Truth or Magic?

“Ah, strawberry-vanilla. It never disappoints! Thanks again, Sunny!” a unicorn thanked, drinking the smoothie.

“No problem! Enjoy!” Sunny smiled.

After the unicorn left, Sunny went back to the cabinet where all different flavors were held in stock. As she was double-checking, she noticed that there was no more banana flavor.

“Huh? I thought I had a surplus of that stuff? I’m pretty sure I refilled everything yesterday.”

Then she decided to look around until she noticed Banana Bonanza standing outside. “Hi, Sunny. Mind if I help?” she asked, carrying a wagon of ripe bananas on her back.

“Banana! It’s so nice to see you again!” Sunny happily welcomed. “And just in time too.”

Smiling, Banana stacked her bananas on the table and helped Sunny put each pair of the fruit into the blender one by one.

“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. Is everything going well?”

“Yeah, uh….everything is fine,” Banana replied, sadly staring at the blender.

Sunny took notice of her eyes and laid her hoof on her shoulder. “Are you sure? Is Crimson doing alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s doing great. His boss is…uh…*clears throat*…getting a promotion.”

“Really? That’s great!”

“Yeah, I’m really so…’proud’of him. I just hope he doesn’t get too carried away during this transition,” said Banana, resisting the urge to cry.

“Well, I’m happy he’s doing something amazing in his occupation. Hitch told me he makes tents for a living; that’s what he does, right?” Sunny asked.

“Correct,” confirmed Banana. “You gotta admire his brilliant skills. He’s been doing this business after his father passed away. I’m glad he’s upholding the family legacy.”

“If only he didn’t taint it with his dumb decisions,” she thought to herself.

“How long were you two together if I may ask?”

“About five years now. Our fifth year was the most special to me because the magic of friendship was restored,” Banana explained.

Then she started to slowly get emotional. “And Crimson—he’s an amazing stallion. He’s the sweetest guy I’ve ever known, and I am more than happy to be with him. Sometimes, I have this anticipation he would propose to me at any time.”

“Wow! I’m surprised he hasn’t yet since you’ve been together for this long,” commented Sunny.

“I know, right?! But…the thing is…I fear that his work schedule would…keep him from spending time with me. He’s gonna be busier than usual, and that…scares me a little,” admitted Banana.

Sunny gently hugged her and allowed her to quietly sob on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. I’m sure he loves you too much that he won’t be working…too much. You get what I mean?”

“Yeah. I…um…I hope so too. Thank you for listening, Sunny.”

“What are friends for? Come, you can make some special banana smoothies with me if you want. I could use an extra hoof for one day,” Sunny offered.

Banana sadly smiled. “I would love to.”

River Butterfly heavily panted as he stood still on a small wooden bridge just outside the town. “How many times must I go on?! *cough* Don’t you think…*wheeze*…I’ve had enough already?!”

“Come on, River, you almost got this!” assured Globgor. “If you can run across the bridge without getting hit one more time, you’ll officially break your record.”

River stretched out his bruised arms and back which cracked half of his bones. Grunting in pain, the former Mewni king breathed in and out before getting ready to run.

“Well, if it’s all done in the name of brisk exercising, then so be it. But can you at least try not to release all those barrels at once?”

“Don’t worry, there won’t be too much of them this time,” replied Globgor.

River sighed in relief. “Thank goodness…”

“I’ll just send in the bouncing balls at the end instead,” Globgor smirked.

“Wait, WHAT?!”

“Aaaaaannd…GO!”

With the timer already set off, River ran across the bridge as fast as he could. Seeing the oncoming barrels, he carefully jumped over them without getting a scratch.

One after the other, River swiftly jumped over every obstacle. “Hey, I think I’m actually gonna make it. Haha, I finally got it!”

As he was getting close to the end, three large bouncing balls were released at the same time. River hopped on the first one which escalated his jump even further. Then he bounced over the next one with ease.

“That’s it, pal. You got this,” whispered Globgor, watching the timer.

