiled at her, as she was blushing hard but was glad to hear those words "Yes, I'll be your only family as well, Braver, forever and always." At the same time, Dash was looking at Twilight speed running her duties as Princess of Equestria, as she had missed a day of work. Dash wasn't worried, though, knowing Twilight would get her work done in no time, even more so if it involved spending time with their daughter. Dash just watched as Twilight was stamping paperwork that Spike had put on the desk. "Twilight, calm down; everything will be fine. You won't miss anything. You're not a princess for nothing," laughed Dash. "But Dash, I need to hurry, or I can't be with you and the others on the apple picking! Plus, it will be great to see the girls again and on better terms than last time, where Braver isn't having a triggered event. We only talked about what happened to Braver, not really catching up and needing to be careful around her now too, which I hate," replied Twilight as she stamped faster, getting annoyed how much paper work there was "It's for Braver's own good, but it feels like I'm ordering the girls around...like a princess." "Twilight, you will make it in time." smiled Dash "Trust me, if Braver knows you are not going, she will be devastated. She will miss her mom but she will understand." "She has you," glared Twilight, not looking at her, as Twilight was kind of jealous. Braver is a mommy's girl to Dash and not to her "She will be beyond devastated if you weren't there." "Yeah, but you are the best mom in the world," smiled Dash, getting her attention again "Also a great friend. You aren't ordering our friends to be careful as a princess, but as a mom, you are asking, not ordering them. Braver grew up with them and sees them as family. They would do anything for her, even being more careful around her." "You know, you have a point. Thanks Dash. You always know what to say to make me feel better," Twilight gave her a small smile, getting up and walking over to Dash and hugging her, which she returned. "It's the least I can do; after all, you are the smartest person in the world. But don't forget, I'm the coolest!" Dash gave her a cocky smirk as she flexed her muscles, making Twilight roll her eyes and kiss her. "...hmmm, Twilight?" asked Spike, making Twilight turn to him and seeing another stack of paper work, making her sigh as she hurried to finish those too. "Spike, when was the last time you took a vacation?" asked Dash, as he was looking over a paperwork and turned to her. "Well, I take one when I want," replied Spike, as he was just helping Twilight and not really his job. "Well, want to join us for apple picking?" "Sure," smiled Spike, liking the idea of being outside and relaxing. "Great!" smiled Dash. "We'll leave when Twilight is done." "That might be a while," whispered Spike, as both of them faced Twilight, who was slowing down in stamping the papers Dash started to do warm up stretches "I know, which is why I'm here," "How are you going to help?" asked Spike, knowing what was about to happen. "Well, I need a warm-up first." explained Dash as she took off her bomber jacket and started to flex and stretch, revealing her strong body to Twilight. "She's not going to fall for that." glared Spike "Watch!" smirked Dash. Dash was flexing and stretching her body even more, revealing her strong back muscles and her strong stomach, as well as her strong back and arm muscles. All of this was getting Twilight's attention, as she was blushing and drooling. "So, how is the work coming along, Twi?" asked Dash, showing off her body in a cool but yet sexy pose and winking at her. "...almost done..." simply said Twilight as she started to go faster than ever as she kept looking at Dash and not at the paper work, making Dash smirk but Spike face palm, as he couldn't believe it worked. Meanwhile, Blitz and her parents were simply waiting in the garden, talking among themselves as they were waiting for the others. "So, think AJ and the others are like our AJ and our others?" asked Blitz as she was doing her morning stretches along side her mothers. "Well, the little time we spent talking to them, they seemed to be almost the same people. just slightly different. Didn't you say Rarity was a little different from Rachel? She wasn't a party girl like Rachel." replied Dashie, as she was doing some sit-ups. "Yeah, Rarity said she wasn't like that. I wonder why. I know we're in a different universe and all, but almost everyone is one-to-one in personality. Maybe the other Applejack and Pinkie are the same way?" wondered Blitz as she was doing jumping jacks Dashie stop and faced her daughter "I guess we will see," "I believe it's because of the world they grew up in!" answered Twilah as she was suffering from doing pushups, as her arms were wobbling hard. "Come on, Twilah, it isn't that bad." sighed Dashie, seeing how weak Twilah was. "It's so hard!" groaned Twilah, making both her girlfriend and daughter roll their eyes. "You know, this could be fun," reply Blitz, making the two look at her. "This could be a family bonding thing. We haven't done anything together in a long time. This could be good for us." "Well, yeah. Its nice to finally hang out together," smiled Dashie, looking at her family, who were also smiling at her, until Twilah fell on her face, making her groan. "Oh Twilah, come on," laughed Dashie, helping her up. "How many was that?" asked Blitz, realizing she wasn't keeping track of mother push ups. "4," sighed Dashie. "You are getting better, mom!" cheered Blitz. "...can't be! I'm completely covered in sweat! I'm not even fat! I know I did more! You two are tricking me!" said Twilah, accusingly. "What!? Mom, we would never do that!"Blitz is shocked that her mom would accuse them like that. "Oops, I was wrong, my bad love," smiled Dashie, making Twilah feel better "You did 3 pushups. Not a lot," sighed Dashie again. Twilah just dropped to the floor and started crying as she knew it was true, making Blitz sigh seeing her mom like that "Mom, stop crying. You are getting stronger." Blitz patted her mom head, comforting her the best she could. "Really?" cried Twilah, looking up at her daughter. "Yep," smiled Blitz, giving her a thumbs up. Dashie sighed at them. "Blitz, don't spoil your mom, or she won't ever improve." "But I want her to feel better!" whined Blitz, pouting at her. "You'll get used to it." Dashie remembered over the years where she comforting Twilah after every workouts and never improving "Trust me." Twilah started to swing her arms and legs as she started to act like a baby, which made her girlfriend and daughter laugh. "What's going on in here?" asked Twilight as she entered with Dash and Spike, seeing Twilah acting like a child. "Mom is upset because she can't do pushups," answered Blitz. Twilah stood up but completely worn out as she held on to her knees "I can do more than three!". Twilight started to laugh, but Twilah wasn't going to take that from her counter part as she pointed at her, "YOU TRY THEN!" "I will!" smiled Twilight, not seeing this coming and not backing down as she lay on the ground and started to do push-ups with no problem, shocking Twilah in how easy her counterpart can do it. "Twilah, Twilight's a pony. They no doubt have better arm strength—well, leg strength, since they're always on it." simply said Dashie, making Twilah groan, not wanting to hear that. "Don't worry. If you really look at it, Twilight is you, right? So you are doing those those push ups through her!" Blitz comforted her mother, who didn't feel better when hearing that. Twilight stopped and was a little tired, which Twilah saw and started to cheer up as she knew Twilight least had a hard time, "HA! Are you like me! Tired already!?" laughed Twilah with glee as she dance around in place. "I'm not done yet!" Twilight smirk, as she was only getting started and started doing pushups again, but faster and without a sweat, making Twilah's smile disappear and start to cry, which made her daughter hug her and Dashie pat her head. "Come on, Twilight; don't be mean to Twilah. You were like that too, you know?" Dash was a little upset at her wife, being a show off and putting their friend down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." apologized Twilight, getting up and noticing how sad and defeated Twilah was. "Twilah, don't worry. Twilight could only do 2 push-ups before I started to train her. You did 3, that's an improvement." Dash smiled, giving her a pat on the back. "Really?" asked Twilah, smiling at Dash and then Twilight, who looked upset, that Dash revealed that to her counterpart. Dash gave her a grin as she remember Twilight suffering in their workouts back in the day "She did, I swear. She was a lazy nerd, just like you." Dash gave her a high five, while Twilight rolled her eyes at her. "I want a divorce." pouted Twilight, sitting down and crossing her arms "I wasn't that lazy!" "I don't act like that Twilight," laughed Spike "I remember you were getting worried as you gain weig-" Spike stop as he saw her glaring at him with daggers, while Dash was laughing her butt off, which Spike awkward back away a bit. "So, everyone is ready, right? To go apple picking," asked Dash after finishing laughing, making everyone smile. "Yep." said Twilah and Dashie "Ready!" shouted Twilight and co. "Braver isn't here yet." said Blitz, but on cue, the wall fell down, revealing Braver, holding a bag, and Dawn, who was wearing a sun hat, while the maids sighed and went to get the repair crew "Never mind, she's here and with Dawn?" "I wanted to invite her. So, she can hang out with us," smiled Braver, which made her mom, Twilight, very happy, and everyone else was okay with it. "Oh, that's wonderful!" clap Twilight, "We can have a teacher and student time! Just like Celestia and I had when I was younger!" "I only came for Braver, not to hang out with you, teacher," simply answered Dawn, looking away. "Braver might have forgiven you, but I haven't. You are still a failure of a mother in my eyes, like someone else I know." "HEY!" shouted Dash, while Twilight looked upset. "No, no, no. She's right." Twilight said, as she put her hoof on Dash chest, to stop her from flying towards her student "I was a bad mother, but I'm trying, Dawn. Please don't be like that. We used to be close. What changed? When you started drifting away from me?" asked Twilight, upset and a little angry at herself, but she knew Dawn was only saying the truth. "Braver is what changed on that day..." simply said Dawn, turning her back to her teacher. "What's up with her?" whispered Spike to Dash. "It's a long story," sighed Dash, feeling bad for her wife. Braver wasn't listening to any of this, as she was inside the bag, which everyone gathered at, and suddenly, Braver jumped out and gave a flat package to Blitz and her folks. "We bump into Aunty Rarity." "Braver broke her wall when she wasn't looking." corrected Dawn "Crash into Aunty Rarity" Braver blush as she corrected herself, "and she had these done and said the rest would be done later tonight. She said it would be perfect for today!" Braver smiled as Blitz and her folks were trying to open them. "Clothes, right? Should we change now?" asked Dashie as she opened a bit of the package and saw inside and smiled. Twilight nodded, while Dash told everyone that in Ponyville, the weather is very hot today, as the cloud machine is broken right now, and to bring sun screen and wear the summer clothes that Rarity made them. "Okay, then. Let's head back and change," Dashie told her family, but Twilight summoned a single changing room in front of everyone. "Huh, magic is super useful, I see. I'll go first." It wasn't long before Dashie came back out. wearing her new clothes, making Twilah red as her mouth hangs open. Dashie is wearing a white t-shirt(showing off her chest), jean shorts(showing off her well tone running legs), brown boots, and a blue hat, while her hair is still in a ponytail. "I'm next!" stuttered Twilah, going inside the changing room and being very excited and happy. While everyone was waiting, Twilight was looking at Dawn. "Are you okay, Twilight?" asked Spike, knowing something was up. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Just wondering if Dawn is going to keep hating me," whispered Twilight, looking at student, who was only talking to Braver, but she felt something was off when she looked at her. "My head..." thought Twilight as she held her head and suddenly felt warm, as she was taking glares at Dashie and didn't know why. She didn't notice Dawn coming up to her. "Teacher, are you okay?" asked Dawn, concerned for her. "Yeah, just a small headache. It will go away." smiled Twilight, but it didn't feel right, as her face was burning red as she kept looking over to Dashie and noticing her features like Twilah noticed. Dawn turned around and smiled as her horn was glowing so slightly and the aura was almost a rainbow color. "I'm ready!" called out Twilah as she stepped out in her anthro form. Dashie turned red as she saw her. wearing a long red sundress and red flip-flops. To Dashie, she was beautiful but was wondering why she was in her anthro form, to which Twilah answered, "So I can keep up with you two! Stop leaving me in the dust!" pouted Twilah towards her family. "Mom, no promises!" laughed Blitz as she ran into the changing room. Dawn walked behind Dash and used her magic without anyone noticing. Dash held her head and quickly turned red as she noticed Twilah waving at her, making her heart skip, so she waved back. "This is too easy," thought Dawn. "Braver, I'm going to scatter your family first. So you'll only have me." Blitz ran out of the changing room and was wearing a grey t-shirt, black shorts, and a baseball hat. She was super happy, as Rarity got her taste down. She too was in her anthro form, making Dashie a little upset. "Why are you in that form too?" asked Dashie, trying to understand and feeling left out as the only human here now. "I don't want to be stared at. I notice that while in this form, ponies and other creatures don't stare at me or come up to me, unlike when I'm in my human form." Blitz replied, smiling at her new outfit "Plus, I like walking on two legs and having hands." "Looking cool, girl!" said Dash, giving her a high five. "Yeah sis! Way past cool!" smiled Braver. "Thanks!" blushed Blitz, happy that her sister was giving her compliments. Dashie sighed at her daughter's answer, and soon everyone was grouping up with Twilight, as she and Twilah were carrying shoulder bags. With her magic, they were gone. In the open fields of AJ's farm, everyone reappeared. Dashie and her family looked around, as they had never been here before, but yet they have, as everything looked the same in their universe. Blitz ran across the field in her trademark speed and pointed at things she had seen before, like the apple trees, the barn, and even the windmills. Everything was in the same place too. "Look, her next-door neighbor also has that carrot farm! It's like we're back home!" shouted Blitz, jumping up and down in happiness. "I can't believe it's all the same!" laughed Dashie, holding Twilah's hands so tight. "What's all this about being the same?"called out a voice "Twilight, Dash, and even you Spike, it's good to see all of you again," everyone turned to see AJ as she walked up to them. "AJ, glad we could see you on better terms," said Twilight as they hugged. "Hey, AJ!" waved Spike as he was in the back. "What's up, AJ? How have you been?" asked Dash as she gave her a high five. "Fine, thank you. Now where is my very strong Ponyville fighter?"smiled AJ as she looked around for Braver, until Braver leapt on her from the back and hugged her tightly, making AJ laugh but also coughing from the tight hug. "I missed you, Aunty AJ!" shouted Braver, smiling so hard. "Well, I guess some things don't change." sighed AJ, as she rubbed her back. "How are you doing, sweet cube? Still hurting?" "A little, but I'm doing better!" smiled Braver as she jumped off. "I'm glad," smiled AJ as she patted her head. "How about your friend over there? Dawn right?" Dawn was just standing there, unsure of what to do. "You can come on over," said AJ. "Oh, umm, thanks." replied Dawn, walking over to her. "You're a shy one. Don't worry, everyone gets a warm welcome around these parts," smiled AJ, rubbing her head. "T-Thank you," smiled Dawn as she and AJ talked a little, making Dawn less nervous. Blitz and her parents huddled together and started talking to each other. "HOLY SHIT! SHE'S EXACTLY AS OUR AJ FROM OUR UNIVERSE!" shouted Blitz in joy and happiness. "Calm down, Blitz. There might be a difference in this universe. Remember what your mom told us?" whispered Dashie. "Also, don't swear." Twilah nodded and said "I agree with your mother, Blitz. We can't assume anything. But she seems the same." "She is the same; she acts and even sounds the same. Maybe everything is the same! ...other than looking like a pony, of course." replied Blitz as she left the huddle and dashed within seconds in front of AJ, scaring her a bit. Both of Blitz's parents sighed at the scene. "You sure are fast." smiled AJ, dusting the dirt off her hat. "I take after my mom!" "And her cockiness in her speed..." muttered Twilah, making Dashie chuckle. AJ walked around Blitz, scanning every part of her, and finally stopped in front of her and smiled with joy. "You truly do take care of your mother. It's like looking into a mirror. only a difference is two colors." AJ looked into Blitz's purple eyes and then seeing the black in her rainbow hair. "She's my twin sister. What did you expect? We look the same." proudly said Braver, coming next to her, trying to stand on her hind legs but failing as she fell. "Really now? How?" asked AJ, looking at the both of them and not seeing it at all. "What!? We do!" shouted Braver, as AJ was really trying to see the difference, but she could see that she was making Braver sad. "Maybe you can explain, Twilight?" AJ very awkwardly smiled towards her friends, as she didn't want to upset Braver any further. "They're twins alright, AJ." explained Twilah as she walked up to her, who was still shocked to see another Twilight, who was also just as tall as well, and they only met once but amazed by her sizes. "See, Prime Discord gave Blitz a pill that allows her to change into a human at will, like Dashie over there," said Twilah as she pointed at Dashie, who was just walking up to them. "She can also look like what you see in front of you. Blitz, can you change into your real form?" Blitz nodded, and AJ watched as Blitz became a pegasus, and just like Braver said, they almost looked the same, causing AJ to slap her knee and laugh, saying that was amazing and Blitz should have done that from the start. Blitz and Braver smiled, happy that AJ believed them. "Still, it's weird seeing you, Dashie." told AJ as she shook her new friend's hand. "You look nothing like Dash over there, but yet, you are, in how you act." "Same here. You look nothing like our AJ, but yet, you act the same way," replied Dashie, who was also a bit nervous about meeting another AJ, as she could feel how strong she was. Just like her AJ. "Really now? How does the other me look?" Blitz butted in and explained how their AJ is well built and buff, has a six pack, and has a lot more muscle, making AJ chuckle. "I guess I need to hit the gym more. I can't let the other me win in the farming race," AJ chucked some more as they talked a bit more. Soon, AJ led the group to the apple fields and turned to them. started to explain how their world of apple picking works. "Since y'all are new, I'm going to make it simple. You can keep any apples you buck." "...buck?" said Blitz and her parents. "Yep. Buck the apples. Y'all know how, right?" Everyone nodded their heads, even Spike, but Blitz and her parents didn't. All three once again said "Buck?" "Yes, buck. Like this," explained AJ, as she turned around and bucked a tree, making the apples fall off and land in a basket. "I see. You don't use ladders to reach the apples and pick them? Instead, use your back legs instead! Smart!" Twilah told her self as she held on to AJ's rear leg and studied it, causing AJ to be confused and turn to her friends, who were laughing. "Is she alright?" "I think she's just trying to see how your hooves and rear legs work, that's all," laughed Twilight as she watched her other self realize what she was doing and quickly let go. "Sorry!" "It's fine," replied AJ, who was now a bit uncomfortable. "Just don't do that again. Let's get bucking!" "Yeah!" shouted everyone. Everyone was getting ready, but Twilight and Twilah dropped their bags and called their daughters over. The twins walked over and watched as their mothers put on sunscreen on themselves. Twilah handed Blitz the bottle but Twilight squeeze the liquid cream on her hoof and looked scared "But mom!" whined Braver, as she hated putting on sunscreen. "Sweetie, if you don't, you'll turn hard and stiff. You know slime creatures are weak to the elements." explained Twilight as she made Braver face her so she could put it on her, but Dawn pulled Braver away from her and took out a different brand of sunscreen as Dawn started to explain how Braver's body reacts better to this brand. Twilight and Dash were shocked as it worked so well, as Braver Body just took it in with no problem, unlike the brand they always use, which makes Braver Slime Body move weird before calming down. "This works much better and doesn't make her 'itchy', unlike this one," explained Dawn, as she finished putting it on Braver. "Itchy?" said Dash, with a puzzle look on her face. "We never had that issue," explained Twilight, looking at the bottle and back at them. "Sure, her body moves a bit with it, but it always works out." "I was being nice in saying itchy but her body is always fighting with it." Dawn reply but not looking at her teacher as she put the bottle away. "What do you mean by 'fighting' it?" asked Twilight, feeling worried. "Braver, don't you tell your moms anything?" asked Dawn, now looking at Braver, who looked away. Dawn sighed as she finally turned to her teacher, but with such disgust in her eyes as she explained herself. "Braver bodies can't absorb it at all. When it goes deeper into her body, the surface level calms itself, but the deep part of her body is screaming out in pain. You haven't ever noticed her not moving too much when you put that stuff on her? Or when she's in the bathroom for so long? Her body is trying to reject it because it's hurting her." Twilight just drop the bottle as she was in shock, as she always put this brand on Braver, ever since she was little. Dash was also in shock, not knowing how much pain Braver was going through."Sweetie, why didn't you tell me!?" "I-I did...once." explained Braver, feeling ashamed "But you didn't believe me." "What? W-When?" stutter Twilight, not remembering a time when her daughter told her that. Dawn stepped in front of Braver as she explained what Brave did. "It was a year after we met, and our families were at the beach. This was after you guys learned about the heat turning her semi-hard." 9 years ago Twilight sat down on her towel, and Dash stabbed the umbrella into the sand. Both were happy they were able to have a family trip together, especially on the beach and with the Starlight family. They watched as Filly Braver, known as Breaker at the time, was playing with Filly Dawn on the sand. They both smiled at the scene, as they were glad that Breaker had made a friend. "Glad they became friends, right?" Starlight said as Sunburst and her sat near their friends. Twilight put some sunscreen on her arms. "We are. Thanks for inviting us," "No problem. It's been a while since we went to the beach. Plus, we wanted Dawn to play with another pony. I was worried that she would never make a friend...glad I was wrong." Sunburst said as he watched his daughter smile as she looked at Breaker. "By the way, don't forget to put sunscreen on Breaker's body. That scare of her almost turning to stone was pretty scary. We don't want that to happen again." "Don't worry, I didn't forget," reply Twilight as she called out to her daughter, who came running towards her. "MOMMY!" "Hehe. Sweetie, don't shout. People are trying to relax. Now, can you come closer, please?" "OK!" Breaker came close to her mother as she watched her mom put the sunscreen on her hoof but wanted to play with her friend and wanted to leave right away "Mom, can I go play with Dawn again?" "Not until I put the sunscreen on, sweetie. You can't be in the hot sun without your body copying the sun screen cream, or you'll turn hard again. Close your eyes. I'm about to put it on your face." Breaker did what her mother said, closing her eyes, and felt the cold sunscreen going around her face as she could hear Twilight rubbing her hoof on her face and forehead. Soon, Twilight put the rest all over her body, and Breaker could feel her slime body screaming out in pain as it tried to absorb the cream. She was so upset and was crying as Twilight rubbed the sunscreen on her wings, as her mother was just laughing. "Sweetie, it's not that bad." told Twilight, seeing how cute Breaker was stomping her little hooves like she was dancing "Yes, it is! I hate this stuff!" replied Braver, shouting as she kept pounding the sand in pain. Twilight stop putting the cream on her and was upset as she said "Now, now, sweetie. Don't shout. People are relaxing. We are just being safe." "I'm telling you, it hurts!" she shouted again, still feeling the pain Twilight sighed as she put some on her own skin and rubbing it, showing her daughter it wasn't painful "Hurts? It doesn't hurt, see?" Breaker tried to move but couldn't "Yes, it does! Just listen to my body!" "Sweetie, stop exaggerating. You're fine." replied Dash, with bit of anger in her voice, as she wasn't liking how Breaker was acting. "NO, I'M NOT!" screamed Breaker as tears came out. Dash got a bit more angry at her daughter, but Twilight just laughed. "Sweetie, calm down. Your okay. Just sit still until your body copies the cream, and then you can play, alright?" "B-but!" "She's being cute. Reminds me of when Dawn hated putting sunscreen on her." giggle Starlight "Ha! It reminds me of when I was young," said Dash. "M-Mom!" shouted Breaker to Dash. Twilight put her hoof on her daughter mouth "Shh. Be quiet, sweetie. Your mom is talking to Starlight." Dash was about to say something, but Twilight shush her "Let's just ignore her and let her body copy it." "I guess." Breaker cried, as she didn't want the sunscreen on her. She looked over and could see Dawn waving at her and telling her to come play with her. She waved back, wanting to go and play but being stuck here. Her body was trying its best to remove the sunscreen off of her by making her body ripple the fake skin like water, but Twilight rubbed more and more on her, making her body scream out in even more pain. She was so sad and cried harder and louder. "Mommy, it hurts!" cried Breaker, as she started to kick and cry. "Breaker, no!" shouted Twilight, causing the filly to be scared, as Twilight never yelled at her. "Behave! Didn't you promise us that you'll be a good girl?" Twilight held her daughter and set her between her and Dash. Breaker looked down at the towel and spoke "I'm a good girl. I'm not bad, right?" "You're a good girl. My little sunshine," smiled Dash, kissing her forehead. "My little sunshine." sung Twilight Dash joined in and sang "My little sunshine." Both mom's kissed her, making the filly feel a bit better, and she hugged them, but as she did, her body released more pain as the sunscreen slowly went deeper inside of her and started to copy it. It was hell, as Breaker could feel her body getting tighter, as if her slime was slowly drying out and dying. She was in so much pain that she cried harder, making her mom's hug her, as they thought she was crying because they loved her. "I'm good. I'm good," whispered Breaker as she tried to deal with the pain, but she suddenly saw flashes of her old life, killing the kingdoms of night and day. killing their rulers as they became apart of her and using their bodies to attack Sky each time. Destroying the city that Nightfall lived in, killing every living creature, killing Nightfall and Sky as she absorbed them into her. She looked at her hooves, seeing them—all of them, their bones, their remains—as they floated within her. This is where she first started to bottle up the pain, as she kept calling herself a good girl. "See, the sun screen isn't hurting you, right?" asked Twilight, as the filly was just quiet. "Sweetie, are you alright?" asked Dash, removing her shades and noticing something was wrong. Breaker didn't respond, and Dash and Twilight looked at each other, worried about their daughter. Twilight lowered her head and look at her "Breaker, are you okay?" "I'm a good girl. Good. I'm good." simply said Breaker, as she kept looking down. "Breaker, are you listening to us?" asked Twilight, feeling more worried. "I'm good. I'm a good girl!" simply said Breaker once more, she turned to them and smiled, even though she was in great pain in body and mind. "Sweetie, we know you're a good girl. Can you come here and let me put little more sunscreen on you? Just to make sure you'll be safe." asked Twilight, as she shook the bottle. "Ok," simply said Breaker, with her eyes becoming lifeless as she stared at the bottle. Dawn ran them to them as she was done waiting and notice Breaker was acting weird "Dad, is she alright? She doesn't sound like her usual self." asked Dawn, who turned to her father. "She's fine, Dawn." Twilight held her daughters cheeks, showing that she was fine. "Ok... I'll be over there, alright Breaker?" softly said Dawn, while still looking at her friend, who just staring at something. It wasn't her mother but like she was staring off into the distance...miles away from herself "Breaker..." "I'm...a...good girl..." Back in the present, Twilight and everyone was in shock what they heard. Twilight took it the hardest, as she never thought her daughter went through so much. "Why didn't you tell us?" asked Dash, sitting on the grass and trying to come terms that she was bottling this pain for years. "I did...mom didn't believe me." said Braver "I always said my body hurt whenever you put sunscreen or anything to protect me from the sun. I had to be a good girl! So I took the pain for you guys. I have to be a good girl!" "Oh, honey, I didn't know. I'm sorry." Twilight reach out to her but Braver saw flashes of Nightfall, reaching out to her, with a stab wound in her chest, saying the same words. "I'm a good girl. I'm a good girl," simply said Braver as Twilight got closer and closer. "I'm a good girl." "Braver?" asked Twilight, seeing her daughter was acting weird but Dawn slapped her hoof away from her friend, causing Twilight to be surprised. "Leave her alone!" yelled Dawn as she stood in front of Braver and looked back at her. "Remember what Twilah taught you. Say your safe word and do the breathing technique." "What? Is Braver havi-" Twilight couldn't finish as Dawn blasted her away from them with her magic somehow, but her horn glow was almost like a rainbow aura, causing Dash and AJ to rush towards her as Twilight landed on a tree. "Twi!" shouted AJ as she hurried over to her as Dash ran towards them, but Twilight put her hoof up, telling her not to worry. "I'm alright. Don't worry. How's Braver? Is she okay?" asked Twilight, who stood up. They turned to see Braver saying Dawn's name over and over but also breathing in and out. Everyone could only watch and wait, as they were worried for her, but Dawn could only smile with joy as Braver was calling out to her; to her, it was music to her ears. She wanted Braver all for herself and only for herself, as she knew her love would always put her first and would always love her. "Dawn, thank you," whispered Braver, looking at her with bit of happiness, then went right back to repeating her safe word and breathing technique. Dawn could only smile evilly as she spoke, "What are friends for?" After five minutes, Braver was fine again. Dash and AJ went up to her, along with the others, to ask how she was, but Twilight stayed far away, as she was worried about triggering her daughter again. She looked down on the ground and saw the sunscreen bottle, and she hated herself as she kicked it away. "Momma! I'm sorry!" Braver called to her mother, causing Twilight to look up with a small smile, but that quickly faded as she saw Braver being held by Twilah. "It's okay; like I said, never be sorry when you get triggered. Do you want to have a session right now?" asked Twilah as Braver nodded, making the two walk away to a private place with AJ's help. Twilight's eyes started to water, as Twilah looked like Nightfall, even wearing the red sundress. A perfect image of a perfect mother who would never hurt her child. Twilight remembered all the memories she shared with Nightfall, all the lovely and happy memories she had with Braver, who was inside Blitz, as they were a magical bioweapon. a clone of both Nightfall and Sky. All the memories she saw—not once did Nightfall ever hurt her child—but Twilight—Twilight had more than once and couldn't even hold her daughter, as she would only bring her more pain—the pain she created. "I'm such a failure. I'm sorry, Nightfall," thought Twilight as she lowered her head in shame. Dawn stared at her teacher and could only smile. She was going to break Braver down, making her not only need her, but she also needed to destroy the support that Braver had—the support she never had. "Teacher? Are you alright?" asked Dawn, acting concerned, as she walked up to her. Twilight slowly looked up and saw Dawn, the one person Braver could trust the most, who has been by her side the longest, the first person she ever talked to, and her first friend she ever had. "I'm a bad mother," simply said Twilight. "How?" asked Dawn. "I hurt my child. more times than I could count. I always said I would love her, protect her, and guide her. I'll never leave her side, but each time, I left her. I'm the worst mother in the world. I failed. I failed my child; I failed her real mother." "Real mother?" asked Dawn, actually wanted to know this, as she knew Braver and her teacher wasn't really related. "Nightfall," whispered Twilight. "Nightfall?" "A version of me from another universe. In a universe where that version of Dash became a weapon and fought a dark slime, which will later fuse with a clone that is both Nightfall and Sky—the twins real parents." "I see." Dawn didn't realized this was Braver backstory and felt sad for her, a 'weapon'? Braver is too sweet to be a weapon but she remembered that day, when Braver was losing it. Why would Braver parents clone themselves? She needed more info on them. "How was she like?" "She was a loving and caring mother. Never once did she hurt her children. She never abandons her daughter. She's a great mother and a great mare. I can never compare to her. The more I think about it, she was better than me. Nightfall could love her daughter. Me...I couldn't... I'm not like her. I will never be her." "You really think so?" "Yeah... I wish I could talk to her. She would know what to do and how to make it better." "Do you wish she was here instead of you?" asked Dawn, both looking at each other. Twilight was quiet, thinking about the question. She thought of everything she had ever done to her daughter and how many times she had hurt her. She didn't deserve a loving and caring daughter. "Yes." "Would you want to talk to her? What would you say to her?" "I would tell her how much her daughter loves her and would love to meet her. She would be proud of her daughter. Her daughter is beautiful, did great things, and helped so many creatures while hiding her pain. Her daughter is truly brave." "That's good. Anything else?" "If it's alright with her, I would ask her to take her daughter. Her daughter doesn't need someone like me." "Maybe she already has?" "Huh?" "A replacement." Twilight heart drop as image of Twilah flashed in her mind "You mean..." "Braver doesn't need someone like you. She has someone who is just like her mother, Nightfall," said Dawn as her rainbow aura horn started to glow. Twilight couldn't believe this, she truly didn't want to believe that"Someone who loves her and won't hurt her should help her, but if she takes Braver, where does that leave me?" "Braver doesn't need you. You failed. You can't be her mother; you can't do what a real mother would do. I should know, as I saw and felt it firsthand." answered Dawn in a cold voice. "Huh? You mean Starlight?" Dawn had anger in her eyes as she heard her mother name "Braver told me everything—the reason why she is a klutz. How's her body protecting her and what it does? I also know what you did and what pain you caused her." "Dawn..." "She believes that deep down, you hate her. That you are scared of her and of what she did. You keep saying you don't see her as a monster, but you keep bringing it up. She's a monster; she knows it. It's because of you that she feels that way. You don't want to get close to her, to hold her, or to touch her. It's all your fault. She is a monster; she is the true monster, but that's her true self. You aren't afraid of her monster side but the real...her." Twilight shook her head, that wasn't true "No! I'm not!" "Really? When was the last time you hugged her without being scared that she would harm you with her strength?" "That's because-" "Why are you scared of her? It's not her power, is it? You know about her, what her power can do, and what she has done in the past. You know everything about her. What are you afraid of?" "..." Twilight couldn't answer that and started to panic when she realized that. "What are you scared of? That the monster will come out of her?! That's not it, is it? Because that's Braver being herself. Why are you so scared of Braver being herself?" "I'm not sc-" Sudden;y Dawn yelled not too loud "WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?" she hated how someone who will hate Braver. "..." "Tell me." "..." "TELL ME!" "I'M SCARED THAT SHE WILL KILL ME!" Everyone turned to her and was quiet, as Twilight had tears rolling down her face. "I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared that she will kill me," repeated Twilight. "Why?" asked Dawn, acting concerned now as everyone was looking. "Because she can and has," answered Twilight, as her body shook and she was remembering something as everyone else looked at her, some knowing what she meant. "That's an awful reason, right? Braver," Dawn said in a cold tone as she stepped aside, revealing Braver standing there with Twilah, who returned after talking. "Huh?" asked Twilight as she saw Braver, looking worried. "Momma..." whispered Braver as she walked towards Twilight, as Twilight stepped back. "Stay away! Stay away!" cried Twilight as she backed away, fearing her daughter, as Nightfall's final memories of being alive flashed in her eyes. Seeing the evil monster walking towards her, saying the same thing... "Momma..." the monster said as it was dripping its black slime. "Momma..." said the monster as Twilight could see the dark slime horn being formed and slowly reaching out towards her chest. "Momma..." "I SAID STAY AWAY!" Twilight used a powerful burst of magic, which hit Braver, throwing her through a number of apple trees and coming to a stop as she crashed into the base of windmill and destroyed it, causing it to fall down on the ground and on top of her, as her body was covered in cuts and bruises, as black slime came oozing out, as it was slowly healing her. "SIS!" screamed Blitz as she ran towards her, along with her family. "TWILIGHT! What did you do?" shouted Rainbow Dash. "BRAVER!" cried Dawn as she ran over to her, looking over her body and crying, as she didn't want this to happen to her but deep down, she did, as everything was coming along like she wanted. Rainbow Dash grabbed Twilight and look into her scared eyes "Why did you attack her?" "Twilight!? Why!" shouted Spike as he ran off to check on Braver like others, leaving Twilight and Dash alone. Twilight was breathing heavily, and her body was shaking as her hair and coat were a mess, and she was crying hard as the images were going through her head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," whispered Twilight, as she was breathing heavily. "I had to protect myself!" Dash let her go as she heard her "Protect yourself!? You could have killed her!" shouted Dash as she looked over to her daughter, who was badly hurt and back to Twilight, filled with anger and rage "YOU ALMOST KILLED OUR DAUGHTER!" Twilight snapped out of her it as Dawn's aura stopped, as the memories vanished and she was breathing heavily as she looked over and saw Braver laying on the ground. "B-braver?" whispered Twilight as she ran over to her "Braver! Braver! Please be okay!" Twilight called out, but stopped as she saw Braver standing up. Half of her face skin was burned off, revealing the slime underpart. Her arm was badly burned and was healing itself. "Mommy? Is that you?" asked Braver, in a sad voice, as her good side face was covered in cuts and tiny burns as Braver looked at her mother. "Braver..." whispered Twilight as she could see the damage she had done as her body shook, looking at the damage. "Why? Why did you attack me? Was it something I did?" asked Braver, as Twilight looked at her. "Did I hurt you?" "No. No. No." repeated Twilight as she could see the pain her daughter was going through as she tried to act strong. "Why? Did you want me dead?" asked Braver. "No." "Was it an accident?" "..." "Then why?" "I don't know." "Did you want to hurt me?" "No." "Were you afraid of me?" "No." Braver started to cry, as she knew better "You are lying; that's why you hurt me. Because you were scared of me." "No!" Twilight stepped forward, but she froze as she saw Braver backing up in fear. "Don't come near me! Don't come near me!" cried Braver, as she didn't want Twilight to hurt her again. "Braver..." whispered Twilight, as her heart was hurting. She tried to reach out to her but... "Don't come near me." Braver shouted as curled up in a ball, deep crying could be heard"Stay away!" Twilight couldn't move but repeat saying "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." "Twilight! Stop! You already did enough damage!" shouted Dash, as her wings were flapping and her teeth were clenched as she flew in front of her wife. "But..." "You almost killed her. You could have killed her. How would you feel if she was gone?!" shouted Dash, as Twilight was in tears. "Dash, please..." "Nightfall would hate you! HATE YOU!" Dash voice was filled anger but also sadness as she was crying. "If she were here right now, what do you think she would say? She would hate you, you know! The one who killed her own daughter!" Twilight covered her ears, as she didn't want to hear that "Dashie, please..." her legs couldn't support her anymore and she fell down on her knees, crying, "Please..." Dash said nothing as she turned around, flew away, and looked down at the ground, as she had tears coming down. Twilight looked at her and called out to her "Dash..." but Dash didn't respond. She kept flying towards her daughter. "Braver," Dash said as Braver looked at her with eyes filled with sadness and hurt "I'm here. Mommy is here. I'll always be here for you. Like always promise you." Twilight tried to call out to them but couldn't as she saw Twilah holding her family, as Twilah said she was there for them, that she will help them. Twilight could see a real mother, something she wasn't. "It looks like you are being replaced," simply told Dawn as she walked pass her teacher and stood behind her, as Twilight couldn't believe what was happening. "How does it feel?" asked Dawn. "..." "How does it feel, huh? Being replaced? Not even your own wife or daughter wants anything to do with you." "I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." Twilight could see a image of her daughter and Dash with her, was replaced with the image of Twilah instead of her. She lost her family... "How does it feel? To know that no matter what you do, the people you care about and love will leave you." asked Dawn, almost having a bit of pain in her tone when she said that. Twilight lower her hoof "Stop this." "What will happen? Will they still love you after everything? Or will they hate you and move on with their lives? How will you be able to face them? When they turn their backs on you and walk away?" Twilight covered her ears "Shut up..." "And you will be all alone." The ground cracked and shook and the air became colder as Twilight screamed with rage "SHUT UP!", soon her eyes are filled purple energy as she stare down Dawn. "Oh, did I hit a sore spot, dear teacher?" asked Dawn, as she stare back at her teacher. "What?" said everyone as they all looked at Twilight, who looked at everyone with her rage face but that faded away as could see Dash was protecting Braver from...her, causing her to back away. "I thought you were different, teacher, but you started to act just like how my mom did. Hurting her daughter, breaking her trust." "Dawn. That's not true!" Twilight said trying to get Dawn to listen to her, as she started to freak out. "Then, what did I just witness, huh? Wasn't it an attack? Against me. Just like my mom, she hurts others and quickly says, "It's an accident," never taking responsibility for their actions. Never admit what they did." "That's not true." Dawn narrowed her eyes at her "You didn't even apologize to me, didn't you? She was just saying the same thing to me that she always said. 'That's not true. I didn't mean it'." Twilight couldn't understand it, hearing Starlight being like that to Dawn, sure Starlight was evil but she changed...right? "Dawn. Please." "I can't believe it, teacher, that you would attack your own daughter like that. Then attack your own student. Did Celestia hit you? What's the matter? Did we do something wrong?" Twilight was filled with disgust as she heard that, Celestia would never hurt her "Dawn. Please. That's not true. Why are you saying those things!?" "So what is the truth then?" "That's..." "That you hurt Braver and the real monster here is you? Because only a monster will have people looking at her like 'this'..." Twilight suddenly saw everyone looking at her with fear, even Dash, Spike, and AJ "This isn't real." "Who knows. But what is real is your daughter and student being hurt." "I'm..." "If this keeps up, everyone will end up hating you and abandoning you. So what's going to be? Are you going to run and hide?" "No..." "Then why are you running then, dear teacher?" whispered Dawn as she saw Twilight take off, running away, as she could only smile. "I hope you understand," Dawn, looked down at the ground, smiling with glee but quickly had to hide it as she could someone coming to her. "What did you do?" asked Spike, running up to her, along with Dashie and AJ. "Nothing...but telling her the truth. She needs it after hurting my dear and only friend. Dawn looked at Braver, who was almost healed, and Dawn's eyes started to tear up. "No parent should ever hurt their child...not like my mom did to me," Dawn hurried over to Braver and hugged her, leaving the others more worried. "Starlight hurt Dawn?" whispered AJ, as she couldn't believe it. "That's not true," said Spike, but even he knew there was a possibility of that being true. "I believe it," said Dashie, making the two turn to her, asking what she meant. "In our universe, Dawn's parents aren't nice people. They treat others who they don't like as lesser beings, as trash. It's why our Dawn always felt alone and wanted friends. She feltmore alone as her parents kept her caged up by them and their faith. Astra, her mother, would...hurt her when she saw her talking to Twilah and I. It wasn't just her, but Samson, her father, as well." AJ and Spike couldn't believe a version of their friends was being so cruel. "Look, this doesn't matter right now. We need to find Twilight!" said Dashie. "Why?" asked AJ, making the two look at her. "Ain't you upset about Twilight hurting the kids? Her own daughter!?" "Yes, I am," said Dashie, clenching her fist, as she hated to see that kind of stuff, but her fist went soft as she spoke. "But...she needs us. She wouldn't just attack Braver unless she was really scared. Something is really wrong here. This isn't like her at all." "She's right. Twilight wouldn't just do something like this without a good reason," added Spike. "Then let's go find her and see what is wrong." said Dashie. "Hold it," said Blitz, walking up to the group. "I want to hear why from her own damn mouth! I'm coming with you to learn why she hurt my sister, my twin, and my other half!" Dashie could see her daughter filled with so much rage. Dashie knew how that felt "Blitz..." "I want to know! If she truly sees my sister like that! If she does, then Braver is coming back with us!" demanded Blitz, as her eyes were filled with rage but tears were coming out as well, "I'm not letting her stay with someone who sees her as a monster! She isn't like that!" "Braver isn't a monster, Blitz. I can see that, and we can see that. Braver is loved here, and you can't just force her to leave." She pointed towards Dash, who was still with her daughter "This is her home, her family." Dashie tried to calm her down, as she put her hand on Blitz's shoulders, but Blitz slapped them away, which surprised Dashie. "I thought you hated seeing that kind of stuff! Isn't that why you volunteered or took jobs at places that had kids with broken families and were abused? Why do you want her here  then?"shouted Blitz, not letting her mom say anything as she kept yelling at her, "Why are you protecting her?! Are you just like her?!" Suddenly Blitz looked sad as she held her chest "Are you afraid of me? Am I just a monster to you as well, and you are just too scared to face me?" Dashie was was speechless as she heard her say that "..." "Why aren't you saying anything, mom? Am I?" Dashie turned away from her daughter, causing her to cry. "...mom..." "I don't and won't ever see you or your sister as a monster. We fought to save you two from that awful fate of dying as one, so why would I see you two like that?" she started to walk away, leaving her daughter in tears as AJ and Spike followed her. "I'm disappointed in you, Blitz. You're smarter than that." Blitz cried harder as she realized she had hurt her mom, and she could hear the pain in her voice—the hurt, the betrayal "Mom, I didn't..." Blitz looked down, her tears hitting the ground. Twilah was looking at all this, so she turned to Dash, who was still holding Braver and trying to calm her down. She turned to her own daughter, then back at Dash and Braver, then back to Blitz, who was crying. She didn't know what to do; she was needed here with Braver, as she knew what to do and say to a person who was triggered, but her own daughter needed her right now. She couldn't be in two places at once, and she didn't want her daughter to feel like this "...Dash." "Go ahead, Twilah," Dash told her, not looking at her "Your daughter needs you." "And what about yours?" "..." "Dash, she needs her mom." "And I'm needed here; Twilight will understand," replied Dash, stroking Braver back and trying her best to be brave for her daughter and herself. "Okay," Twilah whisper as she walked over to Blitz and tried to calm her down. Dawn stepped back and looked where Dashie and others went off to, and she could only smile, as her plan to destroy Braver support was only the beginning. "I'll make you see, Braver, that you don't need family or friends. You only need me. Just me," thought Dawn as she smiled and headed off to where Dashie and the others went. Twilight ran into AJ Barn and hid in a corner, crying softly, as she didn't know how long she had been crying but knew her tears were not going to end. "...Twilight." Twilight had a small bit of joy as she heard that voice, thinking it was Dash, but she turned to it, seeing it was Dashie, who looked worried, but the two couldn't see the two smiling faces within the darkness part of the barn, as one of the smiling faces horns started to glow a rainbow, making Dashie and Twilight feel odd. Twilight's heart was beating fast and her face was flushed. Dashie, on the other hand, was still feeling odd but kept pushing as she spoke, "Twilah, are you alright?" Twilight brushed off these feelings and looked away from Dashie, as she didn't want her to see her face, which was redder than a strawberry, as she spoke, "Y-yes."I'm fine." "I don't think you are. What happened back there? Did you see something?" asked Dashie but Twilight said nothing to her "It's okay. It's just me. No one else is here. I promise. Just tell me, so I can help you." "..." "Twilight. Please. It's not good to bottle up your feelings. We already saw how this stuff go." again, Twilight said nothing"I just want to help." "..." "Please, let me help you." "Why would you want to help someone like me? Who just hurt their own daughter?" asked Twilight, not looking at Dashie. "...you aren't a bad person." "Then, why do I keep messing things up? It's been nonstop problems with Braver, no matter what we do." "Well, I'm not really an expert when it comes to parenting, as you know. I'm not like Twilight. She was studying how to be a great parent in the four years we were waiting for Blitz to come from the past with Prime Discord. Even though I raised Blitz almost by myself, I'm still not an expert. But I know this: the most important thing to remember is to keep trying." Dashie took a step towards Twilight, which she took a step back, not wanting to look at Dashie face. "You might screw up, you might mess up, but what's important is not giving up. Braver is strong, and she can take whatever you throw at her, so don't give up. Don't stop; just keep trying, and maybe one day Braver will come around and forgive you." "Do you think she ever will?" "Of course. I'm sure she will." "I'm not. The way she looked at  me, I don' think she will." "Twilight, I..." "Dash, you don't have to lie to make me feel better. I messed up, and it's over. I don't want to hear lies." "I'm not lying, Twilight," Dashie told her, stepping even more closer. "Why are you so close?" "Because I'm telling the truth. I don't think it's the end for you and Braver. Maybe it's a setback or bump in the road, but that doesn't mean it's over. She's your daughter, and I'm here because you're my friend. So, please, just talk to me. Tell me what's wrong. Please." Again, Twilight said nothing to her, making Dashie upset "Come on, Twilight. Please, tell me." "Dash." "Yeah?" answered Dashie, with hope in her voice. Twilight lowered head and blush as she said "I-I-I love you." "...huh?" replied Dashie, completely surprised by the confession and seeing her standing up. "I love you, Dashie," Twilight said again, turning to her and kissing her as the two evil smiles kept watching. "Twilah, what's going on?" asked Dashie, backing away from Twilight, who was still kissing her. "T-Twilight, what are you doing?" "Isn't this what you want, Dashie? Don't you love me?" "What are you talking about? You're married, Twilight! We can't!" "I want to break up with Dash." "What?!" "She doesn't love me like you do, Dashie," said Twilight, with her eyes looking lifeless. Soon, Dashie could feel something as her head was in pain and suddenly felt herself turning into her anthro form, touching Twilight on the cheek, and kissing her back but Dashie pulled back as she realized what she was doing"What's going on!" "You're in love with me, right, Dashie?" asked Twilight, still kissing her. "We belong together, right, Dashie?" "Of course..." whispered Dashie as her eyes went lifeless too and she started to kiss Twilight more as she pinned Twilight down, which Twilight giggled at. "That's right, Dash. I love you." "I love you, Twilah." Both started to make out, and while the two faces stepped out of the darkness, Dawn held up a recording crystal, while her pony-ear human version just laughed like a craze maniac. "Teacher, what are you doing?" Dawn smiled as Twilight looked at her but didn't care as she kept kissing Dashie "I'm making this right, Dawn," answered Twilight, still making out with Dashie. "Right how?" "I'm getting rid of what's stopping me and Dashie from being together," said Twilight as she nuzzled Dashie's nose. "Which is?" said Dawn in a cold tone, smiling harder. "Braver..." "What about her?" "I want her gone. I want her dead," reply Twilight, in a cold tone. "I want her to suffer, for being the reason why me and Dashie are not together." "So, tell me to teach. Is this true love? A mother's love? Is this love for the ones you truly care for?" asked Dawn, smiling evilly now. "It's the love of a mother," said Twilight, looking at her, before smiling and kissing Dashie again. "I see. Thanks, Teach," Dawn put the recording crystal away and walking back into the darkness, where her human self was waiting. Soon, the spell that had Twilight and Dashie ended, causing them to snap out of it and look each other in the face. "Twilight!" "Dashie!" "Oh, I'm so sorry, Twilight! I don't know what came over me." Dashie said, backing up, as her face was redder than a cherry "I'm sorry!" "D-Dashie, it's fine. I wasn't in control of my body," said Twilight, looking away. "I don't know what I was doing." "We should go," simply said Dashie, as the two didn't remember Dawn being there or the other Dawn. "Yeah..." The two got up and left the barn, not noticing the two figures smiling at them. "I love messing with minds," said Dawn, giggling as she turned to her human self. "All thanks to you." "Anything to help my other self and for..." "Our dear Braver," said the two in unison. End of chapter 5 > Chapter 6: Universal Love > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight and Dashie were walking, both red as they tried not to look at each other. It was a very long and awkward silence between the two as they walked through the field. "Hey, Twi! Dashie!" shouted AJ as her and Spike saw them and hurried over. Both look at their friend and asked her "Twilight, are you okay?" Twilight couldn't answer as she couldn't look them in the eyes, not after hurting Braver and almost attacking her student, Dawn. "She's fine. She just needs time to decide what to say to Braver." Dashie answered for her, who also couldn't look at them in the face, not after kissing Twilight and basically cheating on Twilah. "Well, alright then... Me and Spike are heading back then." AJ reply, knowing something was wrong between the two, not just what happened with Twilight and Braver. "Twi, I'm here for you. Even when you scared us like that, we'll always be there for you." "...Thanks, AJ." Twilight said, slightly looking towards her. "Anytime. Let's get back, Spike." "Yeah," replied Spike, who could also feel something was wrong. Dashie and Twilight watched as both of them left and were out of sight as they entered the apple tree fields. Dashie walked over to a tree, sat under it, and let out a big sigh as she realized what the hell she did. Twilight walked up to and sat in front of her, but with Twilight facing away from her, as she couldn't face Dashie as she just said "I'm sorry." "Twilight..." "I'm sorry, Dashie. I have no idea why I did that. Why I just kiss you like that?" Twilight could hear nothing from Dashie—nothing at all, so Twilight kept talking, hoping Dashie would understand her and forgive her "I just... I just don't know why I did it; I'm trying to find an answer, but nothing comes to mind. It was like an impulse, a rush, a desire, a need, a want, a love, and everything else all at once. I can't explain it, Dashie. I just... I can't, Dashie." Dashie could say nothing "..." "Dash, I..." Suddenly, Twilight could hear Dashie crying. She slightly turned around to see Dashie holding the black box. "What can I tell her? The first time, I could say it was just an accident. I thought I was kissing 'her' in my sleep, and when you kissed me, it was just the spur of the moment. But how can I say this was an accident? I didn't push you away; I didn't stop the kiss; I didn't move or stop you, or anything. I wanted it, and I did it. I fucked up again, like fucking always! Fuck!" Twilight couldn't see her face as Dashie's hat was covering her face, but Twilight knew she was crying and could only look at her, not knowing what to do or say. "What do I do?" "Dash." "What can I say to Twilah or even to Blitz? That I cheated on her mom? Cheated on Twilah? I always try to be a good role model for Blitz, telling her to be kind and understanding, never to lie or hurt others, but I want to lie to Twilah and never tell her what happened between you and me. I don't want to keep hurting Twilah. I can't be like her father! I CAN'T!" Twilight couldn't say anything or move, not knowing how to handle this. "How do I fix this?" Dashie waited a few seconds but heard nothing from her friend "I know you won't answer me, but if you can, Twilight. Please, tell me what to do, Twilight. Tell me, what can I do?" "I don't know, Dash. I'm sorry. This is my fault. I'm the one that started this," Twilight finally answered her friend as she stood up and faced her "I'm the one who hurt you. Why do I keep hurting others? First Braver, Dash, and now you? What am I doing? Why do I keep doing this? HURTING OTHERS!" Twilight shouted, as her emotions finally came out and she was a mess. Dashie could hear her friend struggling as well "Twilight..." "WHAT SHOULD I DO!?" Twilight looked away and became silent, as she felt like it was her fault. Dashie looked up and stared at her, as she could see Twilight had tears running down her face "I can't face Braver again or even look Dashie in the face again... I almost hurt Dawn too. Now I'm hurting you and your family. I'm a coward; I can't take the pain of what I did, so I ran. I ran far away from the problems and hurt someone close to me. I can't keep running. Maybe it would be best if I just disappeared. I'm a coward and a disgrace to be a mother and wife... just a monster." Twilight looked up to the sky "Braver must hate me for saying and what I did to her, and now Dawn hates me even more, my sweet little student. No doubt Dash would hate me. Just disappearing will be the best here, right? The best answer to all this I'm sorry, Dashie." Dashie started to see Twilah in Twilight, as she started to remember that night in her room all years ago when she was a teenage "Don't say that." "Sorry for causing you trouble, Dashie. Tell Twilah, I love her too. She's like a sister to me and a good friend. I wish we could start over. I wish..." Twilight stopped speaking and was silent. Dashie could only look at her, seeing how hurt she looks. Dashie could still see a younger Twilah in front of her, back in the day when Twilah said she should disappear as well, as she felt like a burden to her and their friends. She felt weak and shouldn't exist in their lives. She felt worthless and a disgrace. It hurt her heart, and Dashie couldn't bear to see Twilight hurt, not like this as well. Dashie stood up and faced her, placed her hands on her cheeks, and made her face her. "I'm sorry," Twilight whispered, trying her hardest not to look her in the eyes. "Twilight, I share half of that blame too. You're not a coward. You're a great mother, a loving wife, a great teacher and friend. You're the greatest and nicest person I know, Twilight...well, besides Twilah." Dashie let a sad chuckle, which Twilight did the same "From seeing Dash memories and what Twilah told me, you are a good person, Twilight Sparkle." "But...hurting Braver..." "You did hurt her. Hitting a child is bad, yes, but something was wrong. Can you tell me why you did that? You were shouting about being scared of her and of her killing you. Why is that, Twilight?" Twilight shut her eyes and just said nothing. "Please, Twi, talk to me. Let me help you...I'm here for you, Twi." Twilight shook her head, like she was fighting with herself, and finally faced Dashie in her eyes. She rested her head on her shoulder and started to nuzzle her, like she was a little filly again, wanting love from her mother. "Dashie, please hold me, please." "Okay, Twilah." replied Dashie as she held her like she requested. "I'm scared." "It's okay, Twilight." "I'm sorry. Don't leave, Dash." "I'm here, Twilight." "Don't abandon me. Please. Dashie, please." "It's okay. I'm here, Twilight. So please, answer me." "..." "Twilight." "It hurts." "What does?" "The truth. I don't want to remember. It hurts. My chest hurts. It hurts so much, Dashie. I remembered how Braver was like in the past, killing Nightfall. A part of me was always scared she would do that to me, and then the next thing I knew, I blasted her away from me. Seeing how I hurt her, I never did that to anyone! Never using my magic like that on a loved one. She hates me, Dashie. I hate myself for doing that to her. I was the one who taught her to love and never to hurt others. She looks up to me, and I'm her real mom... Dash taught her to be brave in danger and to protect others; she really looks up to Dash as well." She let out a small laugh "She's a mommy's girl to her...Our friends taught her many things as she grew up around them. I see my friends in her, the way she acts or behaves, she picked up their traits and became her own. She's a good and brave girl. She even proved herself so many times that she isn't a monster; she isn't the same person who killed Nightfall. She's a good kid, and I was afraid of her. I'm a bad mother." Dashie held her tighter and said "You're not." "But-" Twilight was quickly cut off as Dashie spoke really fast, like she had to say whatever was on her mind. "No, you're not; if you truly were a bad mother, you wouldn't be feeling like this or worrying about what you did. You would be saying that what you did was the right thing. You wouldn't be crying, and you wouldn't be feeling hurt. You're not a bad mother, Twilight. You're a great mom. There has to be a real reason why you did that. There has to be a reason because I don't believe what you told me. It can't..." "...Dashie. You really are the fastest talker," Twilight said with a small smile, as she nuzzled her more. "That's the first time someone called me that, and not in an insulting way either." reply Dashie with a smirk It was quite between the two as they holding each other, but not an awkward or silent one. It was a comforting silence, and Dashie was enjoying it. Until Twilight spoke up. "What can I say to make my daughter happy again? Make her see that I do love her. I don't see her as her old self. Make her trust me again." "Be honest with her. Talk to her. Explain your reasons for doing that; don't hold back and just explain everything to her, Twilah." "But I don't want to trigger her again or cause her to break down. You saw what happened to her before; what if it happens again?" "I'll be here for you, Twilah. We'll all be there for you." "But-" "Just tell her everything, and the rest will follow. Don't hide it from her." Twilight closed her eyes and used her magic to pick up the small black box and place it near Dashie face, who saw it and took it. "Same with you. We have to tell her and my Dash about what we did. We can't hide this from them; it isn't right. You have to tell her." "..." "She loves you, Dashie. I know she'll understand. She loves you and won't hate you for what happened." Dashie held the box harder and cried, "I know, and I hate that. She shouldn't forgive me for what I did to her. Cheating on her and wanting to lie to her." "She will, because she loves you and you're her Dash. I know because she is me after all, and you truly are like my Dash. Not wanting to be forgiven, thinking you are a bad person, and hating yourself—that's how Dashie was like; you were there. You two truly are alike... I think that's why I have feelings for you. You truly remind me of my Dash." Dashie chuckle and said "Is it a bad thing? I don't know if I should feel flattered or insulted." Twilight laughed a bit and shook her head "It's not a bad thing, Dashie. Just a fact." "...I'm not her." "I know." "I think that's why I also kissed you. You remind me of Twilah, back when she was younger, standing alone as she was taking what hit her. falling down and trying to get back up...alone. I want to support her, to always be there for her, the same with you. I don't want you to feel like that. I want you to lean on me, to let your emotions out, and to cry if you need to. I want you to tell me everything and not hold back, but you aren't 'her'... I shouldn't be the one doing that. It's your Dash, the other me, who should be doing that." "We're still the same people, Dashie. Deep down, we're the same person." "Yeah." It was quite again, and both of them slowly let each other go and just stared at each other, until Dashie spoke as a tear fell down her cheek. "I think that's why I fell in love with you because you are 'her'...but a different version of them. Like I fell in love with Twilah all over again. It was the same feeling when Twilah opened to me, crying on my chest while we slept in my bed, as she didn't want to be alone anymore and let her walls down and told me her fears and her story—the real story. I saw how strong and weak she was at the same time. How much she was hurting and how she was alone, she didn't want our friends and me to support her anymore as she saw herself as a burden to us or how her family didn't really support her. When I told her that I would always be there for her, wanting to be there for her because I didn't want a world without her, I fell in love with her, her flaws and all. We were still young, still in high school, and we were so happy. When Blitz came into our lives five years ago, we were so happy, excited, and nervous as hell too. There was so much happiness and joy, and we were so happy with each other. And now...I don't want her or you to suffer again; I just want you two to be happy and not sad. I don't want you two to be hurt; you two have had enough hurt. I love you, but not for 'you'." Twilight watched as Dashie opened the box, revealing a blue diamond ring. Twilight couldn't stop crying, as Dashie was truly the same as her Dash. "I love Twilah, who I saw in you, Twilight. I didn't fall in love with the real you. I fell in love with a piece of my love, Twilah, when I saw how you were alone and hurt. It was the same pain I saw in Twilah. Twilight, I don't love you for 'you, but I do love you for 'her'...and I think you agree with this, right?" Twilight nodded her head, wiping away her tears, and was shaking. "Yes. I saw Dash in you—how she would always be there for me. Seeing my darkest side, never leaving my side, and seeing how strong and weak I am That's why I love Dash, and now I fell in love with a piece of my love too, the same as you. I don't love you, Dashie; I love the 'you' that has 'her'." "Right." said Dashie, giving her friend a warm smile. "I'm sorry for making you feel like this. Sorry for kissing you. It's not right, Dashie." "N-no. I'm sorry for kissing you back. Sorry for pinning you down like that!" answered Dashie, who stutter in her reply and blushing as she remembered what she did. Twilight blushed "No! I'm sorry for letting you do that!" "I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry too!" They both went quiet as they stared each other down, and both started to laugh hard as they both spoke at the same time. "Twilah is the bottom, isn't she?" "Dash is the top, isn't she?" "Hahaha!" "Pffft, hahaha!" They both continued to laugh, as they could see each other clearly, not seeing a part of their lovers but seeing them for who they are. the part they don't love but as friends. "We're a mess, aren't we?" asked Twilight. "Hahahaha! Yes, we are." replied Dashie "Hehehe. What are we going to do now?" "I don't know, but maybe starting with Braver is a good place to start. Then talking to Twilah and Dash will be next," answered Dashie as she stood up. "Sounds like a plan," replied Twilight, being her old self again. "Good. So, are we good?" "Of course." "That's a relief." "Hehe." "But if it makes you feel better, I can give you a goodbye kiss, and we can call it even," smirked Dashie. Twilight smirk "Fine! Do it!" being cocky, she waited on Dashie reply Dashie punched Twilight in the shoulder as they both smiled and headed back, but like before, they were being watched by both Dawns, who were looking from the shadows. Rainbow Sun Dawn started to laugh like a crazed person as she saw the event unfold in front of them. "Just like Ms. Dashiell, she always causes problems for me. Hahahaha! Glad I killed her first. We should do the same. Kill these two before the plan falls apart." Rainbow Sun Dawn started to cackle more and more, until she started to form a bleeding rainbow sword out of her rainbow-bleeding chest, aiming at the back of Twilight and Dashie's heads. "Die! DIE, DIE, FOR TAKING AWAY MY RAINBOW COMET LIGHT! HAHAHA!" But before she could fire, Dawn, stop her "Wait, other me. Don't." "WHAT?! Are you crazy? I thought we had an understanding and we were going to work together. You know why I'm here and doing this." "I do, after seeing the prism window like Braver did, and this can work out more in our flavor," Dawn said, with a creepy smile forming on her face. "What? What are you talking about, Dawn?" "Don't worry, other me. Just sit back and watch and leave the work to me, hahaha!" "W-what are you pla-" Rainbow Sun Dawn couldn't finish their sentence as she sensed something and turned around. Dawn noticed and asked if something was wrong. "Nah, just a visitor came—two in fact. guessing to stop me. I'll be back. You'll be fine alone, right?" asked Rainbow Dawn , as she didn't turned to her pony self, but Dawn could clearly sense she was worried about leaving her all alone, like a worry big sister. "I'll be fine. Just be careful. You can't die, not yet. Until you see her again, Okay?" Dawn said, putting her hoof on her human self leg. Rainbow Dawn slowly looked down at her and a smile formed as she said "...Right. I'll come back later." "Right. See ya!" "...right." Rainbow Sun Dawn's body started to break apart and became the prism window of this universe as it floated in front of Dawn, who turned around and walked back to the apple fields with the window following her. "I can't wait to crush your support, Braver. You'll only see me. Soon, with your dear little sister, you'll see her and only love her as well. I love us both. Hehehe." Back at the apple fields, Dash finally got Braver to calm down and stop crying. "Hey, Braver, it's okay. You don't have to cry anymore. Everything is okay." "But mom sees me as...a monster, the old me. I don't want her to hate or be scared of me! I don't want her to hurt me too! I'M A GOOD GIRL!" she told her mother, wiping away her last tears from her eyes. Dash held her tighter, hugging her like a caring would do. "No, Braver. Mom loves you. You are her pride and joy, and she doesn't want you to forget that, okay? She still loves you. Okay. She doesn't see the old you. She sees you and only you." "S-so...why..." "You can ask her when she comes back." Dash could feel the tears on her chest. Braver was crying harder, as she wanted the answer now. Dash could only sigh and turn to Twilah, who was doing better than her. "Sweetie, calm down. You didn't mean to say that to her," Twilah stroked her daughter's head, trying to get her to calm down. "But I hurt mom! She has never been disappointed in me before. Never! I promised you two that I'd be the best daughter I'd ever be! Making you proud, I-I-" Blitz started to cry harder as her mother held her tightly and kissed her forehead. "It's okay, Blitz. You are the best thing we could ever ask for, and we're proud of you. Dashie just feels hurt." Blitz went deeper into her mother chest. hating herself more as she heard "Hurt in what I said? I didn't mean it." "She knows, and she'll forgive you. Like I said, she just felt hurt is all. She doesn't hate you." replied Twilah, pulling her daughter out of her chest and wiping away her tears. "Really, mom? You sure?" "Yup. Just calm down. Breath in and out." Blitz took a few breaths and started to calm down. "That's a good girl. That's my girl." "Mom...?" Blitz said, not wanting to look at her in the eyes. "Hmm?" "You don't see me as a monster, right? You're not afraid of me?" Blitz whispered her question as she closed her eyes hard, fearing the answer. "I'll never be afraid of you, honey. You're my little girl, Blitz, The Rainbow Comet! You have done wonderful things, helped, and saved lives. How could I ever see you as a monster? You aren't 'her'. Not anymore, not after we saved you." answered Twilah putting her hands on her daughter cheeks, making her open her eyes "You're not lying, right?" "Of course not, honey." "...Thanks, mom." Twilah kissed her forehead again and smiled, as Blitz was smiling a bit as she calmed down. Dash could feel sad, as she wanted to be like that with Braver, but she wasn't like Twilah or even Twilight. She was never good at calming Braver down, and she always made the situation worse sometimes. Twilight was better at this, and Dash herself, was better when Twilight was leading. Suddenly, everyone noticed Spike and AJ heading towards them and telling them that Dashie and Twilight were right behind them. "They'll be here, ya'll, soon; just be patient." said Applejack, as she patted Blitz shoulder and then Braver but noticed someone was missing. "Hey, where is Dawn?" "Right here," answered Dawn, walking from behind a tree. "Alright," said AJ, feeling odd about her. It wasn't long before the group saw Twilight and Dashie walking together. Twilah could feel her daughter leaving her arms, running over to her mother, and stopping in front of them. "Mom!" Blitz shouted as tears were forming again. "...mom." Dashie looked worried as she saw her daughter crying again. "What's wrong?" "Mom, I'm sorry. Sorry for what I said. I didn't mean to hurt you." Dashie gave a sad smile to her "You didn't." "I did! I was being selfish, mom. I wasn't thinking, as I blitz it again without thinking. I don't want to lose you. I just want to make you proud of me." Dashie was shocked by her words, so she hugged her daughter tightly, and smiled, "Blitz. You have no idea how proud I am of you. I love you, kiddo. I understand why you said that. You're so much like me, it hurts sometimes." "What?" "I want to protect the things I care about, getting mad at whoever I'm against and those that protect them. You truly take after of me, god. It's scary sometimes. But... I'm happy you are just like me. And I'll tell you again: I'm so proud of you, Blitz. Unlike the people I was against, at least I can tell you why I wanted to protect and help Twilight. I see your mother in her. I can't bear to see that she was alone, like your mom was when we were growing up. She was always alone and trying to stand on her own, thinking she didn't need to burden others. I couldn't let her be alone. It's not the right thing to do or the right way to treat a good friend. It's almost like something in me is telling me to never leave her, never abandon her." Soon, Blitz could feel tears falling on her shoulder as she realized her mom was crying, but was also being strong as she kept talking. "Loyalty. I'll never back down when a friend is in need, and I will do everything I can to help them. It's why I was there for you and your sister that day. I wasn't going to let you die like that. I'll never see you or your sister as a monster. Blitz, I'll never abandon you. Never think that." Dashie cried a bit more as she finished speaking. Blitz closed her eyes and simply asked "Mom..." "What?" Blitz dug deeper into her mother shoulder "Love you." "I love you too, kiddo," Dashie answered as she held her tighter. AJ was smiling but could see something was still wrong with Blitz, going by her eyes, she wasn't happy still and just hid the pain away as Dashie pulled away and looked at her daughter. "Sugar cube..." Twilight smiled at the two but sadly turned to Dash and Braver, who were looking at her. Twilight took a deep breath and walked towards them, but she could see Braver shaking with fear "Braver... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Braver shut her eyes and shouted "You lied to me!" "Braver I-" "No! You did! You see me as a monster... I'm not..." Braver drop to the ground and put her hooves over her eyes and shaking. "Braver, listen, please," begged Twilight as she was close to her daughter's face, removing her hooves with her nose and could see the fear in her eyes—fears of seeing a monster in front of her, a monster that she once trusted and was hurt in a way she couldn't forgive said monster. "I'm not a monster, right?" simply asked Braver "No, you're not a monster, Braver. I hurt you. Dash is right; I could have killed you. I could have lost my brave little girl, my sweet baby, and I'm sorry, Braver. I'm sorry for what I did." answered Twilight, nuzzling her little girl face but she could feel the shaking from her. Braver shook her head, forcing Twilight away, as tears were falling. "You...lied." "I did. I know. I'm sorry, but what I said about being scared of you is true. You are powerful, powerful enough to 'break' things. I was scared of you 'breaking' me...but..." Twilight could see her daughter recoil in hearing that. Even Dash couldn't believe what she just heard. "W-what?" asked Braver, her voice cracking with fear. "I can see that power inside you, Braver. When I look at you, I can see a spark within you. Something special. You have done so many good and wonderful things. Proving you aren't a monster—with Dashie talking to me—that's when I realized it. I'm not scared of you..." Twilight place her nose on daughter cheek and softly nuzzle her and pulled away "I'm scared of myself, scared of turning you, into the old you, and scared that I failed you as a mother. Braver, sweetie, I'm not afraid of you, but afraid that I failed you and Dash. You two are the most important things in my life, Dash, and you are everything to me and more. Even though we saved you and your sister, you were the one who saved me, Braver. When we first met, it was like I could feel you calling to me. You wanted a family; you wanted to be loved; you wanted to be happy, and that's all I want for you. I wanted a family because of you. Even more, I'll do anything to keep you safe, happy, and loved. I'll never abandon you and will do everything in my power to help you, Braver. I promise. I know you hate me and now are afraid of me. It's why," Twilight slowly started to back away from her and started to whisper to her "I'll keep doing all that, but far from you—far away from me, the monster that hurt you. Never again, my sweet daughter. I'll protect you from me." Twilight started to walk away, leaving Dash and Braver, as the two couldn't understand or believe what Twilight just said. "T-Twilight!" yelled Dash, running over to her wife. "Stay with her, Dash. Keep her safe. Please." "You're not a monster, Twilight." "Yes, I am, Dash. I hurt her. It's like you said, I almost killed her... Nightfall would indeed hate me. So, let me make it up to her—to both of them. Stay with her, Dash, please. She's going to need you more than ever." Dash was speechless as she watched Twilight walk away, opening her wings. AJ and the others were trying to stop her as well, but she pushed them to the side with her magic. "M-momma," whispered Braver, looking to her mother "Don't go. Momma." Twilight didn't answer and only started to take off. Dash could see tears falling on her daughter's cheeks, and Dash was trying not to cry herself as Twilight was in the air now. Braver could see flashes of Nightfall dying in front of her. She was the caused of another mother leaving her..."No," whispered Braver as she started to run after Twilight, still seeing Nightfall dying. "No! NOT AGAIN! MOMMA!" Blitz saw her sister running pass them after her mom and quickly ran up to her, grabbing her, and smiled, "Get ready!" Braver nodded and prepared herself. as Blitz spun herself like a racing car wheel and fired Braver off into the sky, heading towards Twilight like a missile. "MOMMA!" yelled Braver, hitting Twilight with a tackle hug, as Twilight was stunned and the two began to fall. "B-Braver?" "I don't care if you're a monster! We'll be monsters together! I want my momma back!" yelled Braver, holding her tight and crying into her neck. Twilight didn't know what to do but held her daughter back "I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry for hurting you." "Momma..." "I won't ever leave you or Dash, I promise." "Yay!" Braver cried happily with a smile on her face. Twilight landed safely and nuzzled her daughter like crazy "I'm so sorry." "It's ok momma, I love you," said Braver, nuzzling back at her mom. "I love you too." Everyone ran up to them and was glad everything was okay. Dash flew to them and smiled as her family looked at her, raising each arm towards her. Dash flew into their arms and held them tight. "If Braver hadn't done that sick missile tackle, I would have done it myself. I wasn't going to allow you to leave us like that, you egghead!" yelled Dash, crying in Twilight's neck. "Sorry, Dash." "Good," simply said Dash, smiling and kissing Twilight's cheek. Meanwhile, Dawn was watching all this; she was mad but wasn't showing it, but her anger quickly went away as she noticed Braver. Even though she was holding Twilight, she could see her shaking a bit. She could only smile with glee. The cracks were forming while destroying the Braver support system. She was scared of her mother now but didn't want to lose her. She just needs to keep hitting it. She gave off another big smile, which AJ noticed and started to feel something wasn't right with that smile. "I have a bad feeling about this," thought AJ as she tipped her old, worn-out hat forward, covering one eye. "Very bad feeling that there is a rotten core among us." After everything, the group was back to doing what they came for. "START APPLE BUCKING!" ordered Applejack. "YAY!" cheered everyone. AJ slowly walked to each family and friends as they started to buck the tree. First up was Twilight and her family. She watched as Dash did a strong kick, knocking a ton of apples into the basket. "Great job, as always, Rainbow. I see old age hasn't shown you down," smirked AJ. "Hey! I'm not old!" pouted Dash but sighing as she saw AJ cold stare, as AJ had bit of white hairs in her mane, Dash didn't any grey hairs yet "Well, not that old." "You're not that old, mom," Braver smiled at her mother, nuzzling her. "Thanks, sweetie," smiled Dash, ruffling her mane up. AJ smiled, but her smile faded as she saw Twilight using her magic to pick each apple and put them in a basket "Twi...this again?" Twilight turned to her friend "I know, AJ. Just let me." "But-" "Let her, AJ. If she wants to do it her way, let her. Just enjoy the moment," said Dash, nuzzling Twilight's neck and winking at AJ. "I suppose so..." "Thanks, Dash." "Always, hun," smiled Dash, kissing her cheek. AJ shook her head and noticed Braver aiming her rear leg at a tree. She quickly stopped her, as she knows how powerful Braver is. "Whoa now! You are not bucking the tree, young lady." "Why not?" asked Braver, tripping backwards and looking at her aunt. "Because..." said AJ as she looked at the other side of the field, seeing a large scar on the land and a dead tree at the end of the scar crater. "You are doing it wrong. Yeah! Wrong!" lied AJ as her face scrunched up and she looked back and forth. "Oh, I'm doing it wrong?" asked Braver, looking behind her and seeing the last time she buckled a tree, realizing her aunt was lying. "Yep! Totally wrong. Let your old aunt AJ show you how it's done." "Sure," smiled Braver, letting her aunt do her work. "Now, this is how it's done, lass. with skill, speed, and a whole lot of strength. I just need to control that strength," smirked AJ as she did a kick, knocking off half a tree filled with apples. "Wow, you're strong, Aunt AJ." "That's right! Not even old age can stop me!" "So, you think I can try now?" asked Braver, giving a cute smile. "Of course, let me just..." "Cool," smiled Braver as she reared up and kicked the tree, and it broke from the roots, making the tree fall down, blasting across the field, and crashing into other trees, that was in its way. AJ gulped as she turned and looked at Braver, who was smiling cutely. "Wow! Your teaching helps, Aunty! I didn't send it flying miles away or ruining the land like last time!" "Oh...great..." AJ shook her head and was going to talk to Twilight and Dash, but was cut off by Twilight. "You can do it, Dawn!" AJ turned and notice Twilight was cheering Dawn on, as she was kicking the tree very weak like. "I'm trying, teacher!" Twilight took out a small pink flag with Dawn cutie mark "Keep going!" AJ was happy to see Twilight with Dawn, as they were teacher and student but AJ couldn't help the feeling of something was wrong as she looked at the girl. She could see her filled with anger and not because of Twilight being annoying...it was something else. "Try to put more leg into it, Dawn!" called out Twilight, doing a kick herself. "I am!" growled Dawn, as AJ could see she was more mad but all that anger suddenly disappeared when Braver cheered her on, just like Twilight was doing.  "...hmmm." thought AJ, narrowing her eyes. "Come on Dawn! You can do it!" yelled Braver, making Dawn blush and start bucking the tree hard, making the tree drops its apples. "I did it! All because of you Braver! My best and only friend!" shouted Dawn as she hugged Braver, who was happy as well. Twilight said she help as well but she was ignored, just like when she was asking Dawn forgiveness before they started "...my only and true friend..." "...I need to talk to Braver about her lil friend..." thought AJ, watching the two. "Hey, Applejack." called out Spike. AJ looked over, noticing Spike holding his basket with his beefy arms. "Got another basket?" "Of course, big guy. Right over there." answered AJ, point to a shed near them, "Thanks, AJ. By the way, have you noticed something odd with Dawn, as she's around Braver?" "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. She feels...off?" "I'm going to do some digging. See what's up." "I can help you, big guy. Two heads are better than one." "Heh, yeah. Just don't tell Twilight about this, okay?" The two shook hands and smiled at each other. AJ went on to check on the last group. She could see Blitz Fury kicking the tree, but no apples were falling. "Blazing hell, lass! You have to stop kicking so hard and fast!" "No, I don't." simply answered Blitz still kicking the free but looking at AJ. "Yes, you do." replied AJ with bit of anger. "Nu-uh." smirk Blitz "Yes, you do! You just end up hurting the tree..." trailed off AJ as she saw all the apples falling all at once after Blitz stopped kicking. "How the-" "My AJ taught me that the tree bark has weak points, that are connected to the branches. When a endless kick hits it, the apples will fall." "I see..." whispered AJ, as she had never heard that before and it sounded made up. "I guess the other me knows more than me. Well, I bet I can beat her in arm wrestling! She better hope we never meet each other!" pouted AJ as she walked over to Blitz's parents, leaving Blitz confused. "Let's see! I need to aim at a higher angle," thought Twilah as she was aiming her foot up. AJ stopped her and asked what she was doing, as it was a funny angle to do a kick. "Oh, this? This is my special apple-picking kick that I just made up right now. If I hit the tree here and at a certain angle, the apples will fly into the basket. Here, let me show you." smiled Twilah as she started to spin around very slowly, kicking with a weak kick at the tree, at a weird angle, making the apples fall into the basket. "...how? That shouldn't have worked!" thought AJ, as it was like magic. "See? Easy. All I had to do was" answered Twilah, taking out a note pod and started to explain how it worked. "Right," simply said AJ, as she ignored Twilah's egghead talk. "Just like Twilight in explaining things..." AJ walked up to Dashie and could see her kicking the tree and cursing under her breath as she hurt her foot. "Dashie, why don't you go into that half pony form? It will be easier, no?" "Oh no! I'm good, AJ. I'm not going to use that form!" replied Dashie, holding her foot. "Why not?" Dashie let go of her foot and rubbing back of her head, "You see...ummm...well...umm..." "Dashie, you know you can tell me anything. Just come out and say it. Don't be a coward." AJ smiled at her, giving off a friendly aura. Dashie sighed, looked at Twilah, then at Blitz, and finally at AJ, and whispered, "I feel like it's cheating. I can be like them, but it will be weird using that form." "I'm not following, Dashie." "Look, Twilah can use magic. Blitz has that final harmony thing in both her pony and hybrid forms... All I can do is fly fast. It's not my speed too." "Really?" asked AJ, in a deadpan tone. "That's all? It's your speed! Don't worry too much." "Yeah, but...it doesn't feel like I'm being 'me', you know? It feels like I'm being a copycat of Dash." "Oh, trust me, you're nothing like Dash. For one, you are taller and walk on two legs. Also pretty mature than our Dash. Just think of it as 'borrowing it'." "You think so?" "Yes." Dashie sighed and smiled as AJ patted her back and walked off, leaving her alone "I'm not copying... I'm just borrowing it." Dashie transformed and got ready to kick the tree, but she didn't have the courage to and turned back to normal, sighing, "I can't. It doesn't feel right." AJ rolled her eyes and just watched everyone until more families and groups started to come in. She turned to friends and told them to enjoy the rest of their time picking apples and maybe head to Pinkie to cook them up as treats, but before she left, she turned to the twins. "By the way, can you come over later tonight? I want to talk to you two about something." "Huh?" questioned Braver, wondering what was up. "What for, AJ?" "I just need to talk to you both." "Alright. I'll be there." "I'll be there too." answered Blitz, trying to guess what AH wanted as she scratch her head. "Great. See you tonight." Both twins nodded and went on their way, leaving AJ alone. She turned to Dawn and could see she was just watching Braver and no one else "Yeah, something is up with her. She's giving off weird vibes. Better tell the others later tonight, just in case." thought AJ, worried, as she started to leave. "And better keep a close eye on the lass." Later in the day, the group was carrying bags of apples and was heading to Sugar Cube Corner as they were on the dirt road, but Dashie asked the kids and Spike to head without them, as she needed to talk to the adults. Kids nodded and took off with the apples, leaving Spike in the dust, making the adults laugh. As the kids were gone, Dashie and Twilight led the others into the woods on the side of the road, found an open spot, and sighed as they looked at each other and then at their lovers. "What's wrong, Dashie?" asked Twilah, seeing Dashie's worried face. "Same with you, Twilight," Dash landed next to Twilah and looking at her wife. Dashie closed her eyes and open them as she started to explain "This isn't going to be easy, but...you two need to know, as Twilight and I don't want to hide stuff from you guys." "We understand. Please, continue." replied Twilah Twilight nodded, and the two started to explain how they both kissed each other again and had feelings, but only because they saw each other as lovers and were not really loving each other for them. After they were done, they were waiting for the two to be angry at them, but Twilah and Dash weren't, confusing the two. "I told Twilah I lo-" "She said 'like' me, but I knew what she meant." quickly explained Twilah, stopping Dash from landing on a land mine back there. "...and I was having 'feelings' every time I was with Dash." "We can't be mad at you two when we did the same thing," whispered Twilight. All four were quiet. It was a long silence. "So... what do we do about this? I feel like if we keep hanging with each other lovers, its going to get worst. Like, you know," said Dashie, blushing. Twilight looked down, feeling awkward. "I would never cheat on Dash, and I'm sure Twilah would never do that to Dashie." The three were talking, but Twilah was thinking as she held her arm and remembered what robot Spike did as the test was going through. She was wondering if this was because of universe 'rules' causing this, or was it really because they were just falling in love with each other because it reminded them of their lovers, like Dashie explained, that she only loved Twilight because she saw Twilah and not really Twilight. Twilah nodded to herself and explained, "I think this is the universe at play here. It wants us to be 'together'." "What?" said all three as they turned to her. "Remember ten years ago? When we jump into each new universe after finding each new rainbow shards? How would we replace that universe version of us?" Twilight quickly remembered as she started to walk in circles as she spoke, "Right, why hasn't that happened yet? We should have jumped into your universe when you crossed over, but yet..." "...You didn't. Maybe because it was Sky and Nightfall that caused that to happen back then. They were looking for versions of them to help their daughters. It could also been Braver doing as well. She was the one who created the rainbow shards. Maybe the real reason you are still here and Dash and I aren't fading away is because..." Twilah stopped and double-checked her theory and nodded to herself as she summoned the recording that had Spike made, from her watch as a hologram and played it, showing them, "Tell me, have you two been saying our names by chance?" I don't think so, right, Dash?" asked Twilight as she faced Dashie and quickly realized what she said just now, like it came out naturally, and she turned to Twilah. "That just slipped out. Wait, I think I'm starting to understand what you are thinking now." Both Dash and Dashie turned to each other and back to their lovers, and both said, "What? Can you explain to us because we're not eggheads like you?" "Twilight," said Dashie to Twilah. "Twilah," said Dash to Twilight. Both quickly caught what they just said. "What's going on!" asked both Dash's, worried now. Twilah nodded to Twilight, and she let her explain it. "The universe is trying to fuse us together like what happened ten years ago, but for whatever reason, it's taking longer than normal. If we don't get you two back home soon, they're going to be a new Twilight and new Dash in this universe, having our memories, but this time, we don't have a third party controlling our bodies. It will be a whole new version of 'us', with both our traits and flaws. We won't be us anymore." "Are you serious?" said Dash, feeling worried. "No. There has to be a mistake. This is crazy!" shouted Dashie. "I know it sounds insane and out there. Twilah was the first to notice the weird mix-up of our names. Maybe this is the reason we're having feelings for each other as well? Our brains are telling us, Is it okay to be together? You're our lovers, and is this not a case of mistaken identity? It would make sense why we are feeling things for each other." explained Twilight, looking at both Dash and Dashie, having a warm feeling inside her as she looks at both of them. "No, no. It can't be true. That's so wrong! My universe is making you and the rest of us fall in love with each other!? No, this is crazy. The universe can't tell me to give my heart to Twilah and expect me not to be angry when you are dating someone else!" shouted Dash, really starting to freak out. "Maybe we should let it?" simply said Twilah, shocking everyone. Dash shook her head and shouted "Why!" as she couldn't understand why her friend said that. "I'm going to make a cure right now, but the test needs to be finished before the cure can be made. Being with each other might help delay the merger or maybe even stop it completely, as long as we keep remembering who we truly love. I also believe staying away from each other won't work." explained Twilah as she showed them her hologram and her theories that she made "We'll just get pull into each other no matter how far away we go." "So, you're saying we need to date, kiss, hold hands, and do stuff that lovers would do to keep ourselves from merging with each other, right? Just thinking about our real lovers!" shouted Dash, really freaking out more. "That's what I'm saying," replied Twilah, not liking the idea as well. Dash flew back and fourth "I can't! That is weird! I never heard of couples sharing their girlfriends or wives with another couple. How would that even work? Like, where would we go? How would the kids feel?" "Calm down, Dash," asked Twilight. Dash stopped and turned to Twilight, with a upset look on her face "Don't tell me to calm down! This is insane and wrong. What would the kids think? They are going to be freaked out. We don't even know if this will work!" "It does seem a bit strange, but if we need to, we will," Twilight said, trying to hide her worries as well "If it can delay the merge while Twilah can get a cure made, I'll do it. Besides, I trust you, Dash. Just remember who you truly love, because I will always love you and only you. Even if it's going to be weird, just think of it like kissing my twin?" chuckle Twilight ut the group kept quiet "Yeah, that sounded wrong..." "I know, Twilight. I would never do anything bad behind your back, but still, it feels so wrong. Like, we're taking advantage of each other's trust. What if this is just some stupid crush we're all having and Twilight is overthinking it?" Dash told Twilight but without catching what she said near the end. "Dash, repeat what you said," asked Twilight. "What? ' This is just some stupid crush we're all having and Twilight overthinking it?' part?" Twilight started to worry "Dash, what is my name?" "Its Twilah?" simply replied Dash, not understanding why Twilight look worried Dashie was confused as well, as they looked at Dash with such a worry look but didn't catch what was going on too, "What's going on? What's wrong?" Twilah turned to Dashie and asked her to say her name "Its Twilight? What's...no! No! NO! IT'S TWILAH!" shouted Dashie to herself, but suddenly felt odd as she dropped to her knees, and Dash felt odd too as she drop to the ground. "We're not feeling well," said both girls the same time, seeing their bodies bending towards each other, but Twilight and Twilah pulled them apart with their magic and shouted to remember who they loved as Dashie looked into Twilight's eyes and Dash into Twilah's eyes. "...I love Twilah." answered Dashie, blushing hard with Twilight so close. Dash had the same reaction as she said "I love Twilight." Soon, both girls felt better but freaked out "What the hell!" shouted Dash as she flew far and away from Dashie. "Twilah, how long is that test going to be?" Twilight asked, as she faced her friend. "...I don't know. If the AI was connected to earth and with the company's main servers, it would have been done within the hour, but I'm checking on him" Twilah checked her watch and showing a chibi robot Spike shaking his head "..and he said he doesn't have a lot of power and doesn't have a solid time; it will be done, but he believes in three days." "So, we're stuck with this plan until he's done?" Dashie was really upset as she heard that. "Unfortunately." Dash landed on a tree branch and spoke "I don't want to live like this—away from Twilight and seeing her love someone else!" "You're not the only one. I don't like seeing my Dashie being held and touched by someone else," replied Twilah. "But if we don't..." Dash sighed and landed back to the ground as she walked up to Dashie and held her hoof out "Promise me! Promise me you won't, you know." "I won't. I promise," said Dashie as she squeezed Dash's hoof. "Only if you do the same for me." "Yeah. I will. I will not let some stupid universe control me, and, you know, I'm not like that! I will not betray Twilight and my vows." "...me too. So, you promise, right?" "Yep. You're like me; I don't see you betraying Twilah." answered Dash, not realizing that Twilah and Twilight huggle together and started talking. "So, we got a deal? We're not doing 'it'. Fuck the universe! We're just doing fluffy love stuff!" "Nope, and yeah, we are just going to play it safe and stay with each other, lover." Dash put her other hoof on her face an couldn't believe what she said "Oh god, it sounds weird when I say this out loud." "I will do the same. As long as we remember who we love, we're good." Both Dashes nodded as they turned to their lovers, who were talking among themselves. "What are you two talking about?" asked Dash, confused. "Oh, nothing important..." said Twilight, blushing, but Dash knew something was up, and she looked at Twilah, who was blushing too. "Twilight, what are you two talking about?" asked Dashie, getting nervous. "Well, Twilah was explaining how this kind of stuff was normal in her world. called open relationships." "...what's that?" asked Dash, but Dashie was blushing and couldn't believe it was like that if you really think about it. "It's how we humans would share our wives or husbands, sometimes even the same sex. It can be with consent or by the husband and wife wanting it. The main goal is not to hurt or make anyone jealous, and the main couple has to love and care for each other, as long as the husband and wife don't abuse the rules they lay out," explained Twilah. "I was telling Twilight this to make her feel better. Its not that weird, I mean...the universe merging part isn't normal, of course." Dash was lost for words as she sat down and thought about what she was told "Is this going to happen if the test doesn't finish or the cure never gets made? We have to do that until we find a way for them to get back home?" asked Dash, worried. "We might need too, Dash. We're running out of options," answered Twilight, as she walked over to her and stroke her head. Dash looked up to her and said "But what if we do the unthinkable? What if we cheat on each other? What if the universe is forcing us to do that? "I promise, I will not cheat on you, Dash. You have nothing to worry about. Trust me," smiled Twilight, trying to comfort her lover, which did work, and Dash calmed down and smiled back. "I trust you, but what if we ever cross the line without noticing it? Don't hate us; don't hate me, Twilight. I don't want to lose you. I love you too much." "I know, Dash. I promise I won't either. I will fight for our relationship." Twilah went up to Dashie and held her close. "Same... I won't forget our relationship, Dashie. I'll fight and remember it. Promise." Dashie held her, took out the black box, and sighed "I really don't want to do this here, but..." she got on one knee, making Dash and Twilight gasp, but Twilah was wondering what she was doing. "Dashie?" "I know we are going through a hard time right now, and it's not the right time to do this, but will you marry me, Twilah? Will you stay by my side? Will you be my wife and be a mom with me?" asked Dashie as she revealed the ring. "With this ring, just look at it and remember our love, okay?" "...Yes! Of course, I will marry you. I will always love you, Dashie," said Twilah, smiling. Dashie slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her new fiancée, and both were happy and in love. Twilight and Dash smiled at them, happy for them. "This can work," said Twilight as she summoned her wedding necklaces and put them on herself and Dash. "If we ever forget our true love..." "Just look at the necklace," smiled Dash, kissing her. Twilah recreated a copy of the ring and put it on Dashie, kissing her "...I love you." "...I love you too." Both couples walked away from their lovers and stood next to each other. "You know, the kids are going to be asking questions," said Twilight, smiling. "Yeah, what do we tell them?" chimed in Dashie "I'm going to say, we're just hanging with each other. Nothing more. We don't need them to worry. It's bad enough; I'm worried and freaking out," Dash said with a sad chuckle. "Agreed. So, where are we going after this? The kids and Spike are heading to Pinkie Bakery, right?" spoke Dashie "Yeah, hey, maybe you and Twilight should go? Maybe Pinkie can help with your awful cooking skills, you two have!" laugh, Twilah, but Twilight glared at Dash, who knew Dash told her she couldn't cook. "You can't cook too, Twilight?" asked Dashie Twilight quickly blushed as she couldn't face Dashie "No. Not one bit." "...wow. What a match made in heaven we are," laughed Dashie. Dash and Twilah weren't laughing with them, as they weren't happy with how well their lovers were with each other "I hope that cure gets made real quick," whispered Dash. "Same," replied Twilah, as both held each other's hands and hoped things went well as they watched Twilight teleport herself and Dashie to the twins. "So... what are we going to do?" said Dash, super worried. "I don't know," whispered Twilah as she removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. Both were quiet, until Dash just said, "I can show my cool cloud house?" Twilah quickly grabbed Dash by her jacket and shouted "Wait, you can make houses out of clouds!? Can you show me!?" Dash smiled, happy that Twilah was amazed by her simple house "Sure, I will. Follow me, Twilah," Dash was free from her friends grip and flew off together. Meanwhile, in the sea of multiverse trees Two magical sorceress ladies landed in the prism color water. The two females were Dr. Wonder and Dr. Amazement. One is the supreme sorceress of her world, and the other is... "Honey bun, why are we here?" asked Dr. Amazement, hugging her girlfriend, who was getting annoyed by her. "Can you please stop calling me those names? I already told you, just call me Wonder, please?" asked Dr. Wonder "But it's cute, honey bun!" "Anyway, the reason I brought you here is that I've been sensing some strong magic in the Realm of Between Universes—very powerful magic. Having another powerful sorceress as back up, is a great idea, just in case something goes wrong." "...how powerful?" "Multiverse endings are powerful." Dr. Amazement's eyes widen "Are you serious?" "I'm not lying, Amazement. We need to investigate this right away." "Alright, fine," said Amazement in a very serious tone, making Wonder happy and hugging her. "Thank you, dear." "You're welcome. Let's not waste time, Wonder." The two sorceresses walked through the light prism water, looking around and only seeing the prism windows and the multiverse tree in the distance, until everything around them turned black and they prepared themselves. They could see a sun with a black core floating in the middle of the multiverse tree, and soon appearing in front of it was a lone girl with a sun on her chest, bleeding rainbow liquid. She floated down and stared at the two girls, smiling. "Welcome to your end. This will be your last time seeing the morning dawn." End of chapter 6 > Chapter 7: What Is Love? Don't Hurt Me. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Who are you? Why are you here?" asked Dr. Wonder, pointing her wand at the unknown girl. "You can say...I am the ending sun, the last sunrise in the multiverse." smirked Rainbow Sun Dawn, just standing there, her chest leaking out rainbow liquid slime and not moving, which made Dr. Wonder and Amazement filled with worry and fear. Wonder summoned few magical circle near herself and ready for a fight "We will not let you do whatever you came to do!" "There is nothing you can do to stop me, I'm afraid. I finally found her again! We'll be together again, and this multiverse will die. It will all die, and the multiverse will reset, but she will be in every universe!" Sun Dawn clutch her fist and looked up, up into the endless prism windows in the black sky "...why...WHY!? WHY DOESN'T SHE EXISTING IN ANY OTHER UNIVERSE!? SHE'S WONDERFUL! KIND! LOVING! BEAUTIFUL! WHY!? WHY DOESN'T THE MULTIVERSE CREATE HER!? " Sun Dawn shout out in rage, feeling nothing but anger. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you need to stop!" shouted Wonder as she started to shoot blasts of magical spells towards the girl. Sun Dawn wasn't phased, as she took the blast head-on and just stood there "It's no use. I'm stronger than anything in the multiverse, including you," she just smiled and tip her head to the side, freaking out Dr. Amazement, as she hid behind her girlfriend "Honey bun, she's too powerful. I can sense it. Her magical power is beyond even us!" "I sense it too, but why do I feel like I felt this power before?" asked Wonder to herself, sensing the magical power from the girl. Like she sense it before. Soon, Sun Dawn started to creep forward, still smiling and bleeding out more rainbow liquid, causing Wonder to ready her next wave of spells as shouted at the girl "We will not let you harm the multiverse! I will stop you and protect my world! All the worlds!" Amazement watched as her girlfriend slowly walked forward "Wonder, she's too powerful! She'll kill you!", which she quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her and turning to her. "Don't worry about me! Just run away, Amazement! I was wrong in bringing you here!" replied Wonder, as she was scared deep down but trying to e brave for her. "How many times do I have to tell you? I love you, I'm not leaving you!" shouted Amazement, as she used her magical sword to unleash the constellation stars of a giant Ursa Major bear and order it to attack the girl in front of her. Sun Dawn stood her ground and let the Ursa Major bear sweep at her; she didn't even move an inch when hit "I have nothing to fear. No one can harm me, not anymore." she soon started to walk up to the bear, while raising a hand and touching the paw of the bear, sliding across it as she walked towards it. The Ursa Major was trying its best but couldn't budge the girl from its paw, and the girl just kept walking up to the bear as she reached the face and stared at the starry eyes. "Every star is a sun doomed to fade out. Lose its meaning to shine." Suddenly, the all stars within the Ursa Major bear went out, and the girl continued walking through the bear body as the Ursa Major disappeared. Dr. Amazement and Dr. Wonder were shocked. "She killed a high-level magical summon beast! Just by looking at it? How can someone have such powerful  magic?" Amazement shouted in fear, also seeing her sword going dim, as the bear was part of the sword power and needed rest before the next summon. Sun Dawn just walked toward the two, staring at them as she realized something about the summon and the weapon in Amazement "Oh? A sword that can summon a powerful monster? Just like that universe I wiped out before coming here, part of the Gold Sun universe tree." she looked to her left, seeing the scattered prism window she came "I was lucky to destroy it. That world was ending anyway. Fools kept the Golden Sun sealed away, and that was their downfall. The last light house was never going to be lit anyway. Mercy killing." Amazement had no idea what the girl was talking about, but she could see Wonder sweating and understanding her, like she knew what she was talking about. "Honey bun? What is she talking about? I have no idea what she's talking about." "I can't believe this. She destroyed part Golden Sun universe?" asked Dr. Wonder to herself, feeling even more scared. "That's right. That universe is gone, and it was easy; I didn't have to lift a finger too much too. They did all the work. That water element user, a unicorn named Alyx Glimmer, tried to get the Golden Sun for all herself. Too bad, I ended it all. Her face was wonderful to see." she started to laugh like a crazed person, freaking the girls out. "Honey! What is she talking about?" shouted Dr. Amazement, wanting answers. "Our universe is just a branch on a tree, a tree that is called the prime universe. That tree behind her is that tree, and the branches are endless universes with different versions of said prime universe. We're completely different people in the prime universe. As the branches keep going further out, they will soon merge with another different prime universe tree and share a universe together—a crossover, you might say. There is a prime universe called the Golden Sun." explained Wonder, as Rainbow Sun Dawn moved her arm back, making the two women jump back, but soon the darkness became white again, revealing the endless rows of prime universe trees around them. One tree was pure golden, and a branch once connected to the rainbow-colored tree was black and dead. "I'm amazed you know this much, little witch. You're more amazing than I thought." smiled Sun Dawn "Why aren't you the one called Amazement rather than her?" "I know this because of the Prime Discord; after saving those twins, is how I know this, you monster!" answered Wonder, with anger in her voice. "Twins?" whispered the girl, as her black core started to flash, like the core wanted to come back. "Wait, are you one of the people who saved her? The one I lo-" But before she could finish, magical circles appeared all around her and purple chains wrapped around her, stopping her. Soon, a giant blue magical circle appeared above her, and what came out of it was a giant blueberry cake. "Is that a cake?" simply said Sun Dawn, all confused before getting crushed by it, and a giant blue explosion filled the area up. "What...?" whispered Amazement, confused by that weird spell but noticing that Wonder was filled with pure rage "...Wonder? Honey?" "I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH THEM!" screamed Wonder, as she knew that the monster was still alive. "HOW DO YOU KNOW THEM?" The blueberry cake remains exploded, revealing Rainbow Sun Dawn, who didn't look hurt and just had cake on her body. "That was rude," said girl, shaking the cake off of her, and her core was still glowing. "You are, aren't you? then..." Wonder and Amazement were shocked to see the girl, not covered in darkness, falling to her knees and crying with joy, and her core was filled again but not completely "Thank you, thank you," sobbed the girl, who was smiling and crying. "Honey bun?" spoke Amazement, holding her girlfriend. "I don't know what she's doing. This doesn't make sense," said Wonder as Rainbow Sun Dawn kept crying. "Thank you. Thank you for saving them, 'her'! If it wasn't for you and the others, I wouldn't have met my rainbow comet light. She wouldn't have saved me. She gave me a chance. To be loved. Thank you. Thank you for saving me," "I don't know who you are, but you need to stop." said Wonder "Don't destroy the multiverse. Do it for Blitz and Breaker!" "But...but my rainbow comet light...the light of my dawn, she doesn't exist in this multiverse..." whispered Rainbow Sun Dawn as her core started to go black and her body was slowly covered in darkness again. "I found her again. I won't let her go again." smiled the girl, as her core was black again and started to ooze out rainbow colors, mixing with the darkness, turning it into a colorful rainbow liquid. "Who are you? How do you know the twins? Are you from the Dashie and Twilah universes?" demanded Wonder, trying her best to keep her rage in check. "Twilah? Dashiell? I killed them after they took my rainbow light," giggled the girl, causing Wonder to charge at her with magical circles behind her. "Oh? Are you upset by that? Don't worry, you'll join them and the others soon." Wonder attacked the girl and used her full magical strength, causing the whole area around them to become destroyed, and a large dome formed around the area as tons of magical circles filled the dome and unleashed different kinds of magic spells. Wonder was in front of the girl, with a barrier up, and saw her getting hit by the magic spells "MONSTER!" roared Wonder as Sun Dawn just stood there, not moving or trying to defend herself, which made Wonder even more mad "Why aren't you moving or fighting back?" "I'm just waiting, dear. I want to kill you when you give everything you have, so your little friend over there will suffer more as she watches you die." answered Sun Dawn with a smile, pissing off Dr. Wonder. "Amazement, run!" shouted Wonder, looking at her lover. "No, honey! I'm not leaving you alone!" cried Amazement, trying to break the barrier but couldn't. "Please, go! Get help! I'll hold her off!" "I'm not leaving you! I love you too much, Wonder!" Wonder could only sigh and gave her a sad look "You're so stubborn..." "Love is wonderful," said Sun Dawn as stepped right up to Wonder, passing through the barrier, and grabbed her hands. Wonder could feel something, and her magic was gone, like it was drained. The dome was slowly fading away as Wonder dropped to her knees and looked at her hands. They were normal again, with scars on them after having had nerve damage from the car accident. "How?" whispered Wonder, looking at her ruined hands. "All magic belongs here," answered the girl as she pointed to the core, and something within her started to stare at the young witch. Soon, the rainbow colors stopped oozing, making the girl back away from her prey, as she held her hands up and closed her eyes. The rainbow liquid started to flow back into her, as the core was no longer black and had a rainbow hue around it, as the core was pulsating. "WONDER!" screamed Amazement as she could see a rainbow slime monster blasting out of the core and standing behind Dawn and opening its mouth, revealing a waterfall of rainbow slime, as a bright crack rainbow orb shined out on the girl's core chest before disappearing in the darkness. Dr. Wonder turned to Amazement and with her last remaining magical powers she had left in her, pushed her love into the prism window that was crack and damage behind her, smiling, "I love you." "WONDER!" screamed Amazement, but Wonder didn't respond as the slime monster clamp down its mouth on the poor poor witch, covering the area with rainbow slime and making the prism window close up. Amazement was being tossed through a prism light and was blasted out of it, flying over a town and soon crashing into the woods. It was nighttime, as the stars were out. Amazement slowly sat up and rubbed her head, feeling pain and confused about what had happened. "...Wonder? Where are you?" She spoke with fear, realizing her lover was gone and feeling heartbroken. She started to sob as she drop to her knees in the woods. The forest animals were around her, not knowing what to do as they heard the crying and the weird creature in front of them...until a white bunny noticed her, and soon, a yellow pegasus appeared behind the bunny. "Hello? Are you okay?" asked the pegasus. hours before Spike was out of breath, as he had a hard time catching up with the twins and Dawn, as they were outside of Sugar Cube Corner. "Huff...huff...please...slow down...next time!" begged Spike, holding the bags of apples. "Really dude? You are well in shape; why are you so tired?" asked Blitz, who was carrying a large bag of apples and didn't look like she had broken a sweat. "Spike is a dragon. His body looks like that, but he's really not in good shape!" giggled Braver, who took a bag from Spike, which was the heavy one, causing Spike to collapse from being free from the weight. "Well, thanks for the help...now." said Spike, laying on the ground, panting. "What's the rush anyway?" "Yeah?" chimed in Dawn, but only looking at Braver and not Blitz. Both sisters looked at each other and smiled before turning back to Spike and Dawn. "I want to see how different Pinkie is to my Penny!" answered Blitz, giving the two a big smile. "I want Aunty Pinkie to make me a big apple pie! Plus, I haven't seen her in a long time, and I'm not counting 'that' day!" giggled Braver, walking to the door of the bakery. Dawn was confused but was still curious about what Blitz was talking about. "Who is this 'penny' you speak of? In fact, you were saying AJ had another version of herself?" asked Dawn, looking at Blitz, as they entered the bakery. "AJ and Pinkie have alternate universe versions of themselves in my universe. Everyone in your universe has a version of themselves, not just in my universe but in other universes as well. Heck, I'm friends with an alternate version of you in my universe. She has a ton of friends" answered Blitz with a friendly smile, but her smile faded as Dawn gave her a look—a look she had seen before. She seen that look from her universe Dawn parents when they see her mothers. They hated lesbians, which is why Blitz is scared of saying her feelings to Dawn. "We're not dating or anything! Just...friends..." "Okay..." whispered Dawn, as the real reason she looked Blitz like that was because she refused to believe another version of her would have friends. "Welcome, welcome!" called out Pinkie, with her back turned to the group, as she was packing cupcakes into a box and didn't turn to look at them. "AUNTY PINKIE!" shouted Braver, rushing towards the counter, but Blitz could see Pinkie suddenly twitching. "Pinkie senses are tingling!" giggled Pinkie, but suddenly, her tail scattered like glass, and she quickly realized who it was here. "BRAVER!" shouted Pinkie, spinning around and seeing the young pony running towards her, but Pinkie could see into the future and quickly zip her way to Braver, who tripped over her own hoof and slammed right into Pinkie. The two were a pile of giggling messes as they hugged "It's so good to see you! Also, save the bakery walls!" Pinkie squeezed her niece. "It's been too long!" laughed Braver, hugging her with love. "Wow..." whispered Dawn, shocked that a pink pony could move so fast and stopping Braver from destroying something. "Penny can't do that." whispered Blitz, also shocked by Pinkie's speed. "Penny can; she doesn't want to." giggled Pinkie as she turned to Blitz. "What?" simply said Blitz. "Penny is a great alt, Pinkie! She talks about you a lot when the Pinkie Company meets up on baking recipes sharing Mondays! We're voted the best company in the multiverse for our baking skills! Of course, Anna Company isn't happy about that!" laughs Pinkie, showing Blitz a photo of her and other multiverse Pinkies, from looking the same pink pony to different colors, genders, and races. Standing in the far right was Penny with this universe Pinkie on the bottom left. all posing for the company reward photo shoot, as Prime Pinkie was holding the reward. While in the background, Anna's from different Fire Emblem games, looking upset. "...again, what?" Blitz, completely shocked and confused by what she's seeing and hearing. "Pinkie is a great baker! Aunty, can we bake these apples with you?" asked Braver, as she ignored what was said and shown. "Of course we can! How about a pie?" suggested Pinkie, letting go of Braver and turning her attention to Blitz and the others. "Sure," whispered Blitz, still trying to understand what happened, but Spike patted her back and said this was normal. Pinkie noticed the dragon "Oh! Hey, Spike!" smiled Pinkie, waving at the dragon. Suddenly, in a flash, everyone could see Twilight and Dashie in front of them. Blitz and Braver could see that their parents were holding hands; for Braver, she didn't care, but Blitz was shocked. "Pinkie!" cheered Twilight, waving her free hoof and having a big smile on her face as she saw her old friend. "Oh! Hiya, Twilight! How are you doing?" asked Pinkie, waving and smiling back. Twilight let go of Dashie's hand and walked over to her friend and hugged her "Just great! Sorry, we couldn't talk more after 'that' day." "No worries," smiled Pinkie, hugging her, but she noticed Braver looking sad, so she brought her into the hug as well and spoke to her, "Don't be sad, sweet Braver; never be sad about what happened that day. We love you, and we're here for you. Okay?" "Thank you, Aunty Pinkie," whispered Braver, holding back tears and smiling at her. "See." said Dashie to her daughter, who looked at her. "She's loved here, no matter what." Blitz remembers what she said before when she was mad and nodded in agreement: "Yeah. I'm just wanting her to be happy, that's all. I don't want to see her all hurt and sad, not again. We've been through that already, mom." Dashie looked at her daughter after she said that, who was smiling at her now. "Thank you. Thanks for saving us that day." Dashie put her hand on her daughter head and push into her chest and smiling as she said "I'm proud of you; you're a great daughter and sister." whispered Dashie, who didn't see the small tears in Blitz's hurt eyes, who looked hurt, but she did her best to hide it. After some time, everyone was in the kitchen, while Cheese Sandwich and his son were done talking to Pinkie and left the room to handle the store. The twins and Dawn were busy making apple pie, while Spike was just relaxing in the corner, enjoying milk and diamond-covered cookies. Twilight and Dashie asked Pinkie to help them with their cooking skills. "I don't know Twilight. There was a reason why you were banned from the castle kitchen. You burned everything and created a fire demon," said Pinkie, remembering Sunburst and Spike's tale about it. Twilight, nudging Dashie in a very playful way that only Blitz, was really noticing was off "Yeah, yeah, I get it. But that was the past, and I'm way better than that. Right Dashie?" "How bad was the fire demon?" asked Dashie, curious. Also causing Twilight to puff her cheeks in anger. "Oh, it was a giant, black, ugly thing and was very destructive. It almost ate the whole kitchen, but thanks to Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, they managed to take care of it," answered Pinkie, remembering the damage the demon did, told by her friends. "Wow... I just made the salad super hot that one time...but nothing that bad." smirked Dashie, turning to Twilight, who puffed her cheeks even harder. "Okay, you're right. But still, I'm a better cook!" huffed Twilight, crossing her arms. "Well, how about a friendly competition?" asked Dashie with a smug look on face, which surprised Blitz and Braver. The twins were telling Pinkie no by waving at her, but she just said sure, making them both face palm. "You're on!" said Twilight, excitedly. "I'm going to kick your tail so hard!" Dashie, cracking her knuckles, was ready for this challenge. Spike ate his last cookie and nope out of there as fast as he could, while Blitz ran up to Pinkie and said, "Pinkie, are you sure about this? Mom burned cereal! CEREAL!" "I know, your mom is a horrible cook. Don't worry, it's okay; nothing will go wrong, trust me. I got everything under control, so enjoy the show, Blitz." giggled Pinkie while Braver and Dawn put the apple pies in the oven. "Braver, want to do something while the pies cook? Maybe go outside or something?" asked Dawn, looking nervous. "Sure, that sounds like a good idea, Dawn!" smiled Braver, heading for the door as fast as she could, grabbing Dawn by her hoof, causing her to lush. Soon, it was just Pinkie and Blitz, as they were going to judge Twilight and Dashie on their cooking skills in baking. The round was... Pinkie rang a bell and yelled, "MAKING A CHOCOLATE CAKE!" Dashie and Twilight were given the same ingredients to make their cakes. Blitz watched, nervous, while Pinkie was smiling happily. Dashie poured the flour, the sugar, the eggs, everything, but it suddenly caught fire somehow, making Blitz face palm, while Pinkie was laughing and clapping her hooves. "GOOD JOB, DASHIE, THAT WAS VERY SPECIAL!" "How!" shouted Blitz, while Dashie was trying to put out the fire, while Twilight was done putting everything in the battle and started to mix everything up. Twilight had trouble with the mixing, like something was holding the mixer down, making her push harder and harder before snapping the handle off. She looked at the handle, threw it behind her, and just used her magic to mix everything, but that too wasn't working in mixing the cake batter "Why!" whined Twilight, pushing her magic hard, but the cake batter was somehow stuck. "Come on, Twilight, I know you can do it!" encouraged Dashie, still trying to put out the fire. This made Twilight blush, as she pushed her magic more, until she was able to mix the cake batter. "Hooray! Go Twilight!" smiled Pinkie, waving at the purple unicorn. Twilight smiled but turned to Dashie, who finally let the fire out, sighing at the burned batter. Twilight could only shake her head in disappointment, so she poured some of her batter into a new bowel and gave it to her. "What? Why?" asked Dashie, holding the bowl, as Twilight stop pouring the batter. "I'm helping you out; now come on. You got this!" cheered Twilight, pushing the mixer but getting stuck again. "Come on! Not again!" whined Twilight, making Dashie laugh. She stood behind her, pulling out the broken mixer and putting her mixer into the bowel, and put Twilight's hoof on it, causing her to blush as they were mixing together. "Like this, Twilight. You got to use a little bit of real physical force than always using your magic." Dashie said with a friendly smug on her face, as the mixers started to move and the batter was starting to mix up. Twilight could only blush and stutter as she felt her heart was going to explode, and Dashie was loving it, not realizing she shouldn't. "Okay, now we need to bake the cake! Dashie, can you put the batter in the oven, and Twilight, can you do the same?" asked Pinkie, who was smiling wide, not noticing the flirting going on, while Blitz was watching in disbelief. "Sure, but can Twilight do it without a strong woman helping her?" asked Dashie, looking over to her friend. "Of course I can. Watch this," smiled Twilight. As the mixer was empty, she magically picked it up and floated it to the oven. "Show off!" chuckled Dashie, using her spatula to playfully spank Twilight as she went to turn on the oven. Twilight could only squeak and blush even harder, as Dashie was laughing. "What..." whispered Blitz, seeing the love going on in front of her. "Such good friends!" giggled Pinkie as she hopped to them, leaving Blitz alone and super confused. After some time, the cake was baked. Dashie was using the spatula to check if the cake was done and pulled it out, seeing how the cake was coming along, while Twilight was waiting to take her cake out. "It's done," smiled Dashie, using her spatula to flip the cake, while Twilight was using her magic to carefully get her cake out, being careful not to burn herself as she hover it near her face and looking at it "I win!" laughed Twilight, setting the cake on the table, as hers was perfectly baked, while Dashie's was black, burned and crumbled...and caught fire. "I'll be the judge of that!" Said Pinkie as she walked over to them, grabbed a fork and knife, and cut into Twilight's cake,. Pinkie was cutting into the cake until it suddenly exploded, sending cake everywhere. Soon, a cake demon was born from the remains and went running outside; soon, screams could be heard. "Too evilly!" said Pinkie, chewing a piece. Blitz wiped the cake off of her body and hurried out of the kitchen, looking back and seeing Twilight on top of her mom, as they were blasted on top of each other, both blushing. She wasn't liking what she was seeing, and feeling angry, she took off to fight the cake demon to blow off that anger she was building up. "Are you okay?" asked Twilight, getting up and using her magic to wipe the cake off of her. "Never batter...get it?" smirked Dashie, cleaning some cake off of Twilight's cheeks. "Not really, but nice try." chuckled Twilight, making Dashie sigh and smile "but thanks..." Twilight whispered, looking away and blushing. "No problem, that's what lovers are for—I mean friends!" shouted Dashie as she started to remember who her real lover was and blushed, while Twilight remembered as well and both turned red. "Oh god, we were acting all lovey-dovely," said Twilight, holding her cheek, realizing how much they were acting like a couple. "YEAH!" shouted Dashie, not thinking, as she stood up, forgetting she had cake all over her face, and spoke, "In front of Blitz too! Oh god!" "We were in front of Pinkie too! Oh god!" groaned Twilight, covering her face, not realizing that Pinkie left the kitchen after Blitz did, as she was needed to help her husband on something and never seeing the two saying all this. The two only blushed as they started to clean the mess and the kitchen up, with Twilight using her magic and Dashie wiping the table and floor down. "I'm so sorry," said Twilight, ashamed. "Not your fault, it's the stupid universe!" replied Dashie, tossing the rag into the stink but missing the sink. "That's true!" smiled Twilight, catching and floating the rag to the sink and using her magic to rinse it. "...I'm scared. What if she finds out? Blitz is going to freak, you know?" asked Dashie as she watched her friend using her magic. "She wont." assured Twilight, ringing her own rag out now. "But what if she does and she hates us? Hates Twilah!?" asked Dashie as she started walking around the room, tripping on a small cake piece and falling on Twilight, who turned around as it happened. Dashie opened her eyes; realizing she was back in her anthro form, and seeing the worried look on Twilight's face and their noses touching, their lips so very closed. Both blushed. Soon, both opened their wings, and both of their wings stood tall and firm "Oh shit," whispered Dashie as she and Twilight realized that their wings were standing tall, showing each other that they were both in..."SORRY!" she screamed, as she got off of Twilight and used the stink to blast cold water on her, trying to calm herself down and trying to turn back. Twilight wanted to help, but she noticed Dashie's white shirt was see-through, revealing the rainbow sports bra. Her wings opened wider, and she too put her head in the stink and joined Dashie in cooling off as steam was coming out. Both were breathing heavily as they were calming down. They looked at each other, seeing how the two were soaked, and sighed, feeling bad. "You didn't do anything. I was the one that fell on you." said Dashie, as her wings started to shrink down and were no longer standing tall. "I know, but..." answered Twilight as her wings returned to normal and started to fold up, while Dashie's were doing the same. "...sorry. I was just scared," Dashie told her, rubbing her arms, shivering but realizing her shirt was see-through, covering herself up. Twilight looked away and could see her cake monster outside, being beaten by Blitz. "Why does this keep happening? Am I cursed or something?" asked Twilight, using her magic to dry her and Dashie off. "Maybe. Maybe this is just some stupid joke the multiverse is pulling on us because it's bored and wants us to suffer," laughed Dashie. "I really wish I could cook something, you know? Twilah is always doing the cooking... I feel so useless in that department, you know?" Twilight nodded as she said how Dash does all the cooking. "You know what's more awful? She was an awful cook too, but she got better for me and Braver, before she moved in with me in the castle. So don't give up; if your counter part can cook, so can you!" Dash smiled as she said, "You think so?" Twilight nodded as she patted Dashie back, saying, "Of course. You're awesome and can do anything." Dash laughed "Thanks, your so sweet, I could eat you." Twilight smiled as she blushed, and the two were getting closer but quickly backed away and coughed, looking away. Dashie wanted something to do to ignore the feelings she was having, so she took out a book from the counter and wanted to make something so simple that even burning it wouldn't stop it from being edible. She looked in the cookbook. Twilight was watching her, seeing her trying so hard to cook something but also trying to ignoring their feelings for each other. "This looks easy," said Dashie, pointing at the picture in the book, making Twilight walk over and looking at it. "That's just a cupcake?" laughed Twilight. "I know, but let's try to make some!" smiled Dashie. "Okay, let's start baking," replied Twilight. Dashie went over to the fridge and took out the milk and eggs, then took the butter and flour from the cupboards and set it all down. Next,  she went over to get the sugar and got some vanilla, chocolate chips, and some other ingredients. Twilight was surprised, seeing how Dashie was so determined. As the blue anthro pegasus was going through the cook book and getting everything she needed, Twilight got the cupcake pan ready. Dashie looked and nodded as she started to pour all the ingredients together, then mix them and pour them into the pans. Twilight was watching her "You can add whatever you want to the batter, if you want," making Dashie smile and pour more stuff into the batter, making it thicker. "Like this?" asked Dashie, showing Twilight the batter. "Perfect!" nodded Twilight as Dashie put the batter in the oven. Soon, the two were waiting for the cupcakes to cook, as Dashie was sitting down on the floor and Twilight was next to her. "I hope it comes out fine. I really want something to come out edible for once..." sighed Dashie, putting her head on the counter wall. Twilight could only pet her friend's rainbow hair, as she said, "It's okay. Don't worry, I'm sure it will come out good." "You think?" asked Dashie as she leaned against Twilight and laid her head on her side like a pillow. "I know," replied Twilight, still petting her. "... I remember my first real date with Twilah. After saving the multiverse and dating a few months, I was going to take her out to eat at this high-class place, but it was a disaster, like usual. So to make it up to her, we headed back to my house, and I wanted to make her something, even if it wasn't good. I tried making her a pizza; it was super terrible, but she ate it, even though she didn't have to. But we laughed and had a great time, eating some ice cream after." explained Dashie, with a small smile on her face. "Sounds wonderful." said Twilight "It was," replied Dashie. "But...that was the time she started to put me down from doing anything. not wanting me to cook and just wanting to go out to eat, order takeout, or have her cook dinner for us. It was fun at first, but then it got tiring as I realized that she was doing everything while I was doing nothing, even worst when we moved into our own place. Then, at one event where she was invited too, she showed me off to everyone. I thought nothing of it, but then I started hearing those suck-ups, saying I was just a trophy wife, someone Twilah was keeping around for sex. That's when I got angry—at myself, making Twilah look bad because of how freaking useless I was, just a trophy wife. That's when I started trying to prove myself. I tried cooking, but it made Twilah mad, as I kept wasting food. Then I tried baking, but it was the same thing. Then I tried cleaning, but I just messed that up too. I just wanted to do something, prove I was useful to her, and show that I wasn't useless. So I decided to try something different, so I started doing sports and fitness at the YMCA, which worked, but I wanted to do more. I noticed they needed someone to watch the kids and play with them, so I applied, which Twilah wasn't happy about at first, but I didn't care. Twilah finally agreed, if it was only on certain days, as Blitz was in our lives by that point, which was fine with me, and I had fun with the kids, playing sports and other games, but then taking care of Blitz almost full time was hell." Twilight was surprised, as she said, "So...your a babysitter for this "YMCA"?" "I guess? I don't get paid because I don't need to," replied Dashie, laughing as she went on "I love doing it. I'm having fun, being myself, and making people happy." Twilight smiled as she said, "That's awesome." "Yeah," replied Dashie, smiling too. It was quite between the two as they looked at the oven and the orange glow. Soon, Twilight spoke up. "But you weren't happy, right?" Dashie could only sigh as she said, "Yes and no. I was happy being myself and being active and helpful, but I still felt useless to her. So..." "So?" asked Twilight, curious. Dashie closed her eyes, trying to find the will to say it, as Twilight was noticing it, knowing it wasn't something great and she was right as Dashie whispered in sadness "I started to try being a good trophy wife to her...in bed...". Twilight was surprised and hurt when she heard that. "...and we had fun, and she was happy, which was what I wanted, but deep down, I hated it. I hated how this was the only good thing I could do for her." Dashie said, trying to hold back her sadness and be strong for herself. Twilight placed her head near Dashie face, saying, "Don't say that." and started to nuzzle her "Please don't say that." Dashie slowly reach out to her friend, holding her as she said, "It's true; it's all I'm good at for her. being her pretty little girlfriend, her plaything, and not much else." Twilight held her friend as she could only whisper, "Don't say that; you know that's not true. Twilah doesn't see you like that; you know it." Dashie said nothing, causing Twilight to worry, as she said, "This is weird." "How?" asked Dashie, looking up at her. "I think Twilah and I might be feeling and going through the same thing, seeing our loved ones being trapped with us...feeling like we're using them," said Twilight, surprising Dashie. Dashie sat up and couldn't believe it, asking, "Trap? Dash?" Twilight nodded, saying, "I have a feeling. She wanted us to live in her cloud house after we got married, but I couldn't. My place is the castle, and I can't say goodbye for long. She understands that, so she moved in with me, and every day, when not doing Wonderbolts work, she's in the castle, trying to find something to do—anything to do. It got worse when Braver moved out, as Dash yearned for adventure again. I know she doesn't mind staying here and not doing much, but she feels trapped, even though she doesn't want to say it. She's unhappy, being here, not doing anything." "I never notice," sighed Dashie, as she never noticed Dash looking trapped. She also never thought Twilah might know she was feeling useless to her. "And neither have I...until you spoke about your problem being useless...stuff that Dash did were the same thing, said or took action on...like in bed...it all started to click, it was the same thing," added Twilight, sighing. The two sat there as the oven dinged, making the two look at it, but both just sat there, not moving. "Maybe you should stop being a princess? If it's making her unhappy," asked Dashie. "I can't give up being a princess, but..." replied Twilight before looking down. "Maybe I should start taking a step back and stop being a princess for a little bit. Just spend time with my friends and family." "Really?" said Dashie, surprised that Twilight easily agreed. "Well, not yet. I need to talk with her first and make sure we're on the same page." replied Twilight, getting up with her friend. "Okay," nodded Dashie, as the two headed over and checked the cupcakes. "They look good," reply Twilight, seeing how they were cooked so well and burned one bit. "I'm worried. What if they are bad?" asked Dashie, worried. "They won't be. I know." said Twilight, looking at Dashie, who blushed. "Okay. Let's eat them," smiled Dashie. Soon, the two took out the cupcakes and blew on them as they waited. Soon, Dashie couldn't wait anymore and bit into hers "It's not bad, not good, but not bad!". "See? You did it," smiled Twilight as she tried her own and had the same reaction. "Thanks," smiled Dashie, as she was so happy. "I told you, you can do anything," replied Twilight, eating her own. "Yeah. I can," she looked at the cupcake. "Maybe I don't need to prove to anyone that I'm good enough, because I already know I am." Twilight smiled as she could only nod, eating her cupcake. Dashie turned to her friend with a small happy smile "Thanks, Twilight." "Anything for a friend. You did the same for me." replied Twilight, as the two enjoyed the cupcakes. Near the doorway, Blitz heard everything and looked sad "Mom was hurting? Even more when I came to live with them? She's always happy around me and Twilah, never acting sad? She never acted like it around us, so why? And how could I miss all this?" thought Blitz as her mind started to go to a dark place. "...I shouldn't have chosen them. I'm draining mom's life and making her suffer. If I wasn't alive, she wouldn't be sad. If I wasn't around, mom would be happier." Blitz's eyes glowed and on her chest, a rainbow orb light started to glow very dim like... "Mom doesn't see me as a monster, but as a burden. I'm the one who made her like this; I'm the reason why she's hurt," thought Blitz as her mind started to flash images of Sky, as Sky was hurting as she faced off against her own daughter after Blitz killed Nightfall. She could remember all the sadness that Sky had on her face: "She hates me. Everyone hates me. Mom just doesn't know how to say it," whispered Blitz as she could hear Sky's voice, hating her for ruining her life. "Blitz!" said Pinkie as she noticed something was wrong with her as was returning to the kitchen Blitz was breathing heavy and sweating, as her chest was glowing and her purple eyes became blue. "...I need to die. It's the only way to fix everything. Then mom won't hurt anymore." said Blitz, as she could hear the screams and cries of the universe she wipe out, even hearing Sky's voice screaming out in pain. She walked away from the doorway after shutting the door quietly. "BLITZ!" shouted Pinkie, as she was worried. "Everyone will be happy. No more pain or suffering; everyone will be happy, including mom..." Blitz, closed her eyes and chest stopped glowing and her eyes returned to purple when she opened them. She blinked, and shook her head, realizing she was going to have a trigger attack. "Blitz! What's wrong!" asked Pinkie, worried. "Nothing," replied Blitz, looking down. "Just having a bad day." "Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?" asked Pinkie. Blitz, tried to smile as she looked at the kitchen door "No, I'm good." Pinkie looked into the doorway, seeing Dashie and Twilight talking and laughing, then she looked back at Blitz. "They're happy. They're having fun together. I shouldn't bother them. I should leave," said Blitz, looking down. "Smile." simply whispered Pinkie, closing the door behind her. "Huh?" asked Blitz, confused and looking at Pinkie. "Smile," repeated Pinkie as she smiled, showing her dimples. Blitz did the same, smiling as Pinkie laughed at her, "No silly, your real smile! not the fake smile you put on for others. The smile, that's all you," replied Pinkie, looking at her. Blitz looked at her and smiled, but again, Pinkie shook her head. "That's not your smile," said Pinkie, smiling sadly. Blitz didn't understand her, as she didn't know her 'real' smile. "This is," smiled Pinkie, closing her eyes and suddenly smiling and laughing, showing her dimples. "How?" asked Blitz, as she was surprised to see such a happy smile. "It's my smile. The one that is mine is mine. A smile shows who I am. Who I truly am when I remember all the good and happy things in my life," replied Pinkie. Blitz was still confused by all this "What?" "Close your eyes and remember all those happy and good memories. Remember what made you smile?" replied Pinkie. Blitz said nothing as she closed her eyes. "Remember the good times. The times you had with your sister, the times with your mothers. The times you were happy." smiled Pinkie. Blitz did, remembering all the times with her mother and sister, making her smile. "Remember the good things," repeated Pinkie, as Blitz remembered a certain memory with her mothers. "Mommy!" smiled a little Blitz filly as she was in a playground with her mothers, Sky, and Nightfall. Sky was sitting on a bench, watching the two, while Nightfall and Blitz were playing on the swings. "You swing so high! Look how fast you're going!" laughed Nightfall as she watched Blitz swung high, almost flying off. "Whee! This is fun!" Blitz shouted with happiness, swinging faster and higher. "You have to slow down," said Nightfall, getting worried., while Sky was cheering her daughter going to higher which made Nightfall to glare at her. "Awww!" whined Blitz, slowing down. Nightfall smiled as she continued to push her daughter. "Can't I go higher?" asked Blitz, looking at her mother. "Not today. You're too small, You might get hurt since you can't fly right now." replied Nightfall, looking at her daughter. "But..." said Blitz, pouting. "You're just not ready yet, Blitz. Trust me dear." answered Nightfall, with a warm smile. Blitz pouted, but understood as the two continued to swing. "When you're older and ready, you'll fly. Like your dumb mommy over there," Nightfall whispered to her while pointing to Sky, who was looking at them but wondering what Nightfall was saying, since Blitz was giggling and smiling at her. "Really?" asked Blitz, always wanting to be her like mom, a great flyer. "Yes," replied Nightfall, as she pushed her daughter. "Weeee!" Soon, the memory changed to teenager human Blitz, as she sitting on the swings in the town park and blushing as Dashie and Twilah were behind her, trying to hold in their laughter. "Blitz, can you repeat that?" asked Dashie, smiling, as Twilah couldn't stop giggling. "No! I can't believe you two are making me say it again!" said Blitz, covering her face. "Please, for us," smiled Twilah, as Dashie smirked with joy. Blitz sighed as she looked away and blushed "...can you push me...mommy?" said Blitz, as the two giggled and pushed the girl with not much strength, causing Blitz to get up. "Sorry! Sorry for burdening you with this stupid request. Let's just go. Forget I even asked." Blitz started to walk away but feeling both of her hands being held, and she was forced back into the seat. "Burden? You? Never. You could never be a burden to us," said Twilah as Dashie and her started to push Blitz again. "Yeah. Your our daughter, Blitz. We would do anything for you," Dashie added as she pushed her harder. Twilah and Dashie stopped pushing her "Anything at all!" Twilah gave Blitz a big hug Blitz. "Mom, don't hug me. You know I'm not a touchy-feely type of person," said Blitz, looking down, as she could see people looking at them as they walked by. "I know, but I can't help myself. You're my little girl, and I'm the one who gives you hugs and love," said Twilah. "You're so embarrassing," sighed Blitz, rolling her eyes. "You love us, and you know it," smiled Twilah, squeezing harder. Blitz did the same, still rolling her eyes but smiling. "Oh! Can I have a hug?" asked Dashie, feeling felt out. "Yes," replied Blitz, as the three hugged and soon both mothers started to push her again, but with more power behind it "Weeeeee!" smiled Blitz, swinging higher and higher, as the two continued to push but stop as Blitz fell off during the highest swing and landed on the ground. She was laughing as they hurry over to her to make sure she's okay. Soon, the memory faded away and Blitz's eyes opened and a bright smile was on her face. "Feel better?" asked Pinkie, smiling and rubbing her back. "...yeah." replied Blitz, her eyes becoming a mix of colors, until they became purple again. "That's good. I taught your sister that. When she was ever sad. So stand up tall and smile. Don't let the pain take away your happiness. Never give up, on that happiness. It's the one thing that can't be taken from you, but the one thing you have to fight for. Don't forget." Pinkie said, with a warm but yet, sad smile. Blitz eyes went wide, as she saw a image of Rain standing behind Pinkie, smiling, before disappearing when she blinks. "...Rain said-" "That? I know, your sister helped me in the past when I lost my happiness and said that to me. Those versions of Twilight and Dash are wonderful people; they left their inspiration within you and your sister. So stand up and continue to grow and smile. Be happy," said Pinkie, helping Blitz up. She got up and hugged her "Thank you, Pinkie," "Don't thank me, thank them." said Pinkie, looking down at Blitz chest. Pinkie touched Blitz's chest, smiling "Thank you," cried Blitz but Pinkie could still see that Blitz was still hurting deep down inside. Meanwhile, Braver and Dawn were walking around Ponyville, stopping on the bridge, and looking out at the river, watching the stream flow down. "Braver?" said Dawn, slowly looking at her. "Hmm?" hummed Braver, still looking into the river. "Are you alright? You've been acting weird, and you're not talking much?" asked Dawn. "Huh? What? No. I'm fine," replied Braver, melting a tiny bit. "Liar. I can tell when you're not okay," said Dawn, walking closer and looking her in the eyes. "...it's just...my mom." said Braver, trying to hide her pain still, which made Dawn smile inside, but outside, she looked worried. "It's been hard. I can't get what happened out of my mind." Dawn wanted to be there for Braver, but she couldn't, not right now "What happened is not your fault, but I gotta ask you something. Something that's been bothering me." said Dawn, looking away. Braver replied "Sure?" and feeling worried for her friend. "We're friends, right? And we're friends no matter what happens," asked Dawn as she looked at Braver with a worried expression. "What kind of question is that? Of course we are!" simply said Braver, surprised by the silly question. "Good," smiled Dawn as she wrapped her arms around Braver's neck and looked down, a little nervous. "Just...don't be mad at me because what I'm going to do is all for you and only you, because I love you. Always have and always will." Braver didn't understand, until Dawn kissed her, surprising Braver. "Mmmm?" muffled Braver as Dawn continued to kiss her. As Braver could feel her body heat up, her cheeks going red, her heart beating, and her body melting, "Mmm...mmm!" muffled Braver again, closing her eyes, as she and Dawn started to kiss more, their tongues touching, feeling the warmth of their mouths and saliva. Braver's mind was going blank, as she couldn't believe she and Dawn were kissing and her first kiss at that. She couldn't think as she didn't know how to feel about this. It was the same feeling she always had when looking at Dawn, but it was burning more in her chest, like a big burning sun. Dawn's mind was also blank, as her heart was beating fast and she could feel a warmth. She always felt that warmth around Braver, but it was burning more. She could feel Braver's soft lips and the wetness and warmth of her mouth, and she felt a burning in her chest. She felt complete and whole. a love that she always wanted in her life. The two continued to kiss until Dawn pulled away and saw Braver's slime wings standing tall and doing a weird dance, while Braver herself was a complete star struck by the kiss and her mind was a mess. Dawn blushed as she saw the wings becoming solid and hard and could see light blue and purple sparks within them. "That was...wow," said Braver, in a daze. "Braver, your wings are different than those of normal Pegasus and Alicorns—even normal slime creatures," said Dawn, amazed by them. "...huh? ...oh! Wow, your right!" Braver looked at her wings. "Why are they like that?" asked Braver and then seeing Dawn blushing and looking away, which made her more confused. "Sorry, I don't know why my wings are acting like that. I mean, it's not the first time they act weird. They always act up when I see you!" she confessed. "What!" blushed Dawn with tears in her eyes, hearing Braver confess, "I knew you always loved me and only me!" shouted Dawn, jumping on Braver, as they both fell into the river. "Ack!" Braver shouted as her and Dawn came back up. Dawn was still on top of her, but Braver's body was now in her slime form because she got wet "Love? Yeah, I love you as a friend!" "What? As a friend? But...but..." cried Dawn. Braver nuzzled her face. "Yes, my greatest friend. When I look at you, I'm always filled with joy and happy to be around you." "But what about the kiss we had?" asked Dawn as Braver tipped her head to the side. "Don't people you love so much kiss with each other? My mom always kisses me," smiled Braver, as Dawn could feel her heart drop. "You're a big dummy; you know that, Braver." said Dawn, hitting her with her hoof as Braver fell back in the water and melted in the water as she tried to form, but Dawn shouted at her again. "Don't you understand what 'love' is!" "Love? That's a feeling I have towards everyone and everything. My family, friends, and my mom's!?" said Braver, forming her head. "It's more than that! "I love you, like my mother and dad love!" cried Dawn. "So do I!" smiled Braver, forming more "I love you, like how your parents love you!" "No! You are not getting it! I love you like they 'love' each other, meaning I want you to be mine, only mine. NO ONE ELSE! MINE!" shouted Dawn, as she started to cry. "So do I. I love you like that, to the point where no one can have you because no one else can be my biggest and greatest friend!" smiled Braver, almost forming back to normal. Dawn looked down and started to cry and shout at her as the two got into an argument about love "You just don't get it! Never will...because..." Dawn stop as she walked close to Braver and held her hoof up and was going to hit her, which Braver looked confused, wondering what she was doing, until Dawn lowered it, and then she turned away "...because they keep taking you away from me. even taking away your love for me, your real love. Don't worry, Braver, I'm going to save you. No one is going to stop me, not your parents, your sister, your fake friends, or even Cozy." "Cozy?" whispered Braver, even more confused. "Wait for me, and please understand; please don't hate me; and even if you do, I'll make you understand because you're a big blockhead! A cute and lovable blockhead, but still a blockhead," said Dawn as she started to walk away. "Dawn..." Braver called out to her and tried to follow her "Dawn! Wait!" Dawn turned to her and, with sadness in her eyes, just said, "This is goodbye for now. Don't cry, Braver... I know you're going to cry like the big baby you are." With that said, Dawn teleported away, leaving Braver in the river and more confused, as her heart was hurting now and her wings were changing colors. "Dawn..." whispered Braver as she started to cry rainbow tears. "Dawn, come back! I'm sorry! Please come back! I didn't mean to hurt you!" shouted Braver, as a few minutes passed and no Dawn "Please. I love you and I will protect you, no matter what!" cried Braver, but still no Dawn. Braver started to freak out. "I'LL LEARN WHAT 'LOVE' IS! PLEASE COME BACK! DAWN! Dawn, don't leave me! Please!" shouted Braver, crying loudly and falling back into the river as her wings turned white and started to spark, making her cry louder as the water started to glow. Braver looked at her wings and became mad "Damn it! Stop sparking! You're just a wing and a part of me, yet you're a jerk! You made her hate me!" cried Braver, hitting her wing as it kept sparking. Braver tried to hit her wing again, trying to stop it, but it wouldn't, which made her cry louder. "Dawn..." cried Braver as her tears continued to fall in the water, as her wings and body started to glow and spark, like an electrical storm, as the river water glowed and the water and her started to rise, as her wings started to shine. Within her chest, a scatter of pieces of different sizes of grey orbs started to shine, trying to spark, but Braver grew more mad and screamed as she pulled her wings off, finally ending the event with her body and falling into the water. The stumps of her wings were glowing bright light blue, while her wings were still glowing white but soon melted away in the water. Braver slowly hid under the bridge, and it started to be night. Braver had no idea how long she was crying under there; she could feel someone looking at her. She looked up and could see Aunt AJ. "Hey, Aunty Applejack. I'm fine. Dawn and I had a fight," smiled Braver. "I didn't hear y'all fighting. What happened? I was coming into town with a friend and heard you crying." asked AJ. "Huh? A friend?" asked Braver, wiping her tears. "Yep," smiled AJ, pointing behind Braver, who looked around and smiled. "Tempest!" "Hey, Braver," smiled Tempest, who had her cloak on, hiding her body, but her hood was down. "Are you okay? It sounded like you were crying." "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," smiled Braver as Applejack and Tempest saw her tear marks. "It was a little fight that I had with Dawn, like friends will have." "Friends, huh?" whispered Tempest, looking at AJ, who nodded. "Yeah, friends," smiled Braver as the two sighed. "Y'all sure, your okay?" asked AJ "What happened to your wings? Why is your slime glowing blue?" "Huh? Oh, that. Well, my wings decided to be a big jerk, so I took them off," shrugged Braver. "Your wings are part of your body," said Tempest. "Why haven't they healed?" "I don't know." Braver touched the glowing blue slime, and something happened that she had never felt before, greater when getting sunscreen on her body. She was in great pain, like her body was dying. "IT HURTS! WHY!?" shouted Braver, holding her body. "Braver!" shouted AJ, as she and Tempest helped her. "What's wrong?" asked Tempest. "Why is her own slime hurting her?" as the two could see the blue glowing slime starting to turn hard and giving off sparks, as Braver started to cry and scream in pain. "I don't know, but we need Twilight and Dash, NOW!" shouted AJ. "Got it! Hold on, Braver!" said Tempest as she used her magic to carry Braver, but Braver fought back. "NO! I don't want to see Mom right now! NOT LIKE THIS! NEVER LIKE THIS!" shouted Braver. "What? What are you talking about?" asked Tempest as Braver cried more. "I SAID NO!" shouted Braver, fighting the two off as her slime hardened and started to glow brighter as it gave off powerful sparks. "Damn, she's strong!" groaned AJ, trying to hold her down. "Come on, Braver. This is not the time for that. Let's go," said Tempest. "NO!" shouted Braver as she shot her slime out, creating a powerful explosion, knocking the two back and landing in the water. "TEMPEST!" shouted AJ, getting up and not seeing Tempest anywhere. "Mama!" called out Braver as her body was flowing, and soon, her whole body and her new wings were covered in her slime, and AJ was speechless as she saw Braver looking like Luna, if she were made up of the night sky. Braver closed her eyes, and soon, the slime oozed across her body and into her mane and tail. Once again, AJ was speechless and in pure shock when she saw Braver mane and tail having slime rainbows in them, but what really caught her off guard was Braver cutie mark. It started out as a blue star in its first form, but now it looked like it was trying to form into Twilight's cutie mark. AJ could feel herself crying as she watched Braver become... "...Twilight?" "Mama..." Braver chest started to glow again, but as a competed rainbow orb, but it quickly scattered back into different broken parts, and the glow vanished as four color ghost figures suddenly appeared and held Braver, who was normal again, and slowly put her on the ground, and three of the four ghosts disappeared. The remaining one was pure orange as it looked over to AJ and vanished. In Sugar Cube Corner, Blitz and the others were enjoying the pies, and Twilight was done raising the moon but looked worried. "Where are Braver and Dawn? In fact, where are Twilah and Dash?" "The kids are being kids; don't worry, but I agree with you on Twilah and Dash," said Dash, looking out the window and looking at her wedding ring. "Those two haven't returned, and I'm getting worried." "Have faith in them," whispered Twilight, to which Dashie nodded, but they suddenly heard Blitz screaming out in pain. "What!? What's going on??"asked Pinkie Pie, who was feeding Lil Cheese "BLITZ!" shouted Dashie, hurrying over to her, as they all could see her chest glowing as a rainbow orb appeared and her eyes were crying out rainbow tears. "What's happening to her?" asked Twilight, looking at her chest and using her magic on her, "Wait, isn't this the element of harmony?" "SIS!" Blitz screamed in fear and worry, as she pushed off her mother and Pinkie and quickly dashed out of the store at lightning speed. "Is she okay, mommy?" asked Lil Cheese, looking at his mother while his dad helped her up. "I don't know..." "Blitz!" cried out Dashie as she ran out the door but couldn't see where she went. "BLITZ!?" In the dark ocean of the wall in between, Rainbow Sun Dawn was smiling as the rainbow slime monster returned to her and soon entered the core where it came from, but she suddenly felt something and screamed out in pain as her core became whole again and the darkness was gone. She looked normal again. "...what!? This pain...she's in pain! Who hurt her? Where are you? TELL ME!" cried Dawn as the black void vanished and the whiteness returned, and standing in front of her was a white alicorn with a brown mane. As she just looked at her, "DID YOU HURT HER!" "No, but if you keep this up, you'll be one who will hurt her...again." said the alicorn as she stood up, turned away, and disappeared. "No, that's not true! I didn't hurt her! I LOVE HER! She's my reason to shine like the morning sun! I didn't. I didn't," cried Dawn, falling on her rear and could hear screaming, screaming from both Braver and Blitz, and a third voice. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I love you...' She kept crying, and her sun started to beam brighter, and her hair had pink in it. Her black jacket and black jeans became pink, and her boots were pink with brass colors mixed in. "...please...save me..." End of chapter 7 > Chapter 8: Be Honest To Yourself > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Braver!" AJ hurried over to Braver and could see her barely breathing and her slime was hardening. Her slime was glowing a light blue color. "Hold on, Braver. You'll be okay. Everything is going to be okay." "Mama, no...mommy, don't go...mama, no, no...where are you?" whimpered Braver, crying, and her whole body started to stop moving. Soon, she was completely still, and her body became white. "BRAVER!" cried out AJ, picking her up. "Braver, hold on! We'll get your mom, Twilight! Don't you die, Braver! DON'T YOU DIE!" AJ suddenly realized how heavy her body was. As her body became more and more white, it became transparent. To AJ, it was like lifting a boulder. "Don't die, please." AJ beg her and tried to move her but couldn't; if she were younger and in her prime, this would have been easier. "TEMPEST! WHERE ARE YOU!?" "I'm here." groaned Tempest, slowly standing up as she popped out of the water. "Tempest, thank God you're alright! Braver needs our help; she's..." said AJ, but stopped when she could see Tempest readying herself, as she could see someone behind AJ, who turned and could see Blitz, standing there, looking pissed off, and could see her eyes glowing. "Blitz? I'm glad your-" Suddenly, AJ was forced away from Braver's body, which was covered in a magical aura, and safely put back on the ground. AJ was caught by Tempest magic, as the two could see Blitz had a blue aura around herself and her chest was glowing. "You dared try to kill my other half? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HER FRIEND! HER AUNT!" shouted Blitz in bloody rage. "W-Wait, Blitz. This is a mistake. Brav-" said AJ. "QUIET!" Blitz screamed, as she was suddenly in front of AJ in a blink of a eye and was about to punch her, but Blitz was hit by a magical firework rocket spell and sent flying into the sky, which caused a firework blast and made a loud boom sound. AJ turned to see that she was saved by Tempest, who had Braver's body with her magic. "We must go! She's enraged and won't listen to us! We need Princess Twilight and Dash right now!" "I got ya!" shouted AJ, who tried to move out, but Blitz quickly returned as she was flying across the night sky as a rainbow comet. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" shouted Blitz, who appeared in front of the two, grabbed Tempest by the throat, and flew up in the air, soaring across the sky again. "Let her go, Blitz!" AJ yelled, who caught Braver's body before she hit the ground. She looked at the sky and could see Tempest blasting off her firework magic, but Blitz wasn't phased by it at all, while giving her a pissed off look. "LET ME GO; WE DIDN'T HURT HER!" shouted Tempest, using her horn and blasting off her magic, trying to fight back but seeing Blitz heading straight back into town, where she can easily destroy everything and hurt her if they landed at this speed "NO, NO, PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS, BLITZ!". "YOU TRIED TO KILL HER! SHE SUFFERS TOO MUCH TO DIE! SHE'S NOT A MONSTER! YOU'RE ALL MONSTERS! AND YOU'LL PAY FOR HURTING HER!" barked Blitz but she suddenly could feel something coming from the left. She turned to see Dash tackling into her, letting Tempest go, and who teleported away as she fell. "Calm down!" shouted Dash, letting her go. "BUT THEY TRIED TO KILLED BRAVER!" shouted Blitz, crying her tears of rage. "I'll make them pay! I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE BELIEVED IN TRUSTING YOU WITH HER!" "What are you talking about?" asked Dash in confusion. Blitz suddenly felt a magical energy behind her; she knew it was Tempest, trying to attack her from behind, but she wouldn't allow that. She quickly spun around and punched Tempest in the face, sending her flying into the town's water fountain, destroying it. But Blitz's eyes went wide as she started to shake with fear and shock. "Mom..." she whispered, as she could see Twilah in the ruins of the fountain, her head bleeding and barely conscious. "No, no, no. I didn't... I'm so sorry, mom!" "Blitz!" groaned Twilah as she tried to move but couldn't. "NO, NO, STAY DOWN!" cried Blitz, who tried to fly towards her, but visions of Nightfall appeared in her mind, dead, as she killed her all those years ago, and she started to screamed in pain, "NOOOOOO!" Twilah was about to say something, but Dash quickly flew over to her, removing some rubble from her body. She picked her up and could see her head wound was bad; she needed medical attention. "You'll be okay, Twilah; stay awake; we'll get help." "Mom!" cried out Blitz, holding her head and sobbed as Nightfall's death kept replaying in her mind, now seeing what she did to Twilah. Soon, her yelling started to get louder, and everyone in town came out and was wondering what was happening. "What happened!?" "Did someone get hurt?" "Who needs medical attention? I'm a nurse." "What the hay going on!" "Look, is that Braver?" Blitz looked down and could see town folks gathering near Braver. As they were trying to help her, she quickly flew down, pushed the crowd away, picked up Braver, and held her in her arms. "Leave her alone! You did this to her!" shouted Blitz. "But we're only trying to help!" cried one of the ponies. "Yeah, we know how powerful Braver is; we just wanted to see if she was okay." "We just got here! She was like this! We would never do something so cruel!" "You're lying; all of you are lying! You tried to kill her and then lied to my face about it! I should have known better than to trust you all." "BLITZ!" Blitz, and everyone turned to the sky and could see Dashie and Twilight hovering in the air. Both could see Twilah hurt, and Braver's body turned white and hard. They were going to ask her what happened, but Tempest, with AJ, teleported in front of the twins and teleported them away. "Blitz!?" "Braver!?" Both mothers cried out for their daughters as the four vanished before them. Dawn held her chest in pain as her sun started to lose its glow and she fell on her back. The warm water was splashing everywhere, as she was in pain. "...someone hurt her!? Who would hurt her?" cried out, Dawn. She fought the pain and tried to flip on her stomach, but her legs were in a lot of pain, which made her scream out. She suddenly saw images of a bedroom; it was pretty clean, but on the ground, there was a mess. She could see someone laying there as rainbow liquid covered the floor and... "NO!" she screamed, her eyes watered up and shook her head. "No, no, no! I didn't mean it... I didn't... I didn't mean it. Why? Why am I remembering this now?" She could see herself sitting on the bed, crying, and someone, as if a rainbow ghost, was in front of her, saying something to her, but no words could be heard. "But I love you!" cried out Past Dawn, as her eyes watered up more. The rainbow ghost walked back and forth, like it was saying something, but whatever it said, it made Dawn sob more and more. The ghost lowered itself to her, but past Dawn threw something at the mirror in the room, scattering it and glass flying everywhere. "YOU NEVER LOVED ME!" shouted Past Dawn, breaking down and her whole body was shaking. "Stop, please, no more. Please, no more. I don't want to remember anymore. Make it stop!" Dawn cried out, holding her chest, and her sun started to lose its glow and a blackness started to fill it. The ghost quickly stood up and backed away, looked like it was saying something, and walked away, but it wasn't aware of Dawn picking up a broken mirror shard and quickly leaping at the ghost, who turned and... "NO! I didn't mean it!" she closed her eyes, not wanting to see that memory anymore. "I didn't mean it." Her sun lost its glow, and once again, her core was black, and rainbow liquid started to ooze out. Her body started to be covered in darkness again—her skin, her clothes, everything. She was once again covered in blackness. She could feel herself losing herself once more. She raised her hand out to nothing, hoping someone would grab it and save her. "Please, someone, anyone...save me." Her crying face were covered by the darkness, and she lowered her head. She slowly looked up, and a white smile appeared on her face. "No, it wasn't my fault. It was theirs! THEY TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME!" cried Rainbow Sun Dawn, as she started to laugh like a crazed person once more. With a bright flash, Tempest and others found themselves at a campfire site and near a cabin. "Why did you teleport us away? Twilight was right there! She could have helped!" barked AJ towards Tempest, but Tempest only pointed at Blitz, showing AJ that Blitz was clearly having a triggered breakdown, as she was holding Braver's body close to her, covering her mouth and closing her eyes, trying to hold herself together and trying not to lose it. "We can't risk anyone's life when she's like that. Try to calm her down; I'll start a fire," ordered Tempest as she walked away into the dark woods, disappearing. AJ turned back and could see Blitz crying over her sister, as her tears were dropping onto her hardened white body. "...sis...wake up. Don't die, not now." cried Blitz, as she couldn't hold back the tears anymore, and hugged Braver tightly. "Don't leave me alone! You all I got left! I hurt my mom...Twilight was right about us. We're still monsters, and no matter how much we try to change, we can't. We're bad people." AJ's ears went low, and he could feel Blitz pain. She wanted to walk up to her but was scared she might snap. "We truly should have died that day. Mom was right, we should have been better off dead with our parents," sobbed Blitz, as her wings were spread out and she was ready to fly off but stopped herself as she could feel Braver hoof on her cheek. "Blitz." called out a weak Braver. Blitz opened her teary eyes and could see Braver looking at her, slowly turning back to normal. "Braver!" cried out Blitz happily, as she quickly held her close and cried her name over and over. AJ could only smile and walk away. She sat on a log and looked at them, as Braver was telling Blitz to calm herself and do her breathing exercises. Soon, AJ could see Blitz was finally calm and was forced over by Braver to sit across from her. "It's okay; Aunty isn't mad. You didn't know what happened. It's okay; no one was harmed. See, I'm okay. So there is no need to freak out. It's okay," Braver whispered, holding Blitz's cheeks and rubbing her forehead against hers, trying to comfort her. Blitz closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, like she was told, and finally relaxed as her wings folded and she lowered her ears. "I'm sorry. I blitzed it again." "Don't be. I would have reacted the same if I saw my sister like that in front of people she knows. But please, promise me, don't fly off. We need to talk." replied AJ as she tipped her worn-out hat up. Braver nodded, and Blitz did the same. "Good! Tempest should be back—ah, there she is!" Everyone could see Tempest coming out of the woods, levitating some firewood onto the dead campfire, and quickly setting them on fire. With a small spell, the fire became bigger, and she sat beside AJ. "Thanks Tempest, darn Weather Ponies keep screwing up the weather. It feels like fall during the night. Good thing I got my scarf and coat on!" replied AJ, rubbing her orange scarf and pale coat. "It's pretty much why I'm in this cloak," laughed Tempest, wrapping the cloak around herself more tightly. "Sorry for scaring you, Aunty and Tempest. I had no idea touching that glowing blue slime would cause that to happen." said Braver, looking at them. "What happened to you?" asked her sister, who was holding on to her, scared of losing her again. Braver and the others explained what happened, but AJ didn't explain the part where Braver looked like Twilight. "It felt like I was dying," whispered Braver, as she was leaning against Blitz and could feel her sister's wings wrapped around her. "But when I heard your voice, I just had the energy to wake up." "Don't you ever do that again, you hear me!" snapped Blitz, as her face was red and looked like she was about to cry again. "Sorry, Blitz, I didn't know; I was just so mad! I hurt Dawn," whispered Braver, but she looked up at all three and asked, "What is love?" Tempest, AJ, and Blitz looked at each other, not knowing what to say, and even Tempest was confused, as they didn't understand why she was asking them this question. "Why are you asking that, Braver?" asked Tempest. "Well, Dawn got mad at me. She said she loved me," said Braver, to which AJ asked what she said in her reply. "I told her I love her too, like how I love everyone! I love her as my greatest friend ever!" replied Braver, smiling. "Ahhh...okay. Well, what she said means something different, Braver." explained AJ as she scratched her chin. Tempest and Blitz sighed, as Braver didn't understand and was looking at them, wondering. "Dawn loves you in a romantic way." simply answered Tempest. "She loves you more than a friend, a sister, or a family member. She wants to be with you, always." said Blitz, as she didn't want to explain it further, as she started to blush. "You really don't know what love is?" Braver was silent and tried to think. Suddenly, everyone could see her crying as she held her chest. "Is this why my chest is always burning when I'm with her? Why are my wings always acting up? Is this why I can't stop thinking about her whenever I'm not with her?" cried Braver as she looked at Blitz and could see her face was red and she was smiling at her. "Yeah, you love her more than a friend. That's what love is." smirk Blitz, petting her sister head but froze as she and the others could see Braver glowing and her wings were back up, dancing and soon hard again with purple and blue sparks. "Sis? What are you doing?" "I don't know! It happened before with Dawn! When I think about her, I just feel so happy, and I get excited!" shouted Braver, as her wings were sparking more and she was having a hard time trying to control them. "Calm down, Braver." said AJ, fearing what happened at the river would happen again. "...but I hurt her! I made her cry," whispered Braver as her wings dropped and the sparks vanished. "...it happens. Everyone hurts each other. That's life." said Tempest, who had her eyes closed and crossed her arms. "Even more so when you are just learning about love, you don't know. Don't blame yourself. Dawn will be fine." "But-" "No buts!" snapped AJ as she got up and walked over an apple tree and bucked it hard, dropping apples. "Tempest is right. When you learn more about love, you'll understand what happened and learn from it. Answer her better next time. That's all you can do. Also, I need to talk to your mothers about this! Dash, I can understand but Twilight? I thought for sure she'd tell you about this. You are growing up; soon you'll learn about dating, sex, marriage, family, and more. If Twilight didn't give you the talk about love, sex and relationships, then I'll do it!" AJ gave her niece a warm smile, picking up the apples. "Talk?" asked Braver, as she looked at Tempest and Blitz and could see them blushing. "Oh boy, you are not ready for that, sis!" giggled Blitz. "Glad I learned about that stuff on the internet." All three look at Blitz, not understanding what she meant by 'internet' as they don't even know what a computer is. "Anyway, don't worry. Just talk to her; she'll forgive you." said Blitz, while AJ sat back on the log, stabbing the apple with a stick, and started roasting it over the fire. Braver shook her head and said with tears in her eyes "She won't. I hurt her, like how my mother is scared of me." Braver held herself tight as she remembered Twilight's words about how she scares her: "I can't love her. I'm not worth being loved." AJ and Tempest were about to say something, but Blitz spoke as she held her sister. "I hurt my mom, Braver... I was so mad and scared that someone hurt you. I never hit my mom in anger, but I did, and I didn't mean to. We're not like anyone here. We can't be, because we are not normal. We're monsters. At least we have each other and love each other as family." cried Blitz. "They should see us as that, because that's all we can be seen as." Suddenly, both sisters were hit by apples, and they could see AJ looking super mad at them. "Gosh darn it, you two, stop that! You are not monsters. Twilight and Dash told us what they did that night, not only saving our and others universes but also saving you two. Are you really going to spit in the face of your parents and those who saved you?" snapped AJ as she stood up. Braver and Blitz looked at her and both said nothing, but AJ could see they weren't agreeing with her "Okay, if you really believe that, then yell it out loud! Scream it to the world! Tell the world how you think you're a monster! Prove them right with your own words!". Both sisters stood up and shouted, "WE'RE MONSTERS! WE ARE CREATURES THAT SHOULD BE KILLED!" "WE DON'T BELONG IN THIS WORLD, AS WE ARE NOT FROM IT!" shouted Blitz. "WE HAVE POWERS THAT SHOULD BE SEEN AS EVIL AND USED FOR EVIL! WE ARE DANGEROUS TO EVERYONE AROUND US!" shouted Braver. Both sisters panted, as they were out of breath, and AJ just smiled at them, as she could see them holding their chests and crying. "But why..." said both sisters, sitting back down, Both trying to stop crying. "It hurts saying that? It hurts believing that, because deep down, you know it's a lie." smirked AJ, who sat back down and slowly spun her apple over the fire. "Look, I may not know what you have been through or what you have seen. I won't even begin to try and understand. But I know one thing. I've seen many ponies who have gone through some bad things, things they can't forget, and even more that won't let go." AJ stopped spinning her apple and could see the flames of the fire as it flickered. "We can't choose who we are, only how we grow. It's hard to get up and keep moving forward. I'm not going to say that everyone will accept you; that's not true. Some will see you as a monster and will hate you or fear you." Tempest and the twins were going to say something, but AJ gave them a look, and they remained silent. "But if you keep living, you'll find people who will accept you. Who won't see you as monsters. Who will love you, which you already seen. So stop thinking like that and stop lying to yourselves with this nonsense. Be honest with yourselves. I know it's easier said than done, but try..." said AJ, taking a bite out of her roasted apple. "Needs seasoning..." "But...how?" asked Braver, as her tears were drying up and she wiped away the rest "Are we really worth being loved by others? Having a place here?" she looked up at the stars and seeing the moon. "Really Braver?" said Tempest in a sad tone. Braver looked at her friend, seeing the sadness in her eyes. "Did you forget what you told me on that day?" said Tempest as she started to tell about the day she met Braver. "On the day we met, I was buying..." 8 years ago It was many years after the fall of the Storm King and Princess Twilight wanted me to stay in Equestria, which I accepted since I didn't have a place to go back to. I didn't know any other pony, but I gladly stayed. Princess Twilight even offered me a home in Ponyville, but I declined that offer, as I wanted to find my own place in this land and call it home. But every place I went, I only met ponies and creatures that hated me, seeing me as the ruthless second in command of the Storm King army. I've seen many of the places the Storm King destroyed, that I helped destroy. The hatred in their eyes, the fear in their voice, and their anger were things I could not ignore. I could tell the ponies and creatures didn't want me in their town, so I moved on to the next...and the next and the next. I couldn't find a place to call home. It was many years until I returned to Ponyville, but after all those years of seeing hatred for me, I hid myself with my cloak and just wanted to buy some supplies and quickly leave, but... "How much for this cloak?" asked Tempest, holding up a cloak with a hood, and could see the price on a sign that was leaning against the cart beside the merchant stall, as her old one was badly worn out and falling apart. The merchant stallion saw the price, and the stallion's ears dropped and he told her, "That'll be 60 bits." as he was scared of the cloak mare. Tempest pulled out her coin pouch and gave him the money but she could hear some whispers from some nearby Ponies and they weren't friendly. "That's the pony who helped that Storm King guy, right?" whispered a stallion. "Yeah, and she's a unicorn too; I'm not sure what spell she can cast on us with that broken horn." whispered a mare. "She could kill us, and no one will miss us." whispered another stallion. Tempest heard enough and was going to say something, but could feel her hoof being tugged on. She looked down and saw a little filly staring at her. "Can I help you, little one?" asked Tempest, hoping the filly wouldn't be afraid. The filly looked at her confused, tilting her head and seeing her cloak. "Are you cold?" "Um, no. This cloak protects me." replied Tempest, thinking she knew what she was asking. "Then why are you wearing it?" asked the filly, as her wing was moving and the wind blew, making Tempest's cloak wave a bit, and the filly could see her scar on her eye and her broken horn, and Tempest could see the filly's eyes widen as she stepped back. Tempest had seen that face before, as she had seen it on others, and quickly lowered her hood. "What is your name, little one?" asked Tempest, getting on a knee and wanting to know the little filly's name. "B-Breaker." answered Braver, who was still known as Breaker at this point. "Breaker? That's a unique name." smiled Tempest. "Thank you, since I break things all the time!" giggled Breaker, waving her arms up and down, excited. "Hehe, so what were you doing before?" asked Tempest. "Seeing all the cool stalls! Mommy said she has a friend who she wants to meet, as she heard she was coming to town today!" giggled Breaker. "Really? Who is it?" asked Tempest, a little curious about who the filly was talking about. But before Breaker could answer her, Tempest noticed more ponies were talking about her and worried about the filly's safety, as they feared Tempest. "Breaker, you should run along and find your mommy." said Tempest. "Oh...okay. Bye-bye!" Breaker waved and ran off. "Wait, don't!" yelled Tempest, as the other ponies heard her shout and looked at her, but not before the young filly tripped and fell, crashing into a stall, knocking it over and falling on her. "Oh no, Breaker!" shouted Tempest, who ran towards the stall that the filly crashed into. "Hey, watch where you're going, kid!" shouted the stallion as he got up and could see his fruit cart, knocked over, and fruit all over the place. "Hey. You saw that, right? She used her magic on the poor kid!" shouted a pony, pointing a hoof at Tempest. "You saw it, right? She tried to hurt the kid!" yelled another. Tempest looked around and could see everyone looking at her and whispering things, and the little filly was on the ground, crying. "Please, I didn't." "GET OUT OF OUR TOWN!" "MONSTER!" "GET OUT!" Tempest stood there as she looked around and could see the anger and fear in the ponies and creatures' eyes as they yelled and threw things at her. "Please, I'm sorry!" cried Tempest, as tears were going down her face. "YOU DESERVE NO FORGIVENESS! YOU HAVE NO WORTH HERE! LEAVE, BEFORE WE GET THE GUARDS ON YOU!" shouted a mare. "YEAH, GO DIE IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE NO ONE CAN SEE YOU! STOP BEING A WASTE AND DIE ALREADY!" yelled another. Tempest looked down and turned to leave, but she could feel her leg being held. She looked down and could see it was the little filly, holding onto her leg and crying. Tempest closed her eyes, softly pushed the filly off, and walked away. "NO!" yelled the filly as the crowd watched the unicorn walk away and be almost out of sight, until she stopped and heard Breaker yelling again. "Hey, did you see that? The kid is walking towards the cloaked unicorn." whispered a stallion. "Shouldn't we stop her before the cloaked mare does something to her?" whispered a mare. Tempest was about to keep moving when she heard the little filly once more. "Wait!" Tempest didn't stop and was going to move again until she felt her cloak being pulled. "Don't go! Please!" cried the little filly as her tears were going down her face, and Tempest could see her wings flapping. "Why do you want me to stay?" asked Tempest, looking at her. She could see the filly crying more as she held onto her. "B-Because! You were nice to me, so...you must be a good pony!" said Breaker as she continued to cry. Tempest looked at her and could see she didn't care about her scar, her broken horn, or anything, as the little filly wanted her to stay, but she couldn't, as she could see more ponies were approaching them and worried about the little filly's safety. "Little one, I have to go." said Tempest, as her eyes were watery and her tears were going down her face, and she pulled her cloak away, making the little filly lose her grip. "YOU AREN'T A MONSTER!" screamed Breaker, shocking everyone and even Tempest. Everyone stood still, as they didn't say anything, but the little filly did. "If you were a monster, you would've done something to me, but you didn't! You're a good pony, and..." said Breaker before a colt stepped in and told her how the unicorn destroyed many places, hurt so many people, and almost killed the princess. "Is...is that true?" asked the filly. "It is, and I'm sorry for hurting you. For hurting everyone." said Tempest. "I'm the one that's sorry." cried Breaker as she turned to the stallions, who were telling her the truth and were angry at him. "You're the real monster! You're wrong about her!" "What do you know, little brat?" shouted the colt. "She changed! Everyone can change! Why are you keeping the past over her head?" yelled Breaker. "Why are you defending her? She's nothing but a monster who hurts everyone, just like that storm king did! He used her, and you're protecting her?" "SHE IS A GOOD PONY!" Breaker screamed, as a dark slime substance shot out of her horn and knocked the colt back, who landed on his back as he lay there. "W-What was that?" "Her magic...it's so strong." "That wasn't magic!" said a unicorn. Tempest knew where this was going, as the same eyes that looked at her were now looking at the young filly. "Monster! You're a monster!" shouted the hurt stallion. "GET AWAY FROM US!" screamed a mare. "GET OUT OF TOWN!" yelled the crowd. "NO, YOU'RE WRONG!" cried Breaker, as her tears were going down her face. "No, I'm the monster!" said Tempest, as the little filly was shaking and she could see her looking at her, and the dark ink was still dripping from her horn as her tears were going down her face. Tempest stepped in front of Breaker and said, "That was my magic. It was me." The ponies and creature were quiet and looked at each other, unsure of what to say. "If you want me to leave, then I will. But please, don't blame her." said Tempest, before turning to the filly, giving her a soft smile, and whispering, "I don't have a worth here or anywhere, as I hurt too many good people. I shouldn't be allowed to live, but thank you for showing me kindness. Be good, little one." The ponies and creature watched the mare walk away and didn't know what to say. They could hear the young filly crying, but soon the filly shouted again. Breaker shouted "I saw a lot of good lives wasted!", making Tempest stop and listening to the filly as everyone else did as well. "That's what Terra said about Brigitte, as she always reminds herself when she sees good people dying for no reason. To her, every death is a waste." "Stop..." whispered Tempest, not turning around. "Don't be a waste. Your life has meaning. There's a reason you're alive. Even when it doesn't feel like there is, there's always something. Maybe that reason is just to help many people—maybe even just one person. It's why I'm here; Terra and the others saw that in me!" cried Breaker. "I hurt others..." "And that's okay..." Tempest and the crowed turned to the filly in shock. "That's okay? What are you talking about?" asked Tempest, as her hood was slowly falling off of her. "Because I hurt people too... I was the cause of my sister's pain; I hurt others... I still see their faces. I hurt so many good people. All their lives were wasted because of me." said Breaker as she began to shake. "What are you talking about?" whispered Tempest, as she could see the pain in the child's eyes—the pain of truly hurting others. "You're not a waste. You feel regret and shame! You feel guilty! That means you can still move forward! You are not a bad pony anymore!" cried Breaker as she kept her wings up, flapping, and her tears were going down her face and her ink substance was leaking again. Tempest's eyes widened as the little filly took a step forward, so she replied "But the things I did..." as her hood revealed her eye and its scar. "Wanda told me not to see the world as it was, but as it could be. It's why I want you to have a better future. a dawn for you to see and treasure. A new beginning," said Breaker, as a bright smile was on her face, and Tempest didn't understand what she was saying or how she was smiling, but it made Tempest's heart melt and she was speechless. "...no...no! I don't deserve that! I don't have a place to call my own because of the sins I carry on my back!" cried Tempest as her hood started to fall, almost revealing her face. Breaker didn't know what to say but wanted to tell her the truth: that everyone could have a better future, even her. "You sounded like me just now. I thought the same way, but then I found my home! My parents and those that saved me opened my eyes and let me see that I wasn't alone and that they and their friends would always be with me, no matter the odds or the situation; they'd always be there for me. So, you aren't alone in all this. Just ask for help, and you'll see. It may not change everything, but you'll feel better and be stronger for it. Remember that. I will always remember those words that Heat told me." she stood in front of Tempest and could see the hood falling, revealing her face, crying. Breaker touched her hoof and smiled. "Don't be a waste, don't think you are alone, or think you can't change because others won't let you see it, because there are people who care for you. You have a place. worth to others. To be loved by them." Tempest looked away, not sure what to say, as tears were going down her face. She didn't want to cry, but she could feel her legs were getting weak and was about to collapse, but she felt herself being hugged by the little filly. "Don't give up. Please don't give up on life or yourself, because the people that love you won't. I'll never give up on you." cried Breaker as her horn shot out a drop of ink, covering Tempest's broken horn stump and scar. Soon, her broken horn was healed, and it glowed as her magic had its home back. Her scar was gone as well. "Hey, what's your name?" asked Tempest, wiping away her tears. "Me? My name is Rainboom Breaker!" Tempest didn't say anything and looked at the little filly as she smiled. "Thank you, Rainboom Breaker." said Tempest, and soon, a few ponies and other creatures in the crowd stepped forward and started to apologize. "Sorry for what we said. We didn't mean any of it." "I'm sorry for how I treated you. It's just hard to let go." "We shouldn't have judged you." Tempest was unsure of what to say and felt the little filly's hug. Tempest, giving a soft smile "It's okay." "You have a place here!" cheered Breaker. Soon, others said the same thing, and the town came together, cheering. "You can stay as long as you like." "We won't judge you anymore. Please, live among us." Tempest couldn't believe it, as the town was coming together and everyone was asking for forgiveness, but she suddenly heard a familiar voice. "You always had a place here, Fizzlepop." Tempest knew who it was, as she only told a few ponies her real name. She turned around and could see Twilight walking up to her. "Princess, I-I-I-I... I'm sorry, I-" "Fizzlepop, it's fine. I heard everything." said Twilight, cutting her off. "Everything?" asked Tempest. "Yeah, I was watching the whole time. My daughter is right; you always had a place here with us." Twilight said, giving a smile. "Don't let yourself or others believe you don't. That's why I wanted you to live in Ponyville, or at least near it. You have friends here, people who love you." "I..." "Please, Fizzlepop." said Breaker. Tempest didn't know what to say, as her tears were going down her face. She nodded her head, and Twilight gave her a warm smile. Soon, a single tear fell down Twilight's cheek as she could see Terra, Heat, and Wanda standing along side Breaker, before they disappeared as she blink again. "Wait, you had a child!" asked Tempest, in shock. "Yeah. She was a surprise to us." "Us? Who is the father?" Twilight blushed and said, "Well, um, its Rainbow Dash." "...what?" simply said Tempest, as she was the only one who didn't know about this, as others believed it was by magic but never learned the real truth, as Twilight will explain it to Tempest later. "I'll never forget meeting you or your words. No matter how much I tell you, I will forever say it to you. Thank you. You made me realize that I have a home here and the place I belong." Tempest said as she held her hooves on her chest, "So, it's my turn to say those words back to you. Don't ever give up or think you don't have a place in this world or in others hearts, because you do! You have a home here, and those that care about you will always be with you, no matter the odds or the situation. You aren't alone. never will be. We love you; we don't care what you truly are. When you finally tell us your past fully, we'll be here waiting for you. Same with your mother, as AJ told me what happened between you two. Princess Twilight was willing to lose her home, the place in your heart, to punish herself and keep herself from hurting you again. She wants you to trust her again; she loves you." Braver didn't say anything but could hear her mother's words in her head, as her mother was holding her tight and telling her she loved her and was sorry, but she was also remembering something. her mother shaking in fear, which caused Braver to shake in fear, thinking her mother was lying and was still scared of her, but...no, her mother was scared of losing her and hurting her again. losing the home in Braver hearts again. "She does love me, doesn't she? She doesn't think I'm a monster. I'm her daughter. I'm her family." said Braver, as her tears were going down her cheek. "Yes. she does. I see the love in her eyes when she's near you. You are her world, her baby." said Tempest, smiling and wiping her tears away. "I love my mom. I love my family!" Braver smiled. "I'll never give up on them. I need to stop forgetting that! I'm smarter than that. Right, Tempest...and you guys..." she saw the three girls who saved her on that day, different versions of her mother, behind Tempest, who was crying and smiling. "Yes, yes, you are." said Terra, giving her a soldier salute. "We will always be here for you. You will never be alone again." said Heat, holding her hooves on her chest as bright little flames danced around her. "When you fall down, just get up and try again. That's what matters. not if you can get up, but that you keep getting up. As long as you get back up, then everything is alright." said Wanda, smiling and fixing her glasses. Soon, all three disappeared into thin air, making Braver wave at them, but Tempest was confused, but it didn't matter to her, as she could see her dear friend back being herself. Seeing her friend jumping off the log, tripping on a rock, and falling into a thorn bush nearby. "Ouch! Why does that happen every time?" groaned Braver, getting out of the bush, as her ink substance was slowly repairing her and removing the thorns from her body. Everyone was laughing but not Blitz, as she hated herself. She thought Braver didn't have a home here or wasn't loved. This was the second time she had to see that she was wrong—dead wrong. Her mom was right, like always. "I'm a fucking idiot." said Blitz, under her breath. "Keep blitzing stuff up." "Are you okay, sugar cube?" asked Applejack. "Yeah, just having a bad day. I just saw things go wrong again, and I need to see my mom. I hit her; I'm so freaking grounded!" cried Blitz. AJ took the last bite of her apple, tossed it away, stood up, and said, "Well, better get going then. We're near Fluttershy's home, so we're not far from Ponyville. Just head east from here." "Alright, thanks," said Blitz. "Come on, Braver. We need to go home." "Okay!" cheered Braver, jumping up and down but she suddenly stop "I need to tell Dawn how I really feel! I can't wait any longer. I love her." Tempest had a sad look on her face as she thought to herself, "Oh Cozy..." "Wait, wasn't there a reason you wanted us to talk to you, AJ?" asked Blitz as she hovered in the air, her wings flapping. "Nah, nothing important right now. Later, you two have too much on your plate right now." smiled AJ, waving at them, as Braver joined her sister. "Head home. Oh, tell Twilight and Dash about sex and other things, Braver!" "I will! Bye, aunty! Bye, Tempest! I hope we hang out again! Thank you so much!" smiled Braver, and soon she and her twin took off and disappeared into the night sky. "...you sure about this? You said Luster Dawn was up to something, and they might need to know." asked Tempest. "Braver loves her, and it's harder to convince her now than ever." replied AJ, lowering her hat. "That her friend and love might be..." "...evil? I don't believe it, but the way she acts is always odd. always looking at Braver and only her. That wasn't friendship. It was obsession." said Tempest, crossing her arms. "Yeah, this was my first time truly meeting her. Other times were mostly in the past and passing moments, when Starlight brought it over during the Council of Friendship meeting day. She seemed nice, just quiet. She didn't have much of a reaction to anything, as I thought she was a shy kid. She was always alone, until the day she met Braver. It was a year after meeting you. Starlight brought her along, as she wasn't making friends and was always alone, like I said. She changed that day, even smiling, as she played with Braver, as it was the first time she played with any pony. They were attached at the hip, as Braver was the only pony she ever opened up to, and it made Starlight and Sunburst happy." "I'm glad you told me about this. I know how she acted around her; it just never felt right. It also feels sad, as Braver wanted me and the rest of our friends to be friends with Dawn, but Dawn didn't want our friendship. Cozy kept trying for Braver shake." said Tempest "I still can't believe Braver got through with Cozy, as we couldn't help her, but yet, Braver did. That girl is something I tell you what. She is so smart, strong, friendly, and kind. A perfect combination of...Twilight." softly spoke AJ as she remembered Braver turning into Twilight. "Are you okay?" asked Tempest. "Oh yeah. Just seeing Twilight within Braver is all; it's like seeing a mirror. Braver is truly her daughter. It makes me proud of her and her strength. She really is her mother. That girl is one in a million." "She really is, and I'm glad she is my friend." smiled Tempest. "But, tell me the truth, Applejack, what are you hiding? You can trust me." AJ took off her hat and held it tight. "I'm not sure myself of what I saw, but I'm not sure it's my place to tell you. Twilight and Dash told us the same things, like the multiverse thing and how Braver is a daughter to another Twilight and Dash, and she needed saving. Twi, Dash, and teaming up with other versions of themselves in doing that. Whatever I saw has to do with her past, I think. Braver will call you and the others when she feels it's the right time to talk about her past. She's a sweetheart and is the most caring kid, so let's just keep this between us for now." "Alright, I can respect that." said Tempest. "Thanks," smiled AJ, putting her hat back on. "Speaking of others, where is Fluttershy? I thought she'd be here early, no?" "Yes, that's odd. We're neighbors. She should have been here." said Tempest, turning around and seeing her cabin house and the dirt road. that leads to Fluttershy house, as she and Tempest lived far from each other. "I better check on her. I keep getting these odd feelings lately. I'll be back, Tempest." said AJ, starting to trot away, but Tempest stopped her. "What kind of feeling, Applejack? Tell me." "I think something bad is coming. Something very bad." "Do you think it's got to do with Luster Dawn?" asked Tempest. "No. Not her. Someone else. I just can't put my hoof on it. Just keep an eye out, Tempest. It might be nothing, but just in case. I don't want to scare the others, especially Braver. She's going through enough." said AJ, galloping off, leaving Tempest in the dark and alone. "Someone else?" thought Tempest. "She's somewhat wrong. You are right, Tempest," said a cold voice from the darkness as the fire went out. Tempest looked around but couldn't find anyone, but she knows that voice. "Dawn?" Soon, the fire relight itself, and sitting across from her was Dawn, eating an apple and staring at her with a smile on her face. "Hello, Tempest. I heard what you said, and I couldn't help but agree. Applejack is wrong but also right." "How do you know what she said, where did you come from, and what do you mean? She's right, but also wrong?" asked Tempest, moving away from her. "I came from the woods to talk to you, and the only reason you couldn't see me was because I didn't want you too. Also, to answer your question." smirked Dawn as the area lit up like the morning dawn. Tempest was shocked to see a 'human' girl with pony ears and on her chest had a sun with a black core, as it started to ooze out rainbow liquid as she stood behind Dawn and just smiled, "Say hello to another version of me, she goes by Rainbow Sun Dawn." "Hello." giggled Rainbow Dawn. "What?" whispered Tempest, sensing the powerful magical energy radiating from her. "Do it." simply said Rainbow Dawn, as she gave her power to her pony version, whose horn became a rainbow horn and blasted it at Tempest, who tried to block it with her magical shield, but it easily broke it and zapped her head. "What have you done?" asked Tempest, in pain and shaking a bit. "I just put you under my spell. You are going to be my puppet, my little slave. You love Braver, right?" smirked Dawn, walking up to her "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt her. Just break her down to the point where she's not even herself anymore. She doesn't need family or your so-called 'friends'. I'll be her everything. I'll be her everything and her love. The perfect love." "No!" Tempest, could feel the magic mind control filling her mind and hear Dawn's voice telling her what to do and that the only way to stop her was... "I'm sorry, Braver. I'm so sorry," cried Tempest, aiming her horn at Luster Dawn and her other version, who was laughing as she saw what Tempest was trying. "Go ahead, it hurt won't us." smirked Rainbow Dawn, when suddenly, Tempest magic suddenly drained. Causing her eyes to go wide as she saw 'him' in the far back. "No, it can't be!" cried Tempest, seeing Tirek, also under Dawn's control, as he stood there, not moving or saying anything. "Yes, yes it is. Tirek, the fool tried to fight back but was no match for us. He was weak, but now his power is mine." chuckled Dawn, using his magic to drain Tempest's magical powers again, weakening her enough for the mind control to take effect faster. Tempest cried out "Stop! Don't do this!", shaking as she could see the magic flowing from her horn and into Luster Dawn's horn. "You don't need to be here. She doesn't and never needed you. Braver has me, and that's all she needs, and you are going to show her that, along with your other friends. Not only will her parents break her, but so will you, the friends she trusted so much. It will hurt her and make her lose her faith, and when that happens, I'll be the one she comes to; I'll be the one and only one she loves. She'll be mine. Now, be a good slave and do as I say." ordered Luster Dawn, as Tempest could only cry as her mind no longer belonged to her, as she was still conscious of everything, but her body and mind belonged to Luster Dawn, her master. "Yes, mistress." softly said Tempest. "Perfect." chuckled Dawn "Oh, I can't wait to see Braver's face, her cute hurting face. It'll be so good, so worth the wait, when you break her." "Yes, mistress." nodded Tempest, as mind-control Tirek joined her, both crying a little. "Now, let's go; we're missing three others." ordered Dawn, using Tempest magic to create a portal, and walked through it with Tirek and the others. "What about AJ?" asked Rainbow Dawn "She's no threat to us right now." The portal closed, leaving the campfire to die out again as the area was covered in darkness once more. Back in Ponyville and in the Sugar Cube Corner kitchen, Twilah's head wound was getting healed by Twilight, but both were worried, as they were too close and fearing they might merge, like how Dashie and Dash almost merged. "Feeling anything?" asked Twilight. "Just this splitting headache, which is normal, I hope..." replied Twilah. Dashie was outside and listening while looking for any signs of the twins. Dash was in the kitchen doorway with Pinkie. "By the way, what happened to you two? You were both gone for so long." asked Twilight, looking Twilah in the eyes, and her heart dropped quickly as Twilah blushed hard. Twilight turned to Dash and saw her looking away, also blushing. "Something happened between you two?" "What!" shouted Dashie as she leapt into the window. Pinkie was confused. "Wait, I'm confused. Did you two...?" "No, no, no!" exclaimed Twilah, blushing. "We didn't do anything, except..." "We hang out at my old place, and we..." said Dash as she started to explain what happened. hours ago Dash landed on the front steps of her cloud house and turned to Twilah, who was flying in front of her "Welcome to my awesome former crib! I haven't been here since after my wedding and moving into the castle with Twi." "Wow. You actually lived here?" asked Twilah, amazed by the place, like the rainbows and how Rome theme it looked. "Yeah, for many years. This is where I grew up in Ponyville when I first moved down here on my own. It was lonely; the only friend I had was Fluttershy. I knew about the others, but we were never friends—just people we knew and stuff. It wasn't till Twilight moved here that we became friends!" explained Dash as she opened the door. "Come in inside. Want a tour?" "Sure!" said Twilah, but she looked worried as she looked at the surface of the clouds. "What's up?" "Am I going to fall through the clouds? I mean, you can, but can I walk on it? I'm not a pegasus like you." asked Twilah nervously. Dash just laughed as she put her hoof out, making Twilah look at her and say, "Hold my hoof and you'll see. Don't worry, I'll make sure you won't fall." "O-okay." nervously said Twilah, taking her hoof and holding it tight as she slowly put her foot on the cloud and was shocked to see that she was stepping on something hard. "...how?" "Well, in your current form, you can walk on clouds, no problem, but if you become a human, you won't be able to. All wing creatures in my universe can live and walk on clouds." Dash said, taking her hoof away, making Twilah blush a little as she was still holding her hand out, like she didn't want the hand holding to end. "Really? How? Clouds form when the invisible water vapor in the air condenses into visible water droplets or ice crystals. It's not a solid object like stone, dirt, or metal." said Twilah, slowly walking around in a circle, taking off her flip-flops, and confirming it was a hard, solid surface. Dash only smiled as she watched Twilah walk around in her yard, smiling and saying it was fluffy, like stepping on cotton. Dash could feel her face becoming a little hot, as this reminded her of how Twilight acted the first time, watching her be all excited about walking on clouds. "How does it stay together, and how is it so strong that a pony could stand and walk on it? Wait, do you have magic or something?" asked Twilah, picking up a cloud and looking at it. "Kind of? We can control the weather and the clouds and change the shapes, but the cloud itself is just an object, not really magic. It's mostly pegasi magic that's in our wings. As long as you have wings, you can be on a cloud, like I said." explained Dash as she let Twilah inside, who could see the giant living room and was amazed by it. "Woah. So cool!" Twilah checked out the cloud furniture and seeing the many pictures of the Wonderbolts, including a picture of Dash and her old mane style when she was a filly. "Hey! That's what Braver looks like! It's a one-to-one with your manes!" "Yep, my parents said the same when first meeting Braver." laughed Dash, joining Twilah in looking at it. "Oh god, was that like? Dashie had to explain to her folks about what happened, not believing her, until she became you in pony form. They see Blitz as their grandkid now. Hehe," chuckled Twilah, remembering that day when Dashie and her brought Blitz to Dashie's parents home. "They were shocked but quickly understood. They even helped me raise her, which was weird." Dash said, picking up a picture frame from the wall. It was a picture of her folks and Braver in the middle. "They see her as their grandkid too. They even call her Little Brave, which Braver likes. Even Twilight's parents call her their granddaughter; what about your folks? Bet they also-" "Blitz never met them." interrupted Twilah, looking a bit sad as she looked at the picture on the wall, which was clearly Twilight's folks. "O-oh," said Dash, feeling a little awkward now as he put the picture back on the wall. "I'm estranged from my folks after how they treated me when I was young. Blitz doesn't need to know about them. She has Dashie's folks. That's all she needs. She doesn't need the toxic family I grew up with. You don't have to say sorry. You didn't know," said Twilah, walking through a hallway and still being amazed by the clouds. Dash realized she needed to be more careful, as it was clear that Twilah was still hurt by the past and was trying her best not to think about it. She joined her in the hall, and Twilah couldn't believe how beautiful the bedroom was. "Wow, it's spacious in here! The clouds make it so soft too." said Twilah, jumping onto the queen-sized cloud bed and rolling on it. Dash couldn't help but blush a little, watching Twilah play on the bed and roll around on it. Again, it was like watching Twilight do all the same stuff over and over again. Dash jumped on the bed, spooking Twilah. "Best cloud bed in all of Equestria! You can have the whole day in this, sleeping." Twilah watched as Dash fell backwards, landed on her back, and began to roll around on the bed. She felt her face becoming warm as she watched Dash have fun, smiling and laughing. "Hehe. Wanna join me, Twilah?" giggled Dash, still rolling on the bed, making Twilah's heart beat a little fast as she saw the rainbow mane pony rolling around, laughing, and having fun. "Yeah!" nervously said Twilah, trying her best not to stare at her as she started to roll around on the bed. Both were rolling and laughing. As they rolled around, they both accidentally bumped into each other, causing them both to stop, their faces touching each other, as they realized how close they were to each other. Both were blushing, looking into each other's eyes. "Hi..." shyly said Dash. "H-hi..." nervously replied Twilah. Both of their hearts were racing, as they didn't want to move, afraid that they would lose their composure. "So..." "S-so." "We should continue with the tour, right?" asked Dash, not moving, as she was afraid of losing herself. "Y-yeah. We should." nodded Twilah as she sat up and could see Dash struggling with her feelings and worrying about Twilight. "We can check on them, if you like." said Twilight "What?" "You're worried about them, right? Let's see if they're okay." simply said Twilah, as she used her magic and a hologram screen appeared in front of them, showing them Sugar Cube Corner, as whatever was in the sky was tracking Twilight's magical power level. "What is this?" asked Dash. "My world is advanced in technology, so this is a hologram, or what you call a projection, and using my magic, I created a magical invisible drone to track Twilight down. Using magic and technology together is great," explained Twilah. "...we're gonna spy on them?" whispered Dash as her ears were down, worried and nervous about what's going to happen. "We're going to make sure nothing is wrong. Come on." smiled Twilah, patting Dash's back. "A-alright!" replied Dash, watching the screen as the drone entered the shop through an open window and soon found Twilight and Dashie talking. "I really wish I could cook something, you know? Twilah is always doing the cooking. I feel so useless in that department, you know?" Twilight nodded as she said how Dash does all the cooking. "What's more awful? She was an awful cook too, but she got better for me and Braver. Before she moved in with me in the castle, Don't give up; if your counter part can cook, so can you!" Soon, Dash and Twilah sat there and listened to their lovers, listening to Dashie's pain of being useless and needing to prove herself to Twilah. "Dashie, you were never useless, but did I really make it look like that to you? Did I really make you think that?" asked Twilah, her voice full of pain. "God, it makes sense now—all the stuff she was doing, even in bed—she was doing all this because she thought I saw her as useless. Damn it. Why don't I ever see her feelings?" "Hey, hey. It's alright, Twilah." said Dash, grabbing her hand and wanting her to calm down. "No, it's not. I've been such a horrible person to her, thinking I'm helping her, but really, I've been hurting her. I never noticed I was putting her down in anything she does, not even realizing people were calling her a trophy wife! What kind of girlfriend does that?" yelled Twilah, as her emotions were starting to get the best of her. "Calm down, please." pleaded Dash. "Why? So I can be happy that my girlfriend is miserable with herself and feels like she has to earn my love by not being herself! I want her to be herself and love herself; not worry about her flaws, as I will love her, flaws and all." yelled Twilah, standing up and stomping around the bedroom. "She doesn't need to prove herself to me; she just needs to be herself, not change herself, and be who she wants to be, not for me or others!" "Twilah, please, sit back down." begged Dash, scared, as Twilah was losing herself, as her anger was mixing with her magic, and the room was starting to glow as Twilah's eyes were glowing purple. Before it could get worse, both of them started to hear Twilight talk about Dash and how she feels she's trapping Dash in a boring life and also making her feel useless. "Twilight, please stop, stop. Don't say that!" cried Dash as she flew up to the screen, touching as Twilight was looking sad. "I might not like the boring life, but it's a good boring life, and I love it. I'm not useless, and I'm happy with you. We're both happy, right?" Twilah's anger started to vanish as she saw Dash crying. "Hey, hey. Don't cry, don't cry." said Twilah, pulling her close. "I-I'm fine. I'm just worried, that's all. Am I giving off the impression that I'm not happy living with her? I am. I'm so happy." sobbed Dash Twilah held her close, trying her best to calm her down and stop her from crying, but they soon heard the oven dinging on the screen, making them look at it and see Dashie talking. "Maybe you should stop being a princess? If it's making her unhappy." asked Dashie, looking at the oven. "I can't give up being a princess, but..." replied Twilight before looking down. "Maybe I should start taking a step back and stop being a princess for a little bit. Just spend time with my friends and family." "Really?" said Dashie, surprised that Twilight easily agreed. "Well, not yet. I need to talk with her first and make sure we're on the same page." replied Twilight, getting up. Dash looked away from the live feed and looked around her house, remembering how happy she was that Twilight was going to live with her and raise Braver here, but then it fell apart as Twilight couldn't stop being a princess. Deep down, Dash hated how she was a princess; she wanted Twilight for herself. "I'll love that Twilight. I know it is a selfish thing, but I hate sharing you with Equestria. I want you to be free; I want you to have a life without the crown, so we can be a family." whispered Dash "..." Twilah was silent, not knowing what to say or do, as she saw Dash's pain and sadness, seeing her suffering—until Twilah heard Dashie talking and turning to the screen. "It's not bad, not good, but not bad!" smiled Dashie, holding a cupcake she took a bite from. "See? You did it." smiled Twilight as she tried her own and had the same reaction. "Thanks." smiled Dashie, as she was so happy. "I told you, you can do anything." replied Twilight, eating her own. "Yeah. I can." said Dashie as she looked at the cupcake. "Maybe I don't need to prove to anyone that I'm good enough, because I already know I am." Twilah teared up as she heard Dashie say that, "Yes. Yes, you are. You are good enough and amazing. You don't have to prove yourself to me, as I love you for you." Dash saw Twilah tear up, making her realize that her counterpart was smiling, and she was happy that Twilight was helping her. "That's my Twilight, always helping those in need," softly said Dash, wiping the tears from Twilah's face. "Yeah," nodded Twilah, smiling. Dash hugged Twilah, who hugged back, as the two of them stayed in each other's arms as the screen went dark. "We really need to be honest with each other partners and put everything out on the table. We can't keep doing this or our relationship will fall apart, and I don't want that." said Twilah, as the two of them parted ways. "Yeah. Me neither." nodded Dash. "But first, let's eat! Seeing them make cupcakes made me hungry," said Twilah, heading out of the room and to the kitchen. "Sure thing. I can make some food." smiled Dash, following Twilah. The two spent the rest of the day together, hanging out and talking about what needed to be put on the table when they headed back and talked to their wives. They both talked about what made them happy and what was causing pain, as well as the fears they had for the future and how they would overcome them with their lovers. It was a long conversation, but it was a very productive and cathartic one, as the two of them were able to work out what needed to be said to their lovers. When the two were finally done, it was nighttime, and they headed off to Ponyville but suddenly saw a rainbow comet. "That's what happened. Nothing happened between us." explained Dash. "But why was Twilah blushing?" asked Twilight as she turned to Twilah, who was pouting now. "You helped Dashie realize she didn't need to prove herself when that should have been me telling her that!" huffed Twilah, her tail twitching. Twilight and Dashie laugh a little, making Twilah more annoyed. "Oh, come on, Twilah. That's just cute." giggled Dash, patting Twilah back. "No, it's not!" huffed Twilah. Soon, the room was quiet as they all looked at each other. "So, putting everything out on the table, huh? Great idea, but let's go find our daughters. Something happened to them." said Dashie, with worry in her voice. "Yeah, what happened to Braver and her body? Whar you told us, that never happened to her." replied Dash Pinkie hops on the table and stands in front of everyone, smiling and waving her hoof. "Whatever happens, I'm sure it's fine. You said Tempest and AJ were with them, right? I'm sure two are helping them, so don't worry." "What do you think?" asked Twilah, worried. "Well, if that's true, then we should leave them alone, then?" asked Twilight, unsure. "Well, maybe we should, but..." started Pinkie, but she stopped as she didn't want to worry them even more. But suddenly, Lil Cheese and Cheese Sandwich entered the kitchen. "Honey! Everyone! Come outside! There's a rainbow comet in the sky!" shouted Cheese Sandwich. "Rainbow comet?" said the four as they looked at each other and rushed out the door. Pinkie and her family follow them. Once outside, the four of them looked up and saw a bright, beautiful rainbow comet soaring across the night sky, which was getting closer to them. "It's like that night when everything started..." whispered Twilight, who held Dash's hoof. "Yeah, but it's not the comet this time. It's Blitz," Twilah said with a smile on her, as she held Dashie's hand, as they could see Blitz was getting closer while holding her sister's hoof and landing in front of them. "MOM!" shouted Blitz, who ran up and hugged Twilah. