Fragments

Chapters

Voices
The Key Of Darkness
A Huntsman and an Intellectual
The Azure Flame
Getting the Band Together
Trix of the trade
Open wounds

Voices

Fragments- Voices

Everfree Forest

The sounds of the darkened forest interweaved through the trees like yarn. The echos of the hollow as the inhabitants had once called it. But to a figure that was lying in a clearing in the middle of the woods, all he heard was noise. Static. Things that made him open his eyes that were previously closed; showing him where the young teen was. Despite the surrounding darkened trees, small beams of light came through the trees, providing some light.

He was quite shocked at first. Originally thinking that he was in some kind of dreamscape. But something told him otherwise. A scratch on his right hand that cut his skin and making him flinch in pain… You couldn’t feel pain in dreams, but right now he just did. Panic began to set in. But he couldn’t allow it to take hold.

He stood up. His clothes now becoming partially visible in the light that poked through the trees. Yellow sweatband on the left wrist, sleeveless shirt with a funnel collar that was known as a dharma and a white part of shorts that were held up by a belt. Shoes and shirt were black with gold trims and an indigo stripe splashed into the center of both pieces. Headphones of the same indigo color were around his neck and another gadget was around his neck, presumably an MP3 player. Before going anywhere, he ruffled his messed up hair and placed his headphones on. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths.

“Breath… Calm yourself… This is probably just a sick prank placed on me…”

Unknowingly though, something else began to happen. The noises he once heard soon became something else that he began to hear. Voices. Voices of someone talking. This brought his hopes up. A lot. Where there’s people, there’s possibly a town of sorts. Where he could find out where he was exactly.

That was… until he noticed something that was in his hand. A round black pin with a white skull in the center.

“What the-? But this is-!” That’s when it hit him. The teen slowly began to recall the memories from before he woke up as he flinched and fell down on the ground.

Earlier that day…

His name was Ron. Ron Dolor. A high school sophomore that was like any typical student. Either you did good in school but couldn’t understand other people or you did good with talking to people, but couldn’t understand what was being taught in the classroom. For Ron, it was the first. Despite only having a couple of friends, he never could understand people and emotions. That’s why his favorite video game character was Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends With You. Because it was someone he could relate to.

I don’t get people. Never have, never will.

Ron could understand people he knew like the few friends that he had and his art history teacher back at school. But in the real world, it was a LOT different. He wasn’t a mind reader. But he wished that he could do so. All he needed was a player's pin and he could tell what they were thinking by reading their thoughts. Of course, that was just a game. This was real life and both of them had their differences.

Over the past few weeks, he had been working on creating the costume based on Neku for him to wear to a small comic book and video game convention. Mostly because it allowed Ron the chance to just be himself without being nagged by his parents or other family members. Now, he was enjoying himself as he explored the vast urban jungle of the convention hall. Vendors were everywhere and so were other people dressed up as other characters. For a moment, he even thought he saw one of his favorite teachers dressed up as that green haired teacher from RWBY. However, it wasn’t exactly what he had to focus on as of right now.

As he continued down one of the rows, he soon came across a small button and pin stand. The title was strange enough. Button Bazaar or something like that. But the merchant himself was quite recognizable. He resembled Mr. Hanekoma from The World Ends With You, Owner of the WildKat Cafe and also the multi-talented street artist named CAT. It was kind of ironic since he was set up in the Artist Alley of all places.

“Well, isn’t this a rare sight.” He said as Ron stopped in front of his booth. “I never expected to see a player like you be here of all places.”

He even sounded like him. Bonus points for that. “Hello to you too.” Ron said. He wasn’t one to speak in long sentences. More likely short brief statements or something along those lines. Looking at his merchandise, he came across a lot of pins that resembled pins in the game that he recognized. One’s called psyches that allowed Neku to use different kinds of abilities during combat. He picked out a few of them that he liked, around five to ten at most and then showed them to “Mr. H”.

“How much for these?”

“Fifty cents each. But… if you're interested, I can make you an offer that’ll be worth your while.” The vendor said as he pulled out a small drawstring bag that resembled a munny pouch from the Final Fantasy series and then took out something that caught Ron’s attention. A Player’s Pin. What a player needs to show that he or she was participating in the reaper's game. “This little bag has a small collection of all the pins that you wanted and then some, but I’ll give it to you for free if you purchase this one.”

“Isn’t that bad for your business?” Ron questioned. All the vendor did was chuckle as he leaned back in his chair.

“I don’t really care how it works for me. All I want to do is make other customers like you happy and enjoy your time here. In another way, It’s what I call haggling.”

It didn’t make any sense, but Ron wasn’t one to say no just yet. “How much is the player's pin?”

“Same price as if you just bought the ten pins you wanted. Five dollars.”

“Okay then. I’ll take it.” The exchange was made as Ron handed the five bucks over to the vendor in exchange for the merchandise that was now his, placing it in his oversize pockets that could hold just about anything. Just as he was leaving though, he heard the man say one last thing.

“Hey kid… Don’t forget… The World Ends With You… If you wanna enjoy life, you got to expand your world.”

‘Definitely seemed like the Roleplaying Type.’ Ron thought to himself as he placed his headphones over his ears and began to walk. However, due to this, he couldn’t hear the commotion going on as some of the people in the area were scrambling to their feet. A shadow loomed over him and the last this he remembered seeing was an exact replica of the Hulkbuster Iron Man suit beginning to fall on top of him.

“Oh come on-!”

Back to the Present…

Now the events of everything beforehand were beginning to piece themselves together like a puzzle. He bought the pins, a huge suit of armor fell on him, and now he woke up in a creepy forest. And to add onto that, his player’s pin was acting like how the pin would actually work in the game. Man, could this get any weirder for him?

He then began to think of a plan for how to proceed. First things first, get out of the forest. He saw a light at the end of the path and began to walk towards it. The sunlight soon flared in his eyes as he saw a huge urban metropolis that reminded him of downtown New York City. But couldn’t tell what it resembled because of the cloudy weather.

“Well, there's a city, there’s bound to be someone that could help me out right?” He told himself as he began to walk down the hillside down towards the city. As he walked on down, he could tell that a few things didn’t seem quite right. First off, most of the prints he found on the dirt road resembled horseshoe prints. Second, a wooden road sign that he saw on the way to the city said “Manehattan” instead of Manhattan. Third, when he was messing around with one of the pins in the collection that he had on him, a spark of lightning went off in the distance, accidently starting a small fire before it was put out.

‘Okay, this is just getting weirder the longer I’m here.’ Neku said as he climbed over another hillside and finally got a view of the city as the weather began to clear up. It didn’t look like modern New York and more like a war torn, great depression age Manhattan judging from first glance.

“Well… That’s… new.” He didn’t have much time to take in the scenery as a loud scream was heard, almost making the teen think that whoever he heard was just trying to pierce his eardrums.

“What the hell was that?” He was now partially curious, running towards the direction in which the sound came from as he entered the city. One thing though that he forgot was that cities like these have multiple alleyways, which meant that he couldn’t know where it was based on hearing it alone… He had to try a new approach.

Holding his players pin again, he closed his eyes. “Focus…” He told himself. Soon, he began to hear the thoughts of what he imagined to be the person who screamed… But from hearing it at first, the individual’s thoughts were quite… odd to say the least.

‘This is just the worst possible thing!! My clothes are torn to bits and I’m being chased around in a once beautiful city overrun by vicious…… creatures. Oh Luna, If I don’t come back from this, please tell my sister that I love her!’

The thoughts in itself was not what Ron was focusing on. Using the player's pin allowed him to hone in on the location of whoever was talking, making it easier for him to find this damsel in distress. He also heard a few loud noises. Like ruffians talking. But as he got closer, Ron could not believe what exactly he was seeing.

Griffons talking to each other, but besides their beaks, they had sharp jaws that reminded him of a set of shark teeth. There were four of them. Each with a different set of leather garments that served as protective body armor.

“What the beak do you mean you lost her!? She’s just one pony!!”

“Don’t blame me. For acting like she’s part of royalty, that unicorn can gallop and she’s handy with magic.”

So he was hearing a unicorn? Now the teenager thought he was beginning to think he should listen in on them, but when he took a step forward; his foot made contact with a crushed soda can.

“What was that!?”

“Sh*t!” Ron cursed to himself. Hearing the sound caused the griffons to begin turning around to see him.

“What the-? What is that-!?”

“Who cares, dumb-beak! If we capture the unicorn and this freak, we’ll get a promotion!! Grab him!!”

Ron himself was quick to react. Sliding backwards to avoid the lashing of griffon claws. He hoped that the rules of needing to make a pact with a partner did not apply with these guys. That question was answered when he used his [Lightning Rook] pin and a blast of chain lightning knocked the first griffon backwards into a lamp post.

“Okay then… If you want a fight… THEN BRING IT!!”

“Heh… Well boys, this punk is just asking for us to kill him.” The supposed leader of the patrol squawked; judging from his regalia being different from all the others. Then flew towards him, one at a time, in a head on rush. Quickly, Ron’s first action was to grab another pin from his pocket at random and see what it could do. The next one he came across had a Y on it and a white circle around it. [Yoshimitsu]. A shockwave pin. Finally, something that he could use to counter with.

Shockwave pins allowed psych users to attack their opponent in a series of slashes. But like other pins, there are limits to the amount of times it could be used. Fortunately, Yoshimitsu had 16 charges. Enough to last him quite a while. As the other three griffons furiously lashed out, he waited for an opening, attacking the first griffon around the chest and the second griffon that came at him around the beak, breaking a few of it’s extra set of teeth. The third however, was smart, surprising him with an extended claw that struck the teen in the arm.

“Agh!!” he flinched in pain. “That was a cheap shot.”

“To be fair, you scarred one of my troops in the chest, knocked out one of my best scouts by launching him into a lamp pole and broke the fangs off of another.” The patrol leader spoke. “I would call that an even trade.”

“Pfft, even trade, my ass!” He shot back, fighting through the pain. The psych user was thankful that the claws didn’t give him a deep flesh wound or rip it down to the bone. That would be extremely difficult to patch up given that he never woke up with a first aid kit. Still, he had to protect himself. If Ron was to figure out how to find a way home, then he had to win this fight!

The head griffon snickered, talking to his comrades in a language that the teen couldn’t recognize. But he had a clear idea of what it meant once the leader flew off. Leaving the other two to face him, they were to deal with him while he would try to find the “unicorn” that they were looking for. Typical for those kind of prideful d-bags to leave their allies to do all the fighting like that.

The two griffons however, had a few surprises in store. For one thing, Their claws began to extend outward and now resembled sharp bone like blades. Another thing was that their actions and behavior had changed drastically as well. Acting more like feral predators than what they were just a few moments ago. Almost like hyena’s because of their sick laughter.

And because of how fast on their paws they were too.

Ron barely had time to dodge out of the way of the attacks of the incoming beasts as he skidded backwards. He scanned the area, thinking about what exactly could he do to be able to effectively hurt them. There were objects scattered everywhere from barricades to carriages and even some other items here and there. Then, something clicked. Why attack these beasts head on when you can just use the environment to your advantage?

Quickly, Ron used his uninjured hand to grab another pin in his pocket as his attackers charged. The teen stepped back again, the talons of his foes barely missing him by a few centimeters as he quickly looked at the pin that he had pulled at random. He breathed a sigh of relief. This was the one he needed. [Kings Knight]. A psychokinesis psych.

Holding the pin in his fist, he began to slash out like before with Yoshimitsu. However, something different occurred that caught the two griffons off guard. They noticed that when he slashed, it was behind a carriage instead of at them. What they did not notice until it was too late was that the boy’s attack sent the carriage flying at them, turning it into a living projectile. As the transport crashed into them and threw their unconscious bodies against the wall, the teenager was glad that this current encounter was over. But there were still some things to deal with.

First off, the wound on his arm. He looked through a few more pins that he had on him and was soon thankful to find one that was a healing Psych. Taking a moment, he held the pin between index and middle finger of his right hand as he put it over his wound. As a few seconds passed, the scars from before had closed and looked good as new.

The other thing to deal with though was the leader. He flew off to go hunting for the prize that he was looking for and right now, could be anywhere in the city. However, another loud scream similar to the first one he heard made the psych user turn around. He heard some commotion not far from his current location in what looked like a department store.

Rarity was not having a good day. First, it was coming back to the once beautiful city of Manehattan to find the town trashed inside and out. Then, there was the Griffons that found her. She was able to get away from them once. But now, she was entangled in a trap that made her barely able to move her hooves as the head griffon she saw earlier came closer. It was licking it’s beak as stared down at the helpless mare.

“I always love to see a mare when she acts so submissively. Too bad that today’s the last day that you’ll draw breath.”

His talons unsheathed as he crept closer. All Rarity was able to see from her current position on the floor was the glowing sun looming over the city. But, in an instant, the tables turned. A bolt of lightning ripped through the glass windows and electrocuted the monster that was in front of her, feeding it with a lot of volts of electricity. The sparks that went off from the single bolt burned away some of the restraints that prevented the unicorn from moving, allowing her the chance to free herself. When she looked out the window, all she saw was what appeared to be the individual who saved her.

“And that… is what I call a fair trade.” She heard it speak. “You wound me, I blast you. Seems fair enough.” This being… had saved her life.

“Are you okay in there, miss? I can see your horn from out here.” Rarity herself now straightened up back onto all four of her hooves. She saw no need into having to delay anything as she trotted out to meet her… savior, so to speak.

“Oh my…… This is quite…… shocking.”

Upon seeing the White Unicorn mare, The teen was surprised by quite a few things. For one, her head could stretch out to his waist. When he thought of a Unicorn, he thought of the size of the being in “The Last Unicorn”, not this tiny marshmallow.

“Oh my……” He heard the mare speak. The teen didn’t think that she could talk. Well, he thought of it as more of talking telepathically than physically talking, but it still took him by surprise. “This is quite…… shocking.”

“Yeah… you and me both.” He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. “There’s still quite a lot of things that just don’t seem normal to me.”

“Darling, I wasn’t talking about that. I was talking about what you’re wearing.”

“Wait… My clothes? What is wrong with my clothes?”

“Oh, where do I even begin!?” The Unicorn, who hadn’t even introduced herself yet went on a tangent about everything from his shirt, shorts, shoes and even commented on his pins; calling their designs “hideous”. She continued on for a while, not even realizing that Ron had stopped paying attention.

“Excuse me, Miss? I hate to interrupt, but you never actually told me your name.” Ron pointed out, causing the rant to stop upon realization of her flaw.

“Oh my word, you are absolutely right!! Where are my manners!? My name is Rarity. Rarity Belle. What is your name, sir?”

Being called out as shocking and hideous is one thing. But being called “Sir” a few moments later? That was something that he never expected. Matter of fact, what was he? He was himself, of course. But then again, be had the appearance and powers of someone else… After a few minutes, he had an answer for Rarity.

“My name was Ron, but please… Call me Neku.”

“Neku?” Rarity asked, puzzled by the name. “That’s…… unique… I think…”

“Yeah… maybe we should get moving. It’s unknown as to when Mr. Feathers will wake up. So the quicker we get out of here, the better. Do you know a way out of this place that will not attract any attention?”

“Of course. You know, personally I thought you would be wanting to ask a few questions first.”

“It’s not on the top of my Priorities.” Neku retorted. “What is a priority is for us to get out of this city.”

“You… have an excellent point.” Rarity replied as the two of them continued to move. At one point though, when the two of them were presented a shortcut through an alleyway, Rarity grimaced. She stood back while Neku just kept moving.

Turning around, he found himself confused. “What’s wrong?”

“You are seriously going through there of all places!?”

“I don’t see anything wrong with it-.”

“Don’t see anything wrong-!?! The Graffiti on the wall makes that alleyway completely unsanitary!! Seriously, why would anypony do something horrendous like that?” Even though Rarity was saying a rhetorical question, she never actually expected a response.

“It’s not horrendous. It’s art.”

“Art? THIS is art to you!?”

“Art isn’t always what is shown on the outside, Rarity. Sometimes, it’s what’s on the inside. Most artists specialize in different areas and do different kinds of art as a way of expression. To show how they feel. The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by those who break the rules, but by those who follow them… Which begs the question… Why would you be in a city like this?”

Now Rarity felt the tables begin to turn on her as she looked back at Neku. “Well…… the truth is… I’m trying to find a friend of mine. Her name is Coco Pommel and a few days ago, a distress signal that I received lead me to here. ”

“And you went on your own. Matter of fact, how did you get this signal?”

“My friends thought I was going crazy, so I did what I thought was right. As for how I got the signal, I had a hoofheld radio. But it broke when being chased by those mongrels earlier.” The Unicorn replied. “Now I have no idea how to find her…”

Neku sighed, walking past her. “I have one.”

Rarity had no idea what he meant until she saw him hold a black pin with a white skull and close his eyes. She only heard him say one sentence.

Open up… your senses.

Neku opened his eyes again, turning to the Unicorn that was by him. “I found her.”

“H-how? You didn’t even use Magic!” Rarity questioned. All the teen did was show her the pin that he was holding onto.

“Despite their hideous designs as you would say, these aren’t ordinary pins. They’re called Psychs. They let me use different kind of abilities and this one in particular lets me scan the environment around me and read the thoughts of others. Hearing her, I now know where she is.” Neku was now walking over to the wall again, placing his hands on it. But then, he thought of something else too. Realizing that his phone was in his pocket, and believing that it was affected under the same circumstances he had the phone’s camera on and messed with the settings.

“There we go…”

“What was that all about?” Rarity asked.

“My phone’s camera has a unique trait that I’m a bit surprised about, but it helps us in this case if it works. Tell me, when did you receive the signal, Rarity?”

“Uh… Four days ago?”

“And the current time?”

“Like 1:30?”

Playing with the settings, Neku adjusted his phone and snapped a photo. He smiled. “Jackpot.”

“What did that have to do with finding Coco?” Rarity complained, trying to avoid puddles of rainwater on the ground.

“The unique trait of this Camera allows me to take photo’s of the past. I had the phone set to four days ago around the same time as right now and look what I came across.” Neku tilted his phone, showing the Unicorn what he found. It was her friend, hiding inside the wall. “Now, another quote I know is that Art is suppose to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. And with a disguise like this… You might think it’s the least likely place she’ll be. But if you know your enemy, then they’ll probably look in the same place where you might go first. It’s all about staying one step ahead.”

That was when Neku found a loose brick on the wall and pushed it inwards. The wall soon began to split apart like a CGI effect in a Harry Potter movie as Two ponies soon crept closer. One of them though, Rarity knew.

“Coco!!”

“R-rarity!!” The other pony squealed with joy. “Oh, I was so worried about you!!”

“It’s okay Darling. We’ll help get you out of here.” Rarity cooed, trying to calm the scared earth pony. “I know a way out of the city. All we need to do is reach the train station.”

“B-but what about the Griffons, we’ve seen them almost everywhere!”

“Hold on a minute…” Neku replied. “We?”

Behind Coco, Rarity and Neku could see a few other ponies with her. A couple of Stallions, a few mares, and some children. All of them being of different colors and species. “I hid in here with a few of the other refugees that were trying to find a place during the attack on Manehattan. We ran out of food yesterday and only have a few drops of water left.”

Neku now had to take a moment to think this through. “Rarity, how do you plan on getting out of here?”

“By using one of the abandoned trains in the station.”

“How many passengers can that hold?”

“Roughly… all of us?”

“Hmm…”

“Rarity, who is he? Some of the ponies in here are beginning to feel intimidated of him.” Coco murmured as Neku looked up and straightened himself.

“My name is Neku. Neku Sakuraba. I helped save your friend earlier and I believe that we can make sure everypony can get out of here in one piece.” The teen told them. “Rarity, I’ll let you lead the way. Coco, you have a radio on you I assume?”

“Y-yeah. How-?”

“Rarity told me that’s how you contacted her. Once we get this train moving, she would need to use it to contact the other ponies she knows. That way, they’ll be expecting us when we arrive. But in order for this to work, we need to work as a team.”

Unknown Location (Twenty Minutes Later)

Concentration… Focus… That’s what a young unicorn apprentice named Twilight Sparkle was trying to do. But she herself was clouded by the thoughts of her friends. Rarity had went off on her own without backup to find a friend; following a distress call that she didn’t know if it was true or not, and Fluttershy was trying to get berries and other natural cures from the Everfree Forest. Other than that… Applejack and Pinkie Pie were nowhere to be found. Which was always a matter of asking herself over and over if they were okay or not.

“Twilight…” A voice echoed through her private chambers as she turned around. She saw a unicorn mare that had a lavender fur coat like herself and Purple mane. But it was tied up in the back and had strips of cyan.

“Starlight? What is it?”

“The Princess wants to see us… all four of us.”

“Now?” Twilight asked. The other mare nodded as she sighed and got up on her hooves, following her out of the chamber and into the wide underground tunnel that was stringed up with lights. The two of them soon arrived at the Personal Chambers of the Princess as they entered.

“Princess Luna… It’s Twilight and Starlight. We’re here.”

“You may enter. We have been waiting for you.” They heard the voice echo as they opened the door with a simple push of the hoof. Inside the room, two other Unicorns were there. One with yellow Fur and a Mane that resembled the fiery sun while the other had a silver mane and Azure fur.

“Greetings Sunset… Trixie.”

“Hello to you two as well.” Sunset said, smiling a little until she say Princess Luna motion herself to where she was in front of them.

“My little ponies, I’m sorry that I’ve had to interrupt you from your studies, but there is something I must address. All of you are already aware of the current circumstances, I presume?” The room was met with Silence. A cue for the Princess to continue. “Well, as you all know, Ponykind has been in a longstanding war for over 1000 years. But I fear that soon, we will be defeated soon. The forces that we stand up against are just too great. Great enough to take control of my dear sister and force us to abandon all we know in order for us to be safe-.”

Before anypony was able to ask why, one of the guards from outside the room barged in. “Princess!!! There’s a situation at the east gate!!”

“Colonel, explain your reason for why this situation gives you the right to intrude-.”

“It’s Ms. Rarity! She’s alive and has rescued refugees from Manehattan!!.”

Everypony in the room was shocked beyond content. Manehattan was a very dangerous place. Labeled on the list of Top five cities NEVER to go to. To hear that she brought back refugees and was alive to tell the tale was something they needed to see with their own eyes.

“Show us, Colonel.”

“Right this way, Princess!” The Soldier responded as he lead the five of them through the tunnels to the respected gate that he was going to. He ordered a few of the lower ranks to stay out of the way, calling them Maggots and other insults that came off the tip of his tongue. Upon arrival, they could see the train that was seized, but most importantly, the ponies that were coming out of it. The ones reunited with their friends and loved ones. But most importantly, Rarity was seen alongside her friend, Coco Pommel.

“Oh my stars, she was right!” Trixie said. They now approached their fellow friend, shocked and relieved that she was okay. But most importantly, the apprentices of Princess Luna were surprised and also a little confused by who helped them.

The Princess though, saw the individual somewhere else. Along a wall near the gate. Away from all the ponies he had saved. But why? Luna intended to find out as she approached him.

“We must thank thee for saving my little ponies, We do not know thy name however?” Luna said with a bit of of old talk showing given the events.

Neku himself looked up. “Hmm? Oh, uh… You’re… Welcome I guess…” The Princess could tell that something was conflicting him based on his tone of voice and how he didn’t answer Luna’s intended question.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Luna said, she wondered why he was acting like this.

