Chapters “Twilight. Sparkle. Did you actually think...you would win? Your ambition, impresses me.”
“Just what do you want from me?”
“I, personally, don't want anything from you, Ms. Sparkle. My employers, however, have a rather attractive...proposition they would like to put forward.”
“Oh yeah? And just what is that?”
24 hours earlier.
Much to Twilight Sparkle's surprise, Princess Celestia had shown up in Ponyville, without any warning. As Twilight approached the princess, she could see that Celestia wasn't smiling, like she usually did when she saw her. Celestia even looked tired. “Twilight Sparkle, I need you to come to Canterlot. Now!” She said, with urgency in her voice.
“What is all this about?” Twilight asked cautiously to Celestia.
“Twilight, there is something you should know. But not now!” Princess Celestia was starting to look stressed, “just wait until we get to Canterlot.”
Soon enough, they landed, and Princess Celestia began to walk into the castle without saying a word, so Twilight followed. By now, she was getting extremely concerned. Once inside the castle, Princess Luna walked up to Celestia. “Was he in Ponyville, too?” Luna asked.
“Yes, he was. I have Twilight Sparkle with me,” said Celestia.
“Good, then we can proceed,” Luna nodded as her, Celestia, about a dozen guards and Twilight Sparkle made their way through the castle. The castle at Canterlot was huge, so huge that Twilight Sparkle, having been there many times, still didn't quite know her way around it. As they rounded a corner, Twilight saw something moving. Whatever it was, moved away quickly and silently. Twilight Sparkle was feeling a little spooked by it, so she looked around at everyone else's faces to see if they had noticed it too. But it became clear to her by every other pony's facial expressions that she was the only one that saw it. Finally, deep inside the castle, they reached what looked like a sort of conference room full of ponies sitting around an oval-shaped table. One of them was her brother, Shining Armour, but he didn't look happy. Even at the sight of his little sister entering the room. It was there where Princess Celestia nodded at the guards, signalling them to leave; they left promptly and Twilight heard the sound of the door to the room being locked.
“Twilight Sparkle, this information is top secret; you are the only one in the room who doesn't know it...” Princess Celestia spoke uneasily, making Twilight feel even more nervous than she already was.
“There is an empire larger than anything we can comprehend. They have set their sights for Equestria, and all of this planet in fact,” Luna spoke.
“What?!” Twilight jumped back in shock, “Are you serious?!”
“I'm afraid so,” said Shining Armour as he stood up, “while we don't know what they are, we do know that they are not from this planet,” while his face was sad, his voice was calm and collected.
“W-wait a second. How do you know?” Twilight asked, desperately looking for a loophole in her brother's explanation that could mean her and Equestria's safety.
“Because we have witnessed their destruction, and attracted their attention,” explained an old-looking pony in a lab coat, “remember when you entered through a portal to look for Sunset Shimmer? It led to an alternate dimension?”
“Yes, I do. But I don't see what that has to do with...”
“The creatures you encountered there were called Humans, Twilight Sparkle. We have debated their existence for centuries, but now without a doubt, we can say they exist. And they aren't the only things, either...”
“Hold on a second, we don't even know where I went!”
“You were in a different dimension, Twilight,” Celestia looked into Twilight Sparkle's eyes whilst speaking in her warm voice, “somewhere that exists perfectly alongside us, but both sides are completely oblivious to one another. Imagine we are the sun and they are the moon. Both exist separately, yet both eclipse each other. And when that happens, both domains can be reached.”
“Through a portal?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“The portal they will come from will be opening soon and we we must prepare for it,” said Shining Armour. Upon hearing this, everyone else in the room nodded in agreement.
“We would like to show you a few artefacts we have found from them,” said Luna.
“Oh, um, sure,” Twilight Sparkle replied as she was led by Celestia and Luna down even more stairs towards the castle's dungeons. A guard unlocked a huge wooden door, allowing them to enter as Celestia used her horn to illuminate the room. Twilight Sparkle gasped at the strange, alien objects that were encased in glass. She saw movement in the corner of her eye, but when she looked to face it head-on, whatever was moving had disappeared.
