Equestria Girls: Love Is Magic

by onekface

Preparations

Flash yawned out groggily that morning as he, not so much as walk as in slumped his way to his first class, looking like a half-cooked zombie in a post-apocalyptic world. His band mates greeted him along with a few of his friends but he just waved them back not wanting to be rude. He was far too exhausted to speak – or study at all.

As he closed his eyes the events from last night came flooding in like a migraine. He can’t really recall them all but he was certain that there was dancing, music, apples and cider.

Ugh… oh god.

There was a lot of cider.

He must’ve drank like two gallons of that stuff and more. However the other members of that fruit family seemed to inhale like it was air. And it’s not like he wanted to compete with them. It was those annoying extended family members of the Apples. The Cobblers… or something. They were the ones responsible for his aching stomach and throbbing headache. The old man insisted that they had a drinking contest saying that it was tradition for guests to prove their worth or something along that line. Flash obviously didn’t even get close to beating them and would’ve puked the contents of his stomach if Applejack hadn’t stop them.

Word of advice to his future self: Never try to outdo an Apple. You’re only gonna get yourself hurt.

Speaking of Applejack, Flash found himself strangely drawn to that country girl. Her smile was downright infectious and it beamed throughout the event like a star. Seeing her home fixed and her family enjoying the festivities brought out the joy in her like never before. She was, dared he say, kind of cute too.

They must’ve spent the whole night together going around the farm, introducing him to every passerby that asked. She was practically glowing in the moonlight. Though that might just be because she just came from the spa.

The party itself lasted well into the night with him being dragged from one side to the next. He wasn’t really sure why but it seemed like the whole apple family wanted him all to themselves. Perhaps they were just being overly friendly. He was just glad that there were no alcohols provided, otherwise it would’ve been a totally different party.

His dad would probably lecture him later for his abrupt spending. Hiring an entire construction company to rebuild, repair and remodel a whole farm on such short notice was going to put a dent on their bank accounts. But considering who he was helping, he’d say that it was worth it.

While he wouldn’t openly say it, Flash had secretly wished that he could be a part of those girls’ magical adventures. To be able to see and use magic like the ones they performed throughout the school year left a lingering sensation. He wished he could use magic – or at the very least see it like they do.

But no. That wasn’t meant to be. Those girls were the heroes of this story. They were the main cast, the protagonists of this book while he and everyone else here were cast on the sidelines to be nothing more than background characters. As far as those girls were concerned, he was probably just another guy that the author simply gave too much screen time for no reason.

Ms. Cheerilee started her class not long after the bell rang. She called out names and took attendance. He raised his hand of course when called but didn’t really pay much attention to anything else. He was too tired to do anything.

Maybe he’ll just sleep through first period.

“Attention.” The school’s PA system blared up catching the attention of the class. “Would student, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, please report to the Principal’s office?”

Hmm?

The names suddenly sparked the boy awake lifting his sleepy head from the table. It’s strange for the two of them to be called like that. They couldn’t have caused trouble. Twilight was practically a model student and Sunset is…… well it wouldn’t be her first call to the office but she’s reformed now.

There can only be one other reason. And Flash knew exactly why.

Twilight didn’t really liked being called to the Principal’s office. While she does know that she couldn’t have done any wrong… at least not that she knows of, that didn’t mean she enjoyed it. Being called to the head honcho’s office was like a dent on one’s reputation in school. If anything, such a call would put a massive stain her personal school record. It would give future teachers the impression that she was a troublemaker.

With a sigh she knocked on the door with Sunset by her side.

“Come in.”

The girl creaked the door open, sticking her head inside. “You called for us Pri… Vice Principal Luna?” She was startled when they realized that it wasn’t Celestia on the throne. “You… called for us?”

“I did. Please. Have a seat.” The two of them did so, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“We’re… not in trouble, are we?” Sunset asked just to be sure. “Not that we have any reason to be in trouble or anything ahehehe.”

Luna smiled back reassuringly. “You can relax girls. Neither of you are in any trouble.” They breathed a sigh of relief. “I actually called you two here because of another matter.” She pulled out a newspaper from the desk and showed them a segment at the far back. “There’s been word going around the city lately that a large wolf-like creature has been seen roaming the neighborhood. While I don’t usually take these rumors seriously, several of our staff and students have been reporting seeing it as well. They all agree that this… animal is like a living shadow, appearing and reappearing wherever it wishes. I don’t suppose you girls would know anything about that now, would you?”

