“The Twilight I know doesn’t quit.”
Twilight breathed in, held it in her core, then breathed out.
“You’re not useless.”
She inhaled again, filling her lungs to capacity before exhaling.
“Ow! Hey, that was a cheap shot!”
A muscle in her cheek twitched, but she kept her eyes closed and concentrated.
“You’re so amazing, Sparky.”
Her heart fluttered as a clear image of Sunset appeared in her mind’s eye.
“Pinkie, watch where you throw those things!”
Twilight tightened her clasped hands, trying harder to tune everyone out.
“Don’t you think she deserves someone more her speed?”
Her jaw tightened. Focus.
“You’re not cut out for this.”
She straightened her spine as she could and squeezed her eyes.
“You had to come to my rescue again!”
A loud firework overhead shattered the remainder of her fragile concentration. Twilight’s eyes snapped open, and the rest of the backyard chaos flooded her senses. Pinkie’s miniature explosions, Applejack punching Rarity’s diamond shields, Shimmer teaching the rest basic martial arts.
Selena sat across from her, head bowed, hands in her lap; the perfect picture of zen. Twilight allowed herself a growl of frustration before breathing deep again and shutting her eyes. The world around her dulled to a faint buzz as she found her center again. Her heart beat in a steady rhythm and the tension left her shoulders.
Twilight fell into her internal mantra: positive and reaffirming thoughts, half of them spoken in Sunset’s voice. She held onto them as tight as she could, using them to drown out the outside world and her own insecurities. As she sank deeper into her meditation, she slowly became aware of every part of her body. The tiny hairs on her arms, her veins coursing with blood, her lungs filling with air; it all meshed together in harmony.
I can’t control magic, but I can control myself.
“Okay, Twilight, that’s enough.”
Selena’s voice pierced the veil of silence Twilight had shrouded herself in. She blinked and winced at the sunlight jabbing her eyes. Still, even as the rest of the backyard chaos flooded her ears again, the grounded feeling Twilight had gained persisted. She reached for her practice sword and got to her feet.
Selena gave her a knowing smile before getting up to join her. They bowed before drawing their blades and taking their stances. Twilight made the first move, striking Selena from the left. The dull swords still made a powerful ring across the backyard as they collided. Selena disengaged but quickly followed up with a powerful lunge. Twilight barely managed to block it, pushing it to the side and wincing as their sword scraped against one another.
They exchanged a quick back and forth, blocking and parrying every attack the other threw. Twilight knew Selena was still holding back but even then, she noted how fast they were moving. She also noted she wasn’t keeping track of her foot placement; it was just happening naturally.
Or it was until she took notice of it.
She positioned her backfoot too far, and her balance teetered. One strike from Selena’s sword, and Twilight was on her side in the grass.
Selena held her hand out. “You’re getting better every day, Twilight. Your movements are much more certain than before.”
Twilight took her hand and gave a broad smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Still not good enough. I can do better, I know I can!
As she got to her feet and reset her stance, Artemis wrenched the kitchen door open and popped a firework from his wand to get everyone’s attention.
“We’ve got trouble! Magical trouble!”
“Is it Adagio?” Rainbow asked from her place on the ground after Shimmer had flipped her over her shoulder.
Artemis shook his head. “Can’t say yet. I felt a spike in magical activity, and not the good kind that you all let off.”
Pinkie bounded up to him, mouth open and stars in her eyes. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
Artemis leaned back as she leaned forward. “Well, I would like some assistance, yes—”
She spun around and held a sideways peace sign to her eyes. “Spectacular Seven, suit up!”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Pinkie, we’re just puttin’ on some masks.”
“That’s Pollyanna to you!” Pinkie said with a thrust of her finger. “From here on out, we’re using our codenames! Isn’t that right, Phoenix?”
Sunset sighed. “I already regret this.”
Twilight couldn’t help but give a tiny smile. Seeing Sunset exasperated dulled the apprehension of going out to fight Adagio. It would be at least seven versus one, yet the idea of knowingly walking into a fight gave Twilight a nervous shudder.
Selena gave a small ‘tut’, then relaxed her shoulders. “Alright. You girls have had less than a week of training, but it’s better than nothing. And you’ve already fought her before.” She fixed her gaze on Artemis. “Just come get me the second things get overwhelming.”
“You’re not coming with us?” Twilight asked, gripping her sword a little tighter.
Selena shook her head. “If that box really does have the Rainbow of Light in it, it needs to be guarded at all times.”
Artemis put a hand to his chest as he puffed it out. “I should be the one to guard our sacred family treasure, but someone needs to get you kids to where we’re going.”
“And where exactly are we going?” Sunset asked.
“That direction.” Artemis flopped a hand toward the fence. “Feels like… Six Pillar Park.”
“You don’t know for certain?” The skepticism in Sunset’s voice rose.
“Magical detection isn’t always pinpoint precise. Sometimes it’s more like an art than a science.”
“That’s baking,” Twilight countered.
“And also magic,” Artemis said with an impish smile. “The bigger the magic source, the easier it is to track down. It’s at the park, and it’s steadily growing. Should be easier to find once we’re actually there.”
“Then what are we waiting for? It’s superhero time!” Pinkie yelled, two fireworks springing from her palms and into the air. “Trixie, get our masks!”
“Trixie does not take orders from you!” she said, sweeping her hat off her head. “But she is eager to put this Siren into her place!” She pulled her wand from her pocket and tapped the rim of her hat. From the opening, seven masks floated out and drifted toward each of the Spectacular Seven.
Twilight lifted her glasses up and pressed the mask to her eyes. A warm wind brushed across her and she looked down at her hands, seeing her skin had turned from purple to a pale pink. Pulling her ponytail around to the front, she saw her hair was white with a single streak of blue.
Pinkie squeed as she stuck the mask onto her face. Her skin turned ivory white and her hair turned gold. “This is so exciting! How do I look, how do I look?”
