Chapter 8
The new week started, and they tried to get back to a normal routine, but it was clear that it could never really be that way again, knowing what they all knew now. The Rainbooms had now included the twins, though Applejack thought it might not be good, knowing what they could do together with the magic of the twins added in. When the twins were just singing together, things were happening in a greater way than before when they played, but they also seemed to be keeping control of themselves. The main trick was trying to keep their wits about them, getting into the music, but not so much that they lose all sense of all that was going on around them, and that seemed to be the point when things got out of control. However, when the band was altogether, it was much harder, mainly because it seemed any musician playing with them would be caught up in the spell of the music, off which they began to feed, and then, they got more into it, and things started to go off the rails. Too often, Sunset had to step in and stop them before it went out of control. It was the Wednesday practice, and they were working on mixing some of the old 60s stylings in with what they normally played before the twins came, and they were trying to do a combination retro/modern version of “Good Vibrations,” but it started getting real trippy, causing far more of a magical aural to emerge from them than normal, and it was turning hypnotic to anyone watching. Sunset was getting swept up in it, but Twilight had more seeming control and shook her out of it, and Sunset said, “Cut, guys, cut, it’s happening again.”
They all stopped, and Rainbow Dash groaned, “Dude! This has got to stop! We’ve hardly been able to get through one song all week!”
Quill was kicking himself, knowing he was losing focus on things around them again, groaned out, “Sorry…” and Downy started to look like she was going to say something, but he just pointed at her without looking at her and said, “Don’t say it, Sissy!”
She still looked like she was trying to say something, but just sighed and gave up, giving a little foot stomp in the process. Downy knew it was getting worse and harder to control with the other girls with all that Equestrian magic flowing from them. “Okay,” said Dash, “Let’s try it again. Keep your eyes open, Quill, and try to focus on your instrument or something. Stare at the wall, at your feet, something to keep you in this world.”
He sighed, focused, and they took off again. Once again, the effects of the song and the lyrics were manifesting themselves again, but as long as the twins kept shifting focus on one thing to another, it stayed in control. Yet, for all that, when they had to do that, their playing suffered a little bit, and enough to where Quill said, “When we do this, it just doesn’t feel right, like it’s not all there.”
No one said anything, because he was right; the music was suffering trying to keep it under control. Sunset began to realize now what Princess Twilight had been saying as she gave updates on the research she and Moon Dancer were doing with the two princesses there, considering that they were all going to try to have a hand in teaching them the kind of magic that was common for the Bardics. Indeed, Except for Celestia and Luna, they could not get close to what an actual Bardic could do in executing the magic, and even Celestia and Luna could not quite get there despite the magic the pair possessed themselves. Yet, this knowledge was valuable to them because they would have to be the teachers, and because they had gone into things this much, they knew that this was a common problem among Bardic foals. The foals would get into the music strongly and things started to happen. There were spells they could do to control the output of that kind of power depending on the need, but that took time to learn. In the case of foals, what they did before they really learned control, however, paled in comparison to one full grown as they and not able to control such magic. There were ways to get into it and still not let things get out of control, but it seemed that they only way that this was going to happen was when they took on their true forms and learned how to control it. Sunset hoped that Quill would finally grow so frustrated that he would give up and go over.
“Okay, let’s try that ‘Circle Sky’ one you taught us,” said Rainbow Dash, “Less seems to happen on that one.”
They nodded and started as Sunset sat there with the journal communicating with Princess Twilight at that moment. Sunset then expressed another problem: the change in their bodies and ability to play music. They were used to having hands, and that would be taken from them. Considering how humans played instruments here, it was going to be quite a jump. It was not that they could not learn, but she wondered just how long it was going to take to adjust. Princess Twilight said she’d been in contact with a good musician over there who she knew could teach them. She was not exactly a folk singer or rock musician, but she was cool enough with such things considering who her roommate was. Sunset knew that if they were anything like their counterparts here, the twins would be in good…hoofs.
They played the song, and this time, the imagery was as if they were in an actual concert before a stadium of screaming fans, so it was not so bad. They went into “Sloop John B”, and keeping focus, it looked like they were at sea on an old sailing ship, though they went a bit too focused for a moment and the girls actually began to smell the salty air and feel a bit of spray. Sunset snapped her fingers, caught their attention, and it calmed a bit. Indeed, they were learning to control it, but not all that well. She even wondered if that might not be all that controllable after a while. They finished the session, and Dash said, “Well, we made more progress today.”
