//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Commencement // Story: Sunset the Shadowbolt // by snq144 //------------------------------// “Didn’t I tell you to stop being so slow the other day?” came the familiar rumbling as Sunset found herself pushed to the side once again, the mountain of a boy shoving past her in the halls leaving Sunset to scowl fiercely at the teenager. Adagio’s words had resonated with Sunset the previous night; she realized that once again she was trying to play friendly with people who’d rather treat her like crap. “And what did I tell you about trying to shove me aside, shorty?” she snapped back as she stood up to her full height, looking down slightly at the boy who turned around slowly to look at her. “What did you-” he started to ask, his eyes narrowing before Sunset cut him off. “I mean, look at you. Trying to act all big and tall! It’s adorable that you think you’re the big person on campus!” a smug look passed over Sunset’s face as she watched the boys cheeks start to show a reddish tinge. “Probably don’t even break six foot.” “You’re lucky I don’t hit girls, bitch!” he spat, taking a step forward only to have Sunset erupt into laughter. “Sure ya don’t, pal. And neither do I; which is why I haven’t put you in the dirt yet.” a dark satisfaction built in the back of the amber girl’s mind as she observed the growing outrage of the football player. “You better shut up before I knock you into next week!” a small crowd had started to form. Humans always seemed drawn to conflict. “Tell ya what, I’ll even give ya the first blow.” Sunset smiled as she dropped her binder, leaning forward and turning her cheek towards the boy as she goaded him. “Come on, right here. But you better make it count, cause I doubt you’ll last one punch from me.” The student gave an outraged cry as he dropped his books and swung his hand in a wide arc towards Sunset’s smiling face, the girl suddenly dropping under his swing only to pop up on the other side of his arm. “What was that lame swing? I’ve seen sloth’s move faster!” she jeered as the boy stepped back and swung again, and again, and again, each time Sunset dancing to and fro around his strikes, laughing merrily. “Come on, slowpoke, is that all you got?” Sunset’s smile was wide, a look of pure joy on her face as the students in the circle started to laugh with her, further infuriating the boy who looked around and glared at all of them. “You’re dead!” he cried before getting low and bull charging her as if they were on the football field. Exactly as Sunset wanted. Her smile turned dark as she, like those weeks before with Gilda, stepped aside, leaving her foot ever so slightly stretched out, however she made sure not to grab hold of the boy as she let him carry his momentum forward, tripping over her foot and crashing face first into the row of lockers that had been behind Sunset as her hands shot up into the air. The crash radiated through the air, echoing down the halls as the boy crumpled down onto the floor. “What’s going on out here?” Mr. Facade barked loudly as he stormed out from his room, the crowd rapidly dispersing. “Sunstr- set. What happened here?” “He charged me, Mr. Facade.” Sunset said slowly as she reached down and picked up her binder. Thankfully almost all of the gathered students had left by now. “Well, first he shoved me to the side again.” “I see. You head to your next class. I will get him to the infirmary and let Starlight and Dean Cadence know of this incident. “Okay.” Sunset nodded and started walking to her next class, barely restraining a malicious smile from appearing on her face as she started walking towards her next class, and the inevitable confrontation with Starlight. Oh, and Mr. Legacy, but he was small fries. “Second time this week, Sunset.” the man said as Sunset slipped into the class, the bell having rung less than a minute ago. “My apologies, Mr. Legacy. Mr. Facade will vouch for me. That same student gave me troubles, but it’s fine.” she replied with a warm smile, bowing slightly before starting towards her desk, slowing down slightly beside the smirking Starlight, dropping her voice to a whisper. “He’s in the infirmary now, after all.” The lavender girl’s face fell as Sunset winked at her, making a steady pace back to her desk as her smile widened further, earning a queer look from her doppelganger. “What’s with that smile?” Sunstrike asked, a faint hint of worry playing across her voice as she reared back slightly. “Oh, nothing. Just appreciating a good turnabout.” (\/):.:(\/) “I understand you had an incident between classes this morning.” Dean Cadence said as she sat behind her desk, Starlight Glimmer standing behind her as they both looked at the amber girl who stood in front of the desk. Her voice was stern, but non accusatory as she addressed Sunset. “Yes, a boy who harassed me earlier on in the week came after me again.” Sunset nodded. She had been called in during the lunch