Octavia and I reluctantly separate from our embrace and stand up to face Rainbow Dash, who has her eyebrow raised. Sunset Shimmer stands next to her with a grim face that I'm sure is fake.
"Rough Draft, what in the world are you doing here?" Sunset Shimmer asks.
"I don't answer to the likes you," I grumble.
"Rough Draft!" Octavia hisses in my ear. "Not now!"
"Hey! You have no right to right to talk to her like that!" Rainbow Dash exclaims. "And she's right! What in the world were you two thinking, going after the Dazzlings!?! You could've gotten hurt or worse!"
"Tavi!" Vinyl shouts as she enters the building with Bon Bon and Lyra following her. "We got a text from Doc that you split up and came as soon as we could with sca -"
Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer turn around to face them with Rainbow Dash still holding my scanner. Vinyl, Lyra, and Bon Bon slow down, realizing we have been caught.
"Aw nuts," Vinyl whispers under her breath.
"Seriously, DJ PON-3?" Rainbow Dash exclaims. "You were in this t -"
"Wait a minute, did you just talk?" Sunset Shimmer realizes.
Vinyl's eyes widen underneath her shades as she realizes her second mistake.
"Aw dang," she mutters. "There goes my image."
Nice priorities there, Vinyl.
Both Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash stand there agape. Rainbow Dash is the first to snap out of it.
"You know what? It's not important. You guys are chasing the Dazzlings who just escaped prison with tasers and these radar thingamajigs!"
Before Vinyl can answer, we all hear a groan, and we suddenly remember that the Blue Dazzling is still there. Her eyes are closed, and she wraps herself into a ball, still wincing and whimpering from the pain from my taser. Tears begin to come out of her eyes as she whispers, "Dagi...why did...Aria...help...please."
My heart sinks, feeling nothing but guilt for this girl. I saw how scared and helpless she is when the verdict was announced, but all I thought about when they escaped was the mission and the fact that they were the girls who manipulated us and controlled our minds not even a month ago. Yet there is this poor, blue girl scared, abandoned, and in pain from 50,000 volts running through her body. It is at this moment that I accept that this girl may not really as evil as we depicted her to be, and she needs help. I turned to Octavia, and I see in her eyes that she has the same idea.
Ignoring the pain in my back, I step forward and say, "Look, guys, we can argue about this for a while, but right now we're in the middle of a barely lit abandoned building and me, Octavia, and this girl have either been beaten up or tased. So can't we hold off the fighting until we go somewhere safe?"
All five of them look at me in surprise before Rainbow Dash reluctantly sighs, "Fine. But we better get some answers."
"Better than staying here," Vinyl agrees.
We turn to the exit as Lyra helps me walk, and Bon Bon helps Octavia. Vinyl texts Doc and Derpy of the situation and tells them to meet up at her house while Sunset Shimmer picks up the unconscious Dazzling and carries her bridal style.
When we make it outside, Rainbow Dash asks, "So where are we going?"
"We can bring the Dazzling to my place," Vinyl suggests. "We have some first aid and he can keep her contained."
"Contained!?!" Sunset Shimmer exclaims in disbelief. "You mean you planned to capture three teenage girls who ar-"
"Ugh, for the love of heaven, can we please hold off the fighting until we're at VINYL'S HOUSE!?!" Octavia snaps, making all of us jump in fear.
For an awkward moment, nobody moves a muscle, afraid that Octavia is going to attack them.
Finally, Rainbow Dash rubs the back of her head and says, "We'll take the Dazzling and text Applejack and the rest of our group to drive us over to your place."
"Uh, yeah, sure. That's fair," Vinyl says.
Without another word, Rainbow Dash starts texting Applejack while Vinyl starts the Wubmobile. Octavia grabs me by the shirt and pulls me to the back seat of the Wubmobile, still peeved, while Bon Bon takes a seat next to Lyra. No one says a word as Vinyl starts driving.
I have no idea what to do or what to say until Octavia lets out a long sigh and rests her head on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry you had to see that again," she says wearily.
"It's alright," I say calmly. "We weren't getting anywhere with the arguing."
