Authors note: As I mentioned in my blog post, I have taken so long because I wasn't happy with this chapter and kept re-writing it. Since no one responded my offer plea for a proofreader, I posted this chapter anyway. I will still accept almost anyone that applies through my blog post, though.
-/\-\/-/\-
Beep
Beep
Beep
Darkness
Beep
Beep
"Can you hear me, Stereo?"
"Luna?"
Beep
Beep
"Stereo, please, say something! We don't have much time!"
"I can hear you! What's going on?"
"C'mon, Stereo! You can do it!"
Beep
Beep
"Help me! What's happening, why can't you hear me?"
Blinding Light
-/\-\/-/\-
"...levels are still unstable, I don't know how long he'll last."
Light
"But why? Can't you fix it?"
Soft
"Not by myself, I need..."
Purple
"But none of us even have..."
loud
"I do! You're just too..."
-/\-\/-/\-
There was too much - light, color, texture, consistency, sound, smell. Coherent thought wasn't an option at the time; too much energy was being wasted on sensory input and keeping his eyes open.
"...One in eight million!"
Too much sound... the constant interchange of violently urgent voices swirled above like a hurricane.
A purple or white, or maybe green blob materialized ahead.
"Ahh!" was the first noise that came out of his throat, completely involuntary and in response to a sharp pain radiating from his shoulders.
Pain
"...careful, but kee..."
Coherent thought still escaped him, his mind a mess of sounds, colors and feelings.
Tingling
"NO!" Sweetie Belle?
Bright
White
Warm
Contraction
-/\-\/-/\-
Eyes quickly reduced to pinpricks, Stereo sat bolt upright.
"Ahh!"
The mess of lights, colors, sounds and feelings were sorted and processed quickly, making way for logic, speech and thought.
Noticing Sweetie Belle, he quickly thought to yell, "SWEETIE'S MANE IS PINK" like it was a life-changing discovery.
A chuckle was heard from behind. "At least it's more original than 'where am I,'" a familiar voice said. Whose voice was that... he knew it well...
"YOU'RE TWILIGHT!" He screamed, relieved to find the answer that he was after.
"Darling, are you quite alright?" another concern-laden voice from a pony out of view said.
"Don't talk, Rarity!" Twilight hissed, although Stereo wasn't aware of who it was. "You'll confuse him!"
Damn right he was confused. Colors, sounds and pictures were still flooding his brain. It was unable to keep up. Then everything went black again, but this time it was different somehow. Then his sense of hearing left, enabling to slowly become numb to the world around him. Before long, his hearing returned.
“…Think It’ll work?” Stereo’s ears twitched at the sound of a familiar voice. An image of the white mare with the expertly curled mane appeared in his head, but with no name to go with it.
“It should do, reducing the sensory input should enable him to catch up. I only hope it happens quickly.” Another pony he knew. This time, the name ‘Twilight Sparkle’ came to mind; no image was there.
“Let’s try the eyes, now,” Twilight said. Stereo’s vision slowly returned to him. The blurry equine shapes above him looked familiar – purple, white, mint, another white, and blue. They began to clear into ponies he could identify by name.
“Try talking,” Twilight commanded. “Use small words.”
The haze clearing fast from his mind, Stereo understood. “You are… Twilight Sparkle,” he said. “I am Stereoheart. I am here because… because… neck… necklace!”
“I need to get rid of necklace!” Stereo continued triumphantly, before naming all of his friends present. “You are Rarity… and Lyra, Sweetie Belle, and Aqua!”
“Oh no, he’s delirious!” Rarity cried. “He’ll never understand what to do!”
Ignoring her friend, Twilight pressed further into Stereo with questions. “You know how to get rid of the necklace. Can you do it?”
Stereo cocked his head to the side, giving a confused look.
Facehoofing, Twilight simplified her speech. “Take. It. Off.”
Nodding in comprehension, Stereo began to concentrate. A glow began to form in the Amethyst quaver of his necklace.
“How does he use magic in this state?” Rarity asked with both curiosity and amazement.
“Magic requires concentration, not necessarily coherent thought,” Twilight explained. “He knows what he needs to do, and he’s doing it without really thinking.”
