//------------------------------// // Conscequences // Story: Equestria Girls: Love Is Magic // by onekface //------------------------------// Chapter 17: Consequences (Later) (Alleyway) Cinch panted heavily as she fumbled her way through the alley of the city clutching her aching hand. Whoever attacked her certainly used a lot of force. Enough to break two of her fingers in the process. The fire of that explosion was now raging behind her. Police sirens and other emergency services echoed in the distance no doubt attracted by the battle that was just fought. Curse those girls for ruining her plan. Curse them all! For a brief moment she had all the power. All the magic! She could feel it. The ability to conjure anything she desired. The very powers of a god at the palm of her hand. She could’ve had it all! Everything was going her way until that very last moment when it all shattered to pieces, literally. Now all the energy that she gathered in that tiny box was gone. It expelled into the air becoming nothing more than lights that danced in the night sky. All because of that boy! Still… it wasn’t a complete loss. She was able to defeat those girls draining them of their Equestrian Magic. It would take them some time to recover. And it would be easy to track them down. So long as she had one of Uta’s little copy attached to Sunset’s shadow she’ll know exactly where they are and what they’re planning. Right now it was perhaps best to lay low and build her cover story. If the master finds out about this, she’ll no doubt be furious. “Tsk… tsk… tsk… what a mess.” The woman froze on her tracks when she heard someone click their tongue in the shadow standing directly ahead of her. “You really rocked the boat this time, Abby. And here I thought you were more of a fighter.” She slowly straightened herself to meet with the new arrival. Her face twisted in disgust as the well-dressed man appeared, showing a smile that was borderline arrogance. “Hoity Toity.” She spat. “I should’ve known your visit here wasn’t a coincidence.” “Oh it is.” He corrected as he filed his nails not even looking at her. “I wasn’t supposed to be transferred here until my shop was done but an old friend of mine invited me to his ridiculous pageant show so… I took the opportunity.” He let out a short laugh. “But you should know much about opportunities, shouldn’t you, Abby? Getting beaten by a bunch of kids. Twice? Oh how the mighty truly have fallen.” “I wasn’t beaten!” The woman countered, flaring. “I had them by their throats. They were weakened. I could’ve had it all!” “And you lost in all in a hair’s breath. Tsk tsk tsk. What a shame.” The fashion designer glanced upward noting the unusual aurora flowing in the sky. “It is quite beautiful though. What an absolute waste. We could’ve used that energy for our purpose too.” “Those children possess more magic than we know. If we combine our powers we can strike them now while they’re weakened. Help me Hoity!” “Oh I’m afraid I didn’t come to help you, Abby.” The man replied, his tone turning dark as he peeked down from his shades. He then slowly pulled a green egg-like object from his pocket which hummed with dark magic. “The memory stone?” Cinch gasped taking a few steps back in fear. “But… but why?” “The Master has grown tired of your… interference.” “I have done everything she asked of me!” The man rolled his eye boringly in response. “Oh she knows. And she also knows what you’ve been doing these last few weeks.” He paused, letting the words sink in. “Stealing magic from the chalice to serve your purpose was strike one. Disobeying orders was strike two. And now losing both immense sources of magic and your ‘Medium’? Not to mention nearly blowing all our cover? Now that’s one strike too many.” “But it wasn’t my fault! Those girls attacked me! I had to defend myself!” Hoity Toity sighed. “I’m afraid she doesn’t see it that way.” He raised the stone up and allowed the magic within to do its work. The woman could do nothing to defend herself. (A few hours later) (Canterlot Hill Picnic Grounds) The first thing Sunset noted when she woke up was this odd painful sensation. She reached out for her head but immediately regretted it when she felt her limbs ache at every sudden movement. The girl grumbled and groaned before finally gathering the strength to open her eyes. The moon and stars welcomed her back to the land of the living followed by a gentle breeze that cooled her face. By the time her visions cleared she noticed that she was laying on grass right beside Twilight and Pinkie Pie. The two of them looked practically tuckered out – or at least Twilight looked that way. Pinkie simply snored away comically like everything was right in the world. But moments later the events of the fight came flooding back. She remembered it all in a blink of an eye. The shadow monster, the Magic Trap... “Cinch!” She jolted up raising her hand in a stance before her knees gave way. “Wh… whoa!” “Hey!” An arm came by, grabbing her before she fell on the ground. “You alright Sunset?” “Flash?” The girl recognized the voice almost immediately. Her eyes cast over to him, relief and joy spreading across her face for a brief moment as she unconsciously embraced him before pushing him back, questions pondering over. “What are you doing here? You… you can’t be here! It’s…” “Hey! Easy!” He grabbed her by the shoulder trying his best to calm her down. “It’s ok. It’s over. You’re safe now.” “But… what about Cinch?” “I don’t know.” The boy responded, carefully letting her lean on a tree to support