//------------------------------// // Duel #25: The Pendulum Between Two Worlds (Edited 28.4.2020) // Story: Equestria Girls: Duel Monsters Arc 2 // by Night-Quill //------------------------------// “I take the scale one Dragonpulse Magician, and the scale eight Dragonpit Magician to set the Pendulum Scale!” Turner watched intently as Sunset placed the two cards on the edges of the tray of her duel disk, the Pendulum Summoning requirement protocol inside the device unlocking, with the emergence of the two monsters serving as the aforementioned scale. “Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my partner!Arise, valiant dragon with dichromatic eyes! Level 7, ‘Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!’” She added Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to her hand using Monster Reincarnation after discarding it for Dragonpulse Magician? But yet, why didn’t she use it earlier, unless she didn’t have the two cards for the Pendulum Scale…? She used the Ritual Summon of Saffira and her effect to discard the Magicians, yet she could have used them to set the scales earlier... Unless she didn’t have Pendulum Dragon until later? … I need to do some further research. Turner observed his laptops again, seeing nothing unusual being recorded through the duel, other than an increase in electronic signals from the duel system. In a double-take, he did indeed spot some form of interference through the two arrays set up on Miss Lulamoon’s side, specifically set to monitor Miss Shimmer; an experimental sensor of his own design. Positioned underneath the cameras; assembled from discarded metal detector components, affectionately calling them “Metaphysical Resonance Emission” meters, or MRE meters, or even further; Mr. Es: They worked by observing vibrational interference in the air, able to detect a wide range of resonations, from sounds, to particles, to even some levels of radiation and photonic activity in the air. And they seemed to be picking up something, albeit just barely. Turner put on his reading specks and went over the program (his own design), splitting the display into three different modes of viewing; wavelength, spectral and heat. His curious elation was dampened when the devices stopped picking up anything. It could just as well have been a malfunction, but he figured he could just review the data later. He turned his attention back to the duel, just when Sunset was evidently going to finish off Miss Lulamoon. “Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Trixie directly! Spiral Strike Burst!”” He watched as Miss Shimmer’s new monster launched forth a gout of crimson flame towards Miss Lulamoon, the illusory forcefield parting the attack around her as per the regulations imposed by certain concerned parties. The attack went 400 above Trixie’s sustainable number, In stark contrast to the gymnasium having been uproarious in Lulamoon’s favor, it was now utterly silent, with all eyes focusing on Shimmer. She stood motionless at her spot on the field, seeming indecisive about something. - Sunset took a calming breath, bringing a hand to her sternum, her body still feeling strangely… uplifted, she thought. Looking down on her stand-by duel disk; the duel over, but the device still deployable, she looked at the three cards still in the cleft; the Pendulum cards. They were not in her deck before; nor had she sent Odd-Eyes… This Odd-Eyes to the graveyard at any point of the duel; it was the very one Trixie had taken to abuse. What exactly happened to her just then? What was that tree? Was that really Princess Twilight reaching out to her. Just the memory of her standing before her, like some winged divine, sent Sunset’s heart a flutter. A sharp clap rang through the gymnasium. “Well then,” exclaimed Turner, who very casually slung himself down from the stage, instead of going around the side steps, walking up in between the two duelists with his hands behind his back. “It seems we have ourselves the dramatic victor. Just the way I like ‘em.” He turned to Sunset, smiling pleasantly at her, “Miss Shimmer, consider this a pass on your skills evaluation. Just keep up your dueling quota from now on and the board should get off your back.” Sunset, though pleased about the man’s words, could not help but feel like he was secretly scrutinizing her, as he held his gaze on her for a moment longer, before turning to Trixie, “And Miss Lulamoon: Fantastic performance on your part! You’re the first