//------------------------------// // Fuckin' and Fightin' // Story: What I Got // by Gpizano //------------------------------// By the time the Rainbooms left the stage, packed up their borrowed equipment and met back up with their friends on the beach, one could have thought of many different paths the universe could take from here, based on timing, happenstance and choices, the combinations of them leading to a multitude of different outcomes. Between Princess Twilight, human Twilight and Sunset Shimmer, they had managed to run through many of them through their minds in some vain hope that they could inflict their will on the future to avoid what they all saw coming next as Jackie and Rainbow Dash were face to face again. "YOU MOTHER FUCKER!!!" Obviously it did not work. With an uneasy sigh escaping her, Sunset placed a hand on Jackie's shoulders in an attempt to get her to calm down some. "Jackie-" "You got some set of cajones on you jock-itch!" Apparently she was oh and two for ideas so far. "Uh, Jacks? You say it cojones, not cajones. Gotta' get that pronunciation right even if you are mad." "Not now Tino!" By this point a slightly perturbed looking Rainbow Dash had gone to downright agitated as she crossed her arms and glared at Jackie. "Gee, I wonder what happened to that confidence yesterday? Guess you're all talk like I thought you were! Especially after that weak ass performance you had on stage!" "Oh fuck you! There were issues going on, otherwise we would've rocked it harder than you!" "Talk about a pathetic excuse..." Just when Jackie was ready to slap that annoying smirk off of Rainbow Dash's face, she suddenly felt a pair of hands on her shoulder and a terrifyingly familiar voice so close to her ear that she felt a chill run down her spine. "I think you did well, Vibrato. But if you were dealing with nerves, perhaps I could help you... relax next time before you go on stage." The blue haired woman slipped out of Adagio's grip so fast it was like she was a greased up Cheetah! She quickly moved behind Sunset Shimmer and wrapped her arms around the red head's waist, as both her way of wanting to assure Sunset that she was the only girl for her... and to have a sort of shield against the devious succubus that seemed very good at getting her into trouble. "Nope! Nuh-uh! I'm taken! YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME WOMAN!" "So you two finally got together? Shame, and I was having so much fun..." "SO YOU GUYS REALLY DID IT!?" The news was taken as expected by Twilight, the princess of harmony's eyes wide and a bit smile on her face as she looked for confirmation from Sunset. Bobby... well, he pretty much knew what was going on and seemed happy for them, anticipating a 'yes'. Others looked slightly confused or shocked, or a sort of shocked happy. "Um, not exactly the way I would've liked to bring about the information. But yeah, me and Jackie are together now." Then came the expected noise, a couple of squeals (mostly from Twilight, Rarity and Sonata), some congratulations, and others staring on and simply watching the scene. Poppy crossed her arms and shook her head before speaking up. "So that's why you two have been acting edgy. Drama?" "A bit. But me and Sunshine finally worked it out and we're gonna give this thing a try." "... I'll give you guys two months." "Really? I would've bet an average of six." Both Sunset and Poppy exchanged a grin as Jackie pouted, but was quickly mollified when her new girlfriend turned and nuzzled her cheek. Which of course earned them a round of 'awwwwws' from their audience. Applejack was one of the few who simply watched on after handing out a hearty 'congratulations', until she felt someone moved closer to her side. Without even looking, the blonde wrapped an arm around Rara's shoulders as the pop star pressed further against her side. "Givin' ya' ideas, Rara?" "Maybe. Think you could slip away for a bit tonight?" "Ah'm thinkin' Ah could..." The two shared a smile before Applejack glanced over and noticed that Rainbow Dash wasn't as happy for Sunset and Jackie as the rest of their friends were. Actually she had more of a strange, neutral look on her face that was only dropped when Applejack reached over and gave the athlete's shoulder a hard push. "Rainbow Dash? Hey, ya' okay girl?" "Huh? Oh, yeah, great..." "Don't sound great." "Hey, I'm fine okay!" The snap from Dash didn't go unnoticed, all eyes moving to put hero on the spot now as a confused Sunset asked the obvious. "Something wrong, Dash?" "Nope. Just can't wait to give your new girlfriend a thrashing tomorrow." Hackles raised again, Jackie moved away from Sunset and took a challenging step towards Rainbow Dash. "You wanna say that again!? Cause let me tell you, now that my head's on straight again there is NO way some precious pop rock princess like you is gonna do better than me!" "FUCK YOU! If we went right here and now, my guitar skills would destroy you!" "Oh you wanna go? We can go bro! Right here! Right now!" "Oh god..." That last comment had been uttered by Poppy, face palming