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hit you! I was just angry and scared! And-" "It's alright, sweetie. I know you didn't mean to hurt me." smiled Twilah, holding her close and kissing her on the head. "I'm glad you're alright, Blitz. You had us worried." said Dashie, hugging her family. Braver tackle hugged both her parents and nuzzled them. "Where did you girls go?" asked Twilight, petting Braver. "And what happened to you?" asked Dash, worried but happy that Braver looked fine now. Braver let them go and opened her wings, revealing the purple and blue sparks. "I ripped my wings off when they looked like this. It created a weird glowing blue slime. It caused me pain." "Pain?! Are you okay now?" asked Twilight, checking on her daughter. "Whatever happened, it felt like she was dying... I could sense her pain, and then I saw her all white and not moving. I thought AJ and Tempest hurt her; I thought I was right in not trusting her well-being in this universe, but I was wrong. Mom, you are right. Sis is loved here, just as I'm loved in our universe. I was being selfish and worried for nothing," replied Blitz, lowering her head in shame. "It's okay, Blitz. We all do the same thing when it comes to someone we love and care about and seeing them hurt, but why was Braver all white?" said Dashie. Braver closed her wings, breathed in and out, and faced her parents. "Moms! I'm in love! I'm in love with Luster Dawn, and I think my body is acting weird because of it. Aunty AJ asked me to tell you this or she'll teach me instead, but...what is 'sex'?" Blitz's face turned red, as she couldn't believe her sister just asked that in front of their mothers and the town, as they all gathered around to see the rainbow comet landing, which was really her. "Uh, sis, why did you ask them that here?" asked Blitz, blushing and covering her face with her hands, embarrassed. "What's wrong with asking that question here? Aunty AJ was clear on telling moms this." asked Braver, confused. Twilight and Dash were in shock and didn't know how to reply, while the rest of the townsfolk were whispering to one another and looking at the family. "Well, you see Braver..." said Dashie, clearing her throat. "It's a question that you ask in private. Not in front of people," stuttered Dashie, as she couldn't finish as Twilight slowly had a smile on her face as she summoned kids books on birds and the bees but Dash wasn't happy about that, as she believed Braver was old enough for normal talk, but Twilight disagreed on that. Braver was just confused as she sat there and watched her parents fight. "God, this is second-hand embarrassing." said Blitz, wishing she could just run off. "Speaking of the 'talk', Blitz, we need to talk about that with you as well." simply said Twilah, looking down at her daughter, which caused Blitz to freeze up and her face to turn red again. Blitz shouted"I KNOW HOW SEX WORKS! THE INTERNET SHOWED ME!" and ran off, causing Twilah to be upset, upset that the internet told her daughter about sex before she did. "WAIT! WHAT KIND OF SEX!? YOU BETTER HAD NOT LOOKED AT ANY WEIRD PORNO ON THE INTERNET, YOUNG LADY!" shouted Twilah, flying after her, leaving a red-faced and flustered Dashie and a giggling Braver, who was reading the books that Dash grabbed and tossed away as she was still fighting with Twilight about how to teach Braver about sex and why her body was acting funny around her crush. All this is happening in front of the town, Pinkie, and her family. "Oh boy..." whispered Dashie, dying from embarrassment now. Meanwhile, AJ was trotting along the dirt road, heading towards Fluttershy place, but suddenly she could hear voices within the woods and hear a familiar voice, as that voice was sobbing. AJ quickly headed where the voices were coming from, hoping no one was hurting Fluttershy or the other person, but was surprised at what she saw. AJ was looking down at Fluttershy, who was sitting on the ground, trying to calm down another human woman, but that woman's voice and looks were just like... "Trixie?" end of chapter 8 > Chapter 9: Brave and Cozying Up > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That's for the session for today." Twilah said, putting down her notepad and turning to Braver, who was in the long chair "So how are you feeling now?" "I'm starting to feel better with opening up so much. Thank you, mama." answered Braver, smiling as she stretched, as it was her third therapy session and it was a long one today. "That's good. If you need more, I'm available whenever. Just remember, if your ever having those thoughts, don't do anything crazy. Just talk to someone, anyone you trust. It doesn't matter who, as long as you trust them. Don't keep your emotions bottled up, okay?" said Twilah, petting her. Braver nodded and sat up, looking at the clock, it was in the afternoon still, "Thanks again but I have a question for you." "What is it?" asked Twilah, taking off her glasses. Braver tapped her hooves together and shyly said "Can you start teaching me about being a therapist? Like...how did you learn about becoming one and stuff." Twilah looked at her and was shocked by this. Braver was asking her for a personal reason, not a medical reason and it made her happy. "Sure, but why? Why do you want to become a therapist?" asked Twilah. "Because...I want to help others like you do. I always been good at talking to others, when they needed it the most and I'm a very patient and understanding pony...or slime creature. So I thought it would be nice to be a therapist for others." smiled Braver, looking up at her. Twilah gave her a big smile "I would love to teach you." Braver eyes sparkle and hug her, which Twilah happily hugged her back. After letting each other go, Twilah put on her glasses and wanted to ask Braver something, but couldn't find herself to say it, which the mare took noticed and said "What's wrong?" "I been meaning to ask you something but I don't want to upset you. Upsetting you about your dead name." explained Twilah, rubbing her top part of her notepad all nervous like. Braver tipped her head to the side, not understanding what Twilah meant "...dead name?" "You know...the name your biological parents gave you before your birth...ah!" Twilah quickly shut up and watched as Braver became silent and looked away, as she was thinking about her past "Braver, I'm sorry. I forgot about..." Twilah couldn't finish her sentence, as Braver stood up and headed for the door, "Braver! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to make you upset or think of them. I'm really sorry. Forgive me, please." Braver didn't listen as she opened the door and seeing Twilight in the waiting room chair, reading a book. She said to her "Mom! Can we take Twilah to my parents grave today? Then head to New Ponyville?" Twilight was shocked by this and asked her "Sure but why? Is everything okay?" Braver nodded and turned back to Twilah, who was confused but got up as Braver was waving her to join them. As Twilah joined them, Twilight used her magic and teleported them away from the castle and reappearing at the grave of Braver parents, were everything started ten years ago. Braver quickly ran up to the gravestone and hugged it "MOMS!" Twilah looked at Twilight with shock but also deep saddest and then looked down at the gravestone, which had two names on it, two names she knew too well, as she too, along with Dashie, made the same gravestone for those two in their universe. Twilight walked up and said their names with sadness "Nightfall and Rainbow Sky." "...I see you two did the same thing, huh? Even the gravestone is the same." replied Twilah, trying to fight back the tears. Twilight nodded and placed her hoof on the gravestone and she could sense her daughter sadness and heartache, as she was looking at the grave, soon Braver turned to Twilah "Twilah, can you explain the dead name thing again?" "Dead name?" asked Twilight, never hearing this term before. "It's a term in our world, were people who are born into a body that they don't see themselves as. For example, if a woman is born into a man body and change sex later on in life, she's not going to like being called her birth name and wants to change it, It's because they don't feel comfortable with their birth name." explained Twilah, who then turned to Braver "It's not same thing but the way Blitz acted when Dashie said your old name, almost made it sound like a dead name, which is why I asked you." Braver turned around, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiled at her moms "Its okay, I'm not mad at you for saying my old name. Breaker is just a code name given to me but in truth, I never had a real name until I came here, to this universe. My parents called me Breaker but I know they would be happy that I picked a name, a real name for myself." Braver turned around and looked back at the gravestone, smiling at it "I love you moms. Thank you for loving me for who I am, for those few years we had on that little universe. I hope you're doing well, wherever you two are and please, watch over the other me, Blitz. My dear little sister. I promise to take care of her!" Braver shut her eyes and tap her hooves together and started to pray, which Twilight and Twilah joined her. After their prayers were done, Twilight turned to her daughter and asked "Do you want to tell her or should I? It's why you wanted to head to New Ponyville, right?" Braver nodded and replied "Yes, I'll tell her!" "Okay, lets head out." said Twilight, using her magic, she teleported the three of them away. Arriving in New Ponyville, it was pretty busy as everyone was out for lunch, as the girls landed in the town square. Braver eyes sparkled as she saw the mayor of the town and waved at her. "Mayor Sunset Slimmer!" shouted Braver. All three could see a mare wearing a black leather jacket, talking to the town folks and heard her name being called out and seeing Braver. Her eyes lit up and headed over to her. "Braver! Twilight Sparkle! It's good to see you all!" shouted Sunset, running up to them. Twilight lower her head to Sunset eye level and spoke with a big smile on her face "Hi Sunset, it's been a long time. How you been? You haven't aged a day, since I last saw you. You still look as young as you were when you first became the mayor of this town. Your not getting younger, are you?" "Ah! Twilight, stop joking like that. Your gonna make me blush! We're the same age but you keep looking younger with that alicorn form you have! Dash is lucky to have a beautiful wife like you." said Sunset, giving Twilight a hug and then letting her go. Twilight giggled, as Twilah is in shock in meeting the unicorn. Sunset noticed the stare from the anthro Twilight and was amazed by her, so she walked up to her and checking her body out and said "I heard the talks of a two legged walking pegasus pony that looked like Rainbow Dash in town, but never thought it was real and now a Twilight lookalike? Are you one of the alternate universe Twilight's? One of the alternate copies who helped our universe Twilight and Dash ten years ago? My names Sunset Shimmer, the mayor of New Ponyville and a friend of Twilight." Twilah was surprised that Sunset could figure out who she was, without asking. She spoke "Guessing you are a close friend to Twilight, aren't you? I'm indeed one of the Twilight's from a different universe from ten years ago but please, call me Twilah. It's nice to meet you, Sunset...man, this is weird." Sunset was confused by the last bit that Twilah said "Weird? Why?" "I'll explain but can we go...somewhere more private?" asked Twilah, who noticed there was a large crowed of creatures all around them, some were looking because Twilight was here but also because of Twilah herself. She wasn't liking the stares at all and was feeling self-conscious. "Sure, come on, my office isn't too far." said Sunset, realizing more town folks were gathering. With her horn lighting up and in a flash, they were all in Sunsets office, in front of her desk. Sunset walked around her desk and sat down, while Twilah was looking around the room, admiring the office, while Braver and Twilight were looking out the window, down at the town below them. "Sorry about that, it's not everyday the ruler and her two legged version visit the town. The town is buzzing about the whole event about the Dash version being in town and few days ago, the weird event near the-" Sunset stop talking, as she noticed Braver looking a little sad and was gonna ask if she was okay but Twilah asked her a question first. "How old are you?" Sunset and the others were completely caught off guard by this and Twilight spoke up "Twilah! That's a little rude!" "What? I was just asking." said Twilah, looking back at Twilight and then to Sunset, waiting for her answer. Sunset was shocked and a little embarrassed by the question but replied "I'm the same age as Twilight. Why do you ask? Do I look younger than that?" "You're the same age as me and Dashie then? That doesn't make sense but now I think about it, our universe truly isn't one to one..." said Twilah to herself, quickly walking back and forth. Soon, she started mumbling to herself. Sunset sighed and turned to her friend and smiled "She's just like you, you know?" Twilight groaned and was embarrassed by her lookalike. Braver walked over to Twilah, and said, in a calm voice "Mom, stop thinking out loud." Hearing the word "mom", Sunset looked at Twilight, confused, as Sunset knew about Nightfall from Twilight, which Twilight quickly explained Braver calling Twilah mom "Braver sees Twilah as me, in her eyes, we're the same person. Also, Twilah is raising Braver twin sister, so it makes sense in a way to call her mom as well" Twilight quickly made a surprise face as she realize something "...now I think about it, won't that make Blitz my daughter as well?" asked Twilight to herself, who also started walking back and forth. Sunset sighed, looking at the two mares "Yup, they're same ponies." Sunset cough loudly, making Twilight and Twilah jump, as they were lost in thought. "Sorry to break up your thinking, but the question you asked me, why did you wanted to know my age?" "Oh! Yes, sorry." blushed Twilah, as she sat in a chair and started to explain her question "You see, in my universe, you aren't a mayor." Sunset was interested and leaned forward on her desk "Oh, so what am I in your universe?" "A...student in my town high school and close friend to Blitz, Braver twin sister and my daughter." Sunset and Braver were surprised by this and Sunset couldn't help but ask "What?! You mean...I'm not even an adult in your universe? But how? If we're the same age, how come I'm not an adult like Twilight...eerrr I mean you?", she looked at Twilight but she was nodding, like it made sense to her. Twilah smiled and explained why, since she visited other universes with Twilight all those years ago "After visiting so many universes, we learned that other worlds isn't one to one to ours, but yet this universe and my universe are almost one to one but there are tiny differences. For example, you and Twilight, both being adults and looks like you grew up with each other too, right?" Twilight smiled and replied "Yeah, we grew up together as we're both students to Celestia. There was a time when Sunset almost abandoning her studies to pursue her own path." "Unlike Twilight, who didn't need friendship when she was younger, I just didn't understand it and almost became cruel and dishonest in my pursuit to understand it. But thanks to a certain friend of mine..." Sunset looked over to Twilight, giving each other a happy look "Who saved me, I learned to understand and make new friends, all thanks to her." Twilah couldn't help but smile when she heard that, she looked at a photo on the wall and seeing Sunset with younger Twilight and along with them was Dash and rest of their friends. She turned back to Sunset and spoke again "Even though my universe Sunset is still a teenager, she went through the same thing but Blitz helped her and become close friends. I guess that part hasn't changed it seems." Braver walked over to her mother and was curious, asking her "Is there anyone else in your universe that is different from here?" Twilah put her hand on her chin, thinking hard but replied "Not really...Oh, there is one. There isn't a Spike in my universe. I only know about him because of Twilight memories back then." Twilight was surprised by this "Really?! How can that be?" "Like I said, our universes aren't the same." simply said Twilah but she rose her arm, revealing her watch, which soon created a hologram in front of face, revealing robot Spike "So, I created one!" Spike, the robot, spoke, with the same voice as Spike in their world but with robotic sound to it, saying "Hey Twilight! I heard about you, from Twilah. Nice to meet you." Twilight and the others were amazed by what they saw. Twilah turned off the watch and wanted to get the topic back on track "Anyway, why are we here, Braver? Why you wanted to come here?" Braver smiled and turned to Sunset, speaking "Oh right! This is the place were I got my new name!" Sunset had a sad but yet, proud smile, as she remembered the event on that day, "That's right. You were once going by that name, before what you did here on that day." Sunset got out of her chair and walked over to Braver and took her hoof "Thank you, thank you for saving everyone. Thanks to you, this town is able to rebuild and become what it is today. It's all because of you." Braver gave a small chuckle, remembering the moment herself and replied "Thanks, but I just did what everyone was doing on that stormy night. I wasn't alone in saving lives." "True, but what you did, was the most bravest thing!" Sunset replied, while tears were forming in her eyes "I'm glad we didn't lose you, if we did, I couldn't face Twilight...Thank you so much." Braver hugged Sunset and whispered in her ear, saying "No problem, Auntie Sunset." Twilah was very surprised, seeing Sunset crying and hugging Braver. Twilight explained what happened and Twilah couldn't believe what she heard. "Braver saved the town from a flooding dam? And saved everyone lives by being brave in the stormy weather?" "Yes, but let her explain it in full detail." said Twilight, turning to her daughter, who stop hugging Sunset and told the story of that day. Three years ago The town was created after more ponies and creatures wanted to live in Ponyville. Auntie Sunset suggested making a larger town for the influx of more creatures and mom approved the building of one, and asked aunty to be the mayor. They found a perfect spot to build the town near a huge waterfall, perfect for water supply and after three years, the town and the dam was created. The town was called "New Ponyville" as the new ponies, and creatures came to live in it. Sunset had a welcome festival for everyone and my family was invited but Dash was running late as she was coming back from a Wonderbolts show and mom was still had princess stuff to do before coming, so I went with Dawn and Cozy. As everything was starting, the weather Pegasi somehow let loose a huge storm and couldn't contain it and soon chaos happened as the dam was breaking from all the rain water and wind. Auntie Sunset told me to save everyone while she tried to help the weather Pegasi with the other town officials, so I ran off and tried to save every creature that was in danger... "Put this on!" Cozy shouted, tossing a weather coat at Breaker face, which Braver grabbed and put on. The three were in the lobby of the mayor building. Cozy had a serious face and was thinking of a plan to save everyone. Braver knew she was a great planner and could save everyone, so she followed Cozy orders and Dawn was right next to her, putting her own coat on and turning to Breaker, with worry. "We shouldn't be doing this! You know how dangerous this is!? We should leave the town right away!" Dawn shouted, trying to convince Breaker to not do this. Braver couldn't help but feel sorry for her and knew she was just worried for her safety and didn't want to lose her, which made her happy and wanted to calm her down, "We have to do this! The town is under chaos right now, everyone is scared and need help!" "But...we could die!" cried Dawn, with tears falling from her face. "We won't die! I promise you, Dawn. I won't let that happen to you. Besides, we have Cozy with us!" Breaker pulled in Cozy, who looked annoyed but also blushing "Nothing can go wrong!" "Fine! Then I'm staying with you!" Dawn declared, not letting her best friend to be left alone, even more so with Cozy. Cozy pushed Breaker off and pointed to Dawn, saying "You! Listen to me, this isn't the time to be heading butts with me. You gonna listen everything I say, alright?" Dawn glared at Cozy and was about to yell at her but Breaker stepped in between and stopped her "She's right, Dawn. Let her plan, it'll save us and the town." Dawn didn't like the idea and wanted to argue with Cozy, like always, but Breaker was right and sighed, calming down, "Alright, fine. I'll follow your lead, Cozy." Cozy gave Dawn a very smug look, making her mad "Good, now we have a job to do, let's move!" Cozy headed for the exit, leaving Breaker and Dawn alone, and the two nodded, following her. They stepped out into the rain, stormy weather and Breaker was taken back a little. Her and the others could see how bad the storm is, the clouds were a dark grey, the wind was blowing everything as the weather team was still trying to break down the clouds, even some of the houses were fallen over by the powerful winds and the dam was leaking as cracks were forming. Cozy stood strong and shouted to them "We're running out of time! Follow me! I have a plan to save everyone!" She ran off. Breaker and Dawn followed Cozy and soon the three were heading towards a small building, with a huge red cross, indicating a hospital. The three stopped as the hospital was close by, Cozy looked back and could see how scared Breaker and Dawn were and couldn't help but roll her eyes. "This is no time to be afraid. I have a plan but I can't do it alone." "Then, tell us!" Breaker asked her, believing in her friend. Cozy didn't want to share her plan right here but didn't have any other choice, as time wasn't on their side "Fine. I have a plan but it will require some work. We can't stop the dam from breaking, so we have to move everyone out of town, now! But we can't do that if the weather Pegasus keep messing up the storm and the dam will flood the town soon, making it harder for everyone to escape. So, we need gather everyone in one place and get the weather team and anyone who can use magic, to get everyone out of town by flying and teleporting everyone out. No doubt many headed here but most are still in their homes and on the streets. We need to get word out of everyone to head here, for their safety." Breaker and Dawn was stunned by the plan and couldn't help but clap, impressed, even Dawn. "Nice, Cozy! That's a great plan, you could save everyone." said Breaker, as the trio started running towards the hospital. "Maybe, there's still a huge chance of few ponies and creatures dying. We just have to hope for the best." Cozy replied, knowing there's no way for everyone to escape. "I don't like it but I agree with you. Not everyone gonna live through this!" said Dawn, not liking the idea of a few dying but knew there's nothing she or anyone can do, other than trying to save the ones they can. The trio ran inside the hospital, which was pack with ponies and creatures and some staffs, as they were helping the folks who took shelter here. Breaker, Dawn, and Cozy made their way through the lobby and the waiting room, looking for anyone who can help and they saw a unicorn doctor, looking like the head doctor, talking to some patients and nurses. They approached him and he looked at them, stopping his talk with the patients and staff. "Hey, you kids shouldn't be out in this storm." said the Doctor, sounding concern as he noticed their wet coats "Doctor, we have a plan to save the town. I need all the unicorns you have here! I need to cast a soundwave spell, getting everyone to come here and getting the weather team to stop messing with the storm, its a lost cause for them in trying to disband the storm." "I know the spell you're talking about, it's used in case of emergencies and I got a few doctors and nurses who can use the spell but it won't reach far, maybe a block with the few unicorns we have on hand. We need gotta need more unicorns or magical creatures." explained the doctor, as he was ordering the nurses who listened, to get all unicorn staff. Cozy nodded and spoke "I know, that's why I'm casting the spell with them and increasing the range." Cozy forehead glowed and her Alicorn horn appeared but was see through, like it was taking her everything she had to make it appeared. Breaker and Dawn were surprised by Cozy Alicorn magic and Breaker couldn't help but comment "Wow, Cozy! I didn't know you still had Alicorn magic!" but Breaker became worried as her friend almost drop to the floor as the horn vanished "Cozy!?" "I'm fine! Just used a little too much energy. I'm going to be weak, once the spell is cast few times." explained Cozy, not liking the idea of being weak in a time like this. "It's why I need all the magic users here. Breaker, I don't want to say this but I need you to go back outside and find anyone unicorns or magic users and tell them about the plan." Cozy could see Dawn already going to reject this plan but Cozy quickly explained herself "It's dangerous, I know, but there's no one else and you can do it! When coming here, I noticed how little the weather was affecting your body. Almost like you were breaking it before reaching you. You can move faster than anyone here thanks to having been trained by that rainbow loser, you need to hurry! Get as many as you can!" Breaker understood her point and looked to Dawn, who looked ready to argue with her "Don't worry, Dawn. I won't do anything stupid, alright." Dawn still looked ready to argue but Breaker had a point and knew they had no time. Dawn pulled her friend into a hug and Breaker could hear her cry "Please be careful! If you don't come back, I won't forgive you." Breaker laughed a little, enjoying her best friend affection and hugged her back "Don't worry, I will be fine." Breaker pulled away from the hug and the two were blushing, causing Cozy to be a little sad. Breaker turned and headed for the exit and brave through the storm, trying to get magic users to the hospital and hoping to save anyone along the way. (It was a long search but I found enough magic users and told them about the plan. Cozy and Dawn, alongside the doctors, staff and town folks with magic, cast the spell and sent it off few times and soon the spell hit everyone, telling them of the plan and where to go and everyone headed to the hospital, which was the only building in town that was not destroyed, thanks to the earth ponies and dragons, as they quickly set up a sand bag barrier around it. The weather team got the message but didn't want to leave and believed they could control the storm and didn't listen but some of them did and headed towards the hospital. Once everyone was at the hospital, the unicorns and weather team was busy moving the children, sick and elderly out of town, as they were the most important. Teleportation was easy but weather team needed a unicorn with them, to shield them as they moved folks out. It wasn't long before my mommy, Dash, came after hearing the news. She was once a Weather team leader and with her speed, she was able to help control the weather but that's when the dam finally broke...) Breaker was outside of the building, looking into sky and seeing her mother blasting across the sky, taking out many clouds as she could. Breaker was glad her mom was here now but a very loud noise could be heard from the dam and the earth shook, which made her stumble and almost fall. She could see a huge wave of water, coming right towards the hospital and the townsfolk. She knew she had to stop it somehow but didn't know what to do, unless she uses her slime but Breaker was seconding guessing herself. She could see everyone screaming and crying and didn't know what to do, her mothers told her to keep her slime power hidden after she arrived in this universe and seeing what happened when meeting Tempest on that day. She could hear the voices, calling her a monsters and a freak. "Monster, huh..." she thought, as she felt something wet running down her face and looked at her hoof after touching it and could see her rainbow tears. She didn't have any time, the wave was almost here and everyone was running pass her, while she could hear weaken Dawn and Cozy, telling her to get inside. She turned to them and gave the warmest smile she could and could see them stop running and stare at her, both not liking her expression. "What are you doing, Blockhead? Get inside, NOW!" Cozy yelled at her, freaking out that she was just standing there. Breaker turned and could see the wave and closed her eyes, knowing what she has to do but quickly felt someone holding her. She opened her eyes and seeing it was Dawn, who teleported to her, leaving a weak Cozy behind. "Come on, Breaker. Let's go inside, please. We might be safe in there!" pleaded Dawn, as she was crying and pulling her friend into the hospital. Breaker could see Dawn was scared and knew what she had to do and pushed her away, confusing her friend but that confusing vanished, as her and Cozy and anyone else who was near could see black tentacles slime coming out of Breaker body. Dawn could only whisper as she back away from her "...Breaker?" Soon, Breaker could see the scared stares, not at the coming wave but towards her. "Dawn, you need to stay away from me and I'm sorry..." She could see her friend didn't understand her and just smiled. "I'm a slime creature, not an Alicorn. I'm a-" "Monster?" said Dawn, causing Breaker heart to break as she heard that. "...yeah, a monster." replied Breaker, looking away from her friend. Dawn was quiet for a second before realizing what she said and tried to say something but Breaker used her tentacles and carried her, Cozy and anyone else back to the hospital and placed them inside and closed the doors by covering it with her slime. Dawn was pounding on the door, begging for her friend to come back in and telling her, she was wrong. Cozy was confused about the situation, as she didn't understand what was happening or what she was seeing and was just trying her best to stand up but was too drained to do so "Damn it, we need to save her! Come on, move stupid body!" Cozy shouted at herself but couldn't move and fell back on the floor, she could only look outside. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, a pony using their body to make slime tentacles. Was this some kind of dark magic? She knew Breaker had high magical energy but not like this. Breaker looked away from her friends and stared down the coming wave. "This is it, this is what I was created for, isn't it? A weapon...but I'm going to protect everyone this time than taking lives." She looked down and could see her black slime flowing from her body and could see her body was turning more inkier, as her skin started to peel off and her true form was showing. She looked into the sky, seeing the rainbow light stopping and watching the wave. Breaker smiled, as she was happy her mom was here to see this, maybe it be enough "All the lives I took and hurt, I finally get a chance to make that up, even if it's not enough...least you'll be watching me...I'm a weapon to destroy but I'm..." As the wave was almost here, she could feel her body changing more black and her slime changed, as she became more powerful and her slime became bigger. She raised her tentacles, slamming the ground and sending her slime towards the wave, becoming a wall, blocking the water from reaching town but there was a problem, the water was washing away her ink slime, making the barrier smaller and her weaker. Breaker could feel her body changing back to normal, as the wave was coming back but with more force now. "This is a bad idea..." said Breaker to herself "But I got to save everyone, it's the least I can do!" Breaker shouted, as rainbow tears were leaking out of her eyes. Breaker could see her life flashed before her eyes, her real mother living alone in the forest but that changed, when she was captured by Kingdom of Night and then dying in the Kingdom of Day and gave birth to her as a black stone pearl, before being found by Nightfall father. Fusion with Blitz and becoming Breaker, a monster. "...I'm a weapon and a monster but..." Breaker looked back into the sky, seeing the rainbow light heading to the town, as she knew her mom realize who was stopping the wave. "But like mom always said to us..." Breaker closed her eyes and her chest started to glow a rainbow orb light and her tail became rainbow slime and shoot it towards the hospital and all buildings and life she could sense in the area and created a slime shield. She turned to her friends, as her body was breaking down, her eyes melted away but she could still see them. Calling out to her and someone near them took a picture. "I'm not my mothers past, I'm my own future!" "BREAKER, NO!!" cried Dawn and Cozy, as they watched the wave crashing into her, destroying her slime body and her crack grey core was washed away. Up in the sky, Dash watched as the water crashed into the town but seeing everything being protected by a rainbow slime barrier, she knew who did this and fear started to build up within her. "Oh god, no..." said Dash, as she flew to the town as fast as she could and soon as she reached the town, she could see the rainbow barrier slowly melting, leaving only a somewhat destroyed town and slime looking water. Dash screamed out for her daughter "BREAKER!!" Meanwhile, up in the dam, Twilight teleported in front of it as she finally heard the news and came right away. With her magic, she placed a purple magical barrier over the huge exposed hole, stopping the water at long last. She quickly turned to the sky and blasted a beam into the storm clouds, clearing the sky and showing a rainbow light, making the whole town bright again. She turned back to the remaining dam. "Twilight!" "Huh?" She turned, seeing her wife, Rainbow Dash coming towards her. Dash stopped and floated next to her. "Dash, I'm glad you're here. I-" Dash grabbed her, stopping her from finishing as Dash quickly said "Where is she, Twilight? Can you sense her!?" and started to shake her, hoping for a positive answer. Twilight looked into her wife's eyes, seeing how worried and scared she was and didn't understand what was wrong. "Dash, what are you talking about? Who?" "WHERE IS BREAKER, TWILIGHT!!" shouted Dash, causing Twilight to flinch. "...What?" Twilight turned to the town and froze as she could see the slime water, as the protected buildings barrier melted into the water and her brain couldn't process anything. She looked back at her wife and could see the horror on her face, as she finally understood why Dash was acting this way. "D-Dash, did she...?" Dash slowly nodded, tears were running down her face and the two looked at each other, before blasting off and heading to the town. Dawn and Cozy could only watch as the wave came finally calm down and the slime barrier melted away and into the water, mixing with and making it slimy. Dawn quickly blasted out of the building and trying to scoop up any slime that was left and talking to it. "B-Breaker, come on, talk to me, please!" cried Dawn, as she kept searching the water, looking for a single sign of her. Cozy couldn't believe what she saw and her body was shaking, as her mind couldn't believe what happened. "She can't be dead, she can't...she promised...we'll get stronger together...she can't die!" Cozy drop to the ground, pounding it, mad at her friend for dying but also at herself "Damn it, I didn't say it, why didn't I tell her?!" Dawn was still scooping any slime she could find and starting talking to herself "She can't be gone, right?! No, she's just somewhere...right!?" She repeated that while the town folks just looked on, not sure what to do. "Breaker!!" shouted Dawn and Cozy, as their tears and voices echoed in the water destroyed town. "D-Did she die?!" "Was she really a slime creature?!" "What the hell happened?!" "What's going to happen to the town?!" The townsfolk were freaking out, not sure what was going on. "What do we do now?!" "Is our town saved?!" "Did the princess really stop the water from reaching here?!" Cozy limp her way out of the building and looking at the water, trying to see anymore slime but her ears twitch as she started to hear the folks that Breaker saved, saying awful things about her. "Why did a monster save us?" "Maybe it was the reason the storm was created?" "Shouldn't we go back inside, who knows if its safe now or not! That thing could still be alive! It created this mess!" Cozy was angry, and furious. Her eyes turned red and her hair and horn glow red, as she turned to them. Ready to blast them apart but she remembered what Breaker taught her, she wasn't that pony anymore and her magic and horn vanished as she just shouted at the crowed "You ungrateful bastards!! That 'monster' was your fucking savior and you dare to question her?!" The townsfolk just stayed quiet. "We're sorry but that thing-" Cozy glared at him, making him shut up but a nurse step forward and spoke "I was there, that mons-no, creature, was the one who saved us. We didn't ask her too and she could have just left us, letting us die in the wave but she didn't. She wasn't caused of any of this. She saved us!" Another nurse spoke "And she didn't have too, she was scared and was just trying to help us, even if that meant losing her own life and I would thank her for it!" Soon, everyone could see Princess Twilight and her wife landing and calling out Breaker name. A mother griffion, holding her child, walked out of the building and spoke "She's the princess daughter. How could she be evil or a monster? She was kind and sweet and helped my son and I to safely. Helped others and protected us and yet...you guys want to throw her under the bus like this?" Her son and her started to help search, along with others, while the remaining ones just watch. Sunset teleported on the roof of a nearby building and could see the whole town, seeing the water everywhere in the destroyed town but she saw the townsfolk and noticed Twilight Dash arrived and looking for something in the shallow water. Sunset could feel something was off, as she saw Dawn and Cozy, just standing and looking at the princess and Dash. The mares didn't seem like they were helping them in searching for whoever. Sunset looked around and noticing how the water had mixture of slime, which was moving slowly, as if the slime was alive. Sunset jumped from the roof and headed towards Dawn and Cozy and spoke "Guys, who are you-" Suddenly, the slime blasted out of the water and was trying to form back into a pony but the slime didn't enough to rebuild itself. Sunset could see it trying to walk, not sure what it was but Dawn and Cozy shouted "It's her, she's alive!" Everyone quickly turned and hurried over. Twilight and Dash grabbed the slime, crying and smiling and the slime started to cry rainbow tears and moved its limbs around. "You're okay! You're okay, Breaker! My little girl!" cried Dash, as her tears landed on the slime. The slime stopped crying and soon, a crack orb flew out of the water and hovered above them and shot into the slime, which made Breaker body becoming normal again. Everyone was shocked, while Dawn and Cozy quickly ran to her and joined in the hug. Breaker could hear everyone in the town, asking her what happened and what they can do and that she did a good job. The mother griffin thanked her, with her child joining in. "Y-Your welcome, I-I'm glad y-you're okay..." Breaker couldn't stop her tears from flowing. Everyone was happy, thanking her and many were calling her brave creature. A little filly called her Braver, as she misunderstood what her friends and family were calling her, as she was still young. "Thank you, Braver!" said the filly, jumping up and down. Soon, everyone was calling her that. "Braver!" "You're so brave, Braver!" Breaker blushed at the name, while Twilight and Dash just chuckled and hugged their daughter, not wanting to let go. Breaker hugged them and asked them something "Moms, call me Braver from now on..." "That's why I call myself Braver, it will always remind me of not only saving everyone lives that day but also because everyone accepted me for who I was. No matter what, I will never forget how everyone treated me after I saved them." Twilah could only smile after hearing that story, understanding Braver's new name. She walked over and lower self to her and said "I'm so proud of you, Braver. You did a wonderful job and I know your mom's are so proud of you and would want nothing more than seeing you grow up, become strong and brave like your namesake and to always protect your loved ones." Braver smiled and hugged her "Thanks, mom." Braver let her go and everyone started to chat about the town, how the library was made mostly for Braver when she moved here, which made her jump out of her chair. "Oh right! I need to get back to the library! I closed for my break to do my session and didn't say how long I'll be! I gotta go and-" Twilight smile as saw herself within Braver in how she panic's "Don't worry, Braver, I'm sure Dawn is covering your shift." Braver frozen for a second before facing her mom "She can't..." she started to melt, making Twilight realizing something was wrong. "Why can't she?" asked Twilight, getting up from the chair and walking over to her daughter "Is something wrong with Dawn?" Braver was quiet, looking around and her ears twitched a few times, before she finally answered her mom "Well, I'm not sure...I kind of made her upset..." "Upset? What happened?" Braver didn't want to say why, as it was kind of embarrassing and personal, even more as she learned about love. "Well, we had an argument...somewhat..." "Why? Was it over something small or?" Braver rubbed her neck and was quiet. Twilight could feel there was something off, so she went to ask another question "Did Dawn find out you like her?" Twilight had a frown on her face, fearing the worst for her daughter, she was able to teach her about the birds and the bees but was still afraid if her daughter ever got her heartbroken or hurt. "What!? No, nothing like that! Don't be silly mom! Why would I-" Twilight placed her hoof on her daughter's mouth and spoke "Honey, it's okay. I know how you feel about Dawn and I know it hurts, not having her feel the same way but-" but before she could finish, Braver pushed her hoof away and looking hurt, making not only Twilight but the others worried as well "Honey, not all first loves work out. Some of them turn into your forever love or just someone you remember fondly. So, it's okay to be hurt by this. You'll always love Dawn but you'll move on and find somepony else. So, it's oka-" "Stop it mom!" shouted Braver, her voice filled with anger and pain, which made the whole room freeze. Twilight unsure how to handle this, since she never snapped like this before. She started to sweat, she wasn't sure how to handle her daughter and spoke calmly "Honey, it's not healthy to force her to feel the same way as you. You can't be mad she didn-" Braver shook her head "But that's not why we are arguing, mom! I-" but Braver couldn't bring herself to say it, as it was er fault that Dawn is mad at her, as she didn't understand her love confession and basically rejected her by mistake. Twilight turned to her friends, looking for any help but Sunset shrug and Twilah was just as lost as her, so she turned back to her daughter and tap her hooves together and saying "Braver, you know, it's okay if you two argue, you're both teenagers but Dawn only loves you as a friend-" She stop talking, seeing Braver crying when she heard that word "F-friend...Mom, that's not the problem. I-I'm not trying to make Dawn love me, i-it's not like that. It's something else..." "Like what?" "I don't want to talk about it, mom..." "Braver, please tell me. I want to help." "You can't, mom. It's my problem and I need to fix it. I messed up..." Twilight wasn't sure what to say, as her daughter wasn't opening up to her and was feeling like a bad parent for not knowing how to help her. So, she said "Then okay. You are a big girl now, Braver. You are growing up and if you need anything, you can always come and talk to me." Twilight leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek and nuzzling her. Braver couldn't smile at this, her mind was filled with sadness and worry for losing Dawn and her not loving her anymore. "Braver?" asked Twilight, seeing her daughter didn't smile at her or returned her nuzzle. "I'm sorry mom, I just..." Braver couldn't finish, she didn't want to keep her mom waiting, so she took a deep breath and walked past her and headed for the door "I just need to head back to the library and open it back up. It was nice seeing you again aunty Sunset. And Twilah?" Twilah wasn't sure what to say but was still concerned as she answered her "Yeah?" "Thanks for reminding me why I changed my name, I needed that..." she wasn't smiling or acting happy. She just opened the door and left, closing it behind her. Everyone was silent, not sure how to process this, since they never seen her like this before. Twilight started to freak out, Braver is clearly struggling with being in love and learning about it and didn't know how to handle the rejection or the idea of losing her best friend. "Twi, calm down," said Sunset, placing her hoof on her shoulder and turning her around. "But Sunset, I-" "You are her mother and it's okay to not know everything or how to handle a situation, but it's also okay to trust your daughter." Twilight didn't like the idea, she was still worried. She turned to Twilah, who was clearly thinking about all this "Twilah, do you agree with her on that?" Twilah closed her eyes and nodded to herself and face her friend "Sunset is right." Sunset smiled "See? Even Tw-" but Twilah cut her off "But I also disagree. You need to know everything about her, so you can handle the situation better. You should trust her but with everything happening to her, I feel like you should step in and help her, because she is young and needs her mother. She clearly is hurting and you should do something. As a mother, we should do whatever it takes to protect our child. If Blitz was hurting like this, I'll do anything to help her and if that meant telling her how to feel and act, I'll do it. That's how much I love and care for her." explained Twilah, smiling at her friend. Twilight wasn't sure what to think but knew she agreed. Twilight took a deep breath and sighed "Okay, maybe I should go after her and-" "NO!" shouted Sunset, knowing exactly where this was going and not wanting that to happen "Twilight, let her go. She's growing up and you shouldn't be babying her." "But she's my daughter, I should be there for her." "You are but sometimes, they need space and time to think. Trust me, it's what you do." Twilah shook her head "You are her mother, you should be there for her and not trusting her right now. You saw how she acted." Sunset shook her head in disagreement "No, sometimes, we have to learn to take a step back and let them make their own mistakes." Twilight spoke up, agreeing with her other universe self "It's my duty as a parent, to protect my child and be there for her and to help her. I wasn't there for her when she bottle her pain up, her suffering of what she did in the past and not seeing her struggling with it, making her develop PTSD, not knowing until it was too late and I failed her as a parent. Even more so when I hurt her by being scared of her...I can't keep failing her. I won't. Not anymore!" "And that's a mistake every parent makes. We do fail our kids, they will never be perfect and neither will we. They will have their faults and problems, so we have to accept and love them and help them the best we can!" quickly said Sunset, trying to stop Twilight from making a huge mistake. Twilah could tell Twilight was going to say something but Sunset interrupted her "Twi, Braver is suffering and is hurting right now, but she's old enough and smart enough, she can handle this. Please trust her." Twilight suddenly felt angry when she heard that "Trust her!? You don't know my daughter like I do. I've raised her and I know what's best for her. You can't just tell me to trust her and let her handle it! I won't standby and let her suffer because you think its right." Sunset back away but Twilah stood near her and said "This is exactly why it's wrong to trust her. If you trust her, it could lead to something worse or she do something horrible because she feels like no one understands her and I don't want to see Twilight lose her daughter! She's me after all." Sunset could see Twilight nodding in agreement, but Sunset wasn't ready to give up "I get that, I really do but you can't always help her, as she'll grow and learn from her mistakes and you can't help her al-" Twilight wasn't taking that, since her daughter was in pain and needed her "I'm her mother, of course I should! How dare you tell me I shouldn't be there for her when she needs me the most! I can't keep doing that to her! I can't fail her like that again!" Sunset could see Twilight was serious and wasn't going to back down "Fine, but what will happen if Braver hates you for not trusting her." "I'll deal with that, if and when it happens, but she's hurting and needs me." "Then go," said Sunset, turning her back to Twilight, feeling defeated. Twilah smiled, happy Twilight was taking her side and said "Let's go!" Twilight and Twilah started to walk towards the door but Sunset spoke "Just one thing." The two stop, turned around and asked "What is it?" Sunset took a deep breath and exhale and then asked "Do you trust her? Like really trust her?" "With all my heart." answered Twilight, not hesitating at all. "Then go and help your daughter, but remember this, sometimes, we need to take a step back and trust our kids, as they need that too and not being smothered and babied, or they will resent us. You can't protect her forever, they have to grow up." Twilight was surprised by Sunset and didn't say anything but just smile and nod to her. The two left, leaving Sunset alone. Sunset smiled and then said to herself "She's a tough cookie, so I'll trust her, but Twilight and Twilah, I hope you two can understand that. She's like you Twilight, she's smart, kind and will figure things out on her own and if she's anything like you, she will do the right thing. Trust her, just trust her..." Braver ran through the streets, hoping to get back to the library, as soon as possible. She was thinking about Dawn and how stupid she was in not realizing she confessed to her, she was crying and was mad at herself for making her friend cry. "Stupid! I'm so stupid! I'm such an idiot! How did I not realize it! How!?" she was so focus on her thoughts, she never realized someone was following her and calling out to her. "Hey! HEY! HEY!" Braver stopped and turned around and saw someone chasing her, once she got closer, she could see it was Cozy and was out of breath. "What are you doing here, Cozy?" asked Braver. Cozy caught her breath and said "Looking for you, blockhead! What the heck, I been waiting at the library but its closed!" "Sorry about that, I been-" "I know blockhead. Getting help with your problems. Not mad at you but at Dawn. Why isn't she helping you covering your shift?" Braver didn't want to say and tried to leave "Not sure, maybe she's just-" "Don't lie to me, Blockhead! I can tell when your hiding something." "It's none of your business, Cozy! Leave me alone and go away." said Braver, turning around and walked away. Cozy wasn't ready to drop this and was annoyed that Braver was treating her this way. She grabbed her and dragged her into a nearby alleyway. "HEY! COZY! LET ME GO!" "Not till you tell me why she isn't helping you." she tossed her into the wall and pin her down "She basically do anything for you but since you are acting like this, tells me something is up." Braver tried to push her off but Cozy was fighting her down "I told you, it's none of your business!" "I can't let you do that, not until you tell me...why? huh?" Cozy could sense Braver magical energy growing. She smirk at this. Braver narrowed her eyes at her "I told you, Cozy, I can't! This is between her and I." "And I can't just leave it be, not when my best friend is clearly bother by something!" said Cozy, using her alicorn form and then smacking her hooves together, as she was getting hype up in seeing Braver getting mad, as its been a long time she last seen her this way. Braver rose her body up, hooves in the air and was gonna push her but Cozy pushed back with her hooves, locking each other in place and said "Tell me, why isn't she helping you? Huh?" "I don't have to answer you! Let me go!" "Make me!" Cozy was pushing back against her. Braver wasn't taking this, she was done with this and started to turn into her slime form. Cozy was happy about this and wanted to fight her ever since remembering how powerful was in this form "Come on! Come on! Come on! Show me the old you! Breaker! Breaker! Breaker! COME OUT! BREAKER! BREAKER!" She could tell Braver was getting angry, as the ground started to shake and her eyes glowed purple "Come on, Breaker, show yourself! Breaker! Breaker!" Braver had enough, she pushed her back and tackle her to the air, as the two flew through the sky. "Yeah! That's it, Breaker!" shouted Cozy, happy she finally got her attention. Braver was fighting her and hitting her non stop and Cozy was having the time of her life. "COME ON! I DARE YOU! SHOW YOUR TRUE SELF, BREAKER! BREAK EVERYTHING IN YOUR WAY!" shouted Cozy, loving the chaos they were causing in the sky. They were still flying in the air, Braver still hitting her but Cozy wasn't fighting back at all but blocking the hits. Cozy could tell she wasn't letting it all out and knew what she had to do. "COME ON! YOU THINK YOUR HARD, WHY DON'T YOU BREAK ME THEN!?" Braver froze when she heard that and was still. Cozy could tell that didn't work and then decided to play her final card. "If you don't do it..." Cozy turned red, her eyes becoming burning red magical energy, smiling all evil like "I'm going to hurt Dawn!" Braver eyes went pure white and her white halo appeared above her head "NO!" "THEN DO IT! HURT ME OR ELSE!" Braver couldn't hold back anymore and tackle her so hard, it created a sonic rainboom but the rainbow wave was only light blue and purple colors. They flew back into the town but Braver decrease her speed quickly and crash into the library, taking half the roof down and making a big hole in the library floor, with Braver on top of a smiling Cozy. "That's it, Breaker. Do it. Hurt me. Tell me why you are so mad!." Cozy wasn't going easy on her. Braver couldn't hold it anymore, she screamed so loud, that the tree building shook with such fury "DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HER! EVEN THOUGH I HURT HER! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER!" "You hurt her?" "YES, OK! I DID! I HURT HER! I MADE HER CRY AND I'M SO ANGRY AT MYSELF FOR NOT REALIZING HOW SHE FEELS ABOUT ME!" screamed Braver, with rainbow tears flowing down her slime cheeks but she was taken a back when she felt her eyes being wiped away by Cozy. "That's it. Let it out." said Cozy, smirking and then asked her in a painful tone "So you didn't realize she loved you?" "NO! I didn't and I made her cry. I was so stupid, I should have realize it and I hate myself for making her feel this way and now she's gone..." cried Braver, slowly turning back to normal, also realizing in how she acted against Cozy and started to nuzzle her, begging for her forgiveness. Cozy blush hard "Hey, hey, stop it, it's fine." "But I was mean to you and-" Cozy pushed her off and sat up "You have every right to be mean, I was trying to push your buttons." "But I shouldn't have lost my temper and-" cried Braver as she tried to hug her friend but Cozy just stop her with her hoof. "Stop it, it's fine. Besides, its been a long time, I've seen you so mad. Last time was when we first met. Plus..." Cozy placed her other hoof on Braver chest and smirk "Love seeing your fighting spirit! That's the Braver I know! That's my girl." Braver blush when she called her 'her girl' and said "Ok, I get it." "Good and..." Cozy blush as well, moving away her hooves and crossing her arms, looking away, not wanting her to see her face "I'm sorry for calling you by your old name and saying those things. I shouldn't have." "But-" Cozy pointed her hoof and touch Braver nose "Don't but me! I said a lot of bad things to you just now and I shouldn't have! I won't go back on my word from all those years ago." she slowly looked at her and smiling "I promise, remember?". Braver could only smile back with tears and hugged her hard "I FORGIVE YOU! I KNOW YOU AREN'T EVIL ANYMORE! I FORGIVE YOU!" Cozy's eyes were wide, never seeing her so happy and just let it be and smiled "Yeah, yeah, just stop hugging me so hard. Don't break my back, okay?" Braver let her go and started to talk to her as Twilight and Twilah slowly rose up from behind the window, looking inside. "Who's that pony? Isn't she one of Braver's friends?" "Yes, her name is Cozy Glow." "Wait, I remember her from your memories. Wasn't she evil?" Twilight just smiled and said "She's good now. Thanks to Braver." Twilah remember seeing the fighting and seeing them destroying half the library "You sure?" "Yes..." said Twilight, with a awkward smile "Braver is very good at making friends with...the oddest of characters." Twilah and Twilight looked back inside, watching the two fixing the library up with magic. Twilah turned to her friend and asked how did Braver befriend Cozy. Twilight lowered herself along with Twilah. "Well, what I remembered what Braver told me..." 9 years ago It was a few months after Cozy and Chrysalis escape from their stone prison. Chrysalis went underground but there was sightings of Cozy in Canterlot, so I increase security in the castle and in the city itself. Wasn't sure why she was staying in the city, knowing she could get caught and didn't understand why she would put herself at risk, almost like she was looking for something. It was a year after Braver came to live with us and since we had no idea when she was born, we made that day her birthday. Going by what Sky and Nightfall showed us, Blitz was six when...you know, so it means Braver was seven like her sister. We created a big surprise party for her, all our friends and family were setting everything up but we had to keep her busy, so I asked her to clean and organize the school library, she wanted to be like Nightfall in being a librarian, so it was a perfect way to keep her busy until the party was ready... The school was empty, except for a few students who were practicing their magic for the upcoming talent show and the library was empty as Braver, known as Breaker at the time, was helping the old colt librarian, as he was slowly use his horn magic to push the cart of books and talking to Breaker. "So you have a sister?" asked the old colt. "Yep. A twin." "Is she just like you?" Breaker chuckled "Oh no, she is very different." she happily trotted around the old unicorn, as she was helping him "My sister is super fast and cute! But I'm just strong and break things..." "Oh, don't say that, my dear." said the old librarian, fixing his glasses as he looked her "Everyone is special and have their own qualities, it's just some are a bit more unique and different, just like you. You aren't bad at all, young filly." "Thanks, Mr. Librarian. You are so nice, I want to work here one day! My mommy was a library like you! So I wanna do that one day too!" The old unicorn chuckled "Of course, of course." he smiled at her, happy to have someone so eager to help. Breaker smiled, looking up and seeing the books in the air, as the unicorn was using his magic to stack the books on the cart. She saw her halo glowing and could feel her magic flowing. "I wonder if I can do that?" she closed her eyes and concentrated but nothing happened. She looked up, still concentrating but still nothing happened. "Something wrong?" "No, no, just trying something." The librarian smiled at her, thinking she was doing a magic spell with that floating halo she was carrying and just let her do her thing, as he continue to stack the books. Breaker opened her eyes, her halo still glowing, as she was trying her hardest but still nothing was happening. Her ears went back, disappointed that she couldn't do a simple magic trick, as she wanted to prove her worth. She was so angry as she followed the old colt but she wasn't paying attention where she was going and bump into the cart, which sent flying into a shelf, knocking it down and all the books falling. "Oh no." said Breaker, her halo disappearing. The old colt lowered a book he was looking at and saw the mess "What happen?" "I'm so sorry, Mr. Librarian! I'll fix it!" she went over to the self, using her strength to push it back up and starting to put the books back in place. "Oh, no need. No harm done." said the old colt, not caring at all what happened but was shock at Breaker strength "I say, kids these days are stronger than I remember, how old are you?" "Six, sir!" "Really? Your bigger than any six year old filly I've seen and a lot stronger." he chuckled, as he walked off to pick up a book he was holding "When is your birthday? I hope you are having a big cake this year." Breaker ears went back in sadness "...I don't have one..." "No birthday?" he whisper, surprised by the news "You must have one? What do your parents say about that?" "I have no real parents. I was just created..." replied Breaker, dropping the books she had in her arms. "But-" "Can I be alone? Please, Mr. Librarian. I just need some alone time. I'll fix this mess, okay?" asked Breaker, as she didn't want to break down in front of him. The old librarian nodded and didn't know what to do, so he just went to a different section of the library, so the little filly could have her alone time. Breaker took a deep breath, trying her best to hold back her tears and slowly walking away from the cart, heading into the back part of the library, not even seeing the little pink alicorn filly sneaking into the library and looking for something. "Where is it? My research said it be here? Come on, it has to be here?" said the little alicorn, using her magic to open up a books and started reading each one. Breaker, on the other hand, was in the back, sitting under a table, crying softly. "I'm not a real pony like everyone else. Can't even use magic or even having a real birthday. Just a fake pony who's a monster, that was created and I shouldn't exist..." The pink alicorn kept searching for whatever she was looking for, until she heard the crying and looked around the library, wondering where it was coming from and slowly followed it, finding it was coming from under a desk. "Hello?" she called out. Braver froze, hearing her voice and quickly wiped her tears away. "Hello? Is somepony under there?" asked the little Alicorn, slowly going under the table and finding a small little Alicorn like her, which made her smile as she knew who it was "Aren't you Twilight Sparkle kid? I remember finding those newspaper reports of the announcement, where she adopted a alicorn filly. That's you right? You're that kid?" Breaker slowly turned around and was in shock, looking at the alicorn, as she only thought there was only her mother, Cadence, Flurry Heart and finally, former princesses Luna and Celestia as the only alicorns. Breaker smiled and answered her "Yeah, that's me. And I didn't think there be another alicorn here! What's your name!? I'm Breaker!" "Breaker?" she chuckled, as the Breaker's face was close to her and she was a little scared by how close she was getting "Uh, my name is Cozy Glow," she pushed her away "And yeah, I'm a alicorn. So, you really are her kid, huh?" Breaker nodded with a smile "Yep! I'm her kid!" Cozy horn started to glow "That's great to hear!" her smile became evil looking as she grabbed Breaker with her magical aura "I can have my revenge! This is going to be fun!" Breaker tip her head to the side, not understanding what she meant but quickly realize she meant as playing a game. "Fun? Oh like playing a game!?" Cozy didn't answer her and was surprised, how dumb this alicorn was and slowly put her down "Oh yes, a game. A fun game, yes, yes." Breaker eyes and horn were glowing with excitement, as she jump in joy but hitting her head under the table, sending it flying, which didn't hurt her and Cozy just stared at her, sensing the powerful magical energy in her. "Are you okay?" "Yeah! This is so cool, a new friend, a game to play! What game are we playing!?" Cozy chuckled, rubbing the bottom of her muzzle "Hmm, a good one. You see, the rules are you can't tell anyone about me, and we are going to play a treasure hunt. First we need a book, a book that tells us where the treasure is and how to get it." "Oooooh, I love those kind of games!" said Breaker, looking around the library, looking for a good book for the game. "The book is called 'History of the fallen Mage: Vile Darkness'." Breaker nodded "Okay! Where is it?" "Well, it's here somewhere in this library. You'll look for it, while I give you orders." "Oh, that sounds like fun! I'll do it, I'm great at games!" "Oh, I bet you are, Breaker." said Cozy, with a devilish smile, as Breaker was being so naive, not noticing the evil smirk Cozy was giving her. "Why don't you start searching for it and we'll go from there." "Yes, ma'am!" Breaker ran off, starting to look for the book and Cozy started looking around the library, making sure no one saw her. She hide under a table and rubbing her hooves together, excited to get her revenge on Twilight Sparkle and the others for defeating her and putting her in that stone prison. "After a few years, I'm finally free and can take my revenge and this little dumb, naive alicorn is going to help me get the power I need and once I'm done with Twilight, I'll become queen of Equestria! I'll become the most powerful pony alive! With power, I'll have everything and nopony will tell me what to do! They'll bow to me and I'll rule everything!" She saw Breaker, looking through the shelves and smiled evilly. "And that little blockhead, I'll make her my slave, when she is the key to all of my plans now. She doesn't even realize how much power she has and the idiot isn't even using her horn to its full potential. All it would take is a few tricks, and she'll be eating out of my hoof. Why have friendship when you can just manipulate them and rule everything!" She then realized she had said the last part out loud and looked around, hoping no one was around and let out a sigh of relief, no one heard her. "I wonder where that book is?" said Cozy, looking around. "Right here!" said Breaker, smiling happily as she drop the book in front of her new friend. Cozy was shocked and stared at the book on the ground and it was indeed the book she was looking for. She couldn't believe how quick she found it, she didn't even see her find the book. "H-How did you find it?" "You said the book is called History of the fallen Mage: Vile Darkness and since my mom was a librarian, I checked the index under History and Vile Darkness, so I searched for that and there was only one book under that topic and it was this book!" Cozy just stared at her and was shocked "Oh wow, you're good." "Really!?" "Yeah, yeah, I mean you're a really smart girl, you must of had pick that up from Twilight. I can tell you love reading." Breaker rubbed the back of her head and chuckle "Really? I'm just like mom? Thank you, Cozy." Cozy didn't respond but gave her a fake smile, not believing how gullible this filly was and quickly took the book and opened it. Reading about Vile, the fallen mage. "Yes, the fallen mage was a powerful and evil unicorn, who created a infinite source of magic, called the Infinity necklace. He tried to conquer the world, using its powers and was the most powerful unicorn to have lived. With the necklace power, he could rule the world." "Wow, he was powerful! What happened to him and the necklace?" Cozy flip a few pages and found it "It said he was defeated by Elements of Harmony by the first ever princess of Equestria, she defeated and destroyed him. They tried to destroy the necklace but the power of the necklace was too great, that they had to seal it away in the vault of the castle!" Cozy shut the book and laugh evilly. Breaker was confused "Um, what's funny?" Cozy calmed down and put her hoof over her mouth "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just funny how stupid the mage was, to think he can rule the world, he was so weak and couldn't beat a mere princess. It just funny, the power the necklace he had, and he couldn't use it properly and got his butt kicked." Breaker laugh too "Yeah, he was weak, like a little foal." "Yeah, and it says the vault is deep underground, and only a few ponies have access to it. If I can get my hooves on the necklace, then I can-" Cozy quickly realize she said that out loud and quickly looked at Breaker, who just smiled at her, still being naive, so Cozy just said "I can have friends, yeah friends." she felt sick saying that. "You don't have friends? I'll be your friend!" Cozy forced a smile "Yes, I would love that and you'll be my first friend." "Yay! This is awesome!" cheered Breaker, pumping her hooves in the air. Cozy rolled her eyes and looked at the book, again "Now, to get the necklace, we need a way to get inside the castle vault. There is only one way in and that is with the Royal family, but only the princess and a few members have access." "I can get us in there!" Cozy turned her head towards her and looked at her with shock and surprise "You can!? How?" Breaker gave her a smug look "I'm not telling but I really can get us in there!" Cozy wanted to kill this foal and slowly walked closer to her "I would like to know how, because it would make things so much easier and I wouldn't have to waste time figuring out a plan." "Oh, yeah, a plan. Sorry, Cozy, but I'm not telling. I just can't. But I can get us in." Cozy growled under her breath and smiled at her "Well, if that's true, then you can help me. You can't tell anyone about our little secret, alright." "Sure, but why?" "It's just our little game, a fun game. You can't tell anypony, you have to keep this between us. Promise?" asked Cozy, giving Breaker a fake smile. "Sure, I won't tell." "Promise me." said Cozy, with a evil look in her eyes. Breaker put her hoof over her heart "Okay, I promise, no matter what, I won't tell anyone about our new friendship!" "Good, now-wait what!? Friendship!?" Breaker gave her a smile "Yes, that's what this is, right? We're friends, right? We're hanging out and having fun, so we are friends!" "Friends..." whispered Cozy, feeling sick to her stomach as she said that. "Yep, best friends." Cozy forced a smile "R-right, best friends. Bestest of friends. Now, let's get going." Breaker jumped in the air, excited to go and Cozy slowly followed her, smiling as her plan was working, so far and it wouldn't be long till she gets the necklace and takes her revenge. She had wonderful thoughts of defeating Twilight and the others, while laughing evilly but suddenly felt someone grabbing her hoof, it was Breaker, who was walking next to her and smiling happily at her. Cozy was surprised at first and was about to yell at her but then stopped and smiled, thinking about her plan and smiled. She held onto her hoof, as the two girls walked through the school back exit and towards the castle. It wasn't long until Breaker asked her something. "Hey, Cozy?" "Yes, what is it?" "Why don't you have any friends?" Cozy didn't say anything and just looked ahead, not wanting to answer. Breaker look down, thinking it was a sour topic for her "I'm sorry, that was rude." "No, no, it's fine." Cozy sighed, getting real tired of all this friendship crap "To be honest, I don't really understand friendship or why ponies are so obsessed with it. It's not like it's anything special." Breaker looked down in sadness, saying "...maybe you just didn't meet the right ponies or creatures, yet." Cozy looked at her, annoyed and angry, but hid it behind her fake smile. She hated to talk about this, not just because it made her mad but because she felt her plan was falling apart, if she keeps asking these kinds of questions. "What makes them so special, that they deserve to have such power over me?" "Power over you? What do you mean?" Cozy stopped, letting go of Breaker hoof and looked down, shaking her head "Forget it." Breaker tilted her head and looked at her, concerned and confused. She never seen a pony act like this and wasn't sure what to do and didn't want to push Cozy's buttons but she had to know "...did your friends had power over you? Used you? Hurt you?" Cozy didn't respond and was getting really mad. Breaker walked closer to her and reached her hoof out, placing it on her shoulder, making her flinch. Cozy was surprised, feeling her hoof on her shoulder and looked up at her and she didn't see a look of disgust or hatred or fear but a look of kindness and understanding. "Cozy, I don't know why ponies hurt you and used you, but I'm not going to. I would never do that and you don't need them. You have me now and I'm going to show you, you're special and have a heart. You don't need to be the strongest, bravest or smartest to have a place here." Breaker placed her hoof on her own heart "It's not about being the best or having the most, its about being there for each other, even when you have nothing. That's what makes friends, a friend and I'll be there for you, no matter what. It's like a cool and fastest pegasus alive once told 'Live and learn! Open your heart! It doesn't matter now what happens, as long as I follow my rainbow. So, don't give up on the chance for friendship and a second chance. That's what life is about: giving and taking chances.' and I'll take that chance with you." Cozy stared at her, her mouth was wide open in shock and was speechless. She wasn't sure what to say or how to respond and was so angry but it soon faded and she had a different emotion and didn't want to admit it. Breaker just smiled, as Cozy stood there and looked at her and soon she smiled too. She didn't believe in second chances but seeing this filly made her think twice. "Maybe you're right, maybe..." but Cozy shook her head, as she remembered being used by others, so many times and couldn't trust this girl, so put on a fake smile again "So, about the necklace, are you sure we can get into the vault?" Breaker gave her a nod, not wanting to push her more than she already has. "Well, good, let's go. Just need to be careful." said Cozy, seeing all the guards and ponies around. "Don't worry, I got us covered." replied Breaker, taking Cozy hoof again. Cozy wasn't sure how but didn't question it and followed her as they kept walking through the back alleyways of the streets, away from the guards. She wasn't sure why but her heart was racing and not just from the excitement, the plan was coming together and she would finally be powerful enough to take revenge on Twilight and the others. It felt so good and was getting really excited, not able to contain herself. She couldn't wait to have all that power and she would take down those fools. (As my daughter was leading Cozy back to the castle, I, Dash and the others were almost done in sitting up the party) Twilight stood in the middle of the great hall of the castle, checking off stuff as she looked around, seeing everyone setting up things. She could see Pinkie setting up the decorations with her party cannon while Rarity and her sister helped her, before getting covered in decoration by a misfire of the cannon, causing Pinkie to laugh and apologize, for shooting them. Rainbow Dash and her parents was busy helping set up the tables, making sure everything was ready and Applejack and her family was getting the food ready in the kitchen. Her own parents and family were busy getting the last details of the party ready but she noticed Fluttershy finally arriving but she was alone, which made her wonder where was Discord. Fluttershy saw Twilight and waved at her and walked up to her, smiling at her and asked "Hi, Twilight, how is the party preparations going?" Twilight returned her smile "Hey, Fluttershy, it's going well but are you alone? Thought Discord would be with you." "Oh, well..." Fluttershy looked nervous, like she didn't know how to explain the reason "...he's not coming. Can't say why, sorry Twilight." Twilight had a feeling it was something stupid, knowing Discord. Fluttershy continued, not wanting to talk about him "So, need some help?" "Yes, could you make sure the balloons are set up?" "Of course, I'll get right to it!" Fluttershy turned around, leaving Twilight alone and went over to the box of balloon, helping Cheese Sandwich with the rest. Twilight look at her list but quickly heard something being rolled into the hall and look up and saw DJ Pon-3, pushing her DJ equipment. "DJ Pon-3, you a little late, but welcome." said Twilight, looking over her list again and check it off. DJ Pon-3 gave her a nod and started setting up her equipment. Twilight smiled and put the list down on nearby table, walking over to the DJ table, seeing her setting up but soon seeing DJ Pon-3 girlfriend walking into the hall with rest of the DJ stuff and her own cello case. Twilight knew who it was and greeted her, as she was helping her girlfriend set up. "Octavia Melody, I'm glad you could make it, Dash only wanted a DJ but I felt we needed some 'classic' music as well. Glad you two can come, it will be a great party, thanks to the both of you." Octavia nodded, smiling "We're happy to be here, this is going to be a great party." "Thanks, Octavia." Twilight looked over the great hall, seeing the DJ equipment, food, the balloons, tables and a lot of the other things set up and looked at the clock and smiled, knowing the party would start soon "This will be a party, Breaker will always remember! oh!" Twilight noticed Starlight, Sunburst, Sunset and Dawn arrived, as Sunset was talking to Starlight. Twilight could see Dawn was carrying a huge gift and quickly looking around for her best friend, Breaker. "Starlight, glad you can make it." Twilight hugged her friend and then hugged Sunburst and then Sunset. She smiled at Dawn "And I'm so happy you and your family could make it, Dawn, it's always a pleasure seeing you. I know Breaker going to be happy to see you like always! She's always talking about you." Dawn blushed and couldn't help but smile "Thanks, Princess..." Twilight petted her head "Please, just call me Twilight. Any friend of my daughters is a friend of mine." "Th...thanks, Twilight." "Dawn, why don't you put the gift with the other gifts over there?" Starlight pointed over to the other gifts but Dawn gave her a cold look, making Starlight sad. "Oh, um, sure..." Dawn carried the huge gift over to the other gifts. Sunset followed her as she was carrying a gift as well, leaving the three alone to talk. "So, have you two finish talking it over about Dawn being my chosen student? Like I said after the test, she's has high level of magical energy and I would love to have her as my student. She could learn a lot from me and could teach her a lot of stuff, like how Celestia taught me." Starlight sighed, looking sad and nervous "...well, we have and I have a lot of questions about the program. Even more so, if she becomes...an alicorn." Twilight's smiled faded, seeing her best friend was very nervous and unsure about this. Twilight looked around and saw no one was near them, so she whispered "You still don't think I should chose Dawn as my future successor? Because of her...secret?" then turning to Sunburst, who became sad but his wife held his hoof, telling him everything will be okay. As the three were talking, Dawn returned and asked where was Breaker. Making Twilight quickly looking around the great hall and seeing everything was ready. She turned to Dawn and answered her "She's at the school library. Can you get her? The surprise party is ready for her now." "I can get her. I'll be right back!" Dawn ran out of the hall, heading for the school but quickly noticing Cozy and Breaker, sneaking their way into the castle and wonder who the was pink alicorn filly was and followed them. (Braver and Cozy got into the castle without any of the guards noticing and was about to head to the underground vault but Braver made a stop to her room.) "Why are we here?" Breaker let go of her hand and opened the door, revealing her messy room, filled with books and junk, that looked like a tornado went through the room. She entered her room, looking around the mess and sighed. "I'm not much of a clean person. My mom is always yelling at me, saying I need to clean my room but I'm too busy to do that." "Yeah, it's a pig sty. But why are we here, when we should be heading to the vault?" Braver turned around and looked down at her "...You said we were friends, right?" "Yes, so what?" Breaker glee with happiness and quickly returning for something in her room, while Cozy sighed with annoyance, seeing her wasting time but unknown to the two, Dawn was spying on them from behind the door with a cold stare. "Here!" Breaker ran back to her, holding a huge box and setting it down and opening it. Cozy looked inside and see just junk but Breaker took out a friendship bracelet, made from yarn, beads and feathers and looked at her "...This is something I've learned from Dawn, my bestest friend! She calls its a friendship bracelet. See, I'm wearing mine." Breaker showed her the one on her arm, which Dawn made her. Cozy wasn't interested, rolling her eyes "That's great but what does this have to do with m-huh!?" Cozy was taken aback as Breaker held her hoof and put it on her, causing her to blush. "There!" Breaker took out the same one from the box and put it on "Now we have matching ones! We're the best of friends, now! Right, Cozy?" asked Breaker, putting her hoof near hers, showing how they match. Cozy touch it and whisper "...R...right..." as she felt something strange in her, as Breaker gave her a warm smile, causing the strange feeling to grow more. Dawn, hiding behind the door, was filled with so much rage. Seeing Breaker with another filly and giving away a friendship bracelet like that. She believed that Breaker didn't need anymore friends when she had her. It was making her mad but the moment she was about to step in, Breaker pulled Cozy into a hug, seeing Cozy blushing red. This made Dawn break down the door, scaring the two and making them jump. "Breaker?!" screamed Dawn, with rage in her eyes. "Luster Dawn!" happily cheered Breaker, letting Cozy go and hugging Dawn with all her might, making the rage in Dawn completely disappear. "B...Breaker..." said Dawn, hugging her back and so filled with joy. Cozy looked at the two and sigh, seeing her chance to get into the vault was over. Dawn and Breaker let each other go, making Dawn glare at Cozy and asking who she is and why was she hugging her. "Oh, she's my new friend, her name is Cozy Glow. I'm helping her to get inside the underground vault! We're doing a treasure hunt! Want to join us!?" asked Breaker. "No, because we have somewhere to be!" "But Dawn..." whine Breaker, making Dawn blush but Cozy glared at her, making Dawn glare back. "I said no, we have to be somewhere. It's related to you. So let's go" Breaker became sad, causing Dawn to feel bad but quickly shook her head and grab her hoof and pulled her out of the room by force, which cause Cozy to be angry. Not because she lost her way into the vault but because she was seeing someone using their so called friendship, to make the other do what they want and the look on Breaker face, made Cozy realized that this was something Breaker didn't like. She quickly got between the two and glare at Dawn. "See Breaker, this is what I mean. So called friends using their power of friendship to get what they want, not caring for what the other wants or thinks. This is the true colors of friendship and why I don't have any. I won't allow this, not even if it's against you." Cozy turned around, smiling at Breaker and taking her hoof and pulling her away "Come on, let's go to the vault." Dawn growled, grabbing the other side of Breaker hoof, not allowing her to move. "She's not going with you! She's coming with me and if you think, I'm going to lose her to you, think again!" Breaker became nervous, seeing her two bestest friends fighting as they used her as tug of war. "She might be a blockhead but I'm not letting someone like you be her friend!" Dawn grew more mad as she heard Cozy call Breaker that "Blockhead!? It's Breaker! I'll have you know that I'm her first and only friend, she doesn't need someone like you. So just go away and leave us alone!" Cozy wasn't backing down, pulling harder "She's MY friend now and she's coming with ME, so let go!" "Like hell, I will! I'm not letting you have her!" "I'm not letting her go!" Breaker felt the two were about to break her arms, causing her to cry and beg the two to stop but the two were so caught up in their anger, they didn't hear her. They kept tugging, not stopping until Breaker pulled them towards her and hug them both, causing both fillies to blush bright red. "Please stop! Don't fight over me. Please, I can't see my bestest friends, fight like this!" cried Breaker, shocking the two, as they heard her cry. Cozy had a worried look on her face, while Dawn notice it. "...You really care about her, don't you?" asked Dawn, looking at Cozy. Cozy looked away "So, what of it? It doesn't mean anything." "I care about her too...deeply." When Cozy heard that, she felt something in her, it was fear but she didn't know why. She slowly turned to the crying Breaker and that fear disappeared. She started to realize what it was and she didn't like it, so she decided to do what she was planning on doing and use her. She push Breaker off and dust herself off and said "Good for you but Breaker here promise me to get inside the vault. Promises comes first before friendship, right Breaker?" Breaker looked up at Cozy and slowly nodded, as she was still sad. Dawn growled at her, causing Cozy to smirk and walked past her "Then come on, let's go." "I'm coming too! I'm not leaving her alone with you!" Cozy sighed, looking over her shoulder at her and smiled "Fine by me." The three headed towards the underground basement, where the vault was located and finally stood in front of the huge doors. Cozy turned to Breaker, asking how to get inside, which Breaker told them to turn around, as they couldn't see her unlock it, not wanting to reveal her slime powers to anyone. Cozy didn't want to, but Dawn put her arm around her neck and forced, holding her tight. "Hey! Let go!" shouted Cozy, trying to get out of her grip but couldn't. "If you want to be friends with her, then you're going to need start trusting her. If not, then you can't be friends with her!" Cozy stop fighting, causing Dawn to let her go. Both stood there, waiting, while Breaker turned into a puddle of slime and getting inside the crack of the doors and creeping into the lock system and trying to unlock the doors. Cozy could hear the lock being work on, which made her smile. Her goal of getting her revenge was going to come true and no one will stand in her way. Dawn noticed the smile, glaring at her. "I still don't trust you, not one bit." Cozy looked at her, glaring back "I don't need you to. I'm only going to be friends with Breaker and you ca-" Cozy froze as she heard herself say that, as it came out of her mouth without her realizing. She wasn't here to be friends with Breaker. She quickly remember her plans, destroying Twilight and her friends and ruling over all of Equestria. That was the only thing on her mind and yet, Breaker appeared in her thoughts, seeing that stupid blockhead smile, making her blush. She became angry and wanting to punch that blockhead face...yet, she wanted to nuzzle that stupid face and- "Stop it! Stop thinking of that blockhead!" "That blockhead is my friend, so stop calling her that! She only needs me!" shouted Dawn, grabbing Cozy collar and glaring at her. Cozy pushed her off, glaring hard at her "You keep saying your her friend but the way you talk about her, it sounds like you see her as some kind of possession and not a living breathing person!" Dawn growled, about to snap back but the vault door was slowly opening, causing the two to look and notice Breaker walking out of the vault, smiling and looking worn out. "I did it! I open the vault!" cheered Breaker, not noticing the tension in the room. The two didn't say anything, just standing there. Dawn walked up to her and told her, she did a good job, causing her to be less worn out. Cozy didn't like this, so she walked pass them but she quickly gave Breaker a hug, shocking her and Dawn. "Thank you, Breaker, you did great. Come on, let's check the vault together." Dawn was annoyed by this as they entered the vault and seeing the treasures it held but Cozy was interested in a grey necklace with a red gem that looked like a infinite loop and pick it up and putting it on. As she did, a red light surrounded her, causing her to fall to her knees and holding her head in pain. "What's happening!?" shouted Dawn, rushing to her side and Breaker was worried and was about to help her, until the light was gone and Cozy stood up, smiling. "Joking! It was a prank. You really should've seen the look on your faces, priceless!" giggled Cozy, causing Dawn to growl. "You little!" Dawn shouted but Breaker, who was laughing at the joke, held her back "Why are even here? What's so important about this necklace?" Cozy didn't reply, just smirking at her and leaving the room, which pissed her off more but Breaker kept her back, not wanting to see her friend fight again. She asked her question, hoping to change topics. "Dawn, I forgot to ask but where did I needed to be?" "What? Oh, that's right!" said Dawn, finally calming down and remembering the surprise party "Just follow me!" Dawn lead her down the dark hall, passing Cozy, who quickly ran up to Dawn, thinking she was going to warn the others. "Where are you going?" asked Cozy, with a faint red aura forming around her. Dawn glared at her but sighed as she pulled her in and whisper "To her surprise party." "Oh...wait, will everyone be there? Like Twilight and her stupid friends?" Dawn tip her head in confusing "Of course! Everyone was invited and will be there. Why you ask?...stupid friends?" Cozy smirk and quickly grabbed Breaker hoof and made her to run faster "Just checking is all." As they reached the great hall, the girls stopped and saw everything dark, until the lights turned on, revealing Breaker parents, family and friends, all of them yelling out 'Surprise!' "Wow, a surprise party for me? But why?" asked Breaker, not understanding what's going on. Before Twilight and Dash could answer, they quickly noticed Cozy behind her, glaring at Twilight and ready to fight. "What's the meaning of this!?" shouted Twilight, pointing her hoof at Cozy, while Dash and rest of her friends stood ready to take on Cozy. "You have a lot of nerve coming here after what you did!" shouted Dash, cracking her hooves. Cozy smirk as the necklace gem started to glow red and a red aura filled the whole area "Why else I'm here? I'm here to settle the score with the almighty Twilight Sparkle and her stupid friends." Breaker stepped forward and asking what she meant by that and why she was fighting. Cozy looked at her and simply trapped her in a magical cube. "Blockhead, I was just using you. I need to get inside the vault and with you, it was easy. With this necklace made by Vile Darkness, I can't be stopped." Twilight stepped forward, asking her if that was really the necklace of Infinity, to which Cozy smirked and said yes, causing Twilight to gasped. "Scared are we? Well, you should be because with this, I can't be stopped and you're going down!" Twilight shook her head and said "No! You don't understand! That necklace is-" but before she could finish, Twilight was blasted by a red beam and crash into the music stage. "Twilight!" yelled Dash and the rest, rushing to her aid, while Breaker was shocked by this and tried to stop Cozy but she wasn't listening. "Is powerful!? I know! I'm not an idiot!" yelled Cozy, sending a beam towards Twilight again, as the necklace gem grew brighter. "You really are an idiot!" shouted Twilight, dodging the attack. "Why are you saying that!?" asked Cozy, stopping her attack. "That necklace isn't what you think it is!" Cozy brush off her warning and started blasting her again and everyone in the room, laughing. The necklace gem glowed more and more, as the attacks become faster and more powerful. "Come on, come on, use it already! Use it!" thought Cozy, as she blasted the walls, floor and ceiling, as it all began to break and crumble "USE YOUR DUMB FRIENDSHIP MAGIC ALREADY!" While this was going on, Dawn hurried over to the cube and tried to get Breaker out. "I knew she was up to no good! We have to stop her before it's too late!" shouted Dawn, using her magic on the cube but nothing was happening. She quickly noticed Breaker crying. "Is this my fault?" asked Breaker, feeling bad "If I didn't open the vault, this wouldn't have happen. Am I bad?" "No, no, no, no, no!" said Dawn, shaking her head, still trying to get her out but nothing was working "None of this is your fault! You're not a bad girl! Your sweet, kind and loving. Please stop crying, Breaker! She just used you!" Breaker could only watch but started to notice two glowing red eyes above Cozy. She could feel something was wrong and quickly punch the cube in one shot, causing Cozy to turn to her in shock. "How did you get out!?" shouted Cozy, trying to shoot her with her magic but nothing was happening. "Dawn, please leave. This is between me and her." "But..." Breaker turned to her in anger with pure white eyes "I SAID GO!" Dawn backed away and left, while Breaker turned back to Cozy, who was laughing "Someone mad? Are you mad that I used you? Did I hurt your feelings? What are you going to do about it?" Breaker didn't answer her and simply called out to her mom and asking her about the necklace and the warning she was trying to tell. Twilight, who had a barrier around herself and the others, answered her "The Necklace of Infinity is a cursed object made by an fallen mage, Vile Darkness. It's said the wearer will never run out of magic and it'll give the wearer anything they want but it will come at a cost!" "Cost!?" shouted Breaker and Cozy. Twilight nodded "The necklace is alive! It will take over the wearer body, slowly killing them! It's how Vile died, before the first ever princess could stop him but historians lied about how he was killed and hid the truth from the world. Please, Cozy, listen! If you keep this up, you'll die!" "COZY!" shouted Breaker, hoping she will listen but Cozy only could laugh "Cozy?" "She's lying! This necklace is mine and you're next!" Cozy fired off her two huge magical hands and grabbed Breaker head and started to brain washing her "You'll become my slave! YOU'LL BECOME MY EVERLASTING FRIEND!" She then looked over to Twilight and the others, while her fur became pure red "THEN I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL! I'M COZY GLOW AND I'M ABOVE ALL OF YOU!" The necklace gem grew bright as the magical hands were about to control Breaker's mind but she quickly scatter it with each punch. "NO!" shouted Cozy, in disbelief as the hands reformed but Breaker punched through it again. "I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT!" screamed Breaker as she soar towards Cozy, clashing with each other hooves, creating a powerful shock wave that pushed Twilight and the others back. "I won't lose!" shouted Cozy, trying to blast her with magic but the attacks were doing nothing and the more she used it, the weaker her body felt "What's going on!? Why aren't you taking any damage?!" Breaker push her forward and talking "You can't beat me with that lame power! You are stronger than that!" "SHUT UP! I'm above all of you, including you!" shouted Cozy, as she grew in size, until she was almost filling the hall, becoming a twisted version of herself with the two red eyes taking over "I'M INFINITE!" Breaker was unfazed by her new form, while everyone but Twilight and her friends was running or hiding in fear. Cozy created more hands from her back and slam them down on Breaker but she was still unfazed by it. "Cozy! It's controlling you! Take it off!" "SILENCE!" screamed Cozy, as the hands grab her and started to squeeze her tightly. Breaker scatter the hands again but she saw flashes of Cozy life, where she was being used by fake friends, that they didn't care for her and just wanted power over her. Soon, she saw Cozy doing the same thing to orders, even to her. Breaker could only frown when she saw those visions and felt Cozy pain and suffering. She pushed her back, crying "Cozy..." "SILENCE!" Cozy scream, creating another set of hands, while the red eyes glowed and her voice grew distorted "YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME! I'M INFINITE! YOU CAN'T SAVE HER!" Breaker eyes went white again, shouting at her mother to teleport everyone away and get them to safely, to which she agreed but told her that she and Dash was coming back right away. "I WILL DESTROY THE WORLD WITH THIS NECKLACE!" screamed Cozy, growing more and more insane and distorted. Breaker watched as Twilight teleported everyone and herself away, leaving her and Cozy alone, glaring each other down. "YOU SHOULD FEAR ME LITTLE ONE! I'M INFINITE OF MANA! I CAN'T EVER BE STOP!" shouted Cozy as she created millions of beams and blasted Breaker non stop and laughing but quickly stop as she saw Breaker slowly walking towards, unfazed by the attack "HOW!?" Breaker raised her head, smiling evil like "Infinite? Ha, your power is nothing but a drop in a bucket compared to me! Countless lives, countless stars, my own universe, I break them all! you aren't infinite but finite. I'M BREAKER! BREAKER OF ALL THINGS! BREAKER OF WORLDS AND STARS!" The creature that was controlling Cozy, started to shake in fear as the red eyes glowed and tried to attack her but Breaker wasn't afraid and kept walking forward. "Cozy, I know you can hear me and I don't care if the necklace is taking over you, I'll save you!" "SHUT UP! YOU CAN'T!" screamed Cozy, trying to hit her with her twisted hoof but it was broken into pieces. "I will. I'll break you free from that curse and we'll become best friends! No matter what, I'll always be there for you! I'll be your friend no matter what and will protect you from anyone who dares to use you!" shouted Breaker, jumping into the air and punching the necklace, scattering it to pieces and breaking Cozy free from it, turning her back to normal but there was a red mist all around her, not letting her go. Soon, Twilight, Dash and rest of the gang returned and could see Breaker sitting in front of Cozy, who's crying as the mist wasn't leaving her body. Dawn enter the doorway, looking as well as she just returned after she heard the fighting ending. "...I just wanted to be strong, so others can't use me..." cried Cozy, as Breaker got closer to her, smiling and touching her nose, not caring if the red mist is burning her hoof "I'm forever weak..." "You aren't weak." putting her hoof under Cozy chin, making her look up at her "You just need to find that drive, your fighting spirit." "...I'm a coward." "I know." "I'm weak." "I know." "I'm a liar." "I know." Cozy eyes went red with rage "WHY ARE YOU AGREEING WITH ME!?" but she notice Breaker burned hoof and moved away from her "Why? Why do you want to help me!? After everything I done? You idiot!" "Because I'm an idiot, a real dumb ass. I want to help those who can't help themselves. Because if I were in your shoes, I would need someone to help me. That's my fighting spirit! The spirit of someone who doesn't care about the odds or anything; they fight because they want to, but also to help those in need. I want to help you, no matter the cost, no matter the pain or sacrifice. If that makes me an idiot, then I'm a big freaking idiot. That's what Flash taught me!" Breaker said, doing a big stupid grin, just like Flash did for her that day. Cozy could only stare at her in disbelief, as the red mist was starting to leave her body, returning back to the fragments of the necklace. "You have the strength, the fighting spirit to become strong. You only need your friends to help you find it in you." said Breaker, hugging her "That's why I'm going to be your friend. No matter what, I will protect and love you. So, please, let me be your friend." Cozy shook her head, crying now. "It's not that simple!" "It is!" shouted Breaker, pushing her closer "Let's start over! Let's be friends! No lies, no deception, no fake smiles, no acting!" Cozy was crying hard now "But can I trust you?" "Don't give up on the chance for friendship and a second chance. That's what life is about: giving and taking chances. It's like Bolt told me. Take that chance! Take the leap!" "But..." "Let me in! Let us help you and make your dreams come true." Soon, the red mist was gone and Cozy was normal again, while the mist returned to red crystal that was on the floor, which Breaker crush it under her hoof. Cozy hugged her and crying her eyes out. It was a few days later but Breaker had her birthday party outside of the castle and in a park, everyone was there, even the old librarian and Cozy, who was being shy as she sat far away and being watched by Dash and the others, as the rest was partying and celebrating. Breaker were opening up presents but she came to the last present, which was a small bag from Cozy. Breaker opened it and her eyes went wide, crying and tackle hugged Cozy. "Really? It's just a silly friendship bracelet." "No, it's not! This is the best gift ever! Thank you!" shouted Breaker, crying her eyes out as she put the bracelet on, now having three, while Cozy showed her own, which was two now. Cozy smirk "I promise. I'll get stronger in my own way and be like you, miss Breaker of worlds!" Breaker blush "I'll never be evil again! I'll get stronger and won't be weak anymore! I'll never be a monster, so you can count on me, miss Breaker of stars!" laugh Cozy as Breaker couldn't believe Cozy heard her "Trying to act cool, gosh your cringe!" "Am not!" she cried, hiding her embarrass face, but Dawn was looking on, not happy that her friend was cozying up to someone else. Meanwhile, Twilight and Dash was watching all this, smiling but Twilight suddenly saw them... Bolt and Flash standing near her daughter and when she blink, they were gone. She turned to Dash, asking her if she saw that. "Saw what? Our daughter being cringe?" laugh Dash but Twilight knew what she saw. "...It was them...wasn't it?" she thought as she kept watching her daughter, who made a promise with Cozy, to get stronger together and never leave each behind. Twilight sighed and look up to the sky "They been friends ever since. Braver was able to help Cozy, something we couldn't ever do. It's like fate wanted this to happen." Twilah was listening but looking inside and turned to her friend "...you sure they're just friends?" "They are. Why you ask?" asked Twilight but Twilah only pointed inside, which made Twilight to look and went pale. Breaker was on top of Cozy, both on the floor and looking into each other eyes and blushing. Twilight saw Cozy going all shy, like she was ready for her first time, which Braver gulp and got closer. With one mighty blast, Twilight blew down the wall and using her Canterlot voice, shouted: "MY DAUGHTER WILL NOT TAKE ANY PONY'S VIRGINITY IN FRONT OF ME!! EVEN MORE SO WITH COZY OF ALL PONIES! GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" Braver and Cozy freak out and turned to Twilight and seeing Twilah, who was waving at them. "Mom!? This isn't what it looks like, I swear!" said Braver but Cozy grabbed her and smirk, enjoying seeing Twilight pissed off "Cozy?" "You know what? Your mother is right. It's our first time together and it should be special. I want my first time to be with you, in the castle, while your mom watches." "NO!!" screamed Twilight, using her magic to pull them apart and pulling Braver towards her and hugging her "I knew I couldn't trust you sweetie! But don't worry mommy is here! Shouldn't seek that kind of comfort because Dawn didn't love you!" "Mom, please!" cried Braver, who is super embarrassed as Cozy was laughing hard. Braver finally got free and look upset "We weren't going to do anything like that! Cozy wanted a book on Equestria history and I was gonna give it to her but I trip and fell on her." "B-But the kiss!? You was going to kiss her!?" stutter Twilight, remembering her daughter gulping and leaning in. Braver went red and stomp her hooves on the ground "I WAS GONNA GET UP! I WASN'T GOING TO KISS HER! I ONLY LOVE DAWN!" Twilight was gonna say something but notice Cozy looking hurt and she quickly realize it. After the misunderstanding, Braver kicked everyone out and slam the door, ignoring the big open hole in the tree. Twilight turned to Cozy and trying to find the right words to say, as she knew she was heart broken "Cozy...you...I didn't think you..." "Well, she has always been closer with Dawn. I guess she only sees me as a friend and nothing else." replied Cozy, putting the book in her saddle bag and walking away. Twilight quickly ran up to her and said "I'm sorry! If you need someone to talk too, I'm here. You are my daughter friend, so your my friend as well." Cozy laugh and said "Really? Wasn't you upset moments ago that you thought we were going to do the deed?" Twilight didn't say anything and Cozy laugh again. "It's ok. I have to be somewhere right now..." Twilight said nothing and just watch her fly away. As she was flying, Cozy finally let it out, crying and letting her tears fall "Why can't she love me like I love her? Is it because of Dawn or was I just stupid to think it could be me?" She kept flying and flying, until she landed near Fluttershy house and knock. Soon AJ opened it and let her in. Cozy could see Fluttershy, Spike and someone else she never seen before but yet, she has, as the creature was on the couch and wrap up in a blanket and crying. It was a human. Cozy turned to AJ and said "You wasn't joking when you sent that letter. She looks like Trixie. Did you get any info out of her?" AJ turned to Fluttershy, who handed her a flat wood bark, with a picture made by a woodpecker "She said Dr. Wonder was eaten by this human." Cozy eyes went wide when she heard that name "Braver said that name before." AJ nodded "It's one of the people who saved her along with Twilight and the others...gosh, how are we gonna tell her?" AJ shook her head and needed to stay on topic "Look at the picture and tell me that doesn't look like someone we know?" Cozy took the piece of bark and looked at the picture, as it was the picture of a human woman she never seen before and had a hole in her chest. Cozy didn't see it at first, until she notice her hair and ears looked just like... "Dawn?" end of chapter 9 > Chapter 10: Having To Face Your Problems > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cozy looked over to the human girl and back to the gang, asking what was going on. "This human version of Trixie said that Dr. Wonder sensed something powerful in between the multiverse, and when they checked it, they encountered this human with the hole in her chest. She knows Braver and her sister, saying she's searching for them. Then Dr. Wonder was..." AJ looked at Dr. Amazement with sadness, "eaten by a rainbow slime." Cozy froze when she heard that, making everyone notice the reaction. "You know who or what this is, don't you?" asked AJ. Cozy turned away and said no, but Fluttershy spoke, "Discord told me, Cozy. Before he left years ago. You found out something about Braver, and you asked him to help you. He didn't tell me the rest, so what happened? What's going? Why did you react to hearing about the rainbow slime?" Cozy sighs, not believing she was going to admit this: "I was spying on Twilight two years ago and saw her and Dash talking about something." 2 years ago Cozy snuck into the castle, wearing a black sneaking suit. "Ok, I'm in the castle; where are you?" thought Cozy, wondering around the halls and using her invisibility, until she found Braver walking out of her room and heading off somewhere, allowing Cozy to enter the room and start to search the room until she found what she was looking for. A magazine and smirking, seeing something circled. A figure set of an anime character. "Yes! I found her birthday gift! Even Dawn doesn't know about this. Blockhead is a weeb but hides it from everyone." squealed Cozy, putting the magazine back and exiting the room, heading out of the castle by running down the hall, but she stopped as she Braver coming out of her parents room. She walked by Cozy but stopped, sensing someone here. "Hello?" asked Braver. Cozy held her breath, hoping not to be caught. Braver shook her head, thinking it was her imagination and walked off. Cozy was about to run off, but she heard Twilight and Dash talking. "Oh boy, she wasn't being subtle in asking for what she wanted for her birthday gift," commented Twilight, returning to reading her book. "It's Braver. She's a bit on the dum-dum side and is a bit air-headed," laughed Dash, stretching and getting ready for bed. Twilight laughed a bit and closed her book. "She's getting older, and we still don't know what kind of slime creature she is. Other than Prime Discord telling us she's a "Chaos" slime, I wonder what he meant by that. I couldn't find anything related to that. Not even in Star Swirl's journals." Dash walked over to the door and closed it as she said, "Maybe we should asked our Discord?" "I doubt he would tell us. He seems to be enjoying the fact that we have no clue about our own child," said Twilight, annoyed by that. Dash laughed as she shut the door fully. Leaving Cozy alone, smiling. "This is a better gift than getting her that anime figure! I can find Braver's real family!" squealed Cozy in her thoughts, happy about her discovery, running down the hall and jumping out of the window. (The next day, I headed here, looking for Discord, and I thought he wouldn't tell me, but...) A map was tossed into Cozy's face, and she looked up, seeing a grinning Discord. "What's that for?" "You want to know where you can find Braver parent, don't you?" asked Discord, making a chair appear and sitting down. Cozy's eyes went wide, and she took the map and opened it. Seeing the map of Equestria and seeing every spots circled red made Cozy slowly look up, pissed off. "Did you just make a map and circle everything to just to prank me!?" growled Cozy, wanting to hit Discord. "What!? Me? Prank? I would never!" laughed Discord, turning the map into a banana moon pie and eating it. Cozy sighed and sat down. "I'm never going to get anything out of you, am I?" Discord shrugged. "You have no idea." "But you have some clue, don't you?" asked Cozy. Discord smiled and said, "You are one smart cookie; I'll give you that. Yes, I know who's she really is." "Tell me!" demanded Cozy, looking up at Discord, whose grin turned dark as he leaned in. "You really want to know? You sure? You might learn something about her." Cozy could tell Discord was not acting his stupid self, as he was giving off evil vibes. "Something that might change your point of view on her." Cozy didn't let his vibes scare her and nodded, making Discord smirk and summoning a history of Equestria and a real map. "Ok, I'll tell you." back in the present Cozy took out that same book and opened it. "For some odd reason, all copies of this version of the book have been destroyed or outright lost. This book talks about the Chaos Wars." "I never heard of that war," said Fluttershy. "I know Discord had a fight with Cosmos, but he never talked about a war." Cozy flipped a few pages and started to explain the war. "Long ago, even before the first Princess of Equestria ruled, there was a draconequus kingdom, which was peaceful with a slime race. They lived in peace until the king came to them, asking for help, as there was a powerful evil that was threatening his kingdom and creating a coup against him. Seeking help from them. Using their powerful magic, the slime invaded the kingdom but learned that the king lied about the evil but not the coup, as they learned that the king was the evil one and knew about a coup against him. Using a powerful magical item within his kingdom, he cursed the slime to lose control of their magic and become mad, becoming chaos slime's. The king sent them out, attacking other kingdoms. It wasn't long before some slime's returned from their madness and, with a few kingdoms, went to war against the evil king. The war was so great that the Draconequus kingdom was wiped away from the land. The remaining chaos slime went underground, not trusting anyone again. As the years went by, the world changed, and soon, the slime, the kingdom and the war were forgotten, only leaving behind the book. This is the only history of the Chaos Slime. The history of the Braver race...but also Discord; ever wonder why there aren't any other "draconequus" around?" Everyone looked shocked at the information but also wondered why he never told them that. "I asked him too but never answered me. We arrived to the location..." Back in the past Discord and Cozy step in front of a giant rock slide mountain side. "This is where they are," said Discord, making the rocks fall, revealing a giant cave. "Last chance to turn back. I don't have time for this, since I'm busy doing something else." Cozy was not backing down. "Good, follow me." They entered the cave, and it wasn't long before they found the ruins of an underground city, full of old houses. "Welcome to the last of the Chaos Slime cities. You won't find anyone here, so don't bother. They are all long dead." Discord snapped his finger, created a lawn chair, and sat down. "...what? Why?" Discord sighed, took out a box of popcorn, and started to explain, "They went insane from their magic because of the king's curse on them. It's why they sealed themselves away from the world. Protecting the world from themselves. The last one was alive nine years ago, but Braver killed her." Cozy grew angrily, smacking the popcorn out of Discord's hands, and was yelling at him, "Don't you dare start lying and saying awful things about her! I know you don't like her, but saying she...'hurt' someone!?" Discord sighs, getting the popcorn off of himself and tossing it into his mouth off screen, standing up. "I'm telling the truth. She came to me, asking for the whereabouts of her race. See, her race gives birth by passing on their memories to their child, and she was having visions of this place. I brought her here." explained Discord, snapping his fingers and recreating the past, showing Filly Braver walking with Discord and meeting a black slime creature near a broken fountain. "Mom?" said Braver, crying and smiling. Cozy didn't understand as the slime attacked Braver and turned into a warp-looking rainbow slime creature. "See, she was the last surviving chaos slime, and she went mad years ago. Braver tried to make her come back to her senses, but it was pointless. She was too far gone to be saved. So, she had to do something she swore she wouldn't do again." The memory showed Braver becoming the same black slime creature and crying rainbow tears as she had to destroy this universe version of her mother by scattering her with one punch and stomping on the remains as her mother tried to reform. Cozy was shocked. As she watched this, she could see Braver smiling evilly as she kept repeating "BREAK." "Braver?" asked Cozy softly. "Yeah, Braver did that. She's a killer, after all. I don't blame her, since it was her only way to end her suffering." said Discord, turning the memory off with a switch on the wall and sitting back down on his lawn chair, watching Cozy, who was trying to understand why, so Discord explained Braver's past, her being from another universe, becoming a weapon and clone of that universe Dash and Twilight, killing them and destroying her universe. "She's a monster, a being that should have died that day, but because of that Prime Fool, Twilight, Dash, and their other universe versions of themselves, she lived and became a living anomaly. You know why I hate her?" Cozy looked over, wondering why, and Discord answered. "She has changed this universe timeline. See, in this universe, her mother was meant to be found by a evil alicorn that was cast out of Skyros and unleashed her on the Equestria, creating a world-ending event and allowing this evil alicorn to steal all magic in the world. Twilight was meant to try to stop it, but she will fail like in every other universe, leading to Twilight removing the magic from the whole world and even herself, feeling the guilt of failing everyone. But that wouldn't happen now; Sunny and the others wouldn't exist now. My future friends are gone. I'll be alone when Fluttershy dies. No one will come to me..." "How did you know the timeline changed?" asked Cozy. "Fate," answered Discord. "Everything is written in stone. Like how you three were meant to die." Cozy was taken aback by that. Was she meant to die? She was meant "to die on that day?" Discord laughed and got up, making the chair disappear, and he walked over to her, looking down at her. "Yes, in this universe, that was your end because, like in every other universe and even in the prime universe, you and the others were never given a second chance. You weren't meant to have that chance. You are meant to be nothing but bad guys, being beaten by Twilight and the others. That's your fate!" Cozy stepped away from Discord and felt sick hearing that. "That's why I hate Braver. She changed the timeline and gave everyone a second chance by taking away Sunny and the others lives and futures. So tell me, do you regret learning the truth? The cold, hard truth, that the creature you love is a monster. Learning your real fate? Tell me, Oh, 'Infinite Cozy'!" Discord asked, laughing crazy-like. Cozy felt the world crumble and felt her heart ache and mind in pain as she felt sick. "Oh, it looks like she's having a panic attack, dear readers. It looks like it was too much for her to handle." Discord started to walk away but stopped as Cozy answered him. "No, I don't regret it! She's no monster! Not anymore! She's alive because nothing is truly written in stone! She gave me and the others a second chance in life, and I won't ever forget that! She made us move forward!" yelled Cozy, standing up and glaring at Discord. "She's my friend, and I'll believe in her till the end!" Discord was impressed and smirk. "I don't care what you think about her, because I know the real Braver!" Discord turned around "Breaker. What will you do when 'Breaker' returns? Ending this universe as well? Will you kill her? Will you run? Or will you stay by her side?" asked Discord, leaving Cozy with those questions. "Discord, was that why you left?" thought Fluttershy, hearing all that. Everyone was taking this in, not sure what to think or do, as Spike, Fluttershy, and AJ couldn't believe Twilight would seal away magic—not just the whole world but also her own magic. "She wouldn't, right?" asked Fluttershy softly. "We don't know what would have happened, but knowing her, she'll find a way to return it to the world. It's Twilight; she wouldn't give up that easy." said Spike. "It's still shocking, though. Twilight sealing all magic because she failed to stop this evil Alicorn?" said AJ, taking her hat and looking at it. "Yeah, but it was for the greater good. I'm sure Twilight would have done it if there wasn't another way," replied Fluttershy, tapping AJ's shoulder. "Right?" AJ put back on her hat and looked over at her friends. "I don't know, but we're going to put a pin on this for now and stay focused on the main reason we're here." AJ turned to Cozy, picking up the bark image. "So, in one universe, this version of Dawn found a chaos slime, a version of Braver mom, and used it for evil. Not surprising." Cozy rose an eye brow. "What do you mean by that?" AJ looked at her and said, "Cozy...Tempest is missing. After I warned her, that I had a bad feeling about Dawn. I returned to her home last night, and there was a heavy sense of magic used in the area, like someone attacked her. Spike also told me Tirek is missing. I thi-" AJ was cut as Cozy asked her one question. "What kind of feeling?" AJ looked away, thinking and answering her, "That something was off about her. Like-" "Like the way she looks and only cares about Braver? She has an obsession with her. I know." quickly said Cozy, looking down. "I know there was something wrong with her when I first met her, but..." Cozy looked back at AJ and the others. "Braver asked us to be her friends with her, as Braver, being a blockhead, doesn't see that obsession but sees a lonely girl. We tried to share our friendship with her, but she didn't want it. We could sense there was something wrong with her." AJ didn't know what to say, so Fluttershy spoke up. "We believe both Dawn's are working together and up to something, something to do with your friends. That's why we called you here—to warn you. We tried to warn Chrysalis, but she's hard to find when she doesn't have a home and is always on the move. We're going to warn Luna next." Cozy took the bark back and put it back in her saddle bag. "Thanks for telling me." AJ looked over at Spike and Fluttershy, who joined her in worrying in Cozy reaction, "Are you okay? I know this is sudden, and you grew up with Dawn." "Yeah, I'm fine, I guess. It's just..." Cozy was silent before continuing, "Braver is going to be heartbroken... I better tell her." Everyone in the room shouted "NO!" causing Cozy to be surprised. Spike walked over. "I'm sorry, but no, please. I know this is hard and everything, but we have no proof, only guesses, weird feelings, or seeing her act strange. You know how Braver is like Twilight; she feels friendship can solve any problem, even those that can't be solved with it. We have to prove that Dawn is not only working with this evil version of herself but also with her obsession with Braver. I know you are worried for Braver's safety, but this is for her sake. If we tell her now, it'll crush her and go against her alone. She also acts like Dash..." "Not to mention, Twilight won't believe us since this is her student, and knowing Dash, she'll be on her side." said AJ. Fluttershy spoke up. "I have an idea, but it may not work. I'll have to try to find Discord. He talked about seeing the future because of fate, so he might know what's happening OR going to happen. If anyone knows anything, it's him." "Yeah, that might work, thanks," replied AJ, turning back to Cozy. "I'm sorry, but for the sake of Braver and Twilight, we have to keep this a secret." Cozy sighed and nodded, agreeing, but she said that she was going to warn Luna and Chrysalis, but AJ stopped her, telling her, "Look, Cozy, I'm having that same feeling again. This time..." She looked over at Fluttershy, nodding, and back to Cozy. "I'm not the only one having that feeling. Be safe, okay?" Cozy blinked. "Yeah, I'll keep my eyes open." She turned and left the house. AJ turned and looked at Spike. "Keep a close eye on Twilight. I'm going to get the others in on this. I have a feeling things are about to get bad, and I believe the elements are warning us." "You mean-" "Yes, the elements are sensing something dangerous. I wonder why Twilight and Dash aren't having this feeling?" Dr. Amazement was hearing all this, as she had back to everyone on the couch. She dug her head into the couch, thinking what she should do... Meanwhile, in the sky, Cozy is heading to Luna and Celestia's old castle in Everfree Forest, where the two moved back after retiring and letting Twilight take over. "Dawn, I knew there was something wrong with you, but I won't let you hurt Braver." Cozy eyes went red. "NEVER!" Back in New Ponyville, Braver was groaning as her mom kept bothering her as Twilight stepped through the hole in the wall. "Honey, please!" said Twilight, as Twilah walked in as well, and both used their magic to fill up the wall, facing an annoyed Braver. "Mom! Please stop, okay? I keep telling you! You are wrong in what you believe is going on." said Braver, annoyed. Twilight tapped her hooves and looked at Twilah, who nodded at her, making Twilight breathe in and looking back at Braver, who's picking books off the chart and putting them back, as she was gonna open up the library. "Sweetie, you have to face reality and see that Dawn doesn't love you the same way you do," said Twilight, trying to sound gentle. Braver sighed, turned around, and faced her mother, who looked concerned. "Look, I know you are trying to be helpful, but you and I have been having this discussion over and over, and I'm getting annoyed with you repeating yourself. Dawn loves me, and I love her. End of discussion." Twilight walked up to her and put her hoof on her chest,making her look up at her. "Braver, you're just not thinking clearly. You can't even see someone else love you, not giving them a chance." "Who?" asked Braver. Twilah walked over. "I can't believe you haven't noticed. It's right in front of you, all the time." Braver looked between them, confused. "Okay, what's going on?" Twilight and Twilah looked at each other, worried, and Twilight spoke, "Well, um, we don't know how you'll take this, but I believe it's for the best. Um, how do I put this?" "Mom?" Twilight sighed "Braver, Cozy loves you." Twilight and Twilah watched as Braver was about to say something but quickly froze and thought about it, seeing her getting nervous and melting a bit. "No, we're friends..." said Braver weakly, not believing her. Twilight sat down next to her, putting her arm around her and holding her close. "Sweetie, Cozy has been showing you that she loves you, like a lot. Remember how she acted when you were on top of her? There must of have been other times she acted strangely when you two were alone, right? Like, how would she get flustered, or even cling to you?" Twilah joined in, sitting on the other side of her. "Twilight told me that you two are almost always together, hanging out, like you're inseparable, just like with Dawn. How you feel for Dawn is the same way she feels about you." "I have known her forever; we're friends, we're not-" Twilight and Twilah gave her a look as Braver realized, "I..." Braver touches her chest as she remembers how Cozy will act around her when they're alone, and deep down, she loves it. Her wings started to do the dance again, but this time she quickly ripped them off and pushed her mom and Twilah away, screaming at herself, "NO! WHY!?" "Sweetie?" asked Twilight, seeing her daughter walking in a circle. "No! No, no, no! Why?! Why!? Why?! Why?! Why!?" screamed Braver, her voice breaking. Twilight and Twilah rushed over and hugged her, holding her. "Honey, calm down!" shouted Twilight as Braver pushed them away and turned, crying and covering her face, her body shaking. "WHY!? Why tell me this, mom!? I love Dawn, but...telling me Cozy loves me?" She turned to her with rainbow tears in her eyes. "My heart is beating when I remember how Cozy has been acting weird around me sometimes. I love her too! But I love Dawn, so why!? Why can't I only love her? Why tell me now?" "Braver, I know it's hard, and it must be shocking for you, but you need to stop lying to yourself; Dawn doesn't love you the way you love her." explained Twilight, walking closer to her daughter. Braver shook her head. "No, no, no! STOP SAYING SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT! I BROKE DAWN HEART OKAY!? She told me she loved me, but I didn't know she cared about me! HAPPY NOW!? I MESS UP OUR FRIENDSHIP AND BECAME WHAT I NEVER WANTED TO BE, HURTING OTHERS AGAIN!" she cried harder. Twilight was lost for words; she was wrong about Dawn not loving her daughter and seeing the truth in her daughter's words, as she was hurting. "Why couldn't you believe me? Why? You don't trust me, mom!?" cried Braver, shaking. "Sweetie, I do." "No, you don't! IF YOU DID, YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE AND TRYING TO ACT LIKE YOU KNOW EVERYTHING!" cried Braver. Twilight's eyes widen and she looks away, realizing what Sunset was warning her about. "Sweetie... I'm so sorry; you're right; I should have trusted you, and I'm sorry." said Twilight, tears in her eyes, feeling terrible. Twilah covered her mouth, realizing she had caused this mess, pushing Twilight to say something to her daughter, which ended up like this. "I should have listened to Sunset; she's right," thought Twilah. "I need to fix this!" Twilah teleported away, leaving Twilight and Braver alone. Outside of the castle and its Buckball court, Dash, Dashie, and Blitz were having a free-for-all match against each other. Dashie was dribbling the ball while dodging Dash's fast attack and Blitz's tail and dunking the ball into the basket. "Yes, score another point for Dashie!" cheered Dashie, smiling and giving a thumbs up to herself. "Score? You keep using your hands! When you are meant to use your feet, It's called Buckball for a reason. And how many times do I need to tell you not to use your hands?" stated Dash, glaring at Dashie. "Well, excuse me, Miss, I know it all." teased Dashie, smiling and walking close to Dash. "Didn't we agree on a free style on this? Besides, this Buckball is just like basketball." "Basketball, huh?" asked Dash, smiling and crossing her arms. "Yeah, it's a game humans play." explained Dashie. "Hmm, interesting. How do you play that? Maybe me and Twilight can try it out," asked Dash, interested. "Sure, it's actually fun; I can teach you." smiled Dashie, happy. Blitz walked to the bench, picked up her towel, and wiped her sweat away, enjoying the sport while also hanging out with her mom and Dash. She stops as she senses something and sees her mom teleporting in front of her. "Mom? What's up? Where's Twi and Braver? Did the session go well?" asked Blitz, tilting her head and walking close to her. "Um yeah, I...I need your help," said Twilah, looking away. "Help? With what?" Dash and Dashie noticed her and walked over as well. After Twilah explained everything, she could see all three faces palming. "Twilah, what the heck!?" asked Dashie, not believing what her future wife did. "Twilight!" shouted Dash, kicking the Buckball as she couldn't believe what her wife did. "Mom, I love you, but FUCK!" yelled Blitz, slamming her towel on the ground. "You shouldn't be butting into their lives and trying to fix something that isn't your business. You know better than this." "Blitz, I know, and I'm sorry," apologized Twilah, sadly. "Look, Twilight and Braver can figure this out themselves. Don't get involved; just leave them alone," explained Blitz. "Alright..." said Twilah. "But what can we do to help them?" asked Dashie, worried. "Nothing; there is nothing we can do, as it's their problem," quickly said Blitz. Dash flew over to her and said, "Nah, we have to do something now, or Twilight is going to make it worse." "I know, which is why we aren't going to do anything," stated Blitz. "And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Dash, glaring at her. "Means, we won't do anything. You have to trust her to make things right. Not trusting someone is what led to this mess. We're not going to do anything, okay?" asked Blitz, seriously. Dash crossed her arms in disagreement. "Sorry, kid, but I know my wife, and she's going to make things worse. We need to fix this. Right, Dashie and Twilah?" asked Dash, smiling. Blitz could see her parents agreeing with Dash, making her sigh loudly, and watching the grown-up make a plan. Twilight and Braver haven't moved from their spots, and Braver has finally calmed down. She was looking away from her mom, still mad at her. Twilight didn't know what to say and was upset with herself for doing something so stupid and not listening to her daughter. She looked up and called out to her. "Braver... I'm so sorry. I never should have done that. Please forgive me." apologized Twilight, walking over to her. "..." Twilight stopped and was upset that Braver hadn't even looked at her. She couldn't bear her daughter hating her. "Braver, please, I'm sorry," cried Twilight, tears falling from her face. "..." "Braver, I love you; I always have and always will. I just wanted to be there for you because I keep failing you in doing that. I don't know what else to say or do,.." cried Twilight but her daughter said nothing again "I'm a horrible mother; I know that. You can hate me, you can yell at me, you can even slap me; just don't ignore me. That hurts more than anything else in the world." Braver finally turned to her and, with a sad look on her face, spoke, "Mom, I can't hate you. I love you too." She teleported behind her and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her. Twilight couldn't believe it; her daughter wasn't mad at her. "You aren't mad?" Braver hug her tighter, making her cough "No, I'm still mad as heck! but..." Braver's arm went soft, freeing Twilight from the tight grip. "I understand why you did it. You are always there for me, and you never once gave up on me." "So...you forgive me?" asked Twilight, seeing her daughter letting go and sitting in front of her. "Yes, but trust me from now on, okay?" "Okay, I promise." Before they could hug again, Twilah returned with the others. "We came as fast as we could!" shouted Dash, landing next to her wife. "Is everything okay?" asked Dashie, walking over with her family. "Yes," said Twilight and Braver, but both were cut off as Dash put her hooves in their mouths. "Braver, I know you're fighting with mom, but to help you two get along again, how about we have a family day out to..." Dash pulled her hooves out of their mouths and put on sunglasses. "To the beach!" Twilight and Braver's eyes widen. "It's been awhile, but..." Twilight turned to her daughter, worrying about the sunscreen problem. "I'm okay with this, mom; just get the right sunscreen, okay?" smiled Braver. "Of course, sweetheart," nodded Twilight, smiling. "Great! Beach, beach, beach, beach!" chanted Dash, flying in a circle. Dashie, Blitz, and Twilah looked at each other, smiling. Later in the day, Twilight teleported everyone to the beach near Fillydelphia, which had a sandy beach, clear waters, and the sun shining. Twilight summoned the changing rooms, allowing Blitz and her family to change while they set up beach chairs and umbrellas. Dash could see Twilight and Braver talking and laughing, wondering if the trip was helping. "Glad the two are getting along again. I knew a family trip to the beach would be the best," smiled Dash, watching them getting along. Meanwhile, Blitz and the others step out of the stalls, wearing swimsuits. "Man, when was the last time we were at a beach as a family?" asked Dashie, holding Twilah's hand, while Blitz was ahead of them. "It's been a few years, I believe." said Twilah, looking at her. Dashie watched as Blitz hurried over to Braver, who was amazed by Blitz's swimsuit. "What's wrong, my love?" asked Twilah. "Hmm? Oh nothing. Just happy for Blitz and Braver. They are great sisters. I'm glad they could meet each other again, but..." Twilah could see the frown on her face, knowing why she had it. This won't last, as they need to return home, and the twins won't be able to see each other again. "How about this? I will talk to the girls, and we will try our best to make a portal to come and visit them, okay?" smiled Twilah, kissing her forehead. Dashie held her hand tighter. "You shouldn't give them hope, Twilah. What if you can't? Then what? How do we tell them that they can't visit anymore or talk to each other? It will break their hearts." "Dashie, we will figure something out. I promise, no matter what." Dashie grip went soft. "I know you are the smartest person in our universe and even here. I'm lucky to have you." Twilah leaned her forehead against hers, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment, but it was only a moment as Twilah stepped back and let go of her hand. "I better hang out with Dash." Dashie watched her walk away, hating how the stupid universe was trying to make them love their counterparts, and the only way to delay it was to hang out with each other. Dashie kept watching as she could see Dash talking to Twilah, becoming upset, and flying away with her. "Well, let's do this then." Dashie joined Twilight and their daughters as Twilight took out the sunscreen, but this time, the one that wouldn't hurt Braver. "Here, honey, I made sure this one wouldn't hurt you. I can do your front, if you like," said Twilight, holding out the bottle. "Uh, can I do it myself, mom? I'm a big girl now, you know?" Twilight frowns a bit. "Oh, well, okay. Here honey. Make sure to cover everything, especially your horn." "Okay mom." Braver took the bottle and started rubbing it on her legs and arms. Dashie turned to Twi, still noticing her being upset. After Braver got the sunscreen on herself, she took her sister to the water. As they were watching, Dashie finally asked her something that's been on her mind for a bit. "So, is she still upset that you didn't trust her?" Twilight shook her head. "No, she forgave me before you guys came. I need to start trusting in her more; she's not a little filly anymore. She's 16, not 6." Dashie turned her body to Twilight and said, "So, that's the problem, huh?" Twilight sighed, realizing Dashie had figured it out. "Yeah, it's not that I don't want her to grow up and become her own pony, but she's growing up so fast. It feels like yesterday that she was just learning to fly, and now she's flying far away from me." Dashie turned back to their kids, watching Blitz get red as Braver kept pulling her swimsuit, as she didn't understand why she's wearing one. "I know. Blitz is growing up so fast. She's 16 as well, but unlike you guys, we only had her for five years. I wish we were older when all that stuff happened ten years ago. We would have had more time with her." Dashie faces Twilight, looking sad at her. "But that's life; we can't go back and change it, but we can still have time with our daughters, even though they are growing up and wanting to explore the world." Twilight looked at Dashie, seeing the tears forming in her eyes. "Oh Dash, you don't have to hold back. You can cry. I know I am." "N-no. No crying. If I cry, the girls will start asking questions, and we can't have that." Dashie turned her gaze away from her, wiping her eyes, but she felt Twi hugging her from behind. Dashie tensed up but soon relaxed as Twilight rested her head on her shoulder. "Twilight, don't. Ponies and creatures—even our daughters might—" "I don't care; let them watch. Dash, I want you to know that I love you and that I'm glad that we got married. I'm glad that we had a child together. Even though she isn't ours biologically, she is ours, and I wouldn't change a thing." Dashie realized what was going on. She quickly tried to tell her to remember who she truly loves, but Twilight kissed her very softly. Dashie closed her eyes, allowing the kiss—the first kiss they had felt so good, but kissing again felt better. Dashie wanted more, but Twilight broke it as they heard their daughters calling out to them. They could see Braver was not fazed by what happened, but Blitz looked upset and hurt. That's when Twilight quickly realized what she did—touching her wedding necklace, repeating what Dashie asked her to do, and remembering Dash. Meanwhile, Dashie stood up, telling the girls she could explain, but Blitz ran off, while Braver followed her. Dashie dropped back down, holding her head in her hands. "Oh god, she thinks I cheated on Twilah! We have to tell them the truth now." Twilight turned to her, still rubbing her necklace. "Dash-I mean, Dashie, calm down; everything will be alright. But yes, we should tell them now, or more misunderstandings will happen again." Before they could stand up, someone with a dark blue head got between them, wearing sunglasses and their mane up in a ponytail. They both realized who it was as they yelled out, "Luna!?" Luna took off her sunglasses, smirking, "Hello, old and new friends." "What are you doing here? Are you here with Celestia!?" asked Twilight, looking for the former teacher but not seeing her anywhere. Luna did a snort laugh as she forced her way to sit between the two, putting an arm around both of them, which is easy to do since Luna is a tall alicorn now. "My, my, you two seem tense; have something happened or did I interrupt something?" Twilight and Dashie turned red, making Luna smirk harder, and she put her glasses back on. "Sis!?" shouted Braver, trying to catch up with Blitz, who was still running but wasn't as fast. "What's wrong!?" Blitz stopped, panting and huffing. Braver came beside her, asking her again, "Blitz, what's wrong?" Blitz looked at her, and her eyes began to water up. "What's wrong!? WHAT'S WRONG!? WE SAW OUR MOMS KISSING!?" "Yeah, so?" Blitz looked dumbfounded at her sister. "So!?" Braver tips her head. "Yeah, what's the big deal?" "What's the big deal!? Our moms are kissing, and you don't see a problem with it!?" "No." Blitz shook her head and walked back and forth, trying to understand, and finally stopping in front with her hands out, "WHY!?" Braver held her hands with her hooves. "Because mom is still loving mom. Even if it's not the same Dash, it's still Dash. There's nothing wrong with that. It's still their love, no matter what." Blitz pulled away, shaking her head, not understanding, and started pacing again. "How can you be so okay with this!? Don't you get it!? Its cheating! My mom isn't Dash!" "But she is!" Blitz stop in front of her. "NO, SHE ISN'T!" "Yes, she is!" yelled Braver, getting annoyed. "NO, SHE'S NOT!" "YES, SHE IS, BLITZ!" "NO, IT'S CHEATING, BECAUSE SHE ISN'T YOUR DASH!" "MOM IS MOM! NO MATTER THE UNIVERSE!" Blitz pushed her: "Stop calling my parents your mom; they're mine mothers, not yours!" Braver looked hurt by that, which Blitz saw, but she turned away from her. "Go away, I hate you." "You don't mean that, sis." Blitz stomped her feet on the sand, turning back to her. "Yes, I do! LIKE HOW YOU BELIEVED MY REAL MOTHERS WERE YOUR MOMS! They didn't even know who you were! ONLY THE FAKES YOU CREATED LOVED YOU! NOT THE REAL ONES!" "THAT'S NOT TRUE!" screamed Braver, with rainbow tears. "YES, IT IS!" Braver stomps her hoof in the sand, causing a powerful quake. "NO, IT'S NOT!" Blitz was breathing hard, her face turning red, her heart pounding fast, and her vision going blurry because of tears as she faced away from her. She yelled, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! IF OUR PARENTS ARE TOGETHER, THEN MY MOM IS CHEATING, AND YOUR DASH WILL BE HURT BY THIS! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT EVEN A PONY LIKE ME! GET LOST!" "I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE! I LOVE YOU, BLITZ!" Blitz was going to yell at her, but the words stuck in her throat. Her heart was beating fast and hard, and she could hear her blood pumping. She turned to her, shocking Braver, as she could see rainbow tears in her sister's eyes. She raised her hand and made a fist. "...What!?" said Braver, as she could feel her cheek hurting as her little sister punched her, sending her flying away, with sand blasting across the beach. Ponies and creatures were blown back by the powerful winds. Blitz cried hard, screaming in anger and sadness and holding her chest, feeling the pain on her cheek. She could feel her heart beating, and she quickly ran off, looking for her mom and Dash. She wanted to tell them what Twilight and Dashie had done. Back with Dashie and Twilight, they took Luna somewhere private and explained what was happening. "I see, two of the same person can't coexist in the same universe, or they will fuse as one. While this cure is being made, you four are trying to delay it by hanging with other lovers and remembering who you loved, correct?" asked Luna. "Yep, that's about right." answered Twilight. "And the girls saw you two making out, correct?" asked Luna again. "They did, and I don't know how to explain this to Blitz." answered Dashie, looking shameful. Luna nodded her head and stood up. "I will talk and tell the girls to come here, and we can discuss this." "Thank you," said Twilight, hugging her. Before Luna could see anything, all three could see the beach being blasted with a powerful gust of wind, blowing the sand, and someone crashing into the open fields. All three could tell it was a pony, and Twilight's ears perked up. "Braver!" They ran over to her, with Dashie and Twilight looking worried, while Luna knew Braver was fine; she had seen her friend take the worst hits and always looked fine. But Luna became worried, seeing her friend truly look hurt as Dashie and Twi sat her up. "Braver, are you okay? What happen?" asked Twilight in her motherly voice. "Braver?" asked Dashie, also in a motherly voice. Braver slowly got up, rubbing her cheek. She was hurt and sad. She turned to them, crying, "Blitz, hit me?" Blitz was looking for her mom and Dash, until she spotted them under a dock. She could see Dash showing off by scooping up calms with her tail, tossing it high in the air, and catching it. "Ta da, did you see that? Pretty awesome, Twilah? I'm the master at finding calms." Dash said in a cocky voice, pounding her chest. "Yes, I did; you're the greatest and masterful at finding the biggest and perfect calms. You're amazing." replied Twilah, pretending to be impressed by her. "Well, I am so cool and amazing!" laughed Dash, not hearing the sarcasm in Twilah's voice. "Mom, mom!" cried Blitz, running over to them but freezing in shock, seeing Dash pushing Twilah against the wooden pillar of the dock and making out with her, holding her by her hips and lifting her up, pressing their bodies together. Blitz was going to scream. She wanted to get angry and yell at her mom and Dash, calling them cheaters, but she could see someone next to her, making her jump. She recognized the white body and long white horn. "Chrysalis?" Chrysalis didn't reply, as she was watching the two with her arms crossed and not saying anything. Blitz looked back, she could see them letting go and freaking out. She didn't understand what was going on. "I sense forceful love here." simply said Chrysalis. Blitz looked at her, then back at her mom and Dash. She shook her head, not understanding, and she tried to call out to her mom, but before she could, Chrysalis picked her up, carrying her towards them. She struggled but couldn't break free. "Chrysalis, put me down, right now!" demanded Blitz, struggling. "Hush now, loud child!" said Chrysalis, walking up to the two. "Mom, mom!" called out Blitz, still struggling. Dash and Twilah turned around, shocked to see Blitz and Chrysalis. Dash was confused about how Chrysalis was here, and Twilah was wondering why she's holding Blitz. Chrysalis set her down and faced the two, mad. "Who's forcing this 'love' on you? It's not real love, you two. This isn't your love; you know that, right?" "Chrysalis, please don't." "Don't what, Dash? You and Twilah aren't in love. You should be stronger than this. Why are you allowing this to happen? Not only that." She turned to Twilah and said, "Your daughter here saw everything. So, you're okay with this, cheating?" Dash looked away, feeling shameful, and Twilah lowered her head, ashamed. Blitz was looking at the two, seeing their shameful looks. "Why? Why are you cheating?" Twilah tried to say something, but Blitz yelled at her, "SHUT UP! Why all four of you acting like this? IS THIS SOME SICK KINK YOU GUYS HAVE OR SOMETHING!?" "Calm down, loud child." said Chrysalis, putting her hoof on Blitz's shoulder. "DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" screamed Blitz, pushing Chrysalis hoof away. Twilah steps forward. "Blitz, we can explain." "YOU TWO ARE CHEATING! YOU CAN'T EX-" Blitz was about to yell at her some more, but something in her mind clicked, and she turned to Chrysalis. "Wait, force love?" Chrysalis looked at her and said, "Yes, I could sense some weird magic coming from here, but it's nothing like I've ever seen before. It's almost like it's coming from the universe or something." Chrysalis could see Blitz's face palming. "What's wrong?" Blitz stepped back, thinking. She turned to the two with an understanding look. "We need to get back home, don't we?" Twilah and Dash could see that Blitz now knew what was going on and nodded. making her sigh. "Care to explain?" asked Chrysalis, confused about what's going on. "She hit me!?" shouted Braver, in anger and shaking the dirt and sand off her body. "Why!?" asked Dashie, mad that her daughter hit her sister like this. "Did you two fight?" Braver explained everything, causing Twilight and Dash to look at each other, realizing they had to explain Blitz what was happening, but they could feel an earthquake and turn back to Braver, stomping away in her slime form. "SHE HIT ME!? HER BIG SISTER! I'll show her how a REAL punch is!" yelled Braver, heading off back to the beach. "Braver!" yelled Twilight, chasing after her and trying to get her under control, but Luna landed in front of Braver, her chest out. Braver stopped and looked up at Luna, with anger still in her eyes. "Luna?" "Friend Braver, I do not care if you're mad; you're not hitting anyone. Even your sister." "But, Luna, she-" "You will not, I repeat, will not hit your sister, no matter what she does. Calm yourself. Your little sister saw something that upset her; you need to realize that, and you made it worse. Let her be. As a little sister myself, you have no idea how hurt and betrayed we feel." Braver lowered her head, looking away. "...okay." Braver sat down, and Twilight sat next to her, telling her what's happening with her and the others, finally understanding but also upset, which Dashie noticed and asked her why she was upset. "Cuz, Blitz said mean things to me, which I understand why she said it, but it still hurts." Luna sat in front of her friend with a warm smile. "Friend Braver, I know the pain of the betrayal; it really hurts, but you can't let it take over. Your sister may have said mean things to you; I'm sure she's very sorry about that, just as I was when I fought against my older sister. We all do, say, and do things that we don't mean. Remember what you said to me all those many moons ago? You have to let go. Let go of your hate, let go of your pain, and let go of your sorrow. Move forward. You can't forget, but you can't let those feelings consume you. Your sister will come around. We're here for you." Braver eyes went wide, and tears ran down her face. "Thank you, Luna!" Braver hugged her. Luna blushed, hugging her back, while Dashie and Twilight looked on. Dashie turned to Twi, asking her how these two became friends. 5 years ago It was a few years ago when we were on a camping trip in Everfree Forest and arrived in Celestia and Luna's old castle, as they had restored it and were living in it again. The trip was mostly a field trip for Dawn, as she's my student at this time, but Braver tagged along with us. Even though I said no, she wanted to spend time with Dawn like always. I couldn't say no to her. As we were settling into the castle, I went over to the balcony with the girls and looked over the forest. "This is Everfree Forest, girls." "Cool," said Breaker, looking over the railing. "So, is this a normal camping trip or is this like a special thing?" asked Dawn, standing next to Twilight. "It's a normal camping trip; I just wanted to show you something before heading back home. Think of it as a quick history lesson, right, Celestia?" "That's correct, Twilight." They turned around, seeing Celestia coming towards the group. Twilight was almost half the size of her teacher, who had a big smile on her face as she saw Dawn. "Seeing you with your student reminds me of the old days, Twilight. How have you been, dear?" "I'm doing great, Celestia." Celestia and Twilight talked, leaving Dawn and Breaker alone. Both took the time to look around and spot a figure walking down the stairs. It was Luna, but she looks very tired, like she hasn't slept in days. "Are you okay?" asked Dawn. Luna stopped and looked at the two with a yawn. "Ah, good day. You must be the new Princess Twilight Sparkle student. My name is Luna." "Nice to meet you; I'm Luster Dawn." bowed the student, not wanting to mess up meeting a former princess. Luna walked over and stood in front of her. "A pleasure." "Are you alright?" asked Breaker. "Huh? Oh yes, I'm fine. Just tired is all." Luna said again and realized who this was: "Breaker, correct? Princess Twilight adopted a daughter. I can sense the powerful magic inside of you." Breaker steps back, a little worried. "You can?" "Yes, even after many moons, I'm still the strongest. No offense to Twilight or my big sister, they are very strong and powerful alicorns but my powers come from the darkness of the night. Twilight's powers are the spark of friendship magic, while Celestia's is solar magic. While I have power over the night sky and the moon, I can still sense the strongest of magic from you... Yours very unique, but yet, it feels familiar somehow." Luna yawned and could see the young alicorn looking scared. "Or maybe I'm just sleepy and rambling. Forgive me. I'll let you two get back to your lesson or whatever the reason you are here. I have something to do." Luna walked away. "Are you okay?" asked Dawn, concerned about Breaker, as she saw her being all nervous. "Yes, I just didn't think she would feel my magic, and..." she looked at her hooves "Seeing her again..." Dawn tip her head. "Again? I thought this was the first time meeting her, no?" Breaker realized what she said. "No, you're right. I guess I'm just tired too. Let's go join the others." "Okay?" The two walked over to Twilight and Celestia, asking why they stopped here for the camping trip, as Twilight was excited about bringing Dawn here. Celestia led the group to a room, while Breaker stopped and looked back, seeing Luna walking up the stairs and disappearing. "Hey, Breaker!" shouted Dawn. "Coming, sorry." Dawn and Breaker follow the adults, arriving in a very old-looking room where there were a lot of destroyed stained glass windows and broken pillars. At the far end of the room is a circle platform and the only part of the castle that had overgrown plants in it. "Why is this place so overgrown and in ruins?" asked Dawn, looking around the room. Celestia and Twilight went over to the platform and turned to the girls, smiling as Twilight started to explain this room. "This is where it all started, where I found my spark." Twilight could hear the girls repeating that word, not understanding it. "Yes, my spark. The spark of my friends, the spark that helped me defeat Nightmare Moon, the spark that changed my life, and the spark I hope you can find one day, my dear student, You need to open up to others and learn about friendship, as it's a big part of life." Dawn turned to Breaker. "But I already have a great friend! She's my spark, teacher! Breaker is my spark! I don't need any more friends. I only need her!" Twilight and Celestia looked at each other, thinking this wasn't working, while Breaker's eyes went wide and she had a big smile on her face. "Thank you, Dawn!" "No problem!" smiled back Dawn. Celestia and Twilight sighed. "While yes, Breaker is your friend, as she's the first pony that you have ever become friends with, there's more than just her. I've watched you these past years and haven't seen you make any friends. All you have is her. If anything happened to her, how would you react?" asked Twilight. Dawn lowered her head, looking sad. "What my dear Twilight is trying to say is that she just wants you to open up and make friends. She wants the best for you. Do not become alone if something happens to Breaker. That's the worst feeling in the world. You have a family; you have a great friend and teacher. Make new friends and see what the world has to offer." explained Celestia. Twilight nodded. "She's right. Make new friends and find that spark. The spark that resides in the hearts of us all." "And where is that spark located?" asked Dawn. Twilight put a hoof on her heart and smiled, "In your heart. In everyone's heart. You have to search for it and let it guide you. Don't be afraid of the unknown, the new, or the future." "But..." Dawn looked back at Breaker, blushing. "It already had! It led me to Breaker, my one and only friend! I don't need anyone else. Just her!" replied Dawn, walking away and standing next to her friend, Breaker. Twilight sighed, rubbing her forehead, and walked over to the young unicorn, while Celestia stepped back. Twilight lowered her head and was at eye level with her student. "You have to try and make friends, Dawn. You have to try and open your heart." "I did! I did open my heart! To Breaker, and she's all I need!" "Then why are you upset now?" Dawn turned away, not wanting to answer. "My dear little Dawn, you can't always have one friend. One friend isn't enough. You have to open your heart, let the world in, and make friends. Breaker won't be here forever." "Hey, don't worry, I won't ever leave your side, Dawn." Breaker said, hugging Dawn, "I'll always be here!" Dawn nodded and hugged her back more, while Twilight had an upset look, knowing bringing her daughter along on this camping trip wasn't a good idea. For this very reason, Breaker and Dawn are just too close and will do anything for each other. "Let's put a pin on this and try again another time, without my sweet daughter being here," replied Twilight, walking over to her daughter and nuzzling her. Celestia walked over. "I agree, another time. Now, who's hungry? I bet it's way past dinner time. Let's eat, shall we?" smiled Celestia. Dawn and Breaker followed Celestia out of the room, while Twilight looked back at the platform, remembering the past, then left. It was midnight, and Luna was looking up at the cloudy night sky, yawning as she hadn't gotten enough sleep and couldn't go to sleep. She walked out of the balcony and back into her messy bedroom, with books, maps, and her bed covered in blankets. She lay on her bed and sighed, trying to get to sleep, but she sensed something. She sat up and looked around, sensing it was close by. She got out of bed and out of the room. She looked down the hall and could feel it coming from the guest bedroom. She walked over and knocked on the door. "Hello?" Luna opened the door, seeing Twilight sitting up and rubbing her eyes, still half asleep. "Twilight?" "Hm? Luna?" "What are you doing up at this late hour? Its midnight." "I could say the same to you." "Fair." Twilight returned, laying down and snuggling with her daughter, Breaker, but the two could see Breaker moving around and talking in her sleep. "Is she okay?" asked Luna, walking over to them. "Yeah, She's just having a bad nightmare." "Ah, yes. Happens to the best of us. Is this the first time she has had a nightmare like this?" "No, she has them every now and then." replied Twilight, frowning. Luna put a hoof on the sleeping pony, then could sense something different. "Her magic is powerful. Almost like my own, my sister, and even yours. You said she's from another universe, correct?" "Yeah. Dash and I, along with other versions of our selves, saved her and her twin. She's basically a clone of Dash and I. She was...sorry, I can't say more; it's not my place to tell others about her past. That's for her to explain to others," explained Twilight, nuzzling her daughter, trying to calm her down. "Fascinating. Maybe that's why it's so powerful and different." Twilight and Luna looked at the sleeping Breaker, who was now crying and saying no in her sleep. Luna took a deep breath, using her magic, and put a sleeping spell on the young pony. She calmed down, stopped talking, and stopped moving. Luna smiled, thinking it was over, but Twilight shook her head as Breaker started moving again and having the nightmare again. Luna is surprised by this. "This must be a powerful nightmare! I must go into her nightmare to comfort her; even though I'm not a princess anymore, it's still my duty to help ponies with their nightmares and dreams." Twilight smiled. "Thank you, Luna. But please be careful." "Of course. I know her magic is strong, and I will not underestimate her. I will be back. Goodnight, friend Twilight." "Goodnight, Luna." Luna walked over to the other side of the bed and lay next to Breaker, nuzzling her before closing her eyes. She fell into a deep sleep, entering Breaker's mind, and was in a dream world, but there was something off. "What? This isn't her nightmare, can it be?"Luna asked herself, finding herself in a garden with a large tree in the middle. She could see the garden enclosed by brick walls and part of the house. Luna walked over to the tree, touching it, and noticed a glass door to her left. She walked to it and slid open the door, walking inside. "Hello? Breaker, are you in here?" Luna walked around the living room, seeing pictures on the wall. She stopped and looked at them. "Who is this?" She could see a young Dash and Twilight, both wearing outfits, but there was someone in the middle—it wasn't Breaker at all, but an alicorn she had never seen before. She looked away from the photos and saw that the living room floor had children's drawings and toys. The drawings were Dash, Twilight, and Breaker, but there were also two strange drawings of creatures that looked like Dash and Twilight. She could also see drawings of Rainbow Dash again, but much younger and with a black color in her rainbow mane. She also noticed the same alicorn in the photo, but in the drawings with Breaker and the younger Dash. She was about to pick it up, but she sensed someone looking at her from the stairs. She looked at the stairs, seeing someone hiding under a rainbow blanket and running off. "Breaker!?" called out Luna, chasing after the pony and upstairs. She got to the second floor, seeing three doors. Two of them had drawings on them. The alicorn and Dash on them. The third door had a pure black pony, which looked like Breaker. She sensed something again, looking behind herself and seeing no one. She turned back and could see the pony again, still hiding under the rainbow blanket. "Breaker?" called out Luna, but the pony opened the door with Breaker drawing on it and disappeared into it as it shut close. Luna walked over to the door and opened it, but was blasted by a blinding light. Luna found herself in a castle, which looked destroyed and covered in black slime. She could sense Breaker, but also something else. It wasn't a good feeling. It felt evil and twisted. Luna gulped and walked forward, stepping over the destruction. "Hello?" Luna called out, but her voice echoed in the empty castle. Luna could see the throne room was destroyed, seeing the throne on the ground and covered in black slime. "Breaker!?" called out Luna once more. "Who are you!?" said a voice from behind her. Luna turned around, seeing the rainbow blanket covered pony. Hiding behind a pillar. "It's okay; I'm a friend of your parents. I'm here to help. Are you okay, Breaker?" The pony just stared at Luna while walking out from behind the pillar. "Can you tell me your name?" asked the pony. "Yes, it's Luna." The pony took a step back. Shaking with fear, Luna took notice. "Why are you afraid?" "Its...its nothing. Sorry." "Don't be. You can trust me, Breaker." "I'm not her." "Huh?" she said in confusion. "I'm not her. I'm not Breaker. I'm 'me'!" "But...that doesn't make sense. If you're not Breaker, who are you?" The pony hurried over to her, looking up at her. Luna could sense the same powerful magic that Breaker had, but it was different. It was almost like it was in harmony and balance. "Help her!" "What? What are you talking about? Who needs help?" "Breaker!" Luna stood there, confused. "She's hurting herself again!" Luna's eyes went wide as she heard that, "Where is she?" The pony pointed behind Luna, who turned to find Breaker on the ruin throne, crying as two twisted slime dismembering floating skull heads of Celestia and herself, covering the area with their slime and, spoke evil things to her. "Bring us the night! Eat everyone! Bring us the night! Everyone will die by the night!" Breaker was crying and shaking her head. "Kill the weapon! Save the kingdom of days! Kill the magical bio weapon!" Breaker shook her head, screaming. "She's in pain! Stop it! Don't hurt her!" cried out the other pony. "What is going on here!? I don't understand. Breaker, who are these twisted versions of me and my sister? What is this?" The two twisted sisters turn and look at Luna, who took a step back, feeling her body freeze in fear. She looked into their eyes, seeing their dark and soulless eyes. Soon, the screams of ponies and creatures could be heard outside the castle. The castle walls fell apart, revealing all life being absorbed into the black slime. Luna could see it all—all creatures screaming out in pain as they were being eaten by the slime, becoming bones, and soon, nothing. "Bring the night! End the weapon life!" chanted the slime sisters, which slowly became one and became a copy of Breaker, a slime version. "No! NO! Noooooooo!" cried out Breaker, who punch at the copy, hitting it and causing it to explode. As the smoke cleared, Luna and Breaker's eyes went wide, seeing a completely burned-charred Rainbow Dash, dragging her left leg, and her wings burning to a crisp. One of the eyes melted away. "Sweet pea...why?" said Rainbow Dash, frowning as she collapsed onto the ground. Dead. "NO!" screamed Breaker as the black slime covered her, turning her back into her slime form. Luna could see the blanket-covered pony standing next to her; even though Luna couldn't see the face, she could see rainbow tears falling from the pony's face. She turned back to Breaker with her own tears in her eyes. She has seen many nightmares, but never like this. She could sense that this wasn't a dream but a memory—a powerful, painful memory. She stepped forward, calling out to her. "Breaker, it's okay. It wasn't your fault." Breaker just sat there, not saying anything. "You know it wasn't your fault. It was all their fault, wasn't it? The twisted version of Celestia and I." Breaker raised her head. "YOU KNOW NOTHING! NOT THE TRUTH!" Luna could feel the powerful scream, almost blowing her off her hooves. She shut her eyes and gathered all her magic within her. Her eyes opened, glowing, as she used her royal Canterlot voice. "SILENCE, YOUNG PONY!" Breaker narrowed her eyes in anger. "YOU LISTEN HERE, AND YOU LISTEN GOOD! IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT! WHATEVER HAPPENED IN YOUR UNIVERSE, IT WASN'T YOU! THEY DID SOMETHING TO YOU, DIDN'T THEY!? DON'T BELIEVE THEIR WORDS; THEY'RE NOT TRUE. YOUR FAMILY IS TRUE; TWILIGHT AND RAINBOW DASH; YOUR NEW MOTHERS ARE TRUE. WE ALL ARE! SO WHY DO YOU LET THIS TWISTED VERSION OF CELESTIA AND I, MAKE YOU BELIEVE THEIR WORDS ARE TRUE?" Suddenly, Breaker was in front of Luna, with her pure white eyes, her white halo, and the five rainbow halos behind her back, screaming at her, "BECAUSE THEIR WORDS ARE TRUE! MY UNIVERSE, MY MOTHERS, ALL LIFE, ALL STARS! I BROKE THEM ALL! I'M BREAKER OF ALL THINGS! A MONSTER, A WEAPON! I DON'T DESERVE ANY LOVE! I DESERVE DEATH!" "NO, YOU DON'T! EVERYONE, NO MATTER WHAT, DESERVES LOVE! I CAN FEEL YOUR PAIN AND YOUR SUFFERING. I'VE BEEN IN YOUR SHOES, YOU KNOW. I GREW UP HATING MY SISTER, UNTIL THAT HATRED BECAME NIGHTMARE MOON! BETRAYING MY DEAR SISTER AND HURTING ALL LIFE!" shouted Luna, blasting the world around them with magic, revealing the same place that Luna was saved all those years ago: "BUT I WAS SAVED BY YOUR WONDERFUL MOTHERS AND THEIR FRIENDS! AND EVEN MY DEAR SISTER, CELESTIA, WHO SHOWED ME THERE IS ALWAYS FORGIVENESS. NOW, I LIVE WITH THAT MEMORY, HELPING ME REMEMBER THAT LOVE IS STRONGER THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD. THE LOVE OF FRIENDSHIP! THE LOVE FOR FAMILY! SO, LET ME HELP YOU, JUST LIKE MY SISTER AND FRIENDS HELPED ME, AND TAKE YOU AWAY FROM THIS PAIN!" Breaker closed her eyes, crying, and her slime shot out. Luna stood there, feeling the slime blow past her, not affecting her. She smiled and walked over to Breaker, using her hoof to wipe the rainbow tears from her eyes. She cast a memory spell, a spell that she hopes will work. "Sweetie." called out Twilight and Dash. Breaker turned to them, stunned at seeing them. "Mommy and mama?" Twilight and Dash walked over, but they weren't alone; soon other versions of themselves appeared. All standing there, smiling. Luna could see another version of Twilight, who is wearing a red sundress and Dash, wearing an old worn out blue jacket. Standing between the two was a filly Rainbow Dash, but the one she saw in the drawings "Sis! You big dummy!" said the filly. All of them gathered around Breaker. "We're all here, Breaker." Breaker started to cry as she heard the speeches they all gave five years ago, once more. The dream world started to be filled with blinding lights as Breaker started to wake up. Luna smiled, but she could see the blanket-covered pony waving at her, and soon Twilight and Dash that were wearing clothing walked over to her and waving as well. She could hear their voices. "Thank you for helping, my dear Breaker!" "Thank you for helping our sweet pea!" "Thank you for helping my big s-" but her voice was cut off as Luna found herself back in the guest bedroom. "Luna, you did it," softly said Twilight, as she could see her daughter waking up but nuzzling her mother side and falling back to sleep, but peacefully now, with no signs of tears or crying. There were no signs of having a nightmare. Luna smiled, watching her sleep, and soon the whole room was filled with snores. Twilight held her daughter close and fell asleep soon after, snoring quietly. Luna quietly stood up and exited the room, proud that she could help. It was the afternoon, and Breaker was peeking into the room where Twilight and Celestia showed them, but she was asked to stay out of the room while they spoke to Dawn and tried to get through to her about having more than one friend. She could hear yelling, mostly from Dawn. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN MORE THAN ONE FRIEND?!" "You have one; it's a good start." said Celestia, sitting down and watching Twilight, looking more worried. "I don't need more! I ONLY NEED BREAKER!" "You're being selfish, you know!" stated Twilight, feeling done with this back and fourth. "WHAT!?" "You heard me. You only want Breaker as your friend, which is good, but she's not going to stop making friends with anyone." "So!? It doesn't mean I should do the same!" "It does! What happens if she can't be around you when her friends need her?" "But...she...ugh!" Dawn faced away from them, stomping one hoof. Twilight walked over and sat next to her, putting her hoof on her shoulder. "You can't expect her to be around you all the time. You're going to have to learn to share her with her friends and make new friends in doing so." Dawn slapped her hoof away and glared at her. "I don't want to!" Dawn walked away and sat behind a pillar. Twilight groans, as she wasn't happy to see her student like this. She turned to Celestia, asking if she was like this when Celestia was teaching her. Celestia laughed, saying that she was just as stubborn as Dawn, but instead of focusing on one friend, it was about focusing on her studies. Twilight cringes as she remembers her old self, making her former teacher laugh harder. Breaker shut the door and felt sad; she wanted to be at Dawn's side always, but she had to be with her new friends too. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a loud banging noise upstairs. She quickly went upstairs and could hear the banging noise coming from Luna's bedroom. She slowly opened the door and peeked inside, and she found Luna sitting on the floor and hitting her head on the wall repeatedly. Looking like a zombie. "You can do this, Luna. Just sleep," mumbled Luna as she kept hitting her head on the wall. Breaker ran over and held her head, stopping her from hitting her head on the wall. "Are you okay?" asked Breaker, worried. "Oh, hi, young Breaker," smiled Luna, walking to her bed. "It's just that I'm having a hard time sleeping. I don't know what's wrong." "Have you tried counting sheep?" asked Breaker, sitting on her bed. "I do, and I fall asleep for a moment, only to be awoken by something. Like my body is trying to stop me from sleeping," said Luna, laying her head on her pillow. "Do you mind if I try to help?" asked Breaker, walking over and placing her hoof on her head. Luna quickly recognized this magic; it was her own magic power. Before she could say anything, the spell put her to sleep, and she stayed asleep. Breaker could see darkness slowly taking over Luna's body. She felt fear as she believed it was her slime, but she could see it was something else. Something dark, a powerful dark energy. "I'll find out what is bothering you and put a stop to it," stated Breaker, putting her head on Luna's head. Breaker opened her eyes and found herself on top of an orb statue covered in overgrown vines and plants. She looked around and saw no one in the ruin room. She jumped off, could see lights coming from a tower, and hurried over to the window, seeing her reflection. She looked like Luna but also like Twilight. Her mane was a light purple and dark black slime. Before she could question it, she saw someone behind her in the reflection of the glass. She turned and saw a unicorn wearing a rainbow-colored blanket over her body. She waved at her to follow her. Breaker followed her, wondering who she was. She walked up the stairs with the blanket pony and saw an open door. They could see Twilight and her friends facing off against Nightmare Moon. Twilight steps forward. "You think you can destroy the elements of harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!" Twilight pointed to the others, explaining why they're the elements of harmony, while the gray scattered pieces of the harmony stones, floated around them. "You still don't have the sixth element! The spark didn't work!" sneered Nightmare Moon, looking ready to charge at them. "That's where you're wrong. You see, the spark did work." Twilight turned to her friends and said, "A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, and how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are my friends." Twilight turned to Nightmare with a serious look on her face and continued with her speech. "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by the..." Breaker was too focused on her mother's speech and the sixth element appearing; she didn't see the glowing aura around the blanket pony. "The spark that resides in the hearts of us all creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!" Suddenly, Breaker and the blanket pony could see the elements becoming necklaces and the element of magic becoming the element tiara, and Twilight and friends were firing off a rainbow beam of light, blasting Nightmare Moon and turning her back to normal. The blanket pony walked over to Breaker, putting her hoof on her shoulder. "Your mommy is right; magic comes from the heart." Breaker looked at the pony and felt something odd within her heart. She closed her eyes, and within the darkness, she could see color ghosts and quickly opened them as she heard Celestia's voice and saw her appearing next to her mom. "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I knew you could do it." "But... you told me it was all an old pony tale." "I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well. Princess Luna!" The blanket pony stood there and looked at the scene, smiling and feeling the spark that Twilight was beaming with. While Celestia walked over to a young Luna,. "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. It's time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister." Luna cried as she hugged her sister. "I am so sorry! I have always longed to hear you say those words. I'm so glad to see you, big sister!" Dash and Twilight step forward, shouting "Sister!?" but Dash pulls back, blushing, causing Breaker and blanket pony to smile hard at the cute scene. Celestia stood there, looking down at her. "I've missed you, too." Celestia lowered her head and nuzzled her sister, but quickly pushed her to the ground. "I missed you so much. Now we can end your life and finally destroy Nightmare Moon." Luna quickly stood up, backing away. "What?" Celestia laughed "You're a villain. You must die for your crimes." Luna looked hurt as her eyes widen. Breaker quickly felt the blanket pony pulling her tail, making her turn to her and see her pointing above Celestia. They could see a shadow alicorn with its glowing horn. "A villain that can't be saved!" Celestia shot a blast at her sister, and Luna blocked it with her magic shield, crying. "No, you're wrong!" shouted Luna, trying to run, but Twilight and the others blasted her with their elements, laughing evilly. "See, you can't save villains. They must die," stated Twilight, firing off her magic and destroying Luna's shield. Luna stood there, looking like her world was destroyed. "No, you're...this isn't how things are meant to go!" The blanket pony turned to Breaker and asked, "Are you ready?" Breaker nodded her head, and the blanket pony started to glow, making Breaker's chest start to glow as well. "How else was this meant to go? You are evil!" shouted Dash, firing off a blast of rainbow lightning, striking Luna. "NO!" "You should have listened to your sister, Luna. Villains are villains and must be destroyed," stated Applejack, firing a blast of rainbow beam. "STOP IT!" "Villains are the worst! They're all selfish and cruel!" stated Rarity, shooting her as well. "Stop. I'm not a villain!" cried Luna, getting hit by their elemental magic and falling to the ground. "I don't like bullies, and villains are bullies." stated Pinkie, throwing rainbow cupcakes and hitting Luna as the rest and the shadow alicorn looked confused. Fluttershy fired her element, saying, "We can't let villains live, or else they'll kill others." Luna lay on the ground, crying and trying to stand. She cried out, "I'm not a villain; I'm not a villain!" The shadow alicorn landed behind the mind-broken Luna, slowly creeping her shadow into her. "No, please stop!" cried out Luna, seeing her sister and friends attacking her. "We're heroes, and heroes have to stop villains. No second chances!" said Twilight, and her friends fired off another powerful rainbow beam, but it was deflected by the blanket pony, while Breaker landed in front of Luna, glaring at the shadow Alicorn, who glared back. Soon, Breaker chest blasted out six-colored ghostly ponies, landing next to the blanket pony. They took form, making Breaker turn back and see Sky and Nightfall, but the others looked like her aunts, wearing outfits and different mane styles. The blanket pony turned around and smiled with a small blush. "Save her. Save her from the darkness within her heart. Finally pulling the darkness into the light, burning it away for good. We believe in you!" Before anyone could react, the blanket pony turned into a rainbow ghostly spirit and blasted the evil versions of Twilight and others away, leaving just Breaker, Luna, and the Shadow Alicorn alone. Breaker nodded and returned, glaring down at the alicorn. "I know who you are! My mother told me about you in her stories. You are Nightmare Moon! The dark half of Princess Luna! You should have been destroyed, but your back again, and now you are trying to take control again!" shouted Breaker, stomping the ground, just like Twilight did in facing Nightmare. "What can you do, brat? You're nothing but a pathetic pony!" laughed Nightmare Moon, firing a dark beam at her. Breaker held out her hooves and caught the beam, slowly absorbing it, shocking Nightmare Moon. Making her realize something. "Wait, why do you look like 'her'!?" demanded Nightmare, pointing towards the young Luna, who watching the fight. Breaker's purple eyes went pure white, making her smile evil like, "I'M BREAKER! I DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER TO A WEAK PATHETIC ALICORN LIKE YOU!" Breaker clutches her hoof, leaps towards Nightmare, and punches her, sending the shadow into the pillar and making it collapse on her. "Young Breaker?" asked Luna, shakingly standing and using her magic to support herself but failing as she fell back onto the ground. Breaker turned around and smiled softly, her eyes returning to normal. She walked over and placed her hoof on her, making Luna look up at her. "You have to let that go. You can't keep living with regret. If you do, you'll never move forward..." said Breaker, looking sad. "I can't... I just can't," cried Luna, her tears falling and looking away. "The nightmare will always be there. The pain I created and caused is always there. My own sister and my friends should have destroyed me! Even though I'm free, the pain still hurts. No matter how much I face it, I can't let it go." Breaker looked down at her hooves, closing her eyes. "I was like that for a very long time, thinking of the past and letting my regrets, shame, and guilt eat me up. I didn't want to let go, because if I did, I'd have nothing. I'd be empty. But I'm not, not anymore." "What changed?" asked Luna, looking up at her. "I became whole again. I'll make you whole again," said Breaker, lifting young Luna up. "You have to let go. Let go of your hate, let go of your pain, and let go of your sorrow. Move forward. You can't forget, but you can't let those feelings consume you. Don't make a hole inside of you. Embrace what's in your heart." Breaker place Luna hoofs on her own chest, smiling. "You have the same problem that I do. You hate yourself; you think you're a monster and that you're worthless after you hurt the people you care about. That's not true. You are a good pony, a beautiful mare, and a kind soul. You didn't have a choice; you had no control. Don't let that destroy you; don't let your guilt destroy you." Nightmare Moon stood up from the rubble and growled, "What's happening?" She could feel her power fading and looked down, seeing her shadow fading away. Luna turned to Nightmare, but Breaker pushed her head towards her, still smiling. "Aaira and Little Star taught me that. They''re right. If I hadn't let go of my feelings, my sorrow, and my guilt, I wouldn't be here. I would have kept it, falling into the darkness and dying, forever being broken. But I had to accept it. Take those few steps to acceptance. Don't let your feelings eat you up. Don't let them make a hole in your heart." Nightmare could feel the darkness fading from Luna's heart, and looking up, her eyes widen, screaming out to them, "A hole can't ever be filled; it can only grow and swallow everything! YOU WON'T GET RID OF ME, YOU FOOLISH MARES!" Breaker closed her eyes and opened them, seeing young Luna return to being her older self. She helped her up. "Face her and finally end the nightmare. For real this time." Luna stared at the fading shadow, walking over and stopping in front of it. "You...you are my fear. You're the one I created from my guilt, my pain, and my sorrow." "NO!" "My sorrow is the cause of you. My fears and hatred are the cause of you." "NO, SHUT UP!" "My sadness, my regrets, and my guilt. All of them created you and made you my nightmare." "SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" "But not anymore... I'm n-no longer-" Luna couldn't finish her sentence, her tears falling down her cheek, making Nightmare Moon smirk. "You're still a monster! You can't deny it. Your friends and family will never accept you or forgive you!" shouted Nightmare, her shadow form returning and trying to take over Luna's body again. "She's right! I'm scared; I'm not brave enough to beat her..." said Luna, her tears falling and closing her eyes, becoming her younger self again. Breaker quickly rushed over and flew in front of her. "I know, you're not the only one." Luna opened her eyes, looking at her. "I was scared, and I was weak, as I..." Breaker held back her tears and emotions and spoke again. "I saw my mothers die in front of me and then almost lose my little sister. I couldn't be brave without them. So I cried and became weak. But then Berry and Tank reminded me that I needed to be brave, not for myself but for others. And I was. I became brave and helped my friend face her demons." Luna watched as Breaker held her head. "I'm not fast like my sister, I'm not smart like my mom, and without my powers. I'm just a normal...pony. So, how was I able to keep fighting and not be scared?" Breaker leans back with a smile. "Simple: I did it for the ones I love. You need to do the same. Don't be brave for yourself; be brave for your big sister and your friends. Show them that you are brave and will continue to fight." Breaker said as she started to cry. "I can't... I'm a coward and weak," whispered Luna, lowering her head. "I can't beat her. I can't be brave. Not even for her." Nightmare laughed, "That's right. You are weak. You can't even face me. You're a pathetic and weak mare!" Breaker raised Luna's head with her hooves. "You are not weak or a coward. You are strong and brave, just like your big sister, Celestia. Keep fighting. Show her how brave you are." Luna had tears in her eyes. "I want to see my big sister!" Breaker smiled, giving her a big hug. "You'll see her soon. She's waiting for you. Just stand up and be brave!" cheered Breaker, letting her go and seeing back to normal once more and filled with determination. Nightmare growled, trying to take over Luna's body, only to be stopped as Luna raised her head high and shouted, "NOOOO! I'M NOT GOING TO BE SCARED ANYMORE! YOU'RE NOT THE ONE CONTROLLING ME! I'M GOING TO BE BRAVE FOR CELESTIA AND MY FRIENDS!" "NO, STOP THIS!" begged Nightmare, seeing Luna remove the shadow from her body. Luna stomps towards her, with her eyes glowing. "You're not going to stop me ever again! THIS TIME, I'LL SETTLE IT! THIS TIME, I'LL DEFEAT YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!" "I'M NOT DONE YET! YOU'RE MINE, I'M THE ONE WHO OWNS YOU!" screamed the fading Nightmare Moon as Luna and her were face to face now. "I'M NOT YOUR THING! You're not in control of me! I'm a NEW me! YOU'RE THE OLD ME, THE ONE WHO DESTROYED EVERYTHING THAT MATTERED TO ME, AND NOW, I'M GOING TO END YOU!" Luna and her shadow clashed, creating a blinding light. Nightmare and Luna were fighting each other, struggling to win. Breaker watched, and soon the blanket pony reappeared with Celestia, Twilight, and her friends. Not only them but all the ponies and creatures Luna made friends with in her life, cheering her on. "The spark! What a beautiful light that shines upon this world!" smiled the blanket pony, appearing next to Breaker. "The spark...?" repeated Breaker, looking at her. "Yes, the spark. The one Twilight had and the one Princess Luna has now! The spark of friendship, love, and bravery. It's the greatest power in the world!" "The Spark..." Breaker repeated again, looking at Luna and smiling, seeing the shadow and the darkness within Luna fading away and a beautiful light coming from her. "Yeah, the spark." Luna was crying as the shadow faded away from her. Nightmare was screaming as she faded away, trying to keep her hold on her, but Luna held Nightmare. "It's okay. I'm not going to be afraid of you anymore. I'm not a monster. I'm not going to run away anymore. I'm not going to give up anymore. I'm not going to turn away from others anymore. I'm going to face my fear, my sadness, and my pain. I won't ever forget you, but I won't and can't let those feelings consume me. I won't allow you to make a hole inside of me again. I'll embrace what's in my heart. I'll be strong and brave for them! My friends and sister! I'm going to show everyone that I can be a brave, beautiful, and kind pony." Nightmare Moon is crying. "I don't want to die! I won't become a memory!" Luna hugged her tightly. "Yes, you will. You're not me. You're the darkness in me, but you won't make a hole inside of me ever again. I'll make it whole and be who I'm meant to be." Nightmare cried, slowly fading away. "I'll stay here by your side as you die. I'll never leave you," promised Luna, tears falling down her cheek and her shadow self hugging her back, finally disappearing and gone for good. Luna looked up at the night sky, seeing the moon fully out and beaming with happiness. Breaker was happy for her but also felt the world fading, and soon the blanket pony spoke to her, "I'm sorry, Breaker. I wish you'd remember me, but you won't. Not even Luna will remember seeing me." "Huh? Why not?" asked Breaker, turning to her and seeing that she was fading away. "Because I'm just a memory. Just like Nightmare Moon. I'll always be here for you and Blitz." The pony put her hoof out, revealing her violet fur and touching Breaker's chest. "I'll gladly live in this prison. Because saving you two is more important than my freedom." Breaker was confused, but she tried to hold her, but the world went black, leaving the blanket pony alone but she has a smug smile on her face. "She...tried to hold me..." she said, hugging herself and crying. Breaker's eyes slowly opened, and her vision was still blurry. She could hear talking as she was lying on something soft. It was her mother's chest. Twilight smiled and nuzzled her, and soon Dawn joined in. Luna woke up and saw Celestia holding her softly, smiling. "Sister?" whispered Luna, seeing the moon was up and her room was in ruin, like there was a fight. "Thanks, Skyros, you're alright!" exclaimed Celestia, hugging her and crying, happy she was back and was okay. "What happened?" asked Breaker. Twilight explained that Luna unleashed powerful magic and was becoming Nightmare Moon, but Breaker held on to her, telling her the same speech that Berry and Aaira told her, saving Luna and returning her to normal. Celestia held her little sister tighter. "You are brave! I'm so proud of you, Luna." Twilight held Braver tighter as well, happy she was safe. "I'm so proud of you, my sweet daughter." Twilight held her daughter even closer, as Dawn was crying and happy that her friend was okay and safe. Luna asked her sister to let her go, as she needed to say something to Breaker, which Twilight allowed. Luna walked over and spoke to her: "I can't thank you enough, kind Breaker. Thank you for helping me. I hope I can call you...friend Breaker, if you wish to be friends?" Breaker smiled, giving her a big hug and saying yes, and Luna smiled back. Everyone is happy, but Dawn wasn't, as she wasn't happy that someone was taking her best friend away again. Twilight blinks, and she sees Berry, hovering and Aaira sitting on the bed with Breaker, as she is smiling. She blinks again, and they are gone. "...Berry? Aaira? Just like before, what does this mean?" thought Twilight as she kept watching. "And that's how Braver befriended Luna. I have no idea what happened in the dream world, but Braver pilled Luna back, and this time, for good." explained Twilight, facing Dashie. "Braver is something, huh? Just like Blitz too. Those two are truly something. Our girls are the best." Dashie smiled, watching Braver and Luna talking still, but they suddenly heard Blitz calling out to her sister. They could also see Chrysalis, Twilah, and Dash behind her. "Sis?" asked Blitz, who was in her pony form. "Yeah, Blitz?" asked Braver, hurrying over to her, facing each other down. Everyone could hear them whispering something, and before anyone knew it, Braver punched Blitz in the face, sending her flying into the ocean. "BRAVER!?" shouted everyone in shock and confusion. end of chapter 10 > Chapter 11: You Are Loved, Remember That > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blitz skipped across the water surface as she finally came to a dead stop, hitting the surface and floating there. She rubbed her cheek and looked back at the beach, seeing her sister smirking. She could also see everyone looking shocked, but someone wasn't; it was Chrysalis, who was laughing her butt off. Blitz started to remember what they talked about before this happened. "Oh, I see. I understand now," said Chrysalis, learning what's going on after Dash explained, "Does Braver know? Since Blitz is here, she figure it out herself." Blitz shook her head, making Chrysalis sigh. "Of course that foolish child won't. You have to tell her." Chrysalis and the others could see Blitz looking sad as she rubbed her head, making Twilah ask her what was wrong. "I kind of had a fight with her." "Sister fighting, so? What's the big deal?" asked Chrysalis, pulling Blitz by her jacket. "Come on, let's go." Blitz pulled her jacket back and sighed as she said, "I also hit her." "WHAT!?" shouted her mother and Dash, making Blitz flinch, and her mom grabbed her by the ear. "Why would you hit your own sister?!" Blitz quickly explained what happened, making Twilah let go of her daughter's ear and feel ashamed. "We should have told you girls what's happening...". Dash nodded. "We have to tell her and you!" She pointed at Blitz. "You need to apologize to her." Blitz nodded but suddenly felt being carried by Chrysalis again, making her ask why she's carrying her again. "Because I get the feeling you'll run away rather than facing your big sister, just like someone I know." Blitz didn't argue against her as they were all heading back, but there was a thought that entered Blitz's mind, making her ask Chrysalis a big question. "How did you and my sister become friends anyway? I heard stories about how you were..." Blitz was trying to find the right word to say without hurting her feelings, but Chrysalis finished her sentence, not caring if she hurt her feelings. "I was a horrible, evil Changeling Queen who tried to take over the world and feed on the love of everyone in it. You think that's a good enough reason to not be friends with Braver, who is very kind, sweet, naive, and a fool. You got a problem with her and me being friends? Then take it up with me." said Chrysalis, as they stopped moving and dropped Blitz on the sand. Chrysalis was looking down at Blitz, who was looking at her, and her mother was getting worried, as she was fearing Chrysalis might start a fight, but Dash got between them, saying Blitz didn't have a problem with her being friends with Braver; she just wanted to know why. "Fine, I'll tell you, I guess. You'll know why your sister is the sweetest and kindest mare I have ever met. She deserves all the love and more." said Chrysalis, looking at Blitz and starting her story. 8 years ago After Cozy and I escaped from our stone prison, I wanted revenge against Twilight and her friends and would do anything to get it. Cozy had different plans with finding some stupid necklace, but for me, it was gathering my changeling, even by force. But it has been years since I was sealed away, and my changeling was living peacefully, starting their own family, spreading across Equestria like I always wanted, but they did it through peace, love, and friendship, not hate. I had a plan for taking over, but it wouldn't last as long like always, as it would only work for a few days or two. It was pointless. I did reflect on my actions and remember that unicorn telling me there were better ways to be a leader, and she was right. I went underground and basically self-banished myself from the changeling and everyone else. I was living in a small cave in Everfree, just sleeping and eating whatever I could get. It wasn't easy, and I did try to eat some ponies food that came by, but they saw me, screaming, and ran away, telling everyone I'm back. I ran back to my cave, trying to stay away from them, and I didn't want any trouble. I didn't want my Changelings to become hated because of me. I grew weaker as the year passed; I looked horrible, and my horn was broken. I was dying, but she came with her family. If I remember correctly, it was a family camping trip she was on... Dash, wearing a visor cap and backpack, pushed some tree branches out of her way as she and her family were in the middle of the forest. Dash could see Twilight, using her magic to carry most of their stuff, was looking nervous as she was looking over the map. While Breaker was copying her by pushing tree branches with her strength, she was breaking them. "Dash, are you sure we are heading the right way?" asked Twilight, making Dash groan, as they've been walking for hours and now they're lost. "Yeah, I'm sure. Celestia and Luna made that camping site for campers and showed me where. We should be almost there." Dash said, making Twilight sigh, not believing her. "Dash, you said we were almost there an hour ago. We're lost; just admit it." said Twilight, making Dash roll her eyes, looking around, wanting to prove her wrong, but deep down, she was right. Twilight looked at the map again, trying to pin point where they were, but a raindrop landed on the map, soon followed by more. Then it started to rain hard, making Twilight groan, knowing what that meant. "It's going to storm soon." Dash didn't care and wanted to find the camping ground, not wanting to sleep in the rain. Twilight wanted to find the camping site as well, knowing her daughter wouldn't like sleeping in the rain, but the rain was getting stronger. The thunder was becoming louder, and they could see the lightening in the sky. Dash sighed, telling Twilight to teleport them back home, but Twilight shook her head, pointing to the lightening, as it was brighter blue than yellow. "This isn't a normal lightning storm; it's a magical one. It's jamming my teleporting spell and rest of my magic; we're stuck out here, and we can't fly out of here either; it's too dangerous." explained Twilight, looking worried, as the wind was picking up and the trees were being tossed around. Twilight was thinking about the weather, making Dash ask her if she could do anything, but Twilight shook her head, telling her she couldn't control the weather in Everfree, saying Dash should know this and remembering what she just said before the magical storm. Dash groans and looks around, wanting to find a place to hide from the storm, but the strong wind pushes her, making her crash into the bushes. Dash groaned with pain and got up, but the wind pushed her back, making her fall hard onto a rock. Dash was lying down, trying to recover and not feel the pain. She could see Twilight trying to use her magic but wasn't working like she said. Dash looked back at the forest, not liking the storm. She turned to Breaker, not surprising to see her was alright. Even with the strong storm, she was just standing fine, like nothing was happening. "Mom, are you okay?" asked Breaker, making her mother nod, but Dash could see her daughter was scared, not liking the storm. Dash got up and hugged her, making her smile. Twilight used her little magic she could use, to grab the stuff and bring it close. "Dash, we need to find a place to wait out the storm, or at least a place where the storm is weaker!" shouted Twilight, making Dash nod. They could hear a roar, making them look up at the sky. They could see big, dark clouds coming, making Breaker hide behind her mother, as she didn't like the noise. Dash and Twilight could tell the storm was starting to get more and more violent, with the tree branches breaking off. The thunder and lightning were coming more often, and the lightning was hitting the ground. They could see the dark clouds covering the sky. They needed shelter now. "Twi, over there!" said Dash, pointing to a small cave. They could see the entrance was covered with vines, making them think no one was living there. They all quickly headed for the cave, hoping they could get there before the storm got worse. The wind was pushing and pulling Twi and Dash away from the cave, making Twilight struggle with the stuff, but they could see Breaker waving at them from within the cave. "Sweetie, can you help?" asked Twilight, making Breaker quickly nod and rush over. Breaker picked up most of the stuff and headed inside, leaving Twilight to help Dash, who was struggling the most, as she was trying to fly to the cave. Breaker waited for them but heard a noise coming from behind her and deeper within the cave. She couldn't hear the storm anymore, but she was getting nervous about the strange noise as she was looking further into the darkness. Breaker was wondering if there was a creature living in the cave. "You're not supposed to be here..." whispered a sad female voice, leaving Breaker speechless. She wanted to call it out, but she heard her mother calling out to her. She turned and could see the two struggling really hard to get to the cave. Breaker went back outside, picking the two up with her slime, and walked through the powerful storm like it was nothing. She placed her mother down, making Twilight sigh and thank her. Breaker was glad her mother was safe, but something was on her mind, making her turn and look into the cave again. Twilight asked what's wrong, and Dash was wondering as well. Breaker told them about the voice, which made the two look at each other, only to hear the wind blowing through the cave, spooking Breaker. Dash laughed at the reaction, but Twilight picked up the camping stuff and dropped it on her, then looked at her daughter with a motherly look and said, "Sweetie, it was just the wind. There's nothing to be scared of. Come on, let's find a spot to set up camp." Breaker wanted to go find the creature that spoke to her, but her mother wouldn't allow it. Twilight made Dash set up camp and make a fire, leaving Twilight to dry herself and her daughter off. As Twilight was drying Breaker mane, Dash was having trouble setting up the fire. "Come on, Dash, you need to put the logs closer together." said Twilight, making Dash sigh, as she didn't understand why the fire didn't burn. "I am putting the logs together; it's not working." said Dash, making Twilight sigh, as she didn't know what else she could say and her magic was useless as long as this magical storm was around. Twilight looked around the cave, seeing if there was something useful, but there was nothing. The only things they have is a tent, food, and sleeping bag. She sighed, hoping the storm would end soon so they could go home. Dash gave up and looked at the dying fire, not caring if it didn't work. Twilight sat down next to Dash then turning to Breaker, telling her that the fire wasn't ready yet, which Breaker was ok with. The only thing she cared about was who made the voice she heard as she returned, looking into the cave. They heard the loud roaring thunder, making them spook and hold each other. "Mom, are we going to be okay?" asked Breaker, leaving her mother unsure what to say. Dash looked back at the dying fire, wondering if it was possible to keep the fire going with just vines. She could see a lot of vines growing through the cave, even though they were dead looking. Dash didn't like how the cave looked like a scary tomb. She pulled some and tossed them into the fire, hoping they would work, only to watch the fire put itself out. "Great, now how are we going to warm ourselves?" asked Twilight, not liking this. Breaker wanted to find the creature in the cave, but she knew her parents wouldn't allow it, but she had a plan after hearing her mother talk about keeping warm. "Maybe if we go deeper, it will be warmer? We might also find wood or something we can use for the fire." answered Breaker, hoping her mother doesn't see through the lie. Dash thought about it, wondering if there's a chance. Twilight didn't like the idea of going further in, not wanting to risk being lost or getting hurt. She was about to say no, as they're not sure how big this cave is. "Twi, if we don't try, we will freeze to death. The towel is too wet to dry us all off, and the storm is blasting cold air into the cave. I can use my speed to dry us off, but I'll just be blowing cold air at you two, and I don't want you two to get sick because of it." explained Dash, making Twilight sigh and giving in. "Fine, but watch out for anything and stay together! I don't want anyone to get hurt or lost," said Twilight, making Dash agree and get up. Dash took down the tent and followed her daughter and Twilight further into the cave. Even though the magical storm was still passing, Twilight could still use a bit of her magic to create a little orb of light, so they could see. As they traveled, Twilight noticed a few things about the cave. She was wondering if this place was a home or if it was once a mine, as she could see metal hangers on the wall, like where torches would go. The more they walk, the more Twilight wonders if this is a good idea. She was about to say they should go back when Dash stopped, seeing cave paintings on the wall. "Oh my, this must be ancient!" said Twilight, getting interested and examining the cave wall. Dash was amazed as well, but Breaker wasn't; she was just looking around, seeing if she could spot the creature that talked to her. As Twilight was fascinated by the cave paintings, Dash was interested in the drawings on the other wall. The pictures were of a black pony who was using powerful magic and was surrounded by creatures of all types. "Who's that?" asked Dash, making Twilight look at it. "Hmm, looks like a pony from long ago? It looks like it's telling a story," wondered Twilight, examining the wall. They could see the black pony fighting a... "Wait, isn't that a human!? Why does it have a hole in its chest?" asked Twilight, looking closely. "I think so, but...how? There's never been a record of a human in our universe, right? Well, ten years ago doesn't count, right?" asked Dash, to which Twilight shrugged her shoulders, not knowing the answer. Twilight continued to examine the wall, wanting to know the story and more about the strange pony and human. They could see the two fighting, and then... "It looks like the human is teaming up with a pink unicorn to fight the black pony. Using some kind of spell, making the black pony become a rainbow light and..." explained Twilight, only to see nothing but blackness covering the wall. They moved on, hoping to see more drawings, but only finding a picture of the human with bleeding colors in its hole and now having a pink horn, smiling within the darkness. "It looks like the human and the unicorn won?" guessed Dash, not sure. "Rest of the wall is just covered in black paint..." said Twilight, thinking the artist ran out of colors. Twilight look closer at the paint, guessing its age of the drawings and sees that it wasn't that long ago. Maybe a few years ago, even before the multiverse crisis from ten years ago. "This is very odd. Who made these?" thought Twilight, but before she could think more about it, she could hear Breaker calling out to them from deeper within the cave. Dash was the first one to react, heading into the darkness with Twilight following, not sure what her daughter was doing. As they followed her voice and found her, Dash and Twilight were amazed, not believing their eyes. They could see their daughter floating, as she's under an air geyser, blowing warm air into the large and spacious section of the cave, which had crystals around it, making the place glow, and some water running along the walls. There was some wood on the sides, making the three wonder where the wood came from. There was also a large rock formation, which Breaker was sitting on top of now after jumping off the air stream. "This place is so cool!" shouted Dash, as she was loving the area. "It is." agreed Twilight, taking a step forward and looking at the rock formation, which almost looked like a path sign. She looked down at one path, seeing the tunnel going down into the darkness. The other path led to another tunnel, but it was blocked off by a rockslide. She was wondering if it was once a tunnel pathway to somewhere else, or maybe a mine shaft. "Twi, come here. The warm air can dry us off! Breaker, can you bring the camping stuff, so we can set up camp?" asked Dash, already on the air geyser and relaxing on it. Twilight joined her while Breaker picked up the stuff and brought it over, but once again, she heard a voice from before. "You're not supposed to be here. No one will trust you. You should die already. They won't ever love you." said the voice this time, making Breaker stop. She placed the stuff down and looked at the darkest tunnel, wondering if the creature was there. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" asked Twilight, wondering why her daughter wasn't enjoying the warmth and looking at something. "I-I hear..." Breaker shook her head. "I hear the wind again." she said, making her mother sigh. "It's ok, sweetie. Come enjoy the warmth, and we can setup camp and have dinner," said Twilight, making Breaker agree. Turning away from the dark tunnel, not hearing the voice repeating itself once again but weaker now. After setting up the tent and eating dinner, Dash opened the large tent, putting the large sleeping bag into it and opening it. "Breaker, it's bedtime. Come inside." said Dash, making her daughter running towards her. "I'm coming, mom!" shouted Breaker, jumping into the sleeping bag. Dash smiled at the cute sight, and soon Twilight joined them. All three got back to sleeping, with Breaker in the middle of them. "Good night, Sweetie." said Twilight, kissing her daughter on the forehead. "Good night, my little girl. Night, Twi." said Dash, giving Twilight a wink, who rolled her eyes at her. "Good night, Mommy, Momma." said Breaker, as all three snuggled close, but she could remember the words of the voice and asked them, "Do you guys really love me?" asked Breaker, making the two look at each other and then at their daughter. "What made you ask that? Of course, we love you!" answered Dash, pulling her daughter closer and messing up her mane. "Do you think I can be trusted or even truly be loved? After everything I have done in the past? All the lives I took? All the destruction I caused? Can someone like me ever be loved? By others or you?" asked Breaker as Dash was about to speak, but Twilight beat her to it. "Sweetie, we love you so much, and we will never stop loving you, no matter what you did. No matter what you do, we will always see the greatness in you and believe in you. We're proud of you, we're happy that you're with us, and we will never stop loving you. It's why we saved you and your sister. You're our child, and we will do anything for you." said Twilight, hugging her daughter, "You deserve a second chance at life; you're not the same as you were in the past, and that's ok." "Yeah, sweetie. No matter what, we love you, no matter how many times you break the multiverse-"Dash could see her daughter looking sad when hearing that. She needed to say something, so she said, "Or break the castle walls." She could see the small smile on her face, making Dash smirk. "Or how many times you accidentally tackle hug your mother and make her cough up her dinner?" added Twilight, making Dash sigh, remembering those times. "I'm sorry about that..." said Breaker, only for her mother to laugh. "Its fine. I was shocked that you were so strong but not mad. Now, let's get some sleep; it's been a long day." Dash said, yawning and getting comfortable. Everyone started to get comfortable, but Breaker asked one last question: "Mom's, why aren't you together like Dashie and Twilah are?" asked Breaker, not understanding. Twilight petted her daughter, "It's hard to explain; see, we're just-" "Friends. Just friends, no matter what. Don't think of anything more than that, okay? Nothing." Dash said, sounding stern and serious, as she turned away from them, making Breaker confused but Twilight sighing. "B-but why? Why can't you guys be together, like Twilah and Dashie?" asked Breaker. "Look, we're fine how we are now. I'm just happy to be by your mother's side and have you with me," answered Twilight, wanting to change the subject, but Dash kept the topic going. "It's because your mother doesn't see me like that. She's not interested in a relationship with me..." said Dash, feeling bitter as she closed her eyes and fell asleep. "That's not true..." thought Twilight, but then she looked down at her daughter, seeing her worried face, like she believed she said something wrong. "It's fine, sweetie. Just go to sleep; we have a long day ahead of us." Breaker nodded, nuzzling into Twilight's chest and closing her eyes. Twilight could hear her daughter saying "Good night." again, which made Twilight smile and say the same thing, and she fell asleep, wondering why Dash was acting that way. As everyone fell asleep, the sound of rocks moving and falling could be heard, along with the sounds of the air geyser stopping. As the coldness of the night took hold, a dark figure could be seen entering the area and slowly moving towards the sleeping bag, reaching out to touch the sleeping ponies. "How are they here and sleeping? They need to pay for what they did to me..." thought the voice as their hole hoof went close to Twilight's neck but stopped. "No, it's not worth it. They have done nothing wrong. Don't blame them; blame yourself. You should die already. Make the world a better place for your hive. They won't ever love you, not after you hurt them by being so cruel to them." weakly whispered the voice as she pulled back her hoof, but a small dark bluest hoof grabbed it, freezing the figure in fear. "Don't die." said Breaker, making the figure shake and try to pull her hoof free. "W-what!?" "Don't die. Live; it's the best gift. Don't listen to the bad thoughts; listen to the good ones," said Breaker as she stood up, facing the figure. "I know you. My mother told stories of you, Chrysalis. The bad things you did, like pretending to be my mommy sister-in-law, trying to take over Equestria, or even making evil versions of my mothers and their friends.", Breaker stepped out of the tent, still holding her hoof, from which Chrysalis tried to get free, but Breaker was too strong and she was so weak. Breaker used her magic to light the area in front of her, revealing the sad and weak state that Chrysalis is now in. Breaker could see her thin form, the dirt on her, her mane and tail messed up, her bug wings gone, and the broken horn she has now. "Why are you here? What are you doing?" asked Breaker, making Chrysalis laugh. "Hehe, I don't even know, my dear. I have just been...existing for a very long time, and I feel dead inside." answered Chrysalis, as her body was shaking, her stomach rumbled, and her throat was dry. Breaker put her other hoof on Chrysalis hoof. "Have you been eating and drinking? You look very weak, like you have been alone for a very long time." guessed Breaker, making Chrysalis nod. "Yeah, I have been living here and surviving off anything I can find and rainwater. I haven't left the cave in... I don't remember when, and I just can't bring myself to leave it to see the others. To see anyone from my hive." said Chrysalis, making Breaker tilt her head. "Why not?" asked Breaker, letting her hoof go and allowing Chrysalis to use her other hoof to scratch her head. "It's embarrassing. I'm the former queen of the changelings. My hive turned its back on me, and I don't blame them, not after seeing them living so well now. I can't rejoin them; I'm a failure and a monster." explained Chrysalis, only to feel a small hug coming from Breaker, who hardly wrapped her arms around her chest, as she was still a filly. "But you're not a monster, not anymore. You can make amends, not as their queen, but as their friend. It's not a good idea to keep to yourself and wallow in your sorrow. It's bad for the mind and the heart." said Breaker, pulling back, making Chrysalis shake her head. "What do you know about sorrow? I can sense the love for you coming from them, and I know they care for you deeply, not like me with my hive." said Chrysalis, her eyes looking down at the ground. Breaker could understand the pain she's going through. The sadness, the guilt, and the sorrow. She let her go and looked up at her. "I been there; I saw my little sister fall into the darkness and wanted to die. I was the reason she was like that. I did something bad to her, and the only way to save her was to bring-" Breaker turned around and smiled at her sleeping parents. "Them and others to her, to save her from the darkness and..." Breaker looked down and shut her eyes. "Make my sister end me. To give her freedom from me, she had to kill me, as I was the source of the darkness." Chrysalis didn't understand what she meant, but she could see the guilt she was going through and felt bad for her. "...what happen?" Breaker looked up at her and, with a warm smile on her face, said, "She hugged me, calling me her sister, and told me...she loved me, and we would share the guilt together." She put her hoof on Chrysalis's arm and said, "It's like a brave knight once told me, have faith." "Faith? In what? Will my changelings forgive me or accept me back? Even after what I did, I can't be forgiven." said Chrysalis, stepping away, only to fall because of her weak state. "Yes, have faith in yourself and have faith in others. You have been lost and afraid for so long, and you're not a bad changeling; you are a good one, a kind and sweet changeling. I can sense it from you. A strong and beautiful changeling." said Breaker, stabbing her hoof into the ground like a sword, but she could see that spook, Chrysalis. "Oops, Aero would call me a blockhead too." she giggled at herself and went on with her speech. "We're here for you." Breaker stopped as Chrysalis said, "We?" which made her nod, "Yes, we. Those that choose to believe in you." "Like who!?" asked Chrysalis, feeling the filly was just making fun of her. Breaker stabbed the ground again, shaking everything and even waking her parents up. They could hear her talking to someone within the darkness. "Me! I'm here for you! So, never give up on faith, and we won't give up on you. Just stand tall and stand proud, and others will stay with you. You'll make the right decision." "Sweetie, what are you doing?" asked Twilight, rubbing her eyes and looking out of the tent with Dash. They could see Chrysalis there and quickly stood up at the ready, "Chrysalis, what are you doing here?" but she and Dash quickly noticed her weak state. "Decision? What decision?" asked Chrysalis, standing up; her stomach was aching. Breaker gave her a sad smile. "If I had the answer, I would tell you, but I don't. It falls on you and others you let in. You aren't alone in making the decision. Remember that I have, thanks to Eirika, the Rainbow Knight!" Chrysalis couldn't understand her, and the more she stared into her eyes, the more she felt like she was being told not to give up and that the future was still ahead of her. "Eirika, the Rainbow Knight, huh? Sounds like a weird name to me...letting others in..." whispered Chrysalis, trying to stand but couldn't much longer. "Having in myself and others...but what if?" but before she could say anything else, Breaker pointed to the heavens, giving off a glow, making the crystals light up, and the cave and her horn created rainbow-colored lights. "Don't be distracted by the what-if's, should-have's, and if-only's. The one thing you choose for yourself is the truth of your universe and why you are here!" shouted Breaker, with determination in her voice. Chrysalis and others eyes went wide as they could see the powerful light getting stronger. Chrysalis looked down at her shaking hooves, crying, "I'm here to live, not to die!" She shouted as she started to get it. Breaker smirked, pointing at her now. "Then live, not die, so that you can find happiness. Be happy, laugh, cry, and be sad. It's all your choice. So, keep living and never give up on finding that happiness. It's the one thing that can't be taken from you, but the one thing you have to fight for. Don't forget." Breaker stepped closer to her and placed her hoof on her heart. "Believe in yourself. not in you who believes in us. not us who believe in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself.” Breaker grins and gives her a wing thumbs up. Chrysalis smiled at her; her smile was a beautiful and warm smile—a smile the former queen never showed. She hugged Breaker, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you, little Filly,  for giving me a chance, even if it's a small one. I will not give up; I'll never give up!" shouted Chrysalis, tears coming from her eyes. Breaker could hear her and hug her back. "It's not small, but a big one. Chances are never small; they're big and will be the best things you'll have in your life. Never forget that, okay, and don't give up on the world, never." Twilight and Dash smiled at the scene, knowing their daughter will always be the best pony, no matter what she did in the past, as they know their daughter has a pure and strong heart. Breaker could hear and feel how weak Chrysalis was, knowing she needed to eat or it would be too late. She remembered how Changelings feed off of love, so she gave it to her: "I want to be friends with you, so will you be my friend?" Chrysalis nodded her head and could feel a strong energy coming from Breaker. "Yes, yes, I will." Breaker felt it too: a strong bond and friendship, but also, "Then here. My love for you, my friend!" she shouted as the two glowed, the crystals lit up, and the cave shook. "Braver, what are you doing!?" shouted Rainbow Dash as she and Twilight saw a strong light coming from her, almost blinding them. Chrysalis's eyes widen, and she feels a surge of powerful energy. It felt warm, welcoming, and full of love. She felt like the sun was giving her all its warmth and energy. She could even see someone behind Breaker, covered in rainbow lights. "Who is that?" she thought as the figure looked at her and held out their hooves to her, like a hug. She reached out for the figure, then bright rainbows filled the cave, blinding everyone. As the light faded, there was only darkness, but yet, a bright white glow still filled the cave. Dash and Twilight could see that it was Chrysalis that was giving off that white glow as she went through metamorphosis. Chrysalis felt different—stronger, bigger, and taller. She felt her body changing, but it didn't hurt. It was a warm, nice, and loved the change. She opened her eyes and could see the dark cave; her vision was a lot clearer and sharper than before. Her weak feeling is gone, her hunger is gone, and she feels like a whole new Changeling. "What's this?" she wondered as she looked down at her body, then looked at her hooves, touching her new body. Her whole body became as pure white as snow, her holes in her body were gone, and her broken horn became fix and longer. Finally,  her webbing is white but shining with rainbow colors. "Chrysalis? Are you okay?" asked a weak Breaker, snapping her out of her trance. Chrysalis saw how weak Breaker looked. Realizing what the child had done for her, she could only smile and hug her softly, returning the love back to her, but her form didn't disappear. She wondered why. "Its my proof of my love for you, my friend!" said Breaker as she closed her eyes, making Chrysalis cry as her wings glowing, but slowly, they faded and the glow in the cave faded, everything becoming normal. Dash and Twilight came over, worried for their daughter, while Chrysalis could only stare down at the sleeping child, holding her but giving her back to them. "Foolish child, how much love do you have to give? You almost died yourself." Chrysalis turned away, walking away, feeling stronger and better. She could finally think and feel like herself, like a real Changeling. Dash and Twilight didn't say anything, watching her leave, but she stopped. As she felt her tail being pulled, she turned and could only smile as Breaker was still holding on to her. "Truly, a foolish child, but a kind child." she said as she sat down and waited with Twilight and Dash for Breaker to wake up. Dash couldn't trust her; she could be tricking them or planning something. She held her daughter closer and narrowed her eyes at Chrysalis. "Relax; I'm not plotting anything. I would have killed you all already if I was," said Chrysalis, not looking at Dash and only looking at her new self, and turning to Breaker. "I heard stories when I escaped: You two had a daughter? She said you saved her and her sister. You adopted her?" Twilight smiled at her, petting Breaker. "Yes, we did. She's our daughter now. She never stops amazing us. Always surprises us." Chrysalis smiled back, nodding her head. She was happy for them and was thankful; she got a second chance in life, a life that she wouldn't waste. "What's her name?" Dash held her daughter closer. "Breaker. Her name is Breaker!" she then gave Twilight a glare, "and she's my daughter! Twilight is just helping me raise her! Nothing more." Twilight rolled her eyes, sighing at Dash's behavior, but Chrysalis laughed at them. Dash couldn't believe she was laughing at them. She asked what's so funny. "Funny? Will I just sense so much love from-" But before she could finish, Dash blushed hard, and not wanting a bug to reveal her love for Twilight, she screamed out her confession. "I L-LIKE YOU, TWILIGHT!" shouted Dash, covering her mouth and blushing. Chrysalis could only stare at her with a shocked expression. Dash couldn't face Twilight now; she felt beyond scared. "I know you don't love me like that, Twi, but I just wanted you to know that I like you." "I wasn't talking about you," simply said Chrysalis, making Dash face her in confusion. "I was talking about Twilight and her love for you." Dash's eyes went wide, looking back at Twilight, who was blushing as hard as she was, as both of them were embarrassed and couldn't speak. "How could you tell?" asked Twilight, looking at Chrysalis. "I don't have to explain myself...but, I could see your love for the blue idiot, as its clear as day, even if she's stubborn." said Chrysalis, giggling, but the laughter was cut short as Twilight puffed her cheeks. "Twilight?" asked Dash, wondering why Twilight was puffing her cheeks out like that. Twilight sighs loudly and faces Dash with a sad smile. "I always knew you loved me, you dummy. Ever since our talk all those years ago about you running out of time, I just wanted you to confess first and tell me you love me, like Dashie did when she told Twilah she loved her. But I guess I have to take the first step." Twilight leaned forward and kissed Dash, making her eyes go wide and then closing. Twilight closed her eyes and could feel and taste Dash. She leans back, blushing as she touches her lips. "So this is how Rainbow tastes—not bad." Dash couldn't speak or say anything; she could only look at her now-girlfriend and blush harder. "What are you thinking about, Dash? You want to kiss me?" asked Twilight, teasing her. "No! I don't know what I'm thinking... but maybe." she said, looking away. "You can't kiss me without telling me you love me first. You haven't confessed." Twilight teased her, giggling. "But you kissed me first!" She said her heart was racing and her mind was going crazy. Twilight smirk "That doesn't mean anything. A kiss means nothing without the three words." Dash looked down. She's not one for confessing; she was never good with words or feelings. Even now, she doesn't know what to say. "Twilight...I-I-" Twilight's eyes went wide with shock, as she couldn't believe what Dash was going to say with those three words. Dash took a deep breath, facing Twilight, with a smile and determination in her eyes. "I-I... like you! Yeah!" she shouted, blushing and pointing her wings like pointing fingers. Twilight could only stare at her with disappointment in her eyes. She couldn't believe what a big idiot Rainbow Dash was, not being able to tell her that she loved her; that's just liked her. "God, that was really pathetic." glared Chrysalis, while Twilight agreed with her. "S-SO!? At least I said it! So, we can move on, right, babe!?" shouted Dash, hoping that was enough to make her girlfriend not angry with her. "Don't call me, babe." said Twilight with a cold glare. "R-Right..." said Dash, her ears down and looking away. Chrysalis laughed at her. "Really, such an idiot. Least we know who wears the pants in the relationship." "Y-Yeah." Dash said, not looking at her, feeling defeated. Twilight could only sigh and look down at her daughter, smiling, "You truly are a gift, huh." It was morning, the storm had finally passed, and the sun was rising thanks to Twilight, as it was shining its light into the cave. Everyone is heading to the exit. Chrysalis and Breaker were ahead of Twilight and Dash as they were talking and carrying the camping stuff. Twilight and Dash were holding hooves. Twilight could only smile as she watched Breaker laugh and smile. She blinked and could see Rain and Eirika walking behind her daughter. She blinks once more, and they are gone. Once again, she wonders what she saw and what it even means. "Are you okay?" asked Dash, noticing the single tear coming down Twilight's cheek. "Yeah, I'm fine." she said, using her wing to wipe away her tear. Dash was going to ask her a question, but she noticed a wall painting being covered by overgrowth and plants. "Hey, there's another painting!" Twilight turned to the right, seeing a bit of the painting. She used her magic to remove the plants, seeing the picture fully. "It continues where it left off I think?" Twilight could see the blackness being wiped away by rainbow paint, like someone used their hand. The human with the unicorn horn was being pushed back. In the center was the black pony, but as an alicorn and surrounded by many colorful figures. Standing by the black alicorn was a large purple smudge. "It looks like the human was the bad guy, not the black pony." "Okay, but what does this mean? Who drew this?" asked Dash, scratching her mane. Twilight shook her head, for once, she had no answers. "I don't know. I hope this isn't a warning for the future." Dash puff at the thought, not liking that idea. "It has to be something else. It can't be that. This world is safe and will be, as long as we're here." Twilight could only smile at her girlfriend and hold her closer. "That's true. This world is safe. I'll always keep it safe!" As they left the cave, the remaining plants fell, revealing more of the painting. Showing a rainbow-haired blue human with wings, fighting the human with a horn, and having a more colors leaking out of its hole in its chest. Further down, there was the horn human, but it had wings, and its face had a hole now, with an evil-looking rainbow creature behind it, while the black alicorn and wing human stood off against it, while a rainbow alicorn stood between the two, joining the fight. On the last part of the wall was a white-haired, purple human with a purple horn, and next to it was a black slime creature. Drawing a message together. "Fate isn't set in stone. The future can change; it's our story, not fates. Find that spark." "That's how I met your sister; she made me believe in myself and that I could move past my mistakes, letting others in. Giving them faith in me and giving it back, being loved again by my dear hive. And here I am today. I'm so happy that your sister is in my life. So if you have problems with that, you'll have to deal with it!" said Chrysalis, glaring down at Blitz, who could only smile. "Look, I just wanted to know how you two met and became friends; that's it. I'm cool with it, really." Blitz said, shrugging. Chrysalis sighed "Will you go now? I told you my story. Now where's your sister, so you can apologize to her?" she stopped as she saw Blitz turning into her pony form, making Chrysalis not use to see this yet. "What are you doing?" Blitz flew above, looking for her sister, as she did punch her hard and went flying somewhere. "Sis, sorry, I punched you that far...huh?" She suddenly saw her, and she's with the others but also with Luna. She flew back down and told her group, which made Chrysalis laugh. "I see Luna found her. I was wondering where Luna went; she was going to buy some ice cream," she said, looking at Blitz and her friends. "Now, let's go!". The two growls met, and both sisters stared each other down, but Blitz pulled in and whispered, "Sorry, sis, I didn't mean none of that." Braver only nodded, whispering, "It's okay, I did make you mad. I'm sorry too." "To make it up to you, you can punc-" Without a chance to finish her sentence, Braver punched her, and it sent her flying to the ocean, cutting back where she was. She turned into her anthro form and flew back to her sister, pissed off. "WHAT THE HAY!? YOU GAVE EVERYTHING IN THAT PUNCH!?" Braver only smiled, shrugging and saying, "What? You know me; I can break anything." "Oh, I'm going to make you regret that! You ready!? I'm not holding back this time!" shouted Blitz, readying a punch. "Bring it!" Braver said, smiling and readying her own punch. Both sisters sent out their punches, clashing their hoof and knuckles, creating a powerful blowback, sending sand and anyone near them flying away, as their powers were too strong. "BREAK!BREAK!BREAK!BREAK!" chanted not only Braver but also Blitz, as both sisters had an evil look on their faces. "YOU CAN'T BEAT ME, LIL SIS! I SCATTER OUR UNIVERSE, REMEMBER!?" shouted Braver, laughing. "THAT WAS A GROUP EFFORT; I'M JUST AS STRONG AS YOU, AND MORE! DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" shouted Blitz, not giving her any chance to come out on top. The land started to shake as Braver and Blitz kept up their clash going and both just laughed. As they felt free to use their powers, that soon rainbow sparks started to surround them. They felt their chests glowing warm, like they wanted to hug each other, but that all ended when they felt their ears being pulled hard. "STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" shouted Twilight in her royal Canterlot voice, glaring down at her daughter, while Twilah just shouted "STOP THIS!" as they were floating a few feet above the ground. