//------------------------------//
// Three days later 
// Story: The Demon of Canterlot City 
// by Amadeus cancer 
//------------------------------//

“Coming together is a Beginning,

Staying together is Progress,

And working together is Success.”

-Henry Ford
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Come on. Come on.

The teenaged ex-unicorn glared hatefully at the hefty book before her, her fingers drumming impatiently on the desk while she flipped through page upon page, hoping to Celestia there would be something in the darned thing that could be of value to her cause.

Alas, the universe seemed to take a certain delight in her stressed state as she finally flipped to the last page in the magical history book.

Sunset groaned in both frustration and exasperation before tossing the textbook into her ever growing reject pile and reaching over for the next one to her right. Grabbing the rock-solid spine of the next book, she dragged it close to her and automatically opened it to the table of contents. 

Scanning the front introductory page, she stopped when her eyes laid upon the words Elements of Harmony. 

Looking for the page number her desired chapter was on, she immediately flipped across the papers until reaching 145. Once she was through zipping through the paragraphs, she sighed as the book told her the exact same story as all the others she’d read before: how the Elements were the representations of harmony itself, created by the ancient tree of harmony and protected Equestria from evil threats when need be. How little to nothing could withstand their combined powers once activated.

It also told how the parents of Celestia and Luna had found the tree of harmony and, realizing the potential good it could do for the land of Equestria, took the magical gems from the tree and used them whenever trouble arose.

But, like all the other books she’d scoured throughout today, it didn’t tell her how the elements worked.

Rubbing a hand through her bacon-colored hair, Sunset grit her teeth in annoyance as she continued to read, desperate for any types of clues or tips on how the magic artifacts operated. 

When she found none, she sighed and tossed the book to her side, the lack of information was hardly a surprise anymore. Technically, the Elements of Harmony were considered one of the oldest, most powerful magic in existence. But they were also the most mysterious, there was so little-known research on the fundamental of their magic that it was nearly impossible to figure out.

Normally hard-to-find information/research was Sunset’s specialty, but when there was a severe lack of research itself, that was a tricky problem.

She looked over once more to her pile, a bittersweet smile slowly forming. She couldn’t have been more thankful for Princess Twilight to send all the books regarding the Elements of Harmony the pony could find, along with a few scrolls of her own copied notes. Whenever the situation called for it, Twilight always did make sure to pull as much weight as she could, it was one of the many, many things Sunset respected about her. However, it just simply wasn’t enough.    

After a long talk/experiment months before, she’d made a discovery alongside the human worlds’ Twilight that the magical Geodes they’d found at Camp Everfree were in fact ancient magic relics that stored fractioned power from the Elements of Harmony. 

To this day the memory of the discovery still wracked her mind. How could the Elements store pieces their powers into relics without their current wearer’s knowledge, and how could they even do that in the first place? Did Princess Celestia from her original world know of this? Why? 

It was all so confusing yet fascinating at the same time, she just couldn’t figure out how it all could be done! She figured that books on the subject of the Elements themselves might’ve had some information, but again, knowledge on the specific inner workings and techniques on them were sorely lacking. 

Fiddling with the geode necklace around her neck, she hummed in thought. Maybe it was some form of backup technique to store a percent of power in the geode relics. But how and why would they’ve gone to this world, the human world, to lay low? The humans didn’t possess magic, and the bearers of the Elements only seemed to live in Equestria according to its history.   

Sunset sighed before placing the pencil into her chest pocket, puffing a stray lock of hair from her brow as she scooted her chair back and stood to her full height to stretch. The book research wasn’t going anywhere, so maybe some other methods could teach her a few things.

Brushing past empty desks, the ex-unicorn made her way across the science room over to the counter where lines of neatly placed beakers and varying solutions stood ready for testing. Tugging the arms of her white lab coat, she reached over and pulled out an EEG strand from the cabinet before heading to the testing machine to plug it in.

Clicking the small tube into the machine, a screen on the front lit up and she saw a radar pop to life, with a thin flat line showing. The girl smiled before pulling up a chair while snatching a clipboard off the counter, placing it on a desk next to her. Once the clipboard was out of her hands, she twisted her torso around and reached out to grab the handle of her guitar, which lay peacefully on the wall next to a window. 

