Friday, the last day of school before the weekend. It had almost been a week since Sunset and her friends obtained their Stand powers, but it felt like an eternity, with so many developments happening in such a short amount of time. To complicate matters further, she now had to look back on past events, from before she and her friends even heard of Stands, all in the hope of finding any clues about the mysterious drawings in Starlight’s notebook.
Starlight mentioned watching videos online, so with laptop in hand, Sunset and her friends gathered in the music room during their lunch break to analyse these videos.
“So...” Applejack asked. “These videos are from when, exactly?”
“The Battle of the Bands and the Friendship Games.” Sunset answered. “Apparently, amidst all the chaos, someone managed to record footage of the incidents and then uploaded that footage online. Starlight must have found something in these videos that she could use to her advantage.”
“Like what?”
“Probably something to do with the Magic Ritual Circle in the park, but without any knowledge on what she’s trying to accomplish with it, I have no idea what we’re supposed to be looking out for in this video.”
“Shouldn't you just look out for Magic Ritual Circle, stuff?”
“Not exactly. Magic Ritual Circles are completely unbalanced and experimental, they could be used for practically anything. There's no telling what incredible powers someone might be trying to conjure up with them, but one mistake and the whole ritual falls apart and all that excess magic, having nowhere to go, could bring chaos and imbalance to the world. Whatever she's doing, we need to stop it before something disastrous happens."
"Why would someone even use something so dangerous in the first place?" Fluttershy asked.
"No idea, but not many people even know they exist, since Celestia made them illegal, centuries ago.”
“Principal Celestia?”
“No, Princess Celestia. From Equestria.”
“Oh, but if these circles are from Equestria, then how does Starlight know about them?”
“I think 'that man' might have an answer to that question.”
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash yelled, impatiently. “Are we gonna watch these videos or not? I’m getting antsy over here.”
“Wait!” Pinkie interrupted. “I thought Rarity showed you these videos yesterday.”
“She showed me on her phone, but the quality was so poor, I couldn't make anything out. I tried watching them again when I got home, but... well... let’s just say there’s a reason I needed you guys to watch them with me.”
Rainbow Dash, getting increasingly impatient, hurried Sunset along. “Yeah, whatever, just show us all ready!”
“Here goes nothing.” Sunset opened the video titled: ★~CRAZY EPIC MAGIC AT MUSIC CONCERT★~[HD]~MUST SEE!!!✔”.
The video was only a couple minutes long. The footage was shot from the perspective of the audience. It showed Sunset and her friends as they were about to undergo their transformations during their song, but abruptly cut off right before the climax of their battle with the Dazzlings.
Something was noticeably off about the footage, which left the girls speechless, confused and irritated. Eventually Fluttershy, finally brought the issue to everyone’s attention. “Um, so... I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t see what was happening right?”
Rainbow Dash was dumbstruck by what she had just witnessed. “That’s the video you’ve been worried about!?”
Sunset laughed nervously.
“That wasn’t in HD at all! It was all pixelated! That was 240p at best!”
Applejack was equally upset. “And why’d they film it in vertical mode, I can’t see nothing like this! I should have known by the title that this was just a ruse! Who's the bird brain that uploaded this anyway!?”
Upon closer inspection of the page, the uploader went by the username: “MuffinLover121”
“That could be anybody!”
After letting off steam over the horrendous video quality, Sunset moved onto more pressing matters. “Did anyone notice anything noteworthy about the video at all?”
“Well...” Dash pondered. “Even with the low quality, my transformation still looked pretty awesome, oh, and I guess the others were okay, too...”
“Alright... did anyone notice anything actually important in the footage?”
“Well...” Fluttershy responded. “It was nice seeing what our transformations looked like from the outside.”
“Huh, now that you mention it, that was the only interesting thing in the video, wasn’t it? But how could that possibly be helpful to us, or Starlight?”
Sunset and the girls were stumped. They were at, yet another roadblock in their investigation. All the evidence they had gathered, Stand users’ testimonies, strange markings, videos etc. They just needed that the one last piece that connected them all together, to finally understand what Starlight and that man were trying to accomplish.
