Their Names Across The Multiverse

Spark and Flurry walked into the room, and they could see Twilight backing away from her family.

"Fine, if you want to know why I tossed that colt out, then I'll tell you!" she turned to them while Dash and her folks were still between them. "Before I do, you better not give him excuses because he's your husband, Mom! You better listen to me and the rest of the family as well! If you all try to defend him for what he did, then I never want to speak or see any of you again!"

Twilight Velvet was trying to understand why her daughter was acting like this as if her husband had done some unholy thing to their daughter. "What did he do to you, Twilight!?"

Twilight glared at her and was going to explain but was stopped as Spark spoke up to them all.

"Please, stop fighting!" shouted Spark, teleporting between them. She turned to her mother, but Twilight hugged her, saying she wouldn't get hurt by another family member on her watch. "What? Flurry wasn't like she was back then. She even asked for forgiveness after what she did to Braver a few years back." she answered, thinking that was why they were fighting, as she hadn't really known why Twilight was so upset.

Twilight let her go, confused by what she said. "What? No, sweetie, I'm not mad about Flurry. I'm mad...huh?"

Twilight stopped as she could feel her barrier being forced open by someone—no, by a pair—and she could only think of two Alicorns who could do that.

The door opened, and Celestia and Luna were walking inside. Between them was Cozy, and they were talking about magic and turning someone into a different race. Not too far behind them were Night Light, who looked worried.

"It could be possible? I remember Star Swirl looking into that when he first saw the Changelings when he returned. I believe Braver was given his research books after his passing. Those two were close, you see." explained Celestia, entering the room and stopping, seeing everyone in the middle of the room. "Twilight? What is going on? Your father said you kicked him out for no reas-ugh!?"

Celestia and everyone suddenly dropped to the ground, feeling an overwhelming magical pressure like they never felt before.

"What the heck!? What is this!?" asked Cozy, transforming into her Alicorn form. Even in this form, she couldn't stand up.

As everyone struggled to stand, Twilight and Dash turned to Spark, whose eyes were beaming with rainbow fury, and her rainbow back halo appeared. Dash and Twilight didn't know why she suddenly became like this.

Dashie walked down the stairs, suddenly felt the powerful pressure, and almost fell. She held the railing and couldn't move.

"What the hell?"

She never felt this kind of pressure before, like the gravity was pulling her down, and her body was being crushed. It was overwhelming and painful.

"Oh god!"

She struggled to stand but couldn't, and soon, she fell to the steps, almost sliding down them.

"Is this magic?" she asked herself, but she quickly remembered feeling this pressure. It was much different than before. The first one felt like sadness and sorrow, but this? This felt nothing but blinded rage, and she knew who it was coming from. "S-Spark?" she asked herself.

Dashie tried to move! She believed Spark must have had another freakout or fought that monster called Fayth again. But no matter how much she tried to move, her human body was no match for this powerful magic. She touched her chest, wanting to use the Element of Loyalty and transform it into her hybrid form, but the thought of how the Element might make her sick, like what happened to Twilah, filled her mind.

"I don't want that to happen to me...but Spark needs me!" She shut her eyes, allowing the Element to transform her. "It won't make me sick...Twilah said she overused it in the ten years we had the Elements. I hardly used it...I'll be fine."

With a bright blue flash, Dashie was in her hybrid form. Using the Element magic and power, she was able to stand. But even with her hybrid, she was having trouble moving.

"Spark!" grunted Dashie, walking down the stairs. "I'm coming, Spark!"

Dashie made her way down the steps. Soon, she reached the bottom and could see a large glowing rainbow aura. Spark was glaring at Night Light, who was scared out of his mind.

"Grandfather!" shouted Spark, starting to walk up to him. Rainbow sparks were blasting out of the rainbow halo, burning the floor around her.

Night Light didn't know why, but seeing Spark's angry expression, he felt like he was looking at a monster—something that was about to kill him.

"G-Grandpa?" said Night Light, trying to move.

As Spark got closer, dark blue sparks shot out of the halo. When it blasted the floor, memories of the past appeared. Luna could feel something familiar coming from those dark blue sparks, almost like it was dream powers.

Dashie suddenly knew why Spark was acting this way. The memories that appeared briefly when the sparks hit the ground confirmed it.

"TWILIGHT! WHY IS YOUR DAD HERE!?"

"I invited my family over to show Spark she has a family here! A family she can have and be with! She isn't alone!" Twilight said, struggling to look at Dashie.

Dashie understood why Twilight did it, but she shook her head. "Don't you remember!? That Sky and Nightfall show us ten years ago?" She got closer to her friends. "They showed us how evil and crazy Nightfall's father was! They even showed us memories of him recording the twins being trained as a weapon when they were going through his computer." Dashie fell to her knees near Twilight's face. "Didn't Braver tell you what awful things they would have to endure if they hadn't listened to him? Like being hurt by cold, freezing air!? Blitz told us when her night terrors started a few months after living with us."

Twilight and Dash had shocked expressions, as Braver never once told them this.

"N-No...Braver never told...u-us...sweetie..." Twilight suddenly realized that her daughter had hidden this from them like the other trauma she had hidden. "Oh, sweetie...I'm sorry."

Spark was still getting closer.

"That's why Spark is freaking out, Twilight. The twins weren't the only ones tested and abusive like that." All three looked back at Spark, now standing before Night Light. "So was Spark!"

More flashes of memories could be seen; everyone could see from Spark's pov, being abusive and tested on by someone who looked like Night Light but was wearing a lab coat. Soon, painful screams could be heard from within those memories as Spark grabbed Night Light by his neck and slowly lifted him.

"Grandfather! Do you remember me, huh?" Spark shouted, tightening her grip, not caring that he was turning blue.

"Spark!" shouted everyone.

"Don't you remember the pain you inflicted on me when I was just a filly!?" shouted Spark.

"N-No, S-Spark, I d-didn't do anything! I promise! P-Please...I c-can't breathe!"

Everyone watched in horror as Spark didn't let go and kept squeezing.

"You are a liar!"

Spark suddenly remembered that day when she was awakened from the test tub.

Spark opened her eyes; she had no clue where she was or what she was. She just looked around the bright, colorful room. She wanted to move, but her legs felt like jelly.

