Chapters It was a nice and bright day in the land of Equestria, but more importantly, in the town of Ponyville. Every pony in this quant town was enjoying their day in their own way. One pony in particular wasn't doing anything spectacular, as she was lying down on a bench, nose deep in a spell book.
This pony was a lavender unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, a very adept magic user and student to Princess Celestia, a winged unicorn and ruler of Equestria alongside her sister Luna in the capital of Canterlot. Her teacher sent her to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship. She has what is known as a cutie mark on her flank. Her unique cutie mark is in the shape of a giant pink star with smaller stars surrounding it. Cutie marks are all unique to each pony and represent what makes that pony unique
As Twilight was enjoying her book and practicing a spell to change a bolder into a house, a voice came to break her concentration…
"Hey Twilight!" It was Pinkie Pie, a pink, hyperactive, and random party animal and occasional annoyance to anything in audio range of her. Her cutie mark is a yellow balloon and two blue balloons, showing her love of partying.
"*sigh* Yes Pinkie?" Twilight said, trying not to show her annoyance with Pinkie interrupting her spell.
"Have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere? She said she was going to go pranking with me!"
"Have you tried looking up?" Pinkie looked straight up to see Rainbow Dash, trying to clear up the leftover clouds from a storm yesterday. Rainbow Dash, a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, is one of many pegasus ponies in charge of the weather patterns over Ponyville. She's tomboyish and insensitive at times, but also loyal and very brave. Her cutie mark is that of a cloud with a rainbow thunderbolt.
"Hey Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash immediately looked down towards the voice.
"Oh hey Pinkie Pie! I'll be done in a minute!"
"Good 'cause I though you forgot!" Rainbow Dash finished up and came down.
"Me? Forget pranking? Have a little faith Pinkie!" the two continued their conversation as they left, leaving Twilight in the peace and quiet she really needed.
"Well… I'm glad that's over. Now where was I…? Oh yeah!" She turned her attention back to the bolder…
"Hey Twi!" This time she was interrupted by Applejack and Fluttershy. Applejack, an orange pony with a blonde mane and an accent that when Twilight first heard it, she couldn't make heads or tails of what the accent was. Her job in Ponyville was to work at the family ranch harvesting apples. Her cutie mark is in the shape of three apples, showing her love for where she comes from. A very proud and trustworthy pony, she's been one of the most helpful ponies that Twilight has ever met since she arrived in Ponyville.
Fluttershy, as her name suggests, is a shy yellow pegasus with a pink mane who is one of the nicest, if not the nicest pony in Ponyville and has an undying love for animals, as shown by her cutie mark being three cute butterflies. "Oh sorry… were we interrupting?"
"No it's ok… What's up?" Twilight said, becoming very irritated.
"Do you know where Rarity is? Her cat got into a fight with Angel." Rarity was a white pony with a purple mane and a cutie mark with three diamonds. She is a fashion designer and seamstress at her shop in town. Sophisticated, stylish, and beautiful, she is also the drama queen of the group, as she seems to make a big deal out of anything fashion and always wants to be the center of attention.
"No, I haven't. Have you tried her house?"
"Yeah and she's not home, which is why we came to you. Thanks anyway!"
"Yeah sure! Now back to my rock…"
As the two ponies finally left to find Rarity, Twilight tries again at the bolder…
"Hey Twilight!" This time it was a purple and green baby dragon.
"ARGH! WHAT?!" The dragon cowered behind a tree. "Oh I'm sorry Spike… I shouldn't have yelled…"
"It's ok." Spike said, as he came out from behind the tree. "I know how you get when you get interrupted during your spell practice." Spike was Twilight's roommate and assistant in her studies. His main duty is to send and receive letters between Twilight and Celestia. He sends them with his fire breath and vomits up the ones she sends back. He has been with Twilight since he was born, because she was the one who hatched him from an egg on the same day she became Celestia's student.
"So what's up?"
"Celestia sent a message asking you to come to the castle to meet someone."
"Well, let's go find the others! I wonder who Celestia wants us to meet." Twilight closed her book and began to gather her friends. After finding them all, a carriage arrived to take them to Canterlot.
As Twilight and Co. entered the castle grounds per Celestia's request, they didn't even make it to the door before they were greeted by a strange, old pony. A gray pegasus unicorn with a black cape covered with stars, a black travel bag, silver mane, orange eyes, and a cutie mark in the shape of a sparkling wind rolls. His presence made everyone slightly uneasy as he seemed quite creepy.
"So, you must be Twilight Sparkle. Celestia has told me much about you, your friends, and the adventures you've had."
"Who are you?"
"How rude of me! I am Ventus Solvite, traveler of the world and former adviser to Celestia." He said proudly.
"Former? Why did you leave?" Applejack asked curiously.
"I wanted to travel the world and learn the customs of other countries. I figured the best way to do that was to go there and find them out myself. Now I'm back and the first thing I wanted to do was to meet the great Twilight Sparkle and her friends!"
"The great Twilight?"
"Yes! A pony your age doing the things you can do is almost unprecedented! Celestia has sent me letters about your adventures."
"Well, if I didn't have the people behind me to help I wouldn't have even done any of that."
"Yes, that is well! Would you six like to see something amazing?"
"Sure…" Ventus used his magic to pull out a strange box covered in jewels from his travel bag.
"You were right! It is amazing!" Rarity said in classic fashion. He set the box down in front of Twilight.
"What is it?"
"That's just it; I have no idea what it is. For all I know it could…" Just as he said that, Twilight got close to the box and it seemed to react to her presence. The box immediately launched away everyone but Twilight and trapped her in a field of energy that began to shock her.
"AHHHHHH!"
"TWILIGHT!"
Rainbow Dash flew at the shield, but was repelled and sent flying into a fruit cart. Then, before anyone else could react, the shield, the box, and Twilight vanished in a flash of light.
Everyone was panicking, horrified by what they saw. Their friend Twilight was abducted by a box...
"What's going on out here?!" Princess Celestia heard the commotion, but didn't see what happened.
"Ventus, what happened?!" Princess Luna wasn't far behind.
"It appears that…your student Twilight…"
"Yes what about…where is Twilight?" Celestia asked, as she noticed that Twilight wasn't there.
"It appears that the box I showed you earlier… pony-napped her.
"WHAT?!" Celestia and Luna said in shock. "I thought you said that box wasn't dangerous!"
"It didn't react to anything before, so I don't know why it would start now!"
"Where did you get that box?" Applejack finally saying something after calming the other ponies down.
"I got it from a land known as Adeptus…"
"Adaptus?! Were you insane?!"
"What is Adaptus?
()()()()() Meanwhile ()()()()()
*Crackling* *Thud*
As Twilight landed on the ground, burned and scarred from the ride and barely conscious, she heard a voice before passing out.
"Huh… You look like that ride wasn't pretty… Don't worry… You're gonna be ok…
Author's Note
Thought I would start posting a new story since my other one will soon be drawing to a close. This story will be posted every sunday.
As Twilight began to regain consciousness, she smelled something really good. When she tried to sit up, a sharp pain shot up her back, forcing her to stay down.
"Ah!"
"You're awake." Twilight looked in the direction of the male voice. She turned to see a dark red unicorn pony, with short, brown messy mane and a short, spiky tail. He had blue eyes and a cutie mark that looked like a green zero with white stars around it. She took a look around and didn't see much in the shack. It looked like a rundown house with a cauldron full of soup.
"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I all bandaged up?"
"Oh my name is Zero Amare. What's yours?" He seemed genuinely curious.
"Twilight Sparkle..."
"Huh… It suits you. As for where you are, you're in the worst country on this planet but the locals call it Adeptus."
"The locals? You're not from here?"
"No, if you were to see what the ponies here look like, you'd understand why. There are ponies in every corner of the world. They mostly just live in Equestria."
"That's where I'm from. I'm Equestrian. Where are you from?"
"A small little country called Libertas. Not very far from Equestria."
"Have you ever been to Equestria?"
