A Dead Future

by FrostTheWolf

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Apple Bloom, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Spike, Other, Fluttershy, Tragedy, Crossover, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 8249

[Side Story to When Lightning Strikes] For one mare, the chance to turn back the clock leads to a much bigger consequence.

My name is Twilight Mist. Granddaughter of Twilight Sparkle, or who the world knows as The Masked Matterhorn.

When I was a filly, my guardian Spike was always there for me. He taught me how to read, cared for me, and even introduced me to the heroes that remained from the first generation of the power ponies. Back then, I thought my life was perfect. That nothing bad could happen.

Then, tragedy struck. What happened then has changed me into the mare that I am now. But... my Guardian Angel was gone. I did not know what I would do without him.

In a desperate attempt in order to cheat death, I made a choice that would not only impact me, but also my friends and the entire world around us.

I don't deserve to be a hero. Everything that happened was my fault. To me... I see myself as the cause for everything falling apart.

I'm so sorry, Humdrum.

Mainly a side story to When Lightning Strikes, with tie in's to Evolve Me Not and Displacer Tales: Cold Storm. What happens in this story directly impacted the world that the Azure Striker calls home.

[Displaced Side Story. Collaboration between FrostTheWolf and BronyParasite]
Credits to everything shown.
MLP belongs to Hasbro
Azure Striker Gunvolt belongs to Inti Creates.

Published 2015-11-17 06:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-17 06:00:02 UTC

A Dead Future

Before we begin our tale, the story that you are about to read is of a bleak and dead future. Heroes that you would know have either lived on, fallen or ascended into the heavens above. Mighty Mares and Colts have come and gone. Now, the third generation has been brought into the world. Very few of the power ponies remain. Two of them have becomes the equivalent of gods. Some live to see and take care of their grandchildren. Other’s don’t get the chance to see them at all.

The Future looks bleak. But family is what keeps some people going… and if family is all you have… you will do anything to get them back.

Mist, at the age of seven, trotted through the streets of New Maretropolis alongside her guardian dragon. She had a glare on her face, and stomped.

“I hate grocery shopping…” Twilight grumbled as she tried to open her saddlebag if it weren’t for the Draconic guardian messing around with her, “I wanna read…”

Spike looked down at her, playful smile tugging at his lips. Twilight Mist was the granddaughter of Twilight Sparkle. The mare known by all as the Masked Matterhorn. And just like her, the dragon knew exactly how to mess with her. “You like ice cream, right?”

Twilight’s eyes sparkled with excitement upon hearing about the frozen delicacy. She barely had the chance to eat the sweet treat, so hearing that had her look up at her guardian with eyes of hope and innocence. “Yes!”

“Then stop complaining.” He grinned sadistically as the filly’s ears folded, her eyes glaring at him angrily.

“Not funny…”

The purple dragon just burst out laughing, to the Unicorn’s dismay. She never liked it when her father teased her. It was the same thing with her guardian. “Okay, I’m sorry.” He apologized, picking her up in his arms. “How about after this, I’ll take you to see your aunts and uncles. I heard it’s their day off.”

Twilight lightened up, “Really!?”

Spike nodded, smiling, “We all work at the same place and today’s my day off-”

“No!” She whined, “I meant are we really going to see them!”

Spike did nothing but roll his eyes. A sign that got Twilight Mist to squeal in pure joy like a filly on her birthday.

Sparkler giggled as Mist flew through the air in the unicorn’s aura with Spike watching them play around. The few members left in the original Power Ponies team were meeting inside the skyscraper that they called their headquarters and their home. Many years had come and gone and now, only a few members of the first generation of Power Ponies remained. This was also the case when Spike turned around to see a familiar face approach him.

When he had first arrived here, he was just a young teenaged boy who was just beginning to control his powers. Now, Lance Walker, or the hero that was known as “Gunvolt” was standing amongst them. Watching Mist play with his companions reminded him of the past. Reminded him of when the Masked Matterhorn gave him the chance to join the team. She may be gone now, but her legacy lived on in Twilight Mist.

That wasn’t the only thing that changed though. During his time in the Power Ponies, The Azure Striker had lost two dear friends to him while fighting against his most toughest opponents. But it was because of this that a great gift was bestowed upon him. A gift that was both a blessing… and a curse.

Immortality.

When he had first been told about it at a young age, not being able to die seemed too good to be true. But, as years passed and good friends of his either passed away or were killed in the line of duty, he began to feel sad that he wouldn’t be able to join them. However, he wasn’t alone. Fluttershy was also given this gift. How? He wasn’t sure. But that wasn’t the primary focus. What remained of the first line of heroes in Maretropolis was by his side. The second generation of heroes were busy dealing with Universal threats. Leaving them to help take care of the third generation and the city they called home

“Is Zapp coming?” The drake asked the Adept, snapping him out of his trance of thought as he turned to face his friend.

“I believe so,” The adept expressed to the dragon, smiling. “She’s mostly on time unless the grandkids are needing her immediate attention.” The Adept then looked back at Spike. “Speaking of children, how is Mist these days?”

“She’s… Alright. It feels odd, y’know… Taking care of Twi’s granddaughter. I’ve gotten used to it by now, but it’s starting to get weird for me.” Spike sighed, looking back at the young unicorn. “But she’s doing good. I took her out of school though, too many kids trying to get popular by hanging out with her. She’s a bit too anti-social…”

“Unwanted attention. That could drive anypony crazy… I heard that she gets along well with Firefly though. Am I right?”

