//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Home Team // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// After Twilight’s knock on the door, there was a pressing silence for one long second, and then the sound of half a dozen bodies scrambling around the room. Frantic whispering was followed by a few doors opening and shutting. Twilight took a half step back, rethinking her plan and suddenly panicking that she’d taken the wrong course of action. She was caught, though, when the door squeaked opened a crack. One blue eye and a curl of pink hair poked out. “Oh, hey Twilight.” Twilight froze in place, doing her best to appear less anxious than she felt. She nodded. “Hello. We haven’t been introduced - formally, that is. M-may I come in? It’s very important.” “Well sure,” Pinkie said, throwing the door wide open. “We wouldn’t let you in if we had something to hide. Nope, nothing here.” The others facepalmed. Emboldened by progress, Twilight said, “Please drop the act. I know who you’re hiding, and I need to talk business.” Reluctantly, the other Twilight emerged from the closet where she had been stuffed. She was quickly back to her curious self, however. “How did you find me? Oh my gosh, we should compare likes and interests to see how well the two universes match up. Unless that would cause some sort of paradox by the two of us existing simultaneously-” Twilight held up a hand, interrupting the other. “We might be able to discuss it later, but right now we have a problem on our hands. Something terrible is happening at the school.” The other Twilight nodded. “Oh yes. The girls told me about it. Based on my research, I think they’re sirens. They feed on negative energy and have some mood control powers. That would explain why everypony isn’t getting along right now.” “Do you know how they got here?” Twilight asked. Her counterpart said, “A book I read indicated that Starswirl the Bearded banished them from Equestria to another world.” Twilight looked at her sharply. “You sent them here?” “Well, I didn’t, but I can see your concern.” The pony-Twilight flushed. “Sorry.” Nervousness at meeting her alternate-universe self forgotten, Twilight demanded, “Do you at least know how to stop them?” There was a long silence. As it dragged out, Twilight stared at her double harder and harder until she finally admitted, “Not really. B-but I'm working on it!” Twilight sighed and put her hands to her face. “When I see Principal Celestia again, I’m going to ask her to tell her pony equivalent to stop using Earth as a dump. This is twice in six months we’ve had to deal with your problems.” “Hey, you can’t talk to her like that!” said the small dog Twilight had noticed earlier. “She’s a princess.” Twilight stared at him. He looked remarkably like her own puppy. Making an assumption, she said, “Spike?” “That’s me!” he replied. “Wait,” alt-Twilight broke in, “did you say six months ago? That was when Sunset Shimmer…” She trailed off and her eyes went wide at the memory of that night, getting a personal look at Sunset’s brains. “Did you kill her?” “Well, I didn’t, but I can see your concern,” Twilight said flatly. “You sent your problems to us, so why do you care how we handle them?” “Um,” broke in Rainbow Dash, “I hate to say it, but that makes a lot of sense.” The other girls reluctantly nodded in agreement. Applejack put in, “Not saying killing is right, but a lot of people have been shot for doin’ a lot less than tryin’ to zombify a high school with mind control.” “But we could have reformed her!” the princess argued. “We had the Element of Magic, my tiara, and-” “Which you don’t have now,” Twilight pointed out. “So what’s your plan? Can you do anything that doesn’t revolve around magic?” She hadn’t meant to put such a hard edge in her voice, but that didn’t change the fact that the visitor from the other universe didn’t have an answer. That is, until she stuttered, “Well, it was the magic of friendship that brought me here.” Twilight raised her eyebrows and looked at the other girls. “It happens sometimes when we play,” Rarity explained. “It has to be awesome music, though,” Rainbow clarified. Turning back to the princess, Twilight said, “I’ve done a little reading about your world. Starswirl the Bearded was one of your best magicians, right? If he only managed to kick the sirens out of your universe, what do you think five amateurs with a band are going to do? What kind of planning and setup is it going to take to get them into position and playing while three supernaturally powerful beings are trying to stop them? Whose universe would we be kicking the sirens to if they succeed? It would be astronomically easier to solve the problem the human way.” “K...kill them?” Twilight stared at her. “Do you have a better, nicer, permanant solution ready to go?” “But they don’t deserve such a severe punishment!” the princess argued. “They haven’t threatened anypony’s life!” Twilight stared at her. “If they had, would you then say killing them was justified? Like with Sunset Shimmer?” The princess stuttered. Twilight looked away. “Ponies are compassionate, I get it. But almost none of you ever make hard decisions or take responsibility. Celestia, I admire. It took courage for her to send her sister to the moon for a thousand years. I haven’t seen another example even close to that.” “My friends and I reformed Princess Luna when she returned and stripped the darkness of Nightmare Moon from her!” the princess said. “Magic can work, you just have to give it a chance!” Twilight stared at her. “My friend Megan has something called the Rainbow of Light. It’s magic, the most powerful force for good in this world. She’s used