She lifts her head and rests her chin on my shoulder to look at me with a smile.
"You're too kind, darling," she says.
"Well, isn't that what a boyfriend is supposed to do? Spoil his lady with kind words?" I ask with a smirk on my face.
She scoffs at my joke but keeps the smile on her face. Vinyl, Lyra, and Bon Bon let out breaths they did not know they were holding. Suddenly, I feel Octavia's finger touching the cheek where the Orange Dazzling socked me in the face, and I flinch.
"Sorry," she says. "I was just trying to get a good look at it. It looks like it's beginning to swell."
"Is it that bad?" I ask.
"You've looked cuter," Octavia replies.
"Gee, thanks. You are a charming girlfriend," I say sarcastically.
"Yes. Yes, I am." She answers matter-of-factually with a smile before she rests her head back on my shoulder, and we ease up a little as we head to Vinyl's house.
**********************************************************************************************************************
Vinyl pulls over at the driveway to her house, and we all exit out of the car. She tells us to go inside while she waits for the others to arrive.
We walk inside and head to the basement where Bon Bon grabs the first aid from a cabinet while Lyra grabs us some chairs for us to sit on. Bon Bon brings the kit over and hands some of the ointment and cloth to Lyra, who starts working on me while Bon Bon works on Octavia. I try to keep myself from flinching as Lyra touches the bruise on my cheek.
"So..." Lyra begins trying to lighten the mood. "First mission, and we capture a Dazzling. Not bad for a few people with no magic, huh?"
"Well, to be fair, it was the weakest one, and it's only because she dove into my line of fire," I say.
"Oh don't be so modest darling, you did great," Octavia says encouragingly. "At least you hit something with your taser."
"Yeah, I'll try to remember that when my forehead and back are less sore," I say with a groan. "Seriously, though, the leader was stronger than she looks. Maybe we should try to be better prepared with more than just tasers and half-working scanners next time."
"Agreed," Bon Bon, Lyra and Octavia say together.
Lyra and Bon Bon just about finishes patching Octavia and me up when we hear footsteps coming down the stairs and Vinyl and Rainbow Dash already restarting their argument with Applejack joining in while carrying the Blue Dazzling and Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Sunset Shimmer following.
"You had no right to just go after three escaped convicts like it's your job!" Rainbow Dash exclaims.
"Oh, and I suppose you guys weren't going to do the same because they're your former enemies at the Battle of the Bands?" Vinyl questions.
"Well, yes. I mean, no. I mea -" Rainbow Dash sputters.
"What Rainbow Dash is trying to say is you decided to jump into matters that wasn't your concern," says Applejack
"I'd say having those girls brainwash my friends makes it plenty my concern!" Vinyl counters.
"And you didn't think we couldn't have handled this?" Rainbow Dash argues.
"Last time I checked, you only can use your magic when you play music, are capable of being corrupted just like everyone else, and had to have someone with no magic to help you. And who was that? Oh yeah. Me!"
"We got out of their spell on our own! Sunset figured out how to stop us from fighting!" Rainbow Dash counters.
"Yeah, well, what happens the next time some magic tries to destroy the school? How do you know you can handle it?" Vinyl questions.
"If something like that happens again, we'll figure it out," Applejack says calmly.
"Yeah? Well, who says only you get to do something about it?" Vinyl snaps. "Some of us don't want to be helpless pawns for someone else's game ever again and would do anything to defend ourselves even if there's a small chance that we can do it without magic. Did you ever think of that?!"
Applejack and Rainbow Dash become silent from Vinyl's outburst. Rainbow Dash tries to think of a way to counter Vinyl's argument while Applejack scratches the back of her head, uneasy.
"But why didn't you come to us?"
All of us turn to see Sunset Shimmer join the argument with a calm voice. A suspicious frown enters my face as she looks at Vinyl with a worried look.
"Do you think that just because we're capable of being tricked and we can only use our magic a certain way defending yourself alone is your only option?" She asks.
"Shimmer, I may have fought alongside you at the Battle of the Bands, but there are some of us who are uneasy about magic in general after demons and sirens shooting laser beams and mess with their heads." Vinyl counters while Lyra, Bon Bon, Octavia, and I nodding in agreement.
