The Siren's Remorse

by TheronSniper

Ch. 7 Studious as Can Be

Ch. 7 Studious as Can Be

The walk back to their homes had been as enjoyable as listening to someone stub their hoof, or in this case a toe. The night had come upon the little town with every street light humming softly as their bright white bulbs lit the way down quiet residential streets. The little errand had somehow gone horribly wrong and already there was turmoil as if and only at the behest of Sunset's stalwart knowledge that the sirens hadn't possessed their gems again.

She walked behind the others thinking to herself about the lost olive branch she tried to hastily extend, but the odds were against her and so was lost the only chance at proving them innocent beyond words. Dazzle would probably dunk her head in a toilet rather than hear her out after Rainbow acted out of line, but then who wouldn't after those shots were fired so viciously.

'It was so sudden!? Dash would never act like that right?' she gazed at the two bickering like territorial cats, 'I don't want to jump to conclusions but perhaps the sirens really did orchestrate that snatch and grab? Maybe... they are beyond redemption.'

While pity was half attempted upon the trio, a long sigh was drawn out from her supple lips as the arguing picked up volume.

“What in tarnation was that all about!?” Applejack fumed hotter than she'd ever been since the Rainbooms were at each other's necks during Sunset's reign of deceit.

An owl swooped low overhead hooting its beckoning call, “What!? I just... I mean... Those evil... those..."

Only the sun kissed girl noticed the hiccup in Dash's indignation at the sirens, the tone and brashness seemed to lose steam as if realization or amnesia were kicking in. With thoughts silenced if for a moment she listened carefully for what would be said next, the clues were in the details as she kept telling herself.

“Ah’m talk’n about you Dash, first ya go and hurt the feelin's of one of them and now you're acting as if it hadn't happened! And fer the life of it that ah can't understand... I actually believe Adagio's story.” The cowgirl rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers.

Rainbow shook her head as if trying to stave off a mosquito or bothersome fly, "Ahhh..." she groaned.

Sunset kept her senses open a little while longer, "Ah mean, she really did mean what she said and they have no powers like they use ta otherwise even Sunset here would be chatt'n a storm right?" Applejack glanced over her shoulder in confusion hoping for help, the whole thing with the lost gem evident in her eyes as she too feared the worst.

She instead looked away, the one thing about the siren's ability to sow discord was that they had to sing and it was obvious they hadn't done such. Going back to the time they stalked the school, they always garnered disharmony by giving a little number that either initiated the Battle of the Bands or instigated disdain for their first attempt at freeing everyone from their enchantment. Unless somehow Princess Twilight was wrong in how she modified the stone, there was no proof that they caused Rainbow's lash of words.

"Applejack, I wish I could say that they indeed did something you can't pin anything on them without a tune or song. That's how their magic worked." she shrugged regretfully, "Rainbow, do you really hate them that much for what they did?"

Shimmer passed the puck at their athletic friend who finally stopped squirming from whatever invisible insect found her attractive. Having only ever seen her act as such when she disturbed a small wasp nest with a bad kick at soccer practice. What reaction Applejack and her caught next was equally confounding and downright worrying, as Dash came to a stop and scratched her head idly.

"Hey? Did we help you with the tools yet Applejack? Cause we're heading in the wrong direction if we are." she said while turning around as if everything since they walked into the Equestrian trio hadn't ever occurred.

Sunset noticed how ridged the tan and toned teen beside her seemed to go, which likely meant that Rainbow was serious when she said what she did. To not even remember anything all of the sudden was a huge red flag that left her mouth ajar in awe. No one said a thing even as a few cars passed down the road, a heavy set man loudly dumped a heavy trash bag into a dump bin with the sound of glass rattling inside. A black cat strutted by their feet on its merry way, earning furrowed eye brows from the farm girl as bad omen her family knew all too well.

"Now I'm not a bett'n girl, but that there's a sign iff'n I knew one well." Applejack warned as she saw the proud feline make a B-line to a house with an empty underside to dive into.

Dash shrugged, "So what's going on? I kinda have to get up early and help my team practice for a game coming up remember?" she groaned.

"Alright, I'll bite. This isn't good, Rainbow you don't remember anything? Nothing about the sirens who nearly took over the school?" she asked stepping up towards the one in particular, "You DO remember them right?"

"Whoa! Easy Shims, ya I remember them, but we haven't seen them since they ran off with their tail fins between their legs after we squashed them with our awesomeness! Am I right Applejack?" she turned towards the other teen and held a fist out to bump.

A gesture which wasn't returned and she tried again with an awkward silence save for Sunset a step away, the invisible peeved aura creating an uneasy atmosphere to endure even for her. Dash retracted her arm and skipped backwards, she was truly lost over what had happened moments ago and was no worse for wear if she had been fed upon.

"So something's happened and I'm lost? Care to fill me in instead of creeping me out? Like seriously what did I do wrong?!" she honestly asked from her heart wanting to avoid being the center of something going on that didn't involve her sports attributes.

Applejack huffed in annoyance as she brought her hands to the hips, "I'm going to put ten acres of my family's finest apples on the line for this. Them sirens or former sirens have something going on even if they don't know it. What you saw has ta be part of their plans or something."

"While I'd like to agree we cannot just jump to conclusions here, they lacked all the signs which would show that they were in the act. Remember? Red eyes, magical voices, more than just one of us fighting the other? I mean I do agree that something's definitely happened to Dash, but whether it's anything to do with them we can't accuse them without proof. As much as it would be easy to do..." Sunset gripped her hand bag strap tightly, "You said Adagio spoke the truth, so what if they're being used?"

“And Princess Twi did say she was positive the stone of theirs was as useful as a power pack for a lamp.” Applejack sighed in defeat, “This is as fishy as a fox in a hen house.”

“What did I miss? I feel like I'm missing something pretty big here and no one's giving me a rope or anything!” Dash protested being left out.

“I’m not saying they harmless, but they did make mention of that mysterious guy when we came across them. I guess... I have a hunch that there's more to this than what we can see for now. All I can do is write to Twilight about what just happened and see if there is anything else she's discovered about their gemstone, until then we'll just have to keep an eye on them I guess?" Sunset shrugged much to the AJ's chagrin and Rainbow's befuddled loss.

“Right, if anyone knows what's the what it'll be her. Guess'n we'll just have to wait for the fish to bite, though anyone guess'n how we'll even be able to keep tabs on them slippery catfish?" the apple grower seemed resolute and confident they had something up their sleeve still.