“I didn’t know we worked like that,” Rarity said.
“It’s like reaching out for an object with your hoof,” Twilight clarified. “You don’t need too much thinking to achieve that.”
“I guess that makes… wha?”
Seeing Rarity’s gaze drift towards Stereo, Twilight looked at him also. She had a similar reaction to Rarity, giving a gasp as she saw the brilliance that was Amethyst. "Oh Celestia..."
The brilliantly shining purple stone was slowly dissolving, as was the necklace itself. The disintegrating gem's lavender-colored particles flowed into his cutie mark, making it glow. The necklace did the same, its golden particles streaming into his horn like a river of honey. As the procedure finished, Stereo shuddered briefly, before sitting bolt-upright and screaming.
Pouring with sweat, Stereo breathed heavily. "That..." he began, "that was intense!"
"What happened?" Sweetie asked worriedly.
"How did you do it?" Twilight said at the same time.
"Why can you talk?" Rarity added.
"How about you explain your side," Stereo asked as he shivered on the spot, as if being attacked by a blizzard.
"We already know what happened last night," Twilight said. "You tried to teleport and passed out, so Lyra brought you here."
"Twilight wasn't here when I arrived, but Spike let us stay for the night," Lyra said, continuing the story. "She didn't show up until about seven thirty this morning."
"The poor dear had an encounter with a Cockatrice in the Everfree Forest!" Rarity explained, taking over from Lyra. "Fluttershy rescued her, and they were together when I picked up Sweetie Belle and Opalescence. Twilight invited me over for some tea. After a stressful trip home from Canterlot, how could I decline?"
"Wait, Canterlot?" Sweetie asked. "I thought you were..."
"Not now, Sweetie," Rarity said desperately. You will not mention this to anypony until we talk of it later, understood?"
Nodding, Sweetie began to talk. It seemed that she had let her sister's instructions roll in one ear and out the other. "Anyway," she began," Twilight hooked you up to that magic monit... moni... moniter, and said that it was really low. So I... I kinda... helped to fix you a bit."
"Don't be humble, Sweetie," Twilight encouraged. "Stereo would be an earth pony by now if not for you."
"Can you explain it to her?" Sweetie pleaded with Twilight. I don't get all of it anyway."
"Nodding, Twilight continued the story. "You were getting dangerously low on magic," she said. "You were minutes away from turning into an earth pony. I was the only compatible magic donor, as indicated by our similar magic colors. The only problem was that I was low on magic from the Cockatrice incident."
"So how did you charge me back up?" Stereo asked as he continued to shake.
"That's were Sweetie comes in," Twilight explained. "Her magic is white; universally compatible over all magic types, whether you have it blue, red, yellow, green or purple."
"Your horn was cracking, and your cutie mark was starting to disappear," Aqua said, "so she held you still to try and put magic in your horn. She did after a while, then Twilight did the thing where she turns your senses off to let your brain catch up. That took about three or four hours."
"The rest is history," Lyra concluded.
"But I heard Sweetie scream," Stereo said. "At least, I think it was her. She yelled 'no.'"
"I wondered about the exact same thing," Rarity said. "You were concentrating so hard. Why did you scream?"
"It... it's silly," Sweetie said. "Besides, that's not important!"
"Your right," Lyra said. "You saved him. That's all that matters right now."
The adults all nodded in agreement, before Twilight started explaining exactly how come Stereo almost turned into and earth pony. Losing interest at what was for him old news, he turned to face Sweetie Belle. She wasn't there, but instead was browsing a nearby shelf. Walking closer to her, the lack of weight around his neck was immediately noticeable. Missing was the physical labor of carrying it everywhere, as was the tangible draining force that Stereo hadn't even noticed until it was gone. It was liberating - and terrifying, disconcerting.
"Are you okay?"
Stereo snapped his head in Sweetie's direction. Blushing, he began to speak.
"Oh, y-yeah," he stuttered. "I just felt weird without the necklace."
"Twilight said that it was magical," Sweetie said curiously. "What did it feel like?"
