After an hour or so, everything had started to calm down. Of course, trying to calm down Principal Cinch was the biggest problem, who still had a hard time trying to comprehend everything that happened out in the playing field. Everything was going well as she had seen, until the giant dragon and wolves made of timber just shattered her reality. Principal Luna wanted to explain, but she didn't have any logical or sensible way to explain outside of 'magic'.
And at that point, everyone was given the release to go home early. There was nothing else to do for the day, and everyone needed to try and calm down from all the action. So with nothing else to do, this meant only one thing; goof-off time!
The Shadowbolts (after getting Indigo Zap and Rainbow Dash to recover from the crash) all pulled themselves together and started to go towards the Canterlot Mall. I mean there was nothing else to do, so why not a little bit of some freetime? Although it was going to be a little awkward considering how big of an impact they put on the city.
Upon walking inside, the Rainbooms all slowly started becoming paranoid. There was a ton of people in the mall today, and half of them knew exactly who they were, judging by the looks on their faces. The Rainbooms felt like there were invisible daggers all ready to jab at them, a thousand pitchforks and torches already prepped.
"Why so tense?"
The Rainbooms broke out of their paranoia of a trance.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Why do you girls look tense, you look like you just saw a ghost," Indigo asked with a raised brow.
"Oh, it's... it's nothing," Rainbow quickly said, trying to avoid the obvious and just keep moving.
Rainbow quicky skipped ahead, once again, avoiding the question. Indigo could tell something was up, she just knew something wasn't right. And she didn't need to have Sugarcoat's honesty goggles to see it.
"Hey, anyone want a smoothie or milkshake, or anything?" Sour Sweet asked.
"No thanks, darling!" Rarity replied.
"I'm good!" Fluttershy answered.
"Oooh, me! Me me me!" Pinkie Pie jumped like a little girl.
"Okay, that's one for Pinkie Pie," Sour giggled. "Indigo?"
"Yes please."
"Me too!" Lemon yelped, equal to Pinkie Pie's energy.
"Anyone else?"
No one answered.
"Okay," Sour said, accepting the answer from her surroundings. The group stood by, waiting for Sour to finish the order.
As they waited, a few more people from the sidelines (mostly from every day passerbys) gave the Rainbooms some glares and sneers. They weren't gonna do anything to them, but they didn't have interest to talk to them. But they broke free from their glares when Sour Sweet came around with their shakes.
"Alright girls, so where do we go? We've still got half a day left!" Indigo grinned.
"Hmm, anyone wanna hit the arcade later?" Lemon asked.
"I'm in!" Pinkie Pie smiled.
"Count us in!" Rainbow nodded.
"And I know there's a video store up on the next level, I think they released some new stuff up there!"
"Not to mention the cool Geek'N'Shop just across the tattoo parlor?" Lemon winked.
"Maybe even stop by for a little beautification over at the hair salon?" Sunny Flare asked.
"Why pay hordes amount of money when you do it to us for free?" Sour asked.
"Come on, lets just head upstairs! Race you to the top?" Rainbow Dash smirked, letting her competitive side unleash a little.
"Wouldn't try it, not in a crowded place like this," Indigo said, completely ignoring the challenge she was offered. And she led everyone up the escalators to the second floor, letting Rainbow and her shoulders droop.
"Party pooper."
She followed after the group, going upstairs with the rest of them. As they walked, their heads went back and forth as they ogled some of the shops in the vicinity of the wing. A store that held work clothes, eh, bland and boring. Tattoo parlor? Eh, no one was willing to get one and even then, they could figure their parents wouldn't be so happy if they went and did that. Cute little plushie shop on the right, lots of kids went in to build stuffed animals.
"Wait, what's that?" Rarity asked.
Sunny Flare turned her head, looking in Rarity's direction. "Oh that's the karaoke bar, it just got finished a few weeks ago."
"Oh. I guess I never noticed it."
But it wasn't just the bar she noticed. Inside, she could also see someone was performing! Someone with a calm, relaxed but still classy sounding voice! There was only one girl she knew who could sing like that... and she had a familiar cyan and blue hairstyle...
"Wait, is that that Vinyl girl you were talking about? Wasn't she the chick who shot all that electricity at that dragon?" Lemon Zest asked.
"Yep!" Pinkie chirped.
"... I gotta meet her."
"She's not a celebrity, Lemon," Sour pointed.
"Yeah, but she's one of the girls who saved our butts!" Lemon rolled her eyes.