her weakened state. “After the fight, all I could do was get you out of there before the whole place burned down.” “Burned down? What are you talking about?” Flash pointed over to the city over by the cliff which roared with a bright and dangerous color. From there Sunset’s eyes shot up in terror when she noted the blazing inferno in the distance. Oh no… A whole section of the city was burning. You can see traces of fire and a long plume of smoke rising above it. Police and fire-truck sirens could be heard echoing from within. A smoldering ruin of fire was left in the wake of their battle leaving nothing behind but ash. It was… devastating. Was this… Was this their fault? Did they do this? “How could this have happened?” “Sunset?” Flash froze up when his ex-girlfriend grabbed onto him, her head burying into his chest trying to hold in a pained sob and hands shivering in fear. The boy reacted naturally too. Slowly he placed his hand on her back, reassuring her. “It’s ok. I got you.” … It took a few more minutes for the rest of the gang to wake up from their weakened slumber. Some of them were left shaken and traumatized but most were just groggy and tired. Having the magic drained from them really put them at a vulnerable position. And seeing the destruction just below made them feel even worst. They gathered around a picnic table where Flash had placed a variety of drinks and snacks for their leisure. Rainbow Dash was the first to express her irritation “Ugh… I haven’t felt this kind of wipeout since I slammed at Bulk’s back on the skating ring last year. What the heck happened?” “That’s what I want to know too.” Applejack agreed, holding her aching head in one hand while holding a cider bottle in another. “What in tarnation did Cinch do? One second she was on the ground, the next thing we know, the roles were reversed.” “Ugh… no… more… Pinkie Dive-Bomb.” “It’s my fault.” Twilight admitted casting a guilty look on the table. “Cinch reverse-engineered my Magic Trap. She had a remote function set inside and activated it when we least expected. She knew that we would use it against her in our fight. That’s why she allowed us to steal it.” “That’s a big blunder.” The cowgirl grumbled trying her best not to sound mean. But the aching head and weak body didn’t exactly stop her. “We all thought we had her cornered when in reality, she had our number this whole time.” “It’s not your fault Twilight.” Sunset stated having calmed down from her earlier fright. “But it is. I should’ve seen it. Cinch is a very cunning and clever person. Of course she’d set up something like this.” “Don’t…… blame… yourself… darling.” Rarity said weakly, her face on the table. “You couldn’t have…… seen everything. We were… all duped as far… as I can… see it.” Flash rushed to her side offering her a drink which she smiled back softly as she accepted. “Thank you.” “It was scary how she did it.” Fluttershy shivered at the thought. “We were all drained. I’ve never felt so… defenseless before.” And that was a lot coming from a girl like her. “I don’t even want to think what would’ve happened if Flash hadn’t come at that moment.” “Yeah. Great timing Flash.” Rainbow nodded at the boy in question giving him an impressed gesture. “That was a good swing by the way.” He shrugged back. “Hey, I’m just glad it worked out.” “What were you doing there though?” Sunset asked throwing a suspicious glance. “How did you know where we were?” “Because I brought him there.” A smug voice answered making the girls turn to the direction of the purple van that was parked nearby. “Adagio!?” Sunset gasped, surprised to see the Siren and her lackeys step out of it looking just as intimidating as ever. Even more so when their leader stood by with the same annoyed look on her face. “You’re… ok? But I thought…” “Thought what?” She sneered back annoyingly. “That I was drained of all my magic by that stupid witch?” They held their breaths, a few slowly nodding in reply. “Well you’re not wrong. For a moment there I actually thought I saw my life flashing before my eyes. Luckily someone actually decided to come prepared for some… certain eventuality.” She walked over to Flash and handed him an old antique looking dagger. “That’s twice I owe you now.” He gave her a coy smirk. “Should I put it on your tab?” She returned the gesture with a flirtatious shake of her hips. “You know I’m good for it.” “Is that… another Yaztec artifact?” Twilight recognized it. “Did you…” “Suck the magic out of it?” Adagio answered back without any hint of regret in her tone. “Pretty much.” “We didn’t break it though!” Sonata added earning a look from the gang. “Just saying.” Adagio ignored her and took her place at the head of the table. “So…… I can guess that stunt of ours didn’t exactly go as planned.” That was stating it bluntly. “I’m even going as far as saying that it went… horribly.” “Yeah, we get it.” RD responded folding her arms together. “It was a disaster. You don’t have to remind us. We were all there.” “Just putting it out there. The better question would be… what to do now?” “We’re not stopping.” Sunset stood up, the fire returning to her eyes. “We’re gonna put an end to this no matter what it takes. As long as Cinch has that bracelet, none of us here is safe. She was able to get some of her magic back. That means she can use the Uta against us.” “Wait… bracelet?” Flash spoke up garnering their attention. “Are you talking about that bracelet she wore? The one with the black gem?” They looked at him questioningly as he pulled the said object from his