The two eyed one another, clearly showing signs of suspicion.

“Well… it’s… complicated.” Twilight answered. “Very complicated. It just so happens that we discovered magic here and we believe that it’s somehow related to that creature.”

“Is that so?” Luna eyed them carefully. “And I don’t suppose this creature is related to why Big McIntosh was rushed to the hospital the other day?” Ah… right. They forgot about that. “Girls. I understand that this magic of yours is not exactly… common. The school has agreed to keep it a secret but there’s only so much that we can do before this whole thing blows over. I don’t want this turning into another major incident like the Fall Formal or the Friendship Games.” The two girls cringed at the memory of those events. “We all know that this school could use a break from your… magical escapades. And I don’t want anyone else, including yourselves, to get hurt.”

“It won’t happen.” Sunset said with determination. “We promise.”

“Good. And with Principal Celestia going on a goodwill assignment with the new Superintendent of Crystal Prep Academy, I don’t want anything to interfere with the school. Especially not so close to the Winter Holidays.”

“Crystal Prep?” Twilight blinked. “You mean Professor Sombra?”

“You know him?” Luna somehow looked surprised.

Sunset nodded. “Flash uh… told us about him the other day. He said that he just came back from some exploration?”

“His expedition in the Yaztec Forest.” The Vice-Principal corrected. “Though that is kind of surprising. Flash doesn’t normally talk about his family to anyone.”

“He doesn’t?” Both girl gave a questioning eye-raise. “Why not?”

“He doesn’t like people knowing the true status of his family. Being a well-respected and recognized Professor in Manehattan, you might say that such a position comes with certain… privileges – and wealth.” That part was pretty much obvious ever since he singlehandedly fixed Applejack’s home. “He just wants people to see him as he is, not because of where he came from. I heard that they used to be close until his mother passed away.”

That was a surprising tidbit of information. “You know Professor Sombra too Ms. Luna?”

“We went through college together. He was the smartest out of our whole class. He was pretty much the best of us before……” She paused, a sad memory returning. “… things happened.” But she quickly brushed it off, forcing a smile. “But that’s all in the past now. Look at me, gossiping to you girls. In any case I want this incident nipped in the bud before it spreads. I don’t want anything strange or bizarre happening to this school while Celestia is away.”

If only she knew of all the magical adventures that they’ve been through, she wouldn’t make that kind of order.

“Don’t worry, Vice Principal Luna.” Sunset reassured her. “We’ll do everything we can to stop it. We got this.”

“We so don’t got this.”

Twilight patted her friend as she slumped onto her table with a deep groan. Sunset was feeling really confident about their chances of solving this mysterious magical case. But after hearing what Twilight had to report, her confidence plummeted to the ground.

“Sorry about that. I forgot to tell you about the scans yesterday. As powerful as my equipment are, they can’t exactly track the shadow monster precisely.”

“Aww man!” Rainbow Dash forked her baked potato in frustration. “And here I thought we’d get to Pony-up and fight that thing head on. I even got Rarity here to find me a Daring Do costume from the movie: Knights of the Rectangular Table! It was supposed to be my epic comeback!”

“Didn’t you say you improved your umm… tracking thing?” Fluttershy reminded. “I thought you could see us whenever we use our powers.”

“It’s easier with Equestrian Magic. That’s how I tracked the Dazzlings in the first place. But this power seems more or less… sophisticated. Even the artifacts that are in the museum look like they cover an entire block of the city. Tracking the wolf monster will take a while longer. And when I do, it’ll most likely move the moment we get there.”

“Well we all knew it wasn’t gonna be easy.” Applejack stated with some hint of relief. “If all our adventures had such a clear sight, it wouldn’t be called adventures. I’m just glad it didn’t strike my farm a second time. I’m keeping a nightlight with me from here on out.”

“Is there any way we can help, darling? We might not be on par with you and Sunset when it comes to magic and science and stuff but we do want to do our part.”

“Oh! I can make a victory cake!”

“We haven’t even fought it Pinkie.” Rainbow pointed out.

“I know. But we all know we’re going to win. So it’s great to plan ahead.”