“We believe this is the symbol used for the empire we will be fighting against,” said Luna coldly as she walked over to a piece of mangled metal. Twilight followed and stared at it. It was strange, it looked almost like a spanner on a circular bolt. She tilted her head to the side while staring at it.
“Strange,” she remarked. “How did you get all of these?” Twilight's eyes darted in all directions as she stared around the room. Organic artefacts with flesh ripped open were frozen, while there were mangled pieces of metal, strange crystals and even framed pictures of, well, she didn't quite understand what of.
“They fell,” said Celestia sharply, “just like some things from our world do.” Twilight Sparkle said nothing, racking her brain at this new information, “you see, Twilight, you could think of both reality and fiction as both the same thing. Everything exists within it's own reality...”
“...which sometimes come into contact with one another,” nodded Twilight Sparkle, who was starting to understand it.
“That's right,” continued Celestia, “if everything as we know it really is infinite, then think of the odds that there is not another version of you out there. is You saw another version of your friends, didn't you? Only their genetic make-up and evolution was slightly different to ours due to different circumstances. But it's not only parallel versions of ourselves out there. There are the true forms of all our nightmares. And what we are up against really are all of our nightmares combined. The Combine...”
“Celestia!” Luna stopped her.
“Sorry,” said Celestia. She had realised she had said too much before turning her head to look at her sister, then looked back at the bewildered Twilight Sparkle, “it will all make sense soon.”
“But there's something else you should know; since you and Sunset Shimmer helped to attract their attention, some ponies might start blaming you.”
“O-oh, well, I guess they might...”
“But it wasn't your fault! You wouldn't have seen it, but you did cross through a sort-of 'Border World' as you went through. Although too quickly for anything else to pass through, they now know of our existence.”
Upon hearing that, Twilight's hooves gave way and she felt as though she was about to cry, “So, is Equestria really doomed?” She said quietly as tears brewed in her eyes.
“Not quite, there is still hope,” Celestia said encouragingly, “we can still stop them..”
Twilight looked up and saw both Princesses smiling at her, “you can stop them, Twilight,” said Luna.
“We now ask that you co back to Ponyville and alert your friends of the oncoming danger,” Princess Celestia nodded at the door.
“Oh, yes, right, of course!” Said Twilight quickly as she left. A guard held the door open for her.
Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were left alone in the room full of alien artefacts. “There are a few things she's better off not knowing right now, isn't there,” said Luna.
“Yes,” agreed Celestia, “she still doesn't know about him.”
“Should we tell her?”
“No, Twilight Sparkle will find out soon enough.”
As Twilight Sparkle made her way through the castle's long, winding corridors of Canterlot Castle, thinking about everything she has just been told, anything unexpected was enough to startle her. The sight of her brother from around a corner was made her shriek. “Twilight, it's me!” Shining Armour shook her slightly as she calmed down, then hugged his little sister.
“Shining Armour,” cried Twilight, catching her breath before putting her arms around him.
“Sorry about not saying hello earlier,” he sighed, “but this is pretty serious, isn't it.”
“Y-yeah,” agreed Twilight Sparkle, “you don't really think this is the end of Equestria, do you?”
“No,” Shining Armour said firmly, “I'm confident that we'll be able to stop them.”
She smiled at her brother's confidence and bravery. Just then, the castle shook at the sound of a mighty boom. “What was that,” said Twilight Sparkle quickly as she broke away from the hug.
“I'm not sure,” said Shining Armour, “come on, let's go and see what it is!” As they both galloped quickly to the exit, Twilight Sparkle slowly realized what could have caused it.
They had reached the large door protecting the castle, or at least where the door used to be. Strewn across the floor were now shards of wood of varying sizes. Without a door, both Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armour could see the complete chaos that had broken out across Canterlot. The sky, once clear and blue (thanks to pegasi hard work) was now black, and glowing orange. The clouds swirled around the orange like brewing tornadoes and in the centre, Twilight Sparkle could see the same strange structures Celestia and Luna had shown her. “They're earlier than we thought,” gasped Shining Armour, “Twilight! Get outta here! Now!”
“What? Why would I leave you here?!”
“Because you have to get to Ponyville. That's what Celestia wants! You and your friends can still defeat them. You're the Elements of Harmony, aren't you!? If anyone stop them, it's you!”