"Hello there."

Spark turned to a big screen on the wall. She tipped her head in confusion, seeing a strange creature looking back at her.

"I'm your creator, but you can call me grandfather. Can you say that?"

"...?"

"Grandfather," repeated the creature.

Spark moved her mouth, mimicking the creature's exact movements, and spoke. "Grand...father."

Grandfather smiled. "Yes, good. You can speak."

Spark looked confused again, as she had no idea what the creature was saying.

It was a few hours, but Spark soon learned about the world she was born into and why. Her grandfather created her to protect the city he controlled, as he saw it as his kingdom. He wanted her to help rule the world.

"Do you understand, my weapon? If you do, please nod."

Spark slowly nodded.

The grandfather smiled.

"Good. Now, on to the next step."

Spark could see the screen going dark, and soon, her grandfather, covered in a weird suit, walked into the room. He walked around her, whispering something into a weird box that floated near him. He walked far from her and sat down.

"Come to me, my weapon. Come and walk! Take those few steps, and I'll love you forever."

Spark watched and tried to move, but her legs still felt weak. She struggled to move. Soon enough, she felt something coming out of her eyes, falling down her cheeks. Her grandfather sighed and spoke into the weird box and then got closer to her, but not too close.

"If you are going to my grand weapon, you need to be stronger than that! Don't be held back from anything! Find the spark to move!" he reached out to her, smiling. "To walk forward!"

Spark looked at his hoof and down at her shaky legs. She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried again. She tried to stand up, but she fell. She tried again, but once again, she fell. But remembering what her grandfather told her, she needed to be strong. She needed to find that spark to move!

She tried again, and she slowly stood up and then fell again.

"Walk!" shouted her grandfather.

Spark looked at her legs and took another deep breath, and soon, she stood up.

Her grandfather was pleased with her and spoke into the floating box and lowered it. "That's a good weapon. Now, come to me, and I'll be very happy."

Spark was shaking, but she tried to take a step forward. Just as she took a step, her legs gave up, and she fell forward. She felt pain for the first time and stood back up. She put one foot forward and...

"Yes!" Her grandfather yelled, seeing her badly walking toward him. He opened his arms to her as she walked into them. He held her up, smiling with such an evil look. "That's a good weapon. Very good."

Spark looked up at him and smiled back at him, believing he was happy with her.

Spark's grip was tighter.

"Spark! Don't do it!" shouted Dash, trying to stand but couldn't.

Blue sparks showed flashes of Spark's grandfather, raising her and teaching her like a father would do with their daughter.

"Grandfather...the pain..."

The blue sparks became one, and soon, above everyone, they could see a happy Spark following her grandfather. She was led to a huge glass box. She entered it, happily sat down, and watched as her grandfather exited it. She became confused and felt worried as she called out to him.

"Grandfather!? Where are you going!?"

They could see the lights going dark, and soon, a bright light shone on her. They could all see a device being lowered, the robotic arms having different tools, from needles to blades. To the young filly Spark, she had never seen these things before.

Spark became more confused, not understanding what was happening. She called out to her grandfather, not wanting him to leave her.

"Grandfather!? Don't go! Please! What is happening!?"

"STOP IT!" cried Twilight, realizing what would happen.

"Damn it!" cursed Dash, hating what she was seeing and wanting to stop it so badly.

Dashie used her Element to move. She now knew that Spark was like Blitz and Braver. She had trauma just like them, and her grandfather was the cause. All of it goes back to him.

"Grandfather!?"

They watched in horror as the device started to work on Spark, and soon, a loud, painful scream echoed around them.

"GRANDFATHER!!!"

Dashie made it and tried to grab Spark's hand, but the magic pushed her away.

"SPARK! STOP!"

But it was useless, as Spark was lost in her rage and the pain of the past.

"Grandfather..."

A rainbow aura surrounded Spark's body, and she flew up, holding Night Light, who was now purple in the face.

"All the pain...all the hardship you gave me..."

Night Light was pulled closer to Spark's face, seeing more of her rage.

"I. BREAK. ALL OF IT!" She screamed and raised her other arm, creating an unstable rainbow orb of energy in her hand. "BREAKER!"

She crushed the orb, clutching her energy fist, and swung with all her might...only to be held back by someone. She turned and saw Dashie holding her fist back while her chest glowed bright blue.

"Stop it, Spark! That's not your real grandfather! That bastard is dead, don't you remember!? Sky killed him! You are killing an innocent person! It's not him, Spark! I know it hurts, and I've been through this. Blitz was like you!"

"B-Blitz..." whispered Spark, her eyes slowly returning to normal.

"Yes, your sister! She had night terrors of when she was tested on!"

Dashie was alone in her bed as Twilah was on a business trip. It was nighttime when she suddenly was awoken by screaming.

"BLITZ!?" She shot up and ran to the source of the screaming. She saw Blitz's room. She slammed open the door and saw Blitz thrashing and screaming. She quickly ran to her. "BLITZ!? BLITZ!"

Blitz was crying and screaming. "PLEASE DON'T! NOT THE COLD AIR AGAIN! NO!"

"Blitz! Sweetie! Wake up! It's a nightmare!"

Blitz's eyes snapped open, and she looked around the room, tears running down her cheeks.

"Mommy!?"

"I'm here, baby, I'm here," Dashie replied, pulling Blitz into her chest and wrapping her arms around her tightly.

"MOMMY!"

Dashie rocks her daughter back and forth, telling her it was all a bad dream, but what she heard from her daughter made her think twice.

"Mommy, please don't make me go back...I don't want to feel that again..."

"What? Go back where?"

"Back to the lab! The cold air! Grandfather testing on us! On me and my sister!" cried Blitz, digging deeper into her mother's chest. "I remember other things, awful things!"

Dashie realized that Blitz remembered being a test subject for Nightfall's father. She was surprised to learn this, as she thought Blitz and her sister weren't self-aware then. She remembered Sky and Nightfall finding Blitz as a filly but acting like a foal.

"I'll stay right here, my little rainbow," said Dashie, holding her daughter close and letting her cry herself back to sleep. "Twilah and I will be here for you, no matter what."

