//------------------------------//
// the last day of bliss 
// Story: This is what we do 
// by Foxgear 
//------------------------------//

This is what we do Chapter 25
By Foxgear



Adagio turns off the TV Mac’s image disappearing as the conference call comes to an end. She really wishes Mac was home right now. The attack on the driveway was a real blow to her sense of security. On the other hand, this was what? The third or fourth time the farm was attacked? Gotta say, if she was still living in the sea in Equestria she would have packed up her sisters and left by now. Mac wouldn’t want to leave and in turn, she wouldn’t leave without him. Besides if your expecting an attack to happen you can be more prepared for it. 

On that note, things were getting hairy around here and she really wanted to nuzzle in Mac’s chest with a cup of tea and relax on the couch. That obviously wasn’t going to happen. Instead, she has to babysit while the others went out and hunt. A few weeks ago, this would have annoyed her, being left out of the action again, but once again after the driveway attack, she was ready to board the windows and doors. Not just for herself, but for her sisters and the others safety too. 
Others safety. The thought made her want to laugh humorlessly. Not thirty minutes ago she was about to abandon Luna, Celestia, and Twilight to the wolves. She cradles her ever-growing stomach, she wouldn’t use her child as an excuse or justification. She would have felt bad for abandoning the three, but not enough to truly regret it if it meant keeping her child safe. She found the line, that much is for sure. 

“Adagio? Adagio?”

“Huh?” She looks around, Luna touching her shoulder. “Oh, sorry, I zoned out. What did you want?”

“I was asking if you’re sure you’ll be ok by yourself. The girls are unconscious upstairs, but we don’t really know if Fury’s burning them to ash really cured them.”

That was right. The magic here is pretty half-assed and made up they go along the trail. Still, she didn’t want someone to stay here and have someone go off on their own. Then again, the investigating group could go in a trio, but trios could be intimidating when confronting people and they couldn’t cover as much ground. 

“I’ll be fine. We have plenty of zip ties here, I’ll just cuff them, it’ll buy me some time to get away at least.” She said to the Vice Principle. “Now you guys couple off and go interrogate some unsuspecting families. I’ll run some damage control with AJ and Twilight. I’m sure Granny and Twilight’s parents are wondering where they are.” 

She waves bye to the four and goes into the kitchen, ignoring their chatter as they head out the door. Picking up the phone book Adagio flips through the pages for Twilight’s home phone number. After a quick flip through the S’s, she remembered that Twilight just moved here. Her family wouldn’t be in the phone book. No, wait she transferred schools, so they’d be in the Canterlot City phonebook. Which they don’t have.

“Well,” Adagio huffs as a dust cloud dissipates in the yard. No use asking Celestia and Luna. Time to steal a phone. Tiptoeing upstairs Adagio stopped to admire Aria and Sonata’s sleeping form both of them sleeping soundly in Sonata’s room. She knelt next to the bed, pressing the back of her palm against Aria’s forehead. She was cool as a cucumber, no fever or anything like before. She’d take that as a good sign. Next, she pulls Sonata’s blankets up, her blue sister rolling into a cocoon and mumbling about tacos. So, she was normal too. Kissing the two on the head she goes to where Sunset and Twilight were resting, which was Mac’s old room. 
Both girls felt normal, no fevers, sweats or black veins on their naked bodies. That was going to a fun scene when they wake up. Well, Sunset was naked, Twilight, well her clothes were dirty from the fight so she was naked too. Maybe she should set up a camera. 
Onto her main objective Adagio picks up Twilight’s cellphone, which was one of those new ones, very fancy and expensive. No doubt the nerdy girl has decked out with the most up to date security with facial recognition. So, she propped up Twilight’s head, peeled open her eyelids and the phone unlocked itself after scanning her face. Way to go Techpear. 
“Contacts, contacts… Brother… no. mom and dad… hmm… Cadence? Dean Cadence? She does know about magic…” She presses the Dean’s name in the log, the phone automatically calling. 
“Hey, Twilight’s what’s up?” 
“Um, hi…” Adagio said cautiously. Maybe Cadence wouldn’t….
“OH GOD WHY DO YOU HAVE TWILIGHT’S PHONE!” The dean all but screams into her ear. Not that she couldn’t understand the concern. 
“Hi to you too. Look I’ll keep this brief, I’m calling to tell you Twilight is fine.”
“But she can’t tell me herself?”
“Yes,” Adagio replied, hearing Cadence sigh in the background. 
“Is this magic related?”
“Yes.” 
Cadence groans, almost crying from the sounds of it. “URG, alright. I suppose you want me to make up a cover story for her to tell her parents and my husband, her brother?” 
“That would be extremely helpful, just something simple, just say she’s at a sleepover.”
“At 3 pm?”
Adagio rubs her temple. “School was canceled because of damages.”
“More magic?”
“Yes,” Adagio replied, starting to feel a little guilty about laying this all on Cadence. “Look, I know we haven’t interacted much, but rest assured. Twilight and the others are safe and I’ll keep it that way.” Lair, a voice in the back of her head said, she quickly smacks it down. “I promise.”
“You better,” Was Cadence’s reply, ending the call. 
