//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Rash Rainbows // Story: Failure of Friendship // by snq144 //------------------------------// "So what exactly are you planning on doing, Rainbow?" Applejack asked, adjusting the stetson upon her head as she wearily eyed her rambunctious friend. "I'm gonna go kick my own ass, that's what!" she yelled in response, eyes narrowing dangerously. Twilight Sparkle gave a tired sigh. She had finally returned home, the summit with the different species of Equestria having finally ended, thankfully with everypony agreeing to whatever terms or bargaining that had been made. She didn’t understand how the Princess’ could do it. Her last correspondence with Sunset had been regarding a massive shopping spree that the Sirens had taken her on. As far as she could tell, it seemed those three had come around. It seemed… Twilight just couldn’t shake the worry out of the back of her mind. Sure, Ponies could change for the better when they see the errors of their ways, Humans, well… Twilight would have to talk to her friends from across the portal first. But the Sirens? The ancient menaces to Equestria itself? “Wouldn’t that cause one of them paradox thingees?” Applejack said, her muzzle scrunched up in thought, a look Rainbow Dash soon mirrored. Twilight was regretting even mentioning the happenings on the other side of the mirror-portal to her fellow Elements. They had all been aghast when they found out their counterparts had gone against what it meant to be Elements of Harmony. What it meant to be themselves. Rainbow had been quick to bring up Discord, saying that maybe the Human world’s equivalent had gotten loose. Twilight wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but had been quick to calm down her overeager friend. It had been Fluttershy that had brought up the point that now raced through Twilight’s mind. “This sounds just like the Gabby Gums incident…” she had whispered softly from behind her long mane. That comment had sent the Alicorn’s mind into a frenzy. This situation was so similar to Gabby Gums! Someone or ones under a psuedoname spreading secrets! But if it were the Human versions of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, what was their motive? Their reason to do this? “Twilight?” the Princess looked up from the table as her name was called, head turning to look at her flighty friend. “Would it?” “Sorry, I wasn’t listening. What are you asking about, Rainbow?” “If I went across the portal and kicked that fake me in the butt, would it create one of those paradoxes?” Twilight couldn’t help but snicker at her friends question. “No, Rainbow, that isn’t how paradoxes are caused. But I do worry what would happen if one of us ran into the other worlds version of ourselves.” she paused, tapping a hoof on her chin as she contemplated the possibilities. “But she’s not a fake you, just a different you. You have to understand, that world is quite a bit different than ours. Not only do they seem to have different values, but they are also younger than us.” “Younger? But you said I also owned Carousel Boutique?” Rarity asked, the look of confusion she wore spreading across the muzzles of Twilight’s other friends. “Yes, the other Rarity does. Again, I am unsure of how or why, as she is still a student like the rest.” Twilight shook her head, mane flitting back and forth. “As far as I can tell, for every day they have, a day and a half passes here in Equestria. At least roughly. That may be why they are a mix of seventeen and eighteen years old.” “Wait!” confetti filled the air as the shock waves from Pinkie’s party cannon threatened to deafen every other Pony present. “They’re all the same age? Even though here I’m a year younger than Fluttershy, whose the same age as Rainbow Dash, and both are a year younger than Applejack who’s a year younger than you?” “U-Ummm… Yes? Is there a reason you brought that up, Pinkie?” “Oh, just for all them!” she beamed, waving a hoof around in front of her before giving a small, knowing wink. “All of who?” Twilight looked around, utterly perplexed, before shrugging and giving a heavy sigh and shaking her head. “Nevermind.” “Rainbow Dash!” the panicked shriek from the normally reserved Fluttershy snapped Twilight to attention, following the outstretched hoof of the butter creme pegasus to the mirror-portal as the last bit of a rainbow striped tail disappeared into it. “Rainbow! You- Gah! After her, girls!” Twilight shouted as she vaulted towards the mirror-portal, diving headfirst into it. (V):.:(V) “Owww…” “Oh stop being such a little filly, Rainbow! You were the one who charged right through the portal on your own!” Twilight Sparkle groaned as shook her head. “Well I didn’t know they used razor blades for walking paths!” the rainbow haired girl snapped back, before returning to hissing violently as Vice