//------------------------------// // Friends On the Other Side // Story: Let Them Wonder // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// 'I've never understood why people care for this drink so much,' Diana mused while she sipped at the hot coffee. The bitter drink didn't appeal to her in any way, but since Celestia was the one that bought it for her, she figured that the least she could do was finish it. Across the small café table sat both Celestia and Luna, both of whom were gulping down their drinks while doing their best not to shiver from the cold. Diana spared a glance behind her to see the snow and wind pounding away on the café windows, chilling nearly every patron in the café aside from Diana. She had been to the depths of the underworld before. Compared to that, the cold of the world she was in was easy to deal with. "Oh, that hits the spot," Celestia said with a sigh, putting her steaming drink down and clearing her throat slightly. Sensing that the conversation was starting, Diana placed her mostly full drink on the table and leaned in closer. "I'm glad to see that you're doing well, Diana. How goes the break for you?" "Boring, mostly," Diana said. "I miss talking and interacting with the students." "Well, you'll be getting to meet with them sooner than you believed," Luna said. Diana raised an eyebrow at her wording as Luna slid a paper to Diana. "Cinch made another call the day after school let out. Apparently she wants to move the first two events up from February to when school gets back in. The very first day back, she demanded that we have the trivia contest." "That woman sure is annoying," Diana muttered as she gazed over the paper. "Glad to see that she's willing to let us chose half of the questions...ah, but there's the catch. She wants her school to be the one to construct the obstacle course. Did you already agree to these terms, or did you do the smart thing and wait until you spoke with me?" Diana sighed as both Luna and Celestia shared the same bashful smile. "I will need to speak with Twilight and Sunset to make sure that they know that they had less time than we thought," Diana said as she rose up from her seat. "Thank you for the drink and telling me about the change." "Speaking of changes, we heard that you placed Rainbow Dash back on her soccer team. I honestly didn't know that you could be so kind," Luna poked with a coy smile. "I'm actually a very kind person, Luna. It's just that most of the time, kindness isn't the best solution to the problem at hand," Diana replied as she picked up her scarf and wrapped it around her neck. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I have other matters that I must attend to." Diana walked out into the blizzard lost in her thoughts. 'So Cinch wants to gain the upper hand, does she? She wants to make Sunset lose, that much is clear, or else she wouldn't have asked to build the course. Which means I need to train Sunset even harder than I was. Cinch is in for a nasty surprise if she thinks Sunset will go down so easily.' Glancing around to see that she was the only person on the streets, Diana decided that speed was of the essence. She kicked off of the snow covered sidewalk and hurled herself into the sky, gliding along the icy air currents as she concentrated on the magic of her lasso. Diana followed the trail of magic to find that it led to the mall. Landing away from the eyes of the shoppers, Diana moved swiftly into the shopping mall. She wiped the snow off of her coat as she glanced around at all of the shoppers, able to feel the magic of the lasso somewhere within the crowd of people. 'So many people. These places are always crowded around this time of year, but this is just ridiculous.' Diana had to literally push her way through the crowd of people, which wasn't too difficult for her, given her strength. Some people tried to shove her to get by, but Diana never noticed those who found that she was unmovable. She followed the trail of the magic into a clothing store, a smirk crossing her face as she figured which of Sunset's friends had dragged her into that place. Upon entering the store, Diana's senses immediately picked up on a high-pitched squealing in the back of the store, one that made her wince slightly. "Oh my goodness darling, you look absolutely amazing in that dress. No don't move, I have at least five other outfits that I want you to try on." A large smile crossed Diana's face as she spied the group of friends near the changing rooms, with Fluttershy and Sunset both wearing fancy dresses. Rarity was tearing apart the clothing section across from them, leaving Fluttershy and Sunset to glance at the other's outfit. "She's not wrong. You do look cute in that," Sunset said to Fluttershy, who glanced at the floor sheepishly. "Yes, but I don't think it's my size. In fact, it's a little tight," Fluttershy admitted before glancing up to see the teacher approaching. "Oh, hello there Diana, I didn't expect to see you here." "Hello, Fluttershy. I'm glad to see that you're doing well," Diana greeted before glancing over at Sunset, who was already halfway out of her dress. She