“I’m sorry. I must’ve not heard it the first time. Call me Neku… Who are you though, if I may ask?”

“I am Princess Luna.” The Alicorn answered.

“It’s nice to meet you, Princess. I’m sorry if I don’t seem to be the social type, but right now, a lot of things just don’t make sense to me.” The Teen told her. “I don’t know how I got here, why I was brought here, or what’s going on. I’m lucky to still be alive after those Griffons attacked me.”

Luna gave a sigh. “But you are here. how did you do it though?” Luna asked. She was interested in what this newcomer was. “Also what are thy?” Luna asked.

“Honestly. Everything just seems… blurry. One moment, I blacked out when I thought that something fell on top of me. The next moment, I woke up in a forest not far from the Manehattan place where I found Rarity. As for your second question, I am a human.”

A human was something Luna hasn’t heard about, as for his story. “Do you remember anything before that?” Luna asked. “Anything at all?”

“Kind of… I was attending an event. I purchased something and then I blacked out.” Neku told the princess, looking at his Player’s pin. “Not only that, but the pins I bought turn out to be Psychs that I can control.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t how you escaped?” Luna asked as she pointed to the pins. Neku shook his head, explaining that where he was from, magic didn’t exist. Mostly because the use of magic was known to be fictional or just simple parlor tricks. This was something else to him. Something else that was a mystery. But to Luna, she saw it as something different. Something unique that this “Neku” could do that can really help a lot of ponies.

Dark times were ahead and something watched over them, whether it be harmony or even chaos she didn’t care right now. She could only hope he would help. “Neku… I believe that whatever it is that you could do is not a mystery, but a gift. With the right training and mastery over these gifts, you can help many ponies and what you did today with helping Ms. Rarity save those ponies is proof of this.”

Neku himself looked back at the pins in his hand, thinking the princesses words through for a little bit before looking back at her.

“You really think so?”

“I don’t think. I know. Young Neku, you must know to have faith in yourself if you are to overcome the struggles on the road ahead. You have a lot to learn in a short amount of time. Please, follow me.” Obliging, the teen placed his pins back in his pocket and followed the Alicorn. In his mind, he hoped to find out a little bit of what was going on. For Luna however, it was a glimmer of hope. This boy may be the first, but she believed that more might come soon.

And once they were all ready, she will help them free her sister Celestia from the grasps of the nightmare that controlled her. The nightmare created by…… him.

Author's Note

Hey guys, Frost here. This is the beginning of a Collab between a few of us that we decided to make as a way to put our heads together. So this is the first chapter with our first hero, Neku. More to follow...
-Frost

The Key Of Darkness

It was a bright and sunny day in Hamilton Ontario as Conbravo was going on. Two individuals entered to main convention hall one being pushed in a wheelchair by the other. The boy in the wheelchair was named Warrick and the girl pushing the chair his sister was named Jane.

“Thanks for bringing me Jane,” Warrick said, looking up at his older sister with a smile.

“No problem” She said looking around “So where do you want to go? The Completionist is having a panel over there” She said pointing to the door

“It’s not the same since Greg left,” he sighed a little, “Jirard tries way too hard now. He should have just had Alex co-host with him.”

“Okay well I hear Linkara is doing a panel here too.” she said reading the guest list before realising that it won't be for another hour “Oh wait that’s in an hour.”

“You wanna just go around the floor unit it starts?” he asked, before tapping his chin, “Maybe see if they’re having a costume contest. You made some pretty good ones this year,” he complimented, gesturing to his own costume.

“Of course I did,” she replied with a smug smirk before a more genuine smile replace it. “If you’re feeling up to then, then let’s do it. But first, let’s detour through the market and kill some time,” she said pushing his chair towards the stands. The market was full of other con goers, a good portion of them cosplaying as various characters. After a short time of wandering they encountered a small table with all sorts of assorted replicas ranging from television to comics and games.

“Woah,” Warrick said, his eyes widening at the sight of the table, “Look at all that stuff,” he pointed out, “Hey, I think they even have Azula’s hairpin,” he looked up at her, giving her a smile. “Be a nice replacement for yours.”

“Hey, it was last minute and I forgot, ok?” she replied with a pout. “I didn’t think anyone would really notice anyway. Oh hey look there’s even a keyblade.” She said, looking at the vendor, who was dressed up like Chocolina from Final Fantasy 13.

“Welcome to Chocobocolina’s cos-play emporium! See anything that catches your eye?” she asked Jane, giving them both a bright smile, “We have a little bit of everything for a little bit of everyone!”

“Woah, she’s really into it,” Warrick whispered, raising his eyebrow at the hyperactive saleswoman, who just danced in place, still smiling at them. “Um... do you happen to have the Void Gear Keyblade?” he inquired, giving her a hopeful look.

“Actually we do!” Chocolina said with a grin, turning around and rummaging through her stock before turning back to them and holding out the blade, which was rather impressive due to her cover hands.

Warrick took it, giving it the once over, “It’s really well made.”

“I hand make all my stock!” Chocolina said with an abundance of pride, “Would you like anything else or will that be all?”

“I’d also like that Avatar pin, the Fire Nation one.”

“Coming right up!” she said, grabbing it and holding it out to Jane, who took it and pinned it to her chest.

“How much?” Warrick asked, pulling out his wallet, opening it up.

“Oh no, I couldn’t charge such a lovely pair of siblings like you two. Consider them on the house!” Chocolina said, giving them a bright smile, “You need them more than I do!”

“Wow. Thank you” he said putting his wallet away. He held up the Void Gear with a grin, slashing the air with it. He blinked as on of the eyes on the blade glowed, a sharp pain starting to surge through him.

“Warrick?” Jane asked, her voice full of concern. She gasp, seeing dark tendrils erupt from the floor, wrapping themselves around the young man, pulling him into a black pool that had opened up below him.

“J-jane!” he managed to shout out before the pool consumed him, quickly evaporating.

“Warrick!” she shouted, her eyes wide with panic. “No, no no no no!” she shouted, dropping to her knees, frantically clawing at the ground, her nails scratching and pulling at the carpet. After a few more swipes, a tear opened up. Before she could comprehend what happened, her hand was sucked in, the rest of her body following, before the tear quickly resealed itself.

“Well... I hope those two can help, those ponies really need it,” Chocolina said with a sigh before putting her smile back on and greeting her next customer.

Warrick groaned, opening his eyes, blinking a few times. Every part of him ached, though the worst of it was everything below his waist. ‘That doesn’t make any sense, I haven’t felt anything down there since the accident...’ His train of thought was interrupted when he realized that his face was covered by something. It was translucent and did not impede his ability to breath or see.

“The hell?” he asked, reaching up and running his hands along the surface. It was smooth and cool to the touch, even through his gloves. “OK, this is just weird,” he mumbled to himself. Propping himself up on his elbows, he looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was in some type of forest, laying on his back. It was dark, full of gnarled trees, with a light mist covering the floor like any good horror scene. Not too far away was his wheelchair, laying on its side, one of its wheels spinning.

“Really?” he asked with a sigh. He paused, putting a hand on his throat. “This isn’t my...voice?” he asked, frowning a little. It indeed wasn’t his voice, instead belonging to the voice actor of Vanitas, the very character he had decided to dress up as.

His eyes widened in sudden realization and he jumped up, “Jane!” he shouted, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He had wound up in where ever this was, was Jane here too? Was she ok? So many terrified thoughts filled the young man's head that he almost didn’t realize was happening. He froze, taking a few shaky breaths before looking down. He was standing up, having paused mid-stride.

“Oh...shit...” he whispered, taking a step, and then another and another and another, until he was running through the forest. “I can walk!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, feeling tears of joy streaming down his face. He stopped when he felt a strange... draining sensation. He turned to see a black mist having appeared behind him. From out of it came several small purple blobs. As the mist vanished, they emerged from the ground, becoming toddler sized purple creatures with glowing red eyes.

‘Holy shit! Unversed!’ Warrick thought to himself as he and the Unversed, this particular variety called the Flood, stared at each other. They didn’t seem hostile, in fact, they seemed to be expecting him to do something.

“Uh...dance?” he asked, looking at them rather confused. Upon hearing his command, the Unversed started to dance, their boneless bodies allowing them to bend their forms unnaturally. “Ok, enough off that.” he said, shaking his head, watching with satisfaction as they stopped. He thought to give them another command when a realization hit him: if he created Unversed and had his voice, that meant he was Vanitas.

“Well...I could think of worse things to turn into...” he commented as he looked himself over, noting his now muscular build. He turned to the Unversed, who were still looking at him. “Go find someone, anyone that could tell us where we are.” The Unversed sank into the ground before darting off, vanishing into the fog. “Well best get moving then...” he said to himself before picking a direction and walking along it.

He walked for what felt like hours before one of the Flood returned to him. They stared intently at each other before it leapt at him, being reabsorbed into his body. “Gah!” he shouted, jumping back his mind filling up with new memories and feelings. There was a group of creatures not far from his current location, chasing after something. “Ok, weirdness aside, hopefully one of them can help me.”

He followed the Floods memories, ducking down behind a bush when voices filled the air. He parted a bit of the under brush, gazing out at the commotion.

What he saw was something straight out a fairy tail, a butter yellow pony with wings and long pink hair and tail gathering flowers and other plants into a basket. In addition, several animal critters were helping her, giving her herbs or vegetables. She was smiling and even humming a little tune in, he had to admit, a beautiful voice. What broke the serene feeling was several other ponies nearby gathering supplies as well with much more grim looks on their faces, as well as a few wearing armor and armed with spears.

“The hell am I looking at?” he asked himself, staying hidden. He stayed as still as possible, watching the... horses? Ponies? In the end, it didn’t really matter at the moment, merely watching the group go about their business, taking short, shallow breathes. Spotting movement near the pegasus, his eyes widened as one of the Flood moved over to her. The little creature looked up at her curiously, tilting its head.

The pegasus gasped in surprise, taking a few step back, before curiously stepping forwards again. “Oh my. Um, hello there. What’s your name?” she asked, a hesitant smile on her face. Curiously, she seemed to actually be waiting for an answer. “Don’t be shy, you can talk to me.”

It just stared at her, looking her over with its bright red eyes. It melted into the ground, emerging directly in front of her. As strange and dark as it appeared, it didn’t give off any indication of hostility.

Good thing they won’t attack without my command, Warrick thought. The idea of the Unversed just set to attack mode under normal circumstances was a very real possibility he hadn't considered up until now. Should I step out and talk to her?

“Lady Fluttershy!” one of the guards shouted, having taken note of the Flood. “Move away from that creature!” he shouted, pushing her back, leveling a spear at its face. It just stared at him, unfazed by the weapon.

“Mr Guard! There is no need to be so rude!” she shot back with a harsh glare, her timid voice somehow carrying power. “Just look at it! It doesn’t even understand what’s happening!” Her gaze softened and her smile returned. “Now why don’t you point that spear away from it? Please?”

The armed pony seemed to practically melt under her gaze for a moment before shaking himself out of his stupor. He sighed before pointing his spear away from the Flood. “That may be, Lady Fluttershy, but we don’t have time to play around with it. We’ve been out in the open for too long already.”

The Flood tilted its head again before diving into the ground, it darted over to Warrick, leaping back into him. He gave a shudder, shaking his head as its memories were added to his own. He groaned, shaking his head to clear it of any remaining fog.

“Who’s there?” One of the guards shouted, looking at his bush, “Come out now!”

“Alright,” Warrick said with a sigh, standing up and into view, “I’m coming, I’m coming.” He stepped out into the open, holding his hands up in a display of surrender. As he stepped forwards all the ponies gasped, even the guards who tried to look as brave as possible despite their fear, their weapons shaking. “Um… I come in peace?”

“W-what are you?” one of them demanded, glaring up at Warrick, doing his best to sound intimidating. “S-Show your face!”

“Well I was human,” Warrick said, shrugging a little, “Names Warrick and um... give me a moment here.” he said, pausing as he tried to figure out how to open the mask. He focused on removing it and right before their eyes, the glass seemed to evaporate, revealing his face. “There uh... that good?”

Many murmurs came from the nearby crowd. “What is it?” “Is it one of Solar Flare’s soldiers?” “Look at it’s eye’s. That can’t be natural.” “Is it going to eat us?”

“I’m not going to eat any of you!” Warrick snapped with a sigh, “I mean really? Do I look like I eat horse?”

“Um, we’re ponies, actually. Nopony’s seen a horse for ages,” one of them corrected.

“Thats not the point!” he sighed, dropping his hands, “Look, I’m lost, a bit freaked out and looking for my sister. Help a guy out?”

“Oh dear! You can’t find your sister!?” the yellow pegasus, ‘Lady Fluttershy’ apparently, gasped. “Oh, you poor thing!” She stepped forwards and placed a hoof on his leg. “Don’t you worry. It might take some time, but we’ll definitely help you find your sister. I promise,” she said with a comforting smile.

“Lady Fluttershy, don’t get too close to it!” one of the guards warned.

“Him! Not it!” she shot back with that soft yet forceful voice.

“Man you’re scary,” Warrick said, looking down at her. He opened his mouth to speak when the last Flood returned to his body, making him shudder. “God, that so weird...” He blinked, processing the new memories. “There's a uh... another group of ponies... wearing... blue uniforms, not too far from here.”

“‘Blue… uniforms?’” one of the guards asked, his eyes widening with fear. “H-How do you-? No, never mind that, can you be more specific?”

“All of them have wings and they seem to be looking for something,” Warrick said, looking off toward the east, “They're headed this way.”

Just like that all the ponies seemed to turn white.

“Oh sweet Luna, it’s them,” the guard said under his breath before turning to face the rest. “Everypony, grab your things and let’s get out of-!”

The guard was cut off as something rammed into him in a flash, causing him to seemingly disappear. Everyone turned their head to look for him, only for one of them to scream as they saw him nailed to a tree, a spear through his midsection, holding him to it. He twitched a few times before falling limp.

Warrick stared in horror before he tackled Fluttershy, moving her out of the way as another spear flew at her. “All of you, get to cover!” he ordered, getting to his feet, an angry glare etched into his face. “Come out now!” He was met with chuckles in response. “Stop hiding!”

“Who’s hiding?” a feminine voice asked in response.

Warrick felt something in his gut telling him to move and dove to the side, a sharp pain cutting into his shoulder as he dove followed by a gust of wind that nearly sent him tumbling. He looked up and saw one of the ponies the Flood had shown him, wearing aviator goggles and dressed in a tight blue suit that almost completely covered her yellow coat, her fire colored hair and tail peeking out. Just then, two more similarly dressed ponies joined her.

“Hey, it dodged,” one of the others noted with a smirk, a male with a sky blue coat and dark blue hair and tail. “You’re not slipping are you, Spitfire?”

“Quiet you, it just has good instincts is all,” she replied, more amused than angry, readying her dagger. “I’ll get his head next time.”

“IT’S THE WONDERBOLTS!” one of the ponies screamed.

“LUNA, SAVE US!”

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

The leader’s smirk grew into a sinister smile. “Get ‘em.”

“You're not going to hurt them,” Warrick said, his gaze darkening. He stood his ground, a dark aura growing around him. He held his hand out and in a burst of purple flame, Void Gear appeared in his hand. “Leave now, before I have to hurt you.”

“You hear this thing Spit?” the male asked with a laugh, “Thinks it can take us. US! Thats hilarious!”

“Well then, I guess we need to teach it who its deali-” the leader, Spitfire, began before shock covered her face, followed quickly by a terrifying smile. “Well look here! We hit the the jackpot! One the mare’s that traitorous Luna’s taken an interest in!”

“Oh yeah! The yellow one there! That’s the one the general wants!” the teal colored one with the white hair and tail exclaimed.

What? Warrick thought before turning to face Lady Fluttershy, who was utterly frozen in fear. No. Her? They wouldn’t!

“Forget the monkey, CAPTURE THE BITCH!” Spitfire ordered.

“My name... is Vanitas,” Warrick stated, getting their attention, “Prepare yourselves, to enter the darkness!” he shouted, his helmet closing up. Acting on pure instinct, he threw his arm up, summoning down several purple lightning bolts as he cast Dark Thundaga.

“Oh shit!” the male shouted, barely dodging a bolt, “That thing has magic!?!”

“Looks like we need to take it down first! Crossfire formation!” Spitfire ordered as she shot up into the sky, leaving a trail behind her, as the other two split in opposite directions before diving into the forest. She then came streaking down right at him, her dagger ready

Warrick raised his hand, about to cast another bolt, when that gut instinct told him to move, jumping back as the other female came shooting out from the trees, barely missing his chest before turning at a sharp angle back into the forest. Just then he felt a sharp pain across his back as the male cut him and disappeared. Just then Spitfire sliced at his head, leaving a mark along his helmet as he leaned out of the way, before darting into the forest herself. They all continued the hit and run assault, coming at every angle and retreating before he could get a bead on them.

Getting rather tired of the game, he let Spitfire hit him, vanishing in a burst of darkness. He reappeared above her, catching her in the back with his keyblade, hitting her with a blast of Blizzaga, freezing her solid.

“SPITFIRE!” the male shouted in alarm, breaking off from attacking Warrick to grab her and retreat into the air, the other female following soon after, looking equally concerned. He used his dagger to chip the ice away from her head until her own struggles broke it free, the rest of her body still encased.

“F-F-Fall, b-b-back,” she ordered, her teeth chattering. “W-W-We n-n-n-need-d m-m-more t-t-to b-b-beat it-t-t.”

The other two glared at Warrick before flying off.

“WE’LL K-K-KILL Y-Y-OU F-F-FOR THIS, M-M-M-MONKEY! YOU H-H-HEAR ME!?” she called as they faded from sight. “N-N-NOP-P-PONY B-B-BEATS THE W-W-WONDERB-B-B-BOLTS!”

“Yeah well, I just did,” he said panting a little, opening up his helmet. He turned to the ponies, ignoring the wounds he had suffered. “You guys ok?” he asked, trying not to look at the poor guy who was pinned to the tree.

All of them just stared at him slackjawed.

“He just drove off the top three Wonderbolts,” one of them muttered.

They all stared at each other for a moment before cheering.

“Thank you so much!”

“That was amazing!”

“Did you see how he took Spitfire!?”

“Well, I guess that answers my question...” he mumbled moving over to the pinned pony, looking him over, “Is he uh.... you know...”

The cheering almost immediately stopped as they all looked at the dead stallion. Many hung their heads, some looking ready to puke. Nearly all of them we’re on the verge of tears.

“Um, Mr. Vanitas, was it?” Lady Fluttershy asked. “I hate to ask this, but… could you please… pull him off?”

Warrick’s first reaction was to protest, but seeing her wide eyes, tears streaking down her face and desperately trying to hold back her sniffling, he couldn’t bring himself to say no. “Yeah... I got ya...” he said nodding. He grabbed the spear shaft with both hands and with a single heave, pulled it out, sending the body to the ground. He tossed the spear away, grabbing the limp form and slinging it over his shoulder.

“Set him down here, please,” she said, having rolled out a tarp. He gently placed the body on the cloth and she then proceeded to gingerly roll it around the body.

“Shouldn’t we bury him?” he asked.

“Yes, but his family will want to see him first,” she answered.

After nodding and indicating that she was finished the other guards had everyone else gather their things and started walking away.

“I’m sorry, but I think we’ll have to look for you sister later. You should definitely meet with Princess Luna for now.”

“It’s ok,” he said nodding, starting to follow them, “You guys just lead the way.”

“YOU WHAT!?” the General shouted at the three.

Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot hung their heads and winced at their superior’s voice, the shame of defeat almost as bad as the fear of discipline.

“MY THREE BEST AND MOST EXPERIENCED WARRIORS DRIVEN OFF BY ONE ENEMY!?”

“We have no excuse. We didn’t take it seriously enough and we were caught off guard. Forgive us, ma’am,” Spitfire replied meekly.

The General grit her teeth before taking in a deep breath before exhaling.

“You three have served me and our Queen well, especially you, Spitfire. Your failures are few and far between, and your loyalty to me and each other exemplary. If this creature was truly able to drive you off, it must be powerful indeed.” She paused for a moment before turning away from them. “I want a detailed report on this creature and it’s powers by sunrise tomorrow. We need all our forces ready to defeat it should they come across it.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“You may go, but don’t forget, your good standing with me and our Queen will only protect you so far. If you fail again,” she paused to turn and glare at them, “there will be punishment. And if you do, pray that I am the one who disciplines you, and not our Queen.” She turned away from them again. “Dismissed.”

The three pegasi stood straight and saluted, sighing internally with relief. “Thank you, General Rainbow Dash.”

A Huntsman and an Intellectual

Pie Rock Farm

Pinkie Pie sighed as she looked out over her old home, the home she grew up in fallen apart from lack of maintenance. Just like her mood, her hair was somewhat droopy but still with a noticeable bounce. She sat in the same spot she had been when she was a foal, looking up towards the sky like she had before. She closed her eyes and sighed nostalgically.

Things were so much simpler back then. Even if the war had been going on, it had been around for so long that I just kind of figured it would always be there. I never thought things could get worse.

The pink mare thought back to the brilliant display of light in the sky, the same explosion that sparked her love of parties and earned her cutie mark. She never did find out what that was, but the memory of it was enough to keep her going on most days. But sometimes the memory wasn’t enough, and she had to return to her roots, to feel what is was like back then. To remind herself why she kept going.

Can’t stay too long, though, or Twilight will have another breakdown.

“Well, well. Looky here, boys,” came a gruff voice.

Pinkie turned to see a group of seven minotaurs approaching her from all sides, armed with sinister looking axes. Their armor was a dull grey and had spiked shoulder pads.

What!? How did they sneak up on me!? Was I really that lost in thought!? And why are they here anyway!?

“Looks like those griffins were right, there was one of them here.”

“Long way from home, huh little pony.”

“Actually, this is my home,” Pinkie replied, pulling out her warhammer. “Now how about you leave before I decide to use you to give it some color?”

The apparent leader looked surprised for a moment before laughing. “Hear that, boys!? This one’s got spunk!” He then turned back to snarl at her. “Let’s beat it out of her.”

Pinkie gripped her hammed tightly as they all began to close in on her.

“Pardon me, fellows.”

Everyone turned to face a strange creature they had never seen before. It stood on two legs, had two arms, and was dressed almost completely in clothing. The clothes in question were a white collared and long sleeved shirt, a yellow tie, green slacks with a black belt, and black shoes, all of them disheveled like he got out of bed. On his head were a pair of round glasses, the reflection of light somehow completely blocking out his eyes, and his green hair looked like it had been blown back by a strong gust of wind or an explosion.

The creature stopped to take a sip of a drink from a green thermos before continuing in a very quick and rushed speech.

“Now I normally do not like to make assumptions, however it seems unlikely that the scene I am observing is anything but a classic rendition of several burly and otherwise aggressive males ganging up on a single female, which implies several outcomes, none of which are too pleasing to think about. I also understand you are unlikely to take this warning into consideration, however I feel it only fair to warn you that if you do not leave the young female alone, I will be forced to enact physical violence upon you.”

Everyone just stared for a moment.

“Uh… what?” one of the minotaurs asked.

The creature sighed. “Leave the pink equine alone, or I will beat you up,” he clarified.

The minotaurs immediately burst out laughing.

“Rock Crusher, take care of this idiot,” the leader ordered as he wiped a tear from his eye.

