A/N: Hello again, everybody!
Here is Chapter Seven of Equestrian Smashers!
This one has a little more Ike, as I felt he wasn't getting enough attention.
Also, in response to a review from a guest: They said that I had forgotten some of the new Smashers. Well, this was written before the new Smash Bros started letting out the previews. So, no, I didn't forget.
I was thinking about starting to include them in the story, so if you want the new ones, REVIEW. I can't read minds, peoples. If you want something, bring it to my attention.
LinkDargon is my amazeballs beta reader!
Again, please review!
*Note: The 'port' mentioned in this chapter is not a place where ships are kept. Some of my older readers might know that port can also refer to a fruity type of wine. Good port tastes pretty darn good, too.
Crazy Hand was banned from fire extinguishers, as they all later discovered at an assembly. It also took most of everybody's free time in the morning to clean up the mess, so nobody really felt any sympathy for Crazy.
Other progresses had been made though, especially with Link. Link had began acting his normal goofy self again, but had no clue about what had caused him to turn into "such a butthead."
He did tell Twilight that he had a small memory of being attacked from behind by something white and knocked out.
"Then there was the strangest sensation- or it was a dream," Link told Twilight. "It felt like…like every happy emotion was being sucked out of my body and…and then…disappeared." He shivered, clutching both his arms to his chest. "It was horrible. I was horrible! I'M SO SORRY," he had wailed, clutching Twilight in a bear hug.
Everybody was much more relaxed now, and Twilight was glad.
There were a few issues weighing on Twilight's mind however, no matter how easy life was getting.
What was Master Hand getting at with telling her to only trust blue-eyed people? What should she do with the advice? Where was her room key?
And where were Pit and the Smash villains?
Twilight, unfortunately, had no answers to these questions.
Her room key had gone missing, Twilight finding out only when she had tried to get into her locked room after talking with Red.
Zelda, luckily, had bailed her out, using her magic to pick the lock on the door. Twilight had later-on Zelda's advice- asked Link if he could find it, but nothing had turned up.
And somehow, SOMEHOW, Pit and the Smash villains had managed to evade every single Smasher without getting caught. Nobody knew where they were.
"Twilight!"
Ike's voice brought her back to the present.
Twilight glanced up from the Smashers Index, catching up on Sonic the Hedgehog's information.
"Whatcha doing?" He craned his neck, trying to read the page. "Reading the Index, huh? For what, the sixth time?"
Ike snatched the book out of her hands. "C'mon Twi, either live a little or choose a different book."
"HEY!" Twilight proceeded to give chase to the offending blunette, who was wearing his biggest trollface.
She chased him around the gigantic mansion for a good thirty minutes, but eventually his days of battling overpowered her own stamina, and she collapsed in front of the gym.
Ike flopped down next to her, grinning like a maniac. Twilight looked at him, then they both burst out laughing.
Ike wiped a tear from his eyes. "Feel better?"
Twilight's eyes went wide. She hadn't known that she'd been a bit gloomy, but now she realized that something indeed had been weighing on her.
Ike smiled even bigger. "Well, Twi, remember that we're always here for you, even if we're being big assholes. And just be yourself. Think like yourself, then you'll get the problems solved the way that best suits you."
Ike stood up, brushing himself off. "Here's your book back, by the way," he said, winking, as Twilight sat up.
Ike sidled off, leaving Twilight clutching her book, wondering if she should write to Celestia about people surprising her.
Twilight scaled the stairs quickly, a plan formulating in her mind.
Ike had given her a few ideas to help organize her thoughts to a productive end.
First thing on the List: Make a list.
She had to know all of the blue-eyed Smashers before she could decide which of her friends were trustable.
Second: Talk to my friends.
If she was going to trust them, they'd have to know the truth about her pony origins. And certainly her friends wouldn't judge her any differently.
Third: Find Pit.