tore off the rest of the outfit while doing her best not to rip it. She pulled the dress over her head to reveal her smiling face. "Hey Diana. Don't worry, I'll be ready in a sec," Sunset said while freeing herself from the rest of the fancy deathtrap. "Hey Rarity, put this back!" Sunset directed as she tossed the dress to Rarity, who turned around in time to catch the outfit with her face. "B-But it looked so good on you!" Rarity protested as Sunset fit her snowcap over her head. "Sorry, but this is important! I promise that we'll pick this up another time you two!" Sunset called out as she raced over to Diana's side, smiling up at the teacher while also trying to put her coat on at the same time. "It is important, right? End of the world important?" "Not that bad, but I do need to speak with you," Diana said as she waved goodbye to Rarity and Fluttershy, who was now the sole focus of the fashionista. Diana waited until the both of them were out of the store before she began to talk. "Have you managed to get into contact with your friends?" she asked as the two stepped outside, noticing that the storm had died down significantly. "I sent them a message, but so far nothing," Sunset answered as she pulled out a brown book with a strange creature on the front. She flipped open its pages to show that they were all blank. "If they had responded, their writing would have shown up here. Sorry." "Do not be sorry. All we can do now is wait. Speaking of your friends, perhaps you can send a message to the Twilight of this world using that method of "texting"," Diana suggested. "Sure. What do you want me to tell her?" Sunset asked as she pulled out her phone. "Tell her that Cinch has moved up the date of the trivia contest. She has until school has started to study up on whatever subjects were given to her." Diana glanced down as Sunset typed out the message, but as she pressed send she gazed up at Diana with a serious expression. "If Twilight's contest was moved, that probably means mine was as well." "Correct. Yours will take place a week after hers," Diana replied. "Also, Celestia and Luna agreed to allow Crystal Prep to prepare the obstacle course that you will be running. So I expect that whomever they choose to run against you will know that course inside and out." "Of course Crystal Prep would play underhanded. So what are we going to do? More intense training?" Sunset asked as she slammed her fist into her palm, the smile on her face showing Diana that she relished the challenge. "Of course we will be training harder, but that doesn't mean that you will be going in blind," Diana said with a small chuckle. "I've had Athena watching that school when she's not watching you and your friends, in case Hades tries to do anything with those students. She'll be able to give us the details of the course if she finds Cinch trying to give her own student an edge." "And if she's not helping her student?" "Then Athena will not tell you anything about the course either. That way we can keep it fair," Diana responded. A buzzing sound then came from Sunset Shimmer's coat as the pair reached a crosswalk. Sunset pulled out her phone and glanced down at it, only for her eyes to go wide before she stuck the phone back into her coat and pulled out the book once more. "Your friends in Equestria finally respond?" "Yeah, Twilight sent a message back. She says that a barrier of magic around the world isn't too absurd, but she's going to need to do some research before she can know for certain," Sunset said to Diana, who glanced over her student's shoulder to see more writing appear on the previously blank pages. "She also says that if the barrier does exist, then she should have a few spell books that will be able to strengthen it to what you asked for." "I see. Thank her for me and ask her to hurry," Diana replied in a tone that held hints of concern. Sunset replied as Diana asked, but she gave her teacher a glance of worry as she closed the book. "You're afraid that Hades will try something?" Sunset asked as the light turned green and the pair of them walked across the road. "He's been able to keep up with everything that has been happening in this world. I wouldn't put it past him to figure out that we plan to keep him and his forces out for good," Diana muttered as her brow narrowed. "And if there is one thing I've had beaten into me more than anything else, it's that there is nothing more dangerous than a god running out of options. Hades will try something and soon, you have my word on that. The question is, what will he try?" "Well, it doesn't matter what he tries, because if he shows his pasty face I'll kick his rear back to the underworld," Sunset said with a laugh as she began to throw out quick and rapid punches. Diana shook her head at her student's words, but couldn't help but find herself smiling at her courage. 