//------------------------------// // The City Is At War // Story: Care Root's Bizarre Adventure // by Ditherer the Fussbudget //------------------------------// ’Sunset, Sham Factory, front entrance. Just the two of you. Bring your gem or you won’t get in’. Silver Spoon Last night Derpy and Care came back home and told you a long and strange story. This morning, to make up for it, they rescued you from going to school on time. You’re eating in a breakfast buffet, surrounded by the elderly and a wet mess of badly-scrambled eggs. A muted TV on the corner wall’s broadcasting a local report about the sun being sighted over Canterlot City at night, but you can’t read lips to figure out what the talking heads make of it. Care’s talking, poking at a piece of french toast. ”We’ll need Trixie to drive. She’s an expert at getaways by now, and her Stand could help if we need to escape quickly.” Trixie, who’s almost slumped over the table, nods with closed eyes into her overcreamed coffee. He addresses you next. ”Silver, it’d be a big help if you could fix my windshield again.” “Yeah, I can do that.” Seriously, why hasn’t this guy been pulled over yet? ”And what about me?” Your other older sister asks across Derpy. Golden’s still banged-up, but she’s not wearing a cast any more. She joked with you that she’d been stealing nutrients from the other patients. ”We… I, need you to keep the rest of your family safe and away from this factory.” ”Except for my little sister, who’s going to walk straight inside,” she deadpans. He grimaces. ”I can’t help that. If we don’t play along, things might get even uglier.” ”And why, for the love of everything in heaven and Earth, should we play along with them? Can’t you just blast them to pieces and take what they have?” He makes eye contact, and speaks clearly to match her rising voice. ”I don’t know. As far as I can tell, everything we’ve fought up to now has been because of these three girls, and they seem ready for me. I don’t know what they’re capable of, what they do or don’t have, or even who’s on their side. I’m just trusting Twilight and Sunset to have a plan, and trying to work out what to do if everything goes wrong.” Ha, if. Golden leans back, arms crossed. ”Then fine. But you’d better keep her safe.” He doesn’t even answer, to avoid cliche, but Derpy does. ”After last night, you don’t need to say that any more.” She huffs, and grumbles inaudibly about missing English. You’re next to her and you can barely hear it. While they wake up, you take the opportunity to do some surreptitious texting under the table. Care’s nice, powerful too, but he’s not very street-smart. Diamond should be between classes just now, in a perfect place to answer you. You tell her you’re going to need a ride tonight, and then you stash it back in your backpack. And notice Golden’s eyes on you. You turn to her, and an eyebrow raises between the two of you. You nod, minutely. She doesn’t react, except to look bored and rejoin the general conversation. Anonymous You're making the rounds. The building is slightly winding, built almost like a labyrinth. It’s not the factory itself, more a set of conference rooms, service areas, offices, a cafeteria. The whole place is a mess, and it’s why you’re scouring your way through all of it. You glance askance at Aria. ”You sure those are gonna hold?” She pulls tighter with ｢Electra Heart｣, reinforcing the shadow-briars. ”Nothing’s broken them before.” “Even after last night?” You remember how she looked when she saw the sky light up with words, and a second sunrise. Plates of muscle tense in her bared arms. ”He won’t be here. I’ll deal with him if I have to.” You’ve been blocking out a path, piece by piece, from the entrance to the center. One or two dead-ends won't be an issue, but for the main flow you want to force it forward to the middle. Adagio’s preparing there, and Nata’s getting the hang of the rest of the area. She has a habit of running loose in any wide-open space, with her hair flying behind her like a flag. It’s been weeks since you last broke into a building with her. You send three of ｢Nowhere Man｣’s specters out to patrol the outer edge of the building and alert you to anything living. The last you send to keep track of your gemless sapphire. If this ends with her and Aria getting their gems back, you’ll have done your job. Maybe she’ll still visit you, or find a way to communicate from home. Or, more hopefully than you’re willing to jinx by saying out loud, she’ll take you with. Aria grips another thick patch of darkness and dapples it with thorns. Sugarcoat Indigo’s parents don’t really care who she has over, so she lets you use her living room. Everyone else is here, which is a terrible idea. Even Lemon notices. ”Shouldn’t we have someone guarding the, uh, storage… crate?” She really needs to work on using filler-words. Your leader answers. ”She’s not going to go anywhere. She’s there of her own free will.” Yeah, just like the rest of you, this zoo of dispossessed student-competitors. You’ve been promised to have all of your missed days and failed assignments erased from your record - you’ll even have a nice future laid out for you at a school of your choosing. Not that you do it for that, of course, you’re not shallow, but all these actions aren’t done out of driven-snow selflessness either. You’re not sure you’re allowed to stop fighting. ”Poor girl.” Sunny chimes in, mostly to herself. Don’t people understand the purpose of speaking out loud? You latch on to what they’re not saying. “So this is it, then? Our big climax?” Flash nods, hesitantly. ”If we play our cards right. The Dazzlings are making their play tonight, and we’ve all got to be ready.” He types at his phone for a moment, and all five of you receive a time and place. ’Sunset, Sham Factory.’ ”Isn’t that abandoned?” Lemon. Flash answers. ”As far as I can tell. But it’s not defunct yet. We’re working on a floor plan, but we haven't figured an entrance.” ”Pff. We’ll just go in through the front!” Indigo calls from the kitchen, where she’s scarfing down something unhealthy. Everyone looks at each other with varying degrees of exasperation. Sweetie Belle ”This won’t be touched by ｢Timbuk Three｣.” ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ smashes into the focal point between the three of you. The others are getting tired by now, but it’s still more powerful than any one of you alone. You spent most of the early morning at the school doing this, and it’s not any more fun now that you’ve changed locales, or barred some people from noticing your hiding spots for the day. Apple Bloom consults the list. ”This won’t be touched by ｢Tin Cup Chalice｣.” With part of your soul and part of theirs, your Stand shunts away another possibility. Scootaloo takes her turn. ”This won’t be touched by ｢Year Without Rain｣.” Smash. You’re narrowing it down, on orders, to only the Stands you can absolutely trust. Even people who have no reason to show up today are being blacklisted from this arrow for the next twenty-four hours; this is the emergency measure. If the arrow disappears early, you know you’re in the clear, and you need to get out. If it doesn’t... you have your orders. You crack your knuckles and call out the next name. Derpy The sun's setting on your day. You skipped school with Care, and it didn’t make you feel much better. Well, of course, being around him makes you feel something you can’t quite describe - you have a cord in your chest that pulls you towards him. But… you didn’t have much to say. Both of you are holding your breaths. After this, after tonight, it’ll probably be different. You worry he’ll be haunted by all of the fighting. The way he tells you he burned off a girl’s arm, when the two of you are alone and not as love-drunk, the worry about this ｢Boulevard of Broken Dreams｣. Whatever happened last time, the Rainbooms won out. If you place yourselves on their side, it should all go the same way. Right? ｢Spinal Tap｣ flies alongside his newly-fixed car and hands you the gem through his backseat window. You’re sharing the back while Trixie drives, and Care looks at it. Voila. You hand it over to him, and he shoves it awkwardly into his pocket. No use leaving it out in the open. Then, with surprising force, he pulls you into an embrace. His head resting against your neck tickles a little, but you hold still. He’s starting to sweat, even in the cold. You wrap an arm around him and rub up and down his spine. “We’ll make it through.” He doesn’t let go for a couple of minutes. When he does, his face doesn’t look much better, but his eyes are clear. You smile at him, hoping to draw out a smile of his own. But Trixie’s voice comes from the front. ”We’re just about there.” Anonymous Aria fumes. ”They only have one of the gems. They didn’t reclaim the other one.” You’re about to ask whose it is when she answers, ”Sonata’s, obviously. Mine’s just now arriving. And he has it.” Well, at least there’s room for a happy ending after all. Ari looks ready to rip something open with her teeth. Normally you might poke at her, but at this moment, you take a couple steps away on weak mammalian instinct. “Who?” You ask, and then realize it’s a stupid question. If you were in any doubt, her nails gripping into your shoulders certainly remedy it. ”The lightbringer!” Even though she didn’t raise it, her voice echoes down the dim corridors in three directions, screeching with distance. Well, fuck. “M-maybe Adagio knows what she’s doing.” ”Of course she does! She just didn’t think it was important to tell me!” She lets go of you to throw her hands up in the air. Then, without a beat, she begins working more furiously with ｢Electra Heart｣. Your conversation ends as quickly as it started, and you stand well out of her way for a while. Care Root Trixie parks a little ways away, and you get out. She had to drive through a gate and into an oversized parking lot, toward the very back. You and Derpy can see the front by the person standing there. She’s familiar, but you’ve never spoken to her. Light blue hair, slightly dirty, and extremely light lavender skin. Only the dead eyes are new. She’s brainwashed, but you can’t hear it in her slightly nasally voice. ”Show me your gem.” You put a hand in your pocket, and debate whether to take it out or not. After all, they might be able to take it, or teleport it, or who knows what. But... well, if you can’t put this foot forward, you aren’t going to go anywhere! You have to take this risk to get any further in! Come on! You produce it and let her see, and then swiftly pocket it again. She doesn’t move for a moment, and then she reaches out for you and Derpy. You take a half-step back, and then hold still. ｢Timbuk Three｣ creeps at the edge of your being, ready to pop out. ”｢Glamorous｣.” Suddenly, you can see a glowing light in Derpy’s stomach, yellow, and a blue one in your own. Through the towering brick, you can see the faint sparks of two others, red and purple. Twilight and Sunset, probably. They’re here. You feel some comfort knowing that you haven’t walked into a trap - knock on wood. ”Head straight down until you meet them.” The door-guard steps out of the way, swinging a thick metal door inward for the two of you. You both walk down a long hallway. There’s weak light, concrete walls and flooring, doors here and there shrouded in darkness. It's like you’re stepping down the Industrial Revolution’s esophagus, and almost everything around here is dead silent except for the light-flicker. Long before you’ve thought of anything to say or do, you’ve reached the open door at the very end of this snaking tunnel; through it shines full-on electric light, bright enough to burn your eyes from around the bend. You can still see the lights with your eyes closed, and you head through the doorway. Inside, there’s a conference room. Really, it’s more like a lounge or a break room, with a water-cooler shoved in one corner, but the center is dominated by a giant rectangular table. On the far head, right in front of the only other exit, she looks at you. Orange hair, the same outfit as before, down to the newly-reattached pendant. Those eyes that pierced you, a head resting on the hand that touched you. You thought once that it might be your only human contact before you died... And, in another world, you were most probably correct. Adagio Dazzle smirks at you. ”Well, look who’s here.” She waves to the chairs set around the table. ”Have a seat. We were just making introductions.” On the left side of the table, you see Sunset and Twilight, and someone behind them. Sunset’s frowning, but steady, while Twilight looks uneasy. The third person looks like the door-guard with more elaborate hair, and she stands silently behind them like the third point of a triangle. You sit parallel to them on the right, with Derpy sitting to your left. You’re shielding her, you suppose. Adagio waits, and only speaks once you're situated. ”Now, I can understand why Sunset Shimmer and her friend might want to take my sisters’ gemstones, but I don’t know why you would do it. What’s your final goal, Care Root?” Derpy’s hand squeezes your knee from under the table. You take a deep breath and scan the room for funny business. Nothing. ”I want to spend as much of my future as possible with Dernier Piege.” She looks mock-sympathetic. ”Well, what’s stopping you?” You growl. ”The people you’ve been sending after me.” Now she tries on mild shock, as if she wants to hold up a big sign with the word 'Moi?' on it, and says, ”I haven’t lifted a finger to hurt you, Care Root. I wouldn’t even have been able to if I wanted. The only time I’ve tried to talk to you, you ran away from me.” Derpy squeezes harder. ”Yeah, because probably you were going to use him to do something awful to somebody!” Sunset snaps from across the table. Adagio barely affords her a look. ”I’ll get to you in a moment. But first things first, I want to make it clear that I haven’t made any attempt to hurt you. All I’m interested in is taking back my property and going back to where I came from. That shouldn’t sound too awful, surely?” Derpy picks up the thread beside you. ”Why did you want to talk to him?” Adagio