//------------------------------// // The Boy Who Loves Magic // Story: MLP - Equestria Girls: The Magic of Friendship // by MLPEG Lover //------------------------------// With Rain distracted, Twilight and Sunset are free to start the search for the wisp of Equestrian magic. Sure, this may qualify as trespassing. Or at the very least, an invasion of privacy. But they can't leave that wisp with him. One, it's possibly dangerous. Two, if that wisp can somehow be used to restore their magic so they can defeat Nightshade, they probably need it more than some guy in an obsolete music store. They enter the backroom, but Sunset stops to think before going any further. "You think this place has traps?" The former unicorn asks. "Traps? This place barely has working electricity." Twilight does have a good point, but you can never be too sure. "I highly doubt there are any..." Before the science nerd can finish her sentence, a light fixture falls from the ceiling almost landing directly on her. Fortunately, she's able to avoid getting hit and rush right into Sunset. Holding her in a terrified embrace. The red head can't help but smirk at her jumpy friend. "That doesn't count." Twilight says. Sunset giggles. "Stop that." But the look on your face was priceless. "Hopefully no one else heard that." Well, the other Rainbooms heard the crashing sound, but somehow Rain didn't hear it because he's too interested in Spike's story. "What in tarnation are those two doin' back there?" Applejack whispers to Rarity. "Well, fortunately for us, he somehow didn't seem notice." Rarity whispers back. "Those two better get back here quick." Rainbow quietly says to the others. "I don't know how much longer we, well Spike, can keep him distracted." After, eventually, releasing Sunset from her grip, Twilight takes the lead on the search. Mostly to make up for that brief moment of cowardice. Though Sunset isn't gonna hold it against her. A light fixture was about the fall on her. Didn't make her reaction any less embarrassing though. "Okay, so look in any possible hiding spot. And let's try to make it quick. Before something else falls on us." They begin to search the, now a little darker, room but are surprised at what they find inside at first glance. They see a desk with two drawers, a computer on top of it that looks surprisingly advance, and a trash can in the corner. Sunset decides to speak first. "This is kinda underwhelming." "Yeah. I was expecting something a little more impressive." Twilight disappointingly says. She knows this guy has a device that can contain magic. She was honestly expecting a lab or something back here. Not... whatever this is. "Well, at least searching won't take long." Sunset says. "Yeah, that's a good point. Let's get searching." "Not really much place to search though. It's obviously in one of those drawers." Sunset opens the first drawer and finds a whole bunch of notepads. All of which hasn't been written on yet. Not very helpful. "Okay. Let's see what's inside drawer number two. She tries to open it, but the second drawer has a lock on it. No matter how hard she tries, she can't pull it open. "Dang, it's locked. Must be something he wants to make sure no one finds." "If I just had my magic, I could easily open the lock." Twilight says. If you had your magic, you probably wouldn't even be here. "Maybe there's a key around here somewhere." That's wishful thinking. He probably keeps the key on him at all times. "There's no way the key is just lying around." Twilight says with confidence. "Found it!" What! No way! Contrary to what Twilight previously stated, a key is just sitting on the top of the desk, under the computer monitor. "Well, we don't know if that's the right key." "It's open!" Oh come on! "Oh... great." The longer she's in here, the less impressed she gets. Don't get her wrong, she loves how easy things are working out for a change. She was just expecting a little better from this guy. Sunset unlocks the drawer. What she finds inside the second drawer isn't what they're looking for, but something that does catch her interest. The first thing she spots in the drawer is a file with 'Sunset Shimmer' written on the front and a picture of her clipped to the top corner via paper clip. Okay, things just got weird. She picks up the file and opens it. Her eyes go wide as she finds more pictures, documents, and pages torn out of notepads inside. All featuring her. All the pictures are of her either using her magic, and/or being with her friends. Along with a list of details about her. This guy has been stalking her! For who knows how