Twilight sat in her mentor's throne with a smirk spread across her face, well Celestia was no longer her mentor as her body was laying in front of her with a hole inside her chest revealing nothing left inside. The spell she burst on the Princess perished all of her organs along with all the flesh that was covering it. It looked scorched and of course it bled deadly. Twilight chuckled at her handy work and stood from the throne as she walked over to Celestia and bent over to pick up none other than her crown that blood stained the solid gold. However right when she did this there was loud crash through the doors in the back that was in front of her. Running inside was Celestia's little sister, Luna who gasped in horror at the corpse of her older sister and only controller of the Sun. Tears erupted from her eyes as she yelled at Twilight.
" YOU MONSTER! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO MY SISTER!!!" She yelled in her traditional royal voice. Twilight held up Celestia's crown that was in her grasp and couldn't stop her laughing which angered Luna more and more then she's ever been. The room was now quiet and both of the Alicorn's horns were flaring with their auras ready to cast a spell. " Die!" Suddenly boulders were summoned around Twilight trapping her which made her gasp in shock. Right when the boulders closed in though she had vanished as the boulder shattered into little pebbles due to it's bonecrushing speed. The purple Alicorn reappeared behind Luna and made a reach for her dress and succeeded. The next thing Luna knew was her body getting thrown back by an unknown force, but whatever it was it was powerful enough to knock her through Celestia's throne and against the wall behind it. Already, Luna was at the mercy by Twilight who was cackling at this.
" For a Princess and sister of Celestia you were more of a pushover than I could ever imagine!" Twilight insulted. Luna could barely hear her since the force of her sudden strike knocked everything out of her already, by the time she was aware of everything she saw Twilight with a sword levitated next to her. " It's been fun having you and Celestia rule and all, but there is much more in life than Harmony, power." Twilight held her hand out allowing the sword to shoot it's way and impale Luna's chest ultimately puncturing an organ, killing her. Twilight's red eyes glowed making her react by turning around to see a purple baby dragon looking in shock at the changes that he was witnessing in this room, then he nearly screamed when he saw Celestia's body while Twilight covered Luna's.
" W-what did you j-just do Twilight...she was y-your mentor. How can you do this to her?" Spike asked. Twilight didn't answer, instead she levitated the dragon and pull him towards her then slammed his body to the ground.
" Impeccable timing, Spike. Your just in time to help just like you've always had little assistant." She told him as she levitated his broken and exhausted body to where they were face to face. " Like any normal assignment I give you I need you to find something for me, Arcane Magic, Blood Magic, any kinds of secrets that this worlds hidden from me. Do this and you'll be greatly rewarded." Twilight requested with a smile on her face. Spike groaned in response which caused Twilight to sigh. She snapped her fingers which emitted a light around Spike causing him to look confused. After a few seconds the dragon began to grow to the point he was taller than Twilight and much more muscular. His claws grew vicious on his hands and feet and his eyes became a bright yellow. Twilight looked up in delight of her own creation, it was like she was slowly learning magic she never was able to perform in her life so far which increased her hatred on Celestia keeping this power hidden in her. Due to what was possessing her though she now didn't believe this to be a curse, it was a blessing to grow powerful then all the rest.
" What the heck! Twilight?" Without looking Twilight levitated Luna's dead body and flung it towards the figure in question which earned her...two gasps? Her curiosity overcame her as she turned and saw who she expected to see, Shining Armor and she guessed Cadence already evacuated, but behind him was two figures one was a green hooded child that wore a black skirt with green and white stripped leggings. She seemed like a little girl and Twilight spotted red goggles on her head which made her recognize easily who this was. To have her theory right even more she spotted the tallest figure out of all to be a machine consisting of a feminine design and wore a blue dress around it's body and glowing red eyes.
" What is she still doing here? I thought she would be back in her own world." Twilight asked, sarcastically. The girl in question chuckled and folded her arms. Shining Armor however placed an arm out and pushed her away from the situation and pulled out his sword and pointed it at Twilight. What he wasn't aware of though was that Spike was not far and was growling at seeing his threat. He charged towards him with his claws out ready to rip open his flesh, however the little girl was one step ahead and noticed him.
" Animus get him!" She shouted. The blue dressed robot dashed towards Spike with it's hands turned into claws and grasped Spike's with force that dug in his dragon hide making him grunt. " Now finish him off!" Animus freed one of her hands and flipped Spike over her shoulder and shot lasers from her eyes endlessly hearing multiple screams from him. Seeing this made Twilight growl in anger.
" Puppet Master at it's finest huh?" She said in the same sarcastic tone. The girl chuckled in response again and looked in delight at seeing Spike at the mercy already until Animus was knocked away by a fireball making the girl gasp. She was about to take off, but Shining Armor blocked her way which made her furious.
" It's too dangerous and he's getting up. I'll give you an opening to reactivate the link." He assured. Instead the girl vanished in a blue flash and appeared behind Spike with her hands behind her head.
" Behind you." She sang. Spike turned around and instantly slammed his hand down attempting to crush her, but the little girl jumped at the last second and landed on his back. " Above you." After this Animus began to slowly regain herself and then tackled Spike right when her master jumped to land back on the floor. " I got this big baby. You deal with her." She assured Shining. The captain of the royal guards sighed in irritation at her known cockiness, but he nodded since there was no time for an argument.
" Good Luck Vanelle." He praised. The girl glared at him while Animus was busy holding back Spike who was slowly overpowering her.
" You know how much I hate being called that?" Vanelle asked. She turned her attention back to Spike who had Animus above him in his grasp, but not for long. Animus swiped her claws across his face making him shout out and drop the puppet who hovered back to it's feet. Without a breath Animus rapidly punched Spike to his stomach then across his jaw sending him flying into a wall.
