A Friend In Need [WORM/MLP]

[sopchoppy]

Arise Dead thread, arise to 10k new words of story! The new content starts labeled part 2, part 1 is the previously released Tattletale interlude. A huge amount of thanks is due to Deadpan29, who over the past week has graciously beta-read all of this several times and found countless grammar, phrasing, and other mistakes. If any still remain, its because there were too many to catch for any mortal.

So without further delay:

Requiem For A Dream (Part 2/6) - Luna



..ALL DREAMS MUST END, AND THINE ENDS NOW!!"

Luna spoke as she simultaneously finished her working. While this sphere's moon was not hers it was of the night and so answered her call faithfully. The storm clouds directly above exploded as the magic of her working overcame them. Behind the cover of the clouds the moon had drawn close and now shone with an intensity that briefly rivaled that of the sun itself. The song of moonlight and magic reached a crescendo and a lance of lunar light and will pierced the atmosphere and struck the floating form of her opponent.

She opened her eyes as the light from her lance dissipated. Spurred by her magic the clouds once more grew to cover the moon, rain coming down in sheets as lightning crackled overhead. Before her, where the creature had been, now only a hole. Warily she trotted forward and stopped at its rim. Crystalline feathers far to dense to be carried off by the wind lay scattered about the fathoms deep abyss.

Acting on instinct deeper than thought, she transformed into mist just as most of a building flew through the spot she had been standing in. Reforming facing the direction of the throw, she leapt off the ground and spiraled to the side to avoid more telekinetic savagery. She spotted her opponent, missing more pieces of itself, but alive yet. Alive and apparently wishing a duel. A feral grin spread across Luna's face as she spun and dove around the projectiles thrown her way from all directions.

Her horn lit and reaching into the other she drew forth her battle raiment. Forged from moonlight and magic, luminescent plate and chain began to materialize on her frame, flowing like molten silver and solidifying into a an armor last worn more than a thousand years ago. The impact of something large and metallic knocked her sideways in the air, but could not suppress her adrenaline fueled smile as she felt the cool touch of lunar plate upon her muzzle. Intricate and ancient runes inscribed themselves in patterns both beautiful and deadly across the armor as the familiar weight of wingblades and edged hoofguards settled onto her body.

She rolled and spun through the air as a spiked and weighted braid of metal wove itself among the night sky of her tail. Now properly attired she focused her magic on the objects around her. The blizzard of projectiles grew as Luna added to the storm and wrested control over some already airborne. She danced the sky with death as her partner, but she was not one to be led in a dance such as this. Her horn grew brighter and the buildings and strange vehicles caught in her opponent's telekinetic grasp shuddered. Some dropped or flew into space, while others, guided by Luna, slammed into the alabaster figure knocking it out of the air to slide across the ground.

Luna dove forward, and extending a wing, sliced through a shield of crystal feathers that her opponent had brought up to protect against the attack. The razor sharp feathers struck back, scrapping against her armor but also finding flesh to cut. Luna rolled away through the air and was blindsided by a large mass of yellow metal and glass. She crashed through the one of the last standing walls of whatever structures had been here before her arrival and transformed into flock of ghostly bats before she could be crushed between the ground and whatever she had been hit with.

She flew in a hundred directions at once, and then dove and swirled around her enemy's wings and between them before reforming inside her opponent's winged guard. Hooves laced with mass increasing magic, she spun and bucked the alabaster nightmare in the face. Even as the creature was hurled backwards by her hit, its wings once again sought purchase against her armor, cutting grooves into its surface and slicing her lip open in a spray of blood.

Luna swung her head with the blow to minimize the cut while closing her wings and dropping to the ground to avoid a gigantic mechanical carriage that sped through her previous location and proceeded to smash a massive hole in one of the few standing towers by the city's bay. The ground rumbled beneath her hooves and she teleported to the billowing cloud bank above just before an enormous fireball erupted from the street. Even two thousand feet above the ground she could feel its searing heat against her armor.

She reared up and slammed her hooves into the clouds beneath, unleashing a blinding cascade of lightning towards the white speck far below. Using the lightning as cover she extended her bladed wings, dove, and teleported into the face of her opponent. She twirled and her blades sliced into the crystalline flesh beneath her. Her own flesh cried out as the living blades of her foe retaliated and found purchase on her body.

Her tail lashed out and wrapped around the remaining leg of the creature and the edged lunar metal woven in it bit deep. She increased her mass many thousand fold and swung her tail and the creature now trapped by it with all the force she could conjure. The beast was flung with speed enough that it did not so much as hit the water of the bay, but push it out of the way before slamming into the bedrock beneath. Luna settled to the ground and swung her tail in a complicated movement, allowing the leg still bound in it fall to the ground, cratering the pavement beneath.

Blood dripped from between the gaps between the joints and plates of her armor, and flowed from her lip and the top of her head where the stump of her left ear throbbed painfully. The sky roiled above as the storm grew fiercer still, and small hail stones began to plink against her armor.

The ruined form of her opponent rose from the waves, its former beauty cut from it as its limbs had been. It's face was marred by dozens of deep gashes. One wing remained whole and wrapped around a one-armed torso that was marred by the stumps of the others now littering the city around them.

Luna leapt once more into the sky and slowly began to make her way towards the bay and the creature above it. Ducking, teleporting, and weaving around a renewed telekinetic storm that almost seemed half-hearted in comparison to the barrage she had earlier endured. Retaliating in kind by altering the flight and accelerating thousands of pieces of hail to hypersonic speed into the body of her foe. She began to channel her magic once more through the moon, preparing a spell she hoped would end this.

Jerking her head back she narrowly avoided a gigantic metal beam that exploded from the side of the ruined building she was passing. The movement caused the line of blood flowing from her ear to divert and flood into her eye, and she lost the pattern of the working she had been preparing. Ire rose in her as the metal girder crashed into a line of overturned alien carriages.

"THY PETTY SCRYING SHALL AVAIL THEE NAUGHT. DOES NOT THY VISION SPEAK TRUTH? THY HOUSE OF CHANCE BE SCATTERED UPON THE WIND AND THE MACBRE PLAY'S STAGE LIES BROKEN. SURRENDER THYSELF UNTO THE COMING DAWN, RETURN WHENCE THOU CAME AND AWAIT A MORE WORTHY DREAMER FOR THY POWER. W-"

Her entreaty was ended as she found herself buried under a thousand tons of steel, bricks, and glass accelerated past the speed of sound. Reacting to instincts honed in battles long forgotten to time she dissolved herself into mist as soon as she was struck. The pain from the blow was substantial even as she became not so. As the boom and shockwave echoed out across the ruined city she seeped through the cracks and reformed into a new shape upon the settling pile of detritus.

Lightning made more of moonlight and magic than electricity rained down and struck her alabaster foe, driving it back as her new bipedal shape solidified. A flowing cape of green settled upon new shoulders as a deep cowl came to rest on her brow. Long sleeves covered her glowing minotaur-like arms and her voice deepened to a masculine tone as she spoke once more.

"FIE, SO BE IT. IF THOU CANST UNCOUPLE THYSELF FROM SUCH A FOAL'S FANTASY AS THIS, THEN IT SHALL BE AS THOU WISHEST. COME, COME AND MEET THY MAKER UPON THE FIELD OF BATTLE, AS IT WILL BE THY LAST!"

 

[sopchoppy]

Requiem For A Dream (Part 3/6) - Flame Dancer


Flame Dancer lay against the rough and wet asphalt as the rain picked up again and tried not to think of the dozens of throughly squished cockroaches beneath her as she began to blink the spots from her eyes. A pained groan came from her left and she turned to see Twilight struggle to get her forelegs underneath her and with a rictus grimace across her face, succeed in lifting her barrel from the pavement. When she turned towards her she had to fight an instinctive flinch. Twilights right eye was swollen shut and marred by a horrible slash through its center that was oozing blood and other fluids down her muzzle. Combined with her badly singed fur and grisly truncated wing her friend looked like a zombie parody of herself.

Forcing herself to her own feet, newly acquired bruises and cuts tried made themselves known to her as she reached out and gently hugged Twilight to her chest, doing her best to avoid the pony's injuries. Twilight sniffled and with effort raised one of her legs to return the hug.

Twilight started to talk, but soon trailed off into nearly inaudible mumbles. "I…I…I'm so…no, no, its not the time for that, not the time, not enough time, keep it together, have to keep it together for my friends…ah" She shook herself and with a deep rattling breath started again. "I'm so glad your okay Flame Dancer, we, we need to get moving, we need to find Taylor…And…and then the others too, we need to make sure they're ok."

"Ok Twilight, thats-" She was cut off as the street once again rumbled beneath them and a unholy screech of a building collapsing echoed from several blocks to their east. A plume of dust erupted from the impact point, but with the steadily increasing rain she soon lost sight of it. The early night that had come with the other pony didn't help either. The other pony! There was another pony like Twilight, Twilight knew her! Oh I hope she's okay, Twilight needs someone so badly…And maybe, if, if she knows how to go back to Twilight's home, I can go too, away from this, away from that other me, forever.

With that bright thought in her mind she gently released Twilight and stood up from her crouch. Taking as much care as she could, she wrapped her arms around the unicorn and gently lifted to help Twilight get her rear legs underneath her. With an unsteady wobble Twilight slowly put a hoof forward, and then another. After she had moved all four hooves she let out a small puff of relief and twisted her neck to face her.

As the earth shook again, Flame Dancer nodded at the unspoken question and replied "Let's go find them."

They stumbled over the broken pavement in the dark, careful not to loose sight of the trail of bugs in the dim light cast by fires fueled from gas main leaks and the near constant lightning that arced between the clouds above. It was another two blocks before they heard a muffled yell coming from the direction the bugs were pointing to. Abandoning caution and appearing to momentarily forget her injuries Twilight leapt forward and began a awkward limping cantor towards the sound, Flame Dancer running close behind.

As they got closer they picked out a light flashing through the rain and a voice that slowly got clearer. "Over here! stay to the left side of the street!" Uber. Twilight shifted her course to the left and she followed along until Twilight came to a panting, skidding halt in a circle of light cast by a propane lantern held up by the one time villain.

She saw Twilight give him a relived smile, which she mirrored before a gasp escaped her throat. As Uber lowered the lantern, its circle of light illuminated a body laying on the ground behind him, its right arm pinned just below the shoulder underneath a pile of bricks and twisted metal.

"Ta-Skitter!" Twilight cried as her eyes had also been drawn to the sight. Taylor's face was hidden behind her mask, but she tried to give a cheery wave with her free hand.

"Its good to see you guys, I-Twilight! Are you ok?!"

"Am I ok? I'm not the one buried under building! Oh, this is all, its like before, I saved them…but then he…killed them, killed them all, no, not this time, keep it t- I'll…I'll get you out Skitter, Just let me think for a second."

"The whole pile is unstable, I've been looking for a way to free her, but I'm pretty sure moving anything is going to bring the whole pile down on top of her," Uber interjected. "We're going to need more people or some of your mojo if we are going to get her out safely."

"Okay, okay if we can't move the pile, I'll just move her. Uber, Flame Dancer, please get back about ten feet." Twilight said as she laid down beside Skitter and extended one of her forelegs so that it rested against skitters stomach. She closed her good eye and a soft purple glow surrounded her horn. "Skitter, this is probably going to hurt, a lot."