Twilight Sparkle sighed, “you're right.” They both hugged tightly before the ground shook again, dislodging a few bricks and throwing them both to the floor.
“Come on! Go!” He shouted. Twilight Sparkle nodded, and ran. Just as she was leaving the castle, she saw that the holes in the sky had widened, with clouds being swept around them. But things, although too far away to make out, were pouring through the portals.
Cloudsdale was crumbling. As it was pulled towards the ripped apart sky, the intense forces began to tear it apart as the city began to burn. Specks in the distance, which she knew to be pegasi, fled into the sky, but began to be dragged into the portals by forces unbeknownst to anypony, as though they were some kind of whirlpool. Although a few made it away, many of them were mowed down by beams of light from what had descended through the portals in the sky, which were now in clearer view; flying using techniques ponies had not conceived. But there was no time for her to marvel at rotating wings and vectored thrust, Twilight Sparkle knew she had to keep going, although almost paralysed with fear.
As she began running, a pegasus corpse fell in front of her with one of it's wings missing. While staring down at the corpse, a long shadow stretched up from behind her. Twilight Sparkle gasped and turned around to see what was making it, but saw nothing behind her, and the shadow had disappeared. She could hear footsteps and deep voices, then swift bangs that cut through the air from around a corner of one of Canterlot's streets. It was then when three creatures she had never seen before ran around the corner towards her.
They were tall and moved bipedally. But she knew she was in danger, and unknown creatures probably meant they were part of the invading forces. As she was about to get out of there as quickly as possible, they pointed instruments they were carrying at her. Bright flashes, as though magical, and eardrum-ruining bangs filled the air around her. Twilight Sparkle screamed as a guard ran towards them from around a corner. His horn illuminated blue as magic intensified within it. After three pulses of energy, the creatures that tried to kill Twilight Sparkle were safely on the ground and not moving. “Are you okay?” He asked, helping her up.
“I'm fine,” she replied although limping slightly. She was thinking hard about what those three creatures were; they slightly resembled humans.
“Use your magic to kill them,” he said sternly. Through all the anarchy, she had completely forgotten about her horn. Immediately after saying that, more of the (possible) humans marched towards her and the guard. One of them used the same thing the previous ones had used, making a hole in the guard's head, killing him instantly. She knew she would be next if something wasn't done fast, but had to concentrate hard. She had never been taught spells that were lethal, but had still read about them at her own accord, without anypony knowing, of course.
It was no use, nothing would happen, even while she knew she would die if nothing was done, her horn wouldn't work. Right before giving up, a piece of concrete from a destroyed building was uplifted and flew towards Twilight Sparkle. She flinched, preparing for the impact. As it flew towards her, she heard more of those bangs, but felt nothing; the piece of concrete stayed level in front of her. It was then when she realized she had subconsciously conducted a telekinesis spell. Twilight Sparkle would have chuckled to herself if she wasn't so scared out of her mind.
It was then when the idea came to her. She directed the piece of concrete, at high velocity, straight at the humans. It knocked each of them over, sweeping from the left to the right into each of their heads. Each of them lay on the ground, not moving. Blood began to spread cross the pavement. She gasped, dropping the piece of concrete with her magic. Twilight Sparkle felt strange being responsible for their deaths. Nonetheless, a smile spread across her face.
Far away, someone watching her also smiled.
All Twilight Sparkle could see was green. Everywhere she twisted her head to look, there was only a single-shaded, shadowless green. Her hooves felt as though they were not touching the ground, and she became frightened at the sudden realization she didn't know which way was up and which way was down. Right before she was about to start panicking, Twilight Sparkle felt a falling sensation for less than a second, before all four hooves were touching the ground. As she looked around, the green was all gone, and replaced by the familiar town centre of Ponyville.
What has happened? I was just in Canterlot a moment ago, trying to get to the train station to get to Ponyville, then that green appeared and now I'm in Ponyville. What is going on?!
“Twilight!” Applejack, with Apple Bloom at her side, came galloping over to her, “Twilight, something is happening in Canterlot!”
A large crowd of ponies had gathered, all their eyes fixed on Canterlot in the distance, flinching at the sound of distant explosions, and curiously watching as strange creatures poured out of the sky. “A-and Cloudsdale, Cloudsdale is gone!” Continued Applejack.