" I don't have time for this." Twilight growled as she teleported to Spike and grabbed his arm and teleported to another room which looked to be similar to a Shrine which was what she least expected, but to her surprise was seeing books and to her surprise it was what she was looking for. Arcane forbidden magic, she levitated it towards her and open the book and stared in amazement, but groaned at one thing when she saw one thing she needed to do to gain this power. However Spike groaned as he still held his face from the scratch Animus placed on him.
" Damn that little human piece of, AGH!" Spike growled. Twilight groaned and walked over to Spike and grabbed his hand and pulled it away from his hidden wound and it was revealed to be a gash across his face and nearly missing his eyes, just barely missing them. At least he wasn't blind, but she had to heal him just in case she was ambushed.
" Animus has always been a very tough puppet to break. It's like she has her own goals to attend to with Vanelle. But she still has one weakness that can greatly get Vanelle begging for mercy. Spike don't try to go for Vanelle at all the next time you fight her. She's only being a decoy for Animus to kill you. I know everything about her and all you need is to send Animus to a certain distance so Vanelle will be helpless. You done it last time, but Vanelle played you like a fool to regain that connection. Defend me now while I figure out how I get this power I've always wanted." Twilight commanded. Spike was left with a simple scar and nodded as he looked around the room for any intruders, he wasn't aware though that Animus was high above him and Twilight as Vanelle was laying down on the rows of chairs. She counted down in her head from five and once she got to zero she sat up and aimed at Twilight for Animus to attack.
PuppetMaster II
Animus dove down towards Twilight with speed that obviously outmatch Spike to see and grabbed Twilight by her head and slammed it against the wall.
" Oh yeah! Success! Take her out!" She commanded excitedly. Suddenly she noticed Spike charging towards her with a roar as he got ready to swipe his claws. However Vanelle flashed blue making his attack go through her and gave her time to run through the rows of chairs then ported next to Animus which caused her hood to go down letting loose her short raven colored hair. Animus had her claws ready to impale in Twilight who was struggling to get out her grasp. Instead she let out a loud yell which unleashed a burst of magic around her that sent both Animus and Vanelle flying back. As the puppet landed hard against the wall she instantly made a grab for Vanelle to save her the impact. The little girl away the sudden action that was made and had Animus drop her. " I guess we go to Plan B huh Ani?" She sighed as she held her hands out ready to attack which surprised Spike and Twilight and they both thought the same thing at her motion.
" She knows magic!!!" They thought. Suddenly Vanelle rushed towards Spike with Animus behind her which overwhelmed him since this is his first time seeing them both try to attack him at once. Vanelle attempted to land a punch on him which wasn't even close to even hurt him, but he jumped back in case Animus was going to follow up. Strangely she didn't, from the front at least. Vanelle pointed behind him which made Spike turn around to meet an uppercut by Animus. The force was powerful enough to send him in the air with Vanelle holding her hand up again.
" Now I use magic." She announced. Her hand glows green which summons a cogwheel above Spike and it began to spin on his body while it brought him plunging to the ground. Meanwhile while Spike was getting taken down Twilight had already finished what was needed, but now one more thing was major for her in order for her ritual to be complete.
The Arcane Spells that you seek shall she visible to the cost of a soul.
There was scream from Twilight which caught Vanelle's attention when she suddenly noticed that a purple aura flowed around Twilight as her back was turned. There was chuckled from her as she slowly turned around and in front of the Puppet Master was black markings that traveled from under Twilight's face down to her neck. The same black marking spiraled her arms like a snake, but one thing that was different was that Twilight's eyes were gone they were no longer in their sockets, but yet she felt so strong already.
" Now I possess everything I need to build a new world. Sure, you can guess I can't see but I'll be able to hear the screams of countless weaklings and feeling the blood of Equestrians, smell their burning corpses, and lastly taste the bloodshed. Now I think it's time I gave it nice little test, but first." She placed her hands on the floor and suddenly a red sigil formed around her and glowed which made Vanelle cover her eyes from the light. " I bring forth the unfortunate decease that shall live once again, Reanimation!" From outside in different cemeteries multiple rotten corpses began to rise as well as some that were still awake began to scream in horror which Twilight somehow could hear, but telling by the smirk across her face she didn't stop there.
" Where the heck is Shining?" Vanelle thought as she began to grow scared of what Twilight was going to do. Instead she heard screams from below which caught her attention, but what really made her nervous was who was attacking and who was being attacked.
" Princess! H-how? You were dead!" It was none other than Shining Armor's voice and before Vanelle knew it she noticed a bright red glow as well Shining Armor's screaming which made her cover her mouth in shock. Twilight began to laugh maniacally at her accomplishment so far and began to walk as she leaned her body against a wall for support until she stopped.
" Now I can't let you live now. You and your doll seem to dangerous to withstand so far. No matter, I guess I'll just have to destroy you myself." Twilight told her. Vanelle and Animus were suddenly lifted up by her levitation which really scared the little girl more than she's ever been as she was unable to move. " See you as a heartless monster." Vanelle and Animus were thrown against and through a wall which lead them out of the castle and now falling from a very high height from the ground. She couldn't scream at all due to her body feeling broken and she couldn't even command Animus to save her, she was helpless. She suddenly began to hear the screaming of victims of this horror, she was nearing the pavement and it would all be over for the human girl.
Two Days after the incident
After Twilight's insanity overcoming her and bringing the world into chaos just how she loved it, she considered herself the new ruler of this world for the test of survival. Spike was her bodyguard as everyone knew and the Elements of Harmony were nothing but useless amulets now considering Harmony impossible to achieve now. They're whereabouts are unknown, but now Equestrians are dying rapidly, but they began to decrease as the numbers were decimated. Useless piles of corpses was what Twilight called her Reanimated minions as they have fallen to her old ones. However that didn't mean the other living Equestrians were just as dead. The safest place so far was in an underground passage just beneath Canterlot that some survivors took shelter. Zecora and Doctor Whooves tended the injured who learn that they are growing corrupted due to the venom that Twilight infused in her mindless foot soldiers. It may corrupt them on the inside which made them manually turn into her minions without the Reanimation Spell. Sadly if Zecora or Doctor learned of this from any survivor they had to kill them whether they were conscious or not. After their check ups Doctor Whooves was waiting patiently and groaned as whoever he was looking for wasn't around.