"Do it"

With a bright flash and pop Twilight and Skitter disappeared and reappeared on the ground fifteen feet from the collapsed wall. Skitter let out a pained cry as the pile of rubble shuddered and slid down to cover the area they had just left. Uber and Flame Dancer rushed over to the pair as Twilight's horn began to glow again and a similar glow encased Skitter's crushed right arm. Flame Dancer knelt beside Twilight in worry as Uber stood still for a moment before crouching down and examining Skitters arm intently. Blood seeped through her costume between her shoulder and her elbow, and though she didn't know much about anatomy, how the arm was laying just looked wrong.

"Her upper arm bone is crushed pretty badly, luckily it doesn't look like the artery was damaged. It's going to need surgery, not much we can do besides immobilize it as best we can for now." He stood back up and pulled off his vest and then his shirt and then began to tear neat even strips off of it.

Uber quickly fashioned the strips into a sling and after slipping Skitter's head and arm through it, Twilight gently levitated her into a standing position. Flame Dancer stood up and gave Skitter a half-hug around the uninjured side of her body just in time to steady her as a huge fiery explosion lit up the sky a couple of miles to the east. The ground bucked beneath them, but Uber grabbed them both and seemed to know just how to move to allow them all to remain standing.

"Okay, I don't know what that was, but the good news is that the battle seems to be moving away from us." Uber said in as serious a voice as Flame Dancer had ever heard him use. "Skitter do you still have a bead on where the others are holed up?" She nodded and pointed in the direction of a cross street.

"Yeah, I think, I think almost everyone else is about 4 blocks down that road, in…it feels like a small warehouse space of some kind."

"Anyone else between us an them?"

"Not that I can see with my bugs, but most of them are useless in rain this heavy. If anyone's out in the open I wouldn't be able to sense them."

"Alright, then let's get getting while the getting's good."

Uber started off down the street with a measured pace that Flame Dancer was sure was meant to go easy on Skitter and Twilight. He held the lantern out in front of him to light their way as they sloshed through several inches of deepening water, the pounding rain beginning to overcome what remained of the storm water system. What would have been a five minute walk took ten at their pace, but finally they reached an intersection with an old gas station garage on the opposite corner with lights flickering in the windows.

Standing underneath a ramshackle metal awning, just outside what looked like the garage's office and illuminated by light spilling from the doorway, stood Aegis. A smile spread across his face when he noticed them and ignoring the rain he dashed out to meet them. Just before he reached them a flash lit up the city from the east, followed by a rolling staccato boom of hundreds of lightning strikes. Aegis Looked up nervously as cloud lightning danced above them, he turned about and waved for them to follow him inside.

The unholy din of the pounding rain on the garage's metal roof was the first thing she noticed, but after a moment to adjust to it and another to appreciate the first time she'd been under shelter since the battle with Leviathan began, she noticed everyone else in the building.

A chorus of smiles, tired waves, and a sudden appearance of Vista hugging Twilight about her neck greeted them. Kid win was sitting at an old wooden desk with an array of tinker tech and antique electronics scattered around him. Leet and Gallant were both wrapped in bandages on a large work bench in the center of the room and being tended to by a tall woman in a torn PRT officer's uniform. Gallant appeared unconscious, but Leet had a relieved smile for them.

Clockblocker was leaning nonchalantly against what looked like an old shop towel suspended in mid air. Shadow Stalker stood by an open door at the far side of the room and after a cursory glance returned to staring out it. A cape she didn't know that had evacuated the stadium on the air barge with them, and who she still didn't know their name had commandeered a ratty old sofa, and a teenager with a splint around his right leg was leaning his back against a large metal toolbox.

Clockblocker of course was the one who spoke first. "Well look what the Endbringers drug in." Then in an overly posh female accent he continued, "I just love the style you guys have going there, sort of a Zombie apocalypse meets shipwreck survivor motif. It's going to be all the rage this year, I've got a sixth sense for these things you know."

Clockblocker suddenly found himself enveloped in Twilights magic and drug into the extended hug she was having with Vista, as she started to laugh and cry simultaneously.

"Something I said?" He said with a crooked smile as he was pulled tight into the hug.

"I…(hic)…ha…I really needed that Clock. Its just, you somehow just reminded me vividly of two of my best friends back in Equestria, also I'm just so happy that you all are okay."

"Okay might be stretching it, alive at least." Aegis interjected with an apologetic seriousness. "Leet and Gallant really need actual medical treatment sooner rather than later." He paused and looked closer at Twilight, "for that matter so do you. And it certainly wouldn't hurt the rest of us either."

"I, I don't think I can do another major levitation like I did before, not safely, not right now." Twilight said in a disappointed tone.

"Hey, thats okay, we just need to find some other transportation. Kid's been trying to get comms back up, all of our stuff got fried in the explosion. How's it going Kid?"

"Another 10, maybe 15 minutes. If I can get it to work at all that is."

"Okay, so any of you happen to see any cars or trucks on your way here?"

"Ones that weren't on fire?" Clockblocker interjected as he was released from the telekinetic hug.

Uber shook his head. "If you're going to be picky, then no, I don't think you're likely to find anything serviceable anywhere east of us. Which is where we all came from."

The building shook and its rafters groaned as another titanic boom echoed over incessant noise of the rain. Dust rained down from the ceiling and Flame Dancer couldn't contain a series of sneezes that reminded her of just how many bruises she had accumulated today.

"Alright then here's the game plan. Uber, Clockblocker, and I are going to spread out and search to the west for a working vehicle or help. We'll meet back here in 20 minutes and see if Kid's got comms back up and go from there."

"Somebody call for a ride?" Everyone jerked in surprise and spun towards the open door. Leaning against the frame and twirling a set of car keys around her fingers stood a short blonde wearing a purple domino mask, long rain coat, and a weather-beaten fedora. A wide vulpine smile stretched across her face.

 

[sopchoppy]

Requiem For A Dream (Part 4/6) - Chevalier

A hush fell over the room as all eyes focused on the big screen. A skinny technician, glancing quickly between the scrolling text on his terminal and the main screen was the first to break the silence.

"Did it, did she, did Death Metal Pony just rip a leg off the Simurgh?"

A pause, then a loud, "FUCK YEAH!" from a burly cape standing in the back of the room set off a chorus cheers and claps. A screeching whistle from Director Preston quieted the room back down in a hurry.

"Keep focused people, this shit ain't over yet. Thompson! Why's screen three still filled with static? Whats the status on UAV-4?"

"No telemetry sir, Its gone. The last shockwave just scrapped 2 as well."

"Fuck, ETA on replacements? We need those eyes on site. Fry, give me a sitrep on Brockton Mobile Command."

"UAV's are being fueled at Logan. Time to site 10 minutes."

"10 minutes! Bullshit 10 minutes, this thing could be over in 2 minutes, get those things rolling."

"Sir we're still getting no response from Brockton Mobile, local command has officially transferred to Rally-1, Alexandria is on site."

"Good, patch her through and detail one of those replacement UAV's to do a flyby of the last known location of Brockton Mobile. And get someone on the goddamn line that can tell me why the sun decided to set 2 hours early."

Chevalier stood against the wall and watched the controlled chaos of the Boston PRT operations center as he waited for orders. He was worried about Hannah. He knew she'd escaped Leviathan's initial attack, but her comm had failed not long after and no one had seen her since. Unfortunately, he did know what happened to Armsmaster. One more of the original wards gone forever. Who else had died today? How many were still to die before the day was over? No matter how many Endbringer battles you had been to, there was no getting over the nervous dread of it.

The rest of his team and others were being staged on the roof for a teleport if and when the call came in. The Thinkers in Chicago were still debating if further cape deployment would help or hinder the alien's battle against the Simurgh. He told his teammates that he was coming down here to try and get a better picture on what was going on, so that when they were deployed they'd have a better idea what they were jumping into. All of that was true, but really he was down here to distract himself, something external to direct his thoughts to. As one of the static filled screens showed the now truncated form of the Simurgh rise from the ocean his emotions swirled. This distraction isn't working very well.

He clenched and unclenched his hand slowly, he wasn't sure what he should be feeling. Elation? No one, not even Zion, had ever caused this much damage to an Endbringer. Disappointment? Regardless of the damage, the Simurgh was continuing the fight. Sadness? At the loss of life and the erasure of another irreplaceable piece of humanity at the hands of the Endbringers and these new aliens. Resentment?Irrationally thinking on the fact that after all the sacrifice they had made over the years in battling the Endbringers, it looked like a couple of aliens were going to step in and save them. If humanity was going to be saved, why hadn't someone done it before the loss of so much, and he so many friends? Hope? Real hope? Even with the devastation of the day, if it ended with a dead endbringer, it could be the start of something. A turnaround humanity desperately needed.

Last he wondered what he would see, if he met these aliens in the flesh. Before the Endbringer attack Alexandria had been trying to arrange just such a meeting. Were they like us, simply more powerful? Or were they something truly…other?

"…NASA just confirmed that earth's rotation at the equator has increased to 1,954 kilometers/hour, no they can't explain it…"

"…Director we have Thinker confirmation that something Twilight Sparkle did, does seem to have limited or interrupted the Simurgh's singing, but we instituted those protocols for a reason and I'm reluctant to override them when we understand so little about what is going on, and so many capes here close to the maximum exposure limit…"

"…NWS reports abnormal tidal readings across the country, the storm over Brockton Bay is expanding and moving contrary to any of their models…"

"Oh shit-" Conversation cut off as what looked like an entire city apartment block punched through the sound barrier and blindsided the alien horse. Two more screens went blank in the resulting shockwave from the hit. The technicians frantically worked their comm sets trying to reestablish contact. One of the screens returned. A jittering image of the impact site, subtitled Dragon-fast2. He let out a relived breath as it picked up and focused on a glowing midnight mist rising from debris.

"…45 seconds to Rally-1, you should be getting my telephoto feed now…"

"Confirmed Dragon, good signal, we-what the hell?!"

What the hell?! His thoughts echoed as the mist reformed not into the armored horse, but Eidolon. Another screen clicked back on with a much better feed. Then the Eidolon clone spoke, and spoke with his voice. If it had not been for the alien language, he would not have been able to tell the difference. It even stood in one of the cape's favored poses.

"Alexandria, are you seeing this?"

"Yes." She paused for a moment, "Does anyone have a location on the real Eidolon?"

"Mind games." Chevalier said, mostly to himself, but Preston was close enough to hear him.

"What, explain that."

"If what Twilight and Tattletale said earlier is true, then the only thing the Endbringers really care about is Eidolon. If Twilight was somehow able to communicate that to this new one, it may be some kind of psychological ploy."

"The Endbringers seemed to care fuck all whether Eidolon was facing off against them before."

"Jus-"

Then conversation ended as the alien in Eidolon's body teleported to avoid another hurled building. She? He? Reappeared briefly, slashed a hand, and half of the Simurgh's face simply ceased to be. He appeared again, raised his other hand, and a searing beam of energy shot from it. The Simurgh twisted in a blindingly fast movement but the beam still scored a deep line against its remaining torso before cutting off.

Chevalier stared in disbelief at the monitors. The alien was fighting like Eidolon. The alien was fighting like Eidolon had in the beginning, using powers he hadn't seen the real one use in years. A giant whirling cloud of material, at least a mile wide rose up from the remains of the city and engulfed Eidolon and the Simurgh momentarily before the vortex of material exploded outwards in all directions. Something hit one of the UAVs and its feed tilted and then began to spin in a dizzying blur before snapping off to a blue screen.

The Simurgh was now clutching something in her remaining hand. Dragon's feed and the remaining UAV tried to zoom in on it as the Endbringer dove and ducked around more beams and explosions that appeared from nowhere.

