9. Leygate
Sunset shouldn’t have been surprised.
When Selena had first posited the idea of the leygate being the Sirens means of escape, and how they were created by strong influxes of magic, Sunset deduced her actions at the Fall Formal had been the cause for the creation of one. Yet, when Sonata told Artemis to stop the car just a block past Canterlot High School, Sunset couldn’t help but ask.
“Really? It’s here?”
Sonata waved her hand. “It’s pretty close. We’ll have to walk from here.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out the car before Artemis turned the engine off. Pinkie made an excited squee and jumped out after her.
Artemis signaled to the rest of the carpool to find parking and got out himself. He popped his index finger into his mouth, then held it up into the air. “Hmm, there is some magic in the air here. I don’t know if it would be enough to create a leygate though…”
“Oi!” Rainbow walked over from across the street. “Why are we in front of school during summer break?”
Sunset pointed to Sonata, walking down the street in tandem with Pinkie. “She says it’s around here.”
“Wouldn’t someone have noticed a portal leading halfway across the world?” Rarity asked.
“Wouldn’t someone have noticed a demon ripping off the front of a high school?” Sunset countered dryly. “We got away with few questions asked on that one too.”
“I just hope no one wandered in on accident and got lost.”
Artemis and the rest of the Spectacular Seven followed Sonata past the empty faculty parking lot and behind the school, crossing the street into the small woods beyond. The tall trees provided some cover from the late afternoon sun.
Sonata slowed down and started placing her hands on the pine trees. She tapped her knuckles on one and stuck her tongue out. “It was around here somewhere…”
“What, is it camouflaged or something?” Rainbow asked.
“Yeah! We like, came out of a tree. It was so weird!”
Artemis nodded his head. “Leygates are meant to blend in,” he said with a slight begrudging tone. He kept a tight grip on his wand.
Twilight nervously placed a palm on one of the tree trunks. “Umm… do you remember what taking the leyline felt like?”
Sonata bobbed her head. “Oh yeah! It was like riding a super-fast rollercoaster! I wanted to do it again but Adagio said no.”
Twilight gave a weak chuckle and gulped.
They followed Sonata deeper into the woods, watching her touch and knock on every tree. Sunset could feel the tingle of magic in the air, but nothing particularly discernible. She knew Sonata was telling the truth about there having been a leygate, but was Artemis right in questioning if there was enough magic to support it?
“Sonata, Ah know you’re tryin’ your best, but maybe it ain’t here anymore,” Applejack said.
“I’m super duper sure it’s here somewhere!” Sonata said, a hint of desperation in her voice. “I’m telling the truth, for realsies!”
Pinkie gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. “I believe you! And we’ll keep looking until we find it!”
Rainbow folded her arms and leaned back against a tree. “I think—aaah!” Her scream faded into an echo.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy ran to where she had stood a moment ago. The tree trunk Rainbow had leaned against rippled like water and glowed with a soft light before returning to normal.
“Found it!” Sonata said, pointing excitedly.
Artemis stepped forward and put a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder to stop her nervous bouncing before poking the tree with his wand. It glowed and rippled again, like a reflection catching sunlight.
“Well, I’ll be a wizard’s uncle,” Artemis said under his breath. “An actual leygate.”
“Is Rainbow okay?” Fluttershy asked anxiously.
“Assuming there’s nothing dangerous waiting on the other side—”
With a loud huff, Sonata marched past the group—making an extra effort to bump Artemis—and jumped into the tree trunk. The light intensified and the tree rippled like splashing water.
Artemis pursed his lips but walked in after Sonata. Fluttershy dove after him the second his cape had cleared, and Pinkie ran in with an excited squeal.
Applejack stared after them. “Uhh, shouldn’t we wait to see if they can come back first?”
“That would be a wise decision, yes,” Twilight said, partially hiding behind Sunset.
They didn’t have to wait long. Rainbow stumbled back through the tree, waving her arms and catching herself as her momentum slowed. She placed her hands on her knees and doubled over, catching her breath for a second before jumping up.
“That was awesome! You guys gotta come check this out!” Without any more explanation, she jumped back into the leygate.
Sunset looked at the remainder of the group. “Well, that’s all the convincing I need.” She took Twilight’s hand and gave her a warm smile. “We can go together.”
Twilight gulped again, her hand shaking. She let Sunset lead her to the leygate, taking the slowest, smallest steps she could. With one more comforting squeeze, Sunset passed through the veil, pulling Twilight with her.
Passing through, the tree was nothing more than a light curtain. It brushed against Sunset’s skin but did nothing to slow or hinder her. The second all of her had crossed through, all gentle feelings were ripped away. Sonata had been wrong: this wasn't like riding a rollercoaster; it felt like Sunset had been strapped to the front of one of the bullet trains she had seen on T.V. No wind blew against her, just sheer pressure that pulled her lips back. She could hear Twilight screaming next to her, her hand glued into Sunset’s.
And in five seconds, it was over. Sunset stumbled out of the leygate, her legs carrying her forward before she fell onto a grassy dune, Twilight collapsing on top of her.
“I… hate… teleporting…” Twilight said between breaths.
“Technically that wasn’t teleportation,” Artemis said somewhere above them. “It was closer to lightspeed travel.”
Sunset raised her head to glare at Artemis. Instead, a pristine beach and a dark, glassy sea stretched out before her, a full moon lighting up the horizon. The wind was warm and brought the sharp scent of seaweed and fish.
Twilight rolled off Sunset and got to her feet, staring in awe. “We’re… we’re actually on the other side of the world?”
Sonata walked up and helped Sunset to stand. “Welcome to Greece!” She looked over at Artemis. “See, I told you I wasn’t lying!”
Artemis gave a begrudging nod. “Yes, it looks like I was wrong.”
Sonata blew a raspberry.
A gentle woosh made Sunset turn around. Applejack and Rarity tumbled out of the leygate as well, Rarity falling to her knees just as Sunset had. Like the portal in Canterlot, the island leygate was inlaid into the base of a tropical tree; one of many that marked the dividing line between the white, sandy beaches and a lush jungle.
“That was somethin’ else, even by magic standards,” Applejack said, leaning against a solid tree.
“Are we going to have to do that every time we come here?” Rarity asked.
Sunset knew the answer was yes but kept her mouth shut. Instead, she walked down to the shore. The waves gently ebbed and flowed over the beach. Under the pale moon, the sand was pure white. The island stretched on to her left, seashells dotting the dunes, while to her right, it gently sloped upward to a short cliff face.
A streaking jet of red light shot over Sunset’s head, making her jump a foot in the air. The magic blast sailed over the water before colliding with an invisible force and dispersing in a shower of sparks. A rippling wave of blue energy spread out from the impact point and curved up over the island like a dome.
“Ha! I knew it! My barrier is impossible to break!” Artemis yelled, more smug than normal. “Still the greatest wizard on the planet!”
Sunset rolled her eyes but turned around to face him. “So? What do you think?”
Artemis raised his arms and embraced the cool wind. “Far away from prying eyes. Plenty of open space. Easily accessible. Yes, I think this place will do wonderfully!”