“Sure thing, si-”

The minotaur was cut off by an explosion in his face, knocking him to the ground. Everyone was quiet as they saw the creature standing right where the minotaur was, as if he was always there, holding out some kind of spear where his opponent’s face was. It took Pinkie a moment to realize that it was the thermos, which had extended and transformed. The creature drank from his spear before turning to the group.

“I believe there are two possible scenarios here, the first being that you all leave and take your unconscious friend with you.”

“GET IT!” the leader shouted as they all rushed towards him.

“And it seems it will be the second then,” he replied coolly before dashing forwards in a blur.

A few hours earlier…

So this is it, my first convention, the man thought as he walked up the steps. On his back he carried a hiking pack with a sleeping mat, over his shoulder he had a gym bag. Well, onwards and upwards, he thought as he climbed the stairs.

The thin stick of a man was named Bertrand Keagan, a person who stood out even among the costumed con-goers. While most were teenagers and some were even in their late twenties, Bertrand was in his late fifties, having nearly half his life passed him by. Wrinkles had begun to show on his face, and his fingers had begun to change from merely thin to bony. Dark circles hung under his eyes, made especially noticeable by the glasses he wore with the fake white one-way lenses.

Even still, his older appearance was not commented on due to his attire, dressed as Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck from Roosterteeth’s original production, RWBY. It was almost uncanny how similar the character was to himself: Tall and thin, an advanced vocabulary, a love of teaching, particularly history, and a seeming addiction to coffee. They even had their doctorates, Bertrand having three in Sociology, History, and the more specific Art History, and was working on a fourth in psychology. There were differences of course, namely that Bertrand didn’t need glasses, had curly red hair, and of course he wasn’t anywhere near as physically fit as the professor at Beacon Academy.

Despite these achievements the doctor could very much be considered a geek or nerd, if an intellectual one. The world of entertainment, all forms of entertainment, fascinated him. Not merely as a way to pass time but because they were all products of the times, whether they knew it or not. While many men his age saw television, movies, and video games as time wasters (especially video games) he saw them as the next wave of art. True, they were usually made first and foremost as products, but that didn’t diminish their values as stories or works of art or examples of the times. It also helped him connect with his students more to know what they were doing in their free time, what was influencing their lives, and help bridge the age gap between them. That was especially necessary now as he was teaching in high school, taking somewhat of a break from more intensive academia.

The man passed a young boy, one that he swore he recognized, before moving on and observing the schedule for the day. It would still be a few hours before anything he was interested in started, so he decided to check out some of the shops. On the way he passed a couple, a young boy and girl in their early twenties. The boy was dressed as Kirito and the girl as Asuna, both from Swords Arts Online, and they shared a kiss with each other. Bertrand looked at them sadly before moving on.

How nice that must be, he thought.

Though he had accomplished much in the field of academics he had not lived an entirely fulfilling life. Bertrand had long given up on finding love and starting a family and now he wouldn’t have even had time for it, burying himself in his works, jobs, and studies. It was quite a lonely existence sometimes, both his parents having passed on, very few friends, and not even a sibling to interact with. But Bertrand had decided back in his early twenties that he had something more important to do. A line that Professor Oobleck had said once lined up so well with his beliefs that it was the reason he had decided to cosplay as the character.

As a teacher, I can take knowledge - the most powerful weapon of them all - and place it into the hands of every student that passes through my classroom.

Bertrand smiled as he looked out upon the many young faces in the crowd. To many his age, and many even their age, they were just young people trying to live a happy life and not get swallowed by society. But to him each and every one was someone capable of changing the world, someone capable of pushing humanity to a place they’d never even dreamed. He just needed to guide them.

“Well, isn’t this a sight?” came a voice.

Bertrand turned to see a an older man wearing shades with black hair. He instantly recognized him as Mr. Hanekoma, the mysterious and knowledgeable benefactor to the player character in the game The World Ends With You, a game he and one of the students in his art history class had bonded over.

“Didn’t expect to see someone your age walking around like one of the kids.”

Bertrand smiled. “My good sir, adulthood and childhood are more states of mind than biological stages.”

“Heh, got a point there. See anything you like?”

He made a quick scan of the table but didn’t find anything to his liking. He did, however, notice a replica of Weiss Schnee’s Myrtenaster.

“Not quite, but I don’t suppose you have anything along the lines of that little gem?” he asked.

The Hanekoma cosplayer smiled. “I think I got what you’re lookin’ for. Hold on a sec.” The man turned and opened up a case, sifting through it before pulling out a familiar green colored thermos. “How’s this?”

“You certainly are well stocked, sir. How much?”

“Well, normally I’d charge four hundred for it. But if you’re willing to make a little deal, I’d cut you a break.”

“Four hundred? For a mere thermos? It might be nice and what I was looking for, but it seems a bit much,” Bertrand complained.

Hanekoma simply smirked and pressed a button, causing the thermos to extend into a weapon.

“I stand corrected.”

“Heh, no problem,” he replied, converting it back into a thermos shape. “But anyway, I got a deal for you. If you get this, I’ll throw in this,” he said pulling out a coffee mug with the Beacon Academy insignia on it. “All for half the price.”

Bertrand looked surprised. “You’d give me twice as much for half the price?”

“Hey, I run my shop the way I want,” he answered with a shrug.

“As good an answer as any. It’s a deal, my good man,” he replied, pulling out the necessary bills and taking his items, the coffee mug placed in a small box with cushioning.

“By the way, also got some joe if you want. On the house… for two fifty a cup,” Hanekoma offered with a laugh, directing attention to his coffee maker. “That thing ain’t just made to look like a thermos, you know.”

“Quite in character, aren’t you? Well, I might as well,” Bertrand replied, paying up some extra cash and filling his new thermos to the brim. “A pleasure to meet you, good sir. Maybe we’ll cross paths again,” he said before walking off.

“If so, it won’t be for a long, long time,” Hanekoma muttered, unnoticed by the aging congoer.

Bertrand continued his walk around the con, posing for anyone who wished, checking out a panel for voice actors, before he began to walk back into the mob. It was then he heard screaming. He noticed a giant model of the Hulkbuster Armor was falling over, and a young boy was right in the path, a mere yard away. Despite his age his body moved on instinct and he rushed to push the other congoer out of the way, not even noticing his appearance. Unfortunately, he didn’t get there in time before the model fell on them both.

Twenty minutes earlier…

Bertrand awoke with a start, his face in slight pain as he pushed himself off the ground, shaking his head and trying to reorient himself. He noticed something foreign in his nose and quickly blew it out, finding it to be a rock. He observed his surroundings, finding himself in some sort of farm with rocks everywhere.

What is the meaning of this? Where am I? He thought, not recognizing anything. He soon felt panic begin to set in before clamping down on it. No, no, keep calm. First, observe your person, check for any… what in the world?

Bertrand observed his hands, finding them to be considerably younger than they should be. He quickly felt his face, finding his wrinkles to be gone and, even more surprising, that his wig was missing. Checking his immediate surroundings he noticed both his bags and quickly reached inside his hiking pack to find a cheap compass he had bought to complete the look. Checking his reflection he noticed that his wig had become his hair, and the the face was not his own, but still one he recognized. Once again, panic began to rise, but he clamped down on it again, though less successfully than before.

Alright. I’m in an unfamiliar territory, with a new body. Oobleck’s body, it seems. Stay calm, stay calm, STAY CALM! On instinct he reached for his thermos and took a swig of coffee, the still hot liquid soothing his nerves. Unintentionally he extended the thermos into its weapon state and found a flame light at the end, as if it were the real thing. In his surprise he loosened his grip on the device and the flame went out, although it still held its shape.

And it’s real. It’s an actual weapon now. Bertrand thought. He then took in a deep breath through the nose before exhaling through the mouth. Alright then. My form has changed, my location has changed, and the device I bought has become real. As terrifying as this may be, this is no different that hundreds if not thousands of stories and fanfictions. Just keep it together long enough to get-

His thoughts were cut off as he heard rocks begin to move nearby. Without thinking he grabbed his gear and dashed inside a nearby house, the retreat taking merely a second due to his now enhanced speed.

And I’m now as fast as Oobleck as well. Alright, if nothing else, that should help me stay alive.

He peeked out the door to see a small pink equine come out of a secret passage in the ground. She carefully looked around before gingerly stepping out and closing the passage behind her.

A… pony? Hold on, it seems familiar, he thought. He then noticed the strange tattoo of balloons on her flank. Wait a minute, she’s from that television show that’s become popular in the past few years! What’s her name again? … Pinkie Pie, that’s it! Wait, why is she even here? How can she even exist? What’s going on-!? NO! STAY CALM! he shouted internally as he took another swig of his coffee, having transformed the thermos back into its normal form without thinking. Alright, either that’s the real thing, or perhaps another whose situation is the same as mine?

He observed her for a few more minutes as she seemed to be quietly staring off into the distance.

Something’s different. I remember her being incredibly excitable, but this one seems more… contemplative.

Just as he decided to approach her he saw seven large creature’s appear from behind rocks or other large structures and approach her. It took him only a moment to realize they were minotaurs.

“Well, well. Looky here, boys,” one began, catching the pink mare’s attention, fear noticeable in her eyes. “Looks like those griffins were right, there was one of them here.”

“Long way from home, huh little pony,” another one taunted.

The mare’s eyes hardened, an unexpectedly fierce and determined look on an otherwise adorable face.

“Actually, this is my home,” she replied, pulling out a warhammer as large as she was from seemingly nowhere. “Now how about you leave before I decide to use you to give it some color?”

She’s going to fight them? Can she really hold them all off? He took another sip of his coffee. Maybe I could create some sort of distra- His thoughts cut off when he remembered what he was holding. Well, it seems I have these tools and abilities for now, so I might as well make use of them.

He quickly dashed out of the house as the apparent leader laughed. “Hear that, boys!? This one’s got spunk!” He then turned back to snarl at her. “Let’s beat it out of her.”

Alright, just take the role. Be confident. I’m not Bertrand, I’m Oobleck.

“Pardon me, fellows,” he said, garnering everyone’s attention. He took another swig of his coffee to calm himself before continuing. “Now I normally do not like to make assumptions, however it seems unlikely that the scene I am observing is anything but a classic rendition of several burly and otherwise aggressive males ganging up on a single female, which implies several outcomes, none of which are too pleasing to think about. I also understand you are unlikely to take this warning into consideration, however I feel it only fair to warn you that if you do not leave the young female alone, I will be forced to enact physical violence upon you.”

Just as he thought, they all stared at him with baffled expressions.

“Uh… what?” one of the minotaurs asked.

He sighed, pretending to exasperated instead of scared. “Leave the pink equine alone, or I will beat you up.”

The minotaurs all began to laugh.

Good. Keep making sure they don’t see you as a threat, then strike the first blow.

“Rock Crusher, take care of this idiot,” the leader ordered as he wiped a tear from his eye.

One of them began to break off from the group, heading towards him. “Sure thing, si-”

NOW!

He dashed forwards and extended the thermos right into the beast’s face before pulling the trigger, a small explosion sending him flying back a foot before landing on the ground, unmoving.

Good Lord, did I kill him!? No, no, stay calm. Worry about that later.

He turned to face the shocked others before taking another swig of coffee.

Ok, keep up the superior routine. They’re obviously shaken now.

“I believe there are two possible scenarios here, the first being that you all leave and take your unconscious friend with you.”

“GET IT!” the leader shouted, his face contorted into a scowl, as they all rushed towards him.

“And it seems it will be the second then,” he replied before dashing forwards, wheeling around one of them and standing on its shoulders. Before the creature could react he fired another explosion into the back of its head, sending him to the ground. He quickly dashed and unleashed similar close ranged blasts to the four other ruffians before dashing towards the leader. This one was smarter and almost managed to hit him with his axe as he approached from behind. Bertrand barely managed to stop and move out of the way, dashing back several yards. He attempted to attack from several angles, only for the minotaur to read his moves and cut him off each time.

“Looks like you’re still just a novice,” he gloated, waiting for a chance to attack.

“Perhaps. But, unlike you, I also have options,” Bertrand replied before kicking a soccer ball sized rock into the air. He then pulled his weapon back like a bat and swung as the rock fell to earth, firing the object and coating it in fire. The minotaur held up his axe to block it, but it smashed through the weapon and exploded in his face, sending him tumbling backwards and knocking him out.

After confirming he had defeated all his opponents he turned to face the small pink pony, who was stunned at what she’d seen.

“All you alright, young miss?” he asked, converting the weapon back into its harmless state.

She stared for a few moments before a smile stretched across her face. He could swear her coat became a brighter pink and her mane became more poofy.

“Wowee! That was was one of the most super-duper-amazing-fantastic-awesometacular things I’ve ever seen!” she replied in a quick speech to rival his own. “Just who are you?”

He opened his mouth to respond before closing it. Who am I? Am I still the same person I am before? It seems hard to believe that after what I’ve just been through. He turned to face his defeated enemies. After what I just did.

He gave it a moment more thought before standing proudly. “Young lady, you may know me as Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck. Huntsman, intellectual, and molder of young minds who shape the future.”

She gave him a quizzical look before shrugging. “Well I’m Pinkie Pie, premiere party purveyor of Ponyville!” she smiled before faltering a bit. “Or, at least, I was. Back when we could still go to Ponyville.”

“Well then miss Pie, as much as I’d love to continue this conversation, I think it would be best to do so somewhere less dangerous. Could you lead the way to such a place?”

“Yuperoonie!” she replied, her lively personality returning.

“Excellent! Oh, but a moment please, I think I should dress properly,” he said before dashing off into the house. He opened his gym bag and retrieved the clothing from within: Oobleck’s adventurer outfit that he brought along in case he wanted to change things up. He put on the clothes, straightening them out to impeccable precision, a process that thankfully only took half a minute due to his new speed, and pulled on his hiking pack and gym bag before dashing outside. “Now then, where to?”

Pinkie gasped in excitement. “Oh, I think you and I are going to get along just fine!

The Azure Flame

I woke up god knows where, an intense feeling of thirst prompting me to awaken, with the sun beating down on me and sand causing the armor around my collarbone to itch.

Wait… Armor?

I checked my body again and found that the paper mache armor I was wearing before was now heavier and sturdier, not to mention the clank of metal against metal when one of my gauntlets brushed against my breastplate.

Ok, this is weird, but not the biggest question on my mind. Where am I and how did I-?

I stopped when I remembered just what had happened before I blacked out, namely the darkness that pulled Warrick into the ground and the hole that opened up afterward.

Oh no. Oh nonononononono!

“WARRICK!” I shouted. “WARRICK, CAN YOU HEAR ME!? WARRICK, IT’S JANE! WHERE ARE YOU!?”

I started to sprint, picking a random direction, my heart pounding in my chest.

“WARRICK! PLEASE, ANSWER ME! WARRICK, WHERE ARE-!?”

I was cut off as I tripped on a rock I didn’t notice and fell flat on my face. I groaned in pain grabbed my nose, recoiling a bit as I saw blood. Not much, probably not more than a scrape, but it was still a wake up call.

Ok, keep it together. If I don’t I could die before I ever find him. I sat up with my legs crossed and tried to gather myself, my heartbeat slowing. Deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the-

I flinched as I saw a blue flame exit my mouth as I exhaled sharply. For a moment everything felt completely silent. I’m not even sure if my heart was beating.

Did I just…

I got up and clenched my fist, pulling my arm back.

This is stupid. There’s no way this could possibly work.

I exhaled through the nose as I punched forwards, a short burst of blue flame firing out before dispersing.

Holy shit, I’m a firebender. No, it was blue. I’m not just a firebender, I’m freaking Azula.

“Ya’ll stay right where ya’ll are,” a southern sounding voice called out from behind me.

I turned around and to my astonishment found myself staring at a small orange horse with blonde hair and a stetson hat, a sleeveless vest covering her front half. She glared at me, pointing a sword at my face. She didn’t seem at all intimidated despite the height difference between us.

“Ah don’t know what ya are, but yer type ain’t welcome here.” she spoke, narrowing her eyes, “Go on and git!”

I considered just running off right there before I remembered I had firebending powers and could probably roast her face off. I decided against it, though, no need to make enemies, and this might be the only person… being for miles. I needed some information, but I also needed to get her to drop her guard.

Time to put on the waterworks.

I dropped to my knees and started to beg. “Please! Please help me! I need to find my brother! I don’t know where he is or where I am! Please help me!” I pleaded, tears streaming down my face.

The horse blinked, taking a step back, not having expected that response, “Now just uh... jus’ calm down,” she started, lowering the weapon, “What was that about a brother?”

Almost got her. Just a little more. Time to pour it on.

“My brother! His name’s Warrick and I don’t know where he is and he can’t walk and he’s probably all alone and oh god, I just need to find him!” I blurted out, practically blubbering as I spilled my heart out without taking a breath. As much as a convincing actress I could be, even being able to cry on command, the fact that I was genuinely worried for him made it much easier to sell my performance.

“Alright, alright,” she said, putting her hooves up in an effort to sooth me, “Ah’ll help ya’ll out, jus’ promise ya’ll won’t do any of that fire stuff in town. Ponies are scared as it is.”

I kept sniffling as I raised my head, my eyes no doubt red and puffy. “O-Ok. Th-Thanks. Um, who are you? What are you?”

“Mah name’s Applejack and I’m a pony,” she said, sheathing her sword and adjusting her hat, “Care ta tell me yer name?”

I was about to respond when I realized how loaded a question that was. I mean, who the hell was I right now?

Well, acting always did make me feel more comfortable. Besides, if I tell half truths, she can’t fault me for that later.

“You can call me Azula. And thank you so much for helping me.”

“Well, nice ta meet ya Azula,” Applejack said, giving me a smile and holding her hoof out like she hadn’t just been pointing a sword at me.

I grabbed it and shook, giving me a curious look in response before shrugging it off. “Um, you said something about a town?”

“Yup! Appleloosa!” she beamed, pointing in some random direction, “Right this way!” she pulled away, starting to trot off, though she kept looking around, ears swiveling toward any little sound that went off.

I picked myself up and wiped my eyes before following. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, why do you have that sword? Is there something particularly dangerous out here?”

“Can’t be too careful, what with them changelings running free.”

“‘Changelings?’”

“Yeah, they’ve always been a problem but they didn’t start raiding towns until the war got worse.”

I felt my blood run cold for a moment. “Um… War?”

She turned and gave me an incredulous look. “You’re really not from around here, are you?”

“No argument here.”

She sighed, coming to a stop. “See, thousand years ago, the princesses ruled together, but the older one, Celestia, wanted it all fer herself, so she changed her name to Solar Flare and told everyone she was the queen. Her little sister Luna didn’t like that too much and decided to fight her over it. It’s been going on ever since.”

Oh boy, a fight over the throne with everyone caught in the middle. Yeah, that never ends badly for everyone involved.

“So, whose side you on?”

Applejack made a face, spitting on the ground. “Ah ain’t on noponies side, ah’m just trying ta’ keep mah kin safe.”

I smirked. So that’s why she put the sword down so easily. Guess I’ll play up the familial relationship as much as possible.

“Just worried about your family, huh? I can appreciate that.”

“What about you? How’d ya get separated from yer brother?” she asked, resuming her walk, looking back at me.

I groaned. “Applejack, I doubt you’d believe me if I told you.”

“Look, Ah feel fer ya but ah ain’t taking ya into town until ya tell me,” she said, turning to look back at me, “So get ta talkin’.”

I sighed. “Ok. Well, me and my brother went to a con where we bought some trinkets related to our costumes. Next thing I know my brother gets pulled into the ground by what looks like a black mist and I fall into a hole in reality that just appears out of nowhere. Next thing I know I’m lying on the ground with sand in my face.”

She gave me a look, looking me over with a rather critical eye, “Thats the craziest thing ah ever heard.”

I sighed and chuckled. “You sure? I could come up with something crazier if you want.”

“No thanks, ah’m good,” she said shaking her head, starting to move again. We soon came to what looked like a town straight out of the wild west, only full of multi-colored ponies. They all froze when they saw me, with many hugging their children close.

“Um...Klaatu barada nikto?” I replied, holding up the Spock hand.

One of them let out a shriek and they all scattered, dashing into their homes and I assume barricading their doors.

“Oh fer apples sake!” Applejack groaned, face..hoofing? “Ya’ll can come out ya yellow bellied cowards! It’s just a lost pony looking fer her brother!”

“That ain’t no pony ah’ve ever seen!” came a voice from one of the houses.

“That’s because I’m a human. Also, the translation for what I said was ‘live long and prosper’, if that helps any,” I explained.

“See? She ain’t gonna hurt nopony,” Applejack insisted, “Now all of ya’ll get out here and give Azula a proper Appleloosa welcome!”

“Does it involve getting drunk? Because I’m kinda udnerage,” I whispered.

“WELCOME TO APPLELOOSA!” a stallion shouted, suddenly appearing from out of nowhere, a big grin on his face.

“GAH!” I jumped back, frozen in an exaggerated pose before quickly taking a more normal stance. “Um, ahem, hi. You’re, um… really chipper.”

“Consarnite Braeburn!” Applejack scowled, poking the stallion in the chest, “What did Ah tell ya about scarin’ folks like that?”

“Gee sorry cuz,” Braeburn said, lowering his head, his ears splaying back, “Ah just get so excited welcoming ponies to our little town.”

“Yeah well, just turn down the excitment will ya?” she asked, sighing, “Azula, thisin’ here is my cousin Braeburn, our local uh... greeter.”

“Howdy!” Braeburn said cheerfully, dropping his pout rather quickly, giving a wave.

“Certainly not the kind of guy that stays sad for long, huh?” I whispered to Applejack.

“Nope,” Applejack said, shaking her head, “Now, what about the rest of ya? Ya’ll gonna come greet our guest?”

Some of the ponies began to stick their heads out their windows and doors, still looking at me warily. I stood in as nonthreatening a manner as possible, smiling as I waved awkwardly, something I realized was incredibly similar to when Zuko tries to join the Gang for the first time.

“Now has anypony seen somepony like her?”Applejack asked, “Goes by the name uh... Warrick?”

“Uh, yeah. He’s a boy, little shorter than me, kind of a stick of kid. And if his face wasn’t covered by his helmet you’d see he has spiky black hair. Like, really spiky. I’m talking porcupine,” I added.

The townsponies muttered amongst themselves but the answers they gave weren’t all that helpful, apparently, I was the first human any of them had ever seen.

I sighed. “Great. For all I know he’s not even on the same planet,” I muttered.

“Hey, ya can’t just give up,” Applejack said, giving my leg a friendly whack. “Now come on! Let’s get something ta eat!” she said, starting to trot away, Braeburn behind her.

“Meh, good point. So watcha got?” I asked as I walked behind.

“We ain’t got much but if its apple related we got it!” Braeburn said happily as Applejack led us into what looked like a saloon.

“Ya’ll just wait here, Ah’ll see if’n we can cook somethin’ up!” Applejack said, gesturing for me to sit down, following Braeburn into the kitchen.

I shrugged and sat down on a barrell, the seats far too small for someone my height. I sat there for a few minutes, the many townsponies still looking at me warily, when I noticed the barrels were all marked with a symbol similar to the mark on Applejack’s butt.

“So… guess you guys really like apples, huh?” I asked, trying to engage in small talk.

“Heh, ya’ll could say that,” Applejack said with a chuckle, “There ain’t a pony in the apple family without an apple cutie mark.”

