//------------------------------// // 68 // Story: Seven Lights // by Fresnor //------------------------------// “Seriously!? She cast that on a doll of all things!?” Laughter filled the air as Sunset Shimmer reacted to Spike's story about one of Twilight's misadventures over the years. The young dragon-turned-boy nodded emphatically as the third member of the group rolled her eyes and looked around the restaurant they were in. On Pinkie Pie's recommendation, the human one, the three found themselves at what looked to be the human version of a donkey style restaurant, though with a lot more meat on the menu. “Flare here was nearly as bad and it happened at the same time. She locked herself in her basement for days doing research. All of our friends had to go down and drag her out of there, not sure how she could even stand those guard rations for that long.” Aegis Flare groaned as the story turned towards her and she shook her head at the disgusted look on Sunset's face. “Why do you think I had an idea about what was going on with the whole Anon-a-miss thing? Magic that messes with the mind in any way is not something to play around with, especially because of the after-effects. Celestia was really negligent on that, though I heard that Cadance really got on her about it.” The teenage girl winced at those words, but she couldn't find it in her to argue. “She really hasn't changed much since I ran away, has she?” The two others in the booth looked at her crestfallen face and winced at the expression. “That's not to say that she isn't a good pony, but after a thousand years of ruling alone she tends to lose track of what is right in front of her. She's been getting better now that there are others to help her and take up some of her duties, and I know that she wants to see you again. You can visit any time now that the portal is open whenever needed.” This brought a sad smile to the girl's face, though she was still unsure of if she would take up the offer. “Maybe someday I'll take you up on that, but not right now. Still, as fun as this is I really should get out of your way. I doubt those three will want to see me or Spike when they show up.” The older looking female of the two nods to the younger as she looks over the room as the two prepared to leave. Spike paused before he left the booth and looked at his friend. “Hey Flare, are you sure you are going to be all right by yourself? They gave the girls problems when they were at the school.” The woman just waves a hand at the concerned boy, not worried in the slightest. “Don't worry, I have a couple of ideas to use, and if all else fails I have a trump card to pull. Go have some fun while waiting and we'll meet at the portal later.” Spike looks unsure but slowly nods to her before following after Sunset. Not seeing the Dazzlings yet, she nods to the two as they head out, thinking on all the things that had been going on that day. The transformed alicorn was left waiting with her thoughts as the time for those she was meeting with approached, along with the food she had ordered to go with it. She did not have long to wait as the door opened once again and two figures entered. Seeing the fuchsia and cyan skin-tones of the two, Aegis Flare assumed that they were part of the group she was waiting for. It was further confirmed when the one described to her as Aria Blaze turned her head to stare directly in her eyes before marching over to her table, followed by Sonata. “Were you the one who called us out here? Just who are you, what do you want, and why should I not beat you to a pulp for making me come out here with this airhead.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at her sister who was hovering behind her, bouncing around in excitement as she looked around the restaurant. The seated woman calmly looked around for the third but failed to see her in the building. “Yes, I was the one that contacted you, though I was told that there were supposed to be three of you.” Her calm manner didn't sit right with Aria, especially as the woman appeared to know something about them. Slamming her hands on the table in front of the woman, she glared at her trying to glean something from the calm demeanor of the person in front of her. “Psh, whatever. Come on Sonata, let's get out of here.” She moved to leave, grabbing her sister's hand on the way by, but she was stopped up short when her sister refused to move. Turning back to reprimand her, she froze as she saw a waitress bringing out a large tray of tacos, causing her to groan. The siren groaned as she brought her other hand up to her face as Sonata looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. “Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner? I don't think I could finish all of this myself.” Sonata upgraded her eyes from puppy to kitty as she found a hat to clutch in her hands, completing the picture. Aria sighed in resignation as she tossed her sister into the booth opposite the woman and slid in next to her. She groaned as her sister