The Siren's Remorse

by TheronSniper

Ch. 49 Amassing of Forces: The Fight to Return Part II

Ch. 49 Amassing of Forces: The Fight to Return Part II

Sunset’s Hospital Room

“So you should probably find a way out of this place without the police on your tail if you really need to make the train back home… sort of speak.” Shimmer the human noted as she made her way back to her gurney bed.

Of course there were still two officers posted on watch and more at the entrances, and in her condition Sunset would have no way of getting a doctor’s leave. She had no family in this world and Principle Celestia would likely settle on the nurse’s order to remain even if she told her the whole story. Perhaps that was her failing once again, by not taking up Celestia’s open door offer after that frightening moment the nightmare had chased her through the school. Chalking up another for the score board, Sunset had little other choices to turn to other than escape like a convict breaking out of prison. Flash might help if he could do much of anything, but the staff had her clothing and she’d risk leaving in either just the hospital gown or some of Flash’s attire. Choppy at best, Sunset knew there needed to be some way out and then she’d figure out how to stop Twilight and whoever she was helping besides the sirens. Of course now she needed to think of how to return, if whatever means they were using to travel would be enough for her to exploit?

“I don’t have any magic, the portal is ruined, and if I do get to them how will I be able to go through if I could? They sure as Tartarus won’t let me just stroll on in with them!?” She mourned the next hurdle at progress as her body reminded her that she was still dealing with magical withdrawal.

“Sometimes you don’t have to think, at times you just need to act.” Shimmer who had laid down on the somewhat soft bed said.

Flash frowned, “Ya and acting on impulse is such a good way to go about this.” The hint of sarcasm peppered his words at his already questioning support.

Shimmer scoffed as she had enough experience above both of them, “Kid? Once you’re my age then we’ll discuss life choices, but she’s on borrowed time as it is. I suggest using it before she loses the chance, then regrets everything the rest of her life.” Shimmer replied as she sighed into the comfort of a restful lay down.

Sunset did not want anymore fighting, so she reached over and touched the hand he had on his knee to break the mounting displeasure, “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll make something happen soon, can I count on you to help me? Right?” even through the mild pain of movement she still smiled at him.

Both were tired and exhausted, he himself from staying up through the night he had to admit his patience could be better. Just like those back to back band practice sessions with the guys before a show at the rodeo shack on open mic night, he couldn’t play properly if they over exerted themselves. That led to Flash sporting a sheepish grin of embarrassment and took to cleansing his attitude with a good friend in need, his girlfriend as it were.

Blushing a bit, Sentry turned his hand over and held hers firmly, “You can count…”

A sudden rumble rocked through the hospital as the lights flickered went out, the machines around them died out and quaked, the sound of traffic outside the door became none existent. Instinctively, Flash rose to his feet and hunched over Sunset unsure if something was collapsing or had crashed into the hospital. Equestria was nowhere near any fault lines so an earthquake should be impossible to experience. They were on the fifth story, meaning for something to shake the building as big as it was, danger was not far from anyone’s fears.

Outside the viewing window that let in fresh sunlight into the room, something blacked out the sunlight as it passed downwards like a large bird. The two barely had a chance to realize it when it vanished as quickly as it appeared as their heads whipped around to the disturbance. For Sunset it was an all too familiar sensation that made her herald the fear of the nightmare still cursing her, the hex forever haunting until she either died from exhaustion or finally finishing its hunt. Any moment she expected to see another blur of shadows pass by before the beast punched through the glass pane with its spiked head and toothy snout to sniff her. A massive maw that would fill the room and ruin everything until it secured her between those pearly fangs to devour her once and for all. That primal fear all ponies had when chased by a predator, that locking paranoia and crippling anxiety which rescind them into a reactionary frozen state.

Seconds passed and nothing came of the moment, Shimmer had become a blur as she ran up to the window itself. Quickly lifting up the blinds and looking everywhere and then down to the ground just as another rumble came and went along with the dulled sound of gnashing metal. Sunset heard her human verse say something in amazement, to which Sentry answered with questions of his own. For a moment though, the former unicorn could only curl into herself tighter as she let the terror grip her even as the boy remained with her.

“Lady!? Come on what’s happening out there!” Flash raised his voice with the third time asking.

The older woman gasped as she craned and twisted her neck to get any kind of view, “That… that was helicopter… and it crashed from what I’m assuming was… the top of the roof?!” as debris rained down sporadically so that nixed any chance of opening the window to see better.

The lights returned to normal as did the hospital equipment, a few had alarms going off from the sudden deactivation. Blaring lights and loud noises thankfully were only a momentary event, but it was evident that the police outside were immediately rushing away through all that. Shimmer knew it meant that the incident was dire enough to tear them from their station which would help her other worldly self escape. Though no one noticed immediately as the reality kicked in, why had the aerial vehicle collide into the facility?

“What the heck is going on!?” Flash released the injured girl carefully to run to the same window for a look himself.

The suspense overrode any fear, at this point the curse was far from reality thankfully though in its place was a surmounting problem far more worse than it, “Oh… my… god…” he gasped.

The very astounding reaction by the human verse of Sunset could lead only to one thing and that was not good for anyone, “Do you see that?! Look!! There goes another! Right into that building over there! I think that was a mini mall?”

“There had to have been a hundred people there…”

Now she was just growing impatient, “What… what’s going on?”

“Dear god… those are the… what do they call them? Black Hawk helicopters?! The military is here or is that the police force?! Those had people in them too!” Shimmer gawked at the rising smoke trails as fires caught on from the likely ruptured fuel tanks of the crash just below, thick oily plume started to obscure the viewing port only partially as the breeze outside pushed it to the left.

“Look over there! That’s Canterlot High!! Oh no… that’s… that’s no light show either…” Flash’s words dripped with horror as Sunset tried to understand the little she was given and no response to her dire inquiry.

She stuttered a little as adrenaline coursed through her veins, “Guys! Ple…please tell me what’s… what’s happening!? Flash!”

Her human verse tore away reluctantly from the developing chaos, “You said you had to stop some kind of group of bad guys right? Well… looks like they’ve begun their little plan alright.” She thumbed at the outside world almost casually.

The gravity of it all hit her like a plank of wood as all she strove for till she fell to the possessed Twilight came crashing down. The destruction and denial of magic to whatever master the sirens served had finally shown the magnitude evil intent could be waged with. This was why she suffered, why she missed out on studying the Rainbooms magical manifestation, and proved to her that she was not going hard enough in her research. A battle was being fought likely against the authorities or luckily in fighting between the sirens and the one who lead them around, but that was a stroke of fortune if that were the case.

This was the whole reason she kept at it trying to solve the mystery of the missing gemstone, to stop the ones who had it from doing just this and harming the world. She lapsed in her duty to protect this world from evil and this time she was in no position to even confront them now. Her mangled guilt led to a train which sunk her heart and spirit as indicated by the heart rate monitor nearby, how much failure was she going to commit before this all proved to her that she was set up to be a dead end mare who should have never been Celestia’s protégé at all. How many lives could have gone unharmed if she remained another pony surviving in Canterlot and let Twilight do what she was destined to do?