Twilight Sparkle noticed Rarity and Sweetie Belle watching with all the other ponies, along with Scootaloo who had just noticed the presence of Twilight Sparkle. Looking down to the ground, Scootaloo walked to Twilight Sparkle, before looking up at Twilight Sparkle, tears forming in her eyes, “Rainbow Dash was in Cloudsdale. Do you think she's okay?”
“I-I don't know,” Twilight Sparkle said firmly. Her memory took her back to the sight of thousands of innocent pegasi being slaughtered, but decided it was best not to tell Scootaloo that the chances of Rainbow Dash being alive were virtually zero. Just then, Twilight Sparkle only just realized that she had (most likely) lost a dear friend and witnessed the deaths of thousands of ponies who had done nothing wrong. She felt weak, loosing balance, and vomiting. After the last amount of half-digested food bathed in stomach acid was successfully regurgitated, Twilight Sparkle looked back to a sympathetic-looking Applejack.
“Twilight!” Rarity, who was now standing beside Applejack, looked awfully flustered. “Twilight! You look terrible!” She exclaimed.
“Hey, weren't you just in Canterlot?” Asked Applejack. But Twilight Sparkle felt too ill to answer, so Applejack continued speaking, “It's a good thing you got outta there! How did you get back here so fast?” That was a good question, but Twilight Sparkle was not sure how to answer it.
“Erm, somethin's comin' at us,” said Apple Bloom, sounding almost as scared as Scootaloo had. Everypony turned their heads and saw as many as ten capsule-like objects streaking across the sky. They turned downwards, and fell straight towards Ponyville at an alarmingly high speed. Ponies backed away from where they were falling, as each of they smashed into the ground, crumpling and breaking apart.
Twilight Sparkle quickly realized that these things, whatever they were, had something to do with what was happening in Canterlot. Forgetting about her feeling of sickness, she shouted, “Everyone! Get away from those things now! They could be...” Small, cold-blooded looking organisms emerged from the capsules. Some jumped, while others walked. They were mostly beige, while their four pointy legs were red, they also had menacing-looking teeth on the front of them. Ponies screamed and ran.
“Wadda ya' suppose these things are?” Asked a puzzled Applebloom.
“I'm not sure, but we'd better...” Before Applejack could finish her sentence, one of them leapt into the air, and latched itself onto Apple Bloom's head. Applejack desperately tried to pull it off her little sister's face while Apple Bloom began to scream, but her screams became more and more muffled as it settled more onto her head. “Gerrr irrr offff mrrrr!” She wailed, “I carrrrn't breeafffe!”
“Somebody, help me!” Pleaded Applejack, “Twilight?!”
Twilight Sparkle rushed forward to help as Applejack pulled, activating her horn to use a telekinesis spell to pull it off. Rarity followed, using her own horn. “It's no good, we'll tear her face off!” Twilight Sparkle shouted. Each of them looked back at Apple Bloom, who was still screaming, with the thing latched tightly onto her head. Without any warning, she hit Applejack in the face.
“What in tarnation?” Shouted Applejack, wiping her cheek. Each of them looked down at Apple Bloom's hooves and gasped. Her skin had been stripped back, exposing the flesh and bone underneath. Parts of the bone were missing while others weren't, making her hooves resemble claws. Apple Bloom, still wailing and screaming, began to stumble forward, hitting Applejack again, but with more force, resulting in her to begin bleeding.
“I-I think that thing has got control of her brain,” Twilight Sparkle said gravely.
“What does that mean?” Cried Applejack.
“It means she's been turned into a sort-of zombie!”
Each of them gasped as Apple Bloom stumbled forwards, blood trickling down her neck.
“Will she be okay?” Asked Sweetie Belle.
“Sweetie Belle! Just get outta here!” Said Rarity, who was beginning to panic.
Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo turned around to run, but found themselves to be surrounded by ponies that had been turned into zombies by the creatures that latch onto heads. They each stumbled forward, as though fighting for control of where they walked, while screaming things like, “Help me! Somepony help me!” And general, muffled, noises of pain.
“Now what do we do?” Said Rarity as she backed away from Apple Bloom.