“‘Cutie mark?’” I asked, suppressing a giggle. “What’s that?”

“You really ain’t from around here are ya?” Applejack asked with a sigh, “Yeah see this?” she asked, pointing the the mark on her hind end.

“Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that. You all seem to have one. That a cultural thing to get a tattoo?”

“Whats a tattoo?” she asked, giving me an odd look.

“It’s when someone marks their body permanently by using needles to basically ink their skin.”

“Cutie marks ain’t nothin’ like that!” Applejack said with a shudder, “Ponies get their cutie marks when they find what their best at. It represents who ya are.”

“Wait,” a smile stretched across my face. “Are you saying that when you find out what you’re supposed to be good at in life, it reveals that to you in the form of a magical butt tattoo?” My smile grew even wider. “Tell me, have you ever had a guy check you out and say it was just your cutie mark he was looking at?” I asked, unable to keep myself from snickering.

“Ya’ll just watch yerself,” Applejack said, giving me a flat, unamused look before returning to her cooking. She came out after some time, a plate covered in various treats balanced on her back. She slide it onto my table, giving me a smile, “Go on! Dig in!”

“Wow. Nice spread,” I commented before taking a bite out of an apple pie. I stopped still after the first bite.

“Somethin’ wrong?” she asked.

I turned to look at her, my face still frozen in shock. “This. Is the best pie. In the history of pie.”

“Heh! Ah’m glad ya like it!” Applejack said, beaming with pride, “And ya’ll ain’t even try the fritters yet!”

Deciding to take her suggestion, I popped one of the fritters into my mouth before practically melting. “God, kill me now, I will never experience something this good ever again.”

Applejack just smiled, obviously happy someone was enjoying her cooking so much. The happy moment was ruined however when several shouts of panic came from outside.

“The hell’s going on?” I asked.

“Oh no,” Applejack muttered before unsheathing her sword and dashing outside, Braeburn following right behind her. I greedily stuffed all of the apple treats into my mouth, not caring how disgusting I may have looked, before peeking my head out the window. What I saw would’ve made my jaw drop if I was already swallowing.

A huge swarm of bug-pony looking things were approaching almost right upon the town. They fired green blasts from their horns that either blew up what they touched, set them on fire, or both. Many of the townsfolk were running back and forth like chickens with their heads cut off, and a few unfortunate ones actually got hit and were sent flying, sometimes in pieces.

Holy crap, no wonder they were so scared when I showed up. This is brutal, I thought as I tried to keep myself from hurling up Applejack’s cooking. One of them turned to me, charging up its horn, only for Applejack to thrust her sword into its eye. It slumped to the ground, twitching slightly.

“Snap out of it Azula!” she chided, pulling her sword from the body, “Iffin’ ya stand there, yer gonna end up dead.”

“Y-Yeah. Got it,” I replied shakily before dashing back inside.

Firebending powers or not, I’m not an experienced fighter. A few years of martial arts isn’t going to prepare me for this.

I hid under the counter, finding a small filly with red hair, a pink bow, and a yellow coat cowering there already. She stared at me wide eyed, completely overwhelmed with fear, tears in her eyes. I motioned for her to be quiet and she nodded, still looking at me with terrified eyes. After a few more minutes the sounds of fighting stopped. I peeked my head above the counter and my heart sank when I saw Applejack, Braeburn, and a tall red stallion with blonde hair struggling in goops of green goo. I also saw the bug ponies move aside to allow a tall one, with obviously feminine features like long green hair. I think I even saw eyelashes and eye shadow.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the little apple annoyances themselves,” she began, her voice smug. “Hard to believe you three have fended off my changelings time and again. But I guess even you can’t handle my elite soldiers.”

Wait, those are changelings?

“So you’re her, huh?” Applejack growled back. “Chrysalis.”

The tall changeling smacked her across the face with her hoof. “Queen Chrysalis, you downtrodden peasant!”

Applejack defiantly spat out blood. “Why are ya even here? You been attacking us for a while now. You think Solar Flare is gonna stand for that?”

Chrysalis smirked. “Stupid little peasant. Who do you think allowed me to attack here? Your beloved Queen and I have come to an agreement, and as the first act of our new alliance, she has decided that all those who aren’t with her are against her, and allowed me to enforce such measures. Your little neutrality is no more.” She chuckled darkly before leaning in. “She did ask me to give you all one chance to officially pledge your allegiance to her, but I do so hope you disagree.”

“Rotten bitch,” Braeburn mumbled out, glaring at Chrysalis as hard as possible.

“You leave my family alone ya big cockroach!” a young voice called out, a rock sailing through the air, whacking Chrysalis at the base of her horn.

I looked near the door and saw that the little filly that was hiding with me before had somehow gotten to the door without me noticing.

Chrysalis held her hoof to her horn, seeing a glowing green liquid, barely enough to be called a scrape. Even still she, looked completely shocked before her face contorted into pure rage.

“Get her. I want her as a smear on the ground,” she ordered, her voice soft yet terrifying.

“RUN, APPLEBLOOM!” Applejack screamed.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Ohshitohshitohshitohshit! They’re gonna come in here and kill her. They’re gonna come in here and kill her, and then me!

I saw a group of the changelings break off and start walking towards the little filly, who was standing still like a deer in headlights.

Think of something. Think of something, think of something, think of something, think of-!

A crazy idea popped into my head right then. It was risky, and even if it worked, it wouldn’t last long, but it was better than just sitting still. Unfortunately, it also involved me doing things I’d rather not.

I’m so sorry, little filly. I thought before leaping over the counter running over to the filly and kicking her, sending her tumbling into the street. Everyone looked at me, shocked and confused.

“What? Azula, what are ya doin’!?” Applejack asked, her expression horrified.

“Shut up,” I ordered before walking out into the street, the changelings eyeing me warily, before I stopped next to the filly.

She looked up at me, terrified, those big tear filled eyes practically breaking my heart, but I had no better option. I raised my foot and stepped on her face, grinding it into the dirt.

“WHAT THE BUCK ARE YA DOIN’!?” Applejack screeched.

“Disgusting vermin,” I muttered before turning to face Chrysalis. “You! Do you realize what you’ve done!? What you’ve ruined!?”

The Queen looked absolutely stunned for a moment before glaring at me. “You dare speak to me like that!?” she snarled. “Do you have any idea who I am!?”

“How could I not?” I asked in bored tone. “It’s not like I haven’t heard about you from the Queen before. Looks like she was right about you being full of yourself.”

Chrysalis look of anger turned to one of curiosity. “‘The Queen?’ You mean Solar Flare?”

“Who else would be talking about? And you, you stupid little bug, have ruined my assignment!” I growled back. “I’ve been trying to find information on the location of Princess Luna and her rebels, and then you have to come storming in and ruin everything!” I huffed and folded my arms. “Oh well, no real loss I suppose. They didn’t know anything.”

“Now jus’ wait’ a dern minute! You’re sayin’ you’re a spy!?” Braeburn asked, completely aghast.

I chuckled before turning back to face the ponies. “No point in denying it now. Thanks for taking me in, by the way. You were all so nice. Especially you, Applejack.”

“YOU DIRTY NO GOOD SNAKE IN THE GRASS! ALL THE HOGWASH ABOUT YOU BEIN’ LOST AND TRYIN’ TO FIND YER BROTHER WAS A LIE!” she screamed.

“Guilty as charged,” I replied with a smile while brushing one of my bangs. “I heard you were a real family girl, so I figured if I played the whole ‘looking for my family’ card you’d fall right into my hands.” I then pretended to wipe my eyes. “‘Oh, someone please help me! I’m lost and I can’t find my little brother! Boo hoo!” I said mockingly. Applejack screamed like a wild animal in response.

“Oh, this is just precious,” Chrysalis chuckled darkly. “Nicely done, miss… Azula, was it? I must admit, this is the most entertaining thing I’ve seen in ages.”

I turned to her and smiled. “Well, I’ve had plenty of experience,” I gloated before turning back to Applejack. “You know, there was one thing I was completely truthful about. Your cooking really was amazing. Best I’ve ever had.” I stepped forwards and reached behind her head, scratching her behind the ears. “Maybe I can convince the queen to have as my own personal chef.”

“Afraid not. The asked that they all be killed if they don’t submit,” Chrysalis explained, an evil smirk stretched across her muzzle. “And I think they’ve made their choice.”

I pouted. “Oh, and I wanted to have my own little pony chef,” I complained before standing up and walking towards the Queen. “She’s all yours then.”

“AH TRUSTED YOU!” Applejack screamed. “AH TOOK YA IN! I FED YA!”

“Well that’s the problem with trusting others. Eventually, someone takes advantage of you,” I replied smugly. Chrysalis began to walk past me, her horn alight and ready to blast the them.

Almost. Just a little further.

“Thankfully for you, that’s not today,” I said before turning and punching at the back of the Queen’s head, shooting out a fireball that exploded and knocking her to the ground. Before anyone could react I sweep kicked towards the changeling mob, sending out a low arc of fire, before jumping up into the air, using the flames as propulsion from my hands to get me several feet into the air, before flipping forwards and letting loose a burst of fire from my feet that explodes upon contact with ground. As soon as I landed I rushed towards the three trapped ponies, all of them still completely stunned at what was happening, before torching the goo that held them, the stuff hardening against the heat, and then quickly cracking them open with some well-placed kicks.

“Go! Go now!” I shouted, grabbing the little filly before sprinting away from the changelings.

“Get them!” Chrysalis screamed, lifting her head off the ground, her mane on fire, her eyes filled with utter hate.

“Quick everypony run!” Applejack commanded, ignoring me now, making sure the other ponies got out before her.

“That really hurt...” the little filly said, looking up at me, wincing as she prodded her side.

“I know, I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you later,” I assured her before Chrysalis landed right in front of me, her face a look of pure rage.

“You dare to trick me you little bitch!?” she shouted.

I flinched for a moment before setting the little filly down. I smirked and took a fighting stance, doing what I could to convince myself I wasn’t scared. “That’s Princess Bitch to you, Queenie. And how could I not? It was so easy.”

“Princess? You think yourself royalty?” she asked with a sneer, starting to charge up her horn. She fired off her shot, aiming at my chest.

I spun to the side before firing a punch at her, unleashing another fireball that she dodged. “At least I handle myself better than you. You’re looking a little frayed at the edges,” I taunted before sending another sweeping kick of fire at her.

She leapt over it, spitting some of that weird goo at me, aiming for my face. I brought my hands up to shield my face, the goo quickly engulfing them.

“No more little fire spells for you!” she gloated before charging forwards.

“It’s not spells, it’s bending,” I shot back, taking in a deep breath before firing a stream of fire from my mouth. She backed off and took to the skies to avoid it, and I took the time to project heat from my hands and harden to goo before tearing it off. “But you’re right, the fire is getting a bit old.” I smirked before going through the proper motions, electricity crackling off my body as I went. “Meet my bug zapper!” I shouted before firing the bolt at her. Amazingly, she managed to dodge, but not without my attack cutting a deep gash along her left side.

“You little whore!” she screamed, her sickly green blood dripping from her side, “I’m going to kill you!” she shrieked, repeatedly firing off several bolts at me.

I dodged the best I could, twisting and turning as I stepped or hopped away from each blast, but one of them finally got me in the leg. I shouted in pain before another one hit me in the chest with enough force to send me to the ground and sliding backwards for a few yards.

She moved in to presumably finish me when the hulking red stallion from before charged over, slamming a rather heavy looking warhammer into the side of her skull. There was a sickening crack and she dropped like a sack of bricks, twitching every so often.

“Whoa. Nice save,” I panted out.

The stallion looked at her for a few seconds before turning to me, holding his hoof out. I took it and he managed to pull me to my knees. I winced as my leg was still in pain.

“You… peasants…”

We both looked over to see Chrysalis somehow managing to get up, her hooves shaking as stoop up, green flames around her neck and several sickening popping noises coming as her neck realigned itself.

“Oh no fucking way,” I muttered.

“I’ll… get you all… for this…”

She started to flutter her wings, trying to take off, when the red stallion rushed forwards, ready to hit her again, before being hit with a small blast that knocked him on his back. Chrysalis took to the skies.

“RETREAT!” she shouted, flying high up into the air. Her army immediately dropped what they were doing, flying up after her. She gave us one last glare before flying off, her swarm following.

I took a deep breath before falling onto my back, not realizing how exhausted I was. It was probably from coming down off the adrenaline high.

The stallion dropped his warhammer, letting out a sigh. “You ok?” he asked, looking down at me, a hint of worry in his voice.

“Considering this is the first life-or-death fight I’ve ever had in my life, not bad. You?”

“Ah’m ok,” he said nodding his head, “My sister ok?” he asked, looking around, “Bloom ya here?”

“I set her down when bug hut tries to kill me,” I replied trying to force myself up looking around. I saw her peek out from behind a barrel. Unable to really talk, I just pointed in her direction.

“Ya’ll ok Bloom?” he asked, walking over, kneeling down to get a better look at her.

“Mah side hurts...” she whimpered, looking up at him.

He carefully lifted her up, sliding her onto his back. After making sure she was secure, he moved over to me, “Can ya walk?”

I pushed myself up onto my feet, my leg still hurting but not so much that I couldn’t still hobble along. “More or less, I guess.” I looked to the little filly for a moment before turning my gaze away. “I’m sorry for what I did. It was just the best idea I could come up with at the time.”

“Ah don’t agree with it but ah understand why ya did it,”he said with a nod, “Aj ain’t gonna be so forgivin’ though.”

“Oh, come on, what’s she gonna do? Give me the stink eye and-” I was cut off as a pair of hooves slammed into my stomach, dropping me to my knees.

“Ah trusted you!” Applejack roared, her face contorted in a mix of hurt and anger. “And all ya did was lie to me!”

I groaned in pain trying to catch my breath before finally responding. “The only thing I lied about was being a spy and working for Solar Flare. Besides, you can’t be that angry at me, can you? I did save all your lives.”

“Jus’ calm down AJ,” the big guy said, nudging his sister away, offering his hoof to me again. I took it and got up, holding my midsection in pain.

“Um... cuz?” Braeburn asked, trotting over, “Ah don’t we we can go back ta town...” he said, gazing off in the distance, seeing it still burning in the night, ‘What are we gonna do now/”

Applejack looked back to her hometown, her expressions changing almost instantly from anger to intense sadness. “No,” she muttered, completely disheartened.

“Um, I hate to be the one to say this, but you probably shouldn’t have stayed anyway. Chrysalis would just be back with an even greater army. Maybe even that Queen of yours would send her own forces. You heard what Chrysalis said, she’s adopting a ‘if you’re not with me, you’re against me’ policy,” I said.

Applejack just sighed, hanging her head, “Only one place we can go now...” she turned, starting to trot away, looking absolutely devastated.

“Uh, where’s that?”

“With Princess Luna...” she said, not looking back at us.

My brain stopped for a moment. “Wait, you actually did know where the rebels are!?”

“You comin’?” big red asked, looking back at me as the others followed after Applejack.

I sighed and shrugged. “Might as well. By the way, I didn’t catch your name. And the little filly is ‘Bloom’, right?”

“Ah’m Big Macintosh and this here is mah sister Apple Bloom,” he said, starting to move again, “That stuff about yer brother, that all true?”

“Yeah, it is,” I replied walking next to him. “I hope he’s ok. He can’t even walk by himself.” I sighed. “And to think this all started because I just wanted to get him out of the house for some fun. I hope he’s ok.”

“What happened to him?” Bloom asked, looking up at me curiously, “Why can’t he walk?”

“It was when he was really little, in grade school. Some bullies were picking on him while I wasn’t there. They were pushing him around the playground and one of them shoved him real hard. He just landed wrong on a big rock and then ‘snap’, broken spine. Can’t move anything below the waist.”

“Thats terrible!” Apple Bloom asked, wincing as she agitated her side, “Why would anypony do somethin’ so mean?”

“New kid in town, shy, different. I guess that’s all the reason some people need sometimes.”

“Ah hope ya can find him,” she said, laying her head down, “Ya must be worried sick.”

“You have no idea. But right now I just gotta keep thinking happy thoughts. No use worrying over things I can’t change right now. So, um, Big Mac. Uh, is it okay if I call you that?”

“Eeyup.”

“How does your sister know where the rebellion is?”

“She used ta be a part of it,” Big Mac started, “But Bloom wanted to join and AJ refused. When she found out Luna wasn’t going to turn Bloom away, she made us all leave.”

“I see. I suppose I can understand that. I know I wouldn’t want Warrick to get involved in a war. Unfortunately, the war itself doesn’t care.”

“Maybe somepony with Luna found him?” Bloom suggested, looking up at me.

“Considering what this Solar Flare seems to be like, I can only hope.”

Author's Note

Here there, Shinigamisparda here. Wrote this with some help from Shagohod. Our final character introduction is complete. Hope you guys have been enjoying so far.

Getting the Band Together

Underground Hollow (Neku)

Moments after meeting Luna, Neku; despite being welcomed as a savior, felt like an outcast. He did not know the way things worked down in this underground city and received weird stares from passerby’s. He wanted to drown out the noise. Drown out the comments on him and if he was a monster. The best way for him to do this was music. His headphones were connected to his Ipod, so all he had to do was press the play button to begin to shuffle his music. The first song he heard was one that he could relate to. One that symbolized him. Unknowing to the fact that the Fashionista was hearing him through an open window of her home and the other individuals in the area, Neku began to recite the lyrics the best he could.

“I walk a lonely road. The only one that I have ever known. Don’t know where it goes, but it’s only me and I walk alone~.”

Azula

‘Wow. A literal underground base. How original,’ I thought sarcastically.

“Miss Applejack. I’m surprised to see you back,” the unicorn said. He was almost pure white with two toned blue hair and tail. He had an almost surfer dude accent and his armor was freakin’ purple.

“Yeah well, wasn’t much of a choice,” Applejack huffed, trotting past him, “We need doctors here now. Some of the townsponies are hurt mighty bad.”

“The Medical tent is not far.” The guard like pony replied, ordering a few of the guards to help some of the injured. He then looked at me, sighing a bit. “Another one?” he muttered.

“Well nice to meet you, too,” I snarked back, until I realized what he said. “Wait… What do you mean by that?”

“You’re the fourth one of your kind to show up in the last twenty-four hours. I mean sure, you’ve all helped us out in some way, but a lot of my soldiers are more interested in chatting with them than actually doing their jobs.”

I stepped forwards and kneeled down, getting on eye level with him. “Listen to me very carefully. Is one of them a boy with black spiky hair?”

“You mean the third one that came in with Lady Fluttershy?”

I held my breath for a moment. ‘Keep calm. Don’t get your hopes up just yet. It might not be the same person.’

“What did he say his name was?”

“Well, some people call him Vanitas. Others think his name is Warrick.”

After that I couldn’t stop myself. I barely heard the guards shouting for me to stop as I sprinted inside, calling my brother’s name.

‘He’s here! He’s here and he’s alive! I’m coming!’

As I turned another corner, I continued to scan my surroundings, looking for him and shouting his name. It wasn’t until I heard another voice that caused me to turn around and see Warrick. In the flesh alongside a yellow pegasus.

“Jane?” he asked, turning to look at me, his eyes a piercing yellow. “Jane is that you?”

I couldn’t keep the tears out of my eyes. Even if it wasn’t the exact same face it was definitely him. I rushed forward and practically tackled him with a hug. “Warrick! Warrick, oh thank god you’re alright! Oh, I was so worried and-” I stopped when I realized what I was doing. Or rather, what he was doing. I took a few steps back and looked down at his legs, unable to keep a gasp from escaping my mouth. “You… You can walk?”

Warrick then looked down at the lower half of his body before looking back. “You’re damn right I can,” he said with a smirk.

“Oh my god, Warrick, I can’t believe it! Oh my god, you’re walking!” I shouted and hugged him again. It was only now that I heard a small squeak as I looked at the Pegasus.

“Umm… W-warrick…?”

I Looked down to see a yellow pegasus with long pink hair, looking between the two of us curiously. She was also perhaps the most adorable thing I’ve seen since Applebloom.

“Oh yeah,” he said with a chuckle, “Fluttershy this is my sister Jane, Jane, this is Fluttershy.”

Her face immediately brightened. “Oh, so this is your sister! See, I told you you’d find her,” she said with a lovely smile.

“Yes you did,” he said, gently patting her head, “Of course... we’ve both lost our family resemblance,” he said with a bit of a sigh.

I smirked. “I dunno. You still look like the dorky younger brother,” I teased, ruffling his hair.

Before he could reply a contingent of guards burst into the room, led by the unicorn in the purple armor. “Don’t move!” he ordered, pointing a sword at me, somehow holding it in mid-air. Considering how it and his horn were glowing the same pink color, I figured that had something to do with it.

“Don’t threaten my sister!” Warrick glared, summoning up his keyblade, aiming it at the stallion.

“All of you stop, right now!” the pegasus, ‘Fluttershy,’ ordered. Despite the fact that it sounded like she probably didn’t even know how to yell, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing. “Now, what’s this about, Captain Shining Armor?”

The stallion stared for a moment before shaking himself out of his stupor. “Lady Fluttershy, this… being ran inside without being properly checked. Although now I realize that she was just overwhelmed about finding her brother,” he explained sheathing his sword and motioning for the others to stand down. “I apologize for the disturbance, but I chose to err on the side of caution.”

Fluttershy nodded with a truly angelic smile. “It’s quite alright, Captain Shining Armor. I understand you were just trying to be safe, be we’re all fine here.” She turned to look at me. “Jane, could you please apologize for worrying the Captain?”

I was about to scoff but I felt a strange power behind her eyes, something terrible and dangerous, that made me both afraid of her and made me feel like I’d be ashamed of myself if I disobeyed her. I turned to the unicorn and clasped my hand over my fist and bent over, the classic kung fu bow.

“Sorry for making you worry. I’ve just been worried about my brother the whole way here.”

He sighed. “It’s fine. I’ll leave you three alone for now. I’m sure Princess Luna will want to meet with you all later, so please try not to wander off too far.” He then turned and walked out with the rest of his soldiers.

“I don’t like him,” Warrick said with a pout, dismissing his keyblade.

“Now now, he just takes his job seriously,” Fluttershy explained before her expression turned somber. “He lost both his parents in an attack by Solar Flare’s forces. His little sister Twilight Sparkle is all he has left. He doesn’t want to risk losing anyone else.”

`“Man... why ya gotta make me feel bad?” he asked with a sigh, leaning back on a wall, “Curse you, you adorable ball of fuzz.”

“Yeah, they’re all adorable, aren’t they? Hard to believe there’s actually a war going on and they’re fighting it, huh?” I remarked.

“Well, I kinda already pissed the Queen off,” Warrick said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

I chuckled. “Oh yeah? Well I pissed off two of them. Even hit the buggy little bitch with a lightning bolt.”

“I froze someone solid.”

“Not bad.”

“Wait, you said two Queens?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah. Apparently she teamed up with Chrysalis and the changelings.”

She gasped. “Oh dear! Princess Luna needs to hear about this!”

“She’s the Queen of the changelings, these black and green bug-pony looking things. Got horns and bug wings, even fangs and holes in their bodies. She’s a real contender, Big Mac even broke her neck with a hammer and she just magicked it back together. Still seemed to hurt her pretty bad, but still.”

“Oh jesus,” he said with a wide eyed gaze, “I just had to fight some really fast pegasi...”