started digging into the tacos messily before turning her glare ate the woman opposite her. “All right, fine. Why did you call us here? And don't expect Adagio to show up any time soon, she's too busy whining back home.” Aegis Flare just sat there for a moment and decided that it didn't matter much as it was probably easier to deal with the two already there first. Glancing over at the siren chowing down with amusement, she snagged a taco for herself and took a bite before addressing the impatient Dazzling. “Well, to sum it all up and make it quick, I would like to offer you all a job.” While Sonata was still focused on eating, she did look a little thin, Aria was looking at her with suspicion. After a minute of silence, she finally broke it. “All right, I'll bite. What's the catch, and why us?” Instead of answering immediately, the suited woman took a deep pull from the soda she ordered earlier. After letting the siren stew for a moment she finally met her eyes. “The catch is that all three of you need to accept and that you will have to start training for the job once we arrive where we are going.” Aria stared at her in silence for a few moments before she realized that there was no more information coming. A look of disgust crossed her face as she slowly stood up from her seat. “Seriously? That's all you're going to say about the job? That you want all of us and some training? Oh yeah, not like that is suspicious or anything. You know what, I'm out and there is nothing you can say to change my mind. Come on Sonata.” Aria stormed out of the building, though Sonata took a moment to stuff her face with as many tacos as she could in a short period of time. That delay was enough for Aegis Flare to pull an object out of one of her pockets and dangled it in front of the ditzy Dazzling. The waving object caused her to freeze up in shock and it was in that position that Aria returned to find her in when she noticed that her sister hadn't followed her. “Sonata! What are you still doing here!? I said we were- Where did you get that!?” Her anger faded away at the sight of the object, turning into one of sheer terror. She swallowed nervously as the woman who held their very lives in her hand just sat there watching them. “Don't you think your other sister would want to know about this as well?” The two sirens-turned-human looked at each other, simultaneously realizing that no matter what happens, their lives changed that day. <><><><><><><> “Damn it Aria, stop pushing me! What in Tartarus is so important that you had to drag me all the way out here? Did Sonata do something stupid again?” Aegis Flare looked up from watching Sonata warily eat through the offered tacos to see the poofy hair of the third siren of the group. She watched as the more violent seeming of the trio pushed what she had been told was the leader over to her before shoving her into the seat next to her sister before Aria sat down as well, boxing her in. “Seriously! Just what is your problem!? You just barge into my room to drag me all the way out here without saying a word and... Wait, just who are you?” The teen was building up into a rant but it was interrupted when she saw the woman across from her. By that point she had put the item that had scared the other two away and was sitting on equal terms with the Dazzling, at least as far as she knew. “I've been waiting for you Adagio. I was expecting all three of you two to show up earlier as my offer concerns all three of you. Your sister was kind enough to go and fetch you so you don't miss anything.” Aria scoffs at her words, turning away from her, while the leader of the trio just blinks at her in confusion. A few seconds later realization comes to her and her confusion turns to anger. “Wait, you're the one who contacted us earlier? I told you two that I wanted nothing to do with that garbage!” In anger, she tried to shove her way out of the booth, but Aria wasn't moving. “But 'Dagi...” Sonata tried to talk reason into her sister but was interrupted by a hand being clapped across her mouth. “No, Sonata. I don't care what you have to say and there is nothing that can make me go along with whatever insanity you have yourself mixed up with! Now let me out!” With a hard shove, she sent her sister sprawling onto the ground before stepping out of the booth. As she walked away Aegis Flare sighed and decided to use her final trump card. “Is that so? Melody Charm would be so sad to hear that, especially if that is how you treat your sisters.” Adagio stumbled at the name and slowly came to a stop. The look of shock on the faces of the other two showed just how much her words affected them all. Reaching into her pocket yet again to retrieve the object in it the woman held it up as the teen slowly turned to face her, anger on her face. “What did you just say!? How do you know- How do you have one of those!?” All three sets of eyes were focused on the object in the woman's hand, a pink seashell necklace. “Well, how else would I know that name? It was a