long! "Tw...Twilight!" Twilight looks to her friend and the expression on her face. "What is it? What's wrong?" "This guy has a file on me!" "A what!" "And not just me. Look!" She reaches further into the drawer and pulls out a file with Twilight's name and picture on it. Twilight takes the file and looks at all the info he has on her. She can't say she's not unsettled by this. Sunset pulls out the stack of remaining files and places it on top of the desk. "Look at all this. This guy's been keeping an eye on us, and we didn't even notice!" Huh, suddenly her first meeting with Rain started making a little more sense. The writing, asking her eye color. He's been gathering info on her and her friends. She looks at all the files in the stack and all the things he's learned on them. Rarity, Applejack, all of them have one. But when they reach the bottom file, it's surprisingly empty. The File on Fluttershy, has absolutely nothing inside of it. No pics, no papers, nothing. "Huh, There's no information on Fluttershy though." Twilight states. Maybe he just didn't get to her yet. Sunset notices something at the very bottom of the drawer. "Hey, look at this." She pulls out a small remote control-like device with only on button in the center. She's almost afraid to push it, but her curiosity gets the better of her. She pushes the button, and the two girls hear a sound. A mechanical, whirring sound. The floor starts to vibrate just a little and they notice an opening form in the backwall. The wall begins to split open to reveal a secret area behind it! Behind the wall is a secret room illuminated with bright blue neon lights. The area contains a very large tube-like capsule with a transparent wall and door. Lights blinking on and off on the top and bottom of it. Sitting beside it is the canister containing the wisp they're looking for. But what's really shocking are the flying colorful wisps flying around next to it. Contained behind glass walls with glowing runes lining the whole thing. Though other than that, the room is pretty much empty. "Uh, I think we found what we're looking for." "And with that, I never saw that evil squirrel again." Spike says, ending his tale. "But, believe me, if I ever see that nut muncher, he's gonna wish he never messed with this dog." Rain not sure what that story had to do with magic, but at this point, he's just enjoying hearing the little guy talk. Plus, his stories are really fun. "Heh-heh. I'm sure he will little guy." He scratches the pup under his chin, much to Spike's pleasure. Though unlike Rain, the Rainbooms start to grow bored. With the exception of Fluttershy, who's also enjoying the pup's tales. Yet questioning the realism about them. "Ugh, what's taking them so long?" Rainbow groans. "I hope they're not in any trouble." Rarity whispers to the others. "Maybe I should sneak back there and check on them." The athlete suggests. "It should be okay. I don't think Spike's gonna run out of stories any time soon." She's pretty sure he made a couple of them up. "Aw man, My pen's out of ink." Uh-oh! That's not good. The girls direct their attention to Rain, who's getting of his knees now that his pen is empty. "Wait right here. I'll go get another one from the back." Someone, stop him! Rainbow rushes in front of him with her arms spread out. "No wait! You can use my pen." She starts patting herself down, praying that a pen will somehow magically appear in her pockets. Or that Sunset and Twilight will come out before he realizes that she's stalling. Okay so this plan is pretty flawed. "Uh any of you guys have a pen?" The others start to pat themselves to find a pen, but nothing. Really! You all just came from school, and no one has a pen. Not even a pencil. "It's no big deal, really. I know I have one in... the... back?" He looks around the store and notices that only five out seven Rainbooms are present. "Where are the other two that were here?" His facial expression takes a full one-eighty, as he speak with a much more serious tone. Think Rainbow. Think! "They uh, had to go, uh-uh..." Pinkie comes in with the save. "Sunset had to go feed her pet lizard a super yummy snack she had promised. And Twilight had to go with her because she knows what all the best foods for the little guy are!" Comes in with the save... kinda. Rainbow nods her head with a nervous laugh. Oh please let this guy believe that. Rain narrows his eyes with a look of disbelief dominating his face. there's no way he's buying this. They are so... "Oh, okay then." Lucky! He actually bought that?! The boy turns back towards Spike. and all the girls sigh with relief. Relief that