//------------------------------// // It Begins // Story: The Will of Magic // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// Situated in the middle of a vast nest of red brick buildings, sat a clock tower dutifully ticking away. The greenskeepers went about their daily rounds keeping the college clean and helping it exude an atmosphere of learning. It was almost peaceful in its own way, at least until the bell struck three. Dong, dong, dong, the clock tower rang almost lazily. Nary a second after the second chime students of Crystal Heights University flooded away from the buildings like a living tidal wave. The air was full of cheering, flying papers, and more than one text book. For today was the last day of school before summer break. Such jubilation was a hard thing to achieve for some, however. Trudging out of a squat red bricked building, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle dragged their heels as they fled to the sunny afternoon. Nearly half of the students behind them were in even worse shape, giving some passers-by a surreal reenactment of a zombie apocalypse. “Can you feel your head?” Sunset droned as theoretical physics swam around in her cotton-filled brain. “Unfortunately,” Twilight groaned out in response as she tried to relieve her pulsing headache. She smiled in spite of the pain. “I’m just glad Miss Rubric gave me a test that actually challenged me for extra credit.” Not that I needed the points, she silently added with a touch of pride. “But you didn’t have to take it with me.” In everyone’s rush to start summer break, the benches around the nearby fountain were thankfully empty. Sunset made a slight detour and flopped unceremoniously on the bench and gave off a long tired sigh. “There was no way I was going to let you do it alone, even if you did ask for it.” Twilight draped herself on the bench as well, although her fatigue was buffeted by the glow of a test well taken. Yet half of that light feeling was from Sunset’s companionship. “Thanks, Sunny.” Only nodding in reply, Sunset stared up at the few wispy clouds above. The last few months saw that both she and Twilight had mirrored classes, save for electives. I had to take that test with you, Twilight. You need a friend who you can see as an intellectual equal, or at least on par. Saving the thought for now, Sunset rolled her head over to give a weak smile. “Miss Rubric is criminally brutal with her tests, with or without your ‘insane’ mode difficulty added to it.” “You two look like crap,” came a raspy voice directly in front of the bench. As if turning her head once was difficult enough, she had to do it twice in a row now. Nevertheless, Sunset summoned just enough strength to turn her head to see Rainbow Dash smirking at them with a soccer ball cradled beneath her arm. “Your instructor come through with the test from hell?” “UUUggghhhh.” Twilight giggled quietly and adjusted her fallen glasses. “That she did.” Twilight’s better physical condition, albeit only slight, kept her from toppling over when Rainbow shoved her way into the middle of the bench. “I’ll be the first to admit I love a scholastic challenge, but my brain feels like putty after that.” “I swear, once you got that idea in her head for a super test, she must have had an evil cackle in her office as she wrote it up,” Sunset droned as she leaned back to stare at the sky again. “Well I bet you disappointed her by passing, right?” Rainbow snickered while clapping Sunset on the shoulder. Sunset flinched at the impact, but managed to smirk at the blue athlete. “Damn straight we did, right Twilight?” “Mm hmm,” Twilight nodded eagerly with a thumbs up. “Glad to hear it!” Rainbow tossed the soccer ball up so she could bounced it on her toes. “We can officially call the summer break a go since I know I passed my stuff.” Twilight yawned sleepily. Good feelings or not, the test still took a lot out of her. “Have you seen Fluttershy around? She should have gotten out before any of us.” “Not yet. Lemme check, I had my phone off during the exam.” With Sunset out of action, Rainbow caught the bouncing ball with a foot before jumping to her feet. She rustled around her cluttered backpack to grab her phone, buried somewhere in its recesses. As it turned out, all three of them received a text at once. Sunset bit the bullet and heaved herself up to a sitting posture so she could check her phone along with the others. Twilight found her phone first and read the message that was mirrored for all of them. “Looks like Dr. Blue Cross called her into the vet office because the lions are at it again, but she says she’ll be back in time for band practice.” “Translation,” Rainbow replied snarkily with a kissy face, “Flutters is Frenching Big Mac in the janitor’s closet.” Twilight and Sunset fumed at Rainbow for reminding them they were both single, though they were more bothered by the rumors other girls on campus had spread around about them, rather than the fact they had no squeezes of their own. Crystal Heights can be