Heaving the metal instrument up and over her lap, she sighed and relaxed it close to her chest, smiling softly as her fingers graced the strings, each time her fingernails touched the wires a low strum sounded off. It seemed to put her in a small trance every moment she’d spent with her guitar, having it for so long it felt as though it was a part of her. For a few seconds she sat there, fiddling with the heavy object until her mind snapped back to reality and remembered the EEG tube still in hand. She sighed before bringing it up to her forehead, the cold, rubbery object sticking to her skin like glue as the radar on the machine immediately sensed the neurologic activity of her brain.  

Now certain everything was in place, she brought her attention back to her guitar, continuing to rhythm the strums along to a familiar tune she remembered in her head. As this happened, the radar on the computer stayed its normal course, nothing out of the ordinary seeming to interest it.

For about three full minutes Sunset continued to play, her slow strums keeping her in a calm state, as she kept watch of the radar through the corner of her eye. Soon, her strokes began gradually increasing as the song in her head started to grow a little louder and with more excitement. Showing her teeth in a happy smile, Sunset brought her fingers down harder on the strings and bounced her knee to the rhythm as each thrum echoed off the walls of the room. Closing her eyes, she let out a low hum as the cords grew louder and louder, and her foot bounced steadily to the beat, the rumbling of the active instrument in her arms sending a pleasant rumble into her chest.

The tuned song continued to play loudly through the speakers sitting about a foot from her seat, as she swayed her head from side-to-side and hummed louder, her mind straying further from her objective task and more towards timing the pattern her fingers made on the cords to the silent song.

Unbeknownst to the teen, the EEG tube attached to her head had not forgotten its mission and noticed an increasing change from somewhere inside Sunset, and immediately sent a message to the radar. 

Picking up the report, the radar beeped before the wavelengths began to spike higher and more frequently than normal on the screen as her laptop, which was plugged into and sitting on the blocky testing machine, copied everything the radar was detecting inside a hard drive. Sunset had yet to notice this though, as the tune in her mind rattled her brain in an excited tizzy. 

Playing her guitar always casted a spell on her she would have never felt were she still a unicorn back in her home world. It was like someone had injected her body with pure happiness, every strum she created sending a shockwave into her chest, through her ribcage, and soaked inside her heart and soul like a sponge.

As she played on, soon an orange hue began to slowly light up from her very skin and through her thick clothes as if she were a lightbulb slowly coming to life, ready to light up the darkness surrounding the world. Instead of halting her progress, the new predicament gave off a feeling that only seemed to somehow excite her more, now with both her feet stamping to the beat while her eyes scrunched, and her grin widened. 

This excitement apparently rubbed off on the glowing force within her, as evidence by two little orange knobs beginning to sprout from underneath her fiery locks, and her hair suddenly extending down her back. The knobs on her head grew in size until in mere seconds two furry, soft pony ears sprouted fully from her body and the orange/red hair along her back formed an appearance much like that of a pony’s tail.       

However, the teen continued to ignore the surrounding situation and quickened her pace on the strings, the song in her head nearing its conclusion. The guitar blared loudly around the room as she shot up from her seat and jammed on as if she were on stage in front of a concert of cheering people, every one of them chanting her name.

Sunset!

Sunset!

Sunset!

Sun-

“Oooh~ Guess what students, why not have a massive math exam on the same day you have a history project due!? Thanks a lot Mrs. Cheerile."

With a jolt, Sunset nearly dropped her guitar in surprise as the radar machine next to her began to beep loudly, blue sparks popping from its inner vents and the screen flickering with static. The teen clenched her guitar close to her as her breathing quickened, the orange hue around her, her pony ears, and pony tail flickering out in an instant now that her attention had focused somewhere else.

After a few split seconds of confusion, she finally turned her attention back to the machine and fearfully widened her eyes at the sight of the radar’s predicament. Quickly placing her instrument down, she rushed over to the sparking testing machine and desperately began to assess the situation.

“No, no, no, no!” She stressed through clenched teeth, fiddling mindlessly with the radar as the screen switched between her brain wave activity and fuzzy static. She yelped as the keyboard popped hot sparks that stung her fingers, causing her to back away from the machine in surrender as the poor thing continued to shriek in visible pain. Once she backed away, she reached over and disconnected her laptop from the radar, though she could do nothing with the big machine, her laptop could still be saved. 