is very short lived. As soon as they feel like they can relax, Rain rushes past them and straight into the backroom. Pinkie and the other follow behind him in an attempt to either stop him or help their friends if things get rough. "I'm starting to think he didn't really believe me." Rainbow rolls her eyes. "Really, what gave you that idea?" Rain knows that Sunset and Twilight are back there. He needs to get them out of there before things get worse. "Hey!" Sunset snaps her head back towards the newly arrived boy. Twilight is too focused on the display in the wall. "What do you two think you're doing back here!" Going for the 'If I yell at them as if I'm an authority figure, they might leave' tactic. "This room is for employee only. You can't just come in here and snoop around", Sunset holds up the file on her to Rain's face, "and I'm gonna shut up now." Welp, any advantage Rain had over the situation is now gone. Aw who's he kidding. He lost all advantage the moment these girls stepped into the building. The other girls enter the room. "Sorry Sunset." Applejack says as the enter." We couldn't keep him from... What in tarnation!" They all stare with fascination, confusion, and surprise when they notice the secret area their friends had discovered. "What is all this?" Rainbow asks. Sunset faces the now really nervous boy. "That's what I'm about to find out." She lays the file down, the other Rainbooms now getting a chance to see what it is, and begins her interrogation. "Who are you?! Why have you been stalking us?! What is that thing and how and why do you have all those wisps of magic?!!" Okay Rain be cool. Think of some way to get out of this alive. "Well, I, uh, I, uh, I just uh..." "It's a restoration capsule!" Everyone's attention is now directed to the glasses-wearing teen with the huge smile on her face. "Right?" Suddenly, all the fear Rain is feeling completely washes away. "Uh yeah, something like that. I call it The Chamber. Mainly because it sounds cool. It's basically a big recharger. That's why I have those wisps. To act as a sort of battery. It converts the wisp into a state of pure energy before flowing that energy into the recipient inside." This is just what Twilight had planned to get their magic back. And this guy just has one already to go. "Is that glass really able to hold those wisps in there?" "Not without those shiny rocks you see lining the area. They're special runes capable of containing mystical energies." "That really works?" "They do when hooked up to the right equipment. It took a bit of technomancy but yeah it works." His smile is then replaced with a look of disappointment. "Unlike the Chamber." "It doesn't work?" Twilight says, now with a frown on her face. "No. Most of the time its circuits explode before the transfer of magic is finished. It just can't seem to contain the magic and safely convert it into energy." "Huh, I had a similar problem with the first version of my magic tracker." She says pulling out the newer model. "It could absorb magic, but it had trouble keeping it contained. Maybe if you..." "I'm sorry, did you just say magic tracker." He stares at the pendant-shaped device with much excitement. "As in you can actually find magic with this thing!" "Yeah I... wait I thought you had one too. How'd you find all those wisps?" "I had to wait 'til it was dark outside and spent all night chasing down any glowy thing in the city. I was basically a kid trying to catch fireflies in a jar." The two share a laugh. They're both fascinated with what the other has been able to come up with. Their entire conversation, it's as if no other people exist. "Twilight!!" Oh right. The other people. Sunset's call is finally able to reach Twilight's ears. How many times did she have to yell her name before the nerd realized it? Twilight blushes a bit as she remembers the whole ordeal of coming here. "Oh um, excuse me for a minute." She walks back into the previous room to her friends. "Sorry, guess I got a little excited." Yeah, maybe just a little. Sunset rolls her eyes before confronting the boy herself. "I want a full explanation of why you've been spying on us. And it better be the truth." "I prefer the term researching." Sunset Shimmer uses death glare. It's very effective. "And that's not helpful, is it?" "Start talking. Right now." The boy dips his head low. "Fine." He whispers. "The truth is..." He clenches his fists, now looking as if he's about to attack. He takes a deep breath. "I Think You Girls Are Just The Coolest Ever!!" "UH, huh?" The boy's face is now just inches away from hers. His eyes now sparkling, and his