Principal Luna applied more disinfectant to the scrape on the Equestrian’s knee. “You all were lucky that we were just leaving the offices.” the dark hued woman said, finally screwing the bottle shut and walking it back over to it’s cabinet. “I agree. The portal doesn’t seem to understand seasonal weather.” the Princess gave a small shudder. (V):..:(V) The five had landed in a cluttered mess when they’d arrived, thanks to charging through the portal one after another after Rainbow Dash, and mercifully only the headstrong pegasus had suffered any sort of minor injury; a slightly scraped knee. Twilight could only describe what she had done next as herding cats, as all her friends reacted eerily similar to herself when she first crossed the portal. Well, other than Pinkie, but she was Pinkie, so Twilight didn’t worry. Instead she focused on the various cries and shrieks of her other friends. “Where are my wing!?” yelled Rainbow as she flailed helplessly around on the ground. “Humans don’t have wings. I thought I-” “What happened to my hooves!? M-M-My hooficure!!!” Rarity shrieked, silencing Twilight as the marshmallow coloured girl wiggled her fingers in front of herself. “It’s fine, Rarity, just pleasepleaseplease calm down!” Twilight begged, bending down and resting a hand on the now sobbing Rarity. Thankfully Fluttershy remained silent, though Twilight could tell by her friends eyes that she was having the largest existential crises ever. “Twilight? What are you doing here with the Rainbooms?” a familiar voice called out with a surprised tone, causing all five Ponies turned human to look towards the front entrance of the school. “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna” came four awed cries, the girls all attempting to prostrate themselves towards the approaching women. The duo paused, looking utterly baffled at the scene unfolding in front of them; doubly so once Twilight erupted into laughter. “Princess?” Vice Principal Luna asked as her sister and herself stopped in front of the five Equestrians, the duo bundled up in thick winter coats. “Come on, you five. Why would the Princess’ be here?” Twilight giggled as her friends suddenly started to realize their mistakes. “Sorry about that, back home the two of you are a rather big deal.” “I would guess so after seeing their reactions.” Celestia nodded, a faint smirk twitching at the corners of her mouth as she looked down at the five girls shifting back to awkward poses. “I take it these are your friends from that side of the portal then?” Twilight nodded. “Yes, these are the Equestrian version of the Rainbooms.” “Is there a reason as to why the six of you have come here?” Luna asked, tittering behind her hand as she watched the Equestrians. “Yeah! I gotta kick the ass of the other me for being such a feather-brain!” Rainbow shouted, a growl coming to her face. “P-Pardon?” Celestia glanced over at Twilight, the Princess giving a heavy, exasperated sigh. “I told them about the Anon-A-Miss incident.” she said slowly, before looking down at Rainbow with a look mixed of annoyance and understanding. “Rainbow here was rather… moved by it.” “Hey! I’m Loyalty! And if some other me isn’t gonna be Loyal, I’m gonna go shake their head for them!” huff as she crossed her arms, teeth chattering as a large shiver quaked through her frame. “Would you all like to come inside?” Celestia asked, a slight frown on her face. “It is rather cold out and you six are absolutely not dressed for the weather.” “Y-Y-Y-Yes please!” Rarity managed out between clattering teeth, earning a hearty laugh from the native women. (V):...:(V) “Okay, that should do it.” Luna nodded as she pulled away from the now heavily bandaid-ed knee of Rainbow Dash, a proud smile on her face. “Um, thank you?” Rainbow looked confused, wiggling her knee around like a cat trying to remove a sock. “Did you really have to use that many band aids, Luna?” Celestia asked amidst giggling. “If We recall, you decided not to help, dear sister.” the younger woman shot back, crossing her arms as she tilted her head towards her sibling. “...” Celestia didn’t respond, her head tilting as she looked around her sister, her face a mix of emotions. “Rarity!? What are you doing!?” Twilight yelled, a blush crossing her face. “Mph! Why, whatever do you mean, darling?” the fashionista asked as she finished pulling her long sleeved shirt over her head, depositing it on the bed she knelt upon. “Y-Your taking your clothes off!” her lavender friend stammered, watching as the fashionista stared down at her chest in confusion. “Is there a reason they are up so high?” Rarity asked, fiddling away at her bra helplessly. “And so unnecessarily big?” “It’s not like I have a book on Human biology back in Equestria! Just trust me that you shouldn’t be doing that here!” “Ha! Mine are nice and small!” Rainbow beamed, thrusting her