“Like a palette-swapped version of yourself,” Applejack said dryly. Both her hair and skin were a dark shade of brown like she had been out in the sun far too long. “Do you really think this’ll stop people from recognizing us?”
“Don’t doubt Trixie’s amazing abilities!” Trixie put her hat back on. “Besides, it’s not like you’ll be posing for the paparazzi. This is just to stop anyone who’s looking too hard.”
A loud groan from overhead made Twilight jump. Rainbow hovered not too far from her, arms extended in front of her hair and a mortified expression on her face.
“Pink? Seriously?” She grabbed a tuft of hair and brought it to eye level. “Blue hair I can live with, but c’mon! Anyone wanna switch with me?”
“Switching masks won’t do anything,” Trixie said with a smug smirk. “They’re attuned to be the same for each of you, in case you ever got them mixed up.”
“Relax, Rainbow; you look fine,” Rarity said, paying more attention to her own reflection in her compact. Her skin was now a minty blue, and a red streak ran through her lavender hair. “I on the other hand… it’s not bad, but it could be much better.”
“People, Adagio,” Sunset snapped, mask on and illusion up. “How are we all going to get there?”
Artemis twirled his wand around his finger. “A few teleportation trips. Easy.”
“Pfft, bet you I can beat you there!” Rainbow said, irritation evaporated. Before anyone could argue, she was a pink dot on the horizon.
“Trixie accepts the challenge!” she shouted at the fading contrail. She looked at the remaining group. “Alright, who is coming with Trixie? She can teleport two with her!”
Twilight looked at Sunset. Sunset gave a subtle shake of her head. She figured as much. Still, Twilight wasn’t sure Artemis would be much better. The idea of teleportation always fascinated her, and she longed for the day humans could reach near-instant travel. She just always thought it would be through constructed gateways or transporters. Instead, she was relying on someone who could do it with a snap of his fingers.
What if part of me gets left behind? Or, I get entangled with someone else upon re-entry? Wait, how does magical teleportation work? Do my atoms get disassembled and reassembled at our destination? Does he fold space-time around us and move us across the flattened plane? No, that’s far too complicated, even for magic. How else could it—
“C’mon Sparky.” Sunset took her by the arm and led her to Artemis.
Twilight snapped out of her thoughts and looked around. Fluttershy, with moss green hair and light green skin, trembled next to Applejack and Trixie. Pinkie and Rarity stood off to the side, waiting their turn.
Shimmer gave a two-finger salute. “Try not to die.”
Before Twilight could issue a retort, Artemis put a hand on her shoulder, and the world twisted around her and sped forward. She hurtled through space and time, mixing up with down and backward with forward, losing feeling in her body and any sense of where she was. She was sure it all only lasted a second but it was the longest second of her life.
The world burst back into existence as Twilight landed feet first on grass. She immediately fell to her knees, dropped her sword, and clutched her chest.
“Twilight, you okay?” Sunset had a hand on her back and knelt beside her.
“Y-yeah…” Twilight took a deep breath, fighting the wave of nausea that rolled through her. “I just…” Her heart and stomach told her to never do that again. Her mind demanded to know how she had just teleported halfway across the city.
“It takes some getting used to for some people,” Artemis said somewhere above her. “Take a moment to settle in. You’ll be okay.”
Twilight took another breath, then reached for her sword and climbed back to her feet. They had landed on the outskirts of one of Six Pillar Park’s larger fields, a dense grouping of tall hedges hiding them from any potential eyes.
Artemis tapped his wand against his tongue and held it above his head. His arm fell and jerked toward the thicket. “Whatever we’re searching for, it’s in that direction.”
“Shouldn’t we gather everyone else?” Sunset asked.
A scream hit Twilight’s ears and drowned out some of her dizziness.
“I’ll fetch them in a moment. Let’s see what we’re up against first.” Artemis jumped into the line of trees and immediately fell onto his back with a grunt.
Sunset took a closer look at the hedges and saw hints of metal meshing inside the curtain of green. Turning her head, the hedge ran some ways in both directions, forming a long-running barrier.
Artemis jumped to his feet and started running its length, Twilight and Sunset sprinting after him. They banked around a corner and found the main road leading to a large, wooden, curved gate. The Mistmane Botanical Gardens was carved over the turnstiles, currently crammed with people trying to run away.
A small number of pedestrians had apparently heard the scream as well and paused to stare at the garden entrance and the fleeing crowd. Some stared and pointed as the three of them jogged up the road. Twilight reached up and touched her mask, just to be sure it was there. She still felt exposed, just walking out in the open, sword in hand. What if her parents found out just how far she had taken her ‘self-defense classes’? What if Shining found out? More importantly, what if these illusions weren’t enough and her friends got recognized? People would come after them for their magic! What if the government took Sunset away?
A rough bump from an oncoming civilian brought her back to the moment. She moved her hand back to her pommel, forcing herself to worry later. They had a job to do.
Unlike the bystanders, very few of the fleeing crowd gave second glances at the pointy-hatted wizard, pony-eared girl, or the girl with the sword. The three finally crossed under the ivy-covered gates and broke free of the crowd. The central plaza was a wide, grassy plain crisscrossed with stone paths leading to different areas of the enclosure.
Twilight swatted a rouge piece of ivy touching her shoulder. “I don’t see anything wrong.” At a glance, everything appeared to be in place. Hedges and redwood trees blocked sections of the garden, but Twilight saw no signs of destruction. People still milled about, looking visibly confused at some of the fleeing crowd, but showed no other signs of distress.
Artemis shook his head. “There’s magic here. I can feel it. You girls start a search, I’ll get the others.” He vanished in a puff of smoke.
Another parkgoer came sprinting down one of the paths and past Twilight and Sunset, panic etched on his face.
Sunset pointed toward the direction he came from. “Let’s start there.”
The path wove underneath a group of native deciduous trees in the prime of their life. Ferns sprouted from the loamy soil between them and evenly placed planters contained collections of colorful flowers. They must have been well cared for because their petals were huge.