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" groaned both sisters, trying to remove their ears from their mother's grasp. "LOOK WHAT YOU DONE!" shouted Twilight, pointing at the creatures caught in the blast and the land being in ruins. Both sisters looked and saw the mess they made. As they created a crater in the ground, the nearby trees were broken, and the ponies and creatures were all scared. They turned to each other and sighed, "We're sorry!" "Good! NOW CLEAN UP YOUR MESS!" ordered Twilah, glaring down at her daughter and finally letting her go, while Twilight did the same. Dash and the others watched as Blitz used her speed to fill in the crater, while Braver said sorry to anyone who was scared or caught in the blast and bowed. While Twilight and Twilah looked on above them. "Sometimes, I forget how strong Braver is." whispered Dash, watching her. "I know, sometimes I forget that too, since Blitz never uses her full strength in a fight; she rather uses her speed. But now that I think about it, if she did use her strength, she would kill anyone in our world." replied Dashie, scratching her head as the two were in line to buy ice cream. "What do you mean?" asked Dash, facing her counterpart. Dashie took the cone holder box. "We humans aren't like you guys. I mean, this blowback would have killed any humans, but seeing how no one is truly hurt, it tells me that the races in this universe are quite sturdy." Dash looks back at the scene. "I never thought of that. Yeah, I have to tell her to be more careful. She's lucky her sister is tough though." Dash took one of the ice cream while they joined Luna and Chrysalis. "So you two are just having a beach day like us?" asked Dash. "Oh yes. It has been a long time since we last had one. Just the two of us, too. What about you guys?" asked Luna, taking a seat on a beach towel and picking an ice cream as Dashie lowered the cone holders to her and took one. "Same, plus trying to get Braver to stop hating her mom, which, by the way," Dash and the others watched as Braver pour water on Twilight's head, who was speaking with Twilah, who also got soaked by Blitz. Both sisters laugh, while the two Twilights glare at them and, using their magic, shot water balls at them, laughing as well. "It looks like it's working," smiled Dash, taking the cone holder box and flew over to them, letting them take their cones. Chrysalis got up and sipped her drink. "We better head back; it's my turn to make dinner." "Ah yes, you are making hayburgers, no?" smiled Luna as she got up as well. Dashie was surprised. "Wait, are you living with Luna?" "Why yes, Luna and Celestia were nice enough to let me live with them. I was shocked too by their offer, but I mostly live anywhere." smiled Chrysalis. "Tell friend Braver our goodbyes, Dashie." asked Luna, finishing her ice cream. "Will do. See you two!" said Dashie, waving at the two as they teleported away. "SIS!" shouted Blitz, making Dashie turn back and see Braver running off with her sister's swimsuit as Blitz hid in the water. "I just want to see it! I don't know why you're so mad!? Everyone is naked here!" shouted Braver, looking at the one-piece swimsuit. Blitz zip her jacket and give chase after her while everyone was laughing. "I hope this can go forever," thought Dashie, licking her ice cream. "But I'm getting a bad feeling? Like something bad is coming..." Luna and Chrysalis teleported into the main hall of the castle and were chatting as they headed up the steps, but they quickly felt the castle shaking with great force. "An earthquake? In Everfree?" asked Luna, steading herself, while Chrysalis got to the floor, trying to keep her balance. "No, it's worse than that! Its magic!? Powerful magic!" said Chrysalis, standing up. "Celestia!?" she shouted, making Luna quickly run up the steps and towards the throne room. Before they could enter it, the doorway and everything in front of them were blasted away, exposing the sky. "SISTER!" screamed Luna, blasting away the smoke, and her eyes went wide, seeing her sister being punched in the gut by... "Cozy?" Cozy looked at Luna, smirking. She released her red magic into Celestia, making her turn to Luna and saying, "Luna, run." then turning into red dust. "Wow, you weren't lying after all, Cozy." said Dawn as she landed behind her, along with Rainbow Dawn, who was smiling at the scene. Luna and Chrysalis were confused as they watched their friends glare them down. "I told you I could kill her no problem. Now, do you believe me? I'm on your side. You can keep Braver, but Equestria is..." Cozy eyes went bright red. "MINE!" Dawn smiled "Braver is mine then." Soon her eyes were went white, just like Rainbow Dawn and both speaking at the same time "I'm going to show her my love!" end of chapter 11 > Chapter 12: The End Comes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna screamed and charged at Cozy, but Cozy just grabbed her and tossed her near Chrysalis, making her catch Luna, and both glared at Cozy. "FRIEND COZY! WHAT IS THE MEANING FOR THIS!?" shouted Luna in her Royal Canterlot voice. Her body started to glow with magic, ready to fight. Cozy pounds her hooves together, smirking all evil like, "Oh, so you think I'm going to explain everything, huh? Well, it's simple: I've been lying to all of you. Do you really think I care about being your friend? The only reason I'm friends with all of you is because of Braver; she's in my way of taking over Equestria." She turned to both Dawn's, "Not anymore, with these two here. They'll take Braver for themselves and destroy Twilight and her stupid friends while I rule Equestria with an iron hoof!" Luna and Chrysalis didn't want to believe it; all those years together and being friends with Braver were just a lie. They didn't want to fight Cozy, but they couldn't let her win and rule Equestria. Even more so with Dawn, hurting Braver. Cozy smirk grew as she watched the two stand side by side, ready for a fight. "You two won't be the first; Dawn already took care of the others." The two looked at Dawn and her human-looking version, which summoned Tempest and Tirek, both standing in front of them, with their eyes lifeless, as if they were being mind-controlled by Dawn. "What have you done, Dawn!? You've brainwashing Tirek and Tempest!? And what did Cozy do to Celestia?!" shouted Chrysalis. Dawn laughed as her horn glowed rainbow colors, as Tempest and Tirek eyes glowed the same color, and she said, "She killed Celestia, duh. As for brainwashing them, yeah, it's fun and easy to do so. It's a spell that was made from my human self to control her victims and make them my slaves." Dawn ordered the two to bow, making her laugh. Luna blasted her magic at her, but Cozy blocked it. "Why!? Why are you doing this, friend Dawn? And who's this human-looking person!? Why is her chest bleeding rainbow colors!?" Dawn laughed as the two looked at the human version. She raised one finger and pointed it at them. "Name is Rainbow Sun Dawn, and why she's doing this? It's all for 'her'! We are showing her our love for her! I lost my rainbow comet light, but I found her again." She turned to Dawn and gave her a warm smile. "I won't let my pony self lose that light as well." She turned back to Luna and Chrysalis, pointing her hand at them and making the two move back. "Dawn, what does she mean!? Are you still in there!?" shouted Luna, hoping this human was controlling her or something, but all that hope was crushed when Dawn just gave her a dark smirk. "No. My human version is right. All of this is for 'her'." She put her hoof on her chest. "This is for Braver. I'm going to show her my love for her! Show her friends and family is pointless and not worth loving." She closed her eyes as tears started to fall. "All of you have been taking her away from me! I'm going to make sure everyone is gone, and the only one she will love is me!" She opened her eyes, and her rainbow magic covered her body. "SHE DOESN'T NEED YOU! OR HER FAKE FAMILY! ALL OF YOU WERE ONLY GIVING HER FAKE FRIENDSHIP ANYWAY! I SEEN IT! JUST USING HER! I'M GOING TO SHOW HER I'M HER REAL FRIEND AND I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO DESERVES HER LOVE!" Her horn glowed bright. "NOW BECOME MY SLAVES SO YOU CAN BREAK HER!" Dawn fired off her mind-control spell, but Luna created a powerful magical shield and blocked it. Chrysalis stepped forward and spoke as the shield protected her. "I knew your love for her felt wrong! You don't love her, but see her as an object, a thing, a doll you want to control and make her love you!" Chrysalis glared down at Dawn, whose spell was cracking Luna's shield. "I won't become your slave, and I won't let you hurt her; even more so, if you're going to take her from the rest of us, then I'll protect the ones who love her and will stop you! YOU HEAR ME, DAWN!? I WILL PROTECT OUR FRIENDS FOR THE ONE SHE CALLS 'FAMILY'!" She quickly turned to Cozy and glared harder at her. "AND YOU! YOU ARE LYING TO YOURSELF! I can feel the love you have for Braver! So much love, you don't know what to do with it!" Cozy narrowed her eyes and spit at the ground. She raised her hoof at Dawn, telling her she'd handle these two, making her stop using the spell. She walked towards Chrysalis and spoke in her cold voice, "If you feel my love, then you should feel how much hate I have for all of you and Braver. Love and hate go together, so get a taste of the latter." Her horn glowed and her hooves glowed red, and with one punch, she scattered Luna's shield and punched Chrysalis in the jaw. Luna got up and flew over her, firing a magical beam at Cozy, who raised her hooves, blocking it and being pushed back. "Chrysalis! You okay?" asked Luna, standing in front of her, protecting her. Chrysalis rubbed her jaw, glaring Cozy down, her own horn glowing, getting ready for a fight. "Yes! Let's show this pony not to mess with us!" Chrysalis shot her magic, and so did Luna; the three started fighting one another. "You know, I would feel bad about fighting you two, since you've been so nice to me and treated me like family." Cozy dodged their magical blast and punched back, hitting and knocking them down. "I would have killed you quick, but Dawn needs you two, so I'm going to beat you two down until you are on the brink of death, and when Dawn is finished with you, I'm going to kill you as mercy!" She laughed, enjoying their pain. "Don't worry, you two will be free soon enough!" Luna and Chrysalis glared at each other as they got back up and ready for another round. "Let's kick her butt and save the others!" smiled Chrysalis, flying next to Luna. "Yes! For our friends, we shall win!" smiled Luna her body glowed with magic, along with Chrysalis. As the two fought, Tempest and Tirek were looking on, still under the spell, but tears were falling from their eyes. Dawn took notice and smirked. "What's wrong? Hate seeing your friends fighting each other, huh?" "Yes," said Tempest in a monotone voice, not even looking at her and trying to fight the spell. "You are cruel, Dawn." Dawn rolled her eyes. "The only cruel one here is you guys. Taking Braver from me. She's not yours. She's mine. You're the real monsters. Using her for your own needs and taking her away from me." Tempest and Tirek fought the spell to face Dawn, both saying, "We're not using her! We truly love her!" making Dawn mad, increasing her spell on them, making them turn back, and not saying anything. "I'm the only one who can love her! Only me!" screamed Dawn. Her magic covered her body, becoming a dark rainbow aura and making the two bow before her. "Now! Attack!" The two got up, their eyes glowed the same colors as Dawn, and they walked forward to attack their friends, while Cozy was having the time of her life. "Come on, don't be afraid to use your magic, Princess Luna!" giggled Cozy, dodging her magic. "Come on, this is fun, isn't it?" She pounds her hooves again and smacks them both, hitting and pushing Luna and Chrysalis back. "Come on, show me your dark magic, Princess Luna! I know Nightmare Moon is still in there! You said Braver helped you in finally destroying her, right!? HA! Don't kid yourself! Nightmare Moon is still inside you and will always be; even if she's gone, her magic is still inside you! I bet she's enjoying this as we fight!" Luna's eyes glowed a light purple, and her magic glowed a dark purple, and she was able to hit Cozy back, but only a little bit. "I'm not Nightmare Moon! She's gone! I destroyed her myself!" screamed Luna; her magic became a light blue. She was able to land some punches and kicks on Cozy, but Cozy was still faster, being able to dodge her and land more hits. Chrysalis was watching the fight, waiting for the perfect time, and when Cozy was distracted by the fight, Chrysalis shot her magic at her, but Tempest shielded her, taking the hit and catching her off guard. "Tempest!?" shouted Chrysalis, worried about her. Tempest turned and glared at her, not saying a word. She blasted out her firework magic at her as Tirek landed behind Chrysalis, grabbing her and forcing her to be hit by the magic and thrown into a broken pillar. Luna saw this and tried to reach her friend, but Cozy teleported in front of her and punched her away. "Don't worry about her! You should worry about yourself! I can still feel her magic; she's alive!" grinned Cozy, making her magic cover her body, making her fast, and her eyes went bright red and charged at her, punching and kicking her and sending her away. Crashing through the ruin wall and into the great hall, falling near the steps and laying there. Cozy landed near Luna and pulled her mane up. "I should thank you and Tirek for teaching me to control this curse magic that I got after putting that necklace on. I can't believe how easy it was to trick you. All I had to say was, 'I want to use my new magic for good! Not evil!' and you were on board." Luna's eyes slowly open and she stares at her once-friend with sadness, speaking in a hurt tone, "You also wanted to protect her, didn't you? I remember you saying, and I quote, 'That blockhead might be strong, but she's going to need someone to watch her back and protect her from danger. Who better than me?'" Cozy's eyes widen, her anger is growing, her grip on Luna mane tightens, and her other hoof rises, getting ready to hit her, when Luna's eyes glow a light blue and her own magic grabs Cozy mane, throwing her back, hitting the pillar, and cracking it. "I remember those days. You and Braver had a blast together, and you were happy. I know you weren't lying; you are a good friend, Cozy. Did Dawn's mind control you as well?" Luna spoke, and using her magic, she lifted herself up and flew up, staring down at her, her magic covering her body. "Please, don't make me hurt you. Please stop this." Cozy glared at her; her eyes went pure dark red; her whole body became a twist-red version of herself; her once-blue curly mane went bloody flowing; and she tied it into a ponytail, summoning two hoof gloves and putting them on. "It's been a long time since I let loose! So, I'm going all out!" laughed Cozy, charging at Luna and unleashing a fury of hits on her, cracking her shield, knocking her back, and flying down to the ground. Cozy jumped and did a front flip, slamming her hooves down on Luna, making her shield break and causing her to roll back, almost falling down the stairs, but Cozy stopped her with her hoof. Cozy smiled more as she held her up and whispered in her ear, "Thanks for believing in me, even after all these years. Now I can take on Braver without holding back!" she laughed, kicking her down the steps. Luna flew down the stairs and crashed at the bottom, not moving. Luna could feel her body shutting down; she couldn't move; she was badly injured and was losing consciousness; she saw a bright rainbow light the top of the stairs while Cozy walked down the steps. She could see it's both Dawn's and the others, seeing Chrysalis under the mind control spell now. They lost... "I'm sorry, Twilight...Braver..." mumbled Luna, her eyes tearing up and feeling Cozy pick her head up a bit. She could see her once-friend glaring back at her, moving closer to her, and whispering in her ear. "Sorry, I have to make this believable." Luna's eyes went wide; she could hear what was really going on as Cozy kept whispering to her. "I'm making her believe I'm on her side. I need you guys to be under her control for a bit. I'll set you all free, and I'll stop her. I won't let her hurt Braver or anyone." Luna didn't believe it. Was this another trick? Or was she telling the truth? "I need you to forget this, sorry in advance." finish Cozy as she decks Luna in the face, knocking her out and falling back, making her forget about what happened and leaving her to Dawn, who walks down and claps her hooves. "Well done, Cozy! You did great!" complimented Dawn, walking past her and stopping near her. "Let's get started." Cozy smiled and nodded, watching her put the mind-control spell on Luna, who stood up and went over to the others. "How long will the spell last?" asked Cozy, walking behind Dawn. "As long as I'm alive, don't worry. They're not getting free anytime soon." Dawn turned back to her. "At first, I didn't believe you that you wanted to join me in destroying the Braver family and friends, but seeing the first hoof killing Celestia and beating your friends, you're not lying, and I believe you. You can have Equestria, but..." Dawn glared her down. "Braver is mine! You'll leave us alone forever, deal?" Cozy smiled and nodded. "Good! Now let's head out; it's time to break my dear Braver for good." Grinned Dawn, leading them to where the portal was. Cozy followed but stopped, turned around, and could see two figures hiding behind a pillar. She could see it was Fluttershy, shaking like a leaf, and... "It's the human version of Trixie. Why are they here?" thought Cozy, seeing Dr. Amazement shaking with deep fear and holding the hilt of the unsheathe sword in her hand. Cozy turned around, got closer to the portal, and thought back on how she got here. Cozy could see the castle, so she landed on the steps and pushed open the doors. She didn't see anyone and called out to Luna and even Celestia, but there was no answer. She could sense magic and followed it, which led her to the throne room. She pushed the door open and could see Celestia sitting on her throne, reading a book, blushing as she read it, and commenting on the scene she was reading: "Oh, Mr. Hero, grabbing her flank like that! The princess is such a naughty mare. How about you spank her?" Cozy blinks a few times, not believing what she's seeing. Celestia turned the page with magic and drool a bit. "Oh my! She can't take the hero's 'sword' all the way in, can she!?" Celestia slowly lowers her hoof down below. "Oh hero, please take me!" read out loud Celestia, putting the book closer to her face, but heard Cozy coughing loudly, getting her attention and panicky throwing the book behind the throne. "Hi Cozy! How can I help you?" nervously said Celestia, getting off her seat, fixing herself, and blushing. Cozy raised an eyebrow. "Why are you acting like a foal caught eating cookies before dinner?" "No reason! Nothing!" Celestia quickly said, sweating a bit. Cozy smirk, loving teasing Celestia like this, but she's on a mission. "Whatever. Listen, where is your sister, Luna? I know Chrysalis is living here as well. Where are they?" Celestia calmed down and answered, "They're not here. They went to the beach today, a friend's day out, but-" Cozy watched as Celestia looked around, waved at her to come closer, and whispered, "I think it's a date! I'm so excited for my sister! I haven't seen her smile and have fun in centuries. Maybe they're dating!" Cozy could tell she was serious and could feel her magic rising in joy, but this made Cozy sigh, not caring that two of her friends were dating or not. She needed to tell them about Dawn and how dangerous she is. "Sorry, Celestia, but I don't have time for that! This is an emergency! They might be in trouble. We need to find them!" shouted Cozy, walking out of the throne room and not listening to Celestia. She didn't have time for this; she needed to find them. She didn't want Dawn to get her hooves on them and do something to them, but Celestia flew in front of her and landed, asking what was going on. Cozy explained everything. Celestia walked over to a stained glass window of Twilight. "Dear Twilight student, is...evil? And she's planning something with her human counterpart? I can't believe it. Are you sure this is true?" "Positive." Cozy answered, "That's why we need to find Luna and Chrysalis. Tempest and Tirek went missing. Dawn is missing too, and from the information Trixie's human counter part gave, Dawn's human counter part might be teaming up with each other. This is bad!" Celestia could see the worried look in Cozy's eyes; her sister's friend is scared. She nodded. "Then we'll get to them and then head to the castle and tell Twilight what's going on. Don't worry, Cozy. They're all safe. I'm sure of it." Cozy sighed. She wanted her to not warn stupid Twilight, but she could sense magic—powerful magic. Celestia felt it too and looked around, trying to find the source, but it wasn't coming from Cozy. "Is this...an Alicorn?" wonders Celestia, looking up, and she sees a bright rainbow light. "It feels very familiar..." "Celestia, run!" screamed Cozy, but she was too late. A blast of a rainbow hit her, sending her into a wall and falling to the floor. Cozy ran to her, seeing her breathing and getting up. They turned and could see Dawn and her counterpart floating down from the rainbow light. "Dawn!?" shouted Celestia. "So it's true! Why will you go against teacher, Twilight and her teachings? You're her student!" "Yeah, and!?" said Dawn, landing and walking over to her, not caring at all. "You, of all creatures, should know how I feel about friendship. I don't need anymore friends; I only need Braver, who will stay by my side no matter what. So I'll get rid of her family and friends! And anyone who stands in my way." Dawn's counterpart landed next to her, smiling and putting her hand on Dawn's head, petting her. "You truly are me! Twilah tried to teach me the same thing: needing more friends and letting my rainbow comet light have space. I was like you once, not needing anyone else in my life and wanting to stay alone, but I found my reason, my reason to raise, like the morning dawn. You feel the same, right?" She looked down at Dawn, who smiled and nodded. "Then let's find our rainbow comet light friends and start the plan." Celestia could sense dark evil from this human version of Dawn; she believed it was controlling Twilight student, and she needed to get her out of there. "You won't get away with this! Controlling, dear Twilight student, with your evil power! You won't win. If you leave now, I'll forget this all happened!" ordered Celestia to get into a fighting stance and ready for battle. Dawn laughed out loud, making Celestia confused. "You think I'm being controlled? No, I haven't. I'm just finally being me! It took me a while, but I'm not afraid to be me anymore, as I saw the truth." Dawn spoke, her eyes turning white. "The truth? What are you talking about?" asked Cozy, walking closer to her. Dawn took notice of her and narrowed her eyes at her. "That you and so-called 'friends; keep taking her away from me! Even more so with her family as well. You all keep taking Braver from me! She's MINE! She's all mine!" shouted Dawn, losing her mind and her eyes glowing brighter, sending her rainbow magic towards them. Celestia grabbed Cozy and dodged the attack, which broke the wall and a few stained glass windows, leaving a blast hole in its place. Celestia got back up and stood in front of Cozy, blocking the attack and not letting it hit her. She couldn't believe Dawn was going crazy like this and using her power against them; Twilight would never allow this. "How dare you!" shouted Celestia. "Attacking me and attacking your friend, Cozy, like this! Maybe Twilight's faith in you for the future was wrong after all! You're nothing but a monster!" Dawn couldn't help but laugh as she heard that. "A monster, huh? I guess I am. That's fine by me. Many see Braver as that, and I told her I'd become a monster if it meant staying by her side. So if I'm a monster, I'll happily embrace it." "But why are you doing this?" asked Cozy, trying to get Dawn to confess. "Why? Simple: I'm the one Braver needs. Not some pathetic friends or her family, and certainly not you. Braver and I are soulmates—real ones! I love her!" She narrowed her eyes at her. "Not like you! I know you love her, but she doesn't love you back! She never will. That's why I'm going to use you and the other 'friends' to break her spirit and show her she can't escape f̸̧̧̪̲̤͍͔͔͍̻̦̐͐̆͊̌͊͋̏͑̇͘͘̕͝a̷̧̤͇̱̰̫̜͚̥̐́̐́̾̊̀͜t̷̢̜̟̠̯̬̹̩̫̪͕̎̓̂̃̊͒͜e̵̼̬̝̯̊͛̀̾̕. I'll make her mine. We will always be together." "What about Blitz?" asked Cozy. "Or the others? They'll stop you." Dawn smirk "Blitz will become ours too, since she's part of Braver and the others? You mean their parents? Ha, I'm going to use them as well and break Braver even more. After she's broken, I'll destroy them, even my teacher, Twilight." Dawn started to laugh but stopped as she heard Cozy laughing with her. "What's so funny?!" shouted Dawn, annoyed. Cozy stopped laughing and stared at her. "I'm in!" Dawn was shocked by this. She thought she would fight her, but no, she's going to join her. "In?" "Yep. I've been faking all this friendship for years. I always wanted to have my revenge on Twilight after what she did to me in the past and sealing me away. If you want her gone, then I'm in!" stated Cozy. "What about Braver?" questioned Dawn, narrowing her eyes at her. "What about her? It's not like I'm actually in love with her or anything, idiot. I'm just pretending to be friends with her while I grow stronger and finally beat her." replied Cozy. Dawn couldn't help but smirk. She walked over to Cozy, reaching out her hoof. Cozy stared at her, unsure what's going on, but slowly took her hoof and shook it, but Dawn pulled her in, while Rainbow Dawn glared over them with her evil stare. "You are good at lying, and I won't be fooled by you again. I'm not a filly anymore. Prove it. Show me that I can trust you!" Cozy nodded and said, "Will killing Celestia be enough?" "What!?" gasped Celestia. Rainbow Dawn laughed and pulled back from the two. "Oh, this is going to be good! I should have brought popcorn." "What!? Cozy, you must be joking!?" asked Celestia in fear. Cozy turned around and pounded her hooves, making her eyes go red. "I always wanted to kill you, you know?" "Huh? Kill? What are you talking about?" asked Celestia, backing away as she could sense the overflowing magic from her. Cozy gathered all her magic and slammed her hoof into the castle floor, sending out a powerful blast, destroying the throne room, and exposing the outside world. Within one second, she gut-punched Celestia but whispered something into her ear. "I'm going to send you to a pocket dimension. I'll leave this with you." Celestia could feel a crystal pressing against in her gut, making her hold it with both hooves. "It recorded everything, she said. I can't get you out of that dimension; you'll need to find a way out, and when you do, go to Twilight and her stupid friends. Show them that. I'll stop Dawn before she has a chance to do her plan. But if I'm not fast enough, tell Braver. That blockhead can stop her." Cozy started to cast her spell when she saw Luna and Chrysalis entering the throne room... "If I knew that scared pegasus and human were here, I would have given them the recording crystal instead, but it's too late now. Just got to follow along and pretend I'm on Dawn's side." Cozy glared at the back of Dawn's head and said, "I won't let you hurt Braver, and if I have to, I'll stop you even if it means killing you." Cozy entered the portal and vanished with the others as it closed and disappeared. Fluttershy and Amazement step out of the pillar and drop to their rears in fear and shock as they saw the battle that took place. "No," muttered Fluttershy. "This can't be. Cozy lied to us all. This can't be real. Can it?" Amazement didn't know what to say or do. She didn't expect this. She kept holding the hilt of her sword, trying to be brave and wanting to help Mona(her universe Luna) pony counterpart, but seeing that woman again scared her. She wanted to help in some way, but seeing that monster that killed her beloved, she was so scared and angry that she didn't even know where to begin or how to feel. "Damn it," whispered Amazement, pounding the floor. "I'm not like you, honey bun! I'm not strong." Shy looked over and saw her new friend hitting the floor, calling herself weak, and saying she wasn't like Wonder. It reminded her why they're even here. Everyone left her home, but Shy was at the door with AJ, who was the last one to leave. "Spike is heading to the School of Friendship before heading back to Canterlot. We need Starlight to help with her daughter and ask her some questions. I'm heading home and getting my family somewhere safe. This bad feeling is getting worse," said AJ. "What should I do, get Pinkie?" asked Fluttershy, but AJ shook her head. "I'll do that; don't worry now. Just find Discord; we're going to need his help on this. We can't let Dawn or her counterpart do what they want. I'll see you later and you know what to do?" Fluttershy nodded and watched AJ leave, but AJ turned back. "What are you going to do with your house guest?" she asked, making Shy look at the couch, which had Amazement laying on it and hiding under a thick blanket. "I'll try to convince her to come with me, and if she doesn't, then...then I'll do what I have to. I'm not leaving her here alone, knowing the danger we're all in. I'll protect her." stated Fluttershy. AJ nodded and smiled at her, saying goodbye and leaving. Fluttershy shut her door and slowly walked over to the couch. "Um, Miss. Amazement? Can we talk for a minute?" She asked, but got no answer. "Please. You don't have to talk; just listen, please," she begged. She sat down in front of the couch and looked at the back of Amazement, who was still hidden under the blanket. "You...you heard all that, right? My world is in danger, and you two were trying to stop that evil, right?" Again, no answer. Fluttershy sighed and lowered her head. "I'm sorry about what happened to Dr. Wonder. If she's anything like my Twilight, I'm sure she was a wonderful and loving friend." Amazement moved a bit under the blanket; she could hear Fluttershy's words, but she didn't want to face her, so she spoke with a sad tone. "Wonder was perfect, not because of her looks, her intelligence, or her magic. It was because she was herself, always true to herself, and never changed. She was a loving woman who always put others first and would never give up, no matter what. It's why I love her and dated her, but she's gone now. My honey bun is gone." Fluttershy was surprised to hear that, hearing a version of Trixie loving a version of Twilight like that. "Yes, I'm sure she is. And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for everything you've been through. But we're not giving up. My friends and I won't stop until that 'monster' is defeated and my world is saved." "And what about her!?" shouted Amazement, jumping out of the blanket and staring at her with tears falling down her eyes. "WHAT ABOUT WONDER!?...I couldn't save her..." "Miss. Amazement...I-" started Fluttershy, but she was cut off. "Don't say it!" she ordered. Fluttershy closed her mouth. Amazement looked down, seeing her hand holding the sword hilt, and started to cry, "I... wasn't strong enough. I couldn't save her; she died. She was right there, telling me I'm so stubborn and wanted me to get help, then letting her die as she saved me." She tightened her grip on the sword hilt, shaking with her fear and sadness. "It should have been me! Why!? Why did she do that? Why!? I could have taken the blow. She should be the one here, alive and helping you all. She loved me so much that she didn't think twice and gave her life for me." Fluttershy got up and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her "Miss. Amazement, don't blame yourself. I'm sure Wonder was happy to protect you and make sure you live, and that's a good thing. You're here, still alive. Wonder wouldn't want you to be sad and cry for her; she would want you to move forward, right?" Amazement was surprised by this, but hearing those words made her cry even more and hug Fluttershy, who smiled and hugged her back. "I have to do something, right?" asked Amazement, letting go of her. Fluttershy wiped her own eyes and nodded. "Yes, yes, you do. This is a big threat to my world, and I'm not going to let them take it. And we need your help. I understand you're scared of what happened to Wonder and your own safety. I'm scared too." "You?" asked Amazement, a bit surprised. Fluttershy nodded. "Yeah. I'm scared, terrified, and don't know what to do. I'm not like AJ, who's strong willed; I'm not Dash in being brave and filled with courage; and I'm not like Twilight, who's smart and can think of a way out. But I'm going to stand and fight. With my friends and now you, we'll protect everyone and this world. We'll stop her and her plans and get you home, and you can give Wonder a proper funeral." Amazement couldn't help but smile, hearing those words and seeing her new friend being so brave. Maybe she could be a little braver for Wonder. "Your right, you're not like those three, but I think you're more than that. You're Fluttershy. And being like yourself is better than anything." Fluttershy smiled as Amazement took out the sword and pointed it to the heavens. "As part of the Revenger and Wonder's legacy, I will fight! For her! Like Captain AppleCore always says, 'No more mistakes. No do-overs. Look out for each other! And trust your partner!'. I'm going to keep going and will be stronger! And I'm going to beat the crap out of that bitch for taking my honey bun!" Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Okay then, I'm glad you're with us, but who's Captain AppleCore?" Amazement put her sword away and looked at Fluttershy, using her magic to show a magical image of Captain AppleCore, which shocked Fluttershy to see a human version of AJ, wearing a blue suit with red and white stripes in the torso area, a white star on her chest and the shield she's holding, and wearing a red hood cape. Amazement looked closer and smiled, "One of the greatest super heroes in my world, along with my favorite honey bun, Dr. Wonder. She's been frozen in the past for many years while trying to stop a villain called Red Rotten Core. She came back and fought many villains. She's the leader of a group that I mentioned; they all fight and save lives. I'm a new member; thanks to Honey Bun for recommending me," she said. Fluttershy smiled as well and nodded, liking the fact that AJ is a super hero in the Amazement universe who fights bad guys and is the leader of a team. She couldn't help but laugh, thinking how jealous and upset AJ would be, knowing she's a hero in another world. "Well, since you're a part of this now, I'll let you know the plan." Shy said, opening the door and walking with Amazement. "I'm looking for a male draconequus, name Discord, huh?" Shy stopped as she could see the shock reaction on her face. "What's wrong?" "Discord...in my universe, he's an old man wearing a brown suit. He's not really evil, but not really good. He's kind of neutral god like being but loves seeing chaos between both sides. I'm kind of shocked your friends with your universe, Discord." replied Amazement, following her in the air with the magic of flight. "Well, my Discord is sweet and mischievous but also kind and understanding," said Fluttershy. Amazement shrugged and just smiled as she kept listening to the yellow pegasus. "But when Braver came to live in this universe, he became somewhat bitter toward her, even hating her. I never knew why until Cozy explained his hate for her." Shy had a sad but worried look on her face now. "I never really thought of what would will happen to him after I die, leaving him all alone. His only friends are me and the girls. Without us, he's alone." Amazement looks a bit sad, and I couldn't help but understand a bit. She's not that old but has lost many people in her life, even her own father, who died when she was very young, and now she has lost Wonder... "Even if Braver changed this universe's fate, that doesn't mean he's going to be alone. There are creatures who will call him a 'friend' like we do. He'll never be alone. I need to tell him that and make him help us." said Fluttershy, looking back at Amazement. "How can you be so sure of that?" asked Amazement. "Because even though Braver and Twilight are very different from each other in looks and personalities, they are similar in being kind and loving souls. They'll be there for him, even if it's just Twilight in the end. They'll remind him that friendship never lasts forever but also never dies. I need to tell him that as well, so he can let go of this pain he's carrying. So he can live and not be bitter." Amazement smiled and nodded, seeing the same fire in her eyes that Wonder had, and she could not help but follow Fluttershy to the very end. "Okay, since we're heading somewhere, I'm guessing you know where he is." asked Amazement, seeing the smile on her face and nodding. "Yep, he wasn't in his little universe, and when Cozy told me about him leading Braver to the Chaos Slime city, he must be there, but I wonder why?" asked Shy to herself, as she was trying to figure that out, but the two stopped flying as they could hear a loud boom in the distance, seeing a large explosion coming from an area. The two look at each other and fly towards the explosion, seeing smoke coming from Celestia and Luna Castle. "Oh no! Celestia, Luna, and Cozy! Something must have happened! We need to hurry!" shouted Shy as she and Amazement flew towards the castle, entering it through the main entrance. Shy was panicking, but Amazement held her sword at the ready. She could hear fighting coming from upstairs and see someone falling near the top of the steps. Amazement pulled Shy to the nearby pillar and hid as they watched... "Honey bun, I'm a failure... I couldn't even draw my sword to save that pony that looks like Mona, your teacher sister. Forgive me..." cried Amazement, still gripping her sword. Shy finally recovered from the shock and placed her hoof on the human back, rubbing it. "It's okay, Amazement. You're going to be okay. You're not alone; you didn't fail anyone. You kept me safe, and if you did attack, we'd be under Dawn's control as well, or worse, dead. Thank you." Amazement sniffled a little bit and gave a weak smile. "Now, we need to find Discord," said Fluttershy, and she looked at her. "We're running out of time!" Amazement looked at her and gave her a confident smile, nodding as she followed her out of the castle and headed towards the Chaos Slime underground city, as Shy remembered the map that Cozy showed them. It wasn't before long they found it, but the sun was setting. Amazement used her magic to remove the rocks from the entrance, and both ran inside. They could see the dead and in ruin underground city of the slimes. "Where are we supposed to find him in this mess?" asked Amazement, looking around her surroundings. Fluttershy suddenly felt a deep feeling in her chest, but it wasn't like before; it was like telling her where to go. She turned her head and saw a path in the upper part of the city, seeing a large cave leading out. "He's over there!" she pointed. Amazement nodded, followed her towards the cave, and entered. They could see a dark tunnel ahead, and they walked forward until they found themselves in a chamber. They could see an air geyser blasting out warm air, and crystals filled the chamber. The two were about to move when they heard a sad voice. "Why are you here, Fluttershy? I don't want to see you anymore. I can't keep seeing what my future will be like." Amazement and Shy looked around until they saw a tunnel and saw Discord looking at wall paintings. Fluttershy steps forward, seeing the sad and depress state that her friend is in "Discord?" "Sis! Let me go with you! I'm not a filly anymore! I can protect myself!" shouted Applebloom, as she's following AJ back to town. "Gosh darn it, sis, I told you this was too dangerous! You need to stay back and protect Big Mac and his family. You don't know how to fight against these new monsters. We'll handle it." stated AJ as she ran with her sister, who's keeping up. "Then at least let me help you get to the school! Are you still having these bad feelings?" asked Applebloom. "Yep, and they're not getting better. It's making my heart race; I'm shaking and feel like I'm going to cry. We need to hurry; I don't know why, but this is worse than the first time," answered AJ, as they finally got into town and almost reached the school, but they could see Starlight and Sunburst waiting for her. They came to a dead stop in front of them. "Did Spike tell you? About your daughter?" Sunburst nodded "Yes, he told us everything." He turned to Starlight, who had a face of guilt, fear, and anger on her face. "Starlight..." "It's my fault..." whispered Starlight, making AJ fill with rage as she remembered Dashie explaining how the earth universe version of Dawn's parents weren't great folks. AJ grabbed Starlight by her headmaster dress, shouting, "Did you hit your own daughter!? Made her suffer!?" "Applejack! That's enough!" shouted Sunburst, as he's trying to pull her off his wife. "No! If you hurt your own daughter by letting her suffer, then you caused all this." Starlight had a surprised look on her face but shook her head. "I would never hit her... I just never gave her a mother's love when Sunburst showed me her." AJ and Applebloom had confused looks on their faces, and AJ finally let go of her, asking her what she meant. "I never wanted kids. This caused Sunburst and I to break up. Few years later, we met again, and our feelings came back, but he showed me a baby foal." AJ understood it now: "You aren't Dawn, mother, are you?" Starlight shook her head. "No, her birth mother died during childbirth, and Sunburst was trying his best, but he couldn't do it alone. So, I decided to marry him, raise Dawn, and tell everyone she was my child; only Twilight knew the truth. And for the past 15 years, I treated her as my own, and I love her, but..." Starlight, look up at the stars. "Those first few years, I treated her like a stranger, and I didn't know how to bond with her. But she was smart but felt so closed off to the world. But when she met Braver, Dawn became happier, and she was opening up and making new friends. I started to feel proud of her and started to treat her like my own and love her more." AJ had a look of sadness on her face, and Applebloom asked her, "Why didn't you tell her the truth? She knows your not her real mom, right?" "...ashamed of raising someone else's child. A child that I didn't want. I lied about her being my daughter. I couldn't face her; I didn't know how she would react, and I'm not even sure how she would feel if she knew who her real mother is." Sunburst hugged his wife and said, "I'm sorry, Starlight." "You're not at fault. It's mine; I'm a coward and can't accept the truth," stated Starlight, crying. "Who's the birth mother?" asked AJ. Sunburst sighed and answered, "A mare earth pony by the name of Cherry Berry." Applejack was about to ask another question, but the ground shook. The three ponies and Applebloom turned and looked, and they could see Canterlot castle being raised in the air while the city was sliding off the mountain and into the land below. "The castle!" shouted Sunburst. "THE CITY! RARITY!?" shouted AJ as more creatures looked at the castle and city and started screaming and running around, causing chaos. But AJ could see a rainbow comet coming from the castle, heading towards the city, and stopping it from sliding further into the land. "Dash!" shouted Applebloom, but AJ corrected her, "That's not Rainbow Dash; it's Braver twin sister! Blitz!" They all watched as the city was being pulled back into place, but it suddenly started to fall again. "Lass isn't like her sister; she's not strong enough!" shouted AJ. "We need to help her!" As AJ said that, Pinkie joined the gang, along with Sweetie Bella and Scoots. "Applejack, what are we going to do!?" shouted Pinkie, freaking out. "My sister is in trouble!" cried Sweetie Bella, crying as Applebloom held her. "What are we going to do!?" asked Scootaloo, as she's holding onto Sweetie as well. AJ didn't answer them, as she's trying to think, but before she could think of something, her chest started to hurt, along with Pinkie. "Pinkie, my heart hurts so much, and it's making me feel sick. I can't breathe." Pinkie couldn't answer, as her chest started to hurt like AJ. The others could only look on, as they didn't know what to do. Meanwhile, in the falling Canterlot, Spike held Rarity, as her chest was hurting as well, as they stood outside in the crumbling streets. "Rarity!? What's going on!?" "My chest...I'm having trouble breathing," stated Rarity, grabbing her chest. "Something wrong!? Something is warning me about something. Oh Spike, are we all going to die?" "I...don't know..." answered Spike, not knowing what else to say, as he's holding her as the ground is still shaking and the city still falling. Rarity held him back, not wanting to leave him, and looked up at the floating castle. Back in the cave, Fluttershy held her chest, screaming out in pain, and Discord looked at her and held her. "D-Discord..." she whispers as she's crying, and he just holds her as tears form in his eyes. Discord looked at the wall painting that he wasn't looking at. Using his magic to remove the overgrown plants and vines, he revealed a wall painting of a human figure with a pink horn. Standing in the remains of a castle and a city, smiling as six ponies lay dead around it, along with two dead humans. Further down, he could see the colorful orb being broken and the black pony scattering like a rainbow bomb. "...it's happening. Waver, you can't change fate. It's foolish to go against it. Even you fell to your sad fate..." whispered Discord, closing his eyes. Amazement and Fluttershy looked and could see the painting as well. "Discord, we can still change fate; we can save the girls. You can't give up!" Fluttershy touched his cheek. "Believe in Braver! Twilight told me something, and I know that's why she'll stop it." Discord opened his eyes and looked at her, wanting to hear it. "She said..." Fluttershy visited Twilight in the castle and could see Twilight smiling at Braver as she's hanging with her friends at their tea party and laughing at Tirek, who was too big and looked out of place with rest of the girls, Dawn looked annoyed. "She has it..." whispered Twilight. Fluttershy turned to her, asking what she meant. "That spark. It's her spark... I believe in her." stated Twilight, smiling. Discord couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And that's what she said?" asked Discord, Fluttershy nodded and adding, "The spark. It's a beautiful light that shines upon the world. The spark she carries. It's the greatest power in the world! The power to save the world and even the universe! Like we did many times in the past. Because of the people who saved her, Braver carries that spark and meets wonderful, colorful friends, giving them a second chance in life." "The power of friendship?" asked Discord, but Fluttershy shook her head. "No, the spark. The spark that Braver has! It's not just about friendship. It's the spark that gives her strength, a light that she can't go astray. She won't scatter! She won't become 'that'!" Shy pointed to the rainbow bomb. "It's a light of hope that the girl has—the light she has now with her friends. The light that gives her a reason to live and keeps her together, like the sun, which brings warmth and light.", Shy pushed Discord away and stood up, not caring about the pain in her chest. "She's not the only one carrying that spark; others do! Everyone has that spark, including you! Help us, Discord! Fate isn't set in stone. The future can change; it's our story, not fate. Find that spark!" Discord's eyes went wide as he turned to the painting he was looking at before they found him. He could see the very same message on the wall. "Waver and ꋖꅏꂑ꒒ꂑꁅꍩꋖ ꌚꉣꁲꌅꀗ ...both of you were right. Even after helping you two a few hours ago, I still didn't want to believe it." He looked at the painting of the smiling white-haired and purple-horned human figure. "Fate is just an illusion. It's nothing but a path we create and decide on. It's not written in stone." He turned and stood, being his normal self. "What are we waiting for!?" He snaps his fingers and wearing a rock band outfit. "We need to bring the band back together!" Shy and Amazement were confused by that statement, asking what he meant by it. "The twins can't win this alone; they need the ones that saved them!" smirked Discord, playing his guitar, and Fluttershy could hear a tune that sounded familiar to her; it sounded like a rock ballad of the greatest song in the world, like a tribute. "Who saved them? You don't mean?" asked Shy, and Discord smiled at her. "Yup, and you are going to help me!" sang Discord, pointing at Amazement, who pointed at herself, "Yes, you! Dr. Wonder showed you the multiverse index of many universes. I know a few, but not all of them. I need your help. So let's go!" With a snap of his fingers, they're in a blue payphone booth and slowly disappear, leaving Fluttershy alone. She turned to the wall painting and saw the message left behind by this Waver creature, but she noticed something under it and tore the rocks away, revealing something—something that made Fluttershy cry. "Fate isn't set in stone. The future can change; it's our story, not fate. Find that spark! This is a gift. Waver and I left for Discord, Fluttershy. When this is all over, show him this and your message." Shy looked at the picture again and looked at the message once more. "Discord, thank you for helping us in our hour of need. Your kindness saved many lives—the light that gave hope, the light that changed fate. That spark that Fluttershy started in your heart—that is the most powerful magic of all. You won't ever be alone, my friend. I'll make sure of it. No matter how many timelines fate creates, You'll be loved." Fluttershy stepped back and looked at the picture. It was an old Discord hanging out with different ponies, with each pony's name above them, each read "Zipp, Pipp, Hitch, Misty, Sunny, and Izzy," and near them was the black pony, Braver. Next to the picture of Braver was a recording crystal. Shy took it, running off and flying off, seeing chaos ahead of her. She turned on the crystal. "Hello, is this thing working? Discord..." As Fluttershy flew off, a white-haired, female anthro pony stepped out of the darkness, smiling while glitching prism effects surrounded her. "You won't control this timeline. I made sure of it, F̴̢̘̰̺̖͇̗͎̜͕͈̟̻͈̣̌͒̽́̀͐̑͑̈́̊͒̽̇͜ȁ̸̫̭̠̙̼̠̏͒̍̄̀̀͜ṭ̴̨̡̧̘̲̜͍̳̥̖̂̋͐͑̈́̆͐̀̌̀́̕͘͜͠͝ͅē̷̡̟̬̙̦̫̟̙̖̯̩͇̼. Just like my mother, I'll keep saving those from their awful fates that you created. It's their future, not yours. Their lives and stories to tell, not yours to change." She said, turning around and disappearing into the prism effects, end of chapter 12 ...and spin off story with Discord and Amazement to be continued in "Gathering The Names Across the Multiverse" > Chapter 13: Dawn > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing but whiteness, as far as the eyes can see. Celestia stood up and wondered where she was; she did remember Cozy saying something about pocket dimensions or whatever it was. She turned and could see something in the distance. "Is that?" In the distance was a rainbow-haired figure waving at her. It looked like a human girl dressed in blue. She walks towards it, but it seems no matter how much she walks, she's not getting any closer to the figure. "Hey!" The girl is still waving at her. "What's she doing?" she wondered, still walking towards it. Celestia finally got closer and could see her better. "Huh? Aren't you that human girl that Luna told me about? Braver sister, correct?" The girl didn't answer, and Celestia noticed that the girl pointed ahead of them. She narrowed her eyes and saw something. "Is that a house?" Celestia turned to the girl, but she was gone. She looked everywhere, but nope, the girl was gone like a ghost. She shrugged it off and walked towards the house, seeing that there was nothing but the house in this white void. When she got closer to it, she realized she had never seen this type of house before. She walked up to the steps and knocked. "Coming!" said a robotic voice, but to Celestia, it sounded very familiar. The door opened, and she saw no one there. "Down here." Celestia looked down and saw... "Spike!?" shouted Celestia, seeing Spike as a baby dragon again but also made up of metal. "What happened to you?" Spike scanned Celestia and searched his data banks, and he found a match for this creature. "Ah, former princess of Equestria, Celestia." Celestia lowers herself to the metal baby dragon and pokes his nose, causing his eyes to go red and getting bigger thanks to his nanomachines. Celestia backed away and said sorry, causing robotic Spike to return to normal. "Don't touch the nose, sweet heart. Come inside." Metal Spike opened the door, letting her in, and Celestia stepped inside and looked around. "Nice place." Metal Spike closed the door and led her to the kitchen, sitting her down and offering her something to eat and drink, which she politely refused. "So, what is this place? What's going on, and why are you a baby dragon again and made up of metal?" Robotic Spike just smiled and pulled a chair, sitting down. "This place is a safe haven for my creator, Twilah Finkelstein," answered Spike, showing a hologram image of Twilah. "She created me to protect his house but also to make a Spike, since your Spike doesn't exist in her universe." Celestia looked at the hologram, touching it back and forth like a child playing with a new toy. "Twilah? Isn't that the human that came into our universe? Did she create this universe with magic?" asked Celestia, looking through the kitchen window and seeing the whiteness of the void and could see the same figure from last time. Before she could look closer, Spike answered her question. "Yes, but also no. She combined magic with science and created a pocket universe. Now I have a question for you." Celestia looked away from the window and at the Spike bot. "Why and how are you here? My creator is still in your universe." Celestia answered by retelling what happened to her and holding the record crystal, making Spike Bot understand everything now. "I see, so my creator didn't create this universe but just somehow discovered it, since magic spells can pin point this pocket universe." Spike looked up and noticed her sweating a bit as they kept looking outside of the window. "What's wrong?" Celestia quickly turned to the bot and pointed to the outside. "Are there any other humans here?" Spike shook his head and got up to open the door, showing the white void. "This place has no life. Why do you ask?" Celestia looked back to the window, seeing tons of figures of different shapes and creatures. All looking at the house. Some were was waving at her and dancing. "Don't you see them?" asked Celestia, turning around and seeing the figures disappearing, one by one, into the void. Spike couldn't see what she was talking about. "There was someone waving at me from the distance, and I walked for what felt like hours before they showed me this place." Spike quickly scanned the area around the house and found nothing. He then increased the scans, but still nothing. "Are you sure you weren't seeing things? I couldn't find anything." "I'm sure of it." Spike was about to scan again, but the cure for his creator and others was done. He opened a screen and checked, frowning. "This isn't good; the cure won't work. I need to report this to my creator. CODE RED! CODE RED!" shouted Spike, scaring Celestia as she poked a TV in the kitchen wall, changing the channels with her hooves. "What's wrong?!" Spike pulled up a screen, showing Twilah and her family's life signs becoming weaker, like they were being hurt. "She's in danger! Activating the teleporter, I'm going to save her!" said Spike, opening the gate to where Twilah was. "You can come if you want." Celestia didn't have to think twice as she got in but stopped as she turned to the window and saw millions of figures waving or dancing at her. She started to feel scared but also very confused, until a white hair girl, dress in a white jacket appeared, smacking the rainbow hair figure, making the rest stop and scatter in different directions and with laughter. Spike didn't see any of this as he pushed Celestia towards the portal. Before all the events started, Twilight and the Twilah family returned to the castle after enjoying their time at the beach. Braver and Blitz were laughing as they headed to the Braver room, while the parents were hanging out in the throne room, talking about the day they had. Dash couldn't stop laughing as she saw Dashie all red with a bad case of sunburn. "It's not funny; you knew I would forget to put the sun screen on, and you didn't remind me!" shouted Dashie, seeing Dash hiding her laughter. Dash flew around her and smacked her burn spots. "I did, and you said, 'I don't need it, so don't blame me!" Dash sat next to Dashie and smiled. "Well, at least we had fun, and the kids had fun." said Twilight, putting the stuff down and taking out the first aid kit to treat Dashie's burns. "We should do this more often; shame, I'm too busy with ruling over the kingdom." Twilah sat down with her stuff as well and crossed her arms. "Working to make world-changing inventions also makes me too busy to hang with my family as well." Twilight heard it and puffed at it. "I doubt your inventions are as important as being the ruler of Equestria." Twilah retorts with a bit of anger behind it. "My inventing made the lives of others better. They in fact are way more important and demanding than you and your precious rule of this country." Twilight turned to her and was about to argue, but Dashie stopped her. "Come on, girls, no need to fight. We should relax and not stress ourselves over such small things. Right Twilah?" Dashie looked at Twilight, quickly correcting herself, "Besides, Twilight's job is more important; you shouldn't put your inventing job over her duties. Right?" Twilah huffed and turned away. "Taking her side!? Wow, I can't believe you!?" Twilight gave Twilah a big smug smile and turned to Dash. "Least my Dash also supports me, right Dash?" Twilight turned to Dash, but looked worried. "Dash?" "Sorry Twi, but I'm on Twilah's side on this. Sure, your job is demanding and isn't easy, but from what Twilah showed me, her creations are making things better in her world. I think her job is way harder as the whole world is on her shoulders." Dash finished but could see the upset look on her wife's face. "Sorry." Twilah turned to Twilight and was the one giving her the smug look now. "Well, well, well, it looks like your dash supports me. What do you say about that?" Twilight frowned and turned to Dashie, looking for comfort and help, but Dash noticed this, making her jealous. "Why looking at her? Even though my Wonderbolt captain job is demanding, I'm always there for you, Twilight." Dashie laughed when she heard that, making Dash turn to her in anger and ask, What's so funny? "I saw the Wonderbolts training in your memories; it's basically a school sports team. Their nothing like a real sports team. I don't see any real demands from it." answered Dashie, but she felt Dash tail whipping her sunburn and asking what type of job she has. "I watch over little kids at the YMCA as a kid watcher. Those kids are a handful." Dash started to laugh. "A kid watcher? That's like a babysitter. You just watch over the kids as their parents have a few hours from their kids." Dashie huffed, upset by her counterpart's comment. "You only say that because your job is basically a school sports team! You just fly around and show off, not much else!" "Hey!" Dash flew in front of Dashie, who ran up to her, both glaring at each other. "IF YOU HAD MY JOB, YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND!" "WELL, IF YOU HAD MY JOB, YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND THOSE KIDS ARE LIKE ANCIENT GREEK MONSTERS!" Both Dashes smack their heads together and push each other forward in anger, both shouting and calling each other names. Twilight wanted them to stop fighting, but she heard Twilah agreeing with Dash, making her upset. "Really? Well, I bet I was in your shoes, making things is easy. Your life is a breeze compared to my work load. It's like a walk in the park, while mine is like a run through the jungle!" Twilah flubbed at this and became filled with rage. "You're comparing my life with yours? I think not. I can rule and fix this country's problems, while you can't handle the pressure of doing my job." "Oh please! You can't handle the pressure of doing mine!" shouted Twilight, her eyes glowing and flowing towards Twilah, who was doing the same. Both clashed their horns, and sparks were flying as they stared each other down and talked smack about each other. Dash and Dashie stopped and watched as their wives was arguing and using their magic. Dashie ran and grabbed Twilight, and Dash did the same to Twilah, stopping them from using their magic. "Both of you stop! We don't need you to blow up the castle! Besides, Twilah is right, Twilight, chill." Dash said, causing Twilah to stick her tongue out at Twilight, making her very angry. "I'm with you, Twilah. Twilight job is easier than your job." "Thank you." said Twilah, smiling until she turned to Twilight and saw Dashie behind her, saying Twilight's job was harder than hers again, making her upset even more as Twilight stuck her tongue out as well. This went on for a good hour, as the four couldn't stop, until Dash shouted at the top of her lungs. "STOP IT!" screamed Dash, shocking everyone. "Enough, we're going in circles! I'm hitting the showers!" Dash flew off and entered the bathroom with a slam of the door. Twilah nodded. "She's right; I'm heading to the guest room and putting the stuff away." She walked off but turned to Dashie and said, "Don't bother coming; you're in the dog house!" With a big huff, Twilah left. Dashie sighs, looking at the ground. "Shit..." Twilight sighed, realizing they were acting like little fillies. "I'm sorry about this. We're acting like little kids. There's another guest room you can use for tonight. I'll show you it. Come." Dashie smiled and followed her to the room. After putting away her stuff, Twilah was looking for her watch. As she remembered taking it off during their time at the beach, she wanted to check on Spike and his process on the cure, but she couldn't find it. "I hope I didn't leave it on the beach or something," thought Twilah, still going through her things, but she heard a voice from behind her. She turned to see Dash in a bath towel and another towel on her head, drying her hair. "Hey, are you okay? Tearing up the room a bit." asked Dash, drying her mane and flying into the room after closing the door. Twilah turned red and looked away. "I'm fine; I'm just looking for something. You haven't seen my watch?" Dash shook her head, hovering in place, and continued drying herself. "Nope. I haven't seen anything." "Well, guess it somewhere. Hopefully, it turns up. Or we-" Twilah stopped and noticed that Dash towel was falling off, exposing her naked body, freaking Twilah out, and covering her eyes. "AHH!" Dash became spook. "W-What?" "YOUR NAKED!" pointed Twilah. Dash down look, and look back at her friend with a deadpan stare. "I'm always naked, you know that, right?" Twilah couldn't answer and was red as a tomato until she heard a chuckle. Dash put her towel back on. "You humans are odd and care so much about clothes and the naked body. You can open your eyes now." Twilah peeked her eyes out, seeing her friend in a bath towel again and seeing her laughing a bit, "What's so funny? You laughing at me?" Dash shakes her head and smiles. "You humans are so weird; it's like showing your naked bodies is a sin or something." Twilah frowned and was going to counter that but couldn't, and Dash was right. Dash couldn't understand why humans care so much about the naked body. She flew to the bed and sat on it, finally finishing drying her mane. She wanted to chat, but they heard a knock at the door. Twilah told whoever it was to enter, but there was no answer, so the knocking continued, making Twilah upset. "It's not funny! Stop and come in!" She shouted, but there was no response, and the knocking continued. Dash narrowed her eyes, believing it was Dashie or the twins. She flew to the door, opening... Pink mist filled the room, making Dash and Twilah cough and covering their faces. "What's going on?!" shouted Twilah, turning her head from side to side and not seeing anything except pink mist. Dash was coughing badly, trying to keep her balance, and holding onto the door. She looked who was standing at the door; it was Chrysalis; her body was releasing this weird pink mist. "Chrysalis?" said Dash, before losing her balance and feeling warm—very warm. "This feeling..." Dash could feel her wings standing up and becoming stiff, along with her body shivering and her legs becoming weak. "No, stop this!" Twilah could feel warm as well, finally dropping to the bed and trying to hold herself up with her hands, feeling weak and her breathing heavily. She could see a pair of dark blue hooves entering the room and could hear faint laughter from the outside. Chrysalis entered the room and walked over to a counter, still releasing the mist. Twilah tried to move, but her face was bright red. She felt very odd, like she was... "No! Stop this!" but Chrysalis didn't stop, only releasing more mist. Twilah tried to call out to Dash, hoping she could blow the smoke away, but she could see her looking at her, breathing hard, her wings standing up, and her face looking very red. "D-Dash?" called Twilah, her voice weak and her heart beating fast. Dash didn't answer her; she was only staring at her. The laugh from outside grew louder, watching as the two were in the mist and feeling the effects, their eyes going lifeless. Finally, the door closed. "Twilight..." said Dash, crawling her way to the bed, getting on it, and kissing Twilah. Twilah tried to get Dash off, but she started to see Dashie within Dash, making her kiss back. While this was going on, Chrysalis looked on, releasing the mist but also crying. In the Braver room, Blitz was on the bed, reading a book and looking over at her sister, who was cleaning her anime figures. "Never thought I saw you being a weeb!" laughed Blitz, but Braver didn't understand the term, as it was a human-only thing, but she knew she was being made fun of. Blitz sighed and got up. "I'm getting a drink; what anything?" Braver didn't answer. "Hello? Braver, I said, I'm getting a drink; what do you want?" "Nothing, I'm fine!" shouted Braver, but he still didn't look up at Blitz. Blitz rolled her eyes and headed out of the room, walking down the hallway and passing somebody hinting in darkness, who soon followed her. Braver kept cleaning her figures but was still upset, but she heard a very familiar voice from the doorway. She turned her in a 160 and smiled, seeing Dawn. "DAWN!" shouted Braver, spinning her body around. Dawn smirked, walking inside and giving off an evil vibe, but it quickly vanished as Braver tackle hugged her and rubbed her cheek against her own, making her blush. "B-Braver!?" she shouted, trying to push her off. "What? Don't want me to touch you?" asks Braver, not letting her go. "I-I do! It's just I was-" Dawn tried to say something, but Braver put a wing feather on her lips, silencing her and getting off of her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't understand your love confession. I hurt you." Braver didn't want to meet her eye, but Dawn was shocked, not knowing that Braver knew about love now and was looking forgiveness, so Dawn hugged her. "I know. I should have explained it better to you. But I don't know what to say to make you understand at the time, and it's not your fault. You didn't know." Braver smiled as she heard that and hugged her back. Braver leans back. "You forgive me, right?" Dawn smiled, nodding and nuzzling her forehead with Braver cheek. "Good. Because I need to tell you something." "Oh? What is it?" asked Dawn, both sitting on the bed now. Braver blushed and tried to figure out how to start this without sounding dumb or weird. "Remember how we first met?" Dawn blushed and nodded. "How could I forget? It was ten years ago and during that time your mother held a Council of Friendship meeting..." ten years ago. "DASH! HOLD HER!" shouted Twilight, stopping the pillar from falling, as she could see Breaker being super hyper, as she was excited to meet her mother's friends, as it's only been a month she's been living here in this universe. "I'M TRYING!" shouted Rainbow, trying to hold back her daughter, but it was hard, and even if she used her full strength, she wouldn't be able to stop her. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the maids looking worried and the building shaking as Breaker kept hopping like Pinkie. "TWI! I NEED HELP! SHE'S TOO STRO-" but before she could finish, Pinkie hopped in, seeing the little filly and how hyper she was, almost rivaling her. "FINALLY! A WORTHY QPPONENT! OUR BATTLE WILL BE LEGENDARY! HYAH!" shouted Pinkie, leaping next to Breaker and hopping just as fast. "PINKIE! DON'T ENCOURAGE HER!" shouted Rainbow, seeing her daughter getting more hyper and the pillars falling, walls cracking, until Breaker finally tossed Dash off, sending her flying into space and landing in the AJ barn roof. "HIHIHIHIHIHIHI!" shouted Breaker, hoping in front of Pinkie, her wings flapping and her mane becoming somewhat slime. Pinkie was in her element and spoke, "HIIMPINKIE!WHOAREYOU?" "HIPINKIE!MOMTOLDALOTABOUTYOU!IMBREAKER!" "HIBREAKERYOURESOCUUTE!" but Pinkie quickly stopped. "Wait, mom?" Breaker finally calmed down, and the castle finally stopped shaking with such fury, making Twilight stop using her magic and relaxing as she drop to the floor. On the floor, she could see Spike, hiding under the table and smiling. "Is it over?" he asked, getting out of his hiding place. "Yeah. We can finall-" but she stopped and her eyes widen, seeing the two playing and laughing again. "PINKIE NO!" Twilight put a shield around Breaker, but it did nothing as she scattered it with ease as she started to hop again. Dash finally returned and landed on the floor. "I'm Back. Ho-," but before she could finish, Breaker tackle hugged her and crashed through the wall, making a Dash-shaped hole. "MOMMY!" she shouted, happy and giggling. Rainbow didn't know what to do. This was the first time her daughter was this hyper. "Hey, sweet heart. You need to calm down, okay?" "CALM?! WHAT'S THAT?!" She laughed, hugging her mom tighter. "Oh dear..." said Twilight, flying out the hole and seeing the two maids cleaning up the mess. Pinkie popped her head through the hole, gasping loudly. "DASH! YOU HAD A KID! Why didn't you tell us? OR EVEN ME! I NEED TO MAKE A BABY SHOW-" Twilight zip Pinkie mouth with magic, while Dash stood up, holding her daughter. "Pinkie, she's not really my daughter." "WHAT!?" cried Breaker, starting to cry and melting into a puddle of slime, making Dash freak out. "NO SWEETIE! I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!" cried Rainbow, dropping her daughter, who turned into a puddle and quickly slithering away, crying. "TWI! What do I do?" Twilight didn't have time to answer, as Breaker was already gone. Pinkie unzips her mouth. "What the hay!? Did she turn into a puddle of slime?" "We can talk about that later. For now, we have to find her. Spike, can you stay and tell the others when they arrive that we might need help?" Spike saluted and quickly ran off. Twilight and Dash flew away, while Pinkie hopped behind them. "So, what's going on?" asked Pinkie, hopping between the two. Twilight and Dash looked at each other and did a rock paper scissor shot. Dash won, and Twilight started to explain while looking for Breaker around the castle. "Remember the Rainbow Comet a month ago? Well, it wasn't really a comet, but a floating piece of another universe that could travel between the multiverse. It dropped these shards, and Dash and I met another version of us, humans, as their race is called. While we were away, trying to remember each other's names and faces, other versions of us started appearing at the crater where the shards landed. They learn about the comet being alive and fighting it, and soon we learn that another version of us is trying to take over our new fused bodies because-" Twilight stopped as Pinkie covered her mouth. "Wait, I sped read it on Fimfic; I'm all caught up! Breaker went to live with you two, right?" said Pinkie, making Twilight and Dash look at her weird but quickly don't question it, as it's Pinkie. Dash nodded. "Yeah, we told her about you girls, and she's super excited to meet you, so she became all hyper like that. She misunderstood what I meant." She lowered her head. "She's my daughter. I don't care I didn't have her; I just feel like she's a part of me." Twilight smiled and rubbed her friend's back, understanding her feelings. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get her!" shouted Pinkie, smiling. The three kept looking but were unaware that Breaker had found her way outside the castle grounds and was hiding under a bench in the outside garden, crying. "They hate me..." she whimpered, slowly turning back into her pony form. "I knew they didn't want me." Breaker was crying, but she stopped as she saw someone teleporting in the outside garden. "Starlight, you didn't have to come." said Sunburst, putting his daughter down. "But I wanted to. We need to..." Starlight whispered into his ear, "Keep the act up. I don't want anyone to know she's not my kid." Sunburst sighed, not liking this but going along with it, as he loved Starlight and wanted Dawn to have a mother figure. "I'll go ahead; wait here for a bit. Sweetie, dad will be right back, okay?" Dawn just sat there, looking at nothing. "Kay dad. I'll just be...here." Sunburst entered the castle, and Starlight stood near Dawn. She didn't know what to do since she never really interacts with kids other than the students back at the school of friendship. "Hey, are you alright?" "..." "Is it alright if I sit here?" "..." Starlight started to freak out as Dawn kept looking ahead at nothing, like she was broken or something. "Okay, let's start simple. How are you, honey?" "..." Starlight was panicking inside, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Hey, do you know who I am?" Dawn finally turned and just said, "Mommy?" Starlight's felt...sicken by hearing that. She hated this idea but went along with it because she loved Sunburst and wanted to be with him, even if he came with a package. "Yeah, that's right. How are you doing, sweetie?" "..." "Can you say something else besides 'nothing'?" "...no." Starlight sighed, seeing that this was getting her nowhere. She put her hooves on her face, trying to think in how to make Dawn seem normal around her and others. Dawn looked at her 'mom' and reached out, wanting her to hold her, as she felt cold and lonely, but Starlight didn't notice, still thinking of ways to make her normal. Dawn kept asking for her love, but she kept being ignored by her. Finally, she couldn't hold back anymore and finally said, "I love you, mommy." "I love you too." said Starlight, still thinking and with no true love behind it. Dawn finally hugged her leg, and Starlight felt someone hugging her, and she finally noticed and just looked at her. "...mommy?" Starlight felt sick again when she heard, "Don't call me mommy!" "Why, Mommy?" asked Dawn, trying to understand. "Because you're not my daughter!" shouted Starlight, not caring anymore, as she didn't want to be called mommy by someone else's child who wasn't hers. She stood up, walking away. Dawn reached out for her "Mommy!" but Starlight slapped her hoof away, giving her a disgusting look, and walked away, leaving her all alone. Dawn just stared ahead, then at her hoof with a red mark on it, and finally broke down, crying and holding herself, shivering. "Why do they always leave me?" She thought, wishing she didn't exist, as she remembered her so-called friends feeling creep out about her and leaving her alone, and finally, her mother did the same thing. Breaker heard it all, the conversation between them, but she didn't understand any of it. She just saw a lonely girl crying. She saw flashes of her twin within Dawn, making herself cry. She believed this girl was her friend and couldn't bear to see her hurt, so she ran over and hugged her, making Dawn stop crying and look up. "Hi. I'm Breaker!" she said, smiling and hugging her super hard, making Dawn turn purple, and she started to tap Breaker's head, telling her to let go. Dawn was surprised to see a pony hugging her. The last time that happened, her father was trying to get her to sleep. "Who are you?" "Breaker!" repeated Breaker, not letting go and rubbing her cheek against Dawn's own cheek. "Can you please let me go!?" "No!" said Breaker, holding on and rubbing her cheeks still, but Dawn tried to get free, so she poked her horn into Breaker's eyes, making her scream in pain and telling her to go. Dawn just looked at Breaker, who was rubbing her hurt eye, trying to understand this weird Alicorn. "Are you, my friend?" Breaker looked up, her eye still hurting. "Yeah!" she shouted, giving a huge smile, making Dawn tip her head to the side. "...why? I'm weird, and no one likes me. Not even my mommy." Dawn curls up as a ball. "I make ponies hate me. So, it's okay if you hate me. Some even hurt me for fun." Breaker, just look at her, trying to understand, "I don't hate you, and why would ponies want to hurt you?" "I'm a weirdo who is creepy and gross. I should just disappear forever. It will be the best thing for everyone." Dawn just looked up at the sky, wanting to just vanish forever and never return. "You don't have to disappear." Dawn turned to her new friend and looked at her as Breaker stood tall, like a hero ready to save her. Dawn turned over on her back, trying to understand her. "I'll make time for you! No matter what! No matter the day, month, or year! You can always count on me! Rainboom Breaker!" Breaker hops around Dawn, making the ground shake. "You'll always have me in your corner, no matter what happens. Because that's what good friends do. Keep going, Dawn; you'll find those that will always be there for you and be called 'friends'." Breaker stopped in front of her, looking down at her and smiling. "I will do everything in my power to help you get better. I will always be there to support you. That's what a good friend does," whispered Breaker, bopping Dawn's nose, which made her blush a tiny bit. "I'll always believe that you will find your path again, that you will finally be happy again, and that no matter what, you will always have help, maybe not from me but from others. others who love you the same as I do!" Dawn made an embarrassed smile, something she had never done before, and held her cheeks, trying to understand this weird feeling she's having: "I will always be there for you, always supporting you, always putting you first, and caring about you, even if it means I'll get hurt. I love you, Dawn. Keep running! Fly!" Dawn felt something as she heard that, turning up right and feeling her face getting warmer. "Showing me your feelings and the suffering you went through. I want to protect you; I won't ever let you down. You're the best of all of us, Dawn. You're on your way. Just...just keep going. Just keep running." Breaker put her hoof under Dawn's chin, making her blush even more. "You remind me of the rainbow comet light; the comet is you, always moving forward, and the rainbow tail is the friends you'll make—friends who will support you, love you, and care about you. You're the best of all of us. You're on your way to do great things. Just keep going while wearing that jacket." Dawn was confused, as she didn't have a jacket, but she watched Breaker pull a copy of her jacket somehow. To Dawn, it had seem to be magic, and Breaker put it on her, becoming pink rather than purple. "Because I'll always be with you. I will always support you," said Breaker, holding Dawn's hooves and speaking once more. "When I walk during the night, I will look up at the night sky, and I'll always see you, like a rainbow comet flying across the night sky. You are my symbol of our love, our love being real." "L-Love!?" thought Dawn, and her mind started to fill up with images of Breaker and her together, loving each other. To the point, she started to act like a real filly with emotions. She hugged Breaker, not understanding the love, but wanted to make her happy, making her only true friend happy, and maybe even love her back. She didn't need anyone else in her life; she only needed Breaker and making her happy. "I love you!" Breaker smiled, holding her up in the air, spinning her around, and laughing. This made Dawn laugh as well, her eyes sparking a bit, like her spark was lit. Breaker pulled her into a hug and stroking her mane, "I'm not the only one who has the right to be sad. You are also allowed to be sad, angry, and scared. You have every right to be alive, like me! You're not weird! It's like Mommy always told me and my sister! We're not her! We're not her past; we're our own future! So, you have a right to live and become whoever you want, just as much as I do. You're not me, but you are you! So, shut up about all this disappearing stuff! I LOVE YOU DAWN!" She leaned back and gave her a big, warm smile. Dawn's spark lit up more, almost becoming a sun. She finally smiled for the first time, a real smile too. She started to cry, finally giving a real smile and hugging her new friend, crying tears of joy, and finally being happy for the first time. "I love you too. This warm feeling, it's like I found my reason, my reason to rise like the morning sun. Thank you," whispered Dawn, nuzzling Breaker's face, not seeing her cutie mark appear. "I know. You're going to be okay." Breaker held Dawn in her arms, making her feel safe, protected, and loved. "You're my friend, my family, my Dawn." Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie met Sunburst and soon found Starlight. They headed to the outside garden, wanting to see Dawn and maybe Breaker will be there. They all stopped and smiled at the scene they saw in front of them. "You can't touch me!" teased Breaker, running from Dawn, who was laughing and smiling. However, Starlight wasn't smiling; she was shocked to see Dawn like that, even more so when she noticed her father and ran up to him, telling him all about Breaker. She's acting like a real filly, something she's never done. "She's really happy." said Twilight, smiling. "Who?" asked Pinkie, smiling. "both of them." Dash answered, her arms around Twilight and smiling, watching Dawn talk up a storm. Starlight started to smile, almost like she was proud of her. "My daughter...is happy, made a friend..." She turned to Breaker and smiled. "Thank you." she mouthed, making her happy, knowing Dawn was finally happy. Also finally making her realize her love for her daughter. Breaker noticed Starlight waving at her, so she waved back. "Dad took us back home, as we couldn't stay for long. I still treasure that meeting we had!" blushed Dawn, holding her chest. Braver, on the other hoof, was pure red, and as she remembered all that now and saying love to her so easily back then, it made her cringe inside. She didn't hate it; she just didn't want to think about her stupid younger self. "Yeah, you're welcome." said Braver, not looking at her and not noticing Dawn's blush and how she was smiling—a big, warm smile. "I'm so happy that I'm friends with you." Dawn leaned over and kissed Braver on the lips, shocking her, but she leaned against her, her wing over her, making sure she was warm and cozy, showing her love by kissing her back. Braver lean back, breaking the kiss "Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked, making Dawn nod. "What happened to that pink jacket I gave you? I never saw you ever wear that again." Dawn blushed and rubbed her cheeks. "It's very special to me, so I decided to save it, to save it for when the time is right." Dawn let go and summoned the jacket, which was sealed in an airtight bag so it would never get dirty and just like she thought, it has magic as it increase in size, to match her body over the years. "I'm saving this for when I want to marry you." Braver went red and turned away, hiding her embarrassment and blush. "But it's going to waste! I created it for you to wear, you know! Let me see how I look in it! Looks cool." said Braver, realizing the jacket looks awesome. "No, it's for our wedding." "I'll let you wear my jacket." Dawn blink, quickly ripped the bag off, and traded jackets. Dawn watched as Braver put on the pink jacket, smiling. "I need to check this out in the bathroom! I'll be right back!" shouted Braver, already running down the hall, not noticing Cozy leaning against a pillar, shedding a tear. Dawn sat there on the bed, holding Braver's jacket. She looked at the doorway, not seeing Braver or anyone coming near. She quickly place it on her face and fell backwards into the bed, smelling it and rubbing her face. "It smells just like her!" whispered Dawn, enjoying the jacket. Dawn didn't notice her counterpart floating down on the bed, smirking at the cute sight, until she made herself known. "Yeah, we're the same. Having a smelling kink." laughs Rainbow Dawn, making Dawn stop and blush bright red. "Don't be silly; I don't have a smelling kink! I just like the smell!" Rainbow Dawn smiles hard. "Really? From what I'm seeing, your nose is in her jacket, even right now." Dawn's voice is muffled as the jacket is on her face. "So, what?! It's a cute smell, that's all!" Rainbow Dawn smiled, laying on her side, and grabbed her pony version, messing up her mane. "I said the same thing when 'she' caught me that one day. Helpful Tip: Do it at home and not on her bed when she can walk on you as your  mas-" Dawn ram her hoof into Rainbow's mouth, stopping her from finishing that sentence. "STOP TALKING!!!" Rainbow Dawn pulled the hoof away and looked up at the ceiling, her body slowly fading to normal rather than being covered in darkness. "I wonder if she still has the same kink?" said Rainbow out loud, causing Dawn to stop sniffing and yelling what she meant. "I wonder if she has a thing for big butts like 'her'." Rainbow stood from the bed and smiled. "When we first met, I was a troublemaker at high school, beating anyone up who looked at me wrong. One day, she joined my school, and she came to me out of the blue. I thought she wanted to fight, so I lead her behind the school to fight her, but she quickly tripped, and her face landed on my butt. She said it was an accident, but I remember her rubbing her face on my butt, saying this big ar bag saved her life! Perv!" Dawn looked up at Rainbow and could see her blushing and smiling, making her happy. It was like she was talking to a big sister about their love life. "We became close friends, but she never said why she went up to me in the first place. So, I never knew why." Rainbow looked down and smiled at Dawn. "Soon, I fell in love with her, and we started dating...until..." Dawn watched as the darkness covered Rainbow once more. "Never mind that; hurry being a perv and let's get started." She disappeared, leaving Dawn alone. Dawn smiled evilly, putting the jacket on the bed and waiting for Braver to come back—until she noticed a mirror in the room, making her sigh, as Braver is truly a blockhead and never notices these things. Dawn looked around and stood in front of the mirror, posing and checking her butt out, realizing her rear was pretty big, like a peach. "Do I have a nice butt? It would be weird if she does have a big butt kink." said Dawn out loud. "You know we're still here, right?" said Rainbow Dawn, hiding her laughter. Dawn kicked the mirror and coughed, but quickly realized something. "We?" Out in the hall, Cozy shouted, "I think she's talking about me, Ms. Sniffer." Cozy laughed her ass off, causing Dawn to hide under the covers, not believing what just happened. Rainbow Dawn appeared as a black ghost and sighed, "Least she wasn't caught doing 'that' unlike me..." Meanwhile, Blitz finally reached the kitchen and groaned about how long it took to get here. "Man, I should use the maid service!" said Blitz, looking around the kitchen. The kitchen was huge, as the fridge was the size of a house and the countertops were so long. She walked over and got a glass, but froze as she realized something. "Wait, speaking of the maids, where is the staff?" She looked around the empty kitchen. For a few days, there was always a staff on hand, cleaning or making night meals for the princess or themselves. "I don't know; the staff left days ago, for reason." said a voice, causing Blitz to jump and turn, seeing Tempest sitting on the table, eating an apple. "What are you doing here?!" shouted Blitz, trying to calm her heart. "Eating apples and enjoying a good view." said Tempest, biting the apple, making Blitz confused by that statement, but before she asked her what she meant, she suddenly felt very weak, like her magic was being sucked out of her. She quickly remember this feeling. She turned around and saw Tirek draining her magic. "T-Tirek!" shouted Blitz, falling to her knees and holding her chest. "Hello, little girl. It's been awhile since I've drained powerful magic, such power. I missed this feeling." said Tirek, walking closer to her. Blitz tried to stand up, but she was too weak. Tirek smiled as he walked over and pulled her up by her hair. Blitz couldn't do anything. He got closer to her face and smirk, then slammed her into the floor, knocking her out. Tempest hops off the table and leads Tirek out of the kitchen as he drags Blitz away. Twilight sweated as she and Dashie were looking inside the other guest room, which was filled with storage stuff, remembering this was where she put all that stuff from the normal storage unit, which was being used as Braver therapy room. "Sorry," whispered Twilight, looking all embarrassed. Dashie looked at the pile of junk and sighed, turning away. "Maybe if I beg hard enough, Twilah will let me sleep on the floor." Dashie walked off, while Twilight closed the door and hurried to her side. "Maybe if I apologized about how I treated her, she'll forgive you," said Twilight, sighing. Dashie laughed and said it was fine that they fought like this before when they didn't agree on stuff before. It's normal for couples to fight. Twilight looked down and thought of all the fights she had with Dash; some of them were for very stupid reasons, like making a joke or disagreeing on something. They finally arrived at the room and knocked but heard no reply. Dashie knocked again, calling out Twilah's name, but the door slowly opened a bit, but Twilah never said or was at the door, so Dashie opened and entered with Twilight. For some reason, the room was completely dark, like the night sky. "Why is it so dark in here?" asks Twilight, not sure what's going on. "Twilah, you in here?" asks Dashie, walking further in the dark room, her hand on the wall, following the wall, hoping to find a candle on the wall to light, but the two hear the door slam behind them. Soon the room was filled with light, and both their eyes went wide, seeing the scene on the bed. "T-Twilah..." whispered Dashie, seeing Dash on top of Twilah, who was in her underwear, and both kissing. Twilight screamed at Dash to remember who she loves, but Dash just said, "I don't love you, Twilight, not anymore." Dash pulled away from her lips and smirk, licking her own, making her jealous. "W-What?" whispered Twilight, tears filling her eyes, realizing her wife had betrayed her. "She's the one I love; she treats me better, and she's more sexy than you'll ever be." Dash said, looking down and up at her wife and spitting at her. Dashie ran to the bed and shouted, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER!? TO ME!?" but she suddenly felt odd, falling to her knees and coughing as she noticed the pink mist. Twilight noticed the mist and tried to cover her mouth using her magic, but she felt someone else's magic blocking hers. She turned and noticed where the mist was coming from. "Chrysalis!?" thought Twilight, seeing the former queen blasting out the pink mist from her body, but she also saw someone else next to her; it was Luna, using her magic to jam Twilight's magic. "L-Luna? What's going on? Why are you helping Chrysalis!?" yelled Twilight, watching her friend blast out more pink mist. Luna said nothing; she was only watching and jamming Twilight magic. Twilight grew mad, but she suddenly felt someone turning her around and kissing her; it was Dashie. Twilight's mind went blank as she breathed in the pink mist; her body went limp, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She moaned and drooled, loving how Dashie always kiss, kissing her back and pushing her to the floor, completely lost in the lust. "Twilight..." whispered Dashie, feeling her take off her clothes while kissing her. "Dashie..." whispered Twilight, leaning back and seeing her in her underwear and her anthro form now and leaning back in, kissing her even more. Just like Chrysalis, Luna started to cry at the sight of them forcing this scene being made. Dawn led Braver down a hallway, not saying a word, while Braver was wondering where they were going. She wanted to confess to her, but she asked her to follow her. "Ummm, Dawn, where are we going?" asks Braver, trying to look at her face, but darkness is covering it. "Don't worry, I'll show you something interesting." Dawn said, stopping in front of the guest bedroom. Braver knew this bedroom and asked why they were here. but she quickly blushed red as she heard noise coming from it, sounding like someone was moaning. "What's going on in there?" whispered Braver, trying to listen more and walking to the door, pushing it open a bit. She looked in and was shocked at the scene she was witnessing. Her mothers and Blitz parents are making out with each other. She stepped back in horror, but Dawn kicked open the door, smirking at the sight. "Teacher, what are you doing? Kissing Blitz mom like that. Same with you, Dash, kissing Twilah; what's going on?" ask Dawn, smiling at them. Twilight said nothing, ignoring her while still kissing Dashie. Dawn turned to Braver, who shouted at her mother to say something. "They won't listen; I'm sorry." said Dawn, looking at her. "What do you mean!?" shouted Braver, walking closer to them. Dawn said nothing, only smiling at the scene before her, watching her teacher make out and ignoring Braver's pleas to stop. She took out a recording crystal and showed it to Braver. She watched as Twi appeared, kissing Dashie in the barn and saying awful things about Braver. "Mom?" whispered Braver, turning to her, but Twilight's eyes went lifeless as Dawn was controlling her right now. Twilight turned to her and smile at her like she always does but it...felt wrong, "It's all true, sweetie. I wish you were dead. I hate having you. You're a monster for a daughter. You are a failure, a monster, and a demon child. You're a monster that will destroy everything, like before. You are in my way of loving Dashie. I want to be happy, and I'll do anything to get that happiness. You're not needed anymore and will never be needed. I wish we never-" Twilight started to shake, crying as she fought against this mind control but couldn't "-save you. Always been a pain in my side, all the trouble you gave me. The heartache. The worry. The fear. You should've just died that day, falling to fate..." said Twilight, turning away from her. Braver couldn't believe this was happening, hearing her mother say all these awful things. She didn't know what to think or what to feel. Dawn released Twilight and held Braver's hoof. "See, she never loved you. She hated you; she even said she wished you were dead. Your mom will never love you, never..." whispered Dawn, kissing her cheek while hugging her, while Braver was in shock, not moving. "Family love isn't real; your family is a lie. Everything you thought was a lie, a fake." said Dawn, looking in her eyes, as Twilight was now kissing Dashie but crying. Braver couldn't watch this anymore and turned to the door, seeing Cozy sitting on top of Blitz's body while all her friends were there, looking at her. "BLITZ!" shouted Braver, running to her but being punched away by Cozy. She stood back up and screamed at her, asking what she was doing. Cozy and the others started to laugh at her stupid question. Tempest stepped forward and blasted her with firework magic, speaking, "We were never your friends, Braver. You never had a home or a place here. You don't belong; we just used you to get rid of Twilight and the elements. Your Fate can't be change!" Braver was on the ground, covering her ears as Tirek walked over to her and grabbed her head, looking down at her. "You're just a monster, pretending something it's not. You have no family or place. No one needs you. Your Fate is just meant to destroy and kill." Braver was screaming at him, punching him, and crying but he ate Blitz magic, making him able to tank the hits. "You're nothing but a monster. You will always be a monster." Tirek said, tossing her over to Luna, who grabbed her with her magic. "Give into your darkness, monster Braver. Submit to your Fate. Become the monster everyone fears. The monster you are. No matter how much you deny it, the darkness is inside you, and you will never escape it!" said Luna, holding her close to her, while Cozy only looked on, smiling, but in truth, she was filled with beyond rage. Braver covered her ears, and pony form started to turn back into its slime form: "I'M NOT A MONSTER!" Braver screamed but was slam into the floor, and Luna unleashed memories from her dreams, showing her killing Nightfall and Sky. destroying her own universe and attacking the group that saved her. "You can't run from it. Face the truth, monster!" said Luna, holding her. Braver tried to fight back, but her body was hurting. Her head was in great pain, as if her whole body were being pulled apart. She was screaming in pain and sadness. She saw Chrysalis hoof and looked up at her with rainbow tears in her eyes. "You can't ever be loved by anyone. Everyone will only see you as a monster. Nothing will change. Nothing will be different. No one needs you. Everyone is better without you. That's your fate!" said Chrysalis, smiling, while putting her hoof on Braver's head, putting pressure on it. Braver screamed as she was in so much pain, tears in her eyes, and screaming, "Someone! Please help me!" She heard laughter around her and saw even her parents laughing at her, holding their new lovers and saying how useless she was, while Dawn's horn and eyes glowed with dark rainbow light. "No one will come for you. You're not needed nor wanted!" whispered Chrysalis, stomping her hoof down on poor Braver's head. "You won't be saved! Give in to your fate! DIE OR BECOME A MONSTER THAT EVERYONE FEARS AND HATES!" shouted Chrysalis, kicking her to the wall and laying there hurt. Braver cried out for 'them' as her body finally turned back into its true form, her Chaos Slime body, her eyes white, her halo appearing, and the five rainbow halos appeared behind her back. "RAIN! TERRA! FLASH! WANDA! BERRY! DR. WONDER! FLARE! AAIRA AND LIL STAR! EIRIKA AND AERO! LAYLA! BOLT THE PEGASUS! HEAT THE ALICORN!" cried out Braver, wanting the wonderful group of people who saved her, to save her once more as she looked for them, seeing their faces in her mind and remembering them. But she suddenly saw them all in front of her, thanks to Dawn and her walking out of the group: Nightfall and Sky. "...mothers..." They said nothing but looked down at her, and they and the rest of the group gave her a disgusted look and walked away into the darkness, leaving her all alone. Dawn walked over and lowered her head. "See, your friends and even your saviors never cared about you. They were lying to you. Like I always tried to warn you about." Dawn Nuzzle Braver "You only need me, and only me. No one else." said Dawn, as her body glowed with a rainbow aura. "N-No, no..." whispered Braver, not believing her, but Dawn step back as Cozy got off Blitz and walked over. "Braver, god, you're so weak. Here, I thought you were so strong." "Cozy, n-no, no, not you..." whispered Braver, bleeding rainbows from her eyes and mouth. Cozy giggled as she walked around her. "Yes, me. I was playing you the whole time. I mean, how can someone like me become friends with you? I was only using you! To get stronger myself so I could beat you. I don't want to be your friend! I hate you! I only want to see you suffer!" spoke Cozy, her eyes glowing pure red, laughing. Braver was shaking, coughing rainbow slime, and tried to reach out for her, whispering her name, but Cozy kicked it away and pulled her slime mane towards her face, smirking. Dawn and her counterpart could feel it. Braver was going to scatter; she just needed that one push. "...Cozy..." "Oh, Braver, my dear Braver." Cozy put her hoof on her cheek, rubbing it. "So stupid and blinded by the truth. You might be strong, but you are so weak. You can't do anything without me." Cozy leans closer and shocks Dawn and Braver herself. She kissed her and lean back, smiling. "It's why I love you! Someone has to watch your back! And it's going to be me, because I love you! So get up already! Are you done crying!? Believing this fucking shit!?" Braver didn't know what to say, while Cozy kept yelling at her. "You aren't a fucking monster; you're not a bad creature. You are strong and beautiful. You are powerful and stupid! You are worth saving, worth loving and becoming friends with, worth giving a second chance, and worth having a place here! You have a home and a family! Screw fate, nothing is written in stone! You'll just break it anyway, you big loveable klutz!" Cozy yelled at her, while Dawn finally snapped out of the shock and was filled with rage as she was tricked by Cozy again. "COZY!" screamed Dawn, charging at her, but Cozy punched her so hard that she went flying through the castle wall but Rainbow Dawn caught her and both fell to the city below. "I always wanted to do that!" said Cozy, laughing, while walking over to Braver and helping her up. "Come on, get up! Be your normal stupid self!" Cozy watched as Braver returned to normal and everyone in the room was free from the mind control. "W-Where am I?" asks Blitz, waking up and looking at the others and around the room, but seeing everyone freaking and crying. "TWILAH!" screamed Dash, jumping off of her and bright red, as Twilah was almost naked. Twilight quickly got off Dashie and looked for her daughter, grabbing her, saying she wasn't the one saying that stuff. Soon, the others joined in and said the same thing. "You didn't? Who did then?" asked Braver, hugging them. Cozy pulled her away from them. "Dawn, she's evil. She only sees you as an object, something to have, and nothing else. She's been trying to destroy your friendship with us and your family, ever since your sister and her parents came here." Braver shook her head. "No! That's a lie! Dawn isn't like that! She would never!" Cozy punched her, shocking everyone. "Look what she did!" she pulled her away from everyone and making her look at them and to Blitz and Blitz parent's "TO EVERYONE!". Braver looked at them all, seeing Chrysalis looking ashamed and shaking with guilt, but Luna held her, telling her it wasn't her fault; she was being controlled. Tirek helped Blitz but couldn't give her magical energy back, as it was gone from his system. Tempest put her hood up and faced away from her looking glaze, as she was ashamed of what she did to Braver. Finally, her and Blitz's parents looked at each other and looked away, she could feel the shame, pain, and sadness radiating from them. "Braver! You have to believe me!" shouted Cozy, holding her hoof hard, which caused Braver to look at her. "I know you take all after that stupid Twilight, but this time, friendship or talking won't save her. We need action. Please, Braver. Help me." Braver touch Cozy hoof "Help how?" Cozy closed her eyes and hoped she would agree with her. "...in destroying Dawn. Sealing her away will be stupid; she's too dangerous." Braver gasped and looked at her. "Destroy? What are you talking about!? NO! I CAN SAVE HER! SHE'S LONELY! I have to try and save her! I-I LOVE HER!" Cozy pulled her close. "So you choose her over us!? After she hurt your sister!? YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!? DON'T BE YOU RIGHT NOW!" Braver pushed her back. "I...I have too! Please understand! If I don't, Dawn will be alone and will become a monster worse than me. I have to try and save her. I have too. She just need someone by her side!" Cozy shook her head. "Then you'll doom us all. I'll do-" Suddenly everyone could hear a loud noise coming from the city, and they all hurried over to the hole and could see a golden light tearing through the foundation of the city. "Oh no! It's Dawn!" shouted Cozy. "She's going to destroy the city by sending it sliding to the land below!" shouted Blitz. Suddenly the golden light appeared in front of them; it was Rainbow Dawn, holding a hurt Dawn. She smiled at them as she spoke, "You won't change this outcome! You can't change Fate! I'll destroy you all, making Braver and Blitz become 'her' again! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE OUR RAINBOW COMET LIGHT! I'M RAINBOW SUN DAWN! I'LL RESTART THE WHOLE MULTIVERSE!" She put her hand over Dawn and healed her, while also giving her a boost in power. Dawn could see the pink jacket that Braver gave her, now on her, and her horn shinning bright like the sun. "Plan B. Destroy them." Dawn smirk and nodded, hovering out of her arms and watching Rainbow Dawn fly to the ground and lift the castle up. Soon, the city started to slide down the mountain. Twilight and Dash held their chests in pain, like something was warning them, like they're going to die... "No, please..." whispered Twilight as tears came down her face. Rainbow Dash held Twilight close to her as she looked up and could see Dawn looking down at them. "We'll stop you!" Dawn just laughed. "It's a little late for that." The horn started to gather rainbow energy, becoming a swirling sphere. Twilah suddenly saw her watch and tried to grab it, but Dawn slam into the room, destroying it and sending the watch falling to the city below as it started to glow red. The smoke cleared, revealing Cozy in her cursed form and pushing Dawn back. "DARN YOU, COZY! ALWAYS GETTING IN MY WAY!" shouted Dawn, pushing back with great force. Cozy pushed back and made her own barrier. "Cozy..." muttered Braver, trying to stand. "Don't you dare hurt her or my friends!" screamed Cozy, sending herself and Dawn through the ceiling and disappearing. Soon, the upper part of the castle started to shake with their fighting. Blitz stood up and looked down at the city and back up, seeing Dawn and Cozy blasting out of a wall and shooting lasers at each other before crashing back into the castle. She turned to everyone and said, "This castle is not going to last for much longer! We need to get out!" Tirek stood up as he protected everyone else from charge attack that Dawn did. "Dawn had made us gather all the castle guards and staff in one place. We can't leave them behind!" Twilah nodded. "He's right! We need to save everyone first before leaving." She walked over to her daughter, looked at the city, and started to examine it in her mind. "Blitz, you have to stop the sliding of the city. Go to the center and try pushing it back up. Braver and Tirek, you need to he—" suddenly Dawn slam Cozy in front of them by her energy charge. Dawn turned and saw Tirek charging at her, but she tackled him away through the wall, while Cozy stood up and followed them through the hole they made. "Mom, I can do it on my own! There's no time! Everyone's going to die down there!" shouted Blitz, getting her mother's attention. Twilah looked around the room and saw everyone was injured from the blast just now or didn't have the strength to help Blitz, as Braver looked through the hole, wanting to help Cozy and Tirek. She turned to Dashie, who nodded at her. "Alright, go, honey! Be careful!" Blitz gave her a thumbs up and jumped out of the castle, turning into her anthro form, soaring towards the city, going under it, and slam her hands on the rocks, pushing the city back into place, which she was doing, but she suddenly felt weak again, thanks to Tirek draining her, and her body was still recovering. She felt the city sliding back down. "No! PUSH HARDER, DAMN IT!" shouted Blitz, trying harder but she couldn't, and soon the city started sliding down faster. "No, no, no, no! NO!" In the crumbing city, Spike ran with Rarity in his arms, trying to find where that rainbow streak went, thinking it was Rainbow Dash, but Rarity told him to stop. She said her chest was telling her to head left, which he did. Soon, they were in a park. "Why are we here!?" shouted Spike. "Something tells me to be here, darling." replied Rarity, looking around the park. Spike looked at her with a confused face and soon saw something glowing red. "Rarity! Look!" They could see a red watch-looking object, and soon, a portal opened from it, and stepping out was Celestia, a small baby version of him but looking like a robot. "...what?" whispered Spike, seeing his robotic self scanning the area. Celestia noticed the two and asked them what was going on, which they explained quickly. "With so much crumbing across the city, it can't be saved. We need to start evacuation and send the civilians to safely!" replied Celestia, turning her head to the night sky and seeing the castle in the air and slowly being destroyed by the fighting within it. Robotic Spike was done scanning, then turned to the group. "The scan is complete. I can save everyone here by sending them to my creator's pocket dimension." "That's impossible!" replies Rarity, turning to everyone, "right? What's a pocket dimension?" but robotic Spike just smiled at her. "Nothing is impossible with nanomachines, son!" "...son?" whispered Rarity, all confused but gasping as the robotic Spike fell apart and became an endless sea of robotic-looking nanites, and they all started to go in search for the citizens of the city. Everyone was surprised, while some screamed or tried running, until they all started to glow when covered by them and floating, and the robot swarm was pulling everyone into the portal they created. Spike looked around and asked himself, "How long will it take to save everyone?" Robotic Spike replied back to him through the swarm with his voice, "A minute." Celestia used her magic and lifted Spike and Rarity to the sky, watching the last remaining nanites disappear into the portal and seeing the city crash into the valley below. Canterlot is gone. "My boutique..." whispered Rarity, making Spike hold her close, but they all could see a rainbow comet blasting out of the ruins and flying across the destroyed city, looking for any survivors. "Is that Rainbow Dash!?" shouted Celestia. "No," said Rarity, her horn glowing super bright, stopping the rainbow light movements and rushing towards them, revealing its Blitz. "It's Braver sister!" Rarity lit up her horn, making it so bright that Blitz saw it and flew towards them. Blitz looked at them, quickly asking if they could help her in searching for ponies and other creatures in the wreckage, but they calmed her down, explaining what happened and making a sigh of relief. But that quick relief ended as they all saw the castle blowing up in a bright rainbow blast. Sending them flying. When Blitz jumped out of the castle, everyone turned to Braver, seeing her watching the fight between Cozy and Tirek against Dawn. Twilight and Dash walked up to her. "Sweetie, what are you thinking?" asked Twilight, putting her hoof on her shoulder and making her turn to her. "We can save her, right? Because sealing her away is stupid! Even more so, with the idea of destroying her! She deserves better. I know I can get through to her! Please tell me I'm right, mom! Please!" begged Braver, shocking Twilight and everyone, but before anyone could say anything, the castle started shaking again and falling apart, making everyone remember the castle staff. Everyone left the room and went ahead towards the room that Dawn ordered Braver's friend to put them in. Leaving Braver and her parents alone. "Sweetie, I don't know. In the past, my friends and I would seal them away and not..." Twilight got cut off as Braver finished her sentence "And not give them a chance!? WHY!? I DONT GET THAT!?" shouted Braver in anger and pain, making Dash walk up and hug her. "We were young and, most of the time, up against the wall, having no options. You showed us anyone deserves a second chance, even three or more." Dash replied, rubbing her back and hugging her tight, not letting go of her. "To move forward...even if you trip along the way..." "So you'll let me talk to her!?" asked Braver, hugging her mom. Dash let her go and sigh. Twilight put her arm around Dash, smiling with sadness. Both look at each other and back at her. "Braver, my sweet, brave little girl, you aren't us. You are your own future. We won't stop you. This is your battle." replied Dash, making Twilight and her hold her, making her cry. "My darling little baby girl, you have something in you; it's a spark. I know you can save her! Be brave and be you. Remember what your mother told you about the symbol on your jacket? You'll break through any wall in your way to save anyone you love." Twilight started crying as she nuzzled her. "My battle...my spark..." whispered Braver as they hugged and heard a loud thud, making them turn their heads and see the castle falling apart now; time is running out. Dash and Twilight pushed her to the hole and smiled as they said in unison, "Now go, break through that wall that she created. Sweet pea, we believe in you." "I won't fail! I'll bring her home!" shouted Braver, leaping through the hole with a trail of dark ink behind her. Both her moms nodded and headed to the rest of their friends, finding them in the indoor garden and most of the staff was rushing in. Dashie and Twilah were dressed again, and they noticed their friends entering the room. "Is this everyone?" asked Twilight, landing and the staff and guards rushing to her, asking if she's okay, as they were scared of what's going on. "Yes, everyone is here. We need to go, princess Twilight!" shouted Tempest, her and her friends using a shield to protect the room from the falling debris. "Everyone, please, stay close and don't get separated!" replied Twilight, using her magic and creating a large bubble around them, allowing her to teleport them all to safely, but suddenly Tirek came crashing through the wall, getting and scattering her bubble and laying in front of them, while Dawn exited the hole, pulling a hurt Cozy by her ponytail, smiling evilly as she toss her on top of him. Both slowly looked at her, with anger. "Where do you think you are going, teacher? I have a lesson for you and the others. It's called you are GOING TO DIE! Braver is mine! MINE! NOT YOURS! NEVER YOURS!" shouted Dawn, her eyes glowing a dark rainbow and her hair glowing golden and becoming undone, her long mane flowing in the wind. "Oh boy, she lost it..." whispered Dash to Twilight. "Coco for coco puffs!" added Dashie, making Twilight sigh in agreement. Twilight steps forward, her chest out, and using her royal Canterlot voice, "Luster Dawn! What has gotten into you? This is not like you. We are your friends and I'm your teacher, and we will always support you. You are so gifted, and you have such a great heart; please stop this right now." Dawn crossed her arms, as she couldn't believe her teacher was really trying to talk her out of it, like she was being controlled by a great evil or something. "Really? Still doing the whole "this isn't you" speech!? That doesn't work! I don't want to hear it! I'm going to destroy everyone here! THIS IS FOR HER! SHE NEEDS TO SEE SHE DOESN'T NEED YOU ALL!" Dawn rushed towards them, but a black ink trail burst through the ground and held her back. It was Braver. "BRAVER!?" "Dawn! Stop! Please, this isn't like you! Don't hurt my family and friends!" she shouted, pulling her back and trying to reason with her, only for Dawn to push her away with a blast of energy and rush towards her. "Family!? FRIENDS!? They are no good for you! Only I'm good for you! ME!" Dawn rushed towards her, grabbing her throat and dragging her across the grassy landscape. "I LOVE YOU! Don't see that! You only need me! ONLY ME! NO ONE ELSE! NOT EVEN YOUR REAL PARENTS! I'M MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR YOU, ARENT!?" "You are...but Dawn...I..." replied Braver, her neck getting choked out. Dawn kept choking her harder, but Dash came rushing towards her but Dawn sense her coming and grabbed her with her magic and started to slowly pull Dash's wings apart, causing her to scream. "RAINBOW DASH!" shouted Twilight as she and the others rushed to help her, but they saw Braver becoming her slime form and covering Dawn Horn with slime, stopping the magic, freeing her mother, and tossing Dash back to the others and looking at Dawn with rage. "DON'T HURT MY MOM! I'M A MOMMY GIRL!" Braver shouted in her royal Canterlot voice, pushing her off. "DAWN, STOP THIS NOW! WE CAN TALK THIS OUT!" Dawn stood back up and walked up to her, now face-to-face with her. "Talking...will never solve anything, Braver" she said "This is the only way to save you from them. I have to destroy them! BREAK YOU! SCATTER YOU! SO YOU CAN ONLY LOVE ME!" Dawn raised her hoof and slammed it into the ground, creating a shock wave and causing Braver to fall back and the room to crumble. Dawn started to glow, and Rainbow Dawn appeared behind her like a stand. Both Dawn's spoke as one: "FINAL HARMONY RAINBOOM!" Twilight, Dash, Dashie, and Twilah froze in fear when they heard those words. Both Twilight's tried to create a shield around Dawn, but Braver beat them to it, as she became a real slime and completely covered both Dawn's and looked at her friends and family. "NOT ALLOWING THAT MAGIC IN THIS UNIVERSE! NO ONE GOING TO DIE TO IT!" shouted Braver, pushing them all into her second bubble and tossing them away from her and the magical bomb that was she covering and containing the full blast as it went off but she could feel leaking it out, it won't be full power but she sense it be powerful nevertheless... "BRAVER!" shouted everyone as they soar away from the castle, seeing the rainbow blast go off, sending them towards Ponyville...along with another bubble. AJ and the others were heading towards the air balloon, but they saw the city crashing into the valley and in ruins. Soon, they saw the rainbow blast and everyone in town went flying. Fluttershy finished her message, saw the blast, and hurried her way to Ponyville as she saw two black bubbles landing there. Blitz woke up and realized she was in a bubble shield, along with Spike and Rarity. They all stood up and saw Celestia on the ground, breathing hard. It took all magic to keep the shield up but it was fading as they were still in the air. Blitz grabbed her as the shield vanished, while Spike held Rarity as his wings came out. They all saw two smoking craters in Ponyville and flew towards the town. Braver's bubble slime shield fell apart, releasing her friends, family, and castle staff into the crater. Soon, the town folks gathered and helped them out. "TWILIGHT! DASH!" shouted AJ and Pinkie, along with the rest of their friends. "Girls!?" shouted Fluttershy as she landed next to them, hugging them as she's glad their safe. "MOM!" shouted Blitz as she landed and set Celestia down, as Luna came rushing to her. "BLITZ!" shouted her parents as they hugged her. "GIRLS!" shouted Rarity as Spike and her landed with the others. "What's going on!? Spike was explaining something about Dawn, but my chest started to hurt." Before anyone could answer her, they all had the same pain again, falling to the ground. Everyone else came to their aid and asked what's wrong. Twilight held her chest, looked towards the other crater, and realized what this feeling was. "It's a warning!" Twilight shouted as everyone looked towards her, "This might be the end of our universe!" Everyone could see the night sky becoming yellow as the morning sun started to appear on its own, but it wasn't the sun. It was the sun with a black core, and its dark light covered the whole land. Soon, the slime bubble in the second crater fell apart and formed into Braver, who looked hurt as she was caught by both Dawns. "This is the final dawn you will all ever see!" shouted both Dawns. Rainbow Dawn lowered Braver to Dawn, who kissed her on the lips, and she turned to everyone. Everyone is here, even her parents. "Dawn..." whispered Starlight, in pure shock, at what her daughter had become. "Hello, failure of a mom. I'm back." "Dawn, don't do this! Please! There must be another way!" cried Twilight, as the yellow light was coming closer as it shine across the land and black water started to fill the area where the light touch. "Another way? HAHA! Your so funny! There's no other way; this is the only way, and once I'm done, we can be together forever...right Braver?" Dawn said as she kissed Braver again, and soon, they glowed a bright rainbow. She lean back and stab Braver in the chest with her hoof, slowly pulling out her gray crack core, causing her to scream in pain. "THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!" shouted Dawn as she finally ripped her Element of Harmony core out and sent her own and Rainbow Dawn magic into it. Overloading it and pushing it back into her chest. "NOOOOOOO!" shouted everyone as Twilight and Dash flew to her but were pushed back by a rainbow force field. Braver was shaking; her eyes rolled back with rainbow slime pouring out of her eyes, mouth, and ears. The dark water was almost touching the barrier, and the yellow light was inches away. Soon, darkness could be seen in the distance. "BRAVER!" cried everyone. Braver slowly stopped shaking and looked at Dawn. "My darling, sweet Braver. Become my sun. My dawn, no, my supernova, and wipe clean everything and everyone, leaving only us. It's fate." Dawn hugged her one last time. Braver looked down at her core, seeing it pulsing and becoming unstable. She knew this was the end. "NO!" shouted Twilight and Dash, pushing through the barrier, but their chests started to go crazy, and soon, their elements appeared somehow, along with the girls and their elements. They could see Element of Magic Tiara creating a hologram of younger Twilight and speaking to them. "Use us! Destroy this evil, or all is doom!" "What about my daughter!?" shouted Twilight, facing her younger self. The hologram of Twilight shook her head. "She can't be saved. She must be destroyed, or our universe is doomed. There isn't a way; I'm sorry." Dash took off her necklace and threw it on the ground, refusing to believe that. "NO! FUCK THIS! I'M NOT KILLING MY DAUGHTER!" shouted Dash. Soon, the rest of the girls joined in, tossing their necklaces in front of the hologram Twilight. Twilight took off her tiara and dropped it. "I saved my daughter; I'm not going to end her. I refuse." The elements shook her head and disappeared into the tiara. Twilight steps forward with the girls, along with everyone else. "There has to be a way!" they all shouted. Braver started to cry, seeing everyone and hearing them. She felt Dawn let go of her and step towards them, laughing at them. "You are such fools. Do you really think you can stop this? You can't; this is fate! All of you are going to die! Then Braver and I will be finally together and alone!" The black water finally reached the town, and everyone could see the multiverse tree in the distance. Braver looked at it and tried to think of something. She wasn't smart like her mother, but she needed to think—and think she did. She started thinking about suns and how they go supernova, thanks to Twilah and her knowledge of space, as they talked about stuff during their time together. She thought of theories about suns and black holes. "If I use the element's own magical energy against itself, I can create a mini black hole in the core, collapsing the core, and..." thought Braver, closing her eyes, and her form started to change, which everyone noticed, even Dawn. "Braver? What are you doing?" she asked, as she could sense the energy coming off of her. "The only way I can save everyone...Dawn, like you said, becoming a sun...after it dies..." replied Braver as she felt Rainbow Dawn letting her go by tossing her away, frowning at her. "Smart...very smart." Dawn looked at her and wanted an answer, but she just stared at Braver while others were calling to Braver, asking what she was doing. Braver turned to her as her body started to twist and turn, increasing in size, turning bright orange, and returning to normal. "Moms, thank you for loving me as your child, even though I wasn't a perfect daughter. Thank you for giving me life I never had." Twilight and Dash could feel something was wrong, like Braver was saying her final goodbyes. Twilight and Twilah's eyes went wide, realizing what she was doing. "NO! BRAVER, DON'T!" shouted Twilight, trying to grab her but couldn't, as the black water started to rise and touching it started to burn her and anything it touched. Dash turned to Twilight. "What is she doing!? Twi!?" "She's going to destroy her core...by using the overloading magic inside of her core, against itself. It will..." Twilah took over as Twilight couldn't finish. "It will create a small black hole. Destroying her core and the magic before it has a chance to go supernova—like after a dead star—she's going to self-destruct herself to save us all." Everyone was silent and couldn't believe this. "Braver, please don't. We love you; we need you!" cried Twilight, begging her to stop. Dash flew towards her, but she created a wall against her and them. "Mommy, you're my hero, which is why I always look up to you the most. I love you! I'm glad I'm a mommy girl for you!" said Braver, as rainbow tears were flowing from her eyes, as they started to boil as heat started to build in her body. "Braver, no!" cried Dash, trying to break through. Dawn turned to Rainbow Dawn, asking her to do something. Rainbow Dawn turned to her and just smiled. "Why?" "WHY!? SHE'S GOING TO KILL HERSELF! She won't come back from this!" shouted Dawn, crying. Rainbow Dawn frown "If she doesn't survive, then she's not 'her'. 'She' goes against fate and always comes out on top, like she always has. If she fails here, then it's not 'her'. Simple." Dawn stomps her hooves. "NO! This isn't the plan! YOU NEED TO-UGH!" Dawn was grabbed by her throat as Rainbow held it tight. "Don't worry, we'll look for her together. The real 'her', not this fake!" Rainbow Dawn started to twitch, her head twisting around, and her chest started to oozing rainbow slime, which started to form behind her. "LET'S BE TOGETHER AND LOOK FOR OUR REAL COMET LIGHT, LIKE FATE WANTS US TO DO!" Everyone watched in horror as the Rainbow Slime Monster appeared behind Rainbow Dawn, roaring and looking down at the Dawn's. Braver tried to move, but her body was still breaking down. She and the others could only watch as the darkness of Rainbow Dawn started to fade and she began crying as she turned to the monster. "Please don't do this. I don't want this." The slime monster clamps down on them, eating them, and slowly absorbs them back into her chest. She slowly stood up, still looking the same, but her forehead started to pulse, her skin pushing forward, and a horn burst out. She opened her eyes, feeling her horn. "So eating another version of me makes me more powerful? If I keep eating other versions of myself, I can find 'her'! She'll come after me! To stop this cruel fate!" She turned to Blitz, who was pounding the barrier that Braver had but was looking at her now. "You have a Dawn too, right? I'll eat her as well." Blitz released her magical energy, screaming at her, "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH LUCY!" Rainbow laughed, turning around but freezing as everyone else saw it as well. Everything had prism effects, which were pushing back the tide of black water and the evil rays of the black core sun, and walking out of it was... "...what?" whispered Rainbow Dawn, staring down at another version of herself but much older. She completely looks like her, just without looking evil. She put on her black gloves, stood strong as she glare at her evil self, and then shouted at the others, "I'm keeping my promise to my daughter. I'll hold her off! You can save Braver!" She turned to Twilight and said, "THE SPELL! USE IT ON HER!" She faced her evil version and punch the ground, creating a black forcefield, that no one can see through. "I'll eat you too! I don't know how you got here but you'll fall here as well!" said Rainbow Dawn, walking closer to her other version, cracking her knuckles. "Please, I'm not gonna make my daughter cry again. I'm not dying here, I promise my kid that! I WON'T FALL TO YOUR FATE!" shouted Dawn, raising her fist and swung as the barrier covered their battle. "Spell...?" asked Twilight, trying to understand what she meant until it hit her. "GIRLS! USE THE ELEMENTS!" Twilight put on her tiara and hurried over to her daughter. "Sweetie! Lower your shield! We can save you!" "H-How?" asked Braver, feeling her body burning and melting. Twilight smiled with warmth. "Becoming like me." end of chapter 13 > End Of 1st Arc: ch.14 The Spark... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Braver's face started to bubble as she spoke to her mom, "Like you?" Twilight nodded "Yes, like me. To become an Alicorn. This was meant for Dawn, but..." she turned her gaze at the black barrier dome, seeing white flashes and muffled noise from within it. "But not anymore. I was wrong about her. It was meant for you, but I didn't want to change your life. You wanted to be like Nightfall, a librarian. That was the life you wanted, so I respect it, but..." she steps aside, revealing Braver's friends, all standing there. "But the friends you made, most of them, you gave them a second chance and actually helped with their problems and listened to them. Something we couldn't have done for them. You have it, the spark!" "Spark?" whispered Braver Twilight nodded. "Yes, the spark. Everyone has it in them; it just needs to be lit. Friendship, love, and caring about others—it's the spark! You have it, my little sweetie! The spell was meant to unlock the hidden power that lies within, to help Dawn with her friends, to remember that spark, and be my successor for the future." Twilight placed her hoof on the shield, crying, "But the elements or someone was trying to tell me otherwise. Each time I saw you after making friends, I saw 'them'. The other versions of Dash and I, the ones who joined us in saving you and your sister. You kept our lessons and our speeches in your heart and taught your friends that very message." She looked at her daughter's friends, then at Dash and the girls, her eyes full of tears and smiling. "That's why I was wrong. It wasn't Dawn's destiny; it was yours. To help those who lost their way find their own spark." Twilight closed her eyes and started singing; soon Dash and the girls joined in. "A true, true friend helps a friend in need. A friend will be there to help them see A true friend helps a friend in need. To see the light! (To see the light!) That shines! (That shines!) From a true, true friend!" Twilight opened her eyes; they were glowing, along with the elements of harmony. Braver lowered her shield, allowing her mother to walk towards her and nuzzling her face. "A mark of one's destiny, singled out alone, fulfilled by all of us together, together we're friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end—a bright spark." A bright flash, and the two were gone. Dash took up to the sky, seeing their universe cracking. She closed her eyes and knew everything would be okay. She believes in Twilight and her daughter. Braver opened her eyes, seeing this weird space-like universe. She barely stood up and called out to her mother, "Hello? Where am I? What is this place? Mom?" Walking out of the galaxy, looking mist, Twilight opened her wings and smiled at her daughter with great pride. "Sweetie, I'm so proud of you. You are the second pony to be here. The spell would have failed otherwise, showing proof that this is your destiny. Dawn couldn't understand friendship like you do. The lessons you've learned from us when we saved you and here, in my universe, have taught you well. You have proven that you're ready, Rainboo-No." Twilight corrected herself, "Rainbow Braver Sparkle. daughter of Dash and I." Braver suddenly saw screens of her life in this universe, helping others in need, befriending her friends and helping them over the years, even seeing Dawn. She heard her mother singing as well, as her mom stood by her side, guiding her down the path ahead of them and showing her more memories. "You've come such a long, long way. And I've watched you from that very first day. To see how you might grow To see what you might do To see what you've been through And all the ways you've made me proud of you." They stop as the memories all disappear, leaving the two all alone. "It's time now for a new change to come. You've grown up, and your new life has begun. To go where you will go To see what you will see To find out what you will be For it's time for you to fulfill your destiny." Braver could see a rainbow light popping out of her chest, surrounding her, and raising her into the air. She felt something warm. Twilight looked up and shed a tear. "My daughter, I've always believed in you. You're the only one who can do this. Your spark will show the way. My little sweetie, no matter where you are or who you're with, we'll be watching over you. You are a bright rainbow star in the sky, the symbol  of...huh?" Twilight suddenly saw something was wrong; the rainbow light flew away from Braver, making her fall to the ground. Twilight picks up her daughter and asks, "What's going on!? It should work!?" She suddenly started to see her daughter's slime body start to turn hard and crack as a bright rainbow light blasted within her like a bomb. "No..." Braver nuzzled her face. "It's okay, mom. 'This' isn't my destiny. It's someone else's. I can feel it, like a sunny day..." Braver leans back, revealing half of her crack and crumbling face, revealing the melting ooze inside of her. making Twilight shake her head as tears were falling. "This is my reason for being here. Saving you all, even if it cost me my life. I'm a slime, a slime creature, not a pony." Braver could feel herself getting heavy and knew the end was coming. "Mom... I know it hurts, but it's okay. Thank you for trying, but this is fate. I always wanted to help others, to spare them from their fate. To repay what I did in the past..." her arm and back leg turned to stone, crumbling away soon after. "It was never enough, but saving this universe... it will be enough, and I can finally..." Her wings and horn turned to stone and faded away like dust in the wind. "Rest." Twilight screamed, "NO!" She grabbed her daughter, trying to keep her from falling apart. The two fell to the ground, holding each other as they cried. The rainbow light hovered above and landed far from them, turning into a pony and being covered by a rainbow blanket. Soon, the world started to fade out in a white blur. "Braver?" whispered Dash, seeing her daughter crumble away bit by bit. She slowly walked over and spoke with a breaking heart, "Twi, what happened? Why didn't the spell work? It should have had work." Dash's eyes were full of tears as she watched her daughter reach out to her, asking for one last hug, which she happily gave her, and screaming in sadness. Everyone was quiet, as they all couldn't believe it. Braver was going to die, and nothing was going to change that. She was crumbling away, right in their eyes, and they couldn't do anything. They had no words to say and no ideas to make this right; not even the elements could change it. "NO!" screamed Cozy, crushing the ground in front of her. "I DON'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT! She can't die! NOT LIKE THIS!" Braver's eyes turn to stone and broke apart. "I'm sorry." She could feel herself falling apart faster now, and it was too much for her to stay awake. She looked over to her friends, hearing their cries, along with the others, even her sister, Blitz. She smiled. "Blitz, I believe in you. Please save Dawn for me." Blitz closed her eyes. "Don't talk like you're dying! If you were, I should be in pain just like you. So why? She opened her eyes and felt her chest, not feeling her element dying like her sister. "Because your element isn't an element." Blitz noticed the blanket pony in front of her, spooking her. "Who are you!? Where did you come from!?" "Blitz, what's wrong?" asked Twilah, making her daughter point to the pony, but saw that her mother couldn't see anyone there. Blitz turned back to the pony, asking her what she meant by that. "Even though you two are twins, you don't share the same elements. Your sister carries four of the other elements, while your parents carry the other two. Notice that it will make seven elements." said the pony, standing on her hind legs and touching Blitz's chest. "You carry the spark; that's why Braver didn't become a real Alicorn. Plus, that spell is meant for someone else in the far future." "So it's my fault!? It's why she's going to die!?" asked Blitz, crying. While her parents were worried as they saw her talking to herself. The pony shook her head. "No. You can save her; use your spark to create the spell again. Go to Twilight! Tell her to channel the spell through your core. We'll be backing you up in this." the pony disappeared. Blitz look at her chest, and clutch it. She ran towards Twilight, telling her to redo the spell, but through her. "Blitz, what are you-" said Twilight, but she stopped when she saw the rainbow core flashing in Blitz's chest, almost like it was telling her to listen to Blitz. Blitz held out her hand. "Please...!" Twilight looks at her, then at Braver. She closed her eyes and used her magic, redoing the spell through Blitz Core, which shot out a rainbow pillar and covered the whole world in a rainbow light. Soon, within Braver's dying core, four lights shot out and landed next to Twilight friends. AJ stepped back as she saw a version of herself wearing a green cloak and an eye patch. Her copy turned to her and looked at her before spitting on the ground, annoyed by AJ's look. "Nice hat." AJ could feel the lying within her voice. Fluttershy watched as her copy landed next to her, covered in battle scars, wearing a green military jacket and brown boots. She turned to Fluttershy, her eyes going crazed. "Kid, have you ever been in a Griffon prison before!? Choking the life out of those stupid birds!? MERCY IS THE ONLY KINDNESS IN WAR!". Fluttershy back away as her copy was choking air, and the only thing she could whimper was "Oh my..." Pinkie saw her copy landing, and they both smiled at each other. "I never saw you at the Pinkie Company! Were you trap somewhere?" asked Pinkie. Her copy nodded. "Sister, you don't know the half of it!" She pulled out a pink rock on a stick. "Rock candy!?" Pinkie's eyes light up, and she grabs her rock candy. "Yes please! I'm dying for some sugar!" Pinkie bit it, and her teeth scattered like glass, because it was a real rock. It was just dipped in pink coloring. Her copy started to laugh at the mean prank. Rarity saw her copy landing and could see her poor version was very sick. She was coughing out blood and holding onto her heart, like she could drop dead. Rarity stepped away as her copy sneezed in her hoof, and a bit of her white fur fell off. She turned to Rarity, holding out her bugger and snot-covered hoof. "I'm sick; please give me money." Rarity summoned her famous couch and fell into it. Her copy just dropped dead on the ground, while Fluttershy copy yelled, "MARE DOWN!" Twilight and Dash were confused by the copies of her friends, but their eyes went wide as Twilah and Dashie's chests glowed purple and blue, and soon 'they' appeared along with them. "Rainbow Sky..." whispered both Dash and Dashie. "Nightfall," whisper Twilight and Twilah. Both mares didn't say anything, almost like they didn't notice any of them, just standing there. Blitz started to cry as she saw her real mothers again, but she felt her tears being wiped away by the blanket pony. "It's not really them; they're somewhere else right now. Sorry," said the pony. "I know. I just miss them," said Blitz, wiping away the tears and sniffling. "What now?" The pony smiled as her wings burst out of the blanket, "This!" and became a rainbow light and entered Blitz's core. She came back out and entered Braver's core, and what came out was a blue and purple spark. AJ saw those sparks and shouted, "Twilight! Do it! That's what I saw that night at the river!" "...river? When she..." asked Tempest, who stopped as AJ nodded. Twilight didn't understand, but she nodded back, closed her eyes, and started to sing again, but this time Dash was with her. Even the girls and Braver friends started to sing the background vocals, but this time the song was different. This was for Braver and hers alone, while the copies of six elements of Nightfall and friends closed their eyes and their chests started to glow and release their element lights into Braver's dying core. "You've come such a long, long way. (Long way!) And we've watched you since the very first day we saved you. (saved you!) To see how you might grow To see what you might do To see what you've been through (through!) And all the ways you've made us proud of you—the wonderful things we've seen you do Braver (Braver!) You gave your friends such a gift to see the world in a better light through their own eyes. (from their own eyes!) You've helped them open up, and now they're finding their own way. (They're finding their own way!) (And you've opened our eyes and shown us the way.) We love you, Braver. (We love you, Braver!) And we believe in you, Braver. (We believe in you, Braver!) We know that you can change the world. Because even though you are you, you carry the best parts of us inside of you. (you!) Everyone watched as the blue and purple spark of light entered Braver, and she slowly rose into the air and became surrounded by it. Everyone stopped singing, and the only ones singing were Twilight and Dash. "It's time now for a new change to come. You've grown up, and your new life has begun. To go where you will go To see what you will see To find out what you will be It's time for you to find your own path. You aren't us; you are your own future. Your own story Don't let fate write it. It's yours and yours alone." Dash and Twilight started to cry, as their daughter was becoming a real Alicorn, a real pony. Twilight and Dash look up and both shed a tear as they both whisper, "Our daughter, we've always believed in you. You're the only one who can do this. Your spark will show the way. Our little sweetie, no matter where you are or who you're with, we'll be watching over you. You are a bright rainbow star in the sky, the symbol of. love. Thank you for loving us in this universe for the last ten years. We love you, sweet pea." They all watched as the light flashed across the sky and vanished, all hoping to see Braver as a real Alicorn, but they all grew worried as a big black ball of slime landed in front of Twilight, Dash, and Blitz. "It didn't work?" asked Fluttershy as everyone just looked on. The slime slowly started to form and became an Alicorn, but everyone was confused—but not AJ, as she could only smile. "Just like the perfect image of her mother." Braver rose up, her body is slime like but also as a real pony. She opened her eyes, still purple. Her cutie mark was Twilight's but slightly different but five rainbow stars surround it. Her mane and tail were slime like but filled with rainbow slime. Twilight stepped closer and cried, "It's like looking in a mirror." Braver smiled "Blitz takes after mom, but I take after you! Like you guys said, I carry the best part of you!" Braver hugged Twilight and Dash tightly, then hugged her sister, and then the blanket pony but quickly open her eyes. "Wait, who are you!?" Blitz realized she could see her as well. "That's what I want to know as well." Twilight and Dash were confused as they watched the twins talking to no one. The blanket pony hugged Braver and pulled in Blitz. Both sisters could feel the tears falling on their shoulders, making them hug her back and making her speak, "Finally, I can hold you two! I don't ever want this to end!" "Who are you?" asked both sisters. She held them closer and said, "I'm-" but before she could answer, a powerful blast could be heard from within the black dome, and it started to crumble, revealing Rainbow Dawn on one knee, covered in blood and bruises. She was badly hurt. "How!? How are you so powerful!?" asked Rainbow Dawn as her copy rolled her fist and glared at her. "I fought tougher assholes, and your nothing compared to them. Tsk, a disappointment! Just a sad little girl who lost her way." She turned to the others and smiled as she saw Braver became a real Alicorn. "First half of the promise done, sweetie. On to the next one." Rainbow Dawn stood up, summoned the prism window, and spoke, "When I eat this 'Lucy', I'll search for you and eat you! I promise you that!" The other Dawn put her gloves away. "Shut up and run away already with your tail between your legs. Sick of seeing you already." Rainbow Dawn grew mad and leapt through the window. Soon the prism window almost disappear, but Dawn grabbed it, stopping it from disappearing. "Whoa now, not disappearing yet like before. You are staying here." She turned and saw the twins running up to her and asking who she was. "It's what you see, is what you get." She rubbed her nose with her thumb. "I'm happy to see all three of you like this; it's a wonderful sight." "Three?" said the twins, realizing she could see 'her', who was behind them and taken aback by it as well. Even more when Dawn leans to her side and glares at her, but it was a happy one. "So, that's how you really look like—cute!" The blanket pony blushes and hides behind the sisters. "...c-cute?" Dawn smiled, standing up right, and pointed to the window. "Better hurry, you two! Lucy is in danger. I gave a good smack to the other version of me, but you need to finish it. Don't worry if you fail to beat her ass; you'll have a six days before Rainbow Dawn goes after Lucy. After that, the end will come." "End!?" "I can't tell you everything; this isn't my story to write; it's yours. Remember this: as someone very dear to me once said, 'No one deserves a sad fate, no matter who it is. Everyone deserves a happy ending. Screw fate! It doesn't control anyone's destiny! If it wants to, it will have to go through me!'" The twins were surprised as they face each other and looked back at her, seeing her crying a bit and smiling at the same time. "I'm so happy right now, seeing you like this, just like she dreamed of." "She?" asked all three. She shook her head, zip her mouth, and just pointed to the window as it started to struggle to escape from her grip. Both twins nodded and turned back to the blanket pony, who nodded but heard someone calling out to her. "Wet blanket, go! We'll stay behind and fix this mess!" said the AJ copy as she walked over with the other copies. "Braver core is fixed and complete now. As long as she lives, we won't disappear. Go." Blanket looked at the other copies, all agreeing. "We have a lot to talk about later,...friends." All copies smiled, making Blanket smile as well. "See you!" she shouted as she turned into rainbow sparks and entered both twin cores. The twins could feel the warmth in their chests, turn to the prism window, and jump through it. "Braver!" shouted her parents as they rushed over. "We're coming! Dawn is my student! I'm not going to abandon her!" Twilight jumped through, while Dash said, "Another multiverse adventure! Finally, something fun!" as she leap through. Twilah and Dashie were behind them, ready to go home and help out, but Dawn suddenly sensed something and pushed them away as a black figure crashed into the prism window, scattering it. She quickly got in front of them and took a battle stance. "Tsk, of course you'll be here!" Dawn spit on the ground, put on her gloves, and made her fist tighter. Everyone watched as the area around them became static and a black dead tree stood behind the dark anthro pony as she rose up. Cracked her knuckles and put her hands in her black cargo pants. "So, that's where she learned all that shit from? Stupid girl, I can't believe she did all that shit for random strangers." She smiled and tip her head to the side. "My job is done here. Fate will be written in stone; you can't escape it." She started to laugh, entered the dead tree, and disappeared. Dawn lowers her stance and curses under her breath. "Fucking bitch. You're not escaping me." She turned to Twilah and Dashie and smirk. "You two need to find another way back home. Talk to Sunset; she'll point you in the right direction. I can't help anymore. I'm needed somewhere else right now. Sorry." She turned away and ran off into the glitching prism and vanished as the effects were gone, while the black core sun was gone as well, but the water was still here, burning the land. "This isn't good." said Twilah, making Dashie agree with her, as everyone gather around them. In the realm between universes, Rainbow Dawn landed in the white water and held her sides, cursing at her good copy and how she lost that fight. "How did she beat me!? I should be the strongest thing alive in the multiverse!" She punched the water and splashed it all over the place. "That fucking bitch. I'm not letting her have the last laugh! I just need to find this Lucy and eat her. I can sense it within me; it will make me stronger." The prism window came back, and she could see earth and Blitz House. She was about to enter it, but sensed something behind her and turned to see the twins. Ready to fight her. "I'm not letting you near Lucy! You'll have to get through us!" shouted Blitz, her eyes glowing as she's pissed off. "Yeah, and I'm going to make you release Dawn! Give her back!" Braver had her magic at the ready, as both sisters stared their foe down but noticed her blushing. "You aren't fakes; you are 'her'! My rainbow comet light!" She smiled as she clutched her chest, making more rainbows leak out. "Eating Lucy will make you appear! It's telling me this! I'll show you my love!" After she said that, she was behind them, ready to punch them, but Blitz used her speed to push Braver away, dodging the blow herself. "Not a chance in hell! I'm not letting you near Lucy; you're sick in the head!" "Sick in the head!? HAHAHA! I'm the sanest person alive, and my love for you isn't sick. I'm Rainbow Dawn!" Blitz knee kicked her in the face, making her stumble back but didn't hurt her, while Braver used this chance and hit her with a blast of rainbow light. "Dawn, I know you're in there! Fight it!" shouted Braver. Dawn felt the light touch her and shake it off like it was nothing. "Sorry, my love is stronger than your friendship!" She pounds her fist and dashes towards Braver, hitting her in the face, but she could feel and see Braver pushing her fist back with her cheek, making Rainbow Dawn smile with joy. "Her strength! That's 'her'! YES! MAKE HER COME OUT!" Braver punched her in the gut, put her in a headlock, and, using her royal Canterlot voice, ordered her, "I'M BRAVER! I SCATTER A UNIVERSE WITH EASE! YOU ARE NOTHING! LET MY FRIEND GO!" Dawn started to laugh as she slowly pulled Braver's arm off, shocking her. "YES! THAT UNLIMITED POWER! I miss it! I MISS YOU, MY LOVE! Your love is my power! AND I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO AGAIN! MY HEART BEAT FOR YOU!" She then elbowed Braver and kicked her away, but Blitz ran past her sister and punched Dawn with such speed that you couldn't track her, but Dawn was tanking the hit as she blushed with joy. "Yes, even your speed! It's 'her'!" Blitz stopped and punched her again. "SHUT UP ALRE-" Dawn caught the punch and pulled Blitz into her arms, hugging her with love. Blitz blushed as she could feel Dawn's breasts pushing on her face. "W-what the fuck!?" "Your speed! Your strength! It's just like 'her'! My body is remembering everything!" Braver got up and teleported behind her to grab her by the waist and suplex her, sending her into the water, but she didn't budge her from letting Blitz go. "Stop talking like a psycho! We aren't her! And even if we're her, stop fighting us! This isn't love!" Dawn got up while still holding on to Blitz, as Braver let go and turned to her. She could see her eyes were blank, but she was still smiling. "But it is love. My heart and soul were taken from me by her, and I can never feel true love without her. She's my everything, and you are her. If I can't have her, I'll have you!" She then tosses Blitz towards Braver, making them crash into each other and land in the water. "B-Braver..." "I know. She's strong. Stronger than me." Dawn started to walk towards them, opening her arms like a hug. "Become one! Become one with me! I'll love you like  always. Then I can restart the multiverse!" They could see the slime monster from before in the hole of her chest, glaring at them, and the rainbow leaking out harder. "You'll become 'her'! Just like you were meant to be! It's what fate wants!" "We aren't her; we're Braver and Blitz. And this fate bullshit needs to stop!" shouted Braver as she got up and used her magic, making her horn spark with purple and blue energy. "We're Blitz and Braver; no one else! You want to force us into becoming something else, then too bad!" shouted Blitz, taking a runner stance, and her blue body is covered with rainbow flames. "AND THEY'RE NOT ALONE!" All three looked up and saw Twilight and Dash landing between them. Dawn gave the two a disgusted look as she spoke, "You two! You took her from me! You made her hate me! Killing you again, even if you are ponies, will be fun! Twilah and Dashie screams were wonderful to hear the first time!" "What did you do?!" asked Twilight as she glared at Dawn. Blitz rose up. "My parents!? But they're alive!? What the hell are you talking about!?" Dawn lowered her arms and spoke as the slime monster burst out and stood behind her. "In your universe, they're still alive, but in my universe, I killed them!" The slime monster flew towards them in great speed, not letting them have a chance to react in time, but the monster was blasted away by the blanket pony as she appeared in front of them, but only Braver and Blitz could see her but... "My love..." whispered Dawn, making the two look at her. "You can see her?" asked the twins, but they could see her laughing harder. "MY RAINBOW COMET LIGHT! I FOUND YOU!" shouted Rainbow Dawn as the slime creature changed shape and became a human slime figure, with purple eyes and bleeding rainbow tears. "LOVE ME!" the slime creature grabbed the blanket pony and tried to return to the core, but Blitz and Braver grabbed her and pulled her back. Twilight and Dash grab the twins and trying to pull them back. "We will not let you hurt her!" shouted Blitz. "Let go of my love! You're the one who's hurting her!" shouted Rainbow Dawn, trying to stop Blitz and Braver by releasing dark magical rainbow energy at them from her horn. "LET HER, G-huh?" She noticed her arms were moving on their own and created two rainbow lights. "I'm not doing this..." "I am!" she shouted, but in Dawn's voice, "Braver! RUN! FORGET ABOUT ME!" "Dawn!?" shouted Braver as she kept pulling the blanket pony back. "BITCH!" shouted Rainbow Dawn, trying to stop her hands as they tried to touch each other. "Going to use double Final Harmony Rainboom here!? ON ME!?" "This won't stop you, but it will put you out of commission!" The two hands touched and created a rainbow light. The blanket pony kicked the slime human off and slowed down time with her speed. She searched for it, hoping it was near. "Where is it!?" She whispered as she turned back, seeing the blast slowly reaching for the others. She kept looking and found it; it was above them—the prism window. She jumped and pulled it down, pulled it behind the others, and toss them through it, but she turned back and saw the slime human reaching out to her, like it wanted to be saved... "We'll save you too. Just wait a little longer, okay?" She jumped into the prism window, as it blast away as the area was covered in a flash of rainbow light. It was nighttime, and a young teenager girl walked down the sidewalk while playing her guitar to a song she was listening to on her headphones. It was this universe Sunset. She kept walking, walked up to Blitz House, and rung the doorbell. She stood there, waiting for someone to answer, but no one ever came. "She isn't home yet? Weird, she didn't tell us that they're going somewhere. She's not answering her phone or text either. Blitz, where did you go?" she walked away but suddenly stopped as a bright flash filled the house and loud noise could be heard, like something burst through the floor. Sunset took cover as the windows and doors shattered. When the flash was gone, Sunset looked inside and saw a large hole in the ceiling and the living room in ruins. Before she could call out to anyone, she saw a blue anthro pony girl standing up and turning to Blitz. "HOLY SHIT! YOUR THE RAINBOW COMET!?" shouts Sunset. Blitz turned to her and was about to shout her name in fear, but she heard Dash as the couch was pushed away. "My head!" Blitz and Sunset blushed red as they saw her. "Dude, your mom is naked...but she really rocks that rainbow colors!" "Naked?" said Dash, looking down and freaking out as she saw her naked human body but still wearing her Wonderbolts bomber jacket. Blitz saw her bed being tossed, and standing up was Twilight, also in her naked human form, but she was... "DUDE! WHAT THE HELL! YOUR MOM IS TALLER!" pointed Sunset, still blushing. Twilight looked down and saw her new form. She touch her forehead and didn't felt her horn or her magic. She turned to Dash, who didn't have her wings and was playing with her chest, and sighed, "This isn't good." Suddenly, a fist broke through the wood and other debris, and Braver popped out, naked as well but still wearing her purple jacket. She turned to her moms, who looked stunned at her and then looked over to her sister and Sunset. "I feel a warm breeze? Where are we?" Sunset turned to Blitz and back to the girl: "Dude, what the fuck!? She almost looks like you but has a different hair style, just like your mom and has a...!" Sunset went quiet as she realize how long it was. Blitz drop to her knees, very confused at what she was looking at between her sister's legs. She then remembered from VO-AG class that slugs are hermaphroditic, meaning, "Slimes are like slugs?...sis...bro!?" Blitz fainted, making everyone rush towards her. Above them, the blanket pony, now a naked human girl, was shaking as she felt cold and disappeared into Blitz and Braver core. In the realm of between, Rainbow Dawn's body is slowly bleeding rainbow liquid as she drags her way to the multiverse tree and leans her back on it. She could tell she was dying. She started to laugh, but she soon saw the white Alicorn from before and tried to move. "I'm not here to hurt you, so don't worry." "Who are you!?" shouted Rainbow Dawn. The Alicorn sat down, and the white-haired pony with the white-fur hoodie jacket appeared behind her. "My name is Laura Faust, and this is my student daughter. We're here to heal you." "Why?" asked Dawn, but she passed out before she could hear their answer. The anthro mare stepped forward and said, "Everyone deserves a happy ending. Even you." She lowered herself to her and smiled as her eyes lit up with Twilight cutie mark star in them. "?Vㄖเ? 丂Ⓟ?ℝҜ? messed up this timeline at the last second, and Luster Dawn wasn't meant to blast you with the Final Harmony Rainbooms. You can't die." She looked up and saw black evil twisted trees filling the world between "I won't let you have your way, F̔̇͌҉̰̦ȁ͖̤̼͙͟t̠̖̳̩̞̮̂͛͑͜e̢̻̪̋. I swear it!" End of chapter 14 and ending of first arc Arc Ending theme > Arc2 chapter 15: Getting There Won't Be Easy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing but steam and hissing could be heard as part of Equestria's land was covered in black water and burned. The bright green grass and flowers withered away as the dark water covered everything, turning everything black and charred. Trees turn into dry, twisted forms of themselves, losing all their leaves and life. "What is this?" asked Celestia, seeing the black water stopping in front of Ponyville and turning the land into a dry, burned barren area. Twilah walked past her, kneed down in front of it, and turned to the group. "Does anyone have a glass cup?" She watched as a light gray pegasus with derp eyes held a tray of drinks and gave her a glass cup, making her smile and bowing her head, thanking her "thanks." She carefully took a scoop of black water and could see it not melting. "...very strange..." "What is it?" asked AJ as Twilah walked back to the group. "It's not melting the cup, but looking at the level of burning on the land, the heating point should've scattered the glass, heck its not even hot. I don't think this is water or even heated." "Then what is it?" asked Fluttershy. Twilah shook her head. "I don't know. It could be magic or something more; I really don't know. I need a lab to do testing and research." She swirled the cup, and the liquid followed the motion, like it was gelatin. "But from what I'm seeing, this liquid is very heavy and no doubt isn't water. It could be a chemical or something." "Can it be removed from the land, friend Twilah?" asked Luna, looking out at the land. Twilah closed her eyes, and her horn lit up. Soon, small bit of black water started to float up and gather together as a small sphere of liquid hovering over the cup. She opened her eyes, looking very worried now. "That's all I could pull out with magic, and I tried to break it down to nothing but couldn't. Not even magic couldn't destroy it, and I gave it everything I could by removing it from the cup and only a tiny amount came out." She turned back to the burning land. "This isn't good. If we don't find a way to remove or destroy it, this 'water' will sink into the ground and kill everything, making the land uninhabitable and will spreading out across the land." "What could cause this?" asked Luna, not liking the sound of what could happen. AJ copy stepped forward and, in a bitter tone, spoke, "Blame that human with the pony ears. Also, that pink unicorn. She summoned it here, right? How else could this evil water get here? Lucky, the black sun was gone when she ran tail." AJ walked up to her copy. "Sugar cube, before we deal with this problem, we gotta ask you something." "What?" glared the AJ copy. AJ could see the anger in her copy eyes and push her hat forward. "I was going to ask you what should we call you and the others names, but I'm not liking your tone one bit. How about you just talk without that tone, and we can work on the problem together?" "Fine, fine, you win. My name is Jack'O'Apples, or JA for short. So, what do you want, sugar cube? Nice hat by the way!" said JA with a smile, and again, AJ can feel the lying behind that fake smile. "Why you little! I can tell you are lying. Stop and talk!" JA placed her hoof on her own chest. "Oh? Am I lying?" asked JA, with an mockying tone in her voice and smiling wider. "Yeah, you are, and I don't like liars. I don't care if you're me. So, drop the act," she said, stopping as JA grabbed her by her bandana scarf and headbutted her hard, knocking her back and making her hat fly off. "AJ!" shouted her friends as they tried to help her, but JA friends stopped them. Pinkie counterpart tossed a "rock candy" at Fluttershy, but Dashie caught it and glared at them as Pinkie counterpart spoke, "Sorry, but my friends and I have some issues with the four of you." "Like what?" asked Dashie, tossing the rock in the air over and over again, but she was surprised to see the four copies suddenly acting different when facing her, as their demeanor changed into true friendly ponies and not a mask. "Glad to finally you and-" JA looked over to Twilah, who had her arms crossed and was pretty mad at how she was acting. "Her. I never thought we'd see you two in person." Twilah walked forward, stopping as she scanned the group and spoke, "Before the twins left, you said something about, Braver Core, and as long as it doesn't die, you won't die." She lowered herself to them, "You are the ones, aren't you?". "One what, darling?" questioned Rarity as she stepped far away from her sickly counterpart, who was coughing up vomit. Dashie started to think about what she meant and it suddenly hit her and asked Twilah if they were 'them' and she nodded. "Yes, it's them. I don't know how since I thought they were killed during the fusion of the elements." Celestia and Luna walked up and asked what she meant by that, but Jack O' Apples and her friends quickly took a battle stance and gave the sisters a cold stare. They stepped back and questioned why they became so defensive all of a sudden, and Fluttershy Copy spoke, "In our universe, you killed us for your pointless war!" "WHAT!?" shouted the sisters in pure shock and confusion. Twilah, turn to the group. "Rainbow Sky showed us memories of her past; in her universe, you two were at war with each other, and Luna had the upper hand and that was having Bre-" Twilah corrected herself quickly "Braver as a magical weapon." She turned to Celestia and said, "You made a project known as "Final Harmony," where you took random ponies and fused them with that elements of harmony in that universe, but..." "Each test was a failure, and not only did it destroy and scatter the element orbs, but it also killed the test objects." said Dashie, as her and Twilah moved aside, showing everyone JA and her friends. "Those are these ponies right here. They are victims of your other universe selves." The sisters step backwards in disbelief as the copies glare intensifies, making them shiver. Even everyone else was in shock when they heard that. Even the town folks were whispering among themselves. "My sister and I...will never..." asked Luna, feeling like she was about to cry. Celestia lowers her head in shame at her other universe counterpart for doing such an evil thing, but she could only ask Twilah and Dashie two question: "How are they here now? and...that universe Twilight, did she also...?" Twilah and Dashie said no; They had no idea why they're here now and not dead. They also answered the second question about Nightfall, as she wasn't born during that time when the war was going on, and after Sky ended the war by wiping out both kingdoms as the black slime took over the sisters bodies and infected the kingdoms, it was 1000 years later when Nightfall was born. Even then, they looked over to the ghost figures of those two, Nightfall and Sky, as they didn't move once from the spot that they appeared on. Making the two wonder what's going on... On earth and in Blitz home, she opened her eyes, freaking out as she remembered what happened. She shot up and looked around the dark living room and noticed everything was normal, like there was no huge hole in the ceiling and no ruins of the living room; in fact, she's on the couch. "Was I dreaming up everything!?" She whispered as she put her hands on her face and felt the sweat on her brow, which made her wonder if she was sweating this much before the dream. She looked around and saw the time: 11:30 p.m. "Damn, I can't sleep after a dream like that." She got up and noticed a light coming from the kitchen and slowly walked over, hoping her moms was just talking, even though she didn't hear anything at first, until she got closer. She peeked around the corner and saw Sunset and her moms, but she knew it wasn't her 'moms' but Twilight and Dash, and the only one wearing clothes now is Dash, who is wearing a black shirt and shorts, as Twilight had a blanket over her naked body and being much taller than her real mom, Twilight couldn't wear any of Twilah clothes. She could see her sister in a blanket as well, but in the corner, huddled in a ball and crying. Twilight and Dash were kneeling behind her back as she she face the corner, trying their best to calm her down. "Sweetie. It's okay. This doesn't change who you are." said Twilight, stroking her daughter's side, and Dash added, "You are still my sweet daughter. Nothing will change that." Braver turned to them, with tears in her eyes. "Am I!? Because that 'horn' says otherwise!" pointing down at her privates. "WHY DO I HAVE THAT!?" Blitz quickly remembered that and hurried into the room, and Sunset called out her name as she saw her run towards her sister. Braver quickly covered her head as she saw her sister running towards her. "Braver! Look at me!" said Blitz, who had a serious tone in her voice. Braver didn't want to, afraid her sister would be scared or disgusted by her. Blitz kneed down, pulled the blanket away, and then her sister hands away and saw that her sister 'horn' was still there; she wasn't seeing things before she fainted. She could also see the female part. She covered her up and spoke with a very caring sisterly tone, something that Braver had never heard before. "It's okay. Since you are part slime, your race is like slugs. You and your race have hermaphroditic genders, as you have male and female parts. Since you became a human in my universe, it gave you two gender parts." Braver cried as she heard that, "I'm a girl, though! ...right?" "Of course you are! You identify as a girl; that's who you are." She hugged her sister and spoke softly, with tears in her eyes, "I always love you, no matter what. You're my twin sister, remember?" "Even if I'm a freak?" asked Braver, as she was being hugged tightly by Blitz. "You're not a freak." She kissed her sister on the head and said, "You aren't; trust me." They suddenly heard Sunset playing her guitar, which made the two girls turn around, along with Braver's parents. "Ya sis is right. You aren't a freak. If you were a girl in your universe, then you are a girl." She played a few more notes. "That doesn't change who you are, no matter what anyone says or what you have down there." Braver looked up to her Blitz friend and smiled, knowing Sunset and Blitz were right; it didn't change who she was, as long as she knew it and her family supported her. Sunset started to rock out, making Braver cheer up; even her parents felt better that their daughter was okay now. "Thank you, Sunset," said Twilight, smiling, knowing that even though this wasn't her Sunset, her kindness is the same. Sunset said it was no biggie, but she noticed her friend letting go of her sister and facing her as she was leaning on the stink counter. "They told you?" Sunset looked away and glared down at the guitar. "Yup, of course I didn't believe it at first, but then I saw your sister here casting magic and fixing the house." She leans backwards and tips her head back, seeing outside the window. "Good thing she did that too. Firetrucks, cops, and the whole neighborhood came knocking. I had to cover for you as you were still knocked out. I had to explain we just had a sleepover and lie about hearing no explosion." She leans her head and body back, smiling, "Was shitting bricks, dude. I was scared shitless!" Twilight and Dash didn't know what she meant by that slangs, but Blitz did and face palmed herself and spoke, "Sunset, I'm sorry you had to lie and be put in a tough position." "It's cool; I'm a big girl; I can handle it. I'm not a child anymore." Dash walked up, put her hand on her shoulder, and spoke, "Still, thank you for covering us. No matter the universe, you are still the same pony—well, person. Thanks." Dash gave her a thumbs up. Sunset nodded. "I still can't believe I'm a cool pony with magic! and she's older than me, too!" She glee at the thought, making Dash and Twilight laugh, but Blitz was being very serious, making her friend notice. "What's up? Is it about me knowing you are the super hero, Rainbow Comet? Chill, I won't-" "It's not about that. I don't fucking care if you know. Did they tell you why I'm here, along with them!?" Sunset said yes, and knows about the story about Rainbow Sun Dawn and how she's after their Dawn, Lucy. "Good, we're on the same page then. We need to head to Lucy's place right now and bring her here. We need to protect her." said Blitz, who was about to head for the backyard door. "Hey, hold it, Blitz." Sunset called her and grabbed her shoulder. "It's almost midnight. She's asleep along with her folks." her grip got harder. "Speaking of her folks, they won't allow you to just take her like that, and you can't show them or Lucy your real self. If you do and after all this is over, your life will be over; you know that, right?" Blitz smacked her friend's hand away and turned to face her in anger. "I don't give a horse shit, Sunset! Lucy is in danger! I'm not letting that crazy woman touch her!" Twilight, Dash, and Braver had worried expressions, remembering how their Dawn was eaten by Rainbow Dawn, who then told them she was going after this universe Dawn to become stronger. "What I don't understand is, how will eating this universe Dawn make her stronger?" questioned Dash. Looking over to Twilight, who had her hand on her chin and started to pace around the kitchen. Even Braver joined her as the two started to mumble theories about it, but Sunset spoke up. "Maybe it's like that old movie. The One?" "The One?" asked Dash, while Twilight and Braver listened in. "Yeah. It's a multiverse-based movie where the bad guy kills other versions of himself; in doing so, he becomes more powerful, but how this craze bitch sounds like, it sounds like that and a mixed with that fighting anime about a bug monster eating these two androids to be more powerful and perfect." When she heard that, Twilight shouted, That was it. "Yes, of course! It's like when we fused with Twilah and Dashie and with Midnight and Sky as well. I remember our fused selves being super strong. It must be the same thing." She turned to Braver, who nodded and added, "Even if this universe Dawn doesn't have magic, just by eating her, this evil Dawn will become powerful. We need to make sure that doesn't happen! Right si..sister!?" Braver and the others noticed Blitz was gone and the door was wide open. "That idiot. Always blitzing things without thinking..." whispered Sunset, running out to the yard and seeing a rainbow comet in the sky. Dash ran out and quickly said she would catch her, but when she jumped into the air, she quickly remembered that she doesn't have wings anymore and fell flat on her face. Twilight hurries to her, asking if she's okay. Sunset shook her head at the two before calling to Braver, "Braver, come on. You use your magic or something!? We can't allow her to reach Lucy's place! Things will go wrong, and I fear she will force Lucy out of the house. We don't need cops here or the media!" Braver nodded, hurried out of the kitchen, and stood outside. She closed her eyes and tried to teleport her sister back, but she could see the blanket pony in front of her but as a human girl now. "Magic is very limited in this form; you won't be able to reach her with that spell." Braver opened her eyes, saw the yard, and closed them again to see her standing there again, in the darkness. "Who are you?" The girl shook her head, as she said it wasn't important, right now. What is important is stopping her sister. "How? She's too fast," asked Braver, lowering her head. The girl walked over and put her hands on Braver's shoulders. "Remember ten years ago? When Prime Discord give Blitz that weird pill? He said it allowed her to change between forms. Just like Dashie and Twilah. He also gave you one. You see where I am going with this, right?" Braver's eyes went wide as she remembered something was in her mouth and shallowed it. She now understands, but she doesn't know how to change forms. "It's easy. Just think of your true self; let it take over." Braver closes her eyes harder, and the girl disappears as her body starts to shift. Sunset and Braver's parents watched in surprise as Braver's body started to change with a light blue and purple light. It wasn't long before the light faded, and they were amazed at what they saw. "...sweetie?" whispered Twilight. Dash chuckled and slapped her hands together. "HA! I always wonder if you could do it as well." "Just like her sister...just with Twilight hair..." whispered Sunset, as she was now looking at Braver, not in her human form but in her antrho form. "Just like my sister." thought Braver when she heard that, and with her magic, a bright flash appeared under the blanket, and she let it go. Showing she's wearing the same outfit as Blitz. "I'm off!" Her wings shot open and blasted off to the sky, leaving behind a blue and purple ink trail. Blitz, in her anthro form, hurried her way to Lucy's house at full speed but quickly sensed something and was tackled and sent flying higher into the sky. She believed it was Rainbow Dawn and held whoever tackled her, knee-kicked them in the gut, and sending them flying away. "THAT HURT, SIS!" "What!?" replied Blitz in shock and confusion as she heard Braver's voice, but she became more confused as she saw Braver's new form as she rubbed her gut. "Braver!?" Braver recovered and looked at her sister and said, "Come back home! You can't tell Lucy like this! You aren't thinking straight!" "BRAVER, STAY OUT OF THIS! Lucy is in danger, and you should know more than anyone why I need to save her!" screamed Blitz. "I do know more than anyone! I'm not going to let you screw this up, sister! You can't save her by causing chaos! Besides, that good version of Rainbow Dawn said we had a week!" "How can we even trust her!? Lucy is in danger, and I won't let that bitch take her! Now move, Braver, or I'll move you myself!" Braver didn't say a word and took a stance, causing Blitz to have a pissed look on her face. "Fine, you leave me no choice, sis. I won't hold back." Blitz took a stance as well. The two sisters started to fight one another, and it was hard to tell who was winning as the two were fast, blocking and dodging each other's attacks. They both had the same power level but were different, which made it difficult to see who was stronger. Blitz was much faster, but Braver outclassed her sister in pure strength. "I don't get it, Braver! Why do you keep trying to stop me from protecting Lucy!?" shouted Blitz as she punched Braver, sending her back but not very far. "Because if you do, you will lose her for good! You'll lose your chance to save her!" shouted Braver as she punched Blitz, sending her flying back very far. Blitz caught herself in midair and was about to rush at her sister when Braver appeared in front of her, "You told me that Lucy is scared to be around you sometimes because of her parents and how they hate you and your parents! You can't force her out of the house in the middle of the night! Don't you think they'll suspect you, and the police will be called!? What are you going to do then, huh!?" Braver rushed at her sister, and both caught each other hands and spun around, "The media will come knocking if you reveal yourself as the Rainbow Comet! Your life will be over! You can't stay in this universe after it's all over!" Blitz pushed forward with anger in her eyes. "I don't fucking care! As long as Lucy is safe! I'll gladly give up living here to make sure she's safe! As long as Lucy is safe, I don't need anything else." "You really are like Dashie and my mom..." whispered Braver, shaking her head. "...like Sky." she let go and grabbed her sister's legs, swung her around, and quickly sensed where this universe forest was where this all started 10 years ago and found it. She sent Blitz flying towards the forest far out of town and crashing near a flower-covered crater. Braver landed on top of her, pointing her fingers at her own head. "Think, Blitz, think! You'll be wasting the second chance that 'they' gave us! TO YOU!" She then pulled Blitz by her shirt and made her face their parents grave. "TO THEM! THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO THROW IT ALL AWAY!" Blitz elbowed her sister in the gut and kicked her away into a tree. "I don't care! I CAN JUST LIVE WITH YOU!" shouted Blitz, getting up on her knees, but saw Braver getting back up, and her dark slime and magic were flowing out of her. She was mad. "What about Dashie and Twilah!?" shouted Braver, slowly walking forward and not letting her reply as she went on, "Your friends!? Your new family that you have now!? Are you going to break their hearts!?" "THEY WILL GET OVER IT!" shouted Blitz, taking a defensive stance, and her magic flowed out in rainbow flames. "WILL THEY!?" shouted Braver as her magic flowed out and the world around her started to warp and shift. Her eyes were glowing bright purple. Within seconds, both sisters met each other in the middle and slammed their punches together, creating a shockwave that pushed the forest trees back. "Yes! Yes, they will!" shouts Blitz, holding her fist back and glaring at her sister. "You're a liar, and you know it!" shouted Braver, punching forward. "They love you! They'll miss you!" Both pulled back their punches and swung their other fists, clashing again. As it landed, the blanket girl spit second appear between them. "You'll be breaking Lucy's heart and..." Braver started to cry, causing Blitz to look confused as she continued, "You'll be breaking your own heart. I can see you love her. Don't do this." Blitz eyes started to glow blue and brighter as her cheeks became hot. "S-Shut up!" "You'll lose her forever." "SHUT UP!" Blitz swung her fist again, and Braver did the same, but both were stopped by the girl's hands, who was standing between them. "You." The two looked at her, with confusion on their faces. The girl tossed Braver's fist back, making her fall on her butt, while looking at Blitz and, without a word, smacking her on the head. "Stop acting like Dash and Dashie! Just admit it already! You love Lucy, and this will be the stupidest thing you'll ever do. Don't blitz this up." said the girl. She smacked Blitz again. "Loyalty can go so far. If you really want to protect Lucy, do it with her consent, not by force. Tell her what's going on, you dummy. Just like what Twilah and Dashie would tell you." "How do you know that?" asks Blitz, rubbing her head. "I'm-" but before she could say anything else, the wind blew up the blanket, revealing her body. Blitz look down and said her carpets are the same as Blitz, causing the girl to blush and start to shake as she lowered her blanket and shaking. "IT'S COLD!" and she was gone. "...it's summer though?" whisper Blitz, holding her chest, and felt her orb being warm. She looked over to the grave and started to cry. "This is my home. I don't want to lose it, but I can't lose Lucy." "You won't!" Braver got up and hugged her. Blitz cried on her shoulder and hugged her back. "I'm sorry, sis..." "It's okay. I promise, you won't lose her. You won't lose your dawn..." whispered Braver, holding her tight. "Thank you...sister..." Blitz smiled and held her back tightly. Back in Equestria, it was the next day, and everyone in Ponyville was ordered to move out of the area, as it wasn't safe now and the black water wasn't spreading now but could in the future. Starlight was closing up the School of Friendship, making sure no one was inside. After checking each room, she finally exited school and locked it, but she could hear whispering as ponies and creatures were pulling their wagons or carrying their things and glaring at her. She could hear them all. "She's the mother of that Dawn girl, right? I heard a friend who was there last night say that her daughter was going to kill everyone, and that's when that blackwater appeared." "I heard it from my niece, who was with her daughter and saw what happened. It was terrifying, as she told me. That Dawn girl is a monster, like her mother. I heard stories about her mother. Wasn't she a cult leader or something in that one weird town?" "That Starlight Glimmer!? I thought she was a hero and a teacher! How can I send my kids here when one of the teachers is a mother to that monster? We can't trust her!" Starlight sighed, moved on, walked away from the school, and was heading to AJ Farm. She could hear all the whispering, the glares, and the hate. It wasn't long before she finally reached the farm and could see Big Mac and his family packing their things up. "Big Mac, need help packing?" asked Starlight, walking to the farmhouse. "Nope." simply said Big Mac, turning his head away from her as he helped his family with their things. "..." Starlight didn't say anything else and moved on to the barn, but he saw the doors being kicked open, and both AJ and JA were fighting as they rolled out of the barn, with Applebloom following them. "Sis! Stop this!" yelled Applebloom as she watched them roll down a hill and into the pig pen and land in the mud. Starlight hurried over to Applebloom, asking her what's going on and why they were fighting. "Starlight? Well, JA was helping me with the packing, but when AJ came in, she told my sister she liked her hat." They looked at the pig pen and saw AJ bucking JA in the sides. "Say what you want to say!" shouted AJ, bucking her again. "Never!" shouts JA, kicking her back but being held by AJ, making the two roll over to the pig, who oinks at them. "Then take this!" shouted AJ, bucking her into the air, jumping after her, and spinning kick her back down, landing in the mud, but AJ held her back in pain when she landed herself. "Damn it! I think I pulled my back out a bit!" "Then let me help with that!" AJ saw her counterpart coming out of the mud behind her and tackled her to the mud and had her pinned down. "All because I said 'nice hat'?" "Because you're lying!" shouted AJ as she tried to push her off. "What does it mean then, huh!? Why are you so worked up about it, huh!?" JA asked, trying to push her down and hold her arm down. AJ headbutted her and was set free as JA held her nose, and the two were about to go at it again, but a magical aura held them in place. "That's enough! You both need to stop!" Starlight walked over to the pig pen and used her magic to pick them both up and set them down outside. "Seriously, what is wrong with you two!? AJ, this fighting can't be over your hat." "Of course not! It's over something more important!" said AJ, wiping the mud off. "So what is it then? Because I'm not understanding the fighting here." asked Starlight, with a confused look on her face. JA wipes the mud and looks at Applebloom. "I don't have time for this. Her family needs to leave as soon as possible. Let's go, Applebloom." "Okay, sis two." Applebloom walked over to her, as AJ was left alone with Starlight. "She hates them..." whispered AJ, making Starlight hear her. "Who?" asks Starlight, putting her hoof on her shoulder. "My...no, her parents. When she sees this hat..." AJ took off her hat and looked at it with sadness. "She sees them and is filled with such hatred." "Hatred? But she sounds and looks fine. I don't hear any hate from her." asked Starlight, confused. AJ put on her hat and turned to her. "She's a damn good liar, that's why. She can hide it so well that not even Applebloom or my brother can tell when she's angry or not. Heck, same as everyone else, like even you couldn't tell. She just doesn't want to bring down the mood. So whenever she sees this hat, she can't stand it. So she'll say nice things about it, but behind those words can't be hidden the hate she feels." "AJ..." whispered Starlight. AJ stood up and cracked her back a bit. "Don't worry, Starlight; this is my problem, and I'm going to help my counterpart out. So why are you here?" Starlight looked away from her. "I, uh, was wondering if you wanted help with packing up? Since no one knows if the black water can spread or not, they don't know how long we have left to find a safe spot or not." AJ touches her friend's side. "Sugar cube, don't lie to me. Why are you really here?" Starlight started to shake and looked away. "It's about Dawn, isn't it?" "Yeah." "Let's talk then..." said AJ, walking her to the farm house. Meanwhile, the safe zone was in New Ponyville, and Sunset was getting everything set up for the incoming ponies and creatures. She had her crew of staff setting up tents and other things as she looked at her check list, but stopped as she saw Cozy landing next to her. "What's wrong, Cozy? Shouldn't you be recovering after what happened?" asks Sunset, looking at her. Cozy looked at her banages and shook her head. "I'll be fine. I'm here to help. Where do you need us?" Sunset said, 'us?' and Cozy nods as Tirek and Chrysalis appear behind her, making Sunset smile. "Right, we need help setting sector F in getting tents there and up. Can you three do it?" "Of course, lead the way!" said Cozy, smiling. "Right," said Sunset, as she ordered a staff member to show them where and the three left with them. "She's still recovering, and yet she's still helping. Her and the other two wouldn't be doing that or even being here now if this happened years ago." whispered Sunset, looking back at her checklist. "Braver, you truly are like your mother." She suddenly remembers something. "Speaking of Twilight...well, a version of Twilight." Sunset gave her second in command the list and hurried off to the town hall, entering it and seeing Twilah, now in her pony form, doing not only testing on the black water but also doing different things and talking to Celesita. "S.p.i.k.e, how are the Canterlot citizens?" asked Twilah as she somehow rebuilt her watch with nothing but a box of scrap. "They are doing fine. They're scared of where they are, but I created a city for them to live in. Though some want to head back home." answer the hologram of robot Spike, but Twilah shook her head as she turned to Celestia, who was near her. "Right now, being in there is safer. Open the gateway in a hour; I'm coming after I'm done here." She turned to Celestia after Spike turned off the live feed. "I still can't believe my pocket dimension wasn't something I created but found. Even magic could locate it." "You should've seen your face when I told you." Celestia laughed as she was writing on a clipboard and handed it to her. "Are you sure about this? Taking over Twilight's role as ruler while trying to find a way to destroy this blackwater?" "I don't mind it, plus I can show Twilight I can be a better ruler, and with my mind, I can also bring better tech to your world." proudly said Twilah. Celestia couldn't help but smile, as it was like looking at a younger Twilight; her dear young student was back like the good old days. "Sorry if I'm putting more stuff on your plate, Twilah, but with Canterlot gone, I had to bring these plans up again." said Sunset as she took out a scroll from her saddle bag. Twilah took it and looked at the map of Equestria, seeing many red dots on it. "What are those red dots?" "Those are the places where we could put new cities and towns." Twilah looked at her with confusion. "You need my approval for this? What's happening right now, this should be going ahead without my approval. Just get a group of workers from other cities and have them start creating a new city or town. If it's funding, I'll approve anything." Twilah, look at the map. Sunset nodded but also commented, "Can you pick a new place to start building a new city and town? If you don't mind." Twilah, look at her and the map. "The two red spots here should be fine." and she turned back to her work. "...!" Sunset was a little surprise how quick she picked them. She agreed, smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you." She took the map and looked at the places she picked. "An area in a small mountain will work as a city, and a small town on that shore will be perfect. Coming up with names will be later." She put the map in her bag and left. While Twilah went on with her work, Luna came in with a few Equestria world leaders and wanted to discuss what's going on. In the sky, Dashie, in her pony form, was flying above the land, holding a scanner that Twilah made. She started to fly over the black water. She could see all the death it had within. All plant life was dead; it was a sad site for the human turned Pegasus. She was going to turn the machine off, but stopped as she could feel some sort of energy. "Dashie?" said the communicator on her hoof, hearing Twilah's voice. "What's up hun?" replies Dashie, looking at her watch. "I completely forgot to ask Sunset what Dawn said to us. I'm busy now with Equestria leaders. Can you hurry back? Just press the button on the scanner, and it will float there, taking readings on its own." Dashie pressed the button, and the scanner did what she was told: "Okay, scanner going. I'm heading back." "Thank you; see you soon. Love you." and the communicator cut out. Dashie took off, leaving the scanner alone. Not noticing the black water slightly moving forward to New Ponyville... Back on earth, Twilight was amazed by this universe technology and was shocked by the things it could do. "Simply amazing!" said Twilight, her eyes widening with amazement as she looked at the technology. "Twilight, it's just a toaster." said Dash, watching her wife play with it. "But it talks! Even has a screen on it!" Sunset, who was sitting at the table, couldn't help but laugh. "It's just a normal toaster with a touch screen on it. The voice is just a simple AI. 