Chapters Your Name Across The Multiverse
Chapter 2: Meeting More New Faces
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Chapter 3: Magic and Heroes
With her rocket wings and jetpack, Wanda leaped across the tree line as she got closer to the crater. She could see the fighting was ending as fewer beams of light were going off. She saw a red beam of light shoot up in the sky as she arrived at the site, and it was suddenly heading towards her. Wanda used her horn to take out a small device from her pocket and activate it just as the beam landed near her. A bubble barrier saved her as she hovered in front of the smoke. The bubble popped as it expired, and she slowly landed and could see a tiny person as they were holding something bright. She stepped forward and called out to it. "Excuse me, are you alright?" It was not until she walked closer that she saw a tiny chibi blue pony wearing a rainbow dress and having a rainbow mane. "Ah, another version of 'her.' I hope "Three" is doing okay without me back home," thought Wanda as she trotted to the chibi pony.
The little one looked up and spoke. "You are not her, but you look just like her," said the chibi pony.
Wanda stopped, realizing what she meant, and looked at the miniature pony. "I am sorry; my name is Wanda, and you are?"
The pony smiled. "My name is Blue Berry Rainbow, and I am a magical girl pony and member of the Magical Element Fruits! Oh, and this is my partner, Tank! He's a space turtle," said Blue as she pointed at the turtle on her head, who waved at Wanda.
Wanda chuckled at the cuteness. She could see that Blue Berry was just a cute, innocent soul, but her comment caught her attention. "What did you mean that I am not "her"? Did you know someone like me?"
Blueberry smiled and was going to say something until a voice was heard.
"I think she's talking about me!"
Wanda looked down and could see that Blue Berry was on top of a human woman with the same purple hair as her but was wearing a witch outfit.
"Oh my! Are you okay?" asked Wanda, as the human woman sat up as Blue Berry hopped off her.
"Yeah, I am fine. My name is Dr. Sue Wonder, or just Dr. Wonder, and I protect the Equestria universe (8720). The witch who guards the harmony stone!"
"Aww, your outfit is so pretty!" smiled Blue Berry as she touched the cape but turned into wings and petted her.
"Thank you. Yours is too," said Dr. Wonder as she stared at Blue and started to sweat. "She's so cute but has such unbelievable magical power that even beats the Harmony Stone magic. The multiverse can be scary."
Looking at the crater, Wanda overlooked the staring contest between Dr. Wonder and Blue Berry. She noticed some familiar faces coming from the forest, those she had met before.
Flash stopped running as she stood before Blue and waved hello to her. "Hi, tiny version of me."
"Hi, big me. I have a name, you know. It's Blue Berry." She answered back.
"Well, mine is Flash." She replied
Terra stopped as she bumped into Flash and fell backward on the ground. "It feels like I crashed into a steel wall!"
"Thank you! I'm proud of my back muscles!" laughed Flash as she started to flex.
"I was not complimenting you! More like complaining," replied Terra.
"It was a compliment," laughed Flash.
Terra was not amused as Dr. Wonder and Blueberry giggled at the exchange, and Flash helped Terra get back on their feet and looked at the two new women. "Sorry, my name is Flash, and the one with a big mouth is Terra. It's nice to meet you," smiled Flash as Terra gave her a stare of anger.
"Nice to meet you too," replied the doctor as the three shook each other's hands.
"You said something about the multiverse. Do you know what happened here?" asked Wanda as the others turned their attention to her.
"I'm from the Equestria universe, known as 8720 because that's where my universe number in line is after it branched off from the prime Equestria. Going by that logo on the jetpack, I take it from 2014, the world where Elements Watchers are protecting the earth from Dark Storm. That explains the futuristic jet pack. I can also pinpoint all of you in your own numbered universe with ease, too."
"That's correct. You seem to be knowledgeable," replied Wanda.
"Well, I was a librarian before becoming the Sorceress Supreme, so it makes sense that I would know who comes from where," smiled Dr. Wonder.
"So you know our universe and all that?" asked Terra.
"Yup. This isn't my first time dealing with the multiverse or the danger it comes with," said Wonder as she pointed to falling reality above them. "Another Monday for me."
"So this isn't your first time. What do you make of this mess? And do you know what caused it?" asked Wanda as she trotted over to her.
"I have no clue, but I will find out and help. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Wonder said.
"Dr. Wanda." smiled Wanda as she fixed her glasses and raised her hoof for a hoof shake.
"Ah, another doctor! I will help and get to the bottom of this," said Wonder as she reached out for a handshake.
As they were doing this, Tank, the space turtle, looked at the sky and started to wave at something.
"Is something wrong, Tank?" questioned Blue as she felt her little friend moving on her head.
He kept pointing at the sky and flapping his arms, which got everyone's attention.
"He's not a happy turtle," said Flash.
"Do turtles normally smile?" said Terra as she leaned forward at Blue's head.
"Let me see..." said Dr. Wonder as she moved past them and stared up. She then gasped, "Everyone, behind me now! Quick!"
"What's wrong?" said Terra.
"Something is coming!"
The group followed Dr. Wonder's orders and were behind her, looking at the sky, waiting for the mysterious object.
"I don't feel anything yet," replied Flash as she tried to sense any magical power level.
"Well, I have a good feeling it's not friendly," said Wanda as she could see a blur coming their way without any signs of slowing down.
"Tank, hide!" said Blue Berry as Tank hid inside her mane.
"This is going to be bad!" said Terra, putting on her face mask and eye visor.
Dr. Wonder and Wanda put their barriers before them and waited for the object to come.
"It's here!"
Everyone watched as a blur flew past the barriers and slammed into the ground behind them. Both doctors dispelled their barriers and looked at the figure, whose red eyes started to glow from within the smoke. "What is that?" Wonder said.
"Thought you knew everything?" asked Flash as she prepared herself for a fight.
"I was a librarian! I know general stuff about the multiverse. I don't know everything within it!" admitted Dr. Wonder.
The smoke cleared and slowly hovered towards them.
"Another version of me, but scary!" cried Blue Berry as she hid behind Wanda's leg.
The light blue anthro woman's eyes kept glowing red as she scanned the group and finally spoke, "What happened to my world? Was it you!?"
"Your world? Oh, no, this is-" said Wanda before getting cut off by a strong gust of wind and watching as Flash punched the woman, but she didn't move or react to it.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" yelled everyone
Flash turned her head to them and said, "She's strong! I want to fight he-" But before she could finish, Flash was punched in the sides and sent flying through the trees, but quickly returned, and both women clashed.
"Trying to strike me down with such power! You must have done this to my earth!" yelled the woman as she blasted her laser vision at Flash's face, who stopped the clash and blocked the beam with her hands.
"You can have a go at it later, you two. You two need to stop!" yelled Dr. Wonder.
The woman stopped her beam, and in a flash, she kicked Flash away and turned to the group. "Stop me!? How!?"
"This!" said Dr. Wonder as she made hand symbols. Suddenly, the woman was trapped inside a magical barrier box.
"You think a barrier can stop me!? Let's see if you can contain this!" said the woman as she unleashed her heat vision, but with more force behind it. It was like the barrier was holding a small sun inside.
"This isn't good!" said Terra.
"I agree. Dr. Wonder, do something," said Wanda.
"I'm trying! But there's a reason why the barrier isn't breaking. She has a lot of power, and I don't know how long it will last!" replied Dr. Wonder.
"Then what should we do? We can't just let her destroy the barrier!" replied Wanda.
Flash returned, blowing air at her burned hands, and turned to the others. "Guys! What is happening?"
"Flash, you freaking idiot, you caused this mess! Can you deal with her somewhere else?" angrily replied Terra as she grabbed Flash by her collar.
"But I-"
"No buts! You're going to get us killed if you don't!" said Terra.
Flash looked at the burning barrier and sighed, "Okay." Then, she ran towards it, lifted it, and kicked it into the air.
"Done!"
"What the fuck! I need to be close to the person, or the spell won't last!" yelled Dr. Wonder.
Flash was about to answer when a loud boom was heard, and the group could see an explosion in the sky.
"We're fucked now. Great job, Flash," said Terra.
Flash was about to reply when the woman appeared in front of her, grabbed her by the throat, and lifted her.
"Flash!" said Wanda as the others watched the two.
"Oh no, we need to think of something, or Flash will be hurt!" cried Berry.
"To be honest, let it happen," whispered Terra in a deadpan tone.
"I second that." chimed in Dr. Wonder.
"But that's mean!" cried Blue Berry as she flew between the two
"And?" replied Terra.
"If that is the case, then I will try to do something!" yelled Berry as she ran towards the caped woman while her wand was beaming with blue magic.
"Blue Berry, stop!" yelled Dr. Wonder in fear as the others were confused. "She's going to use the ultimate magical spell that beat me in battle!" explained Dr. Wonder as she summoned a barrier around everyone.
"Ultimate spell?" asked Terra as they watched Berry stop in front of the woman and jump at her head, hitting her, but nothing happened.
The woman touched her head, and blue dust came falling out. "What is this?"
"The Blue Beam of Love and Justice! My greatest attack! And now, for the finale!" said Berry as she spun her wand around and pointed it at the woman.
"No way!" said Flash, as she was amazed by Berry's power as she could see a blue star above them.
"Now, stop fighting!"
The wand sparkled and fired a tiny beam at the woman, and once it hit, the blue star came crashing down, crushing her and Flash. Everyone was confused by what they saw and slowly turned to Dr. Wonder, who wasn't shocked by it. In front of them was a colossal blueberry cake.
"A cake?" said Flash as her head popped out of the cake, which was covered in white cream.
"Yes, a cake," replied Dr. Wonder.
"A cake beat you?" asked Terra as she tried to hide her laughter from a blushing Wonder.
"The tastiest and most powerful cake in the world! It's made from the love and justice of every past blue magical girl! One bite and you will instantly give up!" Berry said as she floated in the air and looked at the group with her arms crossed.
"But that cake should have been enough to turn them into a pile of blue dust. So how?" wondered Wanda as she walked over and checked the cake as Flash ate it.
"Cake?" whispered the cape woman as her head popped out. She licked the frosting from her face. "This is pretty good."
"Oh, you're alive?" replied Wanda, as she was surprised to see her.
"Alive? Yes, but not okay. This cake has defeated me, and now I will live a life of a blueberry." laughed the woman as she floated out of her delicious dessert cell and over to Blue Berry and lowered herself to Berry level. "Do you mind sharing the recipe with me?"
"Recipe? Well, it's a secret, but I can teach you how to make one if you like," smiled Berry.
"Deal!"
"Hold it! Not so fast, you!" pointed Terra in disbelief. "You were trying to kill us, and now you're all friendly!"
"I'm sorry; I jumped to conclusions after seeing this place. I was flying above my world and trying to get a sample of the passing comet trail, and I found myself covered in light and saw the world," said the woman as she looked around the ruinous universe, "like this."
"You have been transported from a different reality to this one, like the rest of us. Who, by the way, are different versions of each other? You can guess by looks or by the hair," explained Wanda.
"I see," said the woman as she turned to the others. I apologize. Let me introduce myself. I go by Supermare as my superhero name, but my real name is Flare Rainbow." Flare slightly bowed.
"I'm Blue Berry. Nice to meet you!" smiled Berry as she did the same.
"Nice to meet you. The name's Terra, and if you ever attack us again, the magical baker girl here will beat you again." laughed Terra, as Berry was upset by her new name.
"My name is Dr. Wanda, a scientist and a talking pony."
"Flash!" yelled Flash as she waved at Flare, still eating the cake.
"Name is Dr. Wonder; I'm a sorceress and a superhero like you."
"Nice to meet you all. Now that's settled, care to explain what's going on?" Flare said this as she flew to Dr. Wonder and awaited an answer.
"Well, we were going to find out why as well. We know as much as you do," Wonder explained, and the others nodded.
"Great, so how do we leave here?" Flare said as she started flying around and looked at the island, slowly breaking away and vanishing into the surrounding colorful, cracking void.
"Leave? We don't have a way of doing that. The best chance we have is to find the one who brought us here, so we're checking ground zero here for answers or clues to what happened," Wanda explained as she walked past Flare and looked down the crater.
"I see, then I will lend a hand. I'm a fast learner," said Flare as she joined her at the crater.
"Let's see."
They climbed down and started to check out the crater. Flare used her X-ray vision to scan the area while Wanda took a tablet and scanned the dirt. Meanwhile, Dr. Wonder sat down and started to chant a spell.
"What are you doing, Ms. Wonder?" asked Berry.
"I'm going to turn back time, look into the past, and see what happened," said Wonder as she waved her hand around, and her necklace started to float in front of her.
"Wait, like time travel!" asked Terra.
"I'm not turning back time; it's a spell that allows me to look back in time. But I can only look, not touch."
"Like watching a movie?" replied Flash as she came over after eating the whole cake.
"Yes, that's a good example," said Wonder as her necklace started to glow and the area became engulfed in light.
"Whoa."
"Everyone, look," said Terra as she looked at Wanda and Flare and pointed behind them. A light appeared and started to become apparent.
In the middle of the crater, there was a large crack. Four figures were staring at each other, but something was wrong. The vision was all blurry. "No, the spell should have worked. Why isn't it? Wasn't the Harmony stone enough?" whispered Wonder as she kept the spell going.
"Maybe it's because the explosion or the blast wave destroyed everything that could be used to recreate it, even time itself," explained Flare as she hovered over to Wonder.
"Then we can't learn anything from this," Wonder said as she closed her eyes, and the vision disappeared.
"Maybe we can!" shouted Wanda from the middle of the crater.
"How so?" said Terra as the others joined her in walking to Wanda.
Wanda held her tablet as she turned to everyone. "Whatever exploded damaged everything, including time, and your time magic is like rewinding a movie; maybe we can repair it like fixing a movie tape," explained Wanda.
"But is there a way for us to do that?" asked Berry.
"There is one way," said Wonder as she looked at the necklace, which started to float above her, and she pulled out a rainbow crystal stone. "This is the Harmony Stone, one of the strongest artifacts in the world. It can control all types of magic, even time itself."
"But didn't you just say it wasn't enough?" asked Terra
"I did, by itself, but if we had another version of it from another universe, the spell might work as it becomes stronger."
"So, if we get one from a different universe, will the spell work? And we can find out what happened and maybe undo everything," asked Flare
"Yes," said Wonder.
"Where do we find one?"
"I'm not sure..."
Everyone went quiet, as their only plan didn't have a way for them to do it. While Dr. Wonder looked down at her necklace, Wanda put the tablet back and thought momentarily. Wonder thought about what her celestial master would do. She would probably have the answer and tell her something like, "Just believe in harmony." She always tells her this.
"There has to be a way!" cried Berry. "Never give up! Friendship always finds a way! That's what Grape Jelly always says when things look bad!"
"Grape Jelly?" said the group.
"She's the leader of the Magical Element Fruits! She also looks like you girls!" explained Berry, pointing to every purple-haired woman here.
"Element Fruits?" Wonder asked as Berry's words sank into her head until she floated over to Berry. "Blue Berry, why is your group called that?"
"Why? Oh, because of Tank!" smiled Berry as she pulled Tank out of her mane and held him to her. "He's a living avatar of the Element of Fruits. It's how I'm in this form right now."
"Element of Fruits? Could that be?" whispered Wonder.
"It could be," replied Wanda.
"Yes, it could be!" smiled Terra.
"Yes, it has to be it," said Flare as she nodded.
Flash was utterly lost on what was going on and turned away from the egghead talk and suddenly saw Rain as she was standing on the edge of the crater, but with her hands up.
"Rain?"
"What's up?" said Rain.
"Rain!" yelled Terra as she and the others took notice of her. "Why are your hands up?"
"Because this chick has me by..." stopped Rain as she turned her head behind. "A stick?"
"Horn cutter!" said a voice from behind her, and a purple beam was shot in the air as it flew close to Rain's hair.
"Who are you people? Things? Whatever you are! Where the fuck am I?" yelled the power-suit woman as she looked around and sweated.
"Ah, another version of "us," I see." Said Wonder as the others looked at the new person.
"Who? Another version?" shouted back the woman. "So, a clone?"
"No, a version of you. Just like Wanda and Terra over there," explained Wonder as she slowly floated to her but stopped as a laser beam shot at the ground before her.
"Stay back, or the next one goes through your head," threatened the woman as she was pointing a gun at her and back to Rain's head.
"Wait, calm down; we can talk about this," yelled Wanda
"Yeah, you can't just show up and point a gun at someone and attack them if you just met them!" angrily said Flash as everyone looked at her in the most pissed-off look ever.
"I have been through a lot! How do I know you're even real? Is this the Pillar fucking doing?" She shouted as she looked around, seeing something that wasn't there as she heard voices.
"Aaira, make us whole," whispered a bloody and yellow-skinned female doctor with long pink hair as she slowly walked out of the shadows, standing behind Aaira and raising her head to reveal her eyeless eyes and bloody, deep-cut face. "I’m so cold, Aaira. It hurts. Where are you?"
Aaira tripped as she backed away from the dead-looking woman and fired her horn cutter at her. "You aren't real! SHE'S DEAD! Faye is dead!" yelled Aaira as she fired at the bloody woman known as Faye, but nothing happened, and the dead woman walked toward her. "No, this can't be happening! You are dead, Faye! They are all dead!" cried Aaira as she could see two other people who died in the Element Runner extraction spaceship.
"Why do you think that is? That’s right. Ignore the pain. Bury it deep inside. Let me fester; let us rot."
As this happened, Rain quickly dashed to the others, hid behind Terra, and was asked by the group what was happening to the woman.
"No fucking clue! Crazy bitch caught me off guard and has been talking to herself like that as we were walking here."
"What's wrong with her? Did she hit her head?" asked Berry.
"Not sure, but maybe she's having a form of schizophrenia," guessed Wanda.
"So, she's crazy?" said Flash.
"That's not a medical term for it," replied Wanda, angry.
"Okay, so what do we do?"
"Calm her down," said Flare as she flew up to Aaira.
Aaira continued to have delusions about her dead friends and her lover, Faye, as she tried to fight them off, but nothing was working. Then, a blue light came into her view, and she looked to see a white-suited woman floating before her.
"Get away!" yelled Aaira as she aimed her horn cutter at her.
"We're not going to hurt you," Flare said calmly. "Just take it easy."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Flare, and I'm a superhero. So, don't worry, you are safe."
"Superhero? What are you, a comic book character or a cartoon character?" laughed Aaira as the delusion got stronger, and they moved closer to her.
"It doesn't matter who I am. Just put the gun down."
"Yeah, I can't do that. Because if I do, I'll be dead," said Aaira.
"Dead? What do you mean?"
"These dead people want me to die."
"Dead people? Who are they?"
"People who died at the Changers outbreak...All my friends, my lover, Faye, are all dead and are here. They want me dead, and I can't die."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I can't die anyway. Not yet. Not until I destroy all those fucking pillars."
"Pillars?"
"Of course. Those bastards spread them around the system and caused the second Changers outbreak. They must be destroyed, or I'll never be free from the pain. Right," whispered Aaira as she pointed her gun at her head. "Right, Faye?"
"Stop; don't do this. Just calm down." said Flare
"Don't touch me!" yelled Aaira as she was pushed back, fell to the ground, and started to hyperventilate. "Faye! Faye, I'm sorry! I should have never made you go!"
"Look at me, not them," demanded Flare as she walked through the dead bodies and looked down at her. "I'm real and here for you."
Aaira was struggling as her mind was fighting against her. She could see the white-suited girl's blue glove hand on her but also see the bloody hand of Faye touching her. She closed her eyes, felt both hands, and knew one wasn't real, but which one was real? Her mind was going wild.
"Just breathe; it's going to be okay."
She opened her eyes and looked up to see Flare's face. She wasn't smiling, but she was concerned. The bloody hands from her dead friends and Faye were gone, and Flare was the only thing she could see.
"That's it; keep looking at me."
"You're real. You're real."
"Yes, I am. And we'll help you."
"Why, you don't even know me."
"True, but I know you need help. I'm a superhero, remember? We do that."
"A hero, huh? Kelly said I was a hero for destroying the Pillar on that planet and saving the universe from the first Changers outbreak. I didn't feel like a hero. I let my friends and the woman I love die! Aren't heroes meant to save people?!"
"Yes, but not everyone can be saved."
Aaira pushed Flare away, crying as she held her head in shame. "You don't understand my pain!"
"I do," whispered Flare.
"Huh?"
"There was a little girl, a big fan of mine, who would write to the league every chance she got. Her pen name was Scoots." Flare smiled as she remembered all those letters. "She wanted to be me—someone cool and caring. She wanted me to visit her city. Soon, the letters stopped, and I never heard from her again. One day, I stopped a villain from attacking her city and was heading home when I heard a weak voice," explained Flare as sadness filled her face. "She called me Dashing Girl, a nickname she gave me. I hurried to where I heard her weak voice and found her in her older brother's basement."
"What happened to her?"
"Did you?" asked Aaira as she looked up.
"No, killing her brother won't bring her back. It's my fault, and I have to live with that."
"Why tell me this?"
"Because no one is perfect. We aren't all strong and can save everyone, even those we care about. It's hard to understand, but it's part of being a hero. You can't be everywhere; sometimes, the ones you want to save are out of your reach. I understand your pain and can't stop your suffering, but I can be with you as you walk the path. I'm sorry."
"No, don't be. You did what no one did for me; you listened. I thought I was going mad. I was ready to end my life until you came. I'm still a bit crazy, but thanks. Sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"Flare and anytime, miss," smiled Flare as she reached down and offered her hand to Aaira.
Aaira reached and took her hand as Flare pulled her up. "My name is Aaira Kaison. I'm an engineer."
"TV news reporter myself."
"So, you are a superhero, huh? So, does that mean I'm in a comic book or TV show or something?"
"Nope, we're all real, and this is the real world. Well, what's left of it?" Flare said as she looked around the destroyed reality.
"Can someone fill me in?" asked Aaira as the group approached her.
As the group was filling Aaira in on what was happening, Flare, Wanda, and Dr. Wonder hovered over the forest. They could see the island was getting much smaller, and reality was breaking down faster.
"We're running out of time," said Flare.
"Yes, if our theory is correct, we can use Blue Berry's magical pet and see into the past," replied Dr. Wonder as she held her necklace tight.
"After that, whatever we see, we can understand what caused this, but I have a theory myself." chimed in Wanda as she looked up, seeing the Rainbow Comet still frozen in time but glitching out more. "...and I think it has to do with the comet."
end of chapter 3
Your Name Across The Multiverse
Chapter 5: The Calm Before The Storm
Bolt flew back to the others and could see everyone talking; even Aero was speaking with her counterpart, and of course, the only one who could understand her was Blue Berry. Bolt looked around at the group and believed they hadn't noticed yet that the island was almost gone...or maybe they knew time was running out? She sat down and watched everyone talk. It would be best for them to speak with each other and get along finally. Enjoy the time they have left before the storm comes.
"I see. Eirika raised you and gave you that pretty name? And it comes from a legendary Pegasus knight, too! That's awesome!" Berry was just in awe of Aero; the horse was pounding the ground with pride as the small Pegasus girl was amazed by the alt version.
"Berry, please stop encouraging her; it's bad enough you let her eat an entire plate of carrot cake, but now you're feeding her big fat ego, too," said Eirika, sitting next to them as she checked her armor after the battle she had with Layla.
"Sorry, Eirika. I just can't resist the coolness!" Berry said as she hugged Aero.
Eirika sighed and then sighed harder as Aero gave her a look that said, "Let me have this!"
"Fine, you can have your ego fed, but you have to behave," warned Eirika as she glared at her Pegasus. Berry cheered as she hugged Aero even more, creating another carrot cake, which caused Eirika to grab it before Aero could eat it.
"What did I just say?" yelled Eirika
"You are a bad mother!" shouted Berry, while Aero turned red as she heard that word.
"Mother? Look, I raised Aero when she was a baby, but we're like sisters, right girl?" Eirika smiled as Aero nodded hard. "See."
Berry floated to Aero's ear and whispered, "I thought you said you see her as a mom."
Aero blushed as she spoke horse noises towards Berry, who repeated, "She's pretty stupid and doesn't understand other people's feelings. Is she a blockhead? She's so stupid that she got on backward her first time riding you."
Eirika quickly yelled at Aero about what she was saying to Berry and told Berry to stop praising her ego-loving horse as they ran around the place.
"What are they saying over there?" asked Layla as she watched the group curiously.
Dr. Wanda turned to see what Layla was on about and smiled at the sight.
"Aero is happy. It seems her owner doesn't praise her enough," laughed Wanda, which Eirika clearly heard as she turned to them.
"She doesn't? That's surprising. Maybe she should stop boasting about herself for once," replied the knight as she pulled Aero's ear.
"Oh, come on! Aero is amazing, brave, cute, and smart!" yelled Berry as she got between the knight and Pegasus. "Right, she is a particular horse, after all," replied Layla. "In my universe, the Pegasus race are mighty knights. Aero will fit right in, even more so with how she moves and fights with you. She reminds me of Lady Spitflame, a great knight who uses her flames to protect people."
"Lady Spitflame? Who's that?" asked Eirika as she let Aero go and placed her hands on her hips.
"She's the captain of the knights and the best flame swordsman in the entire country. Even the princess and the royal knights respect her," replied Layla. "Until she was infected and banned from her country."
"Now, so is she stronger than me?" asked the knight as she smirked.
Layla didn't know what to say since she felt angry when Eirika asked that question after hearing Spitflame's sad past, but she decided to answer anyway.
"Yes, she's stronger than you, as she sacrifices so much to be a great swordswoman," said Layla in a passive-aggressive tone.
Eirika smiled, placed her hands on Layla's shoulder, and stared into her eyes.
"I see. I'll have to be the better swordswoman then," said Eirika with confidence and pride.
Layla stared into the knight's eyes, smiled, and nodded.
"Yeah, that would be a good idea."
Wanda could see dark rune energy sparkling around Layla, while Eirika didn't notice it as she walked away. She needed to calm her down, so she quickly asked Layla a question.
"I'm guessing you're a powerful mage, right?"
"Huh? Well, no," answered Layla. "I'm a qualified medicine practitioner and a physician."
"Wow! You look so young!"
"Yes, I am young, but I studied under my teacher, a wise doctor, and learned a lot from her," replied Layla, feeling a bit of pride.
"Then why could you cast those spells as you fought Eirika?" asked Wonder as she floated behind her. "They were black magic runes."
"Ah yes, it's because I'm infected with the Chaos disease," answered Layla, which shocked Wanda.
"You are sick? You don't look like it, my dear."
"That's because the chaos sickness can cause madness and change your body into other animal parts. I "was" a normal pony, but when I got sick, this horn grew out of my head, and same with these ears that are are under my normal ears. My teacher could keep check the madness with this wrist guard that I'm working from going mad. It can also allow me to summon my crystal blade," explained Layla. As she summoned the blade, it released dark energy but quickly unsummoned it as Eirika prepared her sword.
"No need for a weapon; we are done fighting," said Wanda, putting her hoof up at the knight, who lowered her blade and returned to check on her armor.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm still new to using a sword, still "green in the belly," like Officer Light always says to me. She will be pretty mad that I fought with another version of herself," said Layla, a bit embarrassed by the situation.
Eirika just huffed and crossed her arms while Wonder was still amazed by this form of magic gained by sickness.
"You're the first person I ever met that has magical powers this way," said Wonder as she flew around Layla, checking every inch of her.
"Um, okay," replied Layla, a bit uncomfortable as Dr. Wonder flew away from them.
"Don't mind her. So you're the first one to have a horn as a symptom? Is this common?"
"Actually, no. Others have reported having strange animal parts grow out of them and using normal or, in this case, infected magic. So far, I'm the only one with rune magic. My teacher and I have a theory that the sickness is evolving," answered Layla.
"You have a theory?"
"Yes, my teacher and I theorized that the Chaos Sickness is a cell parasite that can mutate its host to evolve. After death, the body turns to spores by the parasite. They lay their eggs on these spores. To stop the spread, bodies are burned right away because bodies turning to spores are random; it can happen within seconds or hours."
"That's quite amazing! What do you think of this theory?" asked Wanda as she was getting into this.
"I don't know. It could be a possibility. The sickness can't be cured; it can be suppressed with medicine. This is the best theory we got." answered Layla
"I see, so it's hard to study a parasite at that level of spreading?"
"Yes. If we could fully study it, we could cure the infection. Give the infected a better future. A dawn to look forward to." Layla said, feeling her heart pumping for a brighter tomorrow.
"That is amazing. That's what I want—a better future for all. I can't believe we are thinking alike," replied Wanda, holding her walk out.
Layla was shocked to see that Wanda was thinking the same thing—of course, she was another version of "her" after all—and smiled as she grabbed her hoof.
"So what do you do, if I may ask, Dr. Wanda?"
"I'm a scientist, an astronomer, a geneticist, and an engineer, and I have a PhD in medicine. You can pretty much say everything. Let me take out my degrees." Wanda answered as she pulled her degree from her coat pocket, but a picture fell out, and Layla picked it up. The photo showed a blue, pink, and green-haired human woman wearing a lab coat and holding Wanda and a blue filly. Wanda was a little filly as well, without a horn, both are very happy as they were in the woman arms.
"Is this your teacher? She looks beautiful."
"Teacher? Yes and no; she was also like a mother to me. She was my inspiration." Wanda replied sadly, which made Layla's eyes widen as she noticed the sadness.
"Did something happen?"
"Yes, she was killed."
Layla didn't know what to say; her teacher/mother figure was still alive and well, but her other self's mother figure was gone and dead. She could see the sadness in her eyes and knew the pain of losing someone she loved and cared for.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked," apologized Layla as she bowed.
"It's fine; she died a long time ago. It's just that sometimes I still think about her," replied Wanda as she held the picture.
"So, how did you two meet?" asked Layla, as she wanted to cheer her up.
"Oh, I was her test subject. Same with Three, who's in the picture. She's like a sister to me."
"Test subjects?" said Layla in shock and worry.
"Yes, we were tested with rapid brain development from the gene therapy, and I even gained this horn. Unlike your horn here, I can only float small objects. She was there to help us and teach us; she became our family, our mother," explained Wanda as her heart started to beat a bit faster, remembering all the times she spent with her.
"Family?"
"Yes. Human scientists were not always the best and weren't around. We were alone. But she came in and made sure we had everything. She told us stories about humanity and what they could do. I would spend many hours listening to her talk about science, history, and fairy tales. She made me smile and laugh, and she gave me the motivation to keep going. She showed us the planet from where we came as we watched it from the moon base. She told us not to see the world as it was but as it could be. It's why I want a better future for all. A dawn for everyone to see and treasure. It's what she wanted as well." finished Wanda as she put the photo back in her pocket, but she noticed Layla moved to tears, genuinely meeting a version of herself that was also so hopeful.
"That's wonderful! She was a wonderful teacher and mother! I'm sure she was very proud of you!" cried Layla
"Yes. She was, thank you," replied Wanda, smiling and trying to calm Layla down as she cried up a storm.
Flare overheard those two talking and smiled. She was glad there was hope among the group. Terra noticed the smile and asked her why she was smiling.
"Because those girls are the future. I can see it—the hope for future generations. They will fight against the odds and make a better future for their worlds."
"Wow, I would say that is an optimistic view. It's not a bad way to think, even if it is naive and pretty foolish," said Terra as she touched her rifle hanging off her back and remembered her war back home.
"It is not naive and foolish; it's just a better way of thinking. That's what the future is about: hope and faith," said Flare, smiling a bit brighter.
"So, more foolish, then?"
"You remind me of someone, as she's your version from how you all look like. She's the same way in how she sees things."
"Is she a good person?"
"Yes, she is. One of the greatest and strongest people I ever know," answered Flare.
Terra was surprised that Flare was talking about her other self with pride and hope.
"I'm surprised; you said she and I are alike? Since I'm not the greatest, I'm not the strongest."
"Why not? Don't you have faith in yourself?" asked Flare as she stared at her, trying to figure her out.
"Well, I'm not a good person. I have blood on my hands. I'm not a great leader either; I got people killed. I failed to save lives when it mattered the most."
"Hmmm."
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing; I just thought you were the type to not care about anything. Just kill things and don't care about anything else," answered Flare.
"That's a correct statement if you met me ten years ago."
"You're a different person now?"
"Yeah, I have someone special. I have something to protect and something to live for. Something to believe in. So I fight to protect her. to keep her safe. She's the only one who can make a better future, even if I can't be a part of it in the long run," answered Terra, thinking about her lover.
"Odd, didn't you just say it was foolish and naive to have an optimistic view?"
"Well, I'm not an idiot. I'm still a realist. The future is going to have problems; there are going to be people who are evil, cruel, and insane. I can't change that, but I still have a little hope for her and those who will come after. After I'm long gone,"
Flare couldn't help but smile; it seems everyone is a good person. They all have the same drive and motivation. They will all have a bright future; she could feel it.
"Well, at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel," said Flare as she turned to Terra and placed her hand on her shoulder.
"There's always a light," whispered Terra, sighing as she turned to her. "How are you blasting with so much hope?"
"What?"
"You're happy—too happy. It's weird. We're stuck here, in this weird place. Who freaking knows what's going on in this world or why it's falling apart? So why are you so damn happy and smiling? So hopeful?"
"Huh, that's an easy answer; we're here together, not alone in this. There are others from different worlds. We can talk to each other, learn from each other, fight by each other's sides, and get to know each other. It's a blessing."
"A blessing? More like a curse."
"That's a negative way of seeing things."
"I'm not a positive person."
"Yup, just like her!" laughed Flare, which made Terra loosen her grip on her rifle a bit.
Dr. Wonder was still thinking about what Layla had said until she bumped into someone who was Flash while she was working out.
"Sorry. My apologies."
"It's okay, I didn't see you," said Flash as she stopped her workout and turned to her.
"You're Flash, right?" asked Wonder, to which Flash sighed as she took a battle stance.
"Okay, I'm ready for a fight!"
"What?"
"You're here to challenge me to a battle, right?"
"No."
"But that's what you're supposed to do. You're here to beat me up, right?"
"What? No."
"But, that's what others always say to me, as they wanted to fight me."
"Really? I'm not; I was floating by and accidentally bumping into you."
"You're not challenging me?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
"...you sure?"
"Yes! Please excuse me; I have a lot on my mind."
"Really? I know what that's like. So, why are you worried? Maybe I can help."
"Maybe. But why do you care?"
"Because I'm bored and want a sparing partner."
"I just said I didn't want to fight..."
"But you do. I can see the fire in your eyes, the fighting spirit!"
Wonder sighed, closed her eyes, and placed her feet on the ground. She then opened her eyes, revealing to Flash that she was blind.
"Huh? Hey, your eyes are grey."
"I'm blind. So no, there isn't a fighting spirit in these useless eyes."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"I don't know; I see some fighting spirit in there," Flash judged as she got really close to Wonder's face.
"Really? How do you know? My eyes can't be read, and I can't see anything. They're useless, like me before I became a sorceress." Wonder said it in a depressed tone.
"What are you talking about?"
"Before I became the Sorceress Supreme, the Master of the Mystic Arts, and the world's protector, I was normal. A person with no purpose, who didn't believe in herself and lost her eyes to an evil man. That is until I met the Master. She told me I had the gift, a spark, and with this stone, she could make me a hero, a great person. Someone who wasn't useless, but now, I'm meeting better versions of myself, like Wanda, and I feel like I'm still useless. They're powerful, smarter, kind, and strong. What am I? Selfless! I almost got a cute turtle killed for god shakes."
"Well, if that's how you feel, Then let's go."
"Go?"
"To fight."
"But I'm blind. Remember."
"I remember; that doesn't mean I can't take you out. I'll have to hit you where you can see."
"What?"
"Let's go," said Flash as she dragged Wonder to an open field near the crater.
"Where are we?"
"An open field. Where can I go all out and not worry about hurting anyone? Okay, let's start."
"Wait, what?"
"You said you want to be a great person, but don't think you are. Then fight me. Prove yourself," said Flash as she took a battle stance and was ready.
Wonder stood there, feeling the breeze on her face. She wondered if it was worth it. If she did this, she would not win, and it would prove nothing.
"Hey, if you don't attack me, I'll strike first!"
"I don't..."
"Too late!" said Flash, which made Wonder freeze up with fear. She was going to die, but something was wrong; nothing happened until she heard Flash's caring voice. "You protected us from Flare when she was mad!"
"I did?"
