Chapters It was the first day of summer, and Lord Death was especially bored. Most of his students had left, his son was at his mansion, and the staff of the DWMA was having a faculty party. For hours, he paced around his room, thinking of ways to entertain himself. Finally, he came up with an idea.
"Hey, why not call up an old friend?" he said aloud to no one in particular. He turned to his mirror, he usually didn't use it that often, students would often contact him, but not the other way around.
On the mirror, he traced the numbers: 13-12-16 on the mirror. His reflection turned to static as the mirror vibrated. After ten seconds of ringing, the mirror's image became clear.
"Celestia." said Lord Death, rather seriously
"Death." she replied in a similar tone
"So, how's it been? It's been a long time!" said Death, dropping the serious tone
"I've been well. Two years goes by fast, doesn't it?" said Celestia, she usually acted wise and kind, but around Death, she acted rather casually, since she didn't feel she had to set a good example around him, they were pals.
"It does, doesn't it? Anyways, how's your pupil, Twilight Sparkle? Is she still shy?" asked Lord Death with much curiosity
"It's funny that you ask, Death. She's grown up quite a bit. She made several more friends, and there's five in particular whom she shares a strong bond with. What about Maka Albarn? You always kept saying she was one of your best students." said Celestia
"She has made truly amazing progress, actually. The connection between her and her weapon partner, Soul has strengthened. Just recently, she and two other meister-weapon pairs may have finally vanquished the Kishin, Asura. I normally don't like to jump from topic to topic, but since it's been a while, did you do something about Nightmare Moon?" asked Lord Death
"Thankfully, we didn't have to resort to violence. Nightmare Moon returned, but Twilight and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to turn her back into Luna. I would have you meet her but she is.... still adjusting to our modern etiquette." said Princess Celestia
"I know someone like that, believe me..." From the other side of the Death room, he could hear someone cry "Fool!" Death noticed that for a second, Celestia looked a little surprised.
"Um, Celestia, are you feeling alright? You looked a little dazed a second ago." he said with concern in his voice
"I'm fine, I was going to ask you to come to Equestria, but I forgot that your soul is rooted to Death city." said Celestia, slightly disappointed
"Ah yes, it is kind of a burden, even if it is in the name of good." There was a moment of silence, thankfully Death had an idea.
"Wait! If I can't go, I know someone else who can: my top students. It could be an extra-curricular activity! They could learn a lot about the soul wavelengths of an entirely different species!" proposed Lord Death
"Death, you're a genius! My students might learn a thing or two from meeting humans for the first time, this is a great idea!" said Celestia excitedly
"When should I have them over there?" asked Death
"Tomorrow is fine. I'm so excited!"
The secret comes out! What is the DWMA?
Twilight Sparkle felt reluctant to go to Canterlot on this particular day. Not because she feared seeing Celestia, but the task she was going to assign her with. It felt wrong to judge somepony by their physical appearance, but she couldn't erase the shock that stuck with her as soon as she laid her eyes upon those... creatures. Twilight took a deep breath, and walked as slowly as possible to Canterlot.
After pacing in front of the castle door for quite some time, Twilight opened it slowly. She was surprised to see that her friends were already there.
"Well you came here early." said Twilight, somewhat surprised.
"We didn't get here early, you got here late, Twilight." said Applejack, unamused
"I'm glad you're all here. This is very brave of you, doing something that others would be reluctant to do. As you know, you'll be showing the exchange students around Ponyville. Are there any questions? Oh and one more thing, you are to all meet up at Everfree forest once you're done showing them around Ponyville." said Celestia.
**
"Even if this is a little weird, you have to admit, the room service is pretty sweet." said Soul, who had food on his face from breakfast, caused by a lack of utensils.
"Guys, this is important. If we're going to meet some of the citizens of Equestria, we're responsible for making the DWMA look good, understood?" said Death the Kid, and they all nodded.
"Just talk to them as if they were a human, it would make things a whole lot easier." said Tsubaki wisely
"I don't know about you, but I'm not going to wait five hours before we're told we can leave our room. Who's with me?" said Soul impatiently, walking out the door, they followed. Celestia and the same six ponies from yesterday were there in the long hallway leading to the throne room.
Having already witnessed talking ponies, the feeling of shock was lessened slightly for the DWMA students. Maka was the first one to speak up.
"Good morning to um.. all of you. We were just wondering, when do the extra-curricular lessons start? Let me introduce myself, I'm-" Maka began
"Maka Albarn, right? I've heard good things from you. As for the extra-curricular assignments, you needn't worry about them for now. For now, I want to make sure you feel as comfortable as possible, so I've assigned each of you a tour guide. When I call your name, step forward please. As soon as all of you are paired, you are free to explore town." instructed Celestia kindly. Once again, the DWMA students wondered how Celestia knew them so well.
"Elizabeth Thompson, your tour guide will be Applejack." Liz walked forward hesitantly, followed by Applejack.
"Death the kid, your tour guide will be Rarity." Kid walked forward, stood straight, and tried his best not to look nervous.
"Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, your tour guide will be Fluttershy." Tsubaki had a rather weak smile on her face, as she was trying to hide her stress.
"Patricia Thompson, your tour guide will be Pinkie Pie." Patty jogged forward, showing no signs of nervousness.
"Black Star, your guide will be Rainbow Dash." Black Star walked with confidence and had a cocky smile on his face.
