Later that afternoon, Melody Aurora was in the library, with Chaos Control and Beryl. Melody was surprised by the vast space of the library.
“S-so many books…” Melody gasped. “As big as my castle library…”
“The number of books always increase annually,” explained Beryl. “We are open to book donations.”
“This place ain’t just for reading and studying here,” added Chaos. “This place is simply anything you can do there, even using the computer!”
“What’s a… computer?”
“Here, let me show you,” he brought her to a table in the shape of a ring, where all computers are lined up.
“Now these are computers. Sit down on one and I’ll teach you how to use.” He introduced her each part of the computer.
“Now… how do I… use it?” She asked, staring at the screen.
“All you have to do is to move the mouse with your hand, and when you’ve found what you want to open, click this, twice.”
Melody clicked on the internet browser icon, then clicked it again. But nothing happened. She tried again, but still nothing happened.
“Oh, Melody,” chuckled Chaos, facepalming. “You have to do it very fast, not like that.”
“Like this?” She clicked quickly, and just then, the internet browser popped up onto the screen. “What do I do next?”
“Now then, enter the address you want. For example…” He entered the link of a search engine and it came out. “In this box type the thing you want to search.”
Melody stared at it hard. Then, clenching her hands into fists, she began to tap on the keyboard.
“No, that’s not how you type!” cried Chaos. “You don’t bang like that to type.”
“I… I just don’t know how to use this… seriously…”
Chaos looked almost fed up. “Alright then, tell me what do you want to search.”
“Umm, magic?”
Using the keyboard, Chaos typed “magic” and struck a key. On the screen, various links came out.
“And now, click any one link you want to see about it.”
Melody clicked the first link and instantly, the webpage came out. It gave a full detail on what she wanted to find.
“Omigosh… this is majestic…!” As she turned her head she noticed yet another machine, but it looked like an open book. “What’s that thing?”
“Oh, it’s a laptop, a portable computer.” He went over and closed it. “Does it look like a book to you?”
“Uh… kinda. How do I type again?”
“Here, let me teach you…” He was about to teach her on the keyboard when then…
“Chaos! Don’t teach her now!” Beryl called. “I saw Phoenix Dawn approaching!”
Without a word, Chaos found a nearby book and quickly shoved it into Melody’s hands, who was panicked upon hearing Phoenix’s name. He ushered Melody onto a nearby table, then pretended that everything was normal.
But fortunately for them, Phoenix was looking at her handphone, and passed by the corridor without turning to look at them.
“Phew!” sighed Chaos with relief. “I can’t expect what would happen if she turned and saw me teach you!”
“You… suddenly gave me a fright!” stammered Melody.
“It’s okay. She’s gone for now,” reported Beryl. “If she comes back again I’ll alert you.”
“Fine,” said Melody. “Where were we?”
“Well…” replied Chaos as he continued on teaching her on the computer.
For the next hour, Chaos spent all the time teaching Melody on using her computer. Soon, she became tired out.
“Oh, my eyes…” she groaned, sprawling on the table.
“Better don’t use it for too long. You’ll lose your eyesight and will tire easily,” advised Chaos. “That’s what’s happening to you now.”
“But you don’t get tired…”
“Get enough rest, like I always do,” he continued. “I can help you if you want to use it again. I know everything about IT.”
“IT? What’s that?”
“That stands for ‘information technology’,” explained Beryl. “Chaos’ a techie. He likes fiddling with computers and everything.”
“Is that so?”
Before Beryl could answer, Sunset Shimmer appeared before them.
“I guess you don’t have anywhere to stay, Melody?” she asked.
“Err, I think nope. Guess, I’ll stay here,” Melody replied.
“Oh, Melody,” chuckled Sunset. “You don’t want to be like your mother, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Your mother slept here when she first arrived in this world. Right now you will be staying at my home!”
Melody was thrilled, but then became worried. “But does Phoenix Dawn approves?”
“From her face, I can tell that she’s not happy already. But whatever the matter, don’t bother her too much.”
Melody nodded. “Alright, then.”
Melody headed to the entrance to find a gloomy-faced Phoenix Dawn.
“Err, you-”
“Don’t talk to me right now.”
“Oh… alright.”
“See you tomorrow, Melody!” bade Chaos. “We’re happy to be friends with you.”
“We’re always here whenever you need help!” added Beryl.