“They haven’t met. The other parents of our friends grandchildren and Fluttershy thinks it’ll be safer if they’re apart so Delirious can’t get more than one… They did meet though, and they seemed pretty happy.”

The Adept understood completely. Delirious was… in simple terms… a monster. He was responsible for the deaths of many ponies and had a brute amount of strength that was stronger than the Saddle-Rager. In Earth terms, he was like Doomsday.

“I feel glad for them.” Lance told him. “You’ve been taking care of her very well, Spike. Twilight would be proud of you. Same with Rarity.”

“Thanks… Wish they were still here though…” Spike sighed, looking back at Lance. Only to be interrupted when Mist started laughing along with Sparkler after a bucket of water dropped onto the dragon’s face.

“Looks like you’re all washed up!” Sparkler joked.

Soon, one pony with a Rainbow Mane and Tail along with Cyan fur arrived inside the room, coming to a screeching halt. “Sorry for being late, today seems to be take your granddaughter to work day apparently.” She said, noticing Mist.

“Aunt Rainbow!” The filly said galloping over to the well aged hero.

“Hey Dash…” Spike said as he pulled the bucket off his head.

“Glad you can make it, Zapp.” Lance told her, greeting her with a hoof bump as she trotted over. “How are the kids?”

“Vision’s coming over to help out with the… problem, and Wind Tunnel is still looking for Firefly and Gusty.” Dash replied. Lance nodded his head, soon looking back at the others before looking back at Spike and Twilight Mist right next to him. His previous smile had faded, but not turning into a frown just yet.

“Spike… can you find a safe place for Mist?”

“Yeah, why?” The drake asked. The Adept soon sighed, walking over and whispering something into his ear, causing him to look at him with a shocked and scared expression. Soon though, he gulped and responded to what the human told him.

“Uh, Twilight, it’s time to go.” Spike said, to which the unicorn filly sighed in defeat. “I’ll see you later, Lance.”

“Stay safe, my friend.” He told her before the dragon flew away.

Three years later

Mist looked down at the gravestone of her adopted father with a blank stare. It was the third anniversary since Humdrum, her caretaker and guardian, was killed in action and she had come to visit his grave once again. Like she had done for the past two years. Next to her stood Posey, the adopted daughter of Fluttershy.

“You kn-know he would be-be proud o-of you…” She stuttered sadly.

“I don’t care about that… I just want him back… Pride is a stupid thing.” Mist said dryly.

The Earth Pony sighed, “Okay, I un-underst-tand…”

And with that, she left. When Twilight was sure the yellow mare wasn’t around, she began sobbing and apologizing her heart out to her fallen guardian, blaming herself as the reason why Spike was dead. Soon, rain began to fall, but soon, Mist soon began to not feel wet. Looking behind her, the Azure Striker that she had seen earlier was standing right behind her.

“Hello, Mist.”

Mist didn’t respond. She just turned back to the stone slab with her guardian's name on it. After a little bit, she sniffed and looked back.

“H-he’s g-gone… I’m alone...” She teared up, crying her eyes out. The Adept soon got down to her level, hugging her tightly.

“He may not be here physically, but he’ll always be with you in spirit. You’re not alone, Mist…” He told her as she looked up at him. “I’m still here for you. He made me promise to look out for you. And it’s a promise I intend to keep.”

Twilight began sobbing into the Adept’s chest, taking comfort in his embrace. “Th-thank you…” He held her closer, not wanting to let go as the rain became worse. “Let’s go home, what do you say?” The Adept asked her.

“O-okay…”

With a stretch of his fingers, Lance held Mist close as he teleported them back to his home. The rain opening the floodgates for heaven's tears.

As time passed on, new things were beginning to happen for the young unicorn. As Lance was raising her, the Adept soon had her enrolled in a special school that was set up by the Power Ponies to help guide young ponies with special abilities to become the next generation of heroes and protectors. The name of the school was called “Hero Academy” and it was also the newfound home of what remained of the first generation of Power Ponies and those who had lived on afterwards. After completing their applications and demonstrating their skills to the teachers, students are then split into teams of six, where they would learn how to work as a team if they were to succeed.

It had been only two years since the Adept had taken in Twilight Mist and right now, she was sitting in a classroom next to her teammate Firefly, who kept shooting spitballs at the Unicorn.

The teacher, miss Fluttershy, didn’t see the pink Pegasus tormenting her smartest student. ‘Shy was an immortal mare who was the adoptive mother to Mist’s best friend, Posey and also the only other individual of the Power Ponies with the gift of immortality.

Mist used her magic to throw her book at the annoyance, but Fluttershy had just turned. “Mist, what have we said before about throwing objects at anypony?”

“S-sorry…” Mist’s ears folded as she shrunk. Even though Firefly was a part of Twilight’s team, she was still self centered and cruel. Mist guessed it was due to her lifestyle.

Glory Belle, who was sitting in the back of the room while observing everything, just glared at Firefly and continued her paper on Equestrian culture.

The bell rang, and Fluttershy smiled brightly, “Alright class, I want you to finish your reports on how New Yoke was founded by next week.”