" Where the heck is he?" He thought as he went through the dark halls of the underground and looking room for room for the Equestrian he was looking for. However he conveniently found a sky blue Pegasus sitting in a chair beside a little human girl. In front was a decommissioned Animus with her body limp from the lack of connection from her and the girl. The Pegasus in question had short multicolored hair that consisted of red, orange, and purple. For a moment Whooves almost mistaken him for Rainbow Dash, but sadly she was nowhere to be found. The Pegasus wore a brown cloak covering his body and turned towards the Doctor revealing him to have his right eye covered by a white patch of bandages as his other one showed it's bright green color. " There you are," The doctor sighed in relief. " It seems you've taken interested in the human."
" She has a name like all the rest and I remember her. Her name is Vanellope. Got it memorized?" The Pegasus asked. Doctor Whooves nodded and leaned against the door as he was deep in thought.
" Your very odd you know Leo. At the first 9 years of your life you were always a very healthy 'disciple' to your sister. Now here you are technically unhealthy with the venom for two days straight and your not infected. Perhaps your immune?" Leo shook his head.
" No one is immune to anything. I'm just partially infected." Leo replied.
" Most of the victims are just partially infected and they're becoming monsters quicker than a Rainboom. You have to be either strong willed or immune."
" I'll stick with strong willed because I'm not dying until I know big sister is alive and well. I don't care if I am three years younger than her, she can't become one of those things." Leo stood up from the chair with his gaze still on Vanellope who's had her forehead bandaged from what she's been through. It's unknown for anyone to know how long she'll be unconscious, but it had to be quick since she was pretty much one of the only survivors who could fight and was a heck of a strategist with Animus with her. Leo knew some combat as well thanks to Rainbow Dash, but it was probably nothing compared to what these dark Equestrians knew, it was Arcane Magic at that!
" Hey Doctor, what's her condition anyway? What happened?" He asked.
" Technically she wasn't like this when we found her, better yet she was alright. I saw her fall from a building, but then something caught her and her machine. I witnessed it happened so I knew of course. What makes me curious is who she was, she just grabbed her and disappeared in a mist. Anyway I was about to take her back till...things got a bit complicated." His voice dropped when he said the last sentence. Leo sensed that something bad must of happened and it had to be enough to make the doctor this upset.
" I'm taking an educated guess and saying you lost someone important to you?" Leo asked.
" Worse, she's one of them." Leo's eyes widened and looked away from Vanellope and towards Doctor Whooves, but looked down when he knew who he had just lost.
" Oh, sorry." Leo spoke softly. He decided to go on about the subject and was quiet until the doctor decided to tell him why he's here. He shook away his thoughts and began.
" Anyway, I came to test out that power you used when you got attacked. It's something I never thought a simple boy like you could ever possess, a Pegasus at that." Leo looked back at him and shook his head.
" I'm was a Pegasus. Now I'm just a normal Earth Pony." Leo corrected. Doctor Whooves only nodded as he told Leo to come out of the room and lead him through the underground.
Flashback: Two days before the present
" You summoned me, my queen?" Standing in front of Twilight was Trixie and Rarity only the white in their eyes were now black around their actual eye colors. The corruption was completely infused inside of them and were now under the blinded Alicorn's command now. Twilight now had a red blindfold around her eyes that would of revealed their non existence on her face. After the insanity that tormented her she now had unleashed hell in only two minutes after disposing of Vanelle and Animus. Shining Armor's corpse was guarding her new castle that was farther from Celestia's since she believed it to be too obvious and trash now that it's nearly destroyed. Her friends were now under her command as well as every other corrupted being she's made. She is their law to them and she believed eventually she'll control everything. She shall accomplish what Celestia should of already done, but sadly she wouldn't be allowed to see it, just like any other face that disgust her. Twilight heard screaming from every Equestrian still living and Twilight only had to say one sentence to end it.
" Kill anything that screams." She commanded. The reanimated forms of Rarity and Trixie nodded and vanished leaving her alone until she heard footsteps behind her, telling by how heavy they were she knew it was Spike's.
" That girl. Is she finally taken care of?" He asked. Twilight smirked and nodded. Spike folded his arms and grinned as well.
" And in just a few short minutes everything will be silent so I need you to lead me to my castle." Twilight requested.
" HEY!!!" A female voice yelled out which would of hurt Twilight's ears due to her enhanced hearing now. Spike growled when he saw the figure running towards them along with another floating behind her.
PuppetMaster
" How are you still alive?" Twilight asked calmly. Vanelle folded her arms and without an answer Animus rushed towards Twilight as her response. The puppet had her claws out ready to impale the Alicorn, but the wind that Animus made when she took off gave Twilight the signal to step to the side of Animus' assault. Vanelle ran towards Twilight herself until she was stopped by the reanimation of Rarity who shot a bright violet beam from her finger which Vanelle had to jump back to the floor to evade, but Rarity moved her finger down to cut through the little girl, but she rolled out of the way. Before Rarity could do another move Animus wrapped her arms around the white unicorn and flung her towards Twilight who used levitation to stop her throw. Twilight dropped her to the ground and signaled Spike to attack instead. " Remember, don't attack Vanelle head on, take Animus to a distance then take the little squirt out." Spike charged off towards Animus first and wrapped his claws around her throat, but due to her mechanical features she felt no pain at all. Instead Animus wrapped her metallic hands around Spike's and suddenly outmatched his strength allowing her to throw him over her shoulder.