"Watch the news for one, if they cause any kind of disharmony like they did at the school it shouldn't be hard to track down on social media as well. Have your friends and family report anything off, besides it's not like there's any other school here they can manipulate other than Crystal Prep? And I don't see even someone like Adagio getting in there easily." Sunset dryly chuckled, the notion summoned even a grin from the other two as the dots connected.

Rainbow decided she had enough of being without some knowledge and simply went with the flow like taking a foul hit in a high stakes game for the state nationals, "The Dazzlings and Crystal Prep?! You serious? They'd sooner chew them up and spit them out before getting their bad songs even finding an ear to hear them out!"

"Either that or they'd feed off the whole school and we'd find out just in time. Probably be too full of themselves to even move after suck'n that place dry." AJ affirmed with a righteous fist shaking in the air.

Sunset couldn't help but let her slight amusement grow to a barely contained serious of giggles as she too envisioned the ridiculous idea of two foes destroying each other. Though one of the scenarios was a horribly awful idea to even believe was a possibility, they all needed something to be happy about. The times were not going so well as a looming even dared darken Canterlot High once again, and with the issue of the missing stone and the sirens the air had recently become thick with worry.

Humor eventually gave way and the three heard someone's phone go off, "Guess'n that's Big Mac mak'n sure I'm on mah way home."

A dull roar of an overhead airliner went through the serene block, huge engines made their presence known even from as high up as they were. It garnered an idle pass through Shimmer's mind of why the Dazzlings even thought to remain in a place they had lost their powers in. She would have understood it if they had no bits to leave safely let alone hitchhike, but to volunteerily plant themselves and fit in was in itself ripe with issues. Either Adagio somehow learned to lie really well or they were pawns, thus it left her to her research once more as a means to solve the question.

"Don't you worry girls, I'll see what else I can churn up from memory. Perhaps there are others who were sent here? Maybe even some kind of dossier that could allow us to identify them by, even knowing a little would make it less of a strain to stop them. Or rescue the sirens?" she grinned to one side.

“I’m still at square one with this whole deal, so just call me up when ya need some muscle and tact alright?” Dash yawned, “For now I’m calling it a day, gotta get some rest before morning practice! Catch you guys later.”

The colorful one quickly left on her own waving herself off, her legs making off in a steadfast jog that made quick work of her distance to home. Applejack excused herself as her phone sounded again, mentioning something about Applebloom and Granny Smith getting on her heels. Her cowboy boots clacked on the sidewalk before she crossed the road towards the nearby ranch houses, her place was still a couple miles away but well parted from the school dorms.

Left alone to a lonely trek to bed, the chill night air became evident against the thighs and face, for the time of the year it seemed to still be a pleasant season around the early night. Leaves rustled along yards and crackled over long driveways to filter into and clump in gutters. Shrubs and ornamental trees quivered ever slightly to the disturbance of the breeze, their song a welcoming chorus that Sunset enjoyed as she had back in Equestria.

As of late the small things seemed to matter the most to her, with everything else the girls had proposed in order to help her sleep or think less of the night terrors she began to have. Perhaps it was the call back to the lives of ponies free from the electronic devices which tethered them to the tiny screens, nature itself was always a strong thread to her kind as fighting was innate to humans. The peace of the outdoors felt as if all her troubles could just be washed away by an hour spent away from the source of the terrors and the shadow thing which tried to devour her sanity. While a novel wish it were, she couldn't rid herself of the dreams and could thus far only cope with them.

"Gosh I have my work cut out for me don't I?" she asked herself nearing the road the dormitory was located on, not a vehicle on the road for the last few minutes, "I must be getting three hours of sleep each night just trying to use the memory spell! But it's for a good cause Shimmer, that's right."

A heavy yawn parted her jaws to near pain before it petered off, a cawing raven swooped before her off onto its own nocturnal escapades. She tried to see where it flew off to after it surprised her with its raucous call, but her eyes lost it to the house lights all around her affecting any night vision she had managed to attain.

"So far I've had to start from the last few months before I... exiled myself in anger. Not one of my better days." she admitted in guilt, "Most of those memories were of governmental and magical lessons so those were quick to sift through."

Sunset turned the intersection corner and smelled the aroma of cedar trees being carried in the air, a pleasant tingle to the nostrils she had grown to love. Fluttershy had mentioned the scent was likely due to a mold as the same could be found in the art department for ceramics students, recycled clay would bear the strong cedar smell once disturbed even after being left reclaiming in large containers for a month.

"I've got no time to drag my hooves, everyone's counting on me to find anything on what's happening and who took the stone!" she sagged feeling exhaustion rear its ugly head past her guard she always kept up, "Princess Twilight makes this so easy to do though and I haven't made any progress. Perhaps tonight is the night I find something of value!? Ya, that a girl! Gotta stay positive!"

Like a shot of coffee she jostled herself up with prep talk, her journey nearing at an end as the dorms were steps away. The orange hallway lights glared, no window's except the one that belonged to Octavia seemed to show any activity in which she likely was up fine tuning her cello skills. The tall three sectioned facility was nothing more than a school run apartment building, designed with teenager needs in mind. A lone security guard walked the corridors with a flashlight, a pleasant man whose night shifts were as exciting as watching paint dry on a wall. She had shown up just as he was crossing the front area for trouble, a little tubby in uniform he nonetheless appeared as a healthy sea green skinned officer with cappacuino hair beneath the patrol cap. He spotted her as she neared, a loud click of the flashlight turned off the torch so as not to blind her with the bright light. In his usual beige color coded attire except for the hat, keys jiggled with a metallic jingle to any movement of his waist. Leather shoes glistened from a fresh waxing under the orange bulbs, a human guard compared to an Equestrian Guard differed only in strength. As his greatest power was to call for the real police, he merely a beacon against messed up minds who thankfully never came close to teens who bunked in the dormitory.

He tipped his hat to her, "Even'in Sunset." his gesture had been one his family ingrained of the old way.

"Good evening Mr. Gates, all quiet on the western front I assume?" she joked with the literature quote she knew he adored.

"We have so much to say, and we shall never say it.” the man happily recited, "Be on your way now and get a good rest. I hear something big's coming to Canterlot High?"

Sunset cringed stopping near him, "Ya, there's always something going on at C.H. Mr. Gates. Goodnight, stay safe!" she waved continuing on to her door from the puase.

"To you as well little miss." he returned before activating his light once again, his shoes tapping on their way to the eastern side of the property.

