Another Life, Another Fate

by MatCor1337

Rating: teen
Tags: Crossover, Human, Sunset Shimmer, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance
Length: 7005

What do you get when you put two sorceresses, a police officer, a gangster, a vampire, a lunitic with a split-personality and a cyborg together? A more badass version of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

A young and plucky elf mage arrives to a new home and quickly makes friends with unique and interesting girls as they all partake in the journey of a lifetime with grand battles, ancient adversaries, a vast world of lore and mystery, and something that is its own adventure: relationships. They will face dangers and obstacles that will make or break them, and some other life problems in between, but with determination, teamwork and (of course) friendship, they will pull through whatever is thrown at them.
.........Hopefully...

Legend:
Unicorns = Elves
Pegasai/Griffons = Avions
Earth-ponies/most-other-races = Humans
Alicorns keep their name and have elf ears plus avion wings
Chapter titles with the * are "rewritten" episodes, those without are my own making.

Disclaimer: this story contains an admittedly excessive amount of references and elements from a multitude of existing series', such as characters, names, locations, powers etc. That is what the Crossover tag is for.

The image below is my reference for the characters' skin tones.
[img]http://www.blogcdn.com/blog.games.com/media/2010/08/yoville-heads-of-color.png[/img]

Published 2016-09-10 15:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-04-28 16:37:21 UTC

*Friendship Is Magic, Pt 1

*Friendship Is Magic, Pt 1

*Friendship is Magic PT 1

In the middle of an ominous forest in the great and mystical land of Equestria, a young elf woman in her early twenties wandered under the canopy of the trees, unfazed by the eerie aura of the place.   She had tanned skin, straight midnight-blue hair that descended to the middle of her back, with a stripe of pink and violet side-by-side in the middle, the bags over her face only just skim above her eyebrows.   She wore a metallic-grey overcoat, black dress pants, violet coloured boots, and had a brown duffle bag with the strap over her shoulder.   In the center of her shirt, on the back of her jacket and on her belt buckle, there was a six-pointed lavender star that represented her talent in magic.

Her name was Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight began to hear a growling noise coming from all around her.   She stopped and looked up from the book she was reading, clearly annoyed, and scoped around the area.   It would appear that a pack of Timberwolves had surrounded her.

Timberwolves, as the name would suggest, are like regular wolves but their bodies are completely made of enchanted wood.   Most people would have a lot of trouble when dealing with them, even if they have a sharp axe and a good arm.   To say the least, Timberwolves were a pain to take down, but when mastering the mystic arts were your special talent and practically your lifeblood, they’re nothing more than a waste of time.

“Hmm” Twilight mused.   The Timberwolves had each gotten into position of whatever formation the wooden animals used in their little ecosystems.   She sighed, summoned a bookmark from thin air with her magic and placed it on the page she was on and after a few seconds of silence, she slammed the book closed.   The moment the sound of a closing book echoed throughout the forest, the Timberwolves sprang into action, charging straight to the seemingly defenceless girl who trespassed onto their territory.   All Twilight did was close her eyes and snap her fingers, causing a blinding flash of light in a mere three seconds.

After about ten seconds of waiting for the light to die down, Twilight opened her eyes and confidently smirked to herself upon seeing everything within a twenty-meter radius to be frozen solid.   Timber Wolves stood motionless as about an inch of solid ice kept them in place.   Any that were in the air during the spell’s casting had fallen and shattered (if the piles of brown ice was anything to go by), and all those that managed to avoid the spell had fled the area in fear.

Twilight released a tired sigh, reopened her book to the page that was marked and continued ‘read-walking’ as she calls it, as if nothing happened at all.   She soon found herself outside the forest and onto a dirt road, and followed the road that went towards the general direction that she was heading.

Barely another two minutes of walking, she looked up from her book and saw the tip of a building in the distance.   The road continued down a hill toward a relatively small town of many brightly coloured buildings.   Twilight took in a deep breath, and continued towards her new place of residence.

Ponyville.

Ponyville was a nice and quaint little town with wide roads, a nearby farm, minimal traffic and surrounded by green pastures.   Twilight was also pleased with the diversity of humans, elves and avions alike.   While walking on the sidewalk she noticed that a girl with her eyes closed was hopping along the street towards her.

She had curly pink hair, light skin, a white shirt, denim shorts with straps that went over her shoulders, similar to overalls, with an image of three balloons on her thighs; two blue and one yellow, as well as blue and white sand-shoes.   When the girl was about ten feet away, Twilight put her book in her bag and decided to introduce herself.