splays her hands. ”I thought he could help. I can sense Equestrian magic, and he’s got it in droves.” ”You mean his Stand?” ”That’s right. If I’d known he was going to blind me, I would’ve gone about it more subtly.” Derpy frowns, and you pick up from her. ”What’s different from when you had all three gems before?” She stifles a laugh. ”All of this delicious conflict, of course! We haven’t had an opportunity to gain power like this since our last war. Not to mention Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight and the rest of you are all dripping with Equestrian magic. It’s only fair we should use a little of it, since it was probably helped along by our gems to begin with.” ”She’s not a Princess.” Sunset gets everyone’s attention. ”Hm?” Adagio asks. ”She’s this world’s Twilight Sparkle, not any other’s. Whoever you’re getting your information from, they don’t know anything about the last couple months at Canterlot High.” Adagio looks smug as ever, but leans forward a little. ”Enlighten me.” ”The only portal to Equestria is gone. It was destroyed during the Friendship Games,” Twilight speaks, ”I-I turned into a monster, and almost destroyed the barrier between the two universes. Now, nobody can go from one to the other.” She... definitely didn’t mention that earlier. Adagio shifts, considering. ”And I suppose that’s your explanation for where all of these nifty little abilities came from?” Twilight thinks on the words for a moment, and then nods. A tight grin over tangerine skin. ”That sounds very logical. Maybe you could explain something else to me, then.” The smile disappears instantly. ”What’s the arrow for?” Trixie You’ve stopped crouching into your seat, which you’ve had to readjust several times now. It’s clear that Flitter’s not going to attack you. She was on your shortlist, but she never seemed interested in being a team player. Just as well. She doesn’t keep your attention for long, because a few minutes after Care and Derpy head in, two more cars have the time to arrive. The first parks away from you, in the same aisle, and you don’t recognize it. It occupies your attention, but you can’t see inside from where you’re sitting. And, just now, a car which stops just in front of the door. Blue, a little big to be fashionable - you don’t know much about cars. Flitter doesn’t move, but out pile six people. Even from here you can see that they're trouble. You sink back into your seat and start mapping out the way you came in your mind. You should’ve known, but... you peek over the dashboard to get a better look at them. There are two you fought with personally. No sign of Snips or Snails, but the sixth person there is... huh? Flash Sentry?! They stand in front of Flitter, talking animatedly with each other. Finally the yellow one with pink hair raises her hand, and steps closer. A fast black fist arcs from over her shoulder, and fells Flittter with a single hook. They all, collectively, look down at the slumped body, and then they file inside. Care ”Arrow?” Sunset asks. Adagio looks at her like she’s telling a transparent lie. ”The source of magical energy I can feel from here? The one which is only second in intensity to Care here? Are you really going to pretend you don’t know about the epicenter of your school’s magic surge?” Her eyebrow could hit the ceiling. Neither Sunset or Twilight answer in words. They just look confused. Then Adagio’s breath hitches, and she sits up straighter. The lights, which you were just getting used to, flicker. She growls at the edge of hearing. ”It looks like we have an intruder.” You turn around at that, but the door’s still closed, and she answers your silent fear. ”Don’t worry, we have things taken care of. I wouldn’t try to leave if I were you.” You look back to her. “Why not?” ”Because my sister Aria has used her Stand to barricade us inside here.” When she sees the look on your face, she puts her hands up and looks at you with wide violet eyes. ”What? If anyone has a right to be upset here, it should be me. I’m outnumbered four to one!” Something touches your hand. Derpy. You calm down a little, and sit again. Things are starting to go wrong, but what’s important hasn’t changed. “Is that what you’re doing?” you ask. She stares at you, as challenging as quizzical. Sunset sends you positive vibes in your periphery, but Adagio's eyes command your vision if you look too long. After a second's composition, you go on, “You want to keep us contained in a small area so you can-” ”-turn the four of you against each other? No.” She leans back and kicks her feet up, clicking familiar spiked spurs onto the table. ”To be honest with you, I could wait for a few more decades until the rest of you die of something, if I wanted to get my sisters their gems back the easy way. I’m only putting in this effort because I’m curious, and there’s an opportunity to go back to Equestria in the cards.” She turns to Sunset and raises her voice, as if she’s further away. ”That is why you want to collect the three of them, isn’t it? Or is it just for power?” Twilight continues to look insecure, and Sunset answer for both of them. ”It’s to keep you from having them. Just from seeing you trying to turn us against each other in this room, I don’t want to imagine how much damage you could do if you unlocked your full power.” When Adagio smiles, she does it with her whole face, but when she frowns it’s concentrated and snarling. There’s certainly something unworldly about her that draws in your attention - if you hadn’t met someone like Derpy, her gravity might even have felt like love. Her composure returns. ”Really? And why are you so worried about whether Care here is on your side, if you’re so certain you’ve got things in hand?” ”Because turning people against each other is what you’re best at, and you nearly destroyed our school trying to take over the world. Everyone you meet is just a means to an end! And yes!” She gestures at you. ”Care could take all of the gems here and use them to create a new sun, if he wanted to! But it would destroy his future!” ... Adagio’s face is a mask. ”Is that a fact.” ”Yes! You heard him say it himself, he just wants to have his happy ending! The fewer times he has to use his power, the better!” ... You look at Derpy, and worry dominates her. The room is silent. ”What? Am I wrong?” She asks, looking directly at you and appealing for some ounce of support. ”...I never told you how ｢Timbuk Three｣ works.” Indigo Zap It’s mondo dark in here, but with Sour at the front you’re not worried. So long as you don’t hear any singing, things should be okay. Lemon tries to investigate one of the doors along this huge hall, and then yanks her hand back, bleeding. You lean in to investigate, and you can make out sharp spikes, outlined in a spatter of blood. It’s like a rosebush or something, and the light glints off of it all along the hallway. You’re about to mention this when you notice the rest of the group’s stopped. There are two people coming down the hallway for you. The taller of the two’s wearing dark clothes, and you can only make out an