//------------------------------// // Bye Bye Blackbird // Story: Out of This World // by Mouse-Deer //------------------------------// Sunset slapped her hand against her neck, grasping the bug tightly and ripping it off of her. Immediately she felt her neck stiffen, fire flooding her senses. The wasp squirmed in her hand in a futile attempt at escape. Not now. She crushed it. Why now? Why can’t I get a moment of peace? She tried to ignore the sting in her neck and glanced at where Celestia was. The princess must have stumbled over to the floor, the sting catching her off guard. She was slumped against the wall, her face frozen in shock. Although her vision was blurry, Sunset could make out a small wasp still clinging on to Celestia’s neck, as if it was sucking the life out of her. She let out a cry and ran over to Celestia, ripping the Changeling off of her neck. She tossed it on the floor and stomped down on it. Celestia did not get up off of the floor, and on closer inspection, her eyes had glazed over. They’ve got her in a trance. Sunset let out another startled cry, flipping her head back and forth to make sure no other Changeling’s found them, or any were trying to do the same to her. Principal Celestia rushed into the living room, still in her nightgown. “What’s going on?” She yelled. Once she saw Sunset leaning over the Princess’s body, she rushed over and felt the Princess for a pulse. “She’s okay,” the Principal said, “just passed out.” She glanced at Sunset. “It’s Chrysalis, isn’t it?” “Y-yeah,” Sunset choked out. “Shut the door. I’ll go grab a first aid kit and some weapons.” Sunset pushed herself back onto her feet, and turned to the door. Her mind was blank; all the thoughts in her mind were overtaken and consumed by the sting emanating from her neck, or from the rage that boiled inside of her. I didn’t get to say it. Just when I thought I could. Still swaying on her feet, she pushed her body into the doorframe to close it shut. A pale hand stuck in between just before she closed it, blocking her. “Not so fast,” she heard herself say from the other side. An imposter Sunset stuck her head in, pushing the real Sunset back onto the ground in the process. “I’ve been waiting a couple days for this opportunity.” Sunset stumbled backward across the floor. “What the hell do you want?” “Compensation,” snarled Chrysalis, “for the funny little trip Celestia took to my hive, and for your funny little speech at lunch yesterday. But, I have far better things to do than take you out myself. Ta-ta,” she said, stepping out with a flash of green. Sunset got up onto her feet and slammed the door shut. “Principal!” She called weakly. “We have a problem!” Principal Celestia came running out of the bathroom, a first aid kit in hand. “What is it?” She asked hurriedly. “Chrysalis just showed up, and she’s mad. Ah,” Sunset winced, rubbing her neck, “We need to defend ourselves before any more Changelings come.” The Principal nodded. “Alright. I was about to get some weapons before you called me. They could already be inside of the house now.” Sunset rushed over to the kitchen. “I’ll grab a knife until then.” “Oh, there’s no need for that. I’ve got far better weapons upstairs,” said the Principal. “What?” Sunset’s brow furrowed. “I need something until we get there, then.” The Principal walked over and grabbed her hand. “Don’t take the knives. We’ll go get some weapons together. Just so we don’t split up,” she said, bringing Sunset across the living room with her grip. Sunset followed blindly behind her as she tried to process everything that was going on. “Wait, we need to help the Princess!” Sunset exclaimed, breaking out of her grip and running back over to the Princess, still propped against the wall, unconscious. The Principal rushed after her. “She’s not as important right now. We need to defend ourselves!” As Sunset made her way back over to Princess Celestia, the pounding in her ears dulled for a second as she heard something from the corner of the house. Someone was banging against a door, yelling for her. Realization struck as she the woman behind stood idly waiting. Sunset turned to Principal Celestia. “Perhaps we should grab some weapons first,” she said calmly. “Good,” said the Principal. Sunset stood up and followed behind the Principal once again. However, just as they reached the kitchen, she threw herself over to the stove and grabbed a knife. Just as the Principal turned around to call out to her she swiped across the Principal’s arm. With a hiss, the Principal flashed green and flew away to another part of the house, a small trail of green blood behind her. Sunset sped as fast as she could over to the bathroom, which had been locked and barred shut with a chair. She removed the chair and swung the door open to see the real Principal Celestia inside. “Oh thank goodness, Sunset!” she exclaimed. “A Changeling just locked me in here!” Sunset leaned against the wall. “I know. She almost got me, too, if I hadn’t heard you.” “Thank the lord for that. I have some weapons here,” she said, handing Sunset a taser. “I’m going to see if pepper spray works against them.” “Well, sharp blades do the trick for sure,” Sunset