//------------------------------// // 3- Influence // Story: The Trick to Success // by Hakuno //------------------------------// Chapter 3. Influence. “You gotta be kidding me,” Shimmer said with an incredulous glare. After their little trip, the girls had gotten back to Canterlot and went directly to Sugarcube Corner, where they’d wait for the rest of Sunset and Trixie’s friends to show up. Sunset had changed out of the Manhattan uniform, not wanting her friends to confuse her with Shimmer. Since they still had some time left, Sunset deemed appropriate to fill Shimmer in on Equestria and magic, intentionally omitting certain details, like the reason why she was in the human world and everything that happened during the Fall Formal. “I mean, ponies?” Shimmer grabbed her cup of black coffee and leaned back. “You could have said, I dunno, horse furries, and it’d still be more believable.” She sipped from her cup. “Horse furries?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow. “That sounds even more ludicrous.” “As I said,” Sunset continued. “I don’t expect you to believe me.” “Yes, you do,” Shimmer replied. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have told me all of this. But don’t worry, I do believe you.” Sunset blinked. “You do?” “Sure, why not?” Shimmer answered with a shrug. “It somehow is more believable than you and those three impostors being part of a secret organization that creates clones of people and wants to dominate the world.” She sipped more coffee. Trixie hummed. “For some reason, I thought you’d be harder to convince.” “I’m a girl of science, but I also love cool fantasy. Not those crappy tales for kids, though, no, but real fantasy novels, mythology, all of that.” “So you’re just rolling with it because you want to believe,” Sunset said, nodding in understanding. “Ok. It saves us the whole “Oh god it was true after all!” crap a month later.” The front door of the locale opened, and six girls entered cautiously, looking around until they found the trio sitting at the largest table. Rainbow and Applejack hurried to them and crossed their arms as they lay eyes on Shimmer. “So, it was true,” Applejack said, scowling at Shimmer with all the anger she could muster. “Y’all outta prison!” “Oh, please, yell a little louder,” Shimmer said, not really looking at her. “I don’t think they heard you two blocks over.” “Girls,” Sunset said, standing up and walking to Applejack. “I didn’t call you to fight, I really need you calm and focused.” Rarity looked at Sunset, frowning in surprise. “Must be pretty big if it got you this worked up,” she said, then looked at Shimmer. “Does it have to do with her?” “No,” Sunset answered. “Please, take a seat.” She watched her friends slowly accommodate around the table, giving Shimmer all kinds of stares. Twilight, however, remained standing, her eyes glued to Shimmer with an unreadable expression. “Twili-” “I know what you want,” Shimmer interrupted her doppelganger, still looking at her cup, but clearly addressing Twilight. “There’s no point in denying it now, is there? I pushed you out the window and mocked you at the hospital.” She then looked at Twilight, and it was impossible to discern the feelings in her eyes. “I think it’s fair that you want me to apologize, but… Will it change anything?” She shook her head, and her voice was calmer than usual. “No… No, it won’t. I served my sentence, and am still doing it, in a way… The only thing you can be sure about is that I’ll never hurt you again.” Silence followed as everyone looked at Shimmer. Sunset remembered that Shimmer had told her that one of the reasons they let her out was that she had to apologize to all those she wronged. She knew it was a commitment, but she couldn’t brush off the feeling that there was something behind Shimmer’s words. Maybe she did feel guilty, after all. “I can’t be sure about anything you say,” Twilight answered. She passed her hands through her shirt, as if trying to warm them up. She looked like there was more she wanted to say, but she just looked away and went to sit in the farthest seat from Shimmer available. “Well,” Shimmer said after an uncomfortable five second silence. “That went better than expected.” Rainbow snorted. “We all expected a real apology.” “Go fuck yourself.” There were gasps of various levels of volume, being Fluttershy’s the highest. Rarity cleared her throat and leaned forward. “Uhm, excuse me, darling,” she said, looking for a moment at poor