such a pain sometimes, Sunset grumbled, her mood sunk further by the lack of mental energy after the harsh exam. But finals are over now, and I can finally put the time into having a relationship… Or maybe visit Celestia again. A relationship would be the next logical step in learning different levels of companionship, Twilight brooded with a sullen frown. But I still haven’t had a chance to read up on how to ask a boy out… and I think I should avoid asking RD for help on this one. She’d end up pairing me with a meathead. Even through the hustle and bustle of students itching to scatter to the four winds, one of them peeled off from the pack to rope his arm around Rainbow Dash’s waist. “What’s up, pony girls, you guys still doing the concert tonight?” Rainbow Dash giggled at the nickname and turned around to give Soarin brief hug. As soon as he tried to reciprocate, she locked him in a headlock. “You know, it! The Rainbooms are top dogs around here!” Sunset moaned a half-hearted ‘oorah’ while Twilight feebly pumped a fist along with Rainbow. Soarin looked at his girlfriend unconvinced. “They’re fine,” she stated with a shrug, releasing the football running back. “They just need to remember to pony-up to get their strength back.” Twilight blinked at the suggestion and frowned a little. “I’ll try, at least.” For her part, Sunset Shimmer was still staring off into space uncomprehendingly for a few seconds until it finally clicked. “...Too tired for that.” Ever since her brief stint as Midnight Sparkle, Twilight had the gift of magic, but even to this day summoning it was still next to impossible. She furrowed her brow and clenched down to focus while balling her hands into fists. Twin motes of light appeared on her head where her pony ears would be. After half a minute, she felt like she was going to pop a blood vessel and released the breath she was holding while wilting in her seat. She felt the top of her head, but no pony ears were forthcoming. “Guess I still need to work on that.” Rainbow scowled, but ultimately gave a knowing nod. “Then we need plan B: Pinkie’s cupcakes. A few of those and they’ll be ready to rock.” Soarin gave the two girls on the bench a worried look. “Need some help getting them there? They look kinda dead.” Sunset didn’t bother trying to rise, while Twilight’s summoning attempt left her a little breathless. “Nah, they’re just being lazy.” Rainbow Dash tugged Sunset up to her feet, to which she only gave feeble protests, followed by Twilight Sparkle a few moments later. Lastly, Rainbow Dash took all three of their book laden backpacks with ease. “See you at the concert right, Soarin?” “Wouldn’t miss it, Dashie.” He waved at them before running off. Sunset shook her head to clear some of the fatigue away before digging around in her purse for her car keys. “Here, RD, since you’re still alive.” Rainbow snatched the keys with a nod and started gently pushing both of her mentally exhausted friends to the parking lot. “Come on, girls, we need time to practice before the big show!” As it turned out, Pinkie Pie’s emergency cupcakes were exactly what Sunset and Twilight needed. Sugar Cube Corner was barely a mile away from the university, so it was packed to the absolute brim with students. Thankfully though, Sunset Shimmer and the others were allowed to eat up in Pinkie Pie’s loft apartment. Pinkie had a small circular table for times like this with all four of them sitting around it. The expert pastry chef had a stash of fourteen cupcakes saved for exam recovery. Even though the rush hour was in far and above full swing, the Cakes allowed Pinkie a five minute break with her friends. Sunset Shimmer licked the icing from her lips after polishing off her second one. “Thanks again Pinkie, it’s good to feel alive again.” Pinkie waved dismissively as Twilight and Rainbow gave thanks as well. “Pff, no problem, girls, it’s not every day you get to escape school for a few months.” She held one of the cupcakes up. “They’ve got my own perfectly designed sugar - longer energy and a weaker crash afterwards. They’ll keep you going long enough for us to pony-up on stage.” Twilight choked down her current bite with some water to speak before anyone did. “You know, that whole ‘pony up’ thing,” she said while waving her hands around, “is still… elusive for me. You girls can summon it at will, but I can’t get it to work for the life of me,” she added with a defeated hand wave. Sunset Shimmer shuddered at all of her past attempts at figuring out magic in this world. “Trust me, Twilight, unless we had horns, and could study magic with magic, we’ll never be able to figure out why our magic comes easily and yours doesn’t.” She took another bite to think. “Between the us and the feds, we’ll figure it eventually.” “Trial and error isn’t my favorite method…” Twilight grumbled silently. Pinkie Pie jabbed a thumb at Sunset while addressing Twilight. “But that’s better than that one time Sunny almost flooded the science lab with apples trying to find a way to get Applejack