A jagged hole appeared in mid-air and the Simurgh spun into it. The Alien yelled in rage in Eidolon's voice and pursued the Endbringer into the hole just before it sealed back up. Twenty seconds of shocked silence ticked by as everyone held their breath, then every feed flashed white and went dead at the same time.


Everyone yelled into their comms at once.

 

[sopchoppy]

Requiem For A Dream (Part 5/6) - Vista

Vista finished spreading out the old packing blankets and towels in the bed of truck Tattletale had arrived in. She absently itched around the bandage covering the cut on her face. When she had asked how the Villain had found them Tattletale had smirked and simply replied, "psychic." She frowned as she hopped out of the truck and walked back over to where the psychic was talking with Twilight, Skitter, and Aegis.

"…You're the girl from the roof! I met you the first night I got here."

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the worlds, she walks into mine."

"Huh?" Twilight replied looking to Skitter for clarification.

"Movie ref. No, let's not get sidetracked. Vista, is the truck ready for Gallant, Leet, and Jonathan?"

"As ready as it's going to be, even with that padding we're going to have to go slow if we don't want to rattle everyone's bones out of their bodies. I'm not sure if the thing ever had suspension."

"Sorry, I didn't have time to browse Captain's Hill for an Escalade."

"Easy," Carlos said patting the air with his hands. "We're grateful." He raised his voice and called inside the door of the garage to be heard over the rain. "Lieutenant Joarez, we're ready out here." After a response that was lost in the rain noise, Aegis turned and stepped into the back of the truck. Skitter and Twilight backed away from the doorway and she followed behind so she wouldn't get in the way.

Uber and Lieutenant Joarez eased through the doorway awkwardly, each holding the edges of a blanket that was cradling the unconscious Dean. Oh Dean, you're the last person that deserves this. After them came Dennis and Sofia also cradling opposite sides of the blanket and Lightsout came last cradling the bottom of Dean's remaining leg. It hurt to see, but she didn't look away from it. Sometimes this is what being a hero was.

Uber and Joarez handed him off to Carlos and he stepped further back into the truck bed before gently lowering Dean and sliding him the rest of the way in. Everyone marched back inside to get Leet ready for the same procedure. Flashes of light and a couple more dull booms echoed from the east, but whatever was going on out there seemed to have calmed down for a moment. As the others started working their way back outside with Leet, Tattletale turned to Twilight again.

"So, I don't think I've ever been more wrong in a first impression with someone, or somepony. Even before I got my power. That was quite a rainbow light show you put on out there earlier. What was that?" Twilight looked down and to the side, looking upset. Vista turned a glare towards Tattletale who brought up her hands in surrender. "Hey, I don't mean to upset you, but this is an Endbringer battle we're talking about, and one that has already thrown out all the rules we thought we knew. You probably did more damage to one than everyone combined has up to this point, but that rainbow thing, it gave me the serious wiggins."

Vista wanted to tell Tattletale to stop upsetting Twilight, her friend had already gone through so much today, and she was so badly hurt. She didn't know how the pony was still standing with all the injuries she had, but Tattletale was right. Any information was important, and she knew just what the Villain meant when she described the feeling she got from whatever that Rainbow pillar was, apparently something Twilight had done.

"…I…It was…wrong. I shouldn't have ever done something like that. I was just so mad and scared, and I thought, I thought everyone was dead and lots of people probably are, and its all my fault." Twilight started to sniffle quietly and Vista knelt down and carefully wrapped an arm around her in comfort. She looked back up to find Tattletale looking a little remorseful, but the girl doggedly continued.

"Hey, we all make mistakes. I have certainly made more than my share. The important thing to remember is everyone that was hurt today, wouldn't be if Endbringers hadn't attacked. Thats on them, not you. But we still need to know what that was, who stopped you, and who is currently fighting the Simurgh."

Vista looked up at Tattletale in shock, trying to get her head around everything that had just been implied. Tattletale put her hand to her head and winced a little, before continuing. "The answer to the last two is the same person, no, no, not a person…pony. Someone else from your planet showed up. That's who's been throwing down with the Simurgh since whatever it was that happened." A gasp escaped Vista's throat at this as Tattletale winced again and paused taking a deep breath. Carlos, Dennis, and Sophia came over as Uber and Joarez finished settling Leet and Jonathan into the truck.

"Not only did they stop you and pick a fight with the Simurgh, they caused the tear in the sky and the sudden night! Just who is this pony?"

Everyone except Tattletale had varying levels of shock on their face now. Twilight, seemingly more at ease now that the questions had veered slightly away from whatever it was that she had done, turned back to look at the group that now formed a loose half circle around her. A small smile even graced her marred face as she spoke.

"That was Princess Luna, The Princess Of The Night. She's one of the two rulers of my country. She's also, she's also a good friend. I wouldn't worry about the early night, I'm sure she'll be happy to put the sun back on schedule once she…Oh, oh no, she's out there, maybe all alone, fighting that thing. I…I've got to go help her!" Twilight jerked in her arms, like she meant to run off into the storm right that second.

"Hey easy," Vista said. "Twilight calm down, look at yourself. You're in no condition to go anywhere but a hospital."

"Vista's right Twilight," Aegis spoke up in a calming voice. "If she's half as tough and smart as you, I'm sure she's fine. And I doubt she's alone. They may have been scattered by the explosion, but the Protectorate is not going to give up the fight. I bet reinforcements are already on the way or in the fight right now."

"…Don't worry, she'll bring back the sun? I did just hear that?" Dennis whispered to Uber who had come over during the explanation.

"I, for one, welcome our new pony overlords."

"You would."

"I know Aegis, I know I'm in no shape to do this, but I just have to go. She's all alone in a new world, she hasn't even gotten speaking modern equestrian down yet, she wont even be able to talk to anyone. I respect your advice, I really do, but she's my friend and I'm going." Twilight seemed to straighten up as she finished speaking and something steel-like, almost regal, settled into her posture. Vista knew that they were not going to talk her out of this.

"Then I'm going with you Twilight." She said as she stood up. Twilight looked like she was about to object but was cut off as more people spoke up.

"What the hell, what's the worst that could happen." Dennis said as he circled around and threw an arm over her shoulder. Uber looked back at the truck bed and saw Leet giving him a thumbs up. After hesitating another second he stepped forward and knelt as if a knight before his queen.

"I too will join you in this quest my liege. I would face the peril beside you."

Flame Dancer, Vista soundly rejected thinking about any other name she might have once had that had quietly circulated around the Protectorate, simply hugged Twilight close and nodded her head. Skitter looked down at her arm, shook her head and spoke in a rueful tone.

"Yeah, me too. If I didn't come you two would probably get sidetracked reorganizing a library or something."

"What, you think I committed grand theft and purposely drove into the heart of an Endbringer battle to stop here? I'm going." Tattletale said with a smirk that Vista was quickly growing sick of.

"…Fucking lunatics…" Sophia mumbled before continuing louder, "We're all going to fucking die." She didn't move to join the line, but shifted her stance ever so slightly to indicate she was going too.

"…But, hey, I'm the leader here. This is mutiny. Besides we need to make sure the wounded get to a hospital."

Vista walked up and hugged Carlos, before stepping back and saying, "Sorry bossman. Twilight's committed, and I don't think you're going to talk her out of it. If you can't talk her out of it, you're not going to talk us out of it. Now when this is all over, if you really feel like filling out all the insubordination paperwork, I'll even help you. You, Lightsout, and the Lieutenant should be enough to discourage anyone up to no good that's stupid enough to still be hanging around. Get D-Gallant the help he needs, that's whats really important right now. Besides with me along, we'll have a ready made shortcut in and out, escape if we need it."

"I, you." Twilight's eye misted up as she looked around at everyone. "You don't have to do this. You shouldn't do this. You don't even know Princess Luna and it's probably going to be really really dangerous. Just because I have to go doesn't mean you do too."

"You're our friend Twilight, and friends help each other. Isn't that what you told me after the bank robbery?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what she kept telling us." Kid Win said as he emerged from the doorway with a box of parts in his arms.

Tattletale suddenly looked distinctly uncomfortable as Twilight continued. "I, yes, but that was…oh. Ok, ok." She paused and the biggest smile Vista had ever seen her have crossed her face. "Friends then, together. Thank you, all of you. It, it means more than I can say properly in your language, but &#$@#$(&&#, all of you."

"Is it just me or did we somehow just switch over to the Hallmark channel in the middle of the apocalypse?" Dennis muttered and got a smack to the back of the head for it.

Carlos cleared his throat. "I…alright, I still think this is a mistake, but if you guys are sure. Ok, stay together, remember our training, watch each others backs. I would tell you not to be heroes, but I know that's hopeless. Ok, Lieutenant you ready there?"

"Yeah, they're as strapped in as I can make them. Drive slow."

"Hey Lightsout," Kid Win called as the cape was swinging into the cab. He walked over and handed him the box. "It doesn't have much range, but if you get within a mile or two of someone with a PRT communicator you should be able to pick them up."

"Alright, Lightsout drives, and I'll fly above and keep a lookout." Lightsout closed the door of the truck and Carlos walked over and gently closed the tailgate before slowly lifting himself off the ground. He took one last look at the group staying behind, opened his mouth, closed it, and then said as if saying it could make it true, "I'll see all of you later."

The truck started up and drove slowly out into the street. A minute later the tail lights swung around a corner and were gone. Vista looked around at the bandaged and bleeding adventure party and wondered briefly just what the hell they were all thinking.

A paper fluttered past and then they were all thrown to the ground by a hurricane force blast of air. The garage awning moaned and then tore away to tumble down the street. Thoroughly soaked once more, they all staggered to their feet and looked at each other.

"So, now what?" Dennis inquired as he helped pull her to her feet.

"I've got a plan." Skitter said

"Ohh, me too." Tattletale smiled.

 

[sopchoppy]

Requiem For A Dream (Part 6/6) - Twilight Sparkle

Creeping through the ruined streets of Brockton Bay, mane plastered to her skin by the driving rain, Twilight still could not help but be fascinated by Vista's power. The group walked forward and were instantly two blocks closer to the coast. Despite her nervousness and her worry, both for Luna and her friends, she couldn't stop a small part of her mind from working on a spell that would replicate the effect. She could think of a thousand uses for it if the spell working could be standardized.

Lightning struck nearby and everyone dove to the wet ground as though it had been a directed attack against them. Shadow Stalker flickered into her gaseous state.

"That. Was. Close. Hey Twilight, didn't you say ponies controlled the weather where you're from? Can you do anything about this?" Clockblocker asked as they all got back to their feet and stepped two blocks closer to the sounds of battle and to the fiercest part of the storm. She looked up at the swirling maelstrom above as Vista checked the street in front of them.

"Oh, no. I've barely learned the basics cloud walking. Weather shaping is incredibly complex. Pegasi train for years to learn how to do it. Besides, I can feel Princess Luna's magic in the clouds. I don't know why she's strengthening the storm, but she must have a good reason."

"Yeah, not going to argue with the pony that turned off the sun." He theatrically looked up at the sky. "I could get used to it."

Twilight shook her head at Clockblocker's completely inaccurate statement. Princess Luna wouldn't do any such thing. She was quite sure the sun was perfectly fine, if not currently visible. She had told him that, but for some reason Clockblocker just wasn't letting it go. She shook the thought from her head as Vista waved her hand and the group stepped forward again, covering five more blocks. The wind had noticeably picked up as they had gotten closer, and now the sting and noise of hail stones began to replace that of the rain.

