Canterlot, Equestria

Dormitories

As Twilight Sparkle burst into her room, tears streaking down her face, she buried her face in her bed and sobbed.

"Why?" she whimpered. "Why didn't they believe me?"

Time passed without notice as Twilight continued to cry, the rebuke given to her by her own mentor and her friends. She knew deep in her heart that Cadance wasn't Cadance, but not a single pony had believed her. As she sobbed, Celestia's stern "You have a lot to think about…" still echoed in her mind.

As Twilight pulled herself up, she looked over at her writing materials that were stationed on a desk. As she walked over and collapsed on the seat, she plucked a quill free and began to write.

====

Twilight set her finished letter down and attempted to compose herself enough to teleport to Ponyville, away from the wedding and her "friends". As she summoned her magic, she took in several deep breaths.

Teleportation magic was still being researched, and though a convenient way of travel for unicorns, she was still perfecting the method herself.

As she stabilized the magic and readied the spell, she looked away for a moment at the door to her friend's room.

And in that moment, her concentration shattered, along with the barriers keeping the spell contained. As Twilight dropped her jaw and began to panic, the magic orb used for teleportation began to grow in both size and power.

"Oh no, oh no…" was all Twilight could stammer as the spell cascaded out of control. Deciding there was only one option left, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"HELP!" she cried just as the orb consumed her, and closed upon itself.

Then, a massive blast of pent-up magical energy tore through the dorms, shattering the window and a good portion of the floor and walls. As the pulse echoed through Canterlot, Princess Luna jumped out of bed with a start.

"Twilight!" she cried, as she ran to the dorms. "What's going…"

As Princess Luna stared at the wreckage in shock, she quickly realized what happened, and properly teleported away in a flash to alert her sister.

====

As the pulse echoed through Canterlot, and sent out a massive crack of sound, everypony in Canterlot stopped what they were doing and looked for the source of the disturbance.

"YIKES!" Applejack cried as her and her friend's lunch was interrupted, sending countless objects in countless directions. "Was that Rainbow?"

"Nope!" Rainbow said, flying in. "Wasn't me, I was reading Daring Do! And I can prove it!"

As Rainbow produced the book in question, Rarity looked up at the Castle itself.

"That area up there, the blown-up one, isn't that where Twilight was sleeping?" she asked. "I haven't seen her since she blew up on Princess Cadance."

"Yeah, you're right." Fluttershy said. "In fact, don't think anypony has."

"Let's go check it out." Rainbow said, as they headed off towards the Castle. Upon their arrival, they saw Princess Luna in the hallway, reading a sheet of paper.

"Princess Luna?" Pinkie asked. "What happened? Where's Twilight?"

Luna sighed and handed them the piece of paper, which was covered in Twilight's hornwriting.

To anyone who still cares, or Princess Celestia, my "friends", and my brother.

You may have laughed at me. You may have cast me out. But I know for sure we're all being deceived. I know Cadance better than anypony in the world, and the one we met isn't her.

You may not believe me now, but when I return, I'll have proof. But if Equestria is threatened because of your ignorance and short-sightedness, your preoccupations…

I'd hate to say it, but I'd tell you "I told you so", with good reason when you find me. I'm leaving Canterlot to find the truth, no matter what it takes. And if you find the REAL Cadance in the meantime…

Tell her I'm sorry I didn't get to meet her for real. Tell my brother that he's marrying the wrong mare, and he needs to realize that before he makes a mistake from which there's no turning back from.

And to the Cadance who I know is a fraud…

You may think you're Cadance, and you also may have everyone fooled...but you didn't fool me. If you think appearances are everything, you're wrong. I'll find the truth, and when I do, you'll wish that you had never laid a single hoof on my brother at all.

And in the meantime, to my friends...I pray you'll find the truth before I do. Otherwise, I won't be as forgiving as I have been in the past.

Goodbye, everypony.

Twilight Sparkle.

PS-Tell Spike I'm sorry for leaving him behind, and furthermore, tell him this. Look up reference number XA-0224 in the Canterlot Archives, and to use that big brain of his to figure it out from there. I know he can do it alone or with Princess Luna's help.

As the Element Bearers stood in horror, Luna looked away from them.

"To quote my sister...you have a lot to think about." Luna said, walking away.

"But...where are you going?" Fluttershy asked.

"To get Spike and find the truth." Luna said. "No matter what."