"I understand," Sunset Shimmer says, "But we can't let things like that keep us apart. I don't know if there are any other beings from my world out there or why there is still magic in Canterlot High, but if you're really concerned about what is happening, then why can't we figure it out together?"
Vinyl is taken aback at her words and starts to consider her offer, making me worry. I can't bear to see this happen, but I don't know what I can do to stop this.
Luckily, the moment is interrupted by another whimper from the Blue Dazzling. Everyone turns to see her still in Applejack's arms and slowly coming to.
"Quick, put her here," Vinyl says, pointing at a couch.
Applejack gently places the girl on the couch and we huddle together, surrounding her as we wait to see her come to. After a moment, two violet eyes slowly open as the Dazzling slowly lifts her head to find eleven faces surrounding her. She screams and immediately tries to get out of the couch and run, but Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Vinyl, and I grab her and force her down on the couch as she continues kicking and screaming.
As we hold her down, Fluttershy, who is standing behind the couch, places her hands on the blue girl's frightened face and calmly says, "There, there. It's alright. Nothing to be scared of. You're safe."
I don't understand how, but her words get the girl to calm down while still being afraid of us. Guess Fluttershy isn't the spirit of kindness (or whatever Twilight Sparkle girl calls her) for nothing.
"W-Where am I?" The Dazzling finally asks.
"You're in my house," Vinyl answers before pointing her finger at me. "We brought you here after Rough Draft tased you."
I feel my guilt rise again as she turns to look at me with her sad eyes. The look of hurt innocence in her face makes my heart feel like it is slowly shattering into tiny pieces. It's hard to see her be so intimidated to see me as the person who tased her.
"W-where's Dagi and Aria? Where are my sisters? What have you done to them?" She asks.
Before Vinyl can answer, we hear a door open and slam shut as Derpy tries to comfort a frustrated Doc walking down the stairs.
"Blast this thing! I can't believe it glitched on me!" he grumbles.
"It's okay, Doc. It's alright. You did your best." Derpy says calmly while patting his back for comfort.
"The dickens I did!" Doc complains. "I calculated the slightest possibility for anything to go wrong apart from the weak signals, and yet this thing leads me almost right back to the bloody courtroom. Now we have two escaped convicts that could still contain unknown energy, who have likely fled far away fro -"
At that moment, a squeaky gasp comes the blue girl's mouth, and all eyes go back to her as she recollects what happened.
"Dagi....you...you left...me," she says as tears start to appear in her eyes. "I-I tried to save you and...and...and..."
She buries her face with both hands and cries loudly. All any of us can do is watch uncomfortably as she bawls like a little child.
"Come on, y'all," says Applejack. "Let's give her some time."
Without any words, we agree and silently walk up the stairs while Fluttershy sits next to the Dazzling and comforts her.
As we are going up, Doc follows behind, confused.
"I say, did I miss something?" He asks.
*********************************************************************************************
I lean against a wall in the hallway while everyone else finds places to sit and wait. No one is saying a word as we hear the Blue Dazzling cry her heart out downstairs.
"Hey there, partner."
I turn around to see Applejack walk over to me with a small smile.
"Mind if I join ya?" She asks.
I gesture, "sure," and she leans on the wall facing me. Silence fills the air between us until she clears her throat.
"Listen, I know this is hardly the right time, but since you're here and all, I might as well ask," she says, looking down as if her boots are the most interesting thing before she faces me again. "How's uh, how's Caramel holding up?"
I don't know how to react to those four words. Honestly, I'm surprised that she took that much notice of him, given how she used Rainbow Dash and Soarin as messengers. I take a moment to think of my choice of words before I answer with a sigh.
"He's holding up as much as he can. Down, but putting on a brave face," I say.
Applejack frowns at my answer.
"Yeah, I'm sorry that I had to let him down like that," she says sadly. "I know telling him through Rainbow Dash and Soarin wasn't the best way to do it, but I guess I didn't know how else to act. I don't usually have time for myself apart from school and friends or otherwise working at the farm. I'm just not the kind of girl who's into that stuff. I didn't mean to hurt him. He seems like a sweet guy even if his actions are a little off."
