Thomas opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his sore head. He groggily looked around, finding that he appeared to be in a snowy area. Mountains and an empty plain surrounded him, and all of it was covered in snow.
"This is definitely not the convention center, where am I?" Thomas said to himself as he looked around. He wiped the snow off his clothes and began to walk around to see if he could find anything.
'Wait,' he thought, 'Why am I wearing my normal clothes? I remember wearing my Captain Marvel costume while I was at the convention with Robert and mom.' He then stopped walking as that thought registered.
"Mom and Robert. Where's mom and Robert?!" he said to himself as he began shouting for his mother and older brother. "MOM! ROBERT! WHERE ARE YOU?! MOM!!!" Thomas heard no response, so he began to panic.
"Thomas?! Is that you honey? Where are you?" Thomas perked up when he heard the familiar voice of his mom: Angela.
"Mom? Is that you? I'm over here!" Thomas shouted, running in the direction of his mother's voice. It wasn't long before he could make out the form of someone running towards him. One second later, she had already arrived in front of him and scooped him up into a hug.
'Funny, I don't remember mom being that fast.' He thought, but didn't give it much thought as he returned his mother's hug.
"Thomas! Oh I was so scared when I woke up and didn't see you or your brother anywhere," She said as she squeezed him tighter, which was actually starting to hurt him a little bit.
"Mom, would you please not hold me so tightly? It's starting to hurt."
"Oh!" She said, setting him down on the ground. "I'm sorry for hurting you, but I was barely holding on to you. I was trying to be as gentle as possible."
He looked up at her to say something, but abruptly stopped once he saw her.
Her once blonde hair was now black, she looked younger and more in-shape, her costume looked more realistic than when she had first bought it, and the fake sword and shield on her back were now very real.
"Uh, mom?" Thomas asked uncertainly.
"Yes?" Angela said with a smile.
"You look...different. And your props don't look like props anymore."
Angela looked back at the sword and shield on her back. "So you noticed too? I realized that when I woke up, but I was more concerned with finding you and Robert. Speaking of which, where is Robert?"
Thomas looked over at Angela, "You haven't seen him?"
Angela gained a worried look on her face, "No, you don't know where he is?"
"N-no. I thought that he might be with you." Mother and son stared at each other for a few moments before they both turned and began to shout.
"Robert! Robert where are you!?" Angela and Thomas yelled as they looked around for him. They continued to walk and yell for awhile until their throats became dry.
"Where could he be? You think he might still be at the convention center?" Angela asked Thomas, but she didn't get a response. "Thomas?" She looked back to see that her son had fallen to his knees. "Are you okay sweetie?" she said as she ran over to him.
"I-I'm r-r-really cold," Thomas said. Angela scooped her shivering son into her arms and held him close, but trying her best not to hurt him with her newfound strength.
"Help!" Angela shouted. "If anyone is out there, please help!" Receiving no response, she began to run forward as fast as she could in an attempt to escape the frozen wasteland. Five minutes of running later and they still saw no end to the tundra in sight. Angela looked down at Thomas, panic starting to set in.
'This is bad! I can't find one of my sons, and the other is freezing to death. I've got to get Thomas out of here, I need to find help!' Angela thought to herself as she looked around desperately, trying to find any kind of shelter that would shield them from the cold. As she looked around, she noticed two figures a short distance away. It was difficult to make out who or what they were through the snow, but all that mattered to Angela was that someone was nearby, and they might be able to help her son.
"Don't worry Thomas, you'll be okay," Angela whispered to Thomas. She looked up at the figures and began shouting at them. "HEY! PLEASE HELP US! MY SON NEEDS HELP!" When she received no response she ran closer to them. "PLEASE! I NEED..." she trailed off and looked in horror at the two now-visible figures.
"Mom? W-Why d-d-did you s-stop?" Thomas followed his mother's gaze and found what had shocked his mom.
They were both alicorns. That much Thomas knew, due to him and his older brother being fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. But they weren't alicorns he recognized. One of them looked like a stallion, and the other appeared to be a mare. The stallion had a fire red mane and tail, and his coat was as white as the snow that surrounded them. The mare had a purple coat, and a black mane and tail that matched the night sky. And both of them were frozen solid. Neither of them had cutie marks, but Thomas could tell where they were just by looking at the two ponies' designs.
'Are we...in Equestria?' Thomas wondered in shock. Angela however, was having different thoughts.
'What are these things? Where are we? How am I going to protect Thomas from the cold?' She began to tremble as hopelessness set in. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know how she got here. She didn't know what those two frozen creatures were, she didn't know where one of her sons was, and the other was freezing. Her eyes began welling up and tears fell onto the snow-covered ground. 'There isn't anyone around here for miles that can help Thomas, and he's getting colder by the minute. What am I going to do?'
"M-mom! Y-Y-You're f-feet!" Thomas exclaimed through his shivering. Angela wiped away her tears and looked down at her feet. Her eyes widened when she realized that both of her feet were frozen, and that the ice was slowly making its way up her legs.
"Oh my goodness!" Angela exclaimed. She brought one of her fists down on the ice in an attempt to break it. Surprisingly, it worked. The ice around her right leg shattered like glass. Angela looked at her fist, surprised that she had been able to do that almost effortlessly, but then she shook off her surprise and broke the ice surrounding her left leg.
"M-Mom?" Angela looked down at the surprised face of Thomas. "H-How did y-you-"
His words were cut off by a loud whinnying sound that filled the air. Thomas and Angela looked to where the loud noise had come from. Needless to say, they were both shocked by what they saw.
A group of about ten spirits that resembled horses were quickly making their way towards them.
'Are those...?' Thomas was snapped out of his thoughts when one of the spirit- like creatures went out ahead of the group and charged at the two humans. Reacting on instinct, Angela brought one of her fists back and slammed it into the creature's face when it was close enough. The creature was thrown far out of sight by the punch, a loud thud being heard a small distance away.
Both Angela and Thomas marveled at the power behind her punch, but both were snapped out of their stupor when another one of the creatures flew right in front of the two and seemingly summoned a powerful gust of cold wind that tore Thomas out of his mother's grip.
'Windigos? Why are they...here?' Thomas thought before hitting the ground.
"THOMAS!" Angela screamed. She tried to run over to him, but several of the windigos surrounded her and began attempting to use their magic on her. Angela let out her best battle cry as she shattered the ice and began to fight the windigos with all of her strength.
Meanwhile, the remaining four windigos began feeding on Thomas's negative emotions, slowly freezing him in ice. While the ice made its way up his body, Thomas put the pieces together in his mind.
'Windigos, alicorns, mom's newfound strength and resemblance to Wonder Woman? None of this can be natural, I'm not on Earth anymore.' The ice reached his waist when he realized something else. 'Mom looks like Wonder Woman now, and has her strength and costume. But my costume is gone, I'm wearing normal clothes, even though I was wearing my Captain Marvel costume when I fell unconscious at Comicon. Billy Batson also wears normal clothes, he...doesn't put his costume on...until he calls out...the word.'
The ice had reached his shoulders, and his arms began to freeze when he realized what he had to do. Over where Angela was, she had disposed of three of the windigos, and was facing the last two. She grabbed her sword off her back and flew over to one of them, slashing it across the chest. She wasn't doing this on her own, she was now fighting on pure instinct in an attempt to get to her son.