gift from her.” The three blinked in sequence before Aria snorted in disgust. “How do we know you are telling the truth, huh? You could have just found that on some random beach.” This was met by a swat to the back of her head by the orange-haired sister. “Don't be a fool, Aria! Just focus a moment and you can feel the power behind it! What I want to know is what it is that you want with us.” Taking a sip from her cola first, Aegis Flare described to her what she had already done so with her sisters. After she was caught up Adagio looked at the woman speculatively. “That just brings up more questions, like who it is that you work for. I seriously doubt that Celestia or that the infuriating Starswirl would agree to anything like this.” The name Starswirl caused the suited princess to raise an eyebrow as a headache began to take form. “Starswirl? Just how long do you think it has been since you were sent to this world?” This question caused the three sirens to look at each other in confusion before the perky one spoke up. “Only the thirty most boring years ever. Hasn't it been that long back home?” Hearing the small number actually broke the serene face that she was trying to cultivate as both her hands rose up to meet her face. “Starswirl, if I ever somehow meet you I am so bucking you upside the head.” With a sigh, she looked up to see the confused looks on the three faces before shaking her head. “It has been over a thousand years since you were sent here. I'd say that your punishment for what happened back then is long over, especially when you are no longer under the influence of those corrupted flashstone shards you had.” Three hands rose up to reach at a spot below their necks with a wince before Adagio sighed in resignation while the other two looked frozen at the thought of so much time passing. “So you even know about where we got those from? You really did talk to our older sister, didn't you? How is she? And you still didn't answer me on who you were, though anyone that wants to hit that old geezer can't be that bad.” Aegis Flare took a deep breath to calm herself as many pieces about the world fell into place, all of them involving time travel in some way. “Your sister was fine last I saw her. I found her a while back in an area that had a portion of the ocean transported to it with her and a bunch of other sea ponies. She gave the necklace this after saving them all from being boiled alive by lava hounds that were also transported nearby and kept them safe until the phenomenon ended, sending them home. And that leads me into why I came to you.” She paused in her speaking to let the trio take in the fact that their sister was safe before continuing. “My name is Aegis Flare, and I am one of the top leaders of the Equestrian Black Guard, a group consisting of diplomats and problem solvers for the country. We currently don't have any official contact with the seapony kingdom which is where you three come in.” The Dazzlings look away from her at each other before the huddled up and talked to each other quietly. After a few moments of the family meeting, the three looked back over at the waiting woman. “But why us? You know our history and I really doubt that Princess Sunbutt will want anything to do with us. Not to mention that mess with Twilight Sparkle... Unless years have passed on the other side since she was here I doubt we are going to be allowed to walk free over there.” Adagio and Sonata nod along with Aria's words, though Aegis Flare quickly waved them off. “What they want won't matter as you would only answer directly to me and two others along with those we designate as your superior. Besides, I really don't agree with Starswirl's insanity of using punishments that don't work. I could probably make a list of the problems he has caused and it would be longer than the good. It's probably why many of the spells he created are locked away in a restricted area.” Her dislike of the ancient unicorn caused Sonata to chuckle, though the other two had to wonder why she was this way. Looking at each other again, Aria just slowly nods to her sister who just sighed and shook her head. “Fine, we'll go with you. Anything to get off this dirtball and back home. At least our older sister is still around.” Her tone went from annoyed defiance to resigned sadness as she spoke, though before anything more could be said the third sister cut into the conversation. “Wait! Before we agree to go with you there is one more thing we want!” The other two sirens groaned at the third as they could easily guess what was coming. Aegis Flare just slowly nodded to her as she folded her hands in front of her. “Really? And what that would be?” She looked into Sonata's eyes as the siren returned the look with all the seriousness she could muster. “Tacos.” Her reply was met with groans from her sisters as one of the alicorn-turned-woman's eyebrows rose? “Tacos?” Sonata nodded in confirmation to the question. “Tacos. All we can eat for as long as we work for you. I don't know