Hearsay

by Nyhll

Chapter 4.5: Equestrian Girls

A cool breeze blew through the open window as Sunset watched the clouds drift lazily across the sky. To say she was already suffering from stir-craze would be an understatement- she felt ready to run twenty kilometers, to hell with her ankle!

She was happy that she didn't have to rely on the morphine to deal with the pain in her ankle, even if she probably should. Just knowing what they had to do to try and repair her ankle made her more conscious of the necessary intruders in her body. Instead she just grinned and bore the pain- she couldn't risk relying on any kind of medication once she got out of the hospital.

The door to her room suddenly flew open, surprising Sunset and almost causing her to fall out of her wheelchair as she spun around to see who had just barged in. "Oh, hey, Vinyl." Sunset gave a small smile that quickly turned into a confused frown.

The DJ was without her trademark glasses, something that Sunset had maybe seen only once in her entire life, and thus allowed the Equestrian to see the massive bruising that swelled shut one of her eyes. Her hair, usually spiked and messy in a stylish way, was merely just ragged and wild, like her clothes.

"Sunset…" the girl panted as she bent over, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "We need your help…"

"What? We? Help?" Sunset wheeled herself towards Vinyl as she slid to the ground. "What happened to you, Vinyl? Did Chrysalis find you? Where's Octavia? And Bon Bon and Lyra? Are they safe?"

Vinyl took a deep breath, shuddering as she brought a hand up to wipe her cheek. Leaning back against the wall she looked up at Sunset, her single visible crimson orb awash in emotion. "They… Oh, god, where do I start?"

"Here, let me help you up. You can sit on my bed." Sunset said as she reached out a hand, her mind flashing back to when she was at the bottom of the crater back at the school.

"Thanks…" the snow white girl said as she took Sunset's hand and rose to her feet, before wobbling and waddling her way to Sunset's bed. "Okay, so… So do you remember those three new girls we mentioned?"

Sunset nodded. "Yeah… Adagio, Aria, and…" she paused as she tried to remember the third name. "So… Sonata?"

"Mhm. Well, it looks like they're also from where you come from." Vinyl coughed lightly as she rubbed her side, while Sunset froze in place.

"What? What are you talking about?" Sunset's voice dropped to a frantic whisper as she leaned in closer to Vinyl. "Why do you think that?"

"Cause they mind controlled everyone at school or something!" Vinyl jumped to her feet, fear washing across her face. "Just like when you did! Er… no offense."

"Again, none taken- but are you serious?" Sunset felt fear worming its way through her, tinting her thoughts.

"I wish I wasn't, Sunset. It's become total chaos at the school!"

"Then why haven't you been affected?" Sunset's eyes narrowed as she studied the girl.

"'Cause of my tunes." Vinyl puffed her chest out in pride. "I always have my headphones on, right?" Sunset nodded. "Well these three do their mumbo-jumbo through sound- singing to be precise- and my music blocks that out."

Something pinged in the back of Sunset's mind, causing her already cold blood to freeze in her veins further. It couldn't possibly be… "What about the other three?" 

Sunset almost regretted asking as Vinyl deflated like a balloon, a fresh tear coming to her eye as she brought her hands to cover her face. She gave a few soft sobs before looking up. "They're gone… Those three got to them."

"No…" Sunset's stomach plummeted.

"Bon and Lyra broke up pretty viciously… and Oct… O-Octavia… She..." Sunset sat there awkwardly as Vinyl began to sob quietly into her hands, pausing to take a breath before continuing. "A-A-And the worst part!? Th-Th-Those three bitches just sit there and smile! Grinning like they just got their brains fucked out!"

The final puzzle piece slid into place, causing Sunset to slump down into her seat, wide eyes staring at nothing as she slipped into despair. "Vinyl… Those three… I think they're the Sirens…" Vinyl sat up slightly, looking at Sunset as if she were insane. "They're monsters from Equestria- banished long ago when they tried to take over the country. They used the magic of their voices to make ponies fight, which only further fueled their power… And if they're really here…"

"We need Twilight…" Vinyl said, gritting her teeth and wiping her tears away. "Which means you have to go through the portal in the statue."

"It's not quite that easy…"

"Figures." Vinyl groaned as she leaned back on her hands. "Try to explain it so that a silly Human like me can understand, babe."

Sunset chuckled as she shifted back to sitting up fully. "Basically, the portal only opens up under certain circumstances, which won't be happening for a while."

"...So we're fucked then?" Vinyl, looked at Sunset in confusion.

"Maybe not… You see, when I fled her from Equestria, I brought a few things with me." Sunset explained. "Most of them became useless knick-knacks, but there is one in particular that still had some magical power."

Vinyl raised her brow. "Then why did you never use it on anyone?" she questioned, crossing her arms.

Sunset fell quiet, her eyes descending to her lap as she fought back a tear. "Because it was a journal…"

"A book… How does that help?" Sunset's head shot up as she snarled at Vinyl, causing the girl to freeze in panic.

"{That book is the only good memory I have left of my family!}" Sunset spat venomously, before freezing as she noticed the terror on Vinyl's face. "S-Sorry, Vinyl… It's, uh… It's quite personal."

"A-Alright, S-Sunset!" Vinyl chuckled uneasily as she loosened up. "Just don't speak in tongues like that again please."

"Tongues? What- Oh, my apologies. I guess I slipped back into Equestrian." Sunset took a deep breath before returning to the subject at hand. "That book may be our only hope to reach Princess Twilight. You see, I enchanted it and another book to be linked, so that whatever was written in one book would show up in the other."

"Like a written text message?" Sunset nodded in response to Vinyl's question. "Why don't you all just use cell phones?"