Sonata blew another raspberry.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked. She ponied up and took to the air. “Let’s get started!” With one flap of her wings, she was halfway down the coast, a plume of sand left in her wake.
“Superhero training time!” Pinkie yelled, ponying up and throwing fireworks into the night sky.
*******
The next two weeks flew by in a whirlwind of magical activity.
The first night on the Siren’s island was mostly spent doing reconnaissance and gaining familiarity of the land with Sonata as their guide. The cave the Sirens had dwelled in for twenty years had been untouched and contained the remains of wooden utensils and fish carcasses. It wasn’t a wide island—less than a mile in diameter—but still had more than enough room for the girls to spread out and practice their unique magical abilities.
Sunset had to split her time working on both of her powers on top of martial arts training with Shimmer, something both women were hesitant to do. Even with protective gloves, Sunset had a trepidatious itch anytime Shimmer put a hand on her to correct her form, or whenever they traded blows while sparring. For anyone else, Sunset only saw into their soul whenever she was ponied up. Yet she and Shimmer still could read each other anytime their bare skin made contact.
“Maybe it has something to do with you being dimensional counterparts,” Twilight posited in between one of their training sessions.
It was the only hypothesis any of them could come up with at the time. Luckily, since Sunset had the most experience in martial arts tied with Rainbow, she needed the fewest lessons from Shimmer.
By comparison, the rest of Sunset’s training progressed in a smoother fashion. She alternated between ponying up and boosting her friends’ abilities, and going into phoenix form and practicing her fire powers.
Her soul-boosting powers, she learned, did have a few limitations. Whatever magical increase she gave to her friends only lasted a few minutes, and as Sunset quickly learned, she could not hand out augments ad infinitum.
One afternoon, after Pinkie had already come back for seconds, Sunset offered to boost Applejack to test the limits of her super strength. Sunset gripped Applejack’s shoulder and felt her soul pulse as she granted Applejack additional power. Only this time, when the pulse finished, Sunset felt her soul flutter. She stepped back, woozy and lightheaded.
Applejack hadn’t noticed. Orange aura glowing bright, she grabbed a large tree with one hand and lifted it up from the roots like it was nothing more than a turnip. She hurled it out to the ocean, where it collided with Aretmis’ barrier and dropped into the water.
“Golly, that didn’t weigh nothin’ at all,” Applejack said, looking at her hands.
“Yeah, super impressive,” Sunset said, still winded. She leaned forward and put her hands on her knees.
“You okay?” Applejack asked.
Sunset waved a hand. “Yeah, just—” She jumped a foot back as something burrowed out of the ground between her boots. Its black carapace caught the sunlight and glistened, its pincers looking especially menacing.
“Woah there!” Applejack shouted.
The scorpion clicked its claws and scuttled forward, looking between the two girls. Before it could pick an opponent, Applejack lifted her foot and brought it down as hard as she could, crushing the arachnid.
Her stomp was so strong, Sunset felt it reverberate through the sand. Only, it didn’t stop. The vibration carried up Sunset’s legs and dropped her to the ground, now rocking and trembling. The trees shuddered and the sand shifted, and Sunset heard confused cries across the island.
Applejack stared wide-eyed even as the rumbling died down. Palm leaves dropped to the ground around them, becoming as still as the surrounding landscape.
“Did Ah do that?” Applejack asked in whispered awe.
Sunset nodded, dumbfounded. She pushed herself back onto her feet and walked toward the sandbar. The silence of the island became eerie. Sunset looked out over the ocean and watched as even the lapping waves drew quiet, the tide receding and revealing seashells embedded in the sand. She looked out further and squinted her eyes. The faint line on the horizon grew taller, and the once-silent water began to growl.
“Oh no…” She snapped her gaze and looked down the beach, thinking quickly. “Rarity!”
Rarity blocked a punch from Shimmer before looking over her shoulder. “Yes?”
Sunset sprinted toward her. “Get ready to make a shield! Big shield! Super big!”
“Why?” Rarity looked out to the water, where the looming wave was much more visible now. “Oh…”
Sunset grabbed Rarity’s arm and gifted her a boost. The second she did, her soul fluttered again, harder this time, and Sunset dropped to the ground, exhaustion pulling at her very core. Her pony features vanished back into the aether.
“Sunset, are you—”
“Shield, now!” Sunset croaked.
Rarity gave her one more concerned look but lifted her hands. A wall of diamonds rose from the edge of the shoreline, spreading all the way down the coast and rising high above the island. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch as the tidal wave crashed against Rarity’s shield wall. The diamonds didn’t even flicker at the weight of the water, nor at the tree that Applejack had thrown as it came back and slammed into the wall.
Rarity held the barrier up until the water receded again to its normal levels. When everything seemed calm again. She dropped to Sunset’s side.
“Sweetheart, what happened? Are you all right?”
Fluttershy flew over and laid her hands on Sunset, restoring some of her energy, enough to where Sunset could sit up and speak again. “Yeah. I think I just learned what my limits are to my magic.”
She looked over to Applejack. “Let’s never do that again.”
Applejack nodded, shock still on her face.
The exhaustion Sunset felt reminded her of when she would deplete her mana when she was a unicorn. She and Twilight later hypothesized she wasn’t just using her soul to boost her friends’ magic, she was sharing her own magic with them.
Practicing with her fire abilities proved more straightforward. For one, it was easier to measure when she was running low on magic. Sunset learned to wield her flames in a more controlled fashion, and while she couldn’t dispel it once it left her hands, she could redirect it and pull the fire away from things she didn’t want burned anymore, similar to what she did in the aftermath of fighting Tempest.
The girls did their training in the mornings, making it the late afternoon in Greece. It gave them the rest of the day to go about their normal activities, provided they weren’t interrupted by some magical incident. With the increase in their training came the increase of weird happenings around Canterlot. They were still infrequent, and occurred in more remote places, but Sunset didn’t write them off as being random.
Adagio no longer appeared at these magical sites. Her handiwork now took place in the dead of night, leaving the girls to discover it through the news the following day. She had robbed banks, jewelry stores, and even taken a painting from the Canterlot Art Museum. She hadn’t been discreet either. Every time, law enforcement had caught her in the act, and every time, she had gotten away after causing property damage and bodily harm. A few unlucky civilians claimed to have crossed paths with her during her escapes. She would hurt them with her ‘unidentified foreign technology’, then continue her flight.
She was now the night terror of Canterlot.
“And we have no idea where she’s hiding,” Artemis bemoaned.
Her targets and patterns were unpredictable. Artemis had stayed up all night one night on magic watch to keep alert for her, only for Adagio to never show. It was an unfortunate agreement that, until they could discern Adagio’s plan or crossed paths again, the Spectacular Seven would leave her to the police.
“Has Shining said anything yet?” Sunset asked Twilight one day on their way to the leygate.
Twilight shook her head. “I think he’s been too busy. I haven’t gotten to talk to him since the wedding. I know he knows we’re connected to the things happening around the city, but since we disappear before anyone can really see us, he doesn’t have any proof.”