Quill and Downy looked exhausted, but, determined, Quill said, “See? We can control it.”
“Yeah, as if!” snapped Dash, “Look, if this keeps up, you’re going to have to force us to put you out of the Rainbooms until you can control it better…if at all.”
Seeing their faces drop, Fluttershy pipped up and said, “Well, I think you two are working real hard and doing well.”
“Sure!” chirped Pinkie, “And the images are fun! It does add to the music.”
The others agreed, but AJ said, “But it does seem a strain on y’all. Ya sure y’all wanna keep this up?”
Quill sighed and said, “If we don’t play, we can’t learn control over this. It’s just like with music: you practice enough, and you can master anything. Look, I’ve got homework to do, so can we discuss this later?”
They nodded and watched him as he put his guitar in his case and headed towards a quiet part of the library. Downy hung back, looked at the others, and said, “I think he’s getting ready to give in. Just give it time. Something will push him over the fence. But, right now, just let me go study with him in private. He needs to charge the batteries again.”
They all nodded, knowing that she had a way to bring out the best in him when the worst wanted to surface. Rarity then said, “You know, I’m beginning to see something happening here, as if this world is trying to push them out, like they don’t belong.”
“But that hasn’t happened to Sunset,” responded Fluttershy.
“Perhaps it’s different with her,” added Twilight, “I mean, perhaps she was settled in her magic enough to where she could blend in. With them, what they had was latent in them until the right thing brought it out. However, when it did, however this world interacts with magic was not ready for the shift. Now, it’s acting like a body rejecting an organ that was transplanted into it. It somehow realizes what is in there was not what was supposed to be there, and it reacts negatively.”
“Hmm…” pondered Rarity, “I would like to redact what I said and say it is more like a cancer. They blended in as dear Sunset here had, but now a foreign element has affected them to be growing out of control like a cancer, and this world cannot handle it. Indeed, I really think more and more they need to go to Princess Twilight’s world, at least long enough to come to grips with all this.”
AJ looked at Rarity and said, “Gee, Rarity, ah never thought I’d hear that kinda stuff from you. I figured that’s more Twilight’s territory an all.”
She snuffed and said, “Just because I do a lot in fashion doesn’t mean I don’t have a mind.”
“Please, don’t fight,” begged Fluttershy, to which AJ just said, “It’s okay, it’s okay…just sayin’.”
“But, what’s going to get Quill to change his mind?” asked Dash, “Is there anything we can do?”
In truth, she didn’t need to worry about that much.
That weekend, they attended the Wondercolts game, and though they lost, it was still a close game, and everyone was able to put their problems behind them for a while. Mac couldn’t be there, however, because they had a game at his school the next day, and their coach wanted them in early to be rested for the big day. The girls and Quill were walking them back to the shelter, chattering back and forth about the game and other matters, and when they found themselves in an isolated area, headlights from a pick-up truck shone on them, and out of the truck came the three men that had tried to accost them before, except this time they had crow bars and baseball bats, and the one in front looked fit to be tied. He pointed at the rest of the girls with the bat he held, saying, “If you girls don’t want to get hurt, I’d suggest you all leave now. It’s those two we want.”
Fluttershy cowered behind the others while AJ, Sunset, and Dash took a defensive stance in front of them all as AJ said, “Boy, y’all jus’ don’t learn, do ya?”
The one in front laughed, saying, “You talk tough. Big brother ain’t here to save you this time.”
“What do you all want!” snapped Dash, to which he said, “They didn’t press charges, but coach tossed us off the team anyway! Worse, we lost our scholarships in the process because of it!”
“So?” snapped Sunset, “You did it to yourselves!”
“If they had just did what we wanted, this wouldn’t be happening,” he said rather illogically, “You two wrecked our lives! You’re gonna pay!”
Rarity quietly slipped out her phone, dialed 911. She stood behind one of the others and whispered to the operator what was happening, where they were, and said she would try to get a video of things before they got there. Once she hung up, she did her best to conceal the camera in her phone as she was trying to transmit what was happening in a live stream. Yet, before anything else could happen, Pinkie Pie popped up and said, “Hey, don’t be grumbly bears! We can all get along! Why don’t we…”
And that was as far as it got as he balled up his fist and belted Pinkie Pie hard! “I’M NOT PLAYING!” he yelled, “EITHER CLEAR OUT OR PREPARE TO GET HURT!”
