I Am NOT Twilight Sparkle!

An hour so has gone by since the fight between Shining Armor, and Zack. And things in town were pretty tense, with ponies still on edge from what happened. Luckily, Twilight is talking the citizens into calming down, especially with the help of princess Celestia, who arrived in town after Twilight had Spike send her a message about what happened in town. And things seem to be settling down, but at the hospital…

“OW!" Shining Armor cried out as the doctors gently applied some healing salve to the beat up stallion, problem is that he’s so tender from the beating Zack’s construct gave him, that even a slight jostle to the bed causes aches and pains. As for his wife Cadence, she was lucky enough to only get minor nicks and slight bruises, but right now she was more, upset then in pain.

“This is why I think giving Twilight surprise visit’s, is usually a bad thing Shining.” Cadence remarked after the doctor finished patching her up.

“Well how was I supposed to know that there would be a second Twilight, who isn’t a changeling.” Shining commented before crying out in pain as the nurse applied the last patch of salve.

“I don’t know…maybe by, TALKING to her! instead of just assuming she’s a changeling and attack her!” Cadence snapped back.

Ever since Zack recovered from Shining’s initial attack, and the fight broke out after the alicorn tried to reason with Cadence’s husband, the pink alicorn has tried to play peace maker, but just ended up being hurt in the process. Which only just made Shining more angrier, and causing the mare to strike back when the stallion continued to attack her. the door to the room opened up, garnering the attention of all the ponies, and everypony saw a very disappointed looking Twilight and the mayor of the town…and a very displeased looking Celestia. All of the hospital staff left the room upon the head princess’s order, and once it was only the royals and the mayor, the white alicorn made her way over the Shining Armor’s bed and looked like a thoroughly upset mother, whose ready to scold her child. And that child was the stallion on the bed who is keeping his head down.

“Your wife and sister have both sent me a letter on what happened earlier, and I must say Shining Armor…I’m very disappointed in you.” the stallion remained quiet as Celestia continues.

“Not only did you attacked somepony on the baseless accusation, striking her in the head and chest no less, but you also disregarded a cease fire from the pony you were attacking, and continued to fight which resulted in minimal collateral damage and road maintenance.” Celestia then gave a small sigh before looking over to Twilight, and Mayor Ivory Scroll.

“Miss. Ivory Scroll and Twilight have drafted up a warrant that states, that if you ever come within 155ft. of Zack you will be arrested, and be held in for a maximum of ten days. And speaking of being arrested, because of your transgression against Zack you should be taken in right now, but be warned Shining Armor....you are given a grievous warning if you violate this warrant.”

“Auntie.” Cadence chimed in, getting the older alicorns attention. “What will happen to Zack?” the alicorn gave out another sigh.

“Despite her self-defensive actions, she still engaged in battle with member of Royalty. But i can't fault her for doing what she did in that type of situation. So for the next few days, Twilight I want you, Spike as well as Starlight to make sure she will remain in the confines of your castle, until all of this has settled down.” Celestia then looked over to Twilight. “Do you know where Zack is now, I would think she’s in quite a bit amount of pain from the fight.”

“Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike, Starlight and Fluttershy are looking for her right now. I just hope she’s calmed down enough to not lash out at them.”

~~~~~

Applejack and the others were looking around the section of White Tail Woods, where they thought the outbursts of magic Zack was unleashing came from, and what they found when they got to the woods, was a pretty destroyed clearing. Clumps of dirt and rock were covering the ground, along with large holes, and some destroyed and shattered trees littering the area. It looked like a violent storm had struck the woods, and just ransacked everything in its path. Luckily their didn’t seem to be any injured animals in the area, which was understandable, as they probably head for the hills when Zack lets her rage loose on the area.

“She really went all out on this place, didn’t she.” Rainbow commented as she looked over the ruined section of the woods, tapping a leaning tree to see if it was stable. Only to have it topple over and crash on the ground with a loud thud.

“Can’t blame her.” Starlight said as she looks around searching for where Zack could’ve gone. “With the amount of magic she was generating, and by the looks of how her emotional state was back there, she’s built up a lot of magic. if she didn’t get rid of it all, she was going to have some serious head pains, or have a nasty magic feedback to her horn.”

“But did she really have to destroy the woods.” Fluttershy quipped as she hovered around the area. “All of the poor animals here may have lost a lot of their homes, oh, and their probably all terrified and scared of what just happened.” Fluttershy said as she kept looking around for any injured animals, but continuing to find no injured animals.

“Hey girls!” Spike shouted at the mares, getting their attention as he waved a claw. “I think I found her!”

The group of mares rushed over to Spike’s side, where he was standing on the edge of a hole in the ground. looking down through the hole the ponies saw a rather impressive underground spring and waterway, but as they kept looking they found Zack laying on a ledge. As Rainbow and Fluttershy fly down to the mare, Starlight teleported herself, Applejack and Spike down to the mare, but as they grouped around the alicorn they saw a small amount of blood trickling from her nose, and a slight pain expression on her face. the ponies tried to wake the alicorn up, but Zack seemed unresponsive, she even fell onto her side and the ponies could hear the pained groan the alicorn gave as she toppled over.

Fearing that the alicorn might be in real trouble Starlight carefully picked the mare up in her magic, and teleported the whole group to the hospital. When the group appeared in the hospital, Starlight and the others told the staff that Zack needs medical attention. So the alicorn was placed on a gurney, and taken to an examination room. as the unconscious alicorn was taken away, Princess Celestia and the others found Starlight and the rest of the group, and they were told what they saw in White Tail Woods, and the state they found Zack in. now all eight ponies along with Spike, were all waiting outside the examination room for Zack’s diagnoses. Twenty or so minutes of waiting, and three nurses exited the room, followed by the doctor who was writing down on a clipboard.

“Doctor, how is Zack?” Celestia asked the mild-age unicorn.

“She has a slight concussion, but it’s not too serious, she should wake up after a few days.” The group gives a sigh of relief, but the doctor flipped through a few pages while continuing to speak.

“She also has some head trauma, and some of her ribs do show signs of cracking, but some basic healing magic has restored the bones to normal. She also has some bruising, but they were treated, and should fully heal before she wakes up.”

After hearing the results of Zack’s examination, the group thanked the doctor for his work, and they all left the hospital. And simply waited for the mare to wake up. while Twilight and her friends headed towards town, Celestia was talking to the doctor, and was telling him to notify her the instant that Zack wakes up, as she does need to discuss the same topics of what happened today like with Shining Armor.

“Do you think Zack is going to be okay Twilight?” Spike asked as he rode on his caretakers back.

“I hope so, having any kind of concussion can be really bad. We’ll just have to hope that the doctor is right, and that Zack will wake up in a few days.” Twilight said as the group continued to trot. “I still can’t believe that Shining just, attacked Zack just because he thought he was a changeling.”

“Can’t really blame him.” Rainbow said getting everypony’s attention. “I mean their queen did mess with his mind, and their hive pretty much did the biggest wedding crash, not to mention trapping Cadence underground.”

“That doesn’t give him an excuse to just attack the poor mare!” Starlight said. “I may not know exactly what happened, but just because Shining has some history with the changelings, doesn’t give him an excuse to attack somepony he suspects to be one, and just continue to try and harm even when Zack tried to talk and clear things up.”

The ponies continued to go back and forth in wither or not Shining or Zack were justified in their actions, but as they came across the Town Hall, they all looked down the path leading to Twilight’s castle. And seeing the really beat up trail. The ground was really dented, and covered in small holes and craters, with a few busted stalls and other objects that were destroyed in the fight. following the path to Twilight’s castle, the group found a massive hole that was half a yard away from the castle, and looked big enough to fit a ursa minor. There were also smaller holes, or grooves carved around the path, and a few crystal chunks where Cadence created crystal walls to try and stop the fighting.

“It would appear that a lot of work is going to be needed to fix up the road, and fill up those holes.” Pinkie said as she looked around the area, her mane and tail still slightly deflated.

“I’m more surprise in how much power Zack has, it’s almost frightening.” Rarity commented she examined the shattered debris of crystal walls.

“Well from what it seems, Zack is a perfect one to one copy of Twilight, it’s not that far off that she has the same level of magic as she does.” Applejack replied.

“But…I’ve never used so much magic in a fight, even after ascending to an alicorn.” Twilight remarked as she and the group weaved through the holes, reaching the bottom of the steps.

“Well un-like you Twilight, you hold back when you fight, so you don’t greatly injury any pony.” Starlight said as the group trotted up the steps.

“Plus, Zack doesn’t have much experience in being an alicorn, or a pony if what she says about being from another world is correct. So she probably has no way to control her magic as effectively.” The group seemed to agreed with Starlight on that notion as they entered the castle.