But before he could focus his attention on the last ball, River saw a red-colored object fly across the horizon. Distracted, River bounced on the last ball at a wrong angle—launching him towards a tree beyond the finish line.

“River! River, are you alright?”

River lifted his head with a bat-bird’s nest on his head. Spitting out leaves, he set the nest back on its branch. “Oh, uh…it was nothing. That was definitely part of the exercise. Yeah, that was it,” he said, nervously grinning.

“Well, at least you finally broke your record! But that last bit wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” said Globgor. “Trying to show off?”

“Didn’t you see that meteor flying down? That thing was so up-close!”

At that moment, the ground was violently shaken which threw both of them off-balance. “What the…?!”

“An Earthquake?! Is this the meteor’s doing??” Globgor asked.

“It can’t be a coincidence a falling meteor and an earthquake are both happening simultaneously,” replied River. “Hmmm, perhaps we should take a closer look.”

“Good idea. I always had a feeling something dangerous was gonna happen again,” Globgor suspected. “There’s always gotta be an interruption of harmony every single time.”

“Let’s hope it isn’t the case,” said River. Thus, both of them set out for the open landscape where they heard the noises.

Axor flew down from the sky and landed on the ground. Gazing his red eyes at the distant city of Earth-Mewni, he stared down at a piece of the log that had some weird goopy stains underneath. There, he pointed his sharp finger right at the log while evilly grinning.

He shot a red beam at the spot which caused the entire ground to shake violently; he stood perfectly still in spite of it.

A lizard-like skeleton slowly arose from the ground, and every single fiber of his bones grew a whole new skin. The body was given a formal suit, red tie, and a distinctive hairstyle before his face was formed.

Finally breathing oxygen once again, the resurrected figure looked around confused—unable to understand how he’s back up alive again. Then he took a look at his hand where he used to have a missing finger; seeing that he still had his finger fully intact, he grew a satisfied smile.

“Welcome to the land of the living, Toffee. I hope you had a peaceful slumber,” Axor greeted.

“This…is quite a surprise. I thought I was done for,” said Toffee, still processing what just happened. “You’re the one who brought me back, I presume?”

“Indeed! You see, I’m a guy who loves giving second chances to people. You, my friend, are the exceptional kind of villain I deeply respect the most. After all, you were always one step ahead of everyone,” Axor praised, circling around him.

Arching an eyebrow, Toffee crossed his arms. “And who are you exactly?”

“You can call me Axor. I have big plans for the multiverse…very big plans, and you will be playing two important roles.”

“Hmm, that’s cute and all, but I’m not interested,” Toffee replied, causally wiping off dust from his suit. “I’m a guy with simplistic tastes, and world domination isn’t one of them.”

Axor chuckled as Toffee was about to walk away. “Of course you are. I guess this means you’re overqualified for more ambitious duties that involve…magic.”

This caught Toffee’s attention as soon as he heard the last word. “Magic?”

“I’ve examined your history, and it would appear you have a strong hatred for that element. You even fought against a young girl who wielded some powerful magical wand.”

“Star Butterfly…” Toffee muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Now, I know what you’re thinking: you want your revenge on her after the way she destroyed you. I get it, and as much as I would love to see you rend her asunder, there are more pressing matters that require your area of expertise,” explained Axor.

“I fail to see how anything else is more important than a little payback,” Toffee sneered.

“Oh, but it is more important. Because there’s an intriguing world where every single inhabitant relies on friendship…as the greatest magic of all—a world where every creature possesses magic in many different ways.”

Toffee stood there silently surprised that there is yet another world out there that also possesses magic. Then he shook his head in disbelief and in disappointment.

“Go on.”

“That world inspires other worlds to be just like them. Mewni would not have reached to its heights of glory if it weren’t for Equestria,” Axor lied.

“Is that so? Hmm, that makes my desire for revenge even more important. Mewni will receive the consequences for its grave sins right here and now,” declared Toffee.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Axor hysterically laughed.

Toffee stood as if he was offended by his laughter. “Did I say something humorous?”