'I need...to say the word. I need...to say it before I freeze. It...might not...work. But it's...my last option.' The ice had fully enveloped his arms and had reached his neck when he opened his mouth and yelled the magic word to the heavens.
"SHAZAM!" A lightning bolt descended from the sky and struck Thomas directly on his chest. The ice shattered, and the windigos surrounding him were blown back. Angela looked over to where her son had been, stepping away from the final windigo, that she had knocked unconscious.
"Thomas? Honey, are you alright?"
The snow cleared, and she saw what her son had become. The previously twelve year old boy now had the build of a man in his late twenties. He wore a red costume that had a yellow lightning bolt on the center, white boots, and a white cape. He had become Shazam, Earth's mightiest mortal.
Thomas looked over at his startled mother and smiled. "Don't worry mom, I'm fine."
The windigos that were still conscious got up and snarled at the transformed human. Thomas merely smirked at the creatures. "Alright, which one of you would like to be beaten up first?"
They all whinnied and charged him all at once. Angela panicked, and began to run over to him, but stopped when she saw Thomas punch all of them repeatedly at blinding speed. All of them were sent flying out of sight, their ethereal looking bodies no longer visible through the snowstorm.
"T-Thomas?" Thomas looked over at his mom. "How did you do that?"
"Well," he began. "After realizing that we are probably in Equestria, and that you somehow have the powers of the person you dressed as, I thought that I might be able to do the same. So after shouting the word that summons the magical lightning bolt, I found out that I had been right."
Angela scrunched her face up in confusion, "Equestria? What's Equestria?"
"Well you know how Robert and I watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? You know, the show with Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash?" Thomas asked.
"Vaguely." Angela responded.
"Well, Equestria is the country where the show takes place. I realized that we are in Equestria when I saw the windigos and alicorns."
"Windigos and Alicorns?"
Sensing his mother's confusion, he explained. "Windigos were those spirit horses that attacked us, and those two ponies that were frozen in ice are alicorns. Both alicorns and windigos are creatures that exist in the show's lore, but I don't recognize the two alicorns we saw."
"What do you mean?"
Before Thomas could explain, a loud crack was heard. The looked over at the two frozen ponies, seeing that the ice surrounding them was beginning to crack. After only a few more seconds, the ice had shattered, and the two alicorns fell to the ground.
"They're free! Mom, we have to help them!" Thomas ran over to the two and examined them for any injuries. Luckily, they appeared to be perfectly fine, just unconscious.
"Help them?" Angela questioned, looking at the two ponies over his shoulder.
"Yes, do you remember how to fly?"
"N-No, I was reacting to instinct when I did it."
"Well pick the purple one and try to fly. I'm sure we can figure it out, I have the wisdom of Solomon now after all." Thomas said with a smirk as he picked the stallion up.
"Alright." Angela said hesitantly. She picked the mare up.
After a few tries, both of them were able to float in the air.
"Alright Thomas, If we are looking for shelter, then we should probably head over to that mountain. There might be a cave somewhere in it."
"Okay mom."
"And try not to drop it, dear!"
"Okay mom," he said with a laugh. Both of them took off at high speeds towards the mountain.
'These aren't alicorns I recognize. There are only supposed to be four of them: Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight. I suppose I can ask both of them when they wake up,' Thomas thought with a frown as the mountain grew ever closer. 'Robert, I hope you're alright.'
After reaching the mountain, Angela and Thomas circled it several times before finally finding a decently sized cave. They flew inside and gently laid the two alicorns down onto the cave floor. Thomas immediately began checking their body temparture.
"They're really cold mom. I mean, I know they just recovered from being frozen solid and all, but it's a wonder that they're still alive," said Thomas.
"Well what do you think we should do dear?" Angela asked, looking at the creatures in pity.
"Can you find any sticks around here? Maybe we could start a fire."
"Ummm...let me check." She searched the small cave for anything that they could start a fire with. She turned to him and said, "Sorry, but I didn't see anything."
"It's alright, just give me a second to think." Thomas used his new wisdom to try and come up with a solution to their dilemma. "There are probably some trees on the mountain, I'll find them and use them for firewood." He stood up and walked towards the mouth of the cave.
Before he took flight; Angela spoke up. "Thomas, can you keep an eye out for Robert while you're up there?"
"Of course Mom."
Angela shook her head and stood up. "You know what? I'll go looking for him while you get the firewood."
He shook his head. "No Mom, you need to stay with the alicorns while I go get the firewood. They might fly away if no one is here when they wake up."
"Thomas, this is my son we're talking about! This is your brother we're talking about! Are two creatures that we've never met more important than him?!"
"Mom! I do care about Robert, but we don't even know if he's here. If he didn't buy anything from the merchant, then he didn't come with us."
Angela gave a look of confusion, "Merchant? Do you mean the man who sold us the lasso and cape at the convention?"
"Yes," Thomas responded. "The only conclusion I can come to is that he somehow sent us to Equestria. So if Robert didn't buy anything from him, then he didn't come here with us."
Angela was conflicted on whether or not she should agree with her son, or go looking for her eldest child anyway. But she eventually nodded and said, "Alright Thomas, I'll stay here."
"Don't worry mom, I'm sure Robert is fine. I'll be back in a flash!" Thomas said right before zooming out of the cave.
Angela gave a sad smile, "They seem to grow up so fast."
. . .
Thomas soared around the mountain at speeds that didn't seem possible to him before now. It wasn't long before he spotted trees on the surface of the giant rock structure. He flew up to one of the trees, ripped it up by its roots, and flew back to the cave with the snow covered plant in tow.
"Alright mom, I got a tree to use for firewood!" He called out as he glided into the cave.
Angela looked up from the two ponies, and grinned. "I know you are enjoying your powers, but aren't you going a bit overboard with it?" she said, holding back laughter.
"Yes, yes it is," Thomas said with an idiotic grin.
"You and your brother have always been quite the jokesters," she said, chuckling before she began to frown again.
Sensing his mother's distress, he said, "Don't be sad mom, I'll go looking for Robert right now. You chop up this tree while I'm gone, I won't be long."
She smiled, "Thank you, come back soon and bring your brother back if you find him."
"I will." And with that, he took to the skies.
He flew at a much slower pace than before, circling the mountain and examining all of it as he passed. Once he determined that his sibling was not on the mountain, he flew over the snow covered planes that he and Angela had woken up in. His eyes scanned every inch of the ground, looking for any sign of a humanoid figure making his way through the snow, or of a column of ice that contained the familiar form of his brother. But nothing of the sort was found, not even footprints were visible in the snow.
'It doesn't look like he's here, and if he is it doesn't look like he appeared in this area.' He turned around and saw that he had gone so far that he couldn't even see the mountain any more. 'I should probably head back to the cave.' he thought.
Not bothering with speed anymore he zoomed back to the mountain in the blink of an eye. He landed in the cave, gaining the attention of Angela; who had finished cutting up the tree with her sword and had piled it up.
"Did you find any sign of him?" she asked with a glint of desperation in her eyes.
Thomas shook his head. "No, I didn't find anything."
Angela hung her head before giving her youngest son a sad smile. "Well, then I guess that means he didn't come here with us then. At least that means he's safe."
"Yeah, let's look at the bright side. At least he isn't in any danger. Now let's get a fire started shall we?"
