//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Space Jam and Weird Science // Story: SuShi's Bizarre Adventure: Fantasy Friendship // by Jojoleopard //------------------------------// “A Stand Geode?” Applejack scratched her forehead. “Ain’t never heard any of that.” “But it makes your Stand stronger? Sick! I want some of that action!” Rainbow Dash bumped the roof of the car they were in. “Imagine what Running on Ice could do if it were stronger!” They had taken control of a blue car in a carpark nearby and it was able to fit seven, so all of them piled into the car, Jojo included, who rode up front next to Fluttershy, who had Florence in control of the car. The drive over from Crystal Prep towards the highway took a while as there was an accident on one of the lanes. They couldn’t see past all the traffic, but there was a fire truck ahead and it certainly looked bad. “Man, how long do we need to wait here?” Rainbow kicked at the seat in front of her. “I’m bored!” “Hey, stop it, I’m sitting here!” Jojo grumbled. “Why did I agree to sit in the car? We would’ve been much faster with White Buffalo…” “Ah’m hungry. Can’t we stop to get some food?” Applejack’s belly growled. “Hungry? We came from a restaurant,” Sunset said. “It’s been a while.” “It’s only been three hours.” “Yeah, well… Pinkie! Do ya have anymore of them secret cakes?” “Glad you asked!” The pink girl beamed and swiped out a platter of two cakes, one with raspberries and one with… “Wait, is that onion on the cake?” Sunset pointed out. “Candied onion,” Pinkie said, nodding vigorously. “It’s my newest recipe.” “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Rainbow Dash asked, eyeing the onion cake suspiciously. “I like trying out things that haven’t been done before!” “Yes, well, nobody’s ever tried to make a spaceship out of styrofoam either, but that doesn’t mean it should be done.” “Hey, we should do that!” Pinkie jumped at the idea. “Styrofoam’s light. It can float in space better!” “We’ve faced Trixie. I don’t think it matters what kind of material we use. Everything’ll float.” “We’ll all float up there.” Pinkie giggled. The group sat there for a while longer, talking about random things. Fluttershy was starting to feel bored as well. As the driver, she could feel the entire car through her Stand and it was a lot of input for her, especially with Rainbow kicking into the seats. “We should make a detour…” Fluttershy looked back and reversed. There were cars behind them too, but she had just enough space on the sidewalk to get away. She had only just put the car back into drive when she realized the car wouldn’t budge. “Hmm?” She moved Florence around to see if there was something wrong, but the car was perfectly fine. For some reason, it just wouldn’t move. “What’s wrong, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked. “Why’d we stop?” “The car isn’t moving,” she explained. “B-But I’m not sure why… There’s nothing wrong machine-wise…” “I’m gonna go out to have a look.” Jojo pulled the door handle. He anticipated it moving open and moved forward, only to slam his face into the glass as the door remained where it was. “Ow… What the… The door won’t budge.” The others quickly tried the other doors, the windows, and even the trunk. Nothing opened; it was as if they had been welded shut.  “Come on!” Rainbow kicked at the door with her heel. It still didn’t open, but one of her kicks missed and hit the window, shattering it. “Here! We can get out through here!” She squirmed out the broken window, scratching herself on the broken glass, but Rainbow was soon out of the car, flopping onto the sidewalk. It was then that she noticed everyone around them had also stopped moving. The guy in the car behind them was sticking his head out the window and shaking a fist at them, but it was as though time had been frozen and he didn’t move an inch. “What is going on?” Rainbow looked around, then ducked as a green laser bounced off the door she had just climbed out from. “We’re under fire here! Someone’s shooting at us!” She rolled away as another bolt of green energy flew at her. It missed and struck the man in the car behind them, and in an instant there was a flash of light and the man’s body was reduced to a faintly glowing green slime. “Oh, horseapples!” Applejack exclaimed. She too had escaped the car. “Now that’s jus’ messed up!” “Enemy Stand alert!” Jojo dived out of the car and looked about wildly. “And a powerful one at that!” “Just make sure not to get hit by that laser!” Sunset shattered her window on the other side and climbed out. “You think I want to get hit?” Rainbow had Running on Ice bring up a wall of ice in front of her. Pinkie slid her way