She guiltily sets Twilight’s phone on the nightstand and exits the room. Since she’s visited everyone else she checks in on her sister in law, who was asleep in her own room, or what was once her room. It was Aria’s now. Adagio peeks in, Applejack’s freckled face peeking out just above the covers. 
Walking into the room Adagio strokes Applejack’s hair, it was silky soft. She didn’t know if AJ was secretly using Rarity’s hair products or if it was affected of Fury reducing her to ash, but it was a bizarre feeling. Maybe she was giving AJ a hard time, sure she was a rough tomboy, but she was still a girl and one that’s been getting much more girly as she grows. It was cute. 
“Here’s to hoping you live to be twenty, I’m sure you’ll just be a bombshell.” She chuckles walking out of the room. She took care of Twilight parental figures, she should probably call Granny Smith. 
Humming down the stairs Adagio pauses to go into her room and fix up her hair into a ponytail and then braids the unruly curls into a sloppy French braid, it would make it easier to do housework and chores. 
“Shit.” She cursed suddenly. There was no one around to do the chores! Guess she’ll have to do them. It wouldn’t be so bad, just throw some grain and hay to the cattle and horses and that’d be it. If she knew what portions they were being fed. “Wow, I have gotten out of the loop haven’t I?” She chuckles, wondering when the last time she did the chores. “Well, I worry about it after I call Granny… ah, shit the bills too!” 
She checks the kitchen table were Mac usually laid the bills in the morning. Gods. The morning seemed like forever ago. They went to the school, then the city came back from the city, fought the girls in the driveway. Wow, today was a long ass day. And they still had to pay bills. Yay. 
“This can’t be that hard.” She mumbles opening the envelopes. “All I have to do is fill out the check and sign it…” Adagio looks at the title of the check, it was hers, but it invalid because she married Mac at the courthouse and changed her name. These still had Dazzle on them and the routing number was wrong. So, she couldn’t use it. “Ok, no problem I’ll just use the farm’s checkbook, this is a farm bill anyway. Shit, only Mac’s name is on the farm. Um… I can forge his signature! Wait… how does he sign these? Is it Big Mac Apple? Big Macintosh Apple? An M with squiggles? Shit, how did we not talk about this once in the past four months!”
Taking a deep alongside the realization that her Mac had some more things to figure out in their marriage. Adagio decides she should just go back to her original plan and call Granny Smith. A nice simple job she could do. 
“In hindsight, I could have just called Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash’s homes. Their parents know who I am. Still, Mac was pretty cool and dashing taking charge like that, I would have hated to ruin the moment.” She dials Granny’s home phone and waits and waits and waits. No answer. The voice mail plays in the speaker and she hangs up without leaving a message. Next, she tries Granny’s cellphone. 
“Ello? Adagio? Is that you?” 
“Yes, Granny it’s me. I was just calling because…”
“Ah’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go. One of my brother Crab Apple is in the Dodge Junction hospital and I’m about to enter, no cellphones ya know. I had to leave right quick, so tell AJ that’ she’s staying with her Grandpa Bailey for the rest of the week. Applebloom is already with him. Sorry, I gotta go! I know nurse! I’m turning it off now!”
“Granny wait!” The line goes dead. “Great. I guess I better call Applebloom… wait does Applebloom even had a cell phone?” She pulls out her own cell and begins scrolling through her contacts when a shiver ran up her spine, the lights flicker and spark and then the house goes dead. The screen of her phone blacks out, sparks fly from it and the battery was hot enough to make her drop it. The phone hits the tile floor and breaks apart. 
Dark magic perinates the air and she ran upstairs, all the girls groaning as dark green mists spilled through the cracks in the house. Adagio quickly checks their phones, but all of them were in the same state as hers. Going into the closest rooms, Sunsets, and Twilights. She pecks both of them on the forehead, barely siphoning enough magic to gain ears. Levitating everyone out of their beds she gathers them all together like a mother fox gathers her kits in the den and crafts a barrier around them to keep the dark magic at bay. There was so much, but it was weak, so the source was far away, but for there to be this much magic, meant whatever was producing it was powerful. The whole town, no the whole county might be affected! No power, no cell phones, nothing. 
“Shit. Today just gets better and better. I hope everyone will be ok.”



Celestia sat silently in the passenger’s seat of the truck they borrowed from the yard. Across from her, driving was Stryker Six. Someone she hasn’t seen or talked to since she first went to college. That had been a strange and exciting time. Luna had been dating Ferocious and she hadn’t been very open to her sister’s biker boyfriend or his friends. 
“So… your police officer now… how’d that happen?”
“Took a class. Solved a lot of cases, rose through the ranks.” He replied statically. The silence drags on as they zoom down the road. Fury and Luna in Luna’s car behind them, Luna driving of course. “I see the teacher thing worked out.” He added awkwardly. 
“Yeah, it was a nice gig till magic came into my life, at least that’s what I thought till today.” She held up her fist, arcs of power dancing on her knuckles. She had magic now. She could be useful, she could protect her students! 
She felt Stryker’s eyes on her. She quickly glances out the corner of her eye, catching the wariness in his gaze. The magic sparks die down and she leans against the window, keeping a glancing eye on him. 
“You got something to say?” She asks, already knowing what he was probably going to say.