Fluttershy, who looked like she was about to faint. “Some of us are a little sensitive, so we’d appreciate it if you try not to cuss.” Shimmer snorted. “Not a chance, sweetcheeks.” Rarity’s pristine white skin turned a furious red for many reasons, the most notorious one was anger. “What did you just call me?!” “Girls, please!” Sunset intervened. She looked at Shimmer. “Stop antagonizing my friends. You’re not making it any easier.” Shimmer crossed her legs and got comfortable in her seat. “Fine… I’ll try not to scar your naîve little friends for life.” “Anyway...” Sunset said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She sat beside Trixie. “I called you all because we have a situation.” When the girls looked at her, Sunset proceeded to explain everything that happened; from Shimmer’s friends being kidnapped, to the possible identity of their doppelgangers. Their faces morphed from worried to terrified as Sunset explained that with no magic whatsoever, a fight with the sirens was a futile one. “And there’s nothing anyone can do?” Rarity asked, who had somehow managed to pale. “Nothing at all?” Pinkie raised her hand. “Not even calling the police?” She asked. “Or the army? I’m sure they can take them down in a moment!” “The problem is that we don’t have any proof that they are criminals,” Sunset replied. “And besides, sirens can hypnotize people through their voices. It only takes a hum from them and you’re done for.” “But, didn’t you say you heard them sing?” Trixie asked. “The crowd was getting violent. Why didn’t they affect you?” “Well…” “Maybe it just takes time?” Twilight offered. “Then again, you said they could be heard all throughout the school. The amount of time you were inside should’ve been enough to affect you to some degree.” “Maybe she’s immune!” Pinkie said. “You know, ‘cuz she’s from Equestria!” “I doubt it,” Sunset replied with a shake of her head. “Sirens are extremely powerful. Only equally powerful ponies can face them without being affected… And while I am considered a naturally talented unicorn, right now I’m just a human.” Fluttershy looked at Sunset. “Uhm… I-” “What if it’s because you know they’re evil?” Rainbow asked. “You know, like, they can only control you if you don’t know you’re being controlled?” “Ah don’t think it works like that,” Applejack replied, crossing her arms. “If they’re as powerful as Sunset says, their magic’d be stronger than that, right?” Fluttershy raised a finger. “Well, I-I think…” “Then again,” Shimmer spoke up, and everyone looked at her immediately. “Magic or not, hypnosis often only works when you’re distracted or emotionally unstable, which is a notoriously insistent treat in teenagers.” She then looked at Sunset. “You weren’t neither of those, so maybe that’s the key to defeating them.” “But this isn’t human hypnosis,” Sunset insisted. “It’s magic. It doesn’t matter how focused we are, they can still break us like a twig.” “Then why weren’t you affected?!” Rainbow yelled. “Are you a Mary Sue?!” “A what?” “Girls!” Fluttershy finally yelled. Although, to everyone else, it just seemed like she had whispered loudly. “Can I, uhm, say something?” Rarity smiled at her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Of course, darling. What is it?” “Uhm… well…” Being suddenly in the spotlight, even by her own choice, was not easy for her, especially with Shimmer’s glare, sharp as a knife, digging into her. She decided to look at Sunset instead, whose gaze was much calmer and understanding. “Maybe… the sirens aren’t as powerful?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Not as powerful?” “I-I mean, I’m sure you know everything about them. I-It’s just that, well…” She looked at her friends for more supportive glares, then back at Sunset again. “You always say you were a powerful unicorn, but you’re now just another human… What if the sirens are going through something similar?” That earned a long hum from Sunset. “That’s… actually pretty good reasoning… Can someone lend me a pen and something to write on?” Twilight was the first one to offer her a pen and a small notebook. Sunset took them and began scribbling down some numbers. As time passed, numbers and strange symbols made way to what certainly looked like math equations. “That pony math?” Shimmer asked, trying to fake her disinterest. “More or less,” Sunset replied, still writing numbers and symbols. “This is magic theory…” She crossed an equation and started doing it again down below. “I’m