====
Roanoke, Virginia, United States
Atlas Corporation Headquarters

Main Concourse

As Jack Mitchell stood up shakily from the impact of Gideon punching him in the face, a robotic voice spoke over the intercom.

SIMULATION RESET, ALL PARTICIPANTS MOVE TO YOUR STARTING LOCATIONS.

Mitchell was then pulled to his feet by Gideon, who gave him a slight scowl.

"No excuse for equipment failure." Gideon said sternly. "The best weapon you have is the one between your ears, so use it!"

As an Atlas Jeep approached and Jonathan Irons disembarked, Gideon pulled Mitchell's malfunctioning prosthetic arm into the air.

"It was his arm, sir. I knew it was too early." Gideon said.

"That arm's worth more to me than this entire facility." Irons said. "How's he doing?"

"Work in progress." Gideon replied.

"Alright, then." Irons said. "Gideon, hop in. Let's give him a tour."

"Yes, sir."

As Gideon and Mitchell climbed into the Jeep, Gideon spoke over his radio.

"Joker, get the sim prepped for another run."

"You got it, boss." Joker replied. As the jeep pulled out of the Simulation Facility, Irons gestured to the massive complex around them.

"What you're seeing Mitchell, is advanced warfare." Irons said with pride. "Atlas has the single largest military in the world, but we don't keep secrets of our capabilities. We don't sell policy, we sell power."

"It's very impressive, sir." Mitchell said.

"Without a doubt." Irons replied. "Took nearly ten years to get this place up and running from a run-down forest into what you see now. In fact…"

"Sir, what's that?" the driver suddenly yelped as the car skidded to a stop in the middle of the plaza. As Irons, Mitchell, and Gideon got out, they saw what the driver was referring to.

A massive orb of blue energy, crackling with purplish lightning, was forming in the center of the plaza. As Gideon swore out loud, Irons let his face show rare surprise.

"Repeat, we're experiencing an unknown event at central plaza, requesting backup and hazmat teams!" Gideon said. "Get your asses over here!"

"Yes, sir! Hazmat is en route." the Atlas Dispatcher replied. As the orb continued to grow, Atlas operatives began to appear and aim their weapons at the anomaly.

"Mr. Irons, get back!" a soldier cried just as the orb collapsed and set out a pulse explosion that floored everything in about a ten-foot radius around it.

Mitchell was thrown to the ground, and he winced from the impact of hitting the pavement. As he looked down at his prosthetic arm, he saw electricity arcing across it. Somehow, it felt more responsive than it did in the simulation facility.

As Mitchell stood up and rushed over, an Atlas soldier helped Gideon to his feet, and then Jonathan Irons.

"What the hell was that?" Gideon swore.

"I share your surprise Gideon, but I believe the more proper question is…." Irons said, approaching the sinkhole carved into the pavement. "What does that have to do with it?"

"What do you mean, sir?" Gideon asked.

Irons simply motioned to a figure buried under some rubble. As Atlas soldiers began removing the cover of cement, they stepped back and raised their rifles.

"Mr. Irons! You're gonna want to see this!" One said. As Irons, followed by Mitchell and Gideon came closer, all three flinched.

The figure was a purple equine, with a horn on its head. A small photograph of a star with a sparkling foreground lay on its flank. Furthermore, judging by the fact it was breathing in a shallow manner, it was still alive.

"Sir?" Gideon said. "What should we do?"

Irons sighed and turned to Gideon.

"All units, secure a perimeter around this area, no one leaves this scene for any reason" he said. "Gideon, take a squad and bring it to Quarantine in the Medical Building under heavy guard. Mitchell?"

"Yes, sir?" Mitchell asked.

"Go get that arm fixed, then meet us there." Irons said. "Everyone else, lock down this plaza and keep this quiet!"

"You heard him, gents! Let's go!" Gideon barked. As the soldiers began cordoning off the wreckage while Gideon loaded the being onto a stretcher for the trip to Quarantine, Mitchell looked at Irons, who was showing rare suprise.

"Sir?" Mitchell asked. "What's wrong?"

Irons looked at Mitchell, a slightly exhausted smile on his face.

"Nothing's wrong." Irons replied. "You know what to do?"

"Get my arm fixed, and meet you at medical." Mitchell said.

"Good. Get it done."

As Mitchell hopped into the jeep for the drive to Research and Development, Irons stood at the scene, with a resolute air around him. With a sigh, he followed Gideon and his team to the Medical Facility.

Author's Note

New story, and one I'm proud of!

What do you think?