to solve world hunger.” “Sadly, the fruit only lasted a few minutes after AJ powered down,” Sunset added wistfully. “It all evaporated into fleeting magic.” “Well magic works just fine for me,” Rainbow Dash commented with a smirk. Focusing inwardly, she thought about protecting her friends, standing by them in all the hard times of the past, and being there to help Sunset and Twilight find a better path in life. Barely a second later, small flashes of light heralded her pony ears, wings and hair extension appearing. As with every time before it, magic surged through her body, filling her with so much energy that she could run a marathon. Flashing a smirk, she leaned against the table and jabbed a thumb at herself. “I can ‘pony up’ whenever I want during the games, and the refs can’t even say I’m cheating because the magic’s part of who I am, instead of some drug.” “It’s still cheating ya know,” said a new voice from the door. Applejack shook her head in annoyance before giving the other girls a friendly nod. “It’s sumthin’ all the other athletes can’t get, and you can bet no professional team’ll put up with that.” “Hey, AJ!” Pinkie cheered, obvious to the newcomer’s irritation. “Got you a perfect apple tart jamboree waiting for you!” Casting her mild indignation aside, Applejack nodded and walked over to take the pastry. “Much obliged, Pinkie.” “It’s no different than any other competitive edge,” Rainbow defended while leaning back in her chair. “So are steroids,” Applejack countered dryly. “Well there’s no law against magic… yet.” With a whim, Rainbow let go of the magic, causing her pony features to vanish the same way they came. “Besides, the magic lets me compete in the boy’s team as long as I don’t fly around, and that’s a win no matter how you see it.” While she wasn’t allowed in the locker room with the men, Rainbow Dash recalled hunky memories of times she snuck in for a show. “Still cheat’n,” Applejack grumbled stubbornly while forcing herself to remain friendly for the others’ sake. “Yer just lucky the feds threw in the towel about tryin’ to cover-up our magic.” She stuffed her mouth with a cupcake before she had a chance to stick her foot there instead. Everyone’s phone let off a variety of alert tones, prompting them to check. “Oh cool. Rarity’s closing shop for the concert,” Rainbow thought aloud. Twilight climbed to her feet. “We should get going. I have get there in time to make sure all my settings are still in place.” “We could all use one final practice run,” Sunset Shimmer agreed. “Meet you all at the football field?” A round of cheerful acknowledgements rang out as the girls thundered down the stairs to find their respective cars or hitch a ride. Unlike Canterlot High, Crystal Heights University didn’t have a dedicated outdoor stage, due to the city crowding around the campus. In its place a mobile stage was being set up on the football field. With the student’s tuition at work, the mobile stage was of extremely high quality. Enough so to have scaffolding crowning the stage, allowing curtains and lights to be set up. The sun had just set over the horizon, letting the field lights illuminate the area. At present, a thick curtain completely concealed the Rainbooms as both they, and Twilight’s backstage crew, made their final preparations for the Summer Blow Out Extravaganza. While the band was supplying the music, there was a massive throng of students milling about on the field and in the stands. Tables were laden with pizza, soda, and other snacks courtesy of a parent group that only twenty attendees cared enough to know the name of. The air was alive with anticipation as the crowd waited impatiently for the music to start. For now, they resigned to occupy themselves with the party itself (with smuggled beer helping smooth things over). Thankfully for their already rapidly shrinking patience, the stage opened up with smoke pouring out like a welcome mat. The Rainbooms were revealed in all their glory as three lights focused on them with Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash taking center stage. Rainbow Dash struck a mean riff, fully drawing all eyes to the band. There were quite a few familiar faces in the audience, Sorian and the rest of the athletes chief among them in her eyes. Wow, there’s a lot of faculty out there too - sweet! “Who’s ready for suuuummmeerrr!” Cheering filled with hoots and hollers resounded throughout the whole campus. Rainbow Dash looked unimpressed. “I said, are you ready for summer!?” The crowd redoubled its cheers, sending a thrill of excitement through the band. Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow looked back at the rest of the band. Fluttershy grasped her tambourine close to her chest and gave a nod and pensive smile. Rarity, looking as fabulous as ever in a custom outfit held her keytar at the ready. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were itching to get started and stood at the ready. Rainbow looked to Sunset for one final nod before jumping right into the first song. Twilight Sparkle was standing up in her director’s booth at the far back right corner of the catwalks. The strong but thin steel walls rattled from the speakers barely five feet away. In the grand scheme of things, she had to admit she enjoyed her part in the band. The lights, the smoke, the excited energy the crowd, it was like nothing she had ever felt in Crystal Prep. If only I could sing like the pony-me, but I have no talent for it. Twilight sighed wistfully as she dreamed of herself being on stage singing her heart out. Old excuses of stagefright felt hollow as her gaze drifted towards Fluttershy who was happily tapping her tambourine. Of course pony-me also comes from a society that randomly breaks out in song on a weekly basis. Again, her excuses felt half-hearted. From her vantage point, Twilight started the pre-programmed light and smoke movements for the next song, but as always she kept an eye out, in the off chance things went wrong. Below her, Twilight’s friends had all ponied up. They were pouring their skill and magic into the music, and out to the cheering fans beyond. Even from her seat, Twilight could see the top of Rainbow’s head as the guitarist hovered in place, looking for all the world like she belonged in the air. Nothing ever goes wrong when I run the lights. I just sit up here watching them have fun… “I know magic-me never had any problems jumping into the band.” Twilight grumbled at having this same argument with herself again. “That’s it. I’m done practicing in front of Spike. I know all the words, next time, I’m going to-” Twilight’s call-to-action halted when she noticed an errant yellow light among her perfected choreography. “Oh no, no, no!” Fearing she made a mistake, Twilight leapt to the control console before looking out to find the malfunction. Relief and confusion washed over her in equal measure when everything to do with the stage was fine. Following the source, Twilight located a bright yellow light in the distance, standing out like searchlight during a new moon. Slowly climbing out of her seat, Twilight poked her head out of the glass-less windows to get a better look. “What the? That looks like it’s coming from on top of the theater. There weren’t any plans to include a searchlight...”, she thought aloud while fixing her askew glasses. She glanced down at her friends. They were still in the middle of a song, but Pinkie Pie was already looking up at Twilight’s booth with a puzzled half-frown. Twilight shrugged back at her, prompting Pinkie to return her attention to the drums. Maybe it’s just some random fan, or entirely unrelated to us. She was about to retake her seat when the yellow light slammed into the band. The music cut out instantly and was replaced by the amplified screams from her friends. Rainbow Dash remained in the air, but was curling up into a ball. Twilight looked on in horror as the rest of her friends looked as if they were having seizures. The crowd was caught between panic and stupefaction at the sudden attack as the beam’s yellow color encompassed the entire stage. The glow lasted only a few seconds before the magic exploded outward. Twilight shielded her eyes from the blinding yellow light that filled her world. She stumbled backwards and fell over her chair, losing her glasses in the process. She did not even have a chance to find her glasses or check on her friends before a searing hot pit of burning coal burst to life in her chest. The pain in Twilight’s chest spread throughout her entire being like a spider web filling every nook and cranny of her body. She curled up into a fetal position in some vain attempt to resist the pain that was making her tear up and add her scream of agony to the pandemonium surrounding the entire football field. In the shrinking recesses of her mind, the pain and fear pulled up the old memory of when Twilight was transformed into Midnight Sparkle. Only this time, there was no euphoric surge of power, no personality warping, only mind numbing pain so profound she lost the ability to scream. The sheer agony reached a crescendo, setting fire to every nerve in her body before sweet darkness claimed her far too slowly. Muffled incomprehensible sounds slowly assailed Twilight’s ears. She might have stayed on the hard cold floor of her booth were it not for the piercing noise of sirens slicing away at the cotton in her mind. While the wailing sirens cut away at the fog, they also hurt her ears enough to make her open her eyes and fumble for her glasses. “W- what happened?” She tried to pull up her most recent memories, but all she was got was light and pain. Pain. Forgetting the glasses for the moment, Twilight shakily sat up and started patting herself down, trying to detect any injuries. Only a faint dull pain lingered in various patches, centered below her heart, but that too was fading away. She swung her legs around a bit, and found her glasses after her calf grazed them, making the eyewear clatter along the ground. Feeling nothing worse than a renewed