"Alright, but how are we going to get it started? We don't have anything to light it with. Not to mention that the wood is wet from all of that snow."
Thomas thought for a moment before he said, "Here, let me try something real quick." He walked over to the pile of soggy wood and pointed his index finger at it. He concentrated on the immense magical energy that now flowed through him and willed some of it to shoot the wood. At first nothing happened, but then a small bolt of electricity shot out of his finger and made contact with the pile.
The effect was instant, while some of the wood shot out in various directions due to the power behind the magical electricity, but most of it now burned in a steadily growing blaze.
Angela's jaw dropped, "I didn't know you could do that!"
Thomas smirked, "You really don't know anything about Captain Marvel, do you? Trust me, I can do a lot more than that."
Suddenly, both of the alicorns groaned and began to move, catching the two humans' attention immediately.
"They're waking up!" Angela exclaimed.
"Finally, I was worried that they'd never wake up given how cold their body temperatures were," Thomas said, watching the two ponies rise to their hooves.
The stallion groaned as he raised himself to his full height, which was about at the same height as Thomas in his transformed state; he looked around in confusion.
"W-Where am I? The last thing I remember us being attacked by those Windigos..." he trailed off when he finally caught sight of the two humans.
"W-What in the name of Tartarus is that?!" he shouted as he began channeling magic into his horn.
"*groan* Solar Flare? What's wrong?" the mare said as she looked first to the stallion beside her, and then to Angela and Thomas. Her eyes widened at the sight of the two strange creatures, but unlike Solar Flare, she did not show any signs of attack. She instead merely examined them with curiosity.
Angela didn't know what Solar Flare was up to when he channeled magic into his horn, but she could tell that it could mean trouble. She got into a fighting stance and began reaching for the sword strapped to her back.
Thomas noticed what she was doing and said, "Don't Mom. We don't want to start a fight."
The two ponies' jaws dropped, Solar Flare's magic died down because all of his focus was now on the two humans.
"T-They can talk?" the mare said in disbelief.
"I don't believe it, what kind of creatures are they?" Solar Flare said to himself.
Angela relaxed and lowered her hands away from the sword. She cleared her throat and said, "We're glad to see that you two are finally awake. We were worried when we first found both of you frozen in ice."
The mare recovered from her shock and said, "Frozen in ice? You mean you two rescued us from being killed by the Windigos?"
"Yes," Thomas said. "We woke up in the snow covered field and found the both of you frozen solid after walking around for awhile. The Windigos themselves gave us some trouble, but we took care of them."
The mare's eyes widened once again, "You mean both of you were able to defeat a group of Windigos all by yourselves?! You two certainly aren't normal creatures, are you?"
Thomas smiled and was about to respond before the stallion snapped out of his stupor and stepped in front of the mare.
"Midnight! What are you doing?! These...THINGS are clearly dangerous, don't just have a conversation with them!" he said, glaring daggers at Thomas and Angela.
The mare frowned at him, "Honey, don't be so hostile to them, they saved our lives."
"That's what they want you to think. They could be tricking us! They could be working for HER!" he shouted.
The mare looked at him dead in the eye. "Solar Flare, if they were working for her then they wouldn't have freed us from the ice. Also, I'm sure they lots of opportunities to kill us while we were unconscious."
Solar Flare paused and began to think about Midnight's words. Angela took this chance to say something.
"Sir, we don't want to hurt you at all. We just wanted to make sure that you were okay."
Solar Flare considered Angela's words before letting his guard down. "Alright, my wife seems to trust you so I won't attack you. But you better not try anything funny or I'll send both of you to the afterlife." He stepped out of Midnight's way, keeping an eye on Angela and Thomas with every step he took.
Midnight rolled her eyes at Solar Flare's antics before giving Angela and Thomas an apologetic look. "Sorry about my husband, he's just wary of strangers and tends to get a little overprotective at times."
"Don't worry about it. I should also apologize for acting like I was getting ready to fight. We're both confused and I was afraid your husband was going to attack us," Angela said.
"Apology accepted," the mare said with a smile.
"Apology not accepted," Solar Flare muttered.
"Shut your mouth and quit being so rude!"
Solar Flare frowned and muttered a few curses under his breath.
Midnight sighed before turning back to the two, "Sorry about him. But how about I introduce us? My name is Midnight, and the grumpy stallion over there is Solar Flare."
"It's nice to meet you Midnight. My name is Angela, and this is my son, Thomas." She pointed to her son as she finished.
"Well it's an honor to meet both of you. But if I may, could you tell me what you two are? We've never come across creatures quite like you," Midnight asked.
"To answer your question, mom and I are called humans. Now would you mind telling us why you were frozen and who you and Solar Flare mentioned earlier?" Thomas asked.
Midnight's smile fell. "Alright, but you might want to sit down. It's a long story."
. . .
Unknown to the alicorns or the humans, the ten Windigos that Thomas and Angela had beaten earlier were gazing into the cave from the outside. They scowled at the cave's inhabitants. The alicorns were now free and they couldn't attack them because of the two powerful humans that resided with them. Left with no other options, they turned and flew in the direction of their ruler's castle. As they made their way there a single thought sent chills down their ethereal spines.
The Queen was not going to be happy. They could only hope that she was in a good mood.
Time for a history lesson!
Thomas and Angela nodded, both of them sitting down for what they expected to be a long story.
Midnight cleared her throat before starting her story. "For many years the land of Equestria was in chaos. The unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi were at war with each other. All sides vowed they would not stop fighting until one of them was victorious, and that the victor would rule over the other two tribes. This went on for years, until the unthinkable happened."
"Two ponies, one Pegasus and one unicorn became friends. Both of them were sick of all the fighting and wanted only to be friends with each other. One day, their friendship was discovered by their parents, and they sought to tear their relationship apart. But united in the magic of friendship, they transformed. And thus, the first two alicorns were born."
'Woah,' thought Thomas. 'So that's where all the alicorns came from.'
Midnight continued. "Being the strongest ponies in the land, they gathered a large group of followers, and stopped the war in no less than a month. They ruled over the land as kind and caring rulers. This began the age of the alicorn. For thousands of years alicorns have ruled over the land, with a single family acting as the king and queen, and all the rest acting as advisers; Solar Flare and I were two of those advisers. But all of that came to an end two years ago."
"How did it all end? You said that the alicorns were the strongest creatures in the country, so what happened?" asked Angela.
"Domina Mors happened," Solar Flare said, still not making eye contact with the two humans.
"Domina Mors? Who's that?" asked Thomas.
"Domina Mors was the youngest of two sisters in the royal family, daughter of the king and queen. That's not her real name, it's just a title she gave herself when she took over. She was always so strange and reclusive, preferring to read about magical artifacts and ancient legends. But I never thought she would do what she did," she said, shaking her head.
"She was set to rule along side her older sister until one of them would marry a stallion, giving the country a king, while the other sister would become an adviser. But Domina didn't want to share power. Over the years she had come to resent her parents and sister so much that she killed her parents and sister in their sleep. On the night before the coronation no less."
Thomas's eyes widened. 'Wow, I didn't think Equestria could be so...dark. Is this really the magical land of colorful ponies that I know?'
"T-That's horrible! How could anyone murder their own family for reasons like that?!" Angela said with a gasp.