"I have not, but I do plan to see it one day. I hear it's quite nice. Now, you wanted to know why you were all bandaged up." Twilight nodded. "When I found you in the swamp earlier today, you had some bad burns and a few cuts. Nothing serious, so I thought I bring you to my temporary home and patch you up. Anymore questions?" He said, as he was preparing what looked like a soup in the cauldron.
"Why didn't you take me to a doctor to make sure?"
"Because the nearest town is about five miles away and behind a mountain; I'm not carrying you over a mountain when I'm able to do the job just as good as any doctor. Like I said, your injuries weren't serious."
"Then how come it hurts to sit up?"
"Because the worst of the burns is on your back."
"So how long before I can sit up?"
"Tomorrow at the latest." He said reading his cookbook.
"What are you making?"
"This cookbook says "Veggie Soup", so that's what's on the menu. Want some?" He said pouring a bowl. Twilight was a little hesitant to accept the food of a stranger... till her stomach started to growl.
"How do I know it's not going to kill me?"
"Because I'm eating it too. Duh." He floated the full bowl over to Twilight. She caught one whiff of it and couldn't believe how good it smelled.
"It smells delicious!" Zero smiled at the compliment.
"I hope it tastes just as good." He said, using magic to pour a bowl for himself. Twilight managed to sit up to eat, but not without difficulty. As he sat in a chair just a few feet from her, she asks one more question.
"You said that Adeptus was the worst country on this planet. What did you mean by that?" Zero stopped eating to answer her question. After a few seconds of staring at the floor, Zero eventually made eye contact with the extremely curious pony.
"Ok, this is what I've managed to pick up from some of the people I've met. About two hundred years ago, this country used to be part of a bigger one called Duodus. Now, they had a way of determining who lead the country and it was based on who the people believed was the better leader. That leader, once elected, was given an amount of time to run the country, alongside at least five hundred other elected officials."
"Wait… Five hundred other elected officials… how did the leader get anything done?"
"The elected officials were part of a system to ensure that the leader of the entire country didn't have all the power. So, they divided it into groups and only when they all worked together could anything get done. It was a mess at the time, because there was a divide among the ponies. One half of the people weren't happy with the ponies in charge, especially after he got reelected, so they left and the country was split. Duodus was dead. The country was split was split into two: Freedus and Adeptus. When the split happened, the ponies of Freedus couldn't have cared less because the land they took was land they really didn't needed."
"So what happened after the split?"
"Everything was a mess between the countries until a spell caster by the name of Terra Motor made the country move south far enough to where the other couldn't be seen on the horizon, effectually ending all hopes of reuniting the country. Duodus adopted the name Freedus and everything returned to a peaceful state, until…" He floated a book from a bag on the floor and began to flip through the pages for something specific. He then showed her a picture of a sophisticated black pony with his cutie mark in the shape of a pale white cross. Something about him just made her skin crawl. "…He took control."
"Who is he?"
"His name was Dux Mortis, a pony that was able to convince the people of this land that he was the one that would lead them to a prosperity that would last for centuries. Two years after he was elected to lead, he managed to get the entire country brainwashed and finally turned the country into a dictatorship."
"Why didn't Freedus try to stop him?"
"Because at this point, it was no longer their main priority. They were having their own troubles and were more concerned about that then some country that was already on life support. They just left it for dead."
"So this country is an abandoned home run by a mad pony."
"Mad ponies." Zero corrected Twilight. "It's now basically run by a family of tyrants. It has been for the last hundred and fifty years and the people are starting to wonder if there's anything they can do. They give barely enough to survive and I'm only been able to make this because I found all of those ingredients."
"Then, why are you here?"
"I was betrayed by my teacher. I thought I could trust him, but he knocked me out while we were passing by the country and left me for dead." Twilight was shocked.
"What was his name?" Zero hesitated on the answer.
"He called himself Suvnet. I never believe it to be his true name, but when I asked him he gave me the same answer. What's worse is that getting out isn't as easy as getting in. It might as well be a dungeon."
"So how do I get back to Equestria?" Zero looked away for a bit before looking back at Twilight and shaking his head.
"I don't know. I've only been here for about a month and I've been able to stay out of military's attention but at this point I just want to get out of here as much as you do. But for right now, it doesn't look like you are going anywhere."
"Maybe if I could get a message out to my friends, they could help me get home."
"Maybe, but for right now you need to heal before we can do anything about leaving."
"Alright, but when I'm able to walk under my own power, I want you to take me to see the town. I want to see if everything you've told me is true."
"I don't blame you. After coming from a place of peace and love to suddenly end up in a country run by lunatics, I'd look at the pony that told me and say "Now let's delve into non-fiction shall we." Twilight stifled a little giggle, as that was actually what she was thinking during parts of his story. "So do we have a deal?" She asked, as she held out her hoof. Zero bashed his into hers.
"Deal. Now let's finish eating, because I've barely got to eat today just rounding this up." The two of them returned to eating. Twilight was a little hesitant as she wasn't sure if the great smell meant great taste. She took one bite and realized that the smell was the worst part of the soup as it was delicious.
"You're a really good cook! I think this is some of the best cooking I've had!"
"Thank you. It's nice to know that I can do some things right."
"You don't get compliments that often, do you?"
"I'd rather not talk about it." Zero said, looking away.
"I'm sorry, I..."
"It's ok, it's not like you would've known, right?" Zero said, flashing a reassuring smile, as they went back to eating. Twilight had about three servings, Zero just chuckled at the hungry mare.
"Hey Zero, thanks for taking care of me and all 'til I can get on my hooves without feeling like I'm being hit with a metal pipe. But I have to ask: Why are you doing this?" Zero wasn't ready for this question as it took him a few moments to answer.
"I don't know... I found you and knew I couldn't leave you out there. But I guess because I felt like it was the right thing to do. Does that help?" Zero knew his answer was dumb... and the distrustful look of Twilight wasn't helping.
"No problem. To be frank, I'm glad to finally talk to someone that doesn't give the impression that they've never seen the sunlight. The small towns all look... dead."
"Why did you decide to travel the world?"
"I heard all these stories about the world and I wanted to see it all. The only place I haven't been is Equestria. Maybe after all this is over, you can show it to me."
"Maybe I could, but first you have to help me get out of here.
"But we'll save that for tomorrow!"
"Yeah... I think I ate a bit too much." Twilight laid back down on the bed.
"That's what happens when you have three servings, you starving filly." Zero said floating the bowls over to a counter top.
"Shut up."
"*gasp* How could you be so mean?!" Zero said sarcastically, causing Twilight to roll her eyes. He chuckled and sat down on his bed and soon fell asleep. While Zero slept like a rock, Twilight had trouble just falling asleep… she had never felt more alone and afraid then she did right there; She was in a strange house that didn't even belong to the stallion, in a country she knew very little about… but that was the least of her worries…
()()()()() Meanwhile in a really dark room ()()()()()
"*static* Your Majesty, I have important news."
"Ah, my fateful servant. What is it?"
"The final piece to prevent the prophecy is in place. You'd only need to destroy it."
"Thank you for telling me. I will send my best ponies to take care of it."
*Static stops as transmission ends*
"Blacklight! Round up your team and find them!"
"Yes, you're Majesty." Said a voice that couldn't be seen.
"My family has ruled for the last one hundred and fifty years and I won't let anypony stop it now…"
"…No pony at all"
Escape to the City (Part 1)
Twilight woke up in pain, to the sound of the wind outside. She managed to sit up without feeling like someone stabbed her and looked out the window to see snow falling. She looked over towards Zero's bed, only to see he was missing.
"Where did he go?" She looked around and then noticed something on the table in the room: it was the same jeweled covered box that brought her here. Her expression turned to anger at the cause of her current predicament.
"That thing! Why did it send me here?! Was it a joke, a prank or a trap? And then there's this Zero pony... What is he after? He seems too nice and too willing to help me..."
As she continued to wonder why all of this is happening, she tried to get out of bed. Despite some difficulty, she managed to stand on her hooves, though still in a lot of pain.
"You know what? Forget walking!" Twilight's horn began to glow, as she tried to levitate herself, but something immediately went wrong. As she began to get off the ground, Twilight's horn turned black and her magic backfired on her, blasting herself towards the wall, injuring her back.
"AHHHHH!"