" Don't hold back Animus! If it's an enemy you know what we do!" Vanelle spoke harshly. Animus held her claws up and without hesitation she slashed Spike's chest leaving gashes along with making him shout out in agony. Vanelle kept her gaze on Twilight in case she tried anything, but oddly she didn't. She was staring back at her, well if she had eyes she would be, but it felt as if she was staring at something behind her. Vanelle checked and turned around and gasped when she spotted three cracked bodies that belonged to undead Equestrians. " What the heck? What did she do?" She wondered, but as the bodies got closer Vanelle decided to halt them. Her hands glowed green and summoned a cogwheel that spun in a horizontal position. It shot towards them and sliced through the bodies leaving them in halves. However Spike came from behind and grabbed the little girl from behind and began to squeeze the wind out of her. Vanelle tried to fight out, but unfortunately she was just to frail to break out of a larger being's grasp a dragon especially. Suddenly Spike threw her in air leaving her helpless and she began to scream. However Spike caught her by her face and whipped his head back. This also gave Vanelle a view of Animus who was beside Twilight with her body limp meaning one thing. However she was brought back to reality when Spike gave her a headbutt which instantly made her scream out due to the force of his skull against her's and it began to bleed covering the left side of her face crimson. She held her face and groaned. Her vision was completely dizzy and left her helpless for Spike to finish her off. Instead, Twilight walked over next to Spike ( she had to hold her hand out till she felt Spike's body since she guess he was the only one standing) and levitated the injured Puppet Master.
" You were very foolish to thinking you still had a will to continue. You thought a flame was still burning for the urge of blood, you got it but you won't live to savor the moment." Twilight told her. " Now, if I don't recall you and your doll were falling 300 feet to your doom am I right? Let's have a take two shall we? All I can do is tell you this'll be quick. If you still survive then I guess I'll patch you up and torture you myself." Twilight began to levitate Vanelle's body along with Animus' then suddenly a sudden force blew them back and far out of Twilight's sight.
Present: Inside Underground Abandon Cavern
While leaving other medics tending to the injured Leo was inside a forest alongside Zecora and Doctor Whooves. As they were at a certain distance away safe enough so nothing could go in and damage anything. Leo and Zecora were standing in front of each other as Doctor Whooves was on the sidelines with his hand on his chin. Leo was looking slightly nervous due to the fact Zecora was the one testing him. The hidden power that was deep within him for some reason. He's used it once and he could use it again if he wanted honestly, but Zecora was different level for him since her abilities were strictly unknown.
" What's wrong Leo? Zecora won't hurt you all that bad. All we won't is to see that power again. We could need another defender for us in case of any of them show up." Whooves requested. Zecora waited patiently for Leo to attack. She already knew it was a slim chance for him to hurt her since he knew nothing about her power. She was also one of the defenders of the remaining mortals, but due to her aging she's becoming slightly predictable. Leo groaned and began to shake his head, then he looked at Zecora. He held his hands out beside him and from a glow there were two blue chakrams that had different colored blades around them. He held one down beside his leg while the other was behind his head as he rubbed it.
" Okay, you got me. I had training with someone else besides my sister. Pinkie Pie taught me ninja techniques, Octavia taught me how to use a bow and arrow at a quick speed, and Vinyl taught me how to throw these. But I don't honestly know what you mean by hidden power? I saw it once, but I don't think I can bring it up again."
" Leo, do not hesitate. Just come at me and I shall do the rest." Leo gulped and nodded as he got ready for his first move.
Bringer of Desperation
Leo ran towards Zecora and threw one of his chakrams at her which made her narrow her eyes. She made a reach for it to catch it herself, but Leo appeared in front of her and made a leg sweep, but she jumped over it and made a grab for him again, but Leo kicked himself back up to his feet and jumped back. Leo groaned at his failed attempt to trick her, but he still had a bunch more moves to use to take her out. He ran towards her again and jumped above her made a kick as he dove down, however this time Zecora jumped back and backflipped to gain distance from him. The Pegasus wasn't done though, he continued his assault and swung his chakrams one by one only for Zecora to evade each attack with sidesteps or backsteps. Finally Leo was able to have the blade of his weapon scrap Zecora's arm when she made motion to cover her mouth. After this success Leo cartwheeled out of the way of Zecora's attempt to grab him again. So far it seemed suspicious since that was all she trying to do. As if it would to do anything to him he was curious. But he couldn't let curiosity outcome him if this was the real deal. He jumped back from the zebra to gain distance again. This time though Leo discarded his chakrams in a bright light for a three bladed dagger, as the hilt was black the three blades were gold.
" Let's see her get out of this." The young teenage Pegasus thought. He ran towards Zecora for what he believed to be the final time after this. He threw his dagger at Zecora and as he hoped she dodged it. Time slowed around them both as Leo was face to face with Zecora and Doctor Whooves was looking shocked at what Leo was going to do since he's seen it before. As well as Leo's charge Zecora had her hand out again reaching for his arm and smiled. When time resumed Leo teleported behind Zecora from a white light with his dagger now formed in a rainbow spiraled orb. Doctor Whooves was definitely shocked that not only Leo pulled this off, but he was going to attack her with it. " Sonic RainbowRuinga!" Leo shouted out as he held his arm out unleashing the attack, but he felt something grab his wrist preventing it. She caught him.
" You look confused on how I was able to read that move. I know how you Equestrian consider zebras mysterious beings so I'll keep it at that. Now if you wish to ever beat me you must bring out your full abilities." Zecora explained. Leo groaned and fell back, but since Zecora kept her grip on him he only landed on his butt and sighed.
" I've been concentrating this whole time and nothing happened. Normal abilities and I even failed to do that move."
