Author's Note
This story is set in the same universe as https://www.fimfiction.net/story/293821/its-a-brutal-world-mate
Just to give a little more backstory and insight of Twilight's behavior in my series. Also this was supposed to be my valentines story (Even if it nothing to do with the day) but I hope you enjoy this random piece. First of two or three chapters.
Chapter 1
At the Guild Manticore Sting it was Hearts and Hooves day. And like every other holiday it meant the members getting absolutely smashed. Well almost every day the ponies drank into oblivion. Not to say they didn't give each other flowers or cards. Some even baked sweets for their sweet. Not openly of course. Many of these adventurers had a reputation to maintain.
The black Pegasus was staring at a heart shaped box with chocolates. Chocolates were quite expensive.. He ran his hooves through his silver blue mane and stared at the box in fear. He reached out with a hoof and immediately pulled back. As if it was going to bite him. Sweat poured down his face as he began to smack his head against the table.
“Bucking give it to her Thunderlane!” The very light brown earth pony slapped him. She gulped the contents of her mug and slapped him again. “The worst that could happen is that you make a foal out of yourself. Get rejected. Then she refuses to ever talk to you again!” She yelled in a scratchy voice. She then chucked her mug at the bartender. To his credit he deftly caught it and resumed cleaning.
“NOT HELPING!” Thunderlane yelled back at her.
A grey Pegasus was blushing as she read a love letter. She smiled as she closed it. Her smile disappeared as she looked at the rowdy idiots she was stuck with. Adjusting her glasses and combing her blond mane she stared at the group. “Thunderlane. The worst case scenario is that you become a registered s-.”
“Don’t bucking finish that sentence.” He growled out.
“Andromeda, you seem on edge.” Derpy turned to the earth pony but she merely scoffed. Andromeda’s normally messy brown mane had twigs and leaves in it. Her beloved green hoodie was full of holes and cuts. The normally mellow drunk had red and bloodshot eyes. “What happened?” Derpy asked with a hint of concern.
“I can’t tell ya.” She simply said. The mug went flying back at her and she caught it. Gulping down the contents she then sighed. “I’m not lonely ya know. Just that things happened.” Her tone was morose and the two pegasi stiffened.
“Something shaken YOU up Knives?” Thunderlane asked nervously. “Whoa.” He blinked before downing his drink.
“The Master was distraught too.” Derpy realized. “Was it the Radio? Or something else?” Thunderlane broke into laughter as he remembered his guildmates hijack the Manehattan Radio broadcast two days ago.
“Naw. Master laughed that little stunt off.” She chuckled a bit. She pointed to the bawling Twilight nursing a mug in her hooves. “She’s THAT miserable and she’s only drank half. Bucking lightweight.” She muttered. “We aren’t allowed to tell you what happened. Master’s orders.” Her face became serious before looking sad.
A pony in black and red armor looked between them and Twilight. “Like, what happened to her?” She asked as she pulled off her helmet. Flitter fixed her mane into a ponytail and joined them.
“Thunderlane give her the bucking chocolates!” Andy hysterically shouted as she fell over. “I meant to do that.” She spoke as she dumped the mug on her face.
******
Twilight Sparkle was grumpy today. And no it was not because it was Hearts and Hooves day. It’s because even in the middle of nowhere she found the most annoying unicorn in her guild. She thought figuring out what made this stallion tick. After all he recovered so quickly from intense lightning magic.
But then he started talking about a portal as she snuck up on him. Another world. A good Celestia and Luna. Sombra was evil and Discord was a menace that was eventually reformed. Powerful artifacts powered by a group of friends. The Twilight in the other dimension and her friends.
This opened up new possibilities for her. If it was true.
“You. I heard what you were talking about.” Twilight rounded on the dark purple unicorn. He was fanning air to his smoking horn. He regarded her for a moment before returning his attention to his horn.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He spoke in unnatural echo. He patted his vest, clearly looking for something. He muttered angrily as he searched his saddlebags too. Muttering about where his went. Twilight pulled out a map out of her own bag. Dusk sighed in relief as he saw it. “I’m still practicing my teleportation. Could you lend me that map?” He politely asked.
She raised an eyebrow. “And you’re teleporting all over the place. With passengers.” She slowly asked.
He nodded. “The map just helps me. It gives me a better idea of the areas around.” He explained. He grinned as he tapped the side of his head. “That and an image of where I’m going. Those two things allow me to teleport almost anywhere. Imma make a lotta money!” He laughed loudly.