Stereo scratched his head. "Uh... It was heavy?" he said, not quite knowing what to tell her. "And... I guess it... I don't know how to explain it, but it kinda made me... tired."
"What? But you were always doing things!" Sweetie countered. "You never looked tired."
"I didn't notice until it was gone," Stereo explained, "but know I feel so... pumped! I feel like swimming, and running, and climbing, and visiting Pinkie Pie!"
Sweetie gasped. "You must feel really energetic if you wanna hang out with Pinkie!"
"Yeah," Stereo said, before remembering something else that he had wanted to ask. "Sweetie, what were you screaming about before?"
"I told you, it doesn't matter..."
"Sweetie, it matters to me," Stereo said. "I really, really want to know!"
"Well," Sweetie began nervously, "it's just that... I knew that if you lost your magic, you couldn't play the piano. Your special talent would be useless. Then your cutie mark started to disappear, and I knew I had to save you."
"So, in a way," Stereo said, "you didn't save my life, but you saved my life."
"What do you mean?" Sweetie asked confusedly.
"You didn't stop me from dying," Stereo explained, "but you saved what I loved, and now I can still live a full life!"
"I get it," Sweetie said. "I think. It's kinda like if Rainbow Dash lost her wings, right? Or if Rarity lost all of her sewing tools."
"Exactly."
Now out of things to say, Stereo recognized to onset of an awkward silence. Thinking quickly, he excused himself.
"Anyway, thanks," he said gratefully. "I'm gonna go see if they're done talking." Stereo turned around and began walking.
"Wait!"
Stopping in his tracks, Stereo turned his head. "Yeah?"
Sweetie scratched her neck nervously. "Um... I kinda wanted to know if you... you know... wanted to hang out tomorrow?" She winced, as if expecting the ceiling to suddenly collapse on top of her.
"Sure," Stereo said without hesitation. "I'll come at nine in the morning, okay?"
"Okay!" Sweetie said in agreement and excitement. "Rarity's going gem hunting with Spike at about nine fifteen, though, so we'll be alone."
"I'm fine with that," Stereo said. "What are we gonna do?"
Sweetie opened her mouth to talk, but instead screamed as Aqua came up from behind and said hello.
"Don't do that!" Sweetie cried. "You scared me!"
"Oh... sorry," Aqua said quietly. "I just came to ask if Stereo wanted to come out swimming."
"I'll go," Stereo said. "I need to get rid of all this energy! You can come too if you want, Sweetie."
"No thanks, I'm going crusading today. We're trying to be 'Cutie Mark Crusader Radiotherapists.'"
"Okay, well Twilight said that we should go now if you wanna burn enough energy to have any hope of sleeping tonight." Aqua said.
"Okay then," Stereo replied. "Let's go!"
-/\-\/-/\-
As Stereo walked along side his friend in the busy Saturday market, he caught sight of a familiar dark green and black mess... or maybe it was a mane.
"Look, Aqua!" Stereo said to his friend. "Lightning's over there looking real bored. Do you think we should ask him to come?"
Aqua shifted nervously, and Stereo noticed a sudden and dramatic drop in the unicorn's confidence. "A-are you sure that's a good idea?" Aqua asked nervously. "I mean, what if he's busy?"
"C'mon, Aqua!" Stereo said encouragingly. "He's got no friends in Ponyville."
"He's got anger management issues," Aqua deadpanned.
"And he means nothing by it most of the time!" Stereo said in retaliation. "He's even learning to control it, but he can't unless he has some friends!"
Aqua sighed. "But what if he tries to hurt us?" he said weakly, fully aware of how little weight his statement held.
"Two unicorns against a pegasus," Stereo said, rubbing his chin in mock-consideration. He smiled. "I like those odds!"
Aqua just sighed again. "Fine," he said in defeat."
"Oh no you don't," Stereo said. "Aqua, I'm just worried about him. If you really want to just walk past and enjoy the day by ourselves I'm okay with that too."
"No, you're probably right," Aqua said. "And I need to work on my confidence anyway."
"Since when do you have confidence issues?" Stereo asked.
"Since when have we ever approached other ponies and you found out?"