"I don't know," answered Midnight. "One minute she was a recluse, and then a psycho the next. But it didn't end there; she used a group of soldiers and servants that she had deceived to help her kill all of the alicorn advisers. Every single one of them was killed, it was only by sheer luck that we managed to escape. But now she rules over all, and the utopia of Equestria is now a mere memory."
Thomas and Angela sat in silence next to one another, processing the information they had just been given.
Thomas finally said, "I'm sorry both of you had to go through all of that, I can see why your husband doesn't trust us. I'm guessing that Domina is looking for both of you?"
"Yes, Solar Flare was worried that you worked for her."
"Well we completely understand," said Angela. "And we're sorry for frightening you."
Midnight smiled. "Apology accepted."
She paused for a moment before saying, "Apology accepted. RIGHT, SOLAR FLARE?"
Solar Flare sighed in annoyance. "Apology accepted. Sorry I acted so suspicious of you two, I'm just worried. Also, shouldn't we be going now? We need to get to the village."
"Solar Flare, we can't fly. Both of our wings are still thawing out, so we can't leave until then. Anyway, Thomas? ...I'm guessing you two aren't from here if you know nothing about Domina Mors, would you mind telling us where you're from?" Midnight said.
"Of course," said Thomas.
He told Midnight and Solar Flare about earth, humans, his brother, the convention, and winding up in the unknown land.
"I'm sorry, I know the feeling of being separated from your family, I know it must be hard for you," Midnight said in an attempt to comfort the saddened humans.
"It's alright," said Angela. "If there's on thing I've learned about my son it's that he knows how to take care of himself. He'll be just fine, I'm sure that he's looking for us right now."
Midnight frowned for a minute before perking up, an idea having entered her mind. "How about we help you look for him while he head toward the village?"
"WHAT!" Solar Flare finally spoke up after being silent for so long. "No! I'm willing to apologize for acting suspicious, but we can't waste time looking for these human's family when we have our own to go back to."
Midnight sent a glare at her husband that sent a chill down his spine. "Imagine if our little fillies went missing, wouldn't you want someone to help you find them? Our children are safe, but I'm not about to let these two lose someone close to them. They saved our lives, we should at least repay them."
Solar Flare withered under his wife's glare. "Alright," he muttered. "But only cause they helped us."
Midnight's glare changed back into a smile almost instantly. "That's what I thought."
"T-Thank you for offering to help us, it means a lot," Angela said.
"Oh it's no problem at all. Since there's a bit of time left before we're in any shape to fly, how about we just sit around and talk. For starters, what is up with the costumes?"
Angela and Thomas grinned at each other. "That my friend, is a long story," Thomas said.
. . .
The group of Windigos made their way through the palace of their queen. They took their time getting to the throne room, for they knew that she was most definitely not going to be pleased with their report.
They reached the throne room after a few minutes of walking in silence and hesitantly pushed open the giant set of doors.
There she was in all her dark glory; an alicorn mare with a coat of fur as black as night, and an orange mane that seemed to flow in the breeze, despite there not being one. Queen Domina Mors, ruler over Cryptonia.
She looked up at them with a chilling smile, her deep green eyes piercing their very souls.
"Ah! I was wondering when you all would arrive. My soldiers captured a good portion of the villagers that weren't able to escape their hidden sanctuary. But some of my officers said you pursued the two alicorns, so I trust you bring good news?" The Queen said, excitement shining in her eyes.
The group of monsters were silent before one of them stepped forward. "It's true my Queen, we pursued and froze the two alicorns you sent us to exterminate." He said. The Queen's smile increased in size, she was very pleased with this report.
"But," Her smile began to fade. "Two creatures that we have never even seen the likes of in our lifetimes attacked us. One was a fierce warrior, and the other could summon lightning! We stood no chance against-"
"Captain?" The harsh tone in the Queen's voice filled the room's occupants with dread. "Do you remember why I gave your group the power you posses? Can you recall what you said on that day?"
The Windigos remained silent.
"I believe you said: "My squad will take anything thrown at us and overcome it without fail." Did I say that correctly?"
The Windigos withered under their Queen's glare.
"Y-Yes my queen. You said it word for word."
Her face softened. "Why so tense Captain? Everypony makes mistakes."
The captain and his group relaxed, thinking that she was going to spare them. "Sorry my Queen, it won't-"
The alicorn lit up her horn and sent ten bolts of magic flying at each of the windigos present. By the time they realized what was happening, each of them had been impaled by the piercing spells. Each of them fell forward, their lifeless corpses lying face down on the stone floor.
"Unfortunately, I'm not as forgiving as other ponies," she said, glaring at the corpses with no feeling of remorse. She watched as the magic she had blessed them with escaped from their bodies, leaving only the bodies of ten stallions.
She opened the two giant doors as far as they could before yelling out with a magically amplified voice. "GUARDS!"
Immediately, two mares garbed in silver armor entered the room. These were not ordinary ponies; both of them had fur of the dullest gray and the wings of a bat, their eyes, ears, and teeth also resembling the flying mammal.
"Dispose of these bodies for me, and fetch the maids, I need them to clean the blood up before it stains," she commanded, leaning back into her throne.
"Yes my Queen," they both said in perfect unison, bowing before dragging the former soldiers to the furnace.
Once both of them were gone, she stood up, and walked out of the throne room. She walked through the castle until she reached a set of metal double doors secured by multiple locks, guarded by two armed soldiers.
"Let me in," she commanded. The two mutated nodded, undoing the locks and opening the doors before stepping aside. She said nothing as she descended down a set of stone stairs that led to the castle dungeon. She arrived at the bottom, walking past the rows of jail cells, stopping in front of the first occupied one.
The occupant; a young earth pony mare, looked up at her in fear. The Alicorn merely grinned before channeling dark magic into the now screaming pony's body. The earth pony began to change, an ethereal white energy wrapping around her body. The energy then began to take form, transforming into the body of strong mare that was as tall as Domina herself.
She went limp; and then stood up, the newly transformed Windigo looking up at her new commander.
"Report to the barracks," she said, opening the cell doors. The windigo merely nodded; walking out of the cell and up the stairs.
'Killing soldiers would be pointless if I couldn't replace them," Domina Mors thought to herself. She turned to look at the cell behind her, the occupant staring at her in horror.
She merely grinned as she charged her horn up with dark magic.
Crossover part 1: Equestria's mighteist goth chick!
"And that is story of Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, the two characters we dressed as," Thomas said, finishing his tale of the two fictional superheroes.
"Wow!" Midnight exclaimed. "Your planet has such interesting literature, I would love to hear more stories about these "comic books" as you call them. Might be a good way to pass the time."
"Trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg. How about I tell you the story of when the Lantern Corps fought undead-" Thomas started to say before being rudely cut off by Solar Flare.
"As much as I'd like to hear more outrageous stories about humans in tights, I think we should start making our way back to the main village," he said.
Midnight pouted. "Aw, but can't we hear at least one more story?"
Solar Flare sighed at his wife's antics. "Once we get back to the village you can listen to all the made up stories you want to but we really need to get going before more of the Queen's forces find us."
"Oh all right," Midnight answered. "Wait, how are they going to keep up with us? Unless they can fly, I don't know how they'll be able to follow us."
Thomas and Angela looked at each other with a knowing smile, and nodded. They both proceeded to make themselves hover off of the ground, to the astonishment of the two Equines.
