//------------------------------// // After And Then There Were 10...Er...67 // Story: And Then There Were 10...Er...67 // by Grey Ghost //------------------------------// Jason sighed as he relaxed, lounging around lazily on Rarity’s throne. About a week had passed since Tirek’s rampage and things had settled down quite nicely. The biggest changes where Megan, who was now around Jason’s age and seemed to have stabilized there, and Twilight’s new tree castle, which was just awesome. “You know, I’m trying to polish the throne, Jason,” Rarity said, giving him an annoyed look as she looked up from her work. “I can see that,” he said as he placed his legs over the side, letting out a fake yawn. “Now you're just being spiteful.” Rarity glared at him, a pout forming on her face. Before they could continue, a stallion wearing a blue uniform trotted in, pulling a cart of books behind him. “Excuse me princess,” he started, giving her a smile, “Where do you want all these books from Princess Celestia?” Twilight didn’t look up from her papers. “The library,” she gestured with her hoof. “Third door on the left.” “Even this one that's glowing and vibrating?” That made Twilight look up, to see that indeed, at the very top, was a vibrating book, flashing purple every so often. She levitated it down, flipping it open. “What is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as the rest of the girls trotted over. Jason sat up on the throne but was otherwise too lazy to investigate. “It looks like a message to Princess Celestia from my friends at Canterlot High!” Twilight exclaimed, a look of shock on her face. “How is that even possible?” Rarity questioned, giving her wings a light buzz. “I have no idea but...” Twilight’s eyes widened, “It looks like they need my help.” Twilight closed the book before gesturing for them to follow her. Jason sighed as he got up, joining in. After a few minutes, Twilight pulled a book off the shelf. “The way Sunset Shimmer described them, I think these new girls sound an awful lot like... the sirens.” Jason groaned, running a hand down his face. “What?” Rarity asked, raising her eyebrow at her husband’s behavior. “I’m just trying to figure out why things from Greek mythology keep appearing in a universe based off Norse myth.” He shook his head, looking at Twilight. “But you continue, I’ll save any more comments for the end.” “Er... thank you,” Twilight said before clearing her throat and beginning the tale. The Sirens had used their voices to cause chaos, feeding on the negative emotions to become stronger. Then, Star Swirl showed up and kicked them into another world. At least, that's what Jason got of of the story. “But Star Swirl must’a sent ‘em there ages ago. How come they’re just surfacin’ now?” Applejack asked once Twilight was done with her tale, frowning a little. “I don't know. But if my hunch is right and it is the sirens who have come to Canterlot High, this spell they've cast is just the beginning. My friends need me. I have to get back to them.” Twilight proclaimed, walking toward a very odd looking mirror. “I hate to burst your bubble, Twilight, but the connection between their world and Equestria will still be totally cut off for a super long time.” Rainbow Dash reminded, hovering in the air. She went to land, only to frown, looking at her talons, deciding not to scratch up the floor. “Okay, first of all, if there was bubble-blowing going on, why wasn't I told about it?!” Pinkie demanded, zipping in between the two, “And secondly, if the connection is totally cut off, how was Sunset Shimmer able to get a message to Twilight?” Twilight gasped, a smile appearing on her face. “Pinkie! You’re a genius!” she shouted before dashing away. Pinkie smirked. “Yeah, I get that a lot,” she said before pulling Dash down so they were muzzle to muzzle, “Now about those bubbles...” she started, giving Dash an intense look before she turned to watch Twilight walk by, the alicorn carrying several strange objects in her magic. “Let me help,” Jason said, shifting into Grey Matter, leaping onto Twilight’s back. The collected ponies, and dragon, watched as the two bickered and argued over what went where until they had constructed a strange machine around the mirror. “...And the interval between the two points is defined as the square root of the sum of the squares of the separation between the points along three spatial dimensions.” Twilight proclaimed to their audience, smiling at them. “Yeah, I don’t think they get it,” Jason said, tapping the Omnitrix and returning to normal. He rubbed his neck, looking back at the mirror, “Think it works?” “Thats what we’re going to test.” Twilight lit her horn up, grabbing the book up in her magic and placed it on the machine. Immediately, magic rose up out of the book and into the machine. They let out a collective ‘aww’ as it roared to life and soon the mirror's glass was replaced with a swirling purple vortex. “Don't suppose we could join you this time around?” Applejack asked, with her and the other girls giving a hopeful smile. Twilight gave them a smile but shook her head, “Better not. It could make things pretty confusing if Canterlot High all of a sudden had two of all of you.” They exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. “But I still get to go, right?” Spike asked, waddling up to Twilight, “There isn't another one of me at Canterlot High. And you never know if you might need your trusty assistant.” Twilight gave him a smile and nod. “Yes!” he smiled, fist pumping. “Well, sounds like fun, count me in,” Jason said, looking at the portal. “I don’t have anything planned.” “I dunno Jason,” Twilight said with a frown, “Are you sure?” “Oh, just let him go, Twilight,” Rarity said, primping her mane. “If anything, it’ll let me get my cleaning done.” She fixed Jason with a glare, which he returned with a smirk. “Well that settles that, then. Shall we?” Jason asked, moving up to the portal, looking over his shoulder to see Twilight and the girls sharing a hug. He couldn't help but smile, shaking his head, “Typical ponies.” After a moment, Twilight separated from the girls and she and Spike raced through the portal. “Well that’s my cue, tell Chrissy what I’m up to Rares.” Jason instructed before moving through the portal himself.