duelist I’ve seen to use Pendulum. Very impressive. A bit of a miscalculation at the end. But hey; that’s what learning entails, right?” Trixie did not seem to share Mr. Turner’s enthusiasm, if she even acknowledged them. Instead, she was glaring past the man, towards Sunset in anger. Despite the feeling of despair from her fellow students’ gawking and jeering from earlier, Sunset still felt inclined to approach and commend Trixie. For despite all her haughtiness; she had certainly improved a lot with this new summoning method… Only for Trixie to produce something from her sleeve and chuck it on the ground. A loud bang rang out, accompanied by a thick curtain of white smoke. As both Sunset, and Mr. Turner, fanned at the smoke with their hands, there came sounds of grunting and struggling. When the smoke had cleared, Trixie was down on her torso atop the first tier of the bleachers, with the rest of her having squeezed in through the gap in between, muttering and cursing under her breath. It was obvious that the aspiring stage magician, in an effort to make an exit, was stuck. Sunset hurried over to the wedged Trixie and offered a hand, “Trixie! Need any help?” Trixie grunted fruitlessly as she failed to wedge any more of herself through the gap. “No, I most certainly do not need your help, Shimmer…” she spat in outward hostility, after which she tried to pull herself back out, but she barely budged. “Oh for… These things are a health hazard!” “Well, you’re not exactly meant to try and squeeze through,” said Sunset, trying to diffuse the anger. “Just shut it!” Trixie retorted, trying to pull herself loose again, but to no avail. “Would someone please retrieve Trixie’s saw?” Sunset’s pursed her lips, made aware her presence was no longer required. Or wanted. “I’ll… get the janitor…” she announced before turning to leave, well aware of the condemning glares of everyone else. Out in the halls, as she walked, Sunset detached her deck from her duel disk and fanned it out. There was no denying it that something strange was going on: While many cards remained as they were, more than just the three she had used were changed. Going from regular effect monsters with the orange backgrounds to that of orange that changed to green halfway down, an additional box of text appearing over the regular card text, framed between two arrows on each side, a blue one to the left and a red to the right with numbers below them; the scales. How did this happen? I didn’t evoke anything… Did I? She stopped, turning to gaze towards the ceiling. Twilight… Priestess… If only you were here right now: If I ever needed guidance since that night; it’s now. “What did you do?!” Sunset spun around on her heels, coming face-to-face with Rainbow Dash, who immediately seized her by the shoulders, eyeing her angrily. Both before and after her liberation from the darkness, Sunset had never considered Rainbow as intimidating, but at that moment, her body visibly tensed as the athlete’s cerise eyes glared at her. “W-what?” “You heard me!” Rainbow spat, pushing Sunset’s back against a locker, “What did you do?!” “Rainbow Dash!” exclaimed Fluttershy, her volume well above her usual whisper as she scolded the rainbow-haired athlete. “Rainbow, I swear I don’t know what hap-!” “I may not know what voodoo you got up to, but I definitely felt something!” Rainbow blurted, thumping Sunset against the lockers furiously, “Fess up! What have you been up to behind our backs?!” “Voodoo?!” Sunset asked incredulously. “Wait! Felt what?!” “My chest stung when you pulled that Pendulum thing! What was it?!” “What in the hell is goin’ on here?!” to the rescue came the familiar southern twang and clack of boots. Applejack came rushing over to snatch Rainbow’s wrist, with Rarity following after her. “Rainbow Dash, what in the blazes are you doin’?!” “Miss Bacon-Hair over here just pulled something! You did not have those cards before! I know because I saw you build that deck! Did you dare go so low as to cheat using magic?!” “Stop it!” Fluttershy yelled as she tore Rainbow’s other hand off Sunset, everyone gathered staring at the normally soft-spoken girl in surprise. “For one; you hardly helped with the deck whatsoever! And isn’t it enough when everyone else was ganging up on her?!” “Now just hold one apple-pickin’ minute here,” Applejack interjected, getting between Rainbow and Sunset in a much more levelled tone than anyone else. “One at a time!” “Thank you, dear,” said Rarity with