“There’s no way you’re going into that, no, no way you’ll even survive that once they see you. HEY!” the woman next to him grabbed his arm and twisted him around to face her dead in the eye.

“You see this…?” She pointed to her face, “A lot more people will get this and worse if you two don’t do something about it! My world, our world is not a prison for dangerous magical monsters or whatever! We’re bad enough by ourselves! Look, the cops left I think so now is your chance to get her out of here and find a way to stop any more fighting going on out there. And YA! I know she can’t do squat to stop them, but that doesn’t mean she’s defenseless. Maybe… maybe there’s some kind of way to power her up? I don’t know… something has too, but that out there can’t be a better option!” she released him aggressively before reeling from the injuries she too sustained in the collision.

Letting herself get too excited had harshly reminded her of the state she was still in, that of which Flash could tell she was not joking at all with any of her words. Magic was amazing to see battle the evil ones who rose up in Canterlot High as often as they did, however it had far more potential to desolate if given the chance. As much as he hated to let Sunset go off into that, there were indeed other people out there who’d be in harm’s way. As evident as it were by the falling copters and their crews, used by vile monsters that should not have possessed magic at all if he understood right were on the loose. The things Sunset had explained to him on occasion were hard to wrap his head around, but he never doubted anything she said having been victim to the dark forces himself.

Still he hesitated to act, Sunset had injuries caused by the nasty work his world’s Twilight put her through. If only there were some kind of magic around she could get a hold of, however, this universe was devoid of it so that was out of the question. Least they sit and do nothing, it was at least best to attempt anyways to try before throwing in the towel right?

Sunset waved at his face to bring him back to the real world, “Flash, I… we have to check on the others first. Before we go to the portal. Do you think you can help me go to them?” she asked as the tatters of fear were flaking off her only just then.

“Ya, sure thing… I’ll see if a… where Principle Celestia knows where they are. She said she was going to cancel school today by what the police said to do.” He took out his phone and searched the contact information the principle gave him in case anything happened while she was gone.

“Not what I had in mind but it’s a start.” Shimmer sighed as she pressed her back against the wall behind her coming back from the surge of discomfort.

Sunset frowned at her human self, “They too had magic, I have to see if Twilight really did take away their mana as well. I’m worried about them and I won’t leave without making sure they’re okay!” she affirmed with a stern tone.

With a raised eyebrow, “You mean humans have magic too? How?! That’s… explain.” She essentially ordered rather than ask.

Flash appeared defensive and wanted to calm the woman down, but just as he was going to the call picked up on the other end with Celestia. He would have held the call if Sunset hadn’t gestured for him by patting the bedside so he could complete his task at hand, a hint to still his protective nature. With a mild grunt he reluctantly did as coaxed and took his place by her side as the former unicorn slowly and cautiously used him for support to leave the bed. All the while he traded questions with their principle and allocated the Rainbooms who were at a local clinic not far from the hospital and close to the portal where a battle was being fought.

Sunset winced at the aching soreness in her limbs, “I’m afraid I don’t know enough, I dedicated much of my time trying to figure out who wanted that siren stone. The nightmares that wouldn’t cease kind of made sure I didn’t try either. However, what little I know of magic and humans I can only point to Empathy as the contributing factor to developing mana wells. That and the girls specifically were the human versions of their element bearers in Equestria so it’s probably just isolated to them only. Destiny and all that…” she placed a bare foot on the cold tile floor and gritted her teeth at the icy chill.

“Malarky! Okay I can understand your parallel self sharing powers I guess…” Shimmer looked to the ground in thought for a few seconds, “But they are full blooded human beings, that means anyone else should be able to develop magic. A slotted fate does not isolate the opportunity? That should mean you have some way of absorbing magic too right?! They had none just like you are now and somehow they had it anyways?!”

Sunset hefted her guilt ridden spirit as it felt painful to keep speaking of what she should have been able to have done, “It was one of my failures… I focused too much on stopping what is apparently happening outside currently to not build up some kind of way of stopping it. We’d need Princess Twilight to figure it out and even then she had trouble finding a counter spell to fight the sirens back at the battle of the bands! I’d need a couple weeks to locate anything to help us now. So if we’re done here I need to get to them and hope they’re fine, I don’t know what the other Twilight might have done to them and I’m the only one who might be able to help if they’re suffering!” Sunset grimaced in Sentry’s arms as they began to walk to the exit, both desired to leave her human world self sooner than later.

Only the quiet hum of the air ducts feeding hospital air into the room dominate the tense atmosphere. The two teenagers trundling to the door cut through it like a knife through butter with each step, reminding the older woman being left behind that her outburst may have been a little much. She looked from the edges of her eyes as Flash was extremely careful with her other verse self that had been a unicorn of all things. She could see how thoughtful he was in his actions towards the definitive alien before them and yet he still loved her regardless. A pang of pain in her heart brought back her own love life and past right to bare, when all she knew of the world was what it was of science and measurement to philosophy and religion. Making it by with the dregs of part time jobs to pay for school, handling the drama of other students, and now a warzone with magic erupted not far from her with the helicopter tossed right at their feet to boot.

If life had taught her anything, it was to never let chances pass her by and to avoid being bogged by routine and comfort. There were friends she could have turned to, options to let go for others, and pursue what she wanted in life. The cosmos just so happened to place a multiverse spanning conflict with a bow on top and a candy on the pillow of the hotel of chance. She needed to help this doppelganger from another plane, where she was a horse and had ethereal energies at her whim. A whole other world was about to receive an evil dictator and their minions if there were any and only she could do something about it. Banged up and scarred with bruises and possible whiplash, there was only one thing she could provide and get out of her funk of fortune.

“None of you can drive, but I know how to hot wire any car, truck, or bike. Follow me to the parking garage, I’ll get you to your friends and then some.” She said as she avoided their confused gazes while she passed by them to lead the way.

Flash shook his head as soon as she exited through the door to the room, “Are we seriously going to trust her?”

“What choice do we have?” Sunset sighed in resignation and prompted him to continue helping her walk.

Canterlot High Front Entrance

With the police force subdued, the exiles made their way to where Twilight had dubbed as the portal site. Emerath and Paradox were the first to make contact and confirm the initial findings, feeling over the concrete statue and picking up the electrical static like energy all too familiar with Equestrian magic fizzle upon touch. With bright eyes and giddiness the two mages expressed their jubilation like foals at their birthday party, fawning over the little scraps of magic seeping through the inactive portal anchor. Of course to everyone else they just appeared weird and strange, Monet and Yellow seeming to shrug to the others who most of which were guessing at the behavior of the two.

“Ahhhh this is gud! Ve ave a vay home! Now!! On to vork!” Paradox announced and set about the papers and the bag of gems he pulled from his coat.

Emerath sighed in relief as if he were soon to reunite with long lost parents, “I can finally hear them again… it has been too long…” a smile so wide it nearly touched ear to ear on his chiseled features.