break by Cadence to talk with her and Starlight about her earlier run in with Starlight’s underling. “He attempted to shove me against the lockers again.” “Yet I have testimonies from students that you flung him face first into the lockers after taunting him relentlessly.” Starlight said in a barely restrained calmness. Sunset’s trained eyes could see the joy bubbling under her facade at the thought of finally having caught Sunset. “Well I won’t deny that I voiced my annoyances with him, perhaps more than was necessary, maybe even taunted him just a little...” Sunset paused as she gave a sheepish chuckle, scratching the back of her head. “However, I can guarantee that my hands never touched him, not even after he swung first.” “I see.” Cadence nodded, closing her eyes as she pondered, clasping her hands on her desk. “Regardless, he was taken to the infirmary with a broken nose, and unfortunately there are more votes against you than for.” “Well I might be wrong, but I saw a security camera hanging off the ceiling right above us; one of the new Sizo HDSC Four-K’s. It would have caught the whole, right? Maybe you could check the recordings?” Starlight’s face twitched for a fraction of a second at Sunset’s suggestion, her arms reaching behind her back as Dean Cadence started to type away at her computer. “Let’s see- Ah, this darn thing is acting up again!” she frowned as she looked at the monitor. Sunset watched as Starlight leaned forward, looking as if she intended to help the woman, when something flashed off of one of the pictures sitting on the shelves behind the Dean’s desk. It was a screen of some sort, with a big red button on it. “Sorry Sunset. I’ll go through the footage later and get back to you. You two go on and head back to lunch.” “Does her system have a habit of… “acting up” when you’re about to lose?” Sunset asked quietly as the pair walked out of the woman’s office. Starlight furrowed her brow as she scowled slightly before responding. “You won’t be so lucky next time.” the girl whispered before storming off towards the cafeteria, leaving Sunset to giggle alone in the hall, following shortly after. It was rather basic maneuvers by Starlight so far, obviously the girl never had a struggle with taking over the school, nor with keeping her hold of it. Time for Sunset to start pushing some more boundaries. (\/):..:(\/) Sunset sighed happily as she sank into the booth the four Equestrians gathered in at the Storm Kings. Two days had passed since the lunch meeting with Cadence and Starlight, and Sunset had been cleared of all charges. Tonight had been another night of singing and teasing the crowd, and now it was time to relax and get boozed up. “I’m proud of ya, Sunset!” Aria cheered, playfully jabbing the taller girl’s arm. “I guarantee our sources will have all sorts of goodies for you by the end of next week!” “Well I plan to do as much digging over the weekend as I can myself.” Sunset said as she set down her whisky. “Gotta learn as much as I can as fast as I can. Thankfully I got my Social report done last night.” “Oh? What did ya do?” Sonata asked, smiling and hanging off her side as usual. “A report on communism.” Sunset smirked as she snickered softly. “Directed entirely at Starlight.” “Oh! Send me a copy; send me a copy!” the blue Siren said excitedly, bouncing up in down in her seat, chest bouncing in her loose yet tight top. “U-Um… Sure? Why?” Sunset asked in confusion at the energy coming from her friend. “Well you know how everyone has a favourite food?” Aria said as Sonata giggled in an adorable manner. “Same for us.” “Huh?” “Negative emotions come in various flavours, so to speak.” Adagio said with a small wave of her hand. “Sonata must be commended on her taste in the more… subtle types of negativity, while Aria just loves violence; a little basic, but I don’t judge.” “Oi! Who was the one that wanted to see how far the Great War could be pushed?” Aria said, jabbing an accusatory finger at Adagio. “And who was the one who started them?” Adagio said slowly, tilting her head as she glanced over at Sonata. “...Wasn’t my fault…” she grumbled as she pouted, her arms crossed as she sunk into her the seat beside Sunset. “Well what do you enjoy then, Adagio?” Sunset asked as she wrapped an arm around Sonata. “Really, Shimmer? She’s the Queen Bitch of the Multiverse! Of course she gets off on people fighting for her affection!” Aria shouted aloud, causing Adagio to let out a tired sigh as multiple sets of eyes turned towards the quartet. (\/):...:(\/) The sound of slow, steady clicking echoed in Sunset’s room as the sun started to once again set. Her Saturday had been spent almost entirely in her room, doing exactly as she had told the Sirens. She had paused when she opened up MyStable, looking up at the small boxes labelled “Log In” and “Sign Up”. She didn’t want to log in to her old account, but did she want to make a new one? What use would there be? Sadly MyStable made