The bleachers of the indoor stadium could hardly be called packed. Most people had other things to do this close to Christmas, preparations, last minute gift shopping, stuff like that. So the audience for this charity football tournament was mostly limited to die-hard football fans as well as friends and family of the players.
That suited Sunset just fine. For one thing, it enabled her to spend some quality time with all her friends, something they hadn’t really done since their college graduation party, and she was able to spot the insular group much more easily as she returned from her run to the concession stand.
Sneaking up on Rainbow Dash, who was seated a little ways away from the others with arms crossed and still wearing her jersey, she held a can of iced coffee to her friend’s cheek.
“Gah! Stop that!”
Sunset chuckled, handing over the can to her. “Cheer up, champ. You played well.”
“Yeah, I coulda played well in the finals too if that idiot coach hadn’t benched me for the semi-finals and then gone and lost,” she replied, peeling off the lid of the drink angrily.
“Don’t be like that, sugarcube,” Applejack said as Sunset handed out the rest of the drinks. “Ah’m sure his plan was to have you save your energy for the finals, seeing how you dominated the early rounds. It just didn’t turn out according to plan.”
“Making things turn out according to plan is the coach’s job,” Rainbow grumbled. “Could’ve put me in for the second half. I swear, your brother could have done a better job than our so-called professional coach. Which reminds me, how is the high school team doing this season?”
Sunset sat down next to Twilight after handing over the last can. “Pretty solid, actually. Two of my students are on the team, and Big Mac seems like he’s gotten into the groove of things for his second season as coach.”
“Oh?” Rainbow Dash perked up considerably at the thought of her teammates on the junior division doing well at least. “They good enough to beat Crystal Prep and make a run at the regionals?”
Sunset frowned. “On a good day, maybe? I wouldn’t bet on it. Should make the playoffs easily enough, though.”
Rarity closed her eyes and took a sip from her iced tea. “If you’re going to discuss points and stats, could you keep it simple for the sports illiterate among us?”
“Nobody is forcing you to come to these games, Rares,” Rainbow pointed out.
“Oh, but then I’d miss out on Applejack being absolutely adorable when she jumps up and starts cheering,” she replied, linking her arm with Applejack’s and fluttering her eyelashes at her girlfriend.
AJ in turn blushed and chuckled. “Makes it easy to get excited knowing that you’re there and always have my back, even if you don’t really care about the match.” She lifted her Wondercolts fan scarf, which was clearly a handmade Rarity original rather than a cheap one from the stadium gift shop. Leaning down, she lightly kissed the tip of Rarity’s nose which elicited a squeal of delight from the fashionista.
“Blergh.” Rainbow Dash made a gagging noise after watching the spectacle. “Have I ever told you that you two are the most obnoxiously lovey-dovey couple I know?”
“All the time, darling,” Rarity acknowledged without taking offense, tightening her grip around Applejack’s waist with a smile.
Sunset chuckled at the sight of her friends taking good-natured shots at each other as if no time had passed since high school. This was exactly what she needed after recent events. “You know, Rainbow, they’re not that bad. I’ve been around Cadence and Twilight’s brother during Valentine’s Day, and they’re on a whole other level.”
“Nuh-uh, you don’t get a vote in this,” Rainbow Dash replied immediately, pointing directly at Sunset and Twilight sitting next to each other, “neither of you do, considering I’m looking at the previous title holders right here.”
Sunset scratched her cheek. “Oh, come on. We weren’t that bad back in the day. Right, Sparky?” Sunset looked over at Twilight and noted that she wasn’t smiling. There was a momentary knot in her stomach, fearing that Rainbow’s thoughtless comment had somehow stirred up some bad memories of their sometimes tumultuous relationship history. But then she thought: I know she’s not much into sports either, but she’s been unusually quiet all day. “Is there something wrong, Twilight?”
Twilight sighed and took off her glasses for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I didn’t want to spoil the festive mood, but there is something serious that I need to discuss with all of you.”
Everyone went quiet and turned attentively towards Twilight. “Go on,” Fluttershy said reassuringly, “we’re always here to listen to you. You know that.”
Twilight nodded and put her glasses back on. “It’s about the break-in at Canterlot University.”
“Have the police caught the culprit yet?” Applejack asked.
“No,” Twilight said, shaking her head, “they don’t have any leads right now. But what concerns me is what has been stolen.”
“I thought it was a botched robbery,” Rarity mentioned. “The news said nothing had been stolen.”
“Nothing outwardly dangerous has been stolen,” Twilight corrected and Sunset recalled that specific wording from the news report she herself had heard. “But there is something that went missing from the lab. The police is keeping the specifics under wraps as to not show their hand while they investigate.”
“Should you be telling us about this then?” Rainbow asked.