"Lastly, Maka Albarn, your tour guide will be Twilight Sparkle." Maka tried to look as unfazed as possible.
"Hey wait, what about me? Is the name "Soul Evans" on that list?" asked Soul, who had been excluded. Celestia looked rather surprised.
"Soul Evans.... You're Maka's partner, aren't you? Oh my... this is a problem. I seemed to have forgotten to pair you up. If you don't mind, I'll let you find your own devices as to how you find your way around Ponyville, my deepest apologies." For the first time, Twilight noticed that Celestia looked sheepish. With that, everyone except Celestia made their way to Ponyville.
**
Pinkie Pie stared at Patty. It was almost like looking at a mirror image. When Pinkie tilted her head one way, so did Patty. They looked deep into each others eye, they saw reflections of themselves. When Pinkie made a silly face, so did Patty. They had never left the throne room.
"Come with me." said Pinkie Pie, in an oddly serious tone. Patty followed, curious to see this new world she was introduced to. But Pinkie didn't bother with that. She walked straight past all the sights without a word. Pinkie seemed fixated on going to one place.
She led Patty to the Sugarcube Corner, where she worked and lived. She didn't bother saying hi to Mr. and Mrs. Cake.
Finally they had reached the kitchen, and Pinkie Pie stopped and took a breath.
"Today." began Pinkie Pie
"We make."
"Cupcakes !" cried Pinkie pie, dropping her seriousness. Patty and Pinkie Pie squealed with excitement as they began pulling out ingredients from cabinets.
**
Death the kid and Rarity were one of the first ones to leave, being arguably the most serious of their respective groups, they got down to business with no nonsense in between.
"Right here, we have the lively town of Ponyville, gaze at it's marvels." said Rarity rather flatly, Kid sighed.
"You don't have to pretend to be interested, you know. I'm just as confused as you are. Let me do us the favor of explaining myself now than later. I am a grim reaper, or rather, the son of the grim reaper, where I come from. My friends and I come from a special academy called the DWMA, or the Death Weapon-Meister Academy. My father is the head of said academy. At the DWMA, there are two types of students, one division belongs to those who can transform into weapons, the other division wields those weapons, the meisters. I myself, am a meister. Our main goal at the DWMA is to balance good and evil in the world, by vanquishing those who have steered from the path of good, those who have abused their powers to kill the innocents. As for why that Celestia character is familiar with the DWMA, I'm not sure. Any questions? My name is Death the Kid, but I prefer to be called just Kid. " he explained. Rarity looked quite shocked, but she took in a deep breath and began to speak.
Rarity was just staring at Kid, with unfazed eyes.
"What? You don't believe me?" asked Kid
"Oh, I do. But I can tell just by looking at you who you are. You are somepony who stands out in the most classy way. You present yourself in a way that just screams professional. If there is a mistake there, you will waste no time in correcting it. You... are somepony who has style. Just look at that symmetrical suit! You may call me Rarity." said Rarity. Kid smiled.
"Something tells me we're going to get along well, Rarity."
**
Black Star and Rainbow Dash busted out the door, challenging each other to go faster. Black Star ran while Rainbow Dash flew, they raced all across Ponyville, leaving afterimages as they increased in speed. Every few seconds, one of them would gain an advantage over the other, and take the winning position, only for them to switch places seconds later. The race ended in a tie, at the bottom of a mountain.
"So you couldn't keep up with me? Go figure." said Black Star obnoxiously
"You couldn't keep up with me? Puh-leez, I totally won that race." said Dash arrogantly
"Yeah right, you're just in denial. I'm gonna be the guy to transcend god, there's no way you can be faster!" bragged Black Star
"Try telling that to a future wonderbolt! Did someone just paint a porcupine blue, put it on your head, and call it hair?" said Dash angrily
"What, did someone just a rainbow in a blender and call it yours?"
The arguing and insults continued for hours, getting worse and worse with each insult.
**
"So, um... judging by your clothes, have you ever worked on a farm before?" asked Applejack
"What, this?" said Liz, looking at her cowgirl outfit. "It's just for show. I'm from the city, actually." said Liz
"So you're a city gal, ah see. I've got a few cousins up in Manehatttan and..." Liz's eyes widened
"Wait, what? Say that again, what you just said!" said Liz suddenly
"Are you trying to make fun of my accent?" said Applejack
"No, not that. You said something about "Manehattan." What is that?" asked Liz urgently
"Manehattan is a city, is that what you wanted to know?" Once again, Liz's eyes widened and her jaw hung open.
**
Tsubaki and Fluttershy walked out without saying much. As they walked, they absorbed the sights silently, Tsubaki looked in awe at the lively town of Ponyville.
"Ponyville is okay, I guess. But I think the real beauty lies in the forest. Follow me, please." said Fluttershy meekly. She lead Tsubaki to the serene Everfree forest.
Tsubaki was speechless. The sheer beauty of it rendered her unable to talk. Rose petals grazed her face as a light breeze passed throughout the area. She closed her eyes, and achieved a state of peace, just for a couple seconds, she forgot where she was, she forgot who she was, for a couple of seconds, she had achieved true peace.
Fluttershy seemed to notice that Tsubaki was zoned out. She picked up on this and began conversation.
"Excuse me, Ms. Tsubaki? Are you... alright?" asked Fluttershy. Tsubaki blinked, and shook her head.