“Hello there, I’m-” she began, only to be interrupted when the pink-haired girl leaped into the air with a long, audible gasp before she bolted down the street with speed she shouldn’t possess.   Stunned and confused, Twilight just stood there in silence from the dramatic turn of events.

“Ooookay… that happened.” She muttered to herself.   After enough of her confusion wore off to pay attention to her surroundings, Twilight noticed some of the pedestrians moving to the sides of the sidewalk.   Curious, she turned her head around, only to be greeted with a tough, yet feminine voice yelling “LOOK OUT!” in her face before the two collided and fell to the ground.

“Ugh…” Twilight groaned as she sat up.   After a few moments to work her head around what had happened, she saw a pair of dark blue, black laced combat boots and pants of the same blue shade.   She glared up at the one who tackled her down, seeing as she already helped herself up.

The avion wore a blue full-body uniform with the sleeves were rolled up, exposing her toned arms, black gloves that exposed the tips of her fingers, as well as some extra protective gear: shoulder, elbow and kneepads; which were also black.   On the left side of her uniform was a small golden shield with a five-point star in the center of it.   Directly above the shield were the letters P.P.D. and on the sides were Ponyville Police Department.

‘Oh joy, she’s a cop.’ Twilight grumbled mentally.   When she’d gotten to the law enforcer’s face, she took notice of her magenta eyes, warm beige skin and rainbow coloured hair.

“Sorry about that, didn’t see you there until the last second.” She said.   The officer bent over slightly and put out her hand to help Twilight off the ground.   “My name’s Rainbow Dash, what’s your n-” the now identified ‘Rainbow Dash’ lost her words as she stared into Twilight’s lavender eyes, whom had grabbed Rainbows’ arm and pulled herself up.

Twilight took quick notice that the avion was staring at her, and she began to feel quite uncomfortable.   “What?    What are you staring at?” she asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, blushing faintly, and made a nervous smile as she rubbed the back of her head.   “Heh heh, sorry about that, just didn’t recognise you is all.” She said.   “So as I was saying, what’s your name beautiful?” the second that word left her lips, Rainbow slapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide and blushing harder than before.

Twilight blushed as well, but had enough control to respond.   “Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle.   My father thought it would do me some good to have a change of scenery, so he got me to move here.” She replied, then adding with a smile,   “Thanks for the compliment, by the way.”

“Well be sure to tell him that he couldn’t have picked a better place, especially with the princess hosting the Summer Sun Celebration here tomorrow.” Rainbow informed the elf girl brightly, her heart beating rapidly in her chest from Twilight’s smile.

Twilight blinked at the info.   “I knew that the celebration was tomorrow, but I didn’t think that the princess was coming here to do it.   No offence, but still.” Twilight admitted.

“No sweat, Twilight.   Hey, I was heading to the farm just out of town that’s run by a friend of mine and her family, why don’t you come with me and I can show you around while we’re at it?” Rainbow asks.

Twilight thought about the offer for a moment.   She knew next to nothing about the town and having a local resident show her around would be helpful.   “Okay, sure.” She finally replied.

“Alright!” Rainbow exclaims, perhaps a little louder than necessary, but didn’t care about that right now.   “Just follow me.” she said, leading the town’s newest resident through the streets and pointing out any buildings or shops of significance as the headed to the farm.

=][=

By the time the two had made it to the farm, Twilight glanced up at the sign, and then back at the avion.   “Uh, Rainbow, are you sure we’re at the right place?” she asked as she looked at the sign again.   On a large board of brown wood, was a red apple with a Jack-o’-lantern style face on the front, and a black military hunting knife stabbing through it from the top.

“Yeah, the sign may seem unwelcoming, but the folks here at Sweet Apple Acres are really cool people.” Rainbow reassured her.

“Sweet Apple Acres?   Really?”

“Hey, I did just say that they were nice people didn’t I?   Their family just has some… shady history, that’s all.”

“You mean they used to be gangsters?” Twilight asked in complete seriousness as she crossed her arms over her chest.   Rainbow Dash was quite surprised at not only how fast Twilight became so serious, but at how fast she came to such a conclusion.   “I’m right, aren’t I?”