"Blitz started having more night terrors, to the point we had to get her help. This also led to Twilah learning and becoming a therapist for Blitz. Spark, I know it hurts and that your grandfather was cruel to you, but don't hurt Twilight's father. He didn't do anything to you, and you are scaring the crap out of him and your family."

Spark quickly turned back to her grandfather, seeing that he wasn't really her grandfather at all. She let him go and turned to everyone else. Seeing their eyes on her, she believed they were judging her, thinking she was something they should fear, something that shouldn't be in this family. She did the one thing that a family member shouldn't do to another family member, and she blew her chance of having a family.

"I...I'm sorry," whispered Spark, feeling the pain and guilt eating away at her heart.

She was about to fly off, but Dashie was already two steps ahead of her as she held her arm tight.

"Yeah, just like ya sister! Blitzing it before anyone can help her! Well, not this time!"

Spark tried to break free, but Dashie wasn't budging.

"Let me go, Dashie. I'll hurt someone." She couldn't look her in the eyes; she couldn't dare to, not after what she did here and to Dashie with Twilah dying. "I hurt you too by letting Fayth live! You should be hating my guts!"

Dashie's grip tightened. "Spark, what happened to Twilah wasn't your fault! I'm glad you spared that brat's life." Dashie could see Spark looking at her with confusion. "I'm glad you are better than her. You aren't a killer; I can see it just by looking at you." She pulled Spark toward her, allowing her to pet Spark's head. "I can see how caring and kind you are but also how worried others will see you because of your overwhelming powers. You might think everyone is looking at you like you are a monster, but they aren't."

Spark was getting emotional; no one had ever told her this before. She looks back at everyone; she looks at their eyes.

"They aren't afraid of you; those are eyes for worrying. They are worried about you, what we have all seen from your past, and the testing done on you. Those are caring eyes. They want you to feel better, not to carry this burden of the past alone." Dashie could see Spark starting to break down. "You can drop the whole 'I should be alone.' act. You can't be alone because your family won't let you."

"I'm...a part...of the family?" she looked back at the others, seeing them all smiling and nodding. She looked back at Dashie. "...even...yours?"

"Yes, you are. You are part of our big family," replied Dashie, smiling, letting Spark cry into her shoulder. "After all this, I want you to meet my folks. They loved your sister so much. They will love you just as much. I promise."

Spark couldn't hold back anymore.

"Thank you..." she whimpered. "Thank you, Mother."

The powerful pressure finally disappeared, along with Spark's back halo. They slowly landed on the floor, and Dashie dropped to her rear. Spark fell on her, still crying.

"All three of you..." thought Dashie, closing her eyes. "Why did you all have to be born into such an awful life at the start? I wish I could have stopped your grandfather before he did that to all three of you."

Night Light stood up, coughing, and his wife hugged him, worried about him.

"I'm fine, sweetheart."

He looked at Spark but then at his daughter, who looked happy but still upset as she looked at Spark. But that quickly changed as she turned to him, giving him a cold stare.

"Twilight?" he thought, wondering why she was so upset with him.

Twilight and Dash's mothers were cleaning the library and talking about how they should help Spark and other things.

Celestia and Luna were at the entrance of the living room, seeing Spark talking to Dashie, Dash, Bow, Flurry Heart, and Flurry's parents. The two sisters looked to the kitchen and saw Night Light looking at the talking group from the kitchen table. Twilight allowed him to stay but to stay far away from Spark.

"Sister, when Spark's magical energy goes off, you sense it too, right?" asked Luna, not looking away from Spark.

Celestia was studying Spark's body and magical energy. She looked like a hybrid form of an Alicorn, but something familiar about her, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. She also felt the same feeling when the power went off.

"Yes, I do. I could sense it." She turned to her sister. "What you make of it, Luna?"

Luna faced her sister and started thinking about what she wanted to say. She finally spoke as she looked back up at her. "Young Braver had the same powers. I had trouble sleeping the night before we became friends, and she used magic to help me..."

Celestia raised her eyebrows when she heard that. "Braver couldn't use magic, no? She had high raw magical energy but no way to use it to cast spells. It wasn't until she became a real Alicorn that she could..." She froze when she remembered what her sister had just said. "Wait, sleeping spells do not affect you...unless..."

"Young Braver used my powers, sister. She somehow has my powers..." Luna held her head, trying to remember what happened in Braver's dreams when she dived in to stop the awful nightmares that Braver was having many years ago. "For some reason, I can't remember what I saw in Braver's nightmares or when she dove into mine that night." Luna turned to Spark, who was laughing as Dash was yelling at her father for taking out the baby book again. "But what we saw, those flashes of memories. Those were nightmares tied to a bad memory, and I can do the same if I try. Spark also has my powers."

Celestia remembered something from a few days ago.

"Maybe there is a connection? Remember when the alternate versions of Twilight's friends appeared from Braver's core? They hated us and said we started a war in their universe..." Celestia felt shame about what her counterpart did in that universe. "A version of me who killed Twilight's friends by using the Elements of Harmony to fuse with them."

"That wasn't you, Tia, so don't feel so down," said Luna, looking back at her sister. "Those versions of us." She placed her hoof on her sister's shoulder. "We aren't and will never be like them."

The two smiled at each other and then looked back at Spark.

"Still, it makes me wonder. How do Spark and Braver have my powers?"

"...that is a question of the ages," whispered Celestia.

Twilight sat alone at the reading table in a certain part of the library. She just needed to be alone for a bit after what happened. She wanted to help Spark by showing she has a family here, but it went south when her god-awful father was allowed in. She was least happy Spark was getting along with the rest of the family, but she still felt horrible about it. She learned about how Braver kept another thing hidden from her even more.

"Sweetie, why do you always do those things? Hiding the pain from Dash and me. We are your mothers, yet you can't tell us the truth," she thought, her emotions rising.

She couldn't help but think that maybe Braver didn't trust her or Dash, but that's when she remembered all the times she was so unobvious of her daughter's trauma or problems and just brushed them off. That thought hurt her so much, making Twilight truly believe she was an awful mother to Braver.