said, examining the taser in her hands. “I squashed two of them. I just injured another, but it flew away. Chrysalis had enough time to get more inside, for sure.” The Principal stepped out of the bathroom and made her way down the hallway. “The Princess and I counted sixteen changelings in total, not including Chrysalis. So that’s three out of the picture. Definitely two.” The made their way to the living room. “Crack a window open,” said Sunset. “They can already get in here, and flight seems like a common response to injury. Let’s give them the easy way out.” “On it,” she replied. While the Principal opened a window in the living room, Sunset ran over to the unconscious Celestia and dragged her out of the doorway, bracing her against the back of the living room couch. I can’t move her very far, but at least no changelings will trip on her. She grasped her small knife from the kitchen, and met the Principal in the living room. “If we stay right next to each other, they cannot trick us again,” suggested the Principal. “My thought’s exactly,” Sunset said, leaning back to back with the Principal. “So we’ve got three down. We need to get to sixteen or so, then? This isn’t going to be fun.” “Sixteen if we’re lucky. And, if we need to kill . . . try not get torturous.” Sunset let out a deep sigh. “Why am I the only one who has to play by the rules? Fate’s working against me now. I’m done playing games.” “I beg you to reconsider,” the Principal said. However, two bugs interrupted their conversation and flew in from the window, pincers aimed and ready to attack. Sunset slashed at one with the knife, while the Principal unloaded the can of pepper spray on the other. The Changeling that received the dose of pepper spray buzzed and flew straight for the window, right back out into the night air. When Sunset sliced through her bug, it vanished into thin air. “What—” Sunset exclaimed before she felt another stinger in her shoulder. Principal Celestia spun around and blasted the can at the bug, which immediately popped out of Sunset’s shoulder and flew blindly out the window. “Gah,” groaned Sunset, “Why the hell are they just leaving?” “Consider it a blessing,” the Principal responded. Five down, Sunset thought to herself. So began a pattern of barrages against the teacher and student in which the wasps charged directly at them before flying out the window at the first hint of injury. Sunset swatted one down with the knife. Six. The Principal, catching on to the simple method of execution, began shooting the pepper spray out in short bursts. “Got one!” She called. Seven. One Changeling tried a new method. It rushed in like the rest of them, but a meter before it reached Sunset, it flashed green and turned into a replica of her in an attempt to tackle her to the ground. Fortunately, Sunset had equipped the taser in her off-hand, and jabbed it into the Changeling’s stomach. It flew right back out the window. Eight. Why the hell aren’t they putting up a fight? Just as the thought entered her mind, another copy of herself appeared right in her face and grabbed her, slamming her against the ground. She blindly waved the taser above her back, but nothing connected. “Help!” She cried out. The Principal turned around and kicked her foot out at the imposter, sending it sprawling against the floor. Just as Sunset got up and rushed forward at it, it turned into a bug and flew out the window. Nine. She stumbled on her feet, catching herself before she fell. That one hurt. Just as Sunset lined up with the Principal again, a bug transformed into a replica of the Principal and charged at the older woman. She aimed right into the Changelings eyes and unloaded the rest of the can. The Changeling, momentarily confused, swapped back into a wasp and flew into the ground in front of Sunset’s feet. Sunset quickly stomped down on it, turning it into a puddle of goo. Ten. “Hey,” the Principal said, “I don’t know if that was called for.” “I won’t torture them,” Sunset responded, “but they don’t get to destroy my life without consequence. Not anymore.” The Principal shook her head in disappointment before she tossed the can of pepper spray to the side. “I’m going to grab something from the kitchen. Stay safe for a few seconds.” “Hurry,” Sunset said. Just as the Principal left her side, another Changeling flew in and attempted to sting her. However, the exhilaration of the last kill let her mind enter a zone of rage-fueled precision, and with a quick swipe, the bug split in two and toppled to the ground. Eleven. She lowered the knife back down, only to notice that her arm wasn’t moving. She stared closely at it, and flexed her muscles upward. Although she could feel it moving, her eyes suggested it was locked to her side. Not one for taking chances, she used her other hand to bluntly smash against her arm. With a green flash, a Changeling flew off of it and out the window, giving her arm visible control again. Twelve . . . what even was that? The Principal ran back into the room empty-handed. “Sorry about the wait. How many did we take out?” Sunset let out a small laugh. “Where’s the thing you were supposed to grab? Fool me once, shame on you . . .” She swung