"SHE DID WHAT?!"
It's the Monday after the ball and lunchtime at the school cafeteria. Soarin and Caramel had stuff going on on Sunday, so I have just told them what happened at the ball.
"You heard me," I say boastfully. "She confessed her love for me. It wasn't me who said it first, it was her. She pretty much announced it to the whole ballroom."
"Holy crap dude, that's awesome!" Soarin exclaims excitedly.
"Yeah, it is," Caramel says. "Though I still think it's too soon."
"Yeah, well, you also said be sure that she feels the same way, and she does." I point out. "So she loves me, I love her, and that's that."
Caramel sighs, and says, "I guess I can't argue with that. In any case, I am glad for you, Rough Draft. This is wonderful news."
"Yeah, it is," Soarin replies. "So what happened to Blueblood after that?"
I look at him hesitantly before I notice Vice-Principal Luna standing at the entrance of the cafeteria. She is talking to Snips and Snails about something with a cool but disapproving look on her face. Just watching her act like her usual self like nothing happened on top of the fact that I don't know what she did to Blueblood after they left, which gives me goosebumps.
"Uh, why are you shivering, Rough Draft?" Caramel asks quizzingly.
I snap out of my thoughts and recollect myself to answer.
"Let's just say Octavia and I technically have been asked not to talk about what happened to Blueblood," I say before I quickly change the subject. "By the way, Soarin, how's it going with you and Rainbow Dash?"
Soarin shrugs as he answers with a smile. "It's been going pretty tight. It's sort of awkward that were in two separate groups that kind of have to do with fighting magic, but she's cool about it for the most part. We just focus on soccer and otherwise hang out as a couple without any of the mushy stuff."
"Speaking of which, I got a text telling me to tell you guys that we got an E.M.R. meeting at Vinyl's place after school," Caramel says.
"And who sent you the text, Caramel Bear?" Soarin asks teasingly. "Was it your Lye Lye or your Bonnie Bon?"
Caramel's tan face turns deep red. He tries to hit Soarin on the head, but Soarin is too strong for it to have any effect.
"Stop calling me that already!" He exclaims. "And especially stop calling them those names! It's creepy that they want me to call them that! And for your information, it was Vinyl who sent the text!"
"Alright, alright," Soarin says with his hands up in defense. "But seriously, they've been chasing after you from the moment we joined the group. Why don't you make a move on one of them already?"
"You know why," Caramel snaps. " I love Applejack. I'm not going to give up on her."
"Take it easy, dude. Soarin's just teasing you." I say calmly. "But all joking aside, maybe a little interaction with the two of them might do some good."
"Are you kidding me, Rough Draft?" He exclaims. "I barely said a word to Applejack at Pinkie Pie's party. How am I supposed to do any better with those hyperactive girls!"
"Exactly," I say. "Maybe by giving one of them a shot, you might grow to be more comfortable around girls that make you nervous. Who knows? Maybe Applejack will start to get interested in stuff like dating, and you will be comfortable enough to make your move and get together with her."
"No way. I'm not going to embarrass myself further by giving either of those girls a chance. I can barely stand it when I'm anywhere near them as it is," Caramel says. "I'm going to wait until Applejack is ready to give dating me a shot. Otherwise, I'm going to die a lonely bachelor living in either of your basements where I can grow old."
Soarin and I look at each other concerned. We know Caramel loves Applejack endlessly, but this seems a little too far.
"We just want you to be happy, man," Soarin says. "We know how much she means to you, but this isn't healthy. You should try to be a little more outgoing and learn more about dating and stuff. Plus, as much as we love you, I don't think Rainbow Dash would approve if we got married, and we had to bring you with us because you're still waiting for Applejack."
"Yeah, you'll probably get the same deal if Octavia and I get married," I say. "I think both of them would want you to try to move forward or something."
Caramel looks at both of us and sighs sadly.
"I wish things just went as smoothly for me as it did for you guys when it came to dating," he says glumly.
"Well, I wouldn't call the process of dating smooth for me given the stuff that Octavia and I went through, but I get what you mean," I say.