if they are a thing back home but I will not live without them.” Aegis Flare's eye stayed raised for a moment longer before she shook her head with a smile. “If you all agree to come along then you can have your own taco restaurant. Just grab all the recipes you need so I can get all the ingredients you could want. Gather everything you want to take with and meet me out by the Canterlot High statue.” Sonata let out a squeal of joy at the counteroffer as she leaped over the table to grab the princess up in a hug before speeding out the door. Moments later she rushed back in, grabbed as many tacos as she could hold, then rushed right back out the door again. “Great, now she is going to be impossible to deal with. Did you have to encourage her like that?” A shrug was the only response to Adagio's question as Aegis Flare started flipping through the remaining money she had. “I saw no harm with it, and it is probably better than having her constantly pouting. Though shouldn't you catch up with her to make sure she doesn't get too crazy packing?” The two sirens only then realized that they had a taco fueled sister on the loose, unsupervised. The transformed alicorn chuckled as the two took off while she placed the payment for the meal down and signaled to a waitress. With a smile at a successful mission, she made her way out to meet up with Spike at the school. <><><><><><><> “I still can't believe it's been twenty years on that side. If I didn't run away like I did I'd almost be as old as Principal Celestia. Yet, the mirror made me even younger, and if what you say is right the sirens were here for thirty years yet over a thousand have gone by in Equestria. I have no idea how this thing even works.” Sunset Shimmer glared at the statue along with Spike and Aegis Flare. Pinkie Pie had already gone through after they made sure it was the correct one, so they were only waiting on the sirens no and were talking about the portal to pass the time. “Well it was made by Starswirl, so who knows what he screwed up in its creation.” The older woman frowned at the portal as Spike shook his head. “You better not let Twilight hear you say that. She'd go into on of her fits over someone insulting her idol.” He only got an eye-roll in response before she smirked at him. “Bet you'd be saying the same thing if you didn't come through as a human. I remember how you and she interacted when you first came to Ponyville and you were more like master and pet than brother and sister/mother. Could you imagine going through the portal with a self-image like that? You would probably ended up as a dog or something.” The two girls laughed at the indignant look that crossed Spike's face at the suggestion, though he admitted only to himself that he would be rather miffed if that had happened. Their discussion was curtailed as a shout from down the street rang out, and they looked up to see the Dazzlings running up with a suitcase each. Sunset was out of their view, hidden behind the older woman, but stepped back so that the statue was between her and the sirens. “I was starting to wonder if you three were coming. Did you get everything you wanted to bring?” Sonata pouted at the question though didn't say anything as her sister's rolled their eyes. “Sort of. We had to stop this doofus from packing half the apartment. You know how hard it is deciding what to keep when we have no idea what would even work in Equestria? Now how are we supposed to get back to Equestria from here anyways?” The woman was about to answer Aria, but it seemed her sister wasn't done with her complaining. “But Aria, why couldn't I bring the TV with? I'll miss all of my shows without it.” The other two sisters just groaned as they rubbed at their temple in frustration. “Sonata, we already told you that it was just too big. And how do you expect to actually be able to watch anything on it from another world?” The blue siren's levels of pouting only went up as she started muttering to herself. “You don't know that.” Her complaints were ignored as a familiar sound chuckle was heard from behind the statue, one the three weren't expecting to hear. “Well, you three haven't changed very much I see.” Aria and Adagio turned to glare at the figure that stepped around from the side of the statue into their view. “Sunset Shimmer. Just what are you doing here?” While Adagio glared at the teenager after saying that, Aria added her own growl at her while Sonata just looked at her blankly. The gold and red-haired girl just shook her head sadly as she brought her hands up defensively. “Whoa, I'm not here to fight. I'm just here to see how you three are doing.” This only earns her looks of suspicion from the more self-aware of the trio. Adagio stepped forward and looked at her with a glare full of hate. “What, come to gloat over your victory? How you robbed us of our powers and now you're going to watch as we are kicked out of yet another world?” Sunset winced at the accusation before looking at her with a sorrowful expression. “Do you