Pony Fantasy X-2by Codex92ChaptersPrologueChapter 1: The ImpostorChapter 2: The Celsius's CrewPrologueFor many years, Spira had been plagued with despair and sorrow for a long time. A dreadful beast, called Sin, rose from the transgressions of a war between Zanarkand and Bevelle, two cities that threatened to destroy each other. A summoner, named Faust, called this massive fiend in order to stop this war; however, as it did end the war, Sin stayed and became a ravenous monster, destroying cities and villages that used forbidden machines everyone calls machina. With many of the world's major cities destroyed by the fiend, only a few safe villages and towns were left standing, where a religion was founded to repent for their transgressions, using machina to deal with their problems. For a millennium, this religion was taught to everyone, but Sin continued to destroy everything in its wake. A tradition was made, began by a powerful summoner around the same time as Sin's birth, who's name was Celestia. Using her sister's life as a sacrifice, Celestia's younger sister, Luna, was turned into a mystical spiritual being, called an aeon, to combat Sin and destroy it. The younger sibling became a fayth, the spirit of the aeon, and their heroic efforts were successful...or so everyone thought. It turned out that Sin had come back, even after it was beaten, and the monster continued roaming the lands to destroy everything it comes across. During those one thousand years, summoners traveled throughout the land with their guardians to the temples spread throughout the large continent that made up Spira, their final destination lies in the ruins of Zanarkand. There, they will meet up with the immortal Celestia, who will give the summoner the Final Aeon, the only summon that could defeat Sin. Unfortunately, it came at a price; two prices. One of the summoner's guardians must be sacrificed in order to become the fayth, Luna's spirit inside the fayth statue had disappeared, what had happened to her was unknown. Maybe Celestia had lost the ability to feel her emotions after the hopeless efforts the siblings made to stop Sin and she left of her own accord. Maybe Celestia had gone mad with her heinous acts, not only ending the lives of guardians, but also turning unfortunate ponies into new aeons for others to abuse their power. Even after each sacrifice, once the Final Aeon struck Sin down, it would attack its summoner, killing them as well. And when everypony breathes a sigh of relief, their peace is only short-lived once they see Sin had returned, revived by Faust, the creator of this monster, using the Final Aeon's body that killed it. Those who lived and witnessed this horrible act in Zanarkand and watched their summoner die as they brought the Calm couldn't speak of the horrible atrocity in those ruins. The mare who inspired many to save the world and started this tradition was nothing but a soulless monster that cared nothing for the well-being of the world's populace. Only herself and reviving Sin. But after a thousand long years, that pain had finally ended by a group of seven, six ponies and one dragon, who traveled throughout Spira to try to save Sin. Summoner Fluttershy, daughter of the previous summoner who started the calm ten years prior, Kindred Heart, embarked on a pilgrimage with her guardians. They had experienced many ponies dying by the power Sin wielded, discovered truths that Bevelle had been hiding from them for many centuries, stopped the senseless sacrifices Celestia made to keep this cruel tradition going, and managed to succeed in truly killing Sin, along with the spirit who created it, defeating the fiend from the inside. A thousand years have passed, and this young pegasus summoner brought about the Eternal Calm, no more Sin for the world to fear, and finally bringing peace to Spira with their new hope. She couldn't have succeeded without her guardians: the blitzball wielding ex-captain of the Besaid Aurochs, Applejack; the moody unicorn mage with a terrible tragedy of her past hidden away out of fear of losing loved ones, Twilight Sparkle; a young purple dragon with incredible power no other dragon could ever wield when it came to fiend ability mimicry, Spike; the wacky Al Bhed mare who is related to the summoner on her mother's side with a wild side, Pinkie Pie; a veteran guardian who once protected her father on his pilgrimage ten years ago and knew of the truth about Zanarkand, Rarity; and the blitzball hotshot player who arrived out of nowhere from a Zanarkand one thousand years in the past, and the summoner's lover, Rainbow Dash. The latter of the guardians, despite being in a world where there was nothing but sorrow, despair, and death, remained optimistic for the greater good of the world. As the others had no other options to take down Sin, she kept finding a way, no matter what gets in her way. Though, in an ironic twist, Rainbow Dash's father ended up in Spira just like her, the stallion named Jet Stream joining Kindred Heart and Rarity to complete the summoner's pilgrimage, and together, these two pegasi had found a way to stop Sin once and for all while going through the hardships and the terrible truth of the summoner's pilgrimage ending in tragedy. With the world at peace, the party was not truly happy once they defeated Sin. Rarity had once died ten years prior to the Eternal Calm's birth, killed by Celestia as she tried to avenge the loss of her two close friends as they left their daughters behind. She struggled to make it back to Bevelle for medical treatment, only to succumb to her injuries and die, where she woke up, alive again, but dead. An unsent. With Jet Stream as the new Sin, he transported the unicorn through time itself and in Zanarkand, one thousand years in the past, many years before Sin appeared. It was there that she met Jet's daughter, Rainbow Dash, for the first time, and took care of her until the time was right. After defeating Faust, she revealed herself as an unsent, clinging to the living until she saw Spira finally be rid of Sin and the false hope everyone always got. She was sent, accepting her death after ten long years, and rested in the Farplane to be reunited with her friends. The saddest moment at the end of their fight was Rainbow Dash, the mare who kept fighting when the others wanted to give up hope. Despite her lack of knowledge of Spira and the religion that was followed, she had a suspicion that something was up with the ridiculous teachings, a certain Guado who couldn't be anymore sinister if she gave him a sign that said "I'm Evil! Fear Me!", and the idea of having a summoner killing themselves just to bring peace to the land. She kept everyone motivated, even after facing the truth and suffering from her own personal issues. She was an incredible guardian, though she lacked the experience of one, but she couldn't celebrate with the rest of the group after Rarity was sent. It turned out the rainbow-maned pegasus was actually a dream created by the fayth in Mt. Gagazet and the ones in the main temples every summoner has to go through before they reach Zanarkand. She couldn't explain her situation well to her friends, just as confused as they were. She found out on Gagazet and was given the horrible truth by the dragon aeon of Bevelle, Bahamut, which explains how somepony from a thousand years ago, who had never heard of Sin or aeons, would know the young dragon fayth. It turned out that Rainbow Dash was considered the dream that would end the fayths' dreaming, allowing them to finally rest after a thousand years. It was a depressing farewell for the pegasus, having warned the others she would disappear once they killed Faust. They triumphed in the end, defeated Sin, but Rainbow's time was at an end. She had to leave her friends, leave Fluttershy, and she had no choice to say whether she wanted to go or not. She had accepted her fate as a dream, said her final words to the mare she swore to protect and loved with all of her heart, and dove off into the clouds, disappearing into the Farplane where she was reunited with her mother and father, starting their relationship over with a clean slate. Though Fluttershy had lost two of her guardians in the end, one who was already dead and one who wasn't supposed to exist, she would never forget what happened on her journey. In Rainbow Dash's final words spoken to them on a sphere, she feared she would be a forgotten dream once she disappeared, but the pegasus was way off on that theory. None of them would ever forget what she had done for them. She may have been a dream, but she was a real pony. One day, they just might meet again. Maybe sooner than they think. Two years had passed since Sin was defeated, the Eternal Calm bringing everyone that time of everlasting peace. Things have changed since then, where machina is now free to use for those who wish to learn how to repair or fix them, groups of ponies who hunt spheres that hold the secrets of Spira's history no book had ever written, and a conflict between two factions that struggle to either keep the old teachings despite Sin's disappearance or to begin a new world order, finally freed from the fear of death at any moment. As long as nothing threatens to destroy Spira, everyone can do whatever they wish. Down in Luca, the city of blitzball, the stadium was filled to the brim with ponies as they cheered for the main event to finally begin. Strangely enough, it's not a blitzball match they were waiting for since the season hasn't started yet this year. Instead, the stadium was set up for a concert, and everyone was going crazy for the pony who was going to perform. Some of the guitarists playing some riffs for the crowd to get them pumped up stood on hover platforms, flying around as they shredded on their instruments. In the corridors, while the crowd was distracted, one of the pony security guards was knocked unconscious, being dragged back to be hidden from any other guards. Running down to the far end was a gray-black unicorn stallion, with a wild black manestyle, wearing equally dark colored warrior garbs. He turned back and waved his hoof to his partner, heading up to the seats down the way as a pink hoof waved back. That hoof reached a device attached to a mare's thin orange tank top, a staticky noise sounding as it turned on. "F, P, S, in position," the mare said as she looked out to the audience. "It's party time." Out in the arena, everyone began counting down from ten