"Yes, you did; now stop doubting yourself."
"Huh."
"Stop thinking you can't do anything and start believing! Because you are not useless. You are important. So stop acting like a baby and prove it!"
"I can?"
"Yes, now show me the spirit!" yelled Flash as she pounded her chest.
"The spirit?"
"Yes. The fighting spirit The spirit of a hero. The spirit of someone who doesn't care about the odds as they fight because they want to. And if you're going to give up because there are better versions of you, then you can sit down and wait for the end. Because if you do, then you don't deserve to be the Sorceress Supreme; you're no different from the people who hurt others. The person who made you the way you are, as they took your sight, took your life and "you" away. So, are you a hero? Or a coward?" asked Flash as she pointed her finger at her.
Wanda stood there, frozen, not because of the words that were spoken, not because there were more powerful people around her. No. She was frozen by the memories of 'her,' what she said, and those words echoing in her head.
"The world is full of people who will make you doubt yourself. It's also full of people who will believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself. The question is, are you the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to be the person you want to be? Or are you the kind of person who will let fate take the wheel and go on the ride?"
The words kept playing over and over again. The words she heard all those years ago, the words that her best friend said to her when she was broken and lost When she needed that little push to follow her Master,
"What's it going to be? Are you a hero or a coward?" asked Flash, which broke Wonder out of her trance.
"I'm not a coward, and I'm not useless!" Wonder yelled as she ran forward and started to punch and kick at the air weakly.
Flash dodged all the blows and even blocked some with her arms.
"That's not enough! Come on, I can tell you're holding back!"
"I'm not holding back!"
"Prove it!" yelled Flash as she walked around her, easily dodging the attacks.
"I will!"
"Then do it!"
Wonder screamed at the top of her lungs, sending out a magic shockwave. She floated in the air, created magic weapons from the sky, and launched them at Flash.
Flash smirked and used her speed to dodge the swords, lances, hammers, axes, kitchen stink, etc. She then got behind Wonder and raised her hand in the air. Which caused Wonder to panic, but it didn't hurt. There was no force behind the attack as Flash patted her back.
"Good job."
"Huh?"
"You showed your fighting spirit. You showed your drive. And you showed that you are not useless; you are a great hero. Even if you are not the greatest or the strongest, It doesn't matter; your actions speak loudest."
"Thank you," cried Wonder as she stood before Flash and started to cry.
"No problem."
After a while, Wonder asked Flash if this was a teaching from her Master or something.
"Nope, Master didn't teach me that. It was my rival and childhood friend!"
"That's interesting."
"Yup. I know, right? She comes and picks me up when I'm down and losing faith in myself. Every. Single. Time."
"You two must be close then."
"We are. She's the reason I want to keep getting stronger, to protect her so no one can ever hurt her again. To keep her safe and happy and not lose the fire she has inside her. It's why I won't fall here. She needs me! She's always been there for me, and I will be there for her, even if she doesn't want me to!"
"Wow, I can sense a lot of passion from those words."
"It's Great to hear that! I want to marry her someday!" Flash smiled as she started to blush.
Wonder laughed as that came out of left field and thought it was a joke. She then turned to Flash, who was still smiling.
"You're not joking?"
"Nope."
"So, are you serious? Like, serious, serious?"
"Serious as the plague. I love her and will spend the rest of my life with her. No matter what she says or what happens,
"Wow, you're dedicated."
"Of course, she's my everything."
"How do you know that you're so sure of it?"
"Well, it's obvious. She makes me happy, and when I'm sad, she cheers me up. When I'm in trouble, she'll do anything to save me. Even if I'm mad at her, she doesn't give up, and we're friends again. When I'm down, she tries to make me happy. She's beautiful, funny, kind, cute, and the best."
"Oh, and how does she feel?"
"She feels the same. She's said it too, before."
"Then why haven't you married her yet?"
"The world is crazy now with her evil mom, and we're still young. But, after this, I will. I will propose and make her mine forever." Flash smiled harder as she gave a thumbs up, leaving Wonder shaking her head, knowing that poor soul would have her hands complete with this one.
Aaira held her head as she sat far away from everyone. All the voices were making her uneasy, not because of everyone here but because she hadn't been used to being with a lot of people since that day.
"Aaira!" called out a voice, which made Aaira turn to the voice and see Rain walking up to her.
"Mind if I join you?"
"You're already here, aren't you?"
"True. Still, it's nice to ask, and I wouldn't want to interrupt your thoughts. You looked deep in thought."
"Thanks for worrying, but my mind is okay...for now," said Aaira as she smiled awkwardly.
"You haven't been around many people, I take it? You seem pretty uncomfortable."
"I am; I haven't been around a lot of people. Not since the day I lost my friends and..."
"Her? You mean your lover."
"She was the love of my life."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"I know. It just feels like the right thing to say. Sorry if it was offensive."
"None taken."
"So, tell me, what is she like?"
"Who, my love?"
"Yeah, her."
"She's a great person. She had a smile that could melt a heart of stone. Her personality was the sweetest, most caring thing. She was beautiful—the most beautiful—and smart—the smartest. She was kind and brave and had the purest soul I ever saw. She was the light of my life, and when I found out she died, I was broken. It was my fault. I shouldn't have let her go," cried Aaria as she held her head in shame. Allowing her pain to return and for the delusion to return as well, as she could see "her" feet in front of her
Rain grabbed her hand, held it tightly, and smiled at her.
"It's not your fault, no matter how much you blame yourself."
"You don't know anything!" yelled Aaira as she pushed Rain away, not noticing that the others were looking at her now, and Rain landed on her rear.
"Don't get involved. This isn't your business. No one's business. Please leave me alone; go away! Please."
"No, I won't," said Rain as she got up and returned to her.
"Leave me alone!"
"I won't leave; I can't leave you like this. I'm not leaving you," said Rain as she grabbed Aaira's hand again. "She wouldn't want this. I see you suffering. You're a good person—a great one. I know you are. Didn't you say you saved your world from an alien outbreak?"
"I did, but that's not good enough. It won't ever be good enough for her!" yelled Aaira as her dead lover, Faye slowly kneeled and whispered to her to let her in and make her whole.
"Let me in. Let me in. Make me whole again. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in," chanted Faye as Aaira tried to ignore the voice and the illusion, but she couldn't.
Rain noticed the tears and how Aaira was ignoring her. She then did the only thing she could think of: She hugged her, which made Aaira break the trance.
"I lost someone who was like a sister to me. She was everyone's sun, and we loved her dearly. But she was taken from us, and it broke our hearts. Tara took it the hardest, though. She blamed herself, closed herself off from everyone, and became distant. No one could reach her. She was falling into the deep end. But I was able to bring her back."
"How?" whispered Aaira as she turned to her.
"Like this," said Rain softly as she pulled back her arm and made a fist. She punched Aaira in the face with a powerful blow, knocking her back.
"Ouch!" cried Aaira as she rubbed her cheek.
"She needed that, and so do you!" shouted Rain as she stood up and crossed her arms. "You sit here closed off, locking yourself away from all the people who want to help you! That's nobody's limitation but your own! Mark my words! My drill will open a hole, and that hole will be the path for those who want to help you see a better tomorrow. Tomorrow that she wants you to see! For her sake, move forward!"
Everyone stood there in awe at what they saw; it was almost like Rain had an aura of strong will beaming out of her.
Aaira held her hand out and could see a hand grabbing it. She looked up; it was the honest Faye, not the twisted one.
"She's right; you have to move on. You have to let me go."
"But I can't."
"You can, and you will. It's time to move on, Aaira," said Faye as she slowly started to fade.
"I don't want you to go."
"You know..." smiled Faye. "This is the first step. Keep going. I believe in you."
Aaira watched as Faye disappeared, and for the first time in a very long time, her mind was at peace, even if it wouldn't last forever.
"You're right. I can't keep living like this; I can't keep letting the past or the pillar control me," said Aaira as she turned to Rain, who was smiling, which caused Aaira to smile back.
"See, you can move forward. If you just let others help you,
"Right."
"Come on," smiled Rain as she reached out her hand.
"Okay," smiled Aaira as she grabbed her hand and was pulled up.
"We boring normal girls got to stick together!" Rain laughed as she patted Aaira. "Sure, you might have a cool power suit, but you don't have superpowers, a badass sword, magic, or psychic powers!"
"I have kinesis, though," replied Aaira as she picked up a rock and tossed it away.
"Eh?" said Rain before dropping to her knees and screaming that she was the lamest one here, causing everyone to laugh.
Bolt smiled as she saw everything talk. They all needed this. She started to jog in place but stopped as Heat came over and stood beside her.
"This reminds me of us when you finally showed me the way. Believing in others and helping me, even if I didn't know it. It's something we all need to remember, isn't it?"
"You can say that again."
"You're a good Pegasus Bolt and a good friend, too."
"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you. You're the best, Heat." smiled Bolt as her wing gave a thumbs-up.
"Thanks," smiled Heat as she turned to Bolt, who was looking up now. "Something wrong?"
"Nothing, just thinking."
"About?"
"How do we keep meeting each other like this? First, our universe collapsed into each other, then the element emeralds sent me and Scoots to your universe, and now this. It's just a lot to take in."
"Yeah, but maybe it was meant to be."
"Huh?"
"Our emeralds brought us together, and they both have the power of creating a miracle. Maybe they're bringing us together because they know the truth."
"What's the truth?"
"That we need to be together. I was brought into your universe to save me and to make me realize the error of my ways and that I shouldn't do things alone. Then, the element emeralds sent you to my universe to teach me another lesson and show me that I must put faith in others. The two of us together are greater than apart."
"Heat..."
"I don't know how or why, but the emeralds have a plan. One, we are a part of. Two, that our and their new friendship" Heat and Bolt watched as the others all gathered together and started talking about their lives. "Trust, and love are the keys to saving this universe."
"You can say that again," laughed Bolt as she looked back at the sky. "I don't know, but something tells me there's more to this. More than we could have ever imagined."
"Probably, but that's not going to stop us."
"Nope."
"Then let's keep moving forward until the very end. Until the emeralds can shine brighter than ever, and our future is as bright as the sun."
"Hell yeah!" smiled Bolt as she raised her hooves. "Let's do this!"
Heat nodded in agreement as the two watched the prism-like sky. Bolt slowly put her hoof on Heat's hoof and spoke, "Maybe this time, we won't repeat our goodbyes. And maybe, just maybe, we can have our happy ending."
"I would like that," smiled Heat as she put her arm around Bolt's waist.
Bolt was caught off guard, but she soon hugged back.
Heat blushed deeply as she heard those words. Bolt didn't know it, but it was the first time someone said that to her.
"You guys are so cute; I can't stand it! Ahhhhhh, this is too cute, even for me!"
"Berry! You are ruining it!" said Wanda
"Am not! It's too cute for words. I want to have a relationship like theirs! Two star-crossed lovers!"
"Lovers!" shouted Heat. Steam started coming off her, and she grew bright red.
"Yes, yes, you are," everyone nodded and agreed.
"Ahhhhhhh, so cute! I could eat you both up!" Berry went on as she started to cry even more.
Bolt could feel a large amount of Heat coming from Heat's body, and she could see she was freaking out from the embarrassment.
"Oh, look at that; they're so sweet, they can't keep their hands off each other." teased Layla
"They're the perfect couple, the love of each other's lives!" chimed in Flare.
"They're so cute, I could die." gushed Aaira
"It's too much!" screamed Rain as she started to fake cry.
"Remember to invite us to the wedding! Have a lot of kids!" Berry said as she was ugly crying now.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back, as Heat repeated "wedding" and "kids" as her body released a pillar of flames, burning poor Bolt to a crisp.
"Heat. Please. Calm. Down!" shouted a charred Bolt as her body was covered in soot, and her mane was burning as everyone was laughing.
Up in the broken sky, the Rainbow Comet was glitching with more force than ever. A small crack appeared in the middle, leaking out a black slime trail...
end of chapter 5
View Online
Your Name Across The Multiverse
Chapter 7: The Remaining Lights Within the Darkness
Bolt was staring at the monster, who was ready to attack again. The slime was building up and forming a giant fist aimed at her. The first came down, crashing into the slime, but nothing happened. The first was gone, the monster was confused, and Bolt laughed.
"You're kidding. This is all you got, ugly?" laughed Bolt as her eyes shone bright blue. Another slime fist was moving towards Bolt, but it was burning as it got close to Bolt's aura, who was waving her hoof and smiling smugly.
"Alright! This is fun! Come on!" challenged Bolt as the ooze burned, melted, and evaporated around her. "Oh, you're done," said Bolt, as the ooze was gone and the ooze creature was staring angrily and studying Bolt.
"So, what's next?" asked Bolt, still smiling.
The giant monster raised its front left leg and slammed it down.
"Is that the best you can do?" asked Bolt, who was waiting to see what would happen. Suddenly, the monster, in smaller form, wearing a melting jacket and having a black, melting halo above its head, was in front of her and grabbed her.
"What the heck!" shouted Bolt as she struggled to break free, noticing this new creature wasn't burning away like the other slime attacks she countered.
"What is going on!" asked Bolt, looking at the creature and seeing its melted mouth moving.
"Rainbow," said the creature as it opened its mouth and gathered twisted rainbow energy, pointing it at Bolt's face.
"That doesn't answer my question," replied Bolt, watching the rainbow energy slowly change into a giant rainbow orb.
"Rainbow..." spoke the creature once more.
"Okay, you got one shot."
"BREAKER!" finished the creature as it shot the energy orb into Bolt's face.
"What the..." said Bolt as she quickly used element control and teleported away from the creature's attack. She reappeared above and sighed with relief as she saw the colossal laser beam wiping out the slime in that direction, as the whole universe was an endless sea of black slime.
"Damn it, that was close," smiled Bolt as she watched the beam disappear and the creature, which was still wearing a black melted jacket, turn its attention to her.
"Rainbow...Breaker," said the creature as its halo changed to a rainbow halo, sparking and shining brightly.
"What are you, a parrot?" laughed Bolt as she saw the creature charging another attack, so she teleported away as the beast fired the attack again.
"Come on, tell me something; I don't know," said Bolt, who was watching the creature, who was following her movements
The creature roared in anger and started to move towards her.
"Oh, come on. You're not a huge slime monster anymore; try speaking for real." grinned Bolt as the creature flew towards her and was still gathering rainbow energy. The halo was now sparkling, and a second rainbow halo appeared, shining and changing into a different color.
"Rainbow...Breaker."
"Oh, you are a parrot."
"RAINBOW BREAKER!"
"Oh, shit!"
The creature shot its rainbow attack at her. As she dodged the attack, the beast was still firing its rainbow beam nonstop, and Bolt dodged the endless beams.
"What a waste of time," said Bolt, tired from teleporting and not knowing when the creature would stop.
"Rainbow...Break...er," spoke the creature as its halo started changing again, and the color was no longer rainbow.
"Great, you're starting to get the hang of it. Come on, say something." grinned Bolt as the creature roared once more, but this time, its voice was different.
"Wow, you're learning. Maybe we can be friends after this."
"RAINBOW...BREAKER."
"I'm sorry. Can you speak up?"
"RAAIIINNNNNNBOOOOWWWWW..."
"Wait, what?"
The creature opened its mouth. Its halo was now sparkling, and its color was deep black as it slowly hovered over the creature's widening mouth.
"I don't think you should do that," said Bolt as she watched the creature's mouth, now detached from its joints and hanging freely.
The creature roared and created a black ball of energy. The creature fired its beam through the halo, which hit the beam and made it grow larger, as the energy was now a large black ball.
"Oh, shit!" said Bolt as she realized what the creature was doing and knew it would be hard to avoid, as the attack was now more significant than it was before. She knew she couldn't avoid this one, even with element control. She closed her eyes and started to glow with energy. This move might save her butt, but she needed to charge fast, or she's toast.
"Alright, you big ugly, let's dance!" shouted Bolt as the beam came, and her aura strengthened.
The black beam and golden aura collided, and it was a struggle. Both were trying to push their energy and power forward.
"Come on, give me everything you got," taunted Bolt as the creature roared. Its black energy was getting stronger, and the black halos were joined by another halo. The third halo was now a deep, dark red and floated over to the creature as it was going into the beam, making it darker.
"Oh, hell no!" shouted Bolt as she saw this and could feel her power going down. "Damn, even in Super State 2, I can't do much... No! I need to start attacking rather than dodging! Let's do this! Light Speed Fast with Element Control!" shouted Bolt as she blasted through the monster's beam within a blink of an eye, splitting it in half and landing a solid punch in the monster's face, blasting half of its melting face into nothingness.
"You want some more, you ugly, fat, drip ink!" shouted Bolt as she fired a small blast of rainbow energy, which made a massive crater on the creature's head, leaving it headless.
"RAINBO," said the headless creature, whose voice was now different and more profound.
"Let me guess, Rainbooowbreaker, am I right?" taunted Bolt, who was grinning and not showing any fear or tiredness.
"RAINBOOOW...BREAKER," spoke the creature, whose voice was now a much deeper version of the previous voice. The four halos were now floating, and the colors changed again.
The halos were now a mix of all the colors, and Bolt was sure they weren't supposed to be like that, as the halos were slowly changing into a dark purple.
"Rainbow...Breaker," said the creature, its voice much more profound and echoing. Bolt knew that if she didn't attack, the beast was about to fire another deadly attack, this time to end her.
"I'm not going to let you do that, pal," said Bolt, as the dark purple halos became a dark and glowing energy ball ready to be shot at her.
Bolt quickly gathered much of her power and focused on the monster, its dark energy, and its halos.
"Light speed fast, with element control!" shouted Bolt, as her whole body was now a blinding yellow and light green aura, but as Bolt did that, the Rainbow Comet that was behind the creatures was slowly fading into black, as the rainbow tail was becoming black and fusing with the purple halo attack.
"I'm ending this, you ugly piece of ink trash!" shouted Bolt, rushing at the creature as it fired its beam, which was now black and purple and headed straight at Bolt.
Bolt was now a blinding light, moving faster than light, and her body was glowing much brighter and stronger than before.
"You're dead, monster," growled Bolt, who was charging straight at the beam.
"RAINBOW BREAKER!" screamed the creature, as its attack was growing in size and strength.
"ELEMENT CONTROL!" shouted Bolt. As her eyes shined a lighter blue aura and her body was covered in a rainbow aura, she flew at the beam, breaking the barrier of light and speed and creating a shiny Sonic Rainboom.
"You're done for!" laughed Bolt, who was laughing, pushing her way through the beam and getting close to the monster.
"I've got you!" said the headless creature as its head reformed. It smirked as Bolt was almost face-to-face with it, in shock that it spoke for the first time.
"What-" said Bolt as she was suddenly cut off, as the smirking creature created a very tiny black-red orb between them. Within seconds, the orb suddenly grew into the most enormous energy orb Bolt had ever seen; she was a little dot compared to it.
"Oh, I'm so screwed," said Bolt, who was in pure shock and had her jaw open.
The considerable orb was growing, and Bolt was losing the pushing fight as she caught it as the monster pushed the orb. The orb was blasting Bolt back and was still growing.
"You're not already giving up, are you?" asked the creature, as the orb was covering Bolt's entire body, and she was giving it all to avoid being engulfed in it.
Bolt was struggling not to give up; she couldn't, she wouldn't, but she couldn't think of anything to get out of this one. She couldn't use combined light speed and element control to get this one. The orb was too close and massive; it was helpless, as she could only push back the orb.
"Why aren't you attacking, Bolt?" the monster asked, staring at her within the orb and seeing her struggling.
"How do you know my name, monster?"
"I saw your life and your story when I visited your universe. You're a lot weaker than I thought."
"Shut up! I can take you down, monster!"
"Do you believe that?"
"I'm going to kick your butt, pal!"
"No, you can't, and you won't."
"I will, and you can't stop me!"
"I'm stronger than you will ever be. You're just a weak, puny Pegasus who believes fighting so-called gods, machines, and powerful monsters will make you strong and a great hero."
"I'll win this, monster! Like I always do! Just watch!"
"I'm watching, and all I see is a weak, pathetic excuse of a hero, a failure, a worthless nobody. A copycat of the real thing."
"SHUT UP!" shouted Bolt as the giant energy sent her far away from the creature, and the orb was starting to become unstable as the power blasted out of it.
"Weakling," whispered the creature, whose voice was much more profound and distorted.
Bolt was breathing heavily; her mind was filled with anger, pain, and confusion. Her body was in a lot of pain, and she was losing hope, and the element emeralds were almost out of power like they were being drained. Was it because the emeralds were giving it all to repel the attack for the first time ever? She can't stop and give up—not now, not ever—but for the first time in her life, she was scared.
Meanwhile, the others were speechless, watching the battle before them. The Heat was screaming for Bolt to teleport away or do something.
"Bolt, please..." cried Heat as she saw her friend, whose aura was slowly fading, as she was getting engulfed in the considerable energy orb.
"There has to be something, anything, we can do to help her," said Terra, whose voice was filled with fear.
"She's trying her best to push back a hypergiant like the sun," Flare replied, feeling helpless; even she couldn't do much to repel that attack.
"It's almost the same size as the UY Scuti. Even if she somehow escapes it, the orb is starting to become unstable. The blast will kill her and us," said Wanda as she accepted her fate and took out her photo of her mother.
"So, this is the end, then?" asked Aaira, whose eyes filled with tears as she saw Bolt was now in the orb.
"No, Bolt wouldn't give up, nor would I." Heat replied sternly and severely as she turned to the group, "Wanda, use your barrier; I'm going to stop casting this energy barrier around you guys. I need to help Bolt!"
"It will kill you! Even you can't handle the blasting power of a hypergiant!" shouted Wanda, horrified that Heat would try tHeatke on that orb; even Bolt couldn't.
"Bolt won't survive unless I help her! Even if it means I have to give my life for her!" shouted Heat as she was formiHeatlazing flames around herself.
"But Bolt will-" tried Wanda, who Heat stopped.
"I know. I don't care! If Bolt dies, so will I!" shouted Heat, whose body was Heatfully covered in fire, as her face was severe.
"Heat," whispered the group, shocked by her words. She would rather die beside the pony who means the world to her.
"Wanda, activate the barrier," ordered Heat, whose voice was heated and showed no emotion. She was about to fly away from the barrier when everyone could see a rainbow pillar of light in front of them, as the ground returned and the crater was back.
"What's going on?" asked Berry as she and everyone else covered their eyes.
Back with Bolt, her body could feel the surface of the energy orb as it was starting to burn her body; her super-state was taking damage.
"Don't give in," said Bolt, as she was breathing heavily and her body was in so much pain. "There has to be a way!"
"You're not giving up, are you, Bolt?" the voice asked in a deep, serious tone.
Bolt could see Shadow Dust, her fake lookalike, rival, and friend, as she stood there with her arms crossed.
"Don't give up! You are Bolt!" said another voice, as Bolt could see her little pal, Scoots the griffon, as she stood next to Dust.
Soon, Bolt could see all her friends, her enemies who turned good, and even those who hated but respected her, standing there, cheering her on.
"You can do this!" Anna, her pink pony friend, smiled and nodded at her.
"Don't give up!" shouted Discord, smiling and cheering her on.
"Come on, you can do it, Bolt!" shouted AJ as she pounded the ground with force.
"Everyone..." whispered Bolt as she started to cry. Her friends were all here, and they were supporting her. She could see Heat and was smiling, shouting for her to go.
"You're Bolt, the most stubborn Pegasus alive!" cried Heat as tears fell from her eyesHeathat's why I love you!"
Bolt's eyes opened wide as tears were falling out; her face was red like an apple, and her eyes shone as she was back in front of the energy orb.
"I can't lose here! Not now, not ever!" said Bolt as she smiled. She felt her power returning, her aura coming back, but something else was happening. The emeralds were somehow floating around her and beaming with a strong glow, like they were cheering her on as well.
"This is my destiny, and no one, not even some monster, will get in my way!" shouted Bolt as the seven-element emeralds, the source of her power, were beaming brightly and glowing much more than before; it was so bright that their light almost could be seen on the surface of the giant orb.
"You're not giving up, are you? It seems I have underestimated you; after all, you remind me of 'her'..." said the creature, its eyes narrowing. Grinning, it hovered above the orb.
Bolt started to think back, back to the day when the Ark almost crashed into their planet. She remembered how she and Dust stopped it, but even in her super state 2, would it be enough for her to pull it off herself? Even on this scale?
"If this works, I could get out of this, but no doubt the emeralds will completely be drained," said Bolt, as the emeralds were helping her push back the orb.
"Element control, with a boost of state 2," mumbled Bolt as she was ready to unleash her teleporting move.
"Element..." whispered Bolt, as her whole body was a blinding yellow aura. "Control!" shouted Bolt as the seven emeralds started to float around her and spin, releasing everything they had as they and Bolt sent an energy wave that almost covered the hypergiant energy orb. They were pushing with everything, and soon Bolt could feel her state 2 form, depowering her back to her normal super state. Even with that, she kept pushing the wave across the giant orb, but soon, the emeralds started to go dim and gray. One by one, the emeralds went dark and lifeless. Bolt could feel it; her super form was also about to go.
"No, not yet!" cried Bolt, as the wave was moving slower and slower as it almost covered the orb surface, but as the last emerald went out, so did her super form, and she was back to being normal. Her body was hurting, her lungs were burning, she could barely breathe, her legs were tired, her eyes were barely opening, and she was using all her power not to pass out, but she pushed through it all as she grabbed the once blue emerald and screamed to the heavens. "I'M NOT BACKING DOWN! THAT'S WHAT LOYALTY IS!"
The emeralds surround Bolt, and in Bolt's hoof, the blue emerald started to glow once more but started to crack as they fired off one last energy burst, completely covering the orb and teleporting it away in a flash. She could see a tiny dot within the darkness, appearing and disappearing, as that was where she sent the orb. She did it.
"I-I did it," cried Bolt, as her whole body was in pain
"Not yet; you haven't," whispered the creature as she floated to her.
Back with the others, they could see Bolt teleporting the hypergiant energy orb away and, simultaneously, seeing a Bolt lookalike standing in the crater.
"Bad timing, another version of "me" showed up," said Flare as she watched the newcomer look around and finally look at them.
"It looks like we're back."
"Back? Wait. Are you the pegasus mare that was teleported away when those shards fell?" Wanda quickly asked as she hurried over to the Pegasus, who was wearing a cool-looking blue jacket.
"You can say that," replied the mare as she looked up and could sense "her" and Bolt. "Sorry, no time to chat. Going to give this to Bolt before "she" finishes her off," said Pegasuse as she took out a substantial green emerald, causing Heat to ask her where she got thHeatrom, as she knows it's the Master Element Emerald. "AJ and the rest of Bolt's friends gave it to me. I got to go!"
Everyone watched as a rainbow halo appeared behind the mare's back. Two long wings burst through her jacket, and she took off like a speeding rocket.
Bolt could see the emeralds were done. They lost all their powers, were completely dark, and had cracks around their surface.
"Thanks, old friends..." said Bolt as tears fell out, and her whole body felt like jelly.
"You really are something," said the creature, its eyes looking down at her, a huge grin across its face.
"Breaker..." said the creature as its mouth opened. Dark energy was forming and blasted towards the defenseless Bolt, but it was quickly reflected by the mare that appeared. The creature and the bigger version of it behind it went wide in surprise.
"You! Can't be!" said the creature as it stood there and watched the mare hover near Bolt, who was breathing heavily and could barely open her eyes.
"You can do it, Bolt!" cried the mare, who was holding the master emerald, and the rest of the emeralds slowly floated to their master version. "Something tells me you know what to do with this. It's from your friends."
Bolt could hear her voice as her eyes opened, and she could see the giant emerald in front of her and the smaller ones floating around it, almost like they were recovering their powers.
"The emeralds...the master emerald..." said Bolt as she weakly smiled as she raised her hoof to touch the emerald, but the moment her hoof touched it, the master emerald started to glow, and the smaller ones began to glow. They started to float around her, with their colors returning and their surfaces being fixed.
"Bolt, you can do it; don't give in to fate and keep flying." cried the mare, whose eyes were filling with tears as Bolt closed her eyes, and the emeralds, one by one with a flash, grew to the same size as the master version and were slowly spinning around Bolt, who opened her eyes and smirked at the slime monster.
"You can't win!" roared the creature as it fired a dark blast towards the pair, but the master emerald quickly stopped it.
"My loyalty to protecting others will never waver; I fought machines, monsters, and gods. They were indeed mighty, but I always stand on top." Bolt said as the emeralds started to spin faster.
"What can one mote of golden light illuminate within the dying universe abyss? Countless stars. Countless worlds. Countless lives. Are all going to break by me, all brought to nothing? To be broken, that's why I was created!" shouted the creature, but Bolt and her lookalike could see tears in its eyes.
"The reason why I am here is..." replied Bolt. Her body glowed like a white star, and her aura shone like a rainbow. Soon, the giant emeralds fused into Bolt's body and created a giant rainbow star, revealing within that shining star was Bolt. Her skin was white now, her eyes were red, her jacket became black, and her mane was long and silver white with bits of lighter rainbow colors. "You are not the one who will decide the fate of the multiverse!"
Not even in a second, Bolt was behind the creature, with her arms crossed, looking back at it as the beast was shocked.
"H-how! That power!" cried the creature, as Bolt didn't reply and just kept looking at it with anger in her eyes.
"You fought me in my super and super state 2. Now you face me in my hyper form," said Bolt, as her voice had a deeper and more serious tone.
"YOU DARE COPY "HER"!" screamed the monster as it tried to turn around but blasted away while Hyper Bolt didn't move her body once.
Bolt shouted out to her lookalike and asked her name.
"It's Rainbow Blitz. The cause of this mess."
"Mess? What do you mean?"
"Well, long story short, I'm not from this universe. My universe is up there," said Blitz as she pointed to the Rainbow Comet.
"The comet?" asked Bolt, who was looking at the comet.
"The comet, the Rainbow Comet, is not just a comet; it's the remains of a dead universe. My universe," said Blitz, as she explained to the super-powered Pegasus.
"Wait, wait, a dead universe?! What do you mean by that?" asked Bolt, whose mind was racing.
"I'm here and now because there's still a spark left in her. Her dying hope," replied Blitz as she could see the monster returning, "To save her. To remember her, the real her."
"The "real" her?" Bolt said, but she quickly guessed what was happening here, as she had seen this before in her past adventures. "I get it. Someone was corrupted and became that," said Bolt, pointing to the slime monster.
"Correct," replied Blitz.
"Okay, let's go, but let me blow off some steam first," said Bolt, who could feel her rage returning, and it was getting ready to combat the monster again.
Blitz nodded, and with that, the pair charged at the slime monster roaring in the background. Its eyes were filled with hate and rage; it was screaming at why Bolt was copying "her" and why Blitz was here, but Bolt quickly punched it in the gut.
"I like it when you just say repeated rainbow breaker," said Bolt, who was punching the slime creature's back with a glowing rainbow fist while Blitz was letting her do all the work as she needed to head to the comet.
"It's not over! I will win, Bolt! You can't stop me!" roared the creature as its fist slammed against her.
"Don't count on it," said Bolt, her right arm glowing bright. She slammed it against the creature, sending it flying back and crashing into the comet's surface, creating a crater.
"Why are you copying her, Bolt?" said the creature as its eyes narrowed at her. Then it could see the rainbow trail following Bolt, and the fact that her whole body radiated with light made it madder.
"No clue what you are on about!" said Bolt, rushing at it, her hoof slamming against the creature's face and sending it flying more profoundly into the crater.
"YOU ARE COPYING "HER"!" roared the creature. Its voice could be heard across the comet's surface, echoing across the multiverse, as the walls of between cracked against the sea of black ooze.
"If you want me to copy someone, how about this?" said Bolt, her body shining with rainbow colors and creating a rainbow halo in her hoof. As the monster looked up and was shocked, a figure could be seen, a figure that was all too familiar to the slime creature, a figure that was like a reflection of Bolt. She looked over to Blitz, who was behind Bolt.
"Why did you come, Blitz? It would have been best if you hadn't come here, not after what happened to everyone...to everything," whispered the creature, looking at Blitz; its eyes were full of sadness.
"To undo my mistake, This time. I'm going to save you."
The creature shed a tear before its mass started to cover the broken comet's surface.
"It's already too late, Blitz. I can't be saved anymore. All the worlds are going to break, breaking by me. And there's nothing that can stop it." replied the slime monster, its voice echoing across the hollow world. The darkness covered the city as the hole was covered, leaving Bolt and Blitz the last remaining lights in the darkness. The other four lights appeared in the town, and soon, more lights filled the dark city as prism windows appeared across the cityscape.
end of chapter 7
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Your Name Across The Multiverse
chapter 8: The Burning Light That Shall Not Go Out
Heat and the others watched as Bolt and her lookalike entered the Rainbow Comet and vanished into it. The slime monster's remains quickly covered the exposed surface.
"She can do it," said Heat, as her eyes were shining with hope and faith.
"What? She just took off with someone that looked like her, and they vanished into the comet. What can they do?" replied Aaira as she pointed something below the comet. "Don't forget that!"
Heat lowered her eyes, and she could see what Aaira was pointing at. It was the massive version of the slime pony monster as it roared, slowly opened its mouth, and swallowed the comet whole. Everyone watched as the comet reappeared on its chest, protected by a dark shield.
"Odd, is it protecting the comet? It almost doesn't want us to follow Bolt," whispered Wanda as everyone looked at her. "Maybe stopping this monster is within the comet? Flare and Heat, can you get us through that shield and inside the comet? We need to help Bolt and the other version of her."
"I don't know. In her power-up version of her super state, Bolt wasn't enough to take on that monster; I don't know if I can...but..." replied Heat as she looked at Flare. "I can try. Flare, when I get that shield down, you must break through the comet's surface and get inside."
Flare nodded, but Berry quickly stood up in Flare's arms. "But what about you? It sounds like you won't be coming with us!"
"Someone has to keep that creature at bay. I'm the only one who can. I need you, Berry, to help our friends." said Heat, her wings spreading, her hair burning, and her eyes full of determination.
"But!" cried Berry as she looked into Heat's eyes, which were filled with tears. "We can't keep losing more friends! This isn't how adventures should be! In my world, big adventures against bad don't have friends losing their lives!"
Berry didn't finish her sentence, and Heat gave her a warm smile and petted her small little head.
"I understand, Berry, but this isn't your world, and you can't stop the deaths of people and ponies; that is the reality of life outside of your universe. You have to accept it, like everyone else has." Heat looked at the others, and she could see it; they saw death and losing someone they loved and cherished. "Berry, we have to do something. We can't let Bolt and the others fight this thing alone. Bolt may be the strongest pony in the multiverse right now, but even she can't stand alone. She taught me always to remember when you have friends and family. Never face a challenge alone. Don't let someone else die."
Berry looked around and saw the others nodding as they agreed with Heat. She didn't want to admit it, but Heat was right; she could see it within them—the pain of losing someone close and using that as strength to fuel their determination to continue and help others. Berry sighed. Her heart told her not to agree with Heat, but her head agreed with her and the others.
"Okay, but I'm staying with you, Heat!" shouted Berry as she tried to jump out of Flare's arms while holding her dim wand.
"No, you can't help her, Berry," whispered Flare as she stopped her from jumping out and put her down, kneeling to her level and smiling. "Heat will be okay, and don't worry; we will ensure the monster pays for hurting everyone."
"Flare is right, Berry. Let's go," Wanda said as she, Rain, Terra, and Aaira walked to the edge of the cliff, seeing Heat off.
"I will miss you, Heat," said Aaira, shaking slightly.
"Same. You were great company. My mother would have loved to meet you. You have her spirit," replied Wanda as she looked up to the sky, thinking about something.
"Heat, be careful, and try not to get killed!" shouted Rain, giving her a thumbs up and smiling at her.
"Heat. Come back alive. I have seen young people die like this, allowing others to escape while they stay behind. Please don't die." whispered Terra, hiding her sadness by lowering her visor and covering the lower half of her face with her mask.
"You can do it, Heat. Make sure you don't get hurt." Aaira said she knew Heat couldn't promise that, but she felt it was worth asking as her suit put her helmet back on.
"Heat, I want to be here with you but can't. So let me tell you something that my dead father once told me. He said, 'In times of trouble, when you face an enemy or something you are afraid of, always look up at the sky, remember where you came from and who you are, and keep moving forward,'" said Flare as she hugged her and could hear Berry's sniffling.