it hard for people without accounts to peruse too much of a person's account, usually just the most recent posts and pictures; so with a tired sigh she moused over to the “Sign Up” button and clicked on it. Five minutes later, a new account titled “The Fourth Siren”, was registered. Sunset chuckled, certain that the Sirens wouldn’t mind her little homage as she started to dig into the accounts of the CPA student body. Gods above were they haughty! She was amazed at just how much shit talking they did on their posts over the years. She laughed as she watched friendships fall apart after mere days, and the secret spreading after that. The school had come off to Sunset as a shark tank already, now seeing what the students were like, she was almost glad that she was only having run ins with Starlight and her goons. As her room darkened, she finally paused to look down at the time displayed in the lower corner of her laptop’s screen. She chuckled as she read it, not realizing that evening had already come to pass; nor that she had eaten yet today. It was time to remedy that as she pushed herself away from her desk and over to her closet to grab some clothes to put on. “Well, fancy that.” Sunset paused as she opened her door, only to run into Starlight as she was just about to knock. “Just the person I’m supposed to talk with.” “What do you want, Starlight?” Sunset said with a quiet voice, eyes narrowing as she studied the bored looking girl. The lavender skinned girl rolled her eyes before responding loudly. “I’m here to inform you that achieved the top ranking in the weekly Crystal Chalice.” “Crystal Chalice? What is that?” Sunset shifted her stance so that she was leaning against the wall, crossing her arms. “Obviously that is now for you to find out. Now excuse me, I need to head to a prior arrangement.” the prefect shook her head as she walked off. “Well I guess I gotta find out what that is now…” she grumbled as she shut her door and headed towards the kitchen. “Hey, uh… Sunset?” the amber girl paused as she finished pulling out a glass from one of the cabinets, turning around to see five girls looking at her, with Indigo Zap being the speaker for the group. “Look, we just wanted to apologize for how we’ve treated you so far. We were wondering if you wanted to come to supper with us?” “...Huh?” Sunset stood looking at them in confusion. All of them were well dressed, so obviously they had somewhere specific in mind. But why were they asking her if she wanted to come along? She seriously doubted that this was just to apologize for their actions thus far. “We would also like to talk to you about some subjects that would be better discussed in a more…” Sunny Flare started, pausing as she chewed over her words before finishing her statement. “...private setting.” “Can you at least give me a hint?” Sunset’s brow peaked as she leaned back against the counter. So far there weren’t any signs that this had any malicious intent, but she wasn’t ready to make a decision without learning at least something. Starlight. Sour Sweet mouthed as she rolled her around before verbally addressing Sunset. “Look, just go get dressed, okay? We’re hungry.” Sunset gave an audible sigh as she looked down at her glass and studied it for a moment, before pushing off the counter and walking over to the fridge, opening it and pulling out a large jug of water and pouring herself a cup, bringing it up to her lips before slowly drinking it. Starlight huh? She had to admit, that was a tempting subject. None of these five seemed like they liked Starlight, and vice versa. Maybe this would be a worthwhile meeting. “Alright. Let me go shower and change. I’ll be maybe fifteen minutes.” she relented, before walking back towards her room, the other five girls nodding as they meandered over to the couches. True to her word, Sunset marched down the stairs not even thirteen minutes later, fully showered and dressed in the outfit she wore whenever her and the Siren’s went to the Storm King’s. “Alright, where are we going?” “There’s this killer bar in the college district apparently.” Lemon Zest said as she removed her headphones from her ears, the music blaring loud enough that Sunset heard it all the way across the room. “Storm King’s Cellar, I think?” “Oh, I know that place.” Sunset chuckled; what were the odds? “I’ve been there a few times already. Anyways, are you five even allowed to go there? I’m not sure what the academy’s rules are, and besides, are you even old enough?” “Yes, we are all old enough, and no, we don’t care about the rules. Seems like you don’t either.” Sugarcoat said bluntly, her eyes narrow as she crossed her arms across her chest. “Now who’s going in whose car?” “Probably just do our usual split, and I’ll take Sunset.” Indigo said, turning to look at Lemon, who nodded before slipping her headphones back on. “Oh wonderful. I so do love riding with Lemon.” Sour Sweet swayed back and forth, an obviously fake smile