The avion sighed, and made a hand gesture for Twilight to follow her as she continued toward the homestead.   And follow, Twilight did.   “Yeah, you’re right.” Rainbow began.   “They used to be known as the Apple Syndicate over a hundred years ago.   My friend’s great-grandparents decided that they were tired of the whole ‘criminal organisation’ gig, and so they bought the land, moved here and started an apple selling business.   They kept their logo so that people knew who they were dealing with.” She turned her head to gaze back at Twilight, who seemed rather interested in the story.   Smirking, she continued.   “Funny thing is; without them, there wouldn’t be a Ponyville to call home.”

That caught Twilight’s attention.   “Wait.   You mean that a cri- I mean, ex-crime syndicate was the town’s founding settlers?”

“Yep, I won’t go into the boring details of how that happened though, you can have AJ tell ya.” Rainbow Dash answered.   By this time they were at the red and white barn, and Rainbow was looking around the property, like she was trying to find someone.   “Hey! Big Mac, over here!” she yelled suddenly.

Twilight followed Rainbows’ gaze towards an empty field, minus the only person in it.   There was a muscular man who seemed to be in his mid or late twenties with blond hair and a wheat stalk in his mouth.   He wore a red lumberjack t-shirt that showed off his strong arms, light brown pants and dark brown work boots.   The man stopped doing his chore and walked towards the two visitors.

“Yo Mac, do you know AJ is?   I want to introduce her to a new friend of mine here.” Rainbow replied as she pulled Twilight closer.   “This is my friend’s brother; Big Macintosh.   Why don’t you say hi?”

For the first time in quite a while, Twilight was getting nervous in how she was meeting new people, mostly because she didn’t have to before.   “Um… hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“Howdy Miss Sparkle.” Macintosh replied with a southern accent.   “Sis should’ve finished her chores by now, she’s most likely at the range.”

“Great, thanks Mac.” Rainbow turns to Twilight.   “C’mon Twi, I want you to meet AJ.” She said and began to practically drag the young magician to the barn.

Rainbow led Twilight to a cellar door at the side of the barn, opened it, and stepped down into the cellar.   “Uh Rainbow, where are you going?   Didn’t he say that your friend was at some range?” Twilight asked.   A chuckle was her first response.

“About that; you see, I’ve known them long enough to know that Mac was talking about the firing range that they have underneath the barn so that they don’t freak out the towns folks and their animals.”   Rainbow answered as she stopped in front of a wall and got a key from her pocket.

“But you just said that…”

“Just ‘cause the Apple family left the crime gig doesn’t mean that their old partners did too.   So let’s just say that they still keep in touch for old times sake.” As she said this, Rainbow slid over a wooden panel to reveal a keyhole.   The law enforcer inserted the key into the slot and turned it.   The wall next to Rainbow opened up and revealed an elevator.   She beaconed Twilight to get in with her, and as she did, the wall closed behind them.   Rainbow pushed a green button with a white arrow pointing down, and down they went.

“So… mind explaining to me why there’s an underground firing range here?   And what you said before doesn’t count.” Twilight said as the elevator made its descent.

“Well, the Apple family is pretty big if you count all the relatives, and some of them are actually members of the gangs that still keep in touch with Granny Smith, AJs’ grandmother, because some of their leaders and oldest members knew her when she was really little.” Rainbow answered her.

The elevator stopped at its limit and two metal doors opened in front of them, and they stepped out.   The two girls entered the warehouse that was kept underneath the barn.   It was at least two stories high and had two square kilometres of space; space that was used up by large factory grade shelves that went from floor to ceiling, and stacked with large crates that stored who knows what.

Twilight could hear gunshots in the distance as they were walking down an aisle.   “That’d be AJ.” Rainbow comments.

They finally reached the only place that was free from the large shelves.   The area was marked off by a five-foot high fence that stretched eight hundred meters from the western wall of the warehouse.   There were six cubicles that were two meters wide and three meters tall, to give the occupants plenty of space.

In one of them there was someone firing some type of sniper rifle at the targets that were lined up along the west wall.   The person had long blond hair that reached their waist with it tied an inch or two away from the ends with a red band.   They wore a Stetson cowboy hat, a large brown overcoat that went below the knees, light brown pants and dark brown cowboy boots.

When they had stopped firing, the individual turned their head at the sound of footsteps, showing her toasted tanned face, and smiled upon seeing the police officer.   “Hey there Rainbow, what brings ya here?” she asked, bearing the same accent as Macintosh.

“Hi AJ, just wanted you to meet someone.” Said Rainbow as she pulled Twilight closer to the cowgirl.   “This here is Twilight Sparkle.   Twi, this is Applejack, we’ve known each other since childhood.”

“Hello, nice to meet y-AHH!” Twilight began, only to have Applejack grab and vigorously shake her hand, sending vibrations throughout her body.