really think that little of me? Even after you said before that you knew about my past? If anyone would know something about what you are going through after being freed from the control of a magical artifact it would be me.” The glares continues until Aria turns away and Adagio lets out a huff of annoyance. “Fine, so maybe you aren't here for that, but that doesn't explain why you're here.” Sunset sighed and looked at the three waiting on them all. “You might as well head on over, this may take a while.” Spike nods, but pauses as Pinkie throws herself through the portal before following after her. Aegis Flare crossed her arms and just leaned against the side of the portal to watch how things would play out. Seeing as she wasn't going to leave yet, Sunset sighed and turned back to the Dazzlings who were staring at the portal in amazement. “You mean to tell us that the way back to Equestria was there this entire time? Why couldn't we sense any Equestrian magic from it before?” Sunset Shimmer could only shrug as she glanced at the statue once again. “I really have little idea on how the portal works, especially after Twilight messed with it. It used to only open at certain times but she managed to make it where she can control it from her side. As for why I'm here...” She paused for a moment before looking at the woman next to her and sighed sadly. “While I want to go back, I just don't think I'm ready to yet. Since I'm still going to be here I just wanted to let you know that if you needed anything from here that you forgot then you could let me know and I'd send it over for you.” Adagio continued to glare at her for a while longer and opened her mouth to reply but was brought up short. Sonata had chosen that moment to move in front of her and look up at her with sad puppy-dog eyes until the older sister snorted in annoyance. “Fine, if we find that any of the stuff we left works in Equestria we can ask her for help. Now, will you stop giving me that face?” The blue siren let out a cheer and jumped up to hug her sister who sighed and patted her on the back. Soon the siren was bouncing around the other two as they just shook their heads at her antics. After a moment the eldest of the trio turned her attention back to the unicorn-turned-human. “Okay, so maybe we could use your help with that if it ever comes up. At least to keep her quiet about it at the very least. As for you...” Her gaze turned slightly to the side to look at the other person. “I was thinking back on what you said earlier and there is still one point that you didn't come clean on. Just who are you to be able to protect us from Celestia if she finds out about us? What's to stop her from just ordering you to get rid of us?” Aegis Flare just rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses before she smirked at the trio. “She can't. There is an agreement in place that, while she can make suggestions, she has no authority over the Black Guard. In fact, the only ones with authority over you during training are me, and whatever teacher that is in charge at the time. So you don't have anything to worry about from her except maybe an annoyed frown, assuming she even remembers you.” The two more serious sirens blinked blankly at her as they processed her words, once again wondering just who this woman was to be in command of something over the princess of Equestria. Still, they decided, being able to go home after all these years was definitely worth the risk. “Fine, but if you're lying to us then I will find a way to make you regret it.” With those words Aria stood in front of the statue, looking it over before being joined by Adagio. As they examined the portal, they were thrown off balance as they were struck from behind. “Wheee!” Sunset and Flare shook their heads as they watch Sonata tackle her sisters through the portal, with the latter wondering how the blue siren would react when around Pinkie Pie. The alicorn-turned-human looked over at the teenager as she looked longingly at the portal. “You know you can come along as well if you want. I'm sure that Celestia would love to see you again.” Sunset stood there for a moment before she shook her head slowly. “No... Not yet at least. There are still things I need to do over here and well... I'm just not ready to face her yet.” Aegis Flare nodded as she tugged at the front of her suit, straightening it out as she stepped away from the statue. Looking around once more she spotted Sunset's friends waving to her from down the street so they quickly bid each other farewell. This left the princess alone with her thoughts as she prepared to head back to her own world once more. Yet, as she prepared to make that final step she was stopped as she recognized a figure that she wasn't expecting exiting the front of the school. It took her a moment, as there was only a faint feeling of familiarity, but she soon recognized the woman that had exited the building with a push-broom as the counterpart of her aunt, Night Wing. She leaned back against the