“Come on Dash. You got this.”
Rainbow Dash was prepping in the morning by talking to the mirror. She had her pre-game mix playing in the bathroom. She was dressed to kill and smelled like vanilla. But in a tough way.
With a quick breakfast of a granola bar, she was out the door with nothing but keys and satchel. Luckily the recruitment office was within walking distance.
After a calm confident stroll to the recruitment office, she walked in to find Lightning Dust sitting in the waiting room. Rainbow didn’t acknowledge her presence. Instead, she focused on the television playing the DVD of The Final Countdown.
“What’s up, Rainbow Dash?”
With a quick glance toward Lightning, Rainbow had no choice but to acknowledge her now. “Not much, Lightning Dust.”
“I heard you were involved in some pretty crazy shit at the Friendship Games.”
“We don’t really talk about it around company we don’t trust.”
Lightning Dust smiled mischievously and tilted her head. “You mean you don’t trust me, Rainbow Dash? I’m offended.”
“How did you even get here anyway? I thought you had academic misconduct,” asked the already aggravated girl.
“I did. Girls Nation can get them to overlook quite a bit though,” responded Lightning with an air of smugness.
Rainbow had tried to get into Girls State but was only picked as an alternate. She didn’t do particularly well on the legion test and frankly, didn’t care about local government. Or any government for that matter. Rainbow pouted slightly upon remembering this.
“Now I don’t know if more than one of us can get picked for this, but I can say for almost absolute certainty that you two don’t stand much of a chance. You don’t have grades and Zap is gonna choke just like she does.”
Rainbow prevented herself from getting angry. She remembered that her friends wished her good luck and the victory brunch ahead of her. She took a deep breath.
“Y’know, I looked up Lieutenant Soarin’ last night. Blue Angel. Great pilot. A pilot that is trained to see every detail all the time from a mile away. I bet he’s gonna see right through you.”
Lightning Dust considered this for a moment. Her face turned slightly bitter and she became silent. The room was once again dominated by the engines of F-14 Tomcats. This was interrupted by the office door swooping open.
Indigo Zap walked out looking quite proud of her performance. She back peddled and mimicked the action of shooting a basketball followed by a smooth transition out of the building, staring both girls down as she walked out.
Soarin’ walked out of the room with a clipboard. “Ms. Dust. You’re next.”
She walked into the office with Soarin’ leaving Rainbow Dash to herself. All Dash could do now was imagine how their conversation was going. It wasn’t going to help her though. She knew that it would be wiser to think about what she might say rather than either of her rivals.
Maybe that wouldn’t help her either though. “What if they found out about the time I cheated on that math test, or shot that arrow into my neighbor’s yard, or broke my neighbor’s window with that softball? I hope they didn’t talk to my neighbor.”
“Snap out of it! You are awesome. You got this. This is automatic. You just have to show him how awesome you are. Just with words.”
“I’ve never had to sell myself like this though. I—”
“You’ve never been one to give excuses. Just think about the trivia match last night. You knew you were at a disadvantage. You toughed it out anyway. Thought on your feet like the powerhouse you are.”
“Did Sunset take the blue raspberry soda?”
Rainbow Dash was now sufficiently satisfied with herself for her mind to wander like usual. She would start to flip between scrutinizing herself, getting distracted, and watching Final Countdown.
Half an hour of frantic thought passed and Lightning’s interview was finally over. Despite the song not being associated with the film whatsoever, Soarin’ and Lightning got to walk in on the treat of Rainbow Dash jamming on an air guitar, singing Europe’s “The Final Countdown” as the credits rolled.
The stare down that followed was awkward to say the least. It lasted a few milliseconds longer than it needed to as well. Forgetting that she was wielding an air guitar instead of a real one like usual, Rainbow made the motion of gently leaning her guitar against the table. Lighting walked out looking smug as ever, leaving just Rainbow and Soarin’.
“So, Ms. Dash. Those were some nice moves there.”
Rainbow blushed and tried to find a way to turn this to her advantage. “Yeah. I’m in a band. We’re pretty good.” She knew she was forgetting something. “Sir.”
Soarin’ sat down and asked “What genre do you play?”
Rainbow had to think on this for a moment. The Rainbooms just played what felt natural to them. “We play mainly pop-rock. Kinda what you usually think of with a girl group, sir.”
Soarin’s face lit up. “Oh, I love pop! I mean, you may not knowing it by looking at me but... I gotta get back on topic. Tell me about yourself.”