on her face that vanished just as quickly as her forced happy tone, both replaced with annoyance. “It’s not like she blasts her music so loud you can hear it across town.” Sunset followed quietly behind the five girls as they shared small talk. They weren’t including her, per se, but they made sure not to ignore her. She didn’t care; this was just an opportunity to find out more about Starlight potentially, as well as some light digging into these five. The group rode the elevators down to the main floor, before scurrying out of the front door and towards the nearby parking garage, followed by scurrying up to the third floor. “Tadah! My pride and joy!” Indigo puffed out her chest as she showed off her car to Sunset, a sporty, muscle car looking vehicle painted in the colours of her hair. “Come on, get in the back! I need a burger, stat!” (\/):....:(\/) “So, uh… What sort of things do you like, Sunset?” Indigo Zap broke the awkward silence that fell over the group as they stood just outside the door to the bar. The amber girl raised an eyebrow as she looked at Indigo with a slight smirk. “What? I’m just trying to be friendly.” “A little late for that course of action, don’t you think?” Sunset responded as the group between them and the door into the bar vanished behind the door. The line wasn’t too long, thankfully, but it was starting to get a bit nippy out. “We are being serious that we wanted to apologize for our previous actions, Sunset.” Sunny Flare was the next to speak up, her regal tone calm and assuring. “We were wrong to just treat you like another Sunstrike.” “You know, no one's ever told me what’s up with that girl; why she has this reputation about her.” the Equestrian paused as she grabbed the door, holding it open as she watched the other five make their way through. “Why don’t we start with that?” “Well, I mean she’s the adopted daughter of Bitch Cinch for one.” Indigo and the rest of the longer tenured Shadowbolt’s chuckled at her supposed wisecrack. “So that was already going against her, not to mention how she tried to take over the student body during first year, acting like she was invincible because of her mother being the head of the school.” Head of a place of learning taking in someone… Doesn’t that sound familiar. Sunset nodded, pretending to mull over her thoughts before responding. “Well obviously she got caught, right?” “Yeah, but rumour has it that she has something on Cinch, cause the pair never act like they even know each other ever since the assembly where Cinch called Sunstrike out for her actions.” Lemon Zest looked back over her shoulder as she handed her Driver’s license over to the ever dapper Reginald. “Of course, it was Starlight that brought it to light in the first place.” A short bark of unamused laughter escaped Sunset’s lips as she shook her head. “Why am I not surprised. I bet that made her look good.” “Cinch made her Prefect, and ever since she’s been preaching equality and shit while doing everything she can to make sure it only benefits her- Wha, hey! Why isn’t she getting carded!?” Sour Sweet watched as Reginald gave a small bow to Sunset before letting her pass untouched, the two taller people both raising a brow each in confusion. “I’ve been here before, like I said, and Reginald knows me.” Sunset looked back over her shoulder, smiling at the man while nodding and giving a quick wink. “Love me some Regi. Anyways, that does sound exactly like what I’ve seen of Starlight so far, but if Sunstrike indeed did have something on Cinch, wouldn’t she have used it by now? I mean, surely she does something other than sulk everywhere like a dejected child, right?” “She used to be a lot more outgoing, so to speak, but she never made any real friends, just cronies and yes-men.” Indigo said as the group filed into the only open booth that could hold their large party. Sunset felt déjà vu as she gave a small chuckle, watching Sugarcoat as the girl still remained silent. “I don’t have anything to add.” she muttered, pushing her glasses up her nose as she stared blankly at Sunset. “Well why did you five want to talk to me about Starlight then?” Sunset asked, only to turn towards the obviously frazzled waitress approaching their table. “Is Burgundy on tonight? Good, tell him Sunset Shimmer will have her usual.” “Your usual?” Indigo Zap’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she studied Sunset. “Yeah, they have a good whiskey here.” “You know school regulations-” Sour Sweet started to speak, only for Sunset to hold up a hand, palm out. “Trust me, I’ve been drinking probably longer than… Look, no alcohol from any of you, alright? I bet Starlight will be waiting for us when we get back.” Sunset shook her head as she watched the other girls, narrowing her eyes as she dared them to order alcoholic beverages. “I can only take care of myself, after all. Now, Starlight.” Indigo Zap was the one who decided to speak up first, Sunset all but certain that