" Leo, you don't have to hide it. The corruption has already started, but it's not exactly affecting you the right way. Show us your other eye." Doctor Whooves spoke. Suddenly there was an explosion that let loose a gale of wind. Everyone tried to stand their ground as the wind continued and it was even powerful enough to peel off the patch on Leo's other eye. As it came off it was as it was expected. It was black surrounding his red iris and there was a red marking under his eye that resembled a tear falling from his cheek. However it was ignored as a fire began to form around in front of them.
" What's going on? What caused the explosion? Isn't this weeks away from Canterlot?" Leo asked. Suddenly there was a loud yell and more flames formed and surrounded the team in a forest fire.
" Damn it." Doctor Whooves groaned.
" This is not good." Doctor Whooves groaned as he looked around the flaming forest that trapped him, Zecora, and Leo. Trees began to fall and the first one spooked the doctor. " And that was not a good sound." Leo shook his head which gave Whooves a glimpse of his corrupted eye which fascinated him. He has the eye revealed now like he remembered when he found him, it might of been the reason his power was concealed.
" Since when has there ever been a good sound so far? Maybe thousands of years ago, but this is now a dead zone. I think I can put the fires out though." Leo assured.
" Oh really and how do you suggest we do that?" He asked. Leo chuckled nervously which meant he had a lack of an answer angering the doctor. " Do I have to do everything around here?" He grumbled. Suddenly the fire began to dissipate and turn convert into small orange particles and formed it self into a being larger than all of them. It towered them by height and size, but not as big as an Ursa Major. Half of it's body was like a fiery lion while the upper part of it was human-like, but the figure had the head of a lion as it's mane flared with flames.
" I guess that's one way to put out a fire." Leo commented. The monster was equipped with a large heated blade that was nearly as big as he was and what the worse part was that it leaving a trail of flames whenever it was moved causing fear to ignite from Doctor Whooves and Zecora. However Leo's corrupted eye showed interest to the monster that began to trot towards them.
" Interesting." It's deep voice echoed as it came to a stop now just mere inches in front of the trembling Doctor and prepared Leo and Zecora. It paid most of it's attention to Leo's eye and scoffed. " Eventually you'll be serving under the Queen's rule at any second anyway."
" And you are?" Leo asked with a fake yawn. His rudeness insulted the monster and made him growl.
" I am Ifrit, your soon to be master and will also serve as your maker if you dare try to be foolish." He replied. Leo turned his head to Zecora and grinned.
" I can't believe we were afraid of this little harmless baby. How about you be a good boy and sit." Leo said, jokingly. Ifrit swung his sword with a roar in anger which Leo and Zecora jumped back from while Whooves ducked from the slash then jumped back now standing behind the Pegasus and Zebra. The swing of his sword also sent a vacuum of flames striking a tree and sending it and all the other trees around it on fire. It's heat radiated which made Leo wave his hand across his face.
" I hope you know heat is bad for Equestrian complexion. We rainbows burn easily and never change color since our hairs are all the different colors after all." Leo whined. Ifrit was now mostly annoyed of Leo and thrust his sword out towards him with full strength. However Leo pulled out his dagger at the last second and the tip of his blade collided with his. Ifrit gasped when suddenly Leo's arm burst with a bright blue aura around it shaped as claws and outmatched the flame monster's strength easily. Ifrit staggered from the sudden push from Leo, but went back for another swung while at the same time Leo threw his dagger at him while grabbing his sword with his blue aura arm and pulled him towards him along with getting his dagger back that was inside his abdomen. " Now listen here flame coltcuddler I'm not in the mood to take care of demons like you. I have a queen to think about defeating and your getting in the way. C'ya later!" Leo released Ifrit's sword then punched him to his gut. Suddenly with a shout Leo began to lift him up with his one arm then threw him away deeper in the forest along with knocking away trees and igniting them. Doctor Whooves was looking surprised and shocked at everything that happened at a short amount of time.
" So this is the power you two were so interested in all because of my eye? Hmm, this could do so much better." Leo sighed. Zecora chuckled as she looked at his wings that began to flutter giving her and theory.
" Why don't you try and fly Leo?" Zecora asked. Leo looked confused now, he already explained that his wings were unable to work considering him now an Earth Pony now which meant he needed to ride of another Pegasus' back to get home. He flapped his wings slowly to get a bit of a feel for them again since he hasn't done this in a while. He flaps his wings harder and faster this time and to his surprise he was actually hovering from the ground.
" But...but how?" He wondered.
" It appears the form of your wings has changed." Doctor Whooves replied. Leo looked at where his wings were spread and he was right! Instead of them being feathery as they usually were they were like wings of a bat, only the wings were still the same color... a dead grey. Suddenly there was roar coming from Ifrit again which made Leo groan. He was becoming more and more annoying to him already. It ran towards the Pegasus and swung it's blade again only flames were let loose for this swing. Leo hovered higher above him and suddenly a rainbow colored bow with a purple arrow formed in his hands. He pulled the arrow back and shot it towards Ifrit to his head but the arrow only disintegrated from the flames. The bow and arrow vanished and now Leo decided to use his arm this time. He dove down with a punch ready to land on the flame monster, as he came down there an extra force that came behind him in the shape of a large blue sword held in a overhead slash as he was ready to release the punch. He forced all his strength in his punch which also allowed the blade to swing down instantly slicing the monster in half as the secondary effect of Leo's attack. Screams and roars were let out from him as his body leaked of lava and his body slowly disappearing from view.
" NO! I CAN'T DIE! NOT YET! MY QUEEN I BEG OF YOU SPARE ME DEATH!!!" Ifrit yelled out which turned into his last words when his body turned to dust.
" You've been extinguished." Leo told the remains.
Vanelle/Vanellope and Animus
" Come on Vanelle you need to wake up." A serious feminine voice spoke. The young raven haired Puppet Master groaned and slowly opened her eyes to spot no one due to her vision being slightly dizzy. It only took seconds till her vision was normal and spotted something that was dark blue and purple. At first she thought it was a mist, but Vanelle turned her head to the source of it and gasped at who it was speaking to her, Princess Luna. Vanelle was about to sit up, but held her head when pain coursed through it from what Spike did to her.