as the show was about to start. In the center, a strange new machina hovered underneath a platform it carried on its head, its arms wielding drumsticks as the drummer of the band ready to play for the crowd. As soon as the crowd shouted "one", the spotlights shone down on the platform, revealing the pony that stood there as she was silhouetted in the dim lighting. Standing there was a familiar yellow pegasus mare, her pink mane shorter than it was a couple years ago as she wore her summoner outfit. As the song began to play, the pegasus smirked as she walked forward on the stage, then stood on her hind legs. As she spun around, her outfit began glowing and faded away as a new one appeared in its place on her body. She now wore a blue blouse, her skirt shorter as it showed her flanks and was now black, and appearing above her in a flash of light was a microphone. As she sang, her voice magnified by the power of her outfit, two stallions teleported in and provided backup dancing, mimicking the pegasus's choreography while the crowd went wild. As the concert was going on, the pink mare from earlier spied on the singer with a pair of binoculars from one end of the stadium. Along with her orange tank top, she wore a pair of green short shorts around her lower half, the tight clothing accentuating the bouncy mare's rear and tail as she danced along with the rhythm. While lost in the song, she didn't notice one of the security guards behind her, tapping on her shoulder with his baton to get her attention. "What do you think you're doing here?" he asked, gently smacking his weapon on his hoof, ready to beat the mare up. "What? I can't dance and enjoy the music? Is that a crime?" While waiting for an answer, the stallion lunged forward to knock the earth pony out. Unfortunately for him, she was a lot more agile than him, avoiding his strike while knocking the usher out with one hard punch to the face. "Don't mess with the Pink, bucko!" She leaned back over the railing, looking down at the performance with a serious face. Unfortunately, her view was blocked by one of the hovering platforms one of the guitarists was on. She quickly moved to another spot to try and get closer. On the other side, the unicorn stallion leered at the pegasus as he watched from the top of the stairwell. He was minding his own business scoping out the perimeter, only to have a few guards rush at him while he did nothing. As they got closer, he smirked, knowing they were in for it. They charged at him with their batons, only to have them blocked by his hooves as he knocked them all out one by one, flipping up the stairs as he backflip kicked the last of them down the small flight. "Amateurs," the stallion grunted, sliding down the rail as he moved closer to the edge, getting a better look at the pegasus and her backup dancers. While the song was close to finishing, the pink earth pony mare showed up, riding on one of the hovering platforms she managed to swipe while nopony was looking. The unicorn leapt up onto it with her as she maneuvered it over the stage, avoiding the spotlights focused on the yellow pegasus dancing and singing. "She's not getting away this time," the mare said, pulling out a pair of twin daggers that appeared in a small burst of light, which had come from her outfit. "With lackeys she has, I doubt this would even be considered a challenge." The dark stallion reached a hoof down to his hip, pulling a curved broadsword from his clothing's power, hefting it lazily by his side in his red aura. As the performance ended, a blast of light exploded behind the pegasus, the audience going wild at the amazing song she sang. Many of the stallions fainted as it ended, either from her incredible singing voice or her beauty and grace as she moved along well with the music. Little did her fans realize she had a wicked smile on her face, hidden underneath the blinding lights as she received adoration from the thousands of ponies around her. Chapter 1: The ImpostorThe singer waved to her fans as the lights dimmed down from blindingly bright to tolerably bright, ready to give her audience more of what they wanted. Before the music could start playing, the two ponies spying on her leapt down from their platform and landed in front of the yellow pegasus and her two backup dancers. They brandished their weapons at her, surprising the crowd, none of them knowing if this was part of the show or not. "Alright, you've been a pain in our backsides for long enough!" the pink earth pony mare said. "Give back what you took from us!" The performer scoffed, waving her hoof to her backup dancers to step forward. "Boys, let's show these two deviants not to interrupt a show when it's just getting started." The stallions stood before the mare, their bodies illuminated by a green glow as they changed into a similar outfit to the security guards, only a different color than how the Luca stadium's security were. It was the exact same outfit, where the guards weren't Luca's security team. They were imposters. "You know, your little groupies should learn to wear a better disguise, otherwise we'll know who to take down," the unicorn stallion said, brushing back some of his wild mane out of his face as his aura lazily held his sword. "And get some stronger ponies to protect you!" The two ponies attacked the performers, quickly dealing with the "dancers" with no problem. The pink mare even managed to swipe away some items hidden in their pockets, which happened to be terrible light effect grenades. "Seriously!? The grenades are crap!" she shouted. "I stole better ones from fiends in the past! And they look even better!" Though the pegasus's guards were knocked unconscious, she wasn't all that deterred as she held the microphone to her muzzle. "Sorry, everypony! I'm sad to say this concert is ending on a low note! Good afternoon, Luca!" She then pulled out a grenade from her clothing and threw it to the ground, emitting a blinding flash that lit up the whole stadium. While the audience was blinded, the ponies pursuing the singer quickly pulled out protective sunglasses. They chased after her, the pegasus laughing as she fled down to the harbor, escaping down to the docks. As soon as the two exited the arena, the pink mare skid across the ground, though a little too far as she almost slipped off the edge and fell in the water. "Stop horsing around! She's getting away!" the stallion shouted, grabbing the mare with his magic and pulling her away from the side. "Somepony waxed the docks! Who does that!? You do that for surfboards and the decks of the ship!" As the mare complained, they wound up getting ambushed by more of the pegasus singer's guards, though these were female and wore a different colored uniform. The stallion clashed his blade with one of their knives, both ponies pushing each other back. "You know, my mom always taught me not to hit a pretty mare...But since I can't see your face, I'll have to make an exception!" The two quickly rid themselves of the ambushing group, the stallion slashing at them with his sword, while the mare used her twin daggers to cut her opponents. With their outfits, their weapons don't kill unless whoever they fight is actually dangerous, like fiends. So instead of hacking them to pieces, they feel like they're getting punched repeatedly until they fall unconscious. With today being the first couple years of Spira's new, peaceful world, they wanted to lower the death count drastically from a thousand years of Sin's destruction. As they ran across the docks, the two pursuers lost sight of the pegasus as they reached the third dock, the same docks used for VIPs and celebrities to arrive in. "Great. We lost her." "She's too fast!" the mare exclaimed. "No. It's just that you're too slow." The two quickly turned around to see somepony appear in the direction they were coming from. "You won't get our boss that easily," another voice said as he appeared down the direction the singer disappeared down. The stallion and mare backed away from the two stallions approaching them, holding their weapons as they faced the mare's elite of her bodyguards. "The FlimFlam Brothers. Of course," the unicorn grumbled. Both stallions backing them up were Flim and Flam, twin unicorn stallions with the same yellow coats and red and white manes. Though they looked the same, wearing matching blue robes and hats, they had some differences to distinguish them. Flim was the younger brother, his face clean of any facial hair as he held a large shield, while Flam was the eldest of the two with a red moustache, wielding a pair of revolvers. Before the twins could attack, they were attacked from behind as bullets shot out from somepony near their hooves. The stallions yelped and hopped around as they avoided the wild bullets, Flim hopping into Flam's forelegs as the last of the barrage stopped. All four ponies looked in the direction of the attack, the pink mare and black unicorn stallion grinning at their savior. "About time you finally showed up!" the earth pony said. Standing behind the twins, holding two pistols that expelled steam from the barrels of the guns in her yellow wings, was the same mare that they were pursueing, only she was wearing a different outfit. She now wore a white tank top with a pair of blue denim shorts, a blue and white sash hanging around her left hip and reaching the ankle of her hind hooves. Smirking, she unloaded her guns' empty clips, the magazines disappearing in a flash of light as two more appeared in her hooves, quickly reloading them with a resounding click. With her reloaded guns ready, the pegasus ran toward the twins and leapt over them, grabbing her pistols in her hooves as she flipped them with a hard flap of her wings. She fired another barrage of bullets down on them, Flim and Flam scattering before they could get hit by the raining bullets. Unloading her mags, she reloaded as she landed between them, crouching low with her weapons aimed at the twin unicorns. "Gullwings, sound off!" the pegasus said, crossing her forelegs with her pistols held sideways. "Fluttershy!" The pink earth pony mare twirled her daggers in her hooves as she stood on her hind legs on Fluttershy's right, posing with her weapons parallel to her forelegs with a big grin on her muzzle. "Pinkie Pie!" The unicorn stallion stood on Fluttershy's left, dragging his blade across the ground until he grabbed the hilt with his hooves, bringing his sword up in a defensive