outline, but the gunshot’s loud and clear. Sour’s in the front, and ｢Message Man｣ saves the bullet being fired at the same time you hear the gunshot. The further figure hangs back, not reacting, but the purple Dazzling steps forward. Sour rushes for her automatically. ｢Message Man｣ appears for a moment, firing the bullet straight for her in a five-second finisher, and it hits! Right in the stomach, she staggers! But then, like some kind of zombie, she straightens up and comes closer. Sugar and Sun make the eminently wise move to keep their asses out of the line of fire. Purple comes close to Sour with almost no expression, raising a hand toward her face. Then ｢Message Man｣ swats at her twice, using up those two saved punches. They kick up dust with their sheer speed, and they land right in her face! Direct hits! Suck it! The Dazzling gets knocked back by the recoil, stumbling. But then she's not the one moving. Sour’s lifted off of the ground, floating for a moment. Purple spins, and you see the thick black cord in her fist - it’s coming out of Sour’s mouth. You run for her, but something grabs your leg. The tripping comes naturally, and you fall correctly, but it still doesn’t move. By the sound of struggle, something's gripped Sugar and Sun behind you. Above, the enemy swings your teammate around her like a ragdoll. For your part, you spin the rest of your body around until you’re close to crabwalking. On your ankle, there’s a ghost. No, seriously, a literal ghost. And two more behind you, choking your friends. Sun and Sugar are grabbing at their throats through the clear wispy biceps. ｢Lemon Demon｣ smashes through Sugar’s, and... it actually dissipates, for a change. Before you can get back to business, Sour comes crashing past you and into all three of them. Flash ducks her, but not the bullet that catches him in the leg. He winces, and you switch legs with him before the pain sets in. The ghost loses its grip during the changeover, and you kick it, which actually works! Meanwhile, Lemon’s caught Sour, and slowed down her knockback. She has to drop her as soon as she stops moving, though. ｢Lemon Demon｣ makes short work of the next ghost, but fuck she’s right on top of you. The purple bitch reaches into the wall and pulls something out of the darkness. It’s a knife. Then she looks at you with stone-cold measuring eyes and rears it back, giving you your opening. You’re not in a position to charge her and throw an elbow into her stomach, but you switch hands with Lemon and make a fist. Blood sprays into her eyes, and she staggers back. You wish this weren’t such a clusterfuck. Sunny rushes over to Flash, keeping low, and you switch back his leg. He winces and grabs at it, but ｢Royals｣ is already activated. Everyone’s bouncing back! You pump a fist at them. “Yeah, Shadowbolts! Let’s give ‘em what for!” ”Worry about fighting!” Sugarcoat yells as she turns on the flashlight on her camera. Above you, another sword crumbles into the air. You look up at the space where it used to be for a moment, and feel kinda impressed. This is a girl who gets back on her feet fast, huh? Well, you’re not going to be shown up by an out-of-towner! “｢Nails for Breakfast｣!” You hop to your feet in one swift motion, reaching for her hand. Another gunshot sounds out, this one going wild, and Lemon runs past you at the long-distance fighter. Then the woman in front of you moves. She doesn’t jump out of the way, or dodge, or turn. She bends. She does the fucking limbo without even bending her legs, and your arm goes wild through the air. You keep your momentum and hop straight forward with both feet. Just touch this chick’s hand and you’ve got her over a barrel! Sugarcoat’s got her light at your back, and your enemy looks up at you, bored, from where her hair’s spread out on the concrete. And then, like lightning, she puts her hands underneath her head. She’s not. Bullshit. Her muscles stretch as she presses down, and she executes a handstand, grabbing your body between her calves. You lift up and then stay in the air, as easily as if you were made out of tupperware. And then, to make it even better, she spins, like it’s no harder than throwing Sour. You ignore the rapidly dizzy blur and focus, grabing onto her ankles and try to crack them in opposite directions. The grip's the easy part, but it’s like trying to snap a statue with your bare hands. After a few seconds you know you just have to hold on, even when she lets go, swinging around one leg to decide your landing. Her other foot jabs you in the ribs like a truck backing up, but before she can land another hit, a black fist smashes into her leg. ｢Message Man｣! It knocks her back, and she backflips. The world tumbles away, and then she’s standing on you. Sour goes for another hit, and then trips. There’s a black rope stretched around her ankle. Sugarcoat sees it immediately, and shines her light, but it doesn’t go away. She notices too late that the darkness stretches backwards, back to the shadow on the dark side of her phone. The enemy snaps her hand backwards as the curve completes itself in her palm. The phone flies out of Sugar’s hand, arcs and lands perfectly. It crumbles in her fist and drops to the ground a second later, completely useless, as she steps off of you towards Sun and Flash. Trixie Nothing’s happened that you can see. You assume that if it’s a Stand conflict, you’ll be able to see it. Although, it might be that they’re all there to team up against Care! But if they’re there for some reason and you burst in, you might jeopardize it all. Care can handle himself, can’t he? He could handle anything you can, you’re almost certain. But what if this is some sneak ploy? What if he doesn't even know about it? Two knocks on the passenger window, and you shriek. The only reason you don’t fall out of your seat is that it’s physically impossible. ｢Abracadabra｣ immediately phases the interloper twenty feet from your car, and only then do you recognize the face. Golden crosses her arms and looks irritated with you. You relax your vicegrip on the steering wheel and stare dumbly back at her, in a way not at all becoming a mistress of the mystical arts. She motions at you, hurry up!, so you get out of the car. ”We’re going in there after them.” “Why are you here?” ”I had to keep Silver safe.” She hooks a thumb at the car you didn’t recognize; circling around it is a black, armored-looking bird, and in the backseat, arms folded, are Silver and her friend Diamond. ”Now come on. If things aren’t working out how we want them to, they’re working out the way someone else does, and that’s no good for us! Make us a path!” Having said that, she turns and heads for the entrance at a brisk run. “W-wait!” You’re not used to having your melodrama matched, but you run after her. Derpy Sunset shifts in her chair. ”Yes, you did! You must have, or maybe one of your friends mentioned it. How else would I know about it?” Care thinks, hard. Did you ever mention it? ...No, you couldn’t have, no one would ever ask you something like that straight out. He only started to reveal it to you himself