out the door Rainbow had come from and then jumped into the air with a hop, but she never came back down. Everyone looked over to see her frozen in place above the ice wall. “What the…” Applejack muttered. She summoned Highwayman and used its extendable arms to pull Pinkie back down. At first, she didn’t budge, but then Rainbow made the ice wall taller and suddenly Pinkie came loose, falling down on top of Fluttershy. “Ouch…” Fluttershy moaned as Pinkie rolled off her. “You’re heavier than you look…” “Sorry about that! But wow! I was unable to move, even in midair!” Pinkie waved her arms around wildly. “But we seem to have broken it.” Rainbow looked to the top of the ice wall and realized what she had done. “Line of sight. I think the enemy needs to be able to see us to stop us.” “What about the lasers?” Fluttershy picked up one of the glass shards and threw it past the ice wall. The sudden movement warranted a beam of green flying in from the north of their position and it bounced off the street and disappeared. “Still there, it seems.” Jojo ran a finger along his cheek. “We still don’t know much about the enemy and it might be a risky move, but we should try getting closer. Rainbow, it seems we’ll have to leave this to you.” “Where the enemy can’t see me, huh?” Rainbow grinned. “Running on Ice and I have this covered.” “Ah’ll help out too.” Applejack raised a hand towards her and cupped it. “With Highwayman, Ah’m sure we can get whoever’s after us this time.” “Awesome. Partners to the end!” Rainbow slapped a hand to hers and they both stood there as their biceps bulged. “Now, let’s go find this enemy Stand user.” “Good luck. We’ll be right there if you get in trouble.” Sunset nodded to them. “Thanks, Sushi. Come on, AJ.” Running on Ice raised its hands and more ice walls began to pop out of the road all around them. As they appeared between the enemy and the other cars, people began moving again, falling back into motion as they struggled to grasp what had happened. One man who had been halfway out of his car in a rage fell to the ground and knocked himself out. “Let’s see the enemy Stand user get their way around this!” Rainbow grinned. “Judgin’ from yer ice walls, the enemy hasn’t moved,” Applejack speculated. “Ah wonder what they’re up to.” “I bet they’re getting ready to surrender. They didn’t expect us to be able to counter them!” “If only Ah could share yer optimism, Dash.” They reached the end of the opposite end of the road and they still had not found the enemy Stand user. Past this portion would be the pavement and houses and they would be able to hide at any of them. “Lemme check things out. Highwayman!” One of Applejack’s Stand’s copies left their furthest wall of ice and dash across in a snaking pattern. They could see it go, swishing towards the first house of Ranch Road, but before it could get there, it had stopped moving, almost like it was frozen in time. And then there was a shrill zapping noise somewhere from their right and a laser beam hit Highwayman’s copy, and would’ve probably turned it to goo if it had been a real being. Instead, it faded away as though it had never been there in the first place. “On the right!” Applejack hissed to Rainbow. “We can’t risk gettin’ out in the open, or we’re toast.” “We can handle this.” Rainbow balled a fist and put it in front of her face. “You hear that, enemy Stand user? You don’t have a chance of beating us!” “That’s where you’re wrong. Did you think ice walls would stop me?” a voice answered. It was a lot closer than they had expected. In fact, it was right behind the ice wall. From around the corner, a purple dog appeared, along with a lavender girl with glasses and a weird maroon outfit that resembled an office attire, but at the same time, something one of those diner girls would wear. In her hand was a shiny red gun with rings and a bulb at the end of its barrel. “Twilight Sparkle.” Rainbow sent Running on Ice out, who threw a fist in front of itself, ready to strike down their enemy. But before it could connect with Twilight’s face, the dog gave them a series of barks and Running on Ice was suddenly held in place by an invisible force. The culprit, however, was standing between Twilight and them, a small goblin-like creature standing on all fours with a mean jaw. There was a small stalk sticking out of its head and it was glowing blue and pulsating slowly. It scratched behind an ear with a foot, then ran in a circle and growled at them. “No way…” Rainbow Dash said, struggling to move Running on Ice to no effect. “The dog is a Stand user as well? That’s not fair.” The stalk on its Stand’s head began to glow again and Rainbow found her limbs frozen in place. No