“Okay then!” Phoenix at the other hand didn’t look quite happy at all, seeing a newcomer getting instant recognition.
Both of them followed Sunset to the parking lot. When they reached her car, Sunset opened the boot to place her belongings, while Melody approached the front right, but was barred by Phoenix.
“That’s my seat,” she ordered. “Keep out.”
“But I haven’t even-”
“You better don’t defy me,” she advanced, grabbing her collar, and sniggered. “Do you want any drama?”
“Phoenix!” Sunset bellowed as she closed the boot. “Let her sit! She needs to learn!”
“Ugh, fine!” She grumbled and entered the rear seats.
Melody gracefully entered, with Sunset entering the driver’s seat.
“Now then,” began Sunset. “I’m sure you’ve never seen anyone drive a car, eh?”
“Actually, I did. Rainbow Dash showed me just now.”
“Oh, so you’ve met all of my friends here?”
“Yeah, and their kids, too.”
Sunset smiled. “Very good, then. That’s a good start for you in this world.” She finished as she began to drive out of the school compound.
It was a half an hour’s drive from Canterlot High School to Sunset Shimmer’s home. On their way she ordered lasagna for all of them.
“Alright, we’re home.”
Melody looked at Sunset’s house. It was quite far more modern than those houses in Equestria.
She got down and stared at it in awe.
“Surprised, huh? There’s more to explore in there!” She led her and Phoenix to the front door and unlocked it. Once she stepped inside, she was amazed by the interior.
“Cool…” gasped Melody as she went to examine the decorations and furniture.
“Aren’t you worried she spoils anything?” asked a still grumbling Phoenix Dawn.
“She won’t, Phoenix,” Sunset replied. “She knows the rules, since she’s the daughter of a princess.”
“Princess? But she’s so normal…”
“She won’t look normal if you know her more enough. Don’t judge a book by its cover! Maybe I should’ve brought you to her world to know her better…”
Phoenix just entered without a word, livid at her mother’s response.
Soon, it was time for dinner.
“Alright, that’s yours, and that’s yours.” Sunset divided the lasagna equally among them. “Now, it’s chow time!”
Melody stared at the lasagna. It looked good enough for her to eat.
“What’s wrong? Don’t know how to use a fork and a knife again?” teased Phoenix.
“Err, I’m just fascinated, by this food…”
“Oh yeah? Then why don’t you… EAT IT YOUR WAY!??” Without warning, she pushed Melody’s head into the lasagna.
“Stop it!” Sunset banged the dining table with fury. “Don’t worry, Melody. I’ll be cleaning your face.”
Sunset got a tissue and wiped her face clean.
“Did any one of your friends teach you how to eat?”
“Uh, yes…”
“Then show me how you’ll do it.”
Slowly, Melody picked up her utensils, and cut through the lasagna and tasted it. It tasted good for her.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s… nice. Almost like something I’ve eaten before in Canterlot…”
“Okay then. Enjoy your meal slowly. Take your time.”
Phoenix glared unwittingly at her stranger.
Melody was the last one to finish her dinner. She still had to adapt her human state, handling the fork and the knife.
“Well, hope you enjoyed it,” said Sunset as she collected Melody’s plate.
“I do, actually.”
Melody went upstairs to venture further. There she found several rooms, one of the doors closed. She gently opened the room only to find…
… Phoenix Dawn in front of her computer instead of studying. She was listening to music.
“Aren’t you supposed to be studying?” asked Melody. “If I were you I would be on my books already.”
“Who cares?” she replied. “I’m enjoying my life, after all!”
Melody didn’t answer and looked around her room. Then, at the bookshelf, she spotted some papers slipped among the books. “I wonder what are these…”
“No, wait, DON’T TOUCH THEM!”
Too late.
Melody took out the papers to reveal… Phoenix’s failed grades.
“Oh, dear, how could you fail them?”
“NO, DON’T TOUCH THEM!” She snatched the papers away from her. “AREN’T YOU GONNA LET MY MOTHER KNOW ABOUT THAT!!?”
“But… you really should learn harder instead of just being lazy…”
At last, Phoenix lost her patience. “Listen, let me tell you honestly. You are a nuisance, you are a burden to me and you don’t deserve to live in this world! Get lost out of my room and never, ever come in!”
With that, she chased Melody out of the room and locked it.
Melody stood outside, shocked and depressed. Phoenix’s uncontrollable behavior was quite unacceptable to her. She slowly went downstairs to the living room.