it to kill people who had it coming. People like Tirek, from another universe. I understand your world fought him twice, and then merely locked him up, waiting to escape again. Clearly that reforming magic isn’t as good as you make it out to be.” The princess stuttered, but had no reply. It wasn’t easy for Twilight to hold her poise for long, however. She dropped her eyes from the demoralized face of her counterpart. “I should get going.” She turned for the door, but paused. “Thank you for the information about the sirens.” Twilight was almost out the door when Rainbow called, “Hey, wait! We want to help!” Twilight looked back, studying them. They knew more about magic than just about anyone else in town. They wouldn’t need to be brought up to speed on the situation. But they weren’t prepared. Megan had shown Twilight the realities of the world, and for months Twilight had been conditioning her mind for what she might have to do. She didn’t think it was possible that these girls could share her mindset, not easily. “Just...stay out of the way.” Twilight continued out the door. She returned to her car and got in, sitting for a moment to take stock. Megan might be compromised. It made sense that Twilight should go to Principal Celestia. If she hurried, Twilight might catch her still at the school. Getting back to Canterlot High, Twilight went in the front door. She paused in the foyer, a strange novelty in visiting a school not her own. Maybe this was what Twilight Sparkle the pony had felt, although probably stronger at visiting a world not her own. It was easy to find Principal Celestia’s office. Twilight knocked on the door and immediately tried the knob, finding it open. Celestia wasn’t there. Twilight paused, but decided to enter the room anyway. There was a flyer on the desk for the first annual Canterlot High Battle of the Bands. Twilight noted that a pre-competition party was being held in the gym that very afternoon. It was certainly possible that Celestia was there. Twilight left the office and hurried for the gym. A lot of students were already present, and Twilight spotted Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk, recognizing them from their profile pictures. To her horror, they were chatting happily with Megan and Principal Celestia. She backed out the door to conceal herself in the hallway, mind racing. Who could she go to for help now? Twilight gulped. “Okay, it’s good that I don’t have any friends, because by now I should have learned how to operate all by myself. I hope.” Twilight was still quietly pep-talking herself when someone laid a hand on her shoulder. She spun, finding herself facing a guy with blue hair. “Who are you?” His distractingly fluffy eyebrows went up. “You don’t remember? I’m Flash Sentry. We met about six months ago?” “Doesn’t ring a bell,” Twilight said, although she realized what he was getting at. “You might have me confused with someone else.” That seemed to satisfy him, although he looked disappointed as he walked back to his band. Twilight’s eyes followed him, until she was once again interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. This time, it was the Rainbooms. “What are you doing here?” Twilight hissed. “We didn’t know you were going to be here,” Rarity replied. “And anyway, this is a meetup for all the battle of the bands participants,” said Rainbow. “That’s us.” Twilight glanced around. “Where’s...other Twilight?” “She went to the library,” Applejack said. “Somethin’ about research.” That sounded like a great idea, although Twilight was pretty sure there was no book to help with the predicament she’d found herself in. She glanced again at the crowd in the gym. Megan was so close, yet might be so far out of her reach. “I know we asked earlier, but we’d like to do anything we can to help,” Fluttershy offered. Twilight wrestled with the decision for a few seconds. “There is one thing.” “Name it,” said Applejack. Nodding towards the gym, Twilight said, “I need to speak to Ms. Williams. If there’s some way you could get her to come out here, I would appreciate it.” Pinkie grinned and pulled a can of whipped cream out from behind her back. “Consider it done!” Twilight was waiting in the restroom a few minutes later when Megan came storming in to wash whipped cream off her face and clothes. “I thought you were supposed to be watching those five,” she spat as she turned on the sink. “You seem irritable,” Twilight said carefully. “Is something going on?” “I got sprayed in the face by a pink psych patient,” Megan grumbled. “When I called you earlier, they were in the middle of the spell. Twilight from the other world must have given it to them before she left. She’s here now.” Megan looked up. “Where is she? We need to find her.” “I don’t know,” Twilight said. “But she told me that we’re probably dealing with sirens. Apparently they feed on negative energy and have some way of inducing that in people.” Out with it, Twilight decided. “And I’ve noticed that you’re being very negative today.” Megan had begun to dry her face, but stopped. She stared at Twilight. “I had to go back to high school for the first time in years, to pretend to be a teacher, during the chaos of organizing a band competition. And I just got attacked by a dessert topping. Yeah, I’m pretty negative.” That hadn’t occurred to Twilight. But if their roles were reversed, Megan would want proof. “I just wanted some reassurance that you weren’t being swayed by the sirens.” “Twilight, I think I can handle myself.” “It wouldn’t take much for me to be sure.” Megan gave her a look. “What do you want me to do? Did you have some kind of test in mind?” Twilight tipped her hand up. “Maybe