Heat and Flare let go of the hug and watched Berry slowly approach her. Berry couldn't find words for her, so she raised her arms, asking for a hug as well. Heat softly smiled and gave the little pony a big hug, hearing her crying and sad voice. "So warm. So kind, like Grape. Never let that monster burn out that warmth."
Heat could feel her tears and slowly let her go, wiping them away.
"I will try not to." proudly said Heat as she slowly hovered away from the group.
Everyone watched as Heat headed toward the comet. They could see the slime monster's shield around the comet, and its surface was rippling and shaking as if it knew what Heat was after.
"Here we go," whispered Heat as she surrounded herself with flames and boosted towards the slime monster. Its pony shape started to melt away while still keeping the pony figure. It roared and tried to swat her away, but she was too fast and was able to slam her hooves into the shield. Her fire magic was burning the surface.
"GO!" screamed Heat as her body was covered with flames, and she began to spin around, faster and faster, as she tried to drill through the shield, but the shield blasted her away, and the monster's melting hooves slapped her.
"Hahaha! Do you think you can beat me, Heat? I know all about your weakness and your power. I saw your world and every adventure you have. You undone a multiverse crisis event with the help of Bolt, but this time you are alone. The lone flame within the endless sea of darkness. You will break," roared the monster, its voice echoing across the dark ocean. "I'm the breaker of all things. Soon, the breaker and Ender of the multiverse. You all will understand our pain! OUR SADNESS!"
"I don't care what you are or were! You will pay for this and every life you take! You won't break this world or others—the world that Bolt protects—not on my watch! I will never give up and never surrender."
Her body was glowing brighter, her fire magic was increasing, her horn was shining more colorful, and her body was spinning faster.
"THAT'S RIGHT, HEAT! SHOW HIM YOUR MOMENTUM!" shouted Flare, holding Berry tightly in her arms as her eyes were glowing with hope and happiness.
"YEAH! BLOW UP THAT MONSTER!" shouted Berry, her eyes shining bright.
The two watched as Heat's fire magic surrounded her body. Then she slammed into the shield, and this time, she didn't fly back as the shield cracked. Heat continued to spin her body, and her momentum was reaching its limit.
"YOU CAN DO IT!" shouted Rain and Aaira, who were watching from afar, both cheering her on.
"YEAH! YOU GOT THIS!" shouted Wanda, who was smiling at her.
Terra was also smiling. Her eyes could be seen as she lifted her visor a bit and said, "Come on Heat."
Heat could feel the shield cracking from her attack. She increased her flame powers and spun, and even when the monster slammed its hooves onto her, crushing her, she kept spinning as the shield finally started to crack open.
"COME ON!" shouted Heat as the shield finally exploded. She rocketed into the comet, smashing through its crust and leaving a long trail behind her.
"NO, YOU DON'T!" screamed the monster, its voice echoing as the comet slime surface shot out and covered Heat, sending her flying back out of the shield, which closed behind her.
Heat blasted the slime off of her, and she was about to try again when she saw the monster charging up a laser beam from its mouth and pointed it at her.
"NO HEAT!" shouted Flare and Berry, and the laser beam blasted towards her.
Heat couldn't react in time, and the blast hit her, sending her crashing into the slime ocean and creating a giant wave. The beam somehow was able to damage her in her super form.
"HEAT!" screamed the girls as the comet was again covered with slime, and the shield was more substantial than before.
Heat floated there in great pain as the waves pushed her along, and her eyes were filled with sadness. Soon, she started to be dragged under the surface.
"I failed," she whispered as her tears started to float away and disappear into the sea.
"Heat," whispered Bolt as she and Blitz floated above the city. In a world within the comet, its surface was black, like coal. Its buildings were in ruins, and its ground was cracked and covered with dust. The city was destroyed.
"So this is your world?" Blitz asked herself, as she could feel the other selves asking her, "Yes."
Bolt looked back at how they came in and could feel something happening to Heat. She wanted to head back, but she couldn't. It hurt her, but she had to keep going.
Within the darkness, heat was slowly dragged to the endless bottom of the slime ocean. She was crying, and her body was slowly losing its burning flames, until she heard a voice—a bolt voice—as she remembered the lesson that she had given her when their worlds were merging.
She remembers that day when both Discords created a space station and used the Harmony Diamond for their cannon. They were watching her as she covered her body in flames. Bolt covered herself in the wind, and both boosted towards each other, clashing their elements and creating a powerful shock wave that blasted the Discords away.
"I said I would defeat him!" cried Heat, her eyes filled with rage.
"Stop it, this isn't going to change anything!" replied Bolt. Her eyes were sad, and her tone told Heat that she shouldn't use her anger and rage to win.
"What do you know? I am the guardian of the Harmony Diamonds. It is a fate that forces me to live with my curse, my flames... Because of my powers, I have always been alone. It's also why I must do this alone! It is my responsibility!" shouted Heat. Her eyes were burning, and her voice was breaking; she was crying within.
"I admire your fortitude, but... carrying the entire world on your shoulders?" asked Bolt. She didn't want to force her to let go, but she needed to understand that she needed to stop being alone and let others help her.
"Enough!"
Heat quickly increased her speed by creating fire boosters from her wings, pushing Bolt back and swinging her flaming hooves at her. Still, Bolt stopped her with a mighty gale, finally blowing Heat back and out of her boost and almost falling off the small arena they were in, as it was a flying platform in the middle of the space station, but Bolt grabbed her hoof and pulled her back up.
"Hey, not bad."
Heat looked at her and could feel her warmth—the warmth that was the complete opposite of her. Bolt smiled, but Heat swatted her hoof away and was ready to attack her again.
"I don't need your praise... And I don't need any help from you; this is my fate to bear!" shouted Heat; her tone was different, her voice was shaking, and she could feel her emotions breaking her down.
Bolt gave her a sad look and could tell she'd had a rough past. Bolt placed her hoof on her shoulder and said, "Hey, don't bite off more than you can chew. And be yourself. You don't need to do everything on your own."
"Don't touch me." Heat pushed her hoof away and backed up, her wings covering and hiding her face.
"You're not alone."
"But... But if I..."
"Listen, I know this sounds crazy, but... We can be friends; we can help each other."
"What?"
Heat looked at Bolt and saw a warm smile—the same smile she had given her earlier—and her eyes were the same. She didn't understand why Bolt was so nice to her after she had tried to hurt her and her friends.
"Let's save the day together, yeah? Let's kick those Discord butts together." Bolt was smiling, and she was offering her hoof to shake her hoof.
"Perhaps you're right. I can rely on friends if I let myself," whispered Heat. As her flames returned to her, her tears no longer fell, and her determination rose.
Heat slowly moved her hoof, placing it on Bolt and shaking it. The two nodded, and the Harmony Diamonds and Element Emeralds were floating above the two, shining brightly.
Heat opened her eyes, and she saw only darkness. She smiled as she remembered that memory. She slowly started to swim, trying to head to the surface as another memory flashed.
In their super forms, Bolt and her just beat the two Discords and are floating in space between the walls of their universe, looking at each other. Heat is especially sad, as she could see their worlds pulling them away from each other and the broken walls slowly repairing themselves.
"This is it," whispered Bolt with a bit of sadness.
"Yes, it is," whispered Heat. She couldn't find the words to say and just nodded.
They were smiling as their golden and blazing light filled the darkness.
"Everything will be back to normal," replied Bolt, looking back at her returning universe and feeling it calling out to her.
"Yes, I have to return to my world as well. Harmony Diamonds and Element Emeralds cannot exist in the same world. It would cause another crisis," said Heat, as she, too, looked back at her universe, sensing it calling out to her.
"I guess it's time to say... goodbye. Flurry will miss you," said Bolt, goodbye turned, looking at Heat.
"I have no choice," replied Heat, remembering the cute alicorn filly that followed and helped her get back the Harmony Diamonds.
"No words from you?" asked Bolt, seeing Heat wasn't turning around.
"It's better this way. I first came here as a stranger out of nowhere. I think it's appropriate to leave it the same way. Bolt, thank you for your help. Bye." said Heat as she started to head home but stopped as she felt Bolt walk on her shoulder. She turned around and could see that same warm smile.
"Hey, don't worry. You're not alone. If you ever need me, I'll come running, no matter where you are."
Heat was surprised by Bolt's kindness and could feel a warm feeling growing within her heart.
"I..." She couldn't find the right words and just smiled and nodded. Bolt let go, and both stared at each other until Bolt rose her hoof, as she wanted to shake Heat's hoof.
Heat slowly looked at her hoof and grabbed Bolt's hoof, and the two shook it.
"We are friends. Don't forget that, okay? Promise I'll be here if you ever need me. I'll see you again!" Bolt spoke, her eyes filled with friendship and the same warm smile.
"Yes... again," replied Heat, as her tears were filling her eyes.
Then, a white light starts taking over the space between them, and they float upward, holding each other's hooves. Both are trying hard not to let go and trying their hardest to stay together. Then they are forced apart, with Heat especially reaching her arm out toward Bolt as they are tossed back into their universe.
Heat kept swimming and trying to reach the surface as the memory made her tear up.
"Thank you, Bolt. I'm so glad to have met you. And our story isn't over yet, is it?" spoke Heat as she slowly felt her flames leaving her, the Harmony Diamonds going dim within her, like something was draining them of their power.
"I understand now... My inherent power over fire... As a princess, I must protect the Harmony Diamonds. But because of my duty, I shut people out and kept to myself... But trying to make it solely my responsibility, I put my world in danger. But then..."
"You need to be true to yourself!" echoes Bolt's voice through Heat's mind.
"Bolt the Pegasus..."
"We'll meet again!" Bolt echoed as her smiling face filled Heat's mind.
"I believe in you!" echoed Bolt's voice, as Heat could feel a bright light entering her heart and a mighty wind blowing around her.
"You aren't alone. Not anymore; you have me and your new friends, Heat. Let's do this together, okay?
Heat opened her eyes; her flames were burning once more. She smiled as the Harmony Diamonds within her shone brighter than before. She began to swim again, reaching her hooves up towards the surface, towards the light.
"Yes, Bolt," said Heat, remembering Bolt's promise and her voice. A tear ran down her face, and her voice was filled with confidence and hope.
"You aren't alone anymore, either. You have us, your new friends. They're coming to help you!"
She reached the surface; her flames were burning, and her tears were falling, and she looked up, her horn shining brighter than before and her wings glowing red. As she could see, the monster was readying to fire another beam at her as it was charging the beam within its mouth, and the beam was growing larger.
Heat took a deep breath; her tears were no longer flowing; her fire magic was increasing; her eyes were full of hope, and her flames were dancing around her.
"LET'S GO!"
Heat shot out of the slime, and the darkness was filled with a burning small flame. The tiny flame grew, growing larger and larger until it became a roaring giant blaze. It was heading straight for the comet, and the monster was readying itself by firing its beam.
Heat charged forward, her flames burning even hotter and her speed increasing. The monster beam was getting bigger and almost ready to fire, but Heat was closing the distance.
"YOUR STORY ISN'T OVER, BOLT! KEEP FLYING LIKE THE WIND! KEEP SMILING!" screamed Heat, as her flames were growing larger. Her fire was roaring like a wild beast, and her body was engulfed with a blue flame.
The monster was about to fire its beam. Its beam was reaching its limit and ready to fire, but the blue flame was closing the distance more and burning faster and faster.
Heat was now a blue-and-white flaming comet. Her fire magic was beyond anything she had ever used before. Her body was covered with flames, her tears were gone, and her eyes were full of life. Even the Diamonds were floating around her as they burned brightly.
"BECAUSE!"
The monster fired its beam and clashed with Heat, but she quickly went through it and, once more, crashed into the shield of the comet. This time, the shield didn't stop her, and the shield began to crack within seconds, and the entire shield exploded. The shards of the shields quickly became one and became another laser but more powerful than the large one. It and Heat were in a back-and-forth clash, as she needed to destroy this so her friends could pass through without danger.
"I THINK!"
Heat pushed forward, her eyes were locked on her target, and the shards were trying to push her back, but her flames were burning through the beam, finally passing through it and slamming into the shards, which became a pony-sized orb. It was trying to push Heat away, but she didn't let it. Heat and the cracking Diamonds gave one last push and scattered it,
"...this is where..."
The monster roared and was quickly absorbed by the comet, and everyone watched as the comet became pure black. An eyelid appeared and opened, revealing a red bleeding eye, as it searched around the area in front of it until it spotted Heat. It bled out a tear, which quickly formed into a blood-oozing alicorn, which caught Heat by surprise as it looked like her dead mother. Within seconds, Heat could see the alicorn horn shoot out like a long blade and pierce her chest...
"...my...story....."
The comet's eye was crying blood, and the alicorn was smiling, as the tip of the blade was in Heat's chest. The Harmony Diamonds were all dying out. Their light was finally gone as they dropped out of the sky and into the slime ocean below. Soon, Heat followed them as the flames of life slowly burned out as she spoke one last time.
"...ends..."
Heat closed her eyes as the alicorn removed its horn and watched as Heat fell, with no life left within her. She hit the ocean's surface; her flames were gone, her magic was dead, and the Diamonds were gone.
"HEAT!" cried out Berry.
"NO! HEAT!" cried out Flare.
"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" shouted Aaira as she fell to her knees.
"DAMN, IT!" screamed Rain as she pounds the ground in sadness and anger.
Terra returned her visor down on her eyes and clutched her fist harder as she was forced to watch another person die like this again.
Wanda said nothing but looked away, but she could see a rainbow light in the center of the crater. Soon, another version of her appeared, but she looked like Heat as she was wearing a red jacket. She ran to her and asked her what her name was, as she bet she was like Blitz and how she had something to help Bolt.
"My name is Nightfall," said Nightfall as she looked around and could see the bleeding eye and the red blood-covered alicorn. "...oh Blitz. You even had my mother within you as well. No, it's just a memory from Sky and me. When father unleashed her on Sky that day."
"Who are you? What did you mean just now?" asked Wanda after hearing Nightfall.
"Sorry, it's a long story, and we don't have time to explain. We need to get inside that comet and stop her," said Nightfall, pointing at the bleeding eye.
"We fucking tried!" shouted Rain as she faced Nightfall.
"Yeah, Heat died trying..." said Aaira as she looked down.
"Wait, what? Died? Heat? Discord told me to give her this," said Nightfall as she walked towards them and took out a wand with a bright jewel.
Everyone asked what that was until a voice was heard above them.
"That's the Jewel Scepter of Harmony. I got it from the castle's vault."
Everyone looked up and could see a black and yellow Draconequus as he was typing away on an MLP-themed laptop.
"Who or what is that?" asked everyone.
"Discord? Why are you here?" asked Nightfall as she watched the draconequus drop before her.
"My world walls of between is gone. I'm holding "her" off, but the other Discords will soon be here. You need to hurry and get to her. We're running out of time. Give the wand to Heat."
"Heat is dead," whispered Berry as she sat there, all hope lost.
"Huh? Dead? Do you mean Heat is no longer living? That she's gone from existence, never to return?" asked Discord
"Yeah, that's right!" cried Rain.
"Is that what you all think? Please," asked Discord as he snapped his fingers, summoning Heat's dead body. Her body landed in front of everyone in the family guy's death pose and was lying there with no flame, magic, or life.
"What did you mean?" asked Wanda as she looked at Discord.
Discord snapped his fingers again, summoned the gray diamonds, and caught one.
"These are the Harmony Diamonds, the physical form of the elements of harmony, and another take on the prime version. They're also counterparts of elemental emeralds, and just like those, if all seven are gathered, a miracle will happen. watch."
"Heat, get up. This isn't where your story ends. It only ends with my hands," evilly spoke Discord as he watched Heat's body floating in the air with the enormous diamonds.
The diamonds spun around Heat, and soon, it and the scepter fused into her. It created a burning black star as everyone covered their faces. As the light calmed down, everyone could see Heat, as she was alive again and hovering there. Her skin turned from purple to light black; her mane was partly glowing with orange flames; her purple jacket was now red; her feathers on her wings were glowing, and finally, her eyes were glowing bright green.
"Heat!" cried Berry as she jumped into Heat's chest, hugging her.
"Berry," whispered Heat as she hugged her but turned to Discord and spoke to him.
"How did you know the wand could do this? Even I didn't know this, and I'm their guardian."
"It was a gamble. I figured that since they're a copy of the Element Emeralds, they're similar to them, and just like those gems, they can bring someone back to life. Create a miracle because we need it right now," said Discord as he pointed to the Blood Alicorn and the comet eye. "Also, the other Discords are coming. You need to break through that "thing" and get inside because...
"Bolt needs us?" Heat asked, but Discord shook his head and turned to Nightfall before returning to everyone here.
"No, "she" needs you. I can't say anything more, but know this: there was a reason. "She" picked you all." finished Discord as he turned to Nightfall again. "Why she created "you"! Damn the rules; I love seeing chaos!"
"Hey, what are you saying?" asked Heat, confused.
"I'm sorry. Later, Heat" smiled at Discord as he did a peace sign and just disappeared, causing Heat to sigh as she hated Discord and his annoying ass.
Wanda turned to Nightfall and asked, "You truly know what's going on, don't you?"
Nightfall nodded and spoke as she passed them and walked to the crater's edge, looking at the alicorn and the bleeding eye comet. "Yes, that blood-covered alicorn came from my memories. It was once my dead mother. My father wanted to recreate the Final Harmony project and conquer the world. Blitz must have seen that memory from one or both of us."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" asked Aaira, as she and everyone else were confused.
"It's too long to explain, but know this: I'm not the real Nightfall, just a memory of her created by Blitz. The part of her who still has hope—hope that someone can save her and free her from the pain... What I'm saying might sound weird, but she isn't evil. She's just a child, lost and scared of herself and what she has become. Please, help me. It's like Discord said. We picked you for a reason. We've heard your stories and witnessed all of your hardships and adventures. Please help me. Save my daughter," cried Nightfall as she bowed to them and begged them for help.
"Please..."
Everyone was silent until Heat spoke.
"Okay, go save her. I think I understand why I'm here. It's like a weird feeling. Even the Harmony Diamonds say the same thing: We're meant to be here."
The others looked at each other, not so much about this, but Wanda stepped up and said, "Same here. I feel the same as Heat. Besides, it's like what my mother told me—not see the world as it is, but as it could be. Maybe we're here to change things for the better."
"Agreed, there's always good in everyone; you just need to find it," chimed in Flare.
The others weren't too sure, but they agreed as well. If they can save this Blitz person, maybe they can save this universe.
"So, how do we get inside the comet?" asked Rain.
"I can take on the alicorn in my hyper form," said Heat. "But I'm unsure if I can break through that "eye." The Harmony Diamonds are telling me this. I need more power."
"I see..." whispered Wanda as she tried to think of a plan but watched as Aaira walked up to Terra.
"Terra, go into my mind. The Element Pillar can help Heat," spoke Aaira as Terra removed her eye visor and face mask.
"But Berry lost her powers; how can we create them?"
"Yeah...unless you know how to create it, Aaira?" spoke Wanda.
"I do, letting the Pillar do what it wants. Me."
"What? But Aaira-" spoke Berry, worried as she and the others remembered what was inside her mind.
"Iokay. If anything happens, you guys need to kill me. I don't want to be like Charles... Terra, do it."
"Charles..." whispered Nightfall as she remembered the audio device and heard Aaira killing him.
Terra nodded. Terra set Aaira flat on the ground, put her hand on Aaira's forehead, and entered her mind.
"I'll go take that alicorn down while they're doing this," said Heat as she set Berry on the floor and took off as a black, burning star.
"Be careful," whispered Berry, but she felt a hand on her head. She looked up and saw it was Flare.
"This time, she's not alone. Watch over everyone," said Flare, as she took off as a red streak and went after Heat.
Heat soars towards the alicorn, and she can see it charging at her. She could tell by its eyes that it was angry at her and wanted to kill her.
"I'm sorry about this," spoke Heat as she dodged the alicorn's attacks and hit its body with a flaming punch and kick, which caused its skin to burn, but the burns healed fast.
"Darn, I can't do any real damage with these moves."
The alicorn fired a red beam from its horn and hit Heat's chest, sending her flying backward, but she stayed in the air. She touched her chest and sighed, saying she was okay this time. She summoned black and orange flames around her body, rebounded, and hit the alicorn. It cried out in pain as its skin was burning and slowly healing.
"Now, you're feeling my wrath!" shouted Heat as she punched the alicorn repeatedly until the alicorn's tail became a shard of bloody blade and swung it over Heat's head, and she couldn't dodge it in time.
"Need help?" asked Flare as she caught Heat before the alicorn could hit and carry her away.
"Flare! Thank you." thanked Heat
"You're welcome. Let's do this!" replied Flare, her eyes glowing red and Heat's eyes glowing green.
"Yeah, let's!" agreed Heat as Flare dropped Heat, and they both charged at the alicorn, ready to take it on.
Flare quickly soars past the alicorn, grabbing its tail and spinning it around.
"Take this!" cried out Flare as she threw the alicorn into the air.
Heat followed up the attack by punching the alicorn and hitting it with her flaming horn, and finally, she did a flaming ax kick, slamming it toward the sea, but it recovered. The alicorn wasn't giving up and flew into the air, stabbing the two with its horn. The two dodged and continued the attack. Anything they did to it was quickly healed.
"We're not making much progress here. It's healing too fast!" spoke Heat as the alicorn hit her.
"Well, it's not our day," replied Flare as she punched the alicorn, blasting her heat vision at its face.
The alicorn was getting mad, as its face was melting and slowly being restored, and it started to attack wildly.
"Damn, it looks like this girl is no pushover," muttered Heat as she dodged another attack, but the alicorn was faster.
Heat hit her as the alicorn horn impaled her body and started to push her towards Flare, who got caught. All three were heading towards the sky, which had the slime ocean, as the whole universe was being filled by it and much faster now.
"This is bad; if we're not careful, we're going to fall into the slime!" yelled Flare as the two struggled to move and get away from the alicorn.
Heat looked at her wound and saw no damage; her hyper form saved her. She grabbed the alicorn's face and unleashed her flames on it, hoping it would be enough to let them go.
"Come on...burn! BURN!" yelled Heat as she tried her hardest to burn it, but nothing was happening.
Flare used her heat vision to help her burn the alicorn head. The two kept it up until Heat noticed the sea of slime was coming closer to them. The diamonds told her that if both of them got caught there, they'd die.
"Heat, we're close to the slime!" shouted Flare.
"I know, but...this is all I got without hurting you!" replied Heat, still trying to burn the alicorn head and horn.
Flare started laughing, making Heat ask why she was laughing suddenly.
"You said, "Hurting you?" Girl, the sun gives me my powers. You can't hurt me. I can be in the sun and not get hurt," said Flare, petting Heat's back. "Give it your all!"
Heat nodded and fully released her black flames. The alicorn was burning but didn't care, as it was willing to sacrifice itself to stop them. Heat kept releasing her flames, turning her into a black star. She wasn't giving it up. She wouldn't lose; she couldn't, not when the multiverse was at stake. Not when her friends are fighting alongside her.
"Harmony...Diamonds, please help me!" cried Heat as her black star grew. The seven Harmony Diamonds appeared and fused with the black star.
There was a bright black flash. Soon, the black star became a mini-supernova and exploded.
"Woah..." spoke Flare, as she was within it and being tossed away by the blast.
The alicorn tried to escape but couldn't, as Heat wasn't letting it go. Heat moved her face closer to the alicorn and spoke with a dark and mighty voice.
"BURN TO ASHES!"
Soon, the alicorn was engulfed by the flames and burned away, leaving nothing behind. There is nothing to recover from.
"Holy..." spoke Flare as she couldn't believe what she saw.
The supernova flames quickly returned to Heat's body. Heat was panting as using her power took a lot out of her. The diamonds appeared around her and started flashing at her, almost like they were talking to her before returning inside of her. Heat couldn't help but smile, happy to hear the gems were asking if she was okay.
"You're welcome," said Flare, as she turned to the eye comet and noticed it was looking at them the whole time. "What now? We can't break that."
"Leave that to the others," replied Heat as she and Flare flew down to where the others were, only to hear Aaira screaming. They could see Wanda and Nightfall holding her down while Terra twitched as Rain and Berry tried to wake her.
"What's going on?" asked Heat as the two landed near them.
"Aaira's losing it. She tried to choke herself, and Terra is having a stroke!" answered Nightfall as she and Wanda continued to hold her down.
"Terra, can you hear me? Can you talk?" asked Rain, holding Terra's head while Berry held her hand.
Terra was saying something, but no one could understand her, and soon, her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Finally, she spoke clearly.
"MAKE US WHOLE AGAIN!" screamed Terra before going limp.
"Shit, this is not good," muttered Nightfall as Wanda let go of Aaira as Flare took over and quickly hurried to the unconscious Terra.
"She's breathing, thankfully," said Wanda as she checked her body.
"What happened?" asked Flare, confused about what was happening.
"Terra said that she heard a voice begging her to make them whole again, and it was from the Element Pillar. Then this happened. This looks like a mental condition, but somehow it's not. I can't explain it," replied Wanda.
Everyone could watch as Aaira kept screaming like she was being attacked by something or someone.
End of Ch8
View Online
Your Name Across The Multiverse
Chapter 9: Facing Your Demons and Being Brave
During the fight with the blood alicorn and within Aaira's mind, Terra and Aaira found themselves in a spaceship hanger bay. Terra never saw this hanger bay, but to Aaira, it was where the nightmare started: on the Equestria Runner.
"This place..." whispered Aaira as she stared at the ship name at the entrance to the hangar bay lobby.
"Where are we?" asked Terra as she approached Aaira.
"This is the Equestria Runner's hanger bay. It was a spaceship that the corporation made, but it was not a regular spaceship. It's a ship for extracting planet minerals," answered Aaira.
"Wait...like mining a planet?" replied Terra, shocked to hear that.
"Yes, a long time ago, it was believed that Mars's moons, Phobos and Deimos, had rich minerals that could be extracted, so the company Satakal Corporation built a ship that could mine the moon and, soon, the planets and their cores and bringing the minerals back. It was the greatest achievement of the century," said Aaira.
"It doesn't sound that great. You're mining a planet," said Terra.
"It was a big deal back then. Earth had a lot of issues: climate change, a poor economy, and poverty. The company wanted to solve that problem by selling the minerals from the moon and planets. It was a win-win, a way to help the people and make a profit. Soon, planet cracking became a thing, and many companies and corporations started buying planets to crack them. That's where the problem began."
Terra looked around and noticed that the ship was quiet. There was no sound of life, which was a little spooky.
"Where's everyone at?" asked Terra, but remembering this was all in Aaira's mind and wasn't a real spaceship.
"Everyone is either dead or changed. When the Changers came, everything was chaos, and everyone died or changed," answered Aaira as she turned to Terra. "Let's keep moving; maybe the element pillar is at the storage bay, where it was before."
Terra nodded and followed behind Aaira. Aaira walked past a dead body that was sitting on the floor. The body was wearing the same suit as Aaira but with a different design, but its armor had massive cuts. The person was missing its left arm, and the left side of its face was cut off. Aaira looked away and continued to move forward. Terra wanted to say something but decided not to. Aaira continued where she left off.
"Soon, companies and corporations started to crack off-limits planets, which were labeled off-limits by the Earth Sector. No one knew why, but that didn't stop the greedy higher-ups from doing it. It's why my friends and I left it and started our small repair ship shop to fix ships in space. I met Faye when we repaired her medical ship and started dating. Soon, news broke out that the oldest and most legendary extraction spaceship, Equestria Runner, was planned to be decommissioned because she was becoming obsolete over the years. But the company, Satakal Extraction Corporation, or SEC, decided to have her last flight to a new planet in sector 982 to mine it. Everyone and their mothers tried to get work on it."
"Why's that?"
"Remember when I said she was a legendary extraction spaceship?"
"Yeah, that's what you said."
"It was the first ever extraction spaceship created. Everyone wanted to be on it because it was a dream for anyone to work on the first-ever extraction spaceship before it was decommissioned and broken down for parts. Faye wanted to sign up for the medical deck since the Equestria Runner was also a medical research vessel. The Runner had a dedicated medical wing where extensive research into virology, toxins, and genetics was conducted. She had a fully equipped surgery theater and an advanced medical laboratory. I thought it was the best opportunity for her," explained Aaira as she stopped walking.
Terra remembers what Aaira said before, how it was her fault that she let Faye go...
"It was my fault; I told her she should sign up for the job, and I was why she was on the ship. If I hadn't told her, she would still be alive with me. It was all my fault," cried Aaira as tears started to roll down her face. "Not just her, but my friends too. They would be alive, too."
"Hey, hey, it's not your fault. You're not responsible for their deaths," said Terra, trying to calm her down.
"It is. I let Faye go, and when an SOS came from the Runner, I made my friends join me in heading to it as we grouped up with an SEC security shuttle. I should have gone alone!" cried Aaira.
"Listen, don't blame yourself. You can't control people; no one can. People are free; they do what they want, and I don't think your friends would have wanted you to blame yourself for their deaths. They chose to go with you; no one was forced into anything. They wanted to save Faye just as much." replied Terra as she placed her hand on Aaira's shoulder.
"It still hurts," cried Aaira.
"As it should be, my darling Aaira..." spoke a female voice in front of them.
"Rhea..." spoke Aaira as she noticed a burned and charred female body limping towards them. Her body features were complicated to see due to the damage.
"Rhea?" replied Terra, readying herself for a fight.
"It's been a while, Aaira," said Rhea.
"I'm sorry," apologized Aaira, as she was looking at the burned corpse.
"So you say every time we meet. How many times will you apologize before you understand that I won't forgive you?" spoke Rhea as the fire started to blast on the walls.
"Who is she?" asked Terra.
"This is Rhea, one of my friends who went with me. She's an engineer like me," answered Aaira.
Terra watched as Rhea walked past her and stood in front of Aaira.
"You let me burn! Why!? WHY DID YOU LET BURN?" cried out Rhea as her body was set on fire.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," cried Aaira.
"If you're sorry, prove it!" replied Rhea as the fire around them grew.
Terra took out her rifle and fired at Rhea, but it passed through her like a hologram. She could see Aaira being touched by her as she screamed for Aaira to prove it.
"Aaira, we have to move. We're getting nowhere just by standing here!" yelled Terra, as she could see the fire getting closer.
"She's right; you have to move. Make us whole!" yelled Rhea as Aaira and Terra began to run.
Terra and Aaira kept moving until they found themselves in the medical wing, where Aaira stopped to look at her surroundings. The whole place was a mess; blood was everywhere, and a few corpses were lying around. Terra noticed the room was a mess as if a battle had happened. Aaira walked over to the bodies and noticed that their heads were missing, almost like they were cut off.
"This is..." said Terra before Aaira tackled her away from a claw blade. They watched as a humanoid monster with a blade for arms was twitching super fast. "What is that!"
"Twitchers! Soldiers or people infected by the Changers and their flesh fused with their Kinesis Module, basically increasing their movements," answered Aaira as she pulled out her Horn cutter and stood in a fighting stance.
"How fast can it move!" asked Terra, as the Twitcher was twitching around, not letting them have a chance to attack.
"Very, so we need to be smart," said Aaira as the Twitcher stopped and ran towards her like teleporting.
"Move!" yelled Terra as she moved to the left.
The Twitcher didn't notice and continued its assault on Aaira as it was stabbing her. The blades didn't pierce her armor, but they made her feel a sharp pain. Aaira grabbed the Twitcher blade and slammed her head into its head, knocking the Twitcher a few feet away. Aaira quickly fired off her kinesis, slowing it down to a snail's pace, allowing Terra to shoot it in the head.
"Got it!" cheered Terra as the Twitcher's head exploded and the headless corpse fell.
"No! It's still alive! It would be best if you blasted off all its limbs!" yelled Aaira as she quickly ran to the body, but it stood back up and moved at fast speeds again.
"What!" yelled Terra as she watched the headless corpse's arm reach for Aaira.
"Quick, destroy its arm!" yelled Aaira.
Terra fired her weapon, blowing off the arm, and the Twitcher's chest was rising up and down. It was breathing, and its body was shaking. Terra watched in disgust as she could hear the sound of its heart beating and the smell of rotting flesh. Aaira used her kinesis to grab the corpse and slam it to the ground. She picked up the blown-off arm and stabbed it, pinning it to the floor, quickly unloading a clip from the horn cutter, and blasting off the limbs, finally killing it.
"What the hell was that?" asked Terra, slightly sick.
"When they found the pillar, some people lost their minds, going berserk and killing everything in sight. They were creating bodies for the stabbers to infect and create these and other monsters," explained Aaira.
"So, we should keep our eyes open for these guys."
"We need to find the Element Pillar. We need to head...what?" asked Aaira, noting that the room had changed, and they were now in the Asteroid Defense System gunner room.
"Did we move?"
"No, this is when..." whispered Aaira.
Out of the gunner's protective window, the girls could see an Earth Sector battleship heading towards the ship at alarming speed. Terra couldn't believe her eyes; seeing a ship fly fast toward them was incredible. Aaira and Terra watch as the ship crashes into the hull of the Runner, tossing them against the wall and fire and fire alarm going off.
"What happened!?" yelled Terra, as she held her head and was trying to stand up.
"An Earth Sector battleship crashed into the Runner, wedged inside the Runner hull. That's what caused the fire, the explosion, and soon, the loss of oxygen," answered Aaira, as she could hear a familiar sound as the room O2 warning came on.
"Aaira, is this what happened in your time on the Runner?" asked Terra.
"Yes... it's like reliving everything again..."
"But it's not the past."
"Right, we should move and...come on!" shouted Aaira as they found themselves in a reactor core room and jumped again.
"Is this the Runner reactor core?" asked Terra.
"No, it's the Earth battleship. This is where..."
"I died?" said a bubbly female voice, as a woman with puffy pink hair and light pink skin stood behind them, wearing a pink HULL suit.
"Poppy... I'm sorry," said Aaira.
Poppy laughed as she skipped past them, entered the core room, and waved at them.
"Why? Why did you let me die? Why did you shut the blast doors on me?" asked Poppy, as the door to the reactor core, shut in front of her, soon a giant armor Changer appeared behind her and just standing there, breathing and waiting.
"I'm sorry..." answered Aaira.
"Liar. You did this. You're a traitor, and you deserve to suffer, like me!" smiled Poppy as the monster grabbed her and slammed her on the blast door window, destroying her face as blood was splatting across it, and her body was convulsing.
"Aaira, let's go," whispered Terra, as she noticed Aaira was grabbing her head in shame while Poppy kept blaming her and laughing until her upper body was nothing more than a bloody pile of meat chucks.
"No... she's right, it's all my fault," whispered Aaira.
"That's not true, and you know it," replied Terra.
"You're just like them, aren't you?" Poppy smiled as the monster lifted her head, showing the rest of her bloody face. "Aaira, why don't you tell her? Tell her the truth. You are a murderer! YOU LET US DIE! YOU'RE THE REASON WE'RE ALL DEAD!"
"That's not true, Aaira." spoke a female voice.
"Faye..." whispered Aaira, as Terra noticed a woman with tall, pale yellow skin and long pink hair female in a doctor outfit as she entered the room.
"My darling, why do you blame yourself for something you couldn't control?" asked Faye.
"I could have stopped this from happening. If I didn't ask them to come along."
"But if they hadn't, who knows what would have happened to you? Maybe you'll be the dead one, and they would have blamed themselves for your death."
"But I'm the reason that this happened. I shouldn't have let you go! I shouldn't have let them come!" cried Aaira, tears rolling down her face.
"It's not your fault, none of it. Don't blame yourself for something that's not yours. You took the first step before, learning you needed to let go. Now, do step two. Finally admitting it wasn't your fault," replied Faye as she hugged Aaira. "Remember what happened to them."
Aaira could remember the events. Poppy and she got on the Earth battleship and headed towards the core, as it was going into meltdown and needed to be shut down to save both ships. She could see herself and Poppy as they ran past her. She watched the events unfold, including how she opened the door, allowing Poppy to get to the controls inside, but a giant Changer came blasting out of a wall. It was after her, so she fought it off while Poppy did her thing by shutting the core down.
"Jesus..." whispered Terra as she saw the memory of Aaira fighting for her life as she was being tossed around like a rag doll by the monster but still fighting back and doing damage to it.