She raised her good wing above her head to try and shield her face from the worst of it, but gave up after a moment because the force of the wind was tiring her out. They were close now, and Twilight laid her ears back from the near constant roar of thunder and explosions. The earth and air seemed to be trying to shake the very bones from her body. Vista waved her and everyone else close so she could be heard over the constant noise of the storm and the battle.

"Uber thinks we should go on without my power from here," she pointed to a cross street, "He says that's Lord Street, so we're only a couple blocks from the bay. They must be fighting out over the water." Uber nodded and spoke.

"From the trail of destruction, at least one of them seemed to be purposefully leading them to the bay."

"Luna was," Tattletale cut in. "She directed the fight in this direction to try and keep it away from Twilight and the Evacuation."

"So, moment of truth time, we're doing this?" Skitter asked.

"We're going to fucking die." Shadow Stalker said.

"Don't be such a pessimist, there's definitely a slim possibility that we'll survive." Tattletale Replied.

"Ok, Shado-" Suddenly Twilight was blind and deaf. She felt herself fly off her hooves and tumble across the pavement. She cried out in pain as her truncated wing drug across the ground, but she couldn't hear herself. It was like the very idea of sound had somehow been rendered mute. She scrabbled her hooves against the asphalt and when she came to a stop pressed her chest against the pavement desperately. If not for the feel of the ground beneath her, she thought she would have lost all sense of reality. It was terrifying.

She was unsure of how much time had passed, but slowly her vision began to return along with a ringing in her ears. The ringing slowly faded into Princess Luna's voice which started as a whisper and steadily climbed back to the range of the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"…'Twas a fine gambit fiend. If thou hadst been facing THY MAKER IN TRUTH, MIGHTN'T YE BOTH HAVE PASSED INTO THE ETERNAL DAWN FOREVER." Princess Luna was standing atop a small hill that might have once been a building above her. A long bloody slash ran down the left side of her barrel. The blackened remains of armor plate still hung above the cut, and her wing on that side looked burnt and was missing most of its feathers. Worst of all though, was her left foreleg, or the fact that almost all of it was no longer there. A shimmering dome shield stretched around the ruined building and its surroundings. Beyond it, the Simurgh.

As bad of shape Luna looked to be in, the Simurgh looked worse. Its remaining torso was scarred and riddled with craters. Half of its head was gone, and the remaining wing was nearly devoid of feathers. Twilight had seen into the creature's dark mind, and knew the scale of its power, its cruel ambition, and its relentless, remorseless drive. She still could not fathom how something so injured could still be alive, let alone fighting.

"TWICE WE HAVE BESEECHED THEE TO UNSHACKLE THYSELF FROM THY TWISTED PURPOSE. THRICE IS THE LIMIT OF OUR ENTREATIES. BE OUR DUEL ENOUGH TO SATE THY DESIRE, OR ART THOU IN TRUTH NOT BUT A SLAVE? WE FEAR THAT IF WE ARE TO CONTINUE THY FINE SPORT OF EXCHANGING LIMBS, THOU HAS A NIGH INSURMOUNTABLE DEFICIT TO OVERCOME."

Twilight stared momentarily dumbfounded before a wheezing laugh came from behind her. She turned to see Tattletale chuckling and slowly standing up and brushing herself off. Clockblocker was helping Vista back to her feet while Flame Dancer was pulling Skitter up. Her heart froze when she continued to look, but couldn't see Uber, Kid Win, or Shadow Stalker.

"Hey, easy. They're fine, they just got thrown to the other side of the pile." When Twilight looked at her harder Tattletale gave a crooked smile. "Psychic"

Twilight let out a breath, everyone was ok. Then her pulse quickened again as she looked back at the standoff happening above them.

"Yeah, I think it's safe to say the plan just got eighty-sixed." Tattletale said.

Shadow Stalker appeared as if from nowhere. "Got any other bright ideas Captain Custer? Maybe find some fucking cover?"

"You want to try to find cover, from the Simurgh?" Clockblocker asked skeptically.

"Better than standing out here." Shadow Stalker glanced nervously at sky.

"I'm not so sure."

"Yeah, like you have a fucking bead on things. It was you and the Bug Girl's brain trust that got us here."

They continued to argue, but Twilight wasn't paying anymore attention. Her eyes were locked on Princess Luna and the Creature just beyond the edge of the shield. Something was wrong, something didn't feel right, then a wave of vileness pulsed out from the Simurgh and something inside of her pushed back.

"THRICE OFFERED, THRICE DENIED. MAY WHAT AWAITS THEE IN TARTARUS BE ALL THAT THINE UNREPENTANT HEART HATH EARNED! TWILIGHT SPARKLE, BE THOU READY TO PROTECT THY FRIENDS?"

Twilight's horn lit, and despite her exhaustion, she found her magic waiting eagerly. She took over the shield working and gave a solemn nod. Princess Luna nodded back with a grim smile, reared back, and teleported into what remained of the face of the Simurgh, delivering a blow that threw the creature backwards and away from them. Outside of the shield radius, a blizzard of debris rose from the ground, which began to slam into the dome like a thousand battering rams.

"Holy shit, she's a badass." Skitter exclaimed.

"What, you didn't get that from the whole darkness descends when she wills it?" Clockblocker replied.

"There's turning off the sun, and then there's punching the Simurgh in the face." Skitter said.

"Point."

"So, anyone got any ideas on how to defeat the eldritch horror, or get out of this alive? Preferably both." Clockblocker asked as the rest of her friends, all ok, gathered around her and watched the battle above.

A searing beam of green energy cut across the sky. The Simurgh dodged backwards to avoid it and was subsequently hit by a punch in the back that threw it forward into one of Luna's hooves. Alexandria and Legend. Suddenly, the battering against her shield stopped as another larger dome of energy encompassed it. She looked, and standing just outside her own shield was the naked horned human she had seen just before Leviathan attacked. Beside her, a large mechanical suit. Dragon.

She dropped her own shield and ran as fast as her limp would allow her and gave one of the suit's legs a hug. Her heart swelled in relief. Dragon was ok, another one of her friends was still ok. She heard the others run up and Tattletale started to speak before anyone else could.

"Dragon, the Endbringer's bodies get progressively denser the farther from the surface you get. Which is why we've never really done more than scratch them. Something about the blades Twilight's friend is using is somehow just ignoring that fact. Anyway, the important thing is they have a core. Destroying that is the only way to kill them." She paused and brought a hand to hand to her face, wincing in pain. Then braced her other hand against Twilight's back to steady herself. "The Simurgh wouldn't have its core somewhere obvious, not in the head or, no, it's in the wing, her remaining wing…top joint, thats what-" She gasped and slid the rest of the way to the ground.

"Tattletale! Are you okay?" Twilight asked as Flame Dancer knelt down beside the girl. She gave the barest hint of a nod.

"I have relayed the information to the rest of the protectorate, but the one that truly needs it is the pony that has the ability to do the damage needed. Twilight do you have anyway to talk with her?" Dragon asked as something truly massive slammed into the shield with an ear-splitting sonic boom. The horned human staggered and Twilight thought quickly.

As she racked her brain for an answer, another wave of vileness came from the sky. Her whole heart rebelled against its very nature. Uncalled, her horn shone with magic. It flowed into her eyes, and she saw, she understood. The spiderweb of relationships and magic that bound the world together unfolded before her, and the dark core that she had mistaken before as the center of the black threads, was itself just a small part of a larger whole. This wasn't a battle that could be physically won. They could defeat the Simurgh, but the malignant well of power and thought that fueled it would remain. It would send something else to take its place. Something worse.

"…Twilight! Are you okay? What are you doing?" Taylor-Skitter was hugging her and nearly shouting in her ear. Flame Dancer was leaning against her as well while she cradled Tattletale in her lap. Around her, nearly all the friends she had made since coming to this damaged world. This damaged world that still had so many good things, good people in it.

Something swelled within her and a multicolored aura surrounded her.

"I, I need your help. All of you, my friends, guide me."

As she turned her eyes skyward once more she felt arms wrap around her, some questioning, some confident. She heard comforting assurances and love. Laughter in the face of Danger. Giving everything, even oneself, for the lives and happiness of others. Kindness in the presence of overwhelming cruelty. Honesty when all the world seemed to crave was deceit. Loyalty past the point all bonds should have broken. Everything that was right and true and good.

She felt the aura around her begin to shine from her friends as well, some bright and steady, others dimmer. One the barely flickering, but glowing even so, struggling to reach past years of pain to the core of herself. She leaned on their strength and was answered with more. Her call answered by five hearts impossibly distant, regardless that they knew nothing about what was happening, they still believed in her, were with her.

In an explosion of light the rainbow aura around them expanded outwards and upwards, then unfolded like a flower greeting the sun. A rainbow colored wave of power swept out and struck the Simurgh faster than thought. Even as the Simurgh's dark weavings collapsed, The elements followed them back. Harmony raced along the paths of its influence, and then struck at the black well that sat at the heart of it all. A remorseless selfishness so great that it even death had not stopped it.

It was so vast, it spread even beyond this reality. Twilight felt herself and the others sag under the strain as the elements' power stretched to encompass the entirety of something too big for her to even conceive. She felt another join her and at last the depths of the well were reached, reached and swept away. The power flowed back and then began to spread out again, so much destroyed, so much lost. It could be remedied, it-

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE, COME BACK TO THYSELF. CEASE THIS. HARMONY KNOWEST NO BOUNDARY. WITHOUT FOCUS THOU WOULDST CHANGE THE VERY BEDROCK UPON WHICH THIS WORLD RESTS, AND LOSE ALL THAT THOU HOPED TO SAVE. THOU ART VICTORIOUS. IT IS ENOUGH."

Princess Luna's voice seemed distant. Something urged her on, there was so much left to do, but the biggest part of being friends, was listening to them. Trusting them as they had trusted her. Reluctantly at first, and then with a rushing snap, the power of the elements cut off and she collapsed into the soft grass and flowers beneath her.

Soft grass? She looked around to find herself surrounded by a huge semi-circular meadow bounded by the sea and stretching at least a mile in every direction. Her friends stood around her, gaping like fish. Above them the sky was clear, the moon looming bright and full. Though they looked exhausted and confused, their injuries were gone. Skitter was slipping her arm out of her sling in disbelief and Princess Luna stood proudly beside them on all four legs.

She was just beginning to marvel at her own lack of pain when Clockblocker spoke up.

"So, uh, I have absolutely no idea what just happened, but we won right? It kinda-sorta felt like winning."

Tattletale, arms splayed out and laying in the grass beside her laughed.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was winning."

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE, WOUDST THOU INTRODUCE US TO THY COMPATRIOTS? WE HAVE MUCH TO CELEBRATE AND MANY THINGS OF WHICH TO DISCUSS. NAMES ARE REQUIRED, FOOD AND WINE AS WELL!"

As a crowd of capes landed nearby and began to approach, Twilight brought herself back to her hooves and smiled, smiled enough to hurt her face. She ran forward and threw her forelegs around Princess Luna's neck in a fierce hug. Then settled and nuzzled her deeply.


Everything was going to be just fine.







———————————





On the other side of the world, on a cliff above the sea a body lay in repose among a nest of wildflowers. No longer wearing a mask, its green hood pillowed under its head, providing a comfort no longer needed. Resting in harmony with the world around it.

In the sky above, a golden man looked on.

 

[sopchoppy]

As promised, new scene. So far, so good with the new schedule. Thanks again go to Deadpan29 for cleaning up many an unsightly error.