she was the leader of their little group. “Well we heard that you won the Crystal Chalice-” “For fucks sake…” a loud clap radiated through the air as Sunset’s palms met her face, grumbling heavily before she looked back up at the other girls. “Seriously? You all suck at this, you know? Is that- Celestia above I need my drink.” “I agree to that…” Sour Sweet rolled her eyes, shaking her head before looking to the still grumbling Equestrian, her tone turning to that fake, sickly sweet tone she seemed to switch between. “What my bumbling cohort meant to say, is that we would like to have you on our anti Starlight Glimmer team. Not everyone who wins the Crystal Chalice is in Starlight’s bad books.” “And? What makes you think I want to join your tiny group?” Sunset raised a brow as she looked over the group. “From what I’ve observed so far, it’s just you five that seem to talk against her, and even then, need I remind you of the other morning when she convinced you all that I was the reason she was doing dorm checks?” Silence was the response, shared looks of sheepishness spilling from one girl to the next as Sunset silently watched them. If they indeed did want to stand up against Starlight, why wait till now? It seemed more like they wanted to cozy up to her, probably to try and leech off of her, which she wouldn’t stand for. “Look, I agree that Starlight should get taken down more pegs than in a ladder shop, but you really aren’t inspiring me to join you five. Obviously you either haven’t tried in all your years here at the school, or you just want to try and use me.” “Well considering how friendly you were generally being when you first arrived compared to lately, I think it’s fair to see what sort of school we are in.” Sugarcoat said simply, narrowed eyes unblinking as she looked back at Sunset. “It’s a self serving shark tank at the best of times, with only the elite of the elite having any true power.” “Which again, you five don’t seem to be. So why should I risk my necks for you?” “Consider it a business proposal.” Sunny Flare sounded almost professional as she addressed Sunset, visibly shifting around as she crossed her legs under the table. “Surely there is something to be gained for all of us in taking down Starlight Glimmer.” “If you five really wanted to rule the school, six months before you graduate wasn’t the time to grow a pair.” the amber girl chuckled as she brushed some stray strands of hair behind her ear. “And as for me, while I would indeed enjoy showing Starlight her place in the world, I’m rather done with the drama of the… upper class. And it’s not like the five of you have anything to offer me here. As I said before, I’m not doing friends- and I easily have more money than this entire province.” “But what about being known as the girl who took down Starlight Glimmer?” Lemon Zest asked, popping her earphones off as the waitress brought everyone their drinks. “Surely giving everyone something good to know you for would be nice, right?” “If I wanted that I’d just take my top off in class.” a playful smirk flashed across Sunset’s lips before she took a quick pull of her whiskey. “Like I said, you five don’t have any bargaining chips.” “If you think you can take down Starlight alone, maybe you should try talking to Sunstrike then.” Lemon Zest chortled knowingly, showing a smirk of her own as she looked down her nose at Sunset. “You two look the same, so maybe you two can fail the same.” Sunset sat back and smiled at the athlete, taking a lax pose and crossing her legs under the table. “Oh, I’ve already knocked her down a couple pegs. It’s not you or the school I’m trying to prove anything to. It’s Starlight and her pride, and that’s what I’ve wounded already.” “Well maybe we can just be friends then?” Lemon Zest asked, obviously ignoring all of Sunset’s previous comments on the idea. “‘Cause you just seem like a cool person under that cold exterior you’re showing us.” “Please just stop. You’re going to ruin my drink.” Sunset’s expression soured at the girl’s inquiry, really not wanting to lose out on her one good thing about this trip. She took another sip as she heard the door to the building slam shut, a gaggling chorus of giggling filling the air and threatening to do just what Sunset didn’t want. “Hey! No losers allowed here, Pixy!” Indigo Zap suddenly shouted, standing up from her seat and looking towards the doorway, the heads of the other Shadowbolts doing similar as Sunset swore under her breath. “Hey, it’s not like you own this place, Blue Bush!” came an equally snark shout as Sunset readied herself to put on a deceitful performance, looking over in time towards the slowly approaching Rainbooms, Rainbow Dash still running her mouth. “Besides, doesn’t your school prohibit you going to places like this and enjoying a real drink?” “Um, excuse me, but could someone please tell me what is going on here?” Sunset asked somewhat loudly, looking between the two groups with