“Wait, did you say ‘Big Mac’?” Fluttershy asked. “You mean Big Macintosh?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“So does that mean Applejack is here, too?” she asked, a smile creeping onto her face.

“Oh, you know her?”

“Oh yes! Oh, I’ll be so happy to see her!” her smile fell and she gasped. “Oh no, if she’s here then that means something terrible must have happened to Appleloosa!”

“Changelings destroyed it,” I confirmed.

“Oh, poor Applejack. That orchard was her livelihood. She even moved her trees from Ponyville all the way out into the desert just to get away from the war. She must be devastated.”

“Harsh...” Warrick said, wincing a bit, “Well, I’m going to help any way I can, ya got that?”

“Oh no you don’t,” I said firmly. “I’m not gonna have my little brother going off and risk getting himself killed in some crazy adventure. We’re gonna do what we need to get out of here and-”

“I’m not a kid anymore,” Warrick cut off, looking into my eyes, “I mean, look at us, we’re not even us anymore. We have these...powers now Jane, we have to help them. It’s the right thing to do.”

“You…” I tried to retort, but he had some legitimate points. He could summon a Keyblade, and he said he froze someone which meant he had magic now, too. I shot fire and electricity and fought off a bunch of killer bug-ponies. He wasn’t a weak kid confined to a wheelchair anymore, and I wasn’t just his big sister who always watched over him.

I sighed. “You always did want to be the hero.”

“Well, someone has to,” he said, giving me a smirk.

I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Fine. Fine. But only if we get some training in and if you promise to never run off and do something stupid, ok?”

“Yes, mom,” he said with a smile and a roll of his eyes.

“Don’t you back sass me, young man!” I said, playfully chiding him before we both laughed. It took me a moment to notice that Fluttershy was giggling along as well.

“Oh, it’s so nice to see something like this. Usually everyone’s so grim and depressed. It really helps to see some genuine happiness around here,” she explained.

At that moment a few guards came into the room.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Princess Luna would like to see you all now.”

“Any last words?” Warrick asked with a chuckle, walking over to the guards.

“Oh hush you, I’m sure she’s perfectly reasonable,” I said as I followed the armored stallions.

“You know what they say about assumptions!”

I rolled my eyes to that comment as we entered the room. It was quite wide with a dome like ceiling. But what caught my attention was the four unicorns alongside the “Princess”.

“Wow, she’s a biggun,” I muttered.

“Please refrain from making such comments, if thou could, visitor,” she replied.

‘And she heard me. And she uses the royal “We”. This will be difficult.’

“If thou could wait but a moment, the other two visitors and my our other guests shall arrive soon.” She spoke again, gesturing a hoof to what looked like floor mats.

I shrugged and sat down, hoping this wouldn’t take too long.

Oobleck

“I walk this empty street, on the boulevard of broken dreams. Where the city sleeps, and I’m the only one, and I walk alone~”

I heard a song being sung, one that I doubted I’d ever hear considering our location.

“What’s up, Ooby?” Pinkie asked me from her resting place atop my head as I looked around.

“Looking for whomever is singing that song,” I replied, heading towards the music.

Pinkie paused for a moment. “I don’t like it. Songs should be happy.”

“Pinkie, do you know what ‘catharsis’ is?” I asked with a smile.

“What’s that? Sounds like some kind of tea.”

“It is literally defined as the act of releasing and purging emotions from the self, thus relieving the body of pent up stress. Have you ever been angry and channelled it into something productive instead of attacking what made you angry?”

“Yup! Usually I just try to throw a party!”

I chuckled. “That could work, but sometimes just releasing the emotion that you have in a way that harms no one else could be considered catharsis. The classic example would be to hit a pillow when you’re angry, because you can’t destroy the pillow with blunt trauma and your physical exertion will remove the anger from your body.”

“So… he’s singing that sad song so he won’t feel sad anymore?”

“Precisely.”

“Huh… I still don’t like it though.”

I chuckled. “No one said you had to.” I looked around and finally found the source of the music, surprised to find Neku Sakuraba, someone else likely in my position, absorbed in the music from his headphones. I gently tapped him on the back to get his attention. “You know, a student in my art history class happened to like that song quite a bit.”

He turned around, eyes widening a little at the sight of me as he set his headphones around his neck. “Holy shit… M-mr. Bertrand!?”

I looked surprised. “How do you… Mr. Dolor?” I asked.

“Yeah… That’s me. And just when I thought that a Iron Man suit falling on me was the last surprise I was going to get today.” He said, now noticing Pinkie. “Who’s your friend?”

Pinkie hopped down and grabbed his hand. “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie and I don’t really like that song you were singing because it was sad but if it makes you feel better than I’m ok with that but I’d like to throw you a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ and a ‘Thank You For Saving Rarity and a Bunch of other Ponies’ party later and what’s your name!?” she asked in an incredibly fast pace.

“You can call me Neku, Pinkie. I personally feel a little more comfortable with it.” He said, now looking behind us. “Did you happen to have some kind of escort with you two? Because why are there guards coming this way?”

“Hm?” I asked, turning to face the the approaching guards.

“Mr. Neku, Miss Pie, Mr. Oobleck-”

“Doctor,” I corrected.

He looked surprised for a moment before correcting himself. “Doctor Oobleck. Princess Luna would like to see you all. Mr. Neku, do you know where Miss Rarity is?”

“I’m leaning against her house. Plus, she probably heard you because of the open window.” Neku said, pointing out a finger at the open window behind him.

“Comiiing!~” Rarity called in a singsong tone before stepping out a moment later dressed in a purple frilly dress with a lavender scarf. “Now that I’m properly prepared, I believe we can meet with the Princess now.”

“You look quite…… pretty in those clothes.”

“Just ‘pretty’?” she asked, looking a bit disheartened.

“Please pardon my student, he’s not the best with interactions,” I stepped in. “He meant to say you looked ravishing, Lady Rarity,” I complemented with a bow.

“Yes. I’m sorry, Rarity. Conversations aren’t my strong suit. Oh and before I forget, this is my teacher, Dr. Oobleck.”

“Oh my, a doctor? Well, you do look like quite the intelligent one.”

“I appreciate the compliment madam, but I believe we must hurry along. We shall continue this conversation later.” I then turned to the stallions. “Gentlemen, by your leave.”

“‘Gentlecolts’, darling,” Rarity corrected.

“Ah, quite right. Thank you for that. Let’s move along then.”

“What he said.” Neku muttered to himself as we followed the stallions to the supposed meeting room. What surprised me was that two other humans were here as well. One was a young teenaged girl and the other was a teenaged boy. And both of them looked to be in the same situation as we were in. Both of them looked to us in surprise.

“Whoa. I mean, I heard about two others, but I didn’t really figure they were in the same position we were,” I heard the girl mutter. If I remembered correctly, she was Princess Azula from Avatar: the Last Airbender. The boy I recognized from one of the Kingdom Hearts entries, but the name escaped me.

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” Neku replied as he sat down next to a yellow pegasus. He kindly introduced himself to her as I sat down and Pinkie sat back on top of me.

“Pinkie, don’t bug the stallion,” a unicorn with lavender with purple hair with a pink streak in it complained.

“I’m quite fine with it, but thank you for the concern,” I replied.

She looked at me curiously but shrugged.

The tall pony with wings, a horn, and a starry mane that flowed in a non-existent wind cleared her throat.

“Thank you everypony for coming. And thank you once again for saving thy friends of thy apprentices.” she began before turning to an orange ‘earth pony’ wearing a stetson hat and a vest. “Dame Applejack, We realize that we did not depart on the best of terms, we are pleased to see thee returned and unharmed.”

“Ah ain’t here cause Ah wanna be,” Applejack snorted, “Ah’m here because yer sister decided to send the damn bugs after us ‘cause we were sittin’ yer damn war out.”

Luna looked shocked. “Celes-Solar Flare now has the changelings under her employ?”

“I don’t know if they’re working for her or with her, but they’re definitely on the same side,” Azula clarified. “Chrysalis said so herself.”

“Excuse me for interrupting, but what was this about a sister?” Neku interjected. “Because something tells me there’s a few things we don’t understand.”

“I agree. I have gathered some information from Miss Pinkie Pie here, but I believe an in depth explanation would be best. But first, I think some introductions are in order,” I began. I cleared my throat before starting again. “Greetings, I am Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck. Pleasure to meet you all.”

“I’m Neku Sakuraba, but you can just call me Neku. It’s nice to meet all of you.” Neku said as Rarity sat down next to him.

“I’m Warrick and this is my sister Jane,” the other young man said, giving a smile, “Don’t worry, she looks meaner than she actually is.”

The girl stuck her tongue out at the boy.

“Now wait a minute, ya said yer name was Azula,” Applejack said, glaring at her.

“No, I said ‘you can call me Azula.’” she corrected.

“Dirty liar,” the mare muttered.

“I’m really fine with either. And if you want you can call him Vanitas.”

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! Meet me after for a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party! There’ll be cake and pie and cupcakes and punch and-.”

“Miss Pie, if you please?” Luna interrupted.

“Oh, right. Um, sorry,” she replied sheepishly. “But I’m serious about the party,” she whispered loudly.

“I’ll be sure to be there.” Neku said, a little bit sarcastically.

“Yay!” she squeed.

“Greetings, my name is Rarity. You may call me ‘Lady Rarity’, if you feel so inclined.”

The yellow pegasus smiled. “Hello. My name is Fluttershy. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Ah guess you could figure out by now, but mah name’s Applejack,” the orange pony said tersely.

“You may call me Trixie,” a blue unicorn with silver hair said, holding her head up high.

A unicorn with a yellow coat and a flame colored mane rolled her eyes. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you.”

“Hello!” a pale purple unicorn said with a bright smile, “I’m Starlight Glimmer! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“And I am Twilight Sparkle,” the lavender unicorn said, shifting her hooves somewhat nervously.

“As you already know, We are Princess Luna. We appreciate you all being present,” the Princess finished. “And before we continue, there is something that all four of you should know about.”

“Is this about the “sister” that Applejack mentioned?” Neku asked.

“Why don’t we just let her speak?” Vanitas asked, crossing his arms.

“Now now, no need to be rude,” I cut in. “Please continue, Princess Luna.”

“Thank you,” Luna said, clearing her throat, “One thousand years ago, We once ruled this land jointly with Our sister, Celestia. Twas a time of relative peace and prosperity until... something happened. Our sister assumed the title of Solar Flare and declared herself queen of Equestria.”

“Whoa, hold on a second, I think I missed this the first time, but did you say ‘one thousand years ago?” Jane interrupted. “How old are you!?”

“Darling, never I would think you would know never to ask a lady her age or her weight,” Rarity warned. “Besides, I think you should save all comments for after the story.”

“Oh, uh… right. Sorry.”

“As We were saying...” Luna started, “We tried to convince her to stand down, to see reason, but... she... tried to kill Us... her own sister...” Luna stopped, looking away starting to choke up.

“Oh dear,” I muttered.

She wiped her eyes before continuing. “In the end We were left with no choice but to use the greatest magic available to Us, the Elements of Harmony against her. We banished her to another dimension, hoping to spare both our kingdom and her from destruction. Unfortunately, as the young ponies now say, this decision ‘came back to bite Us.’ Our sister would return from her banishment only a few years later, with an army of unholy creatures as well as dark magic of a caliber We had never seen before. In addition she managed to steal one of the Elements of Harmony so that We could not use it against her again. Her power and her forces were greater than We could hope to overcome, so We fled, and took as many ponies with me that were willing to fight,” she turned back to us, wiping at her eyes, “And fight we have for all these long centuries, yet it seemed we had only prolonged the inevitable.” She then began to smile. “But now, We believe a ray of hope has arrived. Or, perhaps We should say, four rays.”

“Well, I’m glad to help,” Vanitas said, giving Luna a bright smile.

Azula sighed. “I’ll be honest, I’m not too thrilled about getting involved in a war, but I guess I can’t just turn a blind eye either.” She smirked confidently. “Count me in.”

“I’d prefer to solve conflicts with diplomacy myself, but you’ll find I’m not unwilling to engage in these… conflicts on behalf of your oppressed followers,” I proclaimed.

“Ah what the hell? I’m in.” Neku replied. “It will help me learn how to use my psychs.”

Luna nodded. “We greatly appreciate your willingness.”

“Now hold on a moment! Your majesty, I’ll admit they’re all quite powerful, but do you really think that they alone will have the strength to turn the tide of this war?” the blue mare, Trixie asked.

“Their strength is great, undoubtedly but wars are not won with strength alone,” Luna answered. “However, with their skills we may have a chance to finally make some significant gains in this millennia-long conflict. Twas the very same task that We wished to discuss with you, Our four apprentices, before the arrival of Sir Neku.”

“What do you mean, your majesty?” Starlight Glimmer asked.

“With luck, their strength will be enough to take the Crystal Empire for our cause, and free the Crystal Heart from the dark influence of King Sombra and Princess Cadenza.”

The ponies all gasped. Whatever this ‘Crystal Empire’, the idea of reclaiming it was apparently a herculean task.

“But trying to reclaim the Crystal Empire would be suicide! Not without a great increase of power and warriors to aid us!” Sunset Shimmer retorted. “Even with these four, we just don’t have the strength of numbers!”

“Hey uh..” Vanitas spoke up, “If you need an army, I could probably provide one for you.”

All of us stared at the boy, confused.

“You know of a force we could employ for our cause?” Princess Luna asked.

“Promise you won’t attack me?”

Luna eyed him warily before nodding.

He closed his eyes, a black mist seeming to emanate from him. From out of this mist formed several strange creatures of various size and shape, though they all had glowing red eye.

Everyone scooted back a bit in shock, Luna being the one who kept herself the most composed. It was Azula who recovered first however, a childlike smile on her face.

“You can summon Unversed, too! You really are Vanitas!” she practically squeed.

“Wh-What manner of creatures are those?” Luna asked, still surprised.

“These are the Unversed,” Vanitas started, looking up at her, “They are my raw emotions made manifest, their, for lack of a better explanation, an extension of myself, fully under my control.”

“You mean… living emotions? That’s fascinating! Oh, the weeks I could spend studying and cataloguing such a phenomenon!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes. She appeared to be quite the intellectual herself.

“Give it a rest, Twilight, you’re drooling,” Sunset teased, caused the other unicorn to snap out of her reprieve and blush sheepishly.

“She is correct, however. Such an ability is quite fascinating indeed. What abilities do such creatures possess?” Princess Luna asked.

“Depends on the breed really,” Vanitas said with a shrug, “I could name them all if you want but, we’d be here for a while.”

“And is there a limit on how many you can create?”

“Not that I know of but...” he looked at one, conjuring up his keyblade. He took a deep breath before striking it, causing it to evaporate into the black mist it spawned from. Vanitas let out a cry of pain, dropping his weapon, looking like he was in absolute agony.

“Warrick!” Azula shouted, rushing over to him, cradling him in her arms. “Are you ok!? What happened!?”

“As you can see...” he said, between pants, “Destroying an Unversed causes me extreme pain...”

Azula grew angry and punched him in the arm, eliciting a yelp of pain from the boy. “Stupid! You could’ve just told us that instead of showing it,” she shouted. Despite her harsh actions tears were clearly visible in her eyes as she stomped back to her seat and sat down, huffing angrily.

“I figured it would be more effective...” he grumbled, the Unversed vanishing back into the mist, which itself vanished.

“Hm… destroying one causes you such pain, then I would not recommend using them in the front lines. They could make excellent scouts though,” Luna commented. “However, we must continue. As We had stated before, We had planned to launch our forces in an attempt to retake the Crystal Empire. Though King Sombra and Princess Cadenza are indeed powerful opponents, Cadenza herself being my sister’s apprentice, the rewards for such a task are great. An entire city to house our people, protected not only by the harsh and unforgiving winds of the frozen north but also the strength of the Crystal Heart itself, one of the most powerful artifacts in Equestria. Though it would indeed have been suicide before, We believed the miniscule chance at victory was better than the certainty of a slow defeat.”

“Look,” Vanitas said, looking Luna in the eyes, “I don’t care how much pain it causes me, if using the Unversed means saving lives then I’ll take all the pain in the world.”

We all looked to the boy, stunned by his conviction.

“No!” came an unexpected voice, Pinkie Pie jumping off my head and walking towards him. “No pain! Not if you don’t have to! No pain, no crying! Helping ponies should be something that makes them happy, not making them sorry for you!”

I cleared my throat. “I believe what she is trying to say is that your courage is truly admirable, but there is a difference between being able to bravely put life and limb on the line and being reckless. Even still, it’s quite a comfort to know how dedicated you are to this cause.”

“I have a way to make sure people don’t die,” he argued, looking at me, “It’s just pain, I can handle it.”

“He does have a point...” Starlight spoke up, though she looked unsure.

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,” Vanitas said simply, crossing his arms and looking at the floor.

Azula sighed and shook her head. “Stupid macho bullshit,” she muttered.

“Ahem,” Luna cleared her throat, catching everyone’s attention. “If I may, We would like to continue. There is one more trick up our sleeve, as the expression goes, in ending this war. As We mentioned before. we possess most of the Elements of Harmony, perhaps the most powerful artifacts in our world. However, it is unfortunately a card We cannot play. Over the millennia Our connection to these powers has waned and broken, and We can only assume the same has happened to Our sister. But it is not simply because they have waned in power, but rather because they have chosen new bearers.” She smiled. “And is it so happens, five of the six are here with us now.”

“And how in the name of apples do ya know that?” Applejack asked, crossing her arms, “Just sounds like you holding onto blind hope, like always.”

“Applejack!” Twilight Sparkle shouted. “There’s no need to-”

“Ah, Dame Applejack,” Luna interrupted, smiling and seemingly unaffected by the slight. She levitated in an ornate trunk. “Always with her heart on her hooves,” she continued opening the trunk and revealing four necklaces and a tiara. “So straightforward, so… Honest,” she finished pulling out one of the necklaces, this one with an apple shaped orange gem in the center.

Applejack gasped before looking back at her cutie mark. Before she could form a response Luna levitated the necklace onto her chest, where it began to glow slightly, a humm of energy emanating from it before it faded.

“H-how...?” stuttered Applejack, not sure what was going on. She just stared at the necklace, dumbstruck.

Luna looked around the room and continued. “Dame Pinkie Pie, always looking to bring joy to those around her, wishes to bring smiles to all whom she meets. A fitting bearer for Laughter,” she said as she levitated another necklace out and onto the pony, this one with a blue gem shaped like a balloon.

“Yuppers! That’s me alright!” she replied happily, bouncing on her hooves as not only her gem shone and hummed, but Applejack’s as well, both louder than the single gem had done before.

“Rarity, who despite her prim and proper demeanor would be willing to risk all to aid those in need. The Element of Generosity fits thee well,” she proclaimed as she placed a necklace with a diamond shaped purple gem on her neck.

“M-Me? Well, I don’t-I mean I don’t mean to question-That is to say… oh I feel faint,” the white unicorn began to fan herself with her hoof before falling backwards in a dramatic fashion, summoning a fainting couch seemingly from nowhere to catch her own fall.

Luna chuckled before turning to Fluttershy. “Lady Fluttershy, such a pure and gentle soul, always willing to bring a kind word and an attentive ear to those in need. The Element of Kindness could have no better bearer,” she proclaimed as she levitated the final necklace, bearing a pink butterfly shaped jewel, onto her neck.

“Oh… Oh my goodness,” the mare replied, seemingly unable to find any more words.

“And of course, the Element of Magic, that which binds and directs them all. Surely there is no question as to whom it would be meant for,” she said, pulling out the tiara and showing off the starburst like pink gem on top. “You will wear it well, my apprentice Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight looked utterly stunned as the tiara was laid upon her head. Starlight and Sunset looked on with a slight touch of jealousy but quickly hid it. Trixie’s envy, however, was much more obvious as a pout crossed her face.

“Congratulations, Twilight,” Sunset complemented with a smile, finally breaking the unicorn out of her trance.

“N-No. This can’t be. There’s gotta be some kind of mistake!” she insisted, practically hyperventilating. “I-I’m your most recent apprentice! I’ve been with you for the shortest amount of time. Trixie, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, they’re much more worthy of such a role!”

“The bearers of the Elements of Harmony and not chosen by us, Twilight. The Elements themselves choose their bearer.”

“B-But there’s no way! If I’m good at magic it’s only because you and and the girls taught me everything they know! I-I’m just-”

“Twilight, there’s no mistake,” Starlight interrupted. “The Element chose you. It was meant for you. And no matter what happens, we’ll all be here to help you, as it’s bearer and our friend,” she finished with a smile.

Twilight looked between her three fellow apprentices, meeting their kind gazes, even Trixie who no longer looked jealous, with uncertainty before sighing. After a moment she smiled. “I’ll make you all proud.”

Luna let the scene carry for a moment before starting again. “The Elements only took their shape recently, likely in response to their bearers being ready to wield them.” Her face then grew somber. “Unfortunately, Our sister still possesses the Element of Loyalty, the final piece needed. If we are particularly unlucky, she also has the bearer under her employ as well. Even still, without all of them, they are useless to both of us, but they may just be the key to ending the war.”

“‘Ending the war?’ Are they really that powerful?” Azula asked.

“It is less how strong they are and more what they can do,” Luna explained. “Over these centuries of war We have come to realize that Our sister’s evil ambitions were not born merely out of her own desires, but also a dark influence, one that twisted her instincts into what she is now. With the Elements we could purge this vile power from her, both removing our enemies’ commander as well as one of our most powerful opponents and be able to finally push back and drive off their scattered forces. In addition…” Luna paused before sighing, a single tear rolling down her face. “We could finally have our sister back. We could be joined in harmony once more and rule this land in peace as we were always meant to. Together.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Vanitas said, bringing his hands together, “Now, where do we start?”

I saw Neku raise a hand and waited for Luna to call upon him before he spoke. “Well, There’s two things that come to my mind. First, I assume that the four of us have only been here for a few hours, so I believe that before we try going head first into battle, we should understand the abilities we are capable of and master them. Second, we should know about our enemy first before charging into battle. Luna, do you have any intelligence on your sister and her forces?”

“Of course, why doth thy ask?”

“I believe that if you give him some time, Dr. Oobleck might find something that we could use to our advantage. Back home, he is my teacher and the smartest person I know so he can probably find something that can help us.” At that moment, I felt a little bit of joy for my student. It was rare for him to take the lead in any situation, more content to stay in his own world.

“If you insist. We will have Twilight Sparkle show thou thy Archives after this conversation has concluded.” The Princess said. “Now, Are there anymore questions?”

I look at the rest of the group and noticed Mr. Warrick waiting for a pause before he spoke again. “I think we should focus on learning what we can do, you got a sparring room or something?”

Luna nodded her head, using her hoof to motion a few of the guards to come towards her. “Indeed we do. We can have a few guards guide thee to the Barracks if thou wishes.”

“Hey, every bit helps and I’m thankful for that.” Neku said, thanking the Princess. “I’ll catch up with you later “Madame” Rarity.” The comment had me chuckle a little because what my student had said caused the mare’s white cheeks to bloom shades of red.

“A moment, if you please,” Luna said. “There is one last thing We wish to discuss, but I would like to discuss it with our guests. If the rest of you could exit, please.”

We all looked at her curiously.

“If that is your wish, Princess Luna,” Trixie answered. The ponies all exited the room, leaving only the four of us and the Princess.

