//------------------------------// // Chapter 28 // Story: Cafe Dazzling // by brzy //------------------------------// A hush fell over the crowd. Even the snooty blue unicorn that Anon prayed everyone else could see fell silent. AS THIS IS A SPECIAL OCCASION, I HAVE CHOSEN A SPECIAL JUDGE… A new shadow formed on stage between the two factions. To Anon it appeared to be a nondescript middle aged man. Fairly fit looking, small ears, thinning dusky blondish hair, wearing a well tailored black suit with a red tie. As he stared the image seemed to waver for a second. If he didn’t know any better he would think that there was a 30 story tall fish man standing before him beside Uncle Cthulhu. But that would be silly. Aria, Adagio, and Sonata looked shocked. Taco Siren was the first to recover. “Daddy!” The blue girl ran up and hugged her father around his clearly normal human sized neck. Purple grump's perpetual façade of grumpiness fell as she also wrapped her arms around her father. “Hey there sweeties! How goes it?” He looked over at his eldest daughter. “Hey Dagi, what’s up?” “Nothing much, Dago.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she stretched out the “O” at the end. “Became the most popular music artists in Equestria, enslaved town after town with our voices, single handedly invented almost every genre of music, got banished by a neck beard who was salty that he couldn’t beat us, hung out with conquerors and kings for a few centuries on Earth, got beaten by a bunch of magical high school girls, ran a restaurant.” She let her sarcasm fall as she smiled a genuine smile at him. “You know, the usual.” “Hah, well looking at you girls, I can see why you never came home to Y'ha-nthlei. Was thinking maybe you were all just late bloomers!” He laughed. The stage tremored. Anon seemed to be the only one to notice. “We were actually really close Daddy, we had fins and everything, but then we got transformed and sent through the mirror,” added Sonata. “Thinking about it, old Starswirl did us a favor. A lot of cool things happen on dry land!” “Well, I can see how you girls might enjoy these forms over ponies. I’ve had a few adventures on Earth myself.” He laughed again. It was then Anon realized he was the one shaking, not the stage. “Hey! That’s not fair, how can he be the judge!” shouted Ponko. He bent down to regard the pink one. “I assure you, little lady, that either outcome would serve my purposes.” He glanced back at his girls. “It would be nice to have my little girls around again.” He turned back over to Cthulhu, his brother from another other. He motioned to Plinka. “How can that one still talk?” I HAVE NO IDEA. “Well, enough visiting I suppose. Guests! Welcome! We have here a rare challenge to the Dreamer himself, Lord Cthulhu! It will be my little princesses, the Dazzlings, versus the Rainbooms!” Cheers, grunts, slurps, hoof stomps, and strange screeching noises washed over the stage from the very diverse crowd. “As it would be quite a feat for these teams to create a meal suitable for Cthulhu, what with his usual fare of sanity and hope being in short supply here…” The audience broke into laughter at this. Or at least the non-Euclidean equivalent of laughter. “I, Dagon, shall be the celebrity judge.” More cheers and shouts from the crowd. It seemed Dagi's father was some kind of big shot here, Anon reflected, as he tried to still the tremors rolling through his body.