“Mighty nice to meet ya Miss Twilight, we here at Sweet Apple Acres always welcome newcomers to town.   And if Rainbow considers ya a friend, than ya can count me and mah family too.” Applejack said brightly as she slung the rifle on her shoulder.

When Twilight was able to escape Applejack’s grip, she noticed that the overcoat was unbuttoned to reveal that the cowgirl was also wearing a green bandana around her neck and a white shirt.   Twilight then remembered something important.

“Well, nice meeting you Applejack, really, but I’ve got to get to Town Hall because I… have no idea where I’m living.” Twilight told them as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

“Whoops, sorry about that.” Rainbow Dash apologised.   “If it helps; just head to the center of town, the tall building that has roads all around is the Hall.”

“Thanks, that helps me a lot.  Well, hope to see you two soon.   Goodbye.” Twilight waved them off as she made her way back to the elevator.   Applejack was in the process of putting the sniper away when she noticed her old-time friend was looking off into the distance in the direction Twilight went.

“Uh, Rainbow?   What’re ya starin’ at?” she asks.

“N-nothing!” Rainbow retorted as she turned her back towards the cowgirl, trying to hide a faint blush.

=][=

Twilight was just leaving the farm when she spotted another woman coming towards her, or perhaps the farm.   She was an elf with lighter skin than Applejack, bright yellow and red hair that somewhat resembled fire, a light-ish purple shirt with yellow/red sun in the style of the yin-yang symbol under a black leather jacket, an orange business skirt and knee-high purple and black boots.

When she got closer, Twilight decided to introduce herself.   “Hi there miss, I’m…” she started, but stopped herself and frowned when the other woman just walked past her, looking at some parchment while muttering to herself.   “Hm.   Rude.” Grumbled Twilight, continuing her trek.

As Twilight made her way back to town, she heard what sounded like multiple songbirds harmoniously singing.   ‘Is someone teaching a choir of birds?’ she thought as she followed the noise.   When Twilight came into a clearing just outside of town, she saw an avion girl with long pink hair hovering in front of a tree that had its branches completely covered by a wide range of bird species.

She was wearing a green cotton jacket that just barely hung to her shoulders, a pink skirt and lime-green shoes.   She looked proudly at the birds as they finished the song and Twilight took the chance to say hello (the absence of Rainbow Dash made her feel more comfortable).

“Hello there.” Twilight said when she was about ten feet from the girl.   Said girl, however, was startled by the sudden introduction as noticeable when she squeaked out an “Eep!” and flew into the air a few feet.   When she turned to see Twilight and the worried look on her face, she calmed down and lowered herself to the ground in front of the magician.

“Oh… um… I’m sorry if I, uh, worried you.” She said nervously in a sweet, timid voice.   “It’s just that you startled me and all.”

“Oh, sorry about that.   My name is Twilight Sparkle, what’s your name?” Twilight asked as she reached out a hand to the pink-haired girl.

“F-Fluttershy.” The avion replied as she took her hand.    Whilst they shook hands, Fluttershy’s senses went crazy; telling her that there was something very off about Twilight.   Maybe not her personality, but there was something about her that was just… dark.

When they broke apart from the handshake, Twilight asked, “So Fluttershy, what were you doing just now?   It sounded beautiful.”

“Oh, why thank you Twilight.   You see, I’m in charge of the music for the celebration tomorrow, and I figured that a bird quire would be a nice touch.”

“Really?   That’s great!” Twilight beamed.   “Anyway, I’ve got to get to the Town Hall so that I can find out my accommodations.   Well goodbye, I look forward to hearing the full song.”   Twilight began to continue her return to town, that is, until something started moving and growling from within her duffle bag.   She froze in place at the sudden movement.   ‘Oh no, he woke up.’ She thought.   After a second she continued on walking, hoping that Fluttershy hadn’t noticed.

Unfortunately, she did.   “Um, Twilight… what’s in the bag?” Fluttershy asks.

“N-nothing.   Nothing at all.   Just some of my belongings shifting position.   No big deal.” Twilight responded nervously whilst it was clear that something in her bag was desperate to get out.   Abruptly, the duffle bags’ zipper opened to reveal a long, grey blade-like appendage as the growling became more audible.   Moments later the form of a bizarre looking creature made its way out.