"But with Tiara and Spoon at school..."
"I know their type," Aqua said. "I can handle whatever they throw at me because they throw it at everyone."
"Oh..." Stereo said, before changing the subject. "We're almost there, I'll go and talk to him first. You stay back here."
"I like that plan," Aqua replied, mimicking Stereo's earlier comment.
Stereo rolled his eyes with a smirk as he approached his wild-maned acquaintance. Maybe after this, friend! He thought.
Lightning was sitting on a bench just by a café. Alone.
Stereo walked up to him, catching his attention before even speaking.
"Hey," Lightning said unenthusiastically, without looking up. "What's up?"
"Aqua and I are going for a swim," Stereo said cheerfully in hopes of brightening Lightning's mood. Gee, when did I become so much like Frisky... and Pinkie? The disturbing thought barreled through his head quickly enough for him to continue talking. "Wanna come?"
"I dunno," Lighting said disinterestedly. "Why do you want me to?"
"Because you're my friend, remember?" Stereo said quickly, as if planned. "And you looked sad, bored, and all alone."
At the words 'all alone,' Lightning's ears picked up. He stared angrily at Stereo. "Are you implying something?" He growled.
Stereo thought quickly. "I'm implying that everypony in this town is so rude and mean that they exclude you for no reason."
Lightning calmed quickly. "That was a clever answer," Lightning complimented him. "Thanks."
"For what?" Stereo asked.
"I... I'm not sure what would happen if I hurt my only friend," Lightning began to explain. "I... I just can't control it sometimes... ever!"
"But you did," Stereo said. "And if you can keep doing that, then I won't be your only friend for long."
"I dunno..." Lightning said. "I'm pretty good at making enemies."
"Well," Stereo said, dragging out the word, "I've got somepony who already wants to be my friend!"
"Whadda you mean, 'already?'" Lightning growled.
"I don't even know how to save this one," Stereo said flatly.
"Nah, I'm just kidding," Lightning said cheerfully. "Who is he? What's he like?"
"Well, his name's Aquaflow, but we call him Aqua."
"Who's 'we?'" Lightning asked.
"Just me," came the reply.
"Oh, so it's the 'royal we,'"
A third voice joined the conversation. "The what?"
"Oh, hey Aqua," Stereo said. "This is Lightning."
"Hey," Aqua said with a shaking voice. "Nice to meet you." He looked down and away, making Lightning raise an eyebrow.
"What's wrong with him?" Lightning whispered.
"He's just... nervous," Stereo whispered back.
"But why?" Lightning replied, before a realization hit him and he rose to a shout. "You told him!"
"N-n-no!" Stereo cried in denial. "He's just smart and... figured it out!"
"An accurate inference requires sufficient data," Lightning said, quoting Miss Cherilee. "Or something like that. Either way, how does he know, eh?!"
"I'm sorry," Stereo uncharacteristically cowered under Lightning's shouts and glare. Lightning's hoof was raised in the air, as if to strike.
"Stop it!" Aqua cried, in an uncharacteristic outburst of his own. "Don't you dare touch my friend!"
"Wha?" Lightning's mouth hung slightly agape. "Since when do you talk?"
"Since you started hurting my friend," Aqua replied, somehow immediately resuming his calm.
"But he told you..."
"Not really," Aqua interrupted. "He just warned me to be careful. I already knew. Everypony knows, because you always do it in public!"
Lightning's face changed from anger to sadness, his eyes softening and his teeth no longer baring.
"I... I guess you're right," he said. "Stereo didn't do it, I ruined myself! I ruined everything!"
Aqua hugged Lightning in a comforting way as he began to ball onto the pavement. Stereo looked on in stunned silence, wondering what had happened.
"Shh..." Aqua said, trying to calm the crying pegasus. "I still want to be your friend, if that makes you feel better."
"What if it doesn't?"
"I still wanna."
"Th-th-thanks, Aqua," Lightning sniffed, his eyes no longer dripping. "I want to as well."
-/\-\/-/\-
"That was amazing! How... since when... wow."
Aqua smiled at the undeserving praise that Stereo was giving him. It was given as soon as Lightning had left Aqua's house - barely a second after they were back in his room.