I make a small chuckle at that statement.
"Well, having a big crush on someone can make you do stupid things. You know I've been there," I say.
Her frown deepens and she says, "You really shouldn't be holding on to -"
"Look, I don't want to get into it, Applejack," I say sharply. "You know that you're falling on deaf ears."
"I know. But does Octavia know?" Applejack asks.
This time it's my turn to frown.
"No, and I don't plan on telling her yet, and she's willing to wait until I'm ready," I answer.
"Well, you shouldn't make her wait too long, sugarcube," Applejack suggests. "You're going to hurt what's going on between you two the longer you wait. Besides, there's no such thing as being ready for something like that."
Without another word, she walks away to talk to the other Rainbooms. I start to think about what she said until a hand touches my shoulder, and I turn to see Octavia with a concerned look.
"Are you alright?" She asks worriedly.
I let out a long sigh before I answer, "Well, I tased a scared girl and got her separated from what appears to be her sister whom she just found out would throw her under a bus. So, I wouldn't consider myself 'alright.'"
"Hey," Octavia says sharply as she forces me to look at her with her other hand. "You had no way of knowing anything like that was going to happen."
"Didn't I, though?" I question. "You saw the way she looked at the trial, Octavia. Something more than just the trial was wrong, and whatever it was, it was scaring her, and yet all I could think about when we cashed her was that she is a Dazzling and how they needed to be stopped, and now I've done nothing but cause pain again."
"Again? Rough Draft, what are you talking about?" Octavia asks worriedly.
Before I can respond, Lyra clears her throat from behind, causing both of us to turn to her.
"She's calm now. Vinyl wants everyone back," Sure says.
We both give her a nod and look at each other, where I can see in her eyes that Octavia is still worried. I have a feeling that the Dazzling girl is no longer what is on her mind.
I guess I don't have long before I have to tell her everything.
*********************************************************************************************
We walk back down to the basement where the Blue Dazzling appears to have calmed down, but her eyes are red from crying, and Fluttershy is still sitting next to her with her arm around her. We form a half-circle around the couch as Vinyl gets down on one knee facing the Dazzling and speaks as kindly as possible.
"So, bluey, mind if we ask you some questions?" She asks.
The girl lets out a sniffle before she mumbles something we can't hear.
"Uh, sorry, what was that?" Vinyl asks.
"My...my name is Sonata," the blue girl says quietly.
"Alright then, Sonata, is it okay if we ask you some questions?" Vinyl asks again.
Sonata leans away from Vinyl, still afraid. Vinyl holds her hands up defensively
"Whoa, whoa, it's alright. We're not going to hurt you," Vinyl says calmly before she shrugs. "I mean yeah, Rough Draft tased you but to be fair -"
"Vinyl!" Octavia hisses.
"Um, I think what she means to say is you're okay, and there's nothing to worry about," Fluttershy says softly.
Sonata is still acting defensive around us, but she seems willing to trust Fluttershy. She takes a deep breath before reluctantly saying, "Okay."
"Alright. Well, for starters, why did you and the other two girls attack Canterlot high?" Vinyl asks.
Sonata's frown deepens and she says, "I-I think we were trying to go back to Equestria."
"Equestria?" Vinyl, Doc, Derpy, Lyra, Bon Bon, Octavia, and I ask at the same time.
"It's the world where I come from," Sunset Shimmer explains before turning back to Sonata. "But why would you try to go back? I imagine you wouldn't exactly get a warm welcome from Princess Twilight."
"I don't know," Sonata answers.
"Aw, come on, you're obviously lying," Rainbow Dash says impatiently.
"No, no, I really don't, " Sonata protests. "We were hiding in that abandoned building you found us in ever since the Battle of the Bands, but then a couple of days ago, I was laying down in a room on the second floor, trying to get some sleep in a worn-out mattress when Dagi stormed in calling out for Aria."
"And Dagi is the orange girl, right?" Octavia asks.