Rainbow’s confidence boosted when she realized that the first impression she made will at least make the interview memorable. “Well, as I mentioned, I’m in a band with some of my best friends, I love sports and reading. I’m mainly a Daring Do fan. I—”
“Whoa. Did you say Daring Do? I’m a huge fan too. Did you see the premiere of Earth’s Enigmas last night?”
“Yes! I did, it was awesome wasn’t it?”
“I know! I mean, shows like that have been on before but Daring Do is the real deal. I met her at an air show in Dallas. She is just larger than life.”
“You met her, sir? I am so jealous.”
Soarin’ laughed quietly and straightened out when he remembered that this was the second time he got off topic. “Back to questions. I promise I won’t get distracted again. Why do you want to join the Navy?”
Rainbow was prepared for this one. She wanted to be in the skies so bad. The Blue Angels in particular drew her to naval aviation. She thought the F/A-18 was the prettiest thing that ever flew. “To fulfill the sense of loyalty I have for my country is probably the biggest factor. I also heard you flew with the Blue Angels. Not to sound creepy but I have been obsessed with you guys since I was a little girl. Flying in general really.”
“Hey, flying is the best. And we are awesome so I couldn’t blame you for the obsession.” Soarin’ managed to stay on topic for that question.
“Score.”
“When I first wanted to serve is also when I started really getting my grades in gear. I used to get straight Cs back in junior high but I tried to kick it up a notch after that. Just this year I made sure that through hard work, I could get three-five and with the stellar tutoring of one of my bandmates, I made it happen.”
“That’s what I love to here. I noticed you have some flight experience. Do you have your pilot’s license?” The lieutenant was legitimately curious about this oddity on her resume.
“Not exactly, sir. Technically, what I have equates to less than one hour of flight experience. The first time was a little while for fun. The second time was kind of an emergency.”
“Interesting. What happened?”
The thought of how she might describe her meager yet completely unbelievable experiences with flight crossed her mind. She formulated a plan during her late night cramming session that she just barely remembered. “I was flying in a nap-of-the-earth kind of scenario. There was an accident and I ended up having to take full control of the situation. Nobody was harmed.”
“Please leave at that. Please leave it at that. Why did I mention that on the resume?”
“Well thank God.”
Sighs of relief silently exited Rainbow. Perhaps her initial charm pushed him to not look too far into it. The interview continued as cookie cutter as usual. As she naturally and comfortably answered each of his questions, their talk grew more casual. By the time the interview was over, Rainbow was not using “sir” nearly as often as she initially did. Soarin’ was calling her Dash.
“Once again, thank you for considering me. I hope I make a decent candidate.”
“You make a wonderful candidate. We’ll let you know by email if you get the recommendation. And remember, if you don’t get the scholarship now, you can always try again in college.”
Rainbow walked out of the recruitment office with bitter-sweet feelings. She thought she did well but still wondered if Lighting or Zap had done better. When her friends pulled up and she hopped in shotgun, she remembered that she shouldn’t think like that.
“How did it go?” said Sunset at the wheel of a cheap compact, Applejack accompanying her in the back seat.
“Great. Where we gonna eat?”
Applejack hunched over the seat hump. “We actually have a surprise for you.”
“It wouldn’t happen to be Cracker Barrel would it?”
“We’re actually going to the mall,” said Sunset dawning an impish smile.
“The mall? Does Cinnabon really scream victory?” replied a confused Rainbow.
Sunset looked at Applejack to further let Rainbow know that she was subject to a fun conspiracy. “Who said anything about Cinnabon? We just mean mall. Like the place where car shows happen or celebrities do meet and greets.”
“What are you getting at?”
“You’ll see,” said Sunset timed to match her speeding out of the parking lot.
“Not an auto show. Must be a celebrity. A celebrity big enough for me to care about but small enough for me to not notice any advertising. Who am I kidding? I don’t pay attention. Maybe it is just Cinnabon.”
The mall’s parking lot was packed for this time of day. Rainbow’s jaw dropped upon seeing the poster on one of the windows. Sunset and Applejack’s faces likewise lit up at Rainbow’s reaction.
“No. Way.” Screeched Rainbow before she released a squeal that rose into inaudibility.
Ancient artifacts were mounted in glass cases. It looked like a couple hundred people were browsing around. The girls temporarily ignored the history lesson they provided to get a good spot in line. The three ran into the line at a nigh sprint. Rainbow hopped up and down, left to right to catch a glimpse of her hero in the flesh.
“Thirty more people in line”
“Fifteen more people.”
“Five more people!”
Two large men cut the gang off. “That’ll be it for today.”