trying to figure out if what Fluttershy said can be true… But it doesn’t make sense…” “Wanna fill us in?” Applejack asked, looking at the notebook with the same eyes she’d look at a pink apple. Sunset huffed. “If the portal decreases the amount of latent magic an Equestrian has upon crossing it, then I should have at least some magic left. But I don’t.” She tore the page and dropped it to one side, beginning to work in a new one. “And if the portal does take away all your magic, or if it’s a condition our bodies assume just by being turned into humans, then why do the sirens get to retain their ma-” She stopped for a few seconds, then leaned back and placed a hand on her mouth, lost in thought. Shimmer stood up, went to get some treats for her own, returned to the table, and bit on a cupcake, all before Sunset reacted again. “I’m looking at it wrong,” Sunset finally said. “What do you mean?” Rainbow asked. “The sirens, they… The legend doesn’t say anything about a portal. It says that Starswirl the Bearded banished them, but it never- I just assumed…” “Hey,” Shimmer called, her mouth still full of cupcake. “Can you speak like a person?” Rarity looked at her with disgust, making a gagging gesture. Sunset’s eyes widened and her heart stopped at the realization. “The portal from where I came through, and the portal that Starswirl used to banish the sirens aren’t the same…” She placed a hand on her neck. “That means the characteristics of the other portal are different…” “I don’t want to sound rude,” Twilight said. “But that doesn’t answer the question of why you aren’t affected by their magic.” Sunset sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I mean, I-” She held her breath, then looked at Shimmer. “Wait, that message, when did you receive it?” Shimmer hummed for a moment. “The date is from my first day in prison, about two months ago.” “So, it’s been two months since the sirens have been impersonating your friends, which means…” She looked at Twilight, then at Fluttershy, then at the rest of her friends. “The sirens might have retained their magic, but there’s the possibility that it’s just a minor part of what it should be, so, like Fluttershy said, they’re not as powerful… And, like Twilight said, it must just take time… I mean, when I listened to them, I thought their music was decent… Maybe they start off with just that.” “Progressive mind control,” Shimmer added. Sunset nodded. “According to the legend, the sirens hypnotised an entire city and forced them all to go to war with their own country in just two days. If it’s taking them this long to control one school, then we may have a chance of defeating them.” “Ya mean, like, fighting ‘em?” Applejack asked. “Well, we have to do something,” Sunset said. “We’re the only people that know the truth. And if the sirens get away with their plans-” “Yeah, yeah, apocalypse, death, Coloratura,” Shimmer interrupted her dismissively. “Now, how are you planning on rescuing my friends? I bet two months being kidnapped are just as bad as being in prison.” Rainbow snorted. “And why do you think we’ll help you?” “Because you’re all a bunch of goodie-patooties and won’t turn your back on three poor innocent girls,” Shimmer replied, letting the following silence stretch for a few moments. “... Will you?” “And what are you going to do to help them?” Rainbow asked in return. “You’re rich, aren’t you? Can’t you just hire a private army or something?” Shimmer huffed irritated. “Not gonna explain the same thing to you. So, short answer: no.” “Then what the heck are you even doing here?!” “For fun.” Rainbow’s face was red, and the veins at the sides of her head could easily be seen. “If you’re not gonna help then go away! Nobody wants you here!” “Whoa, so salty.” “Why, you!” Rainbow lifted her fist, but Applejack grabbed her by the arm. “What are you doing?! Are you going to be on her side?!” “There are no sides, Dash!” Applejack said. She looked at Shimmer, who had a smug grin on her face. “If you hit ‘er, she has the resources to send you to prison. Y’all want that?” As Rainbow considered Applejack’s words, her anger evaporated. In the end, she huffed and sat down. “Ok…” Sunset said after the long silence that followed. “I think it’ll be better if we all go home. I’ll try to think of a way to rescue the sirens’ hostages and to defeat them. I’ll call you when I come up with something.” “We’ll also try to think of something,” Rarity offered. “Right, girls?” There was