“You’re insane. And that’s coming from me.” Twilight rubbed her temples as he jiggled a bag of bits.
“I’d give you 25 bits for that map. I’m loaded and generous today.” He bragged with a chuckle. All trace of his merriment disappeared as he saw her serious expression. “You look… Intense.” He concluded after staring at her for a while.
“Dusk. Is what you said is true?” She advanced and Dusk nervously backed away.
“About what?”
“About the King.” She clarified. Dusk paled at the inquiry. “I heard you talking about King Sombra. A Celestia from another world. A portal.” She walked around Dusk as her horn glowed. Dusk frowned and a sniper rifle materialized. The barrel was pointed a few inches away from her face.
Twilight didn’t know much about the unicorn. Only that his magic was almost on par with hers and he was quite resilient. Dusk Shine still wore the bandages from his scrap with Rainbow Dash. By all means he should have been dead or at least a vegetable with all of the lightning maneuvers he took head on.
Also he was very twitchy when it came to her. Well she DID tie him up once. And try to kidnap him that one other time.
Well she was sure he’d shoot her if she tried anything. She removed the magic grip on her weapon. Dusk relaxed slightly.
“Are you telling the truth? Or did RD’s stunt give you brain damage?” She sneered. Dusk chuckled but didn’t lower his weapon.
“No. But I have amnesia. But I’m pretty sure I have other problems.” Dusk admitted. “But I know of other worlds. Don’t ask how. But there is a universe parallel to ours.” Dusk explained. “One that King Sombrero had visitors from.” Dusk smiled.
“Oh I do hope it’s not the crazy talking. It sounds fascinating.” Twilight smiled. She stared at the instrument of death.
“I’m mister pot. Hello miss kettle.” Dusk mocked.
“Well I might have been diagnosed with OCD.” She pondered for a bit.
“You’re a Psychopath. Mania. PTSD. Delusions of grandeur. You’re a megalomaniac Twi.” Dusk listed down. “Derpy doesn’t exaggerate. Also you like cheese despite being lactose intolerant.” Dusk chuckled. “Knowledge is power you say.”
“Portal. Where?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed angrily. She was getting tired of the banter. “Where is it Dusk?”
Dusk simply shook his gun. “I’m going to have to reply using lead. If you don’t step off.” Dusk threatened. “I’m not about to give you THAT kind of information.” He sneered.
His eyes budged as she faded out of view. Dusk froze as he felt cold metal against his throat. In the corner of his eye he could see the blood stained bonesaw. “H-how?” Dusk swallowed as he dropped the gun.
“I’ve been practicing spells my whole life. You’re not on my level. Quickcast illusion.” Twilight gave a smug smile and put the bonesaw away. Dusk snorted as she waved the map in his face. ”You can have my map. In exchange for the location of the portal.” She offered.
Dusk glared her for a few minutes before giving up. “Canterlot Gardens. Discord’s monument.” Dusk muttered in defeat. She smiled and stuffed the map into one of his pockets.
“Thank you. And the spell?” She inquired.
“I don’t know. King Sombra might know. The Celestia from the other world visited him many times in the past.” He sighed as he opened up the map. “You didn’t hear it from me. This is serious shit.” Dusk growled as he locked his gaze on the map.
Twilight rolled her eyes. She needed to find somepony with knowledge of inter-dimensional spells. She couldn’t get her hooves on Trixie’s books, she kept the good stuff away from her. She needed somepony well versed in the subject. Sunset Shimmer was under the tutelage of Sombra before. She also heard Dusk mention her when he was talking to himself. Maybe it was time she looked for her old acquaintance.
“Boost me.” She suddenly demanded. Dusk frowned as he shoved the map into his bag. “I don’t have enough juice to get to White Tail Village.”
“I’m getting paid right?” Dusk asked.
“Ugh, fine.” Twilight groaned in irritation as she charged up her spell. Dusk let out a cheer as he charged his horn. They touched horns and disappeared in a violet flash.
******
Walking through White Tail Village Dusk thought it was like a western frontier town. By all means it was a frontier town. Most villages in the western part of Equestria have become ghost towns, raided by the Deer tribe of White Tail Woods or razed by the Celestia’s army. This village was relatively new.
Dusk sighed as it reminded him of the Indians and Americans. Twilight said that most Deer tribes have died out. And most left have become extremely hostile and territorial. But very few went to civilization.
“So who are we going to meet?” Dusk asked. He frowned as a bunch of ponies around a table held guns or blades gawked at him. He appreciated that this place looked more cheery and that was saying something. Back at Ponyville it ACTUALLY looked like a ghost town. Here ponies were actually up and about.