matter how hard she tried to move, she could not budge, not even a muscle. “Rainbow! Why you little…!” Applejack thrust a hand forward and Highwayman dashed past her, with four of its copies splitting out from it, arms pulled back to the shoulder. The dog’s Stand looked at them and its antennae released another wave of color, freezing all the copies on the spot while the real one swiped Applejack aside and scurried back behind one of the cars. Twilight pointed her ray gun at them and one by one, she vaporized each one, though all it did was make them vanish. “Interesting, they don’t become slime…” Twilight twisted a dial on her gun and watched as green liquid began to fill a bulb at its rear. “If you haven’t already noticed, Applejack, my Stand is my gun. Weird Science is able to turn anything it hits into slime and Spike’s Space Jam is able to put anything it sees into stasis. I’ll admit, that does put a damper on its abilities, but I’m not complaining. It helps me line up my shots better. But don’t worry. We’ll have you soon, like your friend.” Twilight took aim at Rainbow and closed one eye. Unable to move, Twilight had all the time to make sure she would hit her with her laser beam, but from the side, a car door flew towards them, spinning like a discus as it sailed through the air. She ducked to the side, but Space Jam leapt forward and raised its head. The door was stopped in the air, but then Highwayman emerged from behind another car and launched a fist at the small Stand, who wasn’t able to turn its head in time to stop the attack. Highwayman’s fist smashed into the side of Space Jam’s head and with a twist, it sent the small Stand flying, which also knocked the dog down as it skidded against the floor into the bench, while its Stand crashed into one of the houses, sending wood and glass flying. “Spike!” Twilight cried out, then pointed her ray gun at Highwayman. “Weird Science!” A green beam shot out of the gun’s bulb and hit the Stand, but it had been one of Highwayman’s copies again and it just faded into nothing. “Drat, Spike, get up, it’s not over yet.” Twilight held her Stand firmly in her hands and looked around at the cars. Because Spike and Space Jam had been flung back, everything on the streets started moving again and that meant the cars and the people in them. One of them started driving forward and Twilight could see a knee and a boot sticking out from behind one now that the car had inched forward. She pointed her Stand and began firing, hitting close, but not on Applejack directly. The girl got up and sprinted over to one of the ice walls, with Twilight firing the gun all the way. She cursed under her breath after Applejack got the other side. She knew she had always been a bad shot, but that had just been ridiculous. There was a bark at her feet and Twilight was pleased to see Spike standing there, his tail wagging. She loved her little dog. With Spike back, Space Jam ran forward, barreling through a rubbish bin as its antennae came to life. The cars on the road in front of it froze in place once again and it began making its way towards the ice wall where Applejack was hiding behind. Twilight knew they would get her, now that… “Wait, no. We forgot one thing.” She turned to the side as Rainbow’s Running on Ice rolled a ball of snow towards her and Spike. “We forgot about Rainbow! When Space Jam was hit away earlier, it lost sight of Rainbow and her Stand and now they’re free to move again!” “That’s right, and biggest mistake, now I know how to deal with you!” Rainbow did a flying kick and knocked Twilight’s Stand from her hands as Running on Ice floated over as Space Jam was turning towards them. With its powers, Running on Ice’s snowball melted and then washed over the beastly Stand and Twilight’s dog, and as it splashed against them, it swirled up into a mini vortex and began spinning the two of them around. Now under water, it was hard to keep its eyes open and Space Jam was unable to put Rainbow or her Stand back in stasis. “Spike!” Twilight crawled over to her Stand, but then Running on Ice froze the water again and it was now a new ice wall with both dog and Stand unable to move inside it. “Why you…!” The Crystal Prep girl rolled and grabbed her Stand, then flipped around and began shooting at Rainbow and her Stand. Running on Ice threw up a new wall of ice and the laser buried itself part way in the wall and disappeared. “Clever Rainbow Dash. You knew Weird Science’s lasers can only turn organic things into slime, that’s why you keep bringing up ice to stop my attacks, because you know I can’t do anything against ice.” “Umm, yeah. That’s right. I knew all about that.” Rainbow grinned as she swung