She arrived at her door finding no one else out and about, staying within the lights out of caution from past experience. Feeling her stomach rumble having missed much of lunch earlier, dinner yet waited in the fridge that Fluttershy had advised for proper health against the fatigue she was gradually sustaining. The young veterinarian knew enough biology of all living things to speak the truth, she could grow ill if she didn't eat right and thus prescribed a fine meal plan. As the key inserted into the slot Sunset wondered how long she was suppose heat the dish in the microwave, she was sure the salmon was precooked and the pilaf would dry out if overheated.

The deadbolt clicked letting the door open, nearly instantaneously as the gap between the wood slab and the frame became big enough Shimmer threw a hand inside to flip the lights. Glorious illumination graced the home and caste away any and all shadows, all the lamps rigged to the ceiling light thanks to Applejack's help. No one knew she was so adept at home improvement being a farm girl, but the admittance to refurbishing fellow Apple homes in her spare time between apple seasons showed.

"Ahh...." Sunset sighed with mirth, the holy light would keep her safe until she needed to sleep.

She slipped inside and locked the deadbolt behind her, her eyes soon went to the clock at a nearby wall. The digital green shapes depicted the time to barely reaching ten o'clock, just enough time to wind down and eat before the project she took upon herself.

"Well I guess I better get started. Should probably start off with some tea first and save the coffee for later, don't want that headache like last time." she told herself as her bag was set down by the door and her boots kicked off with no real care.

She strode by the living area and caste off the black jacket which rustled, it melted upon the headrest of the sofa almost falling off. Her eyes met the chaos of the coffee table where stacks of notebooks and clipped sheets of paper were somewhat piled in some order. While there was a categorization in effect, the useless data she extracted was for the better lack of a term discarded on the rug underneath. Every time she kept telling herself to pick up the mess, and every time she just dove straight into the memory spell. Things ended after she ceased her work and went to bed, repeating the morning routine without touching the flood of papers spreading along the floor.

Sunset kept walking towards the tiny kitchenette and prepared her food, setting the tea kettle in its proper place to plug in. In moments the machine cranked out a warm hot meal upon a white ceramic plate which came accompanied by a simple mug steaming with fresh brew. Pinkie Pie had given her a few packets of Mrs. Cake's special tea which soothed the nerves, with her handling twins a it were who was she to question a veteran of stress like the older woman?

The dinner was set upon the two person dining table nearby barely a walk away, the dark wood with a simple sheet covering the top of flora designs beckoned use. Eating consisted of meager bites into the main course and the salad mixed with all sorts of vegetables, giving the impression that it could be an edible version of Dash's hair. Jokingly aside, the girl sipped her tea carefully as her mind mulled over the night's to-do list as her ever increasing deadline approached with no set end.

"I went through every book in the Royal Library and more, from the founding of Equestria to the day I last resided as a citizen before that day." she muttered to herself in the lonely room, taking no solace by listening to music on her phone or turning on the television since the first dream.

The succulent flesh of the herb flavored meat mashed between chews before being washed down with the mild spiced brew, "Still cannot believe I can still use that spell to view every memory I still have? Granted if it's too old I cannot make out the information to write down..."

A text dinged on her phone activating the screen, it happened to be Flash Sentry from the tiny image next to the short sentence. Putting the fork down she lifted the flat device to her eyes and shook her head, it wasn't often he ever talked to her if only to ask about a certain someone. It was cute the first few times after she was cleansed of the corrupted magic, then the two times after the sirens were defeated. Presently it was just becoming sad as he probed for any developments as far as her next return, even if he went as far as to appear subtle about it.

"Puppy love... that's all it is..." she set the phone down without replying, returning to her meal and resuming the train of thought to discover the thief of the gemstone, "Animus Bibliotheca Sui, Librarium Memoriae... the spell to see and interact with ones head as if it were an archive storage itself. Not an easy spell to even trifle with, the fact that it drains magic faster than Rarity can stitch a dress into popular fashion makes it such a high tier magic to perform in and of itself. Few have the ability to master the complex magic without harming themselves, even traversing the library you can damage what allows you to breath much less control the heart. Carelessness can make a pony deaf and dumb or worse... but I'm no careless pony!" her eyes narrowed at the wall at the end of the living room, the prep talk always got her on the ball no matter how bad the dreams had gotten.

Three Hours Later...

The apartment glimmered with misty magic which poured from the lone girl who sat on the three person furnishing. Cross legged with hands laced together in some tantra meditation, her eyes were closed yet beneath the thin flesh her eyes glowed with a power all her own. That light drifted out and added to the exuding glow all about her which merged with the aura that came in the form of water vapor. Her fiery hair lightly floated from the energies that seemed off her form, where if a stranger were to happen upon her they might think her to be an angel or some deity who had taken human shape.

If shadows could have existed in the already bright room, they were banished to the farthest corners and well beneath seats and counters. A breathe could gain farther distance into their domain more so than the lack of light. Yet it was a constant pull and tug between the forces of reality as the very magic which caste out the darkness soon wavered with a soft exhale of a relaxing posture.

"Wow... never get use to that no matter how much I do this." Sunset told herself as the magic faded away, the illumination like a holy torch going out.

She peeked through squinted lids to see a far dimmer world than which she had once been in, it always took a few moments to adjust to the transition. With practiced precision in her chaotic order of paper, notes, and spiral school pads she grasped pen and sheet to jot down what came to mind. Her legs unfolded as she sat normally on the seat, contracted pupils gradually widening to the waking world and the high contrast to what she wrote with black ink.

“So that just about brings every category and world altering tale I can recall from arch mage journals that were up to date then. From the witch hunts of post Grogar to the iron rock fort of Golbok the Black Horn Elk of pre-Celestian era the Arcana confiscated after his defeat by the ponies of early Winnyapolis." she said, "Jeez!! Were primitive Equestrians xenophobic…”

Sunset huffed as the rate of which trouble and friendliness towards others seemed to correlate, while the early kingdom was transitioning into a non-tribalist psychology it wasn't the same for others. A whole new stack of notes sat victoriously in an empty spot from her concluding research of her life's study as a pony, ever since Celestia had taken her in. She felt exhausted like those harnesses horses often wore to drag archaic plows, the body had begun to conclude its strenuous work and shut down. A heavy yawn escaped her slowly opening mouth which a hand darted upwards to cover.