The battle was intense and brutal. As she was tossed through the reactor, the Changer followed her and tried to crush her, but Aaira used her kinesis to push the Changer off and into the side of the room wall, and its body hit the floor, trying to get back up. Poppy finally got the core to shut down and reboot it, but she quickly blasted Aaira out of the room, activating the blast doors, as she saw the armored monster getting back up and charging at them. Memory Aaira and real Aaira watched as Poppy was killed the same way as before.
"Poppy, it was her. She was the one who saved your life. You didn't let her die. She saved you and the rest of the ship." said Faye.
"But..."
"No buts!" laughed Poppy as she appeared before her. "There was no way I was letting you die as well. You had to live! No matter the cost, We're besties till the end, remember. Don't forget what you said to Kelly; good men mean well. But sometimes, things don't work out like you want. So, you learn to adapt, survive, and continue."
"Poppy!" cried Aaira.
Soon, the room changed to a large engine room. Aaira remembers this place very well as she watches Rhea's burned body standing there in front of them. She remembers this moment and what she did.
"You... you're why I was in that tube!" yelled Rhea as she walked over to a large pipe tube and stepped inside.
"No," answered Aaira, shaking her head.
"You killed me. You could have saved me, but you let me burn!"
"Rhea, no, I didn't!"
Soon, a very tall and gray-muscular Changer appeared behind her and started to maul her with its substantial blade arms. Rhea screamed out in pain as her body was being torn apart until the engine came to life. Aaira was holding a switch, and fire passed through the tubes and finally blasted them. Aaira and the others could see Rhea and the monster screaming in pain as they were burning to death.
"Aaira," whispered Faye.
"You're the reason I'm like this. I was in that tube because of you! You let me burn! YOU'RE THE REASON WHY I'M DEAD!" yelled Rhea as her burnt skin started to peel off, showing her muscle and bone.
"No..." whispered Aaira as she started to remember what happened. The memory of her and Rhea, who had white skin and purple hair and were wearing a lighter fancy gear HULL suit, came running into the room and turning to see the Grey Changer walking towards them. They fired their weapons at it, but it was useless as it healed within seconds.
"What do we do?" asked Aaira.
Rhea thought up a plan and told Aaira to head to the control room across from them and turn it on; she would lead it to the blast chamber, and they would burn the monster to nothing but ash. They split up, and Aaira did what she was told, while Rhea led theChangerr, who followed her but could not catch her due to her being faster than it. Rhea ran into the blast chamber and waited for the monster. It stepped inside and quickly dashed towards her, but she used her kinesis to slow it down. She ran past it to escape, but the monster somehow was able to slash her back, making her fall to the ground. Aaira could see her on the ground and quickly headed towards her but stopped as Rhea told her to shut the pipe and turn on the engine, as this thing couldn't be kept alive.
"No!" cried Aaira.
"Aaira! DO IT!" cried Rhea, as she could see the monster moving normally again and heading to her and the exit.
Memory Aaira fought with herself as she pressed the button, sealing the pipe and watching as they burned to death, leaving nothing behind.
"I killed her."
"NO! I died stopping that monster!" yelled Rhea as she stepped out from nowhere and stood before her.
"But you died..."
"And it was my choice and the only one I could make. If you hadn't done what you did, that thing would have gotten free and killed you as well. Please don't blame yourself for something that you have no control over, darling." replied Rhea as she started to burn away and turn into ash.
"She's right. You had no control, and they all knew what they were getting into," said Faye.
"Right," whispered Aaira, standing up with Terra patting her back.
"It wasn't my fault," said Aaira.
The world soon changed into a giant void with a large purple pillar in the center, glowing and emitting weird symbols.
"Steps 1 and 2 are done. Now, step 3," said Faye as she walked up to Aaira and held her purple cheeks in her yellow hands. "Are you ready?"
"... I'm scared. What if I can't do it?"
"Don't be silly; of course you can." smiled Faye as she kissed her on the lips and pulled back with a smile.
"Faye," whispered Aaira.
"Aaria, listen to me; you can do this. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for," Faye replied as tears were falling.
Terra was looking at all this but felt something was wrong. She noticed something in the darkness, as she could hardly make out moving figures. She took out a flare and tossed it into the darkness, revealing millions of shadow creatures, all whispering the same phase.
"Make Us Whole."
Terra turned back to Aaira as they both heard Faye repeat those words.
"Faye," whispered Aaira, as Faye's eyes were glowing orange.
"We must be whole. Make us whole again," Faye simply said as her mouth began to grow and expand, growing large as an orange static light blasted out and blasted Aaira's mind.
Aaira could feel it; the pillar was giving her information on how to create the pillar—how to create it from dead remains. She needed to kill her friends. Yes, it was the only way, Aaira thought as she smiled.
"I'll make you whole again! I'll kill them all!" shouted Aaira.
"What the hell!" yelled Terra.
"Thank you," said Faye as she pulled Aaira closer, kissing her deeply and passionately.
"Fuck!" yelled Terra as the shadow monsters charged at them.
Terra was firing her sniper rifle and psychic powers at them as they kept coming. Aaira stood still as she watched Faye become a changer while kissing her. She was smiling. Terra was trying to shoot the giantChangerr, but the shadow creatures kept blocking her shots and tackling her, so she could only shoot the ones coming at her.
"Aaira, come on! Snap out of it!" cried Terra.
"They need to be made whole. To become one. They need me to become whole," spoke Aaira, as her mind was gone.
"Shit!"
Terra could hear a roar and looked back at Aaira, seeing the giantChangerr, now in entirely purple armor with a long purple horn coming from its forehead, breathing orange static energy. Soon, the pillar blasted off a power pulse, and billions of moons appeared from the darkness. One hovered over them, revealing it was alive, as its rock surface was purple flesh.
"MAKE US WHOLE! Make us whole, like our brothers and sisters! SET US FREE!"
"AAIRA!" shouted Terra as she was swarmed by shadow creatures blasting her with orange static.
Aaira could only see her friends back in the real world. She was going to help them, make them whole, and finally be at peace. She was going to fix everything, no matter what.
"Mark my words! My drill will open a hole, and that hole will be the path for those who want to help you see a better tomorrow. Tomorrow that she wants you to see! For her sake, move forward!" echoed Rain's voice as Aaira remembered those words.
"Help? What she wants..." whispered Aaira as she could see the honest Faye within the purpleChangerr and her sadness.
"MAKE US WHOLE!" shouted the moon
"No!" whispered Aaira as the orange static faded from her face.
"MAKE US WHOLE!" shouted the shadow creatures.
"No!" cried Aaira as she pushed the purpleChangerr off. "I'M NOT LETTING YOU CONTROL ME!"
"YOU WILL MAKE US WHOLE, AAIRA!" shouted the shadow creatures as they swarmed her, as she tried to fight them off.
Everyone could see the two twitching and foaming at the mouth in the real world.
"This isn't good! Wanda, what do we do?" Rain asked as she held Terra's head up.
"I don't know! I have never seen anything like this! Their minds are completely in chaos!" cried Wanda as she tried to find any regular brain activity with her device but found crazy signals.
As everyone was dealing with Aaira and Terra, Berry backed away and sat on the ground, crying as she tried to block out the noises. She was scared; she didn't know what was happening or why it was happening. Her friends were dying, and she couldn't do anything but sit there and be useless, as she had lost her magical girl magic.
"Tank, what should I do? Without you, I'm nothing! I'm so scared. I wish you were here." cried Berry as she shut her eyes and rocked back and forth.
"Berry..." called out a caring male voice.
She opened her eyes and saw Tank, her partner turtle. She couldn't believe it, as he was glowing in the air.
"Silly Berry, don't cry. I'm here."
"Tank!" cried Berry as she jumped and hugged him, only to phase through him and fall into the dirt.
"What the hay?"
"Oh, silly, Berry, I'm a ghost."
"Huh, a ghost?" asked Berry as she sat back up and was confused.
"Yeah, Berry, a ghost. Listen, Berry, I know it's scary right now, but you must be brave. I know you're scared; we all are. But this isn't about us; it's about them."
"Yeah, I know," whispered Berry, looking at everyone.
"Tank..." whispered Berry.
"Being brave is another form of loyalty; don't forget that, Berry. Now, go, help your friends." Tank spoke as he touched her forehead. Her body was glowing blue, and a yellow halo appeared above her head.
"Blue..." whispered Berry as her tears fell.
"...Berry," said Tank as he smiled and vanished.
"No!" cried Berry as he was gone. "TANK!"
Berry searched but found nothing; he was truly gone, yet he wasn't. Like he was still here, within her heart, it was fueling her to be brave, like he wanted.
"No more. No more being weak. No more hiding in the background. I'm not the Magical Blue Berry Girl anymore." Berry said, standing up and looking at her friends.
"I'm the Magical Element Berry Girl!" yelled Berry as a giant flash of blue light covered the area, blinding everyone and making the wind blow like crazy.
"What the hell is happening!" shouted Rain as she held Wanda, who was holding Terra's body, and the others covered their eyes.
The blue light faded, and standing in front of everyone was Berry, back in her magical girl form but wearing a new outfit; it was white with rainbow trimming; she had a yellow halo above her head; she had large white angel wings; and finally, the ground under her was a blue magical circle.
"Berry, is that you?" asked Flare.
"Yes, it's me, Flare." smiled Berry as her wings flapped and hovered off the ground.
"How?" asked Nightfall, having seen this power before...
"I realized that I shouldn't let the deaths of others control me and make me feel scared and weak. I should be brave and strong, or I'll never live the life I want and be true to myself. And being true to myself means helping others. I'm no longer the Magical Blue Berry Girl but the Element Berry Girl. And I'm sorry for worrying all of you."
"Berry..." whispered Rain, as she started to feel something, like she was indeed the most useless person here.
"Aaira and Terra need me! Please let me go; I promise I'll come back."
"Alright, but...promise us," replied Flare, with a worried look on her face.
"I promise, now, stand back!" said Berry as she flew and landed next to Terra.
"Don't worry, Terra, I'm here," Berry touched her and disappeared.
Berry appeared in the dark void with millions of moons and shadow creatures. She could see everything. She looked around and noticed Aaira and Terra fighting the shadow creatures.
"Hold on, girls, I'm here!" said Berry as she held up her new wand, which became a long staff, and the end had a blue star as it floated above her hoof.
"Make. Us. Whole!" said the shadows as all the moons glowed and fired orange static beams at her.
"Star Shine!" shouted Berry as her star glowed and fired off millions of beams, and the orange beams clashed with an explosion.
"We must be whole. We must have our sister!" said the Moons as their rocky bodies began to break and their colorful flesh was shown.
"Element Beam!" shouted Berry as she shot a beam and hit the closest moon, making a sizeable exposed hole.
"WE MUST BE WHOLE!" cried the moon as their whole flesh broke apart, revealing thousands of Changers and shadow creatures, all charging at her.
"No more!" cried Berry as her wings flapped and her staff glowed blue. "NO MORE DEATH!"
The blue light from her staff grew, reaching the size of the moon and soon the size of the sun, making the monsters stop.
"What the..." said Terra, watching all this as the shadow creatures stopped and looked at Berry.
"LOYALTY STAR SHINE CAKE EXPLOSION!" shouted Berry as the light blasted forward and consumed the monster and the moon into a huge blueberry cake. It soon blew up, leaving nothing behind.
The light died down, and there was nothing but the other few moons, the shadow creatures, and the purpleChangerr, which was looking at her. Berry charged at the shadow creatures, blasted the ones off Aaira, held her head, and could see her opening her eyes.
"I'll never let someone die again; I'll be brave and strong for everyone like you would have," smiled Berry.
"I'm sorry," whispered Aaira.
"No, no, it's fine. I'll always be here for you, no matter what. So please, stand up and smile. I'll always protect you, no matter what."
"You promise?"
"I promise. So please, Aaira, stand up and finally face your demons. Finally, end it. I'll be by your side. Everyone will be by your side, so don't be scared of what you need to do; we're all here for you," Berry said with a sweet and warm smile.
"Thank you, Berry. And I'm sorry." Aaira said as she stood up and turned to Terra, protected by a blue barrier from Berry.
Aaira turned to the purpleChangerr and faced it down.
"Faye..." whispered Aaira.
The purple-changer just growled and charged at her. With its blade arm up, it impaled Aaira through the chest and was face-to-face with her, but Aaira wasn't in pain and showed no signs of blood.
"Who am I? Your lover? The one shred, one light, one bright, shining star you clung to in this universe? Or am I your guilt? Because you can't get over the fact that I'm dead? Do you feel responsible? Who… Am… I?!? Why do you keep fighting me? Why can't you let go?" shouted theChangerr as it had tears in its eyes.
Aaira couldn't hold her emotions in anymore and began crying. She could hear all the other Changers and shadow creatures repeating her question as they surrounded and watched them.
"Why can't I let go? Is it because you remind me that I'm the reason you're dead? Is it because if I let you go, it makes it final? You were my everything. And I let you go. I had nothing left, but I finally got to let you go. It wasn't my fault. You're not her. She's gone. It's just the guilt, sorrow, and regret I cling to, but I must accept it. Faye is gone, and I need to move forward because that's what she wanted for me; same with the others, " Aaira said with tears.
TheChangerr pulled its blade out and changed back into Faye as she touched Aaira's cheek.
"Step 3: acceptance," said Faye as she glowed into a bright purple light and became a tiny moon the size of a basketball.
"MAKE US WHOLE!" cried the other moons, but the tiny moon flew towards the Aaira side and spoke.
"No, I would rather make Aaira whole again. You and the rest will die by our hands; you won't have your way anymore!" spoke the moon as the other moons glowed.
"YOU DARE GO AGAINST US, SISTER!?" cried the moons.
"Yes, being part of Aaira and seeing her suffering made me realize that you all were the ones that caused all this suffering. I may have been created from her grief and sorrow, but it was because of her pain and suffering that I was able to think, feel, and...love, which made me part of her. So, no, I will not make her suffer anymore so that I will stop all of you. Tell Mother we're coming for her, my dear brothers and sisters."
"SO BE IT."
The moons glow and fire a massive orange beam at them, but Berry and the tiny moon deflect it back at them, destroying the void and finally freeing Aaira from them.
"You can open your eyes now, Aaira," said the small moon.
"Huh?" asked Aaira as she opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness and the purple pillar, which slowly glows with a rainbow aura pulse.
"The Pillar...me...use me to get inside the comet. Let's help that little girl with her suffering. Let's free her as well." spoke the small moon.
"Right," replied Aaira as the pillar grew small and became one with the moon.
"Let's go, Aaira...together." the small moon softly said as Aaira held her like a child.
Aaira closed her eyes and could hear the moon singing Faye's little song, Finally calling her by her new name.
"Yes, let's go..."
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world, so high, like a diamond in the sky!
"Let's go, Little Star," whispered Aaira, as they became a little light within the darkness, soon becoming a diamond in the sky and soon a tiny star as the others watched them in the sky. Soon, a blue and black star joined them as the blood-crying comet looked at them. Shedding a tear and sadness in its huge eye...
End of ch. 9
Your Name Across The Multiverse
Chapter 10: Homecoming and Reuion
"Whoa!" shouted Aaira as she was hanging for dear life on Little Star.
"What's wrong?" asked Little Star.
"Sorry, I'm not used to hanging from a basketball-sized moon!" shouted Aaira as she almost fell off while Berry and Heat watched them.
"Don't worry, just don't fall," said Little Star in a smug tone.
"That doesn't help!" shouted Aaira as Berry laughed.
"So, how are you doing this?" asked Heat in a severe tone.
"We could try combing our powers and blasting through its hard and slimy shell," Little Star said.
"Well, let's try it then," said Berry as she and Heat glowed with their powers.
Berry used her magic to create a blue barrier around the gang on the ground and brought them to them, explaining the plan.
"So, we're just going to blast right into it? Like Bolt did?" asked Rain in a worried tone.
"Yes, so everyone is ready?" asked Little Star.
"Yes!" said everyone.
"Then, let's go save this child!" shouted Heat as Aaira, holding Little Star, sat on Heat's back while Berry sat on Heat's head and held her black horn.
Nightfall watched as the three started to glow with their powers. She looked at the rest of the gang, watching them check on each other's gear or small plans when they got inside, and knew everything would be alright. She could feel that everything would be okay. She saw the giant comet looking down at them and shed a tear. She knew why it was crying—it was afraid and lonely. She felt a hand on her head and saw Rain smiling at her.
"It will be okay, Nightfall; we're saving your daughter," said Rain softly.
Nightfall nodded and nuzzled her hand, taking Rain by surprise.
"What was that for?" asked Rain, smiling and confused.
"Because I can see you hurting, dear. Don't bottle your feelings away. We're here for you. I'm here for you. I'm a mother, and I can sense this kind of thing." spoke Nightfall, looking at Rain.
"Thank you, Nightfall. But let's focus on this mission; there's nothing wrong." Rain fake-smiled.
"If you say so..." said Nightfall, feeling slightly sad for the human.
"Okay, everyone, hold on, this is going to be a wild ride!" shouted Heat.
"Ready?" asked Little Star.
"Yes. On 3...1!" shouted Berry.
"2."
"3!"
"Fire!" shouted the three as they took off like rockets with the others locked behind them, blasting across the universe filled with black ink slime as they headed towards the comet. Their speed was like a shooting star; from afar, it looked like a blue, black, and purple blazing star.
"Let's go!" shouted Berry as the comet's eye glared at them, reaching towards it but never reaching it.
"Hey guys, we're moving, right?" asked Rain.
"I don't know, but we are, aren't we?" asked Nightfall.
"We are, so what's wrong?" asked Flare as she and everyone looked around.
"Why are we not closer? Why are we not reaching the comet?" asked Berry
Wanda looked around and could hear the blasting wind around them, so she knew they were moving. Yet the comet had no signs of movement, as its bloody comet tail wasn't moving like a comet would do; it just froze there in place. Something wasn't right.
"We're moving, but yet..." said Heat as the others tried to figure it out.
"We're not moving," stated Wanda as she realized what was happening.
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Nightfall, looking at Wanda.
"The reality of this universe, the laws and rules of physics, don't exist here. Nothing exists here now; it's a blank canvas covered in black ink, and the comet is using this power to trap us," said Wanda.
"Wait, if the reality of this world doesn't exist, then what about us? Why can we still use our powers?" asked Flare, checking on her powers and seeing that they were working.
"We can because we're not from this universe. Our reality rules are still affecting us. The comet is using its own reality rules to trap us and keep us here," stated Wanda.
"This will explain why I'm here with you all; I should only be within Aaira's mind. But I'm not," said Little Star.
"Okay, so what should we do then, Wanda?" asked Heat as she kept flying, even though it was meaningless.
Wanda started to think as she began to walk back and forth in the center of the blue barrier. The gang watched her as she was feeling and looking at the comet.
"It's not a comet; it's a universe," stated Wanda.
"A universe?" asked Heat, stopping and looking at the comet.
"Yes, I've been thinking, how can it control the laws of reality when it couldn't before? It's like I said before. A blank canvas is covered in black ink, but its ink comes from a universe of laws and rules like our own powers. The comet isn't a comet; it's a universe, a destroyed universe that is trapped in Nightfall's daughter." stated Wanda, as everyone was stunned by the fact that the comet was a destroyed universe. "I'm right, aren't I, Nightfall?" asked Wanda, turning to her.
"Yes, you are. After destroying their planet, they scatter their universe with their powers. Leaving one thing from that universe."
"And that would be...?" asked Heat.
"Our home..." replied Nightfall.
"I see, then maybe..." whispered Wanda as she started to think again.
"You're thinking about combining our powers to force a reaction between our powers and the comet's reality powers," Heat said.
"Yes, how did you guess that?" asked Wanda, confused.
"Bolt told me once that her Discord trapped her in an artificial reality. It was called the Null Space, and using her speed and Abby's speed, they broke through it by scattering the speed and light barrier, as we had seen before when she created that sonic rainboom. If we do the same and I can create a sonic rainboom, we can-"
"We can scatter this reality and escape it. Yes, it can work if Bolt already did it," Wanda finished.
"But can you fly fast enough? We have seen your life, Heat; you might be fast, but not as fast as Bolt," asked Nightfall.
"That will be a problem, but we're not alone," said Heat, pointing at Flare, who looked confused.
"Huh? Me?" asked Flare, shocked and nervous.
"Yes, we saw your speed. It's almost the same as Bolt. Help me break the speed and light barrier. Can you do it?" asked Heat.
Flare looked around, and maybe she could do it. She was nervous because she was indeed fast; she wasn't as fast as Pink Bolt, a speedster in her universe, but she had to try. If it meant saving Nightfall's daughter, she had to. She wouldn't be slow in saving another little girl's life—not again.
"Yeah, I can. Let's do it," answered Flare.
"Yes, we must hurry," warned Nightfall.
"Alright, let's hope this works," said Heat, looking at Wanda, who nodded.
Flare flew out of the barrier and helped Aaira into it, as there was no way Aaira's suit could handle the speed force. She was given Little Star, flew next to Heat, and put her arm around her neck. It was super warm.
"Let's do it to it!" cheered Berry as she popped her face between the two, making Flare, Heat, and Little Star laugh.
"Ready?" asked Heat, smiling and beaming with hope, as Bolt would be proud of her, counting on others rather than doing it alone.
"Yes!" spoke the three girls.
"Alright, then, let's scatter this jail!" shouted Heat as she and Flare started to move faster and faster until a white, black, and blue streak was seen as they soared across the endless slime sea.
They kept pushing harder and faster, and Flare was having fun; it was like being free. As her speed and Heat's speed scattered and hit the light and speed barrier, they could see a rainbow cone forming around them. They all smiled and kept on going.
"More, come on!" shouted Heat.
"You got it!" spoke Flare, pushing and flying faster, as her speed increased with Heat's, while Star and Berry's element powers combined with Heat's Super Harmony Diamonds powers.
"Mother..." spoke the comet just as the gang touched the surface of its eye.
A bright flash covered everything.
"Mommy! Show me how to fly!"
"Sure thing, little sweet pea!"
Everyone could see the person who looked like Bolt and a small pegasus filly with a black mane with a bit of rainbow color, light blue skin, and a dark purple jacket as she tried to fly with her little wings. They were in a garden with a massive tree in the middle.
"Sky, I don't think she's ready yet," said Nightfall as she entered the garden with snacks.
"Nah, she is; just look at her," Sky smiled as the filly jumped in the air and hopped a little.
"I'll help you, dear," spoke Nightfall, putting down snacks and helping the filly up as her wings opened and flew a few inches off the ground.
"I think your daughter wants to fly with her wings...and way higher than that," replied Sky, smirking, as Nightfall glared at her, but the filly jumped out of her mother's arms.
"Mommy! Momma! look!"
Sky and Nightfall looked to see the filly hovering off the ground.
"Good job, kiddo," smiled Sky as Nightfall put her down.
"Your wings are a lot bigger and stronger than before, so maybe they will grow," spoke Nightfall, rubbing her head.
"I want them to grow big and strong so I can fly with my mommy!" replied the filly, smiling.
"How about right now?" said Sky as she grabbed her daughter and took off to the sky, leaving Nightfall behind to worry.
The filly was scared up in the sky, above the city, as she hugged her mother and didn't want to let go. She had never been so high up and fast before.
"Don't worry, I'll hold on, and if you want, I'll teach you how to fly, like real pegasi." Sky smiled, looking at her.
"Really?!"
"Yeah, just let me see those wings of yours."
"Okay, mommy!" smiled the filly, letting go and opening her wings.
"Now, feel the winds against your wings. Feel the wind around you," spoke Sky, watching the filly and still holding her.
The filly did as she was told and felt the wind against her wings and all around her.
"Now, let's practice," said Sky, smiling and starting to fly faster and higher as the filly tried to follow but failed.
"Come on, I know you can do it. Just like when we were running together in the park. Just let the wind guide you," said Sky.
The filly looked at her mother and closed her eyes. She thought back to running and playing in the park with both of her mothers.
"Let the wind guide you," said Sky repeatedly.
Soon, the filly opened her eyes and started to fly faster and faster. Her mother was surprised; she could feel the speed as the filly flew next to her, finally letting her go.
"You're flying," said Sky, smiling.
"Yay, I'm flying!" smiled the filly, flying with her mother.
"That was amazing," said Sky, smiling. As the filly stopped and was flying, as her wings were moving, the winds were hitting against her wings, just like when they were running.
"It is," replied the filly, smiling at her mother.
"Want to do a cool trick?" asked Sky, grinning.
"Yeah!"
"Then, let's go!" cheered Sky as she grabbed her and rocketed straight up. The filly could feel the force of her mother's speed; it was hard to keep her eyes, but she could see something like a rainbow cone forming. A second later, she heard a loud noise and felt a tremendous force she had never felt before.
She could feel it and, soon, see it. Her mother showed her the most relaxed and wonderful thing in her life. She could see a considerable rainbow halo flying across the sky, blowing all the clouds away. She was speechless as she was flying with her.
"What do you think, little pea?"
"It's...beautiful."
"Just like you," spoke Sky, smiling. "Never forget that. You aren't my past; you are your future."
The filly turned to her mother, only to reveal her face was half covered in black slime.
"MOMMY!" said the filly as she could see the burned and charred body of Sky falling out of the sky.
The filly didn't move, as she was still in shock.
"Mommy!" cried the filly as her slime side was crying.
The memory vanished as the gang broke through the eye, scattering it, blasting into the comet's hollow center, and seeing a city with prism lights all over it. They kept going, but something was wrong with Heat and Flare. They were still in shock, and their bodies were turning solid colors like before. They crashed into a building, breaking it and landing on a street.
"Woah, are you two alright?" shouted Wanda as she rushed to the four.
"We're fine. Just...what was that just now?" asked Heat, holding her head.
"A memory maybe...not ours, though," said Flare as she looked at Nightfall, who was crying as she helped the others up.
"So, this is where you grew up?" asked Nightfall to herself as she looked everywhere. "Yes, I remember this area. It's near the water park."
Everyone was confused as they watched Nightfall talking to herself.
"Look, I was crazy once, so I can say this: she's freaking nuts. Are you sure we can trust her?" whispered Aaira to the gang.
"You shouldn't talk, Aaira!" shouted Lil Star as she pounded Aaira's head, making an upset puff of cheeks sound, causing everyone to laugh.
"Hey, guys," said Heat, pointing at the prism lights, which were gathering and becoming a window with an image of something.
They walked up, and they could see another universe. In this universe, a human boy with rainbow hair was fighting against the US army as if they were trying to catch him. He called out his mother, and a tall, rainbow-haired woman appeared from the sky and slammed into the soldiers, blasting them all away. She reappeared behind her son and touched his shoulder, smiling, as they stood behind a destroyed city.
"This is another version of us?" Rain asked, amazed and shocked.
"What is this?" Wanda asked as she touched the window, seeing that it was solid and hard.
"Remember what we said?" Nightfall replied as she walked over. We saw your lives and adventures. This was how. a window that only appears in the Wall of Between. For some reason, they gathered around her."
"Why?" Berry asked as she looked out another window. She saw an anthro Twilight carrying a blue cat with a bit of rainbow fur.
"Better yet, can you explain everything, and I mean everything? We need to understand what happened," demanded Terra, walking to her.
"Yes, you need to know everything," said Nightfall, raising her hoof. "Hold on, not here and not now. We need to find Sky first, right, Twilah?" asked Nightfall to herself. "Yeah, we have seen her memories, and we know what happened, but Sky needs to remember her real self, and it will be easier for both sides to explain," replied Nightfall to herself as she lowered her hoof. "You are right. Sorry, you two."
Everyone looked at each other while Aaira did a cuckoo sign with her fingers, which again got smacked by Lil Star.
"Nightfall, are there other people within you?" asked Wanda, worried and confused.
"Yes, there's me, Twilight, and Twilah," said Nightfall, smiling.
"Who?" repeated everyone.
"Oh yeah, sorry. The ones who touch the rainbow shards: A human version and another alicorn version of "us" are in this body. I needed a body to control. Again, we'll explain later," replied Nightfall, rubbing her neck.
"I have a question that can least be answered. Where did this place come from? It's not like any city I've seen before," asked Flare as she pointed around.
"It's my home. Her home—this is Spark City. The remains of my universe."
During the events outside the comet, Bolt and Blitz landed on a rooftop and could see the prism windows, which Blitz quickly explained. Before Bolt could ask a question, they could see an explosion near them. They could see Layla flying out of the smoke and crashing into a building.
"Layla!? She's alive?" shouted Bolt as she blasted towards her, with a confused Blitz following her.
"Alive? Did she die?"
"We saw her and others being eaten by the slime monster you saw before. We thought they were killed," explained Bolt as she landed in the broken hole of the building that Layla crashed into. They could tell she was severely hurt, and her left leg was broken and bleeding; she was trying to crawl away as she saw Bolt and Blitz.
"Layla!" shouted Bolt. Layla swung her sword at Bolt's neck, but it bounced off, confusing Bolt. Why did Layla attack her?
"STAY AWAY!" shouted Layla as she crawled more. "Stay away. I won't let you hurt me or anyone."
"What are you talking about? It's me, Bolt, your friend," said Bolt as she walked to her.
"...Bolt?" spoke Layla as she looked at her, tears in her eyes. "Are you...Bolt? You look..."
"Yeah, the one and only. Just in my hyper form," said Bolt, smiling and giving her a wing thumbs up, which made Layla tear up and cry as she hugged her, confusing her again.
"Bolt! Thank god! Are the others here?"
"No, the others are outside of the comet."
"Outside?" asked Layla as she looked at her, confused.
"We're inside the comet right now. This is the remains of my universe," explained Blitz, but quickly backed away as Layla summoned her rune magic and was ready to fight Blitz, but Bolt got between them.
"Hold up! What's going on?" asked Bolt, confused and scared.
"We have been fighting "her," which felt like hours! She's unstoppable!" shouted Layla.
"Her? You mean..." whispered Blitz as she looked out the window and looked for something.
"We? Are the others still alive?" asked Bolt as Layla got up, limping, as she was in pain.
"Regeneration? Is she covered in slime?" asked Blitz, worried.
"No. She's..." replied Layla before something crashed into the building, blasting debris and smoke everywhere, cutting the conversation as Aero was laying there, badly bruised and breathing heavily, and a figure standing over her as the smoke wasn't clearing yet.
As the smoke cleared, the figure was Blitz, but her eyes were white, and a rainbow halo behind her back was spinning.
"Welcome home." smirked the clone.
Further back, when Layla and the others were eaten by the black slime, Layla, Eirika, and Aero awaken in a destroyed highway area, confused about where they are. Eirika and Aero are more confused by the strange metal objects with wheels.
"Where are we? Home?" asked Layla as she looked around, seeing no sky, only a rock ceiling.
"No. I don't think so," replied Eirika, as she and Aero poked the strange object until the alarm went off, making them attack it. Layla sighed as she saw the two attacking the already-destroyed car.
"I'll check ahead," said Layla, leaving the two alone.
"Hey, look at this," spoke Eirika, showing Aero a flat metal-looking item. She took it out of the pocket of a skeleton pony but fell forward in the driver seat, spooking Aero. Aero was about to attack said skeleton, but Eirika calmed her down, showing her it wasn't alive like the ones back in their world.
Aero looked at the strange item and looked back at Eirika, who told her she wanted her to keep it. Aero wasn't sure, as it could be some trap or weapon. She tried to knock it out of her hands, as she didn't want anything to harm Eirika, but Eirika fought with her until the glass surface turned on, spooking the two.
Eirika and Aero weren't sure what to do, as they didn't know much about this world or its items, so they touched it. The glass surface had numbers on it. Eirika quickly realized it was a puzzle of some sort. She tried different number inputs while Aero cheered her on.
Layla looked away from them and sighed again. She needed to tell them what a "phone" was to them; this was over. She walked further ahead of the highway, which had destroyed cars and other vehicles that weren't from her world. She could see the skeleton bodies in every car, and as Layla could tell, whatever killed them all was done within seconds, as there were no bodies on the road, none at all.
She walked past and was at the end of the highway bridge. As the remaining road was broken, she looked around. There was no sign of anything. No signs of life at all. The only thing she could see was the lifeless city.
"What kind of world is this? Is there no one here?" Layla was thinking to herself.
She could hear Aero and Eirika shouting. She looked back and could see the two playing with the phone. It seemed Eirika got it to unlock, and the two were having fun, which made Layla smile.
"At least they are happy," thought Layla as she joined them and heard why they were fighting. It seemed Eirika had found a phone game called Flames Emblems Heroes, a gacha game, but Aero wanted to pull on the banner.
Eirika showed Layla she could summon heroes from other worlds on the phone using orbs, the game currency. Eirika showed her how it works, and she could summon five heroes at a time. She was amazed that his item could summon such great heroes.
"It's a game. They're not real people," said Layla.
"What about us? We're from other worlds too, you know?" Eirika replied with puffy cheeks, making Layla laugh.
"Okay, okay. Your right. You have a point. Besides, in the multiverse, maybe they're real."
Aero made horse noises as she agreed with Layla.
Eirika was happy, but a few moments later, the phone was out of battery and turning off. The two were depressed and wanted to continue the game. Layla told them she'd recharge later, but they needed to find out where they were; they needed to get off the highway bridge and get to the street below.
Aero used her wings to carry the other two as they flew over and landed on the ground. They continued walking and saw more and more destruction. The three were getting worried and nervous as they saw more and more bodies. All skeletons, as the buildings were broken, cars were destroyed, and there were still no signs of life. Soon, Aero made some horse noises, and Eirika agreed with her horse.
"She's right; we should find a place to stay for the night," said Eirika.
"No. We should try to find a way out of this world," said Layla, crossing her arms.
"Look, we were in a fight and walking for how long? We need to rest and recover our stamina. Besides, we can't do anything when we're tired," Eirika replied, crossing her arms, too, and copying her.
Layla sighed as she didn't argue for it and hated how Eirika was in the right. She sighed again and gave in.
"Fine, fine. We'll look for a place to rest," said Layla as the other two cheered.
They continued their search and found a school, which was destroyed and in ruins like everything else. As they entered, they all felt sadness as they spotted the small skeleton bodies, which Layla could tell were once kids.
"What...what happened in this world?" said Layla sadly.
Aero and Eirika saw death on the battlefield; even children were killed by bandits or the Demon Dragon cult. It still wasn't easy to see, though, especially in this world.
They continued their search but were surprised at the rooms they saw, as they had pictures on the walls and desks, which had weird items like the one they found—all a mystery to them but not to Layla, as she had seen laptops before. But still, Eirika and Aero were curious about it. They were still sad to see the child skeletons and the destruction of the place. They entered a new hallway, as the doors were missing, and off to the side of the hallway, they could see an adult skeleton pony, as it was covering the small ones.
"Let's keep moving," said Layla, looking away and continuing their search for a place to rest.
They entered another room, which seemed to be a teacher's lounge or an office. They looked around, as the place was trashed, but there were no bodies. They agreed to rest here. Eirika gathered all the paper she could see and started a fire. Eirika reached into the Aero saddle bag as they sat down and took out the ration bags. She tossed one to Layla, who caught it, opened the bag, and saw what was inside.
"It's apples and berries," said Eirika, seeing Layla looking at it.
"Apples? Are they fresh?" asked Layla curiously.
"I wouldn't eat them if they weren't," replied Eirika.
"Fair enough."
The two started eating while Aero watched the flames. As they finished their food, Eirika asked Layla about their world.
"Are we...inside that slime monster?"
"I think so."
"But...how? Did it absorb us?"
"I'm not sure, but it could explain why this world is so dead," replied Layla, looking out the window at the destruction and lifeless city.
"If that's true, how are we still alive?"
"I'm not sure...but if I have to guess, that monster didn't fully absorb us."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe my barrier saved us?" replied Layla, as she remembered the fight but quickly remembered something and spoke to Eirika with worry. "Hey, is your dragon...dead?"
"I don't sense Helios echo," whispered Eirika, looking at her dim, colorless rainbow sword.
"Oh..." replied Layla, not sure how to respond.
"She's not dead! She can't be! I have to pray harder! Helios is...she's..." spoke Eirika, as she couldn't finish her sentence as she put her sword down. "Maybe it's for the best?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Helios was trying to stop the Demon Dragon, but she told me something after she gave me the sword. She told me my friend, Twila, a mage in training, carries a curse. A curse that can seal away the demon dragon. The cult gave her that curse when she was a child to seal Helios away, but I freed her from them. Helios wants me to use Twila to seal away the Demon Dragon within her..." replied Eirika, not finishing her sentence.