"It isn't hard to be just a little caring," Aqua said. "I just did what Mom and Dad taught me - I was kind."
"Yeah," Stereo said, "but what about when you looked like you wanted to kill him, and then eight seconds later you were hugging him on the side walk!"
"Forgive, forget," Aqua explained simply. "That's it."
"Wow," Stereo said thoughtfully. "I have a lot of trouble doing that. Like when Tiara and Spoon were making fun of you; I don't know if I can face them and be nice!"
"You don't have to worry about that," Aqua almost-laughed. They'll say, 'oh, you're from Cloudsdale? That's such a big city, and it's the ice-cream capital of Equestria! We should hang out!' Then you'll say no, and they'll treat you like dirt."
"What if I said yes?" Stereo asked.
"They would be your only friends," Aqua said quickly. "All of the fillies and colts will hate you, even if you stop hanging with Tiara. They have no respect at school."
"Why did you only say Tiara?" Stereo asked observantly.
"I meant both," Aqua replied, before pausing. "Now that you mention it, though... some ponies think that Silver Spoon would be a nice pony, because she only tags along and does stuff when Tiara tells her to do. She even gets mad when Tiara's too mean, sometimes."
"That gives an idea," Stereo said mysteriously.
"Stereo, what are you thinking?"
"I'll tell you later, when it's all planned."
"Why not now?"
"Because I said so."
"Can you still tell me?"
"No."
"Please?"
"Boys, dinner!"
Turning their head to Aqua's bedroom door, both colts leapt up and forgot their playful argument. Nothing more than the promise of food was needed for a ceasefire to be called.
"Coming, Mom!" Aqua called as they raced down the stairs. "What's for dinner?"
"Nothing much," Lyra replied. "Just a good ol' simple spaghetti bog."
"Bog?" Stereo asked.
"Bolognese," Aqua clarified.
Looking over the expertly prepared meal, Stereo reflected on how, even though the strange and wonderful new fast food choices available at Rainbow's house were good, nothing beat even the simplest home cooked meal. And Lyra did not disappoint. The two boys tucked in, tired after an exhausting day of swimming, fun, and self-defense.
"Slow down!" Lyra said. "It's no race. You know what I'll do, Aqua!"
Aqua quickly sat straight up, a horrified look on his face. Stereo followed suit, looking confused.
"No, not in front of..."
Stereo took on the horror face as he realized what was happening - a flash, and then the sound of a polaroid camera printing a photo.
"...Stereo," Aqua finished in a deadpan tone.
"Why not?" Lyra asked cheerfully, knowing that there was no good reason that her son could put forward that would convince her not to take pictures.
"Because you're so embarrassing, Mom!" Aqua yelled. "Stereo's my first real friend! I don't want you to ruin it with your stupid camera!"
"I'm not going to..."
"Yes you will!" Aqua cried with a few tears on his cheeks. "It's your fault that Puff left!"
There was silence for a few seconds.
"I-" Lyra stammered, "I-I-I'm sorry, It wasn't entirely my fault! She would have moved anyway!"
"Aqua..." Stereo tried to say, before being cut off.
"And you promised that she'd come back and be my friend!" Aqua shouted. "I sat at the window almost every day waiting for her!"
"She will come back!" Lyra said confidently. "Do you think I don't miss Bon-Bon? We were all best friends; Bon-Bon and I, and you two, our children, Aqua and Puff Pastry."
"When, Mom?" Aqua almost growled. "You said that they would come back last year, and the one before that!"
"Stop it, Aqua!"
Both pairs of heads turned to Stereo.
"Your Mom has done everything for me; cooked, taken me where I need to go, let me sleep here, I could go on forever! Then you explode over a silly picture. Nothing that she does will ruin our friendship, because she is Lyra, and you are Aqua. Nothing that Lyra does can stop me from liking Aqua."
"I... she..." Aqua stuttered. "I'm sorry! She just... camera... and Puff..."
"Explain it to me slowly," Stereo said.
"Not now, maybe later."
