//------------------------------// // Recruitment Drive (new chapter 1) // Story: Reform School // by KnightMysterio //------------------------------// Reform School Chapter 1: Recruitment Drive by Jonathan “KnightMysterio” Spires /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Ponyville Castle… /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ To say they were surprised was an understatement. All three of them had fully expected to be locked away forever in their ‘statuesque’ prison. But now? Here they were, laying before their captors, all of them looking at them with expressions that were a mix of pity and wariness. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” snapped the pegasus, the young girl stretching to work out all the kinks. She gently dusted the light blue curls of her mane, while preening her wings to get the last of the dirt and grit out. “Be silent, Cozy Glow,” said the withered, black-furred, red-skinned centaur. His short, stubby horns and aged appearance belied the powerful hatred hiding behind those black eyes, white pupils staring out of the ebon voids of rage. He may have been weakened, but he wasn’t about to bow. Or put up with any of his former fangirl’s nonsense. He glared at his captors, unable to fully raise himself up due to his withered body, but folding his arms defiantly nevertheless. “You be silent, Tirek,” the third of the group said. She was vaguely pony-like, with a more insectoid appearance, her body a dark green, with a light green ring around her belly, her mane, tattered wings, and tail a light green as well. Her horn was twisted, and her hooves had rot holes in them. She wore those holes a point of pride. The only thing she had left. “We don’t know what the situation is, and-” “Oh no, Chrysalis. I’ve been silent too long!” Tirek said, glaring at the deposed Changeling Queen. He charged Chrysalis and began to strangle the weakend changeling, reaching down and grabbing Cozy by the throat as well. “I’ve had it up to HERE with you two idiots! I was doing fine on my own, but thanks to Discord’s STUPID scheme and those HORRIBLE ponies-” “Would you kindly stop that?” said a voice. Tirek dropped the two mares, looking over to who spoke. Princess Twilight Sparkle, taller than he remembered and now with a flowing mane, stood with her comrades standing by her. The fashionista, Rarity, just snickered at the three of them, hiding her grin with her hoof, while the party planner, Pinkie Pie, just grinned happily at them. Applejack, the farmer, gave them all stern glares, while Fluttershy stood slightly behind everyone else, looking rather demure. Rainbow Dash hovered above the rest, a cocky sneer on her face, and to Tirek’s annoyance, she was wearing a jacket with badges that suggested she had a high rank in something she was a part of. He had silently hoped that her hubris would have gotten her fired from the… oh, what were they called… never mind, he didn’t care. He was just tired of all this nonsense and wanted to be left alone, eat enough magic to keep his strength up. Chrysalis, on the other hoof, had managed to keep a burning hatred of all the gathered ponies, as well as her two fellow prisoners. She hissed at them, a sneer on her face as she glared at Twilight. She wasn’t a fool, and was only partially insane. She could recognize when she was outmatched. “Hello, ‘Princess Twilight.’ I see you’ve finally gotten that ‘royal shine’ Celestia and Luna have,” she said, bowing mockingly. “I have,” Twilight said, smiling. “Since Celestia and Luna retired, I have since evolved in power.” Chrysalis frowned. Something’s off… she thought. Tirek, however, just laughed. “Retired! Oh dear. Couldn’t handle the pressure anymore, so they dumped it all on you, eh?” he taunted. “Gee,” Cozy Glow said in her cutesy voice. “I bet you’re gonna need some extra help! Poor Mr. Spike must be so overworked now-” “Ain’t no one buyin’ it, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Worth a shot,” Cozy said in her normal voice, smirking. “You’re outmatched,” Rainbow Dash said, sneering right back at Chrysalis. “You’re outgunned, underpowered, and outclassed in every possible way.” She gestured around, and all three villains looked, their eyes widening. Surrounding them were dozens of guards, led by a dark, mulberry-colored mare with a broken horn. Each one had a weapon leveled at them, ready to strike if they so much as made a move towards Twilight and her friends. “So… It’s finally come to this...” Chrysalis said softly. “Execution...” A dark chuckle escaped her. Cozy paled, her ears drooping as her heart began to race in fear. “W-Wait...” she stammered. “Maybe we can make a deal!” She was NOT ready to die yet! “Show some dignity,” Tirek said, wincing as he forced his weathered upper body upright completely and folded his arms defiantly. “Meet your death with grace.” “You meet it!” Cozy protested. “I’m still a filly! I still have plans!” “Nopony’s dying,” Twilight said, looking mildly irritated. “Not a pony,” Tirek and Chrysalis said, smirking. Twilight facehoofed. “You know what I meant,” she said. “Told ya we needed to stop using pony-specific pronouns,” Pinkie teased, bouncing a little. “Can we move on?” Twilight almost