Rainbow’s life just about flashed before her eyes, but before her body could react, the woman Rainbow knew was Deathtrap Daisy got the guard’s attention.
“Let that last group through. We need some high school age girls.”
“That’s a little weird of her to say, but yes!”
The last group of five people walked away happy with their autographs while Daisy and Daring Do had one last piece of communication between them before they confronted the girls. “Do you girls go to Canterlot High?” asked Daisy in a friendly demeanor.
“I’m your biggest fan!”
Daisy was amused by this non-sequitur but Daring was out for more straight answers.
“She means yes,” chimed Sunset to resolve the situation.
“We’d like to discuss something with you if you don’t mind,” proposed Daisy.
Rainbow’s heart was about ready to explode while Applejack and Sunset were each thinking the same worrisome questions. Was this going to be about magic and was Rainbow’s logic clouded enough for her to spill the beans and attracting needless attention to the portal?
“Will we still get autographs?!” Blurted the fangirl without thinking about where the conversation might lead.
“You will get an advanced copy of Daring Do’s next book and the possibility of being on Earth’s Enigma’s.”
Applejack pulled Rainbow into a group huddle while she vibrated with glee. “Rainbow, I know you’re having a moment, but if you could just listen to what we want to tell you for a little bit right now.”
“It’s just that you’re excited, and things might slip out that we don’t want to let a whole lot of people know about. Especially people who may want to really look into it,” added Sunset.
“This is the best day ever!”
“Rainbow!” shouted both of her friends in an attempt to get her to snap out of it. It worked.
“Alright alright! I got this. Mouths shut.”
“We can totally talk to you,” declared Sunset wearing a smile precious enough that nobody would expect there was anything to be hidden. Nobody save for perhaps Daring Do.
The girls did not expect to be separated, but to their disappointment, they were. Sunset sat alone in a room that she had no idea existed at this mall. A tray full of chocolates rested a few inches from a bowl of shelled nuts. The victory breakfast never happened so Sunset reached for three chocolates, which turned into six, which turned into nine by the time Daring Do walked in. They had ganache in the center.
Daring Do walked in somewhat surprised to see that the 125 pound girl took out half of the tray of chocolates in the five minutes that she was gathering her material. She suppressed a grin seeing that plenty of chocolate remained on Sunset’s face.
“Did you enjoy the chocolate truffles? They were three dollars apiece so I hope so,” remarked Daring.
“Ohmygosh, I’m so sorry, they were just so—”
“Delicious. Yes, that’s why we got them for you. Now that I know you like chocolate, why don’t you tell me a little bit more about yourself?”
Sunset had been through this spiel too many times to count. She fabricated a backstory that she made sure hadn’t changed; even when she left her real past behind her. By now she was tired of it enough to be annoyed by merely thinking about it. Luckily for her, it was difficult to be unhappy with a belly full of truffles.
“Well, I moved to Canterlot about four years ago when my dad got a job as a loan officer in the city. It still seems like he works twenty-four/seven. I mainly spend my time hanging out with friends and studying. I love a good book.”
“I can certainly relate. I love a good book too. What do you think of your school?”
“I love it there. I feel like I finally fit in somewhere,” said Sunset with legitimate joy.
“It’s nice that you like school, but that wasn’t really what I was getting at. Have you seen anything strange or noticed anything different about your school? Like terrain wise maybe?”
Sunset was disappointed that Daring Do was taking the school conversation in an inquisitive direction, yet she was relieved that it seems like she was pretty far off from what exactly made Canterlot High special. Her mind was somewhat torn. She would love to fulfill Rainbow’s dream and have a whole show shot at Canterlot High, but she felt like it was her duty to defend Earth’s side of the portal. If only she could lead Daring Do to believe that the weird parts of Canterlot High are due to some geological or meteorological phenomena.
Sunset thought quickly. “Do we get tremors? No. Crazy weather? No. Rainbow may have to be okay with no TV shoot.”
“Ms. Shimmer, it’s not that hard of a question. Just… have you seen anything weird?”
“Uhhhh… We saw lights in the sky!” she blurted in instance of on-the-spot thinking.
“Shut. Up.” Daring tilted her head off to the right and held back what would have been a cackle. “Banner is going to flip about this.”
What hole did Sunset dig herself into? She didn’t want to lie when it was unnecessary and she wanted to keep the school happy and safe, but in this haphazard instance of thinking on her feet, she made herself look a bit crazy.
Daring Do’s smile became more apparent as she shook her head and returned gaze to Sunset. “Have you seen the gemstones of Capri that we had on display out there?”