"Sorry, thanks for that." said Tsubaki, Fluttershy was confused as to what she was thanking her for. Before the conversation could continue, two Earth Ponies carrying a cart rushed in between Fluttershy and Tsubaki without even acknowledging it, they talked loudly about their daily gossip.
"Excuse me, but that was kind of rude of you! Would you mind apologizing?" said Tsubaki, irritated. They looked back, and continued gossiping. Tsubaki looked somewhat flustered. Fluttershy reached across the cart and tapped one of the ponies on the back.
"OMG, what is it?" said one of the obnoxious ponies
"Yeah, we don't have like, forever." said the other. When they looked back, they saw one angry pegasus glaring at them. Without hesitation, they fled the scene.
**
Maka and Twilight were both determined to be the best possible student, despite the awkward circumstances. They walked at a fast pace, rushing to get their task done.
"The faster you get this done, the less time you have to spend with her, Twilight. " she thought to herself
"If Lord Death sees how well I can handle this, maybe he'll let us leave earlier. " thought Maka
"Our first stop is Ponyville, an interesting little tidbit about it is that it all began with- Wait, what are you doing?" asked Twilight. Maka was scribbling something down in her notebook. This was partially because she wanted to avoid eye contact.
"Oh, sorry. I'm just taking notes." said Maka, not looking up from her notebook.
"You're taking notes? But Celestia didn't say anything about a test!" said Twilight, surprised.
"You never know, a test can come out of nowhere!" replied Maka
"Exactly! It's about time somepony agreed with me. My friends always seem to be busy with something to study!" said Twilight excitedly.
"I've been waiting for someone to say that! There's a saying where my friends and I come from: success comes before hard work only in the dictionary!" said Maka, looking up from her notebook.
"Wait a minute, I have an idea. Come with me!" said Twilight, who was eagerly running towards her home.
"Y-you have your own library? That's amazing!" Maka stared in awe at the large collection of books. Maka was surprised to see that the books were in English, strangely enough.
"It's all yours. Just let me know if you need help studying!" said Twilight, with genuine inthusiasm
"Y'know Twilight Sparkle, when I first saw you, I was kind of disapointed. But now that I've gotten to know you a little better, I think we could be good friends!"
"My thoughts exactly."
**
After meeting each other, the DWMA students and the Mane six met in the center of Everfree forest as they were told. Everyone was in relatively high spirits except for Black Star and Rainbow Dash, who were ready to pull each other's hair out.
"Ugh, where's Soul? Shouldn't he be here by now?" asked Maka, irritated
"I'm sure he's fine, Maka." said Tsubaki reassuringly
"Why the hell did your queen make us come here in the first place? To plant seeds or something?" said Black Star impatiently
"Would you just shut up! And she's a princess, not a queen, doofus." replied Rainbow Dash angrily
"Hey big sis! Guess what we did!" said Patty excitedly, licking frosting off of her fingers.
"We made cupcakes!" answered Pinkie Pie before Liz could answer. Just then, a nearby snarling, grinding sound could be heard. Everyone turned their heads, and suddenly, they were surrounded by Timberwolves. Their eyes glowed, hungering for blood. They howled to the sky. There was at least seven of them.
"Ya'll stay back, we don't want ya to get eaten or anything." said Applejack, getting ready to buck.
"Applejack is right. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if one of our guests got hurt." said Twilight, her horn glowing with a magical aura. Pinkie inexplicably had her party cannon with her, getting ready to fire.
"Actually," said Kid, stepping forward. "You don't need to worry about us. Liz, Patty, weapon mode, now." The Mane six was shocked to see the Thompson sisters turn from human to twin pistols so quickly.
"Alright! Time for the great Black Star to make his entrance! Tsubaki, you ready?" yelled Black Star eagerly
"Black Star... Please don't do something stupid." said Tsubaki, transforming into a chain scythe. Maka looked around for Soul, hoping he would show up soon. She cried his name loudly, no response.
The battle begun with Black Star speeding around the battlefield, taunting the Timberwolves at every oppurtunity. Kid
stood there patiently, still as a tree, as one of the Timberwolves charged at him. As soon as it was in a few feet's range, he did a flip, and fired, leaving it's face in a smoking ruin.
Black Star began running behind the Timberwolves, his movements were nearly impossible to keep track of. Sounds of metal clashing against wood could be heard. When he stopped running, the Timberwolves appeared to be perfectly fine, just then, a creaking noise could be heard. The trees behind the Timberwolves began to wobble, and they collapsed on top of five of the Timberwolves. Only one Timberwolf remained.
"Maka! Heads up!" She turned around, it was Soul, he jumped, and transformed into a scythe in midair, she caught him.
"Soul, what's the deal? You're late!" said Maka
"Well I'm here now, aren't I? Let's finish this weird thing off now!" said Soul. Maka sprung into the air, and raised Soul above her body.
"Soul resonance: Witch Hunter!" cried Maka and Soul in unison. Soul's scythe form grew in size, and another blade. The scythe landed right in the rear end of the Timberwolf. Maka pulled the blade right through it, tearing it in half. The mane six stood in silence at what they had witnessed.
"What's with that look? Did we do something wrong?" asked Maka.
"Yes, I mean, No, I mean... What was that?" asked Twilight
"That was amazing! Not as amazing as me, though." boasted Dash
"Hey, how about we talk this over somewhere else? It's hot out here." proposed Soul
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The triumphant return of the Holy Sword! Black Star and Rainbow Dash's atrocious adventure?