"Touche'."
"What is she singing anyway?" Indigo asked, sipping her milkshake.
"Ohhhh, I think I know! I passed by the practice room a few times, our, friend, err, acquaintance from school was practicing this song!" Pinkie explained. "Though it's weird hearing her sing about guys from Cloudsdale, she hates Cloudsdale."
The Shadowbolts hissed.
"Cloudsdale? Oof," Lemon hissed sharply. "My cousin attended that school, he dropped out after two weeks."
"My sister's boyfriend tried going there as well. She hated it," Sugarcoat replied, as blunt as ever.
"Sounds about right," Rainbow nodded.
"Why was that acquaintance of yours even singing about that to begin with?"
"Well apparently she went to that school, until she and her sisters got picked on for too long, and then one day, boom! They snapped and ran like heck."
"Can't say I blame them," Indigo shook her head.
"Shhh! Listen!" Sour shushed, trying to hear the song that the violinist was singing on the stage.
I’m just not into Cloudsdale City guys
I’m just not into guys who go start fights
I’m lookin’ for a boyfriend, someone who shares my pain
And Cloudsdale men are playboys who never use their brain
Unlike other handsome men who are strong and not afraid
Of commitment or relationships, I won’t name any names
"Huh. Ooookaaay then," Sunny Flare said, unsure how to respond.
"I'll give her credit for her singing, but I have to take points off for her lyrics. Kinda forgettable, and unoriginal," Sugarcoat said, delivering the same dry tone as always.
Applejack turned her head at her. "Wow, you really don't sugarcoat things, do you?"
"I don't," Sugarcoat said, bluntly.
"We're still trying to get her to understand the concept of when it's okay to be blunt and when to be nice," Indigo said, patting her friend's shoulder.
"I know I sound hurtful when I speak. But I don't intend on hurting anyone's feelings," Sugarcoat said. "And I know you can't tell either, but it's the truth."
As the girls all continued talking, Rainbow Dash could see Vinyl was walking out of the club after accepting her applause and bowing to the crowd. She walked out of the karaoke bar, phone pulled out of her pocket. She hit a few buttons, texting to one of her friends, or was it her mom? Rainbow didn't know, she didn't see her phone screen. Even then, she didn't really care what was on there.
"Uh, hi," Rainbow faintly stammered, trying to be polite and wave 'hello'.
"Ah! Oh, Rainbow Dash," Vinyl jumped. She paused for a moment to fix her hair, feeling some of it fly out of place from the startle, and adjusted her dressy clothes. "What, uh... what are you doing here?"
"I'm just hangin' out, t-that's all," Rainbow brushed her arm. "I, uh... I think I made some new friends with the Shadowbolts."
Vinyl, for once, smiled at the athlete. "Really? That's great!"
"Heh, t-thanks," Rainbow blushed. "So, um... at CHS, um... do you, have, superpowers now?"
Vinyl nodded with a straight face. There was no denying it at this point. She had been gifted superpowers, and there was no better way to say it.
"Wow, that's... that's pretty cool. I'll admit, I'm jealous."
"Don't be. Trying to get full grasp on them is a pain in the behind. I only just figured out how to shoot lightning bolts earlier today, I'm still trying to find out how to not shut down all the power in a single building."
The rainbow-haired girl looked around the wing of the mall. The shops marques were still well lit and the interiors of the stores (the ones that were open) were still showing plenty of power."There's plenty of power now, isn't there? So obviously you have some grasp of it."
"True, but it happens out of nowhere," Vinyl complained. "Be thankful you don't have to deal with this..."
Rainbow Dash's head and shoulders sagged as she looked away. "Yeah, I guess so."
Vinyl heard the pain in her voice. "Oh, Rainbow, I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean like--"
"--No, no, it's okay," Rainbow interrupted. "I guess... I guess it just hit me of how big a jerk I was. I..." She tried to look the musician in the eye, but she could barely do it. "I'm... I know there's no way you'll be able to forgive me, but... I'm sorry."
Vinyl smiled, walking over to the former captain of all of CHS's teams. "Look, Rainbow Dash. It's clear you are sorry for what you did, and you're obviously making some efforts to try and become a better person. That's really good. Just remember," she put a finger under her chin to raise her head up. "Chin up, everything will be okay."
"You say that, but... how do you know?"
The violinist beamed. "I just do."
Rainbow chuckled a little. "I wish I had your confidence."