" Agh! Stupid little reptile." She grunts. When the pain slowly vanished she was finally able to talk to Luna properly.
" I saw you...dead. How are you here unless I'm just seeing ghosts?" Vanelle asked.
" Twilight, as you may have saw killed my big sister. As much as I would want vengeance from her actions I realized she may not be doing this on her own honor. There may be a slim chance at this point, but I believe she's under a possession. I find it impossible for the main Element to be take away so easily, but whatever you do...if you come across her and Spike again do not go for Twilight at all," Luna turned to face Animus' limp form and smiled. " This means you also."
" Wait, why? She tried to kill me. I'd rather kill Twilight in cold blood and have you freeze me to death in space." Vanelle said harshly. With this being said Luna gasped and grabbed the girl's shoulders and stared at her intently. Her glowing light blue eyes made it hard for Vanelle to stare back so she blinked.
" Don't! Do not do it. I have to go. Just give me time to find out and I'll decide the judgement for her, more importantly don't die, Vanellope." With those last words Luna vanished in a mist leaving 'Vanellope' to stare at Animus.
" At least someone got my name right huh?" She told her puppet. All of sudden Animus' body began to move again and looked back at Vanellope. This made her master smile. " Good to see you had a great rest." Suddenly Animus hovered to Vanellope and lifted her like a baby as she began to dash out of the room. " Wait! Where are we going? Come on I'm still hurt!" She whined. However Animus still kept going but moved in a more slower pace. Vanellope suddenly realized one thing that changed about Animus since she knew her, she grew a mind of her own, somehow. It amazed her that she didn't give no command and yet Animus was starting to do her own actions. When she first had her she had always been loyal to her decisions in battle and she still was, but now things are a little different right now. She was about to try to give her an order to stop, but suddenly something stopped Animus instead and it was someone's hand. This caused Animus to stagger back and nearly drop Vanellope, but she caught her again by her wrists also making Vanellope face towards the Equestrian who stopped them. It was an opal Pegasus with amber colored hair and tail looking down at Vanellope with a very intimidating glare which made Animus's hands convert into claws not before placing Vanellope down. " Whoa, calm down Ani. No need for violence, it can wait." Vanellope ordered. Animus was still engaged for battle although she looked like she was slightly becoming calm.
" Who are you? I've never seen another creature like you before in my life. A hairless ape?" The Pegasus was confirmed to be female but a very rude and aggressive one by just looking. Another note was that she had bandages wrapped around her arm and leg that had blood stained on it. This gave Vanellope a slight ponder on how she was even moving at this moment.
" I'm a human. Of course I'm not surprised you wouldn't know since my species might be rare. I'm Vanellope."
" Never heard of a human and telling by how you look I can just tell your probably nothing special." The Pegasus said rudely. Suddenly Animus couldn't hold on and pressed a claw against the Pegasus' neck with it's red eyes glowing in her face.
" Lightning Dust!" Another female yelled which made the Pegasus wince. Vanellope noticed that this time it was a normal Equestrian who had a white coat of fur and pink hair that wore a white nurse uniform and she had a look of fury on her face on Lightning which made Vanellope more scared then she was with the opal Pegasus. When the white Equestrian noticed Vanellope her expression suddenly changed to a curious one and suddenly Vanellope remembered when she was being dragged out of Canterlot she tended her once.
" Wait a second, are you Vanelle?" She asked. " I'm Redheart, I was your nurse when you were unconscious. You should be fine as long as-," Her eyes widened when she saw Animus's claws dangerous close to puncturing Lightning Dust's throat which made Vanellope glare at her puppet.
" Let her go." She commanded. Animus didn't hesitate when she released her threatening claws, besides she wasn't the enemy anyway. Vanellope laughed nervously when she saw Redheart looking shocked Vanellope's weapon which made her also slightly relieved. " I'm so sorry. Apparently my puppet lost it's mind and just attack her out of nowhere. I'll...just be leaving now if I'm causing trouble." She said timidly. However Redheart shook her head then glared at Lightning Dust again.
" Your not the trouble, better yet I'm interested in having a little discussion with you. As for you Lightning, what do you think your doing running out of here like that? In case you never noticed this world has gone to hell and unless we somehow stop it your only running into a death trap!" Lightning groaned and placed her hands on her hips and looking down at the ground. " Now go back to your room and wait for your wounds to actually HEAL before you volunteer." Lightning Dust grunts in frustration and just walked away leaving them alone for the time being.
" Now Vanelle, I'm just so interested as to where your from and just how it's been living in Equestria so far. Seeing you beat up like that is like seeing an abused young fillies. I'm very glad that someone rescued you from your fall." She said happily.
" Again. That's the second time I fell a large distance because of Twilight." Vanellope muttered. " By the way it's
Van-ell-o-pee." Redheart looked down in shame from hearing the most powerful unicorn being named. It was a great tragedy that not only Twilight killed Celestia, but unleashed the hell that's happening. Murder has become an inappropriate thing and it didn't happen in years, but now the streak was over and it was only a rarity now...not anymore. " Anyway, are you sure? To be honest I'm not sure where exactly I'm from but I remember where I came from, but it might scare you."
" Your helping us fight, so there is no fear I have for you." Vanellope smiled at her remark, but still telling someone where she came out of was going to bring suspicions just like it had since she first came here.
" You see, I never started out as I am now. You knew me as harmless despite a dark aura Celestia could sense from me. In the past I learned I was nothing but a monster. I killed different races and I was sent to a void when I was finally defeated. To be honest I hoped I stayed in there, but somehow I was released and poof here I was smack dab in the middle of the Everfree Forest with no memory, I don't even know how old I am or where I am from at all. When I came here I wasn't all nervous when I found your race, but it's awesome that there's four kinds! That was when I happened to meet Twilight. The only time too, besides now fighting her. I think she believes I'm dead now which I can use to an advantage don't you think?" She asked Redheart. However the nurse seemed too interested in her story that she couldn't make a straight answer. When she was taken out of her trance she cleared her throat.