"When we took you in, I thought we could make you happy and forget the horrible life you once lived...but I guess not. That trauma you had never truly goes away. You always move forward with it, always smiling like nothing was wrong. My little brave daughter..." Twilight started to sob. "Now you are gone. I can't ever say I'm sorry to you, sorry for being a worthless mother!"

Twilight slammed her hooves into the table, cracking it a bit from a sudden burst of anger at herself. She started to calm down but became spooked as a pile of Star Swirls books landed before her.

"Cozy?"

Cozy sat across from her and opened the books.

"You know, seeing you like this should make me happy. Seeing you suffering like this, oh Princess of Friendship..." teased Cozy, turning a page.

Twilight became angry. "If you have come here to rub my failures in my face, you have another thing coming, Cozy Glow."

Cozy rolled her eyes and looked Twilight in the eyes.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself, princess," she said sarcastically, looking up at her now. "Like I said, it should make me happy, but it doesn't." She flipped another page and returned her attention to the book. "Being friends with Braver all these years had changed me. I'm not like who I was when I was a young filly. She changed me for the better." Another page was turned. "Luster and her are my childhood friends, you know? So, seeing my best friend's mother beating herself up for not being a perfect mom. I can't stand seeing it."

Twilight looked surprised by what Cozy was saying.

"Cozy?"

Cozy started to flip many pages, not finding what she was looking for, or she didn't understand anything in the book. "There is no such thing as a perfect parent, you know? No matter what or how hard you try, you will mess up. That's part of being a parent. That's just how the world works." Cozy finally found the page she was looking for. She looked at the page and continued speaking. "And the same thing can said about being someone's kid." She turned her attention back to Twilight.

Twilight was confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Cozy started to speak again. "Parents aren't perfect, and neither are their kids. Braver had flaws, flaws she knew of and hated." Cozy took out a bookmark and placed it on the page. "You are bad at noticing her problems because, yeah, you fucking suck at noticing." She smirks, seeing Twilight getting upset. "But it's also because Braver hid it damn well. She always wanted to make you and Dash proud. Proud that they raised a strong mare, she felt proud that she made you call her 'daughter' for it."

Twilight could see the smirk leaving Cozy's face.

"I think her worst fear was disappointing her mothers. The thought of that ate her up inside. We all saw it first hoof when she had that mental breakdown."

"Cozy..."

"She didn't have it easy; that fear fed into the trauma she had. It festered inside her for so long, but she kept it hidden from you, Dash, and everyone..." Cozy shut the book, and like Twilight, she slammed her hoof into the table, making the already small crack bigger. "From her friends...like me." She shut her eyes. "...so don't beat yourself over this, and if you need to talk..." Cozy looked down at the book, blushing. "I'm here for you."

"I don't mean to offend you, Cozy, but..." Twilight sighed and smiled. "You are the last person I expected to say this, considering how you act around me."

Cozy looked up at her, being smug now. "What? Hating your guts?"

"Yes...that," replied Twilight with a deadpan expression and tone.

"Eh, it's mostly because you are my best friend's mom, and yeah, I hate your guts." Cozy started to chuckle, but Twilight wasn't laughing. "Okay, maybe a tiny bit less now." She could see Twilight smiling a bit. "Anyway, like I said. Braver hid stuff from all of us, but there was one person she talked to about one of her problems."

Twilight's ears twitched when she heard that. "Who?"

Cozy picked up another book and opened it. "Discord."

"Discord?!" shouted Twilight.

"Yeah, I was shocked too when he told me himself."

Twilight was so confused right now. Discord was never close to Braver, as he disliked her for unknown reasons. "Why would he listen to her problems? He always came off disliking my daughter. This doesn't make any sense."

Cozy flipped a page. "Braver was having weird dreams about a place she had never seen before." She looked up at her again. "Remember how I wanted to learn about Braver's biology out of the blue one day? What I'm about to tell you is why." She placed the book down. She started to explain about the Draconequus kingdom and their king, who turned evil and tricked the Slime race by turning them into Chaos Slime, Slime that lost their minds to madness and turned their magic into raw magic. They were used as weapons to take over Equestria, but the king's plans failed as most of the Slime's sanity returned and teamed up with the other kingdoms of that era to wipe out the Draconquus kingdom. After doing so, the last remaining Slimes went underground, away from the world, to never be used again as weapons but also to spare Equestria from their raw magical powers as their races slowly fell back into madness. Then explained how Braver dreamed of one of the last remaining undercities of the Slimes.

"Chaos Slime...that's why there were no records of Braver's race in this universe. It was before the first Princess of Equestria ruled." Twilight was amazed by the story but felt sorry for the Slime race, especially Braver, whose races in her universe must have fallen to the same fate. "But wait, why would Braver have memories of the Slimes' homes?" Twilight started to think and realized something. "Of course, our universe and Braver's universe share the same places."

Cozy crossed her arms. "I been doing research in that underground city for a few years and had help from Darling Doo before she became too old to help any longer. Slimes can reproduce but at the end of their life cycle. We learned that when Slime creatures die from old age or near death, they pass the small bits of their memories to their offspring by self-reproducing."

Twilight stood up, realizing something as everything made sense about Braver and her body. "Like how the human world slugs reproduce! They are hermaphrodites!"

"Herm-what now?"

Twilight quickly turned red. She wasn't sure if she should tell Cozy this, not because of Cozy's age, but because of her relationship with Braver. Twilight learned how the human world treats those who are called 'transgender' and feared the same hatred might appear in her world. Hermaphrodites isn't the same as being Transgender, but she still feared that hate towards those who are different would spread to her world.

"Cozy?"

"Yeah?"

Twilight took a deep breath, sat back down, and spoke. "You loved my daughter, right?"

Cozy's cheeks went red, and she looked away from Twilight. "...as a friend! Wh-"

"Cozy. I know you love her in that way. You don't need to deny it."

Cozy turned even more red and sighed. "Yeah, so? What's your damn point?"

Twilight took another breath and asked her a question. "If Braver wasn't female, would you still love her?"

Cozy looked dumbfounded. "What? Of course I would! I don't care about Braver's gender. I love her because she is Braver, and that's all I care about."

"Even if it means she's both male and female? That's what a Hermaphrodite is. Braver has both parts, but she still sees herself as female."