headache and mild numbness in her chest, Twilight reclaimed her glasses. It was only then that she started making out hurried voices calling out below. Her first instinct was to check on her friends, but logic dictated otherwise. First rule of an emergency: check yourself for damage first, then help others. With several stage lights still offering illumination this late at night, and with her glasses in place, Twilight could finish checking for injuries. A cursory inspection found no obvious broken bones or hemorrhaging outside of a few shallow cuts and early bruises along her legs and arms from landing wrong on the chair. Okay, legs, arms, torso, head, all feel undamaged. No magic raven wings or… mana mask, or mind altering magic this time, so there’s that. Hopefully the adrenaline isn’t hiding any internal injuries. “She’s conscious!” Twilight heard a voice yell out, from the direction of the ladder that lead up to her catwalks. She looked through the open doorway to see a tall male paramedic illuminated by one of the stage lights. Twilight propped herself up by pushing on the control board and got to her feet by the time the paramedic reached her. “I-I’m fine. Just a little banged up.” He gave her a once over, seeing her blood slowly oozing down her boots and right lower arm. Her face had a long scratch from her right cheek to just below the ear. “Can you walk?” Twilight nodded shakily. “Alright. You’re all banged up, and might have a hairline fracture since you were so close to the epicenter. I’d prefer to take you to the hospital just to be safe, miss…” “Twilight Sparkle,” she offered with a nod. Twilight saw no flaw in his reasoning, yet before giving any further answer she poked her head out of the window to check on her friends, yet didn’t find any of them on stage. She turned back to the medic with fear and trepidation. “W-where are my friends? The girls who were on stage.” “Some of them were pretty banged up. They should already be in the ambulances, or nearly there.” Oh no, if they were knocked unconscious like I was, their magic might not have saved them from getting seriously injured! Mental images of her friends injured enough for hospitalization assailed Twilight in flash, making her nod in agreement to the medic’s suggestion to go to the hospital. After making sure she didn’t have any hidden injuries that might keep her from moving on her own, Twilight followed the paramedic off the stage and catwalk. As they reached the grassy field, Twilight swept her gaze over the throng of students and faculty. Most had no serious injuries, save for falling to the ground. A few, however, who had been on the bleachers were being carted away on stretchers. Watching their mood carefully, it looked like none of them were flashing any angry or dirty looks her way. Whew, I guess no one thinks this is somehow our fault. As she got closer to the street, most of the sirens were muted, save for distant ones heralding more arriving police and ambulances. Those emergency vehicles already present still had their lights flashing. “How long was I out?” she asked the medic as they reached the street through a break in the bleachers. “If you were just waking up when I got to you, the 911 call came in twenty minutes ago.” “I blacked out for that long?!” Her heart jumped in her throat, which wasn’t helped by the medic’s curt nod. When the pair reached the road, Twilight was relieved to see her six friends sitting on a bench. All of them were awake and seemed whole enough to not be on a stretcher. Yet her good cheer was muddied when she noticed two men in semi-casual clothing standing nearby. One was having a ‘heated discussion’ with a paramedic while the other inspected her friends with a handheld device very similar to the one she had used all those years ago to detect magic. The second man’s task was made all that much harder with Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer giving him grief the entire time. All it took was noticing both men’s strong yet lean frames and hard set faces to know who they were. As if confirmation was even needed, Twilight noticed her friends, save Pinkie and Fluttershy, were livid. They also had their pony attributes active as well. Wish I could use mine at will to heal my injuries, Twilight thought with a brief flash of envy before banishing it in a heartbeat. Doesn’t do much for bones, but ponying-up gets rid of flesh wounds easily enough. Twilight waved at her friends and joined them near the bench. Rainbow’s tirad at the man scanning the girls stifled any conversation she might have brought up. “Just where were you, Agent Thompson? I thought your little possie were supposed to keep this sort of crap from happening!” As if he had been through it all before, Thompson affixed her a flat look while sweeping his mana scanner over Rainbow’s face. While he was looking at the pseudo-human/pegasus hovering in front of him (so that she could be eye level with him no doubt), he addressed all the girls at once. “As stipulated in the contract