pocket. “That’s the one!” Sunset snatched it off his hand. “How did you get this?” “I smacked it off her arm when she tried to cast a spell.” It was a lucky swing too. “Well paint me red and call me Apples. That's a mighty fine hit!” The cowgirl cheered as the gang jumped in realization. “Without that thing she won’t be able to use any magic to threaten us.” “That means we win… right?” Rainbow Dash deduced. “Right?” “Not so fast guys.” Twilight spoke up blocking their joyous triumph. “We might’ve gotten her the bracelet. But remember what Cinch said?” Sunset nodded in agreement much to everyone’s annoyance. “She said that it was a gift. Meaning someone gave it to her. But the question is, who?” “Wonderful. Mysteries upon mysteries.” Rarity groaned. “Didn’t you get to read her mind?” Applejack reminded. “I did… but it was hazy. It’s like she had some kind of shielding on her.” The redhead groaned. “All I got were a few blurry images and I can’t really make any sense out of them. I can’t even think straight with this headache on me. But whoever gave this bracelet to Cinch clearly has enough power to spare. This thing pretty much looks like our geode. And what she said back then really got me worried. She said that if she had enough power, she can ‘Undo’ everything.” Oh yeah. That didn’t sound ominous at all. “It definitely has something to do with the Chalice of Wishes. I know that for sure. She said it herself.” “But the brew that was supposed to be drank from the chalice is lost.” Twilight pointed out. “No one knows the recipe.” “I’m willing to bet whoever gave Cinch this bracelet knows about it. We need to dig deeper into this rabbit hole and see where it goes. Twilight. Can I leave this gem with you?” The nerd gal gladly accepted. “We should all probably head out to my place too. We are supposed to have a sleepover after all.” “Sleep~~~ over~~ party~…! Yay…” Pinkie tried to fire herself up but failed. Everyone agreed on that notion. After all, no one felt like being alone tonight. Not when they knew that Cinch might still be out there planning her revenge. Besides, they were too tired to get home. Their energy were drained right down to the last drop. It was hard just trying to stay up. (Hoity Toity Trendsetter) In the dark corner of Uptown, in the once well-known amphitheater where the new Hoity Toity Trendsetter store was to be placed, the owner of the establishment entered. His new store was hardly ready yet. But with a few days of work and some phone calls, he can make this the center of fashion in the whole city. But that was a dream for another day. Right now he had far more important matters to attend to. Clothes and fabric can be done later. After closing the curtains on his window display, the designer approached the center of his room and raised his hand dangling a bracelet with a dark gem attached to it. The gem hummed for a moment before opening a portal across space and time. He knelt down to the floor when a feminine figure revealed itself to him. The shadow of the room covering her face “Is it done?” She asked as if he already knew the question. “Yes Master.” The fashion designer nodded tipping the center of his shades as he replied. “Cinch has been dealt with. Though I may have overdone it with the stone.” He held up the green glowing object as it pulsed with memories of those it robbed. “The repairs on the Memory Stone seemed to be incomplete." “Irrelevant. So long as she cannot reveal us to anyone else, her condition means little to me. She knew the consequences of failure.” “As you wish…” “And the magic she stole?” Hoity shook his head reluctantly. “I’m afraid they’re gone. Cinch used the device we repaired to steal magic from the chalice to further her own agendas. As we suspected, she must’ve been doing this several times already.” The woman on the other side of the portal hissed. “I should’ve known someone as weak as her could not be trusted.” “She was out for vengeance – and revenge can be a powerful motivator.” The man stated, ticking his shades knowingly. “I should know. I have it too.” “Because of her interference, we might not have enough magic to power the chalice! The Winter Solstice is closing and all this setbacks will cost us time. Time that we do not have! I will have to double our partner’s effort to find more relics to feed our need.” “Perhaps I can help?” Hoity offered. “I sense some lingering magic here around the city. Perhaps I can do some searching of my own.” “No. ‘He’ will handle it. Unlike you, that man knows how to be discreet.” Ouch. A little hit below the belt there but understandable. “Very well. And what of the girls? Shall I deal with them as you requested?” “They have caused great interference only because Cinch was careless. Now that she’s out of the picture they may return to their dormancy believing that they were victorious.” “So… that’s a no then?” She growled which he quickly raised his hand up in defense. “I was just checking. What do you wish me to do then?” “Solidify your presence there and keep watch. Spread your… influence over the people.” “So I should just do what I always do?” He sighed, wiping the lenses of his shade with a wet tissue never revealing his eyes. “That shouldn’t be too hard. And I do love people chanting my name. If I can do that in Las Pegasus, it should be child’s play here.” “Excellent. And should those girls intervene, you may eliminate them at your leisure. Just make sure to keep it quiet.” “It will be done.” And with a final bow the portal vanished leaving the man in his shop. He grinned