statue and watched as the woman brushed the snow away from the sidewalk, occasionally pulling some salt out of a pocket to dust over a slick spot on the ground. As she passed the woman by the statue, she glanced up at her before moving around to the other side of it. Aegis Flare was suspicious of the woman, but only over the fact that she knew her counterpart and had a guess on why she was working at the school, especially with what she had heard earlier. Nodding to herself, she prepared to step through but sent out one last set of parting words. “You don't have to hide yourself from your nieces, I know that your brother would love to know that you are helping to keep them safe, Noapte Aripa.” The woman froze up at hearing her name in her birth language before her personal training kicked in as she ran around to the other side of the statue to confront whoever said that. Unfortunately, she was too slow as when she came around the other side she found that there was no sign of anyone left in the area. <><><><><><><> Lights flashed by Aegis Flare as she traveled through the portal back to Equestria. It wasn't long until she came out the other side, though it was into the sound of an argument between multiple ponies. Shaking her head to clear it from the disorientation of going from biped to quadruped, she looked around to see the three sirens trapped under a magenta dome, with Twilight nearby lecturing an annoyed Spike and oblivious Pinkie Pie. She shook her head and interrupted the peeved purple princess. “Twilight, what are you doing with my new recruits?” The mare, hearing her, turned to start in on berating her but froze as what she said registered with her. “Finally you're through. Why didn't you tell us that Twilight Sparkle was waiting for us or that she was a princess? I would think that that would be an important bit of information to tell us.” Adagio was busy glaring at the one princess so hadn't turned to see the presence of a second. Her sisters had though so had a front row seat of the reveal of the third princess in the room, them being unsure how to react to the pink alicorn. “Wowie, you too? Just how many alicorns are there now?” Adagio glanced back at Sonata questioningly for her comment. “Too? What do you mean by-” She was cut off as she turned to look back towards the mirror and spotted the bat-winged alicorn that had came out of it. Her jaw dropped in shock as a large number of her questions were answered just by that image before her. Before she could voice her concerns though another being called out to the room. “Just what is going on here!? First, I find that you've been using the portal without my permission, then for some reason the I find the sirens somehow found it and came through, and they aren't even sirens for some reason any more!” Twilight started to pace back and forth in frustration as her friends looked on. Shaking her head, the orange mare stepped forward while examining the Dazzlings. As she said, the three weren't in an aquatic form, though she wasn't really expecting it considering the situation. In fact, the forms they each took fit rather well, with Aria as a pegasus, Adagio a unicorn, and Sonata as an earth pony. The leader of the trio shook her head to clear it then glared at the alicorn that had caused them to end up in the situation they were in. “What I'd like to know is when you were going to tell us that you were an alicorn. Was this all just a trap?” The mare in question raised an eyebrow, at that moment finding she missed the sunglasses, before shaking her head in response. “Actually, I didn't expect Twilight to be out of her lab for nearly a week. And they're still sirens, how else would seaponies blend in around coastal towns without anyone noticing them? I'm not sure exactly which towns they use, they were rather quiet on that bit. Of course, that's why I got these three, as a way to work out a way to contact them.” Twilight's glare didn't lessen as she glanced at the trapped sirens-in-pony-form. “Seriously? You not only used the portal for something like that but tried to distract me so I wouldn't find out! Don't you know what kind of problems that you could have caused by going to that world!? They were banished there for a reason!” A snort was the response she got from the other mare as she looked back at the portal. “I really doubt that. That hack Starswirl couldn't even bother with dealing with his problems so instead we have to clean up after him. Even worse that he had to teach Celestia how to pass the bit to others all the time.” She was too busy venting her frustrations that she didn't notice Twilight steadily going red in the face. The rest of the room started to back away from the two, or as far as they could in the case of the siren, before she could explode. Aegis Flare realized this too late as an aura of magenta magic wrapped around one of her ear and started dragging her towards the other mare. “What!? How could you say something like that!? Starswirl was one of the greatest unicorns of