you signed, we keep our presence around you to a minimum. We warned you from the onset that under such circumstances, we can’t guarantee nothing will ever happen to you.” The corner of his mouth twinged upward as the readings came up green. “Not to mention the lot of you are more durable than a tank half the time. Whatever happened to you, doesn’t seem to have done much.” Sunset Shimmer slid over to peer at the device’s readings. “Our mana output is nearly fifty percent higher than normal. That’s not much?” Now that Twilight was here, Thompson switched his scanner over to her. Twilight nervously fixed her glasses while standing up to allow him to take a cleaner reading. Thompson gave her an appreciative yet curt nod before proceeding with his task. “Which, if you remember, is normal when you’re regenerating wounds… or highly stressed.” Thompson’s partner joined the conversation with an exasperated paramedic grumbling profanity as he shifted his attention towards other patients. He studied each of the bandmates with a critical eye. “I hate to do this to you seven, but under article nineteen, I’m going to have to isolate the lot of you until a more thorough exam can be conducted. We can either do it down at the station, or one of your houses, your choice.” Almost all of her friends turned to Twilight Sparkle. She nodded meekly. “We can go to my place then. We already have the equipment in my basement.” Rarity huffed at Thompson. “I hope this doesn’t take too long, boys, the last thing any of us want this summer is to sit in another one of your labs for months on end.” Fluttershy poked her head out from behind Rarity. “The shelter’s already understaffed as it is. I have to get back by tomorrow afternoon at least.” Thompson held out a restraining hand towards Pinkie Pie before she could add her antics to the list. “Then the sooner we get started the better.” The drive to Twilight’s sizable home started off a muted affair. The seven of them were riding in Fluttershy’s van, which stank of animal musk, but thankfully not urine. With Fluttershy driving, Rarity sat up front to avoid most of the smell while everyone else sat in the back. Thompson and his partner drove a plain white sedan behind them. Rainbow Dash fumed from where she sat in the back of the van as she kept stealing glances at the car behind them. “Can’t believe the feds dropped the ball on this one. How do they missed someone running around with a giant magic beam weapon!?” Sunset Shimmer, who had calmed down a little, scratched her chin. “I remember seeing the blast originating from on top of the theater building. Plus we only have two guards. I think we were a little hard on them.” “It’s hardly an excuse, Sunset,” Rarity fussed irritably as she hoped her outfit was salvageable. “It’s been four years since the the feds took notice of us after the Games, and this is the first time we’ve been attacked like this.” Pinkie Pie poked her head forward to be next to Rarity. “You mean besides demon Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset rolled her eyes, “The Dazzlings, Midnight Sparkle,” Twilight covered her face from the old shame, “those crazy mazy guys from Guam, and we can’t forget-” Pinkie’s list was cut short by Rarity covering her mouth, though the party planner didn’t stop talking for a few more seconds. “She’s right though,” Applejack drawled while rolling her hand. “Ta be honest I’m not exactly sure how we’ve managed to go ta school, run a business, the farm, or anythin’ like that. There’s gots to be people out there want a piece. Ah say the feds are doing right by us.” “I have to agree, Applejack,” Sunset added with a diplomatic tone towards Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “We were lucky the government is as accommodating as they are. If you believe all the movies, we could have ended up on the dissection table or stuck in a lab for decades.” “Granted it took them repeating my mistakes on magic,” Twilight added glumly as she pressed her index fingers together, causing Rarity and Rainbow Dash to lose some of their hostility. “But all in all, we get a lot of freedom out of the deal.” Rainbow Dash huffed and stared back out at the passing city. “It’s like we’re super heroines without a villain to fight. No wonder the Joker never dies, Batman would be out of a job within two issues.” “Don’t jinx us, Rainbow,” Rarity pouted - more at the tears in her clothing from being thrown against the metal scaffolding than anything else. “I have no intention of galavanting around Super City, or whatever, in a tacky costume fighting for my life every night.” Despite the content of her argument, Rarity’s tone told Pinkie that her spirits were on the rise. Mission accomplished, now to see if I can get Dashie laughing again. The sky blue athlete brooded in her seat, silently texting with Sorian. Glad he only had a minor concussion. So help me, the Feds better let me punch the creep who did this. Oh boy, I got my work cut out for me, Pinkie mused as she pondered on how to tackle the