Twilight and Sunset spent as much time as they could together, though an increasing amount of that time was spent in Twilight’s lab. While her project for her internship competition had been completed, Twilight had taken to tinkering with more and more gadgets and gizmos. As a result, the girls had taken many trips to the junkyard to look for parts her 3D printer couldn’t generate. Night Light also brought in tools and pieces from Canterlot University. Sunset could no longer justify her teasing of calling the space a garage; it looked like a true lab now.
Sunset would have liked to drag Twilight out and spend non-study time with her. However, it seemed anytime they were about to have a leisurely afternoon, some magical incident interrupted them.
Sunset had a particular afternoon planned out: lunch and a spa date with Twilight after she indulged in another junkyard trip.
The summer sun shone down on them, heating the forgotten trash heap and amplifying the pungent aroma.
“I’ll never get used to the smell,” Twilight complained, pinching her nose as she led Sunset around the towers of dirt and discarded trash.
“You’re the one who wanted to go discount shopping for second-hand parts,” Sunset said. Her frequent ventures here with Flash years ago made her a little more accustomed.
“Last time we found a perfectly good motherboard,” Twilight said defensively.
Most of the junkyard was an unorganized heap of yesterday's trash and dirt. However, a far corner seemed to attract misplaced electronic leftovers. Computers, gaming consoles, microwaves, washing machines, and other modern appliances that never made it to the scrap yard where they belonged.
Twilight pulled out a pair of kitchen gloves from her backpack and began rummaging through the discarded machines. “I’m trying to find a few components that will make my Auto-Arm a little more flexible,” she said, referring to her internship project.
Sunset used her foot to roll a tire out of the way. “You’re gonna make me earn this spa day, aren’t you?”
“We won’t be here long, I promise.” Twilight opened the back of an old washing machine and began pulling pieces out.
“That’s what you said last time—ow!” Sunset turned around. The tire she had kicked away had managed to roll back and run into the back of her leg. She kicked it again, knocking it over.
“Look, I already found something useful!” Twilight pulled a suspension spring from the washing machine and held it over her head. “I’m going to dig a little bit more! Could you look for any flexible cables or wiring?”
Sunset crossed her arms. “You’re lucky you’re cute.” She walked off, spotting the remains of industrial HVAC systems. One of the face plates on the gray box was already partially unhinged. Sunset squeezed her fingers into the crevice and pulled with all her might, peeling the metal back. She took a look inside and frowned; the wires had already been chewed on by rats.
She looked over to one of the other HVACs. While rusting and coated with dirt, they looked pretty sturdy. Sunset doubted she could get in them without a crowbar or something similar. As she walked over to get a closer inspection, the HVAC behind her rumbled and whirred. She spun around and felt air drifting out of the grate in the front.
“What the…?” Sunset peeked back into the inner mechanism, finding the wires still gnawed and parts still missing, yet air was now billowing out of it.
“Ow!” Something smashed hard into the back of Sunset’s head, casting spots in front of her eyes. She gingerly cupped the new bruise and turned around, spotting a broken phone on the ground behind her. She turned her gaze upward trying to discern where it could have come from, then wrinkled her nose. There was something in the air, and it wasn’t mold.
The sound of crunching dirt gave Sunset just enough of a warning to jump out of the way as the tire she had kicked twice before came speeding at her. She rolled and hopped back to her feet as the tire skidded to a stop a few yards away, then proceeded to rev and roll backward.
“Twilight!” Sunset turned and ran, staying just ahead of the possessed tire. She swung around one of the towers of debris and found Twilight precariously perched on an old computer chair, reaching for a sheet of scrap metal at the top of another short trash pile.
Sunset scooped the nearest thing off the ground—an old hamster cage—and threw it at the tire behind her. It hit and was heavy enough to force the tire to swerve off its heated trajectory of running over Sunset… and into the back of Twilight’s chair instead.
“Aaaah!”
“Sparky!” Sunset’s body jumped into phoenix mode as Twilight catapulted into the air. Sunset took off and caught Twilight ten feet off the ground.
Arms around Sunset’s neck, Twilight looked about wildly. “What’s going on?”
“The trash is attacking us.” As soon as she said it, a volley of empty soda cans launched from the surface.
“Crimany!” Twilight yelled. Sunset took off higher into the air, avoiding the tin cans. One flew through her flaming tail and melted as it fell back to the ground.
Sunset swooped to the ground and dropped Twilight off. The relentless tire returned, kicking up gravel as it tore toward the girls. Sunset put her hands together and unleashed a ball of fire that collided with the tire, but it barely slowed it down, only set it aflame. Sunset and Twilight leaped out of the way, the flaming tire spinning between them.
“Fire doesn’t solve everything!” Twilight shouted over a rising cacophony of clanging trash. Behind them, a whirlwind of garbage had formed, the burning tire leaping into it. Discarded debris, metal chunks, moldy furniture swirled together and took form, eerily reminding Sunset of the rock golem from the botanical gardens. One leg was half of a wooden cabinet with a tripod sticking out of the bottom, while the other was a metal trashcan. Its torso was mostly comprised of a satellite dish and two office chairs. A ladder with a lampshade and forks and knives sticking out the end made up its left arm, and a refrigerator with the burning tire made up its right. The junk chimera used a broken T.V. for a head.
Sunset stared up at the eight-foot, wretched-smelling golem. Bags and clumps of trash filled in all of its empty spots, making it look bulkier than it really was. “First rocks, now trash. What’s going on?”
Twilight pulled a rusty lead pipe from a trash pile and brandished it like her sword. “I’ll go low and try to get it off balance. You go high and keep it distracted. If we break off enough parts, it should collapse.”
Sunset took a moment to shake off the absurdity of the situation then jumped into the air. “Got it. Just be careful, Sparky.”
With a single nod, Twilight ran for the compacted trash beast. She slammed her pipe into its wooden shin, and it shuddered in discomfort. It reached for her with its lampshade, but Sunset hit it in the television with a fireball, gaining its attention.
She circled around it and fired another blast at its metal chest while Twilight attacked its other leg. The golem swung a flamming tire at Sunset, but its slow movements proved easy to avoid. She rolled underneath it, got in close, then kicked at its right-hand chair with both of her feet.
The chair dislodged and fell to the ground. Twilight followed up with another solid hit to the wooden cabinet, smashing it into pieces this time. With a lurch, the trash beast stumbled and fell backward with a mighty crash.
Sunset hovered down next to Twilight. “Easy. Weird, but easy.”
A crunching and rattling noise from the downed monster took the wind out of Sunset’s sails. The beast sat up, then staggered to one leg. A trash pile next to it rustled and ejected a thick roll of carpet that flew over and replaced the cabinet and tripod. The refrigerator and tire that had fallen off floated into the air and reattached themselves to the satellite dish, emitting a faint glow.
Sunset sharpened her focus as its limbs settled in. The glow faded out, but Sunset had seen enough. “That satellite is acting as a focal point for it. If we break it enough, the thing should stop regenerating.”