Cozy suddenly remembered seeing Braver's 'second horn' back in the human world. Now she understood why she had one. She shook her head and looked at Twilight.

"Again, I don't give a damn about her gender. If she had both genders, so freaking what? I fell in love with Braver for who she is, not the gender or body she has!" She suddenly slammed her hoof on the table again. "If she sees herself as female and someone says otherwise, FUCK THEM! I don't care about their opinions; if they have a problem with Braver's identity, they must deal with me!"

Twilight was so happy. She remembered that during their time in the human world, Braver was afraid of the new part of her body and worried it would stay on her when she returned to Equestria. It was bad enough that her daughter already had fears of who she was as a Slime creature in her mind, but this made her worry even more. But hearing Cozy say that made her feel better, and she started to cry.

"T-thank you, Cozy."

Cozy gave a small smile. "No problem."

Twilight recovered and returned to the topic on hand. "So, what you are telling me is correct. Then, Braver has a bit of her mother's memories. Her mother died to Rainbow Sky the first time when Sky used her trump card. Her mother gave birth to Braver and Blitz...wait a minute." Twilight started to go over it and realized something. "No, when Sky fought the slime again, why weren't there two? If they were twins, there should have been two slimes when Sky fought the slime in the Kingdom of Day, but there was only one. Why is that? ...WAIT!" Twilight suddenly noticed something that wasn't adding up now. "Cozy, you said when a Slime dies, it self-reproduces and gives a bit of its memories to the offspring?"

"That's what we believe," answered Cozy, who didn't understand what Twilight was getting at until she slowly started to understand, her expression changing from confused to surprised.

Twilight noticed Cozy's expression and nodded. "If your research is correct, then it means when the twins died, they should left behind a child of their own, but there wasn't one!" Twilight exited the chair and walked around the table, explaining her theory to Cozy. "When their mother died to Sky, she gave birth to a child, which the Kingdom of Day found. That slime that attacked that kingdom was one slime, but when Sky killed it, it must have been the twin's real mother who gave birth to them! Braver has more of her Slime heritage than Blitz does; we thought Blitz was the real clone of Sky and Nightfall until we learned about Spark. Blitz also carries her slime genes." She stopped in front of Cozy, grabbing her shoulder, smiling. "If those two truly died, they should have given birth to one offspring each, but they didn't! Don't you see Cozy!?"

"...they aren't dead?" whispered Cozy, as tears started to fill her eyes. "...Braver is still alive!"

"I don't know for sure, but if I'm correct, then yes!" Twilight was so happy.

Cozy wiped the tears away and smiled, but that smile faded. "But you could be wrong, right? Thanks to the spell you used, Braver became a real Alicorn, and Blitz died as a human, even if she had a bit of slime within her."

Twilight let her go when she heard that, but she quickly countered that question, "Braver did become a real Alicorn...partly, don't you remember? When we all thought the spell failed a second time when Braver landed in front of us as a mass of slime, only for her to reform into her current form. She became a real Alicorn, not 100% because she was a slime creature, not a pony, from the start. Her body is still part slime. This is also confirmed by her both gender parts when we arrived in the human universe." Twilight placed her hoof under her chin. "Blitz isn't really human; she can transform into one and even into a Pegasus, but at the end of the day, she is still a slime. When Braver became enraged as she became Breaker and stabbed Blitz in the chest, Lucy told me she saw black slime within Blitz's body, along with Spark's Rainbow Element core." She looked back at Cozy. "There might be a slim chance I'm wrong, but I believe they are still alive!"

Cozy jumped out of her chair. "Okay, so now what? When Braver and her sister died, it happened inside Spark's core, right? Do we ask her to take us back there?" Cozy became worried. "...and if you are wrong, giving Spark false hope that her sisters are still alive...I don't think her mental state can handle it."

Twilight nodded, but then an idea hit her when she heard Luna and Celestia talking as they passed the doorway of this room. "We don't need to ask Spark; we can ask someone else!" But she turned to Cozy, wanting to ask her a flavor. "Cozy, can you head to the Underground city of the slime race? I need any books or scrolls talking about their childbirths. I need to be 100% correct in what I believe, and if I'm wrong...then it means Spark is carrying..."

"Two children have been within her core for the last two years outside this universe time. Right! I'll drop these books off and head there as fast as possible!" Cozy rushed over to the books and was about to teleport away, only for her broken horn to spark, causing her to curse. "Damn it, I can't use magic right now. I need to fly there instead." She gathered the books, darted to an open window, and disappeared from the room, leaving Twilight alone.

"Please let me be right!" Twilight exited the room, looking for where her former teacher and Luna went, but stopped as she heard Spark's voice coming down the hallway. "And if I'm wrong, I can't let Spark carry her sisters' children, not after the horrible experience she has gone through." She was closer to the doorway but not close enough to look inside. "Spark already feels like she stole her sister's lives to be here, but if she learns she became free, in turn, imprisoning her sister's kids in her place, I fear she might break again and, this time, forever." She heard Spark's voice again but was happy. "I can't let her have a new trauma, not when I can prevent it!" She faced away and started to run in the opposite direction of the room. "This needs to end! Trauma can last forever, but new ones can be stopped, and this one will be the last!" She headed toward the voices of Celestia and Luna.

Everyone was surprised as they watched Dash proudly show off the family book with a picture of Braver as a filly wearing a dress. Bow was thrilled to see how Dash was acting like him. "This is when she went to the Gala with Luster! See that dress? She asked Rarity to make her one inspired by Twilight's old Gala dress! She looks so awesome!"

"OH MY GOSH!" shouted Spark, grabbing the photo from Dash's hooves and happily looking at it. "SHE'S SO CUTE!"

Dashie laughed and took out her own photos of Blitz from her wallet. She handed them to Spark, who became even more happy. "Blitz wore a Greek-inspired rainbow dress to the middle school prom."

Dash commented that Blitz's dress looked like her old Gala dress from many years back. The two moms started to talk about their daughters while Spark soaked in all the lovely information about what sisters did or acted as they grew up. She felt so happy about the wonderful life they grew up in—until she remembered what she did.

"No," Spark thought, looking at the photos on her lap. "What happened wasn't my fault, but why does it still feel like it?"