smile is from ear to ear. Is this how Spike felt? "You all can do magic when no one else can it's just so incredible your magic is so unique I've never even heard of anything else like it I had to figure out how it works cause that's what I do so I started studying your magical abilities once I found out your magic is powered by friendship I had to make further investigations so I started watching you hang out together to see how your magic reacts to you all being together and having fun and being friends and..." "Okay stop! Just Stop!" Sunset pushes him away and attempts to make sense of everything the boy just blurted out. With little success. And she thought Pinkie can talk. "Can we get the short version." A wave of embarrassment consumes Rain. He didn't mean to blurt all that out. It just sorta happened. He lifts his fist to his mouth and clears his throat. Let's try that again. He walks into the other room so that all the girls can hear him. To their surprise, he bows at a forty-five-degree angle in an effort to apologize. "First I would like to say I'm sorry for the method of my research. Maybe I'm only sorry I got caught, but I honestly didn't mean any harm by it." The girls all stare wide-eyed at the apologetic lad. They were not expecting this, but at least he's talking like a normal person. Sunset finally speaks. "Uh, okay. But if you really wanted to learn about our magic, why didn't you just come talk to us about it? And can you please stand up." Rain does as he's told and then answers her question. "I was... Uh I was... afraid." He shamefully admits. "I tend to make a fool of myself in front of other people." Yeah, they kinda noticed. "When I found out you lost your magic, my only remaining option was to help you get it back. Once I got the Chamber working, the plan was to work up enough nerve to tell you about it." "You made that thing for us?" Rainbow questions. "Well no. I made it to see if I could give myself magical abilities. But I don't mind sharing it! That is... if I can get it to work." The girls all look to each other. This is quite the situation. Sure, what he did was wrong, but he really doesn't seem like a bad guy. Just a little awkward. Twilight steps forward. "I can help you get it working." Rain almost can't believe his ears. "Really. You'll help me?!" "Sure. If we work together, we're bound to make get it working." "Twilight." Sunset says, getting her attention. "Sidebar." The two friends walk to the other side of the room to discuss. It's clear that Sunset is still a little suspicious about Rain. Which is understandable. Secret lab, constant spying, sources of magic at his disposal. He could pass for a supervillain. Wait, that's probably exactly what she thinks he is. Maybe. Rain sighs and lowers his head. This isn't going so well. Maybe he should just give up and eat the cupcake being offered to him. Wait what?! Pinkie Pie is indeed offering the boy a cupcake. For reasons he can't understand. "Well go on. If you don't eat it, I will." The smile on her face. It's just so, welcoming. And infectious. He can't seem to help but smile to. He accepts the frosted confection and take a small bite. Followed by more bites to keep that delicious taste in his mouth. Not even realizing when how fast he finishes the dessert. "Heh, thank you. I hope you aren't too mad at, well you know." Maybe Pinkie has the right idea. Maybe all this guy needs, is a little friendship. "Y'know what, don't worry 'bout it." Applejack says. " Yah seem like a good fella. And if yah really wanna help us out, we can at least give yah a chance." Rainbow looks through the pictures taken of her. "And hey, at least you got some pretty good shots of us." Her favorite is the one of her kicking a winning soccer goal. "Trust us, we've forgiven way worse than this." There are some stories he'd love to hear about sometime. "And if you want, I could design you a much more fitting jacket if it's to your liking." Rarity offers, still unsure why he chooses to wear a jacket that's clearly three sizes too big. But nothing says let's be friends better than a new wardrobe she always says. "That be great. Just make sure it's a thin jacket. Otherwise, it could get really hot wearing it under this one." Rain says, clearly missing the point of her offer. While Rain and the girls start to get acquainted, Twilight and Sunset discuss their current situation. "I'm not sure if helping this guy is the best idea." Sunset says. "Why not. He seems like a good guy." Twilight looks over to him and the others getting to know each other. Aswell as Pinkie pulling out a whole tray of cupcakes to