Twice, Twilight almost tripped over an exposed root reaching onto the path, and nuts and berries constantly rained on their heads. Add to all that, Twilight’s nose refused to stop itching. She sniffled and let out a loud sneeze.
“Ugh. The pollen count here is high,” she said nasally.
“Gee, can’t imagine why,” Sunset said, ducking under a low-hanging branch.
Twilight readied a retort but the words died in her mouth as someone rounded the corner and tripped onto his face. He looked up at Twilight, his expression wrought with fear. He reached a hand out and yelled for help as something dragged him off the path and into a shaded grove.
Sunset and Twilight sprinted after him, only to dig their heels into the dirt at the scene in front of them.
They stood in the presence of a large banyan tree. It stood tall in the center of the grove, its massive aerial roots twisting around its circumference. Twilight narrowed her eyes, picking up movement beneath the long brown tendrils.
No, not beneath them. The roots were actually moving.
The roots, the tangling branches, the large, leathery leaves. They were all shifting and growing. And it wasn’t just the tree. Flowers and ferns on the outskirts of the grove were growing larger as well, rising from the ground and their planters to stand taller than the two girls. The thickening leaves reduced the sunlight from overhead, drenching the grove in shadows.
Twilight looked deeper into the banyan tree. Locked into the ropey, hanging roots, vines pressed to their mouths were park visitors. A few were passed out, but some were wide awake with terror.
“Okay, this is new,” Sunset said, switching from pony to phoenix in a burst of light and warmth.
Twilight threw her hands out. “Wait! You can’t use your fire powers now! Remember what happened in the forest?”
“What, you’d rather we let them become plant food?”
The ground trembled briefly before a root ripped free of the knotted mass surrounding the tree and lashed at Twilight. She drew her sword and slashed through the root in a single motion. A wild rustling from the boughs overhead told Twilight the banyan didn’t take kindly to that. Another root rose up and two thick branches stretched downward to grab her.
Twilight swung again, slicing another root then followed through, spinning on her toe and striking one of the branches, lodging her blade in the bark. The other branch reached for her, Sunset struck like a viper and caught it, smoke curling between her fingers.
She snapped the wooden wrist and tossed it to the ground, stamping it out before it could smoke. Twilight drew her sword back and sliced again, cleaving through the remainder of the branch.
“We need to get those people down!” Twilight said, looking at the hostages in the tree.
Sunset lit a finger on fire. “On it.”
“Su—Phoenix…” Twilight corrected herself, remembering their codenames.
“I’ll be careful—move!” Sunset grabbed Twilight by the arm and swung her out of the way of a speeding vine that had burst from the undergrowth.
Twilight pulled herself away and took a ready stance. “You save the people, I’ll hold off the plants!”
“Deal!” Sunset launched herself up into the tree.
The vine came back around, lashing at Twilight in a manner that was too snakelike for her comfort. She sidestepped its first strike, parried its second, and slashed it as it recoiled. Half the vine fell to the ground, but the remainder tried to attack again, aided by a second vine.
Twilight danced between them, hopping and sweeping her sword down as one reached for her ankle. She brought her schiavona back around and swung at the shortened stem, cutting it down further. As she came to en garde, several small, sharp blades cut against her arm, forcing her to drop her sword.
Turning around, Twilight saw leaves—razor-sharp foliage—rushing toward her. She threw herself onto the ground to avoid further shredding. The leaves embedded themselves into the garden wall. More flew at her from a distant evergreen tree, and Twilight rolled on her back to avoid the kamikaze leaves. She grabbed her sword and jumped back to her feet just as Sunset swooped down and dropped an unconscious pedestrian onto the dirt. She flew in front of Twilight and fanned her wings out against the next set of leaves, burning them to a crisp as they passed through a curtain of fire. Sunset winked at her before flying back into the eaves of the tree.
Said tree rustled wildly, and a low-hanging branch whipped out at Twilight. It was too large to cut with her sword and too long to leap out of the way. Twilight braced herself for the impact, holding her sword out to blunt some of the damage.
The branch collided with a prismatic blue forcefield and rebounded. A glittering streak of light then streaked past Twilight’s face and collided with the gnarled bough. Twilight twisted around and saw Pinkie and Rarity running up behind her.
“Are you alright, Tw—Paladin?” Rarity asked.
“No, no, no!” Pinkie said, wildly shaking her head. “You’re supposed to say a cool or funny hero quip! Like, ‘you look like you need a gardener!’ Or, ‘I don’t think green is your color!’”
“But the vine was brown,” Rarity said flatly.
“But the leaves are green!”
“Girls, focus!” Sunset shouted from over their heads. One arm was ensnared by a tendril with more creeping toward her ankles and waist. The other humans trapped up in the tree were almost completely encased in vines.
Rarity conjured a diamond disk and threw it up at the vines surrounding Sunset. Her arm was cut free, and Sunset generated a ball of fire in her hand before blasting it outward and staving off the rest of the creeping vines.
“Sun—Phoenix!” Twilight admonished.
“I got this!” Sunset shouted back. Cinders jumped onto the writhing plants and roots, singing them black. The flames crawled up the tendrils like a spark down a trail of gunpowder until the limbs of the banyan tree were completely alight. With a wild shudder, the tree dropped its captives, unable to hold them any longer as its vines shriveled.
Twilight gave a panicked shout as they plummeted to the ground. They passed through a ring of blue light, and their ascent slowed to a crawl until they came to a gentle rest in the dirt. The ones who were conscious scrambled to their feet and took off for the exit, rushing past Artemis on their way.
“Hmph, not even a thank you,” Artemis said, hands on his hips.
“The tree is on fire!” Twilight yelled, watching as Sunset’s flames ate their way to the body of the banyan.
“I got this,” Sunset said. She raised her hands and made a pulling motion toward herself. Twilight watched as the flames jumped off of the tree and flew toward Sunset, trailing through the air in thin streams before coalescing into a ball above her palm.