in an attempt to hide her identity as the macho tool and Rainbow Dash started garnering attention from others around them. "Could you guys not do this here? And possibly shut up?" "See? Your friend actually has some brains and knows you suck." "... okay, I'm out, do what you want Jackie." With permission from a person to go wild, Jackie cracked her knuckles and smirked to Rainbow Dash. "It's on mother fucker!" About twenty minutes later and after convincing Sugar Hay to give them the stage for about twenty minutes, which included a quick set up of their guitars and amps as they prepared to do battle, Sunset Shimmer simply watched on with her friends as a thought came to mind. "So, how did Dash get you all to go along with signing up for the competition? I mean, I think most of you would be against a kind of dickish move like this..." Rarity would be the first to speak up. "Well, at first I was against it, but then Rainbow Dash promised she'd model for me!" "Wait, really?" "Oh yes! How could I possibly say no when she even agreed to model for some of my more feminine attire?!" To say the very least, that was indeed shocking. Sunset looked past an excited Rarity to the rest of the girls, Pinkie Pie going next. "She promised that if we won any cash prizes, she'd use her share to buy me sweets!" "U-Um... she asked very nicely?" "Ah jes wasn't worried. Ah mean the way Ah figure it, Dash's jes got a wild hair up her butt and things'll work out. Plus Ah din't wanna deal with Dash buggin' me." The answers just seemed to confuse Sunset more than anything. Why was Rainbow Dash so desperate to enter the contest? She hadn't even seemed to care until she got into that argument with Jackie but this seemed a bit extreme just to satisfy a competitive urge. There wasn't much time to figure this puzzle out since soon the two guitarists took to the stage and were ready to begin. Normally she might be worried that they'd get too into it and go into their Pony Modes, but the Pony Breakers were already known for their 'special effects' so this would probably be written off as a stunt for the most part. Things started off slow at first, both started with a few warm up notes and being at least a little civil as they gave room for the other to pick up the notes the other left and turn it into their own thing. Then things got heated, one would pull off something impressive and the other would do their best to do better, one upping each other until things got downright nasty. The music clashed as much as it seemed to meld together, like a dangerous dance as swords clashed, Jackie with her alternative rock style of play and Rainbow Dash with her pop toned rock. Then light began to surround them and Sunset waited for the wings, pony tails and ears. Well there were the wings as expected. And that was basically the only thing that went the way Sunset had expected it to. The red-head's eyes practically bulged out of her skull as she saw differences start to appear. No pony ears, no pony tails... instead for Rainbow Dash, a pair of dark blue metal pauldrons and gardbrace's with gold trim appearing on her shoulders, along with a pair of vambraces of the same color scheme that did not manage to hamper her playing. The blue and gold metal goggles that had appeared, not over the eyes but instead more resting above on the forehead, had the same sort of shape as a viking helmet around the eye area, even having a nose guard and a wing decoration that also doubled as a sort of protection for the cheeks, temples and side of the head. Jackie's transformation was startling as well, her wings now leather and scaled with a claw on the pollex, on the right side of her face from temple going down the side of her neck and disappearing into the t-shirt, was a black, tribal looking tattoo. It also appeared over the right wing and down the guitarist's right arm to the tips of her fore and middle finger, giving off the idea that the tattoo was all over the right side of Jackie's body. When the blue haired guitarist grinned it... were her canines sharp like fangs now?! And it looked like there was smoke that escaped either her nose or mouth as she kept playing. Twilight basically voiced the question that was probably in all of their heads by now. "What in the world is going on!?" "I... I don't know!" Sunset had no better answer than that. Yes it looked as if magic had filled the two, but this wasn't a Pony Mode, this looked like something completely different now! The questions would have to wait as the playing and crowd reached a fever pitch now, everything coming to a head as Rainbow Dash pushed her assault and seemed to have Jackie in a corner as with one, final strum she unleashed a blast of sound that nearly sent Jackie off stage. The woman dug in, still playing as she pushed against the wall of sound before slamming out a note from her own guitar. Her own wall of sound seemed to nullify Dash's attack but then a follow up note was struck, sending a ball of fire right at Rainbow Dash! It hit her guitar dead center, the instrument dying with a ear grating squeal