“A Deer adventurer. I need her to find somepony for me.” Twilight replied.
Twilight believed that if the dimension were opposite as Dusk said, things would be drastically different. But she believed it was a chance, a chance to start over again. Her family’s death. Spike turning into that… Thing. Her ruined career as a doctor. The looks of fear. The hate. She believed that she could leave it all behind. In fact, everything she truly wanted could be there.
“You do realize this is a long shot? Even if we can find somepony to open the portal we could end up anywhere.” Dusk whispered to her, despite the fact his voice still carried. She scowled at his remark. She didn’t appreciate the fact he sounded more logical. She knew her chances. Dusk could just be crazy. But in the moment he talked about a wonderful Equestria, she had hope again.
“I need to know. I need to see.” She simply replied. “It could be everything.” She was almost in a daze. The possibilities were endless. Her mind got dizzy as she tried wrap her head around it. This was basically the keys to the multiverse. But she only wanted something simple. Family.
And she was angry at Dusk though. If he knew why didn’t he pursue it? Dusk told her he’s been wandering for some time. But could it be this?
Twilight stopped in front of a tiny shack that had vines growing all over it. A white shack with the green stood out above all of the brown and grey colors. Dusk marveled at how homey it looked. “Why did we not stop at the local Guild?” Dusk curiously asked.
“I want to keep this between a few ponies only.” Twilight told him. She pulled him close and whispered. “None of this goes to the Master. You got that?” She threatened.
Dusk chuckled. “Sure. But you pay me for my work.” Dusk raised his head and grinned.
“Of course. You have my word.” She smiled sweetly as she replied. Dusk then raised a hoof to knock. They stood for a few minutes but there was no reply. Twilight put her head against the door and listened to scrambling hooves. There was a few thuds and sounds of pottery breaking.
Dusk jumped as he heard thunderous steps and rattling. “I thought she was a Deer!” Dusk yelled.
“Yes she is. The strongest in fact.” Twilight smirked.
“Good morning sir!” The deer cheerily greeted as she opened the door. She had freckles and her blond mane was braided. Dusk’s jaw dropped as he looked at her gear. A platinum plate hung around her neck. She wore a grey coat that had bulky steel plates and large shoulder pauldrons. Her iron boots were almost three times wider than her thin legs. “Are you okay?” She carefully asked.
“…How are you carrying that?” He slowly asked.
“Well I’m stronger than I look! Also who…” Her voice trailed off as she saw Twilight. “Oh! It’s you.” She nervously said as she forced a smile. “So what do you ponies need this fine day?” She asked.
“Did you try and cut her open?”Dusk stared flat-eyed at Twilight. The Deer froze for a few seconds before slowly closing the door. Twilight held the door open with her magic. The deer slammed the door shut and Twilight’s horn gave out. “Wow. You really did something like that?” Dusk disapprovingly shook his head.
”Tried.” She sighed as she knocked again.
“Go away Miss Sparkle!” She yelled. “I’m terribly sorry I can’t be a gracious host!”
“Look, we need your help. I’m sorry if she scared you.”Dusk apologized to the young deer. “She does thing like that. Regularly. After we hire you she’ll never talk to you again.” Dusk promised. Twilight looked outraged.
“You know how many deer there are? I’ve only seen two!” She lowered her voice as she gritted her teeth.
“Never again?” The deer spoke after a while.
“She promises. And so do I.” Dusk solemnly added. The deer poked her head out and Dusk gave a reassuring smile.
She sighed as she opened the door. “I’m sorry for that sir.” She lowered her head and gestured for them to enter. Twilight felt anxious due to the mess. Broken pot shards scattered around, overturned STONE furniture and various books on the floor. Somehow a tea tray lay undisturbed from all of this on a table. “Also I apologize for the mess. I was… looking for something.” She sheepishly admitted.
“I’m Dusk Shine. And the lovely doe is?”
“Hazelnut. It’s nice to meet you Mister Shine.” She greeted warmly.
“Just call me Dusk.” The two ponies sat at the table.
Twilight grumbled to herself but she noticed that the tea was freshly brewed and two cups were filled. “Other visitors?” She curiously asked.
“Yes! You know unicorns, popping up everywhere then leaving.” She nervously chuckled as she dashed over to the table and poured three new cups of tea. Dusk was amazed at how she managed to delicately handle the stuff. Leaving both unicorns to wonder how this mess even came to be. “So, how may I help you two?”