The bell rings, announcing that lunch is over. As we separate to our respective classes, Soarin says, "Okay, so let's meet at my car for Vinyl's after school," He turns to Caramel and says. "And think about what we said, buddy."
Caramel doesn't say anything as he walks to his class. Soarin and I look at each other concerned before we reluctantly say goodbye and head to our classes.
***************************************************************************************************
Two hours later, school ends, and I grab my stuff from my locker before heading to the parking lot to meet Caramel and Soarin. I feel my phone vibrating, and I open it to see a text from Octavia.
Octavia: Don't forget we're meeting at Vinyl's for an E.M.R. meeting today. I can't wait to see you there. I love you. <3
I beam at her text, and after closing my locker, I start walking down the hall and text her back. But by doing so, I don't pay attention to where I am going, and the next thing I know, I butt heads with someone who drops all of their papers and books. I look up, and to my dismay, it's none other than Sunset Shimmer.
We look at each other for a couple of seconds before she gets down on her knees and starts picking up her stuff. As much as I want to walk away, I know I should help as part of our agreement, and if nothing else, it is probably what Octavia would want.
I awkwardly get down on my knees and start collecting some of her books and papers.
"Sorry about that," I say uncomfortably. "Wasn't looking."
"It's alright. I wasn't either," Sunset Shimmer says, not looking at me.
We stand up and in the most awkward manner, and I gave her the books and papers from my side of the pile.
"Thank you," She says politely.
"Yeah, no problem," I politely say back.
For a moment, we don't say anything until I think about how Octavia wants me to be in better terms with her, so I clear my throat.
"So, how have you been?" I ask.
She acts a little more comfortable and answers with a smile, "I'm doing good. I've been pretty happy with Rainbow Dash and Applejack and the others."
"That's good," I say.
"Actually, speaking of Applejack, how's your friend Caramel holding up?" She asks.
"Well, he's bummed, but we're trying to help him through it. Lyra and Bon Bon seem to take an interest in him, so we recently discussed that maybe he should give one of them a shot at dating. Like as a means to move on or at least try to be less shy."
"Um, are you sure about that?" She asks, sounding concerned. "I may only know those two from when we were talking about Sonata a month ago, but they did not seem like the right kind of girls for someone like Caramel."
"It's a long shot, I admit," I say. "But I like to think it could be good for him. Plus, if things don't work out between him and either one of those girls and if Applejack ever changes her mind about dating, at least he could be more confident."
Sunset Shimmer raises an eyebrow.
"Well, I can't say that's the soundest thing I've ever heard, but I guess that's something," she says.
"Indeed," I say plainly.
Sunset Shimmer nods and says, "By the way, what's the latest about Sonata? I haven't heard from DJ PON-3 in a while."
"Well, when Octavia and I visited her, she seemed to be doing alright. Vinyl might bring us news about the possible appeal trial at her place today, so fingers crossed."
"Absolutely," Sunset Shimmer says
For a minute, we look away from each other again until Sunset Shimmer clears her throat and asks, "So, how are things between you and Octavia Melody?"
I stare at her suspiciously. The way she asked that sounds like it's what she really wants to talk about.
"Well, actually, we confessed our love to each other last Saturday," I say proudly. "We went to a ball in Manehattan, and she confessed her love for me in front of everyone in the ballroom."
Sunset Shimmer is taken aback at this news. She tries to recollect her thoughts before she speaks again.
"Wow, the whole ballroom? That's amazing," she says. "That's wonderful news, Rough Draft. Guess you didn't have to wait for very long after all."
I can't help but chuckle at her comment.
"Yeah, go, figure," I say. "Guess you jinxed when you told me to wait."
Sunset Shimmer chuckles back before she mumbles, "Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I?" before she regains her posture and says with a smile, "I'm happy for you, Rough Draft."
I can't tell if she's being sincere or if her words are forced. I want to say that I know she is lying, but I resist knowing that it probably wouldn't accomplish anything.
"Thanks," I say quietly before I remember the meeting. "Well, I better get going. My girl is waiting for me at Vinyl's, and I don't want to keep her waiting."
Sunset Shimmer looks a little sad before she says, "Oh yeah. You better do that. It was nice catching up with you."