"They don't exist in Equestria- in fact pretty much all of Gaia's technology doesn't exist." Sunset explained. "Anyways, if I can get my hands on that book, I can try writing a message in it and seeing if the connection still works, and maybe Princess Twilight can figure something out in Equestria."

"That's cool and all, but how are you going to do that?" Vinyl asked the expected question. "You're kinda public enemy one at CHS still."

"Do you think you can grab it?" Sunset fought the urge to cross her legs. "I can give you my locker number and combination."

"Every Wondercolt knows which locker is yours, Sunset." Vinyl half-chuckled-half-sighed. "But I can't go back there right now… Not with…"

"It's fine, Vinyl. I'm sure I can get there somehow." Sunset smiled as she wheeled closer to the girl.

"I'm sure you will. I'd offer to drive you, but my car got into an 'accident', supposedly." Vinyl's fingers went into overdrive with the quotation marks. "I'm stuck taking buses around since I got kicked out by Lyra."

"Kicked out?"

"Yeah, the whole mind control thing- but don't worry, I got a place to stay for a couple days to hang low."

"Somewhere safe?" Sunset asked, getting a nod back. "Good. Well, why don't you head out then? I have some plotting to do to get to the school. I'll try and leave a visible mark on my locker door if I get to it, okay?"

Vinyl nodded as she stood up. "I'll keep an eye out if I go back to that hellhole. Here, let me write down the number for the place I'm staying- but only call it in case of an emergency, kapish?" Sunset nodded as she took the scrap paper from Vinyl. "Good luck, er… Sunset."

Sunset paused awkwardly on her crutches as she looked around the school grounds. Everything seemed back to normal; no damage nor even hints of what happened that night. Sunset was actually impressed, whoever the Principals hired to fix the place up did an immaculate job. She continued on her way, still unused to how she was supposed to move with these things.

Slowly she made her way to the front doors, pausing as she reached her hand out towards the handle. Sunset wasn’t sure what made her pause, the fear of something happening, or that barely noticeable tingling in the back of her head that was growing more pronounced the closer to the main building for-

Sunset hissed, clenching her eyes as the tingling suddenly became a sharp jab, causing her to subconsciously shuffle away from the doors. What was going on? She hadn’t felt like this since-

“What are you doing here, Sunset Shimmer?” Of course it had to be the more militaristic one…

“My apologies, Vice-Principal Luna,” Sunset tried her best to stand up straight as she addressed the midnight hued woman. “But I came to gather my belongings from my locker. I forgot until just recently, you see.”

The shorter woman eyed Sunset wearily, obviously not trusting the Equestrian in the slightest. Sunset remained still, trying to smile even as the buzzing in the back of her head continued its relentless pounding.

“I see…” Vice-Principal Luna crossed her arms as she addressed Sunset. “Well unfortunately we already cut your lock, we’ve had your… things in the main office should you decide to show your face around here.”

“Oh good, then can I-”

“No.” the Vice-Principal interjected abruptly. “You shall wait out here while we bring you your belongings.”

“That’s  fair.” Sunset paused studying the woman as something strange caught her eye. The air around Vice-Principal Luna seemed to shimmer, as if the woman were a fire. That must be the aura of the Sirens’ magic, Sunset guessed. “I’ll just wait-”

“At the statue.” Vice-Principal Luna turned around and returned inside the school, audibly locking the doors without a single glance back at Sunset. Well, things seemed to be progressing better than expected, though Sunset was now worrying that perhaps the cops were going to be called.

Minutes passed, causing Sunset to worry that perhaps her concerns about the police were going to be correct while the Principals reneged on their offer. Sunset rested a hand against the flat face of the statue’s pedestal, the pleasant pulsing running down her arms calming her. Even though she was unable to access her Equestrian Magic in Gaia, and the portal was currently shut, she still relished in the feeling of her home-world.

More time passed and Sunset was starting to get upset. What was the hold up? Between the pain in her ankle and the blaring pressure in the back of her head, Sunset’s once understanding attitude was rapidly being replaced with anger. It was about to boil over when she suddenly heard a door open and shut behind her. Sunset’s body chilled, a sweat building on her brow as a familiar language echoed through the air. It was Equestrian, of that there was no doubt, but it was still unfamiliar.

“Here you are, Shimmer.” The front doors to the school opened up, revealing Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna, each carrying a small cardboard box filled with her belongings.

“So this is the supposedly infamous Sunset Shimmer?” The voice, one of those that had been speaking Equestrian, suddenly spoke in Sunset’s ear, causing Sunset’s fight-or-flight instinct to go into overdrive.

“Y-Yup, that’s me.” Sunset chuckled uneasily as she turned to face the owner of the voice. Three girls stood in front of her, each looking at her with different expressions. “Just here to grab my things.”

“{I’m sure you are, my little pony.}” the short one said, her voluminous hair waving behind her as she started to saunter around Sunset, inspecting her.

“Hm? What did you say?” Sunset tried her best to sound confused, even though her eyes couldn’t help but dart between everyone present.

The purple one groaned in annoyance as she stomped forward. “Oh stop playing stupid, idiot. You know exactly what she said.”

“I’m sorry, miss, but-”

“Wow, I guess she isn’t as smart as everyone said she was.” the tall, blue hued one said, snickering into her hand.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t even know the three of you.” Sunset fought back the urge to growl at them as the pain in the back of her head grew to an excruciating climax. “I’m just here to get my stuff and then go back to the hospital.”

A tired sigh escaped from the lips of the golden skinned girl.”Whatever. Why don’t you come with us, we’ll drive you back to the hospital.”

“I don’t-”

“We insist.” the purple one said, crossing her arms with a scowl.

Sunset gave a heavy sigh, slumping in defeat. “Fine.”