when it was life and death. He shakes his head. ”No. I don’t believe that.” Sunset scoffs. ”Well, I didn’t get it by reading your mind, or-” ”Magic?” Adagio asks, and her voice sounds like you're all talking over coffee. She definitely looks like she holds all of the cards here, and it sets you on edge even more. If she was just as confused as everyone else was, maybe things would feel a lot safer here in the dark, metal middle of nowhere. Sunset grits her teeth. ”You see how she’s trying to make us work against each other?” ”Yes, I’m just incorrigible, aren’t I? Not as if it matters. Do you really think you could stop me from taking your gems if I really wanted to?” Adagio relaxes some more. Her eyes haven't left Sunset's for the last minute. Care stirs. ”I need answers, Sunset.” ”Now’s really not the best time, Care. I’m sure I can explain it all when we’re out of here.” ”After she’s taken your gem, I’m sure,” Adagio says, a smug cat-smile spreading across her face. Sunset stands up. ”That’s enough!” She turns to Care, her eyes pleading for sanity. ”Whatever happens, we have to make sure that this power doesn’t fall into your hands. Apart from that, we can destroy them, hide them, anything. So long as they don’t get to use them to take over the world!” Twilight sinks into her chair, quiet. This isn’t her or your fight, really. But then Sunset does something that wipes the smirk off of Adagio’s face. She takes a red stone out of her pocket and tosses it across the table. ”Here. You can give it back when you’re convinced I’m telling you the truth.” Care grabs it, weighing it in his mind. “I think she means it,” you say, and hope you're being helpful. If anything goes wrong - you check - none of ｢Spinal Tap｣’s gifts have been broken yet, and you still remember how to use them. You’re still okay. Care nods, and stands up himself. ”I’m only in this for my friends, and my future. If you weren’t lying about being able to wait, then you can hold on until all of us are gone.” Adagio sneers, and finally takes her legs off the table. ”And do you think you’re going to take my gem that easily?” ｢Timbuk Three｣ appears behind him. ”Yes.” She leans in, looking close to angry, eyes slitted. ”You’d have to beat me into the ground to do that. You don’t have the nerve.” It charges up, and he points at her. ”Don’t I?” Sunset watches tensely from across the table. You know you could stop him from doing this if you really wanted to, but…well, you don’t. This person, who sent Fido after you with new powers, who’s hunted Trixie and you for the sake of collecting some silly magical rocks, who’s threatened your entire future, she deserves to go down. She puts her arms behind her head, submerging them in her hair. ”No, you don’t. I’ve seen violent people. Soldiers, criminals, tacticians. You don’t have that talent.” And he fires a laser into her shoulder. It hits, and she stumbles back, wide-eyed, falling out of her chair. A small barrage of light-fists pummels into her before it can hit the ground. The scuffs and bruises stand out against her clear skin for a moment, and then she’s unconscious. Easy as pie, except for the other two of them still running around the building. Another moment passes as he tries to pull her gem off with his Stand... but it doesn’t budge. Then he exhales, and ｢Timbuk Three｣ falls back into him as he makes his way around the table. You follow him a few feet behind, and even Twilight’s standing up to get a better look. He reaches down for the gem, and suddenly all of the bruises disappear. They turn into little piles of... orange hair? Adagio’s eyes open, and she gives another Cheshire smirk as her hand grabs Care’s, and twists. He cries out, and she gets to her feet, still holding him by it. ”You did have the nerve. I’m impressed," she smiles, and her eyes are victorious. "Too bad I’m indestructible.” Then, with two fast jabbing motions, she twists him and snatches the gem from his hand. A look of complete triumph flashes across her face - and then the gem flies out of her hand like it’s been greased and shot from a gun. It clatters back onto the table as you snap something in your pocket. “｢Spinal Tap｣!” And then you blow her into the wall. Indigo The purple girl motions with one hand, and the thorns part around the nearest door. Then, with a single, smooth motion, she completes her stride by kicking Sunny through it. The girl flies through like a wet sack of potatoes at the Olympics, and the thorns snap back into place. Flash bolts down the hall. Down past him you can see Lemon fending off more ghosts. You rush for the shadow girl before she can do anything else, grabbing her around the waist. Suplex, baby! Suplex! You lift - only for her heel to stab into your stomach. She turns in time to see Sour coming, and pulls the thorns in again, blocking the whole hallway. Satisfied, she turns towards Lemon, still busy fighting off too many things at once. ”｢Electra-” A light breaks through the thorns. You almost expect it to be another phone, but no, it comes from ｢Message Man｣! Sour saved the light from the phone when it passed over her! And even better, instead of going for a straight one-two combo, her Stand grabs the Dazzling by the throat and lifts her clean off the ground. You whistle. “Damn, we good.” As much as you want to watch what happens next, you're needed further down, so you pull out your own phone, hit the flashlight and throw it to Sugar. She catches it pretty solidly, although she has to bend her whole body to do it like a rookie, and then you run to Lemon. She needs to go in with Flash, that was the plan. He’s already mostly there, by the sound of his footsteps. When you get a few feet closer, you can make out the gun knocked onto the ground. An endless regenerating stream of ghosts pops up behind the man in the suit as he tries to grapple her. You don’t recognize him, but he’s green all over, and doesn't look like the type for a business meeting. Her constant attacks are the only thing keeping him still. And fuck, you realize you swapped hands back with her at some point during all of this excitement. “What’s up, Lemon?” ”These things are Stands! You can only touch them with one of your own!” Finally! “Then it’s a good thing my Stand’s wherever I want it to be! ｢Nails for Breakfast｣!” Another hand-switch, this time your left - your hook’s a little rusty, but it’ll have to do! As your borrowed knuckles sweep through the ghosts, Lemon breaks and heads away. You take over her post, and the green guy shouts, ”｢NOWHERE MAN｣!” Nothing to it! While he’s preparing whatever he’s going to do next, you lunge for his hand, and you actually get it! Fuck yeah! He shoves you awkwardly off of him, and you move with the momentum to put a few feet between the two of you. No point engaging him when he starts calling up more ghosts, especially not when you've got an ace ready to go. You rip the syringe out of your pocket and uncap it with a single, thick plopping noise. This is going to fuck him up six ways to S- Something cold and slimy crawls through the skin of your back and into your ribcage. A