Her arms soon reacted to the needs of her muscles and stretched upwards, back arched like a cat waking up from a nap. A groan wormed out of her from the tremendously pleasing feeling coming from the little act, a few joints popped but nothing too bad to cause any soreness. Once the peak of the act had been reached she fell limp onto the sofa with a puff of air out of the cushion, her hair exploded outwards to the sides while she slid down until her knees hit the coffee table laden with research.

"By the goddess... I'm sooo glad I was able to memorize that spell and keep it in my head for so long. Didn't think I'd ever use it but here I am? Able to see anything... as if I were there reading it for the first time." she popped a chuckle, "I guess I truly am reformed if my Librarium look like that huh Shimmer?"

The bathing afterglow of a completed night's work worked in tandem with the relief of her own soul, stemming from the core aspect of the spell itself which told no lies. Lost to all common knowledge was the original creator of the tetrahedral matrix that encased the mind and permitted an interactive artifical world she could manipulate and view. A capable mage who caste the spell would find themselves in exactly what their heart and soul could be seen as as the two were used as a bridge to keep the matrix stable. They supplied the conduit of which inner mana flowed through the four points of the new reality, giving the mind gravity and substance to act upon.

The Scholar Arcana who taught her such valuable lessons often used it to nominate heads of the academy as she remembered off the top of her head. A neutral mage master would be given access into the spell as it was in mid caste, and once within they would judge the core of the aspiring mage on every little detail of the Librarium. Those qualities she had judged herself with and found that she still passed with flying colors. Colors which decorated the world's boundless clear blue sky and banks of fluffy white clouds hanging lazily about as if they were lounging cats in the sun.

Sunset's Librarium had taken the form of a huge pristine marble white coliseum that sat on a floating platform of Romanesque masonry, with no land in sight below it gave a gravity defying surreal aspect. With something designed in such a medium of stone to be floating it would only be in the imagination that such a pocket word could be manifested, but there was far more to the eye upon closer inspection.

A dome covered the circular structure sporting her cutie mark, giving the feeling of being well painted or the brick had been specifically colored as such. Along the lower third levels of the building were arched windows which poured the light from the eternal sun that supposedly was her spirit. It would only dim if the mage using the complex spell was under duress of dark magic. As for her realm of memory there couldn't exist a brighter orb that did not overly saturate to the point of blinding somepony as it shined off the marble work. At the roof's rim before the convex roof began, stained glass windows spotted every ten feet with either her darkest or greatest moments forever memorialized for the owner. Some ports were missing any imagery understandably, with her young age there were still reservations for later accomplishments no matter their meaning. Thus the color spectrum filled in the voids in a collage of shards and shapes, and their shapelessness birthed such beautiful lighting within as she worked.

Tall pikes of adjacent towers hid secret knowledge few others would ever know, they rose high above the square foundation like gentle elder pine trees that could withstand any storm. Three to the right and two to the left, she hadn't inspected them just yet due to the purpose of her use for the sacred location. In some time at a later date she'd seek the towers out of curiosity to investigate if the rumors were true, or so the Arcana described them as. Atop the towers were mason red tiles upon conical caps, though strangely enough the cutie marks of Celestia, Twilight, and three others yet unknown to her flapped in the windless air on flags to each high rise. Simple glass windows ran up their lengths like the spiracles on a caterpillar, four rows for a four quadrant lighting system to what could only be a spiral staircase to the top.

To enter, Sunset initially came before two large maple wood doors blazoned by her mark with golden knockers, to ponies however they were handles to bite or grip with their magic. Bordered by thicker slabs of marble common in castles both human and pony alike, she entered with a near soundless motion from the hinges. What was inside proved to her what the Arcana mages had already spoke of, just as the building had been round in shape so were the many shelves like a projector's slide holder and wheel. Every walkway had a rug immaculately made entirely out of a single piece of cloth from the outer ring, to the aisles, and then the center which lead off to the one stairwell up top. Gold embroidery stitched along the edges contained playful vines and leaves to break up the monotonous maroon red fabric ever soft to the touch. Books of all sizes, shapes, and color filled every shelf, some labeled along their spines while others were ubiquitously labeled as physiologiam; key knowledge of the body.

The likes of how to breath, how the heart beats, and how cells were created within the body, information that should never be touched nor looked at unless a mage was of the highest order. Sunset avoided such sections as if they were death made real and real those particular textbooks were to her if she harmed them in any manner accidentally. The rest of the brown shelves were devoid of any identification beyond gold plaques facing the center of the coliseum where numbers and letters were stamped into the metal. She came to understand where to go from the system that existed within the lone podium where all light seemed to point towards at a convergence. A gray and white marble fluted column no higher than a pony's collar bone sat with a flat piece of stone barren of anything of obvious use. It took Sunset half an hour to figure out that she had to touch it with a hoof, as her Librarium created the form she'd use as the mare beneath the human flesh.

An array of golden runes flared to life like a touch screen computer, old equish as she later understood. Numbers and letters were soon categorized and given designation which would allow her to search areas that would hasten her speed and avoid losing time. She already found the 'kill switch' section by accident, before it was foalhood she too wished to avoid going over while after contained magical knowledge of all spells, charms, wards, and conjuring she picked up. From there the rest of the aisles contained young fillyhood in a general sense that again was not pertinent to her journey and use of limited magic. Upstairs held historical studies, years in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, political studies, geographical knowledge, and biology which was arguably the smallest section of the rest. More books filled the stairwell's swirling steps yet they were quickly identified as the 'Good Times' her inner self found them to be. She passed those up as well figured them to be a mixture of post and pre-corruption event, nothing good would come of looking at those images and thoughts.

All of what made her the pony she was existed within the mental reality, and it pleased her to host such wholesomeness with no sign of darkness to blight it. So much had she relished in the accomplishment of the current research she'd already invested, time and again she jumped back into the world just to organize everything once more for the next day. Since she could only see the information and not keep it at the forefront of her thoughts, the jumps required her to dip partially back into reality to write down what she needed to keep. Yet it often made a mess in both worlds as well, where haphazard stacks of notes and metal wire bound paper threatened to fall over she usually did the same for the Librarium.

She happily immersed herself with what little mana she had left for the day, in order to sort the books she needed for new information concerning political ursurpers of the past. Eyes closed and the same glow revisited her body as magic constructed the archive once more.

“We have everything before Starswirl to Celestia’s current governing power, nobles of any tribe that were convicted of crimes against the crown since Equestria's founding. If I'm right then these should yield at most enough to make tomorrow night just as productive!” her horn glowed as she willed a fresh sort based on the books time periods, still amazed at how crisp her knowledge was even after she jumped through the mirror.