Suddenly, Zero burst into the room, wearing a blue scarf. He looked over towards Twilight to see her rolled up like a crumpled ball.
"Twilight, what happened?!" Zero asked, as he ran to her and lifted her back into the bed. Twilight could barely respond, due to the pain she was in.
"This should help. If I can remember how to do it..." Zero thought and tried a spell to dampen the pain. "Twilight, what happened?" Zero asked with worry in his voice. He turned her turned over onto her back and Zero took a step back to keep a reasonable distance away.
"I… tried to… use magic to… get out of bed and get around… and when I did, my magic failed and sent me flying. I think it has something to do with that box." Twilight said, pointing to the box on the table. "I think it made it impossible for me to use magic... oh no… I CAN'T USE MAGIC?!" Twilight's screams were quickly muffled by Zero's hoof covering her mouth.
"Listen. I know that losing your magic is probably the worst thing that can ever happen to you, but I need you to not scream. Now, what else can you tell me about the box and this time, be calm." Zero then removed his hoof to let Twilight speak.
"That box is the reason I'm here in the first place! I don't even know what it is or why it sent me here."
"I think I might have an idea. When I found you, that box was glowing bright as the sun. It's actually the reason I found you." Twilight looked confused. "That box made a clear beam into the sky that I'm sure could be seen for miles! It's like it was trying to alert everyone in the country to its presence! I had to carry you a few miles to where I felt safe enough to treat you and not get attacked!" Then it dawned on Twilight.
"That box was a trap?!"
"And that's not the worst part: when I left to get wood for the fire, I saw the royal army combing the woods. It looked like there were fifty of them, maybe more. All I know is that we don't have much of a chance in a straight up fight with you unable to use magic. We have about thirty minutes before they get here, maybe less." says Zero, trying to keep a calm head, though Twilight wasn't exactly calm.
"This is great! I can't use my magic, I'm in a country I know nothing and I'm being taken care of by someone I barely trust! No offense!"
"None taken." says Zero nonchalantly.
"And now the entire Adaptus army is looking for me! Can this get any better?!"
Suddenly, an explosion shook the whole house and voices could be heard outside.
"Looks like they move much faster than I thought! We're going to have to roll the dice: I'm going to carry you out of here and we're going to see how fast these guys can move!" As Zero explained his plan, Twilight looked at him like he was insane.
"Are you sure that's going to work?!"
"No."
"Do you have a better plan?!"
"No." With that, he levitated his bag and Twilight onto his back and put the box into his bag. He wrapped a red scarf around her neck just as a soldier dressed in black armor busted through the door, as Zero turned to them.
"You're coming with us!"
"Uh… No." With that, Zero fired a beam at the soldier and sent him flying.
"AHHHHHH!" Two more soldiers took his place.
"So much for the door."
"Hang on!" Zero shot another beam towards the wall on his right, blowing it away and then ran out the hole he made.
"Later geldings! Haha!" says Zero, as he ran through the trees.
"Are you imbeciles going to let him insult you like that?! After them!" The alicorn leader commanded, dressed in black armor much better than the ones his troops were wearing, covering his entire body.
"Yes, Sir Blacklight!" The soldiers said, as they took off to catch up with Zero and Twilight.
"How did I end up with these idiots?"
As the soldiers chased Zero and Twilight through the woods, Twilight was astonished what Zero was doing.
"Zero, are you insane?!"
"Why do you ask?"
"You're running through a blizzard, being chased by a small army who want to capture us and now you're taunting them?!"
"Don't you love the southern hemisphere?! Plus, you'd be surprised how easy these soldiers are to trick. But if given the chance, they'll use the saying "strength in numbers" and just gang up on you." says Zero, as they came to a clearing at the base of a snow-covered mountain.
"I see them!" They heard a soldier exclaim.
"These guys don't want to quit? Fine by me!" Zero said, as he ran to a path at the base of the mountain and ran up it.
"Zero, what are you planning?" Twilight asked with worry in her voice.
"Something stupid and/or crazy!"
With that said, Zero rounded to a corner and saw a huge cave. "There's a cave!" Zero stopped and looked up towards a giant snow piles and fired a beam up at them, causing an avalanche.
"ZERO, YOU NUTCASE!" Zero smirked at Twilight's response and proceeded to run into the cave. Zero set Twilight down.
"Twilight, please don't get mad at me." He grabbed Twilight's hoof and pressed his own against it as his horn glowed. Suddenly he started to glow and when Twilight could see, his fur, mane and eyes turned the same colors of Twilight's and the zero on his cutie mark changed to the giant star on Twilight's. He then turned to face the front of the cave.
"Let's see if I can do something this big!"
Zero's horn glowed the same color as Twilight's, as he stood on his hind legs and motioned his arms to his left. What happened next shocked Twilight; large rocks came out of the wall and with a strained push, covered up the entrance to the cave just as the avalanche came passing just overhead. The move put a lot of strain on Zero's body, as he barely was able to put a barrier around him and Twilight to avoid getting hit by falling stalactites. After the avalanche passed, Zero fell onto his back from the amount of strain the spell put on him. He managed to pull off one more spell by lighting the whole cave up with three red orbs so they could both see, before changing back into his normal form.
"That… sucked…" Twilight was amazed. She had never witness any pony change color and cutie mark and then move the earth with such force.
"H-how did you do that?!" Twilight asked, as Zero chuckled.
"I learned it from a small mining community I met awhile back. They had spent generations perfecting a spell that could move large amounts of dirt to uncover jewels and gold underneath. I was lucky to learn the spell and I got decent at using it, though what I just tried I've never done anything like it before..."
"Not that! The color changing and your cutie mark looked like mine! Your horn glowed like mine too!"
"Oh, you mean that… ha ha…um…funny story. I don't exactly know what I did." Twilight was annoyed by Zero's excuse, but her need to know everything wouldn't make it easy on him
"Then how did you know how to do it and what it would do?" Zero sighed, knowing she wasn't going to let it go.
"OK... you win." Twilight clapped her hooves together, happy to learn something about Zero. "I have a very rare ability that not every pony can learn, but one must be born with the capability of using it. It's called 'Power Mirror'. It allows me to copy, for a short time, the abilities and powers from another pony or ponies. Even though it's extremely powerful in this regard, there's a major drawback. The more ponies I copy and the more of the power I use, the more strain I put on my body to the point that if I'm not careful, it could easily kill me. I have problems just copying two ponies, but I can handle one just fine."
At this point, Twilight was wide-eyed, mouth wide open and just flat out astonished to learn that such power could even exist and how risky it is to use it to where death could be an outcome. Her mind was officially blown by this information.
"If you could do that, why didn't you just take out all the soldiers?"
"The strain of taking out an unknown amount of enemies would have made it easy for them to catch us."
"But I can't do anything like that! If you copied my ability then you wouldn't have been able to do that with the wall!"
"When I copied your magic ability, I added it to my own to power myself up. I learned all the spell that you knew that I didn't and lost those spells when I reverted back. So when I copy ponies, I power up but if I use too much it gets dangerous."
"Tell me everything about you and your power!"
"If you must know, I might as well start as far back as I can remember..."
()()()()() Meanwhile outside... ()()()()()
Blacklight comes into the clearing... and sees soldiers buried in the avalanche Zero caused... and face hoofed
"Sir... w-we lost them..." one of the soldiers not buried said.
"Well... I can see that you idiots can't handle two ponies! One of them is injured! How hard can it be for all of you to catch them?!"
"Sir... we'll find them!"
"You better! Or you can tell the Queen you lost them!"
"Sir yes sir!" The soldier began to help dig the rest of the others out of the snow.
"They won't get away that easily... since we know where they're going..." Blacklight said staring towards the mountain...
Escape to the City (Part 2)
"If you must know, I might as well start as far back as I can remember. I was born in Libertas, I think."
"You think? Didn't you parents tell you where you were born?"
Zero immediately looked away with distress and didn't answer the question right away. Twilight wondered what she said wrong.
"I… never met my parents. I was an orphan." Twilight wasn't expecting such an answer, but now she was fully interested in Zero's tale.
"An orphan?!" Twilight asked in astonishment.