“I need you to find somepony for me. A mare named Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight then raised a shield to block the spray of liquid. Hazelnut hacked and coughed for a bit before settling down. Dusk was disappointed she blocked it.
“Sorry. But what do you need from this mare?” She carefully asked.
“Spellcraft. She was an old colleague of mine and I need her help.” Twilight clarified. Dusk raised an eyebrow and mouthed ‘colleague’.
“I can’t bring her to you Miss Sparkle.” Hazelnut firmly replied.
“And why not!” Twilight angrily banged her hooves on the table.
“Miss Shimmer is dead.” Hazelnut sniffed and raised her head. Twilight could only stare in shock. Dusk actually sighed in relief, glad that Twilight had no choice but stop her shenanigans.
“D-dead!? How!?” Twilight demanded. “It can’t be. She’s the strongest pyrokinetic mage out there!” She declared hotly. Dusk inched a bit away from her and sipped his tea. “N-no. She can’t be gone.” Twilight despaired. She slumped like a puppet with cut strings.
Dusk’s ears swiveled around as he heard a pot move. Dusk turned around and saw a blue eye peer out of a crack. Dusk winked and turned back to the distressed Twilight. “Yeah, tough luck. Sorry Twilight guess we should head back to the guild.” Dusk finished his tea and smiled. “Thanks for the tea. It was great.” He nodded as he pat Twilight’s back.
He was glad this was over. Him and his big mouth. Dusk swore he would be more careful next time.
“Dusk. We’re not done yet.” Twilight’s hair was suddenly a bit messy. “We could ask the king himself!” She answered with a crazed smile. “You said he traveled back and forth too right!?” She grabbed Dusk and shook him.
“Uhhhh….” Hazelnut watched in alarm as Twilight began giggling. “HIT HER!” Dusk yelled. After a moment of hesitation Hazelnut launched a hoof at Twilight. Dusk’s eyes widened as he was pulled forward. With a resounding clang and crack Dusk flew across the room and embedded was into a wall. Blood ran down his face as he slowly slid down and knocked over a vase
The large vase broke revealing a unicorn mare with a fiery yellow and red mane.
“Hi Twilight.” Sunset nervously greeted.
“Women are crazy.” Dusk concluded before grabbing a potion and sipping it.
Twilight teleported right in front of Sunset and Hazelnut dashed after her. Twilight grinned and grabbed Sunset, both disappearing in a purple flash. Hazelnut stared in horror at where the two were a moment ago. Dusk groaned and gingerly touched his face. They stared at each other for a few minutes.
“I have these donuts.” Dusk offered as a red paper bag popped into existence. He pulled out one and smiled. “It is Hooves and Hearts day. I got a bunch for a nice price.”
“We should follow them!” Hazelnut shouted as she headed out. A few moments later she came back. “Where did you think they are?” Hazelnut asked.
Dusk pointed a hoof at the table. “Right now? Canterlot Gardens.” Dusk attempted to get up but he fell on his face. “Have a donut. I’m in no shape to teleport.” Dusk groaned. “I don’t get paid enough for this.”
******
“This is the Captain Goodguy statue. Discord doesn’t have one.” Sunset Shimmer opened up a dusty tome and flipped through the pages. “So this is where the anchor was all this time?” Sunset groaned. “I’ve had ponies snooping around the palace to find it. And it was right bucking here.”
“That’s obviously Discord.” Twilight stared flat-eyed at Sunset.
“Pfft. No way!” Sunset jokingly dismissed. “I mean they’re clearly different persons!” Sunset insisted, pointing to the statue. Which was just this world’s Discord wearing a superhero costume. Sunset nervously chuckled at Twilight’s glare.
“Why did you hide from me?” Twilight asked.
“Well…”
“Well what?”
Sunset cleared her throat. “You did horrible things Twi.” Sunset closed the tome and faced her. “I still remember what you did to those ponies. And if you didn’t come forward with this information, I might have not come with you.”
“Oh. Do the math, you’re not innocent.” Twilight sneered. “You’ve done horrible things too, Sunset.”
“I never said I was innocent! But you- enjoyed it!” Sunset accused. “We were supposed to help ponies!”
“If my work continued I could have saved everypony. My means may be horrific, but it was necessary.”
“Necessity is the mother of atrocity Twilight!” Sunset thumped Twilight’s chest. “We made mistakes and I’m trying to fix mine! There is something out there. I don’t know what but I need to grab it.”