The multicolored gal opened her mouth to argue but paused. Soon she gave it a thought and smiled, nodding. “Huh… you make a good argument. I’d like mine to have all chocolate… please.”

Twilight smiled back gratefully. “Thanks. But right now the only way to improve my tools would be to have a direct source of that magic to work with. If I could just get my hands on one of those artifacts, I can use it pinpoint the shadow creature much faster.”

“Oh sure. That sounds like a great idea.” Sunset dramatically added with a tone dripping with sarcasm. “Why don’t we just break into the museum and steal a priceless historically significant artifact? I’m sure that’ll look good on our permanent record.”

Twilight gave her friend a glare which didn’t leave much of an impact seeing how adorable she was. “Actually I was thinking we could ask Flash to get it for us.”

Say what now?

“Eh?”

“Flash.” She repeated. “His dad technically owns those items. So I was wondering if he could ask if he could let us take a look at it…”

“Whoa whoa whoa. Easy there Twily. I was only kidding. You know that right?” Sunset blurted, waving her hands out in panic. “It’s one thing to ask Flash to get you in at the museum event. But asking him to grab one artifact? That’s a step too far even for me. And trust me… I’ve done a lot of bad things back in my early days here.”

“But how else are we supposed to find this monster? You heard Vice-Principal Luna. This shadow wolf has been seen all over the city. Who knows what it’ll do next? And you said that we’ll do everything we can to stop it. We need to be daring if we want to get to the bottom of this and Flash is our best ticket.”

“Someone called my name?” The girls squealed when the boy in question mysteriously appeared at the foot of the table with a tray of food in hand. “Uh… hi?”

“H… hey…” Applejack smiled, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head while tilting her hat down to hide her rosy cheeks. Pinkie also had a similar reaction though she hid her emotions well with whip cream.

“Flash.” Sunset chuckled awkwardly. “H… how long have you been standing there?”

He looked over to his imaginary watch and shrugged. “About five seconds. And then I heard you guys call me.” Twilight smiled sweetly at him before suddenly scooting away to make room. She gestured him to sit which he gladly accepted. “I heard you two got called to the office. Let me guess: It was a magical problem?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Why else would you two be called into the Principal’s office?” True. Ever since the Fall Formal, Sunset hasn’t exactly been getting herself in trouble. And Twilight was too much of a goody two-shoes to get herself into any sort of trouble. (Less they be magic of course) “It doesn’t have anything to do with the big bad wolf that’s been going around, does it?”

“Bingo bongo!” Pinkie cheered.

Twilight’s face sweetened. “Actually Flash… we are investigating the recent sighting of the monster.”

“Twilight…” Sunset gave a warning tone to her best friend who was looking at Flash with a cutesy look on her face. Surely she wouldn’t try and pony favors on him. Pun intended.

“And… we were wondering if you could help out.”

“Really!?” The boy’s expression beamed like someone had just set up a surprise birthday party for him. He was like an easily manipulated puppy who would happily do any trick or bear any humiliation when its favorite treat was being dangled in front of it. Sunset felt somewhat guilty for that, knowing how much her ex-boyfriend wanted to be a part of their adventures. “Sure! Anything for you girls.”

“I know it’s kind of a big thing to ask. But what are the odds that you can get one of the magical artifacts from the museum?”

“The what now?” Ah… good. He’s not completely naïve. The boy was probably expecting something easy and simple but he was handed a rather daring task. “You want one of that Yaztec stuff from the museum?”

“I know that they were donated to the museum and all…”

“Loaned, technically.” Flash corrected earning a surprised look from the girls. “They were just put on display temporarily for the fundraiser event. They’ll be officially donated to the museum once the new wing is finished. Right now they’re just sitting in my house.”

“Your father keep priceless relics… at home?” Even Rarity found that to be strange.

“Well… yeah. We have this vault where he keeps everything he brings back from his expeditions.” A vault in a house? Geez, the more they learn about him the more he starts to look like the rich kid in the neighborhood. How much did it take to make something like that? She could barely afford to replace her own backpack. “But why do you need them?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that we need it to track a giant wolf monster that’s been going around the city lately?”

The boy blinked, looked up and then down at her again. “Surprisingly… yes. But I’m not sure dad will like me taking things out from the vault.”