“We clear them away!” Said Twilight Sparkle aggressively. Kinetic energy streamed out of her horn, pummelling the zombies aside and clearing a path. Puddles of blood spread across the ground by where the ponies lay. Some were twitching, while some were perfectly still. Twilight Sparkle, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Rarity began to run while Applejack stayed perfectly still.
“What are you doing?! Get outta here!” Cried Twilight Sparkle.
“I'm not leaving my little sister. Y'all go without me,” said Applejack.
“We can't save her. And if you stay, you'll end up like her, too!”
But Applejack didn't move, instead she turned away from Twilight Sparkle, and turned back at what was left of her little sister. By now, some of the creatures that latch onto heads were detaching themselves from the ponies Twilight had pummelled aside, and some, who could still move, were picking themselves up, limping at Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. “What are you waiting for, Twilight? Just get outta here! I'll be fine!”
Twilight Sparkle felt tears swell up behind her eyes; Applejack had just told her first conscience lie to her. She sadly nodded, and quickly left, abandoning her friend who was surrounded by zombies.
As she caught up with the others, Twilight Sparkle said, “we have to find Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. We can use the Elements of Harmony to stop them.”
“Twilight, do you know just what is going on?” Asked Rarity.
“Someone's trying to take over Equestria. Someone from, well, another dimension. It started in Canterlot, and now they're coming to Ponyville!” Explained Twilight Sparkle.
“What are they called?” Asked Sweetie Belle.
Twilight Sparkle's memory took her back to what the pony had said back in Canterlot Castle, “a, erm, The Combine,” she said. After she did, she looked over at Scootaloo, who was looking straight at the ground with a sad expression on her face.
“Okay,” said Rarity, “Pinkie Pie lives just down here. Will the elements still work if Applejack and Rainbow Dash are...missing?”
Before Twilight Sparkle could answer, the sound of moaning and screaming from behind caused all of them to turn around. A large crowd of zombies, with the, well, whatever they were called, still attached to their heads. Both Twilight Sparkle and Rarity's horns began to glow as they prepared to remove them. Then they heard the sound of hooves hitting skin and flesh, as zombies fell to the ground. An unmistakably-curly pink mane came into view as the zombies turned to face their opponent, soon to be knocked-out by Pinkie Pie as she dodged and darted away from them as they tried to kill her. As she reached the dumbfounded Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, Pinkie Pie twisted the neck of a pony zombie until an ominous click could be heard, the creature detached itself from the pony's head. But before it could go anywhere, it was stomped on by the brutal hoof of Pinkie Pie. Green blood oozed from within.
“Hey, girls!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.
“Wh-whaa?” Was all Twilight Sparkle could say.
“Where did you learn to fight like that!” Exclaimed Rarity.
“That was so cool!” Said Scootaloo as she jumped up and down, flapping her wings.
“Oh, just some training I received back when I was a filly. My Pinkie Sense told me something bad would happen today,” Pinkie Pie explained, “now come on! We should get outta here before they send more shells over.”
Both Twilight Sparkle and Rarity looked at each other, and nodded, “we have to find Fluttershy. She's the only other Element of Harmony we can find,” said Twilight Sparkle as she tried to remain as calm as possible, while trying to avoid telling Pinkie Pie about what had happened to Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“Wait, can't we find spike?” Pleaded Rarity.
Twilight Sparkle thought of whether or not that would be a good idea. In all the chaos, she had forgotten about her baby dragon friend. As she did, smoke began to rise from the rooftops, and distant deep voices could be heard. “Crap,” whispered Twilight Sparkle, “I think they're here.”
“Erm, just who's here?” Asked Pinkie Pie.
“It's, well, I think it's humans.”
“Humans?!” They all said in synchronism.
“I know it seems crazy, but what else walks like that, and holds objects the way humans do?” Said Twilight Sparkle.
“But I thought humans, well, if they exist, were kind,” reasoned Rarity.
“I know, but, maybe they're being controlled by someone, or perhaps they're somehow made to do all these terrible things,” explained Twilight Sparkle.
“Erm, I think we should talk about this later. We really need to get outta here!” Said Sweetie Belle, sounding scared.
“She's right, but I'm not leaving without Spike!” Protested Rarity, “we have to find him. He could be hurt!”
