So, this series is essentially supposed to be a filler side-series that co-aligns with the events of the first six chapters of my main story, TD's Adventures in Equestria. It explains some happenings that occur in Equestria before TD's reformation and maybe even a few secrets... Emphasis on "maybe" and the secrets may not be all that secret. (In case there's a need for more clarification, this is while TD is still the villain in Equestria.)
Either way, I hope you enjoy!
Twilight Sparkle looked out to Ponyville from the balcony of the Castle of Friendship, feeling a bit worried inside. Ever since TD's arrival and escape in Equestria, nopony ever felt safe. And for good reason too; the chaotic human had proven to be much too powerful for even Discord to handle on his own, and with him going off the grid there was no way for them to know where he had gone. All they could do is wait and hope that if he showed up again that they could handle whatever he threw at them, whether figuratively or literally. A slim chance, but it was the best one they had.
"Penny for your thoughts, princess," a voice said from behind, sending a shiver down her spine.
Speak of the devil, and he will appear, she thought to herself and spun around to see TD himself staring at her, an evil grin plastered on his face. He was in his pony form, so he stood roughly at her eye level, if not a bit higher. Twilight's horn charged up, but TD simply laughed and made his own horn glow. Their beams collided, but his quickly overpowered her own and struck her horn, numbing it. She tried another spell, only to find that her magic wasn't working. She growled.
"Paralysis spell on the horn," she muttered. "I should've guessed you'd try that."
"But you didn't," TD remarked. "And now you are quite literally at my mercy."
"I wasn't before?" she asked sarcastically. TD frowned.
"Okay, you were even before then. Happy?" he grumbled.
"Not really," she answered, backing away from him as far as she dared; far away enough to close the distance between them, but not too far away so she wouldn't fall off the balcony. Sure, she had wings and could fly if the latter occurred, but she wasn't taking any chances just yet. TD smirked and walked closer to her, uncomfortably close.
"So, what now princess?" he taunted, using a teasing tone. "You going to scream for help and hope that your knight in shinning armor comes from over the horizon and saves your skin? Or maybe try to fight me yourself?" His smirk grew bigger and he gave her a look that made Twilight feel uneasy in more ways than one. "What do you think? Think you could handle me if you had to?"
Twilight felt a bit confused. It almost sounded like he was referring to something else, but noticing his cheeky smile she figured he was probably hoping for the appropriate reaction. Managing to put on a smile of her own, she walked over to him and gazed into his eyes.
"I've handled worst before," she stated in a tempting voice. "I think the real question is if you can handle me."
She flicked his nose with her tail, which caused him to back up a few steps as she chuckled. She had hoped for that reaction, and TD seemed to be a bit ticked to realize that his own tactic had turned against him. He managed a small chuckle.
"The student has become the teacher, I see," he managed. "But in answer to before, I've handled beings that could pack more of a punch than you and your friends could ever pull off." His smirk returned. "So, I guess the answer to that is a solid yes."
Twilight frowned and looked him dead in the eye.
"Listen, TD," she said sternly. "Unless you're here to fight, I suggest you scram. Because I am not in the mood."
TD's smirk didn't fade, much to her discomfort.
"Well then, guess you won't be too disappointed," he replied, and then his eyes suddenly turned into colorful swirls.
"What the-? What are you... doing... to... me...?" Twilight demanded, her voice becoming slow and sleepy sounding as she continued to stare into his eyes. She was only vaguely aware of him placing her under his spell and now she found herself unable to resist him. TD cackled quietly to himself, then spoke to her in a commanding voice.
"You will follow me to my lair and we shall discuss things more thoroughly there."
"Yes... master..." Twilight answered in a sleepy tone. TD smiled, and then started to trot out of the castle with Twilight in tow.
"Oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash shouted in frustration once they all noticed that Twilight was missing. "You've got to be joking!"
"If this was a joke he was pulling Rainbow Dash, then he would've at least made it sound much lighter than he's currently implying," Rarity stated bluntly as she looked over a note TD had apparently left behind, which quite literally told them exactly what he had done. Applejack sighed.
"Guess we all know what we're doin' for the rest of the day," she remarked.
"First one to find him wins a medal!" Pinkie called out, getting more than a few glares. "What? I'm trying to make it sound less daunting than it already is."