'She is a far different person than the girl I met when I first arrived here. She is a brave fighter and a kind heart. I wish there were more like her,' Diana thought before placing her hand on Sunset's head and messing up her hair. "While I would love nothing more than to watch you put Hades in his place, I also want to keep you safe. So please promise me that you won't do anything dangerous or take on any force that is beyond you." "Come on Diana, with your training I can take on anything that comes my way!" Sunset bragged, but then she caught her teacher's eye and her ego deflated. "Alright Diana, I promise that I won't do anything dangerous or take on a foe that's out of my league. Guess I'll have to settle for watching you beat the living crap out of them." "Thank you for laying some of my fears to rest. Now come, I believe it is time you were taught what it is like to fight on an icy surface," Diana said before she snapped her head around and gazed behind her. Even with her enhanced senses, it was still hard for her to pierce through the snow and fog with her eyes. 'For just a moment, I thought that I felt...Athena, keep an eye on the other girls. Just to be safe.' Diana then placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder and began to tell her tales of when she trained with her sisters. =wWw= "Finally that freaking owl decides to leave," Agatha muttered as the snow white owl that had been gazing down upon the school finally left its perch and flew off into the fog. The moment the owl was gone, Agatha glanced around to make sure that no one was watching her before she took off towards Crystal Prep's entrance. The doors opened before her and she rushed inside, keeping both eyes peeled to make sure that she was alone. "This place seems quiet enough," she muttered when she walked into the gymnasium, figuring that the only other students that were here were those that were studying with Cinch. She sat down on one of the bleachers and turned her palm over, revealing the black blade that hovered slightly above her skin. She let out a sigh as she pressed down with her finger, gritting her teeth to prepare for the pain. "And what are you doing here by yourself?" Agatha yelped as she leapt into the air. Her heart tried to punch out of her chest as she glanced over to see Crystal and Boulder walking towards her, the former giving her a glare. "Oh...it's just you two," Agatha muttered as she pressed her palms onto her knees. "Just us two? How about that Boulder, the first time she's talked to us in nearly a month and it's 'just us two'," Crystal said with a laugh before she sat down next to Agatha and gave her a stern glare. "You've changed, friend, and not in the way any of us wanted. You've avoided us, your classes, and all of your little club friends. What happened?" "Perhaps I finally got fed up with you and your attitude," Agatha suggested while giving Crystal a cold glare. Crystal sneered at her friend's words before standing up and holding out a piece of paper to her. "Cinch's orders. Seems that you've been selected to go up against Twilight in the trivia contest, since you're a black hole for useless information," Crystal said. Agatha glanced down at the paper with annoyance, but that was before she saw who had been selected to face Sunset. "Wait a moment. You're fighting Sunset on the obstacle course?" Agatha asked with the most emotion that Crystal had ever heard from the girl. "Yep. What, you think that I look this good without working out?" Crystal asked with a laugh before she snapped her fingers. "Come on Boulder, let's go and talk to some people that would be happy to see me." "But aside from me, I don't think that there's..." "Finally, I thought they'd never leave," Agatha muttered as the two walked off. Without waiting a second longer, she flipped her palm over and drove the sword into her hand, seething slightly as pain coursed through her hand. But then a mirror appeared in her grip and two red eyes appeared on the other side. "I had been wondering when you would decide to show yourself," Hades said in a dark tone. "I'm sorry that I couldn't bring Sunset to you, Master. She was far more skilled than I thought," Agatha admitted as she hung her head. "She is being trained by Wonder Woman. It is no surprise that Sunset has grown stronger," Hades scolded. "But enough about past failures. I have news. Diana plans to strengthen the magical barrier around your world, so not only does it keep me out, but it also blocks any force that I wish to send in." "But if she does that-" "Then I can't get my magic and you can't become a member of my forces," Hades finished for her. "However, the magic will take time to finish. So this is my task to you. Find out how Sunset is communicating with those who can strengthen the magic and cease their talks. I am depending on you." "Of course, Master. But...if I were to fail again..." "If you fail, then I will have to act sooner rather than later," Hades said in a very dark tone. "And that would mean unleashing a force upon your land that I cannot control...but before it comes to that, there is you, and then there is my strongest soul within my control. And I am certain between the both of you, you will not fail. Am I clear?" "Of course, Master." Hades' eyes then vanished, leaving the girl alone on the bleachers to wonder how she was going to get close enough to Sunset so she could stop her.