“No,” said Twilight Sparkle resolutely, “you can stay and look for him all you want, but if you stay in Ponyville, you will be killed. I'm going to look for Fluttershy. Is anyone else coming with me?”
“Don't you care about him?” Rarity was clearly getting desperate.
“I do, but, for all we know, he could already be dead or be turned into one of those zombie-things. And if we go looking for him, we'd just get killed! Our survival is most important, not his!” Twilight Sparkle said seriously, “we need to find Fluttershy. She lives out of town, so they might not find her for a while.”
“I'm still have to find Spike,” Rarity said sadly as she turned away from Twilight Sparkle and the others, “is anyone going with me?”
“I will,” Sweetie Belle stepped forward, “I'm not leaving without my sister.” Rarity smiled upon hearing that. “Anypony else?” Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie said nothing. Scootaloo looked away.
Sweetie Belle looked rather surprised that Scootaloo was not coming with her. “We'll see you later, I guess.”
“Yeah, we'll see you later, goodbye,” Twilight Sparkle thought that she, in fact, would not be seeing them later.
“Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
Pinkie Pie turned her head quickly from Rarity and Sweetie Belle to Twilight Sparkle and Scootaloo. She looked torn apart and confused. “I don't know who to go with!” She screamed, as Rarity and Scootaloo disappeared into the smoke.
“Stay with us if you want to live,” said Twilight Sparkle coldly.
Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo left the burning streets of Ponyville far behind as they made their way to Fluttershy's cottage. Canterlot was barely visible from their location, and was probably mostly destroyed by now. Huge stacks of black smoke from both Canterlot and Ponyville seemed to congregate and mix together and blacken out the Cloudsdale-less sky, obscuring the portals that had been torn open in it. Neither of them said anything. Not even Pinkie Pie, which disturbed Twilight Sparkle seemingly to no end. Scootaloo stared at the ground, only looking up occasionally to see where she was going. Twilight Sparkle thought that she was probably thinking of Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle thought hard of how to reverse the effects of The Combine. She wanted everything to be how it was before. Her wanting for things to be how they were before distracted her trail of thoughts for a solution. While straining her mind, she found nothing but dead-ends and black pits that riddled her mind. While keeping a straight face, inside she was screaming in frustration.
From around a corner in the path, Fluttershy's cottage came into view. Windows were smashed and the building sat there ominously silent. “I wonder if she's still alive,” said Pinkie Pie scornfully. Twilight Sparkle looked at her sympathetically, before heading towards the bridge to check inside. She could hear the sound of Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie's hooves behind her. Once in the middle of the bridge, she gasped at what she saw; her garden was littered with the corpses of animals.
Dogs, cats, various rodents and reptiles lay lifeless. Twilight Sparkle would have thought some were sleeping, if they had been breathing. Most of them had holes in their flesh, surrounded by dry puddles of their blood. Some of their wounds were so wide and so deep that the animals' bones, lungs and heart were visible. The carcases of the animals were clearly flesh; flies hadn't yet taken advantage of the free food.
Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo trudged across the grass to Fluttershy's front door, moving around the dead animals and their blood. Once all three of them had reached the front door to Fluttershy's still intact home, Pinkie Pie suddenly began to back away. “H-h-hold on, do you think we really should go in there?” She asked.
“She's an Element of Harmony, remember? And a friend. We have to make sure she's still alive,” said Twilight Sparkle seriously, unafraid of mentioning the possibility that Fluttershy could be dead. Scootaloo winced at the thought that Fluttershy might not be alive while Pinkie Pie nodded nervously. Twilight raised a hoof at the door, and knocked three times. But, to her surprise, the door opened a few centimetres to her knocking, creaking as it did. The three ponies exchanged nervous and inquisitive looks, before quietly entering with Twilight Sparkle leading.
“Fluttershy?” Called Twilight Sparkle.
The interior of the cottage, once neat and full of life, was now completely still and ramshackle. A dead, semi-decapitated familiar-looking white rabbit lay on the torn apart sofa. Each pony looked around, their eyes fearfully darting around to inspect the damage and look for any sign of life. “Maybe we should check upstairs, or..” Twilight Sparkle began to suggest.
The sound of whimpering interrupted Twilight Sparkle. “Where did that come from?” Said Scootaloo, looking around.