"Yeah, sure, you too," I say nonchalantly as I walk past her and head to the parking lot.
****************************************************************************************
Caramel, Soarin, and I enter Vinyl's house and walk down the stairs to the basement where Octavia, Lyra, Bon Bon, and Derpy are already there. Octavia turns to me and raises an eyebrow as I sit next to her.
"It's unlike you to not respond to my texts, Mr. Draft," she says.
Oh yeah. Whoops.
"Uh, sorry about that," I say, scratching the back of my head. "I was about to text you back when I accidentally bumped into Sunset Shimmer, and a conversation started, and it slipped my mind from there."
"Oh? And how was that?" She asks curiously.
"It was okay, I guess," I say plainly. "We kinda just played catch up until she started asking how we're doing. Now I know you're going to call me paranoid, but I get the feeling she was bummed that we covered our love."
Octavia raises her eyebrow again and says, "You think she's bummed that we confessed our love? Darling, I love you, but I do find you quite paranoid."
"Well, I'd like to think I have a reasonable explanation this time," I explain. "I told her what happened at the ball, she said that she was happy for us, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that her smile was a bit forced. I know it sounds ridiculous, but if you were there, I'm sure you'd see the same thing too."
Octavia stares at me before she rolls her eyes and sighs.
"Oh, my darling Rough Draft, what am I going to do with you?" She asks.
"Give me a kiss for not blowing up on her?" I suggest with a nervous chuckle.
She rolls her eyes again before she smiles.
"Well, I do appreciate that you kept your cool without my supervision," she says.
She places her hand on my cheek as we press our lips together. We kiss for a few seconds before Vinyl enters the room.
"Alright, alright, eyes on me and all that," Vinyl says. "Derpy, text Doc and ask him when's he coming. Tavi, Draft, stop exchanging saliva. Lyra, Bon Bon, quit making smoochy faces behind 'Caramel Bear.'"
Caramel blushes as we all turn around to see both Lyra and Bon Bon blushing like mad.
"WE WERE NOT!!!" They shout.
Vinyl snickers at their reaction.
"I know. Made you look, everyone," Vinyl says teasingly.
We all give Vinyl a hard, deadly glare.
"Anyway, so I got some good news before we start." Vinyl begins. "My parents' lawyer told me that Sonata has her appeal trial scheduled for this Saturday. They're making it a private trial after her sisters escaped, so it looks like, besides me, none of us can come in. But my parent's lawyer seems pretty confident that our case looks good with Sonata's testimony, her information on Adagio and Aria, and her good behavior in juvie. So, hopefully, it won't be long before the Apples can take her in and look after her."
We all smile at each other with this news.
"Now, on to the more serious stuff," she says. "Even though we're starting to come to easier terms with The Rainbooms, they don't seem to be comfortable with Doc conducting experiments about their magic just for our purposes. So, even though Sonata has no magic, she has agreed to help Doc explain more stuff about how magic works in Equestria or whatever that other world is called."
"How come The Rainbooms don't want to help him with understanding magic?" Caramel asks.
Vinyl scratches the back of her head and says, "Let's just say his experiments involved blood tests and stuff like that, and one attempt to do some of that to Fluttershy later..."
We all shiver at the thought of any harm coming to the most innocent girl in the world.
"That does sound like something that would affect the alliance," Caramel says.
"Exactly," Vinyl confirms. "Now Sonata is not overly fond of that stuff either, but she's more willing because she's trying to prove her worth as a changed girl and all that."
"Well, as long as Doc doesn't go overboard, I suppose that's acceptable," Octavia says, and we all make murmurs of agreement.
"Agreed," Vinyl says. "Now for our second act of business -"
Suddenly, Doc slams the upstairs door closed and walks down the stairs holding a bunch of blueprints.
"It's about time, Doc," Vinyl says impatiently. "What took you so long?"
"So sorry, Vinyl," Doc explains. "I tried to get here as fast as I could, but I almost forgot to grab my plans."
"Uh, you always forget those things, man," Vinyl says, annoyed. "Why can't you just download them to your phone or something?"