chest forward proudly, before looking over at Fluttershy who was poking errantly at her own bust. “Heh, Fluttershy’s are even bigger than yours, Rarity!” “Look! Everypony!” Twilight shouted, finally causing all of her friends to stop pawing at their chest and look at her as the two heads of CHS tried to keep from dying of laughter. “Trust me when I say it doesn’t matter what size you are, but it is incredibly important that you all keep your clothes on at all times.” “Really?” Rarity actually looked confused regarding clothes, something Twilight never thought that she’d see. “I guess it just seems odd is all. Clothes are meant for special occasions back home.” “Clothes here are for modesty, expression, and protection.” Celestia said, obviously struggling to keep her voice calm and level. “We don’t have fur coats like I guess you do in Equestria, so during cold winters like this we have to bundle up.” “Ah, yes. That makes sense. It was rather nippy outside.” Rarity said slowly, hand and each of the other four new humans nodding in acknowledgement. “Hey? What’s taking you so long?” a new voice said, the door to the infirmary opening as the hairs on the back of every Equestrian’s neck stood on edge, a dread chill washing over them as a woman with skin as black as night and long, teal locks of hair stepped into the room, pausing and starting to grin when she noticed the girl kneeling topless on the bed. “Oooh, are you starting an orgy without inviting me?” “Chrysalis!!!” came the panicked cry from all six of the Element Bearers, causing the woman to do a double take. “Um… I only know, uh… Twerlot Sporkle there- Waaahg!” the woman cried out as she was cut off by Rarity suddenly giving a war cry and launching herself at Chrysalis, leg outstretched, only to land pitifully, and loudly, on the ground. “What’s going on here!?” Celestia asked as she watched Twilight Sparkle dash in front of her, her arms held out protectively. “We’re protecting you from the Queen of the Changlings!” Twilight said firmly, her eyes narrowing as she watched the woman standing across the room from her. “Protec- That’s my wife!” Celestia said, erupting into unrestrained laughter as she rested a hand on the Princess’ shoulder as she slid her way around the girl. Needless to say, but every Equestrian present gave an overly shock cry at the announcement. “Wife!?” “For eight years.” Chrysalis chuckled as she gave Celestia a quick peck on the cheek, wrapping one hand around her partners hip and holding up the other to show off the simple golden band wrapped around it. “Now will someone explain all this to me?” “Well first, this is off the record.” Celestia said, locking eyes with Chrysalis as a firm look spread across her face. “Hey now, you know I’m good for these things.” Chrysalis purred playfully, running a long finger up the middle of the pale woman’s neck. All six Equestrians gave uneasy shudders at the scene. “Well this is rather… Substantial.” Luna added, Chrysalis giving a playful sigh before nodding. “These six are from another world.” Celestia said after a brief pause to take a breath. “Okay, I thought you quit smoking that stuff years-” “I’m serious, Chrysalis. These six are related to that Rainbow back in September. Well, more or less.” “That was just Twilight. The other five are her versions of our members of the Rainbooms band.” Luna said, nodding slowly as Chrysalis turned towards her. “After that, about two weeks or so, was when the Sirens showed up, and Sunset, Twilight, and the Rainbooms helped save us all from them.” “Okay, someone wake me up.” Chrysalis started to laugh, causing the Equestrians to take defensive poses once more, the haunting reminder of the Queen’s attempt during the Royal Wedding flashing through their minds. “Or at least show me where the camera’s are! This is getting ridiculous!” “I wish it were…” came the tired voice from the school’s Principal as she shook her head, hands resting gently on her hips. “You wanted to know what all that supposed ‘interference’ was. Well it’s related to them. Please do relax, you six. I’m not sure what sort of shenanigans that your world’s version of my wife caused, but it’s fine. You can trust her.” “...Fine.” Twilight said, her friends giving her uneasy glances before relenting as well. “Celestia is right. The six of us are from another world, one where magic flows freely; almost over abundantly compared to this world.” “Magic…” Chrysalis’ brow furrowed, a sly grin tugging at her lips. “There’s no such thing as-” “Could we show her the portal?” Twilight asked with a somewhat annoyed sigh, glancing over at the two Principals. “Prove would help convince her.” “Are you sure about that, Twilight?” Applejack asked tentatively, sharing side eye glances with the woman in question. “I’m not sure-” “Look, you said something about off the record, right?” Celestia nodded as