“We are to understand you are not from Equestria,” Luna began. “You have all said as much yourselves, and your ignorance of our history and ways prove this. However, We suspect you are from far further than simply a far off land. You are not of this world, are you?”

“You are correct,” I replied. “But I’m more curious as to what this means to you.”

Luna paused for a moment before continuing. “As We mentioned before, a dark force has influenced Our sister, still twisting her behavior to this day. However, when she returned from her banishment, she was not alone. A great evil has taken advantage of her corrupted state and acts through her here. We ask of your origins, because this being bears a similar appearance to all of you. In fact, if it were not for his obvious role in saving our subjects, We would likely have considered Sir Neku to be his ally.”

We all shared a nervous glance. The idea that there could possibly be another like us, with the power to control a being that had lived a millennium and who had likely lived as long themselves, was troubling to say the least.

“Do you know this person’s name?” I asked.

Luna nodded.

Elsewhere…

Queen Solar Flare approached the mirror in her personal chambers, activating the enchantment. The image on the mirror changed from her reflection to a swirl of magic before a tall and imposing figure’s visage had replaced it.

“Solar Flare, what news do you bring me? Has the final blow against your sister and her forces been dealt?” the figure asked, his voice deep and powerful.

“We are afraid not. Unfortunately a complication has reared its contemptuous head. Four problems, to be precise, all bearing similar physical appearances to thee.”

“Oh? Explain.”

“The reports are vague, but all are troubling. The griffins report a strange youth with hair like flame wielding and unknown and versatile magic. Our General reports that her prized soldiers, the Wonderbolts, were driven off by a knight of darkness, wielding powerful spells and a blade shaped like a key. The minotaurs speak of another being swift as the wind and wielding a spear of fire. And finally are mentions of a being able to cast both fire and lightning from its body, and with a silver tongue and wit to even deceive the changeling Queen herself. How should We proceed?”

“Interesting. For now continue as before, but be cautious. Learn as much as you can of these beings, as it will not serve us to rush in blindly. I will ponder on this matter myself.”

Solar Flare nodded. “We thank thee for thy assistance as always, Shao Khan.”

Author's Note

So our main villain appears. Or at the very least is mentioned. To be honest, it's really fun coming up with all the ways this Equestria is different. Hope you're all enjoying the wild ride.

Trix of the trade

Underground Hollow (Azula)

For another few minutes the group, minus Oobleck and Twilight who went to the library, followed Sunset, Starlight, and Trixie to the barracks that Luna’s forces used as a training ground. Jane reasoned this was the best chance for everyone to get familiar with everyone’s fighting styles and abilities. She already had an idea of what Warrick was capable of during the times she saw him play Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix, but Neku was a bit different. She noticed him twirling a couple of pins between his fingertips when he was listening to Luna, but what their purpose was was beyond her.

Then there were the ponies. For the unicorns (and Alicorn if you count Luna) with magic abilities, she wanted to see if they had any combat related spells. She had already seen levitation and teleportation, and wanted to know what else they were capable of, especially in combat.

“Here we are,” Starlight announced as they entered through the doorway and into an empty arena like battlefield. There were weapon racks along the wooden walls that ranged from swords and daggers to spears and axes, as well as shields as well. “Now that we’re here, what should we do?”

“We should see what they’re capable of. But it doesn’t matter. Trixie already knows that for being a student of Luna, Trixie is more skilled than them by a long shot.”

“Trixie, this isn’t a time to brag.”

“What, it’s true. Even that one with the headphones doesn’t seem to be even the least bit prepared for a long drawn out fight on the battlefield.” Jane turned to Neku, who glared at her.

Oh crap, she just had to piss him off now, didn’t she?

“Are you sure that you really want to go there?” he questioned the mare. “Because from my perspective here, Trix like you are just for kids.”

Jane giggled at that. Might’ve been simple, but it was still a decent burn. Works even better that she doesn’t understand the source material.

“H-how dare you insult me!! Do you wish to fight the great and powerful Trixie!?!” she challenged Neku.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Sunset Shimmer quipped with a grin. “Who will win, the boastful apprentice, or the mysterious newcomer. Taking all bets, everypony!”

“Girls, can we all just calm down-.” Starlight tried to say, but was interrupted by Neku.

“Game on. I’m going to make sure I kick your ass and teach you a lesson for insulting me!”

“That’s Trixie’s line!”

“Girls! This is no way to-!” Starlight tried again to gain control, only for Sunset to cut her off.

“Come on, Starlight. I think Trixie could be knocked down a peg or two,” she whispered. “Besides, I’m curious to see what he can do. Let’s just focus on making sure it doesn’t get too out of hoof.”

Jane had the same opinion as well. Come on, Phones. Let’s see just what you can do.

Starlight groaned before sighing in resignation. “Fine. I suppose it would be better tactically to know what he can do. Everypony, clear the sparring floor! We’ve got a match!”

Neku began to stretch his arms as he took a simple stance, but a light blue energy began surging from one of his hands, Warrick pointed it out. Looking closer Jane noticed the pins between his fingers.

Wait, are those pins his powers? Well there’s a unique idea. I wonder how he uses them?

“ …… and FIGHT!!!”

Neku

Straight out the gate, Neku’s opponent went on the offensive, trying to strike him down with a fast bolt of magic. Instinct had him flick his [Lightning Rook] pin and shoot out a bolt of chain lightning to counter the blast. All the spectators were stunned, but Trixie more so.

“Come on now. Don’t tell me that’s all you got for someone who was boasting about how great and powerful they were,” he mocked the magician, who responded by casting more bolts of lightning. Neku was surprised at how fast the bolts came at him, as it was quicker than her previous attack. But he had another counter already prepared. Holding onto one of his other pins, he soon became a swift blur as he dodged and weaved through Trixie’s spells with ease.

The pin [Velocity Attack] allowed for Neku to rush his opponents at high speeds and charge towards opponents to deal damage. However, the teen only used his pin in order to confuse the mare he was fighting against as he had another trick up his sleeve for attacking her. Once behind the unicorn, he switched pins and attacked using [Izanagi], a pin that allowed Neku to strike his opponents in a flurry of forward jabs. When Trixie hit the ground, Neku thought she was done for. However, the apprentice of Luna had more in store for him, specially when she began to pick him up and slam him to the ground using her levitation spell.

“You are starting to annoy Trixie,” she rasped. While Neku was trying to get up, the unicorn charged another spell and cast it just when he was barely on his feet. The blast looked like it was a direct hit as smoke was seen everywhere and pony and human alike had to cover their mouths so they don’t inhale the smoke. Trixie herself was gleefully cheering, thinking that she had taught the teen a lesson. But then, that thought was diminished when she felt a tap on her head behind her.

“Looking for me?”

Trixie herself was quite shocked by what just happened, but Neku knew exactly what occurred. [Top Gear]. It was a psych that allowed Neku to teleport up to three times before the pin had to recharge. Before Trixie’s blast made contact, he used the pin to disappear in the smoke cloud that the spell had coughed up.

“H-how!? You don’t even have magic!! How can you do that?!!”

“Who said that I was using magic?” Neku asked. He now held his current Ten pins in between his fingers. He used his left pocket to keep his support based pins while he kept combat pins in the right pocket. “I use Psyches. Different pins that allow me to use different abilities based on the design and capabilities of the pins. Plus… I’ve only used seven of the ten pins I started out with. So I got a lot more tricks up my non existent sleeves.”

Skidding backwards, Neku used his [King’s Knight] pin to summon a rack of swords. The attack caused a volley of blades to fly towards Trixie, who was busy focusing on her shield spell in order to protect herself. Doing this though, it caused her to not notice what Neku was preparing to finish the fight. She couldn’t see the energy he was charging and when she did Neku blasted her with a powerful beam that was his ace in the hole.

[Bahamut]

The beam shattered through Trixie’s shield, knocking her into the wall and causing everyone’s jaw to drop .

Neku himself seemed confident besides being exhausted. “Heh… That’s how it’s done.”

Azula

Jane stared at the kid as slack jawed as everyone everyone else.

Holy shit, this kid has this much power already!? There’s gotta be some kind of limitation on that kind of power. No way he can just spam blasts like that.

“God damn,” she heard Warrick curse.

A few moments later, she saw him fall down backwards, tiring himself out as he looked at his pins. “Damn, guess my pins need a break. Recharging sucks…”

And there it is.

“Hey Sunset, wanna call it?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, just what I was thinking. The winner is Neku.”

“NO FAIR!!! TRIXIE WANTS A REMATCH!!!” Jane heard the mare scream, trying to trot from the crater in the wooden wall she came out of with scratches and soot all over her.

Holy crap, she can still move after that!? The candy colored ponies are tougher than they look.

“Need me to knock some sense into her-?” Warrick asked, only to have Starlight’s hoof interrupt him as the unicorn turned towards her fellow apprentice.

“You need a break, Trixie.” Starlight insisted as Neku leaned back against a wall and took off his headphones. “Especially after what Neku just demonstrated. Hay, if Twilight were here, she would be asking you a LOT of questions about how his powers work.”

“B-But I-!” Trixie tried to plead, before Jane cut her off.

“I want a go,” she said, catching their attention, especially Warrick’s, and walking to the center.

“Are you sure Azula?” Starlight asked. “If so, then who do you think should be your opponent?”

The girl hummed for a moment, considering her powers and the kind of enemies she might face, as well as the kind of enemies in the Avatar universe. “I kinda of want to hold back on my bending powers for now, so give me someone who isn’t afraid to give or take a punch.”

In response Sunset trotted in front of her. “If that’s the case, then I can be your opponent if you think that works for you.”

Jane looked surprised. “You want to take me on in hand-to-hand? Um… hoof? I thought you were more a magician type?”

“I am… but it doesn’t mean that I can’t adapt,” Sunset replied, casting a spell. Soon, her magic allowed her to easily stand up on her back hooves without falling over and some magic like claws formed on her front hooves. “I came up with these spells incase I was to encounter a Griffon. Now I get the chance to test them out on you. And honestly, I think I’m surprised that you don’t want to use your powers.”

Jane smirked and took a fighting stance. “In the universe where I’m from, there’s a martial art style that focuses on cutting off chi and paralyzing the enemy. Benders like myself could lose their powers for a short time until the flow rights itself. It always stunned me how much some benders refused to learn traditional fighting just because they had powers.”

Sunset grinned a little. She liked where this was going. “You’re smart. But let’s see if you can keep up.” With that, she rushed forward and swiped her right hoof in an upward diagonal motion while her left claw slashed vertically and tried to strike Jane’s face. She responded to both dodge and attack in one move, rolling backwards, almost flat on her back, while kicking her leg and nailing Sunset the stomach. Instead of just pushing her off Jane continued to roll backwards and threw Sunset as she flipped onto her feet. She turned just in time to see the pony twist in mid-air and land on her hooves.

“Not bad,” Jane complimented before taking her stance again.

“Same to you. But now, I feel like I should kick it up a notch,” the pony replied. “Besides, for unicorns, we are taught to combine magic and combat together. And not just like what I’ve been doing.”

Without warning Sunset rushed forwards, then disappeared midway through. Before Jane could even turn around she was sent tumbling from a hoof to the back of the head

Damn teleportation, she thought as she responded with a sweep kick. Sunset hopped over it, but Jane repositioned herself for a mule kick and sent her flying, only for her to teleport just before she hit the wall. Suddenly I’m regretting my decision not to use my bending during this fight.

Then, a thought occurred to her she took up another stance, closing her eyes, trying to listen for the unicorn instead of relying on her eyes. She heard the humming of Sunset’s claws and replied with a swift palm strike. She reopened her eyes to find that she had made contact with her opponent’s furry chest.

“Gotcha,” she gloated as Sunset gasped for breath, trying to get to her hooves and regain herself, her magical claws having already dispersed. Always wanted to try this, she thought as she ran forwards and spun in the air, twirling no less than three times, before extending her leg and bringing her foot down inches from the pony’s face. Sunset held silent and looked back at Jane as she smirked. “So, wanna call it, or you gonna pretend I didn’t miss your head on purpose?”

The pony nodded, grinning a little. “You are quite a skilled fighter. I’m impressed.” She extended a hoof, in which Jane used my hand to help her up. “You win.”

Jane could see Warrick out of the corner of her eye clapping while Neku himself gave a thumbs up. Everyone’s attention then turned to the entrance creaking open.

It seems like our two fights have attracted an audience.

Oobleck (A few moments ago)

My, was this quite a sight. Even though Twilight had told me a little bit about this place already, I had not expected anything quite like this, Oobleck thought as he observed the literal archive of books, scrolls and tomes. Likely centuries if not millenniums worth of knowledge stacked and piled up.

“Well, I think it’s time to get started then. I think it would be best to start with history, the backbone of society!” he proclaimed.

“Historical references are right this way, Mr. Oobleck!” Twilight called out to him, looking quite excited.

“Doctor my dear, but I’ll forgive the slip up for now,” zipping over to her side and shocking her with his speed. “Now, where do you recommend we start?”

“Well, it’s best we start with the age of Starswirl the Bearded. That’s when Princess Luna was just a filly.” She told him, using her Levitation to bring down the first book off of the shelf. “After that is the time of the Royal Pony Sisters, where Luna was in her teenaged years and also… if the Princess was right… this trouble first began.”

“Hm, yes, that indeed sounds like a good place to start off,” he replied. Before he fully understood what he was doing, Oobleck was flipping through the pages faster than any being had a right to. Within seconds he had gone through the nearly seven hundred page book. “Quite interesting, quite interesting indeed. Now, let’s move to the next one, shall we?”

“W-what!? How did you read that so quickly!?” Twilight asked in shock. “No speed reading spells or any magical items and you’re done with that in less than fifteen seconds!”

“Motivation and necessity, my dear! The fate of an entire world is stake, we have no time for dilly dallying! Onto the next era, please! I believe we should start off right after the end of the Princesses Coronations! Come now, chop chop!”

“Yes, Doctor Oobleck!”

“Hey, Twilight? Are you in here? I brought Moondancer with me-.”

Oobleck turned around to see a surprised reptile and another unicorn that looked like an exact copy of Twilight, but with some minor changes in mane and fur color. Not to mention wearing glasses that had some tape across the middle. Considering the world he was in, he could only guess the smaller creature was a dragon.

“Oh hello. I didn’t expect company.” Twilight said, welcoming the two of them in. “Spike, Moondancer, I would like you to meet Doctor Oobleck.”

“Greetings, fellows! Perhaps you’ve heard rumors about me and my companions through the grapevine, as it were?”Considering the naming structure in this world, the dragon was likely Spike while the unicorn was Moondancer.

The young reptile stared at Twilight, then looked at the other unicorn. She then nodded, following up on what Oobleck had previously said. “Y-yeah. Something like that. I saw a boy with Ms. Rarity before she went outside her home and he leaned against her house like he was waiting on something.”

“Ah yes, Mr. Dolor. Or Mr. Sakuraba, as he goes by now. Yes, my student was the one who helped Madam Rarity on her trip to Manehattan and was simply waiting for her to be ready before our meeting with the Princess.”

Moondancer shivered at the mentioning of Manehattan. “B-but why would somepony such as Rarity go all the way there when she knows that it’s unsafe?”

“Ah, for the most noble reason of all, my dear, to save lives! And she was successful, thank to young Neku’s efforts. It really is quite an accomplishment for him to do so, he’s not a very sociable person. Hm, maybe I should focus on correcting that. But anyway, what might you two be here for?”

“We were just coming to check on Twilight. Her brother said that Sunset and the others were in the Barracks and wanted us to make sure that she wasn’t doing anything dangerous.”

“In simple terms, my brother is being overprotective again.” Twilight sighed. “Wait… Sunset is at the barracks? That’s... odd. They don’t go to the barracks unless… Oh boy.” She turned to Oobleck, using her levitation to place a bookmark in the book he was reading before closing it and putting it in her saddlebag. “I apologize, Doctor Oobleck, but we need to hurry down there quickly before somepony gets-.”

Just outside the window, for a brief few moments, they all saw a horizontal beam rip through the air and singe itself along the walls elegantly and destructively. “-hurt.”

“Well, that’s not exactly reassuring. Should we pick this up later, Miss Sparkle?” Oobleck asked.

“We shall. Right now though, let’s make sure my friends didn’t blow off any limbs on accident. I would prefer to not have a repeat of when my mane was set on fire when we beginning to learn how to make potions,” she said as they walked towards the door of the library and closed it. As they began to quickly move through the streets, Oobleck felt like I was beginning to feel a bit… warmer.

Could it be possibly the firebending that Azula might be doing? Either that or the fact that I haven’t had the chance to change shirts since I arrived in this new world.

“Miss Sparkle, I know this might be a bit off topic, but is there somewhere or someone I could take my laundry to? I only have one other change of clothes.”

“I believe Rarity could be the mare you’re looking for. She’s a seamstress by trade and a very good one at that,” Twilight replied.

“Ah, yes, I did hear mention of her being a seamstress. However, I was also hoping to find someplace to wash my clothes. I wouldn’t want to force the task on another.”

“Heehee… Silly Oobly!” came a familiar voice as he looked up, only to have Pinkie Pie land on his head once again. “I can do these for you in no time!! Plus, for saving me earlier, you can stay at my home. It gets a little lonely when it’s just me and Gummy.”

“I greatly appreciate that, Miss Pie. I must say, it feels oddly comfortable with someone I can trust so close to me at all times. Reminds me of when I was younger and had cats.”

“Heehee… That’s what friends are for, silly!” she smiled, snuggling his head a little as they turned another corner, getting some odd looks from the others. The five of them could now hear voices come from the other side of the wooden door as they listened in.

“So, wanna call it, or you gonna pretend I didn’t miss your head on purpose?”

“You are quite a skilled fighter. I’m impressed… You win.”

“Oooh!! I wanna see!” Pinkie said, but a little nudge from her caused the door to start creaking over. When it opened, they were greeted by the sight of Princess Luna’s other companions, Mr. Dolor, and the rest of their colleagues.

“Evening gentlemen,” Oobleck began, just as he noticed his student looking her direction. “I and my companions here happened to notice a large beam of energy go by not too long ago. I do hope no one was seriously injured.”

“Nah, other than Trixie’s pride being broken-.”

“TRIXIE HEARD THAT!!!”

“NO ONE CARES!!!” Warrick hollered back at her, looking a bit irritated.

“Right…” Neku sighed. “As for the beam… Well… That was my doing… but not intentionally.”

“You? But I don’t feel any magic from you. How-?” Twilight began

“Psyches,” he answered, cutting her off and showing her a pin he was holding in between his fingers. “Pins like my players pins and such have different powers I can control. The beam you saw was the energy I charged from my ace in the hole, [Bahamut].” He looked to Oobleck and Twilight, noticing Twilight’s saddlebag which now carried the books that they were going to look over later. “Anyways, What were you guys up to?”

“Well, I had just started reading the history of Equestria before we were distracted. Also, I was introduced to these two here. Say hello to Moondancer and Spike. I think it’s quite obvious which is which.”

“Yeah. Rarity told me about Spike,” he replied. “Or as she refers to him as… Spikey Wikey.” Spike’s cheeks were becoming bright red as both Twilight and Pinkie giggle a little. “Besides that though, why are you reading through the history books? Is there a specific reason?” he asked.

“Why Mr. Dolor, I would think you of all people would know the answer to that question!”

“Personally, I would prefer not to cheat. If you’re referring to what I think you are, then I already did that trick on Luna.”

“Hold on, what trick?” Twilight asked.

Neku then held up his main pin and answered. “This pin allows me to read others thoughts. I read Luna’s earlier and found out some things,” he said, not explaining any more.

“I meant that I thought you knew me well enough, Mr. Dolor,” Oobleck explained.

“You didn’t specify. At times, you’re like… Pinkie Pie if that’s the right comparison. Random and funny. But sometimes, I have to figure out what you specifically mean on my own, and during the times I am confused I wait to ask you later. That’s why I always visit you after class.”

“Ah yes, one of the few things you’ve taken initiative with aside from your own artistic works. Well, as I’ve always said in my classes, ‘History is important. If you don’t learn from it,’” he paused to take a sip from his thermos, “‘you’re doomed to repeat it.’ Be lucky we’re not in class now or this would be the point I’d be giving you out your assignment.”

“Right. But the point being, I was asking you why you were catching up on the history of this place? Are you looking for context clues in the text on the enemy we might be up against or is it to get a better understanding of the world we’re in?”

Ah, it feels good to hear an educated question from one of my best students. “Exactly, my good fellow. History defines culture, language, social structure, even warfare. For example, the act of Hari Kari was perfectly normal in ancient Japan, but unthinkable in other western societies, simply because their histories progressed differently. There may be several things between our societies and those of the Equestrians here that may seem normal for us but abhorrent to them.”

“You mean like manners and customs?”

“Or, more importantly, warfare tactics. You may remember in one of my courses my explanations of how Shaka of the Zulu tribe completely changed the very concept of warfare all over South Africa with his ‘Bull and Horns’ strategy.”

Neku pondered his teacher’s words for a moment, before responding. “Hey, did those books happen to mention Griffons? When I encountered them earlier and saved Rarity, they seemed to be more of the militaristic type. Claws and even their weird fangs.”

“Hm. Nothing as of yet,” Oobleck answered and began to mull on the subject, only to notice the crowd was all staring at them. “Oh, I’m quite sorry, we seem to have gone off on quite the tangent.”

“Do you want to continue this elsewhere?” Neku asked me. “I was thinking of going back to Rarity’s and Warrick looks like he’s patiently waiting to fight something. He's just sitting there, restlessly.” Looking over, Oobleck saw what Warrick restlessly tapping his foot. Neku then turned towards Azula. “You okay with keeping an eye on him for a little while, Jane?”

“He’s my brother, what else am I going to do? But to be honest, I was kind of hoping to see Mr. Lecture over there show his stuff,” she replied, motioning to Oobleck.

“Doctor,” he corrected.

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes.

“Hm. Well, I suppose I could use some practice. ‘Healthy body, healthy mind,’ as they say. But who would be my opponent? ”

Neku stepped forth in response. “I think I got enough stamina in me for another round if you girls are okay with it,” he said, looking at Sunset and Starlight.

“Go ahead. It’ll be interesting to see student against teacher,” Starlight commented as Neku stepped into the center of the ring. He was already holding one of his pins in his hand.

“Are you sure, Mr. Dolor? From what I understand you’ve already fought.”

“Why not? If he wants to show off, Trixie says let him. Might teach him some humility,” Trixie huffed.

“Irony,” Starlight whispered to Sunset, getting a giggle out of the other mare.

“Well,” Neku said, putting his headphones on and adopting his combat stance. His knees were bent and his arms crossed at an angle. “Whenever you're ready.”

“Well, I suppose if you’re willing. Miss Pie, if you please?” Pinkie responded by hopping off his head and sitting next to Warrick before walking to the center of the ring. Oobleck looked at the young man and grinned a little. I am a little bit curious myself to see what my student is capable of. And myself as well.

“FIGHT!!!” Starlight shouted.

Neku was the one who moved first. Oobleck expected him to try and attack from up close, but instead he used one of pins to fire a series of energy rounds. Deciding to take the analytical approach, Oobleck dodged and weaved between them, using as little movement as possible. However, he was surprised when he noticed his student had disappeared, only to tap him on the shoulder.