“Ack! Mein friend! Come help me set up?” the other mage beckoned as he held the purple felt sac no bigger than a hacky sac.

Old Oak stood off a few feet from their workings, she too seemed antsy to an extent if not worried to the bone about something. Which when Twilight noticed it seemed rather odd as the Changeling Empress would have been the prime candidate to express such feelings since she did have family to locate. With how Oak acted when she spoke of her past, perhaps there was more to her than what was spoken. After being lifted off the ground and looked over several times by Adagio. She was given the clear bill of health and no sooner had that been given did the sirens seemed locked in their own self hatred. Seeing the way home so close to their earlier rampage and missing such an eyesore consumed their thoughts for the moment. Twilight took the moment to let her curiosity get the better of her and investigate the lone exile to see if she could study them.

Her light footsteps across the well manicured grass went undetected to the druid, which until she stood on her right side did her presence make itself known, “Child… can I help you?”

The elegant and friendly tone gave a welcoming opening even she couldn’t feel nervous to respond, “You… you look like you are having some kind of mental dilemma, and I… wanted to see if I could be of any help?” she stuttered.

The hippie seemed to grin if not out of reaction, tearing her view away from the portal site and away from Sparkle’s intensive study, “What a choice to make, if I am to return with but a quake?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Do you remember when I spoke about the human camp I came across?” she softly replied.

Sparkle nodded if just to herself, “Yes.”

“Then the story of my banishment? The two are connected… my fellow druids and I still help others to this day and protect the lands of the wild… even if I am the only one to still draw breath.” She bemoaned.

Sensing the seriousness of the effected exile Twilight hardened up and let her eagerness to learn about Equis and its potential ways flow onwards to continue, “Please, if it hurts… I hear it helps to talk to others about it. I… I kinda know that myself.”

Old Oak sniffled a little with a hand going to her face, it sounded as if she held the door against the flood of tears that attempted to crash through. Having had experience with Adagio, Sparkle touched the Druid on the shoulder where her skin laid exposed from the short sleeved shirt she had. The effect was immediate as she hoped for, for the exile seemed to recompose herself and clasp both hands together upon her collar bone as if cradling a bird’s egg.

“Little human…” Oak starred into the blue cloudless sky, “Those others I mentioned… my kin of the forest… what happened to them…”

In the background, Sparkle could hear Aria and Sonata fighting over something insipid, “There is a kind of magic used by Druids as a last attempt to save a swathe of land from decay and disease when normal rituals and practices cannot halt nor reverse. A kind of soul magic I think you know? We can… sacrifice ourselves in order to become a Heart of the Maker or at least a fragment. It was developed by a long forgotten sage from another corner of Equis during a bought of famine across the world over. Druids do not keep books or if rarely we ever do have records they are far and few to speak of.”

Twilight had a light bulb moment, “Just like ours… only practiced rituals and events ever made it to modern day life and even now there are still some trying to bring it back with the way human pollution and destruction seems to be ruining any planetary recovery.”

“Indeed true, now, we give our lives to become these fragments of pure magic which when placed in a sickly piece of land it is instantly cured and given a second chance at life. To stop a spread of malignant disease before it turns a region into a desert, it is our gift to the trees and animals that live there when no more can be done. My friends… they saw no other chance of escape and they… wanted to protect me…” Oak sighed as the fight to stop the sadness from overwhelming her calm mindset became almost unwinnable.

Twilight held her tongue, she wanted to know more about her people and this strange new power they had which she wondered if there was a way to utilize without giving a life for. Ecosystem restoration projections came to mind and flowered with potential for oil spill stricken beaches and wild fire ravaged lands.

“When they… became fragments of the heart… their bubbles popped and their shards came to me… swimming in my jail like little minnows in a pond. I do not believe they knew what was going to happen to us, what the Arcana was doing… they probably thought that we were going to be blasted with magic and beaten into the soil. Instead… I was sent here… with the shards which manifested into geodes the same color as their coats. I spent months in this world before I tried to bury my friends in the nearby forest. That way they could live out their lives doing what the magic was intended to do. Little did I know that a young woman would happen across their resting place and use their magic to stop her camp from becoming… a human relaxation place.” Oak looked irked as her face became visible, she starring at the portal as the memories came.

Sparkle knew the same story played out countless times on earth, consumerism and luxury often destroying nature for a moment’s peace and often more times than not going out of business. She removed her hand off the Druid as she felt that the history coming on would be best at an arm’s length away with the emotion behind it.

“When I went to pay my respects, I found the shards gone… so I traced their magic all the way to the woman who was fighting the owner of the land… Richie Rich or something, I did not like the way he spoke when I happened across one of their talks. So I waited for the right time to see her, I proved who I was and the geodes responded to me as I hoped they would. We came to an understanding after a night of private conversation… and I gave her my aid to find a way to prevent the sacking of her camp and the forest. I located an old burial ground of the natives who once lived in the area hundreds of years ago, let us say that once the tribe was alerted to the discovery… Richie Rich lost his leverage after that.” To which Oak seemed to let a chuckle escape her morbid mood.

“So you saved the camp? Camp Everfree if I’m correct?” Sparkle asked.

The Druid nodded, “With her camp saved for many lifetimes from big business, she did not need the power of the shards. So we had a day to ourselves to learn of each other before we’d part ways… she reminded me a lot of myself. Everything she did was environmentally friendly, she loved nature and the camp her parents gave to her brother and her. In a way… I felt a kindred spirit connection with that Gloriosa Daisy.”

A brief silence went between the two, though it was a pleasant kind of quiet considering the mental state of the exile had became stable and oddly content. Twilight noticed five colorful glass like fragments she brought into view in the palm of her hands, extracting them from a sack tied to her belt on her hip. Varying several colors of the spectrum, Twilight wondered what kind of magic was that powerful to turn a living being into pure mana. The fact that anyone could use them easily was a bit of a danger, but that made it an easier concept to work with for her own plans later on. She hoped those shards remained on Oak for a long time to come, as they seemed to be her anchor to reality as they were her friends in truth even if they were shells of their former selves.

“I need to check up on the others, will you be okay?” Sparkle asked.

The Druid giggled as she hugged the important artifacts close to her heart, “Yes, I believe I will be… thank you little human. It… it really feels good to talk to others about things. I guess when you know the others for as long as I have, you need someone new?”

The two parted with goodbyes, the sirens and Twilight soon inevitably gathered together once the human integrated herself back into the group. As one, they approached the statue and for the singers they still felt the sting of self agitation at having missed it when they first came to Canterlot High and not assumed that the magic came from a source nearby. They too could feel the mana even as scant as it were, how easily they would have still had their original gems if they had noticed the portal and avoided that fated contest. Their pursuit of power and besting the Rainbooms threw chaff into their radar and numbed any of the magic from the gateway, something Adagio vowed to never let happen again.