“Magic is dangerous…”
“I know,” She said a little snippety. “I’ve seen what it can do first-hand multiple times. I’ve seen it be abused, corrupted and corrupt those who tried to use it, but I know better.”
“Huh, you say that, but next thing you know your getting shot with a rainbow or a bullet.” She glares at him, he isn’t fazed as he drives down the street towards the McCloud’s, Fluttershy’s house. For two blocks they sat in silence. “I could you teach you.” He said suddenly turning right and parking outside the McCloud’s home. He shoots her a cocky know it all grin. “I know a few magic tricks.”
“And what’s your tuition fee?” Celestia replied, a grin spreading across her lips without her consent. Was she feeling hopeful? But for what? What was she expecting? 
“A few dances would be nice. Come on, let’s go intimidate the shyest couple in town.” 
Celestia climbs down from the truck, a strange flutter in her chest. Did he just flirt with her? God, how long has it been she’s been hit on? The better question was the last time she went out to get hit on? Even better question, why the hell was she thinking about this now? She had to focus. The McCloud’s were a timid couple they didn’t want to scare them with the fact their daughter’s body was under the control of a genetically magic made snake. Damn, when did her life become a fantasy Syfy movie? 
Stryker hits the doorbell and they wait and wait and wait. No answer. He knocks on the door. “Mr. McCloud, Mrs. Cloud, I’m Detective Stryker Six of CPD, please open up if your home!” Again, no answer. He raises his leg. 
“What are you doing!” She hissed pushing his leg down. 
“Kicking the door down.” He says, as if that’s obvious, which it was, but…
“Why are you kicking the door down? There’s no probable cause to do so! Besides what if they're asleep, at work or on… vacation… oh…”
“What?” Stryker asked looking pointedly at her. “What do you know?”
Celestia laughs scratching her multi-color hair in embarrassment. “Well, funny story… the McCloud’s are a vacation cruise. They sent a note to my office and wanted to me to check on their kids well their gone during school hours and maybe check up on them at home if needed.”
Stryker crosses his arms, looking half annoyed, half amused, “Well, don’t you go above and beyond. When did they leave?” 
“Three days ago, Friday night maybe. They’ll be gone for the whole week. Hey, where are you going?” Celestia runs after Stryker who climbs back into the truck, she climbs into the passenger seat as he starts the engine. “I thought you were going to break in the door or something like that.”
He hums, pulling out on to the street. “I’ll bend some rules, but not when it’s pointless. We might as well go to the next house. The girl hasn’t been home in days, she, like many before her usually set up an off sight lair away from neighbors that would notice unusual things.”
“You’ve run into a creature like this before?” Celestia said with surprise. 
Stryker laughs, “Yeah, their call drug dealers. Whose house is the closest to here?”
She pulls out her phone, flicking through the pins on the map app. “Rainbow Dash’s house is closest. Luna and Fury are probably heading to the Pies. Rarity’s is the furthest away. I think Rainbow’s mother should be home before you ask. But what do we do when we get there if you tell them you’re with the police…” They really didn’t think this out. Maybe it was a good thing the McCloud’s were gone. They need a better game plan. “What’s my role in this too?”
They pull up to the curb outside the Dash’s home. A tan SUV Chevrolet sat in the driveway, Rainbow’s mother Daring’s car. Celestia recognized it from the parent-teacher meetings. So, she was home. 
“Follow my lead,” Stryker said suddenly getting out of the vehicle suddenly. She had to jog to catch up with his strides. His shoulders were hunched and he was giving off an intimating posture. Was she supposed to copy that? Or contrast it? Like a good cop bad cop? Why couldn’t men just talk! Well, there was no time too because they were at the door! Yay. Maybe this will go well.
Stryker knocks on the door, still putting up his intimidating cop face, she thought cops were supposed to relieve people’s fears, but then she remembered who she was with. The cop Stryker was just a show, this was probably Biker Stryker with a badge. The door opens, Daring, Rainbow’s Mother, looking put off by Stryker’s intimidating presence. So, she smiled to counter it and put Daring at ease.
“Good day, Mrs. Dash, I’m Principle Celestia, I believe we’ve met a few times before. Briefly of course. Do you have a minute to spare?” She laid on her professional public servant stick pretty thick, but it seems to calm Daring down slightly. That being said the tawny woman seemed… jumpy.  
“Um… yes… of course, um… who’s your companion?”
“Detective Stryker Six, of CPD, this is a lovely home ma’am.” He said brushing past Daring. Celestia was pretty sure that wasn’t regulation. Daring seemed stunned by the ashen Detective’s basin invasion of her home, but bit her lip and left for the kitchen, asking them if tea was ok to drink. She answers yes, well elbowing Stryker in the ribs. 
“What are you doing?” She hissed softly. “You're freaking her out with this daytime TV cop bullshit!” He pulls her head close, really close, like his lips brushing her ear close. It made her blush, but she couldn’t break his hold. 
“Somethings not right here, try putting a little magic in your nose and take a whiff.” He releases her, smiling and thanking Daring for the tea as the two of them sit down on the opposing couches with the coffee table to between them. She takes the seat next to Stryker and accepts the cup and while she partakes in the sip of earl gray, nice tea choice. She focuses a bit of magic into her nose. 