share. This comes as a shock to Rain whose mouth agapes at the pink girl's ability to pull desserts out of her hair. "You think he was lying about everything he said?" "Well, no." If anyone knows what lying to look like a good person is, it's the former bully of CHS. But you don't have to lie in order to not tell the whole truth. "I'm just not sure if we should get him involved." As they continue to discuss, Rain raises his hand and slowly reaches out towards Pinkie's hair while she's distracted by eating one of her cupcakes. Curious as to what would happen if he stuck his hand in it. Only to have his wrist grabbed by Applejack. She shakes her head to nonverbally tell him that he does not want to know what it's like in there. "I'll admit, the files are a bit unsettling. But hey Pinkie has one of us and everyone else at school." Twilight says. "True, but Pinkie just uses them to through parties. That's not quite the same." Sunset counters. "Alright. But I understand how he feels. It's not any different than when I came the CHS to figure what was going on." She's honestly surprised that he doesn't have a murder board with red yarn all over it anywhere. "He just needs a little push in the right direction. Like I did... Like you did." Oh really. You're gonna play that card. "Looking past all that, He has no idea what he's getting himself into. He could wind up really hurt. Or worse." She knows he's just curious and wants to help. So why won't she let him? What's she afraid of? "I don't think he's gonna stop no matter what we try. Best thing for us to do, is to be there to make sure things don't go wrong." She places her hand on Sunset's shoulder. "If you don't trust him, can you at least trust me?" Sunset sighs. "You know I do. Just be careful, okay." "Of course." The two walk back towards the others. "Okay Rain, I'm going to help you help us." The boy's face lights up. "Really?! As in really really?!" Twilight smiles and nods her head, confirming her answer. "I already have some idea on the matter. But I'll need the design plans of the Chamber in order to cross-reference it with my magic tracker." Rain is now excited. More excited than he's been in a long time. "Okay yeah! It's all on my computer. Let's check it out." The two went off to do their nerd stuff, but the others aren't sure what to do now. "And what are the rest of us supposed to do until then?" Rainbow asks. "Oh, uh, you all can wait in the store if you want. There are beverages in the minifridge behind the counter and all the outdated music you could want. Heh." Well, nothing better for them to do right now. Might as well hang back in the store. Sunset is the last to exit the room. Leaving Twilight in there? No, no. She can take care of herself. She trusts Twilight. "Alright! Let's get this thing going and hope it doesn't blow up this time!" It's him she's not so sure about. It's been fifteen minutes. The girls reunite with Spike, who they accidentally left behind, and just hang out until Twilight and Rain finish in the back. Rainbow, Pinkie, and Spike look through all the old CDs. Rarity uses this time to brush Fluttershy's hair. Applejack takes up Rain's offer and checks out the beverages in his fridge. All of which are a different brand of soda. Is this really all he drinks? Oh well. She takes out one of the orange sodas but then notices the concerned look on Sunset's face. So, she grabs another one for her and walks over to the former unicorn. "Yah doin' alright sugar cube? Yah seem awfully concerned." "No, I'm fine Applejack." She accepts the soda offered to her an takes a quick sip. "I just didn't think I'd end up just sitting around waiting." She could have stayed and helped. She knows some things on this world's science and technology. And she probably knows more on magic than anyone else around. Having firsthand experience back at Equestria and all. But she doesn't want Twilight to think that she thinks she needs to keep an eye on her at all times. Still though. "Maybe I should see how things are going in there." "Nah, don'tcha worry 'bout it none. Twilight's the smartest gal we know. She can handle it. And Rain seems to know a thing or two as well. They'll be just fine." With ultimate bad timing, loud booming sound can be heard from the back room. Sunset glares at the cowgirl who laughs nervously in response. "Well uh, hopefully it won't be too much longer now." Four Hours Later After so much time, Twilight and Rain step out of the back room and everyone else gasp at their appearance. Their hair is a mess, their bodies are covered in soot and scuff marks. They're a total mess. Though, Twilight