One of the other students, a Unicorn by the name of Fizzie snorted randomly and shot a bubble at Mist from her horn.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!” She apologised. It was normal for Mist, so she just ignored it and stood up. She walked over to the exit and made her way outside, followed by Fire, Glory, and Fizzie.

“So! What are we doin today!?” The pink Pegasus asked enthusiastically. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I work on my project, you do what you want.”

“Oh come on egghead! You always study and don’t kick back. C’mon, I’ll show ya this neat place I found last week.” Firefly punctuated her statement by tossing a wing over the light pink Unicorn.

Twilight just snarled. “Stop calling me an egghead… I’m not…”

Firefly chuckled, “I know you love it, egghead.”

“I don’t! I am sick of you thinking of me like that!”

Firefly just smirked. “Then prove it… Me and Surprise’ll pick you up tonight and we’ll have a blast!”

Glory stepped in, “Don’t listen to her darling, it’s a school night.”

Before Twilight could say anything, Firefly spoke. “Look, I’ll see you tonight. If you want to prove you ain’t an egghead, then you’ll come. If not, then we’ll leave you to your boring stuff.”

“Oh? And where would you exactly be going?” Another voice from behind Firefly spoke, catching her by surprise. When she turned around, she was looking at Lance with his arms folded and his gaze upon the Pegasus. He had just caught her in the act, meaning that she was in serious trouble.

“Uh… Just a dance club where some students hang out… Um… N-nothing bad!” Firefly’s legs buckled a bit, and she looked about ready to dart.

“You know… I would believe that… If Zapp didn’t tell me you had a tendency to lie.” Lance said, looking at Mist now. “I also heard from Saddle Rager that you tried chucking a book at her? Actions like that usually have a reason behind it. Mist… why did you do it?”

“Firefly was shooting spitballs at me during class…” Mist said, looking at Lance with an upset look. When Lance turned, he soon noticed the straw sticking out of Firefly’s bag, sighing a little.

“All of you soon need to learn about responsibility. You are suppose to trust and count on one another. And that can’t happen if you are picking on one another.” He told them. “I’m letting you two off on a warning for now, but I want you to learn from this. For everything you do, there is a consequence to it. That is why we’re trying to be better.” Lance replied, sighing deeply. “If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them.” With that, he walked back down the hallway to the right, leaving the four of them in shock and awe… Well, awe for some ponies.

“What a drag…” Firefly whispered. “Tonight, you prove you're not a total egghead. I won’t mess with ya either.” The Pegasus flew away quickly after, leaving only three.

Glory narrowed her eyes at Mist. “You aren’t actually thinking…”

“No! You heard what Lance said! He’s taken care of me this far, and he’s a member of the Equestrian Republic's high council. He knows best.” Twilight defended weakly. She started trotting down the way her guardian's path went. “Besides, I need to work hard if I’m going to become leader of our team like my grandmother and mom.”

“You’ll do it Twi!” Fizzie beamed.

“Thanks, but don’t you have some drills to do with your team?” Mist asked, eyebrow raised.

“Oh penny nickle! You’re right! Gusty’s gonna kill me!” Fizzie yelped, “Later girls!” Twilight herself chuckled as she followed through the doorway that Lance had went through prior before she propped herself on a couch.

“Twilight?” Lance spoke, surprised to see her. “I thought you were with your friends.” The Adept noticed that she was reading to herself, only putting down the book she had when she heard the Adept call her name.

“Posey and AJ are on a field trip with Professor Grim, Glory wanted to meet up with her higher class friends, and the others are off making trouble somewhere. We don’t hang out much after school or after training missions. I’d spend some time with Posey, but like I said, she’s away.” Twilight listed.

“I understand.” The Adept replied, opening a manila folder that looked like nothing Twilight Mist had seen previously when Lance was working. But when she trotted over, the first thing she saw was a photo of Firefly and her friend, Surprise.

“What the hay?”

“Hmm,” The Adept turned to see Mist looking at Mist. “What is it, Mist?”

“That photo…” Mist pointed at the image. Lance looked back to see the image of Firefly and Surprise that she was referring to and sighed. Lance closed the folder to look back at Mist as he turned around.

“Honey, I’m looking at your friend's case file. It’s rude to be looking at something private like this.” The Adept told her, but, knowing Twilight Mist acted a lot like her Grandmother Twilight Sparkle, she wouldn’t be satisfied with denying her an answer and leaving her in suspense. “These are copies of your friends attendance records and grades and are really private. I asked Fluttershy if I could look these over for her since she was going to be seeing Posey and AJ, so I’m trying to lend a helping hand.”

“You’re going to be our history teacher for a bit?” Mist tilted her head.

“For a brief bit, yes. Only during the morning, since Fluttershy, Posey and AJ would be back by then.” He assured her. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep a good eye on Firefly for you. She’ll not be spitballing anypony while I’m there.”

“She’ll find an alternative. You’ve seen her scores, she’s not that bright, and half of the time she’s not on school grounds. She’s a punk, and I don’t see why I’m forced to endure her. I don’t even know why she’s in Hero Academy…”

“Mist… do you remember Zapp? One of the team mates on the old power ponies team when I was younger?” He asked, putting away the manila folder and letting Mist think for a bit so she could form an answer.