Even if Pit wasn't acting very friendly, she needed to know what was going on. He was her friend, and she needed to see if he needed help.
She arrived at her room, which was locked. Zelda had taught her a simple spell for locking doors that allowed her to lock and unlock them at will. Twilight was still getting used to it, because they didn't really need locks in Ponyville.
Oddly, though, the door was open.
Immediately, Twilight felt a chill come over her. Her heart began racing, and a heavy sense of foreboding fell on the room.
She crossed the room slowly. Every shadow seemed darker, and every sound seemed amplified.
The door creaked open, as Twilight shivered, wondering what she would find.
"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Ike was worried about his new friend. She was much quieter than his other female friends.
He had also picked up on some of her more obvious habits.
Like reading the Smasher's Index whenever she was stressed, even though she had probably memorized it.
This is why he had led her on a chase through the Mansion. She needed the exercise anyway.
When he left her, she had looked a little stunned, but also looked like a lightbulb had turned on over her head.
He wondered what he would do next. Days seemed to lag in between tournaments.
I suppose I could always prank Link…
"Did you find it?"
"Not yet, Mistress."
"It's crucial to our plan! We must have it! WHY DID YOU NOT GET IT?!"
Ike raised his eyebrows. This sounds interesting.
The voices-'Mistress' sounding surprisingly male- were originating from the library.
Okay, 'Mistress', what are you up to?
"I-it was not in the room…"
"THEN FIND IT, YOU MISERABLE EXCUSE FOR A MINION!"
Ike shivered. This Mistress was not very nice.
"M-mistress…we cannot attack her in broad daylight… You said so yourself…"
Ike heard a pause, as if Mistress was contemplating that fact.
"I did, didn't I… Well, then, we need some way to get it from her…"
"Yes, Mistress…"
Silence coated the library. Ike was beginning to wonder if they had both left when the minion spoke up.
"Mistress, I've had an idea-"
"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Ike spun and looked up, to where the scream had originated from.
He knew that voice.
And, apparently, Mistress knew it too.
"Tell me you didn't leave the room…!"
"M-mistress…?"
The Mistress let out a terrible scream of fury, and green light flashed from the library. The minion screamed as well, but it was a scream of pure terror.
Ike stood rooted to the ground, crouching where he was. His mind raced, wondering if he should go check on Twilight, or if he should see what exactly Mistress had done. He decided on the latter.
He didn't move until the corridor was deadly silent.
He stood, knees knocking a little, and opened the door to the library.
Green goo was splattered everywhere, even-somehow- on the ceiling. Remnants of an almost indistinguishable corpse were splattered in the middle of the circle of chairs.
It was-had been- four legged.
Ike started up in terror.
What if they got to Twilight!
He turned and ran from the library, running faster than he ever had.
Twilight's room was trashed.
No-that was an understatement.
It looked like Discord had married a tornado and had moved into Twilight's dorm.
Her bedcovers were hanging off of the lamps in her smaller study. Papers were strewn across the room, most of them in smaller pieces. Her mattress was torn and ripped, the fluff scattered across the bedroom like some wild animal had tried to eat it. Her desk was scratched and turned upside-down, the drawers and contents spread across the room. Her chest-of-drawers was looted, her extra clothes ripped and spread out around the room. Her books that Zelda had lent her were torn asunder and added to the mess on the floor. Furniture was scattered, turned over or in nearly impossible directions.
Twilight slumped to the floor.
What happened?
"TWILIGHT!" Zelda and Link screeched into the room, Link running shin-first into the table in the middle of the room. After Link hobbled around in a circle for a second, they both sat down on either side.
She was immediately barraged with many "Are you okay"s and "What happened"s.
"M-my room…" She lifted her hand feebly, before letting it flop back down by her side.
Zelda and Link both turned their heads.
And the color drained out of their faces.
"W-who would do this…" Zelda said, her face falling.
"None…none of the Smashers," Link answered, though a smidgen of doubt crawled into his tone.