“I-I think it came from in there,” said Pinkie Pie slowly, indicating at the under stairs cupboard. Without looking behind, Twilight Sparkle made her way to the cupboard's wooden door, levitating the latch to unlock it, and swung the door open.
Inside, curled up with her hooves and messy pink mane covering her eyes, was Fluttershy. Blood trickled down her flank as she looked up slightly at the sight of Twilight Sparkle, her little nose poked through her mane as she very timidly took her hooves down, before rapidly ascending them back to cover her eyes again. As the light of the door opening hit her, she gasped and lifted up her body, flapping her wings and flailing her legs until she had moved herself into a dark corner. The inside of the cupboard smelled of urine, and Twilight Sparkle could see a wet patch where Fluttershy was previously sitting, and stains between her hind legs.
“Fluttershy? It's me, Twilight Sparkle.”
“T-Twilight?” Tears seeped from Fluttershy's covered eyes, her voice was barely a whisper.
“Yes, it's me,” she said as she crept forward into the dark cupboard while Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie looked on worridly. Fluttershy removed her front hooves away from her eyes, squinting at Twilight Sparkle through her now-messy mane that was faded with dust. Tears began to flow out. It was then when Twilight noticed that the blood on Fluttershy's flank was her own, and where the wound was.
“Someone get me a bandage!” She called back to Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo. Then spoke softly to Fluttershy, “it's going to be okay.”
“No it isn't!” She wailed, “they came here and they...they...” Fluttershy's tears came out with much more intensity than before as she screamed quietly, having reminded herself of the day's previous events. Twilight Sparkle hugged her friend as Scootaloo came running back, carrying bandages for Fluttershy. Twilight Sparkle levitated the bandages, tightening them around Fluttershy's wound. It was a while until Fluttershy stopped crying, and a while until either of them said anything.
Twilight Sparkle was eventually able to lead Fluttershy away from the dark under stairs cupboard, sitting her down.
“H-hey, someone's watching us!” Said Scootaloo loudly, turning back to them after looking out of a kitchen window. Twilight Sparkle rushed to the window, almost forgetting about Fluttershy and standing next to Scootaloo.
“Where?” She asked, looking from the left to the right, scanning the scenery.
“T-there! It was right there!” Scootaloo pointed to a tree.
“I don't see anything.”
“But I saw someone there. I swear!”
“What did, um, they look like?”
Scootaloo thought for a moment, “um, I don't think it was a pony. It was someone, hmm, only walking on their hind legs. Carrying a briefcase.”
Twilight Sparkle walked quickly and calmly back to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, “we have to go,” she demanded, “now!”
“Why should we leave?” Asked Fluttershy, looking up towards Twilight Sparkle with another wave of tears brewing in her eyes.
“There's-there's...” Twilight Sparkle said urgently as she tried to find the appropriate words to use, “I think we're being followed.”
“Followed, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie, although saddened by the day's events she seemed to have her enthusiastic and inquisitive personality marginally intact.
“Yeah. I think so.”
“By who?”
Twilight Sparkle was about to speak but was knocked to the floor before an agonizing burning sensation rippled across her back. Flames were all around but everything was silent. Slices and chippings of wood, fragments of bricks and pieces of ceiling plaster cluttered the air space all around her. The complete chaos continued as she heard the whirl of wings and deep, mechanical voices. She didn't hesitate to use her power to gain control of the situation anymore; effortlessly stopping any fragments of Fluttershy's cottage from hitting her by momentarily freezing them in mid air. What she had previously thought to be dust all around her now turned out to be smoke, she strained herself not to panic, shaking her wings frantically before realizing that everything was completely silent. Twilight Sparkle stood up straight, looking quickly from left to right to gain a better understanding of the situation.
Without any warning, she heard an ominous deep nasal male voice say, “Twilight...Sparkle,” putting a lot of emphasis on the 'i's in her name. Only, she wasn't sure whether the voice was coming from. It sounded almost as though it was coming from inside her own head. She was too alarmed even say anything, even after becoming confident, and able, to kill whatever threatened her and her friends' survival. Instead, she stood, wide-eyed and motionless until the voice continued, “it's nice that we have some time alone together, while your, um...companions?” The voice said, as though asking a question, “are...obscured,” it was clear to Twilight Sparkle that whoever was speaking was choosing his words extremely carefully. As she looked around she could see that the smoke and flames were not still but instead they were moving extremely slowly. Time was slowed down to an almost stand-still. Yet, as she moved her hooves in front of her face she could tell that it was not the case for her. Now more aware of the situation, she asked, a little aggressively, “show yourself! Who are you?”