Doc looks at Vinyl appalled as he hugs his blueprints like he's afraid she will hurt them.
"Ms. Scratch, I may be a man of science and technology, but nothing says excitement like having brilliant new ideas in blueprints for all to see." He says proudly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you love science, Bad Wolf, you're nostalgic, whatever," Vinyl says with a wave of her hand. "Let's just get on with it."
Doc huffs, offended before he turns to everyone else.
"Right." He begins as he starts unrolling blueprints and placing them on the table. "So if you all recall, I've meant to create designs for possible weapons we could use in case of another 'magic' attack. Thus, I've started thinking of ways for each of us can defend ourselves in case of another attack from Equestria."
"Wait, should we wouldn't have the same kind of weapons or something like you did with those tasters at the trial?" Soarin asks.
"Nah, we decided to make gadgets and stuff that works best for each person," Vinyl explains. "We figure we would build the team so that there are people with ranged and melee weapons for better means of strategy in battle. Think of it like building a guild in an RPG game."
"You make it sound like we're going to fight orcs or trolls or anything from Lord of the Rings," I say.
"Dude, we were attacked by demons and giant horse-fish monsters from another world, and you think it's silly that we could encounter orcs or trolls?" Vinyl ridicules.
"Point taken," I say, scratching the back of my head.
"Wait, are we talking about making lethal weapons for this?" Caramel asks, concerned.
"Goodness, no," Doc says. "This is meant to incapacitate them or destroy whatever powerful item they possess. It was through 'magical' crowns and necklaces that Sunset Shimmer and the Dazzlings possessed so much of this unique energy, so it stands to reason that if your school is attacked again, we'll be looking for something similar."
"Do we have a more solid plan for if we capture someone with magical abilities? I imagine we want to do something better than we did with Sonata." Octavia asks.
"Well, not right now," Vinyl admits. "That's something we would have to bring up with the Rainbooms if it ever comes to that."
"Do they know you guys are making weapons?" Derpy asks a little worried.
"Nah, we want it to be a secret," Vinyl says. "I know we are trying to be on good terms with them, but I think this matter should be need-to-know. You never know if they get tricked or hypnotized, and they use what they know about us to an enemy's advantage. And yes, that means you gotta say none of this to Rainbow Dash, Soarin."
"Seriously?" Soarin exclaims. "Rainbow Dash wanted me here so that she doesn't have to hide anything, but I do?"
"I'm sure she'll understand if she ever finds out you kept this from her, man," I say.
"Easy for you to say, bro. You and your girl are in the same group." Soarin retorts.
I turn to Octavia and smile as I wrap my arm around there and say, "Well, you got me there, dude." before I kiss Octavia on the cheek which she returns with a smile.
"So, how are we going to make sure we can't get brainwashed like everyone else?" Caramel asks.
"Ah, I was hoping someone would ask," Doc says before he takes one of his blueprints and unrolls it for everyone to see. The diagram looks like it was meant for building some sort of set of earplugs.
"What are those supposed to be?" Lyra asks, confused.
"These are meant to shield us from any kind of hypnosis," Doc explains. "If I can learn enough by studying whatever special energy Sonata has left, I can use it to make it so that these earplugs can detect them and thus alter our brains to make us immune to the energy that's trying to penetrate our consciousness."
Derpy looks at him, confused.
"It does who in the what now?" She asks.
"It keeps us from getting brainwashed," Vinyl says bluntly.
"But how can you be sure it will help us adapt to whatever magic we might come across?" Bon Bon asks.
Doc roars in laughter before he proudly answers, "Oh, Bon Bon, we could have until Christmas, and I still wouldn't be able to explain all of the details behind this work-in-progress beauty. The important thing is as long as I learn enough about the source with Sonata's help, any brainwashing attempts made to us in the future will be as threatening as a gust of wind."
Bon Bon still looks at him, confused, but accepts the explanation.
"So, with that in mind, let's take a look at the other gadgets Doc has at work." Vinyl suggests.
We all nod as Doc takes out and unravels the rest of his blueprints.