mock perplexion. “S-Sunset!?” the Wondercolt’s all stuttered uneasily, looking at her with a mixture of shock, fear, and awe. “U-Um… Y-Yes? Do I, er, know you five?” Sunset would find someway to get an award for this show someday, cause she sure as hell was going to need it. “I swear, this is just like that blue skinned girl at the mall coming after me and Twilight…” “Oh, it’s the other Sunset.” Rainbow muttered perhaps a little too loudly as the group seemed to visibly relax. “I guess Trixie was right about something finally.” The two groups seemed ready to square off again if it wasn’t for Sunset continuing her superfluous investigation. “I’m pretty sure I’m the only me. I mean, I have a doppelganger at Crystal Prep, but she’s apparently lived in town for a while.” “Need some glasses, Crash?” Zap sniggered as she smirked smugly at the shortest girl around. “This is our new friend, Sunset Shimmer, and she’s gonna destroy all of you at the Friendship Games in a few months.” “Not like the school didn’t already destroy itself with Anon-A-Miss.” Sugarcoat said boredly, shutting up the Rainbooms and causing Sunset to freeze involuntarily. “It’s almost worse than what you were all like before that when whatever her name made all of you her bitches.” “Hey, she changed, alright!” Rainbow shot back, grimacing. “She was a better person than any of us!” “I believe you mean ‘Stockhoof Syndrome”, dearie.” Sour Sweet sang as she smiled dangerously. “Ya know what? Ferget them, Dash. Let’s go have a night to ourselves.” Applejack said, clapping a hand down on Rainbow’s shoulder and pulling her away before looking at Sunset, studying her. She could feel a cold sweat threatening to build on the back of her neck as the farm girl’s eyes passed over her quickly. “Rightly sorry, miss. Ah know it don’t mean anythin’, but Ah’d recommend not gettin’ too friendly with those girls if’n Ah’m bein honest.” That triggered Sunset, the girl’s facade instantly cracking as she shot to her feet, her face contorting in anger. “Oh, I’m sure that’s honest! I wonder if you even know what ‘Honesty’ means!? Why don’t you just leave us alone!” All five of the Rainbooms seemed to stagger at the fury exploding from Sunset, mumbling apologies before scurrying off, leaving the Shadowbolts looking at Sunset in confusion, the girl groaning as she sat down, grabbing her tall glass of whiskey before starting to down it in one long and continuous pull. “What was that, Sunset?” Indigo Zap asked in a mix of confusion and awe as she watched Sunset slam her glass onto the table with a long sigh. “Sorry, they reminded me of some unsavoury thoughts.” Sunset grumbled, rubbing her temples.  “And you wanna be friends? Why don’t you start with why you know and dislike those five?” “They’re the closest things to stars at Canterlot High School, our ‘supposed’ rival school in town. Shit school full of idiots, that’s all you need to know.” Lemon Zest and the other girls chuckled at her brief explanation. “Don’t worry about those punks.” “Hey, is there something we can do to them?” Sunset asked, warmth flooding through her body as the booze reached her stomach. “They sorta pissed me off, ya know?” “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Indigo cheered, gathering everyone close. (\/):.....:(\/) Rainbow Dash groaned as she sat down at the table. It had been her idea to come to this club to try and unwind after the hell that had been life since classes started back up again, and yet again something went wrong for them. “Sorry about that, girls.” she apologized in exhaustion as she rubbed her face in her hands. “I should have just ignored them.” “It’s not like we expected to see her here.” Fluttershy mumbled, hiding behind her hair. She had to be dragged here by everyone else- almost literally. Applejack had an uneasy, pensive look on her face as she looked back towards where the Shadowbolts now sat huddled together. “Ah wonder if that’s the real Sunset…” “I mean, she sure yelled at us like she was, but… I dunno… She seemed more like the old Sunset- like old old Sunset, when she was still pretending to be nice with everyone at the start of High School.” Rarity said softly, straightening her hair. “Maybe she really is this world’s Sunset like Trixie thought?” All of a sudden a major ruckus filled the air, commotion and yelling drowning everything out as people suddenly swarmed their table, clapping and cheering. “W-W-W-W-What’s going on!?” Fluttershy screamed silently as attempted to further vanish behind her long pink mane. “We heard that there was a biiiiig birthday party tonight!” yelled one of the waitresses, causing each of the Rainbooms to look at one another in confusion, only for Rainbow Dash to realize that the Shadowbolts were now suddenly missing. “Oh, those bastards…” she grumbled as Applejack and Rarity stood up and started to try to defuse the situation, her mind floating back to just after that disastrous night around Christmas.