“Yeah, I used to know her… I heard that they’re both related.” Mist said.

“She’s like you, Mist.” The Adept said briefly. “You’re the Granddaughter of Masked Matterhorn. Firefly is the Granddaughter of Zapp. The same goes for Surprise, Posey, Glory, and AJ.” Lance explained, showing a portrait of all six of them in their uniforms back in the day. He explained about each one and a little bit more about them and the reason why he personally vouched for them to stay together for a team.

“I personally believe the six of you can do great things when you work together as a team.” Lance told her. “Just like your grandmother and Spike.” With the last one, he let Mist come a little closer as he hugged her for a bit. “Please, don’t look down on Firefly because of how she treats you. She’s the kind of mare that prefers to make things happen rather than watch things happen and it’s also how she gets rid of her boredom.”

Mist glared at the floor. “Fine. I’ll give her a chance.”

“Thank you honey.” He smiled, looking at the door to hear a slight knocking on the front of it. “Mist, can you please go to your room for a moment? I need to talk to somepony.” Mist nodded her head, doing what the Adept asked her. But as she entered her room, she left a crack in the door partially open, wanting to see who was meeting Lance. Two ponies stepped in, trotting towards the Adept at the desk.

“Hello Lance. It’s been awhile since we talked.” Apple Bloom greeted him as the Adept walked over. “What’s the reason why you called?”

“Sorry I called you guys on such short notice.” He replied back. sitting across from them at a table. Applebloom was one of the two remaining Cutie Mark Crusaders who were still alive. Sweetie Belle herself had became the mayor of New Yoke and the Earth Pony is the leader of her own team. Unfortunately, Scootaloo, wasn’t so lucky. She was murdered alongside Filli-Second by a crazed murderer named Cupcake. Mist remembered the day she had met Surprise at Filli-Second’s funeral. Not only that, but she also met the second individual that Applebloom was currently with. The Son of Pinkie Pie, Cloak. “Before we begin, Cloak, how is everything?” The stallion himself was… quiet. Which was the exact opposite of his parents, Pinkie Pie and TIme Spinner.

“Well.” Cloak replied simply.

For a moment, Mist thought he was going to add onto that. Until she realized what he said was his answer. “Sounds good. What about you, Applebloom?”

“It’s been going well. Had some up’s and down’s earlier in the week, but all of that’s not straightened out.” She told her. “Now… Why exactly did you call us here?”

The Adept sighed, getting up from his seat to lock the door to the living room and anything that could be used as an entry. It was so that anything they said could be between them. “I’m worried about a couple of the girls on my team. Firefly and Surprise specifically.” He said, looking back at the surprises Earth pony.

“Why are you concerned about them?” She asked. “It seems like they’re doing fine in class from what their test scores show-.”

“You're right about that, but over the past few months, I’ve been noticing that her behavior has been changing a lot since we first had her in class.” The Adept added on. “She’s acting more reckless, more of a punk… Like Ash was. It’s now getting to the point where she’s disturbing other ponies in class and daring them to be breaking the rules.”

Mist, hearing this for the first time, gasped. If you break any of the rules at the academy, it could lead to horrific consequences. With one being possibly getting kicked out of the academy in general. Why would she do something like that?

“When did this all start?” Applebloom them added onto the conversation.

“Three months ago,” Lance replied, looking at Cloak for a second. “The day after they were called in by Principal Judgement. I don’t want to be accusing anypony just yet, but I have a bad feeling that he is somehow involved in this a LOT more than what I previously thought. Cloak, Applebloom, do you have any advice?”

“Maybe you keep tabs on the children.” Cloak said, “If something’s happening to my daughter, I want to know.”

“That’s what I’m going to do. However, I don’t think asking them directly about this would help.” He told them. “Judgement is smarter than that to leave any loose ends. If we need incriminating evidence, we will need to catch him in the act.” Looking at Cloak, he then asked another question. “Would some kind of small transmitter work? I have one that records anything that it picks up to the communicator on my wrist.”

“I’d say no. Maybe if-.” He was cut off as Twilight burst out.

“I’ll spy on them!” Mist blurted.

The Adept turned around at the moment he saw that Mist was spying on them. “Twilight-?” Before he spoke again, he sighed… “You heard everything, didn’t you?”

“Yeah… If I’m going to try and become a team leader, I need to look out for my team. And you can give me a pass on a day of school if it ends up being a long night. I’ve already been invited.” Twilight pleaded her case.

“Honey…” Lance sighed, looking back at Mist. “I admire you wanting to help your team, but I don’t want to put you in harm’s way. This is about the principal doing something wrong. Something illegal. Something you could end up in the Zero Zone for if you’re caught…”

“Caught what? Hanging with two teenagers? If it’s nothing, then I won’t have a problem. If it is something, then you’ll have a bug on me. I’ll wear my bracelet Spike gave me.” Mist added. Lance remembered when Spike gave him the Bracelet in order to pass down to Mist. It was something she wanted to give to her on her birthday, but couldn’t because he fell in the line of duty.

“Honey, I mean it as on campus. Not off campus… But… I do believe you make a good point.” He mentioned to her. “But I don’t want you going out like that. I do, however, want you to watch over your teammates.” He said, looking over at Cloak and Applebloom. “Do you think you two agree with this?”