Pinkie Pie lay on the ground, bleeding from her lip and in tears, in severe pain. They wondered briefly if she now had a broken jaw, but that went past quickly as they approached the twins and said, “Any last words?”
Downy swallowed, but realized that there was something they could do. She closed her eyes, focused, reached down inside her emotions, and began to sing “Turn, Turn, Turn,” with all her heart. Immediately, magic began to fill the area and the three men were now frozen in their tracks as Quill joined in. The others didn’t know the song that well, but when they yielded to the tune and the magic, the girls all ponied out and were able to pick up on it fast. In fact, their guitar cases opened and the twins’ guitars floated to them and they began to play as well. Pinkie Pie suddenly was able to regain her feet and noticed, not only did her jaw not hurt anymore, but that the bleeding had also started. She almost floated back to the others, and as she added her voice to the group, it almost seemed the world around them faded away into a world of swirling colors, warm and peaceful. The three men now dropped their makeshift weapons, but they seemed also to float away as this was going on. Before long, everyone looked like they were floating. Everyone was smiling and at seeming peace, not wanting this to end. However, by the time they came to the end of the song, everything returned to normal, but not quite.
By the time the police got there, they came in on the tail end of the performance and could not believe their eyes. Was this really happening? By the time they stopped, they got out of the car and came over to the assailants, who were now on their knees, docile, with blank stares, dilated pupils, and were now merely drooling vegetables. Nothing anyone could do could snap them out of it, and it seemed like they had just had a lobotomy performed by music. The police, not sure how to report this, just asked the girls to act like nothing had happened, and they would make up something like they took a trip from which they won’t be coming down. They escorted them to the cars and prepared to take them to the hospital, and they all turned to the twins. They were at a loss for what to say, but Sunset was saddened. Because Princess Twilight had been filling her in about Bardic magic, they indeed have some spells that subdued, if they went too far, they could end up hurting others, and that was against their instincts to harm others. Yet, for these two, they had not yet learned this control, and what they had done essentially fried those men’s brains. Sunset decided that now was as good a time as any to be blunt, and she said, “Well, congratulations: you two unknowingly put forth a subduing spell and took it too far. Those men will never recover, and they are going to be in a semi-vegetative state for the rest of their natural lives. While I would say they kind of brought it on themselves, and not think much, this goes against everything the Bardics believed, and everything you two believe. You might as well have killed them.”
“No…” said Quill, almost inaudibly, and he dropped to his knees, and he started to weep. Downy also had her face in her hands, weeping freely, apologizing for what she had done, but there was really no one there to say she was sorry to, especially since the ones to whom it would go would not have comprehended what she was saying anyway. She was turning into a crying mess, saying what kind of a monster she was and she was nothing anymore, but Quill, through his own heavy tears, said, “No, don’t say that! You’re not a monster! It’s all my fault! I should have listened! I shouldn’t have acted so selfish. I hurt someone tonight! The last thing I EVER wanted to do…” and he went back to wailing and crying, truly in regret, wishing he could make what he did go away, but he could not. Sunset was now trying to console the two and said, “Look, you did what any good Bardic would have done according to all the information Princess Twilight’s been feeding me. That was quick thinking, and there might have been no other way to keep any one of us out of the hospital…or worse. But, this is what we’ve been trying to tell you about control. The nature of magic here is not able to be controlled by anyone, not completely, anyway. Please, you have to go to Equestria. It’s the only way.”
Quill was quiet now, and Sunset then said, “Remember: you can always come back.”
They both sucked up some snot and nodded, and Sunset said, “Go back to the home and get some rest. Pack, but try to conceal it. I’ll contact Princess Twilight, tell them what happened, and that we’ll be coming. We’ll all be there to see you off. Our Twilight says she has some connections and that she can have it so every trace of you ever being here will be gone. We’ll talk to Principal Celestia. She’s privy to all that’s going on with the two worlds, and when we explain all that is going on, she’ll understand. Hey, it’s a whole new life for you two. Trust me: it’s going to be okay.”
They both nodded again, and went off with Sunset to prepare for the unknown, but confident more than ever now that they may truly be going to the world to which they belong—to which they have always belonged.