A Nightmare Reborn, The Last Hope
The Battle of the Bell. The day the world stood united against the Legion of Doom. When the Magic of Friendship prevailed in the face of what seemed hopeless odds. A victory that should have been remembered for all time. Long after those who were there have passed on.
Now? Now it is known only as a footnote, a prelude. To the nightmare that was to come. When Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow were sealed away for all time, we unleashed something that we thought only existed in our worst nightmares.
The ancients called it the Shadow of Evil. I'm inclined to believe them. We thought that Grogar was the Father of Monsters. Maybe he was. But I cannot believe that he created these.
So many lost. Our innocence, our joy. The dead we cannot count. The world we knew died in the fires of Baltimare. All the promises and new beginnings that were hoped for when Celestia and Luna retired, lost.
We will rebuild, and Equestria will live on. But it can never be what it was meant to be now.
Shadows of Evil: A Memoir of the Dark Days. By High Princess Twilight Sparkle.
***
Twilight sighed as the last of her friends entered the Council Chamber for their monthly Council of Friendship meeting. All but one that is. "Fluttershy still hasn't returned from her trip?"
Rainbow chuckled. "I don't think even Discord could get her away from seeing new animals. You know how she can be, Twilight. And a whole new island full of them? Yeah. Good luck getting her away from that."
Rarity nodded. "Indeed, darling. And she isn't missing anything as it is. This is just a glorified excuse for all of us to get together now, am I right?"
Twilight grumbled as she crossed her hooves in a pout. She was still sore about that. The whole point of the Council of Friendship was for her friends to have as much say in running Equestria as she did. They deserved that honor as much, if not more than she did.
But it had taken only one meeting to show that Twilight had put too much faith in her friends' ability to rule alongside her. The less said about what Pinkie and Rainbow had tried to do, the better. That didn't mean she had to like it though. "Okay, fine, I get it. But I want this to work. We should all have a say in this, not just me."
Applejack's brows rose, as she smirked. "Last ah checked, sugarcube. Celestia and Luna only made you Princess of Equestria. Not all of us. Ah ain't got no interest in politics, and ya can take that to the bank. Ah could just use a break from the farm. What with Big Mac helping Sugar Bell in settling down."
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, and the Wonderbolts have a full schedule coming up. Heck, I won't even be here for the next meeting since we got a stop in the Crystal Empire that day."
"And I've got a date with Cheese Sandwich planned!" Pinkie added. "In fact. I've got them planned out for the next year or so!" To prove her point, she pulled a calendar out of her mane. The girls could see all the dates marked on it, and the next council meeting was indeed falling on a day on which Pinkie had a date.
Rarity nodded. Her smile softened as she saw the loss in the alicorn's eyes. "Twilight. You know we love you, right? We would never abandon you or our friendship. But we each have our own lives. We can't always drop them for you. A day will come when we won't be here, and you will have to stand on your own four hooves."
Twilight sighed, her ears falling. She didn't even want to go there. There was still a debate about whether she was immortal or not. But the simple fact was that nopony knew for sure. Not even Celestia and Luna had been able to give her a firm answer. "I know, Rarity. But I want this, us, to work. You girls deserve this as much as I do. I don't care what someponies say otherwise. I wouldn't be here today without you."
The girls all smiled. They couldn't argue with that. "I just hope Fluttershy's alright," Applejack said after a moment, looking over at the empty chair at the table. "Feels weird with her not being here."
Rainbow scoffed. "Relax, AJ. She's got Ocellus with her. Those two are made for this kind of thing. I'd be more shocked if they don't stay for a long time. Seems like something they'd do."
The group giggled. It was true. As they settled down once more, Pinkie did have one thing to add Rainbow's statement.
"Besides. What's the worst that can happen?"
***
Fluttershy ran as fast as she could, the rain coming down in sheets and lightning momentarily lighting up the jungle around her. Next to her, Ocellus flew as fast she could. Neither of them looked back, as the trees cracked and groaned as something huge flew over them.