“Gotcha,” he stated, firing another one of the energy rounds, one hitting Oobleck in the back before managing to regain his focus and defend himself, extending his thermos to smack the other bolts aside. Oobleck opted to stay quiet and simply focus on defense for the moment as Neku pressed forwards for the attack, slicing at him with his fingers. Seeing that he wasn’t landing any more hits Neku teleported again, but this time Oobleck was ready. He quickly backpedaled, zooming to the end of the ring, in time to see Neku appear from his teleportation, ready to strike, but confused as to why his opponent wasn’t there. Oobleck took advantage of that and fired a volley of fireballs at his back, all hitting their mark and exploding on contact.

Neku skidded backwards. Part of his clothes singed and the back side almost had a gaping hole. What they saw caused the crowd to gasp.

“Dear Luna, what’s on your back!?”

Neku remained silent. “ … My Scars.”

“S-scars?”

“My life and childhood was not so happy as most other kids were. I had an alcoholic and abusive father. One night when he tried to beat my mother, I stepped in between them. I was eight at the time and didn’t know any better.”

Oobleck noticed that Pinkie was now shocked as well. She really looked like she wanted to help him right there and trotted over, hugging Neku and trying to comfort him. “P-pinkie?”

“I’ll make an extra-special party for you,” she said simply, nuzzling his leg. That’s when Neku got down to her level, allowing her the chance to do more than simply nudge the leg and instead embrace him in a full on hug.

“T-thank you.”

“I, um, think that’s enough for today,” Starlight Glimmer said, discreetly wiping her eyes.

“I very much agree,” Oobleck added, his expression still grim.

“Same,” came Sunset’s reply.

“OH COME ON!!” Warrick complained. “I didn’t even get the chance to try my powers!”

“Knock it off, brother,” Azula shot back, smacking him upside the head. “Try and be a little more sensitive. Besides, you’re probably just as tired as the rest of us.” Warrick grimaced, gritting his teeth a little, frustrated.

"If he wants to spar, We shall be his opponent," Princess Luna declared, walking into view.

Neku was startled by the abrupt entrance. “L-luna! Where did you come from!?”

"We have been since this sparring session started," she answered simply.

“Seriously? Where?” Neku asked. “Did you use some kind of invisibility spell or something?”

"No, thy focus was merely elsewhere."

“Yeah… good point.” He sighed. “So, letls make some room for Luna and Warrick so the two of them can prepare to duel one another.” On that note, everypony in the room began to make space to accompany the ensuing fight.

I wonder what kind of skills Mr. Warrick is capable of, Oobleck pondered looking forwards to gathering more information.

Warrick

Warrick took his place across from Luna, summoning his keyblade. He got into a stance, closing up his helmet. "Are you ready princess?" He asked, taking a deep breath.

“Indeed. Let us begin…” Luna insisted, holding a pair of scimitars in a telekinetic grip. With a hoofstep, she moved forward, trying to strike with a piercing thrust of her blades. Warrick, on insist, used Void Gear to block the attack and tried to counterattack. But when he attacked, Luna turned into a dark mist and re-emerged on the other side of him. This was her “Mist Walking” spell, which allowed her to move quickly and also give her a chance to attack her enemy while they were confused. Warrick though, wasn’t one to be puzzled so easily.

He rolled out of her range, throwing out his arm, casting Blizzaga, a blast of ice shooting out at her. She used her blades to guard herself, but the spell caused her hooves to freeze and herself to be stuck in the position that she was in. This served as an opportunity for Warrick to catch her off guard.

As he went in for the next strike, the attack broke Luna free of her icy prison, allowing the Alicorn to try her best to counter her opponent’s attacks. But when she tried, all her opponent did was step backwards and throw his Keyblade at her. Warrick’s Strike Raid, an ability that allowed him to toss his weapon at an opponent to rack up extra hits before his Keyblade returned back to him. Honestly, he never thought that he could pull off such a move. But he had to try and shortly afterwards, his attempt was a successful one.

However, his attempt came with consequences. And now an angry alicorn was trying to break through his line of defense. Warrick had to be quick to parry the incoming blades as some of the attacks were really close to hitting him. Having to counter all of these attacks didn’t give him enough time to cast any magic, but the longer that he continued to dodge and weave out of the way of her attacks, the more that he could recognize a pattern.

Vertical slash. Horizontal strike. An attack from the low left upward. Several stabs. Lunge. At the forward Lunge, Warrick found an opportunity to disrupt the Alicorn, using Void Gear to knock the first blade out of her telekinetic grip and then using his opposite hand to cast Dark Firaga to set off an explosion to disrupt Luna’s concentration on her spell. Which in turn, had her release her second weapon and left the Princess unarmed. Warrick soon loomed over Luna, holding his keyblade like he was siring a knight. All the ponies were completely stunned.

“Do you yield?” he asked.

Luna held still for a moment before smirking. “Normally, We wouldn’t… But We shall make an exception for this instance. It is about time that We raise the moon.” Luna replied, watching as Warrick dismissed his weapon. What she said though surprised some people, including Neku.

“Hold on, did you say ‘Raise the moon’?”

“Why of course she did, Mr. Dolor.” Oobleck retorted. “Have you not been paying attention?”

“Hey, the subject never came up.”

“I disagree,” he deadpanned, causing Neku to facepalm himself. Luna sighed as she looked at them before closing her eyes and concentrating. Her horn began to glow as it illuminated the area around her. The previously dark night now had a white crystal like light in the sky as the moon glowed brightly.

The magic soon faded away from Luna’s horn as she turned to the group of humans and ponies. “We will be retiring to Our personal chambers. We will need to see the four of you along with the Elements in the morning. For now though, get some rest. You have earned it.” With that, she whisked herself away and teleported out of the barracks. Leaving some onlookers… puzzled.

“Okay… what do we do now-?”

“I know EXACTLY what to do!” Pinkie proclaimed. “It’s TIME FOR A PARTY!!!”

Author's Note

Sorry everyone that this took a LONG time. School and some real life problems got in the way with getting this chapter done. Hope you enjoy it.
-Frost and Co

Open wounds

Fragments- Open Wounds

Canterlot (Domain of the Solar Queen)

Many things were going through the mind of Rainbow Dash, general of the Empyrean Army as she trotted through the corridors of the royal castle. It was only a few hours ago that she had been told by the captain of the Wonderbolts that a unknown, yet powerful foe was able to stop them when they commenced an attack on a rebel encampment. Now she had the report that Spitfire had delivered to her and was beginning to evaluate it, but was personally unsure of a few details inside this report. For one thing, the attacker resembled a hairless ape, but it could control spells and a blade that looked a lot like a key. Something that was unknown, but also that she was sort of familiar with.

But before she could even think about that, the pegasus could hear multiple beings scrambling and before she could even respond, she found a few gryphons and some soldiers that were under Queen Chrysalis inside the medical wing. Before she stepped in though, the rainbow maned pony soon noticed a bipedal being in a white trench coat with a specialty pair of goggles over it’s eyes and a long and flat blond mane. Solar Flare knew this being, yet it did not have a name. Only a title. And that was how he preferred to be addressed.

“Why… isn’t it ze general,” It spoke in a foreign accent, reminding the pegasus of visiting ponies from the country of Germane. “What brings you to my clinic this evening?”

“Keep it together, Rainbow.” She told herself before swallowing a lump in her throat and looking back at the figure. “Doctor, I was just passing through and noticed the amount of patients that were in your office was more than usual. What exactly happened?”

“I’m afraid zat I don’t exactly know myself.” The Doctor replied back. “A few griffons were hurt and lost zeir fangs, most of ze swarm zat Chrysalis took with her to attack Appleloosa returned with burn marks, and a group of seven minotaurs were also severely hurt. However, each one of zem faced an opponent zat’s ze same… yet different.”

That left the mare confused. “Okay, Doctor. I didn’t ask for any puzzles. Can you explain what the hay that is suppose to mean?”

“My apologies, general.” The Doctor apologized as he looked back at his patients. “What I mean is zat zeir attackers were similar in form, but different in abilities and appearance. In total, zere were three separate accounts, but something tells me zat I am wrong with my guess.” The doctor told her, pointing at the folder she was holding. Now, Rainbow was thinking all of this in her head, shortly before asking the individual she was talking to another question.

“Could you draw up reports on all three of those accounts? If this is what I think it is, then this may indeed be a problem to the security of the empire and must be brought to the attention of the queen immediately.” The pegasus firmly spoke, the only reply she got was a simple nod of the head from the Doctor.

“Certainly. Anything for ze general and ze queen.” The Doctor said, just as Rainbow left the clinic. She wasn’t able to catch a break though as she heard another voice call to her. But not by her rank like most soldiers would.

“Rainbow!!!” A voice snarled as the pegasus turned around. “Explain. Now.”

“It’s good to see you too, Gilda.” She muttered, trying to ride off the Griffon.

“Don’t give me that crap.” Her friend shot back. “I’ve been walking around all day and no one here is giving me a goddess damned answer on what the hell happened to one of my squads that I had go to Manehattan to try to root out any rebel survivors. I’ve even tried going to the queen and she’s too busy right now talking to Chrysalis.”

“So you came to me to try to find the answers on what happened to your squad? Look, I know we’re friends, but I am in charge of the Wonderbolts and their attack routes. Not your birdbrains.” The pegasus snapped. “If you want to find out what happened, talk to your own troops. There in the doctor’s clinic.”

“I don’t trust that creep,” Gilda retorted. “I know that he’s been helping our men, but his methods just… bother me. He’s turning my kind into… whatever the hell they are now and it just really just ruffles my feathers.”

“Just leave him to me. He’s going to be giving me some reports on what happened and I’ll ask him to make a second copy for you.” The pegasus sighed. “Hey, the sooner we find out what we’re exactly up against, the sooner we can plan accordingly to be able to deal with this. Get some sleep. It won’t help you if you are sleep deprived and too tired to command your troops tomorrow.”

“Pfft, whatever. See you tomorrow, Dashie.” The griffon grumbled. Now, only one thought remained on Rainbow’s mind as she waited on the reports that she needed to give to the queen.

What exactly was she going to say to her?

Oobleck

It was only a short while after the training session had wrapped up and some plans did not go the way some ponies intended. For one thing, Luna’s guards had advised Pinkie to save her plans for a party to be put on hold until sunrise. Princess Luna was taking precautions that some of the Wonderbolts would be doing night patrols and the sounds of music and games would most likely catch their attention. Twilight herself was with Doctor Oobleck again, returning to the research that they were doing earlier before being interrupted by Spike and Moondancer. “Doctor, are you ready to continue?”

“Indeed, my astute scholar! Please direct me to the next textbook!” Oobleck replied, practically warping over to her, much to the surprise of Spike and Moondancer. “Now, where did we leave off?”

“I believe it was just after the princess’ coronations, profe-. I mean Doctor.” Twilight answered, catching herself mid sentence as she passed the book down to Oobleck and opened it for him with her magic. Right now, doing this with Oobleck was having Twilight remember some fond memories from her fillyhood. But there wasn’t a lot of them for her to look back on. Especially when the memories of somepony specific made her think of something else that mentally scarred her. Something… that Oobleck could tell was bothering her.

“What’s wrong, my dear?” Oobleck asked, having just finished the textbook, again to Spike and Moondancer’s shock, before kneeling down to her level. “You’ve clearly got something on your mind.”

“Well… the last time I did anything like this… was when I was with my foalsitter, Cadance. But…” she paused, trying to breath calmly and think to herself.

Spike growled. “Don’t even talk about her, Twilight. She’s not worth it,” he spat.

“Spike! Don’t say that about her!” Twilight scolded.

“Why shouldn’t I!? I might not remember her because I was young, but I know she hurt you! She hurt Shining Armor, too! What kind of pony would try to kill her coltfriend just for more power!?” he shot back.

“Everypony, calm down!” Moondancer shouted. “Spike, come with me. You need to leave her alone right now.” Looking at Spike, she had the dragon come with her into the back room, leaving Twilight there with Oobleck on her own and in an emotional mess, tears running down the sides of her face.

Oobleck gently reached over and stroked Twilight’s mane. “Would you like to talk about it? It doesn’t help to keep emotions like those bottled up, but I can’t force you to talk.”

She nodded, looking back at the professor and trying to wipe tears from her eyes. “S-she was a friend to me. And more important to my brother. The two of them had dreamed about someday wanting to get married and start a family of her own. B-but all that changed when they went to the C-crystal Empire. The kingdom to the north…” She was silent again, looking to either compose her thoughts… or to calm herself.

“Wait a moment… Is Cadance… Princess Cadenza? The one Princess Luna mentioned?”

Twilight’s only answer to Oobleck at that moment was a simple nod of the head.

“Oh dear. So, what happened after that? If you wish to talk about it, I mean.”

“W-when my brother and her were there, they expected to fight against an evil king named Sombra… But when they got there… Sombra gave Cadance an offer. For her to take his place. Under one condition though…” Again… another pause. But the one who finished her sentence wasn’t her. It was the Stallion that had been listening to the entire conversation from outside for the past few minutes.

“... To kill me.”

“S-shining!?!” Twilight gasped in shock. “H-how long-?”

“Long enough… I’m not mad Twily… They’re just things that I’d rather not look back on.” the Stallion said, trotting in the room and sitting by his sister’s side.

“I apologize, Captain Shining Armor. I was just hoping to understand and ease your sister’s emotional state. It was never my intent to dig up skeletons from the past,” Oobleck apologized.

“I understand… and I thank you for helping her… Twilight, you should get some sleep. I can help answer any questions our guest has.” The unicorn insisted, hugging his sister before she went to go back to her room. “We can pick up on further studying tomorrow.”

“Y-yes, bbbff.” She spoke softly, before excusing herself from the room. “Good night, Doctor Oobleck.”

“Good night my dear. I wish you pleasant dreams,” he replied with a tip of his hat.

As Twilight left the room, Shining used his magic to softly close the door before returning his attention to Oobleck. “Now Doctor, I believe you might have some questions on this subject?”

“Yes, indeed. I was hoping to learn more about history as a base, but I believe you would be best to inform me about things like your battle strategies, weapons, and those of our enemies.”

“I assure you that we can get to that in due time. What I meant was if you had any questions regarding… Cadance.” The stallion corrected himself for the doctor.

Oobleck was quiet for a moment before simply responding with, “Why?”

“You seemed to wonder about her, but the real question that was unsolved was what would drive her to commit an act such as to murder her lover? Plus, you would find the answer to such a question from the survivor of that incident.” The stallion replied. As he took off his chestplate, the doctor could now see the scar that was exactly where his heart would be. Visible in the dimly lit room by candlelight.

“To bear a scar of betrayal not only on a metaphorical heart, but a literal one as well. Fortune is not without a sense of whimsy, it seems.”

Shining nodded his head. “This was from when she took a dagger that Sombra had given her and drove it into my heart. However, the look on her face when she committed the act was not the pony I once knew. To understand her, you need to understand her heritage. Are you aware of her family bloodlines, Doctor? I’m going to assume that you read through the ancestry section of the textbooks?”

“Well, I did read some mention of a Princess Amore that ruled over the Crystal Empire in the past before Sombra took over and the Celestial Sisters banished him, and the Empire vanishing along with him.”

“Well… Let me tell you something then. Her full name is Mi Amore Cadenza and she is what remains of the royal family bloodline in the north. When the Empire reappeared a few months ago, Luna sent us to investigate under what circumstances that the empire would reappear again. As it turns out, when we arrived, Sombra himself was dying. His magic that kept the empire hidden and himself alive was almost fully expended. He was looking for a successor and since he believed that Cadance could take his place, he gave her a test to prove herself worthy.” He explained, looking down at his scar before looking back at him. “In the end, she committed the deed, became the Empress of the Crystal empire and left me out in the cold to die. If it wasn’t for Luna and her guards finding me when she did… I would’ve been long gone. I’m not planning on leaving my little sister just yet. She needs her big brother to help her sometimes… Even though she doesn’t want to admit it.”

“Gracious. I had heard the Amore’s were champions of love and peace. I wouldn’t have thought her own love would be so fickle. Do you think perhaps… perhaps she was not in control? Much like how the forces that caused Celestia to become Solar Flare?”

“To a degree, you might be right. But I don’t know. Inheriting Sombra’s throne could mean that she inherited his dark magic as well and that might have affected her judgement. Right now, it sounds just like a theory.” Shining answered back. “If we have any evidence though, that could make this theory a little more… concrete if that’s the right term.”

“Then if it exists, I vow to find it!” Oobleck proclaimed. “Captain, I may have given up on finding romance and love for myself long ago, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on the idea entirely! If I can return your former lover to you, or at least to our side, than it will be done! Besides, it’s not only a sentimental goal, but a practical one as well! Think how much we could accomplish with not only the Crystal Empire but another alicorn on our side!”

Shining smiled, admiring the Doctor’s words. “Thank you my friend. You’re a good influence for Twilight and I believe that because of you, these old wounds are now beginning to heal… properly. I know that I’ve only met you a short while ago, but I do appreciate everything that you’ve done. For Twilight, for me, and for all of us here. It’s no wonder that Luna has faith in you.”

“And I hope I can convince you to have the same faith in the others as well. And, though I may be speaking with some biases here, I would ask that you show some patience with my student, Mr. Sakuraba. He… doesn’t do well with social interactions, so if you could show some consideration for his somewhat confrontational behavior, I would appreciate it.”

“I will do so. Thank you for letting me know about him. I must say though, that unlike yourself, some of the others will need to prove themselves if they are to gain my trust. Nevertheless though, I will have faith in them and patience with your student.” He told the doctor. “Is there… anything I should know about Mr. Sakuraba to keep in mind though? I don’t want to say something that he could take the wrong way if I were to talk to him.”

“Well, I’m not too familiar with the subject, but… don’t ask him about his family. I knew there were problems, but today showed me there were more than I realized.”

“What do you mean by that, Doctor?” Shining asked. “I know I’m not one to speak on the matter, but given your tone, something tells me that you saw something that might make you worry about him.”

“I could always tell the Mr. Sakuraba never had the most fulfilling family, but it wasn’t until today that I knew that it had left scars on him as well,” Oobleck explained grimly.

“Dear Luna, that sounds horrible.”

“Indeed. But enough trading of past hardships, I think I should turn in for the night, and I’m guessing you have your duties. Early to bed, early to rise, as they say. With luck, I’ll be mostly finished with your history and ready to help improve our soldier’s tactics and effectiveness by the next day.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it. I’ll see you in the morning doctor.” With that, Shining trotted over to the lit candle by the door and blew it out, having all the light disappear and have the entire room fade to black.

Neku

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“I’m coming~!” A cheerful voice from inside the building could be heard as Neku waited for them to come to the door. On the outside, he looked fine, despite the almost utter annihilation of the top half of his clothes. Inside his head though was another different story. He didn’t want to look back at the pain of what happened to him in the past, but it seems that now, those thoughts were returning inside his head. Something that he just wanted to get out of by any means necessary.

While he was caught up that train of thought, he soon briefly noticed the door begin to move and the hinges of the door beginning to creak. On the other side of that door was Rarity, who was using her magic to hold the door open for him. But her attention drifted immediately to the gaping hole that was on the back of his shirt. Neku was personally thankful that what did remain hid his scars, but what came next from the Unicorn was something he began to drone.

“What in the world happened to your clothes!? There was never that hideous hole there when you rescued me-.”

“Rarity, I finished my homework-.”

The newfound voice was what caught Neku’s attention as he looked to the left while leaning against the wall. “Sweetie Belle, we have a guest. This is Neku and he’s going to be staying with us for a while”

“Wait, you mean the guy that saved you earlier today?” She asked. The teen nodded in response, just taking the headphones off of his ears and putting them around his neck. “You know… I honestly thought he was a stallion. Like the ones you would fantasize about in your diary-.”

“Sweetie Belle, that is very private. I told you not to be reading that!”

“But I didn’t know it was yours.” The filly whined. “You change the covers of your diary almost as often as you change your outfits. I can’t tell it apart from anything else anymore.”

Rarity sighed, looking back at the filly. “We’re going to talk about this later. Right now, I need to fix Neku’s clothes and the hole that’s there.” Turning back to Neku, Rarity them asked something from him. “Give me your shirt.”

“What?” Neku asked, a little bit worried about the circumstances.

“Your shirt, it needs to be fixed. So, please give it me.”

“Can’t I just take it off in the bathroom or something?” He protested. “It’s rather rude for you to be asking someone to take off their shirt right in front of you.”

“Actually, this is normal for Rarity.” Sweetie Belle added on, now making Neku even more concerned. “Sister, maybe I should direct Neku to the guest room and then return back with his shirt. That way he has a sense of privacy.”

Rarity considered the thought, then looked back at Neku. “Okay, that’s fine by me darling. Don’t worry, I’ll have your shirt patched up in no time.” She chimed as she pranced over to her work station in the home while her little sister guided Neku to the guest bedroom. However, with Sweetie Belle being a filly, anytime she looked up when she was behind Neku, the unicorn could see scars and scratches along his shoulders and back. She wanted to ask, but out of courtesy, did not.

When they approached the guest room, Sweetie Belle held the door open for him as Neku walked inside, Now with a little more space and a little less lighting, he was finally able to use his arms and pull his shirt over her head before tossing it to her to catch. Ironically, the shirt went around Sweetie’s neck like it was a ring game at a carnival, making it easy for her to pull off. “Thanks. My sister should be done in a bit.”

All Neku did was nod his head as Sweetie Belle closed the door. However, for a moment, she thought that she heard Neku speak to himself. Almost as if he was singing. But the song wasn’t intended to be happy. It came out quite the opposite.

Broken home…… All alone…

It left the filly confused, but it didn’t stop her from going back down to her sister. “There you go, Sister. One shirt ready to be fixed.”

“Why thank you, Sweetie~.” The unicorn replied as she began to look for the right patch of fabric that was needed to fix the piece of clothes. “How is Neku? Getting adjusted to his surroundings?”

“I… think so? I’m not sure if he’s okay though.”

“Well, he isn’t much of a talker, honey. He was like that earlier when meeting Princess Luna and the others.” Her sister replied, finally finding the fabric and now looking for the thread that would match.

“I get that… But I think there’s something else that’s bothering him.” Sweetie Belle replied, thinking about something she saw earlier. Around then, Rarity had finally slipped the thread through and tied it down to the needle. She was going to begin the careful first step in sewing, until her sister spoke again. “Did you notice what was on his back?”

She stopped, looking back at her younger sister. “What do you mean?”

“Well… Remember when Twilight’s brother got hurt and he was left with that scar across his chest?” Sweetie Belle asked, only receiving a slight nod from her sister. “It’s like that, but there’s more than one. You couldn’t see it because it was under what remained of the back side of his clothes.”

“My word… I wonder if he’s okay. I mean… I didn’t see him get attacked from behind or anything like that and I don’t think what happened to his shirt was the reason for it.”

“There was something else too,” She said. “He was saying something in a melodramatic song like tone. Broken home… All alone… I can’t make heads or tails of what that means, but maybe it’s based on those scars?” Rarity thought about it to herself, considering what her sister said as she got back to focusing on her sewing.

“Maybe. I’ll check on him after I fix his shirt. He just probably wants some space right now.” Rarity said as Sweetie Belle went back to her room. It took her ten minutes to simply have the first set of sewing complete, but another five to make sure that she didn’t feel rushed. Even though it was a simple patch up. As she was trotting to the guest room though, she heard the exact same thing that Sweetie Belle was telling her.