“Any ideas?” Twilight asked as it advanced on them.
“Maybe one,” Sunset said, taking a quick scan of their surroundings. “You go for its left arm. I’m going for its right again.”
Twilight broke wide left, forcing the golem to turn toward her. Sunset flew right, and the garbage construct hesitated. It swung both of its arms simultaneously, aiming for both girls. Twilight used her pipe to block the blow, the silverware clinking against the metal. The force nudged her to the side but was otherwise ineffective. She retaliated and knocked the lampshade and utensils from the ladder.
Sunset rolled under the tire again and shot a fireball at its shoulder. It proved less effective than physical force, for it remained attached to the body. She darted away as its arm came back around, the tire nicking her wing and disrupting her flight for a moment.
The golem swung its ladder arm down on Twilight who moved to the side with ease. She stood between it and the fallen silverware, which Sunset saw were standing up.
“Twilight!” Sunset dove and tackled her to the dirt as the silverware shot back toward the ladder, zipping through the air where Twilight had just stood. Sunset pushed herself up off Twilight’s prone form. “Are you—”
“Look out!” Twilight grabbed Sunset by the shoulders and rolled the two of them over just as the tire smashed the ground.
Laying on her back, Sunset saw the tire lift and come crashing down on her again. With no time to move, Sunset threw her hands up and clenched her teeth. The rubber hit her hands, hot but unable to burn her. It was the weight that caused her to cry out. Pushing with all her might, the tire pressed down, inches from her face.
Twilight shoved her pipe into the rims and pulled the tire, not only off course but prying it away from the refrigerator and sending it rolling across the dirt.
“Thanks,” Sunset said breathlessly.
“Yeah,” Twilight said, panting just as hard. She yelped as Sunset grabbed and spun her out of the way of the swinging ladder. When Twilight was clear, Sunset channeled her growing frustration into a fireball and launched it at the golem’s chest. It staggered, and as it did, Sunset flew up and delivered another solid kick to its shoulder, knocking off its right arm again.
“Keep it distracted,” Sunset shouted. Judging by how fast the golem’s magic allowed its pieces to keep coming back, Sunset guessed she had less than a minute. She flew over to where she found the HVAC systems and hefted one of the metal boxes off the ground, muscles straining as she lifted back into the air. Flying back, she saw Twilight knock off the forks and knives again before jumping back as the golem kicked at her.
“Aim for its face!” Sunset rose higher into the sky, angling herself over the golem.
Twilight glanced up, nodded, then threw her lead pipe at the T. V., cracking the already broken glass. The trash golem lifted the ladder to its face like it could do something about its busted facsimile of a head.
Sunset dropped the HVAC box, her arms sighing in relief at the unloaded weight. The box fell like a stone and crashed into the T. V., which then crumpled into the satellite dish and sent the entire golem to the ground in an even louder cacophony and spill of trash than the one it had been born from.
Sunset flew back to Twilight’s side, and the two girls eyed the junk pile until they were positive it wouldn’t rise again. Only then did they take a collective sigh, Sunset coming out of her powers.
“I have so many questions,” Twilight mumbled, doing her best to dust herself off. “Why was the trash trying to attack us? And… what happens to the magic after we beat it? Did we destroy it?”
Beating some of the grime off her leather vest, Sunset said, “Remember our magic lessons a few months back? Magic is like other forms of energy: it can’t be destroyed, it either transforms, disperses, or breaks down enough to where it can’t do anything.”
She walked over and kicked the trash. It remained stationary. “We damaged the main body the enchantment was using so that the magic couldn’t maintain itself anymore and left. As to why the trash was attacking us.” Sunset made a wide shrug. “Search me.”
Twilight chewed the corner of her lips. Sunset knew what, or rather who, was on her mind and decided to shift gears. She walked over and looped an arm around Twilight’s.
“Hey, you still owe me a spa date. Let’s say we get cleaned up and salvage today?”
“Yeah.” Twilight exhaled the thought she was holding onto and brightened a little. “A hot bath and a massage sound nice. Oh!”
She stooped down and pulled two fiber cables from beneath an old textbook. “Sunset, look! These are perfect!”
Sunset looked nonplussed at the wires shoved under her nose, then at the beaming girl holding them. “You’re really lucky you’re cute.”
*******
Over the next two weeks, Rarity found herself busier than she had ever been.
Random magical mishaps were the main source of her vexation. While she could schedule around her magical training, suddenly being summoned during peak store hours to go stop a monster alligator in the sewers (which she refused to actually enter, she had standards, and Applejack and Fluttershy performed wonderfully without her) created knots in her plans, metaphorically and sometimes literally.
While there was still plenty of summer left, Rarity was trying to prepare herself as best she could for her departure to New York, and that included figuring out what her housing situation would look like. There was no way she could stay in the freshman dorms; she had seen pictures and while some might use the word ‘cozy’, Rarity would prefer to describe them as ‘miserable incubation closets built for two people to share germs and little else, with the lacking qualifications for her creative process.’ Also, there was no way her clothes would fit in those drawers.
No, Rarity needed her own space. Unfortunately, New York was expensive, even for a girl with a thriving clothes store. So, Rarity had to devote time to budgeting and apartment hunting.
That was on top of the mandatory magical training she now had to do at least three times a week. She knew it was for the greater good, and she would do anything to defend Canterlot, but it was beginning to seriously cut into her personal life. Granted, she had indeed made notable strides with her powers. Not only could she manifest them on a whim now, she also discovered she could make more detailed constructs than just shields and barriers. They took more mental effort, but Rarity could craft form-fitting armor that could take a few hits before fading, and large spikes she could use as projectiles.
So, Rarity didn’t begrudge her training, she just wished Tempest would hurry up and try to do whatever it was she was trying to do so they could stop her and move on with their lives. Rarity still had a store to run. A store that was suddenly quite popular.
Rarity was a bit of a gossip. Tasteful gossip, mind you, and only to the right people. She knew the power a few words and speculation could have. Which is why Rarity speculated that some gossip had been made about her in the wake of the Coloratura concert. That speculation grew stronger after Rarity had been invited to go shopping with Coloratura and Applejack.
Coloratura, or Rara as she preferred to be called off stage by her friends, kept a scarf over her head while they were out in public. Rarity supposed it helped hide her true identity but she wouldn’t say Rara exactly blended in either.
The three girls were doing some aimless window shopping at the Canterlot Galleria downtown, more enjoying each other’s company than making any actual purchases, though Rara had offered.
“—so I’m at the after party for the concert, getting some shrimp cocktail, and I hear a voice behind me say, ‘Honey, I think you just put me out of a job.’” Rara narrated as the group walked by the central fountain for the third time. “I turn around and Sapphire Shores is standing there while I have a shrimp hanging from my mouth.”
Rarity covered her mouth to suppress a laugh. “Oh goodness, that must have been mortifying!”