Meanwhile, while most of the other students were out for lunch, the halls were once again empty. Allowing a hooded individual to slip into the school, unnoticed. Just like Gilda before her, she was after one thing, The Unicorn Arrow.
Unlike Gilda, however, she cautiously scanned her surroundings and spotted Sky Should Be High, watching over from above. If a Stand was guarding the area, then she knew it had to be close by.
Simply walking down the hallway wasn’t an option, she’d be spotted immediately. Instead, the hooded individual released a piece of cloth from their sleeve, that slithered down their body and onto the floor. The cloth slipped inside the lockers from the bottom of their doors, avoiding detection, as it rummaged through each one searching for the arrow.
As it silently swept through one locker after another, it wasn’t long before it eventually discovered the arrow, lying at the bottom of a bag. It was then that the individual hit a snag in their plan, how were they going to get the arrow out of there? Sneaking it out would be impossible, the Stand keeping watch would surely notice the locker door opening, even slightly, but after coming this far they couldn't leave empty handed.
In a fit of desperation and impatience, the hooded figure had no choice but to risk causing a small commotion. The cloth wrapped around the arrow and started banging against the locker door. Sky noticed the disruptive noise instantly, but before it could figure out what was causing it, the door burst open.
With no time to spare, the hooded figure ran toward the locker, as the cloth flew across the ground, with the two attempting to meet each other halfway. Sky gave chase, the Stand swooped in to reclaim the arrow, but the cloth was much faster than it appeared and slipped right out of Sky’s grasp.
Failing to catch the cloth wasn’t enough to deter Sky from its goal of protecting the arrow and it immediately flew in for a second attempt. However, the cloth had already disappeared, leaving the arrow unattended on the ground. Sky snagged the arrow back, but as it rose from the ground, it came face to face with the hooded figure, with their magic cloth resting around their hand.
As it wrapped around the figure’s fist, it morphed into a fighting glove. The figure geared themselves up and launched a punch at Sky. Although the hooded figure didn’t seem to have any real super strength of their own, the punch still hit like a truck, crashing into Sky and sending it flying down the hall. It was risky, but the figure’s plan to quickly obtain the arrow and then immediately deal with the Stand worked out surprisingly well.
After their quick battle, they wasted no time in leaving the area before Sky had a chance to recover. They hurried outside the school and made a call on their phone. “U-um, boss. I did it... I successfully retrieved the arrow.”
“Ugh, about time.” Groaned the voice on the other side of the phone. “You weren’t spotted were you?”
“I think a Stand spotted me, but I dealt with it quickly and ran.”
“Well, whatever, just bring the arrow to me whenever you get the chance, preferably before the contest starts. I’ve just finished running my errand anyway.”
“Errand?”
“Yeah, had to deal with a few people. I couldn’t remove all of them, but one opponent should be easy enough to deal with. That’s why I need to see you before the contest.”
“Oh... so, you’re going to cheat again.” The girl responded, disappointed.
“It’s not cheating.” The voice pompously retorted. “I’m just using whatever resources I have at my disposal to win. See you at the gym.”
The voice abruptly hung up, leaving the hooded figure slightly lost. “I guess, I should get the arrow to her as soon as possible. I’ll probably just lose it if I hold on to it.”
Back in the music room, Sunset and her friends continued looking through the remaining videos from the Battle of the Bands and Friendship Games, but just like before, the terrible video quality made any kind of thorough examination impossible.
“Were all of these videos recorded on a phénakisticope? I mean, at least they would have a clear picture.” Sunset decried.
Dash didn’t know what a phénakisticope was, but agreed anyway. “Are these really the only videos we can find?”
“Looks like it. I guess it was a lot easier for Discord to convince people this was a hoax than we initially thought, if this is the only video evidence out there.”
“Why isn’t there any footage from when you attacked the school?” Pinkie asked.
“You can't record on your phones if you're being mind controlled.”
“Oh, how sneaky of you.” Pinkie smirked.
“Thanks?”
Without so much as knocking, Rarity burst into the room, wheeling in a rack with her finished dress, ready to show off to her friends.