problem as the van neared Twilight’s home. The years since high school had been very kind to the Sparkle family. Ever since Night Light had hit it big in the business world, not only had they been able to move into a sizeable estate along the edge between the city and the suburbs no less, but it also allowed Twilight to expand her science lab to replace the one from Crystal Prep. It helped that the FBI had funded and researched half of her equipment with the sole purpose of trying to understand magic, with little success sadly. However, the Sparkle family had not shaken their frugal mindset entirely. As a result, Twilight continued living at home while in college. While the manor was impressive, the actual parking area was cramped, barely having enough room for the family cars, Fluttershy’s van, and the agents’ car. The girls plus, two agents, found Twilight’s parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, waiting for them in the entry hall with an air of dreadful worry about them. Spike’s barking rang through the house as soon as Twilight entered, with the mixed breed quickly leaping to his human’s side. Twilight Velvet was first to squash her daughter, with Night Light soon after. “We were so worried about you, honey.” Night Light looked over the rest of his house guests. His daughter’s illatease was mirrored by her friends. “Please, make yourselves at home.” Twilight bent down to pick up Spike shortly before her parents crushed her in a hug. It wasn’t long before Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie joined the group hug. Sunset felt the need to join them, and turned to Rainbow who was still trying to reign in her emotions by herself. With only a nod towards their friends, Sunset gently grabbed Rainbow’s hand and pulled her towards the group hug. Reluctantly, Rainbow joined in behind Fluttershy and Rarity, burying her face in Fluttershy's shoulder so no one could hear her muffled, half-halted sobs. Fluttershy bore it with practiced grace and pulled her arm away from Rarity so both of them could properly rope Rainbow into the much needed embrace. As much as he liked to banish any sadness from Twilight and her friends, Spike was getting the air squashed out of him. “Can I get a little air please?” Everyone separated a little, giving Thompson and his partner an excuse to interrupt. “Ladies, Mr and Mrs Sparkle. I hate to break up the moment, but due to the nature of tonight’s attack, I’d prefer to scan all of you as soon as possible.” Twilight Velvet kept her daughter close as the other girls slowly broke away. “I want to hear from your superior about how this was allowed to happen! My daughter and her friends may have magic powers and a modicum of combat training, but but allowing this sort of thing to happen yet again is inexcusable!” Modicum indeed. If only you knew of how many people we’ve stopped from doing that over the years. Thompson took the heated accusation with professional deference, if only because he was used to the woman. Thompson gestured to his partner. “Agent Polaski would be more than happy to get you in touch with Director Bowler.” Night Light worked his jaw trying to think as his wife fussed with the federal agents. He studied his daughter intently. Twilight still had tears dampening her eyes as she held onto Spike, yet he saw she wasn’t shaking and had a steady voice as she quietly spoke with her dog. He saw similar strength mirrored in Twilight’s friends, even Fluttershy had a brave face. They’ve grown up before my eyes. “Honey,” he said while gently tugging on Velvet’s shoulder. “We shouldn’t keep them from the mana scans.” He gave a fatherly wink at Twilight. “We can at least make sure the guest rooms are ready for them. It’s been a long day, and they’ll need their rest, regardless of what the tests reveal.” It was nearly five in the morning by the time Twilight Sparkle flopped down onto her pillow laden bed, making Spike bounce in place. He padded over to cuddle with her after she settled in some. Due to the magic within him, he was barred from the basement during the tests for control purposes. “Hey, Spike,” she said tiredly with a yawn. “Sorry you had to wait outside.” “Aw don’t worry about it.” He licked her face a few times, making Twilight giggle hug him. “All that science stuff is over my head most of the time anyway. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.” He looked up at his human and studied her face as dogs often did. “You’re not hurt, right?” “All the quick tests showed everything was okay, but the computer is still going through the more in-depth results for now. We’ll know more in the morning.” She stifled another yawn and deposited her glasses on the night stand. “Good night, Spike.” Content with that, Spike backed up to let Twilight get under the covers before curling up around her knees. “Night, Twilight.” Out of everyone staying at the Sparkle manor, Twilight was the first to waken. Although that was mostly due to the sun beaming through the window and straight into her face. Twilight Sparkle’s mind was in that limbo state between being forced awake and trying to get back to sleep. Without school hanging over her head, her sleep addled mind wanted nothing more than to stay under the warm covers. She rolled over, pulling on the covers over most of her head as she did. The act made Spike roll over, jumping the mixed dog to full wakefulness. He quickly got to his paws and sniffed the air, sadly detecting no eggs or bacon cooking. However, his nose caught something amiss with Twilight’s scent. It was faint, something only a dog’s nose could pick up. “Hey, Twilight, you awake?” She moaned tiredly and curled up into a ball. “Five more minutes, Spike…” Normally, he’d let her be, given that school was out, but the oddity of her scent made him curious. Following his nose, he started sniffing all around his oblivious human. He circled around, making sure to keep his paws off her pillow until his nose guided him to the top of her head. Poking out from her messy hair were two pony ears that flicked away from his nose. Spike’s tail began wagging and he jumped excitedly. “Twilight, wake up! You finally managed to pony up!” Uncomprehendingly, Twilight feebly swatted his nose away from her head. “That’s nice, Spike. Go see if Mom’s cooking.” Far from being as focused as his dragon counterpart, Spike’s dog brain jumped ship at the thought of bacon. “She hasn’t started yet,” he took several long sniffs of the air, coming up empty. “But I can wake her up for you!” Jumping off the bed, Spike started barking his head off as he raced away, only to catch himself at the door. He kept quiet as he ran out as to not disturb the rest of the house guests. Short lived though it was, his high pitched barking was finally enough to shove Twilight’s brain just over the edge where she knew she wouldn’t get anymore sleep. “Okay, fine, I’m up!” She threw the covers off and swung her legs over the side. She groaned noisily while rubbing her face, and letting her hair fall free. She yawned sleepily and stretched her back, legs, and arms in her morning ritual to get the blood flowing. Once limbered up, Twilight felt energetic enough to put on her first smile of the day. “Alright!” she said with a snap of her fingers. “If I hurry, I can get washed up and copy the test data to my phone so I can read it over breakfast.” With a shower at the top of her list, Twilight attempted to put her glasses on, only to find the earpieces had nothing to rest on and dangled loosely across her nose. She grabbed them before they could fall with one hand and searched her ears with the other. “What the?!” She looked towards the the mirror hanging above her dresser and ran over to it. There she found two fully formed pony ears perched atop her head. With a manic grin threatening to cleave her face, she put her glasses down to feel the ears with both hands. “Finally!” she cheered while jumping around whisper-shouting, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I’m officially part of the pony-girl squad! No more seventh tire for me! “Oh, maybe the magic will help my singing voice. That's gotta be pony-me’s secret!” Nodding proudly to herself, Twilight made sure to remember it. “Note to self: remember to record singing while the ears last to see if there is a marked improvement.” Twilight had both hands rubbing her ears, enjoying every second of it. She returned to the mirror to get a closer look. Without her glasses, she had to move her head back and forth a bit so her reflection wasn’t blurry. As expected, the side of her head where her human ears should have been revealed absolutely no sign they had ever existed in the first place. In their place was smooth skin below and a slightly lower hairline from above. “I can’t believe it! This is the first time they’ve lasted this long since the Games.” Her good mood soured a little as something finally clicked into place, causing her grin to falter. “Wait a second. Unless I was singing in my sleep, how did I get these ears?” She rubbed her chin while going into deep thought. “Something's not right. I can’t pony-up for the life of me, and yet I do it in my sleep somehow?” She rubbed an ear, feeling the downy fur. “And yet the ears aren’t going away.” The events of the previous day returned to her in full force. “Oh no.” Panic set in before skyrocketing with her hair starting to frizz out in all directions. “What if I got them because of the attack? The scanner said my magic was higher than normal. And so was… everybody else's.” Her breath caught in her throat. “I - I’ve got to get Sunset, and the others, maybe even magic-me!” Twilight pulled out a shallow drawer and found her rarely used contacts lenses and solution. “These things are so irritating, but I don’t exactly have any pony-style eye-wear now do I?” she grumbled heatedly. But I can’t fix much if I can’t see. With her shower forgotten, Twilight hastily got dressed for the day and stepped outside her bedroom to find her friends, breakfast, and the data, not necessarily in that order.