a round of agreements, some chirpy, like Pinkie’s, some bitter, like Rainbow’s, and some silent, like Twilight’s. They all ordered a round of light snacks and smoothies to take and, after a few minutes of convincing them they were going to be alright, the girls left Sunset and Trixie alone with Shimmer. “Well, aren’t your friends the nice bunch?” Shimmer said mockingly as she approached her car. “Especially the gay haired one.” “Why do you like antagonizing people so much?” Trixie asked. She had her arms crossed and a disapproving frown. Shimmer shrugged. “It’s what us bitches do, surely you can relate.” She reached for the door of her car, but stopped, looking back at Sunset. “I didn’t give you my phone number, did I?” “No,” Sunset answered. “Why would I even want it?” “Because you’re going to text me when you know how to rescue my friends,” Shimmer said, reaching for a pocket in her hoodie and producing a folded piece of paper. She offered it to Sunset. “Here, it’s my number.” Sunset reached for it, but Trixie snatched it from Shimmer’s hand, earning a surprised glare. “I’ll take it.” When Shimmer recovered, she smiled and snorted. “Well, I’ll be expecting your text. That, or I’ll contact you if something weird happens with the sirens.” “Wait, you’re still going to attend school?” Sunset asked. “Yeah, what’s the worst that can happen?” Shimmer said with a shrug. “If all the other students survived for two months, I think I can do so, too.” Sunset and Trixie exchanged glares for a moment. “Alright, but…” Sunset took a sharp breath. “Listen, dark magic is no laughing matter. If you feel like the sirens are starting to get in your head, leave and tell us.” Shimmer looked at Sunset for a few seconds and then nodded. “Duly noted, hot stuff.” “Narcissist,” Trixie muttered under her breath. “Always,” Shimmer replied. She then got in her car and left without any other word. ~~~~~~~~ Sunset had called in sick to both her jobs, since she wasn’t sure at what time she was going to be free again. That gave her the opportunity to spend the rest of the day with Trixie. They decided to go straight to Sunset’s apartment and relax, watching some movies and snuggling closer together as the temperature slowly dropped. By the time Sunset realized, night had already fallen upon them, and her hand had somehow found her way on Trixie’s thigh. Trixie rested her head on Sunset’s shoulder and sighed. “I don’t think you want to do it knowing I’ll be thinking about Shimmer the whole time.” Sunset made a weird noise, something between a snort and a gag. “Well, that certainly kills the mood,” she said, retrieving her hand and straightening up. “Want to tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” “It’s just…” Trixie shook her head, taking her time to organize her ideas. “You were right, she looked awful… She totally deserves whatever’s happening to her, but…” “I know, hun,” Sunset said, circling Trixie with an arm and pulling her closer. She began stroking Trixie’s arm. “Who knows what she went through in prison; I don’t think what movies or series depict even get to the reality…” She gritted her teeth. “And I’m… really conflicted…” Trixie turned her head to look at Sunset. “You have all the right to feel how you feel.” She placed a hand on Sunset’s cheek, waiting for their eyes to meet. “She represents everything you could’ve turned into. You feel glad that you didn’t, that you took another path. And you feel angry, because she didn’t.” “I’m…” Sunset sighed heavily. “I’m mad at her for hurting you, and I’m glad she was punished… But when I look at her, remember her… I feel like we are like family, you know?” Her breath became erratic and she felt as if her heart was being crushed. “It hurts me to see her like that and I hate it! And I don’t know if it’s because she’s not me, or because she is!” “I think I’m getting lost here.” Sunset rubbed her temples, taking long breaths, trying to calm down. “I could’ve ended like her. I was this close to invading Equestria, and, being honest, I would never stand a chance, not even with the Element of Magic on my head… I wouldn’t have been killed, but imprisoned…” She passed her hands through her face. “I’m looking at my reflection. That’s what’s happening. I mean, I think being dimensional twins is creating a deeper connection than normal twins, you know? I think… I think that, aside from this whole siren situation, we should also help her come around.” “Like, be friends with her?” Trixie