It was about the average size of a domestic house cat, had deep crimson skin and black chitin plates with short, thin cyan stripes shading the edges.   There were some thin plates that made a shape somewhat like a ribcage that stopped just off its arms whilst larger plates guarded its back.   It had four arms, two with grey, scorpion-like claws and the other two with scythe-like talons that were also partially armoured.   The upper part of the creature’s head was completely covered by chitin armour that almost obscured its eyes from view, a mouth full of razor sharp teeth with two long snaggletooth fangs at the front, all of which were grey like its claws.

Fluttershy slowly began stepping closer to Twilight, still staring at the weird being in her bag.   “T-that… that’s…” she stammered, unable to find her words.

“Look, Fluttershy… I know this looks strange but I need you to understand tha-“

“It’s so CUUUUUUUUTE!!!” the avion exclaimed as she lunged forward and grabbed the creature out of the bag and nuzzled it with her cheek.   The red-skinned life form was revealed to have the rest of its body like that of a centipede, with the thigh of its torso to the tip of its tail stretching about thirty inches.   It also seemed unfazed by Fluttershy abruptly grabbing it, as it wasn’t trying to claw her face off.

To say that Twilight was a little dumbstruck would be an understatement.   “…Wha~?” Twilight finally says after several moments of awkward silence.

“Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen anything like this little guy before.” Said Fluttershy.   “I can recognise the parts of a scorpion and centipede, but I don’t recognise anything else.   What is he?” she asks.

“Well, the thing is… he has more relation to a demon than any species of animal.” Twilight explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

Fluttershy looked up to Twilight in shock.   “A-a d-demon?” the pink-haired girl stammers.

“Yeah.   ‘Cause you see, he’s my… Familiar.”

“Your Familiar?   That… that’s… that’s amazing!” Fluttershy beamed.   “I’ve read that only the most powerful and most skilled mages are capable of summoning a Familiar.   You must be really strong to have one.   Oh, what did you name him?”

Twilight sighed.   “His name is Sauron, and that’s why I tried to hide him…” she trailed off as she lifted her hand and snapped her fingers.   Sauron made a growling sound that could’ve been a grumble, but complied in its command and flew out of Fluttershy’s arms (despite having no wings) and back into the duffle bag.   “If anyone knew I had a Familiar, they’d expect nothing but the best of me; that everything I do has to be perfect.” she zips up the bag.   “And if I ever make a mistake they’ll criticise me for it constantly.   I just don’t think that I can take all that attention and pressure!”

Fluttershy could understand that Twilight didn’t want people to think about her in a particular way just because of one factor.   “It’s okay Twilight.” Fluttershy reassured her new friend.   “If it helps, I won’t tell anyone about Sauron unless you want to.”

Twilight gave the avion a thankful smile.   “Thanks Fluttershy, I needed that.   Well, see you later.”

“Goodbye.” The yellow-winged girl chirped as Twilight continued her way to town.

=][=

Twenty minutes later, Twilight made her way to the Town Hall and entered.   The interior of the Hall was decorated with light-purple and dark-blue drapes, and large white banners with an image of the sun were hung on each wall.

“Hey there,” a male voice called behind her.   “Haven’t seen you here before.”

Twilight turned to see who was speaking to her.   He had a light tan like the girl earlier, spiky green hair that just reached his shoulders(2), wore a purple jacket, jeans and black shoes, with a pair of purple dragon wings emerging from his back.   “I only just got to town today.” She replied truthfully.

“Fair enough.   Name’s Spike by the way, did you need to see the Mayor about something?” Spike asks.

“Oh, yes I do actually.   I’d like to know where I’d be living whilst I’m staying in Ponyville.   My father made arrangements” Twilight told him.

“Say no more, I’ll go get her.” He said.   As Spike walked towards another part of the hall, Twilight took notice that he also had a purple scaly tail with an arrowhead tip, and there were also green spikes coming through his jacket that went down his back and along the length of his tail.

“Isn’t he just wonderful.” A feminine voice called from above.   Twilight took a few steps back and looked up to the balcony above her.   Leaning over a railing was a violet-haired, light skinned elf wearing purple high-heeled boots and dark-blue pants.   Most of her body was obscured by a white lab-overcoat with an image of three cyan diamonds on her thighs.   “Just hold on right there darling, I’ll be down in but a moment.” She said.

Twilight expected her to teleport down to the foyer, but what happened instead truly surprised her.   From the elven’s back, six snow-white coloured animatronic arms that more resembled tentacles with claw hands at the ends emerged.   They grabbed onto the floor and columns as they hoisted her off the balcony, climbed down, and softly placed her on the foyer floor.   “There,” she said as the three-pincer claws lifted from the ground and ‘hovered’ at her sides.   “Now that that’s settled, my name is Rarity.   And who might you be darling?” Rarity asks.