stance. "Sombra!" "Gullwings are a go!" the trio cheered as they moved into battle formation, staring down the annoyed brothers. "Alright, no more making fools of the FlimFlam Brothers!" Flam loaded up his revolvers' chambers with bullets, flicking the barrels closed. Flam and Fluttershy aimed their firearms at each other, both sides shooting bullets as each opposing shot deflected each other's trajectory. The pegasus swiftly dodged any oncoming shots that approached her with incredible flexibility. Luckily for her, her guns have a bigger clip size than Flam's six chamber rounds, only needing to reload less as likely as the revolver-toting unicorn, having to reload his chambers manually and slowly. As he was wide open to attack, Fluttershy fired some more, only for Flim to leap in and protect his twin with his shield. Sombra and Pinkie ran forward and slashed with their weapons, their blows connecting with Flim's shield and forcing the stallion to be pushed back by Sombra's power and Pinkie's swift movements. Pinkie leapt over the shield and wound up behind them, tip toeing up to them as they were distracted by Sombra's blade slamming into the shield. "I'll be taking those precious goodies of yours!" she announced as she reached a hoof behind the twins. Only, instead of treasures or useful gear, she managed to pull both of the stallions' briefs from underneath their clothing, littered with apples patterned along the white undergarments. Completely oblivious to what she took, Fluttershy blushed heavily and hid her face under her wings while Sombra's eye twitched with a shocked expression on his face. "...What?" "I feel a draft," Flim said as both he and Flam looked behind them, eyes widening at the sight of their underwear somehow snatched out from under their robes and held in Pinkie's hooves. "GAH!" "How the hay did you take those!?" Flam asked, just as freaked out as his brother. Curious, she looked at her hooves, her face turning pale. "Eww! That's not what I wanted!" She quickly thrust the underwear at the twins, somehow putting them back on them and snatching her real prize. "...How the hay did she do that!?" the twins both asked. "Don't question my logic," Pinkie said, leaping on their backs and slamming their heads together, knocking them in a daze. "Whatever you stole, I suggest sanitizing your hooves before you even give anypony a hoof bump," Sombra groaned. "And what logic do you have when you defy every bit of it?" "The less you ask, Sombra, the more you'll know," Pinkie simply stated, though it only confused the stallion. "...That makes no sense," he said, blankly staring at the random earth pony. "This is why I never send a stallion to do a mare's job. Or in this case, two stallion look-alikes." The trio turned to face the other Fluttershy, the real impostor. The faker kicked both stallions awake, leering at them with disdain at their failure. Though the pegasi looked similar, the one pretending to be the real Fluttershy's voice sounded different. "You three never give up, do you?" "Chrysalis," Fluttershy growled. "Give me back my Garment Grid!" "...Fine. It's not a good one, anyway." The imposter threw a small slate at Fluttershy, the pegasus catching it with her hoof, making sure everything wasn't altered by the thief. "It won't be yours for much longer, though." Chrysalis chuckled, pulling out a large fan and was holding it in a green aura. Opening it up, it concealed her face as her body emitted a green glow, her outfit changing into a dark black-pink robe, her coat changing from yellow to black. She moved her fan away, revealing her dark coated face and dark green mane, the pony actually a unicorn, not a pegasus. "You're gonna pay for pretending to be my cousin!" Pinkie shouted. "Fluttershy, let's show her how you really use that dressphere!" Fluttershy nodded as her Garment Grid began glowing in her pocket, a light shining around the pegasus as she dropped her guns into the void of light glowing beneath her. As her clothing glowed, they began to shift in form, turning into the same outfit Chrysalis wore while her magic disguised herself as the pegasus. Fluttershy grabbed the microphone as it appeared in a small flash above her, standing on her hind legs as her body began dancing to a tune only she could hear. She began to sing a song, her vocals echoing around the six ponies, and as they reached her opponents, a dark haze fell over Flim, Flam, and Chrysalis. "AHH! I can't see!" Flim shouted. "She blinded us!" Flam added, trying to look around while aiming his revolvers at them. "Pinkie, let's take them out while they can't see!" Sombra announced, the pink mare nodding as the two attackers rushed in at them. Sombra slashed Flim, Pinkie thrust her daggers into Flam, and together, they struck Chrysalis, sending the unicorn flying back into the walls of the stadium. With the mare knocked for a loop, the trio won their fight against the thief and her henchponies, Flim and Flam getting up first as they carried their unconscious leader on their backs. "You'll pay for this, Gullwings!" the twins shouted as they ran off with the dazed mare down the docks. "Whoo hoo! We won! High hoof, everypony!" Pinkie cheered, holding up a hoof to Sombra. "I am not touching your hoof after you pulled out their underwear." Pinkie slowly lowered her hoof, her grin turning into a pout as she leered at the stallion. "You need to be more enthusiastic. Right, Fluttershy?" Both ponies turned to the pegasus, though she couldn't seem to answer as she continued dancing. She was trying desperately to stop, but her body didn't seem to listen to her as she began panting exhaustively. "Uhh, Fluttershy? Our victory poses are supposed to end after a couple seconds, not a minute of a celebratory jig." "I-I can't stop dancing!" Fluttershy shouted. "I-It's like my body has a mind of its own! Help me!" "Change out of your dressphere, then," Sombra said. "I'm trying!" After a few minutes of trying to reach her Garment Grid, she finally got out of the dressphere and reverted to her earlier clothing, her pistols returning to her hooves. Breathing a sigh of relief, Fluttershy collapsed on the docks, panting heavily as her weapons disappeared in a flash of light. "T-Thank...goodness..." Pinkie's and Sombra's weapons faded into a light as well, helping the tired pegasus back up on her hooves. While Fluttershy had time to breathe, they heard the sound of an airship flying in, pulling up to the docks. It was different in design to the other airship Fluttershy and Pinkie flew in a couple years ago, colored red and a bit more advanced than the first one. "There's Cheesie and Maud with the Celsius!" Pinkie announced, waving the airship down closer to the docks they were on. "I'd say this mission was a success!" "Wait until I tell your coltfriend you dug around two other stallions' underwear while 'stealing' their 'goodies," Sombra snickered, earning a glare from the earth pony. "Don't you dare, or I'll fire you out of my party cannon, oui zang!" Pinkie shouted, yelling the last words in Al Bhed. "Drah E'mm damm res eh Al Bhed." Pinkie growled, understanding the stallion's fluent Al Bhed, though leaving Fluttershy out of the loop as she sighed. "I wish I knew how to speak Al Bhed," she uttered as the Celsius stopped by the dock, floating above the surface of the water. Chapter 2: The Celsius's CrewAs the group of three stepped on board the Celsius, they made their way onto the lift up to the bridge. This airship was far more advanced, showing panels that lead to different sections of the vessel on the elevator. Reaching the bridge, Pinkie raced down the corridor before Sombra could, explaining to Cheese Sandwich, the earth pony's coltfriend, what she did to Flim and Flam earlier at the stadium. Inside the control deck for the airship, it was a lot more roomy, and it didn't need much of a crew in order to fly it. All there were on the Celsius were the trio, Cheese Sandwich, Maud Pie, a colt covered head to hoof in an Al Bhed outfit named Shinra, who's face was concealed by the mask he wore, and a Hypello down in the cabin's bar area named Barkeep. Maud is Pinkie's older sibling, a mare who doesn't show much emotion, but to the pink mare, she was a delight to be around. Though Sombra seems more lively than her, and he always looks like a brooding warrior just by his coat and mane colors. Shinra, however, was a mysterious colt to the group. Though he is only around ten to twelve years old, he's a prodigal genius when it came to the inner workings of machina, and even the historical spheres he keeps stored in his database on his console he sits at. It's hard to tell what he thinks about sometimes, none of the crew ever knowing what he looks like underneath his outfit. Cheese Sandwich is Pinkie's coltfriend, an Al Bhed like her and her sister Maud. He helped assist Fluttershy and her guardians two years ago by manning the airship during Sin's final lifespan, though he was quickly demoted by the true ship's captain, Pinkie's father, Cid, after almost driving the airship into Sin. He's just as random as his marefriend, but a little more mature. Though that maturity is questionable since he acts like a goof when he tries to be serious. Barkeep the Hypello was an unusual creature, coming along with the gang some time ago. He was designated as the Celsius's barkeeper, since he can make a good drink, and he also holds a shop with supplies for them. Though it was a bit odd how a shopkeeper onboard the airship they were all on, as a crew, had to have his co-workers pay Gil for supplies they need any moment, but no one questioned it. At least his prices were reasonable. "Cheesie! Whatever Sombra says, don't listen to him! He's a liar!" Pinkie said, bouncing into the stallion's lap with a panicked look on her face. "Uhh, about what?" Cheese asked, already speaking fluent Equish after a couple years practicing. "She pantsed Flim and Flam of their underwear when we fought them," Sombra said with a smirk. "While they still had their clothes on." "I was going for their accessories they had on them! I misjudged my Stealing ability!" Pinkie defended as Sombra chuckled. "And who wears underwear!? We're ponies! We can go about naked and not be judged!" "But, what about my gift for you a couple months ago?" Pinkie shoved a hoof in her coltfriend's mouth, a deep blush lighting up her face. "Cheesie, that's hush-hush," Pinkie whispered. "This story's also rated teen, so none of that stuff is allowed." "Oh. Oops." Cheese