Chapter 11, Scene 1:

Princess Luna's body glowed as she finished casting Starswirl's polyglotic spell. The working seemed a little rough, and Twilight was a little concerned about the translation's resulting accuracy. However, it would certainly be better than having Twilight translate everything as she had when introducing the Princess to her human friends. It was not a moment too soon as the crowd of approaching humans had stopped about twenty feet away, while Alexandria and Legend continued towards them.

"Don't worry, we can explain everything," Tattletale proclaimed with a wide smile that contained a lot more genuine happiness than any of the previous smiles Twilight had seen from her today.

"We can?" Clockblocker asked incredulously.

"While I would be very interested in hearing that explanation," Alexandria said as she glanced down at her arm, "I do believe there are introductions in order." Her gaze swept the group, pausing briefly on Dragon. Twilight understood her hesitation. As well healing the group's injuries, the Elements seemed to have had an effect on Dragon's armor. It shined brightly in the light of the moon, and its curves and joints had gained a subtly more organic appearance than before. Then Alexandria's eyes moved on to Twilight and Princess Luna.

"Ah," Twilight nervously shuffled her wings under the gaze and then straightened up. "Princess Luna, this is Alexandria and Legend. They are the leaders of the Protectorate, an organization dedicated to defending this world." Twilight paused and after a quick mental checklist to make sure she had it right, continued with formality. "Legend, Alexandria, this is Her Royal Highness Princess Luna, Princess of the Night, Shepard of the Moon, Guardian of the Dreamlands, and one of the ruling Diarchs of Equestria. She is also my friend."

Princess Luna smiled warmly at the last and spread a wing over Twilight's back. "'TIS THE LAST APPELLATION OF WHICH WE ARE MOST FOND, TWILIGHT SPARKLE. GLAD WE ARE TO FIND THEE WHOLE, HALE, AND IN GOOD COMPANY. LEGEND, ALEXANDRIA, WE ARE WELL MET." Twilight shrank back from the volume and quickly leaned forward to whisper in the Princess' ear. Princess Luna's smile became a bit sheepish before she turned her head and nodded her thanks once again to the friends that had stood by her against the Simurgh. She turned back to face Alexandria and Legend.

"AHEM, We are thankful that our dear friend found safe haven in such troubled place and time. Now that the formalities be dealt with, and while we be eager to be introduced to thy nay doubt worthy companions, we fear that the long battle and journey to this planet hath wearied us. Nay doubt as it hath also wearied our companions hither and thy own valiant soldiers. If further conversation is to be had this even, wine will be required to quench our thirst and food to fortify our blood! Call thy aid de camp and thy servants. Bid them fetch forth what provisions be available and bring them hither!"

Princess Luna strode forward and spread her wings dramatically as she continued addressing the whole crowd.

"ALL OF YE HAVE LABORED LONG TODAY. THE VICTORY DID NOT COME WITHOUT COST, BUT A MIGHTY VICTORY 'TWAS. WON AGAINST AN IMPLACABLE FOE. SUCH CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION AND FOR THOSE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BRAY IT OUT IN REVELRY AND SONG!"

Twilight's heart swelled with joy all over again at being reunited with Princess Luna, and couldn't help but laugh good-naturedly at her exuberance. Everyone else besides Tattletale, who was beginning to giggle uncontrollably, seemed a little taken aback. She hesitated, suddenly uncertain. She wasn't sure humans had the same attitudes as ponies on celebration and mourning. Maybe the translation spell wasn't working well enough. Maybe Princess Luna was accidentally stumbling into a major social faux pas. Maybe there was about to be the first interplanetary incident between their two cultures. She needed to defuse this.

"Ah, Princess that might not be-"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea your Highness. Endbringer battles have always been remembered with solemn monuments and too many names inscribed in cold stone. It would be fitting that our first true victory be a celebration instead." Legend interrupted in a warm and confident voice. Alexandria nodded and spoke to Legend.

"Strider can take me back to Rally-1. I will make sure S&R is moving smoothly and update the PRT so we can get relief and supplies inbound from Boston and New York. As the night goes on we can rotate teams in and out of the festivities for rest and downtime. Give everyone a chance to celebrate. Dragon can you come with me for a short debrief?"

"Yes," Dragon said as she stepped forward and gave Twilight a friendly shoulder pat. "I will see you all in a little while." She gave a small bow to Princess Luna and then followed Alexandria over towards Strider. After a brief discussion Alexandria, Dragon, Strider, and a couple of the gathered heroes that Twilight didn't recognize vanished with a quiet snap.

With the gap opened she once again noticed the unclothed human female with the large unicorn-like horn extending from her head, and tried to stop herself from getting caught staring a second time. She was apparently unsuccessful because the human smiled at her and Princess Luna quietly whispered to her.

"Fie, Like Tia's, 'Tis enough to make one feel inadequate, is it not Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight blushed in embarrassment, which elicited a good-natured chuckle from the Princess. An incredibly brightly glowing figure started to descend towards the group and Twilight saw several people tense up, but Clockblocker quickly spoke up and lightened the mood.

"Alright, so the party's lighting is taken care of, but we are in desperate need of some music if we are going to do this thing."

"Anyone up for a quick trip to the outskirts to liberate some provisions from a liquor store?" Uber asked with a smile.

"Ha! Thou hast found a fine vassal in this one Twilight Sparkle, he thinks rightly. To the victors, the spoils! I would join thee and speed thy travel. Who will assist us on such a noble quest?" Princess Luna exclaimed bordering on the edge of the Royal Canterlot Voice. Twilight brought a hoof to her face. It was going to be a long night.

 

[sopchoppy]

Thanks once again to Deadpan29 for the Beta work.

Chapter 11, Scene 2)

Twilight nodded with satisfaction as she released her telekinetic hold and the last bottle was stacked with its fellows. Now organized in neat rows by brand and type, the whole assortment of purloined provisions looked a lot less larcenous than it had when the, and there was really no other way to say it, raiding party had come back with it.

The task also had many pleasant parallels to a library re-shelving, and she found herself relaxing further as she sipped from the bottle of apple cider she had floating beside her. It tasted like distilled bliss as it flowed over her tongue and cooly slid down her throat. Maybe on another day she would have found it average at best, but this had not been another day. She couldn't remember drinking anything that tasted so good.

"There's the purple pony princess I've been looking for, what are you doing over here? Luna's been regaling everyone with how you and your friends faced down a dragon." Vista said as she came up behind Twilight and ruffled her mane.

Twilight blushed, now Uber had Vista calling her a princess too. She really needed to nip that in the bud before someone said it in front of Luna. She used her magic to straighten her mane as she glanced back at the party. Even here, about a hundred yards from where Luna was sitting, it was impossible not to hear the exuberant Princess of The Night. Bathed in the light of a roaring bonfire that the Princess insisted needed to be built, surrounded by alien warriors and leaders, the Princess looked to be in her element. It was the most at ease Twilight had ever seen her be around others.

"Oh, I just saw everyone who came over here having to root around the pile for something they liked and I thought it would be more pleasant for everyone if the..uh"

"The word you are looking for is loot." Vista interrupted. Yes, that was probably the right word, but Twilight wasn't going to incriminate herself or the Princess any further.

"Provisions. If the provisions were organized."

"So in the middle of the biggest party, probably ever if you count the celebrations breaking out all over the world, you decided you needed to build an open-air supermarket? Is this how you unwind back home?"

Twilight looked around at the neatly ordered rows and stacks of liquor and snack foods. A smile came to her as she thought of Spike and how he would probably much prefer organizing a horde of junk food to books.

"Yeah, kind of." Twilight's smile didn't abate as she took another long pull from the bottle.

"Nerd."

"Guilty!" Twilight giggled as she stepped closer and leaned lightly against Vista. The two of them content in each others company and basking in the happiness radiating out from the party like heat from the fires.

Twilight wasn't sure how many people were now milling around the meadow, but it was certainly more than she had ever seen in one place before. As the night had gone on more and more capes and PRT officers had started showing up. Some by themselves, some in groups large enough to have been a party on their own. Recently, people that Twilight assumed from their dress were ordinary citizens had begun to show up as well.

One group had arrived with a dozen trucks filled with folding tables and chairs. Given the looks of the people driving them, Twilight had carefully avoided asking where they had gotten them. Others had brought mismatched sofas and furniture, some brand new, while more had probably been on fire earlier in the evening. The chairs, tables, lumber, and blankets proliferated outward from Luna's bonfire with no discernible order or pattern. Twilight had so far resisted the urge to impose one.

Besides the bonfire at the center of the festivities, other smaller fires surrounded by people dotted the field that was beginning to look like a gypsy encampment. There were pockets of people that seemed to all dress similarly, and she sometimes thought there was going to be trouble between some groups, but someone always came along and calmed things down. Some were quiet and somber, many where cheerful, others loud, but none drew the eye or the ear like Princess Luna.

"THEN OUR FOE, LAYING DEFEATED AT OUR HOOVES, TRIED HIS LAST GAMBIT. HE PROPOSED TO ENTER INTO MATRIMONY WITH US! HA! WHAT A LOOK 'TWAS THAT OVERTOOK OUR SISTER'S VISAGE AT THAT PROCLAMATION. SO GREAT WAS HER SHOCK THAT NEARLY WERE WE TEMPTED TO ACCEPT. ALAS 'TWOULD NEVER HAST WORKED. REGARDLESS OF THE PHYSICAL IMPRACTICALITIES OF SUCH A RELATIONSHIP, CANST ONE IMAGINE DRACONIC INLAWS?"

Princess Luna paused and took a long drink from a mug as the crowd laughed. Princess Luna's charisma pushing past any gaps in translation and culture. She continued a little less loudly now that the climax of the story was past.

"'Twas the first time a dragon would propose to us, but 'twould nay be the last! Many bards did romanticize the encounter, and suiting their nature did sing it far and wide. Thus was borne the oft used cliche in our fiction of romance between pony and dragon. Some ponies, taking such notions too seriously, have necessitated the formation of rescue parties. Though not always pony ones! 'Tis a tale in itself, but we have spoken long enough and do require more refreshment. MORE WINE! Sir Myrddin, one such as thou wilt have many amusing tales. Speak them so that we might know thee and thy Chicago better."

Twilight's amusement battled with her sense of propriety and thoughts on what the humans must be thinking about them, but with the cider on its side, amusement won out and she found herself giggling and wishing Rainbow Dash were here to see this. She giggled more as she caught the thoroughly poleaxed expression on Director Piggot's face, nearly unchanged for an hour as she sat at one end of the big table the Princess had claimed.

Beyond Princess Luna's table and the leaders of the protectorate and PRT that filled it, was the beach. More bonfires had been made along the sand and the heavy thump of music echoed from that direction. The most raucous revelers seemed to have gravitated there, behind, and thus out of the direct sight of most of their bosses. She could see the shadows and silhouettes dancing wildly around the fires. A few brave individuals appeared to have shed their clothing and jumped into the sea, splashing each other merrily. Alcohol apparently keeping them warm in the frigid water.

Following Twilight's gaze Vista spoke.

"I think that's Aegis being drug towards the dancing down there by Clock. I think the others may be over there too. What do you say Twilight? Ready to get your groove on?"

Once more Twilight had a minor battle in her head. She was quite sure that Vista had no idea what she was getting into by inviting her, of all ponies, to dance. Bad, well, bad didn't quite convey how she was at dancing. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of all these people. On the other hand, it sounded fun. Her hooves itched, her groove it seemed, did want to get on.

Luckily for her groove, the cider sided with it.