“Please Flash?” Twilight pleaded. “I know it’s a lot to ask but this would really help us out. Besides it’s not like we’re gonna keep it forever. We just need one of them for a few minutes to copy the magical energy components and then you can bring it back before your dad even knows it was gone.” She smiled sweetly, batting her eyes.

…

“I really can’t say no to you girls, can I?”

“YES!” The nerd pumped her fist up in triumph. “You’re the best Flash.”

His smiled widened at that comment. Like a dog wagging its tail to its owner. Was he always this easy to manipulate? It’s a wonder why he even broke up with her when he did.

Ok… let’s do this one more time. I know we’ve gone over everything about two… hundred times already, but one more time wouldn’t hurt.

Clothes… wrinkle free… check.

Hair… perfect… check.

Speech? Recited and practiced to heart… check.

Makeup… check.

Heart and mental fortitude… fortified! Double check.

Right. She was ready. As ready as she’ll probably ever be at this point. She just needs to walk in, smile, wave, give an inspiring speech to the students and pose for a picture or two and then she’ll be on her way. No need to linger here and make things anymore awkward than it needs to be. Maybe give a compliment or maybe even a gift.

Yes! A gift! That’ll be perfect!

… but there wasn’t much time to find anything or gift wrap them.

Dang it! If she knew this whole ordeal would take all afternoon she would’ve done something extra. Now she’ll be just as bare as her hands.

Ugh! Why do we have to be stressed now of times!? Come on Celestia. Think of those breathing lessons Luna taught you. Just focus on the task at hand and exhale.

Oh! Coffee! There was a coffee pot right next to the Principal’s table. Strange. She always thought that Cadance was a tea person. Regardless, she wouldn’t mind if she helped herself for a cup.

Hmm…

That’s weird. Are coffee supposed to taste like this or was that her stress just messing with her? Ah who cares? It’s coffee! Just add cream and sugar and it’ll taste as good as new.

“Principal Celestia?”

The woman stood up at attention when a familiar voice called her out. Two figures approached with soft and professional looks on their faces.

“Oh! Principal Cadance. How good it is to see you again.”

“You too.” Cadance returned her smile exchanging pleasantries. “But I’ll be back to Dean Cadance after today. I’ll be forfeiting my position to the new superintendent. But you probably know that by now.”

“Yes. It’s a shame though. I really enjoyed our time during the last summer fair. We could’ve gone for so much more.”

“Don’t remind me. I still got the stomach cramps to prove it.” The former Principal quickly turned to her companion. “Oh and let me introduce you to my partner. This is Shining Armor. An alumni here in Crystal Prep. He’s been helping me greatly when I was running the school taking my old position. He’ll be stepping down of course just like me.”

“Too bad. I was kind of getting used to ‘Dean’ Shining Armor too.”

“Yes. I heard about you. Twilight Sparkle mentioned you a few times.”

“She did?” The young man’s cheeks turned a shade of red as he shook hands with the older woman. “That’s… unexpected. She wouldn’t happen to mention anything… unusual… about me?”

“No. Not that I know of.” She grinned. “Though she did mention something about winning the Sibling Supreme Crown.” Something she was adamantly proud of.

Shining Armor groaned, planting one palm on his face. “Of course she would.”

“Speaking of crowns, where’s…?”

“Superintendent Sombra is meeting with the other faculty. He should be around shortly.” Cadance answered. “I’m really glad that you came to usher him in to the other students. Normally I’d be the one to handle this part. But with things as they are…”

“I know. Believe me. I completely understand how you feel. When I had to be ushered in by the last Principal of CHS, it was really awkward. He made it look like I was doing a hostile takeover.” The three of them shared a laugh with one another breaking whatever tension that was between them. “By the way, I helped myself to some of your coffee. I hope you don’t mind.”

The mention of coffee seemed to make the two curious for a moment. “Coffee? I don’t drink coffee.”

Shining Armor’s face paled. “Wait. You didn’t… drink from that pot over there, did you?” Her awkward silence answered his question. “That… hasn’t been used since Principal Cinch left the academy.”

…

Oh crud. Somehow her stomach wasn’t feeling so good and her face turned greener than grass.

“I think I need to use the restroom.” She mad a dash for the door only to have it open from the other side. And there she came face to face with the last person that she needed to see.

“Lesty?” The man spoke, clearly just as surprised to see her.

“Sombra!?”

