//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: Cafe Dazzling // by brzy //------------------------------// “Guys, you really think we’re gonna be okay tomorrow?” asked Sonata. Worry was plastered all over her features. Purple grump turned to her. “Hmm, our odds seem pretty good. We should be able to take them in a straight up fight. But then again, it looked like we had it in the bag back then too…” Aria trailed off. “It’s not going to be the same as last time. I’m not leaving anything to chance. Girls, we’re gonna pull every single dirty trick in the book…” --- The Dazzlings walked to school together, and the pony girl followed. Sunny had slept poorly. Worry had kept her tossing and turning all night. Her ketchup and mustard mane was unruly, yet strangely still stylish. Hollywood bed head basically. “How can you all be so calm?!” blurted out Sunset. “Me and the girls had a little brainstorming session after you left and came up with a plan. If it works, this should make our little showdown go much smoother.” Adagio’s grin terrified the pony girl. --- The plan was insane, Sunny reflected. There was no way it could have come from the mind of a stable individual. And yet here she was going along with it, walking with Applejack out behind the gym. “So what’d ya need to talk with me about?” asked AJ. “Well, you girls have all been acting really strange lately. You’ve all been hanging out with Twilight and I feel kind of left out.” “Well shoot sugar plum, if'n I had known you were feeling left out from our world domination group, we would have come for you sooner!” Sunset blinked. Applejack continued smiling. Sunny blinked again as the silence continued. AJ's smile started to scrunch and look strained as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. “AJ, wut?” “Uuuhhhh, chocolate milk?” Before Applejack could dig herself further into the hole, Aria pounced from around the corner, grabbing her from behind. A glow surrounded Apple horse girl as she began to transform. Before she could complete the transformation, with a practiced motion Sonata quickly stuffed a rag soaked in chloroform into her face. The glow faded as she lost consciousness. Sunset shook her head. This entire scenario was all kinds of wrong. “Where’d you guys even get chloroform?” “I dunno, Sonata’s the one who had it,” answered Aria. The pony girl stared into Sonata’s vacant smiling face. A trickle of terror sweat ran down her brow as she contemplated the implications. She shook her head. It would be OK, she told herself. They were the good guys, so this was all okay. She looked over to see Aria and Sonata loading the unconscious girl into the back of a nondescript white delivery van. More panic filled her at what was happening. She continued to tell herself everything would be OK.