an approving nod. “Fluttershy; you’re the least heated here, so tell us what happened.” “We were observing Sunset’s test against Trixie. Sunset came so close to losing, when-” “Wait, hold on a minute,” Applejack interrupted, “Trixie? Ah mean, granted, that deck we made wasn’t anythin’ amazin’, but with her track record-” “She used a new summon; Pendulum, and combined it with her Xyz summoning.” “Pardon?” came Rarity’s turn to interrupt. “Pendulum?” “That new summoning method that’s been rumored,” said Rainbow Dash. “Allows the summon of many monsters in one go.” “The hell does that have to do with you roughin’ up Sunset?” asked Applejack discontentedly. “Ya thinkin’ this is what Twilight wanted us to do? Ultimate tough lovin’?” “Because of these,” Sunset held out her deck, fanning them out to reveal the changed multi-colored cards. Applejack picked one of them out, going over it intently, “Where’d these come from?” “I don’t know,” said Sunset in earnest. “Listen; I honestly do not know what happened, where these came from, or what Rainbow’s implying, but I did not invoke anything. All that happened was that I saw… I saw Twilight.” She placed her other hand to her chest, “I felt as if she was there with me, telling me to not give up. Then it all just happened.” The four other girls looked among one another, Rarity idly imitating the motion of bringing her hand to her own heart. “Wait… You all felt something too?” “If by “felt” you mean “stinging” in my ticker, then yea,” said Rainbow brusquely. Fluttershy crossed her arms over her chest, looking slightly abashed among everyone, “I actually felt… Oddly warm. In a good way, Like… Like everything was right with the world that one moment.” “Me too,” said Rarity, but for whatever reason the pearly skinned fashionista’s cheeks seemed to flare up faintly pinkish, “while Applejack and I were… mingling! Yes, mingling. Right, darling?” “Definitely, m-hm,” Applejack nodded. “Oh, hey girls!” beamed Pinkie, who came traipsing up with a plate of cookies in one hand. “I dunno why, but in home ec I just had this feeling of the absolute fuzzies, so I decided to share some of the cookies me and Roseluck made with you! So, what’d I miss?” Sunset straightened herself up, reinserting her deck back into its port in her duel disk, Applejack handing back ‘Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon’, “I think we should have another meeting over this. Sugarcube Corner, after school, alright? I want everyone to share what happened to all of you during my duel.” The seriousness may have been underplayed when she proceeded to munch on one of Pinkie’s cookies. The effects of the taste already improving the mood, miraculously to the point where it made her feel as if even the arguing no longer bothered her in the least. - Vice-principal Luna entered the now vacant gymnasium, right on time to catch Turner and his assigned assistant Micro Chips clearing away the last of the equipment they’d used for analyzing the examination duel. The two proceeded to lift a rather hefty looking white, boxy device and just managing to get it up on stage. “I should be able to manage from here, Mister Chips. You go on a get to your next class,” said Turner, pushing the device further onstage. “Yessir. Let me just say; it’s an honor to be able to assist you in all of this,” said Micro Chips with much enthusiasm. “Likewise, Mister Chips. I’ll text you the moment I need further help. Now, off you go.” The two proceeded to shake hands before Micro Chips proceeded to leave, exchanging formal greetings with Luna on the way out. Luna leaned against the stage as Turner in an awkward manner pushed the hefty device backstage, “So, how did it go?” “Well, for one,” came Turner’s voice from backstage before stepping back out, straightening his tie, “it seems Pendulums are starting to encroach on the school.” “I heard so from some of the students in passing conversation,” said Luna in acknowledgement. “Curious; I spoke with Miss Shimmer yesterday and she told me she hadn’t even a deck ready by then.” “No kidding?” said Turner musingly. “Miss Shimmer’s deck seemed a tad conducive to just have been made on the fly though.” “It’s safe to assume she had help: There’s these five students who’ve taken quite the shine to her since the mid-term duel,” said Luna. “Curiouser is that Miss Shimmer had Pendulum cards herself,” Turner replied whilst going over something on one of the two laptops he’d set up. Luna looked up at her old