felt something hit the side of his head, a small pebble landing on his shoulder. He looked over to the navigational seat, where Maud was sitting, staring blankly at the Al Bhed stallion. He began sweating at the dull look in her eyes, chuckling nervously. "Uhh, Pinkie? Mind getting off me? I kinda need to...steer?" "Oh. Right!" Pinkie kissed Cheese's muzzle and flipped out of his lap and bounced over to Shinra. Sombra shook his head, never going to truly understand Pinkie Pie. As he leaned against the wall, he looked around the bridge out of boredom. But out of all the crew present aside from Barkeep in the cabins, Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. "Hey. Where's Fluttershy?" he asked. Down in the cabin section of the Celsius, Fluttershy walked out of the elevator and walked down the corridor, entering the rest area for the crew. She sat down at the bar, where Barkeep was busy cleaning some glasses. "Oh! Mish Fluttershy!" The Hypello approached the pegasus from the other side of the bar. "Anything yoo wantsh?" "Just some water, please." Barkeep nodded, pulling out a bottle of water from behind the bar. The pegasus sighed and drank the entire bottle in several gulps. "Today was not fun. Chrysalis stole my Garment Grid and my Songstress dressphere..." Earlier in Luca, Sombra and Pinkie looked down at the harbor city from the entrance to Mi'ihen Highroad, looking out to the stadium from the balcony. Earlier, Chrysalis had managed to snatch Fluttershy's Garment Grid and impersonated her, setting up a concert disguised as the pegasus just to gain admiration from Spira's hero summoner. "I can't believe Fluttershy slipped up and got her Garment Grid stolen by that old hag," Sombra groaned. "Speaking of, Fluttershy said she was getting something to hide herself if anypony caught her while fake her was in the stadium. I wonder what she meant?" Pinkie pondered, scratching her head. "Hi, guys...I'm here." Sombra and Pinkie turned as they heard Fluttershy's voice, only to stare wide eyed at what she was wearing. Fluttershy was inside of a Moogle mascot outfit, the large head mask for the costume carried in her hooves. "Unfortunately, this was all I could find that fit me..." The two ponies snorted as they tried to stifle their laughter, failing miserably as the unicorn and earth pony fell over on their backs, clutching their sides tightly as they guffawed. Fluttershy sighed and grumbled to herself, putting the Moogle head on to complete the outfit. "You can't be serious, Fluttershy!" Pinkie giggled. "A Moogle costume!?" "I'm not good at improvising!" the pegasus argued. "Besides, I thought it looked cute..." "Yeah. Adorable," Sombra said sarcastically with a grin. "I'm sure Chrysalis will be very intimidated by a giant furry bear with a fuzzy antenna on its head." "Moogles are a mystical creature of their own species. They are not bears...even if they look cuddly like one," Fluttershy pouted underneath the head, crossing her forelegs. "Whatever. Let's go before she actually gets away." Sombra and Pinkie leapt over the railing and went on ahead, leaving Fluttershy on her own. "Wait! I can't move well with this on!" Unable to use her wings under the mascot costume, she couldn't maneuver well like she normally could without hurting herself. Fluttershy took the long way around, running down the stairs and heading into the shopping district of Luca. There were many ponies around, possibly to hear the real pegasus perform for them in the arena for her concert. Before she could make it any further, she was stopped by one of the vendors. "Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" he asked. Fearing she was already caught, she tried to feign ignorance while staying quiet. "If you're gonna head down to the stadium for Lady Fluttershy's concert, do it after you entertain the foals!" "...Uhh..." Before she could say anything, the stallion thrust some balloons in her hoof. "Give these to the kids, THEN you can go and hear the concert." The stallion mumbled to himself, saying something about her being lazy, or whoever's job it was to wear this stuffy outfit. "And don't forget; you're a Moogle. Act like one and keep the illusion." "...Umm...K-Kupo?" Fluttershy said, trying to mimic how a Moogle talks. "...Well, that's a lot better than the last time. Now get to handing out those balloons!" The pegasus sighed, not wanting to get caught, or in trouble, skipping along the area to hand out balloons to any fillies and colts she could meet. Admittedly, she always adored Moogles when she was a filly, wishing they were real to have as a pet, and sometimes pretending to be one. She played off the illusion of a big, fluffy Moogle well, not wanting to ruin the foals' imaginations. The only problem was that she was getting hot and sweaty inside the costume: the fur was pretty thick, the outfit was insulated heavily, and it didn't help that Luca was a tropical city where the weather was always hot. She felt like she was already about to die of thirst. After entertaining the foals, she hurried down the walkway to the stadium, hearing a static sound ring in one of her ears. "F, P, S, in position. It's party time." "Oh no! I'm not even near the stadium yet!" Fluttershy made a break for it and arrived at the stadium. While Sombra and Pinkie were going to confront Chrysalis inside, Fluttershy ran for the docks. But as she reached the number 2 dock, where several boxes of cargo were set up to be shipped out across the seas, the pegasus collapsed behind some of them, panting from dehydration. She then heard Chrysalis laugh as she passed by the docks, along with Sombra and Pinkie slashing their way through the thief's troops as they chased after her. Grumbling at the horrible idea to wear the outfit, Fluttershy discarded the costume, finally freed from the stuffy suit. That was when she arrived and pulled out her pistols, shooting at Flim and Flam as they were about to corner her friends on the VIP dock. After a third bottle of water drunk with not a drop left, she groaned, feeling really tired. "There you are." She looked over to the lift as Sombra walked in, sitting next to her at the bar. "Barkeep, my usual, if you don't mind." "Comingsh up, Shombrash." The unicorn groaned, hating how a Hypello would always pronounce his name. "So, you came up here to get away from Pinkie?" Sombra asked. "No. I'm just really tired...and I think I need a shower," Fluttershy mumbled, her coat feeling a little sticky from sweating in the Moogle costume. "Yeah. I told you it was a stupid idea. But, like any other filly, cute things means "want, want, want" for you." Barkeep set a wine glass down in front of Sombra filled with a fragrant red liquid. "But, without you and that dressphere change, it would have been bothersome taking those three down." He took a small sip of his beverage, sighing in satisfaction as the wine's flavors invaded his taste buds. "Though your voice is better than hers by a landslide." "...Are you hitting on me?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm just saying Chrysalis is a terrible singer, even if her specialty is mimicry." Sombra leaned against the bartop, looking up at the windows showing the clouds the Celsius was currently flying over. "I talked with that colt, Shinra before I came looking for you. I asked him about our dresspheres." The unicorn levitated his current dressphere in front of him. "I was curious about your little dance after we beat Chrysalis and the FlimFlam Brothers. Why you couldn't stop and all that. "Turns out these things actually carry the attitudes of the pony who was the class in these spheres. Gives you a split personality that's only temporary." He put the dressphere back in his Garment Grid, drinking some more of his wine. "Better be careful if we find anymore of them we can use. Useful skills, but one might have a deadly personality." "Mhmm..." Fluttershy wasn't really paying attention to Sombra as her mind drifted off to a certain somepony she knew. "...You thinking about that stallion from that sphere?" the unicorn asked, finally getting Fluttershy's attention. "I know I joined you guys just a few months ago, but I don't really know much about all your history...One question I want to ask is how you and Pinkie Pie are related. She's got too much energy while you're a little more...reserved." "...I'm part Al Bhed," the pegasus began explaining. "From my mother's side. My mother is Pinkie's aunt, and her father, Cid, is my uncle. I don't know how to speak Al Bhed, but I have two different colored eyes: one blue, and one green. The blue one shows my Al Bhed heritage, though it's hard to tell unless you got a closer look." "I was wondering about that too...But what about that stallion in that sphere in Shinra's database?" Sombra was treading on a touchy subject, though he deserved to know a little bit more about her, being her friend and teammate. "That stallion looks a lot like somepony who was one of my guardians on my pilgrimage," she said. "Only, she was a mare, and they both look and act alike...She disappeared after we finally defeated Sin, nothing but a dream made by the fayth." Sombra raised a brow at that information, but didn't speak as he let Fluttershy continue. "I don't know if it might be her reincarnated as a stallion, but all I have to go on is that sphere. The problem is we don't know how old it is because it was so worn by the harsh elements of Mt. Gagazet...Her name was Rainbow Dash...a mare who ended Spira's suffering, saved my life several times...and I fell in love with her." "...I see...You must miss her a lot." Sombra finished the rest of his glass, setting it down on the counter for Barkeep to pick up. "I find it hard to believe somepony could actually be a living dream, but if she was real, it's understandable to be upset." "I do miss her...but I think we'll meet again someday." Fluttershy pulled out the sphere that held Rainbow Dash's final farewells to her and the others before the final battle against Faust inside of Sin. "I believe fate brought us together back then...and I know it'll do the same again, if not soon, then maybe some years later." Suddenly, alarms rang out around the ship as red lights flashed in every room. "Gullwings, report to the bridge! We got ourselves a signal!" "Welp. Guess that means we got a sphere to hunt." Fluttershy put Rainbow's sphere away in her pockets and followed Sombra to the lift, taking them to the bridge for a possible sphere that could hold something of Spira's past.