"Oh, do you think she's alright?" Fluttershy asked. "What if he's done something horrible to her?"
"I don't know Fluttershy," Starlight commented. "Something tells me that he won't harm her... yet. He's toying with us. He knows we can't do much against him, so he's trying to make it interesting for himself."
"How the hay would ya know that?" Applejack demanded.
"He's a being more powerful than all of Equestria combined," Starlight explained. "Theoretically, that kind of power can get boring if your enemy doesn't pose much of a threat. So his next-best option would be to toy with his victims before finishing them off. And that's when he can tend to slip up and give us the edge we need."
"That's... actually not a bad way to put it," Rarity admitted.
"Sounds right to me," Rainbow Dash agreed. "Even I'd probably get bored very quickly if I was able to defeat anypony I came across in an instant. There's no thrill in that."
"Yeah yeah, we get it!" Pinkie broke into their thoughts. "Let's find him and show him what for, ladies!"
She then rushed out the doors of the Castle, leaving her friends standing there a bit confused.
"So... um, she does realize that we don't know where to look... right?" Fluttershy asked no one in particular.
When Twilight's senses returned to her, she found herself inside a kind of underground base with lava behind some kind of glass acting as a way to light up the interiors of the stone room she was in. What confused her the most, however, was the fact that she was left untied and free to move about the room. Not that there was much to do there; it only consisted of a single long table and two seats with a large meal set on the table. It seemed to be tailored to suit both her needs and the needs of her captor, for there was plenty of Equestrian delicacies as well as some she was unfamiliar with, but that she knew contained meat in some cases.
"Enjoy your nap, Princess?" a voice suddenly asked her, causing her to jump and spin around in surprise, then look upwards when she found herself staring at his waist. TD chuckled as he stood before her in his human form.
"I figured you would want something to eat before we got down to business," TD told her, as if it was a natural thing to do with one's prisoner. Twilight was now more fully aware of what had happened, and it made her angry.
"You took control of my mind!" she shouted angrily.
"Oh I'm sorry, would you have preferred that I knocked you out with a frying pan or club?" TD asked sarcastically. "Kidnappings are not supposed to be fun, doll face. One way or another, you were going to be dissatisfied with what happened." He sat down at one end of the table in a chair clearly built for him, then gestured to the other seat which was clearly built for an Equestrian. "Come, sit. Eat."
Twilight kept giving him a glare, until her stomach growled loudly. She cursed her hunger quietly, and then looked up at him, clearly embarrassed. TD just chuckled, for once not sounding like an evil character when he did.
"The food's gonna get cold, Miss Sparkle," he told her. "May as well eat it while it's still hot."
Twilight glared at him and cautiously walked over to the seat for her. Slowly, she sat down in it and looked to the food in front of her, but refused to eat it. What if it was poisoned?
"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're asking," TD spoke up, his voice easily heard despite the length of the table. "It's no fun poisoning someone like the way you're thinking. If I did poison someone, I'd want it to be in a more... humane way. Killing someone in cold blood like that... it's not much fun at all. Besides..." he added with a smirk. "...you are literally at my mercy. If I desired, I could kill you in any way I'd prefer. Why kill you in such a simplistic cold-blooded manner, when there are so many more creative means to finish the job?"
As dark as it sounded, it did make sense to Twilight. Judging from TD's actions and with his levels of power, he knew neither her nor any of her friends posed much of a threat to him, so he was always trying to make their encounters... interesting. Killing her so easily and in such a simplistic manner wouldn't be any fun for him, so he would refrain from such an act. Slowly, Twilight levitated some of the food to her mouth and took a slow cautious bite.
It tasted delicious, and nothing seemed to happen. She looked up at TD, who was giving her an amused smile.
"Why are you bothering with manners right now?" he asked her. "I'm not gonna judge. Besides, you must be very hungry and there's no need to stand on ceremony. Please... enjoy."
Twilight hesitated for a moment longer, then started to devour the meal before her as if she hadn't eaten in days. TD chuckled and started eating his own meal, watching her with some interest in his eyes. He clearly seemed amused by her behavior, even if he claimed to have prior knowledge about her before arriving in Equestria. Even at the speed Twilight had started eating, TD finished first and watched her finish the rest of her meal.