" I guess so and it seems you used to be under something very tragic, I never knew there were different races except seeing you a human correct?" She asked. Vanellope nodded. Redheart looked at Animus who was staring back at her blankly which made her a bit scared of the machine. " And you built her I'm guessing?" Vanellope shook her head.
" She was always with me, for some reason though I feel as if she has a full name...a bit complicated, but it feels like it needs to be said, I guess that memory's wiped." Redheart nodded and took a closer look at Vanellope's head and made a nod in approval.
" It should be fine to go off. Just as long as you don't run into anything larger than you." Redheart assured.
" Uh, I think I'll stay here a little longer." Vanellope replied. This made Redheart look at her in confusion.
" I mean for you to look around the underground. If it weren't for that zebra Zecora I think we'd be mindlessly walking till we die, by the way," The nurse's expression turned to a very serious look that startled the Puppet Master. " If you rush out of here and I find out that you were still injured I will strap you onto your bed for an hour." Vanellope quickly nodded in agreement at this which brought the nurse back to her normal kind expression to the little girl and patted her on the head.
" It's safe here so feel free to explore, I'm sure Doc Whooves made this as organized as he could." With that Redheart finally walked away with Vanellope having a look on her face the showed 'what just happened' all over it.
" Talk about being persuasive right Animus?" The robot looked at her then back at the way Redheart went. " And I know enough to say that professional nurses just don't allow patients to wander around. Oh well, guess I can move my legs for a minute." Vanellope stomped the ground a few times before taking a walk through the cave with Animus behind.
Cavern of Remaining Harmony- Stage theme
As she wandered off she began to notice that the cave was becoming lit which made her happy that there was lighting around here after all. As she continued onward there was light everywhere that it didn't even feel like a cave anymore, but more like a room. Along the way she saw doors opened leading to sleeping patients or patients that were trying to busy themselves by reading books. Despite the fact of chaos happening thanks to Twilight it began to feel like it was a world away for now. As long as nothing came to disturb the remaining civilization then it's guaranteed that this can be done before they knew it or at least long enough to fend against the undead. However Vanellope's eavesdropping on others confirmed that was partially the case.
" As long as we have Equestrians to defend us we can live through this." One said.
" If only Celestia were here. I wish things could of taken a different turn for her, I wonder if Luna is still living somehow." Another spoke.
" Unless we have an Alicorn living in this world then were doomed." That saddened Vanellope the most, there was no time to be negative, but telling how timid the female Equestrian she eavesdropped on sounded, it would be hopeless. That was until the last Equestrian she eavesdropped on caught her attention the most.
" We already have heroes who can save us and they don't need to be an Alicorn. I hear the only fighter that's still here is a Pegasus named Lucio." Vanellope stopped in her tracks and looked at the group of Equestrians that were speaking to one another and smiled.
" Jackpot. Maybe I can meet her somewhere nearby." She thought.
" But, what could she possibly do to protect us. So what if she's worked for Luna for a while, compare that to someone who uses Arcane Magic. Let's just hope a miracle comes along and shows us the way." Vanellope's smile dropped. Now that left only herself to be an actual Defender. Who ever this Lucio girl was, she must be very unpopular with the crowd. Conveniently in the conversation they explained where she was always hanging out, by herself. " All she does is go to the top of this mountain and stares at her own reflection for some reason." A male spoke.
" I guess she's reflecting back to how hopeless she is since she can't protect a thing." A female replied. Vanellope heard enough and walked on with Animus following behind her with her head turned to the group for a moment. Since it was said that Lucio could be found in the upper part of the cave upper areas was where Vanellope tried to find. She only found unauthorized gaps which lead up to a higher level. She guessed that Lucio could be very athletic, but never shows it to anyone, but why else would they call her a fighter in the beginning. Vanellope stared at the gap intently as if she trying to make it fix itself, but really she wanted to know how she could get up there, until a tap on her shoulder caught her attention and it turned out Animus grabbed Vanellope like a baby again and hovered up till she was at the right level and flew to safety. She released Vanellope and looked ahead.
" Thanks. Why didn't I think of that?" Vanellope said. She looked ahead and gasped when she noticed there were more gaps and there were even long pointy rocks sticking out from the wall. " Now this Pegasus has influence on acrobatics and must be hiding something. First this is gonna take effort for you Ani." The Puppet Master was once again picked up by Animus and again flew past the obstacles.
Twilight's Castle
" Well, well. This is rather interesting hearing her voice again. Luck must really be on her side if she's able to escape death twice. Oh well, if she's able to keep it up then this will end up more interesting to test my powers." Twilight spoke as she a devious smirk spread across her face. Now in her own built castle she was hearing ever sound Vanellope made from a blue crystal ball that was laid onto a staff next to her bright purple and red throne. Spike was standing behind her with a sword magically staying on his back. However the darkness in the room was unable to allow how it looked. " Have fun while you can as it'll soon lead to your downfall."
" Shall I go and take her on myself?" Spike asked with his claws wrapped around the hilt.
"No, not yet. She'll need to live for now. I need to test just how powerful she can really extend her power over her new found magic, besides how often is it we get to fight an inter-species that's more powerful than Ursa Majors? However, I think the little brother of Rainbow Dash needs to be brought back where he is, reunited. I want you to track him down and capture him. If somehow Vanelle gets caught up in this don't hesitate to run, I don't want to lose you. Not unless I somehow went down first." Twilight requested. Spike nodded and suddenly vanished within a dark portal filled with endless bodies of dead Equestrians. Twilight now was hearing Leo along with Doctor Whooves and Zecora and telling by her sense of hearing they were inside a cave that she didn't know anything about... the same one Vanellope was located in. " No need to worry Leo. As long as you cooperate with me, you and your sister will be together...working for me." Suddenly a grey figure was walking towards Twilight with her bright yellow hair that covered one of her corrupted golden eyes. " Not yet. You'll be able to see your beloved soon. When you do, show him to the darkness."