classmates in surprise, “Miss Shimmer? But… aren’t Pendulums quite rare still? I mean it wouldn’t be impossible, just…” A troubling thought came over her, no doubt her silence being what drew the focus of Turner. “What is it?” “I’m not sure if Celestia told you, but we have reason to believe that Miss Shimmer might have been tied to the fire that destroyed the Ghoul hideout, hence it stands to reason she might have been involved with them further.” Luna caressed herself in trepidation, “You think she might have gotten those cards through ill deals.” “It’s not an impossibility,” said Turner, looking up from his work in thought. “Albeit from what I’ve been disclosed, Sunset Shimmer used cards of the Archfiend denomination previously, correct? Wouldn’t she have used the best stuff she had for the mid-term?” “I suppose,” Luna bobbed her shoulders, “but it doesn’t rule out the impossibility. I’m just not all too comfortable knowing we might be harboring a Ghoul on top of everything else.” Turner went quiet for a longer moment, looking down to his left, seemingly a very specific spot somewhere around the gymnasium floor or the bleachers. “… If you want my personal opinion Lu,” he said, using his nickname for her, “I don’t think you need to fret about Sunset being involved in anything illicit. At least not anymore. Miss Shimmer seems like a good sort, in spite of all you and Cely have told me from before.” Luna decided to join him atop the stage, curiously looking between the man and his computers, “What makes you say that?” “I know this will make my claims as a man of science sound highly dubious…” Turner began, “but she didn’t exactly come off as monstrous as all of the students seemed to imply.” “Pardon?” “In spite of the requirement of observers needing to remain quiet, most of the students seemed very vitriolic towards Miss Shimmer when she was at her low-point against Miss Lulamoon. Some of the things being said I don’t exactly feel right divulging in polite company.” Turner rhythmically rattled his fingers against the table, “Suffice it to say, it was painful to watch. “Mm,” Luna hummed in agreement. “Maybe in different circumstances… Or rather, normal circumstances, I might be reluctant to believe it, but Celestia and myself think Sunset is truly trying to make amends. Particularly with the involvement of Prin- Twilight Sparkle.” “Ah, our other extra-dimensional visitor,” Turner removed his specs to rub his eyes. “My, how she and Miss Shimmer would confirm so many theoretical concepts in so many fields of physics.” “I know you’ve only second-hand accounts to go by but… But can I ask you something?” “Of course.” “Did we do the right thing pertaining to Miss Shimmer?” Luna asked. Turner smiled, putting a friendly hand on her shoulder, “Knowing you and Cely; you just want to help someone going through a tough time. Just like when you…” He suddenly hesitated. “I’m… I’m sorry, I know she…” “It’s fine,” said Luna. “Sometimes we just have to be strong and believe things will turn out for the better.” The two stood there in uncomfortable silence for what might have been much longer than necessary. When the next bell rang, it was Turner who finally took the initiative, “Hey, I should get these to the lab and start going over the data,” he said, closing the screens of both laptops before picking the first up and holding it under his arm, but before he could take the other, Luna took it in her arms. “Allow me. By any chance did anything out of the ordinary happen?” “Well… It’s inconclusive to say at this point; but it did seem that the MRE meters seemed to pick up something just before Miss Shimmer’s final turn, before she Pendulum summoned. Now whether or not it was reacting to “magic” or was just malfunctioning is too early to say,” stated Turner, complete with an air quotation. “Now if I could only observe her further and ensure the Mr. E’s work, that would be something. I suppose I could try affixing them to a drone…” “I do not think the school board, nor my sister, would approve of outright spying on students though,” said Luna, though not in admonishment, for she understood the reasoning. “I know. The other viable option would be the construction of multiple Mr. E’s, but that’s drastically over any budget of mine.” He paused for a moment as he and Luna stepped into the hallway, observing the students who’d started milling about. “Overall, it wouldn’t do any good for the girl’s self-esteem either.” Luna hummed in