“See, no problem,” Sunset said with a confident smirk.
Twilight gave a deadpan point to the fraction of the tree that was burnt and crispy.
“… In my defense, it tried to kill us.”
As she spoke, another root ripped from the ground to lash out at her. Twilight jumped in front of Sunset, sword raised, and took the brunt of the blow, flying backward and tumbling to the ground.
Sunset raised the ball of fire, but Artemis pointed his wand at the tree and fired a single beam. The tree gave a wild rustle, then the roots fell back into the ground and the remaining healthy vines went limp.
Artemis twirled his wand around his finger. “Someone used magic to bring the flora around here to life. Simple but dangerous if allowed to go unchecked.”
Twilight rubbed her tailbone as Sunset pulled her to her feet, the ball of fire still in her other hand. “What are you going to do with that?” Twilight asked.
“It should fizzle out eventually. In the meantime, it’ll make a good deterrent for any more plants.”
Rarity looked at the still tree. “So, is all the magic gone now?”
A distant scream answered her.
Pinkie put a fist on one hip and pointed out with her other hand. “Pretty Soldiers, move out!”
“Did not agree to that name!” Sunset yelled as the group broke into a run. Much of the garden was empty by now, though they could hear commotion happening in other sections.
From the wooded grove of the banyan tree, they crossed the open-air pavilion and entered a damp and verdant grotto. Moss-covered stones were planted next to shallow ponds, and lichen covered the trunks of trees. A green canopy blocked out most of the sunlight here as well.
Just off the gravel path, the ankle-high grass gave an ominous rustle. Twilight leaned over to inspect it, but something flew out of the foliage and crashed into the dirt.
“Rainbow—I mean, Ace!” Pinkie cried, pulling Rainbow up.
Rainbow shook off her daze and glared at them. “What took you guys so long?”
“Sorry, we got held up by a living tree,” Sunset said blithely.
“Yeah? Well, I’ve been dealing with that and Adagio!” Rainbow pointed from where she had flown from. The orange-haired Siren jumped into the clearing and hurled a globe of red magic at Rainbow. Rarity jumped in front of her and raised a shield to take the blow and dissipate the magic.
“Oh good!” Adagio gave them a savage grin. “The whole gang's here—ack!” An emerald vine grabbed her by the ankle, lifted her into the air, and flung her like a ragdoll over the group’s head and into the pond.
Artemis doubled over and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Ahahahahaha! Ahaha! Oh, that was—whaaa!” A similar tendril grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him away into the canopy.
Sunset unleashed her dwindling ball of fire at the creeping tendrils of a weeping willow, dousing it in orange flames before it could touch anyone. As it reeled back, Twilight stepped up and cut it in two. The pieces fell onto the ground, igniting the grass and spreading the flames.
“Crap!” Sunset cried.
“I warned you!” Twilight yelled. She hopped to one side as another weeping willow swung its overgrown vines like a whip and slapped the ground.
“I can fix it!” she retorted, raising her hands to draw the fire back.
Adagio, having climbed onto the opposite side of the pond, raised her hand and shot a blast of energy into Sunset’s back. Sunset flew forward and landed face-first on the ground. She rolled over and sat up to see Rainbow throwing punches at Adagio on the other side of the pond. Adagio held up a red mimicry of Rarity’s shields to hold Rainbow off. Rainbow zipped around to Adagio’s other side and renewed her assault, but the shield proved formidable from every angle.
“You can’t hide in there forever!” Rainbow yelled.
“You’re right.” Adagio threw her arms out to the side and the shield exploded open, shooting the hexagonal crystals in all directions. One smacked Rainbow in the face, and as she reeled back, Adagio slammed a fist into her and sent her back into the thicket. Before she could gloat, a bush reared up from its roots and glomped down on her.
“It’s official,” Twilight said, turning back to face the weeping willow lashing at her, “my life can’t get any weirder.”
A familiar cry preceded Applejack flying in from between the branches of the willow tree and landing on a patch of burning grass. She yelped and hopped to her feet, patting out the fire that had jumped onto her shirt.
“Applejack, are you okay?” Rarity asked, running to her side.
Applejack snorted like a bull. “Ah will be as soon as Ah show that overgrown shrub who’s boss!”
Said overgrown shrub lumbered into the grove a moment later. It was a walking bush, a head taller than any of the girls with flowers for eyes, a gap where a mouth would have been, and large thorns jutting off its stubby arms.
Twilight took one look at it and sighed in exasperation. “Of course I spoke too soon.”
“The magic here is getting worse,” Sunset said. “We need to end all of this quickly.”
“Which means, we need to find Adagio and make her stop it,” Applejack said.
“Uhh, she’s being eaten by a bush,” Pinkie said, pointing to the rustling shrubbery. “I don’t think she’s doing it.”
Rarity looked away from Adagio’s predicament. “If she’s not making the plants go crazy, then—” She threw a shield up as the bush creature rushed at her and Applejack. Its thorn claws raked against the diamonds but didn’t leave a scratch.
Twilight ran over and made a downward slash, chopping off one of its arms. As it turned to face her, she slashed horizontally and cut it in half. Both halves hit the ground… and began shuffling toward the girls, crawling up Rarity’s shield.
A jet of fire engulfed the remains of the bush monster and reduced it to ash, embers clinging to the scorched earth.
“Alright, next target!” Sunset said, turning her palm toward Adagio as she climbed out of a shriveling bush. The crystal in her palm glowed with a sinister green light.
“Well, I got what I wanted,” she said with a sneer. “Time for a test run!” She slapped her palm against the earth.
Nothing happened.
“What?” she asked incredulously, raising her glove.
“Get her!” Sunset launched herself at Adagio, flames flickering off her fingers. She made it halfway across the pond before a lily pad threw itself out of the water and attached itself to her face. Sunset made a muffled curse, floundering in the air before she veered off to the side and crashed.