"I'm sure there's probably some pony who did something so bad they had to be banished like the sirens were. There has to be one, I mean I remember one of the Scholar instructors joke about it so perhaps it came from overhearing?" she said to herself floating a few stacks in new spots and replacing others after finding that they were lacking.

After she concluded the quick organization, there before her in the center of the Librarium housing were nine piles in all. Having found out two days ago that there was an auto reset feature to the shelves which would place the memories from where she extracted them, nothing could stop her from mixing and matching based on specific events in time. In the manner of which she usually read while she was preparing for the role of a new princess, order was not pertinent more so as interest.

Feeling content for tomorrow night she canceled any further alteration as a yawn escaped her, "Alright you hard working gal, time for bed."

The simulated library began to break down little by little as the connection started to fade away, a slight prickle crawling all over her fur coat and skin. A good night's rest would be the next hurdle she'd have to face assuming the shadows tried to keep her awake, but hope persisted with the knowledge that it was only one in the morning. Having psyched herself once her vision went white in the act of transitioning, her barely lingering hearing detected the sound of a hard slap.

Sitting in the couch she came too and took a deep breathe, the spell itself finally dispelled into nothingness and a wave of sleepiness sat upon her eyes, "Huh? Could have... have sworn I stacked everything properly?" she yawned again wondering what had fallen over while staring at the mound of records.

Dazzling Abode

The evening had swiftly turned to full night, few were on the streets or driving around except the police who dutifully patrolled the town in squad cars. The big apple red buses had stopped running two hours before midnight, only the short shuttles were ever seldom seen with their orchard painted chassis until one in the morning. Beyond the night jogger and the occasional helicopter thudding through the starry sky, there was nothing but lights making much of any noise at all. The mild hum every time the sirens and their new associate passed one of the lamps or some storefront had become little more than background static. The fresh air around them gave a pleasant tingle to the skin and face, pushing hair styles ever gently like a cat pawing at their tips. No trash dared dirty the route to the siren's dwelling, just clean gray sidewalk between the four lane road to the left and two car dealerships to the right. A gas station was within reach before they would turn at the corner and reach the Inn.

What started as a simple curious dip into Twilight's opinion on a particular subject had burst into a questionnaire under Sonata's random mind. From seeing into her preference of food, hot sauces, if she swam, to even the size shoe she wore there was little the cerulean singer casually missed. The Crystal Prep student found herself put into a very unfortunate position when the inquiries dipped into details of her conundrum in socializing with others. All but Sonata seemed to be actively talking to her as the rest kept on in silent regard, in retrospect it was probably for the best after how she was received in the restaurant.

“So… you’re like so one of us?” Sonata asked walking backwards, she tilted her head this way and that way as a bird might while resting on a fence.

The brittle nerves of the young human girl were beginning to fray at the edges after they covered her rather lonely existence, “Umm, not exactly, but in a way yes I suppose that is correct. As I said, all I want is to gain more knowledge of how things work in this universe like my father who studies the distant stars and galaxies. If I can find a better peer group at Everton who I'm sure shares my love of learning then… well that was the plan until he showed me Magic. I...” her lips sealed shut quicker than a popping muffler when Aria interrupted rather abruptly.

After seeming distant for the last twelve minutes of the trek, the two ponytails whipped as she glanced over her shoulder at the human, “You really want to be taken as something other besides an urchin on the sea floor don't you? You want people to adore you for how big you can make your brain when everyone is obviously inferior to you? That painting all the walls in this little world of yours?”

Adagio paid no heed as she sensed Aria's mood and intentions, she did her job well in testing the tag along for any weakness to exploit. After the hag of a devil the old woman turned out to be they were not taking chances with another, they were not about to be kept in check by some kind of frost field or leash. They were proud sirens who sought what they wanted and helped if they desired, they were not someone's pet to command through a middle man or girl.

A wide flat lime green car passed by, coughing and sputtering with horrid breaks that screamed at the slightest use, "So you're some kind of brainiac but another brick in the wall? Sounds like someone's lacking a spine, even a nudibranch can take on an anemone without stop!" she spat on a lawn after feeling a loose piece of food dislodge from her back teeth, "Heh... figures after we were nearly turned into ice statues that they'd appoint some eel next!"

“I…I… uh?" Sparkle fiddled with the backpack straps she held onto until her fingers started to go numb.

Sonata piped up, "She's not that bad? Ya she doesn't have any fangs or sharp hooves... or willpower and courage..."

"Much of anything besides her smarts, any siren worth her gulp of air can fend off another. Even pups can square off with another, but this thing doesn't even try. She just let's herself be churned in the tide, I mean if I were you I'd just pull anchor and find those so called 'safe spaces' where you're assured you don't even have to build up that weak little body. Just hide away in some room caring for only books and things most of everyone we've met couldn't give a flipping fish about." Aria grumbled though satisfied at being able to go off on someone, "Just a little conch shell that will be used over and over until not even a hermit crab can use."

Twilight's ears had heard enough, of everything that was said it only burned her heart more than hydrochloric acid ever could. For the last three years she endured the harassment and isolation at Crystal Prep, and the difficult years in middle school with less abrasive peers though none the less hostile. Knowledge earned a person their future, it created means for others to climb the later of education, and changed the world for better or for worse. All that time she had done her best to cope and ignore the taunts from others as if she stepped on their toes on purpose. Yet it was too cutthroat of a young life even for her to be completely immune to it all, and the twin ponytailed subject surmounted her life's struggle in one go.

When the last cord was struck she couldn't hold in the pain anymore as one particular thing stuck in her mind, in an explosion of turmoil she shouted "I'M NOT WORTHLESS!!”

Everyone stopped in their tracks, even Adagio gave a look from the corner of her eye first at the surprised little instigator and then the human girl behind her. She could taste pain and loneliness which were like sweet slices of spice cake to her, but held off from feeding as the latest development offered fresh insight into the girl herself. Off in the distance an ambulance wailed faintly, nearby dogs began to howl at the emergency call even after it couldn't be heard anymore. Some ten hounds bellowed and awed to the near half moon as it grinned down at earth, just enough light to make it the route visible even without the artificial sources. Moonlight graced the schoolgirl whose colors graced her form as the four had paused between lamp posts, her head dipped every low as she quivered in a subdued fury which gave out quickly.