"How can they be so fast?" Ocellus asked, trying not to look at what had just passed over them.
Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't know! Let's just get back to the boat, and we won't have to worry about them anymore, okay?"
Ocellus only nodded. A high-pitched shriek behind them made her blood run cold. Only a demon from the lowest levels of Tartarus could have made a sound like that. But these were real. She had seen what they could do to ponies. It made her sick just to think about it. Out of an expedition of a dozen ponies, only she and Fluttershy were left.
Fluttershy blocked the sound from her thoughts. It did her no good now to think about it, or where and why this had all gone so wrong. Once they made it to the boat, then everything would be fine. Equestria had to know about this.
Finally, after what felt like hours of running and avoiding wide open spaces, she saw the shoreline in the distance. "We're almost there now, Ocellus. And then we can get away from this nightmare."
The changeling nodded. She wanted to turn and fight these things. But she was too scared. She would need all of what Councilor Starlight could give, and she had a feeling the same went for Fluttershy as well.
As they came to an opening that lead out onto the beach, the pair saw that the boat was still there. How or why they didn't know. But right now, neither cared. All they cared about now was getting away from this island.
Before they even had a chance though, the demon's cry came once more, and a golden beam of energy cut the boat clean in half. Fluttershy and Ocellus watched in mute horror as their only means of escape sank beneath the storm-tossed waves. Behind them, the ground shook as the beast landed.
The pair turned. The creature's beady eyes bored into them, a look of hunger in them. The monster seemed like an enormous bird. But it had no feathers. It seemed like something only a demented madpony could have conceived in their worst nightmares. In the sky behind it, several more like it flew on past them.
Heading straight for Equestria.
Fluttershy turned to the young changeling. "Ocellus. Get out of here! One of us has to live. Get back to Twilight. She has to know about this. Equestria needs to know about this."
Ocellus shook her head. "I won't leave you."
Before Fluttershy had a chance to respond, the bird attacked, leaning down and scooping Fluttershy up in ts mouth. Ocellus heard the sickening sounds of bones being crushed before the beast swallowed. Fluttershy didn't even have time to cry out.
That was all it took. Ocellus couldn't believe what she had just seen, but she had to escape. Her friends, all of Equestria. They depended on her to warn them of this. She turned and ran for the ocean's edge, hoping against hope that one would satisfy that thing's hunger.
It was a vain hope. The monster let her run for a few meters before it struck out once more. It had seen the bug transform before, so it knew not to play with its food this time. It bit down, ending the creature's life swiftly, before swallowing. Very little meat on these two.
Taking to the air, the monster headed in the same direction as its kin had. It hoped there would be more food in that direction.
Author's Note
Alright. I've noticed a distinct lack of pure Gamera crossovers on this site. Time for that to change. In this case, this is using the Heisei Gamera trilogy as its basis. Not the Showa era. So no painfully kid-friendly Gamera here.
Fluttershy and Ocellus' fate shows that. No one and I mean no one will be safe and immune to Gyaos. As it should be. Characters shouldn't be exempt just because they're some of the main characters in the show.
A Nightmare Reborn, The Last Hope
Spike sighed as Twilight paced back and forth in front of the World Mirror. "Come on, Twilight. Sunset's been here before and you got along fine."
Twilight shot him a glare. "That's not the point, Spike. This is the first time since the Memory Stone she's been back to Equestria. I want everything to be right. I'm not the same alicorn I was back then."
"Look the same to me," Spike grumbled. "So why didn't she and the girls come to your coronation? I know for a fact that you invited them."
Twilight sighed, as she stopped her pacing. "I asked Sunset the same thing. They wanted to come, and I even had plans set up with Pinkie so that they could fit in with no problem. But it was Finals Week at Canterlot High, and they couldn't miss it."
Spike winced. If it was anything like Twilight's time at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, then he could see why they couldn't make it. "Ouch. So why is Sunset only coming over now?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's Summer Break for the girls. I figured it would be a perfect time for them to finally see Equestria for themselves. Hopefully without any major disasters this time."