Cloak nodded. “You can drop the charges if anything bad happens.”

“Yes, but I don’t want her getting arrested.” Lance said. “She’s like the daughter that I never had the chance to have and if anything happens to her, I’ll only blame myself.” The Adept never had anyone that he could call his “special somepony” or had the chance to have any children of his own. So, he made sure to promise Humdrum that Mist would be taken care of properly. Like if she were his daughter. “Just… be home before 8:30 Mist. You’ll have the Transmitter in your bracelet, but I’m also giving you something else.”

The Adept then gave her a pin to add to her Mane, resembling the form of a Breezie. “Keep this on you and keep it safe. It’s a way to contact me if there’s any trouble.” The Adept then smiled, getting down and hugging Twilight Mist again. “I’m proud of you for wanting to help your team Twilight. Spike would be very proud of you.”

“Thanks…” Mist whispered.

Twilight sat at her windowsill, reading a copy of ‘Magic 101’ that she got for her fourth birthday. She was interrupted from her book by a pebble hitting her window. She used her magic to open it as another hit her face.

“Gah!”

“Sorry!” Firefly whispered, “So are you gonna join us or what, egghead?”

“Yeah! We planned an awesome night on the town that you’re going to adore!” Surprise said louder, but was hushed by the pink Pegasus.

“So?” Firefly asked expectantly.

Twilight glared at Firefly. “Fine.”

“Atta mare! Get down here and Surprise’ll teleport us downtown!”

Mist climbed down, and when she planted her hind legs on the ground, Surprise blinked them away. When Mist finally regained her senses, she realized that she was in the school, and it was dark. Pitch black dark.

“What the hay!? I thought you said downtown, not Hero Academy!” Twilight accused, acting angered. But when she saw their eyes, she froze in terror.

Both mares pupils were red, and Surprise’s blond mane was flat. The air grew chillier, and the two stepped closer.

“Why are you so infuriating!? You think you’re better than me, huh!? Well I’ll show you!” Firefly shook as energy coursed through her body.

Mist felt a strange sensation of hatred boiling in her heart, and an irritating headache. “That’s because you’re stupid. I heard your granny was called Crash, you’re more of a flu.” She spat, smiling sadistically.

“Why you little-!” Firefly was cut off as Mist shot a bolt of fire and the pink Pegasus. Firefly snarled.

“What? I thought your name was Firefly- Oh, wait, I mean Fireflu. I might need a vaccine.” Twilight smirked.

“What the buck does that even mean!?” Firefly barked.

“Why do we care?” Surprise asked, blood dripping from her eyes. “Let’s just kill her…”

Mist smirked. “Not if I kill you first…”

They were about to fight, but soon collapsed to their knees as they heard another set of hooves trotting their direction. A Unicorn Stallion walked out from his hiding place, smiling.

“Perfect…” He chuckled. “Now, onto the big leagues...” Stepping back into the shadows once more, he loosened his control on the three of them, causing confusion amongst the three team mates on why they all fell to the ground simultaneously.

“Wh-what’s happening…?” Firefly asked woozy.

“Oh, nothing you need to worry about. You won’t be alive for that.” the pony said, smiling brightly as a dim light from a lamp post partially revealed the face of the stallion. All three of them were shocked to see who this stallion was.

“P-principal… Judgement?” Mist stuttered. “W-why?”

“Are you really that stupid?” He asked. “What other villain do you remember in your history class that has these powers? I know that you know the answer.”

“P-Puppeteer…? B-but you’re the s-son of Ash!”

“That… is where you are WRONG!!” He roared, forcing Twilight Mist down on the ground against her will with his powers.

“Ash was only my mother, stupid girl.” He growled. “Puppeteer was my father. However, it was because of your grandparents and that damned useless kid of a hero that they had died. Now, I’m going to enjoy making the grandchildren of the same ponies I despise SUFFER!!”

“You won’t be satisfied. I know how you feel, I lost my father and I wish I could kill the stallion who did it. But killing us won’t solve that! We weren’t involved!” Mist said, shaking in terror.

“Maybe… But that doesn’t mean I won’t have fun.” He smirked. He turned his head towards Surprise. “Maybe I’ll let you watch as I kill your teammates, starting with Surprise?”

As soon as he was done, Surprise shrieked in pain. All Mist could do was look away, tears brimming.

“How about I break her sanity? It’ll be fun watching her break…” And with that, Surprise started spasming. Twilight Mist was personally panicking while trying to struggle against the strings that held them down. However, with his back turned, Judgement was not prepared for what came next. He felt two projectiles make contact with his forehooves before volts of electricity went through his system. Breaking his concentration on the girls and setting them free. As Judgement fell forward, behind him was Lance and a few of Maretropolis PD with him.

“Principal Judgement, you are under arrest for misconduct and abuse of power in your position and for attempted torture, kidnapping and murder. We have enough evidence now to book you for life.” The Azure Striker firmly spoke. The two bolts that he fired were what he called “drain bolts”, which, as in the name suggests, allows for easier capture of targets by being able to drain them of the energy they need to control their powers. As he placed the hoof cuffs on him, the Azure Striker grunted. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you have already said and say as of now will go against you in a court of law.” As the officers, along with Applebloom and Cloak took him away, the Adept’s focus was now on the girls. They’ve just been through a really horrifying experience and now, he wanted to try and help them cope from what happened.