"I... I know I have no desire to... fight others. I don't care about them! Why should I... what good does it do for me to get anywhere in the social peeking order? If I can discover new technology, develop useful devices for mass production then the time spent catering to those... mean people was wasted! I choose to be left out on purpose!" her face rose to meet the Dazzlings, tears at the edge of her eyes threatened to spill over if barely.

"Hmmm..." Dazzle thrummed.

Sonata leaned back at Blaze and put a hand over her mouth, "Ohhh, someone's angered the morrrraaaayyy!"

Bottled up frustration yet remained as she stood up to Aria as if she were one of the C.P. girls, "He promised me that I could learn magic and he'd give me enough for my own research and more. I want to perform the same feats he displayed... levitate objects that could only be assisted by machinery, ignite flames without a fuel source other than this mana, physically alter the properties of a specimen into an entirely new item down to its molecular structure?! Everything I observed I managed to prove was as real as chemical combustion! I won't let this opportunity go... no matter what you say! I want this as much as you want your powers." her psyched up spirit had all but deflated before the unaffected Dazzlings.

Not a reply nor peep came forth as Adagio smiled to the little whelp, 'Well well well, I guess she's the real deal alright? Poor little guppy must have been lucky to have been saved from that cesspool.'

Her caution could be put aside for the time being, tempting as it was to take a bite of the ripe emotions their new associate oozed like caviar from salmon bellies in her youth. There was no other way for them to tell if she was a barracuda among a shoal of shad, but their method was fool proof. No mage nor trickster could master their heart unless they lived several life times while her's spanned countless ones. A convenience to be savored, and what better way to acknowledge another than one who was put in the same situation by the same benefactor?

"Huh? So magic is like your pendant then?" Dusk asked.

"I know what exists here now is insufficient if not wasteful and I want to change that! Vehicular transports that are powered by magic could wipe out fossil fuels, crops can be saved through weather manipulation, lives could be improved with a simple addition of reality altering magic! Wars..." Twilight stopped when a particularly evil grin crested upon Aria's mouth, eyes narrowed at her the way a leopard hunted its quarry.

"Wars huh? Little shrimp here thinks she knows about wars and preventing them?" Blaze dropped her arms and perched her hands on the curves o her hips.

The cerulean girl became as jiggly as flan fresh on a plate, her hands went to such soft cheeks as the set of lips between them gave way to an almost ecstasy filled awe. Something had given her a spine tingling joy that even glistened upon her eyes further reflecting nearby lights. Dazzle actually turned all the way around and sighed a merry hum from the depth of her throat, it purred and tickled Twilight's skin in a disturbing way. Though what truly upset the teenager was the lip and teeth licking from the rather abusive one of the three, still giving her a fear inducing glare that caused her to tighten into a near ball and bad posture.

"Excuse them, those were the best times we had to ever feed back when our original pendants were still on us. Safe to say it was a good long time before and after that we'd ever feel remotely full, your world's little war was quite the little 'Ender of Lives'. Though I'm sure we'll be able to make all that up soon enough, but do abstain from mentioning the topic if you'd please? I'd like to keep them under control at all times, least they become a little... frenzied!" the curly haired beauty giggled daintily.

With a flick of the hair and a snap of the finger, the three were off again nearing the Inn whose sign appeared over the gas station at the corner. It took Twilight a spell to regain what was jarred out of place, those predatory gazes she saw and the elated hunger even after eating a meal not minutes ago were unsettling to a major degree. What she had come to know of them through him and the work she was instructed to accomplish had come no where near to the real thing. While appearing human even down to intellect, there was a sapient logic that somehow still carried with it an animalistic tendency of unquenchable hunger no matter the source. How they fed was a superficial briefing on vocalization and drawing upon emotions, but such a thing defied all logic, and thus she was thrown back by the trio who truly lived up to some of the siren myths of her homeworld. Where they came from only served to paint it a dangerous world of legends and tales where only woe and suffering existed.

"I hope this will all be worth it?" she muttered low as she second guessed even following any further, "He did say they would return from where they came from? And I'll have all the magic I need, all of the ideas and theories I need to test."

Her skinny legs bounded as fast as they could, taking her through the pit stop portion of the gasoline ports. The smell of combustibles muting her sense of smell until the stink of dead rotting flesh rose up, she snorted in her gait to breath clean air once more. Thankfully there were no cars or trucks filling their tanks, making her tepid run less dangerous than in the daytime. She rejoined the sirens as they readied to cross the road before the parking lot of the Inn, the rest of the way was a silent one even after they entered past the second sliding doors into the lobby.

Having never been in a Inn before which catered to temporary living quarters for long stay clients, Twilight's senses paused and analyzed everything as a curious hound might after going outside. Yet just as she went about memorizing the layout and types of strong cleaners they used which threatened her with a mighty sneeze, a man beckoned from the front desk with a hearty wave of the right arm.

"Ms. Dazzle! Ms. Dazzle!! Could I hear another song from you tonight?!" the rather unprofessional man asked, almost desperate to hear even a simple short answer from the exuberant reaction to the Dazzling's arrival.

Sparkle observed the body language which seemed to depict a depraved need not being met enough to control ones self, but was it their voices that he needed or something else?

"Sorry, we have a busy day early in the morning. Perhaps another time?" she spoke like a true diva, spoiled and uncaring to her fans which pestered her before arriving in a green zone from work.

Even as they kept on walking to the elevators down another hall the man kept pleading, asking none stop as if it would gain him a ten second verse. The incessant begging finally abated when they disappeared out of his vision well away, and then quiet resumed aside from the mechanisms of the big lift as it was coming down from another user. The halls were clean and sterile, colorful fake stones decorated the floor under a layer of resin that spotted a cream white background. Black borders colored the support pillars though they were merely decoration to break the otherwise continuous gray brown of the soft foam walls. A large exit sign hung down the end of the way where a two door entrance awaited use, large windows which took up much of the surface allowed the black outside of night to be seen.

The four eventually arrived at the room and Twilight being the last to enter closed the door behind her making sure it locked. She was glad to be out of the strong apple scented halls the staff had perfumed sometime around midday, she had nearly blew her head off five times trying to keep from sneezing.

"Ahhh... home sweet home! I'm going to wash up so do make yourself at home in the living area or the kitchen. I really care not where exactly so long as it is not in my room." Dazzle warned their new guest before vanishing from sight behind her closed door.