Though aside it all, Adagio could not stop grinning at the taste of the return journey and how close they were. There was little of anything to stop them now and she had Equis at her forelimbs ready for the taking with just the jump through a hole in time and space. With her Dazzlings veterans of the human world and Twilight Sparkle containing unimaginable magic, her vengeance was but a step away. She refrained from going too close to the mages and their machinations, and remained with Sonata to keep the girl balanced as Twilight felt the resurgence of her mana coming back from the knock out spell like a rush of blood to the head

Yellow Tail had taken to organizing the other banished into guard positions just in case things took too long, leading the way with Monet, Serak, and Pandius that would be his eyes and ears. With the scene set up for the arrival of more police, it lent him to a moment of peaceful introspection over his little gems and the human. Patting Monet on the shoulder to send her off he caught the glimpse of Sparkle gazing over at the quick grouping that was dispersing. The sirens seemed to be lost in their banter as well, which could only mean one thing he’d soon expect.

“Well at least we can forget this whole mess and be done with it.” Aria bemoaned.

“Like Tartarus we do! Can you truly believe we missed this huge source of magic and not sensed it!?” Dazzle fumed as she crossed her arms over her bosom and tapped her booted foot.

Sonata had a dead stare at the portal site since Adagio began her rant, no one could really discern any thoughts or ideas going through her head with the ambiguous expression.

“The point is we missed something so flipping obvious for as long as we did and that means it can happen again! We need to figure out a way to be more attuned to our surroundings if we’re going to be back home. Unlike this dead rock, magic will be everywhere and the eye sore around us could easily be another pony wizard who’d lock us up or worse send us back here and no way of returning! UGHHH!!” Adagio slapped her forehead and rolled it in the palm of the hand trying to calm down.

“That means I’m assigning you to be the eyes and nose for me that way I can plan without worry, Twilight will be busy enough with her magic and Sonata…” the golden skinned siren eyed the still oblivious member of the pack, “… will be Sonata. That means I do not want any lip from you on this got it?”

Aria had been seconds away from groaning, but the fire in her leader’s eyes were enough to stay that action, “Ya, whatever.” She rolled her eyes and gave a thumbs up.

Squinting at her most troublesome pod mate, she sensed nothing out of her that would have meant future issues would come of it. Blaze knew her place and would carry out her new role or so she’d hope, that left her to work out the details with her newest member of the group. What would ever happen to them when they crossed over would be a bridge they’d cross when they got to it, even if they’d have to lug a pony around with them. A pony that was thankfully all human and just reskinned like they were in this place, Twilight would gain no ire from them no matter how bad things got. She’d have her powers and they’d have their voices, so long as they were not separated they could help each other out. The glory to be had would take time however, they had yet to even apply Sparkle to the plans as she would essentially needed to be watched over for the first few months from what Adagio assumed.

Dazzle sauntered up to the lavender girl calmly, “Twilight? I’ve been meaning to go over our first few days through, as a matter of fact have you felt anything weird since you used performed magic? Is it trying to control you again?”

Sparkle seemed to understand the concern, “I… did hear a voice echoing, but it was just to activate the magic if I guess right? Whatever amount you let me use seems to be fine so far, if my calculations are correct I should be able to use most basic magical attacks and defense wards without problems. However they won’t be much if we have to fight anything more than a common unicorn.”

“Then you are aware, that’s good… I want you to promise me you’ll stay in between the three of us at all times when we jump. Your world does not have the likes of hydras or manticores, and I won’t allow you to use much of your power until we can cure you. There’s no telling who we’ll have to rely on if anyone for that matter.” Adagio rubbed her chin with an index finger as she pondered away about the restoration of their gems and that trip to Yellow’s store house or vault.

Twilight knew attaining a mastery in the arts would not be as easy as her projects on her homeworld, books and machines were simple and straight forward. The handicap she earned was a learning curve that she saw as beneficial in a sense, to ensure she knew how dangerous magic was if anyone just took the reins. People were turbulent in their wants and desires, she’d need to find a way to protect humanity from itself when she inevitably brought it into the public. The new found energy which could manipulate and alter the laws of nature and physics, the world was full of very bad people who’d exploit that over others at the snap of the finger.

She waited for the head siren to finish her thoughts and look back at her, “I promise I will do everything I can to stay out of trouble. I certainly don’t want to end up as something’s lunch before my magic can be purified. I just hope we can find a way, with nothing in the books about my condition I’m worried we’ll run into the Arcana just to find someone knowledgeable enough to assist.”

Paradox and Emerath signaled loudly that the spell was set to start, in a minute or so the Dazzlings magic would be given and the gateway would be manipulated and forced to do their bidding. Everyone looked at the hollering mages as they almost danced to the sparking magic from the setup around the statue of the school’s mascot. Adagio noticed four corners of stacked paper sheets likely hosting the spell work, with eight sections comprised of colorful gemstones which leaked mana into the concrete sculpture. If she knew her pony magic well enough even to this day, the act was akin to starting a fire with a sparking stone to fuel the kindling.

She grinned and let go of the details that hampered the joyous occasion of returning home, this was the act to permit it and she could feel the calling hunger. Everyone had stepped away from the scene as light waved off the papers while disintegrating them in the process, ash like sprites flowed forth from their source and into the portal anchor like insects to a flood light. The stones were giving their all to help the process and would soon be drained in moments, which came accompanied by the heralding of the mages to the sirens to do their crucial part.

“Frauleins!! It is time!” the hefty man said with glee as he nearly two stepped in place to some kind of weird dance of happiness, “Summon your powers and give to ze spell!”

Emerath had been a bit more composed himself, with a big toothy smile he gestured to the statue, “Feed your powers into the spell and it will handle the rest. Simple as that.”

“And so it begins… finally!” Aria huffed as the spectacular process of freedom made her a little anxious.

Dusk had somewhat came back to reality and found her eyes hunting for someone in question before Dazzle snapped her fingers to get her attention, “Sonata ready your pendant, we do this as one. We still have to be careful with these.”

Nodding, “Sure thing.” She meekly replied as the girls exposed their precious source of magic, glimmering under the sunlight were the rubies escaping the confines of the modern theatrical dresses they still had from the convention.

“Remember those notes we used back at the café? Before I saw the pillar of Equestrian magic? Same one, give everything to that spell and don’t hold back. We’re not dying in this wasteland!” Adagio proclaimed, their united voice beginning the transfer process in an almost angelic way.

Twilight watched from behind, stepping away so as to avoid interfering if her magic decided to become unstable. Yet she could not help but feel a tingling tickle along her skin by just listening to the song. Some kind of invisible force bathed the area in what she assumed was pure raw unadulterated mana, and with her being attuned to magic it made sense. Yet that was not the end of it, the sirens before her began to rise from the ground as their bodies began to darken in a veil of shadows. Drifting slowly off the grass and walkway the trio maintained their act with their rubies glowing bright red the likes of a police car’s alarm lights. That very blood colored illumination flowed from the girls and into the air like a smoke trail being sucked into a fan. That very vacuum of course was the glowing equine statue, the golden aura tinged crimson ever slowly as the magic mixed with the siren’s magic. The activation of the gateway sparked to life in a subtle orb that appeared to originate from within the concrete structure, bubbling out and consuming the anchor in a swirling chrome orb. It reflected every surrounding, every surface, unconscious body, as well as the exiles like a mirror. The glass sphere ate every amount of magic the sirens had to give and thankfully the process was painless as well as oddly not completely draining.