menacingly as he opened his eyes at last revealing two oddly swirling lines in them. Once the vision was sure to be gone, a seductive voice in the darkness spoke up. “So what did the Master say?” “Can we come out to play? “Or are we still grounded today?” Hoity laughed at the three figures. “Now now, my dear. I know it’s been a long trip. But do wait a little longer. Can’t have you running amok too soon.” (Tuesday) (CHS) The air around school was different. Sunset could feel it as she walked with her friends taking in the odd scenery. Everywhere they looked students were gossiping over, huddled in groups bringing in their closest friends together like they were expecting something to happen. Old hatreds were put aside out of fear and paranoia as the students moved together, each of them eyeing out for something amiss. There was a massive tension in the air. It was so thick a single dog bark would probably spring this whole school into a panic spree. The explosion and fire from last night was on everybody’s lips. Rumors circled around while theories, conspiracies and such made them put out unnatural conclusions. A tinge of fear gripped their hearts. Fear of the unknown. And sadly only a handful knew the truth. Walking through the doubled doors, Sunset came upon the same scenery but far more clustered. Everyone was whispering, hushing, some casting suspicious glances at one another and others accusing passerby like they were spies. “Looks like everyone’s one edge.” Twilight stated the clearly obvious. “Guess they all know about the fire from last night.” “Kinda hard to miss a boom that big.” Rainbow Dash pointed out, waving to a few of her classmates who greeted back. Thankfully they didn’t seem to suspect them as the perpetrators. “That’s some tension.” Applejack agreed noting the rather deathly quiet nature of the school. Even as they entered through the double doors the same scenery played out but in a more congested state. “Everyone here looks like something or someone’s about to jump out and scare the pants off them.” “I can’t blame them.” Fluttershy shivered. “Even I’m feeling a little… scared myself… after what we did.” “That wasn’t us.” RD protested, forcing a smile to her classmates as they pass them by. “That was totally Cinch’s fault. She was the one who went all bat nut crazy over power!” “It doesn’t change the fact that we played some part in it.” Twilight reasoned. “It was our magic that caused all that destruction. I can’t help but feel somewhat… responsible.” They arrived a few moments later at Sunset’s locker surprised to see Flash waiting for them. Or… it wasn’t really that surprising. Flash, Sunset and Rainbow Dash have been locker neighbors since they all enrolled at CHS. It’s natural for him to be there. “Guys!” His mood brightened when he saw them. “Glad to see ya. I was worried after I dropped you over last night. Are you ok?” “We’re fine, Flash.” Sunset reassured him. “You don’t have to watch over us like a Griffon.” “I think we should be the one asking you that question.” Applejack stated gesturing to his bandaged hand. “What happened to you?” He quickly hid it away shyly. “Oh this? It’s nothing. Just hurt myself over… stuff. It’s just a small cut.” “Small cut my foot.” Applejack reached over, grabbing the wounded hand to which the boy flinch painfully in response. “I recognize that sizzle. Gauze and alcohol. Cheap and effective. That’s a second-degree-burn you got there, Mister. And a bad one too.” A burn? The thought of last night’s explosion came to mind. “Oh you poor thing.” Rarity gently patted the boy trying to each his pain with her touch. But he brushed them all away giving out a reassuring smile. “It’s nothing guys. Really. You’re all making a big deal out of this. This is hardly anything compared to what you guys went through. What’s a little daring rescue without a little pain?” “A lot actually.” Sunset scolded. “You get what you sow.” “Oh lighten up Sunset. The guy saved our butts out there.” Rainbow nudged her, giving the boy an approving wink. “If it wasn’t for him, we’d be half-cooked bacon.” “And that’s what he gets for helping us.” “Hmm… it doesn’t look that bad. If you want. I know an old family recipe that’ll do just the trick.” Applejack offered and quickly released the boy’s hand when she realized that she had been holding onto it longer than necessary. “Something Granny taught me a while back. One little smudge and you’ll be right as rain the next morning. But Flash had to decline. “Thanks for the offer but I think I’ll keep it around a while longer. I already had the nurse look into it and she said it’ll heal up in time. Besides, I think having a scar might make more popular around here. I hear some girls dig a man with scars… right?” Well he’s not exactly wrong there. Seeing that little string of bandages over his hand did raise a few hearts, but none of them would openly admit that. Even Rarity in particular looked… intrigued. “As long as you keep your adventures in moderation.” Twilight cooed at him. “Which reminds me. I never really got to say thank you for helping us last night.” “Hey you girls were under duress.” He waved his hands up. “I think I can give you all a pass. I just wished things went better than they did.” “You can say that again.” Applejack groaned looking over the hallway. “This place is quieter than Goldie's place during the Holidays.” Pinkie agreed. “This mood is so unsettling even I’m feeling pretty down.” Sunset sighed back at them as she arrived at her locker. “Look guys. I know we’re all conflicted over