asked with a pitch higher than her normal voice. “I know it sounds ludicrous-” “That’s one way to put it,” Trixie interrupted her. “Because unlike you, she actually tried to kill people. Unlike you, she’s mentally unstable. Unlike you, she isn’t even interested in being a good person.” Sunset moved her head from side to side. “I’m just saying it took me transforming into a demon, experiencing a merciless pain, and being shot with a rainbow laser to become good. I think she’s already two thirds in; she just needs the laser, and that laser can be us.” Trixie blew out through her nose, pondering Sunset’s words for a while. “If it makes you happy, then go for it. It won’t be easy, if possible at all.” “I know.” “But you know the moment she steps out of line…” Trixie left the rest of the sentence in the air, knowing full well that Sunset would get it. They fell silent for a moment, letting their talk sink in and slowly evaporate from their minds, leaving just each other and the muted T.V. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Trixie turned to Sunset and placed a hand on her thigh. “Now, if you want to continue with this…” She began caressing. “I want!” Sunset said and tackled Trixie with a tight hug, earning a silly giggle in response, which made her giggle too. And so they kissed, finding comfort in each other’s touch. An erratic turmoil of emotions went through their bodies, like a rapids river, drowning everything but the passionate love they felt for one another. Sunset could feel all her worries evaporate as her hands danced all throughout Trixie’s body. She wished she could stay like this forever. ~~~~~~~~ Trixie traced slow circles on Sunset’s chest, right below her clavicle, with her finger. She liked doing it because it was both a show of affection, and a means to keep her entertained in the long silences that followed their lovemaking. Not that she minded the silence, no. She actually liked listening to Sunset’s steady breathing, feeling her arm around her and her fingers gently caressing her arm. Sunset’s phone started ringing, and they both groaned. Sunset did her best to move her arm towards her night stand without disrupting Trixie. Rarity’s name appeared on her screen, and after taking a calming breath, she answered. “It’s almost midnight on a Friday,” Sunset said, trying really hard not to sound annoyed. “So I’ll assume this isn’t a fashion accident, because if so I’ll get very angry.” “The sirens are on the radio,” Rarity’s voice sounded weird, both calm and trembling. “What?” Sunset sat up and went to her alarm clock, which also served as a radio transmissor. She followed Rarity’s instructions and tuned in the station. She immediately heard them. They were playing the exact same song they played earlier that day at Manhattan’s Academy, only that this time, it was a clearer sound, probably due to the lack of a crowd. The music was a weird mix of pop and trance with lots of computer generated notes, but their voices were nice, and Sunset had to admit they blended well with the music. “You’re right,” Trixie said, snapping Sunset out of her trance. “They do sound nice.” Sunset smacked the power button, turning the radio off. She held her phone tightly against her ear. “Rarity, stop listening to them.” “Why? It’s just music.” “Rarity!” Sunset yelled, startling Trixie. She passed her free hand through her forehead. “Sorry, just… Please turn it off.” “Alright,” Rarity answered. Suddenly the background music disappeared, and Rarity went silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “I… I was being hypnotized, right?” Sunset sighed heavily. “So were we...” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “If we want to stop them, we first need to find a way to defend ourselves… Call our friends, tell them to meet at Sugarcube Corner. We need to come up with something as soon as possible.” “Sure thing, darling.” They hung up, and Sunset stared at her phone for a whole minute before looking at Trixie. “Do you have her phone number?” Trixie blinked. “Oh, yeah. It’s in my coat.” “I know nobody’s going to like it,” Sunset said as she stood up and walked to a corner, where all their clothes lay messily. She squatted in front of the little mountain and started searching for Trixie’s coat. At last, she found the piece of paper that had Shimmer’s phone number. “But I want to help her see that she can redeem herself and be happy.” Trixie gave her a reassuring smile. “And I support you, Sunny.”