“Broken home… All alone…” It sounded sad, but a curious Rarity soon could hear the music he was listening too since his headphones were now around his neck. To Neku, he was singing the song again, at the second set of lyrics that the song had. “I know my mother loves me, but does my father even care? If I’m sad or angry, you were never there.”

Rarity continued to listen, even peeking through the keyhole of the door to see what he was doing. What she saw frightened her. What Sweetie Belle said before about the scars was true, but what she didn’t see was the scar that was under the sweatband he had on his left wrist. “Dear Luna, what has he been through?”

When the song ended though, Neku stopped what he was doing, holding onto the same pin that she saw him have before in Manehattan. The black one with the white skull. After a few seconds, he looked towards the door and deeply sighed.

“Rarity, I know you are there. Just… go ahead and come in.” He groaned, sighing out loud. The unicorn, in response, slowly opened the door and trotted in, closing it behind her soon afterwards.

“Neku, dear? Are you okay?” Rarity asked, trotting over and handing Neku his shirt with her levitation spell. “Is something bothering you?”

Neku himself, let out a sigh in defeat. The Players Pin allowed him to see that Rarity was there, but reading her thoughts told him that she knew about the scars that he would normally try to hide. So now, there was no point in trying to hide them. “I just… have a lot of things on my mind… Most in which I rather not remember.”

Instead of her leaving though, Rarity actually decided to sit next to where Neku was standing. She wanted to help him. After all, this was the same person that helped her when all things looked hopeless. “Do you want to talk about it, darling? It’s okay if you say no… but things like this can’t be bottled up. It’s not good for you.” Neku closed his eyes, thinking about it for a minute. Thinking of what would be the right thing to say to her. There was only one thing that reminded him of Rarity right now. And it surprised him the moment he realized it.

“I know…… my mother would tell me the same thing.” Neku spoke, taking a moment to breath before saying something else. “You remind me of her a lot, Rarity.”

“I… do?” Rarity had no idea what to think of this right now. This was sudden. Out of the blue. Unexpected. But she had a feeling that there was a reason why.

“Yes. In a lot of ways. Personality, generosity and even when you were talking to me as I came into your home. The whole time I was having flashbacks.” He sighed, gritting his teeth a little. “I might not have been in a war, but back home, there were times where the house I lived in became a battleground. But the fight was between my parents… with my mother being on the losing side of the fight. She was strong around me, but couldn’t be strong around my father. The year before my father left though was when things began to break.”

“B-break?” Rarity asked, a little horrified at what she was hearing.

“It was on a night in July where everything had been going extremely well up to this point. Then, my father and mother were at it again, the stupid thought of “If I was there, she could be brave.” entered my head. Well… let’s just say what happened next left me a painful reminder on my back for the rest of my life.”

“Oh dear… Neku, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Rarity gasped.

“The scars were not the only thing about it that hurts.” The teen told him. “Tell me, Rarity… What is today’s date?”

“The date?” She questioned. “It’s… well… July 17th.”

“The day that this happened was on July 17th, 2008.” He sighed, hearing Rarity internally gasp for a moment. “This though, only coincides with one other thing that I remember to heart.” Taking a deep breath, he soon looked back at Rarity and told her the second half of what he was saying.

“July 17th, 2000… The day I was born.”

That revelation blew Rarity’s mind. She couldn’t believe at all what she was hearing. Matter of fact, what Neku had told her.

“My mother always loved me, but my father never cared at all. Hell, Oobleck is a better father figure than he ever was. Oobleck understood and helped me in ways that my actual father never did. He left my mother and I when I was 9, shortly after charges were filed against him for what he did to me. I’ve never seen him since… and I rather not want to see him again after all the pain he put me and my mother through.” He turned to Rarity, thinking again before speaking. “In times when I had thoughts like these, I have used music to cope. I never had friends. Just teachers, classmates, neighbors. But no one to actually consider a friend. My life was shit… I tried going to someplace new so that way I can feel like I’m somewhere I belong. Now… here I am… Thrown into a world I have no understanding of and an important task being weighed down on my shoulders… One hell of a birthday present if you ask me…” He groaned, but something else caught him off guard. It was Rarity, who was pulling her hoof on her shoulder and trying to calm him.

“Don’t think like that… You’re forgetting about all the good things you did.” The unicorn replied. “Without you, nopony would’ve been able to save me in Manehattan. Nopony would be able to find Coco and all those refugees. You touched the lives of all those people ever since you came here… You know what you should see this as?”

Raising an eyebrow, Neku asked. “What?”

“A chance to start over. You don’t have to cling onto what’s hurting you anymore. I know memories as horrific as those don’t just immediately go away, but you should replace those ones with good memories from here. I know that with the war and everything, things don’t exactly look good on the outside, but you got to think about all the lives you touched. All the ponies who are thankful that they have a second chance at life now because of you… This should be your second chance.”

“I… I don’t know what to say…” Neku replied, shocked and stunned by Rarity’s words. He didn’t see it at the time he had arrived here, but now, it was all beginning to make sense.

“Neku… I might have only known you for a short while, but I see you as a friend. I’m here for my friends and I’m generous to them as well… My home is your home now too.” That, almost caused the teen to slip off of the bed onto the floor.

“A-are you serious?”

“Yes. You’re always a welcomed guest in my home now, Neku. See it as a birthday present from me to you. You don’t need to be all alone in a broken home anymore. Sweetie Belle and I will be here for you.”

That, caused the teen to jolt up a little, holding the white unicorn in a tight hug, some tears beginning to form and roll down his face. “T-thank you… so much. I-i don’t know what to say…”

“You’re welcome Neku.” The element of generosity replied. “Anything for a friend.”

Vanitas and Azula

“Jane just apologize will ya?” Warrick pleaded, glancing over at his sister as he felt around his helmet, trying to figure out a way to get it off.

“I want to, but that damn farmer pony won’t let me get close enough to her sister to do so!” She complained pacing back and forth.

“Then shouldn’t you apologize to her first?” He asked, flinching a little as his helmet melted into darkness. “I probably should have expected that...”

“What do I have to apologize to her for? I saved her life! I saved her whole family’s lives! If I’d charged out there spamming fireballs I would’ve gotten my ass handed to me and we’d all be dead!”

“You did you know... kick her sister...” Warrick reminded, rubbing his neck. “Don’t lie and say you would want anything to do with someone who did that to me.”

Jane was about to continue to argue when her voice caught in her throat. She struggled to find some way to refute what he said but had nothing. She growled and folded her arms, huffing. “So what am I supposed to say then?”

“Can you just be honest for once?” He asked, getting to his feet. “I dunno, bond over big sister stuff or whatever.”

Jane flinched at that for a moment. Lying was the thing she was best at… and she hated it. She wanted to be able to be honest and forthcoming, but lying came so easy to her. Not to mention, being honest had never gotten her anything good in life, despite all those “the truth will set you free” adages out there. She sighed. “Ok, but I don’t see how being honest is going to help. In fact it will probably piss her off more.”

“I dunno, we could ask Fluttershy to help.” He gestured to the quiet pegasus, who was tending to some injured animals in the corner.

“You really think she can?”

“You didn’t see how she stopped that raging bear. She freaking stared at it and it just went all cowardly. Gave me the willies...” Warrick shuddered a little.

Jane actually looked impressed before he gaze shifted back to the pegasus. With a sigh she walked over. “Hey, um, Fluttershy?”

“Oh um yes?” The little pony jumped a little before turning to look at them.

Jeez, there is something wrong with this world when something this cute can beat a bear in a staring contest, she thought. “Uh, listen, I’ve been trying to apologize to Apple Bloom… the whole Apple family actually, but Applejack’s making that really hard for me. I don’t suppose there’s a way you can help me with that?”

“I could try but, AJ can be a little stubborn.” Fluttershy nodded. She got up, fluffing her wings before trotting over.

“Pfft. Tell me about it,” Jane scoffed. “Damn girl won’t even let me get a word in edgewise.”

“She’s a sweetheart once you get to know her.” Fluttershy smiled, walking out of the room, gesturing for them to follow.

Jane sighed. “I hope so,” she muttered before turning to glance at Warrick. “If I get hit from this, you owe me.” Warrick just smiled, following after Fluttershy. They walked through the compound, it taking only a few minutes for them to arrive in the barracks set aside for the Appleloosa refugees.

“Applejack?” Fluttershy asked, peering around for the farm mare.

“Fluttershy?” Asked a familiar voice from the right. “Well, how ya-?” She began only to cut herself off and for her face to contort in rage as she saw Jane.

I’m so going to make him give me his next dessert, Jane thought bitterly.

“Now what did Ah say ‘bout you gettin’ anywhere near mah family ya lousy no good-!?”

“Applejack, calm down.” Fluttershy cut in, her voice staying calm.

“Fluttershy, ya don’t know what she-!”

“I know all about it Aj, I’m here to help you two put it behind you.”

“But-!” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes, giving her a deep stare. AJ immediately clamped up and flinched.

“Now, are you going to sit down and hear her out?”

AJ pressed her lips together and huffed before turning to look back at Jane. “This better be good.”

Jane closed her eyes and thought long and hard about what she was going to say. Well, Warrick did say to be honest. If nothing else, I can hold it over his head that it didn’t work.

She inhaled deeply. “Applejack, I am not sorry I lied to you and Chrysalis about being a spy. I am not sorry for taunting you and your family to make that stupid bug lower her guard. What I am sorry about is that that was the only thing I could think of to save you. And for kicking your sister.”

“That's one hay of a backhoofed apology.” Applejack glared, crossing her hooves.

“I was told to be honest,” Jane said flatly. “Besides, do you really think we would’ve made it out alive if I just came strutting out and attacked like I was some kind of superhero? I could barely handle bug butt herself, no way I could’ve taken on her and her minions.”

“Ya’ll didn’t have ta lie!” Applejack objected, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh no, I certainly didn’t have to lie! I could’ve just hid and let all get killed! Just stay back while Queen swiss-cheese-for-legs killed you in god knows what gruesome way possible! But no, instead, I risked my life to save yours!” Jane spat back with a sarcastic tone.

“Well... that's going nowhere...” Warrick sighed, shaking his head. “This is just going to be a continuing thing isn’t it...?”

Jane stopped, overhearing her brother before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. “You may not believe this, Applejack, but I get it. I get why you’re so upset about me lying. I get that you’re still pissed off at me and why you won’t let it go. And you know what? I agree with you. I think it is bad that I lie all the time, and that I have to pretend to stab the people I care about in the back to protect them.” She then opened her eyes and glared at the farm mare. “But you know what? Not all of us get lives where our honesty is rewarded. Not all of us live a life where doing the right thing gets you a hug and a pat on the back. In fact, some of us have lived lives where the more honest and kind you are the more you get punished for it. Lives where if you don’t lie and cheat you get eaten alive. So you want to be pissed at me for lying to save the lives of you and your family? Fine, go ahead, that’s nothing new to me.”

Applejack opened her mouth to speak before closing mouth. “Fine. I’ll fergive ya, but ah ain’t ever gonna trust ya.”

“I guess that’ll do. Now will you let me go and apologize to Apple Bloom?”

“Fine. Ya’ll just stay here-”

“Azula!” Came a cute voice, followed seconds later by a red and yellow blur slamming into Jane’s chest and knocking her to the ground. “Ya came!”

“Ow,” Jane wheezed before managing to crane her head down and see the little filly hugging her chest. “You pack one hell of a punch, kid.”

“Ah was hopin’ Ah’d get ta see ya soon!” She said before looking up and seeing Warrick, gasping. “Is that yer brother!?”

“Uh, yeah?” Jane replied.

Apple Bloom hopped off Jane and trotted over to the other human. “Howdy there Azula’s brother! Mah names Apple Bloom! Ah’m so happy you and yer sister got back together! She was so worried ‘bout ya!”

“Nice to meet you Apple Bloom. I’m Warrick, but you can call me Vanitas.” He knelt down, holding his hand out.

“Nice ta meet ya, Vanitas!” She replied, extending her own hoof and shaking him back.

Applejack cleared her throat. “Apple Bloom, miss Azula here has something she wants ta say to ya.”

“Huh? Oh, okay! What is it?” The filly asked, turning to Jane.

The human pulled herself up to a sitting position and turned to face the Apple Bloom. “I just wanted to say I’m really, really sorry for having to treat you so badly like I did before. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Well, it really hurt, but Ah understand. You were trying to save me and mah kin, and it all worked out in the end. ‘Sides, it was right amazin’ to see ya beat that no good cockroach at her own game!”

“Heh. Glad you say so. I know a few other ponies who could learn to be as forgiving and understanding as you,” Jane joked.

Applejack grunted angrily.“Come on Bloom, ya’ll still gotta finish up yer homework,” she reminded, gesturing for her sister to come back.

“Aw. Well, Ah got ta go. Talk to ya some other time, Azula! You too, Vanitas!” She waved before trotting off with her older sibling.

“... So what was that about ‘big sister bonding’?” Jane joked.

“You’ll get better at it.” Warrick smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Just don’t... you know... try to kill me for your own gain or something.”

Jane flinched and then hung her head. “Come on, Warrick, that’s not funny. You know I wouldn’t do that to you,” she mumbled dejectedly.

“You know I don’t believe you’d ever do that to me,” he said quickly, pulling her into a hug, “I trust you completely.”

She exhaled and hugged him back. “Thanks,” muttered.

“You worry too much.” He chuckled, pulling away from her. “Hey uh, thanks for helping out Fluttershy.” He smiled, turning to their escort.

“Oh, it was no problem at all,” Fluttershy replied with a gentle smile. “Um, if it wouldn’t be too much to ask, could you please help me with something Jane? I would appreciate your assistance.”

“Huh? Just me?” Jane asked.

“Mmmhmm. If that’s not too much of a problem, that is.”

“Uh… sure, I guess.”

“Thank you! Oh, um, Warrick? Maybe you should take a look around the complex and get yourself familiar with it. I’m afraid this is something only Jane can help me with.”

“You two play nice.” He waved before walking off, quickly vanishing around a corner.

“Um, could you follow me please?” Fluttershy asked, motioning back the way they came.

Jane nodded and walked along with the pegasus, who led Jane back to her quarters. Once the pony closed the door, Jane spoke up. “So what is it you wanted to say that you didn’t want Warrick to hear?”

“Well... I was just wondering about what you said before... about having to lie and cheat...” Fluttershy looked down, pawing at the ground.

Jane sighed. Her experience told her to keep her mouth shut, and yet something about this pony made her feel like it would be alright if she explained. In fact, she felt almost compelled to. She walked over to the bed and sat on it, Fluttershy hopping up to sit next to her. “Fluttershy, did Warrick tell you about his… accident?”

“He told me he couldn’t walk before coming here but he never said why.” Fluttershy shook her head.

“Warrick and I… we didn’t live in the nicest neighborhood. There was barely a time of day where you didn’t hear sirens going off somewhere in the distance, if not coming right next door to you.”

“‘Sirens?’”

“Oh, um… basically we have these… chariots that law enforcement and medical responders use to get to where there are crimes or other incidents. They have these loud sirens they blare when en route to where they going, as a basically a warning to get out of their way so they can go where someone needs them.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Anyway, our family actually used to live in a nice and safe neighborhood before the economy started to tank a bit and we had to sell our home and move. Warrick and I went to the same school, but we were in different grades so we didn’t get to see each other except for before and after. We had lunch at different times, we didn’t have any of the same classes, and we didn’t have recess at the same time. Warrick was always a really shy kid, and even back in our old home he was teased for it. But in our new home it was so much worse. They hit him and stole his money, they ruined his books and were basically just dicks to him. And I couldn’t do anything about it just because the school system kept us apart from each other.”

“Oh my! That sounds horrible!” Fluttershy brought her hooves to her mouth, her eyes wide.

“It gets worse. One day at recess those god damn bullies were shoving him around again and then one pushed him hard enough that he tripped and fell. His back hit a big rock, a broken cinder block that the damn school never moved because they were too lazy, and then his back just cracked. He lost all feeling from his waist down.” Jane was gritting her teeth in rage. “I swear if the teachers hadn’t held me back I would’ve killed the bastards that did it to him. Nearly did to one of them, too. I beat him so bad he was in the hospital for a month. The school freaking lets the students push around a kid who didn’t mean anyone any harm and get his back broken, and then try and tell me I’m the one that’s out of control for wanting break their skulls open? Hypocrites, every damn one of them!” Fluttershy didn’t say anything, only climbing onto the bed and giving her a tight hug.

Jane took deep breaths to calm herself down before continuing. “Anyway, after that my mom had a major freakout, not that I blame her. We sued the school and then they settled out of court so that it wouldn’t become a big story and get them in huge trouble. Honestly, I wanted to turn it down just so we could destroy them and get someone put in jail, but it was my mom’s choice of course. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, our dad ran out on us a little before we moved to that shithole, so it was just her trying to raise us. Anyway, like I was saying, we got a lot of money out of the settlement, but that just cause new problems. Mom was so damn terrified of anything happening to Warrick again that she basically didn’t let him do anything remotely dangerous. We managed to move to a nicer neighborhood and there mom just spent all her time trying to make sure he couldn’t get hurt. It was so bad that the police had to force mom to let Warrick go to school because she just wanted to keep him at home all day. She was so concerned about him getting hurt again that she didn’t realize she was killing him inside.”

Jane clenched her fists. “How could she not see? How didn’t she see that he was miserable? His world had shrunk to nothing but our house and the school, and it was all because of her. She wouldn’t let him hang out with any of the friends he made a school because she was so damn scared of what could happen to him when she didn’t have her eyes on him. She didn’t even let them come to our house to play. He… He actually told me he wanted to die just so he could escape.” Tears had begun to run down her face. “And so I began to plan. If there’s one good thing that living in that horrible neighborhood gave me it was that it taught me how to handle myself. I learned how to fight, and lie, and cheat, and bluff, and steal. And I was good at it. Really good. And the poor saps that lived in the new neighborhood we moved to never had to deal with anything like that. I stole and hustled money from other kids and even their parents. I took materials from anywhere and anyone I could find them. I bribed and charmed my way to get whatever skills I wanted to learn from whoever knew them. And then eventually I had all I needed. Warrick, one thing he always wanted to do was go to a con, to dress up as a character from one of his games or shows and have fun with people who liked the same things he did. So I bought and made the costumes and I finally convinced mom to let us spend the night over at friends’ house. I even managed to convince them to cover for us so we could go to the con instead. And then… and then we got sent here.”

Jane whimpered. “I… I know he’s so happy now. I know he’s happy because he can walk again and because he has powers and he can help people. I haven’t seen him this happy in years, but… But this world is dangerous! I can’t help but be afraid that something’s going to happen to him! I just wanted to give him one day where he could feel happy, something to make him feel alive and that it was worth it for him to keep living but now he might get killed and he doesn’t realize it because he’s having too much fun and OH GOD, I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T WANT THIS I JUST WANTED TO MAKE MY BROTHER HAPPY!” She screamed, breaking down as she began sobbing uncontrollably.

“Just let it all out...” Fluttershy cooed, rubbing her back gently.

“OH GOD, I CAN’T TAKE IT! IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HIM… HE’S THE ONLY REASON I HAVE TO LIVE, AND HE WANTS TO GO OUT THERE AND FIGHT AND GET HURT TO PROTECT OTHERS! I DON’T WANT MY BROTHER TO DIE!” She continued to bawl her eyes out as she hugged the pony who was doing everything she could to comfort her.

“You know... I have a brother too...” Fluttershy started, looking up at her, “I don’t see him too often.”

“You… You do?” Jane sniffled.

She nodded. “He’s always been my protector.” She looked away. “I know he doesn’t think I know but... I know what he does.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s one of Princess Luna’s Ravens. Her assassins.”

“Wh-What? You mean he’s like… a ninja or something?”

“Whats a ninja?” Fluttershy asked, blinking.

“Uh… basically a guy who sneaks around enemy lines, steal information and kills people without getting detected.”

“Oh... then um.... Yes, he’s a ninja.”

“That’s kinda awesome. But wait… what do you mean he doesn’t think you know?”

“He tries to hide it, he tells me he goes out to trade with whatever nations are still willing to help our cause but... I know what he does... You can’t keep worrying about Warrick like that. The best thing you can do is be his big sister. Be there for him and make sure he stays on the right path.”

Jane wiped her eyes before looking back to Fluttershy. “You… You’re so much stronger than I am. I… I don’t think I have the strength to do that. I’ve tried to protect him for so long that… I don’t think I know how to just let him go off on his own anymore.” She chuckled. “Funny. For all the hate that I gave her… I guess I’m not that much different from mom, am I?”

“We’re all stronger than we know.” Fluttershy smiled, nuzzling her. “You’ll learn how to cope together. I believe in you.”

“I hope so. But if you don’t mind… I think… that’s something for…” Jane trailed off as she fell onto Fluttershy’s bed, breathing softly, fast asleep.

“Poor thing,” Fluttershy smiled. “You’ve had quite a day, haven’t you?”

Warrick gazed at his reflection, putting his hand on the mirror, staring at the alien face looking back at him.

“We passed upon the stair, we spoke of was and when

Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend

Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes

I thought you died alone, a long long time ago

Oh no, not me

I never lost control

You're face to face

With The Man Who Sold The World...”

“Hey, Warrick?” Sunset asked, snapping him out of his trance. “You okay? You’ve been staring at that mirror for the past few minutes....”

The young man threw up a smile, walking over to her. I’m fine Sunset. Don’t worry about it...” He moved off, putting his hands behind his head, letting out a long sigh.

Elsewhere…

“So, that is the report?” The alicorn queen asked her general as the pegasus named Rainbow Dash stood in front of her. Within the same room, the Doctor watched from against a pillar as the cyan mare filled Solar Flare in on the doctor’s analysis from earlier in the day. “Four individuals attacked our troops, but there is no clue as to who or what they are? We are honestly a bit surprised… and disappointed.” Turning towards the man in the lab coat, the mare then followed up on what she said with a deep sigh. “This complication can not be simply ignored if they were able to fight back against our forces. We want them gone and Our sister’s rebellion to be extinguished.”

“That is not simple, my queen,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “I had any flyers that weren’t injured from yesterday go on patrol and look to see if they could find any traces of them, but they were unsuccessful in doing so.” This caused Solar Flare to sigh deeply in dissatisfaction.

“We did not wish to resort to this. We wished settle this with Our sister personally, but with these new nuisances we must end this quickly. We have contacted Shao Khan and requested the proper assistance.”

Rainbow Dash repressed a shiver. She never did like Shao Khan, his very presence just felt wrong, but she would never defy her Queen. Not when she has raised her since she was a filly and trained her to be the general she was now. “What kind of assistance would that be, my Queen?”

“Shao Khan has provided us with his… enforcer.” The Alicorn clarified. Just then, a hulking sound of footsteps echoed the halls as Rainbow Dash immediately turned around to see a huge two legged abomination in white armor and a golden helmet covering its face, which perfectly reflected her own expression of shock and fear back at her. And with no voice either, just a loud growl that sent shivers down her spine.

“Wh-What kind of being is this?” Rainbow stuttered, backing away slightly before catching herself and standing firm. That was when something else spoke. What looked like a spirit forming from the creature’s armor.

“We are the Meta… and we live to serve Solar Flare… and Shao Khan.”

Author's Note

More about the heroes is known and We see two of the individuals under Shao Khan. We'll leave to you to soak everything in.