"Hey, you okay?"

Spark snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at her mother and then at her new family, who were still worried about her.

"I'm...not fine." She placed all the photos into the book and closed it. She picked it up and held it tight against her chest, smiling. "But I will be one day. A day where I won't keep blaming myself for what happened or the pain we suffered because of my grandfather. I didn't kill my sisters...I need to remember that."

Everyone looked at each other and then back at Spark.

"Hey, Spark. Can you tell us what happened with Brigitte and the others?" Shining asked, hoping this would distract Spark from her thoughts.

Spark remembered and placed the book back on her lap.

"Oh, right! Where was I..."

T2 walked out of the elevator first and looked around for threats. She saw nothing, but Artemis joined her side and scanned the area.

"No signs of life in the area!"

T2 tsk loudly, annoyed with her. "No shit, stupid pod."

Brigitte and AJ exited the elevator, and Brigitte turned and watched it disappear. Like before, there was no turning back now.

"So, that's what happened, huh?" questioned T2, who saw it disappear.

Brigitte turned her wheelchair around and sighed. She didn't know where they should go in this weird, endless ball pit room. Before she could make a decision, T2 just walked in a random direction.

"Hey, where are you going!?" shouted AJ, walking after her.

"Anywhere but here, shrimp."

AJ's left eye twitched. "...what did you call me!?"

T2 stopped, looked back, and smirked. "Oh, are you deaf too, Shrimp?"

"I'M STILL GROWING, YOU PEICE OF JUNK!"

T2 laughed as she kept walking in the same direction. Brigitte and Artemis sighed, as they didn't look forward to this nonstop fighting. As they started to follow, they saw T2 and AJ turn a corner, and when they arrived at it, they were surprised to see the two were just gone.

"Shit! T2! AJ!" shouted Brigitte as she and Artemis started to go down the hallway. They ran for a bit until they turned a corner and were greeted by the sight of a giant ball pit. There were no signs of the two lost girls. "Damn it!"

Meanwhile, T2 was still making fun of AJ's short height.

"Stop it, you junk-head!" shouted AJ as they were walking down an open-top hallway.

"Or what? You bite my legs?" T2 mocked her again.

AJ grunted at her and sighed. "Damn talkative for whatever you were called." she crossed her arms, pouting. "I miss my little sister!"

T2 stopped when she heard that. Was she talkative? She didn't even realize she was saying much. She was mostly quiet and kept to herself, as the last time she was this talkative was three years ago when her squadmates were still alive.

"...android." corrected T2, not saying anything else, and kept walking.

AJ remarked on her but was surprised when T2 said nothing back. They walked in a very awkward silence. AJ was happy about it, as she was done hearing T2's mouth, but she could feel something was wrong with her.

"Something bothering you?"

"What do you mean, short-huh?" T2 looked back and noticed that Brigitte and Artemis were gone. "Hey, where's Brigitte and the pod!?"

AJ looked back, and T2 was right; their friends were gone. "Shit, did something get them?"

T2 didn't waste any time and ran back with her sword drawn. AJ was behind her, clapping her hands and making a metal hay fork. They returned where they came...only to find they were elsewhere than returning to the place they started at.

"Did we go the wrong way!?" questioned T2, feeling they didn't.

"No! We went the right way. I think this weird ass place is trying to mess with us!"

T2 agreed and sighed, lowering her sword. "How are we going to find-WHAT THE FUCK!?" screamed T2, feeling something hard, hitting her head, and watching it bounce on the ground. It was a normal plastic pink ball. She looked up and saw a pink balloon with a pony shape leaning over a railing on the higher part of the room. It threw another ball, smacking T2 in the face. "You bastard!"

AJ grabbed her arm, stopping her from jumping up there. "Hey! Cool it! It's trying to distract us from finding Brigitte and Artemis. Let's find our way out of here."

T2 was about to shout back, but then the pink balloon jumped off the railing and landed a few feet from them, making a loud pop. The two were confused as they saw the balloon piece flying everywhere...until it all gathered into one place and became whole again. It stared them down, watching the two readying their weapons.

"It might look like a normal balloon, but be on guard, T2," warned AJ.

The pink balloon didn't care about AJ's words and charged at them.

"GOT IT!" shouted T2.

T2 jumped and tried to slice the thing open, but it moved to the side and jumped over her, landing on her head. After a quick rub, it bounced off and landed between them. T2 turned around to kill the balloon but stopped to see AJ trying to hide her laugh.

"What's so damn funny!?"

"It...your hair!" answered AJ, her laughter breaking through a bit.

"WHAT!?"

T2 felt her hair and quickly looked, seeing it all fuzzy as an electric afro. AJ and the balloon pony laughed, making T2 blush in anger. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'LL TAKE MY TIME IN POPPING YOU, YOU STUPID BALLOON!" She lunged at the balloon, missing it as it slid into the sky.

AJ looked up and saw the balloon pointing in a certain direction. She knew the balloon was trying to lead them, but was it a trap? She didn't have a choice. "That way, T2!" She pointed at where the balloon was pointing, and then the balloon disappeared.

T2 sighed and walked in the direction. "Whatever. This is all so damn stupid, but I don't think there is anything worse than giant ball pits with a living fucking balloon!" she followed AJ as she tried to fix her hair.

Brigitte and Artemis were walking around the giant ball pit, wondering why such a thing existed in this tower and the tree itself. As they kept walking, Artemis's scanners went on, warning her that something under them was inside the ball pit.

"Mom! An Unknown life form is coming from the ball pit! At highspeed no less! It's about to-!"

Artemis was cut off when something blue blasted out of the pit, blasting the balls out. They covered their eyes and saw something landing as the balls fell around them.

"What now?" grunted Brigitte, taking out her gun.

Brigitte was shocked to see the machine pony again as the last balls fell, but it looked so different now. It looked more robotic, but parts of its body were still flesh.

"Mom! Is that the machine you were talking about!?"

"Yeah...but it looks like it got upgrades or something!"

The machine didn't seem to care and rushed at them, jumping and landing near Artemis. It was going to grab her, but Brigitte shot its face, stopping its attack. The machine looked at her, its red eye glowing, and opened its mouth, unleashing a loud static roar.