That morning, the sun was obstructed by the clouds, it wasn't raining, they just hung over Equestria. Rainbow Dash awoke with a sigh, the day before, Celestia had assigned Black Star as her partner and today she was supposed to a cooperative activity with him. She told Scootaloo she'd be back, and left.
Then, she had an idea, "If that Black Star thinks he's a big shot, than I'll show him up! That'll show him! " she thought. "I could do the Sonic Rainboom, or the buccaneer blaze! "
When she arrived at Canterlot, she was disgusted and jealous at the same time. Black Star was standing high up on the castle, apparently he had climbed up there himself. Even worse, a crowd of ponies was staring at him in awe. Dash couldn't hear what he was shouting, but she was sure it was gloating. He jumped down, and left a large dent in the concrete where he landed.
"And that's why I'm gonna surpass god!" he boasted. There were cheers and whistles coming from the crowd. Dash shoved through angrily.
"Don't you know when to shut up?! Quit being such a show-off and leave the stunts to the professionals!" The crowd let out a surprised "Ooooooooh"
"Oh it's you again, I know your jealous of me and everything, but seriously, you don't wanna mess with me." taunted Black Star. Dash didn't plan on fighting, but that remark set her off. She put her hooves up and bared her teeth together.
"Oh, you wanna fight? Bring it! By the end of today, there will be a new Black Star fan club! I won't even need Tsubaki for this one!" Black Star cracked his knuckles together, and they ran at each other. Just as they were about to clash, a voice cried out:
"STOP!" The crowd gasped as they cleared a path for Celestia. Dash cringed and facehoofed when she saw the look of disappointment on her face.
"Both of you: come with me, now. " The usually tranquil princess was beaming with anger, and Black Star felt his body being dragged to the throne room, same with Dash. No matter how much they kicked and screamed, they couldn't break free of Celestia's magic.
"I am very disappointed in both of you. Rainbow Dash, for somepony who plans on joining the elite Wonderbolts, you acted like a filly. And Black Star, Lord Death told me that you were one of the best students at the DWMA!"
"But Celestia, he started it, with his bragging and boasting!"
"That's bullsh-"
"Enough! You two are not getting off with a warning. I have decided to assign you with an extra assignment. There have been noise complaints from ponies living in the mountains. It is your duty to find the cause of it, is this understood? And just to ensure that you stay on task..." Just then, Celestia zapped Black Star and Rainbow Dash with a violet-colored beam of magic. Black Star looked at his wrist: on it was a blue, half-transparent chain. He looked to see what the chain was tied to:
"Oh hell no!" He was indeed tied to Rainbow Dash, who looked just as angered as he was. They looked in pure disgust at each other.
"That's right. If I still hear noise complaints tomorrow, I will ensure your next task will be much more tedious. It begins... now!" Black Star and Rainbow Dash stomped out of the throne room, yanking on the chain, trying to get the other to get mad. Black Star noticed that Dash wasn't heading towards the mountain.
"Are you blind? The mountain is over there!" said Black Star, pointing towards the horizon.
"I"m getting lunch! Or do I have to spell it out for you? L-U-N-C-H." said Rainbow Dash, heading towards Sugarcube corner.
Rainbow Dash struggled to go in, as she had to drag Black Star in, who tried his best to spite her by standing as still as possible. Mr. and Mrs. Cake stared in confusion at the duo, they were like two heads, connected to the same unwilling body.
"One cupcake, please." Rainbow threw two gold pieces onto the counter.
"Just one?" said Mrs. Cake, glaring at Black Star.
"Yep, just one, make it snappy!" said Rainbow Dash. After about a minute, Pinkie Pie came out of the kitchen, carrying a single cupcake on a tray.
"So Celestia gave you a special assignment with your partner, you guys are so lucky!" said Pinkie enviously
"Sure." said Dash, rolling her eyes. She took her cupcake and left with Black Star.
After taking a bite out of half of the cupcake, Black Star snatched it.
"Give it back! It was mine!" whined Dash. It was too late, as Black Star shoved the half-eaten cupcake in his mouth. Then, he began coughing and spat it out on the grass.
"Ugh, what do they make that stuff out of? It tastes horrible!" Rainbow Dash snorted at his misfortune. They then raced on their route to the mountain. For once, they cooperated, and ascended up the mountain without getting into a fight. Black Star scaled the mountatin, while Dash flew.
The summit of the mountain was much larger than expected. Multiple mountain ranges were grouped together, and ponies had inhabited it, building small cottages and cabins on it. It was frigid with ice and snow, and the oxygen was thin. Despite not being covered in fur, Black Star braved the chilly weather without so much as shivering.
"Ah, perfect silence, my favorite." Black Star took in a deep breath. He jumped onto a nearby cabin, and pointed to the sky.
"LISTEN UP WORLD! I AM THE MIGHTY BLACK STAR! DON'T TRY TO HIDE YOUR EXCITEMENT! LET ME HEAR YOU ROAR!" Silence, once again.
"Pfft.. You're not doing it right!" Dash flew into the air, Black Star was unwillngly dragged along. She bucked a cloud with all her might, and a lightning bolt hit the snowy ground, leaving a melted patch of ground. Black Star was unamused.
"That was it? You kicked a cloud and made some thunder? Lame."