“I was panicking,” Rara said with a delighted smile. “I was like, ‘oh no, my idol hates me, oh my god, Sapphire Shores is standing right in front of me, there’s shrimp in my mouth!’ I suck it in and try to say hi and I end up choking on the shrimp!”
Rarity gasped, enthralled. “What happened next?”
“Sapphire jumps behind me and hits me on the back. And let me tell you, she is strong. I cough up the shrimp and start apologizing over and over, and she just laughs and says, ‘I’m not letting my successor die by rogue seafood’!”
“So then… all those tabloids about you and Sapphire having a fierce rivalry and her despising you…”
“All fake,” Rara said nonchalantly. “We play into it sometimes, and when we get together, we compare album sales. But yeah, she’s been like a mentor to me.”
“Goodness, that’s utterly fascinating,” Rarity said. She knew most tabloid articles were rumor-mongering at best and invasive trash at worst, but the Sapphire-Coloratura rivalry had been repeatedly reported for the last two years. She vowed never to trust anything in the tabloids ever again.
“Wasn’t that a great story, Applejack?” Rarity asked, turning to her morose friend. She walked half a pace behind them with her hands in her pockets.
“Hmm? Oh yeah, Ah liked the part with the shrimp,” Applejack said, voice listless
Rara frowned. “Are you okay?”
Applejack put on a bright smile, though Rarity could see the strain in her cheeks, “Yeah, Ah’m fine! Maybe just a little hungry.”
“You’re right, it’s past lunchtime,” Rara said. “I think I know a good seafood restaurant not too far—”
“That’s Coloratura!” someone shouted.
“Not again,” Applejack mumbled just loud enough for Rarity to pick up.
In an instant, they were swarmed by a sea of fans. Most of them pushed their way past Applejack and Rarity, but a few lingered around them when it became evident they weren’t getting to the main attraction.
“Do you guys know Coloratura?”
“Are you her friends?”
“Where is she staying at?”
“How come you guys get to hang out with her?”
Rarity didn’t mind the attention and was more than willing to answer questions. But one look at Applejack’s grimaced face and shifting stance told her now was not the time. She grabbed Applejack by the arm and pulled her away from the masses, finding a quiet bench outside a candy store.
“Applejack, are you okay?”
Applejack brushed herself off, not looking Rarity in the eye. “Yep.”
Rarity furrowed her brow. “Are… you lying to me?”
“Ah don’t like crowds. That’s it,” she said tersely.
Oh, it was more than that, Rarity knew. She also knew Applejack was a stubborn mule and pulling emotions out of her sometimes was like trying to give Opalescence a bath. Not worth it. Still, Rarity remembered Applejack’s lie to Rara about liking the concert. An acceptable lie to spare her friend her feelings, but still highly unusual coming from Miss Honesty.
Something was amiss. And Rarity would discover it sooner or later.
Regardless, following the mall incident, her store's business—which had always been brisk during the summer—became much busier than usual. It started slow at first, but as the days went by, the lobby became fuller for longer periods of time.
Rarity never thought she would be this glad she had hired Coco.
With all of the time she had to allocate to training and apartment hunting, Coco was there to pick up the slack of managing the store, bless her cute soul. Rarity had no idea how she would have gotten on without her.
Which is why Rarity felt bad anytime she had to rush out of the store for a magical emergency.
“Opalescence, my cat, is… throwing up all over the house,” Rarity lied after Sunset had called and informed her of the alligator in the sewers. “Sweetie Belle and I need to run her to the vet real quick.”
Coco looked over from the hem she was stitching on a young girl’s summer dress. “Oh, that sounds serious. Umm…” Her doe eyes scanned the waiting room, filled with four other customers waiting their turn, and one standing at the register.
“I won’t take long, I promise,” Rarity said, holding one hand up and placing the other over her heart. “You’ll be fine.”
“Y-yes. If you say so, Miss Rarity,” Coco said with warbling confidence. She had grown leaps and bounds during her short tenure, but any time Rarity went out, there was that brief pang of panic.
Still, Rarity had responsibilities. She dashed out the front door… then ran back in and rang up the customer waiting at the front. It was the least she could do.
Coco never said anything about Rarity’s frequent flights; she was far too polite. Rarity swore to herself that she would make up for it by helping her create the best designs for the Midsummer Festival anyone had ever seen… as soon as they wrapped up her own designs for the design competition, something she was falling behind on now. In addition, she had promised Rara she would make an outfit for her appearance at the Grand Gallant Gala.
That was an opportunity she could not afford to pass up. If she didn’t win the competition, the notoriety from this alone would boost her accolades to new heights!
Traffic was finally slow one day. Rarity chalked it up to the sudden cloudy weather interrupting a string of sunny days. As she cleaned the fitting room from their last customer, rain began pelting the front door. Rarity looked outside, watching people run for shelter as the sky grew to a stormy black.
“Hmm, rain wasn’t in the forecast,” Coco said from behind the register.
“Odd. But, perhaps we’ll finally have time to ourselves,” Rarity said cheerfully.
Coco brightened. “Really? Because I’ve been dying to show you the designs I’ve come up with!”
“I’d love to take a look at them, darling, but we need to put in some work to Coloratura’s dress first.”
Coco’s bright face dimmed. “Oh, of course.”
Rarity put her hands on Coco’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. I swear, we’ll have time for your designs. We can even split the day today—half Coloratura, half you. How does that—”
A bright flash from the sky overhead cut Rarity off. A second later came the clap of thunder, so loud, it sounded like it was right over their heads. The lights of the store flickered, and then went out.
“Oh dear,” Coco said, stepped over and ducked behind the counter. She returned a moment later with a flashlight.
“Well, this isn’t ideal, but we can work in dim lighting. Hmm, although the sewing machine would be out of commission.” Before Rarity could contemplate more, her phone buzzed and began to play ‘Shine Like Rainbows.’
She pulled it from her pocket, seeing Sunset’s face on the home screen. “Yes, Sunset dear?”
“We’ve got a magical emergency,” Sunset said. “This storm isn’t normal.”
“Right.” Rarity sighed. “I’ll be over as quick as I can.” She swiped the phone off.
Coco looked over to her, a pang of panic on her shadowed face. “You’re leaving?”
“Err, Sweetie Belle is alone at home and she’s terrified. I’m just going to reassure her everything’s fine and make sure she’s safe.”
“But-but—”
“I have complete confidence you’ll be okay, Coco. You can lock the store while I’m away,” Rarity said, reaching for the handle of the front door. “I won’t be gone long. You can start working on your dress designs while I’m out.” And without another word, Rarity set off into the rain.
*******
Over the next two weeks, Applejack found herself increasingly miserable.
Magical training was fine. All she had to do was lift stuff and hit stuff. She practiced on rocks, she practiced on Rarity’s shields. It was all very redundant, though it sometimes helped vent her frustrations.
Frustrations she really couldn’t put into words.
Everything should have been sweet as a peach, magical doomsday notwithstanding. She had reconnected with her childhood best friend! Sure, she was an ultra-popular, world renown singing-sensation now, but at least she wasn’t a spoiled diva. Maybe a bit flaunty with her money, but she didn’t act like she had a silver spoon in her mouth. And sure, maybe every time they went out, someone would spot through Rara’s thin disguise and mob her, shunting Applejack to the side because who cared about some hick farm girl? But they were having fun, so everything was fine, right?