When Twilight was finished, TD snapped his fingers and the table was cleared in a second. At the same time, a tub of popcorn appeared in his hands and he started to munch on it.
"Popcorn?" he asked Twilight, holding out the tub to offer some.
"Pass," she stated. TD shrugged and kept munching on the popcorn in a seemingly absent state of mind. Twilight watched him as he added some butter and salt to the popcorn, which seemed unnecessary; it was already covered in enough of both.
"You're going to kill yourself," she scolded.
"I've eaten more salt than is safe to consume for most humans, yet I'm still here," TD countered as he took another handful. "Besides, wouldn't that save you more than half the trouble if it did?"
"I don't want you dead TD; none of us do," Twilight growled.
"You Equestrians are too soft," TD sighed. "Look, I understand being merciful and not wanting to kill someone; heck, believe it or not, I do not like killing people either. But there's a difference of being too merciful and knowing when not to kill someone. It's all about striking a balance and thinking it over. You need to know when to kill, and when to stay your hand."
Twilight gave this a thought. It sounded logical, but what if he was tricking her? She growled and looked to him with a glare.
"I won't fall for your tricks TD," she muttered.
"They aren't tricks, Ms. Sparkle," TD replied calmly. "While I don't always tell the full story, I'm not a liar. I speak what I believe, and I speak the truth."
"Says the human who literally tried to kill us a few days ago," Twilight pointed out.
"Even the villains can often have good advice to follow," TD remarked. "It's up to sound minds like you to pierce through the lies and find out what can be seen as truth, and what it merely trickery."
"Well I think that your 'logic' is mere trickery," Twilight stated, thinking that it would be the end of the conversation.
"Do you really?" TD asked her, as if knowing that she had originally thought otherwise.
"Yes," Twilight replied sternly with a smirk. "Why would I think otherwise?"
"Because you know what I say has at least a small ring of truth to it," TD said bluntly. This chilled Twilight a little, for he seemed to be reading her like an open book sometimes. It was unnerving to say the least. TD suddenly gave a yawn.
"Welp! I'm going to sleep," he stated. "Feel free to explore and all, because you really can't leave anyways. Your bed is down the hall, last door on the left."
As TD spoke, two doors appeared in the room; one he walked through and shut the door to, the other slowly creaked open on its own and stayed open, revealing a long hallway with several doors in it. Twilight was confused as to why he gave her so much freedom to move about. Wasn't he at all afraid she'd try to escape or perhaps even try to take him down while he slept?
"Well... got nothing better to do," she muttered to herself and trotted towards the hallway to explore the various rooms.
"Well, that's just great," Starlight grumbled later that evening. "Where the hay could they have gone?"
"Ah'm not sure, but knowing TD, he's bound to show up again sooner or later," Applejack remarked. "And we're bound to get an answer one way or another, whether by our initiative or his."
"I so desperately hope it's by our own," Rainbow Dash remarked.
"And we still don't know where TD has gone, or where he would hide Twilight at all," Rarity noted. "We've basically been on a wild goose chase all afternoon."
"Oh, I hope she's okay," Fluttershy said, making a hardly audible cry.
"She'll be fine," Starlight reassured. "Remember, he wouldn't want to just take her out. He's hoping to make this entertaining for us."
"Which makes it easier for me, because I like entertainment!" Pinkie exclaimed, getting a few looks.
"Not to be rude Starlight, but may I remind you that you are only theorizing on TD's decisions?" Rainbow reminded.
"She might be right," Applejack said to Rainbow thoughtfully. "But yer right, sugarcube. We can't rely on our own assumptions. We must find Twilight, and see what he's up to."
"Well, that may have to wait until morning," Starlight commented, noticing the sky turning to night. "And we could all use some rest."
"You're kidding, right?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I agree with Rainbow, darling," Rarity said, being a little stern in her manner. "And may I ask, why you don't look that concerned?"
"I am concerned, but I'm also trying to be reasonable," Starlight stated. "We've been searching all day and all afternoon for them, and now it's getting late. We won't be able to search for them effectively if we're not rested."
"Yeah! I mean, how do you think I manage to stay up all the time?" Pinkie asked them.
"Coffee and lots of sugar?" Rainbow suggested sarcastically.
"Well, that seems reasonable enough," Applejack said seemingly in agreement to Starlight.
"Point taken..." Rainbow Dash huffed.