"Well, I'm still working out possible weapons for Caramel and Soarin, given that they are still relatively new to the E.M.R., as well as Lyra and Bon Bon because...well they're kind of hard to figure out since they are so alike. Sorry girls."
Lyra and Bon Bon grumble in annoyance.
"But for everyone else, I have some ideas," Doc continues. "I'm thinking Rough Draft and Octavia will be our melee offense, so I'm thinking of something like swords and shields for you two."
"Hang on," I interrupt. "As cool as I am with the idea of having a sword, how is that supposed to work, especially since weapons aren't allowed in school?"
"Well first off, it will help that these will be blunt swords," Doc explained. "These are more like clubs than anything else, but nothing hard enough that it's lethal. As for how to prepare you guys, I've been working on a prototype for Octavia for basically a club and a shield that looks like a cello and a cello bow. Since she's used to using both of her arms simultaneously, I think she can manage to use this just fine."
Octavia raises an eyebrow at this idea.
"No offense, Doc, but using my bow and cello isn't the same as using a sword and shield." She says.
"Too right, you are, Tavi," Doc says. "Which is why if I make these, you will need a little practice with them.
"What about Vinyl and Derpy?" I ask.
"Well, with Derpy, she wouldn't have to do anything if I had it my way," Doc grumbles, making us look at him confused. "But Vinyl said she's already working on something. Vinyl?"
Vinyl grins and makes an excited chuckle before she says, "If you'll follow me."
We follow Vinyl to the other side of the main basement hall to a large room filled with sound equipment and black styrofoam covering the walls. At the center of the room is a table, and on top of it is a large, grey machine with speakers, sound settings, and a record player installed on the side. Vinyl walks over to it and pics it up by the handles on the top and back of the machine.
"Vinyl, what on Earth is that thing?" Octavia asks.
"This is my weapon of choice." Vinyl answers proudly. "This is my gift to the world. My precious baby made for all the magic battles and otherwise jams to come. This is my Bass Cannon."
All of us look at her bewildered at what she just said to us.
"Your Bass Cannon?" Caramel finally asks.
Vinyl chuckles at his question and says, "Allow me to elaborate. When I was fighting The Dazzlings with the Rainbooms, I used the Wub Mobile to blast away their horse-fish spirit thingies. Basically, with the Rainboom's music and my control of the sound, we literally blasted them away. We still used some magic spells, and we ultimately had to be saved by Sunset Shimmer and all, but it gave me the idea of making a portable device used for the same effect in case we would have to fight another magical being. So, for the past couple of months, I've been working on this baby, and I had just finished it during the weekend."
"Okay, sounds cool, but how does it work?" Soarin asks.
"With the music installed in the record, I can use its music as a force of blowing enemies away like I did with Sonata and her sisters or otherwise hurt their ears as a distraction for our melee group," Vinyl answers. "I already gave Doc the suggestion of having his magic-immune earplugs also work so that you guys can't be affected by the cannon. Also, notice that the loudest this baby can go is 140 decibels, which for those of you who aren't familiar with the science of sound, is the threshold of pain. To put that into perspective, 0 decibels is the threshold of hearing, and the lowest my cannon can go is 60 decibels. So no matter what, if you get hit by my precious baby, you're going to have a pretty unpleasant experience."
Everyone but Doc says, "ahh," in interest before Lyra and Bon Bon excitedly shout, "Demonstration! Demonstration!"
"Alright, alright, I'll give you a demonstration," Vinyl says with a proud smirk. "But, I'm gonna have to show you down here so we can keep this puppy a secret."
"How are we going to do that?" Octavia asks with her eyebrow raised.
"This sound booth is big enough for this," Vinyl explains. "I just need you guys to watch from the control booth, so you don't get your ears hurt while I grab the bag of flour I got for target practice."
"Vinyl, aren't you going to cause a mess by -" Octavia began before Vinyl interrupts her.
"Nah, I'm gonna be fine," Vinyl says confidently. "Just get in before I turn the cannon on with you still in."
Octavia tries to protest, but she sighs, knowing that her words are falling on deaf ears. She sighs as she follows the rest of the group to the control booth and me. We close the door while Vinyl brings a stool and a bag of flour to the recording booth. Vinyl places the seat at the center of the recording studio and puts the bag of flour on top of it. She puts on a headset and activates the mic.