PrologueFor many years, Spira had been plagued with despair and sorrow for a long time. A dreadful beast, called Sin, rose from the transgressions of a war between Zanarkand and Bevelle, two cities that threatened to destroy each other. A summoner, named Faust, called this massive fiend in order to stop this war; however, as it did end the war, Sin stayed and became a ravenous monster, destroying cities and villages that used forbidden machines everyone calls machina. With many of the world's major cities destroyed by the fiend, only a few safe villages and towns were left standing, where a religion was founded to repent for their transgressions, using machina to deal with their problems. For a millennium, this religion was taught to everyone, but Sin continued to destroy everything in its wake. A tradition was made, began by a powerful summoner around the same time as Sin's birth, who's name was Celestia. Using her sister's life as a sacrifice, Celestia's younger sister, Luna, was turned into a mystical spiritual being, called an aeon, to combat Sin and destroy it. The younger sibling became a fayth, the spirit of the aeon, and their heroic efforts were successful...or so everyone thought. It turned out that Sin had come back, even after it was beaten, and the monster continued roaming the lands to destroy everything it comes across. During those one thousand years, summoners traveled throughout the land with their guardians to the temples spread throughout the large continent that made up Spira, their final destination lies in the ruins of Zanarkand. There, they will meet up with the immortal Celestia, who will give the summoner the Final Aeon, the only summon that could defeat Sin. Unfortunately, it came at a price; two prices. One of the summoner's guardians must be sacrificed in order to become the fayth, Luna's spirit inside the fayth statue had disappeared, what had happened to her was unknown. Maybe Celestia had lost the ability to feel her emotions after the hopeless efforts the siblings made to stop Sin and she left of her own accord. Maybe Celestia had gone mad with her heinous acts, not only ending the lives of guardians, but also turning unfortunate ponies into new aeons for others to abuse their power. Even after each sacrifice, once the Final Aeon struck Sin down, it would attack its summoner, killing them as well. And when everypony breathes a sigh of relief, their peace is only short-lived once they see Sin had returned, revived by Faust, the creator of this monster, using the Final Aeon's body that killed it. Those who lived and witnessed this horrible act in Zanarkand and watched their summoner die as they brought the Calm couldn't speak of the horrible atrocity in those ruins. The mare who inspired many to save the world and started this tradition was nothing but a soulless monster that cared nothing for the well-being of the world's populace. Only herself and reviving Sin. But after a thousand long years, that pain had finally ended by a group of seven, six ponies and one dragon, who traveled throughout Spira to try to save Sin. Summoner Fluttershy, daughter of the previous summoner who started the calm ten years prior, Kindred Heart, embarked on a pilgrimage with her guardians. They had experienced many ponies dying by the power Sin wielded, discovered truths that Bevelle had been hiding from them for many centuries, stopped the senseless sacrifices Celestia made to keep this cruel tradition going, and managed to succeed in truly killing Sin, along with the spirit who created it, defeating the fiend from the inside. A thousand years have passed, and this young pegasus summoner brought about the Eternal Calm, no more Sin for the world to fear, and finally bringing peace to Spira with their new hope. She couldn't have succeeded without her guardians: the blitzball wielding ex-captain of the Besaid Aurochs, Applejack; the moody unicorn mage with a terrible tragedy of her past hidden away out of fear of losing loved ones, Twilight Sparkle; a young purple dragon with incredible power no other dragon could ever wield when it came to fiend ability mimicry, Spike; the wacky Al Bhed mare who is related to the summoner on her mother's side with a wild side, Pinkie Pie; a veteran guardian who once protected her father on his pilgrimage ten years ago and knew of the truth about Zanarkand, Rarity; and the blitzball hotshot player who arrived out of nowhere from a Zanarkand one thousand years in the past, and the summoner's lover, Rainbow Dash. The latter of the guardians, despite being in a world where there was nothing but sorrow, despair, and death, remained optimistic for the greater good of the world. As the others had no other options to take down Sin, she kept finding a way, no matter what gets in her way. Though, in an ironic twist, Rainbow Dash's father ended up in Spira just like her, the stallion named Jet Stream joining Kindred Heart and Rarity to complete the summoner's pilgrimage, and together, these two pegasi had found a way to stop Sin once and for all while going through the hardships and the terrible truth of the summoner's pilgrimage ending in tragedy. With the world at peace, the party was not truly happy once they defeated Sin. Rarity had once died ten years prior to the Eternal Calm's birth, killed by Celestia as she tried to avenge the loss of her two close friends as they left their daughters behind. She struggled to make it back to Bevelle for medical treatment, only to succumb to her injuries and die, where she woke up, alive again, but dead. An unsent. With Jet Stream as the new Sin, he transported the unicorn through time itself and in Zanarkand, one thousand years in the past, many years before Sin appeared. It was there that she met Jet's daughter, Rainbow Dash, for the first time, and took care of her until the time was right. After defeating Faust, she revealed herself as an unsent, clinging to the living until she saw Spira finally be rid of Sin and the false hope everyone always got. She was sent, accepting her death after ten long years, and rested in the Farplane to be reunited with her friends. The saddest moment at the end of their fight was Rainbow Dash, the mare who kept fighting when the others wanted to give up hope. Despite her lack of knowledge of Spira and the religion that was followed, she had a suspicion that something was up with the ridiculous teachings, a certain Guado who couldn't be anymore sinister if she gave him a sign that said "I'm Evil! Fear Me!", and the idea of having a summoner killing themselves just to bring peace to the land. She kept everyone motivated, even after facing the truth and suffering from her own personal issues. She was an incredible guardian, though she lacked the experience of one, but she couldn't celebrate with the rest of the group after Rarity was sent. It turned out the rainbow-maned pegasus was actually a dream created by the fayth in Mt. Gagazet and the ones in the main temples every summoner has to go through before they reach Zanarkand. She couldn't explain her situation well to her friends, just as confused as they were. She found out on Gagazet and was given the horrible truth by the dragon aeon of Bevelle, Bahamut, which explains how somepony from a thousand years ago, who had never heard of Sin or aeons, would know the young dragon fayth. It turned out that Rainbow Dash was considered the dream that would end the fayths' dreaming, allowing them to finally rest after a thousand years. It was a depressing farewell for the pegasus, having warned the others she would disappear once they killed Faust. They triumphed in the end, defeated Sin, but Rainbow's time was at an end. She had to leave her friends, leave Fluttershy, and she had no choice to say whether she wanted to go or not. She had accepted her fate as a dream, said her final words to the mare she swore to protect and loved with all of her heart, and dove off into the clouds, disappearing into the Farplane where she was reunited with her mother and father, starting their relationship over with a clean slate. Though Fluttershy had lost two of her guardians in the end, one who was already dead and one who wasn't supposed to exist, she would never forget what happened on her journey. In Rainbow Dash's final words spoken to them on a sphere, she feared she would be a forgotten dream once she disappeared, but the pegasus was way off on that theory. None of them would ever forget what she had done for them. She may have been a dream, but she was a real pony. One day, they just might meet again. Maybe sooner than they think. Two years had passed since Sin was defeated, the Eternal Calm bringing everyone that time of everlasting peace. Things have changed since then, where machina is now free to use for those who wish to learn how to repair or fix them, groups of ponies who hunt spheres that hold the secrets of Spira's history no book had ever written, and a conflict between two factions that struggle to either keep the old teachings despite Sin's disappearance or to begin a new world order, finally freed from the fear of death at any moment. As long as nothing threatens to destroy Spira, everyone can do whatever they wish. Down in Luca, the city of blitzball, the stadium was filled to the brim with ponies as they cheered for the main event to finally begin. Strangely enough, it's not a blitzball match they were waiting for since the season hasn't started yet this year. Instead, the stadium was set up for a concert, and everyone was going crazy for the pony who was going to perform. Some of the guitarists playing some riffs for the crowd to get them pumped up stood on hover platforms, flying around as they shredded on their instruments. In the corridors, while the crowd was distracted, one of the pony security guards was knocked unconscious, being dragged back to be hidden from any other guards. Running down to the far end was a gray-black unicorn stallion, with a wild black manestyle, wearing equally dark colored warrior garbs. He turned back and waved his hoof to his partner, heading up to the seats down the way as a pink hoof waved back. That hoof reached a device attached to a mare's thin orange tank top, a staticky noise sounding as it turned on. "F, P, S, in position," the mare said as she looked out to the audience. "It's party time." Out in the arena, everyone began counting down from ten as the show was about to start. In the center, a