Monster Muscles
Chapter 1: A New Beginning
Twilight Sparkle...there is more than one of everything.
That's what the weird grey stallion in the suit and fedora had said a week before Princess Luna summoned her and her friends to the library of Starswirl the Bearded and found the prototype Crystal Mirror that lead to the reversed world where Princess Celestia was an evil tyrant and King Sombra a benevolent sovereign. Now, some time later, the words returned to Twilight.
It all began when she was walking back to her castle after visiting Sweet Apple Acres, pondering the organization of her new library, when a swirling riot of purple and yellow exploded in front of her, scaring her half to death. She had only a second to register that it was a vortex before an unseen force pulled her in head-first, sending the young Alicorn princess plunging head-over-hooves through the twisting vortex, screaming all the way.
It only took a moment for her journey to end, her hooves on solid ground again before her screaming stopped. More than solid ground; it was smooth tile. Her scream dying away, Twilight blinked and focused on her surroundings. White marble columns lay broken around her. They weren't worn with age like the Castle of the Two Sisters; the damage was recent. The floor was marble too, chipped and dusty from the shattered columns. There was no ceiling, the Sun blazing overhead, oppressively harsh and warm, not a cloud in the sky. It was a ruined palace, one that had been destroyed not long ago. At the most a year ago.
Where am I...?
The place wasn't familiar to Twilight. Wincing at the unfiltered sunlight, she turned around to find a high wall and doorway blocked by rubble. Not that it mattered; she could fly out easily enough. What else could she find though?
Her hooves made a loud clatter on the floor as she trotted down the corridor, something fluttering in the hot breeze catching her eye. A tattered purple banner hung from the wall, the cutie marks of Celestia and Luna on the right and left respectively, and in the middle...
Twilight had to do a double take. Her eyes had to be playing tricks on her, but there it was, as plain as day. Her own twinkling magic star cutie mark, larger than the other two.
“What...?” Twilight stepped closer.
“Surprising isn't it, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight yelped, the voice behind her weirdly familiar yet she couldn't place who it belonged to. She whirled around, her horn igniting with violet magic, ready to teleport away. Something bipedal, massive in size and towering in height, emerged from a darkened corridor that still had a ceiling. It was similar in shape to the Canterlot High inhabitants but it had a well-groomed purple coat and a long horn jutting from its head, much like her. Then the shape moved into the sunlight and Twilight gasped.
The shape was altogether different and possessed hands and feet but it was unmistakably herself, a bizarre hybrid of her pony body and biped body. The head and face were identical to her own, the mane, eyes, and muzzle exactly the same. The body bulged and rippled with overdeveloped muscles, the enlarged teats of the biped females enlarged to comical proportions, jutting like huge cannonballs off her torso. She wore a thin silk gown that clung to every bulge and curve, the sides slit to expose the cutie marks on her flanks—hips Twilight reminded herself—the same cutie mark she had. The gown was thin enough that Twilight could make out the striated stomach muscles, standing out like a cobblestone path, and the thick jutting nipples. Broad wings grew from her shoulders and a tail hung behind her, details Twilight's biped form lacked. The thin coat was more like her pony form too.
The strange doppelgänger smiled gently, and Twilight realized the eyes and muzzle weren't quite the same as hers; the eyes were older, wiser, the muzzle more pronounced like Celestia's. She raised her hands, small and dainty compared to her vast musculature. “I know, I must be a startling sight,” the doppelgänger said in what was undoubtedly Twilight's voice. “Before you ask, yes, I am you, in a manner of speaking.”
Twilight smiled awkwardly. “Well, I've met other versions of my friends. It stands to reason there's more than one me too.” Something bothered her about this other Twilight, but she couldn't place what that was.
The other Twilight nodded. “Indeed so. Please walk with me. There's much to explain.”
Bewildered, Twilight trotted beside the other Twilight. In spite of being so huge her movements were every bit as graceful as Celestia's. This was surely an older Twilight, one who had been a princess for some time and was accustomed to it. Her bare feet made no sound on the floor.
“So...Twilight, is everypony like you here?”
“As in this size?” The other Twilight flexed her right arm, her muscles rising like smooth mountains. “No, only myself, Celestia, and Luna were like this. Part of an experiment of mine gone wrong, or right if you prefer. It effected only Celestia and me, but Luna became jealous so I purposely replicated it with her, after Celestia and I married.”