However, Firefly, was still shocked by everything. “H-how did you find us?” The Adept took a deep breath as Twilight Mist race over to him.

“I asked Twilight Mist to help keep an eye on you.” He explained, pointing at the bracelet and the hairpin. “Her bracelet has a transmitter so she can record whatever somepony says and the hairpin has a GPS tracker so I can find you.” Looking at both Surprise and Firefly, he then asked something else. “Are you girls alright?”

“I-i’m okay, but I’m worried about Surprise.” Mist said, pointing to the unconscious mare. “She was screaming in pain earlier. Celestia knows what kind of torture Judgement was trying to put her through.” The Adept nodded, going over to her and checking her body for a pulse. He soon breathed a huge sigh of relief, before looking back at the two of them.

“She’s still breathing… However, I’m concerned that what Judgement did to her might’ve put her in a coma.” Lance sighed, looking at both Firefly and Twilight Mist. “Can I trust you two to take her back to the dorm and get her patched up? She really needs a rest, girls. All of you do. Especially with what you have been through tonight.”

Both of them nodded their heads briefly while Mist’s horn lit up so she could carry the mare in her levitation spell. However, as they trotted back to the door, Lance picked up a phone call through his com-piece.

“Lance, we got ah problem.” It was Applebloom. And if she said that, she means business.

“Same here. Surprise is hurt. I’m having the girls bring her back so she could rest. They all need it.”

“Yeah, well, we have a different problem. While Cloak was helping Maretropolis PD book Judgement into the Zero Zone, ah went to check on some of the other students. They should be asleep, but one of them is gone.”

That… was a problem. “Who?”

“It’s Firefly’s sister, Gutsy.”

Two years after

A few years later following the incident with former Principal Judgement, Mist was wearing her suit, alongside her teammates. She graduated after her senior year at the academy, becoming her team's leader and top of her class(of course), gaining the respect of almost every superhero. Her team was named ‘Alpha Squad’ until they were on their own. Just herself, Firefly, Surprise, Posey, AJ the third and Glory. Many things had changed though. For one thing, Lance was no longer there to watch over them since the team had graduated. Even though they still lived in the old dorm they called home, Lance no longer saw them as children, but full grown adults on the same level as he was. Treating them with the same amount of respect. Despite this though, something was tearing her apart on the inside. Tearing her apart. Over the first few years of her life, both Humdrum and Lance were there to celebrate her accomplishments. Now, only the Adept was there.

There was a huge mental scar. Left behind by the disappearance of her dragon guardian. And she would do anything to bring him back. To have it finally begin to heal.

Mist was sat in the library. Her head hurt, a constant drumming annoyed her to no end, and disturbing concepts entered her mind.

She was reading a book about the ideals of life. It couldn’t help her with what she was after. Twilight had been in there for days, maybe weeks. Her team was starting to worry, but they couldn’t help her. Nopony could help her.

“Need something?” Mist heard behind her. The Unicorn spun to see a cloaked figure with the same shape as Lance, but the hood of the cloak prevented her from seeing its face. She couldn’t tell if it was male or female.

“Wh-who are you!?” Twilight yelped, backing away from the stranger.

“Oh… Just someone who thought they could help a child with her pain…”

“How… How did you-” Mist tried, but was cut off.

“I could feel your pain. I’ve felt the same way… My brother… Died… I still haven’t moved on… But, I may be able to help you…” The being said coldly. Mist shivered.

“H-how…?”

“There’s an illegal spell in Walker’s vault. Get it, and you can prevent your guardians death before it happens.”

Twilight froze. “Steal from… frome Lance!? I wouldn’t… I couldn’t!”

“It’s the only way for you to reunite with Spike and not use the dark arts. Once you use the spell, you won’t be able to return here. You must live your life.” The hidden humanoid said.

“But that means I wouldn’t get to be with him…” Twilight said, shaking.

“You’ll be immortal until your birth. When that happens, you’ll become one with your new self, and retain your memories at the age of ten. Trust me, there’s nothing that can go wrong.”

Mist stared at the ground, contemplating her options. She looked back on the figure, “Can I bring my friends?”

“Of course. They can go with you.” The figure said, becoming more female.

Twilight steeled herself, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Excellent! Only one… Small little thing. Once you’re there, you’ll need to prevent my brothers death.” She tapped her finger on Mist’s head. “Once you’ve stopped Spike’s death, you’ll do this for me.”

“How do I do that?” Twilight asked, head tilted.

“Once you arrive, you’ll see for yourself.” The figure teased before disappearing into the darkness that was in the room.

“W-wait!” Twilight tried, but there was no reply. Mist hung her head and trotted away. But now, she was beginning to see a thin line across the floor. A silver one that lead out the same way the figure went. Curiosity began to set in the young unicorn’s mind as she began to follow it. As she went through the doors, she turned a hard left, walking through the hall to the portrait that was behind his desk. Unlike before though, there were some silver words on the picture of him, Humdrum and Twilight Mist on the frame that said “open it”. Swallowing a lump in her throat, the Unicorn carefully followed the instructions, only to be greeted by the wall safe that was right behind the picture frame. Next to it, more silver letters emerged. Only this time, they emerged as a 5 digit number code that was on the wall.

