//------------------------------// // 11 - I'll Be Your Ghost, Your Game, Your Stadium // Story: Hell & High Water // by Uria the Sacred Beast //------------------------------// There’s many a things a student of CHS would come to expect to see in the halls of their school, even more so on the day before break, surrounded by police. Even so, many students were surprised to watch the second-in-command of the soccer team dragging a screaming and sobbing freshman down the halls in an iron clad grip and a look of absolute fury. “Shut up.” Misty growled between clenched teeth, “With all you put this damn school through - what you put Sunset and Dash through - you have absolutely no right to be putting up this much of a fight with me!” The tears continued to stream down the young girl’s reddened face as the other students began to whisper around them, words of confusion, doubt, and anger starting to spread down the halls with them at the implication of those words. “N-no! You don’t understand! I-I didn’t-!” “-Shut up!” The usually more composed girl snapped with an angry sneer. “I understand perfectly! You and your friends decided to ruin Dash and Sunset’s lives for no damn reason!” “We had a reason!” Scootaloo shouted back, throat feeling like hot coals by this point. “Yeah?! Well explain it to Celestia!” Misty snarled, the door to said woman’s office looming on the opposite end of the hallway like the gates of Hell themselves. Scootaloo’s eyes dilated as she started to struggle again, “N-no! Please! N-not while cops are still here!” “Do you think I care?!” Misty scoffed down at her, her voice rapidly raising, “You and your friends nearly got two students killed! You deserve to face whatever punishment is coming your way!” She nearly kicked down Celestia’s door, making the Principal jump. “Misty Fly. How can I help-?” She was cut off mid-sentence as Misty nearly threw Scootaloo into the chair across from Celestia. That only made the Principal more confused. “We have a confession.” Misty scowled, shutting the door behind her. She put her back against the door, crossing her arms and blocking it like a bouncer guarding the entrance to a club. Scootaloo wished it was just that. The orange freshman was still red-eyed from all the crying, hair frazzled, and terrified from Hurricane Misty behind her, “Uhh I-I…” “What kind of confession?” Celestia raised an eyebrow at the Freshman. Scootaloo could try saying ‘nothing’, the classic defense against suspicious adults, however she had an odd feeling that it would be futile here, “Applebloom’s Anon-a-Miss!” It had just come out, no hesitation. She slapped a hand over her mouth a moment later. Misty’s eyes widened in shock at the betrayal. “...What?!” Celestia reeled back in shock, “How would you know that, Scootaloo?” “I saw her make it. I stayed quiet since she has dirt on me!” The tears came anew, “I don’t know whether or not Sweetie Belle’s involved, but I swear it was Apple Bloom's idea!” Misty grabbed the back of Scootaloo’s short hair and yanked, hard. “You dirty, rotten liar!” She spat. Scootaloo cried out in pain “Miss Fly!” Celestia stood up with a frown. “Tell her the truth.” Misty ignored Celestia entirely, not willing to see this lie run its course. “Applebloom made it, that is the truth!” “But you were apart of it too! Tell her.” “She blackmailed me!” Scootaloo cried out, sticking close to her words. “One of your best friends, blackmailing you?” Misty sneered, “I’d expect Diamond Tiara to do that, not someone like Apple Bloom.” Her grip tightened. “Miss Fly!” Celestia repeated, “Release her, or I will send you to detention.” Misty frowned, releasing her, though her hands still shook. Scootaloo shook equally in her chair, “Y-yeah, well you wouldn’t expect Anon-a-Miss to come out of her either!...I was worried she had blackmail on me! I had to stay quiet!” Misty frowned, “Well then, why don’t we just bring in Sweetie Belle, and see just how badly blackmailed you were?” Celestia raised an eyebrow, simply listening to the debate. She sat in her chair again, knowing that the senior athlete wouldn’t have dragged Scootaloo into her office unannounced just for drama’s sake. “Th-that’s not your call! You’re just gonna drag her across the floor too!?” She accused with a tearful sneer. Misty narrowed her eyes, “Some teammate you turned out to be.” “I can assure you, I will see to it that Sweetie Belle isn’t dragged here.” Celestia said disarmingly. “C-can I go then, I have class…” Scootaloo shifted in