herself behind one of the cars to take cover. The driver inside had run away a while ago, leaving his vehicle there on the road, still running. “But you didn’t know Weird Science has a secondary fire mode.” Twilight twisted the vial of liquid on her Stand and it changed from green to orange. “Weird Science is also able to emit microwaves instead of a concentrated laser. Do you know what microwaves can do, Rainbow?” “Uh, cook food, I guess?” she called out from behind cover. Running on Ice wasted no time and created three icicles in the air before sending them flying for Twilight’s head. “Well, let me tell you.” Twilight coughed, then she straightened her bowtie before pointing her gun forward. “A microwave heats up your food by vibrating its molecules, more specifically, the molecules of water. When something moves fast, it generates heat, and with the wavelengths it transmits, it’ll burn quickly. Observe.” Pressing down the trigger, Weird Science’s rings on its barrel began glowing orange and the air around the gun’s bulb began to shimmer. As Running on Ice’s icicles got closer, they instantly dissolved to water, and then into vapor as the microwaves dried them up. With a smirk on her face, Twilight pointed her Stand behind her back and fired at the ice sculpture that held Spike and Space Jam. The ice instantly evaporated, releasing her dog and its Stand, who angrily bumped its fists against the ground and growled at Rainbow. “Oh great. Running on Ice!” Rainbow ducked low and sprinted away as her Stand brought up another row of ice walls between them, but this time, Twilight aimed Weird Science at them and they shook for a split second before dissolving into mist. “You can’t beat me now, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight began to laugh. “You can’t beat science!” “But maybe Ah can!” Applejack’s voice rang out across the streets. From Twilight’s left and right came two copies of Highwayman, but Space Jam ran forward a few steps, then placed both of them in stasis, stopping them in their tracks. Twilight took this time to cycle Weird Science’s mode and fired her green lasers at them, taking them out as they faded away into nothing. Twilight grimaced. She didn’t like the fact that they wouldn’t turn to slime when she hit them. “Rainbow, we need to take Space Jam out of the picture!” Applejack told her friend as she rolled up beside her behind the car. “We’ll never be able to get close to Twilight with that dog in the way.” “Well, I tried,” she complained. “But Twilight pulled out that microwave thing with her Stand. What are we going to do now? My ice won’t have any effect!” “Ah’ve an idea. But Ah need ya to be ready, Ah’m gonna distract them.” Applejack grabbed her hat with two fingers and spun it two inches to the left. “Just get Twilight immobilized long enough. Ah’ll deal with Space Jam.” “Right, let’s do this.” They slapped their hands together before sending their Stands out again. Running on Ice took to the air, skating away on a bridge made of ice as it conjured up a wall alongside it, preventing Space Jam from stopping it in its tracks. Highwayman went to the other end, sending out copies of itself as they flew towards Twilight with smiles on their faces. Space Jam lit up its antennae and the four copies were unable to get any closer, but as Twilight fired Weird Science at them, they faded away only to have more take their place. Highwayman’s next four copies flew along, one behind the other. As Space Jam put the first one in stasis, the next one took the lead and flew around it, zig-zagging their way towards the enemy. “Don’t you learn?” Twilight fired at them as Space Jam continued to put them in stasis. “You won’t win this! Spike and I, we’re a great team and Crystal Prep never loses.” “We used to believe that too, but ya know what?” Applejack called out from the car. “If ya never act on yer fears, you’ll never overcome them, and that’s what we’ve done! We’ve beaten two of you Shadowbolts. We can do this! Principal Cinch won’t win!” The cluster of Highwaymen finally arrived close enough to throw their punches, but Space Jam proved agile as it jumped clear of the first punch, then kicked off a second, before grabbing a third and following it back to the copy as it clawed at its face. The copy spun around and vanished as Weird Science zapped it. Space Jam began jumping among them, clawing at each one with its claws, which shredded Applejack’s Stand’s copies. One finally got through and zoomed right for Twilight, intending on delivering a good punch to her face. Unfortunately, she rolled backwards, then hopped back as Highwayman’s glove cracked the gravel beneath her feet. With a well aimed shot, Weird