//------------------------------// // Attack of the Feather // Story: Back to School // by Thunder Roller //------------------------------// Once the laughter had subsided, the girls made their way to their lockers to put away all of their currently unnecessary supplies. Due to the Dazzlings not yet having their own, Aria shared with Rainbow, Adagio shared with Sunset, and Sonata shared with Pinkie Pie. It was a tight fit for those three lockers, but they managed. Not much longer after that, the halls began to get crowded. Or, that's how it felt as multiple students surrounded them, taking pictures, making mean comments, and making rude suggestions. It wasn't the kind of attention the Dazzlings wanted before, or now. It wasn't like the paparazzi on the red carpet, taking pictures and begging for autographs because of adoration. This was like the paparazzi trying to catch a famous celebrity doing something bad to ruin their reputation. Of course, their reputation was already ruined, so this was just in the wound. Turns out, people don't like being manipulated and hypnotized. "Crawl back into the hole you've been hiding in!" One boy sneered. "We don't want your TRASH in this school!" A girl shouted. "How about a game?" Another girl suggested. "Its called GO FUCK YOURSELF!" Shocked and terrified, the Dazzlings backed up to the lockers, trying to make as much space between them and the angry crowd. Aria kept herself in front of Sonata, trying to appear brave. But even she found herself trying to backup more than she could. Adagio was obviously terrified, holding up her left arm in an attempt to protect herself if they were to start throwing things. But Sonata had the worst of it. All that negative energy, directed at her, her girlfriend, and the rest of her friends. With all of that, she felt like she was in a cold, dark room with the only light being pointed directly at her. No hope of escape, no love, no happiness, nothing... Sonata began to cry, shaking with fear, and her head hung low. Aria looked back at her, seeing this. She turned back to the crowd, now seeing that the Rainbooms had made a human barrier between them and the angry students. "They need to get out of here!" Aria shouted above the angry mob. Rainbow turned to look at Aria, and saw Sonata behind her, crying. Even though Rainbow has never seen Sonata's other personality, she has heard about it, especially the negativity part. She then turned back to the crowd. "If you guys don't get out of here and leave them alone, I'll beat all of you so bad that you'll be eating lunch through a straw!" Rainbow threatened, sweating nervously. 'Get out of here before it's too late!' Her fellow Rainbooms looked at her with confusion. Rainbow nodded her head toward Sonata, telling them to look at her. When they did, they saw exactly what had Rainbow riled up , except for Twilight, who only seemed confused. The rest of the girls got the message, and joined in. "Get outta here before ya'll tussle with a farm girl!" Applejack warned. "My speed can work for more than just parties!" Pinkie added. "I may be a lady, but that won't stop me from slapping all of you!" Rarity threatened. "Please leave..." Fluttershy whispered. "We've dealt with magic before!" Sunset said loudly. "Do you really want to mess with us?!" The mob looked to each other, letting what Sunset said soak in. Knowing what she said to be true, they quickly dispersed, leaving the two ex-rival bands alone. When they were sure that they were gone, they quickly turned their attention to Sonata. "Are you alright?" Sunset asked as Sonata continued to cry. "Sonata, don't listen to em'." Applejack said assuringly. "None of em' know an apple from a orange." "Darling, you can't let them get into your head." Rarity said soothingly. Sonata turned and planted her face into Aria's chest, crying into her shirt. Aria held up her hands, unsure what to do. She looked to her friends, but none of them said anything. So, she settled with gently patting her head and holding her in an unsure hug. "Ah think this is gonna be harder than we thought." Applejack said, looking to her friends. "At least she didn't change." Rarity said. "That would've made it a lot harder." "Change?" Twilight asked, confused. "We didn't tell you?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. "Oh boy..." "Well, you see..." Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head. "Sonata has a condition called Multiple... multiple... Whats it called?" "Multiple Personality Disorder?" Twilight suggested. "Yeah that!" Sunset sighed. "I really thought that our influence would help. After all we did for the school, they still didn't listen to us. To make matters worse, we had to use our experience with magic as a threatening tool." "Well, um... that was mostly you." Fluttershy said quietly. "Thanks Fluttershy..." "I'm sorry." The bell then rang, signaling that class would begin soon. "I guess we should get going." Twilight said, looking up to the bell on the wall. "You guys go ahead." Aria said before glancing down to Sonata. "I'll take her to the bathroom to clean up. I think her showing up to class with ruined mascara would raise some questions." They all nodded in agreement and left for Class. Going by memory, Aria lead Sonata to the bathroom. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, she pulled her inside. By the time they got there, her crying had subsided to nothing more than sniffles. Aria pulled a rag out of her backpack and proceeded to clean Sonata's mascara. "Why do they hate us so much?" Sonata asked after a moment. "We did a lot of bad things, Sonata." Aria said plainly. "Though, I hoped that it wouldn't get like that this quickly." "Were you expecting this to happen?" Aria pulled the rag away from Sonata's face to look at her. "No, not really. Well, kinda. I didn't expect it when we were still sirens, or when we went into hiding. But when we agreed to come back to school, I did, just not this early. I thought it would work it’s way up to it." "What did you think would happen?... this early I mean." Aria shrugged. "I just kinda thought that they would talk behind our backs, like the pathetic, weak beings we originally thought they were." After a moment of silence, Aria continued to clean off the ruined mascara. When it was done, she pulled out the make-up kit from Sonata's backpack and began to apply it to her. While she was applying it, Sonata asked another question. "Are they going to kill us?" Aria's hand jerked back. "What?!" "You know, like they would have at Salem." "No Sonata!" Aria said a little too loudly. "That way of thinking is long gone. They don't resort to violence like that, or at least not like they would have back then." "But what if you're wrong?" "Then we'll leave." Aria sighed. "I don't think it will come to that, but if it does, we'll pack our bags and go somewhere that doesn't know what we did." Aria put the make-up kit down. "Look, Sonata. You have nothing to be afraid of. Yes, they do hate us now, but we have a plan, remember?" Sonata nodded. "Yeah, I remember." "Good. Even if the plan doesn't work, the worst they'll do is bully us for a while, then shun us, then they'll forget about it. Maybe we'll have to kick a few asses along the way, but it will eventually fade. However, if the plan does work, then they'll see us as friends, or at least acquaintances. Like they view Sunset Shimmer." "She had to defeat us to be accepted." Sonata said quietly. "Yes, but she didn't exactly have a charity event to her advantage... Well, the Musical Showcase was supposed to be a charity event, but... You know... That's not the point. Like Principal Celestia said, when people see us trying to make the world a better place, they'll see we have changed, and they'll forgive us. Problem solved." "I don't think it will be that easy." "Probably not, but nothing good comes easily. You have to fight for it. Trust me Sonata, things will get better." Sonata looked up at her with a hopeful smile, making Aria feel warm. She couldn't help but smile back, even if she didn't want too. "Now shut up and let me fix this." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next few hours weren't much better than the mob in the hallway. The only thing that stopped an angry mob from forming in the classrooms was the fact that the teacher was there. But, that didn't stop them from throwing paper balls at the Dazzlings when the teacher wasn't looking. There were times when the Dazzlings had enough time to concentrate on the assignment, but that never lasted long. Eventually though, Lunch had come. Sunset informed them that Lunch was the time where she could avoid being bullied, so this gave them something to look forward too. When they had gotten their lunch, they sat down at the Rainboom's usual table. "Well, this day hadn't gone according to plan." Rainbow said as soon as she sat down. "It'll get better, I'm sure." Adagio said, but didn't sound as certain as she hoped she would. "That's the spirit." Rarity said with a forced smile. "I'm starting to feel party pooped." Pinkie said, her hair not at it's usual