her seat nervously, feeling the back of her neck light up like an inferno. “Misty Fly, you need to get to class.” Celestia said pointedly before setting her eyes on Scootaloo, “You and I still have business to attend to.” Teeth clenched, Misty nodded sharply before heading out the door, still glaring at the back of Scootaloo’s head. The orange girl ducked her head as the door slammed behind them, slowly looking back up at Celestia with a nervous look. Celestia took a long, hard glare down at the freshman, “You’re lucky she didn’t take you to an officer. You would’ve had to explain to the detective of an assault case why you were being dragged around.” Scootaloo ducked her head, “Y-yeah...I just recently...heard about all of that.” “I take it Misty was the one to tell you that, then?” Celestia asked. She nodded silently, wiping her eyes and sniffling again. “I see.” Celestia nodded, “Well, Scootaloo. I want you to tell me everything, and to start from the beginning.” She ran her tongue over her teeth, “Is Rainbow okay?” Scootaloo asked instead. “Don’t change the subject.” Celestia said. “She wouldn’t tell me! All she said was that she was in the hospital and hurt!” Scootaloo pleaded to the principal. “Rainbow Dash is fine.” Celestia said simply, “I saw her today.” “She was here?!” She gaped back, “And she didn’t-?” “-They came in before school started, and left quickly. I wouldn’t blame them, with all things considered.” She then tried pressing again, “Now, the story?” Scootaloo paused, getting her thoughts in order, “Apple Bloom...approached me about starting this thing to get Sunset away from the girls, but I didn’t want any part of it!” She added on quickly, eyes widening. Celestia nodded, “Why did she want to ‘get Sunset away’?” “No offense, but...do you really need to ask that?” She tilted her head, “Talk to any student in the school and half the staff. They’ll give you a reason.” “Of course…” Celestia nodded, “Because of her first three and a half years. Alright, continue.” “It...sounded tempting, if not a bit harsh…” She tilted her head, “I signed on for the first one, for Applejack, but I figured that’d be fine. Her sister and all. I bailed as soon as it started spreading!” She tacked on once more, eyes going wide and innocent. “Then, you have absolutely no access to the account?” Celestia asked. “No. Its Apple Bloom’s account.” She had a cold, dead weight in her stomach and could practically see the words imprinted on the wall behind Celestia. You’re going to regret that. “Well then, I suppose for now I see no reason for you to be here. I will have a chat with Miss Fly about her behavior, and you may return to class.” “Uh, thanks Principal…” She nodded, darting out as fast as she physically could, bumping into the door once for good measure. Celestia was silent for a moment, before holding down a button on her office phone. “Raven. Send in Sweetie Belle, and let Cherilee know it’s urgent.” “Indigo?” Dash stared, blinking at the pale blue girl across from her. “Yeah, yo, hi, hola. You’ve said my name like...5 times already. Can you stop?” Nightshade gave her a flat look, “That’s the exact opposite of when somebody does the ‘that’s my name, don’t wear it out’ routine.” “And you go by Nightshade now.” Sunset confirmed, “Why? ...And do we know the rest of you from somewhere?” “Except for you.” Dash motioned to Night Glider, “I know your sister and all that junk.” Glider shrugged, mixed feelings of her dear sibling splayed across her face. “Yes, as I was saying a moment ago,” Starry Skies smiled, sitting upright in her chair, “You know me previously as Sunny Flare.” “Yeah, she’s Principal Bitch’s daughter.” ‘Courier’ snickered to herself, leaning her chair back on two legs. Starry hissed and kicked it over, standing and leaning over her. “YIPE!” “I’m SORRY?!” “NOTHING!” The glasses clad girl squeaked in terror. Night Glider shook her head, “And the chick over here who zoned out for her music-” She gestured to ‘Blueball Blitz’, now focusing on the dented headphones covering her ears, “Is...was, whatever, Lemon Zest. Yeah, shit’s complicated now.” “U-uh, no kidding.” Dash stared, Sunset looking around in mild confusion. CHS was her domain, this was all alien and rather meaningless to her. “So...why did you all change your names?” Sunset raised an eyebrow, giving the group an odd look of curiosity and worry. She had an odd feeling that she knew what came next. “Well do you want the long version or the short version?” NG asked. “Doesn’t