Twilight's jaw dropped. Married? To Celestia? That was just...well, unthinkable. Twilight had sometimes entertained the idea of them growing closer, sometimes even intimate, but actual marriage seemed impossible and it made her guilty to think of her teacher like that. Yet this Twilight married her Celestia and presumably were more intimate than Twilight would dare imagine. A range of emotions raged inside of her.
The other Twilight looked to her. “Do you not love your Celestia in that way?”
“I, erm, well...” Twilight stammered. “No! I mean, yes, or, well, maybe, but I'd never be able to ask her! I mean, she was my teacher! I can't just ask for her hoof in marriage!”
“Give it time, you will find the courage eventually.” The other Twilight sighed. “When your friends begin to grow old while you stay young, you realize only another Alicorn makes a suitable mate.”
Twilight fell silent. The topic rose on occasion but she always shoved her worries aside, reasoning it was too early to consider. Would she outlive all her friends? Surely she could discover a way to keep them around longer first. Extend everypony's lives in Equestria.
Her thoughts turned to a different topic, and it hit her what was bothering her. “Hey, how come I'm still a quadruped pony instead of a biped pony like you? The last time I went to a world of bipeds I changed to look just like them.”
The other Twilight shrugged. “I'm puzzled by that too, really. Maybe there was a flaw in my process to bring you here, or being so close to another version of yourself confuses reality. Perhaps both at once.”
Another banner fluttered forlornly in the breeze in the corner of Twilight's eye.
“Twilight, what's with the banners? Where's Celestia? Why's this palace ruined?”
The other Twilight shut her eyes wearily, her mouth trembling. “My beloved died defending this Equestria, and Luna joined her soon after.”
Twilight gasped. Even more unthinkable than marring Celestia was her dying. It was impossible, surely. There was no way, no way at all...
“I took up their duties and strengths, ruling the Sun and Moon alike to hold Equestria together, but it wasn't to be. The Enemy was too strong, even for me. All that's left is me and this crumbling palace, trapped under the solar barrier.”
“No!” Twilight gasped. “Celestia can't be dead! Nopony could kill her and Luna! How could this be?”
“They invaded us from within,” the other Twilight answered. “The Enemy slowly sowed strife between lands, turning everypony against each other before striking. Everything about Equestria was anathema to them, an abomination to be stamped out. I fought as hard as I could after Celestia fell but this palace is the only safe place left in my Equestria. They won't stop until I'm in chains at their feet, the Sun set forever.”
Twilight listened, feeling bad for exploding at the other Twilight. She had done her best with a chaotic situation and was suffering without any of her friends left.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “What is this enemy anyway?”
The other Twilight pointed to an intact balcony. “Out there.”
Twilight moved to balcony, steeling herself for what might be outside. Even so, what she saw made her eyes go wide. Hovering in the air around the palace were vast blurry saucer shapes. They looked hazy and flickering, suspended in the sky about a mile away in all directions, not moving any closer to them.
“My solar barrier keeps them away. Any closer and they risk burning up.” The other Twilight clutched her head and groaned. “I've kept it up for a year now. My head pounds constantly but I can still maintain it.”
Twilight recalled Shining Armor's less lethal barrier during his wedding. “So who is the Enemy?” she asked.
The other Twilight shook her head. “I can't say for certain. I haven't seen many outside their ships and the ones I did were clad in concealing armor. Mostly they act through intermediaries, turning thoughts and fears physical and sending them to attack us. What they really want I don't yet know, but my Equestria has all but died for it.”
Twilight gazed at the alien shapes in the sky, wondering what could motivate such destruction. She had faced some dreadful enemies in the past but destruction on this scale was new to her. “And you need my help.”
The other Twilight grasped Twilight's sides and spun her around to face her, the other Twilight's eyes boring into hers. “Twilight Sparkle, out of all the variants in the multiverse, you are the closest to me in potential power and you understand friendship to a degree the others don't. I am the very strongest of all Twilights—the Ultimate Twilight if you will, but I can't abandon my Equestria without losing valuable experiments to the Enemy that can lead them to your Equestria. I need you find the power necessary to stop them, power that will bring you closer to my level.”
“Your level?” Twilight had an image of being as pumped up as Bulk Biceps, roaring “Yeah!” while flexing her forelegs. Maybe that look worked for Ultimate Twilight but she wasn't sure about herself.