Twilight sighed. “Look, there’s something out there I want. If I get what I want you’ll never see me again.” Twilight sat down and looked tearfully at Sunset. “I just can’t be here anymore. I just want to start over again. If that world is as wonderful as he said, I want to be there. This is a new beginning for me.”
Sunset stared at her former friend for a while. Her questionable ethics when it came to medicine, Twilight seemed apathetic to the suffering of others. But she remembered the optimistic and curious filly. Who hardly opened up due to losing so many ponies she loved. Who wanted to make the world better. In this moment Sunset wondered if she would have turned out better with somepony to guide her.
“Alright. I better not see you again.” Sunset smirked. Her face then scrunched up in concentration. “The good news is I can open the portal to the dimension the other Celestia came from. Bad news is that you can only travel back here every thirty moons. And frequent travel can destabilize the portal.” Her horn lit up and she fired a beam at the statue. Its surface rippled for a moment, like a stone dropped into a pond.
“Like I want to see your miserable face again.” Twilight sneered as she wiped her tears. “Thanks for everything I guess.” She sniffed. “You better accomplish your goal! We were made for great things. But I’m tired, so you have to do it!”
Sunset smiled. “Of course Twilight. I hope this is the last we see each other.” Twilight turned around and stuck her tongue out as she entered the portal. Sunset sat in silence as she flipped though her book again. She rubbed her face and groaned. “Crap. What did I just do?”
******
Twilight was tossed out of the portal and into a dusty room. She grumbled about stupid portals for a moment before looking at her surroundings. She was in a dimly lit room with artifacts of various magical power. There was a purple suit of armor in one corner and a few bookshelves. She walked up to a desk and lit her horn. The desk was the only thing aside from the armor that wasn’t dusty. Twilight felt distressed to the hapzardly storage of the precious artifacts
She read the letter.
“Dear Princess Celestia, With all due respect move on with your life. Yes I’m still bitter. Yes I still hold everything you did against you. But I digress, I am a hypocrite. Starswirl has told you the dangers of visiting that world so much. And after a thousand years you should know better. But apparently you don’t. So I took the godamn portal. And a few other things because why not? Also I took my cake recipe books back thank you.
I’m getting sidetracked here.
Okay. LEAVE OTHER DIMENSIONS ALONE. They’ll sort things out. Or they will fucking self-destruct because that’s what anything with a few more braincells than animals do sometimes. And I refuse for the world I live in to be destroyed because you’re slipping out like a teenage girl visiting her boyfriend.
So if you’re reading this letter. GTFO! Shame on you came this far. Shame on you for even thinking of this. I’m disappointed. Starswirl was/is disappointed. Lulu is going to kill you, teasing you to death after reprimanding you.
Nathan.
P.S. Eligible immortal bachelor list. King Aspen (The deer king. Also he STILL doesn’t want to see me. It’s been around 1500 years geez.) And Discord (He’s k. Mah man. Just bizarre. Wait, he’s in stone, crap.) Any other Displaced. (Trust me I’m Immortal, they are too. Some are good sorts.)”
Who was this Nathan? Also Dusk was right about this world’s Celestia. How did he even come across THIS information? And apparently King Aspen was still alive in this world. The pony that owned this room had some relationship with the Alicorns here. Not to mention, a hoard of magical artifacts. She had so many questions.
As she was poking around the room a red flash lit the room for a second. “Ow… Why does he hide this room like this?” Twilight managed to hide behind a couch. But she was surprised to hear her own voice.
This world’s Twilight happily gasped and giggled as she started sorting out the books on the shelf. “He’s such a slob sometimes. All of these poor books need some proper care.” She hummed as she dusted off the books and sorted them out.
The other Twilight wondered if she always sounded that irritating. Or was it just the tone? She looked at the other mare and got upset. She looked so happy. She wasn’t skin and bones. Younger even. At this moment a terrible idea occurred to her. She could have everything she ever wanted. What this mare had.
“I always wondered how he could cast spells. What is the medium he uses?” She peeked at her doppelganger who began flipping through a book. “His wings? No that doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t accelerate before casting. Hmmm…”
Twilight realized this was a golden opportunity.
She grinned wickedly as pulled out a syringe. With a flash she teleported in front of this world’s Twilight and jabbed her with the needle. She let was about to let out a scream before a hoof was shoved into her mouth.
She giggled and shushed her counterpart. Her terrified eyes eventually rolled up as she fell into unconsciousness. “Wake up. Because it’s my dream now.” She crackled madly as the body hit the floor.