matter.” Dash waved, “Just explain.” “‘Kay. CHS isn’t the only madhouse in town to have some spooky magic run-ins.” “...I...great, what’s the long version?” Rainbow frowned. “That was the long version. Short version is: Canterlot’s boned!” NG nodded solemnly. “Uhhh… Can we have a long, long version, please?” Dash asked. “The long long version is that there are crazy people in dark hoods running around, kidnapping kids, and we don’t know why!” Starry looked away from her terrified schoolmate, crossing her arms and sighing, “All we do know is that they look different when they show back up, have weird changes, and some of them start developing...powers.” “P-powers?” Sunset stuttered, “Like...magic?” “Depends. Does this count as magic?” Courier stood, grabbing the table Blitz was perched on by one of its legs and lifting it up with no trouble. “‘Cause I don’t really work out.” “GIMME DOWN!” Blitz shouted, snapping back to reality. The girl floundered for a moment, falling off the table as a dark blue pair of wings sprouted from her back, buzzing angrily to pause her descent back to the ground, “COURIRER!” “My name has two ‘R’s, thank you.” She rolled her eyes. “I was Sugarcoat by the way. Thanks for asking.” “W-Wait, what?!” Dash yelped, “I never would’ve been able to tell! From any of you!” “Kinda the point, I guess. Dunno really. We have no clue what these bozos are doing.” Courier dropped the table, knocking all the DnD pieces over and earning another scathing glare from Starry. Sunset massaged her forehead. She didn’t need this before she was even officially enrolled here, “So wait, Cinch is your mom, Starry...so she knows about all this then?” “Well, of course.” Starry nodded, “You expect her not to notice when I come home from my ‘vacation’ looking completely different? I mean, I know she’s focused on her job and all, but she’s not a bad mother.” Sunset held up her hands, shaking her head, “No, no, I didn’t mean that. Sorry. It's just...this is pretty crazy to get pulled into already.” Courier shrugged, “We heard CHS has had some odd incidents passed off as ‘special effects’ and the like, but we knew you guys had some sort of experience with magic.” “And when we came across you guys,” Nightshade continued, “We figured you’d be able to help us figure all this out.” Dash went over, plopping into a chair dramatically, “Really?! Ugh! We just had all this shit happen to us, and now we need to deal with this?!” She threw up her hands, “We have our own problems to deal with!” Sunset set a hand on the girl’s shoulder, “Easy Marred, it’ll be fine. Getting away from CHS is a huge step in dealing with those problems, and hey, magic shenanigans are more our forte than crazy students, right? Home turf.” She forced a weak smile, joking a bit. Marred scowled, crossing her arms and looking away from her, her sclera flashing darkly for only a split second before she looked back over to Sunset. “...Right.” She gently squeezed her shoulder, smile growing a bit sad, “They saved our lives. The least we can do is try and pay that out.” Marred let out a breath, slouching over and calming down, “Yeah… I guess so.” She sighed, “Damn it…” “Let's take the time to figure this out, chill out and such. Right? Then we can get knee deep in it.” Sunset’s smile grew slightly. “Yeah, yeah, that sounds better.” Dash replied, running her hands through her hair, attempting to calm herself down. Nightshade cast a worried look, “Well...they've been quiet for a good while, ever since Glider showed up again, so I doubt we're on any sort of schedule for this.” “Oh, that reminds me. You said your appearances changed… Why does Night Glider look the same, then? Or… Did you look different before?” Dash asked, leaning back with a somewhat indifferent look, trying to play it cool. “It seems that with each dissapearance, our appearances changed less in their variation.” Starry mused, “Courier was first as far as we know; she changed the most. Night Glider, being the most recent, looks the same. She joined our little group about two weeks ago.” Courier frowned, “I miss my old hair.” “Misty seems to like the faux hawk.” Nightshade snickered. “Shut up, Blightshade.” She received a quick jab in the stomach for that. “Oof!” “Well, uh, at least you look more like your brother now, Indigo.” Dash attempted to help. “And you, your mom.” She replied, “And please, its Nightshade now, Dash.” “Yeah, I already made that joke to her. She didn’t really seem that happy about it.” Dash shrugged. “Alright