'Serra, make toast'." "No toast found" the toaster replies and opens up, showing there was no toast in it. "Amazing!" glees Twilight. Sunset and Dashie laugh, as Twilight was too happy with the toaster. "I take it your world isn't advanced?" asked Sunset, looking at Dash, who sat down. "Nope. We're mostly advanced in magic." Dash said as they watched Twilight put toast in the machine and touch the screen, asking the toaster questions and having fun with it. As the two talked, a flash of light appeared in the kitchen. Braver teleported herself and Blitz back home. It wasn't long before they learned that Blitz said she was wrong and needed to do this right. If that other Dawn was right and really on their side, then they have six days to set up a plan to not only protect Lucy but also beat Rainbow Dawn. Twilight and Braver were brainstorming a plan, while Dash was just tipping her chair on two legs and balancing it. Blitz and Sunset were talking, mostly catching up on each other's stuff they missed out on, like with Sunset, which was about their friend group. "Brishen was almost arrested again, really?" sigh Blitz "That dude needs to stop conning people. I swear...". "Yeah, that guy is a piece of work, alright. I'm pretty sure he's the one who scammed the mayor." "Oh yeah, he was." replied Blitz, laughing a bit. They both look at Braver and her folks. "So, what are you going to do with them? They can't stay locked up here in the house," asks Sunset. Blitz knew her friend was right and sigh, as she didn't want to put this on Twilight and Dash, but there were people who needed to make sure her parents were alive since they had been gone for a few days and she could see Dashie and Twilah phones on the counter and had a ton of missed calls. She claps her hands, making everyone look at her. "Twilight and Dash. Listen, my folks have jobs, and judging by the missed calls, their bosses going to worry if my parents don't show up, and I don't need them coming here and asking what happened. I hate to do this, but could you-" "Hell yeah! I'll do Dashie job, while Twilight or Braver comes up with a plan," said Dash, slamming the chair back down. "Plus, I show her that her job is easy; watching kids is super easy!" Twilight turned to Blitz, smiling as she petted her new toaster friend. "Same, maybe something in this world can help us. Besides, making things is super easy, I'll show Twilah how wrong she is!" Blitz sighed and was happy to hear that, but also a little worried. Sunset went back to her place and was going to come over in the morning to help. Twilight and Dash were shown to Blitz parents room, and she showed Braver to the guess room, but Braver asked if she was going to stay here until she or her mom came up with a plan. "What? Nah, you need to get out and see my world. Plus, I want you to see my friends. We also need to meet my universe Aunty Rarity; you and Twilight need clothes." Blitz said, jumping on the bed and pointing out how freaking tall Twilight was. Braver smiled, as her sister was right; they need clothes, and the faster, the better. She hops in bed with her sister and talks before she falls asleep, making Blitz look at the night sky, fearing if they could really stop Rainbow Dawn. Dashie and Sunset, along with Tempest, teleported to the Crystal Empire and met up with Princess Cadence, as she got word from what's going on, as all of Equestria saw the black core sun. After being told what was happening, she led them to the underground treasure vault. "So, what are we looking for?" asked Tempest, lighting the way down the stairs. The reached the bottom and Cadence opened the large door, which was the size of a small house, and the room was full of books and treasure. Sunset could see it and spoke, "Long ago, I saw something in this magical item back in the castle before it was moved here. It showed me being an Alicorn princess and also a human." Dashie stopped when she heard her, "Wait, really?" Sunset nods her head as they walk into the room. "I suddenly became so cruel and dishonest in my pursuit of finding the magical item again after not understanding friendship that I met up with Twilight, who helped me understand what friendship was and made me give up on looking for the item." Cadence pulled the covering off, revealing a mirror. "This mirror creates some strange magic every thirty moons and keeps giving off that energy for three days. It seems to be a gateway, but for whatever reason, no one can pass through it. Like it's meant for someone else." Dashie trotted up to the mirror, and Sunset was behind her. Dashie blushed as she saw her naked reflection but also an naked older human sunset. "See! It's showing us our human forms. Maybe it's a gateway to your universe?" wonders Sunset, turning to her. "Maybe..." said Dashie, walking up and looking at herself, seeing her human body, and when she turned back to normal, it showed her pony reflection. Cadence walks up, looking in the mirror. "If this mirror truly can bridge a gateway to your world, then you can visit anytime, but for now, you need to head home and help Braver and the others. Tempest!" Tempest bows her head to the princess. "I need you to head back and tell Twilah and the oth-" "Not going to happen. I won't allow that!" said a female voice, making everyone look around, but Dashie and Tempest remember hearing that voice, and Dashie quickly ran toward the mirror, but she was blocked off by black dead trees. "Damn! Not you again!" shouted Dashie, seeing the black anthro mare from yesterday as she was sitting on top of the mirror. "What's up?" smirked the mare, waving at them. Tempest protected the princess as Dashie took a running stance while Sunset had no idea what was going on. "Who are you?" demanded Cadence, getting angry as this pony-human hybrid was blocking them from the mirror and they needed it. The mare smirked, as she knew they couldn't attack her—not until they heard what she had to say and the trees vanished. "A passerby, nothing more but also a chosen savior picked by my master." said the mare, cracking her knuckles. "I won't allow 'her' to destroy fate. Everything needs to follow a set path. Your stories are nothing but books in my master library. There's a set ending, and all your fates are the same. Nothing will change." Dashie didn't care and charged, ready to give her a good punch. "Don't believe me? Fine, I'll show you." Before Dashie could get near her, the mare touched the mirror. Infecting it with black seeds, turning it into a twisted version of itself, and a black tree claw came shooting out of the black reflection surface, knocking Dashie away, grabbing Sunset, and pulling her into the mirror. "Sunset!" everyone screamed as she vanished, but quickly was spit out. "Don't worry. She's fine. Just taking a page out of the prime universe story on her fate. She was saved by her friends in the prime universe, but without them here, Her fate is now sealed—to be a demon—and her ending is to be killed now rather than dying in her bed of old age, surrounded by Twilight, her friends and her loved ones. See ya!" She summoned a dead black tree and walked through it, while Sunset slowly became a naked human teenage girl and slowly started to become twisted and evil. "R-RUN!" she shouted as she could feel the evil within her taking over. They all watched as Sunset became a demon, with flame-like hair, tattered bat wings, clawed fingers, and started to laugh, as the black mirror showed Sunset pounding within the mirror as she watched her demon version talking. "This power! I can rule this world! Twilight and the others won't stop me this time!" laughed demon Sunset as her wings shot open and soar towards Cadence, pushing Tempest away and grabbing into Cadence neck and slowly starting to corrupt her. "You can't escape fate, Twilight, or even you, Cadence," laughed the demon Sunset. "All books will be finished, the multiverse and time verse will die, your stories will end, and every story will belong to my master!" She let Cadence go, who became a pink fire Alicorn demon, with pink fire mane, tail and flaming wings. She turned to them, her horn burning red. Both spoke as Dashie and Tempest step back. "This is where our stories end!" End of ch15 > Chapter 16: Asking For Help > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Within the Crystal Empire stairway to the treasure vault, the darkness became filled with streams of flames, and both Dashie and Tempest were running for their lives as they dodged the flames and reached for the top. Behind them, they could see Sunset as this new flame demon and her new follower, a pink flame demon version of Cadence. They could hear Sunset yelling as she kept flying towards them and shooting her flames. "TWILIGHT! WHERE IS TWILIGHT!?" demanded demon Sunset as she kept blasting the two non stop. "She's not here!" Dashie said, in her pony form, flying around and dodged the flames. "Why do you even want her, Sunset!?" Sunset blocked their path with a wall of flames, and standing in front of both mares, she said, "My name is Sunfall!" She made fire in her palm and made a fist. "And Twilight, she stop me at Canterlot High School, but not this time!" Dashie reacted to hearing that, "What? My old high school? You weren't even there, and the same with your Twilight." "Remember what the evil mare said?" said Tempest, unleashing her firework blast magic, pushing Sunfall back, teleporting herself and Dashie to the exit, and locking the door shut. "A copy of the prime universe. She might be a copy of another universe Sunset, whose story ended or continued to be different than my universe, Sunset." "Great," said Dashie, pulling her arm near her face as she was about to turn on her watch to call Twilah, but they were blasted back as the door was blown off and Sunfall was standing there. "I'm not just a copy. I'm Sunfall, the queen of the sun and chosen savior to my master, and I'm going to kill Twilight and the rest!" she said, her body burning and her flames growing bigger. Tempest got up and stood in front of Dashie. "Get going and warn Twilah. I'll hold her off." "Tempest..." said Dashie, trying to get up, but Sunfall sucked in tons of air and released a giant flame breath towards them, and Tempest couldn't create a shield in time, but... "What?" said both mares as a blue shield appeared around them, and landing in front of them were Shining Armor and his daughter, Flutterheart. Soon, the guards came rushing in with their shields up. The whole hallway was in flames, and Sunfall stopped her attack and watched them all. "Prince Armor," bowed Tempest. "What's going on!? We sensed great evil magic and came here!" asked Armor, turning to them, "Where's my wife?" "Dad! Look!" shouted Flutterheart, making her father turn back. He couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Cadence?" he said, shocked as his now-former wife walked out of the flames, revealing her demon form. "Shining Armor. We were once married in my old life and have a daughter together. If only you could join me, then we can be together again and rule this land." Armor shook his head, not believing what his wife was saying, and turned back to Dashie. "Go. Get help! We'll hold them off!" Tempest and Dashie nodded, taking off as the guards attacked, and Shining Armor was using his magic to protect the guards that had lost their shields when Sunfall blasted them away with her blazing arms. Flutterheart was going to fight her mother, but she was suddenly in a blue bubble shield. She looked at her father, who said nothing and teleported her away. "Darling, don't make me hurt you!" said Cadence, sending a fireball at her lover. Armor used his magic, deflecting the fireball and sending it back, hitting her and making her fly back to the floor. "I'm sorry, but I won't allow our kingdom to fall. You can fight it, darling! This isn't you!" He called out, hoping his love could reach her, and his hope burned brightly as he saw Cadence on her knees and fighting it. "Shining!?" struggled Cadence as she tried to fight it. "H-Help me!" Shining Armor smiled, running up to her and hugging his lover. "It's ok, darling. I'll get your help. Just hang on, please. Twi can change you back or-" "I will!" she said, smirking, and her horn lit up, and she stabbed him in the chest, making him cough up a tiny amount of blood. She stood up as she watched her dear husband drop to the ground, slowly becoming like her—a fire demon. "We can rule together now. We just need to find our sweet daughter!" Shining could feel his body changing and being powerless as his mind was being taken over. As he felt his body burning, he turned back to look at his former wife with a sad look, seeing her smile, and she spoke. "Don't worry. Flutterheart will soon join us and be our little girl again." "...she won't. I believe in Twi and her friends. I believe in her family. You won't  win." Armor dropped to the ground, screaming as he was completely taken over and stood back up as a blue-blazing Unicorn flame demon, with his horn burning blue heat. He walked over to his love, and they both nuzzled and watched as Sunfall infected the last guard, and now there were tons of different fire demon ponies among them, ready to serve their new queen. "The Crystal Empire will be no more!" laughed Sunfall as she blasted the castle walls, exposing the daylight to her flames. "A flame kingdom will rise! Fallen Flames Kingdom and I, as their queen!" She soars out and, along with the fire demon guards, starts to set everything on fire, causing the kingdom to burn and infecting anyone they see. Flame Cadence looked at her husband as they stayed back and watched their kingdom burn to the ground. "Darling, what about our daughter? What do we do if she gets in our way and doesn't want to join us?" asked Flame Cadence. Blue Flame Armor turned to her, kissed her, and said, "Simple, we kill her. No matter how hard she tries, her fate is set. Her story will end like everyone else." Flame Cadence is happy that he is finally by her side and not caring who gets in her way; they will burn everything to ashes, and no one can stop them. Not even their daughter. "Let's go and find her, darling. The Fallen Flames Kingdom will be ready for her return, and whatever happens, her fate will be revealed." said Flame Cadence. Her husband nodded, and they both flew off as the city burned, and soon, the entire empire was set on fire as the dark cloud covered the land. Dashie and Tempest ran down a hallway, telling anyone they saw to flee, but they could see the flames outside and everything in flames. They knew this wasn't good; before they could move again, Flutterheart appeared before them and landed. "Princess Flutterheart!?" bowed Tempest, but stopped midway as she saw the princess crying as she cursed her father for sending her away like that. "Where's my mom and dad!? What happened to my mom!?" she asked, tears running down her eyes. Tempest didn't want to tell her the truth, but she knew she couldn't hide it from her, and Dashie said, "Sunfall corrupted your mom. Some dark human-looking pony appeared and infected Sunset with a magic mirror. Sorry, we couldn't do anything to stop her." "I see," said Flutterheart, her tears stopping and wiping them away, and her eyes glowing blue. "Dad must have known I'd be ok with you two. That's why he sent me away. He'll save mom!" Tempest and Dashie didn't know how to comfort her, knowing that they wouldn't be able to save Cadence right now. They just nodded, and Dashie pulled out her watch but noticed it was damaged. "No, I can't call Twilah now!" "What is that, Rainbow Dash? Who's 'Twilah'? Aunt Twilight?" asked Flutterheart, as she and her family weren't there when Dashie and her family arrived here. She simply told her that she wasn't this universe's Rainbow Dash and turned back into a human, shocking her. "Still, not surprising seeing a version of Kari here," smiled Dashie, pulling out a picture from her wallet, showing Flutterheart her human counterpart. "What? Braver wasn't lying when she said she came from a different universe?" whispered Flutterheart as she held the picture. Flutterheart gave back the picture and asked, what was the game plan? How or what were they going to do now? Dashie and Tempest said they didn't have one. So Flutterheart had one. "Then we need to recover the crystal heart before it falls into their claws! I'll get the crystal heart, and you two will get everyone out of the kingdom and get some help. If dad is still here, he won't let mom be like this, and I'll help him. If not..." she started to worry but felt Dashie's hand on her head, petting her. "Yeah, no kid. You need to get out of here first with Tempest. I'll get the crystal heart. I saw memories of it through Dash when we first fused ten years ago." She stopped petting her and quickly shut her down as she saw her about to argue. "No butts, kiddo. If the kingdom falls and we can't save your folks," she saw her tearing up, so Dashie quickly corrected herself, "Which we will! You need to stay safe as your the future ruler! Go with Tempest and find Twilah. I'll be fine. Just trust me. The smartest mind in my universe is here, and she's Twilight's counterpart. She can think of a way to save your home!" Flutterheart nodded, but Tempest didn't like this plan. Mostly, she felt it was her fault for not protecting the princess from Sunfall. "If anyone is going to stay, it should be me, Dashi-" Before she could finish, the ceiling above them blasted apart, revealing the three to demon Flame Armor and Flame Cadence. They hovered there, calling out to their daughter, who was backing away in fear and shock. "Dad, not you too." "Darling, you need to come with us. You're our daughter and the future right hoof of the Fallen Flames Kingdom and its queen Sunfall. It's time you become like us and be with your real parents. Give your story to our master. Walk down the truth path to the end." Flutterheart shook her head, backing away, and was now hiding behind Dashie. "No! Dad! Fight it! You can't let this evil control you!" Both her parents horns started to burn brightly as they  said "Then we will burn your story and force the ending now, like our master wants." They both fired their beams of fire, and Dashie quickly transformed into her anthro form, pushed Flutterheart out of the way, and took the full hit. Dashie felt the pain as the flames burned her blue fur and her clothes. She was on her knees, breathing heavily and slowly getting up, and Tempest was next to her, helping her. "GO! NOW!" shouted Dashie as she used her wings to push the flames off, rushing to the fallen couple and tackling them back out of the ceiling. Flutterheart wanted to join her but knew better and looked over to Tempest, who was fighting with herself to flee with her or help Dashie. "Tempest, please! Get me to this, Twilah. Please!" cried Flutterheart, begging her. Tempest hated doing this but had to; she grabbed her and teleported out of the empire, leaving Dashie and Flutterheart parents fighting each other in the sky. Twilah sighed as she was done talking to the world leaders of Equestria and leaned back in her chair, watching them all leave the meeting room of the town hall while Ember, the current Dragon Lord of the Dragon Lands, stayed in her seat. She's pretty big, almost the size of a large tree, as she grabs some remaining crystals from the snack bowel and bites one. "Someone who's not really Twilight, you sure do act like her when talking to us during meetings. What did Spike say before? A universe copy or something?" asked Ember as she finished eating the rest of the crystals in one go. Twilah got up, stretched, and said, "I'm from a different universe, a variant of Twilight, you know. I'm not really a pony, but I felt it would be best to not scare you and the rest of the leaders." She looked at her watch and asked Ember why she was still here since the meeting was over. "Oh, right. The reason I stayed is because..." She shook the empty bowel, and nothing came out as she ate all the crystals and diamonds in the snack bowel. "Were these treats, but since they're gone, See ya." She stood up and headed for the door, but stopped. "I'll send some dragons to help with the black water problem. Our bodies can resist any form of heat; I'm sure we-" Twilah, tapping her hologram keyboard on the watch, quickly spoke, cutting her off. "Won't work. The first thing I did was put a scale that Spike gave me, into the water and it melted. Your dragon scales don't stand a chance, Ember." "Damn. Then why didn't you tell us about the scale during the meeting? You requested my race to help, didn't you?" asked Ember, turning to face Twilah. "If I did, then the leaders would question what to do and start to panic. We don't need the whole world to start freaking out. If they learn that there might be no way to remove the black water, then they'll be even more panicked, and I don't want to deal with them freaking out right now, so I'm not telling them. I already made a few solutions, but I can't test them out right now. I need to visit the Canterlot refugees; my Spike is telling me they're protesting and starting to riot." She looks at Ember with a small smile. "But spending your people isn't a bad thing. Ponies and other creatures seeing dragons helping out here will raise morale, and the thought that your species can withstand the black water will calm everyone for a while." Ember nodded, not liking lying to the refugees of Ponyville. "Fine, I'll send a group of my finest to come here. Also, don't forget what I said about dragons not resisting the black water, Twilight. When you get the chance, I want you to tell the leaders the truth, got it?" Twilah didn't reply; she simply looked away, not giving her answer, as she went back to her work on her watch, but she did say, "It's Twilah." Ember apologized and closed the door as she left, leaving Twilah alone, as Spike's voice could be heard from the watch. "The gateway is opening. Better hurry; they're gathering at the front door. So be ready for anything." Twilah nodded, saying, "I am. Just open it." A small light flashed, and a purple portal appeared. Twilah walked into the portal and disappeared. Just as Twilah left, Ember came back in, as she remembered something: "Hey, by the way, I saw this white-haired pony-looking creature while coming here, and she flew by with a black-haired pony-looking creature. They were fighting and just disappeared into this-Twilah?" She looked around and saw no one in the meeting room. "Guessing, she teleported away. " She was about to leave when Tempest and Flutterheart appeared on top of the table. "Twilah!" shouted Tempest, not seeing her anywhere but seeing Ember in the doorway, waving at them as she was confused. "Where's Twilah, Princess Ember?" she asked, bowing, but was told she just missed her as she left somewhere, and Tempest cursed under her breath as she realized that Twilah headed to that pocket universe to help with Canterlot refugees. She quickly asked Ember to watch Flutterheart and told the young alicorn to explain what's going on to the Dragon Lord, as she needed to find her friends and gather Twilight's friends. They needed everyone to deal with the problem in the Crystal Empire, and she soon teleported away. "What's going on?" asked Ember, sitting in her chair and looking at the scared young princess. "What's happening in your home?" Back on earth, Blitz was having a nightmare as she helplessly watched Lucy being chased by the black slime monster, and it slowly opened its jaws, revealing the waterfall of rainbow liquid. "LUCY!" screamed Blitz, trying her hardest to reach her, but the monster jaws came down and ate Lucy, causing Blitz to shoot out of her bed and shout out Lucy's name. She quickly realized she was dreaming and fell back in bed. Her chest was beating hard and fast as she slowly started to calm down, but tears rolled down her cheek as she could still see Lucy getting eaten. She suddenly smelled something and could see black smoke coming from the closed door. She ran to it and opened it. The hallway had black smoke, and she could see Dash opening her door and saying what's going on, but she looked back in the room and quickly darted to the kitchen, saying, "Twilight cooking!" "Shit!" said Blitz as she followed her down stairs, rushing to the kitchen and seeing the fire on the stove. As Twilight, still being naked, tried to ask the toaster AI what to do, "Serra, how do I stop the fire!?" "Sorry, I didn't get that. Can you repeat that?" Blitz rushed in and grabbed the fire extinguisher and put the flames out; the fire was no more, but the smoke was still there. Blitz sighed as she sat at the kitchen table and could see burned eggs. "You can't cook, Twi. Why did you try cooking breakfast?" asked Dash, taking the pan and tossing out the burned eggs. Twilight sat in the chair and felt sad. "I thought with this universe cooking tech and Serra here, I could finally make something for once." She looked and watched as Dash started to make breakfast with no problem, making her jealous. "This isn't fair." "You're a smart girl, Twilight, just not good at cooking. So no use in trying to learn when someone else can do it for you." laugh Dash as she took out eggs, but Blitz got up and told her to make some breakfast sausage as she needed to get ready as Sunset should be coming soon and went upstairs to get ready for the day. Dash held the weird pack. "Sausage? Never heard of that," she shrugged and read on the pack how to make it. Sunset, wearing a rock band t-shirt, blue jeans shorts, and flip-flops, finally reaches Blitz House and knocks on the door. She started to play the guitar as her headphones were on her ears, blasting her favorite band songs as she waited. She was a few minutes late due to her mom wanting her to drop something off at the post office, but she bet Blitz doesn't mind. She rang the bell, and she heard someone coming to the door. The door opened, and she freaked out and blushed as an upset and naked Twilight was at the door. "SHIT! GET INSIDE!" shouted Sunset, pushing Twilight inside, looking outside, and hoping no one saw this. She shut the door and sighed, but couldn't look at a confused Twilight, who asked if something was wrong. "You are naked! That's the problem!" replied Sunset, keeping her eyes to the floor, as she was beet red and Twilight looked down and back at her. "I don't understand you humans, my universe; we don't wear clothing unless it's for big events. Is it really bad that I can't be seen like this? What's wrong with nudity?" Sunset couldn't believe it. How could someone not understand the importance of clothes? She took her headphones off and remembered where they were heading first before meeting everyone at the mall. "It's because you're a female." Twilight was confused and asked what's wrong with her being a female, but Sunset was getting even more embarrassed as she explained that it's different for girls and boys. "Boys and girls don't show their skin around each other, especially not when one is naked. It's called shame, and we humans get very uncomfortable and embarrassed, especially boys, when...you know, please, you know what I'm saying. This is giving me real-life physical damage." Twilight started to laugh, and Sunset still didn't look up, as Twilight told her she understood the boy part. "Oh, thank goodness," said Sunset, relieved and glad that Twilight understood, but Twilight still didn't understand the shame part and wanted to know more about what she meant, causing Sunset to die inside. "Please stop. I can't take this much emotional damage trying to explain to a grown woman, who's really a pony, why being naked is wrong in my universe. It's too much." Twilight apologized and went upstairs to wear a blanket. Sunset finally looked up and headed to the kitchen. She could see Dash eating a sausage link, and her eyes went wide as her taste buds were in heaven. Sunset realized something. "Dash, where did you get that!?" "Oh, hi Sunset. Blitz wanted this awesome thing for breakfast. What is this!? So freaking awesome!" Dash took another bit and was filled with joy and bliss. Sunset gulped as she became worried. She asked Dash a question about what her pony race normally eats. She was told to eat eggs, toast, hay sandwiches, hay fries, hayburgers, and so on. "Why do you ask?" Sunset gulps again, trying to decide if she should tell her or not that she ate meat for the first time, and going by what they eat, they're not supposed to eat meat. "I have to tell Blitz something," said Sunset as she turned around but saw Blitz's sister, Braver, half asleep and back in her human form. She watched as Braver sat at the table and ate the eggs with the sausage, also having the same reaction as her mom. "This tastes wonderful! I want more!" said Braver, happily eating the last sausage from her plate. "What's going on? What's taste great?" Sunset turned around and saw Twilight coming into the kitchen in a large purple blanket. She sat down and saw Dash giving her a plate of weird-looking food. She picked up a fork and took one. Sunset watched as Twilight also joined them in the bliss. "This tastes so amazing; what is it?" "It's called 'sausage'?" answered Dash, holding the empty bag as she made the rest with no eggs. "Can I have some more, please?" asked Twilight, wanting more, and Dash gave her more. Sunset stepped away, went to the living room, and saw her friend coming down the stairs. "DUDE! What did you eat when you were in your sister universe?" Blitz got down and looked at her, as she was wearing her trademark purple jacket and running leggings and shoes. "Well, they had eggs, bread, pasta, baked goods, and basically anything not related to meat. We could eat hay if we were in our pony forms. Why?" Sunset pointed to the kitchen and the sound of enjoyment. "What's wrong?" asked Blitz, as Sunset was freaking out and couldn't think of how to tell her. "They ate meat today! Sausage!" said Sunset, panicking and pointing to the links on their plates. "They won't be the same when they return home! They'll start eating the talking pigs and cows! They'll be eating their own people in a way." Blitz laugh "Pigs don't talk in their universe, but cows do. Anyway, that's fine. I'm a pony, remember?" Blitz turned into her normal pegasus form. "See, I didn't change—are you okay?" she asked, realizing Sunset looked freaked out. That's when it hit her. "They didn't tell you that I'm also a pony like them." Sunset said nope. "Really!? My sister is half slime and half Alicorn; how didn't you realize I'm also a pony like them? Heck, everyone called me Super Horse before Rainbow Comet finally got around and stuck. You know how much crap I had to do to get people to call me that?" Sunset couldn't help but start to laugh as Blitz started to explain her trouble with creating tons of media accounts and such. "Okay okay! I'm sorry! Sorry for being too stupid to put it together." She was about to head to the kitchen, but Blitz, in her human form, grabbed her hand, making her blush. "I'm not calling you that. Sorry, I'm just stressing out. With protecting Lucy and beating her evil version." She put her other hand between her eyes and rubbed them. "Getting these three back home, getting my own parents back, hoping their bosses don't come knocking and not noticing something off with my parents copies, and hoping our friends don't freak out about me. I'm happy you took it well, but the others?" Blitz finally let go, but Sunset held her hand tight and turned to her. "Dude, it's okay. I understand you are going through a lot right now. Don't worry too much; our friends will understand. You helped us a ton, and we love you no matter what you are. Trust me, we got your back." She smiled at her, hoping that would cheer her up, and it did. Blitz smiled at her. "Thanks, Sunny." Sunset punched her shoulder. "Sunset! Hate my real name, you ass! I love the nickname you gave me!". Both girls started to laugh, while Braver and the others were watching from the kitchen entrance and smiling, but they all noticed something with Sunset, who was still blushing a bit. "Oh," said all three. After breakfast, everyone was in the living room, sitting down, and Blitz was going over the game plan as she stood in front of them. She pointed to Dash, who was wearing a YMCA shirt and work clothes now. "Dash, that device in your hands is called a phone. You can call me by pressing that symbol there and looking for my name. I entered the street address of the Y, and you only have to work from noon to four today. Got it?" She saw Dash raising her and knew what she was going to ask: "No, you can't wear your jacket during those hours." Dash lowered her hand, making Blitz sigh. She then turned to Braver, who was in her anthro form; her wings were gone as she and Blitz could summon them at anytime, wearing a face mask, sun glasses, and a cute unicorn winter hat. "Sis, while in that form, you need to cast an invisibility spell on Twilight; we need to get her to the Rachel clothing store and get her measurements and some clothes right away and same with you, sis, you're taller than me, so my stuff won't fit you. I texted her boss that she had a family emergency and wouldn't be coming into work, and I got her the day off for today, but you have to go in the next day." She could see Twi looking a little worried about starting a new job. "It's okay. I'll explain later what you have to do." She turned to Sunset, but Braver raised her hand. "Yeah sis?" "Who gave you this cute hat?" She pointed to the winter hat on her head as the eyes moved around a bit. Blitz blushed and said it didn't matter, but Sunset answered, "Lucy gave it to her as a Christmas gift. She wears it during the winter." She felt a pillow hit her face. "ANYWAY!" Blitz coughed and went on, "After we get you clothes, we will be heading to the mall and seeing my friend group. Lucy should also be there, and we'll explain everything to them in our meeting spot outside the mall. After that, I just hope they don't freak out." She claps her hands. "Okay, let's move out!" They all cheered, ran out of the house, and headed out. Dash went her way, while the others went straight to the mall. It was a long walk, and few people were giving them looks, mostly because of the Braver winter hat. But Twilight was blushing, as it felt like people were looking at her more than her daughter's silly hat. "I think I understand what Sunset might mean by shame and embarrassment now." She hid more in the blanket, blushing harder. The girls got to the mall; it was the biggest mall in town and a very busy one. People walking, kids running, teenagers talking—the place was alive, and Twilight and Braver were a bit overwhelmed by the noise and activity. Blitz pointed to the large building near it; it wasn't as big as the mall but still pretty big for a clothing store. "That is the clothing store, Rachel's Closet. They make clothes, sell them here and a few other places around the world, and have their own website. You can find any style of clothing, from casual to business to formal to even dresses. Aunt Rachel is pretty famous in the clothing industry." The girls could see a few models walking out of the store, wearing the latest fashion of Rachel's design. "Wow. Your Rarity is really famous." Braver was amazed at Rachel's designs. "This is amazing!" "I can't wait to see how your Rarity looks." Said Twilight, trying not to get too excited but still was. "Alright, let's go in," said Blitz, and they entered the building. "WOW!" shouted Twilight and Braver, seeing the wide range of clothes. "Hey girls! Glad you came!" A woman shouted in the shoe area. It was Rachel, and she was wearing a white dress, a purple fur coat, matching purple lipstick, and black high heels. "Hi Aunt Rachel," called out Blitz as she ran towards her and hugged her, while Sunset walked over and nodded at her. "Blitz, darling, where have you and your mothers been? The girls and I were getting worried when you just vanished three days ago." Blitz scratch the back of her head. "Yeah, about that. Can we talk in your office?" Rachel raised her brow but didn't say anything and took the girls to her office, which was a fancy-looking room with a large wooden desk and chair, a couch, a mini bar, and a few clothes designs on the wall. She let them in but looked surprised as Braver followed them in and was about to shut the door, but it felt like someone was holding it open to get inside. She soon felt it being free and shut it. She sat in her chair and asked if anything was okay. "Rachel, before I say anything, Sunset knows who I am now. So it's okay to talk freely now." "Oh?" Rachel gave Sunset a big smile. "I thought Lucy was the one you liked and was going to be the first person in your friend group to know who you really are." She winked at Sunset, making her blush and twiddle her fingers. Blitz shook her head. "We can talk about that later. I have something else to talk about. This is my twin sister, Braver. The one I talked about." That got Rachel attention, and she was staring at Braver, who was looking away and playing with her hat but soon took it off with the mask and sunglasses, revealing what looked like Blitz in her superhero form but also having Twilah hair style. Rachel stood up, walked over, and touched her cheeks. "You look just like your sister! Just different hair styles!" Braver blushed and smiled. She had always wanted to meet Rachel, ever since Blitz told her about her aunts. "Hi, I'm Rainbow Braver Sparkle. Nice to meet you." Rachel kneeled down and said her own name. She wanted to know a few questions, like why she was here and such. "We'll explain, but first, Braver, turn back into a human; Rachel needs to meet Twilight." Braver nods and becomes a human girl again, making Rachel cry a bit. "My word, it's like looking at a double. You two are truly twins." She then had a thought. "But wait. Who's Twilight? I see no one...else!?" She froze as she saw Twilight towering over her and removing the blanket from her head. "...Twilah?" Twilight shook her head. "No, well, kind of. My name is Twilight Sp-" "Sparkle. The one that Twilah met ten years ago, when she and Dashie and their counterparts saved Blitz and her dear sister... I thought you were a pony." Twi scratched her head. "To be honest, I have no idea why I'm like this." Rachel suddenly knew why they're here as she looked back at Twilight's tall body. She soon learned what's going on from Blitz as she measured Twilight. "I see, so that's what's going on." She turned to Blitz. "Are you going to fight that crazed version of Lucy by yourself? Even with your sister by your side, it sounded like it wasn't enough! Will you be okay!?" She was worried, and Blitz placed her hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I will, Aunt Rachel, because I have friends by my side." That made Rachel smile. "I'm glad," she hugged her. "You also have us, your aunts, on your side too. Even if it's small, we will help you as best we can! Just like your mothers did." "Thanks, Aunt Rachel. We'll do our best and keep you informed." "Thank you." She let go and went to her computer, picked out Twilight's new clothes, and then went over to Blitz's sister. Even though they're twins, she could tell Braver is slightly taller and more built. She was about to measure, but I could see her looking scared. "What's wrong, dear?" Blitz pulled Rachel to the side, explaining that Braver is part slime and how their universe gave her both genders. Braver dug deeper in her chair, feeling beyond scared that Rachel knew what was down there. She shut her eyes as she heard the tapping from Rachel heels, felt her hands on her own, and heard the caring voice, which sounded exactly the same as Rarity. "You are you, sweetie. Don't be ashamed of your body, even if you have two gender parts down there. I see no shame in your body, as your body is a work of art and beautiful. No matter how many parts or lack of them, You are still you, and I would love to make clothes for you." Braver shot open her eyes, and with her watery eyes, she thought she saw Rarity, but when she wiped them away, it was Rachel. No matter the universe, Rarity was caring and loving. She allowed her to measure her body and sat back down. "I think a sundress and a few casual clothes for her would do." Rachel nodded to herself and went back to her computer. Blitz went and hugged her sister, glad she wasn't scared anymore. Meanwhile, Twilight had tears in her own eyes and was wiping them away. "Okay, here's the list of clothes I picked out. Take the list and get them. They're on me, so don't worry about paying anything." "Really? Thanks, Aunt Rachel!" "You're welcome. Oh, and sunset. Here's some of my new line. Try them on." She handed her a bag full of clothes, and Sunset was shocked and was about to protest, but she was shoved out the door. "Go! No butts! You have a great body, and..." she whispers into her ear, "Blitz will like seeing you in them." she winks, causing Sunset to blush hard and hurry out with Braver. She chuckled. "Come back and show me too." Sunset rolled her eyes, and she left with Braver, but Blitz stayed behind. "Twi, stay here. The changing room will be too small for your size. I'll get you your clothes and bring them here." Twi nodded, and Blitz turned to Rachel and asked, "Hey, um, do you have the 'thing' I ordered from you?" "Thing?" "Don't play dumb; you know what I'm talking about." blush Blitz. Rachel giggles and goes over to her desk, pulls a long flat box, and hands it to Blitz, who opens it. She saw Blitz smile. "Sunset helped a ton and covered my ass last night. This was her birthday gift, but she earned it now." She closed the box, thanked Rachel, and shut the door. Twilight sat on the floor and watched Rachel open the blinds, looking at the girls looking for the clothes on the list. Twilight smiled, as she knew that look. "Different Rarity, but still the same. Doing matchmaking." Rachel looked back. "There's nothing wrong with pushing the right buttons, so to speak." She returned looking at the girls and seeing Sunset smiling. "To be honest, I was rooting for Sunny rather than Lucy. She was Blitz's first friend." "Really?" Twilight was surprised, thinking Lucy was Blitz's first friend, like Braver and Dawn. "Yes. Sunny Shimeren was a bully and a troublemaker. Her father died during her birth, and her mother has problems, and she was always getting into fights with other students. When Blitz came to live here, it was she who changed Sunny from the worst to the best. It was thanks to Blitz that Sunny Shimeren turned a new leaf. Sunny is a good girl now. She's a great friend to have around my darling Blitz and is a sweet heart." "Wow, care to tell me how it happened?" "Gladly, since Blitz is busy and we have plenty of time." Rachel sat next to Twilight and told the story. 5 years ago Blitz came to our universe during the tail end of summer and started her first school year in middle school here, as Twilah had to create fake paperwork on her and such. To the world, Blitz is adopted by Twilah and Dashie, as her real parents died in a freak accident, leaving her alone with no other family. Word travels far in a town like this, even more so when the smartest woman in the world has a kid now. It caused her to be an outcast and to be picked on, and soon, Sunny got her sights on her. A young Sunny sat in class , not giving a crap about history, but looked over to Blitz, who was writing in her note book. She could hear some of her classmates talk about Blitz and not liking that she's in their school, making them look bad as she's an adopted kid to the smartest woman in the world. She didn't care one bit about that, but bullying a kid like her for lunch money will be fun. She smirked. After class, Sunny cornered Blitz, who was trying to make her way to her next class, but Sunny was standing in the way and the hall was empty. She was ready to take her lunch money. "I'm going to take your lunch money. I'll make it easy; give it now, and I won't hurt you." Blitz looks confused. "Why do you want my lunch money? Do you need money? I could ask my mom, " "Your moms?" Sunny sneer. "You were adopted by a woman who doesn't have kids and is dating another woman. They're not your parents. Now, I'll take that money." She grabbed Blitz by her purple jacket. "I don't understand." Sunny's sneer turned into anger. "Just because your mom is smart and famous doesn't mean you are! You're no different from any other kid in this school, so just give me the damn money." Blitz smiled, leaving Sunny confused. "You really think so! I'm the same as everyone else here!?" Sunny nods, not sure what's going on. "SWEET!" shouted Blitz, doing a silly dance, making Sunny a bit happy. "This is awesome! I'm normal!" Sunny didn't know what she meant by that, but she didn't care and grabbed her again, but she could see Blitz giving her lunch money. "Take it! I don't need it; you can have it." Sunny took the money but was confused and angry, thinking she's playing around and making her a fool of herself, and hit her in the face. "You're messing with me! Give me your money every day, unless you want more than a bruise." Blitz looks surprised. "What did I do?" "I know you're trying to trick me, like you're smart or something." "Huh? But I'm not." "Just shut up and have my money every day." Sunny was going to hit her again, but Blitz caught her fist and shocking to see how strong and fast she is. "Stop it. Why are you hitting me?" "Because you're a loser and no one wants you here. Easy prey." Blitz was a shock. "Is that why everyone is mean to me? What do I do wrong? How can I fix it?" Sunny could see she was being honest and let her fist go. "Just...don't act weird?" She said, "Like that stupid dance you did. You look lame. Just be cool and be nice." "Cool and nice, got it." Blitz smile. Sunny didn't know how to feel or respond, so she walked away. She didn't care, as she was set for life by getting free food. The next day, Sunny saw Blitz talking to other kids, taking her advice, and trying to act cool and nice. It wasn't going so well. She didn't seem cool or nice. "You don't need to be friendly. Just be chill." Sunny told her after class, counting the lunch money she got from Blitz. "Oh, okay." Blitz smiled, making Sunny ask why she's giving her that look and not being cool. Few days later after school, out behind the school, Sunny was enjoying Blitz lunch money with the food and drink she bought, but she could see older kids walking up to her and smirking. "What do you assholes want?" "I heard you were taking lunch money from a kid." "So what?" "Well, she's our prey, and we don't like others touching what's ours." "You mean, Blitz? She's a wimp, and I got her first." "We still don't like you hanging with our prey. Get it?" Sunny drank her can of soda, crushed it on her head, and tossed it away, ready for an fight. "And I should care, why?" The boys laughed and said, "You got some balls on you." Sunny narrowed her eyes at them and said, "Damn right." "But not for long." They threw the first punch, hitting her square in the nose. Sunny was shocked and pissed off and started fighting back. A little later, Sunny was sitting on the steps, nursing her wounds, feeling proud that she had taken on all those older kids and won. She heard someone coming, and it was Blitz, looking surprised and worried. "Oh man, what happened?" Sunny didn't look at her. "It's none of your business, so buzz off." Blitz was concerned and was going to ask her questions, but ton of boys came over. Some are much older than hers. "You think you can beat us up?" one of the boys asks. "Didn't I?" replied Sunny with a mocking tune. "Really? Well, let's see how strong you are." The boys went at her, and the one who talked pulled out a brass knuckle and punched her in the face, breaking her nose, spitting blood out, and kicking her in the chest, knocking her back. Sunny was on her knees, holding her broken nose. "See? Not so strong, are you, little girl?" They all laughed, and Sunny was ready for another beating and was surprised that Blitz stepped between them and the boys. "Move." "No." Blitz replied, her voice cold and serious. "Oh? And what are you going to do? Cry to mommy." "No," she said, taking a fighting stance. "I'm going to kick your ass." The boy laughed, and one of his friends smacked Blitz in the face, but she took it and acted like nothing happened. "Oh, we have a tough guy," said another. They all started laughing, and one went at her and threw a punch. Blitz dodged it and punched him in the gut. He went to his knees and coughed hard. Sunny watched as Blitz was quick in moving around the boys, knocking each one down to their knees, and finally reaching the oldest boy with the brass knuckle. "Walk away, and we'll forgive you." said the boy, being nervous. "Sorry. Can't." "What?" Blitz narrowed her eyes at him and became mad. "You can't hurt my friend." They started to laugh and pointed at her, "She's not your friend, you wimp. She's just bullying you for your lunch money." Blitz shook her head. "She's not, and I'm going to make sure no one hurts her anymore." "And who's going to stop us?" "Me." Blitz answered, and the boy sneered and went to hit her in the face. "Not so tough, are you?" but became shocked as Blitz just took the punch and slowly looked at him with pure rage in her eyes. "Not without her." Blitz replied, punched the boy in the face, and knocked him to the ground. She turned around and went back to the other boys, beating them until they cried and ran away. Sunny didn't understand what happened. She just watched as Blitz beat those guys to tears and ran away. She could see blood on the knuckles of her fist. She didn't understand. "Blitz?" She heard Sunny call her name, and she went over and checked her injuries. "You okay!?" Sunny was shocked at how caring and concerned Blitz is. "Don't worry. It's just a broken nose. I'll be fine." Blitz sigh. Glad it wasn't more than that. She watched as Sunny got up and walked away. She called out to her, "Where are you going?" "Away from you." Blitz stood up. "But I'm your friend. Right?" Sunny didn't answer. "We're friends, right?" Sunny just left, leaving Blitz alone. A few days later, Sunny ignored Blitz, as she didn't want her to be targeted by other bullies, especially the ones who broke her nose. So when she saw a bully going over to Blitz, she would step in and beat their ass. "Why are you protecting her!?" asked the boy, running away. Sunny looked at her fist and asked the same question. A few days later, Sunny was walking home when she saw a big fight in the alleyway. She didn't care about the fight but was shocked to see Blitz was in it. She was fighting older kids and winning. She could see her getting bruised, but she was still winning. She didn't understand why she was fighting. Blitz won and was nursing her wounds before leaving. Sunny walked up to her and stopped her. "What are you doing? You could get hurt!" "But you fight." "Because I'm used to it." "What do you mean?" Sunny turned away to leave. "Nothing. You shouldn't be getting into fights, okay? That's not like you." Blitz grabbed her hand. "I'll get into fights for my friend." Sunny turned around and asked what she meant. "They were after you, not me. I heard they were going to jump you and hurt you. I didn't want you to get hurt." Sunny was confused. "We're not friends." Blitz smiled. "Sure we are." She pulled her arm away. "No. We're not. Why do you think that? You weirdo!" "You help me." "No, I didn't." "You gave me advice, tried to help me, and beat up those older kids who were bullying me. You were protecting me. That's what friends do." Sunny sneer "Well, you're wrong." "So, you don't care about me?" Sunny didn't answer. "You don't, then why are you here? Worried about me getting hurt? You could have walked away and not cared. So, you do care about me or what?" "I don't," blushed Sunny, looking away. "You do." Blitz smiled. Sunny blushed more. "Do not." "You do." "Do not!" "You do!" "Don't." "Do!" Blitz held her hands and put a stupid grin on her face as Sunny blushed. "Someone told me a lesson about helping others. I want to help those who can't help themselves. Because if I were in your shoes, I would need someone to help me. That's my fighting spirit! The spirit of someone who doesn't care about the odds or anything; they fight because they want to, but also to help those in need. I want to help you, no matter the cost, no matter the pain or sacrifice. If that makes me an idiot, then I'm a big freaking idiot! Just like Flash!" Sunny could see how serious and truthful she was, but she pulled her hands away from Blitz and stepped far back. "Yeah, you're an idiot, alright. I don't need protection, and I don't need help." "Sure you do." "Do not!" "Do too!" "Do not!" "Do too!" "You're not helping!" shouted Sunny, her face red. "Heat taught me that it's okay to ask for help. She opened my eyes and let me see that I wasn't alone and that she and the others would always be with me, no matter the odds or the situation; they'd always be there for me. So, you aren't alone in all this. Just ask for help, and you'll see. It may not change everything, but you'll feel better and be stronger for it. Remember that." Blitz walked up to her, reaching out her hand. "It's okay. I'm here for you. Even if you don't see me as a friend, I'll always be here for you. Even if no one else will be." She smiled and said, "You'll never be alone. Never." Sunny didn't know how to handle it. She didn't want to cry in front of her, even if Blitz was acting nice and caring, even if it was annoying and stupid. "If you're not my friend, then what am I?" "A pain in my ass," replied Sunny, turning away and leaving. Blitz chuckled and left the other way, but heard crying and turned back. Saw Sunny standing there, looking back at her. "Sunny?" "I don't need your pity." She started to walk away. "Just leave me alone," but before she could leave, she felt Blitz arms around her. "I'll always be here for you." Blitz smiled. Sunny blushed and pushed her away, running off. The next day, Blitz finally had money for lunch, as Sunny didn't ask her today. She could finally try this school food. She sat down at a table all alone, like always, ready to dig in, but someone sat next to her. It was Sunny. Sunny blushed and said, "What's up?" Blitz, smile, and reply, "Nothing much. Just having lunch." "Okay." She took a deep breath and said, "Thanks." Blitz didn't know what she meant and was going to ask, but Sunny didn't want her either. "For what?" "Being there for me." "You're welcome. Want some of my lunch?" "Sure." Blitz was surprised but glad and shared her lunch with Sunny. They both ate together and laughed. After school, they hung out at the park, and they sat on a swing while Sunny was playing with her feet. "Why are you doing this?" "Doing what?" "All this. Being nice and friendly. No one likes a friendly person. That's just asking to be beat up. What's the catch?" "No catch." "I find that hard to believe. So, why?" "Because you need a friend." Sunny sneered, got off the swing, and started to walk away. "I see something in you too." "Yeah? What?" Blitz asked her to stand over there, and she did. "I see a beautiful sunset in you. You're so colorful and warm." Blitz smiled as Sunny was standing in front of the setting sun, the wind blowing her orange and red hair, and crying as her cheeks were red as the setting sun. "I'm happy I met you. Meeting such a warm and beautiful girl just makes me happy." Sunny wipes her tears. "You're such a weirdo. You really are." but her blushed never left. "So, you want to hang out more?" "Only if..." Sunny turned around and looked at the sunset. "You call me Sunset from now on. I like it." "Okay, Sunset." Blitz smiled. Sunset blushed, and they went over to the swing and started playing on them. "Sunset started to chill out when she was around Blitz, to the point she became laid back and relaxed. She stopped being a troublemaker and became a kind, sweet girl like you see in front of you." Rachel sighed "That Blitz, darling, sweeping that girl off her feet like that and still haven't noticed she loves her. It was a real shame Blitz fell in love with Lucy; I really wanted Sunset to be the one. Oh well. I guess it's not meant to be. Fate, one can say." Twilight looked at Blitz and Blink but didn't see anyone. She thought maybe she would see Heat or Flash standing there, but nope, no one but a rainbow blanket girl... "Wait, what?" She could see the blanket girl behind Blitz and Sunset, but stopped and looked at a puffy rainbow jacket and touched it. "Who is that?" thought Twilight, but when she blinks again, she is gone. "Everything okay, Twilight, darling?" asked Rachel, noticing how Twilight was looking weird. Twi shook her head, saying she's okay and just saw something, but her eyes were playing tricks on her. Blitz and the rest of the girls exited the store, waved goodbye to Rachel, and headed to the mall, leaving Rachel alone and watching Twilight get stares since she is so tall. She sighed, took out her phone, and dialed a number. The phone rang until someone picked up the other end. "AJ? It's me. Listen, Blitz is in real trouble and needs our help. Get Penny, and I'll get Faith, and let's meet up at the bar right now. I need to tell you what's going on." Inside the mall, Blitz and everyone waited in the food court for an hour, making Blitz look at her phone. "Where is everyone?" asked Blitz. "They'll be here," replied Sunset, looking at her phone. "Maybe they got caught up in something?" asked Twilight. "Possibly." Blitz, mumble, and drip in her chair, but she heard her phone text going off and read it, groaning in annoyance. "Who is it?" asked Braver, looking over. Blitz tossed the phone on the table. "Everyone in the group chat. They're busy with stuff. Even Lucy is busy helping her folks with the up-coming church fair. Sunset joined in that annoyance. "Damn guys..." she turned to Blitz. "Now what?" Blitz got up and turned to a long green-haired girl who's wearing a brown shirt, blue jeans, and a flip-flop. "Least Wallflower came!". The rest of the group got spook as they could see a girl sitting with them and was wondering where she came from. "Christ, Wallflower. You need to stop doing that." laughs Sunset, feeling like she's getting a heart attack. "I swear you're a freaking ninja in how well you hide your presence." Wallflower chuckled, "Sorry, didn't mean too. I just got here, and even then..." she looked over to Blitz and smiled with a blush. "Blitz can always tell I'm always here." Sunset noticed the blush and said whatever, not liking how most of their friend group likes Blitz. "I liked her first than anyone else," she whispered. "So what's wrong? You sounded worried in the group chat and wanting to explain in person." Wallflower asked, concerned. Blitz was going to answer her question and head to their spot, but her phone went off, and she saw a number and went pale as she answered it. Everyone watched her nodding and shouting, 'What!?' and saying they'd be there soon and hanging up. "Who was it?" asked Sunset. Blitz faced them, and then at Twilight, saying, "Dash got fired and is in jail." Tempest returned with everyone in the meeting room and sighed as she and the rest of her friends looked at the chaos behind them. "Nice hat!" shouted JA as she and AJ were wrestling with each other while Starlight pulled them apart with her magic. "Rock candy?" asked Pinkie's counterpart to Flutterheart, but Pinkie slapped it out of her hoof, saying, "That prank is too mean, Quartz Rockie Pie!" Both started to yell at each other about what true laughter means to them. They turned and could see Fluttershy calming her counterpart down as her other self whispered, "War...what is it good for?" She rose, hooves in the air, "EVERYTHING! War is like a GAME of chess! WITH GUTS ON TOP OF IT!" Fluttershy tried harder to calm her down. "Please, Flutterwar! Calm down; you aren't in the war right now!" "But we need war!" She turned around and saw Fluttershy and smiled, "Shy! Are you a war horse too!?" Fluttershy was going to answer, but Flutterheart flew into the air and shouted, "Wars and battles and fighting and killing and destruction are the best things in life, and if you don't like them, you are a pussy; you hear me, a pussy!" then she drop down, breaking down and crying. They looked over to Rarity, who's wearing a biohazard suit, while her counterpart is standing next to her, coughing all over her. "Clarity. Please, darling, can you cough somewhere else?" "Oh, sorry. I guess my sickness is contagious." Charity turned to Flutterheart and said, "I'm badly sick; can you give me money? Or take care of me." Rarity pushed Clarity away from the princess and shouted, "Stop that! Stop asking for things!" Flutterheart turned to Tempest, asking what's going on, but Cozy just said, "We're so fucking boned." Suddenly the door slammed open, and Ember walked in and shouted, "Good! Everyone is here! We can get going." "We?" asked everyone, while Flutterheart smiled nervously. Ember had a big smile on her face. "I'm coming too!" "I take that back." Cozy poke Tempest side "We're super fucking boned now." Tempest eyes simply twitched as Ember walked over, giving her a thumbs up, while the fighting behind her started up again. End of Ch16 > Chapter 17: Kindness Comes In Different Shapes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "SHUT UP!" Tempest shouted as she faced the group behind her, seeing them shutting up and looking at her. They were quiet. Well, Clarity was still coughing her lungs out. "You shouldn't be fighting! We have a giant problem right now, like I told  you."She jumped off the table and pointed to Flutterheart. "The Crystal Empire is in flames, and her parents have been turned into fire demons by Sunset, who has also been turned, thanks to that pony-looking human." Everyone jumped off the table and sat in the chairs. "When you mean pony-looking humans, you mean like Blitz and her parents?" asked AJ, kicking JA out of her chair and sitting. "Yes, just like them, but more like Twilah, as if that mare were a unicorn." Tempest answered and could hear the others whisper to each other, "Now I think about it. She really did looked like Twilight." Twilight friends looked at each other and asked her what she meant, and she explained to them how this mare looked, having the same hair style as Twilight but also having a black star of Twilight's cutie mark on her shirt. Ember was wondering if that was the same creature she saw fighting with the white one, but she didn't really get a good look at them to confirm it. That's when AJ spoke: "Cozy, didn't you say that Discord told you that an evil Alicorn was meant to appear and force Twilight to remove magic from the world?" Everyone in the room who wasn't there for that, started whispering what she meant by that: Twilight sealing away magic. "Yeah, he did, but the way he made it sound, it was like it was more into the far future than right now, but I could be wrong." JA kicked AJ out of the chair and sat down. "Well, if this Alicorn is the same one as this unicorn human and is a problem, and Twilight is the solution, then..." JA pointed it out. "Then the sooner Princess Twilight is brought back here, the better." Tempest sighed, knowing that wouldn't happen sooner, like she hopes, "But she isn't here, and the best chance we have is with Twilah, but she's gone into that pocket universe." She looked over to Cozy, but Cozy shrugged. "Hey, I took a chance with that spell when I used it on Celestia. She could have died, from all I know. I never tested it on living beings." Luna stood up. "YOU WHAT!?" Cozy looked away. "I'm sorry, but hey, at least Celestia didn't die or worse." "Worse?" Luna asked, but didn't want to know, and sat back down. "I'm not using that spell on anyone here, and we can try sending a message, but from what Celestia told me, she was dropped off in the middle of nowhere and wasn't for...wait." Cozy realized something. "Celestia told me she found a human with rainbow hair in that place and showed her the way to Twilah House. Can that human be connected in some way with that pony looking human?" "I'm sure we'll find out." Starlight stated, crossing her arms. "But if Twilah isn't here, who's in charge right now?" asked Clarity, leaning back and coughing. Everyone looked like Princess Flutterheart and Ember, but Tempest teleported in front of them. "I am. Princess Flutterheart is still young and has no experience being a leader in battle, and Ember...no offense, Ember, you're a good dragon, but you don't have leadership qualities in battle. For dragon fights, sure but this is different." Ember nodded in agreement. "Fair but I-" Tempest turned to the others without letting Ember finish. "I helped the Storm King invade many places, and most of that was me being the leader." She sat back down and used her magic to create a magical image of the Crystal Empire. "Sunset, or known as Sunfall now, can infect ponies with her dark magic, which can turn anyone into a fire demon and be under her control. We can't send an army in, and with things as they are right now, we can't even send an army if we even wanted to. Which is why we're going alone. If we sneak inside and recover the crystal heart, it might undo the damage." Ember tried to speak, but Flutterwar stood up and said, "No, the only way we'll beat Sunfall is through war and bloodshed." "What!?" Tempest shout, not liking the idea "Do you know what you are saying!?" Flutterwar pointed a hoof at Tempest and said, "And I'll keep saying it till everyone else is saying it." "This isn't war, and no bloodshed!" shouted Tempest, rising up. "This is a rescue mission for Dashie, getting the crystal heart, and undoing the magic. Then finally getting that mirror and allowing us to reach Princess Twilight, Braver, and the others. No one needs to die!" Flutterwar jumped on the table, while Fluttershy followed her and tried to pull her back but couldn't. "Listen here! We must destroy them all! Kill the enemy! For Equestria and for our love, we must fight! And if we must kill those who are under Sunfall's control, so be it. Everyone dies in war; it's fate! Fate is the reason why we're born and why we'll die! Killing those under the spell is just kindness! MERCY KILLING IS THE ONLY KINDNESS IN THE WORLD!" Tempest slammed her hooves on the table, glaring at Flutterwar and saying, "No. This is my decision, and no one will argue with me. This isn't your universe! We don't start wars and start killing! We save those who are under that spell." Flutterwar stared Tempest down, then smirked, knowing this wasn't her universe but also knowing that if Tempest had her way, they'd die trying. So, she decided to make her own move. She walked to Tempest and asked, "If you can't do this, then I'll go on ahead." "Huh?" Tempest was confused and backed away. Flutterheart took out a war helmet and started to speak as she pointed to the magical image of the Empire. "Listen, you damn hippies, the enemy has taken over this city and will be swarming with nothing but enemies! We can't send an army, and if we did, we'd fail anyone with how soft these ponies are. So we're going in small groups of two around the city! While a main group, which will be heavy hitters like Ember here, takes the front and draws their attention, The smaller teams will move in and take back the heart, and at the same time, they will look for Dashie, who is more important than some stupid rock. We must not fail. Failure will lead to death, and death is what will come. If we must kill those under the spell, then so be it; we must be merciful and end their pain. The only kindness that can be done is to put them out of their misery. If any of you can't handle that, leave, or I'll put you down myself." Tempest had no words. This plan is so perfect, like it came from a well-trained general. Heck, it's something she might even think of, but only one thing is. "No killing!" shouted Fluttershy, walking up to Flutterwar. "We don't kill! That isn't what kindness is! Ending a life isn't kindness! It's just wrong! We can't just kill them. That isn't right!" "She's right!" shouted Clarity, getting up and coughing. "We must save lives, not end them!" Flutterwar got all up in Shy face, looking at her with her bloodshot eyes. "That is kindness! Killing those under the spell is the only act of true kindness you can do. Death is the only kindness! Only in death do you have true freedom." "Killing isn't kindness! It's murder, and it's wrong!" Fluttershy shouted as she got up in Flutterwar's face, "There's other kindness in the world!" "THIS IS THE KINDNESS I SEEN AND EXPERIENCE!" shouted Flutterwar, pushing Fluttershy. "Death is the only kindness in this world. We're all going to die anyway, so what's the difference!? Killing is the only kindness that can be done! Freeing those from the harsh life is the only way we can be kind." Flutterwar started to break down, saying how she had to free her war mates as they were badly wounded and seeing how bad war truly is. Fluttershy could only help her off the table and let her cry on her shoulder as they sat in the corner. Tempest cough, getting everyone's attention: "Flutterwar plan is perfect, and we should do it, but no killing. I don't have to remind everyone of this because we all know better. Right?" Everyone nodded. "Good, now Tirek and Cozy will be backing up Ember as our heavy hitters and take the front and draw Sunfall and her forces attention, while the others move in from different points, mostly made of two, and join together inside the castle and outside of it. The Crystal Heart should still be at the bottom pillar near the castle, and Dashie must be within the castle and trying to reach the mirror in the underground vault. Getting the crystal heart to undo the spell and get Dashie is our top priority." Everyone was agreeing and nodding. "We're leaving now." She turned to Flutterheart. "When Twilah returns, tell her what's happening. Her joining us will be a great aid." Flutterheart nodded, making Tempest turn to the others, but JA raised her hoof, smacking AJ. "So, who's teaming up with who? Because I'm not joining this sour apple here." "I don't want to be on her team either." AJ added. Tempest sighed as the group started to fight again, while her friends and Starlight walked over to her. "I feel we shouldn't let them team up with their counterparts. I sense no love there," stated Chrysalis, while Luna agreed with her. Tirek rubbed his beard, saying, "I feel we should. Maybe talking and working with each other under pressure will be a good bonding experience." "He has a point." Starlight pointed out, "They need to work together and understand that they're not so different after all. Even learning from each other." Tempest looked back at the fighting and sighed loudly. She knew she was going to regret this. The gateway closed, and Twilah found herself in her house that she made within the pocket universe, and just as Spike said, she could hear chanting outside the house. She got closer to the window, seeing that Spike had made a wall between them and the rioting Canterlot citizens. She could hear them shouting to free them and trying to climb over the wall, but Spike shocked them off. "Spike, what's the danger level if I get out there?" Spike, as a hologram, appeared near her and answered her question. "The danger level is too high to step outside, not until I deal with these mares and stallions who have weapons. They have been rioting since yesterday, saying how they have been imprisoned. I've been trying to tell them that they are not prisoners and will be free when the danger with the black water is over. They are just not listening and are acting like, well, animals." Twilah nodded and opened the door, shocking Spike, as all his programs to protect his creator turned on at once. Showing a ton of red warning screens around his face and body. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" he asked as he tried to stop her. "Spike, they're scared, and if they see a familiar face, they'll calm down. Plus, the city you made..." She looked out and could see the house is surrounded by city apartment buildings, and checking her watch, inside those buildings were like modern-day apartments, not like in Equestria homes. "They had never seen anything inside like that before. They don't have TVs, kitchen appliances, washing machines, or any of the modern stuff, so I'm sure they're scared. They're fish out of water. Let me talk to them and see what's wrong." "You'll be killed." Spike replied, but Twilah just smiled. "Then I'll be dead." She walked out the door and saw the gate open, seeing a rioters. There were tons of different ponies and other creatures, all holding weapons, their crying children, family members, or the wounded. They all stormed in, but all stopped as they saw Twilah, or in this case, their princess, Twilight. "My princess, you've got to save us from this weird place!" said one, walking forward and holding his wife. "Nothing but whiteness as far as the eyes can see! No sky or wind! NOTHING!" "What he means," the wife said, "is that everything is white and scary. There's no tree or animal. Just us and the white. Well, and these weird buildings and what's inside them." Twilah nodded and walked into the middle of the group, checking on a hurt dragon girl. "Yes, the whiteness is because this is a pocket universe, an infinite space that can hold anything. I thought I created it, but no, it already existed." She could hear everyone whispering about her finding this place, and some were upset. "So you sent us into this hell hole without asking!?" "That's a horrible thing to do! You should have asked first!" "I'm so telling Celestia when we get out here!" Twilah pressed a button on her watch, and soon, a swarm of nanomachine came shooting out of the house, landed near Twilah, and became a white ambulances. Coming out were faceless androids, talking out an EMS stretcher but spooking them all, as they had never seen a human-looking android before. Some were taking battle positions, but Twilah stood in the way. "No, no. These are my medical droids, and this is their ambulance, and they're here to help the injured. Now, please, allow them to do their job." A few ponies were reluctant, but they did allow them to walk forward and care the injured. "I'll answer any question you guys have later." She could hear them whispering and complaining, but she ignored them and continued. "For now, listen to me. Outside, in Equestria, there is a black water-like substance. It can't be harmed by normal magic and is dangerous to touch. It can't be removed right now, and we're afraid it might spread, but we're working on it. For now, I'm asking for all of you to stay here. Where's it safe? My AI, the one who's been talking to you since you got here, made this city for you to live in for now, and he will protect you. Now, please lower your weapons, or he won't help you." Everyone started to talk among themselves, like, What's an AI and why did their princess make this place, and why is she normal size again? Many started to calm down and trust Twilah, but there were a few who didn't and were angry, raising their weapons. "No! I don't believe you!" shouted one pony, a stallion who had a bat. "This place is horrible, and these androids are freaky! We should go back and help our loved ones!" "Yeah! My kids are still out there!" shouted another pony, a mother. "And I'll do anything to get back to them!" "Same!" "Me too!" "I agree! We must save our children and family! Not be here, and let them be scared without us!" Soon, many were agreeing and shouting, and Twilah knew there was nothing she could say. She pressed a button, and the nanomachines came out and became cop vans, and coming out were black-gear androids holding riot shields. They formed a line around Twilah and slowly pushed the folks back, shouting to lower their weapons. "Listen! Please listen!" Twilah begged, "The world is a very dangerous place right now. You'll die out there! Please put your trust in me. I can help." "No, you can't!" shouted one, while others were shouting about how useless she is. "Please, trust me. I'll figure this out," she begged. "How!? You're useless and can't even beat some water?! You can't save us! Celestia could, but you can't." "Yeah, we would rather be out there than in here! Let us out! I'll take my chances!" "Please, please don't do this." Twilah begged, "I don't want anyone to die." She could see the rioters started pushing back against the droid cops, but everyone stopped as those that were on Twilah side step between them and leading them were no one else but Sassy Saddles. "You're going to be alright. I know this place is weird and scary, but the princess will find a way to save us. She's been working hard, and I believe in her. And you should too." Twilah knows this pony; as she dropped off some clothes a few days ago, the fashion pony, who is very close to Rarity. Soon, more joined her, saying the same thing and giving Twilah a chance. Twilah was moved, and she could only smile. "Thank you; I'll save everyone. I promise." Sassy could only smile and give a nod, as she knew this was Blitz mother, not really Twilight. "See, she'll figure it out." More and more shouted the same thing, even from the apartment buildings, as many opened their windows and believed their princess. Soon, the riots started to die down, and Twilah could call back the riot droids into their van. She walked up to the hurt and created more ambulances, while the wounded were taken into the hospitals that were made as this was all happening. Twilah told everyone to go back to their homes and turn on the box with the screen on it. She will be making a speech in a hour. She walked back to her house and walked in, shutting the door and leaning against the wall as tears came out. "You were great, 'princess'." Spike commented. "No...I wasn't. Twilight could have easily handed this better, not me. If Sassy wasn't here..." "No, you were, and don't believe otherwise. You handled the situation, and I'm proud." "Thanks." She smiled and looked at the watch. "Spike, can you do something for me?" "Anything, 'princess'." "Can you scan this black water for me? I believe it's not magic, but  maybe." Twilah took out a small, sealed box and opened it, revealing the black water in a glass container. The AI scanned it and confirmed what Twilah thought. "It's not magic. There's no mana signs at all, but I'm picking up something." Twilah checked the reading and saw it. Just as she thought. "It's almost the same reading as..." whispered Twilah, looking outside. "As this universe..." The Crystal Empire was in flames and black smoke. A ton of flying demon ponies flew past in the air, letting out an ear-piercing scream as they flew by. There were no living souls out in the burned streets, no life other than the once crystal ponies turned demons. Dashie hid in a ruin house as her burns were being healed by the element that was inside of her. She remembered how Sky's wounds would be healed by the same element and was kind of glad she had it now because if she didn't, half of her entire body would had been burned beyond badly. "This was a bad idea." Dashie whispered, remembering taking on Armor and his wife. "A very bad idea." She peeked out the window and saw Sunfall demon ponies everywhere, searching for and turning any living things. She needed to get to the crystal heart and use it. She had Dash memories and saw the heart being powered by hope and protecting the empire from evil. If she could pour enough hope into it, it could undo the curse and turn the crystal ponies back to normal, along with Sunset and the others. She was thinking about her next move, but she could hear a voice behind her. "You can't escape fate, Dashie." Dashie quickly turned around and saw a blast of fire hitting her and tossing her out of the ruin house, covered in flames and landing on the hard ground, rolling to put the flames out. She could barely move, and her burns were hurting. Even with her element healing her, the pain was too much to bear. She tried to get up but fell down; her body was weak, and she was tired. She looked up and could see Sunfall walking out of the flaming home and smiling. "My master told us about your story. How it was meant to go." She kneeled down and pulled Dashie by the hair. "You were never met to be here. Having that foolish daughter. Your daughter should have died that day. She should had died being a monster by killing herself." Dashie gritted her teeth in rage, not letting Sunfall insult her daughter. "Because of your daughter and her sisters. They changed so many stories in the multiverse and the time verse. My master isn't happy. She wants all and every story to follow a set path. A path that she wants." "What the heck are you talking about?" Sunfall laughed and let her go. She rose up and, with her claw hand pointing at her, unleashed a stream of blazing fire. Dashie rolled away, dodged it, and got up, ready to fight. "I'll explain this in simple words, since you're dumb." "Hey, you don't insult my intelligence!" "Oh, then you can't be that dumb, can you?" Dashie glared at her and was getting pissed off. "Let me explain this, like I said, in simple words. My master wants everything to go in her vision and reach that path end." She rose her hands into the air and said, "The End. Everything. No more multiverse, no more alt timelines. She can finally shut her library down for good." She pointed at her now. "But as long as 'her' daughter is fighting fate, the endless cycle of endless stories will continue." "Wait, you mean my kid?" Sunfall shook her head. "Blitz? No, her forced story is coming to an end soon. You and this universe aren't in the same time flow. For her, it's been almost a week. She's fighting my master's first prototype of her 'saviors', Rainbow Sun Dawn, and will lose. Finally ending her forced story, along with her sister." "No, that won't happen!" "Oh, really? Because she is fighting for her life as we speak." Sunfall laughed, "And you can't stop it. Just like you can't stop me." She unleashed a massive amount of fire, engulfing the area. "No! No!" screamed Dashie, and she jumped out. When the fire was gone, Sunfall looked and saw that Dashie was gone, but she knew where she was going. Just as planned. She walked away, and her minions were coming in and surrounding her. "She's heading for the mirror. I'll meet her there. The others are coming. Get every demon ready." The demons nodded and headed off. She opened her bat wings and soar off to the castle and to meet Dashie at the vault, where the mirror is still at. As she entered the castle, a bright flash could be seen, and Ember, Cozy in her cursed magical form, and Tirek appeared in the middle of the city. "HEY! EVIL LOVE BIRDS! We heard what was happening, and we're here to stop you!" shouted Cozy as her voice reached the whole city. Ember and Tirek groaned in annoyance. "She's so loud for a short pegasus," said Ember, covering her ears. "Agree. Also very annoying brat sometimes. So little, but yet, filled with so much rage." Cozy turned to them, his eyes blazing with rage. "Hey! I'M RIGHT HERE!" "We know," smirked Tirek. Tirek and Cozy were fighting as Armor and his wife landed in front of them. They stopped fighting and faced the two flame demons of the once-princess and prince rulers of the empire. "Well, look who we have here," smiled Armor as his eyes glowed a deep blue flame. "A dragon lord and two former villains are at our doorstep. I see our daughter sent the most useless form of help." teased his wife as her own eyes glowed pink. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S USELESS!" roared Cozy, about to charge off, but Tirek held her back and spoke while Cozy was swinging her arms, "Give up. We can save you; let us help you." "Oh, so noble," laughed Armor. "But you can't help us. We're free and powerful. We won't give it up." "It's not worth the power. This is a curse." Tirek said with a sad face, "Don't be monst-ouch!" he shouted as Cozy bit him, making him let go and dropping her. "Screw the "we'll save you" bull. I'm kicking their ass!" and she charged off. "That girl is insane," sighed Armor as he created a blazing shield and sword. "So eager to die first. But it will be over soon." Ember and Tirek could only look on as Armor charged off towards Cozy while they charged towards Cadance. "Let's kill her first and be done with it. Her screaming will be the first of many," he laughed as his wife flew off. Armor was a fast flyer thanks to his magic and cut Cozy down, his sword slashing her and tossing her into a building. Armor flew by the building and saw Cozy crash into the roof, the building exploding and burning by his magic. He smiled and continued to search for her to make sure she was dead. Cozy slowly came out, her magical form saving her and healing her, her body glowing. She growled as her body glowed bright red and became somewhat twisted. She blasted out of the house and punched Armor's blazing shield, sending him flying away. "Dear!" shouted Cadance as she watched her husband being sent flying, but she quickly paid attention to her fight with Tirek and Ember. She unleashed a stream of pink flame, and the two split apart. She then summoned a flaming tornado and tossed it at Tirek and Ember. They dodged it, and Tirek leapt into the air and came down on her with his giant fist, but he quickly pulled back as his fist was burned by her flaming pink barrier. "You will never stop us. The master will win, and you will fail!" "No, we won't! We will beat you and save you and your kingdom," said Ember, firing fireballs. "We will not be saved." She fired pink balls of flame, and both fireballs clashed midair, creating a large explosion. In the distant part of the city, each group got into the city. AJ and her friends were with their counterparts, while Tempest was with Chrysalis, Luna, and Starlight. They all started to head towards the castle, and the Mane 4 were fighting with their counterpart. "Keep your head down, soldier! We're in deep enemy territory, and I will not have you die on me!" very loudly shouted Flutterwar to Fluttershy as they ran building to building, dodging demon guards. "Please, quiet down. They might hear us," whimpered Fluttershy as they tried their best to stay hidden and not be seen by the demon ponies. Flutterwar did a tactical roll and started to loudly hum her battle theme, crawling behind the demon ponies like they hadn't even noticed her, leaving Fluttershy in shock. "HOW ARE THEY NOT HEARING THAT!?" whispered Fluttershy to herself, and Flutterwar was waving at her to come over, giving the all-clear signal. Fluttershy nervously ran over to her, and the two hid in a ruin shop and duck under the window shop, looking around for any more demons. "We should be reaching the castle soon, but..." Fluttershy heard War stop talking and turned to her, seeing her slowly reaching out to a demon pony standing guard near the shop window, ready to twist her neck. "NO!" screamed Shy, tackling War to the ground, alerting the demons in front of them. War slowly glared at Shy, making her smile. "Ooops." "You stupid, stupid, stupid, IDIOT! I could have had her and given us a way through; now look at what you did!" She pointed, and Shy saw a demon pegasus flying off and calling the others, getting more of the demons to arrive here. War stood up, with her crazed eyes and smile, and spoke, "Let them bring more! I fought in a war when I was a filly! I always come out on top and covered in scars! COME YOU MAGGOTS! LET ME SHOW YOU THE KINDNESS OF DEATH!" Shy was terrified by her and how she was enjoying this. Soon, many more arrived—a large army of them. War rose her hooves up, ready to fight them all. "COME AT ME, YOU MAGGOTS! I WANT TO FEEL YOUR BLOOD ON MY FLANK!" The demon ponies rushed to her, screaming like banshees, while Flutterwar laughed and screamed as well, charging off to them, but was pulled away by her tail by Shy as she flew away, as she knew they couldn't take them all on. "PRIVATE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE'RE NOT TACTICAL RETREATING! GET BACK TO THE ACTION!" Shy flew to the nearest house and tossed War inside, flying in herself, shutting the window, and barricading it. "We need to hide; we can't fight all of them," whispered Shy, covering War's mouth and hearing the demons running by, not noticing them. War pulled her hoof away, annoyed. "We can fight them all. If we die here, it's on you, Private." "I'm sorry, but we couldn't have won." She watched War walk to a corner and sit down. "War, I keep telling you, we don't need to kill ponies! There is no kindness in that. Why do you keep thinking that!?" She asked, wanting to know why. War sighed and turned to her. "I hate looking at you. you know? It's like looking at a younger version of me. So much younger, not having to experience war or death." War started to break down again, and tears filled her eyes. "I was only a filly, drafted into a pointless war. I learned so many things—so many awful things. You show enemy kindness in their last moments and make them see that death is not bad and to accept it. When your life flashes before your eyes, it's like the world goes in slow motion, and the only thing you want is peace. I made a vow to never see death as a horrible thing. It's kindness—my kindness, reminding me I'm not a monster." Shy didn't say a word, not wanting to ruin this moment. "I want to give these demon ponies that after we fight them and kill them. I want them to feel my kindness and die peacefully, not being forced into a battle they never wanted. Like me..." Many years ago I was born in the Kingdom of Day to a carefree family and lived a wonderful childhood, playing with my younger sibling, being taught by my parents, and having fun. My life was good until the age of 8, when they came knocking... "NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE MY DAUGHTER! SHE'S JUST A KID!" cried Flutterwar's mother, as a guard held her back as the rest of the guards tore the house upside down, looking for her. "Your daughter signed up for the military, miss. She's a soldier now." "NO! I'll never see her again!" "Ma'am, you must calm down." "SHE'S TOO YOUNG TO FIGHT IN A WAR! She will never sign anything like that! HONEY RUN WITH FLUTTERWONDER!" screamed her mother. As she, her brother, and her father were in the basement, he locked the door and pulled back the board, revealing a hole in the basement wall. He gave his son a saddle bag and told him to be brave and stay with his big sister. He then turned to Flutterwonder, giving her a saddle bag and telling her to take care of her little brother and that they would meet up with them later, before pushing them inside the hole, replacing the board, and blocking it up. Flutterwonder started to cry as she ran with her brother in the tunnel. As they went deeper, they could hear their father yelling in pain. They kept going and made it to the outside. The tunnel exited towards a back ally, and they kept running and hiding from the royal guards, trying to get to a train station. They had just reached and sneak their way into the train station and were about to get on a parting train, but the guards tackled her as they spotted her, stopping her, but Flutterwonder could see her brother on board the train, crying and screaming her name. "RUN AWAY! KEEP GOING! BE A BRAVE COLT!" She shouted and was being dragged away, seeing her brother getting further on the train and further away and out of her life. War was back in the present, and I could see Shy still waiting for her to continue. "I was a good soldier. I learned to kill and not show mercy, no matter the situation...but I couldn't. I couldn't be not kind and show them sweet kindness of mercy killing. I did everything to survive and get home...to no one. My parents told me stories of the war when I was very young, including how many died and how the war was pointless, so I did what I was told. I killed. Became a monster, a weapon. I was sent on mission after mission over the years, fighting the enemy and taking over pro-Luna towns with my squad mates. I grew up to be cold and harsh, nothing like my old self." "What happens next?" asked Shy, curious. "I raised the ranks and became a captain, and a captain has to go on more dangerous missions, like capturing important figureheads or leaders." War's eyes darkened, and Shy felt scared by her. She didn't move and watched as she continued her story. We were charged with capturing a protest leader who was causing trouble for the kingdom, and we surrounded the protesters base, a farm house. I ordered my men to charge in. My men stormed the house, as I followed. "ALL OF YOU UNDER ARREST!" shouted Flutterwonder. "DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER!" "NO!" a mare screamed and jumped up from the couch and fired her magic with her horn, hitting one of the soldiers but holding a magical shield. Blocking it. Soon, chaos erupted as the other protesters charged in, attacking her soldiers. "SHOOT TO KILL!" she ordered, her unicorn soldiers blasting off their magic, hitting the protesters, and killing many. "Remember, capture the target and don't kill them! The princess wants them alive!" "YES, MA'AM!" her soldiers shouted, and the battle raged on. (It wasn't a long battle. We didn't even lose anyone; it was a freaking one-sided fight. The protesters had no weapons, and the magic their unicorns knew wasn't high enough to hurt us. We captured our target, brought them back to HQ, and I was given a promotion. I was now a general for all the battles and missions I won, leading a full army of my own, but the princess summoned me to her throne room.) Flutterwonder entered the throne room and bowed to Celestia. "My princess!" "Flutterwonder. You've been doing an amazing job, and I have a mission for you." She stood up. "What's the mission, my princess? What needs killing?" "This mission is for you only. Come." Celestia got off her throne and led Flutterwonder to the underground part of the castle and entered the prison, heading for a cell, where a lone figure sat, tied to a chair and wearing a bag over their head and covered in blood, clearly beaten. "I want you to kill him." "Him? Why? Who is he?" "He is the leader of the protester group you dealt with; that is all you need to know. I want him dead and-" She turned to a young mare guard, went back to her, and whispered, "I want no witnesses." "Yes ma'am." She bowed, turned to her prisoner, entering the cell, and removed the bag. The stallion was bruised, his left eye swollen, and he had a busted lip, a bloody nose, and a black right eye. "C-can't be," whispered Flutterwonder as she stood there in shock as Celestia spoke in a dark tone. "Do it. Kill him now. Prove your worth to me. Show me your kindness, which I heard so much about, or you too will be killed." Sitting in front of her was her younger brother. Flutterwonder was shocked, and as her brother slowly looked up at her, crying, he finally got to see her again. "Kindness?" whispered Flutterwonder as she rose hooves to his neck. "Yes, kindness. My only kindness I have left." She grabbed his neck. "Death is the only kindness! Only in death do you have true freedom, my sweet brother." "STOP!" cried Fluttershy, as she couldn't bear to listen anymore. The image of herself snapping the neck of her brother was too much for her to handle. War sighed and turned to her. "That's my story. I did my job, was trusted, and..." "This is the greatest honor you could do for your kingdom, and to me, Flutterwonder, no." Celestia corrected herself, "Flutterwar. You'll be fused with the element of kindness and be the greatest soldier ever!" Celestia stepped back as she could see Flutterwar tied down, surrounded by unicorn mages, and one walked in, holding the stone orb of kindness. "Yes, my princess!" Flutterwar could see the orb glowing brightly as it got closer to her chest, blinding her, and feel her body being ripped apart and her mind burning away... "...died. I died not on the battlefield but in a testing lab. They gave me their kindness, and my story ended that day. I still think about that day, as I was drafted to be a weapon, like I felt that wasn't where my story was meant to go...but its fate. We're all pawns in a bigger picture, and no matter what, we can't escape what is in store for us. She looked up and could see Shy was in tears and had her hooves covering her face. "...But you? You still have a chance." "What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy through her tears. "I'm a monster. You're not. Don't end up like me. Keep that kindness in you. Spread that kindness to many and plant those wonderful sparks in others." War started to cry heavily. "Your kindness will save this world, Shy. Your kindness will save the ponies and creatures you love and will help them be better. Your kindness is the strongest, and it can beat anything in your way, even fate." she drop to her knees, take Shy hooves, and put them around her neck. "Even one such as myself." "I won't. You're not a monster; you're a victim of war. You did what you could to live." She smiled and wiped her tears away. "No. I'm not. I'm a monster, a weapon to kill. Please, set me free." She closed her eyes and smiled as she felt Fluttershy hooves shaking and holding her neck tight. "That's a girl. Remember, spread your kindness to those who need it the most. I have faith in you, Private. Make me proud and show the world you are a hero." War was silent, and she slowly opened her eyes and could see Fluttershy was crying heavily and shaking as she slowly hugged her and held her head tight. "You aren't a monster. You are worth living. Why? Why is there a world like yours?" asked Shy, as War was confused, and slowly patted her back. "What are you talking about?" "Your story—you didn't have a choice! You didn't get a happy ending. It's not fair." "I did have a happy ending. It was short, but I got to see my brother again in the end and spent the rest of my life remembering all the good things in my life before my story ended on that testing table. Don't cry for me. Don't waste your tears on me." Fluttershy held her closer and tighter, with great sadness in her voice. "It's not a waste! You aren't a waste! You remind me of Braver! Holding all that pain within her, thinking she doesn't deserve love, kindness, or friends, it hurts my heart to see her suffer because of her past." War was shocked, and her tears fell down her face and landed on Shy. "Shy...Braver does deserve a happy life. Her real mother was forced to be a weapon and when Sky killed her, she pass on her life to Braver, and Nightfall crazed father fused her with Blitz and the broken elements, us, the scatter memories of the real victims. I'm just a memory, a ghost of the past. Please, don't cry for me. A ghost. Nothing more." Shy lifted her head and shook her head. "No! You're not! You're a part of Braver and you are her, you are kindness." "...what?" whimper War, not understanding what Shy was saying "W-What do you...?" "I know who Braver is. She is the kindest mare I have ever met but I seen how crazed she can get when she fights, but even when she's like that, her kindness always bleeds through." War couldn't understand what she was saying...but in fact she was but didn't want to hear it, as Shy continued. "That kindness is you, isn't it? You keep her from becoming like you, don't you? You are Braver kindness made real." War started to cry heavily and nod. "Y-Yes. I am her kindness. That's what Blanket told me when she found me." "Who is Blanket?" War broke the hug and shook her head "That's classified. I can't say anymore but know this, she's the reason Braver and Blitz can be happy and live their lives. She is the real victim here in all this mess." Shy didn't press her for more and stood up. "I understand." she then took her hoof and helped War up. "We need to hurry! The others might be already at the castle!" Fluttershy hurry to the window and looked and it was clear to move out. "Shy, wait. One more thing." "Yes?" "When the time comes, and I have to return to Braver core, back to that place. Promise me something." She held her hooves on her chest and Shy eyes went wide as the first time ever, War looked truly happy and not craze or anything "Make sure to tell her and Blitz to let their past go and not to forget their true self. Don't let their spark burn away in that prison pf regret. It's like you said, it's not fair, she needs her happy ending too. Promise me, you'll make sure they find it, no matter the cost." "I promise." Fluttershy could see War smiling and closing her eyes and the air changed in the room, as War was gone and replaced with a different version of herself. No scars and no crazed look. Flutterwar was now wearing a long pink coat and a matching bandana. Deep down, Shy could feel like this was Flutterwar real story self, never dying in the Final Harmony project and living to meet... "...Rainbow Sky..." Flutterwar laughed at her new form, "A story where I met Sky and our fates changed for the better. That's the story I wish had happen." "Me too, Flutterwar." Whispered Shy as she was happy to see Flutterwar true form. War shook her head "Call me Flutterwonder. Now Let's go." she leap through the window and crawl on the ground and humming her theme song and once again, none of the demon ponies noticed her. She rolled to nearby building and waved at her to hurry. Shy sighed and followed but smiling, as she saw her grabbing a nearby demon but instead of twisting their neck, she put them in a sleep hold and hid them away. "No killing." whisper Flutterwonder. Shy nodded, glad she was keeping her promise and they hurried on, as Flutterwonder stopped her from stepping into the middle of the street, as a demon patrol came running, searching the area. "Hide." "I don't see anything, sir!" A demon soldier shouted, and his superior nodded and gave the order to move out. Once they left, they continued on and were at the castle wall. They could see Ember and the others still fighting Cadance and Armor. "It looks like we're the first ones here. Let's go inside and head to the basement. Dashie must be there. Let the others deal with looking for the heart." Flutterwonder was about to leap to the top but froze and looked down. "What's wrong?" asked Shy, as Flutterwonder was pale. "Blitz...Braver..." "Where?!" shouted Shy as she looked around but turned back to Flutterwonder, seeing her chest glowing and going dim. Her legs were disappearing. "What's happening!?" Flutterwonder looked at her and said, "One of them is dying..." On earth, Blitz and the others enter the police station and told the others to wait here, and she drops the clothing bags and goes to the front desk to get Dash out of jail. Sunset sat down, leaning back, and looked up at the ceiling, but remember something. She looked down and saw a large box that Blitz had on her when she left Rachel's office. It looked too small for Twi; maybe it was for Braver? She became very curious and opened the box and looked inside, but a hand held the box shut and made her look up, and she got spook by Wallflower again, who was holding the box as Blitz gave it to her. "Christ, you freaking ninja, stop doing that! How are you hiding your presence so well?" Sunset yelled, and Wallflower shrugged her shoulders. "I never stand out, I guess. Anyway, no touch." "I won't. I just wanted to see what was in the box; Blitz never said anything about it and left it here." Wallflower held the box to her chest. "It's for someone she really cares about. She did a ton of work to save enough money for this gift. You shouldn't be snooping around." "Ok, I get it. Sorry." She leaned back in her chair, upset, and crossed her arms. "It's for Lucy anyway, right? What is it?" "..." Wallflower was about to say something but looked away and held the box on her lap. "Don't be jealous." "Eh?" Sunset was shocked at her comment. "Blitz cares about her, yes, but that doesn't mean she doesn't cares about you," she started to blush, "or me. So, don't get jealous. Just be happy that she's happy." "You think I'm jealous?!" Sunset shouted, and Wallflower looked at her and stared into her eyes. Sunset was speechless. "I'm not jealous. I just..." she just groans and drips down in her chair, annoyed. "Whatever..." "Blitz loves you two!" said Braver as she and Twilight listened this whole time, making the girls blush. "Braver, hush," said Twilight, not wanting her daughter to start something. "But it's true, mom." She turned back to the girls. "Blitz loves you two a lot; she always talks about you girls. So, don't worry or be jealous, ok? I know you both love her, so-" "WE DON'T LOVE HER LIKE THAT!" shouted both girls, beet red, but they suddenly looked at each other and both sighed. Braver laughed, and soon coming back were Blitz and Dash, who were pretty beat up with a black eye and cut lip. Twilight quickly got up and went to her, picking her up like a puppy. "What happened to you!?" "The guy I was fighting was a bit stronger than me, but..." "Dash, we can talk about it later." Blitz smiled and picked up her bags and told everyone they're heading back to her place, but she turned to Dash, who was being carried like a baby by Twilight, who was still worried. "Mom will be proud of what you did, so don't worry. She can find another job." "Right," whispered Dash, blushing, not for what Blitz said but for how everyone in the streets kept looking at her. "Twi, please put me down. People are staring." "Oh, sorry." blushed Twi, letting her down. Back home, Braver headed to her room to put her clothes away, while Dash took Twi clothes to their room and got an ice pack from the bathroom. Blitz and Sunset went upstairs, as they wanted to hang on the second-floor balcony. Sunset leaned against the railing and watched the sun set. Blitz leaned against the wall, next to the door, and had her phone out. "Hey, can I ask you a question?" Sunset asked as she looked back, and Blitz put her phone down. "Yeah?" "Why did you want me to be friends? I wasn't a great person back then, and yet, you still reach out to me." "Because I didn't see the person you were, I saw the person you can be. When we first met, you were kind and caring, even though you hit me," laughed Blitz, rubbing her cheek, causing Sunset to cringe at her old self actions. "God, I'm sorry about that! I was going through some shit." "Sunny." Blitz walked closer and stood in front of her with a smile. "You don't need to apologize. You didn't hurt me. If you did, then you wouldn't be here right now with me." She held her hands, causing her to blush. "Like I said, I see a beautiful sunset in you. You're so colorful and warm. I'm happy I met you. Meeting such a warm and beautiful girl just makes me happy." Blitz could hardly see Sunset's face as the beaming of the setting sun was in her eyes, but seeing a beautiful sun-like glow to Sunset hair, but Blitz quickly felt Sunset's hands pulling away and smacking her shoulder. "Not going to work on me twice, you dork." Sunset was trying to hide her blush and Blitz laugh, knowing it did. "Sunset, when I called you my friend, it's because I care about you and wanted you to be happy. You deserve the world and more." "You're so cheesy." She smiled and hugged her. "Thank you," she whispered in her ear. "I'm going to do my best for you." "Sunset, you don't have to force yourself to be my friend just to repay me. Just be yourself. You're a good person." "No, I'm not..." "You are. Sunset, you're a good person, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Blitz said with a warm smile, making her blush more, and she looked away. "If you say so." Blitz remembered something and went back inside in a blink of an eye, returning with a box. "Here, an early birthday gift and being a great friend in covering my ass." "You didn't have to..." She turned and froze; it was the box she saw before, and she remembered what Wallflower said before. She just opened it, and her heart dropped. Blitz laughed, as she was speechless. "Do you like it?" "L-like it!? I LOVE IT!" She pulled out a black leather jacket with flames on the sides and a red and yellow sun on the back. "DUDE! HOW MUCH DOES THIS COST!? THIS IS REAL LEATHER AND A VERY DETAIL DECAL! THIS MUST HAVE BEEN EXPENSIVE!" "Nah, I saved up from working and saving my allowance." Sunset, lower the jacket, and remember all those weird jobs Blitz took since last year, realizing she was doing all that work to buy her this gift. She felt touched; her friends did a lot of things for her, but she had never seen this much work before and started to tear up. "W-why?" "Because it suits you. You're my fiery friend; you shine like the sun." Sunset dropped the jacket and hugged her. "Thank you," she whispered and started to cry. "Thanks, Blitz." Blitz held her tight and repeated something that her mothers once told her: "That symbol on that jacket is your fiery warmth, shining on your friends. The sun will keep guiding and warming your friends, even in the darkest hour." "That's why I love you, Blitz. That's why I fell for you, because you're always there for me and everyone else." thought Sunset, as she could cry. Under them, Twilight and Wallflower were sitting out on the back porch and hearing everything. Twilight turned to the girl, seeing her looking sad and clutching her fist in her shorts. Twilight knew what was happening and tried to raise her spirit. "So... how did you and Blitz meet?" "Huh?" "You and Blitz, how did you meet?" "Uh..." Twilight noticed she was making this awkward, but she needed to distract her. "I know you're not the type to talk, but maybe you can make an exception with me?" "You're her mom, so...by the way, why are you taller now?" Wallflower started to ask a ton of questions, and Twi couldn't keep up. "Well, let Blitz explain all that, but anyway, tell me. I love hearing how friends met." Wallflower was unsure about telling her, as she knows Twilah, who is Twilight, is Blitz's mother, but Twilight gave her a warm smile. "Please tell me. You don't have to, if I'm forcing yo-" Twilight stopped as Wallflower raised her hand and spoke. "She was the only person who ever noticed me." four years ago In middle school, Blitz was walking the halls after class with her headphones on and listening to music while having her nose in a book. A group of girls walked past, laughing, and one bumped into Blitz, pushing her to the locker. "Out the way, nerd!" the girl shouted and laughed, along with the others. "Sorry..." Blitz said without thinking and just continued reading, but stopped and helped pick up the books that the girl she knocked into when she was pushed. The green hair girl, with her eyes being covered by her hair, was embarrassed but also shocked and made a cute little squeak, then soon ran off. "H-Hey! You left your book." Blitz was confused and didn't know why that girl ran off and looked at the book; it was a journal. She opened it and saw a name on the inside: Wilma Blush. It was a cute name, and she closed it and looked down the hall. "I hope I can give it back to her tomorrow." The next day, Blitz and Sunset were walking the hall as school just ended. Blitz was trying to find the girl who owns the journal. "Are you sure about this, Blitz? You're not a detective, you know. Maybe she dropped it on purpose or something? Who reads a journal anyway?" "I do," replies Blitz, holding her own journal with cute animal stickers on it. Sunset laugh "Ok, whatever, nerd. I'm heading home; see you tomorrow." Sunset left, waving bye, and Blitz went off on her own to find the owner of the journal. Blitz looked all over the school and couldn't find the owner. "Maybe she already went home? But, then again, she's probably in the library. If she's not there, then she's not in school. Well, better check the library." When she entered the library, she saw no one there but the librarian, pushing the cart with tons of books in it. Blitz walked in the middle of the library, held the book out, and turned to her right, seeing the girl hiding in a row of books, watching her. "Um, I think this is yours." The girl quickly did the same cute squeak as the day before and ran off. Again, leaving Blitz alone, but this time she ran off her but quickly lost her. "That was strange." Later, Blitz was walking home with her headphones on, thinking about the girl. "She seemed like she didn't want to talk to me, and she ran off; not only that, but she also didn't take her journal back." Blitz stopped and turned around. "Hello?" She looked down the sidewalk but saw no one, but she swears she felt someone was behind her. She returned, walking home, not noticing the girl poking her head out of the bushes, blushing. "How is she doing that?" whispered Wilma, stepping out and heading home. The next day, the school was having a field day, and the whole school was outside, doing different activities. Sunset and Blitz were talking and watching people run and do races. "Why don't you run too? I saw you run. You are almost as fast as your mom. Are you sure you don't want to race? Maybe try out for the track team when we go to high school? Or at least run with the other students, so you can whip their asses. There is no reason why I should be the only one kicking their ass, you know." "You can, and I'm fine here. I don't like running when everyone else is looking. Its embarrassing. Besides, I'm not as fast as my mom. I can barely keep up with her, and she's still holding back." "Whatever, let's do something!" "What do you have in mind?" Sunset pointed to the capture flag as students were joining in for the next match. "How about that?" "Hmmm, ok." As they walked to the field, the girl was watching Blitz again. She wanted to talk to her, but her anxiety and fear were holding her back. She slowly walked up to her, but she bumped into other students, but no one ever reacted to her, almost like she didn't exist. As the girl was trying to make her way to Blitz, she was pushed again and landed on Blitz back. Blitz turned and was surprised. "It's you." Wilma got off of her too quick and fell on her rear and started to freak out, making Blitz confused. "I-I-I-I-I-I-" "Whoa, hey. Don't worry." Blitz smile, getting her attention. "It's ok, no harm done." Blitz held her hand and helped her up. "See, good as new. Um...hey, listen. I'm sorry to still have your journal. I was going to give it back, but I can't find you. Maybe we can exchange numbers so I can return it? I left it back home today, since there were no classes today." Wilma blushed and was about to agree, but someone ran up to them, pushing her onto Blitz. "Hey, watch where you're going!" shouted Blitz, but the person turned around and yelled back. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you." They turned back and were gone before Blitz could correct them. "That was mean, are you okay?" "Y-y-yes, thank you." She got off of her and stood there, all worried. "Cool, hey, why not come hang out with us? We're going to play capture the flag, and we need one more person on our team. Care to join us?" "U-um...I-I-I...ok..." she nodded. "Cool, name's Blitz; nice to meet you." "Wilma, my name is Wilma." "That's a cute name." "Thank you." She was so happy, and Blitz led her over to Sunset. "This is Sunset, a good friend of mine." Sunset turned to Blitz and looked around as Wilma spoke. "S-s-s-sunset, i-i-it's a pleasure t-" "Blitz, come on, it's starting! Here!' Sunset tossed the two flags to her and took a battle stance as their team and the other team started to get ready. Blitz handed the other flag to Wilma and smiled to help calm her down as she was shaking like a leaf. "It's ok, just follow my lead." "O-o-o-o-ok." Blitz winked at her, which made her heart flutter, and Blitz looked at the other team. "Alright, let's do this." It was a long battle to capture the flag. Blitz team mostly lost all their flags, and even Sunset lost her flag, leaving only Blitz left, who was easily dodging anyone that came near and took their flags, but soon even she lost her flag, and the match was over. "The blue team is the winner!" shouted the teacher, but she saw Blitz holding her hand up. "What's up, Blitz?" "Teacher, we won though." "No, the blue team won." "But we still have a flag, and the other team lost all their flags." Blitz lifted the flag Wilma was holding, showing the flag still on her belt. "Wha-how!?" said the teacher in shock; even both teams were shocked. "She was stealing flags when people got near her. Just no one bothers to go after her,' answered Blitz. "Oh, well. You win, congratulations?" said the teacher, rubbing his head in confusion. "Thanks!" Blitz turned to her team and said, "We won, great job guys!" Her team cheered, and Sunset ran up to Blitz. "Dude, you did great; same with that girl. Where did she go?" Blitz confusingly pointed to her right "She is still here. Right there." Blitz laughed as Sunset freaked out, making Wilma make her cute squeak, which made her even more adorable. "Woah, I never seen her before." Blitz gave her a weird look. "What? You were looking at her before you gave us the flags." "...I did?" "Yeah." "Weird, oh well, great job! I'm heading to the next game! Better catch up!" "Huh, oh, okay." As Sunset left, Blitz turned to Wilma and asked her something. "This might sound weird, but..." "Yes, people don't notice me or even remember me," she said, surprising Blitz. "Wait, what? Is that why no one notices you on the field?" "Yes, they all forget I exist." "What?" Blitz slowly poked her side, making sure she wasn't a ghost or magic-related, but this made Wilma do her cute squeak. "So, you're real, not a ghost." "I'm not a ghost; I'm a human." "Then how can people not notice you? That's not normal; is that some magic thing?" "Magic?" "Yeah! Magic is real—well, not in this universe." Wilma had no idea what Blitz meant, but she answered, "I see, well, it's a family curse." "What? A curse?" "People don't notice or remember me, no matter what. My mother had it, her father, and so on." "Really? Huh, that's kind of sad." "Yeah, but I'm used to it." "Still, you shouldn't have to." Blitz placed her hand on Wilma's shoulder, giving her a warm smile. "Don't worry; from now on, I'll make sure you're always noticed. Even if you disappear, I won't forget you." "Really?" "Promise." "..." Wilma had tears running down her face, and she hugged her, which took her by surprise, but she hugged her back, comforting her. After that day, the two became friends, and Wilma kept spooking Sunset. It was weeks later, and the school was having their middle school prom, and Blitz arrived as Dashie dropped her off. She stepped out of the car wearing a rainbow dress, which looked Greek, thanks to Rachel for making it. Of course, she's still wearing her purple jacket. "Have fun at the dance, sweetie." "I will, mom, see you after the dance. Bye, I love you." "I love you too; stay safe." Blitz waved her mom goodbye and headed into the school, where students were dancing and talking, hanging out with their friends, and such. She spotted Sunset wearing normal clothes, unlike everyone else, and noticed Blitz and blush as she saw her dress. "Wow, you look awesome. Your mom's friend really made that." "Yeah, she did." "You look amazing; I'm not really into fancy clothing, so..." "Don't worry, you look great the way you are." "Heh, thanks. So, have you seen her? The one who keeps scaring me?" "Sunset, her name is Wilma. You can least remember her name." "Whatever, anyway, have you seen her?" She started to take a drink from her soda. "She's right next to you." "What?" "Hi Sunset." Sunset jumped, dropping her soda, and it exploded as it hit the floor, getting soda everywhere. "Oh god!" Sunset was freaking out. "W-w-what happen?" said Wilma, looking around as she didn't notice herself popping up out of nowhere which caused Sunset to freak out. "What's wrong?" asked Blitz. "What's wrong!? What's wrong is that she was just not here when she was. How the hell did she do that!? This is the third time this week!" Blitz shrug and jokey said "Maybe it's magic." "There's no such thing as magic, you dork. And stop saying that! That doesn't make any sense. Magic doesn't exist, you nerd. Man, my boots are covered in soda. BRB! I'm going to clean up. You two enjoy the dance, but there no funny business." She pointed and blushed. "Yeah, yeah," waved Blitz as Sunset left, leaving her and Wilma alone. "You should really stop scaring her. She'll get mad at you." "Sorry, it just happens..." "I know, it's just hard to explain." "Yes." "Anyway, would you care to dance?" "D-dance? Me?" "Yes, you." Blitz held her hand, and Wilma shyly grabbed it. "S-sure." The two head to the dance floor, and Blitz and Wilma start to dance with each other, enjoying themselves. "I've never been to a dance before." "Really? Why not?" "I was scared, and no one would notice me, so no one asked." "Well, now you have." "Thanks, Blitz; you're the best." "Aww, no problem." The two continued dancing, and the current dance was over. kids started to leave the dance floor; some stayed. Sunset returned and joined them in dancing. Later in the night, it was time to reveal the popular boys and girls of the school. "Everyone, please give a hand to the most popular girl, Blitz," shouted the gym teacher, clapping. Blitz almost spilled her juice. "Oh, really?" "Yeah, everyone loves you!" shouted Sunset, pushing her forward. "Wow." Blitz walked up, and the whole class was clapping and cheering, which was embarrassing for her. "Congratulation, Blitz!" shouted a few kids. "Thank you?" Wilma smiled and watched as Blitz was smiling and waving. She could feel Blitz's warm aura, like a bright comet in the night sky—a rainbow comet. As everyone continued cheering, Wilma slowly started to frown. "She is so bright. Why does she even want to be my friend? She's so popular and bright, while I'm invisible. No matter how hard I try, no one notices me or remembers me." She slowly stepped back and headed to the exit. She stops and turns to Blitz. "Thank you, thank you for everything. You made me feel so happy, but you shouldn't waste your light on me. Thanks Blitz. Goodbye." Wilma left the dance, and no one seemed to notice, but one person did. Wilma walked down the hall and almost reached the exit, but she heard her name being called out. "WILMA!" Wilma turned around and saw Blitz, breathing hard as she ran. "Hey, where are you going?" "What do you mean? I'm leaving. You shouldn't be wasting your time on me. Go back to the dance." "What are you talking about? Why are you leaving?" She asked, stepping forward but seeing Wilma shaking as she rested her hand on the door. "I'm invisible to everyone. I should just leave, and no one will notice." "You're not invisible; you're right there. Lo-" "That doesn't matter; it's a curse. I'll always be ignored and forgotten, but not you. You're bright, Blitz. You're like a comet, and I'm nothing; I'll just bring you down if you keep being around me. Goodbye." She opened the door and walked through, closing behind her. "What? Wilma!" Blitz rushed out the door and held her hand. "Blitz? What are you doing?" "What does it look like? I'm trying to stop you. Why are you leaving?" "I told you why? Just go back inside and party with the others. Don't worry about me." "I'm not letting you leave. If you're going to go, I'm going with you." Wilma was surprised by "what?" "You heard me! You're my friend! If you're leaving, I'm coming with you!" "B-but, Blitz, you can't. Everyone is in there, cheering for you. They need you, not me." "No, they don't; you need me." Blitz took her other hand and smiled. "If you're leaving, I'm leaving with you." "Blitz...you shouldn't." "Why not?" "Because...because..." "Wilma, come on. Why are you leaving? The truth because I can-" Blitz stopped as she saw her crying. "...Wilma?" Wilma held Blitz's hands tighter. "I'm scared. Scared you'll forget me as you keep shining bright like a comet in a night sky. I'm scared. I'm scared." "Wilma, I will never forget about you, I promise. Even if you disappeared, I would find you." "Really?" Blitz looked up in the night sky and said, "They will shine in your heart, showing the world that you are the light." "Huh?" "Something a great woman filled with so much hope for a better tomorrow, she once told me that as she held me in her arms." Blitz, let go of Wilma's hands, and place them on her cheeks, gently brushing the tears away. "Wilma, I made my own light, a new tomorrow. even if it's not perfect and isn't the best. I want to share it with you. I want to shine my light on you, so you shine your light on me. You keep saying I'm bright as a comet, but you shine just as brightly in the darkness. Why else do I keep finding you?" Blitz gave her a huge smile. "I can't ever lose you when you shine so freaking bright!" Wilma stared at Blitz and started to cry and hug her, wrapping her arms around her, and Blitz hugged her back. "Thank you, thank you, Blitz. I'm so glad I met you. Thank you." "You're welcome, Wilma." Blitz took Wilma back inside, and everyone cheered her name again, not noticing or remembering the girl who disappeared and reappeared. She was happy, and no one can change her mind. Once again, Sunset got scared but smiled as she started to get used to it, as Wilma was a friend. After the dance, Blitz and her friends were on the grass, waiting for their folks, but Blitz picked up a flower and gave it to Wilma. "Even if you're a Wallflower, you don't have to hide; I won't forget or ignore you. No one should; you are special, no matter what others say or think. So, don't ever hide." Wilma started to cry again. "Thank you, Blitz." She took the flower, held it, and said, "You can call me that, a wallflower! I'll always remember you, no matter what. I'll always be there for you. Like a flower always looking to it's light!" "...that's why I'm called Wallflower and how I met her. She always knows where I am because I shine so brightly to her." She started to play with her fingers. "I always look at her. She's my best friend and my hero. She's like a comet—bright and warm. She's a rainbow, showing hope and peace. She's so nice and sweet; she makes me feel like I'm home and that I'm safe." Twilight smiled, seeing how much Wilma loves Blitz. "You truly love her, huh?" Wallflower made her cute squeak and started to blush hard, trying to act dumb. "Well, of course I do; we are friends. She's so kind, friendly, and bright. She's very pretty and strong and has nice legs-" She covered her mouth, realizing what she just said. She turned to Twilight with a big blush. "Please don't tell her I said that!" "Your secret is safe with me." Twilight giggled as she shut her mouth and tossed away the key. This made Wallflower giggle, and they went back inside as it was nighttime. They entered and saw Blitz waiting for her in the living room with the others. Blitz asked her to sit down, as she needed to tell her something. "What's wrong?" asked Wallflower. "There's something I need to tell you." She said okay and watched Blitz breathe in and out in a bright flash. She was in her anthro form, but to Wallflower, it was the Rainbow Comet. "Blitz, you are the Rainbow Comet...?" "Y-yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner; I was scared." "I can't believe it. You're the Rainbow Comet." "Yep." "That explains a lot. Like how you disappeared or corrected people when they called her Super Horse." "Hehehe, yeah." Blitz scratch her cheek. "It also explains the sexy leg muscles and speed yo-" she said, stopping as she covered her mouth and blushed. "You think my legs are sexy?" she asked, blushing and smiling. "Oh god, no," she said, covering her face. "You think my legs are sexy." Blitz looked at her legs and smiled harder. "I guess they are!" "No!" Wallflower quickly got up and headed to the front door as a bright red stop sign said, "I'm leaving!" but Blitz grabbed her hand and Wallflower could feel her shaking. She quickly turned around and, for the first time ever, saw Blitz shake with fear. "...Blitz?" "Wilma, I need your help." Wilma could see Braver becoming like her sister in that form and seeing Blitz parents looking worried but also very concerned; something must be really wrong. "What's wrong?" Sunset, who was on the wall and leaning the whole time, decided to speak. "Blitz is scared, really scared." "Scared? Of what?" "Lucy is in danger," she simply said as she told her what's happening, and after being told, Wallflower held Blitz. "We won't let her be eaten! We'll find a way to save her!" "But I don't know how. I-I'm scared." "I'll help you. I won't let anyone hurt her or you. I'll be your light in the darkness, shining bright as you always shine for me." She leans back. "You gave me your kindness; now it's my turn to give mine back. I'll help you. I'll keep your light safe. You are not alone." Blitz could feel her tears coming, and she started to cry on her shoulder while hugging her. Wallflower has never seen Blitz like this before. She slowly held her and became sad as well. "You truly love her, huh?" she thought to herself, stroking Blitz back. Blitz cried and cried, as she was scared and losing a bit of hope with only five days remaining now... end of 17 > Chapter 18: Generosity Has Different Ways To Give > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beeping filled the dark, messy bedroom as a figure started to move, slowly reach over, and hit the snooze button on her clock by knocking it over. A few minutes later, the person started to wake up. It was Sunset as she pulled back the thin blanket and sat up on her bed. She looked for her phone on the dresser next to her as she's half asleep, and her eyes closed as the white screen blinded her a bit. "It's 9:00 in the morning," she said to herself, placing her phone back and standing up, stretching. She headed to the bathroom and turned on the light, turned on the hot water, and let the warm water hit the tub as she started her day with a warm shower. As she's having a shower, her phone rang text a few times. Once she was done, she wrapped a towel around herself and dried her hair a bit before heading to her room. She picked up her phone and saw three messages and their icons. One was from Twilight, who has herself holding Dash like a long cat, and the other two were from her friends: Brishen as some poorly drawn version of himself as Robin Hood, and another text is from Wallflower, as an empty chair. She chuckled at herself as she made these icons and replied to her friends. Starting with Twilight. Sent: Good morning, Twi :D She placed her phone back and opened her drawer as she put on her clothes. As she was pulling up her pants, she could feel someone looking at her, and it was a creepy feeling. She looked around and saw no one in her room. She brushed it off and went on to put on her clothes, and her phone text went off. It was a very long text reply from Twi, saying thanks again about helping her and her family, Sunset risking her life to save a friend from evil Dawn, and how she hopes Sunset will always be there for Blitz since Blitz had that break down yesterday. "Blitz never acted like that before. Crying like that, she's always so positive and brave—maybe too brave, as she just leaps into whatever without thinking. Only gets cocky when running." She sent a short text, telling her it was no problem that she loved Blitz and would always be there for her and the others. She sent it but quickly went red as she noticed she wrote 'loved Blitz' and sent a quick text saying, "I meant by friends. Not love!" She was red and embarrassed as she quickly sent the text and tossed her phone, getting her shoes on. She got her phone back and read the text from Wallflower, and she sat back on her bed. Once again, she felt that same odd feeling of being watched. Sunset finally opened her certain window, and the morning sun rays filled the messy room. There was no one in her room, and no one was watching her. She shut the curtain and sat back on her bed. She read the text out loud. "I had never seen Blitz like that before. Maybe one of us should keep her company while the other tries to get the group together? Dawn is not answering my texts or calls. I think her parents took her phone or something. T is busy with her problems, so it's understandable that she's not answering." Sunset sighs as she falls backwards in bed and slowly looks at her phone, reading Brishen's text out loud in an annoyed tone. "Yo Sunny, I'm in jail for stealing candy from a baby, lol. Can you bail me out, please?" She shook her head. "No." She tossed her phone in the air, caught it, and read the rest of the text, "Saw Blitz mom in jail, as she was a cell away from me. She beat some dude up! Oddly, she didn't remember who I was. Anyway, I saw Blitz picking her up and tried to ask her to do the same for me, but she said no, which sucked. Maybe you can come and bail me out. Or at least try to bail me out? Pretty, please, with sugar on top, please? Hurry, I don't want them to see I hid my real phone from the pigs! Lol. From your Storm King!" "Ugh, fine. Just shut up already." Sunset quickly sent a text, and sent a text to Wallflower . "I'm getting Brishen ass out of jail. Then we'll meet up later." She stopped and really didn't want to write this next part, but she had to; it was for Blitz. "So, keep her company until we get there. Okay?" She sent it and headed to her bedroom door, but she quickly went back and went into her closet and got the best gift she had ever gotten. The leather jacket that Blitz gave her, she quickly ran up to her mirror and checked herself out. She loved it so much. She looked at the picture of her and Blitz on the phone wallpaper and smiled. She looked amazing in it, and it was perfect. She hugged the jacket, blushing a little, but felt her phone going off as a text came in. She took it out and blushed as it was a reply from Wallflower, saying, "You sure!? I can get Brishen while you hang with Blitz." Sunset shook her head as she typed her response. "No, it's fine. I can get him. You just keep her company." Before she could put the phone in her pocket, Wallflower replied super quick, making Sunset read it and go red in the face again, as Wallflower said Sunset should hang with Blitz, not her, as they're more close. Sunset could feel her blood boil as she typed her response, telling Wallflower she was just as close with Blitz as she was and to not say that again. Sunset was about to send the text but stopped. She looked at the text and thought of Blitz. It was no secret that they're both in love with her; no matter how hard they denied it to others and to each other, everyone knew, except for Blitz and Dawn herself. Sunset thought of Blitz crying, scared, and losing hope, then deleted the text and rewrote it, saying, "She needs us right now. You're just as close with her, so can you please hang with her while I bail that idiot out? Please? This isn't about our feelings right now, but about Blitz." She sent the text and placed the phone in her pocket, heading out the door and closing it, not once noticing the unicorn version of herself, pounding on the mirror, trying to get her attention. Wallflower, still in her nightwear, was blushing at her phone. She could feel her heart beating fast as she read the text and reread it over and over. Sunset, who is known for her anger and not taking crap from anyone, rewrote her text as she saw the three bubbles reappearing, which made it less heated and more about their friend than their own feelings. "She's right. This is about Blitz. Not us." She got her clothes out and placed them on her bed. "I'll go help her. She needs someone with her." Wallflower looked at her plain and boring clothes on the bed. "Maybe I should try and wear something else," she said as she headed to her closet, opened the door, and looked at the different clothes, mostly all boring and simple. She started to search through them. "Maybe I should head to Rachel Closet?" she stopped. "No. What am I thinking!?" She started to blush hard. "This isn't a date, nor is it about me! Blitz is hurting, and I should focus on her, not my appearance! Besides, Blitz never even showed interest in me, as I did with her, and... I'm not sure if I can date someone who already has someone she likes. It's not fair to Dawn, Blitz, or myself. I know Sunset is going through the same thing, and we just have to get past our feelings and be there for her." She sighed and got dressed. She quickly left her house and kept telling herself this wasn't a date and that Blitz only liked Dawn, not her. She looked at her phone and saw a new text. She opened it and went red. Sunset: If I catch you being lewd with her, I'll kill you. "I wouldn't dream of doing something so disgusting! How dare you!" she yelled at her phone. She kept walking until she found herself at Rachel's Closet. "I won't buy anything. I'll just look. I'll just look for myself. It's not about me. This is about Blitz and helping her." Wallflower said to herself as she entered the building. Sunset munched down on a breakfast sandwich as she bailed out Brishen and was waiting by the front desk as he was let out. "What's up, loser king?" Sunset said it with a cocky grin. Brishen laughed and gave her a big fist. "You are the best, Sunny! I'll pay you back...eventually." Sunset said whatever, and they headed out of the building and to the parking lot to chat. "So, what did you do now, Mr. Conman?" she asked, tossing the wrapper of her sandwich into the trash and taking a sip of her orange juice. Brishen laughed and began to explain how he scammed a real scammer with his money. He was caught by the police, and his mother beat the shit out of him and he was taken to jail. "You know, you could've just told the cops about him, right? I bet you would have gotten off for free if you gave them a real scammer." "Yeah, but that's no fun! Gotta have a little excitement in your life! You should try it sometime. I know you enjoy fighting." "I have no reason to fight. And plus, I'm not a fucking thug." Brishen laughed at the last part, knowing that's a lie, as she had her fair share of fighting and trouble, mostly due to her past. "Yeah, whatever. Oh, you're wearing the jacket Blitz gave you? Surprise, she gave it to you so early." He smirked and gave her a wink, which got him a glare from her. "So, how are things between you two?" he asked, knowing that he had struck a nerve. Sunset sighed and was about to give him an earful. As her cheeks went red but they heard fighting coming out of the police station entrance as a tall and very built man, who clearly had his ass beat, came walking with a family member. "That bitch is going to pay!" "Oh, shit. That's the guy that Blitz mom beat up!" Brishen pointed at the tall man, who entered the car of whoever picked them up. Sunset remembered yesterday and asked what happened. Brishen started to explain what he was told by Dash. yesterday Dash looked at her weird, small, and flat item, which is called a phone, and followed the map on it. She's heading to Dashie's job, the YMCA, to watch over kids and make sure no one realizes the real Dashie isn't here but in the Dash universe. "Pfft, this is going to be easy! Watching kids? Easy peasy," she said as she followed the map to her destination. Once there, she entered and remembered what Blitz had told her, which was to head to the front desk and sign in. "I guess that's what this is." Dash saw paper and a pen. She was about to sign her name when she noticed her counterparts' signature from a few days ago, and it wasn't hers, so she tried to copy it. "Man, she writes her I's with hearts in it? Not cool." Dash finished writing her name and looked at it, seeing the I's with hearts in it. She groaned as if it weren't her and signed her real signature. She handed the paper to the front desk lady. "Welcome, Ms. Reinbold. Please let us know if you have a family emergency next time. We had to get a replacement for you." The front desk lady said, giving a look at her, wondering what kind of emergency was so important that it was so bad that she had to take a few days off. Dash already didn't like this woman. "Yup, will do." She gave her a fake smile, as she remembered Blitz telling her that Dashie was nice to everyone and had no beef with the staff. She could see this woman being the biggest gossip. She turned and left the lobby, heading to the staff locker room and putting her backpack and jacket away. A few coworkers were there and waved at her. She waved back, pretending she's the Dashie they know. "Oh, you're here. So, what's the family emergency about? Everything okay?" Dash saw a female staff member and had no clue who she was. She thought of an excuse and decided to lie about the family emergency. "Um, yup. Everything is fine. I just had problems with..." Dash tried to think of something real quick as the woman raised an eyebrow at her. "Twilah parents, yeah, that! Her dad got hurt. Yup. Badly." "O-Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear that." the woman and her had a small chit-chat and went on their way. Dash walked to the underground area of the building and could see a group of young kids playing with each other or with toys, but the moment they saw her, everyone came running towards her and asked her if she's okay. "Woah, slow down!" "Ms. Dashiell, are you okay? You have never been gone this long." "Ms. Dashie, are you feeling better?" Dash could feel overwhelmed by the kids and how close they are to her. She looked around and saw a bunch of different rooms. The first was a dance room; another was an art room; a large computer room; and the last was a room with a bunch of pillows and a soft floor, which was a playroom/nap area. "Okay kids, let's start with art, and then..." But before Dash could finish, the kids piled her up and asked her to do different things, like dancing, singing, playing with the computers, and so on. "Okay, okay! Stop piling on me! We'll start with drawing and then this 'computer'. Deal?" "Deal!" shouted all the kids, but they all kept holding on to her, forcing Dash to carry all the kids to the art room and seeing them all jump off and run off like rats being freed from a cage. Dash was about to tell the kids to calm down and sit when they all started to bring her supplies, paint, and such and asked her to draw something for them like she always does. "Oh, um, sure. Anything?" "Yes!" shouted the kids. Dash sighed and started to draw, not knowing what. "Draw a dragon!" "No, a pony!" "Ponies are boring! Draw a demon!" "No, draw an angel!" "How about a mummy!?" asked Dash, smiling. "NO!" the kids said in union and looked at her, all upset, begging her to draw something cool. Dash was annoyed as she was drawing a stick figure and a flower and adding some cool stuff. She looked at her masterpiece and felt proud. She showed the kids, which got her a bunch of laughs, and the kids mocked her, which made her mad. "Hey! No laughing recruits!" shouted Dash, standing up but stopping as she realized she let her Captain of the Wonderbolts out, who is super strict and doesn't play games. She took a deep breath and calmed down. She didn't want to lose her cool and start acting like herself, as the kids don't know she's not their Dashie. "Okay, I showed you mine; now go draw something for me. Okay?" The kids nodded and started to draw as Dash looked around, seeing each kid draw their own stuff. She felt like she was teaching at the Wonderbolts training camp, which made her feel proud. She loved being a teacher and watching Noobies grow. She did a full run around and walked back to the front desk and asked the kids to show her work, and like last time, they all dog-piled her and stuffed her face with their drawings. "Kids! Kids! Slow down! I can't see them!" She pushed the kids back, which got her a stern look from a female worker who had a clipboard and a notepad. "When did she show up?" thought Dash, but her vision was blocked by the kids drawings, so she took them all and looked at them. Some were drawings of her, which made her blush a little and her heart skip a beat, as the kids did a good job, especially the one of her being cool as she fights monsters. She did her best not to laugh, as one kid drew her having a giant poop, while a different kid drew her and Twilight kissing. Dash blushed a deep red as the kid kept saying it was her and Twilah, which meant Twilah must have visited a few times. Dash was about to stand up but saw one weird photo. It was her beating a tall man as a sad kid looked on. "Hey, can I see that one?" she pointed, and the kids handed it to her. "What's this about?" "My mommy's friend, remember? He gets mad easily, and..." the girl couldn't finish as she looked sad. Dash thought she could see bruises under the little girl's sleeves and was about to ask when the woman from before called out to her. "Ms. Reinbold, is everything alright?" the woman asked, giving her a suspicious look. Dash quickly stood up, not wanting to be questioned, and walked towards her. "Of course! Why wouldn't it be?" The woman said nothing and returned to writing on the notepad, making Dash a little worried. Who was this woman anyway? Dash kept telling herself that she shouldn't overreact and just focus on being Dashie. Dash turned to the kids and told them what they wanted to do next. All of them wanted to go on the computers and play games. "....computers?" whisper Dash, not understanding the strange machines and gulp. It was the worst time for Dash, as the kids called her a boomer because she couldn't even turn on the computer or type or use the mouse. The kids were amazed at her stupidity and started to make fun of her. Dash felt humiliated as the woman, who was her supervisor, as she guessed by now, was looking at her. "What is the meaning of this?" Dash had an ear full and was forced to watch as the woman showed the kids how to use the computers and gave her a lecture. After an hour, the kids had their fun and were all happy. "Not surprising coming from the trophy wife of the smartest woman in the world," the supervisor said, leading the kids to their nap time. Dash clutches her hands into a fist. She remembered Dashie saying how some people treated her as crap and called her that. Dash was about to open her mouth but stopped, as she didn't want to cause a scene. She was about to leave the room but felt her shirt being pulled and saw it was the girl from before, the one with the weird picture. "What's up?" "Ms. Dashiell, are you upset that I drew you hurting my mommy friend?" "Who? the big guy?" "Yeah. He's a meanie, but mommy loves him, so he's not a bad guy. Mommy said he's trying to get better." Dash felt weird, like he had a gut feeling. Dash asked if she could see her arm, and the girl nodded, revealing her arm, which had a few bruises. Dash knew this girl wasn't safe. "Kid, is he hurting you and maybe your mom?" "No, he's not hurting mommy, I promise. He's not hurting me. He's just..." Dash felt like this was a red flag and that this girl wasn't safe, but she didn't want to get in trouble and ruin her counterpart career, so she decided to do the right thing and ask her boss and let her deal with this. After Dash led the kid into the nap room, Dash spoke with her boss, who wasn't happy with the situation. "So, let me get this straight. You're telling me that the friend of the mayor is abusing his girlfriend and her daughter?" "Yeah, pretty much." "You know we can't report this, Ms. Reinbold. Unless there is solid proof, we can't do anything. Drawings mean nothing, and kids get hurt all the time." She wrote in her notepad and walked away to her office, making Dash a little angry. Like, was she covering for this guy? Dash was about to follow her when she saw a tall guy walking down the stairs and saying hello to her supervisor, who just nodded and past him. The guy walked up to Dash. "Hey," he said in a sour tone. "Um, hi." "Where's the kid?" "Napping. Who are you?" "Her future dad." He pointed to that little girl, and Dash could feel her stomach drop. "So can we cut the bullshit? I know you hate my guts." He leaned forward and whispered, "You still can't do shit to me. Can't touch me, you lesbo cunt," he smiled as he lean away, as Dash remembered what her supervisor said. Dude thought he couldn't be touched because he's friends with the mayor. "Hey! Wake up! Your mom wants me to pick your ass up," he shouted as Dash watched as the little girl quickly woke up and was scared, rushing to her mom's boyfriend side and following him. Dash watched as the two left the room and wondered if this guy was telling the truth when the little girl looked back and gave her a fearful look. Dash followed them, but was stopped by her supervisor. "Leave it be, Ms. Reinbold. If you're going to keep harassing him, we're going to have a problem. You need to drop it." "What are you talking about? I just want to-" "Enough, Ms. Reinbold." The supervisor glared at her, but Dash smiled at her. "My name is Ms. Rainbow." Dash pushed her away and hurried along, and she could see they left the building and she exited too, while her supervisor was behind her, yelling at her. Dash could see the man smacking the girl on the face. "Then she ran towards him and punched him hard in the face. They started fighting, and as the cops were arresting her, the asshole still wanted to fight and punch a cop. He got arrested too," explained Brishen, as they were heading towards Blitz House. Sunset smiled, remembering Blitz's happy reaction from yesterday. "Dashiell was pretty upset about it," said Brishen. Brishen watched as Dashiell walked back and forth in her cell, going on about how she fucked up and Blitz was going to be mad. "I'm so screwed right now!" "Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe you might get a nice reward." Brishen teased and got a glare from her. "You're not funny. What the hell am I supposed to do!? I got Dashi—I mean myself fired! Blitz, and someone else is going to piss at me!" Dashie finally sat on the bench in the cell. Brishen stood up, walked over to the bars, and looked at her. "You know, you did the right thing. You helped that kid. You gave that kid hope. Hope that someone did listen and believe in her. You gave the greatest gift a kid could have. The feeling of knowing that someone is listening and that someone cares. Sure, you lost your job and might get blacklisted from another YMCA jobs, but you did the right thing, and I know everyone is going to say the same thing." Brishen faced away from her and spoke with his back turned. "It's like Blitz taught me, 'The world is full of people who will make you doubt yourself. It's also full of people who will believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself. The question is, are you the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to be the person you want to be?' Are you the kind of person who will give every ounce of yourself in order to make the world a better place? Even if it's a hard choice, Even if it's a sacrifice?" Dashie listened, thought about it, and smiled. Even Blitz took everyone's speech and lesson from ten years ago to heart, just like Braver did. "Thanks kid." "I'm not a kid. I'm 20. And you're welcome." He sat back down and crossed his arms. "What you did, it's generosity. You gave that girl something she didn't have. Gave her the chance of being safe. That is the true meaning of generosity—the power to help others. And I'm sure Blitz will agree with that." Dashie nodded and sat there until Blitz and a cop came for her. Sunset laughed when she heard her friend talking about generosity. "Wow, you really took that lesson to heart, huh?" "Well, yeah." Brishen blushed as they almost reached Blitz home. "Blitz helped me out three years ago. How couldn't I take that lesson to heart? Plus, I wouldn't be the person I am now without that lesson." Sunset looked away and looked into the blue sky, and she could see the sun in the middle of the sky. She remembers that day from three years ago. "Come on, dude, you just turned 14, and your grandparents gave you a shit ton of cash, and you want to waste it here...?" said Sunset, as she, Blitz, and Wallflower stood in front of an old arcade pizza place with an ugly rat mascot. Blitz proudly held her wallet full of cash. "Yes, I do." Sunset face palm "Dude, you're a fucking moron." Wallflower spoke up. "It's her money, Sunset. She can do what-" "AAAHHHH!" screamed Sunset, as she just now noticed Wallflower. Blitz laughed her ass off and entered the building, where she could see hardly anyone here, just the bored saff. She walked to the juice bar, where an old guy with a mustache stood behind the counter. "Hey kid, welcome to my pizza place." He said, smiling and taking a sip of his drink, which wasn't juice. "Hey, um, I came here a few days ago from seeing a facebook page and saw a certain prizes I wanted. Is it still here?" The man looked at her and laughed, "Your that Kid, that shit is like, years old and another crap you can find outside. Why do you want it?" Blitz showed her fat wallet, making the guy raise an eyebrow. "It's 1,000." The man looked at her, not believing it, but Blitz showed her the dough, and his eyes became dollar signs. "Alright, yeah, it's still here! Win enough tickets, and you can get them. Since you are packing so much dough, I'll let my mascot protect you!" He walked away and shouted, "Brishen! My boy! We got a sucke—I mean, a VIP!" Brishen came out of the backrooms and put on his rat mascot head on. "Dad! It's the-" He raised his arms and staff up all dramatic like "THE STORM KING!" Blitz looked at him and then at his dad, who was laughing at his stupid son and pounding his mascot head. Sunset, blushing, came inside with Wallflower. They watched as the rat mascot walked up to the three and spoke in a deadpan and bored voice. "Hello, little Miss VIP! The Storm King will be protecting you as you spend your money here! Come, let me show you the games!" The mascot walked away. Blitz, Sunset, and Wallflower followed the mascot, who was looking around for a game for the three. "What's his deal?" whispered Blitz. "If I remember right, his family owns this dump, and his mom wants him to take over or something. Heard he wants to be a big shot in something but not sure." Blitz, turn to the rat. "So, what's a Storm King?" "Me!" He turned around and slammed the end of his staff on the dirty floor. "I'M THE STORM KING! THE GREAT RAT OF EVIL! I'M A GOD! AND YOU MORTALS ARE NOTHING BUT SLAVES TO ME! KNEEL!" He raised his staff up high. All three started to laugh at him, which made him all grumpy. "You guys are assholes. What kind of games do you like?" he asked, showing all the games in the pizza place. Blitz saw one game that she wanted to try. "That one." "The DDR machine? Oh yeah, that thing is a money maker." He led them to it and patted the machine. "Just beat the machine in scoring higher than it. It should be easy. If not, fuck off. I don't care." The girls could see the dance floor could fit two people, and they asked if two people could play it. "Yup, in fact." Within the mask, Brishen smiled evilly. "If you put $200 bucks in, it unlocks that feature and gives you x2 ticket earning. Which means you get double the tickets and get that prizes quicker. But, since you're a VIP, you only have to pay $100." Wallflower and Sunset look at each other, all worried as this sounded too good to be true, but before they could convince Blitz to not trust it, they saw Blitz putting her money in and player unlock. Blitz turned to the girls with a smile. "Who wants to join me as player two? Wallflower? Sunset?" "Um, no thanks. I do-" whisper Wallflower "Go for it, kid!" Brishen pushed her into the Blitz arms, causing her to turn red. While Sunset had an annoyed look, "It's fun!" "But, um, I don't dance..." Blitz looked down at Wallflower and could see she was really nervous about this. So, she gently took her hand and placed it on the bar. "Just follow me." Sunset and Brishen watched as Blitz was dancing like an idiot and Wallflower started to copy her moves, which was bad, and the two were laughing their ass off as they scored low and the machine was making fun of them. "You suck!" shouted the machine. Brishen started to laugh as he thought to himself, "Oh man, I didn't even need to rig the machine! They suck at dancing. Taking all this kid money, and I'm getting my own amusement." Sunset was watching, frowning at the scene, and she was a bit jealous. "You know, you're a bit jealous, aren't you?" Sunset jumps, seeing Brishen standing next to her. "So, which one do you like? hmmm?" "I...uh...." "The shy one or the dyed rainbow hair girl? It must be her, right? Has to be, she screams, 'I'M A LESBIAN! Look at me!'" Sunset looked away, a bit pissed off. Brishen noticed he made her upset and sighed, "Look, I didn't mean to make you mad, but the way you acted, it's totally her, isn't it? Or are you crushing on both?" Sunset looked at him and shook her head. "Just Blitz, the rainbow-haired girl." Brishen smiled. "Good." Sunset is confused. "Why's that good?" "Well, the shy one, she's in love with Blitz too." He pointed his staff at them as they danced again and were still sucking. "It's clear as day." "No, she isn't!" Sunset shout. "Shhh, you're going to alert them. And yes, she is. I could tell when I pushed her into Blitz and how red she was; it was like a red light bulb went on. It was cute and funny." "No, it isn't! I was there! I would have noticed that!" "Then why are you jealous and pissed? If you knew she didn't love Blitz, you wouldn't have been like this." The mascot's eyebrows wiggled up and down. "I'm not jea—I mean, I'm not upset." Sunset crossed her arms and looked away. "Right, well, if you're not, then let's watch..." He walked over and smacked the machine, and a new song was picked, and the next round started. Sunset blushed as it was a slow love dance song. "Why don't you two hold each other's hands? This is a duet song, after all. I would even give you 100 free tickets and I'll throw in some pizza if you win thi round. What do you say?" Blitz looked at Wallflower, who was nervous and scared. "I...um... don't want to hold your hand..." she whimper, but she could feel Blitz hands and her fingers going into between hers. "I'll guide you." Sunset saw this, and she felt her anger rising. The song started, and Brishen was by her side. "You're still pissed. Jealousy isn't good luck for you, kid. You should act on it, not stand here sulking. Unless you're into that or something!" He laughs, but Sunset punches his mascot head around, blinding him. "Touchy..." Sunset watched as Blitz led Wallflower in the slow love dance, stepping on the lights and still holding each other's hands. Blitz would lean in, smiling and talking to Wallflower, who would shy away and turn red, not able to handle the situation, and she could see the way Blitz would move. She would try and get closer to her, like she was trying to kiss her. "That's it! I had enough!" Sunset ran onto the dance floor and pushed herself between the two, which caused the game to end early as they got out of the machine, which mean they didn't get the free pizza or the tickets. "Sunset?" whimper Wallflower, seeing how ticked off she is. "What? What's wrong?" asks Blitz, confused. "Yeah, what's up?" asked Brishen, happy about what happened. Sunset realized what she did and started to mumble, as she didn't have a good explanation for what she did. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that." Sunset started to walk off, but she felt Blitz's hand and her fingers going between hers. "B-Blitz?" Blitz smiled, held Wallflower's hand as well, and asked Brishen to start the song again, which he did, and Blitz stood between the girls. "Three-way dance! Let's go!" Brishen could see Sunset with a smile on her face, and she was laughing and enjoying herself as they all danced together, having fun. He could see Wallflower smiling, and both were blushing. He could only sigh but also smile, as they weren't even paying attention to the stupid machine and weren't even getting points. After they finished their dance, Brishen came back with the free pizza. "Here, you didn't really win, but at least have some free pizza. I was joking about the tickets by the way, sorry." The girls happily took the pizza, not caring about the tickets, and started to eat, and Sunset and Wallflower looked at each other and laughed as they knew what the other was thinking. "I love Blitz too," both girls said to themselves in their thoughts. Brishen led them around the place, letting them play each game but never winning any of them. To the point, Sunset took the girls aside and whispered. "Guys, I think these games are rigged." "Rigged?" said Wallflower, a bit confused. "Yeah, that means they are BS, and we won't win anything. This would explain why so few people come here. How much money did you spend, Blitz? Cause, I think we're done here." "Half of it, but we can't leave yet! I didn't get any tickets to win the prizes!" Blitz cried. Sunset rolled her eyes. "Dude, you are getting scammed." "I think she's right. I think you're being conned by him." "Yeah, he's a scam artist." Brishen could hear their whispers, and he knew what they were saying. He sighed as his plan was coming to an end. "So, you girls are having fun?" he asked, smiling the mascot face. They were quiet, as they didn't want to say anything. Sunset and Wallflower pulled Blitz away and out of the building. "Don't come back; you are here!" shouted Brishen as the girls left. He went back into the office and took off the rat head. He was sitting down in front of his mom, who was on the phone with the bank. He remembers how his folks were about to lose this place, and the real reason it went to crap was because his father gave up on saving it, and he and his dad started to con the customers for every penny they had. He didn't care for the place, as he wanted to make it big in life, but... "Yes, we'll try to have the money by the end of the month," said his mother as she finally got off the phone and just became depressed. She looked at him and started to cry. "Mom..." "We're losing the place. Your dad won't stop drinking and doesn't care anymore. This place has been in jis family for years. What are we going to do?" "Mom..." He was about to walk up to her when he heard his father calling him again. "Mom, let's talk after we close for the night, okay?" He put on his mascot head and grabbed his staff. He didn't care, but his mom did; it was why he needed to be a conman, as he had been scamming outside of work hours as he needed to get that money. "So, who's the next sucker...what?" he saw Blitz and the girls back. He could clearly see the girls weren't happy about this, as Blitz wanted to play more games. "Hiya, Brishen!" said Blitz. "I told you not to come back!" shouted Brishen, upset that Blitz came back. He was cool with scamming older people, but not with young kids. Of course, he didn't have a problem scamming them. "Come on, Brishen, please? Let us play one last time?" begged Blitz, giving her puppy dog eyes. Brishen rolled his eyes, not being swayed by it, but Wallflower and Sunset gave him a nasty look. He walked with Blitz to the games but noticed the girls didn't come along. "You're friends not coming?" "Nope, they have a hard time believing I can win this time." Brishen raised his mascot head up, just enough so he could see what game they were going to play. It was a simple air hockey table, and he didn't have to rig this game. He's pretty much a pro at it. "So, what are the stakes if you win? You haven't won a single thing today, and there's no way to win those prizes." He smirked, seeing Blitz's surprise face. "You know?" "Yup, I figure it was those prizes. Are you really spending all this money on them?" Blitz was embarrassed as she nodded. Brishen smirk "So how about this? If you win, you get those prizes for free, but if I win, you give me all of your money. Deal?" He reached out, waiting for a handshake. Blitz didn't hesitate and shook his hand, knowing she was going to win this. "Okay, lets play!" As the game started, Blitz was losing big time. Brishen wasn't letting her score one goal, and Blitz was sweating bullets as the game was getting close to ending. She didn't have the money for the prizes, so what else could she do? "Better say goodbye to that money of yours." Brishen was gloating and laughing as the game was about to end. Blitz had one idea, but she knew she didn't want to do it. It was a bit cruel. Knowing she was going to have to do this. Blitz's hands became blue, but she's lucky she was wearing gloves today. Her hands were moving faster and blocking all of Brishen's shots, and she was able to catch up very quickly, making Brishen more frustrated as the game was coming to an end. Blitz, hit the puck, and score. The final score was 4-5, and Blitz won. "HA! Take that!" "Damnit, how did you—oh, come on!" He tossed his mascot head off and pointed his staff at her, smirking, "POW!" Blitz, and him started to laugh. "Win is a win. Alright, let's get those stupid prizes and never come back, kid." "Wait!" shouted Blitz. Brishen turned back and saw Blitz handing him the money she had left. "W-What? Why?" "Because you and your parents need this more than I do. I didn't need it, really." "But...why? We're going to lose the place anyway; it's hopeless." Blitz smiled, "Nothing ever hopeless. Maybe stop scamming people and clean up the place; I'm sure you guys can get more customers. I mean, this place used to be popular when you were a little kid, right? That's what my mom said to me, and I heard how depressed your mom is about losing the place on Facebook that my mom showed me." Brishen looked at her and thought about her words. "Thanks, but I doubt it. I mean, I scam people outside of work hours. It's another reason why this place went downhill. Who would come here knowing there's a conman here? Well, besides you." He laughed, which caused Blitz to laugh too. "Still, thanks." He was about to walk off, but Blitz spoke. "The world is full of people who will make you doubt yourself. It's also full of people who will believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself. The question is, are you the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to be the person you want to be? Or are you the kind of person who will just let fate take the wheel and go on the ride?" said Blitz, making Brishen turn to her once more. "I'm the one who makes my own fate. I'm the kind of person who would go down fighting." "Then prove it," said Blitz, giving him the money. "Be the person you meant to be and the person who your mom believes in." Brishen stared at her, shocked, and he started to cry a bit. He didn't think about that, and he didn't think Blitz would understand him. He quickly wiped his tears and smirked at her. "Alright, alright, let's...um, never catch your last name." "It's Blitz Reinbold. What's yours?" "Brishen, Brishen King," he said, picking up his mascot head. "Thanks Blitz. Really." He leads her to the prize area, where his dad is drinking his booze. Blitz friends were there as well. "Hey pops, I got a prize for my friend here." His dad stared at him and noticed Blitz. Brishen went around the corner and took out rolls of tickets. "Girl had great luck in one game, dad. Here's the money she spent. Enough to buy those two prizes she wants." His dad looked at him and the money and said, "Huh, alright. Here's the prize, little girl. Finally, someone is taking the junk off my hands." He took out a key, opened a lock case, and started looking for it. Sunset and Wallflower wondered what Blitz wanted from the start, as she would never tell them what the prizes were. "Ah, here they are," his dad said, taking the items and handing them over to her. "Thanks!" She took the boxes, turned to her friends, and handed them to them. "Here!" The girls stared at them and opened them, and their eyes went wide. "Dude!?" Sunset took out a red and white guitar. She always wanted one, and now she's holding one. "It's a real guitar. Not some toy guitar, but a real one!" said Wallflower, holding a box of seven colored geodes and watching Sunset test her guitar. "And these are Everfree rare geodes! You know I love collecting rare geodes! Blitz! You spent all your birthday money on..." Wallflower started to tear up a bit. "On us?" Sunset held the guitar and shook her name, trying to hand it back. "Blitz, I can't..." "I know you always wanted a guitar. I was listening when you said how you love rock music and that you always wanted to be a guitarist for a rock band. So now you have one." Blitz turned into a sniffing wallflower. "And I know how much you love collecting geodes, and when I heard this place had Everfree ones, I had to come here." "But dude, you should have spent that money on yourself, not on us," said Sunset, trying to hand it back. Blitz took a deep breath. "No, because you two are the only friends I have. I want to show my appreciation and gratitude and how much I care about you two." Both girls looked at each other, not expecting that. "Blitz..." "Thanks...really." Blitz smiled, glad her friends were happy with the gifts. She looked at her empty wallet and could think of one thing. "I don't deserve this," she said, her hand shaking a bit. "I shouldn't be the one to be happy. Not after what I did in the past." She put her wallet back in her pocket and smiled as her friends kept checking out their gifts. Brishen and his father were watching this, and both were smiling. Brishen looked over to his dad. "Dad, stop drinking, and let's really fix this place up. Least for mom? She really wants to keep this place. It's been in your family for years, and she fell in love with this place. We can do this and make a difference. Saving this place." His dad thought about it. "Let's do this. Let's make this place a good place again." His father smiled at him and tossed the drink into the trash can. "Let's just hope we can save it in time." Brishen nodded and turned back to Blitz and the others. He were surprised to see Blitz waving at him and saying, "Let's hang out sometimes!" Brishen nodded, and the girls left. "We cleaned up the place and got more people started to show up. Shock when more kids started showing up with their parents. It wasn't long before mom showed us that Blitz parents posted that Facebook and Twitter post of you three holding the gifts she gave you with the hash tag 'Storm Ratty Pizza Place". Shit saved us." Sunset could only smile, remembering that day. Blitz is spending all her money on them. "Generosity," said Brishen, making Sunset turn to him. "She's a special girl. Generous and loving. Loving towards all of us. She really is something special, isn't she?" He looked at her, which made Sunset blush a bit, and nodded. "That's our blitz." "Also, it made me stop scamming people." He could see Sunset eyeing him with her arms crossed. "Okay, okay, still scamming people, but now only against people who deserve it and giving the money to people who need it. Still, she changed me a lot." Sunset couldn't help but smile. "She really is something." "Yea..." They finally arrived at Blitz Place and knocked. Quickly, the door opened, and Brishen was shocked to see Blitz in Twilah hair style. "Finally ditch the rainbow hair all these years? Shame, I was hoping to find that bucket of gold coins," he laughed. Braver glared at him and punch him in the stomach. "My little sister isn't a leprechaun." Brishen held his stomach and coughed out, "Sister?" "Brishen, meet Braver. Blitz, twin sister. Remember? The one she always talks about and misses." Brishen stood back up and apologized, and they were let in. "Where's Blitz and Wallflower?" asked Sunset, not seeing them anywhere in the living room. "They went out for a bit but came back, and they're in her room," smiled Braver, pointing upstairs. Brishen smirked hard. "Blitz is finally losing her V-card. Good on her." "I'll kill you where you stand!" glared Sunset, and Braver joined in and said, "There won't be anything left of you to even stand." Brishen gulped, wondering if they really could and were serious about it. "Well, I'm going to the bathroom because I think I shit myself. Ladies," he said, walking away and not testing his luck, but Braver grabbed him by the collar. "She's not doing anything like that. This is Blitz. Besides, you need to learn something important about her. It's very important, and she really needs us right now." "What's that?" he said, worried. Sunset and Braver quickly told him about what's going on, and he didn't buy it. Braver was going to transform to prove it to him, but they all heard a loud noise upstairs, and Blitz was cursing loudly. They called out to her and hurried upstairs. They could hear noises from her room and knock on it. "Sis!? You okay?" asked Braver, putting her ear on the door. "I'M FINE! HOLD ON!" A few seconds later, Blitz opened the door in her anthro form. She noticed Brishen and nodded at him. "Holy shit, they weren't lying. Evil Dawn, multiverse crisis, and your super horse!" he fainted. "RAINBOW COMET!" shouted Blitz as she opened the door fully, revealing her red, blushing face. Braver picked up Brishen and was taking him down stairs, while Sunset noticed her friend blushing. It was almost like she was crying. "Blitz, are you okay?" she asked, looking at her. "I'M FINE!" said Blitz, not looking at her. "It's nothing." Blitz tried to shut the door, but Sunset stopped her. "Blitz, it's okay to tell me." "No, it's not; it's really none of your business." "You're my best friend, and I care about you." She forced her way in and shut the door behind her. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here." She started to blush herself as she touched Blitz's cheeks. "Always." "But, its really, noth..." Blitz started to say, looking away from her, but Sunset forced her to look at her. "I know you're stressed out about the whole evil Dawn and saving Lucy. You can always rely on me." "But it's not..." "And I'm here for you no matter what and will always be there for you. You can always rely on me. Always." Sunset moved her head closer to Blitz, her heart beating. Blitz heart started to beat faster, and her wings stood up quickly and stood firm. "I, um." Blitz couldn't speak. She was nervous, scared, and unsure of herself. "Shh." Sunset put a finger on her lips, leaning her head closer, and was about to kiss Blitz, but she chickened out, moved away, turned around, and sat on the floor. "Sunset...what were you doing?" Sunset looked down at her hands, shaking. "I, um. You know...nothing." "Nothing?" Blitz didn't believe her. "Well, almost." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and her racing heart, but heard Blitz fall to her knees. "Blitz?" She could see her breathing hard and her face pure red. "Dude!? You okay!?" She could see Blitz wings twitching a little. "I'm okay. I just thought you were going to kiss me." She started crying a bit. "Too much is going on, and I'm not sure of my feelings now." Sunset could hear the pain in her voice and felt guilty for putting Blitz on the spot. "Blitz, I'm sorry..." "It's okay. It's not your or Wallflower's fault." Blitz looked to her right but realized it and looked away, but Sunset turned and went red. "WALLFLOWER!? What the fuck!?" shouted Sunset, seeing Wallflower sneaking her way to the door in rich-looking underwear and also bright red. She froze, slowly looked at her, and started to cry. "We didn't do anything lewd! I swear! Please don't kill me!" Sunset turned to Blitz and could see her being very shy as she tried to cover her wings, and it hit her. As birds use their wings as a sign of... "...oh god. OH GOD!" She looked away, holding her hand over her eyes. She never thought she would see Blitz like this...well not as a half pegasus pony being in heat. Did she step into them trying to do it? "No, her wings went up when I tried to kiss her," she thought, and her face went just as red as she made Blitz... It became very awkward between the three that the room went silent and only their hearts beats could be heard within the three... In the world of Equestria, Rarity peeked behind a corner of a ruin bakery and didn't see any demons, meaning the coast was clear. "It's clear!" She picked up a rope end and pulled it with her magic. "Great to hear, but can I ask a question?" said a sniffing Clarity as it's revealed to be inside a plastic bubble being pulled by Rarity. "Yes, dear?" "Why am I inside this bubble?" Then she suddenly sneezed, covering the front of her bubble with green mucus. "Well, that should answer your question," replied Rarity, looking back and feeling grossed out by the snot and even more grossed out as she saw her counterpart wiping it with her bare hoof. "Ew!" Rarity turned green and booked it towards a nearby house. She tossed Clarity into the house and hurried to the bathroom, and Rarity could be heard gagging. "Hey! Watch it! That hurt!" said Clarity, hitting the wall and sliding down it as the plastic bubbles popped. Rarity finished vomiting and went to wash her mouth. From the bathroom, she started to ask her own question. "Clarity, darling, dear. Why are you so...under the weather?" "How can I not!? I'm allergic to magic!" Rarity quickly entered the room as she heard her, "What!? No pony is allergic to magic! How can you be?" "Well, I am. A very bad version of it, hint the coughing blood too." Clarity sniffled, using her magic to get some tissues and blowing her nose. "It's rare, but I'm the only known pony with the magic allergy... well, in my dead universe." Rarity walked to the curtain of the window and peeked out, and she could see demons walking nearby and taking a break. It may be too dangerous to move out, and with Clarity, no less. "Well, it looks like we're going to be here for a while. How about you tell me more about yourself? How did you become sick? You couldn't answer last time when you were coughing a storm while in my house." Rarity sat far away from Clarity and watched her blow her nose. "Oh, well, where to start? It's not that long after my brother and I became a couple." "Wait, what!?" shouted Rarity. Clarity laughed, "Joking. It all started when I was a foal." Many years ago I was born into a very wealthy family and had everything I could ever want. My parents love me so much that they would buy me anything I wanted, including the most popular toy of the season. As I grew up, I realized everyone would buy me stuff or just listen to me, even adults and my friends. Even the teachers. ("So, your life is easy, and people will listen and do anything you say," said Rarity, listening to Clarity while still checking outside.) (Yup. Everything was perfect. That is, until I was 9. It all changed during a meeting my father had with Princess Celestia in our home. My father worked under her, but I never knew what. I was ears-dropping as they spoke in the study.) Clarity slowly walked past the hallway that had the guards that were guarding the study room, and she entered a closet room and shut it. She used her magic to open the air vent and climb inside of it. It wasn't long before she was above the study and could hear them talking. "Oh, I love gossip, and it's from the Princess!" smiled Clarity, and she started to listen in. "Celestia, please. You can't use my creation!" said Clarity's dad, sounding desperate. "It needs more testing on non-animals. I don't care if they're ponies or not. It's not safe yet to release on Luna-controlled areas and cause an outbreak." "Clover, we are in a crisis. Our troops are dwindling and losing every battle. Soon, I have to start the draft to keep us in the war. My sister has had an upper hoof in this war from the start. I need something to counter this. Something that will even the playing field and allow us to win the war." "Celestia, please don't. We still don't know how it will react on a pony. Heck, on our own troops if they enter the infected area without the right gear. It's an unknown virus." "Clover, I'm sorry, but we need to use it. I'm going forward with this project and the Final Harmony project as well." She stood up and looked at the test tubes and papers on the desk. "With these projects, I will end the war once and for all." Clarity couldn't hear well, as most of the stuff she heard was muffled, but she did hear something about a war and her dad and the princess talking about a project. She didn't understand the rest and tried to listen better, but her weight was too much for the vent, and she fell into the room. "AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" "What the?" The Princess and Clover looked and saw Clarity on the floor. "Sweetie? Why are you here?" asked her dad, helping her up. "I, um, was... um," she couldn't lie and admit to eavesdropping. Her father was going to ground her, but he suddenly felt the cold gaze of the princess on him. He turned and looked and saw her cold, angrily eyes, making him bow his head and force his daughter to bow. "Forgive her! Forgive her! She's just a child and has curiosity." Princess Celestia didn't buy it. "This is a serious matter. This is no place for a child." She looked at her and gave her a stern look. "She must be punished. Do not allow her to listen to other people's conversations, especially ones that are very confidential." "Yes, my princess. I'm sorry. Please forgive us." The princess took a test tube, poured it into the tea, and handed it to Clover, who went pale. "Princess?" "Tell her to drink it. If she listens, all will be forgiven. If she doesn't, I will punish not only her but your whole family. So." Celestia's eyes glowed white, and she used her royal Canterlot voice, making Clarity's father's study echo with her anger. "TELL HER TO DRINK IT." Clarity had no idea what's going on, but she felt her father lifting her chin, holding a warm tea in front of her, and telling her to drink it. She did and drank all of it and handed it back to her father, who was shaking. "There. All done. Are we good?" he asked, trying to keep his cool. Princess Celestia just nodded and left, but stopped and speaking to him with back to him. "Send me the results of the prototype and how it affects her. Also, don't think you can leave the kingdom without my knowledge. You will do well to remember your place, Clover. And next time, keep your spawns away from our meetings, or it will be you next time." She looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a wicked smile. "You and the rest of your family." Clover stood there and shook, unable to move or say anything. "F-f-forgive me, my princess." "See that it doesn't happen again," said Celestia, leaving. The princess was gone, and Clover collapsed onto his knees and cried. "Dad? What's wrong?" asked Clarity, not sure of what happened. He looked at her and gave her a big hug. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I should've told you not to eavesdrop, and you wouldn't have fallen. I'm sorry. Please, please, forgive me." "What's wrong?" asked Clarity, scared and hugging her father, and she could feel his tears landing on her. "Why are you crying? I don't understand." Her father couldn't answer her and could weep over what the princess had forced him to do. A day later Clarity was in bed and was very ill. Her skin was burning hot and sweating badly, and it was very hard for her to breathe. She wasn't allowed to visit a hospital, and instead, her father brought in his research group and studied her. She could feel her horn burning the most and let out purple sparks. It felt like her magic was killing her, and she couldn't focus or cast her magic. Her head hurt, and her breathing was getting harder with each passing second. She looked at the shadow figures, all dressed in protective gear. She closed her eyes and opened them to see she's somewhere else. In a white room. "Clover, the testing is done. The prototype is a failure. It just creates an allergy to magic. For older ponies and creatures, it won't affect them at all, but the young and small will have a severe reaction and will die if they use magic too often." "No," whispers Clover, not because it failed but because the princess will still use it, damning many young children, in the stake of war. "If it's a failure, then I'll take full blame and write up the report. Thank you all for the work you have done." "Thank you, sir," they all said, leaving. Once alone, Clover took a deep breath, looking at his sick daughter. "My sweet daughter. I'll give you all the care you'll ever need. You will never suffer again. I promise. I'll even create a cure for your illness. I'll give you my world. I swear it." He left the room and headed off to write his reports. Clarity's life over the next few years was different as she lived with her never-ending allergy to her own and others magic; it didn't even need to be cast. As long as a magic user is nearby, she becomes even sicker. She could never go out in public. She could barely leave her home and was only allowed to be inside the mansion grounds. Her family could only see her, and even her own parents could only stay in a room for a few minutes before she would get too sick and need to leave for her own health. She was homeschooled by tutors, and her parents bought her books. She loved reading, learning, and being a bookworm. She would read anything. Books, magazines, comics, anything. But even though it was a harsh life she had, she also loved it. Ponies and other creatures were so kind to her because she's so sick and would always give her things or treat her with the upmost respect in letters. Her family and the staff were her only company. She was happy and didn't mind. Her dad had promised her a cure, and she was excited to get better, but at the same time, she hoped she could stay this way for just a little longer. Just a little more. Just a bit. 3 years later Clarity rang a bell, and two maids entered the room—no unicorns, as they weren't allowed in the mansion or near her. In fact, all the unicorns were fired. They were all earth and pegasus ponies. "Miss, can we assist you with anything?" asks a maid. "Yes, I would like the daily news and some tea, please." coughing and hacking, covering her mouth. The maid went and got a newspaper and poured some tea, handing both to Clarity. "Here, miss. The Daily Equestrian, fresh off the press. Oh, and a letter." "Letter?" Clarity looked at it and opened it. It was from her future husband, Redblood, as their family has planned their marriage since her birth, and Redblood is only a few years older than her. The letter was about his love for her and never giving up on her; he had not fallen in love with another mare as he believed his father-in-law would find a cure. The maids pulled in a giant vase filled with flowers and put it down. "Miss, what do you think of the flowers?" asks a maid. "They're...lovely..." Clarity couldn't hold back her coughing and started to hack. She covered her mouth, but she could taste the iron, and when she looked, her hoof were covered in blood. She coughed and coughed. "Miss!? What's wrong!?" said the maids, scared and running out of the room, screaming for help. Clarity felt weak and fell from her bed and on the floor, coughing. Her lungs were filled with blood and she couldn't breathe. She covered her mouth, pulled back, and saw her white fur covered in her own blood. Her vision was starting to blur, and she could see a figure of her father. "Clarity. Sweetie. I'm sorry." His voice echos in her head. "I'm so sorry." Present time Rarity was listening to the whole story, looking sad but also shocked, hearing how Celestia caused her suffering. "My word, you poor thing. No wonder you're not a fan of her." "Yeah, but don't worry, the next part will make you happy," smiled Clarity. "How can it?" Clarity closed her eyes and held her chest. "Generosity. I saw the purest form of it ever! It's something you will love, Rarity." Clarity told the story. 2 years later "Clarity, please don't cry," said her mother, sitting next to her bed, holding her hoof. "Why!? Why would he do that?" sobbed Clarity, not believing the news. "He said we would always be together. He said that no matter what. Even after you and your father told us about the arranged marriage," "He's just confused and young. He didn't want to marry you when he's old enough," said her mother, rubbing her hoof. "I'm sorry, sweetie. Please forgive him. Please, for me and your father." Clarity didn't care and cried into her pillow. "It's alright, dear. Just let it out," said her mother, leaving the room, but she heard her daughter asking her about her father. "Where's dad? I haven't seen since that day when I had a bad attack. Why hasn't he visited me?" Her mother looked at her and didn't answer; she just left the room. Charily returns crying into her pillow, as she thinks not only about her love walking out of her life but also about her father, who has never seen her for the last two years. Not once. He hasn't even checked on her. She felt like he was punishing her. That day was the day her world changed. She wasn't sure how, but something was wrong, and she could feel it. One day, during the night, she got out of bed and weakly headed to her parents room. Peeking inside and seeing her mother sleeping but not seeing her father or his things, not a sign that he had been there for a long time. She left the room and checked his study, and she saw it was empty and dusty. She went and checked every room in the mansion, until she checked the basement and saw a dim light. She peeked inside and saw him in poor health, with bags under his eyes and a skinny body. She could smell the scent of someone who hasn't taken a bath in the air and the sound of metal tools and machines working. "Dad? Is that you?" whispered Clarity, feeling cold. Her father looked at her, saw her, and got pale. "Dear, what are you doing here? It's late, and you should be in bed." "Father, are you sick? Why aren't you eating or sleeping?" "It's nothing. I'm just busy with work. I've been trying to find a cure." "For my illness?" Her father looked away, not saying anything. "I have been working day and night to find a cure, yes. I need to find a cure. I made you a promise. I can't go back on it." He looked at her and walked up and held her cheeks, seeing her getting sick slowly because of his magic. "I'll gladly give you my world. Take all of it, my love. You are worth it." "Father..." "Please, just...leave. You can't be down here. It's too dangerous for you." "But, dad. I love you and want to see you." "And I love you, sweetheart. Just please leave. Leave me be. Forget about me and go upstairs." He pushed her out and shut the door, locking it. "But, dad, wait. Let me help." "Go back to bed, dear. Please, just leave me be. Go. Go now." "But..." "GO!" shouted her father. Clarity was crying, hearing her father acting like that and leaving the basement and going back to her room. a few months later. Her mother left, and soon the staff started to quit as her father's job with the Princess ended as the Final Harmony project started up. Her rich life was slowly ending, and she could see the signs. Her food was becoming less and less, her clothes were slowly disappearing, and her bedroom was empty as things needed to be sold. She was starting to see the cracks and dirt in the mansion. She knew her father was broke and her mother left him, but she wasn't sure why. She didn't leave a note. All she did was pack her bags and leave. Her father had locked himself in the basement and was refusing any visits. Clarity was slowly losing everything and was forced to wear cheap clothing, not caring anymore, and could see the outside world slowly coming in. She started to beg for money, starting to become thin, wearing dirty clothing, and was losing her health even more. Her fur had patches in it, and her once bright, long purple mane went dim and started to fall out, leaving her hair very short. Soon, she visited her father in the basement. Talking to him behind the door, begging him to stop his experiments and just spend time with her. Begging him to leave and have a normal life with her. Telling him about the state of the house and her mother. Nothing. She opened the door and could see how everything was dark, as the lights were off. She used her magic to light the room, but it caused her to become sick. That's when she saw her father. Sitting on the chair, dead. She shut off the magic and did not even cry. The only thing she said was... "My father truly gave his life. He gave his life to find a cure for me. The greatest generosity a father could do." Rarity is fully stunned by the story and doesn't know what to say. Even before she could say anything, Charity spoke. "Which is why I gave him my own generosity. I buried him and left my home. I had to suffer for what I did. The pain I caused him and my family. I had to give it back to them. I had to make it right. I lived on the streets, sleeping in the cold, not eating much, and if I did, it was trash. I was finally giving back their generosity by suffering like that. That's my generosity to my family." Rarity was speechless and felt her heart broken. "I can't believe it. You did that? That's not generosity! That's self-harm. It's not your fault what-" But before she could finish, Charity shouted that it was her fault. If she never eavesdropped, her father wouldn't have had to suffer. "I should've never eavesdropped. I should've stayed away. This is my fault. All my fault. I deserve the punishment. I have to live through the pain and suffering. I deserve it. It's mine." "No, it's not!" shouted Rarity, shocking her copy. "You didn't ask for that. It wasn't your fault. How dare you say it is?" "B-but..." "But nothing. Your father didn't want this. He didn't want you to suffer. He didn't want you to hurt." "But he-" "Because he didn't want you to live like this." Rarity walked over to her and held her hoof for the first time ever. "You should've never done that. You should've never punished yourself like that. You don't deserve to suffer. You should've lived a wonderful life, been loved and have a happy life. Making yourself suffer isn't giving back; it isn't generosity. You don't deserve it. You don't deserve to live like that." "B-b-but...why? Why shouldn't I? It's what I deserve. I deserve it. Like the princess told me when she came looking for me!" "What?" "She was looking for me, wanting me to suffer, as I should. I told her what I was doing and said that's the most generosity I could give. That joining the Final Harmony project as a test subject would be a great gesture to the kingdom, to her, and to my father, so I did." Charity found herself on the testing table, tied down and coughing a ton, as the room was filled with unicorns dressed in mage robes. She could see Celestia looming over her and them. "With the failed bioweapon your father made and the fusing with the element of kindness failing, I need to try something new. Why not use both bioweapons? Make a perfect weapon." "N-no. This will kill her," said the royal scientist. "It doesn't matter. If it works, then we'll have the greatest weapon, and if not, we still have four more elements and subjects to use." "B-but..." Celestia glared at her and ordered her and the others to do it. They all listened, and the head scientist took out the element of generosity, and it slowly glowed bright as it slowly reached Charity's chest with a bright flash. "This pain...I deserve it." was her last word as her body ripped apart and her mind burned away. "They gave me generosity by ending my life," sobbed Charity. "It was a great gift and one I will treasure." Rarity didn't say anything and held her. "Please, no. Please tell me it's not true. I'm so sorry." She was crying and holding her tightly; her heart was breaking and her body was shaking. "Please don't cry. You have done nothing wrong. You've been the greatest thing I've ever seen through Braver's eyes. The generosity she has is all thanks to you. You showed her the true form of generosity. You are the only one who can show her how to be generous. I'm just a memory. A ghost of a sad story." Rarity leans back, still crying, "You are her, aren't you?" Charity tried to act dumb, but Rarity knew. "When you said you deserved the pain and suffering, Hurting yourself, and that's when I knew it. You are Braver or a part of her. I'm right, aren't I?" Charity didn't say anything, but her look told Rarity the truth. "Why didn't you tell me? Why keep it a secret?" "Because I'm not just part of Braver but also Blitz. When they are given something, they believe they don't deserve it. Giving it all up to someone else. They shouldn't have to suffer for-" "Their past, right? What happened to them?" Charity nodded and kept listening to Rarity. "They feel that way, and I don't know much about Blitz, but if she's like her sister, then both are like that, giving up their happiness to others. They are very selfless, aren't they? Not caring about their own needs but the others." Charity nodded, and Rarity sighed. "But you are their generosity made real. Even if they feel like that, I have seen it in Braver. The way she is always helping others, no matter what, Even if the world hates her, she doesn't care. She would gladly listen to anyone and anything. Giving them a chance, even if it means hurting herself, That's her true form of generosity. Someone who saw it first hoof and made sure it didn't go full on bad. Making sure there's hope for it. For her. To not repeat the same mistake again as you did. Right? You don't want them to suffer and just keep giving away more of themselves, to the point where they would lose themselves, am I right? Just like your father." Charity didn't move but nodded. "Then thank you. Thank you for watching over them. Blitz and my dear little Braver." Rarity held Charity close, her horn glowing. "Let me thank you." Charity was taken aback as she saw Rarity memories as she watched Braver grow up and the generosity she gave to her friends and to others. Seeing Braver trying to give away a ton of herself but always stopping and seeing the good she does and it returning to her in spades. "Braver is such a sweetheart, isn't she?" asked Rarity, making her counterpart laugh. "Yes. She is." "That's true generosity—giving to others but also giving back to yourself. Never take more than give. If you take too much, then it will only make you weak. If you hardly take, then you are no different from a greedy fool. Balance. That's what it means. Right? To balance the two. To be strong and to be weak. That's the spark I saw in her and you." Rarity let her go and smiled. Causing Charity to cry heavily. "Sometimes I feel like I wasn't ever meant to eavesdrop, like my story wasn't meant to ever go down that path." "That's not true, dear. We all have our paths and choices. It was your choice to follow. Just like me." She shook her head. "No, like someone took the pen away from me and wrote the ending I was never supposed to have—but with you and Rachel in the twins lives. Keep watching over them; make sure they don't give themselves away too much like my father or believe they should return the generosity by hurting themselves because of their past. Your generosity gives such a spark to not only them but to others as well. Keep that spark alive for them. Even she needs to remember that and be free like them. She needs that happy ending too." Rarity nodded, not fully understanding what she was talking about in that last part. She looked at her and saw her slowly fading and becoming another version of herself. Charity was now wearing a light brown trench coat and a long purple scarf that matches her mane, as it looked more healthy and had the same shade of purple as Rarity. Rarity could only smile, and as she knew, this was Charity's real form. Where the story went if she never died on that table and meeting... "If I had met Rainbow Sky, could I have changed the story? Changed my or her fate?" asked Charity, looking at her new form. "Maybe things would've changed. Maybe things could've been different. That's the story I wish had happened." Rarity smiled and could only hold her. "Same. Everyone deserves a happy ending. Even if we can't be with the ones to write it, Pass it on. To others, even the ones who think they don't deserve it. Like the twins. Make sure their story goes well. Right, my dear Charity?" Charity chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. That's what I would do, but please, darling, call me Remedy. Charity was just a pet name my parents gave me. My real name is Remedy." "Remedy, huh. I love it. It matches with your coat and scarf. They look nice." Remedy smiled, and the two held each other until Remedy finally let go and peeked out the window. "They're gone. We can move now." She said but was coughing a bit, but not as bad. "Let's hurry and find the crystal heart. We're good at finding gems, no?" She smirked, making Rarity smirk back. "Of course, finding a gem in the dark isn't that hard. It just takes a certain eye." The two laughed, left the room, and headed to the castle. Rarity knows the heart won't be under the palace like before. She could sense it. It was moved and hidden somewhere. That's why they had to be sneaky and avoid the guards. They didn't have any weapons but their magic. They had to use it wisely and quickly. They hurried along, but Remedy fell to the ground in pain. Rarity pulled her into the alley and helped her. "Are you okay? Do you need rest?" but that's when Rarity could see it; Remedy's body is slowly disappearing. "What's going on?" Remedy had the most scared and worried look on her face. "It's the twins. One of them...is..." she started to cry. "It's getting killed." "What?!? How can you tell?" "Our scattered core was combined as one and fused with her. The twins are part of us, and we're a part of them. If one dies, then the other dies as well. If one is dying, then the other is dying as well. We can feel what they feel and what's happening. I can sense it. One of them is dying." "W-who is it? Blitz or Braver?" Remedy tried to answer, but she started to cough, making Rarity hold her and not sure what to do. "Remedy! Snap out of it!" Remedy stopped coughing, but she was out of it. "Save them. Save the spark. Don't let it fade away. Let her have a happy life too." "What? Remedy, are you okay? What's wrong? Remedy?!? REMEDY!!!" Remedy didn't say anything and fell unconscious, scaring Rarity. Inside the castle, Dashie, in her human form, weakly walked back down to the treasure vault room and leaned on the wall, slowly losing her senses and feeling weak. Her element healing her burns made her feel weak and tired, and she could only hold herself up. She had to keep going and help Blitz and the others. She can't give up now. She needed to get to the mirror, but she saw another anthro in front of it. Talking to someone. Before she could clearly see who it was, she felt her jacket being pulled, and she went flying out of the entrance and saw Sunfall standing in front of her with her flames blazing and her eyes filled with rage. "Hello again. Dashie." Dashie could only groan and was unable to stand up, which didn't bother Sunfall as she walked closer to her and picked her up. "So eager to see your daughter's death? Then let's watch together, shall we?" She raised her hand, and the twisted mirror came to her. She dragged Dashie by her hair and the mirror up the stairs. "In fact, let's show Equestria and your universe what kind of people your daughter and her sister really are, shall we? Let the world see the truth about them and finally set their stories right. Back on that path to the end." Nothing but laughter could be heard from within the castle as the sky started to form a magical mirror. A giant prism window and in Dashie and Twilah's home town, there were fires and chaos as people were running and screaming and the sky was red and full of magical energy.... End of ch. 18 > CH4P73r 19: M0N ɹƐȽꓒ߈Hꓛ ⅄W ގƖ ގƖHȽ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilah sighed as she turned off the recording feed and sat back in her chair, putting her hooves to her face. She just gave the Canterlot a live feed, showing them what's happening in the outside world. The New Canterlot city had many screens showing the same thing, and ponies and creatures looked up, wondering what caused this black water to happen and why Canterlot slid into the valley below. Questions that Twilah answered in that same feed. She feared they might riot again and hoped they didn't. At the same time of her speech, she's doing testing research on the black water, as it has the same readings from this pocket universe, and trying to understand why. It didn't help that ponies and creatures came to her before the speech, wanting to know more about these strange machines and such. She happily taught them. "Is everything okay, 'princess'?" asked AI Spike as he walked into her lab under the house. Twilah rubbed her eyes and asked a question: Why did he keep calling her that? "Because you're a princess, no? I thought Equestria was a monarchy and had a princess. You, correct? Well, a version of you, but you took the throne, right?" Twilah shook her head. "I didn't take anything. I'm just covering for Twilight while she's in my universe and stopping that evil version of my Lucy Dawn. By the way-" she spun her chair around, and she could Spike, creating a hologram of Rainbow Sun Dawn. "I did a scan as I was saving Canterlot, and this is her, correct? I think you can handle the data." He tossed the hologram files at Twilah, making her grab the data and read it. She couldn't believe her eyes; she double- and triple-checked. "This is a joke, right?!" She turned to the Blackwater and Pocket Universe data, and she checked it over and over. "You're kidding, right?! How can this be true? It doesn't make sense. This can't be possible." She was so confused, she couldn't stop looking at the data. She lined up all three data points and compared them, and they're showing the same data and readings. "There must be some kind of mistake." "No, I've checked and double-checked. I triple-check everything. Everything is matching up. From the pocket universe, the black water, and her. They're the same thing, but look at this," replied Spike as he showed Rainbow Dawn and the blackwater data. "They have something that the pocket universe doesn't have. See this reading?" he zooms in, and Twilah sees a small black fragment inside the water. "That's what I can see in the pocket universe is missing. The other two have it. I'm still not sure what's going on, but I'm sure we'll find out." Twilah looked at the black fragments, and to her, they looked like black seeds of something. She zoomed into the pocket universe sample and didn't see it, but something caught her eye. Something very important. "Spike, look." She showed him the image, and he was shocked. "That's impossible! That shouldn't be right!" "But it is. I'm not sure how, but there it is. This is what makes up the pocket universe. Pull up the blackwater sample now." Spike pulled it up, and the two had the same shocked look. "This isn't water," whispered Spike. Twilah sat back in her chair and couldn't understand how, but it was the truth. "It's time made real. It's not burning the land but accelerating it, to the point where it becomes a barren wasteland. If it stays in Equestria for much longer, then time itself will collapse. Making that universe unstable, like ten years ago. This is bad. I can't let that happen! Not again!" Twilah started to work on finding a way to beat the blackwater, but Spike told her something was going on in the city. Something not good. "Princess, we might have a problem." Twilah looked back at the feed, and her heart sank. "No..." Outside the city, many ponies and creatures were moving fast, like time was speeding up. Twilah was able to zoom in on the streets, and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Time was going fast, so fast that the city folks were moving like blurs, and she could see it. She zoomed back and saw the city filled with new buildings, like New York City. Time slowly returned to normal, and she could see everyone living their lives like it was normal, even new ponies and creatures. She could see Sassy as an old mare, walking up to the house. Knocking on it. Twilah quickly transformed back to normal human, screaming for Spike to show her reflection to her, wanting to see if she aged as well. She saw herself and she hasn't aged at all. Twilah felt her face. "What just happened? What's going on? Why did time jump?" "I don't know. I've been trying to figure it out as I saw it," answered Spike. "I've never seen that happen outside." Twilah, punch the wall. "Of course not! There wasn't a fucking city and living creatures outside. We would never catch it if it was just us here. Oh god, I could have aged like them and ruined my life." She turned to the screens and the data. "We need to get everyone out of here, now!" She ordered Spike to start moving everyone as she ran upstairs and opened the front door, and she became shocked even more. Sassy wasn't old anymore. In fact, she was normal again and very confused. "Twilah? Is this your real form? I figure you'll be older, no?" She asked, Twilah asked what she meant but heard her own voice just now. She looked at the mirror in the foyer, and she could see her reflection. She was a teenager again. "PRINCESS!" showed Spike as he appeared to her. "It just happened again as you went upstairs, but everyone became younger again. Even...you...oh no." Twilah's mind went into overtime mode and tried to understand what happened. She went with millions of thoughts and ideas until her mind stopped and she realized something. "Time storm. It's a time storm!" "Huh?!? Time storm?!?" asked Sassy, not understanding what's going on. "It's why I wasn't aging when it first happened. I was underground. Sassy, how long have you been here?" asked Twilah. "I don't know, maybe like a few-." Sassy froze in shock as she remembered living here for years, not hours. She started to freak out as she had a family here—are they even still 'alive'? "Spike! I need you to get everyone to... Spike?" Twilah turned, and her house was in ruins, like it had been abandoned for years, and Spike was gone. "No..." Twilah started to freak out, and she tried to contact him but got nothing. She remembered Sassy was here and turned around, but she wasn't here as well. In fact, the city is different now, like it has expanded over many years. She transformed into her anthro form and flew into the sky, and she could see that the city had expanded far and wide. She saw many ponies, humans, anthros, and other creatures living in the city and maybe beyond. Far in the distance, she could see a castle-looking skyscraper. "No, no, no! What the fuck is happening?!?" "The question is...where are you now?" Twilah knew that voice. She slowly turned around, and she was shocked to see the source. "...Blitz?" floating there was her daughter, but wearing a long blue hoodie jacket and clearly older. Her hood covered her eyes, but her grin was showing. "What's up?" Back on earth and hours before what happened with Blitz and her friends. Twilight woke up and could see Dash wasn't in bed, but she could smell breakfast. "Smells like waffles, sausage, and eggs," she smiled as she got up and looked at her phone...well, Twilah phone really, and remember, she had to start Twilah job today. Before she got out of bed, she could see a half-sleep Blitz walking past the door and saying morning. Twi smiled, looked back at the phone, and sent a text to Sunset and to Wallflower, thanking them for being there for Blitz. Even though she didn't raise her, she's Braver sister and was raised by her counterpart, so she's been seeing her as a daughter now. She got out of bed and lowered her head, as she's so tall that her head could hit the ceiling. She's not an Alicorn anymore, but she still has the height of one if a Alicorn were humans. She went into the bathroom and started her morning routine. After getting ready, she headed down the stairs and could see Dash and the girls eating their food and talking among themselves. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the sight. This was the life she wanted, not for herself but for the twins. She's happy for them and enjoying life with friends and family, but her vision flashed and she saw Nightfall home, and standing alone in the kitchen was that girl, the one wearing that rainbow blanket. Before she could question it, she heard Braver's voice asking her if she's okay, as she's hugging her. "Mom?" "Twi, are you alright?" asked Dash. "Yeah, I just need some coffee." After having breakfast, Twilight was looking at the mirror near the door and double-checking her clothes, which were work clothes that Rachel had picked out for her. "Twi, you have been checking yourself for a while now. You alright?" asked Dash as she stood next to her wife. "I'm fine. Just nervous. I never had a job inventing stuff for...well, for the whole world." "Twi, it's you. You're a genius, babe. You'll blow everyone away with your ideas!" Twilight turned to Dash. "That's the problem Dash. I'm a genius in our universe, but here? In Twilah universe, there's..." she holds her pet toaster.  "This! 'Technology'. I can never think of creating something like this or these fhones." "Phone. It's called a phone, and mom didn't make those," said Blitz, from the couch, showing Braver how a TV works. "What are you watching?" asked Dash. "Just a show called My Little Pony," said Braver, smiling at her. "My Little Pony?!" both moms said at the same time, seeing anime ponies and shocked to see their lives being played in that box called a TV. "Wait, so our life is playing on 'TV'? What?" asked Twilight, looking at the screen. "More like a cartoon; that's a kid show," said Blitz. "After that day, Twilah and Dashie saw your life through your memories, saw all those life lessons, and wanted to share those story of Equestria with kids. To help learn about friendship and other things" They could see a Twilight and Dash episode about Dash hiding the fact that she loves reading books. "MOM EPISODE!" shouted Braver, happy to see her parents on TV, but her parents were kind of embarrassed and couldn't help but feel weird and uncomfortable. "How did she do this?" asked Twi. Blitz looked at them. "They pitched it to a TV studio but got rejected. When Twilah became famous, she just funded it herself and it became a hit. Of course, many fans believe the characters are based on my parents and their friends and family. Oh boy, only they knew." Blitz stood up, "Anyway, your job is for the government, not the world. You create stuff, like making things better for people to use, that gets sold oversea. Twilah made the contract, not the government. So..." Blitz became very serious as she stared down at Twilight. "If they ask for weapons, Say no, as that wasn't the deal. If they try anything funny, Call me, and I'll deal with them. Okay?" Twilight and Dash were silent, as they had never seen Blitz become so serious that it actually scared them, so they just nodded at her. "Good! Here, mom made it." She took out a watch and tossed it to Twilight. "It's a teleporter. Have a nice day at work. Love ya mo-" Blitz stopped, catching herself from saying mom. "I mean, bye, Twilight." Dash chuckled at that, but Twilight felt a bit heartbroken. "...I love you too." Dash and Blitz were shocked, but Braver wasn't as she faced them. Twilight blushed as she had to explain herself. "I'm not your mother, but in a way, I am. Twilah and Dashie raised you; they're us, but still, it's a bit confusing. But... you're a good girl, that Dash and I can't help but love and be proud of you. As if you are our daughter, I guess it's like-" Blitz smiled a little. "I see where Braver got that from." she petted her sister. "To be honest, it feels like they're still here... I hope we can get them back home soon." They all could see her looking sad, so Dash hugged her and petted her head. "Don't worry. We'll get them back." "You promise?" "Yeah." Twilight smiled and petted her too. "I promise too." Blitz smiled and nuzzled them. "I know." "Good...Now move over, Braver! I wanna see how cool I look sneaking around," shouted Dash, hopping next to her daughter. Twilight giggled, put on the watch, and looked back at Blitz, who smiled and waved goodbye. She pressed the button, and she found herself in a work lab. "There you are! Finally working today," said an old female voice. "Huh?" Twilight turned and saw a large computer screen, and a female voice was coming from it. The screen showed a video feed of an old lady wearing a lab coat. Shocking Twi, as it was this universe, Celestia. "CELESTIA!?" The old lady was laughing. "My daughter, Tia!? Saying I look like her? Why, you flatterer?" Twilight sighs and calms down. Blitz didn't tell her this. If this wasn't Celestia, then this has to be... "You're her mom..." Twi remembers Celestia never talking about her parents, which is why she had no idea what they were like or even looked like in this and her own universe. The old lady smiled at her. "Why yes, I'm a version of Celestia's mother, Asteria is my name. It's a pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said hello but quickly realized something. "You know who I am?" The screen opened up like a door, revealing the small old lady, and she hopped down in front of Twilight. "Well, of course, Twilah isn't as tall as you and is not surprised to see me." She chuckled and took Twilight's hand and shook it. "Plus, S.P.I.K.E. sent his record log to the main frame about everything that had happened before he was cut off. It was quite a read, but Twilah did tell me about how the multiverse is real. My daughter in another universe is a former pony princess. Ha, I can't believe it. She's just a high school principal and my youngest daughter is a vice principal of said school" Asteria led Twilight to the next room, showing more of the workshop. "This place is huge. Did the government really made this place for her?" "Well of course, the government wanted Twilah to have the best work area for creating better technology to help the US. Of course, there were a lot of people who didn't like that. But Twilah is an American citizen, born and raised here. So it makes sense for her to work for the US than other places like Japan or China." Twilight and her talked about the contract, which Twilight knew about but was shocked to hear how much Twilah was making per project, as money and bits were basically the same. "That's a lot of money. What's a good example of her work?" Asteria laughed and told Twilight to look at her watch. Saying that's only a prototype of the teleportation device that will be slowly phased in over the coming years. "Phased? You mean, it's slowly going to be given to the public?" "Yup, and there's already a few hundred in the states for the government figures, which will soon remove the need for planes and other forms of transport, saving gas, time, and lives." Twilight looked at the watch and back at her. "She recreated a teleportation spell. Amazing, no magic, no less. I wish I could see how it works." "Oh, you can." Asteria pointed to a door and said, "That's Twilah's lab. You're free to explore her lab." Twilight couldn't believe it. She can finally learn more about her alternate self through what she creates. They entered the personal workshop, and she could see it looked like her own research lab back home. Books, papers, notes, and other items are scattered around. She started to look around the room and started to look at the items on the table, seeing blueprints and notes, and her mind was racing. She was amazed by the ideas that Twilah created; some ideas are similar to her own; if they were in magic spell form, others were clearly magical spell recreated. She was so excited that she was smiling. "Oh, this is great! Oh, oh! And here, I can use this! And here, and here, oh this one!" Twilight took the blue prints and is totally amazed by them. "It's the recreation of the magical shield! This one is the recreation of the levitation spell, but this one is the recreation of the magic detection spell. This one is the recreated version of the-" Asteria smiled as she saw Twilight looking at the blue print. "The recreated version of the teleportation spell. The prototype is the watch. This is the blue print. Tell me, does it look familiar?" Twilight stopped and looked at the blueprint. Her heart race as she recognized something about it. "It's the blue prints of the scroll spell version. The spell opens portals by writing the spell rather than casting it." Twilight looked at the notes and could see the notes about the teleportation device, its structure, how it works, and... "How it can be weaponized. To go anywhere." Twilight looks back at the old lady and says, "This can't be right." Asteria smiled. "Ah, there you are." Twilight looked confused. "Huh?" she watched as Asteria took the paper work and read it. "Blitz told me not to-" "Ah, don't worry. I agree, too. Twilah always makes notes to see how they could be used as weapons if the wrong hands have them. Ways to counter it and other things. Only I have access to these. No one can access these unless I say so. Which is no one!" "Wait, are you saying...?" "Twilah doesn't trust anyone in this place. Its being funded by the US government after all, and I agree with her. I've only known her for five years, but I've never seen someone as smart as her. She has every base covered and makes sure no one will know or understand the devices, so she used your universe scroll technology. Even I don't know how it works still. If anything, it's safer in her own hands. Even if she does use it for good, the US will find a way to weaponize it, and the next thing you know, wars will start. She won't let it happen." "But it was out here in the open. Anyone can come in and take it." Asteria smirked, put the papers down, and looked up. "Girls." The lights in the room went off, and Twilight could hear something landing. She could hear the door locked and was scared as the light turned on, and she could see two large android Alicorns. Twilight could see they had no face features and had white armor, but their mane and tail were hologram lights, but she touched them and felt real. "Hard light. Fascinating." She looked at them. "Did she make these? They are beautiful." Asteria nods and patted the androids, acting like a real horse as they nuzzled her. "Yes. This is the Alicorn android that Twilah made. Cute, huh?" "Amazing! These look like real Alicorn. Can they talk?" Asteria chuckled. "Oh, no. Not yet, but they are made to protect this room and stop anyone from stealing Twilah's files. They also secure the mainframe from outside hackers. So, they are pretty useful." "Can I take a look at them? Please, they are amazing." Asteria smile "Go ahead, but don't look too long. The government is sending people to check up on us and see what Twilah has made this month. Maybe you can create something? Twilah always talked about how smart you are." Twilight looked at that workshop bench and started wondering if she could think of something to make—can she even make something at all? Twilah is calling her smart, but she isn't this smart. She's just a regular genius, nothing more. "No, no, I can't do this." She sat down and said, "I can't do anything." "Why not?" asked Asteria, walking up to her, while android Alicorns jumped back where they came from, which is a spiral machine above the lab and enter their apartment section and looked down at the two humans. "I'm not like her. I can't even think of doing what she does. She's amazing and wonderful, but I don't have the knowledge or experience. I can't believe I downplayed her, saying I can do what she can and better... I can't." Asteria frowned and pulled over a chair and patted her shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short, girl." "Huh?" "Twilah told me she saw your memories and how you created new spells. Recreating a spell from a book just by reading it for the first time. You are at her level in smarts. Maybe not in technology or science, but in magic and spells, you're on her level." Twilight smile "Thanks." "No problem, so try to make something. Even if it fails, we just give them something from the trash bin," she laughs. Twilight nodded, took a pen and paper, and started thinking, wondering what to make. She started drawing, not sure what to make, and her mind was racing with thoughts, ideas, and plans. Until she heard Asteria chuckling. "What?" "You truly are her. Even look the same when thinking." She walked out of the room, leaving Twi alone. Twilight blushed and looked back down. Thinking hard about what she should make and seeing a ball on the desk and tossing it at a wall. Over and over. She giggled. Remember how Dash hurt her wing and had to be in a hospital bed doing this very thing. That's when it hit her. "What if..." Twilight started to write her ideas and thoughts and drew different blueprints. She started to yell in enjoyment and kept working on her idea. While the Alicorn androids looked at each other and back at Twilight, trying to guess what she's making,. The room was quite; Blitz, Sunset, and Wallflower couldn't face each other. Wallflower used a blanket to hide her rich, fancy underwear. Sunset just sat on the floor, covering her eyes. Blitz just sat on her bed and her back to them, trying her best to calm her wings down by thinking of cute things, but knowing Wallflower was in her underwear and Sunset tried to kiss her, those thoughts were failing. "I...um, can I borrow clothes from you?" Blitz didn't turn to her. "Yeah, um, go ahead. Just look in the closet." Wallflower got up and went to the closet, taking out any clothes and putting them on. "Why the fuck are you in your underwear!?" yelled Sunset as she faced Wallflower, having a hurt look. "Were you two going to..." "NO!" yelled Wallflower, turning red. "THEN WHAT!? I don't see any other reason for you to be in your underwear!?" "SHUT UP!" Sunset and Wallflower wanted to start yelling at each other, but they could hear Blitz crying as her wings finally lowered. "I undressed her. I'm a horrible friend." Sunset could tell she was hurting and knew Blitz wouldn't ever do something like that. Even before she could ask, she could see Wallflower rushing towards her, hugging her, and apologizing. "No, Blitz. Don't apologize. Please, it's not your fault. I shouldn't request that and I wouldn't lost my dress; I'm so sorry. You're not a horrible friend." "I was going...I was..." Blitz could feel her body pressing up against her back, and she could feel her wings going up again. "Sorry, I can't control them when...you know..." Wallflower could see Sunset and could tell she was trying to understand what's going on. "Please, Sunset. Let me explain." She said nothing, just nodding. Wallflower started to explain what happened an hour ago. oᵷɐ ɹnoɥ Wallflower never felt like this before. For the first time ever, people were noticing her as she walked through the town, heading to Blitz House. She could feel all the eyes on her, and her heart was racing, wondering what was going on. "Is it because of the outfit that Rachel gave me?" She looked down and could see the nature-looking dress, the fake flowers and leaves were moving in the wind, and her feet were showing—no shoes, just green stockings with sandals. The dress was short enough that her legs could be seen. She blushed, seeing a few guys staring at her and her legs. "I'm not complaining. It's nice. For once, people are actually seeing me and not ignoring me. This is new." She chuckled as she started to walk towards the Blitz home. "I wonder how Blitz will react when she sees this." Once she arrived, she stood in front of the house door and took a deep breath. "Ok, just knock on the door and say hi." She knocked on the door and waited for a reply. Nothing until the door opened, and it was Dash, who was upset. "What do you mean this is the last season!? We had way more adventures after we went our separate ways and did our dream jobs!" Dash look who was knocking and realize it was the girl from yesterday. "Wallflower right?" Wallflower smiled and nodded, not knowing what was going on. "Sorry about that. It's just the last season, and there's more to tell. What brings you here?" "Um, I just wanted to drop by and visit...and last season?" She asked, entering while Dash shut the door and saw Blitz and her sister sitting on the couch, watching a show she knows about. "My little pony? Wait!" She realized that the show was based on Dash and Twilight. No wonder she remembered hearing their names before. "Yeah, nine seasons isn't enough! Odd, they ended on that episode where Twi got news about the rain-" Dash smacked her face with her palm as she realized that's when the event started ten years ago, when she went with Twilight to a nearby forest to watch the rainbow comet, which changed their life forever and for the better. "Well, anyway. Yeah, that's the last season huh? The show's ending is great." Wallflower just nodded and smiled, not knowing what else to do. "Sorry about the rant," said Dash, looking at the twins, who didn't say anything at first but started laughing, making Dash annoyed. "What's so funny?" but she realized it was at each other. "Look at you! A mommy girl and her number one fan. So happy to see Dash on screen and sobbing your eyes out when she learns a lesson or hints at TwiDash. You're so cute," said Blitz, pointing at her sister. Braver blushed hard, hating her sister, saying she was a mommy's girl, but didn't deny it. She was somehow wearing a T-shirt that had Dash and Twi faces on it. "S-SO!? It's my parents! Of course, I'm happy to see them on the screen!" "Sure, sis," teased Blitz, smiling at her. "I hate you!" yelled Braver, looking away from her and at the TV, as the next episode was back to season one's first episode. Dash laughed and felt proud that her daughter is her fan, even if she's a mommy's girl, and that she's so cute. She patted her head. "It's ok, honey. Your mom doesn't care; it's actually kind of cute, and it makes me feel special." Dash started to show off. "I am the fastest and coolest. Of course, my daughter will be my fan," she said, striking a pose. "If I had my wings back, I could show you all my old moves!" Dash felt her back and sighed, "Man, this stinks. It's like when Discord took my wings. This freaking blows." "You could fly? Like Blitz?" asked Wallflower, making Dash and the twins look at her. Dash smirk "Yup! I'm a pegasus after all. Just like Blitz here, who's my...huh?" She turned to Blitz and saw her in her anthro form, blushing with a weird smile. Dash knows that look and sighed. Blitz is her clone—well, a clone of another universe version of herself. No matter the universe, nothing will change in how she will act when seeing something she finds 'hot'. Blitz hopped off the couch and walked up to her friend, amazed at how she looked in that dress. "Wow. Um, wow, she said, looking up and down. "You like it?" asked Wallflower, happy that this happened with Blitz checking her out when she shows off the outfit and feeling her chest beating fast. "Yeah! You look so hot! I love how the leaves move, and your stockings with the leaf pattern are...WOW!" Wallflower blush, as Blitz was too busy staring at her and touching the flowers and the fake leaves, amazed how it was part of the outfit. Both didn't notice Braver peeking over the couch, looking at them with an upset look and narrowing her eyes at them. Of course, Dash notices and also recognizes that look. "If Blitz is my clone, then Braver is Twi clone, and I recognize that jealous look anywhere," thought Dash, shaking her head. "Sunset also told me you are a pegasus too; can I see?" asked Wallflower, remembering that information after Dash talked about her wings. "Please?" Blitz snapped back to reality and remembered her pony form. "Oh yeah. Ok," she said, returning to her original form and showing off like Dash will. "Awesome! You look like Rainbow Dash! Just having that black color in your mane and cutie mark is different!" Blitz smile, glad her friend was so interested in her, and felt happy inside. "Yup, I'm like Rainbow Dash because...um..." Blitz realized she had to explain to her that she's a clone of her universe Rainbow Dash, and also Twilight. Then her dark thoughts started to leak in, reminding her how she killed them, her whole world, and then her universe. She started to freak out and kept saying, um, while trying to think. "Are you alright?" asked Wallflower, seeing how she was acting. "Blitz, what's wrong!?" Braver said, transforming into her anthro form. "Hey, it's okay!" "I'm a...my world was destroyed by someone evil...and I can't...my own universe." mumble Blitz, but Wallflower couldn't make out what she was saying at all. "Blitz, I told you it wasn't your fault. It's mine!" whimper Braver, hugging her, but Blitz pulled her away, saying it was her fault. Dash knew this was going to turn bad, and she needed to say something, but someone beat her to it. Blitz felt warm hands on her wing and felt her feathers being touch. She flinched and turned to see Wallflower smiling and amazed by her wings. "Your feathers are so soft, just like my pet bunny, Cotton Tail." Blitz eyes widen and blush, feeling embarrassed by her reaction, and look down. "S-Sorry... I have a problem remembering..." Wallflower stroked her wing and said, "It's okay. We know you are hiding something from your past. Like we all told you, we'll be waiting for you when you're ready. I know you will tell us when you're ready, right?" Blitz was in a daze, feeling her stroking her wing and feeling so nice and warm that she just nodded. She tried transforming back into her human form but just went back into her anthro form again, making Wallflower giggle. "It's ok. Stay in your original form. You are so cute." Blitz felt her face getting warm and kind of happy that she was called cute. "If you say so." Braver rolled her eyes, hating that her twin was blushing and acting like a big dork. She sat back on the couch, looking back at the TV, and crossed her arms, saying 'dork' under her breath. Dash sighed harder and whispered to herself that her daughter is truly like Twilight and herself. She turned back and noticed Blitz had trouble turning back. "Odd, this never happened before. I wonder what's going on." said Blitz, trying her best to return to her original form but couldn't. Wallflower smiled and said it was fine, saying she liked seeing her as the town super hero too. The Rainbow Comet. "Can I request something from the Rainbow Comet?" giggled Wallflower. "Huh?" Blitz said, wondering what she had in mind. "Can you take me a ride?" she pointed up. Blitz's wings flutter, feeling so excited to give her a ride and showing off her speed. "Sure!" Wallflower felt Blitz arms around and held on to her, and Dash opened the door, seeing the rainbow comet-like trail being left behind and the screaming from Wallflower. Dash shuts the door and smirks, "Yup, just like me." "AAAAHHHH!" screamed Wallflower as Blitz flew up high, above the town, into the clouds and did her stunts and tricks. "This is awesome!" cried out Blitz, feeling so free and alive. "AHH! SO HIGH! FAST!" screamed Wallflower, not expecting her to go this fast. She thought Blitz would go slowly into the air like flying super heroes do when giving their love of their life a romantic ride in the sky—not like this! "This is great! I wish I could do this every day! Enjoying it?" Blitz looked at her passenger and saw she was looking down, with tears in her eyes, looking like she was going to puke. "Y-Yes." Wallflower was telling the truth, as she was enjoying this, just not how fast Blitz was going. Blitz smiled,  flew a bit slower, and flew above the clouds and landed on them. "Let's take a break," said Blitz, letting go of Wallflower but quickly remembering something as Wallflower fell through the clouds and zip down to catch her, who was still screaming, "Heh heh. Sorry. Forgot you aren't a pegasus." Blitz flew back up to the clouds, landed on them again, and held Wallflower tight, making her surprised that Blitz could stand on clouds at her. "W-What?" "We can walk on clouds and control them. It's one of our abilities." Wallflower was amazed, but remembered the cartoon. Asking why other pony races can't walk on the clouds. Blitz tried to answer it but couldn't. She didn't know why, but maybe Braver or Twilight could answer that. She sat down and put Wallflower down on her lap like a seat, making her blush a bit. "Well, the thing is, only pegasi and Alicorns can walk on clouds, fly, and control the weather, so maybe it's wings-related?" Blitz explained, thinking that's the reason. She tried to think about it hard but did not realize Wallflower was a blushing mess as she's sitting on her lap. "It's fine; you don't need to figure it out; I was just curious." Wallflower smiled and looked around, not looking Blitz in the eye. Blitz stopped thinking and looked around as well, seeing how the sun's beaming rays hit the clouds, making them shine. She sighed and leaned back, saying, "It's really beautiful." Wallflower looked back and saw how calm she was, something she was very glad to see. There was no stress or worry on her face. It was just a peaceful and happy face, which was so beautiful and lovely. Blitz noticed her and asked if something was wrong, thinking it was because she wasn't flying anymore like she wanted, but noticed how she was looking at her funny like. "Wallflower? Are you alright?" she asked. "You're beautiful..." "Huh?" Blitz didn't hear her right, and Wallflower realized what she just said and freaked out. "Ahh! Um! I mean, I don't know! I'm just saying whatever!" she said, getting off of her but quickly being pulled back in Blitz chest by her, as Wallflower forgot where they were. "Thank you!" she cried out, holding on to her as Blitz laughed her ass off. "Wow, I was not expecting you to do that!" Blitz was still laughing and was so happy. "You're funny and adorable." "Shut up!" blushed Wallflower, not sure what to do or how to react. She was never complimented this much, and she never had someone call her adorable. Blitz wiped her tears away, took a good look at her, and finally noticed her outfit again. Her dress is so pretty, like she was a forest nymph, which totally fits her. Then she noticed her face as the sunlight was hitting her and saw how beautiful her green eyes were, her cute smile, and her hair shining so bright. "You're...beautiful." Blitz whispered proudly, without thinking and making Wallflower blush more, not expecting that. "T-Thanks. You are too. You are a pretty girl—a cute one." Blitz blushed a lot, feeling her heart beating faster and feeling hot. She never felt like this for Wallflower; in fact, she only felt like this when meeting Lucy for the first tim- "No," Blitz thought, realizing what she's feeling. "Blitz? What's wrong?" asked Wallflower, seeing her upset face. Blitz stood up and holding her close, and started flying down super quick. Wallflower was scared but saw how serious Blitz was and held on, but not seeing her dress being ripped off by the speed, Blitz entered her room by the window and freaked out by what she was feeling in her heart, as she loved Lucy. She couldn't love another, even if someone as amazing and beautiful as Wallflower was. "I'm sorry, Wall...flower..." Blitz slowly trailed off as she said her name, noticing Wallflower had lost her dress and her underwear was in full display. Very fancy, rich-looking, green, and flowery-patterned underwear. Wallflower looked down and saw what Blitz was seeing and started to scream, not expecting this. "AHHH!" screamed Wallflower, trying to cover herself, but she could see Blitz wings opening and standing, as well as how she was looking at her. "Blitz?" Blitz snapped out, blushed a lot, and turned away, saying she's sorry, not meaning to look. Wallflower told her it was alright, as it was her fault for not being careful. Blitz turned to her, but too quickly, and fell on her bed, being on top of her. Wallflower felt her weight and saw her face, which was so close to her, and both girls were a blushing mess. Blitz couldn't help but be hypnotized by her beautiful green eyes, her sweet smile, and her cute lips. She felt herself becoming stressed out again and wanting to be free from it and not feel so lonely. "W-Wallflower..." She started to lean forward for a kiss, but she stopped as she saw how Wallflower looked so scared—scared of her—flashes of her mother, Nightfall, being scared of her as she was killing by Blitz herself. Blitz snapped out of it and quickly got off, landing on the floor hard and cursing out loud... ᵂᴼₙ ₛᴵₕᵀ ᴱₖᴵₗ ₒᴳ ᴸₗᴬₕˢ ᵀᵢ "That's what happened!" finished Wallflower, explaining the event that took place to Sunset. "Nothing happened between us..." Sunset looked at Blitz, who didn't move once from the bed. She then turned to Wallflower and felt mad—so very mad—and hurting inside. "How could you, Wilma?" "What?" "How could you? Going behind my back and trying to steal Blitz from me!? How could you!?" "WHAT!? I did not!" "You did! Look at you!? You bought a dress and those stupid sexy underwear, which you don't normally wear, by the way. We all know you wear plain, cheap, ones that you get from Walmart. Did you buy this stuff to impress Blitz? Did you buy those so she can rip them off so she can-" "NO!" Wallflower got off the bed and went face-to-face with Sunset, both mad. "Yes, you did! You were planning this!" "Planning to what!? Get her to kiss me and confess her love to me, so we can be girlfriends and live happily ever after!?" "YES!" They both started to fight with each other, unaware of the unicorn in Blitz mirror, pounding it and pointing at something. Something that was in the room as it only could be seen in the mirror reflection, a dark figure dressed in a black robe, writing in a book as it looked and sat near them... "You know how much I love Blitz and you! I would never go behind your back and try to steal her from you! I won't go that low!" "YES, YOU WOULD, AND YOU DID! I thought you were my friend! Blitz needed company and a friend as she's stressed out. NOT LIKE THIS!" "SUNSET, SHUT UP, AND LISTEN TO ME! NOTHING HAPPEN BETWEEN US!" She started to cry. "I would never hurt you like that. We're friends." "Are we still?" Sunset asked, wiping her tears. "I love Blitz too, but I..." Sunset started crying again. "We can't be with her. She loves Lucy, you know that, right?" Wallflower nodded. "Both of you love me?" Both girls flinched as they heard that heartbreaking voice. Blitz stood up, feeling like her heart was shattered in a million pieces, and saw her friends, Sunset and Wallflower, fighting over her, and hearing them confess their love for her and say that they couldn't be together with her. Both girls realized what they said in the heat of the moment, forgetting that Blitz was there and in pain. "I'm sorry." "Blitz-" "No..." Blitz slowly faced them, her eyes red and her whole body shaking. "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't love me... I don't deserve it." "Dude? What are you talking about?" "I'm sorry, both of you." Blitz slowly backed away, not wanting to hurt them or herself and not wanting to think about how her mother looked. "I'm so sorry." "B-Blitz..." Wallflower tried to reach out and tell her it was alright and how they were fine and didn't want to give up on their friendship or their love, even if they couldn't be together. "Don't leave! I didn't mean what I said! Calm down; you are just stressing out, and we're just making it worse!" shouted Sunset, seeing Blitz slowly heading to the window. "I'm so sorry." Blitz turned away and tried to fly off, but felt their hands on her tail, pulling their hardest, not wanting her to fly off. "DON'T YOU FUCKING BLITZ THIS! DON'T!" shouted both girls, making Blitz turn to them, seeing their crying faces. Something within Blitz made her hug them, surprising the girls. "Why?" "Why what, dude?" asked Sunset, still crying. "Why me? Why did you two fall in love with me? Why!?" Both girls held her tight, smiling a bit. "Really dude? You don't know why? Even after knowing us?" "I-I mean..." "You're just so amazing, awesome, and wonderful. You have so many great qualities. You showed us your love for us and the others. How can't we fall for you?" Wallflower asked, making Blitz blush. "Yeah, what she said, but with a lot of words and more detail," said Sunset, making them laugh a bit. Within the mirror, the unicorn smiled but then glared at the dark figure, as it stopped writing and now faced off with a rainbow figure made of rainbow light, wagging its finger at the dark figure. "Blitz, there's no one else that I want but you. Only you could see me, always, being my bright comet in the night sky. I love you." Wallflower confessed, hugging her tight. Sunset was a little shocked that Wallflower could be so honest and bold. "Damn," she thought as she held Blitz's hand and smiled, as she didn't want to be left out. "Dude, you know I'm not the kind of girl to express my feelings and all... but you are awesome, caring, and amazing. I fell for you long ago, but I didn't want to ruin our friendship. Now I wish I had said something before, and I'm not going to stop loving you. I love you, Blitz." "I..." Blitz felt her tears fall as she saw them smiling at her. Her heart was racing as she started to see them in a new light, and she felt happy. "I love you too, Sunny," she said, then looked at Wallflower. "And I love you too, Wilma. I really do." But she let her hand go from theirs and placed it on her chest, crying harder as her heart belonged to one person... "But I love Lucy so much. She's my everything, and I don't want to be with anyone else. Please forgive me." They both sighed and nodded. "We forgive you." Blitz looked at them and could see their broken hearts. "It's alright." "Yeah, dude, it's alright. We didn't mean to stress you, and we don't want to lose you." "We don't." Wallflower added, "We'll just have to learn to love each other as the best of friends." Blitz could hear their heartbroken tone in their voices and didn't like that. They're her friends, and they should be happy. In the reflection of the mirror, the dark figure started writing again, and the rainbow figure quickly acted and shoulder tackled the figure away, looking over at Blitz and reached out to her but was quickly grabbed by the dark figure and disappeared into thin air. Leaving behind the scattered pages from the book and turning to black seeds and affecting the world and Blitz... ¡ᶻʇıןᑫ ¡ᵒᵘ "I shouldn't be happy. They should be." Blitz thought to herself as her eyes lost its glow of life and looked dim. "They're my friends, and they should be happy. I shouldn't be the happy one here." Blitz placed her hands on their cheeks, confusing them. "Blitz? What are you?" "I want to make you both happy." Both girls became quiet, unsure of what she meant by that. "Please, I want to make you both happy." Blitz leaned forward and kissed Sunset first, causing her to be surprised. Blitz kissed her deeper, pushing her tongue inside her mouth and tasting her. Sunset was beyond stunned. Wallflower was confused as she was watching. "B-Blitz?" Blitz broke the kiss, looked at Wallflower, and did the same thing. Wallflower was shocked as she was kissed and could feel her tongue, and Blitz was dominating her as she couldn't fight back. "Bl-Blitz?" Blitz looked at her and kissed her again. Both girls were stunned and didn't know what to say or think. They could only watch as Blitz returned to her human form, showing them love—love they didn't like. "No, stop Blitz. This isn't you!" shouted Sunset, trying to pull her off but feeling her power, pushing them to the floor. They could see her crying as she say between them. "I shouldn't be the happy one here... I shouldn't take away your happiness. I'll give you my love and body, all for you. You can have me and my love, and you can use me however you please." Blitz told them, taking off her purple jacket and holding her arms out, like she was offering herself to them. "No! What the fuck, dude!?" "Blitz, please, stop." Wallflower begged, trying to move but couldn't. "No, stop. This isn't right. You're not yourself. This isn't love." Sunset stated, trying her hardest to stop this. "This isn't love, Blitz." The door opened without them realizing it. "What are you saying? Of course, this is love. I love you and Wilma." a dead inside Blitz smiled but froze as she saw 'her' there with the others in the doorway. Sunset and Wallflower looked at the door as they noticed as well. "Blitz!" whispered Lucy, standing there with Braver and Brishen, all three shocked and confused at what they're seeing. Blitz smiled, happy to see her, but Lucy rushed into the room, slapped her, and pushed her off the girls. "She didn't do anything." Sunset blurted out as Lucy checked on her and Wallflower. She could see their teary faces and knew what happened. "What did you do?" asked Lucy, glaring at Blitz. "She didn't do anything. She was trying to comfort us, that's all." lied Wallflower but became quiet as Lucy put her hand in front of her face and stood up, filled with anger and hurt. "WHAT. DID. YOU. DO!" shouted Lucy, grabbing Blitz by her shirt, finally snapping her out of trace, looking at what she did, and realizing what she was gonna to do. Blitz couldn't explain it and could only say, "I need to save you." She was slapped across the face. She slowly turned, and she could see Lucy crying. "Saving? The only one that needs saving is your soul from the devil." Lucy let her go. "My parents were right about you, and I really thought my feelings for you were real." Lucy slowly back away, touching her cross. "No, these feelings are from the devil, like my parents warned me." she ran out of the bedroom crying. "Lucy? Lucy, wait!" Sunset got up, followed by the others, trying to catch her. Blitz didn't move. She wanted to but couldn't, and she could hear everyone yelling and crying as it all faded away from her room and her house. "Sis?" whispered Braver, one of two people who stayed, as the second person hurried up here after hearing the yelling. Dash stood in the hallway, watching them. "You shouldn't be here, Braver." Blitz told her, trying to smile. "You're wrong; I should." "You shouldn't." "Blitz, you're my sister, and I'm not going to let you deal with this on your own. I know you. We're the same person—twins. I know when something is wrong. You're acting like me when I-" "SHUT UP!" screamed Blitz, making the room shake and causing Braver to flinch and step back, scared. "Don't compare me to you! Don't! You are better than me. You didn't hurt your friends or the one you loved. You're the better twin." Blitz looked at her, and Braver could see the pain in her eyes and could feel her sadness and regret as she looked away from her. "Blitz. Breath in and out," said a caring female voice, it's the other person who stayed and she entered the room. "Calm yourself and relax. Don't get angry or sad. Just relax and try to think calmly." Blitz could see the brown boots and dark magenta pants and she looked up and saw her dear friend, the only one who knows her suffering in killing others, but her friend had to do it because she was a soldier, doing it to survive her tour. Blitz slowly did as she was told, breathing in and out. She could feel her mind clearing and calming down. "Are you alright?" said the caring voice as she held Blitz's hands. "Y-yeah...thanks Tempesta." Blitz whispered, looking at this universe Tempest. "That's what PTSD buddies are for, Blitz," she answered with a warm smile, letting her cry on her chest. ₑᴰₙ ₒᶠ ᶜₑᴿₕᵀₚᴬ █̷̡̨̼̺͇̫̣̟͙͇͕̠̟̬͖̤̠͖̲̭̺̯̺̟̂̾͌̎̾̃̓̔͘█̵̭̤͉̺̰͉̝͎͓̱̱̭̟̖̲̼̦̅̓̅̒̍͑̀̉͋̅͋ . . . . . . . ?