"It's not confidence. It's just hope," Vinyl winked. She began to walk away, keeping that classy walk as she always did. Up straight, good posture, looking confident and positive as ever. Something she picked up from her mom and dad which helped her make some good friends.
But as she walked away, a thought had just occurred to the rainbow haired girl.
"Hey, uh, Vinyl?"
The violinist stopped. She turned her head back to stare. "Yes?"
"Um... t-thanks," Rainbow replied, genuinely trying to be nice.
Vinyl smiled back. "You're welcome, Rainbow."
And so she set off on her way. And as she did, Rainbow quickly picked up the pace and followed her group of friends again. The group wandered down the wing some more and stopped in front of a small shoe store. Some of the girls went inside to get some, while the others just chose to sat outside with the benches. As they waited, Applejack reared her head around and stood up with a smile on her face. Her childhood friend had shown up again, and was shopping in the same mall as everyone else.
"Rara!"
Her celebrity of a friend gave her an embracing hug, though this one longer than the others.
"Rara, you okay?"
"I am, I'm just... I'm so happy you and everyone else is okay. When those things showed up, I... I don't know. I was scared."
Applejack smiled and patted her friend's shoulders and gave her another hug. "It's okay. We're all alright, Rara."
Rara smiled. "I'm happy. So, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, just, hangin' out, that's all," Applejack shrugged.
Just then a loud gasp interrupted the silence, followed up by a fashionista zipped up in the space between AJ and Rara. How she got there in that quick of time was still a surprise, they almost didn't see where she came from!
"You... you're... she's... what... how..." Rarity hyperventilated, trying to accept the reality around her. The famous Countess Coloratura was right here, with Applejack of all people! She was here!? A famous celebrity like Countess Coloratura... was here? She had to repeat this several times in her brain just to see if this was just an illusion.
"Um, hi," Rara smiled.
"Rarity, this is Rara. She's my childhood friend. She's the new girl at CHS we heard about," Applejack explained.
Rarity squealed and giggled in delight like a little girl. "Oh my goodness, darling it's such an honor to meet you! I am one of your biggest fans!"
Rara giggled. "Thanks. Nice mohawk by the way."
Rarity squeaked. "Y-You like... you like my mohawk?"
"Yeah, it looks pretty cool."
And Rarity fainted right on the spot, smack on the ground. Sugarcoat just sipped her drink with a neutral face.
"Great. Another fainter."
Sometime later, the girls were now all hanging out in Lemon Zest's home. They offered a variety of places to go, but they chose to go there mostly because Lemon's home was more fun. She had tons of music, video games, food, she had it all! She was like the perfect party queen you could go to if you needed a good time.
And that's exactly what everyone was having; a good time. No longer feeling the stress from the games a few hours ago, but just chatting, laughing, enjoying each other's company. Right now, they were all hanging out in the living room. Indigo Zap, Rainbow Dash, Sugarcoat, and Applejack were trying to take on each other in a co-op battle in the video game Lemon put in. Needless to say, it was intense. Not intense as an actual war, but in their mind, it was very intense.
"Indigo, you got her in your sights, fire, she's charging the plasma rifle!"
"Can't, I'm invisible!" Indigo said, gritting her teeth.
"Okay, AJ, get Rainbow Dash," Sugarcoat ordered.
"I can't see 'er!"
"That's why they call it cloaking, cowgirl," Rainbow quipped.
"Alright hold on, I'm going to get the tank!"
"We said no tanks!"
"There are no rules in Tartarus!!!" Indigo grunted.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie just stared in awkward silence as the four girls butted heads with each other in the game. Of course playing a game like this would have brought out Rainbow and AJ's competitive nature. It was bound to happen. And of course no one else in the room was just as competitive as the four nutjobs in front of them, but they just kept any comments away and giggled a little bit.
"Really competitive, aren't they?" Sunny asked.
"Yes, yes they are," Rarity shook her head, watching them go crazy.
"Hey you girls wanna go upstairs to my room?" Lemon Zest asked.
"Better than down here!"
And they all zipped upstairs to Lemon Zest's room in a cloud of smoke. And just in time too, because Rainbow was starting to get really ragey.
"Ergh, come on!"
"Hey, chill, it's fine!" Indigo replied. "We're gonna get them, just gotta--"
"Game Over."
And just like that, Rainbow screamed into a pillow, and tossed the game controller onto the couch. And walked right out of the living room and into the kitchen.
"Hey, come on! It's just a game!" Indigo called, getting up. "You two just play each other for a while, I'm gonna talk to her."