admittance. “Yes, Miss Shimmer isn’t exactly on best terms with everyone else, despite the evident improvements in student camaraderie, and the remarkable change she herself has been through.” “Yes, I’ve heard Miss Shimmer was… Difficult since before last month’s events. Mr. Chips was very thorough about it.” “I mean, for three years; she was one of the worst delinquents I’ve ever seen, and yet somehow one person just makes it go away,” Luna tapped the side of her head. “Sometimes I even question my own sanity over this.” “Like the insanity of dark magic rituals, possession and “magical ponies”?” asked Turner wryly, complete with more air quotations with his free hand. “Lu, we’re not exactly normal people. Not since that night at Academia. Furthermore, wouldn’t it be preferable that this had a happy ending? Unlike with Goldcap and Zappity?” An abrupt shudder ran through Luna’s body, the haunting final cries of the missing, perhaps even dead, or worse, Zappity echoing in the depths of her memories; Please help me! I’m sorry! Don’t let them take meeeeee…! Goldcap and Zappity undeniably were to blame for whatever horrible fate they were damned to by their own negligence, what with them tampering with things they honest to… whatever higher powers were out there, didn’t understand. And Academia preferred to simply bury the truth under the rubble of the West Tower of Eilean gu Ifrinn. No matter how long, trying to forget all the nightmares from Academia proved impossible. And she was determined to not let them encroach on the youths she and Celestia were charged with watching over. “I appreciate the positivity, Turner. But still…” She glanced about before tugging at Turner’s shoulder, urging him to stop before whispering, “For the sake of caution: Isn’t there some more inconspicuous way to use those “Mr.E’s”?” Turner’s eyes darted sideways, looking a slight bit uncomfortable from the sudden secrecy, “Well, yes, actually. I could set one up in the gymnasium and the other in some other location where dueling is most prevalent. “That would be the soccer field in most cases,” said Luna. “Though I should point out; if I increase their range, they will be a drain on power. Your electric bill could take a dent.” Reluctant as she was, Luna felt she had to acquiesce, for the sake of everyone, “I’ll talk to Celestia about this. In the meantime, just do what you need to do. The last thing we need is another West Tower incident. “Will do. But if you want my personal opinion: I think Miss Shimmer has turned over a new leaf.” - The day had drudged on arduously slowly for Sunset after her test. Everyone continued to give her a wide berth, though the tone had changed, albeit not for the better. News about her duel against Trixie had quickly spread throughout the student body, having heard others gossiping about the spectacle, in particular with the advent of Pendulum Summoning having encroached on their school. Many seemed excited about the prospect, particularly from Trixie’s part, what with her being the one to formally introduce the method to CHS. And just as many seemed evenly irked how Sunset conveniently ended up being the second. She could easily discern people staring at her, whether they tried being inconspicuous about it or not. Just when you thought the cold shoulders and crude messages were bad enough… She thought to herself. It feels like I’m walking into an Ursa’s den all of a sudden. Are they sizing me up, now that they saw that I didn’t evoke the darkness again? I mean, granted, getting to duel again is nice and all, but- “Whoa!” she exclaimed, not having paid attention where she was going, resulting in bumping unceremoniously into an open locker, which subsequently swung and banged against someone on the other side. “Ow-wowowow…” muttered a light grey skinned girl with muted blonde hair, dressed in a light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a yellow tie and a green skirt, current rubbing the side of her head where the locker door impacted on her cranium. A pair of bright gold eyes turned to look towards Sunset, one of them appearing distinctly unfocused from the other. Sunset gasped, pulling the locker door back, “Oh geez! I’m so sorry about that, Derpy!” she said hastily. “Are you okay? I was lost in my thoughts, I didn’t look where I was going, I-” The slightly cross-eyed girl, simply smiled, though continued to rub her head sheepishly, “I’m okay! Usually it’s me with their head in the clouds.” Sunset glanced