“Finally!” She announced. “After weeks of preparations, it is complete!”
“Nice to see you, too. Finally finished your masterpiece, have ya?” Applejack quipped.
“Well, I don’t wish to brag, but “masterpiece” is certainly one way of describing this beautiful work of art.”
“You did remember to make it practical this time, right?”
“Yes, Applejack, no more: being puppeteered by magnets, like last time.” Rarity unzipped the bag hanging from the rack to reveal her latest creation. “Behold! My most magnificent ensemble yet!”
She unveiled a large bouffant gown with the skirt styled in the shape of a scarlet, red rose in full bloom, complete with multiple layers of fabric resembling flower petals.
“Is that it?” Applejack questioned.
“What do you mean 'Is that it'?” Rarity demanded.
“It just looks so simple. Did this really take you weeks to finish?”
“Applejack, my dear. Simplicity is the key. Anyone can make a flower dress, but it takes true talent to refine that dress to a Tee. What you’re staring at right now is perfection!”
Applejack didn't understand at all, to her it just looked like a flower. “If you say so.”
“Um, I think it looks lovely, Rarity.” Fluttershy praised.
“Yeah! It’s all big and poofy like cotton candy!” Pinkie added.
“Well, at least some people around here have taste.” Rarity expressed, looking over at Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“Hey!” Dash yelled, irritated by Rarity’s assumption. “I have taste, just not in... that.”
Rarity glanced at her watch, realising the time of the contest was drawing near. “Good Heavens, look at the time! I suppose I better make my way over to the gym for the contest.”
Sunset stood up from her seat, to wish Rarity luck on the contest, reaching out her hand for a shake. “Well, Rarity, let me just say- WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Sunset suddenly flew backwards at incredible speed and crashed into the back wall.
“Um, thank you?” Rarity was more than a little confused by Sunset's stunt.
Rainbow Dash, however, was impressed. “Woah! That was awesome! How did you do that, Sunset!?”
“I don’t even know what happened.” She answered in a daze, as Fluttershy helped pry her out of the wall. The moment she recovered, a thought suddenly sprouted in Sunset’s mind. This strange sensation felt familiar, in fact it was exactly like the other day. “Oh no! The arrow!”
She darted out of the room, with her friends following behind, except Rarity, who needed to make her way to the main hall, as it was almost time for the start of the Summer Costume Contest.
As her friends ran to the lockers, to check on Sky and the arrow, Rarity, wheeled her clothing rack and dress to the gym’s hall. As she barged through the doors she was expecting students from all over the city to have gathered for the contest, but was instead met with total silence.
Despite going to all the trouble of setting up the school’s stage earlier, the hall was completely empty, with not a single frilly outfit to be seen. Rarity awkwardly wheeled her dress onto the stage, as the sound of the screeching wheels echoed throughout the gym. She felt concerned. Did she arrive too late? Or worse, did she set up the stage in the wrong location?
She didn’t have any way of checking if she had made a mistake, other than scanning through her phone, but she also didn’t feel she needed to. She had been preparing for this day for over a month. The fact that she could have made a mistake now was impossible.
After a moment of waiting, someone finally entered the room. Pushing a similar rack with a clothing bag hanging from it. They wheeled their way onto the stage.
“Oh, thank goodness you showed up.” Rarity expressed in delight. “For a second there, I thought I might have made a mistake.”
The other contestant was a girl wearing a Crystal Prep uniform, with her most noticeable features being her purple hair and blue scarf. The girl didn’t seem very interested in conversing with Rarity, but that didn’t stop her from attempting a little chat.
“So... are you looking forward to meeting Sassy Saddles?” The girl didn’t reply, she kept looking over at the door, distracted by something. Rarity took the opportunity to gush.
“Well, I am. She’s been my idle for quite sometime now. Being given the chance to show off my designs and talents to her was the whole reason I entered this contest to begin with.” Still no reply from the girl. Rarity felt a little offended, the least she could do was acknowledge her existence.
The doors of the gym opened once more. This time a frail, blue haired girl, wearing a comfortable hoodie, cautiously entered the room. The other contestant suddenly rushed over to the girl and the two began talking.