"Woah...You weren't kidding when you said that you got their powers!" Midnight said in amazement.
"They...they're flying...without wings?!" Solar Flare said, struck dumb by the two humans.
Angela chuckled. "Alright, enough gawking; Let's go to that village you were talking about before it gets dark."
"Okay." She looked over at the astonished stallion with amusement. She reached over and closed his gaping mouth with a forehoof. "Close your mouth dear, it's rather unattractive to leave it hanging like that."
Solar Flare snapped out of his stupor. He grunted in annoyance and brushed his wife's hoof away from his jaw. "Hardy har har. Enough with the jokes, we need to leave."
"Don't be such a stick in the mud Flare, I'm just messing around," Midnight said with a smile.
The two super powered humans chuckled at the banter between the married couple.
'Reminds me of how Bobby and I used to be.' Angela thought sadly.
"Well enough with the jokes, let's..." He trailed off when he stepped on something odd. He lifted his hoof off of the foreign object and inspected it. Not recognizing it, he lifted off the ground with his magic.
"Hey, this belong to either of you?" he asked.
Angela floated forward and took the object in her hand. It was a Black Ankh with the cross colored white, shaped like a lightning bolt; next to it was a long Bull's horn and a feather of a hawk that had been threaded together into a necklace.
"I'm sorry, but this doesn't belong to-" Angela said.
Suddenly, a voice came out of the Ankh, startling the cave's inhabitants.
"I am Black Alice. If you need a hand beating the shit out of someone/thing, need some healing, or just want to hang out, then summon me and I'll be there."
"What the heck?! Did that necklace just talk!?" Solar Flare said, startled once again by something else he had thought was impossible: a talking inanimate object.
"Yeah it did. What was it saying about summoning someone?" Midnight asked.
"It said that we can use this thing to summon someone named Black Alice. Hmm... That name doesn't ring a bell, have you ever heard of it Thomas?" Angela asked.
"Not really. I've heard of Black Adam but not Black Alice," Thomas replied, inspecting the strange looking necklace.
After a brief moment of silence, Angela spoke. "...Should we try summoning whoever this 'Black Alice' is?"
"I'm not sure, but how would we even summon her?" Thomas thought for a minute before saying the first idea that popped into his head. "Try putting it on or something."
Left with no other ideas, Angela reluctantly put the necklace on.
"Black Alice. Come forth!"
Meanwhile on the other side of the multiverse, Black Alice was sitting in her favorite Rocking Chair reading her the newest issue of Zebony when suddenly she felt a slight tingle at the base of her skull.
The voice of a woman suddenly resounded in her head,
"Black Alice, come forth!"
Putting down her magazine, Alice summoned her Token.
"Oh goody. For once I'm being summoned and not doing the summoning. Wonder what I'll encounter this time."
Alice got up and stretched before activating her token, which opened a portal to the void. She then jumped inside.
A portal opened up in the mouth of the cave and out stepped Alice. She gave a quick look around where she arrived and noticed two unfamiliar Alicorns and near them stood the new 52 versions of Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel?
Alice grinned mischievously and gave the good captain a sultry look, "Oh this is just too perfect. One of my greatest fantasies has come true and now I can die happy."
The four of them stood stock still, not knowing how to respond to the woman.
"Um...what?" Thomas said, not sure what to make of this woman, or the sultry look she was giving him.
"Heh. Nevermind, so what does the World's Mightiest Mortal and the Princess of the Amazons want with little ole me?"
"Well...nothing. We just found some weird necklace lying around and Mom just put it on and said something; and then a portal opened up and you came here," Thomas answered, gesturing to the necklace that was hanging around Angela's neck. "Who are you?"
"Wait, did you say mom?" Alice eyes turned to look at Wonder Woman. "Well fuck. I just flirted with a boy in front of his mom. Excuse me, I must now go and commit seppuku." Alice turned away in embarrassment. "Melodramatics aside, my name is Black Alice, or just Alice if you prefer. And let me ask, how long have you been here? My guess is not very long, correct?"
"No, we've only been here for about an hour and a half. How could you tell?" Thomas asked. While off to his side, Angela was giving Alice a glare that could give Superman's heat vision a run for it's money.
"Don't even try it princess, it will end badly for you. And to answer your question Billy, you and your mother have that look about you that screams rookie. The same one I had a long time ago. But don't worry, I'll help you and your mother get through this even if it kills me. Let me start by telling you a story."
"Once upon a time there was a boy and his mother. One day the boy received some very exciting news from his mother. They were going to this year's Comic Con. a very big and special event where many people gather to share and indulge in interests that they all shared and as an extra special surprise they would dressing like their favorite heroes. On the day of the event they traveled very far to reach where Comic con was being held and when they got there they grew more and more excited. Time passed and eventually the boy and his mother arrived at a special stand full of unique items of interest. Now both the boy and his mother spotted something they each wanted very badly and the one who was running the stand offered to sell them the items at a very nice price. The mother bought the items for both the boy and herself and was ready to begin enjoying the rest of the con but...something went wrong. Suddenly the boy and his mother felt very odd and soon blacked out. When they came too they found themselves lost in a strange land, the boy and his mother despaired but there was hope. It seemed that by some twist of fate they had gained the abilities of the very heroes they idolized and so they set off to explore this strange land and during their journey they encounter talking magical ponies. To be continued maybe...."
"Does any of that sound familiar to you?" Alice asked.
Midnight and Solar Flare looked over to the two other humans, seeing shock written all over their faces. Angela even dropped her glare because she was so surprised at the accuracy of Alice's story.
"T-That was incredible! You must have been through the same thing, because your story was almost completely accurate!" Thomas exclaimed.
Alice smiled ruefully, "Well yes and no. That was not my story but yours and mine and countless others. You see dear child, you and your mother along with me are part of a collective of individuals known as the Displaced. Various beings who through some reason or another wound up taken from their native Earth in their native multiverse and placed in a new multiverse. One based on a particular TV show known as My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The origins may differ slightly or greatly depending on the individual/s but in it's core it is all the same. If you still don't believe me despite the evidence I gave you then have your mother use her lasso on me, I won't resist."
Angela reached for her lasso and threw it at Alice, making it tighten up around her. "Black Alice," Angela said in a commanding voice, "If you speak the truth, then what is your power?"
"Oh you just had to ask that didn't you? Truthfully? I have far too many to count."
"Well, then show me one!" Angela commanded.
"You do realize that that is the lasso of Truth not of subjugation right? But very well, I'll need a moment."
"Very well." Angela released Alice from the lasso of truth and waited.
Suddenly, Angela found herself bound in her own lasso.
Alice grinned but something was different about her, her outfit had changed to look like a darker more customized version of Wonder Woman's pre New 52 outfit. Lasso included.
"Now Wonder Woman, tell me your own name, and the name of your son before you became Wonder Woman and Captain Marve,l as well as the names of your Alicorn friends."
Angela struggled, but found herself forced to answer Alice's question. "My name is Angela Burner, and my youngest son's name is Thomas Burner. The two Alicorns are Solar Flare and Midnight."
Thomas's eyes narrowed. "Hey! Let mom go!"
"Don't worry I will. I'm just getting a little payback for her previous question. Do you know how rude it is to ask someone that especially using the lasso of truth? You may as well ask a woman her age, weight and breast size." Alice released Angela from her own lasso. "Anyway I hope you learned your lesson Diana because next time it will be much worse than simple humiliation in front of your son." Alice said sternly.