6-4-7-8-9. When she put in the code and got the parcel, the Unicorn soon realized that the code wasn’t just any ordinary pair of numbers. It was a number sequence to represent a name. For a minute, the unicorn thought it was the adept’s name, but, soon realized who exactly the code was referring to.

6-4-7-8-9

M-i-s-t-y.

It was referring to her. She was surprised, but shook it off and opened it. Inside was a large book, with the arcanic symbol of Stopwatch.

“This… It has to be what I’m looking for.” Twilight picked it up using her levitation spell before closing the safe’s doors and placing the picture back in place. Trotting back to her room, she used her levitation spell to open the book to the front page. It was grey, with red letters. She needed time to read through the book and prepare herself for the spell.

One Month Later

“Okay team, this is a new spell I’ve been practicing. It’s supposed to be a teleportation spell, and since our base was… taken by Sliver’s team-”

“That horse doesn't deserve our base! Just because she’s Trixie’s granddaughter doesn’t mean she gets special treatment!” Firefly snapped.

“F-Fire, we c-can’t argue. B-besides w-w-we got our-r h-headquarters in Maretropolis-s.” Posey said, preparing her jab equipment and supplies.

“Yes darling, I don’t know about you, but I’ve missed my family there. Seaddle may be beautiful, but nothing beats home.” Glory said, focusing on her packing. There were data pads, some personal things, and a turret. All compressed into small travel size cubes. “Vider certainly wants to see Lily Belle.” Glory nuzzled the turret.

AJ3 just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we all get it Glory…”

“Oh… Sorry Three, I forgot…” Glory tried, but the cyborg just brushed it off.

The subject of family was not one that Applejack the Third would want to discuss. When she was a youngin’, a terrorist attack on Maretropolis had killed her family and left her with life threatening injuries. It took multiple surgeries for her to recover, but by then, there was no other choice but to have her be a cyborg if she wanted to live. Now, Applejack 3 and Applebloom were the only two living members of the Apple Family. Applebloom herself still had painful memories of that day.

The day where her older brother was taken from her far too soon. On the day where he was suppose to become a married stallion.

“So how do we know that this is going to work, Mist?” AJ3 spoke up, catching the Unicorn’s attention.

“I’ve been studying this for a month, but there’s no solid way I can know it works until I try… But, I’ve taken my usual precautions that will fizzle out the spell if it can’t be completed, a few extra enchanted gems to add to my power, ten emergency stop protocols, and fifty three reverse spells incase I mess up at all.” Mist listed off.

“That sounds… Good?” Surprise asked more than stated.

“Where would we be going though?” AJ3 then asked, suspicious. “Mist, you’ve been in and out of your room for almost a month and now you wanna try this spell? Is there something more to it than you need to tell us? How did you even find something like this?”

Twilight smiled. “I got it from Lance. And as I said, we’re going to Maretropolis. I told Detective Forest that we’ll be going there, so once we’re in Maretropolis, he’ll be there.” She had been working on that for weeks, and not one word was a lie.

“Mist… Lance can’t use magic. So why would he be having something that is based on something he can’t control?” The cyborg pointed out, now causing Firefly to look at her with the same look that she had.

Mist thought for a second, before she spoke. “I don’t know… Maybe he was holding it for me? It was made by his mentor, Stopwatch, so maybe that…?”

“Mist, you’re acting nervous.” Firefly pointed out, noticing her hooves shaking a little. Applejack the Third could tell that she was hiding something. Her heart rate was rising, legs were shaking, stuttering with her speech.

“Twilight, please. Tell us what’s going on. We’re your team. So if this affects one of us, it affects all of us.” The Cyborg then spoke again.

“Look... I… I’m going on a mission… It’s in Maretropolis, but I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I don’t want you following me, but… ”

“Darling, there’s no point in arguing. We’re going with you. United we stand, divided we fall, remember?” Glory told her, saying a phrase Lance once taught them on the day of their graduation.

“I know… But I’d be stealing from you… I can’t say what it is, but I can say I’ll be taking you away from your families.” Mist said, which caused Glory to shy away a bit.

“Look dweeb, we’re with you no matter what.” Firefly said, rubbing her hoof on her chest.

Mist nodded, feeling calmer. “We’ll get the rest of the supplies and I’ll activate the spell. This is your last chance.”

Before anypony could utter a word, Surprise jumped on top of Posey. “We’re with you no matter what!”

Everypony else nodded, which made Twilight’s heart go cold. She didn’t speak a word, and made her way to her room to retrieve the book, and returned an hour later. Everypony had everything they’d need to make a base, and anything they wanted.

“Okay, let’s go…”

Twilight was on a rooftop. Her breath was ragged. She was holding a sniper rifle she’d taken from Lance. It was the only thing that could kill Pinkie’s father. She was watching a battle between him and the newly formed Power Ponies.

“Twilight!” She heard behind her. “W-what are y-you doing!?”

Mist turned to see Posey, and Posey didn’t seem to like what she saw. Mist knew what the Earth Pony saw. Sweaty coat, pure white mane, puffy red eyes, and dark blood trickling down her mouth. It was sick.

“I’m killing the stallion who took EVERYTHING from me! He stole the only thing that made me feel like I was loved...” Twilight’s body shook. “I’m not normal… I’m not sure if I’m even a real pony…”

“Wh-what does th-that supposed to m-mean?” Posey asked.