Although Rarity was curious about their conversation, she wouldn’t be so uncouth as to eavesdrop on them, not that she could hear anything they were saying from where she was standing anyway.
“What took you so long? You're late!” The contestant impatiently asked.
“I didn’t take that long did I?”
“Oh, forget it, you didn’t bring the arrow, did you?”
“Oh, yeah, here it is.” The girl slipped the arrow out from her hoodie’s front pocket.
“What are you doing, you idiot!?” The contestant scolded, gritting her teeth, in the hopes of keeping her voice down. “Put that thing away!”
The girl’s commotion certainly raised an eyebrow from Rarity, but she decided not to get involved as it was none of her business.
“But I thought you said to bring you the arrow before the contest.” The hooded girl explained.
"I didn't mean seconds before it started, where are we supposed to hide this thing now!?"
"I'm sorry..."
“We don’t have time, just keep it in your pocket and come with me, Saddles will be arriving any minute.”
As the girls made their way to the stage, the doors from the other side of the gym burst open as Sunset Shimmer entered the room. The hooded girl immediately recognised her and promptly hid backstage, much to the confusion of her acquaintance.
Sunset, not noticing the girl, called out to Rarity as she climbed onto the stage. “Rarity! The arrow’s been stolen!”
Rarity was mildly shocked. “Again? I told you hiding it in the same place twice was a bad idea."
"Yes, I'm an idiot, sue me."
Rarity took this sarcasm as sign that Sunset wasn't exactly proud of her decision and got down to business.
"Do have any idea where it could be?”
“Actually, we do have a lead.” Sunset smiled. For once, luck was on her side. “Sky managed to get a good look at the thief, well... not their face, but they were wearing a hoodie and used a weird magic cloth.”
Rarity recalled seeing someone with a hoodie just a moment ago, but having only paid attention to them for but a brief moment, she couldn’t say for sure if they were truly connected to the theft. She looked over to the other contestant, but their friend had long gone. To avoid potentially accusing the wrong person she decided not to mention anything to Sunset until she was sure.
The other contestant overheard their conversation and immediately sprung into action. “Hi. I couldn’t help, but overhear your chat, did something happen?”
“Who are you?” Sunset asked.
“I’m Suri Polomare, up and coming fashionista. I’m just concerned about this thief you mentioned.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, we’ve got this.”
“You do? Why? Are thieves common in Canterlot High? I guess that’s what you get when you go to a cheap public school.”
Sunset didn’t take kindly to such an arrogant and unnecessary jab at her school’s reputation, but before she could make a move, Rarity stretched out her arm to block her, urging her not to make a scene.
Suri got a rise out of Sunset’s reaction and continued to poke at her. “I guess that’s what you’d expect from the rundown, hick part of town. Crystal Prep would never tolerate their reputation being tarnished by such criminal activity, but I guess any school that’s willing to accept demon girls as students, must not have very high standards to begin with.”
As Suri hoped, Sunset became furious, with Rarity trying to physically hold her back. “Don’t do it, Sunset, she’s just trying to get under your skin.”
Sunset calmed herself, there was no reason to get upset when it was obvious Suri was looking for exactly that kind of reaction. “Sorry, still a little touchy about the demon thing.”
“That’s okay, but a lady mustn’t lose her cool. She must always remain calm and deal with the situation with grace and finesse. Never stoop to the vile actions of people like her.”
Suri saw an opening and quickly remarked. “The only vile thing around here is that horrific dress of yours.”
“WHAT THE DEVIL DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY DRESS!?”
Sunset instantly jumped in, holding Rarity back by the arms, as she ranted incoherently at Suri, who wasn't expecting such a powerful outburst.
“Rarity!” Sunset pleaded. “Remember: a lady needs to remain calm and graceful.”
After tiring herself out, Rarity eventually came back to her senses.
“You alright?” Sunset asked.
“I’m fine.” Rarity replied, fixing her hair and straightening her outfit. “I guess poor sportsmanship can exist even in the fashion world.”