“Believe it or not, Star already did the job for you, and you weren’t there to witness it! That’s a killer!!” Axor exulted.

“What?” Toffee replied, completely confused.

“Look around you, reptile. Earth and Mewni are now joined in marriage…so to speak,” Axor informed.

Toffee saw all the humans now co-existing with the Mewmans as well as every earth animal dwelling with the mystical creatures. Seeing all this made Toffee grow an impressed grin on his face.

“I must admit…I didn’t think she had it in her. Huh, it would appear she proved me right after all.”

“Precisely. But what if I told you they could get their magic back? The Equestrians I told you about are too generous and too friendly enough they’ll replenish anyone they deem fit,” spewed Axor.

“Is this really what I’m called to do? I’m back from the dead just to be an errand boy to clean up some dirty laundry? I know I was destined to do great things, but this has to be a joke,” groaned Toffee.

“Forgive me, but I thought that a man of your talents would be eager to demonstrate to the universe how magic is an ‘inferior’ concept that must be wiped out? Or perhaps your reputation is a little exaggerated?” Axor questioned.

Toffee glared at him for a moment until he realized what he was trying to do. Then he chuckled to himself. “You’re good, Axor. I thought I was the only one who was well-versed in reverse psychology.”

“I’m glad you noticed! So you are smart as your enemies once said you are. Then there’s no reason for you to refuse my offer?”

“I’m all ears.”

Axor pulled out a device where it shot a little hologram of Equus. “This planet contains multicolored ponies, and they just received their magic again after centuries of living their miserable lives magic-less. It was all thanks to this young earth pony: Sunny Starscout.”

Toffee wore a look of disgust at seeing the young pony with her horn and wings. The hologram played the scene with Sunny flying across Maretime Bay while laughing with joy. Her friends were happy with her as well.

“They were living their lives without magic?”

“Correct. One would think these ponies were already happy without magic before this girl came in and made their lives more difficult by bringing magic back,” Axor reasoned.

This made Toffee groan in frustration. “What a shame. There’s always gotta be someone who thinks they know what’s best for people. What do you want me to do about it?”

“You must go to this planet, find out what weaknesses they have, and exploit them.”

“Ahhhh, I can prove to them how magic does more harm than good. Then they’ll have no choice but to get rid of it once and for all.”

“Now you’re getting it,” Axor evilly smiled. “Once you have completed your assignment, you’ll have a place within my soon-to-be-kingdom. You’ll become my right-hand man, and you’ll have the privilege of harnessing even greater power.”

“Please, that won’t be necessary. I’m already content with my own capabilities. Regardless, I accept your proposal,” responded Toffee.

Using his right hand, he shook Axor’s hand. Then a red bolt charged right into Toffee’s hand, and his own shadow went right unto Axor’s feet.

Axor wickedly chuckled. “Perfect. I’m sure these ponies will be no match for your skills.” He opened a portal with his sharp finger for Toffee to enter through.

Then Axor looked up at the sky with his chest burning with his fiery red energy. “Oh Sunny Starscout, if only you knew the truth…”

Just as the portal closed, River & Globgor stood there surprised at what they witnessed. “Why do I have a feeling we just witnessed a new evil arising?”

“Globgor, you have every right to feel that way. Moon is definitely not going to like this. We have to warn them!”

“Agreed. Come on!”

Several humans were riding on dragon-cycles on the road; the motorists proudly wore their sunglasses while the dragon-cycles breathed fire.

“OH YEAH! Let’s rock on, baby!!”

Other humans rode on giant spiders who were visibly annoyed by them constantly poking their eyes; they kicked them off them and webbed them up.

Multiple gophers emerged from the ground, and they had a couple of unicorn horns as well. They snuck into a few fast food restaurants and snatched some fries & hot dogs before they escaped.

A restaurant manager chased some of them away while he threw a tray at them. “YOU’RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT! NO ANIMALS ALLOWED!”

Moon and Eclipsa Butterfly stood side by side as they both kept watch over the whole city. The latter held her baby Meteora in her arms.