"Yep; from what I was told, I was left on the doorstep and stayed at the orphanage 'til I got my cutie mark and Suvnet found me. I can still remember the name: Bright Future Orphanage. What a clever little lie. It was in the small town of Eastmare."
"How did you get you cutie mark?"
Zero looked back on the memory with a smile, as he began reminiscing those cherish moments.
"I was the last one in my age group to get one. There were even ponies younger than me who had theirs, but how I got this green thing, I still laugh at it sometimes. I had a friend named Speed Breaker, a pegasus who, as his name would tell you, was an extremely fast flyer. Though he added "Breaker" to make himself seem cooler than he really was, Speed and I were the best of friends, as it was rare that you saw only one of us. We were basically brothers. THAT'S how close we were! Now the day we became friends, I had been at the orphanage for a good while, but I never really got along with anyone, mainly due to my anger issues that I had."
"Anger issues?" Twilight asked incredulous.
"Yep; I wasn't the hardest pony to get mad, but it's gotten better over the years. I was very impulsive and still am." Zero replied.
"So when did you meet this "Speed"?" Twilight asked with curiosity.
"It was lunch time." Zero's horn flashed, as he played the memory before Twilight, so she could see it as Zero had remembered it…
()()()()() Flashback: 2 1/2 years ago-Eastmare, Libertas ()()()()()
'We were all eating, when the pony running the orphanage, Mrs. Care, announced a new arrival…'
Mrs. Care was a pink pony, with a red mane and a bow attached to it.
"Children, I have good news! We have a new colt that arrived today, so everyone give a warm welcome to Speed!"
As she said his name, a small, shy blue pegasus came through the door. His mane and tail were black and his eyes were lime green. Every pony in the room just clapped their hooves together to make it seem like they were interested.
"Why don't you go and find a seat with the others?" Speed goes and sits next to a small Zero, who was sitting by himself.
"Hey there!" Speed greeted the colt.
Zero was silent to Speed's friendly greeting.
"What's your name?" asked Speed.
But Zero still gave Speed the silent treatment. The young pegasus sat down, as Mrs. Care gives him a plate. Speed quickly eats the food, as the young Zero looks on.
"You didn't talk very much."
"I was a loner. I was very shy and I didn't like to talk much. But Speed brought the fun loving colt out with just a positive attitude."
As Speed continued to eat like a bottomless pit, a couple of colts walk up behind him.
"You like that food don't you?"
Speed stopped eating his meal and turned around to see two colts confronting him. The leading pony was yellow, scrawny looking unicorn while his cohort was bulky and black with white mane and no tail. The big pony then picked up Speed and threw him to the ground with both front hooves.
"Then you're going to love my hoof sandwich!"
Just then, Zero jumped out of his seat and dropkicks the big pony's head, sending him over the table behind him. He then landed on his hind hooves and delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of the retreating yellow pony's side.
"WOW! How did you do that?!" asked Speed.
Zero looked at Speed and began to walk away.
"Wait, what's your name?!" Speed looked sad until Zero finally said something.
"Valor." Speed looked up when he heard Zero speak.
"What?"
"You asked what my name was, didn't you?" Zero/Valor asked, as he walked out of the room. Speed got up and followed him.
"Who were those bullies?"
"Big Bam and Smooth Talker. Every place has its bullies, I guess."
"So Valor, how did you do all that?"
"Sometimes, you learn skills from experience."
"You mean you've fought them before?"
"Yep, which surprised me that they weren't aware that I was sitting about five feet from them."
"Maybe the bullies here just don't have the brains to be good bullies?" Speed laughed at his own joke, while Valor just chuckled.
"Maybe."
()()()()() End Flashback ()()()()()
"Valor?" Twilight asked Zero.
"Back then, I went by a different name: Valor. That was the name that I was left with, the only thing I have from my parents."
"You mean Zero is not your real name?"
"You'll know why I threw away that name. We just need to get there." Twilight's suspicion of Zero just grew, now knowing that he was lying about who he really was.
"After that, we became the closest of friends, until the day I got my cutie mark. Everything changed on that day: the day I was adopted by Suvnet." Zero played another memory for Twilight…
()()()()() Flashback: Last year… ()()()()()
'Speed and I were doing what we did best: causing mayhem.'
"Come on Val!" Said a small, dark blue pegasus, as he landed on a rooftop, his cutie mark in the shape of three black, white, and blue lightning bolts. He was followed by a little; red unicorn; with messy; brown mane, a tail and a blank flank: little Zero.
"Ok Val! Today, we even the score with those jerks!"
"It's time they got a taste of being bullied!"
'You know bullying bullies isn't the answer to everything right?'
'You expect two colts to know better? You may need to lower your expectations a bit. Also I think you ask a lot of questions.'
'If I don't, then how will I know anything?' Zero thought it over.
'You got me there.'
"Oh, this is going to be good!" Speed said, rubbing his hooves together evilly.
"Yeah, it's about time they "cleaned" up their attitudes. Over eight years of bullying is about to end." The two chuckled. "Ok, we need them to chase you to the old boathouse by the lake. I'll be there, waiting to spring the trap."
"Ok, I'll see you there! I'll get their attention in about three minutes." With that, Valor took off for the boathouse.
'So your plan to spring a trap is how you got your cutie mark?'
'Not at all, Twilight. I got my cutie mark from what happened on the way. As I was running to get to the boathouse on the rooftops, I heard something in the distance on the other side of the roof…'
"Runaway carriage!"
Valor turned around to see the runaway carriage rolling down the street. He looked to where it was heading, to see an oblivious old pony crossing the street.
"Oh no." Valor looked around to see a clothesline on part of the roof. "That could work…"
As Speed was approaching the boathouse, he saw that Valor wasn't in position.
"Val, where are you? Looks like we'll have to abort." Speed said, as he flew up to spot his friend. He finally sees Valor preparing to launch a small but heavy box with the clothesline.
'Your plan is kind of flawed.'
'Oh it gets better. Watch.'
Just as the box was in position, the string goes over the box and launches Valor instead. Speed finds Valor, just as he's sent flying.
"Grandma!" A little folly shouted, as Valor goes flying by over their heads. Just as the carriage is about to hit the old pony, Valor hit the carriage shoulder first, with enough force that it just misses the old pony and tips over, injuring no one.
"Wow that hurt!" Valor said, as he grabbed his shoulder.
'Why didn't anyone else stop the cart? Where were the guards or the police?'
'I lived in a town of around five hundred ponies. It's rare that anything bad ever really happened.'
"Thank you, young one." Valor looked up to see the old pony looking over him. They are soon joined by everyone who just witnessed what happened.
"Valor! Dude, you are the craziest colt ever!" Speed said, as he landed on his hooves to help his friend.
"Valor, huh? It could only take some pony with valor to do something like that to save an elderly pony like me." The elder said, as Valor picked himself up. Valor rubbed the back of his neck, knowing that what happened was an accident.
"Give me a hoof, my bro!" Speed said, as he stuck out his hoof.
Valor smiled, as he bumped his hoof with Speed's. Suddenly, Valor glowed brighter than the sun, blinding every pony in visual range. Once the glow dissipated, every pony could see and much to their shock, they saw two Speeds.
"Val… Dude…"
"What?" Valor asked, confused by his friend's reaction until he looked at his hoof with amazement and panicked when he saw his new wings.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!" Valor shouted in disbelief.
All the ponies were speechless. The little red unicorn was now a blue pegasus. The only thing that was different was the voice and the horn that Valor still had. As Valor continued to look over his body to see everything had changed, he glowed again, but much less bright and returned to his normal form, with one little exception: his new cutie mark.
()()()()() End Flashback ()()()()()
"So you got your cutie mark from your ability? Why did it activate then but never before?"
"I don't know. Maybe he didn't have his cutie mark, but that wouldn't explain all the other ponies that did that my hooves came in contact with."
"So you have no idea why it happened then?"
"Nope and I still don't. It all started from a freak accident."
"What happened next?"