“I’ve talked to my brother, considering he’s the only one at the station who really understands all the implications, and he agreed with me that you should know. Of course, it goes without saying that this shouldn’t go any further than the six of us.” Twilight heaved another sigh. “The thief didn’t have to enter any of the restricted sections of the lab, because what they stole wasn’t considered sensitive or dangerous. It was just sitting in a drawer at the back of my lab space. … You remember the magic collection device I built during the Friendship Games?”
Sunset could see all her friends involuntarily tense up. “Twilight, are you telling us that device was stolen?”
“Unfortunately, I am.”
“What were you even doing with that thing?”
She shook her head. “I was just using it as reference for designing some of my other experiments. Without magic, it doesn’t work after all. It wasn’t even fully assembled, but I still should have been more careful with it. I was stupid.”
“That’s some good news,” Rarity pointed out. “If it’s not working, I mean. And considering it was in pieces, maybe the thief realized they couldn’t get into the restricted section and just grabbed whatever they could at random. They probably don’t even realize what it is they have.”
Twilight’s mouth drew into a thin line. “I’d like to think that. But the fact is, the parts of the MCD are the only things that went missing, you understand? If this was about money, they could have taken some of the expensive lab equipment, but instead they went for pieces that served no obvious purpose, unless you know what they are. Which makes me think they weren’t taken by accident.”
Sunset rubbed her forehead and made a concerted effort to look away as she felt some anger at Twilight well up inside of her. Why hadn’t she gotten rid of the cursed thing years ago, considering all the trouble it had caused? Why would she be so careless with how she stored it? But the rational part of her brain pointed out that Twilight had had no reason to think there could be any danger, and so Sunset held back from snapping at her friend.
Then she felt a tug at her sleeve, and Twilight added in a quiet voice: “Sunset, I know this is difficult, but maybe you should tell them what you told me a while ago.” Sunset felt her heart beating faster.
“Is this about your geode activating?” Fluttershy suddenly asked in response to Twilight’s question.
“Wait, what?” Twilight snapped, this time tugging on Sunset’s sleeve more forcefully and appearing in her vision. “Your geode activated!?”
Sunset swallowed and found her mouth dry. “Briefly, yes. But only for a moment and not at full power … although it happened again a week ago.” Sunset forced herself to look around at the various states of worry her friends found themselves in. When it rains, it pours. Better fess up, Sunset. These are your friends. “What Sparky was talking about is that, a couple months ago, I saw … I thought I saw a Shadow Puppet.”
“You mean those awful shadow beings that attacked the harbor at Maretime Bay?” Fluttershy asked, an obvious shiver running down her back.
Sunset nodded. “I didn’t tell you guys because I didn’t want to worry you. I thought … I hoped that maybe it was just stress or a trick of the light. But with everything else going on, I feel like maybe I wasn’t losing my marbles after all.” Ah, there’s that look of pity on all their faces that I was dreading to see. She sucked in a deep breath. “Guys, it looks like magic might be coming back.”
Everyone took in that statement with the gravity it deserved, and Sunset subconsciously held her breath at how Twilight would respond. After what felt like an eternity, she did. “I agree with Sunset. Something is going on. Seeing the Shadow Puppet is one thing, but one of the geodes suddenly activating and my old MCD going missing at the same time? That’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Y’all really think we missed something back in the day?” Applejack asked with a frown. “We were so sure that all this stuff was behind us.”
“Were we ever that sure?” Twilight asked pointedly. “Or did we perhaps just stop looking because dealing with magic hurt too much?”
“I think we’re way past something here, AJ,” Sunset added darkly. When all eyes turned towards her, she cleared her throat and explained: “An Equestrian artifact going active and being messed with by accident is something we’ve dealt with before, but this feels different. Sparky’s magic box is not from Equestria, and it’s not inherently magic. There wouldn’t be a lot of people who know what it’s actually for, let alone how to use it.”
“So you’re saying we need to be worried about someone, darling,” Rarity picked up. “One of our old enemies perhaps? The power magic grants is alluring, especially having had it and then lost it. Who among us hasn’t wished to have our old powers on occasion to solve a problem?”
They all answered that one with a silence that spoke volumes.
“It’s not the Sirens,” Sunset said. “In my heart, I truly believe that. And I don’t see Gloriosa Daisy ever messing with magic again after what happened at Camp Everfree.”
Twilight nodded. “I don’t think it’s anyone we know.” She held out her hand and began counting on her fingers. “Juniper Montage is overseas right now, shooting a movie with her uncle. Vignette Valencia has moved to another state. And I spoke to Wallflower Blush right after the break-in at Canterlot U. I know for a fact that she was covering a concert on the other side of town at the time.”
“Twilight,” Fluttershy said with a raised eyebrow, “have you been keeping tabs on all of our old enemies over the years?”
“That might be too strong a wording for it,” she replied, but Sunset could see her eyes darting away. “I don’t think setting a few Google alerts constitutes as keeping tabs.”
“What about Bright Hope?” Rainbow asked, seemingly recalling the same conversation they had in the park with Sunny’s father not too long ago that Sunset was currently thinking of as well.