around, seeing a few students eyeing her warily. Uncertain what to do, she held her hands together like in prayer, silently mouthing another string of apologies, as she circumvented Derpy to get on her way. “Hey, Sunset,” Derpy called out, further exacerbating the discomfort of the predicament. Sunset took a breath, trying to calm herself as she turned to address Derpy, “Yes? … I’m sorry-” “Oh, it’s not that. Just an accident,” said Derpy with a motion of dissuasion. Now was her turn to look around. When some students persisted in eyeing the two, she cast a disapproving stare and motioned people to move along. Once she seemed certain they had some inkling of privacy, she leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone, “I was watching your duel with Trixie, and… well, I thought I should let you know that some of the others were talking about you.” Sunset looked at the girl with the mismatched eyes with trepidation as Derpy began to recount her side of events; - As everyone present to witness the duel examination between Sunset Shimmer and Trixie vacated the gymnasium, Derpy caught an intense conversation taking place between a small group of students. Among them, she easily recognized the likes of Spitfire, the fiery orange haired girl ever adorned in the colors of the Wonder Colts, blue and light yellow, topped off with a blue denim jacket with a flame patch stitched in the back. “Can you believe that? So Shimmer was holding out on us with Pendulums on top of everything else?” she asked the accrued students. “I mean I know that bitch is arrogant like nobody’s business, but she only now decided to break out the new stuff after this whole pity party routine she’s going with?” “Tch, whatever you say, Spits,” chortled Lightning Dust; a pale turquoise skinned girl with amber hair with gold streaks, who seemed to always adorn the black biker jacket over whatever outfit she decided to wear underneath. “It’s pretty damn obvious that she’s just been gathering cards from the Ghouls. Say what you will about this magic BS; girl’s been running with them for years now.” “And I suppose you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” asked Spitfire with no hint of subtlety over the evident spite towards Lightning. “Cry me a river,” Lightning scoffed, clearly not moved by the CHS’ second best athlete’s remark. “Point is; girl’s gotta be pretty loaded after all those cage matches. Not in the least bit shocking she might have gotten her hands on Pendulums. Hell, could be forgeries for all we know: Ghouls know their way around the cards and hardware.” “Fact of the matter is,” said Night Quill, an ash skinned boy with neck-length silvery hair who always made it a point to wear his cherished black bowler hat and checkered green scarf, “did Shimmer do anything outside of the ordinary like back during the mid-term duel? I mean isn’t it pretty convenient she had Pendulums like Trixie?” “I guess,” said Spitfire with a shrug. “We can’t exactly prove anything. Though who was that Mr. Turner guy Micro Chips was palling around with?” “Something about new regulations from the school board to ensure fair play. Maybe something to keep tabs on the system,” said Lightning Dust, laxly holding her hands behind her head. “Maybe Shimmer just didn’t do anything since she’d be caught. Hasn’t Dash been palling around with Sunset lately with those other girls?” “Nothing she’s told me,” Spitfire shrugged. “I mean she could be hounding her at best given how chummy Sunset’s gotten with Dash’s pal Flutters. “Honestly, now I wish I had stepped up as the contender,” Night Quill remarked as he idly adjusted his scarf. “If Sunset really didn’t do anything, I would have annihilated her.” Lightning Dust grinned wryly, “Ooh? Thinking of replacing your great-great-great granddaddy’s hat with the tiara?” She teasingly flicked a finger against the rim of Night’s hat, the boy glaring exasperatedly all the while pressing it tightly back onto his head. “Preposterous. Bowler hats came about in 1849,” said Night Quill, seeming unaware of Lightning mockingly miming a mouth with her hand. “And no, I just want to put Shimmer in her place.” “Okay, now that I can actually agree on with you,” Lightning emphasized by showing her hand, a noticeable vertical line of a scar present between the middle and ring metacarpals. “Get in line, Lightning; if anyone’s going to kick her ass, it’s going to be the second-in command of the Wonder Colts soccer team,” said Spitfire