//------------------------------// // Notes, Messages, and Warnings // Story: Consequences // by shallow15 //------------------------------// CONSEQUENCES An “Equestria Girls” story by Erin Mills “My Little Pony: Equestria Girls” ©2018 Hasbro/DHX Media Tempest Shadow, Senior Field Agent for the Specialized Taskforce Overseeing Remarkable Matters, leaned back in the small chair at her hotel room desk, and pulled one knee up as she stared at her laptop screen. A spreadsheet was open, with her notes on the case she had gone over so far. Two weeks ago, there had been an incident at the Canterlot Mall. A swath of destruction had been caused by a group of women apparently in combat. One had been a tall woman in a black overcoat and hat throwing around some sort of energy beams. There had also been three other girls opposing her. In addition to them exhibiting strange abilities of their own, reports indicated all three had horse ears, while two of them also had wings. Footage of the destruction had come to the attention of the director of STORM, who had assigned Tempest to the case. The agent had arrived a few days previously and uncovered a litany of odd and unexplained events happening around Canterlot City over the past year and change. Everything from mass hallucinations to nighttime rainbows to actual demonic manifestations were whispered in the back alleys and coffee shops around town. Most of the city's residents didn't seem to believe them, but in her years of investigating and pursuing the strange and bizarre, Tempest had been pretty sure something was going on in this town. All her investigations so far had pointed in the direction of seven local high school girls. While she had no proof of their involvement, Tempest had discovered that a group of eleven girls had won Canterlot Mall's Chance to Prance contest a few months ago. Seven of those girls had alleged costume pieces that consisted of horse ears and wings. More digging with mall management had given her a name: Rarity. However, a wrinkle had turned up. When Tempest had staked out the girl's house, she discovered that while Rarity was indeed one of the girls in the music video that had horse ears, no ears were present at the time. More importantly, she was now in a wheelchair. Something had clearly happened. Tempest was still waiting for someone at the local hospital to return her call inquiring about recent paralysis cases. Other leads included the former principal of Crystal Preparatory Academy. Something had happened back in March during something called the Friendship Games, and Abacus Cinch had shortly left her position afterward. Tracking the principal had been proving difficult. No one seemed to be sure where she was, or even if she still lived in the city. Another incident had happened at the mall over the summer. A giant woman had gone on a rampage, not as destructive as the one that had happened two weeks ago, but once again, the seven girls she was interested in were present, along with an eighth girl that no one seemed to be able to identify. Tempest had noticed something odd. The giant woman had suddenly vanished in a flash of light, but another teenage girl was there. Her skin tone and hair were identical to the giant woman. She had yet to follow up on that lead, but she did get a name: Juniper Montage. And then there's that camp outside of town, Tempest thought, putting her hands behind her head and idly chewing on the inside of her bottom lip. I really need to schedule some time to talk to the owners out there. She leaned forward, grabbed her phone from the desk and made a note to herself. It was moving into October, so it was unlikely Camp Everfree was still open for the season, but the staff could still be there prepping for winter. The sooner, the better. The last lead was the most dangerous. It had been an open case in STORM's files for almost as long as the agency had been in existence. Multiple instances of violence and strife appearing in random small towns across the country and reports of three young women who appeared out of nowhere and vanished just as quickly. Tempest had worked the case a couple of years ago, and even with her reputation for success, they had managed to slip through her fingers. She was pleasantly surprised to have overheard Adagio, Aria, and Sonata in a local diner just after she had arrived in town. If she was lucky, she'd be able to close two cases at once. Those three were somewhere in this town and Tempest was sure they knew something about everything that had been happening. Tempest leaned forward and tapped a couple of keys. The winning music video from the Chance to Prance contest came up and started to play. After a few moments, she tapped the space bar, pausing the video. She looked at the seven girls on the screen, memorizing their faces in anticipation of encountering them while she did her business around town. Her phone emitted a beep. Tempest glanced at the screen and saw a notification that she had received a voice mail. She had set her phone on silent while she worked. She picked up the phone and accessed the voice mail. “Yes, Agent Shadow, this is Principal Celestia of Canterlot High. I understand you've been trying to reach me for the past few days. I apologize that it took me so long to get back to you. If you're free, I'd be happy to talk to you tomorrow morning at my school. Will ten AM be acceptable? Please return my call at your earliest convenience. Have a lovely day.” Tempest frowned. That was the other issue. Most of the events around the city had some connection to Canterlot High School. And yet, getting hold of the principal had been incredibly difficult. This was a red flag to the experienced agent. The principal knew something, and Tempest knew finding it out was going to be difficult. “Principal Celestia, this is Agent Shadow. Ten AM will be fine. I will see you then.” Sunset Shimmer had been doing her homework when the magical journal she used to communicate with Princess Twilight Sparkle back in her homeland of Equestria began buzzing, indicating