"I don't get what the big deal is," Stereo said. "I never got any pictures of my foalhood. And I want to remember nights like this."
"Th-thanks," Aqua sniffed. "By the way, you've got sauce dried on your face."
"So do you," Stereo laughed. "You look ridiculous!"
"So do you!" Aqua said as they laughed at each other, previous argument forgotten. Both failed to notice a click and the sound of a picture coming out of the camera. Lyra eyed the photo she had taken of the two laughing boys.
"Perfect," she said cheerfully.
-/\-\/-/\-
*knock* *knock* *knock*
Stereo stood at Rarity's front door. The adorned purple wood swung aside before long, revealing Rarity and Spike.
"Oh, hello Stereo!" Rarity said happily. "You got here just in time! Spike and I were just leaving to go hunting for some new gemstones. Sweetie Belle said that you'd come by today.
"Yeah, she invited me over," Stereo replied.
"Well, we have to hurry," Rarity said. "Gem hunting is difficult and time-consuming business. Sweetie knows where ingredients are if you two get hungry and decide to make lunch. Just remember not to let her touch any of them. They may... combust." She said with a shiver.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Stereo said. "Anything else I need to know?"
"Not really," Rarity said. "Have a good time, You know where Twilight lives if there's an emergency, and my piano is your piano. That's all!" She finished as she left the boutique. "Auf wiedersehen!"
"Bye!"
Stereo wandered around the main boutique for a while, taking note of several dresses and other outfits lying around.
"Wow," he said aloud. "Rarity's a really good fashion designer."
"I know, right?"
Stereo turned to see Sweetie trot down the stairs to meet him.
"Hey," Stereo greeted her. "What do we have planned today?"
"Well, I was wondering if you could help me with something." Sweetie said nervously.
"Go on."
"Well... everypony keeps saying that I'm a really nice singer," Sweetie explained. "I'm not sure, though."
"You want me to listen to you and tell you how good you are? Stereo asked.
"And to maybe teach me how to sing really good."
Stereo's eyes widened for a second. "Whoa whoa whoa," he said. "I've never even sung in my life! I can't teach you!"
"Well, at least listen, okay!" Sweetie begged.
"I'm fine with that," Stereo agreed. "What are you singing?"
"Do you have any suggestions?" Sweetie asked as they trotted up to Rarity's piano room.
"I was thinking maybe Life in Equestria," Stereo said. "It's popular, so you should know the words, and I know the music."
"Fine, but if I screw up or you laugh, I'm never doing this again."
"Deal," Stereo said, before starting up the song's intro. It was a simple upbeat accompaniment with a walking bass. It only lasted for a few bars; very short bars, for Sweetie.
She began to sing quietly, her voice clearly shaking as much as her hooves seemed to be.
"Life in Equestria shimmers..."
Stereo gave her an encouraging smile. Sweetie appreciated it, and began to enjoy herself a tiny bit, slowly putting in more effort, volume and stability.
"Life in Equestria shi-i-ines!"
By the end of the song, Sweetie hyped enough to make a daring suggestion. "How about a duet?"
It was Stereo's turn to shake a bit. "I-I don't know..." he said. "I told you, I've never sung before!"
"C'mon," Sweetie said, inadvertently mirroring their previous conversation. "Just calm down, there's no one here to laugh at you."
"Fine, but just this once," Stereo agreed with visible reluctance.
"How about we sing This Day Aria?" Sweetie asked. "That's pretty popular as well!"
"That song brings a few bad memories," Stereo said. "Our 'parents' parodied it, singing 'No we do not love our boys, we rob them of all their joy.'"
"That's so sad..." Sweetie said. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay," Stereo replied. "I want to sing it. I know how to play and I know the words. Who's the evil character?"
"You, Stereo!" Sweetie laughed. "You would make a great changeling impersonator!"
"The song's message about that is silly!" Stereo said. "There's no way a changeling queen would impersonate a bride and try to marry her husband! It's ridiculous!"
"Fine, but you're still singing that part."
Stereo grumbled, reciting the chords of the intro in his head. Db, Db, Eb dim, Eb dim, Db, Db, Bb, Bb
He was ready, magically hitting the opening chords and preparing his evil face. With false confidence, he began to sing.