“What in blazes was that racket!?” Cried a voice with a posh accent.
“Oh my gosh!” Rarity squeed. “Sassy Saddles is here!”
“That’s odd.” Miss Saddles wondered. “Where are all the contestants? I expected more than just three of you.”
“It seems there was some sort of scheduling slip up.” Suri proposed.
“How outrageous. I, Sassy Saddles, am insulted by this lack of care. If this is all Canterlot has to offer, then I will not be wasting any more of my time here. I shall be leaving.”
Suri's heart skipped a beat, she hoped that eliminating the rest of the competition would allow her and her alone, the chance to look good in front of Sassy Saddles, but instead all her scheming did was push her away. Luckily for Suri, while she was stunned from her plan backfiring, Rarity took the initiative, lept off the stage and tried to reason with Miss Saddles.
“Miss Saddles, please! We’ve all worked very hard on these dresses, for months even. I apologise for the slip up, but please! All we ask is for your expert opinion on our work. If there’s only two of us then it shouldn’t take very long.”
“Who was the organiser of this event?”
“Principal Celestia, but she’s been preoccupied after her office was destroyed recently.”
Sassy was shocked by this rather bizarre news, but office destruction was not an excuse for negligence, however she could never resist the saddened look of young designers who were willing to prove themselves.
“Fine, but make this quick! I have a principal I need to reprimand later.”
The girls breathed a sigh of relief, there may not be a contest any more, but at least they’ll be able to show off their talents to a fashion elite. Rarity escorted her to the stage eagerly awaiting her assessment. Suri on the other hand was ready to put her own plan into motion, but she couldn’t risk it while Sunset was still in the room.
“Hey!” She yelled to Sunset. “Why are you still here? Don’t you have a thief to catch?”
As much as Sunset would have loved to stay, just to spite her, she really did need to search for the thief, she couldn’t waste any more time here. “I guess I better go meet up with the others. Good luck, Rarity!”
With Sunset gone, Suri was ready. Even though there was no contest left to win, she couldn’t resist the urge to cheat anyway. Not only to bolster herself, but also as insurance. Humiliating Rarity now, would eliminate her as competition in the future.
Rarity unzipped the bag hanging from the rack, revealing her crimson rose dress. Sassy’s eyes lit up from the sight of its beauty, but being a professional she saved her praise for after she had given the outfit a thorough examination.
Sassy reviewed the dress, checking for any mistakes in the stitching or the durability of the materials. Unbeknownst to her, a stray piece of material had slipped into the outfit. A strip of cloth that slithered all over, leaving small tears in the fabric.
As Sassy examined the dress she started noticing the tears. “Oh my...” She sighed, disappointed.
“Is something the matter?” Rarity nervously asked.
“It seems you’ve been rather careless with the handling of this dress.”
“What!? I’d never!”
“Then how do you explain these tears in the fabric?”
Horrified and angered by Sassy’s claim, Rarity immediately examined her dress. There were indeed small rips across the bottom of the petals, making the dress appear ragged and ill kept. Rarity felt sick to her stomach, how could she possibly have allowed this to happen? Carelessness of this magnitude was completely contrarian to her proud perfectionist persona and yet, the damage was right there.
“I-I... I’m so sorry.” Rarity apologised, as she bowed her head in embarrassment. “I swear, I’d never be so callous as to allow any kind of damage to befall any of my wears.”
“Perhaps the bag the dress was kept in damaged it slightly.” Sassy explained. “It’s unfortunate, but it can happen, especially with these cheap ones.”
Rarity suddenly perked up. “Really?”
It seemed Suri needed to step up her game if she wanted to ruin Rarity's future career prospects. The cloth began to unwind the stitching near the shoulders of the dress and then hid. Sassy spotted the loose threads and questioned Rarity again.
“The stitching on this dress is rather haphazard, Rarity.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s loose, if this were to be caught on something it would unwind in an instant.”
“But, I was so careful, they couldn’t be loose.”
“See for yourself.”
Rarity examined her dress again, just like before, she was horrified to see the loose threads. This was unacceptable, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she would ever leave such careless stitching without correcting it. It was inconceivable, there must have been some kind of mistake.