a message from the princess had arrived. Oh crap, I forgot! The Festival of Friendship is today! A few days before, Princess Twilight had told Sunset about the massive festival in Canterlot she had been planning. Sunset had been invited to attend, but over the course of those few days she'd forgotten about it. Sunset grabbed the journal and a pen, ready to write an apology and a promise to head for the portal to Equestria as soon as she could. She flipped open the journal to the glowing page. Her eyes widened at the frantic message penned there. SUNSET! ARE YOU THERE? IT'S STARLIGHT GLIMMER! “Starlight?” Sunset said aloud. “What the hell?” I'm here, Starlight. I was about to leave for the portal. The response came almost immediately. NO! Stay over there! I had to close the portal! Sunset stared, incredulous, at the message. She quickly scribbled a response. What? Why? Where's Twilight? I don't know! Nopony does! She's missing! So are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike! What the hell's going on, Starlight? Equestria's been invaded! We don't know who they are, but they hit Canterlot! The other princesses and most of the ponies in the city have been captured! Trixie and I just barely managed to escape! We just got back to Ponyville, and the invaders are right behind us! Sunset quickly looked around her apartment, mentally figuring what she would need to take with her. Open the portal, I'm on my way! NO! STAY THERE! The message almost filled the page with random splotches of ink surrounding it. After a moment, a new message began to appear. Twilight asked me to get both journals and close the portal if anything like this ever happened. Trixie and I are heading to the Everfree Forest to hide for now. We'll see what we can do once everything dies down. Are you sure? I can help! Let me help you, Starlight! Twilight and the others are still out there, and from the looks of things, the unicorn who was leading the invaders is still looking for them. Hopefully, the girls will get help. But the last thing we need to give the invaders is access to a completely new dimension. Please, Sunset, stay put. I will keep you posted as often as I can. Sunset clenched her teeth and hissed out a breath. Starlight was right, of course. Interdimensional war was the last thing either world needed. A government agent named Tempest Shadow was sniffing around all the events with the magic that had been unleashed over the last year or so. The agency she worked for, STORM, had a reputation of shooting first and asking questions later. Celestia only knew what would happen if they found the portal and got access to Equestria. Shutting down the portal was the best option, since it wouldn't naturally open again for at least another few months, rendering the magic land inaccessible Sunset hated how much it made sense. Her homeland was in danger, and she was stuck on the wrong side of the mirror to be able to do anything about it. Her best friend on the other side was missing, her mentor captured, and another friend on the run from the invaders. She felt her face flush as frustration and anger surged through her. She got up from the table and punched a cushion on her couch, before returning to the journal. All right, I'll stay, but be careful, Starlight. And if you need me, tell me, I'll come running. I will. And try not to worry too much. It's Twilight. She'll find a way to stop this. I hope so, Starlight. I have to go. I'll try to write you later tonight. Okay. Sunset waited, but no further messages came. She closed the journal. Equestria invaded on one side, government investigation on the other. Sunset slumped back in her chair and sighed. The thought was out before she could stop herself. What else could go wrong... oh shit. Sunset sat up, blushing furiously. She wasn't normally superstitious, but the last couple of weeks had been extremely taxing for her and she was trying desperately not to jinx things any further for herself or her friends. She looked down at the journal and forced herself to not write more messages. Starlight needed time to escape. As much as she wanted to help, Sunset knew that right now there was nothing she could do. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. “Rarity? Yeah, are you free? Something's happened and I really do not want to be alone right now.” Canterlot City sat in a picturesque valley surrounded by mountains and forests. The edges of the city butted up against the woods on nearly all sides. As a result, it wasn't unusual for the employees of Night Shift's Gas N Go on the edge of the suburbs to find their trash cans assaulted by woodland creatures. Night Shift himself had invested in a padlocked dumpster after far too many of these overnight assaults. He stared in disbelief at the remnants of that self-same padlocked dumpster. An entire corner of the dumpster looked like it had been ripped apart and the contents dragged over the ground behind the station. Trash and old food was strung in a rough line from the dumpster into the woods. Beside him, a police officer pushed his hat back and whistled. “You ever see anything like this before?” the cop asked. Night Shift shook his head. “I don't know what the hell could have done this,” he said. “I mean, the worst we've had is when a bear showed up a couple of years ago, but it only scratched the damn thing up.” The two men walked closer. One of the plastic lids of the dumpster lay upside-down on the ground. One end had been ripped to shreds, peeling off in curled strips of industrial grade plastic. The padlock that had kept the lids secure had been broken, the hasp twisted backwards. “I'll tell you something, Night,” said the cop. “I wouldn't wanna be out here at night whenever what did this shows up.” “Right there with you, pal,” Night Shift replied. The two looked back into the shadows of the woods. They froze when the heard a faint noise that sounded like an roar of something very big, very hungry, and very, very, angry. “Did you hear that?” Night Shift asked. “No,” lied the cop. “Neither did I.”