"Alright, let's try to get to sleep then," Starlight suggested.
"Uh... Applejack, before you go to bed, there's something I'd like to talk to you about. Alone," Pinkie stated.
"Sure, sugarcube," Applejack said in reassurance. The others respectively left the room and headed to some of the bedrooms in the Castle for the night. Pinkie waited until the door had shut behind them and was completely certain that they were gone, then in a flash of pink flames she reverted into a form she had kept hidden from everypony else; her Changeling form. Applejack didn't even flinch at the transformation, for she and her family knew by now that Pinkie Pie was a Changeling, and had faithfully kept it a secret from the others for her sake.
"Listen Applejack," the Changeling said, her eyes glowing slightly as she gave her a serious expression. "I think I might know a way to find Twilight, but it's risky as it requires me to use some of my Changeling traits."
Applejack stared at her for the moment before she said, "Tell me, what are ya thinkin' sugercube?"
"Well, I can track her location by smelling her out," Pinkie explained. "Like Winona, but with more accuracy. However, it's not as strong or effective if I'm in disguise..."
"Ah see," Applejack said. "So, ya have to be in yer true form for the task."
"Yeah," Pinkie nodded. "Well, for the most part. But it's not so much that which scares me... I don't think I'm ready yet. Plus, what are they gonna think of me when they find out?"
Apple seemed to ponder over this for a while before she told Pinkie.
"Don't ya worry, sugarcube." she said reassuringly. "Ah'm sure we'll find Twilight one way or another, and even if it comes to that, we'll think of a way out of it."
Pinkie smiled. "Thanks Applejack. You're the best friend a pony or a Changeling could ask for."
"It's okay, Pinkie," Applejack smiled back. "That's what family's for."
"Apples forever, Apples together," Pinkie said with a wink. "Now, to make it work, we'll need some kind of personal item that belongs to her."
"Mhm," Applejack passed her a nod and looked around. "Ah guess we can find plenty of things here for that."
Pinkie gave some thought, then got an idea.
"There's a hairbrush she likes to use every morning when she wakes up," she said. "I could use that. And the reason I know that is because I saw her use it at a sleepover once."
"Ah see," Applejack said. "Ah guess we should see if it's in her room then."
"Yeah," Pinkie nodded, then placed her disguise back up just in case as she led the way. They reached Twilight's room, where after a short search, they found her hairbrush.
"Here ya go, sugar-cube." Applejack said as she handed over the hairbrush to Pinkie.
"Perfect!" Pinkie exclaimed. "This will do. I can already smell her on it..." She then gave a sheepish smile. "That sounded better in my head..."
Applejack gave a chuckle at this at this. "So, we're gonna go search for her right now, aren't we?"
"I can... but the girls need sleep," Pinkie stated. "And even if you don't say it, so do you Applejack. The only other alternative I see, other than waiting until dawn, is if I search for her alone, and then report back to you in the morning."
"Ya think..." Applejack took a yawn. "Ya think ya can do this alone? Ah can come with ya, if ya want."
"Thanks Applejack, but you need to sleep," Pinkie told her. "I'm a Changeling; I don't have to sleep as often. You heard Starlight; without proper rest, you won't be able to perform at your best ability tomorrow."
"Okay, Pinkie," Applejack admitted. "Ah guess Ah need some rest."
"Good," Pinkie smiled, then looked to the window in Twilight's room, which was partly open. He disguise dropped once more and she started buzzing her wings as she flew over to the windowsill, stealing one last look at her friend.
"Sweet dreams, Applejack," she said, then flew out the window and was gone for the night.
Twilight was now officially bored out of her mind. She had searched each and every room the base had to offer, not including TD's own room, and while they offered some very chaotic varieties (some of which she found oddly entertaining), it didn't hide the fact that she was still his prisoner. And of all the doors in the base, only one seemed to be a promising exit, but it was locked and no doubt TD would probably have the key hidden in his personal room.
Twilight sighed as she turned back to the dining room and then trotted over to his personal bedroom. At first, she was simply going to sneak in, but then she heard a cry of some kind inside. Confuse, she peeked inside the room through the door, which was surprisingly left unlocked. The interiors were dark and unimpressive, the only true furniture around being the bed itself, on which TD was sleeping. However, it did not seem like a peaceful sleep. He was moaning and groaning in a troubled manner, speaking as if to some unseen person in the dream.