"What, and just standing around and yelling is any better, ya big hypocrite!" Then out of nowhere, a paralyzing roar could be heard, while they were bickering, a dragon had appeared at the scene, apparently wanting to make a meal of them. It let a roar that shook the mountains, but not the creatures who stood before it. It took in a deep breath, ready to unleash scorching flames.
"I think we found our noise complaint..." said Dash, shaking
Suddenly, a yellow light appeared to go through the dragon, and it's eyes widened, and it's mouth was wide open. A flash blinded Black Star and Rainbow Dash briefly, upon opening them, the dragon was split in two, he had been horizontally cut in half.
"Excellent work, great and powerful Excalibur!" A pony that had almost angel-like wings descended to the ground. The snow seemed to melt when she landed on the ground gracefully.
"No, that's our noise complaint." said Black Star, slightly uneasily
The pony that had suddenly arrived was a unicorn, dressed in a magician's attire. She had a blue mane, and white hair. She glared at Dash as if they knew each other. She carried a golden sword by levitating it. Then, the sword transformed into a vaguely anthropromorphic creature.
"Same to you, Beatrix. Who are these fools who stand before us?" The creature pointed his cane in the direction of Black Star and Dash.
"Umm, great and powerful Excalibur, sir? I prefer to be addresed as Trixie. I think these fools wish to challenge us."
"Fool! I already knew that. Wait a minute..." The creature studied Black Star. "That hair, that tattoo, the outfit... Never mind. Just another fool." He lost interest
"What do you mean you don't remember me?! Don't you remember me, we had that big fight at the academy?"
"Oh, you must be one of my many admirers. Sadly for you, I already have a meister as of now, but I would recommend looking at my one thousand provisions. We can start with the five-hour storytelling party. It all began in the twelfth century, if memory serves it was on a monday. No, I think it was a friday. Thursday, perhaps? Yes, it was on a saturaday. No it was on tuesday. Could it have been on wednesday? I've got it, it was on a-"
"Can it, Excalibur!" said Black Star, he was plugging his ears with his fingers.
"Trixie." said Dash in an agitated tone. "Why are you hanging around here? Beat it, before we have to use force!"
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, stupid, naive, Rainbow Dash. Since I've been defeated by Twilight Sparkle, I was driven into a state of despair. I worked on a rock farm to earn a living, so I ran away. Everyday, I went to the nearest library, but the story that stood out the most to me was Excalibur's, even if he was just a legend, he inspired me. I got so entranced by the stories surrounding him, I decided to seek him out, even if it meant traveling to another dimension. Luckily, I found a spellbook that allowed me to do this. Finally, I had found Excalibur, and I told him I sought him out for meaning in life. He called me a fool, and he taught me self-confidence, and together we found glory! We heard rumors of a monster lurking here and we have come hither to vanquish it! After Excalibur and I humiliate you, Rainbow Dash, we're going after Twilight Sparkle!" explained Trixie
Black Star fell over laughing "You admire Excalibur? What did he bribe you or something? That's the saddest thing I've ever heard! Besides, how'd you get past his one-thousand provisions?"
"Fool!" said Trixie, sounding more and more like Excalibur, "Thanks to Excalibur, nopony will ever ridicule the great and powerful Trixie again! I owed everything to him, the one-thousand provisions were but all too easy."
Dash wanted to acknowledge that Trixie had just made a direct threat to Twilight, but she couldn't get over the appearance of the supposed "Holy Sword". "So he's your "great and powerful" idol? He looks like a rejected colt's toy! Get some help, Trixie." Excalibur seemed annoyed by Dash's remark.
"Hold on! Before we engage in battle, every battle requires a proper introduction, Beatrix, I request you perform a duet with me."
"Of course, great and powerful Excalibur!"
"♪ Ex-cali-bur, Ex-cali-bur. From Canterlot, I'm looking for him, I'm going to Ponyville! ♪"
"♪ Ex-cali-bur, Ex-cali-bur. From United Kingdom, I'm looking for her, I'm going to California! ♪"
"AGHHHHH!" Black Star had enough, without hesitation, he charged at the vulnerable weapon-meister pair. But by the time he reached in for a punch, Excalibur had already transformed into his weapon form. Trixie effortlessly swatted him away, his body slammed onto the hard ice. His arm was probably half-broken, but he staggered up.
Then, Rainbow Dash flew at Trixie, she expected to buck a few of Trixie's teeth out, but instead, she was blocked by Excalibur. She looked for another opening, but once again she was blocked by Excalibur. Frustrated, she began attacking in all directions, each attempt was foiled by Excalibur. Trixie yawned with boredom, she slashed upwards, knocking Rainbow Dash into the air, before creating a single thundercloud to shock her. She fell to the ground like a pebble.
"Done yet? Now it's our turn!" By raising Excalibur, she sprouted a large pair of golden wings. She zoomed around them, and in just a couple of seconds, she had created a tornado. It easily swept up Black Star and Rainbow Dash in their weakened state. Their attempt to escape failed due to the fact that they were trying to get out in the opposite direction. When the tornado faded, Black Star and Dash were dizzy and heavily injured.
"Excalibur, prepare yourself! Soul Resonance: Trixie the explosive!" With this, Excalibur began to glow even brighter than before. Black Star immediately began running out of the way, but he was held back by Rainbow Dash, she just sat there, with a look of pure despair on her face. He yanked the chain to pull both of them out of the blast radius of the ginormous explosion that Trixie and Excalibur had caused.