“I’m Twi-“

“Twilight Sparkle I presume?” another woman’s voice interrupted from behind.   The two girls turned to acknowledge the woman who had entered the foyer with Spike.   She wore a creamy-brown suit with a white collar that almost matched her caramel skin , a green tie and black shoes, as well as grey hair and red-framed glasses with small chains connected to the sides that went around the back of her neck.

“Yes, I’m Twilight.” She confirmed.

“I’m Mayor Gertrude Mare of Ponyville, it’s good to finally meet you Miss Sparkle.” The mayor replied, holding out her hand for Twilight to shake, whom accepted it.

“You know about her Miss Mare?” Spike asked.

“No, not really.” She admitted.   “Only that a letter told me that someone new was coming to town, her name, what she looked like, and that she would be needing a place to live during her stay.”

“Well what do you suppose would be good for me?   I’m not very picky.” Twilight asks.

The mayor seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, and then an idea struck her.   “Well, the princess has asked that the Golden Oaks Library be reserved for her personal student whilst she’s in Ponyville, but I’m sure that you two can share it.   There’s plenty of room on the second and third floors for each of you to have one all to yourselves.   And because we haven’t had one in a while, I could also offer you the job as our librarian, if that’s alright with you that is?” she offered.

Twilight’s face brightened at the prospect of living in a library.   “That would be perfect!   I love books!” she exclaimed joyfully.

“Alright then,” the mayor replied.   “Just let me go get the key and you can be on your way once your roommate arrives.   Oh, that reminds me; there was another letter for me to give you once you came to town.   I’ll go get that for you as well.” After that, the mayor went back into her office.

“You seemed awfully enthusiastic about where you’re living.” Spike noted.

“Spiky, don’t be so rude.” Rarity said as she playfully patted his shoulder with her hand whilst he wore a deadpanned expression.   “However, you have a point.   Twilight, why did you seem so happy to be living in the library?” she asks as one of her claws made the impression of nodding.

“Well, my parents and I always traveled and my father always knew how to find an ancient tomb or library for us to stay for a while.   So I guess that’s where my fascination for books came from and I’d be in a more comfortable environment in similar places I’ve spent my whole life in.” Twilight explained.

“That’s horrible!” Rarity yelled dramatically.   “It must have been dreadful to travel so much at a young age, and having to sleep in a dirty, old, rotten building is simply uncivilised.”

“Oh no, it’s not like that at all, I really enjoyed myself.” Twilight reassured her.   By then the mayor had returned with a key ring (with a few keys, of course) and a letter.

“Here you go Miss Sparkle.” She said as she handed over the keys and letter to Twilight.   “The one with the book engraved into it opens the front door, the others lock some of the other rooms inside.”

“Thank you, Miss Mayor.” Twilight replied.

Before anything else could be said, the town hall’s main doors were opened and the elf that Twilight saw as she left Sweet Apple Acres entered, although her hair was a complete mess.

“Oh my goodness, darling!   What happened to your hair?” Rarity screamed.

“The weather manager happened.” She grumbled before using a spell that reformed her hair to the way it was before, then looking around the interior of the Hall and speaking in a more professional voice.   “I’m here to see a Miss Rarity about the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration.   And I must say that I’m really impressed.”

“That would be me, darling, and am I right to assume that you’re Princess Celestia’s personal student?”

“Yep, that’s me.   Name’s Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset replied, though her smile was a bit lopsided and she seemed a little awkward when looking at Rarity’s robotic arms.

Twilight stepped over to Sunset.   “Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle.   We passed each other as I was leaving Sweet Apple Acres.   You… completely ignored me.” She said somewhat awkwardly at the end.

Sunset seemed to look a little guilty.   “I did?   Sorry about that, I sometimes block out the people around me when I’m focused on something.   Probably the reason why Princess Celestia want me to stay here for a while; to break that habit.”

“Well I’m sure that you’ll do fine, darling.” Rarity quipped, before asking, “So, are the decorations to your liking?”

The fiery-haired student of the princess took another look around, smiling a little.   “Yes, this’ll be perfect.” She said, then moving on to another matter.   “But now that all the assignments have been taken care of, I’d like to know where I can find the Golden Oaks Library.   Princess Celestia told me that I’d be staying there.”

“That’s quite alright dear, though I hope that you don’t mind that you’ll have Miss Sparkle here as a roommate due to prior arrangements.” Said the mayor, gesturing to the lavender skinned mage.