“Sunset!” Twilight cried. She ran along the edge of the pond to reach her girlfriend while Pinkie shot a barrage of fireworks at Adagio.
The Siren dodged a few and blocked several more before raising her hand and absorbing one and taking the blow from another. She hit the ground, rolled up, then gave Pinkie a taste of her own medicine.
The blast hit Pinkie square in the chest and lifted her off the ground and into the arms of another willow tree.
As Applejack ran to rescue Pinkie, Twilight reached Sunset and helped her pry the stubborn lily pad off her face. Sunset took a deep breath of air and said, “I’m over today.”
“That makes two of us.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon!” Adagio shouted, turning her sights back on them. It was short-lived, as a jet of blue magic streaked toward her and forced her to duck.
Trixie jumped into the glade, brandishing her wand as she charged Adagio.
Adagio threw a firework at her, only for it to fly straight through Trixie and collide against a rising flower.
The illusion faded as the real Trixie came from Adagio’s other side and shot a length of rope from her wand that snaked around Adagio’s ankles and brought her to the ground.
“Aaaaaagh!” Adagio snarled. “You’re all just a bunch of gnats!” She clenched her fist. A loud howl preceded an ethereal shimmer in front of Adagio before a red wolf materialized and lunged at Trixie.
Trixie yelped and threw herself out of the way. The wolf turned on its heels and made to lunge again.
Rainbow dropped from the sky and dive-kicked it in the head, sending it into the water. She then brought her foot down on Adagio’s wrist before she could make another move.
“Not so tough without your lackeys, huh?”
“Don’t mention those traitors to me!” Adagio hissed.
Twilight walked up and made to wrestle the backpack off Adagio when the earth gave a short, sudden shake. Twilight paused for a second, then reached again, only for the rumble to happen once more. It happened a third time and sounded like it was getting louder.
“I don’t like what’s about to happen,” Sunset said, looking at the tree line.
Fluttershy burst through first, looking panicked. “Rock monster!” she screamed.
On cue, a golem made of a hodgepodge of different stones stumbled into the glade. Its central stone couldn’t have been larger than Spike, but what the golem lacked in size, it made up in numbers. A hundred rocks made up its arms and legs, with a tower of pebbles as its neck and a perfect ball of marble for a head.
“It must have come from the rock garden,” Applejack said, having pried Pinkie free from the tree.
“Oooh, Maud would love this!” Pinkie pulled her phone out.
The golem struck its arm forward and slung a rock out like a slingshot. It went through Pinkie’s hair and smashed against the tree, leaving a deep dent.
“Right! Still fighting!” Pinkie said in her chipper tune. She stuffed her phone away and launched a multicolored rocket from her finger.
It hit the monster in the arm, but it shrugged it off like nothing happened and shuffled forward.
Applejack charged and threw her fist forward to connect with its own. Twilight winced at the hard slap of flesh against stone, but it didn’t phase Applejack in the slightest. Her orange aura burned brighter, and she threw her other fist into the golem’s arm, knocking several rocks to the ground.
The golem tried to retaliate with its other stone hand but connected with Rarity’s diamond shield instead. It recoiled then whipped its arm again to throw more stones out. Pinkie shot them all down with her fireworks, and Sunset jumped forward and unleashed a gout of fire upon it. Applejack jumped back as flames doused the rock monster. As they settled down, she threw a punch into its center and staggered it backward.
The rest of the girls started to close in on it, Twilight included, though she knew her sword wouldn’t be a match against stone. She saw Rainbow fidget, eager to join the fight, but she still had Adagio pinned down. Twilight then noticed the Siren taking a deep breath.
“Look out!” she yelled a second too late.
Adagio’s wail flooded the grove, and Twilight clapped her hands over her ears to futilely suppress the noise. Rainbow fell to her knees, giving Adagio enough time to blast the rope binding her legs and jump to her feet. She gave a second, short scream, then dashed off into the thicket.
Twilight clenched her teeth, ears ringing and head pounding. She gripped her sword and ran after Adagio. There wasn’t a plan really; her head was too fuzzy to form one. Twilight just knew she couldn’t let Adagio get away.
Trying to only bat away the reaching vines and branches instead of cutting them, Twilight emerged back onto one of the stone paths of the botanical garden. Adagio wasn’t too far ahead of her, having been attacked by a pine tree shooting its needles at her in large clusters. She let them clatter against her shield, then blasted an enormous firework at the tree. Twilight covered her ears from the thunderous boom it made, and winced at the deep, splintered indentation and scorch mark it left.
Adagio turned her attention to Twilight and raised her hand, her haughty and superior smirk returning. “Would you like to be next, little girl?”
Twilight didn’t answer. With her sword in front of her, she took a ready stance and stared Adagio down.
“Cute.” Adagio flung out a bolt of magic.
Twilight jumped to the right and ran at Adagio, keeping her schiavona crossed in front of her defensively. Adagio shot at her again, and Twilight slashed the magic bolt back toward her. Adagio yelped and ducked, then raised her shield just as Twilight was on her. The metal hit the diamond, and Twilight cried out as the reverberation shook her whole body. Adagio lowered her shield and blasted at Twilight again. Twilight narrowly spun out of the way, the blast, brushing across her midsection and tearing her shirt. Adagio followed up with a boot to her sternum and sent Twilight skidding back.
“Aaah aaah ah. Aaah ah.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. She could feel Adagio’s song slip into her ears, brush against her mind. It was foreign, alien. And familiar.
No…
Adagio had erected her barrier again, a vainglorious smile on her lips as she sang.
Why am I fighting her? I can’t beat her. I should give up. Twilight’s sword hand slacked.
No! She’s manipulating you! Fight back! Remember Selena’s training! Focus!
But focusing was hard. The melody was so nice. It made her feel good. Like she was floating on a cloud. This fight was pointless.
Have to snap… out of it… have to fight… don’t fight her… No, fight her!
Twilight’s grip tightened.