boastingly. Night Quill came in between the two, “Ladies, ladies; might I make a suggestion before this ends in fisticuffs?” The two eyed him, Lightning Dust more discontentedly than Spitfire, possibly for referring to her as a lady. “Speak up, Hattie,” said Lightning Dust. Night Quill muttered something under his breath before addressing the two directly; “Why not make this into a wager and see which one of us bests Sunset Shimmer? Afterall; Twilight Sparkle proved she can be beat, almost twice at that. If one of us second stringers beats her down further down from the pedestal…” he gestured quizzically with his hand. Lightning’s brow rose in confusion, all the while Spitfire seemed to contemplate on the notion more deeply. “So if I understood this correctly,” Spitfire finally broke from her reverie, “you’re suggesting that if we prove that Sunset Shimmer is not undefeatable it will hurt her image and show weakness?” “Exactly,” said Night Quill, sounding impressed. “For three years we were pretty much under her boot. If she’s so sorry for all the bollocks she pulled on us, we’ll just give her the same treatment she gave us in kind. When someone defeats her, she gets taken down a notch. This could encourage others to take her on, and sooner or later, she’ll be overwhelmed. A duelist who loses the will to fight is not a duelist at all.” “So, what’s in it for me then?” asked Lightning Dust. Night’s left eye squinted in confusion, “… The gratification that you brought the down the Duel Queen of CHS and put her down the pecking order?” “Maybe,” Lightning Dust shrugged, “but what’s in it that benefits me personally?” Night Quill frowned, “If you’re suggesting something like “the first to beat her gets our rarest cards,” Lightning, the answer is no.” “Lame,” Lightning snorted. “Hey, Flash!” Night Quill called out. True enough, Flash Sentry was passing by, his attention caught. “You interested in this little game we’re setting up?” Flash approached, looking questionably between the three largely unaffiliated students, “What game?” “Night Quill over here has an interesting idea over getting back at Shimmer, now that she seems to have gone full on soft on us,” Spitfire reiterated. “We’re waging who’s going to be the first to take her down, maybe encourage others to further prove how she’s not Queen. Thought you might be interested, what with how she ditched you and all.” Flash looked in between the three, expression hard to discern before her turned away, “Not interested.” “Whoa,” said Lightning in surprise. “I thought you’d be itching to get back at her more than most.” Flash looked back, discontent in his eyes, “Me and her made up. Simple as that, and she’s trying hard to do the same with everyone else. Something you might wanna think about.” And with that, the head rocker walked away, never looking back. “Oi, Derpy!” Night Quill suddenly realized they were being watched. “You wanna get in on this?” - “I told them I didn’t want anything to do with it,” said Derpy in conclusion. A feeling of dread worked its way through Sunset’s mind. Was that the reason she seemed to have gotten more ornery looks from students? Sizing her up for when to figuratively pounce on her. Particularly how she no longer had her old, and preferably best forgotten, deck with her, instead having been relegated to the one she and her friends built with the best of remaining resources they had to work with. Until being balanced by whatever magical intervention took place during her desperation. But even so, I don’t have the experience or know-how of how to use these new cards. “Thank you, Derpy. Though if you don’t mind me asking: Why didn’t you get in on it?” “Well, you haven’t done anything bad. I mean, Twilight did say she wanted to stop all the conflict when she dueled against Pinkie and the rest, but everyone’s just being confrontational, only towards you.” “Even if I did make fun of your eyes?” asked Sunset, her freed conscience having elicited many strong feelings of repugnance towards the outright infantilely malicious attacks she’d made on people. “Are you sorry about it?” asked Derpy simply. Sunset put a hand on the cross-eyed girl’s shoulder, “Incredibly so.” “Then it’s forgiven,” said Derpy with a smile, which Sunset reciprocated graciously. “Let’s have muffins sometime, okay?” asked Sunset, appealing to Derpy’s trademark love of the specific baked goods, a notion that seemed to greatly please her. “Listen, I need to get going; meeting with