as the chords strained and snapped before the entire thing exploded, sending Rainbow Dash flying off stage and ending with a rough landing in the sand. The roar of the crowd that followed was deafening, most of them going wild as a panting Jackie smirked in triumph and raised her hands into the air in victory! "Hells yeah! That's how we do in So-Peg!" However, she frowned when she noticed Sunset frantically motioning for her to get off of the stage, which she quickly did and met the group backstage, shooting a confused, questioning look to a flabbergasted Sunset. "... what?" "Jackie, you no longer have ears and a pony tail, you have a tattoo on one side of your body and you're breathing smoke, and you just shot a FUCKING FIREBALL!" "Okay? Ah shit, is Rainbow Dash okay?" "Applejack is going to check on her. But Jackie, YOU DIDN'T DO ANY OF THIS THE LAST TIME YOU... Jackie, this isn't Pony Mode anymore! It doesn't look like any of the other times before when you or our other friends used Equestrian magic! And now Rainbow Dash's form was different too!" "Hey, she looked different too during the Friendship Games!" "With dark magic, yeah! But this is supposed to be light magic!" "Well I don't know what to tell you, Sunshine! It's just... it's just different! I mean, look-wise, I don't feel any different from before!" The guitarist was waving her hands helplessly, not really finding this a big deal but trying to placate her frustrated girlfriend. However her right wing which had the tattoo on it was pulled open by Pinkie Pie, the party planner looking as excited as ever as she began to gush. "Oh my gosh Jacks! You look sooooo cooooool! I mean, Dashie looked super cool as well but I mean wow! You got a tattoo and you're breathing smoke and stuff! You're like a human dragon!" "So wait, what does this mean? I thought dragons in this world were dogs?" Princess Twilight looked to be just as confused and frustrated as Sunset Shimmer as she tried to figure this out, Spike popping his head out and scowling. "Yeah! If I could of been a human then why wasn't I!?" "Maybe... maybe because Jackie was born a human? But this doesn't mean for sure in Equestria she'd be a dragon, she used to have feathered wings and pony ears..." "True, Sunset... but the way the magic in this world acts is finicky at best. I mean, one moment it activates just based on friendship, then instruments were needed during the Battle of the Bands, and then even your form changed during the Friendship Games, you had wings and a horn like an alicorn while during the Battle of the Bands you just had the pony tail and ears. And as far as I know, you're not an Alicorn... right?" "I... don't know." Twilight and Sunset were deep in thought over this with Sparky off to the side and listening intently. After quickly adjusting her glasses, the girl spoke up when she caught their attention. "All we can say for sure is that whatever magic in this world does indeed seem to change, that much we know to be true. May I suggest that maybe... maybe it's changing so much because it's trying to adapt to this world?" She blushed when both Twilight and Sunset stared questioningly at her, becoming aware of all the eyes on her before she gathered the courage to continue. "Well, I have studied the magic going on at the school. And um, if it's not too awkward for me to talk about because of um... what I did during the Friendship Games, then I will let you know that my readings of the magic there seemed to become different over time. Fluctuations, readings seeming to vary, data seeming to contradict itself. Sunset, you've told me you brought magic from Equestria, where there's magic ponies and creatures but no humans. Maybe whatever magic you've brought is trying to adapt and find it's place in a world populated by a dominate species it's never encountered before in a world where there was no magic and no common means of being able to use magic?" As Sunset and Twilight mulled it over, both could concede than in a way it made sense but it still left a lot of questions left unanswered and added even more questions now. The prominent one being that, if Equestrian magic was indeed converting and adapting into some sort of human magic, what would be the unforeseeable consequences in the future? "I guess there's no way to know for sure without finding a way to study this..." Was the conclusion that Sunset would settle on for now, giving a frustrated sigh and remembering when she had tried to study her Canterlot friend's when they went into Pony Mode. That had been a series of disasters but if the only reason she failed was because the magic was constantly changing to try and adapt, then it was worth giving it all another try. However the serious mood was alleviated some as Adagio smirked and strutted over to Jackie, causing the guitarist's entire face to heat up as the bold siren tugged at the collar of Jackie's t-shirt to look down it and instantly getting Sunset's goat. "Well, I am more curious to see the extent of our cute little guitarist's tattoo..." "Hands off my girlfriend Adagio!!!"