At the height of the tune, the true Dazzlings manifested the same strange fin-like constructs from their backs with their hairstyles growing outward and long as with the Battle of the Bands. Sparkle observed the physical changes as they came forth, something she remembered from the books Yellow gave her which explained them. They were added mass to accommodate the use of their magic even if it was just to release it all. Their current bodies could not handle the flux alone and needed more space to convey the flow. Hence why they grew more hair and formed wings which if one looked hard enough they possessed veins and bony spines. They were transparent and delicate, spectacularly soft if one might attempt to touch them. It added an otherworldly aspect to the singers that Sparkle could not help feel honored to witness such a moment, one she hoped she could allow others of her race experience. The power to alter reality into a heavenly paradise, the end of the cycle of war and poverty, of sickness and hunger.

The carmine aura died away from the sirens as well as their spontaneous changes recede into nothingness. Their song began to end gently like a caress upon the ears. They had not fallen to the ground abruptly so much as they descended back to ground level at the same speed as they’d risen. The last of their magic disappeared into the spell and left the girls as they were from the start. The act ceased and their ended on a soft note, their hands coming down from their dull gemstones. Not even a cricket chirped from the front lawn, it seemed even nature and the traffic in the background gave the mystically enchanted females their closing moment.

Adagio opened her eyes as she breathed deeply in, the other two following suit as the empty void of their gems became apparent. There was still a little wisp of magic still left in them, to which the sirens let go of their air in relief. The banished were all gathering around the gateway all in awe or stricken with jubilation and adoration mixed as one. Home was but a few steps through and the sirens were transfixed over it as much as the others.

“We’re finally going back…” Dazzle whispered as she felt her eyes watered

Aria lightly giggled to herself, “If only those losers could see us now.” She hinted at the defeated Rainbooms far away from them to do anything as much as slap them.

The girls formed a huddle which soon turned into a group therapy session as they embraced each other. Ecstatic beyond words they simply just wanted to express, after all they had to take this was finally the end of it and the start of something entirely new.

“I’ll miss the tacos here…” Dusk mumbled as they collectively embraced each other.

“You would you idiot.” Blaze giggled as she gently tapped the cerulean siren’s right cheek with a knuckled fist, barely even making skin contact.

The hardships of their punishment by the actions of Starswirl the Bearded had engendered hatred and a drive to feast upon the humans for power they could no longer attain. Like grazers feeding on a slowly growing pasture which would grow no longer than two inches. They had spent next to a good three hundred years on earth following Adagio and her countless schemes which never bore fruit, though it did alter the course of human history on several monumental moments. All the failures and time spent in the magicless realm had dulled their sharp teeth into almost threatless mediocrity until Canterlot High. Adagio had chosen to pursue the true magic she sensed and let themselves become drunk on power, never once questioning where the Equestrian magic had originated from at any point in time. Their spear tip was scrapped on rough stone to get some kind of edge, and an edge which shattered when the interlopers and Sunset put a stop to their advance. The pack fallen to its hubris, they had ran away and nearly died if it were not for the actions of the exiles. They desperately tried to cling to hope following the Equestrian and Sunset, only to be left with nothing of use at the café. Life died for them at that moment before a sliver of renewal came out of the blue with none other than a fresh siren stone. With it came a bargain with a fresh sample to taste with, their spirits were relit with revenge as it became the bonfire of passion. Their new stones were far more powerful than their old ones, which only served to widen their ravenous aspirations. They would hit a few bumps in the road and hammer out personal issues, but it all thankfully lead up to the golden gates. Their homeworld brimming with magic and true prey was only moment away from them, and a little care package would be joining them as well. Poseidon seemed to grace them in their leave, to that the sirens muttered a thank you to the all father of the oceans.

Twilight took note of her friends as they seemed completely overwhelmed as much as the banished behind them. She could only guess this was just like how she felt when her brother finally reappeared back when Principle Cinch called her in to have her participate in the Friendship Games. The overwhelming sense of rapture after almost more than seven years of communication silence with the young man was almost too much for her to bare. She could remember it very well as she stood there before the forming gateway to Equis that Paradox and Emerath had already swarmed and started to speak to it.

Principle Cinch’s Office several weeks ago….

Twilight had been caught with Spike by Dean Cadence as she ran through a brilliant moment with learning about momentum magic for a perpetually spinning turbine for energy generation. Thankfully she knew about the little puppy and only warned her not to have him out in the open for fear of Cinch finding out. However, that was not the reason she pulled her out of her lab as it seemed Twilight was needed for some reason once again. She remembered that the older woman did hint at another visitation, but for what other than to help verify candidates for the games against Canterlot High was beyond her perception. The magical tomes that Yellow Tail provided were enough to keep her occupied nearly twenty four seven, developing ideas along the way with each spell, ward, or charm.

The time of guessing ended once they reached the fated entryway, the elaborate dark wood door opened up by itself into the barely lighted office. The one bulb shone brightly over Cinch’s desk whose chair suddenly swiveled around with the one in question. Twilight cautiously strode in with the sound of Cadence behind her joining in as the door shut soon after.

“Ahhh if it isn’t my prized student, I have to say the funding that Sir Yellow Tail has given us will go nicely to train our students in the tri relay race. It seems that Principle Celestia was willing to take on the idea of a motor bike challenge, so I’ve used the funds to send our best and athletic to a race track who gladly gives classes to anyone willing to learn. That said, I’m sure you are wondering why you are here?” she asked as her hands clasped together.

Twilight stood before her now out of her element and notions of grandeur she felt naked and alone, “I… I’m not sure? Do you need help filling a spot in the roster? I’m… sure I can find someone who’d suit the position you need?” she stuttered nervously.

Cinch gave no indication she cared for her discomfort as she simply shook her head, “As you can imagine the Friendship Games are very important to the school’s reputation! We have won every event since it was fostered by Canterlot High with my predecessor Principle Platinum who had graciously retired. I have ensured that each of the Games received our best and brightest to honor her and the school’s established expectations it has over the student body.” She rose from her large office chair and strode around the desk to the right side where a large globe of the earth stood on a moving fixture.

“It doesn't matter whether or not Crystal Prep wins or loses. The important thing is we are expected to win because Crystal Prep has a reputation. And it is that reputation, my reputation, that is responsible for everything we have here as well as you receiving those opportunities to acquire funds for school use my dear. As with any of our most valuable students we cater to them and let their talents soar to the skies, isn’t that right Alumni Armor?” at the mere mention of the name had the young girl spinning in her spot and trying to see through the darker area of the room by the door she came through.