Ultimate Twilight closed her eyes and her horn sparkled with purple light. An image projected out of it, showing a golden tube of purple lipstick that glimmered weirdly. “This is the Valkyrie Lipstick,” Ultimate Twilight explained. “A weapon of the ancient valkyrie people designed to bring out one's fullest potential and strength, enacting a temporary transformation. With this you will become nearly as strong as I am and you will be more than prepared to fight the Enemy.”
“Magic lipstick?” Twilight raised an incredulous eyebrow. “And where do I find this Valkyrie Lipstick?”
The image changed to an imposing stone castle at night, a full Moon with the features of a grinning skull hanging over it. Twilight swallowed hard; naturally her quest would involve such a dreadful-looking place.
“This is Monster High of New Salem,” continued Ultimate Twilight. “My research into the Valkyries showed me that Monster High was built over the ruins of a Valkyrie strong hold, even incorporating some of it into the main building. I'm certain you will find some Valkyrie Lipstick somewhere deep within.”
“Monster...High? Like Canterlot High?” No matter how she looked at it, Monster High looked far more foreboding than Canterlot High. This was more like the Castle of the Two Sisters than a high school.
“Indeed it is,” answered the other Twilight. “This world has magic so you'll be able to cast spells once you reach it. It won't be too different from Canterlot High beyond that.”
“You've kept an eye on me for a while, haven't you?”
“I'm sorry Twilight. I had to be sure you were capable before I brought you here.”
“I understand,” Twilight sighed. “I'd do the same if I were you, I guess. I don't suppose I can tell any of my friends first? Bring them along to help?”
Ultimate Twilight shook her head. “I'm sorry, but this was the best I can do right now. Monster High isn't just an alternative Equestria; it's much further out than that. The connection between our worlds is limited and delicate, and I can't afford to make many trips. If I send you more times than I need to I might lose the connection or even bring down the barrier. I need that Lipstick to grant me the power to open more portals and maintain the barrier.”
The giant Alicorn's horn sparkled and smoke billowed around Twilight for a second, the smoke fading to reveal a vast and well-stocked laboratory. Long tables and broad shelves held a dazzling selection of potions, plants, and machines, the air buzzing with crackling magic.
Twilight smiled wryly. “At least you have a great place to spend while waiting.”
Ultimate Twilight chuckled. “Yes, I thought you'd like it here. I wish I could show you more...”
A mirror, much like the Crystal Mirror back home but with a cruder, more thrown together look to it, stood at the back, a gaggle of sparking machines gathered around it, bigger than the ones Twilight hooked up to the Crystal Mirror. Images flickered across the glass, indistinct and fleeting. It hurt Twilight's eyes to look too long.
Ultimate Twilight took a small object from a table and offered it to Twilight: a purple compact with her cutie mark painted on. “Remember,” she began, “this connection isn't fixed to a single location. Once you have the Valkyrie Lipstick, kiss the mirror in the Crystal Compact. That will be the signal for me to return you here, and once that happens I can't return you to Monster High, and without the Lipstick I can't return you home without endangering myself.”
“I'll try to make this a quick as possible,” Twilight replied, taking the compact into her mouth. “Wish me luck,” she mumbled around the hard compact.
Ultimate Twilight smiled and nodded to the mirror. “Celestia be with you, Twilight. You know what do.”
I hope so...
Twilight stepped forward, the magical energy making her coat stand up. Sinking her head into the flickering glass, Twilight flung herself inside, a strange tingle running through her body as she passed through the supernatural glass, sending her tumbling through a twisting maelstrom of grey half-glimpsed visions. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth hard around the compact.
All of a sudden, it was over. What felt like grass slammed against her. A little sore, Twilight none the less embraced the feeling of solid earth. She stretched out, dropping the Crystal Compact, feeling clothes once again against her skin. Did she end up exactly as she did at Canterlot High?
Taking the compact and standing up on slim legs once more, Twilight found a castle-like edifice looming over her like an immense headstone. It was a cold, silent night, the hideous Moon hanging overhead with a mocking grin. Yes, it was definitely the place Ultimate Twilight had shown her.
Monster High...
Twilight made a nervous gulp. It looked like this was going to be a little more difficult than Canterlot High had been.