The name sounded familiar, and she did love history, but she just hasn’t paid enough attention to Daring Do lore or ancient artifacts to really know about them. “I didn’t get a good look at them.”
“They are quite beautiful. Weirdest little rocks. They vibrate like quartz but they’re hard as diamonds. They’re that shade of red that you can’t tell if it’s closer to symbolizing beauty or rage. We found them in a cave on a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When we first found them, we called them the Sirens’ Stones because they were resting in the rocky isles of the mythological beasts.”
Sunset’s heart dropped like an anvil. Somehow, the conversation carried from geological phenomena to lights in the sky, to exactly what Sunset didn’t want Daring to land on: magic.
The shaken girl cleared her throat to prepare something to distract Daring. “Do you think that has something to do with the lights we saw in the sky?”
“No, but I know somebody who does and he is going to want to turn this town upside down looking for evidence.”
After the meeting, Sunset was deeply troubled waiting for her friends. Applejack came out of her meeting with one of the producers after Sunset had finished. She looked indifferent and calm until she saw Sunset’s nervous face.
“You alright, Sugar cube?”
“What questions did he ask you?” said the fully panicked girl.
“Uh. Just some stuff about the school. I didn’t tell them nothin’ though. Did you?”
“I didn’t, but I think I may have clued her in. She asked about the pendants that the sirens wore.”
“You told her about the sirens!?” Applejack was now understanding the panic.
“No! I just told her that we saw lights in the sky.”
“Why did you tell her that much. Now she knows that we use magic and is going to be trouncin’ about the school grounds.”
“She doesn’t know we use magic. She brought up the sirens because the gemstones on display out there must have belonged to our world’s Dazzlings. She found them in a cave associated with the sirens of myth.”
This was a lot to take in for Applejack. She sorted the possible threats from this out in her head and arrived at the conclusion that there wasn’t any possibility of a second siren attack from this, but worry still remained about Daring Do’s investigation. “So we can still keep everything right as long as Daring Do thinks that those sirens were still mythological and doesn’t see any magic.”
“I think so.”
Rainbow walked out of the smallest room laughing up a storm alongside Deathtrap Daisy. Daisy’s fun-loving spirit and thick skin complimented Rainbow’s brash sense of humor and energy.
“Great meeting you, Rainbow. I’ll put in a good word for you for that special copy.”
Daisy left the girls alone in the mall’s hidden section. While Rainbow was having the time of her life, she noticed the other girls looking at her with grim expressions.
“What’s up guys? Are you okay?”
“You didn’t spill the beans did you?” asked Sunset, preparing for the worst.
“Of course not. She just asked about the school. I told her how awesome we were. I made sure to leave out the weird magic and monsters stuff. You don’t think they’re on to us do you?”
“I think they came to Canterlot for a reason and I think it has something to do with those gemstones out there,” deduced Applejack.
“The Gemstones of Capri? They’re just…” Rainbow’s widened eyes were a signal that she had just became aware of the wall of reality that stood in front of stream of thoughts. The pieces of evidence and parcels of knowledge about the artifacts Daring Do found revealed a scary truth about the human world that directly related to Rainbow’s experiences. She really should have known as soon as she learned about the gemstones.
“They… She doesn’t know she’s looking for magic yet?”
Applejack would have been amused by Rainbow Dash’s sudden reality check, but they had far too much on their mental plate at that moment.
“We can keep it that way though as long as we don’t say too much,” she reassured.
Meanwhile, in a dark room full of monitors at that same mall, Daring Do sat with eyes glued to a screen in complete befuddlement. Daisy walked in with relatively little to report from Rainbow. Just a small favor. “Are you watching those girls over the security cams?”
“I though they seemed a little weird. Turns out, they’re a lot of weird.”
“Why are you spying on them?”
“They are talking like they… use magic and have seen sirens, like mythological sirens.”
“Ummm. Are you sure you haven’t misconstrued what they’re saying?”
“I must be. No group of teenagers is collectively that crazy. Maybe magic is a drug and sirens are dealers or something. When I brought up the isle of the sirens, it must have made her think that I was onto them.”
“The one I talked to seemed like such a nice girl. Would they really be on street drugs?”
“The one I talked to seemed alright too. All the more reason to investigate the school I suppose. Did you call Banner?”
“Yeah, he was yammering like he was onto something. ‘We saw it! We saw it!’ I told him to get his ass over here.”
“Smart. We’ll meet at the school tomorrow morning. Tight schedule.”