all time!” From there her rant only grew as the other alicorn couldn't get a word in edgewise. Bella Donna entered the room not long after to find her daughter seated in front of a blackboard with Twilight Sparkle in the process of lecturing her. Not wanting to interrupt she walked over to the other group seated in the back of the room as far from the two as they could get. “So, what did my daughter this time?” The three Dazzlings, freed from the shield when Twilight forgot about them in her anger, turned wide eyes towards the unicorn that hobbled over with her peg legs. Spike let out a sigh of relief when he saw her as she would know what to do. “She just insulted Starswirl AND Celestia over how they tend to always use banishment and stuff to deal with villains. Not sure if it was intentional, but it did distract Twilight from your three newest recruits here.” The unicorn's eyebrow rose at this before a smile slowly grew on her face. The three sirens looked at each other in worry as a shiver of terror slowly crawled up their spines. <><><><><><><> “Ugh, finally!” Aegis Flare pushed open the door to her room before flopping on her bed, leaving the door to slowly close on it's own, though not latching. It had taken hours for Twilight to get through her lecture, though it did nothing for or opinion on the ancient wizard and inf fact made it worse as a few more items came up that she would need to look into later. She was surprised that there wasn't anything on Celestia, though it may be due to the fact that Tirek was so recent and was something that Celestia had failed to deal with in the past. She at least had a chance to stop by a friend's place in town to pick something up from her. With that thought going through her mind she pulled off her saddlebags and pulled out something she had picked up earlier. Looking over what had once been the music player she had bought in the world, she examined the crystal disc setup that it had become. While it's shape was still much the same, the screen it once was had been replaced with a gem that displayed the name of the current song, which could be changed by touching a couple of smaller ones on the top. The discs seemed to be what held the data for the music, which could be accessed through a small hole where the sound output was connected. Vinyl Scratch had been surprised when she was shown the object, and took many notes before extracting a promise to be allowed to listen to the music on it sometime. Aegis Flare had agreed along with making a request from the DJ to look into any thestral or griffon music groups as many of the songs she had listened to made her think more of them than the normal pony musicians that could be found. It only took her playing one song over one of the speakers the mare had in her home to get her to agree as it was something new to her as well. Shaking her head, the alicorn put thoughts of the music player, especially on how it had changed after coming through the portal, and instead attached the small speaker she had borrowed from the unicorn and set it on the end-table by her bed before pressing play. As the music started her ear twitched towards the speaker and began flicking along with the beat. Her eyes closed as she relished in the alien beat as her shoulders began to join in with her ears. Soon she slowly pushed herself off of her bed to bob her whole body to the beat. As it picked up her tail was flicking along before she started strutting along in the space between the door and her bed, flanks swinging along to the music. But unknown to her she wasn't as alone as she had thought. Her door had slowly creaked open a small amount as a purple eye peered into the room. With a giggle, the figure dashed away, only to return a short time later with others. The door was pushed all the way open to reveal Aegis Flare shaking her flank around wildly as she danced around to the music, bringing grins to the faces of her audience. When a bright flash lit up the room, the dancing mare froze in place. “Wow, that one is just perfect for the photo album!” The frozen mare's head slowly turned to find that not only her sister, but her mother and all of her friends were gathered outside of her door looking in on her. She was unsure how to react to the situation, but her gaze soon settled on the camera in her sister's hooves causing her eyes to narrow. “Scootaloo, give me the camera.” The filly looked up to see the glare on her sister's face before she gulped nervously and took a step backward, a path opening between the mares behind her. “I'm serious, give me the camera.” Scootaloo looked behind her to find the open path before looking once again at her sister, her wings buzzing. As the alicorn's eyes narrowed even further, the filly let out a laugh as she rose up into the air on her wings before darting out the door and down the hall. “Scoots, get back here and give me that camera! SCOOTALOO!” The gathered mares laughed at the antics of the siblings, happy to see the elder one in such high spirits.