“Aaah aah—ack!”
A curtain of fire descended on Adagio, blocking her from Twilight’s view. The haze in her mind cleared up, and anger and loathing filled the dreamy void Adagio had created in her mind. She watched Sunset drop from the sky and punch a fiery fist against Adagio’s diamonds.
Adagio winced, but the smirk never left her face. “Well, I think it’s time I made my exit. So long spectacular losers.” She squeezed her fist, and in a bright explosion, she vanished. Leaving the barrier to fade away.
Sunset cursed, then spun to face Twilight, her expression softening immediately. “Are you okay?”
Twilight sheathed her sword with a little more force than she intended, then put a hand to her forehead. “I’m… annoyed. Frustrated. Peeved!” Twilight snorted, as she rode her emotions. “I fell under her stupid voice spell again! This time, I knew it was happening, but I couldn’t fight it!
She kicked a stray pebble. “Dang it!” She looked up as Sunset made an odd choking sound.
“‘Dang it’. That’s all you can say?” Sunset asked, a hand over her mouth.
Twilight crossed her arms. “She’s not worth cursing over.”
Sunset swallowed the rest of her laugh. “You’re right.” She stepped closer and pulled Twilight into a hug, her phoenix wings making it extra warm. “I’m just glad you’re not hurt.”
Only because you swooped in to save me again. Twilight shoved the bitterness down. That wasn’t a path she felt like treading again.
From between the flames of Sunset’s wings, Twilight saw the tree Adagio had assaulted begin to rustle again. One of its branches drew back.
“Sunset, duck!”
Without hesitation, Sunset dropped to the ground, pulling Twilight with her. A swarm of pine needles flew over their heads and embedded into another tree.
Sunset rolled off Twilight to see what had attacked them. “Seriously, why the killer flora?”
A wave of blue washed over the tree just as it raised another branch to shoot. Its limbs went slack, and the tree settled into place.
Twilight got to her feet as Artemis walked over, his suit and cape scuffed up and torn in several places.
“What happened to you?” Sunset asked.
“I got dragged over to the bamboo garden, where several bonsai trees used me as a punching bag.” He rubbed his ribs. “Not fun. I dispelled the magic there, then started running around the rest of the garden. Someone placed a severe enchantment over the entire vicinity.”
“Who?” Twilight asked. Is Moondancer strong enough to do something like this?
“Question for later,” Sunset said. “We still have one more place to disenchant.”
Sunset led them back to the willow glade where Applejack was still trading blows with a much raggedier rock golem. Many of its stones had been knocked out or cracked. One leg was shorter than the other now, keeping it lopsided as Applejack punched its center again, then danced away as Pinkie hit it with another firework.
Artemis held his wand above his head, and a sphere of blue energy coalesced at its tip, steadily growing larger. It exploded outward, washing everything in another wave of blue light. In an instant, the rock golem collapsed, its stones spilling everywhere. The arms of the willow trees went limp, and a lily pad that had stuck itself to Trixie’s arm fell off.
Everything was quiet until the girls gave a collective sigh. Fluttershy immediately flitted between everyone, healing their wounds and exhaustion.
“Okay, so, can Adagio control plants now or what?” Rainbow asked.
Artemis shook his head. “That was a very powerful enchantment; not something Adagio can do, even if she is copying our magic.”
“So, who then?” Applejack asked. “Tempest? Moondancer?”
“You’re guess is as good as mine.” Artemis sighed. “That’s enough magical excitement for one day. Let’s go home before the media shows up.”
Fluttershy looked nervously around the remainder of the glade. Rocks scattered everywhere, trampled and scorched grass, and trees with missing and broken limbs. “Goodness, what are they going to say about this? Are they going to find out about us?”
Sunset pointed to her face. “That’s why we have the masks. And I don’t think there were enough people around for them to do anything more than speculate. But let’s get out of here, just in case.”
Artemis gave a gentle ‘come hither’ wave. “Alright, girls. Two at a time. Sunny and Twilight first.”
Twilight whimpered. Sunset’s hand on her shoulder only partially mitigated the onset of dread.
*******
“Meanwhile, security has confirmed that the alleged terrorist attack at the Mistmane Botanical Gardens was committed by former pop star, Adagio Dazzle. Adagio was also responsible for the attack on one of Canterlot’s malls just last week. Authorities are asking anyone who has any information to come forward. It is still unclear exactly how Adagio damaged many of the trees in the garden, or what her motives were. Current reports of ‘attacking plants’ are unfounded.”
Sunset sat on the arm of the Lulamoon couch, the rest of her friends packed around the television. The media hadn’t shown any eye-witness interviews, but it looked like they were in the clear if they were already dismissing the idea of wild, living foliage.
“If Adagio wasn’t behind it, why was she there?” Rainbow asked.
“Probably to steal more magic,” Rarity said. “You saw her leech off that bush. And she absorbed some of Pinkie’s magic.”
“Big meanie,” Pinkie said, pouting and crossing her arms.
“Hey, I just realized something,” Rainbow said, sitting up from her slouched position in front of the couch. She looked over her shoulder and up at Sunset. “So like, I got punched super hard by Adagio, at the mall and at the gardens. And she has Applejack’s super strength! Shouldn’t I have broken bones or something? Like, it hurt, but just normal hurt.”
“Hey, yeah,” Pinkie spoke up. “She hit me with my own firework. It hurt but not a whole lot.”
Twilight tapped her chin. “Maybe when she absorbs magic, it dilutes it?”
Artemis hummed, leaning against the wall. “The Staff of Sacanas isn’t supposed to dilute the magic it absorbs. But what she has left is only a shard, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”
Sunset closed her eyes. “I don’t know. When I fought Tempest, she got some pretty good hits on me. When I think about it, a few of those should have done more damage than it did.”
Her chest hitched, remembering the black magic Tempest had struck her with. Tempest hadn’t been pulling her punches. If she had meant to deal serious damage, something had dulled the pain.