Lucio's Acrobatic Path-Stage Theme
Vanellope and Animus were mostly flying over every obstacle that were left out which made this not take as long as she expected. They were mostly gaps that got longer, but since Lucio was a Pegasus it would be no problem for her unless she has very strong legs. The last obstacle of the path was just gaps that worked like steps in a rock climbing competition only these weren't plastic ledges these were rocky and looked as if they would hurt unless you wore gloves. However as usual since they began Animus flew up to it's level and continued on till they went to ledge that lead down a long steep drop.
" My gosh, how crazy is this Pegasus?" Vanellope said aloud. The only happy thing to see was the same ledges that someone could climb down and back up on if you weren't a Pegasus. Animus glided down while cradling Vanellope's body till they were finally down and what they found was no more obstacles thankfully, but as expected and exactly as described was a dark blue Pegasus staring down at a lake seeing itself. Animus finally let her master down and allowing her to walk again. As she walked the Pegasus seemed like it was talking to itself in the water which wasn't odd at all, but it was a bit unpleasant.
" For as long as I can remember I've always been afraid to speak my own mind even in public. You taught me a lot and helped me improve socialization Luna. I know you don't die as easy as your sister although it must be a hard to deal with a loss of someone you would give your own life for. I would do the same for who I love as well. Now it's shattered now that he's corrupted. All I ask is...please let me do what I was meant to do for him." Vanellope gave the last line thought, but she had nothing coming into her mind at all. The Pegasus she spotted looked young as if just becoming a teen, at first Vanellope could tell if it was a boy or a girl now since 'it' was flat chested. As for the hair it was brightly silver and was tied in a low ponytail on the bottom portion. Vanellope was also able to spot that her eye color was a bright purple with a faded blue around the iris.
" I'm assuming your Lucio?" Vanellope asked. Her voice startled the Pegasus and even made her shriek when she noticed the robot. " Don't worry I won't hurt you. My name is Vanellope and I happen to hear that your an abandoned Defender to the remaining Equestrians?" Lucio looked down and caressed her own arm while nodding. " What happened? You are aware that the defenseless need heroes who can protect and it's rare for anyone to hear me say this, but your proving yourself to be quite a hermit mixed with a jackass." Lucio looked up at her and telling by her expression she was becoming offended and that was what Vanellope least expected since it normally pissed people off. " Uh, sorry. Look before I get to know anything about you how about I tell you about me first and why I'm here-,"
" Your here because a group of Equestrians were speaking about me and insulting about my ritual I give to Luna daily so you wanted to come here and meet me just so you can provoke me to test my power. By the way I'm a girl." Vanellope's mouth dropped when Lucio was able to read her like a book about why she came in the first place. " Also, I didn't make those obstacles, they were conveniently there when I explored this cave. Now the only thing that I want to know is what you are. I never seen any unicorn or creature be able to control a puppet before." Lucio finished. Vanellope explained all the could about humans and about Animus since she's just gotten her. Lucio paid attention and nodded in understanding as to where she came from which surprisingly didn't faze her.
" I thought the whole destruction thing would get you enraged or something, but your more soft then I thought."
" Because that's the past and this is now. If you were the same being then I would of froze your legs off and detach them from your body. I know I admit I am soft most of the time, but I will kill if I need to. Luna taught me that to me before Twilight went insane. I needed to run though, she told me if I tried to defend her we would both die, but I believe she hasn't left this world yet. I still fell her soul taking effect on the moon, if she truly left, then her head would of been imprinted in the moon similar to Nightmare Moon, but even in death she can watch us wipe out Twilight."
" Yeah about that, seems your praise may be right because Luna woke me up not long ago." Lucio's ears perked up in happiness at hearing this. " But she also said we needed to let Twilight live before we make a move. But, Lucio mind if I requested to test yourself against me?" Vanellope asked. Lucio stared back at the lake which forced Vanellope to follow her gaze and gasped when she noticed part of the water was red with bandages floating along.
" I can't." Lucio answered. " My wound hasn't healed completely. And yours hasn't either hasn't it?" Lucio reached out to touch Vanellope's head, but winced forcing her to grasp her side. Vanellope made a sudden move to help, but her head began to pound making her groan and fall on her hands and knees. " S-see? I may be able to go through the obstacle course as long as it doesn't involve my upper body being used. I just fly over it if it does involve it."
" Okay, maybe next time were healed, but Lucio you want to protect and fend off whatever Twilight plans out you need to act like it, it doesn't matter if it is for Luna's sake, she's only one being. Now...ugh, I need to go now since I shouldn't even be here. Animus get me out of here now." Vanellope took one last look at Lucio before Animus carried her away. " I wish we could explain more." She thought.
Cavern of Remaining Harmony
" You got what you wanted to see now, but please can I get another eyepatch before someone gets freaked out?" Leo asked. Doctor Whooves groaned and went through his suit pocket to pull out a few bandages for Leo place. Leo took them and closed his corrupted eye before placing the bandages over it.
" Now we know why you wear that eyepatch since the incident. It's some sort of seal isn't it?" The doctor asked. Leo shook his head as he ran a hand through his multicolored hair and was looking uneasy about what his answer was going to be.
" I hid it since I thought if you saw this eye you'd poison my next meal on the spot." Leo finally answered while looking towards Zecora.
" Now if we did that wouldn't your sister be upset? So she's under corruption, we'll find a way to get them back after we snap Twilight out of it." Leo suddenly felt a tingle in his wings from hearing Whooves saying that to him.