The world suddenly went silent for a moment. Memories of a previous life flashed before her eyes. That charming face and rugged sideburns. His gleaming green eyes and gray skin. He was exactly how she remembered him. The lonely boy who she saw in the school library so many years ago who then one day became her special-someone. Words churned in her head wildly, as they tried to form around her throat.

Powerful feelings that she buried inside of her all those years ago then suddenly began to resurface.

And then came in the form of her vomit spilling all over his coat.

Closing time. Finally.

Adagio let out a sigh when she closed the door to the café stretching out her arms from a long shift’s work. Despite it being only five hours of work, it felt like an eternity had passed by. And spending those hours with two of the most annoying people in the world stretched her patience to its limits.

“Ugh… finally we can go home.” Aria grumbled out loud like she always do. “I thought this day would never end. Why do we have to work here again?”

“For the negative energy silly!” Sonata answered back far more cheerful than the other two. “I mean, we’ve been doing it for months now. I’m surprised you forgot.”

“I was being facetious.”

“OH! Well… I was being facetious… too.”

“You don’t even know what that means.”

“Sure I do!”

“Prove it.”

“Enough!” The orangette snapped, rubbing the temple between her eyes. “It’s bad enough I had to spend an entire day with you idiots. My brain feels like it’s being shrunked just by being near you two. It can only handle so much stupidity.”

Aria scoffed back. “Whatever. You’re lucky you don’t have to deal with that four-eyed punk who keeps calling for assistance.”

“Aww… come on Aria. You know he’s only doing that to get your attention. He totally has a huge crush on you.” It was true. It was kind of adorable actually. The kid seemed to be infatuated with Aria and always gave her this puppy-dog look when she wasn’t looking. And he wasn’t the only one either. Aria had become somewhat of a celebrity in the café. With her looks at sharp tongued attitude she managed to assemble a pretty respectable fan club.

The purple haired Siren gagged her tongue out in disgust. “Oh please. As if I’d want to go out with a human. Give me a break.”

“Quiet! Let’s just go home and get some rest.”

“Oh oh! Can we get something to eat first? There’s this cake place called the Sweet Shoppe just a block from here. They have like the BEST donuts ever.”

“Fine! If it’ll get you to be quiet for the next fifteen minutes. We…” The leader of the Sirens paused when she felt the air shift behind her. The street lights flickered while the clouds loomed over threatening to pour soon. Her eyes sharpened in the dark alley a few corners away from the café.

“Adagio?” Aria noted her behavior. “What’s up?”

She glared a bit at the shadow before returning to them. “Nothing. Just a smell. Come along girls. The last thing we want is to be caught in the city at night.”

If you would judge Flash Sentry by his appearance and attitude alone, no one would blame you to say that he was just your average rocker guy living a humble life. Heck, with his attire, you’d probably say that he was just a teeny-tiny bit above average than most of the students in CHS. And you’d never picture him living in a giant mansion. Unless of course he became a successful rock star.

The large green garden was the first sight anyone would see with a circular road at the center decorated by a beautiful fountain. A marbled path led up to the steps of his home that marveled any visitor who caught a glimpse of this place.

There was a reason why he never brought any of his friends home. If any of them ever found out where he lived, the rocker boy image he built over the years would come crumbling down in an instant.

Parking his car by the garage door, the boy was greeted by his butler who bowed lowly at his presence.

“Welcome home, Master Flash. How was school?”

The boy shrugged back like he always did giving the same answered he repeated thousands of times before. “It was great Edmund. Same old same old. Is dad home?”

“Master Sombra is currently meeting with the board of directors today at his new school. He will not be back any time soon, sir. Speaking of which, shall I have the chefs prepare supper? The salmon today is quite fresh.”

“Not today Edmund. I got plans tonight.” If the butler was offended by the late minute change, he didn’t show it. He quietly followed Flash into the house where it expanded into a luxurious living room with marbled floorboards and stairs leading to the third floor. “I wouldn’t mind a sandwich though.”

The butler curled the smallest of smiles. “I shall have the chef prepare them. Strawberry jam, correct?”

“You know me best, Edmund.” The boy quickly dismissed the older man before quietly traversing the halls of his home. Normally by now he’d go straight to his room for a little rest or the bathroom to get the day’s sweat off his body. But right now he had bigger plans.