seems a bit messier than the other one. Her clothes are even a little torn. She so glad she didn't wear the new clothes Rarity had recently made for her today. Spike is first to speak. "Twilight? What happened in there? Are you okay?!" Rarity passes Twilight a cloth to use to wipe herself off. Which she graciously accepts. "I'm fine Spike. Don't worry." "And did you two, you know?" Rainbow asks, clearly wondering about her magic. Twilight decides that action speaks louder than words. She grabs her newly recharged geode and taps into the magic inside it. She holds her hand out and lifts Spike into the air via telekinesis. Floating the pup right into her arms. They had done it. She has her magic back! The other girls all cheer at their accomplishment. "Awesome!" "Y'all actually pulled it off!" "Wonderful!" "Yippee!" "Yeah." "Huh, good job you two." Sunset says placing her hand on Twillight's shoulder. Guess there was nothing to worry about after all. "Will you be able to restore our magic next?" Rain answers for her. "Absolutely! You'll all have your magic back before you know it." He looks to Rainbow Dash who clearly seems the most excited. "Rainbow since you're clearly the most eager, you can go first." "Aw yeah!" The athlete dashes into the back with Rain right behind her. "And, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you some questions." Rain says to Rainbow. "Questions?" "Yeah. Just a few." The other wait in the store, with Sunset wondering why Twilight stayed behind. "You're not going with them?" "Rain knows how to work it." Twilight answers. "He's the one who operated it to recharge my magic after all." She passes Rarity back her, completely filthy, cloth. To which the fashionista begrudgingly picks up with the very tip of her index finger and thumb. "Plus, the chamber kinda has me feeling a little woozy. A minor side effect, I'm sure." Or it's a combination of lack of sleep and being exposed to too many fumes. And explosions. "I just need to sit for a bit." A little rest and a snuggle or two with Spike, she'll be back to a hundred percent in no time. Rainbow Dash is waiting in the Chamber while Rain sets everything up. He types away at his computer and one of his wisps of magic is sucked through a tube and drained into the Chamber. He's also been bombarding her with a bunch of questions. Though, she can barely even get a word out to answer him. "So, when you're running does the area around you look like it's rushing past you, or does it seem like all time slows down to you?!" "Well, it depends..." "Have you ever ran faster than the speed of sound?!" "Well, this one time..." "Have you ever tried vibrating your molecules so fast you can phase right through solid objects?!" "Pretty sure that's not..." "Also, just out of curiosity, how hard was it to dye your hair all those colors?" "Excuse You!!" Before anything else is said, Rain activates the Chamber and magical energies begin to flow through Rainbows body, and right into her geode. Next is Rarity. And it pretty much goes the same as with Rainbow Dash. Magic recharge, and a whole bunch of questions. "So can you just make shields with your magic, or can you make other things?!" "Well, I..." "How many can you make at a time?!" "I not entir..." "How much force does it take to break your shields?!" "Um, I..." "Also, I forgot to ask the others, does this hurt any?" "Wait, what?" As he activates the machine, there's a tingle, but no real harm. Next is Applejack. "What's it like being the strongest person in the world?!" "Well, it..." Do you know how much weight you can lift?!" "Well, Ah..." "Does your super strength also give you enhanced endurance?!" "Ah think..." "Do you ever feel like you have the most basic magic out of the seven of you?" "Now why would Ah..." Her sentence goes unfinished as the machine activates. Then it's Pinkie's turn. The one he has the most questions for. And they come fast. "Does your magic only work on food. Follow up question, does it only work on sugary food? Does it only work when the food is thrown? Do you have to your hands to activate your magic, or can it be any part of your body? Can you control whether food you throw explodes or not. Either way, you probably shouldn't try tossing food in the air and catching it in your mouth. Have you ever tried to see if the dust cloud caused by the explosion tastes good? And How'd You Do That Thing With The Cupcakes And Your Hair?!!" He's still on that? Pinkie then replies. "Yes, no, yes, yes, kinda, good tip, yes; it does not, and can't everyone do that?" "Huh? Okay then." No further questions. Next is