"Suvnet, a powerful unicorn standing in the crowd, was just passing through, when he saw what had happened. He said that he was a close friend of my father and he knew what I could do. He said I was a descendant of the Surge family line: A family of ponies with the ability to copy and absorb the abilities and characteristics of others. He said my family was a family of heroes that helped the world from the shadows, often posing as others who were fit for positions or other things but couldn't take it themselves. I guess you could say I'm the first to not follow in my father's hoof prints."
"So your family helped others by posing as them? That could mean that history could be wrong about so much!"
"I know. It's scary to think that one family has fooled so many over the years. I asked Suvnet where my father was and his response might as well have been him throwing a pie in my face. He said my father went missing years ago after my mother died. He saw the pain in my face and offered to train me how to use magic and control my power. Shortly afterwards, we left. I changed my name to Zero Amare because if my own dad didn't want me, then I didn't want anything he gave me that I didn't have to keep. It's also why I don't call Power Mirror by its true name: Power Surge."
"Where did you get "Amare" from?"
"I named it after one of the caregivers at the orphanage. She was the closest thing I had to a mother, though my memory of her now is kind of foggy…"
"What happened to Speed?"
"He didn't take my leaving well. I sent letters to the orphanage, but I only got one response: 'Speed is no longer living at the Bright Future Orphanage.' After that, I had no idea what happened to him."
"Wow! Maybe he was adopted!"
"Maybe, but the letter never said what happened to him, so I guess anything is possible.
"So what happened during your training?"
"It was hard, Twilight. There wasn't a day where I wasn't pushed to my limits on what I could do. Though I learned slowly, I mastered a lot in the last year, all the way up 'til Suvnet's betrayal and leaving me here on this rock."
"Wow, Princess Celestia was never tough on me, as she let me learn at my own pace. How did you get through it all?"
"Honestly, I don't know. After all the fainting from exhaustion, the pain, and plenty of yelling, I just felt that I couldn't stop 'til I found my own place in this world. Not the same place that was repeated for centuries."
"So you decided to make a path unlike those before you?"
"Exactly. I'm probably the first in my family to grow up without a real one or a real place to call home, but I want to actually mean something to the world. I guess all things have to start from somewhere, right?" Zero asked with a small smile. Twilight nodded and smiled in response.
"So what do we do now?" asked Twilight
"Now we need to head for Miracle City." Twilight was taken aback by the pleasant sounding name.
"Miracle City? You said that was a place of horror!" Zero shook his head.
"True, but it's also a place of lies. All the cities look fine and have pleasant names, but the small towns look like train wrecks." Zero stood on his hooves and magically put his bag on. "And if you don't believe me, then we're making one detour. Can you walk?"
"Detour? To where?" Twilight asked, as she tried to stand, but the pain forced her back down. Zero magically picked her up and placed her on his back again.
"The mountain village of Shutter…"
Escape to the City (Part 3)
As Twilight and Zero began their trek through the cave, with only the light of the red orbs Zero summoned to help them see, Twilight decided to ask Zero more questions.
"Zero, how do you know so much about where you're going?"
"I don't." Zero replied.
"But you know the names of towns and cities?"
"Yeah, I read the map." Zero took a map out of his bag and showed it to Twilight, as he continued to walk with her on his back. The map was the entirety of Adaptus, with every town labeled on it. "Without this map, we wouldn't know where to go."
"But we're in a cave."
"Oh really?" Zero said sarcastically, prompting Twilight to scowl at him. "But I get what you mean. Yes, I don't know where to go… yet!"
"Yet?" Twilight inquired her companion.
"Right now, I'm looking for a wind current. We're getting fresh air from somewhere, so that means there should be a way out. If we follow the wind, we should find our exit." Zero said, as he looked back at Twilight.
"Yeah, you're right! So all we need to do is follow the air currents and we'll get out of here!" Zero nodded, as Twilight understood what he was doing.
"As long as we can feel wind, we'll get out of this Light."
"Light?" Twilight asked.
"Quicker to say your name, right?" Zero said with a smile, at Twilight rolled her eyes, even though she didn't mind the name. After five minutes, Zero decided to ask Twilight about herself and the life she had before.
"So Light, it's your turn."
"What?" Twilight asked.
"I told you about myself, but I know very little about you. If I'm going to help you get home, I'd at least like to know a bit more than your name." says Zero.
"Fair enough Zero. You've told me a lot more than I thought you would, so I think it's only fair that you know more about me."
Twilight began to talk about herself and slowly, Zero started to understand her life in Equestria: Her friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy; Her parents and brother, Shining Armor and his wife Princess Cadance; her teacher, Princess Celestia and sister Princess Luna and all the adventures she's had in her home of Ponyville, from Nightmare Moon to the Crystal Empire, to the point Zero only listen intently and not speaking beyond the occasional questions and jokes.
Eventually, they started talking about minor things: tastes in music, foods, arts and even hobbies. As the conversation went on, Twilight, bit by bit, began to feel more comfortable and more trusting with Zero. It was like they were on a first date, yet it didn't feel like that to either of them.
After an hour or so, they came to a crossroad with three ways they could go.
"Three paths to choose from; what do you think, Light?" asked Zero.
As Twilight looked at all the paths, she noticed a sparkled glow coming from the orbs was flowing slightly towards the right. The air current they were looking for was now apparent, though neither one of them could feel it yet.
"Let's go left!" answered Twilight.
"Are you sure?" Zero asked with uncertainty.
"Positive!"
Zero nodded, praying that Twilight was right. As they continued for about five minutes, the wind became more noticeable.
"This is strange." Twilight said unsurely.
"What?" Zero asked
"Why is the air all warm?"
Zero began to notice that the air was getting warmer as they continued onward.
"Yeah, you think the air would be a little colder."
As they progressed further, they started to hear rumbling.
"What's all that rumbling?" Twilight asked
"I think it sounds like a waterfall." Zero said with uncertainty.
As they got closer to the sound, they could see a light coming from up ahead. The light was coming from the entrance of an enormous cavern. They walked out right onto a narrow walkway, supported by huge pillars alongside the waterfall. Both Twilight and Zero noticed the glimmer of multicolored crystals all around the cave lit up, prompting Zero to cease using the orbs. They both look down to see a glistening lake underneath the walkway.
"It's beautiful." Twilight remarked, as she looked around the crystal cavern.
"Yeah Light, it is." Zero agreed.
Twilight looked at Zero smiling, as he looked at every detail of the cavern, except for one thing in particular.
"Twilight, look!" Zero shouted, pointing to the other end of the cavern. "That could be our way out!"
"We'll know soon enough! Come on!"
Zero took off, with Twilight hanging onto his neck. Just as they made it to the end of the narrow walkway, the ground began to shake. Around the corner in the cave, was a humongous Cyclops, with a huge wooden mallet on one hand. Zero and Twilight quickly hid behind a giant crystal to avoid being seen.
"ANOTHER LONG DAY, MAKING TUNNELS JUST TO FIND SOME CRYSTALS. IT GETS PRETTY BORING AFTER A WHILE. OH WELL, I JUST WANT TO SLEEP IT OFF."
The giant laid himself down on a bed, made entirely of crystal, as he grabbed a piece of the ceiling to eat. He soon went to sleep and after a while, began to snore, much to Zero and Twilight's relief.
"Ok Light, I'm going to sneak for the exit. Ready?" Zero whispered to Twilight, as she nodded her head in agreement. Zero took a few steps before…
*Crash*
A loose crystal fell from the ceiling, landing on top of another crystal, causing an extremely loud crash. This was followed by multiple crystals, all coming loose from their place in the ceiling.
*crashsmashcrashsmashcrashsma sh*
Zero and Twilight winced from the noises the crystals were causing and thanks to Zero, shield themselves from them, remaining unscathed. When it all finally ended, they opened their eyes to see a multicolored crystal floor. They look over to see the giant hadn't even budged, much to their astonishment.
"How did Fatty sleep through all that?" Zero whispered to Twilight.
Suddenly, the Cyclops woke up and sat straight up from his bed.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" The giant turned towards their direction.
"Y-You can't be serious..." Zero said in disbelief.
"I'M NOT FAT! I'M BIG BONED!" The giant angrily shouted. He began swinging his club at the two.
"Light, forgive me."
"What?" Twilight asked.