Twilight pointed at her. “Why?” “Chrysalis here is… Her job is rather… Unique.” obviously the pale woman had struggled to find the right words to say, pausing multiple times as she chewed over her choice of statements. “She handles a lot of secrets, to put it simply.” “Well, if she stays quiet, we’ll show her the portal. That should make her understand.” Twilight said, receiving nods from the sisters and a roll of the head from Chrysalis. “Follow me. You five, stay in here. We’ll be right back.” “What!? No way, I’m coming with you!” Rainbow shouted as she leapt from the bed, only to land in a crumbled up pile on the ground. Obviously she had forgotten about her missing wings again as she pushed herself up off the ground, grumbling in response to Chrysalis giggling. “You five don’t even know how to walk properly here yet. We’ll only be a few minutes.” Twilight said as she ushered the three women out the door. (V):....:(V) “So, how come you six came over here again?” Celestia asked as everyone finished reconvening in the infirmary. “Well, like I mentioned, I said that these five heard about the Anon-A-Miss incident, and Rainbow wanted to ‘talk some sense’ into the other her.” Twilight explained simply, chuckling as she watched Chrysalis stare blankly out the window at the statue. She couldn’t see them, but the woman’s opalescent eyes were agape and vacant, her world still reeling from what she had just learned. “I see. Well unfortunately all the students are home for the holidays still. They won’t be back her for a little while.” informed the white woman, crossing her arms. “Well why are you here then?” Twilight asked, a little confused. “Anon-A-Miss, sadly. It has caused us quite a few issues, between Gilda being sent to the hospital-” “Wait, what about Gilda!?” Rainbow said from shaking knees as she tried to get used to walking in a bipedal body. “She attacked Sunset, and Sunset defended herself… A little too well.” Luna mumbled darkly. “Wow… Everyone in this world just sucks!” Rainbow shook her head as she crossed her arms. “Uh, no offence.” Everyone gave a knowing chuckle in response to the girl’s comment, before Twilight started speaking again. “Well we might have some information for you regarding Anon-A-Miss!” “Oh? Do, pray tell.” Luna said, motioning. “Well, we’ve had our own experience with Anon-A-Miss. Or rather, a situation extremely similar to it. You see, back in Ponyville-” soft giggling could be heard from Chrysalis in the corner at the first mention of the girls’ hometown. “-we had three little schoolfilly’s use the school newspaper to spread secrets about various people in town. They also used a psuedoname; Gabby Gums.” “You don’t think that maybe the same individuals are behind here do you?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t know, but it would be worth investigating. I actually saw them as students here during my, uh… visits.” Twilight gave an uneasy chuckle, scratching at the back of her head. “Oh…?” Celestia and Luna each responded, sounding apprehensive, their body language closing. “Who?” “Well I’m not sure if they call themselves this here, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders; or rather, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.” the two principals seemed to deflate at the names were said, sighing. Celestia ran a hand through her hair as she looked back up at the lavender skinned girl. “That’s what we discovered tonight…” she said slowly. “We had Chrysalis do some digging for us, and that’s who we narrowed it down to. We were really hoping we were wrong…” “You might still be!” Twilight started to say, only to be cut off by Chrysalis as she finally broke away from the window. “No, I’m certain. Like, ninety-nine point nine nine repeating percent certain that it was them.” Chrysalis said, smugly crossing her arms. “I’ve tracked them all over town, making and queuing posts. Even here in this school!” “And this has ended up alot worse than Gabby Gums.” Twilight mused, tapping at her chin. “What sort of punishments could they be looking at?” “Well, that’s one of the issues. They committed no direct crime. Cyberbullying is hardly even being talked about yet.” Luna explained, looking over at her sister. “But the self defense act of Sunset could be linked to them, due to Gilda believing Sunset to be Anon-A-Miss.” “But like you said, it was self defense.” Twilight said, watching as Rainbow looked away in disgust. “Gilda was sent to the hospital after Sunset knocked her unconscious and broke not only her nose, but fractured her cheekbones. She was barely breathing when the EMS arrived…” Rainbow could be heard taking in repeated, sharp breathes as Gilda’s situation was explained. “She just woke up finally a couple days ago.” “Oh, Sunset… I should have been here for you…” Twilight said, her eyes tearing up as a nagging thought built in the back