Nightshade, if you call me Marred.” “Fine by me.” Nightshade nodded in turn. “Heh, I can kinda see why. So, that out of the way and the threat of cultists hanging over our heads-” “-WELCOME TO CRYSTAL PREP!” Blitz cheered. There was a knock that sounded on the door. “Oh right, PASSWORD!” She darted back over to the door, peering through. “I’m Dash’s mom, let me in.” Daring said flatly. Dash got up, moving to open the door before Blitz could ask for the password again. “Woah! No pushing!” The electric girl complained. “Hey Dash, just got done with Cinch.” Daring reported, “Looks like you’re all set up to start school after the break.” “Do we have to wear the uniforms?” Dash asked. “Yes, everyone does.” Daring said with a small smirk. “No. Not happenin’. Nuh-uh.” The group behind her blinked at the conversation, Starry snickering, “ Rainbow, everyone has to.” “Cinch said that we can order some over the break.” Daring said simply. “Moooooom!” Dash complained, “Come on, those things probably itch!” “Actually they’re quite comforta-” Courier was cut off as Dash threw a piece of the DnD board at her. “No!” Dash pouted, “Suuuunseeet, can we talk?” “Uh...sure?” She looked around, “I mean, we’re all kinda mid-conversation.” “In priiivate!” Dash insisted. Sunset sighed, figuring she knew what this was gonna be, “Fine. One second guys.” The next moment she found herself dragged outside by Dash. “...so...are you actually Daring Do?” Starry glanced over. “...Oh boy, here we go.” Daring gave a small smile, rolling her eyes. “Can we just… not do the uniforms?” Dash asked, both of them now back in the darkened hallway, “You know, convince Cinch that we don’t need them?” Sunset raised her eyebrow, leaning against an old locker, “And by ‘convince’, I can only assume you mean…?” “...I’ll make an exception for the siren thing just this once.” Dash said simply. “Please?” “What happened to not using my siren powers like this? I thought you were having cold feet about it all? Playing the moral compass not fit?” Sunset frowned, “Dash, you can't just change your moral code to fit minute exceptions like this.” She sighed and rubbed her forehead, “Look. It'll be, what? January to June? Sixth months of a uniform and then we’re done with high school period. I think you'll live.” “...So you want to dress in that itchy-ass thing?” Rainbow asked, crossing her arms with a frown. “Well first off, I heard Courier trying to-” “-Courier doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about! She’s just used to it!” “Secondly, my wardrobe is this.” She gestured down to herself, “I’d like a second set of clothing I wouldn’t have to steal or borrow directly from your closet.” “Well, my family will just buy you clothing with the money we would’ve used to pay for your uniforms anyways!” “And third, what will the rest of the students think if they see just us walking around without them? I’m not using my powers once to get out of this, and I’m certainly not gonna have to do that daily.” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Why are you so up in arms about this?” “Then we say screw the uniforms! Let’s get everyone outta wearing them!” Dash smirked. “...Because uniforms suck, that’s why! They’re so stupid. I mean, this is the modern era, not the 50s.” “It’s also a private school, so…” She continued massaging that spot on her face before a devious idea took root in her mind, “Okay, so those three reasons aren’t enough for you?” “Well, yeah.” Dash scoffed. Sunset suddenly leaned in close, “What if I told you you’d look cute in it?” Dash physically stumbled back, eyes wide, “Wh-wh-what?!” Her cheeks were flushed bright as Sunset’s hair had once been. “Is that an ‘okay’ on your part?~” She smiled, eyelids low. “...y-yeah?” Dash looked away, rubbing her shoulder, “f-fine.” Sunset’s eyes widened for a split second before wiping the surprise from her expression, ‘Well that worked far better than I could’ve hoped for.’ She smiled, leaning back, “Okay then, shall we get back in there and finish things up for today? We can head home and play some video games?” She knew well that if one embarrassed the Dash, one must balance it out by playing to her desires. Dash still had her back to Sunset, “Yeah. Sounds great.” Voice was strained too. ‘Welp...I can only hope I haven’t made things too awkward.’ She sighed, heading back inside with Rainbow, ignoring the light blush dusting her own face. There were other things to focus on now. Celestia was typing away as Sweetie Belle came into her office. “Take a seat.” “Um...okay.” The young girl nodded, shutting the door behind her and sitting down in the chair in front of the desk. Sweetie Belle hadn’t seen Scootaloo all day and had been getting worried. Now here she was in Celestia’s office. “Can I ask why I’m here?” “I got a confession from Scootaloo saying that the three of you were involved in the Anon-a-Miss incident-” Celestia said. “WHAT?!” Sweetie exclaimed, stopping Celestia from going any further, “Wh-why-what-how?!” “...I simply wanted to hear the story.” Celestia said, “Keep in mind that the punishment will be less if you’re honest with me.” “We didn’t want to hurt anyone! We just wanted Sunset away from our sisters!” She basically broke like a dam, “The cops and the attack, we never wanted any of this!” “So then you’ve heard of the attack on Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash?” The girl curled up somewhat in the chair, nodding, “I didn’t know what to do. We never thought something like this would happen! It was an accident!” “Well, now you all will be held accountable for what your actions caused.” Celestia said, “But in order to determine how severe your punishment will be, I need your side of the story, Sweetie Belle.” “Apple Bloom got an idea to leak a secret of her sister’s and make it look like Sunset did it. She asked if I and Scootaloo had anything. I was able to swipe some stuff off of Sunset’s phone at their second sleepover at Rarity’s and Scoots was able to steal something from Dash’s backpack. I found a stash of old secrets on a flashdrive that was hidden on campus. It looked like one of Sunset’s old blackmail folders.” She spewed, “After that people started sending the account stuff. Scootaloo said it didn’t matter and was only helping us so we started posting that too.” She had started to cry by this point, pulling up her legs and hugging her knees. Celestia softened only a little, realizing that Sweetie was being truthful, “And it spiraled into this mess. Sweetie, the three of you nearly caused the death of two students, even if it was indirect. You must understand how serious that is. ...Nevertheless, I thank you for your honesty. I want you to wait outside while I question Applebloom. ...Please leave your phone with me.” Sweetie Belle nodded silently, setting her phone down on the desk and walking out, holding herself. She raised her gaze to the red-haired girl that had just walked in, “...it's over.” She whimpered. “Alright.” Tia nodded to herself, “We’re getting somewhere.” She pressed the button, “Now send in Apple Bloom, Raven.” Apple Bloom walked in with a blank expression, “Ya wanted to see me, ma’am?” “Yes. I need you to tell me about Anon-a-Miss.” Celestia said. “I’ve been told that you were the one to create the account.” Apple Bloom’s face stayed blank, thinking for a moment, “Ah made the account awhile back. Lost the password. Someone probably hacked it.” “That’s not what I was told. Twice.” Celestia said. “Well ah don’t know what ya were told, but the account was made by me, so ah would know.” Celestia looked at her pointedly, “Alright then, who would hack into a newly opened account? What would they want with it, and why couldn’t they have made one themselves?” “How would ah know? Ah’m no hacker.” “Then, how is it that your sister just happened to be targeted first, when I was told that you specifically targeted her?” “Why would ah wanna hurt my own sister!?” She frowned, “AJ gettin’ targeted was just ‘cause my house was the site of the first sleep over. She told Sunset the secret and she spilled it. What happened to her and Dash was awful, but even still.” “Then maybe I should pull your sister in here as well. Perhaps there’s some context she can shine some light on.” Celestia said, crossing her arms. Apple Bloom frowned further, “What context is there? Sounds like someone snapped under the pressure of cops running around and fibbed to get out of an interrogation.” Celestia pressed the button on her office phone, “Raven, send for Applejack, please. Urgently.” Apple Bloom hid her wince. At this point, this was going to be inevitable. Might as well face it while she still had some plea of innocence available. It didn’t take long for Applejack to come into the office, “Ya wanted ta see-” She paused in her tracks, “Apple Bloom…” Already, her voice sounded as if she was about to scold her younger sister. This was all too familiar. “Thank you for coming, Applejack.” Celestia smiled, “I assure you that you’re