Mist shook her head. “Spike is the only one who knew… He was scared of what the others would think… If you knew, you’d never look at me again…”

“Then kill-killing Delirious is-isn’t the an-answer…” Posey said, drawing closer to the deranged mare.

“I…” Twilight wheezed a sob, “I couldn’t even if I tried…” And with that, she turned around and took her shot.

Posey’s eyes widened and she shot forward, summoning a vine that jabbed through Twilight’s back shoulder. The mare fell, sobbing, as Posey looked into what her friend did. An unconscious stallion, six mares and a human with pale skin were all she saw. Mist hadn’t killed him.

She was so relieved that she hugged Mist’s pained body while shedding tears of joy. But Mist wasn’t moving. Shock, sorrow, and that secret she’d kept all her life was eating at her. And so, she whispered her secret into Posey’s ear, and the stuttering Earth Pony froze in horror. A couple words. A few words that broke Posey, and their bond.

About a month later, Mist had gotten a job in New Yoke as a forensic scientist, and the team set up in a base not far from the city.

Each member decided to get one. Glory changed her name to Radiance and became a merchandise designer, AJ3 began to work at a factory, Posey became a veterinarian, Firefly tried for a private investigator, and Surprise began a job at a bar. Things happened, and by the second year, Mist began to have strange visions.

She was under Maretropolis, looking for something… strong… And she found it.

It looked like a stone, with the solar and lunar symbols on it, as well as the magic symbol for oblivion.

Mist had a feeling. The feeling of anger, even though the stone didn’t have any significance to her. She charged her horn and screamed, shooting a beam of energy at it.

When it exploded, Mist was knocked out. When she came to, a tall dark figure stood over her.

“Hello there...” He said. “It seems like you’ve freed me. Here, let me give you something in return.” He raised his hand and shot a red beam at Twilight, causing her to scream, and she passed out again.

What followed was the end of her mental walls, and the loss of a great man.

One year before Lance Walker’s Displacement.

Mist trotted down the streets of Maretropolis, wandering aimlessly and without purpose. As she walked, she heard the shattering of glass and turned to see a bottle of alcohol in millions of pieces on the sidewalk. She looked up, and saw a mare on the edge of a large building.

The mare slipped and fell, which Twilight reacted to by using her magic to rocket herself up to whoever it was and grabbed hold of her, and hugging her tightly as they landed back on the building again. The mare fell backwards onto her rump, slightly drunk.

“W-what happened...!?” She asked, swaying slightly.

Mist gave the mare a quick once over and saw multiple wounds from scratches, to bruises, to even deep gashes. She even scanned the mare to see any internal damage and found… cancer…

“I was supposed to die!” She screamed as she bashed her hoof into Mist’s face. “I’m dying anyway, so what was the point!?” She sent a few more blows into Twilight, who took every one of them.

Mist felt sad for the mare. Mist wasn’t sure why, but… It was as if her problems were pale in comparison. She felt happy that somepony else had it worse than her. She wasn’t just happy, she was gleeful. For a moment, this mare was beneath her, a pathetic, drunk, and suicidal mare that in Mist’s eyes didn’t deserve to live.

Twilight was shocked out of her sadistic feelings as another punch sent one of her teeth flying out. Mist’s mind shut down as she saw the white moler skidding across the ground.

Whoever the mare was stopped, realizing what she had done. She backed away, afraid of an outburst. But all Mist did was spit out a small amount of black blood, and used her tongue to feel where her tooth once was.

“Do you have a family…?” Twilight asked dryly.

The drunk mare nodded, “A daughter and husband… Wh-why?”

Twilight Mist’s horn glowed, and the mare’s injuries disappeared. “Go home and call your doctor, you’ve been given the miracle of full health…” Mist really got a look at the mare, and saw her coat was a light shade of grey, with a blond mane and golden eyes. She was a Pegasus, and her eyes were… all over the place.

The Pegasus eyes widened in surprise, “Wh-what…?”

Mist didn’t respond. Instead, she used her magic to make her fall asleep. She began to sleepwalk, and Mist added an invisibility spell to the mare. “I’m going to regret that…”

And with that, Mist walked towards the train station. But before that, she levitated her tooth up and forcibly reattached it to her gums and healed it.

Mist placed a pair of earplugs into her ears and played some music, and turned the volume to high.

She went down a dark alleyway. It began to rain heavily. After a little bit, she hovered over a puddle and saw her eyes… Her red eyes… She coughed, and spit out some red stuff into the puddle.

“You’re cured, miss… I hope you’re happy…” Mist said bitterly, summoning a black hoodie over her. And with that, Mist disappeared into the darkness.

Author's Note

A few notes to remember:
1- In this version of the timeline, Lance never met Max.
2- Lumen, Lances Breezie Partner, is dead. The hairpin that the Adept gives to Twilight Mist is a symbol of her bravery and impact on Lance's life.

This story will be referenced multiple times in future chapters for When Lightning Strikes because it's soon directly related to the plot later on. Also, for those who are wondering, Judgement's powers are as followed.
-He can control one's actions using a series of energy strings that he controls
-He can also affect others emotions, causing those who are affected to do things they wouldn't normally do (Hence, Firefly and Surprise)