"You guys ready?" We hear Vinyl ask from the speakers in the control booth.
"Do it!" Lyra and Bon Bon shouts through the intercom.
Vinyl grins as she flips a switch, and the Bass Cannon turns on. The needle places itself on the record, and music starts to play. We can barely hear it from the control booth, but given how loud Vinyl says it is, that's probably a good thing. Vinyl sets the volume to its lowest level before she turns to us and mouths to us, "Let's get this party started!" before she pulls the trigger.
Nothing happens.
Caramel, Soarin, and I look at each other confused. Derpy scratches her head while Lyra and Bon Bon boo in disappointment, and Octavia and Doc look at each other concerned. Vinyl pulls the trigger repeatedly, growing frustrated.
Suddenly I notice a spark coming from the bottom of the bass cannon. I turn to Doc and worryingly ask, "Should we be worried about that?"
Doc notices what I'm talking about, and his eyes widen.
"Everybody get down!" He shouts.
Immediately, everyone drops on the floor, and we huddle together under the sound system for cover. We can hear the music getting louder and disjointed, and we prepare for a big explosion.
But suddenly everything is quiet. After a few seconds, we dare to lift our heads and look at each other confused while Doc shrugs.
"How about that. Nothing happened," he says. "I guess it was just a bad -"
*BOOM*
Immediately, we put our heads back down as an explosion is heard from the other room. The glass window breaks, and shards fly away and land on the ground. Luckily, we didn't get hit since we were under the table.
After a couple of seconds, we lift our heads up and carefully come out of our hiding spot. Doc and Octavia quickly open the door as smoke fills the recording room.
"Vinyl?" Octavia calls out while coughing. "Are you alright?"
"My baby!" I hear Vinyl cry out.
The smoke starts to clear, and through the broken window, I see Vinyl covered in soot and on her knees, cradling what remains of her bass cannon. Half of the booth is painted with flour and broken pieces of Vinyl's beloved cannon.
"Why, oh why, oh why?" Vinyl whines.
"Vinyl, look at this mess." Octavia rebukes. "There's flour and broken parts everywhere."
Vinyl takes a moment to look around and says, "Aw man, you're right! How did I not think that the flour could do that?"
We all look at each with eyes half closes, unable to comprehend what we just heard.
"How indeed," Octavia mumbles, and she facepalms.
"It doesn't look so bad," Doc says encouragingly. "We can clean this up, and then I can help you figure out what went wrong. Does that sound good, Vinyl?"
"Yes, yes, but save my baby first!" Vinyl cries hysterically.
"Alright. I guess we can work around that first," Doc says kindly before he turns to the rest of us. "I guess this concludes our meeting for today. I'll be working on future weapons sometime after I help Vinyl with her... 'baby.'"
The rest of us look at each other and shrug, before we say our goodbyes to Doc and Vinyl. We decide to drive at the school parking lot where we will go our separate ways except for Derpy, who decides to stay behind to help Vinyl and Doc.
*********************************************************************************************************
After we make it to the school parking lot, the rest of us park next to each other and hang out. Soarin is having a good chat with Octavia about the ball, and Caramel and I listen next to them while Lyra and Bon Bon have their conversation next to Bon Bon's car.
"Well, it's nice to see that you guys are starting to get along with my girlfriend, eh, Caramel?" I say before I turn my head to find that Caramel isn't sitting next to me.
"Caramel?" I ask, looking around until I see him standing in front of Lyra and Bon Bon.
"Um, Lyra? Bon Bon?" He quietly asks.
The two girls stop talking to each other and turn to look at Caramel with flirtatious smiles on their faces.
"Hey there, Caramel Bear," Lyra says. "What's up?"
Caramel's tan skin turns deep red. His hand is continuously twitching, and he is starting to sweat.
"Well, I know you two have been flirting with me for some time now," he begins awkwardly. "And....well, I figured that maybe if either of you are interested..."
He takes another breath before he spits it out.
"Maybeoneofyouwouldliketogoonadatewithme?"