“No, it’s fine.   Might do me some good, actually.” Sunset replied.

“Good, then you two should probably know where the place is.” Spike chimed in.   “It’s quite easy to find actually; go east and just look for the building that looks like a massive tree.”

“Thanks for that Spike.   Well I hope to see you all at the celebration in the morning.” Said Twilight as she and Sunset made their way to the door whilst they waved to the others.

“See you tomorrow.” The three said as they too returned to their business.

=][=

After a few minutes of walking as they discussed who was taking which floor, Twilight and Sunset finally made their way to the Golden Oaks Library.   “Wow, Spike wasn’t kidding when he said the library looked like a massive tree.” Twilight commented, Sunset nodding.

It was almost sunset and the two mages decided that they would get some sleep before the Summer Sun Celebration.   Twilight was about to put the key into the slot, until the door abruptly opened and a pair of hands pulled them inside.   “What the?   What’s going o-“

“SURPRISE!!!” the pink-haired girl from earlier in the day yelled as the room lit up to reveal the whole place to be filled with people.   Streamers were draped across the ceiling and balloons were tethered to tables; all of which had an assortment of colours.   Most of the tables were stacked with who knows how many different sweets while one was reserved for the drinks.

“Uh… what’s all this?” Twilight asked no one in particular.

“Hi I’m Pinkie Pie and this is your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party.” The girl said as she got uncomfortably close to Twilight’s face.

“Wait, you did this?” Sunset questioned.

“Oh yes yes yes!   You see because I didn’t know you but I know everybody in Ponyville so I knew that you had to be someone new so I had to throw you a party but I didn’t know where you lived so I spoke to the mayor to see if we were expecting new people and she said ‘yes’ so I asked ‘where are they living?’ and she said…” As Pinkie continued to ramble on, she didn’t notice Twilight and Sunset sneaking away from her.   Twilight made her way through the crowd of people to the drinks table to calm herself from all the progressive greetings.

She was a little concerned that Sauron would come out of the bag again and set everyone into a panic, and because a Familiar and its masters’ souls are in a way connected; if she’s on edge, he’s on edge.   As she got to the table, Twilight saw that a familiar avion was there with drinks in each hand.

“Hey Twi, I got a drink for you here.” Said Rainbow Dash as she handed one of the drinks to the magician.

She took the cup carefully to not spill the contents, and gave the officer a kind smile.   “Thanks Rainbow.   Hey, can you help me get to my room?   I think it would be best if I put my stuff away.” She said.

“No sweat.   I think it should be just up the stairs over there.” Dash replied as she pointed to the staircase that led to the second floor.   The two traversed passed the partygoers and up the stairs.   Twilight then walked to another set of stairs, explaining that she decided to have the third floor.

As they reached the third level, Twilight approached the first door to the right and looked inside.   It was a relatively large bedroom with a queen-sized bed at the far side wall with a circular window in the center of said wall, there was a common styled nightstand next to the head of the bed, a work desk a few feet to the left of the door and a glass door in one of the walls that led to an outdoor balcony with a telescope setup.

Twilight took a sip of her drink and looked to Rainbow.   “Thanks for helping me find my room Dash, I’d like to set some things up before I return to the party if that’s alright with you?” Twilight asks.

“Sure thing, just glad I could help.” Rainbow replied.

“I mean it, you’re a really good friend.” The way Twilight said this made Rainbow blush lightly; which made her glad that the room was so dimly lit that Twilight couldn’t see it.

“Y-yeah, sure… no problem.” Said Rainbow as she exits the room.   As the avion returned to the party (trying her best to hide her blush mind you), Twilight walked over to the bed, placed her duffle bag on the mattress and opened it.   Sauron immediately leaped out of the bag and flew to the nightstand as Twilight pulled out the book she had been reading that had a brown cover with the image of a golden unicorn, and the letter she received from the mayor.   Curious, Twilight opened the letter and read it.

My dearest Twilight

If you’re reading this then you’ve made it to Ponyville and I hope that you’re settling in okay.   You’re probably wondering why I sent you to the little town, aren’t you?   Well, the answer’s simple; I’ve felt that you’ve been too cooped up in these old libraries and tombs.   Now I know that you enjoy them, but you should make a life for yourself, meet new people, and make some friends.   There are some things you must learn that I cannot teach you, and I believe you’ll learn them there.   I know you can handle it so don’t even try complaining.