"I'm sorry..." she heard him say, actual tears falling from his eyes in his sleep. "I don't want to do this... any of this. It's not my fault... I'm not a traitor! Please... don't leave me..."
Twilight was unsure how to take hearing him speak. She had seen him act kindly or deviously, depending on his mood, but this was a side to him she had never seen in him before. He sounded broken, lost, and utterly devastated by some kind of pain. Regret, sorrow, guilt, remorse... What had he done in the past that made him get to where he was today? What atrocities had he committed in his past that caused him to be left without friends? With such a burden of pain that plagued him? And why did he sound like he didn't want to do any of the things he had been doing to her and her friends before, when only seconds ago he wouldn't have given them second thought?
Twilight looked upon his sleeping form, and for the first time since she could remember looking upon his face when he entered their world, she felt pity for him. He was just a poor lost soul, without any friends or allies in the universe out there, hiding his sorrow behind a mask of mischievousness and villainy, while letting out all his rage and sorrow upon her and her friends in the form of toying with them.
Twilight forgot all about finding a key or other means to escape, and instead found herself walking over to the side of his bed while he was still voicing his pains. She placed a hoof on his side in a comforting manner, then began to quietly hum a tune her mother had taught her when she was still a filly. It was a soothing note that seemed to find its way into TD's troubled dreams and calm him down. Soon, his troubled dream-induced speech ceased, and she heard him sleeping peacefully. Looking to his face now, she noticed a smile had formed. Twilight couldn't help but smile herself, feeling an odd sense of pride in helping out her enemy in even so simple of a way.
"Sleep well, TD," she whispered, then feeling a yawn escape her, she trotted quietly out of the room and headed for her own bedroom provided for her. Unbeknownst to her, as soon as she was gone, TD's eyes slowly fluttered open and a thankful expression lit up his face.
"Thank you... Twilight Sparkle..." he whispered, then slowly he fell asleep once more.
"Applejack! Wake up!" a whispered voice called to her. Applejack opened her eyes, then noticed the face of a Changeling with pink mane right in front of her face.
"Huh? What?"
"Don't scream," the Changeling pleaded. "It's me."
"Pinkie?" Applejack asked.
"Yes," the Changeling answered, then added, "And if you need more proof... You and the Apples are the only ones who know my secret, and you yourself discovered it when eavesdropping on me and another Changeling."
"Alright, Ah believe ya," Applejack said. "So, were ya searching for Twilight last night?"
"Mhm! And I think I found something that just might be where he's keeping her," Pinkie nodded.
"Really?" Applejack asked eagerly. "Where?"
"You're not gonna believe this..." Pinkie took a breath, then said, "It's some kind of underground base built right into the side of the mountain which Canterlot is built upon. He's literally right under Canterlot!"
"That's just great!" Applejack exclaimed aloud, before realizing the others were still asleep and lowered her voice once again. "Now that we know where she is, we can go there and save her!"
"Yeah, but Applejack..." Pinkie gave her a worried look. "What if she's in there... but TD is leading us into a trap?"
Applejack's smile disappeared at this as she nodded thoughtfully.
"Yer right, sugarcube," she said. "It might be a trap TD's setting up for us." Then after a moment of silence, she said, "Ah guess we should inform the others 'bout this."
"I'll wake Dashie and Starlight," Pinkie nodded and started to trot off. Thankfully, before she had taken more then five steps, she stopped and with giggle pulled her disguise back up.
"Whoops! That would've been a bad one," she giggled, and then left the room for real.
"At least we know where she's now," Applejack sighed in relief. "Ah just hope we can get there in time..."
Twilight never thought she'd experience such a relaxing slumber while being TD's prisoner, but she did. And now she was trying to decide what to do with her day. TD evidently was not gonna let her leave and he also wouldn't even dream of admitting to her what she had revealed that night. Nevertheless, it was something she would keep in mind. It could possibly save her life some day. For now, she would concentrate on escaping this prison TD had made for her.
Meaning she had to get that key, wherever it could be located. Silently, she got out of her bed and trotted down to TD's bedroom. The chaotic entity was still asleep, but he seemed less restless now. Hoping that he wouldn't wake, Twilight quietly searched around and under his bed, but nothing was found. Eventually, she made a risky move and searched under his pillow. There was the key. She mentally slapped herself. Of course he'd hide it there!