"What was that?! You just stood there while she could've killed us!"
"...faster..."
"What?"
"She's faster than me! She's stronger than both of us, just give it up." Black Star looked down at her with a look of pity, and slapped her across the face.
"Give up?! Give up?! Listen kid, I know you're all bummed, I've been down that road, but if you can't pull yourself together like a real star we're both gonna die!" coached Black Star. She looked at him scornfully, but she took a deep breath and nodded.
"Got it!" They looked at Trixie through the smoke of the explosion, she was surprised to see them in one piece.
"Check this out!" Black Star ran at Trixie, and as she swung Excalibur, Black Star jumped on the blade, and bounced off of it like a springboard. When he was just above Trixie, he spit out some saliva, perfectly timed and aimed so it would hit her in the eyes.
"Can't see! Excalibur, help!" Trixie swung Excalibur in all directions, blinded by Black Star's spit.
Using this as an opening, Rainbow Dash flew up, taking Black Star with her. Once she had reached the highest point in the atmosphere, she soared downwards like a comet, she hit mach ten in a matter of seconds. Dash put her hooves in front of her, Trixie was helplessly standing there. Rainbow Dash planned on using the Sonic Rainboom at point-blank range.
"Everypony, watch this! Sonic Rainboom!"
"Don't leave me out of this! Black Star: Big Wave!" At the very last moment, Trixie regained her senses and prepared to block with Excalibur. The combined force of the two different techniques, as well as the momentum, could make even the legendary Holy Sword give in to the pressure. Excalibur hit the ground with a "SHING" and transformed back into his anthropomorphic form.
"Mercy! Uncle! Whatever you brutes can understand! I give in!" cried Trixie
"That was a tie right? We win by 3/4ths? We mostly won?" said Excalibur. Black Star walked up to Excalibur.
"IN! YOUR! FACE! Nobody can handle the legendary awesomeness of Black Star! Suck it, Excalibur!" gloated Black Star. Trixie struck him with a lightning cloud to shut him up.
**
Celestia awaited the return of Black Star and Rainbow Dash eagerly, wondering if they stuck to the task. Sometime in the afternoon, they arrived back, with Trixie, strangely enough.
"The noise complaint's been taken care of, Celestia!" said Dash happily.
"And, as an added bonus, we have another knight to add to your forces!" said Black Star, they stepped back, and Trixie stepped forward with Excalibur.
"Well, this went better than I expected. " thought Celestia.
"Greetings Celestia, for it is I, the great and powerful Trixie, and I wish to serve you with the great power of Excalibur!" With a puff of smoke, Excalibur transformed.
"Ah yes, it's good to be in a castle again. But first, I want some swiss cheese." asked Excalibur
Celestia tried not to look surprised at his appearance. "You must be Excalibur. I've heard tales of you, but-"
"Fool! 'Tis not a tale, but a legend. It began in the twelfth century, when I was in my rebellious stage in life. Even the mountains stopped to stare at me. I suppose you don't know anything about rebellion, it's kind of sad. My hat was scruffy and my vest was sub-par. Now I've learned to admire the finer things in life. Speaking of the finer things in life, I discovered tea in my twenties, which has since become my favorite beverage to start my mornings with-"
"Congratulations, you two are knighted! The royal guard uniforms are at the right of the ballroom." After bowing, Trixie and Excalibur walked off.
"Excellent! Now we may start with our royal duties as guards!" yelled Trixie
Provision number 151: The hero is free to express his or her emotions in any way, shape, or form.
Using Excalibur's wings of light, Trixie flew over to Twilight's home. She flew up to the very top of the tree, and sliced off the tip of it, leaving Twilight without a proper ceiling. After letting out a snooty laugh, Excalibur and Trixie teleported away. Twilight was shocked when she walked upstairs.
Provision number 251: Only the grandest of windows is acceptable.
Trixie and Excalibur stared at the large window they had specially ordered. It took up half the space on the throne room wall, and it depicted Excalibur in all of his greatness resting within the cave he had previously lived at.
"Don't you think that stained glass window is a little... big?" asked Cadence innocently
"FOOL!" replied Excalibur and Trixie
Provision number 386: One must ask for goods in the most formal way possible.
Excalibur stomped his cane in the ground swiftly "I want some Apple Pie." Applejack felt a small drop of sweat form at her forehead as she stared at the customer before her.
Provision number 493: Always make visits to your students.
Excalibur stepped through a portal, and he was in front of the DWMA. "I'm baaaaack!" he cried.
The whole school seemed to react at once "GO AWAY!" they screamed fiercely. Excalibur walked back through the portal as if nothing happened.
Provision number 649: If there is a party, the Holy Sword Excalibur must attend it.
Pinkie Pie as usual, was having a party, and she invited everyone , among those who attended the party were Excalibur and Trixie, their egos showed at the party. This wasn't one of Pinkie Pie's normal parties, it was a dance party, and she had hired DJ Pon3 as her disk jockey. In the middle, there was a dance floor, where ponies circled the dancer in the middle. Then, Excalibur took the stage, dancing to a different song, and singing another song entirely, ponies slowly backed away, leaving the party, by the end, Trixie was the only one there, cheering for him the entire song.
**
Celestia had asked Trixie and Excalibur to come to the throne room, it was something important. Trixie noticed that Celestia was visibly nervous, Luna was there too.
"It's a good thing you two got here in time, I have a special assignment for you both. You see, at the, um..."