volume. "Come on, girls." Sunset said assertively. "We can't let this get us down." "We ain't try ta let it, but it ain't as easy as we made it sound when we planned it." "We knew it wouldn't be easy." Sunset pointed out. "We just didn't anticipate how hard it would be. A little bump in the road is all this is." "If the little bump is a pothole the size of a house, then you're right." Fluttershy said, sounding defeated. "Girls! For crying out loud!" Sunset said with a loud groan, startling the entire group. "They're our friends now, and we can't be all mopey because a few people out there don't like them! We have a plan, and we're sticking with it! We can't do that if we get weak knees on the first day!" "Whoa." Rainbow said as her eyes grew wide. "Sunset, I've never seen you taking charge like that before." "... Look, I'm sorry." Sunset said with a sigh. "I just really want this to go well, and seeing all of you like that got me aggravated." "It's okay, Sunset." Twilight said, patting her on the back gently. "I know I don't know them as well as you girls do, but I can see this means a lot to you." "Yeah, it does." Sunset nodded. At that point, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Curiosity getting the better of her, she took it out and saw she got a text from Air Guitar. "Oh, what's this?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Air Guitar was walking down the side-walk as he whistled a tune. Granny had called him and said that Sunset needed him to feed Adagio's bird while they were away. It wasn't the first time Sunset had asked him a favor while she was at school, and most likely wouldn't be the last. It didn't bother him though. He was glad to help any way he could. When he approached Sunset's house, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, and fetched the key from under the usual rock. He spun it around his finger as he walked up to the door, and slid it into the lock. With a turn and a satisfying click, the door unlocked. For some reason, Sunset never locked the door knob. Saying something about it being able to be unlocked with a card or something like that. But that was okay. He was the Neighbourhood Watch, and as the Neighbourhood Watch, he looked out for everybody's security, including making sure that nobody got their houses broken into. In this area, it wasn't very common, but he kept a lookout anyway. It was his job... even though he didn't get paid for it. He turned the doorknob and walked inside. With a flip of the switch, the room illuminated. He walked inside and closed the door behind him. He walked around for a moment, searching for any signs of anything being stolen or misplaced. When he didn't see anything, he went back into the living room, seeing Mr. Feather's in his cage at the corner of the room. "Hey, bird dude!" Air Guitar said as he approached the cage. "Nice day, isn't it?" Mr. Feathers didn't say anything. "Polly wanna cracker?" Air Guitar said with a grin. Mr. Feather's neck feathers began to rise. "Why are you doing that?" Air Guitar asked. "Are you cold or something?" When he didn't get a response, Air Guitar walked to the thermostat and turned it up just a little. "There you go, should start getting warmer soon. Don't want Sunny's girlfriend's bird being cold." Mr. Feathers growled. "Are you hungry, dude?" Air Guitar said as he approached a bag of Wild Bird Seed that was sitting next to the cage. "I may not know much about birds, but this stuff looks good. Well, for bird standards... I think." Air Guitar scooped a cup full of the Wild Bird Seed and moved to the cage. With a smile, Air Guitar unhooked the lock and opened the door. That was the last thing he remembered when he found himself on the floor, his face full of talons. "What the heck, dude?!" Air Guitar said as he tried to pry Mr. Feathers away from him. "Get off of me!" Mr. Feathers continued to flog Air Guitar's face while screaming a war cry. Air Guitar then rolled over to his stomach and covered the sides of his head, making Mr. Feathers incapable of scratching his face any further. Mr. Feathers then settled for flogging his back, shredding the back of his shirt. Seeing this as a chance to escape, Air Guitar quickly got up and bolted for the door. But Mr. Feathers was faster, beating him to it and holding his ready talons up in the air. "I'll get you!" Mr. Feathers screamed. Air Guitar could swear that he saw light gleaming off of Mr. Feather's talons, showing just how sharp they were. He quickly turned around and ran the other way. Mr. Feathers chased him all