She gently took the key with her magic, and then quietly trotted out of the room and to the main doors which she assumed was the exit. Taking the key, she turned it in the lock, and with a loud noise the doors creaked open, sliding to the sides as if like some kind of secret passage. As soon as there was enough room for her to pass through, Twilight ran as fast as she could into the outside, while the doors closed up behind her as soon as she exited. She realized then that she hadn't planned on what to do when outside TD's secret base, but she didn't care at the moment. It didn't matter where she was running or how far she had to run, as long as it would get her away from TD...
She suddenly smacked into a solid object and fell backwards, finding herself staring up at the human who had stopped her. TD smirked at her for a moment, then groaned and held his stomach.
"That was a bad idea," he muttered, then looked to her with an evil smile. "Oh well, it's not like you can go anywhere."
He then summoned a sphere of energy in his hands, and as such did not hear the fast approaching sound of wings beating until something hit him in the back of the head and caused him to fly over Twilight and land face down in the dirt. As Twilight looked to her savior, Rainbow Dash landed beside her as the rest of her friends came into view.
"Are ya okay, Twilight?" Applejack asked as she reached her along with the others.
"Yeah... Yeah, I think I'm good," Twilight replied.
"I learn things, but they don't help me..." TD groaned as he stood to his feet and held his hand to where Rainbow had smacked him. He was bleeding from his head, which made Rainbow Dash look concerned.
"Oh dear... I didn't kill him with that, did I?" she asked.
"No, you didn't," TD said reassuringly as his wound suddenly closed up in a flash of light, then he added with a bit of an emotional tone, "But you did do one thing... I'm going to cry. I'm going to cry, because you are such a bucking jerk!"
Fluttershy seemed concerned for him. "Are- are you crying?"
Rarity gave him a look of concern as he cried, but then she huffed and her look turned into a glare. "Do you really think we're gonna fall for that?"
"No seriously... I am legit crying right now..." TD told them, holing his head. "The bleeding wound is gone... but the pain is still there! What do you guys do in your spare time? Punch mountains for the fun of it?"
"I did before moving to Ponyville, but I can't speak for the others," Pinkie replied.
"Wait, really?" Starlight asked in surprise.
"Duh! Being on a rock farm could be real boring sometimes," Pinkie stated.
"Nice..." TD groaned.
"So if ya don't mind, can we just take our friend and go?!" Applejack demanded, finally being annoyed of him, then added, "And if you're that much of a fragile foal, then you should think twice before kidnapping somepony!"
"Fragile? I'm only like that in this form, my human form," TD stated, then suddenly got an uncomfortable look in his eyes.
"Uh oh..." Twilight muttered. "Girls... get ready for a fight.
"In others, however, I'm harder to kill," TD continued. "As for leaving... you can leave... but that doesn't mean I'll let you."
As if to prove his point, he made a flicking motion with his hand and they all suddenly were thrown off to the side by an invisible force. TD chuckled, then his form switched into his pony form.
*Cue the Undertale Boss Theme for Sans, because I'm cheeky that way...*
"Ah! Much better!" he said aloud. "More durability, less magic used up, and a sharp and pointy end if I need to get... deadly."
Undertale Boss Profile for TD
Terror of Dimensions: Hardest boss in the game. Attacks do massive damage. Requires multiple hits to down. Some attacks dealt to him either miss automatically or are deflected back to you.
Weaknesses: He's real cocky. Try and find an opening from which to strike while he taunts you. Also, he can't keep dodging and blocking forever. Keep fighting!
Fun fact: He stole Sans's boss theme. Copycat!
Now almost all of them were really shocked as they felt the speck of his true power, so they stood up once again and gave him looks of anger, shock and a little bit of fear all at once.
"I guess that was a 'no'," Rarity said.
"Ah figured that," Applejack replied. "So, ya want a fight? Then a fight you'll get!"
She galloped towards him with intention to buck him right square in the face. TD smirked and slid to the side as Applejack missed him by a hair, then tossed her aside with a glow of his horn. He then sidestepped as Rainbow Dash tried to land a blow to his face.