I just want what’s best for you like any father would, but… there was another reason; She is coming back.   The general populace may think she’s an old-wives-tale, but we know better don’t we?   I have a feeling that you’ll confront her and there’s nothing I can do about it, but… just be careful, okay sweetie?

Know that I will be proud of you no matter what your life choices are and I’ll always be there for you through thick and thin, but I still want you to take absolute care.

See you soon my little angel.

Love, Dad

Twilight sat on her bed as she read the last of the letter, a tear streaking down her cheek.   “Thanks dad…” she mumbled to herself.   She could feel something nudging at her left hand.   Twilight looked to her hand and gave a small smile at seeing Sauron trying to comfort her.   As she began to rub his head like a pet despite the armour plating, she gazed out the window to the starry night sky.

“’…The stars shall aid in her escape, and she shall bring upon night eternal.’” Twilight recited from a passage in her book as she could see a group of stars progressively draw closer to the moon, which had a shadowy imprint of a unicorn.   “Well… better go down and enjoy my own party as much as I can.” She mused as she got up from her bed and went for the door, until she stopped just arms length from the doorknob.   “You stay here, mister.” Twilight half commanded as she glanced at Sauron who had jumped onto her shoulder.

He made sounds akin to grumbling as he flew to a basket at the foot of the bed and curled himself inside.   ‘You know… I can now see how Fluttershy thought he was cute.’ She thought as she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her as she made her way downstairs and rejoined the party.

After several hours had passed, Twilight had already found out a lot about the townspeople; Pinkie Pie and Applejack are distant cousins, Fluttershy came from a noble family though wouldn’t go into more information, Spike saved Rarity from being killed by another dragon, Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon are the town's open gay couple though there are two other women who aren’t as open (one of them, anyway), and the mail woman who everyone calls ‘Derpy’ on account of her eyes has lately been dating someone who simply calls himself ‘The Doctor’.

It was about thirty minutes until dawn when the another villager come to the library and called everyone to the Town Hall.   Once they made their way through the streets to the hall they could easily recognise the golden suits of armour worn by the Royal Guard.

‘The princess must be here already.   Oh this so exciting, I’ll finally get to see what she looks like!’ Twilight thought to herself.   With everything about the princess her father told her, among things no one else might know, the royal’s appearance was something she had no clue about.   As everyone found themselves a place to stand, Twilight found herself next to Rainbow Dash whilst Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, Pinkie Pie and Sunset were a little further away.

“You know, for a police officer you certainly have a lot of spare time.” Twilight noted.

“Actually I’m now officially on duty, that’s way I’m allowed to have these bad boys.” Rainbow stated matter-of-factly as she patted her right thigh where a pistol was holstered.

“Hey, I can’t see Rarity anywhere, where is she?” the magician asked.

“Oh, Rares?   She’s probably with the princess because she was given the ‘honourable duty’ of pampering her up before she rises the sun.” Rainbow answered.

The sound of trumpets rang throughout the hall as the mayor stepped on stage and into a spotlight.   Twilight glanced at the window that showed her the moon.   Some stars had gotten closer.   “Citizens of Ponyville.   I, Mayor Gertrude Mare would like to welcome you to the official Summer Sun Celebration.”   As the mayor spoke and the people cheered, the stars drew closer to the moon.   “It is a great honour for our little town to be chosen by the princess herself to rise the sun here this year.”   Closer.   “And now without further delay, I present to you all our proud and caring ruler…” By this time the stars reached the moon, and in a dim split second flash, the unicorn imprint disappears.   “Princess Celestia!” the mayor exclaims as the curtains to the balcony above her opened, only to reveal no one there.

Everyone gasped except for Twilight, though she was just as surprised as the others.   Just then, strong winds started to pick up inside the building as mist that looked identical to a starry night sky began to form into a sphere on the balcony.   A sudden gust of wind caused most of the mist to vanish and a woman took its place.

She wore a full suit of midnight-blue armour with markings of a crescent moon in multiple places; her helmet was modelled in a way that you could see her eyes and mouth easily.   Her skin and wings were such a dark shade of blue it could be easily mistaken for black, and her eyes were a piercing cyan-blue with reptilian-slit pupils.   The mist that remained seeped out of her helmet like hair.   She smiled a fang filled grin at the terrified citizens.   “GREETINGS WEAK MORTALS!” she bellowed.   “BOW DOWN TO YOUR KNEES, FOR I, EQUESTRIA’S TRUE RULER, HAVE RETURNED!   HAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!”

*Friendship Is Magic, Pt 2

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