Before Twilight could react, Zero used his magic to throw Twilight onto the walkway.
"AHHH!" Twilight shouted, before landing roughly on the walkway.
Zero then summoned a shield around himself, protecting himself from the full blow of the club. The force sent Zero flying on the other side of the room, landing onto a cluster of crystals, with the giant between him and Twilight.
"Wow that hurt!" Zero muttered.
The giant then turned his attention to Twilight. He wound up his swing to strike Twilight down, who was immobile from the pain she was already in.
"NO!"
"AHHHHHH!" Zero focused a shield off towards Twilight and bounced the club back into the giant's face, stunning him.
"OW!" The Cyclops shouted in agony.
Now mustering all of his power, Zero picked the giant off the ground, albeit with much difficulty.
"It's time for you to SIT DOWN SON!"
Zero motions to the wall and throws the giant into it, shaking the entire cavern. Without warning, the walkway Twilight was on gives way and falls out from under her, sending her falling into the water below.
"ZERO!"
"TWILIGHT!"
Zero throwing caution to the wind and dives into the water below after her. He quickly realized that it wouldn't be easy, as the debris had made the water murky and hard to see. After two long minutes, Zero finds her at the bottom of the lake, nearly unconscious. The pain she was in made it almost impossible to swim, as she sank like a rock. With little time to spare, Zero realized he had to take a chance.
"I hope she doesn't hate me for this." Zero then kissed Twilight on the lip, to give her enough air to breathe. After what seemed like forever, Twilight regained enough of her consciousness to react to Zero's kiss. He breaks away and then brings her to the surface for air.
"Twilight, are you ok?!" Zero asked, gasping for air.
"Zero, Why did you kiss me?!" Twilight demanded while holding onto Zero to stay above water, all the while blushing heavily.
"I need to give you air so you didn't drown!" Zero reacted defensively. He then noticed a current in the lake, as they were heading for wall with an opening underneath.
"Light, take a breath!"
Twilight and Zero quickly took a deep breath, as they went under the wall and resurfaced to see raging white water rapids, much to their horror.
"Hang on!"
Zero and Twilight rode the current, trying desperately to keep their heads above water. After what seemed like an eternity, the water finally began to settle and they could rest.
"What is with this country? It just wants us dead." Twilight said, gasping for air.
Zero looked towards where the current is taking them, to see an end to the tunnel. As Zero and Twilight finally reach the end of the tunnel, they noticed that they have finally reached a town. Even though it was now close to sunset and it was cold out, the water was still warm from being inside the mountain, away from the cold. Zero used his magic to get them onto dry land, the first they have seen for a long while. Twilight's bandages had fallen off in the rapids so her patchy fur was clearly visible. They lay under a bridge to rest and as a makeshift shelter from the cold winter day. They took a look around to see a decrepit town that looked like it was falling apart underneath all the snow that covered it.
"Zero, where are we…?" Twilight asked stunned.
"We're in Shutter." Zero replied.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because this place is a wreck of a town. If we're going to get some answers, this is the place. From what I've heard, the ponies here have suffered much more than anywhere else."
"Why?" Twilight asked
"Let's find out, shall we?" Zero stood up and looked to Twilight. "It will draw too much attention for me to carry you around. I'm going to give you another pain neutralizer spell, so you can walk." Twilight nodded as Zero's horn lit up red and the pain began to vanish. "How do you feel?"
"Much better, thanks to you." Twilight said, as she finally was able to stand and walk on her hooves.
"Why didn't you do that while we were in the cave?"
"Because I didn't think about it at the time…" Twilight was not amused with this answer, but let it go as she was glad to finally feel less helpless and dependent on Zero.
"One more thing." Zero's horn lit up as he shot a small beam at Twilight. When the beam hit Twilight, her color patterns changed from her normal lavender and pink and purple eyes to a fully pink mane and tail, yellow eyes, and cyan fur coat. Her cutie mark changed to three daisy flowers as well. Her patchy fur had been covered up by the spell so her burns didn't alert anyone. Twilight looked to Zero to see his fur green, eyes red, and his mane and tail now blonde. His cutie mark looked like a pickaxe. "Now we are anonymous. With the entire royal guards looking for us, we need to disappear."
Twilight nodded slowly as she understood. "I also recommend thinking up a name if we get stopped." Twilight took a look at her cutie mark as Zero moved to just under the bridge to look around.
"Call me Daisy." says Twilight.
"Works for me." Zero said as he shrugged
"What about you?"
"Valor will work. No one in this country knows my real name so, I think it will do." Zero said not looking towards Twilight.
"Not very creative, are you?" Twilight jokingly remarked, causing Zero to look back to her.
"Who saved you from drowning again?" Zero asked with a smile.
"Who forgot to give me a pain neutralizing spell so I could move my legs?" Twilight rebutted. Zero blushed as he knew he had been beat.
"Let's go." Zero muttered
Twilight couldn't help but laugh. As the two traveled through the town, drawing almost no attention, they watched guards terrorizing a poor peddler pony, who was just trying to make a living selling what he had.
"You trying to rip me off?!" One of the royal guards shouted.
"No sir! I wasn't trying anything in the slightest!"
"This is terrible." Twilight whispered to Zero.
"If I could disguise myself, I could do something." Zero and Twilight look towards a nearby alley to see thrown away brown winter clothes.
"These should work nicely."
After dressing up in the clothes to the point where he was unidentifiable, he turned to Twilight. "Hide while I take care of the guards. Once I knock them all out, I'll come find you."
"Be careful." Twilight said, showing genuine concern. Zero hid a smile under the scarf he was using to cover his face and climbed up a fence, as he entered into another alley. He crossed the street and climbed some boxes to get up to a higher vantage point, just above where the guards terrorizing the peddler.
"Someone help me!" The peddler pleaded
"Go ahead and beg for help! No one is going to help you!"
"Take another guess!" said Zero, as he jumped from his vantage point and tackled and knocked out the main guard taunting the peddler. The rest of the guards all attempted to blast Zero, but he countered by putting up a shield and then breaking it, sending shards in their direction, incapacitating them. "Royal army huh?"
"Thank you stranger! What is your name?" The peddler asked. The peddler was a gray middle-aged pony with a silver mane and pale blue eyes.
"Surge. That's all you need to know."
With that Zero took off towards the alley that he left Twilight in.
"Daisy, it's safe!"
"Hello Zero." Zero quickly turned to the voice to see a black armor-clad alicorn stallion…
"Blacklight!" Zero said, getting his horn ready to fight.
"Uh uh uh… you wouldn't want anything to happen to this lovely thing, would you?" Blacklight said mockingly as he pointed to the shadows, where two unicorns were holding Twilight hostage.
"Light!" Zero stood down without hesitation. "How did you find us, Blacklight?" Zero demanded calmly.
"That covering to the cave you made. Next time, make the rock match the area around it. I know this land better than you do, so once I figured that you were heading for Shutter, I just had to watch the two entrances from the tunnel network. I saw you come out of the river and your little palette swap and followed you. I knew taking you in a head on fight would be irresponsible, so I decided to create a scenario that would bring out the hero in you. It worked better than I could have ever hoped."
While Blacklight continued his explanation, another unicorn came up and slapped a collar around Zero and Twilight, linked by a blue energy cord. With the two collars in placed, Zero's magic disappeared, returning them to their normal forms.
"With these collars on, your magic is now useless." Blacklight chuckled evilly. "Take them away."
"You think you've won? This isn't over Blacklight!"
"I'm afraid you're quite wrong Zero. After all, your public execution will make the prophecy false."
"Prophecy? What prophecy?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Wouldn't you like to know? Take them away!" Zero and Twilight were thrown into the back of a carriage made of pure metal. "Send word to the Queen. We have them and will depart tomorrow with the prisoners."
"Yes sir!"
"Looks like the prophecy's a dud, just like the other twenty thousand that seer gave when our Queen took power. I wish she was alive today to see how they have failed her."