"Missed me! Missed me! Now ya gotta kiss me!" TD taunted, then added in a rapid monotone voice, "TD is not responsible if any of the mares who take up that offer die in their sleep."
"Arrg! Stop joking around!" Starlight growled, firing a beam at him, which was easily countered with a shield. However, as he did, Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared behind him somehow and tried to land a punch to the back of his head. When she did, however, she stopped within an inch of his head and TD smirked, before bucking her away with his back hooves.
"What? Did you really think I'd just stand there and take it?" he asked tauntingly. Rarity tried to take the advantage of the opening and shot an energy beam at TD. Apparently, TD wasn't expecting this, so he was struck right in the face and gave a cry of pain.
"AH! My eyes!" he screeched, as multiple beams of magic fired off wildly from his horn in different directions at once. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to regenerate those things?!"
Seeing their chance, Twilight fired her own beam into TD, knocking him off balance. At that moment, Pinkie Pie rushed up in front of him and rapidly threw a flurry of punches into his unguarded ribs and legs. She then leaped to the side as Rainbow Dash suddenly zoomed by and did another flyby punch, making him fly forwards and land a few feet away from Fluttershy.
"Let's get out of here, before he gets up again..." Fluttershy spoke.
"Ah think that's a good idea!" Applejack said in agreement. The Mane 7 all started to run away, but before they had gotten far, a beam of red lightning suddenly latched around Fluttershy's leg and pulled her to the ground.
"Just where do you think you're going?!" TD shouted as the beam from his horn started pulling her towards him even as he was standing to his feet.
Fluttershy screamed. "Somepony! Please help me!"
"Ah'm coming Fluttershy!" Applejack answered as she grabbed her hoof and Rarity helped by using her magic. This did little to slow TD's pull on them, so Twilight fired a beam of magic at him, which as expected was deflected off a shield of his.
"You guys are pretty pathetic at times, ya know that?" TD cackled, Fluttershy now being only about two yards away from him. "Lemme make this clear. We aren't done-"
He was cut off mid-sentence by Pinkie Pie zooming towards him at the speed of lightning and smacking him right between the eyes, sending him flying for a few feet before hitting the ground, creating a trench in the dirt for a couple meters before skidding to a halt. He had been launched so far away, even Pinkie was surprised at her own strength. Rainbow Dash recovered first and called tauntingly in TD's direction.
"When you say you're going to kill somepony, kill them! Don't talk!" she taunted, then added in a lower tone to her friends, "Now we definitely need to get moving."
"Yeah..." Fluttershy spoke, half shocked as she stood up on her hooves again. Applejack passed a nod to Rainbow as all of them galloped away from TD as fast as they could. It wasn't until they were gone before TD stood up again, passing an impressed smile to them even though they were far off with their backs to him.
"Guess I do speak a little too much," he chuckled. "But how else can one like me make it interesting? Had I even used one-one hundredth of my power, I could've ended that just by blinking." He sighed in amusement. "But hey, battles have to be thrilling somehow. After all these years, I've almost forgotten what the thrill of a true fight feels like..."
"Okay... note to everypony present: NEVER be without a companion between the hours of six to seven o'clock in the morning," Starlight remarked once they were safe back in the Castle of Friendship, sitting around the map.
"Uh... does nighttime count too?" Spike asked randomly.
"Not so much; TD's usually asleep at the same we are," Twilight told him. "Usually..."
"You don't need to tell me twice," Fluttershy agreed to Starlight's earlier comment, as she was still pretty shocked from the event before.
"It's alright, Fluttershy," Applejack said to her. "He won't be coming back for some time."
"In the meantime, I believe we must find way to get rid of his... shenanigans," Rarity said sternly. "There must be some way of doing this, isn't there darling?" she asked Twilight.
"I'm... not sure what we can do," Twilight admitted. "Taking him on by force doesn't seem to work too well. We may have kicked his flank today, but that's only because he was being cocky and hoping for a good fight. If he wanted to, he could have killed us all just by blinking." She frowned. "But something about my time being his prisoner in that base, however short, is making me start to question whether fighting him is the answer."
"What?!" Rainbow Dash shouted in surprise at Twilight's remark. "What do you mean by that!?"
"So, what else we can do Twilight?" Applejack asked. "We can't let him do whatever he pleases, can we sugarcube?"
"I agree with Applejack," Rarity nodded. "What other options do we have here?"