pleaded. When no one else said anything, she sighed. “Okay. As I said, nopony-” “Not a pony,” Tirek and Chrysalis said in perfect unison, looking at each other and chuckling. Twilight rolled her eyes. “NoBODY is going to die today!” Cozy sighed in relief. Chrysalis frowned. “Then what is your plan?” she asked. “You’re not going to try and reform us, are you?” Tirek said disdainfully. “You know that won’t work.” “And why not?” said Fluttershy. “We’ve successfully reformed every villain and meanie on the planet. Only you three and three others are left.” A chill went through the three villains as they said that. “...Impossible,” Tirek said. “You can’t have reformed everyone.” “Of course not, silly!” Pinkie Pie said, giggling. “We haven’t reformed you yet!” Cozy Glow looked doubtful. “...They’re bluffing,” she said. “I’ve read about some of the baddies out there. No way that Friendship could get to all of them.” Something’s wrong… Chrysalis said again, her tail flicking in agitation. She could taste the emotions in the air. They all felt… off. Everypony looked normal enough, but she couldn’t escape the feeling that something was wrong. “Oh?” Rarity said, smirking. “Then give us an example, darlings. Who do you think would be immune to Friendship?” Cozy Glow smirked. “The Sirens,” she said. Tirek quirked an eyebrow. “I remember them,” he said, stroking his beard. “Good singers. And they certainly knew how to cause trouble.” Cozy Glow nodded. “I read Twilight’s files on them. They had been exiled to some other world with a bunch of bipedal monkey things, with another student of Celestia’s keeping an eye on them. They outright rejected an offer from that student to try and be friends again.” Tirek nodded, smirking. “That makes sense from what I remember of them. They were vicious, predatory creatures. No way they’d give in to this Equestrian nonsense.” Chrysalis remembered hearing OF the Sirens, for she was a younger being than Tirek. And it did fit with the legends she heard of them. But she saw Twilight smirk, and suddenly realized what was about to happen. They all felt it before they heard it, the swell of power that came with a Heartsong. The sheer unbridled joy that gave rise to a musical magic that created a beat, the music itself, the lyrics, and in many cases, a dance. All without need for practice. Heartsong was joy personified. The issue was who was singing this particular song. The first to emerge from the wide pool of water that had been surrounding their former statue prison, hovering in an aura of magic, was a light blue, vaguely dragon-like creature with a darker fish tail and hooves, a great, cresting fin behind her. On her plated chest was a glowing blue crystal, a smile on her face as she sang. “Each one of us has something special, that makes us different, makes us rare!” Next to emerge was a similar creature, save her scales were in shades of purple, as was her chest crystal. A smile, more sardonic than the blue seabeast’s, was on her face as she sang the next verse. “We have a light that shines within us, that we were always meant to share!” As the first two danced through the sky in a swirling motion, a third rose up to join them, a great, golden seabeast with a golden crystal in her chest, her eyes closed and her expression joyous as she joined her sisters in song. “And when we come together, combine the light that shines within, there is nothing we can’t do there is no battle we can’t win! And when we come together, there'll be a star to guide the way. It's inside us ev'ry day! See it now... See it now!” The trio spun into the air, creating a flourish of magical colors in the air as they sang the chorus. “Let the rainbow remind you that together we will always shine! Let the rainbow remind you that forever this will be our time!” The music slowed to a stop, the trio slowly descending as the gold seabeast sang the last gentle line of the song. “Let the rainbow remind you that together we will always shine!” The ponies all applauded the trio as they sat down next to Twilight and her group. The villains could only stare, shocked, at what they saw. “Tirek… Tirek, please tell me those aren’t who I think they are...” Cozy said, gulping nervously. “The Sirens...” Tirek said, eyes wide, his expression stunned. “I’d recognize them anywhere...” Chrysalis growled. “What is this!?” she demanded, her wings flaring in fear and anger. “Noisy bug, isn’t she?” the lead seabeast asked. “Now now, Adagio darling,” Rarity said. “She’s simply having a rather stressful time of things.” “They all are,” Fluttershy said, smiling apologetically to the three villains. “You three had a reputation before all this...” The blue one groaned softly. “Sweet seas, we were the worst...” “Can’t argue with that, Sonata,” the light purple one said, Sonata nuzzling her adoringly, making her blush. “Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk,” Twilight said, smiling. “The Sirens of legend. They’ve chosen to abandon their ways, and embrace Harmony.” “W-Why?!” Cozy Glow asked, confused beyond belief. “You girls were AMAZING! You could cause trouble just by singing a couple notes! Why give up all that to be a goody goody!?” “I confess, I am wondering the same thing,” Tirek