Sure enough as her eyes adjusted from the oddly lit office there came forth her brother wearing his old Crystal Prep commemorative sweater vest over a dress shirt. He appeared much older than she remembered him, but those unique facial features and proportions, the hair style, those sky blue eyes and pearl skin affirmed to her that he was indeed her long missed brother. Throwing everything aside as well as Principle Cinch’s little speech, Twilight ran over and quite frankly threw herself into him. He was a little more muscled, perhaps from the years he spent wherever he went and working on the heavy lifting himself. He always did that for her, whenever a book was too high on the shelf or she needed to get a stack of them from her room back to their father’s study.

She breathed in deeply hoping this was no dream of false of mind, that this was indeed her brother. He still used the same soap she remembered, it was a tinge masculine while possessing a hint of lilac. One of her favorite floral scents, one their mother grew in the backyard during her off time and the kind which calmed her down when she stressed too much about tests in school. She’d even gone into the research of essential oils and their immediate effect on the body after sensory nerves picked up on them. While all that was fascinating, Principle Cinch coughed into her hand to break the reunion apart before they even said any words.

Blushing red she composed herself and shied her eyes away, “S... sorry Principe Cinch, I just haven’t seen my brother in so long.”

“Yes, quite obvious, and I’m sure you two want to catch up. So I’ll just skip to the reason you’re here, I need you to join the Friendship Games Shadow Bolts team and use your brilliant mind to best Canterlot High and leave them choking on our collective dust! For you see, the past quarter has seen a tremendous rise in student grades, attendance, and even participation in the entire curriculum and advanced classes for college bound students! Where this sudden resurgence of success has originated from only means one thing… they must be stomped like the insects they are and be reminded of which school is the better. No strange events or light shows could move students as common as those ones who attend there would ever be motivated to such lengths in a record amount of time. Something has them empowered… but that remains to be seen. So… Twilight will you be joining us?” she had walked over to the siblings and stood stock before the girl, her fuchsia eyes not so much as glaring as they were anticipating a specific answer from her and prepared a response.

Still elated at the presence of her brother, it felt as if a bombshell had been dropped on her joyous time, “You… want me on the team?”

“Yes, there appears to be a very unique student there by the name of Sunset Shimmer whose speculated to be running the so called revolution at that school. She’ll need someone to stifle that mind of hers and I cannot think of a better genius than you. Of course, if you don’t want to help Crystal Prep win again, I can remove your application to the Everton I.S. program? I can even take back the school property you have in your lab as well, after all what use is a brilliant student if they do not contribute to the school from which they subsist off?” her claim of threat was as true as any chemical reaction involving a potent acid, she really was going to use the school card on her.

She could hear Cadence sigh quietly and feel her brother place a gentle hand on his sister’s shoulder, “We’ve always won, Crystal Prep holds the record of most victories in all categories all thanks to the generous donations and prestige over the years since its founding. Come on Twily, I’ve known you for so long there’s no way C.P. would lose with you heading the brains of the team?” he joined in and sided with the conniving woman, throwing the girl into a deeper loop of uncertainty.

As she hesitated to give an answer, besides her brothers return she felt a calming warmth develop within her as she remembered Sonata and then the declaration from Adagio. She had access to magic now and she was a Dazzling, if she were the Twilight Sparkle from before Yellow Tail approached her. She would have crumbled with the fear of being thrown into something she was ill prepared for. She had no experience in physical activity unless she counted surviving Sonata’s bear hugs or hauling Adagio out of the restaurant. Hopefully she could gain some spells to benefit her in the contest even if it had her running or diving into something, as she was not the best coordinated person unlike Shining Armor. The acts to follow and events to win would be approachable now, and the confidence in her new assets and allies would serve as her support. If everything worked out as she expected the puzzle pieces to do so, she’d have magical abilities that would allow her to move beyond Crystal Prep without its recommendations. Cinch would be like a child with their candy taken away from them, crying at the loss of something they should have appreciated more.

Something inside her popped and exercised itself which would later become the voice and the magic within her that had a mind of its own, ‘If she thinks I’m just some push over to use like a show hound she’s got another thing coming! I’ll play her little game, and she won’t see it coming.’

Letting go of her reservations due to shock and awe, “I’ll do it.” she gave her firm answer.

“Good… that is good. Well then, since we see eye to eye on this matter then I believe you should devote the rest of the time we have before the games to prepare. I’m actually glad that you’re willing to go through with this, the spirit in you is what has fueled many of our Alumni to become great movers and shakers of this nation and abroad. Do keep that in mind?” she smiled and turned back to her desk to lift up a manila folder, “Oh and here are the game events for you, the rest of the Shadow Bolts have received theirs. I’ll trust you’ll handle yourself accordingly in preparation?”

Sparkle gave a confident grin at Armor who showed a little upset in his siblings character, “I’ll be more than ready Principle Cinch.” She went up to grab the folder as it was given to her.

Portal to Equestria in front of Canterlot High

Twilight removed herself from her memories as the mages by the portal were in full swing to bring it into operation. By then the others were in a protective circle around the seven foot tall chrome ball whose aura disappeared and just seemed like a giant ball sitting in place.

She heard Emerath speak as he guided Yellow over, “Schrodinger is performing the necessary rites to gain control over the new anchor locations, in five minutes we should be able to send the first of us through. You and Inferno of course will have to be last, you’ll need to go through the original anchor point to destroy it. Should be easy just by stepping through it.”

The crimson haired man appeared to agree and Sparkle listened on intently, “Perfect, splendid!! Everyone!? Just in a few moments we will begin our return! You know the drill, don’t get caught, and use the amulets I gave you to communicate with me if you need help. We’ll have a long road ahead of us after all and this mere step is nothing short of a walk in the park! Paradox will handle the rest from here on out. Good luck and be safe!”

His address to the others was received with a mix of reactions varying from clapping hands to roars of righteousness such as Magnus and Havoc. Plenty of them needed to get back as others were just hoping their homes were still there after all the time that had passed. Of course the Lich who hid her face under a sun hat seemed as always impassive to any emotion, even under the festive air about her she seemed unmoved.

Adagio and the girls separated from their hugging and moved to join the Exiles, she had to know their number in which they’d go through in the subsequent order that was issued. As much as she wanted to be the first ones to take the plunge, portal magic worked in dangerous ways if it was not treated with respect that much she knew. Sonata however separated from them and rushed over to Twilight who had only then started to walk towards the gateway, she seemed eager to talk as she came before the human girl.

“Um? Do you need anything?” Sparkle inquired as she kept looking between the siren and the gathering Exiles with anticipation.

Sporting a sheepish stall in her reason for getting in the girl’s way she tapped her fingers together nervously. It was enough for her to get into position, but whatever it was she needed to say was almost painful to speak.

“I wanted to thank you for being my very first friend. I also wanted to say I’m… sorry about what happened to you after the pendants sorta kinda did take over your mind and all. I promise that if we had known we would have stopped it, I would have stopped it! For realzies, we had no idea these old stones did what they did.” She seemed deflated and hurt as she went on, “I mean I guess it would be like holding a spell over me before a whole buffet of tacos and… and I would never want to eat them. BUT I’d deep down want to eat each and every one of those delicious shelled meat things with greens and cheese! I’d feel like I was dying inside a little each day I couldn’t will myself to eat one. So I can imagine what… it must have felt?”