hand squeezes your heart, and for a second you know what it must feel like to be unhealthy and forty years older. You try to spin around to get a better fix, but it doesn’t let you. As the green man walks down the hallway toward his ally, another lifts up his gun from the ground. You fidget with the syringe, turning it towards your arm. Sugarcoat stares at you, helplessly, close to bug-eyed. You feel like you just can’t get enough air in, no matter how you breathe. You thrash as best as you can, more like wiggle. Come on! You’re too cool to go down like this! Ghost #2 raises the gun to your forehead. From this close up, it looks like a pirate. You’re cold, now, too cold. The syringe falls out of your hand. You c-can switch backs with him, hearts, maybe then you can- Your Stand is there, but it doesn’t answer. Its only pull, stronger than ever, isn’t towards him at all. Wh- It pulls the trigger. Lemon Zest There was just another gunshot, but you don’t have time to think about it. You rush with Flash, pulling ahead, and then stop at the end of the hallway. There’s a light under the door and a set of jet-black brambles in between it and you. Flash catches up and sees them too. “If you try to clear them, my Stand can-” you start, but he shakes his head as he catches his breath. Then, on the third inhale, he raises both arms and makes matching finger pistols, aligning them into two corners of a square. ”｢Beat Street｣.” You catch a glimpse of a pulsing highway in that square running along underneath of them, and they’re suddenly gone in a current of high-velocity asphalt. Whoever owns this hallway just had them... integrated... into their history. It’s usually not fatal, and anyway it’s probably someone who buys up old properties so no one else can use them. The point is, this is your chance! You run ahead and throw open the door. Flash treads behind you, dusting himself off, getting ready. This is going to be a big moment for him, while you're just there to use your power. You keep ｢Lemon Demon｣'s teeny eyes focused on grabbing the gems. Everyone in the rooms wants all three of them, so it’s not difficult - you can feel yourself getting better at it as soon as you enter the room. One’s just on the table, and you leap on top of it, glimpsing the surprise in most of the room. You even recognize Derpy, the girl whose sister conked you on the head. She also has that fuck-off powerful Stand floating next to her, and it throws a fist at you.. You jump over it and towards the gem in the corner, attached to the siren monster. She’s standing up from the floor she’s been thrown to, shaky while she’s at it, and you lunge. As all eyes turn to you ｢Lemon Demon｣ propels you even further, and you rip it off of her neck! Where’s the third one? Derpy’s relented from her attack, but the third one’s not in plain sight anywhere. ｢Lemon Demon｣ lights up around you, and you see its yellow-green aura in his pocket. He’s distracted with grabbing at his own wrist, clenching his teeth. Everyone else is watching as Flash enters the room. It’s about the best opportunity you could ask for! You sprint to close the distance and put an end to all of this before any of the 'Bolts get hurt. ｢Spinal Tap｣ smashes against your Stand, and you hold it off, sacrificing your stamina. You’re only a couple of feet away! And then his arm lights up beneath the surface, like holding a camping flashlight against your fingers to see the bones. It snaps like teeth chipping. His breathing hitches, heaves, and then gets better, and the light dies down. ”That’s better," he says, still looking at his arm like there's no one else around, and then his Stand kicks you in the stomach. You roll with it, sliding backwards and heading for Flash. Then a sultry voice whispers to you, two inches from your ear. ”｢Gold Guns Girls｣.” One of the gems explodes. Diamond Tiara ”Ready?” “Ready.” You didn’t tell your father you were going here with Silver tonight. You’re not even worried about regretting that, because your phone’s off, and you’ve got a more in-your-face problem to worry over just now. ”Set…” Golden didn’t talk much, just made sure you both knew she’d string you up if you went inside. That hasn’t stopped Silver from vaporizing the child-locks on both doors, though. You brace yourself on your side as the bird swings by overhead. You absolutely loathe birds. ”Go!" You fling your door open and run outside, summoning ｢Pink｣. Your Stand smashes the bird, cracking some of the disgusting black gooey stuff on it, and it’s already after you. You turn around the front as it dives for you. ｢Pink｣ punches it in the beak, and it’s knocked back but not destroyed. You can feel your own lack of experience in its punches. If you could pull up your Stand at home or school without worrying about it becoming a federal issue, you might’ve been able to utilize your own strength by now, but you’re not doing too bad! You slide over the hood and land on your feet. Silver throws her door open, bolting away while you keep the attention on yourself. And then, with a final motion, you grab her door and jump inside, slamming it behind you. The bird hovers, but stays focused on you She’s safe, but it swoops around to the door you left open. You rush over towards it, across the seat. There's no doubt in your mind that Golden thinks it’s okay to peck out your eyeballs to save your life, you've had caretakers like that during some of your father's longer vacations. But it swoops through the door before you can make it over to close it, and then it’s in the car with you. As it flaps in the tight space and rakes it supernaturally-sharpened claws for you, you smile. “｢Pink｣!” you erase almost the entire journey, up until you first jumped out. And then, spinning on the spot, you slam the door shut on the bird, still trapped inside. You feel a sense of pride at doing something no one else could. “Stupid bird. Did you think you could overcome the power of a truly skilled Stand user?” Then you realize it’s not even looking at you, and stop dignifying it with gloating. Silver’s already waving at you from the door. You recall your Stand, shake off the latent sore-winnerhood, and head after her. Sour Sweet SHIT. FUCK! Sugarcoat’s just fainted next to you, dropping the phone. Indigo’s brains have been blown out on the fucking wall and you’re hyperventilating. Your blood’s like an army of ants crawling through your arms. ｢Message Man｣ squeezes, but the bitch won’t fucking die! It’s like she’s made out of concrete, except your Stand can CRUSH concrete! She throws a limp arm back forty-five degrees and pulls a whip out of the darkness. You save the impact before it hits you, and your Stand rips it away from her with its free hand. The other guy’s coming, getting his gun back from his Stand. He’s strolling toward you like he’s hot shit, lining up a shot. Fuck that. The Dazzling produces a sword from the darkness and swings it for you. You save it on reflex, and then spin around. ｢Message Man｣ throws her right at tall, green and ugly. You wait forever for the moment of impact, but it never comes. She