"RAAHH!"

"Artemis, stay behind me! I'll handle this!" shouted Brigitte, shooting at the machine again, but the machine rushed her, punching the gun out of her hand. "Damn it!" Brigitte quickly dialed a few buttons on her control panel, and her wheelchair rocketed away from the machine in time. It slammed its hooves where Brigitte once was. Artemis grabbed her mother's gun and flew to her side, giving it back to her. Brigitte pressed a button, hoping the update was done, but she cursed as the wheelchair's robotic voice said only 35% of the update was done.

"Only 35%!?" questioned Brigitte.

"Mom, watch out!"

Brigitte was bucked backward and crashed into a wall, cracking it and sending dust everywhere. As the dust cleared, Brigitte could feel Artemis on her as she changed into her engineer arm suit. Her daughter had just saved her life.

"Mom! You okay!?" cried Artemis, her face appearing in the hologram visor.

Brigitte smiled at her, giving her a thumbs up. "Thanks, sweetheart! Mom is fine!"

They turned their attention to the machine, which was facing them now. As it stood there, rainbow liquid oozed out from its robotic parts. Then, it started moving again.

'Shit! Artemis, we can't fight it like this! We need...huh?"

The two watched as the machine's eyes flipped between red and blue. It struggled to keep moving, and this was when Brigitte knew what was happening.

"FIGHT IT!" she shouted, trying to get the machine to fight whatever was trying to control it. "DON'T LET IT WIN!"

The machine shook its head and faced them, its red eye glowing and mouth dripping with the rainbow liquid. It let out a scream and rushed them, ready to kill them.

"Artemis, hold on!"

Brigitte rocketed them to the side, dodging the machine, which crashed into the wall. Artemis looked at her, knowing that she couldn't keep dodging forever.

"Mom, we need to run! We can't stay and fight!"

Brigitte grunted. She wanted to help this pony, but her daughter was right. They needed to escape before the machine could recover after crashing into that wall. Brigitte and Artemis rocketed toward a hole in the wall, hoping to lose the machine as it started following them.

T2 and AJ were still following the balloon pony as it guided them down a hallway and turned a corner. The balloon pointed its hoof at a giant doorway, seeing tons of slides, all leading to the middle, vast ball pit.

"So...why did that balloon lead us here?" asked AJ, stepping in.

T2 didn't care. If this was for it to attack them, she would be ready for it.

"WHHHHEEEEEEEE!"

"Huh?" said both girls, as they could see someone sliding down the slides and into the pit.

The two approached the edge of the pit and looked in, only for someone to burst out, smiling.

"THAT WAS FUN!" the pink-haired girl with pony ears said, opening her eyes and noticing the two.

"Hey," said AJ as she reached out for the girl.

T2 said nothing, but she noticed the weird look on the girl's face, as if she were seeing a ghost.

"What the fuck is wrong with her?"

The girl started to sweat, her eyes twitching as her breathing became unsteady.

"What the hell is happening to her? It's like she's having a panic attack," AJ said, stepping back.

The girl quickly got out of the ball pit and screamed.

"STAY AWAY LUCIE!"

T2 and AJ had no idea why the girl screamed a random name at them, but before they could question it further, T2 was suddenly blasted away and crashed into a wall. She cursed and was about to attack the girl but couldn't move.

"What the hell!?"

She tried again, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move. It felt like her body was being held down by something.

"Shit! What the hell is wrong with my body!?"

AJ looked at her in confusion, then noticed something. She could hardly see it, but something was there.

Whatever was there, it was holding T2 down. AJ clapped her hands and touched the floor, bursting out of walls from the floor and breaking the line of sight of the girl.

"Hey, you okay!? Can you move now!?" asked AJ.

"I think so!" replied T2, and she did, standing back up. She looked back and forth, trying to figure out what happened.

AJ was just as lost when she hardly saw whatever held T2 down, but she couldn't make it out no matter what. It was almost like it was blending with the light, and that's when she started to figure it out.

"Hey, watch out! This girl has some invisible weapon! We have no idea what else it can do, but it can hold you down with ease," warned AJ. But something burst out of the walls and created a large dirt cloud. It went past her and headed right toward T2, going by the dust cloud being blown back as it got closer to T2. "It's coming after you again! Watch out!"

T2 understood and took a fighting stance. She started scanning for the incoming threats, but nothing showed up, not even on her heat vision. Which means...

"Damn it, old-world magic!"

"Old world what?" questioned AJ, watching T2 dodging it, only thanks to the smoke, revealing how close it was to her.
"This girl is using some old-world magic or some shit. There was magic before my time and the war with the machines in my universe." She deflected one with her sword. "Normal tech can't track magic or defend from it. It's a bitch!" She saw holes within the smoke and ducked in time. "Hey! Can you create smoke or something!? I need to see where these damn things are coming from!"

"Yeah!" shouted AJ, clapping her hands, making a pillar, and touching it again, turning it into sand. The wind suddenly started to blow it away. Thanks to the pony balloon, the wind was coming from a huge fan.

T2 cursed. She hated the sand getting into her insides, but if this was the only way to see these things, then so be it.

"I'm going after her and cutting her damn head off!" barked T2, deflecting the things as she darted forward.

AJ could still hear the girl screaming from the other side of the wall. It sounded like she was begging to stay away from her, but why? And who was Lucie? AJ couldn't figure that out, and she didn't have time as T2 passed her and jumped over the wall.

T2 landed and saw the girl crying and begging her to say away.

"I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU! STAY AWAY LUCIE! I DON'T WANT YOU TO HURT ME AGAIN, PLEASE!"

"SHUT UP AND FIGHT!" yelled T2, rushing the girl and not caring what she was saying.

"I PROMISE PAPA THAT I'LL BE A GOOD GIRL!" screamed the girl, unleashing more things toward T2.

T2 could see the unseen objects getting closer to her, thanks to the sand smoke. T2 jumped up and over them and landed in front of the girl, swinging her sword. Her blade almost reached the girl's neck but stopped.

"..." T2 could see how freaked out the girl's expression was like she had seen a ghost, but what she heard next made her feel...sad.