“It seems like both Mewmans and Humans are getting used to each other more easily now,” Eclipsa observed.

“It would seem so. I’m still a little surprised both worlds haven’t completely fallen apart…yet,” said Moon.

“Mmm, that’s unlikely to happen. But from the looks of it, they are all getting to know each other which is quite an improvement,” noted Eclipsa.

“Of course. *sigh*”

Eclipsa looked at her with concern. “Is everything alright, Moon?”

“Yes, yes, it’s that…I’m still shaken that magic is gone…for good. And we—we’ve—,”

“….been living off of magic for generations?”

Moon sadly nodded. “Yes. Nonetheless…*inhales*…there was no other choice. It was tough, and I couldn’t be more proud of my daughter for making such a call.”

“Indeed. Thanks to her, we are living in a new age of peace and harmony…but without the magic. Whatever new challenges we face, we’ll face them together…as a family.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, Eclipsa,” smiled Moon.

“We got trouble, honey!” River & Globgor shouted at unison. They ran up to their wives with sweat dripping on their faces.

“Ugh, that is enough running for one day,” panted River.

“River?”

“Globgor, dear, what’s the matter?”

“WE JUST SAW—!” Both husbands looked at each other surprised.

“Ahem, you go first.”

“No, please, you go first.”

“Come on, man, don’t be so humble. After YOU.”

“This was your idea to go check it out, so you go first,” insisted Globgor.

“Why can’t both of you tell us what’s wrong?” Moon suggested, annoyed.

“Alright.”

“Fine by me.”

“We were just having the manliest activity in the beautiful sunny day when suddenly…” River started.

“…something came down from the sky and shook the ground where we were standing!” Globgor finished.

“And then…something worse happened! We saw that evil-looking dude resurrect that lizard man—Toffee!” shouted River.

Moon widened her eyes in shock, and she felt the sudden urge to drop to her knees. “T-Toffee? What??? No…this…cannot be!”

“Toffee? Why does the name sound familiar? You know him?” asked Eclipsa.

“Know him?! I have a terrible history with him! He’s the reason why my mother is no longer with us, and…I almost lost my daughter to that monster,” replied Moon, pained anger arising in her voice.

“He did WHAT?!” River exclaimed.

“I thought for sure he was truly dead. Why…? Why is this happening now of all days?” Moon mumbled, trembling with sorrow.

“He sounds like a truly evil creature. And who was that other guy who brought him back?” Globgor wondered.

“Can you describe him?” Eclipsa requested.

“Well, he seems to be dark-skinned, wears some kind of formal attire, has beady red eyes, and a weird diamond-shaped hole in his chest,” River explained.

“Seriously? Tell me that guy is a villain without actually telling me,” Eclipsa deadpanned.

“Why…would any sane person ever want to bring that abomination back to life…?” Moon uttered, tears dropping down.

“Perhaps he called someone for backup—a long overdue backup—so they can plot their revenge. *Gasp* Our entire civilization could be in danger…again!” River panicked.

“But what will he gain from all this?! All our magic is already gone, and he wasn’t even responsible for it!” Moon angrily cried.

“What must we do?” Globgor asked, holding his wife and child in his arms.

Moon stared at her hands and glared at them. Then she looked back up. “I will inform Star about this. When Toffee returns, we shall be ready for him. River, gather as many people as you can and prepare them for battle.”

“Right away, dear!” River saluted. But just as he was about to run again, he felt cramps on his right leg. He stopped himself as he winced from the pain.

“Biscuits, I forgot! No more running today!”

“Allow me to lend a hand,” offered Globgor, growing bigger. He lifted River unto his shoulder and took him where he needed to go.

“Moon, are you sure about this?”

“I know how dangerous Toffee is. Whoever that other villain is, he could give him a much more lethal power we’ve never known if he has the power to raise the dead,” replied Moon.

“I gotta say, Moon, you really have a talent in making enemies,” commented Eclipsa.

Moon looked at her with an unamused expression.

“No offense.”

“None taken,” said Moon, rolling her eyes.