With some hint of stealth, the boy made his way to his father’s vault. Though the word ‘Vault’ would be too much of an exaggeration. They simply called it that because it was where they put all the priceless artifacts that he collected over the years. Some of them had the value in the tens of digits while others were simply items that the old man found interesting. A glass jar, a statue of an acrobat, this weird mask or even a sword or two which Flash found kind of cool. There were times he would even entertain the idea of bringing them out to play but eventually outgrew it. The thought of using priceless relics as toys wasn’t exactly a good idea.

Eventually he came upon the artifacts. The ones that was supposed to contain magic. It was a big risk, taking such objects from the safety of their display cases. Dad always said that they should be handled by professional movers with their industrial white gloves and no one else. Doing so would risk damaging the relics.

The boy weighed his options, glancing at each objects carefully. The statue seemed like a safe bet seeing that it was made out of stone. But it was also pretty big and cumbersome. He’ll have to lift it with both his hands to transport it safely and people here would notice. The dagger was portable but it looked very fragile. Not to mention you can still cut yourself with that thing. The Chalice of Wishes was a tempting choice too but seeing as it was the centerpiece in his father’s collection, people would notice it missing immediately.

And so with a heavy heart he made for the next best thing.

The bowl. It was the most logical choice. It was made out of ceramic, a bit fragile but it could survive a night outside its safe-space.

“Calm down Flash.” The boy muttered to himself, breathing heavily. “Remember, you’re doing it for them. They’re counting on you. You’re just borrowing it for one night. You’ll have it back before anyone realize it’s missing.” He quietly reached for a hidden compartment behind the vault door finding a set of keys within. He’s been through this place a thousand times before. They never changed the location of the spare keys. With a defining click, the display case opened. There were no alarms, and hardly anyone would take a look at the security footage until tomorrow.

He then quietly stuffed the bowl into his jacket and walked out the door.

The frown on Sunset’s face went deeper than one might expect as she scanned the text on her phone, reading the words carefully. She was the first to arrive at Twilight’s place, preparing for a fight… or a sleepover, whichever came first.

“Flash just sent me a message.” She announced to her best friend who cuddled her pet dog tightly. “He’s got the artifact and is on his way.”

“Excellent! I’ll get my equipment ready.” The girl hastily got to work, putting all the gadgets and gizmos up like they were Christmas decorations. Her room practically looked like the setting of a mad scientist’s laboratory. With all those pipes, wires and gauges that measured some twisted data, it’s no wonder she was voted to be the resident nerd of the school last year. All that was missing was a platform that raises corpses to the roof to be struck by lightning and brought back to life.

“I still can’t believe you actually went and got Flash to do this.”

Twilight sighed. She was really getting tired of this conversation. “I didn’t force him to do anything. He wanted to help so I asked him. The artifact will speed up our search process. And the faster we find this shadow monster, the faster things will go back to normal.”

“I know. It’s just that – It looks like we’re using him for all of this. He means well but I get the feeling that he goes a tad bit too far.”

“Are you talking about how he fixed Applejack’s farm in just a single day.”

“Yeah. Kind of like that.” She admitted that it looked a bit strange. “I mean… I’ve known Flash ever since freshman year and we’ve dated for a while but I never knew that he…” The words were lost to her.

“Came from an incredibly wealthy and highly-respected family?”

“Yeah… that.” Sunset tilted her head in thought. “I mean… how did I miss that?”

“Well you heard what Vice-Principal Luna said: Flash doesn’t talk about his family that much. He probably likes to keep to himself.”

“You’ve seen Flash, right?”

Twilight shrugged back. “I know that despite his… personal appearance, it is surprising. But there are things that people like to keep to themselves. I mean… even I have a few things that I don’t you guys.”

“You mean like your Sibling Supreme contest with your brother?” Sunset stated with a dung eating grin.

“Hey! I told you that in confidence.”

“I’m just saying that it’s weird that I’m only learning about this now. It… kind of makes me realize just how bad of a girlfriend I was to him.”

The scientist puckered her lips in thought. “Huh… maybe that’s why you’re so hung over about this.”

“Excuse me?”

“About Flash helping.” She explained, not stopping on her work. “Maybe it’s because of your previous relationship with him, you’re seeing things from the perspective of the old you. You said it yourself that you only dated Flash because it would boost your popularity in school. And somehow that’s twisting your logic. You used him for your own benefit and seeing me do the same is pulling all those old feelings back. I think deep down you’re still feeling guilty about what you did to him back then and don’t want to repeat that process.”