“Maybe it’s that magic glow you girls have when you pony up,” Trixie said. She lounged in an armchair, idly tapping on her phone.
Sunset tilted her head up in thought. That was a definite possibility. She had never heard of perpetual personal magical force fields in Equestria. Of course, in the human world, it seemed anything went.
She flinched hard as a memory bubbled up to the surface. She had seen this before. Her attack on Princess Twilight and her soon-to-be friends at the Fall Formal. She had launched a fireball at them, expecting them to be incinerated. Instead, when the smoke cleared, they were still huddled together, surrounded by magic. Sunset thought it had been a one-off protection from the Elements.
“I think Trixie’s right,” she said, shaking herself free of the memory. “Whatever magic we have, it’s given us a protective aura as well.”
“Wow, we really hit the magic jackpot huh?” Rainbow said with a grin.
A strong knock at the door broke their conversation. Sunset grunted and got up from the couch. She looked through the peephole and furrowed her brow. The only thing she could make out was a black shirt straining against a set of very defined abs.
She unlocked the door and opened it just enough to stick her head through. She then had to crane her neck upward to see her guest’s face. The man had to be at least six and a half feet tall and was all muscle. His gray biceps bulged in his sleeves which looked ready to tear. He had a sculpted jawline with a tuft of black beard, and a buzz cut on top. His eyes were narrowed, and his mouth set in an annoyed grimace.
“Um, can I help you?” Sunset asked.
The man brought a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, his glower softening. “Pardon the interruption,” he said in a masculine, gravelly voice. “I was informed that I could find a girl by the name of Pinkie Pie here.”
Sunset fought the urge to look back to Pinkie and give this stranger any sort of confirmation. “And, who told you that?”
He cleared his throat again. “Let me start from the beginning. My name is Iron Will. I am a parole and corrections officer at the Canterlot Detention Center. You see, I have in my charge—” He stepped to the side, his massive frame having perfectly hid two people.
“Aria? Sonata?” Sunset blinked at the two Sirens, a nervous prickle of déjà vu running down her spine.
Aria gave a bored peace sign. “‘Sup?”
Sunset opened her mouth to respond, but someone grabbed her arm and spun her off to the side before throwing the door wide open.
“Sonnie!”
“Pinkie!”
Pinkie ran onto the porch and pulled Sonata into a hug. They spun around, laughing with tears in their eyes, acting as if they hadn’t seen each other in years.
Sunset returned to the threshold, scowling until she saw the warm embrace. Aria stepped around them, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.
“Today was our free day, and Sonata wouldn’t shut up about seeing you again,” Aria explained. She poked Iron Will in the bicep. “It took a while to convince iron head here it wasn’t some ploy.”
Iron Will slapped her hand away. “Iron Will still doesn’t trust you. I only agreed because it was within your parole limits.”
Sonata and Pinkie pulled away from each other but kept their hands on the other’s shoulders. “Oh my gosh, there’s so much I wanna tell you, Sonnie!”
“Me too! The detention center is actually a lot of fun! We have arts and crafts every other day! Oh! But we actually really wanted to talk to you about something important!” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “It’s about Adagio.”
“So, can we like, come inside?” Aria asked.
Sunset raised an angry eyebrow.
Aria groaned and tossed her head back. “We’re sorry about last time and we’re not up to anything evil. We turned ourselves in, didn’t we?”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you came into my house and attacked my family!” Artemis swept up behind Sunset and glared at the Sirens.
“Joy, the old man’s back,” Aria deadpanned.
“I am not old!”
Iron Will cleared his throat, a rumble that sounded like an avalanche. “Sir, I will be more than glad to remove these delinquents if you feel they’re a problem.”
Artemis opened his mouth, but Aria cut across him. “Look, we’re sorry, okay? We mean it. We’re sorry for all the crap we put you through. Your dumb colorful friends here showed us that maybe there’s a better life than following Adagio’s orders. And we’re here because we want to help.”
“I believe them!” Pinkie said, hugging Sonata again.
Sunset saw a rare scowl on Artemis’ face, distrust in his eyes. She put a hand on his shoulder and said into his ear, “Pinkie’s key to the chest came from Sonata. I think they’re really reformed this time.”
Artemis opened and closed his mouth a few times, resembling a gasping fish. He let out a sigh and turned into the house. “Just remember: you’re outnumbered and outmatched.”
Aria rolled her eyes as she followed him inside. Pinkie looped her arm through Sonata’s and led her into the house with a skip. Iron Will, face stoic, followed last.
The Lulamoon’s living room was big, but Sunset had never seen it filled with this many people. Perhaps it was Iron Will’s hulking frame that took up so much space. He took up a whole corner to himself while everyone else fanned out around the couch and center table.
Shimmer glared at the Sirens from her perch on the banister. “You really wanna bring those fish people in here again? You are seriously too nice.”
“As I have been reminded,” Sunset muttered. She sat down next to Twilight and looked over at Aria who stood next to Rarity’s chair. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“Well…” Aria trailed off and gave a subtle tilt of her head toward Iron Will.
Sunset looked to the parole officer leaning against the wall and back to Aria. How were they supposed to have a conversation with a civilian around?
Selena stood up and gave Iron Will a hospitable smile. “Would you care for some tea, Mr. Iron Will?”
He held his hands up. “I couldn’t impose after the intrusion we have already caused.”
“Oh, but I insist! You’re working so hard on behalf of these girls. You must be thirsty.”
Iron Will cleared his throat. “Truth be told, I am a little parched. Very well, tea sounds lovely.”
Selena dipped her head and retreated into the kitchen. Sunset saw a knowing smirk on Artemis and Trixie’s faces.
“So, what’s it like in prison?” Rainbow asked.
“It’s not prison; it’s just the detention center,” Aria snapped. “The beds are comfier.”
“It’s actually really nice! Sonata chirped. “Like I said, we get arts and crafts days! Aria’s been going to the gym there—”
Aria flexed, showing a little definition in her bicep.