friends over at Sugarcube Corner. And thanks for warning me.” “Okay. Be careful, Sunset,” said Derpy before the two parted. - The little bell at the top of the door to the Sugarcube Corner café jingled in announcing Sunset’s arrival into the establishment. It was a quaint little establishment at the corner of, fittingly enough “Sugarcube Street”, owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Since Sunset hadn’t been a regular, or rather, had never occupied the place once until recently, there was the added benefit that the owners didn’t know anything about her; as exemplified when she stepped up to the counter, currently manned by Mrs. Cake. “Welcome back!” bid the rose and pink haired, light cerulean skinned woman, “What’ll it be, dearie?” The term of endearment “dearie” continued to carry with it a strange feeling that Sunset couldn’t help but feel oddly warm inside. “Just a latte macchiato today, please, Mrs. Cake.” “Won’t be a tick. By the way; I think two of your friends arrived earlier,” said Mrs. Cake, indicating towards a spot in the far corner. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had occupied the table there, the former waving to her. “Oh, they did,” said Sunset with a forced smile. “I’ll be over there then,” she said, pointing in the general direction as she handed payment to Mrs. Cake, who nodded in agreement. She proceeded to saunter over to the corner and pulled up a chair, taking a precautionary glance back before assuming how she genuinely felt with a sigh. “What’s wrong?” asked Fluttershy concernedly. “Sweet Celestia, I think the whole school’s coming after me now…” Sunset moaned, supporting her head up with her hands. “What makes you say that?” asked Fluttershy over her smoothie. “Derpy said she heard some of the students talk about “putting me in my place,”” Sunset emphasized with air quotations. She straightened herself when Mrs. Cake brought her order, thanking her graciously. “I honestly did want to get back to dueling, but not like this.” It wasn’t too long before Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity arrived (with Pinkie greeting Mrs. Cake in a very jovial manner, indicating the two shared histories) and would soon join the three already at the table. “Okay, so,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, leaning against the table with one arm, “care to explain why the five of us are suddenly having inexplicable heart aches?” “Um, I wouldn’t really have considered it an ache,” Fluttershy mumbled in between slurping up her beverage. Pinkie sputtered, “If by “ache” you mean feeling like hugging a big puffy-cuddly-snuggly corgi, mmaybeee…” Fluttershy immediately let out an endeared “aww” at the pink girl’s description. Sunset held up a hand in respectful interruption, before anything else waylaid what they were there for, “Alright: From what I’ve been able to gather from what you’ve been saying; you all had similar sensations in your chests, and it coincided at the exact moment I performed Pendulum Summoning. Correct?” “The test was on fourth period, correct?” asked Rarity, before bringing her cup of tea to her lips. “It was,” confirmed Fluttershy. “It happened to me the moment Sunset did the… Um…” “Pendulum Scales?” asked Sunset. “I… guess?” “In any case; before it came about, when everyone was shouting at me, I just had this complete feeling of… despair, falling over me…” she paused, going over how best to dispense with the visions she witnessed. “I saw… I saw myself. The old, twisted one…” A sense of dread fell over the corner table, everyone looking among each other uneasily, the air feeling like it’d fallen cold, despite the café being quite warm inside. “You mean… Tall, icky, with the creepy-grabby fingers?” asked Pinkie, wiggling her fingers before snatching one of multiple baked goods on her tray. Sunset nodded. “I don’t know whether it was a hallucination, an out-of-body experience… Maybe both. All I can say for certain is; something else called out to me, when I rejected the dark. That’s when I saw her.” “The Princess?” Applejack asked. “Yes,” Sunset nodded, deciding on omitting the mention of the Princess’ form as being completely nude, and… almost blindingly spectacular that she herself found herself almost yearning to lay eyes on her again. “She told me; “Make them your strength: Awaken, Sunset Shimmer.” When I came to I… The first thing I could think was “The swing of the pendulum connecting two worlds draws out the arc of harmony…””