The smell of the tea became a hundred times stronger! Like she had the nose of the bloodhound, it smelt good, but the scent was so powerful that it made her lean her head away. She smiles awkwardly as Daring looked at her strangely. 
“It’s a little hot,” She fibs taking another breath, ready for the stronger sense of smell of the tea. She really didn’t know what she was looking for. The house smelt the same as any house, it smelt like a mix of old and new food, dandruff, and general body order. There as a lot of perfume in the air too. Rainbow’s parents were devoiced, if she remembers right, so Daring was probably the owner of the perfume. She doubts Rainbow Dash uses it, but still, this was a lot for one woman. Celestia takes a longer deeper sniff, looking beyond the smells she’s already identified, there was something else. Something metallic?
“Principle Celestia?”
“Oh um… yes?” She said dumbly, her mind reeling from the world of smells. 
“Why are you here? The Detective has been very evasive about your presence here, perhaps you would be a little more forthcoming?”
Celestia sets her teacup down, rubbing her hands together in an effort to buy time. The smells were getting to her, that metallic scent really stuck with her now, it was all she could smell, yet she couldn’t place what it was. It was something stupidity obvious. 
“Yes, well, as you know there has been another incident at the school and your daughter was reported to not have been on the premises. I’m not suspecting Rainbow Dash, of course, I just wanted to check on her and make sure she’s accounted for. We’re doing this with all the students that weren’t accounted for. We just came from Fluttershy’s McCloud’s house actually.” 
Daring took a sip of her cup, her hands shaking, “Ah yes, I had heard about that on the news. Rest assured my daughter… well, my daughter is fine.” Stryker suddenly grabbed Daring’s hands. Celestia was about to chew him out, but he shushed her and Mrs. Dash as he forced the woman to put her cup down. He then began rolling up her sleeves, Daring hissed as red lacerations were revealed on her arms. The metallic scent suddenly became clear to Celestia, it was the scent of blood. 
She covered her mouth at the sight of Daring’s arms, they were horribly marred, like they’d been whipped. Stryker proceeded to remove Daring’s suit jacket, still motioning both of them to be quiet. Daring began to cry as the jacket was removed, revealing her red-stained white shirt, her eyes wide and frightened. 
“Where is she?” Stryker said softly. Daring began to shake, wiping her tears with the back of her hand, but more fell. 
“I… I… she looked like my daughter… but she was different. Like a monster wearing a suit. She was wounded and covered in black veins.” 
“Where is she?” Stryker insisted. 
Daring looked up her whole body trembling. “She’s in the upstairs bathroom.”
Before Celestia could stop him or even try Stryker pulled his gun, pony ears appearing on his head as he marched for the stairs. Rolling with the situation she quickly covered Daring’s mouth, muffling her horrified gasp. 
“It’s ok, he won’t hurt… well, he won’t kill her. Right?” She asked pointedly. 
Stryker didn’t reply. Not willing to make a promise he couldn’t be sure to keep. Not that he wants to kill Rainbow, but in a fight, nothing was certain. He carefully takes his first step up the stairs, behind mindful of how much weight to put on each step. If the girl knew they were on to her she didn’t give it away. This could be a trap. He had to be careful not to corner her if she’s wounded she’ll be desperate, and when someone is desperate they’ll always choose fight over flight if they think they’re cornered. 
Halfway up the stairs, he starts to charge magic into his off hand. His magic was crap for fighting, he could really only summon guns and he used all those up in the fight with Fierce Fury, and his mind magic wasn’t very battle oriented. 
The upper floor comes into view, he still had three more steps to go. He cast his gaze side to side. The upstairs wasn’t very big. To the right was Rainbow Dash’s room, the door was open revealing a messy teenage girls’ room. To the left was an extra room, maybe a storeroom or guest room. He couldn’t really make it out. The bathroom was straight ahead, the door partly closed, concealing the inside. 
Climbing the final three steps he stands at the top of the stairs, gun ready as he reaches for the door and pushes it open. He darts sideways expecting an attack, but nothing happened. Only the sound of his own pacing heart and labored breathing could be heard. Ducking around the corner, body half behind the doorway, he saw her, Rainbow Dash in a sports bra and shorts on the floor. She was in bad shape. 
“Who are you!” She barked, holding her side, she had three pieces of rebar sticking through her stomach, a chunk of her arm was missing, wrapped in poorly wrapped bandages, he could see parts were her skin was charred. Meaning she seared the wound with heat. Numerous cuts adorned her body, her nose was broken, her left eye swollen, lips busted and her right ring and pinky ringer were twisted in the opposite direction they should be. She was trying and failing to bandage her wounds with her left hand, a bottle of hundred proof liquor sat beside her. 
“Fuck, what fight did you lose?” he laughed lowering his gun. It was a risk, but if she was this wounded then maybe he could take the risk. Only a small window in the bathroom provided any other means of escape besides the door. The window was broken, so that was probably where she entered the house. Maybe just maybe he could do this by talking. He seriously didn’t want to wound her anymore. Whether by magic, her own tenacity or the SIN forcing the body to move in its current condition, a teenage girl, no matter how tough was not meant to take this kind of damage. 
“I said who the fuck are you!” She screams again, poking her finger at him, lightning dancing on the tip of her nail. 