not the one about to face consequences, I simply need to ask you a few quick questions.” “Yes Ma'am, I’ll answer whatever ya need me to.” Applejack nodded back politely. “Excellent. As you know, I’m looking into the Anon-a-Miss incident. And since you were the first one targeted, I need to understand: Who would’ve known about your nickname before it was leaked?” Celestia asked. “Family ‘n close friends. Why?” She frowned, not enjoying a repeat of this song and dance, “Ah thought everyone already agreed it was Dash and Sunset?” “Your sister just admitted to me that she created the account.” Celestia replied. “...” The turning of Applejack’s head was practically accompanied by the sound of a rusty iron gate. “Now hold on! Ah lost access to it a while ago!” Apple Bloom defended, sticking with her lie. “Before this mess started!” “Alright then, who could possibly have hacked into your account, and have known a family secret about your sister? And also, why are two others claiming that you posted the secrets?” Celestia asked, frown deepening. “Ah dunno, ah’m not them!” Apple Bloom threw up her hands, “Ah’m not sure what y’all want me to say!” “I want you to tell the truth, Apple Bloom.” Celestia said. “...Ah know a great way to tell if she’s lyin’ or not.” Applejack held out her hand, “Cell phone, Apple Bloom, now.” The girl froze, “Ah don’ have it.” She said instantly. “...Apple Bloom.” Applejack scowled. “Do ah have to look through yur backpack myself?” “Ah left it at home, Winona ate it!” She started to sweat, eyes dilating slightly. Applejack grabbed Apple Bloom’s backpack and began to dig through it. The phone was easily found buried underneath the jacket inside. Her sister gasped, only held back from leaping at her by Celestia’s glare, “AJ!” Applejack got into Apple Bloom’s phone, opening up the MyStable App, and her hands began to shake as she came to the account’s home page. “Ah… Ah can’t believe ya’ll would do this to me, Apple Bloom. Yur own family!” Apple Bloom clenched her teeth, looking down, there wasn’t much to say at this point. The silence quickly became deafening. Celestia looked between the two sisters, deciding that would be proof enough to her. “Raven.” Once again, she had pressed the button, “Send in Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” The two girls were sent in, Sweetie Belle right away and Scootaloo a few minutes later. A single look around the room was all it took to see what was going on. Applejack’s dark glare was enough to tell that. “We need to discuss punishment for the three of you.” Celestia said, “Sweetie Belle, yours will be the lightest for being honest with me earlier. Scootaloo, I am heavily disappointed in you for blaming the entire incident on your friend. And Apple Bloom, I’m sure your sister will take care of you beyond what I can do here.” “Wait, what?!” Sweetie squeaked, glaring at Scootaloo, “YOU DID WHAT?!” “Y’all threw me under the bus?!” Apple Bloom glared venomously. Scootaloo flinched back, saying nothing as she frowned, glaring at Apple Bloom, “Well it was her idea!” “The two of you went with it, no matter whose idea it was originally. The three of you together are Anon-a-Miss in the end, and I give you 8 days of suspension before I bring this up to the school board to discuss a more permanent punishment.” Celestia said, scowling. “And I cannot promise that they can protect your families from any lawsuits.” “Lawsuits?!” Applejack’s eyes widened, “Mah family can’t afford anythin’ like that!” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened as well, wringing her hands nervously. After all, it hadn’t been too long since they had nearly lost the farm to the Flim-Flam brothers. That would’ve been bad enough, but an actual lawsuit...the thought terrified her. “Well then, the first punishment I’ll hand down, is that I want you three to write up a formal apology to all of your classmates, post it on Anon-a-Miss’s page, shut down the page, and post a printed version all around the halls.” Celestia said, “Yourselves. By hand.” “What’s the apology have to say?” Sweetie Belle winced. Scootaloo started bouncing her leg nervously. ‘This...doesn’t sound too bad…’ “You have to say that it was the three of you specifically, not Sunset, and why. You also have to apologise to the school for bringing them all into this, and that the posts will stop coming.” “Who’s to say they’ll believe us?” Scootaloo asked. “And what if someone comes after us like they did with Sunset and Dash?!” Sweetie Belle gulped, curling back into a ball. “It doesn’t matter if they believe it or not. Both of them are long gone. And, unlike Sunset and Dash, I’ll be able to monitor your protection during school hours, and I could possibly have the police monitor your homes.” Celestia said, “If your parents and guardians decide that’s what they want.” “Rarity’s gonna kill me…” Sweetie wrung her hands, gulping. “Oh man.” “Good. Then ah won’t be the only one.” Applejack growled, “Y’all get what’s comin’ to ya.” She paused for a moment, ‘And… Ah have a couple friends to apologise to.’ Her expression only became more firm as her gaze set on her sister. Apple Bloom ducked her head under the fiery gaze. She had a strong feeling that things had just gone from bad to worse for them. ‘...Wh-what got into Sunset back there?’ Dash asked herself as she pressed her face into the car window, attempting to cool down her hot cheeks. At the moment, Daring was driving them both to the nearest tech shop to pick up a new pair of phones for them. “Soo… Did your meeting go well?” Daring asked. “Seemed so, have a group to hang out with over break, other than the group from Clipper’s, of course.” Sunset explained, “Not bad for such a short time there.” “And you’ll be able to hang with them or whatever after the break too?” Daring asked. “Sounds like. Found some classmates that we can get along with, right Dash?” “Yesh.” Dash replied, muffled. Daring shot Sunset a questioning look. Sunset shrugged in response, “You, uh, feeling okay, Dash?” “Uh’m fiiine. Gimme a minute.” “You don’t have a minute. We’re here.” As Daring pulled up to the tech shop, Sunset and Dash noticed three familiar faces standing outside. “Grrreeeat.” Dash murmured, blush returning despite the chilled glass as the three sirens snickered at her unflattering position. Sunset blinked, “Hmm, thanks for the ride Mrs. Do. Excuse me, I won’t be long.” She stepped out of the car as it ground to a halt, and Daring followed them out. “Adagio, Aria, Sonata. How are you three today? We weren’t expecting you.” “Well, yesterday you said you were getting phones.” Aria said, “This is really the only joint close to CHS or that other school.” Meanwhile, Adagio had a different approach, “Looking flustered there, Dashie. Something the matter?~” “No.” Dash brushed past her and into the store, waiting for Sunset. Somewhat confused, Daring followed her in as well. “I may have tried something,” Sunset paused, “Different, to get her to agree to something and she’s acting a little bashful, I suppose. Could you not mess with her today?” She nodded to Aria, “So Heart, right? I did promise after all.” “Alright, I’ll back off of Marred.” Adagio said, flashing Sunset a smile. “And I’d appreciate it. It’d be great to not feel so tired all the time.” Aria gave a ghost of a smile. “Yeah! We need Ari at full power too!” Sonata nodded eagerly. Sunset nodded, gesturing them over into a side road, bringing her hands together and slowly drawing up the power of a third heart. It felt far easier this time, between the light familiarity and the lack of exhaustion from yesterday. ‘Even so, probably best to not stress myself for the rest of the day.’ She thought to herself, holding up the new gem to inspect it. The sun shined down, light refracting through it onto the slick concrete below them, painting the slush ruby red. Aria gave a tired smile, taking it and holding it close to her for a few moments, “Heh...didn’t think I’d be getting this back.” After clipping it back around her neck, she wrapped Sunset into a quick hug, fast enough that it seemed like it hadn’t even happened, “Don’t expect many of those.” Sunset let out a quick laugh, “I’ll hold you to that.” She smiled at the three. “...Have you just been waiting for us here all day?” “Well there’s a cafe right there, so it's not like we’ve been bored.” Adagio gestured to the coffee shop sitting on the other street corner. “The barista is just...adorable.” Aria rolled her eyes. “Better than just sitting here, I guess.” Sunset said, ready to follow Dash in for her phone now. Dash came bursting out of the tech shop, new phone pressed to her ear and mumbling several things under her breath, angrily. “Das- Da- MARRED!” Daring followed after her, a small rectangular box in her hands, “Talk to me!” “Marred, hey, hey!” Sunset stumbled out in front of her, “What’s going on? Speak English!” Marred let out a loud growl, raising her gaze to stare at Sunset with a fiery hate in her eyes, “SCOOTALOO.”