"I don't know," Twilight stated. "There's something about him... I can't exactly describe it. It's like... he doesn't want to do any of this, yet he hides it from us with the mask of the villain he wears around us. I heard him in his sleep last night... he sounded broken inside, as if harboring a great deal of pain and not revealing it in public."
"Ah don't understand..." Applejack said.
"Maybe he's not that different from Discord..." Fluttershy suggested thoughtfully, and with a slightly sad and concerned tone. "Only more broken, and a harsh past... maybe he just doesn't have any friends... and he's just taking out his frustration... by toying with us...?"
"That... actually sounds pretty valid, Fluttershy," Starlight agreed.
"Aw! Underneath that meanie pants attitude, he sounds like he's just a poor soul who needs some healing!" Pinkie remarked.
"Okay, so let's assume that's the case," Rainbow spoke up. "And that he truly is just broken inside or whatnot. Do you really think he's going to just admit that, let alone stop fighting us long enough to actually talk to him about any of it?"
"Well, that's gonna be an issue," Applejack said in agreement to Rainbow. "What do ya think,Twilight?"
Twilight sighed. "I don't know. This is the worst problem I've had to face yet in all my years of being a princess. Even worst than Storm King, and we all know how that was like."
"Well, you guys know," Starlight corrected. "Trixie and I didn't get to see or much from our cages."
"It was so horrible," Fluttershy said with a hint of fear in her tone. "I'm glad he's gone now."
"So we all are, darling," Rarity said in reassurance. "But the problem at hoof is, how we're gonna talk with TD, and that's if he'd be ready too."
"We'll have to bring it up somehow," Twilight stated. "As bad as he seems to be... I can't help but feel sorry for him, and I'd hate to see him suffer like this."
"Maybe talk to him as you're fighting?" Pinkie Pie suggested. "If he won't stop fighting us, why not try to kill two birds with one stone and talk to him then?" She then added quickly in Fluttershy's direction, "Sorry, I just realized that was a bad one to use just now."
"Well, as crazy as that might sound, that can actually work!" Applejack exclaimed, then deadpanned and said, "Also, Ah don't see any other options to go with."
Now all eyes were on Twilight, waiting for what she had to say about this.
"I'm with Applejack. I don't see any other choice," Twilight commented. "I guess... we can give it a shot."
"Works for me," Rainbow Dash unexpectedly announced. "I could do it, but he better not play dirty."
Rarity was silent for a while before she finally spoke. "Well, looks like now we've got a plan to work with."
"It would seem so," Twilight agreed.
"If you ladies are done with the debating..." Spike gave a yawn. "I think it's time for resting now?"
"But it's barely even noon," Starlight pointed out.
"You really gonna argue after facing TD again?" Spike asked.
"Point taken," Starlight muttered.
"Ah guess Spike's right," Applejack said with a yawn. "We should get some rest now."
"Then I officially say this meeting is adjourned," Twilight announced, then started to leave the room. "Anypony following?"
"Well..." Pinkie gave it some thought, then nodded. "Okay! I could use the nap anyways after staying up all night to track you down, Twilight."
"How did you find her anyways?" Rainbow Dash asked her. Pinkie looked to her, then smirked as she gave Applejack a subtle wink that was not seen by the others.
"A party pony never reveals her secrets," she said mysteriously, while Rainbow Dash and Starlight just rolled their eyes.
"I guess I can take some rest too," Rarity said and left the room, followed by Applejack and Fluttershy, and then Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Starlight and Twilight were the last to leave, with Starlight talking to Twilight about their decision and Twilight's discovery.
"Are you sure that there's truly some good in him that can be redeemed, Twilight?" she asked.
"I saw good in you once; I believe there's some in him too," the alicorn replied.
"I hope you're right... for all our sakes," Starlight said, then they both left the room for a well-earned rest.
Welp! First chapter of TD's villainous deeds in Equestria is posted!
Now to be clear of a few things, I do not expect this to be a very long series; I expect it to be rather short. At max, the most I would expect to see in it is between five to ten chapters. So don't ask for more please, because chances are there won't be any more after that limit.
All that aside, I hope you enjoyed and I'll talk to ya in the next chapter!
Edit: Forgot to do this last time (because, brain fart); thanks to Admirer Boy for his help in this chapter!