The scenery around her flickered and twisted and contracted as someone, a non-pony carrying a briefcase materialized in front of her. Twilight Sparkle gasped; she was looking at the same species she had encountered in Canterlot High. “I suppose it is nicer to discuss with you face-to-face, Ms. Sparkle,” he said casually. The same deep nasal voice echoed around her head.
“Yes, it is. Now answer my question, please; who are you?” Twilight Sparkle wasted no time getting to the point, while still trying her best to maintain a level of politeness, even in such a confusing situation.
He took a deep breath in. As he opened his mouth, Twilight Sparkle observed his teeth that had a hint of yellow in them, his formal suit and deep green eyes, “I do not believe...that is relevant, Ms. Sparkle” he continued to speak slowly and casually. To which Twilight Sparkle found horribly condescending. Twilight closed her eyes and strained in an attempt to restore time to it's previous speed. Her horn glowed a dim yellow, as she and groaned, but to no effect. All the while, the human (or at least, she was almost certain he was a human) in front of her held a sly smile across his face. “I'm afraid I have...jammed your horn, Ms. Sparkle.”
“What do you mean it's 'jammed'? Not much can be stronger than alicorn's magic, and you're...”
“...just a mere human?” He chuckled, clearly enjoying his monologue, aggravating Twilight Sparkle even more, “Princess Celestia might tell you otherwise.” She hated his calm, smug attitude and the way he talked slowly, as though he just loved the feel of forming words in his mouth. He would drag out 's's and from pauses in the middle of sentences for no apparent reason. But what annoyed her most was the fact that he clearly knew a lot more than he was letting on. She sighed, feeling defeated by his somehow superior power and knowledge.
While trying to talk as civilised and sophisticated as she could, asking , “what do you mean by 'Princess Celestia telling you otherwise'?”
He grinned, “I have had Celestia at my reigns for quite some time now. Although, even she does not know the full extent of the strings I have been pulling. After all, did you honestly think that your intellect and above-average magical abilities were enough to bump you through the ranks of Equestria's aristocracy?”
Twilight Sparkle's mouth dropped open. She had had doubts, but never took them seriously. “I...well, I always thought Princess Celestia had seen my potential,” she said shakily.
“No, Ms. Sparkle. I saw your potential. I remember the exact look on your face when you thought you were able to make a baby dragon grow so tall when I had placed Celestia in a rather convenient location to notice it.” As he spoke, he shifted in and out of Twilight's view, however, no matter where she turned her head he always remained in the same corner of her eye. Her annoyance had turned into depression, at the sudden realization that everything she had been working for wasn't for the pony she always looked up to, and that someone else was there to put her at such a high status. She felt cheated.
“Aww, what's the matter?” He asked, although Twilight speculated he already knew what the matter was and decided not to answer. At the notion of Twilight Sparkle's silence, he sighed and straightened his tie, with ease thanks to having thumbs. “Now that that's out of the way,” he took a few steps closer, “I must ask...“Twilight. Sparkle. Did you actually think...you would win? Your ambition, impresses me.” His mouth twitched as images of the day's events flashed behind and in front of him, rushing silently past Twilight Sparkle.
She narrowed her eyes, asking, “Just what do you want from me?”
“I, personally, don't want anything from you, Ms. Sparkle. My employers, however, have a rather attractive...proposition they would like to put forward.”
“Oh yeah? And just what is that?”
“It's an opportunity that you must not miss,” he said casually, “it is almost time for you to embark on an assignment that will determine the course of, well, I think you know already.” Twilight Sparkle lifted an eyebrow as he continued, “But, I am afraid we must detain you until....” he turned around 180 degrees and slowly walked away from Twilight Sparkle. As he did, he began to fade away. “...that time has come,” he finished before vanishing completely. Just then, everything was gone. She no longer felt any part of her body. All she could see was green, before that too faded into nothing.