Completely helpless, she groaned as the machine let out one last cough as the screen flicked to static before turning pitch black, signifying its no doubt painful demise. 

Huffing, she crossed her arms in frustration as she looked up to catch a glimpse of fellow student Sweetie Drops shuffle past the science lab window with a look of scorn on her face while holding an onslaught of school supplies in her arms.

Once the other girl was out of view, Sunset sighed and hung her head low, her annoyance giving way to disappointment, not daring to peer back at the broken machine beside her. Perfect. Another school appliance destroyed. Principle Celestia’s going to be thrilled to hear about this one.

After she was finished mentally kicking herself, her mind refocused on what had just happened. She’d definitely ponied up a few minutes ago, although she hadn’t heard the radar try and notify her, and for some reason her inner magic had caused her to yet again hear another person without touching them. 

It made her want to scratch her head, usually her magic only worked when she’d grab ahold of another person, where she’d get a mind trip of that said person’s past memories. However, on certain special occasions, say when another who possesses Equestrian magic of their own uses it a bit more often than they should, *Cough* R.D. *Cough*, then her powers would somehow “elevate” and cause her to hear other people’s thoughts just by being near them.

Her expression softened once the thought crossed her mind, the word “elevate” causing unhappy memories to return. 

Three days ago, when she’d gotten word from Applejack that a family friend of Twilight’s had gotten involved in a Changler terrorist attack early this school morning, and that Rainbow had bolted out of school the moment the bell rang to check up on the spectacled girl without telling any of her friends. Pushing aside her annoyance at Rainbow’s thoughtlessness, she gathered the rest of the four girls and quickly made a plan.

Once they’d gotten a text from Twilight about which specific hospital she was in, Applejack had offered to take Sunset and Pinkie with her in her car while Fluttershy agreed to take Rarity. Sunset had haphazardly tossed her school supplies into A.J’s truck and jumped into the pickup without hesitation, dragging Pinkie in after her by the hyper girl’s shirt collar. 

Once everything was settled, they’d sped off down the road with Fluttershy and Rarity hot on their trail. In less than thirty minutes they’d gotten to the city limits, when suddenly Sunset felt an overwhelming sense of gasoline and burnt rubber fill her sinuses. Pinkie must have caught it too, as she’d let both her and Applejack know by shouting out in exasperation from the smell. Even Applejack herself seemed to have caught it, with her face contorting into a worried frown.

The deeper they drove into the city, the quieter they’d all gotten. The streets were littered with debris, flaming cars, and scurrying people, building and stores smashed in and small businesses looted to their bare skeletons. The mere sight was enough to make the fiery haired teen feel sick to her stomach.     

In Equestria, the pony world she had grew up in, extremist attacks on the nation were quite rare. Aside from the couple Canterlot newspaper clippings on the feud between the Buffalo and Cowponies from down in Appleloosa, the nation was relatively peaceful.

Once she’d gotten to the human world however, it didn’t take long for her to realize that violence and deadly mayhem were around almost every street corner. Though Equestrians weren’t considerable saints by any stretch of measure, it seemed most humans thrived for power more than anything.

Then again, who in the world was she to judge?

Anyway, after a rather uncomfortable ride they’d made it about ten miles from the hospital when it felt like someone had short-circuited Sunset’s brain.

She didn’t know how or why it happened, all she remembered was looking out the window when out of nowhere, a wave of voices spewed like a river into her mind. Thousands upon thousands of voices from people she couldn’t see but certainly hear shouted and screamed through her skull until her ears felt as though they would bleed.

She shuddered while remembering the buzzing feeling in her brain felt while what felt like the inner thoughts of the entire city of Canterlot continued to crash down on her consciousness. The echoing screams and cries of dying people and terrified families as if she were in a cave packed to the brim with madness. 

It hurt. Sweet Celestia, it’d hurt so much that she’d actually started screaming. No matter how hard she’d clawed at her temple, desperate to pry the thoughts out, even more came flooding in through the cracks. She’d barely registered a scared Pinkie’s hands grasping her shoulders while Applejack demanded what was going on, to which neither gave the farm girl an answer.

After what felt like hours, a new sensation began to play in her magic frenzy, a voice that seemed completely different from the thousands of others clouding the nerves of her brain. It was hard to fully focus on though, both because of her already attacked attention span and also because it felt as though whatever it was had been trying to hide behind the screams of the people, almost like it was hitching a ride on the voices.