seems frozen in the air, peeved and catching her breath. Looking closer in the shadow, you see his Stand, two of them, supporting her. They duck out of the way as he fires at you. ｢Message Man｣ catches it between its thumb and forefinger. Then it throws it back, as hard as you can manage. It might actually penetrate the skin at that speed, but it doesn’t matter - all that’s important is that the chickenshit thinks it’ll hurt him, so he ducks out of the way. And then you run. Not away, not to try to wake up Sugarcoat, not to get to the exit and escape. Right towards them. You leap over the other-worlder, who swings for you with something you can’t care about right now. You stop holding back the whip impacting you, and it jumps to the present, smacking into your shoulder in mid-air and forcing you to change trajectory. You fall correctly and keep running, straight to Indigo. Looking at her, you feel like you’re going to puke - she was such a sweetheart... You try not to look at her face, and instead scan the floor around her. Yes, there! A simple motion, and then another, and then- Shit, you feel your center of gravity being moved to another person. She grabs you, just with a hand, and spins you around. Then she raises you up, choking, a good foot off of the ground. The man levels his gun at you, but there’s suddenly noise down the hallway. ”abracadabra!” Your two enemies look at each other while you run out of oxygen. She talks. ”Look into it. I’ll finish things up here.” He nods, and heads down the way you came. She’s sending him away! 'Awesome'. That’s what Indigo would say right now, probably. And she turns back to you. Her grip is steady, and she makes no special movements. If you tried to kick, an impulse you’re suppressing, it would make no difference; you’re almost completely sure that this girl, this whatever she is, is unkillable. With the last coughing dredges in your lungs, you summon your Stand. “Mmmm. ｢Message Man｣.” It squeaks coming out, and your Stand doesn’t appear. You dangle in the air helplessly as she grits her teeth and tightens her hand on your throat, fingers seeking your windpipe. But one of your slots burns out, and your hand slams Indigo’s syringe into her outstretched arm at full force. With your Stand to drive it in, it punctures the skin. And then, no matter what comes next, everything nasty she had ready is in this fucker’s system. The Equestrian keeps holding onto you, and your vision swims. You’re laughing silently as she tears it out, and you see that she’s really honest-to-goodness bleeding. Victorious, you go under. Care A third party just entered, or a fourth if you want to be technical about it. One of them tried to grab your gem, and several seconds later another of them exploded on her. She’s missing most of her forearm, and she’s passed out. When you see everyone else staring at it, you cauterize the wound with a brief flash of heat. Adagio surveys all of this with mute amusement. ”Flash Sentry, I remember you from the Battle of the Bands. Loved your work. I have to wonder who you’re working for now. Or maybe I shouldn’t wonder at all, since there’s only one duo here that you haven’t attacked yet.” Twilight looks as shocked as Derpy. ”I’m just here to make sure that this ends tonight," Flash says, crossing his arms. Your old dislike of him seems a little ridiculous now that you're all standing around a table together. "My team and I have been trying to wrap this up for weeks, and now we can finally finish. And I don’t appreciate what you just did to my friend.” The threatening words are slightly undermined by the fact that he’s not looking at her, checking something on his wrist. It takes you a moment to unpack the word 'team', and then it hits. The girl with the neon hair you just saved from bleeding out. Shadowbolts. ”It’s a shame that you couldn’t anticipate my Stand, then. If I were a CHS student, you’d probably be able to recite it to me backwards.” She strides over to the scrapper and pulls the remaining gem out of her hand. ”｢Gold Guns Girls｣ sculpts matter into what people desire most, without changing its properties too much. It took me a while to hunt down some C4, but it’s done the trick admirably. Although I did hope to get a more serious casualty.” A nod, and the girl standing behind Sunset and Twilight jogs out of the room. Then she holds up the gem, and it flies out of her fingers and back onto the table. At the same time, Flash comments without looking up. ”It’s beneath her feet, level to the ground.” Adagio startles, then regains herself. ”You’ve planned this out pretty well, Shimmer. But if Cloudchaser gets too far away, you won’t be going anywhere very quickly.” Sunset looks at her, and stands up. ”I don’t need to go anywhere. I know where your gem is, and I’m going to win this here and now!” Adagio’s about to say something when a car appears over her head. Your car. It pins her, crushing, and shakes the room with the impact, smashing into part of the table and upending the rest. Like the Wicked Witch, her shoes are sticking out from under it, and Sunset runs over to yank at them. The stiletto part of the left one comes off, and inside is a bright red glow. She turns to you, her hand thrumming with red energy. ”Care, I need yours now. Hand it over, and we can have our happy endings.” Derpy’s frozen next to you. Flash hasn’t moved. Twilight’s stood up, but moved away as much as possible from both of them. You look Sunset in the eye, and you can tell from everything that's just happened that she’s trying to hurry you. She's the one who's been in control of this situation from the start. “I’ll give you this gem if you answer two questions first.” She’s on the verge of shaking. ”Fine! Just ask them quickly! I don’t know how long we’ll have before one of her sisters shows up!” “Why do you really want them?” ”To go home! I want my own happy ending!” It’s clipped, but it comes automatically, and she doesn’t say anything else. Whether you believe her or not... ”What’s your other question?” You look at the car and not at her. “What,” You really hope she doesn’t answer this like your gut’s predicting... “...is your Stand's name?” You expect her to ask why you'd want to know, or make some kind of last minute diversion, but she doesn't. No one jumps in to help her out, either. From where she's standing follows your eyes to the car, then you, then the ground. Then she calms down. Stands up straighter. Almost inaudibly, she speaks, ”Fine, we’ll just do it the hard way.” Then the car disappears, and something faint takes shape in the air around her. She shouts. ”｢Boulevard of Broken Dreams｣!” “｢Timbuk Three｣!” You fire a laser at her spine, ready to disable her, at least temporarily. But she doesn’t react to the strike. In fact, it apparently did nothing at all. Right, she’s from Equestria too, isn’t she. Her head’s crowned with a halo of energy, and a pair of animal ears sprout from it. And then, with a burst of light, your own gem rises from your pocket and floats towards the other two. You grab for it in midair before it can zip away from you. Agh! It