Never mind the small detail of Applejack having to pretend to like Rara's music.
She kept smiling and nodding her head to the final lines of Rara’s song. She belted them into the recording booth’s microphone. Applejack could appreciate Rara’s effort and devotion to her craft. That was about as much as she could say. She had tuned out the lyrics after the first chorus.
“Okay, Countess, I think we’re good for today. That was fantastic as always,” her sound director said from the mixing board.
Rara smiled and nodded. She took the headphones off and stepped out of the recording booth, taking the water bottle that an assistant had ready for her. After taking a deep draught, she beamed at Applejack. “So, what’d you think?”
Applejack gave her two thumbs up. “Ah can see why you’re a sensation.”
“Aww, you’re sweet.” She finished her water bottle and handed it back to the assistant, who quickly ran it out of the room and came back with a new one. Rara took that one and gently waved him off. “Sorry for dragging you to a session.”
“No worries. It’s nice to see how committed you are.” Applejack didn’t know how she was doing this. Maybe because she wasn’t really lying. There were truths kerneled in everything she said. It was great to see Rara’s commitment.
“I’m all wrapped up here, and we’ve got the whole day ahead of us. I was thinking we go do a little shopping. I know Rarity is making us dresses for the gala, but we’ll need some jewelry to go with them. What do you say?”
Applejack forced the muscles in her cheeks to turn upwards. “Sure. Just… nothin’ too flashy.”
Rara nodded. “Of course. Oh, I remember! Practical, right! I’m sure we can find something practical and pretty. Really, it’s just fun to go and look at stuff.”
Applejack felt an odd sense of gratitude. Being friends with Rarity had prepared her for events like this. She said nothing as Rara called a different assistant and asked her to call ahead to some shop called ‘Karat and Clarity’ and tell them she was coming.
Rara didn’t change; she was already dressed fairly casually in a white blouse and designer jeans. She didn’t even bother with her ineffective disguises. She simply called for her driver, then directed Applejack outside.
The recording studio was in an unremarkable red brick building nestled near the heart of downtown. Applejack stepped out into a wide side alley where the black limo had pulled up. Rara’s chauffeur stepped out and opened the door for Applejack, tipping his hat as she got in. Rara slid in a minute later, still devoid of her scarf and sunglasses. Applejack was getting the sneaking suspicion of why.
“I wish Rarity could join us, to make up for not being able to come to the gala,” Rara said offhandedly.
“Ah think she’s busy today.” Applejack had no idea, she just knew she couldn’t deal with both Rarity and Rara jewelry shopping.
“I don’t think I asked: how did the two of you meet? Actually, I would love to meet all of your friends someday. They sound amazing by the way you describe them.”
Applejack gave a genuine smile. “They are. Ah really lucked out with them. Met Rarity the summer before freshman year. Well, we went to the same middle school, but we almost never talked to each other. Then, Ah was sellin’ fruit at the farmer’s market one weekend.”
A laugh welled up from Applejack’s core. “She walked up to me, looked me in the eye, and said, ‘you’re never gonna sell anythin’ wearin’ that.’ Ah don’t even remember what Ah was wearin’ back then. She just walked off after that. Ah was so steamed, Ah snapped at everyone who came up to the stand. Then the next week, she came back with this dress and handed it to me, all smiles. She bought three apples, too. Ah didn’t know what to think of her but, we became friends after that.”
A smile stayed splashed across Applejack’s face. Rarity had been Rarity even back then. The only thing that had changed was that Rarity had learned the ‘tact’ that she stressed so much in others.
Rara clapped her hands and laughed. “That’s hilarious! And heartwarming! I’m so glad you found friends like her.”
“What about you? Ah mean, are celebrities friends?”
Rara’s jubilance died a little. “Of course. Well, sometimes. I told you, me and Sapphire Shores are friends. Though she’s more of a mentor figure, but we still talk often enough. Feather Bangs is young, but he’s nice.”
She laughed, but Applejack heard it waver. “But that’s why I’m so glad I get to spend time with you again. We always had a good time together. And you’ve always been honest with me.” Rara turned her head out the window. “A lot of the time, I feel like the people around me just tell me what they think I want to hear. Or, people just want to get close to me for perks and favors.”
Rara scooted closer and pulled Applejack into a hug. “So I’m super glad nothing’s changed between us. We’re just picking up from where we left off.”
Yep. Nothin’s changed. Nevermind that Rara was a superstar now, or that she had fans, groupies, and managers. Or that she was taking Applejack to go jewelry shopping for the Gran Gallant Gala. They were still friends. And that was all that mattered. Applejack was just glad to be spending time with her friend. They were having fun.
And yet, something irked Applejack.
Was it that she had to lie about liking Rara’s music? Maybe. Was it jealousy? No, Applejack knew what jealousy felt like and this wasn’t it. She didn’t want Rara’s lifestyle.
She couldn’t put it into words. And if she could, she couldn’t tell Rara. Honesty had always been Applejack’s policy—it was what her parents had taught her. But if she could hand Rara a few white lies to preserve their friendship, just until she had to leave, then wasn’t it worth it?
Applejack shook her head. She was thinking too hard. Everything was fine.
The limo pulled up to Karat and Clarity, and Rara helped Applejack out and locked arms with her as they approached the storefront. One of the store owners opened the door and welcomed them inside. Just as Applejack had feared, the reason Rara had called ahead, the reason she had forgone any disguise: the whole store had been reserved just for the two of them.
“Welcome, Miss Coloratura!” the store clerk, Clarity said, her eyes honed in on Rara. “Thank you for coming today! How can we help you?”
“Hi! My friend Applejack and I are going to the Grand Gallant Gala and we were hoping to get something new for the occasion.”
“Of course, of course! We can start over here; we have a lovely selection of necklaces…”
Applejack tuned out after that. She allowed herself to be carried around the store and tried on necklaces, wristbands, and rings, putting on an interested face whenever Rara asked for her opinion. She again thanked Rarity for the practice.
Something shiny and red caught Applejack’s eye, and upon closer look, she saw it was a pretty ruby-red brooch. It almost resembled an apple. She remarked on how nice it looked, but no one appeared to hear her. She sighed wistfully as she stared at it a few seconds longer before moving on.
Rara eventually purchased pearl necklaces for each of them and a diamond-studded hair band for herself. Applejack stood off to the side, still marveling at the empty store. It wasn’t a small space either; there were a dozen wide tables with cases of shiny, expensive treasures. Yet, only four bodies warmed the space. More than once, someone had come up to the door only to find it locked, and an entire group of people had to be warded off by Rara’s driver.
“Okay, we’re all set!” Rara said in a chipper voice, swinging a bag from her wrist. “So, I’ve dragged you around all day so far; it’s your turn.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, silly. What do you want to do?”