"Well, yes. Her real name is Adagio, but I liked to call her Dagi," Sonata answers. "I couldn't understand what they were saying downstairs, but when it was over, Aria came up to me and dragged me out of the room by my wrist. I asked what was going on, but all she said was that they were going back to Equestria. I asked why we're trying to go back, but all she did was drag me with Dagi in front of us. When we reached the school, I asked why we were there, and all Aria did was give me a rock and told me to shut up and break some windows. I reluctantly did as I was told while Dagi was trying to break the back door open, grumbling, "It's gotta be here somewhere." I guess they figured that there was so much Equestria magic here that there had to be some gateway back into our homeworld. I watched both her and Aria become desperate as Aria started to try to get inside the school with one of the broken windows but couldn't reach and so she ordered me to give her a boost. That was around the time the police came, and we made a run for it until they caught us."
"They were that desperate to go back to your world?" Doc asks.
Sonata nods and says, "It was odd to see them act the way they did. Underneath Dagi's determination and Aria's no-nonsense attitude, they looked afraid. Terrified even. I don't know how or why, but whatever made them want to go back to Equestria was making them panic and it frightened me."
"They didn't look scared at the trial," I say.
"That's because they hide their feelings well from others," Sonata answers. "They may have had an escape already planned with that flash bomb - nothing we hadn't done before when controlling people with our pendants didn't work, but I've stood by their side for over a thousand years, and I can tell how they feel even if they don't show it. I couldn't be as confident about us escaping as I use to because of that. How could I now that we don't have any magic, and not even Dagi was able to keep it together like she used to? I played along, all the same, keeping my eyes shut before the flash bomb goes off, knock out one of the guards to break free from my handcuffs and all that stuff. But after we did that, I didn't know what we were going next until Dagi forcefully grabbed my hand and we ran back to that building and, well, you know the rest."
Silence fills the basement again as we contemplate Sonata's story. I don't know how to feel about knowing all this mysterious magic stuff going on, and not even one of the people who turned us into mindless zombies knows what it is.
"Do you know why Dagi - or Adagio whichever would abandon you like that?" Rainbow Dash asks.
Sonata frowns with her head down as she starts sniffling.
"I know why," she says bitterly as her eyes begin to water again. "Because I'm nothing but a third wheel to her. I don't mean to be confused about the things she says or what she tells me to do or that I like to daydream a lot, but maybe she stuck to it because she still needed me when we still had our magic. She knew that we had to survive in this world together with our magic, but after you destroyed our pendants, she and Aria started ignoring me. She must've decided that I was of no use for her after I drove in front of her and decided that it was time to get rid of me because..." Sonata starts to break down, fighting the tears as she tries to finish her sentence. "Because I'm stupid... annoying....weak...and a worthless piece of trash that she can easily…"
She starts crying again, covering her face with her hands. Fluttershy wraps her arms around Sonata and quietly whispers words of comfort.
"Maybe we should take this time to discuss this upstairs," Vinyl suggests.
We all silently nod and, without a word, quietly walk up the stairs leaving Fluttershy to calm Sonata down again.
**********************************************************************************************
We follow Vinyl to the living room and she gestures us to take a seat on the couches and chairs. I decide to lean on the wall with my arms crossed, and Octavia stands next to me. We stay in silence for a moment before Rainbow Dash decides to speak up.
"So, what do we do about this?" She asks.
"That's a good question," Sunset Shimmer replies. "Obviously, we can't keep her here for long. She's an escaped convict, and the police are looking for her and the other Dazzlings."
"Yeah, as much as I hate to say it, we probably have no choice but to bring her back," says Vinyl
"Now wait a minute. Who says we have to do that?" I step in. "Yeah, she escaped, but that doesn't mean juvenile hall is the best thing for her. This girl has been misled by the other two for...a long time apparently, and maybe we should try to help her out instead of leaving her to go to jail alone."
"Hang on, aren't you the same guy who was all 'down with the Dazzlings' like everyone else?" Bon Bon points out.
"Yeah, you were eager to see all of them get sentenced to prison just like everyone else," Lyra adds.