Thomas walked over and helped his mother to her feet, sending a glare Alice's way. "You're lucky I'm nicer than Robert, he wouldn't have taken that as calmly as I did. Are you alright mom?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Angela said as she got to her feet.
"She did ask me to show her one of my powers you do realize that." Alice pointed out.
"Well I didn't ask you to do a demonstration on me!" Angela retorted.
"If I did it to your son do you honestly think you would've kept a cool head? You would have attacked me, I would defend myself and hurt you, your son would've gotten mad and attacked, I would defend myself and so on until you both would either be dead or seriously injured. And that's not why I'm here, I'm here to help you until you are able to stand on your own two feet as it were." Alice countered expertly.
Angela growled before conceding. "You have a point. Just let me know next time."
Off to the side, Solar Flare and Midnight had been listening in on the entire conversation. While they didn't understand half of what Alice was talking about, they were starting to get worried that another argument might break out, and frankly; the power the three humans wielded slightly frightened them.
"I hate to interrupt but we really need to start heading towards the hidden village. There are many ponies waiting for us there, so can you please continue this while we travel?" Solar Flare said.
Alice shrugged "Sounds like a plan to me. Last thing before we go. I apologize Diana for before. Friends?" Alice offered her hand
Angela looked at Alice's hand before reaching forward with her own, shaking Alice's hand. "Friends. And please, call me Angela, I prefer my real name."
"Very well then, Angela. Now then let's go. FOR TRUTH! JUSTICE!! AND YOGURT!!!!" and with that declaration Alice rocketed into the sky.
Seeing that the conflict was over, and feeling a little silly; Thomas took to the sky, shouting loud enough for all of them to hear. "AND FOR AMERICA!!!"
"FUCK YEAH!!!" Alice added.
Angela shook her head and turned to the two very confused Alicorns. "Come on you two. Let's try not to get left in the dust." Angela then took to the sky as well.
Midnight and Solar Flare looked at each other for a moment, both of them thinking the exact same thing, 'The trip with these three is certainly going to be interesting.' And then both of them took off, intent on showing them the way to the village.
After an hour of flying, storytelling, and endless fields of snow, they finally reached the place where the alicorns were looking for.
"Stop everyone! We're here," Solar Flare said.
The three humans looked around in silence before Thomas pointed out the obvious.
"Solar Flare? There's nothing here. That place where you're pointing is just MORE snow."
"You have the power of Shazam boy. Use it!" Alice chided.
"I'd prefer not falling to my death by calling out the word, thank you." Thomas said.
Alice facepalmed. "Thanks to the power of the wizard, specifically Solomon's wisdom you have the ability to see through such a simple cloaking spell." 'Idiot.' Alice thought. "Also you're the New 52 Captain Marvel. That means you won't change back by simply saying his name. You have to want to change back for that to happen." Alice reminded her friend.
"Oh!" Thomas said. He looked back to the area Solar Flare pointed out and began concentrating. Sure enough, he saw through the cloaking spell, revealing the town below. "Oops. I kinda forgot about that. You know, with a woman coming from another dimension my powers briefly slipped my mind," he said sheepishly.
"I'm surprised you were able to see through my spell, only extremely powerful magic users can," Midnight said, impressed at their skill. "But we should get inside, just let me turn off the spell so we can go in."
"Lead the way you two, we're right behind you." Alice said.
Midnight lit her horn up with a dark blue aura, and the cloaking spell faded, revealing the town to anyone who might be looking. They all descended into the town, getting the attention of all townsponies that happened to be in that general area. Once they touched the ground Midnight reactivated the cloaking spell, concealing it once more.
"It's alright ponies!" Midnight called out to the townsfolk. "They mean us no harm!" The various mares and stallions nodded in understanding, going back to what they had been doing.
"So...Now that we're finally here, what happens now?" Thomas asked the group.
Alice shrugged "You tell me, this is your world though I suggest we head to a secure location, away from prying eyes and ears. Loose lips sinks ships after all." Alice answered.
"You can come with us to our house for awhile. We need to check up on our fillies anyway," Midnight said.
"Sounds like a pla..." Thomas trailed off when he realized what she just said. "Wait! You have children?!"
"Yes! Two little fillies. I must have forgotten to tell you," Midnight said with a sheepish grin and small blush.
"So that's why you two were so eager to get back here, you were worried about your daughters," Angela said with a knowing smile.
"Yes, so how about we get home so I can show them to you?" Midnight suggested.
"Honey! That's..." Midnight shot him a glare out of the corner of her eyes. "..a great idea! Let's go." Solar Flare said as he begrudgingly led the way. It wasn't long before they arrived in front of a modest looking two story house, Solar Flare opened the door and led the way inside.
"We're home!" Midnight called out with glee once they were inside.
The groups heard hoofsteps running around above them before bolting down the stairs. The two Alicorn fillies rounded the corner, beaming at the sight of their parents.
One of them had a white coat of fur like her father, her tail and mane were a cotton candy pink. The second had a dark blue coat of fur, her mane and tail being a lighter shade of blue. Both were small, being about as tall as Angela's knee, their wings were also not fully developed.
"Mommy! Daddy!" They called out as they leaped forward into their parents outstretched hooves.
"Celestia? Luna?" Alice wondered aloud.
All four Alicorns focused their attention on her. "How do you know their names?" Solar Flare asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Artistic lucky guess." Alice said simply. 'So it's like that eh?' Alice thought, 'This changes things a lot whether for the better or not remains to be seen. Looks like my new friends are about to have their work cut out for them.'
'Celestia and Luna? Where, or rather when did we end up?' Thomas thought to himself. 'Looks like we're definitely not in the Equestria I'm familiar with.'
Angela on the other hand, had no idea who these ponies were, so she was not shocked by the two young princesses.
"Aw! They're so cute!" She gushed.
"Thank you," Midnight said with a smile. "We love them so much, and were so worried for their safety when the village we visited was attacked."
"Hey, where is the foalsitter?" Solar Flare asked.
The filly Celestia lept out of Midnight's arms and bolted out of the room, coming back with a piece of parchment a moment later. She presented it to her mother, who took it with her magic. She read over it before putting it down.
"So Tender Care had to leave for awhile?" She asked Celestia, who replied with a quick nod.
"Mommy? Daddy? What are those things?" Luna asked, slipping out of her father's hooves. "They look weird."
'Insulted by a filly on the first day. Wow.' Thomas thought with a frown.
Midnight giggled. "Those things are called humans darling, and they helped us get home."
Luna tilted her head. "Human?" she said, sounding the word out slowly.
Thomas felt a tug on his cape, looking down he saw the wide eyes of Celestia looking up at him.
She was silent for a moment before saying, "Sis is right, you are weird looking."
'Ouch.' Thomas thought.
"Hah! You got burned by a little filly." Alice laughed at her friend's misfortune.
Celestia looked up at Alice in confusion. "Why are you laughing at it? You're weird too."
Thomas burst out laughing. "That's rich!" he said.
"Damn straight! And proud of it!" Alice acknowledged with a grin "So thanks for the compliment young one."
The two parents rushed forward and covered the fillies' ears.
"Watch your language around the children!" Angela said sternly as Solar Flare and Midnight led Celestia and Luna out of the room.