Fluttershy, but it goes a little differently. "So um, I just step inside this thing?" Fluttershy asks. Rain keeps his head down low and his eyes on his computer screen. Refusing to make any eye contact whatsoever. The only confirmation he gives her is a very quiet "mm-hmm" that she's actually able to hear. "Oh, okay." She steps into the Chamber an awaits its activation. "There's nothing else I need to do?" To get this over with, Rain activates the machine and Fluttershy's magic is restored. Back in the store, the others discuss their expense with Rain while they wait for Fluttershy to come back out. While also enjoying having their magic back. "The fella sure can keep his mouth movin', huh?" Applejack says. "I wouldn't mind as much if he ever gave me the chance to answer." Rarity says. "Well, he's just a bit excited." Twilight says, putting mildly. "Didn't bother me." Pinkie cheerfully states. Rainbow rolls her eyes in response. "I bet it didn't." Fluttershy steps out from the back, looking somewhat unsure. "Um, it's your turn Sunset." The red head walks into the back while Fluttershy sits back with the rest of her friends. Rainbow wraps her arm around her shoulders. "Hey, Fluttershy, what did you think of Rain?" Fluttershy gives her answer. "Well, he sure can be quite sometimes." Huh? Sunset steps into the chamber. "So, I take it you got a bunch of questions for me about how my magic works." Rain response surprises her. "Maybe later." He activates the Chamber and restores her magic. She steps out and, even without using her magic, she can tell that Rain has something else on his mind. "I want to ask something else. He seems serious. "Okay, what is it?" "Well, it's just that... Your magic is supposably powered by friendship." "Yeah. And?" 'Well, that's not exactly my strong suit." Yeah, she got that. "Where are you going with this?" "I was kinda hoping..." Just spit it out. "Can you teach me about friendship?!" ... ... ...! "What?!" Oh great. she's freaking out again. "I mean... I... what?!" "I've tried making friends. But believe it or not, the things I read in my book weren't very helpful." "You seem to be plenty friendly enough." She raises her hands for defense and backs away a bit. "Sunset please. I want to learn all I can about this and the magic that comes with it. I really don't want to mess it up. Pleeeaasse." Nope, not doing this. "I don't think I can just, teach you friendship. Nor do I think I should." "But you have six incredible friends." "Then why don't you ask one of them?" "I've seen you girls together. I can tell that you're the heart of the group. I just think you're the best person I can go to. I wanted to get to know you first so maybe you could help me from there." He's really serious. "So, what do say? Teacher." Teacher?! Is this really happening? This guy must rally have no idea who he's asking. How does she even respond the this. "I say... That it's getting late, and we should be getting home. We'll talk about this some other time." "Oh. Uh, okay then." Rain backs away, realizing his goof up, as he watches Sunset leave the room. "*Sigh* I did that thing where I act like a total weirdo." He mumbles to himself. He steps out of the room himself as he watches Applejack opens the door for everyone. They're on their way home. Before Twilight leaves, she turns to Rain and says, "Hey thanks for the help, Rain. We really appreciate it." Rain nods in response before she exits the building. Last to exit is Sunset, but Rain calls out to her before she leaves. "Hey Sunset! Um, it's probably best for you and your friends to come back tomorrow so I can run some tests. Just in case there are any unwanted side effects. "Oh, sure." Sunset says. "Hey Sunset." The girl in question turns back towards Rain. "Are... are we friends?" What can she say to that? He really wants to be her friend, but she just met him, and she doesn't quite understand him. "Um, well I..." "Sunset, you coming?!" Rainbow calls from a distance. Saved by the bellow. "Gotta go. See you tomorrow, I guess." With that, they're all gone. Leaving Rain alone in his store. "*Sigh* Yeah. That seems about right." Nothing left to do but close the door and see what tomorrow brings. He reaches for the doorknob, but notices something wrong with it. The doorknob has been crushed! Almost torn of the door. He pulls the door close and is only able to keep it closed via the deadbolt lock. The knob wasn't broken before. Wait, Applejack was the one who opened the door. Did she... no, no, that's ridiculous. This place is old and falling apart. There's no way it's because of Applejack's magic. ... Is there?