out the knife and, right before it made contact with the Principal’s skin, the Changeling reverted and flew out the window. Thirteen. The actual Principal came back into the room with a flyswatter in hand. “Do you think that’s going to do anything?” Sunset asked. “Well, they are clearly not trying to deal lots of damage. I’ll leave the tougher ones to you.” “Gee, thanks,” said Sunset. Despite Sunset’s remarks, the next Changeling that flew in aimed directly for the Principal, and she swatted it down with ease. “See?” She said. “I knew it would work.” Fourteen, then. Sunset glanced over at the Princess, still lying next to the couch, unconscious. One wasp was skittering across her head, it’s stinger ready to pierce. Sunset rushed over to the Princess’s body and, when the Changeling noticed another person in front of it, it shifted its attention to her, flying off of the Princess’s head. Sunset cut through it easily with the knife. Fifteen. They’re awfully slow for being wasps. Sunset turned around to see two Principal Celestia’s rolling around on the floor, both grabbing at each other and hitting one another with dual flyswatters. Of course, Sunset thought. She grasped the knife in her right hand, the taser in her left, and walked over to the pile. One Principal was clawing at the other’s back while the other swatted her head with a flyswatter directly on top of her. “Sunset!” Exclaimed the Principal on top. “I’m the real one! Remember last Monday, with the tree? I fell over and you helped me back up. Please, listen to me!” The one below shouted up at Sunset, “She’s just stalling Sunset! I have no idea about how I feel about the Fall Formal! It’s not me!” “Take your knife and stab her already!” said the one on top. “Nice try,” said Sunset as she jabbed her taser toward the top Principal. At the touch of Sunset’s taser, the final imposter Celestia reverted to its original form and bolted out the window. The Principal sat up and dusted herself off. “Thank you, Sunset. I knew I could trust you.” Sixteen. Thank Celestia, it’s over. Sunset let out a painful sound of agreement. “Yeah, there’s no way a real person would risk getting stabbed. Not when you handed me a taser as a better option. It had to be the other you.” A weak groan escaped her lips. “That’s got to be all of them, right?” “Sixteen plus Chrysalis makes seventeen. I believe we’re finished. How many did you . . . you know, kill?” Sunset rubbed her neck. “Five, I think? I’m a little frazzled right now.” She turned around and saw Princess Celestia’s form still on the ground next to the couch. Her last bit of adrenaline pushed her over to the Princess’s side, slipping the small knife into her pocket. Just in case. “I’m not sure that the Princess will appreciate you killing that many, Sunset,” reprimanded the Principal. “She does not seem like the type to wish for unnecessary violence.” Sunset’s lip trembled as she looked over the Princess. “I don’t care anymore. It’s all bullshit anyways. Just . . . I’ve done worse than squash a few bugs before. Maybe I shouldn’t, or whatever, but . . . I won’t stand back when Chrysalis plays dirty.” She focused her attention back onto the Princess. Considering the onslaught that Sunset and the Principal had just been through, the Princess looked immaculate. The Changelings must have figured the conscious targets were more important. She quickly dropped on her knees to the floor next to the Princess. The pain from the sting on her neck and shoulder, the cuts across her back, and the exertion of the attack had worn her out completely. The Principal dashed over with a glass of water from the sink. “Drink this,” she said, handing Sunset the glass. Sunset gulped it down greedily and set the glass on the floor next to her. “What the hell was that all about, anyway?” She wondered aloud. The Principal leaned over to the Princess and checked for a pulse again. “I’m not sure. The Princess is alright, though. If anything, I think that was too easy.” “Yeah,” Sunset agreed. “I still got my ass kicked.” The Principal brushed herself off. “Any competent commander wouldn’t send in their troops one by one. They should have swarmed us. You’re lucky you only got away with an ass-kicking. I may not understand much about Equestria, but battle tactics on this level should be universal.” Sunset scratched her chin. “Now that you mention it, they all just flew away once we landed a single blow. Maybe she only wanted to tire us out? Or send a warning?” “Yeah, but that still seems unnecessary. I’m relatively unscathed.” Sunset snorted. “Well, you’re . . . you. She clearly was going for me.” The Principal motioned to the Princess. “Why does the Princess look so pristine, then? Surely she’s a higher target.” “Well, she’s a sun god,” Sunset said with a frown. “She looks pretty normal, from an Equestrian perspective.” The Principal sighed. “We’re not in Equestria, though. Let’s just ask her. I’m not exactly certain on how to wake up someone that’s passed out, but I’ll try.” The Principal grabbed the Princess’s shoulders and shook her back and forth. With a gasp, her eyes shot open. “What’s going on?” The Princess exclaimed. Her eyes flew around the room as if