There, Sunset was sorting out her documents at the dining table.
“So you’ve been chased out, huh?” she asked upon noticing her.
“How did you know?” Melody responded, taking a seat opposite Sunset.
“Well, I heard everything. *sigh* I really don’t know how to handle her. I’ve scolded her thousands of times and yet, she still doesn’t want to change… Well anyway, if you want to sleep in the living room, go ahead. I can prepare you a blanket and a pillow.”
“Um… just to ask you, but no offence.”
“What is?”
“Does Phoenix really perform badly in her grades?”
Sunset sighed. “What’s worse is that she’s pretty smart at hiding them away from me. All the while I’m pretty upset when it’s time to collect her report cards. I’ve done whatever I could to her, but she’s just too stubborn.”
“Then what about her father?”
“Her father? Huh, irresponsible idiot.” Her face turned into a look of disgust. “He had been hiding this secret from me since our wedding day. One month after I gave birth to Phoenix, I found out that he was secretly having an affair with another girl. We had an argument and at the last resort, I filed for a divorce. Ever since then, I held the responsibility of taking care of Phoenix. I pampered her. I gave her everything she wanted. She just became too arrogant and proud, thinking she’s a hell of a great.” She paused for a moment. “By the way, I forgot to ask you about your father.”
“Well, my father died on the day I was born. He was protecting my mother and brother from an enemy…”
“Is his name Flash Sentry?”
“How did you know about that?”
“Your mother told me about her love story. In fact there’s also another Flash Sentry in this world, but sadly, he committed suicide… due to depression…”
“Really?”
“I have kept several newspaper cuttings in my room.” With that, Sunset went upstairs, then returned with a file. “Read these if you’re free. They’re all news about his death.”
“How horrible…” she responded as she took out a cutting from the file and read the headline.
“People are saying that he’s depressed because his friends left him. But I don’t believe so. Deep in my heart I knew there was a mastermind behind this.”
“Who’s that?”
“It’s Madam Myra, they say. She’s a dangerous villain aiming to take control of this whole world.”
“By how? Has anyone seen her?”
“No one really knows her true face. She’s always in disguise whenever she commits a crime. She’s got a lot of henchmen helping her. And rumor has it that she’s inventing on a new virus capable of wiping out this entire mankind!”
“She wants to take over this world, too? That’s evil!”
“So far, there are news of people disappearing mysteriously and children being kidnapped. All of these cases have never been solved, and nobody knows what happened to them. Some say they have been trafficked to somewhere else, but in my mind, I know that Myra might be behind this…”
“How are you so sure that it’s her?”
“I’ve told you that she’s inventing a new virus, right? I believe she had her men kidnap these innocent people because she wanted them to be her test subjects. But so far, nobody has been able to prove this evidence.”
“Has anyone believed what you thought?”
“Only my close friends. We all agreed not to tell this fact to our children. We didn’t want them to be their target. Needless to say, this whole city’s under threat from her. One person may disappear from this city or even this neighborhood at any time!”
“Which reminds me, I have another Myra back in my world, and she’s crazy in taking over all of Equestria, and I was her main target. Fortunately for my mom, my future self came to warn us. Now she’s defeated for good.”
“I knew a bit about your Myra from your mother. Yes, she’s indeed mad. Anyhow, come over here.”
Melody went to Sunset Shimmer’s side, and Sunset cuddled her.
“I need to tell Phoenix Dawn, that she’s luckier than you. Both you and your brother had to leave Ponyville to learn under Princess Celestia, and study hard. You indeed had suffered more than she does, but you still lived up in the name of a princess…”
“I hope she’ll indeed change,” Melody agreed. “It takes a great incident to change somebody, but I’m not sure when…”
Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the city, was a huge, mysterious building. In one of the rooms of the building sat a woman in her office.
“Madam Myra?” a man called at the door.
“What is it?”
“I need to tell you that our 95th subject has been infected by your trial virus by about 75 percent. That’s not fast enough to kill him, so we are trying to research it further to make it become a lethal weapon, madam.”
“Very good,” she praised. “Now get back to work.” As he left, she faced her back to the door. “By the time this virus is complete, this pathetic world will never stand a chance to my ultimate weapon. By that time, millions will be requesting me for the antidote, and they’ll never know how I’ll make it! Mwa-ha-ha-ha…”