this. But let’s not talk about it right now. We’ll meet up at the band room at lunch period. For now just act natural and try not to stand out.” They agreed on that wholeheartedly. But before any of them could take a step into their respective classrooms, the PA system hummed to life. “Attention. Will the following student please report to the Principal’s office: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.” Twilight groaned as all eyes in the hallway turned to them. “So much for not standing out.” xxxxxxxxxx Being called to the big man’s office was never gonna feel right. Even more so now that the whole crew was called in. Normally they’d be called in pairs or alone but today was going to be different. They can all feel it. As they entered, Sunset immediately noted Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna beside her, having a stern look on their faces. One might say that they did not look amused. The windows behind them were closed and the blinds covered. Clearly they didn’t want anyone else hearing about this. “Thank you for coming.” The lady on the chair spoke. “Please. Take a seat.” An array of chairs were laid for them comfortably. The sisters were definitely expecting them. Swallowing their fears the gang complied and took their seats close the table as Luna closed the door behind them. You can sense something… dreadful in the room. Like a life changing decision was about to occur. There was a pregnant pause in the air. A single needle was all it would take to pop it. But before any of them could speak, Celestia opened a copy of the Daily Canterlot Newspaper and laid it on the table for all of them to see. “I take it you all know why I brought you here.” They all glanced at the headline cringing as the photo below it showed a gruesome scene of burned up buildings. ‘Wild Animals and Faulty Wiring destroys city block’ Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “That’s uh… that was… ummm… not really our fault.” She pretty much just confessed either way. Celestia eyed them. “An entire city block was burned down last night with untold damages including the Museum of Natural History. Thankfully no one was badly hurt.” That’s a relief. “Eyewitness stated that they heard wild animals in the area and a series of blinding colorful lights. Some say that the whole thing looked even… magical in nature.” They gulped. “Right now the authorities are blaming it on faulty wiring and bad engineering. But I can tell something is amiss. Any of you care to explain what in the world just happened?” Sunset traded looks with her friends and sighed. “It’s… a long story, ma’am.” Twilight nodded in agreement. “A very long story.” The Principal placed a handful of notes on the table wearing a deep frown. “I am prepared to get you all out of class for the whole day if it’ll mean getting to the bottom of this.” She sighed. “Girls. I know that I have my knowledge or understanding on magic is not as good as yours. I have seen you use it to benefit not only yourselves but everyone around you. And that makes me proud to see you work. Which is why we’ve all decided to keep it a secret here in school. However… after seeing this kind of damage, I’m beginning to think that it may have been a mistake.” She might not be wrong on that regard. “We worry about our students and the seven of you included.” Luna added. “So please explain to us what happened so we can understand.” The gang turned to one another once again unsure of what to do. But Sunset quieted them down before finally nodding. … … … “So… yeah… that’s about it.” Sunset finished on a soft note leaving the Principal and her sister to ponder on the story. It took about an hour or so to finish explaining the whole ordeal. From the Yaztec relics to Cinch… to the battle that took place last night. In all honesty the more they explained, the more it sounded like a farfetched story. But Celestia knew better than to question them on that. Magic wasn’t exactly a thing around here until Sunset came along. By the time she was done the Principal had chugged down two… maybe even three cups of coffee just to ease her of the stress. “So let me get this straight.” The woman frustratingly held her tone back rubbing the temple on her nose. “You’re telling me that this… new magic is running rampant across the city? And someone is trying to use them for some… personal gain? And Abacus Cinch is one of them?” “We don’t know exactly who or how many there are.” Twilight explained. “But we do know it has something to do with the new wing of the museum, the Winter Solstice and the Chalice of Wishes. That’s… uh… one of the artifacts.” Luna gave a quirky glance before speaking. “That’s… a rather farfetched story. But I’m willing to put my common-sense away for now. I can understand the relic, the solstice and all. But as for Cinch. That… might be… complicated.” Fluttershy questioned. “Complicated? How so?” “Principal…” Celestia coughed on her fist to correct herself as she lifted from her seat. “Dean Cadance from Crystal Prep Academy called earlier this morning. Apparently Professor Cinch was found not far from the explosion last night by emergency services. She was wounded and taken to the Twin Sister Hospital for treatment.” The gang froze. “She… she’s not hurt is she?” Twilight gasped. “Nothing of immediate concern. A few scrapes and bruises and nothing else. However… she must’ve suffered a big concussion because when she woke up she said the strangest thing.” Strange? You mean stranger than the story we’ve told you? “She doesn’t to have any