"You're welcome!" Celestia shouted from another room as the two older Alicorns returned.
Alice blushed briefly and looked away in shame. "Oh right, sorry. Sometimes I forget that you're not supposed to do that around the young ones."
Midnight sighed. "It's alright, you didn't mean to. Just don't do it again."
Alice nodded in confirmation but still refused to look back.
"Awkward things aside," Thomas said once he regained his composure. "What village was destroyed?"
"Well as you know, there are hidden villages scattered around Equestria; all of them filled with ponies fleeing from Queen Domina Mors. Many of them just like this one. We visited one about five hours from here to see how the citizens were holding up. But we must have been followed, because we were attacked. Flare and I helped some of the ponies evacuate before escaping from the legion of soldiers she sent to kill us. But we were attacked by Windigos on the journey back, and were frozen solid before we knew what was happening. That's when you two found us," Midnight explained.
"Damn," said a voice from the hallway. Everyone looked to see a beaming Luna standing there. "Damn," she repeated.
Midnight and Solar Flare shrieked, leaving the room with the now frowning filly in tow.
"Was it something I said?" Luna asked as she was dragged out of sight.
"If I'm being honest a part of me finds this hilarious, the other part is ashamed of that part." Alice said flatly. "I'm going to have to fix this aren't I?" she asked.
"I don't think you can," Angela said. "Children are very impressionable at this age."
"True." Alice agreed "But then most people don't have the ability to wipe other people's memories. I do however possess such an ability."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Doesn't erasing memories lead to problems to both the mind and psyche? Plus, I doubt her parents would be enthusiastic about the idea." Angela said. "If you can get them to agree, I have no problem with it."
"Normally you would be partially correct but I'm not going for a total memory wipe. I'm only targeting that particular word. I'll be as precise as a laser scalpel. Besides I've done it before so I'm no amature." Alice countered.
"Alright, just get the okay from Midnight and Solar Flare before doing it," Angela said.
"Don't worry, I will." Alice said before letting out a few snickers.
"Alice? Since we have some time, would you mind answering a few questions about the token we used to summon you?" Thomas asked, holding up the item he had used to summon her. "For starters, where did you come from?"
"Oh right, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Your first question has many different answers so please clarify. Do you mean 'Me as I originally was?' 'Me as in the character I've become?' or 'Me as I am right now?" Alice asked.
"The "you" as you are now," Thomas answered.
"Ok. I came from Appleloosa in an Equestria very different to this one. Think of it like this: My Equestria is Earth-1 and yours is Earth-616. What separates us is a force/dimension referred to by most Displaced as "The Void". Think of it like the Speed Force. And accessing it requires a certain something in order to traverse it due to it's inhospitable nature. Tokens act as universal keys to access the Void while at the same time doubling as armor protecting you the harshness of the void. Think Corridors of Darkness and Green Lantern rings. Only few Displaced myself included are strong to move among the void freely and survive without suffering any adverse effects." Alice took a deep breath before continuing "You," she gave Tom a piercing gaze, "Can too as long as you stay in your transformed state but your Mom cannot. Not only does she not posses the power to access the void without a token but she would only survive temporarily before eventually succumbing." Alice finished.
Thomas collected his thoughts before speaking, "Why? I thought Wonder Woman was nearly equal to Captain Marvel in terms of power, are magic users the only ones who can survive without a token? Also, since you come from your own version of Equestria does that mean you have your own set of friends and enemies?"
"…." Alice burst into major fits of laughter for a few minutes.
"Oh that's rich. Wonder Woman equal to Captain Marvel? Not even on her best day. Whoever told you that was either lying or doesn't know or understand the Captain Marvel mythos." Alice let a few more chuckles before become serious again.
"No, magic users aren't the only ones who can survive the void without a token. It all depends on the characters itself. For example, a Green Lantern would be capable due to the protective nature of the Lantern ring, and the Flashes would be able to due to the Speed Force, but that's purely speculation on my part. As for friends...." Alice paused a moment before giving a big smile "Yeah I'm really close friends with the Buffalo Tribes that live there along with the ponies that live in the town itself."
Alice frowned "As for enemies....I've got more than I can count and not all of them are MLP natives." Alice paused for a moment and gave Tom and Angela a look that sent chills down their spines. "Listen up this is very important. When you came here to this world your respective enemies came with you. Don't ask me for an explanation because I can't. All I can say is that whenever a Displaced shows up in an Equestria the enemies belonging to that Displaced always show up too. Every. Single. Time. Without fail. It happened to me and the same thing will happen to you two." Alice sighed.
She didn't want to scare her friends but they needed to know the truth as soon as possible especially since they wound up in Equestria's past and would likely be at a disadvantage.
"Well...thank you for telling us. But back to the token, how long does it allow you to stay in another world?" Thomas asked.
"Until either the summoner sends the summoned back by saying the appropriate words or the summoned uses the token to go back of their own volition. In order to send someone back all you have to do is say 'X our contract is complete.' And the token will instantly send the summoned back. So unless either scenarios happen, one Displaced could stay in another's world indefinitely."
"When the summoned Displaced leaves or is sent away, does the summoner get to keep the token afterwards?"
"Yes. Once found the token stays with them and before you ask, yes you can own more than one Displaced's token at a time. One important thing to note is that anyone or anything can use a Displaced's token even ponies."
"Well that's good, I was worried I might not be able to talk to you again once you leave." Thomas said, relieved that he would still be able to talk to his new friend once she left.
"Oh don't worry, I intend to keep a special eye on you two so you will definitely see me again." Alice gave the two a friendly wink before becoming solemn again. "Realize tokens while beneficiary can also be a double-edged sword. As I said before anyone can use them, so what do you think will happen if an enemy gets their hands on one and happens to summon a Displaced who isn't as nice a me?"
Thomas smiled, "Then I'll just summon you."
"Heh, smart boy. But I won't be available all the time. I'm just warning you that you may one day have to fight perhaps even kill others that are just like you. So be ready." Alice warned
Thomas frowned at the thought of killing. "Kill? ...Only if absolutely necessary, I don't like the thought of murder. And neither does mom."
"When a soldier fights and kills an enemy for their country's protection it's not murder. Murder is when you kill someone with no real reason other than malice." Alice clarified. "Besides as we've proven earlier neither of us are above harming or even killing anyone if it means protecting the ones we love."
"Only if there's no other option," Angela said.
"I can respect that. Anyway, any other questions for me? You haven't asked any at all Angela."
"Hm..." she thought for a moment. "Not really, I think Thomas covered everything."
"Ok then now the next thing is creating a token."
"How do we do that?" Angela asked.
"Well that depends. In Tom's case he can simply use his magic to create an object, or he can get an already created object and simply channel his own unique void magic into it. I suggest you have your son create a single token and let the two of you share it, because I'm willing to bet you don't like the idea of being separated for too long."
"Yeah. And...Tom? Is that your nickname for me or something?" he said.
"Well isn't Tom short for Thomas? Would you prefer I use your character's name, Billy?"
"There's nothing wrong with it, I've just never been called anything other than my full name."
"Well get used to hearing it from me until I think of a better nickname." Alice said dismissively.
"Alright, that's fine. You can tell me when we meet again," he said.
"Woah hold your Rahkshi! You sound as if I'm about to leave any second now. "
"Again, I know. I was just under the assumption that you might not be able to come up with something for awhile," he replied.