Sparkle by then had detached herself from the portal event and focused on the siren who poured her heart out in honest. However, it was Sonata after all and she was the most transparent of the three with Aria second and Adagio third. If she was apologizing as strongly as she were just then, she’d have to hear her out and see where it was all going. It was still a bit of a painful thought to come back to, even if she had Yellow help her work through it.

Her world’s sirens were something else, they made her put herself in danger and go through with scary moments she’d have otherwise left alone. Not the Dazzlings, they were not that insidious to enslave her as she came to realize through those private moments with each of them. Even though she felt violated up until she was cured by Sunset, one of whom she’d have to give her a slice a gratitude for doing her such a service. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were not the ones who forced her to go along with everything, they were just there and did what they had to do to feed. Though, Dusk’s apology did patch up the tenderness, lending Twilight to smile at the other worldly being she’d come to know as a friend.

She placed a hand on the blue girl’s arm, “Thanks, that means a lot to me. But I’m aware that… you three were not the ones who took away my choice to say no and in hindsight? I’m… kind of glad for that as well. If I had not gone through such lengths to help you girls when you needed it the most, we’d likely had never even gotten to this point in time. I guess what I mean to say is that… those gems gave me confidence even if it slaved me. I have magic now… even if it needs work. I’m going to another world where I can continue my research and come back with all kinds of ways to better the world… my world. You guys are my friends, my first real friends since my brother or Cadence.”

Of course the admission of removal of guilt had put the widest smile and teary eyes on Dusk anyone had ever seen, and shortly she once again lifted the human in a bear hug.

“Oooooh!! You do forgive us! I’m so happy!!” the little moment ruined as Sparkle found it hard to breath as if a constricting snake had wrapped around her in a deathly grip.

Her rabble had thankfully attracted Adagio’s hearing who looked to the scene, “Stop breaking Twilight and get over here!!”

“YA! Come on dunce! We gotta get going!” Blaze yelled with a bit of irritation at the antics of their lesser.

The two eventually joined the circle of Exiles as they awaited Paradox to give the go ahead, Twilight coughing a little as her body had a mild soreness from the excited siren. Serak had returned her backpack with the puppy inside once she recovered well enough of her breath. Leaving just as Twilight exposed the purple green furred dog to Sonata and introduced the two. Everyone else stood in silence as they waited with baited air, watching the older mage wave his hands over the metallic surface as the spell finally started to take shape.

The portal lost its reflective chrome feature in a brilliant wave of ripples along its once sleek smooth surface. The effect lasted only seconds, leaving a new surface that appeared to be looking directly into Equestria from the sky. Mana started to flow out from the gate, invigorating the banished alike as if inhaling fresh mountain air on a cold spring day. Ponies were flying in the distance or trotting on pathways from village to village, there were plenty of trees and grassy plains which seemed almost alien to take in. The scenery was what took most by surprise, the age of which their homeworld had grown into became almost a moment of utter appall as Paradox waved the scene to change like it were an spyglass over a map. There were almost human-like cities with large bridges of modern architecture, boats and fancy airships decorated the city hubs like flies around a corpse over the pony lands. Then came Canterlot standing impossibly pristine and mighty, thrice the size it was back in their time they were sent away. The length of time that they were gone had lent Equis to evolve into almost human level era minus the pursuit of huge smoke choking industry that at least Old Oak seemed happy with.

A mix of reactions had also occupied everyone’s attention to the soft sounds of footsteps on the lawn around them. So drawn to their world like a dragon eyeing a cache of treasure, no one saw the coming attack that laid them low except Twilight who was for the most part distracted as Spike kept licking her face as she tried to gaze in wonderment at the other world. She managed to turn around just soon enough to only be grazed by the incoming white orb floating in mid air which was meant for her spine. Yet the electrically charged sphere still shocked her just as the others, but her magic which had recuperated lent her a bit of resistance.

All around her the exiles and the sirens were sent to the ground convulsing in agony as the very magical attack had shocked their nerves like a stun gun by invisible offenders. Even the might of Magnus, Havoc, and the Lich were incapacitated, knees and feet held them all into submission as cloaked figures weighed on their bodies.

Twilight had dropped her backpack and spike with it in her fall, feeling a stony joint pressing into her gut with another stun spell primed and readily hovering over her face to keep her placid. There was nothing she could think to do that would not result in a full on shock, so she waited and appeared to be unable to move. Their attackers would reveal themselves and leave an opening for her to exploit, but she’d leave the fighting to the others. She may be resourceful but she was not a violent person inherently nor by choice. These were magic wielders as well, likely too strong for her to best even their weakest members.

Her hope for the window of opportunity came with the manifestation of a gray robed figure that strode by her feet as they went around the circle of bodies. She could see black leather boots with gold embroidery, but the rest was obscured by the clothing draped over their frame. Just a piece of their chin and mouth was all that was available to the naked eye and her captor would not let her head move to get anymore of a look.

A man spoke out loud, masculine yet similar to how Monet’s tone often went, “Prisoners of Equestria! Criminals! Dangerous creatures of ancient Equis! Cease and desist this breakout attempt and your punishment will be given trial! Do not give cause to order aggressive tactics. This is the Arcana Securitatem Sub Warden, and you will comply!”

No one moved a single muscle as they all more so widened their eyes at the revelation, Arcana was right within hands reach and there they were captured once again. Most of the aggressive exiles peaked on the siren’s radar, their jailers had graciously sent a punching bag for them to have a nice send off with only they were stunned into shackles by waiting spells threatening to hurt them even more. Their otherwise calm auras had taken on a nice green glow signaling Adagio that their negative emotions were the strongest they’d get before they acted upon them much like she would if she ever saw Starswirl ever again.

Yellow spoke with his face mushed with a shoe pressing his face into the grass, “Now now, there’s no need to get all wrilled up? Sub Warden was it? I’d like to extend a temporary olive branch if not to stop this from resulting in rather… unnecessary bodily harm to good sir?” Yellow offered even though he himself glowed almost red to the Dazzlings as much as Pandius or Emerath had, “Please, let us talk this out shall we?”

“The likes of you deserve no quarter, you are the prisoner leading this escape are you not? You’ve been the hardest to keep watch over, and I can only assume those cases over there contain weapons to be used against the Crown and their subjects? Answer me!” the warden commanded.

Above the exiles their guards holding their metaphorical guns suddenly appeared just as the Warden did. Whatever spell they used to conceal themselves had finally worn out, showing off the same kind of gray robed figures with rather ugly grins and sneers as they held power over long forgotten enemies to harmony. They were almost sadistic in the satisfaction of holding them all hostage, something the sirens could taste the sweetness of far better than any sugary treat in the human world.

“Well yes I am the one. How can I help you good Warden?” Yellow answered.