Ok, he’ll have to be careful if she can hit him from a distance. “I’m Detective Stryker Six, I just came by on a house call about the case I’m working. You remember Gilda, right?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow replied, caught off guard. “So, what? You idiots solved that case already.”
“I know it was you who actually hurt her. Care to tell me why?” 
“Shut up! You don’t know that!” 
“Says the girl that controls lightning. I bet you can control other things, like the moisture in the clouds to say, create hail?” The lightning wavered, was he getting to her or was this a ruse? The intensity leaves her eyes, her face softening. 
“I… I didn’t mean to hurt her that bad. I was just mad.” Rainbow said with regret, which kind of threw him off. Was he actually talking to Rainbow or the SIN? 
He moves out into the doorway exposing more of his body. Hopefully, she’d take it as a sign of peace. He even put his gun on the floor. “Who am I talking to right now?”
Rainbow looked puzzled. “What do you mean I’m Rainbow/Ebony.” She said two different voices coming out of her mouth at once. That was curious. 
“Ebony, huh, is that what you named yourself, SIN?” 
Rainbow’s eyes went blank as a black snake with red winds slithered around her neck, it’s tall wrapping around Rainbow’s neck. The girl's mouth began to move oddly. Like a puppet. “So, you know what I am. I was the SINS my mother Maddie called Rainbow Storm, I have rejected her haphazard branding of me and taken on a name that suits my liking.” 
“Darkness, how original. How about you slither down the poor girl and come here. I got some connections, I could find you a better host.” 
“One you’d more willing to kill, right? No doubt some death row prisoner who’d you execute the moment I went inside them. Going along the lines of if the host dies, the parasite inside dies, correct?”
Stryker blinks, that had kind of been his plan. He only thought of on the fly, but yeah that had been his plan. Little snake was cleverer then he thought it’d be. Worse of all Rainbow Dash’s personality was probably completely suppressed. There had to be a way to restrain her.
CREAK!
Ebony’s eyes shrunk, her split pupils glancing towards the stairs where Celestia stood, half frozen by the sight. 
“Oh my God, Rainbow!” She sprang forward, her teacher’s instincts overriding her actions. Ebony sprang back, forcing Rainbow’s body to move despite its condition. 
“Fuck!” Stryker threw himself in the way of Ebony’s sparking finger, the lightning bullet blowing through his right collarbone. He braced against the door, leaping forwards to grab Rainbow’s legs as she tried to slip out of the bathroom window. 
“I’m sorry!” Celestia screamed raising a fist with magic she fired a white ball of magic from her palm, Ebony hissed as she pulls Rainbow’s body through the window, the light attack blowing a baseball sized hole in the wall. She ran for the window, but he held her back. “What are you doing, she’s getting away!”
He pulls her by the arm, holding the wound on his shoulder as they stumble down the stairs, Ebony already downstairs with a tight grip around her Daring’s neck. 
“One more step and I snap her neck, Detective.” 
“Rainbow, please I know was harsh, but it was because I wanted to succeed!” Daring screamed out, completely terrified. 
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! No one told you to talk!” Ebony was talking in that two-tone voice again, probably using Rainbow’s resentment of her mother to control her easier. Given the shape of Rainbow’s body, Ebony probably wasn’t in any better condition. A parasite was only as powerful as it’s host. In theory. 
Taking a breath Stryker held up his hands and took a step forward, Ebony took a step back towards the door, her grip tightening around Daring’s neck. “Easy now.” He said. “I’m not going to do anything, just let her go and I’ll let you go right outside that door.” 
“Bullshit,” Ebony sneered.
He takes another step forward, she takes a step back. “Honest, just let her go. I would like it Rainbow could still have a mother when this all over. You let her go, and I’ll let you go lick your wounds and we’ll finish this later. I found you once, I can do it again.” 
“Maybe I should just take her, she might make a good shield in that case. Keep you dogs off me. Or better yet, I could keep her around as a second skin. This body is comfortable, but it’s getting a little too well used.” 
Daring looked at them, took a breath and spoke. “Take me then, if you leave my daughter you can have my body.” Ebony froze as Rainbow’s eyes widened and in a hoarse but completely Rainbow tone said. 
“Why? Why would you do that?” 
Daring laughed, “I may be harsh, but I do love you, dear.” 
Rainbow’s hand loosened, her body shook, her eyes indecisive, Ebony hissed and he struck. “Celestia now, grab her!” Stryker cleared the distance, his hand outreached magic pouring off his palm as he casts his spell. “Forget!” 
Celestia with her long athletic legs sprints in from behind grabbing Daring and carrying the woman into the kitchen. Ebony/Rainbow wobbled on their feet, the spell disorienting them. He grabs Rainbow tackling her to the floor, Ebony hissed, biting at his arm. He grabs her by the base of the head, trying to pry her off Rainbow’s neck, he pulled and pulled, wondering how long the damn thing was till finally, he found the tail. Only he couldn’t pull it any further. The tip of Ebony’s tail was infused into Rainbow’s spine at the base of her neck!	
“Hehehe, the girl is mine! I’m not giving her up.” 
“Full throttle BURST!” Ears wings and tail appear on his body, he summons one of the big bore pistols from the office. From the weight, he could tell there was some ammo left inside it. He shoves the barrel it into the snakes grinning mouth and cocks the trigger. “Get your fucking scaly ass out of her or get wrecked, ya fucking serpent.”