Applejack hummed in thought. “You still wanna go see the farm? Heck, we could go fishin’ at the watering hole.”
“Oh my gosh, yes! I would love to!” Rara said over an increased buzzing noise. “Oh, one sec.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “Hi, Starstruck.”
The brief genuine excitement Applejack felt evaporated as she watched Rara’s expression shift and heard her half of the conversation.
“Uh-huh…. Really? I mean, sure but…. Today? I know, but I…. Yeah, that’s true. Okay. I’ll be there soon.”
She clicked her phone off and turned her head upward for a second, taking a deep breath.
“Work stuff?” Applejack asked, trying her hardest not to sound disappointed.
Rara sighed again and lowered her gaze to meet Applejack’s. “Yeah. Scheduling conflict means Starstruck had to move something up and…” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, AJ. I really wanted to go today but—”
“No, it’s fine,” Applejack said, a familiar squirm in her stomach. “I understand.”
“I’m really sorry,” Rara said with wet, earnest eyes. “We’ll get to it next time. I promise.”
Applejack could only strain the muscles in her cheek again to smile. It had been like this ever since they had reunited. First the park, then the mall. When they had gone shoe shopping last week. Something always interrupted them, be it work or fans.
Rara had been right. Nothing had changed between them. Applejack always came up second-fiddle to Rara's talents and the attention they attracted. But it was fine. At least they had gotten to spend some time together. And it had been fun.
Applejack would finally get the chance to turn the tables and cancel on her three days later. What had started out as another sunny day quickly became a dark and stormy one as heavy black clouds appeared from nowhere. Applejack had a suspicion it was magical based, confirmed when Sunset texted her to meet at the Lulamoons. Just as Applejack had grabbed her mask, her phone buzzed.
“Hi, AJ! One of my appointments got canceled, so I’m free for the rest of the day now. I was wondering if you had time to hang out?” Rara’s chipper voice danced out of the speaker.
“Sorry, Rara, Ah, uhh… need to do some weather-proofing around the orchard. Looks like a storm is about to hit.”
“Yeah, it’s so weird. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky this morning. Summer rains, you can never predict them. Do you think you’ll be busy all day?”
Applejack almost hoped so. “Ah’m not sure. How about Ah text if Ah get free?”
“Sure! Try not to work too hard,” she said teasingly.
Applejack made no promises. Working hard was her only distraction. The further into summer they got, the more she and her friends seemed busy with their own hobbies and projects. The only thing that seemed to bring them together now was a leygate to an island on the other side of the world, or when something magical and dangerous popped up.
Applejack still couldn’t identify the coiling knot in her stomach anytime she thought about spending time with Rara or her extravagant lifestyle, and focusing too hard on it just made her frustrated. So she enjoyed her work on the farm and her magical training when she got to see her friends. She even almost enjoyed these magical high jinks. Any distraction helped.
Today, that distraction took the form of something Artemis called, a Thunderbird.
Applejack fell about ten feet after punching it in the head before Rarity caught her with a gem shield. It had been a rough landing, but Applejack’s muscles barely registered it with the electricity coursing through them. She was too busy twitching.
“Okay,” she grunted through gritted teeth, “don’t touch it with your bare hands.”
Her warning came just in time as Rainbow, flying straight for the bird’s face, veered off at the last second. “Great, how else am I supposed to hit it?” she yelled over the wind and rain.
The Thunderbird let out a rumbling roar like its namesake. It was the size of a small elephant, and that was before including its massive wingspan. It had blue and white plumage with crisscrossing lighting patterns along its belly and the underside of its wings. Its massive beak had jagged edges on its upper lining, and three large plumes of feathers crowned its head.
With another beat of its wings, arcs of electricity flew out in every direction, forcing the girls to retreat. Rarity jerked Applejack’s platform away, pulling it over a gap in the storm clouds below her.
Applejack wasn’t afraid of heights, but she preferred seeing the abyss of dark clouds rather than the city half a mile below them. Her muscles stopped spasming and she climbed to her feet, steadying herself as Rarity moved the platform again.
Sunset blasted a jet of fire at the Thunderbird’s face. It screamed in rage and let off a thunderbolt from its wing. Sunset dove out of the way, the bolt clipping her fire wings and briefly disrupting them. Sunset fell a few feet and caught herself, wings reigniting with steam curling off them.
Applejack furrowed her brow. Sunset’s attack had barely scarred the beast. “How are we supposed to beat this one?”
“Really carefully!” Twilight yelled from her own crystal elevator.
“Rarity, give Twilight to me!” Sunset ordered. “Give Rainbow and Applejack armor and see if that negates its electricity!”
“On it!” Rarity yelled, face scrunched in concentration. The platform under Twilight disappeared, and Sunset caught her before she could fall too far.
A thin layer of blue light swathed around Applejack, enveloping her torso and arms in crystalline armor. She took a deep breath and tensed the muscles in her legs before leaping from the safety of her dais and over the swirling storm clouds. Fist drawn back, she aimed for the Thunderbird’s face again.
Rainbow came from the other side and struck it in the cheek. It cried out and teetered off balance, unable to recover before Applejack struck it in the head and sent it careening into a black cloud. Applejack fell five feet before a new blue crystal disk broke her fall.
The Thunderbird caught itself and screeched in the girls’ direction, its feathers bristling with electricity dancing between them. With a single flap of its wings, it ascended a hundred feet higher into the air, then broke into a dive, razor beak outstretched and pointed at Applejack.
Two whips of azure light wrapped around its torso from opposite directions and halted its divebomb. It cried in confusion and furiously beat its wings, sending arcs of lighting in every direction.
Off to its left was Trixie, and to its right was Artemis. Both stood on enlarged, floating playing cards. Aces to be precise.
“We can’t hold it forever!” Artemis yelled, tugging on his wand producing the ethereal whip. “This is a very angry avian!”
Applejack tensed her muscles again and leaped off the crystal disk. A bolt of lightning ripped past her face, singing a lock of her hair, and leaving an ear-splitting clap of thunder in its wake. She landed on the beast’s head and quickly grabbed two of its large plumes.
The Thunderbird noticed immediately and began to violently shake its head in indignation. Applejack flapped around, wildly flopping against the back of the bird’s head while praying she didn’t lose her grip.
Ain’t this like a rodeo.
She blinked. It was just like a rodeo!
Applejack let out a whoop and righted herself, digging her heels into the sides of the Thunderbird’s neck the next time she made contact. She tightened her grip, locked her elbows, and flexed her core.
“Yeehaw!” she yelled over a peal of thunder. This overgrown bird was nothing more than a bull at the county fair.
Rainbow streaked forward and delivered a flurry of punches into the Thunderbird’s sternum, her fists a blur. She flipped forward, dug her boots into the bird’s gut, and kicked off, sending a tide of water back up into Applejack’s face. Not that she could really tell.
The Thunderbird wheezed. Its bucking slowed from a raging bull to a dull kiddy ride. Applejack couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment. She was finally starting to have fun.