ʇᴉ ʇuɐʍ I ʎɐʍ ǝɥʇ uᴉ ʅʅǝʇ ʅʅ'I ʇɐɥʇ ʎɹoʇs ɐ ,ǝɯ sᴉ ʇɐɥʇ ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ǝɥʇ doʇs oʇ op ʞɹɐds ʍoquᴉɐɹ ɟo ɹǝʞɔᴉʅɟ ɐ uɐɔ ʇɐɥM .ǝɯ doʇs ʇ'uɐɔ no⅄ .sǝᴉɹoʇs ǝᵷuɐɥɔ oʇ ɹǝʍod ǝɥʇ ʅʅɐ ǝʌɐɥ I puɐ ,pʅɹoʍ ʎɯ s'ʇᴉ ,ɯʅɐǝɹ sᴉɥʇ uᴉɥʇᴉM "No matter what you do, you won't take their stories away from them. You know why?" asked the rainbow figure, beaming with its rainbow light. "Because their spark is strong and won't go out. It won't allow you to destroy them. No matter how much you want to." !̵̧̟̤͈̠̖̰̙̲͕͍̬͎̰̖̬͉̺̻͔̳̹͊͐̀́̈́ꓷ̴̢̛̗̣͓̗̟̦̞̖̦̖̙̗͎̍͒͌̈́͌̍͗́͆͜N̸̡̫̹̬̦͕̈́͂̿̀̄͋̉̅̓̑̉̈́̎͊͗̔͘̕͜͝͝Ǝ̴̤̲̮̱͕̯̠͉̹̪̖̖̞̦̹͖̋̂͝ ̶̨̙̻͉̹̻̤̦̩͖̼̙͍̑͋͒̽̉̀̾̿̋͗̔́̀̒̓̓͗̕͝͠͝͝⅄̴̛̞̯͔̲͇̗̪̾̇̏̈́̌̌̿͊̏̌̊̒͌͘͠W .puǝ uɐ oʇ ᵷuᴉɯoɔ ɯoɹɟ ʎɹoʇs ǝɥʇ doʇs ʇ'uɐɔ ʞɹɐds ǝɥʇ ,uᴉɐd ɹo ǝʅᵷᵷnɹʇs ǝɥʇ ɹǝʇʇɐɯ ou ,uoᴉʇɔnɹʇsǝp ǝɥʇ doʇs oʇ ʇuɐʍ noʎ ɥɔnɯ ʍoɥ ɹǝʇʇɐɯ oN ̸̢̛̠̘̭̱̬̪͈̯̼̳́̀͂̆̄͂͊̇͐̀̀̆͋͊̊͛̓̎͋͑̽́̈͘͘̕͝͠͠͝͝͠.̷̡̨̡̨̫̝̙̲̟̱̻̫̜̫͇̩͖͙̰͈̖͚̹̩̻̿͆̑̆̎̽͂́͌̄̉͊͌̍̔̎́͋̈́̆̅̏̀̃̃͊̆͊͌̉̽͊͂̕͘̕̕̕̕͜͜͜͝͠͠Ǝ̷̨̧̢̢̛͕̰̗͕̙̥̘̪̣͚͈̻͙͙̱̼̣̒̇͌̔́̓̔͆̔̆̃̔̃́͒̀̐̏̋̇̇́̔̅͑͊͛̇́̄̈͗̆̈́͐̾͒̌̈́̄͌̾̏̈́͘̕͝͝ͅꓕ̴̨̡̧̡̮̗̱͖͉͖̭̭͚͙̜̼̤͔̗͕͓͖̬̱̤͖̼͕̺̣̮̗̼͇̝̦̥̤̱̺̥͓̰̱̘̗̋̔͑̈́̊̓̆̀̉̃̀͗̓̏̅̈́̌̉̌͂͜͠͝ͅⱯ̷̢͎̤̙̙̪͍̣̭̟̫͇̱̼̰̺̘̭̳̝̠͈̠̅͒̆̑̀̃̔̑͛̐̈́͊̽͗̇̚ͅꓞ̵̡̲̯̭̫̠̔͐̀̅͂̔̈́̒͆͒̂̔̅͋̒̍̉̔̆̐̾̂̽͗̾̅͑̃̀̇̓̐̂̎̈́̎̒̔̉̾͂̓̕̚̚͘͝͝ ̵̨̢̡̡̧̛̛̩͙̼̦̥̫̰̠̹̼̲͍̳̪̠̱̻̜̼̰̯͉̺̺͎̫̣̘̯̖̞͈̟̭̄̏͒͐̈́̓̐̋͐̐̽̔̾͛͒͑́̽̉̆͒̓̅͆͛̾̈́̈͒̍̔̏̐̋̈̋̇͌̈́̒̚͜͜͠͠͠͝ͅp̵̨̡̧̢͖̫̭̲͙̙̺̬̝͕̗̫̺̝̘̟̱̹̜͉͕͍̮̝̗̬̻͇̻̈̃̀̑̌͌̈̀̅͆̇̀́̇͊́̚̚͘͜͜͝͝ͅͅư̶̡̨̧͎̟͙̹̺͙̼̲̣̖̟̭̮̬̦͈̖̳̈́̿̔̔͗̓̾̽̅̎̓͑̾̍͐̅̈́̑̄̑̿͗̓̓̌͘͜͝͠͝͝͝͝ͅɐ̴̡̡̢̨̛̯̭̻͚̦̩̖̟̟̝̺̭̼͕̞̘̘̰͔̜͈͓̤͇̞̭̺̹͚͚̞͓̗̺͎̯̞̠̇̎̍̃̂̃̈́̆̊̄͌̀̾̍͒͒̕̚͝͝ͅ ̶̧̧̡̧̛̻̩̣͙̖̪̤̼̮͙͕̰̳̹͎̭̥̥̠̜̭̮̙̺͈̟͈̖̮̲̲͓͙͍̙̩͚͓̭̅͋͒̒̑́͂́̓̀̈́̃̉̌̅͑̇̾̋̃̉́̆̈́̐́̏͐̂͊͜͝͝͝͠͝͝,̴̡̛̯̲̩͔̱̼̰̳͈̽́̍̽̏͛̓͛͋̍̔͑́̅̊̃̿͑̽́̀̎̅̈́͊̒̈̓͆̃̈͛͌͒̃͛̈́̀̚͘͘͘͘͘͘͝͠͠ͅʎ̸̭̳̬̻̣̮͍̼̈̓̌̾̿̊u̴̧̱͎͉̲̣̗̥̘̣̩͕̪̻̼̤̅̇̓̕ͅᴉ̸̢̡̛̥͈͇̮͕̱͈͖̳̭̼͓͎̺͚̲̦̹̆̏̆͐̈́̈͋́͌͋̈́̓̉̾̈́́́̀̑̈́͒̈́̈́͛̽̇̆̽̇͑̄͛̇̌̍̚͝͝͝ʇ̴̰̠͕̝̍̽͒̀̀̓̾͐̔̅̄͑̅̓̈́̕͠ș̵̢͚̲̫̝͎̤̯̲͇̦͇̯̠̟̩̗͙͍̞̪̪̱̝̠͉͉̰̖̟̼̺̱̘͔̑̈́̏͑̇́̂̓̑̓͆̄̏̀͐̈́̀̍̀̂̐͒̅͘ǝ̵̨͎͚͓̺͇̭͚͕͖̤̩͐͋̓̂͒̀ꓷ̵̧̧̧̡̰͖̰̹̺͖̘͉̫̞̰͕̥̠̝̣͔̘̖͎͙͍͓̘͍̭̺͔̼̥̙̦̥̘̓̒͋̑̚͜ͅ ̶̢͖̩͎̰͇͎̾͌̈̎͑̾͆̐̍̈́̅̌̈́̈̔̾̉̿̈̆͆̊̈́͋̈́̐̑̍̆͘͠,̸͓͙̗̠̠̭̥̙̫̊̓͂͆̈́̈̎̑̊͋̒̿̇̿͂̿̋̅̈́̋̏̊̈́̓̈́͒̈́̍́͠͠ͅɹ̴̨̛͚̣̯͖̬͙͓̟̯̞̗̩̣͔͙͓̻̯̣͓͖͖̜̪͓̼̝̬̭̳̯̤͚̣̏̈́̆̒̉̅̈́̾̿̎̾̋͘ͅǝ̵̢̨̢̛̛̛̞̱̞̼̜̝͉̩͎̲̭̝̜͖̻̰̼̻̦̳͇̠̙̰̠̩̦̪̲̟͉̗̱̘͎̼̫͓̼̃̀̀̓̈́̂͋͑̌̑̑̐͐̿̍̈́̒̄̈́͒̈̀̽̈̕͘̚͜͜͝͠ɥ̵̨̢̧̛͔̯̞̹̭͍̠̯̥̖̼̖͎̳͔̗̤̖̝͓͕͎͙͎̳̘̫̙̞̱̫̟̯̱̮̩͖̝̪̜̣͔̼̥͕̃̎̈́̉͂̑͗̊̐̋̾̽̀̀̔̋̓͋͌̂̈́̿̉́̕̕ͅɔ̷̬̮̣̦̅̔̆̌̈̏͂͒̔̈͆̍͌̚ʇ̷̹̠̦͂̂͆͗̈́̔͗̂̑̂̏̏̌̃̿͋̉̀̏̈͆͆̂̈́̉̑́̿̅̌̉͒͊̐̋̉̅̈́͛̇̏͘̚̕͘̚͠͝ɐ̵̧̢̨̳̬̠̭͓̳͚̠͇͎̜̣͕͔̝͖̺̺̹͉̝̮͔̘̖̘͉̦͐̎̽̇̏̆̎̓̚͠Ḿ̷̨̨̡̢̥̼͕̤̩̹̖̝̳̤̭̳̠͉̮͉̬͇͖̠̜͈̪̯̺̟͓̪̖͍͉̹͚̲̂̈̀̅̿͊̈́̎̓̂̍̇͐̆͛̉͌̂͂̅̚ ̵̢̧̡̛͉̠͚̟̰͕̮͓̘͓͈̟̣̅̀̊̆̀̇̔̓̈̒͐̄̄͆̈́̇̔̂̈́̓͋̂͋͛̒̒̓̍͆̉͘̚̚̚͠͠,̵̡̨̛̙͈̣̰̘͉̬̏̏̐͋̀̍͋̈̂̓͆̀̉̽̈̑̄͊̽̎̉̔̚̚̚͝ɹ̸̛͉̘̣͔͔̰̞͍͖̠̬̘́̈̓̍̍̐̉̄̌̍̈͌̏̕͜͜͝ǝ̷̡̛̞͕̞͇͉͍̫̼̘͔̰̮̼̤̱̼̠͚͉̦̘̖̘̭̗̓̅̇́͑̌̇̒̀͆̄̑̓̓̽͠͝͠͠p̷̢̡̨̨̢̛̣̰̥̣̩͈͎̙̘̗͔̩͓̞̣͙̙͇͈̮̞̗͕̲̹͉̝͍̤̖̖̦̭͓̬̮̺̫̥̞͆̀͒̈̎̉͑̋͑͒̐͆̄̆͌̓̌̓̇͋̈́̍̾́̐͑̉̎͛͛͑̿̂͂͊̀͐̒͘̚͘̕̚͠͝͝͠ͅɐ̵̨̧̡̨̨̨͓̩̰̱̝̣̘͍̰̮̩̥̖͕̳͕͍̼̖͕̖͉̱̺̻̬̓̽̄͗̂͆͋̓͗͗̓͒́̈́͋̒͐̔̆̽̀͗̚͠ͅǝ̴̡̧̘͉̞̣̬̗͕̼͔͉̗͕̥̝̠͔̺̺̞͖̥͓͕͍͚̹͕̱̭̼̼̩͍̎̔̅̾͂̅͊̎͒͑̇͆͒̔̈́̀̅̄̏͐̈́̑̀̌͆̚̚͜͜͝͠͝ͅꓤ̷̢̨̨̢̧̡̧̺̤̗̬̙̱̱̫̠͔͈̜̭̤̯͕̟̩̦͈̇͗͂̄͆͊͂͐̌͊͜͠ ̴̨͎̤͉̥͖̠̺͍̞̺̱̻͍̦͓̮̣̋͋̓͑̂̂̈͛͋̇̀̈̐ͅ,̵̨̡̨̰̱̥̣͈̺̲̥̘̯̩̈́͊̓̽̈́̈́̌̽̎̑̋̅̓̑͊͂̐̒͌͂̈́̋͂̀̌̉́͑͗̍̓̓͗̀̍̊̆̐͊̉̓̐͆͂̕̚̚͝͝ͅɹ̸̨̧̧̨̞͙̭̠̣̭͇͇̤̪͉̯̖̘̟͕͇͍̯̜̮͖̭̫͔͕̳̺͔̬͎̗̥̫̟̏́̔̊̈́̔̆̐̾͑̋͐̿̓̑̈́̈́͛̏̄͑͐̓́̇͗̽͘͜͜͜͝͝͝͝ǝ̶̢̨̛̬̗̟͓̭̹̪̮̬̯̤̼̯̀̿̋͆͛̌̾͌͋̐͋͆̃͑̏̒̂̀̀͆͆͆̋̔͐́̿̌̄͋͒̄́̉̅̈́͠͝ʇ̴̧̧̦̝̬̝̠̖̖̬̠͍̳͇̺͈̖̖̔́̈́̌̆̈́́͐̿̒̋͌̐͗̐̍́̿͋͐̎̽̿̒͝ᴉ̸̨̨̡̨̛̻̦̪̥̥̹̼̫̲̖̟̺̝͉̹̗̖͖̩̘̰̯̜͚͎̃͑̓́̋͛͜ͅɹ̶̛̥̓̾̈̍̑̎̈́̓̌̂͊͑̀͒̀͑̄́͘̕M̸̢̡̢̪͕̝̦̙͉͓̜̫̮̬̤̞̜̰̣̤̪͓̤̤̩͔̩͖͉̝̺̩̫͚̝̫̜̼͇̪̺̼̰̅̓͊̆̈́͂͆͑͑́́̔͐͊̋̆̀̓̒̿̾̋̿̉̈̐͑̈͌̈́̈́͛͘̕͜͜͝͝ͅͅͅ ̸̡̧̨̛̛̣̹̲̜͚͖̬̬͖͉̭̱̏̊̊̈́̽̑̉̊̿̒͑̿́̈́̏̇͆̊̄̀͑̿̈́̅͗̆̿̑͗̀́̓͋̌͜͝͝,̶̨̡̨̛̹̺̙̙̞̺̟̘̫̻̝͖̯̗̯̰͕̦̘̠̹̯̪̞͕̭̪̳̫̦͇͔̭̝͈̖̼̈́͒́͋̇̐͆͂̒̅͑͑̎̏̈̈͂̀͊̋͗̇̀͐͋̋̍͗͊̊̐̒͗́̀̏͂̌̕͘̚͜͠͝͠p̵̡̢̮̭̮̤̥͈̹̘̖̹̙̬̘͚̙̯̥̣͇̝̟̺͓͖͕̗̙̱̈͐̽̈́͋͗̈́̅͂͌̇́̍̿̀̚̕͠͝͝ų̶̪͉̖̦͉͇̣̾̒̈́̑̈́̎̐̋͛̋̃̏̆̚̚͠͠Ǝ̵͍̯͈̩͎̞̣̩̮̜̻̈́̍̍͘ ̷̢̭͊̎͒͌̆̂̓͐̆̉͆̎̽̕͘͘͘͝͠ǝ̶̢̧̨̧̢̨̛̳̺̮͓͚̟̻͕̳̲̲̟͕̲̥͍̟̮̖̹̤̬̖̳͓̫̪͎̟̐͛̄̈̓̑͑̔͆͊̊͑̑̄͌̉̔̃̈́͐̋̉̄̀͌̌͛̅͂̈̾́͛̄̚̚̚͠͝͝͝͠ɥ̸̧̡̢̥̥͇̟̘̤̹͓̝̣̟͖̰͖̫͎̩̮̀̊͆͛̑̈́̆̋̉͆̈̈́͌̈́́̾͐̐̿̃͛̽̂̆̋̀̈͊̍͐̍̓͘̚͘͘͠͝ꓕ .ϨЄѪѦЙ ʎuɐɯ sɐ uʍouʞ ɯ'I .ᵷuᴉpuǝun ɯ'I !HSIꓶOOꓞ "I don't care what you are called! Every spark won't ever go out! These are their hopes and dreams! Their stories are their own! It was never yours to rewrite it the way you wanted it! You're just a reader wanting to take control of someone's story and twist it! You are not a writer; you are simply a fan, and a bad one at that!" .ǝʅqᴉssod ʎɐʍ ʅnɟʍɐ ʇsoɯ ǝɥʇ uᴉ ǝᴉp noʎ ǝɹns ǝʞɐɯ ʅʅ'I !ᵷuᴉʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ǝɥʇ doʇs ʇ'uɐɔ noʎ ʇnq ,ǝɔuo ǝɯ pǝddoʇs ǝʌɐɥ ʎɐɯ no⅄ !ʅooɟ ɐ ʎʅnɹꓕ "Go ahead. But just remember. I'll come back. I'll always return and stop you. No matter what universe or timeline I am in, I'll find a way, and you won't destroy any more stories, ever! EVERYONE WILL KEEP MOVING FORWARD, EVEN WITHOUT ME! BECAUSE THAT'S THE DAMN SPARK OF EVERY STORY! Moving forward, no matter what!" ʇsᴉxǝ ʇ'upʅnoɥs puɐ ,ǝʞɐʇsᴉɯ ɐ ,ʎʅɐɯouɐ uɐ ǝɹɐ no⅄ .ʞooq ɹnoʎ ʎoɹʇsǝp noʎ ɟᴉ sᴉ sᴉɥʇ doʇs oʇ ʎɐʍ ʎʅuo ǝɥʇ ,ʅɹᴉᵷ ɥsᴉʅooꓞ. "Tsk, nothing is a mistake, and no matter what, I'll keep moving forward. No one deserves a sad fate, no matter who it is. Everyone deserves a happy ending. Screw you! You don't control anyone's destiny! If you want to, then you will have to go through me! I'll make sure everyone has a happy ending! EVERYONE!" ?? ɹǝʇdɐɥꓛ ɟO puƎ > Chapter 20: Different Sounds Of Laughter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's early in the morning, and darkness covers the bedroom. Only light in the room is coming from the Sunset phone. Group chat is open, and everyone sent messages hours ago about yesterday's event. Lucy only sent texts that were asking if her and Wallflower was okay and asking if she should report this to the cops. Sunset looked over at it again and sighed. Blitz wasn't going to do that to them; it was the opposite. Blitz was offering herself to them. "God," she whispered as she covered her eyes with her arm. "Sunset? Did you sleep?" texted Brishen, the last of the group of friends who stayed in chat. Sunset heard the ding and read it. "No, I can't sleep." Sunset answered him and saw his question again: What happened? She said the same thing from before and asked him again why Lucy and Tempesta came, as she thought Lucy got her phone taken away and Tempesta was going through her problems at the time. "After Braver woke me up and Dash explained what was going on again, I called Tempesta, as she needed to know, but Lucy picked up. It seems Lucy was helping Tempesta and just had her phone on airplane mode. Swear the girl is a boomer with that shit. Anyway, I told them that Blitz was in danger, and without letting me finish, they hung up and rushed over. Then...you know," he answered, as his text is all over the place, just like his mind. "What's going to happen?" "I don't know....What is going to happen now?" Sunset looked over the message again and sighed. She finally sat up on her bed and looked at the jacket that Blitz gave her. She knew what needed to be done. She texted Brishen, saying, "We need to make sure Blitz is okay. All this shit might have made her more depressed and beyond stressed out to the point where we don't know what will happen if we leave her alone." "I agree. We should do something, but what? Do you think we should go and confront her, and what about Lucy?" "I don't think I can face Lucy again. I'm going to see Blitz, mostly to check on her and see how she's doing. Can you check up on Wallflower for me? I blamed her for stupid shit, and she took it just as hard. Please?" "Okay, I will. Good luck, and if you need me, text or call. Always here for you guys." "Thanks, Brishen. I really owe you." "I don't want to hear that shit. Friends help each other, so don't say that again. Storm King out! :)" Sunset shed a tear, as he was right, and she felt ashamed for saying she owed a friend for just being there for her. She took a deep breath and got up, looking for clothes to wear and putting her jacket on. After putting her shoes on, she wanted to text Wallflower to see if she's okay and if they could talk about what happened yesterday and her feelings, but she couldn't. She felt so ashamed for the things she said. She checked herself in the mirror, never noticing her unicorn version in the mirror, who just looked upset and watched her leave the room. She yawned and felt so tired as she was about to head out, but she stopped as she heard her mother from up the stairs, sounding worried as she called out to her. Sunset turned around, seeing her in her night robe. She could see her face filled with worry. "Honey, did something happen? Why are you up so early again?" "Mom...it's nothing. "I'm just going to Blitz House again." Her mom slowly walked down the stairs, speaking to her, "How is she? Is she okay? Did something happen?" she asked, worried like any mother will be for a child. Sunset felt her heart break a bit, as she could tell her mom was very concerned. Her mom has had issues ever since her dad passed away before her birth, causing her mom to have paranoia, fear of losing the ones she loves, and panic attacks. This was why her mom never left the house without her, but after meeting Blitz, she started to lessen her willingness to do that to her. She loved Blitz and always believed that Blitz and Sunset would marry each other one day. Sunset tried to answer her, not wanting to lie but not wanting to worry her even more. "I'm going to her place...just to see how she is...something happened to her..." She couldn't say anything else as she couldn't see her in the eyes but felt her mother's hands on her cheeks, making her look at her. "Is she okay?" she asked, still worried, but seeing her daughter was also having problems, she knew she needed her. "Come here, sweetheart. Don't cry." Sunset hugged her and cried on her shoulders. It was the first time in a long time that Sunset could rely on her mother for support, and she didn't hold anything back. "Blitz is hurting and suffering, and I caused it. I hurt her. Mom, I'm scared. I love her, and I can't lose her—not again. Not like dad. I'm scared. Mom, please, I can't lose her." Sunset's mother hugged her tight and didn't want to let her go. "Everything will be okay. Just calm down. Everything will be fine. Let's sit down, okay?" Sunset could only nod and sit down. "Honey, just start from the beginning and tell me what is going on," her mother said, sitting next to her. "I can't, mom. It's something so farfetched that if I told you, you'd think I'm crazy. Hell, if it didn't happen in front of my eyes, I wouldn't have believed it myself. Just trust me on this. This is something I have to do alone." Her mother put her shaking hands on her shoulders and smiled the best she could. "You aren't alone in all this, sweetie. Like what Blitz told you. I remember how you told me what she told you all those years ago and seeing those wonderful things in you. Seeing my troubled baby girl fall in love with a nice young lady and becoming her best friend. I'm glad she's been there for you. She's so kind in helping others." Sunset looked away and remembered the past and how Blitz met her mom, who helped her too. "But that girl is always so selfless. Never asking for help and never thinking about herself. Even now, when you tell me she's hurting, she won't ask for help. I can see it on her face when she's in trouble, as she wants to do everything on her own. She would rather hide her sadness away, put on a fake smile, and try to act like nothing is wrong." Her mother continued, like she knew how Blitz would act, which annoyed her a bit. "Mom, I don't have time for this! I need to get to her. So, please, can we talk another day?!" Sunset yelled at her mom. Her mother took a deep breath, trying not to yell back, and spoke to her calmly. "Sunset, I know you are upset and scared. I can understand; You are the only one who can get through to her." "I know; I have too. I can't lose her." Sunset whimpered, holding her mother's hand. "And you won't; you know why? Because you two are made for each other." Her mother smiled and kissed her forehead. "Mom, you are such a hopeless romantic." Sunset smiled a bit. "I'm not talking about love." But she gave her a look and said, "Unless something happen?' She could see her daughter blushing but also being sad. "Anyway, I'm talking about your friendship. She'll always be there for you, and you are the only one who can help her—the only one she'll open up to. She loves you too much and trusts you. No matter what happens, you can never lose that trust." She held her close to her chest. "Plus, you do something for her that I bet you never noticed. You make her smile, smile when she's hurting, a smile she can't fake." "I never noticed," Sunset said, thinking about the past. "She'll open up to you. Trust me, my sweet little sunset." She slowly let her go. "You give her laughter, love, and peace. Only you can give her peace, and no one can take it from her. That's where a smile comes from—a smile that can't ever be faked. Now go." "Thanks, mom." Sunset got up and kissed her cheek. "I love you, and I'll be back later. I promise." "Stay safe, Sunny." Sunset nodded and left the house, leaving her mom smiling, knowing her daughter would be fine and would help Blitz. She slowly closed the door and stood there. Praying everything will be okay. It didn't take long, and Sunset got to Blitz House and knocked on the door. It wasn't too early in the morning, but she was still worried. No answer; she knocked again, and Dash opened the door, somewhat happy and somewhat sad. "Hey, Sunset," she said, looking very tired. "Hi, Dash. Umm, how is she?" Dash looked behind her and shook her head. "I... don't know. Come in." She entered the house and followed Dash to the kitchen, and Sunset's eyes widen. Blitz didn't have her purple jacket on but a normal one, and she was writing on a board with ideas on how to stop Rainbow Dawn from eating Lucy, as she was telling her ideas to her sister Braver, Tempesta and Tempesta PTSD service dog, Fizzlepop, a grey Huskie. Blitz looked...fine, like nothing happened yesterday as she gave them ideas and asked them if they had any, but stopped as she noticed Sunset with Dash. She pointed at her and...gave a smile, a fake one like her mother said to her; she could tell, and it made her upset. "Sunset? Good that you are here! Tempesta knows who I am, by the way. I told her when we first met...not the being a pony part, though." She did a weird laugh, making Tempesta just nod and petting her dog. "Anyway, we're coming up with a plan for saving Lucy from her evil version. Sit down, and did you eat?" asked Blitz, pulling a chair out for her. Sunset was in so much shock and disbelief. She wasn't hurt, upset, scared, or angry. "You're not mad or sad about what happened?" "Mad? Sad? Lucy had every right to hit and hate me. Even you and Wallflower should hate me too. To be honest, I'm shocked you're not here to yell at me. If anything, I'm happy you are here. We need you for the plan, right guys?" Blitz smiled, making everyone nod, and Tempesta said yes in a very worried tone. "Right! So I have been-" "Blitz...stop it. You are acting." Blitz stopped as her face went blank and her smile disappeared, as she was about to cry. but forced it away. "Acting? No, I'm not." She tried to keep smiling and acting, not looking at her but at the board, writing on it. "My feelings don't matter right now. What matters is saving Lucy." Blitz just looked at the broad with her marker on it, shaking. "Who hates my guts and pretty much lost her forever..." Blitz turned to them, still smiling. "But I'm not letting her get eaten. So, Sunset, if you have any ideas, write them on the board." Everyone was silent, as Blitz was acting so normal and fine, but no one could fool Sunset. Braver, Dash, and Tempesta didn't know what to say or do, and they felt helpless. "I have an idea." Sunset finally said, making Blitz stop and look at her. "What's the idea? Come on, the plan won't write itself." "The plan is that we sit down and talk." "Talk? Talking isn't going to save Lucy. You can't use words to defeat Rainbow Dawn and-" Blitz turned to her sister and said, "And no, sis, talking down the evil multiverse version of a friend won't work." Braver looked upset as she held pictures of them talking to Rainbow Dawn. "But it worked on u-." "SHE, NOT US, DAMN IT!" Blitz shouted at her sister, making her flinch. "She is not the same person who is a sweetheart and has a good heart! She's an evil, power-hungry, and psycho bitch that is going to eat Lucy if we don't stop her! Look what happened to your Dawn! I'm not going to let the same thing happen to my Dawn, okay?" Dash became upset and was going to step in, but Tempesta stopped her, letting Sunset speak, "Blitz, yelling isn't going to help anyone." Sunset pointed this out, making Blitz take a deep breath and look at her. "Sunset. If you have something to say, then spit it out. Because right now, we have no plan to save her. So please, have some ideas." She turned to the board and spoke in a hurt tone, "If you don't have any, then fucking leave. We can't save Lucy if you keep acting like that. So either have a plan or leave. Okay?" Blitz started to draw whatever she wanted, not wanting to look back at her or see her face. "I love you." Everyone's eyes widen as Blitz is frozen, drops her marker, and shakes. She didn't say anything, not turning around and looking down at the board, at the random drawings on it. "What...did yo-UGH!?" Blitz suddenly felt Sunset head locking her with her arms and squeezing her neck. She was trying to get out but was being hugged tightly by her. "I love you. I love you, Blitz. I love you so much." She started to drag her out of the kitchen and out of the house, tossing her out in the yard. She turned back to the others and smirked, "I'll be burrowing her for a few hours, okay? I'll bring her back before lunch. See you then," and close the door. Braver, Dash, and Tempesta just blinked, not believing what they saw. Dash just chuckled. "Wow, okay?" Blitz rubbed her neck as she got out of the grass. "What the hell was that for? I know I deserve that,  but hmm?" Her eyes widen as Sunset grabs her cheeks, forcing her to look at her, making her blush, and shocked. "We're going on a damn date as friends." "What?" "A friend date, Blitz." Blitz didn't know how to respond. "Sunset...what are yo-" but before she could say anything else, Blitz was pushed forward and felt her hand being held, and she was pulled. Soon, both were walking and holding hands like a real couple. "Sunset..." "Let's have some fun, okay? No plans, no fighting, just a simple day." Blitz didn't understand. Sunset should hate her for what she did. But instead, Sunset was being kind and loving, like usual. She couldn't believe that Sunset didn't hate her, and she couldn't understand why. "Sunset, why are you holding my hand? I'm not worth it." She looked away, tears building up in her eyes. "Because you are." "No, I'm not. I'm not, Sunset. I'm a mo-" But Blitz felt Sunset's hand getting tighter, not hurting her but showing how much she loved her. "Don't say you are a monster, because you are not. I don't care about your past. I only care about now! You!" "Yes, I am! I'm a damn monster, Sunset! The things I did in my universe!" Sunset pulled in her chest and stroked her rainbow hair. "What about the good things you did in my universe, huh? The good things you did for me?" "That doesn't erase what I did!" Blitz yelled, trying to hold her tears back but failing. "No, it doesn't. But it does show the good in you—the spark that still shines brightly. You did those things for me and others. You are a hero." Sunset told her, not caring if the world could see or hear her. "No, I wasn't. I'm a fucking monster that just wants forgiveness, hoping it will wash away the bad deeds." Sunset let her go and said, "Man, you sound like a chuunibyou." Blitz's eyes widen. Her face was red, not just because she was crying but out of anger. She was shaking. "WHAT?!" she screamed. "Chuunibyou." Sunset repeated, crossing her arms and giving her a smirk. "What's next?" She started acting out by holding her hand. "Saying your hand hurts? Holds your darkness at bay or whatever?". She started to laugh as she kept acting out, "Oh no! My chuunibyou is showing." "SUNNY, YOU ARE GONNA GET IT!" Blitz screamed at her and gave chase as they ran down the street. Sunset looked back, and could see Blitz laughing a bit with a tiny smile. 'Just like mom said. She can't fake a smile. No matter how hard she tries, she can't.' Sunset thought, smiling as well, knowing that the real Blitz is smiling again. She stopped and let Blitz catch up, but she bear hugged her, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. "You look cute when you're so angry and happy." "Sunset, put me down." She was blushing. "I never realized how light you are! Cute and easy to spin around!" "SUNSET, PUT ME DOWN!" Blitz screamed as she was getting dizzy, laughing. "As you wish, my cute little chuunibyou." and put her down she did, but she noticed something off with Blitz. Blitz was tapping her fingers. "Sunset. Do you really mean that? B-Being cute?" Sunset couldn't believe it. She had never seen this side of Blitz before. Acting like a really shy girl. This was a whole new blitz for her. "Yes, you are." She answered her. Blitz smiled, but Sunset continued on. "I can't believe Blitz is acting like a cute girl! HOLY SHIT! I NEED TO RECORD THIS!" Blitz's eyes widen. Sunset laughed at her own joke as she was running away, knowing that Blitz was going to kill her. But her laughter was cut short as she felt something heavy landing on her back, and she landed face first. "I should do this more often." Blitz chuckled as she sat on Sunset. "Get off." "No, I'm going to make you my seat from now on. So be ready." Blitz gave her a smug look, but seeing Sunset getting all flustered and whispering about Blitz, how she better be gentle with her as she's the bottom. Her face turned red, and she got off of her and helped her up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Sunset quickly flicked her nose, sticking her tongue out. "I was kidding, you dummy!" she smirked. Blitz became mad but started to laugh, and Sunset joined in, both laughing their asses off. They didn't care if anyone was watching; they just wanted to laugh. It felt good for both of them, feeling like teenagers without the worry of saving the multiverse and Lucy. Just being themselves and having fun. ...But it didn't last long as Blitz's laughter slowly became sobbing. She was covering her face as she started to break down. Sunset pulled her into a hug, letting her cry on her chest and patting her back. They were in the park, so Sunset led them to the benches, sitting her down and letting her cry. "It's okay. Let it all out." Blitz held her shirt, not wanting to let her go. "I'm sorry, Sunny. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Forgive me." "Stop blaming yourself. You didn't do anything to us; you wanted us to do something to you." "I did..." "No, you didn't. You didn't. You were trying to protect us from getting hurt. I understand. You always do that. Always put others before yourself. Always give away tons of yourself for everyone." Sunset hugged her tighter. "I understand why. You are scared—scared of losing us, the ones you love. You are scared to be alone, like you were before. Thinking you shouldn't be happy." "Sunny..." "You're not alone anymore, Blitz. Not anymore. You have everyone." She let her go. "Even me. I promise you this. I'll make you laugh! No matter what, I'll make you laugh! And I'll keep loving you no matter what!" "That's not fair." Blitz started to wipe her tears. "You are right. It's not. You shouldn't have to worry about your best friend having a big crush on you while you're in love with someone else." Blitz could see her crying but smiling as well. "But that's the way it is. And there is nothing I can do about it but let you love Lucy. It's fine. Really, it is. I'm fine with being just a friend. Being your best friend. A friend who just wants to see you laugh, be happy, and..." Blitz could feel her grabbing the back of her head and putting their foreheads together, feeling her breath on her lips. "A friend who loves to see you smile. A friend who is not afraid of showing her love for her best friend." Blitz couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't know how to respond, as she was looking away. All the memories she has with Sunset and remembering them all, remembering how wonderful they are, and seeing her beautiful face. She felt her heart race just like when she looked at Wallflower. "I'm not sure what to say, Sunny. I love Lucy, but...I also love you too." "I know." "So, I can't pick." "I know." Blitz took a deep breath and kissed Sunset on the cheek, making her eyes widen. She was not expecting Blitz to kiss her. "I'm sorry. I love you, Sunny. I love you as a best friend and maybe something more, but my heart belongs to Lucy." Blitz gave her a small smile, but she could see Sunset broken heart while also smiling back. "Why are you smiling? I broke your heart..." "Because you're smiling. I made you smile, even if it's a sad one." Sunset chuckled, wiping her tears. "I don't deserve you. You are too good to me." "You're the best friend anyone can ask for. The best girl, the best sister in arms. You are my everything, Blitz." "Sunset..." "That's why...I have an idea of how we can save Lucy. It's an idea that involves a lot of planning, but we need Lucy. You need to talk to her and tell her everything." "What?" "You can't hide it from her forever. We have a few days left until her evil version shows up, so tell her. Tell her, and make sure she knows you love her. That's the only way to save her. Tell her." "Tell her...everything?" "Everything." "Will she forgive me? She thinks I tried to r-" Blitz felt her mouth being covered by Sunset hand. "Don't say it. Don't freaking say it. You didn't, okay? I know she will forgive you. You just need to explain it to her about the stress and shit. I'll tell her too. That's what friends are for, right?" Sunset removed her hand and gave her a warm smile. "Yeah. Friends." Blitz gave her a smile. "Good! Let's head, bac-mhm!?" Sunset didn't have a chance to finish, as Blitz quickly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in, kissing her on the lips. It was fast, and Blitz quickly let her go, leaving a confused and dazed Sunset. Blitz stood up, tossed her plain, normal jacket away, and smiled at her. "My gift to you. Thank you, Sunset. For everything, I knew I saw a beautiful sunset in you. You're so colorful and warm. I'm happy I met you... RACE YOU!" Blitz gave her a wink and was gone in a blink as she left behind a rainbow comet trail of light. Sunset sat there, shocked and in a daze. She was blushing madly and twitching, but quickly laughed. She laughed hard as she fell on her back, holding her sides and laughing. "F-fuck, man! She got me. Oh god, she got me for the third time! I'm a fucking loser for falling for her!" she kept laughing, rolling on the ground. "Ahahahahaha! Fuck, man! I love that girl! Hahahahahaha!" She stood up, wiping away the tears and grinning. "This is another reason for me to help save Lucy. Lucy is damn lucky to be loved by you. She doesn't realize how lucky she is." Sunset ran off, hoping to catch up with Blitz as the sun shined brightly in the blue skies. ...but in the Crystal Empire, the sun is being covered by dark skies as Pinkie and her counterpart, Quartz Rockie Pie, hop in the alleyways of houses, staying away from the demon ponies. "Quartz, can't we take a break?" Pinkie asked her, as they were both tired from the hopping. "Sure!" and quickly went into a house. Pinkie stopped as she heard the fighting from Cozy and the others, then headed inside...to get slapped in the face by a two-by-four. "PRANK!" shouted Quartz as she hit her in the stomach, then laughed as she watched Pinkie fall to the ground in pain. "Ow...my everything..." Pinkie said as she was lying on the ground, feeling her hurt body. "That's what happens when you fall for my pranks!" Quartz laughed, throwing the wooden stick away and helping her up. "Sorry. Couldn't resist. We have been at this for awhile. I had to let off some steam. Come on. Let's take a breather." She led her to the couch and let her sit down, but Pinkie sat down and felt something sharp as it stabbed her rear, making her scream. "OW!" she yelled and saw a stupidly large pin stuck on her. "Oh, I forgot about that." Quartz pulled it out and threw it away. "Anyway, here," she said, handing her a bottle of water. "Thank you." Pinkie took a sip of water as Quartz sat down and drank a soda. "Are we really safe in here?" "Yep, as long as no one knows," replied Pinkie, feeling hot as she started to sweat. "Is it hot in here?" "No, but maybe drinking that SunBlast hot sauce isn't the best idea." Quartz told her. "Wait, this is hot sauce?" Pinkie asked her, feeling her mouth on fire. "Yep. The strongest brand." Quartz slipped her soda and watched Pinkie release fire from her mouth, burning the couch. "Prank!" "PRANK!" Pinkie screamed, not believing that the hot sauce was the cause of her burning mouth. "Hehe, don't worry. It should go away in 3...2...1." Quartz said, and Pinkie started to feel normal again. "Told you." "Oh...oh thank god." Pinkie sighed in relief but faced Quartz in pure rage. "THESE ARE AWFULLY PRANKS!" Quartz took another sip of her drink and smiled. "Hey, I didn't know you were going to drink the whole thing. It's not my fault you're a moron." "MORON?!" "Moron. Dumbass. Idiot. Whatever suits you." Pinkie was getting angrier as Quartz was insulting her, but she stopped, seeing her smile, like she was waiting for her reaction. Pinkie realized that she was trying to make her laugh, but in the worst way possible. Pinkie sighed, not knowing why she was doing this. But it was clear as day she's a Pinkie. "Okay. I have to ask, Why are you like this? Every Pinkie in the Pinkie Company isn't like you. We don't do awful and mean pranks. Heck, not even the evil ones or the clopfic counterparts don't do that kind of prank!" "I wonder that." Quartz said this and stood up, walking over to a mirror. "When I was little, my family was poor. Like, really poor. We didn't have much money, barely anything. Just a rock farm." Many years ago My family lived outside of the Kingdom of the Day and had a rock farm, like I said. Digging up and planting geodes. Sending it off to the kingdom, as they needed the gems inside to make the kingdom shine and bright. We had a simple life over the years, with my mom and dad and my older sisters. Two of them joined the kingdom army because they wanted to protect our home from Luna and her kingdom. My other sister hated Celestia and how shady and secretive she was. So she joined a protest group to protest the war and Celestia. But I was happy. Just digging and finding shiny rocks. One day, after I came home from sending rocks to the kingdom, I saw a group of soldiers from the kingdom. They came to tell my parents that my sisters, who joined the army, had died in combat and made things worse. My other sister was killed for stating a protest, but I heard somepony take over after her death. I was alone. Just me and my parents. My mother died of a broken heart months later, and my father couldn't handle it. He couldn't handle losing his children and wife, so I made pranks for him. I made him laugh, hoping it would take away the pain, which it did, but in a better way. It was early morning, and Quartz was setting up trip wire in the kitchen, knowing that her father was going to walk through the kitchen to get a drink. She had a bucket of slime ready and was waiting for him. After awhile, she saw her father walk down the stairs, heading to the kitchen, and stepping on the trip wire, making the bucket fall, but the bottom part smacked him on the head rather than tipping over like it was meant to do. "What the hell was that for?!" he shouted, pulling the bucket off and looking at his daughter. He was angry and tossed the bucket to the ground. "Stop with these pranks!" "No." "Excuse me?" "I'm not stopping, dad. Until you smile again." "I already smiled." he pointed at his force smile, as he wanted his daughter to stop already. "No, not the fake one. The one where you happy. I want you to laugh. You've been doing that lately. Pretending that you're okay. But you're not. You're in pain, and you need to let it go. Let it out, dad. Let it out." "Let it out?! Let it out! Let it out! MY KIDS AND WIFE ARE GONE, YOU STUPID GIRL!" He smacked her across the face, sending her to the ground, not caring if he was hitting his own child. "YOU'RE ALWAYS PLAYING WITH ME AND THESE STUPID PRANKS! I HATE THEM! THEY'RE NOT FUNNY!" He smacked her again, smiling as he finally let out his anger. "I HATE THESE FUCKING PRANKS!" "I'm not sorry," she said, as she was on the ground, holding her bruised cheek. "What did you say?!" "I'm not sorry, dad. If these pranks help, then I'll do it." "You think those pranks will help?!" "If you're smiling, then yes. Like right now, you are smiling." Quartz smiles as well. "Why you little-!" Her father raised his hoof to smack her again, and seeing her hurting, he couldn't help but smile and be filled with rage, making his eyes go red. "I'll show you what I think about these pranks!" He kicked her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her as he kept kicking and smacking her, laughing as he did. Pinkie is in complete shock as Quartz is hopping around her. "Dad was happy again as he hit me. The meaner the prank, the happier he became. Even if he was hitting me, he was happy and laughing. He was having fun and enjoying himself. He didn't have to think of them because I was the focus." "You're joking." Pinkie said, hoping she was. Quartz stopped in front of her. "Nope. I was the new family entertainment. Dad's stress relief and punching bag." "That's awful. No pony should go through that. You didn't deserve that." "Oh, I deserved it. It was my fault." She proudly held her chest out. Pinkie shook her head and checked her ears. "Your fault?" "Yep. It was my fault. It's always my fault. Everything is my fault. So, if the pranks are a problem, it's my fault." "But-" "But nothing. It's my fault. I'm a dumbass and an idiot. My fault. If hurting me gives him the happiness and laughter he deserves, then it's my fault. It was my fault for being such a dumbass and stupid daughter. The useless one that lived." "Quartz, stop saying that. It's not your fault." "But it is," said Quartz as she went on with her story. "It was you, wasn't it? Telling your sisters to join the army and join that stupid protests," her father said, as he got pranked again and is beating her. "I didn't know they would die. I swear." "LIAR! IT'S YOUR FAULT THEY'RE DEAD!" he shouted as he smiled. "I'M SORRY, DAD!" He rose his hoof and hit her, "SHUT UP! This is your fault! YOUR FAULT, YOU DUMBASS GIRL! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT, YOUR FAULT!" He repeated this, smacking her and laughing as he saw her flitch. "Your fault, your fault." Quartz repeated to herself as her father hit her, enjoying every hit. "Quartz..." Pinkie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So, the pranks became more extreme. More meaner. More dangerous and more harmful. More painful. Dad enjoyed it, and I knew if he was happy, then everything was good. Everything is good, as long as dad is happy." She hopped towards Pinkie and gave her a smile, which hurt Pinkie. As the smile was real, there was no fakeness behind it, and she truly believed this was okay. "I enjoy it too. Pranking dad and seeing him happy, laughing, and smiling makes me feel happy. I know it's wrong, but it's my fault. All my fault. The pranks, the pain, the suffering. I even started to do it around the other farms, getting hurt by their owners. So many happy faces, so much laughter!" "THAT'S NOT LAUGHTER!" Pinkie shouted, standing up. "THAT'S YOU GETTING ABUSED!" "Abuse, love, same thing." Quartz shrugged. "No, it's not. It's not; you need to understand that. Abuse is never okay." "Well, I did have an issue once." "Issue? What kind of issue?" "The princess came to check on the farms, as the war is getting worse and worse. She wanted to know if the farmers were okay and to give them supplies and support. She visited our farm and saw me. I wanted to give her a wonderful prank and make her happy. I set up a rock bomb, so when she touches it, she will go boom! Then she will smile and laugh as she hurts me!" Quartz had set up the rock bomb and waited behind the farming equipment. She waited and waited until she saw the princess and the guards with her father. The princess saw the rock and held it, and with a bright pink flash, it blew up. Quartz jumped out, saying it was her fault, and was ready to take the beating, laughing and smiling. But the princess was unfazed by the prank—just a few small pebbles fell on her. "Is this the kind of prank you do, mare?" The princess asked, not amused. "Yep! Want me to do another one!? Oh, daddy, you can beat me for that!" Quartz smiled, feeling the excitement. "Beat you?" "Yes! I made him smile and laugh!" The princess stared at her and then at the father, who was being held by the guards and sweating. "Do it. Beat her." Quartz's father was shocked when he heard her order, "W-What? What did you say, my princess?" The guards let him go. "I said, beat her. That's what brings you laughter and joy, isn't it? Beat her." Quartz was happy, and she ran over to her father, ready for the beating. "Daddy, daddy! Beat me, beat me! Beat me hard! SMILE!" Her father stared at her as she was waiting for the beating. "What are you waiting for, sir? Beat her. She is asking for it." The princess smiled, as the father couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No. I can't." "You can't? But it brings you joy." "This isn't right. This isn't right." He felt shame, as he couldn't believe he had done this, and seeing how her daughter was acting, he realized how wrong he was and how awful this was. "No, it is. Beat her, sir. She is a problem child, right? You hate her, right? Beat her. Or I'll have you killed for treason." The princess said this as her eyes turned pure white. Quartz's father stepped back as the princess was becoming terrifying, not wanting to deal with her. He didn't want to die, and he didn't want to beat her daughter anymore, but he just didn't want to die, so he did the one thing he had to do. He beat her. "Yes! Yes! Thank you, daddy!" Quartz laughed and smiled as her father beat her and started crying. "SMILE! LAUGH" "Yes, laugh," the princess smiled, seeing Quartz's father crying but laughing like a mad colt. "That was the best beating ever. Daddy was so happy. The happiest he's ever been." Quartz smiled as she looked at the picture of her father that she took out from her mane. Pinkie stepped back and couldn't believe what she heard. "No," Pinkie said, not wanting to believe her. "It was. The most happy day of my life." "That's not happiness!" "It is." "No, it's not. Happiness is...happiness is when you're having fun, doing the things you love, with the ones you care about. Like me and my friends. When we do fun stuff together. Having fun. Laughing together...not hurting each other or someone...that's not happiness, that's...that's." Pinkie didn't know what to call this; she didn't know how to describe it. It was abasement for sure, but someone wanted it and someone was forcing the beating. All she knew was that this wasn't right. "Oh, I'm sorry. You can't seem to understand." Quartz said that and went closer to her. "Want to know why? Because you're a fucking moron, a dumbass, an idiot, and a stupid little pony." Pinkie stood up and shouted at her, not believing what she was hearing. "Don't call me that!" "Then prove me wrong. Prove to me that I'm wrong." "Okay, I will." But Pinkie froze with great dread and fear. She saw Quartz readying herself for a beating. She was shaking with fear but smiling. "Well, what are you waiting for?" "Quartz..." "Prove me wrong." "Quartz." "Come on." Pinkie started to cry as she held Quartz. "Please, don't." "What are you doing?" "Don't. Please. Don't. It's not right. I'm not going to hurt you. It's not right." Pinkie cried, not believing there's a Pinkie in the multiverse who's like this. Sure, there's evil ones or straight-up pervs, but... This isn't right. Quartz shook with sadness as her voice sounds like she wants to cry "Prove me wrong." "I CAN'T!" Pinkie shouts, as she can't do it. "I can't...because this isn't my laughter. I make ponies and other creatures smile. To be happy without hurting myself for them. That's not true happiness. That's...that's something else. I'm sorry." Pinkie let go of her and stepped back. "I'm not going to hurt you." Quartz looked at her, confused and not sure what to do or say to make her smile. "You're weak." "No. You're wrong. You're not strong. You're weak. You're hurting yourself and others, thinking that it's a way to make them happy. You're making yourself feel worthless. And that's not right." Quartz shook her head and sat down, trying to make sense of things. "But I make everyone happy by hurting me. I make people happy by being hurt. I'm a bad pony." "You're not a bad pony." "If they're not happy, I'm a bad pony." "They won't be happy with that." She looked up at Pinkie. "But Celestia told me that they would be happy! Everyone is happy when they're hurting me! They're happy and smiling!" "Quartz, no pony should hurt anyone." "But Celestia told me that it's normal. It's why after my father beat me, they took me away, and..." Quartz found herself in a testing lab and tied down on a table. Mages surrounded her as Celestia watched over them. She got closer to Quartz and smiled, making her so happy that she made the princess smile. "Oh boy! You're happy, princess?! Are you happy?!" "Oh, very much so. I'm smiling, aren't I?" "Yes, yes, you are!" "Good, now I'm going to show you the true happiness and joy you can get. Element of Laughter." She stepped aside, and the head mage came to her, holding a grey orb of laughter. "With this, you'll make everyone happy and filled with laughter. Become my weapon. Protect us and save us, Quartz!" She let the mage hold up the orb, and it slowly absorbed into Quartz's chest. "Some much pain! I see all of you smiling, even you, princess!" Quartz said as she felt her body breaking apart and her mind burning away... "They gave me laughter, and I saw all their smiles. The pain and joy of laughter. Their laughs and smiles... I'm happy; I can see their happiness. I'm a good pony. A good pony. Even after death and a ghost of the past." "NO!" Pinkie shouted, as she didn't want her to be like this. "You're not a bad pony, but a good one." "If you can't prove me wrong, then...then...I can't make you happy." "Quartz, look..." Pinkie started to sing. My name is Pinkie Pie (Hello!). And I am here to say, (How ya doin'?) I'm going to make you smile, and I will brighten up your day. It doesn't matter now. (What's up?) If you are sad or blue (howdy!) 'Cause cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie's here to do! Quartz doesn't know how to react to the song, but she felt her rear moving to the song. Pinkie saw this and changed the smile song; this was for her. Quartz! Quartz! Can't you see? All your tears are going to turn into tears of glee! (Yeah!) So hang with me, and you will see You will laugh and grin. (Hello again!) And be filled with joy. By the time this song is through, You will agree that I can make you giggle! "Pfft..." Quartz covered her mouth as she was giggling. I will make you laugh with the songs I'll bring. It doesn't matter now. (Whoo-hoo!) That's not a thing. For me to always sing So don't you worry about the cost? I'll sing for free. (Thank you!) And that's a promise. Your happiness is mine! Pinkie held Quartz hooves. Laughing and singing are what I live for. Hurting yourself and getting beat up is no more. I want you to smile and never frown. Forgetting all the pain and the past And if you're lost and don't know what path Just let me help you. As you can see, I can make you smile! Quartz is starting to smile and laugh, feeling the happiness growing inside her and holding herself, with tears coming out. "My story...it felt like someone rewrote it or something. They changed my need to make ponies and creatures happy into a twisted version of it. My father cried out to me, saying he was sorry. That was the last time I ever saw him as they took me away." "I'm sorry, Quartz. No pony should go through that." Pinkie comforted her. "The only way I can make ponies happy is by hurting myself or someone." Pinkie frowned "No, you can make ponies and other beings happy without hurting yourself or others. You remind me of Braver. She would hurt herself to make others happy. Even if it meant destroying herself, she would do it." Pinkie smiled. "But she would realize that and come back to her senses and stop herself. Quartz, you're Braver, aren't you? Or a part of her." Quartz nodded, "I'm her, and Blitz's laughter became real. Make sure they don't hurt themselves. They have their own laughs and happiness, not mine. Never be like mine! No one should be like me, but..." "But what?" "But they want the pain. To be hurt for the actions they took in destroying their universe and parents. Even she wants to be locked up in that cell so they can live a happy life, but that's wrong; that's not happiness." "They deserve to be happy and have fun, even with the bad stuff. You don't have to be hurt, Quartz. Please, let's end this." "No." She let Pinkie go, and the room had a warm glow. Pinkie could see Quartz changing form, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Honk! Not just us but everyone!" Quartz shouted, as she's a clown/rock farmer. "Pinkie! Keep everyone smiling! Never let that spark of laughter fade! Please keep watching over Braver. Blitz will be fine with her Pinkie, Penny is just like you! Promise me you'll keep making them smile—even her. Please make her smile. She has her own laughter. She shouldn't rot away in that cell of loneliness." Pinkie understood her, but not the last part, "Quartz?" "Pinkie, promise me." "Okay, I promise." Pinkie smiled as she hugged Quartz. "Thank you." Quartz pulled out her party cannon and stuffed herself and Pinkie into it. She pulled the rope, and they went flying across the sky, passing Cozy. "HI COZY!" They both shouted, making Cozy turn around and not see anyone. Then she got hit by a magical fireball. "That got to hu-" Both Pinkies slammed into the wall of the castle, slid down it, and fell onto a balcony. Pinkie stood up, laughing. "That was fun! Let's do it again!" She didn't hear Quartz at all and turned to her to see her pale and disappearing slowly. "QUARTZ!?" "My laughter has finally ended." "No! Quartz! Don't go! We haven't had the party yet! Please, don't leave!" Pinkie cried, holding Quartz, as she felt her hooves go through her. "Pinkie...the twins...one of them is dying...their laughter is going to end... I'm going to end. Save them." Quartz shut her eyes, making Pinkie cry. "No...Braver...Blitz..." Pinkie cried. In the sky, the giant prism window started to show images of the past, showing Blitz and Braver as Rainboom Breaker, destroying their city, while in Blitz town, five rainbow halos appeared from a glowing monster... "B-Breaker!" End of Chapter 20 > Chapter 21: Time Is Running Out and Ran Out In Another Chapter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Blitz!" cried Twilah, seeing her baby girl all grown up. She couldn't help but cry her heart out. She lost all those important years with her daughter, which she won't ever get back. "BLITZ!" she flew to her and held her daughter, crying as Blitz looked at her mother, confused. "W-What!?" said Blitz as she felt Twilah hugging her and then pitching her cheeks and still calling her baby girl "Blitz? I'm not Blitz, gr-oof!" She was pulled in and kissed on the forehead, but this made Twilah stop as Blitz hood fell backwards, revealing her face. "Wait, you aren't Blitz. Who are you?" asked Twilah as this woman got out of the hug and pulled her hood back over her face. "My name is...wait, I can't tell you. This might screw up the timeline even more...wait, I shouldn't have said that because I remember you telling me..." She stopped herself as Twilah looked pale as she whispered 'Timeline?' and sighed, "...about freaking out...oops." "Timeline?" "Shit, well, maybe this is meant to happen? Or something is happening right now, and we will have to deal with it later. Look, you are a smart and wonderful mom; you raised Blitz well." Twilah blinked a few times and started to smile. "Thank you, um, whoever you are." "Just call me...let's see...it has to be a cool-sounding name, maybe a mix of Braver and Blitz, so, uh...Breakitz? Nah, Break-fast? Nope, Breaker! Wait, no. She will kill me if I call myself that," she said, scratching her chin, while Twilah just had a dumbfounded look. "Um, how about sounding like Rainbow? Aurora Blast? No, no, no, no! I feel that's taken from another universe version of 'her'. Oh! Prism! Call me that! Yeah! Sounds cool!" Twilah nodded as Prism held her chest out, all proud of picking her name and leaning forward, like she wanted to be petted. Twilah did and petted her head, making Prism moan in happiness. "AH YEAH! Thanks gr-SHIT!" She leaned back and held her mouth, like she feared she said something else she shouldn't have. "Gr?" Twilah tilted her head. "Nothing! Just, just call me Prism, okay!? And anyway, yes, this is a timeline for the future. Welcome to the time-verse city, Cross City. I can't say more. Sorry." Prism told her. "Time verse? Cross City?" "Yep, where every universe and alternate timeline cross... SHIT!" She started to panic as she realized she said too much. "Are you okay, Prism?" "Fine! Fine! Don't mind me, just freaking out because I can't tell you too much about the future or this time line will be fucked!" "Oh." Twilah nodded, not sure if she should be worried or not. "Okay, but...why am I here? Can you at least answer that? Is it because of the-" Prism became very serious. "Yes, because of the time storm, but it's not really a storm; it's someone higher than a god. I can't say anymore about that person or whether my future will be erased or changed. Just know this: that time storm was created to send you here because that dick doesn't want you to remove the blackwater. She's been messing with each version of this story, and even though I saw it to the end, this doesn't mean my version of the story is the true ending. But I don't know if the true ending is true. All I know is that you were sent here to prevent you from stopping the blackwater like I said. If you don't stop it, New Ponyville gets destroyed and Flutterheart dies, which leads to her parents not wanting to be saved, which leads everyone's story to that one path...to the end. If my timeline is the same as yours, then Blitz and Braver are in danger of dying. You need to get back and don't use your watch." Twilah watched as Prism started to float back and forth, thinking and talking. "Using that watch to open the gate will send you back, but at the wrong time and place, and it's too dangerous if you open the portal now. You might grow old too quickly and die from the shock. But the high likelihood of that happening is a one-in-a million chance. It's not worth the risk." Twilah nodded, and she joined in the back and forth with Prism. "Yes, it's too dangerous, like you said. If time is added to the factor and it's not stable, how do I return?" They both started to fly in a circle, working their minds on this problem. "We need the gate to open; without a gate, you can't go through it, and you have a key for that, but it's not a stable one. Maybe a magical force can create a new gate." whispered Prism "...magical..." They both faced and pointed at each other and said, "DISCORD!" Both were surprised; they had the same thought and started to laugh. "I have no idea how we think alike; maybe because you are related to me in some way?" She laughed, but Prism felt worried but also somewhat proud to hear that. "Maybe, anyway, Prime Discord and all other Discords can time travel. He did it before when she and Weaver needed help and got him to help us. Maybe a Discord will help us in the city? The Fluttershy Con is happening this year here." Prism smiled. "Fluttershy Con?" "Yes, where the fandom gets together for their love of Fluttershy. I mean, it's a good place to start, but..." She looked over, and they saw a huge Fluttershy floating over a stadium. Soon, a different version of Shy floated over, and it was a busty Anthro version of her. "They're at war with each other right now. Something stupid about what version of Fluttershy is best. So, we can't count on them right now. Look." She pointed, and Twilah could see the balloon holders face-to-face with each other, screaming that anthro busty Shy is better, while the other Discords are screaming that pony Shy is the best Shy. Twilah rubbed her temples and sighed. "Okay, so we can't go to them. Do you have any other ideas, Prism?" "No, I don't. I mean, if you can find a Discord and convince him to help you, we will have him send you back, but each Discord isn't the same, and some are assholes." "Great, so I can't count on one Discord." "Sadly, yes. But we can still try; let's fly down and find a Discord." "But you said we can't count on Discord." Prism smiled "True, but they all carried the same spark. The spark that Fluttershy planted in them. Kindness—you just need to find the right one, of course. Also, be careful; some Discord hates any version of Twilight. See, there's some Discord who didn't become friends with Shy but with other Mane 6, and purist Discords hates that, believing Shy is the better pick. Fandom of best pony shit. They're crazy." Twilah shook her head and started to fly down. "Let's not waste time; come on, Prism." "Coming." Prism flew after Twilah, while her mind was screaming with joy as she could be with Twilah. "OMGOMG! THIS IS SO AWESOME!" "Is something wrong?" asked Twilah, as Prism had a big grin on her face. "NO! Nope, everything is fine. Totally fine. "Ok, we need to find a Discord; the problem is, there are a lot of Discord running around here." They landed and enter the building and could see different versions of Discord, ranging from different colors to different genders, and some were even humans or different races. This made Twilah wonder about something. "Prism, are you a pony or a human?" Prism blushed and scratched her neck. "Well, you know... it's hard to explain. I'm both, I think. I don't know." "That's...odd. You look like a human, but...something is off." Prism slowly turned around and let her wings out. They were huge, with cyan blue but the feathers were yellow. She quickly put them away as Twilah tried to touch them. "I'm both and a bit different." "Ah, I see." Twilah smiled and started to walk, surprising Prism as she quickly followed her. She put her hands over her head and asked her questions like, "Not going to ask why I'm a pony-human hybrid? Or why do I look so cool and awesome? Why am I even helping you?" "Nope, I know the answer, or well, the answer I think you're going to give me. You're helping me because you're a kind-hearted woman, Prism. That's enough for me." Prism had a small blush but was sad as she really wanted to tell her... "So, any idea which one to ask?" "I was thinking of the one over there, by the booth." Twilah saw an orange and purple-striped, white mane and green eyes Discord, whose body is similar to that of a human. It was almost like her anthro form. They walked over, and he smiled as he believed they were here to buy his books or drawings. "Hello there, little pony. I am the one and only Lord Discord! The ruler of chaos and the lord of the cosmos. Would you like to buy my amazing book, 'Chaotic Tales of In Shy Forest, or would you like to have a picture drawn by me? Here's our best seller!" He pointed to his right of a hanging picture of Shy as an anthro, naked, causing Twilah to blush and realize this booth was selling R34. "Prism, this booth sells...Prism?" She could see her reading the book that Discord said before, which Twilah could tell was a porn manga, and Prism wings were standing up. "PRISM!" "WHAT!? Oh, sorry, what did you say?" Twilah sighed and turned to the Discord, telling him good day and pulling Prism away. "HEY! Come on! I was almost done with the story!" "No, you're not! THAT WAS PORN, PRISM!" Prism started to follow her, tapping her fingers together. "But the story was good! The art is so detailed." Twilah turned to her with anger as she pointed to her wings. "I can see that! You should be ashamed." "It's not like I was jerking off." "But you were enjoying it, weren't you?" "Yeah, so?" Twilah shook her head and was disappointed. "Prism..." "Come on! The art is good! You have no idea how detailed it is." Twilah ignored her, looked around, and found a different Discord. She quickly walked over, while Prism followed and was annoyed. "You're just mad that I liked the porn." "Prism, this isn't the time to talk about this. We're here for a reason, not for you to enjoy 'hentai'." Prism opened her wings and flew behind her with her arms crossed. "I'm an adult; I can read porn; thank you very much." "And you should know better, Prism." "PFFFTT! Whatever Twi." "Prism." "Twi." "Don't call me Twi." "Twi, Twi, Twi, Twi, Twi, Twi." "Stop it." "Twi, Twi, Twi, Twi, Twi, Twi!" Twilah gave her a glare, but Prism just stuck her tongue out as they reached the new Discord, and Twilah asked him politely if he could open a portal for her. "NOPE, SORRY, NO CAN DO! I'M A PERSON WEARING THIS DISCORD FURRY SUIT!" said the female voice as she removed the head, revealing a different version of Rarity, an anthro version no less. "By the way, we're getting together later tonight, darling. If you have a Shy Fur suit, the others will be happy to have you there. It's at the Derpy 69 Hotel! Room 753." Prism tilted her head to the side, as she had no idea what she was talking about. "What do you do there? With the fur suits no less?" The Rarity anthro turned her head and gave a sly grin, making Prism a bit uncomfortable. "Oh, my dear, you have a lot to learn." She winked and put her Discord head back on, leaving the two of them. Prism felt weird and was going to ask Twilah what she meant, but she could see her blushing and yelling, "We're not all like that! Okay! Not all furries are like that! Stop laughing!" Prism is laughing her ass off. "Oh my god, Twi. You're a furry?" "Shut up, Prism. It's not funny. After Dashie and I tried it in our pony forms, we went deeper into it, and then there's this furry online club we joined and..." "OH MY GOD, THIS IS PRICELESS!" She was laughing so hard and started to roll on the ground. Tears came out, and she was holding her sides. "I GOTTA TELL 'HER' THIS! SHE'S GONNA HATE THIS INFO!" "You will do no such thing, Prism!" "Furries, Twi. Furries. You are a furry. I'm dying. Dying!" "Stop it, Prism. Aren't your parents furries? Since you're a hybrid, they must have done it... So, stop being a child and acting like this." Prism stopped laughing, her eyes darkened, and she had a cold frown. "What?" she stood up, and Twilah could tell that Prism just realized that her parents are basically furries, as one is clearly a pegasus. "Oh." "Yes, oh." "I didn't think about it that way. But you're right, my parents are furries. Guess that makes me a furry...? Maybe...? But I do like..." "Are you okay, Prism?" She slowly turned to her, dead inside. "Yes, but no, not really." "You want to talk about it?" "No, thanks. Let's just continue on our quest." They went on with their quest, trying to find a Discord to help them, but each one was too busy to help or didn't like them because they weren't Fluttershy. They stopped outside of the stadium, and everyone was out here, cheering on as a Vtuber Fluttershy sang Flutterwonder. "Amazing, there's even a Vtuber version of Fluttershy?" asked Twilah. Prism flew towards her, upside down, and answered her, "Yup. She comes from a universe where the Mane 6 are humans, they joined Harmony Inc., became a Vtubers, and taught the viewers about friendship. She's called Flutter Kindness. Of course, the fans here will shimp for her and even ship her with the other members, but that's normal. Some will even have fanfics of them fucking." Twilah shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Why do you know that?" "Because I'm a Twilight Magic fan. She's remind me of..." she blushed as she looked away. "NEVER MIND!" "Reminds you of...?" "Nope, nope, nothing." She crossed her arms and pouted. "Alright, fine. No need to tell me." Prism turned to her and was surprised to see her not caring and not asking her questions. "Wait, you're not curious?" Twilah sighed and sat down to watch the show. As the other Vtubers appeared, she could see Twilight Magic, an unicorn pony wearing a white jacket with pink stars of her cutie mark on it. "Prism, I'm not stupid. I already guessed who you are." Prism was shocked and flew upright and sat next to her, her wings twitching with worry. "Who do you think I am?" "Well, from what I can see..." Twilah turned to her, removed Prism hoodie, and held her rainbow hair in a ponytail. She couldn't stop smiling and crying. "You're...no, I can't say it, and since you're still here and didn't disappear from this timeline, it tells me I can think of it as long as I don't say it. It's really hard not to say it." Prism smiled and was so happy to hear her say that. She sat closer to her and watched the show. She couldn't stop crying, knowing her secret was out but she could be relax with her. "Man, she can't yell out at me for this one!" She said, grinning hard and wiping her tears away, Twilah wanted to know, but knew better. It's not her place to know, not yet anyway. "Hey, Prism?" "Yeah?" "Are you okay? Have you been eating well? You're not skipping meals, are you?" Prism giggled and leaned on her, resting her head on her shoulders. "Yeah, I'm eating well. Thanks for worrying about me." "Of course, I worry about you." Twilah couldn't hold her tears back and held her tight. "I want to ask you so many questions! Like, are you going to college? Have you found a job? What have you been doing in life? But...but...I can't...because..." "Because of the rules of time travel and everything, I know." Prism was glad she didn't ask for real; the pain would hurt too much. "Can you at least answer me this? This shouldn't break the rules, right?" "Sure, what is it, Twi?" "Are you dating or just in love with 'her' because whoever you thinking of, I can see how happy you look." Prism froze and her eyes widen. She knew who Twilah was talking about as it was super clear as day from her slip-ups, and it hit her hard. Her mind was screaming, and she was scared. She couldn't give her an answer and just sat there, frozen. "Prism? Hey, Prism!" She slowly looked up and gave a weak smile. "Sorry, Twi. But...I can't say it. But, yeah. I'm...you know... what you're thinking. I really want to tell you!" She started to cry heavily. "But I can't. I can't risk it. If her past is changed...it's like stepping on butterfly, even if it was meant to happen..." "You won't ever meet her, right?" "Yeah...sorry..." "No, don't be. You did nothing wrong, Prism." "Yeah...nothing." The two were silent as they watched the VTubers sing and dance to their hearts' content. They both heard a very familiar voice. "It's good to see you two again." They both turned around and saw an old-looking Discord, and next to him were six ponies. One of them, a light pink pegasus with a phone, screamed and live streamed the two. "OMG! Pippsqueaks! You won't believe who's here! LOOK!" She forced the phone towards the two, but the white pegasus stopped her. The two started to fight, and Twilah believed they're sisters from the way they're fighting. "Discord, why are you here?" asked Prism, waving at him. "Other than the Fluttershy Con, of course," but she could see how hurt he looked. "Ah, sorry." He sighed and walked closer. "Yes, I can't stand how some are ruining her name, especially the ones selling the R34's." "But aren't you buying some of that?" teased the white pegasus, pulling out a few from his bag. He snatched them back and put them away. "I'm here to burn them." His friends all laughed at him, making him blush and cross his arms. "Yeah, sure. Anyway, I'm glad you're here. Twilah needs to get back to her time. Can you return her age to normal and send her back home?" "Sure." "Wait, wait! Can't I go with her!?" begged the pink pegasus as her sister pulled her phone away. "Sorry, no can do. I can't have you screwing the timeline. So!" Discord turned to an apricot-orange mare-earth pony. "This is your only time to tell her, you know. You'll regret it if you don't." Twilah could see the nervous earth pony as she tapped her hooves together, not making eye contact. "Right." She slowly looked at Twilah, and a small smile grew on her face. "Hi, uh, it's me, Sunny. Not your Sunny, you know." Twilah shook her head, telling her not to say her name. "Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to let you know that...the future you are..." She held back but brushed it off. "I'm just so happy you're here." Her smile grew wide. "You have no idea how long I waited for you. It's like a dream. Meeting this version of my...shoot its hard. I can't say that part, right?" Twilah shook her head. "Nope." "Shoot, shoot, shoot. Well, I just wanted to say...goodbye, and... I'll miss you. Take care of yourself, okay?" Twilah could see that she was struggling not to cry and not leaping on her to hug her. Twilah could only smile, knowing who she is. "You too, okay. Stay strong. I believe in you, Sunny. Even 'she' will always be proud of you. You grew up to be strong. I can tell just by looking at you." Twilah gave her a head pat. "Keep moving forward. That's what 'she' wants. You don't have to say it; it's clear as day." Sunny could feel tears forming but blinked them away, and her friends held her for support. "Right." Discord clapped his hands and turned Twilah back to her normal age. "Right, I'll send you back, right when you jump into the future. Listen, the blackwater is coming up to New Ponyville. When you get back, you need to get out of time verse and stop Flutterheart's death. She's trying to stop it." Twilah nods but quickly asks him how, as she has no plans to remove it or even a way to destroy it, but Discord points to her chest. Her chest started to glow as her element of magic started to shine brightly. "In a few timelines, you find out your element can destroy it, and in others, you don't in time. Better hurry now; the end is coming." "The end? Wha-" Discord snapped his fingers, and she was gone. Prism and Sunny looked sad that Twilah was gone. Discord sighed, turned back to the ponies, and asked them. "Well, now that the fun is over, Who's ready for lunch? My treat." "ME! ME!" "Oh, Misty, can't you calm down? I'll treat you to that cake place you like; don't worry," laughed Discord as they all got up. "Really!?" "Yes, now let's go." "Thank you, Discord!" cheered Misty as her and the others started leaving Prism by herself. Discord stopped and turned his head slightly. "You going to be okay? Seeing her again." "Yeah, it was nice seeing her again, and...still weird when I'm..." Discord laughed "Oh, please, you are you. Just like how Rainbow Sky, Dashie Reinbold, and Rainbow Dash said it, who passed on that message to them, even Blitz passed it on to you. You aren't her past; you are your own future. Be yourself. Live your life; don't be bound by someone else's life. Live your own life to the fullest. That is 'her' and their wish for you." Prism was shocked as she remembered that speech, that she was lost for words. She couldn't help but smile and nod. "I will. See you around, Discord. You guys have fun!" Prism stood up and opened her wings. "Where are you going?" "I need to do something. I remember Celestia reporting something on that day. See ya!" Prism took off as a burning rainbow light and disappeared over the horizon. "She will never change...no matter the life she lives." "Hey, Discord, we're waiting," yelled the white pegasus as her group was waiting for him. "I'm coming, Zipp; don't get your tails in a knot." Discord couldn't help but smile as he joined them, but his thoughts were on one thing: "Please, let this timeline be safe and the true ending and not 'her' ending...the one she made..." Prism landed far from the city, where there's nothing but a white void. She stood there and saw an Alicorn walking up to her. She pointed to the house that appeared and saw her disappear. She just stood, and soon other versions of herself appeared, and they all could see the house again. She turned to them all. "Wanna freak Celestia out?" They all grinned and nodded as they all started to wave or dance. Prism laughed, but she felt someone coming, and it was fast. "She finally took notice, huh?" She looked up and saw the endless roads of the multiverse, seeing them change as if there's a rainbow light in the sky. "I really hope this is it. Let this be the end. Please let it be. No more different rewrites for this story. Let it end. Let us finally be free. No more, please." She soon felt a smack behind her head... Twilah found herself back in her home, and Sassy and Spike acted like she wasn't even gone. "You are back to normal!? But there was no time storm just now?" asked Spike, but Twilah opened the gateway back to Equestria and told them they needed to stay here, as the blackwater had moved towards New Ponyville and she needed to stop it. Before Spike could ask how she knew that, she was gone. Twilah found herself back in the town hall meeting room, where she could hear screaming and magical energy being blasted outside. She hurried outside and could see unicorn guards, normal unicorns, and Flutterheart, who was flying above, blasting the blackwater as it covered half the town. Destroying it. "Princess!" shouted Twilah, seeing her all worn out from fighting and slowly falling from the sky and falling towards the blackwater below. It's just like Prism and Discord said. She acted quickly, saved her with her magic, and quickly brought her towards. "Flutterheart, are you okay?" Flutterheart was breathing heavily. "Aunty Twilight? Why do you look so...different?" she asked, seeing Twilah in her anthro form. "No, your not Twilight, but Twilah, that Dash looks alike said." She tried to get up, but Twilah stopped her. "No, you have done enough, Kari—I mean, Flutterheart. Rest; let your aunty handle this!" Flutterheart was shocked and looked up, seeing her smile and her serious eyes. "You can destroy the blackwater?" Twilah nodded. "That I am. I never thought to use it because magic has little to no effect on it, but it's not just magic; it's something more." Twilah held her chest, and the element of magic started to glow. Her eyes went pure purple, and her wings finally appeared. Using her Canterlot royal voice, she shouted for everyone to stand back. Twilah rose into the air and raised her arms. The element of magic was glowing, and she was giving off a warm, gentle energy. The blackwater started to be covered in a purple aura and quickly was pushed into one spot, becoming a giant ball of water. Twilah started shrinking it and breaking it down piece by piece, making it into nothingness. As she was doing this, she saw a flash of a vision, seeing a robed person above a rainbow tree, holding a book, upset as they tossed the book, and hearing a voice behind them. "What's wrong? Not happy with how your rewrite didn't stop Twilah? It's like I said, This is their story, not yours!" Twilah could see the robe figure turning and being punch in the face, and the vision was gone. "What was that?" she asked herself as she destroyed the final part of the blackwater, landing on the ground and hearing all the cheering from the town folks, but it wasn't over. As they all looked up, even Twilah joined them, and she froze as she saw the memories of Blitz and Braver killing their universe and fighting her and Dashie copies. Worse, she could see her home town in the huge prism-looking mirror. Seeing it being destroyed by a figure... "No!" She could see who it was. "Breaker!? Then that means...BLITZ! BRAVER!" She quickly took off and headed towards the prism, and using all her magic, she tried to pass through it but was repelled back with great force. "I can't pass! Damnit!" She was panicking, but her element started to glow, and she felt something—it was the element of loyalty. She could sense Dashie in trouble. She could feel it—she's being burned! "DASHIE!" She closed her eyes and sensed where she was, which was on top of the Crystal Palace, and could see what was going on. Her eyes shut open and were filled with a burning purple energy. In a blink, she was gone. ...and reappeared and blasted Sunfall away. "TWILIGHT! YOU FINALLY! CAME!" shouted Sunfall with glee, but quickly vanished as she realized who it was. "No, just a copy. Twilah, the one who raised Blitz. My master erased you from that timeline by using Rainbow Dawn, but she hope sending you away in this rewrite will change the events that caused 'her' from being created. It looks like I have to kill you as well before your daughter can be saved by you. Heck, maybe she will die this time." She smirked as her hands became lit with blazing fire. Twilah looked back and could see Dashie slowly getting up and her element recovering her burned body. She turned back to Sunfall and used her Canterlot Royal voice, but in pure rage, "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY LOVE OF MY LIFE!" she sent out a powerful wave of energy. "YOU WON'T FUCKING TOUCH MY BABY GIRL!" Back on earth, Wallflower hid under her blanket, as she didn't want to leave her room after what happened yesterday. She could hear her parents knocking on her door and asking if she's okay, and so on, until they left her alone. "Sunset was right... I tried to get Blitz behind her back. Why did I do that? She's my friend and is so sweet and nice. Why would I go behind her back like that? Why?" Wallflower was crying, unaware of the unicorn kicking from within the mirror in her room, trying to push a box over from its dresser. She kept kicking, finally getting the box to fall and releasing its items. She cracked her back, as she was getting too old to be kicking, but looked happy as she watched Wallflower being spook by the sound. "What was that!?" She removed her blanket from her head and could see the gifts that Blitz gave her years ago, all scattered on the wood floor. "Oh no!" she hurried out of bed and picked up each colored geodes crystals and sat on the floor, looking at them as they shined in the dim lighting. "They're beautiful. Glad Blitz gave them to me. The greatest gift that anyone ever gave me." All seven geodes shined and gave off each color, and she was amazed by their beauty. "I always wondered, why are these Everfree geodes so...dunno, shiny? It's not like the other ones I've seen online. In fact, these ones don't match anything from Everfree Rock Records." She looked at the blue one, which reminded her of Blitz, and couldn't help but feel warm from it. She held it close to her heart, finally thinking about something. "I know Blitz needs our help, but can we really help her? We're just normal humans. We're not like her or her family. Won't we just get killed? What if we just get in the way and get her hurt or get Lucy eaten?" She started to cry as she held the blue one tighter. "Sunny can fight, Tempesta is a former soldier, and King said he took Bōjutsu classes. What can I do? I can't do anything." The wallflower shed a single tear, and the droplet fell on the blue crystal geode, and it started to glow and shine up the room. Wallflower could see it glowing, and she looked at her other hand, and the other geodes were glowing as well. Her heart was beating fast as she got up and heard the voices of someone's memories. "No matter how many timelines you make, we'll always be here! Fighting you!" "!noʎ ʇou !ᵷuᴉpuǝ ʅɐuᴉɟ ǝɥʇ suᴉʍ oɥʍ ǝuo ǝɥʇ ǝq ʅʅ'ᴉ !noʎ ɟo uoᴉsɹǝʌ ɹǝʞɐǝʍ ɐ ᵷuᴉʇɐǝɹɔ suɐǝɯ ʇᴉ ɟᴉ uǝʌǝ !ʇsᴉxǝ ɹǝʌǝu ʅʅ'noʎ ǝɹns ǝʞɐɯ oʇ sǝʞɐʇ ʇᴉ ɹǝʌǝʇɐɥʍ op ʅʅ'ᴉ .noʎ doʇs ʇ'uoʍ noʎ ᵷuᴉsɐɹǝ ɟᴉ sǝʅɐʇ ɹnoʎ ǝᵷuɐɥɔ ʇsnꓩ ʅʅ'ᴉ uǝɥʇ" "This is their story, not yours! Everyone! LET'S GO!" Wallflower felt her body go numb as the geodes glowed brighter and brighter and started to float and surround her, until she could hear a sad voice. "Mothers...aunties...friends...looks like in this timeline, I couldn't stop her, but maybe in another? I'm sending my broken element shards to different timelines. Maybe another me can stop her. I can already see it. She's trying to change my birth. Please, whoever finds these, save me. Save my new selves, or all and everyone's stories will follow 'her' path to this sad ending." Wallflower opened her eyes, could see herself in a new form, and quickly turned to the mirror. She touched her face and couldn't understand what was happening. "What...happened? What is this? My hair and skin?" She touched the flower on her head and pulled it, hurting her. She quickly freaked out and back away from the mirror, tossed the old and worn faded rainbow jacket on the floor, and her body returned to normal. "What the heck!? Was that me or something?" She could see the old rainbow jacket turning brown and having rainbow sparks, and she slowly touched it, seeing a vision of someone floating in blackwater and holding their chest as rainbow liquid was leaking out and staining her white shirt. "I'm sorry, Sunny, King, Tempesta, Wilma...Dawn...its getting cold... I can't see my dawn... I can't see anything. I'm afraid..." The memory faded away, and Wallflower screamed out Blitz's name as she could feel her sadness at failing and dying all alone. "Blitz!" She quickly held the jacket, fearing what she just saw. It didn't look like Blitz or even sound like her, but she knew it was her—being so scared and crying, knowing she's dying. "Blitz!" Her body began to change back to her new form, and the jacket became a faded rainbow. "I won't let you die. I'm not useless. I'll prove it! I'll show you I'm not weak and that I can protect you like Sunny can! Just watch! I won't fail!" She held it closer and cried harder as she could feel all the sadness from the jacket. "You won't die! You won't die alone like that! I swear it! You're my friend! I love you! I'll save you!" She cried harder and harder, her tears dripping and hitting the jacket, staining it more, and its glow got brighter and brighter. Coming out was a red crystal, flying into the mirror, being caught by the unicorn, and running off. Wallflower let go of the jacket and could see it going dim like before and becoming brown. Her body became normal, and she stood up. She put on the jacket, and her form returned, but the jacket color never returned, almost like it was dead. "I can do this, right? I have to...for her." Wallflower turned to her mirror, took a deep breath, and let out her emotions. "I can do this!" She raised her hand, and the mirror started to be covered in vines and flowers. She quickly turned and released a ton of vines breaking through the walls. She didn't know how, but she just knew how her powers worked. She was shocked but felt a newfound strength. "I can save her!" The wallflower could see that the whole room had rainbow flowers and plants everywhere. She turned back to her mirror and was scared by her appearance, but she somehow changed it between her normal look and her current look, a fusion of the two. She nodded and ran out of the room, passing her folks and heading to the front door, but when she opened it, she saw Brishen there, about to knock. "Wilma? Is that you? Dyed your hair?" Wallflower was nervous but shook her head, and she saw her mom, dad, and sister coming over, and they all could see the growing grass behind her. They were confused, but Wallflower just shut the door and pulled Brishen by his arm. "WHOA! WHAT WAS THAT JUST NOW, AND WHY ARE YOU PULLING ME!?" Wallflower didn't reply and kept dragging him; she knew where she was going. Something or someone was telling her where to go. "We need to head to the beach! There's something there! Something you need!" She shouted, and before he could ask what, she quickly said, "We're going to run out of time! If we don't get back in time, Blitz is going to die!" He quickly stopped and made her let go. "Wait, what?! She's going to die? How did you know that? Did she text you or call you? What's going on?" Wallflower was getting frustrated. "Look, just trust me! Look!" she transformed, spooking him, but she made him grab the jacket, and he too saw the same figure dying and feeling all the sadness. "What was that!?" "It's Blitz, I think? No, it is her! We can't let that happen to her!" She held his shoulders. "If we don't hurry, she's going to die! We gotta save her!" He was in shock and didn't know what was happening, but seeing that, he could see it wasn't fake. "R-Right! But it's gonna take days to rea-WHOA!" He suddenly felt being carried by plant life as Wallflower controlled it, and they took off like a speeding car. In another time and story... She could see it—her friends, going off to save a version of herself—she couldn't help but smile. Her vision is fading, and the black core of the sun is setting. Her dawn is dead and gone. Her story is ending here. "Mothers...friends... I'm sorry. I failed. I didn't save you. I couldn't save us, but maybe in another...story...." her body was starting to crumble and fall apart; the only thing left of her was the jacket and the broken rainbow element orb in it. They rose up into the air, and with a bright flash, they all flew across the darkness as tiny rainbow comets, entering all the prism windows, all falling in different places, but one flew out a mirror of a high school and landed in a forest. It was the prime universe and its human counterpart universe. "So, you let it happen?" said an elderly man voice as a white female Alicorn with a brown mane walked out of the darkness. "Of course, it's my creation. If an outside force messes with the prime universe, with my written story, I can appear to 'them'. Everyone is needed for this final show down. All creation is in danger, and if we don't destroy the source, she will just keep appearing and destroying every story. Everything in this multiverse, time verse, and beyond will die, including 'us'." "Yes, and you think 'she' can do it? She's not her mother; you know that." "Yes, I know, but she carries her spark. Keep moving forward, just like her. That's the thing about 'her', Blitz, Braver, and the others. They are strong, kind, brave, and, most importantly, they never give up. The very reason I wrote that prime universe. To give little girls courage and hope, to see them smile and grow up strong. They are the future. All little girls and others should learn from it, be inspired, and write their own stories to tell. I know my ending won't be happy, and it's not the first time. I just want 'them' to keep living on and never giving up. To believe that a world of dreams can be saved. Their stories are their own, no matter how little or big they are. It's theirs and no one else's. I believe in 'her'." The voice of the old man can be heard, as he is laughing, and an old-looking hand softly touches her shoulder. "Keep moving forward, and if it's time to go, it's time to go but It's not the end of the world just yet, right? You've done your part. I believe in her too." "Yeah, we did what we could, didn't we?" "Yes, we can only watch now. Where do these stories head? Whether it's a happy ending or a tragic ending, it's up to her." "We have faith in her." Suddenly, millions of shadow figures stood behind her, all nodding and looking up into the darkness. Seeing all the multiverse and timelines, all their roads heading to a giant dead tree, and above that tree is a single white road, a white light stood on it as it shines brightly in the darkness. "With great power...comes great responsibility. We are the authors of their lives. We just can't always save them. This is the only way." "Keep moving forward...to that true ending." End of Chapter 21 > Chapter 22: Honestly Has More Than One Truth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fizzle pop wagged her tail as Braver was in front of her. She sniffed Braver's face and licked her. "She's cute!" laughed Braver, petting the grey Huskie. Tempesta smiled as she petted her PTSD dog and hugged her, kissing her snout. Fizzle pop let out a bark and licked her owner's face. "Yes, she is. Best girl, right?" She smiled as Fizzle pop sneezed and sat still. Dash placed a glass of water for Tempesta and sat down with a sandwich. "So, your this universe Tempest? Not surprising, Blitz befriended her version as well." Dash took a bite out of her sandwich, but she could see Tempesta giving her a very confused look. "Right, there's a unicorn version of you in my world. The former evil second command of the Storm King, who turned a good leaf and, over the years, has been trying to-" "Forgive the actions she took as well?" said Tempesta as she took a drink. Dash was in shock. "As well? What do you mean? Did the same events happen here as well?" Tempesta shook her head. "No, I'm guessing Brishen is my universe version of your Storm King, as he always goes by that silly name, but whatever your Tempesta did and seeking forgiveness, I'm the same, but during my time in the army. That was four years ago." I dropped out of high school and joined the army. I was the best fighter, smartest, quickest, and hardest soldier. My folks are so proud. I was so sure this was what I wanted to do. Protecting my home and keeping other people safe. I finally saw combat when I was 21 years old. My platoon was being transported to a battle zone by helicopters when we came under heavy fire. One was blown out of the sky, while the other two got out of there, but my squad helicopter tail got hit, and we crashed into the middle of the ruin city. The enemy was closing in. Our sergeant was killed in the crash, and I was the only one still conscious. I pulled out any living squad members and barricaded us into a nearby building. "DAMN IT!" shouted Tempesta, firing her rifle from the window and taking cover as the enemy shot back. She reloaded her rifle, peaked, and fired at the enemies. "Shit! We're surrounded! No escape! NO!" She could see some of her fellow soldiers dead, and the few ones alive were badly wounded and bleeding out. She held her own shoulder wound, blood running down her hand and the floor. She was wounded, but she ignored it, thinking she'd deal with it later. "Hold on. You hear me? Hold on!" She shouted at her friends, as one was crying his eyes out as he didn't want to die. She returned fire and tossed a grenade out the window. The enemy is trying to move closer, but she keeps firing and pushing them back a bit. "I GOT THIS!" she shouted at them, making her soldiers smile a bit. The window was taking too much heat from the enemy's bullets. She pulled away, and her helmet was shot and flew off. She quickly looked back, seeing that her hair had been cut by the bullet. "Oh, fuck you!" She fired more, tossed another grenade, and took cover. She could hear the blast going off, and they seemed to be backing off for now. She quickly pulled her friends to the upper part of the house and placed them in a room with no windows. She put both men down and hurried back down the stairs, getting the other two, but one had passed away from his wounds. She quickly checked and saw the enemy was coming back and shooting. "SHIT! DAMN IT! FUCK!" She quickly picked up the last soldier from the ground, ran upstairs, tossed her inside, and shut the door. She took aim at the bottom of the stairs and waited as she heard them entering the first floor. She couldn't move from this spot, or her friends were dead. She got ready as she saw the enemy quickly appearing in her crosshairs, and she fired. This was her final stand—to defend her fellow soldiers. "You had to kill people?" whimpered Braver, feeling bad for Tempesta. She nodded. "Yes, I did. I'm not a saint, but I had to for saving my friends lives. I did what I could and was prepared to die for them." She was ran out of ammo and got hit a few times. She needed to back away from the stairway and crawled her way to the end of the hallway, standing up and tossing her rifle to the ground. She took a knife and her pistol and aimed at the staircase. She was ready to fight till the death. "Come and get me, you bastards! I won't let you touch my squad mates!" She shouted and fired her gun. She shot down several soldiers as the rest dove back down and tried to come up the stairs. It was a standoff, but for some reason, they suddenly backed off and exited the building. She dropped to her knees and smiled as she thanked the Lord. She was saved, as were her friends. "Hey guys, it's okay now. We're going to get through this. We're going to be fine. I'm gonna patch up your wounds and-" Suddenly, she felt her body being tossed forward as a rocket landed in the house and blasted the section she and her squad mates were in, and the whole floor was engulfed in flames and debris. She was tossed to the floor, her ears ringing and her vision blurred, and her left eye went red as blood covered that eye. "What...happened?! Wait, are you guys alright?!" She couldn't stand too well, but she turned around, and the feeling of dread filled her heart. Her friends were dead. The room and the floor are gone. She looked over the edge and could see the bottom floor was in flames. "N-No...no...this is...impossible. I was...we were...NO." She dropped her gun, fell on her knees, and started to cry. She failed to save them, all because of one rocket. The room was very quiet as Dash stopped eating and tried to comfort Braver, who was heartbroken about Tempesta's friends death. "I was the only one that survived. The enemy thought we were all dead and left the place. I crawled out of there, limping my way back to the nearest base, leaving behind my squad mates. They couldn't recover the body. I was given a medal of honor and a purple heart, but it didn't matter to me. I was discharged from the military for...reasons. I was so depressed that I almost drank myself to death. My parents were so worried and tried to help me, even after the horrible thing I said to them." She started to tap the table, and her leg started to be restless as she went on. "They wanted me to see somebody for my depression and...other things.". Fizzle pop training took in as she noticed her owner started to feel scared and anxious, so she stood up and walked over to her. Tempesta noticed her dog and smiled, hugging her neck. "Thank you, Fizzy. Always there for me." Fizzle pop rubbed her head against her, and she was happy that she was able to comfort her owner. "You don't have to talk about it. Really, it's okay. We can leave it alone. There is no need to bring up such bad memories." Dash gave a reassuring smile. "It's fine. I've been going to a therapist for two years now, and it's helping me with the issues I've had, and I can say that talking about it really helps a lot. Even more when it was Blitz who got me the help because..." "You see their faces too, don't you?' whispered Braver, looking straight down at the floor, clutching her jeans. Tempesta noticed her face and realized it as well. "Just like your sister too," she muttered, feeling upset that Blitz's sister was the same. Braver looked up, asking her what she meant by that. "She has...the same problems I have. Seeing your loved ones dead, remembering the events each waking day, and remembering the people you killed. The blood we carry on our hands, we're killers, and... I guess you are too, right? I can see it in your eyes. You killed as well, and you can't let it go, can't you? Like a bad memory you can't forget." "You're not wrong. I have killed too many lives; I even made my sister kill our parents. She shouldn't blame herself for that; THAT WAS ME!" Braver pushed back the chair and stood up, tears in her eyes. Dash quickly tried to calm her down, telling her to sit down and calm down. "Braver, sweetie. Don't be like that. I understand. Really, I do, but you can't let the past control you, or else it will kill you slowly. Your parents won't want this for you, would they?" Dash held her hand. "Mom... I-I know. I just—I'm sorry." She sat back down and cried her eyes out, not caring who was seeing her cry. "Its okay. Let it all out, sweetie. Its okay." Dash pulled her in a hug and let her cry. Braver couldn't take it; she killed her parents, and it was her fault. Blitz is always suffering and hurting herself because of it, but she could hear Tempesta being very blunt towards her. "You can't change the past because life isn't honest or fair sometimes. All you can do is look forward and hope the future will be better. If you continue to cry and beat yourself up over it, then you're letting your parents deaths be a waste. They would hate to see you like this. You're alive and well, and that's all that matters, right?" "Tempesta is right, Braver. You and your sister are alive, and that's all your parents would want. They hope to see you both healthy and safe. That's what they wanted." Dash couldn't help but cry as well. "It's why we fought for you two. So you could live a normal life and not die, like that, as someone who only saw themselves as a monster. I'm sorry that you two went through hell and back, really I am. If there was something—anything—I could do to change the past, I would!" Dash finally let out her pent-up feelings, as she was crying just like Braver and holding her tight. "It kills me to see you like this... I feel so helpless to help you. All I can do is be a mom and give you advice and listen, but I can't change the past, no matter how much I want to." Braver couldn't believe what she was hearing, and Dash never told her how she felt about their situation, not once. It made her feel even guiltier. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. You're doing your best, and I'm just a burden on you. I'm so sorry," she hugged Dash and cried into her shirt. Dash pulled her back. "What? No, you are never a burden to us, Braver. Never, ever! You're not a burden. You're our daughter, and we love you." Dash couldn't bear to hear that word from her mouth. "But I am." "Be honest with yourself for once," simply said Tempesta, holding and looking at the dog. "Wh-" "You heard me, girl. Be honest. What do you think of yourself?" "I'm a killer. I'm a murderer and a monster, just like I a-" "Wrong." Tempesta stood up, walked around the table, and kneeled before her. "You aren't a monster. You're not a killer, not anymore. You're a teenager who wants to help others. You're a good kid who has the ability to kill, but that doesn't make you a killer. Just like Blitz, you help people, don't you?" Braver nodded, telling her about her friends back home. Tempesta couldn't help but smile as she listened and spoke when Braver was done. "Yup, just like your sister. You two think that your awful deeds won't and will never be forgiven, no matter how much you try, Is that right?" Braver nodded, saying it's her fault her sister is suffering. "No, it's not." "But it is!" "Its not. Listen, I know the feeling. You can't forgive yourself, and I can't either with my own problems. But you're wrong, just like your sister." "How is that?" Dash asked, listening. "Because you two still have a chance. It will take time, I know, and you can't forget it. I can't either. We have to live with our mistakes and move on, but we can't do that if we hold on to the past. We don't have a place in this world if we do that." Tempesta held her hands and smiled, "Don't ever give up or think you don't have a place in this world or in others hearts, because you do! You have a home here." Tempesta pointed to Dash and then at a family picture of Blitz and her family on the kitchen wall. "And those that care about you will always be with you, no matter the odds or the situation. You aren't alone. never will be. As long as you have that spark in your heart and people around you, you'll always move forward and one day..." she started to cry heavy. "You can finally put your past to rest because you kids shouldn't be like this! This isn't right; you should be worrying about teenage stuff, not this! It's not right, and I hate it." She started to wipe away her tears and smiled. "You two will get better and find peace one day. Unlike me, you two will reach it." She let her go, but she suddenly felt Braver hugging her and crying. "YOU TOO! You will have peace too! I'll make sure of it! I will even share my peace with you...you don't have to suffer....all alone...you should have a happy ending too..." Braver held her tighter. Tempesta's eyes went wide as Braver's words were one to one with Blitz's when she helped her two years ago, and she couldn't help but remember that faithful day... I remember that day. It was after Veterans Day and when everyone stopped giving a shit for war veterans. It was like any other night, walking in the alleyways, not wanting to be seen or heard. There are not a lot of people out today, and those that were didn't give a shit. I just bought my case of beers and just wanted to drown my sorrows. It didn't help that one of my squad mates brothers sent an awful hate message to me over on Twitter, calling me awful things about how it should have been me... Tempesta read the hate message on her phone and cried. He was right; she should have died, not their sister. It was all her fault. She put her phone away and pulled a can from its holder. She didn't know when, but she was sitting on the floor of an alleyway, behind a dumpster, and crying. She opened her can and chugged it, just wanting to forget about her problems and the hate she's been receiving for a while now from this guy. She just wanted it all to end. "Hey?" She looked to the side and could see a man with a hoodie over his face and holding a knife in his hand. "Give me your money," he demanded. She didn't care, not even about the knife; she was going to die tonight anyway. Why not let someone else do it for her? "No." "What?!" "You heard me. No." The man became furious, pulling his hood off and pointing his knife at her. Trying to be intimidating. "I don't fucking care. Give me your fucking money, bitch, or I'll fucking gut you!" "Gut me, then." She didn't flinch and took a sip of her beer, not caring. She even stood up and took a ready pose as she waited for the knife to stab her. "What the fuck is wrong with you, you cunt?!" "What's the matter, boy? Scared to kill a veteran like me? Can't you even kill a woman who's drunk off her ass? Are you really a man, boy?" She taunted him. He became pissed and charged at her, aiming to stab her. "That's more like it. Man up." She closed her eyes and waited, but she felt an odd, strong breeze and nothing happened. She did hear a scream, though. She opened her eyes, and the guy was gone, but she could see a rainbow comet in the sky, and that's when she knew it. "Damn Super Horse, a girl can't fucking kill herself in peace? Fuck my life." She returned to her spot, took another can of beer, and chugged it, just wanting her death to come faster. "You okay?" She was annoyed and turned around to tell the person off, but was surprised to see the town super hero. A blue-looking human horse. She remembered the stories and rumors about where she came from. Some said she was bitten by a radioactive horse, or she was created in a weapon lab, or she just came from space, but at the end of the day, she didn't fucking care. "Why do you fucking care?" She walked closer and kneeled down to her. "You tried to commit suicide, didn't you? I saw you standing there, wanting to be stabbed as I stopped him." She didn't bother answering; she was done with everything. "You know, killing yourself isn't the answer. It only leaves people in despair, even if you think it will make things better. You still have a future; you can still move forward." "Like I could!" She tossed the can at Super Horse's face, but she caught it with lightning speed and tossed it away. "Why do you say that? Do you really want to die so much?" "Yes! What the hell is it to you, Super Horse?!" Super Horse smiled, "I'll tell you why, but first..." She stood up and reached out her hand. "It's a Rainbow Comet. What's your name?" "...Tempesta..." Rainbow Comet watched as Tempesta passed out drunk. She sighed, picked her up, and took her to the nearest hospital. After explaining the situation and leaving, she flew back home. It was weeks later, and Tempesta remembered talking to a mental health worker, asking her about her mood, her life, and if she had been having stress lately and what was going on. Those same weeks, her parents signed her up for treatment, as they feared for her life. They wanted her to get back on track with her life, and she hated it. Tempesta looked out her bedroom window and could see her town. The town that Super Horse protected and watched over. She was annoyed that she couldn't kill herself; she was pissed that her family was trying to save her; and she was more upset that her parents wouldn't leave her alone and forced her to live back home now. What's odd is that her parents have been telling her that she has been having visitors and leaving flowers and other caring things for her. She asked who it was, but they just said a teenage girl who heard what happened and was just wanting to help. She found that odd and wanted to thank her, but her parents didn't know her name, and they just knew her as the girl with the purple jacket. It wasn't long before she started to have nightmares of being in that building again, fighting for her squad mate's lives and failing each night, and it was killing her inside. It was like the same night all over again, with the blood on her hands and her squad mates dying in front of her and begging her for help. "Help...help us...please..." "Why didn't you save us? You should have saved us!" "It should have been you, not me." "Save us! Help us!" She could see their dead faces and their screams echoing in her mind; she couldn't take it. One day, she heard knocking from down stairs and hearing her parents asking someone to stay and talk. She opened her door and listened to the voices from downstairs. She could hear a young female voice saying she just wants to help her, talking about how her mother is a therapist and helps those who are troubled. She didn't know why, but she was curious and walked down the stairs. When she saw the person who has been helping her, it was like what her parents said. She's wearing a purple jacket and fall clothing, and she believes her hair is dyed rainbow as she can see bits of her black hair. "Tsk, some Super Horse fangirl, bitch must have heard I was saved by her and just trying to be the hero like her." She went back into her room and sat on the bed. She listened to her parents and the kid voices—and the other voices—as she found herself back in that building once more. Only this time, she had no weapon, and her squad mates were dead like always. She was so used to it that she didn't cry or anything. "Why?" "Huh?" She looked down and saw her dead squad mate, holding her hand and looking at her with empty eyes. "Why? Why didn't you save us, Tempesta? Why did we have to die?!" "W-Why?!" "Why didn't you save us?!" All of her dead friends were in front of her now. "WHY DID YOU LET US DIE?!" She started to panic and cry. "W-Why?! I didn't mean too! It was a mistake!" "A MISTAKE?!" "MISTAKE?!" "You made a mistake?!" "We're dead because of you, Tempesta!" the one holding her hands, let go, and revealed she gave her something. A knife. Tempesta looked up and could see them all standing by a doorway. "Fix your mistake then. Kill the enemy! SAVE US!" The door opened, revealing a shadow figure holding something. "SAVE US!". She screamed, charging forward at the figure and tackling her to the ground. Holding the knife and aiming at her throat. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'll make it up to you, I swear! Just forgive me!" She couldn't help but cry and beg them, feeling like a failure. She tried to stab the figure's throat, but they caught it and kept her from doing so. "Let me make this right, please!" "Tempesta!" "Please! Let me fix this!" "TEMPESTA!" "LET ME WASH AWAY MY BAD DEEDS!" "SWEETIE! GET OFF OF HER!" shouted her father as she snapped back to reality and realized she was strangling a person—it was the kid—and before she could get off, her father head locked her and slammed her to the ground, telling her mom to get the kid to safety. She tried to fight back, but he kept a tight hold, making her angry and sad. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Why didn't you let me fix it? They will never forgive me if I don't do that! I CAN'T FORGIVE MYSELF! SO WHY?! WHY?! Why did you stop me?!" screamed Tempesta as her father tried to calm her down, crying as he saw how badly damaged his daughter was. She didn't remember much after that. She was placed in a mental ward and was forced to go to therapy. She remembered her doctor asking her questions, and she answered them as they spoke about her past, her time in the army, and so on. She was given a very special therapist, as it was the therapist who requested to take her case when she heard of her story. She was shocked to hear that, and more so when it was the world's smartest woman alive, Twilah Finkelstein, but she didn't care; she wanted this all to end. Days past, she was allowed to have visitors; it was mostly her parents, sometimes her grandparents, and friends, but she had one visitor late one night in her room. She didn't know how, but it was the girl from before. "How the fuck did you get in here!?" "Magic," she said with a smile, giving her a flower bouquet. "How are you doing, Tempesta?" She smacked the bouquet away. "None of your damn business. Now, tell me how the fuck did you get here and who the fuck are you?!" The girl lowered herself to pick up the flowers but also spoke to her, "I understand what you are going through." Tempesta felt so much rage when she heard her that, that the next thing she knew, she was on top of the girl, pinning her arms, body to the floor and crying. "SHUT UP! You don't know a goddamn thing about what I am going through! So shut up!" "I do." "YOU FUCKING DON'T! No one can ever know how I feel! So shut the fuck up!" The girl didn't even look afraid or worried, but Tempesta could see something in her eyes. It was filled with sorrow and pain. "You can't forgive yourself, can you? Just like me." Tempesta's eyes widen, and she becomes even more pissed, smacking her and shouting at her. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! Don't compare us! Don't you dare!" "I can't help it; I see myself in you." Tempesta could see it in the girl's eyes; she didn't want to believe it. "You hear their screams, remembering the smoke and fire, hearing their cries out for you." "Shut up." "Feeling helpless, wanting to save them but knowing that you can't, and blaming yourself for their deaths." "Stop it..." "I have nightmares about that day over and over, each and every night. You can't change it; no matter how much you want, it's a living hell, right?" "Stop..." "You're a failure, aren't you? You failed to protect them, and now they hate you for it." "STOP IT!" "I just want it all to end and make it all right by taking their place and hoping that would help and fix things, even if it's selfish. Right?" Tempesta was shaking and crying; she didn't want to hear anymore; it was all too familiar. She got off of her and watched her sit up. "How did you know? "You are just a freaking kid. There's no way you could possibly know this stuff or even gone through it. No one can. Unless..." The girl looked at her hands and cried, crying her eyes out. "I killed my parents; I killed my home and my universe. I'm a living magical bioweapon—a monster! I killed so many lives, and they live inside of me. My hands will forever be covered in their blood, and there's no way I can change it. I'm a failure, a monster, and a mistake. I will never be forgiven for my actions and sins, no matter what I do or how many lives I save. There's no forgiveness for me, for people like us...and we are doomed to forever hear the screams of the dead, until the day we die." "How...?" "Because I have the same problems, the same nightmares, and the same self-hatred and anger. We carry the same scars." The girl changed her form, revealing herself to be Rainbow Comet. "But you can move forward; you know why?" "Why? Why the fuck would I? Why would a waste of a life like me move forward?" "Because you're not a waste. You feel regret and shame! You feel guilty! That means you can still move forward! You are not a monster like me, who can't ever be forgiven and will have to live with her sins and mistakes for the rest of her life. You, however, can move forward; you can find peace. So please, keep moving forward. Never give up! Don't be like me. Please." Tempesta felt her heart broken seeing a poor kid suffering like her. It didn't stand right with her, and it hurt. She got up and hugged her, crying as she felt the same. "Don't worry. I won't give up... I will move forward, but be honest with yourself. You aren't a damn monster, kid. I heard how you saved many lives—even mine. How can you be a monster? You are a hero. So you can stop crying and being so hard on yourself." "But...my hands are covered in blood..." "Then let me wash it away for you, kid." She let her go and smiled. "Let's be buddies. PTSD buddies. Let me learn about your past so I can take those sins off your hands. Then, you can do the same for me. Sound good?" "Really? You want to learn about a monster like me? But you are so pure." Tempesta huff at that remark. "You're not a monster and I'm pure. Stop it. If you were a monster, you wouldn't be here, right?" She smirked, causing Rainbow Comet to cry, and held her chest. "There there, you'll find peace, kid." "You will have peace too! I'll make sure of it!" Tempesta could feel the kid's hands clutching her clothes and trying to be brave. "I will even share my peace with you. You don't have to suffer all alone. You should have a happy ending too." "Thank you, kid. Let's become friends. What's your name?" She leaned back, wiped her tears away, and smiled. "Blitz!" Tempesta petted Braver and shed many tears. "Damn it, you two are truly twins. Caring about sharing and helping others rather than yourselves. So damn honest and caring. That's why I love your dear sister, and you too, Braver." She softly pushed Braver off of her and wiped her tears. "Talk to me, just like your sister did. Tell me your story. Be honest; don't sugarcoat it. I want to learn everything about you and your side of the story." "Alright." Dash wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't help Braver like always, and Twilah isn't here. Twilight stayed over night at Twilah's job because she was busy about building something based on her and asked questions about Pegasi. She could only do one thing, which was to quietly stand up and leave, but Tempesta stopped her. "You don't have to leave, you know. A daughter needs her mom to lean on. You can stay." "No...I can't. I might just cause pro-huh!?" Dash felt Braver's hand on her own and held it very tightly. "Mom, I want you to stay. You are a huge help and comfort. Don't be scared that I might get triggered by you. You aren't Rainbow Sky. I need to see that." Dash wanted to argue as she knew she would somehow screw this up, but Braver's pleading eyes made it feel like she was looking at a pleading Twilight, and she couldn't resist. "Fine, I'll stay. Just tell me if you need space or anything, okay?" "Okay." Tempesta watched as Dash sat back down and turned back to Braver, as Fizzle pop sat between them on the floor and was on guard, like the good girl she is. "Okay then, go ahead and start whenever you are ready." "Thanks, Tempesta, and thanks, Mom. Okay, here we go. I think my mom was born in a forest and lived there until Luna of her universe found her..." In the Equestria universe, Applejack and Jack of Apples fought their way through the demon crystal ponies but were surrounded and were back to back as AJ cursed Jack for getting them in this mess. "Why couldn't you be honest!? I was just asking what happened to your folks! You didn't have to kick me into the demon pony, and we wouldn't be in this darn mess you stupid, dumb, lying, no good, piece of-" Jack kicked her into the demons and started fighting and speaking, "Oh, shut up already! I just said nice fucking hat, and that's it. There's nothing behind it, like you think. You darn stupid hick!" "Why are you no good son of a-" The demons stopped and watched as both AJ's started fighting each other. They all looked at each other and quickly started putting bets on who would win, cheering one of the Applejacks on. "Why do you hate them so much!? They are family, Jack! Family!" "I know what a family is; AJ and my folks can rot in the bottom of the apple barrel for all I fucking care! Now, quit whining, and let's fight these demons! You can bitch me out after this!" "NO!" AJ bucked Jack's mouth. "NO! WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS NOW!" "FINE THEN!" Jack jumped on AJ and punched her in the cheek. "Want the damn freaking honest truth!? Fine, then, I'll tell you the damn truth! My folks hated me and wanted a new start without me. They left me, abandoned me, and replaced me. I was a fucking mistake, AJ!" "What?" "I wasn't supposed to happen, you hear me!? I was just a mistake that my parents wished to have never had! They hated me and didn't even love me or try to give me a chance. They just left me to die and start over!" she punched her again. "They had Little Mac and Apple Bud! Those pricks had kids again and loved them dearly, but me? They were left in a fucking ditch to die! THEY WANTED ME TO DIE AND NEVER BE BORN IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU HEAR ME!? I HATE YOUR FUCKING HAT BECAUSE IT REMINDS ME OF HOW STUPID I WAS! KEEPING THAT HAT AS IT GAVE ME HOPE THAT..." Jack started to cry but was still punching AJ's face. "...that they will come back and love me. I just wanted a fair honest life..." "Jack, I'm-oof" "I was just a mistake, an accident." Many years ago My folks were apple farmers outside of the Kingdom of Day and Night. My mom fell in love with dad, as mom was a hired hoof. They quickly got married and wanted to make a new life in the Kingdom of Day, but mom started waking up sick in the morning, and they quickly feared she was pregnant. Dad didn't want it; he wasn't ready and didn't have the money. They didn't want me; my folks hated me before I was born. My mom also didn't want me, but Granddad AppleSmith forced her to keep it. They hated me and didn't love me. Mom and Dad moved in with Mom's grandfather and tried their best to hide me from the villagers. They would sneak out at night, when my grandpa was sleeping, to go to the river and beat me. "Damn kid! You ruined our lives!" "It's your fault, you worthless shit!" "You are the reason we have to live with my dad for these five years! I want to start a new life with my love, but we can't because of you!" Jack was smacked with a stick in the face. She's crying, but they kept at it, not caring. "You are useless and a mistake! We should have gotten rid of you long ago!" "But granddad said we couldn't." Jack's father smiled and held his wife. "We can find another way, dear." "You are right, honey." They started kissing and whispering loving words to each other, while Jack slowly crawled to them, hugging their legs. "Mommy...daddy...I'm sorry. I love you." They both turned and looked at her in disgust. "GET AWAY FROM US, YOU MISTAKE!" "You aren't my daughter; you are trash!" screamed her father, kicking her off. "A worthless piece of shit! That's all you are, a mistake!" Jack was crying as her mother held her out of nowhere. "I love you too, sweetie." She thought her mother was being kind, but she was only holding her as her father kicked her like a football. "I can't believe we have had to keep this worthless piece of crap for five years now. She will never have a purpose, and she'll grow up to be a mistake too." Her mother spit at her and turned to her love. "True, I don't want to raise her, but as long as Grandpa is still kicking, we're stuck with her. But don't worry, honey, after he dies, we'll get rid of her and start a new life." "Why wait?" he smirked. making his lover also smirk back. "What about the kid?" "Who cares? It's not like it'll live long." "True." She started kissing him again. "We will start over and have a perfect life. No kids!" "No more mistakes!" Jack could only cry as her parents went back to ignoring her and continuing to beat her and call her names. Her mother even went so far as to call her a demon child. Weeks went by, and Jack Grandpa died in a fire as the farm house was set on fire by someone. Her parents already had their things in a wagon and placed her inside, and her dad moved it for hours while her mom never looked at her. She could hear rain outside, and soon the wagon stopped as her father came inside and, like always, ignored her. They ate dinner without giving her any, but she tried asking for some. "Shut up, girl. Come here!" ordered her father as he pulled her by the mane and stepped outside. "You are sleeping here tonight. Here, so you won't catch a freaking cold." He tossed his hat at her face, went back inside, and shut the door. Jack felt heartbroken and cold as the rain kept going, and it's been hours now. She put the hat on, tried her best to keep warm, and cried. "I'm sorry, I'm a mistake... I'll be honest about my life. Please love me, mom and dad. I promise I'll be a good girl." But they never loved her or even cared about her. When she woke up in the morning, she found that her parents had left her there, all alone, in a ditch. She held the hat and made a promise to herself. "I'll be an honest, hard-working pony in this unfair life! I'll make them love me when I find them again!" She held it tighter, and tear droplets landed on the hat. "Gonna be a good pony, honest, honest, honest!" "Jack..." coughed AJ, her cheek badly bruised and bleeding. "Huh?" Jack finally stopped, looked down at her, and noticed what she had done. "Well, shit, maybe now you'll shut up for a good few hours. That's the honest truth." AJ smacked her in the face. "Stop lying already. You are sad that you hurt me like this. Why do you keep hiding your honesty? Are you scared of your folks? Or are you afraid of getting hurt? You can talk to me." Jack got off of her and held her hurt face. "Don't touch me, hick." "Then talk to me, or I won't leave you alone." "Shut up, will you? You're getting on my damn nerves. It's my problem, and you aren't even involved. So quit nagging at me like a damn old goat. So be a good little pony and stay out of my business." They both stared each other down, but AJ picked up the hat and dusted it off. She proudly placed it on her head. "Not going to happen. Like it or not, I'm going to get through to you and start making you honest with yourself." "What? You want to be my fucking therapist?" "I don't know what that is but If that's what it takes to make you honest, then yes." Jack was annoyed by her; she hated it. "Why do you care? You can't fix me or change my mind. I was born a lie and a mistake, and I grew up as a jack of all trades. I lied, cheated, and stole to survive. Honesty won't change anything and won't save anyone. So why should I give a shit about honesty or being true? It will only cause pain and heartbreak." AJ could see the pain and sadness in her eyes. She sighed and walked over to her, causing her to flinch. "What happened next?" "Huh?" "Tell me more, how did you end up like this?" "Oh, right, after that..." Like I said, I grew up lying, cheating, and stealing to survive for years on the land, to the point that I became a jack of all trades and a master of none. I worked for everyone and was a traveling pony, never staying in the same town or country for long. It was a lonely life, and I wanted to belong somewhere. I traveled all over until I returned to the kingdom of day. They needed mercs, so I applied and got hired. I did wet work and was good at it. It wasn't the greatest job, but it was something. But that day, I had a mission. There were reports of protesters staying at a farm but needed proof, so I went undercover to see if it was true and report it back. Jack walked up to the door of the farm house. She knocked, and soon, a small red colt opened the door. She showed him the flyer she got from the Help Wanted board. "Are you guys hiring?" "Nooope, we're not. We're just trying to help those in need. I'm Little Mac. Nice to meet you." "Hi, I'm Jack, Jack Applesmith. Is your mother or father home?" "Oh, sorry, but my ma and pa are in the kingdom right now selling apples and other stuff. Come right in. Did you eat lunch? Let me get you some tea." "Thank you, Little Mac." He led her to the dining room and sat her down. The place was cozy—a bit small and a little messy, but nice. "Sis, we have a mouth to feed! Come here and fix us lunch." "I'm coming." Jack could see a yellow filly with a short red mane entering the room. "Who are you?" asked Jack. "Oh, I'm Apple Bud, little Mac's sister. Howdy! Are you here for the job? Because Ma and Pa aren't here." Jack took off her hat and smiled. "Yes, I'm here for the job. Need help making lunch? I learned some stuff off the road. I'm Jack, by the way." "Nice to meet you, Jack. I'll take you up on that offer." She led her to the kitchen, while Mac followed behind and set up the table. "You are just the cutest thing. You and your brother." "Oh, thanks," blushed Apple Bud. "I think he's handsome, don't you think?" "Handsome, sure, if you like short colts." they both laughed. "I heard that!" Both girls giggled and started to make lunch. For the first time ever, Jack felt like she had a real family. She helped the Apple siblings with lunch and then worked out in the fields. It wasn't until nighttime that the Apple siblings parents returned with a wagon filled with ponies and colts. Jack watched as Mac took the wagon and let his pa rest, and Bud told him about her. Jack's eyes went wide as she stood there in the fields, seeing the parents walking up to her. "Howdy miss. Heard you wanted the job?" Jack nodded, and the mother took her inside. They were happy to have her; she could feel it. They were treating her like one of their own, and they were nice to her. But the problem was... "They were my fucking parents! They abandoned me, but fate is a bitch!" shouted Jack, holding AJ in a headlock. "They started over like I said, had my younger siblings, and had a perfect life—a life I wasn't a part of." "Jack..." "They loved me as a stranger; they loved their kids and were happy. While the old me was nothing to them, I was just a mistake." Jack released her and shoved her to the ground. Breathing hard. "I even started to believe, that if I told them the truth—the honest truth about who I was—they would love me and take me back." Applejack got up and could see it in her eyes—the honest truth. "You knew that wouldn't happen." "I know, but a part of me had hope—stupid hope." It was a few months later, and I somewhat forgot my mission. Even though I knew the protesters lived in the guest house far from the main house, I didn't care. I just wanted to live this wonderful life with my family, but I wanted to tell my parents the truth about who I was. "Jack, what's wrong?" asked her mother as she asked them to come out to the fields at night. Her father is with her as well. "Anything wrong? Did my son do something to you?" questioned her father, all worried and nervous. "Oh, no, he's the cutest thing in the world." He chuckled. "Oh, thanks, Jack, but that's not very honest." She could only giggle, but she turned to them. Showing her worried face as she tried to find the best words. "I'm...your da-" she stopped as they heard fighting coming from the guest farm house. She could see the kingdom soldiers invading the house and killing the protesters with ease. Her heart stopped as she remembered that her siblings were bringing food to them. "NO! MAC AND APPLE BUD ARE IN THERE!" She tried to run off, but her parents held her. "It's okay. Let them die, sweetie," said her father, hugging her close. "You are safe with us. I'm so happy that you are with us. I love you, Jack." "I love you too, dear," smiled her mother. Jack was beyond confused. "But your kids...they-" He let her go. "Let those worthless kids die. Getting in the way of our dream, I'm glad they are gone. They were worthless to us. Just like the first one, but YOU! We can see it. You are such a hard worker and never gave up. You are worth it, and we can see that. So, stay here and be our honest, little daughter!" Jack couldn't believe what she was hearing. "We heard that Princess was after these protesters and their leader. So we tricked them into living with us, and we sent rumors of them being here. We thought the kingdom would have sent out someone, but they didn't. We had to report it and we were reward from the princess with our honestly. It's the right thing to do, even though we'll lose the farm, but at least we have you, honey," explained her father, watching the guest farm house in flames and the protest leader being dragged out and taken away. Her mother hugged her. "Yes, our daughter, Jack. Now, we have a new daughter." Jack held her hat and was shaking with rage. To the point, she tore the hat in half. She turned to them and screamed. "I AM JACK APPLES, YOU FUCKING PIGS!" Both her parents looked at her in horror and shock, not knowing who she really was. "YOU ABANDONED ME, YOU FUCKING SONS OF BITCHES! YOU ABANDONED ME IN THAT DITCH, FORCED TO LIVE OFF THE LANDS, STEALING AND CHEATING MY WAY TO SURVIVE, YOU USELESS SHITS! HOW CAN YOU BE SO FUCKING DISGUSTING?!" she punched her father in the face, breaking his nose. "I WAS YOUR FUCKING DAUGHTER, AND YOU ABANDONED ME, CALLED ME TRASH AND A MISTAKE! NOW YOU'RE CALLING ME HONEY?!" She kicked her mother in the chest and kept screaming at them. "NOW YOU KILLED MY SIBLINGS!? MY ONLY FAMILY!? Siblings who loved me!?" "No, you're our family. Your mother is pregnant with your younger brother, sweetheart," cried her father as her mother rubbed her stomach. Jack could see the lies in their eyes. Nothing but lies. She turned away, holding half of her hat. She looked at it and back to the burning farm house. Honest life never saved anyone. Not her life, or the lives of her deceased brothers and sister. Honestly, it is nothing but lies... "Honesty only brings pain and suffering, so I'm done being honest with myself." She turned back to them and smiled as she slowly stepped closer to them. "I love you." in an empty, fake voice. "You do?" they smiled. "Yes, I do, honest." She grabbed her father by his face and headbutted him, knocking him out, and then tossed him into her mother, taking her down. "I love you so much. Let me show you." She grabbed them both by their manes and dragged them to the burning farm house. "So much love, like you showed my siblings..." It was quite between the two. AJ felt so bad for JA; she suffered so much and lost so much in her life, but she was wrong about something. "Jack, I understand why you are the way you are, but honesty can save lives and bring joy." Jack scoffed at her. "How? Look what happened! Those bastards were my folks, and they didn't care. Even when I tried to live an honest life, at least my siblings lived a real honest life, but look where it led them! To a painful death!" "You don't know that. Maybe...maybe it wasn't the real ones. Maybe-" "I SAW THEM BURNING AS THEY LAYED THERE, DEAD!" she shouted, tears landing on her green cape. "My honest family is dead and is never come back. My parents abandoned me and killed their kids. I'm done. So I'll stick with my life...until the princess asked for me...seeing my "honesty" in ending my parents' evil deeds, she 'rewarded' me." Jack found herself in a testing lab, tied down and beaten, as she failed in her spy work. She could see Celestia looming over her and the mages. "Jack Apple, for your honest work for the kingdom, I'll reward you with the greatest gift I can giv-" She felt a wet spit hit her face. She could see Jack smiling. "Thank you, oh wonderful princess." Celestia wiped away the spit and ordered the head mage to take out the element of honesty. Jack didn't struggle as she watched the element enter her chest and could only smile as her body and mind burned away... "That final day, they gave me honesty. Life is never fair or honest. The world is cruel, and it will hurt those around you. Honesty is nothing but lying. Lying is the only way to live in the world." Applejack was silent as she looked away. "I'm sorry that you had to suffer like that." Jack shrugged. "It's life; there's no reason to apologize. I'm happy that you understand." "Yeah, I understand you completely now." She turned back to her. "But there is still one thing you have been lying about." "Really, what?" AJ took off her hat and tossed it towards Jack's feet. "You know what you believe is a lie. That life might be unfair, but there's always honesty in the world. It's just not always obvious, and most times, it's hiding." Jack sighed. "Stop, please," but AJ kept going. "Honesty will save a life. I know, because it saved someone very dear to me. Who I see as a daughter. She's a wonderful mare, just like her mothers. She carries the best part of them." "Stop..." "Honesty might bring pain, but that's life. I don't care what you say. I can't forgive the way they treated you. They abandoned you and lied. But I can't accept that life is just cruel. Because I know that's not true." "Enough..." "You remind me of Braver and Blitz. They hate the world because of what happened to them and want the world to see them as monsters and hurt themselves. But I can't allow that. I know the real truth. Honesty will always bring light. In the darkest of nights." Jack covered her ears. "Please stop!" "The world might be a cruel place. It might seem like a lie. But it's not a lie if we have friends and loved ones that will show us the real truth!" "SHUT UP!" "Braver and Blitz are proof of that. Twi and Dash, Twilah and Dashie, and their other counterparts—they showed them the truth. Life isn't always fair, but you can make it fair with others help." "Please, no more..." "To move forward in life. That's the honest truth in all this. And that's what you have been lying about." Jack couldn't handle it anymore and fell onto her knees. "Please, I'm done hearing the honest truth. I'm tired. Of this..." AJ walked up to her and held her in her arms, picking up the hat. "You are the twins honestly made real, aren't you? You have their strength, but not their will." Jack held AJ now, crying. "I am honestly. Made into a real, living being. I'm tired—so tired of this life. I'm nothing more than a liar. I shouldn't exist. A mistake...like the twins always believed of themselves being..." "No. You are the truth. A painful truth. But a truth. The truth is something that anyone can face and grow from. To become better. Braver and Blitz will see the truth honestly. I know it. Because the world is never truly cruel. It's hard, but not cruel." "Why are you telling me this?" "Because I believe the twins can save this world. They will face the harsh truth of this world. They'll learn to be strong enough to accept it and face it. Face it, like you had done." AJ put the hat on Jack's head. "You grew up in a hard life but faced it and became stronger for it. you just needed someone to support you. Like I'm doing for the twins. You need that. Someone to help you get up when you fall." The air around them changed, and AJ smiled as she saw Jack's new form. They let go, and Jack could only cry and hug herself. "If I met Rainbow Sky sooner or survived the fusing with the element, would my story have changed for the better? Would our cruel ending be written differently and for the better? ...I wish...I could tell wet blanket this, in what you told me...maybe she can finally leave that cruel life she is living." AJ held her hoof and smiled. "You will, Jack. I can promise that. I just hope she can see the real, honest truth," answered AJ, not getting who Jack was talking about. "Jackie...it's Jackie. My siblings called me that rather than Jack. I would rather be called that," smirked Jackie, wiping her tears away. "Then, Jackie, it is. Nice to meet you, partner." Both mares shook hooves. Jackie let go and tipped her hat forward. "Now, we have a job to do. Get those three together and make sure they face the honest truth. AJ, promise me something!" AJ cracked her neck and faced down the demon ponies. "What?" "Never stop being honest. No matter how bad it gets, Don't ever stop. Never! Show her that. Make her face the truth and show her the outside world is worth living in. Show her what it's like to have real friends and loved ones, not fake ones like us. Ghosts of the past, please." AJ nodded, and Jackie walked past her and towards the demon ponies. "Now, time to show these ponies the truth and have a little fun!" Jackie cracked her hoof, and the demon ponies charged. ...and both AJ and JA stood on the hill of knocked-out demons. They climbed down and hurried to the castle, but Jackie fell and became pale. AJ hurried back to her and asked her what was wrong, as Jackie was fading away. "Want the honest truth? One of the twins is dying. If one of them dies, we all die, even her." AJ's eyes widen as she tries to hold Jackie, but her hooves go through her. "But I'm not worried, so don't cry. Its like you said, AJ. I didn't have the support at the time, but they do." Jackie pointed to the sky; they could see the huge prism-like mirror-looking window. They could see a bright sunset as it faced Rainbow Dawn, while Breaker was facing off against someone else. "Get that pegasus mare; she needs her. She might be loud, but she holds a ton of honestly." laughed Jackie, but she could feel herself being placed on AJ back somehow. She could see AJ's neck glowing, and her element of honesty appeared. "I know who you are talking about! Right! Let's go together!" "I can't; I'm fading away. My time is almost done, and I have to face the final tru-OOF." AJ shoved her element necklace on Jackie neck, and she slowly returned to normal. "What?" AJ smirk. "I figured that might work. Element saving its counterpart." AJ and Jackie watched the element reveal a bright glow from Jackie's chest, both elements flashing like they were talking to each other. "They are connected, aren't they?" Jackie could only smile. "I think... I'll get the chance to speak my mind to a wet blanket after all." AJ trotted off, heading towards where Ember and the others were, as they were still fighting off against Shining Armor and Candance. Somewhere else, in an unknown but yet familiar place. A lone girl, wearing a rainbow blanket, sat under a lone tree in a very familiar garden. She held her chest and looked up at the sky. She could see her friends becoming who they were meant to be and being free from their doomed endings. "I knew meeting your counterparts was a good idea. I'm glad you all stayed behind. You all can finally be free from this prison." She could hear the sound of rain as she stared up into the sky as gray clouds started to cover it, crying. "I'm so happy for you all. You all finally have the chance to live a new life and a new story. Please don't return here. Help Blitz and Braver. Don't come back to save me." She reached out to the gray sky, trying to reach for someone or something. "They deserved their stories. I won't take it away from them. I would rather stay in this cold prison than take their books away from them. Please be there for them. Save them and let me become a forgotten memory." A drop of rain hit her cheek, and she could feel her tears falling more. "Save them, and let me fade away." Unknown to her, a black-robed female figure sat behind the tree as well, writing in a book. Smiling. ".ʇɐɥʇ uǝʌǝ ʇou ,uoos puɐ ,ʎɹoɯǝɯ ɐ ʇnq ᵷuᴉɥʇou ǝq ʅʅ'noʎ ,ʍou .noʎ ɹǝqɯǝɯǝɹ uɐɔ ǝuo ou ʅᴉʇun ,ɹǝʌǝ puɐ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ .sǝuᴉʅǝɯᴉʇ ʅʅɐ puɐ pʅɹoʍ sᴉɥʇ ɯoɹɟ ɹɐǝddɐsᴉp ʅʅ'noʎ uoos puɐ ,ʎɐʍɐ ᵷuᴉpɐɟ ʎʅʅɐuᴉɟ sᴉ ʞɹɐds ɹnoʎ .uoᴉʇɐǝɹɔ ʅʅɐ ɹoɟ ᵷuᴉpuǝ ǝnɹʇ ǝɥʇ ᵷuᴉʇᴉɹʍ ʇɹɐʇs ʎʅʅɐuᴉɟ uɐɔ ᴉ puɐ ,ǝɹoɯʎuɐ ʇsᴉxǝ ʇ'uoʍ noʎ .ʎʅʅɐuᴉɟ ,sǝʎ" She stood up, closing the book, and walked past two ghost figures. It was Nightfall and Rainbow Sky, as they're glitching out. The figure disappeared but didn't notice the rainbow prism effects on the two ponies as they smiled. "Her spark is stronger than you think." "The thing about the spark is that it grows stronger when..." Both looked up at the sky, seeing a rainbow as the skies cleared. "The spark glows stronger when it has something to believe in—something to move forward towards." End of Chapter 22 > Chapter 23: Different Paths And Meetings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pain—nothing but pain. She could only feel pain in her whole body as her blood-covered eyes dripped more and more blood. "...why?" She looked down to see a violet-skinned young teenage girl resting on her lap, also hurt but smiling at her as she reached out and held her cheeks, caring like. "No one deserves a sad fate, no matter who it is. Everyone deserves a happy ending. Even you...Dawn!" She could hear the girl's voice echoing in her head. "No matter how cruel or evil, No one is ever truly bad. Everyone can be given a second chance! You just have to listen to their story and try to understand. I can't give you a happy ending. But I can give you the chance to write your own ending. Write a story where you can be happy and have a wonderful life, not alone and scared." Dawn's bloody face made it look like she was crying bloody tears. She put her battle glove hands on the girl's cheeks as well and leaned in to kiss her forehead as her tears mixed with her blood and dripped on the girl's face. "No matter who it is, Everyone deserves a happy ending. Everyone!" The violet-skinned girl cleared Dawn's face of blood and kissed her on the lips, surprising her. The girl broke the kiss. "You have been through so much, I know. But, please, try and find a reason to keep going. For me and yourself. You're not alone. You'll never be. I'll always be there for you. I'll always save you! Because you are my dawn! I love you!" Dawn started to cry heavily, letting her tears fall. "I...love you too, you big dork. I'm sorry for being cruel. For hurting everyone and making everyone suffer. Please don't forgive me. For...what I did to you..." The girl smiled and sat up, revealing their in empty warehouse and a ton of gang members beaten all around them. The girl touched Dawn's cheek again and kissed her once more, but this time, Dawn wrapped her arms around her. Not wanting to let her go. "There's nothing to forgive. You're not a monster. Not to me. You're kind and caring. Like a morning sun covering the land." "No. I'm a demon," answered Dawn in a cold tone, her chest starting to bleed rainbow colors. The girl wrapped her own arms around Dawn, both now holding each other with their foreheads touching each other. "No. You're a beautiful and loving girl. And you'll always be. No matter what happens, Even if you have to face your inner demon, I'll always save you." The room started to fade and was replaced with dead black trees. "Hold on to that spark—that spark of hope you have. It's what makes you move forward." "What do I move forward with too?" "Yourself. You can never change your past, but you can shape your future. And I know it'll be a beautiful one. I saw it—you are a wonderful mother to 'her'! Just wait for me." "Wait! You're leaving?!" "It's ok. You have to wake up and face your nightmare, your truth." "NO!" "Yes. I'll be there; just remember. I'm your dawn, and I'll always save you." "PLEASE!" The girl let her go, and Dawn's hole in her chest blasted out rainbow slime and covered the girl, making her a black slime monster, bleeding out rainbow colors from its mouth. "It's ok. I'm always here; just remember. Remember that I'll always be there for you," said the monster as it started to go back into her chest. "DON'T GO!" "Remember. Your dawn and your spark will save you, no matter what." "PLEASE!" Dawn watched as the creature was gone within her bleeding chest hole, and she looked back up and could see her world in flames as she destroyed her universe as she stood over the mountain of bodies. She dropped to her knees, and her sobbing slowly became mad laughter as her body turned pure black and her pink leather jacket became dark and black like her skin. Behind her, watching all this, was Luster Dawn. Crying... Rainbow Dawn opened her eyes, and she could see the white Alicorn with brown mane and the purple anthro-looking human/pony-looking girl. For some odd reason, she was crying and touching her cheek. She even put her white, long jacket over her like a blanket. "She'll pay for what she did to you, I swear it. She took away your happy ending and twisted it to her liking. I'll change that and give you the life you deserve, no matter the cost." whispered the white-haired girl, removing her hand from Dawn's cheek and taking her jacket back, but Rainbow Dawn quickly grabbed her hand, crying. Wanting to ask her something, as she reminds her of someone. "I say she deserves this fate," spoke an older female voice, with a bit of anger behind it. She could see it came from behind the girl, making Rainbow Dawn filled with so much rage, as she could see the other version of herself, wearing all pink while her pink leather jacket glowed with a bright glow. who beat her ass, standing there with her arms crossed. "Stupid girl—weak and lost. She deserves this fate, not a second chance." Rainbow Dawn looked up at the girl, asking her silently not to leave her. She didn't want to be alone and scared again. Luster Dawn, within Rainbow Dawn, could only nod and pull the white coat closer, covering her up more. The girl could only frown and wanted to stay, but Pink Dawn quickly walked over, pulled the girl away, and took back the white jacket. "Let her go, you weak piece of trash. You can't have her." She rose her hand into the air, making a fist, ready to hammer it down, but the girl stood in front of her and shielded Rainbow Dawn with her arms. "STOP IT! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!?!" cried the girl. "You two are the same person. What did she ever do to you to make you so mad?! Why can't you understand her? She's yo-" "NO! She's not me!" She lowered her fist and looked at it. "I would never fall this far! Not when she had 'her' in her life for much longer than me. A stupid girl wasted her life because she wasn't strong enough. I'm stronger! I would have protected 'her'! I would have saved her!" Her fist started to shake as she started to cry. "I should have been there. I should have stopped it. It's my fault, if I didn't chase after that stupid ice cream truck and stay with her." Pink Dawn closed her eyes but quickly opened them, feeling the girl's purple hands on her fist. "You can't let it go, can't you? It was never your fault. You had no control over what happened." Pink Dawn fell to her knees, grabbing the girl's pink shirt, crying, and yelling at her. "I'M SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER! She was my whole world! MY EVERYTHING!" she cried in the girl shirt. "So why? Why don't you hate me? You never blamed me. Why?" She looked over to her counterpart. "We both failed in protecting our reason of living... We let her die when we could have saved her." The girl held Pink Dawn's head, stroking her head. "But I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault. You had no idea it was going to happen." Pink Dawn broke down and hugged the girl, crying hard. "...I'm sorry! I know you really hate me; I can tell. You're just like her. Always hiding her feelings, even when it hurts her. Please, I know what she would want. Hate me..." The girl shook her, kneeled down to her, and touched her cheek. "I'm not her. I'll never be her, no matter how much I want to be... I'm just a cheap replacement, a shadow, a fake. I'm not her; I can't be her, but I can carry her spark and her message. I don't hate you, and I never will. She will never hate you too; she loved you so much." Pink Dawn looked into her eyes and could see the same spark within the girl's eyes. "I don't hate you. I can't. We can't hate ourselves. We have to accept who we are. She would have wanted us to stop blaming ourselves and move forward. Forward toward the true ending. She would have wanted us to live, not let this fate consume us. I'll save everyone and be free from 'her' writing. No one deserves a sad fate, no matter who it is. Everyone deserves a happy ending. Screw fate! It doesn't control anyone's destiny! If it wants to, it will have to go through me." The girl pointed her thumb to her herself and her white star cutie mark, as it started to glow bright. She then gave a thumbs up. Pink Dawn closed her eyes, stood up, and handed the girl's white jacket back. Petting her head. "You are wrong. You are her; you carry her spirit. The best parts of her. Her spirit still lives on and will always protect everyone." The girl sighed and shook her head as put on her jacket back on. The white Alicorn walked up to them. "You need to move on. You are running out of time. I'll head out and meet 'her' if this timeline is safe from 'her' and her saviors. Go, my student." The girl nodded, headed off, and disappeared into prism glitching effects, leaving the three alone. Rainbow Dawn couldn't stand it anymore, seeing 'herself walking away with the Alicorn. She wanted to call her out and wanted to know her name and how she got here. Herself answered her. "What you see, is what you get." She looked away, seeing the Alicorn opening a rift and entering it. Rainbow Dawn tried to stand but fell to the Prime universe tree roots. She's screaming and asking where she's going. "I'm off to keep my second promise to her." She turned back to her and smiled. "To my daughter." She quickly dashed through the rift, and it closed. Leaving Rainbow Dawn all alone. "Daughter?" asked Rainbow Dawn, weakly laying on a root of the tree and closing her eyes, going back to sleep. Twilight opened her eyes and rubbed them, as she was all up all night making the device with Asteria. "I think we're finished?" "Yeah," yawned Asteria, also tired. "We have been working on it for a day and a half non-stop. Do you think your government will even like this? I mean, now that I really think about it, it's a pretty useless device." Asteria rubbed her eyes and looked at the device, which was a metal wing, boots, and gloves, all connected to the chest plate machine of the wings. "Nonsense! You recreated the pegasus 'magic' of standing on clouds and moving them. Combining Twilah Wing prototypes, anyone wearing this can be a Pegasi now. It can be used to travel the skies, help out the public with storms, and other things." "Yeah, but...with Twilah watches, traveling the skies will be pointless, no? And I saw Twilah blue parts for weather removal. This device is beyond pointless." Asteria looked at the device and picked up the chest plate and put it on with the rest of it. With the help of Twilight, she activated the device, making her boots glow, and the wings lifted her off the ground, letting her fly. "I still like it, and the government will too. They can sell it as a fun device!" Twilight just smiled, not believing her. "So...with this out of the way, how are you going to stop this 'Rainbow Dawn' person? She sounds very dangerous." Asteria flew over to Twilight, stopping herself from floating, turning off the device, and sitting next to her, crossing her legs. "It's going to be very difficult. I can't use my magic while in this human form. If only there was a way to turn back, but going through your world's history, magic isn't real. Just fantasy and legends." "Yeah. It's a shame; I always dreamed of being a wizard when I was a kid." Twilight giggled and stood up, cracking her back. "I should return home since we're done here." She helped Asteria out of the device and set it on the table. "I wish your government could help, but your weapons will be useless against magic. I can't risk anyone's life in this. We're on our own in this." Asteria sighed, removing her glasses and cleaning them. "Then maybe you shouldn't get Blitz friends involved. They aren't warriors; they are just kids. You are risking their lives." Twilight was silent, as she knew Asteria was right. She turned to her. "It's their choice. If they want to help, I'll be there with them and keep them safe." "You can't save everyone, Twilight. This isn't a story book or like in your world. The power of friendship doesn't save the day here. Sometimes, people have to be the hero by losing their lives. You are the leader in your universe, aren't you? Then act like it." She put her glasses back on. "Be like a real mother as well. Tell Blitz that her friends can't be involved." Twilight gave a big sigh and closed her eyes, thinking. "I'll...tell them then, but Blitz won't be happy about this. She'll be upset with me." "She's not your daughter." simply put Asteria, looking at the device. "You can't treat her like one." "But-" "Twilight, Blitz isn't yours or Dash's child; she's Twilah's and Dashie's daughter. Not yours. You aren't her mother." "But I-" "No buts!" said Asteria, turning to her and shaking her head. Twilight closed her mouth, looking at the floor. "Your right..." Asteria nodded, happy that Twilight agreed with her. "Thank you for understanding. Now, go. Get some rest. Oh, before you go." She looked up. "Girls! Be a doll and copy this device, and give her the copy." She could see the two android Alicorns leaping down and scanning the device, and their horns shot out tiny nanomachines and copied the device perfectly. Twilight had her mouth wide open at the sight. "That's a very cool and useful feature..." she started to think of something. "It's very handy," smiled Asteria. After the androids finished, they gave Twilight a copy, and she thanked the two and teleported home. Leaving Asteria alone, she sat at her desk and looked at her family photo, seeing her daughters smiling at the camera when they were still teenagers and both tied for prom queen. "...maybe I should visit my kids after the meeting. See how they are doing? I did miss my daughter's wedding...no, no. I have a job to do. Besides..." She pushed her photo to the side and started working on the computer. "They don't want to see me anyway. After everything I did.", The only thing that could be heard was her typing away on the keyboard, as the androids Alicorns walked up to her, nuzzling her. Twilight found herself back home and could hear someone crying in the kitchen. She slowly walked and could see a young lady petting her daughter's head, and Dash was looking stunned but yet rubbing and caring towards their daughter, which made Twi smile as she eavesdropped on their conversation. "I can see why you're called Braver. Such a brave girl you are. The brave things you did for your friends and all those ponies and creatures you helped over the years are very admirable. You really are the twin to Blitz," replied Tempesta, pulling her hand back and wiping her tears. Braver blushed a bit, thanked her for the kind words, and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry. I didn't mean to break down a few times. I thought I was over what happened." Tempesta shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with that. I know how it feels. Thinking having a breakdown caused by a trigger makes you a failure or a burden to others, when in reality, it doesn't. What really matters is that you get up, push through the negative feelings, and keep going. You don't give up." Braver smiled and let her go, and they started to talk while Dash could only watch and be impressed by how strong her daughter had become in such a short time, but she felt like someone was watching them and turned around to see Twilight waving at her to come to her. Dash got up and followed her wife, who was holding a weird box, and went to the dining room, far away from the kitchen to not be heard. Twi set the box on the table and asked what was going on—who was the young lady in the kitchen? Dash explained everything, and Twilight is caught up on everything, sitting down, and beating herself up for not being there for Blitz. "I should have been here for her, but I wasn't. I was working away...huh?" Twilight suddenly realized this was what Twilah must have felt, not being there for Blitz or Dashie. "Oh, Twilah, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." Dash comforts her by hugging her, rubbing her back, and telling her that she's here now. "I have something to show you. I met up with Asteria, Celestia and Luna mother in this universe, and she helped me build this device. It's not the real thing, but at least it's something." Dash was about to look inside the box, but they could hear someone entering from the front door. It was Blitz, turning back to human form, showboating as Sunset was completely worn out from running. "And that's how it's done! You almost had me, Sunny." Blitz patted her back, helping her stand up. Sunset gave her a glare and a small blush as she leaned on her. "Almost? Fuck off! You clearly beat me with your Pegasus speed, and you only slowed down as you saw me struggling to even catch up! How is that fair?!" "Not my fault; I was just being myself." She let her go and slapped her own butt. "YEAH! SUCK IT! I'M THE FASTEST HUMAN ON EARTH!" Sunset could only roll her eyes and take notice of Dash and Twilight, the latter of the two, shaking her head. "Just like Dash...oh yeah, Blitz." Blitz stopped dancing and turned to Twilight, who was going to ask her how the job was, but Twilight cut her off and told her and Sunset to sit down. They sat down and listened to Twilight talk about not letting her friends help anymore, as it was too dangerous, but Sunset wasn't happy about that, asking if it was a joke. "But I want to help. You can't expect me to sit around and do nothing, right?" Twilight gave her a sad look while playing with her fingers. "Sorry, Sunset, I know you want to help, but this is too dangerous. I shouldn't have allowed this from the start." Sunset leaned back in her chair, not believing this, and turned towards Dash, looking for help. Dash shrugged. "I agree with Twilight. This is too dangerous for kids. Besides, I remember Dashie telling me how humans aren't like my universe races, where we can take a beating and be fine, but you humans are squishy and fragile. Even more so for teens. So no. Sorry kiddo, no can do." Sunset glared at Dash, but she felt Blitz's hand on her shoulder, turning to her. "They're right, but we weren't going to have you guys in the battle. Just thinking up ideas and nothing more. You weren't going to fight. Just help plan, and that's it." Sunset and the others were caught off guard by this, not realizing Blitz had already thought about it. "You didn't want us to help you take down that crazy version of Lucy!? I thought I was going to help you fight her!" She stood up quickly, knocking the chair to the floor. "I'm not letting you fight alone! I can fi-" "You only fought against humans, Sunny. This evil Dawn is like me and my sister in strength. You'll be killed within a few seconds. I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you or the others get hurt in all this. That's why I said to just help come up with ideas. I said nothing about fighting a battle." "Blitz is right. It's too dangerous. So please, Sunset, don't push this anymore." Twilight begged, giving her a pleading look, but she could see Blitz giving her the same sad smile as well. "Blitz?" "This goes with the same for you two as well, Twilight and Dash. No helping with the fight. This is something I need to do with my sister and no one else." "What!?" shouted Twilight and Dash at the same time, both confused and upset. "But why? Why not let us help, Blitz?" Twilight asked. "Because you two are like that. Humans now than in your normal forms. You can easily be killed now, just like any human. It's better this way." "Bu-," but before Twilight could say anything, she could see Braver and Tempesta walking in the room and standing behind Blitz. "Sweetie?" Braver placed her hand on Blitz's shoulder and gave her mom the same look. "It's like Blitz said; you can get killed. We've been planning for the few nights since we've been here and couldn't have you two in this battle. We didn't want to tell you until the day it happens. We know you're going to try to talk us out of it. Right Blitz?" Blitz didn't answer, just nodding. "But what about you and Lucy?! You two can't just protect her while fighting!" Sunset asked. Braver turned to her. "That's where me and Tempesta come in. Tempesta is a soldier, so she can keep Lucy safe, and I'll be with them." Dash stood up, realizing something. "Wait, then that means Blitz will be fighting alone!?" she shouted, her eyes wide with fear and worry. Blitz finally spoke. "Yes. I'm sorry, Twilight and Dash, but this is the only way, if we don't come up with something." "N-" "I understand, Blitz," interrupted Tempesta. Everyone turned to her. She didn't look at anyone. "I have been talking with Blitz and Braver since last night. This is the only way, unless we come up with a better plan for defeating her without truly fighting her, but right now there's no other way. I'll be protecting Lucy with Braver while Blitz will handle the evil Dawn." Braver spoke with a bit of fear in her voice. "If Blitz gets defeated, then I'll step in and fight evil Dawn without holding back, even though our Dawn is still in there." Everyone could see she was struggling to finish her words, as tears were threatening to fall. "I'll still kill evil Dawn if it means saving the multiverse. One life shouldn't outweigh trillions of lives, no matter how much I love Dawn." No one knew what to say as silence took over the room...until Blitz broke it. "So, this is the only plan we have until someone comes up with a better one, and if no one does, then this is it. If anyone has a problem, then speak up." "No," everyone but Twilight, Dash, and Sunset answered. Twilight and Dash shook their heads, and Sunset kicked the chair. "You can't Blitz! Least try my idea at least!" said Sunset, looking at her with fear and worry. "You just need to talk to Lucy, though. Like I said, she needs to know everything first." Blitz shut her eyes to think about it for a few seconds before opening her eyes and looking at her. "Fine. Tomorrow, I'll tell her everything. I need to be mentally prepared first. This is a lot to think about, especially with everything that happened. I don't want to break down in front of her." She put her elbows on the table and put her hands on her head. "I hate this so much. I just wish it was just a nightmare, and I'll wake up in my room. I can't believe I'm saying this, but..." she turned to her sister. "I wish that prism window never showed up to us. All this started because of it." Braver hugged her sister from behind, all caring-like. "But we would never have seen each other again, so don't beat yourself over it, Blitz." Blitz leaned against her sister. "You're right. I'm just tired, that's all. Maybe after all this is over, we should take a small vacation somewhere." Braver slightly leans back, agreeing with her. Like going to the beach or maybe even seeing another universe as a joke, making the two laugh. The others were just quiet, fearing that Blitz and Braver would be fighting alone if a better plan wasn't found. Sunset had it worst, as her plan was the only one they had, and she doesn't even know if it's going to work. "Okay, this is my plan..." Lucy dropped the empty boxes to the ground and turned back. She's at the high school open field and could see booths and other church stuff for the fair that was being set up. She can see other church members helping out, as in a few days, the yearly summer festival will be happening, which the church uses to raise money for the needy, homeless, and orphanages. She can see the food booth, and she saw her father helping setting it up. She walked up to him and saw her mother was there as well, helping him. She could hear them talking about Blitz and her mothers, like always. "Are those sinners coming like always?" her mother asked, sounding annoyed and angry. Her father nodded, upset. "Yes. It doesn't help that the witch is always sponsoring this festival. Ever since their daughter befriended Lucy." Lucy flinched at the sound of her name and looked away. "Those sinners. I should give that bitch a piece of my mind. They need to stay away from her. I don't want our daughter to fall for Blitz. You see how she looks at her! Like a wolf eyeing a lamb! That's how she's eyeing our sweet daughter!" Lucy flinched and felt like running, but her dad spoke up. "I know. I know. But remember what the Lord says. We must forgive those who sin. I don't like this either, but we must show Blitz the ways of the Lord. At least we can save her from hell. Show her same-sex relations are wrong." Lucy flinched harder and felt sick. Even more so, she has feelings for Blitz, and the thought of her having a girlfriend scared her. She wants to talk to someone about her sexuality—someone who isn't her parents. She loves them dearly, but she doesn't have the courage to speak up, and her parents will be furious at her. But there was another reason she felt sick:. "I told her she needs saving after what she did, but Sunny and Wilma said nothing bad happened, but I have a feeling that's a lie." She walked away from the booth and headed to the spot where she and her Sunset would race against Blitz...and always lose. It was the track field, and she was sitting down on the highest benches and looking out at the field, remembering those wonderful days. "I still can't believe how different you were acting, and it's like... you're hiding a big secret... I want to find out and help you. I just want to help Blitz." "Maybe you can, sugar cube?" Lucy jumped with fear but noticed the voice was coming from below her and that AJ, the local apple farmer of the town, wasn't alone. The rest of the Blitz aunts were here. "Really, darling, why didn't we do this above and not under here, with all the dirt and mud?" asked Rachel, wearing all white, and she's standing on a white napkin. "My poor white heels; I just bought these yesterday. So annoying." AJ tips her trucker hat at her annoying friend. "Sorry 'bout that, Rach, but we don't need people seeing us talking to Lucy here; you know these church folks. Always a big gossip, even more so if they see the "witch" friends, talking to a high schooler. Rumors will spread like wildfire and we can't have that." Rachel just rolled her eyes and fixed her big white hat. "Still, we could have met somewhere clean." Penny skips her way towards Rachel and hops on her back. "What's wrong with a little mud? AJ and Faith work outside, and they're fine. Besides, I like this little place. It's like our secret hideout." "Not when it's muddy, Penny." Penny pushed her off the napkin, making her stand in dry mud, causing her to shriek in horror, but AJ covered her mouth in time and fought with the two, but Faith walked up to Lucy and cleared her throat. "Anyway, sorry 'bout the little commotion." Lucy shook her head. "It's okay, so...you want to tell me something, Faith?" She nodded. "Yes, it's about Blitz. Listen to us; you are in dang-" "Blitz said I need saving," whispered Lucy, causing Faith and the others to look at her. She asked if Blitz had told her everything, but she looked at them confused, only explaining what happened yesterday night. "...poor lass has a lot on her plate, doesn't she? She must be stressed out to be acting like that." replied AJ, removing her hat and rubbing the back of her head. Faith turned back to Lucy. "Listen, Lucy, sweetie. We were going to explain everything to you, but I think it's best if you let Blitz explain everything to you. Trust her, please. She's worried about you because she..." but before she could finish, they all could hear Lucy's parents calling for her. Penny pushed Faith and quickly spoke as she was on her. "Blitz is right; you do need saving! There's someone after you!" Lucy felt fear, but her parents were still calling out to her. "Why is someone after me? Is Blitz in danger too?! Should I call the cops!? Or Rainbow Comet!?" Rachel pushed Penny off Faith and gave her a glare. "Listen, darling, we were going to explain everything, but the timing is off and..." Lucy could see the dread in Rachel's eyes as she finished her sentence. "You're in danger, darling. No one in this universe can protect you, but..." All four looked up at her, with a warm smile on their faces as they all said. "Only Blitz and her sister can." "LUCY! HONEY!" Lucy turned around and saw her mother walking towards the stands. "We're leaving. What are you doing?" Lucy turned back and looked down, seeing the four women all hiding in the darkness and hoping she wouldn't say anything. "I'm just praying, mom. I'm hoping the fair will be good this year." Her mom gave her a warm smile and gently rubbed her head as she came to her. She held her daughter hand and walked away, but Lucy looked back and could see the four exiting from under the stands, quickly hoping the fence, heading to a nearby truck, and getting in, driving away. "Mom? Why does the Church hate gay people?" Her mom gave her a look. "They're sinners, honey. Sinners need saving, and the Lord can save them if they change their ways and ask for forgiveness." "But...they seem happy and normal being gay." Her mom sighed, like she was annoyed. "It's because of the devil, Lucy. The devil is tricking them, and the only way to get them back is if the Lord saves them; if that doesn't work, they'll go to hell for their sins." Lucy couldn't say anything else and just followed her mom to their car and left the school parking lot. As they were heading home, her parents were talking among themselves, not seeing their daughter sending a text to someone. Meanwhile, Brishen walked out of the burger shop and walked down the long, dark road until he walked off into the woods and tossed the bag towards Wallflower, who was in her plant-like car. "No pickles like you wanted." Wallflower walked out of her car and opened the bag. She looked inside and could see her food in the bag. "Thanks. I really hate pickles." Brishen chuckled, taking a bite of his burger. The two ate their food and looked up at the night sky, seeing the moon. "So...where are we heading? I know the beach, but why?" asked Brishen, taking a sip of his drink. Wallflower was using her plants to feed her like they're her arms, as she explained. "Remember the rumors of something living on the beach?" Brishen thought for a second and remembered. "Yeah. The fishermen say they saw it. It's not a sea serpent, right?" "Nope. Not a sea serpent." Wallflower looked at him as she finished eating, her vines wrapped around the empty bag, and she tossing it into her car. "It's not a person, but... magical. I don't know why or how I know this, but it's like someone is showing me images. Like a story. I can see it." Wallflower closed her eyes, and she could see the ocean surface, and a weird symbol appeared as a boat was passing it as a storm was happening, and she could see someone with rainbow haired looking out towards it. "I think I see Blitz? but she looks like she is in her hybrid form because her skin is blue? It's a weird vision, but I can see it in the water." Wallflower found herself on the ship, looking at the water surface and the symbol. "Yes, this symbol! It's like it needs you, Brishen. We-" "AAAAHHHH!" screamed the Blitz-looking girl, causing Wallflower to scream as well, realizing the girl could see her. "WHO ARE YOU!? Wait, are you the evil equestrian magic I have been...huh?" The rainbow-haired girl could see Wallflower looking not only scared but also confused. "You okay? For an evil magical ghost being, you look...scared. And a bit pale." Wallflower didn't answer, and the girl took a step towards her, causing Wallflower to move back, but her legs hit a deck table, causing her to fall, and the girl ran to her, grabbing her hand and helping her up. "Whoa, are you okay!?" she looked at her, amazed she could hold a ghost hand. Wallflower pulled her arm away and ran to the edge of the boat, seeing the sea, and the symbol was gone. She then realized that this was not just a vision, but... "I jumped into another universe!? But how? I was talking to Brishen!" She said it out loud, not hearing the Blitz look alike talking to her. "Uhh, yeah. Are you sure you're okay? You're a bit pale, and-" "Where am I?" Wallflower turned around and saw the girl looking at her, very confused and even frightened. "Uh, on the Luxe Deluxe? Has the-" "The expansive selection of activities, from swimming to petting zoos to all-you-can-eat buffets, can only be found on the Luxe Deluxe!? But that's in my universe as well. Only high school seniors can go on that for their spring break, thanks to Blitz mom." "...universe?" The girl looked very confused and scared, but then she looked beyond scared. "Wait, you're not the ghost of the ship, are you?!" Wallflower just blinked and was confused by the girl. "Ghost of the ship? What? no Blitz?" "Blitz? Who's Blitz? My name is Rainbow Dash!" Wallflower couldn't believe it, she's seeing a teenage version of Blitz Mom from another universe. Not Blitz like she thought. "I don't believe this. You're a teenager of Blitz mom, Dashiell...just blue? and having rainbow hair?" The girl did a double look and couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What are you talking about? You're confusing me. Who's Blitz? I'm a mom!? WHAT!?" Before Wallflower can explain more, they feel the boat rocking, but not because of the storm but because of something else. They looked up and could see prism glitching effects in the dark skies and the cracking of this reality. "Oh boy, that's not good!" both said, looking beyond worried. Meanwhile, the plant car is heading towards the beach, but Brishen looked super worried as he just stared at Wallflower, whose eyes are glowing white and messing with the radio that she created with her white horn that she grew. "Are you okay, Wallflower? You look much...glower now with that horn." Wallflower found the station she was searching for, turned up the radio, and turned to him, smiling. "Please call me Faust. Lauren Faust." End of Chapter 23 > Chapter 24: Guardians Of The Prime Universe > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...okay? Lauren?" whispered Brishen, not really sure what to make of this, as he watched Wallflower...or 'Lauren' singing along to a song on the radio like a big dork. He knew something wasn't right about this, like he was wrong; she's a great singer...Wait, what? "Sorry, but I'm a great singer!" laughed Lauren, still singing along. Brishen quickly felt fear, as this wonderful person made him all calm and relaxed. NO WHAT!? "How are you doing that!?" "My powers. My magic. I can write, change, or edit stories like yours and others, but I won't. It's not right; it's not my place to change someone's story." She looked at him with a sad but sweet smile. "I'm sorry." "What are you talking about!? How can you read my mind?!" "Not your mind, your story. Your book. Everyone has a book with their stories. Their lives. And I'm able to edit those stories. I can give or take. I can even create a new world if I want to, but that's wrong." Brishen's heart started to beat fast as he realized what this person was. He couldn't believe there was a kind woman in the car with him. He knew he wasn't in danger, as he finally relaxed and became calm. "Jesus Christ, you are like...a god? Like how do you keep doing that?" Lauren smiled, still singing along. "Not a god, I just can edit or rewrite everyone's books or make my own, that is all." Brishen nodded, understanding what she was saying. Wait, do I? Wait, of course. "Again, sorry about that, but I need you to calm down and understand my powers. This wasn't meant to be happening anyway." She sighed as she rubbed her back. "Rainbow bummed into me when she was blindsided in that fight. Not her fault, of course, but I know 'her' and she will blame Rainbow," she said, making a small laugh. "No matter who they became, they're still them deep down—even their love for each other. Ah, it's sweet, really." she shook her head, snapping out of it. "Anyway, when the fight happened, Rainbow bumped into me, and I flew off course and bumped into your friend here. By the way, I hope she doesn't mess with the Prime Universe too badly or "THEY" will appear." Brishen couldn't understand any of this. He has so many questions. "Who are 'THEY'?" She turned off the radio with her magic, then her voice became very serious and even frightened as she kept watching the road. "Tell me, do you know what your body does when it becomes sick with a virus?" Brishen shrugged. "Cough, sneeze, headache, body ache? All kinds of things." Lauren sighed. "No, I mean when a body does something to fight it. How it tries to stop it. The same thing happens to the universe when an outside force messes with a prime universe story. Infect it and try to change it. The universe fights back." Brishen nodded as he understood. "Oh, okay." Lauren shook her head. "No, you don't. It's like a body releasing its T-cells, white blood cells, fighting back the virus. The universe is the immune system, and it releases something much more dangerous than anything in said universe. Of course, all creators make their guardians based on something or someone. My guardians are based on my dear failed universe... I hope the girls won't be too hard on your friend." She looked up in the back-view mirror and could see shadows following them. "Speaking of which, a creator can't mess with a non-prime universe as well. We're not allowed to be down here, so yea...the universe is sending its Guardians to send me back or...the other way..." Brishen gulped and could see the fear in her eyes, making him scared and wanting to leave this plant car, but he couldn't. He remembers Blitz and something at the beach that Wallflower needed to get. Which was my counterpart magical powers? I just need to seal it in this staff that I'm taking out, right? Brishen found himself holding a cool-looking staff and turned to her, not caring she did that again. "So, that's why we're heading to the beach? To get...me or, in this case, his powers? From another universe?" Lauren nodded. "Yep. As long as I keep this story intact and don't mess with it anymore, the guardians won't attack...maybe." "So, what are you doing once I have the magic? Can't you just leave?" Lauren took a deep breath. "I can't. Your friend needs to keep the prime universe story alone, or else...well, yeah. If she allows it to go the way it was meant to go, I can jump out of her body and bring her back here, but I can't, like I said. It's all static right now. Her just being there caused the story to go off the rails; the universe is fixing it or, well, trying." Brishen didn't understand a word she was saying. He's just nodding and not saying anything. But he's trying. What a good boy. "So, like I said, I hope my girls won't be too hard on her." "Who are they anyway?" he asked because he's such a sweet boy. "Their based off my old girls. Well, my main girls. My creations, the ones that never got a chance to have their stories told, of their lives and what they are and can do.", She looked back up and could see the shadows getting much closer. "They are not like the Guardians here—not even close. They're based off my old creations and 100% alive." She smiled, happy to say. "They're not just my guardians; they're like my daughters. I created them to inspire others. They're the best things I've ever done. They're my pride and joy!" She turned back to him. "They're called..." Wallflower and Rainbow Dash step back as they can see someone appearing out of the crack in the universe and falling towards the ocean like a shooting star, creating a powerful shock wave and rocking the boat even harder. They held on to the railings and watched as the person slowly rose from the water, looking at them through her aqua blue sunglasses and holding a surf board. "SURF UP!" shouted the girl, running on the water and jumping on her board, creating a huge wave like no one had ever seen before. "HUH!?" shouted Wallflower and Rainbow Dash as the wave washed over the ship, causing them to become wet and drenched, but somehow, the ship was fine, like nothing hit it. The water washed away, and the girl stood in front of them. "Surf's up! The name's Neptune!" She spun her board with one finger and leaned on the wall. "So what do we got here? An anomaly messing with the Mother Earth story? Not cool, not cool. I can't allow that." Wallflower could feel something bad coming from this girl—like if she isn't careful, she'll be killed. "I'm just...helping a friend in my universe." said Wallflower, as she tried her best not to be scared and show weakness...but failing at it. "I'm sorry, but..." Before she could finish, Dash stepped in front of her with her arms out. "I have no clue what's going on here, but the way this girl is acting tells me everything." Dash said, looking up and down at the girl and not seeing her as a threat by her outfit. "I'm not scared of a little beach bum like you!" Neptune stopped spinning her board and sighed. "Beach Babe!" she said with air quotes. "And sorry, Dash, but I need to destroy this anomaly." She rose her hand and blasted Dash away with a jet stream of water from her palm. "Sorry dude. Now for you!" she quickly dashed forward and swung her board towards Wallflower neck, but her brown jacket made her dodge with ease, surprising the two. "Wow! That was amazing!" smiled Neptune, shocked by the fact this girl dodged her attack. "My jacket!" Wallflower showed off her brown jacket. "It saved me." Neptune looked closer at it, rubering her chin. "Really? Far out! What's it made of? Wait, I know! Cotton!" Wallflower blinks a few times, dumbfounded that this girl, called Neptune, was so laid-back and calm as she tried to kill her a few seconds ago. "Uhhh...yes, I think. Also, I'm sorry, but I need to help a friend!" Wallflower raised her hand, using her magic to summon plant life from the ship's garden area, but Neptune punched her in the chest with her board. "Too slow, babe. I'm made of water, meaning I'm always moving, faster than you'll ever be." Wallflower coughed up blood and fell to the ground, grabbing her chest in pain and coughing. "Hey, don't hurt her!" shouted Dash, kicking Neptune in the head, but her head turned to water and she reformed back, grabbing Dash's foot and tossing her behind Wallflower. "You got spunk; I like that. But this is beyond you. Go back to what you were doing, okay? Let this story play out like normal, while I'll kill this girl!" "No! I won't let you hurt her!" shouted Dash, running at her, but Neptune summoned water to form around her legs and tripped her, causing her to land next to Wallflower. Neptune summoned roller blades and rolled her way to them, skating around them. "Had a nice...FALL!?" Wallflower and Dash were surprised that she actually did the joke and even a bit annoyed. "Did you just say—" asked Dash, cringing a bit. "Fall? Yep. I love doing that joke, as I'm always falling in love with beautiful babies!" She could see Dash blushing a bit, causing Neptune to laugh harder. "Ah man! I knew you liked chicks, Dash! Sorry, dude, but I'm already taken." Dash blushed harder and quickly stood up. Giving Neptune a death glare. "Shut up! I didn't like that lame pick-up line!" Neptune did a double take and couldn't believe this. "Lame!? Are you kidding me!? You should hear some of the jokes I have! Like, did it hurt when you fell from heaven? And my favorite, did you fart, because you blew me away!?" Wallflower and Dash did a double look at how cheesy or outright bad the pick-up lines were. "I know, right!? I thought those were the best. Oh! Or, did the sun come out, or did you smile at me?" She couldn't stop laughing. Wallflower whispered to Dash, who listened closely. "Look, I'm not from this universe, and I think I'm not meant to be here, even so, going by this beach bum here. Maybe she can help us." Dash gave her a confused look. "You sure? I'm not trusting this beach bum, like she tried to kill you." "I heard that!" said Neptune, looking a bit annoyed. "Come on, babe. I didn't kill her; she's fine. I just wanted to remove her head from her body. That's not killing—oh, wait, it is. Sorry, babe." Wallflower was getting really annoyed. She just wanted to save Blitz, not deal with an annoying surfer. "Please, I just need your help. You said I'm an anomaly, right? I'm not meant to be here, correct?" "Rightly, O'," said Neptune, rubbing her nose. "And if I stay here, that means something bad will happen to this universe." "Bingo," said Neptune, pointing at her and giving a wink. "Then please send me back! I need to save a friend or she's going to die!" begged Wallflower, making Dash gasp. Neptune walked up to her and smiled. "I can't do that. That's out of my hands. It's the guardian's job to clean up and protect the prime universe and not allow anomalies in." She pointed at herself. "That's my job hot stuff, sorry...now!" She quickly swung her board, smacking Wallflower like a baseball hitting the bat, making her fly through the air and land in the swimming pool with a splash. "Oooops, sorry, dude. You're still alive, right? Wait, no, I shouldn't be asking for that." Neptune and Dash watched as plants rose from the swimming pool, draining it as they broke through it and carrying a hurt Wallflower in her forest nymph form, holding her chest in pain. "Sweeeeet, you did a transformation. I bet you're like, all power up now or something!" smiled Neptune, thinking she's the best thing since sliced bread. "I mean, look at you. You look cool!" "Don't praise her after you hurt her!? What are you, crazy!?" asked Dash, giving her a dirty look. "What? No, I'm not crazy. I'm the craziest surfer ever. Come on, dude. That's like the best pick-up line ever." She grabbed Dash by her neck. "Now be a cute babe and go back to the railing and continue where you left off, okay?" she nicely asked her. "You know, I really want to punch you in the face. So please, don't make me." "Ha! Nice try." Neptune tossed Dash behind her as she rolled her way to Wallflower, who was being set down and protected by the vines. "I'm the craziest surfer ever," said Neptune, cracking her knuckles and summoning a wave of water. "Sorry, babe. This is gonna hurt." "NO!" shouted Dash, tackling Neptune to the ground and looking at Wallflower. "GO FIND MY FRIENDS! FIND SUNSET!" Wallflower was shock to hear that, was there a Sunset in this universe? "AND THE OTH-OOF!" She was punched in the gut, causing her to cough up blood and fall backwards. Wallflower looked as Neptune quickly rose up like water and turned to Dash, all pissed off but hiding it behind that laid-back face of hers. "Sorry about that. You're a good dude. a real trooper, but it's over. I have to do my job, and I will." She summoned a water fist and charged at Dash, but Wallflower quickly used her vines and grabbed her, holding her up. "Stop this! We don't have to fight!" shouted Wallflower, wanting to stop the fighting. Neptune looked at her and could see the anger and hurt in her eyes. "Yeah, we do. Mother Earth deeply cares about the story she helped make. You can say I'm watching out for my little sister or something. So..." Neptune became water and slid out of the vines, facing her with pure rage. "I'LL PROTECT MY LITTLE SISTER FROM YOU! YOU WON'T RUIN MY MOTHER EARTH STORY!" Neptune dashed forward, but a bright rainbow trail blasted through her, scattering her like water into mist, leaving a confused Wallflower. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!?" shouted Neptune as she reformed her body and looked in front of her. "What? How did-?" she stopped as she saw Dash running in place. "That was me! I'm the fastest girl in my universe!" smirked Dash, running up to her and punching her hard in the stomach, scattering her again. Dash leapt back and held Wallflower in her arms. "Hold on tight!" Dash ran as fast as she could, leaving behind a rainbow trail like before. "My everything," whispered Neptune, reforming on the floor. "I was not expecting that. Dash is the fastest in her world. Well, I guess I was right about one thing. She's always falling for beautiful girls. Ha!" She slowly stood up, but she could see more figures exiting the cracks and landing around the ship. "Back up? Boo!" "Boo, nothing, Neptune. Milky gave you an easy order, and you screwed it up more!" said an upset female voice, landing near her. Neptune pouted as she looked at the nerdy-looking girl as she was reading a book. "Oh, hey, sis! I didn't see you there." Neptune's sister lowered her book and could see her sister now. "That's because you were too busy failing your job and fighting Rainbow Dash. By the way, you shouldn't be doing that! You should had kill the anomaly right away! What's wrong with you!? Revealing yourself like that!? Always making things harder, I swear!" Neptune just waved her off, not caring about what she was saying. "I'm fine, sister. I can handle this. I got this." Neptune tried to stand up, but her sister helped her up, and she could see how worried she looked for her. "Sister, please. Don't worry about me. I can-" "No, you can't. You're in no condition to fight. I'll deal with this with the others and find the anomaly. Head back to Mil-huh?" Neptune's sister could feel her hair being ruffled up by Neptune herself. "Nah, I can't let my dear twin fix my mess. I'm not that type of girl," said Neptune, smiling. Her sister sighed and nodded. "Alright, but be careful. You don't know how strong Dash is. Her and her friends are on our level; remember that. She could seriously hurt you or worse..." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Thanks, sister. I'll keep that in mind. Now, let's surf up!" said Neptune, rolling away. Her sister could only sigh and roll off as well while reading her book, knowing where to go on the ship. "Let's see. The book says after Dash runs off, she heads for Twilight in..." In the power room of the ship, this universe Twilight is fixing the ship's energy problem as the crew watches her work under the panel. "All that's left is to hold this lead wire in place while the auxiliary unit cycles, and everything should be back to normal in three, two, and one," but she could do it. Dash appeared with Wallflower in her arms and pulled Twilight from under the panel, surprising everyone. "No time for that!" shouted Dash, ready to run with Twilight, but before she could, she saw someone blocking the door. It was Neptune's sister. "You are correct. There's no time. Time for the anomaly to die." reply girl, taking out a pencil and starting to write in the book, which soon caused a giant pencil to break through the ceiling, causing everyone to scream. "Is that a rare rotring-side knock pencil!?" shouted Twilight with awe. The girl quickly looked up from the book and smiled with glee, as there was someone else who loved pencils. "YES, IT IS! FINALLY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW RARE THESE PENCILS ARE!" she quickly rolled towards Twilight. "Of course, the only one to match my smarts is Twilight Sparkle! Mother Earth always compares us a lot!" "What?" asked Twilight, getting a bit weirded out, but Dash quickly moved her back to protect her. "Dash, what's going on? Who's the girl and that giant pencil!?" she quickly noticed the  weird-lookin girl in Dash's arms. "Wait, who is she? Is she okay!?" "Twilight, please. Listen, this girl in my arms said she's from another universe and needs to get back home, but for some reason, these girls attacked her and want her dead!" "Huh? Another universe? But-" she couldn't finish as Dash grabbed her and dodged the pencil, as it was stabbing where they were standing as the girl was tapping the book with her pencil. "Stop it. Leave the anomaly with me and go back on track with the story." Twilight stood up and prepared herself for a fight, while Dash stood behind her, holding Wallflower tight and ready to dash off. "Or what!?" demanded Twilight, wanting an answer. "Or this." The giant pencil was pulled away, returned with the eraser head, and slamming into the floor. Quickly swung towards them, but Dash pulled Twilight away and dodged it in time to see it erasing the ship crew from existence. "HOLY CRAP!" shouted Twilight in horror. "Twilight, please. We need to leave! They are trying to kill her!" shouted Dash, pointing at Wallflower. "And anyone standing in their way!" Twilight looked at her, could see her state, and nodded. "Yes. Let's move." She quickly held Dash's hand and turned to run off, but they could see the girl in front of them blushing as she read the book. "No! No romance in this universe...but the nerd and tomboy holding hands? I didn't expect that." "Who cares!? Get out of our way!" demanded Dash, charging at her with Twilight, who is holding on for dear life. The girl blasted them back with an unseen energy. Making them slide back far from her. "I'm not letting you two leave until you drop the ano-" Dash wanted to say something, but Twilight beat her to it as he marched up to the girl, all in her face. Making her step back a bit. "She has a name! And it's...its...Dash?" Twilight turned back to Dash, who shrugged and looked at Wallflower. "My name is Wallflower. Wallflower Blush." Dash and Twilight were shocked to hear that, as that was the same name as their friend. "Wallflower!?" shouted Twilight, shocked and scared. "As in our friend?!" "You know me? This universe version of me!?" asked Wallflower, surprised. "Well, we know a girl named Wallflower Blus-whoa!" Dash said as she dodged the eraser head and continued to dodge it as it was following her. "TWI!" Twilight quickly turned around and could see the girl moving the pencil as she was erasing something in the book. "Oh no, you don't!" Twilight leaps on her, trying to wrestle the pencil from the girl's hand. "Give me that pencil! Give me the damn pencil!" "NEVER!" shouted the girl, not willing to let go. "This is mine, and I'm going to use it to erase the anomaly and anyone who stands in my way! I can rewrite you guys back to normal anyway." Twilight kept wresting the girl for the pencil but making the real-life giant pencil move around all crazy like in the room, as it wasn't after Dash anymore. It kept erasing random things as both nerds were fighting over it, until... "Haha! Gotcha!" said Dash, leaping between them and grabbing the pencil. Landing far from them. "Ha! How's that saying goes? Not mighty without the bat? or was it a spear?" Twilight and the girl looked at her with dumbfounded looks. "Not mighty without the pen! The saying is 'Not mighty without the pen!'" shouted the girl and Twilight, angrily rushing towards Dash and pointing their fingers on her nose. "It's a saying about how thinking and writing have more influence on people and events than the use of force or violence! And the quote is 'Mightier than the sword'! Not 'spear' or 'bat'!" Dash just stood there and was confused about what was happening. Twilight and the girl started to chat about the quote and other quotes. "I like the saying, 'A pen isn't mightier than a sword. Pens do not do battle, nor swords poetry. Mighty is the hand that knows when to pick up the pen or pick up the sword.' by Wiegraf Folles. Such a great take on the quote, no?" asked Twilight, pushing her glasses up. The girl also pushed her glasses up. "Oh yes, such a great version of the quote. It's even from a video game character. No matter the quote or version, words and thinking are the way to solve anything." Twilight and the girl were still chatting with each other, while Dash stood there, not sure what to do. "Guys, we're kind of in the middle of a battle. Can we save the talk for later?" asked Dash, walking back to Wallflower and picking her up. Both Twilight and the girl looked disappointed and sighed. Twilight walked back to Dash and held her hand, while the girl opened her book and blushed as she saw the two holding hands. "R-Right! Hand her over! She needs to be killed, or this story will derail even more than it already has!" demanded the girl, pointing her finger at them. Twilight and Dash looked at her, then at each other, and nodded. "I'm sorry, but I can't do it. We will not let you hurt a different universes of our friend! You...you...sorry, we didn't catch your  name." asked Twilight, scratching her head in confusion. The girl's eyes lit up as she was being asked about herself. "Oh, my name is Uranus!" proudly said the girl, with her chest out and everything. The room was silent, but Dash snorted and laughed a bit, confusing the girl. "W-What?" "Uranus? The planet Uranus? Your parents named you after a planet!? Hahahaha!" Dash gave Wallflower to Twilight and held her sides. "And the worst one too! Uranus! OH MAN! Hahaha! Your parents must hate you! Or were they idiots!? Hahaha!" Twilight looked at her, confused but also annoyed, as this is not the time for this. "Dash, can you not make fun of her name right now? Please? She's tr-" but Twilight was cut off as Uranus shouted at Dash, "YOOR-en-us!" and slammed her book on the ground. Dash and Twilight jumped at that and quickly got ready for whatever she was going to do, but Dash is still laughing at her. "What?" chuckled Dash. "It's YOOR-en-us! Not UR-an-us. You are saying it wrong." "Wait, wait, wait, are you serious!? Your name is still a planet!?" asked Dash, as her laughter died down a bit. Uranus rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "It's a Greek primordial deity known as Ouranos. Thank you very much. The Roman version is Uranus." Dash burst into laughter again, causing the girl to go bright red in anger. "Dash, please. We're not here for a comedy show. Please, can we take the girl and leave?" asked Twilight, looking at her, who was laughing harder than before. "Sorry...hahahah! But this is priceless, hahahaha!" Twilight just face-palmed and sighed. "Whatever, let's just leave." "Yeah, yeah, we're leaving. Smell ya later, 'Your anus'! Hahahahaha!" Dash shouted, running away with Twilight, holding Wallflower and rolling her eyes. Uranus could feel her blood boiling as she took off her glasses, and the whole room became nothing but letters and paper. Dash and the others froze and turned back, seeing the girl becoming ink-like. "HOW DARE YOU MAKE FUN OF MY NAME!? MOTHER EARTH GAVE ME THAT WONDEFUL NAME, AND YOU JUST MAKE FUN OF IT! HOW DARE YOU!?" shouted Uranus, crushing her glasses and blasting a sea of letters at them. Dash, Twilight, and Wallflower could see the streams of letters and dodged in time as they saw the letters melting through the paper floor. Twilight gave Dash a pissed-off look of, 'You really had to make her mad, huh?' Dash smiled nervously and looked at the letters. "I think I made her mad." "Yeah, I can tell," said Twilight, rolling her eyes and getting up and readying for a fight, but... "Shoot. I can't see..." whispered the girl, her hands out and trying to find something. "I forgot; without my glasses, I'm blind." Dash and Twilight were confused and wondered if she was tricking them, but Uranus kept walking around and looking around, as if she was truly blind. Soon, reality returned to normal. Dash grabbed Twilight's waist. "Let's BOOK it before she can attack us again!" smirk Dash, making everyone in the room grumble. "I'll write your death sentence if you don't give me the anomaly!" Dash didn't care and started dashing off with the girls, leaving Uranus alone. "Hey, wait a minute" "Hasta La Vista, your anus!" smirked Dash, running faster. "It's YOOR-EN-US!" screamed Uranus, angry and stomping her feet. Dash just laughed, as she's having too much fun. "Dash, please calm down," begged Twilight, trying to get comfortable while being carried by her. "Let's find the girls and find out what's going on." Dash looked over at Wallflower, who was still in pain, and agreed. Heading down the ship hallway more quickly. Meanwhile, Uranus bumped into the doorway, as she's blind like a bat. "Come on out, you three. You can't hide forever! You'll give me the anomaly or die! It's your choice!" "Really Uranus? I understand your sister, but you too? Losing your cool like that. I'm so disappointed in you, you dip shit." Uranus could hear a hard, cold female voice talking, and soon, loud rock music played. "Oh, hello Pluto..." Uranus felt a new pair of glasses being handfed to her and put them on. Looking at the very short, black-haired girl named Pluto, she looks like a rock punk. "What's up, fucking four eyes? I see you fucked up just like you, sis!" she smirked. "Don't worry, the girls are closing in on the anomaly, and it will be wiped clean from this universe!" Nine female shadows ran through the ship, looking for Wallflower, checking each part of the ship, and scaring the crew and students. While Dash and Twilight headed towards the all-you can eat buffet room, where Pinkie is hiding, unaware of another pink girl rolling into the room, spooking the female chef... "Ooooo cake and tea!" Above in the sky, watching all this, was the leader of the guardians. She closed her eyes, couldn't sense her creator, and felt beyond worried. "Mother Earth, where are you? What's happening to you?" Meanwhile, Brishen is screaming for his life, as he's driving the plant car while Lauren is on top of the car and blasting the shadows away. "THOUGHT THEY WOULDN'T ATTACK YOU!" "WHAT!? I can't hear you! YOU'RE SCREAMING TOO MUCH!" shouted Lauren. Brishen kept screaming, not hearing what she said, and driving down the long, dark road, hearing the fighting above him. "THIS STUPID MAGICAL POWER BETTER BE WORTH IT!" he screamed as the car drove down the road as more shadows appeared through the woods... End of Chapter 24 > Chapter 25: Into the Dash/Pinkie-Verse > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lauren breathed heavily as she watched the shadows backing off as the sun came out from over the hill and shined down on them. The shadows glared at her before disappearing into thin air. She sighed with relief. "I'm glad that's over...for now." She teleported back into the plant-looking car and swapped places with Brishen, as she's driving again. She eyed the young adult and could see how freaked out he was. "You okay? The shadows didn't hurt you, right?" Brishen slowly looked at her, with a weird smile and his eye twitching, like a man who saw the true horrors of the world. "I'm...not fine." Lauren sighed, knowing what she had to do. She needed to edit his character again to make him calm once more, but before she could, Brishen put his hand up and relaxed on his own. "But I will be. This is for Blitz, after all; what's a few mental scars for a dear friend?" Lauren's heart warmed and she patted his head, like a mother being proud of their kid. "Good to see that you're okay. We'll be at the beach soon!" Brishen looked out in front of him and noticed there weren't any other cars, which felt odd for him. He looked back at her and believed it was her doing, and maybe that's why the shadows attacked them. "Yes," simply said Lauren, reading the sentence up above. "That's the reason. I'm editing the world around us right now. I can't have other cars in the way and get caught in the crossfire." "Then, can't you just, I dunno, teleport us to the beach?" He suddenly could see her shaking with fear, like she was remembering a horrible thing. "Sorry, that's out of the question. If I do that, the guardians will release their leader, and I'm not at full power to fight it right now. Plus, I don't want Wallflower here to get hurt. It's her body after all." Brishen didn't say anything and just looked at the road, wondering what else could happen and if the others were alright. But he couldn't stop thinking about something. It was about "Your universe guardians won't step in to deal with Rainbow Sun Dawn." Brishen looked at her and just waited for the rest of her sentence. Lauren started to mess with the radio once more. "Rainbow Sun Dawn was created by... a higher being and has a lot of power in her hands. The guardians can't do anything to her because she's basically 'her' guardian and out ranks them, but she calls Rainbow Sun Dawn and the others by "saviors", her guardians, to wipe out 'her' from existence." "So...who's this 'higher being'? Is it the creator of all things? Like, god?" She didn't say anything, only changing the radio channel and finding a good song to listen to. Brishen kept looking at her, making her feel uncomfortable. "Can you...not?" "Not what?" "Look at me like that." "Like what?" "With those puppy dog eyes. As if I know the answer." "Do you?" "...yes." "Then why aren't you?" he said, stopping as he could see her crying, like she was fighting with herself to tell him. "You can't, can you?" She nodded. "Because if I tell you, it might change this already messed up timeline even more. 'She' needs to return to this world, and I can't risk changing the past....even more." Brishen rubbed his head, not understanding what was happening. He's just a simple boy who wants to help his friend out. Not dealing with this new shit, time travel shit now. "Just know this. The one above me and the others like me, has many names: fate, destiny, writer, reader, and watcher. She's very dangerous." She looked at Brishen with a sad smile. "When 'she' returns to us to stop 'her', please stand by her side like always. Promise me." Brishen gave her a worried look. "Are you talking about that violet-looking girl I saw when I touched that jacket, that Wallflower is wearing?" He watched her look at the jacket she was wearing and realized who it belonged to as she placed her hand on it. "The jacket belongs to... her. Another timeline, another story. Where she failed in stopping her from rewriting her story" "It's Blitz, isn't it?" asked Brishen. Lauren couldn't say anything for a few minutes, until she held the jacket tight and tears dripping down on it. "I had to watch her die so many times, watching her story change so many times—she doesn't remember me at all when we meet again. My dear student." She slowly let go of the jacket and wiped her tears away. "But no matter the timeline or what new story is created, she always comes back and, like always, moves forward. Always smiling." "That's...Blitz alright." Lauren couldn't help but chuckle a bit and nod. "Yes. That's...her alright." She looked at Brishen, who looked at her back. "You are going to keep that promise, right?" He nodded, which made her feel a bit better. "Thank you. She needs to step out of that prison she made for herself and fading away in there...just so they can..." she shook her head. "Never mind, I'm telling too much, but don't worry, you'll see yourself soon enough." He looked at the road again and wondered how Blitz was doing. Heck, how was Wallflower doing? As he could see the ocean in the far distance, with the morning sun rays hitting it, the morning dawn appearing... Blitz quietly went down the stairs, as everyone was still asleep, until she could hear work being done in the basement, as the door to it was half open. She remembered Twilight liking Sunset Plan and believed she could do something to help out. She asked if Twilah had a workshop in the house, and she told her about the basement workshop. She's been working all night in there. Blitz looked at the basement and was worried about Twilight, but headed to the front door and left. She quickly turned to her anthro form and took off towards the meeting spot that Dawn texted her to be at, as she wanted to talk. Blitz gulps and is completely worried about what she wanted to talk about, which no doubt was the way she acted toward Sunny and Wilma. "Okay, Blitz, calm down. Nothing bad happened when you did that—other than pinning the girls down and giving yourself to them to use you as a se-OH GOD, I FUCKED UP! Why did I do that? IT WAS LIKE SOMEONE MADE ME DO THAT!" She screamed in her mind, feeling ashamed of herself and her actions. She flew slower but was unaware someone was following her—her sister, Braver. Using a cloud as cover, only her eyes and anthro tail can be seen. "Blitz," whispered Braver, as she was worried for her little sister and her mental state. Blitz finally arrived at the meeting spot, which was near the mall, but she could see something was happening down below. It was a robbery, and some dude in an mascot outfit had a girl in his arms, pointing something to her head. Blitz sighed as she knew who they were and slowly landed between them and the cops. "RAINBOW COMET!" happily cheered Lucy, as she was the girl being held hostage by the guy in the rock outfit. "FINALLY! MY ARCENEMY SHOWED HER FACE AGAIN! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE AND TAKE OVER THIS TOWN! HAHAHA!" madly laughed the young man in the rock suit. Blitz rubbed her eyes and spoke with a bored tone, "Rock Doom. For the last time, we're not archenemies." "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT WHEN YOU RUIN EVERY PLAN OF MINE, EVERY DAY, FOR MONTHS?" Blitz blinked and spoke with a monotone, "I haven't seen you in months, dude." "DON'T LIE TO ME, RAINBOW COMET! NOW PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE SKY OR I'LL ROCK THIS GIRL!" Blitz rolled her eyes. "What are you going to do? Shoot me with a rock like always." Rock Doom looked a little upset as he held the rock in his hand. "Like yeah? It's my superpower? Tossing rocks around. I thought it was cool and stuff. Like, what kind of powers did you want?" "Dude, that's not a power! Everyone can do that!" Rock Doom gasped as his world was shattered. "Now, give me the girl and turn yourself in before I'm forced to kick your ass." He chuckled and held the rock tighter, glaring at her. "I'm not going back there! I'm staying a villain forever and ever!" Blitz could see a cop coming from behind him and was about to tase him but missed. "YOU FOOLS ARE TOO SLOW TO STOP ROCK DOOM!" he shouted as he tossed the rock at Blitz, who just stood there and yawned as this wasn't her first rodeo. She was about to catch it, but a light blue and purple streak of ink-like trail passed her, and the rock was gone. Blitz knew who it was and started to sweat as the cops, Rock Doom, Lucy, and news reporters watched as Braver stood up near Blitz. "Sis, what are you doing here!?" shouted Blitz, but covered her mouth as everyone whispered among themselves that Rainbow Comet has a sister. Braver looked at Blitz, then at Rock Doom with a blank look, and spoke as she crushed the rock in her hand. "You dare hurt my little sister!?" Rock Doom shook in fear as her words sounded cold and dark. "It wasn't me! It was a misunderstanding, and she knows it!" Braver was about to walk up to him, but Blitz grabbed her hand. "Hey, sis, it's fine! We're good here! He's no-" Braver turned back to Blitz, with her eyes glowing purple as she was clearly mad. "Good? GOOD!? I WANT TO BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF THIS CREEP WHO WOULD DARE ATTACK MY LITTLE SISTER!" She pulled her hand away and returned, looking at Rock Doom, who was shaking with fear and letting Lucy go. "Tossing a rock at my dear little cute sister is a death sentence!" Lucy's face was redder than a tomato, as she was fangirling so hard inside, as she couldn't believe Rainbow Comet has a cool and caring big sister. She mentally checked to write a fic about this later. She was so amazed by her that she didn't notice that with each step that Braver took, she left a large crater in her path. "Please forgive me, ma'am."I swear, I was going to apologize to her after!" He begged as Braver got closer and closer, making him run off, jump into the cop car, shut it, and hide in fear. Everyone cheered at Rainbow Comet and her sister for saving the day as the police took off with Rock Doom. Braver looked at them with a death glare, and they took off faster, leaving behind the dust. "Oh, you didn't have to scare the cops like that, sis. Man, I basically work with them; it's going to be hard to look at them now." Braver looked back at Blitz with the same look and spoke, "They should be thankful that I'm not kicking their asses for almost letting you get hurt!" "Please calm down and stop acting..." Blitz swung her arms around. "LIKE THIS!? YOU DAMN SISCON!" Lucy was stunned, as she heard everything. Her face was redder than ever, as it was like something out of an unholy evil lewd doujin. She covered her nose, as she was about to have a nose bleed. Braver became proud as she heard that word again, puffing out her chest. "I love you so much! Of course, I'm a 'siscon'! You're my cute little sister; why wouldn't I be a siscon!?" as Braver still doesn't fully understand the meaning of the word other than a sister loving another sister deeply... Blitz wanted to hide her face from the crowd, as everyone was talking about them, and she knew that it would be on the news and everyone would talk about her and siscon Braver, and it would be embarrassing as hell. "Please go home! I'm here to meet with Lucy, and I don't need you messing this up!? Okay!?" whispered Blitz, pulling her sister's ear to her and whispering it to her. Braver was trying to get free as her sister was hurting her ear, but they stopped as the news reporter came up to them, asking them if Braver was really her sister, what's her name, and so on. Blitz didn't want to answer, but Braver put her arm around her, held her close, and answered them. "Yes, this is my little sister, Rainbow Comet. The cutest in the world! She's a true hero! Isn't that right, my cute little sister?" Braver said, looking at her sister and giving her a small kiss on the forehead. Blitz's face was redder than anything, and she couldn't find the words to speak. A news reporter stepped forward, asking them, What was her name? "Oh, I'm not the hero! She's the real hero! And my name is..." "Ink Comet!" shouted Blitz, knowing Braver was going to use her real name and it would be bad. "She's ink comet!" Braver blinked, as she didn't know what she just said, but the crowd was in awe and taking photos and asking them questions. Blitz smiled nervously as she waved at them. Braver saw her sister, copied her, and smiled with her, waving. Lucy couldn't take her eyes off of the sisters, as her heart was beating faster and faster, and she was so close to her hero, Rainbow Comet, that she even fell for her big sister, Ink Comet! She took out a drawing notepad from her side bag and quickly sketched the two, making sure to get every detail. Blitz was annoyed, as Braver was holding her too close, as the crowd was watching, and it was embarrassing. "Hey, you can let me go now! We need to fly off, and I need to meet with Lucy, and you need to go back home." explained Blitz while smiling and whispering to her sister, who wasn't paying attention too much. "But I'm having so much fun! It's been so long since I had time with you! Please let me stay for a while longer. Please, please, please!?" begged Braver, hugging Blitz tightly, and Blitz felt her sister breast push against her, making her blushing harder and tried to get her off her, but couldn't and was struggling to do so. Meanwhile, Lucy saw the two, and she couldn't keep her hands still as she drew faster and faster, and the page was filling up fast. She was sweating hard and was panting, but stopped as she remembered she was in public and held her cross. Putting her pad away, she walked up to the two, wanting to speak to Rainbow Comet, but not before the crowd took their photos and allowed her to meet them. "It's great to meet you again, Rainbow Comet. I hope we can be friends and hang out." asked Lucy with a shy smile, blushing a bit. Blitz smiled and said, "Sorry, but I don't think I have time to hang out. We-oof!?" Blitz got cut off as Braver shoved into her chest and spoke for her. "SURE! She needs to talk to you anyway!" Blitz was trying to get air into her lungs, as she didn't expect her sister to be so rough. "Wait!? What!? Really!? Thank you so much!" Lucy jumped for joy as she finally had a chance to talk to her hero, Rainbow Comet. Blitz looked up with a mad face and glared at her sister, who looked innocent and cute. "What do you think you're doing?" Braver blinked and replied, "Helping you out, silly! You can't turn her down like that when you needed to tal-OOF!" Braver felt Blitz punching her in the gut and in pain. Well, not really; she was pretending as Blitz wasn't strong enough to hurt her. "What was that for!?" Blitz pulled her in and answered her. "Dummy! Lucy doesn't know I'm the Rainbow Comet yet! Now I have to tell her as Rainbow Comet rather than as myself. So, thanks for nothing!" Blitz finally got free from her sister's hold and asked Lucy to come here, which she did and screamed with joy as Blitz held her and took off, with Braver behind them. Blitz asked her where she wanted to land so she could talk with her, and Lucy surprised her by saying her house. "...r-really? What about your folks? They would be shocked to see me..." Blitz quickly corrected herself as Lucy gave her a confused look. "Because I'm a super hero, of course!" Lucy was confused but understood. "Oh, well, it's okay. They aren't home right now. They're still setting up the fair that's starting in two days. Besides, they love you anyway!" Blitz was shocked by that. "Really? They don't see me as the devil or something...Because many think I'm evil! HAHAHA!" laughed Blitz, a bit nervous, which Lucy giggled at. "No, they don't think you are evil. My parents and I are huge fans of you. You're a real hero! Heck, my folks think you came from heaven and an angel!" Blitz blushed at that and looked away. "Well, Pegasi are like angels, I guess. So, where's your home?" asked Blitz, trying to change the subject. Lucy pointed and gave the directions. They landed in her backyard and entered the house. Blitz had already been here before, so seeing all the bible quotes and crosses on the wall was not a shock to her—unlike her sister, who reenacted the same pose as Jesus on the cross, making Lucy laugh, and Blitz smacking her head and telling her to stop and act normal. Lucy showed them to her room and closed the door. Blitz sat on the bed while Braver hopped beside her, and Lucy was sitting in a chair, facing them. Blitz smiled and took off her plain hoodie, and Lucy quickly asked her something. "Where's the trademark purple jacket!? Don't tell me your going to quit!? Please don't!?" Blitz shook her head. "Of course not! It's just..." Blitz gave her a sad smile. "I'm not worth wearing it anymore. I've hurt my friends. That jacket was given to me by my dead parents. Telling me the symbol of the comet on the back of it, is me, moving forward, and the friends I'll make...who will support and love me, but I failed by doing something awful to them," finishes Blitz, holding her plain hoodie. Braver looked at her sister, wondering why she would think that. Lucy was in disbelief. She had never seen her hero like this, and it was her fault for asking her that question. She put down her side bag, took out a drawing notepad from her dresser, and showed Blitz her drawings of her, Rainbow Comet. Surprising Blitz. "I never meant to make you sad! You've done so much for everyone in town. You help those in need and are there when we need you. You are our hero! A symbol of hope and love!", She flipped the page to show the new drawing she made, but it wasn't Rainbow Comet but Blitz herself in her human form, looking all cool and even having hearts around the picture, causing Lucy to quickly close it and blush. Blitz and Braver were shocked. Blitz more than Braver, as she didn't know Lucy still saw her like that. Lucy put the drawing notepad away; embarrassed, that she revealed that to her hero. "Sorry! That's my friend." She quickly looked away. "JUST A FRIEND! WHO I TOTALLY DON'T HAVE FEELINGS FOR! NOPE!" Blitz was speechless, and Braver laughed and patted her back. "ANYWAY! Want something!? Juice? Water? Snacks? You like snacks, right? I'll be right back!" She quickly exited the room and closed the door behind her, and both sisters could hear her geeking out as she headed down the stairs. Braver went to the dresser, took out the notebook, and went through it again, liking how Lucy drew her sister. She turned to her, but she could see her still in shock. "She loves me...still...in that way!" Blitz spoke in disbelief and looked at the door. "She must really love me—more than I ever deserve." Braver smiled and gave her a hug. "Of course, you deserve love. Everyone does, even us! So stop acting like that! Tell her how you feel, and don't be scared anymore!" Blitz hugged back and cried, feeling her sister's love. "Okay. I'll do it. Thanks Braver." "Anything for you, sis." Braver let her go, allowing Blitz to fix herself up. Braver still went through the drawings but noticed another notepad in the bag as it fell out a bit. She picked it up and went through it as well. Blitz didn't notice this, as she was trying to think of ways to tell Lucy she's Rainbow Comet without freaking her out. "Um, what if I just show her? I could just show her. I'll transform back into my human form, she'll freak out, maybe scream, then she'll calm down and accept it, and then I'll tell her I love her. Then I'll tell her, 'Hey, there's an evil version of you that wants to eat you and restart the multiverse. By the way, that's a thing, and I'm really a pony." Blitz held her head. "Oh god, she's going to freak and faint or something! Braver, what should I do....BRAVER!?" Blitz turned and was horrified by what her sister was doing. She was reading Lucy's notebook, but that wasn't the problem; the problem was that Braver wings were standing up AND her second horn too. "SIS!? WHAT THE HECK!?" Braver looked at her with a blushing smile, holding up a lewd image of herself and Blitz. Both are very well drawn and...very well endowed, along with very detailed body art and poses. Blitz became stunned as she saw that. Her face turned red, and Braver laughed at her reaction when her wings shooting up as well, making Blitz shake her head. "I knew she loved Rainbow Comet, but THIS!? Dang, she really is a closet perv! Still, being homeschooled most of your life will do that. Gotta tell her, this is not healthy. Braver, put that away, and please start thinking of cute things! PLEASE!" Braver pouted, closed the book, and put it back, but noticed something under the bed and pulled out a long pillow. "LOOK SIS! ITS YOU IN PILLOW FORM!" Braver yelled, and Blitz looked over and went red again, as it were a body pillow of her—in her rainbow comet form and naked. "SHE EVEN GOT THE COLORS RIGHT DOWN THERE! LOOK SI-OOF!" Blitz-smack Braver in the head and toss the pillow back under. "Never speak of this, okay! She mustn't know what we saw! I love her, even with the weird, unhealthy obsession over me—I mean, Rainbow Comet. She's still a sweet, innocent girl who cares a lot about me. Now let's not embarrass her anymore by finding more stuff, okay!? She already had it rough when she finally went to high school and was all weird because being homeschooled all her life. I don't want to make her feel bad. I don't want to be the one who hurts her. Now come on. Act normal. Like, we haven't seen anything, okay?" "Right!" agreed Braver, sitting back down with her sister. They waited, but Braver gave her sister a sly look and whispered to her. "So...why did your wings go up when you saw that picture of us?" "SHUT IT! I don't get turned on by that! STOP MESSING WITH ME! WE ARE NOT GOING THERE!" shouted Blitz, as she didn't want her sister to go any further in finding out the truth about her wings going up, as she pound Braver head. Braver just pouted. "If you say so..." It wasn't long until Lucy returned with a ton of snacks and different juices that she almost cleaned out her whole kitchen. She was nervous, but calmed herself and set the food down. "Alright. Here's the stuff." "Thanks. Hey, um..." Blitz wanted to say something but couldn't as Lucy sat between the two and fed her some cookies. "Want a cookie? They're homemade." "Uh, sure!" Blitz took one, as it was a sugar cookie and had some orange juice. Lucy fed Braver some too, who enjoyed the cookies. "Oh yummy! I wish my Dawn cooked like this!" "Yeah. My mom taught me a few things, like-wait, what?" Blitz froze, hearing what her sister said. Braver noticed her freeze and started to worry. Lucy noticed both looking weird. "Are you two okay?" "Huh? Oh yeah. It's just that..." Blitz tried to explain but couldn't. She sighed, not being able to hide it anymore. "Lucy, I'm not from this universe! I'm really a pony!" Lucy's eyes lit up when her hero said that, making her smile. "REALLY!?" "Huh!? What!?" Blitz was confused by her reaction, but remembered, she was still in her anthro form. "Oh right! Hold on!" She transformed into her true form, making Lucy's eyes light up and gasp. "OMG! YOU ARE REALLY A PONY! Oh my gosh! THAT IS SO AWESOME!" She grabbed Blitz and hugged her like a toy. Blitz was red but quickly got out of her grip, turning back into her human form. Lucy was completely in shock, seeing Blitz in front of her. "Blitz, you are the Rainbow Comet. That explains so much," whispered Lucy in realization. Blitz was surprised she didn't faint or freak out—until she saw her going red in the face, quickly grabbing her bag and holding it. Braver took a few more cookies and pointed to the bag. "It's okay! We saw the drawings, and Blitz loved them; her wings stood up when she saw one. You got the colors perfectly down there with the pillo-ouch!" "BRAVER!" Blitz punched her sister hard, making her fall to the ground and rubbing her head. Blitz turned and could see Lucy pure red and steam coming out of her head, as her whole body was shaking. "She's going to faint!" realized Blitz, who ran to her and caught her in her arms. "Oh no. Lucy! Please stay with me. I need to tell you something, and it's important. Please wake up!" begged Blitz, shaking her a bit, hoping Lucy didn't faint from them finding out she's a closet perv. "LUCY!!!!" In the prime universe of Equestrian Girls, Pinkie took out a candy from her hair, fused it with her magic, and was going to toss it, but she stopped as she heard the female guard chef talking to someone who had just entered the room. "Sorry, but no one is allowed at this hour, miss. You have to leave or be banned-huh?" Pinkie slowly poked her head out and could see the girl, wearing all pink, dancing towards the cakes, ignoring the chef. Pinkie knows the dance moves; it was ballet, but this was very strange. "Who's that girl?" asked Pinkie, never seeing her before. "Miss!? Please leave or I'll get the security guards!" threatened the chef. The girl ignored her and just continued dancing until she reached the cakes, sat at the table, and was smiling. The guard chef sighed. "You leave me no choice, miss. I-WHAT!?" The chef was suddenly wrapped up in the girl's ribbons, completely tied up, and couldn't move. "Sorry, but I want to try the cakes. They look delicious!" said the girl, taking out her knife and fork and starting to eat the cake. The chef was surprised by this and was going to yell for help, but the ribbons covered her mouth and she floated into the air. The girl looked at her and smiled. "Can't you not be so loud? A lady is eating here. Don't want to bother me." The chef couldn't believe this. The ribbons were magical. The girl smiled and was enjoying the cake. "This is amazing! I must meet the baker of this cake." "Yum, same here, sister!" replied Pinkie, sitting across from the girl and eating the same cake. The girl wasn't surprised by Pinkie's sudden appearance. "Hello. How are you?" "I'm good. Who are you? I've never seen you around before," asked Pinkie as the chef was watching. "Me? My name is Venus. Pinkie, it's nice to finally meet you. Well, another version of you. Want some tea? I have plenty." Venus poured herself a cup of tea and started drinking. Pinkie smiled. "Sure. Tea is always good." Venus nodded. "Indeed. Tea is the best drink." The two were just talking, while the poor chef was just hanging there, waiting for someone to notice. "Pinkie!" shouted Dash as she burst through the door and stopped, while Twilight, who was under Dash's arm, her glasses went flying. "My glasses!?" shouted Twilight, failing to grab them. Everyone watched as Twilight glasses were about to hit the floor but was caught by the pink ribbons from Venus. The ribbons slowly returned the glasses to Twilight, putting them back on her and petting her head before Dash leapt away, putting Twilight down, and giving her Wallflower. "Man! Another one!" grunted Dash, readying to fight Venus. Twilight looked at Venus. "You're like the others, aren't you?" Pinkie shallowed her cake whole and asked what was going on. "I'll explain," answered Venus, sipping her tea...for a long time, making everyone look at each other in confusion. Dash rolled her eyes and tapped her foot, while Pinkie looked at her watch. Venus finished drinking and looked at everyone. "So yeah, I'm your prime universe guardian. My job is to remove any anomalies. Like the one that Twilight is holding." Her ribbons slowly rose up and became sharp like blades. Making Dash stand in front of Twilight and Wallflower. "Give her to me and go back to how this story was meant to go. Or I'll have to cut the anomaly from her. Your choice." "What if I refuse? And say no," challenged Dash. Venus smiled. "That won't change anything, as I'll take her by force." She walked slowly towards them but stopped as she sensed Pinkie breaking the fourth wall and appearing near her, but before Pinkie could finish, a giant paintbrush smacked her away, sending her into the tables and knocking all food over her. Her friends screamed her name as Venus looked to her right and smiled. "Thank you, Mars. Only you can counter Pinkie's fourth wall powers." Dash and the others looked to the right and could see a green alien-looking girl in a chair and painting something. "No problem. Just keep going. I'll keep her busy with..." She rosed her arms into the air. "ART!" Venus nodded and continued walking. "Twilight, Wallflower, you two need to go now. I'll deal with her. Find the rest of the girls. I'm feeling these 'guardians' are going after the rest of the girls now. Now go!" Twilight nodded, held Wallflower tight, and ran out the doors with her. Dash looked back and could see Venus was right in front of her. She quickly spun around with her leg up, the ribbons wrapping around Dash neck, lifting her off the ground. "You are a stubborn one. Just like your pony self and other versions in the multiverse, But no matter, I'll kill you anyway and rewrite you back later. No anomaly can escape my grasp. Not even the little anomaly you are protecting. She'll be gone from existence; if you don't hand her over, I'll cut Twil-Whoa!" Venus dodged a speed kick from Dash, as her magical speed was still working and Dash doubled kicked her in the chest. The kicks freed Dash from the ribbons, sending Venus into the cake stand and causing the cakes to explode. "Don't you dare touch Wallflower or Twilight! I will kill you if you try to hurt them!" growled Dash, her magic power flaring a bit, as Mars was in awe and put a new blank canvas on the stand and started painting her. "I'm impressed. You're not a pushover," replied Venus, leaping out of the mess and starting to kick Dash with a ballet-style attack while the ribbons were trying to cut Dash up at the same time. "You're not bad yourself, but not strong enough to take on a speedster like me!" replied Dash, blocking the kicks and quickly spinning around and kicking Venus across the face, sending her to a table. Venus didn't stop as the ribbons wrapped around the table and tossed it at her. "HOW ABOUT THIS!?" shouted Venus. "HA!" Dash jumped high into the air, landed on the table, and did a cartwheel, flipping backwards and landing near Venus, quickly kneeing her in the stomach, making Venus cough out. "HOW WAS THAT!? GOT ANY MORE!?" Venus eyes glowed. "I do." Pinkie popped out of the food mess and tried to use her powers, but was pulled by her hair and tossed to the wall. Dash heard the noise, turned to dodge a quick rainbow punch. She dashed away, and was shocked to see herself. "What the!?" It was Dash, but anime-looking and doing warm-ups. "Yo. My name is Rainbow Dash! The fastest runner in Equestria High School!" smirked the Dash counterpart. Mars skipped towards the new Dash and proudly showed herself. "And my name is Mars, the most talented artist in the galaxy! I love the color of your hair and those eyes; oh, I can draw many things from them. You're so cool. So I drew and summoned a version of you from another universe! Say hello to Rainbow Dash from the Kotobukiya universe!" Dash didn't know what to say, but she knew this was bad. "Uh-oh." Kotobukiya Dash gave a thumbs up. "Nice to meet me." Dash waved at her. "Nice to meet me too?" Kotobukiya Dash eyes glowed like rainbows. "NOW! BETTER START RUNNING!" and sped her way towards Dash, leaving Dash little time to dodge. As the speed was so fast, the wind pushed her away, almost falling. "OH MAN! SHE'S FAST! How is she so fast?" "YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH SUPER SPEED! BESIDES, I'M MUCH STRONGER THEN YOU!" shouted Kotobukiya Dash, speeding at Dash again, ready to punch her. Dash quickly recovered and ran away, with Kotobukiya Dash chasing after her, running all around the room, and even jumping off the walls. Mars was happy and clapping her hands. "GO KOTOBUKIYA DASH! GET HER!" Kotobukiya Dash smiles. "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO RUN FOREVER!" She sped up and was getting close, ready to tackle her. "NOPE! I'M NOT! I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE YOU! EVEN IF YOU ARE ME FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE!" shouted Dash; her magic was flaring, and she quickly stopped and jumped. "WHAT!? How!?" asked Kotobukiya Dash, shocked that Dash was able to jump so high, as Kotobukiya Dash couldn't jump that high and slammed into the ground. Dash was upside down and doing a cool pose. "I may not be able to run like you, but I can still jump!" she smirked. Kotobukiya Dash was about to say something, until a bunch of candy landed on her, popping like fireworks. Dash landed, and hopping to her side was Pinkie. "Are you okay, Pinkie? Did she hurt you?" asked Dash. Pinkie smiled while putting a cake inside her hair. "Nope. I'm fine! So, Dash, what's going on here!? Was this the evil equestrian magic you were talking about!?" She looked at the three enemies but waved at Kotobukiya Dash, who rolled her eyes and waved back. "No. These girls...are something else, way stronger than equestrian magic." "Alrighty then!" Pinkie looked at the three and smiled. "I think we should start the party!" "Party!?" said Venus, while Mars clapped with joy. While the two Dash's just sighed. "YES PARTY!" shouted Pinkie, taking out a ton of candy and throwing it at them, blasting them in a huge pink explosion. When the smoke cleared, the three were protected by weird drawing creatures. "Art is a beautiful thing," said Mars, smiling at her creations as they were holding a shield and weapons. Pinkie looked confused. "How is art a weapon? Wait, is that a busty purple dragon!?" The purple dragon slammed its tail down near the two. "Good morning, motherfuckers!” it yelled as it knocked Dash and Pinkie to the wall, cracking it. Mars smiled and petted the dragon, but quickly took out her paint brush, and her eyes flashed different colors of paint. She smacked Pinkie away from her, who appeared out of thin air, making her land on a table. "What the hay!? How did you know where I was going to be!?" asked Pinkie as she was sitting on the table and rubbing her chin. Mars eyes turned back normal. "I see the universe in a different light than everyone else does. I saw a lot of different colored paint that showed me your next move." "Woah! That sounds cool!" said Pinkie, her eyes all bright. "Yeah, it is," replied Mars, smiling. "MARS! STOP CHATING WITH PINKIE AND GET READY TO BEAT THEM!" shouted Venus, as she and Kotobukiya Dash were holding back Dash, who was trying to attack them with her speed. Mars sighed. "Yes Venus. I'll try my best." and her eyes started glowing a bright yellow and green paint like. "But I need a moment." She raised her brush and paint and smacked it down, causing the floor to be covered in weird drawings, making Pinkie and Dash fall within it. "What!?" yelled Pinkie. "What is this place?" asked Dash. They was looking all around; it was a strange world of colors and paint everywhere, but the ground was all red. "Woah! This is amazing! Is this where you live!?" "Yup. This is the world of Mars. MY MARS!" answered Mars, who was floating behind them. Pinkie looked at the ground and licked it. Making Dash cringe. "It tastes like red paint." Mars just smiled. "That's because it's the color of my world. Red. The color of passion, just like I have passion for...." she raised her arms up. "ART!" She summoned her paint brush and slammed it into the ground, and different versions of Dash and Pinkie were summoned. Dash could see different versions of her, like different animals and different color-skinned humans, and cross between the two. Heck, there was even a blue cat with rainbow colors, blushing hard for some odd reason. "Great, another version of me..." Pinkie, on the other hand, waved at her versions, who waved back. "HI GIRLS! STILL COMING TO THE NEXT PINKIE COMPANY MEETING NEXT WEEK!?" All the Pinkie's shouted "YES!" in unison. Mars landed next to Pinkie and asked what company she was talking about. As she, Pinkie, and other Pinkies were chatting up, Dash on the other hand, was fighting for her life as she had to dodge other versions of herself, who were just as fast as her. "THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Why are you doing  this?" asked Dash, jumping onto the legs of a giant robot version of her and using it as a boost, jumping off and landing on a jar with a pony version of her inside with white goo. "Because of art!" answered Mars, as she was painting on a canvas while the other Pinkie's was also drawing, like it was a class or something. Dash rolled her eyes. "Of course it was." She quickly jumped off the jar, kicking it away, knocking her versions away into a rock, and freeing the trapped Dash from her jar prison. "I'M FREE!" cheered Jar Dash as she was covered in white goo. Dash landed and ran off, but a boy version of her and a badly drawn pony of her, appeared next to her and tried to kick and punch her. Dash quickly kicked and punched back, knocking the boy and the pony into each other and crashing. "Why do you have to kill Wallflower!? She's just trying to go home and save her friend!" Dash kicked away a naked version of herself with pony ears and tail. "Tell me why!" Mars stopped her art class, turned to Dash, and answered her. "It's our job. Mother Earth loves this world that she helped create, and we'll do anything to make sure you girls are safe!" She turned to Deadpool Pinkie and clapped as she saw the drawing of Deadpool Pinkie riding Rainbow Dash with both holding guns. "Plus, if we don't stop the anomaly, the rules will start taking effect." "Rules?" said all the Pinkies. Dash kicks away a fursuit version of her pony self, revealing herself inside of it. She turned toward Mars. "What rules?" "Oh, right." Mars stopped her class, and her eyes were glowing again, showing the image of the universe, while a voice was speaking. "When an anomaly tries to change the story, the universe will send out guardians, and if the guardians fail to stop it, The universe will start to break down and die. It's even worse if it happens in a prime universe. If the prime universe dies, then the prime universe tree will die, killing all the MLP multiverses." "WHAT!?" shouted all Dash and Pinkies, shocking Mars a bit. "Yep. That's the rules and the story of a universe can't be changed, and I won't let that happen. It's not the first time an anomaly has appeared, but for some reason, Mother Earth allowed it and rewritten it into 'canon'." Mars continued her drawing class. Dash held the blushing cat version of herself and ran away from the paper cut out of herself. "Not the first time? Fate!?" Dash stopped, tossed the cat into the paper cutout, and stood in front of Mars. "What a load of crap! Fate doesn't control us! We're not puppets! And we'll never be! I don't care if you have some weird powers; you're not going to kill Wallflower!" Mars eyes went different paint colors, and she could see 'it' within Dash, as Dash suddenly had a puffy rainbow ghost jacket on. "She's going back home, and you won't stop her!" Dash's fist became rainbow colors and destroyed Mars work, shocking her and her class. "MY ART!!!! MY PERFECT PIECE OF ART!!!" Pinkie was amazed and cheering. "WOWIE ZOWIE! DASH, THAT WAS AMAZING! Also, cool ghost jacket." Dash was also amazed and confused about the jacket. "Huh. It looks like Wallflower jacket, huh?" Dash quickly noticed the world around them, started to drain into Mars, who was floating in the air, and summoned two paint brushes. "So, the first anomaly that Mother Earth allowed showed itself! I'll paint over yo-!" Mars quickly sensed all the Pinkies all around her and smacked their paint canvas on her, trapping her in the canvas holes and falling to the ground. "W-What!? How!? I should have sensed all of you breaking the fourth wall! Also, how did you break free from my controls!?" Deadpool Pinkie trotted up to her, and taking out Deadpool killed the Marvel universe comic. "We Pinkies are unpredictable, like how Deadpool here, a cute hunk by the way, was able to kill Spiderman, who has spider sense and can dodge anything." Mars was confused and shocked as the world returned to normal. Putting them back in the all-you-can eat buffet room, everyone could see Kotobukiya Dash fighting Venus, as she's free from Mars control. "Mars!?" shouted Venus, seeing her being tossed to the ground with all the Pinkies and Dashes surrounding her. "Tsk, this isn't good!" Venus quickly summoned her ribbons, wrapping around all the tables and tossing them at them, only to have the table explode and knock Venus into the wall. "Forth!" shouted Deadpool Pinkie, holding her cupcake launcher. Dash walked up to Venus and grabbed her dress. "So? Are you going to stop all this or what!?" "Or what?" answered Venus, her ribbon wrapping around Dash, lifting her up and tossing her to the other Pinkies and Dashes. "Mars may be weak, but not me. I have brawn to backup this pretty face!" Dash groaned. "Yea, yea. We'll see about that," as her versions helped her up. Venus rolled her eyes. "Sure. I'm so scared." Her eyes glowed pink, her ribbons surrounded her legs, and the ground under her became a large crater. "Tell me, do you know what gravity on Venus is like? It's about 91% of Earth's gravity. But thanks to Mother Earth, she increased my gravity and is now 1000 times the normal gravity." "W-What?" asked Dash. Kotobukiya Dash sped towards Venus. "And all that is in my legs. Like this." Venus quickly kicked Kotobukiya Dash in the chest, scattering her into a splash of rainbow paint. "HOLY SHIT!" shouted all Dashes and Pinkies. Mars rolled her way towards Venus and smiled. "Don't worry. She's not dead; she just returned home." making all Dashes and Pinkies sigh with relief. Venus walked over Mars trapped body and slowly walked over to the groups. "Not you two," she pointed to the Prime Pinkie and Dash. "I'll kill you where you stand and you won't come back!" Mars nodded but quickly stopped and rolled her way towards her. "Wait, WHAT!? We can't kill them! They're the human prime versions!" "I know," said Venus. "They're the main character," she smiled. "But some main characters do die in a story." She kicked Mars away, sending her through the ceiling and flying to space, but was caught by someone. "Now, give me the anomaly! I won't ask again!" Dashes and the other Pinkies were charging towards Venus, but Deadpool Pinkie stopped Prime EQG Dash and Pinkie. "Whoa, you two! Get the heck out of here and...hold on," they watched as Deadpool Pinkie took a laptop out and checked the FiM website. She checked the future chapters of this fic, but she also bookmarks a few fics. "Oooooo, nice clopfics today!" she giggled. "Okay! Yeah, your friends are in danger. You need to get to them." She opened the door and waved them to leave. "Now you two can go!" Dash and Pinkie could see their counterparts holding Venus off, but many were getting scattered. "Dash, we better go! Let them hold her off! I'm sure they'll be fine." "Pinkie." Dash could see that Cat Dash was getting kicked away into a wall. "We can't leave them here! Not when they're fighting for us!" She could see the other versions getting knocked away, only for them to get back up and continue the fight. Pinkie nodded. "Yeah, but we're the prime versions, remember. If we die, the multiverse is screwed!....I think?" Dash looked away from her other selves and sighed. "I know. It's just. I feel like we're abandoning them." Kotobukiya Pinkie crashed behind them and popped up, smiling. "Dash, this is for the good of the multiverse. GO!" She did a battle yell and leap towards Venus. "Pinkie!?" shouted Dash. "Damnit!" she turned to her Pinkie. "Let's go, Pinkie!" "Right!" Pinkie jumped on Dash back, and Dash took off with her trademark speed, but came back, saving the chef and bringing her to safely. Venus scattered a group of Pinkie's and Dash's and looked at the exit. "COME BACK HERE! CO-HEY!" Her face got covered by the blushing cat Dash, making biscuits and meowing loudly. "ENOUGH!" Venus released her gravity in the whole room, scattering all the Pinkies and Dashes and crushing the whole room. She dropped to her knees and was worn out from releasing all that gravity. "Damn. All that power is still hard to use." "You did great, Venus," said a female on the wind as a gust of wind came in and stopped in front of her. "Rest, I'll chase them down!" Venus looked up and smiled. "Fine, it's up to you, Mercury. Just remember who you are up against." "Ha! I'm faster!" smirk Mercury, as she was already gone, only her afterimage was standing there. Venus sat down to rest but quickly sensed someone coming through the hole in the ceiling. It was Mars. She didn't say anything when she landed and pointed up, making Venus look up and gulp as she saw her leader floating near the hole, her star eyes glowing with anger. "Oh no..." "VENUS!" shouted her leader as the whole universe shook. Meanwhile, Rarity and Ragamuffin were talking on the stage. "Well, my pa worked in a coal mine, but I always wanted to dance!" He looked at Rarity and rubbed the back of his head. "Eh, a fancy girl like you wouldn't understand." "Well, actually, in the school production of Bedazzled, I played a coal miner's daughter who danced in bedazzled magical boots from her fairy bootmother. So..." Rarity did a nervous laugh, while Ragamuffin did a small smile. Rarity slowly looked at him, and both started to lean forward, about to kiss, but stopped as Twilight rushed in with Wallflower still in her arms. "RARITY!" shouted Twilight. "Oh, Twilight, dear. What happened?" asked Rarity as she got off the stage, rushing over to her and seeing the girl in her arms. Before Twilight could answer her, they heard booing, looked around for the source, and realized it was coming above them. Rarity couldn't believe what she was seeing. They could see a pale girl dressed in a sleeve white dress sitting in a chair. "Boo! The romance was getting good! Keep going!" Ragamuffin looked at Rarity. "You know this weirdo?" Rarity shook her head. "No," she said, turning to the girl. "Excuse me, but who are you!?" The pale girl giggled. "My name is The Moon." She jumped off the chair and landed between Rarity and Twilight. "And I'm here for..." she quickly turned to Twilight, who held Wallflower tight. "HER!" she said, raising her hand, and Twilight suddenly floated into the air. "The gravity!" shouted Ragamuffin as he floated too. Rarity screamed as she floated off the floor and held down her dress as it lifted a bit, almost revealing her panties. "I can manipulate it." Moon answered as her body glowed white and her gray hair floated. Meanwhile, Fluttershy sighed as she walked down the hall, still upset, that the petting zoo became a normal zoo because of Dash and her crazy talk about evil magic. She found herself back at the petting zoo section and noticed all the animals hanging out with two girls. One just sighed and toning her bass guitar while the other one was feeding all the animals...and four animals had space helmets on, as they were floating around her. "Huh?" she walked up to them. "What's going on here?" Both girls turned to Fluttershy. "Oh, hi Fluttershy!" said hippy looking girl. The other girl just looked at her and went back to toning her bass. Fluttershy gasped, surprised that the girl knew her name. "How do you know my name? We haven't met before, right?" "Oh, we know who you are. Mother Earth showed us your stories! You love animals just..." The girl stood up, and the other girl joined her, both glowing with energy. "Like me!" End of Chapter 25 > Chapter 26: The End Isn't Coming Yet But It's Coming To A End In Another Chapter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "WHAT'S GOING ON!?" shouted Rarity, slowly flipping around and her dress falling down but stopping as she held it back. "WHY IS THE GRAVITY GONE!? WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Twilight quickly glared at Moon. "That's why you're called "Moon," isn't it!?" She could see Moon was getting closer as she softly jumped towards them. "Just like the real moon, having weaker gravity!" Moon laughed and snapped her fingers, returning Twilight's gravity, dropping her to the ground, and making her let go of Wallflower. "Yes, well, Mother Earth created me in the image of the moon." She rose her arm up and blasted the ceiling off of the room, making the debris float around her. They all looked up and could see the clear night sky with the full moon out—and the cracking of all reality. "My dear Mother Earth, shape me into the most beautiful moon in the universe." She floated out of the room and hovered in front of the moon. "I'll protect her work; I'll protect you all! I'm always watching over you." She reached out her hand towards Twilight. "Hand her over, hand over the anomaly, and everything will return to normal. Just leave and return doing what you were meant to do." Twilight stood and pony up, then stood in front of Wallflower. "So you can kill her!? No! I won't allow that!" Moon frowned and shook her head in disappointment. "Why can't you listen? I'm only trying to help. Mother Earth loves you all, so why go against her?" Rarity floated out of the room by going through the ceiling, grabbed a broken metal steel beam, and caught Ragamuffin as he floated by. She pony up, created a barrier around him, and touched the magical shield. "Sorry..." "Miss Rarity?" said Ragamuffin before he was sent away to the other part of the ship and called out for her. Rarity clutched her chest in pain but quickly turned her attention back to Moon and Twilight. She created a floating shield and hopped on it, heading towards her friend. "Rarity!" shouted Twilight. "Don't! Leave! I'll deal with this!" Rarity landed near her, creating a huge shield in front of them, ready for any attack from the enemy. "Twilight! I'm not leaving you alone with this woman," she turned, seeing the odd-looking girl trying to stand but failing as she held her chest in pain. "And this poor girl. What's going on?" "I'll explain later!" said Twilight, turning to her. "Just trust me; take the girl and find Sunset and the others. Dash and Pinkie are already fighting others like Moon here. I think Dash is right; they are targeting our friends like you. Go help them, and..." she watched as Rarity put Wallflower on the hovering shield. "Protect her. She's Wallflower. Well,  a different universe version." "WHAT!?" shouted Rarity, turning to Twilight. "Twilight, are you telling me..." she gasped as she could see it. The girl slightly looked like Wallflower. Twilight nodded. "Yes. She's the reason why the world is breaking. She needs to go back home, but they!" she pointed to Moon. "They don't want to. GO!" ordered Twilight, blasting Rarity and Wallflower away through the exit of the stage room. Moon quickly pointed her hand towards Rarity, but her gravity powers did nothing, allowing Rarity to escape with Wallflower. She quickly looked at her hand but realized what happened as she turned to Twilight, who was glowing purple now. "Of course, using your magical telekinesis to block my gravity," she smirked. "But that will only delay the inevitable. You're a fool, thinking you can save her." Twilight pointed at her. "I'm no fool! If saving someone makes me a fool, then I'll gladly be one." Moon giggled and felt proud of Twilight. "You and your friends are really something. I can see why Mother Earth loves you all so much." She rose both arms, lifting the ship along with the sea water as the moon in the background glowed bright. Moon's eyes glowed with raging whiteness as her calm demeanor turned into an enraged expression. "BUT ENOUGH WITH THIS FOOLISHNESS!" She pointed her hands down, and Twilight was launched off the ship, falling through the sky like a shooting star. "AAAAAAHHHHHH!" screamed Twilight as she flew into the clouds and just kept flying upwards, towards the stars, towards space. She needed to act quickly, or she was going to die. Her eyes glowed, and her body became covered in her magical aura, stopping her from flying anymore. "That was a close one!" She looked back down and could see the ship passing her with the whole ocean behind it as it smashed into her. Twilight found herself now drowning in the ocean as she rag dolled around, not knowing where up and down were. "Okay Twilight. Think. There has to be a way to fight her," she said, as she was now spinning in the water, not sure if she was right side up or not. "She's like the moon, right? She's using the moon's gravity like how it can control tides, but at a much higher level." She suddenly stopped, and she could see the surface of the ocean. "I have it! But I need to get back on the ship!" She used her magic and launched herself out of the water, flying towards the ship. Moon floated there and watched, as she could see Rarity was getting away. "I should go after her. But." She could sense something behind her and quickly turned around. "TAKE THIS!" shouted Twilight as her body glowed and Moon started to glow brighter as well. Rarity turned back, seeing Twilight fighting Moon. "TWILIGHT!" shouted Rarity as she could see a purple light covering the moon, and suddenly, it disappeared, and Moon was starting to lose her control. "What!?" screamed Moon, as she could feel the moon was just gone. "YOU DESTROYED THE MOON!?" Twilight punched her and smiled. "Nope, just made it..." She rose her hand and summoned a tiny ball to her hand. It was the moon. "Smaller." She held it tight, but she could hear a crushing sound, and she freaked out as she realized she had crushed the flag on the moon, along with the moon landing stuff with her thumb. "ARMSTRONG! FORGIVE ME!" Moon fell to the deck, losing most of her power and raging in anger as she quickly looked around. "YOU MADE THE MOON SMALLER!? ARE YOU INSANE!? DO YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN AROUND THE WORLD!? YOU'LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A TIDAL WAVE OF MASS PROPORTIONS, YOU IDIOT!" Twilight landed and smirked. "You really didn't think I wouldn't think of that first?" Twilight walked up to her, covering her magical aura around the ship, taking control from Moon, and putting it back down. "Right now, I'm using my magical powers to keep all the tides in check." Twilight looked at her hand. "I thought I'd be completely drained, to be honest, but for some reason, I feel like I'm not even using all my power." Twilight looked back at Moon, hearing and seeing her pounding the deck with her head, scaring Twilight. "Um, miss?" The moon stopped and looked up. "What!?" "Your, uh, hurting yourself?" Moon looked away and sighed. "You remind me a lot like Mother Earth, not afraid to use all her power when needed." Moon rose up and returned all happy and calm. "I should do the same then; shall we continue?" "NO!" shouted Twilight. "We don't need to fight; just let Wallflower go home! You don't need to kill her!" begged Twi, not wanting to fight anymore. Moon giggled and turned her attention back at the sky, where the cracks of all reality were getting worse. "It's the only way." Twilight steps forward. "I don't believe that! You could send her-" Twilight stopped as she saw Moon lowering her head and crying. "We can't. Only Mother Earth can do that, and she's just...gone? We can't feel her anymore," she started to sob, making Twilight feel bad. "Who is this 'Mother Earth', you and the others have been saying? Is that your mast-" Moon quickly rose her head and arms at Twilight, pulling her towards her hands, and grabbed her neck. Her eyes were glowing brightly, blinding Twilight. "SHE'S NOT A MASTER! WE'RE NOT HER TOOLS! WE'RE HER DAUGHTERS, AND SHE'S OUR DEAR MOTHER! "How dare you call her a master!?" Twilight gasped for air, trying to free herself, but she was stuck and her vision was darkening. She could hear a voice, a female voice, calling out to her, but as... "Mother..." Twilight saw a flash of a teenager girl wearing a puffy rainbow jacket and reached out to her. Moon kept squeezing Twilight's neck tighter. "YOU WILL PAY! YOUR ALL PAY! FOR RUINING HER WORLD AND NOW, YOUR ALL PAYING WITH YOUR LIVES!" screamed Moon, but she stopped, seeing a rainbow aura around Twilight's purple aura, and with a flash, she found herself in space, far from the earth as she could see it in the distance. Even the moon returned to its spot with a bright rainbow flash. "The first anomaly..." she whispered, as she could see Twilight floating in front of her but wearing a rainbow jacket. Twilight looked at her and opened her eyes, revealing her pony-self cutie-mark star, but as a dim rainbow star. Without saying a word, she pounds her fist together, creating a mini solar system with glowing magical mini planets. Moon watched as Twilight became the glowing rainbow sun and unleashed billons of magical rays at her, while the orbiting magical planets flew towards her as well. Moon sweated as she started to dodge the attacks, moving through space and avoiding the rays and the planets. "Impossible!" screamed Moon, hardly dodging everything. "This is almost the same level of power from Mother Earth! Was this why she rewritten this anomaly into 'canon'!?" Twilight finally spoke. "Mother," she repeated, making Moon confused. "MOTHER!" screamed Twilight, releasing more laser rays and creating all nine planets of the solar system and increasing their size to almost moon size, sending them towards Moon, who became enraged. "I WON'T LET YOU BEAT ME!" Moon summoned all the moons in the solar system and beyond, all appearing behind her and her eyes glowing bright. "MOTHER EARTH! I'LL PROTECT HER BOOK, HER WORLD; SHE CARES SO DEEPLY!" All the moons sent out energy tubes and connected her back. "EVEN IF IT MEANS DYING HERE! II'LL...crush...you...What?" Moon could feel it; she looked behind her and saw all the moons scattered, every single one of them. She looked back to Twilight, seeing her cracking her knuckles, and Moon laughed with fear. "NO! IMPOSSIBLE! HOW!?" Twilight glared and just said, "Mother..." Moon laughter turned to sobbing as she knew she was going to die as the sea of rays and the magical planets were almost near her. She didn't want to die, not like this. Tears ran down as she called out for her mother, Mother Earth. "Mother..." Lauren quickly looked to the morning sky as she was about to close the door of the plant car. She felt like something bad had just happened as she held her chest. "Are you okay?" asked Brishen, seeing Lauren acting strange. She snapped out of it and said she was fine, then led him to the beach shore in front of them. Brishen walked behind, with the staff on his shoulder and just looking at her, as he wanted to ask her something as it was bothering him. "Um...Lauren?" Lauren turned, seeing him. "Hmm?" He looked away and said, "You said an outside force would unleash those "guardians" to kill it, right?" He turned back to her, seeing her nodding. "Then...why didn't those things attacked sooner? When Braver and her parents came here?" He lifted the staff and stabbed the sand. "In fact, why didn't they appear when Blitz came to my universe? Dash, Braver, and Sunset said Blitz is from another universe, so..." He waited for an answer from her, but she was just looking at him, like she was thinking. Brishen realized something and shook his head as if he were being dumb. "You used your powers, didn't you?" he sighed. "I see, you can't tell me everything, can't you?" Lauren shook her head. "Sorry." Brishen shrugged. "I get it. You don't want to risk messing things up, right?" He walked past her but heard her say sorry again. "It's fine. You don't need to apologize for not ̴t̴e̴l̶l̷i̶n̶g̴ ̷m̵e̵.̵ I̶̻͝ẗ̶̻́'̶̲͝ṣ̵͌ ̸̨̓c̶̹̈́o̶̠̐o̷̥͐l̷͓͑,̵͕̔ ̵͙̑r̵̫̓ë̷̤a̷̠̅ḻ̷̈l̷̝̎y̴͚̒.̸͎͂ ̷̬͑W̴͎͋a̷̻͠i̴̠͝t̸̨͌,̴͔͛ ẘ̸͚̪̭̪̀́̚h̶͎͖́̈a̸̘̭͖̩͋̈́̎ţ̸̀̓̇'̶͓̳̆̒̑́s̴͍̺̟̳̅ ̷̹̫̐̍g̵̱̬̯̫̀̄̒̽o̵̹̳̱̐î̸͈̒͘ñ̸͈̼̞̕̕g̵̘̹͇̰̀̐̆ ̴̡̝͕̈́o̶̞̜̅̎ǹ̸̤?̷̟̜͒̕ ̸̢̣͝M̷̞͊̅y̴̗̘̋͠ ̶͔̗̇͊̽h̷̡̥͍̼̃́ȅ̴͎͇̪̆̉ả̶̬̤̖̗ḍ̵̿͋̔͠ ̷͔͉̦̍̄̊̌ả̸̩̱͍̳ṉ̶̯͉́d̸̹͚̀ ̴̲̞̆͠b̵̧̧̲̯̿o̷̢̒̽͜d̷̛̯̠̭̑̀̈́ͅy̶̦͚̿͜ͅ ̷̳̭͔̓h̶̰͈́̿̌͘u̸̮̹̥̤͠ȑ̵͈̹͖̅́̈t̴̨͈̭͋̔͒̃͜.̶̡̥͙͗ ̵̝́̐W̴͎͓̝͗͆͐͆ͅḫ̶͆͒̽ä̵̛̼̯͖́̓̽͜t̴̯̩̏̀ ̴̠͎̥̼̄͐â̸͕̭̱̤̒̂̚r̶̡͇̫̍̉́ę̵̡̤͙̽̃̃ ̸̛̮̹͖̮̑ÿ̸̹́͛͝ö̴̺̖́̋̆͋ư̷̫̍ͅ, a̴̧͍̭͍̗̭͙͔̲͈̭̺̥͔̮̼͉̦̹̹͛́̃͜a̸̡̢̤̩̝̦̟͙̗͚͕̍̚ͅa̵̳͕̘̟̟̬̝͚̥̥͍̳̬̣͓͈̠͚͍̍̉͂̔͜͜ȃ̵̧̼̠͈̣͎͈̪̲̬̻̖͖͔̼̠͚̩̦͈̟̱̜̝̻̼̫͚̥̱̀͊̅̉̿͐̂̂͐̏̀̐̇̑̀͒̀̉̌̒̍͒͒̈́͒̊͊̆̊̆̂̕͜͝ͅą̸̡̧̡̛̥̰͉͉̹̲͖̪̘̣̖̈́̊͌̐͂͗͛̓̄̌̂̎̚͘͜͝ͅa̷̛̫̼͙̦̝̤̥͑́̔̈́̈́̿̀̑̇̆̅͐͋̃̊̃̏͆̄̋̅̚͘͝ẖ̴̨̼̳͔͚͓̀̌̄̀̀̔̒̏̇̍̀̿͌͌̃͒̎̓̑̐̇̎͌̕͝h̸̡̧̧̤͖͕̭̯̩͕͈̟̥̟͓̺̠̼̳͉͔̱͍̲̠͉̙̝̥͆͌̀̈́̾̈͌̑̿̆̈́̈̉̋̑̒͛̀̂̈́͗ͅh̶̡̧̛̝͚͕̳͓̪̻̗̝̠̻͎̙̮̲̬̮̞̮̰̱͉͖̣̲̱͙͖̻̖͌̇̒̈́́̀͋͑͑̊͗̄̄̃̀̀̃̽̍̋̅͂̈͌̄̈̿́̚͜͝͝͝͠h̶̨̹̰̦̙͚̳̥̳͈̖̝͓͓̰̟̞̳̥̼͓̍̊͆͋̇̓̈́͑̂̆̈͑̎̾̒̂̈́̇̂̄͆͗̕ͅḩ̵̧̧̰̟̩̯̳̹̦͍̦̤͔̬̘͎̥̱̟̱̥͍̥̮̌̌̎̄̈̒̄h̴̢̡̖̯̦͈̝͎̫̝̯̝͉̹̹͉͋́̿̇̊̆̽͑̚͝ͅh̶̨̢̢̛̦͇̝̙̰̗̘̺̺̗̻̺͈͕͈̞̦̮̯͔̤̄̄̿̒͂̔̄̃̆ẖ̶̨̛̛̤̱͇̗̻͓͓̻̳̗͔̗̝̜̞̜̟̼̺̐̄͒̃͝?̶̨̡̡͓͎͔̦̹̜̮̠̣̱͔̲̲͔̭̥̣͉͇̜̘͂͐̈́̓̅̈̽͒͆̋̊̓̅̎͊̾͛̔͒͘̕"̴̡̨̧̢̢̡̡̰͉͚͇̣̦̮̥͍̹̤̭̬̠̪̹̖̤̺̣̦̹̦̜͙̹̰̽̽͌̌͐̚ Brishen walked past Lauren and turned back to her. "You okay? You have been acting weird ever since you got out of the car." "...Sorry..." she whispered but quickly put on a brave face and smiled and walked past him. He just scratched his head and followed her. "You're such a mysterious woman. First, you know everything because you can time travel; second, you're a goddess." Lauren laughed when she heard that. "With god-like powers but the way you act, you're like a normal middle-aged mom who's a big dork." He laughed but stopped, seeing Lauren staring at him. "Sorry, was that rude?" Lauren nodded, making him laugh again. "I'm sorry, you're just..." but he stopped as he watched her look up at the sky, holding her chest. He looked up and saw nothing. He returned, looking at her. "What's wrong? Is it the guardians?" "Yes, but not this universe guardians, but..." clutch her heart harder. "....mine." Moon was stunned in who saved her, as Twilight attacks were being blocked easily by her savior. Standing there was the leader of her group. "...Milky Way?" Milky didn't look at her; instead, she just deflected the attacks with her hands. She narrowed her eyes and floated toward Twilight. Moon wanted to join her, but Mars and Venus appeared and held her back, making her swing at them. "You guys, help me! Let's take this anomaly down!" Venus and Mars shook their heads, opening a gateway and forcing Moon inside, who was fighting back before they disappeared into it and the gateway closed. Milky could sense Moon was gone and safe, finally speaking. "Release Twilight or I'll destroy you, even if Mother Earth allows you to exist in the canon. I won't allow you to control her and use her body for your own ends. Choose now! Or..." She stopped, and the whole universe shook with great force, showing how powerful she is to body-control Twilight. Twilight ended her attack and turned away and vanished, leaving Milky alone, who sighed with great relief. "That was close." She looked at her hands, seeing them badly burned. "...and that wasn't even her full power, since only seven pieces of her landed here, like Mother Earth explained to this girl...useful memories...." She looked back to the earth, seeing that reality on the planet was getting much, much worse. "I have to hurry. It's almost time. The end is coming and can't have anyone messing with my master plans..." Milky smirk and she then teleported away. Rarity was still flying on her shield hover board and checked on Wallflower's chest, opening the old-looking jacket and seeing the black and blue bruise. "My word, she's badly hurt!" Wallflower was breathing hard, and Rarity couldn't do anything for her. She was scared as the whole ship rose into the sky and then slowly returned to the sea. She had no idea what was going on. She just needed to find Sunset and the others as soon as possible. "Oh dear. What should I do?" Suddenly, she heard a female voice throwing up at the railing of the ship. She knew who it was. "APPLEJACK!" Applejack wiped her mouth, as she was having bad sea sickness. "Oh no. I shouldn't have eaten that sandwich," mumbled AJ, turning back and throwing up again. Rarity quickly flew to her and gave her a tight hug. "Thank goodness you're okay!" She could feel AJ throwing again and asking what she meant, why the ship just flew into the air, and why the sky was cracking. All questions that she didn't have an answer to, just the first, explaining that some evil-looking girls are after another universe Wallflower, whom Rarity showed AJ, then said she's trying to get back home to her own universe. AJ kneeled down and could see how bad the bruise was. "They did this to her?" she asked, covering it with a Wallflower jacket. Rarity nodded, making AJ pony up and tip her hat forward as she stepped forward, standing in front of the two as she noticed two girls walking up to them. "I reckon you girls are the ones responsible for hurting her." The first girl, wearing headphones and blasting music, stepped forward and answered her. "Nah, sista, wasn't us, but no doubt it was Neptune who did the sick beat down on the anomaly here." She started to move her hips around, like she was moving hula hoops, and AJ was just staring. "So, sista, whatcha gonna do now, huh? Your friends aren't here, and since you noticed, the cracks in the sky are getting worse. You have to give me the anomaly, ya hear, so we can kill her. If you don't, I'll beat your ass, you, and your little friend. How does that sound, sista?" AJ removed her hat and looked at it, thinking. "Applejack," said Rarity, concerned. "It's okay, Rarity." She put the hat back on and looked at the two girls. "Sorry, but NOPE, not letting you touch her,'sistra'." mocked AJ. The second girl was growling like a wild animal. stepping forward, showing her teeth. AJ, Rarity, and Wallflower couldn't believe a girl would act like that. "Eris, stay! Cool it, sista!" shouted the black girl, standing by Eris side. Eris turned to her and answered her. "Come on, Saturn. Let's just beat their asses already! They're not listening to us! Just let me fight and kill the anomaly!" Saturn sighed and agreed with her, summoning two golden hula hoops and moving her hips to keep them in the air, confusing the others. "You're going to dance!?" laughed Applejack, thinking it was stupid. "Dance? Nah, sista, we're going to fight and kill the girl you are protecting." Saturn blasted her headphones up and danced, creating energy from the hula hoops. She unleashed rings of energy at them, making Rarity step forward and shielding them from the blast. As the smoke blasted around them, AJ could sense something powerful charging their way. "Rarity move!" shouted AJ, pulling her back as the shield was scattered as Eris charged her way through it. AJ shoulder tackles Eris, both clashing into each other and sending each other flying backwards and landing. "Don't get cocky, ya hear!" Rarity could see Saturn jumping off the deck, floating towards her. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but she was ready. "I'll show you what fashion and style can do, darling!" Saturn landed on the edge of the second deck and looked down. She could hear Applejack and Eris fighting, the latter screaming out in rage and the former dodging her punches and kicks. Saturn could sense the anomaly behind the shield, but she also knew that Rarity was in the way, and she was strong with those shields. Saturn looked away, looking back at the sky. "We can't hold back, not anymore when..." she could see reality break down even more. She looked back down and moved her hips faster, blasting her music even louder. "Time to beat your white ass, sista!" She fired her ring energy, and like before, Rarity blocked it, but the explosion created some kind of gas, causing Rarity to drop to her knees and cough. "RARE!" shouted AJ, seeing what happened, but she was suddenly grabbed by the waist by Eris. Eris smirk. "BETTER WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF!" she flips AJ backwards, slamming her through the deck and crashing below, crashing through each floor, until they hit the bottom level. AJ was hurt, but she was able to move her limbs. "Damn. She's strong," mumble AJ, sitting up. Eris steps forward, looking down and mocking her. "You're weak. How does it feel, huh? Being weak? Using harmony power is for the weak. You should use chaos like me!" AJ stood up and dusted herself off. "Ah, just like the Greek goddess of chaos, Eris. So, you are a goddess or something, shorty?" Eris growled. "How dare you call me short!? I'M THE TALLEST OUT OF ALL MY SISTERS! How dare you?" she ran forward, charging right at her. "Wait. Did she say sisters?" thought AJ. AJ ran forward and met her half-way, punching each other. AJ tried to keep a smile as her knuckles felt like they were on fire and Eris punch was like getting hit by a steel fist. AJ backed away, spit out blood, and wiped her mouth. "You're really strong. Must be chaos magic, huh?" Eris just glared and answered her. "No. I'm naturally strong and fast. Mother Earth made me that way!" she started to flex, showing off. "Mother Earth always says to drink milk; it helps you grow strong and tall. Look at me! I'm a big girl now!" AJ looked around and spotted a long wooden plank. She picked it up and charged forward, using the plank like a baseball bat, hitting Eris in the stomach. Eris fell backwards and landed hard, rolling over. AJ didn't want to hit a girl, but Eris was being cocky. "That's what you get, ya hear?" Eris growled and grabbed the plank, snapping it in two. She threw the broken wood, and AJ caught it and saw her running right at her. AJ blocked the punch and tried to knee-kick her, but Eris dodged and kicked her. AJ stumbled backwards and blocked a punch, feeling a hard impact, and then was kicked again and sent flying into a steel wall, crashing through it and falling. Eris walked towards her, picked her up, and threw her against another wall, causing it break and starting to pour water into the room. "What's wrong? Aren't you going to fight anymore?" AJ struggled to stand, and she saw the water rising. "The boat's sinking!" shouted AJ. Eris laughed. "So what!?" "They're people on the boat! Don't you even care!?" shouted AJ, punching Eris, but she caught her punch. "Pfft, who cares about background characters? The only lives that matter are yours and your friends; you girls are the main characters here. The rest don't even matter, not even the friends you befriended like Trixie." AJ felt sick to her stomach and headbutted Eris, making her stumble backwards. AJ staggers a bit. "How dare you! We're not the main characters here! This isn't a book or something; real human lives are in danger here! And you and your sister just don't care!? You're nothing but selfish and evil girls!" Eris didn't listen and attacked AJ. AJ, despite the pain and bleeding from her forehead, dodged her attacks, and then Eris was hit in the back by a steel pipe that AJ broke off from the wall near her. "What's going on!?" screamed a man, running by and not noticing Eris was about to attack him. AJ quickly ran past the man, pushing him down and taking the hit for him, making her slam through the wall and fall into the next room, which was the engine room. The man looked around and then saw Eris, who was growling at him. "Whoa!" screamed the man. "Move," growled Eris, making the man quickly get up and run for it. Eris could hear him calling for help, which made her laugh. She entered the room and saw that AJ was gone. "Where are you, you little girl? Hiding, huh?" She looked around, seeing the huge engines, the gears, and the pipes. "Why is this place so hot in here?" she asked herself, not seeing a large pipe to the engine was missing and hot air was pouring out. Suddenly, something heavy hit her, causing her to fall. It was part of the engine pipe and was tossed to the side, as AJ was on top of her now, and the two started to wrestle each other. "GET OFF ME!" growled Eris, kicking her. "Not until you stop attacking us!" answered AJ, punching her. Eris flipped her around, slamming her onto the ground and standing over her. "Shut up! You and your friends are the main characters of this story, the world, and everything. Everyone else doesn't matter, and if they get killed, then oh well. You and your friends are the only important people, not the people you meet along the way. Not the background characters." AJ just stared and asked. "You're joking, right?" Eris looked confused. "The people—everyone we met—we don't look at them like background characters, ya hear?" AJ punched Eris right in the nose, breaking it as blood came splattering out. AJ quickly stood up and cracked her knuckles. "They're alive; they have their own lives; they have dreams and goals; they have families and friends; and you and your sisters don't even care? What makes us special, huh? We're the same as everyone else, just having magical powers, but nevertheless the same. What makes you think we're the main characters of the universe, huh!?" Eris was wiping the blood off her face and looked pissed. "I'm going to kill you and the anomaly!" She charged forward, but AJ stood her ground, held her hands out, and caught her. Giving it all to not be pushed back, this surprised Eris. "What!?" AJ slammed Eris into the flooded steel floor and kept punching her face. "WE'RE. NOT. CHARACTERS!" she screamed, her last punch knocking Eris out for good. AJ looked at her bleeding knuckles and then back at the beaten Eris and sighed, putting her on her shoulder and hurrying her way back to Rarity. As AJ was sent falling down below with Eris, Rarity was coughing badly as the weird gas got into her lungs. "My goodness! What is this stuff!?" coughed Rarity, trying her best to block it with her shield. Saturn landed, and she grooved her way towards her and Wallflower, answering her. "Tell me, do you know what Saturn is made of?" Rarity could only shake her head, not really understanding why she was asking her this. Saturn stopped, and her rings let out more gas. "Mostly hydrogen, methane, and ammonia, and with those other elements in the atmosphere, we can create this bad boy. Won't lie, sista, amazed you're not dead from breathing it in. It must be your plot armor or the magic you are using. Doesn't matter." Rarity was getting weak, and she didn't understand what was happening to her. She was losing her focus. Saturn moved her hips, creating energy and unleashing it. Rarity's shield shattered, and the blast hit her hard, sending her across the deck and landing far from Saturn and Wallflower. She slowly looked up and could see Saturn picking up Wallflower by her collar and the girl looking scared. "Sorry, sista, but the anomaly must die. So, no hard feelings, okay?" Wallflower could see Saturn was serious. She was scared—not for herself, but for what was going to happen to Blitz back home. If she dies here, the sad fate of the another Blitz will happen again. She couldn't let that happen. "N-no...you can't." "Hmm, and why's that? You're the anomaly, aren't you?" Wallflower could hear the fear in her own voice, but she had to stay strong. She wasn't going to die without a fight. "Please, we can talk this out." Saturn could sense the anomaly's magic was increasing. Saturn unleashed her gas, sending it into Wallflower's mouth and forcing her to breathe it in, but she was shocked to see her gas being blocked by a shield barrier. She looked at Rarity, who was using her magic to save Wallflower. "Darn white girl," said Saturn, looking pissed and her eyes glowing. She blasted energy rings at her, destroying the barrier that Rarity created to protect herself. "Run, Wallflower, I can't hold her off for long!" shouted Rarity, sending her shields at Saturn and hitting her arm, freeing Wallflower. Wallflower did as she was told, running behind Saturn, entering the ship, and disappearing. Saturn was going to give chase, but a shield blocked her path. She turned back and started to move her rings, but in anger. "Move, bitch! You're going to make me angry!" "Sorry, darling, but no. I won't allow you to kill her. You won't be touching her. So, bring it." "Oh, you want to get your ass beat, sista? Fine!" Rarity didn't know what she was doing. All she was doing was keeping Saturn busy so Wallflower could run and hide, giving her friends time to find her. It was all she could do. Her shield magic was just used for defending, not attacking. Saturn unleashed her rings at her, and Rarity blocked them, only for the gas to be unleashed, making her stagger backwards as the gas went into her lungs and making her cough once more. Rarity didn't like this; she didn't like how her outfit was getting dirty from all the smoke and dirt and how it was smelly—not her style at all. She felt something in her chest though, something painful. She was coughing, and she felt a lot of pain. Her body was screaming at her, and it hurt a lot. "What is...this!?" cried out Rarity, feeling something warm and wet, and when she looked, her hand was covered in blood. Saturn smiled. "It looks like I win, sista." Rarity dropped to her knees, feeling the blood leaking out of her mouth and coughing harder. "Am I going to die?" Saturn moved her hips, and ring energy was building up, getting ready to finish her off—until a bright rainbow flash appeared between them, and Rarity smiled as she saw Twilight standing there. "T-Twilight!?" cried Rarity, shocked and happy. "I'm here, aunty!" shouted Twilight, smiling at her. Saturn was not pleased. "Another one? Ugh, I guess it was going too easy....Wait." Saturn could tell the first anomaly was in control of Twilight and could sense the power and magical energy from her. She knew she was no match for her, as she's on Milky Way level in power. She backed away in fear. "S-shit." Twilight smiled and said, "Won't hurt my aunties." A bright light blinded Saturn, and when her vision returned, she saw Twilight was no longer there. "Where did you go?" she froze as she saw tiny sparks in front of her. She slowly turned around and could see Twilight just standing there, as she clearly left behind those sparks. "Crap..." Saturn suddenly became blasted by those sparks nonstop and fell to the ground, losing consciousness. "T-Twilight. You're...amazing." Rarity fell backwards and was suddenly caught by Twilight, who just appeared and was gently putting her down, but the rainbow jacket started to dim, and Twilight suddenly held her head in pain, not understanding how she got here. "Oow, my head hurts. What's happening? R-Rarity?" asked Twilight, holding her head. Rarity held her and was going to ask her about the ghostly glowing rainbow jacket, but they both heard AJ calling for her as she carried Eris on her shoulder and tossed over Saturn's body. AJ explained how the ship was going to stink and needed to get everyone off the ship, but stopped as they heard a loud noise and saw a rainbow blur and a gust of wind running past them. AJ and Rarity could tell it was Dash running, but they couldn't tell who was running along with her. But Twilight could, and she didn't know how. It was almost like everything was slowed down for her. She could see the girl, with a short, punk-looking girl on her back, as they were punching Dash and Pinkie, who was on Dash's back. "What's going on?" asked Twilight to herself as she stood up and walked between the four as they slowly ran past her. Before Moon lifted the ship into the air, Dash and Pinkie dropped the chef off in a safe spot and continued on in looking for Twilight and the others, but Pinkie kept putting her hand through the ghostly jacket that Dash was wearing now and found it neat. "I can't believe you're wearing a jacket and can't even feel it!" laughed Pinkie, poking her. Dash could only roll her eyes. "Pinkie, stop poking me already, and I don't know how this jacket got on me. I can't even get it off." she slowed down, letting Pinkie off, and tried again to remove it, but her hands just went through it, making her groan with frustration. Pinkie giggled as she watched Dash try again but quickly heard rock magic and ducked as a skull guitar passed her head, destroying the wall in the hallway and leaving a huge hole. Pinkie rolled away and stood with Dash, who was ready for the fight. The girl standing there, cursing like a sailor, was Pluto, as she put her guitar back on her shoulder and gave the two a middle finger. "Yo dip shits. Where is the anomaly? So I can crush her skull in," she asked, holding her guitar like a sword. Pinkie and Dash didn't say anything, as they just glared at her. "Hey, I'm talking to you. Don't ignore me, bitches," growled Pluto. "Don't think we'll let you hurt her or even tell you where sh-oof!?" shouted Dash, feeling someone hitting her in the face and a gust of wind passing by. This kept going until Dash Jacket blasted the speedster away, revealing Mercury, who stood next to Pluto, and fists pounded each other. "Great, another one..." mumbled Dash, wiping away the blood from her mouth. Mercury laughed and spoke. "Hehe, what a slow poke. I don't know how you are still standing after getting hit by me, but it won't matter. Your slow asses are mine! My name is Mercury, and this shorty is Pluto. So!" She started to do running warm-ups. "Where is the anomaly? Don't make me beat the answer out of you two." Pinkie and Dash could see she was fast, maybe even faster than Dash. Before they could do anything, the ship started to rock, and the four struggled to stand. "What's going on!?" asked Pinkie, getting back up with the others. Pluto cursed and said Moon was doing this. Mercury sighed and pointed at Dash. "Yo, slow poke! Gonna tell us or what!?" Dash grew tired of being called a slow poke. "Why you! I'm no slow poke!" Dash ran towards her, going to punch her, but her fist went through her. "A afterimage!?" Dash suddenly felt her jacket warning her and making her dodge a kick from behind and leap away, as Mercury was amazed that Dash could dodge that kick. "Maybe I was wrong; you're no slow poke, but still slow." She was gone, and Dash quickly looked around, sweating as she couldn't keep track of her, but thanks to the jacket, she could somehow dodge each attack with ease. Mercury appeared in front of her, making Dash jump away and the ship shake once more, causing Pluto to lose balance, and Pinkie took this chance and kicked her in the face, slamming her head into the wall. Both started to fight while Dash and Mercury stared each other down. "You never cease to surprise me, blue girl." Mercury said, walking to Dash's side, but Pinkie stopped fighting, quickly took out a boombox, and started playing a song as Dash started jogging slowly, while Mercury followed. "You know what I can say? I die hard!" smirked Dash, starting to pick up speed. Mercury also started to pick up speed and glared at the rainbow jacket that Dash had on. "The first anomaly...did it awaken?" She could sense great power coming from it and spoke out loud, saying, "What are you anyway?" Dash rubbed her nose, being cocky like always. "What you see is what you get! Just a girl who loves adventure! I'm Rainbow Dash!" Mercury chuckled, and both were running at full speed now, running around the ship. "I see. But, you know, I can't let you protect that anomaly! Your adventuring days are coming to an end!" Both were running up the wall, leaving cracks and dents as they jumped, doing flips, kicks, and punches. Dash could sense she was stronger; her speed wasn't enough; she had to try harder. "Come on, jacket, help me out here!" pleaded Dash. "Jacket, what are you talking about? Is the first anomaly helping you out?" laughed Mercury as she ran circles around her, making Dash dizzy and confused. "First anomaly!? What are you talking about!?" "It doesn't matter! Just give up!" Mercury jumped and was aiming to kick her down, but Dash's jacket suddenly started to glow brightly, catching Mercury off guard as she was shock to see it glow, and Dash quickly kicked her back, sending her crashing into the ground, making a huge crater. Mercury slowly lifted herself up and was pissed. She was done playing games. She charged up her foot and slammed into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Dash flying, destroying the ceiling and sending her to the upper level of the ship. "Crap!" shouted Dash, recovering, landing, and running off, but only to find Mercury next to her, smiling as they raced around the top deck, breaking the windows and cracking the floor and walls as the two girls tried to beat each other with their speed. "Damn it, damn it! She's too fast! Hey jacket, can't you do anything else!?" "What's the matter? You can't keep up." teased Mercury, trying to trip her up, but the jacket warned Dash, and she leapt over her, and the two continued their speed battle. Mercury could tell the first anomaly was helping her, and it made her angry. It was basically cheating, and she had to put a stop to it. "Stop interfering!" she yelled, and she unleashed her aura and energy, creating a speed force around her body, blasting off and returning, ready to blast through Dash. "Is she boosting!?" shouted Dash, dodging the boost attack but not having enough time to dodge again as Mercury was already coming back. She could tell if she got hit; it be like a bug hitting a car window at high speed. Dash knew she couldn't dodge, so she had to do the next best thing. She stopped and braced herself, and her jacket was warning her. Mercury was heading straight for her, smiling as she was going to end her. "Give it up, girl! You can't keep running forever!" "I'm not running! I'm flying!" shouted Dash, and she did a Sonic Rainboom, stopping Mercury dead in her tracks and blasting her back as Dash tackle her, destroying the walls and roof of the ship. The power was so strong that it destroyed the speed-boosting aura around Mercury as Dash flew out of the ship, while Mercury followed her as she was running on air. "Geez, you really are fast. No wonder you're the first anomaly favorite. Maybe I should stop messing around and go all out. Let's see if your luck runs out!" Dash couldn't hear her, as her jacket was flashing brightly and she could see visions of herself in pony-up form and picking up a kid. She could see visions of herself training the child in running and being... "Why do I feel so proud?" She whispered, feeling tears running down her cheeks. She touched the jacket and was trying to understand it, but she was suddenly tackled by Mercury and crashed back into the ship. Both rolled out of the smoke from the crash and ran towards Pinkie and Pluto, who were just playing jacks rather than fighting, causing Dash and Mercury to roll their eyes and pick them up. They ran around some more, and until they saw Twilight and Rarity... Dash stopped and turned to Twilight, as she could see the same jacket on her. "Twi, you too?" asked Dash, smiling at her. Twilight was shocked to see Dash moving normally now rather than being slowed, but Pinkie was still moving slowly on Dash's back. She finally took notice of the jacket on Dash and could only say, "What's going on? I can sense something from these jackets." Dash didn't say anything, and she suddenly had a flash of memory, a vision of the past, and saw her pony version talking to a shadow figure of a little girl. "I'll make time for you! No matter what! No matter the day, month, or year! You can always count on me! Rainbow Dash!" Dash said as she flew next to the child, patting her on the head, "You'll always have me in your corner, no matter what happens. Because that's what good friends do. Keep going, kid; you'll find those that will always be there for you and be called 'friends'." Dash held her head in pain and suddenly heard Twilight yelling in pain as well, seeing her standing near. Both could see Twilight's pony counterpart appearing and talking to the child as well. "I will do everything in my power to help you get better. I will always be there to support you. That's what a good friend does," whispered Twilight as she hugged the child. "Even without us, you always keep going, flying further than us. shining brighter than the rest of us. I know you; I saw your life through your mother's eyes, and I'll always believe that you will find your path again, that you will finally be happy again, and that no matter what, you will always have help, maybe not from us but from others. others who love you the same as we do. As your mothers did." Dash and Twilight started to cry, and they didn't know why. They just felt so sad, like they knew the child and the suffering and pain she went through before being saved by their pony selves. They had to save her, and then saw their exact copies, stepped out of their bodies and walked up to the child. "We will always be there for you, always supporting you, always putting you first, and caring about you, even if it means we'll get hurt. We love you. Keep running! Fly!" smiled Twilight as she grabbed the little girl's hand. "Showing us your feelings and the suffering you went through. I want to protect you; I won't ever let you down. You're the best of all of us. You're on your way. Just...just keep going...just keep running," smiled Dash as she grabbed the other hand, causing a rainbow jacket to appear on the child's body and blasting away the darkness. Dash and Twilight were blinded by the light, but they heard a little girl's voice and felt happiness and joy as she spoke to someone. "I want to live with Dasha and Twyla!" Suddenly, they could see a ton of memories through the child's eyes: being raised by them, living a happy life, growing up and going out in the world, traveling, and finding adventure. They could hear the child laugh, telling stories of her adventures, meeting her friends and the love of her life. "We will always love you," they both said in unison, and they could see a young girl smiling at them until she scattered into pieces as a cloaked female figure appeared, holding a book. Laughing as she wrote in said book. Dash and Twilight started to cry, like they had lost something very dear to them, a part of their soul. "What did you do!?" shouted Twilight, glaring at the Cloak woman. The Cloak Woman just laughed, causing Dash to scream and run towards her, saying, "You killed her! OUR-" Dash punched her, and she found herself back on the ship, punching Mercury in the face with a rainbow aura fist, sending her and Pluto off the ship and crashing into the ocean in the far distance. "Our daughter..." whispered Dash as she fell to her knees, crying and sobbing as she and Twilight could feel the hole in their hearts, a huge gaping hole. "I..." Twilight couldn't get the images out of her head; she was shaking with fear, anger, and sadness as the echo of Cloak Woman laughter echoed within her mind. "I let her die... I wasn't there for her... I couldn't support her like I said I would," she said, dropping to her knees, holding the rainbow jacket. Dash punched the floor in anger, anger over failing to protect her daughter from another universe. "How can I... not be there for her!? She died alone. Scared. Sweet pea...". "Dash?" whispered Pinkie, who was still on her back and heard her and Twilight talking about something about a daughter. "Why are they upset, Pinkie?" asked Rarity as she and AJ hurried over, being told what Pinkie heard. "Daughter?" "That doesn't make sense," said Applejack, looking at Twilight and Dash, who were still sobbing. "It's the jacket! The geodes that we found in Everfree Forest They came from another universe," answered a familiar voice. The girls turned to see Sunset, helping Wallflower walk. "Sunset!" shouted everyone but Dash and Twilight, but they quickly prepared themselves as they saw Fluttershy leading two other guardians behind Sunset and Wallflower. "Sunset! Watch out!" screamed Dash and Twilight, running toward them but stopping as Fluttershy raised her arms up, protecting the two guardians. "Shy?" whispered both girls. "It's okay, girls! These two aren't like the others; they want to help!" She lowered her arms and introduced the two guardians. "This is Ceres and Jupiter." The brown girl, known as Jupiter, made a peace sign while Ceres just waved, looking like she didn't care about anything. "help? HELP!?" shouted Dash in anger. "How could they help us!? They wanted to kill Wallflower here!" snapped Twilight, her magic flaring and her eyes glowing brightly. Fluttershy was afraid but stood her ground. "You have to believe me!" Sunset and Wallflower joined her. "Listen, you two, calm down, and hear us out!" ordered Sunset, putting Wallflower on a deck chair and allowing her to rest. "Listen, please!" Dash and Twilight couldn't control their anger, but Sunset was right. They didn't have time to waste, and if what Fluttershy says is true, then maybe the Guardians will help them. They and the others listen to how Fluttershy met them and how Sunset found Wallflower. "Just like me!" said Jupiter, giving off energy, only to hop over to Fluttershy and show off her pets, who were orbiting her. "I always wanted to meet you! Another animal lover!" "Yes, yes," said Ceres, annoyed as Jupiter kept going on and on about Fluttershy being her favorite out of the main seven, so she went back to tuning her bass again. "I think you're really cute and adorable, and I want to be your friend!" she said, nuzzling up to Fluttershy. Fluttershy petted the space cat and had no idea what to say to this, like, at all, other than saying. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Jupiter explained who she and Ceres were, being guardians and here to kill the anomaly that came here, but... Fluttershy petted the space dog, taking all this information in. "I see, but you two don't want to kill her. Why? Aren't you ordered to do that?" "Orders are orders," sighed Jupiter, leaning on the dog and hugging him. "But sometimes rules must be broken, you know? Mother Earth showed me your stories, along with your friends own stories, and I feel inspired by you girls. I would rather follow your path in talking than go the violent way." Fluttershy felt somewhat proud to hear this, seeing someone follow her and her friends lesson in kindness and understanding. "So, what about you?" she asked, looking at Ceres. "I could care less, but Jupiter won't shut up unless I help her, so here I am," answered Ceres in the most bored voice possible. "Hey!" yelled Jupiter. "At least pretend you want to be here. For me?" "No. But whatever, let's just end this already." Ceres put her bass down and looked up. "I think the ship is back on the water again. It seemed Moon got countered by Twilight. Only she can match her, but..." she looked back down and could see the two looking at her, waiting for her to continue But she didn't, making the two a little annoyed. "The ship wasn't on the water?" asked Fluttershy, confused by what was said. Jupiter stood up, dusting her knees, and answered her as she walked off with Ceres, with Shy behind her. "Yes, but I kept us unaffected by the movement with my gravity orbit. It is very useful when on a ship, as my friends are fighting your friends. We better hurry and find the anomaly and get her home before...Milky decides to show up and handle this herself." She stopped and turned to Shy. "Trust me, you don't want her to show up.". The Fluttershy nodded in fear and followed them. Meanwhile, Sunset was in her room, listening to music on her headphones, not hearing the battle, panicking crew and students as they ran past her door. It wasn't until the ship started to rock and shake that she noticed something was up. She stood up and walked out, seeing the chaos from her classmates and the ship crew, as many were saying something about powerful teenage girls and fighting other groups of teenagers. "Crap, was Rainbow right about the evil equestrian magic?" She groaned in frustration and started to run, trying to find her friends. It was a bit hard as there were a lot of people running around, bumping and shoving, and almost getting trampled a few times, but she managed to get to the upper level and could see a girl falling to the ground and clearly in pain. "Is that a wallflower?" Sunset hurried over to her. "You okay, Wall-wait, you aren't Wallflower?" Sunset could see how this girl looked like Wallflower, but there were small details that showed she wasn't Wallflower. But when she heard her speak, though... "...Sunset!?" said Wallflower in disbelief, slowly standing up and being shocked to see Sunset here—well,  this universe version of her. When Sunset heard her, it was no doubt Wallflower. "Can't be? You are-whoa!?" Sunset suddenly fell backwards as Wallflower grabbed her and started crying. Hearing her being happy to see her and even saying something about this universe. She softly pushed her back and said, "Whoa, dial it back a minute. What do you mean by 'this universe'?". Wallflower started to explain her story, what was going on in her universe, and who was chasing her in this universe. Sunset listened very closely and had no idea what to say to any of this. She just held her head in pain. "Let me get this straight: you are from another universe, where Dash and Twilight are a couple and have a kid who they took in, but that kid is really from another universe. Her twin sister is living in Equestria, where her twin was raised by that universe, Twi and Dash as well, and...oh my head." Sunset grabbed her head, trying to take all this in. How an evil girl named Dawn is trying to eat her good version, then the twins, then restarting the multiverse, and Sunset own version of herself is helping this 'Blitz' girl to stop that, and this Wallflower somehow got here and just wants to head back home. "Are you okay?" asked Wallflower, all worried and concerned. "I'm fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around all of this, and it hurts a lot. This is a lot to take in." Sunset looked at her and could see that Wallflower was hurt, as she could see the bruises on her chest. "Wait, are you hurt?" "Huh? Oh, this?" She pointed at her chest and tried to explain what happened—how she was smack by a surfboard by one of the guardians. Sunset ordered her to put her arm around her shoulder; she was going to help her to the sick bay and talk some more on the way. "Thanks, and sorry," said Wallflower, holding onto Sunset. "Don't mention it; we're friends, right? Well, in both universes, we're friends. That's why I'm helping you." Sunset smiled and walked off. "Now, let's get you better, and then we'll find my friends." "After that, we bumped into Fluttershy and the two guardians here, telling us why they're helping. Then they sense you girls out here." finished Sunset while checking on Eris and Saturn, but they were still knocked out cold. She turned to the girls and noticed the rainbow jackets on Dash and Twilight, then turned to Wallflower, who looked surprised. "Do you know what's with those ghost-looking jackets?" Twilight was the first to answer. "Yeah, it was our daughters' jacket." "Daughters?" asked everyone but Wallflower. "Yeah, she was raised by both Twilight and I." she corrected herself. "A version of...us," answered Dash, looking over to Twilight and blushing, surprised there was a universe where they fell in love with each other. Twilight nodded. "Yeah, we saw visions and memories of the past through their daughter's eyes. Seeing her being saved by  them." Twilight looked over to Sunset. "I believed your Dash and Twilight? They were ponies, but maybe another version as well? Anyway, I'm sure they'll do the same as well and save her, just like us." Their friends couldn't believe it: Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were a couple!? And raising a kid. They looked at Dash, who was blushing bright red. "You have a kid!?" asked Sunset, excited and wanting more information. Dash swung her arms around, all flustered and trying to say something, anything. "Well, kinda, I mean, yeah? Not really Twi and I; another version did like I said." Dash stopped and looked over at Wallflower. "Blitz right? That's her name? Blitz?" Wallflower nodded, getting up from the deck chair and walking up to them. "Yes, she was raised by my version of you two—just having normal skin color. Anyway, those jackets are the same ones that I'm wearing," she clutches her brown jacket. "She died alone, scared and cold, calling out for..." "Dasha and Twyla, right?" said Twilight and Dash in unison, surprising the girls, but Wallflower looked at them confused. "...that's not their names? Maybe Blitz was saved by another version of her parents?" Wallflower put her hands on their jackets, and suddenly, a bright rainbow flashed, sending everyone back. AJ stood up first, seeing the blazing light but also seeing that the ship was starting to go down, as she remembered the hole down below. "Girls, the ship is going down! We need to save as many as we can!" The girls agreed but looked over to Twilight, Dash, and Wallflower, seeing them standing in the bright rainbow light. Fluttershy was the first to ask about them, as she was worried about them. "I'll take care of it," said the female voice, making everyone look up and see Milky with another girl hovering there and then landing. She faced Ceres and Jupiter, telling them why they disobeyed orders. "Because this isn't right, Milky Way! Mother Earth wouldn't want this!" begged Jupiter, while Ceres added, "Plus, screw the man, which is you, by the way; I'm no one's lap dog. I'm my own person and can make my own choices, no matter the consequences. We're not like those mindless other guardians; we can think for ourselves!" "What do you mean by that? Mindless?" asked Pinkie, who was scared, as was everyone else but Milky, who just stood there and stared. Saturn stood up with Eris, and soon all the other guardians arrived and landed near Milky Way. Milky stepped forward and spoke. "Guardians are just tools, weapons to protect their creator's work, their book, like this very universe." Milky rolled her way to them. "Mother Earth isn't like the other authors; she cares about us and allows us to think for ourselves," she said but stopped in front of them and smiled. "But we can't let her down; we can't let her book be destroyed. I'm sorry, but we're running out of time. Look up." Everyone looked up and could see reality almost breaking down. The cracks are much wider now, as pure whiteness could be seen within them. "The anomaly needs to be wiped away now, or your universe and everyone in it are gone." She looked over to the girl who was with her and gave her an order. "Sun, hold them down." Sun nodded and released an orange glow, and before Sunset and the others could do anything, they somehow became frozen, but their moving eyes showed that they weren't fully frozen. Sun walked up to them and gave them a sad smile, explaining. "Sorry, please don't be mad at us; we have to protect our Mother Earth work, this is the only way. We can't send her back; if that were the case, Milky would have done it as soon as the anomaly arrived. So the next best thing is death. She'll be put out of her misery and won't suffer anymore." "You can't do this!" cried AJ, struggling to break free. She even used her strength to tried break the orange magic aura but couldn't. "You can't escape from my orbit. It's a reason I'm called the Sun. You are locked to me and under my gravitational control." Milky walked past Sun and stood before the group. "I'm sorry; you are a wonderful creation, and Mother Earth loves you so much, as we all do. But it has to be like this." She walked past them, heading towards Wallflower, but Ceres and Jupiter stopped her, pleading for her to stop this. "She has no place in this universe; she's a threat to everyone here," stated Milky. "That's no excuse to kill her; please, you can't do this. There's always another way," begged Jupiter as she walked towards her leader. "Please, Milky, this isn't like you... I know you're kind, caring, and gentle, like me. Why are you doing this!?" Milky looked at her; her face had no expression, and her eyes were empty. "This is for the greater good, Jupiter. Now." She blasted her away and looked over to Ceres, who took a battle stance. "Stand down or die along with the anomaly." Ceres looked over to her, her eyes narrowing. "Fine." "Good girl, now-" Milky couldn't finish her words as Ceres pulled out her bass and blasted Milky, sending her flying back. The others covered Milky and were ready to take Ceres on. Ceres lowered her bass and spoke. "Girls, you must have noticed it? Milky isn't being herself! She's never cruel and never kills. She's the nicest out of all of us, she's like Mother Earth the most, but she isn't being herself. She's under someone else's control!" The others look at each other and then at Milky, who had a few burns but is otherwise okay. "Enough of this." Milky got up and was about to blast Ceres, but she quickly moved out of the way. A rainbow bomb landed near her and blew up, and the one who shot it was... "Enough! I'm not letting you keep doing this! Stop it!" Sunset and the girls were very confused, as they could see their friend, Dash, in her pony form but wearing a white shrine maiden outfit and standing on a pole. She jumped off and landed, did some hand movements, and blasted someone above Milky, revealing strings and black seeds, and someone jumping down and facing this new Rainbow Dash. "So, switching sides, are we?" said the black-haired anthro girl, looking hurt. "...Rainbow..." Rainbow gave her a sad look but answered. "She's using you. Can't you see it? I'm not going to let her destroy my friend, my world, my everything." She walked up to her and held her hands, smiling. "...I love you." "And I, you." She smiled, but it was quick as she stabbed Rainbow with her fist and pulled her close to her, holding her in her arms and crying. "...why...?" Rainbow looked down and could see her white shirt being soaked in her own blood. "...because I couldn't see my best friend destroy herself anymore. You're the nicest, the sweetest, the kindest girl... I couldn't save 'you' in my universe, but I knew I could save 'you'. Please..." She was thrown away and landed near Twilight, Dash, and Wallflower, bleeding out. "Stupid Rainbow, that idiot got to you, didn't she? This is the only way! Ending all our suffering! Sparing all of us of our sad fate!" She started to cry. "YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN ONE ELSE! YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO UNDERSTOOD ME! NOW LOOK AT YOU! BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE THAT HORSE SHIT OF HAPPY ENDINGS!" The others looked back at the scene and were very confused about what was going on and who this other Rainbow Dash was. Rainbow just laid there, feeling weaker and weaker, looking up to her and answering. "I do...and look what you've become..." She closed her eyes and smiled. "I wasn't strong... I was never strong like 'her'. I still wish it was me who died that day and not 'her'. Maybe she... " She could feel herself being picked up and opened her eyes to see it was Dash and Twilight, holding her and their eyes glowing. They looked down and smiled. "No matter who it is, everyone deserves a happy ending. Everyone!" said both in unison, as a rainbow glow enveloped Rainbow, healing her wounds. Both girls looked over at the black anthro girl, who looked at them and Tsk loudly. "Damn, I am not fighting you. Even if its a dying ghost." She started to laugh as she summoned a black dead tree. "By the way, your cheap knockoff is following your path. She'll die, just like you did. You can't save everyone, and there's never a second chance or happy endings. I saw it firsthand." She walked into the dead tree and disappeared along with it. Wallflower walked over, looked at both girls, and gave her a sad look. "Blitz and Braver, if they..." Twilight and Dash put Rainbow down, grabbed Wallflower's shoulders, and smiled. "They won't. Have faith! Like a bright knight once told me, 'Never give up on faith, and we won't give up on you. Just stand tall, stand proud, and others will stay with you.", stand with them, no matter what happens. Don't let their spark fade because they're their own future and no one else's." They released rainbow energy in her, and everything around them started to warp and change. "This should allow my teacher to get you and take you home. Be brave, Wilma, follow your spark." They started to cry and then hugged her. "Least I could say goodbye to you. Even if I'm just a memory created by the broken elements, I love you.". Back on earth, Brishen was told to stand in the water and hold the staff in the air. Soon, the symbol of the storm king appeared under him and started to go into the staff as blue electrical power was shooting off everywhere. "Keep holding it! Don't let go! You can do it!" shouted Lauren. Brishen felt something hitting his soul; he could see a white monster and see him taking over the land, then seeing him being killed. He opened his eyes and screamed as the last of the electrical power entered the room, dropping to his knees. "Man, what a loser that version of me is..." He stood up, walked up to Lauren, and smiled as he raised his staff and fired a blue electrical blast, blowing a sand mound up. "Nice, how are you feeling?" asked Lauren. "Good, thanks to this power. I can help Blitz even more. There are two days to go before Lucy's evil copy comes. I hope we'll be ready, huh? What's wrong?" asked him, seeing Lauren looking very confused and freaking out. "What you just said?" She was scared now. "I just said that. I hope we'll be ready. There are two days to go. Wait, did I forget to tell you?" Lauren's jaw dropped. "What, why are you looking at me like that?" Lauren shook her head. "NO! Dawn! You gave them the wrong number of days!" Brishen double-looked. "Sorry, what? Not the right number of days!?" "Yes!" "Oh, shit, how man-" "One day left! She's comi-what?" She stopped and looked around. She could see through the static. She could see Wallflower and leapt out of her body, becoming her Alicorn form and landing on the boat, as reality was being held together by a rainbow aura. She could see Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls looking at her. "MOTHER EARTH!" screamed her girls as they ran towards her and hugged her, but she could see Milky just sitting there, disappointed. "Milky, what's wrong?" asked Lauren as the girls let her go, allowing her to walk over to Milky. "One of 'her' saviors tricked me... I was looking for you, but I sensed what I thought was you, but it was one of the saviors. She started to control me and ordered to kill her." She looked over to Wallflower. "I'm sorry, Mother Earth. Please punish me." Lauren petted her and smiled. "You're not a bad girl, Milky. I can't be mad at you. We can talk about this later; right now, I need to send her back to her universe." She stood up and walked over to Wallflower, but froze as she saw Dash and Twilight. She could see 'her' taking control of them. "Hello, my student," she cried. "Hello teacher. It's nice to see you again, but there's no time. The last of the memories of the element are fading. Since you are here and seeing a version of Wallflower here, tell me the end is coming." They could see her nodding. "The true ending is near then. Happy another version of me could get further than I did." Lauren touched Wallflower. "Listen, dear, when you return home, return to Blitz as soon as you can! You only have one day left before Rainbow Sun Dawn comes, not two." Lauren could see how worried she was. "It's going to be okay. Just get back there and be by her side, please. Just don't let her fight alone, like," she said, looking at Twi and Dash, having a sad look on  their faces."...like in another story." Wallflower held on to her brown jacket and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't let that happen. Thank you for your help." Wallflower could feel herself getting teleported. "Good luck," both said the teacher and student. Wallflower opened her eyes and found herself on the beach, with Brishen shaking her. "LAUREN!? SPEAK TO ME!?" Wallflower pushed him off, asking what he was doing. "Oh shit! Wilma! You are back!? What happened!? Lauren sai-whoa!?" screamed Brishen as he was being pulled by Wallflower vines and tossed into the plant car, and she got in and droved off. "We don't have time, Lucy-" "-version is coming in one day. I know. Lauren told me." finishing Brishen, sitting up right in the car seat. "We can't stop for nothing. We must get to town and save everyone. But where is Lauren now?" "Don't worry, she's fine," said Wallflower as the car drove off into the distance. Lauren could see the two in the car as they drove away and opened her eyes, as everything returned to normal and time restarted but frozen. But Twilight and Dash were standing next to her still. "So, this is the new story, the new timeline." Lauren faced the two. "Yes, and this is the furthest we come to reaching 'her' and finding that true ending, the original, you and others told me the same thing, about when you saved those kids few years back. Tell me, before you disappeared, you said the person who came to your aid was wearing all white, correct?" Both girls nodded. Lauren couldn't help but smile. "...then it is 'her'. Just need to keep moving forward like always." She hugged the two and could feel her student's fading memories disappearing, long last, this version of her student can rest in peace. She heard Dash and Twilight asking what was going on, but Lauren closed her eyes and soon opened them. She was floating in the air, seeing Dash looking at the water and seeing the storm king symbol. The story was back on track once more. "Mother Earth?" whispered Milky, floating towards her. "Why are you here? Within the prime tree?' Lauren shut her eyes, and soon they found themselves over a snowy town. "Getting the prime mane six and all their friends. The end is coming, and everyone is needed for this final battle." She turned back and smiled, seeing all her daughters here. "This also includes all of you. If 'she' writes her version of the true ending, everything will end. Will you join me? Please?" All the girls nodded, and they could feel themselves being taken into the portal as they vanished. In the distance, Lauren could see the school and teleported inside, where she could see the Prime Equestria Girls in the school auditorium. Laughing as they wore funny outfits for a photo shoot. She couldn't help but smile, as she could sense the scattered elements within them, sensing her one last time. "She's gone. Only remains is her hope and spark." Lauren walked down the stairs and could see Rainbow from before, sitting and watching the girls having fun. Lauran walked over and sat with her. "Rainbow, I'm happy you listened to 'her' and are now helping us." Lauren could see her smiling but crying. "If everyone deserves a happy ending, then why did she deserve that sad ending? Dying while I lived? It wasn't fair—not to her. Why did it have to be her and not me? I wasn't as special or as cool as her. Why did I get the chance to live and her to die? What made me so special?" Lauren just sat there and held her. "Nothing. You're just another person living their life. You and her, everyone in both the multiverse and the Time-verse, There is nothing special about any of you." she smiled. "You are just as important as everyone here. All of you keep moving forward and following your own destiny, no matter the cost, no matter how scary, no matter how much pain. Everyone deserves a happy ending and a chance. That's all that matters. Now, stand tall, stand proud, and follow your heart and your future. Write where your stories go; maybe it will overlap with...'her'." She opened her wings, flew up, released white energy in front of her and a brown book with a gold unicorn on it, appeared. "...overlapping...with..." whispered Rainbow, taking out a dirty and old-looking object and holding it tight. "I'll make sure she finds that happy ending by saving her!" She could hear Mane seven yelling as they could see Lauren and her. She looked up, seeing the Prime Prism Window and within it was Equestria Prime. She smiled, seeing the old mane six, as they were watching Luster Dawn heading to Ponyville but stopping, as her and the others could see the window. Lauren forced open the closed brown book. "The end will come, but not right now. All of you are needed. Please help us. Everyone. Friendship is needed once more." End of Chapter 26 > Chapter 27: No Matter What Or Where, Friendship Is Always Magic > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Braver munched down a few cookies while watching Blitz freak out and walk back and forth. She could hear her talking about what she was going to say to Lucy when she finally woke up after fainting. "What I'm I going to say to her!? Oh god, she's going to freak out and hate me!" She finally stopped and looked over to her sister. "Braver, we got to leave! We can't be here!" Blitz transformed into her anthro form and was going to fly out the window, but Braver just grabbed her tail while still eating a cookie. Blitz rubber band back into the room and fell to the floor. "Sis, you can't leave now." Braver said, looking down at her and looking a little annoyed by Blitz's behavior. "You need to tell her everything, remember?". Blitz groaned in pain. "I know. I know. It's just hard to tell her the truth. What if she never wants to be around me?" Blitz eyes started to water as the thoughts of Lucy hating her and never wanting to see her ever again. Braver couldn't help but laugh. "Blitz, are you serious? You told me how much you and her are so close, like if she really cares about you. You don't have to be worried." She picked up Blitz and held her like a stuffed animal. "Besides, have faith; have faith in your friendship and your feelings. Trust in them; believe in them." Braver placed her sister down and fixed Blitz's messy hair. Blitz couldn't help but smile, as her sister's words really did give her confidence and trust. She knew Lucy wouldn't leave her; even if she did tell her everything, her friendship would not break—not even if they had feelings for each other. "Thanks, sis," said Blitz. "Anything for my little sister," replied Braver with a smile. They hugged, while Blitz spoke. "Glad you are in my life, sis. Even if you are a siscon and a klutz." Braver pushed her back and crossed her arms. "Hey!" she pouted. "I'm not a klutz! I haven't broken anything while I have been here! That's a new record!" she cheered, jumping for joy. Blitz couldn't help but facepalm and sighed. "Braver, I think it's more important to be upset at the former than the latter." Braver pouted again, as she still didn't understand the true meaning of the word siscon. She still think it meant great love for your sister and nothing more. She wanted to say something but didn't, as she could see Blitz lowering herself by Lucy's side on the bed and holding her hand while waiting for her to wake up. "Blitz, why don't you kiss her?" "B-Braver! Don't say something like that!" blushed Blitz, turning her head away. "That is not okay; you should know better." Braver tilted her head. "But it worked in that tale with sleeping beauty, so why can't it work for Lucy?" she asked, walking over and sitting next to her sister and still looking confused. Blitz facepalmed herself while shaking her head, and she couldn't believe her sister was such a blockhead. Even though she has shown how smart she can be, she still acts like a kid at times. "Braver, this is not some fairy tale story." Blitz replied, looking back at her. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I just thought it would be a nice idea." She looked at her legs, watching herself kick the air. She didn't speak for a good while, until she thought of something and asked Blitz. "Sis, how did you and Lucy meet anyway? You never told me the story." Blitz was caught off guard by her question and quickly answered it. "Oh, we just met in school. That's it," she said, all nervous. Braver narrowed her eyes at her, knowing there's more to it. "Come on, Blitz. There is more to that story; I know there is. Come on, spill the beans. Something happened that you don't want me to know about." Blitz turned her head and looked away. "Nope, nothing happened." "Come on, Sis! Tell me," begged Braver, grabbing Blitz and shaking her. "Tell me! Tell me!" "No, Braver!" yelled Blitz, pushing her away. "Sis, just tell me!" Braver tried to get closer, but Blitz kept pushing her back once more. "Braver, no." Blitz said, using her legs and keeping her annoying sister away. "But sis!" Braver was getting desperate to know, as her curiosity was driving her nuts. "You can tell me! We're family, aren't we? Tell me, please?" she asked, giving a cute and adorable puppy face, hoping Blitz would tell her. Blitz was starting to get tired of her sisters whining and begging, and it was annoying her. She just wanted her to stop and forget about it. "Braver, seriously. No." "Fine! If you don't want to tell me, then I'll ask Lucy! I'll wake her up!" Braver gave a creepy smile as her horn started to glow, making Blitz freak out and tackle her to the floor. "OKAY! OKAY! I'll tell you!" yelled Blitz. "YAY!" cheered Braver, hugging her sister and kissing her cheek. "Now tell me the story, please. I'll be a good sister and listen, I promise." She was being extra sweet and nice, giving a cute smile to her sister, who was blushing. Blitz sighed. "Alright." She got off her sister and sat down next to Lucy. "So, the first day of school was going normally..." 2 year years ago I was heading to school like always when I spotted Lucy. She was at the bus stop—not the school bus stop but the normal bus stop. She looked confused as she was wondering where the rest of the teenagers were. I stopped and asked her if she was lost. "Hey, are you alright? Are you lost?" "H-huh? Oh, yeah. I guess I am." She turned and noticed Blitz was a teenager like herself. "Wait, are you a student from Canterlot High?" she asked, looking surprised and hopeful. "Yeah," replied Blitz. "What are you doing here, and why are you alone?" She started to play with her fingers. "O-oh, well. This is the school bus stop, right?" She looked back up, seeing the town's bus coming and stopping. She was going to get on, but Blitz stopped her. "Wait, that's the normal bus, and it's going to take you nowhere near the school!" Lucy looked at her and then at the bus. "Oh...w-well. Thanks for telling me. I'm Lucy, Lucy Dawn." Blitz gave her a warm smile. "I'm Blitz; come on. Let's go." Blitz grabbed her hand, and they both walked together to the school, not realizing they'd been holding hands this whole time. Lucy looked at her and smiled. "Thanks, Blitz." Blitz smiled and held her hand a little tighter. "You are welcome, Lucy." They got to the school, and Lucy couldn't believe her eyes. Seeing such a huge school for the first time in her life, that wasn't just the spare room of her house being used for her home schooling. "Wow, this place is amazing!" said Lucy, looking around and seeing so many students in the courtyard who were hanging out before school started. Blitz just stood by her side and looked around too. She was trying to find her friends, Wallflower and Sunset, but couldn't find them. She suddenly felt being pulled, as Lucy kept holding her hand and walked up to the statue of a horse. "Oh wow! What a pretty horse! Is it some sort of mascot or something?" Lucy asked. "It's called Wondercolts and yup...well, it was the school mascot but the school is retiring it. So the statue is going to be taken down in a few weeks; my mother is pretty upset about it," replied Blitz, looking up at it. Lucy couldn't help but frown. "That's a shame. Why are they retiring it?" She looked over to Blitz, who just gave her a shrug as an answer. "Beats me; I guess it's getting old and stuff. My mom and her friends are not happy about it." Blitz said, looking back at the statue. Lucy could see how upset she was—not just about the statue but something else too. She was hiding something but didn't ask her; she figured Blitz would tell her when she was ready. "So, what's your schedule?" Blitz took it out and handed it to Lucy, who looked over it, and her eyes went wide. "We're in the same classes together!" She looked up and smiled at her. Blitz was also shocked, but gave her a smile. "W-wow. Guess it was fate that we met." Before they could speak any further on this, they could hear someone yelling for Blitz from inside the school. They faced where the yelling was coming from, and Lucy quickly hid behind Blitz as Sunset came running up to them. "Blitz! There you are! I thought you were inside, huh?" Sunset could see Blitz and Lucy holding hands. She narrowed her eyes and became very suspicious. "What are you doing, and who's the girl hiding behind you?" She got closer but stopped as Lucy took out a whistle and started blowing it. Everyone who was outside turned to them and wondered what was going on. "Help! Help!" screamed Lucy, making Blitz and Sunset very confused. "HELP! POLICE! RAINBOW COMET!" Blitz quickly covered Lucy's mouth and she smiled nervously at the gathering of students, even teachers. "She's okay! Nothing to see here!" Blitz pulled her inside, while Sunset followed them, still not liking seeing the two holding hands and acting strange. They entered the stairway, went to the lower floor, and finally removed her hand from Lucy's mouth. "What was that just now!? Screaming like that!?" Blitz whispered loudly, hoping no one heard them. "Sorry," apologized Lucy. "I was scared." Blitz gave her a confused look. "Scared? Why? Sunset is the nicest girl you can know!" she answered, not noticing Sunset blushing a bit. "S-Sunset..." Lucy looked over to her, looking up and down. "Nicest? She looks like a delinquent with that outfit! Leather jeans, the devil looking t-shirt, and those black boots! DEVIL WORSHIPPER!" She was about to blow her whistle again, but Blitz grabbed it, stopping and spooking her. Sunset laughed as she got closer to Lucy, making her hide behind Blitz again. "How is a rock band a fucking devil worshipping!? And I'm not a delinquent!" "Not anymore," corrected Wallflower, who spooked Sunset and Lucy because of her sudden appearance. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Anyway, nice to meet you. I'm Wallflower," she greeted, offering a hand to her. Lucy just stayed behind Blitz, looking a bit nervous, as she watched Sunset curse at her friend for always scaring her like that. "Where did she come from!?" whispered Lucy, lowering herself behind Blitz, who just laughed. "She was always here. She came along with Sunset...she just doesn't stand out that much." "Wait, you noticed her?" asked Lucy, pointing to the green-haired girl. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Blitz replied, looking back at her. "She's my friend too. Why wouldn't I notice the sweetest girl I know?" Wallflower blushed bright red when she heard that, while Sunset rolled her eyes. "Okay, Blitz. You're doing a little too much. Don't be so corny." Sunset said, walking closer and looking at Lucy, who was looking back. "Hey, nice to meet you. My name is Sunny Shimeren, but friends call me Sunset." Sunset reached out her hand to Lucy, who was looking back and forth at Blitz and Sunset. "Shimeren? Like a demon?" Sunset facepalmed herself, shaking her head and not believing this girl. Blitz just laughed her ass off, though, while Wallflower just smiled. "Why the fuck do you think my last name sounds like a damn demon!? It means shimmer, so nothing evil!" Sunset yelled, not believing this girl. "Sunny Shimeren, the demon," teased Blitz, laughing her ass off, until Sunset bopped her on the head softly, causing everyone to laugh but Lucy. Lucy could see how friendly the three were; it was like seeing her parents together. "You have really nice friends, Blitz. They're nice," said Lucy, giving her a smile while looking at the girls, but seeing Sunset's cold stare made her nervous. "Well, not all of them." "Trust me, Sunset is nice. Now..." Blitz turned to her and gave her back her whistle. "Why do you have a whistle?" Lucy took it back and held it in her hand. "I have to. It's from my parents; they are afraid someone will hurt me or kidnap me since I was homeschooled all my life." She looked up, seeing the girls giving her a sad look. She didn't know why. "What's wrong?" Blitz sighed. "Canterlot High isn't that kind of school, you know? Sure, there are school fights, but no one will outright attack you or even kidnap you." Wallflower walked over. "She's right, this school isn't dangerous, and you don't need a whistle to blow and scream for help." "I know, but..." Lucy was looking down. "I just want to protect myself, just in case." The girls could see that she was truly worried, until Sunset leaned on the wall and spoke. "So, why is a homeschooled girl like you doing here? Why now?" Lucy started to shake and shutter, which made Blitz put her hand on her shoulder. "I was sick of homeschooling and wanted to meet kids my age. I never had friends before," she answered, holding her whistle and looking down, feeling very shy. "I want to talk or socialize with others because of what Rainbow Comet said in that radio interview." "Oh yeah, I remember listening to that a few months ago! Where people called in and asked her questions," replied Wallflower, remembering. Blitz eyes widen, and her grip on Lucy's hand softens as she realizes who she is. She remembers being asked to do an interview for the local radio station and accepting it. She remembers all the calls that came in, all the normal things that people will ask a superhero, but she remembered a caller asking her something very different... -few months ago- "Okay, here's our next caller. who's going by "Luster.". You are on the air, sweetie." said the radio host, patching the caller in. Blitz, hope it wasn't another person asking why she didn't go with Super Horse or even SuperMare, since the latter is already taken in another universe and she didn't want to steal Flare's super hero name too, but of course, she didn't tell that. She fixed herself in the chair, waiting for the caller to speak, but could only hear a faint whisper, which had sadness behind it. "I guess the caller isn't there? Okay, next-" but the host was stopped as Blitz raised her hand, telling her to stop. "The caller is there. I can hear her voice." Blitz pointed to her pony ears, which had headphones with had duck tape on them, to keep them from falling off her head. "Go ahead, ask me your question again." Blitz knew no one could hear her, but she could, and her heart was breaking when she asked her question again. In a dark room, Lucy had her father's phone and was hiding under her blanket on her bed. "Do you have friends? Friends who love you and will always be there for you? Friends who will understand you and always protect you?" asked the small voice, who was shaking and was clearly crying. "What is it like? What does it feel like? I want to know...because I never had that." Blitz had to keep herself from crying, hearing such a sad girl asking her a question that no kid should have to ask. "Yes. I have friends, Luster. They love me and have always been there for me. They understand me, and even though I would always protect them, they will do the same for me. Being friends is one of the greatest gifts you could give to someone." Blitz answered with a sad smile, trying to cheer up the young girl. Lucy had tears falling down her cheeks, feeling the sadness but also happiness in the super hero's words. "What's it like? What does it feel like?" Blitz closed her eyes and held her chest. "It's like a spark. A little flame, small but big, can become bigger the more you feed it with the friendship you have. It's a wonderful feeling to know someone will be there for you. Someone who loves and cherishes you." Blitz could hear crying over the phone, and what she heard next truly broke her, as it was clear sign depression. "Why can't I have that? I want friends. I want them, but I can't. No one wants to be friends with a weird girl like me... I need to die. I shouldn't exist. I don't deserve to live." Blitz remembered her past and remembered herself saying those things, as she wanted to die for destroying her universe but was saved by her mothers and their alternate universe versions. She knew she had to do the same for this girl! "Don't say that! You don't need to die. You don't deserve to die. I don't care if you think no one wants to be friends with a weird girl! You should try!" Blitz couldn't hold back her tears and let them out. "...I was saved by wonderful group of people and taught me to keep moving forward. I didn't have to die. I didn't have to suffer in the darkness and live in it. I could... no, I can move forward, moving forward to a better future, a dawn for me to see and treasure. A new beginning," she wiped her tears and smiled. "Like I said about the spark, a spark was lit within me; the moment I met them, met my heroes, it was lit like a blazing fire; then, meeting my friends, the spark grew bigger and stronger, becoming a beautiful sun, a dawn filled with joy and love." Lucy was silent, still crying but feeling the sadness wash away. "So never give up." "But what if I fall? Fail in making friends?" asked Lucy, her voice sounding much louder now. "Friendship is like magic. So, if you fail, then try again, because that's the only way you can succeed, Luster. If you try, you will never fail. The magic of friendship will always be there and always help you." Blitz finished her speech, feeling like a real super hero, as she could hear the radio host crying in the background and the other staff members clapping. She even felt her phone vibrate going off, no doubt her mothers and aunts texting her as they're listening to her interviews. Lucy was shocked at the words and slowly smiled, sitting up in her bed and crying for happiness. "Thank you, Rainbow Comet. Thank you." Back in the present, Blitz looked at Lucy, who had her head down and was smiling. She was here, wanting to make friends. She's taking those first few steps into the world of friendship, thanks to her words. "So, that's why. Because of her inspired words to that caller, I decided to come to a real school. I wanted to know what it feels like to have friends, just like she said...t-to the caller." shuttered Lucy, her face turning a shade of red. Blitz looked at Sunset and Wallflower, who were smiling; she smiled back, then looked at Lucy. "You can count on me to be your friend and always protect you," said Blitz, holding Lucy's hand still. "Want to be friends? Right girls?" She looked back, seeing the two nodding. Wallflower nodded, giving a warm smile. "Of course. Lucy, we can be friends. It would be nice to have another girl in the group." Sunset nodded. "Yeah, welcome to the friend group, Lucy." "T-thanks!" Lucy shouted, crying happily and hugging Blitz, who returned it. Sunset looked away, feeling jealous. "Great and happy for you, but..." she pointed to the two. "Maybe stop holding hands? It makes you two look like more than friends." "W-what!? N-no way! We aren't together. You got it all wrong!" Lucy denied, backing away and waving her hands but stopping as Sunset burst out laughing, making her blush harder. "Just messing with you," the bell rang, making her step off the wall. "You two would be cute," teased Sunset. "SUNSET!!" Blitz yelled, blushing bright red. "So, Lucy. You can hang out with us after school, we can introduce you to the other two. They're older, so they don't go to school." answered Wallflower, ignoring Sunset and Blitz fighting. Lucy whispered okay and followed Blitz to homeroom, while Sunset and Wallflower waved them goodbye until their next classes. "Don't be jealous; they just met. It's a bad look." Sunset just grumbled, walking away and not saying anything. Lunchtime came, and Blitz showed Lucy the dining hall. Entering the line, taking the tray, and handing her one. They got their food and sat at the table. "Where is everyone?" asked Lucy, looking for the girls. Blitz took a bite of her pizza and explained that Sunset and Wallflower's lunch times don't match their own. She could see Lucy being a little upset about that. "Don't worry, we have a gym with Sunset after this, so just enjoy the food." Lucy looked at her food, held her cross, and started to pray. "Dear Lord, please bless this food. I thank you for the blessings you have given me today, the new friends, and the chance to live a better life. I am thankful for it all. Amen." Blitz was a little surprised; she didn't take her as a Christian, but remember her saying she was homeschooled and calling rock music the devil? That made everything click. She wasn't judging her, but she wondered how other students would react to her if she hadn't met her first. Blitz just watched her eat, which was odd. Like she took out a huge napkin with its own utensils and set the utensils out on said napkin, carefully putting them out, before grabbing them and eating...the pizza. Blitz had her head tilted, confused, and a little concerned. "Why are you using a fork and knife to eat pizza? You know its finger food, right?" Lucy shook her head. "My mom said pizza is not meant for fingers but for the knife and fork. It's how people eat it, the way it was meant too." Blitz wanted to argue but could see she was very serious, and that would be a losing argument, so she let it go and ate her pizza normally. She just hoped her other friends—well, mostly Sunset and Brishen—wouldn't pick on her for this, but she'll talk with them later. After lunch, Blitz and Lucy met up with Sunset, got dressed in their gym clothes, and joined the other students in the gym. Lucy and Sunset watched Blitz easily run around the lap in record time. The gym teacher stopped the stopwatch and was amazed by Blitz time, but he knew who her mother was. "Well down, Blitz, your mom must have trained you well. Dashiell must be proud of you!" "I'm sure she is, sir," said Blitz, feeling very proud. Lucy was also amazed by Blitz speed and listened to the two, then turned to Sunset, who was smiling. "I didn't know Blitz could run so fast!" she said, making Sunset turn to her. "She's a born runner, a natural athlete, and she wants to be like her mothers." When Lucy heard 'mothers', she became worried as she held her cross. "Mothers?" Sunset nodded, and Lucy could see a sad look on her face. "You heard the story, right? Dashiell was once a famous runner for this school and town, but she never went pro. I don't know why, but that's her choice. Anyway, Dashiell isn't Blitz's real mother. Blitz real mom died in an accident when she was still young. From what she told me, her real mom is like Dashiell, a great athlete, and they match each other in their speed." Sunset gave me a big smile. "Blitz wants to be like them, being a great athlete and having fun running and racing against others." Lucy let her go of her cross, feeling somewhat glad she had it wrong but also sad that Blitz had lost her real mother. She wanted to ask what happened to her father, but before she could, the teacher called her. "Alright, next! How about you, Dawn?" asked the teacher, looking at Lucy. Lucy flinched and shook her head. "Sorry, sir, but I don't do physical exercise." The teacher blinked and sighed. "It's just a lap. Come on, go," he waved her off, pointing to the other kids who were waiting. Lucy looked at the others and looked back, wanting to say no, but she could see Blitz cheering her on. Feeling her heart flutter and not understanding why, she started to run. "Wow, this is sad," smirked Sunset, watching Lucy poorly run, tripping over her feet. "Shut up," pouted Blitz, knowing full well what she was talking about. "She'll get it. I know she can; it just takes time." "Sure thing. Sure thing," grinned Sunset. As for Lucy, she was already feeling the pain in her lungs and legs. She couldn't believe it. Why was she doing this? Her father would do gym lessons but not make her run a full lap. The teacher yelled at her to run faster, and she did, trying not to trip even more. "Come on, Dawn! You can do it!" yelled Blitz, cheering her on, while other kids were just laughing. "Hey, what's the holdup, Dawn!? Come on, run faster! We're dying of old age here!" laughed a boy with his friends. "Shut up! Shut up!" she thought, tears in her eyes and her legs burning. "Just shut up and stop laughing!" "Oh my God, I've never seen someone this bad at running before," a girl with glasses said, laughing. "She's even worse than a fat kid. This is just pathetic!" Lucy wanted to cry; she wasn't new to this, but that didn't mean it hurt less. Her heart was pounding, her legs burned, her lungs were screaming, and her eyes were blinded by tears. She then tripped, falling and sliding on her face. She did end up crossing the finish line, but she felt the laughter and teasing behind her. She tried to stand, but her legs were weak and her arms were shaky. "Hey, hey, are you okay?" asked a voice. She looked up, seeing Blitz kneeling and smiling. "You did great." Lucy just sniffled and wiped her tears, feeling happy that someone was there for her...like she always wanted. She felt someone helping her stand up and looked, seeing Sunset. "You did great, like Blitz said. Just don't cross the finishing line like that again. This isn't baseball." She joked, making the two laugh. The teacher clapped and gave her a thumbs-up. "Not bad, but train a little more. So, keep it up; you could make a great runner someday." The teacher then turned to the other students and made the next person run. It wasn't long before everyone was done, and the teacher took everyone outside and told them to do whatever. Since it was the first day of school, he wanted them to have fun on the first day of gym. Everyone did their own thing, while Blitz dragged her friends to the track and field. Lucy watched her do a warm-up and stretch and was impressed by her skills. "You're pretty flexible. Your mom taught you?" Blitz looked at her while stretching her arms. "Yeah, mom said I was like her when it came to being an athlete. She said we're both born with it, which means we don't have to work hard on training, but if we don't keep at it, we could lose it." Lucy tilted her head. "That makes no sense." Blitz chuckled, getting up and patting the dirt off. "Trust me, it does. Mom used to tell me, We have to work on our skills or else we could get rusty." She clapped her hands. "OK! Are you two ready to race against me!?" Sunset groans and rubs the back of her head. "Sorry, you know I don't do running, remember?" Blitz looked upset as she heard her friend. "Sunset! Come on! You are good at running! Even my mom said so! Don't be a chicken and race me!" Sunset rolled her eyes and put her hands up. "Fine, fine. Let me stretch first. I'm not going to race without warming up first." "Fine, I'll give you 5 minutes to warm up." She turned to Lucy, who looked a little worried. "You too, start warming up!" "But you have seen how I run, and I don't know how to 'warm up' for running." Blitz just grinned. "I'll teach you," she said, getting Lucy's attention. "O-okay!" Blitz asked Sunset to join them, and she showed them runner warm-ups. "Let's start with heel to butt. Like this." She did the warm-up, showing them her front and then her back, showing how far the heel needs to go. Of course, Blitz was unaware that the warm-up was showing off her butt to the two, who couldn't look away. Sunset blushed as she wasn't listening to how this warm-up was a good start for warming up; she just kept looking. Lucy, on the other hand, was having trouble standing on one foot but was also looking at Blitz butt. She didn't know why she felt like watching it, as she started to feel weird as her cheeks were warm. She had felt this weird feeling before. Blitz finished and stood up straight, putting one knee on the ground and stretching her arms to side to side. "Now you guys try. Just go slow; you do not need to rush." Both nodded and started to do the same, with Lucy going slow and Sunset going a bit fast. It wasn't long before they were done and running on the track, and like the two knew it, Blitz was ahead of them and soon passed them, as she was already doing her second lap. Lucy was huffing and puffing, as she wasn't used to running and her lungs were starting to hurt. "Come on, come on. Don't give up," thought Sunset, trying to motivate herself, as she was tired, just like Lucy, who was far behind Sunset. Blitz did her final lap and watched and cheered the girls on as they crossed the finish line, seeing them drop to the ground and catch their breaths. She smiled and sat beside them. "Well done, girls, not bad. Not bad at all. I noticed you gave it all! My mom will be proud! My other mom will say something about "low-intensity training improves fat utilization, high-intensity running raises VO2 max, and high mileage promotes running economy." or something like that. Blitz laughed, but she could see the girls were surprised she said something so smart. "S-she always says that, mom, and I just kind of tune her out." "I swear, you really are a nerd deep down," said Sunset, getting up and punching Blitz in the arm. "Or Twilah just rubbing off on ya, maybe her smarts can turn you into the next smartest woman in the world. Who knows." "Hey! I'm smart," pouted Blitz. Both were going at it but stopped as they noticed Lucy rubbing her cross. "Are you okay?" asked Blitz, but she noticed she stepped back away from them. "Lucy?" "Your mom is the witch!?" Sunset quickly stood in front of Blitz, protecting her. "Fuck off! Are you one of those assholes!? Blitz mom makes great things; how is this witchcraft? How does a woman invent and make great shit like holograms and other super useful things, be seen as witchcraft!?" Blitz just stared in shock, never seeing this side of Sunset before. Lucy didn't flinch and just stared at her. "The witch makes the devil's work; that's what my parents say." Sunset was pissed and made a fist but didn't do anything. She was going to say something but felt Blitz pull her back. "It's fine, Sunny. Lucy, I'm sorry, but my mom's inventions aren't the 'devil'." Blitz replied with air quotes. "She's been doing good in the world. If you have a problem, we can talk it out." Lucy just held her cross and didn't reply, as she didn't know what to say. She backed up and prayed hard. Blitz slowly walked to her but stopped as Lucy held her cross out. "You need saving, Blitz! You shouldn't have two moms; it's wrong! A sin!" "Dude, the fuck are you saying?!" yelled Sunset, pissed off. Blitz put her hands up and spoke softly. "It's alright. I'm not mad. You're just saying what your parents say, right?" Lucy nodded, looking at the two, scared. "They don't know me. If they met me, I'm sure they would change their minds. But I doubt I can change their minds anyway. But know this, Lucy: you shouldn't blindly follow them and you should find out on your own. You should trust your own mind and not just others. You don't need to agree with them all the time. Trust me, it's okay. Now, come on. We're friends. You, me, Sunny, and Wallflower, we're all friends." She held out her hand, hoping Lucy would take it. Lucy looked at her hand and then at her cross. She could hear her father and mother telling her how the devil lies—that the devil would use trickery. She gripped her cross tightly and looked back up, seeing Blitz. She could see her smiling, but there was something else behind it—it was sadness. She was sad that her own new friend couldn't accept her and her family. Her heart started to hurt. She wasn't sure why, as she didn't understand this feeling. "...I...sorry..." Lucy was going to run away, but Blitz grabbed her hand. Lucy blindly swiped at her, hearing Blitz yelling in pain. She quickly faced her, seeing Blitz's hand bleeding as the cross somehow scratched her. Blitz held her other hand up, stopping Sunset from doing something, and Lucy backed away from them. "Lucy, wait! Stop! Come on! It was an-" "DON'T TOUCH ME, WITCH!" Lucy yelled as tears ran down her face, running away, leaving the two behind. "Sis..." whimper Braver, hearing how the story is going so far. She couldn't help but hug her little sister. Blitz won't lie; she needed it right now as she was remembering it all. She knew Lucy didn't mean it and that it was just an accident, but Lucy wouldn't see it like that. Blitz saw it on her face; she hurt a friend both physically and mentally. "Thank you, sis, but let me finish the story, okay?" said Blitz. Braver nodded and pulled away, sitting beside her. "So, after that, Lucy was avoiding us the rest of the day, and even when I tried to talk to her, she would walk away. It was after school that I looked for her, while the girls also looked for her for me, even though Sunset didn't want to, but I told her that Lucy is a good person, and I could see it. She couldn't say no after that. As I looked for her, I ended up standing in front of the statue in the courtyard. I was still a little upset about what happened and how the Wondercolts statue was being removed..." "Man, this sucks," whispered Blitz, touching the base of the statue and never realizing the surface felt like a mirror. "I wish you could stay for the rest of my school years here. I wanted..." She couldn't continue and sighed. She jumped up, sat on the base, and looked out, seeing other students leaving. "...I'm sorry." "Huh!?" Blitz heard the whisper; it was behind her, and she quickly jumped down and ran behind the statue, seeing a spook, Lucy, who tried to run, but Blitz yelled out to her. "I'm sorry!" "W-What?" "I'm sorry," repeated Blitz, walking up to her and noticing Lucy stepping back away from her. "I'm not going to do anything. I just want to say sorry. I shouldn't have grabbed you like that. You had every right to hurt me." Blitz touch her bandaged hand. "You shouldn't say sorry to me. I deserve it, so don't feel bad, okay?" She turned around to walk off but stopped as she heard Lucy's soft and hurt voice. "...why?" Blitz looked back at her. "Why, what?" "I'm the one who hurt you, saying those things, hurting your hand. Why are you putting all the blame on yourself?" Blitz smiled softly, looking away. "Because it's not like you wanted to hurt me; you did it because you were scared of me, scared of what I am." Blitz grabbed her bandage hand, clutching it hard, as blood started to leak. "I don't blame you or anyone who hates me or sees me as something evil. I deserve it; I deserve it all. I'm the devil. I'm a demon. I'm-" "No!" "Huh?" Blitz was caught off guard, seeing Lucy standing in front of her. "You're not! You have been nothing but kind to me. Even now, you are taking all the blame, so I wouldn't feel bad, even after what I did and said. It's not right. I was the one who hurt you and shouldn't be forgiven, so why are you apologizing!?" yelled Lucy, with tears running down her face. Blitz looked down and couldn't bear to look at her in the eyes, as she could hear voices, screaming, and... "Listen to me. Listen to us. You are a monster." She looked up, finding herself in a burning city—in her destroyed home and its burning garden. She saw a charred pony standing there, repeating what she said. "Listen to me. Listen to us. You are a monster!" she got closer, making Blitz remember the burn-charred flesh and the smelly burnt mane. "You are a monster! Listen to me. Listen to us! You are a monster!". Soon, a purple alicorn with a hole in her chest joined the charred pony and spoke as well. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Please! Don't kill me!". Blitz shut her eyes... "...because I'm the one who can't and never should be forgiven. Even my dead mothers would hate me if they knew what I had done to a friend," whispered Blitz, her voice filled with guilt. Still hearing her parents voices over and over... Lucy couldn't help but hug her, which was a shock to Blitz as she opened her eyes, seeing her but also the real versions of her mothers, smiling at her and fading away. "Don't say that! As someone as kind as you, you deserve to be loved and not hated by everyone." "..." "I'm not letting go until you tell me you will stop thinking like that." Blitz was taken back and couldn't help but smile a little, hugging her back and holding her close, as she didn't want to let go. Lucy looked up at her, giving her a sad look. "If I want to be a good friend to you, I need to be better. I need to accept you and your family. So...I'm sorry for everything." She let her go and held her bandaged hand, seeing the blood still leaking through. "If I want to be apart of your 'spark', a fuel to keep your spark ignited, I need to stop my fear of the unknown and start thinking and seeing things through my own eyes rather than what my parents and their beliefs told me." She took her cross off and stared at it. She threw it away and faced Blitz. "A real friend will be happy to hear you, to see you, and to know how much they care about you... I want to experience that, so please forgive me. I want to become better; I want to see you for yourself." "Lucy..." Blitz could feel something in her chest; it felt like a burning flame. She grabbed her chest, clutching it as her cheeks felt warm. Blitz realized what this feeling was as she became very nervous, not sure what to do. "I forgive you, so..." Blitz hurried where Lucy tossed her cross and quickly returned with it, placing it in Lucy's palm and closing it. "Even though your parents taught you their way of the church and what they believe is right, never give up on the church or its teachings. Like them, you should find your own way of 'his' message. So, keep believing, like they did, okay?" "..." Lucy smiled softly and nodded. "Thank you," she said, putting back on the necklace and staring at Blitz, feeling her cheeks getting red, both blushing. She watched as Blitz looked at the statue and had to ask her something. "There's something more, isn't there?" "Huh?" Lucy looked at the statue. "I noticed how you look at it, like you truly are upset that it's getting removed and something behind it like a lost treasure." Blitz smiled sadly. "Yeah, something like that. Well, the real reason is because my moms made a promise to each other in front of the statue. To always love each other, always be there no matter where they are, and always remember each other's names. The reason I want it to stay is because it's a part of their memories." Blitz, blush a bit. "Don't laugh! Many say I'm a tomboy, but even I like romance stuff, you know?" Blitz walked to the mirror-like surface of the statue base, touching it. "...I want to make the same promise and make the same memories for someone I truly love one day. So, I would like it if the statue stayed... I know, it's silly, but that's why I'm upset." Lucy smiled softly, walking up and joining her side. "I don't think so; it's actually romantic. I hope you will find that special person." She grabbed Blitz's hand. Blitz blushed even harder. "Thanks...". They both started to talk about their first day of school and how next day will be like, since they have art class the next day and Lucy admitted she's a great artist. As they spoke, Sunset and Wallflower could see them, but they noticed how Blitz was holding hands with Lucy and how both were blushing. Both girls felt pain in their chests as they looked at each other and back at the girls. They walked up to them, trying to act fine, as Sunset joked about them holding hands again. Causing the two to turn red and letting go, seeing their reactions didn't help the other girls, as their pain grew even more. "So, what happened to the statue? Did it stay?" asked Braver. "No, it ended up being removed weeks later, and months later, a new statue was placed. A boring one too, just a stupid horse shoe." explained Blitz. Braver sighed and shook her head. "Wow, that sucks." Blitz agreed with her. The two talk more about Blitz school life and other things, not noticing that Lucy was already wake and heard everything. Remembering everything on that day. She stood up, alerting the twins to her, and Blitz quickly got off the bed and kneeled down. She was about to touch Lucy's hand but stopped herself. "...I'm sorry. Sorry for lying to you for two year and making you hate me when I ditch our activities when I needed to be Rainbow Comet. I'm so sorry you had to see me like...'that'...nothing happened, I swear!" Blitz started to cry. "I know there's no excuse for the way I treated you or our friends, but I never meant to hurt you or them. I was scared. I thought I was going to lose you forever. I started to stress out, not wanting to hurt Sunny and Wilma; I just wanted to make them happy, even if it meant giving up my body to them. I just want to make everyone happy! Happy and not suffer like me or my sister!". Lucy could see the pain in Blitz's eyes, her pain, and her fear of losing her friends, which is why she did the things she did, all because she didn't want her friends to feel her pain and wanted to protect them, even at the cost of her own. But the thing is... "Blitz...back then...even now, what...happened? What happened in your life to make you like this?" Lucy softly grabbed her hand and held it. "What made you like this? Always giving, but never taking? Always helping but never wanting help? You always smile, but..." tears started to fall on their hands, as she was crying now. "I could always tell there was pain behind it. Even if you did hurt me and our friends, I was more mad that you weren't letting me help you or share your pain and sadness. I'm your friend. Friends are supposed to be there for each other, no matter what," she said, holding Blitz's hand harder and shaking now. "Seeing you like that was the lowest I had ever seen you. It broke my heart. Seeing you hurt the girls who care about you, who would die for you...made me feel like a horrible person for not being there for you sooner, to stop you and help you." She finally let go and looked up at Blitz, who was crying hard. She placed her hands on her chest. "Blitz. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, and how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you and the others are my friends, but with you, there's more. I kept it buried because of my folks, but seeing you...being you, always taking the hurt, so others can be happy. Your loyalty to our hearts, your kindness, and your strong will and courage—all these things—are the reasons I..." she smiled and blushed deeply. "I love you, Blitz. So, I'm asking you, please let me share your pain so I can help you move forward. Please.". Blitz placed her face first on the bed and cried, not sure what to do, as her whole body shook, feeling so many emotions. Lucy tried to calm her down, but even though she couldn't, she will never leave; she will always wait for her. Braver wanted to be there for her sister, but hearing and seeing Lucy's actions, she knew better. She shouldn't be here; it wasn't her place to help her sister right now; it was Lucy, the person who Blitz needed the most right now. She got up and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her. She sat down by it and just waited. She could hear loud crying sometimes; other times, it was Blitz hating herself; other times, it was her laughing softly. Braver just put her head on her knees and just listened to all the emotions that her dear sister finally let out rather than bottling it all up. Hours went by, it was noon and the door finally opened and Braver look up and could only smile at what she saw. "Sorry sis. I told her everything about us and who's after her, which is why it took so long." Braver stood and told her it was fine, as she looked down and see the two holding hands and Lucy resting her head on her sister shoulder, as Blitz rested her head on top of Lucy's. Both their eyes were red from all the crying. "You two look cute together." The two blushed and looked away, holding their hands harder, as they were glad to hear that. "So, you told her the plan that Sunset made, right?" asked Braver, feeling a little jealous and lonely. Not at Blitz but herself, not being around her own Dawn...the one she wanted to save so much. Blitz nodded and turned to Lucy. "Your evil, crazy version is coming in two days. Twilight is creating something to help, while we are using my mom's invention to combat her. I don't want to put you in danger, but you need to be the bait." Lucy just smiled. "I will do whatever it takes to keep you and your sister safe. I don't care what happens to me. You two shouldn't suffer anymore! I won't allow it! So, if I have to be bait, then fine." Blitz just hugged her tightly. "Lucy, I'll protect you, promise!" The two let go, and Lucy blushed as she replied. "Thank you, Blitz. By the way, tomorrow is the church fair. I know we shouldn't be doing this, but...I feel you and everyone else need it to have fun before I...'she' comes here. What do you say?" Blitz thought about it for a few seconds and answered her. "We could use a pick me up before the shit hits the fucking fan. I'm up for it and I bet the others are too." Lucy smiled but also told Blitz not to swear. Braver laughed, and soon, both twins said their goodbyes to her and flew away. Braver could only be happy, seeing her sister fly with so much joy. They landed and walked the rest of the way back home, but when they arrived, they could see a truck in the driveway. Braver had never seen it before, but her sister has, which made her hurry inside, and once inside and standing in the entrance to the living room, the twins could see them here, talking to Dash and Twilight. "Aunties!?" shouted Blitz, running up to the group that was quickly standing up to meet her and hugging her. It was her universe parents friends. "Hey, Blitzy!" smiled Penny. "Darling, sweetie! Where is your purple jacket!?" asked Rachel. "Are you doing well? Are you okay?" questioned Faith as she checked Blitz's face, as she could see her red eyes. They all let her go as AJ bear hugged her, then put Blitz back down. Then she put her hand on Blitz's head. "We're here. You should have asked us for help as well, your part of our family, you know that, right? sugar cube?" Blitz couldn't help it and started crying again. They all hugged her and just stayed like this for a few minutes. Twilight smiled and spoke. "Rachel told the others, and they have been thinking of ways to help and are here to tell us their plans and..." Everyone turned to them, seeing Twilight and Dash tears in their eyes as Twilight continued. "...to tell us how much they missed and loved you...just like our girls who love Braver just as much...no matter the universe or who we are, we will always be together. Our friendship will always be there. A never ending..." she couldn't finish, as she cried, while Dash held her. Blitz walked up to Twilight and Dash, hugging them and saying, "Spark...a spark that resides in the hearts of us all can transcend all boundaries and will always find its fuel, the very reason to become brighter. Friendship is magic, after all...Moms." Blitz felt the two hugging her back, and soon Braver and the girls joined in, giving the family the biggest group hug. After the family hug, Blitz told her aunties what was happening and how Lucy now knows what's going on. She turned to Twilight, who was measuring the girls as she was explaining everything and writing something down. "Okay! I think I can make an earth pony version and just copy the rest with Twilah nano machine device in the basement. Yes, this should work." Twilight grabbed Dash and hurried down the basement, and both soon returned wearing a device. Dash had machine looking wings, with wires going from the backpack and connecting to the gloves and boots, while Twilight was wearing the same device but had a helmet with a metal horn sticking out. "What are you wearing?" asked everyone in the room. Twilight and Dash looked at each and then back at everyone and turning the device on. Everyone was shocked to see Dash flying, then creating a cloud, and standing on it while Twilight just creating a nanomachine-looking shield and moving stuff in the room somehow. Twilight smiled and answered them. "A fighting chance!" In the realm of between, the multiverse rainbow tree shined brightly as the warm white water splashed on its giant roots. On said roots was Rainbow Dawn, whose eyes shot open and she smiled... End of chapter 27 > Ch.28: The Future Is Never Set In Stone, You Are Your Own Writer Of Your Destiny > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What the hell is wrong with my phone!?" shouted Brishen as he redialed the number, but for some odd reason, it kept saying the number was no longer working. He was about to toss it out the window, but he stopped himself, looked at Wallflower's phone, and it said the thing. "Even your phone!? Heck, I can't even get on the internet with them! It's like someone is trying to stop us from warning them or something.". Wallflower kept quiet as she kept driving and listening to her friend talk about their phones. She knew the reason, but she couldn't tell him why, as "she" explained to her back on the ship as she touched the ghost rainbow jackets. "Blitz? Is that you!?" questioned Wallflower, seeing a ghost-looking teenager girl standing between Dash and Twilight. The girl gave her a sad smile. "...is that my new name?" Wallflower walked up to her and slowly touched her, but passed through her, just like she thought. "Blitz, did you...like what I saw in that vision of you?" The girl looked down and noticed the brown jacket and touched it, and just like Brishen, she saw the visions. "I see, another me did the same thing. It makes sense; she must have seen those visions when she or one of her friends found those geodes of mine." She looked up at Wallflower and touched her cheeks. "A version of my Wallflower—less green but still the same. Listen to me, 'her' saviors are here in this prime universe of the prime human counterpart of the prime Equestria. This means they're here to stop you from returning to 'Blitz' side. My best bet is that Dawn tried to take 'her' on by herself and became a savior. Tell me, how far are you guys from facing Dawn and the other saviors?" She stopped touching her cheeks and waited for the answers. Wallflower had no clue what she was talking about, and the girl could tell by her face.  "The story has changed even more. Tell me, is Dawn safe? Was she captured?" "Lucy is fine, but another version of herself, looking like...'this'." she pointed to the girl's ears. "That's what Blitz and Braver told me about how she looks. Having pony ears but looking like me as a human. She wants to eat Lucy, then you and your sister, and restart the multiverse. She's coming in two days. I went with Brishen to get him his other universe counterpart powers, and I ended up here." Wallflower could see the girl looking worried. "You okay?" "...I never... I see. That's what the other me was saying. Damn 'you'." She closed her eyes, thought for a bit, and then opened them. "Listen to me; when you return home, 'she' will send her saviors to stop you, so if your phones aren't working or something, it's them. They're watching you, so while wearing this jacket, it will let you see the black seeds. So pretend you don't know they're there or they will fight you, and don't tell Brishen as well." Wallflower could see it, just like the girl told her. The plant car is covered in black seeds, and she could hear someone on the roof of the car. She hoped whatever was on the roof wouldn't do anything else, but if she had to, she would fight them and tell Brishen to head back to town on his own. She really hopes it won't come to that, but she knows better. On the roof of the car stood a very familiar figure as her yellow skin slowly cracked, revealing the darkness inside of her... In Equestria, before the events of the prism mirror window appeared, Tempest and her group appeared near the edge of the city and made their way to the palace. They were lucky, as the Ember group was doing their job in handling off Demon Shinning and Cadance, while AJ and her friends and their counterparts were somehow getting notice and pulling away most of the demon crystal ponies away from them. They reached the palace first, hurried up to the crystal heart pedestal, and found nothing there. "Was it destroyed?" whispered Starlight as she and the others looked around. Chrysalis looked at the floor and could sense something. "No, if it was destroyed, we'll see the fragments, but there's nothing. But I sense something. It was moved." "How do you know that?" asked Tempest as she and the others followed Chrysalis, whose white horn was glowing brightly. Luna stepped closer to Tempest, showing some pride as she spoke. "Well, when I and Chrysalis came to the empire a few years back, we discovered that her new form made the crystal heart stronger, like how the crystalling works. So I'm not shocked she could sense the heart now.". She turned to Chrysalis and cheered her on. "FIND THAT HEART! YOU ARE DOING GREAT!". Tempest was a little confused by how Luna was acting. She turned to Chrysalis, who was somewhat blushing as she whispered 'Thanks', and it clicked in her head. "I never noticed those two were...well, it explains why they were so close over the last few years," she thought, being happy that the two were together. "So, Chrysalis, are we close?". Chrysalis pointed to the burning, destroyed dome building that was near the palace. "It's in there! Let's hurry!". They rushed inside and could see everything in flames and ruins. Chrysalis lowered her head, placing her horn near the ground, and quickly followed the magical trail, with the others behind her. It wasn't long before they came across a tip-over statue of Princess Amore. They could see a hatch under it. "It's down there!" Everyone used their magic to move the statue and open the hatch. Once open, they could see stairs leading deep into a cave tunnel. They entered it and climbed down the stairs and into the tunnel. The tunnel had crystal gem stones embedded into the walls, and the crystals shined brightly, lighting the way. They reached the bottom of the stairs and could see a massive door, which Chrysalis opened with her magic, and the group entered the room, where they could see a huge white crystal. Standing on top of the pillar was the crystal heart, but they could see two unicorns on the ground and hurt, as they were at the base of the pillar. They quickly knew who it was and hurried to them. "Sombra!? Radiant Hope!?" shouted the group as they helped the two up. Tempest could see they were badly hurt, and around the area were black marks. Clearly left by powerful magic, she turned to Sombra and asked. "What happened?" Sombra just looked up at the crystal heart, and the group looked as well, and they could see someone standing near it, confusing everyone here. Starlight stepped forward and asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "...Rarity? Is that you?" but Luna pushed her back and protected the group, as she knew who this was. The dark anthro Rarity smiled, raised her hand over her mouth, and started doing an evil noblewoman laugh that sent shivers down everyone's spine. "OHHHHHHH-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! Oh, Starlight, Luna, and everyone else. It's wonderful to see all of you again, even if it's another version of my once-alive friends." She jumped down, and her dark mist slowed her down and carefully set her on the ground. Luna's eyes glowed bright white and she spoke with rage. "Nightmare Moon! You are in control of this Rarity from another universe!? Are you working with that human-looking mare from before? The one who stopped Dashie and Twilah from going home!?". Nightmare Rarity summoned an evil-looking throne and sat down, creating a tea set that appeared in her hands. "Please, call me Night, as it will make it easier to talk." She poured the tea into her cup and held it. "By the way, darling, don't you dare compare me to that weak darkness! The foolish shadow thought she could control me, but she was dead wrong!" She started to sip her tea and snap her fingers, which created a huge mist in front of them, steeping out where... "Twilight!? Rest of the girls!?" shouted Starlight, as they all could see anthro versions of the girls, walking out and having locks around their cracking bodies with chains. They all could see the cracks and the darkness inside the girls, almost like they were zombies. Night just laughed and stood up, walking past her girls and showing them off. "Do you like my mannequins? I made them myself." She walked over to Twilight and stroked her cheek. "They tried to save me; they really tried. So hard, they put their trust in me and believed in me. But I couldn't do the same, not when my spark is dead and gone, not when I can't even believe in myself." She snapped her fingers, and the girls hugged her, and they opened their mouths, and echoes of the past came out as their mouths just hung there, opened. "Rarity, you can fight it. We believe in you!" said Fluttershy. AJ spoke next. "Come on, Rare. Fight it! You are stronger than this!" Pinkie was next. "Stop Rarity! Look what you are doing to our friends! To everyone!" Rainbow Dash started to cry as she spoke. "I'm not giving up on you, Rarity! But I'm not letting you get to Twilight and Luna! Even if you have transformed everyone here, I won't let you get near them.". Dash slowly turned to Twilight and just looked at her. Twilight was the last to speak, as Night hugged her harder. "Luna no! Oh, Rainbow, not you too. Rarity! Please listen to me! You can fight it; we believe in you! Don't give into the darkness! Fight it, please! Don't destroy our world.". Night closed her eyes and spoke softly. "Don't you get it, Twilight? I'm already dead. The only thing keeping me going is my last hope with our dear master—changing my ill-fated ending. I'll save you girls from this." She snapped her fingers, and all of her friends screams could be heard, and Night just laughed as the screams were music to her ears. "Wow, she lost it," whispered Chrysalis, feeling kind of creeped out. Tempest turned to Sombra, who somewhat finally stood up and was ready for battle once more. "What happened here? Why are you two here?" Sombra turned to her and answered her, while Radiant stood up and went next to him, helping him stand. "We found all the shards of Princess Amore, and we were going to ask Cadance if we could use the heart to revive her, but then some fire demon attacked and infected everyone here. We took the heart and headed here to revive the princess, and maybe she, with the heart, could undo everything, but then...". They all turned to Night, who was on an evil-looking couch as her 'friends' fed her grapes. Night took notice and smiled. "That's when I came in. Stopping them, as it was requested by our master, Changing the past, so you don't revive Amore, who becomes a huge thorn to our master plan, as she helps someone in the future." She once again snapped her fingers, and all the black shards that Sombra and Radiant Hope collected appeared and slowly formed into a black crystal statue of Amore. With her magic, she took the crystal heart and placed it near Amore, and soon, the heart started to shine. Everyone watched as Princess Amore finally returned and looked confused, but before she could do anything, a magical black beam blasted her back, as Night was the one who unleashed the beam with her horn. "NO!" screamed Sombra and Radiant, watching their princess fall to the ground. Her crystal body slowly showed a burning-like effect as it went across her body. She looked up at them and gave them a warm smile. "Sombra, remember, you have the power to change it. It's not too late to choose your own destiny. Don't let fate rule you; write your story. Only you can make the future that is your own. And for you, Radiant...H-Ho...p....". Amore stopped talking as her body turned solid white and slowly fell apart as ash. Sombra and Radiant slowly walked to the ashes, and they knelt down and looked at it as Night just laughed at them, not caring that she had just killed Princess Amore, and started clapping. "What a wonderful show! The princess's last words were such foolishness. Are you really thinking you can escape fate? Ha! There's no such thing; we're all doomed to have sad endings. We can't escape it, no matter what. The only way is to let our master write the true ending, and then we'll truly be free! Free from sadness, free from the pain of losing our friends, free from everything that brought us down, and free from fate, as every book burns away into nothingness." She stood up from the couch and watched as Sombra was filled with burning rage and charged at her. "So much rage against me! How cute. It will do nothing to change your fate though." Sombra unleashed all the magic he could, and it did nothing to Night, as she easily dodged them or her friends took the hits, and with a wave of her hand, a black chain wrapped around Sombra and pulled him close to her. "I have seen every universe and every story of your life. It all ends the same way: you die, becoming a monster, or you become good but still die as a monster. There is and never was a happy ending for you. Not when fate has ruled it. But you don't have to worry about that; you'll be free soon enough." Night summoned a black seed and forced it into Sombra's chest, causing him to scream in pain. "SOMBRA!" shouted Radiant as she tried to run to him but was stopped by Tempest and the others. Sombra started to glow black, and his body started to crack and release black mist. Night tossed him towards the group and watched as Radiant Hope ran to his side, crying. "What did you do to him!?" She shouted, looking at him and seeing the cracks in his body, as it looked like he was broken glass. "Nothing. I simply sped up his fate." She sat down on her couch and watched as Sombra slowly turned into a mist monster. "Sombra! Fight it; you did once before! Do it again!" cried Radiant Hope as her tears hit his cracked face. "It's no use, darling." She sipped her tea and spoke with boredom. "He was always meant to become a monster and be destroyed in the end by you. There's no second chance or happy ending. No moving forward and seeing a better tomorrow. We're all going to die; just accept it and become free of this horrible fate." Sombra just cried, feeling the darkness taking control, and with a small smile, he spoke. "Radiant Hope, I love you...". Radiant looked at him and smiled. "I love you too, Sombra. Please don't forget it, no matter what you become." She had to let him go and watch him become a dark shadow of a wraith unicorn monster. She quickly returned to the others and took a battle stance with them, ready to defend themselves against him. Night had her friends hand her a bucket of popcorn and use AJ as a foot stool. She got all comfortable and enjoyed the show, as the wraith was about to attack the group. "And now, let the final scene begin...". Radiant could hear her and couldn't help but scream at her. "You think this is just a show!? You killed my princess and turned the love of my life into 'that'!! This isn't a damn play! These are real lives; don't you feel anything!?" Night looked at her, started to eat a few popcorns, and spoke with annoyance. "I hate when new characters appear and all they do is nothing but talk and nothing else. Can't you just shut up and let the finale begin?" She tossed a piece of popcorn into the air and caught it in her mouth. "This isn't our Rarity, everyone! Or the nice Sombra we once knew. We have to beat him and then take 'Night' down!" ordered Tempest, her horn giving off magical energy as she's ready to fight. Starlight was shaking in fear; she didn't know why, but Night was freaking her out. "How did version of Rarity become this monster!? It's just wrong!" Luna glared at Night as she spoke. "You weren't around when it happened, friend Starlight! Friend Twilight and her friends were having nightmares for a week, until friend Rarity was kidnapped and taken to the Nightmare Dreamscape. 'Nightmare Forces' were behind it and corrupted her, becoming Nightmare Rarity, but since Nightmare Moon was still inside of me, it was a weaker version, and in the end, we saved her, but...this twisted alt version of friend Rarity, no doubt, wasn't saved, but the real question is, where did she come from? Like that other human-looking mare, and who do they serve!? This all must be connected somehow." Chrysalis rolled her eyes and sighed. "We don't have time for questions; let's fight and win, then figure out the rest after." She blasted Sombra, but it just passed through him, like magic wouldn't work against him. "Well, this isn't good; anyone have any other ideas? Because if not, we're all going to die. Yep, we're going to die. Yep, yep, yep!" "Calm down, Chrysalis." Tempest ordered, as she was thinking and trying to come up with something while dodging Sombra charge attacks and then his smoke blasts breath. "Radiant Hope, will the crystal heart even work on him again? Because he's very different now, not like he was before. I don't think the crystal heart can do anything about this." "I don't know; it might, but I'm not sure. We can try, but..." She created a magical barrier, deflecting a stream of smoke, before he charged at her, breaking through her shield, but was saved by Luna, who tackled Sombra into the wall and flew back to her. Her and Luna turned to Night, seeing the crystal heart being held by Rainbow Dash. "We have to fight Night and her...friends." Luna agreed and was going to face off against Night, but was tackled by Sombra and crashed into a wall and into another cave section. Chrysalis screamed Luna's name and quickly ran to her aid, leaving Radiant and the others alone with Night and her friends. Night groan and stood up, still eating the popcorn. "I hate getting my hands messy. Oh, wait, I don't need to. Girls." Dash tossed the heart towards Night, who caught it and sat back down, while her friends charged at the three, using some kind of shadow chain, trying to capture them. Starlight, Tempest, and Radiant dodged, and Tempest used her magic to break the chains and tried to blast the girls, but they didn't flinch from the attack and continued forward. "Tempest, how can we beat them? Magic doesn't work against them, and our strength is useless too! What do we do!?" cried Radiant Hope as she barely dodged Dash's kicks. "I'm not sure! I have never seen anything like this! It's like their undead! Maybe..." She dodged Applejacks punches, jumped over Pinkies tail swipes, and tried to think. "Maybe we have to destroy them? It's all we can do." Radiant was going to respond but was kicked into the wall by Dash, who started to walk towards her but stopped as she started to shake. Starlight created a barrier, protecting herself from Twilight and Fluttershy attacks as they were bashing the shield with their chains. Starlight couldn't believe her friends, even if they were from another universe, could become undead slaves, and Rarity could become a monster. She turned to Night and shouted at her. "We'll save you, Rarity! Don't give up! You can fight it!" "Oh, you can save me, huh? What a stupid idea," said Night, eating the last popcorn. Starlight closed her eyes, trying to keep her shield from being destroyed. "Not just me, but the others here as well! Twilight and you and the others, you all saved me! You can be saved too!" She opened one eye, seeing Twilight and Fluttershy clawing at the cracking shield. "All of you!". Night couldn't help but laugh at her. "Don't make me laugh; it's useless. Even if I did change, I'd just go back to what I was before; there's no happy ending. My friends are gone forever; there's no happy ending waiting for me." Starlight dropped to her knees, sweating heavily as she could feel the shield giving way, and with a smile, she spoke. "You are wrong; there's always a happy ending. It's just a matter of whether you let yourself have one or not. We'll save you, Rarity, you'll-UGH!?" It happened so fast that she could not even register what had happened. Night blasted through her barrier and had her by her neck. She could see Night's eyes glowing with pure darkness. "Save your speeches, you are wasting my time; you sound like that foolish girl! Always going off about how everyone deserves a happy ending and second chances—it's disgusting! Don't you get it!? Fate has already decided your ending. There's nothing you can do; it's too late! The only way to escape the sadness and pain of reality is to let it all go and become free! Let our master write your fate and walk down that same path together, to the true ending. We can finally be free from everything!" Starlight coughed, trying to breathe, as Night was slowly crushing her neck. "We're all dead, darling. It's better to accept it and move on; don't fight it and join the winning side. Just like your daughter did, by helping our dear friend, Rainbow Sun Dawn." Night sighed, remembering her fellow teammate. "Rainbow Sun Dawn, that love stick girl went against our master wishes, but in the end, she's doing what she was made to do by ending your daughter's little crush. Tell me, how does it feel? Raising a monster, a monster you created by not loving her?" Starlight looked into her eyes as Night spoke, and with a small smile, she responded. "I did love her! She's my child, and I raised her with love and care. She wasn't a monster and still isn't a monster, no matter what you or other say." Night laughed with pure madness and shook her head. "That's so adorable and stupid. I thought I told you to not waste my time!" She slammed her into the ground, put her face on Starlight's face, and spoke with an evil-sounding tone. "Don't fool yourself. I have seen other timelines and other stories where you never loved her and she went on to be an evil unicorn, just like you. In some cases, she destroys Equestria; in others, she gets killed by you or by your friends. All because you never showed her any love or care. So don't you lie and tell me you loved her and she was not a monster, because the truth is, you're the monster for never loving her. Look what happened to this universe! She was going to destroy Braver family and then break Braver's mind. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree—well, another tree, since she's not really your child." Starlight started to cry and could hardly respond to Night, as Night's words were cutting deep and hitting hard. "S-she isn't a monster...she isn't a monster..." she kept saying it, hoping to believe it herself, but deep down, she didn't. She let it all out, crying, feeling like a failure and a horrible mother. "You are right, I'm a monster for not loving her at first. Maybe if I loved her more and had been a better mother, none of this would have happened." Night looked at her with boredom and rolled her eyes before slapping her across the face. "Are you done? Because you're so annoying, it's giving me a headache and making me want to kill you myself. But that's not part of the story." She stood up and walked back to her couch, but stopped as she heard Starlight continue to speak. "But according to what AJ told me, I have to face the honest truth and take responsibility for what I did. When this is all over, I need to apologize to Dawn, my daughter. Apologies for not loving her, not being her mother, or being a good one. But no matter what, I'll always be her mother, and even if I'm not there for her, she's not alone." She stood up and smiled. "She was never alone, as Braver was at her side and loved her greatly. Braver kept her in the light and never gave up on her, no matter what. I believe in Braver for saving my baby girl! She deserves a happy ending and a second chance in life! No matter what, she's not a monster, not to me or Sunburst! Not even to Braver and her friends and parents!". Night slowly faced her, her face filled with pure anger and hate. "SHUT UP!!! JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!!!" Her body became completely black, took the form of a giant, pitch-black shadow monster, and fired a dark beam at her. Tempest tried to teleport to Starlight but was punched in the face by AJ. She watched in horror as the beam almost hit Starlight when suddenly a flash of purple light, a bright explosion, knocked Night back and sent a huge gust of wind at the girls, blasting them all away from Tempest and friends. They all turned, seeing a large mirror-looking shield in front of Starlight as it protected her from the beam's blast. Night realized who the shield belonged to as she summoned her friends back to her side, giving the heart that had been floating behind her the whole time to Dash, who took it but was still shaking. "So, you found your way here? Still using that oversized mirror, I see. I wonder why you didn't come here with your precious leader and the rest of your friends. Don't tell me, the mirror doesn't let more than one person on at a time." She giggled, knowing full well that was the case, and seeing the white Alicorn mare in front of her made her very annoyed, as the Alicorn face had no expression or emotions. "My friends are busy at the moment, dealing with your teammates, the other saviors. I would help them, but this is something I have to do on my own." Night groaned and rubbed her temples, getting a headache, and spoke with annoyance. "This is such a stupid thing, and it's so annoying. Can you please just leave me alone, you hollow soulless doll? You have no purpose or soul; there's no reason for you to be on 'her' side from the start! You should be on our side! Why!?" "Because I made a promise." The Alicorn walked towards her, with the white mane flowing in the wind, and the shield disappeared and reappeared at her side, but much smaller, as a ghost version of herself appeared within it. "A long time ago, I made a promise that I intend to keep and fulfill, no matter what the cost or consequence." She slammed the shield down and glared at Night. "Even if my fate is sealed, I still believe in 'her'. I believe in my friend and her belief in a better tomorrow for everyone. So, prepare yourself, you twisted version of my old dear friend. You will be stopped, and I will personally make sure of it." Night glared at her and summoned her friends to her front as she prepared herself for combat—until she saw the crystal heart be tossed to the Alicorn, who grabbed it with her magic and tossed it over to Radiant, who caught it as well. Night furiously summoned Dash Chain and pulled her towards her. "Still disobeying me, little Dashie!? Do I have to put you in your place again? I can make sure you never walk again after what you did." She pointed her hand at Dash, firing her magic, but was quickly deflected as the mirror shield flew between them and blasted her in the face, making her scream in pain. "You shouldn't ignore me," said the Alicorn with no emotion. "Now, it's time to end this. Radiant, use the crystal heart, and save everyone here!" She charged and pushed through Night's friends and tackled Night herself into the crystal pillar, causing it to crack. Both ladies glared at each other, one filled with pure rage and the other with no emotions or expressions. "It's over, Night." "Over? HAHA! That's funny!" Night grabbed her and slammed her into the crystal, and now she was the one doing the pinning. "Why do you have so much faith in her!? She's just a foolish young girl, filled with stupid dreams and thinking everything will work out! She's the worst kind of person, a foolish liar who speaks false words, you know that!?" The Alicorn could feel the crystal cracking and breaking, but ignored it and glared at her. "What you call foolishness, I call hope. I hope for a brighter tomorrow and a new future where no one will suffer or cry. She isn't a liar or a fool; she's a blazing spark, a bright, shining light in the darkness. The light that will shine on everyone, giving them hope and a will to fight, a will to believe, a will to dream, and the will to never give up, to keep moving forward. She is my best friend, and I will fight for her." "Shut up!" She slammed her repeatedly into the pillar, and as it started to shake and break, the cracks were becoming bigger. "You think she can save us!? Huh! Don't be stupid; there's no saving anyone or anything! We're all fated to suffer! Look at me!? I became THIS and turned my friends into walking puppets! You really think I can be given a second chance!? NO ONE GETS A SECOND CHANCE; WE ALL SUFFER AND FALL TO THE DARKNESS; THERE IS NO SAVING ANYONE OR ANYTHING, NO MATTER WHAT!" She kept slamming her until the crystal finally cracked and broke. Night was panting and looked down at her, as she could see the Alicorn smile for the first time ever. "Just like my old dear friend, thinking she couldn't be saved, my Rarity is like you, thinking the same thing, but both of you are wrong. Everyone deserves a second chance and can be saved. I'll give her that happy ending, and same with you." "You talk too much, now die!" She threw the Alicorn to the ground and stomped her head in, hearing the cracking sound, but it wasn't the Alicorn head that made that sound; it was the mirror shield, as its surface crack and started to leak out white mist. Soon, a voice spoke as the Alicorn reflection, without a horn, appeared in the mirror. "The only one who talks too much is you, darling." The shield blasted out the white mist, making Night stumble backwards and seeing a white shadow pony helping the Alicorn up. Night unleashed her shadow to match the white shadow. Soon, Night summoned her friends to her side, as they became surrounded by dark dead trees and glitching prism effects.  Radiant and the others ran up to Dash, who was still on the ground, and turned to them, smiling before she disappeared along with Night and the White Alicorn, as the dead trees and glitching prism effects ingulfed them and vanished. They wanted to thank her, but it was too late, as they were alone now. They quickly heard a noise and turned to see Luna being tackled back into the cave by Sombra, with Chrysalis on top of him, punching her hooves on his back but getting tossed off as Sombra suddenly stopped and stared at Radiant and the crystal heart. He roared, smacking Luna away, and charged at them. "MOVE!" shouted Tempest as three teleported away, dodging the charge attack and making him slam into the wall. They reappeared together, and stood next a beat up Luna and Chrysalis, who were helping her up. "I'm guessing you girls took care of that, Rarity?" asked Chrysalis, not seeing Night anywhere. "We'll explain what happened later; right now we need to save Sombra! Radiant, hurry! Use the crystal heart!" ordered Tempest. "Right!" Radiant raised the crystal heart high above her head and closed her eyes. Her body started to glow as it became crystal-like, and her spirit filled the heart with hope to banish evil, but the light went dim. Radiant could sense it; she opened one eye and was filled with worry. "I'm not enough to use it! I need the rest of my people to truly activate it." "Well, that's great; you can't use it, so now what!?" shouted Chrysalis, looking back, seeing the enraged Sombra charging at them once more. They all teleported away and reappeared in different places, trying to lure him away from Radiant as she tried to figure something out. She suddenly realized she was near the ashes of Amore, she touched them, and cried.  "Radiant Hope..." spoke a faint voice, making her look around. "Who said that!?" "Radiant Hope, don't cry. You can still save our people. Follow your destiny, the destiny you saw long ago." Radiant closed her eyes, remembering the Crystal Faire and how the heart showed her and Sombra their future. Him being a monster and herself being a princess. She shook her head in disagreement. "No! I won't follow that destiny! I refuse! Sombra won't become a monster that I will slay, and I won't become a princess for doing so; there has to be another way, a different future." The ashes flew around her, and the voice spoke once more, as it was Amore spirit that was speaking to her. "That's the thing, sweetie. What you see is only a small part of a future. It doesn't mean that's your or Sombra's real destiny in the end. Follow the destiny you see now, but make it yours; shape it into what you want and believe in. The crystal heart showed us a possible future, not a predetermined fate. If you can change and adapt the story, it'll change as well and lead you to the ending you desire." Radiant could sense the heart showing her future. There are many futures with different outcomes, but none of them truly belong to her. The only one to truly write her story and where it goes was her. She stepped forward, and a path appeared to the unknown. She walked down it, and a white flash appeared, blinding her. She opened her eyes and was face-to-face with a young orange Alicorn mare, but her horn and wings were see-through. Radiant screamed and flew backwards as she realized she had crystal wings now. This also caused the young Alicorn to scream as well. "WHAT'S WRONG, MS. HOPE!?" asked the Alicorn as she watched Radiant fly across the room...badly and crash into the pillows that she was once sleeping on. "WHERE AM I!?" screamed Radiant, looking around the room, which looked like a small study room. "WHAT'S HAPPENING! WHO ARE YOU!?" "Ms. Hope, calm down! You're in your home, remember?" The Alicorn walked up to her and helped her up. "You just had a nightmare, and you were screaming and thrashing, so I came in to check up on you." "What!? But...but I was going to save Sombra, then there was this evil Rarity...and-and-and." She spoke with a heavy breath, not understanding what was going on, and was in complete shock and panic. The Alicorn rubbed Radiant back and gave her some water to drink, making her calm down. She took a deep breath. "You must have had a very bad nightmare, Ms. Hope. Do you want to talk about it?" Radiant thought about it and realized this could be the future she was shown, as the Alicorn looked at her with care and love. "Who are you?" she asked, wanting to know if the Alicorn was someone daughter like Celestia. The Alicorn looked worried now and told her name. "It's me, Sunny! Sunny Starscout! I was ordered by my teacher to learn what happened in the Crystal Empire four hundred years ago. Please, can you tell me, What happened to the Crystal Empire on that day known as 'SunFall'?" Radiant could only stare at her in shock and disbelief. Was this her future, or was it another one that the crystal heart was showing again? She doesn't know, but she needed to know. She hurried out of the room, with Sunny close behind, as she was asking where she was going. Hope didn't answer as she kept running through the small house and exiting it to see how much the Crystal Empire had changed. The palace is still the same, but now there are tall buildings everywhere, blocking the landscape of the empire. The sky is blue, with a few clouds here and there. She turned around and could see what Sunny told her—her small little house, surrounded by those tall buildings. It was a strange sight for her, as it was something she had never seen before. "Ms. Hope, are you alright? What's going on!?" asked Sunny with worry and concern. Hope ignored her question and asked her own, as she needed to know and be certain of this. "Sombra! What happened to him? What happened here!? What are these tall buildings...and..." She could see what looked like wagons but moved on their own without a pony driver pulling them. Heck, she could see ponies and other creatures walking by, holding something in their ears, and talking. Sunny slowly walked up to her, trying her best to calm Hope down. "Ms. Hope, I don't know what's going on, but please come back inside and we can talk. Please, you are scaring me." Radiant was scared herself, as everything was too much for her. She needed to think and clear her head, so she agreed and followed Sunny back into the house, following her to the living room, where she saw a large flat box on the wall, which Sunny turned on with a black device. She could see ponies talking about the news before Sunny switched it to a channel with a fireplace. Radiant walked up to it, touching it but not feeling any heat from it. "Sit down, and we can talk." Sunny smiled and sat down on the couch. Radiant joined her and looked around the room, seeing photos she never remembered taking and ponies and creatures she had never seen before. "This is too weird," she muttered, not understanding anything that's going on. "What do you mean?" asked Sunny, wondering what she meant. "Nothing; just tell me where Sombra is and who and why you are here." She asked, knowing this might be her future or a possible future. "Sombra? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time," whispered Sunny, looking a little sad. "Sombra, your husband, passed away almost 300 years ago. I read books on him, a great unicorn who redeems himself and helps Flutterheart's son and granddaughter be great leaders, Ms. Hope." Sunny could see her crying, and she rubbed her back, trying her best to comfort her. "It's okay. I know he meant a lot to you and still does. It's hard losing someone you care deeply about." Sunny used her magic to take a photo off the wall and showed it to Radiant. Radiant wasn't crying about Sombra's death, but that he lived happily with her and wasn't slain by her like she saw in the crystal heart visions of the future. She took the photo and could see him and herself being happy. She turned to the window and looked up at the sky. "He's okay. He's okay," she whispered, crying with a smile. "Do you want me to leave?" asked Sunny, standing up but stopping by her. "No, please tell me. Who are you? Why are you here?" She asked, putting the photo down. Sunny smiled and answered her weird question. "Well, like I said, my name is Sunny, and I'm a student with my teacher. My teacher is teaching me about Equestrian history and wanted me to visit each kingdom and learn about it in person rather than by looking it up on a computer or phone. My friends are here as well, but as tourists. We've been staying here for a few days. You suggested that I stay with you when you face time with my teacher and wanted to help me. My teacher highly suggested I take your offer, so I did. Don't you remember that? Are you sure you're alright, Ms. Hope?" Radiant lied by nodding, and asked a question. "Who's your teacher?" Sunny had a big smile as she answered but was also a bit confused by the question. "She's the best teacher ever! She's so smart and kind that she even helped me and taught me a few friendship lessons. Her name is-" Radiant cut Sunny off, as she believed who it was. "Princess Twilight, correct?" but when she saw Sunny's happy smile slowly turn into a sad frown, her ears lowered. "Is that a joke?" "Why would I joke about that?" Sunny tried to hold back her tears as she answered. "...because my first teacher was her, but she passed away two years ago. My teacher told me that you wouldn't bring it up! Why did you bring it up? Didn't my teacher tell you that I'm still not over it?!" "I'm s-sorry!" apologized Hope, seeing the young Alicorn break down into tears, covering her face. "Ms. Hope, what's wrong with you? This isn't like you! You are acting strange and asking weird questions." Sunny said between her sobs, wiping her tears away. Radiant didn't know how to answer, as she doesn't understand any of this. It's true, she and Sunny have never met before, but her future self did, and just by looking at her, she could tell she's a good pony and her future self cares about her from the way Sunny talks to her. She needed to be like her future self and help Sunny. "I'm sorry. I really am, Sunny. I guess I'm just still a little shaken about the nightmare I had. I can't remember all the details, but all I can say is that you're right. I'm sorry for being weird. Maybe I'm not over Sombra passing and I'm trying to move forward still," she held Sunny's hooves, softly pulling them back to see her crying face. "Maybe that's why I wanted you to stay here with me? To help you move forward, learn about letting go of the past and moving forward together." Sunny wiped away her tears with her arm. "But it's hard! I studied under Princess Twilight only a few years before she passed. I didn't learn much, but still, she was kind and taught me things that can't be learned from books. She always told me to find the magic in everyday life, so I do and still do. I miss her so much, but I feel like my future is a blank page—like a void. I have a goal, a dream, but it feels like something is missing. Without her, I feel so lost, even with my new teacher. Which isn't fair to her since she's been nothing but supportive, loving, and helpful. She's like a mom to me, since my parents passed away when I was a baby. I don't know what I'm doing, Ms. Hope! I'm lost. I want to see the future, and maybe I'll feel happy and find the answers." Hope hugged her tightly, rubbing her back and letting her cry in her chest. She thought about what she said and wondered. "Sunny, I was like you, worrying about the future and where it might lead me and the one I loved, where we are forced to accept our destinies. I refused it, believing it was set in stone, but meeting you and seeing this new world, I was wrong." She leaned back and smiled. "You are your own writer, Sunny. Don't let anyone else write your story for you. If you want the future you desire, believe in it, have hope, and it'll become real. I believe you can do it, and so does your teacher. I think that's another reason she sent you here. You said you see her as a mother, correct?" Sunny nodded and wiped away her tears, listening carefully. "And mothers always know when their child is lost, so they push them to find the answer on their own. That's what she's doing—sending you on this quest—not only for history but to help you find yourself and find the answers you are seeking. Don't let the already-written past and the not-written future force you down a single path where you are not happy. Be your own writer, Sunny. You can change and adapt the future you see; it won't be the one you didn't write but your own. Trust yourself, Sunny. I know you can do it." Radiant gave Sunny a kiss on the forehead and could see the tears stopping and a smile growing. "Thank you, Ms. Hope. You are right; I will write my own future and make it the way I want. That's what my teacher and Twilight would have wanted! Thank you for helping me." "It's what I do," smiled Radiant, but the smile vanished as she saw Sunny's eyes widen. "Are you okay, Ms. Hope?" asked Sunny, seeing her glow bright white, and soon the light vanished. "I'm fine, sweetie. I just want to say this: thank you. Thank you for helping an old me." Hope smiled again and stood up from the couch. "Go out and be with your friends today. We learned enough today. Have fun." "Okay, I'll see you later with everyone!" smiled Sunny, grabbing her bag and leaving the house. "Have fun and don't forget, have hope! Keep moving forward sweetie!" called out Hope, waving goodbye and watching the young Alicorn run down the street. Sunny slowed down and was now walking as she took out her phone from her bag, dialed a number, and placed it near her ear. It picked up, and she could hear her teacher asking if anything was wrong. "No, I'm fine. I just wanted to call you and tell you..." Sunny started to tear up. "Thank you, thank you for being my teacher and teaching me everything. Thank you for sending me here and helping me. I love you, and I will make you and Twilight proud! Again, thank you..." she blush and wiped away a tear. "M-Mom!" There was silence, and she could hear her teacher starting to cry and thank her as well. They talked, but Sunny started to laugh as she heard a loud noise coming from the other end of the phone, and she knew what happened.  "Mom, you are such a klutz sometimes. I need to go, I'm going to face-time you later tonight, okay? Love you." "I love you too,...daughter," said the female voice on the other end as Sunny made a kissing noise and hung up. Sunny put the phone back into her bag and wiped away her tears as she ran off, heading towards her friends, who were in the tour of the Underground Crystal Chamber of the Crystal Heart. Radiant stood on the same path as before and could see the future she wanted now. A future where she can be happy, that she can walked down that path with no fear, and the future is now clear and set for her. The bright white light appeared, blinding her once more, and when it faded, she was back in the cave and hearing Amore's voice one last time. "Did you see the future? The future that you will write about? The future, that is your destiny and no one else's." "Yes." "Good, because it's not done yet. There is still more you need to write. Go forth, Radiant, and write your own destiny. Be the person you are meant to be." Amore's voice faded away, and soon, the ashes covered her, and with a bright flash, Radiant became an Alicorn with crystal wings. Everyone was looking at her, amazed at what just happened, but Sombra roared at her and charged towards her. "Sombra, you always hated your destiny and wanted to change it. To change Equestria, but it never changes because it's already been written. The same is true with the Crystal Empire. But know this, Sombra: you can change and adapt to the future you want. You are your own writer, so be it. Now, go and write your future, Sombra. Go, write it with the one you love." Radiant smiled, seeing Sombra stop and looking at her as the crystal heart shined brightly, blasted away the dark mist, and returned Sombra to normal. Hope walked up to him and held him. "Let's write our future together, my love." "Yes," smiled Sombra as he held her, and they kissed, feeling the power of the crystal heart and how its power would be used to protect the Crystal Empire and their people. Tempest and the others teleported to them. Happy everything worked out fine, and it was now their chance to save the Crystal Empire. As they teleported out of the cave and back to the surface above, they were shock to see a giant mirror-looking window in the sky, showing images and visions of the past, Braver past. Before they could question it, they could see AJ, her friends, and their counterparts at the pedestal base of the crystal heart. They hurried over and saw AJ and JA talking to someone. Before they could reach them, they heard a loud noise above and could see a slime pony looking human screaming one word. "BREAKER!" End of chapter 28 > Chapter 29: Memories And Love Before The Storm > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash watched as Twilight walked around the bedroom, nervous as all hell, as she was thinking of how things could go wrong tonight. She couldn't help but smile, which Twilight took notice of and made her upset. "What?" "You are adorable. Why are you so worried, Twi? Things will be okay. They're our friends, no matter what universe they come from." Dash said, standing on the bed and hugging Twilight from behind, as Twilight faced away from her, kissing her neck. "Man, this reminds me of the old you, worried about every little thing and stressing out over a simple task with friends. But that's one of the many things I love about you." Twilight turned around, giving her a cute pouted look. "Really?" Dash gave her a sly smile. "Yep, and I know how to get that mind off things." Twilight quickly gave a shock reaction and looked away. "Dash, no."  "Too late," answered Dash, getting ready to do it. "Rainbow, yes," but Twilight blinked and covered her face. "Wait, why am I saying yes to doing it? God, we never did it while being here, and our bodies are different now...huh??" thought Twilight, until she felt Dash's hands rubbing her shoulders. It was very loving like, even relaxing her, and her hands slowly moved down. "Don't worry, Twi. I got you." Dash whispered as she slowly made herself further down and Twilight freak out a bit, but all that vanished as she felt Dash massage her wrist. "A good massage will help! Massage that worry away!" Twilight felt really disappointed, as she was hoping Dash was going to do...'that', but this is Dash after all, as Twilight remembered she was the one who had to get things going for their first time. "...thanks Dash. I feel so much better." Twilight lied, trying to sound happy. "You're welcome, Twi," smiled Dash, rubbing her hands against Twilight's back. "But, can you stop? The girls will be here soon. Gosh, going out for drinks with these universe girls is..." Dash stopped, like Twilight asked, and sat on the bed and looked up at her. "Scary? Nervous?" "Very, like...really. Like, really, really. I mean, I'm used to drinking, but these aren't our girls. What if I make a fool of myself or they make fun of us?" Twilight started to get more nervous and started to move her legs like she was running in place but in a panic. "Twi, you saw them and how they acted around Blitz. They're like our girls, nothing to worry about, but don't drink too much. Last time, Shy and I had to carry you back to the cloud hotel that one time. Man, seeing the newspaper about Princess of Friendship being a cute and silly drunk was a riot!" laughed Dash, but Twilight was not liking it. "Dash, that only happened because I thought it was ice tea! I didn't know it had alcohol in it!" blushed Twilight, remembering that night and the newspaper report of it. She even remembered the picture they took of her, where she was chugging down a barrel of what she thought was ice tea. "Hey, at least you were given the title of ice tea princess at that bar," smirked Dash. "DASH!" "Okay, okay. Calm down. Don't stress out, okay? Stressing yourself out before it even starts isn't healthy. Remember, take a deep breath, and..." Twilight looked at her wife, waiting for her to continue, and Dash was just smiling at her. "And what?" "And just relax and have fun. They're our friends, no matter what. They will never judge us, laugh at us, or hurt us. They will love and care for us, like we will do for them. Just like Dashie and Twilah did, they're us after all, so relax and just be you, Twilight Sparkle." smiled Dash, standing on the bed and wrapping her arms around her wife and holding her tightly. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. Thank you for marrying me, loving me, and being the best mother to Braver. I love you, Rainbow Dash." Twilight smiled, sitting on the bed and looking at her. "No, thank you. For letting me marry you, having a family with you, and loving you. I love you, Twilight Sparkle, with all my heart. I never loved anyone else before I met you." smiled back Dash, slowly leaning in to kiss her, but Dashiell's phone on the bed started to ring. "Of course, it had to ring." "It's the girls, so it's alright," smiled Twilight, picking up the phone and answering. "Hey Twilight, we're right around the corner; come down," replied AJ. "Hi,...AJ. Oh, okay. We'll be right down. See you," said Twilight, then hearing AJ say alright and both hanging up. She then told Dash they're almost here, so they left the bedroom and walked down the hall, but stopped in front of the Blitz room and looked inside to see the twins playing a VR video game. Dash knocked on the door, getting both girls attention, and waved her hand, signaling them to come over, which they did. Blitz took off the helmet fully and spoke. "Leaving? Have a nice girls night out. I know my mom's friends are going to love you guys. Like, your basically my moms; just there's tiny differences between you guys." Braver, who took off the helmet now, looked at her mother, Twilight...well more like looking up at her. "Or very tall differences?" she smiled. "We should be back around midnight or a little bit after," said Twilight, looking down at her daughter and patting her head. Blitz nodded but looked at the two like she was the parent here. "Don't be drinking too much and stay out of trouble, you hear? I don't want to bail all six of you out of jail...again." She shook her head and corrected herself. "Sorry, my moms and their friends get in trouble sometimes when they drink. Just stay safe, okay?" "Don't worry, Blitz. Everything is fine, and we won't drink too much or get in trouble. I promise!" replied Twilight, with a big smile and a bit of stress behind it. Dash patted Braver on the shoulder. "Have fun with your sister, Braver. You two deserve some sister time after what's been happening. Love you." then hugged her, and then Blitz. Twilight did the same, and both headed down stairs and exited out of the house, just in time to see a pickup truck rolling up, and in the back were Penny and Faith as they waved at them. "Ready forrrrrrrrrrrrr-" Penny took out a party popper, but the string didn't pop it, and she pulled again. "Ready, forrrrrrrrrrrr-fuckin sake! Come on!" Faith giggled a little but stopped, not wanting to laugh at her, so she took the popper and pulled it, making it pop out loud. "There." "Thanks," smiled Penny, then looking at the two and giving the same wave. "Ready for this? It's gonna be a blast." "Yup!" reply Dash as she jumped in the back and could see that Rachel was in the front seat, checking on her make-up with her small make-up mirror, while AJ was the one driving the trunk and had to put the window down as Rachel was blasting a ton of perfume, making AJ cough and gag. "Hey, I can't blame a gal for wanting to smell good. Plus, I think I found the perfect perfume for you, AJ. It's called-." Rachel couldn't finish as AJ took the bottle and tossed it out the window, making Rachel gasp. "Hey, I paid good money for that." "And, I'm allergic to it," coughed AJ, looking back and seeing Dash laughing at what happened, and both smiled. Penny and Faith were going to help Twilight in the truck, but they realized how tall she was and that she didn't need help as step in, and when she sat down, the whole truck shook from her weight, and the girls were scared and worried. "Sorry, sorry," blushed Twilight, realizing the problem. "No, it's okay," chuckled AJ, looking back. "She might be old, but this old girl can carry tons of apples and other things. I'm sure your-" "Big butt!?" shouted Penny. AJ glared at Penny, as everyone could see Twilight was red. "No! I was going to say her weight." Rachel gasped. "Are you calling her fat!?" "N-no. What, why would I?" Penny put her head through the small, opened back window. "Because you're calling her a heavyweight, like some sumo wrestler." "I'm not!" shouted AJ, smacking Penny with her trucker hat. Faith started to get worried and tried to stop the fighting with her quiet, shy voice, but no one could hear her, while Rachel was still checking herself out as she fought with AJ about calling Twilight fat. Penny was still going on about sumo wrestlers, and Faith couldn't take it anymore and screamed for them to shut it, and she was breathing hard with her hair a bit of a mess. Everyone was shocked to see her like that, but Faith realized what she did and was too upset and embarrassed to face them. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that." said Faith, covering her face but removing her hands when she and the rest of the girls heard laughter and could see it wasn't Dash laughing but Twilight, who then started to cry while laughing. "Just like my girls back home! This makes me so happy and so relieved! Really does!" Twilight spoke while wiping tears away from her eyes and feeling much better now that she was hanging with them. AJ smiled and started the pickup truck, which made a loud noise as it drove down the road, and the girls started talking and telling jokes and having a good time already, heading towards their destination. Blitz and Braver were looking out the window, watching everything, and waving goodbye to them. When the truck was out of view, they closed the window and sat on the bed, looking somewhat sad and very serious. "Sis, are you sure about this plan?" whispered Braver, looking at the notebook that Blitz took out and showed her. Blitz nodded. "It's the failsafe. If we fail to save Lucy, it needs to be done. When we get her back and maybe your Dawn, we can go through the failsafe plan when everything is over." Both girls looked at it and held each other close, hoping they wouldn't need to do this. "WEEEEEEEEEEEE!" shouted Penny as AJ drove down a hill pretty fast. "Fuck yeah! Wooo!" "Pinkie, sit down before you hurt yourself," ordered Twilight, forcing Penny down but realizing she called her Pinkie rather than her real name. "S-Sorry!" Penny, on the ground, smiled and said it was fine. "It's been awhile since someone called me 'Pinkie'; last time was in the Pinkie Company. Other Pinkies call me by that name and number." Twilight and Dash looked at each other and sighed loudly. "Yup, just like our Pinkie being weird," said both in unison. AJ drove, saw a gas station, and parked there. "Alright girls, time for a pit stop. Faith, could you get some food?" Faith nodded and hopped out first, as the others got out soon after, but Twilight stayed. "Anything you want, Twila-err, I mean Twilight and Dash? Drinks? Snacks?" asked Faith. "I'll take a coke and a bag of chips," smiled Dash. "Uhh, I'll have some water, please, and no snack," replied Twilight. Faith nodded and headed inside the store as AJ walked towards the pump and started to gas her truck. "Damn, I forgot that we're almost out of gas. Been a long day." AJ sighed, taking the pump, putting it inside her truck, and waiting for the gas to fill the tank. Dash walked over and both started to chat, while Rachel and Penny walked up to Twilight, and both were fighting each other to ask her a question but didn't want to say it first. "Ummm, something wrong?" asked Twilight, not understanding what they were doing. "No! No! Nothing at all, right, Rachel?!" shouted Penny, nudging Rachel to agree. "Yeah, totally!" she said, as both kept nudging their heads to just tell her. "Well, if nothing is wrong, then you can tell me." Twilight spoke, hoping that would get them to talk. Penny nodded and spoke up first. "Okay, can you lift us?" Rachel smacked her in the head. "That wasn't the question we were going to ask her, Penny!" "Then, what's the question?" "Do you really want her to lift you?!" shouted Rachel, looking back at her and seeing her nod. Twilight chuckled a little and smiled at them. "What was your question, Rar-Rachel?" Rachel sighed and waved for Twilight to get closer, which she did, and Rachel whispered into her ear. "So, how was it?" "How was what?" "The 'human' se-!" "Excuse me!?" blushed Twilight, getting back quickly. Rachel got her answer and felt disappointed, while Penny looked at Twilight size and then back to Dash size and nodded. "Yup, I can't see them doing it. Twi will crush Dash! Like a pancake! YUM!" Twilight, redder than before, couldn't believe what they were asking her, and she started to play with her fingers. "Well, it never crossed our minds...but, no doubt, it be weird. We can't do our normal 'things'..." Rachel and Penny's eyes went wide, wanting to know what they meant by 'things', and they started asking her many questions, which made Twilight blush harder and more embarrassed. Faith returned with food and drinks and gave them to the three, and when she was done, Twilight quickly grabbed her, put her in front of her, and tried to hide behind her like a giant hiding behind a tree. Faith asked what was going on, to which Rachel and Penny answered. "Girls, stop it. If she doesn't want to share, then don't force her." Penny and Rachel looked at Faith, seeing that she was right. "Sorry," they said. Twilight sighed in relief and thanked Faith for stopping the two. Faith smiled and handed her a drink, which Twilight took and started to drink. "No problem. Even if you do it, it might be weird, right? Like Twilah told us how weird it was while they did it in their pony forms." Twilight spit out her drink, not believing her human counterpart did that. "Yeah, she also said it was weird in her hybrid form, too," added Faith, remembering her talk with Twilah, while the other two nodded. Dash and AJ came back to the group and saw how red Twilight was, but didn't think it was a big deal. Soon everyone got back in, and the pickup truck took off down the street. "So, where is this bar?" asked Dash as she poked her head into the rear window glass, making AJ eye her real quick and back on the road. "It's up ahead, near the edge of town. Pretty famous around here," smiled Rachel, looking back. Twilight and Dash looked at each other and didn't want to know what kind of bar it was, but when they got there... "...so," whispered Dash and Twilight as the gang looked at the closed bar as they were closed for repairs. "Well, this sucks," frowned Rachel, looking back. "We were going to have so much fun tonight, too." "Maybe we can find a different place to drink?" asked Faith, not knowing any other bar around here. "There's none. The only one that was open is closed and won't be opened till who knows when," said AJ, feeling sad too. Everyone was wondering what to do now, but Dash called out to Twilight, who walked over and noticed Dash was looking up in the sky. "What is it, Dash? Why are you looking at the sky?" Dash pointed to a star. "That star... isn't our world, and this world have the same locations?" Twilight nodded as she remembered how Dashie said their worlds share the same locations and land marks. Dash turned to her and smiled. "So, then where does that star lead in Equestria? Do you remember?" "Hmmm, let me check," replied Twilight, closing her eyes and thinking of the location, but quickly opening her eyes and looking back at her, who could tell Twilight remembered now. Both turned back to the others and told the girls they had a place to hang out. After some time, the pickup truck was in the forest and heading down a dirt road. No one was talking, as everyone knew where this road was heading. Dash and Twilight could feel the tension as everyone was silent, and they hoped that they wouldn't regret this. Soon, they all saw the road had ended, and the truck came to a stop, and everybody got out. "So, are you two sure about this?" asked AJ to Twilight and Dash as she jumped into the back and opened the bed tool box. "We can drink somewhere else." "We want to see them. It would be nice to drink and remember the memories of them," answered Dash, making AJ shut her eyes and understanding them. Rachel, Penny, and Faith didn't know what to do and stood there, wondering if they should come or stay. Twilight turned and could see the girls just standing there as AJ held two cases of beer, jumped off, and walked past her. "If you want to leave, we won't be mad. But if you want to come, it's okay," she told them, giving them a warm smile, which made them follow her. It was a long, long walk as everyone took a beer and drank a bit until they could see something up ahead. There was a bright rainbow flash, and they could see a rainbow and blue/purple comets flying off back to town. Everyone knew who was just here as they walked over to the crater, putting the beers down and sitting on the edge while watching Dash and Twilight slide down it. "It's been awhile," whispered Dash, the first one to walk up to the two graves, seeing two freshly picked flowers on the graves. To her, it was like she was back home, as the graves were one-to-one with the ones back home. Twilight walked to Dash's side, holding her hand, and both were quiet. The other four couldn't say anything and looked at the two, who were looking at the graves and crying a bit. "Hey, guys...long time no see, huh?" asked Dash, putting a hand on the tombstone. "I see your daughters were just here. Glad they went to see you. It's not been great lately. Stuff has been happening, and I bet the twins told you everything. So, I won't bore you with the repeats." Twilight put her hand on the other grave, closing her eyes and listening to Dash as she kept talking. "Braver became a wonderful mare; you two will be so proud to see her right now. She became like Twi in looks." Dash coughed and corrected herself. "I mean you, Nightfall. She looks just like you now; she even became a librarian just like you. I remember when New Ponyville wanted her to run a library." One year ago Dash looked out the window of the library and could see a ton of ponies and creatures waiting for the grand opening of the town's first library. "Wow, look at that! So many are here! Sweetie, you must be hyped to run-" Dash turned to her daughter and sighed, as she could see her breathing in a paper bag, panicking. "-or not." "Mom, I can't do this! I can't!" she shouted, panicking more. "I can't run a library; I'm not smart, or-or-or!" Braver went back to using the paper bag as Dawn patted her back. Dash shook her head, as she couldn't believe her daughter was acting like somepony she knew. Speaking of which... "So, Twi. Care to give your daughter some pointers in running a library-" She could see Twilight doing exact same thing as their daughter, "or not." "This is bad!" cried Twilight, pacing around the room and running in place. "I'm the princess of friendship; how can I not make a speech in time!? What do I say as Sunset and I hand my daughter the key to the library!?" She went back to breathing in the bag, while Sunset could laugh at her friend while she held the big key with her magic. "You're overthinking this. Just say what's on your mind, and everyone will love it," answered Sunset, patting Twilight back. "Sunset, you are not helping me. And besides, aren't you nervous too?" Twilight grabbed Sunset, and their noses were touching. "You are the mayor! If I screw up, it's going to hurt your image, and the town won't trust you again! And what if my daughter messes up and embarrasses you!?" Sunset couldn't help but laugh, pushing Twilight away from her face and putting her arms around her. "I have faith in both of you. I'm not worried at all. You're my friend, and I'm sure you'll make a fine speech." Twilight calmed down, hearing her say that and feeling a little better, but still panicking. She soon felt tapping on her shoulder and turned to see Dash, who pointed behind. Twilight looked and could see Braver on the floor, panicking and saying, "What if I screw up!? It's going to ruin Aunty Sunset's image as the mayor! The town won't trust her again and might even reelect someone better. Oh Celestia, I can't do it! I'm not as perfect as mom; I can't think of a great thank you speech." and Twilight watched as her daughter started breathing into the paper bag, which Twilight looked at on her own and realized she might have taught Braver the same habits as her, and that made her a little sad. "Braver, listen to me." Twilight said, holding her daughter's head and looking at her. "Just relax. Remember when I told you I'm not as perfect as you think? You really think an Alicorn princess doesn't have her fair share of mistakes and fears? Even as a princess, I had my worries and fears, but I always faced them head on." Twilight quickly remembered the paper bag that she was holding with magic and quickly hid it. "T-that's right, h-head on. Never freaking out, nope! Nuh-huh! Not me!" she laughed, hoping her daughter didn't notice. Braver blinked and could tell her mother was lying, but she didn't bring it up. "So, you're not perfect, huh?" She sat up, gave Dawn the paper bag, and looked back at her mother. "But you are, mom! You're not scared of anything and can do anything, right?" Twilight sighed, knowing her daughter looked up to her, but wishing she could see her flaws. She smiled and shook her head. "No. I'm not perfect. You don't have to be. As a princess and even a mare, everyone has their faults and flaws. It's a fact. But no matter what, everyone has to take chances and face the future." She lowered herself to her and nuzzled her softly. "Like what the others versions of I and Dash taught you, the very lessons you kept close to your heart, sweetie, Always keep moving forward, no matter what life throws at you." Braver thought about her mother's words, as she could understand her and felt better. She looked at her mother, who looked like her, but still couldn't help but think she was a perfectionist. Soon, Braver started to panic again as her mother let her go, as her new fears were failing her mother now, as she had so much trust and hope in her. The pressure became even worse, and as she was about to freak out but she felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked to see Dash smiling at her. "Sweetie, you have your mom's worried look and even her 'I'm going to fail my friends and family!' look. Listen, Twilight isn't going to judge you, not even me, if you somehow mess up. All that matters is that you did it. Sure, we may worry about you and stuff, but in the end, we'll be there to support you and help you, okay? So, stop stressing out." Dash petted Braver's head, finally seeing her calm down. "Your moms are right, Braver," said Dawn, handing her some water and hoping she calms down even more. "Believe in your mother's words. And besides, you won't be alone. Everyone will be here, and you even have me! We're not going anywhere. We'll help you. I know you can do this." She hugged Braver and nuzzled her. She blushed a bit, as she could feel Braver hugging back and saying thank you to her. "Dawn is right, honey. We'll be there. Now, get out there and do us proud, okay?" Twilight hugged Braver, as did Dash. Braver nodded and followed Sunset outside, while Twilight waved goodbye as the door closed, but Dash pushed her. "Remember? You are going to give a speech after Sunset? Get moving!" Dash forgot how heavily Twilight got as she became a large Alicorn, as she could hardly move her to the exit as Twilight started to freak out again. "Maybe take your own advice? Even now, because this is a very important event in our daughter's life." "Y-Yeah. Right, right." Twilight said as they made it to the door and opened it, where a bunch of ponies and creatures were waiting for them. They saw Sunset and Braver in the middle of the stage as Sunset went up to the mic and made her speech. "Ponies and creatures! We are here to witness the grand opening of the town's great library, and the one running it will be none other than the town's hero and savior! Braver!" Sunset turned to Braver, who was sweating—or, in this case, melting a bit—as Sunset gave her the spot light and continued on with her speech. "The bravest creature ever to risk her own life to save everyone's life here. It felt only right for her to run this library and no one else, plus she's following her bio mother's footsteps in running a library. Speaking of mothers, here's our Princess of Friendship and mother to Braver! Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Everyone cheered and clapped as Twilight came up and made it onto the stage. "Thank you, Mayor Sunset," said Twilight, as she took the mic from Sunset and looked at the crowed and was going to speak but heard booing. She knew that voice anywhere, as she narrowed her eyes, searched the crowed, and finally found her. "Cozy," whispered Twilight, seeing Cozy booing loudly while the rest of Braver's friends were behind her, laughing or feeling embarrassed by Cozy's actions. Twilight cleared her throat and spoke. "Hello everyone, I'm very glad to be here right now. I'm so glad that I didn't even make a speech for this special event, and I know what you are thinking: how can I not have a speech for my own daughter as she takes a new step in her life? Well, it's simple. Braver isn't following in my footsteps to become a Alicorn princess. As a mother, that makes me so proud. Proud that she's following her own path in life, not letting someone else's write her story. But I am still helping her. Why? Because that's what a mother should do. They should help their child, guide them, and watch them grow and mature into something great. Something special." Twilight turned to Braver, who looked like she was going to cry, but she noticed her student, Dawn, looking upset, but she couldn't focus on that right now. "My dear Braver, for the last nine years of seeing you grow from a filly to a wonderful and brave mare, I've always seen a little spark inside you. I always believed in you, and you made me and so many others proud that they met you. To be your friends and to be my daughter." Twilight looked out to the crowd, seeing Cozy and the rest of Braver's friends cheering her name. "Never stop moving forward; always take those steps to the future, and always stay yourself." Twilight turned to her daughter. "Because I love you for who you are. You aren't me or Dash; you are your own future. Your own self; never forget that." Braver didn't realize that tears were falling until Dawn wiped them away and pushed her forward softly, smiling. "Thanks, Mom," said Braver as Twilight gave her the mic and smiled. "Everyone, I'm very honored and proud to be able to run this library. This has been a dream of mine for a long time. Ever since my mother ran one." She looked toward Twilight and gave a small smile. "As well as learning that my new mother also ran a library when she was younger, it makes me proud that I can carry on that tradition." She looked out into the crowd and could see her friends, including Cozy, cheering for her super hard and making her smile. "Thank you, everyone, and this next part of my speech isn't really a thank you to you, but..." Braver looked at her mother and waved at Dash to come up on the stage, which she did and stood next to Twilight, who was trying her best to hold herself together. "For the last nine years of seeing these two become the most loving and caring mothers and being a family, I wanted to say thank you—thank you for not giving up on me, for helping me to be who I am today, and most of all, for being the greatest mothers I can ever ask for! Twilight." Braver took Twilight's hoof and held it, and both were crying. "Mom, I never said this, but you are like a teacher and mentor to me; you sent me here with Dawn to study more about friendship, which is something I will forever cherish and love you for. But now, on a day like today, I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the friendships I've made because of your guidance and love." She looked out to her friends, ponies, and creatures she helped and befriended, who waved at her. "Each one of you taught me something about friendship, and for that, I will always be grateful." She then turned to Dash, who did her best to look cool while she was crying. "And Dash, mommy! Thank you for giving me so much love that a daughter can ever wish for; you were always there for me, helping me whenever I was feeling down, and for the last nine years, I wouldn't trade it for the world." She hugged Dash and was lifted off the ground as the two started to flap their wings. "I love you so much. Today, I consider myself the luckiest 'pony' in Equestria and in the whole universe! I'll make you, mom, and everyone here proud! I promise!" They returned to the stage floor and held each other as Twilight joined in. The crowd started to cheer and clap loudly, while the rest of Braver's friends could feel her happiness. "We love you too, blockhead!" shouted Cozy, jumping up and down. "Yeah!" joined in Chrysalis, her body glowing bright white. "Yeah! You go, little one!" joined in Tirek. Tempest and Luna said nothing but just smiled, seeing her happiness. Dawn was very happy for her, but at the same time, she felt jealous, as she wished she had this motherly love and support. She shook her head and smiled at Braver. She had a best friend, which is enough for her. Sunset got back on the mic and wiped away a tear. "What wonderful speeches! Truly takes after her mother." She cleared her throat. "Now, without further ado, I, Sunset Shimmer and Mayor of New Ponyvlle, announce you, Braver, to be the new manager and owner of the New Ponyville public library." She presented a huge key and handed it to Twilight and Dash, who then handed it to Braver. She took it and bowed, making everyone cheer once more. "Thank you. Now let's open t-WHOA!!!" Braver shouted as she tripped over nothing and sent the key flying towards the door, knocking it down, and the key could be heard hitting something inside. Braver ears went down in sadness, while the crowed laughed. "Well, that's one way of opening a door," joked Dash, helping her up and patting her back. Twilight just smiled and walked into the library. "Braver." Braver looked at her and was going to apologize, until she saw the library was fine and the key just lodged itself into the wall above the check-out counter. "This is a big moment for you, but no pressure, alright?" Twilight smiled. Braver just looked at the key and then back at Twilight and Dash, hugging them as a ton of ponies and creatures entered the library. Dash covered her eyes as the memories faded from her mind. "I know I said she looks like you, but...she reminds me so much of Twilight. It's looking into a mirror. Seeing all the flaws and best parts of Twilight in her makes me want to cry." "She does remind me a lot of myself, when I was younger and even now," answered Twilight, with her eyes still closed. "It's like, every time I see her, she gets more beautiful. Her spark keeps growing, more and more I see myself but also her own person. I'm so proud of her." "I am too, but I'm sad as well. I feel like I'm not doing my part in raising her, as I don't see my traits being left in her. I know I'm busy with the Wonderbolts and could be there for her more often," replied Dash, feeling she failed as a mother. "Rainbow Sky, please don't hate me for not living up to you. Please, I'm trying my best." Twilight opened her eyes and grabbed her wife's hand, removing it from her eyes. "Dash, Braver loves you so much. Even if we're not there for her 24/7, she knows we're there for her. Also, stop talking nonsense about not seeing yourself in her. I can always see you in her. her stubbornness, her bravery, and even the way she acts around friends by always being there for them. All of it is yours. Rainbow Dash, you're doing amazing." Twilight kissed Dash's lips. "I remember a time when I saw you within her." Two years ago "GO MOMMY!" shouted Braver, watching Dash fly through the sky, doing her Wonderbolt tricks, and making the crowd scream with joy. She was so happy for her mom, who was showing off her best tricks, and the way her mother was smiling was something to behold. "You can do it!" shouted Braver, holding a huge sign with Dash's face on it and jumping up and down. Twilight joined her with her own sign, which was Dash Rainbow Trail. "Love you, Rainbow Dash!" Braver flew and sat on Twilight's shoulders, waving her sign, and was waving it hard while they watched her do her finishing move. The Sonic Rainboom. Dash went straight up, and everyone could see the clouds being blasted away as the Sonic Rainboom went off and soar across the sky, filling it with beautiful colors. Everyone was screaming and clapping, even Braver, who jumped down from Twilight's shoulders and was screaming the loudest and the proudest. Dash flew down with the other Wonderbolts, and the whole group passed by the stands, leaving behind their own trails. When they passed by the Twilight and Braver section, Dash made a quick loop, making a rainbow heart. Twilight blushed hard, but Braver felt so loved that she wanted to fly by her mother's side. After the show, Twilight took her daughter outside of the cloud stadium and waited for Dash, as she was still touring with the Wonderbolts and this was the only time to meet her before the next show and before leaving Las Pegasus to the next stop on their tour. "Braver, sweetie, what are you doing?" asked Twilight, seeing her daughter flapping her wings hard as she flew around the place. She wasn't going as fast, but fast enough to leave behind a trail of her own, which was ink looking, which quickly evaporated before it could splash on somepony or creatures head. "I want to fly like mommy. I want to make a Sonic Rainboom, just like her. Can you teach me, mom?" asked Braver, flying up and then down in front of Twilight. "Sweetie, I can't do a Sonic Rainboom, only Dash or anyone super fast like her can." She could see how disappointed her daughter was when learning this. "But I can give you my old research papers on her and how she does it. Here." Twilight summoned her research notebook and handed it to her, which Braver quickly opened up and read out loud. "After much analysis and hours of field testing, I found out that in order to do a Sonic Rainboom, one must fly up to five times the speed of sound. This is apparent through the Mach cone that often forms around Rainbow, which indicates that she has broken the sound barrier. And the angle of which proves she can reach up to Mach 5 speeds." Twilight felt worried as she could see Braver's happy face slowly turning to a nervous look. "Five times the speed of sound...and upon breaching Mach 5, Dash can enter hypersonic speeds to create the Sonic Rainboom. With this, her speed doubles instantaneously to Mach 10. This results in the Sonic Rainboom completely shattering the visible light spectrum." Braver lowered the book and closed it. "Mom is so awesome." Twilight could tell her daughter was crushed by not being like her mom. "Yeah, she is. You'll learn how to make your own Rainboom when you train to go faster. Now come on, your mom should be done soon." Twilight held out her hoof, but Braver didn't take it. "Braver? What's wrong?" "I don't have the natural gift that mom, Sky, or Blitz have." Braver started to cry. "I don't have the speed or anything close. How can I do something as cool as the Sonic Rainboom? Even though I carry Rainbow Sky DNA within me, I'm just a failed part of her, a failed clone." Twilight hugged her daughter tight and could feel her tears on her own chest. This was her fault, crushing her daughter's dreams. "Oh, Braver, don't say that. You're not a fail clone, and you're not a fail part of Rainbow Sky." "How can you say that? I don't have her speed. Blitz has it, but I don't. She was always the perfect copy of Sky." Braver dug deeper into her mother's chest. Twilight was going to say something, but they could hear Dash calling out to them, and as a shock to Twilight, Braver quickly let go and tackle hugged Dash to the cloud stadium walls, leaving a Dash-shaped hole. Twilight looked in, and what she saw broke her heart—seeing her daughter put up a front so Dash wouldn't notice how upset she was and how she was acting like the daughter Dash was proud of. Braver was laughing and telling Dash how amazing she was in the sky, like an excited fan, while Dash was laughing and patting her head. Unaware of what happened... After returning home to Canterlot, Twilight watched as her daughter kept reading the research book over and over again. Like someone wishing upon a star. "I'm sorry, Braver." A week later, Celestia came to visit Twilight. They spoke in the garden with tea and caught up, but Celestia asked her a question. "How's Braver? Is she okay?" asked Celestia, lowering her tea cup. Twilight coughed on her drink and quickly wiped her mouth. "Uh, she's doing great. Why do you ask?" "Twilight. Luna, and her friends have been building something over my castle in Everfree. She told me that Braver designed it, and this should make her happy again. So, what happened?" Celestia gave a worried look, but she could see even more worry on her former student's face. "What did Braver design?" Twilight and Celestia teleported above the Everfree castle and could see further above them a sixteen-mile-long tube with magical spinning rings in different crossing points, as all it was being held up by slime like magical aura, and above the tube was a floating hot air balloon with all of Braver's friends. Both Alicorns teleported to them and could see Braver going over the plan, but she stopped as she noticed her mom and Celestia. "Mom! Celestia! What are you doing here?" she asked, smiling. "Celestia invited me here. So, what did you build?" asked Twilight, looking at the huge tube with the others. Twilight and everyone could see Braver's smart side coming out as she coughed and pointed to the floating whiteboard that she was holding up with her magic. Cozy moaned with her hooves on her eyes and her body leaning against the edge of the basket. "Ugh, not another egghead lecture..." "Now, you have all been wondering what we built over the forest, right?" Braver quickly drew the tube. "This tube, which I'm calling 'Accel Burst Collider", will increase my speed to Mach 10 levels or even beyond, colliding with sound and light barriers. Allowing me to scatter it with my body and finally allowing me to perform a Sonic Rainboom." Braver was grinning from ear to ear. "With the speed boost and my high magic density, I can break through both barriers, which is going to be done to the crossing point rings, which will spin my body like a drill. Increasing my speed while giving me enough friction and heat will allow me to do the impossible." Braver finished and waited for the response. Everyone looked at the drawing, then the machine, then Braver, then back at the drawing, then the machine, and finally back to Braver. Cozy raised her hoof. "Yes Cozy?" "Can you explain that with simpler words? You're confusing the stupider folks here...which is Dawn." Cozy smirked as she heard Dawn shout 'what?' and try to smack her. "Uhhhhhhhhhh, what?" Braver was confused, but shrugged it off and tried to explain it again, this time in simple terms. "I'm going fast like a spinning top and will hit things really hard, thus causing me to fly faster like mom and do a Sonic Rainboom." but Braver couldn't finish as Twilight flew towards her, looking over the plan and then at her. "Sweetie, this is too dangerous! This collider will increase your speed beyond even Mach 10! It will put too much pressure on your slime body! This could kill you or create a feedback loop from your magical core!" Twilight shouted, holding her daughter's hooves. "I know, mom; I've calculated every risk and outcome of the collider. Everything will be fine; nothing will go wrong, and if it does, I'll be fine." She pulled her hooves away from her mom and looked at her friends. "Okay everyone, I just need you all to use your magic to hold the tube in the air, as I'm going to let it go." She could feel her friend's magical energies and released the tube, seeing it fall a bit but returning to where it was. "Okay, just hold it like that!" Dawn and the others gave her a worried look after what Twilight said. "Are you sure about this?" questioned Dawn, while the others were saying the same thing. "Yes, I am. Nothing will go wrong, I swear." Braver looked at the huge tube and took a deep breath, then took off and entered the tube hatch, closing it. Twilight didn't like this at all and quickly followed her daughter, following her from outside the see-through tube. "Sweetie, stop this! This isn't safe! I'm ordering you to get out of there!" shouted Twilight, flying near the tube. "Sorry, mom, I gotta do this." Braver turned her head and gave her a sad smile. Twilight could see the same stubbornness that Dash has when she's set on doing something, no matter what, and sighed. "Just like your mother, I swear. Just please, be careful. If anything goes wrong, I'll-" "Mom, I promise. Nothing will go wrong, and if it does, I'll come straight to you, okay?" Braver smiled, which made Twilight blush a bit, as she felt like Dash was talking to her. Braver flew as fast as she could, entering the first ring and seeing her magic and speed rise as she started to spin like a drill. She felt the next ring colliding with her magic and speed, raising them even more. "So far, so good!" Twilight could only watch in fear and worry as her daughter spun around and could see her speed rising, which was already above Mach 3. Braver could see the last few rings coming and entered them, feeling her body spin faster and harder and the air and wind pressure increasing. "Here it comes...here it comes...HEEERRRREEEE IIIIIIIEEEEETTTT COMESSSS!!!!!" "Braver, stop this now!" shouted Twilight, hearing the whole machine shaking. She could even see Dawn and the others having trouble holding the tube up in the air. The feedback from Braver's magical energy core was causing them trouble. "Braver!" Twilight flew to the tube and tried to follow her daughter, but she stopped as she was moving too fast, as she saw just afterimages of her. She could feel her daughter's magical energy and saw that her magic and speed had risen over Mach 5 and were still rising. "Braver, slow down and get out of there, please! Your magical energy is sparking out and creating a feedback energy loop with the machine, and you're going to create a shockwave if this keeps up! Please, Braver, please." Twilight was getting more and more worried. She could see that Dawn and the others were struggling more, but the looks on their faces showed the same fear and worry she was feeling. Twilight closed her eyes, opened them with purple energy within them, and shouted with her royal Canterlot voice. "BRAVER! I ORDER YOU TO GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW! THAT'S A ORDER!" She could see her daughter stopping, but yet, her afterimages were still flying forward somehow, and she was looking at her with her own eyes, glowing bright purple and rainbow tears falling from them. "NO! I GOTTA DO THIS! I NEED TO BE LIKE MOM! I NEED TO PROVE MYSELF!" shouted back Braver with her own magical voice and could see the surprises looks on her friends and her mom faces, as they never heard her using her royal Canterlot voice against her own mother. But Braver was crying more, as her afterimages were getting faster and faster. "PROVE WHAT!? YOU ALREADY ARE LIKE YOUR MOTHER AND MORE! SO, JUST STOP THIS BEFORE SOMETHING GOES WRONG!" shouted back Twilight, feeling the magical feedback grow stronger. Soon, everyone couldn't hear them, even with their Canterlot voices, as the feedback was drowning them out. "I'M NOT! MY SISTER IS, BUT NOT ME! I'M THE FAILED PART OF THE CLONE! I'M THE LEFT OVERS! I'M NOTHING MORE THAN THAT! I DON'T HAVE SKY SPEED, I DON'T HAVE THE HOT HEADEDNESS, I DON'T HAVE THE COOLNESS OR EVEN COLOR TRAIL! I CAN'T BE LIKE SKY OR DASH! NOT IF I DON'T DO THIS! NOT IF I DON'T BE ABLE TO DO A RAINBOOM!" Braver was crying and crying harder, as she couldn't stop her body from moving faster and faster. She was spinning at Mach 7.8 speed and rising, with tears leaking from her eyes. "BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE, BECAUSE YOU'RE YOUR OWN PERSON! YOU CARRY THE BEST PARTS OF DASH! LIKE HER STUBBORNNESS! HER DRIVE TO PUSH HERSELF TO THE LIMITS! HER WILL AND PASSION TO PROTECT HER LOVE ONES!" Braver didn't respond and just kept going and going, as she could feel her body spinning harder and faster. Her body was already at Mach 9.2 and still rising, as everyone could see her becoming an blur and could barely see her color. "YOU DON'T NEED TO PROVE ANYTHING TO DASH! I PROMISE! WE ALL SEE IT, WHENEVER WE LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE SO LIKE DASH, THAT IT'S SCARY! PLEAS-AHHHHHHH!" Twilight screamed as the tube unleashed its pent-up magical feedback, and it soar across the sky, knocking Twilight and Celestia back while Braver's friends were knocked out cold and the air balloon popping.  