“That’s…” Sunset opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it when she thought about what her friend said. It’s true. She was a horrible person before she reformed and perhaps an even worse girlfriend than she thought. Perhaps all that time she never really got to mend fences. “That actually makes sense.”

“Remember how things turned out with Wallflower Blush when she brainwashed everyone?”

“How can we forget?” She paused thinking on that sentence. “Pun intended. But… yeah. I see your point. I just never really thought about it. It’s just that… when he said he forgave me for all the things I did, I must’ve believed that everything was back to normal. But I guess I haven’t really forgiven myself. I did some… really bad stuff back then.”

“No one’s perfect Sunset. We all make mistakes. It’s what we do afterward that makes the difference.” Twilight smiled warmly, giving a reassuring pat on the back. “And hey, maybe when all of this is done we can take him out for something nice. I’m sure everyone would pitch in after what Flash did for us. It’ll be like a party.”

“That… does sound good.” Sunset nodded, a smile spreading on her face. “I’m sure Applejack would approve. He did build her a new barn after all.”

Twilight laughed. “This is usually the part where Rarity goes: Goodness me. Seven girls taking one boy out for dinner? Oh the scandal! Whatever would they say?” She imitated the fashionista from her voice down to her fall-on-couch technique which made her friend snicker.

As much as Adagio wanted to hate this little detour, she had to admit that the food here were pretty good. She wouldn’t mind visiting this place again so long as they have Sonata’s favorite donuts. Those round pastries with colorful dust put on top. She sunk her teeth in one and felt the flavor explode in her mouth.

“I can’t believe we got here just before closing time.” Sonata happily stated as she chewed on her share of the treats. “Those cake people were so nice they even gave us two extras! How awesome is that?”

“More like they didn’t want them to go to waste.” Aria deduced deadpanned. “How can you stomach that stuff? Don’t we like… eat these at the café like all the time?”

“Yeah but the treats we have there have no frosting. The boss keeps saying that its budget cuts. Whatever that means. Oh! Maybe we should try lattie next.”

“It’s pronounced latte.”

Sonata waggled her finger at her. “Tsk tsk tsk. Come now Aria. I’m the one who works at the coffee stand. I think I know best when it comes to pronouncing things there. Like capanchio.”

“It’s cappuccino.”

“Yeah! What did I say?”

Ugh… for the love of…

Do these idiots have to argue over the dumbest things? Who cares what they’re called!? As long as you can serve in time without complaints, then it’s fine. There’s no need to memorize everything that jerk of a boss tells you to. They’re all doing a good enough job already. They don’t anymore…

Hmm?

Adagio’s eyes sharpened when the air shifted once more. She felt that strange presence once again lurking nearby. It was the same one she felt back near the café. It was a pressure, a dangerous one at that. And whatever it was, it was making her skin crawl.

“Come on girls.” She urged them. “Walk faster.”

They did so at her command.

And just as she suspected, that ‘thing’ followed them too.

Quietly she gave her ‘sisters’ a knowing look and they nodded. They quickened their pace, still pretending to be oblivious to their stalker.

They found a quiet corner hidden away from prying eyes. It was a narrow alley behind an apartment building where the tenants discard their trash. No one would be there at this time of night.

And like a lost puppy ‘it’ followed them, turning to the alley only to find it… empty?

“Didn’t your mother teach you any manners? Don’t you know it’s rude to be stalking people in the middle of the night?” Adagio stated appearing from behind as if by magic. But if the creature felt any sense of intimidation it certainly didn’t show it. Instead its eyes narrow back at her, showing its hidden fangs. “So you’re the big bad wolf those annoying girls have been talking about? I thought you’d be bigger.”

“Aww… it’s like a cute shadow puppy. But… bigger.” Sonata and Aria followed suit, appearing from the other side of the alley cornering the beast. “Can we keep it?”

“Not really sure the owner would like that.”

“It doesn’t matter.” The head of the Sirens scoffed. “What matters is that I don’t like folks trailing me like some kind of hound. Now.” She raised her hand up, her fingers glowing with power. “Are we going to talk? Or do we need to send you back to your master whimpering?”

It replied with a roar and lung at her with its hind legs.