Left without the head of the group to begin the introduction of her purpose among them, Twilight stood by the door still hearing Aria speak up as soon as Adagio's door closed.

"Gotta use the loo." she gruffly announced, which left Sonata and her all alone.

A tapping sound came from the only other spacious zone, the third of the enchanted singers who sat on the large couch and in the process of turning on the large flat screen ahead of her. Her hand padded the empty seat by her which solidified the prompt to wait for the others before she did anything meaningful. While thankful she did not have someone telling her of every personal negative she bore, the little parcel in her backpack had to be shown soon before they slept. The whistle of a shower head picked up in her ears signifying the time she would be losing without a say in it.

"Come! My favorite show is about to start!" Sonata happily jeered as she rose the volume up, loud laughing filled the whole suite and it was not fun to endure.

For ten straight minutes Sonata stared into the fluctuating pictures of local channels, it was mind numbing to most and easily killed time. Commercials as annoying and arrogant in their design played out in hopes of selling whatever useless waste of plastic they tried to trick the viewer into purchasing at the nearest store. It only served to bolster Twilight's sense of duty to understand the manipulating aura of mana itself, using the prospects of a more purposeful future of less waste she'd seen traveling out of town. The haunting images of garbage piles and scattered plastic from the airports she left to new hotels on the regular contests and conventions important to her studies. As if an airplane had passed overhead shredding waste so that it would snow along the lands, making anyone laugh when they saw meager attempts to clean it up.

After the ninth minute, Twilight snuck into her back pack and worked out a flat screen mobile device mirroring her pleated skirt. A tap of the button below revealed what was the eye level view from a camera in her lab, giving her a full view of Spike resting away the huge meal she'd given him at home. Always the hungry little puppy who could sleep for hours if given enough nutritionally dense dry kibble, his little fluffy bed by her bedside upon which his paws twitched from a dream.

"Good boy." she whispered nearly inaudibly, "Sweet dreams cutie."

A click and pull startled her as Adagio made her entrance back into the world, her hair somewhat tamed by a fresh wash. The golden siren had adorned herself in light regalia befitting of one who'd be sleeping soon, a large shirt which extended down mid thigh length. A simple white shirt of all things while her feet were bare and curly locks freed of the band that bound them. Without the southern Dixie look her visage would almost appear like any normal girl without powers, an easy to blend in natural look.

Having nearly fumbled the device that permitted view of her pet onto the carpeted floor, Twilight quickly hid it away before it was noticed. No sooner had she packed it into the depths of her pack had Aria made herself known as well also cleaned and surprisingly calmer than she had been prior. She too sporting untethered hair, the two toned dark purple and teal drape accentuated her unseen elegance befitting a model student. Perhaps it had been the way the lights in the suite bounced off their well tended hair or the magic they had, but they were fine specimens to research at a later date. Sparkle could only wonder if they had some kind of illusion that kept them subdued so they could walk without trouble, or were they naturally alluring?

A quick sniff picked up something besides the usual flora additives, oils of sorts that carried the natural purity of nature itself no word could describe. The stuff that would chill the back of ones nasal cavity, shiver the lungs, and cease a plagued spirits fiddling only the untainted sea of the Isles on another trip she had experienced. The one which fueled her want to develop a sturdy large scale tide turbine that could be made cheaply while surviving for years.

Then, quickly her mind was yanked from its contemplation over details and data by Adagio's summons, "Well? I do believe we've left the public space and won't be eavesdropped by any unwanted ears. So what pray tell do you have that may possibly be of any use to us much less need a calibration?"

She took a seat at the kitchenette table upon the high black seats where her long slender legs dangled to a sway, her lemony butter skin too smooth for description gleamed from the still moist surface of the shower. Aria followed suit after pulling the plug on the TV which elicited a short protest from the only one watching, she too took a seat at the dark furnishing in shorts and baggy tank top. Sonata's dismay was short lived as if she soon picked up on the air of the mood, leaving Twilight feeling so alienated in her position. To her credit she kept herself seated rather than allowing the tingling beads of sweat forming all over her body to force her up and out of the room. The dread of feeling alienated and designated as a purpose dug deep into her thoughts, it was a moment she had thought she was prepared for. With the only question left being if the three otherworldly beings would toss her out the door as soon as she revealed the secret or allow her to complete her task. Magic was at risk in the same way as Everton was if she disappointed Principle Cinch, with the escalated level of failure her heart rate followed.

"I... I have..." she fumbled to swing her backpack in front of her and dig through it, "I know it's here!"

Adagio grinned knowing what the item likely was, still ready for a leash in the worse case event. Yet the manner of which the human seemed to panic was too legitimate to casually put all of them into a defensive mode, it had to be their next gem. Of the praise they received off hand and progress made, there was no other gift they could be given that would be worthy of their existence.

"I... did it fall to the bottom?!" Sparkle took out two old books that were in her way, dropping them onto the carpeted floor.

Aria noticed the beige and rust red hard covered items, Equish decorated their front and backs with silver locks to keep them from accidentally opening. A human in possession of such things was a little intriguing, she too awaited the inevitable with scorching glares that passed over every little thing the girl tossed out to the pack she fuddled with.

Then the moment came, a brightness to the teenagers features as if she could cry at the discovery which likely pardoned her from the end of her research. In her rush to extract the white cloth bundle out of its containment, the pack fell out and spewed all sorts of tiny instruments of metal and wood. They clamored and spilled onto the carpet making half the noise they would otherwise, but those things were not even on the sirens radar. As the bundle in the hands of the girl drew their attentions as a floating dead whale would to a great white shark, slowly the vital innards were spilled into view as dainty soft fingers opened the white pod. Petals of cotton soon gave to view the reflective surface of another ruby which was in every sense of its design like Adagio's own pendant.

Twilight hadn't yet realized the hungry stares directed at the parcel itself, being far too relieved that she didn't lose the priceless stone by accident whether from herself or Spike's curiosity of things. She breathed out a long exhale to calm herself, knowing she had to explain a few things before the trio claimed rights over it. As per order from the man himself who taught her how to alter such magical artifacts, it was a danger to them as toxic fumes until she made the final adjustments. In doing so she would graduate beginner level Alchemy under his tutelage, and she'd receive the next set of books of invaluable data so long as the girls survived its maiden voyage.