With a flash of purple light Twilight teleported Vista and herself onto the beach just in time to see Clockblocker unfreeze from where he was hanging in the air and splash into the water with a girlish screech. Laughter mixed with music as he swam back to shore and ran up to the fire shivering.

"Laugh now. Once I thaw out, vengeance will be mine!" He declared with a dramatically clenched fist.

"That'd be a lot more intimidating if you didn't look like a drowned rat," Shadow Stalker replied.

"Aegis!" Twilight ran up and gave him a hug. "It's good to see you, how are Gallant and Leet, they're okay right?" Aegis bent down and returned the hug.

"Yeah, they're both going to be okay. Capes injured in battles get priority with Panacea. They're sleeping and going to be jealous as hell about missing out on this, but they're fine." Twilight felt some of the last bit of tension still in her release at that. The song that had been thumping loudly in the background came to a halt and Twilight heard Tattletale's amplified voice come over whatever sound system was being used.

"All right, I sensed a disturbance in the force just now, some people or ponies out there were edging close to a serious conversation. This is no time for that!"

The crowd around the fire whistled and cheered at that.

"No, now it's time to Smile Like You Mean It! Hit it Regent!"






High-paced music boomed from the bed of the truck Tattletale was standing in. The song reminded her of Pinkie. She smiled. She meant it. Her body began to sway.



———————



Hours later as she twirled and gyrated with abandon around the fire, alien music thrumming in her ears, surrounded by her new friends, she knew tomorrow the celebration would end and they would have to start dealing with the consequences of all that had happened.

For now however, she decided that if Princess Luna wanted the night to last forever, she was okay with that.

 

[sopchoppy]

Well, This last month was a mess. Lots of late hours and being too tired to summon the energy to put words to paper. But things are looking up free time wise for the month of march and getting back on schedule. And to start the month off right, here's the next scene. Should get another scene this week.

Thanks once again to Deadpan for catching the many many errors that lurked in the draft.

Chapter 11, scene 3)


Twilight groaned and pulled a sand-covered foreleg over her eyes as the sky lightened around her. A few minutes later, her leg proving an insufficient shield against the relentlessly brightening sky, she gave up trying to go back to sleep, pulled her legs underneath her and stood up. She opened her eyes slowly and squinted, taking in her surroundings.

Sprawled across the sand around the still-warm embers of last night's fires slept most of her friends and the revelers that had joined them. Taylor, sitting up and sipping from a bottle of water, gave her a nod. One of her legs acting as a pillow for the sleeping form of Flame Dancer. Music still played from the main camp and glancing in that direction she saw that, despite the hour, for some the party went on. At the heart of it Luna's voice still could be heard.

Looking at her matted and sand covered coat and mane, she decided a bath was her first priority. A quiet yawn escaped her mouth as she stretched out her legs and then walked a little ways to give herself some space. She concentrated and, horn glowing brightly, a section of the beach shimmered and then snapped into the form of a steaming bath. She wasted no time sinking into the delightfully hot water with a sigh of contentment.

"Forget the rainbow of doom, that's the power I want."

Twilight looked up to see Tattletale walking towards her.

"Hmm, it is nice. Do you want me to make you one?" Twilight asked as she started combing her wet mane with magic.

"Very tempting, but despite last night I'm not sure I'm comfortable enough with everyone here for public bathing." Still sleepy and her muscles slowly relaxing in the heat of the water Twilight didn't pursue the subject.

"Hmm, suit yourself I guess."

"So should we all be getting used to twenty hour days from now on?" Tattletale asked, causing Twilight to look towards the ocean where the golden disk did seem to be rising in a bit of a hurry.

"Oh, I guess I really should finish up here and go talk to the Princess about that." Tattletale smirked and looked like she was about to say something when a quiet beep came from her pocket. Instantly the smile dropped off her face as she pulled out a phone. "Is there something wrong?" Twilight asked seeing Tattletale's good mood evaporate.

"No. Just something I had hoped I wouldn't have to deal with." Tattletale said with an obviously forced smile. "I've got to go, its been real Sparkle. I'll see you in the funny papers. Try to avoid rearranging any more of the landscape while I'm gone." Before Twilight could come up with a response to that Tattletale was already briskly walking away.

Frowning after the enigmatic girl, Twilight quickly finished grooming herself and regretfully teleported herself out of the warm water and onto the grass above the beach. Using telekinetic fields to wring out her mane and tail, she started to trot towards the sound of Princess Luna's voice. She was coming up behind the large table Luna was sitting at when the Princess craned her neck around to face her.

"Ah ha! Hither comes Twilight Sparkle now. Did we not foretell? As the sun rouses itself from the sea so doth our sister's protege rouse herself from her slumber. Ha! We see she taught thee her bath spell as well, truly thou art her student" Twilight blushed as she finished approaching the table, Luna beckoning her to sit beside her and then draping a familiar wing over her back. "We suspect that, also like our sister, now that the dawn is upon us she nay doubt wishes us to turn ourselves to serious business."

"Um, Princess?" Twilight said, still fighting down her blush from the attention of everyone seated around the table. "Speaking, um, about more serious business…" Twilight gestured with one of her wings towards the rising sun. Princess Luna followed her gesture and she gave a good-natured laugh when she caught Twilight's meaning.

"Thou hast the truth of it Twilight. Gentle humans, pray excuse us but for a moment while we depart to settle this celestial sphere."

With no more warning than that, Princess Luna dissolved into mist, spiraled into the air above the table, and spread out until she was indistinguishable from the dawn sky. Everyone at the table continued watching the sky for a moment before, one by one, their gazes turned back to Twilight. She was trying to think of something to say and suppressing the urge to fidget when Alexandria broke the silence.

"Your princess is almost a force of nature. Come sit down," When Twilight had finished settling herself next to the heroine she continued. "I've read through the transcripts of your discussions with the PRT, I didn't get the impression that she was…so gregarious."

Twilight flushed a little at the thought that she had somehow relayed inaccurate information. But to be fair, with a few exceptions, the Princess was usually a much more reserved pony than she had been since she arrived. The heroes around the table began to talk amongst themselves once more, and a couple got up and walked to a nearby table that seemed to have been commandeered by a couple of PRT agents and a mound of communication equipment. She got the impression, however, that she was still the focus of everyone's attention.

"Oh, um, yes, well she typically is…more reserved, I would say. But, well, as you can probably guess from last night, she doesn't really do half measures. When she decides to do something, even if that something is taking part in an extra-dimensional, extra-Equestrian victory party, she does it without holding back." Twilight said as a fond smile graced her face. Just thinking about the Princess, her friend, that she was here, and what that meant. Alexandria nodded, one corner of her lips turned up in a small crook that could have been the beginning of a smile.

"Yes, I think last night is proof enough of that." A small beep came from her waist, and she sighed. "Excuse me, it seems I'm needed again. It seems no two versions of what happened last night are alike, and pretty much every cape and governmental organization on the planet seems to want confirmation from either Legend or me personally. I'll be back soon. Legend, can you spare a moment?" He nodded and stood up from his chair, shooting Twilight a good natured grin as he did so. Alexandria continued. "Myrddin, I hate to spoil your fun but Director Hearthrow can't leave Chicago, and I think he would appreciate an in-person debrief from you." The brown robed man nodded and turned to address Twilight as he stood up from the table .

"Twilight Sparkle, In the midst of the celebration I feel like we hardly had a chance to speak last night. Princess Luna mentioned that there is no finer mind on topics related to magic than you. After things calm down somewhat I would be honored if you might find the time to speak with me on the subject?" Twilight blushed at the praise while she replied.

"Of course! I would love to."

"Then I look forward to speaking with you then. Please let Princess Luna know that I enjoyed her company immensely and extend an open invitation to her Highness to visit Chicago and possibly barter further tales in exchange for some of our city's finer libations." A giggle escaped Twilight's mouth as she transmuted a couple of discarded plates and glasses into a paper and pen and jotted the missive down.

"I will be sure she gets it. It was very nice meeting you."

"You as well Ms. Sparkle."

While she had been talking with Myrddin a truck had pulled up nearby. A couple of people began unloading it and assembling what looked like the beginnings of a buffet table. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of food and Miss Militia gave a light laugh from where she was sitting across from her.

"I'll second that. Come on, the smell of that food is going rouse everyone within three hundred yards of here. Why don't we go get some before the mob descends."

About fifteen minutes later Twilight was happily drinking some reconstituted orange juice and finishing off the last of her strawberry jam and toast while she talked with Miss Militia. Slowly the heroes from elsewhere had begun to leave to report back to their respective cities, called back to help as celebrations spilled out into their streets. As they had filtered out the table filled in with Brockton Bay's Heroes and Wards, either waking from the celebration or coming off a shift of cleanup and rescue.

Director Piggot had just seated herself when a swirl of blue mist coalesced next to Twilight and solidified into Princess Luna. She draped a wing over Twilight's back and gave a somewhat tired looking smile to everyone at the table.

"'Twas a feat and nay lie, but 'tis done, or nearly so. Thy planet shouldst but soft resume its ingraft pace over the next few days, or close enough for it to suit methinks. Mayhap a final nudge one way or the other once the effects of our workings fade completely and we canst better judge its natural disposition." Director Piggot's lips contorted through several emotions before she seemed to force them into the barest semblance of a smile. When she spoke it sounded like a rehearsed speech.

"I'm sure there will be many people happy to hear that your Highness. I was instructed to tell you upon your return that accommodations are being prepared in New York for you and Ms. Sparkle. They are close to the United Nations, and many world leaders are eager to speak with you about last night and the relations between our world and yours as we move past this crisis."

Twilight grimaced in remembrance of her own trip to the United Nations and Luna laughed at her expression.

"Ha, politics! We agree with Twilight Sparkle. Art thou sure we can not find another eldritch abomination that we might do battle with instead?" Laughter, some genuine and some nervous spread across the table. Director Piggot herself seemed somewhat at a loss of how to respond. Just before it looked like she was going to make the attempt, Luna waved a hoof in dismissal.

"Nay, nay we jest. We knowest the necessity of such things, and in sooth look forward to seeing more of thy world. We accept thine invitation." She shot a sideways glance at Twilight and then smiled wider and once again continued just before it looked like Piggot was going to speak. "However, if we are to face such a lion's den as I suspect awaits us, we will require companions to hearten us and guard our backs. Thy valiant warriors that stood by Twilight Sparkle till the last will be most suitable for such a dangerous task as the one before us. Gather them hence and we shall depart anon!"




While Director Piggot's expression morphed into stunned incredulity, Assault fell backwards out of his chair laughing.

 

[sopchoppy]

New Armsmaster Interlude - this takes place immediately after the prologue

Interlude - Armsmaster

Armsmaster strode away from the parahuman holding cells at a brisk clip. Getting Lung secured and an IV-drip started that would keep him in his induced coma had certainly been the biggest priority, but he didn't want to leave the strange new parahuman up on deck, watched only by a couple of PRT troopers, any longer than necessary. Thankfully, the security feed displaying in his visor had showed that the only thing she had done since he left her was turn to look out towards the bay.

That was both a good and bad sign in his experience. Though his software was having trouble interpreting her foreign body language and appearance, she wasn't acting guilty and she had seemed eager to comply with all his requests to the letter. Those were all good indications that she was not a villain or leaning in that direction. On the other hand she had moved too little. Nearly all people brought to headquarters would gawk a little at the facility, glance curiously at some of the equipment or at the guards on hand. She had done none of those things. His software wasn't feeding him anything, but it looked like shock symptoms.