Science took out the final copy before it could attack her further. “See? What did you hope to accomplish?” Twilight laughed and spun her Stand on a finger. “Ah’ll show ya!” Applejack swung a fist at the car as Highwayman sent out two more copies. “You’re trying that again?” Twilight laughed even more. She was about to take another step forward when she realized she could no longer move. “Huh?” She looked down and found her feet had been frozen to the ground by a sheet of ice. With Highwayman coming towards her with a fist already launching from its shoulder, Twilight had no time to melt away the ice and instead chose to fire at the Stand approaching her. But before her laser could hit it, Highwayman’s copy disappeared, removed prematurely by Applejack’s Stand and the laser kept flying towards Spike, who still had his back towards her. “Wait, no, Spike!” Twilight reached out and tried to run to him, but then she jerked forward and was unable to get closer because she was still frozen to the road. “Spike!” As Space Jam leapt into the air to slash at Running on Ice’s ice wall, Weird Science’s laser hit Spike and the dog yelped as it jumped into the air and turned into a pile of slime. At the same time, its Stand vanished like one of Highwayman’s copies and everything in front of it began moving again, with the traffic finally making progress now that the front of it had gone off to the highway long ago. “Spiiiike!” Twilight wailed and clutched at her face. But after a few seconds, she looked back up and scowled at Running on Ice and Highwayman, not even bothering to wipe the tears from her eyes. “You two are going to regret everything you’ve done today. Everything!” She changed Weird Science’s fire mode and melted the ice at her feet before rushing forward and firing her microwaves at everything around them. “It’s the end of the line for ya now, Twilight!” Highwayman approached her, braving the heat of the microwaves as it released four copies of itself from within. Twilight yelled and continued firing her microwaves at them, but then their fists began pounding into her body, making indents all over as they delivered a ferocious beatdown, screeching the whole time. “Holler! Holler! Holler! Holler! Holler! Holler! Holler! Holler!” And Twilight went sailing in the air, crashing down into a bin along the street, leaving only her legs sticking out of it. “That takes care of the trash.” Applejack dusted her hands together and gave her Stand a high five before it faded. “We should go let the others know we’ve dealt with the problem.” Rainbow stood up from behind the car as it began to make its way down the road. All the thinking during the battle had left her mind quite bushed. “I’m going to take a nap in the car.” “Man, Ah just hope we just get to the forest A-okay after this.” Applejack took off her hat and wiped at her forehead. “Ah’ve had enough with enemy Stand users.” “You know there’ll be more.” Rainbow used her scarf to wipe sweat from her face. Applejack sighed, then slapped a fly on her hand. “And Ah hope we ain’t gonna run into too many mosquitoes out in the forest. Man, Ah’ve never really liked summer…” -----------JO-JO---------- Principal Abacus Cinch sat in the darkness of her car as she looked out into the vast forest around her. Sugarcoat had called in a few moments ago with a solid lead. Apparently there was a high concentration of magic somewhere close to the heart of the forest. That had been great news and she had come right down, though now that she was looking at the trees around her, she guessed she should’ve dressed more appropriately. Unbuttoning her coat, Cinch dropped it down on the seat and then removed her inner shirt as well. She grabbed a ragged cloak from the seat beside her and swung it over her shoulders along with a pair of half gloves and a loose sash around her waist. Now she was ready for the outdoors. “Wait here. They will be along if Indigo fails.” Getting out of the car, the principal walked along the forest grounds in the direction Sugarcoat had given her. She had felt her Shadowbolts losing and at first, she had been upset they had lost to students from Canterlot High, but that had soon been replaced by disappointment. Perhaps she had chosen them incorrectly. Now, she only had three more and she left one waiting in the car to deal with Sushi and her group if they arrived here. The Stand Geode was close now and she had never been closer to accomplishing her goal. It was only a matter of time now and the faster Sugarcoat found its exact location, the faster she would have the most powerful Stand ever. “My legacy will endure. Forever.” She smirked to herself as she stalked through the trees.