burns your palm like a smooth stone left in an oven for a day. You let go on reflex, and try to catch it again with ｢Timbuk Three｣, but the box of light you create around it just breaks with the feedback. Next to her, you appear. Another you, that is. Your head reels, and you don’t want to believe it. You’re not even sure what it means. Where did things go wrong, to bring you here? Sunset has all three now, glittering around her with red electricity. Your other self comes closer, and you can already feel the existential nausea, the wrongness. Adagio, uncrushed but still on the ground, lets out a clicking, high-pitched cry. Not You is silent, and there’s a look of understanding between the two of you, like you're the only two people in the room to each other. Then Derpy smashes him in the face with ｢Spinal Tap｣, and grabs your hand. Flash doesn’t stop you; he’s too busy staring at some readout. ”This isn’t something I’ve ever seen before. Are you alright?” ”Yes.” Sunset answers from at least six distinct areas of the room. Twilight holds the door open, urging you out as she cowers against the wall, and you blow past her. You’re debating pulling her along with ｢Timbuk Three｣ when you’re stopped again. There’s no barricade in your way, but three young girls, maybe Freshmen or younger, are standing in your path. They look up at you, raising something between them. Gold, glinting - no! You fire a laser for it, for them, but it inexplicably arcs away, like it’s magnetically repelled! It goes wild into a wall, and the three point the arrow at you, and your power begins to burn itself out. They use it with more finesse than the blue-skinned girl, starting at the present and working their way down. By the time the next week has been called out of you in rippling blue energy, thrown at them and the ceiling and the walls, you can shove them a little further ahead. Even in this situation, you’re still trying to hold onto it! The whole hallway’s bathed in light, a kind you feel even when you don’t see it. You can’t hit them. Derpy runs ahead to smash the arrow with ｢Spinal Tap｣, and its fists miss completely. They don’t even impact the girls holding it. And then, between the three of them, a Stand emerges. Made of ringed plates of iron, or lead in this lighting, and two heads taller than Derpy’s. ”｢Steam -” ”- Powered -” ”- Giraffe｣!” It blows her Stand backwards, and she falls onto the floor. She looks up at you as she pushes herself to her feet. The energy’s still being torn out of your soul, and you try to work with it, like swimming with the current. It burns. Just stop them! Stop them and it ends! You spray lightning into the ceiling, and some of it collapses on them. Their mega-Stand reduces it to powder before it can impact them. This wasn’t a trap set by the Dazzlings at all. Or, at least, not one they could keep control of. Your shots can’t even hit their Stand, and as the arrow nears the important points, you begin to scream. Anonymous There’s no sign of anyone yet, or of anything being disturbed. You definitely heard something, though. Some kind of Stand user... an invisible one, maybe? You try to feel out with the ghosts you have on-hand. But they don’t find anything here. You let them spread out while you head further down, but all that’s down there is the... entrance. Oh, come on. Now? At the end of the hallway, halfway between the doors and you, there they are. The discount brat pack. You seethe, but you’re excited at the same time. They’re not escaping this time, even if they can both teleport. They see you at the same time you see them, and they scurry in opposite directions. Ectoplasmic hands grab their ankles. Diamond Tiara falls face-first, and you step over to her. If she’s here, she’s trouble. And, in this case, she’s trouble you can deal with. Nata believes in you. So you point your pistol at her head, and fire. Derpy Care’s skin is pulsing with energy. It’s flying out of his fingers and his mouth, and he’s shaking and starting to rise off the ground, and they’re wringing him out like a wet washcloth! His light intermingles with the red encroaching from behind you, the buzz in the air. He speaks, and his voice is strained and distant. ”Derpy, help me! I can’t stop it on my own! Please!” But you- No, there’s a way. Yes, you have to. You don’t wait or prepare yourself, just break something. “I’m sorry! ｢Spinal Tap｣!” And with a single, well-placed hit, you knock him out. The light stops, and he crumples to the floor. You rush over to him, barely comprehending what you’ve just done. It’s for your future, for your... Tears come to your eyes as you kneel over him. The three girls approach you as you hug his unconscious form against yourself. And without warning, and all at once, the lights go out. ｢To Be Continued｣ Stand: ｢Steam Powered Giraffe｣ User: The Crusaders Ability: A joint Stand between three users, which gains in power when all three are together. When the Stand strikes something, it can remove or rule out an event or destiny for it for the next twenty-four hours. If all possible destinies are removed from a thing, it is completely unaffected by the pull of fate in any direction. Stand: ｢Glamorous｣ User: Flitter Ability: The user can tag anyone they touch with a colored light in her vision, which is visible as long as they’re within a mile of each other. The user can also share any active lights with the vision of any target. Stand: ｢Electra Heart｣ User: Aria Blaze Ability: Pulls, shapes and molds shadows, turning them into solids. The larger or darker the shadow, the more manipulation it can take, and the user can make more precise changes if they use their hands. Shadow-objects disintegrate in light unless they’re connected to a point or area of darkness. Stand: ｢Gold Guns Girls｣ User: Adagio Dazzle Ability: Manifests a replica of a target’s desires, either in the moment or in general. This replica can be fashioned out of any material in range, but will look subtly wrong upon close or careful inspection. For more abstract wants, this Stand creates the closest objects it can, sometimes with an apparent sense of humor. Stand: ｢Beat Street｣ User: Flash Sentry Ability: By covering an item completely in something the target owns, the user can “integrate” the item with the target’s history, making it a retroactive part of their lives. This only affects the target; everyone else remembers the original timeline, and if the integration results in their past death, they simply seem to disappear. The more unique the item, the more significant a role it plays in the target’s history. Cannot affect the user. Stand: ｢Boulevard of Broken Dreams｣ User: Sunset Shimmer Ability: Summons things from other universes which have killed some versoin of the target. Only one thing can be summoned at a time, and can be dismissed at will. The user has no control over what’s summoned, but cannot be harmed by it. Instances of the target killing themselves are not summoned, and when people are summoned, this ability prevents them from experiencing the negative effects of meeting their alternate selves.