she was confused about her surroundings. The Principal stopped shaking her and held her in place. “Calm down, Princess. We just took down some Changelings. They knocked you out.” The Princess opened her mouth in realization. “Well, my apologies for being unable to contribute to your defense. I hope neither of you are too badly hurt.” Sunset let out a painful chuckle. “A little late for that one.” Brushing herself off, the Princess got onto her feet and walked over to the living room. The Principal followed after her. “Are you hurt at all, Princess? You were looking rough in the beginning there.” The Princess abruptly grabbed her head and winced. “Ah, well, I may have hurt my head a bit. We don’t have much time to dwell on injuries at the moment, though? Surely we have to plan a counter-attack.” Sunset furrowed her eyebrows. “A counter-attack? We still need to figure out why they attacked in the first place.” Sunset pushed herself up and onto her feet with a wince. “Do you have an idea of how we could successfully pull off a counter-attack, though?” The Princess sat down on the couch. “Perhaps. Your observation is correct, however. We must establish a motive for this attack. Perhaps this was an attack out of anger for our small excursion to her school the other night.” “That could be,” the Principal responded. “It seemed like we riled her up.” “Well,” said the Princess, “We must escalate, then. The only solution here is to respond in kind.” Sunset limped over to Princess, and stared at her, a perplexed expression on her face. “You want to go on the offensive? You?” The Princess’s mouth turned down into a grey line. “It is no longer the time to play games.” Sunset laughed, but it caught her off-balance. She grabbed the side of a chair for support. “You, though? The one who won’t act until everything has already gone to shit? Who decides her morning routine off of popular opinion? You didn’t even get me a birthday present in fear of ‘expressing favoritism’ but now you want to jump the gun and start fighting back?” The Princess glared intensely. “I am learning from my mistakes. I have failed the nation once already. I cannot let it happen again.” “So everything you told me was a lie?” Sunset spat out. “All of that talk about abdication and starting over was just politics?” A worried look flashed across the Princess’s face before she immediately regained composure. “I, well, am just . . . I must be a bit off-center because of the Changelings’ assault. Excuse me, Sunset.” She stood up and walked over to the bathroom. “Hold on,” said Sunset, limping over to the Princess. Something’s not right. She subtly reached her hand into her pocket, grasping the knife. “Show me your neck.” “My neck? No,” she said coldly, and continued to walk away. The Principal stood up and rushed over and blocked the bathroom door. “Hold on, Princess.” She glanced over at Sunset, a look of concern on her face. Sunset, motioned her head down to her hand, clutching the switchblade. The Principal’s eyes widened. “Let us see your neck, Princess. It will be easier to treat your wasp sting there with multiple people on hand.” The Princess’s eyes darted back and forth. “I am asking you politely to step aside and let me into the bathroom.” Sunset sighed. “Fine, then.” With a quick swipe, she thrust the switchblade out and slashed Celestia’s arm. The Princess suddenly flashed green and, wasting no time, flew straight out the window into the early morning air. Sunset looked at the Principal, aghast. A few tears sprouted in her eyes. “I thought you said there were sixteen.” “I’m sorry, Sunset,” the Principal said. “Celestia and I miscounted. The seventeenth changeling must not have been Chrysalis.” Sunset vigorously wiped her eyes. “We were the distraction, then,” she choked out. “It didn’t matter what happened, as long as we were here. So they could take her,” she spat. The Principal solemnly nodded. Suddenly, she sped away from the bathroom door and over to the door to her garage. “There’s no time to sit around, then. They can’t have taken her too far away. We might still be able to get her back!” Sunset’s eyes widened as a small flicker of hope renewed itself. She hobbled right behind the Principal out the door into the garage. The Principal slid into the front seat and started the car, while Sunset grabbed shotgun and winced when she sat down. The car pulled out the garage, only lit up by the early morning streetlamps. “They must be taking her to Camp Everfree,” the Principal said, heading in that direction. “Why’s that?” Sunset asked. “The Princess and I scouted out the area. We found all the student’s in the caves underneath a rock quarry. The Princess said that the area was filled with magic. She thinks the magic is fueling their pods.” Sunset rubbed her neck. “If they get someone like the Princess down there, in a pod . . . the amount of love they could harvest might be too much for us to stop. She might be able to hatch all of her Changelings early.” “Or secure the Everfree as a stronghold,” the Principal suggested. “Let’s just hope that love cannot travel through the mirror, otherwise she may have the admiration of a whole nation in her arsenal.” The