“The stitching is rather loose on this side, too.” Sassy commented.
“What!? No! That can’t be!” Rarity’s anxiety was building, it felt as if the whole universe was suddenly conspiring against her. She desperately pulled the dress off the rack to prove it was perfectly fine. “See! Th-there maybe a few mistakes, but it still looks beautiful! Right!?”
Suri enjoyed watching Rarity squirm, but it was time to put an end to her frantic farce. With a snap of her finger, the entire dress fell to pieces in Rarity’s hands.
As the pieces of her once magnificent masterpiece, gently drifted to the floor, without so much as letting out a squeak, Rarity collapsed with them, sobbing as she feebly tried to piece what was left of her garment back together.
“Well, that’s rather disappointing.” Sassy expressed sincerely. “It was so elegantly designed too, but no one would want to wear a dress that falls apart on them.”
Suri could just barely contain her laughter, now all she had to do was impress Sassy with her own outfit and call it a day. “Miss Sassy, allow me to present you my own outfit. I can assure you, it won’t fall to pieces like hers.”
She unzipped her bag and revealed her outfit. A black, slim uniform with skirt. Sassy examined the outfit, checking for any inconsistencies in its craftsmanship. No loose threads, no rips, no tears, everything seemed to be well made.
Suri eagerly anticipated Sassy’s praise.
“It’s a little bland, isn’t it?”
“Excuse me?” Suri responded.
“Well, it’s just... it looks no different than a typical school or office uniform, it’s rather uninspired.”
“...what.”
"It's certainly well made, but there's already a million others out there like it."
"...huh."
“Well, this was a rather lackluster turn out. A beautiful dress that falls apart under the slightest scrutiny and a dull uniform. I’ll definitely need to have a word with the principal after this catastrophe. As for you children, you performed admirably, I suggest you continue working on your craft and creativity, otherwise you’re never going to survive in the fashion world.”
With those words, Sassy took her leave. Suri was furious, after all the work she put in to eliminate the competition, she still couldn’t impress her. However, while Sassy was inspecting Suri’s dress, Rarity was inspecting her own and found a peculiar piece of cloth. It didn't look anything like the materials she used, nor did it look very special, until it started moving.
She grabbed hold of the wriggling rag, holding it tightly within her grasp, preventing its escape. A magical, moving cloth. This was all the proof she needed that foul play was afoot. She was furious, but kept her composure, at least until Sassy had already left.
As Sassy exited the building, Rarity rose from her weeping mess and faced Suri with a powerful glare.
“What’s with you?” Suri asked. “Mad that your drapes fell to pieces on you?”
“Indeed, I wonder how that happened?”
“Who knows, I guess you’re just not cut out for this line of work.”
“Or, perhaps it was sabotage.”
“Yeah, as if I could do anything like that.”
"I don't recall accusing you of anything." Rarity smirked, destroying Suri's smug expression. "But, it seems I've found my culprit."
Rarity presented the wriggling cloth. “You used this, didn't you!?”
“Ew, what’s that?”
“Suri, did you use some kind of magic to sabotage my dress?”
“What!? Magic!? Did you hit your head when you fell to the ground, crying? What an imbecilic claim!”
Rarity wasn't going to tolerate any more of Suri’s nonsense, she knew exactly what kind of magic was at play here and there was one very easy way to prove it.
She summoned her Stand, Lady Fascination, in front of her. The sudden sight of Rarity’s ghostly Stand caught Suri off guard, as she jolted with shock.
“Well, Suri.” Rarity exclaimed. “That reaction was all the proof I needed. If you can see my Stand then that means, you're a Stand user! And the Stand you used, was this cloth!”
“I... I had no idea you had a Stand, too!”
“You’ve clearly neglected your research, much like that dress of yours.”
“Well, you were half right. I really do have a Stand of my own, but it’s not that pathetic piece of fabric you’re holding.” A dark aura enveloped Suri as she revealed a murky, phantasmal shadow in the shape of a woman.
“This is my Stand, Hunter Soul!"