It felt…dark. Venomous and black. A passing small, sharp mix between a whisper and a scream that sent shivers into her soul. An odd message that told her to watch the shadows, to embrace the light while she could before it burned out.

And just as fast as it came, it left her mind, leaving her to the rest of the overwhelming roars of thoughts. Unbeknownst to her, Pinkie Pie still hand her hands worryingly clasped onto Sunset’s shoulders while Applejack had given up on communicating with the screaming ex-unicorn and had now focused on getting the ever-fearful Pinkie herself to try and breathe. 

A tactic that had apparently failed, as Pinkie had let go of Sunset only because she went to grab her phone from her purse in order to call the others over her still screaming friend. Ignoring the driving farm girl’s protests, Pinkie had just snatched up her phone and quickly began dialing Rarity’s number when she started to feel (as she explained later in her words) a tingly, poking feeling in her hands, almost like pins and needles were digging into her palms.

According to the party girl, that same feeling was usually a telltale signal that the equestrian magic within her was about to explode the object in her hand, which usually only happened with bakery sprinkles before. Yelping, the bubbly haired teen let go of the technological devices just seconds before it exploded into shattered pieces, burning her hand and pieces of it hitting Applejack, who began swerving the car in surprise, causing them to veer slightly off road and onto the sidewalk, smashing a public mailbox and just barely missing a planted tree.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Rarity stared in bewilderment at their friends out-of-control vehicle from the safety of their own car. The fashionista had pressed herself closer to the dashboard in worry while she watched Applejack’s truck eventually pull itself away from the sidewalk and back onto the road in order to miss hitting a visibly terrified pedestrian. 

While Rarity gripped the dashboard, she’d failed to notice her own arms begin to glow pure white as a tense feeling in her muscles forced her hands to automatically close into fists. Next thing she and Fluttershy knew, their vision of the road was blocked as a diamond shield the height of a three-story building burst from underneath the concrete street and rose right in their path.

Fluttershy was quick to swerve her car out of the way just mere seconds before the vehicle could hit the giant magical object. Their victory at surviving was short lived though, as even more giant diamond shields began to sprout from the ground like daisies, causing them to swerve around each and every one of them as if they were in some kind of messed up pinball game.     

And if that wasn’t enough, both girls had to steel themselves when Mr. Mumbles, a tabby cat Fluttershy had brought with her from the animal shelter as a source of self-comfort, had suddenly jumped as if he’d been electrocuted and gained a sudden dangerous interest in Gouda, a small mouse who was also from the animal shelter that had slipped into Fluttershy’s backpack without her knowledge, in their already small, little spaced car. A strange thing too, as the two animals were usually tolerable of each other. Worse yet, the small mouse had hidden herself in Fluttershy’s jacket as a form of safety, which of course did little to deter Mumbles from jumping onto the teen and digging frantically in search of the rodent. 

Now with a literal cat and mouse chase in their laps, it had become increasingly more difficult for them to weave around giant crystal shields protruding from the earth. Meanwhile, their friends in the other car still hadn’t been in any better of a scenario.

Though Sunset’s screaming had reduced slightly, her ears still burned as the voices continued to flood in, her eyes now brimmed with pained tears as she clutched her head tighter. Pinkie on the other hand yelped in agony while shaking her poor, charred hand as Applejack finally got the car back into place, letting out a brief sigh of relief once she calmed herself.  

Not two seconds later, she was gifted with the sight of a diamond shooting from the ground in front of her bumper, causing her to shriek and twist the wheel in order to get the car out of the way. Unfortunately, her attempt to steer the car away from the new threat caused her to accidentally yank the steering wheel straight off its hinges, the Equestrian magic within her increasing her strength tenfold.

With both cars’ occupants busy freaking out over their current situation, they’d all failed to notice a new crystal shield sprout from the ground. The only difference was, instead of being an upward road blockage, this new shield arose in the form of a ramp-like appearance. 

Before she knew what was happening, Applejack found her car driving up the shield ramp and flying 10 feet in the air, with Fluttershy and Rarity right following in suite. Time seemed to slow for what seemed like ages, everyone watching with fear as their respective vehicles flew sky high, until gravity finally overtook them and all five were sent sailing back down to the street.