With that, Blacklight walked to follow the carriage, satisfied with what he's done today…
Twilight and Zero weren't exactly in the best of spots… Captured, practically helpless with their magic gone and being chained together by the neck sure wasn't helping matters. The walls of their prison were three solid walls and a cell door, which was comprised of crossing steel plates. The one good thing about the situation is that there were no guards locked in the cage with them so they had the entire thing to themselves to form a plan. The only thing in the cell was one bench that Twilight was sitting on.
"Zero, what do we do now?" Twilight whispered so no pony outside the cage could hear them.
"We need to find a way out of this…" Zero muttered looking around the cage. He was still wearing the clothes he got out of the trash. "Enjoying your time in there?" Blacklight called into the cell smugly as he was following it.
"Oh we just LOVE it! I'm SO impressed with the rent-a-soldiers you've got here… They actually caught something other than a cold!" Zero said sarcastically than ending angrily.
"Hey we take offence to that… ACHOO!" a guard outside the cell sneezed.
"See what I mean?"
"Yes I must admit I'm actually surprised by them too. After you made them look like the idiots they can be I wasn't exactly faithful about them getting this right…"
"BorrRING, you are so borrRING, you are so borrRING, shut the hay up!" Zero's singing appeared to strike a nerve in Blacklight. Twilight herself was surprised at Zero as she wasn't expecting him to be like this.
"Do you want to be executed tonight whelp?!" He shouted as he used his magic to bring Zero's face into the bars.
"Ow… and deny your ALL POWERFUL queen the show of a lifetime?! I wouldn't dream of it!"
"Zero… enough before you get us both killed!"
"You may want to listen to your MAREFRIEND… HAHAHAHA!" Blacklight laughed as he left for the front of the carriage.
"She's not my marefriend!"
"We're not a couple!" Both Zero and Twilight responded quickly but neither of them could hide the massive blushes on their faces as they avoided eye contact with each other.
"Zero, why are you trying to make every solder in this country want us dead more than they already do?"
"I was testing his patience… it might come in handy to know how to make him mad later." Zero said, looking out the bars of the back of the carriage
"Would you think for a second?! We're stuck in a box with no way out, on our way to get executed with no magic and you're planning for the future?!" Twilight shouted at Zero which provoked him to stand up to face her.
"Twilight, listen to me: We may be stuck in a cage, we may not have magic, we may be tied together by an unbreakable blue cord but this could be so much worse."
"How can this be worse?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"We could be dead already!" Zero rebutted. "I don't know how or if we'll get out of this but I know this: We can't give up hope in anything till our last breath. There is no such thing as a hopeless cause unless you yourself make it hopeless on yourself." Twilight thought Zero's words over in her head.
"Well… I never thought you'd be one for the corny rally speech…" Twilight said smiling with hope returning.
"There's a smile." Zero said smiling himself. Then the two watched as there carriage cell was brought into a makeshift fort.
"They really didn't make this fort specifically for us, did they?" Twilight said looking at how poorly put together the fort looked.
"If they did I don't know if I should feel feared or insulted…" Zero said jokingly.
"Set them over there!" shouted Blacklight as he started barking out orders to his troops. "No one gets in or out, am I understood?!"
"Yes sir!" The troops said in unison.
"Dismissed!"
"Zero." Twilight whispered to get his attention.
"Yeah?"
"I counted all the guards I can see. There are about fifty in this whole fort."
"Now I feel insulted… how can you be sure there isn't more?"
"There are only a few wall guards and about half of them went inside while the rest patrol the fort." As Twilight explained it didn't take Zero's ability to read emotions in voices to detect the doubt in Twilight's voice.
"Doesn't look good, does it?"
"Zero, even though your speech did make me want to believe that we could get out of this I don't see how." Zero looked around but then noticed one of the guards mysteriously vanished from his post.
"Wasn't there a guard there a minute ago?" He whispered. Twilight looked to see him gone too.
"Where'd he go?" she whispered back. Then they noticed another went missing… then another… then another. It wasn't till the fifth pony guard went missing before they realized what was happening: They were being thrown off the wall out of the fort. But that didn't stop Blacklight from noticing…
"Where are all my wall guards?! Sound the alarm!"
*Ring…Ring…Ring…Ring…Ring…*
As the giant bell rang out and all the soldiers came running out of their probably lukewarm houses they were currently occupying and guards that were patrolling the entire town came running into the fort to help, they heard probably the last thing they'd ever hear…
"ATTACK!" Suddenly out of nowhere, a group of about fifteen guards turned on them and attacked them. This was followed by about a hundred ponies; all dressed like ninjas all entered the fort starting a massive battle in the courtyard.
"Subtlety? What's that?!" Zero said jokingly.
"Why are they doing this?" Twilight said overlooking the battle.
"To save you of course!" One of the ponies ran up to the cell and removed his mask to show a middle aged gray earth pony with a white mane and pale blue eyes. It took Twilight and Zero a minute to realize that it was the peddler Zero saved earlier. "We can't afford the last hope of Adaptus to go and die without us having a say in the matter now can we?"
"WHAT?!" They said in shock. "W-why are you here?
"I see you remember me, Surge! And it's good to see that Twilight is also ok."
"H-how do you know my name?"
"A few bystanders overheard your capture and we quickly formed this plan to get you out."
While he was talking, a two more earth ponies walked up holding an upside-down bench and shoved it into the bottom of the cell
"What's that for?" Twilight said looking at the bench.
"You may want to stand back." The two ponies suddenly pushed down on the bench which took the door right of its hinges and fell to the ground with a loud crash in front of the now out-of-the-way Twilight and Zero. "Half-pin barrel hinges… They couldn't hold glue together!"
"This is a cruel joke… all we needed was a bench?! We could have got ourselves out!"
"The prisoners are free!" a guard shouted hearing the crash.
"We're outnumbered! Fall back men, fall back!" Blacklight said retreating from the fort. The remaining ninjas and traitors to the army began to cheer at their victory.
"Come. We must find you two a safe place to stay for the night." The peddler said as Twilight and Zero left the cell.
"Hey what about this collar thing?" Twilight asked motioning to the collars around their necks.
"I'm afraid we can't do anything about that without the combination." He said showing a five-digit combination tumbler on the back of the collar. "Don't worry; we have our air team going after Blacklight for the combo so you two only have to put up with it for a little while.
"You guys have got this down to a science!" Zero said impressed by how well run the operation in Shutter was run. "But I have to ask; who are you?"
"Oh where are my manners? My name is Shopkeep but you can call me Conner."
"Conner?" Twilight said curiously as the two names didn't even match.
"As in "He's a Conner because he takes all your money." It's just a name the guards decided to give me and I actually like it."
"I'll call you Con then. So where is this home for the night?"
"Follow me. I'll explain more about our situation after a warm meal and *sniff sniff* a shower if you'd like." Conner motioned to Zero who sniffed himself…
"*Whistle* Yeah… I should probably take these off… How do we shower with these collars on?"
"The collars chain will go through walls and stretches up to a good twenty feet. It shouldn't be a problem. We'll get you some proper clothes to keep warm here. Especially for the miss right here." He motioned to Twilight who was actually starting to shiver from the cold winter night.
"It was a lot worse before. I'm actually surprised the burn patches didn't come back." One of the earth ponies put a blanket on her to keep her from getting sick.
"Well, let us be off then!"
Every pony in the fort dispersed and made sure the town was no longer swarming with army ponies.
Conner, Twilight, and Zero all arrived at a thin two story house. It was a very basic house with nothing on the non-painted walls besides a few decorations. The living room consisted of a few lights, a brown couch, and a coffee table. "Welcome to my home. My wife has preparing a meal for you two."
"Well you must be the two I've been told so much about." A sweet middle-aged earth pony with periwinkle fur, lime green mane, and magenta eyes greeted Twilight and Zero. "It's so nice to meet you Twilight and Zero! I'm Sweet Melody!"
"Nice to meet you Melody!" Twilight said with a smile.
"Word travels fast in this town." Said Zero.
"Well I have to tell my wife when I'm planning an all-out assault on a fort, so I told her your names and how I knew it was you that was mentioned in the prophecy."
"Dinner will be ready in an hour so why don't you all make yourselves comfortable!" Melody said as she went back into the kitchen.
"Well I'm going to take a shower for the first time in two days."