recollection of recent events.” “No recollection?” Sunset questioned. “What do you mean?” “I mean what I said. She has no memory of her time here in Canterlot City. It’s like she has a bad case of amnesia.” “AMNESIA?” “Wait… amnesia is actually a thing?” Rainbow asked out of the blue looking rather confused. “I thought that was just a plot-device they use to move the story along in cheesy TV shows.” “Oh that’s gosh darn ridiculous.” Applejack didn’t seem to buy it though. “I bet she’s just acting it up to make people pity her.” “That’s not what Dean Cadance thinks.” Luna replied from her corner. “She even visited her when she got the call. Cinch didn’t seem to recognize her. In fact… she doesn’t even seem to remember her time in Crystal Prep at all.” That would be weird if it were true. “Nothing at all?” “Nothing. She doesn’t remember anything other than her name. And that’s a frightening thing.” “We’re getting off topic.” Celestia interrupted. “Whether or not Cinch is pretending, I’m afraid I have come to a decision. This magic of yours, while it is wondrous in nature, can also be extremely dangerous. Accident or intentional, that explosion last night has put everyone quite on edge. People are scared, me and Luna included. And so, for the safety of the students and everyone involved, I have no choice but to ban all of your magical activities from our school.” The gang gasped. “That means the Canterlot Magical Investigation Club is forbidden from using school resources.” “You’re kicking our club?” Sunset retorted. “I’m sorry. But knowing what this power can do, it simply isn’t worth the risk to have it around anymore. I’m sure you can all understand that. We simply have no way of responding or defending ourselves to magical situations like you do.” She returned to her seat holding that tired expression. “You may continue with your investigation but Canterlot High will not be a part of it. Please… don’t drag us into another magical incident if it can be helped. Can I count on you to do that?” Again they sighed, trading glances with one another before nodding. “We understand, Principal Celestia.” Sunset answered for the crew. “We promise not to use our magic in school.” “And that’s all I can ask.” She nodded. “You may go now. You have classes to attend.” One by one they departed leaving the two sisters alone in the office. But not before Rainbow Dash plopped her head back in. “Oh! Quick question. Is that offer to skip all our classes for the day still good?” They gave her a threatening glare in return. “I thought not. Just checking. Bye!” (Afternoon) (Soccer field) “Whoa… so you guys are like… band from using magic in school… forever?” Flash gasped after hearing the news from Sunset herself. His ex-girlfriend having taking him away from their friends for a private conversation by the soccer field. “Hopefully not forever.” The bag of chips on Sunset’s hand ruffled. “But I can understand her reasoning. Even though we’ve done some good with our magic, it’s been nothing but a source of trouble here in CHS.” “Hey that’s not true.” “But it is. Ever since I brought magic here from Equestria, it’s done nothing but bring harm to people. You can’t defend it.” Flash shrugged. “Ok, I won’t say that magic hasn’t been a problem. But that was Equestrian Magic. The magic that you’re dealing with now is from here.” He reasoned. “So I don’t think it’s fair that you’re beating yourself over something from our world. And if anyone here is more qualified to deal with magic, I can’t think of a better team than you and your friends.” She laughed at his attempt of cheering her up. “Thanks for the vote of extra confidence. But after last night, I’m not even sure anymore. The damage we done there was… big.” He… couldn’t argue with that. The report from the newspaper alone was extensive. The explosion created a fire so bad that it pretty much damaged the whole block. While most of the buildings there were abandoned, there were still a few apartments lingering at the edge. By the time emergency services arrived, the fire had already spread to all the buildings and burned down not soon after. Many families were displaced because of it. “Yeah… that was pretty bad. But it could’ve been a lot worse if you hadn’t stopped Cinch. Who knows what she was planning to do with all that power.” It was a fair point. But honestly, neither did they. “Well we won’t know now with all that magic gone.” You mean after he swung that bat and shatter the Magic Trap into a million pieces? “Right… sorry.” She chuckled. “No… I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I’m just… sad that it was wasted, that’s all. Though your swing needs a bit of practice.” “Hey what can I say? I’m a lover not a fighter.” “It’s just that… it was kind of unexpected.” Sunset added. “Speaking of which… why were you there in the first place?” The boy sighed, slowly rising from his seat. “Well… Adagio told me about what you girls were going to do.” “And you decided to come knowing the danger?” He cocked a brow gazing directly in her eyes. “You’d prefer if I didn’t show up?” “No. Not that. I’m……” She wasn’t really sure what to say honestly. Her hand reached for her hair, rubbing it annoyingly. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful and all… but…” “Is it because of this?” He showed her his bandaged hand. “Sunset. What happened to me isn’t your fault. I was the one who decided to go in and help you. Anything that happens to me is on me so you don’t have to beat yourself up on my account.” “I know. But can you help me for worrying?” Sunset reasoned. “You saw what happened back there. I don’t want you getting caught in something like that.” “The same goes for me.” Her eyes shot up. “Wh… what?” “Sunset, you guys go after magical adventures on a weekly basis. Sometimes it finds you, sometimes you find it. And like last night… anything can happen. You’re worried that if I get myself involved, I’ll get hurt. And I feel the same way. I know I broke my promise to you. But whenever I see you guys go charging into danger… I worry too. Even before tonight I’ve seen you and your friends fight off monsters from another world, out of control magic and all kinds of weird stuff. It’s not fair that you get to shoulder everything while people like me get to sit on the sideline. You’re my friend and like it or not… we live in the same world now. Don’t I get to protect it too?” “I…” Her face flushed as she pushed her hair back a bit. “I didn’t know you felt that way.” “Just because I’m your ex-boyfriend doesn’t mean I get to stop caring about you.” The boy added to which both of them turned red in response. “Wh… what I’m trying to say is that umm… you… all of you are really… uh. Special... to me.” “O… oh! Really? That’s umm…” They would’ve gone on with their embarrassing tangent for a whole minute had they not notice a snowflake landing on her nose. Their eyes quickly cast upward noting the dark clouds blotting the sky. A soft and gentle hail of snow followed not long afterward falling over the soccer field. “Wow… would you look at that.” Flash gawked at the beautiful scenery, his previous comment immediately being forgotten. “I guess you got the first snowflake of the season.” She chuckled softly, cheeks still flushing. “Yeah… I guess I did. Happy Hearth’s Warming.” He blinked. “Hearth what?” Sunset snapped herself at her error. “Oh… sorry. Old habit. That’s… uh… Equestria’s equivalent to your Winter Holiday around here. It’s kind of the same thing except we celebrate it as our unification day.” “That’s… pretty cool.” He admitted as he opened up his hand palming a good chunk of snow. But before he could add anything else, his eyes cast over Sunset who slowly but surely began to glow. “Uh… Sunset. Are you… supposed to be doing that?” “Doing what?” She immediately noted herself ponying-up like she was going overcharged. Her tails, ears and everything were coming to light. “Whoa!” And then they suddenly vanished the moment she became aware of them. “Ok… that was weird. That… never happened before. At least… not unintentionally.” (Evening)(Twilight’s house) Ah… home at last. Twilight though today was never going to end. While she adored Principal Celestia, she had to admit that getting told off by her didn’t exactly sit well. But then again she can’t blame her from banning them from using the school resources. Though they weren’t technically responsible for the damage done to the city she can’t help but feel partially responsible. Hearing that the museum would be closed for another month for repairs and Professor Cinch hospitalized, she wondered that she might’ve been right. In retrospect they were all technically just children at this point. Children who have been given powers beyond their imaginations. She often thought that they were given these powers to help others, to better mankind. But instead they were here doing mundane tasks. She used her telekinetic abilities to fixed things, lift objects much heavier than her. Pretty much using it like a clutch of convenience. Even Applejack, who possess the strength of ten maybe twenty men was using that ability to… harvest apples. If they went public with this power, announce to the world the existence of magic… it would change everything. It would change this world forever. The thought alone was both inspiring and frightening at the same time. The kind of change that would make lead the people here to a new age. Forget the Industrial Revolution or the Digital Age. An Era of Magic here will become the new cornerstone of the world. She was getting goosebumps just thinking about it. “Twilight.” The girl was torn from her thoughts when her brother called out from the living room. “Oh! Shining Armor. You’re… here?” “Uh… yeah?” The boy responded her question with another questioning statement. “I used to live here. Remember?” “What happened? Did you get kicked out of your apartment?” “What? No! Why would you think that?” “I’m just assuming.” She calmly replied. “So what are you doing here? Did the thing with Cadance not work out?” “How are you…?” He quickly calmed down taking a deep breath. “No. I’m here to visit you, mom and dad.” He answered back like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “For the Winter Holidays?” “Ooooh~ that’s right. You guys get off earlier than high-school.” She cooed. “Welcome then! Or is it welcome back? Speaking of which, I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the couch because I might’ve converted your room into a server room to store up all the data I’ve been sorting through.” “Yeah… I noticed. The large blinking lights and wires gave it away.” Shining Armor shook his head in frustration. His sister can be a hurdle to handle sometimes. Especially when she as a lot of things on her mind. “Anyway. Sit down for a moment. We need to talk.” “Oh… ok.” Twilight blinked but complied either way. She took her usual spot by the couch in the living room while her brother took dad’s favorite chair. “What’s this about?” It couldn’t be about the magical incident earlier since Celestia promised to keep it a secret. “It’s about… your