"Good luck. Yer' gonna need it. When Rainbow Dash loses, it's never a pretty thing," Applejack advised. The Shadowbolt captain nodded, and followed Rainbow Dash into the kitchen where she was still seething. "Why are you so competitive, you know it's just a game, right?"
Rainbow groaned, rubbing at her forehead. "I... I know it's a game."
"And?"
Rainbow shook her head. "I... I don't know."
Indigo folded her arms. "Rainbow, you know games are only meant for having fun, right?"
"I know, but... ugh, I don't know what's wrong with me! Every time I play one, either a videogame, or when I'm out in sports, I keep having this... this, compulsion, like everything's on the line. Like if I fail, then I fail everyone around me, I... you know what I mean?"
Indigo waited for Rainbow to finish, and gave her a soft and warm smile. "To tell you the truth... I do. I know how that feels."
"Wait, really?"
"Mmmhmm. Look, you just got to remember, it's all intended for fun," Indigo said as she wandered around, draping an arm over Rainbow's shoulder. "And even if you don't win, you shouldn't push yourself so hard. Nobody's perfect. Not even me! This just means you know you've got stuff to work on. You understand what I mean?"
Rainbow Dash ceased movement, thinking about Indigo Zap's little advice. "Yeah, I guess so." Indigo smiled. "Good. Now just remember, it's all in good fun." She stalled for a minute, thinking of what else to do now. But a grin slowly came back. "When AJ and Sugarcoat have their match, wanna play winners?"
Rainbow Dash perked up. "Oh you're on!"
"Sunny, I don't know about this," Pinkie Pie said with uncertainty.
"Oh relax dearie," Sunny rubbed her shoulders. "I can turn your hair into beauty!"
"I like my hair!"
"Oh come on, pleasssseeee? Let Sunny Fware do your hair, pweaaasee?" Sunny begged like a little kid.
"She's not gonna stop begging until you say yes. So just say yes for the love of all that is sacred!" Sour enticed.
"Ohhh, okay," Pinkie Pie gave in, making Sunny Flare 'squee' like a little girl. "Yes! Trust me, I am a professional! I take my hairstyle work very seriously!"
"But why are we your guinea pigs?" Fluttershy asked.
Sour patted Fluttershy's shoulders. "Because we need practice, silly. Also Indigo gets bent out of shape when we touch her hair, Lemon wants to keep hers in a 'butch' hairstyle as she likes to call it, and Sugarcoat refuses to let anyone touch her pigtails."
"And yet you're touching my hair, because...?"
"Oh come on, boo. You trust me, don't you?" Sour asked with an innocent smile.
"Um... yes?"
Sour squeaked. "Hehe. Now let me see..." She kneeled down so her head was on the same level as Fluttershy's. "I don't know about you, but I was thinking about maybe making your hair a little more... how do we say, vibrant? Lively? I don't know, your hair's a bit..." Sour ran her fingers through some of Fluttershy's hair, making her face scrunch up. "Your hair's pretty greasy."
"Gee, thanks for that," Fluttershy deadpanned.
"Look, I can still salvage this! With anything, it can be salvaged. I mean Sunny, you and Lemon managed to salvage the remains of Rarity's hair, correct?"
"Yep!" Lemon grinned.
"So this means, we can probably make something brand new out of this hair as well," Sour smiled. "Now what kind of style do you want, maybe something more lively, something radiant... something that looks more open and inviting, but still allowing you to keep that goth vibe you've got set?"
Fluttershy pouted, blowing a small strand of her hair that blew in her eyes.
"Hey, how I put some soft braids in? I won't tamper with your hair too much, I can just get some soft ones in there, maybe some beads... maybe something to fit your gothic nature?" Sour asked, giving a little wink in the mirror.
Fluttershy smiled at the idea. "Um, sure, I guess that could be okay."
"First thing's first, we gotta wash that rat's nest," Sour ordered.
"Wait, what?"
And two seconds later, she didn't know when, but suddenly she found herself soaked with tons of water and shampoo, hands running through her hair, lots of dashing around with snips and blows from the hairdryer, all sorts of noises she couldn't even make out anymore. And then a few seconds later, she found herself back in the chair she was before, with a fresh new look. Her hair looked the same, she didn't even know why she went through all of that to begin.
"Hang on..." Sour Sweet pulled up a mirror, turning it to the back of Fluttershy's hair. "What do you think?"