Once their tires touch the ground, both cars automatically flipped over and began tumbling down the street, car parts and inner passengers flying everywhere like ragdolls. After a moment of barrel rolling across the pavement, they eventually stopped side-by-side in a parking lot.

The hospital parking lot.

And just like that, their powers had subsided. No more diamond shields shooting from the floor, no more voices. Almost as if it’d never happened.

Even days later Sunset was still banging her head against the proverbial wall over figuring out just what the actual heck had happened. Was it because Rainbow Dash had chosen to run to the hospital? Was it because of their already fearful anxiety? Was it something else entirely? The ex-unicorn had spent hours upon hours trying to piece together the puzzle, but she still came up with nothing.

They could have gotten someone, or themselves seriously hurt. Each of the girls’ handling on their magic was already a bit shaky. For a while it seemed like they’d finally somewhat gotten it under control, but now this proved they didn’t seem to have any control in the first place. It was like the magic had a mind of its own and only worked when and how it wanted to.

It certainly didn’t help that she still had absolutely no idea how or why Equestrian magic was so different in this world. It was like nothing made sense anymore! 

Sunset sighed as the school bell rung, signaling the beginning of today’s class. She’d gotten to school early in order to study her magic, but from the looks of things she wouldn’t be getting any more test results for now.

Pushing the radar machine back to its original resting place, she grabbed her guitar and backpack and headed out the science room door, disappointment clearly written on her face.

__________

Mr. Cranky Doodle’s classroom


“And that kids, is how elections are formed. Now, who can tell me about….”

Cranky continued with a smile, pointing towards the note riddled chalk board on Equestrian politics. Sunset was barely paying attention though, her mind focused instead on her new notes subjected on none other than “ponying up.” 

It truly baffled her. Their Equestrian magic appeared whenever each of their most special traits shined through. Rarity when she was being generous, Fluttershy whenever she was being kind, Pinkie pie when she tried to give an unhappy soul joy, etc. According to Princess Twilight, those same attributes where what made the Elements of Harmony, yet they had the magic with them before they gained the magical geodes from Everfree. If the geodes were an extension of the elements, then again, how did they get into this world? Did the geodes somehow know these specific girls?  

She rubbed her temples as Mr. Cranky kept talking. Geez, was magic studying ever this difficult back in Equestria? 

Just thinking about magical studies made her reminisce the times with her previous mentor Celestia. How the ancient princess had made it her life’s work to teach Sunset all she could on the subject and concept of magic itself, and how magic was part of every Equestrian resident’s soul, be they Alicorn, Earth pony, Pegasus, or Unicorn.

Equestria. There wasn’t a day that went by where she missed her old home, how the sky was packed to the brim with flying Pegasus instead of noisy planes, the studies of magical monsters who weren’t considered as silly children’s myths and the air smelt of clean, woodsy wind instead of car gas and pollution. For the longest while she’d considered going back, almost to the point where she nearly talked about it with her friends back at the Friendship Games. It was getting hard to consider telling her friends about it though, after all, it did hurt to think about leaving them.

But after seeing the whole magical fiasco that was the Friendship Games, and the fact that for a while she’d been personally debating whether or not she actually wanted to go back home, she soon grew a change of heart. In truth, she honestly had more of a family over in this world, whereas back in Equestria there was only Celestia and Princess Twilight waiting for her. That, and the fact that she really wanted to learn how magic worked in the human world. Sure, it was hard and at times incredibly frustrating to understand, but Sunset could handle a tough challenge.   

Though this world wasn’t home, over time she found that it was enough. She had friends who cared for her and a new life in a world unnatural to someone of her interspecies background. She’d miss living with other ponies, but nothing a few visits back couldn’t help.

Piff!

Her reminiscing thoughts were halted as she felt something light hit the back of her head. Quickly making sure the teacher wasn’t looking she turned around to see the familiar form of Rainbow Dash sitting behind her, her expression one of concern.

Sunset raised an eyebrow at the other girl in confusion, signaling the athlete to explain the situation. Her friend simply rolled her eyes before jabbing a finger towards the ground below. Looking down, Sunset saw a folded piece of paper sitting on the floor, no doubt the offending object her friend had thrown.