“Fluttershy, now!” Sunset yelled. She and Twilight dropped onto a waiting diamond shield, and Sunset swapped from phoenix to pony. Fluttershy glided out from behind a cloud and extended her hand. With a quick touch, Fluttershy’s aura brightened, and she flew over to the subdued monster and placed her hands on its chest.
Applejack yanked its plumes, holding it back from devouring Fluttershy whole. Fluttershy’s pink magic washed over the Thunderbird’s body until it was a burning silhouette in the stormy sky. Pink turned to white, and Applejack could feel the monster shrinking beneath her. She leaped off and was snatched by a passing Rainbow. They circled about, watching Fluttershy’s magic regress the Thunderbird back to whatever poor animal it had been before dark magic had touched it. Around them, the wind and rain relented, and the lighting and thunder halted entirely.
Smaller and smaller the Thunderbird shrank until Fluttershy could wrap her arms around it. When the light faded, she was hugging a small peacock.
Fluttershy smiled and stroked the feathers on its head. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.” She nuzzled it.
The peacock gave a tired coo.
“While Ah’m not terrified of heights…” Applejack said as the group gathered around Fluttershy. She looked at the dissipating clouds below and saw the tops of the downtown skyscrapers. “Can we get back on the ground now, please?”
Not ten seconds after touching her feet on solid land did Applejack’s phone go off. She looked at the caller ID, and her face froze in a forced, grimacing smile.
“Rara,” she said, one octave higher than usual. “What’s up?”
“Hi, AJ! It looks like the summer storm is clearing up. So, I was wondering if you were free?”
“Yeah! Yeah, uh… Ah’m free now. Let me just clean up. Ah’ll be right over.”
“Yaay! Bring your swimsuit; the pool here is huge!” Rara clicked the phone off.
Applejack stared at it a little longer, her smile fixed.
“You okay, AJ?” Sunset asked.
“Ah’m fine!” she snapped.
“...You sure?”
“‘Course Ah’m sure! Ah’m goin’ to a fancy five-star hotel to see mah pop star best friend who can spare a few minutes for me! Everythin’s fine! Why wouldn’t it be fine?” Applejack turned and walked off, the coiling feeling in her stomach returning, this time bringing heat.
She heard Pinkie whisper, “I don’t think everything’s fine.”
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I can definitely see why you spent so long perfecting these chapters, because wow were those spectacular fights! You really took time crafting them well to felt unique and give proper time to shine for those involved and who knows what else is coming next.
All the character moments are just as amazing, from Sunset and Sci-Twi having their cute moments even right after a big battle, to how Rarity and Applejack are handling the pressures of their situations while dealing with the magical mishaps on top of it. Poor Coco really feels out of her depth at times, and hopefully Rarity will be able to give her some attention soon. And it seems AJ's problems lie deeper than just not liking Rara's music. She's realizing she feels like a second fiddle compared to Rara, even before she was a popstar. Maybe that was part of why they lost contact as well as the loss of AJ's parents.
This is all just wonderful, and I eagerly await the next chapter!
Awesome part. Also, Twilight and Sunset's battle with the garbage monster reminded me of one of the episodes of the old ninja turtles when they fought the garbage robot in the junkyard.
Substantially longer than the last one, but no less important!
Each fight was amazing and so unique, showing off the girls' powers and skills. But it looks like it's beginning to cut into their personal lives, which makes for some juicy drama! Seems like besides Sunset and Twilight, Rarity and Applejack will be receiving a lot of focus this time around. And I can't help but feel as though something huge is going to happen at the end of the volume... maybe Tirek will reveal himself? Or heaven forbid, is someone going to die?
Back on Applejack, her relationship with Rara in canon was only shown in a single episode, so I'm really curious to see how you're going to expand it here. Rarity on the other hand is going to have to do some explaining to Coco if she snaps (which I don't think is going to happen, but one can never be sure...)
Got to say, though... I haven't seen Moondancer in a while. I hope she's doing ok considering, you know... the circumstances. And a part of me is also wondering how Starlight Glimmer is going to play into this, given how she seems to be more sympathetic than the others in Tempest's faction.
Overall though, this chapter was a welcome addition to the story, and I eagerly await the next one!
Brilliant chapter as always, definitely worth the wait 👏
No, bad Applejack, you no lie.
Damn, hard to believe they're in another country!
Very likely Rarity.
Is it supposed to say 'ad infinitum' or is it supposed to be 'and infinitum' ?
Wait, why didn't Artemis's shield protect them against it?
She's gonna pay for what she's done!
What a shame.
I'm pretty sure it's spelled 'Criminy'.
What is causing all this!
That was too close.
Crap, nearly forgot the girls are going off to college. Well, all except Sunset that is.
Interesting.
A wig, hat and a pair of glasses would be better imo.
That's good to know.
listless.*
Just what they needed.
How wonderful.
Grand*
It's such a shame sometimes, but that's how it all works out.
She isn't.
Man the magic of the world is going completely out of control, my guess is Starlight is doing something. And seriously what is there plan if Tempest doesn't take action before summer?
You'd think.
Sounds awful.
That is, wow.
Possibly.
That, is, quite a new level of super strength.
Probably for the best.
If she's being this unsubtle, she's desperate.
Yeah, that doesn't shock me.
Something fucky is happening.
That's question 1 answered. But question 2, "Why?" is unanswered.
Charisma is a hell of a drug.
Sounds mortifying.
Huh. I mean, I suppose taking a tabloid at its word IS rather foolish.
I don't blame you.
Poor Coloratura.
Yeah, that's gotta put some strain on the relationship.
Uh huh.
This ain't gonna go well.
Something non-conductive?
That could work.
Naturally.
Yeah, that's about fair.
Thank you, Pinkie, your insight is unparalleled.
Trash monster! Also, Rarity, you would be surprised what artist can cram and stack in a dorm room. Trust me, I have pictures. AJ is going to explode. It will be spectacularly embarrassing or hurtful, probably both.
11510283
I believe the shield is out far enough to still allow a good bit of the ocean to be reachable. How else could the Sirens have fished up food? As such, it came from within the shield.
11510542
Crap, why didn't I think of that.
When AJ did her stomp, my brain immediately went to Crasher from GoBots, minus the cackling of course.
Tough times for the girls, to be sure. Training, paracausal misshaps, and of course, trying to juggle real life. Such is the price of being heroes, yes?
This reminds me of that scene in Indiana Jones when Indiana and Henry are trapped between a rock and a hard place and Henry is like “our situation hasn’t improved.”
So how much longer until coco and rara confess to their respective love interests (rarity and applejack)
pbs.twimg.com/media/Fga13rDVIAAFFUh.jpg
11511970
I don't think Coco is in love, just feeling let down by someone who said they'd help with something important.
With AJ... 50/50 that she is in fact in love and can't admit it or that Rara's lifestyle bothers her way too much. If she was in love then I don't hink she'd be faking that she likes her music.
Budding relations that may or may not end disaster. AJ and Rartity are in sync and out of whack.
I'll bet Starlight figured out how to teleport magickation infection bombs for Tempest to attack from afar or something like that.