two continued down the residential streets, scanning the sides for any sight of movement. “What if they’re taking her through a bunch of backyards?” Sunset asked. “I don’t know what we’ll do, then.” As they made their way closer to the center of the city, Canterlot High School appeared into view. Sunset jumped up in her seat. “Look! Right in front of CHS!” Slowly walking past CHS was a worn Princess Celestia, eyes clouded over and green. Her gait made it seem like she was walking at a snail’s pace, but she had already made it a far distance across town. “Let’s drive up to her and toss her into the side seat,” said the Principal. “We can work on getting her out of the trance later.” However, as they drove up closer, a loud buzzing rang through the air. With a flash of green, an identical copy of Celestia began marching alongside the Princess. Then, two more appeared. A flurry of transformations followed, and the Princess was completely surrounded with identical copies of herself, all shielding her from the car that was attempting to approach. “What the hell?” Sunset gawked. She felt more anger flood her body as she realized what Chrysalis was doing. She turned to the Principal. “Stop the car.” “Don’t do anything foolish, Sunset,” she said. “I won’t, just stop the car.” The Principal obliged and Sunset pushed herself out onto the street. She climbed under a streetlamp and raised her hands up to her mouth. “Hey!” She called. The Celestia at the tail-end of the cluster turned around, flashed a wicked grin, and waved. “If you think this was a victory, you’re mistaken! You fucked up big time, Chrysalis! Now I’m pissed! Now I’m—” The Celestia at the end of the line transformed into Sunset. She looked like a mess: her eyes were bloodshot and teary, her coat and hair soaking wet, and she was swaying back on forth like she would topple any minute. Sunset looked down at herself in horror. “You need to understand, Sunset!” Her own voice called out to her. “This game was never about you. Your selfishness led to Celestia’s demise. You can try as hard as you like, but as long as fate wills it, you will never succeed! You’ll never earn the wings you once so desperately craved, nor the love that Celestia and Twilight foolishly try to hand to you! I’ll take it away, as is my destiny. You’re just a pawn who has convinced herself she’s a princess!” Chrysalis morphed back into the ersatz Celestia and rejoined the huddle, not even letting Sunset respond. Fury rolled through Sunset’s veins. She growled and stormed back to the car, throwing herself in the seat. “Drive,” she commanded. The Principal started the car and drove past the cluster of Celestias, leaving them behind. “Where to now?” “My house. We need to tell Twilight what’s happened.” The Principal nodded and drove silently. Sunset sulked in the corner, her frustration overtaking the pain in her mind. Slowly, as the initial anger fell off, she felt the itch of her back and sting on her neck settle in. “Hey, Principal Celestia?” “Yes, Sunset?” “I don’t know if I’ll ever get to spend another day at school with you, so I figure I’ll tell you now. Your reasoning for planting that tree was the dumbest shit I’ve heard come out of your mouth. I just wanted to make that clear, in no uncertain terms.” The Principal chuckled. “I do regret planting it, now.” “’Truly looking at yourself in the mirror’ my ass,” Sunset scoffed. “Look at what that got you.” “Look at what it got all of us,” responded the Principal. “I know you’re angry, and hurt, and I can’t possibly understand what you’re going through, but I know that if there is anyone who can get themselves out of this, it’s you. Don’t give up now just because Chrysalis blocked you from reconciling with Celestia. You’re so much better than that. I know that Celestia is hoping for you to save her, to finally have a proper talk. I am her, after all.” Sunset let out a grunt of frustration. “You’re not Celestia. Not my Celestia.” “I’m not trying to be. I am your friend,” she said. They lapsed into silence until Sunset’s apartment came into view. “Here,” she said, hopping out of the car. She hobbled into the building and up the stairs, pushing through the front door. “Twilight!” she yelled. Twilight rushed out of her room and saw Sunset, a haggard display in comparison to just an hour ago. “Oh my gosh, Sunset! What happened to you?” Sunset propped herself against the kitchen counter. “They ambushed us, Twilight. The changelings have the Princess. They’ve taken her to the Everfree forest.” Twilight looked on in shock as the Principal entered the room behind Sunset. She offered Twilight a grim nod. “Then . . . what are we going to do?” she asked. “I . . . I don’t know . . .” Suddenly, a wave of nausea overcame Sunset. Her back felt like it had burst into flame, and was scorching her veins. She stumbled forward and let out a muffled cry. Twilight grabbed her by the shoulders. “Sunset, are you okay?” The words hit her ears, but they sounded distant, and the color drained out of her vision. She tried to choke out a word of help, but could only look on at Twilight’s concerned face. With a last grasp at Twilight’s dress, she dropped to the floor and fainted.