Resisting the urge to scoff at RD’s lack of both timing and communication skills, she nevertheless swiftly picked up the paper and tucked it underneath her desk, out of sight from the professor. 

Once again sneaking a glance to see if the coast was clear, she looked downward at the message underneath the darkness of the desk.

Are you okay? You seem really out of it today. If this is about Tuesday, you don’t have to worry about it, I told you I’m fine;)

Sunset smiled as she read the note. Leave it to Rainbow Dash to brush off a major incident and still stand tall. Not wanting to be caught writing notes in class again, Sunset quickly turned her head around and gave her friend an encouraging smile and a thumbs up, to which RD returned.

Rainbow Dash always wore a brave smile whenever things got tough, no matter the situation. It was one of the many things both Sunset and the rest of her friends admired about the rainbow-haired teenager. Unlike most of them, Dash had adapted quickly to her newfound magic, using to her every advantage. The same however, could not be said for the likes of the others, such as AJ and Twilight as evidence by their earlier experience back at Camp Everfree. The two girls specifically had instead grown fearful of their own powers as the weeks progressed after they’d gotten the geodes, with Applejack being afraid to so much as return a high five without breaking someone’s hand with her super strength and Twilight being wary of magic altogether. Coupled with the smart girl’s traumatic experience as Midnight Sparkle, there was no doubt it’d take more than a catchy song for her to “embrace the magic.”

Suddenly a light bulb went off in Sunset’s head, maybe that was why they all had experienced such a dramatic surge of power on Tuesday. They must’ve not been as in balance with their magic as they’d originally thought, what with their ever-growing anxiety and lack of knowledge on the subject. Heck, it was no wonder why their powers freaked out! 

She pursed her lips while thinking. Due to school and such, the seven teens hadn’t really discussed the magic situation, instead they all sort of, well, went with it. They allowed the magic to work its course, trying to use it only when it was necessary, (The situation with faking a snow day last December didn’t count. It was a completely justified cause). And after what happened on the way to hospital, it seemed all of them had refused to discuss magic matters whatsoever, which made it increasingly difficult for Sunset to understand what was going on. Especially Twilight, which was even more strange, because while the smart teen was scared of having powers, she never shied away from studying it. Now that Sunset thought about it, Twilight had grown extremely reclusive in the past few days, always seeming to have something deep on her mind. 

Perhaps there was a way they could try and get more in tune with themselves, a practice day so to speak. A test to see what their limitations or greatest achievements could be. But where could they try such an event, and when would they even be able to have time for it? 

The bell once again rung, signaling out to all students and staff that the school day was done. Cranky seemed to notice this and cleared his throat.

“All right class, that just about settles things for today. Don’t forget that we’re having CHS’ annual sporting event next weekend and you all need to buy your tickets four days in advance. Pack your things and please leave in a neat orderly fashion, and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Sunset quickly grabbed her loose papers as she braced in anticipation for the rainbow blur to zip past her and run out the door. To her surprise however, the blur never came, instead all she heard was the normal sound of chairs scooting back and papers being stuffed back into their original folders.

Once again turning around, she saw Dash doing the one thing Sunset would have never expected of her friend. Instead of practically knocking over her desk and bolting out of the room at Mach 7 like she normally did, RD had quickly placed her stuff back in her binder and sat up slowly, tucking the binder under her arm, and walked out at a steady pace.

This led Sunset to balk at the athlete, who simply gave her a small wave and a shy smile. Narrowing her eyes, Sunset swiped her things and jumped from her desk, following the other girl with determination.

Exiting the door, she looked to her right just in time to see Dash scooting down the hall with carefully placed steps. To the untrained eye, it seemed as though she was just simply walking like any normal person, but as someone who truly knew her, Sunset could see that each step, Dash was doing her absolute best as to not move any faster than her pet turtle, with her body stiff and tense. It was like watching a rigid wooden plank attempt to walk, solid and awkward.

Sunset huffed in frustration before striding forward, this had to stop.

“Rainbow Dash?” She called out.

The girl in question flinched suddenly at the mention of her name, before slowly turning around to face the older female, a tight smile on her face that fooled absolutely no one.

“H-hey Sunset! What’s up?”

Crossing her arms as best she could, Sunset’s expression changed into one of compassion as she walked up to Dash, her voice as calm as possible.