over the house, knocking over chairs, tables, shelves, and knocking pictures off the walls. When they reached a bedroom, Air Guitar tried to close the door on Mr. Feathers, but he managed to fly in before the door could shut. He then ran to the bed, and pulled the blanket off. As Mr. Feathers tried to flog him again, Air Guitar tossed the blanket on top of him, sending him crashing down to the ground. Mr. Feathers repeatedly flapped his wings, trying to get the blanket off of him. While he was distracted, Air Guitar ran out of the room. Halfway down the hall, he silently cursed himself for not closing the door. But it was too late now. There was no way he was going back, he might of gotten free by now. Air Guitar ran into a closet at the end of the hall, and shut the door behind himself. While inside, he took down some winter jackets from their hangers and proceeded to cover himself with them. If that bird knew how to open doors, then he wanted some form of protection from him. He sat quietly, listening for any sign of Mr. Feathers. After a few moments, he thought he heard something in the kitchen below. It sounded like knives being sharpened. Could a bird sharpen knives? He didn't know. But if it was an intruder, then he prayed that he got out before the bird got to him. No one deserves being attacked like that. When the sharpening sounds were gone, he could hear quick wing beats, like Mr. Feathers was flying frantically. This meant that he didn't know where Air Guitar was. While he was temporarily safe, he dug his phone out of his pocket, muted it, and began to text to Sunset. 'Sunset, S.O.S.' He sent it, and a few moments later, Sunset texted back. 'Whats wrong?' Air Guitar quickly typed. 'Adagio's bird is trying to kill me! Send help!' 'What am I supposed to do? I can't call the police over a bird :/.' 'Do it anyway! I would of already, but it would hear me talking!' 'What exactly happened?' 'I opened the cage to feed him and he just came at me! No warning signs or nothing! I managed to get away by throwing a blanket on top of him, but I don't know how long it will be until he finds me! Please send help!' 'Sorry Air Guitar. I don't know what to tell you. If you can, please put him back in the cage, or try to escape. Just don't let him outside, okay?' 'HELP!' After that, Air Guitar didn't get any more texts. He knew he couldn't escape without help, and there was no way he'd even attempt to put Mr. Feathers back in his cage. Sunset didn't want the cops called, which he could understand, but why couldn't she call for help? Is it that she didn't know WHO to call? Knowing that he had no other option, he began writing another text to someone different. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Who was it?" Adagio asked, tilting her head. "Air Guitar." Sunset answered as she stuffed the phone back into her pocket. "Apparently Mr. Feathers attacked him." "Oh my!" Fluttershy said, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Is he okay?" "Yeah, he's fine. He just doesn't know what to do." Sunset nodded. "What exactly do you do if a bird attacks you?" Rainbow asked, confused. "Well, it mostly depends on the situation and the type of bird. With Mr. Feathers, I would suggest asserting dominance and giving him a time out." "I told him to try and put Mr. Feathers back in his cage, or try to escape." Sunset nodded. "We'll just put him in his cage when we get home, if he hasn't already." "Any idea why he would act like this?" Adagio asked, looking to Fluttershy. "He's probably upset about something." Fluttershy suggested. "Did anyone say anything to him that would make him angry?" "He did try to go to school with us this morning." Adagio pointed out. "I told him he couldn't come and kept him in his cage." "That's probably why." Fluttershy nodded. "If I were you, I would explain to him why he couldn't come. But maybe we can work something out." "Yeah, but not until we have this whole situation taken care of." Twilight nodded. Everyone turned to Rainbow as she began to cackle while holding her sides, trying not to bust out laughing. "What's so funny?" Adagio asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but doesn't anyone else think that this is kinda funny?" Rainbow asked, keeping a grin. "What do you mean?" Sunset asked. "I know I've never met Air Guitar before, but imagine him running around with Mr. Feathers pecking at the back of his head." After a moment of silence, everybody started to chuckle at the mental image. "Okay, I guess that is kind of funny." Sunset agreed with a nod.