As he entered the elevator that would take him back to the deck he shifted his right eye in a specific pattern. The connection rang only once before Miss Militia answered the call.

"How'd it go?" she asked and a small smile flashed across his face. When it was important, Hannah always got straight to the point. It was one of the things he liked best about her. He never had to guess her motives or rely on his social suite with her. It was a big reason he counted her among the handful of people he considered friends rather than teammates or coworkers.

"Lung is in cell p-5."

"Congratulations Colin. So I take it the new drugs worked? Casualties?"

"A handful of non-cape ABB members needed to be taken to the hospital for burns or wasp stings, one serious."

"Wasp stings?"

"New master, villain, engaged with Lung and fled before my arrival. I put the preliminary info on her in the database."

"If she fled before you arrived how…Witness?"

"Yes, parahuman, possible case 53, also engaged Lung before my arrival. Signs of shock and other mental issues. She's on deck now. I'm about to escort her to the secure visitor wing. Can you meet me in there?" Armsmaster asked as the doors opened and he stepped back outside and started approaching the outside holding area.

"Yes, I'll be right there," Hannah answered and closed the connection. He estimated how much time it would take for him to get within speaking distance of the new parahuman and then had his software run an analysis of whether Director Piggot would be more displeased to be woken in the middle of the night, or having not been told until morning. He made the call.

"Armsmaster," the tired and irritated voice of the Director Piggot stated.

"Lung is in custody, two new confirmed capes. Master that was part of the reason for Lung's appearance, villain. Bystander, likely case 53."

"Have a briefing ready by 5 am, I'll be there. We need to get a response plan set before news of this breaks." The connection clicked off just as he turned the last corner and closed the last 30 feet between him and the new parahuman. He nodded to himself internally, his software had correctly estimated the length of his conversation with the Director within 2 seconds. He stepped up next to…her and observed her posture for a second before speaking in his best reassuring tone.

"Miss, I have secured the man that attacked you." She shuddered slightly before turning her large eyes up towards him. He noticed she had been crying. "Is there something wrong?"

"I…no…maybe? The shield," she sniffed again. "It just reminds me of someone." She brought one of her legs up to her head and pressed a…hoof?…To it. "None of this makes sense. I'm so confused," she finished sounding pained and exhausted.

"You've had a rough night, follow me inside and we can find someplace to get you something to eat and drink." She nodded and wiped a foreleg across her eyes, visibly pulling herself together.

"Thank you, that seems like a good idea." She hesitated a second before continuing with a small uplift in tone, "Do you have a library?"

"Not on base, there are several in the city however," he replied as he turned around and began to walk back towards the elevator. His HUD still showing the security feed and allowing him to see her trailing slightly behind without turning his head. When the doors opened and they stepped inside she seemed interested in the glowing array of buttons but made no comment.

When they reached the secure visitor's floor the doors opened once more and, besides a couple of half second pauses where she seemed to be examining the hallway and doors, she followed him without hesitation. When they turned the last corner before the room he had selected for her to stay in tonight Miss Militia was waiting for them.

"Armsmaster…Your description did not do Ms Twilight justice." She turned to fully face the new parahuman. "It is a pleasure to meet you Twilight Sparkle. My name is Miss Militia. Armsmaster gave us a short summary on what happened. I apologize that you had such a introduction to our city, but thank you for your part in apprehending Lung. You have done a great service to the city." Armsmaster noted that besides what appeared to be a blush response, 'Twilight' seemed to relax slightly. As he suspected. He was glad he called Hannah.

"Um, you're welcome but it was really those other poni-people that," 'Twilight' replied, and hesitated as she appeared to search for the right words, "…took care of Lung. What I did was more an accident of circumstance than anything else." Miss Militia nodded in response and lightened her tone even further.

"You are probably ready for this night to end. We have a room set up with some food and a bed. We can talk more in the morning."

'Twilight' sighed and her body sagged even as she spoke. "Yes, sleep is probably a good idea, thank you."

Armsmaster waited in the hall while Hannah showed 'Twilight' the room and got her settled. He worked on a few designs while he waited. Less than ten minutes later Hannah emerged and closed the door behind her quietly.

"Exhausted." Hannah said as he closed down his schematics display and started walking, Hannah falling in beside him.

"Shock."

"That too. I made sure to get some food and a glass of water into her before she fell asleep. Cute."

He considered that for a moment before nodding, he supposed 'Twilight' would fit that aesthetic.

"The Director has called for a 5 am briefing. She wants to develop a response plan," he said as they neared the lifts that would take them to the personnel area.

"Makes sense, this is going to draw a reaction from every faction in the bay. Busy week ahead," she replied, her tone serious, but also congratulatory. She knew how much this meant to him. He was both irked that he was that easily read, and glad that he did not need to hide it from her. She was his friend, she understood.

He frowned a little at the thought of all the project time he was likely to miss this week, but shook it off. Capturing Lung was worth it. Even if he had looked beaten before he arrived, it was his tranquilizers that had enabled his capture. He had proved he was able to do something entire divisions of the Protectorate had been unable to accomplish. Now they just had to contain the aftermath. Challenging, but he already had a series of contingencies planned out, it shouldn't be a problem. When they got to the lounge Hannah dropped down onto a couch in front of a pile of folders and papers, one stack a printed copy of the initial report he had sent. Sections already highlighted or notated. He didn't understand her need for hard copies.

"Breakfast before the meeting? Say 4:30?" Hannah asked as she picked up a yellow highlighter and picked up a large folder marked ABB. He almost declined, he had nutrient paste for a reason after all, but…he could spare the time. She might also have a few suggestions for his plans before he presented them.

"Yes, see you then." With that Armsmaster turned and walked towards his lab. There were a few things he could work on while he was dictating his reports.

—————————

Dauntless walked in and closed the door behind him, he was the last one that was going to be able to make it. He took a seat next to Velocity who was gripping a coffee mug and looked like he was struggling to stay awake. Miss Militia sat across from them and Director Piggot sat at the head of the table. Marion May, Brockton Bay's information officer, sat beside her. A protectorate thinker called Snap looked on tiredly from a monitor on the wall.

"As we all know each other, I'll forego the formalities." He nodded to everyone in the room. "At 12:20 am this morning we got a report of a possible parahuman fight involving Oni Lee and an unknown group. I was prepping my motorcycle to investigate when a second report was called in saying that Lung had been sighted in the same area. Having received prior approval to attempt to use the tranquilizers I had developed for Lung, I immediately departed in response to the second call." He paused as he clicked a button and a map of the docks area was projected on the wall with about a block and a half highlighted red, another couple of blocks by the edge were colored yellow.

"When I arrived at the area colored in red on the map I found evidence of a wide ranging battle. Fire damage, smashed brickwork, bullet casings and several wounded ABB gang members were scattered down the street. Lung was laying here," he used a laser pointer to indicate the location, "Suffering from a number of large bite wounds. He was conscious but delirious. I noticed signs of accelerating regeneration and quickly used my halberd to administer the tranquilizers. Within thirty seconds the visible signs of his regeneration had ceased and he fell unconscious. After securing his body and checking for any life-threatening injuries I examined the scene in more detail."

"Do you believe your tranquilizers would be effective against other high end regenerators?" Snap asked from the monitor, looking more engaged than he had been at the start of the presentation. Armsmaster shook his head slightly before he responded.

"Not currently, they were explicitly developed for Lung. However, I do believe that the research could be adapted into a more general use. I'll forward the notes to your office. To continue, I observed broken brickwork surrounding Lung's fallen form and scaring on the ledge above him and deduced he had been thrown off the building. I ascended to the roof to gather more information, which is where I encountered the parahuman calling herself "Twilight Sparkle."

He clicked a button and the map was replaced with a screen capture of his visor's recording of last night showing the quadruped seated on the roof calmly making writing something on a piece of paper.

"My first impression, and still most likely theory is that she is a case 53. When talking with me she admitted to large holes in her memory and having no idea where she was."

"If she remembers anything at all she would be the first." Marion interjected.

"Yes, there are several divergences between her and the other known case 53's, the biggest being that she claims that she was born that way and comes from either another dimension or planet where those that look like her are the dominant species. She claims to have never seen a human before last night."

Dauntless let out a slow whistle and Velocity spoke what everyone was thinking.

"So she's completely crazy?"

"No, she hasn't exhibited any signs of schizophrenia or active delusions. Since my first interaction with her she has been polite and cooperative in every way. She hasn't asserted in any way that the world she is seeing is any different from what we observe, only that the past she remembers doesn't include it. Again, this could be some new variant of case 53's where memory is altered or twisted beyond recognition instead of erased."

"It's also possible that it's her own invention to protect her from some trauma," Snap chimed in from the monitor.

"Or she could be telling the truth. We do have examples of other dimensions coming in contact with ours," Miss Militia responded.

"She was speaking english earlier on the video," the thinker from Chicago stated.

"She claims her proficiency in our language stems from a "spell" she cast on herself after running into the new villain that was battling Lung. Other "spells" her notes mention include teleportation and a concussive blast."

"Unlikely, but, well, we all have seen a lot of unlikely things in our lives. Can't rule it out. Hmm, a blaster powerful enough to knock Lung around and teleportation?" Snap replied as he rubbed his chin as he jotted something down on his computer. "Do you have someone on site that could do a professional mental evaluation?"

Piggot leaned forward slightly causing her chair to creak and spoke up for the first time.

"Those could be useful abilities to have on team, if she wasn't crazy. We have Dr. Yamada on hand this week, I would recommend Twilight have a visit with her and get some qualified feedback on her mental health before any other considerations. Where would you peg her age?"

"I'm unsure. Her mannerisms tend to be all over the map maturity wise. Maybe early-adolescent with a possible thinker classification in addition to her other stated powers," Armsmaster replied. Director Piggot scowled.

"Very well, all the more reason to get her examined by Yamada." She turned to Snap. "In the unlikely event she is an alien, how do you think we should proceed?"

"I'll contact PRT headquarters and the state department to brief them. Their guys can start running some scenarios and drawing up a contingency plan if it does turn out to be the case that we're dealing with first contact."

"I agree that she should see Dr. Yamada, and before any other plans are made. Regardless of her origins, she has been through something traumatic. We should respect that in our actions," Miss Militia interject and even Director Piggot nodded slightly at that before she cleared her throat.

"Now thats settled, lets get to the most important part of this meeting. How exactly is the city going to react, when it learns Lung has been captured."



"My guess?" Velocity spoke finishing a sip of coffee. "Not good."

 

[sopchoppy]

Re-Written Chapter 2, takes place after Armsmaster Interlude:

Re-Written Chapter 2:

Twilight levitated the water glass back to the small table across the room while she telekinetically pulled the bed's blankets up around her. She clicked the room's light off, but left the light in the bathroom on. With a few minor adjustments to the bathroom door she was finally satisfied with the amount of illumination. She felt a little silly for needing a night-light, but the thought of a pitch dark room after the day she had was not comforting.

She distracted herself from those thoughts by using her magic to feel and trace the electric wires connected to the switches. It was clear that these humans had progressed farther in their use of electricity than ponies. Which, now that she thought about the trip back through the city to this place, was more than obvious. She resisted the urge to take more notes, she really needed to get to sleep.

At the same time she was a little afraid to. What if she woke up somewhere else again, somewhere even more strange, even scarier? She didn't know how she got here, so she couldn't rule it out. Her heart sped up at the thought. What if she was uncontrollably leaping from dimension to dimension, striving to put right the spell that had somehow gone wrong, and hoping each night that the next leap would be the leap home?