“Dash, we really need to talk about what happened Tuesday.”

RD shifted nervously in place, sweat starting to form as her smile tightened even more while letting out a coughed laugh.

*Koff* "W-what, no!? Like I said earlier, I told you guys I’m fine, there’s no reason for you to worry!”

Unmoved by the attempt to sway her, Sunset sighed softly before speaking in a sterner voice.

“Dash, I know you keep telling me that, but I really think we need to figure out what happened.”

The nervous expression on Rainbow’s face morphed into a look of disappointment. suddenly finding the school floor very interesting. Seeing her downcast expression caused a sharp sting of guilt strike in Sunset’s chest, but she attempted to brave it for now. Okay, she may have come on a bit strong, but if there was a chance to fix this then she would take it!

“Look…” she started, only to halt.

Pausing a moment to gather her ideas, Sunset furrowed her brows before placing a hand on her chin in thought. Interested in why the other stopped, Dash looked up at her friend in confusion, watching as Sunset thought for a minute before moving her head to where their eyes once again met.

“...I think I have an idea on how to prepare ourselves for if and when this happens again. But I need your help doing it. Would you be up for it right now?”

The blue-skinned teen seemed to consider her words for a moment, clutching her elbow in anxiety. Sunset stepped forward and placed a hand on her friend ‘s shoulder causing the other to peer back, as the ex-unicorn smiled gently.

“Listen, if you really don’t want to talk about it right now, or even later, that’s completely fine. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Its up to you. I just want to find out a way where our friends won’t get hurt.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t say a word as she continued to look the other in the eyes, before chuckling softly and smiling.

“You know I would never refuse you to help Sunshim.”

With a roll of her eyes, Sunset groaned as she facepalmed.

“I didn’t agree to that name you know.”

Letting out a bigger laugh, Rainbow playfully punched her friend in the shoulder, smirking with her usual confidence.

“Hehehe. Yeah, I know.”

Dropping her hand, Sunset smiled back before placing an arm around Dash while giggling.

“Come’on, let’s meet up back at my place. I give you the details along the way.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunset’s house


“Whoa, hold on a minute.”

With the day almost over, Sunset had decided the best place to convene and express her plan was at her home, a small apartment complex just a few blocks from the school. Currently, the room owner was sitting at her desk with the computer turned on, notes and other magic related books scattered around the desk in a littered mess. Meanwhile her Rainbow-colored friend lay sprawled on Sunset’s couch, looking rather confused.

“So, let me get this straight…” Rainbow started, propping herself up. “…You want all of us to get together and have some kind of magic fest with our powers? Even after they went haywire and nearly got us killed?”

The other occupant shed her jacket off before clearing her throat.

"Uh, yes? I mean no. Kinda.”

Wheeling her chair around she grabbed her notes and began to sort through them while continuing to talk over her shoulder.

“Well, sort of. See, we have no idea what happened last Tuesday and yes, it did almost cause some serious damage. But like I said, I may have an idea on how to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Turning back towards the other girl, she shuffled through her papers, unconscious about the growing confusion on Dash’s expression. 

“We’ve had these powers for over a year, and we still have little knowledge on how they work. What’s their function, what’s their impulse, their drive?”

Walking over to the couch, she sat down and brought forth the notes for Dash to see, who shuffled next to her friend and began reading the past Equestrian’s records.

“After all this time, we haven’t really gotten a chance to try and truly understand our magic. Which is why I believe we had that incident, because our magic may also be emotionally connected with us as well as physically.”

Looking up from her notes, Sunset stared at Dash with an expression of seriousness, her words hopeful and adamant.

“Rainbow, if we were to set a time, maybe even a full day if we’re lucky for all of us to practice our magic and better understand them, with each of us to get in touch with our individual powers, then perhaps things might get better.”

Despite the excitement of Sunset’s face, Rainbow Dash furrowed her brows while bringing a hand to her chin, her tone unsure.

“I dunno Sunset, while I think practicing our magic sounds absolutely awesome, how can you be sure we won’t have another major accident?”

Sunset seemed to take this question into consideration, fiddling with the papers in her hand before looking down to the floor with a down casted expression as she inwardly sighed. Noticing her friend’s distraught state, Dash placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder as the orange-haired girl mumbled a response.