of her mind. “Is she gonna face anything?” “Gilda’s parent’s have been trying everything, but the footage shows Gilda swinging first. They’ve gone all the way down to excessive force, but someone had nearly blinded Sunset earlier that day, so they’ve been talked out of it.” “Good…” the Princess muttered, nodding slowly. “Hey, maybe we should take them with us?” Chrysalis piped up, drawing everyone’s attention. “They would probably like to see their friend.” “How? The car only seats four?” Luna asked, shaking her head. “You’re going to see Sunset?” Twilight asked, smile beaming brightly as she looked hopefully at Celestia. “Only because we needed to let her know the situation, but I’m not sure if you know, but, she’s staying with the Sirens, currently.” perturbed was the easiest way to describe Celestia’s appearance as she looked down at the girl who’s smile threatened to blind her. “She has… But she says nothing but good things about them, so I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt!” Twilight paused, looking out of the corner of her eye. “Even if she did lie about the Rainbooms and how they treated her…” “Well, I guess? But an entire bus, Chrysalis? They live in a very expensive neighbourhood! I’m not sure I trust you to-” “Too late! You bored me, and I wanna see more of these magical horses!” Chrysalis yelled as she ran out of the room, laughing giddily. “...I regret letting you show her that…” Celestia said, eyes glued on the door as it shut behind her wife. (V):.....:(V) “Wait! Stop! There in the cafe!” Twilight shouted, pointing at the five girls slowly entering Sugercube Corner. “Um, we’re aren’t moving.” Chrysalis said bluntly, pointing at the streetlight glowing above them. “We’re at a red light.” “Good! We need to talk to them!” Rainbow yelled as she bolted to her feet. She had been the first to get used to walking on two legs, proving it as she bolted to the front of the bus. “Wait, you can’t-” Celestia said as she tried to stop the stampede of otherworldly girls. “I’ll just pull over then.” Chrysalis said, maneuvering the bus into a parking spot and opening the door, letting the six girls out. They bolted across the thankfully empty streets, rushing to the door, almost tearing it from its hinges as they opened it and flooded in. “What… the…?” Rainbow Dash asked as she watched herself enter Sugarcube Corner. “That should be my line, idiot!” she yelled back at herself, her fist flying and connecting with her own jaw, sending her stumbling. “What in tarnation!?” Applejack shouted as she caught her friend, a commotion arising from the two groups as they each rushed to pull their own Rainbow Dash back. Thankfully the cafe was empty, but that didn’t stop the proprietors from rushing out in a panic. “What is going… on…?” Mrs. Cake’s yelling died down as she saw the two groups of Rainbooms, her eyes locking on the second Pinkie, before she gave an exhausted sigh and collapsed to the floor, her husband following shortly after. “Rainbow, stop!” Twilight yelled, bringing everyone’s attention to her. “Princess!? What are you doing here!?” the human Rainbow asked, struggling to break free from Applejack. “And who just hit me!?” “I’m you, you featherbrained idiot!” pony Rainbow shouted back, also struggling to get away from her own Applejack. “Or rather, I’m the you who wouldn’t betray a friend!!!” That comment shut up the native Rainbow Dash, stopping her struggles, as well as the other four members of the Rainbooms. Princess Twilight had heard about them, and what they had did… And now her version of them had come over with her. “Um, the Wedding, Dash?” Twilight sounded just like a mother who had caught her child lying to her, and equally looked the part as she crossed her arms. “Hey! Did you have to defend yourself- oh, right. Chrysalis.” Rainbow’s cheeks grew a sheepish blush as she realized what she had just started to say, only to vanish when she turned on her now sulking human self. “But it was nothing compared to what she did!” “Look, we get it. We fucked up royally, okay? What else do you want us to say?” the human Rainbow yelled back in frustration, her fists clenched. “That you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.” Applejack said, looking at her other self in disapproval. “You’re supposed to be Honesty, but did you even listen to her?” The other Applejack remained mute, her eyes screwed shut. “Didn’t Granny Smith teach you not to lie?” “We did listen to her!” came the heated response of the human Applejack, nobody paying attention to the two Pinkie’s as they rushed over to check on the condition of the Cakes, before flipping the store’s sign to closed and resuming their positions. “We just didn’t believe her…” “And why not?” the sulks of shame that the Rainbooms wore fell even closer to the floor as Twilight spoke up. “Hadn’t she proven that she had changed? Not