lab.” Her face went full panic mode. “My lab?! What happened? Did something spill? Did Spike get into one of my chemical pools again!? I keep telling him that those things are not bubble baths!” “No no. Nothing like that. Your lab is fine.” Oh that was a relief. “And Spike’s fine too… I think. It’s just that… mom and dad wanted to tell you that you have to uh… move it.” “Move my lab?” She questioned. “Why? I have a perfect setting here. My spectrometer array is at an optimal angle with no other tall buildings blocking the sky, my supercomputer has all the spatial wiring needs and our kitchen provides the most excellent cooling vent system, and my holographic projectors look almost realistic thanks to the lighting from the sun.” Shining Armor quirked one brow, hardly interested. “Yeah. But don’t you think that it’s a little excessive?” “Not at all. Everything here is within the city’s safety regulations.” She boasted smugly. “I should know. I read all 70 pages. I even added emergency sprinklers and shut-off switches.” “Yes. We know. You spent weeks assembling those. But Twilly, you have to remember that everything you do have consequences.” “Of course I know. That’s why I added that extra security for the house.” Her brother sighed again and quickly tossed her an official looking paper at her. “What’s this?” “That… is this month’s electricity bill.” Electric bill? Hmm by the order of the Public Provincial Electric Authority. Blah blah blah… excessive use… yada yada yada… after fault warning… ahuh… calculate all to a total of… “WHAT!?” Her eyes bulged out of their sockets nearly shoving her glasses out of her face. “This is how much we pay for electricity!?” “This is how much mom and dad PAYS for electricity.” Shining Armor corrected folding his arms together in a stern manner. “This isn’t a bill! This is outright robbery! There has to be some kind of mistake! Maybe they forgot a decimal point somewhere? That is at least two digits too high for your standard bill!” “Oh there’s no mistake. We know. We triple checked it.” Her brother firmly stated. “Ever since you moved back from your dorm in Crystal Prep, the amount had been steadily rising. At first mom and dad could keep up with the payment. But ever since last year, the whole thing shot through the roof. Remember last Spring? They had to cancel their holiday trip because of it.” They did? But dad said they canceled it because his back was aching. “I didn’t know it was this bad.” Twilight looked down at the numbers again and shuddered. The only time she saw an amount that long was only in her computers. “Why didn’t they tell me?” “They tried. But you were always so focused on your ‘Research’ to listen. That’s why I’m here to have a sit-down with you. Because of this, we have no choice but to cut your lab and your room off from the house’s electrical grid.” “What!?” She screeched. “But my lab! The solar arrays and batteries I put up can only supply it for an hour!” “Sorry Twilly. But until you can foot the bill, we can’t keep with all these extra expenditures.” Twilight groaned but understood his reasoning. Not even mom and dad could pay these bills forever. Heck, not even if they took two extra jobs. She didn’t know it was this bad. “However… we do have an alternative solutions for you.” “Really?” Her eyes sparkled with hope. “I’ll do it!” “Hold on now. Let me finish.” He raised his hands up in protest though he seemed glad that his sis was eager to make amends. “Seeing as your graduation is coming up next year and Cadance securing your scholarship in Everton Academy, mom and dad thought that it’s high time that you consider… moving out.” “Moving out?” She parroted. “Like… to a new dorm?” “Or a new apartment.” Shining Armor suggested putting down a folder with a long list of potential homes for his sister. “Since Everton is hours from here, we thought you’d like to have a place all to yourself. You’ll have complete freedom there. Obviously your lab will have to be… minimized. But at least then you won’t be burning through electricity here.” Twilight glanced at the folder cringing a bit. “Isn’t this a little too sudden?” “I know it’s a big step forward, and you still have plenty of time. But this will be a good chance for you to plan ahead.” It was a good idea. With the next semester being her last time in CHS she should consider planning for her accommodation in Everton Academy. It was a long drive going from the eastside and back, and gas wasn’t gonna pay itself. So living close to her new school should ease her travel expenses. If she can get it to be within biking distance, then all the better. Plus she’d also have a new pad to call her own. An independent gal with no strings attached. Thinking about it sounded kind of… tempting. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try.” She accepted the folder with reluctance. There were a lot of pictures, recommendations and even color-coded alignment based on rent and size. No doubt Shining Armor spent a lot of time making this during his school years. Heck he even had several of them encircled because of the giant benefits. That… or it’s because two of them had community pools. Shining Armor did love to take the occasional dip. “That’s the spirit.” He offered a smile. “But there’s no need to rush just yet. Take your time and look through all of them. I’m sure there’ll be one that’s perfect for you. If you want, I can even drive you to a few of them I recommended.” With a last nod, the boy departed leaving his sister to ponder on her own future within the pages of his folder.