strange new machina hovered underneath a platform it carried on its head, its arms wielding drumsticks as the drummer of the band ready to play for the crowd. As soon as the crowd shouted "one", the spotlights shone down on the platform, revealing the pony that stood there as she was silhouetted in the dim lighting. Standing there was a familiar yellow pegasus mare, her pink mane shorter than it was a couple years ago as she wore her summoner outfit. As the song began to play, the pegasus smirked as she walked forward on the stage, then stood on her hind legs. As she spun around, her outfit began glowing and faded away as a new one appeared in its place on her body. She now wore a blue blouse, her skirt shorter as it showed her flanks and was now black, and appearing above her in a flash of light was a microphone. As she sang, her voice magnified by the power of her outfit, two stallions teleported in and provided backup dancing, mimicking the pegasus's choreography while the crowd went wild. As the concert was going on, the pink mare from earlier spied on the singer with a pair of binoculars from one end of the stadium. Along with her orange tank top, she wore a pair of green short shorts around her lower half, the tight clothing accentuating the bouncy mare's rear and tail as she danced along with the rhythm. While lost in the song, she didn't notice one of the security guards behind her, tapping on her shoulder with his baton to get her attention. "What do you think you're doing here?" he asked, gently smacking his weapon on his hoof, ready to beat the mare up. "What? I can't dance and enjoy the music? Is that a crime?" While waiting for an answer, the stallion lunged forward to knock the earth pony out. Unfortunately for him, she was a lot more agile than him, avoiding his strike while knocking the usher out with one hard punch to the face. "Don't mess with the Pink, bucko!" She leaned back over the railing, looking down at the performance with a serious face. Unfortunately, her view was blocked by one of the hovering platforms one of the guitarists was on. She quickly moved to another spot to try and get closer. On the other side, the unicorn stallion leered at the pegasus as he watched from the top of the stairwell. He was minding his own business scoping out the perimeter, only to have a few guards rush at him while he did nothing. As they got closer, he smirked, knowing they were in for it. They charged at him with their batons, only to have them blocked by his hooves as he knocked them all out one by one, flipping up the stairs as he backflip kicked the last of them down the small flight. "Amateurs," the stallion grunted, sliding down the rail as he moved closer to the edge, getting a better look at the pegasus and her backup dancers. While the song was close to finishing, the pink earth pony mare showed up, riding on one of the hovering platforms she managed to swipe while nopony was looking. The unicorn leapt up onto it with her as she maneuvered it over the stage, avoiding the spotlights focused on the yellow pegasus dancing and singing. "She's not getting away this time," the mare said, pulling out a pair of twin daggers that appeared in a small burst of light, which had come from her outfit. "With lackeys she has, I doubt this would even be considered a challenge." The dark stallion reached a hoof down to his hip, pulling a curved broadsword from his clothing's power, hefting it lazily by his side in his red aura. As the performance ended, a blast of light exploded behind the pegasus, the audience going wild at the amazing song she sang. Many of the stallions fainted as it ended, either from her incredible singing voice or her beauty and grace as she moved along well with the music. Little did her fans realize she had a wicked smile on her face, hidden underneath the blinding lights as she received adoration from the thousands of ponies around her.
Chapter 1: The ImpostorThe singer waved to her fans as the lights dimmed down from blindingly bright to tolerably bright, ready to give her audience more of what they wanted. Before the music could start playing, the two ponies spying on her leapt down from their platform and landed in front of the yellow pegasus and her two backup dancers. They brandished their weapons at her, surprising the crowd, none of them knowing if this was part of the show or not. "Alright, you've been a pain in our backsides for long enough!" the pink earth pony mare said. "Give back what you took from us!" The performer scoffed, waving her hoof to her backup dancers to step forward. "Boys, let's show these two deviants not to interrupt a show when it's just getting started." The stallions stood before the mare, their bodies illuminated by a green glow as they changed into a similar outfit to the security guards, only a different color than how the Luca stadium's security were. It was the exact same outfit, where the guards weren't Luca's security team. They were imposters. "You know, your little groupies should learn to wear a better disguise, otherwise we'll know who to take down," the unicorn stallion said, brushing back some of his wild mane out of his face as his aura lazily held his sword. "And get some stronger ponies to protect you!" The two ponies attacked the performers, quickly dealing with the "dancers" with no problem. The pink mare even managed to swipe away some items hidden in their pockets, which happened to be terrible light effect grenades. "Seriously!? The grenades are crap!" she shouted. "I stole better ones from fiends in the past! And they look even better!" Though the pegasus's guards were knocked unconscious, she wasn't all that deterred as she held the microphone to her muzzle. "Sorry, everypony! I'm sad to say this concert is ending on a low note! Good afternoon, Luca!" She then pulled out a grenade from her clothing and threw it to the ground, emitting a blinding flash that lit up the whole stadium. While the audience was blinded, the ponies pursuing the singer quickly pulled out protective sunglasses. They chased after her, the pegasus laughing as she fled down to the harbor, escaping down to the docks. As soon as the two exited the arena, the pink mare skid across the ground, though a little too far as she almost slipped off the edge and fell in the water. "Stop horsing around! She's getting away!" the stallion shouted, grabbing the mare with his magic and pulling her away from the side. "Somepony waxed the docks! Who does that!? You do that for surfboards and the decks of the ship!" As the mare complained, they wound up getting ambushed by more of the pegasus singer's guards, though these were female and wore a different colored uniform. The stallion clashed his blade with one of their knives, both ponies pushing each other back. "You know, my mom always taught me not to hit a pretty mare...But since I can't see your face, I'll have to make an exception!" The two quickly rid themselves of the ambushing group, the stallion slashing at them with his sword, while the mare used her twin daggers to cut her opponents. With their outfits, their weapons don't kill unless whoever they fight is actually dangerous, like fiends. So instead of hacking them to pieces, they feel like they're getting punched repeatedly until they fall unconscious. With today being the first couple years of Spira's new, peaceful world, they wanted to lower the death count drastically from a thousand years of Sin's destruction. As they ran across the docks, the two pursuers lost sight of the pegasus as they reached the third dock, the same docks used for VIPs and celebrities to arrive in. "Great. We lost her." "She's too fast!" the mare exclaimed. "No. It's just that you're too slow." The two quickly turned around to see somepony appear in the direction they were coming from. "You won't get our boss that easily," another voice said as he appeared down the direction the singer disappeared down. The stallion and mare backed away from the two stallions approaching them, holding their weapons as they faced the mare's elite of her bodyguards. "The FlimFlam Brothers. Of course," the unicorn grumbled. Both stallions backing them up were Flim and Flam, twin unicorn stallions with the same yellow coats and red and white manes. Though they looked the same, wearing matching blue robes and hats, they had some differences to distinguish them. Flim was the younger brother, his face clean of any facial hair as he held a large shield, while Flam was the eldest of the two with a red moustache, wielding a pair of revolvers. Before the twins could attack, they were attacked from behind as bullets shot out from somepony near their hooves. The stallions yelped and hopped around as they avoided the wild bullets, Flim hopping into Flam's forelegs as the last of the barrage stopped. All four ponies looked in the direction of the attack, the pink mare and black unicorn stallion grinning at their savior. "About time you finally showed up!" the earth pony said. Standing behind the twins, holding two pistols that expelled steam from the barrels of the guns in her yellow wings, was the same mare that they were pursueing, only she was wearing a different outfit. She now wore a white tank top with a pair of blue denim shorts, a blue and white sash hanging around her left hip and reaching the ankle of her hind hooves. Smirking, she unloaded her guns' empty clips, the magazines disappearing in a flash of light as two more appeared in her hooves, quickly reloading them with a resounding click. With her reloaded guns ready, the pegasus ran toward the twins and leapt over them, grabbing her pistols in her hooves as she flipped them with a hard flap of her wings. She fired another barrage of bullets down on them, Flim and Flam scattering before they could get hit by the raining bullets. Unloading her mags, she reloaded as she landed between them, crouching low with her weapons aimed at the twin unicorns. "Gullwings, sound off!" the pegasus said, crossing her forelegs with her pistols held sideways. "Fluttershy!" The pink earth pony mare twirled her daggers in her hooves as she stood on her hind legs on Fluttershy's right, posing with her weapons parallel to her forelegs with a big grin on her muzzle. "Pinkie Pie!" The unicorn stallion stood on Fluttershy's left, dragging his blade across the ground until he grabbed the hilt with his hooves, bringing his sword up in a defensive stance. "Sombra!" "Gullwings are a go!" the trio cheered as