"This day is go-ing to be per-fect; the kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small. Ev'ery pony will ga-ther 'round, say I look love-ly in my gown; what they don't know is I have fooled them aaaall!"
Physically and mentally shaking, Stereo was glad when his turn was over. He sounded horrible! Shameful! Disgusting! He continued to play, moving the bass higher than the treble for the next 'dainty' part.
"This day was go-ing to be perfect, the kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small; but in-stead of having cake, with all my friends to cel-e-brate, my wedding bells may never ring for me at all..."
Stereo began to stop shaking as he vented his nervousness on the more violent part of the song.
"I could care less about the dress, I won't par-take in any cake! Vows, well I'll be lying when I say; that through a-ny kind of whether I'll want us to be to-geth-er, the truth is, I don't care for him at a-a-all!"
"No I do not want the groom, in my heart there is no room; but I sti-ill want him to be miiine!"
Stereo had enjoyed that part, running around the room while still playing with his magic on autopilot. His nervousness was gone - he felt alive. He continued Sweeties part, just focusing on her voice... her perfect, beautiful voice... She got to the 'for I oh-so love the groom' part, and Stereo's ears almost melted on the spot at the sound of her voice; her sound of desperation as she played the part of the pony bride. Then his part just so happened to come again. Just when he was enjoying her singing, too.
"Fin-a-ly the moment has arri-i-ived; For me, to be one lu-cky bride!Oh the wed-ding we won't make, he'll end up mar-ry-ing a fake, mi a-mo-re will be mine, all mine! A ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Sweetie fell on the floor and began laughing hysterically. "Your evil laugh!" She cried. So... good!"
"How about the singing?" Stereo asked, but had to wait for Sweetie to stop laughing.
"You can sing pretty good!" Sweetie said.
"But nothing like you, right?" Stereo asked.
"I think you're better," Sweetie said truthfully. "I sounded awful!"
"What?" Stereo cried. "You sounded amazing!"
"No I didn't, you're just saying that!" Sweetie replied.
"I'll record it next time then, and prove it to you." Stereo countered.
"Fine, but why have we stopped singing?"
Stopping to think, Stereo realized that he didn't really give a damn who was better. It was too much fun.
Stereo shrugged at the question. "I dunno. What now?"
"Equestria Girls?" Sweetie asked.
"I beg you, no!" Stereo pleaded.
"Please!" Sweetie begged. "Nopony will hear us!"
"Fine," Stereo said after some contemplation. "But only this once."
-/\-\/-/\-
"E-ques-tri-a Girls; we're kinda magical!"
"Boots on hooves; Bik-i-nis on top!
"Furry coats, so cute; we'll blow your... Oh sheiße.
"Well, I can excuse the language for the stellar performance!" A familiar voice said.
Sweetie's eyes shrunk to pinpricks.
"Rarity?!" she cried. "You weren't supposed to be home for hours!
"And Twilight?" Stereo said in a confused tone. "Why are you here?"
"I was just escorting Rarity home after an... incident," Twilight explained. "What were you doing, though?"
"Sweetie roped me into a duet earlier on," Stereo explained. "Then we did another, and another, and about five more after that until you came."
"Well, It was magnificent!" Rarity praised. "While the style of music isn't to my taste, both of your voices are simply heavenly!"
"Well, we did sing an aria before, if it makes you feel better."
"You have to show me some time," Rarity said. "While it's already a branch of your talent, I can see singing as being Sweetie's cutie mark!"
Stereo noticed a shine on Sweetie's flank. She's so close...
"Nah, I don't know," Sweetie said with a shrug. The glow faded. No cutie mark for Sweetie today.
"Rainbow Dash got back today," Twilight said, changing the subject. "After we sort out Frisky, everything will be normal for you guys."
"When do we do that?" Stereo asked.
"Now if you like," Twilight said. "I'm sure Frisky can't wait to get rid of that necklace."
"Okay, let's go," Stereo said, before addressing the other two in the room. "I had a lot of fun today, Sweetie. We should do it again."