“It’s possible,” Twilight replied. “We’ve never been able to find her after the Maretime Bay incident. It’s like she’s completely off the grid. But we never actually met her, so how would she know about the MCD?”
“She’s definitely connected to the Maretime Bay incident and thus the Shadow Puppets though,” Rarity pointed out.
“True,” Twilight acknowledged, “but we know at least that she didn’t break into my lab. If it’s her, she would have had to send someone else in her stead.”
“Wait, back up a minute,” Sunset cut in, “how exactly do we know that she wasn’t at the lab?”
“Oh, right. I hadn’t gotten to that part yet,” Twilight said apologetically. “The police found some fingerprints and a little blood. Apparently, the thief got their hand caught in one of the heavy sliding doors that leads into the lab. There wasn’t enough for a full DNA workup, but the fingerprints came back negative. My brother says he even contacted the FBI, and they don’t have the prints on file either.”
“Sorry if ah’m being slow here,” Applejack said while rubbing her temple, “but how exactly does that rule out Bright Hope?”
“Bright Hope was one of the suspects in Professor Discerning Eye’s murder case, remember?” Sunset pointed out. “Police never tracked her down for questioning, but they had a warrant for her home and office at CU if I recall.”
Twilight nodded. “Exactly. My brother was still a lieutenant in homicide at the time. He actually executed those warrants. They have Bright Hope’s fingerprints and DNA on file from the search. The blood type was a match, but the prints weren’t.”
“Ah see,” AJ replied, rubbing her chin, “no dice, huh? Woulda been too easy, ah guess.”
“There is another possibility,” Twilight said carefully and turned to Sunset. “This all started when you went back to CHS, Sunset. That’s where you first saw the Shadow Puppet, and the old portal has always been a nexus for this sort of thing.”
Sunset buried her head in her hands in response. “Celestia is gonna kill me if it’s someone at CHS.”
There was silence for a bit, in which the sounds of sports fans and players seemed far away, until Fluttershy’s quiet voice spoke up for all of them. “So, what’s the plan, Sunset?”
Sunset looked up from her hands and around the faces of her friends. They were all looking to her for answers, to figure out the magical mystery and give out marching orders, just like they used to. She felt Twilight’s hand coming to rest on top of hers in a quiet show of confidence and support. “We don’t get to decide when fate calls us by one of our other names, huh?”
“What’s that?” Rainbow asked with a quirked eyebrow.
“Nothing.” Sunset shook her head. “Just something someone told me a while ago.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, it was as if someone had turned back the wheel of time, and she once again found herself the impromptu leader of a band of unexpected magical girls. “It feels like we’re poking around in the dark for this one, but what else is new? For now, everyone stay alert for any magical weirdness going on, also we should keep our geodes on us at all times. If nothing else, we don’t want them to fall into the wrong hands.”
“What about Pinkie’s?” Rarity asked.
“I already wrote to Princess Twilight to check on the Horn of Sombra a while ago,” Sunset answered. “I’ll update her on the new developments and ask her to check on the geode as well.”
“Any chance for some Equestrian reinforcements?” Rainbow wanted to know. “If this is connected to the Maretime Bay incident even slightly, another heavy hitter in the magic department wouldn’t go amiss.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Twilight said immediately. “The last time we opened the portal, we drained everything we had left from our geodes. Even if they are starting to recharge, we can’t risk meddling with them while they’re flickering on and off. We might end up making things worse.”
Sunset nodded. “I’m not sure it would be a good idea anyhow, even if I knew how to make it work. Right now, with the portals closed, Equestria can act like a bulwark for us. At least we know that the Horn of Sombra and Pinkie’s geode are safe. The last thing we need right now is to reopen Pandora’s Box and pour oil into the fire by bringing in more magic to complicate things further.”
“What else can we do?” Twilight asked.
Sunset shrugged. “Keep our ears to the ground? I may not like the implications, but you were right earlier. All of this started when I came back to CHS, and both times my magic activated was with students of mine. I gotta keep an eye on them and keep them safe.” Which would be much easier if they didn’t all hate me right now, was the part of that statement she didn’t say out loud.“ As for you, Sparky, I really hate to put you in this position, but you gotta keep pumping your brother for all the information he’s worth.”
“I understand. Shiny was never much of a fan of our vigilante activities back in the day, but he wants to see the streets of Canterlot run rampant with wild magic again as much as you do. He’ll help us.”
“Good. I think that’s about as much as we can do right now,” Sunset said with a pained smile.
“Don’t worry, sugarcube,” Applejack said with what seemed to be just slightly overplayed confidence, “we can figure this out together. We always have.”
With a smile, Fluttershy held out her hand in between all of them. “Wondercolts Forever?”
One by one, they piled their hands on top of hers and gave Sunset a meaningful look. When it was only her left, Sunset sighed and placed her own hand on top of the pile, keenly aware of how they were still one short even then. “Wondercolts Forever.”