Adagio expected that kind of response and quickly opened her mouth. The magic flowed from her finger creating a bright ray of light that banished the darkness.

The shadow reeled back, feeling its own skin fizzle and burn like a vampire facing the sun. It growled and barked before quietly changing target.

Aria followed it up using the same spell to blast another bright light pinning the monster to one side of the alley. It seemed like a one-sided fight.

Until the creature got smart and sunk into the nearest shadow, seemingly retreating from this battle.

“Pfft… not even a challenge.” Aria grumbled feeling like the whole fight seemed anti-climactic somehow. “And to think that those girls that beat us are actually afraid of this thing.”

“Aria! Behind us!” Sonata shouted spotting the monster coming out of the dark and quickly cast the same light spell to fight it. Thankfully she was quick enough and the beast recoiled from the beam. “Ha! Nice try doggy. But it’s three against one! You don’t stand a cha-eh?” She regretted those words immediately when she noted the shadow wolf suddenly split a piece of its own body to summon two smaller versions of itself. “Uh… can shadow monsters do that?”

“Stop talking for one minute and fight back!” Adagio ordered combining her magic with her ‘sisters’. But much to their surprise the giant shadow wolf simply split more of itself sending its minions to attack their blind spots. The roles then reversed and now them found themselves surrounded by this beast. They fought back valiantly, blasting one small shadow monster after another. But with every beast they took down, it was quickly replaced with another. They were as numberless as the darkness around them.

“Uh… Adagio. I think we might in over our heads.”

Darn it all! To be beaten by shadow slaves of all things!? How humiliating. It’s bad enough they had to be beaten by a bunch of kids, now this? If only they still had their amulets and their full Equestrian Magic, she’d make an example of whoever was controlling these things and give him/her a piece of her mind!

But just as she formed a plan, Sonata suddenly noted the mother of these shadow spawns suddenly grew in size. It towered over them, bearing its eyes and teeth ready to swallow them whole. She quickly realized its plan. There was no way to dodge it.

“Ow! What are you…” Adagio never got to finish when she found herself thrown out of the encirclement with Aria. The blue haired girl’s deathly scream faded as the monster gobbled her up.

“Sonata!” Aria cried out in panic and tried to rush in but her leader stopped her.

“Are you crazy!? You’ll get eaten!”

“But… Sonata…!”

“Focus your magic.” Adagio ordered stepping forward with both hands glowing. “Full power! Hold nothing back!” And with a blast of magic not seen in this world for some time, the two Sirens burned like the stars and banished the shadows from whence they came. The spawns and the mother vanished instantly leaving behind the girl it swallowed unconscious on the ground.

“Sonata!” Aria called out and reached for the poor girl cradling her head in one hand. “Sonata, say something!” The girl stirred, her eyelids lifting up just barely. Her lips moved but they couldn’t make out the words. “Don’t worry. I got you now. We’ll get you home and you’ll be all better.”

But Adagio didn’t share that sentiment. Her eyes darted to the darkness and noticed how the shadows there began to reform. The beast was coming back and it was spawning more of its children for a second round.

“We need to move. Now.” Frightened and panicked they quickly grabbed Sonata and bolted out of there before they became the monster’s next meal.

They ran. Ran faster than they’ve ever done before. But despite their efforts that ‘thing’ followed them. She can feel their magical presence slithering through the darkened corners of the street. It chased them from one block to another, breaking light bulbs and lanterns along the way.

“They’re gaining on us!”

“Yes I can see that, Cpt. Obvious! Keep moving! We have to find some place that has enough light that it won’t be able to chase us!” Which was a lot easier said than done seeing as most of the stores in the downtown area were closed. No one would be dumb enough to drive through this area at this time of night.

But to her surprise, she was wrong and there was someone dumb enough to come through here in their time of need. A vehicle was coming through.

“Wait here.” Adagio ordered before suddenly jumping onto the road blocking the car’s path. Thankfully the driver on the wheel slammed hard on the breaks screeching the tires out, the front bumper just inches away from turning her into road-kill.

“Hey!” The young blue haired driver popped out from his car, shouting. “What’s the big idea?” But she didn’t have the time or patience to deal with this and quickly shoved him back inside, signaling Aria to hop in before taking the passenger seat.

“Drive.”

“What?” The driver questioned before the shadow wolf caught up roaring loudly at them.

“I said DRIVE!”