She hastily sat up and brought a hoof to her chest and took a deep breath and felt herself calm down a little. Then she stopped and looked down at her hoof as she stretched out her foreleg and slowly exhaled. Where?…When had…she learned that? She collapsed back onto the bed in frustration. The reminder that she couldn't even trust her own mind right now certainly didn't help her anxiety or her quest to get to sleep.

She lit her horn and searched deeply for any signs of lingering spell workings and relaxed a little when she didn't find any. As far as she could tell, nothing was going to spirit her away to another dimension in her sleep. At least nothing currently active in the room with her. Argh, why did she have to qualify that. Ok, something else, think about something else.

Ignoring their technology, only for the moment she assured herself, what about the inhabitants of this, wherever it was that she had come to. Brockton Bay, the one with the scary mask had told her. They had seemed nice enough she guessed, well at least nice enough to her. The one without a name had set swarms of bugs upon a bunch of people.

If you ignored how she was using it, it was a fascinating piece of spell work. She would have needed to combine some kind of attraction charm with one for aggression and limited both to only the species she desired and excluding and others of her choosing from it. An incredibly complex working, and she had also seemed to be able to modify it on the fly, which was even more impressive. Maybe she would get a chance to speak with her again, it would at least allow her to modify her notes to include her proper name, whatever it might be.

But, hadn't the one called Tattletale said she was a bad guy? Hadn't they run away before the knight, Armsmaster, had shown up? She hoped this was some kind of cultural translation error. It must be of some kind, they hadn't treated her badly. They certainly had been pretty merciless with that Lung creature, but that was understandable. But the one controlling the bugs had attacked other humans as well…She guessed she would have to wait and ask Armsmaster to explain it to her.

He had seemed…professional. Yes, she supposed that word was the best fit. Not unlike some of the Royal Guardsmen she knew. Which made sense, as that is what she figured was the closest analog to him in this world. He had tried to be, not comforting, but reassuring a few times she thought. He was a little, but she could tell he had been more focused on other things. That was okay, she understood being a knight was a duty you couldn't put down for a single individual.

The human he had introduced her to, Miss Militia, and wasn't that a confusing name and possibly another translation problem, had been comforting and kind. Maybe it would be better to direct her questions towards her if she was available in the morning. Twilight had a feeling she would be more patient with them than Armsmaster would be.

She was never going to get to sleep if she kept thinking about all these things! She let out another deep breath and stared at the wall. She lasted about a minute and a half before turning her magic back to the task of following the electric wires through the walls. Just until exhaustion totally overcame her.

————————————————————————



…A true true friend helps-



————————————————————————

Twilight woke with a start, heart racing. What? Where?!?

She stood up and got caught in the sheets, spun around, rolled off the bed, and fell in a tangled heap into the floor. Something that sounded like a growl issued from the pile of sheets before they erupted into purple flames and disintegrated around the panting unicorn. She turned towards the door as she heard someone chuckle softly. Her thoughts started to clear. Another of the knights of this place was standing there, his armor was different than Armsmaster's but it had the same style helmet and visor.

"Well that's one way of getting out of bed in the morning. Have to say, after looking at the security footage last night, I wasn't expecting the cute purple unicorn to greet me by setting her room on fire in a mindless rage." He was shoved roughly into the doorframe by a woman wearing a skin tight suit with some sort of repeating fractal diagrams covering it.

"Leave her alone Assault, no one should be subjected to you first thing in the morning." She paused for a second, really taking Twilight in, then continued, "Wow. So are you really…Wait, no one should have to answer questions before breakfast. Follow us and we'll lead you to the grub. Do you like bacon and eggs? I'm Battery by the way."

Twilight screwed her face up in thought. "What's bacon? You wouldn't happen to have any oatmeal or daisies?" Battery's eyes widened a fraction before hurriedly whispering something in Assault's ear. Assault let out a choked laugh before Battery shoved him into the hallway were he walked briskly away. When Battery spoke again the cadence of her voice was a little quicker than before.

"He's just going to go ahead and see if we have any oatmeal, we probably do. Daises we're fresh out of I'm afraid. Why don't you grab a shower real quick." She gestured to the door across from the bed she had slept in last night. "That always helps me clear my head in the morning. Do you have any clothes?" She looked over Twilight once again. "We could probably adapt something that could work for you." A befuddled look crossed Twilight's face.

"Clothes? Are we going somewhere formal?" Twilight asked as she started towards the door to the bathroom.

"No, but…never mind, no, nowhere formal. Just breakfast and a casual discussion with some of my team mates about what happened last night, no big deal."

Twilight sighed in relief at the words, "Okay, I'll be just a minute," and she closed the door behind her. Before she turned on the water she heard Battery quietly mumble from the other room.

"Bacon," Battery sighed, "what was I thinking?"

Twilight briefly wondered about the mysterious bacon before dismissing it and stepping under the glorious warmth of the water. This was a good idea. She allowed herself a minute to simply stand there before opening her eyes and looking at the bottles on the shelf. The one labeled shampoo was hardly large enough for her mane, let alone the rest of her and her tail. Hmm, these humans did have a lot less hair overall. She supposed the tiny bottle made sense, but it didn't help her current situation.

If these were guest quarters, maybe…She used her magic to open the bathrooms cabinet and feeling around did find a basket that held 4 more bottles. Pulling them to her, she nodded her head in satisfaction. That should be just enough. Remembering that she had somepony…someone waiting on her she quickly set to work getting the dust and dirt from last night's adventure out of her coat.

She was once again glad that she was a unicorn when she turned off the water to realize there were only two, not very absorbent, towels in the whole bathroom. Using her telekinesis she wrung the water from her mane and tail and pushed as much of it as she could off her coat. Afterwards the towels were just enough to finish the job.

She stepped back into the bedroom and gave Battery a pleased smile.

"Thank you, I did need that. I feel a little more pony now."

Battery returned her smile and gave a light laugh before replying. "I figured you would, it's the only way I function after a late night patrol. Come on, chow's this way," she said indicating the hallway beyond.

As Twilight followed after she once again turned her eyes to the hallways and rooms that they passed. It was very…utilitarian. She wondered if that was due to this being a military barracks of some sort, or if it was a more general human aesthetic. Even for a barracks it was pretty plain.

They came to a fairly large kitchen area, the stoves and ovens readily recognizable, and Assault was there. He was wearing a pink apron with a costumed figure painted on the front that looked three sizes too small for him and setting out three large bowls of what her nose told her was oatmeal. In the center there was a large fruit bowl filled with apples. Her mouth salivated. Last night's snack apparently a fading memory to her stomach.

"Good morning ladies, breakfast at the Casa de Assault, is served." He gave a small bow as he finished and Twilight noticed Battery was holding her hand to her face as though in pain. Battery indicated with her other hand that she should take a seat and Twilight levitated a spoon and dug into the oatmeal with enthusiasm.

"Well that answers one question." She heard Assault say as he sat down opposite her while Battery slipped into the space beside her.

"Does Vista know you have one of her old aprons? I thought she burned them all."

"Oh no, I wasn't going to something as perfectly embarrassing as this PR fever dream fade into history. I have a whole box of them stashed away, I'm going to hand them out when she graduates to the Protectorate."

"She'd kill you."

"She'll try. Should be fun."

The conversation didn't make a great deal of sense to Twilight, not knowing the context, but their pleasant banter was a soothing background to go with her breakfast. While she was eating she spotted a knife block on the counter and pulled a knife over to the table. Selecting an apple from the basket she began to slice it into bit sized pieces to add to the oatmeal. She smiled when she tasted the new combination. Then she noticed that Assault and Battery had stopped their discussion and were looking at her.

"Um, would you like some too?" Stupid, where were her manners? She hadn't even thanked Assault for making the oatmeal.

"Yeah sure kid, that sounds great. Battery?"

"Yes, that would be lovely, thank you Twilight."

"Ok," she said happily as she pulled another knife from the block and two more apples from the basket. "Also thank you very much for the breakfast Assault, the oatmeal is very good." Once she had reduced the apples to a uniform grouping of apple bits, she halved them and levitated them over to her companions' bowls while floating the knives over to the sink.

"No worries, about the easiest thing to make there is. Hmm, the apples do make it better. Nice power you got there," Assault commented between bites.

Power? She hadn't used any more power than a standard unicorn could handle. A bit more control possibly. Maybe that's what he meant.

"Thank you, it's part of my talent and I practice control exercises everyday, so it's not that special really. How about you, what is your special talent?" A confused expression crossed his face, but before he could answer someone else came into the room. He was wearing a bright red suit with stripes down the side that came together to form a V on his chest. Twilight thought it strange that the knights of this city didn't seem to have a standard uniform, but it would at least help her remember them.

"Twilight Sparkle right?" He asked and she nodded. "Velocity. Pleasure to meet you. Hate to interrupt your breakfast, but the Director would like to talk to Assault and Battery about their patrol last night since she's already on site." Assault groaned loudly and a grimace flickered across Battery's face before she stood up. She walked around the table and hauled Assault up as well.

"Come on, sooner begun, sooner done, they say."

"How bout never begun, never done?" Assault parried.

"Not an option I'm afraid. Twilight, It was very nice meeting you. Hope to see you around in the future," Battery said with a smile.

"It was very nice meeting you and Assault as well, thank you again for the breakfast."

"Catch you later kid," Assault said, and with that Battery guided a grumbling assault out of the room. Velocity shook his head and looked back over to Twilight.

"Looks like you're about done, wanna go outside? This place can get a little claustrophobic after awhile."

Twilight nodded and quickly levitated all the dishes over to the sink, washing and them setting them up to dry in the rack next to it as fast as she could so she wouldn't keep Velocity waiting.

"Neat trick, but we do have dishwashers you know." He said lightly.

"I'm sure the staff here is kept plenty busy already, without washing up after me as well." Twilight replied as she settled the last dish.

"Th…fair enough, let's go get some fresh air."

A couple of more corridors and another electrical lift ride later they were standing on the roof of the facility. Twilight quickly trotted over to the edge and gazed out over the water towards the horizon. She took a deep breath and smelled the salt contained in it. It had been a long time since she had seen the ocean, it was beautiful and intimidating in a way.

She trotted over to the other side and looked out at the city, raising up and bracing her fore hooves against the railing. The breeze shifted, blowing from shore, pulling at her mane, and carrying an industrial smell. Something rumbled above her and she glanced up at what appeared to be an extremely fast aircraft, impossibly high.

There was just so much…different here. A small part of her was excited at the opportunity to learn so many new things, but it paled in comparison to the weight of the uncertainty she had about everything. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, gazing out at the alien city in the distance before she heard a couple of people approaching her.

Turing around she saw Velocity escorting a shorter human with a straight black mane and wearing what looked like a formal business suit. Unlike everyone else she had met, this one wasn't covering her face at all. She wasn't sure what the significance of that was, but Twilight found it nice to finally see a whole face.

"Twilight. This is Dr. Yamada. She'd like to talk with you about last night, and what you do and don't remember. She thinks she might be able to help you piece some things together."

"Really?" Twilight asked. "That would be great, I'm certainly not making much headway on my own so far."

"I'm pleased to meet you Twilight, would you like to come with me to my office? I find a quiet atmosphere can help, but we could talk here if you would prefer?"

"Oh, no, your office is fine with me. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me," Twilight replied.

"No trouble at all. While we're walking why don't you tell me about your morning." She felt a spike of guilt as she remembered how her morning had started, but she guessed that was a good a place as any to start.



"It started with fire."