"Griffon kingdom." Luna added
"Yes, at the Griffon Kingdom, they're being terrorized by this... creature, yes it's a..."
"Giant Cockatrice." said Luna
"Don't tell the other guards this, but, I think you two have the best potential out of all of them. I want you two to go alone, and tell nopony of it. If the king of the Griffons denies it happened, he's probably in shock, move onto the next kingdom to find it." explained Celestia
"Of course!" without a second thought, Trixie flew out the door with Excalibur.
"Fools!"
"Wow! I never knew there was a giant cockatrice rampaging in the Griffon Kingdom!" said Cadence, surprised.
"Cadence... There is no giant cockatrice." Celestia, said and she made a face that radiated disgust and disappointment.
Maka had just woken up, as usual, Soul was still asleep, and he was probably going to be asleep until 11:00 AM because "beauty sleep is cool". She walked into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, and started to make pancakes. She yawned and reached for the mix in one of the cabinets but suddenly, she heard a crash coming from Soul's room. Without hesitation, she dropped what she was doing and ran in there.
"Black Star, what the hell are you doing here? It's 8:00 in the morning, it's way too early. Not cool." Soul was awake, looking at Black Star, who had broken through the window. Maka was not amused. Before Black Star could even explain why he was there, Maka gave him and Soul a well-placed Maka chop.
"C'mon guys, I know your frustrated that you haven't seen me in the last twenty four hours, but that's no excuse to do that to a star!" said Black Star, who was bleeding from his forehead.
"Get to the point, Black Star." said Maka, annoyed
"Tsubaki and I just got a letter from Lord Death. He says we get to go on this summer school vacation thing, he says it's important. I think you guys are invited too." said Black Star
"Wouldn't Lord Death just send us the letter himself if he wanted us to come?" asked Maka
"I just wanted the satisfaction of beating the mailman here." Black Star turned around and yelled out the window "Take that, you uniformed prick!"
"Yeah, you show him, Black Star!" said Soul, and they high-fived.
"Anyways, you guys should get going. I'll see you guys there!" said Black Star, jumping out the window with a "crack" upon hitting the ground.
**
When Maka and Soul arrived at the Death room, Black Star, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, Liz, and Patty were already there.
"I bet you're wondering why I've gathered you all here." said Lord Death, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"So what's this extra-curricular activity about?" asked Soul impatiently
"I was getting to that. I've signed you guys up for a "summer camp" of sorts. You'll be going there for a couple weeks. The thing is, it's not here, not in America, or even on this planet." explained Lord Death
"We're going to space? Wheeeeeeee!" said Patty excitedly
"Not exactly, more along the lines of another dimension entirely. It's called Equestria. There, you'll be exchange students." said Death, seven distinct cries of "What?! " filled the room.
"Father, are you sure this is a good idea? Who knows what lies there!" said Kid nervously
"Don't worry Kid, I know what I'm getting into. I've been there before, a long time ago. It's not too different from Earth. Your main assignment there is to study the soul wavelengths of the residents."
"So are you saying the residents there aren't human? I know I can trust you, Lord Death, but is that the truth?" asked Tsubaki
"Yes and No, Tsubaki. They aren't human in physical appearance. But they are just as intelligent, and they know English, so you don't have to worry. If anything goes wrong you can contact me, don't forget 42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on Death's door. I'll let you guys think it over." said Lord Death reassuringly. The students huddled, sharing their feedback.
"I think I'll go, I mean, we can trust Lord Death, right?" said Tsubaki
"Of course I'm going, nothing can scare me!" boasted Black Star
"I don't know guys, it seems a little fishy.." said Liz, her voice shaking a bit.
"C'mon, big sister! Lighten up, I'll be there for you so everything will be okay!" said Patty optimistically, Liz reluctantly nodded her head.
"Agreed. I trust my dad. He's probably telling the truth." said Kid
"Well if you guys are going, then I guess we'll go. Right, Soul?" said Maka
"I can't really say no, if you're going there, Maka." said Soul.
"We've come to a decision, dad: we'll go." said Kid
"Excellent! Sid should be here with a bus soon." said Death excitedly
"So we're going to another dimension on a bus. Cool, I guess." said Soul, accepting the fact that it was beyond all logic. They took their time walking to the bus, thinking over the possible consequences of going to another universe. The DWMA's bus was parked right in front of the building. Spirit was there, waiting for Maka.
"Maka, daddy wants you to know that daddy loves you very much, so I packed everything for you. Isn't that nice of me?"
"Yeah, whatever dad." said Maka rather coldly. Spirit was sobbing, hugging Maka tightly, Maka almost had to pry him off to get on the bus. Blair tried her best to comfort his sniffling and sobbing.
"Alright kids, choose your seat wisely because once you sit down you can't change it, or else." said Sid sternly
"Or else what?" asked Black Star with a smirk on his face. Sid cracked his knuckles and he shut up. The bus could put three people on one seat. Soul, Kid, and Black Star sat together. Maka and Tsubaki sat as far away as possible from them, and the Thompson sisters sat nearby.
"Yo Kid, do you know anything about this?" asked Soul curiously
"No, why would I?" said Kid defensively
"Lord Death sounded vague about this whole summer camp thing. Did he tell you anything?" said Soul
"Whenever I tried to get a word out of father, he told me not to worry. I'm just as blind as you two right now." said Kid
"Well at least we won't have to worry about embarrassing ourselves." said Black Star confidently
"What do you mean?" asked Kid
"They'll all be speechless when they see how cool I am!" said Black Star.