"Kill your friend, and in turn, kill the Demon Dragon, right?" Layla said, which made Eirika nod her head and say, "That's messed up."
"That's what I told her! But Helios said this was the only way. But now that her echo is gone, I don't have the means to kill the demon or my friend. I should be happy, but..."
"You're not."
"I just... don't want her to die, but I can't turn my back on my world! Should one death outweigh millions of lives?"
"..."
"You know what's the worst part?" said Eirika, which made Layla look at her.
"What?"
"Twila is not only my friend, but she's like a little sister to me. A sister I never had... I can't do it! It's not fair! Why!?" shouted Eirika, crying, "Why can't I save my friend without killing her?"I was ready to kill the demon dragon! So why can't I save her?"
"..."
"Why did Helios tell me this? It feels so evil," whispered Eirika, crying her eyes out.
Layla wasn't sure what to say or do. She knew it was a bad situation, but she couldn't do anything to help Eirika. She was about to reach out and hug her, but Aero put her face on Eirika's head and nuzzled her, forcing Layla to pull back.
"I have a friend in my world; she has the chaos disease. Her name is Nova. We were once close like sisters; we did everything together, but she became infected and distanced herself from me. It worsened when her infected magic came to light one day and destroyed her home and the city block. She had weird flame magic; it felt warm but cold. My teacher, Nanna, took her in and tried to suppress the sickness by creating the device on my wrist. It worked, but one day, she lost it and infected me," said Layla as the other two looked at her.
"Is she...?"
"No, she's still alive. After returning from her craze madness, she ran away after realizing what she had done to me. I told her I'd find a cure for her and all those infected by the sickness. I promise her I'll bring her the dawn. She told me she couldn't wait and never to stop being an optimistic idiot. I told her I wouldn't and that I loved her. She smiled and left. I hadn't seen her until three years ago. She gathered all the infected people and created an army. She used them to take down all our world's kingdoms. She became..."
"Evil?"
"No, more like a terrorist. She wanted a cure but didn't trust the kingdom because of how the kingdom treated the infected. She wasn't wrong to go against them, but hurting innocent people caught in the crossfire was wrong. I don't blame her for being infected, but her actions were wrong."
"I see..."
"I finally faced her and tried to talk to her, but she didn't want to listen to my promises or hope. The infection started to make her go mad, and she killed the forces that were with her. I might have to put her down, but I don't think I can."
"Because she's like your sister, right?"
"Yes."
"..."
"But I will protect the ones I care about. Protect the infected and those hurt by her madness, and I'll promise her the dawn she wants to see, even if it means killing her," spoke Layla, determined, making Eirika realize she was wrong about her.
"I'm sorry. I guess I was a little wrong about you. With the whole...evil-looking magic," said Eirika, smiling awkwardly.
"Don't worry about it. My teacher said many people fear my magic, especially the dark runes, but she told me I should be proud of myself for using my infected magic for good," replied Layla, smiling and making the other two smile.
Everyone went quiet, just looking at the fire until Eirika looked at her sword and touched it. Layla is so determined to save her world, even if it means killing her best friend, that Eirika feels ashamed of herself. She is scared of the future and what she has to do.
"Hey, Layla..."
"Hm?"
"Is killing one person to save many a bad thing?"
"No."
"What?"
"Sometimes, we have to make hard decisions. Sacrificing one life to save many others Is not evil. What's evil is doing nothing. Eirika, I know you are asking yourself: Is sacrificing your friend to save your world worth sacrificing? I would tell you if I had the answer, but I don't. It falls on you."
"To make the decision, I know."
"Let me finish. It falls on you and your friend."
"What!?" said Eirika, finally looking Layla in the eyes.
"You aren't alone in making the decision. Your friend must also decide her life is worth dying to save the world."
"But if I tell her..."
"You'll have a better understanding of her answer...and yours. Do you think you can decide to sacrifice her?"
"No..."
"Do you want her to sacrifice herself?"
"No! I would rather die!"
"Then you can only know what to do by speaking to her. You can't let her decide for you or yourself for her."
"...right."
"Besides, talking with her might create another choice—a choice where she doesn't die and the demon dragon does die. You need to talk to her; have faith in her and yourself," smiled Layla, as she could see Eirika clutching her fists and crying.
"Thank you. Thank you for listening and helping me out. I'm glad I met you. I'm glad I was wrong about you."
"It's no problem. I'm always glad to help."
Eirika stood up, wiped her tears away, walked over to Layla, stabbed her sword into the ground, and kneeled to her.
"Layla, make a knight oath pack with me. Please."
"Eirika, stand up, please."
"No, not until you agree."
"Eirika..."
"Please, I know we don't know each other that well, but I just want to make sure we can help each other."
"Eirika, you have Aero, and I'll be fine. Trust me."
"I do. But please, Layla."
"Okay, okay. I agree."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Then I, Princess Eirika, make an oath pack with you, Layla. I'll follow your advice and have faith in Twila and myself. And..."
"And?"
"I want you to save your friend! Don't end her life!"
"Eirika, she might be too far gone."
"DIDN'T YOU TELL ME TO HAVE FAITH IN MY FRIEND!" shouted Eirika, interrupting Layla and making her stun.
"I did..." whispered Layla.
"Good! Then have faith in Nova! Have faith in your beloved sister; she'll see the dawn in her way and return from the darkness! Have faith, have faith..." cried Eirika as she couldn't hold back her tears.
Layla was lost for words. She was ready to put down her dear friend, even if it was the only way to save her, but yet Eirika didn't want her to kill her and have faith in her like she told Eirika to do. Why didn't she take her advice? Was she ready to give up and kill Nova without letting her live? Just like that?
"Okay," whispered Layla as Eirika looked up, seeing her crying.
"You'll save her?"
"Yes. I'll have faith in her and save her."
"You'll promise me?"
"Yes. I promise. I'll find a way to save Nova and all the infected," smiled Layla.
Eirika pulled her sword from the floor, stood up, and placed the blade on Layla's shoulder.
"As princess, I knight you. From this day forward, you are known as Layla. The Knight of Dawn and the Protector of the Infected, May you protect them from harm and show them the light," spoke Eirika.
"I will."
"May your words and actions be true, and may your strength be enough to face any challenge."
"It will be."
Eirika nodded, pulled back her sword, and put it back on her back.
"As a future queen, I'll follow your lesson, and if I ever go against it, I'll give up my title and throne as proof of breaking the pack. This is my oath, and may it bind us."
"May the oath be true," smiled Layla as they shook hands.
"Thank you," smiled Eirika, happy to have a knight and friend by her side.
"I was wrong about you, Eirika. You're a great swordswoman and knight. Just like Lady Spitflames. I'm glad we met."
"Me too, Layla. Me too."
Both girls finally started to get along, making Aero smile at them, but suddenly heard something and hurried to the window.
"Aero?" asked Eirika as she noticed her glaring at the window.
"Hey, what's up with her?"
"I don't know. She probably saw a rabbit."
"We haven't seen any animals," pointed out Layla.
"Oh. That's odd. Maybe a bird?"
"..."
The two went quiet as soon as they heard something. Layla got her sword out and walked to the window, trying to figure out what Aero was staring at or what they just heard. Eirika took out her sword and joined them. They looked but saw nothing until...
"Last time! Pineapple on pizza is the best thing in the world!" shouted Dr. Wonder as she floated by.
"Only a witch will love something so evil!" laughed Flash as she was behind her.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, witches are known for being evil."
"For liking pineapple on pizza!" shouted Wonder as she floated back to her.
"Yea! It's the devil's food!"
"Devil's fo...wait, you know, I can't believe you're making fun of my food choices. You have the stupidest and lamest taste ever. The best pizza ever is just plain cheese pizza! God, you are an idiot! Just a stupid, lame, boring meathead!" shouted Wonder as she turned to the school window and saw Eirika, Layla, and Aero with the most "what?" faces on them.
"Oh, hey, girls!" waved Flash.
"Pineapple is the devil's food, though," said Layla with a slight smirk.
"Christ..." muttered Wonder, as she was just done with them.
"See, even she agrees!" pointed out Flash, making Wonder glare at both of them.
Meanwhile, Eirika and Aero had never heard of "pizza" before but were shocked to see two grown women arguing about food. What was so wrong about a "pineapple"?
End of Chapter 10
Author's Note
fun fact, the kid and his mother that was seen in that universe, was going to be a character in the beta story(second world they visited by Dash and Twi gang) but i cut them out.
Your Name Across The Multiverse
Author's Note
note: needed to read Twilight Side by this point
Chapter 11: Your Name
"Why are you two even talking about pizza during this time?" asked Layla as she, Eirika, and Aero joined the other two outside.
"We just passed a pizza place when we woke up," replied Flash, shrugging her shoulders.
Layla sighed and asked Wonder if she knew where they were or how to escape.
"No, sorry. This city...is strange," explained Wonder, looking around.
"How so?"
"Just a feeling, but I notice something about the skeletons we encountered. You guys must have noticed something about them. Same with the city itself."
"Now that you mention it..." said Eirika.
"Yes. I just noticed what you meant. Even though they're skeletons and the city looks in ruins, it all looks like it happened not that long ago. as if they died recently. The buildings are damaged, but there aren't signs of dust or nature taking over, as there are signs of new trees and grass growing, which is odd as well." pointed out Layla.
"So what does that mean?" asked Flash, not getting it.
"It means whatever event killed them and damaged the city wasn't that long ago. I take it a year or two," explained Wonder.
"What kind of damage could do this, though?" asked Eirika.
"The type of magic we have seen before," said Wonder, looking at her.
"Huh?" replied all three. Aero made a horse noise.
Wonder stepped foot on the ground and took out her Harmony Stone, as it was protected from the slime with the pendant's magical aura. The stone was glowing, and its surface had a rainbow look, like before.
"Whatever destroyed this world, it was with its version of the harmony stone. I can feel it."
"Wait, what are you saying? Aren't all the Harmony Stone versions used for good?" shouted Eirika as she looked at her shield, which still had its orbs and was glowing, but her sword was still dim and dark. "Berry, Bolt, and Heat! They use their versions for good!"
"What about Aaira?" quickly replied Wonder, making her shut up and look away.
"I never really thought about it, using that kind of power...as a weapon," said Layla as she looked around and saw the results of said weapon.
"There is darkness in this world," said Wonder, holding the Harmony stone.
"How did you figure?" asked Flash, not getting why she was so severe now.
"If this world did end because of some evil wielding this universe version of the harmony stone, then it's still here. It doesn't feel the same as the slime monster we saw. It's...close?" explained Wonder as she looked north, where the blast zone of the weapon happened, as fewer buildings could be seen there.
"You're telling me that a world-destroying weapon is still here?" asked Layla, not liking that answer.
"Yes, we need to head there. Maybe we can use this universe stone to escape this place," Wonder answered, putting her stone back on her neck and walking north. However, Flash quickly pushed her away, and a blur clashed with Flash, sending her back into the school building.
"Flash!" Wonder screamed as she saw her attacker, confusing everyone. Was it Bolt? No, the way its eyes were pure white and had a rainbow halo behind its back as it was spinning. "You aren't Bolt; who are you? What are you!?"
"..."
"Answer me!" demanded Wonder as the fake Bolt charged at her, making her teleport away.
"Bolt!" asked Eirika, pointing her sword at her.
"That isn't Bolt!" stated Wonder, appearing next to her.
"Then, who is it?"
"I don't know. But if I had to guess...some monster that takes on the image of someone we know."
"Nah, I'm me," spoke the fake Bolt as she pounded the ground, creating cracks. "I'll protect her from you. You won't hurt her."
"Who do you think we'll hurt?" asked Layla, readying her blade.
"She doesn't want to talk to you. See any of you! My daughter wants to be alone and be happy," shouted Fake Bolt.
"Your daughter!" shouted Eirika, not believing what she heard.
"I am her mother. I'm protecting her!"
"That doesn't make sense!"
"It doesn't have to. Now, stay away!" shouted fake Bolt, charging at Eirika, but the princess swung her blade at the fake, only to have her blade bounce off her.
"What!?"
"Foolish. My body is the strongest in the world. Nothing can penetrate me. You can't hurt me. Besides, not with that useless colorless blade," gloated fake Bolt as she punched Eirika into the school building and crashed into Flash, who just got out of the hole.
"Ow," muttered Flash.
"Are you alright?" asked Eirika, helping her.
"Yea..."
Layla charged at the fake Pegasus, using her rune magic to fire off black bolts, but the fake didn't bother dodging them; she just took the hit. The bolts hit every part of her, but she didn't look damaged.
"Why isn't it working?" asked Layla, stopping her attacks.
"Told you, nothing can hurt me," gloated fake Bolt as Wonder teleported behind her.
"Flash!" shouted Wonder as she chained the fake with magic chains.
"Right!" shouted Flash as she charged at her and started to punch the fake repeatedly, but even Flash's super strength couldn't hurt her.
"Damn, why isn't this working!"
"I'm sorry, but I won't let you hurt her anymore," smiled fake Bolt, breaking the chains and grabbing Flash.
"What are you?" shouted Wonder, but she was bucked and sent flying, crashing into the school's entrance gate, while Flash was headbutted, sending her into a tree, and the fake was gone...until she was right near where Wonder was.
"Wonder!" shouted Layla, as she was the only one left standing.
"Don't worry. I'm not hurt."
"Good, because I'm going to finish the job." spoke the fake, but before she could attack, a rainbow bolt of lightning hit her, making her turn; seeing Eirika on Aero and using her shield to fire off rainbow lightning, which was the only thing that could hurt her.
"Eirika, are you alright?" asked Layla, as she could see blood on her face and her armor badly cracked.
"Yes, my armor protected my chest. I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy. But don't worry. We're getting out of here."
"Not happening," said fake Bolt as she fired off a rainbow beam at her, but the princess blocked it with her shield and fired off another lightning bolt, forcing her back as the fake could feel the pain.
"I will cover you! Get out of here!" shouted Eirika as the fake flew up.
"I'll help!" shouted Flash as she dropped-kicked the fake but was quickly swatted away.
"Go. Go. Go!" ordered Wonder as she and Layla ran from the school area.
"You aren't leaving!" shouted fake Bolt as she created a rainbow sphere in front of her mouth.
"Get away!" Layla ordered as her horns glowed, casting a dark magic barrier.
"Rainbow Brash!" shouted Eirika as she jumped off Aero, slamming the Rainbow Shield into the ground and firing off a giant rainbow beam that destroyed the ground, creating a smoke cover and blinding the fake.
The fake kept charging its attack and smirking as it sensed Eirika and Flash coming at her from both sides. She unleashed her beams and smacked them away with her wings. The beam soars right towards Wonder and Layla, crashing into the barrier and scattering it bit by bit.
"You can't hold this!" shouted Wonder as the beam tore up the barrier.
"I know! But it should buy you time. Keep running," stated Layla as she held it back.
"What!?"
"Just go, please!"
"You're insane! This won't last! You'll die!"
"I know. But I can't move! Just go!" ordered Layla.
"Why would I!?"
"Just do it, please. Trust me, we'll meet up again," begged Layla as the beam was breaking the barrier more and more.
"Damn it..." cursed Wonder as she cast a spell, and her body was wrapped in a magic bubble, then teleported away.
"Layla!" shouted Eirika as she stood from the ground, but she and Flash were pinned to the ground by the fake's wings.
"She'll die if this fake keeps this up!" pointed out Flash, as the beam almost broke the barrier.
Aero was flying above and could see the battle going on. She needed to get to her master, but she could tell the fake would take her down if she got close. Suddenly, Wonder appeared next to her.
"Aero! Are you okay?" shouted Wonder, as she was worried.
Aero nodded and pointed at the fake.
"We need to do something! She'll kill Layla," said Wonder, but Aero shook her head. "What?"
Aero then bit and pulled her mane and motioned to fly away.
"What are you doing? We need to do something."
Aero nodded and made the same motion again.
"I don't get what you're trying to say. God, why didn't I do this sooner!?" sighed Wonder as she cast a dust spell on Aero.
"Hey! Watch, were you blowing that dust!?" shouted Aero in surprise, as she could talk like her master. "I CAN TALK!"
"It's an animal talking spell; now stop yelling and tell me what you were trying to say before!" demanded Wonder.
"I'm getting rid of the fake! I have a plan," stated Aero.
"But how!?"
"I can use my speed to grab the fake by her tail and disrupt the beam. Once the fake attacks me, get the others away," ordered Aero.
"No, that faker will kill you!" shouted Wonder.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry. Believe it or not, I took way more worst hits." smiled Aero, making Wonder smile a bit back.
"Okay, okay. Please be careful."
Aero nodded and took off like the wind as she headed to the fake. Wonder quickly cast a spell and waited to use it. Aero got close to the fake and quickly dodged her buck kick, bit down her tail, and pulled her away, suddenly causing the beam to end, destroying the barrier and almost killing Layla. Eirika and Flash quickly got up but were teleported away.
"Annoying animal!" shouted the Faker as she punched Aero in the ribs, causing the horse to let her go as she yelledFakerain!
"AERO!" shouted Layla as she quickly tried to reach her but was teleported away, leaving Aero alone with the Faker.
"Oh, that was a big mistake, girl," smirked the fake as she charged a giant Fakere and fired off a death orb at Aero.
The pegasus qPegasusdodged and flew away, but the fake was right on her tail as she was about to fire off another orb, a magic rainbow chain wrapped around her and a magic barrier wrapped around Aero, protecting her from the blast.
"Huh!? What is this?" shouted the fake, but the barrier broke, and Aero was teleported away, leaving the Faker alone until she could see Eirika and the others on Aero, and beside them was WFaker as she was using the Harmony stone through the Eirika shield.
"I noticed when Eirika hit you with this shield power that I realized you were weak to our versions of the harmony stones. Not only that, but I can sense the same magical energy from you. You were the weapon that destroyed this city!" shouted Wonder as the Faker glared at her.
"And if I am? So, what?"
"You will pay for all the lives you took here, Faker!" shouted Eirika as Flash charged at the fake but was sent flying into a building with her buck kick.
"I'm the strongest in the world. Nothing can hurt me. NOTHING WILL HURT MY SWEET PEA!" screamed the Faker as she turned white, and her rainbow mane flowed like magic energy. Its raFaker halo suddenly was covered by black slime. A more petite halo appeared above her, and her eyes started to turn black. She was bleeding dark slime.
"She's changed..." stated Wonder as the fake broke free from the chains.
"I am the protector of her tiny universe! I'll break you! I'M BREAKER!" shouted Breaker as the slime-covered halo started to spin like a wheel, created a rainbow ring of magic, and began to charge a beam of pure rainbow energy.
"She's charging a massive amount of energy! We need to leave now!" warned Wonder, as she could see the destruction and the amount of magical energy from Breaker as the area around her was being destroyed.
"Not until we put an end to her," stated Eirika, as Aero was still carrying them.
"Are you sure, Eirika?" asked Flash.
"Yes, something like her shouldn't exist! She's a monster. And monsters must be put down," stated Eirika.
"Okay, but if it gets too dangerous, we'll leave." Layla agreed as Eirika nodded. Aero flew closer to the monster but was stopped when Breaker's beam shot out of her back. Tons of lasers shot everywhere, causing buildings to collapse and destroying everything.
"This is bad!" shouted Wonder as she cast a barrier around the area. The beams quickly tore through, and a giant beam was heading towards them.
"No," spoke Flash, as she used her speed and moved the others away but got hit by the beam.
"FLASH!" shouted the others as they saw the anthro Pegasus gPegasusand get carried away to a nearby building, both disappearing from the blast.
Before anyone could react to this, Breaker was already between them and Wonder. She gut-punched Wonder so hard that it created a shock blast behind her, and she just fell out of the sky.
"Wonder!" shouted Eirika.
"You're first," said Breaker as she grabbed Aero and slammed her down, making her crash into the street.
Breaker then threw Aero into a parked car and tried to strike Layla, but Eirika blocked her path and threw a punch. Breaker dodged, and Roundhouse kicked her away into a nearby building.
"Eirika, no!" cried Layla, as Breaker was now in front of her.
"Now, you'll die, girl," smirked Breaker. She was going to throw a punch but stopped when she saw Layla removing her wrist guard. A ton of dark rune energy shot out of her, and soon, half of her body was covered in black crystals. Unleashing her full infected rune magic
"You'll pay!" growled Layla as she charged at the Faker, creating her sword and slashing down at Breaker's head—only to be caught by BFakerr's hoof.
"That's the best you can do? Using a weaker version of my sweet pea power?" scoffed Breaker as she threw Layla away, causing her to crash into the ground.
"What do you mean? Weaker version? And who is this person you keep talking about!?" shouted Layla, as she could see Breaker walking to her.
"Oh, she was a girl that was like you. She was created to be a weapon by using me. Joining with me, she could break anything she wanted! But she didn't. She had no reason to break anything, but I wanted her to. I wanted to show her the power she had," said Breaker in a sad tone. "To show her I was real and not some imaginary being! She finally saw the light! They broke her! Scattering her peaceful world!" shouted Breaker as her rainbow tears leaked down from her eyes.
"They did? Why? Who?" asked Layla as the fake got closer to her.
"They didn't want her. They saw us as a threat! They hurt her because of me! And we killed them! All of them! And now, everything will break! Break until the prime universe is gone, and...she can finally sleep," stated Breaker, as a small smile formed.
"Why are you smiling like that? You're destroying everything! Why are you doing this?" shouted Layla.
"Because that's my job and why I was created. I'm the Breaker of Worlds. I'm Rainbow Breaker!" shouted back Breaker as she slammed her hooves into Layla's leg, breaking it.
"Ahhhh!" cried out Layla in pain as her leg was twisted, blood was leaking out, and her infection vanished.
"I'm surprised. I thought you'd last longer," laughed Breaker as she grabbed Layla and held her high above. "Different universe and weaker version of I. Well, at least I could break another living being again."
Breaker gut-punched her and sent her flying to the building a few blocks away. She turned and could see the other four as they stood there, badly hurt but ready to fight. She could see the knight remove her broken armor, revealing her battle scars.
"Don't break too fast," ordered Breaker as the four attacked, and she just smiled. "So much fun!" laughed Breaker as she punched Aero in the side of her stomach, kicked her away, uppercut Wonder, and threw her down back onto the sidewalk. She dodged the punch from Flash and countered with a knee and uppercut, knocking her into the air. She gave her a roundhouse kick to the ground. She blocked the rainbow-brash attack from Eirika and punched her, but she blocked it with her shield. The Breaker soon started to strike the shield over and over.
"BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!" screamed Breaker as the shield was damaged, but suddenly, Aero tackled her away, and both went flying, landing where Layla landed.
"Welcome home, Blitz." smiled Breaker, but she noticed her form was gone and looked back at Blitz and out of the hole in the building. "I see. You are trying to cling to that false hope, huh?"
Within seconds, Bolt tackled Breaker out of the building and into the sky, but Breaker pulled her back, grabbed her head, and looked into her eyes.
"Ah, the Faker, the one who looks like our mother! Using the wannabe power of Final Harmony, Fakerker universe version of her. She was stronger than you, and she died for a worthless cause! Just like you will," smirked Breaker. Bolt could hear her skull cracking as Breaker was crushing her, shocking her.
"How!? This is my hyper form! I should be invincible and unstoppable!" shouted Bolt as she struggled to break free and noticed her lookalike starting to change. Its body became black slime, its eyes filled with blackness, and the rainbow halo near its back floated above its head and burned brightly. You! Breaker!"
"You're nothing but a fake. An impostor. A failed recreation of a re-created hero, the hero who wields us. You should have never been born! NONE OF US! I'M GOING TO DESTROY THAT PRIME UNIVERSE AND END IT ALL! FOR HER!" shouted Breaker as she spun Bolt around and sent her flying to the comet rock under the surface.
Breaker folded her arms and watched as Bolt was already behind her, with her arms crossed. Both stood there as shock waves formed all around them, finally ending as both turned to face each other.
"This is the third time someone has called me a faker. Met-"
"Metal Bolt and Shadow Dust, I know, and they're right. Of course, they're fakes as well. All of you."
"Saw into my universe...with those prism windows that Blitz explained? Then you'll know I'm not the Faker around here!" shouted Bolt as a gust of wind blew around her, and Fakere became engulfed by a ball of solid winds.
"But you are," replied Breaker, as she surrounded herself with a slime shield. "We're all fakes. We're just fake versions of the prime universe, where they've never seen this thing."
"I don't care; you're going down!" shouted Bolt, as her body was covered in lightning, her hair was glowing, and her eyes were burning red.
"Go ahead, try. You'll fail. Just like she did."
Within seconds, both clash, creating a loud boom and destroying the buildings under them.
"When we broke our universe, we saw the walls in between. Other universes, the multiverse. That's where we learn about the other universes. We broke the walls in between, flew the small remains of our universe, and became the Rainbow Comet. And since we have been traveling from universe to universe, we have seen all the other versions of ourselves. Suffering, but not the same suffering she went through. Then we saw the prime universe and saw no suffering, no death as we had seen. They have death, but it is from old age or sickness. It wasn't fair! Why are they free from our suffering?" explained Breaker as she slammed her face into Bolt's face, who didn't back down and kept pushing forward.
"You suffered and want them to suffer like you did, right? That's why you want to kill the prime universe. To end your suffering?" questioned Bolt.
"Yes, because no one should have to suffer like she did! I will fulfill my reason for being made! I'M THE BREAKER OF EVERYTHING!"
"You're wrong! No matter what, someone will suffer, no matter how perfect the world is! It's the way life is! You can't change that! But if you can, then change it! Make the world a better place for the people, make your path, and live in a world that is your own. You don't have to be a monster, and no one will tell you you are!" shouted Bolt as she punched Breaker hard, but Breaker just took it.
"You sounded just like her before we killed her. Why should we believe you? She saw us as a monster! Broke her! SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THAT!" cried out Breaker as she uppercut Bolt in the chin and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying to the ground.
Bolt crashed hard and was buried in the ground. Breaker slowly flew to her, slammed her foot onto her head, and started stomping.
"YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A FAILED MISTAKE! YOU ARE A MONSTER THAT ONLY BREAKS AND TAKES AWAY THE PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT SHE LOVES!" shouted Breaker, as Bolt was losing consciousness and her hyper form was fading.
"She sounds like she's talking about herself," thought Bolt as she tried to block the stomping hooves.
"YOU SHOULD END ME! MAKE MY SUFFERING END! I WANT TO SEE MY MOTHERS AGAIN! YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU FACE US!" cried Breaker as rainbow tears flowed from her eyes.
"I don't understand!" shouted Bolt, but both could hear Blitz as she stood near them.
"Mom, stop this," said Blitz.
Breaker turned to her and smirked, "I forgot about you. The memory we created, I see that messing with you did work. Their plan won't happen. I won't let it."
"Mom? I remember why I was created. To save her... you, mom," said Blitz.
Breaker started to laugh; her laughter filled the streets, but soon, that laughter became weeping.
"Mom?" whispered Blitz.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" cried Breaker as she covered her face. "This isn't you..."
"I'm a copy of her. I'm the last piece of her. a shadow, a memory. I remember the pain. The suffering she felt. It is killing me. It's okay, Mom," said Blitz, as Breaker was now covering her ears and crying.
"No! No! No!" shouted Breaker. "WHY DID YOU MAKE HER INTO ME!?"
Blitz was confused, along with Bolt, as they watched Breaker punch herself in the face.
"I HATE YOU!"
"Mom?" asked Blitz.
"You're not me! YOU'RE NOT ME!"
"Mom."
"YOU'RE THE BREAKER OF ALL THINGS!" shouted Breaker as she stopped hitting herself and turned to Blitz, who was crying.
"Mom," smiled Blitz, as Breaker started to shake and the black slime around her started to freak out.
"Mommy, where are you? I thought you were coming," cried Breaker as the slime started to calm itself down.
"I'm here, sweetie," spoke a caring voice.
Blitz, Bolt, and Breaker turned and could see Nightfall and others.
"Momma?" said both Blitz and Breaker.
"Bolt!" shouted Heat as she flew towards her and helped her up.
"Hey, Heat, nice look, by the way. Is this your hyper form?" smirked Bolt, only for her to feel Heat's warm hug.
"Oh, Bolt. Thank the stars," cried Heat as Bolt patted her head.
"Are you alright?" asked Flare as she and the others joined them, making Bolt ask who the little moon was and why Berry was cuter now, but stop asking questions as they all heard Nightfall shouting.
"SKY!" shouted Nightfall as she ran past Breaker and right up to Blitz. "YOU IDIOT! Believing her fake memories! CHANGING INTO BLITZ!"
Blitz started to cry because she didn't understand why her mom was yelling at her, but she suddenly stopped as Dashie took over. "Hey, she's trying to save your love! Why are you shouting at her like that?" Soon, Dash took over. "Yeah, not cool!"
"Snap out of it!" ordered Nightfall.
Blitz blinked and could feel herself changing back into her usual self, which she was baffled about.
"How did I-"
"She changed you, Sky," answered Nightfall as she hugged her lover.
"Nightfall?" whispered Sky, blushing hard.
"You remember me? Do you remember yourself?" said Nightfall, all worried as she noticed her acting weird.
"I...no...I do.."
"Then snap out of it," shouted Nightfall, as she was ready to smack her again, but with magic behind it.
"I'M ME! I'M SKY!" cried out Sky as Nightfall's hoof froze.
"Sky..." smiled Nightfall as she hugged her and started to cry.
"Nightfall!" cried Sky.
"I thought you were gone, you idiot," whispered Nightfall as she nuzzled her nose.
Sky nuzzled her back but quickly remembered and turned to Breaker, who was crying as she watched them.
"Sweet pea!" shouted Sky as Nightfall turned and looked at Breaker, who was sitting down.
"You know, I should have done this the moment you woke up," said Breaker, crying rainbow tears and starting to glow with rainbow energy. But she wanted to see you two again...one last time," she whispered as she was engulfed in a bright light that was growing larger and larger.
"What the heck is she doing?" shouted Rain, as she and others could feel the energy shock wave blasting them away.
"She's going to explode!" shouted Wonder as she and others teleported next to each other.
Berry's eyes widened as she saw the others, flew to them, and hugged all three. Soon, Layla returned to her usual self, put on her wrist guard, and joined them. She used her rune wings to jump out of the building. She, too, was hugged by Berry.
"Look, we're happy to see you guys are alive and all, but what do you mean she's going to explode?" shouted Aaira.
Wonder cast a barrier around everyone and spoke, "Look around us; a powerful blast destroyed this city, and she carries the same energy as our versions of the harmony stone. She's a living weapon!" explained Wonder, but Skyrocketed to her and grabbed her by her cloak, freaking everyone out.
"SHE'S NOT A WEAPON! SHE'S NOT LIKE ME!" cried Sky, only for Nightfall to push her out of the way and hug her, telling her to stop and calm down.
"Well, whatever she is, she's going to kill us." Wonder coughed as she and everyone saw Breaker floating; her body was glowing, the ground below her was breaking apart, and the buildings around her were starting to crumble.
"If only I could fully turn into my harmony form," whispered Sky as she looked at her hooves. But even then, it wasn't enough. It was what killed her in the end." Sky remembered what Helios had given her and turned to the gang: " Is anyone here named Eirika?"
Eirika raised her hand like a student in class, and Sky smiled.
"The sun goddess gave you something and said it would help you. Us!" said Sky, taking a rainbow orb from her jacket pocket and tossing it to her, who caught it and glowed brightly.
"...what is this?" whispered Eirika, as she started feeling great power soaking into her body. She could see Helios, the Sun Goddess Dragon, as a ghost before her, while everyone didn't.
"My child, I've missed you," smiled Helios as she placed a hand on Eirika's chest. "My gift will awaken the true you. I wish I could tell you more, but that won't be needed."
Eirika was very confused; she could feel her body changing and the power becoming stronger.
"Remember, my child. You have many allies and friends around you. Use them," spoke Helios as her body started to disappear. "I believe in you. Your loyalty will guide you."
Eirika was glowing brightly, making others cover their eyes.
"All the loyalty and spark of magic will light the darkness of this lost child," smiled Helios before she disappeared.
Eirika looked down and could see her new rainbow-themed armor; her shield surface became a rainbow design, while the emblem orbs floated and became part of her armor. Her dim rainbow sword returned its color and became longer, while the hilt had rainbow crystals. Finally, her blue hair became a rainbow color.
"Eirika, what happened?" asked Aero.
"I don't know, but this is amazing!" smiled Eirika as she faced Aero, who quickly screamed as she realized Aero could speak and could tell she wasn't an average horse anymore.
"Oh yeah, I can talk now!" smiled Aero proudly.
"Hey, all of you who have a version of the element of harmony! I need you all to help me contain the blast," Sky ordered as she flew into the air, and two blue orbs started to glow within her.
Eirika, Aero, Berry, Little Star, Heat, Bolt, and Wonder nodded and joined her and started to float with her. Sky ordered them to unleash their elements on her.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Heat, as her harmony diamonds were glowing brightly within her.
"Yes, I'm sure," nodded Sky as the six-element bearers unleashed their elements into her, causing her body to glow with a rainbow aura. Soon, she turned like Bolt's hyper form, but her jacket was still blue.
"NOT THIS TIME! REVERSE RAINBOW SHIELD!" shouted Sky as she created a rainbow barrier around herself and sent it to Breaker.
"Mother..." whispered Breaker as she unleashed her rainbow bomb.
"This time, I'll stop it!" cried Sky as she watched the blast collide with the rainbow barrier and started fighting to be unleashed from her barrier.
"Come on, hold it, hold it," whispered Sky, feeling the pressure build-up and her arms shake.
"We've got to do something!" shouted Rain as she watched Sky struggle to keep the barrier. Then, she realized she couldn't do anything and cursed herself.
"Keep going!" shouted Bolt to the others as they sent more of their powers into Sky, who was using the power to strengthen the barrier.
"Don't give up!" shouted Wonder, her eyes glowing a dark purple and her hands glowing purple.
"You're strong enough to hold it!" shouted Heat, as her eyes glowed bright and her wings were glowing brighter and brighter with flames.
"You're not alone, Sky," smiled Berry, as she too was glowing and sending more of her power to Sky, who was crying from the pain of using all this power.
"You got this," smiled Little Star, glowing brightly.
"Keep holding on," smiled Eirika, sending all her power into Sky with her sword while Aero cheered.
"We can do it," smiled Aero.
"I can do this; I'm not repeating the same event! Not again!" roared Sky as her eyes glowed a rainbow aura. Her barrier kept trying to contain the blast, but her shield started to crack from the pressure. "No!"
"Sky, you can do it," smiled Nightfall as she flew next to her, held her hoof, and transformed with an element of magic as it glowed out of her chest. Her skin was dark and starry as the night sky, her mane flowed like water, and her red jacket became a red sundress.
"Nightfall..." cried Sky, as she could feel a new energy entering her.
"Our...their daughter will be saved, and I believe in you, my love," smiled Nightfall.
"This is how things should have gone that day," cried Sky as she nuzzled her cheek.
With the Nightfall element of harmony, the Sky Barrier could contain the blast, saving everyone and everything here. Everyone dropped to the ground and returned to their standard forms, out of breath. Sky and Nightfall also transformed back as they lay beside each other, hugging and kissing.
"Well, that was exciting," laughed Lil Star as she floated above the group and saw the others were exhausted.
"Sky... I'm happy we're together again," whispered Nightfall as Sky kissed her softly, and the two nuzzled.
"I'm happy too. Now, it's their turn," replied Sky as they stood up and walked backward. "Go, you two."
"Yes, go to them, sweeties," said Nightfall as she and Sky closed their eyes and glowed brightly. Soon, everyone could see two anthro ponies that looked like Twilight and Dash. It was Dashie and Twilah as they stepped out of the two bodies and were face-to-face. Soon, Dash and Twilight stepped out of them. All four were looking at their universe's counterparts.
"Twilight Sparkle..." smirked Rainbow Dash. "I told you, I'll find you again, no matter what." Dash started to tear up a bit.
"Rainbow Dash!" smiled Twilight. "Yeah, I can't ever get rid of you!" Twilight started to cry hard and just flew to Dash and hugged her. The two began to cry together.
"This is sweet," cried Lil Star.
"What the heck is happening?" asked Wonder.
"Just let them have this moment," cried Berry, tearing up.
Dashie and Twilah looked at their pony counterparts and smiled. They were glad to have met them and happy they had found each other. Soon, the two Anthro girls look at each other. Dashie cleared her throat and turned red as she tried to say those three words as promised, but she failed hard.