Fluttershy looked behind and gasped. Her hand moved back and she could feel the braids that were pulled into place, all nice and woven together like a bow. Of course, there was no bow, but she could see the braids were held by a few black beads and one of which was in the shape of a bat.
"... I like it!"
Sour fist pumped the air. "YES! I didn't screw up!"
"I think this could really work," Fluttershy said, feeling her hair.
"You've got the looks for it, hun," Sour giggled.
"Hey girls!" Sugarcoat called from downstairs. "Anyone want to order pizza? I'm gonna call the pizza guy!"
"Ooh, wait!" Lemon Zest and everyone zipped out of the room in a cloud of smoke, leaving Fluttershy behind. She turned herself around and looked back to her reflection in a mirror. She smiled briefly, but frowned at another thought. She may have a new look... but what would the rest of her friends think? Why did she even like this new look? Did some part of her want to look more outgoing and friendly? Did she really not want to look as scary as ever?
Or was there a deeper reason underneath? Did she just not want to be like this? Was it to impress someone? Nothing in the realm of common sense could conjure up such an idea in her head. At least, she thought so. Maybe there was...
"Hey Flutters! you want pizza?"
Fluttershy perked up. "Uh, be right down!"
She skipped out of the room, but stopped to look at herself in the mirror one last time. She felt the back of her hair again, still unsure of how she felt. But regardless, she went downstairs to join the others who were eager to order some delicious pizza.
Night came and everyone was falling asleep. Well, mostly everyone. Most of them were comfy in the sleeping bags and cots and air mattresses that were all set up, but Fluttershy couldn't sleep. Not just because she could hear Sugarcoat and Rainbow Dash snore like pigs, but there was much thought rampant in her head.
Carefully, she got up on her feet and slowly slipped past the girls, trying not to make a creak to wake them up frmo their slumber. She wound up going downstairs to Lemon Zest's kitchen, parking herself at the island countertop in the middle of the kitchen, on one of the stools. Her eyes just locking down at the drink she had gotten for herself, staring at the small splashes it made as she kept moving her cup side to side.
"Fluttershy?" A voice called.
The girl nearly jumped, until she saw the source of who was awake. Sour Sweet, wandering into the kitchen in her tank top and pajama shorts.
"You're up late. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"Can't," Fluttershy said, sounding unconvinced.
"Aww, I'm sorry. Bad dream?"
She shook her head.
"Queasiness?"
Shook her head again.
"Hungry?"
Same reply.
"Well then what's wrong, dang it!"
Fluttershy flinched, making Sour Sweet blush. "S-Sorry sweetie, I have that effect on people," Sour apologized while going to the fridge.
"You seem to have a lot of that... um. 'Sour' in your attitude, don't you?"
Sour raised a brow at Fluttershy's question, but giggled. "Yes, I suppose I do."
"Why are you even called that anyway?"
"Well," Sour began as she yanked out some chocolate syrup from one of the fridge shelves. "I have my 'sour' part from my dad's side, he taught me a thing or two on being able to stand up for myself and help stand up for others. And I got my 'sweet' side from my mom. She basically taught me how to be nice and, well, be sweet. I always believed it's how you get friends."
Fluttershy wilted. "I bet it's nice to have a lot of friends."
"Yeah, it is," Sour said, not looking at her and digging into the freezer for some ice cream. But when she closed the door, she saw the frown on Fluttershy's face. "Flutters?"
The goth girl looked up, seeing the hopeful smile on Sour's face.
"You know, if you want to talk about something, I'm more than willing to listen."
"I don't know," Fluttershy said, straightening her hair. "Last time I tried talking, I only end up scaring people away."
Sour pouted. If she wasn't going to talk, then she certainly would! "Hey, can I ask you something? How come you always seem so... oh, what's the word? Grumpy and angry?" Sour asked, trying her hardest to not be sour or sarcastic.
"O-Oh, um... well it's, uh..." Fluttershy stuttered.
Sour shut the fridge door behind her. "Yes?"
"Well... you promise you won't say a word?"
"Cross my heart, hope to die, hope a torque wrench hits my eye," Sour said, assuring her word.
"Well... okay. Truth be told... I think I like spending most of my time alone," Fluttershy admitted. "I don't know why, but sometimes when I'm near them I just... I... I just need to be alone. I don't hate them to the bone, but... ugh, what am I saying? I probably sound like the meanest person on the planet."
"No you don't," Sour shook her head, eating a spoonful of ice cream.
The goth girl blinked. "I don't?"