they moved into battle formation, staring down the annoyed brothers. "Alright, no more making fools of the FlimFlam Brothers!" Flam loaded up his revolvers' chambers with bullets, flicking the barrels closed. Flam and Fluttershy aimed their firearms at each other, both sides shooting bullets as each opposing shot deflected each other's trajectory. The pegasus swiftly dodged any oncoming shots that approached her with incredible flexibility. Luckily for her, her guns have a bigger clip size than Flam's six chamber rounds, only needing to reload less as likely as the revolver-toting unicorn, having to reload his chambers manually and slowly. As he was wide open to attack, Fluttershy fired some more, only for Flim to leap in and protect his twin with his shield. Sombra and Pinkie ran forward and slashed with their weapons, their blows connecting with Flim's shield and forcing the stallion to be pushed back by Sombra's power and Pinkie's swift movements. Pinkie leapt over the shield and wound up behind them, tip toeing up to them as they were distracted by Sombra's blade slamming into the shield. "I'll be taking those precious goodies of yours!" she announced as she reached a hoof behind the twins. Only, instead of treasures or useful gear, she managed to pull both of the stallions' briefs from underneath their clothing, littered with apples patterned along the white undergarments. Completely oblivious to what she took, Fluttershy blushed heavily and hid her face under her wings while Sombra's eye twitched with a shocked expression on his face. "...What?" "I feel a draft," Flim said as both he and Flam looked behind them, eyes widening at the sight of their underwear somehow snatched out from under their robes and held in Pinkie's hooves. "GAH!" "How the hay did you take those!?" Flam asked, just as freaked out as his brother. Curious, she looked at her hooves, her face turning pale. "Eww! That's not what I wanted!" She quickly thrust the underwear at the twins, somehow putting them back on them and snatching her real prize. "...How the hay did she do that!?" the twins both asked. "Don't question my logic," Pinkie said, leaping on their backs and slamming their heads together, knocking them in a daze. "Whatever you stole, I suggest sanitizing your hooves before you even give anypony a hoof bump," Sombra groaned. "And what logic do you have when you defy every bit of it?" "The less you ask, Sombra, the more you'll know," Pinkie simply stated, though it only confused the stallion. "...That makes no sense," he said, blankly staring at the random earth pony. "This is why I never send a stallion to do a mare's job. Or in this case, two stallion look-alikes." The trio turned to face the other Fluttershy, the real impostor. The faker kicked both stallions awake, leering at them with disdain at their failure. Though the pegasi looked similar, the one pretending to be the real Fluttershy's voice sounded different. "You three never give up, do you?" "Chrysalis," Fluttershy growled. "Give me back my Garment Grid!" "...Fine. It's not a good one, anyway." The imposter threw a small slate at Fluttershy, the pegasus catching it with her hoof, making sure everything wasn't altered by the thief. "It won't be yours for much longer, though." Chrysalis chuckled, pulling out a large fan and was holding it in a green aura. Opening it up, it concealed her face as her body emitted a green glow, her outfit changing into a dark black-pink robe, her coat changing from yellow to black. She moved her fan away, revealing her dark coated face and dark green mane, the pony actually a unicorn, not a pegasus. "You're gonna pay for pretending to be my cousin!" Pinkie shouted. "Fluttershy, let's show her how you really use that dressphere!" Fluttershy nodded as her Garment Grid began glowing in her pocket, a light shining around the pegasus as she dropped her guns into the void of light glowing beneath her. As her clothing glowed, they began to shift in form, turning into the same outfit Chrysalis wore while her magic disguised herself as the pegasus. Fluttershy grabbed the microphone as it appeared in a small flash above her, standing on her hind legs as her body began dancing to a tune only she could hear. She began to sing a song, her vocals echoing around the six ponies, and as they reached her opponents, a dark haze fell over Flim, Flam, and Chrysalis. "AHH! I can't see!" Flim shouted. "She blinded us!" Flam added, trying to look around while aiming his revolvers at them. "Pinkie, let's take them out while they can't see!" Sombra announced, the pink mare nodding as the two attackers rushed in at them. Sombra slashed Flim, Pinkie thrust her daggers into Flam, and together, they struck Chrysalis, sending the unicorn flying back into the walls of the stadium. With the mare knocked for a loop, the trio won their fight against the thief and her henchponies, Flim and Flam getting up first as they carried their unconscious leader on their backs. "You'll pay for this, Gullwings!" the twins shouted as they ran off with the dazed mare down the docks. "Whoo hoo! We won! High hoof, everypony!" Pinkie cheered, holding up a hoof to Sombra. "I am not touching your hoof after you pulled out their underwear." Pinkie slowly lowered her hoof, her grin turning into a pout as she leered at the stallion. "You need to be more enthusiastic. Right, Fluttershy?" Both ponies turned to the pegasus, though she couldn't seem to answer as she continued dancing. She was trying desperately to stop, but her body didn't seem to listen to her as she began panting exhaustively. "Uhh, Fluttershy? Our victory poses are supposed to end after a couple seconds, not a minute of a celebratory jig." "I-I can't stop dancing!" Fluttershy shouted. "I-It's like my body has a mind of its own! Help me!" "Change out of your dressphere, then," Sombra said. "I'm trying!" After a few minutes of trying to reach her Garment Grid, she finally got out of the dressphere and reverted to her earlier clothing, her pistols returning to her hooves. Breathing a sigh of relief, Fluttershy collapsed on the docks, panting heavily as her weapons disappeared in a flash of light. "T-Thank...goodness..." Pinkie's and Sombra's weapons faded into a light as well, helping the tired pegasus back up on her hooves. While Fluttershy had time to breathe, they heard the sound of an airship flying in, pulling up to the docks. It was different in design to the other airship Fluttershy and Pinkie flew in a couple years ago, colored red and a bit more advanced than the first one. "There's Cheesie and Maud with the Celsius!" Pinkie announced, waving the airship down closer to the docks they were on. "I'd say this mission was a success!" "Wait until I tell your coltfriend you dug around two other stallions' underwear while 'stealing' their 'goodies," Sombra snickered, earning a glare from the earth pony. "Don't you dare, or I'll fire you out of my party cannon, oui zang!" Pinkie shouted, yelling the last words in Al Bhed. "Drah E'mm damm res eh Al Bhed." Pinkie growled, understanding the stallion's fluent Al Bhed, though leaving Fluttershy out of the loop as she sighed. "I wish I knew how to speak Al Bhed," she uttered as the Celsius stopped by the dock, floating above the surface of the water.
Chapter 2: The Celsius's CrewAs the group of three stepped on board the Celsius, they made their way onto the lift up to the bridge. This airship was far more advanced, showing panels that lead to different sections of the vessel on the elevator. Reaching the bridge, Pinkie raced down the corridor before Sombra could, explaining to Cheese Sandwich, the earth pony's coltfriend, what she did to Flim and Flam earlier at the stadium. Inside the control deck for the airship, it was a lot more roomy, and it didn't need much of a crew in order to fly it. All there were on the Celsius were the trio, Cheese Sandwich, Maud Pie, a colt covered head to hoof in an Al Bhed outfit named Shinra, who's face was concealed by the mask he wore, and a Hypello down in the cabin's bar area named Barkeep. Maud is Pinkie's older sibling, a mare who doesn't show much emotion, but to the pink mare, she was a delight to be around. Though Sombra seems more lively than her, and he always looks like a brooding warrior just by his coat and mane colors. Shinra, however, was a mysterious colt to the group. Though he is only around ten to twelve years old, he's a prodigal genius when it came to the inner workings of machina, and even the historical spheres he keeps stored in his database on his console he sits at. It's hard to tell what he thinks about sometimes, none of the crew ever knowing what he looks like underneath his outfit. Cheese Sandwich is Pinkie's coltfriend, an Al Bhed like her and her sister Maud. He helped assist Fluttershy and her guardians two years ago by manning the airship during Sin's final lifespan, though he was quickly demoted by the true ship's captain, Pinkie's father, Cid, after almost driving the airship into Sin. He's just as random as his marefriend, but a little more mature. Though that maturity is questionable since he acts like a goof when he tries to be serious. Barkeep the Hypello was an unusual creature, coming along with the gang some time ago. He was designated as the Celsius's barkeeper, since he can make a good drink, and he also holds a shop with supplies for them. Though it was a bit odd how a shopkeeper onboard the airship they were all on, as a crew, had to have his co-workers pay Gil for supplies they need any moment, but no one questioned it. At least his prices were reasonable. "Cheesie! Whatever Sombra says, don't listen to him! He's a liar!" Pinkie said, bouncing into the stallion's lap with a panicked look on her face. "Uhh, about what?" Cheese asked, already speaking fluent Equish after a couple years practicing. "She pantsed Flim and Flam of their underwear when we fought them," Sombra said with a smirk. "While they still had their clothes on." "I was going for their accessories they had on them! I misjudged my Stealing ability!" Pinkie defended as Sombra chuckled. "And who wears underwear!? We're ponies! We can go about naked and not be judged!" "But, what about my gift for you a couple months ago?" Pinkie shoved a hoof in her coltfriend's mouth, a deep blush lighting up her face. "Cheesie, that's hush-hush," Pinkie whispered. "This story's also rated teen, so none of that stuff is allowed." "Oh. Oops." Cheese felt something hit the side of his