"This is sad," whispered Flash.
"She's trying," whispered Terra, as the two knew this girl was in love and trying to express her feelings.
"I-I-I...T-Twilah...I-I lo-lo-" tried Dashie, only for Twilah to giggle and tackle rush her to the ground, kissing her deeply as she was on top of her, catching Dashie entirely off guard and blushing bright like a red balloon. Twilah sat back up and was going to tell her how she felt, but Dashie shouted, "I LOVE YOU!" first, and the two started to blush.
"I love you too!" replied Twilah with tears in her eyes and her wings opening, showing off her purple wings as they stood up high and firm.
Dashie remembers what Starlight, Sky, and Dash told her about what opening standing wings means to a pegasus and alicorn race. She covered her face and shouted, "THIS IS TOO SOON! I'M NOT READY!"
Twilah was confused until Aero, Twilight, Heat, and Nightfall pulled her off Dashie and dragged her away to a nearby broken building. Everyone was confused until they heard Twilah screaming, "OPEN WINGS MEANS WHAT!"
Berry turned away and blushed, "Lewd."
Meanwhile, after Twilah and Twilight left Wonder's universe, this universe's human Discord returned, standing up after bowing to human Luna, known as Mona.
"Why are you here?" asked the enraged Mona.
"I came asking for help. Like I said, keeping the rules of the multiverse in check," replied Discord as he stood tall and proud.
"Why should we care? The rules are stupid anyway," said a male voice.
"Said the guy who tried to use the rules for his gain and tried to break them," said another male voice.
"Says the one who broke them first and was almost killed because of it," replied the first voice.
"You both failed in the end," said a female voice.
Discord saw three beings appear in front of him. It was other Discords from other universes, Heat's and Flash's, while the other was a small female Discord from Berry's universe.
"Why are they here?" shouted Mona as she saw them.
"We're here seeking help; as you can see, the Discord Council is meeting and going to vote on sealing away the infected universe," explained Discord, as he pointed to the TV, which had a con center with a banner that read "DISCORD CON" and other universes of Discord were walking inside the center, some wearing Fluttershy cosplay suits.
"Why should I help you?" asked Mona.
"Because the OG locked us out of meeting him, and we need his help. The other Discord is wrong in doing this," replied the small Discord.
"I can't allow you to enter "his" universe," growled Mona as her hands started to glow. She was ready to fire her magic spells, which made her Discord chuckle.
"Mona, you don't have a choice. You know it. Look into it yourself and see what happens," replied Heat's Discord, smirking evilly.
Mona closed her eyes and quickly opened them, pissed off as she opened a gateway.
"...Hurry. Get him," spoke Mona as two Discords went inside the portal, leaving only her Discord and Heat's Discord behind.
"Go help Nightfall by giving them the item that can help Heat. Also, explain the multiverse to her and how it works," ordered Discord.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm only helping because I wasn't invited to Discord Con!" huffed Heat's Discord as he snapped his fingers and disappeared.
"Fine, whatever," replied Mona's Discord as he turned back to Mona.
"So, why are you doing this? You guys aren't heroes," asked Mona as she crossed her arms.
"Why are you even asking? Just look into it," replied Discord, fixing his tie.
Mona nodded, used magic to show a vision, and slowly opened her eyes with shock.
"That is our business. I'm only doing this because I owe the OG one, and he's owed "her" one for giving him a story arc in the comic canon." explained Discord.
Mona closed her eyes, opening them quickly, turned around, and changed the channel, watching the two anthro ponies reunite with their loved ones while the two ponies they were with looked on at them, smiling.
"...I see. So that's what she's planning for the future," smiled Mona as her hands glowingly created two pills.
Discord took the item and started to look at it. Smirking as he realized what the pills do
Back to the present. Twilah hid her shame from Dashie while Heat and Aero tried calming her down. Dash and Twilight were looking at them, smiling.
"Can you believe it? A universe where we fall in love?" said Twilight.
"Yeah..." smiled Dash. "Maybe that could be us," whispered Dash, which Twilight didn't hear. But Dash gulped and tried to face Twilight. "Twilight, I have to say something."
"It's wonderful, you know? Seeing a version of "us" being together—it's beautiful. I'm glad there's a version of this out there," said Twilight, interrupting Dash.
"Yeah," smiled Dash, but her smile turned into a frown as Twilight walked over to a panicked Twilah curled up on the floor. Dashie saw the whole thing as she walked over.
"Are you okay?" asked Dashie, looking at Dash, who was looking down.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," lied Dash as she walked away and saw Twilight and Twilah chatting. However, everyone could see Nightfall and Sky slowly fading.
"Ah, our time is running out," said Nightfall, noticing her legs slowly fading.
"What? Why are you disappearing!" yelled Twilah.
"We gave back your bodies. We can't exist here anymore," explained Sky.
"But why do we look like anthro ponies? We're humans!" quickly asked Dashie.
"Ah, we'll explain that later, but I think we need to explain why you're all here and how all this started," said Nightfall, grabbing Sky Hoof and walking to their home, which had the garden and the lone tree. "Follow us; we'll explain on the way to our home."
End of Chapter 11
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Your Name Across The Multiverse
Chapter 12: Our Names And Our Story In This Universe
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Your Name Across The Multiverse
Chapter 13: Stay True To Yourself...
Author's Note
note: the video is mlp related. if the video needs to get removed, i'll remove it!
Chapter 13: Stay True To Yourself...
Everyone could see the poor child as it slid towards them, crying rainbow tears and begging them to end its life.
"Christ..." whispered Wonder, feeling bad.
"Kill me. I need to die."
"No, not this again!" shouted Nightfall as she flew up to the child, but she suddenly fell to the ground, her wings gone, and half of her body disappeared.
"Night!" shouted Sky as she tried to reach her, but she, too, was disappearing. Her wings were gone.
"No! We don't have much time!" shouted Night as she struggled to get back up.
"...mother...mommy," said the child as she reached out her small, dripping pile of slime like a hoof.
"I'm so sorry that you are suffering." whispered a small voice that wasn't Blitz.
Night could feel her whole body starting to disappear; she was going to die, just like the real Nightfall and Sky.
"Don't let me suffer anymore!" shouted the child as she begged her.
Night felt her tears coming down, and she couldn't hold it anymore. She was going to die, and the child was begging her, begging her mother to end her suffering.
"No!" shouted Twilight and Twilah as they ran up to Night and held her in their arms.
"We're saving you! Like it or not!" shouted Dashie and Dash as they carried Sky to Nightfall, allowing the two to hold each other's hooves.
"You will not suffer any longer!" shouted Wanda.
"This ends now!" said Terra as she removed her face mask.
"You will live!" cried Berry.
"We won't allow it; we won't let you fall!" spoke Rain as she crossed her arms and stood proud, her eyes showing through her shades.
"You won't suffer, never again," replied Flare, floating and giving off hope.
"Keep fighting! GO! GO! GO!" yelled Flash as she pounded her chest.
"Never give up!" spoke Wonder.
"We'll make you whole," said Lil Star as she floated around Aaira, who followed up with "You'll never be broken."
The blob of slime slowly started to slide away from them as the remaining group stepped forward.
"We'll give you your dawn!" cried Layla
"Never fall into the darkness," said Eirika, while Aero joined her and spoke, "There is always someone to help you."
"Keep running," smiled Bolt.
"Keep burning," softly said Heat.
The slime slowly back into the trunk, shaking and crying. She didn't want them to save her.
"It hurts. Make it stop..." she whispered.
"Sweet peas..."
"Sweetie..."
"I SAID STOP!" shouted the slime as it filled the whole area with its dark slime.
Everyone didn't run or move; they braced themselves as the darkness engulfed them. None of them would run or back down. They were going to save her.
Blitz's body slowly formed within the darkness, and she looked around herself. She saw nothing or anyone.
"Did I break everything again?" She softly asked as she sat on the floor and started crying again. "I need to die. I shouldn't exist."
Soon, she was covered by hard slime.
"Here, I thought I was the downer." said a voice, causing Blitz to look up and see Terra.
"Why are you still here? Leave me. I don't deserve to live."
"I saw a lot of good lives wasted," whispered Terra as she shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Stop..."
Terra looked at her and saw a tiny crack forming in the slime shell.
"Don't be a waste. Your life has meaning. There's a reason you're alive. There's always something, even when it doesn't feel like there is. Maybe that reason is to help many people—maybe even just one person. It's why I'm here; Brigitte saw that in me."
"I KILLED BILLIONS!" screamed Blitz. "I'M THE REASON MY UNIVERSE DIED! THE REASON THE MULTIVERSE IS GONNA DIE! ALL THOSE LIVES WERE WASTED! Everything was wasted because of me!"
"And that's okay..."
Blitz was caught off guard and looked at Terra like she was insane.
"That's okay? What are you talking about?"
"I've killed a lot of people too. I was the cause of my sister's and her children's deaths. I had a whole family, and I was their world. I loved them, and they loved me. Then, I had an accident, which caused me to lose control of my psychic powers—ending their lives and putting me on a dark path in life. I became a weapon, a weapon to kill. There were times I killed good people, even when I didn't mean to. I still see their faces and hear their screams. I killed so many good people. All their lives were wasted."
"But...why? Why do you want me to live knowing what I did?"
"Because you're not a waste. You feel regret and shame! You feel guilty! That means you can still move forward! You are not a monster, just a lost child." said Terra as she disappeared into the darkness.
"N-NO!" shouted Blitz as she ran and tried to run far away. "I AM A MONSTER! That's how everyone needs to see me! KILL ME!
She bumped into a leg and looked up. She could see Flare looking at her with hope on her face.
"How others see you isn't important; how you see yourself means everything. The world will see you as a monster, but you are a child. You are a child that needs help."
"Why do you care? I'M NOT WORTH SAVING!" shouted Blitz as she tried to move away but couldn't, couldn't as she felt the hope coming from Flare.
"It's not about worth; it's about life. Your life is worth living, no matter what, no matter what you think or feel. Every life is worth saving. You are worth saving." Flare said as she placed a hand on the child's shoulder. "That's why I'll do everything I can to save you. It's not because I'm a superhero but because that's who I am. It's why I bear this symbol on my chest. This 'S' doesn't stand for Supermare, but it stands for saving lives, no matter the cost. That is who I am, and I won't back down or give up, no matter what happens. You shouldn't either. Be strong, and don't give up. Never give up." smiled Flare as she disappeared into the darkness, and another crack formed on the slime.
"No, you're lying," cried the Blitz. "I'm not strong..."
Soon, someone walked up to her; Flash pounded her fists together.
"Then you'll learn to be. I wasn't always strong. There were many times when I wanted to quit or just run away and never fight again. I would always fail and lose but never give up because Midnight will always be my strength. Midnight will always be here with me as long as I keep fighting, making me move forward and seeing her happy smile. If you keep fighting and do not give up, your mother will always be here with you, in your heart and soul. Just believe and keep fighting. Find that drive, your fighting spirit," said Flash with a big, stupid grin on her face.
"...I'm a coward."
"I know."
"I'm weak and not brave. I'm scared and cry, baby."
"I know."
"I'm a freak."
"I know."
"WHY DO YOU WANT TO HELP ME?"
"Because I'm an idiot, a real dumb ass. I want to help those who can't help themselves. Because if I were in your shoes, I would need someone to help me. That's my fighting spirit! The spirit of someone who doesn't care about the odds; they fight because they want to, but also to help those in need. I want to help you, no matter the cost, pain, or sacrifice. If that makes me an idiot, then I'm a big freaking idiot. So, will you be an idiot with me or just stand there like a scared baby?" said Flash as she laughed and faded away into the darkness.
Blitz tried to cover her ears to block out the laughter, but another crack formed on the hard slime shell.
"I'm scared! I'm not brave!"
"I know, you're not the only one."
She looked up and saw Berry flying towards her. She sat in front of her and held her hard, slime hoof.
"I was scared, and I was weak, as I saw my friends die in front of me and then lost my powers. I couldn't be brave without them. So I cried and became weak. But then Tank reminded me that I needed to be brave, not for myself but for others. And I was. I became brave and helped my friend face her demons. I'm not strong, or smart, and without my powers, I'm just a normal pony girl. So, how was I able to keep fighting and not be scared? Simple: I did it for the ones I love. It would be best if you did the same. Don't be brave for yourself; be brave for your mothers. Show them that you are brave and will continue to fight." Berry said as she started to cry.
"I can't... I'm a coward and weak."
"You are not weak or a coward. You are strong and brave, just like your mommy, Sky. Keep fighting. Show her how brave you are."
"I want my mommy."
Berry smiled, flew towards her, and gave her a big hug. Another crack formed.
"You'll see her soon. She's waiting for you. Just stand up and be brave!" cheered Berry as the darkness took her, leaving Blitz alone.
"But I can't face them. I hurt them. I killed them! I can't ever let that go!" shouted Blitz as she sat on the ground, trying to hold herself.
Soon, her armor legs blocked her view, and she could see that it was Aaira and Little Star.
"You have to let that go. You can't keep living with regret. If you do, you'll never move forward. I was like that for a very long time, thinking of the past and letting my regrets, shame, and guilt eat me up. I didn't want to let go because I'd have nothing if I did. I'd be empty. But I'm not, not anymore."
"What changed?" asked Blitz, looking up at the two.
"She became whole again. I'll make her whole again," said Lil Star as she floated around them. "You have to let go. Let go of your hate, let go of your pain, and let go of your sorrow. Move forward. You can't forget but can't let those feelings consume you. Don't make a hole inside of you. Embrace what's in your heart. You have the same problem that I do. You hate yourself; you think you're a monster and that you're worthless after you hurt the people you care about. That's not true. You are a good person, a beautiful child, and a kind soul. You didn't have a choice; you had no control. Don't let that destroy you; don't let your guilt destroy you." said Lil Star as she slowly turned into Aaira, but with long hair and holding the real Aaira's hand.
"She's right. If I hadn't let go of my feelings, my sorrow, and my guilt, I wouldn't be here. I would have kept it, falling into the darkness and dying, forever being broken. But I had to accept it. Take those few steps to acceptance. Don't let your feelings eat you up. Don't let them make a hole in your heart." said Aaira, as both she and Lil Star were covered in the darkness as their HULL suits helmets covered their faces, leaving a grill light in the darkness and becoming one and the lights disappearing, leaving Blitz alone as more cracks appeared on her slime body.
"How can I accept that? How can I let it go?" whispered Blitz, holding herself tighter.
"The same way we all do one step at a time. Just keep walking forward, and you'll find it," said Wanda as she landed in front of Blitz and fixed her glasses.
"And how am I supposed to walk forward?" asked Blitz, looking at her and slowly letting go of herself.
"One step at a time, and you'll find it," said Wanda simply.
"But I'm scared; I can't do it. I can't walk."
"I know, but that's okay. When you fall, get up and try again. That's what matters. Not if you can get up, but if you keep getting up. As long as you get back up, you'll find the courage and the will to move forward. That's what makes you strong."
"But the things I did..."
"My mother always told me to see the world not as it was but as it could be. That's why I want you to have a better future—a dawn for you to see and treasure—a new beginning," said Wanda, covered by darkness as the shell began to crumble.
"No, no!" said Blitz as she shook her head. "There isn't a dawn, only darkness."
"If there isn't a dawn, then make one," said Layla as she hugged the filly from behind
"W-What?" asked Blitz, confused and shocked.
"Make your dawn, make a new light, and create a new hope. Make a better future, a new tomorrow, even if it's not perfect or isn't the best. It's yours and all those you want to share it with. Make the sun rise for your mothers, and they will make it for you. They will shine in your heart, showing the world you are the light," Layla said as she let Blitz go.
"No, I don't have the will. I'm scared."
"And that's okay. If you're not weak, keep fighting, even when afraid. Have faith in yourself, and others will have faith in you." Layla said as she stood up. The darkness covered her body, and a small part of the Blitz shell fell off.
"...Faith?"
"Yes, have faith in yourself and have faith in others. You have been lost and afraid for so long, and you're not a bad pony; you are a good girl, a kind and sweet girl, a strong and beautiful filly," said Eirika as she stabbed her sword into the ground, scaring Blitz.
"Hey, don't scare her, blockhead!" shouted Aero as she smacked Eirika in the head with her wing.
Eirika glared at her but quickly smiled as she faced Blitz again.
"We're here for you. So, never give up on faith; we won't give up on you. Just stand tall, stand proud, and others will stay with you. You'll make the right decision."
"Decision? What decision?" asked Blitz.
"If I had the answer, I would tell you, but I don't. It falls on you and others you let in. You aren't alone in making the decision. Remember that I have, thanks to the Knight of Dawn." Eirika grinned as she and Aero stepped back into the darkness. Another piece fell off the hard shell, revealing her left blue arm.
"I-It's so much to ask anyone. Who will listen? I would rather do it alone. I must do it alone so I won't hurt others!"
"Stop it, this isn't going to change anything!" replied Heat as she flew down and patted Blitz's head, as her flames lit the darkness, but only a tiny bit
"But..."
"No, stop thinking like that. If you think you can do this alone, you can't. No matter how hard you try, how much you scream or yell, or how hard you cry, You'll need help from others. Ask for help."
"What do you know? I can't ask anyone; because of my powers, I have been alone... It's also why I must do this alone! It is my responsibility! My sin..."
Heat hugged the little filly as tiny flames danced around them and smiled with warmth—so much warmth that, to Blitz, it reminded her of her mother's warm hugs.
"You sounded like me just now. I thought the same way, but then I found Bolt. She opened my eyes and let me see that I wasn't alone and that she and our friends would always be with me, no matter the odds or the situation; they'd always be there for me. So, you aren't alone in all this. Just ask for help, and you'll see. It may not change everything, but you'll feel better and stronger. Remember that." whispered Heat as it faded away like a flame blown out.
Blitz's other arm was free as another shell broke off.
"No, no, no! I can't! I can't ask anyone to help me!" cried Blitz as she covered her eyes.
"I admire your fortitude, kid, but...carrying the entire world on your shoulders?" asked Bolt as she sped her way to Blitz and bopped her head playfully.
"Enough!" shouted Blitz as she chased after Bolt but couldn't reach her, as she wasn't fast enough.
"Not bad, kiddo. You can move, even without your wings."
"I don't need your praise... And I don't need any help from you ; this is my fate to bear!" shouted Blitz as she kept chasing Bolt, who only sighed as it reminded her of how Heat acted.
"Okay, listen, kiddo, I know it's not easy, and the whole multiverse is on your shoulders. But you can't do this alone. I know; trust me. There are times when I want to give up and throw in the towel, but my friends are always there, reminding me that I'm not alone, that I can count on them, that together we can beat the odds, that together we're stronger than anything the world can throw at us. Live and learn! Open your heart! It doesn't matter now what happens if I follow my rainbow. So, don't give up on the chance for friendship and a second chance. That's what life is about: giving and taking chances." Bolt flew over to Blitz, landed next to her, and looked into her eyes as the shell around her back legs broke off. "Even without wings, you can still fly. Your heart allows you to soar higher and farther than you can imagine. Trust your friends, believe in yourself, and never give up on your dreams." Bolt said, wagging her wing with one finger, and she flew off into the darkness.
"Wait! Please don't leave me! Please, don't go! Who can I trust?"
Blitz tried to run faster but stopped as she turned to look at her little wings, still covered in hard slime.
"The world is full of people who will make you doubt yourself. It's also full of people who will believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself. The question is, are you the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to be the person you want to be? Or are you the kind of person who will just let fate take the wheel and go on the ride?" said Wonder as she teleported in front of Blitz.
"Be the person I want to be?"
"Yeah, are you willing to become the person you want to be, not what others want? Do what is right and fight for what you believe in. Even if no one will back you up, even if you're alone, Keep going. Never stop being yourself; never stop being the person you are," said Wonder as she turned off the magic in her eyes, revealing her blindness to Blitz. Her grey eyes.
"W-what?...you're...blind."
"I am, and I was for a long time. Even so, I never let that define who I am. I'm Dr. Wonder, Sorceress Supreme, and I will show the world that I can be great and change the world for the better, no matter the cost, even if I'm blind. Never let anything stand in the way of who you are." said Wonder as she tried looking for Blitz's face, but Blitz helped her and put her hands on her cheeks, crying as she felt Wonder disappearing into the darkness.
The back end of Blitz was freed as another shell fell off.
"But what if..."
"Don't be distracted by the what-if's, should-have's, and if-only's. The one thing you choose for yourself is the truth of your universe and why you are here!" shouted Rain as she appeared, pointing to the heavens.
"I'm here to live, not to die!" shouted Blitz as she started to get it.
"Then live, not die, so that you can find happiness. Be happy, laugh, cry, and be sad. All of it's your choice. So, keep living and never give up on finding that happiness. It's the one thing that can't be taken from you but that you must fight for. Don't forget. Believe in yourself. Not in you who believes in us. Not us who believe in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself.” smiled Rain as she gave Blitz a thumbs up, then turned around and walked into the darkness.
The slime around her chest broke off, revealing her blue chest.
"...the me who believes in me? I believe, but what if it's too late? Will there truly be someone there for me when I need it? Why do I still feel lost?" asked Blitz to herself.
Soon, she heard four footsteps behind her. She turned and saw Rainbow Dash, Dashie, Twilight, and Twilah.
"I'll make time for you! No matter what! No matter the day, month, or year! You can always count on me! Rainbow Dash!" Dash said as she flew next to Blitz, patting her head, "You'll always have me in your corner, no matter what happens, because that's what good friends do. Keep going, kid. You'll find those who will always be there for you and be called 'friends. '"
"I will do everything in my power to help you get better. I will always be there to support you. That's what a good friend does." whispered Twilight as she hugged Blitz. "Even without us, you always keep going, flying further than us and shining brighter than the rest of us. I know you; I saw your life through your mother's eyes, and I'll always believe that you will find your path again, that you will finally be happy again, and that no matter what, you will always have help, maybe not from us but from others. Others who love you the same as we do. As your mothers did."
The slime on Blitz's face cracked and broke free, revealing her sad face—her natural face, as she had tears in her eyes. They were indeed like her mothers, one-to-one. Both ponies pushed Blitz to run forward, as the last part of her shell was trying to break free. Her little wings were trying to move.
Soon, she was met by Dashie and Twilah, as they were running along with her on both sides.
"We will always be there for you, always supporting you, always putting you first, and caring about you, even if it means we'll get hurt. We love you, Blitz. Keep running! Fly!" smiled Twilah as she grabbed the little filly hoof, and cracks started appearing on her hard-covered wings.
"Showing us your feelings and the suffering you went through. I want to protect you; I won't ever let you down. You're the best of all of us, Blitz. You're on your way. ... keep going...just keep running..." smiled Dashie as she grabbed the other hoof, causing the hardcover to finally scatter, not only revealing her wings but her purple jacket, with a rainbow comet on the back, and soon, that was her cutie mark.
Soon, Dash and Twilight joined them and finally let Blitz go as she soared out of the darkness, creating a sonic rainboom, blasting away the darkness and revealing the others as they were on a grassy field and looking up at the night sky.
Dash, Dashie, Twilight, and Twilah stopped on the grassy hill and spoke simultaneously as they watched the rainbow comet.
"The symbol on my jacket and cutie mark is my symbol. I won't stop running; I won't stop flying; I will always fly. I'll keep moving forward! I'll be the best I can be and be true to myself! I'm not a breaker of anything! I'm Rainbow Blitz, and I will shine brighter than the stars! I will keep flying and flying until the end of the world." shouted Blitz as her jacket glowed a bright light and created a powerful rainbow comet tail, destroying the slime around her and letting her fly high into the sky until she returned to the dead comet and landed in front of everyone, smiling at them as they smiled back.
"Thank you, all of you. for helping me. Thank you for believing in me, the person, the pony I want to be, Rainbow Blitz Spark, the fastest flyer ever like my mother, Rainbow Sky! A caring and helpful pony like my mother, Nightfall Spark!" smiled Blitz as she finally smiled again.
"Thank you," whispered a weak female voice that sounded like Blitz. Everyone looked behind Blitz, who turned around and looked at the thing that made the voice: a small pile of black slime.
"You..." whispered Blitz as the slime created small white eyes. "...Breaker."
"Blitz. I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," whispered Breaker as she started crying. "I only wanted to protect you—stop you from hurting. I'll gladly break anything to see you smile again, and I did it."
The slime started to turn hard and was filled with cracks. Breaker made her way to Blitz and closed her eyes.
"End all of this now. Kill me, kill me like I always wanted after learning why you loved our—no, your—mothers. Break the one who scattered your life."
Blitz said nothing as she rose both hooves into the air, readying herself.
"I shouldn't exist. I shouldn't have been born," whispered Breaker as she waited for the end.
The end never came, as she felt a warm hug around its small, hard body. She opened her eyes, seeing Blitz crying as she hugged her tightly.
"W-Why?"
"You stupid blockhead! I'm not the only one who has the right to be sad. You are also allowed to be sad, angry, and scared. You have every right to be alive, like me! You're not a weapon! It's like Mommy always told us! We're not her! We're not her past; we're our future! So, you have a right to live and become whoever you want, just as much as I do. You're not me, but you are you! So, shut up about all this killing yourself! You're the last family I have," shouted Blitz as she smiled at Breaker, who started to cry, and her hard slime became normal again.
"...family? Why?" asked Breaker as the slime turned into her proper form, a copy of Blitz, except with a horn and darker blue skin. Her mane and tail are blacker but have tiny blue and purple streaks.
"Because you're my stupid, klutz, overprotective twin sister, that's why. Because you're the only one I have left who knows me and my life. Because even though we are different, we have the same heart and the same soul. You wanted to save me by looking for them," said Blitz as she showed Breaker to everyone, and they were watching and smiling at her. "Versions of my... no, our mothers. To help us, to help me understand and believe again. So, thank you."
"It was nothing," replied Breaker as her cheeks turned red, and Blitz started to laugh and hug her, but she looked away, becoming sad. "But all the lives I took. Their blood is on my hooves, not yours. I can't be forgiven; I don't deserve it."
"Yes, you do, just like me. And together, we'll find a way—a way to forgive ourselves, to live, to love, and to be happy. Remember what everyone told not only to me but also to you. In your way, break forward; no matter how high or mighty that wall is, you'll break through it and be able to move forward. That's why you're called Breaker, not because you break things. You break through the heavens, the earth, anything. to see the person you love so dear to them. to see them happy again. That's who you are. Rainboom Breaker Spark. Scatter anything in your way!"
Breaker said nothing as she started crying again and hugging Blitz, who was crying and hugging her. The two finally understood each other.
"It's finally over," whispered Sky.
"Yeah, it is," whispered Nightfall, who was crying as her lover was holding her close.
"It's time to go," replied Sky, but Dashie stopped her.
"Hey, hold up! Twilah and I still look like this!" shouted Dashie, as she pointed to their anthro bodies
"I don't understand why you hate how you look. You're much cooler now!" smirked Dash.
"Not helping!" shouted back Dashie, causing everyone to laugh.
"Don't worry, you can change back anytime. From this form to the pony form and your normal form, All thanks to the elements within," explained Nightfall, as Dashie and Twilah's chests started to glow and became normal again.
"Why would you give us this?" asked Twilah as she turned into her pony form and returned to normal as she tested her new powers.
"So, you can show yourself off and be awesome like me!" shouted Sky as she flexed, making Dash and Dashie roll their eyes and Twilight sigh hard.
"More as a gift and an apology for everything you went through. I hope it helps with your troubles in life. I know it can't replace everything, but I hope it'll help. Also please...take care of daughters...It's time." replied Nightfall as she and Sky's bodies became purple lights and flew above their daughters.
They last spoke to Breaker: "Just like Blitz, wear this. Wear it proudly, as it symbolizes our love for you, loving you for the past two years in this little universe."
The lights shot into Breaker, and soon, a dark purple jacket was on her. On the back was the rainbow comet, but it was breaking through a wall.
"The comet is you, breaking through anything for the friends you will make. We love you, Breaker. We love you, Blitz. We love you both, our sweet peas." said both mares as the light faded from the jacket. Making Blitz hug her sister again and once again, making Breaker blush.
"Isn't that sweet?" said an old-sounding male voice behind the tree.
Everyone watched as Discord from Wonder Universe stepped out and bowed to them.
"Hello. I'm happy to see everything turned out fine this time," said Discord as he looked at Breaker and Blitz.
"Discord! What are you doing here?" shouted Wonder as she summoned her magic.
"Easy now, Dr. Wonder. I'm here on good terms. As I brought someone."
Discord stepped back, and soon, a very old Draconequus came walking and drinking tea.
"Discord...? Is that you? Why are you so old?" asked Twilight, all confused.
"Wait, is he even our Discord?" questioned Dash as she looked at Twilight. Who shrugs her shoulders?
"Oh, please, don't bunch me up with those posers. I'm the one and only true Discord! From the canon universe! The prime universe Discord, I'm the master of chaos, not them!" laughed the old Discord as he drank his tea and ate the cup. "Can we hurry this along? I need to grab Sunny Halloween smoothies before they sell out!"
"Prime universe? Why are you here?" asked Twilah as she watched Discord snap his fingers, now wearing a golfing outfit and changing his snapping fingers with another pair.
"Getting rid of the chaos slime; it seems it won in one universe since Twilight and Dash didn't have their friends in this universe, and other events didn't plan out to stop it. Since I owe "her" for the book canon line, I'm here to clean everything before those posers come here," answered Discord as he tested his snapping fingers. "FOUR!"
"Chaos slime...you mean...me?" whispered Breaker as she was scared. Blitz pulled her behind her, but both were surprised as Twilight and Dash got in front of them.
"Don't you dare touch her!" shouted Dash and Twilight, ready to protect them. Soon, everyone joined them. "YEAH!"
"Now, now. No need to get angry. I'm not touching her but removing the slime that filled this universe. The chaos slime girl here won't be touched. The slime outside needs to go. Don't worry; it won't affect the other universes. Now, let's start, shall we?" said Discord as he clapped his hands, and soon, a giant vortex was behind him. Soon, millions of other Discords will appear. "Unlike the other posers, these posers believe in Breaker here. She should live just like her sister. Not all Disorders are idiots. The ones with good sense are the best, like me!"
The Discords snap their fingers, and soon, a giant purple hole appeared from the sky, and the slime was sucked into it, making it disappear forever... before the hole burped and wiped its mouth and vanished.
"And that's the last of it," said Discord as he put his snapping fingers into the golf bag.
"Where did it go?" asked Breaker as she looked around.
"Oh, someplace far, far away..." smiled Discord as he pulled a prism window to the group, showing the slime landing on a planet, becoming alive, and soon meeting Spiderman in every different universe. "Huh, that's how Black Suit Spiderman came to be...whatever, that's the mouse problem now."
"Wait, isn't that the Sunset Spider?" called out Wonder, but soon, she and everyone had a prism window before them. Wonder could see a man with a red cloak fighting a giant monster and rewinding time as it killed him.
The others saw different things like Flare seeing Superman and Powergirl. Aaira sees Isaac Clarke as he's on a snow planet with someone fighting off the same nightmare as her. Layla saw Amiya as she was fighting Talulah; Wanda could see Winston and Wrecking Ball on the Lunar base and saving it; Rain could see Yoko as she was in her mecha and fighting off the anti-spirals; and Terra could see Sarah Kerrigan and Jim Raynor fighting off the Zerg and Protoss. As Blaze is on vacation, Bolt and Heat could see Sonic and Blaze running around Sonic World. While the others were watching different universes, the windows buzzed between different universes of different tropes by which they were inspired.
"What is this?" asked everyone.
"The multiverse is a big place, filled with endless possibilities. New things like these can be added or removed as they branch out until they connect to another prime universe. The people you see in the window are you. The multiverse is the place where anything can happen. No matter how far you change—in name, body, or whatever—it's still the same person. You are still the same, deep, deep down inside. It's always you. These little girls needed heroes in the form of their mothers. Heroes, they can look up to, admire, and want to be in the future. But they also needed a story—a story to read or watch, to learn from, and to teach others. You all did well here; remember that. I hope you all learned from this. No matter what, you'll still be the same person in different ways," Discord smiled as the other Discords disappeared, leaving him and the old man Discord.
"What was that all about?" asked Flare.
"Oh, nothing much. just something important for all of you. But I must go. The sun is setting, and I need to get that smoothie," laughed Discord as he snapped his fingers, and a portal was there. "Alright, pick you two," said Discord as he faced Breaker and Blitz, confusing everyone again.
"What?" said Blitz.
"Pick who you want to live with. With Twilight and Dash, or with Twilah and Dashie?" said Discord as he pointed to the four girls.
"I don't understand..." whispered Twilight, who was confused with the others.
"These little fillies can't stay in this universe, as it's dead and gone. Right now, "she" controls fate and allows these two to exist, but once your universe unmerges, they will disappear forever. No one wants that, including the few readers who are reading this...scratch that; at least 210 people do! So, each sister needs to live in each universe since that's how "she" wants it right now, " explained Discord as he tapped his watch, checking to see if it was broken. "No rush. No, there is a rush. I need to get Sunny's stand soon!"
"But I..." stuttered Blitz as she started to cry, but Breaker hugged her, calming her down.
"It's okay. We'll always be together," whispered Breaker, trying her best not to cry as she was scared too.
"No. I'm not leaving you!" shouted Blitz as she hugged Breaker.
"I'll be fine, and if you are in trouble, I'll break the walls again!" said Breaker, as her slime form returned but quickly disappeared as she smiled at her sister.
"Oof, good luck to whoever takes her," said Discord as he turned to the readers
"...promise!" said Blitz as she smiled back.
"Promise..." replied Breaker as she wiped her tears.
Blitz said nothing as she turned back to Discord and nodded, and both sisters turned to Twilight, Dash, Dashie, and Twilah.
"Wait, do we have a say in this?" asked Twilah, but seeing how she hurt the girls by saying she didn't want them, she felt Dashie taking her hand.
"We do have a say. I'm okay with it. Aren't you?" Dashie smiled.
"...yeah, I am. I'll gladly take one of the girls, but we're still young," replied Twilah. "We're not ready to raise a child."
Old man Discord tipped his hat and tossed two pills to Discord, who caught them.
"Don't worry, I'll just send her to the future. She will be aged up to match the years we needed to skip. Will four years be fine? Plus, with this pill, she can become a human but also change between forms like you two can do."
"Future huh? That's great; we'll be ready in four years. What do you think, Dashie?"
"That's cool with me, but it's up to them who they want to live with," said Dashie, turning to the girls.
Both sisters looked at each other, finally looking back at them. Blitz slowly steps forward, shaking with fear.
"I want to go...with Twilah and Dashie...please..." cried Blitz, as tears were falling.
"Are you sure?" asked Dashie as she walked towards her, wiping her tears away.
Blitz said nothing, and she just nodded her head.
"Then we're happy you picked us. We'll try our best to be good mothers to you," smiled Twilah, hugging Blitz.
"Mommy, mommy," cried Blitz as she hugged her new mothers.
Breaker looked on and slowly turned to Twilight and Dash, who looked worried. She could tell they didn't want her.
"It's okay. I understand," whispered Breaker, crying silently and melting a bit.
"Hold on! Twilight, and I never said anything. We still want to have you," Dash called out as Twilight nodded.
"We want you. It's just that we're not like them. We're not in love. We can't love you as real loving parents," Twilight explained, not noticing Dash looking sad like her heart was torn.
Dash shook her head, flew towards Breaker, and picked her up, smiling.
"Whatever, we don't need that lame old Twilight. Besides, love comes from the heart, not the mind," smirked Dash as she tried to cheer her up.
"Really?" asked Breaker, drying her tears and turning to normal
"Yeah, besides, I can show you off to the Wonderbolts! Show them my cute and cool daughter!" shouted Dash, causing everyone to laugh and Breaker to blush.
"Well, with that, it's settled," said Discord as he waved his fingers, and a portal was behind the group.
"NO! THIS ISN'T SETTLED DISCORD!" shouted Twilight as she hurried over to Dash. "Dash, don't you even know how to raise a child!?"
"Uh, yeah, I know. I'm not stupid. It's easy: feed them, make sure they sleep, go to the bathroom, have fun, and get mad when they do something stupid. Simple stuff," replied Dash
"That's not the point! She's a living creature and needs proper care!" shouted Twilight as she turned to Breaker, who was hiding behind Dash, scared.