"TWILIGHT!" Marth ran into the room, took one look at the room, and stopped dead in his tracks.
"TWILIGHT!" Ike screeched into the room, pile-drove Marth, and both went spiraling into the coffee table.
"Twilight," Ike looked up from under Marth's cloak. He looked genuinely scared, even more scared than Twilight. "Are you okay?"
Twilight nodded.
"Somebody ransacked her room," Marth told Ike, shoving Ike off of his back.
Ike went wide-eyed.
Zelda gave a wry smile. "I see you have something to tell us. Let's get back down to the kitchen and calm down. I'm sure Twilight needs some recuperating time."
Twilight sat on one of the stools in the kitchen, next to the counter, grasping a glass of milk as if it was a lifeline.
Link was nursing some pumpkin soup, Zelda a small bit of port, and Marth and Ike had some sort of potion native to their world she couldn't name.
She'd have to look into that…
Zelda immediately took charge. "Ike, tell us what you know."
He set down his glass. "Well, it's more of what I heard." He told them very quickly of what he had heard, of the male-sounding Mistress and her unfortunate minion.
"I also saw what had happened to the minion. I-it's still in th-the library." He choked a little on that last sentence, and Twilight knew it was positively terrifying. If something could scare this battle-hardened warrior that bad, it was nothing good.
The rest of the people in the kitchen knew that too. Hesitating tension that swirled in the kitchen was so thick it could have choked Twilight.
"Well, nothing's gonna happen without looking," Link said. "Let's go."
They were at the library shortly.
Zelda opened the door.
"Oh my Nayru…it's-"
"Empty," Marth finished.
"WHAT?!" Ike ran forward to the front of the group, shoving Zelda out of the way. "B-but…"
Everybody looked at Ike.
Ike turned pale.
"It…was here…"
Twilight knew what this was.
Ike's description of the green goo reminded her of an awful lot of an Equestrian villain's method of containment. They might have seen Ike come in, and cleaned up. If this villain was indeed Equestrian, then it was aiming to split apart their friendship.
"I believe you, Ike."
Four pairs of blue eyes turned and stared at her.
Ike was the first to recover. "Really," he said, hope glimmering in his voice.
Twilight cocked a hip. "Of course. In Equestria, friendship is magic. One of the most essential lessons in friendship is to trust your friends. If you say it was here, then it was here."
Marth and Zelda glanced at each other, wondering if she'd gone crazy. Link stared at her, stuck on 'friendship is magic.' Ike smiled weakly at her.
Twilight sighed. One day, she needed to sit these Smashers down and teach them a bit about her ongoing studies.
"Anyway," she continued, "the green goo reminds me of a villain in Equestria. If this Mistress is indeed acquainted with Equestria, then it knows the magic of friendship. It will try to isolate Ike by making him into a liar in his friend's eyes."
Understanding dawned on the blunettes and brunette faces. Link blinked dumbly.
"Also, I didn't tell you guys this before. I think I've had contact with this Mistress and a minion as well. They were screaming about a book and how somebody still has it. They were also talking about some plan, and…I think they were trying to impersonate somebody."
Silence reigned in the hall while everybody soaked in that new information.
"But…then that means that we can't trust anybody," Marth blurted. "Not even our friends! How is our 'friendship magic' going to help with that?"
Twilight shook her head. "I don't know. But I do know this: we can trust each other."
Twilight was taken aback. Suddenly Master Hand's warning made sense.
"That's it…" She shook her head. That only made the situation more dire. "We need to get to the bottom of this. Nobody is safe anymore, not with this Mistress roaming around and impersonating people. Let's see if we can find out anything else. Keep an eye out, and later we can meet up and share our findings."
Everybody nodded.
Twilight turned to leave.
"Hang on, Twi." Link's voice came from behind her. "You seem to not be telling us an awful lot. Is there anything else that we need to know?"
"… No." Not right now.