"P-PLEASE, LUCIE! DON'T TEAR MY ARMS AND LEGS OFF AGAIN! DON'T TORTURE ME! I BEG YOU!" cried the girl, closing her eyes and curling up. "Papa wants me to be a good girl and live in peace! Please, no more...I'm sorry."

"Who the hell is Lucie?" questioned T2, lowering her blade.

The girl didn't answer her, just rambling about not wanting to be tortured again. AJ created a door on the wall and walked in to see what was happening. She could hear the poor girl and glared at T2, who glared back at her.

"I didn't do shit, shrimp! She just..." T2 looked back at the poor girl. "Broke down like this..."

AJ knew T2 was telling the truth and sighed. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, crouching to be at eye level with the young girl.

"N-NO! PLEASE STAY AWAY! I DON'T WANT YOU HURTING ME AGAIN!"

AJ and T2 were confused and looked at each other, unsure what was happening.

"Um, who hurt you?" asked AJ, hoping the girl would answer her.

The girl slowly pointed to T2, who was taken aback by that.

"Lucie! Her! She cut off my limbs! Slowly and painfully! She is evil! She wants to torture me again! I'm a good girl! Papa says I am a good girl!"

AJ and T2 had no idea what the hell the girl was talking about, but the part about cutting her arms and legs off was the weird part. The girl's arms and legs looked fine to them. AJ slowly reached out and touched the limbs with her normal hand.

"What?" AJ questioned, as she could feel the limbs weren't flesh but prosthetics made to look like normal flesh.

Something burst out of the walls before AJ could ask her more questions. Out of the smoke was Brigitte, racing out, and behind her was the machine that T2 had seen before. The girl also looked and could see Brigitte being smacked out of her wheelchair and Artemis landing next to her.

"Brigitte!" shouted AJ and T2, but before they could act, they felt something passing them. Soon, they could see the machine being suddenly pulled away from Brigitte and crashing into the wall. They looked down and saw the girl acting normal.

"Who dares to hurt a disabled person!"

T2 and AJ were shocked, but the machine rushed the girl before they could talk, roaring at her. The girl raised her hand, and the machine was yanked away again and crashed into the ground. The girl stood up, glaring at the machine. She raised her hand again and helped Brigitte back into her wheelchair with her unseen arms. Then, she pushed her toward and behind her with the others.

"What's going on?" Brigitte asked, but the two just shrugged at her and then looked at the girl, who got closer to the machine.

"I don't know what you are, but if you hurt someone who can't fight back because they are disabled, then Nono will teach you a lesson!" She lowered her hand, and the machine was suddenly crushed and blasted through the floor and to the below floors, hitting each floor hard until it crashed into the bottom floor, covered in debris.

Brigitte, Artemis, AJ, and T2 were speechless.

"Whoa..." said all of them.

"Hmph, that will teach it a lesson," said the girl, known as Nono, turning around and facing them...only to start freaking out again when she looked at T2 and dropped to the ground, crying.

As this happened, the pink balloon pony floated past them and hit the wall, making the elevator appear again. It pointed to it.

"...is that floating ballon...alive?" Brigitte questioned, making the other two nod. She rubbed her eyes, getting tired of all the weird shit. "Get in, I'll handle the girl."

"You sure? You saw what she had done, right?" said AJ.

Brigitte gave her a sad smile. "Nothing new to me, kid. My wife can do the same stuff that this girl pulled off, and I understand why she's freaking out. Just get in, it won't take long."

T2 and AJ looked at each other and then went into the elevator. Brigitte looked at the girl and rolled toward her. The girl looked at her and was ready to scream again, but she didn't as she saw the caring faces of Brigitte and Artemis.

T2 and AJ were inside and watched as Brigitte spoke to the girl, who, based on what she yelled out to the machine, was called Nono.

"This is stupid. That girl can kill her!" growled T2, ready to exit.

AJ held her back, giving her a calm smile. "No, she won't. Brigitte knows what she is doing. Trust her."

"How can you know that!? You hardly know her!"

"And? Just by looking at and being around her, Brigitte is a very caring person. Hell, how you are acting right now to keep her safe tells me she helped you, too, right? So, trust her. Trust me."

T2 looked at AJ and sighed, looking away.

"Whatever."

"Hmph, that is one cold attitude."

"Shut up, shrimp."

AJ glared at her but stopped as they heard footsteps. They turned to see Brigitte holding the young girl's hand.

"T2, I know this might sound like a weird request...but can you go to sleep mode?" requested Brigitte, as the girl shook and closed her eyes.

T2 glared at her, but AJ put a hand on her shoulder. T2 was about to punch her but stopped and looked away.

"Whatever, fine," she followed through the weird request and sat in the corner.

"Okay, she's asleep; she won't hurt you. Step into the elevator, and we can talk some more," Brigitte warmly said to Nono.

Nono did so, and she and Artemis followed Brigitte in, with Nono looking away from the sleeping T2.

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to be rude," said Nono, sitting on Brigitte's lap and hugging her like she was her mother or something.

Brigitte rubbed her back and said it was fine, as she understood. The elevator doors were about to shut when the machine stopped them from closing. Everyone was caught off guard and wasn't ready for this.

"FLY!" screamed the machine, slowly forcing the doors open...only to be slammed by the pink pony balloon from above.

The pink pony balloon waved at Nono, who waved back as the doors closed again.

Everyone was relieved, and AJ turned to Brigitte and asked her a simple question.

"What's her deal?"

Brigitte looked at Nono, who was still hugging and scared as she eyed T2.

"...this poor girl was made to be a weapon, and in her first big mission, she fought someone who looked a lot like T2 there." Brigitte forced Nono's head on her chest, wanting her to relax. "The person who looked like T2 took her down and then tore her arms and legs off in a painful manner. It wasn't until after her team came in and saved her that she could disable the person who hurt her. She has...trauma from that battle with that T2-looking person...poor kid."

"Nono is a good girl. Papa wants Nono to live a peaceful life. Papa..." mumbled Nono, who started to drift off and fall asleep.

Brigitte was rubbing her back as the sounds of the elevator were the only thing filling the silence.

On the next floor, an empty wooden town could be seen, and a lone woman carrying a briefcase set it down and looked around, wondering where everyone was.

End of Chapter 19