“—I’ve made a lot of new friends! Most of them are just kids who made bad decisions like us, but they’re really nice when you talk to them! And then we have field trip days where we do community service!”
Aria gave a puff of a sigh. “Our deal is three-hundred hours of community service and five years probation. If we stay on good behavior.”
“If you don’t wanna do the time, don’t do the crime,” Iron Will growled.
Selena returned with a single porcelain cup and saucer, steam rolling off the top. “Here you are.”
Iron Will accepted it and inhaled the flowery aroma Sunset could smell from across the room. “My thanks,” he said before giving it a single blow and taking a sip.
He teetered back and forth before his eyelids drooped shut and he fell forward. A blanket of blue magic covered him and the tea, stopping it from spilling on the carpet.
“Alright, make some room for our guest,” Artemis said as he guided Iron Will toward the couch. Rainbow and Applejack got up, giving just enough room to sit Iron Will down and have him slouch back.
“Sleeping potion?” Sunset asked. She looked at Selena. “I thought you didn’t allow magic in the kitchen.”
Selena gave a small, mischievous smirk. “Potion-making is more chemistry than magic.”
“Well, now that musclehead is out…” Aria crossed her arms. “We knew Adagio was at the gardens before the news broke. And we know you girls fought her. The media is keeping it vague, but we could taste the magic.”
“The media keeping things vague works in our favor though,” Twilight said. “The less people who know about magic, the better.”
“Yeah, but I think Adagio wants people to know. She has the Crystal Heart—she’s trying to stir up as much negative energy as she can to feed off it.”
Sunset nodded. “That’s what we figured.”
Aria seated herself on the arm of Rarity’s chair. “After our banishment, we became more subtle. A lot of the reason was because we didn’t have magic to back us up if we got caught. But this?” Aria shook her head. “Adagio’s desperate, I can feel it.”
Sonata pulled on her fingers. “Dagi gets scary when she’s desperate.”
“She’s always been ambitious, always been power-hungry. But when things start going south, she takes it up a notch. And this time, she doesn’t have us to back her up.” Aria rolled her shoulders. “Adagio always has a plan. Even when backed into a corner. It might be wild, even dangerous, but she’ll have a plan.”
“Any idea what that plan might be?” Sunset asked.
Aria looked at the carpet, focusing on nothing in particular. “Hard to say. There has to be more to it than just building fear and feeding on it. This is just to buy herself time. But, if she keeps pulling these stunts and getting away, she will get stronger; strong enough to start putting people under her thrall.”
Sunset put a protective hand on Twilight's shoulder.
Artemis pulled on his goatee. “You’re being awfully forthcoming with all this.”
Aria crossed her arms again, though it wasn’t in her usual grumpy manner. She was almost holding herself. The frown on her face wasn’t one of annoyance but reservation. “We told you, we wanted to help. Adagio may be a total bitch but…”
“We’re still family,” Sonata said, looking at her hands with a forlorn expression.
Aria nodded her head toward her. “I can’t stand her right now. But… we’re bonded. I don’t know if she can ever be ‘reformed’ but I don’t wanna see her dead. Like I said, she’s desperate, which means she’s gonna get sloppy, especially trying to do what she’s doing. The way I figure, if you girls get to her first, you’ll put her in a hospital at worst and then in jail. That’s probably what’s best for her at this point.”
There was a brief interlude of silence before Applejack said, “Well, you’re right about her fightin’ wild. Thanks to that piece of magic, that girl has more moves than an octopus in a wrestling match. Doesn’t help that she can steal our magic and turn it against us.”
“Or that our training place is so small,” Rainbow said. “We could probably get a leg up on her if we got some real practice in.”
Sonata tilted her head to the side, then straightened up with a loud gasp. “I know where you guys could train!”
Pinkie gasped. “Really?”
“Yeah! You could go to our island!”
“What?” Sunset asked, surprised.
“What?” Aria asked flatly.
“What?” Artemis asked, outraged.
Sonata looked at all three of them and gave a confused shrug. “What? It wasn’t, like, super big, but there’s probably a lot of room to train and stuff. And there’s no one around.”
“Uh, weren’t you guys locked away in Greece or something?” Rainbow asked.
“Yeah, but a magic, glowy portal brought us to Canterlot. It goes two ways, so if you found it, you could use it too. I think.”
“The leygate,” Artemis breathed.
Sunset straightened up, remembering what Selena had told her months ago. Leygates were the openings of Leylines—veins of magic that ran through the planet. They could be ridden and act as long-distance teleporters. If what Sonata said was true…
“That’s a dumb idea, Sonata, even for you,” Aria said. “Whatever that was that let us out is probably gone by now. And even if it isn’t, there’s no way in hell I’m going back to that place.”
“Let’s say, hypothetically, that it was still there,” Sunset said slowly. “Do you remember where the leygate is?”
Sonata nodded. “I think so.”
“And is there any chance Adagio would use this place as a hideout or come look for us there?”
Aria scoffed. “She hated that place more than me. She’d never step foot there again if it was the last safe haven on this planet.”
Sunset looked over to Artemis with a hopeful grin. “Artemis!”
He kept a hand over his mouth, brow furrowed. “And what if it’s a trap?”
“It’s not!” Sonata jumped to her feet. “We wanna help, we swear! And I can take you to the gate thingy right now! I’ll prove it’s not a trap!”
“I think she’s telling the truth!” Pinkie said, standing up beside Sonata. “And I really wanna see the leygate thing too!”
Sunset caught Artemis’ eye. “I think she’s telling the truth too. And we still outnumber them.”
Aria leaned back in her seat and blew a raspberry. “Count me out. I told you: I’m never stepping foot on that island again.”
Selena looked between her and Iron Will, softly snoring. “I’ll stay here then. Someone needs to make sure our guest stays asleep.”
Artemis gave a defeated sigh. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He pointed at Sonata. “Fine then, lead the way!”