"That was before I saw this particular one be an emotional mess before I even tased her," I answer. "Besides, are you guys going to tell me you have no remorse for Sonata after everything she just explained to us?"
"Well, no," Rainbow Dash admits. "But what other choice do we have?"
"Maybe we could say that she just happened to be running near here after escaping?" Lyra suggests. "I mean, Vinyl's place is on the other side of town from where they were running away, but the way that the flash affected almost everyone except for you, Applejack, Sunset Shimmer, Rough Draft and Octavia, you guys and the Dazzlings were long gone before anyone else knew what happened."
"You were affected by the flash for that long?" Octavia asks.
"Yeah, I guess this Adagio knew what she was doing," Bon Bon answers.
"Well, I guess that answers what she's doing here, but what about keeping her from juvie?" Rainbow Dash asks. "It's not like eleven teenagers can just ask for a redo of her trial or an appeal or whatever."
"Maybe not," Vinyl says. "But I know a guy who does attorney work for my folks. He's pretty good at what he does, so maybe we could get him to appeal for Sonata to exchange her juvie time for community service or something. Maybe she could help fix the windows and door back at Canterlot High, kind of like what Sunset Shimmer had to do after the Fall Formal."
"How are we going to get him to help us?" Octavia asks.
Vinyl looks at her, confused and says, "What do you mean, Tavi? We tell my parents what's up, and they'll call him."
"Vinyl, are you crazy?!" Octavia exclaims. "You tell your parents what we've done, and they'll just send Sonata back to the police and ground you for life!"
"Nah. More like I get chewed out. I've been chewed out before," Vinyl says with a shrug. "It's not fun and all, but they will calm down after a while and help out."
Octavia stares at Vinyl in disbelief of what she just heard. She can't believe that Vinyl's parents - let alone any parent, would take something as helping an escaped convict as well as she claims they will, and frankly, neither could I.
After a moment, Octavia lets out a sigh and says, "I worry about you sometimes, Vinyl."
Vinyl shrugs again and goes back to the subject at hand.
"Well, even with that said, we should figure out where Sonata should stay if she gets an appeal," she suggests.
"I'll take her," Sunset Shimmer says without missing a beat. The moment she does, however, my blood starts to boil, and I close my fists.
"I have plenty of room at my apartment, and maybe she'll be more comfortable with another person from Equestria," she says. "Plus, I could help her get to know the Magic of Friendship."
Everyone else says words of agreement, which makes me more angry. At this point, I can't stay quiet anymore.
"No," I say coldly.
Everyone turns to me with faces of confusion and worry. Octavia looks worried about what I'm going to do.
"What?" Sunset Shimmer asks in a concerned tone.
"You heard me," I reply. "I don't want you anywhere near Sonata."
"Now hold on there, Rough Draft," says Applejack. "I don't know what you're getting at, but Sunset Shimmer is the best -"
"Don't you get it?" I snap. "She's using you!"
"Rough Draft," Octavia says, but I ignore her.
"It's bad enough that you all believe she's changed just because of some rainbow magic and a fight against the Dazzlings, but you seriously think you would trust her with the life of one of her former competition against our world?"
"Rough Draft!" Octavia hisses, but I still don't listen.
"You're all blind!" I claim. "How is it not clear that Sunset Shimmer is just biding her time, pretending to be so loving and caring before the next thing you know she's -"
"Rough Draft, that's enough!!!" Octavia shouts. "You're way out of line!!!!"
"Oh, well, excuse me for having a care for other people's well-being!" I shout back.
"What does that even mean? Just because she's doing something nice for someone who needs help she's a monster!?" she questions
"You have no idea what she's capable of, do you?" I challenge.
"Does this look like someone who's going to do whatever the dickens you think she's going to do?!" she exclaims, pointing at Sunset Shimmer, who is acting hurt.
"Augh! Forget this," I snarl. "You do what you guys want. I wash my hands from this."
"Rough Draft!" Octavia calls out, but I ignore her. I run out of the living room and race through the front door. I hear Octavia calling out to me as I make it to the driveway, but her calls fall on deaf ears. All I can think about is getting away from this nonsense. Away from Sunset Shimmer.
Away from Octavia.