said, his voice shaking slightly. “We never met personally, but I always admired your capacity for destruction. What caused you to change?” “They bribed me with TACOS!” Sonata declared. Aria rolled her eyes and dunked her sister’s face in the pool they had emerged from. Adagio rolled her eyes. “My sister’s odd love for Mexicoltan food aside,” she snarked, her eyes softening as she said, “...We weren’t going anywhere in our quest for power. Every time we tried, someone rose up against us. Star Swirl and his band, the Rainbooms in the other world...” She shook her head. “It just wasn’t worth it.” “It took us forever to gain back our singing voices after our defeat by the Rainbooms took them from us,” Aria said, shivering softly. “Music is a part of our lives. To be without it… To be unable to SING… It was a nightmare.” Sonata whimpered, hugging Aria, who hugged her back. Adagio nodded, continuing. “In the end, we ended up going to Sunset Shimmer, the student of Celestia’s that the little runt mentioned earlier. She showed us a better way.” “A better sound,” Aria added. “A brighter voice,” Sonata said. “And we embraced Harmony,” the Sirens said as one, smiling serenely. Cozy just stared, her jaw dropped. Tirek backed away slightly, unnerved. Chrysalis felt her heart racing. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Her breath was coming in frightened pants as- “Would you kindly calm down?” Fluttershy asked gently. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Chrysalis took a deep breath, and willed herself to calm down. This was… odd, yes. But there was nothing to be afraid of. “...What do you plan to do with us?” she asked. Twilight smiled. “I’ve opened a school,” she said. “Another one?” Cozy snarked. Twilight giggled. “Yep! Only this one is a reform school. One where the wicked can go to learn how to be good to others. You’ll hear stories about other villains reforming, such as the Sirens and Tempest Shadow back there...” She gestured to the dark mulberry mare, who just nodded when the three villains turned to look at her. “It’s a wonderful experience,” Fluttershy said. “You’ll see!” “And when you’re all reformed, and there’s no more evil in the world, then we can have a HUGE party celebrating it!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. “What of Discord?” Tirek said. “Surely your ‘evil free’ era can’t include chaos?” “Chaos is a natural part of life,” Twilight said. “It is as much a part of Harmony as peace is. But evil such as yours has no place in the world we’re trying to create.” “That ‘you’ are trying to create,” Chrysalis said. “How ambitious.” “Better peace than your evil,” Rainbow Dash snarked. “All right,” Tirek said, growling. “Here’s my question – Do we have a choice in the matter? Can we decide to just go back into the statue?” He glanced around at Chrysalis and Cozy. “Or in separate statues, preferably?” Twilight flinched, the other five looking guilty as well. Chrysalis hissed angrily, while Cozy gave Twilight an incredulous look. Tirek just folded his arms, sneering. “I thought so,” he said. “It’s for both your own good and the good of everyone in the world,” Twilight said. “Locking you up is far too cruel, and imprisoning you forever does nothing to address the issues you lot have.” “I have no issues,” Chrysalis said, growling. “I am Queen. I am superior. I must rule. There is nothing simpler.” Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we can’t allow that,” she said. “So would you kindly cooperate and come with us, please?” The villains all looked at each other, each sporting a bitter expression. Tirek shrugged, Cozy Glow’s ears drooping. The changeling queen growled and sighed. “Fine...” Chrysalis muttered. “Where are we going next?” Twilight smiled. “To find the rest of your class,” she said. “...Are we really the only villains left in the world?” Cozy asked. “The only cruel people?” Applejack nodded. “Afraid so. Awfully lonely, ain’t it?” Cozy fidgeted uncomfortably. Sonata gently mussed the girl’s hair with a hoof. “Don’t worry,” the Siren said. “It’ll all be okay soon.” Cozy just smiled weakly. Twilight smiled, and motioned for the villains to follow them to a teleportation circle. “Tempest? Send everyone home,” she said. “I think we’ve got this now.” “You sure you won’t need us for the other three?” she asked. “Appreciated, darling,” Rarity said. “But we can handle this.” Tempest nodded, and barked an order, the soldiers surrounding the trio of villains reluctantly backing off. “What about us?” Adagio asked. Twilight looked thoughtful. “...Two of them might be trouble,” she said. “You can go, but stay on call.” Adagio nodded. “Of course,” she said. “C’mon, girls. Sonata got me hungry for tacos.” Aria rolled her eyes, as Sonata clapped her hooves excitedly, the three Sirens flying off. The villains, meanwhile, joined Twilight and her friends on the teleportation circle. “So where are we going, anyway?” Cozy Glow asked. “And who’s joining us in this fresh Hell?” Tirek muttered. “‘Who’ will be a surprise,” Twilight said. “As for where...” She looked back to the other girls, who all grinned. “Well, let’s just say its someplace familiar.” Her horn blazed, and the group of them vanished. TO BE CONTINUED...