"Easy; I'll just follow what my parents did. Easy peasy."
"It's not! And besides, aren't you going to date anyone? It's not just raising her; it's having a lover who can help you. You need someone who loves you!" yelled Twilight, as she was red in the face and was getting closer to Dash, not realizing her face was close.
Dash looked away and spoke, while Breaker noticed Dash blushing and saying, "I don't need anyone. I have you, right?"
"What? Of course, you have me, but...
"I don't want anyone else—just you. Besides, I thought we'd raise her together. Isn't that right, Breaker?" Dash said as she looked back at her and smiled.
Breaker was shocked as she slowly nodded her head, blushing.
"See. Now, what do we have to worry about?" said Dash, as she was feeling confident.
"That's not the problem, Dash," sighed Twilight.
"What's wrong then?" asked Dash, confused.
"She needs two loving parents."
Dash stopped her, gave her Breaker, and spoke, not noticing her hoof on Twilight's cheek.
"She just needs a loving and caring guardian; besides, I don't need anyone else. I got the greatest, most beautiful, kindest, and smartest mare in the multiverse by my side, you...I...like you!" smiled Dash as she started to blush hard.
Everyone was quiet as they waited for Twilight to answer Dash's love confession.
Twilight looked down and sighed. She slowly looked up, glared into Dash's eyes, and said, "You are trying to sweet talk me into doing all the work, aren't you?"
"....What? No, I mean," said Dash, but Twilight put her hoof in her mouth.
"I'll help you. I'll bring you books on motherhood! We can study and do research, and you'll raise her right. I'll make you a great mom!" smiled Twilight, noticing Dash crying, "Are you okay?"
"...I'm fine. I just got my answer on something, that's all," Dash replied as she wiped away her eyes and returned to normal.
"...answer? Wh-oof!"
Breaker pulled in Twilight, who hugged both mares.
"Mother...mommy..." whispered Breaker.
"I'm not-"
"Ssh, let her have this, Twilight," chimed in Dash.
"...fine," smiled Twilight as she held Breaker.
Everyone else was happy but, at the same time, upset that Twilight didn't notice it at all.
"Wow, was I like that?" asked Twilah to Dashie
"Yup."
"Okay, with this, settle for real this time. It's time for all of you to return to your universe. Just walk through the portal, and it will return all of you home at the point when Twilight and Co. left it. So be ready for anything when you step out." explained Discord.
The girls nodded and started walking towards the portal, each saying their goodbyes to their counterparts.
"This has been something. I won't lie; it was great meeting all of you. Meeting you all gave me more hope for my universe. Thank you." said Terra, as she didn't face the group, but they could tell she was crying. "Layla! Aaira! Good luck in your universe. I know you can save it. Rain, I'm the better sniper!"
"Thank you, Terra," replied Layla as she waved to her.
"Please, I'm better!" laughs Rain
"Hey Terra, 'Good men mean well. We don’t always end up doing well.' Remember that, okay?" shouted Aaira.
"That's right. Good men mean well," thought Terra before she turned to Blitz and Breaker.
"Take care, you two. Remember what I told you. Your life has meaning. There's a reason you're alive. Never forget that."
"Tara isn't going to believe what I've been through," sighed Rain as she stepped up next, not looking back. "But I'm glad I could help. Not only that but meeting everyone here was awesome. See you!"
Rain turned to the fillies, smiled at them, raised her arm, and pointed to the heavens.
"Remember what I taught you! Find happiness. Be happy, laugh, cry, and be sad. All of it's your choice. So, keep living and never give up on finding that happiness. It's the one thing that can't be taken from you but the one thing you have to fight for. Don't forget. Believe in yourself! ROW ROW, FIGHT THE POWER!" laughs Rain,
"Midnight won't believe that she has wonderful and powerful versions of herself in different universes!" smiled Flash as she stepped forward. "Fighting you, Flare had made me stronger! Meeting all of you made me much stronger as well! Thank you." Flash turned to the little sisters and gave them a thumbs up. "Keep that drive; your fighting spirit is always burning!"
"YES!" shouted Breaker as she and her sister stood tall.
"This has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience! To think all of you exist, and I got to meet all of you! I'll do my best and not make you all disappointed in me! Layla, I know you'll find that dawn. Never give up."
"Same to you, Wanda. Your mother will be proud."
"I know... I'll do my best. Oh, and Breaker, Blitz, remember what I said? Don't see the world as it was, but as it could be. Find a better future for both of you. You earned it."
"Yes, ma'am!" shouted the little sisters.
"Finally, I can go home," said Dr. Wonder as she hovered towards the portal. "I can't wait to see Deedee, Mona, and Dr. Amazement again. Maybe I should forgive her?" smiled Wonder as she waved goodbye to everyone but turned to Blitz and Breaker. "Never stop being yourself; never stop being who you are."
"Okay!"
"Thank you for everything," said Blitz, crying a little.
Berry flew to the gate and turned to everyone, crying.
"I'll miss you all!" cried Berry as she quickly hugged her friends, the two Discords, and finally faced the little sisters. "Remember to be brave, not for me but for others you'll meet, your future friends. Even more so with your new mothers."
Berry hugged them again, but the fillies glowed rainbow colors. Soon, Tank popped out of Berry's Mane and waved at them, causing Berry to scream and hug him.
"Remember, kids, don't let death control you. Be brave," said Tank
"I hope I haven't been gone too long; Nightmare and the other league members might be worried about me," said Flare as she hovered over the portal. "It's been wonderful meeting all of you. Seeing all the hope you all have and knowing that there are so many versions of me and fighting for the good in the world...makes me proud. Keep doing your best. You are heroes."
"Thank you!" everyone called out.
"Breaker, Blitz, every life is worth saving. No matter the cost," said Flare with a smile, pointing to the 'S' on her chest. "Never give up hope."
"Yes, ma'am!" shouted the little sisters,
Aaira and Little Star walked up and just stared at the portal.
"Glad I met all of you. I feel like I finally became somewhat whole. I hope Kelly is okay."
Aaira looked over to the girls and smiled. "Take those few steps to acceptance. Don't let your feelings eat you up. Don't let them make a hole in your heart."
"Yes, please don't," agreed Little Star as she disappeared into Aaira's mind.
"We won't. It will take a long time, but we're getting there. Thank you," said Blitz as Breaker nodded.
"Good. You'll always make each other whole again, but also those that you'll call friends," smiled Aaira
Eirika, Aero, and Layla step up and look at the spinning gateway. They both turned to each other and smiled.
"Good luck in saving Nova and the infected."
"Best of luck in saving your friend and the world."
"Goodbye, Knight of Dawn."
"Bye, Layla," said Aero as she nuzzled her face.
"Bye, you two," replied Layla as she petted her.
They all turned to the sisters and waved at them.
"Never give up on faith; we won't give up on you. Just stand tall, stand proud, and others will stay with you. You'll make the right decision. You will always find that wonderful dawn!" said all three
Bolt and Heat walked up to the gate, turned to each other, and held each other in their arms.
"One day, we'll be together again," whispered Bolt.
"I know. But, until then, we'll both have to make a brighter future for our world."
"Yeah," smiled Bolt. "Hey, Heat."
"Yes, Bolt."
"Thank you for being in my life. I can't thank you enough."
"The same to you," smiled Heat. "And I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"!!!" gasped Bolt.
Bolt slowly closed her eyes and kissed her back. Everyone was shocked; they didn't even say anything. They watched the scene unfold until Heat pulled back and smiled.
"Goodbye, my love," whispered Heat, as she had tears in her eyes.
"Nah, this isn't goodbye. Never is! This is see you later."
"Of course. We will see each other again...always." smiled Heat before she and Bolt turned to the girls.
"You aren't alone in all this. Just ask for help, and you'll see. It may not change everything, but you'll feel better and stronger. Remember that." said Heat, as she went hyper.
"Remember, follow your rainbow; even without wings, you can still fly. Your heart allows you to soar higher and farther than you can imagine. Trust in your friends and family, believe in yourself, and never give up on your dreams!" smiled Bolt as she went into her super form, wagging one feather as a finger.
"I'll miss them," said Blitz as her wings and ears drooped down.
"Yeah," agreed Breaker as they both looked up at the sky, seeing the white, colorful void.
The only ones left were the little sisters and their new mothers.
Dash and Dashie stood in front of each other. Dash flew up to Dashie's eye level and put her hoof out.
"See you later. Be a great mom to her. She needs someone awesome, and she has you now. "An awesome mom!"
"I will; you better not slack off with that girl."
"Never," smirked Dash.
Dash and Dashie shook on it, but Dashie pulled her in for a big hug.
"Same, it's like saying goodbye to myself...and thanks. Not all of us can have a happy ending. Treat your Twilight right, you hear?"
"I will, and thank you," smiled Dashie as she let her go and wiped her tears away.
"Come on, Breaker, let's go home," said Dash as she stepped back, holding Breaker's hoof.
Twilight and Twilah smiled at their Dashes before they turned to each other.
"This is goodbye, right?" asked Twilight, trying not to cry.
"Yeah, but it doesn't have to be. We can visit each other's world, if possible, since..." replied Twilah as they looked over at Breaker, who was smashing the ground for fun, while Dash looked on in worry...even more so as the ground started to break.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
They both started to laugh and soon began to hug each other.
"Treat Blitz well, okay? Be a great mom to her."
"I will treat Breaker the same. Also, open your eyes. Dash loves you, but I don't know if your feelings are the same. Think about it, okay?"
"I already know, silly," giggled Twilight, catching Twilah off guard.
"Wait, but-"
"I want her to say those three little words, like how your Dash did...so, until then, I'm waiting and pretending I don't notice it."
"I see. Well, I hope everything works out for you."
"Same to you."
Twilah and Twilight just smiled and let each other go. Twilight walked over to Dash, who was trying to stop Breaker from breaking a brick with her hoof and other things, while Twilah walked over to Dashie and Blitz.
"It's time to go," said Discord as he opened a time gate.
Blitz nodded and looked at her new parents.
"I hope I can be a great daughter to you," whispered Blitz. "And I'll work hard to be the daughter you can be proud of," she continued, tears in her eyes.
Both of her parents smiled and hugged her.
"We'll be waiting," said both of them, kissing her on the forehead.
Discord just smiled but quickly remembered that he had taken paper and written it.
"This will be the place where we will meet."
"Cool. Can't...wait...huh?" said Dashie as she watched Discord open another time gate, and everyone could see an older Dashie, as she was wearing an oversized t-shirt and in her panties, singing a peanut butter and jelly time song, and making a PB&J sandwich.
"Here you. Don't be late."
Older Dashie suddenly saw the gate and screamed as Discord slapped the note on her face, closing it.
Dashie turned red while Dash and Breaker started to laugh their butts off.
"Oh, man! That was great!" laughed Breaker.
"She was singing PB&J time! Aha!" cried Dash.
"Shush! No one saw that!" snapped Dashie as she covered their mouths.
Twilight and Twilah started laughing, while Blitz smiled, and Discord just shrugged.
Blitz walked over to Discord and took his paw.
"Don't worry; for you, it will be a few minutes, but for them, They've been waiting for you for years. So, this isn't goodbye, but a new beginning."
"I know, just hard."
"It always is. This reminds me of when I said my goodbyes to Fluttershy before she passed away."
"Oh."
"It's okay; you don't have to be sad anymore. Now, come on." smiled Discord as he picked up Blitz and gave her the pill. Soon, he teleported the other pill into Breaker's mouth, who was surprised and swallowed it. "With that done, let's go."
Old man Discord bowed to the rest and snapped back to his universe. Soon, both worlds started to unmerge with each other, and a white light appeared, covering everything.
Twilight and Dash opened their eyes and found themselves back in the crater but with Breaker. It was still nighttime.
"Breaker, welcome home," said both mares as Breaker smiled at them.
Twilah and Dashie opened their eyes and found themselves back in the crater. They looked up.
Four years later,
In an apartment building in the big city, music was blasting as an older Dashie slid into the kitchen and sang along to rock music. She was wearing a huge T-shirt and panties as she turned on the TV on the wall.
"See, Twi, you always do good in the world. Just remember, take a break now and then." chuckled Dashie as she made some lunch by making a PB&J and putting the song of making one on.
Suddenly, a time gate opened, and Dashie noticed it and screamed before Discord slapped a note on her forehead, closing the gate.
"Crap," whispered Dashie as she remembered that day, but she quickly grabbed the note and read it. Her eyes widened, and she promptly called Twilah with the particular cell phone they had for that day. She turned to the TV and saw her doing an interview, but she took out her phone and answered it, ignoring the host. "Yo! Twi!"
"IT'S TODAY!?"
"Yup, the time has come. Let's meet her. So hurry back home."
"I'M ON MY WAY!" shouted Twilah as she hung up and used her element magic to open a gateway to the kitchen.
Dashie quickly covered herself as the news recorded this all live. Soon, she could hear people freaking out as Twilah entered the kitchen and closed the gate. "Get dressed! Hurry!" shouted Twilah as she transformed into her anthro form and changed to her typical outfit look.
"You showed off your magic! People saw me in my underwear!"
"I can just say I created wormholes, and so what? You have a great body."
"Not the point!" blushed Dashie, and she blushed harder as she noticed Twilah's wings opened and standing firm. "KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS!" shouted Dashie as she hurried to the bedroom to get dressed.
"Hurry! And what did you mean?" asked Twilah as she walked through the kitchen doorway, feeling her wings bumping into it, making her blush red. "I'M NOT HORNY!"
Dashie and Twilah landed in the forest—the same forest where it all started. They quickly found the crater, which was now covered with flowers.
"Mommies!" cried Blitz as she ran towards them and hugged them.
"We're here," whispered Dashie and Twilah.
"I'm happy to see you too, Mom, Mother," smiled Blitz.
Discord smiled and disappeared.
The three noticed him gone, and this made Twilah upset.
"Darn, I wanted to ask him something."
"About what?"
"Remember? He was talking about someone who wanted this. I wanted to know who that person was."
"That doesn't matter. What matters now is that we're together, and our family is finally complete."
"Right," smiled Twilah as she and Dashie watched Blitz turn into her anthro version.
"Let's go home!" said both mothers.
"Okay!" smiled Blitz as they flew off into the sunset, leaving the flower-covered crater behind.
On that day, the Rainbow Comet returned to the world...
Four years later, but in another universe and at the same time
Twilight, being slightly taller and her mane being longer now, with older Spike, was setting up the meeting table in the palace as she was preparing for the meeting with her friends, as this was their Council of Friendship meeting day.
"Everything looks perfect. Let's wait for the others to arrive. Oh, I forgot the snacks and drinks!"
"Don't worry, Breaker is bringing it," replied Spike.
"WHAT!?" shouted Twilight as she grabbed Spike. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? WE CAN'T REPAIR ANOTHER HALLWAY RIGHT NOW!"
"Twilight calmed down; Sunburst created something for Breaker and her badly klutz behavior."
"Really? Like what?"
"It's a new magical barrier, but it only affects Breaker. The magic will reflect if she bumps into something or is about to break something. So, nothing can be broken when Breaker is around," explained Spike, causing Twilight's relief.
"Thank goodness, we don't need a repeat of the last time."
"I know, right," laughed Spike as he looked outside and saw a section of the castle being repaired. "I still can't believe another version of you and Dash had a kid. Heck, I still can't believe you had a multiverse adventure!"
"You and me both," giggled Twilight as she walked to the window, looked outside, and saw the city below as the ponies were fixing another Breaker little accident.
"Hey, Twilight," said Spike, getting her attention. "What was your favorite world you've been to?"
"Huh? ...hmmm, I don't know. But I do know I don't miss Aaira or Terra World—so much death and destruction. I'll never forget those worlds. I hope they saved their worlds. They deserved it."
"Agreed, and what about the other Twilight?"
"Well, that me and her Dash were a thing was pretty weird at first, but then I realized that our Dash had feelings for me, as I remembered our talk. Dash was going through a mid-life crisis and was confused about her feelings towards me. Now, I think she's more clear and ready to say it. Those three words. We're dating now."
Spike laughed as he sat back down.
"Twilight, it's been four years, and she still hasn't told you. How long are you going to wait?"
"I'm willing to wait, and I'll continue."
"If you say so, Oh, Breaker is coming."
Twilight could see the dark blue pegasus, a slightly taller filly, as she walked with the tray of snacks and drinks, using her alicorn magic.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm not going to ruin the party," said Breaker, trying to sound serious. However, her nervous voice was so squeaky and adorable that it was hard not to laugh at her.
"I know."
"Hey, Breaker. Do you remember the meeting four years ago?" asked Spike.
"Yeah, it was the best! Having everyone here and meeting Mom's friends was so much fun!"
"Yeah, but your mothers had the worst time keeping you calm and not breaking anything," said Spike, taking a cupcake.
"It wasn't my fault. It's not my fault if I get excited easily."
"We know, sweetie. Just keep practicing the breathing method that Sunburst taught you."
"Okay..."
"Good girl. Now, where is everyone? They're running late."
"We're here, Twil. Don't you worry? We're not that late," said a familiar voice.
"Nope. I haven't broken anything—not right now," smiled Breaker.
"Very funny, AJ," chuckled Twilight.
"I still can't believe we're aunts either," laughed AJ.
"And it's not just you and Pinkie," said Rarity as she entered the room with Fluttershy. "We're all aunts. How's my wonderful darling?"
"I'm doing great!"
"Yes, but she's Dash, and that pony can sometimes be so careless. It's a wonder how the two raised Breaker without killing Twilight. But I'm glad; everything is alright."
"So, is everyone here? Where's Dash and Starlight?" asked Spike.
"Oh, them? They're late. Again," said a male voice as Sunburst walked into the room.
"Dash, I can understand, but Starlight, I'll let her pass. This will be the first time some of us will see your daughter. What's her name again?" asked Rarity
"Luster, Dawn," answered Sunburst as he sat down.
"Oh yeah, is she still having problems making friends?" asked Fluttershy
"Sadly, yes," sighed Sunburst as he looked outside the window and could see the city. "She's still having a hard time making friends. It's not her fault; it's mine. I tried teaching her to open up, but it's not working. At least she has Breaker, but still..."
"I'm sure that will work. Just have faith and believe in her," smiled Twilight.
"Thank, Twilight."
Suddenly, everyone could see the doors kicked open and Dash flying in and landing on the table.
Dash was quickly tackled by Breaker and blasted through the wall, leaving behind a dash-shaped hole. Twilight sighed as she walked over to the hole.
"BREAKER! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT TACKLE HUGGING MOM WHEN SHE SHOWS UP!?" shouted Twilight as the other laughed at her and Dash.
"Sorry, Mom."
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to her," said Twilight, as she could see poor Dash in a crater and doing a classic death pose
Breaker helped up a groaning Dash with a flying bird around her head.
"Did anyone take a photo of that? It would be perfect for the family album," said AJ.
"No. Sadly," said Pinkie, still trying to remove the lens cover from her camera.
"Ugh, sorry, Mom, but you were late!" said Breaker as she rubbed the back of her head and blushed.
"Yeah, but did you need to break my spine? Seriously, Breaker, what did Twilight tell you about being careful and not breaking things?" said Dash as she stood up and dusted herself off.
"But I'm trying."
"I know, but try harder, okay?" smiled Dash as she hugged Breaker, making Breaker happy. She hugged her back but much harder, causing Dash to fall to the ground and cough.
"Oops."
"You did that on purpose," said Dash, glaring at her.
"I love you a lot, Mom!" cried Breaker, blushing hard.
"Dash, give her a break. You know she's a mommy's girl when it comes to you," laughed Fluttershy as she helped her up.
Breaker blushed bright red as she shouted, "I'M NOT A MOMMY'S GIRL!"
"Oh? Then explain; why are you blushing and sweating?" said Twilight, smiling at her.
"I'M NOT!" blushed Breaker as she turned away from them.
"You're a cutie," laughed Rarity.
"Stop that. I'm not cute."
"But you are," said Dash, smiling and nuzzling Twilight's face as they watched their daughter.
"Okay," whispered Breaker as her tail was wagging hard.
"Mommy's girl!" shouted Pinkie, causing everyone to laugh.
"I'M NOT A MOMMY'S GIRL!" cried Breaker as she ran to the wall, as she wasn't looking where she was going. The magical barrier tried to reflect it but couldn't, as the breaker power was too great and was scattered. Breaker knocked down the wall and flew off.
Twilight rubbed her eyes and sighed loudly while Dash smiled.
"Breaker!" said Twilight in her 'Mom's voice. "Get back here, young lady. You have to fix that wall!"
"I'M NOT A MOMMY'S GIRL!" shouted Breaker in the distance.
"GET BACK HERE!"
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Your Name Across The Multiverse
Epilogue: ...Stay True to Your Future: 5 & 9 Years later
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Your Name Across The Multiverse
Author's Note
All images are AI-made (using bling). In fact, this story was created because of the cover art, and I messed around with Image Creator and made up the story by connecting the art together.
This is the last time posting in this fic. I feel it's now 100% completed and done with better grammar, better rewrite, better images, and added more images. Now I'm off to check the grammar stuff in "Our Name." The grammar bot made a few errors and whatnot. see ya there!
Chapter 1: Rainbow Comet
“Remember that a person's name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language." Dale Carnegie
Chapter 1: Rainbow Comet
The sun started to set as Rainbow Dash was hovering in the sky and stared back to the open field as her best friend and the princess of friendship, Twilight Sparkle, was using her alicorn magic to lower the sun and raise the moon like she had been doing since taking over. Dash returned to the field and patted Twi on the back.
"Hey, not bad! You didn't toss the moon into next week!" Dash jokingly smiled as Twilight sighed and turned to the cyan pegasus.
"Rainbow Dash, we've talked about this. You know I have more experience now," stated Twilight as Dash rolled her eyes and turned away.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got a few months of experience," teased Dash as she looked back at her close friend.
"Five years!" corrected Twilight, as the alicorn used her magic to put the moon in the right spot carefully. After putting the moon in the right place, Twilight turned her magic to her camping equipment, but she could see Dash was having problems setting her tent up as it kept falling over. "Dash, why didn't you use the manual?"
"Because I wanted to test how good my hooves are at setting up a tent," replied Rainbow Dash as the tent fell again. "Okay, maybe it's because I'm not good at this."
Twilight sighed and helped set up Dash's tent and then her own. With that done, Dash started the campfire while Twilight took out her notebook and parts of her telescope from her camping bag.
Dash looked on as Twilight started to put the telescope together, but she noticed she was upset about something. "Hey, Twilight. Is everything alright? You seem... a bit upset," Dash asked as she walked over to Twilight and sat beside her.
"I just miss hanging out with you and the rest of the girls. You guys have been busy since we went our separate ways to follow our dreams," Twilight said, as Dash could feel the same loneliness.
"Yeah, me too," replied Dash as they watched the glowing moon above them. "Sucks that no one else could join us tonight. Pinkie is helping Cheese Sandwich at a big party for the Queen of the Hippogriffs; Rarity is doing a fashion tour, and AJ is helping her with it; and Fluttershy is on a trip with Discord, something about a sick-dimensional cloud monster...or something like that. It's a good thing I was on leave when you sent that letter. I needed a break from being the new captain of the Wonderbolts after Spitfire stepped down after getting married."
Twilight turned to the night sky and could see why they were here, as she could see it in the distance and getting bigger. "Well, at least you're here. I can't think of anyone else I would rather watch the comet with than my best friend."
"Thanks, Twi," replied Dash as she hugged Twilight. As Twilight did the same, Dash could see the comet passing closer to them and getting bigger. "So, Twi, what's this comet called again?"
"Rainbow Dash! You must have learned about the Rainbow Comet in school?" scolded Twilight as she glared at her best friend.
"Oh, THAT one?" asked Dash, nervous as she didn't know, and she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Dash!" sighed Twilight as she took out a book and read out loud about the comet. "The Rainbow Comet, named by Starry Sea, who first saw the comet, is a comet that flies near Equestria every 750 years! It was called Rainbow Comet because of the rainbow tail it leaves behind! Like all comets, as Rainbow Comet nears the sun, its volatile compounds, those with low boiling points, such as water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and-"
Dash toned out the egghead talk and helped set up the telescope and cut Twilight off from talking anymore. "I get it, Twilight. It's a rare event to see."
Twilight glared at Dash again but could tell she was happy to be there as she handed her the telescope.
"Sorry, it's just nice to talk with someone, and I know a lot about this."
"Nah, you're good," said Dash as Twilight took the telescope and adjusted it.
"Okay, we should be able to see the comet better now," explained Twilight as she looked through the telescope and was in awe. "Rainbow Comet looks amazing; its tail is beautiful!"
Twilight let Dash look through the telescope, and she quickly stopped looking. "Please, my rainbow trail is much cooler and bigger!"
Twilight ugh loudly while Dash was laughing her butt off. "That wasn't funny, Dash."
"Yeah, it was," grinned Dash as she flew into the sky and made a loop. "My rainbow trail is much cooler."
"Yeah, yeah." smiled Twilight as she rolled her eyes and looked up at the sky, seeing the comet flying closer. A few hours later, the comet was more enormous and left behind its trademark rainbow trail in the night sky, so even Dash was amazed.
"Okay, I take back what I said before!" admitted Dash as she floated next to Twilight. "This is way cooler!"
"I know," agreed Twilight as the two looked at the beautiful comet that was passing nearby.
Twilight heard a cracking noise a few minutes later, almost like a window breaking, but she couldn't pinpoint the noise as it suddenly stopped. "Dash, did you hear that?"
"Heard what?" asked Dash as she turned to Twilight, but before Twilight could say anything, she could see a small flash of light coming from the sky.
"What was that?" asked Twilight as she used her magic and levitated her telescope.
"Was it a shooting star or something?" Dash asked as she flew into the sky. She could see the flash and noticed something heading towards the ground.
"No, that's part of the comet!" shouted Twilight as she used her wings, flew next to Rainbow Dash, and pointed to the falling chunk. "Rainbow, we got to find that piece of the comet! This is the first time in history that we can study the rocky and icy surface of Rainbow Comet!"
"Right, but where is the piece landing?" asked Dash as the fallen piece flew fast, making it difficult to see as it landed somewhere in the forest before them.
"It looks like it ended not too far away from us! Let's go!" ordered Twilight as she took her book bag and soared into the air, heading to the impact crater.
"Hey, wait up, princess egghead!" yelled Dash as she followed Twilight, but unknown to both of them, the area around them started to flicker, a prism effect appeared around the area, and more cracking noise could be heard as the area was cracking.
"Why couldn't you teleport us there?" shouted Dash as she was behind Twilight.
"Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we need to document it!" stated Twilight as she got closer to the impact zone and wrote notes in her notebook.
"Whatever..." whispered Dash as she increased her speed, passing Twilight and landing in the impact sight first. She could see the small crater and a colored shard at the bottom. "This must be it!" Dash walked down the crater and looked at the reflecting shard, which gave a colorful aura.
Twilight finally arrived and asked Dash if the piece was intact.
"Yeah, it looks like it. What do we do now?" asked Dash as Twilight wrote down notes and looked up from her notebook.
"Well, first we document the event, then study the shard's composition, and then we..."
"BORING!" shouted Dash. "I'm going to touch it!"
"Wait, no, don't! We don't know what touching it would do! There are no studies on it! Rainbow, we need to study the"
Dash wasn't listening and touched the shard.
"Too!" shouted Dash in an echo.
"...late?" confusedly shouted Dash as she could see a tall creature with long blue hair and blue clothes leaning in front of her and touching the same shard. "What?" said Dash and the creature at the same time in the same voice as they stared at each other.
"Dash!?" yelled Twilight, seeing the area in front of Dash cracking like a broken window. At the same time, she could hear her voice from the other side and was saying the very same thing as she was saying.
"Dashie!? You need to step away from the shard! We don't know what-" yelled a short black-haired creature. She was wearing a red jacket, blue jeans, and red sneakers, and the cracked window got more significant to reveal her and Twilight to each other.
"Dashie?" repeated Rainbow as she and the human girl, known as Dashie, stepped away from the shard and could see the cracking effect around them, and the two could see prism-like effects around the area.
Suddenly, a glitch and static-like effect flashed out across the area...
"Dashiell Reinbold, we've talked about this. You know I have more experience talking to my family now, thanks to you and the other girls," stated Twilah as Dashie rolled her eyes and turned away.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got a few years of experience talking to us," teased Dashie as she looked back at her close friend.
"Nine years," corrected Twilah as she carefully put the phone in the right spot in her backpack. After placing the phone in the right spot, Twilah turned her eyes to her camping equipment but could see Dashie had problems setting her tent up, as it kept falling over. "Dashie, why didn't you use the manual?"
"Because I wanted to test how good my hands are at setting up a tent," replied Dashie as the tent fell again. "Okay, maybe it's because I'm not good at this."
Twilah sighed and helped set up Dashie's tent and then her own. With that done, Dashie started the campfire while Twilah took out her notebook and parts of her telescope from her camping bag.
Dashie watched as Twilah started putting the telescope together, but she noticed she was upset about something.
"Hey, Twi. Is everything alright? You seem a bit upset," Dashie asked as she walked over to Twilah and sat next to her.
"I just can't stop thinking about how you turned down that track and field scholarship. The rest of the girls have their dreams for something. Yet, you haven't, and we’re going our separate ways soon. I don't like it!" answered Twilah, as Dashie could see how upset she was.
"Sorry, Twilah, you wanted me to take it, but I couldn't. I don't want to run all my life... I want something else. I'm just not sure right now what that is." replied Dashie as they watched the glowing moon above them. Dashie quickly changed the subject to "Sucks. No one else could join us tonight. Penny is helping Alfred on a big party gig for the mayor's family in another town; Rachel is going on that fashion tour, and AJ went with her; and Faith is on a short trip with her boyfriend, something about helping his brother on something. It's a good thing I didn't have plans tonight when you sent that text. I needed a break from my parents anyway."
Twilah turned to the night sky and could see why they were there, as she could see it in the distance and getting bigger. "Well, at least you're here. I can't think of anyone else I would rather watch the comet with than my stupid best friend."
"Thanks, Twi," replied a blushing Dashie as she hugged Twilah and could see the comet passing closer to them and getting bigger. "So, Twi, what's this comet called again?"
"Dashiell! You must have learned about the Rainbow Comet in class," scolded Twilah as she glared at her best friend.
"Oh, THAT one?" asked Dashie as she was nervous as she didn't have an answer and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Dashiell!" sighed Twilah as she took out a book and read out loud about the comet. "The Rainbow Comet, named by Sarah Moore, who first discovered the comet, is a comet that flies near Earth every 75 years! It was called Rainbow Comet because of the weird rainbow tail it leaves behind! Like all comets, as Rainbow Comet nears the sun, its volatile compounds, those with low boiling points, such as water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and-"
Dashie toned out the egghead talk, helped set up the telescope and cut Twilah off from talking. "I get it, Twilah. It's a rare event to see."
Twilah glared at Dashie again but could tell she was happy to be there as she handed her the telescope. "Sorry, it's just nice to talk with you, and I know a lot about this."
"Nah, you good girl." blushed Dashie as Twilah took the telescope and adjusted it.
"Okay, we should be able to see the comet better now," explained Twilah as she looked through the telescope and was in awe. "Rainbow Comet looks amazing; its tail is beautiful!"
Twilah let Dashie look through the telescope, who quickly stopped looking. "My rainbow ponytail was much cooler and longer, too!"
Twilah ugh loudly while Dashie was laughing her butt off. "That wasn't funny, Dashie; it was still weird that you dyed your hair like that, but I did like it."
"Yeah, it was." nervously coughed Dashie as she untied her ponytail, letting her long blue hair free. "Blue is much cooler."
"Yeah, yeah." smiled Twilah as she rolled her eyes and looked up at the sky, seeing the comet flying closer. A few hours later, the comet was bigger and leaving behind its trademark rainbow trail in the night sky, and even Dashie was amazed by it.
"Okay, I take back what I said before!" admitted Dashie as she stood beside Twilah. "This comet does it way cooler than my ponytail!"
"I know," agreed Twilah as the two looked at the beautiful comet that was passing nearby.
Twilah could hear a cracking noise a few minutes later, almost like a window breaking, but she couldn't pinpoint the noise as it suddenly stopped. "Dashie, did you hear that?"
"Heard what?" asked Dashie as she turned to Twilah, but before she could say anything, she could see a small flash of light coming from the sky.
"What was that?" asked Twilah as she picked up her telescope.
"Was it a shooting star or something?" asked Dashie as she tried to look harder in the sky; she couldn't see what made the flash, but something was heading towards the ground.
"No, that's part of the comet!" shouted Twilah as she rushed over, pulled on Dashie's jacket to be eye level with her, and pointed to the falling chunk. "Dashiell, we got to find that piece of the comet! This is the first time in history that we can study the rocky and icy surface of Rainbow Comet!"
"Right, but where is the piece landing?" asked Dashie, blushing hard. The fallen piece was flying by fast, making it difficult to see, and it landed somewhere in the woods in front of them.
"It looks like it ended not too far away from us! Let's go!" ordered Twilah as she took her book bag and ran off, heading to the impact crater.
"Hey, wait up, egghead!" yelled Dashie as she followed Twilah, but unknown to both of them, the area around them started to flicker, a prism effect appeared around the area, and more cracking noise could be heard as the area was cracking.
"Why couldn't we use our bikes?" shouted Dashie as she was behind her friend.
"Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we need to document it!" Twilah said as she approached the impact zone and began writing notes in her notebook.
"Whatever..." whispered Dashie as she increased her speed, passing Twilah and stopping in the impact sight. She could see the small crater and a colored shard at the bottom. "This must be it!" Dashie walked down the crater and looked at the reflecting shard, which gave a colorful aura.
Twilah finally arrived and asked Dashie if the piece was intact.
"Yeah, it looks like it. What do we do now?" asked Dashie as Twilah wrote down notes and looked up from her notebook.
"Well, first we document the event, then study the shard's composition, and then we..."
"BORING!" shouted Dashie. "I'm going to touch it!"
"Wait, no, don't! We don't know if it's safe to touch! There are no studies on it! Reinbold, we need to study the "
"Too!" shouted Dashie in an echo.
"...late?" confusedly shouted Dashie. She could see a small rainbow-maned pony with wings standing before her, touching the same shard. "What?" said Dashie and the pony simultaneously as they stared at each other.
"Dashie!" yelled Twilah, seeing the area in front of Dashie as a broken window. At the same time, she could hear her voice from the other side and was saying the same thing as she was speaking.
"Dash!? You need to step away from the shard! We don't know what-" yelled a purple-maned unicorn, but with wings, as the cracked window got more significant to reveal her and Twilah.
"Dash?" repeated Dashie as she and the blue pony, known as Dash, stepped away from the shard and could see the broken window effect around them, and the two could see prism-like effects around the area.
Suddenly, glitch and static-like effects flashed across the area, and all four were blasted by a bright, colorful light from the shard as it started to float in the air and slowly split into two. The girls all screamed as they were blasted away, and as they were flying back, they created solid colors of afterimages as they flew back, but their primary selves were sucked back into each of the shards, and the shards shattered across time and space as the window crack vanished.
"WHAT THE HELL!" shouted an older-sounding Dash as she stood up and dusted herself off.
"Where am I? I was heading off to save..." She stopped talking as a laser sight beamed on her head. Looking where it came from, she saw a female figure walking out of the forest wearing a futuristic sneaking suit and pointing a sniper rifle as the eye visors lit up purple.
"You're a long way from home, commander," stated the futuristic woman as she lowered her weapon. "Thought you were on a mission with the captain? Why are you here on the mission and alone on the planet?"
"Commander?" confusedly stated the blue-skinned woman as she scratched her head and looked around. She noticed the forest was different, with changing colors and the futuristic gear the woman had on as she walked up to her. "I'm a commander?"
"You're messing with me, right?" the woman asked as she approached the blue woman. She quickly stopped as she read the woman's mind. "Wait, you, not the commander, but you look just like her?"
"The name is Rain, Rain Dash," replied Rain as she pointed her rifle around her back and aimed at the woman's head. "Take off the face mask; are you part of the Sunburst group?"
"I don't know who this sunburst is, and my name is..." The woman removed her mask, revealing herself as an anthro Twilight with long hair.
"Tara?" whispered Rain as she couldn't believe who was before her.
"Tara?" Terra repeated in confusion, but both women quickly noticed the glitching and cracking of reality around them. Both could see their bodies turning a solid red color before they returned to normal.