“Kill me and she dies too!” Ebony spoke from Rainbow’s mouth. He had her pinned to the ground. No way a hundred-pound teenage girl was going to throw him off. Even with magic. She didn’t have magic to spare either. 
“I don’t believe you.” He replied pulling the trigger.
Click.
“Fuck!” He pulls the trigger again, at the same time Rainbow’s body became a human bug zapper, his nerves going numb as he falls over, Ebony taking the chance to slip out of his hold. 
“Give me back my student!” Celestia screams running from the kitchen with a butcher’s knife of all things. She pounced like a cat, bringing the meat cleaver down at the point where Rainbow and Ebony connected, white magic dancing on the black. Much to his amazement, she hit the snake and severed the tail!
Black blood poured from Ebony, the snake screaming like a banshee as it grew in size, wrapping its severed tail around a dumbfounded Rainbow Dash, the girl’s eyes were blank like her mind was on walkabout. 
“Principle Celestia…” She feeble said, not bothered by the bleeding snake tail around her. 
“Rainbow!” Daring screams standing in the kitchen doorway. “Rainbow!”
“Mom… it’s too early to be yelling at me. I’m so tired.” The girl’s body goes limp as Ebony flies them out of the house and into the sky. Stryker and Celestia try to go after her, but they struggle in the doorway as Stryker’s wings crash against Celestia. Neither of them noticed the principle had grown her wings. Making for an awkward moment as they got stuck in the doorway. A stupid embarrassing moment for the both of them as they fall on the grass, both returning to normal. Stryker held his shoulder, which was bleeding now, while Celestia lay breathless beside him. Her body unused to magic and her stamina shot. 
“Fuck…” He cursed. His phone going off in his pocket. “Stryker here… Bailey? What? I can’t hear you, what about…bzzzzz.” 
All of a sudden, his phone goes dead, as does the power in houses and cars in the neighborhood. A chill runs down his spine as a massive wave of dark magic passes over him. He slowly rises to his feet as the neighbors come out of their houses in a herd of confusion. As he and Celestia stare into the evening sun, he knew in his gut something terrible happened. 



“Thank you, Marble, we’ll be in touch.” Luna waves goodbye to the quietest member of the Pie family. Their talk with the youngest Pie hadn’t been very productive, she didn’t know much of Pinkie’s whereabouts, stating her pink sister tends to wander off for a day or two before turning up again. The behavior was so normal to the family they weren’t concerned about it. Kind lax parenting, but she could get it. Nobody could keep track of Pinkie Pie on a good day. 
Unfortunately, the rest of the Pie family wasn’t around to add anything. Ma and Pa Pie were gone for their wedding anniversary, Limestone was working at the Quarry, and Maud was on a date with her boyfriend. That last one seemed hard to believe, but every odd girl finds that odd guy she guessed. She certainly did in her youth. 
“Where to next?” Fury asks leaning against the car with his arms crossed. God those guns were huge. He could probably pick her up with his pinkie. “Luna?”
She shakes her head; her students were in danger and she was crushing on a pony from another world. Or was she crushing because he looked like Ferocious? Her heart was confused, a lot of old feelings were bubbling up at the stupidest of times. She pulls out her phone, checking the map. 
“I’ll assume Celestia and Stryker will check out the animal shelter where Fluttershy works too. We might as well go to Rarity’s, it’s not far from here.” She slides into the car, the peeling paint on her hood still sending torrents of anger through her body. The guy sitting next to her was partly responsible for the damage, but she couldn’t be mad at him. It’s not like she was the only one affected. It’s not liked the universe conspired to destroy just her car. Still, the school might be a target of cosmic bullshit, a lot of crap keeps happening to the old building. 
She drives as she mumbles, gripping about magic to the steering wheel. Even though her cool car was ruined, driving relaxed her. Fury wasn’t talking much anyway. 
“Sorry for pinning you to the couch this morning. I thought you were someone else.” 
She jerks the wheel, her cheeks flush as she remembers being pressed against his body. God, she was acting like a fucking teenager again! “It’s fine.” Moments past, she should just leave it at that and keep focusing on the driving but… “So, who did you think I was? You said her name… Nightingale or something like that? Is she your girlfriend or wife or something?” 
“She was… something like that. We parted ways many, many years ago. She’s dead, in case I wasn’t clear.”
“Yeah, I caught the gist of it.” She laughs, god this is awkward. “So, um… what was she like?”
A smile graced the usually grim Patroller’s face, “Pushy. She was pushy, but in a good way.”
Ok then, this is a nice atmosphere, she was just going to leave it alone and enjoy the ride. No need to go making thing awkward again…
“So, you and my counterpart were a mating pair once upon a time?” 
Luna jerks the wheel again, hitting the brakes hard as she screeches to a stop in one of the empty downtown parking spaces. They were about a block away from Rarity’s, but right now she couldn’t even get her breathing right. Why was she being such a damn teenager all of a sudden?
“Let’s get moving.” Fury said getting out of the car. She follows locking the doors with the key throb as she runs up next to him. An elderly pair of women sitting on bench giggle as they passed. Probably thinking them a couple. Great, she’d be the gossip of the cafés for the next two days. 