“But still…kind of makes you wonder…” everypony turned to look at Starlight as she has a perplexed look on her face, as she looks up at everypony. “Just who is Zack, and how come she is a clone of Twilight…and…what brought her here in the first place? And for what purpose?”

The group looked at each other with their own perplexed and curious looks, as they all finally wondered, just who is this mysterious alicorn. And what is she doing in Equestria?

~~Earth~~

Latina was sitting on the front steps of her school, backpack sitting next to her, as she hugs her legs close to her body while resting her chin on her knees. The little girl was waiting for one of her parents, or her uncle to come and pick her up. normally Latina would be playing an improvised version of hopscotch with a few friends, and waiting for her brother to come and pick her up, where they both would walk home and have a little snack on the way. But ever since her brother, Zack, has been missing for the past four days, she hasn’t been her usual energetic self. She doesn’t know exactly what’s happened to her brother, all she knows is that Zack is missing after something bad happened at his apartment, and nobody knows where he is.

“Hey Latina.” The little girl looked up and saw Amber, one of Zack’s friends, looking down at her with a small smile.

“Hi Amber.” Latina said. “What are you doing here?”

“Your mom called me, and asked if I could pick you up. something big is going on at work for her, so she couldn’t come and get you.” Amber then out stretched a hand for Latina to take, and the little girl grabbed it and allowed herself to be pulled up. once the little girl was on her feet, she grabbed her backpack and followed Amber out of the school yard, the two still holding hands.

The two of them continued to walk down the street, passing by people going about their days as cars zoom past them, but the two didn’t speak with one another, they were just walking to Latina’s home in silence. Amber could tell that her little friend was still in a downtrodden mode, and if she was honest with herself, she was the same. With no news of any kind from the police on Zack’s whereabouts, and that the rest of her friends can’t find him after checking any of the places they think he was, wither he was injured or not. As the pair continue walking, they come across the neighborhood 7-ll, and an idea comes to Amber’s mind as to lift Latina’s spirit up, even if by a small bit.

“Hey Latina, do you wanna get some ice cream?” the young woman asked as she looked down at the little girl, as they stopped in front of the store. the little girl looked at the store, then gave a small smile and a nod. “Alrighty then, let’s go get some ice cream!”

The two then walked into the store, which was pretty packed with people, and headed to the back of the store where the ice cream was store. Reaching the large case of ice cream where the two looked at the veritable types of ice cream, and were deciding on which type of ice cream they should get. Little Latina chose the Oreo waffle cone ice cream, while Amber opted for a simple ice cream sandwich. With their chosen frozen treats in hand, the two made their way to the counter, where Amber payed and the two headed out of the store and sat down at a nearby bench, and began eating their cold treats. As the two ate their ice creams, they watched people walk in and out of the store, and past them as they went about their days, but after a few minutes of eating Amber noticed that Latina wasn’t eating anymore.

“Latina.” Amber said as she looked worriedly as she looked at the little girl. Latina didn’t say anything for a moment, but eventually she broke her silence when she looked up at the young woman.

“Amber…do you know when I’ll get to see my big brother again?” Amber visibly cringed as she tried to figure out how to answer Latina’s question.

“I…I don’t, know.” the young woman said as she leaned forward a little, while Latina looked a little more, depressed. But Amber turned to look at the little girl, and gave a small smile. “But I’m sure we’ll get to see him soon, when the police find out where he is.”

Latina gave Amber a hopeful little smile, as she hopes that what Amber says is true. The two continue to eat their chosen ice cream, before heading off for Latina’s parents’ house. But as the two made the final stretch to the house, they saw two police officers exits the house before walking past the pair, giving them a polite nod, before entering their car and drove off. Entering the house where they found Zack’s uncle sitting on the couch, leaning forward with his arms resting on his knees.

“Uncle Tom?” Latina said to the middle-age man, causing him to look up at the two.

“Hey bugga-bo.” Tom said to his niece before looking up to Amber. “Thanks for picking her up Amber.”

“No problem…did the police say anything about Zack?” Tom slowly exhaled through his nose before responding.

“They say that since their search at the local hospitals, and clinics all came up with nothing.” Latina and Amber looked at each other with worried looks at Tom continues to talk. “Nobody matching Zack’s description, or condition has been documented in their records…”

“So, what does that mean?” Amber asked while Tom looks at Latina.

“Honey, could you head up to your room?” Latina hesitated to do what her uncle asked her to do, but after a moment the little girl walked up the stairs. Tom waited until he heard the little girl open, then close his door, before looking at Amber and gestured her to sit in the recliner chair across from him.

“So…what did the police say?” Amber asked as she sat in the chair, while Tom rubbed his face before speaking.

“…they said that since Zack hasn’t appeared in any hospital, and because of the level of destruction of whatever bomb blew up his apartment…” Tom stared down at the floor as he continued. “He couldn’t have survive that explosion, and since there is no body, or remains, the police said we should just—”

“Just consider him dead?”

The middle-aged man just nodded his head to the conclusion that Amber came to. The pair remained sitting in silence for a few moments, until Tom’s brother, Zack’s, and Latina’s father, entered the building. When he asked what’s going on, Tom explained what the police concluded in their search of Zack, and what they said they should do since they couldn’t find his body. Of course Zack’s dad wasn’t happy to hear that the police were, basically giving up already and proclaiming that his son is just, dead, and that they should prepare for the worst.

As the two men talked about what they should do, Amber just leaved the house and began making her way to her own apartment, a sadden look on her face. stopping at a cross-walk, the girl looked skyward and just, stared into the vast sky, and silently prayed that her friend would turn up and show them, that he’s just fine. But…in the end, the only thing she can reasonably do, is wait and see what the future holds.