"You fell in a river. Doesn't that count?"
"Not unless soap was in the water. You're not going first so live with it."
"Right. Just upstairs, first door on the right." Twilight followed the directions and went upstairs. "She seems to be a bit frustrated…"
"I can't say I don't blame her for being frustrated with all we've been through in the past two days… by the way where are we sleeping?"
"We have a friend bringing over two beds for you"
"Why don't you bring one and I take the couch?"
"Very chivalrous of you but I wouldn't recommend you doing that."
"How bad could it be…? WOW haha!" Zero exclaimed with a laugh as he sat down on the couch. "What is this couch made of, lead bricks?!"
"Yeah we only have the money to buy ourselves enough food for us so we don't have much to spend on luxuries."
"I can see that!" Zero said getting off the couch. Then something hit Zero… "You know something just came to mind; if Blacklight makes it to the capital, half the army is going to be here to burn the town to the ground, right?"
"Every pony in this town knows the risk. All we care about is keeping you two alive to take the queen down as prophesied."
"Yeah we've been meaning to ask about that; what prophecy?"
"I'll explain after dinner. Right now you've had a long day and I'd recommend that you'd relax for now."
"*sigh* you're right. I'll just wait till Twilight's done so I can take my shower." Zero said taking of the smelly clothes he's been wearing all this time and sat down on the rock couch. As Twilight finished her shower and Zero took his, another stallion came to the door at Conner's request and brought another bed for Zero.
"Why did you bring just a two pony bed?"
"It was the only one I could spare on such short notice so I figured it would work." After it was placed in the room across from Connor's, the thought of sleeping in the same bed sunk in.
"This is going to be an awkward night…"
"Yeah…" Zero agreed.
After the bed was placed they sat down for a very simple but well-made dinner of cooked vegetables.
"I would have had it done sooner but that stove takes a while to cook anything on…"
"It looks delicious!" Twilight said looking over the food.
"And tastes just as good!" Zero exclaimed eating some seasoned carrots.
*Ten minutes of eating later*
"Ok when you two finish meet me in the living room and I'll explain as much as I can about the prophecy. I need to find a copy of it…" Connor said as she finished his meal. As Twilight and Zero finished their meals and thanked Melody for making them they noticed a painting of Connor, Melody and a small foal in the hallway.
"I didn't know you were a parent!" the pleasant expression on Melody's face changed to a depressed one.
"We-we were… not anymore…" Zero and Twilight were both shocked.
"I-I'm sorry…"
"It's alright… you didn't know." They all walked into the living room and sat down.
"So let's hear this prophecy!" Zero said as both he and Twilight were brewing with anticipation as to what this prophecy they've heard so much about.
"I'll let you read it. It makes more sense read then it does said." Conner came in with a paper with the prophecy written on it.
"Ugh… you had to rhyme." Zero said as the paper was set in front of them.
"Oh there's plenty more once you start reading.
On the fifth generation of the blackest era
It will be ended by two both born to be a hero
One born a princess of Twilight
The other born a Valorous Zero
A mage of unspeakable hidden power
Though with all that power she will not be able to use it
But when she recovers and gains it all back
She will make evil submit
One a descendant of a heritage
One he chose to ignore
But once he truly believes in himself and where he comes from
He will help show evil the door
Together and only together can they save us
With the ponies of this land behind them
And save it from Mortis and free the land
A land they wished to condemn
"This... this is scary..." Zero shuddered.
"Now I know why you wanted us to READ it…" Twilight muttered as her shocked face looked over the descriptions of them.
"Why does it label you a princess?" Zero asked looking over the paper.
"When my brother got married, I was technically made a princess though it's not official yet." Zero nodded as he now understood.
"Twilight, Valorous, and Zero; all capitalized to symbolize names. What is your name again?" Conner said looking at Zero.
"*sigh* Valor…"
"Originally no pony could figure out why there were three name-like words in the prophecy. Now I see… You changed your name to "Zero" and abandoned your heritage." That sparked something in Zero as he quickly stood up on his hind legs.
"I didn't abandon my heritage! My own dad decided to leave me at an orphanage when my mom died! If he didn't want to take care of me on his own then I don't want even what the name he gave me."
"Don't ever think that your father didn't want to take care of you! How do you even know if he didn't?!" That thought shut Zero up as he quickly remembered the family painting. As he sat back down and thought it over what Conner said, Twilight tried to change the subject.
"I have a question… Why do you need us? This prophecy doesn't explain why we're needed to save this country."
"That has been debated for a long time. But from what I can tell we no closer to finding the answer then we were a hundred and fifty years ago. Do you have any other questions that I might answer?"
"I got nothing right now… but the question factory next to me probably has some…" Zero teased as glanced at Twilight with a smile on his face.
"Haha I forgot how to laugh. I only have one; Zero can you had me the box?" Zero's eyes widened and his smile quickly disappeared.
"Box…?"
"Yeah the one that brought me here that you were caring in your bag… where is your bag." Neither Zero nor Twilight realized it at the time but the bag was long gone.
"I must have lost my bag in the rapids!" Twilight became furious.
"You lost it?!" Just as Twilight was about to punch Zero in the head…
*Knock Knock*
"Oh one more thing…" The stallion from earlier came in with Zero's saddlebags and set them down. They were definitely Zero's as they had his green zero on them "My brother found this while he was crystal collecting. I believe they belong to you."
"Well aren't we lucky?!" Zero exclaimed, glad the awkward moment was over. Zero looked into his bags and pulled out the gemmed box.
"I see your problem… that box brought you here?"
"Yes… do you know what is it?"
"It is called the Trickster's Nightmare; it's an ancient artifact that causes various effects that can be programmed into it by speaking to it."
"So Ventus meant to send me here!"
"Correct. He must have programmed it to take effect only at your touch and sent you here damaged and without magic to help you."
"So this Ventus is working for the bad guys? We need to get you back to Equestria soon!"
"But first we need to reverse the effects to the Trickster's Nightmare. The only thing that can give Twilight back her magic is the sister cube, Savior's Fantasy."
"And where is that?"
"In Miracle City though I don't know exactly where."
"It's a start!" Twilight said with an optimistic smile.
"That's the spirit!" Zero said glad to see Twilight being more hopeful even with their low odds of finding a small cube.
"It's getting late..." Conner said looking at the clock. "I say we all get some sleep and we'll figure out our next move tomorrow." Twilight and Zero agreed that after a day like they've had they deserve to get some sleep. They said goodnight to Conner and Melody and then realized they almost forgot about the fact they had to sleep together which they were quickly reminded of when they walked into the bedroom they were given.
"You want me to sleep on the floor." Zero asked.
"No its fine… besides it's freezing in here and I don't need you freezing because you want to be polite." Twilight inspected the bed to see two blankets. "I'll sleep under both blankets and you sleep under just the top one. It'll be a little less awkward that way."
"That'll work." So they get into the bed in the way they planned facing away from each other and turned out the candle that was by the bed. "Night Light." Zero said with a smirk at his bad joke.
"Night Val." Zero's smirk quickly turned to a frown.
"You win…" Zero muttered admittedly.
"Ha!" Twilight said happily which made Zero a little happy himself.
They both went to sleep tired from probably one of the most trying day for both of them when about three hours later something woke up Zero. He looked over to see that Twilight was shivering pretty badly.
"How is SHE shivering?! These blankets aren't exactly made of tissue paper, their actually pretty heavy!" Then a though popped into his head. "I could share some of my body heat… NO! That would probably make things worse! Not only will she be cold but also we'll both feel awkward." As she continued to shiver, Zero sighed as he rolled over and draped his arm over Twilight. To his surprise she doesn't just stop shivering but actually started snuggling into it, moving even closer to Zero, causing his face to turn even redder. "Yeah this was a stupid idea… Although I do feel warmer myself, I know I'm going to regret this…" With that Zero went to sleep with Twilight literally back-to front with him with the only thing between them being a blanket.
They needed there rest… because the worst had yet to come.
()()()()() Meanwhile in Equestria ()()()()()
In a dark dungeon underneath Canterlot Castle a single voice can be heard.
"I hope Twilight is okay… because we need her now more than ever…
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