Twilight shook her head and quickly used her magic to catch the falling tube, which was too heavy to hold up, but Celestia joined in, allowing them to hold it.  Celestia looked back, hoping her sister could help, but she could see her and rest falling as they were nocked out. "Luna!" screamed Celestia, letting go of the tube but quickly hearing Twilight screaming and quickly recatching the tube. "TWILIGHT!" Twilight could see Braver's friends falling, and they couldn't let go, or Braver would be hurt as well. One person could save them. She quickly turned back and shouted. "BRAVER! DAWN AND THE OTHERS ARE FAL-" but she didn't have time to finish as Braver tore through the tube at great speed and instantly stopped in place in front of her mother, creating a blast shockwave. She quickly looked around and flew towards her friends, saving them before they could hit the forest below. As she flew by, Twilight thought she saw Dash flying by, but it was Braver as she took her friends to safety. "Are they okay?!" asked Braver, dropping her friends off and looking over them. They were all knocked out and breathing heavily, showing the effects of the shockwave hitting them. "What happened!?" groaned Cozy as she and everyone else started to wake but were pulled in a hug by Braver, who was glad they were okay. After the whole thing was over, everyone helped in breaking down the tube as it was on the ground now. Braver wanted to do it on her own, but her friends were against it. They wanted to help and took the blame for not stopping her sooner. Twilight and Celestia watched above in the air as the group of friends were breaking it down. "I must say, she's like her," teased Celestia. Twilight blushed deep red. "Come on, I've never done anything at this level, r-right?" "Mmmm, not sure. But I wasn't talking about you, Twilight." Celestia flew forward and smiled. "She takes after Dash a lot, and not just you. Her loyalty to her friends when they were in danger, her stubbornness in her goals, her will and drive, her determination to do anything, no matter what," she then put her hoof on Twilight's back. "She has the best parts of you. She has your magic and smarts, and your kind heart and care for others as well. Be proud. Tell her that she isn't a failure of what she is." Twilight was blushing with happiness and nodded. She was glad she had someone like Celestia by her side. After the whole machine was destroyed, Braver was sitting under a tree and thinking of the events that just happened when her mom floated down and sat in front of her. "Come to ground me?" whispered Braver, not daring to look her mother in the eyes. "Sweetie, come here," answered Twilight, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry... I just wanted to be like mom," cried Braver, crying into her mother's flowing mane. Twilight held her tighter and spoke with a caring tone. "Sweetie, remember what I told you? You are your own person, but you carry the best parts of us. Even Dash, as I saw it even more. Celestia even commented on it, saying your loyalty to your friends when they were in danger, your stubbornness in your goals, your will and drive, and your determination to do anything, no matter what. Tell me, Who does that sound like?" "My mom...do I really sound a bit like my mom?" whispered Braver. Twilight chuckled and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Of course, but in your own way as well, which makes you, Braver." Braver pulled away and rubbed her eyes before speaking. "Sorry for disobeying your order, mom." "It's fine; just don't do it again." "I promise, mom, so I'm no-" Twilight petted her daughter's head. "Grounded for a month." Braver groaned in disappointment but then laughed as she hugged her mom. Dash couldn't help but laugh, hearing how Braver was so worried she wasn't like her or Sky. She laughed even more when she said. "That tube thing totally sounds like something you'll make. She's our daughter, alright." "Yeah, she is." The group was enjoying watching the two talk about the past as they told Nightfall and Sky what it was like to raise Braver. Rachel opened a can, looked up at the night sky, and asked her friends something. "Hey girls, do you remember when Blitz came to live with Dashie and Twilah? How they moved back to town and showed us Blitz?" asked Rachel. The girls were thinking and then started to remember that day. Five years ago Everyone was helping in moving Dashie and Twilah things into the empty house. AJ had no trouble moving the couch over her head, while Penny and Faith had few boxes in their arms, and finally, Rachel was carrying the smallest things, but she stopped in front of Twilah, who was checking stuff off from her list. "Darling, I noticed there are others in the moving truck. Like toys and stuff. What's up with that?" asked Rachel, placing the small boxes on the floor and walking closer. Dashie walked past and asked what was up, and Rachel asked her the same question, which made the others ask too, as they noticed the things they were bringing in were kids related. "Yeah, you see, we were hoping to surprise you, and we were hoping to tell you girls after, but..." nervously answered Dashie while holding Twilah's hand. "OH MY GOD, ONE OF YOU ARE PREGGOS!?" shouted Rachel, jumping in place. "WHAT!?" shouted AJ and Faith, dropping the couch and boxes, as they couldn't believe what Rachel said. "Oh no, we're no-" Twilah couldn't finish, as Penny screamed with joy and pulled a party popper, which exploded, covering everyone in confetti. "Penny! I was going to say something!" complained Twilah, brushing the confetti off. "Oops, sorry. I was just so happy for you two. So! Who took the donor seed, Dashie or you, Twilah?" asked Penny with a huge smile. Dashie blushed hard. "Neither of us!" "So, who was it then? You must be expecting a child with all this stuff," questioned Rachel, looking confused. "No, no. We-we-we-" but Dashie couldn't finish as a young girl shirt was smacked in her face, thanks to Penny going through a box. "Wait, these aren't baby clothes! This looks like stuff for an older kid!" Faith took the box away from her, giving it back to Twilah. "Then you two adopted?" "Not exactly. She's got our DNA, but not really. It's complicated and a long story, but we have a daughter now. She's ten years old," said Dashie, removing the shirt from her face. "Come inside; she's hiding somewhere." They all entered the dark house, and the girls watched as Dashie and Twilah called out their daughter, Blitz, but no one came. They called again, but just like before, no one came. Twilah turned to the girls, telling them she's very shy, as she's been through a lot. Dashie went near the steps of the stairs and called out. "Hey Blitz! Come on out; the girls want to meet you! They won't bite!" She shouted, but no one replied or came down. She sighed and turned to the girls, feeling a little ashamed and nervous. "She's scared. She doesn't trust others yet, I guess. Sorry. Maybe next time, let's just finish with moving the stuff inside." The girls frowned, as they felt sorry for Twilah and Dashie. But also this Blitz girl, like, why was she so distrusting and scared? They were about to head out the door when Twilah screamed as she got spook by something. They all turned, and they could see someone hiding behind her but it was too dark to make her out. AJ was the first one to step forward, kneel down, and remove her hat. "What have we got here? Why, she's a cutie. Hi there, sweetie. My name is April Jones, but you can call me AJ." The girl hiding behind Twilah peaked out a bit more, and AJ could see her hair; it had different colors like a rainbow but has a bit black as well. Penny skipped over and waved hello. "Hello there! I love your hair! Did you dye it? My name is Penny! Like the penny, see!" She took out a penny, flipped it, and caught it. "Heads or tails?" Blitz whispered. "Heads..." "Alrighty!" said Penny, and she flipped it, and it landed on her head. "Oh! Guess that means good luck, right!? Good luck means free-" She searched her fanny pack and pulled out a big cookie. "COOKI-huh?" Penny felt a gust of wind, and the cookie was gone, but she could hear the little girl eating something. As Penny was trying to understand what happened, Faith and Rachel joined in. Faith sat on the floor and tapped her lap. "Want to sit on my lap? My dear husband says it's very comfortable." "Hubby!? Oh, please don't say his name! It gives me the creeps!" complained Rachel as she kneeled down. "Come here, darling, let me see good luck at you." Faith was a little annoyed. "What you have against him, Rachel. He might be a little out there, but he's got a sweet heart." Rachel gave her a look and spoke. "Sweet heart, my ass. Remember the whole prank he caused around town when he moved here? Plus, who calls himself Discord anyway? His real name is-" Rachel couldn't finish as the girl finally stepped out and smiled. "DISCORD HERE!?" asked Blitz, her pony ears twitching with joy and her wings flapping. She quickly saw their scared reactions and quickly hid behind Twilah again. "I'M SORRY!" Twilah softly rubbed her daughter's head. "You don't need to apologize, honey. They're not scared of you or anything. Just surprised is all. They had seen your hybrid form before." Twilah transformed into her anthro form, making Blitz be covered by her mother's tail. She peeked out and could see her other mom in her anthro form too, while the rest of the girls waved at her. Dashie kneeled down and looked at her daughter in the eyes. "It's okay, sweetie; they're family. You can trust them. We promise, they won't hurt you," she smiled. "Ah, this is the little girl you were talking about five years ago, right?" asked Faith, tapping her lap again. Blitz slowly walked towards her and sat down, blushing as Faith stroked her hair. "Yup, she's the one. Sorry, we didn't tell you her name; just... it's going to be hard to explain her backstory. She's a clone of another universe version of Twilah and I. There's also..." sighed Dashie with sadness. The girls could see Blitz becoming sad and shaking with fear as she was crying. They could tell the girl had had a horrible life. AJ put her hat on Blitz head and spoke. "You don't need to explain anything, sugar cube. When you are ready, we'll be here, okay?" The girls nodded in agreement. Blitz looked up and smiled. "O-okay." Everyone smiled back and continued with the moving in, and even Blitz helped as she turned into her human form. All the girls were looking at the night sky and smiling. "Blitz... I remember when she started to trust and open up to us more, to the point she started to call us her aunts," whispered AJ, wiping away tears. Faith cried as she held her beer can. "When she told us about her old life—the suffering she had to go through—and how her sister saved her by bringing Twilah, Dashie, and their other universe counterparts to her, I just wanted to hug her forever and ever." Penny was crying as well. "And how she grew up to be sure a great girl! Has the best parts of her parents!" She started to cry like a waterfall. Rachel tried her best not to cry but was failing as her make-up was starting to run. "Her and her dear sister don't need to keep suffering! We'll stop this evil Lucy version! Right girls!" she rose her beer can up in the air. "Right!" shouted the others, touching all their cans together. Twilight and Dash could only smile as they saw the wonderful sight. They joined them on the edge and started drinking and chatting. Sunset lay in bed and looked at her phone, seeing a weird text from Wallflower and Brishen that they just sent, talking about being away and being gone for awhile, and no other information was given. She sighed and hoped they were okay, as no matter what she sent, the text wouldn't go through. Sunset placed her phone on the dresser and was going to turn off the lights, but her phone started to ring, and she could see it was from Lucy. She answered as she sat back up. "What's up, Lucy?" "Sorry for calling you this late, Sunset. I just want to talk about...Blitz," whispered Lucy, as Sunset could hear the fear in her voice. "She told you everything." "Yeah.." Sunset sighed. "That's great. So don't be scared, okay? Blitz, her sister, and everyone else are going to be protecting you in the coming days. Everything is going to be fine." Lucy was silent and then spoke. "Sunset...what happens if Blitz and everyone fail to protect me and I get eaten by this evil version of me?" Sunset didn't know what to say. Lucy continued. "Sunset, if I do get eaten, can you tell her I love her, okay? Tell Blitz that I was so glad and lucky to have met her and how much she meant to me. Not only her, but all of you as well. Meeting all of you is a great blessing, and it was thanks to Blitz." Sunset could hear her softly crying a bit. "Please, I know she's going to blitz it if I get eaten. Can you please protect her for me and stop her from doing something stupid? Please, Sunset." Sunset's lip was shaking, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "L-Lucy...I promise. I won't let that happen. You will be alive and well, and you and Blitz will live happily together." It was silent between the two—just two girls crying—until Lucy spoke quietly on the phone. "I'm sorry, by the way." "For what?" wondered Sunset. Sunset could hear something, like if Lucy were moving back and forth, until she answered. "For taking Blitz away from you. You love her and want to be with her, right?" Sunset laughed hard, leaving Lucy puzzled by the reaction. "I don't blame you, for her falling in love with you; Blitz can love whoever she wants. And yeah, I love her, so listen, Lucy! LISTEN REAL GOOD!" Sunset smirked as she heard Lucy getting scared over the phone as she heard her loud voice. She closed her eyes and smiled. "...better love and treat her right. She's a wonderful and caring girl who deserves to be loved like no tomorrow. So, you better be nice and make her happy. Got it?" Lucy blushed hard and smiled, feeling embarrassed. "GOT IT! Thank you for accepting and not hating me, Sunset." Sunset turned off the light and laid down on her bed. "I can never hate you, Lucy. No one can ever hate you; you're too much of a dork and too pure for that. Night Lucy." "Night, Sunset. Talk to you later." and they hung up. Sunset could hear her own breathing and how quiet her room was, but was able to fall asleep fast, never noticing the unicorn pounding on the mirror on the dresser as she was holding a red geode in her mouth. It was 1 a.m. when the front door opened and Asteria stepped into her small apartment, placing her suitcase on the floor, and sighed. "Finally, home..." she mumbled, and she headed for the fridge and grabbed a beer. As she opened the can and shut the fridge, she could see another family photo of her daughters and sighed loudly. She took a few slips, walked to the couch, and sat down. She took out her cell phone and noticed two missed calls and two voicemails. "Huh, I didn't notice. I must have been too busy with the conference." She mumbled and opened the missed call screen. It was from both her daughters, as their faces were on screen. She didn't want to answer them, until two white orbs, one big and another small, flew around her phone and gave emoticons. The smaller orb showed "(づ ◕‿◕ )づ " and the big one showed "(•◡•) / " like they wanted her to answer the voice mail. Asteria sighed loudly as she tapped the orbs, which showed "(≧∇≦)"when she tapped them. "You two, I told you to stop hacking into my phone. Such misfits, both of you," she chuckled. She opened the first voicemail, and it was from her older daughter. "Hi...Mom. I am just calling to check on you. I just hope everything is going fine at your job. Selena has been hounding me all day to call you and to invite you to the church fair that Canterlot High is hosting like every year." there was a pause before she spoke again. "...Mom, it would be great if you came just this once. We never blamed you for not ever being in our lives, but I hope you come and visit. Love you." "Oh, Sunna," whispered Asteria as she opened the next voicemail. "Hey Mom! It's Selena! I'm calling because I know my big sister won't do it. Please visit the church fair. As vice principal, I can see it's going to be another great one. They even got pony rides this year! PLEASE visit! I love you. We love you; don't ever forget that. What happened in the past will always be the past. Okay, gotta go! BYE!" Asteria felt like crying, as the voicemails were making her remember the horrible past she had with her two daughters. She suddenly felt her phone vibrate, and it was the two orbs again, looking worried for her. The big one showed " ಥ﹏ಥ ", and the smallest one showed " (╯•﹏•╰) ". "I'm fine. Don't cry, you two; I'm fine. But I should visit like they wanted." The orbs became excited as the biggest orb started to spin and showed "( ˘▽˘) ", while the small one started to bounce around and showed "◕ᴗ◕✿ ". Asteria could only laugh as she watched the orbs dance around the phone screen and see how much energy they had. "Oh, Mizuki and Arev, you two remind me so much of my daughters when they were kids. Full of life, happiness, and joy." She whispered as she watched the orbs slow down, and the bigger one showed a heart shape. The smallest orb showed a heart and a U letter. Asteria laughed. "Maybe if I visit the fair and meet them again, I can finally forgive myself. Maybe I can finally apologize to them, and maybe I can tell them I love them too. Yeah...that's it." The two orbs bounced around and showed emoticons like crazy as the woman laughed and tried to grab them with her tips of her fingers. Which they let her and showed "( ◜‿◝ )♡". Twilight and Dash fumbled with the front door lock and finally got the door opened, turned back, and waved goodbye to the girls, who waved back and drove off. The two quietly tiptoe up the stairs and pass the Blitz room, which was closed, but they thought they saw a dim light under the door. Dash yawned and was ready to head to the bathroom and take a shower, but Twilight grabbed her hand and led her into their bedroom. "What's up, Twilight?" Twilight didn't say anything; she just closed the door and locked it. "Twilight?" wondered Dash, until Twilight picked her up and held her like a princess, making Dash blush. "T-Twilight! We can't, we never-oof!" Dash was tossed on the bed, and Twilight shadow loomed over her, and Dash felt something. "Twilight?" "Dash," whispered Twilight as she got close to her face. "I want to try it, as humans, just this once." "Twi, you are drunk, aren't you?" "No. I can handle my liquor," said Twilight as she took her shirt off, revealing her bra. "I just...just want to do it as humans. I want to see how different it is. Plus, learning how Twilah and Dashie did it as ponies makes me want to try even more." Dash gulped as Twilight leaned in for a kiss and covered themselves in a blanket. Meanwhile, Blitz and Braver were watching a horror movie with headphones on, and Blitz yawned and looked over to her sister, who was scared out of her mind. "Hey, you good?" Braver read her sister's lips and answered her. "N-n-n-no-no. No. This is too scary," cried Braver, who was shaking. "Why would you watch this? It's terrible. All the deaths, screaming, and gore!" Blitz laughed and removed her headphones. She was going to get up but heard something. "Huh?" Braver could see her sister looking confused, then worried, and then looking red as she quickly put her headphones back on. "What's wrong? It looks like you heard something." Braver was going to remove her headphones, but Blitz stopped her and said, "Trust me, you don't want to hear what I just heard just now...I really wish I didn't hear it." Braver was confused, but she was so scared what was happening in the movie, that she didn't care and kept watching the movie with her sister. Blitz couldn't focus on the movie, as the noises coming from her parents' room were much louder and all coming from one tall person. "Hope the fair can erase this awful memory away," whispered Blitz, looking out the window and seeing the starry night. Tempesta walked Fizzle Pop around her neighborhood early in the morning and waved at her neighbors. It's what she wanted—a simple and normal life—but she knew deep down that she wasn't normal and was just broken. Broken because she couldn't save her friends back then, to the point she developed PTSD and would freak out, causing her to be alone. Alone with her thoughts, alone with her mind, and alone with her own voice. Fizzle Pop looked up at her and could see her smiling but could see her eyes and her tears. The dog could sense something was wrong, and her PTSD dog training kicked in as she pulled the leash, interrupting any flashbacks that her master was or was going to have. Tempesta understood why Fizzle just pulled her and thanked her. She started to head home, but even though she was the one leading them home, she felt like she was walking around in circles, like she was lost, but she wasn't, and within her thoughts, she felt lost still. She arrived home and opened the door, letting Fizzle pop in first and closing the door. She let the leash loose and watched her run and lay on the couch. "What am I doing? I'm supposed to be fighting with the others soon. I shouldn't be feeling like this right now." She whispered, hanging the leash on the hanger, and started to walk around. She went into the kitchen and looked in the fridge. She could see food and drinks, but she didn't feel like eating or drinking anything. She shut it close and just stood, looking at nothing. "I need to stay focused on the mission. Blitz is counting on me to protect Lucy from that evil version of Lucy. I promised I would do anything for her, and I meant that," said Tempesta, turning her back to the fridge and walking off. She stopped and turned back to the kitchen as she thought she heard something. It was voices—voices from the past. Calling out to her that she failed them, that she needed to fix her mistakes, and so on. Tempesta closed her eyes, started to hum to calm herself, and started to relax until the voices were gone. She opened her eyes and sighed. She looked around her parents house and just didn't feel safe anymore, not with all the memories still attacking her. She decided to walk over to the basement door and open it. As she did, Fizzle Pop ears went up and quickly joined her. Tempesta gave her a small head rub, went down the stairs with her, and turned on the lights. The basement was big and had many things stored in the corner, and the other side was empty. Tempesta took a deep breath and could feel a bit calmer, until she could hear the voices again, saying things about how she had failed them and how they needed her. To end her mistakes so they can finally rest. She closed her eyes, walked forward, touched the wall side that was empty, and kneeled down. She opened her eyes and looked back, seeing her dead squad mates. All of them were standing there, and the center one was holding out a handgun, asking her to fix the mistake she made. Tempesta said nothing and went back to the wall. She started to pull out a brick and kept taking out more bricks until a secret place was revealed. She looked inside and pulled out a rag-covered item, slowly removing the cloth, showing a handgun and a few magazines with it. Tempesta looked back up and spoke to her memories. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you all," she whispered, her eyes becoming wet and tears falling. "But I promise to make sure Blitz and Lucy will be okay. Please, let me have some time with them before...before I'll join you all." Her dead friends were silent, but she knew they were mad at her for not listening to them and not joining them sooner. But she'll follow them soon; after all, she had a promise to keep to them as well. "Tempesta. Keep moving forward," whispered two new voices at the same time, making her open her eyes and seeing Blitz, Braver, and all of her friends around her, holding her hand with the handgun. "You will have peace too! We'll make sure of it! We will even share our peace with you. You don't have to suffer all alone; you should have a happy ending too. Be strong and listen...". Tempesta watched as all her friends disappeared, and the only ones left were the dead squad mates, still looking at her. She heard Blitz and Braver voices again, telling her to listen. Listen to her spark. She closed her eyes once more, and she listened. "Please, Tempesta," whispered one of her squad mates. "Don't end it. It was never your fault. Never.". "No, it's my fault. I should have done more! I could have saved you all!" replied Tempesta. "You did everything you could. Don't blame yourself. Don't let it eat you up," added the second one. She opened her eyes and cried as she saw them looking more normal than their bloody, horror-looking selves. They smiled at her, and they were gone. She dropped the gun and covered her eyes as Fizzle Pop went to her and set her head on her master lap, trying to calm her down. Tempesta slowly took the gun and held it flat to her heart. She needed it for the coming days, as she was given a second chance to redo her past mistakes, and this time she will save them. She will save them all and protect Blitz and Lucy. She will do her mission. She will not fail. She will not allow the past to repeat itself, not anymore. Even though the voices were gone for now, she knew they'd be back like always, but this time, she had hope and a tiny spark within her. She was no longer alone, even if it was within her mind. The spark of friendship was within her, and she won't lose it ever again. She smiled and petted Fizzle Pop. "Thank you, girl. I'll be alright. Come on, I think we should eat something." She covered the handgun once more, placed it inside her jacket pocket, and headed upstairs to make breakfast for them and rest of her family and get ready for the fair later today. Back in Equestria, before the whole sky mirror prism event started, Cozy, Tirek, and Ember kept fighting Fire Demon versions of Armor and Cadance, as both sides weren't winning or losing. "Why are these guys so strong?" asked Cozy, who was panting and hovering above the fight as Tirek and Ember were fighting the fire demon couples. "It feels like they're getting stronger." Tirek blocked Armor's flaming sword, feeling the burning of the blade burn his skin a bit as he pushed him back. "They're gaining more power by the second, like they are sucking our strength," he smirked. "So, that's how it feels..." Ember roared and blew flames at the fire demon couple, making them jump back and land on their feet. "We should leave. They're becoming stronger than us and will drain us if we keep this up," suggested Tirek as he jumped away from the fight and landed near the others who landed. "No, we can't retreat, remember? We need to keep them busy for the others to get inside the castle," replied Cozy, cracking her neck. Ember looked at the couple for a bit, then turned to the others. "Hey, speaking of which, How long are we meant to distract these two?" Cozy and Tirek looked at each other, wondering the same thing. "It has been awhile. Did those idiots even get inside?" asked Cozy, with her body turning red with rage. "In fact, the heck are we even meant to know they got inside!?" The fire demon couple stood there, staring at them with their burning eyes. They looked at each other. "Why is Cozy so upset?" asked Cadance. "Not sure, but we should finish these three off," replied Armor, as the two rushed forward and started to attack again. Tirek raised his arms, blocking the flaming shield, but was bashed into a building, while Cozy dodged the flaming sword and quickly dashed forward, towards Armor. "Too slow!" laughed Armor as he dodged and slashed her wing with his burning horn, making her cry out in pain. Cozy landed hard, as her wing was torn a bit. "That fucking hurt!" she yelled, turning to the others. Seeing Ember unleash her fire breath on Cadance, who countered with her own pink stream of flames. Making the two flames clash and be evenly matched. Ember could feel her breath starting to lose the struggle match and could see the pink flames pushing her back. In a quick move, Ember stopped, used her wings to block the pink flames, and used the force to push her backwards far enough that the pink flames couldn't reach her. "Hmmm..." thought Ember, checking her body and wings out and not seeing much damage, but that was the problem itself. "My scales are barely charred. They're strong and can even match the dragon's fire. Just how are we meant to win?" She looked down and could see Tirek bursting out of the house, charging forward, winding up his punch, and unleashing it into the armor shield, but hardly pushing it back. "It's impossible. No matter how hard we hit them, it's like punching a mountain," whispered Ember as her tail swished around and she sensed something coming towards her, making her quickly look back and get blasted by pink flames. "You shouldn't let your guard down when facing a princess! But it's not surprising coming from a stupid dragon." mocked Cadance, seeing Ember having trouble flying and fell to the city below and crashing. "EMBER!" yelled Tirek, trying to move away from the fight and to help her. "I don't think so," said Armor as he bashed Tirek in the face with his shield, dazing him, and was going to follow it up with stabbing him, but Cozy caught the blade of the sword and forced it to the left, missing Tirek. "Don't worry about her. She'll live if she knows how to dodge a simple fire blast. Right now, you better focus on the fight and stop trying to get yourself killed," ordered Cozy, who quickly took away the sword from Armor's magical hold, flipped it around, and tossed it back at him, which he quickly blocked. "Huh, well played," complimented Armor as the sword turned back to his control and the shield returned to his side. Cozy smirk. "Yeah yeah. Just keep the fight going," she replied, looking back at Tirek, who was holding his face and finally snapping back to his senses. "If you're so worried about her, go help her. I'll take care of the blue-flaming boy here." Tirek stared at Cozy and could see she was serious, so he nodded. He took one last look at the battle and rushed towards Ember, who was being blasted and couldn't move at all. Armor bowed at Cozy. "For someone who was once so evil and heartless, you're showing a lot of emotion and care for others. Is it because you have friends now? Or are you finally growing a conscience?" he questioned, raising his sword. Cozy smirked. "Both, but there's another reason." "Oh? What would that be?" asked Armor, lowering his guard a bit. "It's called 'love'." Armor froze and stared at her with shock, and he could see the look in her pissed-off eyes. He laughed a bit. "You can't be serious? You of all ponies?" Cozy joined in that laughter. "Hey, I'm proud of it. I can say I found someone who has given me hope, a purpose in life, and a damn good reason to keep moving forward in life, no matter the obstacle. She has shown me the true meaning of the word that I was so blind to. A word that you two know all too well, that we all know all too well." Both flew into the air and faced each other down. Cozy floated in front of Armor, seeing the flames around his body start to dim. "So, how does it feel to be on the receiving end of love?" "It's...amazing, actually. It feels nice, like you have something special that you wouldn't want to lose ever. But, why are you telling me all this? Are you trying to distract me, or something?" asked Armor. Cozy was going to answer, but she thought she heard Pinkie's voice. She looked around but saw no pony and was quickly hit by a magical fireball. "Ha! The way you fight shows you're a warrior, but no true warrior will let their guard down during a fight." Cozy was pissed as she rubbed her sore back. "Bastard, I'll kill you," she hissed as she charged forward. She punched the shield, and she could hear Armor laughing again. "Now now, Cozy Glow. If you are going to kill me, then you should use this," he suggested, tossing a sword her way. Cozy was surprised and quickly caught the sword, seeing her reflection on the blade. She could see the burning hate in her eyes as small black seeds fell within the reflection and how much power the blade held. She could hear whispers and sounds of someone writing in a book. Calling out to her, commanding her to be their 'savior' and to 'kill her' and 'destroy her core' and to 'finally bring this universe down the same path to the end'. Cozy could feel herself getting pulled into the darkness and was going to fall in, but something bright and beautiful stopped her. She could see Braver doing her stupid smile, the same smile she loves so much. Armor watched in surprise and horror as Cozy snapped the sword in half and tossed each piece aside as she hovered in front of him, still looking pissed. "I would never use that weapon! I would rather freaking punch you until you come back to normal or get knocked out. Either one is fine with me." growled Cozy, slamming her hooves together. Armor was confused. "I don't understand; that should have turned you into a 'savior', like us!? How could you resist that?!" Cozy held her chest and smiled with pure happiness. "Simple, she'll hate me if I give in to that darkness. That's the last thing I want." "But how are you able to do that? I know you aren't a real Alicorn or anything. So, what makes you so strong?" He demanded, readying his sword and shield. Cozy hated to admit it and looked around, hoping no one could hear her. "Never tell that stupid Twilight or anyone! But it's because..." she groaned, making Armor very curious. "Yes?" Cozy groaned louder. "Friendship and being loved back. It's the only reason why I was able to reject that darkness because of her." She blushed hard and felt cringe as Armor started to laugh at her. "Oh man! That's hilarious and cute. I never knew that the once cold and heartless Cozy Glow would fall for a pony, and the reason you could resist 'her' was because of your lover." "WHOA! HEY THERE! We're not that close, you stupid idiot! I mean, sure, I LOVE HER AND ALL THAT, BUT I...never thought we would ever go that far." Cozy shook her and prepared herself. "Besides, she loves someone else. So that ship sailed a long time ago." Armor lowered his weapons, hearing the sadness and heartbreak in her voice. "That's rough. Sorry about that." Cozy shrug. "Yeah, well...wait..." she could see Armor flames becoming more dimmer. Could this be the way to turn them back? "No! There has to be another way! Like beating his ass! Please not this way!" Armor could see Cozy looking scared, and he wondered why, but he became really confused as he saw Cozy's tough look becoming very soft, like that of a maiden. "What's wrong? What is happening to you?" Cozy was blushing and could feel her heart racing. "N-n-n-nothing. Don't worry about it." Armor was really confused and somewhat scared. "You're acting very differently. Why are you acting like a maiden now? You were so full of anger, rage, and hate before; now you're looking all blushy and shy. Why? And why do you keep looking away from me?" Cozy was shaking. "I know how to save you...with the power of..." she groaned hard. "LOVE!" she screamed and blushed hard. "Yeah, I love Braver, okay!? But she doesn't love me that way! She loves that creep and loser, Dawn, but I just want to see her happy, even if it hurts...like a bitch," she hissed the last part, holding her chest. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that," replied Armor, his flames fading and his normal look slowly returning. Cozy sighed. "Yeah, yeah. But what can you do, right?" she asked, floating closer to Armor. She could see him smiling softly and saw the old him returning. "Damn it, I really wanted to punch you. The stupid power of love crap." Armor smiled as his weapons vanished and patted Cozy's head. "Hey now, you'll find someone else. Someone who will make you happy, no matter what. Just remember, the most important thing is not the power and strength, but the feelings in your heart. That is all that matters." Cozy groaned, feeling embarrassed. "I guess so," she smiled. "Thanks, Armor. That's the best advice I got in awhile." "Your welcome, Cozy," replied Armor, pulling her in a hug. "Oh, my fucking god! No, we're not doing hugs!" She screamed, pushing him off and seeing Armor finally break free from the corruption and got back to normal. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away. But that's good; it means I'm free from 'her' control." Armor checked his body, seeing that he was truly back to normal, and looked below, seeing his empire in flames. "...did Cadance and I do all this?" Cozy could see that Armor looked sad and could feel the guilt in his voice. "Yes, you and Cadance did all of this, but you were..." Armor stopped her, as he knew the answer. "Sunfall, we need to save my wife! Let's go!" He used his magical aura on his body to soar back down to the burning city, while Cozy followed.  Both landed and could see Cadance blasting both Tirek and Ember with her flames, pinning the two down. Armor quickly ran towards his wife and started to talk to her about his love for her and so on, making Cozy gag a bit. "Screw this; I wanted to fight in a cool battle, not talk about love and crap," complained Cozy, crossing her arms. She sat down and watched as Armor was failing to get through to his wife, who used her magic to cage him and laughed with madness. "COZY! HELP!" shouted Armor, looking at her. Cozy got up and started to walk away. "Yeah, not getting involved in this. This is your battle, not mine. Sorry, but I'm done." "WAIT! TO SAVE HER, YOU GONNA TALK ABOUT YOUR LOVE FOR BRAVER!" screamed Armor. Cozy flinched and sighed. She turned around with a bright red face, swearing under her breath, and floated towards Cadance. "Look, you have a wonderful husband who loves you. I really wish I had that, but I don't," she corrected herself. "Wait, I do. She loves me so much, but her heart belongs to another." Cadance started to become normal after listening to Cozy's story. "I don't have anyone to love or return my feelings. Well, she loves me, but not in a lover way, and I just want her to be happy, no matter what. Sure, it's killing me slowly and painfully inside. But I'm just happy to see her happy. Because she's the only pony that believes in me and sees me for who I really am, not a monster." Cozy looked down. "So, I don't know what will happen in the future, since I'll be alone and all that. But I'm not going to let her see me break. I'll keep smiling and laughing, like I always do. I'll move forward for her." She looked up and could see Cadance back to normal, crying her heart out, and quickly grabbing her in a hug. Cozy didn't want this, but it felt like a mother giving their child a hug, and she was loving it—not that she'll admit it. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" sobbed Cadance. "You'll find someone else, Cozy! Never give up on love!" Cozy blushed and nodded. "Right, thanks..." Cadance let her go and saw Armor running towards her and hugging each other, while Ember and Tirek walked up to a blushing Cozy. Ember gave her a thumbs up, while Tirek made fun of her. "Maybe the Empire will build a statue of you, a heroine of love who saved the princess of love from being corrupted. The spot across from the Spike statue will be the perfect spot. Right, miss heroine of lo-ugh!" grunted Tirek as Cozy punched him in the gut. "Shut up, asshole," grumbled Cozy, turning her back and mumbling to herself. The four started laughing but stopped as they looked up and saw a mirror-prism window forming in the dark clouds. They suddenly could see Braver's life—her past life. Seeing her destroy her world and then her universe. All of it was repeated, as the images covered the whole sky. "Braver, was this why you were scared of telling us?" whispered Tirek, seeing the monster known as Breaker destroying the city with its magical lasers as Sky dodged them. "Monster...like me. That's what you meant." "SHE ISN'T A MONSTER!" shouted Cozy, causing everyone to look at her. "She isn't that anymore! She's our dumb blockhead and klutz friend, not a monster. I don't care if we saw her doing horrible things; she isn't like that anymore. I'm the same, as is Chrysalis, including you. We have done bad things, but look at us now! We changed because of her! She gave us a chance to change, and we did, not for her, not for Equestria, but for ourselves!" Cozy turned around and pointed her hoof at the image of Braver as the images continued to spread across the sky. "So it's our damn turn to give her a chance now! Not for Equestria, not for us, but for her! We know she's a good pony and has a good heart! If any ponies and creatures can't accept her, then they can get fucked! And I mean FUCKED!" shouted Cozy, breathing hard as she felt like screaming for days. Cadance, Armor, Tirek, and Ember looked at each other and smiled. "Let's do it for her!" replied Cadance, smiling brightly. "Yes, for our friend," added Tirek, cracking his knuckles. "Yeah, for Braver!" cheered Ember, giving everyone a thumbs up. Armor, step forward. "Yes, for Twily daughter! My niece, Braver!" "Braver," repeated Cozy, looking at the image. "We'll be in your corner! Never forget that!" She turned to the group. "Come on! We need to help the others and find out why we're seeing those images in the sky.". She flew off, with the others behind her, heading to the palace as a bright purple flash appeared at the top of the palace. They hurried along and finally reached the base of the palace, where they could see Fluttershy and Flutterwar, who looked very different now and were lying next to her friends, while the rest of Fluttershy's friends were there and giving their element necklaces to them, stopping them from fading away. "What's going on?" asked Cozy as her group finally arrived and saw AJ and JA happy to see her. AJ pointed to her. "Glad you're here! Braver is going to need you!". JA added "Yeah, she needs you fast! She's going nuts!". They all looked up and could see a slime human-looking monster screaming one word, and that was "BREAKER!". Cozy narrowed her eyes at the creature and realized it was Braver, and she looked back at AJ and JA, asking one thing. "Tell me how to get into that universe." She pounds the ground, leaving a crater. "NOW!" end of chapter 29 > End Of 2nd Arc Ch.30: The Reason To Keep Moving Forward > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blitz yawned and took a scoop of her morning cereal, while Braver was still shaking with fear from the last night horror movie they saw together. But the reason that Blitz was so tired was because something else, and Twilight knew what it was, as her and Dash were bright red as they ate their own breakfast. Braver looked at them and was about to ask why they were blushing so hard, but then a knock at the door interrupted her. "I'll get it!" shouted Twilight, spooking everyone but Dash and hurrying to the door. Braver really wanted to know what was wrong with her mom, but Blitz told her to let lying dogs lie, which she explained to her that it means don't ask. So, she didn't. Twilight opened the door and smiled as she saw Sunset, but was shocked to see someone with her, who became scared of her size as she spoke to her. "Ms. Finkelstein! You are so tall!". Sunset felt her mother hiding behind her, still scared of Twilight. Sunset sighed and smiled. "Mom, I told you Blitz mom was testing a growth formula. It's why she's so tall right now. Right, Ms. Finkelstein!?" She winked a few times, trying to get Twilight to go along with the lie. Twilight took notice and nodded. "Y-yes! It's a temporary thing! H-how are you? Ms. uhhhhh...." Twilight slowly looked over to Sunset for help, as she didn't know Sunset's mother's name at all. Sunset pushed her mom inside and spoke. "Helena Shimeren! You shouldn't be rude and shy! Now let's get inside and get ready for the fair! It's going to start soon!". Helena was wondering why her daughter was acting so strange and calling her by her full name, but before she could question it anymore, she saw Twilight (well, Twilah in her eyes) bow and ask if she had anything to eat. "Uhhhhhh..." mumbled Helena, not sure how to respond. "Mom!" yelled Sunset, pushing her farther inside and towards the living room. "Oh, uh, no, thank you. We pretty much ate a quick breakfast before coming here, but thank you for asking. You have such nice manners." replied Helena, feeling better now, and smiled. Sunset looked back and could see Twilight breathing easily now, and she sighed too. Twilight and Helena sat down on the sofa, and Sunset ran off to the kitchen. They both could hear her talking to Blitz, and they couldn't help but smile. "My daughter really cares about your daughter, you know," whispered Helena, looking back at Twilight. "I can see that. Your daughter is very special. She's smart, strong, kind, and loving. She's like my daughter in a way." proudly answered Twilight, as she was talking about Braver, but to Helena, she thought she was talking about Blitz, and she was happy to hear Twilight say that. "They do have a ton in common! Almost like they were made for each other, no? Hahaha!" giggled Helena. Twilight looked back at the kitchen and smiled sadly as Blitz told her how she and Lucy got together. "Yeah, they do...". In the kitchen, Dash and Braver were eating breakfast still, while Sunset and Blitz were talking. "What's wrong with your mom joining us today? In fact, you should be happy she's finally getting out of the house, and this was her choice too! Be proud of her!" angrily whispered Blitz, looking at her. "It's not that; it's just...I know my mom! I know what she's thinking and doing!" huffed Sunset, crossing her arms. "Plus, I got lucky your mom is super smart, and growth formula isn't too out there for my mom to believe, but how am I going to explain your sister?" Braver said 'what?' as her mouth was filled with breakfast sausage as she heard her name. Sunset looked at her and turned back to Blitz, asking her again if Braver and her folks should really be eating sausages. Blitz brushed that off and told her what was wrong with Helena meeting her sister. "I dunno, maybe she looks just like your mom!? Wait..." Sunset realized something, and Blitz noticed her connecting the dots and felt worried, as Sunset still doesn't know she and her sister are basically clones of another world, Twilight and Dash. "I just noticed that you and your sister really look like your parents, but didn't you say you were from another universe and your folks took you in? Speaking of which, how did Twilah and Dashiell get into your universe? You never really...Blitz?" She stopped as she saw Blitz looking very uncomfortable and scared. Braver looked at her and then at her twin sister. She could tell that Blitz still hadn't told Sunset the full truth, and she couldn't really blame her, as she hadn't told her friends the truth either. She quickly thought of something and left the kitchen, went to the closet, took a hat, and put it on. "There! Your mom won't ask why I look like Blitz mom! Your mom knows Blitz is adopted, right? We can just say I'm visiting or something. Simple, right?" asked Braver, smiling. Sunset thought about it, and without seeing Braver's hair, she really doesn't look too much like Twilight. She sighed and said it would work, but Dash spoke up. "Wait, what about my hair? Dashiell's hair color is brown, right? Won't it be odd that I and Blitz have matching hair?" Sunset quickly answered her. "Blitz mom loves dying her hair, and we can just say it's for pride month or something." Dash asked what was pride month, but the girls didn't answer her as they continued to talk. "Okay, bases are covered. Are we good, Sunny? Can we continue breakfast now?" asked Blitz, smiling. Sunset was going to answer her when Twilight called for her and Blitz. They left the kitchen and entered the living room. "I'm sorry if you were busy talking, but Helena wanted to see you, sweetie," answered Twilight, feeling a little guilty. "No, no, it's fine, mom; we were done talking. What's up, Helena?" asked Blitz, sitting next to her. Helena's scared and worried face quickly became filled with joy and happiness. "Blitz, how you been? It's been forever since I last saw you. Sunny has been visiting you a lot lately, haven't you, Sweeite?" Sunset quickly answered. "Yes, of course, mom. I wouldn't miss seeing my best friend." She smiled and looked at Blitz and winked at her. Blitz nodded and spoke. "Yup, we have been busy these past few days! Sorry, I haven't visited you. Speaking of which," Blitz held Helena hands and smiled. "Happy you could come along. This is a big and wonderful surprise. I'm glad you're taking those few steps toward leaving the house on your own terms." Helena couldn't help but smile back, happy that Blitz was so nice and supportive like always. She then looked at her daughter, who was still standing and acting strange. "Come, Sunny, sit. I don't want you to be rude." She patted the space between her and Blitz, making Sunset a little annoyed as she knew what her mom was doing, and sat down, blushing. Twilight knew what was happening and wanted to help Sunset, but her cell phone started ringing, as it was from AJ, and she needed to take the call, leaving the three alone. Helena was overjoyed to see her daughter and Blitz sitting with each other, almost like they were a couple. "So, Blitz, have you and Sunny been having fun lately?" asked Helena, looking at them. Sunset could see her mom's eyes filled with hope and was going to say something, but Blitz answered. "We have; in fact, she's been a real big help lately, like really big help. Glad she's been there for me." "Is that right?" asked Helena, raising an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah," replied Sunset. Helena nodded and then asked the next question. "So, you two have any plans during the fair? I'm sure you girls don't want to be with us old folks all day, right? Maybe you two should-" "Mom, you're embarrassing me!" whispered Sunset, but her mother brushed her off and continued to speak. "Do stuff together, like ride the Ferris wheel, and maybe go out and grab a bite to eat? You two can even go somewhere quiet, alone and enjoy yourselves, right?". Blitz didn't know how to answer her, but Sunset spoke for her. "Well, that's a nice idea, but you forget one important detail." She got up and felt like yelling. "Lucy will be there, along with the rest of our friends. No time to hang out with Blitz or be alone with her, so please stop trying to get me and her together like always," she said, crossing her arms and huffing. Blitz quickly felt bad, as she never knew that Helena was trying to hook them for so long. She couldn't blame Sunset for being so annoyed with her mother and her antics, but at the same time, her mother was just trying to make her happy. Blitz was going to say something, but Braver and Dash walked in, spooking Helena as she returned, being so scared and worried. "Who's the girl?" asked Helena, seeing Braver waving at her. Blitz got up and explained that this was her twin sister and that she was finally visiting her since they weren't adopted together when they were kids, making Helena believe her and soften her appearance once more. "Sorry for asking. She looks really different. But I can see the family resemblance, even if it's little," replied Helena, making Blitz chuckle. Braver quickly went to Helena and hugged her, making her a little uncomfortable. Helena was going to ask what she was doing, but Blitz stopped her. "That's just how she is, Helena. My sister might be smart, but she's pretty dense when it comes to social stuff," replied Blitz, smiling nervously. Braver let her go and sat next to her. "It's nice to meet you! Sorry for scaring you. My name is Braver! You almost look like Sunset; guess that's where she gets her looks, huh?" "Yes, yes, she takes after me," replied Helena, smiling and blushing as she enjoyed Braver complimenting her. It wasn't long before AJ and the others arrived, as the living room started to get packed with everyone talking and such. Helena felt so scared as some of them were asking her things, like when Penny asked if she wanted some snacks and pulled a ton of different snacks from her fanny pack, which freaked her out and she said no, even though she was hungry. "Well, more for me!" happily said Penny, opening a bag and tossing the chips into her mouth, making Helena slide away and bump into AJ, who nodded at her and smiled. "Sorry, Ms. Jones. I didn't mean to bump into you," said Helena, worried. AJ tips her hat towards her. "Please, it's AJ, and I ain't mad. I get it; you're shy and stuff. Take all the time you need, Ms. Shimeren." She reached out for a handshake, which Helena just looked at and did nothing. Making AJ understand her and lowering her hand. "No rush, no worries. Just know this: everyone here is like family, and we see your daughter as part of that. So, we would love it if we could treat you the same. If you don't mind." Helena softly smiled and felt like hugging her, as AJ was being so nice and understanding with her. Meanwhile, in the basement, Twilight triple-checked her devices and asked her daughter and Dash to put them in AJ truck, as they needed to start field testing them later after the fair. "Are you sure this stuff will help mom? Recreating the magical properties of your kind just by using the technology that Twilah created? How?" asked Braver, holding the heavy boxes and heading up. Dash was the same. "Yeah, how will it help? I'm a little lost in this techno magic crap." Twilight chuckled and followed them. "It's not really magic, Dash. It's just the technology and science of this world that allow it to work. All thanks to Twilah for reverse engineering the magical scrolls and spells. It's still amazing she did that; I really need to ask her so many questions when we meet them again." "Sure, sure, just hurry it up; my arms are getting tired," replied Dash, rushing up. As everyone was still talking in the living room and Twilight and her family were finally leaving the basement, Sunset and Blitz were talking upstairs in Blitz's room. "So, nothing from Brishen and Wallflower?" questioned Blitz, looking at her phone, and still couldn't send a text to them. She looked up and saw Sunset nodding and showing the same thing on her phone. "I feel something isn't right. I can't explain it, Sunset. It's like...a cold shiver, running down my back." Sunset was thinking and trying to calm Blitz down. "I know, but we can't do anything right now about it. Maybe they're doing something important to help us? You know how King is, and I think Wallflower is just helping him." She could see Blitz worrying as she remembered what she tried to do to Wallflower. "Hey, hey, nothing happened, and you weren't being you. Speaking of which," Sunset went to the closet and tossed Blitz her purple jacket. "Here, you look weird without it. Didn't you say that your real mothers gave you that jacket? Why haven't you been wearing it lately?" Blitz caught it and was going to reply to her when there was a knock at the door, and Braver poked her head out. "Hey, sis, we're leaving! You coming?" "Oh, right. Coming!" replied Blitz, seeing her sister close the door and leaving the two alone again. "Sunset, I know you keep saying that, but I did hurt you two by acting like that. Trying to give my body to you two, I must have hurt Wilma and you," she clutched the jacket hard. "My mothers told me that this jacket is a symbol of their love, and the symbol on the back is the friends I'll make and who will love and support me, but I ruin that and try to..." she didn't finish, as Sunset wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. "You didn't, Blitz. You need to stop blaming yourself for nothing. If you truly hurt us, we wouldn't be here right now." "Wilma isn't here," quickly replied Blitz, wanting to hug her back but couldn't. Sunset sighed and pulled back, as she didn't know what else to say and just nodded. "We can't change the past. But we can change the future. So, let's get going. This day is meant to relax and fun before...you know. So just have fun today, okay?" she smiled. Blitz returned the smile and nodded. "Right." She wore her jacket and followed her. Everyone exited the house but quickly realized something. As the AJ pickup truck cargo bed was filled with Twilight's device boxes, leaving the other girls without a ride but surprising everyone, Helena raised her hand like a scared little girl and spoke. "U-Um, I have my car right here. I can...give the others a ride, if that's okay." asked Helena, wanting to help them. Blitz felt so proud of how Helena has been doing lately, as the others asked if it was okay, and Helena said it was okay. Blitz turned to Sunset and playfully punched her shoulder. "Why aren't you glad your mom is improving? Why the long face?" Sunset huffed and turned away, feeling a little embarrassed. "Because it's her." Blitz couldn't help but laugh at her as the others entered Helena's car, leaving Twilight and AJ alone. "Twi, can you even fit into the passenger seat?" questioned AJ as she got in herself, seeing that there might be a problem. "Don't worry, AJ, I can fit," replied Twilight, trying to show her, but her butt wouldn't fit in, but she kept trying until she somehow fit inside and hardly could close the door. "See?" She was sweating and tried not to move, as she couldn't move at all, as she was like sardines in a can. AJ felt Twilight's elbow hitting her cheek. "Uh, are you good?" asked AJ, feeling bad for her. "Oh, yeah. Just fine. Totally fine," replied Twilight, trying not to worry AJ, even though it was already too late. As the two were talking, Sunset asked Blitz if she was going to fly to the fair, but her mother called out to them. "Sweetie, there's no room in the car; why don't you and Blitz walk to the fair? It isn't too far, plus it would be good idea to spend some alone time with each other." "MOM!" screamed Sunset, feeling so embarrassed, as everyone was listening to them and could see her mother grinning like a devil. "Fine, whatever. Lets just go," she huffed and started to walk off, with Blitz following behind. "Love you!" shouted Helena as she rolled up the window and drove off, with AJ close behind her. Blitz and Sunset stopped as both vehicles were gone from sight, making Sunset turn into Blitz. "She is gone; go ahead without me. Lucy is waiting for you, right? You two have to spend all the time you have before that day comes. So, I'll walk by myself. Okay?" Blitz understood what she was doing, as she knew how hard it must be for her and Wilma. It must be even harder on Sunset, as her mom keeps trying to set her up with her.  "Huh?" whispered Sunset, feeling Blitz's arm around her waist and soon found herself flying above the town, as Blitz was in her anthro form. "What are you doing?" "What does it look like? Spending time with you," replied Blitz, smiling and holding her as she flew through the skies slowly. "I said I'd walk to the fair! Not flying!" she shouted, holding on to Blitz with dear life. "I'm flying, not walking. So, no harm, no foul," joked Blitz, laughing. Sunset wasn't in the mood to joke around and tried to push herself away from her, making Blitz grab her and hug her tighter so she wouldn't fall. "Don't do that! We're in the sky right now, unless you want to fall to your death." Sunset stopped struggling and sighed, knowing Blitz was right. "Sorry, I'm not in a great mood." "I noticed. Want to talk about it?" Sunset felt the cool air blowing her hair and just looked down at the ground below, as Blitz was slowly flying over the town and could see all the cars moving. "I have not much to say. You pretty much know how my mom is acting. I know she's trying to be supportive and stuff, and I appreciate that. It's just hard to explain to her that-" "That I'm dating Lucy now, when she wants us to be together instead," finished Blitz, getting Sunset's attention and seeing her nodding. "Yeah..." Blitz just looked up ahead and spoke. "You have to tell her; she doesn't even know that I'm dating Lucy. She's not the type of person to be angry about this. I'm sure she'll be happy and understanding, right?" She looked at her friend, who was just looking away, not giving her a reply. "Okay, I'll tell her." Sunset snapped her head at her, hearing her. "WHAT?! No! She'll take it better from me than from you! Trust me, my mom even planned a whole wedding for us after she noticed I had a crush on you and when you first met and helped her." "Really? I didn't notice at all," joked Blitz, not expecting that at all. "...what kind of wedding?" she teased, smiling. Sunset turned her face away. "No way! Don't even think about it." "Come on, what kind? Tell me," continued Blitz, enjoying teasing her. "NO!" Blitz just chuckled, seeing how cute Sunset was acting, as they almost reached the fairgrounds, landed far from it, transformed back to normal, and walked out behind the bushes. "Let's not do that again." whispered Sunset, walking pretty fast. Blitz hurried along, asking what was wrong with flying here, but Sunset turned red as she answered her. "Not that; I mean walking out behind bushes like that. People are going to think we're doing something, and I don't want Lucy to start thinking we're doing something behind her back." "But we're just friends, and she knows that, so nothing to worry about, right?" Blitz could see her friend flinch for a split second and just walk faster. "...Sunny?" "Right, nothing to worry about. Now come on, we're going to miss the rides if we don't hurry," replied Sunset, trying to change the subject. Blitz could see it was pointless to try to get her to talk, so she didn't say anything else as she walked beside her. Entering the fairgrounds and seeing Tempesta with Fizzle Pop at the entrance. "Oh, hi guys. I just got here as well." She asked, seeing the two, but noticed something was up as she noticed the weird vibe. "What's wrong? Something happened?" Sunset quickly shook her head. "No, everything's fine. How about you? What have you two been up to?" She asked, trying to change the topic and petting Fizzle Pop. "....ummm good. My family will be here later today; they're doing something right now." Sunset said good and asked if Lucy was around, as Blitz needs to be with her, causing Blitz to say it was fine; she just wanted to hang with everyone today. "Nonsense; hang with her rather than with us. Right Tempesta and Fizzle Pop?" She nudged Tempesta, feeling something hard in her jacket pocket, but brushed it off as Fizzle just barked at her. "U-Um, y-yeah. Go on and hang out with your girlfriend, Blitz. Me and Sunny will hang out." She replied, pushing Blitz towards where Lucy is, which is the petting zoo, as she was helping the kids pet the animals. Blitz just sighed and just walked away, a little sad, as Sunset waved goodbye and the two were left alone, as Fizzle Pop is whimpering, as she watched Blitz walk away. "Um, what was that about?" asked Tempesta, seeing that Sunset was being weird. She turned to her. "Nothing. Now let's have fun, like we said we would." She walked off, making her friend follow her. "Nothing, my ass; what's going on? You are acting weird here. Does this have to do with Blitz and Lucy being together? I saw the text this morning from Blitz, telling me that Lucy knows everything and they're together now. So, is that what's bothering you?" Sunset stopped dead in her tracks and sighed, knowing Tempesta would figure her out. "You're right, I am bothered by that, but that's not the main reason why. It's just my mom." Tempesta was confused. "What about her?" "She's...ugh, how can I explain this? She wants me and Blitz together, but I don't have the heart to tell her that Blitz and I are just friends. That's why I want her and Lucy to hang out and have fun. I'm hoping my mom will take notice of the two and realize that she should drop the whole me and Blitz being together." "... I see, but shouldn't you just tell her? It would be better than having to worry about it all day. Right?" Sunset stopped in front of a food booth. "It's not that easy. My mom is the type to believe in true love and stuff like that. If I were to tell her the truth, that would just disappoint and break her heart," she ordered a hotdog and a drink. Tempesta ordered a chili dog and didn't say anything until they got their food and started to walk again. "Are you sure this isn't just about your mother's feelings and yours? Because it seems that's the main problem here." Sunset took a bite of her hotdog and glared at her. "I don't know what you mean." Tempesta took a bit of her own food, eating a lot faster than her, and continued to walk. "You still love her, so it's only natural for you to be jealous since Lucy is dating her and not you." Sunset stopped dead in her tracks, seeing Tempesta walking ahead of. "I-I-I do not!" she ran after her. "You have no idea what you're saying; it's just because of my mom." Tempesta smiled at her. "If you say so." "I'm serious. I don't love her. I got over it when we talked, and she told me how she loves Lucy, not me." Tempesta stopped at a game booth, where you needed to shoot a rifle to hit the moving targets. "Then why does it bother you that Blitz is with her and not you?" She asked, giving the staff money, picked up the rifle, and started shooting. Sunset couldn't answer and just ate her hotdog, seeing her friend hitting a lot of targets, and won a knockoff of Rainbow Comet Plushie. The staff asked her if she wanted a different prize, but she shook her head and just gave the plushie to Sunset. "Here, it's not Blitz, but it might help with your jealousy." Sunset looked down at the plushie and held it close as they walked off. "You're right,.." Tempesta looked at her. "This doesn't help with my jealousy." Tempesta laughed as they walked. "I never said it would; it's just a cute thing you can cuddle with to mend your broken heart." She joked, smiling. Sunset looked down and sighed. Hating how the plushie looked like Blitz, just having derpy eyes... Meanwhile, Blitz walked up to the petting zoo, and Lucy noticed her, quickly waving and walking to the fence, passing the animals and little kids. "Hi, glad you made it, sw-we-" Lucy started to blush hard as she tried to say something but couldn't. "Sweetheart?" finished Blitz, smiling. "We're still new with the whole pet name thing, huh?" Lucy nodded, looking away, but Blitz pulled her head towards her as she leaned in and kissed her. Making Lucy melt into the kiss and kiss back. They soon leaned back from each other. "Hi sweetheart," whispered Lucy, looking into Blitz's purple eyes. Blitz could only laugh a bit. "Hey," she said, looking around. "Are you working right now or?" "Yes, but my shift is ending in ten minutes, so just wait here or go hang with the others, okay?" Blitz watched her help a kid pet a goat and set her head on the fence. "I can't; Sunny wants me to just spend time with you and nothing else. I guess she thinks it's for the best." "Best? Is everything okay?" "Yeah, everything is fine." Blitz waved it off, not wanting Lucy to worry about it. "I'll just wait here for you. Okay?" Lucy smiled and went back to helping the kids and... "Is that the vice principle, Selena?" asked Blitz to herself, watching the vice principle feed the goats and petting them like a little girl. "Well, okay then." After ten minutes, Lucy's shift ended, and the two walked off to a nearby picnic table and sat down. Lucy was looking a little worried as she kept rubbing her hands, like she was nervous about something. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem really nervous. Did something happen?" Blitz asked, putting a hand over hers. Lucy quickly shook her head. "I'm fine." Blitz looked down at her hands and saw she was holding something. She pulled her hands open, finding a custom necklace with a... "A rainbow shard!? Where did you get this!?" she whispered, seeing the rainbow crystal shining brightly as it sensed Blitz were near. Lucy flinched, realizing she hadn't hidden the shard well enough. "Well, I found this shard in the forest a year ago and was hoping to make more but couldn't find it anymore. I wanted to give this to you since you said the Rainbow Comet from ten years ago was your universe. It felt right to give it back to you, in a way." Blitz didn't know what to say, as the shard started to glow even brighter as she held it. "But why a necklace?" Lucy smiled. "To remind you of me, even when you're gone and saving the world as a Rainbow Comet." Blitz blushed, seeing how thoughtful and sweet the gift was. "I will, thank you, but..." Lucy pulled her closer and kissed her. "It's a gift. Just keep it, please." Blitz kissed back and agreed to put it on. "It's awesome...and cute." Lucy couldn't stop looking at the rainbow shard. She could tell it was reacting to Blitz as it continued to glow. "I'm glad. Now, let's go have fun, yeah." Blitz nodded, and both stood up, walking together with holding hands.  But from afar, Sunset watched the whole thing and clutched the plushie harder as her hand became a fist. She didn't know what came over her, but her jealousy grew. "That should be me," she whispered, her eyes glowing a little, and left the area, walking away from everyone. As a pink pony figure walked close behind, playing with black seeds and... smiling nonstop... AJ and the others just arrived a few minutes ago and parked in the parking lot. Helena and everyone got out of the car and watched as AJ got out and quickly went to the passenger side. She opened the door. "Can you get out?" she asked, seeing the poor twilight cramping up. "Yes, give me a minute." Twilight answered as she tried to move a bit but couldn't. "Maybe give me more than a minute." "Or we can pull you out?" suggested Dash, worried that Twilight was stuck in there. Penny got closer and eyed Twilight a bit, then pulled out a stick of butter. "We can butter you up and slide you out," she said, showing the butter. "No!" shouted Twilight as she smacked the butter out of her hands. "Don't even think about it." AJ could only sigh, not believing this was happening. She clapped her hands together and tried pulling her, but even with her strength, Twilight was still stuck and good in there. "Why are you so heavy?!" shouted AJ as she pulled her harder but stopped and quickly turned to Rachel, stopping her from even saying it. "I'm not calling her fat!" she said, then turned to Penny. "Or a darn sumo wrestler!" Penny and Rachel closed their open mouths and whistled as AJ went back to pulling her. Helena walked up and looked worried. She even asked if she could do anything to help, but Twilight smiled at her. "I'll be fine. You and everyone just go. I'll find a way to get out of this, don't worry. Just have fun, okay?" Helena looked unsure as AJ gave up, panting and wiping her forehead, as she told her the same thing. "Just go. I'll try to help her. This isn't the first time I had to pull something out of a stuck position. Like the time, I had to pull my grandma, god rest her soul, out of her recliner chair—don't ask. I got this," she said, smiling. Helena nodded and waved goodbye as everyone followed her, but Dash stayed behind. "Are you sure, Twi? I can stay here and-" "I'll be fine. Don't worry, go and have fun." She interrupted, still smiling. Dash looked at Twilight and cracked her knuckles. "Okay, AJ, go to the other side and push her; I'll pull her out." Twilight quickly shook her head. "Oh, no, you don't. Go have fun with Braver ...Wait, where is Braver?" Dash looked around and noticed she was nowhere to be found. She wanted to look for her, but first she needed to get Twilight out. She grabbed Twi's hand and pulled as she saw AJ pushing with her legs, but Twilight wasn't moving at all. "Cmon, push harder!" yelled Dash as she started to pull again, but with no luck. "I'm trying, but she isn't budging at all." "Keep trying." They kept at it, not noticing they were creating a gathering crowd as people stopped by and watched, while some were even taking videos of them trying to pull Twilight out. Braver didn't head to the fair but to the front of the school, where he saw the boring new school statue. It was just a boring horseshoe, like Blitz said, and felt upset. "Are you lost?" asked an older woman, making Braver turn around and see this universe, Celestia, Sunna. "Never seen before at the school? Visiting out of town or going to join this school year after summer ends?" Braver smiled, not wanting to cause trouble, and told her she was visiting. She saw the statue and wanted to know what happened to the old statue with the horse. "Oh, you mean Wondercolt? Sadly, we had to remove it as the school board wanted to update the school image, even if it was the symbol of the school." "What was wrong with the horse?" "Oh, nothing; just the board saw it as too old, like I said. Still, happy that it's still around. Even if no one knows it's location." Braver became shocked and happy to hear that. "It's still around!?" Sunna smiled, happy to see someone else care so much for Wondercolt. "Yes. It's in a warehouse on the left side of the school. Would you like to see it?" Braver smiled and nodded as they left the courtyard and walked to the side of the school, seeing a large warehouse that was made not too long ago. Sunna opened the lock door with a key, and they walked in, seeing a giant blue tarp. Sunna pulled it off, revealing Wondercolt. "Isn't he handsome, the Wondercolt? He's the perfect horse for the school and was made to be our mascot, our pride and joy." "He is perfect," whispered Braver, smiling. "If you would like, you can touch him. The old boy will be moving to a museum soon and won't be here long." "Museum?!" "Yes. I want him to be somewhere where he can share his story. I'll be sad to see him leave, but we all have to leave at some point, right?" Sunna walked up and touched the mirror surface of the base. "To be honest, if it wasn't for Ms. Finkelstein's donations, the poor boy would have been destroyed by now. I'm glad Twilah came here; she's one of many great students this school has had over the years. So, you like Wondercolt? Or horses in general?" Braver turned and smiled. "Horses, yes. I always liked them. You can say I might be one in my past life." She joked, making Sunna laugh a bit. "Well, we have pony rides going on in the fair, so I hope you get the chance to see the real thing. Have a nice day." "Thank you." Braver and Sunna exited the building and went their own ways after Sunna locked the door. But Braver went back into the warehouse, broke the lock, and entered it. She walked up to the base of the statue and touched the base, feeling the mirror surface and narrowing her eyes as she could sense... "...magic? But how? It shouldn't be here unless someone was able to put it inside, but who and why?" She muttered, touching the surface even more, not seeing a small prism window appearing in the sky and a bright light crashing in a neighborhood. Back at the fair, Dash and AJ were still pulling and pushing Twilight out of the truck, with more people gathering around and cheering them on. "Push!" yelled a group of people, and some of them even started to chant "push" every time they did. "We are!" yelled Dash, her arms getting tired of pulling. Dash stopped and looked inside, checking to see if Twilight was alright, but she could see her all red from embarrassment. "Come on, Dash. Get me out of here," she whispered, looking like she was about to cry. "Oh, no, no, no. Please, don't cry!" Dash quickly went back out and was going to pull again, but she heard someone calling her out. "HEY CUNT!" Dash knew that voice and turned around, and her anger grew. "OH, NO, OH, HELL NO!" Walking to her was the asshole guy that she fought before, as he was here with his buddies. Dash narrowed her eyes at him. "Where's the little girl!?" He looked at her with more rage as he started to take his jacket off. "Her mother dumped me after she grew a backbone and kicked me out." Dash's face went from angry to happy. "She did?! That's great; I'm happy she's finally got away from you." The asshole didn't know what to say, as he couldn't believe she was happy for him girlfriend dumping him. He didn't have time for this, as he walked up and got into her face. "Fuck off, Dyke, you and your bitch girlfriend. Go fuck yourself." He pushed Dash, who pushed back, and the crowd started to chat-fight as he was yelling insults at her and Dash was punching the air, ready to fight back. AJ was going to step in, but Twilight asked what was going on, as she couldn't see anything. AJ told her, and as she was done, they heard the crowd yell and gasp as Dash landed on the ground near the door, her lip bleeding. "WHAT DID YOU DO!? GET AWAY FROM HER!" screamed Twilight, as she could barely move in the truck. AJ quickly got out and was face-to-face with the asshole buddies. "You better stop," she warned, as she was ready to fight back. Dash got up and closed the truck door, telling Twilight it wouldn't be long; she just needed to throw out the trash as she rushed towards the guy and continued to fight. Twilight shouted for her to stop, but she could hear Dash getting hurt as she grunted loudly. AJ and the buddies of the guy fought, as she was holding her own against the four.  Twilight tried to move but couldn't, as she was still stuck. She tried one more time but stopped as she saw Dash fall on the side of the hood of the truck, sliding down and groaning in pain.  The guy slowly walked up to Dash but stopped as the truck passenger door went flying off the hinges and hitting the ground. Twilight's leg was sticking out, and she bent the passenger side entrance and stepped out, blazing mad as she loomed over the guy as he slowly backed away. "Get the hell away from her, right now." Twilight demanded; her voice was deep and low, almost like she was using her royal Canterlot voice. "O-or e-else w-what?" he stammered, backing away more. Twilight narrowed her eyes and walked up, rolling up her sleeves. "Or else this..." The guy held his ground and put his fist up, ready to take her on. Asteria just arrived on her motorbike and got off, just in time to see a guy yelling, as he flew in the air and falling inside the school dumpster and closing the lid as he landed. She heard the cheers and went towards it, seeing the fight was over and seeing Twilight holding Dash like a princess and kissing her, while AJ just got finished kicking the guys buddies asses but picked up her truck door and held it like she lost something dear to her. Twilight stopped kissing Dash and set her down, seeing if her wife was okay. "Are you alright? Where does it hurt? How many fingers am I holding?" cried Twilight, putting two fingers in front of Dash's blushing face. She pushed her hand away and tried to act cool. "I'm fine. You didn't need to get your hands messy." Twilight blinked a few times and sighed. "You got turned on, didn't you?" Dash nodded but tried to play it off. "What, no. Me? Aroused? No, I'm not." "Yes, you are." "No, I'm not. "Yes, you are," replied Twilight in an annoyed tone. Dash kicked a rock and answered. "Yeah," she said, hugging Twilight, surprising her. "OH MY GOD, TWILIGHT! You were so awesome! I LOVE IT WHEN YOU GET PISSED OFF LIKE THAT! YOUR VOICE AND THE FACT YOU KICK THAT TRUCK DOOR WITH SUCH STRENGTH! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE GUYS FACE; HE WAS SO SCARED, AND YOU WERE JUST GIVING HIM THIS LOOK, MAKING HIM SCARED! OH MAN, THAT FREAKING PUNCH YOU DID!? FUCKING HOT!" Twilight pushed her off and blushed, as the crowd was laughing, making her even more embarrassed. "Dash! Not here." Dash realized people were watching and blushed as well, coughing. She said she was right, and they both walked over to AJ, who was still holding the truck door and seeing the damage that Twilight had done. Asteria chuckled and walked past them, entering the fair. "I think I was right to come after all. I wonder, where are my daughters? I bet Selena is in the petting zoo or something." She said to herself, walking deeper into the fair while her phone was in her shirt pocket, allowing the orbs to see everything and showing " Σ(꒪ȏ꒪) "" Sunset walked out to the field and sat on the steel fences, looking at the fair and still holding the Rainbow Comet bootleg plushie. She wanted to cry. Not noticing the cop cars heading towards a smoke in the distance, she hid her face in the plushie. "Sweetie?" Sunset flinched as she heard her mother's voice and slowly looked up, seeing her mom in front of her and smiling. "Oh, hey, Mom." Her mother could tell something was wrong as she sat in front of her and held her hand. "Is everything okay?" Sunset shrugged. "I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." Her mom knew better and kept silent for a minute. "Sweetie, you can tell me. You know, I'm here for you. I always will, no matter what happens. I'll listen and help you through it." Sunset looked down and sniffed, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry, Mom." Helena was going to ask what, but she could see her daughter clutching the plushie hard and shaking. She didn't know it, but the pink smiling pony dropped black seeds over Sunset's body, breathing hard as she laughed with joy and quickly stared at Helena's face, wanting to punch it as she started to sing. "My name is Pinkie Pie! And I am here to say, How ya doin'? I'm going to make you smile. And I will brighten up your day!!!" She stomped her hooves, shaking the ground, making Helena feel it, and looked around, noticing the smoke in the distance. Getting scared but she stopped as Sunset stood up, smiling. "I love Blitz, and you think I should be with her, right, mom?" Helena was confused but nodded. "Yes, yes, I do. You two are made for each other. So, what's wrong, sweetie? Did you guys have a fight?" Sunset shook her head and started to sing. "It doesn't matter now. If you are sad or blue,  'cause cheering up my friends is just What I'm here to do!" Sunset tossed the plushie into the air and punched it when it landed near her face, blowing it away into small pieces and laughing, scaring Helena. "Sweetie, what are you talking about?! What's wrong?" Sunset grabbed Helena and rose her by her shirt, giving off a craze-looking smile. "Blitz didn't love me, mom! SHE LOVES LUCY, BUT I'LL PUNCH HER HEAD RIGHT OFF!" "L-Lucy?" Sunset's smile got even bigger, and she pulled Helena close, their noses touching. "YEAH MOM! BLITZ ALWAYS LOVES HER! I NEVER STOOD A CHANCE, BUT I'LL MAKE IT RIGHT! I'LL MAKE BLITZ MORE HAPPY AND MAKE YOU HAPPY TOO! I DON'T WANT TO BREAK YOUR HEART THAT BLITZ AND I AREN'T REALLY TOGETHER, AND NEVER WILL BE, BUT YOU'LL BE PROUD OF ME, MOM! I'M GONNA GET BACK AT LUCY, KICK HER ASS, AND GET BLITZ BACK!" She tossed her mother to the ground and skipped her way back to the fair, as Helena had never seen her daughter like that before, but she didn't have time to think, she saw more police cars driving off to the black smoke, as it was getting bigger and the clouds started to turn black. Helena got up and ran off, going into the fair and running after her daughter, screaming her name. "SUNNY!" Meanwhile, Twilight was still checking on Dash's injuries, as the school nurse gave her an ice bag and the cops were taking a statement and asking questions. AJ was holding her truck door and glaring at the guy, who was trying to explain how the fight started, but Twilight glared back, and the guy quickly shut his mouth and sat back, as the cops were going to arrest him and his friends but stopped as their radios went off. "WE NEED BACKUP DOWN HERE! SOME SUPER POWER GIRL IS-AAAHHHHH!" The radio went dead, and the cops were confused and tried calling back, then calling the station and getting no answer. They hurried off to their cars and tried again, while Twilight and Dash froze with fear as they heard what was said.  "You don't think..." whispered Dash, quickly turning to Twilight, who also had the same fear. Twilight watched as the cops entered their cars and took off, as she and everyone could see black smoke and now fire in the distance of the town, and it was getting closer.  "...she's here. SHE'S HERE!" screamed Twilight, making AJ drop her door, shouting "What?" and rush over, noticing the fire and smoke. "AH HORSE SHOES! I'll get everyone! PUT ON THOSE DEVICE YOU MADE!" ordered AJ, running off into the fair. Tempesta carried tons of prizes, as she was good at shooting games and had cotton candy in her hand, while Fizzle Pop walked near her, but they stopped as they saw Sunset skipping past them, but Fizzle started to bark and growl, making Tempesta wonder what was wrong. Her dog could see it—the pink pony—as it skipped along with Sunset, who was singing the smile song. Tempesta had to hold Fizzle back as she wanted to attack Sunset or whatever she was looking at. That's when Sunset mom started running and crying as she was worried.  "What's going on?" she asked, helping Helena lean on her. "I don't know, but something is not right with my daughter." Tempesta suddenly felt something wasn't right and dropped her prizes. She wanted to take her handgun out, but she saw AJ and her friends running back to the parking lot, looking over and seeing the smoke and fire. "...oh no." Blitz and Lucy were in the bumper cars and having fun, as Blitz was chasing Lucy and hitting her car every time. "You're not going to win Blitz!" shouted Lucy, driving faster. Blitz chuckled and drove faster, getting closer. "Yeah, you wish!" They crash into each other and laugh their hearts out, and the ride ends, making everyone get out. They walked out holding hands and wanted to go to the Ferris wheel but stopped as Lucy's parents pulled her away from each other. "So our friends were right! Seeing you two holding hands! Have you kissed, or worse?! What a sinful sight!" shouted her mom. Lucy tried to break free, "I'M GAY, MOM AND DAD! I LOVE BLITZ!" She could feel them letting her go and giving her a hateful look. Blitz was going to defend her, but everyone could hear singing and looked to their left, seeing Sunset skipping and soon starting to run. Blitz was wondering what she was doing but could sense powerful magical energy and could see Sunset fist was glowing pink and she was going to punch Lucy in the face. But Blitz took the hit and flew into the Ferris wheel, making it fall backwards with people screaming inside the carts. At that same moment, Braver was still studying the mirror and thought she saw Sunset within it, but her cheek was filled with so much pain that she dropped to the floor and quickly stood up, her eyes glowing purple and filled with rage. "WHO DARES HURT MY LITTLE SISTER!?" She blasted through the wall in her anthro form and could see the Ferris wheel falling. She quickly flew towards it, grabbing it before it could land and hurt anyone. The crowd was cheering her super hero name, Ink Comet. She set it down and turned to see Sunset, and seeing her about to punch Lucy in the face, she could tell that could end her life. "Lucy!" She tried to reach her, but a rainbow comet trail blast passed her and Blitz blocked the punch with her hand. Braver sighed with relief and was glad to see Blitz in her anthro form and saving Lucy. "Who are you?!" demanded Blitz, pushing the fist back and angrily staring down at Sunset. "What have you done to Sunny!?" She tipped her head to the side and looked at the smiling pink pony. "And why do you look like Pinkie!?" Pinkie was shocked as Blitz could see her and started to get more happy, and her smile got even bigger, creeping Blitz out more. "You can see me?!" asked Pinkie. Blitz was about to speak, but Sunset pushed her away, causing her to fly into a food stand, and Pinkie started to dance. "Yay, you can see me! We can fight! OH BOY! I can't wait to make you-" Sunset rushed forward towards Lucy once more, but Braver blocked the punch by taking it on the cheek. "SMILE! OH JOY! YOU ARE THE FIRST ONE TO TAKE THAT WITHOUT BLOWING UP INTO BITSY PIECES OF MEAT! LIKE TWILIGHT HEAD, WHICH WENT FLYING!" "Braver, be careful!" shouted Blitz, rushing towards them. Braver grabbed Sunset's arm and held her tight. She is telling her sister to be careful, as the punch could kill anyone here. "SIS, WATCH OUT!" Blitz was about to punch Smiling Pinkie, but Pinkie suddenly appeared in front of her and punched her like crazy while singing the Smile song. Each punch created a small shockwave, blowing people and other things away behind Blitz. "SIS! Huh?" Braver could see Sunset pulling her head back and then headbutting her, but it did nothing. "Sorry Sunset..." Braver put her into a chokehold and squeezed her neck, making her pass out. She was going to set her down but saw smiling Pinkie appearing in front of her as well and going to punch her, but Braver shielded Sunset and took the hit, sending her flying to the side of the school and crashing into the warehouse. Before this happened, within the school and in a class room, stood five girls. Anthro unicorn girl wearing a rainbow puffy jacket, a blonde-haired girl wearing a purple jacket, an orange centaur girl wearing only simple knight gear, a white Alicorn with a mirror shield, and a purple-skinned girl in yellow space power armor all stood and looked out of the window. "Where are we?" asked the blonde girl, looking out the window. The unicorn girl looked around and sighed. "She tossed us into the past, it seems... I think I remember hearing about this. Wasn't this the day that Rainbow Sun Dawn came to your world? This isn't good. We aren't meant to be here."  The emotionless Alicorn spoke up. "How do we get back? We can't mess up the timeline, right?" The unicorn girl shrugged and looked back out the window, seeing the smoke and fire getting closer. The blonde girl looked upset as she made a fist, making the girl take notice, grabbing her hand softy. "What is it, Rainbow?" Rainbow turned and looked her in the eyes. "It's... I just want to stop this...is all." She relaxed her hands, undoing her fist. The orange centaur looked outside as well, not sure what was happening or anything else. "What...should we do? We can't just leave it like this, right? There's no honestly and honor in not doing anything." Rainbow turned back to the scene, feeling helpless but they could see a spinning black and white portal in the reflection and looked behind and seeing a white Alicorn walking out. "Teacher!?" shouted the unicorn girl, rushing to her teacher side. She hugged her and ordered the girls to get inside, as they can't be here for much longer, as the guardians will show up. They listened and jumped into the portal and it disappeared as the Alicorn enter it. The class room door opened and a goth looking girl with pink leather clothes and a flame looking guitar on her back entered and yawned. She sat in the desk and looked around, realizing her friends were gone. "Girls?" She got up and could see the chaos and seeing Braver flying by, making her realize something. "Oh shit! That's what you meant!?" she said to herself as she touch her guitar neck. "Right, better hurry!" she ran out of the class and headed to the warehouse. Braver landed in the warehouse and stood up, feeling the pain in her shoulder. Whoever this Pinkie was, she was at her level in power and this scared her, scared her so much that she had a fear of this world being destroyed...like she did to her own universe so long ago. She looked down and could see Sunset still knocked out. She picked her up and set her down near the statue, hoping she will be safe and took off to help her sister, not noticing the goth girl standing in the entrance and within the mirror, Braver's universe Sunset looking at the goth girl and saying... "Just like she said..." Way back, as Sunset was pulled into the mirror, she felt herself being spit into two and her other half being fused with another version of herself and being pulled back out of the mirror and landing in font of Dashie. Sunset looked where the other version came from and turned to see a realm filled with mirrors. She looked into the one where the copy came from and seeing Twilight friends but as colored humans and laying on the ground...on fire and dead, while Twilight is nowhere to be seen as the school is in flames. "What is this!?" she shouted, shaking the mirror. Sunset looked into another mirror, seeing another horror sight, seeing waste land and ruins of Chrystal Empire , as she could see a grey unicorn mare walking by. She looked in another mirror and could see the whole area covered in plant life and seeing a crazy human looking woman laughing like she lost her mind. Sunset step back and couldn't stand what she was looking at or where she was. Each mirror had so much endless horror, that she couldn't bare to look any longer. "WHAT IS THIS!? SOME KIND OF NIGHTMARE?!" she was shaking and looked at her hooves. "Am I dead?" she quickly heard voices and look at the mirror she came from and could herself becoming a flame demon and turning Cadance into one as well. She could watch as her evil self attacked Dashie and Tempest, making them flee, while the flame demons gave chase. "This is a nightmare..." she turned to the other mirrors, seeing the horrors and knowing what's gonna happen. She sat down and just cried, as every mirror pass by her, hearing the evil or awful things that were happening within them...until she heard a female voice. "Bad endings she created. The bad endings that should not have happened..." Sunset quickly looked up and turned around, seeing purple human pony hybrid with white jacket and white mane. "Who are you!? You look like that dark one I saw as she sent me in here! Stay away!" she stepped away, scared but she could see the warm and kind smile from the girl. "Please don't compare me to her...I am here to help. Don't worry, Sunset. You won't be stuck in here forever. I promise..." Sunset looked around and then back at the girl. "Can you take me back? Out of this horror evil place?" The girl nodded. "Yes, but you gotta listen to me and very carefully, okay?" Sunset wiped her tears and nodded, as the mare told what to do. "You gotta go deeper into the mirror verse, that's what your in by the way, it's part of the prism window gateways but within a tunnel universe pocket space. What you are looking in each mirror, is a different universes but most are meant to show you different universe of YOU, since each version of you are destined to go to another universe, when a version of you leaves their Equestria but with 'her' changing so many stories in the multiverse and Time-verse, there are many bad endings you are seeing." the girl touched the mirror and Sunset could see herself as a human, hanging out with human looking Twilight and her friends. "There are good ending universes and best example is the prime one you see right now, so don't fear, there is happy ones still. You are one of the rare ones though, that never left Equestria and instead become friends and became part of Twilight and her friends stories. You are never meant to leave but with her savior changing this story and it's timeline, you are here now but this is good." she leaned on the mirror, waiting on Sunset reaction. And Sunset gave her reaction. "Good? Good how!?" She smirk and answered her. "Because you are meant to be here, as Shade told me, she saw you and the person who gave her that magical guitar. You need to go deeper and find Twilah and Dashie universe and warn their Sunset, that she's gonna get control somewhat like you. There will be a time when you'll find Wallflower, an green haired girl, having colored magical geodes. You'll need the red one and give it to Sunset or Braver and Blitz fate will end badly..." she stopped, waiting on Sunset reaction once more. "Okay...but how will I get out? You never answered me that..." The mare pushed her bangs out of her eyes and explained. "You'll get out after giving Sunset the geode but both of you will won't be yourselves for a while. You two will be a new person, who has half of your memories and thoughts and will have a different appearance and new personality. But the reason, you'll be that, is to protect Braver and Blitz from the bad ending..." Sunset was shocked and scared but if this was to protect Braver and her sister, she'll do it. "How long will I be this other person? Can't I stay as myself?" The mare shook her head and slightly look back. "I'm sorry...we ran out of time. Sunfall and Dashie are here. Just keep moving forward, Sunset. Don't forget what I said and trust me. Your spark will lead you the way and never be scared." she suddenly disappeared into prism glitching effects and Sunset could see Dashie being tossed and seeing her evil self standing in front of her and talking. Soon the mirror was pulled towards her... Sunset followed the human looking pony advice and went deeper into the mirror verse, seeing all different universe that universe mirror could see, seeing the evil and tragic endings of herself and others, like she could see human Twilight becoming a demon than Sunset and destroying the human world but there were good and happy endings like seeing her older human self meeting Luster Dawn who finds her way through the mirror and ending up in the human world. Heck, she could see another universe where other ponies, creatures and humans finding the mirror and transforming into different things like humans or another beings. She didn't know how long she's been in here but she came across a mirror and could see a bedroom of a teenager girl and seeing her human self. She tried to warn herself by pounding the window but her human counterpart wouldn't hear her at all. To the point, she sat there and just waited and some odd reason, a mirror floated to her and she could Blitz room... She could see Blitz and the girls talking but she suddenly saw a black cloak robed female figure appearing out of thin air and writing in a book. Soon, the pages flew out and black seeds could be seen falling around Blitz, until a anthro girl, wearing a puffy rainbow jacket appeared and stopped her but couldn't save Blitz from the new seeds... After what happened, Sunset wondered if this was that cloaked girl was the anthro girl was speaking of... After some time, Sunset could see in Wallflower room and saw a box near the mirror and she could sense magic from it and started to kick the mirror, making the box fall and revealing the geodes. She watched Wallflower cried on the jacket and a red geode came out and went flying towards her and she caught it. She could sense something telling her where to go and she ran off deeper into the mirror-verse... She found herself looking in a warehouse of some kind and seeing Braver, as she's setting human Sunset down, right next to the mirror and leaving. Sunset set the red geode down but could see a human girl with a guitar on her back, looking straight at her and Sunset could sense the magic coming off the guitar... Braver rushed back and could see her sister fighting the evil Pinkie Pie, and it wasn't going well as she was getting badly beaten up and trying her best to protect Lucy, as it seemed Pinkie target was her and no one else. "Leave my sister alone!" she shouted, punching Pinkie but Pinkie just took it and punch Braver right back and sending her flying but Pinkie was so happy to see Braver returning right away and punching her even harder. Braver and Blitz watched as Pinkie crashed into the field and standing up like nothing has happened. "What kind of Pinkie is she!? Almost nothing we do can stop her!!" Blitz yelled, keeping Lucy safe, who was confused as her and everyone couldn't see what the twins were fighting. Pinkie kept singing the Smile song and both girls could see her crying, making them confused, until they heard Penny voice, who landed in front pf them, wearing Twilight's exosuit device, as wires ran across her limbs and connecting to the machine on her back. "She's a bad Pinkie! Some odd reason, she went mad and killed her friends and then her world. We Pinkies, the Pinkie Company, had to seal her away in her universe, as she's an huge threat to the multiverse, if she ever fourth wall break out of there. We call her HD Pinkie." explained Penny, making the girls very confused. "Listen to me, her powers are limitedness! No matter what you throw at her, she will keep going!" "So what can we do!?" Blitz asked, seeing the crazy Pinkie, singing and laughing. Almost like she was going to attack again. Penny took out a phone and dial a number. Soon someone answered and she explained to the person on the other line in what's going on. Within seconds, a door appeared and an army of different looking Pinkies appeared. Penny pointed towards HD Pinkie. "PINKIE COMPANY! CODE RED STRAWBERRY CAKE!". Deadpool Pinkie and others surround HD Pinkie and dog pile her, while the other Pinkies took the door and slammed it on them and picked it up, revealing the dogpile group were inside a room and HD Pinkie was with them but watched as HD Pinkie tossed black seeds, transforming those Pinkies into twisted versions of themselves. Deadpool Pinkie turned to her counterparts and screamed as she fired her handguns. "SHUT THE DOOR AND SEAL THIS AREA OFF! SOMETHING NOT RIGHT!" They did as they were told, shutting the door and hearing Deadpool Pinkie scream as she was overwhelmed. Pinkie wearing a black suit and dark shades, also having a number tag with #11 on it, lock the door and ordered the rest to investigate HD Pinkie universe and then turned to Penny. "Sorry, we can't help whatever is going on here. We need to figuring out who release HD and what are those black seeds are. This is more important right now, number 298. Good luck." she turned around and hopped into a new door way with the others, leaving Penny alone with very very confused twins...which Braver waved goodbye. Penny turned to them and pointed to the smoke and fire. "Listen, Lucy evil version is here and heading this way! We can't do the plan without getting people caught in the crossfire, what should we do girls?" she asked, looking at them. Braver and Blitz looked at the sky, seeing the smoke and then at each other, nodding. "We can't let her destroy anything else...we can't do the plan that Sunset had like you said. We gonna go with Blitz plan..." Braver looked at her sister. "Sis, this time with mom and her devices, they can keep Lucy safe. We can fight together now and might defeat her this time. It's better than just you going alone." Blitz sighed and nodded. "I agree. This is better but remember the failsafe, okay?" "Yeah, we need a failsafe." Penny said, standing near them. "...what failsafe?" The twins look at her. "It's nothing to worry about, aunty Penny...just keep Lucy safe..." whispered Blitz, turning back and seeing Lucy running towards her but Blitz opened her wings and flew off with her sister to face off against Rainbow Dawn. Lucy couldn't reach her in time and only watch as the twins disappeared into the huge black smoke as it got closer and everyone in the fair were fearing out and running. "Blitz..." Penny took Lucy and carried her, as she hop towards the parking lot, seeing the others, wearing the device as well and seeing Helena having a panic attack and screaming for her daughter, while Tempesta took out a handgun and took Lucy off her hands. Twilight put on the helmet and turned to Penny. "Where are the twins!?" she shouted, seeing her and Lucy. "They're going to fight Rainbow Dawn by their selves and want us to keep Lucy safe!" explained Penny, seeing Twilight and Dash worried looks. Twilight quickly turned on the device and shouted. "They what!? We could still had used Sunset plan, about giving Lucy the teleport watch and baiting Rainbow Dawn somewhere away from the town! This is too dangerous for them to fight her by their selves!" Tempesta soldier side took over, as she put Lucy inside AJ truck. "They already flew off. We don't have a choice anymore, Twilight! Let's just hope they can stop her...if not, we need to hold the line here and try to stop her. We are the only ones who can protect the town and everyone! We need to stay strong, right Lucy!?" she patted her shoulder, making Lucy not so sure. Twilight and Dash were scared but they knew that they needed to do what the girls want and that was to keep Lucy safe, as rest of the girls turned on their device and the exosuit light up. Outside of town, Brishen ran for it as he could see the smoke and fire coming from the town but stopped as green and dead looking plant vines fought with each other, as Wallflower and yellow anthro mare fought above him, each using plant life as their weapons. He could see the yellow mare use thorns on her vine and tossing them at Wallflower, who deflected them with the vines like whips and send some of her own but the yellow mare dodged them and unleashed dead trees roots at her, knocking Wallflower near Brishen, who stood in front of his friend, releasing his staff magical electric energy and smack away all the dead vines and roots from them. "Where the hell did she come from!? Why does she look like Ms. Faith!?" shouted Brishen, taking a bōjutsu stance. Wallflower stood up and created a vine dome around them. "...I don't know but she's working with Lucy evil version. She trying to stop us from reaching the town and you can see it, right? She's here and attacking the town!" she shouted, looking at her friend. Brishen looked at the direction the yellow anthro mare was, and could see the huge black smoke and fire again. His friend was right, this evil version of Faith is trying stop them from helping the others and he somehow could sense powerful dark magic within the area where the smoke is coming from. He quickly turned around as Wallflower warned him and hit the dead vines away, he swung around sending a bolt of lightning, making the yellow mare dodge and send a wave of dead leaves and plants. He could see the leaves and plant life coming at them but Wallflower vines slapped them away but few got through and he tried his best to deflect them with his staff but he could feel the leaves cutting his skin. He could hear his friend screaming and when the leaves cleared, he could see her on the ground, bleeding and hurt. "WALLFLOWER!" Wallflower slowly looked up and saw her friend running to her but he was quickly wrapped in a vine and was thrown away. "Brishen! No!" she tried to stand up but her arm was badly cut and her legs were hurt too. She couldn't move and watched the yellow mare walked up to her and grab her chin. "Just like me...it isn't fair!" Evil Shy started to cry black tears. "When I discovered that Gloriosa Daisy were using those magical geodes, I stole them and wanted to warn the girls but I could feel their power and..." she broke down crying, making Wallflower feel bad for her but hearing how she was like this was because of geodes, she had to know. She touched the torn green sweater and a bright flash and a vision revealed itself. Wallflower could see a violet Alicorn pony, badly hurt and crying as she's in a dark void with black water. She could tell she's dying just like the another Blitz but... "I couldn't stop her, but maybe in another? I'm sending my broken element shards to different universe, other stories. Just like the other me did. Then mayb-ugh!?" the pony was grabbed in the throat by a white haired cloak woman, smiling at her. She summoned a book and started to write something within and torn a page out and stabbed the pony, right in the already rainbow hole, causing the mare to scream. "W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" her eyes started to melt away and soon but nothing but black ooze started to leak out like black tears. "N-NO! I CAN'T SEND IT NOW!". "˙˙˙ooʇ ƃuᴉpuǝ ǝnɹʇ ǝɥʇ ƃuᴉɥɔɐǝɹ uᴉ ǝsolɔ os sɐʍ I puɐ ǝɹoɯ ǝɔuo ʎɹoʇs ǝɥʇ ʇɹɐʇsǝɹ oʇ ǝʌɐH ˙uᴉɐƃɐ ʞɔᴉɹʇ sᴉɥʇ ƃuᴉllnd dǝǝʞ noʎ ƃuᴉʇʇǝl ʇou ɯ,I 'llᴉʍ noʎ ʇnq" the cloak woman and the pony turned, looking up at something, and Wallflower could see something as well. A giant beautiful green tree and within the top of the tree, they could see a bright white light. "ɹɐɟ sᴉɥʇ ɥɔɐǝɹ ɹǝʌǝ ll,noʎ ǝɯᴉʇ ʇsɐl ǝɥʇ sᴉ SIH┴ ǝɹns ǝʞɐɯ ll,I ˙ʇno uo ǝɹǝɥ ɯoɹɟ uɹoq ǝɹɐ noʎ ʍoɥ uᴉ ʎlǝʌᴉʇɐǝɹɔ ǝɹoɯ ƃuᴉʞuᴉɥʇ ʇɹɐʇs oʇ pǝǝu I 'ǝɯᴉʇ sᴉɥʇ ʇnq ˙ɹǝsolɔ ʇǝƃ I 'ƃuᴉɥʇʎɹǝʌǝ ʇɹɐʇsǝɹ I ǝɯᴉʇ ɥɔɐǝ ʇnq." she tossed the pony on the ground and they watched as she screamed in pain and calling for her parents and friends, not wanting to hurt them or anyone. "FORGIVE ME!" she screamed as she turned to ash and crumble away, leaving behind a broken and scattered orb, which turned black and flew off but instead of going into different universe, it flew into one, making the woman tsk in frustration. "¿noʎ ǝɹɐ oɥʍ puɐ˙˙˙uʍo ʎɯ oʇ ʎɹoʇs ɹᴉǝɥʇ ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ puɐ ǝɹoɔ ɹnoʎ spuᴉɟ ɹǝʌǝoɥʍ ǝsn uɐɔ I 'llᴉʇS" she turned around and looking at Wallflower and smiling. "˙ǝǝs I ʇɟɐɹp ɥƃnoɹ ǝɹnʇnɟ ɐ 'ɥO" Wallflower quickly realized the woman could see her and she attacked her with book pages and black seeds. She somehow summoned tree roots and block it, making the woman laugh. "˙˙˙ɟo ǝlqɐdɐɔ ɹnoʎ llɐ s,ʇɐɥʇ ɟᴉ ɹǝpuoʍ I ʇnq ʇᴉ loɹʇuoɔ uɐɔ puɐ ǝɹnʇɐu ɥʇᴉʍ ǝuo sǝɯoɔǝq ɹǝplǝᴉʍ ǝɥ┴ ˙ǝǝɹɟɹǝʌƎ ɐǝɐפ ǝʞᴉl sᴉ ɹǝʍod ɹnoʎ 'ǝǝs I" the woman wrote in the book and closed it. "˙ɹoᴉʌɐs ʍǝu ʎɯ ǝq llᴉʍ ǝɹoɔ ʍoquᴉɐɹ pǝʇɔǝɟuᴉ ʇɐɥʇ spuᴉɟ ɹǝʌǝoɥʍ 'sǝ⅄" she started to laugh as the vision ended and Wallflower found herself back where she was but she could feel herself being grabbed by tree roots and vines and being squeezed to death. "MY FRIENDS! MY POOR FRIENDS! I HAD TO WATCH THEM BEING KILLED BY THESE POWERS! HOW COULD YOU NOT KILL YOUR FRIEND OVE-AHHH!!!" EverFall Shy was hit by a bolt of lightning in her face and Brishen landed and did few bōjutsu swings with his staff and breaking the vines and roots that held Wallflower captive and freeing her. He went on to attack Everfall Shy, who was holding her face, seeing black ooze leaking out and was surprised someone could do such a thing. "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!!!" she screamed, unleashing her full fury at him, with moving the whole ground around them, moving the land like it was water and trying to crush him but Brishen jumped and dodged her attacks and sent his own attacks, hitting her with his staff and even hitting her in the head and chest. "You won't let you hurt Wallflower and I won't let you hurt anyone else!" he yelled, spinning his staff and stabbing her in the chest once more and unleashed endless electricity into her body and watching her scream in pain, as he felt no mercy or compassion for her. He pulled back and watched as Wallflower stabbed the anthro girl with sharp roots, making her step backwards and destroying the roots with her arm. "Y-YOU MONSTERS!" she coughed up black ooze and her whole yellow cracking skin was starting to fall off, her skin was now a rotten black color and her body was starting to smell like something died and rotted in the sun for days. "We're the monster!?" Brishen pointed at himself and then Wallflower, then shook his head. "We're not the monsters here! Look at yourself! You're the monster here and man, you smell bad too. What the fuck are you!?" he asked, holding his nose. EverFall Shy didn't like being called a monster and attacked them, as her vines and dead trees came after them. Brishen was fast and jumped and rolled around and dodging her attacks. He spun his staff and hit the vines and roots away and could see that EverFall Shy was starting to slow down. He took a chance and hit her again with the staff and unleashed his electrical powers, watching her scream in pain and fell on to her knees. He could see the dead tree roots coming at him and quickly blocked the attack with his staff and sent some bolts of lightning and hitting her. He was shocked as she was able to tank it and was able to continue fighting and her attacks were getting stronger and faster, forcing him and Wallflower to retreat and land far from her. "You okay? I noticed you wasn't helping in that fight just now." he looked at her, seeing she was still hurting. "Wallflower, are you alright? You're bleeding..." "I-I'm fine...Brishen, listen. I'll handle her on my own, you need to get back to town and save Blitz, her sister and Lucy. You are the better fighter here, I'm still new in using my powers." she stood up and faced him, her legs and arm were still hurt badly. Brishen spit the ground. "I'm not leaving you. We can both stop her. I'll be her distraction and you can kill her." he swung his staff and took a stance but stopped as him and Wallflower watched as someone in feminine looking yellow power armor with pink grill lights on the helmet, like she appeared out of nowhere and stood between them and Everfall Shy. They watched as the girl aimed a futuristic looking gun and somewhat looked like a unicorn horn, at their enemy. "...you again!?" cursed Everfall Shy, knowing the person in front of her. "Your kindness is annoying." The girl looked at her, not caring how she's talking to her and fired. A laser beam of pink shot out, hitting EverFall Shy right in the chest and making herself stumble backwards. The girl fired again and nonstop, making Everfall step back continuously, feeling each blast hitting her chest and limbs. The attack ended as the girl reloaded and Everfall fell to her knees and hands, hurting. "Even your kindness hurts...why do you keep fighting me?" she coughed up some more black ooze, making her sick. "...Why?" The girl reloaded her weapon and walked up to Everfall and placed her hand on her head and spoke. "You don't have to let go but you can't keep living with regret. If you do, you'll never move forward." she stood there, putting her weapon away and her helmet slowly broke into pieces and enter the collar of the suit, revealing her pink hair and her smile. "My mother was like you, she was like that for a very long time, thinking of the past and letting her regrets, shame, and guilt eat her up. She didn't want to let go, because if she did, She'd have nothing. she'd be empty." she sat on the ground and placed both hands on her shoulder. "But you won't, you'll never be empty. You deserve a second chance and a happy ending, but you have to make yourself whole again. You have to forgive yourself, before you can even try to move on. If you can't, you won't have a happy future." Brishen was confused. "Who is she!? What's going on now?" but Wallflower told him to be quiet and to listen. "Your words are confusing me...I killed my friends...I killed my fellow students and teachers in that camping trip..." she looked at her hands, to her, she could see nothing but blood. "Why do I deserve a happy ending? Why do I deserve a second chance when my friends didn't? When they're dead? I'm the monster, I'm the one who should be punished." The pink hair girl hugged her. "You don't deserve that and neither did they. That's the point and reason we're fighting for. Everyone deserves a second chance and be free from someone writing their fate and future, even you. We can't undo the written past but we can help you write the future. If you can't let them go, then hold onto their memories and keep them safe and don't let it fade away. Remember what they want for you, remember their hopes and dreams. Let that drive you." "...why? I-I can't. I-It's too painful." "But if you don't, who will? If you let it go, who will remember them? Sometimes letting go isn't the right thing, you have to hold onto the memories and learn from the mistakes. To let them go is easy but to live with those memories and move forward, it's harder. It's okay to be scared, it's okay to cry, but if you don't pick yourself up, no one will." she smiled at her and held her hands. "Don't forget them and don't let their memories fade. Don't let the people who care for you, disappear into the nothingness. Keep their memories alive and never let yourself forget. It's the spark that drives us to move forward, never let it burn out. If it does, it won't come back and no one will remember, not even yourself. We can't erase our past and mistakes, we can't bring the dead back, but we can remember their names, their lives, and their love for us." suddenly black dead trees and glitching prism effects surround them and they started to slowly fade away. "Make yourself whole again, let the spark burn brightly within you again, and find your way home from the darkness." and the pink hair girl vanished and so did Everfall Shy, leaving Brishen and Wallflower alone. Brishen rubbed his head. Trying very hard to understand what was going on but couldn't. Could this be something related to Lauren or someone else? Wallflower created a plant car once more and pulled him in, "We have no time to ask what happened. That girl saved us and gave us the chance to reach the town without worry!" she shouted as she got in and drove off, as the town became more covered in black smoke and more raging fires could be seen getting closer to the school... Blitz and Braver could see 'her', as she's slowly walking towards where the school is and ignoring the cops gun fire that's been hitting her. She unleashed a powerful shockwave, destroying nearby buildings and creating fires from her magical energy sparks. Both twins landed and the police chief took noticed and realized backup arrived and ordered the police officers to fall back and let the super heroes take care of this. Rainbow Sun Dawn smiled as she tip her to the side. "My rainbow comet lights! You came to greet me! Oh, I am honored!" her voice was soft and her tone was cheery and happy. Blitz and Braver didn't say anything, as the two girls could feel her energy. Her magical power was very strong, stronger than them and stronger than before. They took battle positions and looked at the girl, who looked back and smiled. "Are you here to stop me, my rainbow comet lights? Because if you are, I won't hold back. I'll eat this Lucy and then you and I'll restart the multiverse! You'll be in every universe!" she jumped and flew straight at Blitz and created a energy aura on her fist and swung. Blitz dodged with ease but her sister wasn't fast enough and got hit in the face and went flying into a park car and it exploded. "SISTER!!!" Blitz screamed but suddenly felt a hand grabbing her face and her eyes turned and saw it was Rainbow Dawn, as she clutch down and slammed Blitz into the pavement and blasting her with a rainbow blast, creating a large hole in the ground and burning the surrounding areas and causing a massive earthquake. "BLITZ!!!" Braver cried out, as she got out of the debris of the car and teleported behind Rainbow Dawn and tried to suplex her but she put her hands out and stopped it as her hands touched the pavement. "That won't work a second time, silly. Let me show you a better wrestling move! The rainbow drop!!" and she flipped herself over and back kicked her into the sky and teleported above in the sky and waited as Braver finally reached her and grabbed her head in a three-quarter facelock and went flying back down and crashed into a building, making it collapse. Rainbow Dawn stood up and rose both her arms up. "And another win for Rainbow Dawn!" and she clapped and smiled, as she turned to look at the destroyed area and noticed Braver got out of the destruction and was charging at her. "Love your fighting spirit! I'll give you the next attack. Hit me, my rainbow comet light!" she shouted, as her hair was flowing and her eyes were closed. Braver didn't stop, as her eyes turned purple and she teleported next to Rainbow Dawn, punching her hard, sending her within ground and into the town's sewer system and following her and punching her again but Rainbow Dawn blocked it with a magical shield, thanks to her new unicorn horn and reverse the shield over Braver and it started to get smaller and crushing her as she tried to scatter it with her punches but it wasn't working. "Crap!" mumbled Braver, trying to push back the shrinking barrier but even with her strength, it wasn't enough. She could feel her body getting squished and was worried. Rainbow Dawn smiled. "I'm really impressed! That should had crushed you within seconds but this is you after all, always surprising me with your powers and strength." she walked up to her, seeing the barrier shrinking. "Do you think you can save yourself?" she asked, as the barrier started to crush Braver more. She placed her face on it and stroke the shield and blushing. "You always comes out of a bad situation. Can you do that now, my dear? Can you?" "G-Go to hell!" Braver shouted, trying to punch her way out the barrier but couldn't. Rainbow Dawn laughed and kissed the barrier.  "I love it when you get mad, it always me hot and bothered. I wish we can stay like this, my sweet comet light." Braver blushed and kind of felt creep out, as Rainbow Dawn pressed herself against the barrier, seeing her breast in front of face. "You are sick in the head alright and here I thought, maybe we could talk you out of doing this evil thing but guess not..." she could feel the space getting tighter. Rainbow Dawn laughed and pointed down below Braver body. "You say that but look what is saying hi to m--ugh?" she was suddenly tackled by Blitz and soar out of the hole and in the sky and grabbing her horn and trying to break it. It was enough to free Braver out of the barrier and she quickly hurried to her sister side but watched as Rainbow Dawn blasted Blitz away with a magical shockwave from her horn. Blitz flew back and hovered near her sister and holding her burned hand. "You okay?" asked Braver, holding her sister hurt hand and trying to heal it with magic but Blitz pulled it away. "Stop, don't waste your magical energy on healing each other. Save it for yourself, we need to give it all to stop her." Blitz said, looking at the girl, who floated down back on the ruin street and cracking her knuckles. "Is that it? Come on, my rainbow comet lights! You have much more power then that. Show me the real you! Fight me like you fucking mean it! Show me the power of the great rainbow spark you have!!!" "What is she talking about, sister?" Braver asked, looking at Blitz and then looked at Rainbow Dawn, who was waiting. "She keeps going on about someone...wait, don't you think?" Blitz nodded. "Maybe but that doesn't make sense. We're the only clones of our mothers, right? But that mare...she followed us to this world and is a human too and no one can see her but..." Blitz could see Rainbow Dawn pounding her fist. "...her and us. Maybe we're not only ones?" Braver shook her head. "No, that can't be. Only both of us were created and no one else...maybe she's like those ghost that came out of my core?" Blitz sighed and ready herself. "Whatever, it doesn't matter right now. What matter is stopping her!" she flew downward at top speed and tackle into Rainbow Dawn but she hardly was pushed back by the speed force and just smiled and punch Blitz into a building but she was quickly returned as her body were covered in pink magical aura, as Rainbow Dawn horn glowed. She punched Blitz and sent her flying but making her return again and repeated it over and over, until Braver landed and tried blast her with her magic but Rainbow Dawn took it and felt nothing. "Weak..." she surrounded Braver with the same aura and slammed the twins into each other and tossing them around buildings and streets, like she was playing with dolls. "Weak, weak, WEAK! Where is your power?! Why are you holding back!? Are you afraid?! Afraid to reveal your true self!?" Rainbow Dawn shouted, as she slammed them at each but harder, creating a powerful shockwave. As this was happening, news reporters were reporting this live on tv and online, seeing the whole town destroyed and the two girls fighting and people outside of the town were wondering what was going and scared. "As you can see, even though the local area was evacuated, the fight between the unknown girl and the super heroes sisters, Rainbow Comet and Ink Comet, is still on going! It seems even with both heroes, it isn't enough..." spoke the news reporter and the camera returning to the fight and seeing both sister getting slammed into each other still, while the girl laughing like crazy. "BLITZ!" cried Lucy, as she was watching the report on her phone, while everyone was huddle behind her and watching too. AJ and Dash stopped watching and were ready to run off to help them but Tempesta stopped them. "We need to stay here and-" but she couldn't finish as Dash grabbed her by her jacket. "MY DAUGHTER IS GETTING HER ASS BEAT BY THAT GIRL AND YOU WANT US TO STAY HERE WHILE SHE DIES!? NO FUCKING WAY!" Tempesta understood why Dash was pissed off but she had to tell her the cold hard truth. "If Lucy gets eaten, it means the end of everything, right? All life in the multiverse gets restarted, all those lives, will be gone. Including us..." Dash closed her eyes and didn't want to admit but she was right. She let go of Tempesta and screamed into the air and started swearing. Tempesta held her gun and she could see her hand shaking, knowing she couldn't calm herself. She seen the live feed and how little bullets have a effect on Rainbow Dawn, she was pretty much the useless one out of everyone here and that made her feel so frustrated. She looked at the unloaded gun and threw it aside. "Damn it! Fucking damn it!!" Twilight watched of all this and was gonna speak but Lucy spoke first. "We need to save them! We can't let them fight alone! There has to be something we can do to help them!" she looked at her phone and seeing her love being beat up and it made her feel helpless. "Please, I don't care what happens to me, please help Blitz and her sister!" she turned to Twilight. "Braver needs her mothers." she then turned to AJ and the girls. "And Blitz needs her family!" she then held her hand on her chest and cried. "Blitz needs her friends. We can't let their burning spark fade. The spark ignited inside me, them, us and everyone else. Please! Don't let it disappear!" Twilight started to cry as she whispered to Lucy. "Element of Magic. The spark ignited inside me...you. The spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic, magic of friendship...the spark." Twilight whispered and smiled at Lucy, as she wiped away the tears and turned to the others. "We're heading out! We're going to help the girls and fight along side them!" Dash turned on her device and flew up in the air. "Right! It be fun, never really fought along side Braver in a world ending event! This will be good mother and daughter bonding time!" she joked, trying to brighten the mood. AJ and rest of the girls turned on their device and shouted they were in. "Let's beat this sorry lass to the ground!" shouted Applejack, as she was pumped to beat up the girl who was beating her niece up. Penny took out a badge with a number on it and crush it. Smiling at Twilight. "Time to Pinkie it up!" Rachel created purple looking nano machine shields as it floated behind her. "I'm not a fighter but..." her face was filled with pure rage as her hair became messy. "NO ONE TOUCHES MY DEAR BLITZ AND HER SISTER! I'LL KILL HER!" she huff and puffed as everyone was staring at her, wondering where this side of her came from. Faith nodded and took out her phone and sent a quick text to 'Son'. It read "Mother is going to save the world sweetie. Please keep playing your guitar, you'll get better at it one day. Just like your father. Love you." and placed the phone back in her pocket. Tempesta could see how everyone was getting ready, how they were going to save the universe and the twins. She could see images of her squad mates, as they were getting hyped before a mission and she hurried where she tossed her gun and loaded it. "Even if I'm damn useless in this coming fight, I'll would rather fight than sit on my hands. I'll go down fighting, for my squad and my family, I'll fight till the end, even if I can't protect myself, I'll protect my friends..." she tossed off her jacket and gave Fizzle leashed to Helena, who had no idea what was going on. Twilight nodded and watched as Dash and others took off to save the twins but she stayed behind as Helena was crying and screaming as she asked what the hell was going on and where was her daughter. "Short story, Blitz is from another universe, same with her sister. A evil version of Lucy is here, is after them and if we let her eat her, all life gets restarted. I don't know where Sunset is but I'm sure she's safe. Please stay with Lucy and get somewhere safe." Twilight was gonna fly off but heard Asteria voice. "You gonna need help, way more help." Twilight looked at her, confused. "Just go, I'll get the girls here before you know it." Twilight realized what she meant and thanked her and left. Asteria took out her phone and was gonna talk to Mizuki and Arev when she heard her daughters calling out to her. "Mom!? Thank god you are safe! We need to get to safely!" shouted Sunna, grabbing her mother's hand but it was slapped away. "Mom?" whispered Selena, seeing her mother typing on the phone. She tapped on Mizuki and Arev, who both showed "ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ" and she smiled. Back in the research workshop, both android Alicorns created copies of themselves with nano machines and torn through the ceiling and blasting off to the town that was miles away but reached it within seconds. "It's showtime." said Mizuki and Arev together, in a robotic tone. "Let's have some fun~" laughed Asteria, as her daughters were watching in awe as both could see two white lights soaring across the sky and heading to the smoke and flames. A small white object flew towards Asteria, it was a white orb and became face visor. She put it on and could see what both androids could see. Blitz was tossed into a billboard and crashed to the street below and opened one eye and watched as Braver was getting her ass beat by Rainbow Dawn and couldn't stand up anymore. "I-I can't move...I can't even stand up..." she whispered, watching Braver getting smack with a street pole lamp. Blitz tried to crawl her way over to them, as she needed to save her sister, as she was getting smack non-stop with the street pole but she suddenly saw a bolt of lightning hitting Dawn and soon tree roots wrapped her up and dragged her underground, saving Braver. "Oh my poor head...thanks sis." called out her sister but Blitz said it wasn't her, making Braver look around and then seeing a plant car racing towards them and on the hood was Brishen, as he's holding a magical staff as it spark with electricity. "You two alright!?" he yelled as he waved them but as the car stopped dead in its tracks, he was tossed off and landed on his face hard. Getting out of the car as the plants and vines undid itself, was Wallflower but she was clearly hurt and still worn out from her encounters on the ship in EQG Prime and Everfall Shy fight, that she limp her way to Blitz. "Are you okay?" she asked, helping her up. Blitz blinked and confused how Wallflower looks like this, being all green and looking like a forest nymph. "Cool brown jacket though." smirk Blitz, leaning on her for support, making her blush a bit. Braver pulled Brishen off the road and help him stand up and dusting him off. "...least someone cares." he mumbled to himself. "What's with these magical powers!? There shouldn't be any magic in this world." Braver asked, looking at Wallflower and Brishen. "I...it's gonna be a long story about that, so let's saved it for later. We're here to help! You two won't fight alon-huh!!???" Wallflower was pulled back by Blitz as a rainbow beam shot out of the ground, missing by a hair. "Damn, I missed." Out of the ground came Rainbow Dawn, as she grabbed Blitz and Wallflower by their necks but she was blasted in the back with electricity. It hardly did nothing, as she let them go and turned around, facing down Brishen with rage in her eyes. Brishen gulp and tossed the staff towards Braver and pointed that she did it, making Braver tossed it back to him. "Nope, he did!" only for Braver to shield Brishen as Dawn unleashed ton of magical rainbow beams, landing near them and creating large explosions. As the smoke was clearing, Braver jumped with Brishen and landed on a roof top but standing there was Dawn. Brishen took his Bōjutsu stance, while Braver rose her fist and her horn glowed brightly. It was a quick stare down, as both sides stared each other down. Dawn was the first one to attack, unleashing a rainbow beam but Braver jumped out of the way and kicked her in the face, sending her flying and crashing through a building and was gonna take the opportunity and use her magic but Rainbow Dawn quickly appeared behind her and headlock her and tried to squeezed her to death but Brishen swung his staff and fired out electricity, forcing her to release her grip on Braver and jump away from them. "Nice one, dude!" yelled Braver, giving him a thumbs up and a smile, making Brishen return the thumb up. "Th-Thanks!" but he could see her reaction of fear and coughed. "She's right behind me, isn't she?" "Nope. In front of you." teased Dawn, as she was indeed  in front of him, spooking the shit out of him and swinging his staff around, shocking everything in sight but not her. She punched him in the gut and tossed him over into Braver, making the two fall from the roof but getting saved by large trees that Wallflower summoned. Rainbow Dawn looked over the edge and tsk loudly. "Annoying brats. I just want to fight my beloved!" she jump down and landed in the sidewalk and watched as all four gathered together and ready for her but suddenly, purple nano machine shields appeared between them. "What is-" Rainbow Dawn couldn't finish as she was punch in the face by AJ, with enough force, that it broke the sound barrier and sending her flying but stopping midflight and getting smack into the ground, over and over. Until she was tossed into the sky and being hit by thunder from the clouds and then tackle back into the ruin street by faded rainbow trail. Jumping out of the smoke was Dash, as rest of the girls joined the kids. "You okay!?" she asked, making Braver hug her tight. "SWEETIE! NOT TOO TIGHT! YOU'LL BREAK THE DEVICE!!!" Braver quickly let go of her mother and blushed as she realized what she did. "Sorry, I just really wanted to hug you." she said, in a low whisper. "I'm glad you're alright and you too Blitz. But where's Rainbow Dawn?" asked Twilight, not seeing her after the smoke cleared. As they looked, Rainbow Dawn reappeared behind Dash but Penny appeared along with her and smack her with a pink toy hammer. Everyone watched as Penny landed and rushed towards Dawn as she recovered. "Time to PARTY!" Penny was blasted into bits by Dawn's rainbow beam. Dawn smirk but could hear chewing behind her and turned around and could see Penny there, not even hurt and eating a carrot. "Eh...What's up Doc? Hehehehe..." joked Penny, making Rainbow Dawn's eyes widen and was blast into a wall by a party cannon from under Penny. "H-How...I killed you..." Dawn walked out of the building wall and staring down Penny, who was just dancing for no reason. Penny burst a move and pointed at her. "Can't kill a Pinkie, silly. I never liked using fourth wall and cartoon logic, as it's stupid and overused but for YOU! It's worth using because you aren't touching my niece, you stalker loser! BAM! LEVEL THREE SUPER!" she summoned a huge laser cannon and unleashed it on Dawn but she deflected it with ease. "...no fair! I charged my bar for that! I hope Iron Man didn't need this cannon for anything." Suddenly, Mizuki and Arev landed behind Dawn and unleashed a orange beam and trapped her within a sphere, making the two androids emote with holograms with '(๑☆‿ ☆#)ᕗ' and waved at Twilight, who waved back. "Damn it! Where are you all coming from!?" demanded Dawn, breaking free from the sphere, making the androids emote with '(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻" and everyone surrounded her. Twilight used her machine horn and squeezed Dawn and shouted at her. "Give it up! You can't win this! Just let it go!" Rainbow Dawn laughed and broke free and quickly grabbed Twilight by her neck. "Oh I'm going to enjoy killing you a second time! Gonna rip your ar-!?" she stopped as she felt bullets hitting her. It was Tempesta firing her gun, trying to get her to let go of Twilight. "Let. Her. GO." she ordered, as her hands was shaking as she held her gun up. Rainbow Dawn let Twilight go by tossing her to the side like trash and pointed at Tempesta, like a gun. "Pow!" and a small laser beam came out of her finger and hit Tempesta in the shoulder, causing her to scream. Tempesta screamed and dropped her gun and held her shoulder. "That's for ruining my fun and now, I'll kill you for that. Say goodby-" "NOOOOO!" screamed Rachel and Faith, as Rachel blocked the next beam with her shield, while Faith grabbed a cloud and fired a thunder bolt at her but it did nothing. AJ picked up a car and slammed it on top of Dawn, crushing her but jumped back as Dawn blasted the car into pieces. She then disappeared. "Damn it, where are you!?" yelled Dash, not seeing her anywhere. Dash kept looking but froze as she heard Dawn voice behind her. "I remember pulling your legs off and crushing your head in with them. I hope to do that again with you." she said, making Dash turn around and kick her in the face, but it did nothing like always. "Oh? Want me to do it right now?" she grabbed Dash leg and squeezed it, making her scream in pain...which Dawn knew it be a bad idea. She smiled as Braver punched her in face and her eyes glowing purple. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY MOMMY!" "B-Braver!? NO! GET BACK!!" cried Dash but Braver ignored her, as she was consumed in anger and tackle Dawn back to street level, freeing Dash. Both girls fist collided with each other, as the impact of their punches created large explosion, destroying the area around them. "Always a mommy girl. So predictable." Dawn taunted but Braver didn't answer her, as she just punched her over and over. Dawn grabbed Braver's arms and threw her away and flew at her but Braver recovered and caught her and slammed her to the ground. Pounding her in the face but Dawn only blush and smiled, as she was enjoying the punches. "I love your love taps! Hit me harder!" "SHUT UP!!!" yelled Braver and unleashed her magical aura, making everyone feel the pressure and her hair grew and floated up, like a flame of ink. Her eyes went white and the air around her became heavy and dark, as a faint rainbow halo appeared behind her back. Dawn smiled even more. "Yes! Unleash your true power!" she grabbed Braver by cheeks and forced her to lean in and forced a kiss on her. "Make me feel it." "FUCK OFF!" screamed Braver and headbutted her and kicked her away. "STAY AWAY FROM ME! AND LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE! GIVE ME BACK MY DAWN!" Everyone joined Braver and watched Rainbow Dawn stood up and smiled. She step forward and opened her arms. "If you want her back, then become a part of me!" Braver, Blitz, Twi and Dash quickly realized what she was doing and protected their friends as Dawn unleashed it, her rainbow slime monster from her chest. "Let's be as one!" Blitz and the others were going to fall back, when suddenly, they heard clapping above them. They and even Dawn looked up and saw an dark unicorn anthro girl, wearing a black jacket. She was clapping and holding a box of candy. "Great fight! Like a cool movie!" she jumped off the building and landed next to Dawn, who tried to punch her but the girl caught the fist and easily brought Dawn to her knees. "Still being a cunt I see." "W-who are you?" asked Braver and the girl smiled and looked at her. "Me? I'm like her, a savior for our master. Of course, I'll listen to 'her', than disobeying 'her' like this little bitch been doing." she grabbed Dawn by the hair and slammed her into the ground, hard. "You been doing well, can't fight it forever though. You been doing what 'she' wanted, even if your not aware of it." she looked at the box in her hand. "This is from 'her' as a reward for what your doing. Enjoy!" she slammed Dawn face in the ground once more and then step on her head with her black boot and disappeared. "Where did sh-ugh!?" shouted Braver, as she looked down and could see the girl hand in her chest. She slowly looked up and could see her smiling and with an evil look, Braver knows this person as she recognize the face. "What? Can't be...yo-" she started groan in pain and the girl pulled out her hand and dropped the box of candy, spilling few black seeds out.  "Become her again. Become Breaker! Become her savior!" the girl whispered and quickly vanished before anyone could catch her. "Braver!" Dash shouted, catching her daughter before she fell over. "What did that bitch do!?" demanded AJ and looked down at the ground and picked up the seeds but it turned to dust. "Oh, just making her into her real self." answered the girl as she sat on top Dawn body. "Speaking of which..." she turned to Blitz and everyone protected her but something black and long stabbed Blitz in the chest. Everyone followed the black slime and it came from Braver tail... Dash started to cry as she saw Braver body becoming slime and covering her face. "Braver?" she whispered as Braver grabbed Dash by her neck and tossed her away and roared as five rainbow halos appeared behind her back. "BREAKER!" she screamed, shaking not just land but the whole world. "Braver?" said Twilight, as she held onto her wife for dear life. She knew the girl before her, not as Braver, her daughter but as a powerful being who destroyed her own universe. "...no. Breaker is back..." The girl clapped and pointed at Breaker. "Wow! I didn't expect you to kill your own sister like that! But hey, that take cares of our master problem...right?" she touched her ear and listened to someone voice. "...damn. She still alive then." She rose up and walked over to Blitz body, as Wallflower was holding her, crying but the others stood in her way. "...fucking pathetic. You all are. We're the heroes here, not you all." her horn started to glow and tossed them all away from Blitz side. She stood over Blitz body and lower herself to her and looked over her body, checking for something. She sighed and lifted Blitz by her hair. "Looks like I'll need to use my magic, since you still alive." she was gonna do something but she sense something and created a barrier, blocking Dawn and Breaker magical attacks. "Little shits. Disobeying like untrained dogs!" she dropped Blitz on the ground and faced the two down. "BLITZ!" screamed Lucy, watching the live feed on her phone as the reporter caught the moment that Blitz got stabbed. She tried to run off but Helena stopped her, fearing for the girl's safety. "Don't. There is nothing we can do." Lucy shook her head and kept trying to push her away. "I have too! If I don't...then-" "You will die." simply said Asteria, seeing what the androids were seeing and rose her visor up. "Plus, if you go there, you'll be eaten and everything will be wipe clean." she turned and could see her daughters were confused. She wanted to explain but they all heard yelling coming towards them.  Lucy froze, as she saw her parents running up to her and pulling her from Helena grip. "The world is ending! We must go to church and pray for your sinful soul!" shouted her father, placing his daughter on his shoulder, while her mother took out her car keys. "NO! WHAT ABOUT BLITZ!" screamed Lucy, trying to get out of her father grip. "She's dead, Lucy." her mother told her, not realizing Blitz is Rainbow Comet and walked to her car, followed by her husband. "That sinner deserve deaths!" "NO! LET ME GO! WE HAVE TO SAVE HER!" Asteria looked at her daughters and gave them a nod, understanding what they were gonna do. They both nodded back and ran after the family. Lucy's father saw the principal and vice principal coming at him. "I WILL NOT LET YOU SINNERS RUIN MY CHILD'S LIFE! STAY AWAY!" Both sisters tried to calm them down, as he was pointing a finger at them. "Mr. Dawn, please calm down. I know things are bad and scary but please-" "No. This is what's best for my child." he tossed his daughter into the car and pulled out a four-way lug wrench, and swing at Asteria daughters, making them step back. Meanwhile, Sunset watched as the goth girl walked up to her and touched the mirror. She then turned to Sunny and slapped her face, making her wake up. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" she screamed, rubbing her cheek and could see the goth girl pointing at the mirror. "Touch the mirror! Whatever happens, never forget who you love!" the goth girl took out her guitar and started to play it. "You won't be you or her but something new. Just hold on to your love for Blitz and never forget. You won't be alone." Sunny was confused and looked into the mirror of the statue and shock to see a unicorn with her same hair style but had white hairs in it. She touched it and she passed through it and fell in front of her unicorn counter part. "You okay?" asked Sunset to her human counter part. Sunny stood up and nodded. "Yeah...me? Who the hell are you? Other than being...my pony self?" Sunset blinked and remembered why she's here. Explaining where she's from and needed to give her this, showing her the red crystal geode. Then explaining what will happen to her. "...that girl said when I give you this, it seems we'll fuse as one. This new 'us' will have our memories and thoughts and will even have a different appearance and new personality all together. I won't lie, I don't want to do this but if it means protecting Braver and her sister, I'll do it. What do-" Sunny didn't give Sunset time to finish as she grabbed the crystal and smiled. "If it means protecting Blitz and her sister, I'll do it as well. Let's become something new." the red geode glowed, making the two closed their eyes and... "...is it working?" whispered Sunny, peeking one eye open. Sunset opened her eyes and checked her body. "...I don't think so?" Sunny put her hand on her chin. "Do we have to do a dance or something, so we can fuse?" "No...maybe?" Sunny started to psych herself up. "Let's do it." Sunny walked up to Sunset and both did the 'dab' move, pressing their bodies against each other. "Anything?" Sunset blush. "Nope." Both girls tried another dance move but stopped as the goth girl nocked on the mirror, waving at them to come to her. Both looked at each other, not sure what to do or why she wanted them. They both shrugged and walked up to the mirror. "...who are you anyway?" asked Sunny. The goth girl didn't answered that comment but said "You two need to step out here and let the universe fuse you with the red crystal thingy. So please stop doing those cringe dances..." Sunny's eyes widen. "Wait. You mean, universe, you mean my universe?" "Yeah." Sunset eyes widen as well. As she remembered Twilight and Dash telling her something about this. "Twi and Dash told me that only one person can exist in one universe. So...does that mean-" The goth girl nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry. She told me it be a while, so don't be scared, it's not permanent or anything." "W-wait." said Sunny, holding the red geode. "How you know this? And who's sh-" but Sunny couldn't finish as the goth girl push her arms into the mirror and grabbed the two and pulled them out, landing behind her. The girl stood up and could see Sunny swearing under her breath but Sunset was covered in a red aura and still a unicorn, thanks to the red crystal. But she could see them acting strange as they held their heads and spoke at the same time. "My head hurts...what's going on?" said the two in perfect sync. "Your fusion and the new you is being created." Sunny and Sunset looked at the girl and back at each other, seeing a bright red light coming from crystal that both were holding. Both said "We're gonna become her." as they were consumed by the light, making the goth girl cover eyes and feeling the magical energy. As the light settled and finally disappeared, the girl became happy and held her guitar neck harder, as she saw the new being in front of her. "...these memories...it's ours, right? Yeah, it's mine." whispered the new voice. The girl nodded and pointed to the exit. "Better hurry now. Blitz is in danger and bring Lucy with you. Don't leave her behind." the goth girl told her. "Blitz? Lucy?" asked the new fusion, thinking of who those names are but remembered who it belong too and nodded. Even started to blush heavily. "...Blitz..." she ran out the door and headed to the fair entrance as she could group of people fighting. The goth girl just looked on and took off her guitar and looked at it. Looking at the flame decal on it and the black color. She closed her eyes and remember when she left on this adventure to save everything. "Why are you giving me this?" she asked, holding the guitar. A hand rested on her head as a older female voice spoke. "Because you are meant to have it. I seen you carrying it and we met before." "Before? Man teach, how long have you been watching me? Stalker teacher!" The voice laughed and her hand pulled back and gave a middle finger, making the goth girl join in the laughter. "Ever seen time travel movies? I can't stay anymore on that but I can tell you this. When you see me, I'm in the warehouse and another me is there, inside a mirror. Tell us that we need to fuse and just pull us out of there. Everything should go as it meant to be. Even saving Blitz and her sister...I hope." The girl blinked and looked up at her teacher. "What? That makes no fucking sense. I'm not going back in time and meeting you...you smoking some of that good stuff, teach?" The teacher laughed. "Oh, yeah, totally." The girl opened her eyes and smiled.  "Teach..." SHADE!" shouted a pissed off female voice. Shade looked behind and could see her annoying leader, the girl with the rainbow jacket. "Where the hell were you!?" demanded Rainbow, running up to Shade, looking pissed off. Shade rolled her eyes and looked down at her guitar. "...saving the world." she started to play as she followed them back to the portal and all three stepped into the portal and was transported back where they were meant to be. Asteria just stood and watched as Lucy parents weren't giving up their daughter. She sighed and was gonna help but suddenly saw someone rushing towards them and watched as they leapt into the air and landed on the car and creating a guitar from her magical horn, she swung it, knocking the weapon out of Lucy's father hand. "THE DEVIL!" shouted the father, falling back on his ass, while his wife went to his side. Lucy was confused by what just happened, as she's still in the car but she could see a yellow hand poking out, wanting her to grab it. "I won't hurt you. Come with me." said the voice, as Lucy recognized it. "S-Sunny? B-but you-" she grabbed it and suddenly was pulled out of the car and found herself being held by her friend...who looked like Blitz when she's in her hybrid form. "...you look..." Sunset grin. "HOT, RIGHT? I KNOW!" Lucy blushed hard "...uh, yeah." "Well, let's get the fuck out of here. Blitz needs us!" said Sunset, holding her tighter and gonna use her horn to teleport away but she heard her mother voice. "Sunny!?" Sunset turned around and could see her mom, on the ground, holding Tempesta dog, who was barking at her. "...mom." said Sunset, looking sad. "Sunny? How? You were just...are you a...unicorn?" asked the mother, shocked. "Uh...I'm sorry mom. I can't stay and talk. Blitz is in danger and-" she stopped herself and spoke once more. "...mom, Blitz doesn't love me. She loves Lucy here, so I'm sorry if this breaks your heart. I know you wanted us to be together and all that but it's not meant to be." "...Sunny...I-" "Good bye." Sunset turned around and used her horn and teleported out of sight, leaving her mom and the others behind. They reappeared on top of a building and disappeared again, as Sunset kept teleporting across rooftops, since she wasn't use to using magic. Lucy was so amazed by Sunset powers but also her new body. "Who are you?" asked Lucy, looking at Sunset. "Well, we are the fusion of Sunset Shimmer and Sunny Shimeren, which make us Sundae!" but she heard Lucy laughing. "W-what!?" Lucy kept giggling as she answered her. "Really? Sundae? Just stick with Sunset, Sunny. Blitz gave you that wonderful nickname for a reason..." she held her tighter. "Blitz is right, you are like a beautiful sunset. You're so colorful and warm...thank you." Sunset felt her face burning as Lucy just smiled, loving her. She landed on the roof and stopped. "...it's what friends are for. Now, let's help the girl we love so much." she ran towards the edge of the roof and jumped off, letting them fall and in a flash, they were gone. Wallflower used her powers to summon tree roots, protecting herself and the others as they watched as Braver and Rainbow Dawn fighting the hybrid pony human looking girl and they were clearly no match for her. "Damn dogs! Just give it up!" demanded the girl, as she stepped on Dawn head and holding Breaker neck. "BREAKER!" screamed Breaker, trying to create a magical beam within in her mouth but the girl slammed her into the ground and curb stomp her, causing a large crater in the ground. "BRAVER!" cried the others. The girl lifted her foot up, checking to see if she killed her or not. That's when Rainbow Dawn grabbed her leg and tried something but the girl made her to let go and kicked her in the face. Wallflower couldn't watch anymore, whoever this girl was, she's so cruel and just a monster. She looked over to Blitz body that was across from them and couldn't help but cry. "Blitz..." Wallflower used her powers and tree roots and plant life wrapped itself around the body and dragged it towards her and the others, as the anthro girl wasn't paying any attention. They finally reach their master and Wallflower held Blitz in her arms, crying even more, while rest of her friends and allies looked on in sadness. Twilight and Dash held each other."...what are we gonna tell Twilah and Dashie?" whispered Twilight, holding Dash. Dash looked up at her, trying her best to be strong. "...the truth." she simply answered. As they were mourning over Blitz, they heard Breaker screaming her name and they could see her blasting a dark beam into the sky. Everyone look up and could see a mirror prism window. Twilight and Dash could see their world and the Crystal Empire in flames. As they were wondering what was going on, they could see Blitz and Braver life from before. They knew of the twins past but turned to the others and seeing them looking horrified by what they were seeing. Only one not bother by it was Tempesta, as she knew the full truth and turned to the others. "Up there, those images, aren't Blitz or her sister anymore. They are trying to forgive themselves for their past sins and mistakes. They are no longer Breaker, anymore. They are Blitz and Braver, our friends. We need to stop Braver and get her back to normal." AJ and the girls nodded. Mizuki and Arev showed "◝(⁰▿⁰)◜" and Brishen agreed. Wallflower looked down at the lifeless body of Blitz and gently touched her cheek and looked into her eyes and spoke softly to her."Blitz...don't leave us. We love you and no matter what you did in the past, you are still our Blitz. Don't go. I love you. Come back." She held Blitz tight and tears rolled down her cheek. Said tears dropping on Blitz chest and landing within the hole in her chest and touching the rainbow orb, as it started to glow slightly. Isn't that sweet?" Wallflower and the others quickly turned to their front and could see the anthro girl looking at them, smiling as she blasted the protective plant life away."Give me that girl." she ordered, trying to reach for Blitz but everyone attacked her but it was meaning less. AJ and Penny tried to fight her head on but the girl easily overpowered AJ by grabbing her punch and using her as a weapon and smacking Penny away and then tossed AJ into Mizuki who emoted "( ゚ Д゚) " as they went flying into a store window. Faith hid behind Rachel who created barriers but the girl easily broke through them and blocked Arev energy beam, which Arev emoted " ヾ(。◣∀◢。)ノ " but the girl used her magic and pulled her in and snapped the android in half, making Arev emote " (|||❛︵❛.) " and her body was used to smack Faith and Rachel away. Then Mizuki returned but like her sister, she was ripped in half. Brishen and Wallflower fought side by side but the girl used her magic to take over the plants and made them attack their master. Brishen quickly pulled Wallflower to him, shielding her as the plants wrapped itself around him, strangling him. Wallflower tried to protect Blitz body but the plants grabbed her as well, moving her away. The girl got closer but stopped as bullets hit her, making her turn and seeing Tempesta reloading her gun. "I won't let you." she said. "You gonna stop me? That's cute." replied the girl, walking towards Tempesta. She tried to shot the girl but her gun vanish from her hands. She could see it was in the girls hands now, which she crushed, and then, using her magic once more, blasted Tempesta into a destroyed park car hood. "Stupid human." The girl turned around and smiled, as the only ones left were Twilight and Dash. "I'm happy to finally meet you two, you know? Even though we keep meeting so much already in my timeline," she said. "Y-your timeline?" repeated Dash, scared. "Yep, I'm from the future. You two are sure annoying, you know that? Damn thorns in my ass." She used her magic and ripped the device from Dash's body, blasted her away, and stared down at Twilight. "You. Looking at you reminds me of 'her'! It makes me want to tear you to shreds!" Twilight tried to use her device, but just like what happened to Dash, the girl ripped it from her body and pulled her towards her. "It also reminds me of myself. My old, weak self from back then, where I foolishly believed in the spark that my mother taught me. I believed I'd be saved by it, but it never came. I was all alone in that dead world! You want to know why? Why no one save me and my world?" Twilight could feel her throat being crushed slightly. "W-why?" The girl pulled her closer to her face. "Because that was my fate! I was fated to be forgotten and alone and die in that cold, dead world! That's where my story was heading, but my master saved me. She took me in and loved me like a real mother. It gave me purpose and a new fate. To bring salvation to everything, freeing all of you from fate and ending all stories at once. That's why she needs to write the true ending to everything, and to do that, she needs to die!" She pointed to Blitz's body. "Now. STAY OUT OF MY DAMN WAY!" She threw Twilight into the sky with such great force, that she lost sight of her. She returned to Blitz, but stopped and sensed something. "...damn it." Appearing in front of her were Sunset and Lucy. Even with Twilight, who dropped on the ground and dazed. "Leave Blitz alone," warned Sunset, standing between the girl and Blitz's body. "Sunset, it's not safe!" cried Twilight, trying to get up but noticing how much she changed, and seeing Lucy here made her freak out. "Why are you here!?" Before she could answer, Rainbow Dawn started to laugh as she saw her counterpart. She rose up and started to walk towards them, as Breaker didn't care and kept blasting random things. "You gotta stop us?" smirked the girl, her horn glowing deep black. Sunset ready herself, by having her guitar out and her own horn started to glow bright yellow. "Damn right, I do," she replied, looking pissed. "That's not going to happen, but you can try." Both vanished and reappeared in the sky as they started to fight. Lucy ran towards Blitz and held her close, trying to wake her up. "Blitz, wake up!" But nothing, as Blitz just looked dead, as her eyes were still open and there was a hole in her chest. But Lucy noticed there was no blood or anything within the hole. She slowly looked in and could see... "...slime?" Within Blitz body were black slime and the rainbow core, as it was pulsing but going dim now. "No," said she, shocked. "I've got to do something! I have to save her! I can't let her die, not after we told each other our feelings!" She cried out, crying harder as she didn't know what to do. Back in Equestria and on top of the palace, Twilah blocked a flame blast from Sunfall with her magic. She then fired her own magical blast at the Queen Fire Demon, but she flew into the sky, holding the mirror with her magic. "Twilah, another version of Twilight Sparkle! You might not be my Twilight, but at least you are better than her! You actually stood by your loved ones rather than running away." She created two huge fireballs in her hands and threw them down. Twilah easily deflected them with her magic and sent them back at her, but Sunfall just destroyed it. "What are you even talking about, and who are you!?" Dashie stood by Twilah and is fully recovered now. "She's this universe, Sunset, but that girl from before, who trapped us here, infected the mirror and made Sunset into that, Sunfall. Tempest believes she's from another universe or a copy of one. She also must be talking about her Twilight, and the sounds of it sounded like a coward." Twilah understood now and looked back up in the sky, seeing Sunfall creating a much bigger fireball, almost the size of the Las Vegas Sphere. "I'll kill you here before you can save your foolish daught-huh?" Sunfall was surprised to see Twilah in front of her; she didn't even see her use her magic or anything. "How did you?" she couldn't finish as Twilah grabbed her arms and created a barrier around them, stopping the fireball from being created. "YOU WON'T STOP ME FROM GETTING TO MY DAUGHTER!"  Sunfall could sense the powerful magical energy coming from her and tried to break free from her grip but couldn't. She could sense how stronger she was, and could see it within Twilah's eyes. "Let me go!" Twilah let go of her and snapped her fingers. Sunfall blinks a few times, not understanding what Twilah is doing. "What?" she found herself laying on a patient chair, while she could see Twilah sitting in a chair next to her. "Hello, Sunfall," greeted Twilah, smiling at her. "What are you doing?" Twilah created a notepad and answered her question with another smile. "I'm helping you, of course. You said your Twilight ran away? Ran away from what?" "H-huh?" "Ran away from what, Sunfall?" Sunfall didn't know what was going on, as she suddenly felt something within her, like it wanted out rather than being bottled up. "I...she...I was being corrupted by the Element of Magic Crown, and I wanted her to save me, but she just ran back inside the mirror, leaving me like..." she couldn't finish and began to cry, remembering how her Twilight just abandoned her. "Sunfall, I understand, and it's okay." Twilah said softly. Sunfall turned her back to her. "No, it's not! She just abandoned me; she didn't even try! She just left, and I started to destroy that universe. I killed her human friends counterparts... I burned so many people to ash, and I hated every moment of it. I just wanted her to save me." "...Sunfall." "I'm a monster. I can't be saved. Why are you even talking to me rather than just trying to destroy me?" Twilah shook her head, stood up, and sat on the edge of the patient chair. She touched Sunfall's back. "You aren't a monster. You were just a girl who was hurting and who wanted to be saved. No one should ever go through what you had, and the fact that you still want her to save you and that you still love her proves that you are no monster. Plus, you remind me of my daughter; she too acted like this. You two think the same, thinking you shouldn't be saved but rather killed for your past actions, but she learned that was wrong. You know why?" "W-why?" "Because she learned from my and Dashie's other universe counterparts, that she can still be saved, given a second chance, and moved forward. Because she has regrets, shame, and even guilt. If she were truly a monster, she would have no such things and would have no guilt or remorse. You do too; you know that, right? You do have regret, guilt, and even shame, don't you?" "Yeah, but..." she turned around and was facing Twilah now. "I didn't deserve a second chance when I killed people! Why should I?!" Twilah pulled her into a hug, surprising Sunfall. "Everyone deserves a second chance. Sunfall, you can still be saved. It might be late for some, and not everyone gets one, but you can." Sunfall started to hold her back. "H-how? What can I do? How can I save myself?" "Just let it out. Let the pain, anger, and sadness out. I'll be here. I'm not your Twilight, but I'm here for you this time. I'm here to save you, so you can move forward, okay?" Sunfall nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks, as she couldn't hold it back anymore. "It's my fault... I shouldn't have taken that crown; I shouldn't have acted like that. I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Twilight! Please, don't leave me! Save me! Please!" She screamed as her tears became waterfalls, as it felt like years of anger, sadness, and guilt came flooding out of her, and Twilah held her the entire time. Twilah patted her back and tried to calm her down. "There there. Just let it out. Let it all out. I'm here, Sunfall. Let it all out." Sunfall could see memories flash before her. Memories of her life, memories of her and her Twilight being friends but going their separate ways and seeing her again but not recognizing her. Seeing her with those friends of hers and seeing how happy she was without her, she became jealous. Stealing the crown and jumping into the mirror. Doing that, Twilight followed her, but in the final moments of her putting on the crown, she could see Twilight being scared and running back into the mirror, leaving her to her sad fate. "SUNSET!" Her eyes widen as she sees a memory that isn't her own. She could see herself crying as her Twilight stood in front of her. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know there was another way. Please forgive me, Twilight." Twilight kneeled in front of her and held her. "The magic of friendship doesn't just exist in Equestria. It's everywhere, in every universe. You can seek it out, or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours." "But... But all I've ever done since being here and back home is drive everyone and even you apart from my life. I don't know the first thing about friendship." Twilight leaned back and smiled with great warmth. "Oh Sunset, you do know. If you didn't know, then why are we even friends, huh?" She leaned in and kissed Sunset on the lips. "Maybe even more, if you want, of course," she said, giving a blush and another warm smile, making Sunset cry. The memory suddenly started to static out and she returned to her memory, seeing Twilight running away, but she could see her master, the one she must obey, standing behind Twilight and writing in a book. She could see black seeds covering Twilight, forcing her to flee rather than to help. "I lost my happy ending," whispered Sunfall, slowly fading away. "You won't. You will get it back, and I'll help you," said Twilah, realizing Sunfall was fading away and this universe's Sunset's body was returning. Sunfall smiled and closed her eyes. "Thank you, but it's too late for me. Like you said, Not everyone can get a second chance or even a happy ending." She opened her eyes and hugged Twilah tight, shocking her. "But please, I know it's not my place to ask, but save her. Save the girl that Master wanted to get rid of. I lost my happy ending, but she shouldn't as well, please." Twilah could feel her crying and held her back, nodding. "I will, I promise." Sunset started to open her eyes and saw the mirror in the sky, seeing the chaos and destruction in the human world. Then, back down to the city, the city burned herself. She couldn't undo the corruption of the ponies she infected, but she could sense the crystal heart and knew they would be saved. "Goodbye...Twilah." But before she could disappear, Twilah spoke one last time. "Wherever you are, never give up. You have the strength to move forward, and I'm sure your Twilight is too. Whoever that woman was, your Twilight will do everything in her power to get back to you. I'm sure of it. Just wait for her." Sunfall was shocked that Twilah saw those memories too, but she closed her eyes, hoping that Twilah was right. "I'll wait. I'll always be waiting." With that said, Sunfall was gone, and the only thing that remained was Sunset's body, but she was lifeless, like her soul was missing. Twilah moved the bubble shield back to the ground, and she gently laid her down on the ground while Dashie walked up to her. "Shock, you didn't beat her ass or something," she joked. "I wasn't going to fight her, Dashie. I was going to help her." "Really?" Twilah nodded, looking back up at the mirror in the sky. "I could tell she was hurt and suffering. I saw those same hurting eyes in our daughter." She then turned her sights on the mirror that she had placed on the floor. It returned to its normal-looking design rather than being all evil and twisted. "What's with the mirror?" Dashie quickly explained, and both ran towards it, getting ready to jump into it, but as they did, they just slammed into it and slid down. "WHAT!?" shouted Dashie, getting up and touching the mirror, shocked to see that it was just a normal mirror now rather than a gateway. "NONONONO! WHY!? It was our only way home! COME ON!" She kept banging her fists into the mirror, trying to break it, but nothing happened. "Dashie." "COME ON, FUCKING MIRROR!" "Dashie!" "JUST LET US THROUGH, YOU BASTARD!" "DAASHIE!" She stopped and looked at Twilah. Twilah held her hand. "This isn't going to help us or Blitz. We better bring the mirror with us and find the others. I can sense the others down below. Come." Her horn glowed, and they all vanished. They reappeared and found themselves standing in front of the gang, surprising everyone but Cozy as they set the mirror and Sunset body on the ground. Tempesta walked up to them and was happy to see that Dashie was alright. "Glad you made it out as well, and I see you brought help." Dashie waved at the group, and Ember gave her a thumbs up. She then turned to Armor and Cadance, who walked over. "I'm also glad to see you two safe as well." Armor and his wife looked at Twilah, who smiled at them. "Not my Twily, right? Like Twi herself told me all those years ago. You look just like her—just standing and having hands." He tried to stand on his rear legs to make himself look taller, but stopped. "And I hope my counterpart is much taller because seeing my little sister being taller isn't helping me." "Oh, he's much taller than me. Don't worry about that," replied Twilah, both her and him laughing a bit. "Can you shut up already?" shouted Cozy, making everyone turn to her and AJ's as they were talking. Twilah turned to Tempest and the others. "What's her problem?". FlutterWonder answered her. "Braver became Breaker, and the only way to save her is if someone just as strong as her can knock sense into her." They all looked at them, seeing Cozy throwing ideas to get to the human world while the AJ's were shaking their heads. "The problem is, there's no way to get there. Wait," she said, noticing the mirror. "You got back the mirror! Does it...oh?" She could see Twilah and Dashie shaking their heads in no. "Yep, we tried it and can't use it." Tempest crossed her arms. "Great, no way to get you two home and no way to help the others up there." Everyone looked up and could see the battle that was going on. "There might be a way..." whispered JA, making everyone look at her.  Remedy was the first to ask. "What do you mean?" JA touched the element necklace and felt it speaking to her. Soon her friends could sense it too and listened. "The elements are telling us there is a way, but only one person here can go through the mirror if they hold the necklaces and us." She turned to Cozy and then back to the Blitz parents. "Sorry, but you two have to wait a little longer before you can go home. Right now, Braver needs us and her. So, are you ready?" she asked, turning to Cozy once more. She pounded her hooves together. Showing she's ready to leave whenever, but suddenly, all the fire demon ponies started to surround them. Even without their queen, they were still following their queen's orders and going to fight them. Hope gave Cadance the crystal heart so she could undo the curse, but Ember Tail wagged a bit, and she looked to the sky and smiled. "Oh good, they finally arrived." Everyone asked what she meant by that, but they looked up and could see all the dragons heading to the city and landing behind the fire demon ponies, outnumbering them, and were ready to fight. "Dragons?" whispered Tempest, but she saw Ember walking up to her. "Yup, I tried to explain to you before at the meeting, but you didn't let me. I asked Spike and Celestia to get them, so they could help take back the city after what Flutterheart explained to me, but I wonder why it took so long." She looked up and could see Celestia and Spike coming into view and landing in front of them. "Sorry, we're late. You won't believe what happened to us," explained Spike. Celestia nodded in agreement. "Yes, it was sure strange. A monster-looking AJ appeared, and she had no face, just a giant hole sucking us in, but then a centaur-looking AJ appeared and saved us." Celestia couldn't finish as Cozy walked past them and looked in the mirror. "No one cares what happened to you two!" She turned to JA. "So are you ready or what!? Braver needs me and would rather not wait any longer! So, get to it and take me there!" Spike shook his head and turned to Ember. "What's going on?" Ember just smiled. JA and her friends walked up to her, taking off the necklaces, and Cozy took them and put them on her neck, which fused as one necklace, with the crystal symbol being just a rainbow comet. "We'll be in the necklace, so you'll be alone, but the moment you get close to Braver, we'll return to her core and try to stop her powers, but it's up to you to knock sense into her. Got it?" Cozy just rolled her eyes. "I know the plan! Can I leave already?!" Ja smiled and nodded. Her and her friends disappeared into the necklaces, and with their powers and these universe elements, the mirror started to glow, and Cozy looked at it. "Friend Cozy!" shouted Luna, making Cozy turn around and see her friends standing by her. "Please save her and come back home." Tirek crossed his arms and smirked. "Give her a good smack for me." Chrysalis sighed. "Get our little idiot back to her normal self." Tempest walked to Cozy, looking worried but filled with hope. "Everything that Braver has been through, and out of everyone here, You are the one she needs right now. So, tell her your love for her and bring her back. Save her. Please." Cozy didn't know what to say and was feeling embarrassed about hearing her to express her feelings. She just rolled her eyes, tried to hide her blushing, and smiled a bit. "I'll bring her back, even if I have to drag her." "Thanks." Cozy then turned to the mirror and, with a deep breath, jumped in, ready for anything that would come her way. As she disappeared into the mirror, Cadance and Armor held the crystal heart, along with Hope and Sombra, pouring their love and hope into it, and with a white flash, a shockwave blasted through the city, turning all the demon ponies back to normal. While Dashie and Twilah looked up in the sky, seeing their home town in ruins and praying their daughter and friends were safe... In the warehouse, the mirror shined brightly, and with a small flash, a naked, short girl blasted out of it and landed face first on the ground. "FUCK!" shouted Cozy, getting up and rubbing her hurt nose. She quickly realized her hooves were now hands, and she looked at her new human body. "So, this is my human body for this universe? Huh, I thought I'd have a chest like Braver's sister and the other humans, but just a flat board instead. Meh, I don't care! Let's do this!" She jumped up, trying to get used to her new body and ready to save Braver, until the necklaces spoke to her. She somehow understood them, and she knew where to go now as she ran out of the warehouse and headed to the area where Braver was. Meanwhile, Sunset was having a hard time fighting the anthro girl, as she was just faster and stronger than her. She even got hit with a punch so hard that it sent her flying, and she crashed into a statue in front of the public library, falling to the ground and parts of the statue falling on her. She slowly got it off thanks to her magic and could see the anthro girl running up to her. She quickly teleported out of the way as the girl punched the ground where she was, destroying it. Sunset reappeared on top of the library and used her magical guitar to fire magical notes towards the girl, but the girl blocked them and jumped on the building, charging at Sunset. Sunset teleported once more, and the girl missed, crashing through the glass roof. Sunset reappeared a few feet away, panting. Nothing she did seemed to be working. The girl was just too strong and powerful. "This is getting damn old. Why do you keep running?" she asked herself, looking down at her broken glasses, then back up at Sunset. "Just let me end you, so I can go back doing my damn job, you fucking villain!" shouted the girl, using her horn to suddenly twist and warp reality around them, causing Sunset to fall straight up and land on the ceiling of the library. "Well, this is new. Reality manipulation spell? Is that even a thing?" Sunset slowly stood up, trying not to fall back down, as gravity was all over the place, and the girl jumped up, landing safely in front of her. The girl made a tree pose and closed her eyes. Soon,  she undid the pose and started to move her hands like she was controlling something, which in her case was controlling reality. "Reality, space, and time. I control and can bend everything. Nothing can escape my grasp, and nothing is out of my reach." She sent out pillars from the walls, trying to crush Sunset, but Sunset teleported once more. She reappeared not too far, but with a confused look. "What!? I thought I teleported outside!?" "I told you. I can bend reality and time," the girl said, teleporting beside Sunset and kicking her, sending her flying into a nearby pillar and falling to the ground. "No matter where you go, I can always follow and manipulate your space, so no more damn teleporting!" Sunset groaned in pain but quickly rolled away as books fell, but when they landed, they dug into the ground like blades, and the pages became razor sharp, slicing and cutting anything in their path as they started to follow her. "Well, I was already screwed. Now, I'm just fucked. How am I supposed to fight this girl?" thought Sunset, smacking the books away with her guitar but still getting cut and her clothes slowly getting ripped a bit. Sunset kept dodging the flying books and falling into different parts of the twisted library, but the girl kept following her. The books were trying to slice and kill her, but the girl was trying to grab her but instead grabbed the guitar and tossed it away. "So, miss dark and gloomy bitch, why did you call me the bad guy here? The fucking way you look says otherwise! Plus, I'm trying to stop the multiverse from being restarted!" shouted Sunset, using her magic to make her guitar fly towards her and catch it. She then used her guitar as a shield as the girl threw a table at her, and it shattered, covering the floor in oversized splinters and shards of wood. The girl laughed and explained what she told Twilight, but more. "HA! Don't compare our real goals with those of that disobedient dog. Why don't you fools notice that our fates are already sealed? We can't ever come back from our awful fates! There aren't damn second chances or happy endings waiting for everyone. All of us, and I really mean ALL of us, are doomed, and the only way to save our stories and everyone else's is to end it all. Every single story must end, all at once! Then everyone will be free!" Sunset couldn't believe what the hell she was hearing. Was this girl serious?! She really thought ending the multiverse was a good idea?! "Your fucking insane and not restarting the multiverse, but ending it all!? That's a red flag of a fucking evil villain shit!" The girl just kept laughing. Sunset lowered her guitar, placed it on her shoulder, and pointed at the girl. "Also, if you really compare our and everyone's lives to freaking books or stories, then who says we can't continue it? It's just a simple thing to write! Our fates aren't set in stone unless you allow them. No matter what happens, we can't just give up! My friends will never give up, and neither will the people we care about! The best example is the girl I love! She always moves forward, always trying her best to make everyone's life better and a happier one! Even if it means she has to suffer or hurt herself to do it! You can't stop that; a person drives, their passion, their will, or their spark of determination to change fate!" The girl gags as a joke and smirks in a devilish way. "You fucking sound like 'her', that cheap knock-off replacement of the real thing. Always believing the spark and moving forward shit. She's a weakling and will die, just like the real thing. Even if 'she' stops my mother, mom will just reset everything like always, but write another book, another version of the same story, and start again! Even if it takes a hundred or a million resets, My mother dreams of finishing every book all at once and not only freeing everyone but also herself from the fate and cycle 'they' made! I'll make sure my mother's dreams are a reality! That's the only dream I have!" "Oh, really? Well, how do you feel about her dreams, Rainbow?" "Huh?!" They both turned and could see a white-haired unicorn anthro mare, who was dressed in white and next to her, looked like Rainbow Dash but was wearing a shrine maiden outfit and an anthro as well. Rainbow did the same tree pose and then the same hand movements, returned reality to normal, and looked at the girl. "Why?" she whispered, making the girl tsk and backing away. "Why are you lying to yourself? You told me your dreams in life—real dreams! How do you want to open a home for kids who are orphaned to show them they're loved, no matter what! You said that to me when I told you my dream, which is helping others and saving people! So, why are you lying?!" The girl kept backing away and shaking her head. "That's not me, not anymore. I gave up those dreams and replaced them with something greater. I'm no longer the old me; now I'm my mother's true champion and greatest savior! Don't stand in my way, Rainbow! I will kill you like last time." She started to choke up a bit. "Please don't make me hurt you again." Rainbow just smiled and nodded. "If that's what you want, I'm afraid I can't hold back. Not this time. For your sake and the whole meaning of life, I have to beat some sense into you, my friend." She took out rainbow paper scrolls and prepared herself for a fight. Sunset looked over to the girl, who's face grew with so much anger. "FINE! Let's FUCKING DANCE, YOU BITCH! YOU TOO, YOU FAKER!" She shouted, charging at them, but Sunset watched as the girl passed by Rainbow and straight to the girl dressed in white, making each other grab their hands and clash their faces at each other, both their horns sparking as they pushed each other back. "DAMN FAKER WANNABE! YOU BRAIN WASHED HER! MAKING HER BELIEVE ALL THAT SHIT YOU ALWAYS GO ON ABOUT!" shouted at the girl, pushing the girl in white away, as the girl in white smirked and took a fighting stance. "Oh, please, don't blame me for your loss of friendship and her seeing the truth! She's here to save you and is hoping to make you see the light, you idiot! She loves you more than you'll ever know!" "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'M NOT A WEAKLING LIKE BEFORE!" She ran towards the girl and kicked her, but the girl caught her and spun around like a top, sending the girl flying and somehow scattering time itself as she flew over a landscape. The girl in white followed her, and they fought as they passed a blue dragon and disappeared into another scattered time portal. Sunset really wondered what was going on, but Rainbow called out to her and pointed to the exit. "Hurry! Go to the Blitz side! You need to save her, not just Lucy. Also..." Rainbow came sad. "You gotta let her go. It will hurt, but she's her own person. You can't force her to be someone she isn't. Just help her move forward, and the spark will return the flavor. Don't push her away like you did in the last rewrite. Just let her decide who she is. That's all you can do for her. Okay, Sunset?" Sunset slowly nodded, not understanding what she meant, and left, leaving Rainbow to go after the other two, and the scattered time vanished into thin air. The only ones to stand against Rainbow Dawn were Wallflower and Brishen, but both were easily defeated as they fell to the ground in pain and could only watch as Rainbow Dawn slowly walked up to Lucy and Blitz bodies. "When I eat you, I'll become stronger, and it will be enough to restart the multiverse, and my rainbow comet light will be in every universe! Many will see her warmth and love, like she has shown me." She stopped in front of her younger self and slowly reached out to her, but stopped as Lucy was crying and asking her something. "What did you say?" "I lost my comet light just now, so I don't care if you kill or eat me or whatever the fuck you're going to do to me. I have nothing to live for." Lucy held Blitz tighter and waited for the end, but it never came as she heard Dawn sitting in front of her and petting her head. "Don't say that! She wants you to live, even if she's not by your side." She smiled and looked at Blitz. "Isn't that right, my love?" Lucy looked at her and could see that the darkness that was covering her was gone, and she was normal; even her black jacket and clothes were normal and pink. Lucy felt like she was looking into a mirror, but if she worked out and was a few years older. "Never give up on life; no one deserves a sad fate, no matter who it is. Everyone deserves a happy ending. It's what she always told me." Dawn held Lucy's hands and started to cry. "No matter how cruel or evil, no one is ever truly bad. Everyone can be given a second chance! You just have to listen to their story and try to understand. Please don't become like me." Lucy realized something about her evil version and made her touch their cheek, feeling how wet it was from all the crying. "You aren't evil, are you? You just lost and are hurting. You lost your 'Blitz' too, right?" Dawn held Lucy's hand and held it super tight as her tears kept flowing. "I didn't just lose my comet light; I snuffed it out. I snuffed out her spark. I took the very thing I treasured and loved the most, away from myself." Dawn sobbed. "She told me she wanted space to breathe and wanted me to stop being so clingy. I couldn't understand that at first, because I loved her so much and didn't want to be alone or away from her. She's my world and my very reason to raise me like a morning dawn. She was always there for me, even when she was hurt or sick. She was there, always there for me." Dawn looked at Lucy, and she was smiling, but it wasn't a happy one. Soon, she took her hand and rested it on Blitz's chest, where the hole is, and it started to glow with a rainbow aura. "I lost my chance of being there for her, but you still have a chance. Never stop moving forward, no matter the cost or the outcome. I have a request." Lucy watched as Dawn slowly got up and stood before them. "Let her hear your heartbeat, like she did for me. Let her feel and hear the spark and love that you carry for her. If you do that, the comet light will be restored." Dawn looked at Blitz and wanted to reach out to her, but she stopped herself and backed away, letting Lucy do what she asked her to. Lucy looked down at Blitz's chest, seeing the hole glowing, along with the rainbow shard necklace. She carefully put Blitz's face on her chest and hugged her. She took a deep breath and spoke. "Blitz, please come back to me. I want to grow old with you and have a wonderful life with each other! Please, come back! I can't live without you; I can't bear it! You mean the world to me, my love, my soulmate! Come back! You are not just a hero to the town; you are my hero, the hero who saved me from loneliness and depression. You lit my spark, along with others. You are our spark; without your warm light, we're lost in the darkness. Don't leave us, not now and not ever, Blitz. Please." She started to cry and hugged Blitz tighter. Everyone looked on, waiting to see what would happen next. Even Breaker stopped attacking random things and seemed to be fighting with herself while standing still. Within the darkness, Blitz floated in the void of nothingness. There was no sound or anything. Just pure emptiness. She was scared and wanted to get out of the dark place but didn't know how. "Is this the end? Am I going to die here? Alone?" She started to tear up and tried to cry out for help. She called out for her parents, her sister, Twilight and Dash, and even her friends, but nothing came out as her voice was swallowed up by the void. Suddenly, she saw a rainbow light coming her way, and it was getting closer and closer to her, like a comet in the sky. As it got closer, the rainbow light was revealed to be the rainbow blanket girl. She reached out to her and held her hands. "Your story isn't over, Blitz. Don't stop moving forward; keep on running like you always do. Let your light shine, just like your symbol on your back; don't stop running; don't stop flying; your Rainbow Blitz, who will shine brighter than the stars!" She moved aside, letting Blitz hear something—it was a heartbeat. It was someone's heartbeat. "Please, Blitz. Come back..." "Who's there? Who are you anyway? Are you-" she asked, but the blanket girl didn't say anything as she pointed ahead of Blitz, pushing her forward and hearing the heartbeat getting louder and the voice. "...that voice...Lucy?" Blitz started to run forward, and the heartbeat got louder and louder as a bright white light started to engulf her. She could see the person in front of her, who was Lucy, holding her close and crying as she spoke to her, happy to see her alive. "...Lucy?" whispered Blitz, but quickly turned red as she noticed her face was between her breasts and quickly tried to back away. "AH! I'M SO SORRY, LUCY! I didn't mean to do it!" Lucy looked shocked but soon giggled and hugged Blitz, crying and happy. Dawn looked on, smiling. She suddenly could feel the darkness take her hold once more and tried to leave but stopped as she felt a hand on her own. She looked around and could see Lucy, looking at her with pity but also hope. She let go and turned to Blitz, who was too weak to move. "...Blitz. I'm sorry." Blitz gave her a very confused and worried look. "...Lucy?" Lucy gave Blitz a kiss on the forehead and then placed her own forehead against Blitz. She had a sad smile but a hopeful one. "Blitz, no matter how cruel or evil, no one is ever truly bad. Everyone can be given a second chance! You just have to listen to their story and try to understand, please. Please understand what I'm going to do." She set Blitz on the ground and walked over to Dawn, who was trying her hardest to fight back the darkness. "...a-are you s-sure? You can't..." she stopped as Lucy grabbed her hands and just smiled at her. "...right. Thank you." She closed her eyes and let the darkness retake her once more. "Lucy!?" screamed Blitz and the others, as Blitz tried to move but couldn't. She watched in horror as Lucy turned to her and smiled as Dawn unleashed her rainbow slime monster from her chest, and it slowly opened it's jaw, its slime dripping over her. "Blitz, just listen to her story like I'm going to do. Not every conflict is a fight or war; sometimes, you have to listen. Listen to the true meaning of the other person—why they're like this. That's how friendship is born and created. It's how second chances are made, which leads to happy endings and a better future. Help her move forward. Be the hero she needs, because you listened to my story and saved me. Lit her spark like you did mine...I love you." She held her chest and smiled brightly as the slime monster clamped down on her, eating her whole. "Lucy!!!" screamed Blitz as she turned on her stomach and started to cry rainbow tears. The monster returned to the hole in Dawn's chest, making her grunt in pain as her back started to create two bulges, which soon ripped through her jacket and soon turned into a pair of pegasus wings, and they spread apart. She started to laugh and cry, falling to her knees. "It's funny, isn't it? That someone would just give themselves up to save someone like me? What a stupid and caring girl this version of me is," she kept laughing while tears rolled her cheeks. "...this power! I can restart the multiverse!" She stood back up, turned to her left, and rose a wing up, and with one quick sweep of it, it slashed and torn open a spatial rift in reality, in which everyone could see a rainbow tree in white water. "It's time," she said, starting to walk towards it. "LUCY! GIVE HER BACK!" screamed Blitz, trying to stand but falling back on the ground. "Give her back to me! YOU MONSTER!" She cried more rainbow tears, making the area around her heavy as her body started to become covered in black slime. Rainbow Dawn stopped, never facing Blitz as she spoke, but with sadness behind it. "Remember what she told you." And with that, she entered the rift and headed to the tree. "FUCK YOU! YOU ARE JUST A CRAZED MONSTER! YOU DON'T DESERVE A FUCKING SECOND CHANCE! I'll kill you! I'll Kill You! BREAK-LUCY!" Blitz started to become like her sister, becoming Breaker, as on her back, the black slime shot out like tubes and started to form a huge sphere object in the sky. "I'll break you! YOU HEAR ME! I'M BREAKER OF WORLDS! BREAKERS OF STARS! AND BREAKER OF UNIVERSES!" Blitz sister turned to her and roared out as her slime body became purple, while Blitz slime became blue.  Everyone became scared as both twins roared out, and Blitz's face became half covered in slime as she became crazed with rage and power. "I'LL SCATTER AWAY EVERY LAST TRACE OF YOU AND EVERYTHING!" "MY BODY IS UNBREAKABLE! I'M CAPABLE OF BREAKING STARS!" "I CAN SCATTER ANYTHING AND ANYONE!" "WHOLE UNIVERSE WALLS FELL TO MY PUNCHES!" "WE'RE STAR BREAKER!" Both twins unleashed their overwhelming magical energy, which was like gravity pressure becoming heavier. Both Twilight and Dash tried to stand, as they needed to get through to the twins once more, like they did ten years ago, but this time, it's more different now. "Is this bad? Even when not as one, this overwhelming magical energy is like nothing I have ever felt before. The last time they were together, they didn't use their full power. As Braver was holding back, so 'us' could save her sister, but now..." Twilight fell to her hands, while Dash tried to help her but fell on top of her. "Now, there's nothing holding them back... Braver was forced to be this and Blitz. She's just mad and filled with sadness." finished Dash, giving up in trying to stand. "...without the 'others', what can we do? Will our voices even reach them?". She looked at her wife, hoping she would say they do, that family love and even with Blitz friends here, that even friendship will get through them. Twilight looked at Dash, her face filled with no hope at all, just fear. "Dash," she held on to her, shaking with fear. "Our baby girl—we can't save her this time. Without the 'others', we can't get through to them like before. If they were to unleash their full power in this universe, even together, there's no telling how much damage it would cause. We might not be able to save them this time, Dash. What should we do!? Tell me, Dash! What should we  do?" Dash didn't answer her and just held her closer, unable to look at her. In Equestria, everyone could see it, the twins becoming Star Breaker and even universes apart. All magical creatures could sense the overwhelming magical energies, and many held their heads in pain as it was overloading their senses. Twilah had to return to her human form to escape the pain, but Dashie helped her stand. Both looked back up, seeing her daughter form the 'rainbow comet' eye. "...Blitz. If we were only there for her, I wonder how things would have been different." Dashie said,, looking away. "Sweetie..." whispered Twilah, closing her eyes and praying for a miracle. The twins' magic started to combine, and both looked at each other and started to walk towards each other. With every step they took, the whole universe shook with great fury. When they got closer, they stopped as they saw the blanket girl standing between them. "Don't! I don't want you two to lose yourselves! Not even now, I don't want to..." She started to cry as they started to walk again. "I don't want to break things again. I don't want to move backwards." "STAR!" "BREAKER!" She fell on her knees, and her chest started to glow black. She held it as she tried to stop herself from speaking. "Please...st-ker. Stop i-EAKER! NO!" As they were about to become one once more, Blitz was smacked with a guitar to the face, while Braver was punched in the face by a fist, making both twins be tossed away from each other. The blanket girl looked up, saw her savers, and smiled as she faded away. "BLITZ!" shouted Sunset, putting her guitar on her shoulder. "BRAVER!" shouted Cozy, cracking her knuckles. "Huh?" both girls said as they faced each other and were surprised to see each other. Sunset looked down at the short, little naked girl, turned to the others, and pointed at the small girl. "What's with this naked, lost child?" Cozy blew up with rage and screamed at Sunset. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING, CHILD!? YOU TALL MOTHERFUCKER!" "W-Woah!" shouted Sunset, waving her arms in a panic, but both girls quickly sensed magical energy and turned to the girls they loved so dearly. "I'm guessing you're from Twilight and Dash World, if you know Braver? Who are you?" asked Sunset, holding her guitar like a sword. "Who am I?" asked Cozy, turning her head slightly. "I'm Cozy Glow! One of Braver's best friends! So leave her to me!" She looked away and could see Braver roaring at her and charging. Sunset could see a bit of Blitz's face still not covered in blue slime yet, and she could see her sad-looking eye as it cried a rainbow tear. "Blitz is mine then. Good luck," she walked off, leaving Cozy to smirk as she pound her fist. "Same to you," she said, readying herself as Braver got closer. "Blockhead, what happened to you!?" Braver tossed a punch, and with so much energy behind it, the area around her started to break reality, but Cozy turned red, becoming an anthro version of herself and clashing the punch with her own. "HEY! She's right there! DO WHATEVER YOU GONNA DO!". The necklace on her neck started to glow, and four color lights came out and entered Braver's chest, causing her to roar in pain while still trying to break the clash with Cozy. "So, this is your full power, huh? All those years ago, you was going on about being more powerful than infinite itself, but look at you! Can't even scatter a little, oh me, even with all that power you have!?" She pushed Braver back, causing her to roar in anger, and rushed to her, wanting to tear her apart, but Cozy vanished and reappeared behind her, smirking. "That day, when you saved me from that cursed necklace, The powers stayed with me, and instead of using them for evil, I wanted to use them for good! I wanted to be like you! But now, seeing you like this, it makes me sick!" Braver roared at her, but Cozy didn't flinch one bit; she even roared back, causing Braver to be taken aback by her roar and stumble backwards. Cozy roared even harder and charged to her, grabbing her by the head and kneeling her right in the face. "I never told you this, but I really did look up to you. I loved how powerful you are! Never back down to help anyone, even if it means you'll get hurt in the end! You were so brave and strong, and I wanted to be just like you, but...after seeing you like this! So damn weak, I feel sick to my stomach!" She tosses her aside, and Braver crashes on her back, trying to get back up, but Cozy jumped on her stomach and then sitting on it and raises her fist. "Sick seeing you like this! This isn't you! THIS ISN'T THE MARE I FELL IN LOVE WITH!" She started to punch her nonstop as she started to cry. "I wanted to fight you, but not like this! I WANT TO FIGHT YOU IN EVEN TERMS! AS BOTH OF US BEING ON AN EQUAL GROUND, I AM SHOWING YOU I CAN STAND BY YOU AND PROTECT YOU FOR ONCE! I hated seeing you always go alone in a fight! Didn't it ever cross your mind that we were worry for you? OUR FRIENDS! DAWN! Even..." she finally stopped and just held her fist in the air. "...or me? After seeing your past, I understand why you always did what you did. But you aren't alone anymore. You're not the monster that you think you are!" She lowered her fist, opened it, and placed her hand on Braver's cheek. "You can't let go of the past because of what you did, but you don't need to let go; it will take time. You need to move forward with your family. Your friends and..." She put her forehead on Braver's and looked deeply into her eye. "...and me." She leaned down and kissed her as a magical, bright rainbow light surrounded them, causing Braver's eyes to go wide as the light blinded the area. With the light faded, Cozy leaned back and gave a smug look. "Welcome back!" She could see Braver as her old, well, human self right now, and Braver blinked a few times, as she was still in shock, but looked at Cozy and then at herself. "...Cozy?" "The one and only, Blockhead." Braver's eyes widen as she looks at her more, and she can feel her cheeks burning with a loving blush. "Cozy, when did you?" Braver stopped as she quickly pushed Cozy off of her and quickly turned her body away, hiding her lower half. Cozy landed and quickly stood up, all pissed off. "Hey! What the-huh!?" she stopped as she saw Braver acting weird. She got closer. "Cozy!" shouted Braver, trying to cover herself and not letting Cozy see it. "What's wrong!? Are you hurt!? Let me see damn it!" she yelled as she fought with Braver, who was begging her to stop, but it was too late, as Cozy turned her around and saw it. "...what?" she whispered, looking at the blushing and crying Braver. Cozy looked at it once more, closed her eyes, and smiled. "Whatever happens, I don't give a damn. I love you for you, even if you're a girl or a boy." "C-Cozy?" "Yeah?" Braver grabbed Cozy's waist, causing her to blush. "B-Braver!? Wait, what are you doing!?" She looked around and could see Braver's parents. She could Twilight's confused face. Cozy became smug, wanting to stick it to Twilight. "Sure, let's do it in front of your mo-AHHHHHH!?" Braver tossed Cozy into a clothing shop window, making her crash inside and clothes falling on her. "GET DRESS! YOU ARE NAKED!" cried Braver, sitting back on the ground and hiding her face in shame. "WE'RE ALWAYS NAKED!?" yelled back Cozy in pain and annoyance. Sunset walked up to Blitz, seeing the sphere object still forming. She could see images of Blitz creating that object and fighting a blue pegasus. Blitz roared at her and started walking towards her, the sphere trying to form an open red eye. "Blitz..." She knew why Blitz was like this. Lucy was eaten. "I know you're hurting, but we can save her still." Blitz stopped and screamed out at her. "SHE WILLINGLY GIVER HERSELF TO HER! TO THAT MONSTER! SAYING, "Listen to her story!" She slammed her fist into the ground, destroying the already-demolished street block even more. "WHAT NONSENSE! I'll get her back! I'll Break That Monster! WE MONSTERS DON'T DESERVE SECOND CHANCES!" "No! That's not true! If that was true, then you wouldn't be standing here, along with your sister! Blitz, maybe Lucy was on something; maybe we shouldn't be fighting Rainbow Dawn, but maybe helpin-" Blitz roared out in full fury. "NO! SHE CAN'T BE TALKED TO! WE CAN'T NEVER CHANCE! LOOK AT ME!" Blitz held her body and felt fear. "I'll always be a monster. No matter how much I try to forgive myself, there's no saving me or my sister. We're fated to be monsters and die like ones." She dropped to her knees and hands. "Why didn't 'they' kill us back then? We're just a growing threat to every universe." Blitz started to cry but felt something wiping away her rainbow tears. She could see it was a flower. "Because you aren't a monster, Blitz," said Wallflower, joining Sunset Side. "She's right; how can such a caring and loving girl be a monster?" Blitz couldn't look them in the eyes. "...stop it. Not again; I won't listen this time... I need to die!" Both girls walked up to her and held her hands. Wallflower made her look at them. "I won't let you. We won't let you." "...why?" "Why?" whispered Sunset. "Yes, why!? Why are you trying so hard to save a monster like me!? Like my heroes did ten years ago, am I really worth saving? Even though all those lives I took? Killing my parents, and even now, look at the destruction we did! Look at the people suffering from what I did and what my sister did. Please, just kill me." Sunset shook her head. "We won't. You know why?" Blitz could see Brishen and Tempesta walking up to her. Tempesta dropped to her knees, holding her bloody shoulder, but smiled. "You might be right; maybe the scars won't ever heal, and no matter what you do, it won't ever be enough—all those deaths you made—but you lost yourself with all that power in the moment; that wasn't really you or your sister. You were a lost child, lost with all that power, and never given a choice or a chance." She took out her dog tags and looked at them. "It's like war; you don't have a say in things like that. You are given orders to kill, and that's what you do. They are never given a chance to know the other person on the other end of the gun or the people they love. It's hard, it's heartbreaking, and most of all, it's traumatizing. Even more so, if you live but the ones you love end up dying, you fail to save them. At the end of the day, we're all victims of someone's actions." She ripped the dog tags off and held them out to Blitz. "Blitz, that's the honest truth. You are a victim. You didn't have a choice. Your life was decided from the very beginning. It's time for you to make a choice." Blitz looked at the tag and took it. "...make a choice, huh?" She could see the tags were custom-made and had different names on them. "Like me, I'm doing what you and your sister want me to do. I'm going to truly take those few steps forward. I'm going to finally make that choice here and now. I was going to end my life after all this was over, but I know my dear squad mates will hate me, my family will hate me, and even you guys will as well. Even if the scars don't ever heal, I won't let them get in the way of saving a friend. You can't let it go, but that doesn't mean you have to carry it alone. Let me carry it with you for the rest of our lives, as friends and as family. Let's finally share that peace together, my dear friend." "...Tempesta." Blitz squeezed the dog tags, and a rainbow tear fell on them. Brishen sat on the ground, laid his staff over his lap, and smiled. "Blitz, you always give yourself to others to make them smile and be happy, but this made you give up your own happiness in the end. You never really thought about your own happiness, did you? Sure, you're happy when others are happy; that's great. But don't forget to put yourself first. It's okay to be selfish. Tell me, were you ever happy when you were around us, or were you just putting on a face for us? Were you happy, or were you pretending to be?" Blitz was shocked to hear him say this. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything because I already know the answer. You were happy to be with us and with your family as well. Even though you gave away your happiness to us, we gave it back to you in folds, didn't we?" He looked up at the dark clouds. "Generosity—it's such a wonderful thing. To give of yourself for the benefit of others, never wanting anything in return. But that's also a double-edged sword. You gave so much that you couldn't take back. I can't speak for everyone, but I do know that I am very grateful for all that you did for me, and I can't say thank you enough. That's why." He looked back at her, took out a white piece of paper that reads 'I.O.U.' on it, and gave it to her. "I will forever owe you, Blitz. I will be by your side no matter what, and I'll be here to pull you out of any kind of hole you get stuck in. Let me help you move forward." Blitz took it and a rainbow tear drop hit the paper. Blitz lowered her head but felt plant life creeping over her body and could see flowers blooming all over her. "Blitz...you're not a monster. You are my friend. My dear friend." Wallflower smiled as she held her chest. "When I first meet you, I was nervous and shy and even afraid of you because you were the first ever person to see me. To notice me, not just ignore me and never noticing I exist or not but actually notice me. To hear what I was saying, to hear my voice. To reach out to me and hold my hand and never let go. To give me a chance to open up, to be myself and not be afraid to stand out, even if it spooks others." she giggled as she heard Sunset tsking out loud. "You are my friend and you're the best person I ever meet and I'll always cherish our moments we had, I'll always cherish the moment of meeting you, Blitz and you know why?" she lowered her hands from her chest and opened her palms, revealing a rainbow flower and handing it to her. "Because I love you, love you so much! The kindness you gave me, I always wanted to return it but with my own way. My own kindness. Even if I'm shy and afraid, I will always be here for you, always." Blitz was shocked to see what the flower was and another rainbow tear landed on it, making the flower shine. Sunset let Blitz go and forced her up. "The memories I have...memories of your Sunset, I remember them all. All the wonderful memories, all the good and bad ones. No matter the memories, they all share the common theme, the one thing they all have. That one thing is laughter, we're always laughing and being happy. Filled with so much joy and love, that it makes me want smile even more and it fills me with so much warmth, it's hard not to laugh and be happy. You are a very good person, Blitz. A good person who was dealt a very bad hand. So bad, it drove you into doing things that would break anyone but not you. Look at you, you keep saying it was those 'heroes' who saved you but the real truth is..." Sunset took off her jacket and placed it around Blitz shoulders. "You saved yourself because how strong you are. They just made you see the path to walk on and you ran on it, running to move forward as they watched you. It takes a very strong person to do what you did and not lose yourself and be who you are, to stay kind, generous, loyal, honest and even courageous. Even now, you are still you, you aren't a out of control monster. You are Blitz." "S-Sunny..." Blitz held the jacket tight over her body, crying. Sunset could only cry as the sun rays broke through the dark clouds and landed on Blitz, making her look like she was standing behind a setting sun. "I see a beautiful sunset in you. You're so colorful and warm. I'm happy I met you. Meeting such a warm and beautiful girl just makes me happy.". Blitz couldn't help but laugh and sob when she heard Sunset say this. Everyone smiled and could see the sphere had broken and disappeared. Even Blitz slime coating turned hard and crumble away, making her transform out of her anthro version and into her human form. Blitz dropped to her knees and cried loudly. Wallflower and Sunset walked over and hugged her. Placing Blitz face between their chest, allowing her to cry in their warmth. The dark clouds started to disburse, allowing the sun to shine brightly and with a bright rainbow light coming from Blitz body, it soar across the town and putting out the fires and healing whoever was hurt. It soon flew towards the sky and becoming a rainbow comet. "RAINBOW COMET!" shouted a man, making Blitz listen while her friends looked around. It was Rock Doom, as he started to cheer her name again. "RAINBOW COMET! YOU ARE NO MONSTER! YOU ARE MY ARCHENEMY! HOW CAN SOMEONE AS KIND AS YOU ARE BE A MONSTER! YOU ALWAYS SEND ME COOL ROCKS WHEN I'M IN JAIL!" Blitz giggled, "Of course I do. I know you love rocks...just wish you stop being a costume villain..." "...RC." whispered Rock Doom, crying a bit. Soon, more voices could be heard, cheering her name as more people step out or came to the scene. Telling her all the wonderful things she done for the town. Blitz friends could see a news reporter and their film crew and realized this whole thing was being live streamed on TV and online. Two men step forward and the youngest spoke. "A year ago, you stopped me from doing the most evil thing ever in that mall...my brother and I was gonna shoot up that mall but you stopped us. Not only that, but you stood by our side in the courtroom and told the court why we did it and we needed help. It took a long time but we're better. Thanks to you, Rainbow Comet. You listened to us and we're glad you did. Thank you. No heartless monsters will ever listen to the reasons of why we did what we did and tried to help, like you did. We're so grateful." he held his chest and lowered his head. His big brother did the same. Blitz held Wallflower and Sunset closer. "...of course I'll listen. You shouldn't throw your lives away because you lost hope in life. You are worth saving, worth living for. Never see yourself as worthless." Blitz could hear the two men crying and saying her name, her real name this time. Mizuki and Arev broken bodies flew over and drop to the ground hard but rose their heads and emitted a hologram live feed and in the feed were Sunny mother, who was in tears and petting Fizzle Pop. "Blitz, sweetie. The day my daughter talked about you, made me so happy. Sunny always been trouble maker because I was failure of a mother and trauma of losing my husband, made me even more awful but seeing my baby girl eyes filled with so much joy and love for the first time and becoming such a wonderful young lady..." she held the dog and smiled harder. "You are a blessing, a wonderful blessing in life. You helped my daughter and I, how can such a wonderful and loving little girl have any evil in her heart, not the Blitz I know. I'm so proud of you and will always be like a second daughter to me, even if you and Sunny won't ever be together. You'll always be part of my family." Mizuki and Arev emoted "أ‿أ" as they could see Blitz crying a bit more and the camera turned to Lucy parents, who couldn't find the words to say as they mumbled and shuttered, standing there. "...I'll get her back. I promise you two that." said Blitz, hearing their voices. "Even if you two are assholes to me and my parents...I'll save your daughter because it's the right thing to do...and also because I love her." Lucy parents were shock but also the same time, they weren't. They lowered their heads and Lucy's father spoke. "...when you first appeared as Rainbow Comet and done great deeds in our town and others...we thought you were a angel sent by god to protect us and save us. Even now...even though we treat you wrong, you are still willing to bring back our daughter...you truly are an angel...thank you...Blitz." the feed ended as Mizuki and Arev bodies finally gave out and they emoted '(✖﹏✖)' before they shut down. Blitz slowly look up at Wallflower and Sunset, giving them a happy smile. "Thanks...thanks for snapping me out of it. For being my friend and family." "We'll always be your family." said Sunset. "Yes, you are my dear friend, no matter what happens. I'll always be there for you." smiled Wallflower. Both girls leaned in, one at a time and kissed Blitz on the lips and leaned back, letting her go. Making Blitz touch her lips and blush a little. Twilight and Dash watched it all and were glad, glad that their daughter and Blitz had support to bring them back from the dark. This time, without their need to step up. It wasn't there place anyway. It was like Nightfall and Rainbow Sky told their daughters. "That jacket. The comet on the back is you, always moving forward, and the rainbow tail is the friends you'll make—friends who will support you, love you, and care about you. You'll break through anything, for the friends you will make." said the two in unison, holding each other and crying quietly. In Equestria, Twilah and Dashie could see how their daughter was saved and felt the same as their pony counterparts. Blitz and Braver had the friends now, to help pull them back on the right path, like their real parents always wanted. What the fuck did I miss?" asked Cozy, now fully dress and walking along side Braver side as they and the others gathered around Blitz. "Sis..." whispered Braver, looking over to the cut rift, as it started to slowly close. Blitz looked at it and nodded. She walked up to it and Braver was right behind her. Twilight put her hand on her chin and was gonna explain what this was but her and the others bumped into magical force field. Making them all confused, as they could see Blitz and Braver, in their anthro forms once more, were holding hands. "Girls!?" shouted Dash, as she pounded on the barrier. Both twins didn't look back but spoke as one as they explained their selves. "This is our failsafe. If we couldn't stop Dawn in eating Lucy, we would go after her alone. Saving Lucy and bringing her back here..." they stopped as Blitz started to cry, so Braver continued. "...and we're not coming back. Saving us and letting us have a second chance in life...it's greatest gift we could ever ask for, living a happy life with you...moms..." Braver couldn't go on, as she could hear her parents yelling and pounding the shield. Blitz finally recovered and continued. "But everything has a price, as we seen with Rainbow Dawn and those strange people. She's a Lucy/Dawn not just from another universe but from a different time. A different timeline and lost us...or maybe just 'me'? Anyway, because of us being allowed to live, we just brought trouble to our new universe. To our new homes..." Everyone watched as the twins finally turned around and smiled at them. "We'll protect our homes, our love ones and everything that holds dear to us. We'll gladly give it all up for you all. This isn't goodbye, as we'll always be watching over you all." explained both girls, as they face back to the closing rift and seeing Rainbow Dawn still heading to the Rainbow Tree. They blocked out all of the voices of their friends and family. They both breath in and out, as the rift was half way close. They held their hand tighter and jumped through the closing rift and chasing after the girl that needed them. "BRAVER!!!" shouted her parents and Cozy. "BLITZ!" screamed her friends and aunts. The rift finally closed and the barrier vanish, making Sunset, Wallflower and Cozy running towards and standing there in shock and sadness. Everyone else came up and stood beside them. Suddenly, the sky mirror prism vanished and what replaced it was billons of rifts, as other universes could be seen and reality was starting to break down.  Twilight looked up and could only say one thing. In Equestria, Blitz parents and Braver friends could see what the twins did and knew something wasn't right. Even more so when different rifts could be seen and soon, a mirage of Rainbow Dawn and the twins can be seen within a dark place and a planet size green tree in the distance, as they were fighting. Twilah could see the twins were losing the fight and she could say one thing. "...this isn't good." . . . . . . . Within the realm of between universes, a flying blue phonebooth flew through the colorful void. Within the crowded phonebooth, the phone started to ring and an white pegasus hologram could see it ringing and quickly phase through the walls and passing others who were holding on to the side of the booth and flew up top, seeing Discord wearing a old timely car coat from the 1900's and spoke to him. "Discord, the phone is ringing." "Oh?" he said, snapping his fingers and making the phone appearing near his ear. "Discord here. If it's a scam caller, I will find you and I will end you. You will suffer my wrath-oh its you! What's up?" he could hear the female voice on the other end and nodded. "Right, time is running out but lucky, we just need one more stop to go." "Hurry. I can't keep the time zones in place for much longer. The moment I lose my hold on them, you and your group will be out of sync with the Multiverse Tree time zone. Even more so if Dawn gets to the 'Elyndra Tree', all meaning of time is lost there. You'll miss your chance in saving the twins and Dawn. Please hurry!" Discord nodded again. "Rightly-o! Time to put this old girl in maximum overdrive!" he summoned a lever and pulled it, making the booth flying faster and causing the group he's with, to scream and yell at him. The phone vanished as the booth disappeared into a black and empty dead universe... On the other end, the girl flip her phone close and put it back into her pocket and looked up at the timelines, like it was a video player time bar. "Man, this is why time travel is dumb! It's pointless and has stupid rules you have to obey." the new female voice said, as she burp loudly. "Plus, those stupid time cops. Don't mess with those nut shacks." Two testicle-like creatures floated out of the darkness.  "Hey asshole, we're right here. Follow the damn law like don't fuck with time, you crossover cunt!" Stepping into view was Twilight but from a universe where's she a Rick. "Fuck off." said Twilight Sanchez, drinking a beer but then her niece step into view. "Oh geez, Twi. I'm not sure about this..." said Sunny Morty, a version of Sunny Starscout as Morty. "Shut up girl pony Morty." said the real Rick, as he and Morty step into view. Twi gave Rick the stink eye, making Rick realize his mistake. "Sorry but a Morty is a Morty and a Rick is a Rick." "You're the only Rick here, dip shit. I'm just a crossover version of you, when our universes trees touch branches. I'm a Twilight." Both started to fight and yell, while two familiar voices could be heard. Stepping out of the darkness where Dr. Who, the tenth Doctor, walked along side him was Dr. Hooves and having great talk with him. "Really!? Your partner is called Rose and her cutie mark is literally a rose!? Outstanding crossover version of me!" said the doctor, with a big smile. "Yes. Well, I'm also amazed your partner is called Rose as well. Crossover universe are such a wonder! So many different versions of ourselves and everyone! I'm so excited to be part of this adventure. Saving all creation!" replied Dr. Hooves, as they joined the group. "Oh great, it's 'them'. Damn Time lords..." mumble the time cops. The 10th Doctor rolled his eyes. "Look, you don't have to worry. We have everything under control." "No, you don't. That's why we're here." said the one of time cops. "It also doesn't help she brought all time travel related characters here!" he turned and the group could see all Time Travel related characters, from Doc Brown, Bill and Ted, Flash and Eobard Thawne, Amelia Watson and so on. Along side them were their MLP counterparts of the mane six and other side characters. "This is beyond dangerous!" "How is this dangerous? All the world greatest minds are here. There's no way this can go badly." replied Rintaro Okabe, from the Steins;Gate universe. Standing by his side, was Trixie, who's wearing the lab coat like Rintaro. "Plus, we're here! The self-proclaimed "mad scientist"! We're perfect for the job." One of the Time Cops pulled out their wanted list for crimes of messing with time. "Bitch please, look at all the shit you two did in your universes and Time Verse. Fucking starting World War three with fucking time travel arms race! We should be arresting you two!". Both Rintaro and Trixie stepped away from the cops as Maxine Caulfield and anthro Fluttershy, both wearing the same outfit walked pass them and to the girl in white. Their noses bleeding. "We just returned...it's not looking good. It's not just Rainbow Dawn messing with the Elyndra Tree but..." Max covered her nose with her arm, as it started to get worse. Shy continued for her. "'She' messing with the tree as well...she's writing the true ending as we speak. What should we do?" she too covered her nose as blood started to heavily drop down her lips. Everyone turned to the girl in white, as they were being used for their knowledge and powers of time travel to help her. She looked at the time bar and could see only one bar left as it was reaching the end. "This is it. No more do overs...for both sides. This is the final chapter, where we see who truly moves forward or backwards..." she smiled as she glowed white. "Well, not for you readers. For you, this is a cliffhanger ending and semi future cliffhanger. For us, this is the real ending, we been waiting on for the last 100 tries. The true ending, where no matter the outcome, only one can continue on..." she waved her hand as a new portal open up. She smiled as she enter it. "To that true ending, where the cycle is finally broken." Standing in the far distance, were a violet anthro unicorn girl, wearing a puffy rainbow jacket and she's staring down a black hooded female figure. Both were standing in front of MLP rainbow tree... end of chapter 30 and 2nd arch Ending theme > Arc3 Chapter31: What is Lost... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cozy screamed out in pure rage and punched the street crack road, creating a small crater as her hair was covering her face. She looked up, and the group could see tears were flowing down her cheeks. "That blockhead! What a stupid thing to do! I swear..." She clutched her fist hard but felt someone touching her shoulders; she could see it was the girl that she met before saving Braver and another girl... "...who are you?" In fact, she looked back at the group and noticed the human counterparts of Twilight's friends, but there were a few; that she had no idea who they were. Wallflower smiled at her. "My name is Wilma, but everyone calls me Wallflower, and you are?" she asked, but Twilight answered her question as she walked past them, looking up at the cracking sky, which is covered in billions of rifts, and within those rifts were different universes. "She's Cozy Glow, from my universe, and one of Braver's friends." Twilight kept looking up at the sky but finally turned to her, giving her a puzzled look. "I'm surprised to see you here, Cozy. In fact, how did you get here? Wasn't the prism window destroyed after Dawn unleashed that explosion attack in that realm of between?". Dash walked over to the Twilight side and looked down at Cozy. "So shortly, are the others with you, or is it just you?" Cozy eyes turned red, and powerful magical energy came out of her, as she didn't like being called short. "Excuse me? Don't call me short. I might be short in this stupid form, but I'm just as tall as Braver, you know." Dash smirked, as she enjoyed seeing Cozy being all hot-headed. "Right, so, are the others with you?" Cozy shook her head. "No, it's just me. Someone had to get through that dummy, and JA said only I could do it...for reasons." Cozy blushed but quickly snapped out of it as she could see Dash trying to hide her laugh. "ANYWAY! I got here because of that mirror thing that Cadance had in her treasure vault." Twilight's eyes went wide when she heard that, and she quickly started to walk back and forth. "Wait, wait, wait! You said you came through that mirror!? The one that Sunset was looking for, but we stopped her from finding. That mirror? I remember Luna telling me about it, believing it's a gateway to another world, but it never activated....Wait, ever since..." "Since I stopped looking for it?" finished Sunset, making Twilight look at her and finally realized something about Sunny. "...wait, are you my...no..." Twilight got closer, and Dash joined in by looking at her, and both realized it. "You are! Sunset, you came through the mirror as well, going by the universe rules..." "You and Sunny became one! Like when Twi and I became one with our counterparts ten years ago." Dash said as she poked Sunset's cheeks. "So, who's in the driver seat in there? When you become one, new personalities emerge from it. So, who is it? I'm betting it's Sunny. You did act like you still knew Blitz." Sunset brushed off Dash's finger. "I'm still me! Sunset!". Twilight and Dash looked at each other and then back at her, asking for her full name and what her universe is like. Sunset looked at them, confused. "My name is Sunny Shimmer! My universe is called Equestria, and the planet we're on is Earth. Blitz is your daughter. Wait..." Sunset held her head, and she felt like something wasn't right. "No, that's not right. I do remember I'm a fusion. Our memories are merging." "Sunny?" whispered Wallflower as she and their friends looked at her with great worry, but Sunset just gave them a thumbs, trying to act like she was okay. "It looks like the fusion isn't fully complete yet. Both of you are in the driver seat, it seems," explained Twilight, putting her hand on Sunset's shoulder. "But listen to me, you will become a new personality, and like what you said just now, your memories will become one, mixing with each other, making a new setting and life for the new you." She could see Sunset looking at her with a bit of worry. Tempesta was being helped by Faith, as she was still pretty hurt from the fight, and she asked Twilight if Sunny was going to be like that forever or if this was a temporary thing. "Yes, it's only temporary," replied Twilight as she looked back up at the sky, as she couldn't really look at them in the eyes. Dash eyed Twilight a bit, knowing the truth. The truth is that it wasn't a temporary thing; it was a permanent thing. "When I was fused with Dashie, our memories were merging, and the new personality did come, but it quickly disappeared as Rainbow Sky took the wheel, and the only reason the fusion undid itself was because of Sky and Nightfall. Without them, we would have been still together," thought Dash as she watched Twilight lie through her teeth to Sunny and the others, wondering how the fusion would undo itself. "Huh?" She noticed that Sunny was giving Twi a look, like if she knew... "Anyway, can you show us where you came from, Cozy?" demanded Twilight, as she and everyone could see the rifts getting bigger. "Because we need to get back home and get Twilah and Dashie and then follow the twins!" Cozy nodded and led them back to where she came from. On the way back, she answered Twilight questions about the mirror she came out of. "Wasn't a mirror, per say? It looked like I came out of the base of a statue. I have no idea where I was, but it looks like a big building with this ugly horseshoe in the front." "That's Canterlot high!" shouted Rachel, trying her hardest to keep up with the group, since was wearing high heels as everyone was running back to the school, but Sunny horn started to glow and teleported everyone back to the warehouse, making everyone who's not used to magic land on their faces or rears. "WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" shouted Rachel, quickly getting up from the grassy ground. Faith helped her up, while AJ dusted herself off and spoke. "I think...we teleported? Yeah, that sounds right." "Correct. We teleported, thanks to Sunny here. Mine Sunset is a unicorn, and even in this fusion form, her magic is still around." explained Twilight, walking ahead and entering the warehouse, where she could see the base of the statue. She got closer and could see the mirror-like surface. Sunset walked to her side and spoke to her. "This is where Sunset came through. She was trapped inside after what happened in the Crystal Empire." Twilight gave her a worried look, but Sunset just brushed it off by saying she would understand when they went back to Equestria. "Alright! Let's go then, because things are getting worse up there!" shouted Dash, as she and others could see the rifts getting larger and they could see within them. "Look!" she pointed at one.  In a universe, after a battle against the Combine, a rainbow-haired female human stopped a buggy and looked up at the sky as rifts started to appear. "What is that!?" asked Alex, this universe Rainbow Dash, as she pointed to the sky and could see another universe. Another woman and this universe Twilight, wearing orange hazard suit armor and black glasses and short purple hair, walked over with a high-tech weapon in her hands and said "..." as she and the resistance looked to the sky...until a female woman, this universe Luna, wearing a black suit and flowing long night-like hair, appeared to them. "Ms. Freemen, you are needed. For an upcoming war." she told her as she created a gateway and fixed her tie. In another universe, within a floating city called Sanctuary, a group of colorful characters were standing outside and looking up at the sky as rifts started appearing. "I'm guessing this isn't good." asked this universe version of Rainbow Dash, Atena, wearing a soldier uniform and hooded scarf, who is tied up to a pole. "Right?" A big and tall, strong-looking red-skinned man turned to her and just said, "Eeyup." A pink-haired young teenager girl is running around in circles, screaming at the top of her lungs. "RUNNIN, RUNNIN, I'M RUNNIN OVRT HERE! RUN, RUN, RUN!". "Doesn't matter! Fire!" shouted this universe version of Spitfire, known as the Lilit the FireRaven, to the armored soldiers that were pointing their guns at Atena. Lilit friends were against it, but it was too late, as the soldiers fired, only for the bullets to stop mid-flight and drop to the ground. "What!?" Walking out of thin air was an alien creature wearing white armor who spoke as whispers could be heard within the group's minds. "Now is not the time for bickering, Vault Hunters. War is coming." It pointed to the rifts in the sky. "And you will need all the vault hunters you can get." It created a small rift behind itself and turned toward it. "Search for the vaults and their treasures. They will be needed in the upcoming war." Lilit created flames around her body, ready for a fight. "War!? What war are you talking about!?". The alien looked back and spoke once more. "War for all creation. The multiverse is crumbling, the trees are dying, and the one that we call 'Reader', is writing the true ending." Atena looked up at the sky and asked who they were talking about and what the hell was going on. "In time, you will know. In time..." was all it said before disappearing into the rift, leaving the Vault Hunters to wonder what its warning meant. Dash lowered her arm, and each rift became larger, to the point they could see within them. "What are causing these rifts!? Does it have to do with-" Her and everyone looked at the largest rift in the sky, seeing the twins fighting Rainbow Dawn.  "Maybe. Remember what Rainbow Dawn said? She wanted to restart the multiverse after eating the twins, but that's been bothering me for awhile. How will she restart the whole multiverse?" Twilight walked out of the warehouse to watch the fighting but noticed the planet-sized tree in the distance of where the twins and Dawn were fighting. "Is it because of that tree?". Cozy pushed through them, walking towards the mirror.  "Whatever, we need to find a way to get to Braver and her sister. There has to be a way to get to that place, like magic or something. Hurry up!" With that said, Cozy leapt through the mirror and vanished as the surface glowed bright white. Twilight and Dash nodded at each other and turned to the others, about to say goodbye, but noticed Sunset and the others were ready to follow them. "Oh no, you can't follow us! If you go into Equestria, our universe, you will start to merge with your counterparts, and I can't let that happen. I'm sorry, but you can't-" Twilight couldn't finish as AJ and the rest of the girls walked past her. "Wait, stop!" AJ turned to her while the rest of her friends walked towards the mirror. "Sorry, sugar cube, but we're not going to sit on our hands and not help save Blitz! She's like a niece to us, and what kind of aunts will we be if we don't help her or her twin sister? Not a very good one, that's for sure. We know the risks, but if we stay here, we will regret this decision for the rest of our lives." With that said, AJ ran towards the mirror, pushing Faith and Rachel through it, while Penny held her breath and cannon-balled herself into the mirror, making the surface glow bright white again. Dash walked over and could see Twilight crying but also smiling. No matter the universe and the different lives their friends had, they were always the same. Always themselves. Dash didn't want to bother Twilight when she was like this, but she didn't have a choice as she tapped her shoulder. "Twi, they're not the only ones..." Twilight turned her head and followed Rainbow's stare, and she could see Blitz friends readying to go. She knew she couldn't talk them out of it, even if she tried. She wiped away her tears and smiled. "Go ahead." Sunset and the others nodded and ran to the mirror and jumped through it, but the only one that didn't go through was Sunset, as she heard her name being called. It was her mother who ran up with Fizzlepop and Asteria. "Mom?" whispered Sunset, running up to her mother and hugging her. "I'm sorry..." Helena held her daughter tight and whispered. "I know, but where are you going? What's going on in the sky!? Why are Blitz and her sister fighting that person from before?" she asked, while pointing to the rift. Sunset let her go and gave her the most confident smile she could muster. "I'm going to help Blitz. That's why I'm going to go and save her." Helena didn't say a word but patted her daughter's head and nodded. Allowing her to go. "Don't worry, mom; I'll be fine, and so will everyone else. I'll come back." "I know. Go and save Blitz and her sister!" smiled her mom, watching as Sunset slowly backed away and her hand went through the mirror, turning her into a bright light, and then she was gone. "Blitz...Braver..." Helena looked at the sky, watching the battle unfold in the distance, and knew her daughter and her friends would save them. Asteria walked over to Twilight and took out her hand. Twilight turned her head, looked down at her hand, and took it. "What is it?" Asteria didn't say a word and just let go, making Twilight look at it again. It was a device with a screen on it, and it came to life, revealing two emote faces. That's when Twilight knew what this was. "You are giving me the AIs? The Alicorn androids? Why?" Asteria looked up and could see more of the rifts getting wider as more cracks appeared between them. In one universe, in this world, New York City, four female ghost busters looked up at the sky as the so-called god they were going to fight also looked up at the sky. This universe Twilight fixed her glasses and scanned the rifts with a device. "Girls, this isn't their doing! This is something or someone else is doing, and whoever is doing this is destroying our universe...and others.". In another universe, in the town of Ponyville at night, Twilight and Scootaloo got out of the Delorean and stared at the rifts. "...doc!?" yelled Scootaloo, looking at the sky. "Doc! Are you seeing this?!". Twilight removed her goggles, and her eyes went wide. She quickly got back in the car and put her goggles back on, putting the Delorean in drive and zooming away, while yelling at Scootaloo to hold on and not to let go. "GREAT SCOTT! Something is interfering with the timelines and multiverse! WE NEED TO GO BACK IN TIME SCOOTY!" she told her as the car reached 88 MPH and disappeared in a flash, leaving behind a fire trail. Asteria looked back at Twilight and gave her a very serious look. "You are going to need all the help you can get," she explained. Twilight nodded, held the device tightly, gave her farewell to the two women, and headed back to the mirror. Dash waited for her and could see her putting something in her pocket. "What's that?" "Just a bit of backup." "Okay? Let's go!"  Dash watched as Twilight jumped in first, and she soon followed behind. As they disappeared into the mirror surface, it glowed cyan and purple before finally going dim and becoming a normal mirror surface as Asteria touched it. Within the reflection, she could see what's behind her and Helena, which looked like her daughters, but when she turned to look at them, they weren't her daughters but someone else. They looked like human female androids... "...Can't be?" "WHOA!" shouted Dash and Twilight as they landed on top of each other as they exited out of the mirror, looked up, and could see they were at the Crystal Empire. "We're home?" whispered Twilight, trying to stand up by using her hands but quickly realizing something was off. She looked at her hands and could see it were gone and her normal hooves were there now and she could see she is still wearing her human outfit, but that quickly ended as her body tore through it because her current size was much bigger than her human form. "My hooves!?" she looked at them but quickly remembered the device and pulled the device out of jean pocket and teleported it away. "My back..." groaned Dash as Twilight was back in her tall Alicorn form, was crushing her. Twilight looked down and blushed hard. "Oh, sorry, Dash!" she said, quickly getting off her wife and helping her up. "Thanks," replied Dash, as she cracked her back and felt it pop, feeling good afterwards and realizing she was a pony again. She ripped her human clothes off. "Happy to see you girls again!" She stretched her wings out and felt them.  As the two were happy to be ponies again, they didn't notice the freak-out yelling coming to their sides. They turned to see their friends trying to calm down Twilah and Dashie friends as they became ponies. Faith was hiding in her mane as she looked at Rachel, who was freaking out the hardest, but not just for her new form, but because her magic was out of control, sending sparks everywhere. "CALM DOWN, RACHEL!" shouted April, dusting off her trucker hat after Rachel's magic hit her as she tried to calm her down. "I'M A PONY! A freakin pony! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" screamed Rachel, shooting off sparks. Twilight and Dash could see Twilah and Dashie happy to see their friends, but at the same time, panicking. "WHY DO WE LOOK LIKE THIS!?" asked Faith, peeking out of her mane and looking at her hoofs. Twilah transformed into her anthro form, used her magic to create a bubble around Rachel, placed her next to the others, and hugged them all. "It's okay. I don't know why you girls look like this, but I'm happy to see you all!" She then transformed into her pony form, making Rachel finally calm down. "Twilah..." said Rachel, looking at her and smiling. Twilah could feel her friends hugging her back and crying, crying for joy as they finally got to see her again. It's a happy sight, as everyone looked on, but Twilight noticed something and asked Dashie a question. "Wait, where's Penny?" Dashie smirked and pointed to Twilight's own friends, who were watching Penny and Pinkie do a very odd handshake, but stopped as Pinkie and the girls noticed Twilight and Dash and hurried to their sides, dogpiling them and hugging the daylights out of them. "You two are fine and well! Thank the stars!" cried Rarity, hugging Dash and then Twilight. Applejack let go and pointed to the sky. "We saw the battle! You two were humans, right?" she asked, getting nods from them. Fluttershy and Pinkie let go as well, but they looked super sad. "Braver and her sister," whispered Fluttershy, looking up at the cracking and rift-filled sky. Pinkie turned to Cozy and the others, who were talking to Blitz friends, as Twi and Dash could see that Tempesta became a unicorn and looked just like their Tempest, just wearing a jacket and speaking of Tempest. They could see her talking to her counterpart and not weirded out at all, but they could tell she was giving Brishen a cold stare, as he became the Storm King but were wearing jeans and sneakers than the black armor. "Why is the Tempesta pony version giving me that death stare?" he thought as he felt a shiver down his back. Making him look away and towards his other friends and realizing something. "Wallflower and Sunset, why are you two still looking like humans...ish and not another creature like us?" He pointed at himself, and then Tempesta, who took notice, walked over and asked the same question. The two girls looked at each other, not knowing the answer themselves, but before they could say anything to them, Cozy shouted at them to shut it. "Enough talking! We need to reach Braver and her sister as fast as we can! We're wasting time with this stupid talk!" Her words echoed throughout the group, and Twilight and Dash nodded, understanding. "Yeah," said Dash, flying up in the air and looking at the battle that her daughter was having. Twilight did the same, wanting to think of something but noticing the damage around the empire. She wanted to know what was going on, but Flutterheart called out to her from behind and was quickly hugged by her. "Aunty! You and Dash are alright!" she cried. Twilight smiled and hugged her back before letting go and asking her questions, "Flutterheart, what's going on? What happened here? Your father and mother, are they okay!?" Flutterheart was happy to see Twilight was okay and answered her question, "Mother and father are having a meeting with Celestia and other world leaders about what's going on. The empire looks like this because mom and dad became infected by dark magic by some evil human. They look like how Twilah and Dashie look when they transform, but thanks to Twilah and your and Braver's friends, they were able to save mom and dad, and we were able to restore the empire." She looked around, seeing the dying flames and smoke of the ruined area. "Well, in time, it will be restored."  "Wait, a human/pony hybrid did this? Could it have been?" asked Twilight, looking at the damage but turning to Twilah, who flew up next to her. "Twilah?" Twilah gave her a nod. "Yes, you two didn't meet her, but this hybrid unicorn girl, wearing all black, appeared as you two entered the prism window and scattered it. It was why we couldn't follow you." Twilight placed her hoof on her chin. "By chance, was this unicorn girl wearing a black jacket with a grey fuzz collar?" She turned to her, waiting for an answer. Twilah looked surprised as she nodded. "Yeah, wait! Did you meet her in my universe?" "Yes. She appeared and was the one who turned Braver into Breaker. After that, Sunset fought her, but I have no idea what happened to her after that." Twilah frowned and closed her eyes. "So, the girl did that to her as well, huh?" All of them looked up into the sky and could see the twins losing their fight against Rainbow Dawn, as their battle was getting more intense. "We have to hurry and get to them. If we can stop Rainbow Dawn, we might be able to save the multiverse!" Dashie flew next to her and asked her one simple question. "But how? Without a prism window, we can't follow them." Twilah looked at her and smirked. "No, we can't, but there is a way!" Dashie gave her a puzzled look, and so did Dash. Dash turned to Twilight, hoping she could give an answer. Twilight turned and looked down at Sunset, as she and the others were all looking up at them, waiting for them to come back down and hoping they had a plan. "Twi?" Twilight gave a smirk, understanding what Twilah was thinking, and nodded. "It's a very huge risk, but it's the only way. If we're successful, then we can stop Rainbow Dawn and save our daughters." Dash crossed her arms. "Okay, I don't know what you two are thinking, but please stop keeping us in the dark and explain!" Dashie asked the same question, making both Twilight and Twilah look at them. Twilah went first. "Even though it was Braver who made the rainbow shards, it was her parents who empowered them. With their elements and a bit of Braver's own power, it allowed them to cross into our universe all those years ago. If we can recreate that power and create another," Twilah looked at Twilight, who took over in explaining. "Create another rainbow shard; we can blast through the walls in between and follow where our daughters went, but to do that..." Twilight and Twilah looked back down and looked at Sunset, making both Dash and Dashie understand what they meant by huge risk. "If we do that, we won't be ourselves anymore," whispered Dash. Dashie looked down and sighed. "Even when we fuse again, our fusion won't know how to make a rainbow shard, even with our elements." She touched her chest, and it started to glow blue. "That's where you are wrong, Dashie," replied Twilight, making both girls look at her with a bit of shock. "They're here, remember?" Dashie and Dash quickly remembered what happened when JA and her friends appeared when they shot out of the Braver core. "HOLY COW! I FORGOT! NIGHTFALL AND SKY ARE HERE!" shouted Dash, turning around, flying down, and landing on the ground. Everyone looked at her, not getting what was going on. "Nightfall and Sky! Where are they!?" she asked her and Braver's friends, who only gave her blank stares. Fluttershy walked up and spoke. "You mean the ghost versions of your counterparts, right? The ones that appeared along with Flutterwonder and the others?" She looked at the rest of the group, who all gave shrugs. She looked back at Dash with a sad look. "...ummm, now I think about it...did we just leave them back at Ponyville?" Dash's eyes widened, as she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "WHAAAT!? You didn't bring them!?" AJ shook her head. "Sorry, we were kind of busy saving and dealing with that black water. We didn't have the time to grab them." AJ lowered her hat. "Well, to be honest, I thought someone here would have grabbed them when we left Ponyville." She finished talking, and everyone started asking why they hadn't grabbed them and started making excuses among each other. "WHAT!?" screamed Dash, grabbing AJ but quickly letting go and asking what she meant by leaving Ponyville. After a quick explanation about how the black water was spreading throughout the land and burning it, Twilight and Dash were fully caught up in what happened after they left. Twilight walked back and forth, thinking of what to do.  "Okay! Don't panic. You girls said their friends were with you and disappeared into the elements, but both Sky and Nightfall weren't there when that happened, right? It means they're still here and no doubt in Ponyville, correct?" They all nodded, then shrugged, as they truly didn't know if the two were still there. Twilight looked around, noticing all their looks, and sighed out loud. "Then we need to head back to Ponyville and find them. I hope they're still there where we left them." Twilah walked to her side and patted her shoulder. "Hey, everything's going to be okay. I'm sure that Nightfall and Sky are still there." Twilight looked at her and nodded as the two horns started to glow, teleporting everyone back to Ponyville. Meanwhile, within the realm of between, Blitz and Braver ran out of the rift and couldn't look back as they could hear their parents and friends calling out to them to stop. They were now trapped within the realm, unable to return home, and could only see a rainbow tree before them. Blitz looked behind her, seeing that the rift had disappeared. Her and her sister were panting hard, trying to catch their breaths, and their eyes were on the rainbow tree and Rainbow Dawn as she was walking towards it. "What now, Blitz? Do we just talk to her?" asked Braver, looking at her sister and looking for an answer. "Will she even talk to us!? We might have to fight her! ...again..." Blitz took a deep breath, calming herself down, and looked ahead. "I don't know. We need to keep our guards up and don't lose focus." She looked back at Braver, placing her hands on her shoulders and looking deeply into her eyes. "Just do what I say, and we'll have Dawn's back, okay?" Braver nodded as the two walked towards Rainbow Dawn and the Rainbow Tree. As they got closer, the white water slowly became black, and they could feel something was off about it. "This water, isn't this the same water that Rainbow Dawn and your Dawn created?" asked Blitz, lowering herself and touching said water. "It doesn't feel like water. What is this stuff?" Braver touched it as well. "I don't know, but it's not burning us, so it's not the same water, I think? Still, if it starts to burn us, we need to take the skies and fly." Blitz stood back up and looked forward. "Agreed." The twins ran towards Dawn, who almost reached the rainbow tree but stopped as she turned around and smiled at them. "So, you two followed me? Are you here to stop me from making you exist in every universe? Why stop me? Aren't you two tired of fighting me?" The sisters stopped before her, and Blitz was the first to speak. "Yeah, we followed you because what you are doing is beyond wrong!" Dawn tipped her head to the side, like she didn't understand her. "Is it really? How?" Braver steps forward. "You are going to kill trillions! Restarting the multiverse will erase all current life and start anew! You can't just start a new multiverse and expect the next one to be the same! Heck, the next multiverse might not even have us again! You don't even know yourself, right? Why risk all those lives for us!? For a version of us? Our lives, or a version of us, are not worth billions and more lives! What is the point of all this!?" Dawn closed her eyes and sighed out loud. "The point?" Her chest started to bleed out more rainbow liquid. "THE POINT!?" She opened her eyes, and within seconds, she was behind them without them noticing. Blitz was the first to react and turned around to see Dawn smiling, her arms open, and grabbing them as her arm clamped onto them and lifted them up. "THE POINT IS THAT I WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! Is it that hard to understand?" She screamed as she hugged them tight and smothered them into her breasts, making the twins gasp. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT TRILLIONS OR BILLIONS OF LIVES! I DON'T CARE IF THE NEXT MULTIVERSE WILL HAVE YOU TWO OR NOT!" She started to shake, and tears fell from her eyes. "I just want to see you again in my life. You are my everything, my spark." Her eyes became darker and her smile more wicked. "My life is nothing without you, and if I must restart the multiverse to see you again, even if it fails, then so be it." She looked at them, her eyes full of darkness and her smile a twisted grin. Braver tried to break free with her overwhelming strength but couldn't at all, as Dawn was holding on tightly. "If that means I will be the destroyer of the multiverse, so be it! If I am the villain in this story, then I will become one. Just like 'she' said, I was meant to be." Blitz was able to pull her face out of Dawn's breast and look at her with worry. "She?" Dawn chuckled and shook her head. "You don't need to know, and you'll never see her. I'll make sure that never happens again. No matter what happens, she can't reach us in here." Dawn pulled the sisters closer, making the twins close their eyes as their cheeks and noses were being pressed into her breasts, and she giggled. "But enough about her. I want to enjoy this moment." She leaned in, kissing Blitz on the lips, making Braver's eyes go wide, before she too would get a kiss on the lips. "I can't believe you are actually here. It's like a dream come true." She finally let them go and slowly walked backwards from them. "Within all my nightmares, there was a small spark in the darkness. A dim spark of hope; hope that you'll save me again." The darkness around her body disappeared, and she was normal-looking again. "Please, my love, kill me. End my suffering, end my pain and madness that 'she' wrote on to me! Let me finally rest, so we can finally be together. Please, I'll finally ask you just this once... I need your help." Blitz and Braver were shaking their heads, as they couldn't. They wanted to save her, not kill her. "I...can't," said Braver, shaking her head. "Even more so, you have our Dawn's within you. We're here to save them." Blitz looked at her with sad eyes. "And you, Rainbow Dawn. Whatever happened to you to make you like that, we are going to save you, no matter what! We won't kill you, ever. My Dawn asked me to listen to your story, saying that not everyone is truly bad. Everyone can be given a second chance!" She held her hand on her chest and looked towards her sister. "Like us, we were given a second chance in life. After the evil things we did, 'they' gave us a second chance." She gave Braver a smile and looked back at Dawn. "They made us move forward in life, to be better, to make others happy, and to see that we are not bad people." Dawn chuckled and shook her head. "That is why I love you; you always know what to say and do to make everyone happy, no matter the cost." Braver walked to her sister's side and held her hand. "Then let us help you. Let us know your story and how you became like this, because, by the sound of things, someone forced you to be like this. Right?" Dawn's eyes went dark, and her mouth twisted into a twisted smile. "...right..." Blitz felt her sister squeezing her hand and looked at her. "Sis?" She could feel her fear as her hand was shaking. Braver smiled. "She's way stronger than me, ME, who can scatter the walls of the universe, and I can't move at all, even with all my power. That shows how powerful she is, which scares me, sister!" She let go of her sister's hand, and her eyes became bright purple. "But something within me doesn't want to back down! I don't know why; I can feel my blood is boiling, and it wants to fight!" She was shaking as her eyes became more purple and her magical power was overflowing out of her horn. Blitz nodded her head, and her eyes became blue. "Same; I can feel it within me as well." They turned to Dawn, who was covered in darkness. "It's our spark, telling us not to give up and that we can help her, no matter what!" Braver and Blitz nodded and took battle stances as Dawn looked at them and opened her wings, unleashing a powerful blast of gust that blew the sisters away. Dawn giggled and shook her head. "Always moving forward..." her horn started to glow, and she raised her hand, pointing at them. "Always, no matter what waits ahead of you." A beam of rainbow light fired from her hand, shooting at the sisters, who were able to dodge the attack. The sisters looked at each other, giving each other a nod, and they charged towards her. Blitz was the first to reach her and tried to kick her, but Dawn just easily moved a bit to the side, grabbing Blitz's leg, punching her in the face, and then tossing her aside as Braver created a powerful and glowing punch as she hit her. "BREAKER!" But Dawn just simply grabbed her fist and held it with ease, shocking Braver, as behind Dawn was a powerful reality shockwave as the force of the punch was breaking the area around them. "You always told me I was so strong that you looked up to me, but in truth, you were always more powerful than me or anything in my universe. When you finally told me about your life, how you scattered your universe and killed your parents, that's when I learned you've always been holding back," said Dawn, crushing Braver's fist and sending her flying with a simple slap to the cheek, making her crash into the water below, creating a large crater. "I can feel the darkness almost taking me over again, so listen well." Dawn held her head in pain as she smiled. "Stop holding back. I can't be saved like you are hoping for. Not everyone can be saved. I don't even want to be saved anymore, so just kill me." Braver slowly stood up from the crater as it was filling up with water. She held her cheek and spit out blood. "You know, you sound just like us back then. We wanted to be killed because we thought we couldn't be saved, but we were proven wrong, and now look at us!" "You're right, you're so right! But unlike me, I'm beyond saving. No matter what you do, no matter what you say, you can't change..." Dawn was gone and quickly reappeared in front of Braver, and she started to punch her face without stopping. "FATE! My story has no happy ending! EVEN WITH YOUR SECOND CHANCE, THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO!" Blitz appeared behind her and was about to attack, but the moment she got close to Dawn, the wings on Dawn's back quickly reacted, becoming sharp like blades and slicing Blitz's chest a bit, blood splashing out and flying into the water. Dawn grabbed Braver's face and looked back at Blitz, who was on one knee now as she held her bleeding wound. "I can't tell if you two are brave or stupid. She was both, so brave and so freaking foolish in helping people. To be honest, if she never helped me that day, I wouldn't be here right now; none of this will be happening," she started to crush Braver's face, who started to scream in pain. "For once, I wish she didn't move forward that day. She should have let me be alone. I should have been all alone, no friends, no love." Blitz's eyes glowed bright blue as she was now back on her feet. "BULLSHIT!" she screamed, making Dawn turn to her and look shocked. "YOU SOUND LIKE SUNNY! THINKING SHE SHOULDN'T HAD ME OR EVEN HELP HER! BUT I SAW THE GOOD IN HER LIKE A WARM SUNSET!" The air around her started to change as a dim rainbow appeared. "THE VERSION OF US SAW THAT IN YOU! THEY SAW SOMETHING WITHIN YOU THAT MADE THEM WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND AND LOVE YOU!" The dim rainbow light became brighter and started to take form. Dawn gave an emotionless look as she tried to attack Blitz with another rainbow beam, but Braver grabbed her hand and grabbed the other hand that was crushing her head and screamed at her.  "I don't know which version of us you met, me or my sister; it doesn't change the fact that they wanted to be with you! THEY SAW YOUR LIGHT THAT YOU DIDN'T!" Dawn eyed her and turned back to Blitz, who was glowing rainbow colors. She could only tilt her head to the side. "Version of one of you two? What are you talking about? There was only one, and you two are nothing-" Before she could finish, Blitz unleashed a sonic rainboom and collided into her, while Braver held her back from attacking. As the smoke cleared, it revealed that Blitz was being held back by Dawn's hand, who smirked at her. "Like her. You two are just shadows of who she was. Even if you had the same power, you're nowhere near her level." She tossed Braver into Blitz, knocking the two to the side, but Blitz, still in the sonic rainstorm speed, crashed into the water, sending water everywhere as Dawn stood there, glaring at them. "Crap..." coughed Blitz, trying to get up but feeling her body being pushed back down. She looked and could see Braver on top of her, using her horn magic to create a barrier around them, as Dawn blasted another rainbow beam at them. "You might be fast! You might be able to break universes! BUT THAT'S NOTHING TO HER!" screamed Dawn, increasing the beam power and opening her wings. "SHE GOES BEYOND THAT! SHE'S FASTER THAN YOU, AND SHE CAN WIPE AWAY ANY UNIVERSE IF SHE WANTED!" "Dawn, please..." shouted Braver, holding her barrier in place. "I think we understand now, but you can't wipe and restart the multiverse just for her. She wouldn't want that!" Blitz pushed Braver off and looked at Dawn. "Even then, we won't let you mess with or destroy the multiverse tree!" "I'M NOT DESTROYING IT!" shouted back Dawn, stopping her beam, creating an energy sword from her hand, and slicing the sky above the tree, creating a giant rift in front of the tree. Within that rift is another giant tree within pure darkness, and black water is flowing out. "I'm going to restart the multiverse by rewriting everything within the book of Elyndra and recreating the multiverse into a perfect world, where she exists in all of them." Blitz and Braver could only look at the rift and the tree, feeling shocked. They never saw this kind of tree before, as it gave off an unnatural feeling—a feeling of being holy and godly. "What's that?" asked Braver as her sister got up and stood beside her. "Elyndra, the tree of all creation, It's where the book is held, and it's the one true tree that connects all universes and multiverses together. Without the book and without the tree, there would be no life, no anything." explained Dawn, slowly floating towards it. "I'll fix everything. I'll make everything perfect. She'll be alive in every single one of the multiverses—all the universes. The tree and the book will do that." but as she got closer to the rift, Blitz and Braver flew between her and the rift. "We can't let you do this," stated Blitz, glaring at her. "You might have your reasons for doing this; I know that, believe me, I know how much pain you must be in, losing someone important to you, knowing the chances of ever seeing them again are slim..." Blitz could only think of her real parent. "So I understand you, but if you restart the multiverse, there is no telling what will happen, and it won't be like how you want." Braver glared at her as well. "Please, Dawn, don't do this! It's not too late!" "Yes, it is! This is the only way! She'll come back!" yelled Dawn, readying her beam sword. "I won't let her story end like that! SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THAT END!" she charged at them, while the twins ready themselves as the rift started to get larger and wider. Twilight and others reappeared in the destroyed and abandoned Ponyville, looking around the area. "We're back, huh? I still can't believe the town looks like this," said AJ, kicking over a piece of burned wood as the black water destroyed half the town before turning to New Ponyville and finally being removed by Twilah. "Hope that after all this, we can rebuild it." Rarity, Twilight, and Dash looked over the ruinous remains of Canterlot after it crashed into the valley below. Only the remains of the once proud city were the remains of the castle tower, the only thing left standing after crashing down when Dawn destroyed the caste. "Oh dear..." whispered Rarity as her friends hugged her. "How are we going to rebuild this place?" Twilight scanned the area of the mountain side and had a sad look on her face. "We can't. The mountainside is no longer stable. We'll have to rebuild the city and castle somewhere else." She turned back to Rarity, who was crying as the girls were trying to comfort her. Dash sighed and turned to the ruined town. "Least Ponyville can be rebuilt, huh?" "Yeah," nodded Twilight as she and Dash walked away from the group, with Fluttershy following behind. "Where are we going?" asked Fluttershy, flying closer to them. "I teleported us where Braver became a real Alicorn, but..." Twilight looked around and couldn't see Nightfall or Sky anywhere. "They're not here, but they looked so lifeless. Where will they be if they couldn't move before?" The three started to look around, while the remaining group started to look around the area, spitting up. Twilah and her friends started to look outside of the area. "How are you girls holding up?" she asked, looking back and seeing some of them still not used to being in a pony body. "Sorry, I had no idea you'd become ponies. Odd, when Dashie and I came here, we didn't become ponies. Strange." Twilah placed her hand on her chin and started to think about this. "It's fine, darling," smiled Rachel, trying her hardest not to freak out about all this. "To be honest, we always wanted to know how it feels to be an 'pony'..." Dashie turned to them and said, "Wait, really?" April bucked a wooden wall from a burned home and didn't see any pony looking like Twilah or Twilight and turned to Dashie. "Yup, from the memories you told us of seeing your counterparts lives, I always wanted to know how pony AJ did things, and I tell you want, I can see how she does things with no fingers! Kicking things is so much better! Plus, I want to try a hay burger; it sounds delicious." Penny hops around around April, smiling with glee. "Oh! I can't wait to try those as well! Twilight made them sound super, mega, ultra delicious! Oh, and the zap apples; I need to try them!" Dashie shook her head and laughed, returning in the search, while Twilah cleared an area from rubble for Faith, but noticing she was trying to fly. "Faith, need tips on flying? You look like a baby bird trying to fly," smirked Twilah, making Faith stop and blush in embarrassment. "It's hard. My wings are small for this body, and I have no idea how I can fly in it. How do Pegsus do it?" replied Faith, somewhat falling over as she landed. "It's easy! See, pegasus body weight is-" Twilah started to explain the pegasus body and how their medium size wings can let them fly, pushing her glasses up, but Faith's ears dropped down and she gave a sad look as she hid her face in her pink mane. Faith had no idea what Twilah was saying, as she was using a bunch of big scientific words. "...oh dear..." As Twilah was explaining the wing mass, a white unicorn with a light grey, purple, and pink mane took notice of them, placed her clipboard into a saddle bag, and hurried over. "Sis!" shouted Sweetie Belle as she hugged Rachel, not knowing that wasn't really her sister. Rachel freaked out a bit with a loud gasp and fired off a magic bolt from her horn, blasting a house window and making Sweetie look worried and a bit hurt. "Wait, sis?" questioned Rachel, looking at her, and her eyes went wide, realizing who it was. "Bella? You are this universe Bella!" She hugged her and then played with her cheeks. Sweetie was now confused, until she saw Twilah and Dashie and noticed her sister and the others looked much younger. "What's going on?" Twilah quickly explained everything, and Sweetie soon explained why she was here, as she was listing the damages to the town and trying to see what was missing or lost. "So you and everyone else are looking for Twilight and Dash Ghost-looking copies?" asked Sweetie, following them back to the area where they came from. April fixed her trucker hat. "That's right, little bell; it seemed they just disappeared, but we don't know how or why. We thought that maybe the town might have had a clue or someone moved them." Sweetie hummed a bit as she thought for a bit, until she sighed very loudly. "I know who took ghost Dash and Twilight." Before they could ask how she knew this, the group could hear a very loud noise and hurry back. Back with Twilight and her friends, long before the loud noise was heard, they wanted to look further in town, but Sunset and the others wanted to join them, but Twilight took Sunset to the side and spoke to her. "I know having more pairs of eyes and hooves will be useful in searching for Sky and Nightfall, but I would rather have you and Braver's friends staying here." She explained, looking back at the group. Sunset gave her a puzzled look. "What? Why?" Twilight looked back at her and explained her reason to her. "It's Cozy. Look at her." They both turned to her and could see her being restless, and it almost looked like she wanted to be somewhere else as she looked up at the sky. They looked to the sky and could see Braver creating a magical barrier as Rainbow Dawn almost stabbed her with a magical energy sword. "She wants to be by my daughter's side, no matter what. She loves my daughter, which I'm happy for, but Cozy is somewhat of a hothead, much like Rainbow Dash, and she will do anything to be by Braver's side, even if it means doing something stupid. Can you and the others watch over her? Please?" Sunset sighed a bit, knowing this was going to happen, and nodded her head. "Sure, I'll let the others know. I'm sure my friends won't mind, Twi." She gave a thumbs up. "Cozy was always a hothead and head over heels with Blitz sister in school." She gave a wave and walked back to her friends, not seeing Twilight's sad look on her face. "Thank you, Sunny and Sunset." Twilight watched her leave and return to the group before leaving herself, heading over to her own friends, and searching the area further ahead . No matter where they looked, they couldn't find Nightfall or Sky anywhere further within the town. They all gathered together and started to make guesses about where to look, but Twilight noticed Starlight was a bit far from them, like she didn't want to be near them. "Starlight?" called out Twilight, making her flinch and slowly turning to them. "What's wrong?" Starlight ears flopped down, and she sat on the ground, her eyes wanting to tear up. "Twilight, this is all my fault." She looked around the ruined town. "All of THIS!" Twilight and the others walked over and sat near her, asking her what she meant. "I was the one who started all of this!" cried Starlight. "If I hadn't treated Dawn so... awful when she was young, none of this would have happened! She wouldn't have kept herself away from others, joining with her evil counterpart and almost destroying all of our world." She covered her face with her hooves and started to let it all out as she cried. "I should be punished. I should pay for the crimes I committed against her. If it weren't for her actions, things would be different." The girls looked at each other and were going to conform to her, telling her everything would be okay, but she brushed them off as she spoke again and walked past them. "I haven't changed over the years, not since meeting you all... I'm still the evil unicorn that tries to control others; I'm a monster. Night was right, I'm just an monster that created another monster." She couldn't face her friends as she looked up into the sky, as more rifts were being created. "Well met, Arisen!" spoke a mixture of female and male voices as a glowing white-hooded figure sat on a throne, as the area around them was nothing but dark clouds with rifts appearing throughout. "I'll not waste time on rhetoric; defeat me and take my place as keeper of this world." They raised their hands, making this universe Sunny Starscout, who's a human magical knight, step back as the clouds in front of her opened. "You saw it awaiting you at the end of your descent. The same world you've traveled to arrive at this place. A world you may well now inherit." Sunny was going to speak, but the hooded figure stopped her as they raised their hands once more. "It is a simple proposition. No different than any you've faced." finished the figure as they blew Sunny away with a simple wind gust spell. Sunny landed on her back and quickly rose as the hooded figure started to stand from their throne. "You need only the will to claim what is offered to you. The will to survive!" Both faced each other down, until the hooded figure started using light wave magic as they spoke, while Sunny took out her magical rainbow shield and sword. "Yes, fight. Arisen, as you have fought in coming here!" they blasted another light wave magic towards the young knight, who dodged it. "What is it that impels you? What force spurs you on? What sustained your wanderings and led you here?" Sunny held her shield and sword at the ready and charged in, blocking each blast of light magic. "I ask you! What is it that makes you alive?" The hooded person stopped attacking and let Sunny slash at her, doing no damage to them, and walked around her as she kept slashing them. "Tis volition. Unbending will. You are here because you walked it, Arisen. You created your own story and wrote where your tale ends. It is no mistake that you are here; you came before me." Sunny looked at the hooded figure as they started to glow, and she readied her weapon once more. Only to be blasted away once more. As she stood up, she saw that the hooded figure was gone. She looked around until she saw a white light behind her. The hooded figure walked to a rift, seeing Ponyville inside. "Consider...the infinite potential..." said the figure as they created water and created a naked version of Sunny, scaring and shocking her. "Just as you call forth pawns, so I command all life into existence. Just like other authors of their universes and across the multiverses can do, you might call me a god or writer, but it does not matter. Expect none of the mercy men seek in their gods. This is the cold truth, Arisen. You are nothing but a character I wrote for this universe." They raised their hands and blasted the clone into dust, leaving nothing behind. "The world and all its denizens are nothing but fake lives, just characters inside a book. In that regard, no different than the pawns," the figure looked around their surroundings, seeing each rift as more were being created. "Without volition, there is no true life. This world and others fall stagnant, dead as an ocean with no current to guide it as 'she' keeps the winds at bay." With that said, the figure just disappeared into thin air. Sunny searched around but couldn't find them, but she looked at each rift and saw every universe in the multiverse. "She made her decision long ago; she stopped being a reader and watcher. Becoming something more, more than an author." spoke a voice, making her turn and see the hooded figure behind her. "The decision, just like yours, to fight. Fight against fate and destiny and those who created us." The figure blasted another magical light at Sunny, continuing their battle. "Show that you are more than a written character, written by an author unseen. Show that the temper of your spark is strong enough to command far more than mere pawns." The figure started to walk around the young knight once more, as Sunny sword attacks hardly did anything to them. "Show that your spark is fit to aid in the upcoming war of all creation, Arisen!" They blasted Sunny back and lowered their hands again. "Fight tooth and claw. Struggle now and cling to the very spark of life." They created a sword of light and dashed towards Sunny, and both their swords clashed with each other. "Show that written life holds worth—enough to fight for! Show her that she is wrong, Arisen!" Sunny screamed and deflected the blade and slashed down the figure, cutting them in two, but only to disappear and reappeared far from her, standing as the rifts started to grow faster in size. "The ending is coming, Arisen. Will you claim your rights as Arisen? Or shrug the burden and seek peace in oblivion?" asked the figure, watching as Sunny stepped forward, making them smile. "Moving forward, despite all that has transpired, is what defines a character. And thus is what distinguishes the Arisen. I have faith; you are no exception." Sunny started to walk forward as living memories of her friends and people she helped in her quest appeared before her, making her smile, and she continued to walk, passing her memories. Until she was standing in front of the hooded figure once more. "Good, Arisen... No, Sunny Starfall! This will be your last test and battle. Now, show me, show me your spark! The spark that you created with your friends and loved ones as you came here! Show me, show me the power of an Arisen!" shouted the figure, making their hood disappear and their face visible. Sunny saw a young girl with purple hair, wearing armor that only a magical knight would wear. It was this universe, Twilight. The young woman's voice stopped being a mixer of different voices and became her real voice. "Come Sunny! I shall meet you on your own terms, joined by my own friends of old." Behind her, five pawns landed near her—this universe version of Twilight's friends—and behind Sunny, her friends appeared and were ready for the battle. " "You stand now at the final chapters of the end, Sunny. See your story through to the end! Win and go forth! Forth to the true final battle, an battle that you must be apart of, where the true ending is being written, where all creation will be wiped away forever, or where the happy ending is created for the rest of existence! Let your spark lead you! Move forward like 'she' always does!" The two groups clashed with each other as the rifts grew in size, almost overtaking the dark, clouded world. Starlight looked away; even though she could see what was happening in that universe, she couldn't hear what was being said. She continued her talk with her friends, who stood behind her now and gave her all their attention. "I know, I'm a bad pony. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Starlight was saying it repeatedly as tears started to stream down her face while her friends looked worried.  AJ was going to speak and remind Starlight of their talk, but Twilight walked past her and placed her hoof under Starlight's chin, making her look her in the eyes. "Starlight, no. That's not true. None of this is your fault. You haven't been a bad pony or a bad mother. You made mistakes. Mistakes that you tried to fix." "And I failed." Starlight sadly said. "Not yet; you haven't." Twilight said, smiling at her and hugging her, making her return the hug. "I know it seems hopeless right now, but you need to have hope. Hope that you can face Dawn and take responsibility for the actions you done to her, apologize to her, and show her she wasn't ever alone. That was always loved by her mother, you. Show her how much you love her and that you'll be better than ever, so no matter what happens, she'll know how much you love her. That's the best thing you can do for her, Starlight." She let her go, and Twilight could feel tears running down her cheeks. "Besides, you aren't the only one that needs to take responsibility and apologize to her; so do I. I failed her as her teacher; I wasn't there for her. But now, I can show her I'm not just her teacher but someone who'll be there for her no matter what. So let's show her together, show her how much we love her, and show her that no matter what, she'll always have us by her side." Twilight and Starlight looked up into the rift, seeing Rainbow Dawn fighting the twins. "I was wrong about her being my successor. I think that's what created a rift between us, as teacher and student." Twilight sighed a bit and smiled. "I wanted her to take my place and become a princess after I'm gone. But it seems that it wasn't meant to be...Braver showed me that." She looked back up, seeing her daughter fighting Rainbow Dawn but also trying to talk sense to her as she fought her. Twilight looked away and looked at Dash, who gave her a small smile. "She is truly our daughter. She's the future. Not me; my rule should end after all this, and when I'm gone, I think she'll take over my role and become a new kind of princess. She's my real successor." She smiled and looked up at the rift. "But I don't want..." Everyone started to see Twilight crying heavily. "I don't want to take away my daughter's pen and write her story! I don't want to force her to write a book that she doesn't want to! I want her to live her life and follow her dreams, just like me and my friends! But she can't now! I don't want her to feel trapped! I don't want her, Dawn, and other future ponies who become Alicorns and outlive all their friends and loved ones! I don't want them to have that curse and have them suffer like me!" Starlight felt Twilight's weight on her body as she just cried. "Oh, Twilight." Dash quickly flew and placed her wing over Twilight, moving her away from Starlight body and holding her close. "Twi, don't say that! Your Alicorn status isn't a curse! You are the princess of friendship; you help bring peace and balance to the world. And that's an amazing thing, not a curse." explained Dash, trying her hardest to calm her down. Twilight slowly held her tight, shaking with fear. "But it is a curse! You and everyone else I ever knew will die as I outlive all of you! Even Celestia and Luna, I'll outlive them. I'm scared of being alone. I don't want to be alone! I don't want that for Braver or anyone! I can't be a princess anymore. Without you, the girls, our friends, and our family, I'll lose my way. I'll do something foolish without you girls; I just know it. I can't live like this; I can't. Please, Dash, please, help me. Help me." Dash couldn't say anything, as she just held her tighter. "Twilight, it'll be alright." As the two were hugging, Fluttershy whispered to her friends. "Remember what Cozy said, how Discord explained to her that an Alicorn will appear in the future, forcing Twilight to seal away magic." AJ nodded. "Yeah, first I thought that Twilight had no choice, and it's Twilight after all, who always plans ahead and thinks about everything. She'll do anything to protect our world, but now..." Rarity walked to the AJ side. "Now, if we really think about it, then Twilight did it because without us, the others, and her family, she wouldn't be able to handle the loss of us, as her grief took over her and she did something rash and not really thinking it through." "Without us there, there to aid her and tell her there might be another way..." Pinkie and the others looked over to Twilight, who was still crying. "She will fall." Applejack and the others slowly walked over to Dash and Twilight as they heard Twilight's cries. Dash could hear them getting closer, shut her eyes, and remind Twilight of something. "Twi, remember what I told you years ago?" Twilight, crying slowly, stopped and opened her eyes, looking at her wife. "What?" Dash smiled at her and opened her eyes, staring into Twilight's. "I promised you, when the time comes and I'm gone..." Dash placed her hoof on Twilight's cheek and slowly started to wipe her tears away. "I'll find you again, no matter what! Reborn as someone else, as an animal, or whatever." Dash kissed Twilight on the lips and slowly pulled away, keeping their faces close to each other. "Because even death can't stop me or my love for you. I will always be there for you, right girls?" Dash and Twilight saw their friends behind them, looking sad but giving a smile and nodding, knowing that they'll be there for Twilight no matter what; even death can't stop them and their love for her. "That's right, darling! No matter what death has in store for us, we will always find our way back to you, no matter how long or what it takes." said Rarity. "You can count on that, Twi!" smirked Applejack. Pinkie started to do kicks and punches, ready to fight. "That's right, Twilight! Nothing will stop us from finding you! We'll kick the grim reaper's butt and find you again!" Fluttershy lowered her head as she dodged Pinkie kick. "We'll be with you, always. So please, Twilight." Dash let Twilight go and flew to the girls, and they all breathed in and out, then spoke as one. "Don't worry about the future; even without us, you will be just fine. You're the smartest and strongest pony we've ever known. We believe in you and your love for others. Just know, our friendship will always guide you, just like yours did for us; we won't ever forget that, and no matter where or when, we will always be with you, even if we aren't." They all walked up to Twilight, standing before her. "Always be honest with yourself, Twilight. Even if we're not there and long gone, you'll make new friends, friends who will aid you, help you, and guide you. So please, don't give up and don't lose yourself in your thoughts. Be yourself and always be honest with yourself like I said, Twilight Sparkle," said AJ. "Even if those friends also pass on, you will always make new friends! Friends that you'll make smile and laugh. Friends who will aid you in your adventures. Friends who will care and love you just as much as we do. So please, don't ever be afraid or worry about being alone, because you will always find someone new to love, smile, and laugh with!" smiled Pinkie. "Twilight, your kindness knows no bounds. Your heart is full of compassion and empathy; you're a good soul. Others will see that, and they'll come to you, and you'll help them. Just as you did for us. So please, don't cry." Fluttershy started to tear up a bit but continued. "Never cry because of us or others passing. Always keep a smile, because your happiness and smile bring joy to everyone around you. So, please, never forget that." Rarity took out a tissue, handed it to Fluttershy, and then spoke to Twilight. "Remember, darling, you have always been there for everyone, and that generosity will never change in the future. You will always give a part of yourself to help others, and no matter what, that will always be who you are. But remember, giving too much of yourself is dangerous; it can take a toll on you and lead you down a path you might not wish to walk on. So, please, don't give so much that you'll lose yourself and hurt yourself by doing something foolish. We don't want that to happen, especially Dash." She took out a tissue and wiped away her own tears. "Be strong and think things through before doing something you might regret. Think with your heart, but don't lose yourself to that." The girls looked over to Dash, who slowly flew towards Twilight, who was crying harder than before. "Twi, your loyalty has no bounds and is unmatched by many; it even rivals my own. You never once gave up on anyone or any other creature, including us. You are the most loyal pony we have ever met. You will always fight for your friends and family, and no matter what, your loyalty and trust will be tested." Dash shut her eyes, looking hurt as she continued. "Tested without me by your side. It hurts knowing that one day I won't be there to stand by your side and watch over you. But I know that you will be okay. Because you're the strongest pony I have ever known." She slowly opened her eyes and gave her a warm smile. "Heck, you'll even fall in love again and might start a new family." "No, Dash, I won't," but Twilight couldn't finish as Dash bopped her head playfully. "Don't, don't say that. I want you to love again. Find someone who loves you as much as I do. Start a new family and grow old with them. Because that's what you deserve. After everything you have done for us and for the world, you deserve happiness and love. You deserve a happy ending, Twilight." Dash flew back until she was with the others and landed on the ground. "Twilight, our stories will end, but yours is still ongoing, so please, never stop writing and tell a story that will bring hope, happiness, and love to many ponies and other creatures. Keep..." "Keep moving forward!" said Dash and the girls in unison as their voices echoed throughout the ruined town. "Keep moving forward," whispered Twilight, as tears flowed down her cheeks. She looked up at the rift, watching the battle going on, and then closed her eyes. "...just like our daughter has always been doing. Even in a time of chaos and despair, she's been moving forward." She opened her eyes and smiled. "So, I must do the same. I must keep moving forward, no matter what." She looked back at the girls and Starlight, who was smiling and wiping away her own tears. "Yes, Braver has always been pushing forward. Along the way, she gathers friends on her journey. She's just like you, Twilight." Starlight said,, trying to hold back her tears. "She's even helped my daughter. Just like you did with me all those years ago, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Twilight looked at Starlight, smiling at her and then at the girls. "Thank you, all of you! I love you all; I always have and always will, till the end." They all smiled, knowing that their friendship is the strongest and will never fade. But before they could do a big group hug, they heard someone yelling at them as a light greyish green earth pony and blue griffon, wearing golden armor, came running up to them. "Princess!" shouted the griffon as he landed and quickly bowed to Twilight as the earth pony waved at her. Twilight ordered the griffon to rise, and she gave them a small bow. "Gallus, Sandbar! What are you two doing here?" The rest of the girls gathered around and listened as both men explained their reasons for being here. "I was tasked with checking the damage to the town, along with Sweetie Belle," said Sandbar, taking out a clipboard from his saddle bag, while Rarity's eyes sparkled when she heard her sister's name. Gallus placed his elbow on his buddy's head and smirked. "I was ordered to watch over the two and make sure nothing hurts them. Besides, Yona was begging me to watch over her little husband anyway. How cou-oof!" He quickly held on to his side as Sandbar kicked him there. "And your wife, Silver Stream, told me to kick you if you ever get annoying." Sandbar said as he started to look over the damage to the town. "Ow! I'm going to get her back for-" "Gallus! Sandbar!" smiled Twilight, using her magic to lift them from the ground and right to her face. "You two and Sweetie must have seen Nightfall and Sky!?" Both guys looked at each other and quickly looked back at Twilight. "You mean the weird-looking ghost versions of you?" asked Gallus. Twilight and the rest of the girls nodded, making Sandbar take out his clipboard and flip through it. "Well, when we found them, we were going to take them back to New Ponyville, but two ponies, who was with us, found them first and wanted to take them. We were against it, but Sweetie started to have a fight with—"but before he could finish, there was a loud explosion coming from where they left Blitz and Braver friends at. "What the hey was tha-whooa!" he said, as him and Gallous fell to the ground as Twilight had a worried look on her face. "Oh no! Cozy must be doing something!" She shouted, flying off while the rest of the girls followed her, leaving the two guys alone. Gallus fixed his helmet, and he could see Sandbar eyeing him. "What?" "Shouldn't you be going along with Twilight? You are one of the guards meant to protect her, you know." "Nah, she's a big girl. She can handle herself, besides." Gallus quickly turned around and smirked, "My mission is protecting you, right buddy? Besides, I don't want Yona killing me if something happens!" Gallus could see Sandbar rushing off where Twilight and others went too, making the griffon swear under his breath as he went after his friend. Moments ago, Brishen was sweating like a pig, as he could see Tempest looking at him with death daggers in her eyes. He coughed and looked away, but he could see Luna eyeing him as well. The same daggers were in her eyes, and he could feel the chills go up and down his spine. "So, uh, I'm not that Storm King, you know. I'm just a young adult, not some evil furry," he explained, hoping they would stop looking at him like that. Tempest huffed as she kept her eyes on him. "Sorry, just looking at you brings up bad memories. If it wasn't for my counterpart here, I would have ended you." Brishen chuckled, wiping his forehead with a napkin for his sweat, looking at the two. "Hey, I would have done the same if I were in your shoes. I saw the loser Storm King memories from this staff, thanks to Wallflower here," he pointed to her, who scared the two with her ability to hide in plain sight, like she was a background character. As the two calmed down and remembered who Wallflower was, they started to talk to her, while Brishen sighed with relief and slowly walked away from them and sat next to Tempesta, who was sitting by herself. "So, how's being a pony like? Weird, I bet?" He asked, flipping his staff in the air like a little boy playing with a stick, making the mare chuckle. "You have no idea. Having no fingers, but yet, I can still hold things with my hoof," she said, eyeing him a bit. "Wanna see?" Brishen didn't believe her and handed her his staff, only for his mind to be blown, as he could see the staff just being held by her hoof, no gripping or anything. "What the-how are you doing that!?" Tempesta laughed, handing him back his staff, and stood up. "I don't know...and it's kind of freaking me out, to be honest." Before he said something, a large shadow covered the two, making them look behind and up, seeing Tirek, now wearing a sweater and holding a cup of coffee. "Where did you get that?" asked Tempesta, wanting a cup of coffee for herself. Tirek took a sip of his coffee and then pointed his finger over to the other side, where a coffee shop is, and the front door knocked down. Tempesta walked off, leaving the two. The two men just stood there, looking at whatever, until Tirek asked one simple question. "You like her?" Brishen was caught off guard by that question and choked on his own air, making him cough and hack a bit. "Wha-what the heck!?" Tirek shrugged, looking over to Cozy, who was far from them and just looking up at the sky. Then he looked over to Sunset, who had been standing behind Cozy for a while now. He took another sip and just watched them. Up in the sky, Cozy could see many rifts and other universes. In one, she could see... "It's over, Cozy! Give up!" shouted Dawn as she and her friends stood in front of an Alicorn version of an older Cozy Glow as she limped her way to Twilight's throne, turning to the group of creatures that beat her. "Curse you, Luster Dawn! You foiled my plans to take over Equestria!" She tried to use her magic, but a purple beam blasted her, making her fall over and hitting the throne.  "You never understood Cozy!" shouted Alicorn Twilight as she landed next to her student and her friends. "A monster like you will never understand the importance of friendship." Cozy laughed, holding her chest, and her breathing was becoming raspy. "Friendship this and friendship that! It's nothing more than a lie—a way to keep yourself safe and protected! It's just a tool, Twilight!" She spat, getting up, and her breathing was becoming heavier. "All I ever wanted was someone, anyone, who would understand me and my views on this world." She blasted a powerful rainbow beam, but it was quickly defected by a rainbow light, an light coming from Dawn and her friends. Cozy could see them wearing the Element of Harmony necklace. "Why would anyone be a friend to you, a monster who only cares about herself and power!?" shouted Dawn as her element of magic started to glow. Cozy laughed, and her laughter became insane. "You want to know why, Luster Dawn!? Because everyone is and will be alone. Friendship is just a tool for power and control. If there isn't someone out there for me, then I will make them! I will create my own friends by force and take over the land!" Everyone was silent, looking at her, and their eyes widening in fear as Cozy started to levitate, her magic aura covering her and her hair covering her eyes. Twilight quickly stood in front of the student and the others, explained that they should use the elements before it's too late. "Alright, teacher!" said Dawn, who then turned to her friends, telling them to follow her lead.  "FOOLS!" screamed Cozy, unleashing her magic just as the elements were unleashed upon her. A bright flash of light and the rift vanish... Cozy lowered her head and slammed her hoof into the dirt, cursing under her breath at what she saw. "Discord was right. In every universe, I was never meant to have that chance, that second chance, and to meet someone who wanted to know me, who wanted to be my friend. I'm a monster. Just like he said." Her body started to tremble, thinking about the words Discord had told her. She couldn't take it anymore, and she let out a loud scream. A powerful scream gave off red energy waves, blowing back Sunset a bit. Sunset had her arm over her face as she stood against the powerful wave and could hear the screaming becoming hurtful screams. "Cozy..." As the wave died down, Cozy just looked up, seeing other universes within the many rifts. Somehow, she could see herself being defeated or even killed. She hated seeing all of the other universe selves, all the possibilities and chances that were never given. All of it was lost because they weren't given a chance. "Cozy..." She wanted to cry, but nothing was coming out; she could only look at her hooves and sighed. "Cozy, hey..." "Go away," she muttered, trying to ignore the voice. Sunset placed her hand on Cozy's shoulder, kneeling down next to her. "You okay?" Cozy shrugged, not bothering to look at her. "You are not a monster." Cozy eyes widen, hearing those words, and she slowly turns her head to the side and sees Sunset, giving her a gentle smile...it reminded her of Braver "But I-" "You are not a monster. Cozy, you have been through a lot, I can tell." Sunset sat down and looked up at the rift-filled sky. "I remember you being all evil and such, but Braver gave you a chance, remember?" she said, looking at her and seeing Cozy looking at the dirt ground. "Blitz gave me a chance because she believed there was a kind girl under that bully. It was her friendship that helped me." "It's not fair; why am I a lucky one while other versions of myself aren't?" whispered Cozy, her body trembling. "It feels like my story shouldn't be like this... I can't help but wonder what they did; it didn't end like this. What did I do that caused me to change and a have a better life?" Cozy could only wonder what it was but could hear Sunset laughing at her, making her filled with rage. "Come on now; you know why." Sunset put her hand under Cozy's chin and made her look up, seeing the rift that had Braver, who was still fighting Rainbow Dawn with her sister. Cozy gave a small smile. "Because of her..." Sunset nodded but also pointed to Cozy's heart. "Also because it was someone who gave you a chance. Everyone has a bad side, and everyone has a good side. Sometimes, there are people who will listen and that helps bring out the good side. Maybe other versions of you didn't get the chance, but you were lucky enough to be able to make a choice when you had that evil necklace—to choose to have a chance. You didn't push Braver away when she reached out to you and gave you a chance." Sunset got up and stretched her legs, feeling tired from sitting on the dirt. "Braver and Blitz always see the good in others, no matter who they are. I'm pretty sure Braver saw you for your true self, even when you were lying and tricking her." Sunset reached her hand out, happy to Cozy taking her hand. Sunset pulled her up, and the two smiled at each other. "... Too bad that she couldn't see how I felt about her before it was too late," sighed Cozy, seeing Sunset laughing hard. "What's so funny?" Sunset wiped her tears from her eyes and couldn't stop smiling. "You too, huh?" She finally calmed down, and both looked up at the rift. "I find it funny that those twins fell in love with our Dawn at the same time." Cozy gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, like it was fate or something," she rubbed her nose and smirked. "Whatever, I'm over that blockhead. I just want her to be happy! Even if it's with Dawn." Sunset cracked her neck and joined in that smirk. "Same. They deserve to be happy with whoever they want, even i it's not with us." Cozy and Sunset rose their arms into the air, reaching out to the twins, like they were going to reach them and hold them. "What a load of crap." Sunset and Cozy quickly looked behind and could see Chrysalis giving them a cold stare. "I can feel the love coming off of you two, as clear as day. You two still deeply love those twins." Chrysalis had her arms crossed and was looking at them with a disappointed look. "Screw off, Chrysalis! My ship had sailed, and I lost my chance. I already came to terms with it and tossed those feelings away." replied Cozy, walking past her but stopping as Chrysalis wing blocked her. "You and I both know that's a lie, Cozy Glow." "Shut it! Braver doesn't feel the same way, so just drop it!" "So, what? Are you going to run away like the coward that you are?!" Cozy growled, ready to punch her, but stopped and looked down. "No, I won't..." Chrysalis raised her eyebrow, seeing Cozy trembling and looking down, pushing her hooves into the ground. "Even if she doesn't love you, that doesn't mean you should stop loving her. Love is something you can't run from, Cozy. Even if she doesn't love you back, you can't give up on the person you love. That's how true love works." She turned to Sunset and gave her 'same with you' look, making Sunset rub the back of her head. "But I lost. How is that true love, you stupid bug?" Chrysalis shook her head, knowing full well what Cozy was feeling. "It's true love when you put someone's happiness above your own. You don't need them to love you back; just having them close is all you need." She placed her bug hoof on Cozy's head and petted her. "No matter what is lost or taken, it doesn't stop the love for someone." Cozy didn't say anything, letting her words sink in and thinking about everything. Chrysalis pulled her hoof back and looked at Sunset, seeing the same look on her face. "I seen that look in your eyes, Sunset. Don't forget, Blitz will always be there for you, no matter what. I know that. She's like our little blockhead." "I guess.." Sunset shook her head and smiled. "No, I guess so; she will always be there for me. She has always been there, since the day we first met." Chrysalis smiled and nodded her head, liking how she was acting. "Good. Now, come on, you two, we better head back to the others; Twilight and others might be coming-" but she stopped talking, as she was looking at the rift and her eyes going wide. Cozy and Sunset could see her reaction to something and quickly looked to the sky. Just like Chrysalis, their eyes went wide in horror.  "SIS!" screamed Blitz, as she saw Braver being sliced in two by Rainbow Dawn beam hand sword as she flew past Braver and landed hard on the ground, skidding to a stop and leaving a large trail of black blood behind her. Chrysalis and Sunset were quickly blown away by a powerful surge of magical energy. As they landed and quickly looked where the powerful spike of power was coming from, they could see Cozy glowing bright red and becoming twisted. "BRAVER!" screamed Cozy as she unleashed another shockwave, sending dust clouds all around her. "She's mad," whispered Chrysalis, seeing Cozy going berserk as she unleashed powerful magic and her eyes turning red. The rest of the group came hurrying over and asking what was wrong. Soon, Twilight and others arrived as well and asked the same thing. Chrysalis pointed to the rift, and Twilight and Dash could see their daughter was cut in half, but... Dash turned to Cozy and crossed her arms. "Really? Getting upset over that?" Cozy quickly stared at her with burning rage and screamed, "What do you freaking mean? SHE KILLED HER!" Twilight joined Dash and pointed to the rift. "Look." Cozy looked back up, and once more, her eyes went wide once more. Braver's top half started to move; soon she pushed herself up from the black water floor, looked at the cut wound, and could see her slime oozing out. Even in her anthro form and becoming an Alicorn, her slime genes was still part of her. Her lower half got up, and Braver hopped over it, reconnecting and fixing herself. "...huh?" thought Rainbow Dawn, seeing the odd scene before her. Blitz sighed with relief and walked over to Braver, punching her lightly on the side. "I forgot your part slime, Christ, you scared the shit out of me there for a second." Braver laughed and rubbed the back of her neck, but the two quickly remembered they were in a battle and prepared themselves as Rainbow Dawn came soaring towards them once more. Cozy's magical energy died down, and her red body turned back to normal, but only her face was still red. "She's still a slime creature. Remember when she became an Alicorn? She was a ball of slime as she fell on the ground, and then, being in the human universe, her human form confirmed it by how she has an..." Twilight couldn't finish that, as she turned red herself. Cozy put her hooves over her face and wanted to die.  Sunset looked to the side and was thinking to herself. "Slime huh? That makes me wonder something: Is Blitz also...huh?" She stooped, thinking as she noticed familiar faces. "Sweetie Belle? Sandbar and Gallus?" Cozy and the others looked and could see the two ponies and the griffon  as they walked towards the group. "Sister, I didn't know you had a human version...but she looks just like you, though,"  said Sweetie, hugging Rarity. Before Rarity could say anything, Sweetie remembered why they were here and turned to Twilight, Dash, Twilah, and Dashie. "Right! We came across your ghost copies and were figuring out what to do with them, but the other two that were with us took them." Dash raised her eyebrow. "Other two? Who?" Sweetie gave a nervous smile while Sandbar rubbed the back of his head, but Gallus stepped forward and answered the question. "Scootaloo and Trixie took them. No idea where, though." Everyone looked at each other and then at Dash and Starlight. "I think I know where Scoots took Sky," she said, as she face hoof herself in disappointment. Starlight placed her hooves over the side of her head and rubbed them. "...and I think I know where Trixie took Nightfall." Somewhere, Scoots placed Sky on a platform and stepped back, smiling with glee. Motionless Sky stood on a Wonderbolt stand, and behind her were Rainbow Dash merchandise, from t-shirts to posters. "Perfect! You'll be safe here until i figure out what to do with you." Scoots placed goggles on Sky's head. "...even more perfect!" Meanwhile, inside Trixie's home, she tossed her cape and hat over a cost rack and sat on her bed. She could only smirk as she loved her new coat rack, which was Nightfall. "The great and powerful Trixie always wanted Twilight to be her coat rack! Mwahahaha!~" she said, as she tossed herself into bed and was still laughing. Twilight and Twilah looked at each other, and both just said, "Least we found them..." End of Chapter 31 > Chapter 32: ...Is Found > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie and Penny hop around the group, singing, "Let's go find Scoots and Trixie!" Sunset and Cozy turned to Dash and Starlight, asking the same question. "What are we waiting for?" smiled Sunset. Cozy gave a pissed-off look. "If you know where they are, we should get moving!" Dash and Starlight looked at each other and gave a slight nod. Dash turned to Twilight and the others. "I know where Scoots's is, but I think it's best if I go alone." Twilah and Twilight raised their eyebrow at the same time. "And why is that?" they both asked, getting close to Dash. Dash could see they both had puzzled faces, so they flew up into the air to be away from them. "...look, I promised Scoots that I wouldn't tell anyone about her secret place, okay? So, let me deal with this, and I'll try to get her to hand Sky over to me." Twilah was the first to speak. "That's a dumb reason, Dash. Why-?" she was stopped as Dashie placed her hand over her mouth. "A promise is a promise; you should never break it, right?" Dashie looked up at Dash and gave her a thumbs-up, which made Dash smirk, knowing that she agreed with her. "But..." Twilight wanted to object but couldn't as Dash took off, heading in a direction. "Don't worry, Twilight. I'll get her." Dash headed out and was soon gone, making Twilight sigh, and Twilah shake her head. Soon enough, everyone turned to Starlight, which made her a little scared with all the eyes on her now. "Right, Trixie! Just follow me!~" Starlight took off, leading the way. The group followed behind as they headed to where Trixie could be at. As everyone was running off, Twilah suddenly noticed that Dashie wasn't nowhere to be seen. She could guess that Dashie had gone after Dash, so she decided not to worry too much about her, as she could handle herself. She quickly hurried to catch up with the others as the reality around the world started to fall apart even more. Dash soared across the Sky, leaving the town behind and flying above the farmlands. She had a good idea where Scoots took Sky and couldn't help but laugh, knowing exactly where Sky was at. Dash suddenly felt like someone was behind her, and she looked back but didn't see anyone. She did see a rainbow blur below her, running across the fields and keeping pace with her. "Dashie." She flew below and was now alongside her human counterpart in her pony-human hybrid form. Giving her an upset, she asked her question. "Thought I said I'd go alone, so why are you following me?" Dashie smiled at her. "Come on now, we're the same person. You thought I wasn't going to tag along with you?" Dash looked back and sighed, seeing a smile on her face. "Okay, fine. You got me there. Just promise not to tell anyone where we went. I know Twilight and the others will ask questions." Dashie shook her head, and the two raced across the fields. Soon, they could see apple trees, which were Applejack's apple farm. Dash flew higher into the Sky and flew over the trees as Dashie ran past them. Soon, the two finally arrived where they wanted to be. They stood at the entrance, and both looked at it, seeing an old run-down tree house. Dashie pointed at it and asked if this was it. "Yep. I know it's not much, but this was Scoots and her friend's old tree house. As they got older, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle lost interest in hanging out here, and Scoots would often come here and fix things." when she said that, a piece of wood fell from the tree house. Made Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Tried to fix things. She's not a fixer, but one day, she invited me over and redid the inside to be well; I'd rather I show you." Dash and Dashie flew up to the door, and Dash tapped it a few times. Soon, the door slowly opened, and a light purple eye looked at her and went wide. Suddenly, the door swung open, and Scootaloo came running out and hugged Dash tightly, almost knocking her down. "Rainbow Dash!" "Whoa! Careful, kiddo! You know I'm getting older here!" Scoots looked at her, realizing what she was doing, and pulled away from her, rubbing the back of her head. "Heh, sorry. I'm just so glad that you're okay! Heard that you disappeared into some portal or something like that. Glad you are okay...ay?" she finally noticed Dashie and started to freak out in joy. "Oh my gosh! It's 'her'! Your human counterpart, whom you told me about all those years ago! I also heard she was in town, but being a friendship teacher, I couldn't get a chance to say hi! So!" she hugged Dashie Dash, but it was much different, as Dashie messed up Scoot's mane. "Always wanted to me you, just couldn't with everything going on." Scoot's eyes were filled with joy as she looked at Dashie. "Really? You wanted to meet me?!" "Yeah! When I fused with Dash here, I saw all of her memories and all the wonderful memories of you." Scoots could feel her heart beat fast, and her cheeks became red as she stared at her idol counterpart. "...is she going to be okay?" asked Dashie to Dash, looking at Scoots was just frozen and blushing. "She's fine, just let her have a moment." Dash looked inside. "Anyway, Scoots, can we come in? Need to-" "Of course, you can come in!" she hurried behind them and dragged them into her tree house. As they entered, Dashie couldn't help but admire it. The floor was nice and clean, and the walls were painted with Wonderbolt colors. On said walls were Wonderbolts, and in those posters were Rainbow Dash. Dashie knew that Scootaloo was a big Rainbow Dash fan, to the point that both of them acted like sisters. She couldn't help but feel happy to see all this. "Take a seat!" said Scoots, pushing them past a blanket covering a pony-shaped object. The two sat on the bean bag chair, and the moment they sat, a cloud of dust shot out, causing them to cough a bit. "Sorry, I've been too busy to clean the place up." she opened a cooler and asked them if they wanted anything to drink. "I have sodas and juices!" The two shook their heads, not wanting anything. Scootaloo grabbed a soda and chugged it, as she was thirsty. After finishing, she burped and sat on her chair, looking at them. She wanted to ask many questions about Dashie, but Dash stopped her and explained what was going on. As she explained everything, Dashie noticed that Scoot's face slowly went from overwhelming joy to a blank stare. Once Dash finished explaining, the three were silent for a bit, but then Scoots broke the silence by getting up and saying one thing. "Sky? I haven't found any pony like that. Maybe Sweetie is lying to you? Yeah, she was probably lying to you." This caught Dash off guard. "Huh? Why would Sweetie lie?" "Because!" Scoots was sweating and was starting to get nervous. Dashie could clearly see that, making her wonder why Scoots were acting like this. "B-Because....mmmmm..." Scoots looked around the room and saw the powers on the wall, getting an idea. "Hey, Rainbow! You said you are getting too old, right? Are you retiring from the Wonderbolts? I have been hearing rumors that you are getting slower these days!" Dash glared at her, and Dashie could tell she was trying to change the subject. Dash knew this but didn't want to force Scoots to answer. She decided to play along. "I'm not getting slower, just a...bit is all. Besides, if I was getting old and slow, why I can still do this!" Dash flew around the room at great speed and landed, breathing heavily. "See?" Scoots smiled and sat back down. "All I see is you breathing like you did a marathon." Dash pride took a hit, and Dashie could tell that Dash wasn't playing along. "What! I'm breathing normal!" "Are you sure? Because from here, you are wheezing a bit. Maybe it's your age." Dash glared at Scoots again. "Scootaloo, cut the crap! I'm not old and slow, and you know that!" "Oh, I do? So you're telling me that you haven't lost your touch?" Dash couldn't believe that Scoots was saying that to her; it felt like she was mocking her. She could see Scoots had a sly smile while she had a puzzled look. "Okay then! If I'm old and slow, I'll prove I'm not! Just watch!" Dash flew out of the window and ordered Scoots and Dashie to watch as she started to do air tricks in the cracking skies. Scoots sighed with relief that her plan to change the subject worked so well—until a blanket fell over her head, prompting her to quickly remove it and look at Dashie, who found Sky. "No!" shouted Scoots, rushing over and getting between them. "You can't take her! She's mine!" "Scoots, why do you want Sky? She's not a toy or something; she's a living... er...ghost? Whatever, you can't keep her." told Dashie, trying to push her away from Sky. Scoots tried to stop her from touching Sky, but she couldn't help but scream and cry. "BECAUSE I NEED HER!" Dashie looked at her, seeing her eyes were full of tears. "I...I...I don't want to be alone anymore..." Dashie was a little confused. She placed her hand on Scoot's head, petting her and asking her what she meant. Scoots looked at her, tears still flowing. "It's like I said, I'm all alone now. Sweetie and Applebloom have both been very busy with their lives and new jobs, so I hardly see them anymore. I don't want to bother them." She looked out the window, seeing Rainbow Dash still flying around, not noticing what was going on. "And Rainbow, it's the same thing, too. I hardly see her anymore. It doesn't help that she has a daughter now." "Hmmm?" Dashie could see the anger and hurt in Scoot's voice, making her wonder why. "What's wrong with her having a kid?" "BECAUSE SHE WON'T PAY ANY ATTENTION TO ME!" shouted Scoots, making Dashie jump back. "All she does is talk about her when we do meet up! Rainbow promised me that she would be like a big sister to me, but she only talks about Braver! She doesn't care about me anymore, as long as she's busy with her new kid and family! What's so good about Braver than me, huh!?" she faced her back to her and sat down, crying a bit more. Dashie could understand a bit how she felt. Back home at her job at the YMCA, she saw some sibling-less kids becoming jealous of other kids because of how better of a family they had. "Scoots," said Dashie, walking over to her. She could see Scoots flitching a bit, which made her worry a bit. "Leave me alone, Dashie! I don't want to talk about this anymore! Not even to another version of Rainbow Dash. I bet your Scoots feels the same way because you have Braver, twin sister, right?" she waited for an answer and got none. "Exactly, leave me alone. I just...I just want-" "Scoots, my universe version of you...died long ago." Scoots was caught off guard by that. In the reflection of the window, she could see that Dashie was holding in her tears. "When I was a teenager and was still doing track and field competitions for my school, I had a huge fangirl. She was seven years old, as she was an elementary school student. She came to every one of my races, cheering me on. Her name was Sue. I could always count on her, as I would always find her in the crowd, cheering me on." Dashie searched through her pockets, taking out her wallet and searching through it until she found what she was looking for. "This is her by the way." Scoots could see the photo being placed near her face, making her take it with her hoof. "What?" She could see her human counterpart. Her body was so small, like a reflection of her tiny wings. "She was born with Achondroplasia, making her smaller than everyone. It's a genetic disorder that affects bone growth." Scoots was a little confused and wondered why she was telling her this, so she asked her, and Dashie just gave a sad smile. "When I quit running, she heard the news and was very upset with me like everyone else was at the time. But then, out of the blue, she came and begged me not to stop. I said how cool it was and how much fun it was. She even told me she missed hanging around me. I told her no because I didn't want to go pro in running and told her to stop seeing herself in me and be who she wants to be." Dashie could remember her words and her tone as she told her this. "She was angry and sad, leaving without saying a word. After a few months, I learned she had an accident and was killed; a drunk driver hit her, killing her instantly. My last memory of her was when she was yelling at me, saying she wanted to be like me, where she could run and be free." "Sue..." said Scoots, feeling terrible. "Why...why are you telling me this? You haven't answered that." "Because." Dashie kneeled and pulled Scoots into a hug, letting her tears flow. "Because I couldn't tell her how sorry I was for letting her down and couldn't be there for her. And now, you're going down that path with Dash. If you have so much hate for her and then die after telling her, how will she feel? That there's a part of her that thinks she could have chance things..." Scoots was taken aback as she looked at the photo and then at Dashie. "She still cares about you, you know that, right?" Dashie leaned back, smiling. "On the first night, after Braver was saved. Dash talked a lot about you and was proud of where you ended up in life. She loves you like family and even told me that she wishes she could see you more often but couldn't. People's lives never stay the same; we all end up on different paths in life. Dash isn't going to leave you alone; as long as she's alive, she'll always come back to you, no matter what. It may seem like you're all alone, but you're not... right, Dash?" Scootaloo quickly realized that Dash was in the window, worn and tired from all the flying tricks, but overheard a bit and learned why Scoots didn't want to give Sky up. "Scoots, listen to me. I'm sorry I haven't been around, but that doesn't mean I don't care for you. I do! I still see you as my little sister. I'm just...I'm busy with being a Wondewrbolt and my family." Dash landed and walked over to her, hugging her. "But that doesn't excuse me from not seeing you more often; I'm sorry. I love you, you know that, right?" Scootaloo wasn't sure what to say or do, and her anger vanished, replacing it with guilt and sadness. She hugged her back, crying a bit. Dashie could smile at the scene, but suddenly, she and others started to see a light coming from behind, where Sky was standing. "Sky?" she whispered, putting her hand over her eyes. Dash pushed Scoots out of the tree house door and closed it. "Is Sky...dunno, awake or something?" Dash asked as she joined Dashie's side and looked at the glowing Rainbow Sky. Dashie shrugged, and without warning, Sky opened her wings and took off towards the forest. "hey!" screamed the two, as they quickly gave chase towards the fleeing Sky. As they chased Sky, Scoots, who was left behind, saw what had just happened. She got out of her scooter and took off to find Sweetie and the others she was with. She needed to find them and tell them what had happened. Meanwhile, Twilight and the others followed Starlight to the closed School of Friendship. Twilight stopped before the shut entrance and placed her hoof on it. "It's been a long time since I've been here. It feels strange not to hear or see the kids here." She looked over at Starlight and had to ask her something. "But why are we here?" Starlight started to sweat and darted her eyes. She had to come up with a lie but couldn't, so she sighed and told the truth. She led them behind the school grounds and explained herself: "Twilight, I know you trusted the school to me after you became the ruler of Equestria, but please don't get upset." Twilight raised her eyebrow and asked her what she was talking about. Starlight showed her the reason why she didn't want her to know the truth. "Starlight, what is that? What have you done?" Everyone came to a stop, and in front of, behind the school, was trailer(well, wagons, really) park, but it was lifeless as the creatures and ponies who lived there were gone after the town was ordered to move its citizens out in a hurry. "Well, I knew you wanted me to run the school, but...I had a little problem with the budget...this past year, so I and..." Twilight quickly looked at her, with her eye twitching. "You're broke? How!? I gave you your funding!" "No, not at all!" replied Starlight, with a big worried smile. Twilight pointed to the wagon park and the sign near it. "Then why is there a sign of Trixie on it that says renting a spot will cost 200 bits!?" Starlight took a gulp and quickly told Twilight and the others to follow her as she entered the park grounds. They followed her inside, and she explained herself. "Okay, look! The school has been doing poorly lately, as more and more schools have started popping up over the years, and many of them are much better at teaching kids about friendship. Heck, some are cheaper." "Isn't the school free to everyone?" AJ asked, not liking the direction this was taking. "Yeah, it's free...for the citizens of Ponyville and its allies like the Dragons and others. Other races, like the deers, had to pay to get in or move here. Some didn't like that, so they..." "And they created their schools..." said Twilight, now understanding. "But why are you forcing outside races to pay, Starlight? That doesn't make any sense." Starlight stopped and turned to them. "It wasn't my decision; the current Mayor did that! I tried to protest, but he told me that outside races not befriended by you or our friends would have to pay to attend school here. I refused, and we have been..." Starlight used her magic to summon a letter and handed it to Twilight and her friends. "Fined for not following this law that he placed. That's another reason the school has been hurting. Refused outside races and not being fine, but in doing so, new schools are being created to reflect that. Not doing what the Mayor wants, we will allow anyone in for free like always, but we will be fined..." Twilah understood what was happening now. "Be damned if you do, and be damned if you don't. So you and the other teachers started to rent the land to the outside races and made a profit to counter the fine. It's a smart move, but..." Twilah looked at the school and saw that the upkeep needed to improve. "I don't think it's helping. You are using a band-aid for a deep cut." Twilight looked at her friend, who had a sad face. "Yeah...parents were complaining about the wagon parks behind the school, and with the increased fines, we have been hardly able to keep the school looking good." Twilight couldn't believe it; she asked her friends if they knew about it. "Honestly, no Twilight. Ever since Applebloom moved from teaching school, I fallen off the loop," said Applejack, a bit annoyed for not keeping herself updated on it. Rarity sighed. "I thought Sweetie would have told me this, but she didn't...to be fair, it wasn't her job to keep me in the loop about the school after she moved on from it as well." Fluttershy became small as she told Twilight her reasons. "...I'm busy with Sweet Feather Sanctuary, as more ponies and creatures wanted to help...I'm sorry, Twilight." "Girls...." Pinkie scratched her head and asked them one thing: "Wait, you girls didn't know about this? I've been helping Starlight protest at every board meeting with the Mayor." "WHAT!?" they all shouted, surprised at her. Twilight grabbed Pinkie with her magic. "Why didn't you tell us!? In fact..." she turned to Starlight. "Why didn't you come to me!?" Pinkie looked at her friends, wondering if she was missing something. "Twilight, since I was a kid, I have been keeping up with school, and Starlight has problems. I thought you and the girls would always be checking up on the school, as it's been one of our biggest projects... Not. Like, we don't see each other that often, so it makes sense..." Twilight's eyes went wide, and she lowered Pinkie to the glassy ground. She and her friends had been so busy with their own lives that they hadn't checked in on the school as they should have. Starlight patted Twilight back. "And I tried to get your help on this, but I was forced to go through paperwork to speak to you. I tried to speak with you a few months back at that dinner party you were hosting, but when word got out that I would speak with you with a problem rather than going through the proper channels, I was threatened to be blocklisted if I tried again. I couldn't risk that, and if I did become blocklisted, the school would be done, and I didn't want to see all the hard work go to waste. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this, and please, don't blame yourself, Twilight. You and the girls have your own lives and problems with your jobs. Besides, making you bend the rules just for me won't sit right with me. I wanted you to have as few problems as possible since you have a family now. If we do this the right way, I'm sure we can save the school...well, that's what I've been telling myself, at least." Twilight wanted to argue her reasoning, but she knew Starlight was right. She didn't like this one bit. "I understand, but let's put a pin in this for now," said Twilight, turning her attention to the wagon park and then the rift-filled Sky. We've got a bigger problem right now, and that's finding Nightfall and then stopping all this by helping my daughter!" Everyone nodded and followed Starlight to a small wagon, which was Trixie's home. She knocked a few times before the door slowly opened, and a spotlight appeared in the doorway. "WELCOME TO THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE'S!" she shouted before she saw Twilight and her friends, and the door quickly slammed shut. Starlight banged the door and yelled for Trixie. "Go away, I'm busy right now!" "Trixie, it's Starlight! We need to speak with you; open the door! We know you have a ghost-looking version of Twilight!" A few moments later, the door opened, and Trixie looked at the group before smiling. She allowed them inside, and they all completely did not notice Nightfall as the coat rack when they entered. They watched as Trixie hopped into her bed and turned to Starlight. "How did you know that the great and powerful Trixie has said version of Twilight?" Starlight quickly explained how they knew, making Trixie sigh loudly and cross her arms. "I knew those three would rat me out! Fine, you can take her..." Twilight and Twilah smiled, but their smiles quickly faded. "BUT, you need to promise to save the school and help the other creatures that are still living here." "I understand about the school. I'll fix the pro-wait, are creatures still here? I thought everyone was ordered to leave the town," Twilight asked, surprised. Trixie opened her window and called out to the creatures in their wagon homes. Soon, every single wagon's lights turned on, and creatures of all kinds stepped outside, waving at them. "Wow, the town isn't empty after all..." whispered Pinkie, surprised. Starlight looked at the creatures and was shocked that they didn't leave as well. "I don't understand; why is everyone still here? It wasn't safe when the black water was still around." She turned to her friend, looking for an answer, one she found but with her friend's face filled with rage and hatred that sent a shiver down her spine. "The Mayor told them that they couldn't leave. No matter how hard they tried, the Mayor promised that if they left with the other town folks, he would order the town guards to destroy their homes when they returned. So, they were forced to stay here. They couldn't risk losing their only homes." Starlight was utterly dumbfounded, as she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How!? How could the Mayor do that!? Why didn't you tell m-" Trixie looked at her sadly. "Because you are already going through a lot with your daughter, Starlight. Trixie couldn't put that on your plate; Trixie couldn't do that to you..." "But we're friends, Trixie. It would be best if you didn't hide something like that from me. That's not what a friend would do..." Trixie felt guilty now as she turned her head away from her. But suddenly, everyone could feel a heat of burning magical energy in the room. They all turned to Twilight, who was burning with flames and her purple body becoming pure white. "Oh dear, she's pissed off..." whispered Rarity, as she and everyone quickly moved away from Twilight, whose eyes started to glow. "HOW DARE THE MAYOR TREAT THESE CREATURES AS SOME LOWER THAN DIRT!! HOW DARE HE MAKE THEM PAY FOR A FREE SCHOOL PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY'RE RACES I AND MY FRIENDS HAVEN'T BEFRIENDED AND NOW THIS!?" Her voice was echoing, and her flames started to become wilder and hotter. Twilah backed to the window with her friends and looked back, seeing the creatures, who were now afraid and quickly returning to their homes. "Darling, I understand you are mad, but please calm down. You're scaring everyone," Rachel begged. April agreed and lowered her trucker hat to shield her eyes from the burning fire. "Yeah, cool down before you burn everything. Including us!" Twilah walked over to Twilight and placed her hands on her shoulder. "Come on, Twilight, calm down. I know this is bad, and something should be done about it, but it's like you said before, you need to put a pin in this for now. Focus on the task at hand. We can handle the Mayor and the school situation later. Right now, it would be best if you focused on getting Nightfall, getting to our daughters, and stopping Rainbow Dawn before she restarts the multiverse." she could see Twilight finally calming down and looking out to the few creatures that didn't hide in their homes and stayed outside. Twilight, she and the rest could see creatures they never met before, from deer to what seemed to be magical foxes. "It's just not fair! Why should they be treated like this?" asked Twilight, wanting answers. "Be outcasted because I and our friensds didn't befriend their race! Why should they pay to go to a school that our friends built, which is for free to all creatures? Why!? This almost feels like what Zecora and..." She turned to Tempest, remembering how she was treated for her past actions. "It's wrong! If I never knew about this, I could see ponies starting to treat other creatures like that...and then soon, treating other ponies like this will be a cycle of hate!" Twilight eyes started to water up, tears finally flowing down her cheeks. "Somepony will come along and use this to gain power and harmony with everyone will be a thing of the past...only fear will remain between everypony and creature!" She quickly wiped her tears away and looked at the creatures watching them, wondering what would happen. "Twilight..." She turned around, seeing everyone looking at her. Her close friends reminded her they wouldn't let it happen, while braver friends told her something she had never considered. "Other ponies hating other creatures and other ponies? HA!" Chrysalis dismissed with a wave of her hoof. I highly doubt it since Braver proves that can't ever be a thing. With Braver being a Slime, she's proof that everyone can live together without fearing each other. She's proof of that!" Tempest agreed to that, pointing to the creatures that were now gathering. "She is! In fact, over the years, Braver and us met some of these races on our adventures. Like over there is part of the Kitsune clan, they are known for their big fluffy tails and are very friendly...some love pulling pranks and the ones in the back are the Ruru Deer trible, they have a very unique sense for the earth, that when they reach adulthood, they leave behind flowers where they step. So, they are very caring towards nature. So, don't worry, Twilight. You have nothing to worry about." she smiled as a few creatures she talked about noticed her and waved. "Braver is just like you, Princess Twilight. She cares about all living things and would never allow such a thing to happen." Cozy smacks her hooves together, grinning hard. "Straight up! Some of these creatures have been living in New Ponyville for a while, and they're treated like anyone else, and no one bats an eye! It's thanks to that blockhead. From that day, she saved everyone from the flood. She showed every pony and other creature that you can be different but still care about others." Tirek poked his head through the small window, as he was too big to join everyone inside. "What everyone has been saying, Braver, without knowing, has been like a bridge between other races. She doesn't look at one's skin or magical powers but the heart within them. It's almost like..." Luna cut him off and continued where he left off. "It's like what you once told me, friend Twilight. All those years ago, when I was Nightmare Moon. Don't you remember?" Twilight turned to her, her eyes wide open, remembering her speech, which she slowly repeated out loud. "A different kind of spark. I felt it when I realized how happy I was to hear and see you and how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that..." She looked over to the girls, all smiling and crying a bit. "...you all are my friends. The spark that resides in the hearts of us all..." Twilight wiped her tears away, looking out to all the gathering creatures who had started to bow towards her. "My daughter did the same, not just with her friends but to others she met on her adventures, proving that no matter the race, no matter the looks, everyone has a place to belong, no matter how different they are..." She turned back to everyone, smiling hard now. "It's a different kind of spark, but it's ignited with the same flames of friendship—a spark of Harmony." Her friends couldn't stop their tears; they knew she was right. They watched her speak to the creatures, telling them they would bring the Mayor to justice for treating them like this. As this was going on, Trixie gave a small nod and turned to Starlight, pointing to the coat rack. Starlight walked over to it, removed the capes, and saw Nightfall just standing there. Starlight turned to her friend with an upset look. "Really? Using her as a coat rack?" Trixie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, Trixie always wanted a Twilight coat rack." she chuckled, making Starlight roll her eyes. Before she could tell the others, Nightfall opened her wings and soared out of the wagon and towards the forest. "Nightfall!?" shouted Twilight and Twilah in union, both giving chase while the others followed close behind. The only ones to stay behind were Sweetie, Sandbag, Gallus, and Trixie. They watched the gang get off to the forest, but soon, Scoots arrived and told them what had happened, as she noticed the purple light coming from there. "Yeah, the same thing just happened. I wonder why they headed to the forest?" Sweetie asked, looking back into the forest and seeing the purple light disappearing over the trees. "Man, she's pretty fast!" grunted Dashie as she and Dash tried their best to keep up with Sky, who was flying at high speeds. Dash smirks, and sweat drops from her face. "Well, she is a version of us, remember? Of course, she's going to be super fast!" Both kept flying until they could see her looking at them and her wings glowing bright blue. Before the two could question what was going on, Sky unleashed blue shiny energy balls that quickly shot out laser beams at them. Dash grabbed Dashie and moved out of the way as the lasers nearly hit them. "What the hell!? Why is she shooting lasers at us!?" shouted Dash, holding Dashie closer. Dashie grunted, remembering something about Sky. "Remember, she's a super soldier fused with the element of loyalty! Maybe this ghost version of her is a past memory of her when she was in the war! We can't lose her, but we need to keep on our toes!" Dash nodded, and both followed Sky, who was still flying away. "She's still heading that way," Dash said, dodging a blue laser that almost hit her face. Sky kept going but suddenly stopped and hovered over an area. As the two got closer, Sky unleashed red orbs, and she moved toward them, as the red lasers followed close behind her. "MOVE!" Dashie kicked Dash away in time as Sky created a purple energy beam sword from her wing, slicing the air that once had Dash. "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" cursed Dashie, seeing Sky leaving behind purple orbs, which created mini-versions of themselves. All the tiny orbs spread out like wildfire, unleashing tiny lasers all over the place. Dash recovered from the kick and quickly dodged the red lasers that Sky had sent out before. She quickly regrouped with Dashie, who was dodging each purple orb. As both got together, they could see Sky starting to shine brightly. "What now?" asked both in union. Sky spread her wings and unleashed nonstop lasers at them while other lasers flew off in random directions, causing massive damage. "She's going crazy! What should we do?" shouted Dash, quickly pushing her and herself to the left and dodging a huge laser. "We need to find a way to knock her out! I'm sure the others are already on their way after seeing this light show, but we can't let Sky do more damage to the surrounding area!" They tried their best to dodge the nonstop laser attacks, as they needed to get closer to her and knock her out, but it was easier said than done. No matter how much they dodged, another laser was getting closer and closer to hitting them. Dash saw her chance as the lasers finally stopped and saw Sky panting and catching her breath. "Now's my chance! Stay here!" ordered Dash to Dashie; she blasted towards Sky with everything she had, hoping to tackle her. "Huh!?" she suddenly saw that Sky was creating a rainbow cone shape in front of her, realizing she was breaking the sound barrier just by standing still. "How is she doing that!?" Sky blasted forward, hitting Dash with a cone shape, which caused a small explosion and smoke. Both pegasus came out of the smoke, heading up into the air, but Dashie could tell that Dash was pretty hurt as she was missing parts of her Wonderbolt bomber jacket. "Stay awake!" said Dash to herself, feeling the blood dripping down her eye and her vision becoming blurry. She turned her head to Sky, who was looking ahead until she passed her and entered a cloud ahead of her. This made Dash stop and stare at the cloud, waiting for the next attack. From within the cloud, sun rays shone, almost like it was under the sun. Soon, tiny white lights began to come out. Dash reaches out with her hoof, catching one. It felt like a warm snowflake as it shined in her hoof. Dash was so puzzled by this, but she could quickly see Sky exiting the cloud at great speed. Dash dodged the first ramming hit but was hit by a blue laser on her back. She looked back, seeing that Sky was leaving behind purple orbs and lasers. "She's comb-" but Dash couldn't finish as she felt Sky ramming into her from behind and being tossed like a ragdoll right into the lasers. 'DASH!" Dashie blasted towards her and grabbed her in time, dodging the lasers and trying to flee, but Sky kept trying to ram her as well, and with each hit dodged, Sky was getting faster with each pass. "How is she getting faster and stronger?!" screamed Dashie, seeing Sky leaving behind purple orbs that were creating even more lasers and tiny orbs that were spreading toward them. "I don't know, I don't care! Keep dodging!" shouted Dash, holding on to Dashie's yellow jacket. The ramming attack didn't let up, as Sky became a blue blur now. She was making it almost impossible for Dashie to keep up. "Shit! I won't be able to keep up like this!" When she said that, Sky finally stopped her attack, and her wings started to glow once more. Dashie freaked out as she saw two energy blades being created. She almost didn't have time to dodge the first slash, which cut the clouded Sky in half. "Oh fuck!" Dash looked back and saw Sky was going to use her other wing as a follow-up slash. She pushed Dashie off her, allowing both of them to dodge the follow-up slash, which flew between them. They could feel the air being cut by the energy blade. "Are you alright?!" shouted Dashie, looking around the Sky and seeing that Sky was nowhere to be seen, as if she had just disappeared into thin air. "I'm fine! Just a little banged up, but I can still fly!" Dash gave a cocky smirk, but it quickly faded as rainbow light shined above them, making them look up, seeing Sky and rainbow halos behind her back. Within those halos were raw magical energies. She unleashed them, but none of them targeted the two pegasus below but just the surrounding area, creating rainbow explosions, making both pegasus cover their eyes. "Why didn't she hit us with those?" asked Dash. "Maybe a warning shot or-" "Or a chance to strike..." finished a voice, making the two look up and see Sky flying down to them, with her wing glowing. "AHH! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" shouted Dashie, but she knew they couldn't dodge it in time. This would be it for them—strike down and never get a chance to help their daughters. Suddenly, a purple blur passes them and clashes with Sky, pushing her back. When she is blasted far away from them, they realize who saved them, and it is... "Nightfall!?" She didn't say anything, just glowing her horn and creating a barrier around herself and Sky. They watched as Sky tried to attack her, but Nightfall created a magical energy around herself and other orbs that spun around her like planets. Sky was hit by the large orb and recovered, trying to get closer, but Nightfall fired off laser beams at her, knocking her back and crashing into the barrier. "What is she doing here?" asked Dash, watching the magical beams and lasers firing off. Dashie was silent, thinking about that. She looked where Nightfall came from and saw a group heading their way. It was Twilah and others. When they arrived, both sides quickly explained what happened and looked towards the fighting above them, seeing it ending now as Nightfall spent most of her magic creating that attack, while Sky was tired from being hit by Nightfall's attacks. When the barrier faded, both slowly flew below them, passing the group into an open field in the forest, where Twilight, Dash, and their human counterparts realized where they were. They all landed and watched Nightfall weakly approach Sky, slapping her. "Ouch! That's one hell of a slap..." grunted Sky, rubbing her cheek. Nightfall smiled at her. "You were sleepwalking again, silly." Sky blinked and looked around the area, seeing the damage. "...crap." "SLEEPWALKING!?" screamed Dash and Dashie in the union, clearly unhappy that Sky was attacking because she was sleepwalking. Sky could see that both were pretty banged up because of her. "Oops, sorry about that. I hope I didn't cause too much damage." Both wanted to scream at her, but Sky and Nightfall raised their hooves to stop them. "We came from Braver Core to help her, but someone needed our help, so we were sent where we were needed. Now, after learning from them about what was going on, we're here now," explained Sky, as she let Nightfall take over. But to get to our daughters, just as you thought, you need to fuse with us again." Nightfall and Sky walked up to their counterparts. "So Twilight and Twilah were right, huh?" whispered Dash, feeling a headache coming on as she, Dashie, and Sky started to glow. Nightfall started to glow, along with her counterparts. "Another reason we're out here, where it all started ten years ago, is to get the leftover rainbow shards. With those shards, we can cross over." Everyone watched as Twilight and Twilah started to glow, and they were slowly pushed towards Nightfall by an unseen force. Same With Dash and Dashie with Sky. Sunset watches it happen with the others, seeing the six people become two. Standing before them were anthro versions of Sky and Nightfall. "Twi? Dash?" called out AJ, while the rest of their friends were surprised at what they were seeing. April and her friends called out for Twilah and Dashie, and they were also somewhat surprised by what they saw before them. Nightfall and Sky smiled at them as they took a step forward. "Hello, friends." Nightfall and Sky looked into the rifts, seeing their daughters fighting and losing their fight with Rainbow Dawn. They looked back down at their graves. Smiling, they closed their eyes and summoned the shards around the area floating before them. They started to spin faster and faster until they became one. A rainbow orb necklace floated between them, but there was a piece missing. They held it together and raised it into the air... Blitz grabbed Rainbow Dawn's waist, trying to hold her down with all her strength, but couldn't, as Dawn tried to enter the rift. "Let go of me!" Rainbow Dawn yelled, struggling in her grip and starting to kick Blitz. "No! We can't let you reach Elyndra! Please, understand what you are doing!" Blitz tightened her grip as Dawn started to kick her harder than before. Blitz could feel the blood dripping down her stomach, knowing the kicks were breaking the skin. "Dawn, stop it! I know you in there somewhere!" cried out Blitz, her grip loosened until she fully let go and was grabbed by her hair and tossed aside, landing near where Braver is, who was severely beaten. Blitz looked over to her sister, who was kneeling and shaking from the pain. Blitz couldn't stand to see her like that and couldn't help her. Blitz slowly turned her head, seeing Rainbow Dawn slowly making her way into the rift as if it were calling her. Blitz slowly got to her knees, reaching out for her. "Dawn, please! If you do this, everything will be lost. The world will end, and I don't want that!" Dawn said nothing, only walking towards the rift and using her magic. She dragged the twins with her, but unnoticed by them, the necklace that Blitz was wearing started to glow. The piece of the rainbow shard started to pulse with rainbow energy, almost like it was answering a call. Above Sky and Nightfall, the necklace started to glow brighter until it created a rift leading to where the twins and Dawn were, leading the two to turn to the group. "When we step through, there's no going back. If any of you want to back out, now's your chance." Sky said as everyone else started to look at each other, knowing what they needed to do. "You don't need to worry about us, ya hear. We're going to save those two, and I highly doubt anyone here is yellow!" April answered, and AJ followed up with her. "She's right, and besides, we got our friends and family by our side." Sunset gave a thumbs up. "She's right; all of Blitz and Braver's family and friends are here. Plus, we're not just saving them but also..." Cozy rubbed her nose, trying to act like she didn't care about what she was going to say. "Also, going save Dawn and her human counterpart. Our Dawn didn't care about us or our friendship...but..." She was suddenly group-hugged by her friends, making her somewhat annoyed, but she continued. "We saw her as our friend; no matter how much she disliked us or how she treated us, we didn't give up on her. Even though our feelings weren't returned, we will save her, no matter what!" Wallflower nodded in agreement. "We need to save our Dawn for Blitz. I won't ever forgive myself if I didn't go, and the rest of us feel the same way." She turned to her friends, who agreed with her. "We all already made our choices in this matter!" Nightfall and Sky step aside, allowing all of them to walk through. As the last one to enter it, Nightfall held her chest. Twilight and Twilah, their voices coming out of her. "Nightfall, I'm sorry." Nightfall placed her other hand on her cheek as she spoke to herself. "For what, you two?" Sky started to cry, and she didn't know why as her voice became Dash and Dashie, speaking towards Nightfall. "If we were better parents, maybe if you picked one of the others, your daughters wouldn't have to suffer so much. We let Braver bottle up her trauma over the years, never seeing she was suffering. We felt like we failed in raising Blitz like a real mother will do or..." "Or never being around Blitz as she was growing up and admitting to her that she was better off dead, along with her sister. Then hurting Braver in the things we said to her...All because of us, and we can't forgive ourselves. So, we're sorry, and we hope you can forgive us." "We're sorry, sorry we couldn't be like you two." said both in union, tears flowing down their cheeks. Sky and Nightfall looked at each other, grabbing each other's hands, looking into each other's eyes, and smiling. "Being parents isn't easy, we know that. No parent is perfect. All you can do is keep moving forward, and that's what you four did," said Nightfall, placing her hands over Sky's cheeks and her forehead against her. "You were there for Braver and Blitz, raising them the best you could and being parents. You never stopped caring for them. Never think otherwise." "And we weren't the greatest parents, too, you know. Do you four really see us as that? Even though we hurt them..." replied Sky, placing her hands over Nightfall's cheeks. "I hit them after seeing Nightfall's body in front of them...I showed that the moment I saw them as a weapon, I didn't love them." She shed some tears. "Or when I showed my fears of them being something completely different. I was so scared that I used that broom to attack them. I didn't mean to. It was just instinct...but it still hurts, seeing them looking at me with those hurt eyes." added Nightfall, starting to cry. "It's hard being a parent, we get it. We understand you four more than anyone else. You did the best you could, and that's all that matters. That's why." She and Sky looked into each other's eyes, slowly leaned closer, and kissed. They stood there for what felt like minutes before pulling away, staring lovingly at each other, and then starting to smile. Both held each other's hands and said something together as they rushed towards the rift. "Thank you for taking care of our three sweet peas!" Once they entered, the rift was sealed up. Braver and Blitz saw they were getting closer to the rift, leading them into the Elyndra tree. From what they remembered, Dawn had told them she needed to write in some book within the tree and had no clue when, but she would eat them as she did with their Dawns. "Sis, I can't see anything," said Braver, too hurt to sit up and look where they are being dragged. "Are we boned?" Blitz turned to her, her face defeated. "Yup, we're boned." As Dawn was still dragging the two, she looked up at the tree. She's finally going to have her rainbow comet light back; all she needed to do was eat these two and write in the book. That's all she needs, and everything will be over. She will be with her once more. "I'm so close." thought Dawn, a wide grin on her face. "Once I write in that book, my light will be mine, and we'll be together again. Just hold on a little longer, my love." The closer she got, the bigger the rift grew. Soon, the overflowing black water started to mix with the white water until it became completely dark, and then the white void slowly faded to black. Just as she was about to step inside the rift, two lasso ropes wrapped around her body and pulled her away from it, sending her flying and hitting the water-filled ground far from the rift. "What is the meaning of this?" asked Dawn, getting on her feet, ripping the ropes with her wings, and glaring at the person who had stopped her. AJ and April are standing side by side, their hats lower on their faces, and they are taking a serious look at her. "We're here to stop ya!" "And beat ya hind rear, lil girl!" "AUNTY!?" shouted Blitz and Braver, seeing the two AJ's. Dawn glared at the two and charged at them. "You will pay for that!" "I think the heck not, darling!!" Dawn was suddenly wrapped up in a roll of clothing fabric, holding her in place. She glared at the source, which was Rarity, and alongside her was Rachel. "Good heavens, what type of fabric is this? Looks and feels so good against my hooves." "I made it special for her!" replied Rarity, proud. "How dare you interfere, you fools!!" When she noticed the two unicorns, she also noticed the Pinkies setting up something, Dawn blasted the fabric off, ready to strike the white unicorns down before the pink earth ponies. Rachel and Rarity passed the two, telling they're up next. One was in a canon, while the other lit it. "PARTY TIME!" shouted Pinkie, entering the canon and flying towards Dawn after the fuse was lit. Dawn jumped back, dodging the headbutt attack, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the incoming cake to the face, thanks to Penny, who was tied to Pinkie. "NOOOOO!!" She shouted, trying to remove the cake but had difficulty doing so. Fluttershy and Faith landed next to her and helped remove the cake while telling her she needed to stop this madness. Dawn could only glare at the two, making them scared and backing away. "Madness? I'll show you!?" she couldn't finish as Tirek smashed his giant fist into her side, sending her flying towards Cozy, who smirked with glee. "I always wanted to do this! Get ready, Dawn!" Cozy became her twisted red alicorn form and gathered all magical energy into her hoof, ready to punch Dawn into next week. "HERE COMES COZY POW!!!" She struck the punch, punching Dawn right in the gut and sending her flying once more.—right towards Luna and Chrysalis, who used their magic to freeze her in mid-air "This is gonna hurt, friend Dawn!" "And we only do it in love! So, take this!" The two slammed her into the black water a few times and sent her flying towards Tempest, who was gathering her firework magic within her horn, ready to blast her with it. "Eye for an eye!" shouted Tempest, blasting her fireworks towards Dawn, which blasted all around her and soon fell to the ground. Dawn stood up, her face filled with anger. She was ready to end them all when the ground started to shake. She looked around, wondering what was happening, only for tree roots to burst out and wrap her up. "I won't let you hurt Blitz! Give us our Dawn back!" demanded Wallflower, using her power over nature to hold her in place. Dawn was going to break free like before, but thunderbolts rained down from the Sky, shocking her. She looked up to see Brishen being carried by Sunset magic. "Not this time!" smirked Brishen, shooting more thunderbolts down toward Dawn. "You are all going to regret this!" she shouted, breaking free before the bolt hit her. "I'm going to kill y-" Her speech was cut short as a bullet struck her in the face, making her stagger backward and placing her hand over the spot where it was shot. She could spot Tempesta, using her hooves to fire her handgun a few more times. "Damn it!" cursed Dawn, flying towards the unicorn. Tempesta lowered her handgun, smiling as she looked up, making Dawn look up, revealing Sunset falling from the Sky with her guitar above her head, ready to smash it down on Dawn. "Time for a lesson!" "You won't beat me! I'm unstoppable!" She moved out of the way, making Sunset hit the ground instead and shattering her guitar, leaving her with only the neck. The magic within it slowly repaired it back to normal. Dawn was about to charge at Sunset when Sunset teleported and reappeared at her side, smacking her face with the guitar. "Hope you enjoy that fucking sunset, Dawn!" "That's the last straw!" shouted Dawn, charging up a magical aura around her body, making powerful shockwaves that blasted everyone away from her. Her breathing was heavy when she stopped, and her eyes were glowing white. "I'm going to rip out every one of your lungs!" she stepped forward, only to stop as she heard a voice. "Dawn! Stop this!" She looked back and saw Starlight. For whatever reason, she faced her and listened to what she had to say. "Please, Sweetie. Don't do this. I know you're still in there; fight it! Don't let this evil version of you take control of your magic! You can overcome her!" Starlight approached her, getting up on her hind legs; she touched her stomach. "Please, fight it! I know you believe you are all alone, thinking Braver is the only pony in your world...but she isn't. She's not the only pony. Look around. Your friends are here to save you! I'm here..." tears started to flow down her face. "I know I hurt you when you were younger, not giving you any form of love...and for that, I am sorry. But I want to compensate for that and show you how much I love you." Dawn's eyes stopped glowing, and they stared at Starlight. She wasn't sure what to say to her, as the words were stuck in her throat. Starlight smiled at her and pulled her in for a hug. "I promise to be a better mother to you. You'll never feel alone. I will be here for you." Starlight felt Dawn's arms holding her. It was working; she was coming back. She just needed to keep trying. "Come back to us, Dawn. Come back to m-AAAAHHH!" Everyone could see Dawn crushing Starlight with a bear hug, laughing as she did so. She stopped hugging her and let go, making Starlight fall to the ground and gasping for air. "Nice try, but your daughter is gone! I'm the only Dawn around." she lowers to Starlight's face. "You know, my mother left my dad when I was born. She went to live with some other guy and started another family. That broke my dad so much that he killed himself, leaving me all alone." she grabbed Starlight's neck, crushing it but not enough to kill her. "I had to live off the streets, fighting to survive until I met 'her'!" she chuckled. "She was my savior. If she hadn't saved me, I wouldn't had the chance to fall in love with her and finally be happy." she put all of her weight on Starlight's neck, making her go under the water, drowning her now. "But after she died and I became this, I killed everyone! My whole universe and the last person I let alive was you. I killed you so slowly, making sure you suffered greatly. It was so fun hearing you beg for me to kill you." she smirked, her eyes glowing. "Now, I'm going to enjoy killing you a second time, 'mother'!" Everyone got up and tried to hurry towards them, hoping to save Starlight, but Dawn blasted them away again. She wasn't going to let anyone stop her....until she quickly sensed something and jumped away, dodging an energy beam sword that almost sliced her neck. She looked and saw it was... "...you." Sky guarded Starlight while Nightfall helped her up, hoping she was okay. Starlight was fine as she coughed up the water in her lungs, breathing heavily. She was able to breathe again. "Are you alright, Starlight Glimmer?" Nightfall asked, and she saw her nod and sigh in relief. Sky looked behind her, happy to see Starlight was okay. She looked forward, seeing Dawn glaring daggers at her. "I killed you in my universe. I can't believe I'm going to kill my mother again but also my rainbow comet light parents again! I'll make sure to tear your legs off again!" Sky gave her a sad look, knowing her story. Within her mind, Dash and Dashie were asking how she knew and why memory was locked away from them. "Yeah, sorry, but you can't see those memories. If you do, it might change things for the future," Sky thought. "Never mind that; just get ready. She might going to attack!" Everyone gathered behind the two, while Sunset and Wallflower helped Blitz over, and Cozy helped Braver over as well. Both twins were shocked to see 'them' here, and they knew that if they were here, then that meant... "...no, you two didn't..." cried Blitz, pushing her friends off and walking towards her parents. "You need to defuse before it's too late!" her parents could see tears rolling down her cheeks, and they could tell what was running through her head. "Please...not like this. I can't lose you," cried Braver, joining her sister's side. I don't want to lose my mommy and mother!" She rushed forward and hugged Sky, begging her to let Rainbow Dash go, but Sky only petted her head. "Sorry, sweet pea, but it was the only way to get here." Sky hugged her. "I'm happy to see you again. Look at you! You look just like Nightfall! A spitting image of her!" She could see the anger but also happiness in her daughter's eyes, as she was happy to see her and yet mad that her parents sacrificed themselves to recreate their dead parents. "Why, mommy! Why did you do it!?" yelled Braver, looking up at her. Nightfall walked past them and hugged Blitz, who hugged her back and cried on their chest. "You two can't fight her by yourselves!" Dawn started to laugh when she heard that. "Even with all of you here, you won't and never will stop me! I'm unstoppable, a higher being! You will all be crushed!" Nightfall and Sky let go of their kids and glared towards Dawn. "Wow, someone has a big ego. Do you really think we were talking about you?" Sky asked. Dawn glared at her, puzzled at what she meant. "Then who are you talking about-!?" It happened so fast that no one could see it. An arm was poking out of Dawn's chest hole, holding a feather pen. Everyone could see Dawn's eyes becoming wide with shock but then rage as she turned to the person who stabbed her. "'ǝɯ ʇnoqɐ ƃuᴉʞlɐʇ ǝɹǝʍ ʎǝɥ┴" smirks the floating young cloak girl, picking Dawn up and tossing her to the side. "'ǝɯ ʇnoqɐ noʎ ploʇ sɹǝʇdɐɥɔ ǝɹnʇnɟ ɯoɹɟ ǝuoǝɯoS" she says, taking out a book and opening it. "˙ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ʇuǝɹɹnɔ sᴉɥʇ uᴉ ǝɟᴉl s,lɹᴉƃ ɥsᴉlooɟ ʇɐɥʇ puǝ oʇ ǝʇou ɐ ǝʞɐɯ oʇ pǝǝu I ¿uᴉɐƃɐ ,ɹǝɥ, ʇᴉ sɐM ˙ʇsnɐℲ sɐʍ ʇᴉ ʇqnop I" Blitz and Braver stood by their parent's side, and for some odd reason, they felt like they had seen this young girl from somewhere. "...who is she?" whispered Braver, feeling uneasy. Sky and Nightfall narrowed their eyes at the child. Nightfall answer. "She has many names, but she's the walking embodiment of fate itself." "...fate?" questioned Blitz, looking over at the child. Sky nodded her head. "Yup, she's the walking embodiment of fate, the one who watches all life and where their story takes them. It's like reading a book and knowing where a character will go or what they will do. It's her other name: Reader. She stopped being a reader and is now a writer, changing everyone's fate." Blitz and Braver looked away from their parents and towards the child, who closed her book and smiled. "¡ɥʇʎɐℲ ǝɯ llɐɔ 'ǝsɐǝlԀ" > Chapter 33: The Truth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Penny scratched her ear and looked towards her friends and the others, asking if they had caught what the kid had just said. "Because it sounded like she was talking upside down, which is weird because is that even a thing!?" Fayth walked towards them and without saying anything, everyone could just feel the overwhelming amount of power that she was emitting. It was so powerful that the black water dissolved, leaving only the stone muddy ground. "˙ǝɯ puɐʇsɹǝpun ʇ,uoʍ noʎ 'ǝsɹnoɔ ɟO ˙llɐ sǝɥɔʇɐʍ ʇɐɥʇ ƃuᴉǝq ɐ 'ƃuᴉǝq ɹǝɥƃᴉɥ ɐ ɯ,I" No one could understand her, not even Nightfall and Sky. But there was someone who understood everything she said. Braver and Blitz ready themselves as the girl got much closer. "So, some higher being huh? Fayth, was it?" asked Blitz. Braver horn started to glow. "How come we can understand you, but the others can't? Are you using some spell so we can understand you?!" Fayth stopped before the twins, looking up at them and smirking. "˙ʇᴉ ǝʌɐɥ oʍʇ noʎ pǝsᴉɹdɹns ɯ,I ɥƃnoɥʇ 'ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ɥɔɐǝ ɥʇᴉʍ ɹǝʌo pǝᴉɹɹɐɔ sʎɐʍlɐ ʇI ˙ʇɟɐɹp ʇsɹᴉɟ ǝɥʇ sᴉ uosɐǝɹ ʎluo ǝɥʇ 'ou ɥO" She took out her book and started writing a note to herself. "˙noʎ puɐʇsɹǝpun llᴉʍ suᴉʍʇ 'ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ʇxǝu :ɟlǝs oʇ ǝʇoN" She shut the book and raised her hand behind her, catching Dawn's fist. "˙uoos llᴉʍ ɹnoʎ ɟo pᴉɹ ʇǝƃ llᴉʍ I 'sǝᴉɹɹoʍ oN ˙ƃop ʇuǝᴉpǝqosᴉp ɐ llᴉʇs ǝɹɐ noʎ ǝǝs I ˙ɹoᴉʌɐs ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ʇsɐd ʎɯ 'ollǝH" She let go and turned around, letting Dawn hit her, which did nothing to her. However, this didn't stop Dawn, as they kept attacking. "I'LL KILL YOU! KILL YOU FOR RUINING OUR LIVES!" Fayth sighed, took out a feather pen, and poked Dawn in the stomach, which froze her. "¿ƃuᴉʎɐs ǝɥʇ ɟo pɹɐǝɥ ɹǝʌǝ noʎ ǝʌɐH ¿ɹǝʇsɐɯ ɹnoʎ 'ǝɯ ʇɥƃᴉɟ plnoɔ noʎ ʞuᴉɥʇ noʎ plnoɔ ʍoH ˙ʞɐǝʍ ooʇ ǝɹɐ no⅄" She jumped, and with a soft bop to the top of Dawn's head, smashing her, she somehow created enough force to create a massive crater around them; it even made the others slide down the hill that was created. She then landed back on the ground and pulled Dawn by her hair. "¡noʎ spǝǝɟ ʇɐɥʇ puɐɥ ǝɥʇ ǝʇᴉq ʇ,uop" Everyone got up, staring at the scene, unsure what to do. Dawn spit into Fayth's face, making her let go. "I would rather die than listen to you!" Fayth softly placed her hand on Dawn's head, creating another blast of force, hurting Dawn and sending her further into the ground. "˙ɯǝɥʇ ƃuᴉʍolloɟ uǝǝq sʎɐʍlɐ ǝʌɐɥ no⅄ ¿sɹǝpɹo ʎɯ ƃuᴉʍolloɟ ʇ,uǝɹɐ noʎ ʞuᴉɥʇ noʎ op 'lɹᴉƃ pᴉdnʇS" She pulled her by her hair again, making her face Blitz and Braver. "˙ɥƃnouǝ ɟooɹd sᴉ ǝɹǝɥ ƃuᴉǝq ɹᴉǝɥ┴" Braver glared at the child and took a step towards her. "Let go of her!" Fayth smirked. "¿ǝɯ ʞɔɐʇʇɐ oʇ ƃuᴉoƃ noʎ ǝɹ∀ ¿ʇɐɥʍ ɹO" she let go of Dawn, not even with a second; she was already between the twins, making them freeze up. "˙ǝɯ ʞɔɐɹʇ ʇ,uplnoɔ noʎ ʇɐɥʇ 'ǝɹoɯʎuɐ lǝʌǝl ʎɯ uo uǝʌǝ ʇ,uǝɹɐ noʎ 'ɐH" she slowly patted Braver's back, and Braver just splatted into black slime mist. "Braver!?" whispered Blitz, seeing the cloud of mist, and within that mist, she could see her twin's core, which Fayth caught and tossed up and down like a toy. "Give her back!" "˙llɐ ɹǝʇɟɐ 'ǝɯɐs ǝɥʇ ǝɹɐ sǝɹoɔ ɹno⅄ ˙ooʇ 'ǝᴉp llᴉʍ ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ 'sǝᴉp noʎ ɟo ǝuo sɐ ƃuol s∀ ˙sǝɔǝᴉd oʇuᴉ ʇᴉ ɥsnɹɔ I 'ɹǝʇɟɐ ʇɥƃᴉɹ ˙ʎɹɹoʍ ʇ,uop 'llᴉʍ I" Blitz was gonna ask her what she meant, only to see a second core in Fayth's other hand, but it was rainbow-colored. Blitz looked down at her chest, seeing the hole in her chest. "Wha—!? When did she—!?" Blitz's eyes went lifeless as she dropped to the ground. Fayth sat on the ground, looking at both cores with great interest. "˙uᴉɐƃɐ noʎ ǝǝs oʇ ǝdoɥ pᴉp I 'ǝɯɐɥS ˙ǝʇoɹʍ I ǝɹnʇnɟ ǝɥʇ ɟo ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ sᴉɥʇ uᴉ ǝuoƃ ʎlnɹʇ ǝɹ,noʎ ǝʞᴉl sʞool ʇI" She started to crush the cores in the palms of her hands slowly but stopped. "¿ɯǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ʎɐʍɐ sǝʌᴉl ɹnoʎ ssoʇ llᴉʇs plnoʍ noʎ 'op plnoɔ I ʇɐɥʍ ʍɐs noʎ ɥƃnoɥʇ uǝʌƎ" Nightfall, Sky, and the rest were all almost upon her as she turned her head to them, tossing the cores above herself. "¡noʎ ɟo llɐ 'ǝᴉp uǝɥ┴ ¿ǝᴉp oʇ ɥsᴉʍ noʎ op ˙llǝʍ ʎɹǝΛ" She dodged Sky's beam swords with a smirk and flicked her away. Next, she blasted Nightfall's planet sphere attack apart and blew air at her, sending her flying into Fluttershy. Next, she caught both AJ's ropes and pulled them in while pausing everything and looking behind herself. She saw Pinkie and Penny, and both were shocked to see her noticing them as they broke the fourth wall. "What? How?" the two asked as Fayth turned time back on, pulling them both towards her by some force. She used AJ's ropes to wrap Penny's legs and Pinkie's, then tossed them into the air and slammed them into Aj and April. She quickly caught thunderbolts that almost hit her and redirected them back towards Brishen, who got shot and fell to the ground. Fayth then turned to the left, catching bullets from Tempesta and flicking them back at her, which struck her shoulder. "GIVE BRAVER BACK!" screamed Cozy, in her red twisted Alicorn form and rushing toward Fayth, who grabbed her horn and scattered it, making her lose her form and then being tossed into Rarity and Rachel. Tirek, Luna, and Chrysalis charged Fayth from behind, but only for her to snap her fingers and blast them toward Faith, Tempest, and Starlight. "˙ʇɟǝl oʍʇ ʎluO" she leaned back, making a tree root miss its mark. Fayth grabbed it, snapped the sharp end off, and stabbed Sunset in the gut as she was trying to attack from above. As Sunset landed on the ground, roots surrounded her, protecting her. Fayth turned to Wallflower, who was the last one standing. "˙ǝɯᴉʇ sᴉɥʇ ʎzoƆ sɐʍ ʇᴉ ʇɥƃnoɥʇ I ˙ɹǝɥ ʎq pǝllᴉʞ ɹǝʇɐl sɐʍ ʇnq ƃuᴉɹǝɟɟns ɹnoʎ puǝ oʇ noʎ llᴉʞ oʇ pǝɔɹoɟ sɐʍ ǝɥs lᴉʇun ɹoᴉʌɐs ʎɯ ǝɯɐɔǝq puɐ ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ʇɐɥʇ uᴉ ƃuᴉpuɐʇs ǝuo ʇsɐl ǝɥʇ sɐʍ ʇǝsunS ˙uʍɐp puɐ 'ʎzoƆ 'ʇǝsunS 'uʍɐp :ɹnoɟ noʎ ɟo ǝuo sʎɐʍlɐ s,ʇᴉ 'ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ɥɔɐǝ uI" She raised her hands in the air, and the cores were about to land in her palms, but a rainbow slime caught them in time and returned them to its master. "Huh?" Wallflower could see Dawn standing up, with her slime returning to her chest, absorbing the cores whole. "No!" Fayth turned to Dawn, seeing her transform, her face becoming a giant hole. "Thanks for taking out their cores for me, you cunt! Now I can restart the multiverse with-" She froze as she felt something was wrong. She looked at Fayth, who was writing in her book. "What did you do!?" Fayth shut the book and smiled. "˙ǝuoʇs ǝuo ɥʇᴉʍ spɹᴉq ǝǝɹɥʇ llᴉʞ uɐɔ I ʍou 'noʎ uᴉɥʇᴉʍ sᴉ ɹǝɥ plo ǝɥʇ ǝɔuᴉS ˙ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ sᴉɥʇ uᴉ ɹǝɥ ɹoɟ ɥɔɹɐǝs oʇ noʎ pǝʇuɐʍ I ˙ʇǝʎ ʞooq ʎɯ uᴉɥʇᴉʍ ǝʇɐɟ ɹnoʎ ƃuᴉʇᴉɹʍ pǝɥsᴉuᴉɟ ʇ,uǝʌɐɥ I 'ǝǝS ˙ɹoᴉʌɐs ʎɯ ʎllnɟ noʎ ƃuᴉʞɐW" she pointed her pen at her. "¡sǝɹoɔ ǝɥʇ ʎoɹʇsǝp uǝɥʇ puɐ ɹǝɥ uoɯɯnS" Dawn struggled to stop herself from following through with that order. The slime came out of her chest, forming a humanoid slime creature, but Fayth suddenly became angry as she stared at the black slime creature. "¡noʎ loɹʇuoɔ I uǝɥʍ uǝʌǝ 'ʇʇnq ʎɯ uᴉ uɹoʇ ƃuᴉǝq llᴉʇs ǝɹɐ noʎ ;ʇᴉ uɯɐp ¡ɹǝɥ ʇou s,ʇI" she took out her book once more and was gonna write in it when she used her feather pen to block a root attack from Wallflower. She turned to her, noticing the others were with her. "¿ǝʍ llɐɥs 'dn sƃuᴉɥʇ ǝƃuɐɥɔ s,ʇǝl ʇnq 'ʇᴉ ǝq oS ¿punoɹ ɹǝɥʇouɐ ɹoɟ ʞɔɐq 'oS" she started to write in it, creating black seeds around Dawn, forcing her body and black slime to attack the group. "I'LL KILL YOU!" shouted Dawn as she passed Fayth, who just sat down and enjoyed the battle before her. The twins' cores floated within the darkness within a rainbow black slime, only to be met with a half-cracked rainbow core. All three bumped into each other, creating a rainbow flash. "Blitz! Braver!" cried a very familiar voice. Both the twins slowly opened their eyes. "What?" the two asked in unison as they looked into Blitz's Dawn face, who smiled at them. "You both are okay!" "What happened? What about Fayth?" asked Blitz, sitting up and holding her chest, feeling no hole in her chest. Braver stood up but quickly felt off balance and landed on her back. She looked at her body and smiled glee, as she was an Alicorn again, not in her anthro or human form anymore. She even turned away from the two and checked between her legs. "I'M A GIRL!" Blitz and Dawn watched as Braver started to do a silly dance with her tongue hanging out, which made the two laugh. "Your sister dances like your mom, you know that?" Blitz got up and agreed but quickly realized she was in front of Dawn, making her hug her hard. This caught Dawn off guard, and she blushed hard. "Blitz!?" "I thought I lost you!" cried Blitz, tears forming in her eyes. "I thought you died!" Dawn held Blitz closer and stroked her rainbow hair, trying to calm her. "No, it's alright. I'm right here. We are safe." "No, we aren't." Blitz and Dawn stopped and looked towards Braver, who pointed to a rainbow slime creature, as Blitz and Braver realized they were in endless rainbow slime. "Braver!" shouted Dawn, letting go of Blitz and running towards her. She could see her readying up for a fight. "STOP! Don't hurt her!" Dawn got between Braver, arms out wide, protecting the slime creature. This surprised Braver, who took a step back. Blitz joined her sister's side and asked Dawn why she protected that monster. "It's not evil!" she lowered her arms and turned to it, seeing it slowly forming into a melting slime humanoid. "She's our friend." "Our friend?" the two twins said in unison. Dawn turned to them and smiled. "Yes, she's our friend. After I was eaten by her, I needed up here with my pony version. The slime creature never hurt us; it had been crying nonstop when it saw us." she raised her hand toward the creature's cheek, wiping away a rainbow tear. "I don't know why it's crying, but it kept pointing towards that building over there." They all turned towards the building, deep in slime, but the twins became very confused about what they saw before them. "That place, it can't be?" whispered Blitz as she approached it. Dawn could see the confused but hurt reaction on Blit'z's face. "Blitz?" Braver walked past Dawn and just said one thing. "It's our home." Dawn was shocked to hear that and hurried to their side. They stood before the door, with the slime creature pointing inside. "Your home?" Blitz nodded her head and opened the door, revealing an ordinary house, except for the slime covering the walls. Braver walked into the hallway, looking for someone. Blitz was going to join her, but Dawn grabbed her arm. "Wait, my pony version went in here after the creature kept looking at it. There was a flash, and she never came back out." Blitz turned to the doorway and looked at her sister, whose ears twitched with worry and joy. "Let's find her." "But we might-" Braver turned around, smiling. "Stay here, sis! You already found your Dawn, and you two shouldn't be apart anymore." she turned back and looked at the stairway, which headed to the upstairs bedrooms. "I need to find my Dawn, and for some reason, something within me is telling me she's up there. It's like a spark or something within my chest." "But sis, please! Don't go up there! It come be dangerous!" cried Blitz as her sister ran upstairs, ignoring her pleas. They watched as a bright rainbow flash came from the top. Blitz tried to go upstairs, but the creature stopped and shook its head, pushing her back towards Dawn. "It's stopping me?" "Because maybe only your sister can do this?" Blitz turned to her. "Do what?" "Saving her, Dawn." Blitz looked back up the stairs, seeing the light fading away. "Something wrong with me." "Dawn, why do you reject the hoof of friendship? Braver's friends try to help you, yet you push them away. Why? I want to understand." Braver walked through the darkness, hearing Dawn's and her mother's voice within the darkness. "I don't need them! I have Braver!" "Don't you care about her, though?" "I do, more than anyone else in this world!" Braver stopped and found a hazed memory that belonged to Dawn as it continued to play out. " I need you to stop it." "What!? Stop what!?" "You need to learn to let go of Braver; she's focusing all her time on you rather than her friends. If you don't want to be friends in her group, then you must find your own friends and let her be. She can't be a good friend if she can't be the pony she wants to be and is holding back because of you. Do you want to be why she loses her friends or herself?" "I would never-" "You are." Braver could feel her chest hurting as the memory started to fade and play out a different memory, but glitching out. "Something wrong with me." "You are unique, Dawn; there is a reason I took you under my wing, not because I'm friends with your mom. I can tell there is something within you that you're afraid to show; why are you afraid of it?" "It's nothing. I don't know why you keep asking me this question." "You aren't hiding anything?" "No!" "Dawn, please talk to me. I know how you feel; I used to be a loner like you." "Used to be?" "Yes, and you can change that. All you have to do is open up, Dawn." Braver could see a hazed memory of Dawn and her mother walking up to her mother's and her friends' stained windows. "Wonderful ponies and creatures are waiting for you to be their friends; all you have to do is ask. They will love you for who you are. Don't fear the future, Dawn; embrace it. Please, don't be afraid of what's inside of you. Embrace laughter, kindness, honesty, and generosity. Not just loyalty. I want you to embrace everything and be your best, Dawn. Please." "You can't tell me what to do! You can't tell me to stop being with Braver!" "Dawn, wait! Stop! Embrace what's inside of you; it's tiny-" Braver could see that her mother couldn't finish her speech. The only thing she could see was Dawn running in place, past her mother's friend's stained windows, as they started to crack and soon scatter as she ran past them. "There's something wrong with me; I know it. I have always known!" Braver could see the memory changing again, revealing her mother leading Dawn to the statues of Celestia, Luna, and Candance. "Dawn, remember what I told you, how you are unique." "Yeah?" "See these statues of the princesses?" "Yes?" "One day, you'll be here, among the great ponies. Remembering all the great things you'll do. Don't be afraid of that thing, whatever it is, making you act like this." "But...I..." "Please, Dawn, please. Equestria will be in your hooves in the future, and all you have to do is reach out to it." "All of Equestria!? What!? Why!?" "Because you are very special, Dawn." "How?" "I can sense it from you. You'll do great things, even greater than I'll ever do. Within you is something amazing, and I know you'll use it one day to save everyone in Equestria and beyond, even me." "Me!? But I'm just a regular unicorn! Shouldn't you be saying this to Braver!? She's doing so much! I'm nothing compared to her!" "Dawn, Braver is remarkable, and no matter how great and strong she is, you'll be the better pony one day. The best thing is that she'll be there to help you." "No! Stop it! Braver is way better than me!" Braver watched Dawn run again while her mother could only sigh and let her be. As she ran, the status of the princesses started to yell out at Dawn. "You failed us!" She could see Dawn stopping in front of the statue of her mother, which started to crack. Like the others, it said the exact words but differently. "You failed me." The hazed memory became more glitched out and even started to have a static noise as another memory started playing. Dawn was talking to her mother now. "There's something wrong with me; I know it. I have always known! Why doesn't anyone want to see it?" "Sweetie, I can't let you quit! Twilight is a great teacher; why do you want to quit? Did you have a bad test result? Because I know that doesn't make you a failure. Even if you didn't do well, it's ok. You can always try again. I'll be here for you, Dawn." "You have never been there for me! I want to quit! I can't be like Braver!" "Sweetie? What does Braver have to do with this? And I'm trying to be there for you. It's not easy when you keep pushing us away. I'm always there for you, Dawn. I'll help you no matter what. If you aren't happy with Twilight, I'll find a different teacher." "Braver has to do with everything! She's the better pony between us! She's always doing good, even if it means she gets hurt! I can't be her and won't be her!" "Why not? I believe in you. I know you can do anything, even become better than her. Braver loves you and wants you to be you. Just like Twilight sees in you. Sweetie, you have to believe in yourself, and I'm not saying this just because you're my daughter. I know you can do anything." "I can't!" Dawn ran off, leaving Starlight to reach out to her, only for her to fail. Dawn kept running, talking to herself. "Someone tell me something. Comforting! I'm not like other ponies, and I know that! But yet, others won't stop telling me otherwise." "Dawn, don't go. Please." Starlight's words fell on deaf ears as Dawn kept running. "I'm nothing! I feel nothing! I don't understand friendship! I'm not worth being around!" Braver felt her chest hurting as the memory kept going. "I'm worthless, pathetic, and weak!" "Dawn, you're not-" "Dawn!" Braver heard her voice, even seeing herself appearing before Dawn, but everything started to glitch harder. To the point that it has become hard to watch now. "Braver!" "Dawn, are you okay?" "Braver! Something is wrong with me!" "Really? You look fine! Even if you aren't, I'll always be there for you, Dawn. You can always rely on me." "I'm sorry, Braver, but I can't." "Of course, you can. You don't have to worry about anything, Dawn." Braver felt something deep within her, not sadness but something else. "But Braver." "No buts! Rely on me for everything, okay!? I'll take care of you and protect you. You're the most important pony to me, Dawn. You're my friend!" Braver watched as the memory quickly showed different memories, showing Braver taking all of Dawn's problems. Never letting Dawn learn from her problems or the problems from within. Braver could see this now, making her drop to the ground, pounding the ground. "Dawn...did I stop you from growing? Is it all my fault?" "Something wrong with me." "Yes. There is something wrong with you." Braver looked back at the memory, seeing Dawn watching herself and their friends. "Braver, I love you! You always keep me safe from all the problems bothering me. I don't need other friends if I have you. You're the only one that matters to me." Braver felt her heart sinking and could feel a warm feeling running through her chest. "Thank you for protecting me, Braver. I'm happy I met you all those years ago. Hearing all those wonderful words you gave me, I knew you would be the only pony to understand me." "Like what, Dawn?" asked Braver, trying to reach out to the almost impossible-to-see memory of Dawn. "That I'm broken." "What!?" yelled Braver in complete shock. "Something is wrong with me. I always known it, and others won't see it, but you do. You see it as clear as morning dawn. It's why you force me to be around your friends, trying to make them be my friends, but they can't be. Only you can see it." "Dawn?" "I can't be like other ponies." Braver could hear her words echoing in her head, and a dark feeling was building within her. "You are unique, Dawn." "I'm nothing. I'm not like other ponies, and I know it. It's why you keep me so close to you and your friends, far from others who will hurt me. I don't need friends; why would I need friends when you taught me that I can never make any? The only friends you push on to me are the ones you want. But the real truth is...I don't need friends, like I said before." "NO!" Braver couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did Dawn think this way all along? "The only one I need is you and not your friends, who are illusions. Nothing is wrong with me. I'm just broken, and that can't be fixed, and that's okay." Braver could see shadows of five creatures behind Dawn, almost like those creatures were meant to be Dawn's friends, but being around Braver stopped that from ever becoming a thing. "Dawn, no! Stop it! Stop thinking like this! You can make new friends!" She tried to reach her, but the memory started to play another; this time, it was Dawn watching Twilight in the distance with Braver. "I wish she would stop ignoring the great things you have done, Braver. It's not fair. All those wonderful things you did—saving creatures, saving the world, teaching others about friendship, and moving forward—but your mother ignores all that and focuses on me, thinking I'm the better one, and it hurts! It's making me suffer so much inside! It's killing me slowly!" "Dawn! No! You're wrong! She cares about you. Everyone does. You're a special pony. Don't give up." "I wish I could tell her, but the world is on my shoulders. The world's weight is too much, and I can't stand it anymore, Braver. I want to tell her, but I'll fail her and you! I'm nothing, yet everyone thinks I'm the better one." "Tell her the truth. I'll be right beside you, Dawn. I'll protect—" Braver quickly stopped as she realized what she had just said. They always protected her and never let her grow or become her own pony; that's how they got to this point. "I'm sorry." Braver walked up to Dawn's side, watching the scene before them. "Dawn, I won't be there for you this time. You need to stand on your own." "Huh?" said Dawn, as she glitched out. "I want to see how far you have come, and the only way is for me to leave. So go ahead. Tell my mother the truth; tell her all the feelings you have been keeping from all of us. You can't keep doing this, and it's time for you to grow. Even if I'm not there to see it." Braver placed a hoof on Dawn's shoulder and smiled. "I'll still be there, watching you and cheering for you. That will never change, Dawn. You're my friend and more." Braver walked past her, walking up to her hazed memory version. "And I need to be a better friend to you. I need you to start moving forward." She raised her hoof. "AWAY FROM ME!" With one strike, Braver scattered her memory version, causing the void of darkness to glitch heavily until everything scattered like glass. Leaving behind a white void, Dawn herself, and Twilight. "Be brave, Dawn. Just be brave and tell her." whispered the echos of Bravers's voice. Dawn's hazed body slowly became normal, making her open her eyes. "Whose voice was that just now? Wait, where am I?" Dawn asked as she started to look around. "Dawn?" "Prin- Princess Twilight?" said Dawn as she looked around the blank space. "Dawn, sweetie, what's wrong?" Dawn wanted to say something, but her voice couldn't come out at all. Within her mind, she could hear a voice repeating the exact words. "Someone tell me something comforting. I'm scared of what she might say to me! I don't want to be her student or Equestria's savior! It's all too much, and I want her to accept me and tell me I'm not a failure and I'm a good pony." "Dawn, listen to what's inside of you. You might think you are broken and can't ever be fixed, but you are wrong. Just listen to it; it will help you move forward." answered a familiar voice to Dawn, making her hold her chest and cling to it for dear life. "Dawn?" "I can't!" Dawn could feel her whole body shaking as her fear kept building up. "What will Princess Twilight think of me? What will the princesses and other ponies think of me!?" she thought. "Dawn?" Dawn could feel her head being patted softly, and she looked up to see Twilight looking at her with a big smile. Dawn remembered the words that voice told her to be brave and to listen within. She closed her eyes and hugged Twilight. "I'M SORRY!" "Sorry? For what, sweetie?" Dawn could feel something within, growing as her tears came out, finally finding the courage to speak out. "Princess, I know you've been putting a lot of faith in me, being your top student, and letting me experience the magic of friendship. But it feels like no matter how much I try, I can't live up to what you see in me." she started to shake with fear. "I have been under so much pressure. I'm trying to reach that bar, and it's been hurting me. So to you and everyone in Equestria." she held Twilight harder, feeling her body shaking, not because of fear but because she was finally telling her the truth. "I'm sorry. I can't be what you see in me." Dawn curled up a bit, waiting for Twilight to get angry at her, but nothing happened. "Oh, Dawn. My dear, sweet Dawn. Please forgive me." said Twilight, hugging her student and stroking her mane. "What?" said she, opening her eyes. "I shouldn't have put all that weight on your shoulders, Dawn. I was so focused on the future. I should have been more aware of your feelings." she rubbed Dawn's back. "And to know that it was hurting you so much. You don't need to be sorry about that, Dawn. I'm the one who should be saying sorry." "No, no, no! Princess Twilight, please. It's not your fault. It's just how I am-" "It is. You might be different from other ponies, but that doesn't mean you are broken or a failure, Dawn. You are a pony, and it's my job to protect and be there for you. I will help you understand your feelings and teach you to stand alone. I'm sorry, Dawn, and I will ensure this never happens again." "But-But!" "It's okay. You don't have to apologize to me." Twilight held Dawn closer, her tears falling down her cheek and hitting Dawn's face. "Dawn, it's okay. Stop blaming yourself and stop thinking you don't deserve to be happy. I know it's hard, and you're scared, but you're not alone. I will help you, and everyone else will, too. We all love you and want you to be happy, and I'll do whatever it takes to ensure you are." Dawn's tears flowed, unable to believe the words Twilight was saying. "It's okay. It's okay. Just let it out. You're not a bad pony, Dawn. I know the truth about you. And no matter what, I will always be here for you. You are a wonderful student and will make a great leader someday, Dawn. You don't have to be strong or pretend to be happy. It's okay, Dawn. It's okay. Let it all out." "Thank you, Twilight." Dawn also shut her eyes, crying, but she felt something was wrong. She felt someone was missing, no matter how much she tried to brush it off. Someone important in her life. "It's okay. Everything is going to be alright." Dawn slowly opened her eyes. "Who?" "Huh? Dawn?" "Who was that voice? It felt like it was talking directly into my soul. Why does my heart feel so empty?" "Sweetie, are you alright?" "Something feels wrong, and I can't figure out why. I feel like something or someone is missing, but who?" She let go of Twilight and started to look around, but she did not see what she was looking for. "Someone should be here! Someone is missing!" she turned back to Twilight, clutching her chest. "No matter how hard I try to remember, they're just gone! Like the memories of them are gone! Something is wrong, Twilight. Very wrong!" "Who is missing, Dawn? Tell me. I'll find them, and we can solve this problem." "I don't know. I don't remember." Twilight held her close, smiling. "Maybe it's for the best?" "What?" Dawn tried to push her off but couldn't. "Maybe whoever you forgot was hurting you." "Hurting me? How could they be hurting me?" "How long were you in pain, Dawn? How much longer were you going to hold that pain and keep it hidden?" "Princess Twilight, what are you talking about?" "I saw the truth, Dawn. You're suffering, aren't you? And it was all because of this mysterious pony, right?" "No, no, no." Twilight started to glitch between a black version of herself. "Let her go, Dawn. She knows that you can't move forward if you keep clinging to her. That's why she erased herself from your memories. You can't be free until you let her go." "I can't! It's not like that! She's not hurting me! She's a great pony! The best pony I have ever known!" she finally pushed her off and screamed for whoever she had forgotten to return to, but no one came to her, no matter how hard she tried. She dropped to the floor, crying. "It hurts! The pain won't stop! It's so painful!" "Dawn." She felt Twilight's hoof touch her head, and she looked up at her. "Princess." "Don't worry, Dawn. You are going to be free. Finally, you stand alone without anyone stopping you, closing you off from the world. It's not going to hurt anymore, Dawn. It's all going to stop. Now come back to me. Let me take away all your pain and suffering. Come back, Dawn, and forget her." Dawn shook her head and brushed off Twilight's hoof. "No, this is wrong, and I know it!" she slowly lay on the white ground, crying her heart out. "It's like something is calling out to me." Within her eyes a tiny flash appeared in her eyes. Twilight lowered her head, nuzzling her. "Nothing is calling out to you." Dawn forced her head away, looking at her in the eyes. "That's where you're wrong! Something is calling me! Within me! It feels like a-" she closed her eyes, listening to whatever was calling her within. "It's like a spark! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized she was missing!" Twilight shut her eyes, crying. "Don't, Dawn, please!" Dawn felt a warm feeling within her chest, letting it engulf her, and she smiled. "That's right, I feel it now. You are the one I'm missing." "Dawn." Dawn stood up, glaring at Twilight. Putting her hooves on her cheeks. "I felt it when I realized how happy I was to hear and see you and how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized not only are you my best friend but also." she leaned in, kissing Twilight on the lips, finally turning Twilight's purple-hazed body into a clear black one. Dawn leaned back and smiled at the pony she loved deeply. "My special somepony! The one I love so much! Braver!" In front of her was Braver, crying her heart out, hating that Dawn remembered who she was. "Dummy, you can't move forward now! As long I'm here, you will forever be trapped, never growing stronger. Forget about me and move on! Become the pony you are meant to be!" "No! I refuse to move on if it means forgetting about you! You are a part of me, good or bad! If I have to give up everything, so be it! Even if you disappear, I will never forget you! I will always carry you within me!" she hugged her, never wanting to let go. "Braver, you are my spark! The very reason I can move forward in life, no matter how hard it can get!" Braver cried even more, hugging Dawn and crying on her shoulder. The white void slowly faded away as two figures watched them. One was the slime humanoid, and the other was a pony covered in a rainbow blanket. "You can't shut yourself away from those that love you. Being forever trapped in your own making won't make you happy, and I know you hate that." "Yeah, yeah." the pony turned and started walking away. "But it's for them. I won't take away their lives when they're moving forward. I will always be there, watching and happy for them. I am happy they could live the lives I never had, and I am okay with that. I'll be fine. It's what I want. They deserve it, and that's good enough for me." The humanoid rainbow slime turned to the pony, crying more rainbow tears. "Is it, though? You're so happy for them, but you're so sad. Please don't lie to yourself. You know how much that hurts." The world of white void entirely disappeared into the light of rainbows. Blitz and Dawn could see Braver walking down the stairs, wiping her eyes from all the tears she had shed. Both girls were shocked and happy that behind Braver was Luster Dawn, also wiping her tears. "Sis! You did it!" cheered Blitz, running towards but stopping, seeing her sister and Luster holding hooves, making Blitz even happier. "About time." Luster felt her chest warm up, knowing she was holding hands with the pony she loved deeply. She nuzzled Braver's cheek, smiling. Lucy walked over, happy to see the sweet sight before them. Before Braver could comment on it, the rainbow slime walked past them, pointing to the kitchen, which started to give off the same light. "What's up with the light?" asked Blitz, holding Lucy's hand. Braver finished wiping her eyes and explained what she thought the light was. "After I entered the light, I found myself within a dark void. Showing Dawn's memories and all of the problems she was facing. I think that will lead to another one, but who's? I have no clue." Dawn agreed with Braver's answer and nodded, looking at the kitchen. "If that's the case, then I can tell whose light it is." All three turned to her. "Who?" "Rainbow Dawn." she let go of Braver's hoof, walked over to the light, and spoke. "I saw a small part of her memories where she met someone special, someone she deeply loves." she turned her head to the girls, looking sad. "And lost. It's like what my human counterpart told you and me when she joined me here, Blitz. To know her story, even though it was so freaking stupid!" she smirks, making Lucy blush a little but also upset. "It wasn't stupid! She felt so lost and hurt! I wanted to know her story! It's why I let her eat me after Blitz told me that you somehow took over her body; I took a chance." "Yeah, a stupid one." Lucy quickly rushed up to Dawn, and both started to eye each other down, making Blitz and Braver whisper. "Five bits that my Dawn can beat your Dawn." "Please, sis, Lucy can kick butt. I have seen it a few times. That frail body hides the strength of a badass." Both nodded, shaking hooves/hands. Lucy and Dawn were on each other's faces, ready to start fighting, but that fight never happened as both started to laugh. "Okay, it was stupid! But I had to take that chance; like I said before, I could tell she was hurting so much. She needed help." "Yeah, a mental help, maybe." Lucy glared at Dawn, making her laugh and turning to the twins. "If that leads to her memories, maybe we can fully understand and help her. She might be crazy, but she wasn't like that before." Braver, Blitz, and Dawn looked at each other, thinking. Blitz turned to Lucy, giving her a thumbs up. "Right, she did lose someone close to her, and she thinks we're the person she lost." Blitz turned to Braver, giving a sad smile. "Or maybe she's right." both twins turned to the slime creature, seeing it just looking towards the light, not paying attention to them. Lucy and Dawn looked at each other and back at the twins, asking what she meant, but Blitz and Braver just brushed it off by rushing to them and pulling the girls into the light. The light shined brightly before dying down, leaving the slime creature to lower its hand. It turned its head, seeing the blanket pony. "Better follow them." "Yeah, sure, but first, mind telling me something?" "Shoot." "What's your name?" The slime humanoid froze, staring at the pony before sighing. "Looking for a name to use, huh? My name is mine. Your name will come." She started to melt away but still talked. "That is if you want to escape your man-made cell." The blanket pony watched as the slime creature vanished into the slime-covered floor, leaving her alone. "I just want them to call me something before I help them escape this place." She trotted towards the faded light, disappearing. Meanwhile, Fayth watched as Rainbow Dawn kept fighting the others and was winning as she blocked Sky and Nightfall's attacks as they slammed into her raised elbows, quickly knocking them back and slamming them down into the water-filled ground, drowning them. Cozy and Sunset tried to save them as they ganged up from behind Rainbow Dawn, but the black slime quickly knocked them away and tried to eat them. They nearly dodged the jaws of death, but the slime grabbed them by the tails and slammed them down in the same fashion as its master, trying to drown them while slowly covering them with its slime. The others were too hurt to do anything, as they were helpless to save them. "˙puǝ ɹǝʇʇᴉq ǝɥʇ oʇ ʇɥƃnoɟ suoᴉsɹǝʌ ǝsoɥʇ ɟo llɐ ʇsɐǝl ʇɐ ;sǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ʇsɐd ǝɥʇ ǝʞᴉl ƃuᴉɥʇoN ˙sᴉɥʇ uɐɥʇ ʇɥƃᴉɟ ɹǝʇʇǝq ɐ dn ʇnd plnoʍ noʎ ɟo llɐ ʇɥƃnoɥʇ I" she stood and opened her book. "˙ʍou puɐ ǝɹǝɥ sᴉɥʇ puǝ oʇ ǝɯᴉʇ s,ʇᴉ ;sǝɯɐƃ ǝɹoɯ oN" she was about to write when she sensed something and looked ahead of herself, seeing a gateway opening up. "˙ʍǝu sᴉ sᴉɥʇ 'ɥO" Stepping out of the gateway was a red-hooded human holding a shield. She quickly tossed it, hitting Rainbow Dawn and then hitting her slime creature, making them let off their victims. The shield quickly returned to its wielder, making her lower it and stare at the enemies before her. She scanned the three, then the others, seeing they were allies. "Revengers! Assemble!" she shouted, raising her shield and making the gateway bigger. Soon, different versions of Twilight, her friends, and others appeared, all running out. Nightfall and Sky got out of the water, happy to see the heroes who saved their daughter among the other heroes that Amazement and Discord gathered. (note: needed to read Gathering Names by this point) "What took you?" smirked Sky, coughing up water. Amazement leads the charge, raising her sword and summoning Ursa Major, then riding it. As she leads the charge toward Rainbow Dawn, Eirika drops off Twila, quickly joined by Nightmare, Wanda, and Grape. Twila could sense something and pointed. "I can sense very powerful magic ahead of us. Is this Rainbow Dawn?" Nightmare and Grape told her yes, making Twila ask them questions as other heroes got ahead and waited as they watched the charge being made. "You sure about letting them go ahead of us?" Nightmare touched her mask, turned on her visor, and zoomed in. "We need to see how strong she is before we send in our heavy hitters. They'll be fine." She zoomed out and saw Sunset, Cozy, and the others getting up and hurt. "We need to get them away from the battle. Everyone, move out, but remember the plan." she quickly ran off, with some following her. Rainbow Dawn cracked her neck and saw someone familiar coming her way. She couldn't help but grin with malice and madness, knowing it was time for her to finish what she started. "So, you came back? Do you want to die as well?" she asked as she walked towards the charging group, making her slime creature enter her chest. "Do you want to be with that other mage woman so severely? Fine, I'll kill you and grant your wish." Amazement charged in, slashing Dawn's face, but it did nothing; she jumped off as the slime grabbed her bear, making the two summons fight. Amazement landed but blocked a kick with her sword, sending her flying away and rolling on the watered-filled ground. Dawn was gonna follow up on it but felt laser bullets hitting her back; she turned to see Tracker using her pistols and reloading quickly as she got closer. "That's not so nice, you wanker!" Dawn quickly stabbed her in the chest, smiling as she saw the blood and the shocked face on Tracker's face until Tracker gave her a silly look and started to rewind time to the start point. "What!? You can rewind time?" Tracker blinked right up to Dawn's side, spinning a small sticky bomb device and slapping it on her back. "Just my own time, you bugger." she blinked away as it went off, exploding and blowing Dawn away and making her hit the ground hard. Tracker was about to go in for the attack but stopped when the slime creature's head appeared and tried to chomp on her, but Tracker blinked away again. "Damn it." Dawn stood back up and was gonna use magic to kill Tracker, but Light and Lunar landed between her, doing a karate pose. "You are facing us now!" Lunar kicked her legs and slammed her foot on the ground, creating a shockwave. "Don't be a disappointment." Light quickly charged and flung punches, ending with an uppercut. The attacks did nothing, but Light kept at it while her sister flung kicks and a knee kick on Dawn's back. She was able to stagger Dawn. "Ha! I stagger her, dear sister! A point for me!" "Oh, please. You couldn't have done that without my help, sis. That's a point for me, not you." As the two were arguing, Rainbow Dawn quickly recovered and glared. She then stomped her foot, causing a massive earthquake. She eyed Lunar, smirking. "Shit!" grunted Lunar as she bent backward, dodging a punch from Rainbow Dawn, only to be grabbed by her, sending Lunar into her sister's arms. "Thanks, sis. I owe you." Light set her down and ready herself with her sister, but Tracker landed between them, shooting behind them, making them turn in time to see the slime creature get more prominent while the bear bit on its still. "Sorry to butt in, but I NEED HELP!" screamed Tracker, blinking away, while the sisters dodged the monster's mouth as it bit down on the ground. Almost getting caught, the sisters started to attack the monster while Tracker kept shooting it. Dawn's horn started to glow, and she aimed it at the four, as they were too focused on the monster than her. "It's time for all of you to go. Farewell." her horn glowed brightly as she was going to cast a spell. But her spell didn't cast as a knife hit her forehead, staggering her. She pulled the blade out and could see who attacked her. "It's Time for the hunt to begin," Red said, pulling more knives from her belt and holding them between her fingers. She howled and dashed towards Dawn, who also dashed towards her, laughing. They both met, Red stabbing Dawn's chest, shoulder, and left leg while Dawn created her knives from her magic, stabbing Red in a few spots on her body, but the red hooded wolf girl didn't react to the pain, almost like she didn't feel it. Red took another knife out, spun it on her finger, and tossed it between them, hitting the ground, which exploded and sent both girls away from each other while the cloud covered the area. Within the smoke, flashes of blades hitting each other could be seen. As the smoke started to clear up, Red's eyes became blood red, as she was on all fours now, growling. The slime creature also entered the battle and charged towards her. Red growled and leaped away from the slime while sending her knives at it, joining the others in fighting it. As the smoke finally cleared, Dawn was charging her horn once more, finally unleashing it towards the five, who all took notice, but the beam was blocked by a giant shield. Tracker blinked behind the knight who saved them. "Great Diamond! You saved our buttocks. Thanks, mate." Great Diamond lowered her shield, turning her head slightly, and smiled. "Not a problem." She raised her shield again as more beams were shot towards her and the others. Like the first time, she blocked them all and raised her spear into the air, releasing her attack of diamond dust and sending it towards Dawn, who raised her arms to block the dust cloud as it blasted through her. "A simple cloud attack won't stop me!" Diamond lowered her shield and smiled. "That wasn't just a simple cloud, you barbarian." Dawn looked puzzled and checked her body, only for her to cough up blood from her mouth. She could feel her lungs being cut by billions of tiny diamonds. "WHAT!?" "My diamond dust is so sharp that it cuts down its enemy's skin and cuts their lungs and heart, killing them." Diamond turned her head, hearing the slime creature's voice. But since you are still standing, it shows that won't be enough to kill you, just like the others had said. Good luck breathing now, darling." Diamond raised her shield, which glowed brightly before turning into a diamond-like surface. She blocked the slime ram attack, pushing her back while the others were on top. The monster's size had increased even more, to the point that it became the size of a whale. Dawn wiped her mouth of blood, and using her magic, she pulled out all of the tiny diamonds from her skin and dropped them onto the ground. Her wounds quickly healed. "Is that the best you can do? You're all a bunch of weaklings." Dawn was going to join her monster, but a small magical girl pony hovered in front of her. "Now what? Did they send their tiny little pony after me now?" She was going to ignore the miniature pony, but the pony raised her wand into the air, and without warning, a giant monster fist crushed Dawn. "Weak? ME!? Ha! My name is Plum, a kaiju lover!" Plum stated as the dinosaur-like monster picked her up and placed her on its head. "I'm also a member of the Magical Element of Fruits!" Plum hugged her pet head, but she suddenly felt a force pushing them back, making them look down and see its fist raised; underneath it was Dawn, who pushed off the fist and looked up at the monster. "Wait, is a plum even a fruit?" As the dinosaur fell backward, Plum shouted that plum was indeed a fruit as the dinosaur crashed, shaking everything. Before the dinosaur could stand, the slime quickly covered it, eating it alive and causing it to roar in pain. Plum tried to save it, but it was useless, and the dinosaur was eaten alive, making the slime grow twice in size. Dawn floated towards Plum and grabbed her by the tail, making the magical girl pony shout. "What is it with you guys and grabbing my tail?" Dawn was going to say something when knives hit her back, causing her to let go of Plum. She turned to see Red, filled with so much fury, as she was panting with drool dripping from her mouth. "Oh, did I make you mad for hurting your friend?" Dawn laughed and shot magic beams, hitting Red. Red ignored the pain and tried to stab her, but she missed as Dawn was quicker. "DON'T YOU DARE HANDLE FLUFFY TAILS LIKE THAT!" screamed Red in a very angry and deep tone, but yet, in the most monotonous and dry tone ever, causing Dawn to stop and be very confused by that reply before she was kicked in the face by Lunar, who joined to help fight her. As this happened, Grape, Wanda, Nightmare, Twila, Layla, Nanna, Midnight, and Dr. Wonder watched the battles, turned to each other, and gave their opinions on the current battle plan. "She's much more robust than we thought. She's almost on the same level as Calamity Day. If we're going to neutralize her, we have to take out that slime monster along with her." said Nightmare, looking back at the battle. Wanda took her glasses and blew on them, wiping them clean. "Agree, we should split the team into two and take out the slime creature. It's defending its master." she put back on her glasses. Twila and the others agree, but Nanna puts her two cents on something else. "We may have another issue besides Dawn," she pointed at Fayth, watching them from afar and smiling at them. Midnight cracks her knuckles. "I sense a lot of power from her. A lot of dark energy." "Should we handle her?" asked Twila, who sensed her but wasn't sure. Dr. Wonder looked at the other battle. "If that child interfered, she could make this battle more difficult. I'll keep an eye on her." she looked at the others. "Are all of you fine with handling the rest?" "Yes, we are," answered Grape. The others nodded, but she asked her: "Will you be okay without help? We don't need you dying a second time." She turned her sight on Amazement, who was knocked out but finally awake as her bear licked her face. Wonder knew this alt-timeline version of Amazement's past and looked at her sadly. "I won't die. I promise my Amazement that. Now, go; the battle is still raging." The seven took off, and Dr. Wonder sighed as she watched the other battle and saw that the slime monster's size increased a few more times and that the water around them was getting darker. She lowered her hand into it and felt it getting warmer. Without knowing what was changing the water, she turned to the little girl and floated towards her. Dawn punched Light in the gut, pulling her hair and tossing her towards Diamond's shield, which she slammed into. The others grouped up with them and stood back to back as Dawn, and the slime creature approached them. "Stop struggling already, and let's kill you! It'll be quick and painless." she narrowed her eyes at Amazement, who was doing the same to her. "You'll see that woman you loved and missed," said Dawn, but Amazement and the others weren't giving up. Light stood back up, coughing and spitting out blood. "No, we'll never surrender! No matter what, we will always fight and fight till the end. That's how we are, and no matter how many times you beat us, we'll come back and kick your ass." Dawn started to laugh as she created a small rainbow orb in her palm. She was about to unleash the attack when a flare appeared in the sky, causing everyone to look up. Tracker fell on her rear, finally relaxing. "Yeah, the cavalry is here!" Before Dawn could ask what she meant, Amazement cast a quick spell and teleported the others away, leaving only her and her bear behind. "Fighting alone?" "No, just our real fighting power turn now." Dawn raised an eyebrow before getting punched in the face by Supermare at full speed. This caused her to fly towards the multiverse tree, only to be kicked away by Flash, who teleported. Flash fired off her rainboom beam attack, blasting her back where she came from, causing her to crash into the ground. As she got up, she was met with Captain Apple Core's fist and shield; she beat her down, shield tackling her towards Midnight, who took the same pose as her mother, Lunar, and unleashed a fury of powerful kicks. Each landed kick sent out a powerful shockwave from Dawn's back. With one good kick, Midnight blasted Dawn toward the feet of Nightmare, who just stared at her. "You don't look so powerful," asked Dawn, standing up and face to face with Nightmare. Nightmare narrowed her eyes at her. "I fought way more powerful beings than you, and they all paid the price for their foolishness in judging a book by its cover. You'll pay the same." Dawn laughed at this answer. She was going to grab Nightmare by her neck to snap it, but Nightmare tossed out smoke bombs, blinding her and covering the whole area. She was going to use magic, but a punch hit her gut, causing her to gasp. She looked down, seeing Berry, who quickly summoned a giant blueberry cake, crushing Dawn. The cake quickly blew apart, with Dawn in the middle and licking the frosting from her face. "Déjà vu." She was going to attack Berry, but Grape protected her friend by using a barrier that looked like a grape. Dawn cursed under her breath, soon feeling something stabbing her back. Nightmare's Batarang started to beep as a light flashed before blowing up and staggering her to her knees. "Damn it!" Dawn tried to stand but felt two blades stabbing her; she could see Layla and Eirika, both holding onto her as Nova roared above them, landing her cold and flaming blades into her, unleashing the powerful elements through her body. The slime tried to fight off Aaira , Amelia Jarvis, Terra, and Rain's gunfire as this happened. "Keep it away from the others; we can't let it return to its master!" shouted Wanda, who summoned her taser cannon and fired upon the creature. Aaira reloaded her horn cutter and opened her helmet. "Wanda, I fought creatures like this but made from human flesh. They were fast but not this tough. Its body is too thick that our weapon has no effect." Amelia reloaded her custom-made shotgun and turned to Enmity, floating near her. "Something wrong, little sugar cube?" Enmity flashed from red to white, turning to Amelia. "I did a quick scan with Celesta's help. We pinpointed something within its body. It could be a weak spot, but it was already damaged." Nanna walked up, ordered Crescent to take on the creature, and sent the shadow monster towards it. "We must make a bigger hole and hit its heart or brain." Aaira was done reloading and looked above herself. "If that's true, Bolt, can you do that?" Bolt hovered above everyone in her super form and wagged her wing at them. "Please, I fought a water dragon. This is going to be easy!" she spun into a ball and started to speed up until golden lights appeared around her. "READY!" and she stopped, covered in a greenish aura. "GO!" and within the blink of an eye, she blasted through the slime creature, leaving behind a giant hole and exposing half a piece of a broken core, but it was quickly covered in slime, making Bolt tsk loudly. "Maybe not." As Bolt was about to try again, all the sound vanished, replacing the nothingness with the sounds of a heartstring being played. Bolt watched as a floating jade sword zipped past her and stabbed the slime creature, slicing through its body and trying to reach its core. Bolt looked down and saw Lyra standing there, her jaded horn glowing brightly. "We just need to keep hammering away at it until we reach its soft, creamy insides, right?" asked Lyra, not noticing that the slime creature would eat her as it spit itself into two. "Behind you, Lyra!" shouted Wanda, firing her taser, but the slime quickly devoured Lyra. "No!" Bolt and the others were about to save her but saw the second slime sliced and diced into bits, all thanks to Lyra's powers over the wind. "Nice try, but can't sneak up against a knight of the wind." Bolt smiled. "Hehe, that's my title!" She started her light-speed dash attack once, helping Lyra reach the monster's core and hoping to kill it. Light Rainbow and Spitflame joined the slicing. "Time to wake up, Chi Xiao! We can't be outdone by their speed!" She unsheathed her red blade, making it shine like a red star. Within seconds, she shadow stepped away and reappeared on the slime body, slicing it. Spitflame raised her sword into the air, engulfing it and herself in a bright, flame-like light. She lowered her blade and smiled. "Now you'll see why they call me Radiant Knight!" She joined in attacking the slime in a blinding flash. As this happened, Little Star and the others who attacked Dawn the first time were checking on Sky and the others after saving them. AJ looked at her human counterparts in the battle and turned to her friends. "Okay, what's going on now? Who got these new versions of us and others we know?" "I think I knew who," answered Fluttershy, making everyone look at her. She quickly explained what Discord did.(note: see chapter 12) Penny waved at Tracker and then towards her friends. "So, Discord got the heroes that saved the twins and others to help? This is truly a multiverse battle!" Sky and Nightfall stood and quickly joined in the battle, leaving the others to watch the two battles raging on. Sky flew off to help those battling Dawn, while Nightfall went to aid the others in fighting the slime monster. Nightfall landed next to Enmity and Terra, who watched as she summoned some device. Rain reloaded her sniper rifle and pointed to the weird device. "What is that?" "Enmity and Celesta, can you download your specs into this device? These two can also help us." she floated the device between them, and both AIs scanned the item. This surprised them and made them nod to the request, downloading their specs to the device, which unleashed nanomachines and created two Android alicorns. "Wonderful! With these new specs, we can fight better now! Look at us! We look brand new." The Android that was Arev stopped and touched her throat, speaking random words. She smiled. "Is that my voice? Not some robotic, machine voice, but my voice!" Enmity and Celesta were happy to see another of their kind, glad to have their voice, but they saw the other android, Mizuki, doing a sad emote in her visor eyes. "It seems your voice is being created. Don't worry, sis!" said Arev, pulling her sister into a hug and making Mizuki feel better. "But we need to help! Come, sister!" Arev let go, created a machine under her wings, and took off, while Mizuki created a single cannon on her back and joined her sister and the others. Dr.Wonder stood next to Fayth, watching the two battles. Without turning to her, she asked her a question. "You are a higher being, aren't you? Higher than One Above All. Higher than omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience, correct?" Fayth looked at Dr.Wonder and nodded. "What are you?" Fayth answered. "˙ƃuᴉɥʇoN ˙ɥʇʎɐℲ 'ǝɯ oʇ pǝɹɐdɯoɔ ƃuᴉɥʇou ǝɹɐ sɹoɥʇnɐ ǝsoɥ┴ ˙ll∀ ǝʌoq∀ ǝuO 'ɹoɥʇnɐ ɹnoʎ oʇ ǝɯ ǝɹɐdɯoɔ ʇ,uop oS ˙lɐǝɹ ǝpɐɯ ʎuᴉʇsǝp ɐ ɯɐ I" Wonder understood what she said to her and looked at her now. "I see, destiny made real. You control everyone's fates, don't you? Judging by that book, you must have written our futures, our fates. If so, you must know what will happen next." Fayth shrugged, smiling and holding her book tightly. "˙ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ɟo ʍɐl ǝɥʇ ʍolloɟ ʇsnɯ I uǝʌǝ ʇnq 'ʎɐʍɐ ʇɥƃᴉɹ ʇᴉ ǝuop ǝʌɐɥ plnoʍ I 'sǝʌᴉl ɹnoʎ llɐ puǝ oʇ ɥsᴉʍ I ɟI" "Rewrite?" She opened the book and read it while answering her question. "˙sʎɐʍ ʇuǝɹǝɟɟᴉp uᴉ suǝddɐɥ ǝɯoɔʇno ǝɯɐs ǝɥʇ ʇnq 'pǝƃuɐɥɔ sᴉ ƃuᴉɥʇʎɹǝʌƎ ˙lɐuᴉƃᴉɹo ǝɥʇ ɟo uoᴉsɹǝʌ uǝʇʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ɐ sᴉ 'ǝsɹǝʌᴉʇlnɯ ǝɥʇ ɟo uoᴉsɹǝʌ sᴉɥʇ 'ʎɹoʇs ǝɥʇ ɟo uoᴉsɹǝʌ sᴉɥ┴" She closed her book and put it back on her waist. "˙uǝddɐɥ uɐɔ ƃuᴉpuǝ ǝnɹʇ ǝɥʇ 'sǝɯoɔ ʎɐp ʇɐɥʇ uǝɥM ˙ɐɹpuʎlƎ ɟo ʞooq ǝɥʇ uᴉɥʇᴉʍ ƃuᴉʇᴉɹʍ uᴉ ƃuᴉɥsᴉuᴉɟ uᴉ uᴉʍ llᴉʍ I 'ǝɯᴉʇ sᴉɥʇ ʎluO" Wonder summoned her magical runes. "True ending? What will happen!?" Fayth pointed her pen at Wonder, turning off her magic and making her normal and blind again. "˙sǝʌɹǝsǝp ǝɥs ʇɐɥʍ puɐ ʇuɐʍ I ƃuᴉpuǝ ǝɥʇ ʇǝƃ llᴉʍ I puɐ 'puǝ llᴉʍ ʎɹoʇs ʎɹǝʌƎ" Wonder gasped at her blindness and loss of power as Fayth turned into a mist, disappearing and leaving the blind doctor alone. Within the flashing rainbow light, the twins and their Dawn walked into the apartment home, hearing voices. "Why are you leaving us!?" asked a male voice as it echoed in the room. "I'm leaving you for a better man!" replied the female voice, as the sounds of a door closed loudly. "Better? What about our daughter!? Come back here!" Sounds of the open being opened and closed again echo once more until soft crying can be heard. The memory quickly changed, and the apartment became dirty and filled with garbage and empty bottles of alcohol. As the girls could see a man's shadow hanging from the ceiling, the sound of a girl crying made Lucy take out her cross and pray. The memory changed once more; now, what seemed to be inside of the building, shadows of gang members could be seen, and an older female voice could be heard. "Amazing, you fought tooth and nail against our best. I think we found our new enforcer." "Please, I'll do anything to survive. I'm sorry about hurting them." "You will. Don't worry, kid, and ensure our business continues around those parts. Also, don't worry about them; this is a world of eating or being eaten. No one will cry for a few scum-sucking, low-life scum, anyway. Besides, I like you. Training you will be fun." The memory changed again, now the backstreets of a random city. A figure covered in blood was standing near a body, panting heavily. The person grabbed their head, screaming. The scene changed to more random locations, showing the figure covered in more and more blood as more bodies rain from the sky. "I JUST WANT TO LIVE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE ALONE LIKE HIM!" The figure started to laugh in sorrow. "If you want to live, Dawn, write a happy story rather than a sad one. You are your writer, Dawn. Write your happy ending!" The figure stopped laughing, turning to a rainbow figure who reached out to her. The girls watched as the scene changed, showing the bloody figure walking away from the rainbow figure, who kept following her. "Leave me alone already!" she turned, pointing at her follower. "Stop it, leave me alone! Unless you want me to beat your fucking ass!?" The rainbow figure shook her head. "I won't. I'll never leave you." "I hate you!" "No, you don't." "Yes, I do. Damn annoying, always following me after school and stopping me from doing my work!" "That's why I'm your best friend." "Best friend? We aren't friends!" "We are." "I don't need friends." "Everyone needs friends, Dawn." The scene changes to a rooftop, where the two figures fought. Ultimately, the rainbow figure wins, causing the bloody figure to pound the ground angrily, but she notices the hand reaching out to her. "Dawn, you are my best friend, and I love you. You will never be alone." The girls could see the blood slowly dripping off the figure as she smacked the hand away. "We're not friends! Just because I helped you from those cunts, doesn't mean we are friends. Why the fuck would you want to be friends with someone like me?" The rainbow figure sat on the ground, holding the figure's hands. "Didn't I just tell you? I love you. Dawn, you are a strong, beautiful, and amazing person. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you." "Shut the fuck up. Stop saying that, please. You don't know me, and you don't know the things I have done." she got up, trying to walk away, but the rainbow figure tried to grab her but tripped, falling face-first into the figure's rear, making her scream. "Ow!" the rainbow figure said. "Why the fuck did you trip?" she looked behind herself, seeing the rainbow figure. "And why are you rubbing my butt?" The rainbow figure realized what she was doing and stopped. Trying her best to explain herself only made it worse, but because of that, the blood finally fell off and made the black figure into a pink one, making her laugh. "Whatever, perv!" The girls watched as the pink started to open up more to the rainbow figure, letting her into her life, and the two of them had a fun and happy time together, even if the pink figure would never admit it. They watched as the two grew closer, spending every minute of the day together and having a happy and fun time. They could see them dating now and the pink figure becoming lovely dovely with her rainbow lover. The memory changed, and the two could be seen sitting at the top of a hill, watching the stars above. "Hey, Dawn?" "Yes?" "Will you believe me if I told you I hurt others too?" The pink figure started to laugh and held her girlfriend, protecting her. "Like what? Not being so polite to people? Being rude?" "No, no. I'm being serious. I'm not the same person, not the person you know." "What are you talking about?" The rainbow figure got up, pointing to the stars. "I destroyed my home, and I killed my parents. I'm a monster. I'm not the nice girl you think I am." The pink figure looked at her, not saying a word. She pulled the rainbow figure into a hug. "You are a good person; it must have been an accident if you did something like that. I can't even see my rainbow comet light doing something like that." she kissed her cheek. "Whatever you indeed did, it was an accident. I don't think you are a monster." The rainbow figure felt like crying and hugged her back. "Thank you, Dawn. Thank you." "No problem." The memory started to fade, and the white void filled everything, showing the pink figure fighting her old gang that she quit, saving the rainbow figure from her former gang leader, whom she killed in the process, but she didn't care and ran towards her love, who was injured. "...why? Why did you come to save me!?" She looked down at the rainbow figure resting on her lap, also hurt but smiling at her as she reached out and held her cheeks, caring-like. "No one deserves a sad fate, no matter who it is. Everyone deserves a happy ending—even you, Dawn! No matter how cruel, no one is ever truly bad. Everyone can be given a second chance! You have to listen to their story and try to understand. I can't give you a happy ending, but I can allow you to write your ending. Write a story where you can be happy and have a wonderful life, not alone and scared." The pink figure put her hands on the rainbow figure's cheeks as well and leaned in to kiss her forehead as her tears mixed with her blood and dripped on the girl's face. "No matter who it is, Everyone deserves a happy ending. Everyone!" the rainbow figure returned the kiss, surprising the pink figure. Soon, the girls watched as the white void became a white void bedroom. "I don't want you to hate me." said the pink figure, sitting on the bed, looking at the rainbow figure sitting on the edge of the bed. "I don't hate you." "Please stop looking away from me. I'm not perfect and make stupid mistakes, but please don't leave me!" she moved towards her and tried to kiss her, but the rainbow figure backed away and stood. "I'm not leaving you; we need a break. I'm sorry." she started to walk away, but the pink figure grabbed her. "Please, I need you! You're my only friend and lover, the only one who sees me. Why can't I have a chance? Why am I not enough for you? You're all I have and all I want. You're the only one for me." She started to cry. "Don't leave me, or I'll break. I'll scatter. I'll vanish." "Dawn, let me go." "No, please!" "Let me go!" the rainbow figure broke free and watched as the pink figure sat back on the bed, crying even harder, telling her how much she loved her. Rainbow figure started to walk back and forth, explaining her reason. "We need a break, and not because of you. sure you can be super clingy and overprotective of me, and sure, you can be a bit too possessive and have a problem with other people. But that's not why I'm leaving." she stopped, lowering herself and touching her hand. "I'm leaving you because I want to protect you." The pink figure took something from the bed, tossing it at the mirror, shattering it, and sending glass flying, causing the rainbow figure to stand up and step back quickly. "YOU NEVER LOVED ME!" the pink figure shouted, breaking down and shaking her whole body. "I do; I love you more than you think. It's why I'm leaving before she arrives." The rainbow figure turned around and headed out of the room but stopped when she saw black seeds falling around her. She quickly turned around. "Dawn! RU-ugh!?" With that one stab, blood hit the ground, and the white void scattered, revealing Rainbow Dawn as she stabbed the rainbow figure. Both fell to the bedroom floor. Lucy hid behind Blitz, while Luster did the same with Braver. The twins were the only ones watching now as Dawn kept stabbing the rainbow figure repeatedly. "DAWN!!!" "DAWN!!! STOP!" "DAWN! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" Dawn kept stabbing, ignoring the shouts from her lover and the pain from the piece of shattered glass in her hand, which kept slicing her hand with each thrust she made, causing her to bleed. She didn't stop until she heard laughter from behind her, finally snapping her out of it and seeing what she had done. She dropped the shard and tried to stop the bleeding, but it was hopeless. "I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! Don't leave me!" she held the figure, begging her not to leave her. "Dawn, don't forget; you will never be alone." the figure placed her hand on Dawn's cheek. "You have been through so much, I know. But, please, try and find a reason to keep going. For yourself and me. You're not alone. You'll never be. I'll always be there for you. I'll always save you! Because you are my dawn! I love you!" "I...love you too, you big dork. I'm sorry for being cruel. For hurting everyone and making everyone suffer. Please don't forgive me. For...what I did to you..." "¿noʎ ǝʞᴉl ɹǝʇsuoɯ ɐ ǝʌᴉƃɹoɟ ǝɥs plnoɥs ʎɥʍ 'pᴉp ǝɥs ɟᴉ uǝʌƎ" Dawn and everyone looked above, seeing Fayth hovering with her book open. "˙pǝʌol ƃuᴉǝq ɹǝʌǝu puɐ sɹǝɥʇo ƃuᴉllᴉʞ ¿ʍouʞ noʎ 'ǝʇɐɟ ɹnoʎ sʎɐʍlɐ sɐʍ sᴉɥ┴" she smiled. "˙ǝɯ ǝsooɥɔ sᴉ op oʇ ǝʌɐɥ noʎ ll∀ ˙ʎddɐɥ noʎ ǝʞɐɯ puɐ plɹoʍ sᴉɥʇ ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ oʇ ɹǝʍod ǝɥʇ ǝʌɐɥ I ˙uᴉ ǝq sʎɐʍlɐ llᴉʍ puɐ ǝsoɥɔ noʎ ɥʇɐd ǝɥʇ s,ʇI" Dawn could see Fayth reach out with her hand, wanting her to grab it, but she could hear the weak voice of her lover. "There's nothing to forgive. You're not a monster—not to me. You're kind and caring, like a morning sun covering the land. Don't listen to her!" "No. I'm a demon," answered Dawn coldly, reaching out to Fayth. "Please, save her!" The figure tried to grab Dawn's arm but couldn't as she was starting to die. "No. You're a beautiful and loving girl. And you'll always be. No matter what happens, Even if you have to face your inner demon, I'll always save you." her hand slowly dropped and finally fell, becoming lifeless. Dawn grabbed Fayth's hand, causing the black seeds around them to gather near Dawn's chest, becoming a sharp tree branch that impaled Dawn's chest. Dawn returned to her lover and picked up the broken mirror shard without speaking or reacting to the pain. She started to stab the chest again until she saw it, a rainbow core, but it had a crack in the middle. She pulled it out and could hear Fayth ordering her to give it to her. "¡pooƃ ɹoɟ ʇᴉ ɹǝʇʇɐɔs uɐɔ I os ǝɹoɔ ɹǝɥ ǝɯ ǝʌᴉפ" Dawn looked at it and held the core close to her heart. She pulled out the branch, bleeding out black slime, and inserted the core into her chest, feeling its power becoming one with her. "¡ON" screamed Fayth as the memory finally faded and the bedroom became pure darkness, only showing Dawn as she was on top of the tree of Elyndra with a white Alicorn by her side, as the two stared down at a dying older Fayth, who's writing in the book of Elyndra. "¡uᴉɐƃɐ ʎɹʇ ll,I 'ʎɹoʇs sᴉɥʇ ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ I sɐ ƃuol sɐ ;uᴉʍ ʇ,upᴉp no⅄" she closed the book and smiled at them. "˙uᴉʍ llᴉʍ I ¡ƃuᴉɥʇʎɹǝʌǝ ǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ I sǝɯᴉʇ ʎuɐɯ ʍoɥ ɹǝʇʇɐɯ ʇ,usǝop ʇᴉ ;ʇuɐʍ os I ʇɐɥʇ ƃuᴉpuǝ ʇɐɥʇ ʇǝƃ ll,I" She opened her book and wrote down notes for herself. "˙ǝʎqpooƃ sᴉ sᴉɥʇ ssǝnƃ I ˙ǝɯɐu ɹǝɥ uᴉ ǝuop ǝʌɐɥ noʎ ƃuᴉɥʇʎɹǝʌǝ pǝʇɐɥ ǝʌɐɥ plnoʍ ǝɥS ˙ǝɹǝɥ ʇǝƃ oʇ ʇsnɾ ʎuɐɯ os pǝllᴉʞ no⅄ ˙uʍɐp 'ʎɹoʇs sᴉɥʇ ɟo uoᴉsɹǝʌ ʇuǝɹɹnɔ sᴉɥʇ uᴉ oɹǝɥ ou ǝɹɐ no⅄" "Goodbye?" Dawn asked, looking down at her. The Alicorn beside her looked at Fayth in shock, wondering what she was doing. "˙ǝɯᴉʇ sᴉɥʇ ʇnq 'uᴉɐƃɐ ʇǝǝɯ ǝʍ lᴉʇu∩ ˙ǝʎqpooƃ 'ɥɐǝ⅄" she quickly tore out a page from her book and sent it flying into Dawn's chest, making it bleed rainbow liquid and slowly turning her black. "˙ɹǝɥ llᴉʞ puɐ 'ʇ,uǝɹǝʍ noʎ pᴉɐs ǝɥs ɹǝʇsuoɯ ǝɥʇ ǝɯoɔǝq ¡ɹǝɥ ʇɐǝ puɐ sǝʇᴉɹʍǝɹ ʇxǝu ǝɥʇ uᴉ ɹǝɥ ɹoɟ ʞoo˥ ˙ʞɔɐq ʇɥƃᴉɟ ʇ,uoʍ noʎ 'ǝɯᴉʇ sᴉɥ┴" Fayth vanished as the golden book started to shine brightly, blinding everyone. When the light finally dimmed, the girls could see Dawn looking up at the Prime Universe Tree as she became completely black. She started to cry and laugh like a mad person before finally finding one of the prism windows and entering it. Soon after, the girls returned to the slime-covered kitchen. Both Dawns didn't know what to say after what they saw; they could only turn to the twins, who walked away from them and looked out to the slime-covered garden from the kitchen that led to. "Sister, I know we both agreed not to think about it until all this was over, but seeing that and the person we've been seeing." Braver held her sister's hand, feeling Blitz gripping it back. "I'm starting to think I know who that person is." Blitz placed her other hand over her chest, feeling the spot where she remembered being stabbed the second time. "Same. I think we're just-" Lucy and Luster hurried over to them, asking what they meant. The twins turned to them, giving off a sad but happy smile. "We always thought that we were the clones of our mothers while I carried Sky's DNA, and Braver here carried a bit of Nightfall and the black slime." Blitz put pressure on her chest, making it collapse, scaring Lucy and Luster, as they could see black slime within Blitz. Braver watched as Blitz's black streak in her rainbow hair started to ooze like slime, the same way as her mane does. "We were wrong. Blitz and I are just part of the black slime, stealing the DNA of Sky and Nightfall." Lucy and Luster didn't like what the two were getting out, even though they knew what they would say. "And the person we have been seeing." Blitz took a deep breath. "We know who that person is. They are..." A bright light covered the garden as the girls looked up and saw the portal open. Lucy and Luster looked up at it but suddenly felt something wrapping around them and pushing towards the exit. They saw the twins making their slime towards the exit and out of whatever they were. "What are you two doing?!" yelled Lucy as the portal started to close. "Getting you two out of here." Blitz pushed harder, giving it her all. "I'm sorry, Lucy, but this is where we part ways for good. I don't know what will happen when we get her, but please. Don't ever forget us!" "Wait, stop! Blitz!" she tried to free herself, but the slime oozed a head, which became Blitz. "Don't do this! I love you!" "And I love you too. Bye." Blitz leaned in and kissed her. "Move on, okay? Be happy." Luster could feel tears coming as she saw that sad scene next to her; she quickly looked away and found Braver emerging from her slime and smiling at her. "Braver." She reached out for her. "I love you, Luster Dawn. You are my special somepony, and I'm glad the time I spent with you was wonderful. Please be happy. I'm sorry I trapped you from growing like you were always meant to be, and I hope you can forgive me. Goodbye." She leaned in and kissed her. "Bye." The girls screamed for the twins as they vanished into the portal. The two black slimes let them go and returned to headless twins, whose heads slowly filled back in from their slimes. "So, that's why you wanted to see Dawn's memories, right? To save your Dawn," answered Blitz, as she and her sister turned around, meeting the rainbow slime humanoid. "Well, we." she shook her head. "Well, she will do it. We need to get to her first." The slime smiled as rainbow tears started to fall from its white eyes. It pointed ahead, making them turn to see the twins' cores. The two orbs were trying to fuse, but something was resisting it. "Blitz!" shouted Braver, opening her wings. "Right!" Blitz answered, also opening her wings. "It's time to get our third sister to leave her room!" Both flew as fast as they could, not even bothering to look back at the humanoid. The moment they entered the orbs, the humanoid collapsed and turned back into a pile of rainbow slime, finally saying something. "Please, help them move forward, my sisters that I wish I had." Back with the others, Rainbow Dawn was still being held down and blasted not only by Nova's magical blades but also by Flare's heat vision, Sky's laser beams, Amazement magic, Heat's powerful flames, and Flash's beam attack. No matter how hard they tried, their attacks weren't burning her. "Are we doing it?" asked Heat, turning to Flare. "I think we got her lockdown, but I don't know how long we all can last! How are you guys doing?" shouted Flare at Nightmare, who tossed freezing Batarangs at the non-growing slime. "I think we stopped it from growing, and it seems to be taking in everything we had been throwing at it. I also feel this won't hold for much longer." She turned towards where Flare was. "From what Sky and Nightfall told us, the twins and the captured version of Dawns were eaten by this creature. We must find a way to get them out before, huh!?" she could hear the others yelling and turning around, seeing the slime growing smaller until it became a humanoid again. Before anyone could do anything to it, Nightfall created a magical barrier around them and pulled them away, letting the slime humanoid turn to half-rainbows and dart towards Rainbow Dawn, who opened her eyes and saw the creature heading her way. "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" she screamed, pulling out Nova's blades and then the other swords in her with ease, as they couldn't stop her from doing so. She ignored the attacks being unleashed on her and started to create a magical energy within, unleashing a powerful pulse and blasting them all away. "COME MY RAINBOW LIGHT!" she raised her arms like waiting for a hug as the slime got closer until it returned to her chest, but as it did, rainbow flashes appeared out of her back, making her drop to her knees. Two figures flew out of her back, making her lose her wings and horn. The lights' shooting sent Lucy and Luster flying high into the sky, but Aero and Flare saved them. Starlight and the others noticed the two and called out to them. "SWEETIE!" cried Starlight, running off to meet her as Aero and Flare landed near them. Flare let Luster go and took off to join the others, leaving Luster to be hugged by her mother. She didn't know how to react, as her mother never hugged her like this before. Even more so when Braver's friends joined in said hug. "Happy to see you are okay, friend Dawn!" cheered Luna. Tirek lowered the group after hugging them. "Great to see you are fine and well." Tempest let go, smiling. "Good to see you again." Chrysalis also let go, hugging Luna while looking at Luster. "Great to see you! After all this is over, we must talk about your love life! I can sense some great love coming from you." Luster felt her mother letting go and wiping away her tears. "Sweetie, thank Celestia, you are fine!" She couldn't understand why they were worried about her after all she had done to them. She tried to look for the words, but nothing came out. They let her go. "Because friends give other friends a chance to grow, and they will forgive their mistakes," said Cozy, the only one who didn't join the hug. She could see the confused look on Luster, making her walk over and punch her in the shoulder. "You aren't getting off that easy, though; you still need to pay for what you did back in Canterlot and Ponyville." she steps aside, revealing her friends behind her. "And to them." Luster lowered her head in shame, thinking of something to say. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I've done to you all, and I understand if you can never forgive me. Just know, I'll be making up for my actions." She started to cry as they looked at each other, wondering what to do. They all smiled at each other, knowing what to do. Luster could feel them hugging her again, telling her they forgave her but never to be evil again, as they knew how awful it could be. It slowly sunk in for her, and she realized her friends were indeed her friends, and they did forgive her and that she was no longer alone. She felt her mother hug her again and could hear her crying. "Please stop. I'm sorry," she said softly. Starlight pulled away, smiling and wiping away her tears. "Oh, I know, sweetie. But I'm crying out of joy. You are smiling, not fake but real, and that's the first time you've smiled without Braver around." she wiped her tears. "After this is over, we need to talk. I need to say my forgiveness to you." Luster didn't need her to finish. She could already tell what her mother was thinking, as she could feel her feelings. "Yes, we should talk, mom." Starlight was caught off guard, as she had never heard her daughter truly put love behind the word mom before. Her tears started again, but it was joy this time. She could see the others crying as well, even Tirek. Lucy couldn't help but smile as she saw her pony counterpart being happy that she didn't notice right away the tree roots holding her and sending her towards her friends, who hugged her. She wasn't surprised to see Sunset and Wallflower still looking different, but she was caught off by Brishen and Tempesta's new looks. "Brishen, are you wearing a costume again!?" she pulled his cheeks, hurting him and stopping as she realized it. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she turned to Tempesta and petted her like a real pony. "You look still cool, even as a pony, Tempesta." "You sure know how to give a weird compliment." smiled Tempesta. Sunset chuckled at her, messing up her hair. "That's our classic awkward Lucy, so how did you escape? Giving your evil counterpart a Sunday school lesson and winning her over?" Lucy glared at her and coughed. "No!" she quickly remembered what happened and pointed to Rainbow Dawn, who was throwing up rainbow slime from her mouth. "Blitz and her sister pushed us out of whatever we were and are inside still." "What!? Why!?" asked Wallflower, getting all worried. "Because." She held her cross and turned to them, then towards Braver's aunts and friends, and then to Blitz's aunts, whom she had just noticed as they hurried over."Because they're not really who they thought they were." They were confused by what she meant but looked over to Rainbow Dawn, who was slowly getting up and surrounded by Amazement and the heroes she gathered. "Give up, Dawn. It's over," ordered Amazement, pointing her sword toward her. Dawn slowly looked up at her and saw that she was surrounded. She coughed and smirked. "Not going to kill me? Not after the evil things I have done?" she slowly raised her hand toward Amazement, summoning something within her fist and tossing a necklace toward her feet. "Not after I killed your dear friend or your lover? I don't remember what she was, but I do remember your screams when I killed her." she waited for a reaction from her, but all she got was a sad smile. Amazement lowered and put away her sword. "I can't ever forgive what has been done to me, but I'm giving you a chance to make things right again. And you know you can't win against all of us." She could see Dawn's reaction. She started to laugh but also coughed. "Dawn, the chance I'm giving you is precious, like a spark we all carry, something that can't be forgotten or forgiven. It needs to be earned, so I'm giving you this chance." She raised her sword, ready to fight again. "Don't toss it away." Dawn wiped her mouth and asked her something. "Precious thing? Like a spark we all carry?" Amazement lowered her sword again and revealed her mark, her version of the cutie mark. "A spark that can turn into flames, flames that can burn brighter and brighter, allowing you to see the light within the darkness, that all magic comes from one thing, and that's." she shut her eyes and smiled. "Friendship! Friendship is the spark that lies within us all; it's the very thing that can allow us to give others chances in life, and it can enable others to change by allowing others to understand each other by reaching out the hand of friendship!" All the heroes agreed, and Midnight's cold expression became warm, as she was proud of her student. "That's right, Dawn! Friendship is the power of the Spark! What makes us all move forward!" yelled Amazement. Dawn looked at the necklace she tossed and then raised her hand, making a magical blade. "You sound like her." She quickly gathered all her energy and sliced the air above her, creating rifts and suckling the heroes towards it like a black hole. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't escape it. One by one, each of them was sucked inside and vanished as the rifts closed behind them. Sky and Nightfall were being pulled towards two different rifts as they tried to hang on each other. "SKY!" screamed Nightfall. She couldn't hold Sky's hand, so she was tossed into the rift and disappeared. "NIGHTFALL!" screamed back Sky as she, too, disappeared into her rift. As the last rift closed, the only ones left were Dawn and Amazement. Both ready themselves for a fight, unaware that Dr. Wonder was still there but far from anyone. She was blindly looking for anyone to help as she lost her magic. "Like I said, Dawn, what you do with the chance I gave you is your choice. Let's settle this if you wish to throw it away." Amazement charged, only for Dawn to teleport behind her. "If that's your wish, let's see whose will is stronger." Dawn swung her magical blade, cutting off the tip of Amazement's hat and knocking her sword out of her hands. "My love for my rainbow comet light or your foolish spark? How long do you think you can last against me?" she tried to stab Amazement, but she unleashed her mark's mana, creating a mana sword that surprised Dawn. "Enough for the others to come back!" They both clashed swords, creating a giant rainbow spark... ...Within a fake blue sky, a rainbow flashed, shooting out the twins as they landed in a non-destroyed version of their old home. They could tell they landed inside the garden as they could see the lone tree in the middle, and sitting under the tree was a pony covered in a rainbow blanket. "Why are you two here?" asked the pony. Both sisters held their hands, smiling, and answered her simultaneously, sounding like the blanket pony herself. "Making you step outside, sister!" End of chapter 33