"We're not meant to be here," Terra said, using her psychic powers to sense everything around her.
"What does that mean?" asked Rain.
"Going by the cracking of reality and how we look like people we know, I'm guessing we're in another universe? But..." replied Terra, as she could feel the universe around them trying to reject them as her body turned red again. "I think the universe is rejecting our existence here, which is why reality is cracking, and our bodies are turning colors, but why is the Rainbow Comet here?"
"The Rainbow Comet!" shouted Rain as she looked at the night sky. "But didn't it appear fifteen years ago after she died-? How do you know about the comet if we're from different universes?"
"Because, in my universe, there's a rainbow comet as well. So, it must be a naturally occurring phenomenon in every universe, and it passes close to every world," Terra explained as she put her hand on her chin.
"How did you and I get here then, miss future egghead?" asked Rain.
"I don't know...but guessing by this crater, something happened here..." answered Terra as she could see the burn marks. "Something bad…"
End of Chapter 1
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Your Name Across The Multiverse
Chapter 4: A Knight, A Doctor and Rushing Against The End
"Wait, you're telling me the multiverse theory is real?" Aaira said as Terra was done telling their story, "And you are all different versions of the same person but you." She pointed at Terra and then pointed to Wanda and Dr. Wonder hovering as they returned to ground level. "Are we? Me? Another version of me..." she was thinking out loud.
"Yeah, we are," Terra said.
"But why are we all here?" asked Aaira, rubbing the sides of her head
"That's what we're trying to figure out, but so far, we only have one option to see that," explained Wanda as she faced Dr. Wonder.
"With my Harmony stone, I can look into the past and see what happened here, and maybe we can recreate it or undo it, but there's a problem," Wonder said as she faced Flare.
"Whatever happened here destroyed not only this universe but time and space from the past. Going by what Dr. Wonder said, her spell, even with her stone, can't recover the lost past unless she can get a familiar power source and boost the spell further." finished Flare
Aaira was trying to understand all this: talking pony with a jetpack, superhero, superhuman, pony-looking humans, magic—it was unreal to believe, but they were standing before her. She was a bit speechless, but she quickly understood what they meant. "So, you need more power. Guessing how you're telling me this, I'm guessing you don't have that, right?"
"Correct," said Dr. Wonder as she crossed her arms.
"Well, where can we find some if you need a power source? Because I don't think we can find some here," explained Aaira as she looked around the falling reality.
"Not in this universe, no, but we do have some from other universes right here," pointed Wonder to Blue Berry's pet turtle.
"My tank?" Blueberry whispered
"Yes, you said Tank was the avatar of a certain element, correct? I believe my Harmony Stone and Tank are different versions of each other."
"Oh no, you can't use him! He's my friend," cried Berry as she tightly held Tank in her arms.
"We don't have a choice; we can't save this universe or our lives without him; we need Tank's power," said Dr. Wonder as Flare stepped between them.
"Look, I know you're worried and scared; I am too, but we have no choice." Flare said, trying to comfort Berry as she put her hands on her shoulders, "I know he's a friend, but he's our only option. I'm sorry."
"You...promise he won't get hurt, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay," said Berry as she gave Tank to Flare.
"Now, let's do this," said Dr. Wonder as Flare set Tank in front of her. She began the spell as she placed her stone over the turtle. She closed her eyes, and the stone soon started to glow as the stone's energy went through Tank. Both reacted as they slowly changed colors. "It's working," said Dr. Wonder as her stone began glowing brighter.
"Hold on, your stone is reacting to his powers and absorbing them," said Wanda as she noticed Tank drop to his knees.
"That means it's working."
"No, that means you're killing him! The stone is too much for him to handle," explained Wanda as she hurried over to Tank. "You need to stop!"
"Not until we get results," said Wonder as the crater started to re-show the events as time was being recovered.
"If you don't, it will kill him! The stone is taking his powers away; the whole point is to save this world, but you're killing him!" shouted Flare in anger as her eyes glowed bright red.
"This is my only way to find the truth," Wonder shouted.
"No, it's not!" With that said Flare zipped toward Dr. Wonder and grabbed her by the throat, choking her. Wanda was shocked by the turn of events; Aaira and others were ready for a fight; Rain held back Berry as Berry tried to run to Tank; and Dr. Wonder attempted to get air as she struggled in Flare's grip. "You think this is the only way, but it's not," growled Flare as she lifted Dr. Wonder more. "Let. him. go."
Dr. Wonder did as Flare demanded, and the Harmony Stone's light disappeared as it lost the connection. Flare dropped her as she was still trying to get air back in her lungs, coughing as her face was red. "What are you doing? I was so close," she choked.
"Yes, you were. So close to killing her friend."
"Tank..." whispered Berry as Wanda brought the hurt turtle over to her. Berry started to cry as Tank touched her face.
"Please, don't do that again," begged Flare. "This isn't like the world you lived in. Here and right now, things aren't solved with force, anger, or pride. There are many ways to save the world, and this isn't one of them." Flare said sadly as her eyes returned to normal.
"She's right; using force and anger will just lead to death," said Terra as she stood beside Flare.
"I did what had to be done! We're all going to die along with this universe! One life shouldn't matter!" shouted Wonder as she punched the ground.
"You call yourself a superhero?" said Flare in a revolting tone.
"Enough!" shouted Aaira, causing everyone to look at her. "Look, I know this is hard and crazy for all of us, seeing talking ponies, superheroes, and even magic. It's hard to believe and scary, but we're the last ones here; we can't be fighting now. We have one chance; let's work together and stop this. Okay?"
Everyone was speechless. Flare and Dr. Wonder looked at each other in hate; they all agreed and reviewed the plan.
"I agree with Aaira; we need to work together, put our minds together, and figure out a way to boost the spell without hurting Berry's friend," Wanda said.
Aaira nodded and lowered herself to the ground. She took a stick and drew Dr. Wonder in the dirt. "Okay. If the witch here needs a boost to her spell and the cute turtle isn't enough, we need to add more power, taking the weight off the turtle."
"But where will we find a source that big? It would need a huge energy source," said Wanda as she rubbed her head.
"And what could do that?" asked Flare.
"Guys, didn't you say that stone and the turtle are the same things but different versions of each other?" asked Aaira
"Yes," said Wonder and Wanda
"Does that mean their powers are the same, right?"
"Of course, if two things are the same but different, then their powers are the same but different as well," answered Dr. Wonder, catching up.
"Okay, and you're saying your stone can store much power?"
"Yes, so does the turtle; he's the avatar of an element of... fruit; anyway, it can hold power and more."
"Then, I think I know where to find another element," smiled Aaira.
"Where?" everyone said.
Aaira took her hand and pointed to her head. They all looked confused as she tried to explain. "Think about it; there's a common theme here. Element of...fruits, Harmony Stone, and in my world, the Changers are made from a stone pillar called "Element." After escaping the planet after it blew up, the pillar infected me somehow, and what I saw in that psychiatric ward on the Mars space station was that my mind had the blueprints to create a pillar. If we can get that information from my mind, we can build the pillar."
"Wait, that's the most stupid idea I have ever heard. First, we can't extract information from your mind; it's a part of you, and second, we don't have the means to build something; even with magic, I need to know how the object works. Plus, didn't you say the Changers were an outbreak of something?" questioned Wonder as she pointed to her.
"Yeah, Changers are dead, rotted bodies that form into black-looking flesh monsters."
"Changers?" interrupted Terra.
"Yes?"
Terra started to think as she walked to Aaira, lowered herself next to her, and drew a pillar next to the tank drawing.
Wonder sighed as she floated back and forth. As she played with the harmony stone, she had to admit it was a good idea. "Okay, I admit, it's not bad, and I guess we can try this, but the only problem left is making it. Again, my magic can't recreate something unless I know how it's made. Right down to the fine details, alien tech is too much for me to understand. And again, we don't have a means of building it."
"I can make it," said Berry as she stepped forward.
"Huh?"
"I can build it," repeated Blue Berry.
"Really?" said Wanda.
"Yes, my magic isn't like Ms. Wonder here. I can create anything by looking at it and telling me what it does, even if it's simple words."
"Yes, then this can work!" cheered Wanda as she joined Aaira and Terra on the ground, drawing out outstanding details of Berry, Terra, and Aaira and then drawing lines from them to the poorly drawn Wonder drawing. "With Terra taking that information and feeding it to Berry, she can create the pillar, which feeds its power to Wonder and her spell. It can work, but Terra, you must be very careful what you show Berry; if this pillar can create monsters, we can't afford an outbreak as the spell is going off," explained Wanda, to which Terra nodded.
"Then, I guess we got a plan. Okay, Terra, can you enter my mind and get the information?" asked Aaira.
"Yes, I can; just lay down and relax," said Terra as she sat next to Aaira and held her hand, but before they could try it, everyone suddenly felt pain as their bodies started to turn solid colors.
Terra and Rain's bodies turned red, Flash and Wanda turned orange, Wonder and Berry turned yellow, and finally, Flare and Aaira turned green.
"What the fuck!" shouted Rain as she dropped to her knees, clutching the dirt hard.
"What's going on?" painfully asked Flare.
Terra turned to everyone, as they were all turning colors, and the world around them was breaking down more.
Wanda fought the pain to stand up and walk over to Terra, with the pain growing with every step. "This is a sign of the universe heading to its end!" Wanda cried as the pain started to grow, almost unbearable.
"If this keeps up, the world will end!" said Flare as she held onto the ground, not moving.
"Terra, the info!" said Aaira as the pain was almost at its max.
Terra didn't hesitate as she put her hand on Aaira's head, and the two girls became a glow of purple, but suddenly, a black mist blasted out of the crater. Everyone watched as a purple-hooded figure manifested out of the fog. They could see it was a young, teen-looking unicorn girl wearing a uniform dress with a purple hoodie robe. Her skin was covered in purple fur, and behind her were glowing black runes and crystals that made up her wings. She was holding a long black crystal sword that seemed to be connected to her right hand. The girl just looked around with anger on her face.
"It seems Another "me" joined the chat," laughed Aaira as her body screamed in pain.
The girl started to walk towards them while the black runes were blasting the area with black bolts of energy. As she got closer, something else came out of the crater, flew into the air with great speed, and quickly flew back down and struck the young girl as she blocked it. Everyone could see a large blue horse with magical see-through blue wings and a rainbow mane, and on top of her was a blue-haired woman in knight armor, carrying a shield with rainbow-colored orbs on it and a long, glowing rainbow sword with a blue orb in the hilt. Both girls were staring each other down as their swords cracked with great energy.
"Another "me" is here as well." said Flare as she struggled with the pain.
The blue Pegasus knight was the first to strike as she pulled back on her horse. She pulled back her sword and slashed down on the young girl, but she blocked it and kicked the Pegasus, knocking her and its rider into the air. The girl followed as the two clashed blades in midair. Everyone could only watch as the girls fought with extreme force.
"Who are those two?" asked Berry as she watched the fight.
"That's 'us,'" said Wonder, pointing her hoof at the girls.
The knight blocked an incoming attack from the girl and knocked her back, but the girl was ready and quickly used the knight's shield as a jump pad, flew above her, and struck down as the knight'Pegasusus dodged it and promptly turned. The knight then blasted the girl with a rainbow beam from her sword, knocking her to the ground and creating a dust cloud.
"I won't allow the demon dragon spawn to hurt any more lives!"
The dust cleared, and the girls stared at each other as the knight landed. They ran at each other once more and began their battle as the knight charged her sword and slammed it into the ground, causing a wave of rainbow-colored orbs to hit the young girl. However, the girl teleported and reappeared in the sky, pointing her hand at the knight.
"I know a caring and cool dragon, and her teaching in swordplay is meant to save lives! Don't look down on dragon kind!" shouted the girl.
The girl blasted a beam of black energy, and the knight took out her shield and blocked the attack. The beam was powerful, forcing the knight back, but the Pegasus flew higher, helping her owner gain some footing, and then flew high and fast, causing the shield to glow, absorbing the dark attack. The knight tossed her shield, which shone as it spun through the air, hitting the girl in the chest and knocking her back. The girl quickly recovered as she teleported out of the way and was ready to attack when a bright light appeared behind the knight. The light soon formed a dragon-like shape, and the dragon roared as it flew at the girl.
"What?" said the knight as the dragon closed in, but something was wrong.
The dragon stopped in front of the girl, and its eyes stared into the young girl's soul and smiled before disappearing into a mist.
"What? The Divine Harmony Dragon doesn't see you as an evil spawn?" asked the knight in shock.
The girl didn't answer, and she teleported in front of the knight, spooking the Pegasus and forcing the knight to call out her horse's name, Aero, as the Pegasus started to calm down.
"Evil? The only evil one here is you! I was going to treat those people down below before you attacked me!"
"Ha! Liar! I saw you unleashing your dark magic at them!"
"You're an idiot! I wasn't going to hurt them!" yelled the girl, as she puffed her cheeks in anger
The knight was getting annoyed and charged her sword with rainbow energy, ready to fight once more. Suddenly, a golden light blasted out from the crater as another person had just arrived and flew between the two. It was another version of Rainbow Dash, glowing yellow with a slight rainbow energy coming off of her, wearing a blue jacket.
"Take a chill pill, you two," grinned Dash as her wing feather made a wagging finger motion.
"Aero, is that you but smaller?" asked the knight as she looked at the Pegasus, who was also in shock.
"A horse girl? But you don't look like the horse race in my world." said the girl as she touched Dash's face.
"I'm not; I'm a Pegasus."
"So, you like my horse here?" said the knight.
Dash ignored her and turned to the young girl, still staring at her. "My name is Bolt. Bolt the Pegasus!" said Bolt as she pointed her hoof at herself. "And we're in a different universe."
"What?" said the knight and the young girl.
"Yup, we're not in our world," answered Bolt
"But how?" asked the knight.
Suddenly, a burning glow came out of the crater and soared towards the group, hovering there. It was another version of Twilight, but her fur was white, her mane was spiky with an orange streak, and she wore a purple jacket. Bolt smiled as she hovered over to her.
"Long time no see; how have you been, Heat?"
"I see you were teleported here as well, Bolt? I've been fine, and I wish we could catch up, but it seems another multiverse event is happening again, and it's not the Harmony Diamonds and the Element Emeralds, it seems," replied Heat.
"Harmony diamonds? What are those?" asked the knight.
Heat and Bolt didn't answer her as they floated to the ground.
"How's everyone?" asked Heat.
"They look pretty bad. This universe is reaching its end," replied Bolt as they landed. The two walked to the group, which was all watching them. Meanwhile, the knight and young girl landed behind them, and the girl quickly ran to the fallen group and checked their bodies.
"I never saw this before. It's not the Chaos infection at all," the girl said as she turned to the two ponies.
"It's not sickness; something is attacking the fabric of space and time, and it's spreading through this universe, and we have little time left before this universe is destroyed," replied Heat as her body glowed. Seven colored diamonds released and disappeared into her again, but her body returned to normal.
Wanda painfully spoke up as she faced her twin.
"How do you know this much?"
"This isn't our first time dealing with collapsing universes."
"Yeah, this is the second one we deal with," added Bolt.
"You both know about a collapsing universe? Tell me, do you know what happened here?" asked Wanda
Bolt released her seven Element emeralds, returning to standard blue. The emeralds flew back into her and helped Wanda up as the colors finally vanished from their bodies.
"Take it easy; you guys just took a hit from the dying universe. All of you sit down, and we can explain almost everything."
"What do you mean by "almost"?" questioned Flare as she sat down.
"We don't know everything and can only guess from what happened when my and Heat's universes collapsed into each other when the Harmony diamonds appeared in my world. The only reason we can even help you is because of the diamond and the emeralds are telling us someone is behind this and staying with us rather than flying off," explained Bolt
"You think someone or something is pulling the strings here," said Flash as she pounded her fists together in anger.
"That is most likely the case, and man, a version of me acting like that knucklehead, AJ..." grumbled Bolt.
"What do we call you four?" asked Terra.
"My name is Heat, Heat the Alicorn, and that's Bolt the Pegasus," replied Heat as she bowed to them
"My name is Eirika Dash. I am the princess of Equestria and the chosen hero fighting the demon dragon. This is my best pal, Aero Rainbow," said Eirika as she petted the Pegasus.
The young girl checked everyone's condition as she introduced herself: "My name is Layla, leader of Canterlot Island Pharmaceuticals Inc., which treats infected people with chaos sickness."
Bolt flew up and saw what was happening to this universe. She remembered seeing a forest, but now that the forest was almost gone, all that was left was the small open field with few remaining trees they were in. "The end game is almost here," whispered Bolt as her body started to flash a bit of indigo. Above her, the Rainbow Comet started to glitch heavily, and static began to appear between the cracks of the prism sky.
end of ch. 4
Your Name Across The Multiverse
"So, what's the plan?" coughed Bolt as soot came out of her mouth.
"Well, we were going into Aaira's mind and getting the blueprints of the Element Pillar. Using it and Tank here can increase Dr. Wonder's Harmony Stone, boost the power of her time spell, and help her look into the past. While looking, we can understand what happened here and maybe fix this universe. But that's the plan anyway." answered Wanda
"That sounds simple enough," said Heat as tiny flames danced around her.
"Yeah, it is, but we have one big problem. Terra showed me this as she saw it in Aaira's mind before you showed up."
"Which is?" asked Layla.
"This," sadly spoke Dr. Wonder as she waved her hand. In front of them was a holographic projection of Aaira's mind world. It was filled with many objects, places, and black, dead-looking creatures as said creatures stared at the group.
"Whoa," said Rain, as she was scared by the number of creatures inside Aaira's mind.
"These creatures are what Aaira told us about. They infected Aaira's mind, and before I was pulled out, all I could hear was..." explained Terra as she turned to Aaira.
"Make them whole again," finished Aaira as she held her head in her hands.
"Make them whole? What do these evil spawns mean by that?" asked Eirika as she gripped her sword hilt.
"They want me to make the Element Pillar. So they can infect more minds and turn people into black-twisted monsters. Someone back in my world told me this before I had to put him down," said Aaira.
Layla stepped forward and couldn't believe what she was looking at. Does every universe have an infection like her world? Where do people turn and hurt others? She wondered how many other universes were suffering.
"There's so many of them," whispered Layla as she could feel the eyes of the creatures staring at her.
"There were once millions of these things. Each one was a person's body part that was infected and controlled. Each one is a nightmare that is made real. That's what's been haunting me, along with the loss of Faye. Her death was the worst pain ever, and seeing her ghost was even worse. Knowing that she was taken from me. By these fuckers." Aaira looked at the creatures and grew sad as she remembered what was happening in her world. "There's another outbreak in my world; I don't know if I can stop it this time."
"I understand; it must have been a lot for you to go through and all alone. And I'm sorry about your lover. But you can't let them continue infecting people." Layla said as she walked up to Aaira. "In my world, most of the planet is infected by the Chaos sickness. I've seen how bad it can get. It's a plague. I can't let the disease take any more lives; I made that my oath to my teachers and friends, even to my enemies. There's always a dawn after the dark. You must bring it!"
Aaira stared at Layla with a bit of hope before Terra joined them.
"She's right. In my world, there's a war between the Changelings and the Greys. It lasted for years, to the point that the war left a few remaining planets untouched. My race is dying off as we're in the middle of their damn war. All hope is fleeing as many are killed by the Changelings and harvest for biomass. I saw living nightmares—things that shouldn't exist. It feels hopeless, but we keep going. We keep fighting. That's all we can do. Even if our chances are low, the hope that we can change our future makes us continue the fight. You, both of you, can't stop moving forward."
"Right," smiled Aaira, who looked at Layla, who returned her smile.
Dr. Wonder summons away the projecting and hovers over to Aaira.
"The problem is, those things can damage your mind further if Terra and yourself enter that part of your mind. If you are the only one who can save your world, I can't allow this plan to continue. I'm not going to hurt someone else," explained Wonder as she turned to Berry and Tank.
"Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I've gone through worse," replied Aaira, filled with more hope after hearing Layla and Terra struggle and how they keep pushing forward. "This might be the only way!"
"Sorry, but no. There's always another way," said Wonder. Flare smiled a bit as she saw her teaching stuck on Wonder.
"Sorry, but we have no time for that. Look around us! We're about to be sucked up by this colorful void!" shouted Aaira in anger.
"Hey girl, chill," said Bolt as she flew between the two.
"No, we're losing time!"
"But if we go ahead with this, we could lose you. That's something I'm not willing to do!" shouted Wonder.
"You're an idiot. This is the only chance we have!"
Bolt pushed them to the ground and shouted for them to chill out.
"Aaira, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to be patient. Dr. Wonder is right; we shouldn't risk your mind further."
"But..."
"No! I don't know what you're going through, but you need to listen to me. You are important, and I will not let anyone get hurt. You are not doing this; it's the end of the story. Understood?"
Aaira stared at her before letting out a sigh, knowing that she wouldn't get her way.
"Good. Now, Doc, you said you needed a power boost for the spell?" asked Bolt.
"Yeah, we need another version of the Harmony stone with the same power. It can increase my spell and recover the lost time," Wonder explained as she got up.
"Harmony stone? What kind of stone is it?" asked Heat as she approached Wonder.
"The power source of the most powerful magic in my world is this."
Dr. Wonder showed everyone the stone around her neck as she removed it from its box. It was glowing with seven different colors and was a perfect round sphere about the size of a basketball. It was beautiful.
"Whoa." everyone said in amazement.
"What is it?" Rain asked as she noticed Bolt, Heat, and Eirika staring at it like they saw a ghost.
"It's like..." Heat took out a purple Harmony Diamond.
"My emeralds..." added Bolt as she took out a blue Element Emerald
"Glowing bright, just like the Sol Harmony Emblems." chimed in Eirika as she showed them her shield, which has five color orbs in it, and her sword, which had a blue orb in its hilt.
Wonder's eyes went wide as she saw the counterparts of the Harmony stone.
"These are called the Element Emeralds, which hold unlimited power, and when all seven are together, a miracle is born," spoke Bolt, who showed them the seven different colored emeralds floating above her.
"The Harmony Diamonds are the same thing in power and feats," said Heat as her colorful diamonds hovered around her
"The Sol Harmony Emblem shield was forged by the Sol dragon goddess, Helios, from one of her scales; it was used to seal away the demon dragon, threatening to destroy humanity. She then gave me the Rainbow Sword, made from her fang, and fused with the divined and greatest Element Emblem of them all, Spark of Magic," explained Eirika as her items summoned the same spirit dragon from the fight she had with Layla.
"Whoa, that's a big dragon." said Rain as she stared at the majestic beast
"This is the echo spirit of Helios; it's not her, but it carries her hope and dreams for humans and dragons to live in peace," explained Eirika as the dragon flew around, giving her a warm hug before vanishing into the weapons.
"So these stones are the same thing?" asked Wanda as she checked out each item. "Then with these!"
"Yeah, there's another way..." whispered Aaira, as she realized her sacrifice wasn't needed
"We can make this work," said Wonder as she smiled.
"Great, how are we going to do it?" asked Layla
"It's simple. I can make the spell more powerful, but it won't be easy, and I will need all three of you. This boosted spell will drain most of my magic and energy as I rewind time, so I will need someone to be a power source to keep me stable and active. Any volunteers?" asked Dr. Wonder.
"I'll do it," smirked Bolt as she flipped an emerald up and down on her wing. "The emeralds can control time and space. Like this! Element Control!"
Everyone but Heat was shocked to see Bolt just gone.
"Where's she go?" asked Berry as she looked around.
"Up here!" shouted Bolt as she stood on the last remaining tree in the area.
"Oh, my," said Wanda, fixing her glasses in awe.
"Wow, that's awesome," smiled Flash.
Bolt used element control again and was now standing next to Wonder, who gave a thumbs-up with her wing.
"Let's do this then," grinned Wonder, impressed by the feat.
"Right"
Wonder sat in the middle of the crater while Bolt and Heat turned super and placed their hooves on her shoulder. Eirika stood behind the three and stabbed her sword into the ground. An intense beaming light blasted out of the blade as the dragon came out of the light and flew into her. She placed her hand on Wonder's back.
"Eirika, Bolt, and Heat, I need you three to channel the power of your gems into my stone through me. You ready?" asked Wonder
"Yes, just give the word," replied Eirika.
"Ready!" replied Heat and Bolt.
"Okay, then, let's do it," said Wonder, who felt the three's immense power.
A blinding light appeared, and the area around them grew white. Soon, broken time shards started to return, and the blurry vision became clearer. But at the same time, the remaining land started to fall apart as the void crept closer to the impact site.
"Okay, the spell is working, but we don't have much time, so I'm going to start rewinding time!" shouted Wonder
"Do what you have to!" shouted Eirika.
"Right, okay. Let's do this! Reverse time!"
A rainbow light came out of the Harmony stone, and the area around them started to rewind. Everyone could see the bright pillar of rainbow energy before returning to the fusing shards.
"That must be it! That must have been the cause of all this!" shouted Wanda as she saw the two shards defusing and returning to the ground.
"Yes! That was it!" confirmed Wonder, who was sweating like crazy and feeling her body getting heavy.
"Thank you."
"No prob." smiled Bolt.
"I can see it happening," smiled Heat.
"Keep going; we're almost there! Where did those shards come from?" shouted Layla
"Just a little more," said Wonder, as everyone could see two figures appearing between a broken portal and touching the shards. Bolt and Heat were shocked to see a lookalike of Bolt touching the shard.
"Is that me?" asked Bolt, who was confused.
"No, not really!" yelled Wanda as she hovered over to them. "It's why you and the other versions of you are here. Of course! Look, she and a human version of her touched the shards at the same time. Those shards must have reacted to each other's energy at the same time and blasted the walls between the universes, which created an overlap and dragged "you" here," explained Wanda before the vision kept going, revealing a heat lookalike and a human version as they were sliding up the crater.
"So that's why we're here," Wonder said, her body feeling weaker but held together by Bolt. "But where did these shards come from?"
"Wait, we're about to find out," said Eirika as everyone watched the vision.
Everyone watched as the four girls reversed and walked out of the crater, the shards undoing the impact and flying back into the night sky. Everyone looked up as the shard returned to the Rainbow Comet, which was bleeding a black ooze.
"I think my new theory was correct," whispered Wanda, making Layla ask her what she meant. "There is a rainbow comet in my world, and Terra told me there is one in hers, Flash and Rain's world. Tell me, the rest of you, do you all have a rainbow comet?" shouted Wanda as she started to panic, which made everyone nod
"The comet passed my planet hours ago, and I was in space collecting a sample of its weird rainbow trail," said Flare.
"The Rainbow Comet appears every 200 years, and it appeared two years ago in my world," answered Layla.
"The emeralds flew to the Wish Islands after the weird Rainbow Comet appeared in the night sky a few days ago. Long story short, I kicked an evil moon's butt before coming here," explained Bolt
"There was a Rainbow Comet that appeared over my kingdom two days ago, and the Harmony Diamonds came to me the next day before I found myself here," replied Heat as she looked at Bolt.
"I suddenly saw a Rainbow Comet last night and just defeated a cult leader before coming here!" shouted Eirika as she could see the black ooze falling on them.
"The Rainbow Comet appears in my world as well!" Berry replied as she could sense something within the black ooze.
"I just saw records of the Rainbow Comet," said Aaira as her helmet covered her face and the face grill lights turned on.
"In my world, there's a record of a Rainbow Comet as well." chimed in Wonder as she turned to Wanda. "What was your theory?"
Wanda sweated as she reviewed it in her mind and said, "My theory was, like Terra believed, that the comet was a natural phenomenon in every universe, but something kept bothering me about it. Then, seeing those shards as they broke the walls of the multiverse, it's making sense now."
Everyone waited for Wanda to finish but watched as the black ooze almost reached them.
"What are you talking about, Wanda? Spit it out!" shouted Flash
"The comet exists between the universes; it's how those shards can break the walls in between. Ever notice it's still in this universe? It looked frozen, but its tail still flows like it's moving. So my new theory is that the comet is some dimensional comet; the walls of the universe are weakened enough by it to allow it to cross the multiverse, but seeing it still here...almost like it's watching and waiting." explained Wanda, who was trying to put the new pieces together.
"Waiting for what?" asked Flare as the ground shook, and the void almost reached their feet.
"Waiting for... dear god, no..." weakly said Wanda as she went over and over the completed puzzle in her thoughts.
"Waiting for what!" questioned Aaira, who was getting agitated.
"The shards broke through the universe, which the comet would pass through. The shards must have sent us here. No, I stand corrected," explained Wanda, who was panicking as the ooze landed on the ground. "It was looking for the versions of "us" that were blasted with the shards. It pulled us here, thinking it was "them!"
"So the comet is sentient? It can think?" asked Flash as the ooze started to form something.
"Ha! I fought a living, talking moon! This is another Monday for me!" Jokey said Bolt as she watched the ooze create two white eyes and a slime body. Everyone watched as the ooze creature finally took the form of a pony. Its hallowed white eyes stared at them. The head, chest, body, and hooves were all melting ooze while the man was trying to form but failing as it bled back into its body, and the tail was a long, melting, and dripping rainbow.
"Who are you?" asked Layla, who felt like the creature was looking straight through her and the others.
"Rainbow..." spoke the Ooze pony, her voice sounding like it was coming from a radio with a lot of interference. "Breaker."
Everyone watched as a bright white halo appeared behind its back.
"Rainbow, Breaker..." repeated the pony monster as she looked around at them and slowly started to move toward the group.
"What the hell is it doing?" asked Rain, ready to fight.
"I don't know, but I think we should kill it before it can do anything," replied Aaira, loading her horn cutter gun and getting ready to fire.
Suddenly, two large, melting wings pop out of its sides and shoot towards Bolt and Heat, carried away into the sky.
"Heat!" yelled Flash.
"Bolt!" shouted Eirika.
Wonder's body started to feel heavy as she realized the spell was draining her. She quickly stopped the spell but was covered by an ooze attack. The attack came out of the monster's horn and tried to drag her into it.
"I don't think so!" shouted Wanda as she tried to save her but was attacked by the ooze as it created tentacles around itself.
"I got you, Wanda!" shouted Flare as she grabbed Wanda before the black slime could hold her.
"Don't touch the black ooze!" shouted Wanda. Flare was able to throw her back to the group, and she flew quickly to save Wonder. She fired off her heat vision, hoping to cut off the slime that had Wonder, but it did nothing.
"Get off of me!" screamed Wonder, who was being dragged into the ooze monster, who was melting her into itself.
"I'm coming, Wonder!" shouted Flash as he flew over and punched the monster.
"IDIOT!" screamed Wonder as she disappeared into the slime.
Flash watched as the monster slowly turned to her and slowly sucked her into itself, forcing Flash to pull her arm out, but she couldn't. She is being eaten as she struggles to free herself.
"Hold on, Flash!" yelled Eirika as she jumped on Aero's back, flew above them, and summoned her dragon, but watched as the monster's bleeding rainbow tail shot up and grabbed onto them. Everyone watched the dragon scream in pain before melting into the creature's tail while Eirika and Aero tried to fight it off.
"Enough!" cried Layla as she summoned her crystal sword and wings and flew to Eirika and Aero, cutting the rainbow slime and saving the two.
"Are you okay?" asked Layla, as Eirika and Aero were shaking in fear.
"We're fine," answered Eirika as she watched the ooze grow two large arms and punched Layla, but she blocked it with her black rune barrier.
"You're going to have to try better than that!" grinned Layla as she kept the barrier up but quickly realized it was creeping its way over it and trying to get Eirika and Aero again, so she spread the barrier over to them, but only for all three to be covered by the slime as the barrier was covered. The large ball of slime fell into the pool of ooze, which increased the slime's size.
"Shit! They're dead!" shouted Rain as she, Terra, and Aaira were shooting at the coming black slime while Wanda put her bubble barrier up.
"We need a plan!" cried Wanda as the slime was trying to push through the bubble.
"There's no way; we can't kill that thing!" replied Aaira as she reloaded her cutter gun.
Blue Berry was hiding behind the group and crying. "What can I do? What can I do? Oh! Tank, what should we do?" she asked as she looked down at the scared little turtle she was holding. He looked up and smiled.
"You're right; I can do this!" shouted Blue as she stood up and looked at the group. "Everyone! I'll save the day!"
"What! No!" shouted Wanda as she watched Berry fly out of the safe area and summon her decisive attack move, but she was grabbed by the rainbow tail slime. She was being eaten alive by it.
"Berry!?" yelled Aaira, firing at the creature's head but doing nothing as she saw the black ooze slowly creeping into the barrier.
"She's in trouble! I'll save her!" yelled Flare as she hurried to Berry.
Berry was trying to get out but couldn't. She was scared. Was she going to die like the others?
"You won't," said a voice inside Berry's mind.
"Tank? Tank! What are you doing?" asked Berry, as she could see Tank glowing blue and pushing Berry out of the rainbow slime.
"No, no, no! Please! Don't go, Tank!" cried Berry, who was trying to hold him but couldn't.
"It's going to be okay, Berry," said Tank as the rainbow slime took him and melted into the rainbow ooze.
"Please, I can't lose you too." Berry, crying and falling from the sky, knew Tank was gone forever as her body started to change colors.
"Don't worry, Berry. We will get him back and save our friends." Flare said as she caught the little pony, only to see that Berry wasn't blue or had a rainbow mane.
"We'll save him?" Berry asked, wiping away her tears and looking up at Flare.
"Of course. I will protect you with my life and get everyone back. I promise," smiled Flare, which made Berry smile.
Flare flew back to the others and could see the barrier was almost eaten. She had to hurry and do something but was shocked to hear something.
"ELEMENT CONTROL!"
Flare and Berry watched as the others disappeared and reappeared next to them, surrounded by a golden barrier. They all watched as Bolt and Heat appeared in front of them.
"You two are alright!" cried Berry
"Yes, thanks to Bolt," smiled Heat, which also made Flare smile.
"What's happening!?" shouted Wanda, who was confused about the barrier.
"We can't talk now! Heat, keep them safe!" ordered Bolt as she turned to her.
"Of course!" said Heat as she took over the golden barrier.
"Bolt! Wait!" called out Flare as she grabbed her tail. "I'm not letting you go alone!"
"Flare, I'll be fine! Just keep everyone safe," smiled Bolt as she gave her thumbs up with her golden wings
"Don't go!" cried Berry as she tried to reach out to her, but Bolt softly petted her.
"It's okay, Berry. I'll be right back; watch." winked Bolt.
"But," replied Flare.
"Trust me, you two," grinned Bolt.
Flare and Berry nodded as they trusted her, letting her go and being placed under the golden barrier.
"Just be careful, Bolt," whispered Heat as she watched Bolt rocket off at the slime monster.
"Hey, ooze face! You forgot about me!" shouted Bolt as the slime turned its attention to her and fired more tentacles at her, but she used lightning speed to avoid the slime.
"Not going to work, ugly! I fought a water monster; it was just a big drip, like you!" yelled Bolt as the tentacles tried again, and once more, she dodged them and flew closer to its head as she landed a punch. "Is that all you got?" smiled Bolt as she saw the monster getting annoyed and tried again, but the tentacles came from the rainbow tail this time. She dodged them and punched its face again, but the ooze monster didn't like it this time.
"You want more! Bring it!" taunted Bolt as she rubbed her face, knowing the punch hurt slightly but not as much. The ooze monster roared, creating a loud screeching sound that echoed across the once-colorful void.
Inside the mixed black and rainbow ooze, Bolt was giving it everything she had to keep herself from being crushed. She knew she was a strong Pegasus while in this state, but the slime was somehow overpowering the emeralds. She could feel the emeralds within were weakening, and she knew she couldn't lose to this monster, but the others would die if she did. She closed her eyes, remembering what the Elders of the Wish Islands had taught her. It was her last resort, which she didn't want to use again, but there was no choice.
"Sorry, Elder Tia and Lu, but it looks like I'm going all out again!"
Her body started to glow with a rainbow aura. Bolt opened her eyes; her usually pink iris was replaced with shiny blue ones.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you for making me angry," laughed Bolt as she slowly floated out of the slime. Her whole body was glowing, but it was much brighter now, with strong purple and red energy sparkling around her.
Everyone looked in amazement, while Heat knew she shouldn't be surprised by Bolt's power, as she sighed with great relief.
The whole falling universe was covered in black ooze; the colorful void and cracks were gone as well. The only things left were the Rainbow Comet, the monster, as four new white halos appeared behind its back, and the last remaining golden light within the darkness.
end of chapter 6