"Sid, how long is this bus ride gonna take? Waiting this long isn't cool." complained Soul
"Eight hours. Why do you think we woke you up early, genius?" said Sid sarcastically
***
"Celestia, is something wrong?" Twilight had arrived in a hurry with the rest of the mane six. Celestia had requested them to come to Canterlot quickly.
"Don't worry Twilight, nothing has happened. However, I do think this is important. We will be having some exchange students visit Equestria and study it. I have chosen you six to show them around Ponyville, and make them feel welcome. You have each been assigned one student." explained Celestia
"Where are they from? I mean, who hasn't heard of Equestria?" asked Rainbow Dash curiously
"Well... You'll have to see for yourself." she replied
"This is going to be so much fun! Princess Celestia, you can leave it to me, I'll show them everything! Ponyville, Everfree forest, the Apples' orchard and... and.... and...." said Pinkie Pie excitedly, Applejack interrupted
"Pinkie Pie, don't you think you're getting a lil' ahead of yourself? Let us show 'em around, will ya?"
"When will they arrive, Princess Celestia? I simply cannot wait!" said Rarity
"From what I've heard, they're expected to arrive this afternoon."
***
"Sid, what the hell are you doing? We're about to drive off that cliff!" yelled Soul, who was just about ready to take the wheel from him.
"Soul, I know what I'm doing! If we miss this, we all die, do you understand?" replied Sid angrily
"Die?! " said Liz, now panicking. Kid was rocking back and forth in his seat, muttering something about symmetry. Maka and Tsubaki were closing their eyes, holding hands. Black Star was banging on the window desperately.
"Here we goooooo!" Sid slammed on the wheels and drove straight off of the mountainside cliff. But they couldn't see the ground, instead, there was a blue abyss floating in midair. The bus went right into it. There was a bright, white flash. Maka opened her eyes. She was fine, Soul was fine, everything was fine. The bus was parked in front of some kind of castle. Seven sighs of relief filled the bus.
"Alright, grab your luggage and get off of the bus quickly. This portal doesn't last forever y'know." said Sid. The DWMA students picked up their luggage and walked off the bus. After sitting down for roughly eight hours they all took a moment to stretch their muscles. As soon as they were all off the bus, Sid backed the bus into the portal.
"Where are we supposed to go? Isn't there gonna be some kind of Camp Counselor to show us our rooms or something?" said Black Star impatiently.
"Maybe they're still coming?" said Tsubaki. Everyone seemed to agree with this, so they waited, and waited, and waited. After ten minutes, Soul lost his patience. He kicked the grand door leading into the castle, it opened with a "creak."
"Hello? Anyone here?" cried Maka, as she looked down the long hallway. However, despite their curiosity, something stopped them dead in their tracks.
Silence filled the long hallway. The DWMA students were frozen in place, paralyzed by shock and confusion.
"The intelligent species Lord Death mentioned.... are a bunch of ponies?!" thought Maka. They looked just as confused as the students did. Well except for one, she didn't look fazed at all, she was a winged unicorn, or rather an alicorn. Nobody, not even the usually outrageous Black Star. After what seemed like an eternity, Kid spoke up.
"Ahem, let us introduce ourselves. We are from an elite academy called the DWMA. We have been told we're going to be exchange students here. This is Equestria, is it not?" said Kid professionally
A smile appeared on the alicorn's face, and she teleported in front of the DWMA students.
"Ah yes, you must be Death's son, welcome to Equestria. You may call me Princess Celestia. I assume these are your fellow students." said the alicorn kindly
"Wait, how do you know my father?" said Kid, taken by surprise
"We're good friends. We go back to ancient times." explained Celestia
"Dad sure has a long history with the great old ones... is she one of them? Perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions." thought Kid
"Cadence, would you mind showing our guests to their rooms?" asked Princess Celestia, who must've noticed the nervousness in the DWMA students. "Certainly" she replied.
After being escorted to their room, the DWMA students took in a deep breath.
"Out of all things Lord Death could've decided not to tell us... he leaves out something like this? " said Liz angrily. Patty was silent, her jaw hanging open.
"Well, you can't judge someone by their appearance can you?" said Tsubaki optimistically
"True, but this still came at us out of nowhere. A little heads-up would've been nice." said Soul
"Hey, why not think of it this way? In a week, we might be so adjusted to it that we won't even notice!" said Maka
"Father tends to leave out details sometimes. Remember the BREW we secured, when we battled Arachnophobia? Before we got to use it, dad was a little shady about what we planned to use it for. Besides, if we were told that we were going to visit a world of talking ponies,unicorns, and pegasi would you believe it?" said Kid.
**
"Princess Celestia, in all due respect, what the heck was that? You said they were exchange students!" said Rainbow Dash
"They are exchange students, they've come here to study Equestria, and that fact still remains. I regret not telling you the whole truth, and I apologize for that. But, that still means that you must treat our guests with proper respect. I could tell they were just as confused as you were. I have postponed the welcome tour until tomorrow. Something tells me they might need to relax for a bit." said Celestia
Don't worry, I haven't abandoned this story! The next chapter is currently in progress as of now, so as a reward for being so patient, I give you (crappy) fanart I've made myself (Not intended for shipping)
Picture Number Uno
Picture number dose