Before she could speak a word and give fair warning about the ancient piece of Greek History, she felt something soft and warm grace her left cheek. It was something of a soft sky blue with strands that tickled her ear, a thrumming sound like a purr tingled her spine before she recoiled away from the source. In her fearful reaction that felt as if she could leap forth out of the covering of flesh that protected the body, a trap had caught her in a locked embrace. Arms as she felt clamped down around her waist just below her bosom, pinning her arms tightly against her ribs to near pain if she moved even in the slightest. The warmth came back and nuzzled her cheek again, it wasn't until she saw Aria before her did she come to understand that the magical girls she was to aid were surrounding her.

"SCORE!!!" Blaze jeered with a furious joy, her hands in fists pumped in the air like her brother use to do when he had been into sports on the television.

She eyed the stone hungrily and wanted to grab it, she seemed so tense that she might break if there was also a second ruby up for grabs. Dazzle she sensed stood to her right and closed the circle that kept the student from seeking personal space, but instead of being overly affectionate or scary even if she was out of view save for what was visible in the peripheral vision. A hand gently landed on Twilight's scalp and petted her as if she would to Spike, coming back to a Lab or her room and finding not a mess nor something destroyed out of boredom.

"Hmm... I can FEEL the magic!!" Sonata huskily moaned, her affections becoming more rough like that black cat across the street who disliked Spike's scent if she ever came across it outside.

Dazzle sighed as well, a minty scent blew down and tickled the girl's nose, "I had a feeling that this was what you wanted to show us. Something this vital shouldn't be shown to just anyone, not after... we came across them of course."

"It's mine!" Aria showed off her rather pointy incisors and molars with a near inhuman grin that didn't seem possible.

The claim over the ruby had ended Sonata's behavior in favor of rebuttal to the other, "It's mine!! I still don't have one!"

"You'll just break it, BACK OFF!!" Blaze growled as the two faced off over the small coffee table under them, feral sounds that humans should never make vibrated in Twilight's ears.

"MINE!!!!" called the cerulean girl as she leapt at the fushia one, a match had begun between them over the stone.

To Twilight's horror she witnessed the two wrestle violently though no punches were thrown, they did however pull hair and bite at one another. Both vying to be the one on top, thus they rolled and turned into furniture with a ruckus that even the teenager worried might have security called to the room. It was not the reaction she ever expected, such bestial violence she'd never seen even in her peers who regularly nipped at one another in words alone. A chair flipped on top of them as the collided with the kitchenette, causing the many legs still standing to scrap on the tile floor as a heavy desk would skid painfully to the ears.

"Don't worry about them, it's a tradition our kind share when establishing the pecking order... or reestablishing it in this case." Dazzle softly explained still petting the girl.

"Over this?!" the guest gasped, Sonata soon flying a little into the air and landing with a thud on her side.

The golden siren gave a light scratch to her scalp which if she wasn't so terrified it would have been a pleasure, "Back home, we live through strength and power to survive in a world where we are alone."

Aria seemed to know not to relish her victory just yet, she soon felt the full brunt of Dusk impacting her with a charge that careened them close to the door to the hall. More hair pulling and clacks of jaws finding only air continued, the occasional hiss and growl popped through the room. It became all to real to Twilight that she was indeed helping xenos of sorts who were not of her world, and while fascinating as it was to see magic and learn of their existence. She was but a lamb among lionesses in a cage who were fighting over fresh meat, the alpha female above such tussles of dominance as she stood upon the top of the ladder.

Dazzle sensed the fear in their associate as tasty as a nice midnight snack of which time would being them to the moment in two more hours, "They'll tucker out soon enough, from what I wager will be in three... two... one..."

Like magic that had shown Twilight such splendor and marvel, the two girls soon froze in their assault upon the other. Dusk held a rope of Aria's hair in a tightly bound fist but did not pull, a hand upon the others chest to keep her parted mouth from her neck as pearly whites shone in the lights. Not to be undone by her compatriot, Blaze had a death grip the one lonely ponytail which pulled taunt to the ground as the other gripped the mandible by the right side. Sonata seemed to have been the victor having ended up on top, but it was evidently not the case when the underdog gave a hearty laugh.

"I win again doofus!" she chuckled further while releasing her hold.

To Twilight's bewilderment the two played it all off even after Aria's head had been mere inches from slamming into the front door, "Ahhh... I was sooo close this time!"

The pout was visible like a child who didn't get first place in a simple contest at school. The lunatic mindset of the girls to go from such quickly turned states of ecstatic elation to aggression, then to what to them amounted as nothing was so very queer to the human among them.

"We are a species of few in number, of a world too vast to find others without decades or even centuries before we come across others. You need to be strong and capable unless you want to be little more than specs sand on a long endless beach." the breath of the leader to the others caressed her neck as if a feather were being brushed along the skin, "You'll learn in due time what we truly are, consider it an extension of our new... association... as he'd want."

Twilight had no further words to speak, as the ones who quarreled as battling monitor lizards in the land of humanity's cradle walked back towards her showing no worse signs of wear. Oddly there was a nick where two dots of liquid crimson seeped from on Sonata's left arm, the idea swirled in the girl's mind as she came to the conclusion of 'First Blood'.

"I'll best you next time! For realzies!" Dusk defiantly said to the outcome, her hands going towards her hair as the wound seemed to dissipate of its own rapid regeneration.

The victor strode back to where she had been prior to the engagement, "Ha! Like the other countless times you've lost to me, you lost and I get the gem. Besides you'd probably lose yours anyways."

Further mumbled exchanges went on between them, going unheeded when Twilight could feel the proximity of Adagio inches by her head. The aroma of mint faint but crisp even as she simply stood there giving one last pet before finally leaving Twilight be.

"Now, let's figure out all we can of what you know concerning these gems if you'll please." she asked with a thrumming end to the last word, giving a rise to goosebumps along Twilight's body.

Comments

[TheronSniper]

7206045 well I hope you enjoy the story as is progresses. It's entertaining to write as it is to see other enjoy reading.

[TheronSniper]

7212890 hmm.... You'll have to see. There is so much more to be had.

[Yubella]

Aria seemed to know not to relish her victory just yet, she soon felt the full brunt of Dusk impacting her with a charge that careened them close to the door to the hall. More hair pulling and clacks of jaws finding only air continued, the occasional hiss and growl popped through the room. It became all to real to Twilight that she was indeed helping xenos of sorts who were not of her world, and while fascinating as it was to see magic and learn of their existence. She was but a lamb among lionesses in a cage who were fighting over fresh meat, the alpha female above such tussles of dominance as she stood upon the top of the ladder.

The catfight everyone wanted