"Right then. Best get to work," Alice suggested.
"Might as well," Thomas said with a shrug. "How do we start?"
"Just think of an object or objects that are closely related to either yourself and or your character. Then use the power of Shazam to create said object. Next, fill it with your own unique void magic, create a message identifying yourself and whatever you think is relevant, then cast it into the void." Alice finished instructing.
"Alright, just give me a second to think," Thomas said. He thought of an appropriate item for a minute before concentrating. Angela watched in awe as an object formed in her son's hand. She studied the object once it was fully formed.
It looked like Wonder Woman's tiara, with a lightning bolt on the front, the entire thing bound in a small red rope.
"What an interesting object!" Angela said. "I like how you put aspects from both characters."
"Thanks ma," Thomas said, proud of his creation. "Now to make a message, do I just speak to it?"
Alice nodded. "Don't forget to tell them how they're supposed to use it, like are they supposed to wear it or whatever."
"Okay, just one second." he thought for a few seconds before speaking. "I am Shazam, otherwise known as Captain Marvel if you prefer. If you have good intentions and a noble cause, put this tiara on your head and say aloud: "Shazam! Come to my aid!" And my partner; Wonder Woman and I might come and help you. But if you are a villain that seeks to harm others, then be prepared to face the power of the gods." Thomas finished. "Now how do I send this into the void or whatever?"
"Now you just channel your and your mother's individual void magic," Alice opened a portal to the void "And chuck it. The rest takes care of itself."
"Okay...let's do this mom." Angela nodded and walked over and placed her hand on Thomas's shoulder. They channeled their void magic and chucked the token into the void.
"Now what happens to the token?" Angela asked.
Alice shrugged, "It'll self-replicate and search for the nearest world that doesn't have a copy of itself. What happens then is completely up to fate."
"World? Or worlds?" Angela asked.
"Either. Take your pick. The multiverse is finicky."
"I would imagine so," Angela said. "So, any other things we should know about our situation that you haven't already told us?"
Alice thought for a moment. "No not really. Other than you should learn to have a lot of patience. You'll be doing a lot of waiting."
Angela raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"You realize as Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel you'll age very slow if at all. I'm sure you can guess what I mean."
Both of them were silent, before Thomas grinned and said, "Then it's a good thing we've befriended Alicorns."
Alice sighed, "I wouldn't get too comfortable with that idea. Besides in time you'll become friends with others who aren't so fortunate."
Thomas gave a sad smile. "I know what immortality entails, I'm just trying to think positively while I still can. I don't want to think about what you're mentioning."
"Best make peace with it now while the gettin's good."
"We will, trust me, we will. Just not yet, I'd like a little longer before I think about such morbid things," he said.
Alice nodded in understanding.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of hooves coming up behind them. They looked to see the two stressed Alicorns waking towards them.
"I wish that Luna hadn't heard you say that," Solar Flare said. "She's going around saying the new word over and over without knowing what it means."
"Yeeah. Sorry about that. Hey if you want I could make Luna forget she ever heard that word." Alice offered.
"And how exactly would you do that?" Solar Flare asked.
The group of three explained how Alice can erase memories without causing damage to the target.
"...I don't know," Solar Flare said, hesitantly. "What do you think Midnight?"
"Well, if you're sure that it won't harm her then I'll let you. You are sure this is safe right?" Midnight asked.
"About as safe as anything can really be called." Alice responded before shifting into a new outfit.
"Alright then, LUNA!" Midnight shouted.
Luna came trotting down the hall, stopping in front of her parents. "Yes mommy?"
"The nice lady is going to help you, just stand still," Solar Flare said, slightly put off by the change in costume.
The filly nodded and looked up at Alice.
"Don't be afraid." Alice said in a slightly ethereal voice "I'm just going to dim your memory of a word you weren't ready to hear yet." after she said this Alice simply touched Luna's forehead.
"There. Done. And for being a good little filly here's something special for you." A thick wad of cotton candy on a stick appeared in Alice's hand and she handed it to Luna before shifting back to her default outfit.
Luna's eyes went wide at the sight of the delicious wad of sugary cotton. She snatched the treat from Alice's hand and quickly ran to where her sister was.
"Sister! Look what I got!" she shouted as she ran to Celestia's room.
"Did it work?" Solar Flare asked.
"Why don't you find out? If you won't take my word for it." Alice suggested.
"Okay then, LUNA! Come here for a second!" he shouted.
Luna, followed by Celestia came down the stairs, with Luna still eating her sugary treat; the sight of which, was adorable.
"Now Luna, do you remember that new word you learned today?" Solar Flare asked.
Luna didn't answer, instead, she pondered the question. "No," she finally answered.
Solar Flare and Midnight smiled. "It worked! It actually-" Midnight began before being cut off.
"Do you mean damn?" Celestia asked. Luna stopped eating her cotton candy, and smiled widely after hearing a new word.
Thomas and Angela looked at each other, before face-palming simultaneously.
"In hindsight I should've seen this coming." Alice said flatly before changing into her previous outfit again. In a matter of seconds Alice quickly teleported behind the two sisters, touched both their foreheads, gave Celestia her own stick of Cotton candy and teleported back.
"Thank you!" Celestia said before beginning to devour her own treat.
"Yeah sure. Just keep on being good fillies." Alice replied as she shifted back.
"When aren't we?" Luna replied before she and Celestia ran off to go play.
Midnight gave a sigh of relief, "Thank you for that."
Suddenly, the front door slammed open, and a mare with white fur and a pink mane came in.
"I'm finally ba..." she trailed off when she noticed the two Alicorns that had hired her, as well as the three humans. "Oh! I didn't realize you were home already," she said. "I also didn't know you had...guests."
Midnight gave a warm smile. "Hello Tender Care, how have the fillies been?"
"They've been absolutely wonderful while you've been away," Tender said. "They didn't cause any trouble."
"Well that's good to hear," Solar Flare said.
"Yes. But I assume that you haven't heard the news since you're all back here," Tender said.
Midnight raised an eyebrow, "What news?"
"Some of the ponies from the town you visited have entered the city."
Midnight's eyes widened, "They have?! Flare and I must go see how they are doing, would you mind looking after Celestia and Luna for just a bit longer?"
"O-Of course my lady," Tender replied.
"Thank you, we won't be long," Midnight said as she and Flare rushed to the door. "If you three want to come, then follow us."
Thomas nodded, "We should go help them, come on!" he said as he jogged after the two Alicorns.
The Queen sat on her throne, awaiting news about her newest Windigo guards. The door to the throne room opened, but instead of a guard, her second in command entered.
"Shade, how do you do?" she asked one of the only beings she would ever consider a 'friend.'
Shade kneeled, "I am doing excellent, my queen."
"Rise." Shade stood up. "I'm guessing that you have come here with a report?"
"Yes. Your soldiers have destroyed another hidden village and are currently chasing the citizens that fled," he said.
Domina smiled maliciously, "Good, and how goes the search for the Dark Crystals?"
"My scouts have found a possible location for the fifth one and are excavating it as we speak," Shade responded.
"Very good," Domina said. "And how goes the search for the vault?"
"My spies have uncovered an ancient manuscript that they believe refers to the vault. They will bring it to you as fast as they can."
"Excellent!" She said before breaking out into evil laughter, Shade joining in as well.