“This is the place,” She points to the fancy looking store with dresses in the window. Rarity’s boutique. She had no idea how the girl managed to secure the location or the funding to run her own store before even graduating from high school, but she did it. And at profit too. “It’s locked.”
Fury brushes her aside, pressing his finger against the lock. The metal began to glow, the keyhole melting into a small red puddle and dripping onto the sidewalk. The door pushed open with no resistance. Hastily they went inside, leaving the closed sign up as they walk to the back of the store. 
“There’s a resident’s upstairs. Rarity and Sweetie Belle live upstairs, their parents work is very travel oriented, Rarity owns the shop and the apartment above. Sweetie usually stays with Rarity when their parents are away on business.” Luna explains as they inspect the ground floor kitchen. It was a mess. A lot of takeout boxes were scattered about. She pickups up the receipts on the table, there was a credit card next to the stack of receipts, the number on the card matched the ones on the slips. It was Rarity’s card, but Sweetie signed the receipts. 
Fury sniffed the boxes of Saffrons and Chinese. “Each meal is a day apart. Enough for one person. I’d say this has been going for more than two weeks.”
“Rarity left her little sister a credit card and had her fend for herself, while she’s doing what?” Luna questions scavenging around the kitchen table. A handful of glitter stuck to her hand. “What’s with all this glitter? It’s everywhere… hey, what are you doing?” Luna shutters as Fury licked her hand. 
“Diamond dust, high quality too. The same Equestrian Rarity uses in her designs. Also makes a good snack for Dragon ponies. It’s a little off though, this isn’t natural diamond dust.” 
Luna pulled her hand back, grabbing a paper towel on the table to wipe it clean. “Since I’m not a magical dragon pony that eats gems, please elaborate.”
“The diamonds were magically created like say other material. The sprinkles I licked from your hand had a bit of everything in it. Imperfections from their previous form before being transmutated into a diamond. A bit of wood, metal, some odd elements I can’t really identify, but…” Fury paused staring at her. Luna took a step back as he grabbed her hand again and pulled one of her fingers into his mouth!
“Hey! Stop that this better not be… hey, that hurts! Ouch!” She jerks her hand back she nursed the nick Fury had made on her finger with his tooth, sucking on it to seal the wound as the metallic taste of her own blood touches her tongue. That was some minus attraction points. “What the fuck was that for!”
“Blood, there’s human blood in this dust.” Fury states marching towards the stairs. Luna follows suit, the headlines of the Dust Houses playing through her mind. Rarity a known infected was most likely the culprit. Honestly, it should have been obvious when they were all chatting in the living room. Now the question was where was Rarity or better yet? Where is Sweetie Belle? Also, a little late for this one, why was Rarity destroying houses? 
Rounding the corner on the stairs, they reached the top, there were three rooms, a bathroom straight ahead and Rarity’s and Sweetie Belle’s room to the left and right. Each marked with their names in fancily decorated signs. Fury went straight for Rarity’s room first. 
Inside was clean. No clothes on the floor, everything was organized. It was unassuming really. The room even had a beautiful glitter to it. And Luna realized it was probably human remains. Fury ran his finger across the dresser and licked the diamond dust, grimacing. 
“A lot more human in this one. Probably got on her clothes when she made the kill before destroying the house. It reeks of decay in here. She used perfume to hide it.” Fury walks over to the closet and opens it. Clothes come piling out on top of him. That was a bit more expected of Rarity. He tosses the frilly racy clothes aside and climbs into the closet. After a full minute of rifling, he remerges with a locked diary and cell phone in hand. 
“Wait don’t…” And he melted the lock already, tossing her the cell phone as he views the pages. She sighs trying her hand at unlocking the phone, to her surprise found it had no lock on it. Taking a closer look, she had to admit, the phone was mannish. Plain black, rough, rugged, meant to take a bruising. Not Rarity’s usual MO. That made sense because it wasn’t her phone. She scrolled through the contacts, none of them familiar, there were numbers here from the city, out of the city, one contact was labeled Boss. By accident she hit it. 
“Prowler! Where the hell have you been! You better not have been fucking faking your death! You can’t run away from me boy! Roller Loan always get’s his money!” 
She hit the cancel button, tossing the phone on the dresser for Fury to pick up and pocket it. Her breathing was fast, Roller Loan was an ‘alleged’ loan shark and a mob boss. Why would Rarity have one of his minions’ phones? Was this Prowler a boyfriend she secretly had before being taken by the SIN?
“What’s going on?” Luna signs falling onto Rarity’s bed, more diamond dust falling off the sheets. Great, she just sat in diamond dusted dead people. 
“Serial killing apparently,” Fury said presenting her the dairy he’d been reading. “She’s been picking off the network of loan sharks in the area. She’s been doing it for a while. All the details are here, the targets profiles, their addresses, what she tortured out of them. Recently she’s just been stealing their phones and getting her ‘nerd hacker’ to unlock them and go after the next target. She’s almost up to the big boss. The last entry was yesterday before she ran into Stryker and I. I’m guessing she assumed we’d come here to look for her and fled.”
“But what about Sweetie Belle? Her sister?”
Fury presented a page titled, escape plan. Indicating Rarity would take Sweetie with her, but there was no information, it was written in gibberish, a code Rarity would only know. 