the Rainbow of Light?” Megan’s fingers subconsciously went to her blouse, under which the Rainbow of Light hung inside its locket. “You don’t just bring this thing out on a whim. It’s got the power to destroy buildings and pull lightning from the sky. I wouldn’t want to unleash it in a bathroom.” “Then how am I supposed to know that you haven’t been affected?” Twilight argued. “Well, I could tell you what I’ve learned while stalking the sirens today,” Megan offered. “How they’ve been spreading anger and aggression among the student body. How they plan to use the Battle of the Bands to their advantage. How those red gems all three of them wear on pendants are apparently used to draw in negative energy.” Realization dawned on Twilight. She flushed. “Sorry. I guess I should have just asked that question to start with. You probably wouldn’t tell me what you’d learned about the sirens if you were under their spell. I feel stupid that I doubted you.” “There’s nothing wrong with caring about someone,” Megan said. “That sounds like something a pony would say,” Twilight observed. “Just because humans are more pragmatic doesn’t mean we can’t have our moments.” Megan glanced in the mirror and finished fixing her appearance. “All right. I’m going back in to see if I can learn anything else.” The two of them exited the bathroom together and Twilight walked with Megan to the entrance of the gym. However, she could tell at a glance that the sirens weren’t there. It may have been her imagination, but the party seemed a little more upbeat since their departure. “I was hoping I could get them alone so I could have a frank discussion about their intentions,” Megan said. “It would be a lot easier to let them know ahead of time that any hostile actions would have consequences, so they would think twice.” “That will placate Twilight,” Twilight said. “She’s very anti-violence.” Megan looked at her. “Since when have we cared what ponies think?” Twilight shrugged. Megan looked back into the gym. “I think I’ll go have a chat with the Rainbooms. They might know something interesting.” “I suppose it’s fortunate that they have a band name. It’s easier than continuing to call them ‘those girls,’” Twilight giggled. Megan smiled. “The sirens call their band the Dazzlings, by the way. Their songwriting isn’t very good, but they do seem to harmonize well.” With a nod to Twilight, she went into the gym. Twilight headed for the library. Sure enough, she found the princess there with a pile of books. Most of them were textbooks, covering things like history, geography, and sports. Twilight touched a basketball book. “I didn’t know the two of us liked competitive activities.” “Well, we don’t,” explained the princess. “I was just making a comparative list of things between our two worlds. With the difference in body structure between pony and human players of sports, some of the rules would have to change. I wanted to see if there were any other changes besides those.” That made sense. Twilight said, “I’m surprised that the sporting equipment all evolved exactly the same between the two worlds. I would think that it would be more specialized for hooves.” “Well, we have to make the catchers’ mitts a different shape.” “Yes, but all the balls are exactly the same.” Twilight frowned. “Well, yours probably aren’t made of leather.” “That aside, I think you’re correct,” the princess agreed. “I’m fascinated by the multiverse, how two very different cultures could arrive at the same inventions.” “I wouldn’t think ponies would be very inclined to throw balls, or really much anything, what with hooves, different structure of the shoulder, and the abundance of magic.” “Hmm, that is interesting. I would almost say that humans are evolutionarily adapted to throwing things.” The princess frowned. “But then, what caused early humans to evolve that way? To learn to throw things?” “The simplest weapon in the world is a rock,” offered a girl with a monotone voice as she walked past. Neither of them had seen her approach. When she was gone, Twilight turned back to the table and shrugged. “She’s not wrong.” The princess looked aghast. “Are you saying that humans evolved to be killing machines?” Twilight held up her hands. “Hey now, ponies can throw rocks, too. That had to come from somewhere. In fact, doesn’t your military rely on throwing spears?” The princess blinked slowly, her mouth hanging open. Finally, she managed, “Despite that, the similarities end there. I don’t think I could be human. No magic, millions dead in wars. Your history books read like horror stories.” Twilight made eye contact. “Do you pity us?” Her counterpart considered it, but shook her head. “No. I think humanity would take it as an insult. And that is the last thing I want to do.” The two of them did not have much else to say. The princess went back to her books. Twilight left, heading back to the gym as the Rainbooms arrived to invite their pony friend to spend the night. Twilight managed to catch back up with Megan and they talked about plans going forward. It didn’t seem like they were going to be able to find the Dazzlings again that night. “We know where they’ll be tomorrow,” Megan said. “The band competition will be right here in the gym, followed by the finale the day after at the hillside amphitheater.” “I’m not sure which I prefer,” said Twilight. “Being in the gym means less space for us to cover, but being outside could provide better tactical positions and better evacuation routes. Given the choice, I’d prefer outside.” Megan nodded. “We’ll adjust tactics as necessary. Get some sleep and find yourself some earplugs. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be loud.”