“Under Provision five leaders of the escape are to be detained and questioned, if found guilty of conspiracy to break out of confinement and back into Equestria. Prisoners involved shall be sentenced to isolated confinement in a tesseract. All of you shall be stripped of your powers and released after the portal has been secured. Tampering with the portal also allows me to use Provision five’s recent addendum to secure a harness of void stones to the guilty which will be permanent once the portal has been repaired. You have done something to it and the use of the mirror has recently been rendered unusable. Seeing this… thing before me means you have altered the way through… you will fix it” the Warden pointed to the big man who breathed heavily under the guard’s weight, his throat slightly being cut off if he moved in any manner.

“Yes… yes it is I! But I cannot undo it, ze spell I mean. I created it vith a deadman’s switch so if I leave ze proximity, if my magic vanishes zen ze portal goes with it permanently on this side.” Which earned an extra nudge of pressure from the guard sitting on him.

“Crafty I will comment on that, your punishment will be held off for now. Can the spell be completed and keep the portal intact? Watch your words carefully, as this point on you are all stepping on broken glass.” The Warden warned standing menacingly waiting for the answer to come, a snap of the fingers had the subordinate over the mage lighten his hold.

Coughing up a bit of phlegm, “Vell yes… I suppose, nein ve all have to go. It is tailored to us, if you send your guards instead ze spell vill not end. It only goes to Equestria now, it will collapse and destroy ze anchor here if ze magic expires!” a few grunts of disapproval came from the cloaked figures.

“This complicates matters… Irons! I need you to…” the Warden began to issue an order when shouting erupted from all around them, tires screeching to a halt, and doors sliding open as well as slamming shut.

By this time the actions of the Exiles had drawn the attention of the authorities over the missing responses of the officers still knocked out on the ground. People were sporadically recording and streaming the scene since they started the process with the portal as well. They had human guards swarming their position with armor and weapons, sporting F.B.I. in white letters on dark fabric who began shouting at the equestrians. Giant armored cars had disembarked police and swat teams on the scene, black vehicles with shiny chassis had formed a barricade between the crime scene and the public in the distance. Heads turned as four helicopters zoomed overhead in a circling pattern, dark gray aerial vehicles with more police in them sporting rifles aimed directly at the Warden and his guards.

A megaphone shook the flabbergasted prison guards, “This is the F.B.I.!! Release the hostages and step away!! We have you surrounded… hands up where we can see them!!” said the bald agent from behind an armored SUV.

The Warden took in their new situation, they had enough mana to hold off the humans but not enough if the prisoners revolted and escaped their binds. As it were he had no reason to believe they’d receive additional backup if the exile was indeed telling the truth. He also feared what would happen to anyone using the portal to get through after being tampered with, horrible accidents were proven to occur by the department of portal science.

Quick witted, he chose to handle the humans to lesson the opportunity of the criminals from getting an upper hand, “Teal Team! Down those airships. Ice spells only. Red Team! Shields!” He spoke out loud as more guards came into existence by his side with gemstones in hand glowing an ice blue with coursing power.

“Yes sir!”

“Affirmative!”

The pilots of the Black Hawk helicopters who had maintained their steady swirl around the school took heed of the many alarms and shuddering convulsions of the craft they were belted into. The dials and gauges were flying everywhere as the primary rotor essentially slowed to a stop as frost sealed the mechanical instrument in place and froze the fluids. The other men in the troop compartment gripped onto anything close by as the aircraft violently quaked into a dive. Though they had tethers to the roof of the copter, they were taken off guard by the plummeting drop that befell all the transports.

The command car hidden by the swat trucks received panicked calls of alarm they had not expected to ever hear.

“Command! We’re losing altitude!? Primary engine is gone! This is one two we are going into a controlled dive!”

“Command this is one four we’ve lost the primary engine and we’re going down!!”

“This is one one, we’ve taken some kind of hit!! No smoke or anything! We’re going to crash! Aiming for a park in the west five clicks from your position!!”

“Overwatch!!! This is one three we’re going down on top of a hospital! I can’t steer away! Send help!..... Brace!!”

Dazzle could hear the minute changes in the way the flying machines sounded, they altered in a way which would mean they were injured in some fashion. They were decelerating and falling if she knew sound as well as any siren did, and she guessed it was all due to the ponies. The human guards around them took heed and were hard to steel themselves to the loss of assets, fear gripped their hearts as negativity sprouted into a whole new branch of flavor even with her face pressed unceremoniously into the pavement of the walkway.

“One last time! Get down on the ground or you will receive a warning shot!” the loud speaker commanded to no avail as the situation just grew dark.

“On the ground!!”

“Get down now!!!”

“Off the hostages now!!”

The well armed police shouted everywhere and each direction, guns ready to take lives at the pull of a trigger in the barbaric method of control humanity was famed for. It would do her a great satisfaction if the Arcana dogs fowled their encounter and errored enough to receive death’s sweet embrace. For Adagio, they were no better than Starswirl the Bearded in their remorse, she knew how they felt and were getting kicks out of treating them as such. All except the Warden who seemed to hide his state too well, he was an unknown and she hated those types of personalities. She watched as the ride went on and further into Tartarus.

The Warden clenched his fists and finally frowned before Yellow Tail and Inferno, “Execute three forty two!!”

“Sir yes Sir!!” the guards all answered as one.

Those who held the exiles under their power delivered another shock spell before dismounting off their charges. Guard ponies in human form soon turned their wanton violent behavior to attack the humans, erecting durable magical barriers upon their own bodies as additional protection while more offensive spells were taking shape in their mitts to be sent forth. No sooner had they did so did the officers fire their first volley out of fear of the charging crazy cultists, the first finger pulled the trigger to a shotgun which snowballed the situation as the other men and women in uniform did as such. The bangs of gunfire peppered the very air with such a chorus of ear shattering pain and rank gun powder that the shields couldn’t protect from. Loud tangs against the magical barriers resounded even more raucously than the firing process as they echoed off the hard colorful bubbles.

In a brief flash in her vision, Adagio saw her mother between her and the human guard moving forward at a steady pace as they continued to fire at the flame, water, air, and mana casting Arcana. Perhaps it was the overload of her senses, the sheer volume of negative energy causing their pendants to soak up the ambient source of food passively. Maybe it was her predatory nature which wanted to go into fight mode as the violence reached a fever pitch with the battle underway and smoke rising in the distance where the helicopters had crashed?

Her mother just stood in her full glory in the same siren form as she appeared in her dreams, smiling at her lovingly as if she were proud of her first song. The elder appeared like a phantom as humans ran through her ghostly body, there she was as joyous as she could ever imagine to be. She spoke to her with no real discernible voice other than her lips and mouth moving past all the chorus of destruction and chaos. But Adagio knew what was being said and it emboldened her from that and the restoring energy.

‘I’m proud of you my little Dazzle.’

Comments

[Raistlin]

Well done, Arcana cretins. You have just revealed the existence of magic to the human world in the most expectacular and brutish way possible.

[TheronSniper]

7949331 Not sure what account you were looking at I have my devart account here. http://feroxultrus.deviantart.com/gallery/

[TheronSniper]

7949388 The Warden was in the hot seat, guess he made the wrong choice.