"Yeah, I would like that," Sweetie agreed. "Next Sunday?"
"I'll be here at nine," Stereo confirmed. "If that's okay with you, Rarity."
"To have the boutique filled such angelic noise would be my pleasure, not my burden. You needn't even ask."
"Thank you, very much," Stereo said. "Have a good night,"
"Come on," Twilight said as everypony bade their farewell. "Let's go."
-/\-\/-/\-
Twilight Sparkle and Stereoheart approached Sugarcube corner, entering without hesitation. After hours, one would expect a bakery to be quiet, calm; deserted, even. Surprisingly, this one actually was for once. There were no parties, no games, no hyperactive pink pony, and no signs of Pinkie Pie related subspace disturbances in the area. All was normal.
“Where is everypony?” Twilight said, more to herself than to anypony else. Her question was answered anyway when Pinkie appeared in front of Twilight’s face, as if she had been lying down in front of her and simply stood up.
“Here I am!” Pinkie yelled, causing Twilight to backpedal while screeching loudly.
“Me too!” Frisky cried with equal enthusiasm, appearing in much the same way as Pinkie Pie did. “Did you like my entrance!” He asked Stereo excitedly. “Pinkie’s been teaching me!”
“Wha?” Stereo half said. “But… but how?”
“Sorry, but Pinkie told me not to tell anypony. It’s a trade secret.”
“I probably don’t even want to know,” Stereo said, before getting to the point. “Your necklace is dangerous, Frisky! I’ve gotten mine off, and you need to get yours of too!”
Twilight turned to address both of them after hearing that they were already on the subject.
“How do I do it though?” Frisky asked. “We’ve had them for years!”
“Stereo figured it out the other day,” Twilight explained. “All you have to do is use any spell, even levitation. Instead I focusing the magic through your horn, though, focus it through the gemstone in your necklace.”
“Uh… say what now?”
Pinkie piped up. “Oh! I get it!” she cried. “it’s like when we bake in the furnace! We usually make the steam and pressure go through the chimney, but if I forget to open up the chimney, then the steam forces open the furnace’s door and leaves through there!”
“That analogy is crude, yet remarkably accurate!” Twilight said. “Frisky’s horn would be the chimney, the gemstone is the door, and his magic is the steam and pressure.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie cried. “Genius Pinkie strikes again!”
“I think I get it now!” Frisky said. “Stand back, everypony!”
A similar procedure to that played the morning before played out; Frisky closed his eyes as the golden energy from the necklace went into his flank, while most of the green energy from his gemstone went into his horn. A small amount of grayish-white energy lingered around his back, but soon dissipated. What remained left everypony silent, and even Pinkie retained a shocked and serious expression.
“What?” Frisky asked. “What’s wrong, everypony? I feel great!”
“Your back…” Pinkie said, before pulling an upright mirror out of nowhere and placing it in front of him. Frisky stared back at himself, immediately noticing what they were all referring to.
Two white appendages stuck out from his back.
“I got wings?” Frisky cried in excitement. “Cool!”
“No,” Twilight said solemnly. “Not cool.”
-/\-\/-/\-
Frisky stood in the middle of the library with his brother, with Twilight, with Pinkie, and with Rainbow Dash, who had returned earlier that day. An enquiry had been sent to the Princess’, and now all that was left to do was wait. And test. Twilight continually tested.
“It seems that the wings that you have aren’t actually there,” Twilight explained after performing several scanning spells. “They’re made of magic.”
“Speaking of which, I can’t even use magic anymore,” Frisky said. “I’m a pegasus now. I didn't even notice that my horn was gone before!”
“How is this all possible?” Rainbow asked. “How does a unicorn suddenly turn into a pegasus?”
“He can't of,” Twilight said. “In fact…”
“Twilight!”
All heads turned to Spike, who came rushing into the room. “Princess Luna sent a letter. It has the royal Canterlot emergency delivery seal!”
Twilight took the scroll from Spike’s grasp, and opened it.
She began to read aloud.
“Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Stereo Heart, and Frisky;
Please report to me in Canterlot immediately. This situation is extremely ugent.
Princess Luna.”