Before Spike could respond, the mirror shimmered a moment, before a fiery-haired unicorn stepped through it on two legs, before quickly falling back down to legs. "I will never get used to that," Sunset Shimmer grumbled.
Twilight giggled. "I know the feeling. Welcome back to Equestria, Sunset!"
Sunset grinned. "Hey, Twilight!" Before the two pulled each other into a hug. A moment later, they broke apart as Sunset looked sheepish. "So I hope you don't mind. But I brought a friend along with me. She refused to take no for an answer, no matter what I said."
Twilight and Spike shared a confused look before the portal shimmered once more. And out stepped... Twilight Sparkle? But this version wore a pair of glasses and had her mane done up differently. as Sunset helped her to a more comfortable standing position.
Twilight's smile became somewhat more strained. "Other me... Good to see you again." Her jaw dropped slightly as she saw the wings folded at her twin's side. "And you're an alicorn. That at least proves my theory."
Sci Twi, as Pinkie insisted on calling her, gave the resident princess a confused look. "What theory? And what's an alicorn?"
Sunset shook her head. "Remember that you have wings when you Pony Up?" Sci Twi nodded. "We had a theory that you have them because the princess does too, and the two of you are twins in all but coming from the same world."
Twilight nodded, as she unfolded her wings to show it. "An alicorn is a mix of all three types of ponies. The magical power of a unicorn, the flight, and weather manipulation of a Pegasus, and the strength and stamina of an earth pony."
Sci Twi vaguely remembered Sunset telling her all of this back after the Friendship Games. She also remembered something else, as her ears fell. "This isn't a problem, is it? Me being here. Being an alicorn? I can go back. I just." She sniffed. "I just wanted to see what it was like. I've wanted to know since the Friendship Games. I know it was only supposed to be Sunset, but I couldn't help myself." She turned around and made for the portal once more.
Twilight's ears fell, and she quickly pulled her twin into a hug. "It's not a problem. Sure, this is weird, and I do wish I had known you were coming. But we can make this work. Being High Princess of Equestria does have its perks, you know."
Sunset rolled her eyes. "So what's it like being Equestria's new Goddess Empress?"
Spike snickered as Twilight groaned, and even Sci Twi giggled. "Please don't call me that, Sunset. It's bad enough that ponies want to change my title to Queen Twilight. I am not ruling as Empress Twilight, thank you very much. Let alone as a Goddess Empress."
Sunset only rolled her eyes harder. "Whatever you say, Twilight. Can we get out of here, though? I'd rather see more of Canterlot than just this room."
Twilight nodded, as she lead the group toward the door. "With pleasure. I cleared my schedule for the door, so we have plenty of time. I only need to move the sun and moon this evening."
Sci Twi gave her a look. "How did you manage that?" As much as she knew of magic compared to once upon a time, the idea that the sun and moon had to be moved by ponies was still strange to her.
Twilight drew herself up to her full height. "I'm the Princess of Equestria. I do as I please. And if ponies don't like it? Who are they going to complain to? Me?"
That got a giggle out of the group, as they headed for the Dining Hall.
Sci Twi sighed as she got yet another odd look from the palace staff. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
Sunset patted her on the back. "I did try to warn you. Having a copy of the princess walking around is going to cause ponies to stare. I wouldn't be shocked if the whole castle doesn't know by now."
Twilight nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "I have contingencies in case you girls ever decided to come to Equestria. I'm just going to say that you are a result of one of my experiments. And then once you leave, I can just say you all moved away so that you could all live your lives without being in our shadows."
Sci Twi tapped her chin. She couldn't argue with that logic. There were still some students at Canterlot High who hadn't figured out that she and the princess were not the same people, and that, no, she hadn't been there for the Fall Formal or the Battle of the Bands. It still annoyed her to no end.