only did she save you all from the Sirens; who she’s now staying with! Do you know how worried I am about that!? Who knows what they could do with her! She may say everything is fine there, but she lied to me about you five after the Battle of the Bands, telling me how good you had been treating her! I trusted you five!” “We know…” Fluttershy said, looking up only to give a panicked shriek at the look the other her was giving, her eyes shooting back to look at the ground as she started to shuffle behind her friends. “...Did you ever really forgive her?” the disappointment in Twilight’s voice was second only to its sorrow, the five Rainbooms struggling to not let their tears show. They had been struggling over Sunset’s reaction ever since the day she told them she was done with them. They weren’t sure what they were gonna do. “I guess not…” “We’ve tried to apologize to her…” human Pinkie said, kicking her boots against the floor. “But she doesn't want to see us anymore…” “Can you really blame her? We’re supposed to bring Laughter, not tears!” Equestrian Pinkie Pie admonished, her arms flying towards the roof. “Please help us, da… Pri…” Rarity gave a small sob as she wiped away at her face, makeup running down her cheeks. “Please help us, Twilight… We don’t know what to do…” “...What do you want to do, is the question?” Twilight said with a heavy sigh, crossing her arms. “Woah now, Twilight.” Applejack moved to stand in front of her friend. “I’m sorry, but I agree with RD. These five did something right awful to Sunset, something so awful that it caused Rainbow to just fly headfirst into the portal! I’m not sure we should help them out of their mess.” Twilight was amazed at just how adamant the farm girl was rejecting the Rainbooms, her human self included. Rainbow would of course object, she was loyal to a fault, but Applejack was usually a strong voice of reason in the group, a point of grounding. “They were the ones who messed up here, and it makes me right sick to think that more or less my own kin did something like this.” “We just want to get our friend back.” Rainbow said, finally looking up at the group of doppelgangers. “She probably never was your friend!” the other her yelled back. “Friends don’t abandon their friends! They stay Loyal!” “Okay, so you five want to try and show Sunset that you’re still her friends, but I do have to agree with my friends here.” Twilight looked away for a moment, wiping away the tear that had started to run down her cheek as the Rainbooms gave uneasy looks. “You five seem like fair weather friends. Nice to Sunset when it makes you look good, and instantly dropping her when things turn bad. I get it, Sunset did a lot of bad, more than I could understand since I wasn’t here for it. But she’s changed, she tried her hardest to show me, and to show you and the rest of the school…” Silence washed over the room as Twilight Sparkle paused her talking, studying each of the girls standing across from her intently. “I don’t have any advice to give for this. But my friends here might, seeing as they didn’t believe in me once. Maybe they can help you?” (V):......:(V) “Will… Will you come back?” Rainbow Dash asked as the Equestrians started to file out of the shop. Everyone had spent the last twenty minutes talking with their parallel selves, and while the Elements had been unsure of their human selves, they eventually let up, doing their best to help. “Probably. But for now we have to go. I need to go talk to Sunset.” Twilight gave a sad smile as she paused at the door, nodding over towards the now awake Cake’s. “Sorry about the commotion.” The Rainbooms watched as Twilight hurried to catch up with her friends, the five standing around outside, before crossing the street and getting into the big bus that sat parked there. “She said she was going to talk to Sunset…” Rainbow Dash said, rapidly turning on her friends. “We have to follow her!” “What!? Are you daft, Rainbow!?” Applejack shouted, looking at the athlete like she had grown wings again. “We have to do this, AJ! When else will we ever get this chance again!? Fluttershy! Gimmie the keys to your van!” the pixie sized girl shouted as the bus’ lights turned on and it slowly started to move. (V):.......:(V) “Wow… I don’t think I’ve seen a house this big even in Canterlot…” Twilight said as her and the three women stood in awe of the sheer size of the building in front of them. When Celestia said that the Sirens lived in the rich part of town, Twilight didn’t expect this. “I’ll say…” the woman said, a slight hint of envy in her tone. “We should be quick, it is getting close to supper time.” Each of them nodded, with Celestia reaching out slowly and grabbing the knocker hanging out of the mouth of the lion resting on the door, banging it against the small plate beneath it. A familiar voice could be heard from the other side of the massive barrier, though it was muffled and the words could not be deciphered. A few moments later it started to swing open. “Hello? What do you…” Sunset paused as she was first Celestia, then Luna, before her eyes went wide, the girl jumping back and crying out as a finger flew in Chrysalis’ direction. “Queen Chrysalis!” “Oh, hey, someone else getting me mixed up with a villain.” she said between chuckles as Twilight broke through to stand between the two of them. “Relax, Sunset, that’s this world’s Chrysalis.” she explained, her amber friend noticeably calming down. “Uh, hi. It’s been awhile.” “I’ll say! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming!?” Sunset shouted as she stepped out of the house in her socks, ignoring the cold as she wrapped her shorter friend in a massive embrace, hoisting her from the ground. “This was… Rather… Unplanned…!” the Princess wheezed as her midsection was crushed, the three women devolving into chuckles at the site. “T-Tight!” “O-Oops! Sorry, Twilight.” Sunset gave a sheepish blush as she let her friend down, the sound of a vehicle roaring to a stop filling the air. “So, uh, to what do I owe the pleasure?” “Well, you see-” “Sunset!” All five of them froze as a voice filled the air, a girl bundled up like Sunset had never seen her coming barrelling around the corner of the house, her hand waving at the girl in an effort to get her attention. “Oh no…” Twilight whispered under her voice, glancing over at Sunset and watching as any trace of positive emotion evaporated faster than a tray of cupcakes in front of Pinkie Pie as Rainbow made herself known. “What is she doing here!?” Sunset shouted, pointing angrily at the athlete as she paused at the corner and waved an arm, the other four members of the Rainbooms appearing moments later. “All of them!? Why are they here, Twilight!?” “We’re her to apologize to you, Sunset!” Rainbow said, approaching the steps that Twilight now occupied, her arms stretched out. “I thought I told you traitors that we’re finished!” she spat back venomously, a bestial snarl on her lips as fire filled her eyes. “I don’t want to see any of you ever again!” “Look, we messed up, we know that. But the Princess and her friends helped us understand-” Applejack started, her hands held up, palms facing Sunset as she turned on Twilight, the girl shrinking as sensed the situation turning from terrible, to apocalyptic. “You, what!?” this time Sunset’s fury was turned on Twilight, the girl panicking as she turned to face her friend. “Look, we just ran into them on our way here, and I tried to help them-” “You tried to help them!? Whose side are you on, Twilight!?” Sunset demanded, shoving away the reaching hand of Celestia. “And you!! I’m not a student of your fucking school anymore, remember!? Why the fuck are you here!?” “Sunset, please, you need to calm down. This is just a big misunderstanding.” Celestia tried to reason with the furious Equestrian, a fury the likes she hadn’t seen from the teen since the night of the Fall Formal bearing down on her. “I’ll say! Not only is my only supposed friend helping the people that ruined my entire fucking life, but they showed them where I live!?” Sunset shouted at the entire gathering as she stepped back inside the door. “I thought Adagio said not to share this with the fucking Rainbooms!?” “We followed them!” Rainbow said, rushing to stand near face to face with the gnashing maw of the outraged Sunset. “Please, just let us-” “No! All of you get out of here before I call the fucking cops on you! I’m done with all of you!” she shrieked as she slammed the door, a heavy thud filling the air as a deadbolt was set. “You- You-” Twilight Sparkle was at a loss for words! What were the Rainbooms thinking!? “Are you all idiots!? What are you doing here!? Why did you follow us!?” “Rainbow said to follow you…” Fluttershy said in meek terror, her face mostly hidden behind her long bang. Twilight turned on the athlete who stood there in silence, a look of utter defeat on her face. “I just… We just wanted to say that we were sorry…” she mumbled, unable to look at Twilight in the eyes. “Well now you may have ruined everything!” Twilight shouted furiously, actually angry! She never got angry at her friends! “Now she thinks that I’m on your side!” “Look, we all have to go, just in case she actually does call the police.” Chrysalis warned, starting to push everyone away from the door. “There’s a station close, and it wouldn’t take them long to arrive, and I can’t protect all of you.” “But- Gah! Fine! You five! You are forbidden from going anywhere near Sunset until further notice! If you see her, walk the other way, okay!” Twilight shouted at the Rainbooms, all of them nodding numbly. “I’m gonna go back to Equestria and try to calm her down and explain things… Let’s just hope that you didn’t ruin things too much…”