head, a small pebble landing on his shoulder. He looked over to the navigational seat, where Maud was sitting, staring blankly at the Al Bhed stallion. He began sweating at the dull look in her eyes, chuckling nervously. "Uhh, Pinkie? Mind getting off me? I kinda need to...steer?" "Oh. Right!" Pinkie kissed Cheese's muzzle and flipped out of his lap and bounced over to Shinra. Sombra shook his head, never going to truly understand Pinkie Pie. As he leaned against the wall, he looked around the bridge out of boredom. But out of all the crew present aside from Barkeep in the cabins, Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. "Hey. Where's Fluttershy?" he asked. Down in the cabin section of the Celsius, Fluttershy walked out of the elevator and walked down the corridor, entering the rest area for the crew. She sat down at the bar, where Barkeep was busy cleaning some glasses. "Oh! Mish Fluttershy!" The Hypello approached the pegasus from the other side of the bar. "Anything yoo wantsh?" "Just some water, please." Barkeep nodded, pulling out a bottle of water from behind the bar. The pegasus sighed and drank the entire bottle in several gulps. "Today was not fun. Chrysalis stole my Garment Grid and my Songstress dressphere..." Earlier in Luca, Sombra and Pinkie looked down at the harbor city from the entrance to Mi'ihen Highroad, looking out to the stadium from the balcony. Earlier, Chrysalis had managed to snatch Fluttershy's Garment Grid and impersonated her, setting up a concert disguised as the pegasus just to gain admiration from Spira's hero summoner. "I can't believe Fluttershy slipped up and got her Garment Grid stolen by that old hag," Sombra groaned. "Speaking of, Fluttershy said she was getting something to hide herself if anypony caught her while fake her was in the stadium. I wonder what she meant?" Pinkie pondered, scratching her head. "Hi, guys...I'm here." Sombra and Pinkie turned as they heard Fluttershy's voice, only to stare wide eyed at what she was wearing. Fluttershy was inside of a Moogle mascot outfit, the large head mask for the costume carried in her hooves. "Unfortunately, this was all I could find that fit me..." The two ponies snorted as they tried to stifle their laughter, failing miserably as the unicorn and earth pony fell over on their backs, clutching their sides tightly as they guffawed. Fluttershy sighed and grumbled to herself, putting the Moogle head on to complete the outfit. "You can't be serious, Fluttershy!" Pinkie giggled. "A Moogle costume!?" "I'm not good at improvising!" the pegasus argued. "Besides, I thought it looked cute..." "Yeah. Adorable," Sombra said sarcastically with a grin. "I'm sure Chrysalis will be very intimidated by a giant furry bear with a fuzzy antenna on its head." "Moogles are a mystical creature of their own species. They are not bears...even if they look cuddly like one," Fluttershy pouted underneath the head, crossing her forelegs. "Whatever. Let's go before she actually gets away." Sombra and Pinkie leapt over the railing and went on ahead, leaving Fluttershy on her own. "Wait! I can't move well with this on!" Unable to use her wings under the mascot costume, she couldn't maneuver well like she normally could without hurting herself. Fluttershy took the long way around, running down the stairs and heading into the shopping district of Luca. There were many ponies around, possibly to hear the real pegasus perform for them in the arena for her concert. Before she could make it any further, she was stopped by one of the vendors. "Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" he asked. Fearing she was already caught, she tried to feign ignorance while staying quiet. "If you're gonna head down to the stadium for Lady Fluttershy's concert, do it after you entertain the foals!" "...Uhh..." Before she could say anything, the stallion thrust some balloons in her hoof. "Give these to the kids, THEN you can go and hear the concert." The stallion mumbled to himself, saying something about her being lazy, or whoever's job it was to wear this stuffy outfit. "And don't forget; you're a Moogle. Act like one and keep the illusion." "...Umm...K-Kupo?" Fluttershy said, trying to mimic how a Moogle talks. "...Well, that's a lot better than the last time. Now get to handing out those balloons!" The pegasus sighed, not wanting to get caught, or in trouble, skipping along the area to hand out balloons to any fillies and colts she could meet. Admittedly, she always adored Moogles when she was a filly, wishing they were real to have as a pet, and sometimes pretending to be one. She played off the illusion of a big, fluffy Moogle well, not wanting to ruin the foals' imaginations. The only problem was that she was getting hot and sweaty inside the costume: the fur was pretty thick, the outfit was insulated heavily, and it didn't help that Luca was a tropical city where the weather was always hot. She felt like she was already about to die of thirst. After entertaining the foals, she hurried down the walkway to the stadium, hearing a static sound ring in one of her ears. "F, P, S, in position. It's party time." "Oh no! I'm not even near the stadium yet!" Fluttershy made a break for it and arrived at the stadium. While Sombra and Pinkie were going to confront Chrysalis inside, Fluttershy ran for the docks. But as she reached the number 2 dock, where several boxes of cargo were set up to be shipped out across the seas, the pegasus collapsed behind some of them, panting from dehydration. She then heard Chrysalis laugh as she passed by the docks, along with Sombra and Pinkie slashing their way through the thief's troops as they chased after her. Grumbling at the horrible idea to wear the outfit, Fluttershy discarded the costume, finally freed from the stuffy suit. That was when she arrived and pulled out her pistols, shooting at Flim and Flam as they were about to corner her friends on the VIP dock. After a third bottle of water drunk with not a drop left, she groaned, feeling really tired. "There you are." She looked over to the lift as Sombra walked in, sitting next to her at the bar. "Barkeep, my usual, if you don't mind." "Comingsh up, Shombrash." The unicorn groaned, hating how a Hypello would always pronounce his name. "So, you came up here to get away from Pinkie?" Sombra asked. "No. I'm just really tired...and I think I need a shower," Fluttershy mumbled, her coat feeling a little sticky from sweating in the Moogle costume. "Yeah. I told you it was a stupid idea. But, like any other filly, cute things means "want, want, want" for you." Barkeep set a wine glass down in front of Sombra filled with a fragrant red liquid. "But, without you and that dressphere change, it would have been bothersome taking those three down." He took a small sip of his beverage, sighing in satisfaction as the wine's flavors invaded his taste buds. "Though your voice is better than hers by a landslide." "...Are you hitting on me?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm just saying Chrysalis is a terrible singer, even if her specialty is mimicry." Sombra leaned against the bartop, looking up at the windows showing the clouds the Celsius was currently flying over. "I talked with that colt, Shinra before I came looking for you. I asked him about our dresspheres." The unicorn levitated his current dressphere in front of him. "I was curious about your little dance after we beat Chrysalis and the FlimFlam Brothers. Why you couldn't stop and all that. "Turns out these things actually carry the attitudes of the pony who was the class in these spheres. Gives you a split personality that's only temporary." He put the dressphere back in his Garment Grid, drinking some more of his wine. "Better be careful if we find anymore of them we can use. Useful skills, but one might have a deadly personality." "Mhmm..." Fluttershy wasn't really paying attention to Sombra as her mind drifted off to a certain somepony she knew. "...You thinking about that stallion from that sphere?" the unicorn asked, finally getting Fluttershy's attention. "I know I joined you guys just a few months ago, but I don't really know much about all your history...One question I want to ask is how you and Pinkie Pie are related. She's got too much energy while you're a little more...reserved." "...I'm part Al Bhed," the pegasus began explaining. "From my mother's side. My mother is Pinkie's aunt, and her father, Cid, is my uncle. I don't know how to speak Al Bhed, but I have two different colored eyes: one blue, and one green. The blue one shows my Al Bhed heritage, though it's hard to tell unless you got a closer look." "I was wondering about that too...But what about that stallion in that sphere in Shinra's database?" Sombra was treading on a touchy subject, though he deserved to know a little bit more about her, being her friend and teammate. "That stallion looks a lot like somepony who was one of my guardians on my pilgrimage," she said. "Only, she was a mare, and they both look and act alike...She disappeared after we finally defeated Sin, nothing but a dream made by the fayth." Sombra raised a brow at that information, but didn't speak as he let Fluttershy continue. "I don't know if it might be her reincarnated as a stallion, but all I have to go on is that sphere. The problem is we don't know how old it is because it was so worn by the harsh elements of Mt. Gagazet...Her name was Rainbow Dash...a mare who ended Spira's suffering, saved my life several times...and I fell in love with her." "...I see...You must miss her a lot." Sombra finished the rest of his glass, setting it down on the counter for Barkeep to pick up. "I find it hard to believe somepony could actually be a living dream, but if she was real, it's understandable to be upset." "I do miss her...but I think we'll meet again someday." Fluttershy pulled out the sphere that held Rainbow Dash's final farewells to her and the others before the final battle against Faust inside of Sin. "I believe fate brought us together back then...and I know it'll do the same again, if not soon, then maybe some years later." Suddenly, alarms rang out around the ship as red lights flashed in every room. "Gullwings, report to the bridge! We got ourselves a signal!" "Welp. Guess that means we got a sphere to hunt." Fluttershy put Rainbow's sphere away in her pockets and followed Sombra to the lift, taking them to the bridge for a possible sphere that could hold something of Spira's past.