"No. To tell you the truth, I have a lot of days like that. Which is why for half an hour a day at my school, I like to move down to a small room I've got hidden for myself. I have a lot of trouble trying to talk to people or just maintaining myself in general, so every day I go down to that room so I can do what I need to do to recharge and get myself together."
"And your friends don't think it's mean?"
Sour shook her head. "No, of course not." She took another bite of her ice cream, but halted in between. "Needs sprinkles." She walked over to another cabinet, once again raiding Lemon Zest's sugar and sweets. She really needed to put a lock on that cabinet, and that was just to keep herself from inhaling that much sugar! "Look, Flutters. I told my friends. They know I need my alone time. Lets face it, everyone needs to have those moments where they just need time to be by themselves and detox for a period. Like I know Lemon Zest does, she seems energetic and giddy, but she's had a fair moment of very anxious episodes."
The goth girl raised a brow. "I'm sorry, Lemon Zest?"
"Mmmhmm. But that girl doesn't go to a secret room; instead, all she does is pace around to get her legs moving, listen to some of her favorite tunes, and then she's able to get herself right back in the game."
"Oh. I see. Well... it's not just that."
"Yeah?" Sour asked as she added a dash of sprinkles onto her midnight snack.
"Well, I... okay. Look. All my life, I've always managed to do things on my own. Rainbow Dash was the only real friend I made before I met any of the other girls. She... she defended me even when I could defend myself. I don't know why, but... when she did, I felt like I was... weak. But then when I started hanging out with Rainbow Dash and the other girls, I... I don't know. I felt like these girls were just like me. People who were all alone like me, though more depressing than me, but alone nonetheless. But these past few days, I... I don't know. Ever since we've been trying to be better people, I keep trying to force myself away from them but... I can't. I keep feeling like... I can talk to these girls, like it's okay to.... ugh! What am I saying? Every time I keep thinking about it, I'm just getting weak and soft!"
"Fluttershy?"
She looked at Sour who stroked her hand.
"Listen. You're not weak. You're a tough girl, from what I've seen. We're not so different, you and I. But afraid of letting people into your life and into your heart? No. It's not weak. You let them in, you show them that you really care about them. That'll be a sign to them that you actually do care for them, even in spite of how you act around them. And being afraid of seen as 'weak'? Closing yourself off from everyone and feeling... that's weak. But to open up and let them in... that's one of the toughest things you can do. So many of us have difficulties trying to figure out who to trust and who we can't. But it's those people that we get really close to and know for a really long time that are the ones we know we can open up to."
Fluttershy looked away, feeling embarrassed. "But... how will I know they won't make fun of me?"
"How do you know they won't? You'll never know if you don't try," Sour said, walking over and patting her shoulder. "Sometimes you just have to have faith."
She leaned over and pulled Fluttershy close, giving her a hug. Fluttershy didn't react, but slowly she pulled her arms around her and hugged her back. And even though Sour didn't see it, Fluttershy slowly smiled and a small tear leaked down her face.
"Sour?"
"Yes?"
Fluttershy pulled her closer, hugging her tighter, and whispered.
"Thank you..."
Thunder and lightning clapped outside, the beginning of a storm to come. Canterlot was no stranger to stormy weather, so everyone just accepted it as a usual thing.
At the Sparkle home, the wind blew hard outside, making all the trees and bushes rustle. Lightning and thunder clapped outside, and a few branches of the tree banged against the roof of the laboratory shed. Inside, Twilight Sparkle was steaming in anger and frustration as she looked at the work before her. If her face could turn any red, she'd turn into a volcano and burst.
Twilight snarled and stared at the machines she was surrounded by. Was she crazy? No! She knew what she saw, magic, pure and simple. It may be difficult to explain, but once she had contained it, it wouldn't have just made a scientific discovery of the century. No, this would save the planet, keep it from spinning into more chaos and destruction. Magic released before had a giant raging she-demon running around, a five-headed Hydra monster, and a three-headed monster the size of a Titan!
She wasn't going to let any of this slide. And those girls with superpowers? Oh no. She had seen enough. Someone had to do something, and dang it, if no one would... then she would. It was time to take action. But first; she would need to do a little modification on her capture device. There were six girls; six girls, six pieces of magic to contain. If she needed to contain it all... she would need to make the containment unit in her pendent stronger and maybe a little bigger...
She gripped a drill in her hand, holding the trigger to hear its bit spin around as she faced her technology with a grimaced glare.
"This time... I'm doing things myself."