“I…I don’t know. I have no idea what happened. I don’t for sure know what triggered it. I just…”

Whatever words she was about to say were cut off as she placed the papers down and covered her face with her hands, her body silently shaking. Dash scooted closer and began to rub the other girl’s back in comfort, gritting her teeth.

“Aw crap, I’m sorry Sunset. I shouldn’t have…”

Dropping her hands, Sunset lifted her head while looking back at her friend, exasperation clear in her features.

“No, no, it’s fine Rainbow Dash, I get what you’re saying. I…” 

Biting her fingernail, she gave the other girl a fearful look.

“…I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you guys. I want us to be safe. There’s no guarantee that if we so much as use our geodes for even the smallest thing, it might cause a catalyst. But I really, really think we need to at least try and figure out what going on before something even worse happens.”

Standing up off the couch, Sunset stared down at her friend while putting her hands into her pockets.

“Remember what you guys said Monday, how I couldn’t spend my days worrying about magic and just try to understand things as they just went along? How if we worked together things would turn out okay?”

Seeing her friend nod at her words, Sunset continued.

“Well, I know that together we can get things done, and I truly think this might help us. Again, I don’t want to force you all into doing something you don’t want to do, but if we’re wanting to figure this out, we need to stop ignoring the problem and come together to fix it.”

Once she finished, she peered at her friend to await her answer, hoping to Celestia the other girl would agree to the terms. Meanwhile Dash seemed to mull over Sunset’s words, tapping her chin in thought as she turned her gaze to a nearby window.

It took nearly all but ten seconds for Dash to come to a conclusion as she hopped up from the couch and placed her hand onto her friend, a comforting smile on her face.

“It does sound a little risky. But then again, I am all for risks. So if you truly think this’ll help us, then I’m all for it!"

Sunset looked back at the other girl, smiling slightly. Breathing a sigh of relief, she placed her hands onto her hips. At least Rainbow agreed with her, now all they needed was to get the other five to informed of their plan. 

“By the way Sunset, I am wondering: what supplies do you need for this whole schtick? Must be some kind of major sciencey stuff.”

Chuckling, Sunset waved her off while grabbing her papers and putting them back on her desk.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, just leave it all to me. I’ll text the girls now, let them know what’s going on. Now we can't do this at the school, we need to find a good place to practice so people don’t get hurt. luckily, I think I know just the place.”

Nodding, Rainbow slumped back into the couch fully relaxed as can be, peering over at the TV.

“Sweet. Now that’s outta the way, what’s say we turn this bad boy on so I can cream you at Equestrian world war lll again.”

Thus, the two friends continued on through the night like they always did, not concerned in the slightest about the emotional discussion they had not moments ago. Playing competitive games, eating junk for dinner and swapping gossip for hours on end. And when the time came for Dash to go home for the night, Sunset said her goodbyes and ended her night. Feeding her pet lizard and climbing into bed, her mind prepped and ready for the next day, wondering what the others would say about her plan.

For a brief moment she considered talking to princess Twilight about the current ordeals but decided against it. For now, things were actually starting to look up.

Unbeknownst to the teen, in their night of fun, she’d accidentally forgotten to turn off her TV in the living room, which still continued to cast its programs despite the room’s occupant having fallen asleep. The late-night talk show currently playing on the screen flickered out and was cut off to an immediate emergency news broadcast, where the camera showed the city police deputy Atlas standing by a podium, speaking out to an offscreen audience as he gave out a warning message.

*Since Tuesday, there has been no official recording or witness of the terrorist extremist group known as the Changlers. For now, it seems they have gone dark. However, we the CCPD strongly insist that all citizens of Canterlot City remain calm and alert, if you are to see anyone looking suspicious or engaging in extremist like activities, you are to seek shelter immediately and contact your local police department. *

The screen switched from the deputy to show cast a picture of a young male with near bald hair, wearing a white shirt and brown messenger bag with a strange short of weapon attached to it on his back walking outside of a building.

*Our records show that this man may be somewhat in league with the Changlers. He’s about 5’11”, and age 26. His name is Cole Macgrath and is considered armed and heavily dangerous. Do not, I repeat, do not approach him. If you see him or know anyone who might know of his whereabouts, please let us know. We as a society will not and cannot tolerate extremist ruining our fair city. Canterlot will not fall to these people. Thank you*