Of course, she had long since stopped comparing herself to her princess counterpart. For all they shared in common, there was plenty that sat them apart, aside from the obvious. Despite that, however, they did get along. While they hadn't spoken much and even calling them friends was pushing it just a bit, the awkwardness between them had gone down massively since the end of the Friendship Games.
Sunset, meanwhile, watched a member of the guard come up and whisper something in the princess's ears. The scowl on her face said it wasn't good news. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Twilight bit her lip, wondering if she should bring this up at all. but she trusted Sunset. "We've been receiving reports from the southern Celestial Sea. Fishing boats are going missing or turning up with no survivors on board, and signs they were attacked from above. That was the fifteenth report in the last two days."
Spike nodded. "And it's not just Equestria's boats that are ending up like this. Even those from the Hippogriff Kingdom are being attacked. Queen Novo is not happy about this, to say the least."
Twilight nodded. She teleported a map of the known world to the room and unfurled it on the table before them so that Sunset and Sci Twi could see where this was happening. She began placing yellow markers on it. "Each marker is another report, and these are just the ones we know about."
Sunset frowned. "There's nothing down there that should be causing this. That stretch of ocean is empty."
Twilight nodded. "We used to think the same thing. But we discovered an uncharted island there one month ago. My Fluttershy organized an expedition to go and find out more about it, along with a student of mine from the School of Friendship." She paused. "They were supposed to call us and just confirm they were okay three days ago. They didn't."
Sunset smirked. "An island full of new animals? Yeah. Good luck getting Fluttershy away from that for any length of time."
Twilight and Spike chuckled. "Even if she did forget to, though. Ponies had strict instructions to call us when the time came if Fluttershy got caught up in this. No one has," Twilight added. "I don't like it. Something doesn't feel right."
Sci Twi, meanwhile, studied the map closely. Geography had never been her best subject, even less so in this world, but she soon noticed something. "Does anyone else see what I see?"
The others shared a confused look. "See what?" Spike asked.
Sci Twi looked at her counterpart. "Do you have a pen or something I can write with?"
Twilight conjured up a writing quill which she passed to her twin, who caught it in her own magic with surprising ease. She began down at the very bottom, where a small dot rested. Not far above that was the first report. "I'm assuming this dot is this new island, correct?"
Twilight nodded, wondering where her counterpart was going with this.
Sci Twi began to draw a line connecting each reported attack. "Look at this. Each one of these is following a pattern. These started not far from the island, and have worked their way north, skirting the Hippogriff Kingdom, before turning directly in a certain direction." She paused, giving the others a look. "And where do you think these will end up if they continue in this pattern?"
Twilight and Sunset followed the path, and neither liked what they saw. Sci Twi could see what she meant, as she continued to draw a line, following the same pattern, before it finally intersected land.
Princess Twilight's ears fell, as it finally clicked. "They're heading straight for Equestria."
***
Deep beneath waves of the South Luna Ocean, an underwater cliff exploded, revealing a long-sealed cave. Within, a pair of eyes soon opened, and a leviathan took his first breaths of fresh air in uncounted years.
Reaching out with a clawed hand, he poked his out. He felt the shadow of an ancient evil had awoken once more. One that he had fought for his entire existence to eradicate from this world. He had once destroyed those who had created him to end this threat.
Now, that same threat had been unleashed once more, and now his battle began again. With a low roar, he shot to the surface on a burst of flame and smoke.
Author's Note
Yes. Sci Twi is an alicorn in this. No, I'm not sorry at all. I was never a fan of what Hasbro did with her in Spring Breakdown. Among other changes for her character. Plus Equestria Girls in general.
Here are those changes. Spring Breakdown, Rollercoaster of Friendship, and Sunset's Backstage Pass never existed or happened in this universe. Legend of Everfree is only different in that Sci Twi and Timber Spruce aren't a couple.
Rest of the animated spinoff stays the same. This is what Sci Twi looks like in Equestria by the way. Art was done by CloudyGlow.