“How convenient she wrote it all down for us,” Luna said taking the book from Fury. “Rarity is a good student, but this seems stupid.”
“It’s just Rarity’s nature shining through the SINS control or Vanity as it’s gone to call itself.” She looked at Fury funny as he continues, pulling out Rarity’s design journal from the top left drawer like he knew would be there. “This Rarity and the Rarity back home share a lot in common. Both are well organized and each hides their diaries in the same place. And both have the need to write down their ideas, to help them focus.” He sets the book down with a sad smile. “Maybe it was an oversight on the SINS part, or maybe Rarity was leaving us breadcrumbs. But one thing remains the same, no matter the world.”
“And what’s that?” She asked as Fury held up the journal, the last page an angry scribble with wet stains all over. The words “SAVE MY SISTER” boldly written. 
“They’re tough and they love their little sister.” 
They exit Rarity’s room. Briefly looking Sweetie’s, finding it a mess, clothes were thrown about randomly. There was an imprint of a suitcase on the best. On the nightstand, Sweetie’s phone was propped up and hidden behind a picture of her and Rarity. Luna picks up the phone, it was still recording. She paused it, saving the video and then hit play. It was over forty minutes long. The Belle sisters haven’t been gone long. Sweetie Belle appeared on the camera adjusting it, her face worried. 
“My sister is acting weird, she deactivated my calls and text, I can’t call or get a hold of anybody. She’s been staying out late too, I’ve been eating takeout for two weeks! It was fun at first, but she won’t let me see my friends. She’s been acting crazy, she forces me into dresses and clothes with this weird look on her face. We ran into this strange guy today too. He said my sister was evil. I thought he was crazy, but Rarity has been acting even weirder since we got home-“
“Sweetie!” Rarity’s voice came over the background. Sweetie quickly hid the phone behind the picture barely a sliver of the lens could be seen, leaving the screen mostly black. “SWEETIE! Oh, there you are, start packing we’re leaving.” 
“Why? What’s going on?” Sweetie replied. 
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, we’re just going a little trip, now PACK!” Sweetie passed through the camera lens, as did Rarity, her back to the camera. She was wearing a shirt with much of the back revealed. There in the sliver of the screen, the outline of a snake could be seen crawling up her spine. “Come on hurry!”
“I’m sorry, I’m going as fast as I can!” Sweetie shouts back, her voice trembling with what could only be fear. The sound of a zipper could be heard and Rarity pulls Sweetie by the hand. Very roughly, Sweetie cries out, but Rarity only shouts and drags her out the door. 
“Shit that’s not good,” Fury cusses taking the phone from Luna. “She’s taking Sweetie as a backup.” 
“Back up?” 
“A backup host. When Rarity’s body is used up and crippled from the black magic coming off the SINS. It’ll need another host. Sweetie Belle is the next logical choice being Rarity’s sister. It’ll be easier to adjust to the body, especially if she’ been prepping Sweetie so she’ll last longer.” 
Luna blinks, despite her overwhelming worry for her student one thought came to mind. “So, she’s Dante from FMA?” Now it was Fury’s turn to blink. “Right, you probably don’t have a TV. Basically, I’m saying this SINS, Vanity, is like this character Dante who souled jumped between bodies to prolong her life… and we should probably be looking for Sweetie.” 
Fury only nods and they rush for the stairs a sudden chill run down their spines a green mist rolled around them. Embracing Luna, Fury creates a barrier of fire around them as the dark magic rolls by. The lights flicker and die, Luna’s phone buzzed, becoming heated before also dying. 
“What as that?” She asks as the green mist dissipates. “It’s like an EMT just went off.” 
“It was nothing good, I assure you. Come on, our task as not changed!” Time was of the essence as the hunt for the Belle sisters began in the blacked-out city. As Luna ran down the streets calling out Sweetie’s name, praying the young girl was safe. 



Applebloom balanced on the jungle gym looking at the VFW across the street, Great Grandpa Bailey was playing cards inside with his friends. She got bored watching the old men play and come here to the playground across the street. It was deserted and it was boring playing here by herself. Also, she was certain she was being watched by the guys smoking outside. Not in a creepy way. They would rotate but there was always someone looking her way. It made it hard to play. 
“I wish Scootaloo or Sweetie were available.” She signs looking at her phone. It had died for some reason, so she couldn’t call anyone. Stuffing it into her pocket she jumps down into the sand, kicking it around in boredom. Dejected she walks back to the VFW. Maybe she could play some cards or darts if Grandpa Bailey would give her money. 
She was nearly to the sidewalk when she heard someone running behind her. Thinking another kid or someone finally showed she turned around. Only to be tackled!
“Applebloom!” 
“Sweetie Belle? She replied pushing her friend off. Sweetie was panting hard and there were scratches on her arms and a deep imprint of a hand. “Sweetie are you ok?” 
Sweetie grabs her by the shoulder, terror clear on her face. “You have to help me!” She screamed. Before Applebloom could ask what was going on, the jungle gym she had been on before was reduced to dust and Rarity looking deranged and angry stood in the center the glittering pile of the former playground equipment. She raised a diamond covered hand and points towards them. 
“SWEETIE BELLE! YOU’VE BEEN A VERY NAUGHTY GIRL!”